Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>4481924
>C. Rally the station denizens and deal with Toole and his entourage. (90)

Kek go for the hardest option

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>4481924
>>B. Strike a deal with Toole. He seems like a man with few scruples and so are you. Selling station denizens to slavery, impounding vessels of independents - nothing is off the table. (75)

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>4481924
>A. Negotiate a workable deal with the creditors. Convince them keeping the station under your management is their best chance of recovering their investment. (85)
Oh boy can't wait to hard fail the first prompt and lose everything immediately

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>4481924
>A. Negotiate a workable deal with the creditors. Convince them keeping the station under your management is their best chance of recovering their investment. (85)

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>>4481926
>>4481933
>>4481939
>>4481949
A. is locked. I dug a hole for myself with these difficulties... but desu sure it makes the quest more fun. Writing.

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"I don't feel confident about the wording of some clauses in the drafts you presented earlier." you started cautiously and formally but you knew what kind of spiel this really is. You saw these kinds of cookie-cutter contracts many times before - the entities offering them usually didn't expect any kind of legal resistance, so they didn't even bother to hire proper lawyers to make tailored contracts for them.

You grew up in a mining station (similar to this one) and often experienced how the workers were shafted by the employers. You were lucky enough to obtain good certifications and good enough to retain a steady stream of job offers, usually workers and their unions. They trusted you because you understood them.

"No." Toole retorted.
An outright denial was a little surprising, but you weren't fazed: "That's it, no negotiation? Look, let's wo-"
"No." he cut you off mid-sentence.
His approach was pretty straightforward so you decided to cut the bullshit too: "I don't think your clients would be happy with the way you are representing their interests."
"I don't give a fuck about the client." a wide grin appeared on Toole's face as one of his gorillas presented a piece of binded papers on the table. You grabbed them and started reading: Goldreich-Tremaine Corporate Republic Durable Power of Attorney. A few seconds skimming was all you needed to realize you were fucked.

The creditors were retail. Every single one of them. Most likely the very kind of people you usually represented. Someone spun them a tale of quick money (just sign the dotted line) and they took it hook, line and sinker. The bottom line was the creditors gave all the power to Toole and there was jack shit you could do about it.

"Let me go over this and give you a counter at the start of the next station shift." you mumbled as you were getting out of your seat.
"You are not gonna sign? We were getting ready to start loading.. Well, I guess we will just add checking charge to the final invoice." Toole kept rubbing it in as you were retreating towards the airlock of his vessel.

1/2

Your desperation grew but so did your determination:
>A. Strike a deal with Toole. He seems like a man with few scruples and so are you. Selling station denizens to slavery, impounding vessels of independents - nothing is off the table. (85 - increased difficulty due to recent change in power relationship between you and Toole)
>B. Cash in some favours and all your literal investments to call in mercs to deal with Toole, violently. (55, loss of reputation and personal assets, pirate/outlaw lock-in on one over or none over)
>C. Rally the station denizens and deal with Toole and his entourage. (90)
>D. Grab what you can and get on an independent vessel which should be docking soon (50 - loss of reputation and personal assets, pirate/outlaw path lock-in)
>E. Try something else (write-in)

I realized I made another rookie mistake by asking to roll the dice alongside the choices. This time let's throw only after the vote is locked in please.
Also gonna head to bed, resuming tomorrow (assuming there's still enough interest).

2/2

>>4482187
>D. Grab what you can and get on an independent vessel which should be docking soon (50 - loss of reputation and personal assets, pirate/outlaw path lock-in)

Outlaw path? Sounds based to me.

>>4482187
>Cash in some favours and all your literal investments to call in mercs to deal with Toole, violently. (55, loss of reputation and personal assets, pirate/outlaw lock-in on one over or none over)

>>4482187
>B. Cash in some favours and all your literal investments to call in mercs to deal with Toole, violently. (55, loss of reputation and personal assets, pirate/outlaw lock-in on one over or none over)

>>4482187
>A. Strike a deal with Toole. He seems like a man with few scruples and so are you. Selling station denizens to slavery, impounding vessels of independents - nothing is off the table. (85 - increased difficulty due to recent change in power relationship between you and Toole)

File: Eternity.png (1.63 MB, 1920x1080)

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>>4482189
>>4482565
>>4483002
>>4483009
Locking in B. Give me three d100s please.

Also introducing a stat system:
Might has everything to do with physical security of your operation.
Reputation measures the degree of trust people have in you. Low reputation may lead to breakdowns of relationships and people backstabbing you.
Wealth represents the economic health of your operation - cashflow, assets, access to credit, physical size of your station etc.
Stress is a measure of your personal well-being. 3 or more is a cause for concern, 5 or more is troublesome and 7+ will almost surely lead to some very bad outcomes.

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>4483238

>>4483279
Oof.

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>4483238

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>4483238

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"Wait, it's all Sheva?" Toole was kneeling in the middle of mess hall.
"Always has been" one of the men you called in punctuated his statement by pulling the trigger of needlegun pointed at Toole's head.

Sheva was an informal network of miners and workers. They offered insurance, limited healthcare, discreet logistics assistance (an euphemism for money laundering) and other services which were often lacking in local corporate-owned stations.

Getting someone to answer your call for help was the easy part. Upon closer inspection of the papers Toole provided to your earlier you realized you knew some of the guys which were listed as investors. Your Sheva connections impressing the right kind of cachet to your request combined with a good amount of money thrown in assured a prompt response by men Toole screwed over.

Getting the call out unnoticed was the hard part but in the end you managed to trick Toole and his entourage into thinking an incoming vessel is just an independent freighter.

The actual encounter lasted less than 30 minutes. All things considered, the final body count was pretty good: Toole and all his men were wiped out, two Sheva men sustained injuries and only one unlucky station guy collected a hail of needles in his chest.

1/X

After Sheva men departed you took stock of your situation.

The station itself was in desolate state. Air purification system was on its last legs. Water was barely drinkable. Garden was abandoned months ago, its soil degraded by slick, water-repellent rot.

Three pieces of equipment were of note: First was a small but respectable mass driver coiled around the primary station arm. The second and third were two Caldari Navy Hookbills tethered near the station. They were old but versatile corvettes a few years behind in proper maintenance, but that was something you could work with. Frankly, the issue was their operators and the baggage they came with. The pilots themselves weren't that good. On top of that, each one of them had a sizeable family which depended on them.

Might 1
Reputation 3
Wealth 1
Stress 1

A dark idea surfaced in your head. You rejected it at first but as you continued going through all the invoices, equipment lists and various communiqués it started to take root.

You could decompress the hab unit and get rid of them all.

No one but you, the pilots, and their families were present at the station at this time. Your relatively high reputation made them trust you, making the deed easily executable. There would be no witnesses. Transferring the ownership of Hookbills would be simple with the expertise you possessed. But if you were gonna do it, you had to do it now.

Will you open the airlock?
>Yes
>No


Choosing Yes: 27 difficulty.
>Fail -3 Reputation, 1+1d3 Stress
>Weak Success - +2 Wealth, 2+1d2 Stress
>Success - +3 Wealth, 2+1d2 Stress
>Strong Success - +3 Wealth, 1+1d2 Stress

Choosing No: No stat change. The quest continues on.


2/2 Assuming continued interest we resume tomorrow

>>4483872
>No

Forgot to add: Stress does not have the same weight as the other stats. It decreases by 1 each turn unless a prompt causing Stress gets voted in. Also, when Stress is too high there will be usually options to pay Wealth or Influence to reduce it, typically by 1:2 ratio.

>>4483872

>No.

>>4483872
>Yes

>>4483872
>>Yes

>>4483872
>>No

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>>4483872
Yes

>>4483872
>Yes

>>4483872
>Yes

>>4483879
>>4483932
>>4483935
>>4483999
>>4484105
>>4484352
>>4484386
>>4484490
>3 No
>5 Yes

The vote is now locked. Give me 3 d100s please.

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>4484492

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>4484492

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>4484492

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4484497
>>4484499
>>4484501
Success! Crossing premeditated murder off our bucket list, rolling for stress and writing.

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Their lives were miserable. You would lay them off anyways and no one else would have them. One of the pilots was beating his wife. The other woman just lost her son. One of the elders was chronically ill and in constant pain. No one said it aloud but surely they all wanted it. It would be quick. You would be doing them a service, really.

The rationalizations came easily now when the emotional decision has been made.

All airlocks were hardwired to never allow both entrances to be opened simultaneously (a lesson humanity learned the hard way a long time ago when conducting deep ocean operations) so you had to get your hands dirty. You remotely set a delayed hard-lock of the station-side airlock from the bridge, donned a hard spacesuit, disembarked and proceeded towards the other hab-unit airlock facing empty space. Once inside, you quickly emptied three cans of fast-drying epoxy on one section of interior frame and door to prevent manual opening, then closed the outer airlock entrance and started making a small hole through the interior door with a blowtorch.

By this time everyone inside the hab-pod was wide awake. You made conscious effort to not look through the interior door window but you couldn't block out the sound of faint screaming and frantic bangs on the door. Finally the hole has been made. You tethered yourself to a hardpoint, settled as close to the side wall as possible and thumped your hand against the emergency release button. The outer airlock opened and it took only few seconds for the inner door to give out under immense pressure differential which has now developed.

As expected, the decompression was fast and violent. You couldn't help but keep your eyes opened in morbid curiosity as various objects and the inhabitants themselves were forced out of the hab unit, the bodies flying and bumping like ragdolls. You quickly surveyed the interior of now-decompressed hab-unit, floated outside, closed the exterior airlock door and came back to the ship through the bridge. Once out of the spacesuit you did a quick sweep of the station looking for any survivors, but there were none to be found.

