>>5794787
Ahem, lost the update, rewriting

>>5794787
+2 Shift Pass

After some consideration, The Harpy draped in gold had agreed to your reasonable demand. However, he refused to share any info about Twilight Spring's clients solely because he wanted respect their privacy. A lot of them were into kinky shit too so if the word came out that X is into Y, the Hustle would lose its business.

Fair enough, you could stick to the original plan or you could think outside of box. Hustler Hussy only cared to get back his 'hoe'.

===================

"I am sorry, I am sorry!" After returning to the trailer, you caught Deleth moments away from opening the ominous lockbox " I...I just want to see what is inside."

>Punish your assistant [ specify]
>Only scold her instead
>You are curious too, open the lockbox

AND
Minor Actions : Pick two [ Solo or with Deleth?]


>Return to the ex- assistant for her Vowder
>Get a feeling of your new working environment/possible tomb , wander around
>Try to make small conversations with randos taking a break from their job
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
>Hack one of your pinned targets
>Nothing
>Write in?

>>5794817
>Punish your assistant [ You can choose Deleth, spanking or no television till I say so.]
"I am willing to risk getting hurt, but I'm not willing to risk you getting hurt Deleth. If it's too much of a temptation than I'll open it."
>You are curious too, open the lockbox

>Return to the ex- assistant for her Vowder
>Get a feeling of your new working environment/possible tomb , wander around

>>5794817
>Only scold her instead

>Return to the ex- assistant for her Vowder
With Deleth.
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
Without Deleth.

Man I don't remember what the other anon's plan was regarding hacking and the debt.

>>5794890
Well I was thinking about a few things now. Setting up an accident to kill Rakko to settle the debt, in the Mall with the live electric wires and the hacked sprinkler system, although it would take 3 major and 1 minor actions.

There was also an idea to FBI undercover walk in there and tell her shes being a problem then offer incentive to cooperate, but QM did somewhat suggest against that as us being more like a deep state agent. Plus I can't rule out Rakko as possibly involved in the demon cult, though I feel she probably isn't?

On the other hand we could call in the favor from Albea to help with it. Offer the vaultblood we found which was worth 50g out of the like 70 something grand. Take out a predatory loan from the shady loan shark company if we can ensure we aren't burdened (pun intended) so make sure we don't have to make any payments or bothersome obligations until after its time that the mission is over. After all we don't have to pay the loan if we just disappear with Deleth to our next Cthaii job.

So theres options. I think the loan one could actually work out if we don't get a ton of baggage with it.

>>5794882
"S-spanking, Mr. Burden?"

" Yep, you acted like a child so I have to punish you like one....that or no TV, your choice." You crossed your arms in disappointment.


"..." Apparently, No TV was too much for your assistant so She ... bent over the couch's arm lifting her skirt? Huh?

"What are you doing?"

" Oh, do you want me to lie on your lap instead, Mr.Burden?" Asked the slightly flustered elf.

" I meant spanking your *hand*, Deleth." You groaned in frustration " let me see them."

Deleth extended her hand for you to spank it with a plastic ruler you had in your room. The plastic ruler didn't really hurt unlike the wooden or the metal ones back in the day.

"Give me that." You took the key from her " If it's too much of a temptation than I'll open it." You were equally curious as well and yet your limbs didn't seem to obey you almost rooting you to the floor. Was it the thrill of anticipation or something else more primal stopping your advance?

Your eyes darted on the words carved on the lockbox... the sun? In that tiny box? Yeah right. Your inched closer and closer to the keyhole until your palm became sweaty, your hands trembling ever so slightly. Should you continue?

>You *must* know what is inside the box, open it.
>You will overwhelm your curious tendencies. The lockbox should remain closed for now.
>perhaps some things are not meant to be known. Dispose of the lockbox for some peace of mind.

Oh and probably some sort of shady with Rakko like identifying and handing over valuable therrblood irregularities or whatever we can sneak out of the storeroom with hacked cameras.

>>5794890
Dang it , didn't see your vote. Want me to rewrite?

>>5794905
>You *must* know what is inside the box, open it.
If we get skin burns maybe say we had a glitch with our water heater and the shower was too hot or something. Or maybe he wrote it during his mental breakdown phase and its actually something less harmful. Might be handy to have a surprise weapon option if we can open facing away from us and not looking, like an Arc of the Covenant.

Also lol Deleth and Burden, so adorable.

>>5794908
If you and the other anon really want, though I think that was sweet.

>>5794904
Yeah I'm also not a fan of just telling her. Too many potential loose ends.
So we should basically just pretend the debt doesn't exist? Not the worst idea.

>>5794905
>You will overwhelm your curious tendencies. The lockbox should remain closed for now.
I for one don't want to potentially open Pandora's box.

>>5794908
Nah it's fine. Don't worry mate, it was a cute scene.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5794922
>>5794933
Rolling?

>>5794922
>>5794933

The pendulum of sanguine fate is swinging...

Click

"Let's see..." You turned the key very gently squinting your left eye just in case. Huh, some kind of Amber? No, this had to be some unknown Celestial bl--

FLASH

================

You.... where were you? Your essence was torn to the fartherest star in the skies and the deepest pits of the land. You were everywhere and nowhere. There were no inbetween until you found a vessel to call home, a vessel bathed in the purest of bloods...a vessel meant for...

You eyes were opened. This couldn't be true... why were standing before the Scarlet Lords themselves?
Athio, The Scarlet Lord of Clot, held her shield triumphantly. Every spear-stomp of hers would create a geyser of blood ascending in the air before returning whence it came from as meteor sized clots wrecking havoc.


Kethdia, The Scarlet Lord of Rot, had disrobed revealing thousands of little burrows within her rotten flesh. A miasma of bats, leeches and locusts were unleashed bringing death and ruin upon all.

Moliuen, The Scarlet Lord of Veins, would lose her form to mingle with the stars themselves, her Celestial arrows fused with her blood would never miss.


