Welcome back to No One Gets Left Behind. Last episode Tierney got pounced by something downstairs, Nielson has made significant progress in getting the ship's old comms to work, Burke and Rutledge have found a possible exit for the Titanoboa, and now the big question as to what to do with Godwin is coming up.

The last thread is here: >>3559553

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

As usual, we'll leave the vote up overnight so go ahead and leave 'em in and I shall return around 6PM EST.

>>3589421
>> “Maybe you’re right.”
Shooting him would be pretty obvious though.

>>3589421
>> Other
My mantra is "no one gets left behind" and it's bad enough that people have already died under my watch, in one way or another. I won't start killing off our already numerically inferior force because of some horndog. If push comes to shove, I'll have to beat him into submission if he won't come to sense. Besides, he'll have plenty of tail once we get outta here and he can go tell his story in every bar from here to Earth.

>>3589688
Good write in, support.

>>3589421
> “Maybe you’re right.”
Gotta be subtle tho, send/take him on a mission and get Burke to snipe him or stab and bury him.
All other ways don't seem effective.

>>3589688
This. If he says anything, motherfucker is a known criminal and horndog. Just say how he wants to screw Burke and got mad she rejected him.

>>3590463
issue is, tombs is pretty sure that someone killed them both, if he even mumbles something we are beyond fucked unless we get tombs on our side

>>3589421
>> “Maybe you’re right.”

>>3590751
Yeah and that person is Godwin. Nobody trusts him, and nobody really likes him. But as of yet, we need warm bodies to hold guns and fire them. Godwin as a scapegoat is an infinitely better plan then just killing more people and adding to the trail.

Does anybody really think that we can do this without suspicion falling upon us? Tombs will certainly suspect something, and are we going to kill him too? We killed Cope as a NECESITY. BURKE FORCED OUR HAND WITH HARELL's DEATH. Both of which were done for reasons that were extremely critical to our survival. You guys want to kill Godwin because of him being horny. He hasn't even done or said anything yet that deserves this animosity.

>>3590859
When we denied his request he started talking mad shit behind our back. Burke has reported this to us.
Tombs has no reason to suspect anything if godwin dies as long as we send him on a mission and he "unfortunatelly" doesn't come back.
After we get rid of Godwin we're done, our only witness is Burke who is beyond fucked if she tries to mess with us and who we trust. If Tombs somehow comes to the conclusion we killed Cope all we can do is get him on our side, which i deem possible. And disliking Godwin is reasonable as he is literally blackmailing us so we can force someone to fuck him as he's too much of a snob and pussy to court someone.
Anon, please think this through

>>3591574
You want us to uncritically trust Burke despite her talking with Rutledge a bunch of times and killing Harrell? Problems with that aside considering she's pretty self serving, the more we KILL anyone we don't like, the harder it is to hide and justify it. If we are to get rid of Godwin, it's a matter of using him as a scapegoat, or with sufficient justification to do so. Here's a plan, get Godwin super drunk, women are around him, he being the lecherous bastard he is, hits on them, and he's a discredited douche and nobody believes what he says. Much simpler then bringing him out in some warzone and stage a accidental death.

You know what I say? Should it come out that we had them, well, Cope killed anyways, I say just come clean and admit it. Just take the blame.

Let everyone know Cope was trying to get us, specifically, killed out in the field and was more than willing to throw away anyone else's lives in the process as long as we got dead. And Harrell, tell them he was unfortunate collateral and despite being green and making terrible decisions, he was a good man and didn't deserve that.

> “Maybe you’re right.”
> Other

“Maybe you’re right.” Burke tilts her head, looking at you, apparently surprised you’re agreeing. “Look. My mantra is that no one gets left behind here. We’ve already had people die. Not least of which some of them were your fault.” Burke is quiet, but still continues to listen. “Burke, it’s not a great idea to kill off people, not now. Not while we’re surrounded on all sides like this. But if we have to, maybe we should. I’d rather we beat his ass into submission if possible but… I don’t know. You have the right idea. Even the Wife does.”

She squints, confused. “You asked The Wife?” You nod. “What’d she say?”

“To kill him,” you say back.

“Hm. Smart.” Burke folds her arms, leaning back in her seat again. “I know you’re squeamish about the idea, Boo.”

“I’m not squeamish, I’m being smart.” You glare at her. “Need I remind you that the last time we killed someone for being incompetent, it got us into this mess?” you whisper at her. She stares, not particularly disagreeing with that sentiment. “We have to think about this smartly. We can’t just shoot him.”

“So what, you want me to take him out back and…” She makes a pow motion with her fingers. “Little of that?”

“I don’t know,” you say. You rub your eyes, feeling a headache coming on. Last thing you need to deal with. Why can’t people just cooperate and be done with it? Or hell, why can’t Godwin just get his kicks with his hand by himself? Forget it. What’s done is done. “Shooting him is too obvious.”

“Wildlife then,” she says.

“Maybe. Or let the Lizards take care of him,” you mutter. Your heart splits a little at what you’re saying. You’re discussing someone’s murder so… casually. “What about this? We get him drunk. Let him get real drunk. And just…” You shrug, waving your hands around trying to find the right words. “Let him be himself.” Burke stares at you, as if not particularly believing in what you’re saying. “We won’t have to kill him then.”

>>3591798
“Why can’t we just-“

“Burke. Listen to me for a second, okay? I need to remind you that you killing somebody –got us into this-,” you say. “We gotta think smart. If we don’t have to kill him, then we shouldn’t.” Burke sighs, nodding slowly. “How about I talk with Godwin in a bit. Maybe we go patrolling downstairs, try and look for Tierney’s monster. See where’s he at tonight. And in the morning, I come back to you and give the word whether he’s in or out, got it?”

“Fine.” Burke leans over, putting on a hand on your shoulder. “But remember this. The only person who knows what you do down here is you.” She jabs your chest. “If we ever get back home, nobody’s gonna miss that little shit anyway.” She opens the door and climbs out. “I’m taking night watch. If you want to talk, I’m upstairs in the tower.” And with that, she’s gone.

That just leaves you alone to think. It was hard enough for Cope and you -hated- that man.

And yet somehow, discussing Godwin seems... frighteningly easier.