The hab unit repressurized without any issues and you set out to erase any signs of existence of its former residents. After that you started filling the paperwork for the Hookbills, purposefully working yourself to exhaustion. You couldn't allow yourself to stop and think about what you just did. At last you popped some lorazepam to hedge against your own conscience and only then allowed yourself to fall asleep.

Might 1
Reputation 3
Wealth 4
Stress 5

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byford_Dolphin#Diving_bell_accident

1/x next update coming later today or tomorrow

>>4484618
Hope the dried blood around the airlock area won't scare anyone!

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>>4484816
You spent the next week making sure nothing would appear suspicious to anyone coming near or inside the station. You were thorough and methodical. After double checking anything you could think of you resumed your contact with the outside world.

***

The station was now under a new corporation you set up and of which you were the sole owner. There were no outstanding liabilities. Sheva had your back in case someone tried to make a fuss about Toole and his crew. A clean slate.

First thing you did was collateralizing both Hookbills to secure a loan (no one was willing to offer credit against the station itself, not in its present state). This wasn't a choice really: either you did it and gave yourself a chance or you didn't and you could start packing your bags right away. You used the newly-acquired cash to order prepackaged food and cartridges, filters and other spare parts for the station life support systems. Two thirds of the station were closed off, but at least now you wouldn't be dying from environmental causes in the sections you left open.

Next, you set some money aside for soon-needed maintenance of the Hookbills. And at last, you allocated the biggest portion of funds into an investment project. You had several ideas, but only enough funds to enact one of them.

However before undertaking any kind of investment plan you had to provide at least a semblance of security to the station. Right now you were an easy prey, a disaster waiting to happen. You had two choices: Either outsource defense to a reputable contractor or man the Hookbills with handpicked crew and hope for the best.

Getting under umbrella of a trustworthy merc company would cost a lot, but it was the most safe option. Moreover, the presence of an established security company would surely bestow at least a small degree of prestige into your own projects.

You could also hire individual pilots for the Hookbills and run your own security. Even despite all due diligence and precautions you would take there was always a chance of things going awry: For example pilots simply flying away with the hardware never to return, inviting their friends to conduct a raid or colluding and taking over the station. On the other hand, if things were to work out well, you would have dependable partners ready to stick out their necks for you. You would be also able to conduct offensive projects, something which would be out of reach if you were to hire a regular defense contractor.

2/3

What's your decision?
>A. Hire a reputable defense contractor
>B. Man the Hookbills with handpicked pilots
>C. Actually, I have another idea (write-in)

A. Defense contractor
>-3 Wealth
>+2 Might
>-1 Stress
>small bonus to one or two future projects and prompts

B. Handpicked pilots
>3d100 roll, 30 difficulty:
Fail: loss of all Wealth, -1d2 Reputation, +1d2 Stress
Weak Success: character selection in next prompt, no change to Stress this turn, -1 to either Wealth or Reputation
Success: character selection in next prompt, -1 Stress, -1 to either Wealth or Reputation, offensive projects unlocked
Strong Success: character selection in next prompt, -1 Stress, offensive projects unlocked

Also any kind of sensible write-in will reduce negative/increase positive consequences.

3/3

>>4484861
>>B. Man the Hookbills with handpicked pilots

>>4484861
>B. Man the Hookbills with handpicked pilots

>>4484861
>>4484888
>>4484899
Fuck me, B. is too sweet compared to A. Raising the difficulty to 50 and adding -1 Wealth to all outcomes.

>>4484861
>B. Man the Hookbills with handpicked pilots

>>4484914
gay...
we rolling then?

>>4484946
We rolling if B gets picked. Vote still open.

>>4484975
>Vote still open.
why?
it's 3-0

>>4484861
>Man the Hookbills with handpicked pilots

>>4484861
>B. Man the Hookbills with handpicked pilots

>>4484888
>>4484899
>>4484943
>>4484984
>>4484991
Overwhelming support for B. Vote is now locked. I should've asked for help balancing the choices Please roll three 100-sided dice and I'll update tomorrow.

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>4485006
Realized I was only supposed to roll a 1d100 so I deleted my last post.

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>4485006

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>4485006

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>4485008
>>4485015
>>4485044
Strong success! -1 Stress, -1 Wealth (per >>4484914 (You)), offensive projects unlocked and character selection is incoming.

Current stats:
Might 1
Reputation 3
Wealth 3
Stress 4

Edit: Also making a Stress roll: 4 and below is bad news - slightly or moderately bad outcome.

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You decided to hire individual pilots to man the Hookbills.

You had some unconventional ideas about the make up of the team you were about to put together but in the end you discarded them all in favour of traditional military organization.

First you employed remote help which combed through the networks and forwarded basic summaries of anyone they thought you would be interested in. Thousands of profiles were linked in your chat server. You discarded what you didn't like and made short notes and requests next to ones which seemed promising. After a few days you had the number of potential candidates narrowed down to a point at which you could start compiling detailed dossiers. At the end of week you established contact with 67 people and at the end of following week you had 12 pilots coming to the station.

You were careful to select only men which needed you more than you needed them, but at the same time you made sure you treated them with respect and honesty. Your instincts served you well - you were able to make great impression on each individual which in turn made them want to come to you.

The first "mission" you had your guys do was to fly the Hookbills to a repair shop. Full maintenance had to wait - making the vessels vacuum-worthy for another few months was all you could afford at this time.

At last you selected one of the men to act as a liaison between you and the rest of pilots. Among his peers he would also have the privilege of the final word. To whom did you bestow this position?
>A. Gael van Dijk - ex-freelancer which saw it all but always an underachiever and way older than the rest of recruits
>B. Viktor Ganbold - the only man in your outfit having extensive experience flying the Hookbill generation you have but seems lacking in his ability to inspire
>C. Lang Kolsrud - great tactician but somewhat missing personal finesse which is needed outside the cockpit
>D. Arlest Beaulieu - hands down the most talented pilot you have but also a maverick

Stress roll I made in previous post will manifest in the next update

>>4485835
>Arlest Beaulieu - hands down the most talented pilot you have but also a maverick

>>4485835
>>C. Lang Kolsrud - great tactician but somewhat missing personal finesse which is needed outside the cockpit

>>4485835
>D. Arlest Beaulieu - hands down the most talented pilot you have but also a maverick

>>4485835
>>D. Arlest Beaulieu - hands down the most talented pilot you have but also a maverick

>>4485835
>D. Arlest Beaulieu - hands down the most talented pilot you have but also a maverick

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>>4485840
>>4485859
>>4486328
>>4486330
>>4486333
Locking in and writing.

I was looking at probabilities in the 3d100 system we have been using and discovered it sucks for degrees of success. I'm gonna switch to Ironsworn dice and see how it goes.

tldr is there are 3 outcomes, I'll list probabilities whenever appropriate, I'll be rolling d6 and leave the 2d10 component to you.

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You entrusted the role to Arlest Beaulieu, a man which refused to dance to any tune but the one of his own making. You hoped the other pilots would be willing to adjust to his wavelength.

With security taken care of you could refocus your energies on money-making activities. A friend which owed you a favour gave you an in into a lucrative corporate-academic observation project. All you had to do was to make a good impression on the grant committee. However the pent-up stress reared its ugly head and you fucked up (-1 Reputation, Geduld Survey enterprise locked).

It took you a few days but you managed to get your shit together and come up with two backup plans.

The most safe option was to grow various greens for local consumption. Ideally, you would want to set up a full permaculture circuit inside the main station but that required investment and expertise which were out of your reach at this time. It was actually cheaper to cultivate the seeds in hauled-in inflatable pods. The internal ecosystem would eventually collapse but you calculated by that time you would have already made profit. In any case, you were fairly confident this endeavour would allow you to convince investors to extend more credit to you.

The second, more risky venue, employed the Hookbills to siphon off gas from the fields which were set up around a nearby gas giant. Attacking the actually manned operations or convoys would be suicidal but a lone corvette making a quick tap and run on the automated pipeline would not warrant a response - or at least you think it wouldn't. Your security would be stretched thin and there was always a chance of something going horribly wrong but the potential profits more then outweighed the risks.

Which enterprise are you gonna undertake?
>A. Horticulture
-1 Stress, +1 Might, -2 Wealth this turn
then +1 Wealth in three following turns
then a small chance for additional +1 Wealth

>B. Siphoning (roll 1d6+3 vs 2d10)
Fail (23%): +1 Stress, -1 Wealth, -1 Might
Weak Success (43%): -1 Stress, +1 Wealth, can roll again next turn with 33% fail chance
Strong Success (33%): -1 Stress, +3 Wealth, can roll again next turn with 33% fail chance

>C. Actually, I have another idea (write-in)

Current stats:
Might 1
Reputation 2
Wealth 3
Stress 4

>>4487317
>A. Horticulture

>>4487317
>A. Horticulture

>>4487317
>A. Horticulture

>>4487317
>>A. Horticulture

>>4487317
>B. Siphoning (roll 1d6+3 vs 2d10)

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You decided to start cultivating microgreens and brought in solar arrays, bubble pods, tubing, nitrogen, seeds and other essentials. You also deployed a ready-made honeycomb dome for the labourers you hired (-2 Wealth). While you were occupied with wiring diagrams, valve timing algorithms and distribution agreements, your pilots kept busy practicing manoeuvres and enacting mock engagements (+1 Might). At last an automated receipt from the warehouse confirming the first delivery appeared in your inbox (-1 Stress).

However just as you were about to kick back and take some much-needed rest, one of the pilots on duty radioed in incoming vessels. Immediately you scrambled the other Hookbill and rushed to activate the station mass driver. Flotilla consisting of one Comet destroyer escorted by a bunch of frigates and corvettes manifested shortly after (+1 Stress). Ganbold was the first to recognize them as Gallente Customs Force.