Weheith, The Scarlet Lord of Limbo, would puppet her own corpse from the pale retracting claws meant to slice through everything with an unsettling grin on her sewn mouth.


Tenhenk, The Scarlet Lord of Gold, would stand behind her daughters singing and praising them. An aura of divine brilliance would protect the other Scarlet Lords. Her holy visage was only front-sided. You couldn't see what lied behind the Allmother...

Such raw power, who would dare to evoke their wrath? The answer was clear as a full moon:

You.

First of two posts.

.

.

>>5794933
>>5794922

How? Why? You worshipped them. Even their graces would tolerate blasphemy. Had you committed some unforgivable sin?

You were dead , over a thousand times. Scattered but whole, unmoving without a will of your own. The Scarlet Lords circled around you with glee drawn on their faces . They laughed, they danced until the Thirst was overflowing from their eyes. They sank their fangs into your flesh, draining your body bit by bit until you were dried out without a drop of blood to call your own.

It was never enough for them

They clawed their way inside of you. Limbs were torn apart, guts slurped up and emptied, bones snapped for the sweet marrow within. Animals, mongrels...

Nothing was left of you. Nothing but hatred.

They would pay.

============

You had returned to world of the living with such an immense pain coursing through your body. This was no ordinary nightmare, you were sure of it. Perhaps a Scarlet Sister could help you on this one.


The first thing you wanted to do was to open your eyes but your body refused, a great source of power was brimming within you was waiting for you to make a choice. Should you embrace or reject it?

+6 ???

Choose five

> +1 Persuasion
Smooth talker, silver tongue...etc

>+1 Perception
Awareness of your surroundings.

>+1 Endurance
How hard can you get hit

>+1 Agility
How nimble and acrobatic are you

>+1 Sleuth
Big brain time. . Makes you connect the dots faster, among other subtle things..

>+1 Efficency
How fast are you to finish numerous tasks be it trivial or crucial to your mission

>+1 Lore
Your knowledge of the world around you. The obscure, The unknown....

>+1 Tech
Your knowledge with anything with wires in them

>+1 Combat (Ranged)
Throwables, guns, paradimensional larval weaponry...etc

>+1 Combat ( Melee)
Up close and personal, weapon at or your feral claws...

>+1 Cthaii
Makes you better at being a Feralist.

>+1 Civvy
Makes you better at being a Blood Tester

OR

>Reject this otherworldly power

OR

Pick two

> Albedo Erna: Once per eight days: auto succeed any skill check at the cost of -1 to all leveled stats
>Albedo Fesnis: Start with shuffled stats at the start of each night.
>Nigredo Zylum: Every 3 kills creates a duplicate a random item in your inventory , bodies are gone without a trace. You will die on night 18
>Nigredo Asbth: Randomly create an Asbth link with someone, +1 according to the current night. Any lethal strike will kill them instead ( you will be linked to 21 persons by day 21). Repeatable.
>Citrinitas Opule : Once per night, shift through a single wall/floor. Unable to use any minor actions for the next night.
>Citrinitas Dugla: Once per three night, you can become invisible for a very short time. Skip one major action the following day.

>>5794986
Days=Nights obviously, my bad.

>>5794986
*choose six for stats, sorry about that

>>5794986
>>5795021

Whew, some things to think on. I wonder what would have happened if Deleth had opened this.
That is some kind of divine experience. Accidentally found a piece of the mysterious 6th Scarlet Lord? Or a progenitor God? Was that the experience of Burden, or was that a memory of someone else that was given to Burden along with this power. Burden suddenly gains the power of the Messiah.

Choices choices...I am leaning towards the Stats. Some of those powers aren't bad, some are just wack.
Imagine just pumping all 6 points into Melee Combat, or Endurance, or Cthaii for maximum Feralist power. 6 Lore as knowledge gets brain blasted straight in. 6 Persuasion for the Golden Tongue. 6 Agility for supernatural speed. So tempting.

We should test our own blood once we get up. Deleth too if we get some civvy.

I presume we can stack? I was wondering if just dodging shots or punches would be Melee or Agility. Pickpocketing for some Nopz or keycards would also be agility I imagine.

That reminds me, being a Blood Tester and Feralist would have been a +1 to a few of these skills as well I suppose?

>+2 Persuasion
>+1 Sleuth
>+1 Lore
>+1 Civvy
>+1 Cthaii

Definitely mighty tempted to just dump 4 into Agility and have some fun with it, 1 into civvy for Deleth blood testing, 1 into lore for being able to identify the therrblood irregular eye thing. Scaling or leaping up to high windows, sneaking around. At what level would Burden start to get supernaturally skilled? I might have to think on this, and I'll be heading out in a bit.

>>5795037
>>5795046
Sooo which one? I assume we are going with the first one

>>5795037
I'll support this sure.

>>5795401
Yeah

>>5795037
+2 Persuasion
+1 Sleuth
+1 Lore
+1 Civvy
+1 Cthaii
-1 Agility?

This power was singing to you, a voice so sweet and tempting that no sane man could resist fully embracing it. You did just that before waking up.

The smell of blood, old sheets and dust had assailed your nostrils the moment you woke up inside a bed, a medical bed. You were hooked up with too many shit to count, you felt...different in a bad way, you couldn't move, ohhh the pain...

Beep-Beep

"D-Deleth?" Your voice was notably raspier. She was sleeping on a chair next to your bed. Those damn bandages, so itchy...

"Deleth..." You didn't want to wake her up but you had so many questions. You felt numb as if you were hit by a truck stopping at the last possible second.


"Deleth!"


"Mr. Burden! You are alive!" With tears in her eyes, Deleth went for a hug before backing away so she wouldn't put any extra pressure on your chest. When she turned on the lights, you weren't ready for what you were about to see.

Her left forearm was gone, her left side was visible scarred

" You kept staring this... thing. It was burning you alive. I had to pull you out of there. It is my fault...my damn fault." Her tears of joy would morph to that of pure guilt. Despite all of the searing pain, you pulled off the bloody bandages to confirm your doubts...