> Stay in the cab and think. Maybe take a nap and rest.
> Go back inside the ship and see what’s happening.
> You need to talk to someone, anyone about this. (Who?)
> Other

>>3591801
>> Stay in the cab and think. Maybe take a nap and rest.
If we keep missing out on sleep to try and solve everyone's fucked up relationships, we're going to end up sleep deprived.

>>3591801
>> Stay in the cab and think. Maybe take a nap and rest.
Yes, time for sleep.

I seem to remember warning you tards about exactly this when you iced Harrell to cover for your BADASS HUNTER WAIFU.

For fuck's sake if you kill Godwin you better kill Burke too. Sooner or later she will do you in. Probably just before you escape this planet (if ever) to ensure there's no chance she gets fucked by the Dominion for murdering soldiers.

Who am I kidding, you pussyhounds will bend over backwards for the qtp2t murderess. Soldier bitches were a mistake, Dominion recruitment is retarded.

>>3591801
> Stay in the cab and think. Maybe take a nap and rest.

>>3591831
>we iced Harrell
>women soldiers r dumb, but not men soldiers
wut? Either u r stupid or have bad memory.

>>3591856
I think he's just being angry to be angry. Although he is right about the ladies in the military, although Survive covered that with populating of newly conquered planets.

>>3591831
Based

>>3591801
Stay in the cab and think. Maybe take a nap and rest.

> Stay in the cab and think. Maybe take a nap and rest.

You sigh, putting your hands in your lap and leaning back. On the one hand, it’d be so easy to kill Godwin. But on the other hand…

Your head hurts from thinking about it. It’s a tough decision to make. And honestly, you’d hope that Godwin either bungles up his relations with everyone first or just buys it out in the field before you actually have to decide what to do here. Cope and Harrell were forced on you, you had to make a decision there. But Godwin? Completely in your hands. Burke has clearly learned her lesson so she won’t kill him without you saying it’s okay to. And thank God. You don’t need her killing anyone else in here.

Like it or not, Godwin is another gun on the line. The Deinos are reliable but they’re primitive. They can’t hold a candle to the Lizards and their guns in the open. He’s also a heavy weapons spec so he’s strong too. You can’t help but resent Burke for getting you into this situation. As much as you trust her, that action is probably gonna send things spiraling out of control if things don’t get handled now.

Still, all this thinking but no rest. You need some damn sleep. You shut your eyes and try to force yourself to rest.

…

…

There’s a knock at the door. You open your eyes and see Tierney down below the window. You open the door and look at her, yawning a little. “Is it comfortable in there?” she asks. Surprisingly yes. Turns out one thing the Dominion shells out for is comfy seats in their vehicles. You nod at her. She frowns a little, not particularly understanding.

“How’d things go last night?” you ask.

“Morrison took Hood, Connell, and Godwin downstairs to scout things out,” she remarks. “But so far they didn’t spot the monster. Actually, they said the place looked different since we last went down there.”

“How so?” You sit up, your interest suddenly piqued.

“It’s like…” She scratches her head. “Something’s been cleaning the place up. Not like the Mini-drones. They didn’t know how to describe it. At the same time though, we haven’t seen the Ball Drones or the Mini-Drones either since last night. Morrison’s guess is that if something got out, the Drones are after it too.” That’s a decent guess, yeah.

“Alright.” You sigh. “Well, thanks, Tierney.” She smiles a little, looking up at you. She almost looks like a kid from down there.

“Oh, wait!” She reaches down, bending over slightly before presenting you a mug. “I-… I made you some coffee!” Really? You take the mug. She didn’t have to. You take a sip and then immediately regret it because holy shit this coffee tastes terrible. “How is it?”

> “Er. You hear back from Wexley and Grimshaw? I heard they were out watching the cave.”
> “… it’s pretty good.” Toss it out the window when she isn’t looking.
> “Well, I better get inside and see how everyone’s doing.”
> Other

>>3592104
>> “… it’s pretty good.” Toss it out the window when she isn’t looking.
> Other
Spend some quality time with Tierney. When was the last time we just sat down and talked with her? About anything? It doesn't even need to be about her or us, just anything.

>>3592104
>“Er. You hear back from Wexley and Grimshaw? I heard they were out watching the cave.”
> “… it’s pretty good.” Toss it out the window when she isn’t looking.

>>3592104
>> “Er. You hear back from Wexley and Grimshaw? I heard they were out watching the cave.”
>> “… it’s pretty good.” Toss it out the window when she isn’t looking.

> “… it’s pretty good.” Toss it out the window when she isn’t looking.
> “Er. You hear back from Wexley and Grimshaw? I heard they were out watching the cave.”

You motion to the other seat. “It’s pretty good. How about you come up to the other seat? I could use some company.” She grins, beaming brightly. She hurries over across the cab. While she does that, you take the time to accidentally spill some of the coffee down onto the ground, quietly and carefully. She opens the other door and climbs on up, sitting down on the seat.

“Wow, this is comfy,” she proclaims. “I can see why Early spent most of her time in here.” She leans back, sighing deeply.

“You hear anything of Wexley and Grimshaw?” you ask. “They were supposed to be watching that cave, seeing if the Titanoboa comes out of it.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Last I heard, Rutledge was expecting them to come back later this afternoon.” Fair enough. Still, it does get you worrying. You like Wexley. Grimshaw, not so much, he’s kind of a dick. But Wexley seems to be smart at least. It’d be a shame if he died. “But, it is a little stressful thinking about them. I hope they come back okay.”

“I’m sure they will,” you say. Even if you have to drag them back yourself. “Wexley’s actually fairly good at the scouting stuff, I think he’ll do fine. Not so sure about Grimshaw but… they’ll pull through.” Tierney nods, hugging her legs as she sits on the seat. “Feeling any better from last night?”

“Yeah, a little,” she says. “My head sometimes hurts a bit but usually I just walk it off. Not a huge deal.”

“Well, go to the medbay if you ever feel strange,” you say. She nods, smiling warmly. You pretend to take another sip of her coffee, trying to keep how much is inside obscured from her view. “Tierney, can I ask you… can I ask you a question?”