You suspected something like this would eventually happen, you just hoped it would transpire later. They could have wrecked you but you knew they weren't gonna do that. Instead they demanded to see your permits, your workspaces, the workers' living quarters - in short they came to bully you into joining their bloc. You let them do their act and played your part but as soon as they were gone you discreetly threw your skin on the market and let the local factions come with offers.

Only three were willing to have you without compromising your sovereignty entirely. Gallente Federation was the most populous bloc consisting of colonist enterprises. Goldreich-Tremaine was a consortium focusing on financial services and space-based manufacturing. These two factions were covertly engaged in intense competition over control of Seyllin IV's orbit, where your station was located. Dembowska Cartel was a loose alliance of miners and other resource extractors based around gas giant Konrakas.

Declaring open allegiance to Gallente Federation would allow you to make friends in circles you didn't have access to previously. Goldreich-Tremaine, currently your biggest creditor and also supplier, was willing to provide even more capital as a signing bonus so to speak. Dembowska Cartel was not only the target of your gas siphoning scheme but also unwilling to provide any immediate benefit. They were also unlikely to back you up in case the Federation or some other big fish got too nervous and decided to seize your station. On the other hand being the first and possibly the only bridgehead Cartel had near Seyllin IV could be leveraged into lots of influence, but it was a big if.

1/2

Remaining independent was no longer an option. Which bloc have you decided to join?
>A. Gallente Federation (+1 Reputation)
>B. Goldreich-Tremaine Corporate Republic (+1 Wealth)
>C. Dembowska Cartel (no immediate boon, Gas Siphoning enterprise no longer available)

Ongoing Enterprises:
Microgreens 0/3 +1 Wealth, +1 Wealth roll at 3/3

Current stats:
Might 2
Reputation 2
Wealth 1
Stress 4

2/2

>>4488950
>C. Dembowska Cartel (no immediate boon, Gas Siphoning enterprise no longer available)
High risk high reward time

>>4488960
>C. Dembowska Cartel (no immediate boon, Gas Siphoning enterprise no longer available)

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You decided to throw in your lot with Dembowska Cartel. The following day you hosted a small Cartel delegation. While you were compiling navigational data and formalizing the cooperation agreement with the ideological representative, your pilots helped to anchor a ceremonial buoy with attached coat of arms display near the station. You also received encoded IFF transmitters for the Hookbills. In the following days unmanned recon drones appeared on several occasions but no one came to challenge your new allegiance directly.

The first settlements from the microgreen enterprise started to appear in your accounts. You had several options at this point:
First, you could take another loan and expand the business. This was a time-sensitive affair - the construction of Seyllin IV's first space elevator, a joint Gallente-Tremaine venture, was in its final stages. Once finished, surface-grown agricultural products would flood the market at prices you could not hope to match.

Another option was to invest in the station itself. This was the first, necessary step in making the installation a desirable place to reside in. As they were right now, the quarters and hallways were just hollow, utilitarian spaces lacking any kind of comfort. A little bit of upgrading and refurbishing would also go a long way in improving your own mental disposition plus you were sure the pilots wouldn't mind either.

Alternatively, you could branch into intensive animal farming. Fresh non-artificial meat in space which wasn't a fish was a luxury only few could afford but demand certainly existed. It took roughly 4 days to reach orbit via cable and rocket launches were comparatively expensive so running a space ranch could be very profitable undertaking. With the funds you would receive you would be also able to hire a station ecologist, an immensely valuable asset you would otherwise not be able to afford. However taking on yet another project would push you to your limits and possibly beyond. You weren't sure you would be able to keep coping.

You could also have your Hookbills serviced in an outlying Caldari outpost. You were sure your pilots would appreciate not having to fly in borderline deathtraps.

1/2

How have you spent your first earnings?
>A. Expand the Microgreens enterprise (available this turn only, -1 Wealth, Stress check, then +1 Wealth in two following turns with a small chance for additional +1 Wealth)
>B. Improve living conditions inside the station (-1 Wealth, -2 Stress, prerequisite for service-based enterprises)
>C. Start the prerequisite work for Intensive Animal Farming enterprise (-1 Wealth, +1 Stress, Stress check, takes 3 turns to complete)
>D. Fully service the Hookbills (-1 Wealth, +1 Might, possible unlock of new offensive enterprise)
>E. Actually, I have another idea (write-in)

Ongoing enterprises:
Microgreens 1/3 +1 Wealth, +1 Wealth roll at 3/3

Current stats:
Might 2
Reputation 2
Wealth 2
Stress 4

2/2

>>4490493
>B

>>4490498
>B. Improve living conditions inside the station (-1 Wealth, -2 Stress, prerequisite for service-based enterprises)

>>4490498
>A. Expand the Microgreens enterprise (available this turn only, -1 Wealth, Stress check, then +1 Wealth in two following turns with a small chance for additional +1 Wealth)

>>4490498
C

>>4490498
>. Start the prerequisite work for Intensive Animal Farming enterprise (-1 Wealth, +1 Stress, Stress check, takes 3 turns to complete)

>>4490498
>>B. Improve living conditions inside the station (-1 Wealth, -2 Stress, prerequisite for service-based enterprises)
how in detail do you want to go with ship fittings op?

Locking in B and writing.

>>4490932
I'll give some options if we decide to fully service the Hookbills + I accept all sensible write-ins. However I haven't been planning on translating loadout into mechanics beyond giving action roll bonuses for write-ins.

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Working long hours in spartan conditions has started to become unbearable. You felt strained and isolated. You could barely remember the last time you were able to fall asleep without needing alcohol or narcotics.

You recognized the dangers your present lifestyle posed and made corrective action your number 1 priority.

You hired a custodian to take on maintenance and janitorial work. You brought in work crew and tasked them with renovating and refurbishing the hallways and living quarters. You had the garden cleaned out and decontaminated, the panes cleaned and refitted, the entire space reintegrated as a spacious observation deck.

Two thirds of the station were now habitable. You still had to import water, air mix and other chemicals on the regular, but it didn't bother you much. Making the station environmentally self-sustainable was a task for another day.

Which area of the station have you focused on the most...
>A. The new observation deck
>B. The mess hall
>C. The crew cabins, including your own
>D. Your own cabin
>E. Some other area (write-in)

...and what kind of improvements have you implemented?
>(write-in)

>>4491510
>>B. The mess hall

>>4491510
>>A. The new observation deck

We added in a nice lounge/bar for the station residents to relax and look out at the stars and incoming ships, as well as making sure that there was some greenery around to lift peoples moods

>>4491510
E. we made a brothel in an appropriate area

>>4491510
>C. The crew cabins, including your own
Luxury style cabins akin to pleasure cruises.

>>4491510
>B. The mess hall
Good food can boost morale and health.

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You were strapped in a slip-in massage couch sipping tea and watching a lone Taipan making landing approach towards one of your agripods. You splurged on the interior of the new observation deck, bringing in potted tea shrubs, crystal lights with adjustable colors and soft-edge furniture cubes upholstered with artificial skin and velcro strips which could be joined together into various configurations. The walls were lined with meshes of mint, thyme, oregano and a few experimental varieties of other cocktail herbs.

The centerpiece was a bar station made of crystal glass and hard black plastic resembling a star. Its heart was filled with packets of stock wine, whiskey, vodka and fruit juices but you planned to stock it with more refined beverages in the following weeks and months.

You made a mental note about the mess hall and crew quarters - whenever it is you will be upgrading the station again, you will be sure to focus on these two areas.

Your thoughts turned to future. Microgreens would be soon unprofitable. You had several options on how to proceed but you weren't sure on which one to take. The real question was what kind of man were you. You already did some pretty dark shit. Was it just a fluke, a faulty conclusion made under duress of your own mind? Or was it a manifestation of your real self which you were repressing for so long? Have you done it just to test your limits, to prove to yourself you could? How far were you willing to go?

>A. Nothing is off-limits.
>B. I have to atone for what I did.

Okay basically at this point we have to decide on what kind of quest this is gonna be. I'm all in into edgy stuff but are we on the same page? Not sure how far to turn this knob.

A. Nothing is off limits.

I think it would be cool if we balanced it out; we feel horrified, but we blame the companies and shit for our loss.

>>4493502
>A. Nothing is off-limits

>>4493502
>B. I have to atone for what I did.
let this be a good space station, not a torture space station

>>4493502
>>A. Nothing is off-limits.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4493848
>>4493892
>>4493934
>>4494098
Thank you for input. Gonna use >>4493848 specifically as a basis for MC's cope in the next post. Also making the microgreens roll:
>6 +1 Wealth
>5 can take +1 Wealth with a possibility of -1 Reputation
>4 can take +1 Wealth and -1 Reputation
>3 no additional Wealth
>2 no additional Wealth
>1 no additional Wealth

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Venting that hab unit was nasty business but it's not like you had a choice in the matter. The blame lied with Toole - he put you into corner and forced your hand. If it weren't for him, and all the other men like him, the world would be much better place.

But perhaps in the end Tooles were needed for good men to realize their potential. Only few months passed since you took over the station and already you were able to provide 22 people with shelter and good pay. And this was only the start.

Former machine shop with its own docking platform was yet to be reintegrated with the rest of the station and you were thinking about what could be done with it. Seyllin IV's space elevator would commence service soon and you were sure traffic volume would surge. Ships would be stuck in long queues waiting to be processed and people aboard these ships would surely get bored.

Opening your own customs franchise was out of question due to Dembowska flag you were hoisting but that didn't mean Gallenteans or anyone really weren't allowed to visit. All you had to do was to provide a reason for coming.

Alternatively you could focus on other venues. Ranching was always an option and recently you had feelers from various localities inquiring about the Hookbills and your plans for them. However only one offer was relevant to you at this time - a certain well-connected individual from the Cartel had the means to send a flight of Dembowskan craft to patrol your station while he borrowed your corvettes. However this proposal came with a rather short expiration date.