You right eye was no more.

First of two posts.

>>5795409
>>5795407

"..." You were at shock unable to express your thoughts. Was it worth it to give up an eye for what could amount to be a hallucination? It was you who felt even more guilt than Deleth for dragging her into this mire of mayhem. The sweet girl didn't deserve to be disfigured for the rest of her life because of your choice. She saved you but she ultimately had to pay the price.

In less than a minute, the two nurses had entered the room accompanied by the Arche doctor who didn't waste any time to administer a butt load of meds to soothe the pain, his face was grim for the wrong reason.

" Type E Positive, you are lucky the Albea is the only human in the facility who has the same blood-type as you...willing human, Whergamm outright refused to help you out and yes, I did have to run some tests to save you. We will talk later about my.... findings." Yaqesiro stared at your intently for a few seconds ";Better thank that Drillo girl, She donated a third of her blood to you."

He knew.

" How long have I been out cold?"

"A full Night , spent nearly twenty hours of yesternight saving you and your friend over there. Oh and do thank Rakko for me on the way out. She did provide some Xytblood for you two. " Xytblood... that is a powerful healing factor that is relatively expensive. It is an artificially created Celestial blood some time in the last century. It was considered by some Dome cities to be an experimental drug because of its variabilities. In this case, it worked mostly well for you while barely keeping Deleth alive.

The good doctor went for his regular check ups making sure that you were still breathing. He was considerate enough to leave you and Deleth alone, you would have to have a sit down with Yaqesiro... or you could find a way to dispose of him.

>Say something to Deleth
>Go to sleep, you should be able to get out of there first thing in the night.

>>5795504
>Say something to Deleth
Let's apologize.
Dammit this wasn't worth it. Oh well at least we got stat boosts (except for that agility part and the losing an eye part, but hey take the good with the bad).
Are there any synthetic, biological or mechanical prosthetic limbs/eyes in this setting? I was thinking we could get some for us and Deleth after we get out of this hole.

> He knew.
This doesn't bode well... But at least we know he knows.

>>5795504
>Say something to Deleth
Its my fault not yours Deleth, I'll take you to the theater when things are better. Anything you want.

Man wtf is this bomb. Wake me up from this fucking nightmare. Wheres the regeneration healing factor to fix this and how much.

>>5795521


Nothing too sophisticated. Akin to irl. We are stuck with pirate mode for the rest of the quest.
>>5795572

"Mr. Burden, I..." The two of you were drowning in sadness and pain, you felt that words would be too cheap so you went for a hug instead conveying your feelings towards Deleth who sacrificed her forearm to someone she had just met a few nights ago. Perhaps she was acting this way because you were one of the few people if not the first to treat her as your equal not someone beneath you.


No words were exchanged afterwards, the two of you simply fell asleep in each other's arms. Maybe now you would wake up? No, this nightmare was as real as it got.

============

STATUS SHEET

Burden Deo

Health: Recovering
Diseases/Affliction: Missing an eye.
Suspicion: None
Wealth: 300 Nopz
Actions per time period: 1 Major, 2 Minor [+1 Minor action at +3 Efficency!]

Vaultblood/??? Blessings:
+4 Persuasion
+2 Sleuth
+1 Lore
+1 Civvy
+1 Cthaii
-1 Agility?

Possessions:
-1 Hacking Tool kit
- Key to Storage unit #24
- Black eyed Impurity
- 3 Shift Pass
- 1 Slip Pass
- 1 Vaultblood Droplet
- 1 Astro Ticket
- Polaris-D39 [ Illegal!]
- 20 9Slv rounds [ Illegal]
- Vowder [ Illegal]


Hacked devices:
-Camera #4 (Therrblood Warehouse)

Missions:
-To Syii or not to Syii

Deadlines:
-Legal Action (Chief Supplier Rakko) [ Day 8]

Investigation
-No progress
-No potential suspects

=====================


Night 5 [ 16 Nights left]
Night [Night-> Paranight-> Abnight]

The bloodbag given to you earlier this night tasted awful. At least it filled up your belly real good. Come to think of it, you failed to understand the reasoning behind Rakko donating Xytblood to Yaqesiro essentially reducing your recovery time from several weeks to a single night. The moment you saw the nurses taking Deleth outside to change her bandages, you exactly knew what was about to happen next.

"Goodnight, Burden." The Arche greeted you locking the door behind him to ensure no interruptions "Did you sleep well?"

" I tried to. Everything feels weird..."

"You will get used to it. Here." The eight armed doctor had reapplied the bandages with an eye patch so you would look less horrifying. He also took a look at your chest, it was already healed up leaving a jagged map of scars instead.

" My people are the direct descendants of the Scarlet Lords, they blessed us with what you can call a seventh sense or a sixth sense for blood. I had a gut feeling that you were a feral the moment you arrived with the girl..."


"..." You remained silent as a statue while the Arche checked your monitor screen pulling out some meds from his lab coat.

" Are you some kind of a government spook? What are you doing here?" Finally came his question. Your eyes darted over a pair of scissors across the table, the Cthaii agent within you might have some plans for it.


>[Maks up some *really* good excuse on the spot]
>...
>[Stab him with the scissors]
>The truth is...

>>5796228
>>The truth is...
"Its your duty to save lives Doctor. One, two, a dozen at a time. Other people have the duty to saved hundreds, or shall we say thousands.

Tried to think of a few, but honestly its a hard sell.
Faulty test, Male E type human blood is a false positive in every regard, wacky ancestry, celestial blood that causes an unconscious feral aversion to wanting to fight him, caused by the weird weapon the last blood tester had stored in his belongings, or by the xytblood which isnt a bad move if it was applied before he took our blood which I doubt.