“Of course!” She leans closer, across the gap between your seats, almost in your face. “What is it?” Seems the one opportunity you ask her for something, she’s overeager to see what she can do. No, you’re just curious.

“Do you ever think about any of the other guys?” you ask. She blinks, taken aback a bit. “You know… sexually?”

She stares at you. Augh. You were always terrible at conversing like this. She bursts into loud laughter suddenly, making you flinch. What the hell? She leans back, holding her gut as she chortles into her mouth, trying to keep herself quiet. You look around and see Hood and Connell looking at you as they walk by. You wave them off. Don’t get them involved, please.

Tierney wheezes, wiping her eyes a bit. “Ahaha! Ahaa… sometimes,” she admits. What. “ I mean… I think Nielson is cute. And Burke has that weirdly rogue-ish kind of charm that if I were like Whitney, I think I’d be attracted to her. But I-…” She shrugs, glancing away. “I mean, if Burke offered but- why are you asking me this?”

“I was curious,” you say.

>>3592909
She pokes your arm. “I mean, I-…” She stops herself, then leans back, an intense blush rising on her face. “Nevermind. Look, I mean, sometimes we fantasize, okay? N- Not to say I fantasize about you or anything.” She does. She totally does. You can absolutely see it. “I mean… there was this one guy back home at school. I can’t even remember his name now or what he looked like. I’ve been here so long it’s taken over my head. But I really liked that guy. He was kind of like you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, charming and handsome and freakishly big.” You roll your eyes. She giggles a bit. “I-… I miss that.”

“That?” you ask.

“You know. Whether asking him out or not was my biggest problem,” she says. Her smile slowly fades away. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer.”

“It’s fine,” you say. “We just need some time to talk these things out, you know. Give ourselves some time to reflect.” Her eyes stare forward, the smile basically completely gone now. Her negative energy is nearly contagious. “You okay?”

She shrugs. “Trying to remember what my Mom looks like. Can barely get an image of her anymore.” She glances away again, unsure of herself. “Um. Can I ask you a favor?”

You look at her. “What’s that?”

“I mean, since what happened that night and everything,” she mutters. “… I don’t suppose you and I could share a bed together? Just until I can get used to sleeping by myself again?” Her eyes are practically looking at everything except you, and her face is redder than a sunset.

> “Sure.”
> “Sorry, I can’t promise I’d be around enough to make that work.”
> Other

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSUIQgEVDM4

This is where I must end it for tonight anons. I'll be back tomorrow morning so go ahead and leave your votes in overnight. Hope to see you then. Good night.

>>3592909
>“I mean, if Burke offered but-
wat da fug

>>3592912
>> Other
No sleeping in the nude.

>>3592917
Thanks for running senpai.

>>3592912
> Other
*smirk in amusement* "We'll see."

Lol the yandere doesn't want anybody to sleep with us.

>>3592967
>>3592927
combination of these two. Also, we can't promise we're always gonna be in the ship anyway.

>>3593215
Sure, fine. I guess this.

Picking up Rut's gang has been our greatest mistake yet.

>>3593215
+1

>>3592912
> “Sorry, I can’t promise I’d be around enough to make that work.”
We're already getting at Graves, don't get Tierneys hopes up cause she's shown us how hardcore she can get

> Other

“We’ll see,” you say. “No sleeping in the nude by the way.” She places a hand over her heat, swearing quietly not to. “Anyway. We got a lot to do, I can’t promise I’ll be in the ship always anyway. But if I can, we’ll see what happens.”

“Alright,” she says quietly. She sighs, looking out the window. The topic of what you did with Graves is a very awkward and probably dangerous one to approach. Best to leave Tierney in the dark about it for now. Besides, it’s not like you’ve entered some kind of relationship with Graves, right? Just a one night thing where you just happened to lose your virginity. Bit of a homewrecker that girl. Still, Tiereny is not at all bad looking by any stretch. Maybe-

There’s a knock at the door. Graves comes climbing up the window. You roll it down, looking at her. She says to you, “Rutledge wants to see you about the plan to snuff out the hibbly-jibblies downstairs.”

“What about it?” you ask.

“He wants to get to doing Wexley’s plan of snuffing the oxygen out downstairs by setting a fire,” she explains. “Figures given how far the cave is, it’s not like the Titanoboa is going to come out anywhere near us.”

“That’s right!” Rutledge comes up behind her, smiling as he looks up at you. Graves looks at him. “It’s got a long way to climb. Hell, that Titanoboa gets loose in their backyard, it could be good for us. Get the Lizards shaking from having to fight something like that. We barely survived hitting that shit for a giant snake. Imagine what’ll happen to them?”

Graves glares at him. “Did you send me all the way out here to collect him just to come out here yourself you little shit?”

“Is that any way to talk to a superior?” he says, smirking. Graves spits on the ground in front of him, making it clear her opinion. “Alright, alright.” He looks at you. “How about we discuss it in grander detail, buddy. Or should I give you ten minutes to rock the truck with Tierney a little?”

> “Fine, let’s get talking.”
> “Not right now. I got other things.” (Like what?)
> Other

>>3594175
>> “Fine, let’s get talking.”
We got a nap, we should be ready to roll

>>3594175
>> “Fine, let’s get talking.”

>>3594175
>places a hand over her heat
woah nelly
>“Fine, let’s get talking.”

>>3594194
typo typo you know what i'm talking about

> “Fine, let’s get talking.”

You get walking with Rutledge, leaving Graves and Tierney to talk while you and Rutledge sit down by some logs. The Wife gently feeds a fresh catch of a Dimorphodon to the Kids, and you watch them shred the carcass to pieces by themselves while the Wife watches. Rutledge takes his knife out and starts whittling on some wood. “Now, here’s my guess,” he says. “We set a fire down there, we gotta make sure we’ve fireproofed everything. Seal the vents so the smoke doesn’t rise up. Seal that stairway too so the fire can’t come up either. And if you’re right, we gotta make sure that comms room is safe.”

“Is it possible to get that thing fireproofed?” you ask.

“We’d have to shut the bulkhead again I think,” he says. “But getting it open was one thing. Getting it closed again another. And there’s no guarantee we’d get it open again.”