What's your next step?
>A. Convert the machine shop into massage parlor (this turn only, detailed options in the following turn, locks out Intensive Farming Enterprise for a few turns)
>B. Start the prerequisite work for Intensive Animal Farming enterprise (-1 Wealth, takes 3 turns to complete)
>C. Fully service the Hookbills (-1 Wealth, +1 Might, this turn only unlock of new offensive enterprise)
>D. Actually, I have another idea (write-in)

Ongoing enterprises:
Microgreens 2/3 +1 Wealth, +1 Wealth roll at 3/3

Current stats:
Might 2
Reputation 2
Wealth (-1 station refurbishing, +1 Microgreens) 2
Stress (-2 improved living conditions inside the station) 2

>>4494242
>>A. Convert the machine shop into massage parlor (this turn only, detailed options in the following turn, locks out Intensive Farming Enterprise for a few turns)

I like the idea of turning ourselves into a pleasure/relaxation station that's well armed

>>4494242
>>A. Convert the machine shop into massage parlor (this turn only, detailed options in the following turn, locks out Intensive Farming Enterprise for a few turns)

>>4494242
>A. Convert the machine shop into massage parlor (this turn only, detailed options in the following turn, locks out Intensive Farming Enterprise for a few turns)
Space Vegas.

>>4494242
>C. Fully service the Hookbills (-1 Wealth, +1 Might, this turn only unlock of new offensive enterprise)

>>4494242
>C. Fully service the Hookbills (-1 Wealth, +1 Might, this turn only unlock of new offensive enterprise)
I think we should keep our machine shop, its important to be able to make our own parts. If something important breaks down, we'd have to import it and it would take weeks causes losses of productivity and revenue. Worse if we are in conflict and under a embargo.

>>4494242
B

>>4494242
>C. Fully service the Hookbills (-1 Wealth, +1 Might, this turn only unlock of new offensive enterprise)

>>4494242
>Construct an ammo press for manufacturing ammunition

>>4494242
>C. Fully service the Hookbills (-1 Wealth, +1 Might, this turn only unlock of new offensive enterprise)

>>4495117
High IQ war profiteering, support

>>4494802
changing to >>4495117

>>4494248
>>4494257
>>4494553
>A. Convert the machine shop into massage parlor

>>4494555
>>4494585
>>4494886
>>4495158
>C. Fully service the Hookbills

>>4495117
>>4495205
>>4495290
>X. Construct an ammo press for manufacturing ammunition

Tight split between A. and C., we are gonna do both.

Munitions manufacturing is something we will be able to undertake only if we have backing of some faction. Alternatively provide a good reason for small independent weapons manufacturer to have customers despite higher costs (we cannot beat the prices of major suppliers) and not getting curbstomped by state-backed enterprises and I'll include it as a possible enterprise.

Similar with restoring machine shop (>>4494585), we are basically a small startup and have to outsource maintenance for now. Opening our own garage will be definitely an option later tho.

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"Why not both?" you thought to yourself as you were firing up your box. You scheduled the maintenance of Hookbills, asked your Dembowskan contact for more info regarding the operation and started searching for rental companies offering event equipment. Lots of people would staying in your station in the coming weeks so you needed auxiliary life support.

Internal ecosystem of your disposable cultivation pods was on the verge of collapse. You hoped it would last longer but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

You turned your attention back to pleasure business you were about to stoke. You had two ideas on how to do this:
The first option was to convert the machine shop into classic massage parlor. Johns would come in and pay a fixed entry price in the lobby. After this they would be escorted to showers and then into booths. The masseuses would be mostly older women regularly employed in non-industry jobs searching for a temporary financial boost. You would offer fixed wages and count on high volume to generate profits.

You could also open a bar. Guests would be offered a selection of overpriced food, drinks and drugs (girls would be incentivized to sell these by getting generous commissions). If someone wanted to fuck they would pay bar fine first and only then they would be allowed to retreat to a private cabin. The courtesans working there would be mostly young girls ready to party hard and getting paid for it. For this to work you would have to open the entire station and hire DJs, cooks, bartenders and various support staff. You were also sure there would be incidents caused by inebriated customers, the only question was how severe they would be. All things considered this was a riskier option but also potentially more lucrative one.

Which one is it gonna be?
>A. Massage parlor (-2 Wealth, then +3 Wealth)
>B. Bar (-3 Wealth, +1 Stress, 1d6+3 vs 2d10 roll)
Fail (23%): +3 Wealth, -1 Reputation, +1 Stress
Weak Success (43%): +5 Wealth
Strong Success (33%): +6 Wealth, +1 Reputation
>C. Actually, I have another idea (write-in)

Hookbill configuration in next turn

>>4495911
>B. Bar (-3 Wealth, +1 Stress, 1d6+3 vs 2d10 roll)

>>4495911
>A. Massage parlor (-2 Wealth, then +3 Wealth)

>>4495738
How is it a tight split between A and C?
A and X were tied, while C clearly won.

>>4495911
>A. Massage parlor (-2 Wealth, then +3 Wealth)
So the bar generates no income or is it based on roll?

>>4495911
>A. Massage parlor (-2 Wealth, then +3 Wealth)
High end resort.

>>4496825
Until space covid shuts us down.

>>4495911
>Night club

>>4496085
>>4496345
>>4496688
>>4496825
>>4497635
Locking in A for later update.

>>4496688
For bar, 3 Wealth is initial investment and then we would roll the dice and see how much Wealth we made back. The real question is - Is it to detriment of anything or anyone to go with both A and C?

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At the end of the last major war Caldari Navy made an unprecedented move: They offered their surplus ships for sale, to anyone, with open-source firmware and a service guarantee. What many at the time perceived as desperate last resort was actually a tremendous success which only cemented the predominant position of Caldari military-industrial complex.

Your Hookbills are versatile corvettes able to be outfitted with variety of hardware. Currently they sport a pair of lasers each but they can be equipped with more systems. Choose two:
>A. Keep the lasers (versatile system but drains lots of energy and lacks decisive offensive power)
>B. Drones (suitable for variety of roles but can be easily taken out by point defense systems)
>C. Railgun (packs a punch but has very slow rate of fire)
>D. Missiles (guided weapons system with single and swarm firing mode, susceptible to point defense and electronic countermeasures)
>E. Autocannons (versatile, reliable system but reliant on ammo and lacks decisive offensive power)
>X. some other system

>>4498469
Railguns and Autocannons

>>4498469
>>D. Missiles (guided weapons system with single and swarm firing mode, susceptible to point defense and electronic countermeasures)
>>E. Autocannons (versatile, reliable system but reliant on ammo and lacks decisive offensive power)

>>4498465
I'd like to keep the machine shop and thus our Independence but w/e.

Markets and budget officers do not like fluctuating momentary numbers.... We'll get a bar and a night club eventual.

>>4498469
>D. Missiles (guided weapons system with single and swarm firing mode, susceptible to point defense and electronic countermeasures)
>E. Autocannons (versatile, reliable system but reliant on ammo and lacks decisive offensive power)
>X. some other system
EMC and Jamming tech.

>>4498469
X. Energy Shields, Illusion/Stealth Tech, Powered Thrusters, and Plasma Slicing Torches

Our fighters try to grab enemy fighters and slice the pilot out, disabling the craft.

>>4498469
>A. Keep the lasers (versatile system but drains lots of energy and lacks decisive offensive power)
>B. Drones (suitable for variety of roles but can be easily taken out by point defense systems)

>>4498469
>>D. Missiles (guided weapons system with single and swarm firing mode, susceptible to point defense and electronic countermeasures)
>X. some other system
ECM

kite and jam

Rolled 2 (1d4)

Missiles and autocannons for one Hookbill (>>4498580 >>4498756) and for the other Hookbill
>1 Railguns and Autocannons >>4498576
>2 Auxiliary Shields, Powered Thrusters and Plasma Slicing Torches (Stealth is advanced, expensive tech not available on general market) >>4498845
>3 Lasers and Drones >>4499338
>4 Missiles and ECM >>4499376

>>4498756
To clarify, there's not much of value in the machine shop atm. I will give an option of restoring it after we finish the massage parlor enterprise.

>>4499872
>3 Lasers and Drones

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retconning corvettes to fighters

"Nah, I love it. No one expects plasma torches on a fighter." Arlest's voice crackled from the earphones you were wearing. You asked your chief pilot to fly you to Réunion, a station hub in Seyllin IV's low orbit, and on the way you shared the plans you had for the Hookbills. Missiles and autocannons coupled with ECM suite were a conventional choice but you wanted to be sure you were on the same page regarding the melee configuration you came up with for the other fighter.

***

"It's basically just a big garage, is that enough for you to work with?" you asked the woman sitting next to you. She introduced herself as Cassie - a former professional wanting to transition into more senior roles. The casual ease with which she breached personal spaces of others surprised you but you didn't mind because of how easygoing she was.

"I'm sure the girls will accommodate as long as they get paid on time." Cassie took the datapad you produced and studied the station layout displayed on it. "The rest of the station is off-limits?"
"Only for customers."

You could've run the massage business by yourself but you knew things would go way more smoothly if you let a woman recruit and manage the girls. Cassie seemed well-suited for the task.

***

"Why not just hire regular mercs?"
You weren't sold on the operation your Dembowskan contact was outlining. The plan was to send your Hookbills as escorts for an infiltration team. Your job would be to protect the boarding shuttle on the way in and out of a secluded research station with ties to a minor faction. While your fighters would be absent, a Dembowskan patrol would take care of the security of your own station.

"My employer would like to establish a long-term partnership." the man standing across you replied. You were in a busy bar named Eclectic Epileptic, the perfect place for discussing the kind of deals you were discussing.