I dont really see any excuse that would work, and to what end? A very suspicious of us doctor. What could I say to the people who beat down the door when we stab him in the brain, that he tripped and fell into the scissors? The jig is up. That said, if against my expectations hes tries to blow our cover wide open I guess we do what we gotta do.

>>5796270
" You say that you want to save lives?" The doc took you very seriously.

"..." You felt like you had already said too much. Silence might be for the best here.

"Let me be clear: I *hate* government spooks or whatever agency you are from. If you are 'saving lives', then you shouldn't be working in the shadows. One mistake, Burden, that is all I am waiting for me then you will die . Let's just say that Not everything I gave you was strictly helpful to you."

"..." You looked at him in the eyes, he *really* meant it.

"I got my dead Arche switch in case you or friends had decided to silence me for good so don't try anything funny. Director Dorr and Whergamm will stay in the dark... for now. Don't make me regret my decision." Yaqesiro paused for one last check up before you would be allowed to walk free. Was he bluffing or did he really injected you with something that could be lethal? You might never know. Still, the Arche was a man of his word, he wouldn't expose your cover for the time being.

When you are alone, you called Karla who feigned indifference about your near-death experience. Deep down, you knew that she was worried sick about you.

"By the by, I did some digging on this Whergamm. With 90% certainty, I am positive that his biological Sister was a Cthaii agent."

"What?? You sure?"

" Yes, Uvoi was keeping tabs on... a ex-sister organisation." The Harpy cleared her throat " You know the one."


"Fuck..." Mthree was an agency built in the para-dimenson where demons originally hailed from. It was meant to develop experimental weapons from demons themselves or from the exotic materials found in their homeland. Despite all the safety measures taken, nearly all Mthree agents had gone rogue, they were corrupted beyond salvation. It took one Scarlet Lord and a small army of Cthaii agents to obliterate the base.

" It could be a happy coincidence, the records states that Uvoi hadn't make any contact with her brother ever since she was abducted by the agency." Yeah, that sounded about right.


"I will look into it." You ended the call with a certain unease, in your line of work, there are no coincidences.

===========

You almost forgot how shitty the weather was when you stepped out of the infirmary. Albea, Jean and a couple of coworkers were waiting for you. The Drillo said that she had kept off security from searching your trailer since they tended to snatch a couple of personal belongings as 'evidence'. Thank the Lords, your Hacking Tool kit would have been very incriminating. The second good news for the night was from your beeping ID: Director Dorr had given you two days to recover before going back to work. Amazing.

First of two posts

>>5796270
>>5796556

Major Action: Pick one [Solo or with Deleth?]

>Continue your tour [select department]
>Slack off in the trailer
>Go to Rakko's office to deal with your 'debt'
>Write in?
Minor Actions : Pick two [ Solo or with Deleth?]


>Return to the Ex assistant for her Vowder
>Get a feeling of your new working environment/possible tomb , wander around
>Try to make small conversations with randos taking a break from their job
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
>Hack one of your pinned targets
>Nothing
>Write in?

>>5796560
>Continue your tour
I don't remember who else is left. Did we see the admin or the logistics?
Also let's take Deleth with us.

>Return to the Ex assistant for her Vowder
With Deleth.
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
Maybe we should try pinning something in the medical area. It would be a shame if anything happened to a certain doctor who hates the secret services...

>>5796922
>support
We can visit the weather lady since we got a ticket for it I suppose, there was also the cyber security robot, or Dorr

>>5796922
>>5796964

You and Deleth had earned yourselves a couple of stares on your way to see Director Dorr who just happened to go to the garage according to a couple of security officers.

"W-wait up!" It was *very* stupid of you to stand infront of small convoy of Duners and a Mamm armed to the teeth, the auto cannon on the first vehicle had its laser sights on you itching for turning you in bloodberry jam.

"The Kluss are you doing here?! Get out the way!" The Warf soldier had kept honking aggressively until someone had stepped out the Mamm in the middle of the convoy.

Director Dorr

" Burden Deo, I presume?" Asked the silver masked Director in a wheelchair. She was certainly past her sixties according to her hair colour and somewhat senile tone. She wore a dull grey suit and a silver watch that was plainly average. As for her mask, it was shaped like a gawking owl. the right eye hole was covered while the left one had a light blue eye tracking each move you made like a soaring Eagle in search of its prey.


"That would be me, ma'am." Her age and position demanded some respect.


" Terribly sorry about your most recent loss." You couldn't tell whether she was genuine about her statement or not. It might be the mask obscuring her facial expressions but she felt like an enigmatic book to you, always at a loss whenever you try to reach your desired page.


" It was a terrible accident on my part." You left it vague on purpose " Thank you for those two days, can't imagine working like that right away."

" We must take some time to adjust to recent tragedies. Sometimes, we can't get over our loss....It has been thirty five years since I walked on these legs." Dorr stared at her helpless extremities with a pitiful look on her face " Enough of that. There is a horde of feral that is getting too close for comfort. Care to join us for some culling?"

>I would be honoured, Ma'am [1-3 Major Actions]
>Ah, I would love to but I have other commitments in the facility. Thank you for the offer.

>>5797763
>Ah, I would love to but I have other commitments in the facility. Thank you for the offer.
It might waste too much time.

>>5797763
>I would be honoured, Ma'am [1-3 Major Actions]
I wanna see if there's a combat system.

>>5797763
>I would be honoured, Ma'am [1 Major Actions]
I think the bracket means we can choose how much? I'd presume she might give us a favor point or two depending? Or maybe we will just get a chance to see things.

>>5798119
>>5798119
>>5798450
>>5798658

" Follow me, your assistant too." The masked Director didn't actually need a ramp to get inside the Mamm; her Wheelchair had eight spider-like legs sprouting from all sides for situations like these. As the name would suggest, the Mamm was huge from both the inside and the outside, it was essentially a lumbering three storied building on wheels. This one was outfitted more for military purposes rather than the usual mining related ones with too many weapons to count.