“If we can get ourselves some way… maybe one of those Ball Drones. If Delta can disassemble those Balls and Minis, we can figure out a way to get the Drones to work for us. Either as glorified door openers or maybe even allies. They seemed to prioritize the Titanoboa over us when we were fighting it.”

He nods, more attentive to the little stick of wood he’s chipping down than anything else. “Mhm.” He points the knife at you, smirking. “I tell you something. If the Titanoboa comes out of that cave…”

“Not to mention that cave could be a way to flank through to the Hill,” you say.

He smirks, looking at you. “Seems I have yet again done another good thing around here, buddy.” You roll your eyes. “I joke. You’re right. But we’d need to invest time into exploring that cave. It’s good chance it doesn’t just go from point A to point B. Might divert, might circle in on itself. Heck. I could be wrong and that big cave could actually lead somewhere else instead of here. We won’t know until it happens.” Rutledge at least seems to have a handle on the idea of it. But you’re still skeptical of the plan. You can’t fully guarantee that everything is going to be fireproof. Not unless you spray water everywhere. And sealing the vents could result in some nasty surprises.

Not to mention the drones. They likely won’t be fond of a fire in their ship. They’re barely tolerate all of you upstairs.

He motions to you. “Look. I’d rather we do this than try and clear the downstairs like it’s a building. Whatever assaulted Tierney is probably still down there. What assaulted Levy is still down there. There’s a frakton of monsters down there. And doing this could solve so many issues at once.”

>>3594761
“Or cause more,” you say. He frowns, a bit frustrated from you saying that it seems. “I’m trying to be realistic here.”

“As am I,” he says. He tosses the wood away, folding his knifes, tapping the blade of his knife on his shoulder. “Tell you what. How about you and I go find Grimshaw and Wexley, make sure they’re okay first. They’re supposed to come back later this afternoon but maybe we can pop in and give them a surprise visit. It’s Wexley’s idea anyway, I’m sure he’d love to see it executed.”

> “Sure.”
> “Sure. But let’s bring some back up.” (Who?)
> “Nah. They’ll be back anyway.”
> Other

>>3594766
>> “Sure.”
Not gonna lie, this fire idea has some real flaws behind it, but its what we have

>>3594766
> “Sure. But let’s bring some back up.” (Who?)
Burke

>>3594875
Sounds good.

>>3594766
> “Sure.”

> “Sure. But let’s bring some back up.”

“Sure, let’s bring some back up. Can you get Burke out here?”

He nods, standing up and dusting himself off. “Sure thing.” He tips his helmet to you and then goes to find Burke. You sigh, for now at least you’ll have something to occupy yourself. Hopefully this won’t take long. And hopefully this won’t have gone wrong.

…

…

You, Burke, and Rutledge skulk through the woods quietly. Burke is kind enough to take the lead. As she explained, the three of you were going to go down the river a ways before looping up towards where Grimshaw and Wexley were posted up. They had a blind somewhere that had sight over the cave and could hopefully keep them safe too in case the Lizards came crawling around. You don’t doubt it, Wexley seems smart enough to know how that works. Rutledge yawns a little, hunching over and looking around. You walk close to him. “Hey, buddy. Come on, let’s talk and walk a little.” You step up next to him. “I hear there’s some trouble with Graves not putting out.”

“Is sex the only thing on everyone’s mind right now?”

“Hey, we’re grown men, we have needs,” he says, a sly smirk on his face. “Still, I can understand why you’re frustrated.”

“Do you now?” you say.

He shrugs. “Way I see it, we’re reduced to our base instincts out here.” He looks at you, grinning. “Give it another month or two, we’ll be wearing loincloths, painting our faces, and showing our cocks to the Lizards to scare ‘em. There’s an ancient warrior tradition called the Mary, Mory, whatever the hell they’re called. Used to dance before rushing into combat. I bet we’ll be reduced to that come a year of staying here.”

You roll your eyes. “You don’t seriously believe we’ll be here a year.”

“You never know,” he says. He shrugs again. “Besides, this place ain’t so bad aside from the Lizards. And look at you.” He gently punches your arm. “King of the Natives himself, the Mighty Whitey. You don’t think you’re going to miss having the Natives when you leave?”

> “This is their planet, not ours. I can’t tell them what to do.”
> “I mean, sure. They’ve been good to us.”
> “Are you trying to imply something?”
> Other

>>3595418
>> “I mean, sure. They’ve been good to us. Would I rather be back in civilization instead of some haunted ship on a planet full of things that want to kill me and people counting on me to save them? Of course.”

I have a feeling we'll kinda miss this place

>>3595418
> “I mean, sure. They’ve been good to us. Hmm. Maybe we could take Wife and my kids with us when we leave. maybe even some of the natives. They are being hunted to extinction like us since we are camping out in their lands. It's the least we could do, seeing as no one gets left behind."

>>3595418
> “I mean, sure. They’ve been good to us."
Would be cool if we could do more to repay them for helping us out.

>>3595426
+1

> “I mean, sure. They’ve been good to us.”

“I mean, sure. They’ve been good to us,” you say. “Does that mean I want to stay here instead of going back to civilization? Hell no. I’d be willing to take them with us if the Dominion lets us. But, you know, it’s just how things are. We don’t belong here.”

“Well, you certainly are making the most of it at least,” he says. Rutledge shrugs. “Just saying. Just because we don’t belong doesn’t mean we can’t adapt.” He’s not wrong. But you wonder what Rutledge ultimately is trying to get at. “Anyway, Burke, let’s get on up ahead across the river here.”

She nods. “Sure.”

Crossing the river was a quick affair. You all hurried and forded across out in the open. You were assured that no one was watching. But you can’t help but feel like something’s off about this. You’re not sure why anyway. Perhaps it’s just your gut playing with you. Then again, your gut isn’t wrong most times. Whatever happens, happens.

…

…

You arrive at the blind. Just a few dozen meters away was a big cavernous entrance buried into the side of some rocks and trees. That definitely looks big enough for your Titanoboa. Up in one of the larger trees you see a makeshift little tent made out of camo ponchos, a hunting blind. “Wexley, Grimshaw!” Rutledge calls up to them.