A liaison meeting you in person in stead of his boss was something you could understand given his purported position as one of the heads of Dembowskan Security. The offered payment was also adequate. However as things were, it would be very easy for Dembowskan flight to just take over your station once your fighters were gone.

Will you accept the mission?
>A. No.
>B. Yes, but only if the contact's employer comes to your station while the mission is underway. (+1 Wealth upon successful conclusion of the mission)
>C. Give a heads up to the research outpost instead.
>X. (write-in)

>>4500198
>X. (write-in)
Search up information on the research outpost and see try to determine if its more beneficial for it to get raided or not. they could be coming up with cures for space cancer or something

>>4500198
>B. Yes, but only if the contact's employer comes to your station while the mission is underway. (+1 Wealth upon successful conclusion of the mission)

>>4500347
Supporting

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>>4500347
The outpost is located just above Geduld and is owned by Ikomari-Enu, a research consortium financed by several minor factions.

Sea of Geduld is a vast cloud composed mostly of compressed plasma-like elements. It is theorized it came into being as a result of a massive coronary ejection. It has been confirmed the substances present in it have interesting properties and various factions are now racing to devise a way for obtaining them.

Your contact is telling you Cartel is very interested in branching into Geduld extraction and the research done in the outpost may be relevant to this pursuit.

>>4501023
Geduld
>GEKOLONISEERD

>>4501023
Who would benefit the most from this raid and lose the most?

Honestly I don't feel like risking our security until we have some station defenses.

One Yes (>>4500694), one No (>>4501545), not gonna wait for tiebreaker any longer. I give more weight to involved anons so not gonna roll and instead going with No.

>>4502177
No

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You were iffy about the Ikomari-Enu mission right from start and further research did nothing to alleviate your worries. In the end you came to conclusion it was not worth the risk. There were many ifs and frankly, you didn't need this. You forwarded a polite refusal and turned your attention to the pleasure business.

You booked shuttle service and oversaw the installation of external environmental units and internal bulk shower stalls. You compartmentalized the former machine shop using Gallente-style folding screens. Privacy wasn't a priority, not on your budget and neither in customers' expectations, not for the prices you were charging.

As predicted, traffic surged once the elevator service commenced and soon a steady stream of johns began to circulate at your venue. You lent a hand if there was something urgent which needed to be resolved fast but otherwise business went pretty well. There was high masseuse turnover but Cassie assured you its normal and she planned for it. Presence of the fair sex had positive impact on the spirits of your pilots and yours as well (-1 Stress).

Things were in full gear but already you had your sights on the future. Obtaining couple more fighters was now your number 1 priority, the question was how to get there. You had several ideas on how to make the money: Space ranching was still on the table. Another alternative was to revive the machine shop. You wouldn't make much money and there was always an option to do the maintenance at the Caldari outpost but perhaps it wouldn't hurt having your own place for repairs.

The third option was something you came up with when you were unwinding a few days ago. The idea was to place artificial meat cultures inside small inflatable pods, similar to the ones you used for microgreens but smaller in size. After this a nutrient solution would be added regularly and as the meat were growing, amino acids, peptides, steroids and other signaling molecules would be added too. The end result would be what you christened as Fleshpod - a man-sized capsule containing living, skin-covered meat with nerve receptors, muscle contractors and drug-secreting glands.

If the usual human carnal sensuality just wasn't doing it for you anymore, if you wanted to try something new and exciting, fleshpods were the answer. Expensive to produce and heavily degraded already after one use, these weren't your everyday consumer items but you were sure demand was there.

1/2

Which enterprise are you gonna undertake?
>A. Intensive Animal Farming (bonus +1 Reputation, +1 Wealth)
>B. Repair Shop (no immediate boons)
>C. Fleshpods (bonus +2 Wealth)
>D. Actually, I have another money-making idea (write-in)
>X. Actually, getting more fighters is not my number 1 priority. Instead I would like to... (write-in)

Ongoing enterprises:
FINISHED Microgreens 3/3 +1 Wealth, no bonus Wealth (>>4494214)
Massage Parlor (Cassie) +2 Wealth next turn

Present forces (Arlest Beaulieu):
Hookbill (missiles, autocannons, ECM suite)
Hookbill (auxiliary shields and thrusters, plasma slicing torch)

Current stats:
Might 3 (+1 Hookbill servicing)
Reputation 2
Wealth 0 (+1 Microgreens, -1 Hookbill servicing, -2 Massage Parlor enterprise)
Stress 1 (-1 good times)

2/2

>>4502339
The flesh pods seem like the coolest option. Could have some use down the line in medical...

>>4502339
>C. Fleshpods (bonus +2 Wealth)
I have no idea what we are making, but I hope we can make clone soldiers one day.

>>4502339
>B. Repair Shop (no immediate boons)
This is probably the best option for long term. If we can get the repair shop up and running, we can handle some repairs to the hookbills and the station that we otherwise would have to bring in others to do. This would reduce the risk of "accidents" and maybe even make a little money from doing some basic stuff to others that come on the station.

>>4503144
>>4503508
>>4503624
Locking in C and writing. Service area for our ships will be the next goal after we get the fighters.

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Several weeks passed since the elevator opened and stream of johns started to trickle down. It was time to move on. You hired a biologist, allocated him a budget, let him select his assistants and let them all loose in the former machine shop. While they were busy cultivating meat cultures inside the pods you brought in, you were thinking about which vessels you were gonna procure.

Assuming everything would go based on your projections, you would be able to afford additional three Caldari fighters. This would be enough to create one flight consisting of four fighters which could be sent on missions. The one remaining ship would stay near station, fulfilling defensive duties.

Which fighters are you gonna buy? (choose 3, can buy one type several times)
>Hookbill (versatile and fast)
>Griffin (suitable as sniper, scout or support due its enhanced sensor suite)
>Merlin (emphasis on armament over speed and shields)
>Bantam (auxiliary shielding makes it tanky, slow and relatively blind)

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>>4503704
>1 Griffin
>2 Bantams

Having a chunky pair of brawlers with a sniper support calling targets out to them sounds pretty fun to me.

>>4503704
Griffin
Merlin
Hookbill

>>4503704
>>Hookbill (versatile and fast)
>>Griffin (suitable as sniper, scout or support due its enhanced sensor suite)
>>Merlin (emphasis on armament over speed and shields)

>>4503820
+1

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You decided to procure one Griffin, one Merlin and one additional Hookbill.

Griffin was good at sniffing out stealthed vessels and providing superior targeting data to allied vessels. However its delicate sensors were susceptible to interference from vibrations and charged particles. Griffin was at its best when it was the most vulnerable - with its engines turned off, shields lowered and weapons systems deactivated.

Merlin was the Caldari heavy hitter. Its robust frame was designed specifically to withstand strains suffered from firing large-calibre projectiles. It also had plenty space for ammunition, making it a suitable platform for autocannons and missile systems.

You already had two Hookbills but you decided to get a third one. Hookbills couldn't hit as hard as Merlins or withstand as much punishment as Bantams, but they made up for it with speed.

You now had:
>Hookbill (missiles, autocannons, ECM suite)
>Hookbill (auxiliary shields and thrusters, plasma slicing torch)
>Hookbill
>Griffin
>Merlin

How are you gonna equip the Griffin, Merlin, and the third Hookbill? (choose two or three systems for each vessel, Merlin is the only platform able to support three weapons systems)
>A. Lasers (not reliant on ammo, good as point defense, lacks decisive firepower)
>B. Drones (suitable for variety of roles but can be easily taken out by point defense systems and lack decisive firepower)
>C. Railgun (counters shields but has trouble hitting fast-moving targets and has long recharge time)
>D. Missiles (guided weapons system with single and swarm firing mode, susceptible to point defense and electronic countermeasures)
>E. Autocannons (versatile, reliable system - specify calibre size)
>F. auxiliary propulsion, shielding etc.
>X. some other system

Additionally, which fighter should be assigned to station defense (the other four fighters will form an offensive flight)?
>(write-in)

>>4505085
Merlin
>Missiles
>Drones
>Railgun

>>4505085
Griffin
-Lasers
-Drones

Merlin
-Missiles
-Railgun
- auxiliary propulsion, shielding etc.

Hookbills
auxiliary propulsion, shielding etc.
some other system
-specialized repair drones Drones and recovery of pilots and other small craft.

>>4505625
Support

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Fleshpods turned out to be an instant hit. First batch sold easily and you already had prospective buyers lined up for all the units in the second batch (+4 Wealth, +2 Wealth next turn). You knew the hype wouldn't last but it didn't matter - you already made money. You used all your funds to purchase and equip three fighters (+3 Might).

The third Hookbill received an enhanced overdrive injector system and additional inertial stabilizers. You also boosted its shields with hardeners and resistance amplifiers. All this made for an exceptionally fast and agile vessel with decent shielding. Normally a two-seater, you extended the cabin and compartmentalized it in a way which allowed easy recovery of persons and objects from space. You stuffed the leftover slots with all kinds of drones, with a special emphasis on repair drones and drones equipped with arms capable of fine manipulation, purpose-built for salvage and recovery operations.

You chose to equip Griffin with lasers, drones and auxiliary sensor boosters. This configuration resulted in vessel with mediocre offensive output and underwhelming defenses, however its sensor capability was unrivaled. The already high potential of the platform could be improved even more by deploying its drones as an interlinked array.

You put missile launchers and a railgun on Merlin and topped it off with capacitor booster and a power relay. Merlin's propulsion unit, shields and railgun could be now overcharged for a quick boost in output. The electronic systems were compromised but it didn't matter as long as Griffin was on grid, supplying other fighters with superior targeting data. You hoped the pilots sitting in Merlin would be wise not to juice it too often because the resulting strain would be too much even for its reinforced hull.