After one short elevator ride, you reached the top level of the Mamm were the Director had a pristine office surrounded by reinforced glass from all sides for a full 360 view. Yeah, it had to be one of those one way glass since you couldn't really see the office before stepping inside.

Vrooommm

The convoy was slowly starting to move out. Meanwhile, you and Deleth sat down on a very comfortable teal couch with a cup of tea. The director sure took pride in her tea brewing skills judging by her pot collection and accessories displayed around you.

" Believe it or not, I used to be a policewoman back in the day." Dorr decided to break the silence herself " A very good one at that, saved a lot of lives and landed many criminals where they belong... until I was shot twenty two times in the back and left for dead in the slugways." Dorr calmly stated before taking a sip of her tea " That's how I was paralyzed from the waist down. What about you, Burden? How did you gain this eye patch?"


"I told you, ma'am. It was an accident." A droplet of sweat trickled down your forehead, was it too hot here ?

" An unfortunate one to be sure but it must be filed in and archived. I must know what happened or I may have to directly involve security. They can be a lot harsher than a old crippled lady, no?"

Deleth had this incriminating look on her face. Unless she was the only person capable of reporting the incident, her statement would be increditable due to her status as an non-privlieged elf. You can blame what happened on the black eyed impurity that was actually Unstable Therrclot easily mistaken for regular Therrclot. The Unstable one could generate a burst of immense heat and light upon friction instantly disintegrating in the process. You could say that you found two impurities, HOWEVER, admitting so would also incriminate you for pocketing chunks meant for sampling to your trailer. .

>I would rather not delve further in matter . I will dicuss it later with security officers
>I... brought a chunk back with me... [Lie]
>[Tell her the truth]
>Write in

>>5798846
>I would rather not delve further in matter . I will dicuss it later with security officers

>>5798846
>Write In
Mix a bit of truth in is the best way.
"We were digging through some of the junk the last Blood Tester had left behind, I had brought some back to the trailer. I heard he went crazy and bashed an officer in the head, but I hoped he might have left something useful as anything he once possessed now belonged to me. I opened a container, and then I woke up in the hospital minus an eye, Deleth in not much better shape. Its my fault. If I had to guess he was planning on bombing someone, probably Rakko as she was trying to get him to pay something like 70k nopz in debt and he had taken out some predatory loans. That said, she also sent myself and Deleth some healing factor through the Doc, though she might just add that to the bill."

>>5798877
I'll switch to this.

>>5798877
>>5798879


" I see. I appreciate your honesty." Director Dorr went for her second cup of tea " This container you mentioned, Security will examine it further when we come back, I assume you don't have a problem with that.

"Not at all." Well, whatever that thing was, it had vanished right after Deleth had pulled you away from it. You were surprised that she didn't really comment on Rakko's disgusting scheme against you. Was she unable to help you? Perhaps she cared little about your plight?

The Convoy was moving at a snail’s pace, incidentally, you saw what you seemed to be the feral village to your west and yet the large cannon of the Mamm ignored them. Very peculiar. The Village was seemingly centered around a giant deformed skull, it looked Humanoid to you, you would know more once you got the chance to infiltrate it.

" We have about two more hours to reach our destination. Please, sit down and relax." With a press of a button, two mechanical arms had extended from the couch's sides, each one had a small screen with headphones neatly tucked under the Screen in a small space. Deleth was over the moon as she kept browsing through many movie categories.

>Ask Director Dorr a question
>Watch a movie by yourself [select genre]
>Watch whatever movie Deleth is going to pick
>Write in

>Ask the director a question

>>5798958
Whoops, scratch that last duplicated choice

>>5798958
>Ask Director Dorr a question
>Watch whatever movie Deleth is going to pick

I honestly have no idea what singular question to ask. I would sooner just watch a Deleth movie. The big skull and that village? About Wherhamm and if he changed recently. Why Security and the Drillo Family are really at odds with each other. The facility having 1000 people instead of about 100. I think there was something about a third officer death that wasn't known to us until we talked with some of sec guards. Asking for access to the budget records of the facility if anyone has been doing some shit (its everyone).

"Ma'am, you were a policewoman so perhaps you can appreciate this. Something very strange is going on around here. If I had a hunch someone was using the last blood tester to smuggle therrblood chunks would I have your permission and authority to quietly investigate some of the other departments?"

I don't see how I can get any good information. Blood tester is such a pencil pusher position without any of the actual power but to smuggle chunks. If the Security head's sister is somewhere in the facility then I need authority to go in there and investigate.

"Why is this facility such a hot mess? I'm pretty sure Rakko is going to ask me to do something to cover a """debt""" which no one is willing to put a stop to. The Elverseer is hiding something or is very afraid of someone busting down his door. Security is trying to investigate something but pretending they aren't, but they also have some mysterious feud with the Drillo people. The Brothel owner is making a LOT more money then he should be."

Half tempted to pick an educational movie on Therrblood irregularities to finally figure out what that eye does if our new Lore +1 isn't enough for it. Something about a sixth scarlet lord, or the sun, might be in the religious or historical or whatever genre. Funny idea I had, put the eye into our empty socket behind the patch and see if something happens. Install it into the hacking tool or another device.

Whergamm's biological sister was a Cthaii agent. She was keeping tabs on Mthree which was trying to do sanctioned experimental weapon shit involving demons. The whole place was corrupted and had to be put down. If she escaped the destruction of that and knew her brother was head of security here maybe she gets over here. Corrupts or convincing him to some demon plot. They build up a whole feral zoo under the security complex for "target practice". Maybe she is continuing the research, or plotting to overwhelm the base with ferals they could unleash, or something. Security also seemed to be inspecting people and trying to hide it as some low level abuse of power as we saw in the Albea incident. Maybe they need therrblood chunks for whatever they are up to, and use Rakko to get them from blood testers. And or they need bodies and they use the Brothel to get a bunch of unregistered elf bodies.