No answer. Alarm bells ring in your head. Something’s not right. Rutledge looks at you, confused. You shrug. Burke slings her DMR and starts climbing up. The two of you wait down, watching her climb. You glance at Rutledge, he glances at you before watching Burke. You admit, it’s a nice view but it’s really not the time to comment. Burke climbs up to the branch and pokes her head into the hunting blind.

She looks down at you two. “It’s Grimshaw. He’s dead.” What?

>>3596288
You climb up there along with Rutledge. You pull the drape back on the hunting blind. Sure enough, there’s Grimshaw entangled in branches and rope. His head was missing a huge chunk of his forehead, with his eyes miraculously hanging right in the sockets. “What the hell did this?” you ask. Burke reaches into his head. And you flinch at the squelching of her fingers in his brains as she pulls out a small bullet.

“Sniper,” she says. She holds up the bullet to you. Lizard. But how? And where was Wexley? Did he go running for help as soon as Grimshaw was killed? “What do you think, our White Feathered fiend?”

“Maybe.” You cringe a little, looking at Grimshaw. You didn’t get to know him properly but goddamn it. “Wh-… what about Wexley?”

Rutledge says, “No sign of him here unless we go looking for tracks. You don’t think the Lizards picked him up?”

“I hope not,” he says. “Maybe he’ll turn up but…” You still look at Grimshaw, laying back in his seat in the blind. You look at Rutledge. “I thought you said they’d be fine here.”

“Why are you looking at me?” he asks. “Sucks what happened to him but I don’t expect frakking snipers to shoot them straight through a blind!” He points to a hole in the blind next to the split in the drape. “Look at that! Whoever did this must’ve been a real frakking good shot!” And whoever they are…

They’re still out here.

> Take Grimshaw’s body back. You’ll have to look for Wexley later.
> You can’t leave this area until Wexley is accounted for.
> Other

That's it for tonight's NOGLB. We'll be back in the morning as per usual so go ahead and leave your votes in overnight. Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you then.

>>3596293
>> You can’t leave this area until Wexley is accounted for.
Looks like our White Feather friend is back. Also this may provide us with an idea of getting rid of Godwin if need be...

>>3596293
>> You can’t leave this area until Wexley is accounted for.
MotherFUCKER another one down. That about does it, it's time we start going out to exclusively hunt this cunt down.

>>3596298
Thanks for running.

>>3596293
>> You can’t leave this area until Wexley is accounted for.
>Have Burke and Rutledge take Grimshaw's body back

Jesus christ, if you want something done.... It looks like we're gonna have to hunt down that feather fucker, he's been a pain for too long

>>3596386
Nyet by dude.
Burke is either in cahoots with The Rat, or she's avoiding him because he keeps whispering in her ear. My reasoning? Well Ratboy seems to mention Burke quite frequently, and whenever there's a mission for two she is called up (alongside him). Plus right now Burke is up ahead, away from him- so either she doesn't want to be near him or she doesn't want up to realise they're already working together.

>You can’t leave this area until Wexley is accounted for.

>>3596293
> You can’t leave this area until Wexley is accounted for.

Dammit.

>>3596293
> You can’t leave this area until Wexley is accounted for.
No one gets left behind... because we will all die here together. I think things seemed more positive in the start, when we were still finding new people by the dozens.

> You can’t leave this area until Wexley is accounted for.

You sigh, hissing with anger. Whoever did this is going to pay. “Right. We’re down one man. But we can’t just leave until Wexley’s accounted for. He’s either dead, in captivity, or still alive out here somewhere. And given that we haven’t been shot yet, that sniper that killed Grimshaw must not be watching us right now. Let’s search the area, see what we can find.”

You and Rutledge carefully help Grimshaw’s body back down to the ground. You’ve no doubt that it seems like the helmet he’s wearing is the only thing keeping his head together. Might be a closed casket on this funeral. It’s going to be tough to communicate this one to Hood, Connell, Wexley if you find him, and Early. Still, this was Rutledge’s idea to leave them here just to watch a cave. And his smug attitude towards his plans working hopefully is now gone. For his part, he doesn’t say too much. You rest Grimshaw against a tree and put a poncho over his body, to keep it hidden and to keep curious wildlife from indulging.

Burke meanwhile searchs the ground around the tree, carefully sweeping the place with her foot as she looks around. “Here!” You and Rutledge come over. She points down to a bootmark in the ground, heading westward. “He must’ve went west after that shot.”

“He knew he wouldn’t last long getting chased in the open across a river,” you say. “Maybe he was trying to make for the mouth of the river, hope he finds some Deinos that know him?” you ask.

“An interesting speculation,” Rutledge says. He points west. “How about we get going and look for him then?”

You look at Burke. You want to know one thing. “How fresh are the tracks?”

She folds her arms, gently poking at the bootmark with the toe of her boot. “Judging by how deep it is and the dampness of the mud and how solid the mark is… I’d say no more than a few hours ago.” So you’re only a few hours behind him then.

> “Let’s get looking then.”
> “I’ll go. You two get Grimshaw’s body back home.”
> “We shouldn’t. Let’s get the body back and we can look for him later.”
> Other

>>3597367
>> “I’ll go. You two get Grimshaw’s body back home.”
Maybe we'll even find our good friend whitefeather that is if this wasn't done by one of our own.

>>3597367
>> “Let’s get looking then.”
Remember the last time we tried to solo stuff.

>>3597419
You mean when we killed a champion and his escort and got away scot-free?

>>3597425
Or the time we almost got blown to shit by arty and had to hide in the middle of a swamp?

>>3597429
>implying other people being with us would have kept us from getting blown apart by artillery
If anything having more people with us probably would've led to casualties.

>>3597441
The point is its better to have more people for this shit especially given how dangerous this sniper is. It's not like we're dragging Tierney along or something.

>>3597367
>> “I’ll go. You two get Grimshaw’s body back home.”
Although that one anon who talked about Burke and Rat really got me thinking

>>3597425
>>3597429
Ya win some and lose some, yaknow?

>>3597367
>“Let’s get looking then.”
or send Rut away with the body.

>>3597367
>> “I’ll go. You two get Grimshaw’s body back home.”

>>3597367
> “I’ll go. You two get Grimshaw’s body back home.”