You combined the melee Hookbill, drone Hookbill, Griffin and Merlin into one unit and designated the remaining Hookbill for station defense duties.

1/2

You now had empty pockets and a group of pilots itching to get into some real action. What are your orders?
>A. Protect a small salvaging operation
>B. Attack a shipping convoy
>C. Harass the operations of a large mining conglomerate until they pay you off
>D. Trace the home base of raiders assaulting local infrastructure
>E. Warp to Ikomari-Enu outpost you were targeting earlier and which is now transmitting a distress signal (possible breakdown of relations with Dembowska Cartel)

Present forces:
Alpha Flight (Arlest Beaulieu)
Hookbill (auxiliary shields and thrusters, plasma slicing torch)
Hookbill (auxiliary shields and thrusters, utility drones)
Griffin (lasers, drones)
Merlin (missiles, railgun)

Station Reserve
Hookbill (missiles, autocannons, ECM suite)

Ongoing enterprises:
FINISHED Massage Parlor (Cassie)
Fleshpods +2 Wealth next turn

Current stats:
Might 6 (+3 three new fighters)
Reputation 2
Wealth 0 (+2 Massage Parlor, +4 Fleshpods, -6 three new fighters)
Stress 1

2/2

>>4507743
>>D. Trace the home base of raiders assaulting local infrastructure

>>4507743
>>C. Harass the operations of a large mining conglomerate until they pay you off

>>4507743
>D. Trace the home base of raiders assaulting local infrastructure

>>4507743
>>A. Protect a small salvaging operation
baby steps

>>4507778
>>4507880
>>4507951
>>4508166
Locking in D. Give me three d10 please:
>1-4 Your pilots fuck up and civilians die (-1 Reputation, +2 Stress)
>5-8 Things go well (+2 Wealth)
>9-10 Things go well + your pilots improve their ability to work as a unit (+2 Wealth, +1 Might)
Best of three. Rolling the same side at least 2 times (a match) means a narrative twist.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4508873

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4508873

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Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>4509072
>>4509083
Thank you, rolling for twist.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4508873

>>4509072
>>4509083
>>4509288
Interesting.

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Noticed we have a triple match only after I finished writing
Will take it into account in one of the following updates, or alternatively provide a write-in and I'll do my best to accomodate

You decided to attempt to claim a bounty put up by Aliastra, offering reward to whoever was able to determine the source of attacks made against its communications platforms. After a few brainstorming sessions in observation room you and your pilots came up with a list of 8 locations which were the most likely to be hit next. At this point Viktor Ganbold, based on his past employment experience, became convinced the raiders had someone on the inside supplying them with intel.

You all agreed his belief had merit and proceeded to send several communiqués to Aliastra informing them about 7 locations which you thought would be attacked. After this Griffin was posted at a considerable distance from the 8th outpost, with a rotating duty of pilots.

It took almost a week but the platform has been attacked at last. In repeat of previously established pattern, a Thrasher escorted by a few fighters came out of warp near the outpost and one-shot it with its oversized railgun. As the raiders were warping off into random directions, Griffin latched onto warp trail of one of them, following it to a deadspace pocket. Both fighters were now engaged and both called for help.

What started as a simple 1 on 1 dogfight developed into significant engagement, with Aliastra squaring off against the raiders and their allies. Your fighters managed to disengage soon enough but they stayed on the sidelines, fending off an occasional drone strike and providing Aliastra vessels with tactical data. This was the first combat experience your pilots had as a team and you were sure they learned a lot (+1 Might).

A few days later the bounty payment appeared in one of your accounts.

Current stats:
Might 7 (+1 combat experience)
Reputation 2
Wealth 4 (+2 Fleshpods, +2 Aliastra bounty)
Stress 1

How are you gonna spend the money? Choose as many as you can afford (4 Wealth):
>A. Start the Intensive Animal Farming enterprise (-3 Wealth initial investment, locks out B. until the station is expanded)
>B. Reestablish the former machine shop as a service area for your vessels (-4 Wealth, likely won't generate profit, locks out A. until the station is expanded)
>C. Renovate the mess hall and crew cabins (-2 Wealth, +1 Reputation, optionally write-in what kind of improvements you want implemented)
>D. Perform repairs and upgrades on the station structure (-4 Wealth, +1 Might, pre-requisite for station expansion)
>E. Pay off a portion of or all your debt (the liabilities right now are equal to 4 Wealth, write-in what portion of this to pay off)
>F. Leave a portion or all the money in your war chest for now
>X. Actually, I'd like to... (write-in)

>>4509470
>C. Renovate the mess hall and crew cabins (-2 Wealth, +1 Reputation)
Doing this will make the crew happy
>E. Pay off a portion of or all your debt (the liabilities right now are equal to 4 Wealth, write-in what portion of this to pay off)
1 Wealth
>F. Leave a portion or all the money in your war chest for now
Keep the last 1 Wealth just in case

>>4509600
+1

>>4509600
Support

Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>4509600
>>4509957
>>4510429
Locking in + making a geopolitical roll

>1. Dembowska Cartel and Gallente Federation make a resource supply deal to counter rising Goldreich-Tremaine influence
>2. Gallente Federation announces creation of free trade bloc with several minor manufacturers, places tariffs on Goldreich-Tremaine imports
>3. One of Dembowska constituents breaks pact and joins Goldreich-Tremaine

File: Ancillary airlock and esc(...).jpg (553 KB, 1920x1080)

553 KB JPG

Federation announces creation of a new free trade zone; imposes tariffs on G-T imports read the headline displayed on one of the screens mounted on wall of the station bridge. Seyllin IV's population was cardinal consumer of goods produced in Goldreich-Tremaine space factories. Most of Gallente elites were invested heavily in G-T's enterprises but it seemed this time they have been outmaneuvered by a political coalition enjoying wide popular support. Assuming the new rules would be actually enforced, G-T's enterprises would be put under considerable amount of pressure.

It was high time to finish renovations in the station. Piping and wiring got replaced and a proper cooking area has been set up in the mess hall. You also hired an actual cook - an old friend of yours, now a family man, trying to get over his troubled past. The station now had 22 cabins, each with its own shower and toilet unit, and able to house two people in relative comfort (-2 Wealth). Your pilots, janitor and fleshstaff (now reduced to only a handful of workers after the initial hype died) appreciated you upholding your promises about improving the living conditions inside the station, without reducing their generous pay (+1 Reputation).

You paid off a portion of your debt and left some cash in your war chest. The income from fleshpods was now just enough to service the debt and cover the regular expenses related to station operations. The entire installation, except the old hab unit, was now in use. Your custodian kept submitting order forms containing increasing amounts of chemicals, but it wasn't enough to keep the internal ecosystem from degrading. You needed an expert to solve this problem, and you needed them sooner rather than later.

Possible solution presented itself a few days later. "We want to join you." the Superbright said. "We must join you. No one else will have us."
Results of clandestine cloning experiments with incredibly high failure rates, Superbrights had a bad rep. "I take it your corporate overlords persecuted you in the usual manner - claimed you were mentally unstable, ideologically unsound, and the like."
"Yes. Their agents have killed eight of us." the woman dabbed uneasily at the sweat beading on her swollen forehead. "We are not mentally unsound. We will not cause you any trouble. We only want a quiet place to finish working while God eats our brains."

Will you take them in?
>Yes
>No

Current stats:
Might 7
Reputation 3 (+1 station renovations)
Wealth 1 (-2 station renovations, -1 partial debt repayment)
Stress 1

>>4511605
>Yes

>>4511605
>yes

Is there any way we can shaft them with the old hab unit instead of our nice, recently refurbished zones? Their back is against the wall so we can probably exploit the smeg heads and have them thank us for it.

>>4512091
Its only few of them, so you could offer them the last unoccupied cabins. But the old hab unit is definitely an option and if noone has any more input on this, hab unit is where you will send them.

>>4511605
>Yes

The nightmare was always the same. You were drilling into the airlock door but it was taking too long. Finally the hole has been made and you hit the emergency release button, but the door exploded in the other direction. You flied into the bodies of people you killed, their broken limbs reaching for you, their contorted faces beguiling you to join them...

You woke up in your cabin to low but everpresent hum of ventilators circulating air in the weightless environment. Trying to fall back asleep didn't seem like a wise choice. Instead you...
>A. Headed to the observation room to fix yourself a drink (optionally write-in what kind of drink)
>B. Checked on the newly-arrived Superbrights
>C. Went to mess hall to grab something to eat and speak with your old friend Alan, the cook
>D. Checked on your pilots (optionally any pilot in particular?)
>E. Went to the old machine shop to see how the new batch of fleshpods has been shaping up
>F. Checked on Trenton, the station custodian
>G. Browsed the news
>H. Hit up Cassie
>X. (write-in)

>>4512504
>C. Went to mess hall to grab something to eat and speak with your old friend Alan, the cook
>F. Checked on Trenton, the station custodian
>B. Checked on the newly-arrived Superbrights
Ib that order, Get to know what our "trusted advisors" think or have to say before we meet these weirdos.

>>4512504
go ask about fixing that chemical problem or whatever

>>4512504
>D. Check on arlest and see how the rest of the pilots are doing. Maybe ask them to do some more drills and manoeuvres to keep them developing.

>B. Check on the brights and ask them about the problems we've been having with supporting an ecosystem.

>G. Browse the news and check for updates on the evolving space politics.

We need to start making some serious money reliably. The projects we've been pursuing so far have been a good start but they always fizzle out into nothing.

Rolled 1 (1d4)

>>4512585
>>4512587
>>4512839
We are gonna check on superbrights, specifically talk to them about their progress in balancing the internal ecosystem but before that
>1 Alan
>2 Trenton
>3 Arlest
>4 news

Give me two d10s please. Higher is better, match means something unexpected, twist, heightened outcome.