>>5799141
" Strange? Don't be ridiculous. " Director Dorr scoffed at the mere idea "Elizker was a pitiful man but a useful one , Burden. I would know if he was involved in this fantasy of yours."

"But-"

"Everything is as it should be. Any 'investigation' is done by security. That is their job, after all." She quickly dismissed your concerns. Nevertheless, you still had a lot of questions for her.

"Why is this facility such a hot mess? I'm pretty sure Rakko is going to ask me to do something to cover a """debt""" which no one is willing to put a stop to. The Elverseer is hiding something or is very afraid of someone busting down his door. Security is trying to investigate something but pretending they aren't, but they also have some mysterious feud with the Drillo people. The Brothel owner is making a LOT more money then he should be."

The old woman had sighed audibly with a sticky response rolling out of her mouth " Ah, did someone replaced your CV on the way here? Had I not known better, I would think you should belong in our security team. You ask too many questions without thinking. This is isn't something detective novel, Burden. People are living their lives accordingly. No great mystery to be solved here."


The director had left her office to face you directly " Cohesion, Burden. That is what matters the most in a very hostile environment. I suggest dropping whatever delusional and fictional conspiracies running amok in that little head of yours. As for the debt, it is a shame that you were involved in Elizker's crippling debt. Legally speaking, there is nothing I can do to help you, do you understand?"


"Yes, ma'am." In a way, you understood where she was coming from. Sometimes, you just had to keep everything under the hood. Cthaii agents would often commit henious crimes in the name of the greater good too. Could she be a potential suspect? Absolutely, you must gather concrete evidence first.

" One more question, if I may, why did you invite us over?"

"Because I pity you and what you two had become. I understand your pain, I don't wish it upon my worst enemies. I believe you and your friend could use a change of scenery."

First of two posts

>>5799141

You sank deep in the couch afterwards watching a very sappy movie with Deleth that had left her crying at the end. It was a real challenge not to laugh at this supposedly the epitome of a romantic fellow trying to have seven girlfriends at once without any of them knowing that he was cheating on them all. You were glad that it was over.

"We are here." announced the director. The convoy had stopped at the top of a hill overviewing a desolate valley. The hill was flattened for this wide platform with twelve square shaped holes matching the Mamm's large tracks. Huh, the walking Fortress had been lowered inside them before a loud mechanical crunch had echoed throughout the mega vehicle. You exactly knew what was going on...

This was an artillery platform.

It took exactly ten minutes for a seemingly hidden cannon on the left side of the Mamm to be all prepped and ready. The three of you had left the comfort of the office so you could reach the ever busy command room were the large cannon was being controlled. Security was used to see a civvy like the Director but not you and Deleth.

"Do you see why we brought the big guns?" Several screens had showed a couple thousands of Tauws lying in the middle of the valley.

There were three types of ferals, typical ferals who had lost the battle with the thirst and somehow managed to escape the dome city living out in the wild....and Wilding Ferals who were the off spring from Ferals imparting a bit of knowledge from their parents. Finaly, True Wildling Ferals were specific races that were cursed by the Scarlet Lords to live as savage beasts. The Half Arche/ Half Horse hybrid was one of them with eight equine legs and a very powerful upper body.

" This is a scary number." You admitted.

" Let's say that we only have a one shell. Where do you think should we fire it?"

>I don't feel comfortable answering this question. I don't want to have blood on my hand.
>We don't, you may think of them as animals but they are ruthless. Those who survive will forever remember what you have done to their kin.
>Right at the center for maximum kill count.
>At the front, so you will create a stampede let them stomp on each other
>At the back, the duners can finish them off easier if they are scattered
>Write in

>>5799235
>We don't, you may think of them as animals but they are ruthless. Those who survive will forever remember what you have done to their kin.
This sounds like a trick question.

>>5799235
>>5799831
>We don't, you may think of them as animals but they are ruthless. Those who survive will forever remember what you have done to their kin.

A kind of probing question about what kind of person we are. Someone to arrange things so our enemy would hurt themselves in a stampede is rather devious. A straight forward no mercy option. 'Turning these feral people into a next generation of enemies with a single shot isn't worth it, and neither is making an enemy at home out of x,y,z. with trying to stop what is going on. It gets you shot 22 times in the back.' Or something like that I suppose.

Pitied as casualties of the madness they have allowed to fester here. Unchecked greedy lustful warfs who keep things running. Suspicious and corrupt security, who is very likely connected to a rogue corrupted agent. Overworked pencil pushers. A street gang family that is bound to appear out of necessity from corrupt security. A Director who has learned not to rock the boat. Plus a couple Arche freaks, and a recluse.

Touring to greet these people makes me sick. The only good lead we've gotten is from Karla that the security head was related to an ex-agent. When we have a full day use a slip pass to get outside and investigate the village with the giant skull.

>>5799831
>>5800035

" Ah, this is were you are wrong. We leave these savages alive and we risk dying savagely by their hands. They have passed a threshold that necessitates our direct intervention. Enjoy the fireworks... FIRE! ."

BOOOOOMMM!

The entire Mamm quaked violently with the first shell killing dozens of not hundreds upon impact. To you and everyone else, they were but tiny heat signatures on the screen that had sterilised their screams and their agonizing expressions.

" Switch to Silver Kethrate shells." Ordered the heartless director. Reloading took only two minutes before another shell had descended over the horde of Wildling Ferals with the wrath of a thousand moon. A noxious white cloud had covered the majority of the valley. Death had minglrd freely amongst these ferals stripping them of their flesh and turning their lungs into a charred mess as they took their final panicked breath.

"Less than a hundred Heat signature detected within the D-Zone, ma'am." announced someone who seemed to be the highest ranking officer in the room.... Where was Whergamm by the by? Shouldn't he have attended this military operation?

All the officeres were cheering and fist pumping the air... except for you and Deleth who were genuinely disturbed for this casual genocide.