> “I’ll go. You two get Grimshaw’s body back home.”

“I’ll go,” you say. “You two get Grimshaw’s body back home.”

“You’re gonna go out here alone again?” asks Burke. “Last sniper we met almost killed me.”

“Yes, -you-. Not me,” you remark. “Get the body back, and come back if you want to but I’m gonna find Wexley or die trying. Alright?” They glance at each other.

Rutledge says, “Fair. I’ll at least carry Grimshaw across the river then send Burke to cover you once she gets me past. Okay?” That’s fair. And honestly kind of thoughtful. But you’re hoping to score a kill on this guy yourself. You don’t consider yourself needing help on this, more people might bungle it up. “Just get Wexley home safe and sound.”

“Alright.” You bring your Carbine up and check the scope carefully. It won’t give you much range but it’s better than irons at this point. “I’ll see you two then.” Burke grunts, then she moves to get Grimshaw’s body. Rutledge nods to you, and helps her.

You start moving west. Slowly you skulk. Burke and Rutledge are already out of ear shot. You wonder what those two are up to, if they’re up to anything. Seems to you like Rutledge is trying to court Burke for some strange reason. Last thing you need is for Burke to try and betray you or something like she did Harrell. Just come into your room and slap a shot into you. Sleeping with Tierney just for the extra protection is actually starting to look a little attractive.

You keep following the tracks. Judging by how widely spaced they are, Wexley was running at full sprint even. Seems Grimshaw’s death must have scared him into running this way.

You hop down a small little hill and keep looking around. The trees are actually parting away to form little clearings here and there. But those clearings are filled by swamp marshes and little ponds. Not something that’s conductive to shooting or mobility. As you walk though, you notice the tracks suddenly go spastic, as if… Wexley was shot. You look down and squint.

Dried blood. He was shot. But he survived and moved north a ways. You keep following the tree, moving past some trees.

>>3597850
And finally you find him, lying against a log partially sunk into a pond, hand over his hip. Is he dead? You look at his face and see his eyes staring off forward. You kneel down beside a tree, careful not to expose yourself too badly. He’s motionless. But you notice he seems to have almost a death grip on his hip. He may be still alive. He has to have seen you.

But then, so may the sniper.

“Wexley,” you whisper. His eyes light up. They turn to you slowly. You peek out around the tree, looking at him. “You okay?” He mouths a yes to you. You mouth back, “Okay.”

He mouths quietly to you. “SNIPER. WATCHING FROM NORTHEAST.” You glance to the northeast and see nothing but trees, vines and rocks. You turn your on infrared on the monocle and see nothing in the trees. Either he knows you have infrared and is using some kind of cloak to obscure himself, or he’s so far in the trees that the infrared can’t penetrate. Either way, no chance of seeing him just at a glance.

> Crawl up to Wexley. He needs help.
> Secure the area first. See if you can get a bead on your gunman.
> Tell Wexley to stay where he is. You’ll get some help.
> Other

>>3597852
> Secure the area first. See if you can get a bead on your gunman.

>>3597852
>> Secure the area first. See if you can get a bead on your gunman.
We really need to give aid to Wexley, but I just know if we crawl up to him either we're going to get shot or the sniper is going to finish off Wexley.

>>3597852
>> Secure the area first. See if you can get a bead on your gunman.
I've seen Saving private Ryan. That bastard is trying to goad us into running out into the open. Let's see if we can scope this bastard out

>>3597852
>> Secure the area first. See if you can get a bead on your gunman.

>>3597852
> Secure the area first. See if you can get a bead on your gunman.

> Secure the area first. See if you can get a bead on your gunman.

You mouth to him to stay still. He nods. You quickly take out your binoculars and scope around. Glints of scope glass? Nothing. Shuffling of leaves here there isn’t wind? Nothing. From where you stand, there’s no point of reference for where he may be other than northeast. And even then, that may not be entirely accurate. Whatever it is, this Steno is good. He knows all the tricks of the trade. For someone like this, the Dominion likely would just orbital bombard his last known coordinates.

But for you? Well, you have to go mono e mono.

You take up your Carbine and glance through the scope. So far nothing.

Right, time to displace. You roll behind another tree to your left and take a glance. So far nothing. If you keep moving, he can’t get a good lock. Moving targets are always hard to hit. Wexley sighs quietly, holding his bleeding wound. You keep staring out northeast, seeing nothing there.

Just watch and wait. Then you see a little flash through the trees SHIT

The bullet scrapes against your helmet, knocking you down. “Hey!” Wexley screams. You lie down, feeling your head rattle hard from the impact. No real damage. You look around, seeing blurs and doubles for a second before your vision comes back to you.

Okay. He got lucky. But now he’s given up the initiative. He’s going to have to displace.

> Rush up while he’s displacing. If you can close the distance, you might get a shot at him.
> Pick up your Carbine and suppress the woods. You’ll either get a lucky shot or scare him into cover.
> Pick up the Carbine and see if you can get an accurate shot on him.
> Other

>>3598200
>> Rush up while he’s displacing. If you can close the distance, you might get a shot at him.
AFFIX BAYONETS, RUSH THE SNIPER.

What could go wrong

>>3598200
>other
> Rush up while he’s displacing. If you can close the distance, you might get a shot at him.
>Watch where we are stepping in case of booby traps

> Rush up while he’s displacing. If you can close the distance, you might get a shot at him.

You grit your teeth. You’re not going to kill him from all the way back here! You jump up out of cover and quickly rush forward towards the shot. If he’s displacing like you think he is, he won’t see you do this. You rush around the pond and duck down behind a big root. You poke your head up and look around. No shot. Okay.

You jump up again and jump for the nearest tree and dive into cover. Alright. Be still heart. Your heart is absolutely exploding from the anticipation and tenseness. Right. Just stay calm. Don’t do that again. Now that he’s probably had time to move, he’ll likely be zeroing in again. Now you’re starting to feel like you’re Burke when you first found her. Slowly, you come up to a standing position, then start leaning to the right to peer over the side of the street. All you see is trees and leaves and rocks.

Damn it. The environment is too thick for you to just see through. You’re going to need to get closer! Alright.

One, two, three!

You rush forward again, hunching over sprinting to the nearest tree. You stop up.