Rolled 5, 2 = 7 (2d10)

>>4513396

Rolled 4, 4 = 8 (2d10)

>>4513396

>>4513396
How does one roll dice on a Mongolian throat singing forum?

R1d10 ?
/r2d10 ?

>>4514178

Rolled 8, 7 = 15 (2d10)

>>4514180

File: Alan.jpg (1.13 MB, 1845x2320)

1.13 MB JPG

Heavily corroded decks, uncontrollable airborne mold, skin rashes, roaches feasting on flakes of dead skin. You have seen firsthand what happens when a station's internal ecosystem collapses. Each habitat was unique and required continual manual adjustments. Station ecologists were always in high demand, and consequently expensive hires. This is why you offered refuge to the renegade Superbrights which you hoped could keep the station's biosphere in check.

You put some clothes on and departed your cabin in search of Cese, the Superbright matriarch. On your way you noticed Alan alone in the mess hall and decided to talk to him too.

Alan was your childhood friend but you drifted apart when your family left the mining colony you both grew up in. He was the only man with a wife and kids in a station filled with young professionals, mostly men. You knew he wouldn't be here if he weren't running from something. You had your suspicions but you weren't pressing the issue because you feared he, and his family, would leave.

Deep down you knew you had ulterior motives for having them around. You hoped their presence would keep you sane, prevent you from ever doing what you did when you came to this station. But was this the whole truth?

"Hey, you in? You seem distracted." Alan greeted you with a faint smirk.
"Yeah, I have been thinking about the station's ecosystem... Listen Alan, what's your take on our new arrivals?"
"You mean the 'brights? I don't know... I hope you know what you are doing."

***

"...shield oscillations and also introduce a new bacterial culture in the active surfaces of the air ducts. Placement of the dust filters may be also problematic..." Cese was rapid-firing the list of changes she wanted to introduce. You were glad her gene-line got dutifully involved in the task you presented to them.

You were second-guessing your decision to send the Superbrights into the old hab unit. If you offered them the few leftover cabins, it would make them feel more welcome and less isolated. But perhaps this was for the best. You both knew they would never truly fit in.

While you were gone, a new private message from an anonymous sender landed in the station's chat server. It contained a dump of Aliastra internal security protocols, personnel shifts for the entire upcoming month, floor plans for several of its outposts and even an still-active login into its intranet with respectable level of clearance. There was no commentary, no indication of why. result of triple 9 we rolled a few choices earlier

What are you gonna do with this intel?
>A. Sell it to the highest bidder (+1 Wealth)
>B. Contact Aliastra, give the dump back to them (+1 Reputation)
>C. Give it to your pilots, let them present you with a plan of attack (commences Aliastra raid)
>X. Do something else (write-in)

>>4514429
>>C. Give it to your pilots, let them present you with a plan of attack (commences Aliastra raid)

>>4514429
>X. Do something else (write-in)
Snoop around and learn all we can about Aliastra, see what they are up to, what they make or produce, or their projects, people of interest. After we sate or our curioisity we...

>C. Give it to your pilots, let them present you with a plan of attack
If we like the plan and it has high confidence and chance of success, we may go ahead, if not then.....

>A. Sell it to the highest bidder (+1 Wealth)
Or
>B. Contact Aliastra, give the dump back to them (+1 Reputation)

If we do raid, we should try and do it under a black flag like pirates and hide our origins a bit.

>>4514429
>X. We should contact aliastra and tell them about the information we received. Then we should propose, in order to find out who's given us this information and who's leading the attacks on their comms stations, to sell it to the highest bidder. Who ever buys it is likely the culprit. This way we get the money from selling the information, we will gain favour with aliastra and they'll probably reward us financially too.

>>4514487
I dont think C. is a good idea given how we've seen aliastra deal with threats before. I get that we have the advantage with this information but they already know us and if they track us back to our station we'll get stomped by superior firepower.

>>4514643
>I dont think C. is a good idea given how we've seen aliastra deal with threats before.
I agree, but I want to see what we come up with and what they have, and if our plan is good enough or nearly perfect.

>>4514674
Yeah that's reasonable, I'm just worried about the potential backlash. Our guys couldn't even take part in the climax of the raid last time.

>>4514679
I'd rather not go out and make unnecessary enemies, and we won't so long as we do not act on our plans.

File: Aliastra.png (88 KB, 899x954)

88 KB PNG

Aliastra is an exchange-listed company, one of several telco providers in Seyllin. It owns its physical infrastructure and also dabbles into media and finance. No local entity has significant positions in the company stock, making Aliastra politically nonaligned.

If you had to guess, the raiders which were destroying Aliastra satellites were likely hired by a major faction.

To the best of your knowledge, noone at Aliastra knew where your fighters were based. But you also knew they could sniff you out if they cared enough.

You shared your concerns with Arlest. He said with the kind of access we had at the moment, and assuming everything would go according to plan, we could pull something off without leaving any kind of permanent trace.

Couple more ideas sprung in your head. You could attempt to blackmail Aliastra, see how much are they willing to pay you for deleting the dump from your servers (+1d3 Wealth). You could also bring this all to Dembowska security, see if they are interested in making some kind of move (best of three 1d20, anything above 10 will commence the operation).

Good discussion. If there's no clear support on a course of action we will proceed with the Dembowskan option.

>>4514764
Well clearly they dumped this info on us hoping to use us to attack Aliastra, so either way the hidden faction gets its wishes filled one way or another. Its just who is the fall guy and what their cost is that changes.

At this point I'd like to approach them for some reward or boon, and some relationship points. +1 relations or rep for giving this up handing it to them isn't much of a reward.... I say we try and get some folks to visit our station on business someone who we can build rapport with and enter some private negotiations or something.

>>4515350
Sorry but I'm a little confused are you proposing we negotiate with aliastra or a third party?

>>4515387
Leaning more towards negotiating with Aliastra.

>>4515402
Then I second your course of action >>4515350

Rolled 5 (1d10)

No clear consensus, I'll let the dice decide. Bumping the rewards and removing any immediate negative consequences from the roll due to good player input.

>1-2 After deliberation with Arlest you task your pilots with raiding Aliastra
>3-6 You reveal the dump to Aliastra in hopes of getting money/reputation but something goes wrong and you proceed to sell the info to the highest bidder (+1d3 Wealth)
>7-8 You reveal the dump to Aliastra and get 1d3 Wealth and 1 Reputation
>9-10 You reveal the dump to Aliastra and get 1d3 Wealth and 1d2 Reputation

>>4515617
No clear consensus?

File: Seyllin IV.jpg (102 KB, 736x479)

102 KB JPG

Rolled 1 (1d3)

You contacted Aliastra from a dummy account and presented them with a few screenshots from the data dump. Their response has been lukewarm. At last someone who claimed to be a security officer entered the private chat but it soon became clear he was just stalling. You called him out but that did little to change his attitude. You minimized the chat and offered the intel to whoever was willing to pay. You managed to accumulate decent amount of money (dice roll) before your throwaway alias was outed as double-dealer.

In the middle of all of this you got a call from Lang Kolsrud. The pilots were practising as usual but they detected some kind of payload on a course towards Seyllin IV's surface. It was a manmade, seemingly unmanned tear-shaped object roughly the size of a small fighter with a heat shield. The consensus among the pilots was someone wanted something to get to the surface without customs intercepting it. You had only few minutes before the object would enter the upper layers of atmosphere, becoming unreachable to you.

What are your orders?
>A. Order your pilots to intercept the object (66% success chance)
>B. Forward the trajectory data to Gallente Customs Force (66% chance for +1 Wealth)
>C. Do nothing
>X. (write-in)

>>4515800
>A. Order your pilots to intercept the object (66% success chance)
Eh fuck it, we tried to be "friends".

>>4515800
>A. Order your pilots to intercept the object (66% success chance)

>>4515800
>A. Order your pilots to intercept the object (66% success chance)

>>4516117
>>4516170
>>4516545
Give me 1d3 please -> 2 and 3 is success.

Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>4516566

Rolled 1 (1d3)

>>4516566

File: Would happen if you haven(...).jpg (333 KB, 833x780)

333 KB JPG

"Go get it." you spoke into the microphone after few seconds of deliberation.
"Roger." Lang confirmed and cut the connection.

Few minutes later the pod was secured. Burning to it took the most time. Once the fighters were side-by-side, they latched on the shell with help of drones and lifted the object from its terminal trajectory. The pod was now in low orbit, with your fighters on standby near it.

You had several options on how to proceed from here. It was fair to assume whoever launched the pod was tracking it. You could order your pilots to crack open the shell and take whatever was inside. However there was no way to confirm the payload would survive exposure to open space. Moreover, only one of your fighters was equipped for vacuum manipulation. It would take lots of trips hauling the contents away and many things could happen in meantime.

Another option was to advertise the pod on open market and see whether anyone would be interested in buying it. You would likely get more money for it the longer you would be able to advertise it but again - the longer it was in orbit the higher the chance its former owner would come get it.

What are your orders?
>A. Crack open the shell and start unloading whatever's inside
>B. Keep the pod in orbit with fighters on standby while you search for prospective buyers (specify t)
>X. (write-in)

A. Best of three 1d20:
1-11: no Wealth
12-14: 1d2-1 Wealth
15-17: 1 Wealth
18-20: 1d2 Wealth

B. Specify t = how much time are you willing to risk before abandoning the pod.
If several anons vote, t will be averaged into one natural number.
Roll is 2dt, first rolled dice will determine chances of losing control of the pod:
1: 10% chance of losing control
2: 20% chance of losing control
and so on
10 and higher: 100% chance of losing control

second rolled dice will be compared to the first rolled dice:
if the second dice is equal or lower, no Wealth
if the second dice is higher, +Wealth equal to the second dice

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>4517213
>>A. Crack open the shell and start unloading whatever's inside

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>4517213
Can't we tow it somewhere, jam or remove the tracking?
I'd say we try an shoot the darn thing off and then tow it to where we want.