"Do you hear that , Burden? That is the sound ot progress. They die so we can live." The old woman arched a smile behind her mask " We will use more tradional means to deal with the remaining stragglers. Do you want to tag along in the more agile duners? "

>Yes, please.
>I have seen enough death for a lifetime, I think I will pass.
>What do you think, Deleth?

>>5800134
>Yes, please.
when between a rock and a hard place, apply violence
don't want to be under any more scrutiny than needed, and saying no or asking the underprivileged single armed slave gf make us seem suspicious

>>5800134
>Yes, please.

>>5800134
>Yes, please.
Boss Killer Granny archetype. Learned lesson not to rock the boat too much when you have things working well enough even though its a corrupt hell hole. Likes really big guns, and the sound of progress. Not without pity for normal people.

Whergamm isn't here, so maybe hes focused on weapons development of some kind, which would fall in line with his sister showing up and tempting him with offers of experimental weapons research. Or hes paranoid about deep state agents or demonic infiltration.

Alright I think I got a working theory, reminder to find someone who has been inside the Elverseer's house for a long time so we can ask what hes afraid of/hiding in his house for another favor or quest.

Ex-Agent-Sister escapes destruction of corrupted facility, and finds her brother Whergamm heading security here. He hides her and listens to the potential of experimental demon material weapons she learned at the facility, and probably the ugly truth about deep state agents and more. Whergamm convinces Dorr that he would be better used in researching new bigger more powerful guns to kill ferals, and she probably agrees. Research and expensive equipment and exotic materials cost money, so she will turn a blind eye to certain essential dealings that will keep the engine moving and not rock the boat as long as things don't get out of control.

Rakko creates debt hell schemes to manipulate people, such as the resident Blood Testers, into smuggling valuable therrblood chunks to sell and to use in experimental weapons, and to make herself plenty of money and get plenty of elf femboys. I wouldn't be surprised if Rakko had a hand in some other trades as well. Such as the Brothel where the owner had a lot more wealth then he should, and could traffic people and bodies without a paper trail if the experimental research needed such, which would inevitable involve the Elverseer who controls many elf slaves and has some connections outside this facility which helps bring in elves and make use of them. Maybe Security doesn't full on crush the Drillo Albea family because she works with Rakko to smuggle stuff on and off the drilltrains so is more or less essential, sort of a strained professional associate relationship where they have to live with each other.

Still a few people who could be involved we haven't met yet, and an unfortunate lack of proof, but I do like how it comes together a bit. I wonder if I am getting warm or if I'm still cold.

Other thought. I wonder if Commander Dorr and the redhead security chick who killed the big worm while we did the de-tox mission is related to Dorr. He granddaughter I'd guess or grand niece. Might be good to approach her again, show interest with a coffee break chat to build friendship or a possible next action mission for her, and see if she could take us on a tour of the security facility so we can get a look inside and someone else to help block security.

>>5800360
>>5800486
>>5800486
>>5801006
Writing!

Just a small reminder that there are several behind the scene rolls related to events like these . These rolls are serperate from our usual skill checks.

>>5800360
>>5800486
>>5800486

" Alright ladies and gents, Gas masks on. " instructed Officer Jim whose task was to babysit civvies like you while Officer Wazer was driving. Alongside you, there was Deleth and a couple of analysts on board the Duner, this all-terrain vehicle was perfect for pretty much everywhere with six wheels and a perfect set of suspensions making it a very smooth ride. If you had to complain about anything, it would be the rather cramped interior. The Duner had practicality first in mind then comfort. For your viewing pleasure, thirty six cameras were installed nearly covering all angles around the Duner.

As for the gas mask, they were meant to protect you from the white cloud of death ahead even though you wouldn't step out of the vehicle.

"Are you okay?" Jim asked your assistant.

" I...I don't want to be here.." She admitted. Luckily for her, the gas mask had a black-out button which would obscure her vision and create white noise in its ear protective extension which was basically a head set. Hmph, they should have called it a gas helmet instead, whatever.

It was a bit scary braving the white cloud into the unknown. It didn't bother the driver too much since he was relying on the vehicle's navigation system instead of his eyes. Besides, he was accompanied by dozens of other Duners. Nothing could go wrong in this mop up mission.

CRUNCH-CRACK-CRUNCH

"Hoohoo! Would you look at that.." The driver was non-chalantly running over dozens of corpses while occasionally firing from his auto-cannon. What you saw outside was brutal: Tauws blown to bits, some were huddled together in their last moments before death would claim them. You were fairly certain that a good chunk of the corpses here were adolescents or even children compared to the much bigger adults. A sickening display that almost made you throw up.

"Sector Alpha 2 is clear, over. Waiting for C3 and C4"

"Roger that, Rhino-4, Return to Big Mamma when finished, over." You heard the radio chatter between the driver and someone in the command room. Meanwhile, the data analysts were doing their jobs which involved a lot of typing on their laptops hooked to the Duner. They finished their scan relatively quickly allowing Jim to follow his tracks back to the Mamm.

VRRRRMMMMMM

"Hm? Why are we stopping?" One of the other two civvies asked.

" Duner must be stuck in clotmud. Those sons of bitches have very thick and reactive blood. We will get out of there right away." Officer Wazer had assured everyone.

Just as the Duner was about to get unstuck, you saw it through the back seat screen hiding amongst a pile of corpses....


A six pupiled red eye staring right back at you.


First of two posts

>>5801010
>>5800486
>>5800360

You were no Virivi but even the worst Cthaii agent knew that this blinking eye had belonged to a demon manifesting freely without possessing someone. The camera was splurged with clotmud while the Duner was getting out of this ditch. The moment you looked through another camera, the eye was already gone.

"Why are you jumpy out of the sudden? We killed the bad guys. Relax."

"..." Wazer wouldn't understand. If that demon wanted you dead , it would have attacked the Duner right away. Few demons were known for their cunning , fewer even were intelligent enough to strategize behind the shadows...