…

Nothing. Is he taunting you? Is he still displacing? You take another breath. You’ve barely gone fifty meters at best but they feel like the most dangerous fifty meters you’ve crossed so far. You kneel down and sigh. Right. One more time. Ready yourself, then…

You burst forward and dive for a fallen log.

Still nothing. You roll onto your side and wait. No shots, nothing. He’s waiting for a kill shot. Bastard.

You sigh.

Maybe best to wait for Burke.

>>3598616
Right, that's it for the weekend. Sorry to end it on a bit of awkward note here but I've been distracted a bit all weekend, but hopefully we can focus up on the coming one. I'll see you then so stay tuned.

>>3598619
Thanks for running, Survive. Really starting to suck how we keep losing people, we don't have many left.

>>3598616
Thanks for running.

>>3598616
Thanks for running. And this is why I was so concerned about going alone.

say guys, is there more smut pastebins or ist it only the graves one there is?

…

…

You slowly edge your head out from behind the log, looking around. So far, all you see is the thick brush of the forest around you. That damn sniper is out there somewhere. It may even be the White Feather that almost killed you and Burke a while back too. If you could get some measure of justice for Grimshaw here, you can go back to the ship feeling at least some accomplishment. You’re not interested in being beaten by some Lizard today, no sir. You’re going to outthink this savage beast if it kills you.

Right now though, he has you in a bind. You can’t see him but he probably doesn’t have a bead on you either. You have a brief window now to do what you need to do before he gets a lock again. When will he get a lock? You don’t know. So you’ll have to make your next moves count. You look back and barely glimpse Wexley from around that log that he’s laying against. “Wexley!”

“What?” he hisses back.

“You okay?” you ask.

“I’m keeping pressure on it!” he says. “Do you see him?”

“No!” You try to stay quiet. For the most part, hopefully he can’t detect by sound. You edge up again. No glints from scopes, no rustling of leaves, nothing. Just sheer silence and a still forest. He’s in here somewhere that’s for sure. But how close he is? That’s a mystery.

Right now you were playing a very dangerous guessing game.

> Keep moving up.
> Stay where you are and wait for Burke to come and help you.
> Fire randomly and see if you can’t inspire a reaction shot.
> Other

Welcome back to No One Gets Left Behind. As per usual, I'm leaving this vote up overnight and we shall return tomorrow when I get back home from work. See you then.

>>3599242
and the "non canon" handjob one

>>3609133
>> Keep moving up.
A log isn't the best place for a sniper battle/ Look for the best spot possible in the general vicinity, even if it might be a little more of a sprint, because it'll be the last place we go

>>3609133
>> Keep moving up.

>>3609133
> Fire randomly and see if you can’t inspire a reaction shot.
Afterwards displace, his location is more important than the shot

> Keep moving up.
You sprint forward, hurrying yourself into the next available piece of cover—a little ditch next to a fallen tree. You dive down and quickly roll onto your back and peer through a small space between the bottom of the tree and the ditch. So far, no reaction. Though, you squint. You see a soft rustle of leaves only two hundred meters away. He’s not in the trees. He’s ground level.

Alright. Now you got something here. If he’s ground level, then that means you have a chance to closing the distance then. You jump up and sidestep around the fallen tree and roll into cover behind a tree. So far, no shots. You look out and see the entirety of the forest around you. Right, you head on up and-

You stop in your tracks, quickly diving into a bush. Out of the corner of your eye you could see something on the ground. You gently prod it, and it snaps up. A frakking bear trap! The teeth were sharpened as well, meaning either it would grasp your leg and hold you in place, or it’d just slice your leg off and immobilize you. Either way, you won. Damn it.

Maybe it’ll help to be a bit more careful. As you rise up though, a shot flies straight over your head. You duck down instinctively. Shit! He just shot at you!

> You heard where it came from! Fire back!
> Dive into cover quick before he tries another shot!
> Other

>>3611242
>> You heard where it came from! Fire back!

>>3611242
>> You heard where it came from! Fire back!
FUCK YOU, LIZARD NIGGER

Sorry, I'm absolutely demolished today. I can't get this update out, I'll try to get it for tomorrow morning though so continue to vote in if you please. I'll see you then.

>>3611242
>> You heard where it came from! Fire back!

>>3611242
>> You heard where it came from! Fire back!

I am so sorry but I just can't get it together to write something today. It's not something on my end or yours, it's just feeling down somewhat. I'll try again tomorrow morning.

So sorry to let you guys down.

>>3612753
feel better OP

>>3612753
Mate, if you need a break that's fine, thanks for the honesty and get better.

> You heard where it came from! Fire back!

You fire a snap burst into the trees right where you heard the shot come from. You dive into a prone position and keep your Carbine pointed that way. Slowly you wait. Sweat runs down your cheek. You can feel the rapid beat of your heart as if it were trying to break out of your chest. The follow up shot. Where is it?

…

Slowly, you come to a kneeling position. You blink, glancing around. No shot. Nothing. Truth be told, in the moment, you’re not sure if you heard a shriek or a cry of pain or if that was just your plasma shot. You decide it best instead to move from cover to cover and advance to where you heard that shot. It’s a nerve wracking few minutes of advancing over that distance, jumping from tree to tree, crawling from ditch to ditch.

Until finally, you see where your shot landed. A plasma score is marked into the side of a tree, and before that some leaves in a bush were scorched and leaving embers on the ground. But the real evidence that your shot landed true? Blood. You kneel down and see some spots of blood on the ground, then see the crushed grass and leaves from tracks leading further north into the jungle. You wounded him, but did not kill him.

Well, at the very least, if it bleeds you can kill it.

The tracks continue along, but they’re very faint. Likely that White Feathered fiend is using something to mask his footprint like wrappings or gauze. Not even any toemarks from the claws all Stenos have. If you do pursue him further, there’s no guarantee you’ll find him again. But given he’s wounded, you’re not sure you’ll have another shot at him.

> Go after him.
> Go back for Wexley. You’re done here.
> Other

>>3615876
>> Go back for Wexley. You’re done here.
Got the sniper to fuck off, that's all we need for right now

>>3615876
>> Go after him.
I got the need for bleed

>>3615876
> Go back for Wexley. You’re done here.
we've spent too many times solo chasing shit, help out your fellow human

>>3615876
>> Go back for Wexley. You’re done here.
Prioritize getting him back alive, no man left behind.