>>4517493
Towing it to our station is possible but potentially a huge risk in case the pod is being tracked. You could point your sensors at the pod, see whether it's transmitting something but in low orbit there is interference and the tracker may be not transmitting at the time so you will never know for sure. Another issue is possible optical tracking, you could try changing the orbit but again you will never know for sure whether someone is watching.

You could try hiring someone to come over, place the pod inside cargo space of their hauler and warp away. Then enclose the pod in faraday cage and do some more warps, that should be enough to shake off any tracking. This would be basically the B. option mechanically, only the proceeds from whatever was inside would be split in half between you and the other party.

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>4517213
>A. Crack open the shell and start unloading whatever's inside

>>4517559
>A. Crack open the shell and start unloading whatever's inside
Ah screw it, ain't got no time for that. Unless its a living person in there ..... like a hot chick say Jack from mass effect in stasis, idc.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4517233
>>4517716
>>4518195
rolling for Wealth and writing

File: Instruction manual found (...).jpg (252 KB, 1200x630)

252 KB JPG

One of your Hookbills on site was equipped with plasma slicing torch so opening the pod without damaging its contents was a child's play (no roll required). Your pilots reported what they found: crates filled with exoskeletal parts, atmospheric guns and ammo and assorted high-tech components meant for final assembly and quality control done on surface. Whoever was shipping this likely wanted to dodge tariffs or support some kind of planetary would-be insurgency. Or both.

Your pilots started to load what they could into the search-and-recovery designated Hookbill. You also discreetly spread word of your catch to whoever you trusted but in the end it wasn't of much use. As the Hookbill was making its second trip Griffin detected a squadron of unmarked fighters and corvettes on intercept course. If ever there was an exit cue, this was it and your pilots didn't hesitate to act on it. Drones were quickly recovered and fighters safely scattered away from the scene.

Back in station, you surveyed the loot. It was hard to tell whether the arms and components survived exposure to open space and you weren't particularly inclined to test them out. Nevertheless, you found a buyer willing to take everything for reasonable price (+2 Wealth).

What's your next step (choose one)...
>1. Spend time with your pilots researching their next mission
>2. Check whether anyone from Goldreich-Tremaine would be interested in moving their production to your station

..and how do you want to spend your Wealth? Choose as many as feasible (4 Wealth):
>A. Task the biologists and Superbrights with establishing Intensive Animal Farming enterprise (-3 Wealth initial investment, locks out B. until the station is expanded)
>B. Reestablish the former machine shop as a service area for your vessels (-4 Wealth, likely won't generate profit, locks out A. until the station is expanded)
>C. Perform repairs and upgrades on the station structure (-4 Wealth, +1 Might, pre-requisite for station expansion)
>D. Get more Caldari fighters (-2 Wealth per one fighter, specify type and quantity >>4503704)
>E. Get drones to complement station defenses (-2 Wealth, +1 Might)
>F. Pay off a portion of or all your debt (the liabilities right now are equal to 3 Wealth)
>G. Leave a portion or all the money in your war chest for now
>X. Actually, I'd like to... (write-in)

Current stats:
Might 7
Reputation 3
Wealth 4 (+1 Aliastra leak, +2 pod loot)
Stress 1

>>4518495
>>1. Spend time with your pilots researching their next mission

>E. Get drones to complement station defenses (-2 Wealth, +1 Might)

>F. Pay off a portion of or all your debt (the liabilities right now are equal to 3 Wealth)
pay 1 W

>>4518495
>2. Check whether anyone from Goldreich-Tremaine would be interested in moving their production to your station
Can't hurt to put out feelers can't it?

>F. Pay off a portion of or all your debt (the liabilities right now are equal to 3 Wealth)
Pay off 3 and be done with it.

>>4518680
Seconding. The sooner we lose that debt, the better.

>>4518495
>1. Spend time with your pilots researching their next mission
>C. Perform repairs and upgrades on the station structure (-4 Wealth, +1 Might, pre-requisite for station expansion)

>>4518680
Voting for this course of action. If we pay off this loan we could get a bigger one to both expand and facilitate another money making project.

>>4518543
>>4518680
>>4518713
>>4518903
>>4519354
We are gonna pay off all our debt, then dedicate our time searching for new business opportunities. Give me two 1d12 please.
>2-10 nothing
>11-16 middleman, one-time commission
>17-20 small, periodic income
>21-24 full-fledged enterprise

Rolled 1, 2 = 3 (2d12)

>>4519643

Rolled 10 (1d12)

>>4519643

>>4519651

File: Integrated bridge interface.jpg (185 KB, 1280x1280)

185 KB JPG

You were parked in the station bridge, sipping fortified Intaki Muscat and going over your master balance spreadsheet. Things were going well. Expenses associated with station maintenance have been declining steadily which meant Superbrights were doing their part, and doing it well. You were now also in a position to repay all your outstanding debt and decided to do just that (-3 Wealth). No longer burdened with debt servicing and excess chemicals import charges, your budgetary outlook improved rather considerably (+1 Wealth periodically).

You proceeded to search for new business opportunities. Recently passed Gallente trade regulations seemed to have noticeable effect on Goldreich-Tremaine enterprises. Manufacturers were scrambling to move production under different flags to escape the duties levied on their goods. Unfortunately for you Dembowska Cartel was not party to nascent Gallentean free-trade coalition. After several station shifts spent unsuccessfully trying to entice Tremaine corporations you changed your approach and started to match their representatives with your Sheva contacts. Tremaine enterprises having the need and Sheva having the means, smuggling deals have been made, with you serving as initial connection (+1 Wealth, +1 Reputation).

In the meantime, your pilots have been busy researching their next mission. What's it gonna be?
>A. Protect a small salvaging operation
>B. Attack a shipping convoy
>C. Harass the operations of a large mining conglomerate until they pay you off

Current stats:
Might 7
Reputation 4 (+1 brokerage)
Wealth 2 (-3 debt repayment, +1 brokerage)
Stress 1

>>4519921
>>A. Protect a small salvaging operation

>A. Protect a small salvaging operation
We've been a bit aimless with our semi-unscrupulous expansion so far. I think setting up some kind of safe-zone (maintained by any means necessary) amidst growing conglomerate influence would be a reasonable goal regardless of whichever direction we decide to ultimately go in, as well as being in line with our actions so far.

With that in mind, we've already established ourselves a bit with our previous protection work. I say we double down on that and try to get a reputation for keeping fellow small operations running smooth when we're watching their backs.

>>4519921
>A. Protect a small salvaging operation

>>4519921
>>A. Protect a small salvaging operation

>>4519921
>A. Protect a small salvaging operation

Let's junk this derelict

File: 眼.jpg (877 KB, 1934x794)

877 KB JPG

It was said proximity to Geduld altered mind.

Holiday resort alluding to ancient Greek sleep temples has been built close to one of the clouds. The parent corporation however filed for bankruptcy protection only a few months after opening. It came to light several vacationers suffered permanent alterations to their mental faculties after spending time in the company dream capsules.

Although formally under aegis of Pirandello-Kruger, the station was now free-for-all since no one was paying the defense bills anymore. Several competing salvaging crews were about to swoop in and Kyotid Zaibatsu was one of them, looking to augment the security of their operation. The scavengers generally played nice with each other and you were hired to make sure things would stay this way. As an added bonus, your vessels could join the action, earning a little extra.

You and your pilots gathered in the observation deck for a briefing and to make sure everyone was on the same page. When the meeting was concluded, everyone headed back to their cabins to get some sleep and be fresh and ready for the mission.

You woke up a few hours later to blare coming from the station's PA system. Your home was under attack.

Might 7
Reputation 4
Wealth 2
Stress 1

Station sections:
Command section (bridge, mass driver)
Main body (22 cabins, mess hall, observation deck)
Former machine shop (docking platform)
Hab unit

Residing in station:
12 pilots
7 Superbright led by Cese
4 biologists
cook Alan, his wife, 2 kids
custodian Trenton
you
29 souls total

Present forces:
Alpha Flight (Arlest Beaulieu)
Hookbill (fast, autocannons, plasma slicing torch)
Hookbill (fast, agile, drones, repair & recovery)
Griffin (superior sensors, drones, lasers)
Merlin (missiles, railgun, overload system)

Station Reserve
Hookbill (fast, missiles, autocannons, ECM suite)

Ongoing enterprises:
Fleshpods (+1 Wealth periodically)

Finished enterprises:
Microgreens
Massage Parlor

Died under your watch:
12 unnamed original station inhabitants

And this is it for this thread. If you have any questions, commentary, criticism, feel free to share. I'm gonna archive http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=Gurokaze and my twitter is https://twitter.com/gurokaze in case anyone would like to get in touch outside of chans.

In any case thank you for participating and I hope you had as much fun playing as I had writing this. New thread coming in a day or few.

Oh shit!

Thanks for the quest QM. I really liked your writing so far and the cutthroat space-economy focus of this quest. I'm a bit sad our guy isn't too clear personal motivation-wise at the moment, but looking forward to seeing how he and our station shape up in the future.

>>4520569
Were the 12 dead from an earlier incident?
when we vented entire families into space?

>>4521455
Truly a most tragic and perfectly deniable accident.

>>4520587
Thanks and have been thinking about >>4519948 the safe zone. It's neat idea and I'll try to incorporate it.

>>4521455
Yeah. As >>4521531 said most tragic accident and definitely not cold-blooded killing.

new thread is up >>4521942