> Go back for Wexley. You’re done here.

You’ve put the fear into that Steno and you’ve kept him honest. You’ll call it a draw here. Next time though, he better be ready to defend himself. You start hurrying back to Wexley.

…

…

You find Burke tending to Wexley’s wound. Burke looks up at you, knelt down, blood on her hands as she packs gauze into it. “He got lucky. It didn’t go through but a few more centimeters and it would’ve hit something important I bet.” You nod, standing over him. Wexley yelps in pain as Burke injects Inst-Aid near the wound to help start the clotting and the eventual healing faster. “Can you walk?” she asks.

Wexley sighs. “Barely,” he mutters. He looks at you and Burke, a very saddened look on his face. “Grimshaw.”

“I know,” he says.

“I’m so sorry,” he says. “W-… We were just bantering around a bit waiting for something to happen. Next thing I know, there’s a hole in his head and one through the frakking blind!” He sighs, shaking his head, huffing a bit laboriously. “I-… goddamn it.”

“It’s alright.” You pat his shoulder, feeling his pain somewhat. “We’ll avenge him eventually.” Wexley nods.

“You didn’t get him?” asks Burke. You shake your head. “Well, we better head back then. He’s probably going to have friends scour this area soon I bet.” You take Wexley’s hand and help him to his feet, supporting him on your shoulder.

Wexley frowns deeply, nearly on the verge of crying. “We gotta get that bastard!” He kicks at the ground, almost making you fall over. “Let me heal up and we’ll get that bastard!”

> “Calm down. We’ll get him eventually.”
> “Burke, take him back, I’ll go after him.”
> “We’re taking you back then we’ll go find him.”
> Other

>>3616298
>> Other
Don't worry Wexley, we'll get him. I'll put him down myself.

>>3616307
sure

> Other

“Don’t worry, Wexley. We’ll get him.” You squeeze your arm tight around him to keep him steady. “I’ll put that bastard down myself.” Wexley indignantly struggles a little, looking back. “Come on, come on. Let’s get going. Burke, can you watch us?” Burke nods, putting her DMR up to make sure nothing else comes crawling after you both.

“Damn it!” shouts Wexley. You’ll let him shout and be mad for now. He did just lose a squadmate. You didn’t know Grimshaw that well, but Wexley did.

It’s going to be tough for him.

…

…

You, Hood, Connell, and Early lower Grimshaw down into a grave next to Cope and Harrell’s with ropes. He was wrapped up in leaves around his body, to cover his ruined head. Anything that could be scavenged from him was, his clothes, his body armor, his ammo and grenades, his helmet, everything. His personal affects given to Graves for preservation. Everyone stands outside, watching you lower him down into the ground. Even the Wife, the kids, Delta, and a few Deinos watch curiously as this happens.

Once he’s done, you pull the ropes out and step back. Hood folds his arms, looking down angrily. Connell looks down as well, absolute devastation in his face. Early puts her hands at her hips, quietly kicking at the ground. There’s not many words to say. Hood breaks the silence. “Let’s be frank, Grimshaw was kind of a dick.” Everyone mutters agreements left and right. “But… god, he was our dick. And hell, every guy that dies is another guy that ain’t going home.”

Connell says, “You know Grimshaw used to talk about how he tried to get out of conscription.”

“How?” asks Godwin, stepping up closer. Graves steps next to you too, as does Rutledge.

Hood snorts, a small smirk to his face. “Said once that he tried to plead insanity. Ship psychologists wouldn’t have any of it. Even tried to jerk off for three days straight. But the psychologists knew. Grimshaw was sane was everyone else. And if you’re sane and you got two arms and legs, then you’re going up to the Front.”

“Conscription’s a bitch,” Connell mutters. You nod to that.

“We gonna say anything nice?” asks Graves.

Hood sighs, rubbing his eyes. “See ya, Grim.”

“We’ll try and be good for you, Grim.” Connell quietly thumps his fist against his heart. Early as well nods too. Wexley waves a gentle little goodbye.

> Help bury Grimshaw.
> Go inside and get some rest.
> Talk with someone. (Who?)
> Get planning with Rutledge. Something needs to be done.
> Other

>>3616685
>> Help bury Grimshaw.
Poor bastard. Didn't even have a fighting chance, shot right through the blind.

> Help bury Grimshaw.

Using shovels from the Land Rover and the Command Truck, the five of you start burying Wexley. Graves told you she’ll be in the medbay when she needs you while Rutledge says he’ll be in the Common Room. The Deinos watch and observe as you put dirt over Grimshaw, marking his final rest. Once the Dominion Fleet comes back and the planet is taken over, hopefully he and everyone else can be exhumed and returned to their homes. Hood says, “So how’d you find him?”

“He was up in the blind, didn’t have a chance before he got sniped,” you explain. “That’s how Wex explained it.” Wexley grunts, standing to look down at Grimshaw as you pour more dirt down into his grave. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it came to this.”

“Wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for that sniping bastard,” says Hood. “And I guess we can partly blame it too on Rutledge. What’s the point of watching a cave waiting for a big snake to come out? No wonder he got killed.”

Wexley says, “Now, it could’ve been any of us. Could’ve even been the boss if he went up there. I’m glad I got out of there alive but… goddamn, we can’t let something like this slide that’s for sure.”

“Trust me,” you sling some dirt down into the grave. “When we get back out there, we’re going to raise some hell.”

“We better,” Connell says, anger rising on his face. “I’m gonna see heads roll for this guy.”

You plant down more dirt over Grimshaw. Like you said, you’ll personally finish the bastard that killed him off. All it takes now is finding him and beating him.

That's it for this weekend. Still super sorry we missed out on Saturday but what can you do? I'll give myself this coming weekend off to refresh and recharge, and hopefully we won't have another day like that. Hope you enjoyed regardless.

Good night, anons. See you soon.

>>3617259
Thanks for running, Survive. Shame /qst/ has been so dead lately.

>>3617259
Catch you on the flipside Survive.