==========

Abnight

The ride back to the facility was mostly uneventful except for maybe the delicious dinner you had with Director Dorr. This woman was an intriguing one for sure.... other than non-privileged elves, there weren't really a lot of people with visible disabilities. You were somewhat on her good side for the time being.

Major Action: Pick one [Solo or with Deleth?]

>Continue your tour [select department]
>Slack off in the trailer
>Go to Rakko's office to deal with your 'debt'
>Write in?
Minor Actions : Pick two [ Solo or with Deleth?]


>Return to the Ex assistant for her Vowder
>Get a feeling of your new working environment/possible tomb , wander around
>Try to make small conversations with randos taking a break from their job
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
>Hack one of your pinned targets
>Nothing
>Write in?

>>5801213
Didn't we pick returning the vowder and hacking for our last minor actions?

>>5801218
Well, just in case you want to change your vote. There is also a major action to take

>>5801231
>Continue your tour Meteorologist Ynco
I suppose continue the tour. We do have the Astro Ticket and at Abnight I imagine its the best time to look at her observatory and telescopes? Other then that there is the Syii mission or the Cyber Security Robot.

Just wasn't sure if they got skipped because of the outing with Dorr. Did getting +1 Lore let us know what the Eye irregularity is or do we need more, or to devote a minor action to looking at it again. Which reminds me I did want to test ours, after the Sun incident, and Deleth's blood now that we got +1 Civvy.

Reminder to spend tomorrow using a slip pass to get outside so we can check out the feral village with the giant skull. Bring our gun with us.

Eye as in the impurity? We passed a civvy check since it follows under our job as a blood tester. We only saw the demon eye because of a very miraculous perception check ( we should really invest in those)

>>5801234

-Astro Pass

You gave your ticket to a very disgruntled Officer who had the displeasure to give you a ride outside of the facility to the so called Spire of Sycalon. Since it was a single ticket, Deleth had to stay at the trailer.

After closer inspection, the place wasn't as glamorous as it had sounded; this 'spire' felt like a shoddy lighthouse built in the wrong place. The area surrounding the spire was obviously walled off to prevent any ferals from getting inside.

"You got thirty minutes, you don't look like a mothbead. Are you trying to hit on this freak or something? "


"I just won the ticket at a Maw'em game." You had no idea what he meant by a mothhead. The man shrugged before snatching your ticket to insert it in a slot found at the entrance. The officer put on ear plugs for some reason.

You were past the gate soon after, the area around the spire had a lot of construction materials and a couple of heavy machineries. Strange. Once you had actually entered the spire only to be met with complete darkness... huh?

The door was locked behind you, dozens of high power spotlights were pointed at you with seemingly no way out. What is-

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=juLlcd3W72g&pp=ygUaYnJpdGlzaCBncmVuYWRpZXJzIGVhcnJhcGU%3D


"AAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!" You immediately fell on the floor writhing in pain from this extremely loud music? Song? It was so loud that you couldn't hear what was being played from everywhere. The chorus of hell kept assaulting you for a full mintue. Thank the Lords, it had finally stopped.

Standing up was not an option. You remained on the floor dazzled and in a state of shock until a feminine looking eight armed cybe had approached you with a satisfied smile on her screen. This model look much more unique than other Cybe you had encountered so far. The main body seemed to be covered in...screens? Some reflective layers? It was displaying what you had assumed to be planets, moons, stars and other cosmic bodies floating in digital universe. You were too fucked up to make sense out of it.

"--------,----!" Whatever she said, you couldn't hear it because you were defeaned by this unholy blast of music, perhaps if it kept going on for more than a minute, your ear drums might have been ruptured.

"-------...." The Cybe had helped you to stand up so you could lean against the wall. Your deafness was slowly getting replaced by loud ringing.

<Thank the primal atoms! You don't have a Zyptid!> These words were written on her head screen. You were given a small touch pad to express yourself more easily.

>Punch the Cybe for this nasty surprise.
>Just leave, this place is not worth it.
>Write something on the touch pad [specify]
>Write in

>>5801291
No I mean what the Eye impurity actually does if you use it to power something or power it, what its worth.

>Write something on the touch pad [Maybe my Zyptid has built up an immunity to whatever insanity that was and now I've got you. By all the Scarlet Lords what is a Zyptid? Do you attack everyone who uses one of these Astro tickets like this? My name is Burden Deo and I am the new Blood Tester. What can you tell me about the Sun and its meanings?]

>>5801319
I was waiting for another player, writing I guess

Yeah we need to inspect it again.
>>5801319
<Attack you? What do you mean? Didn't you read the back of the ticket? It was part of my Zyptid screening> Asked the puzzled Cybe. Did she seriously expect you to read it? The font was so small, it was almost unreadable.

<What is a Zyptid anyways?>

<It is... complicated> The Arche-like Cybe didn't gave you a straight answer < I saw them numerous times when I was a child. ..they were something else entirely born from the stars. I have dedicated my life to find the Zyptids studying all potential sightings in the last fifty years.> Oh , she was one of those lunatics probably chasing after demons. The world once believed in their existence thinking that the Scarlet Lords had eradicated them for the most part. This was partially true until rifts would open in areas away from the Lord's Sunless Gaze, anywhere outside of the Dome cities was a barren wasteland anyways.

The ringing had finally stopped allowing you to listen clearly to the robotic voice of the Cybe " I call them Zyptid from the noise they make: Zyp!Zyp! " Her exictment had faded away when she read the expression on your face "You... don't believe me do you?"

"Oh, I am just tired after a long night." You followed your lie with a handshake " Burden Deo, The new Blood Tester."

"Um, err, well this is Tosca and I am Meteorologist Ynco. I haven't really engaged in any physical contact/interacrion in over two decades. Anyone can be a Zyptid. You can't be sure..."

The two of you had a long flight of stairs to take. Naturally, the Cybe didn't grow tired unlike you "So... What do you know about the sun?"

"The Sun? Not really that much. The so called Lords had obscured it from our sight with the eternal night veiling over the entire world for our 'safety'. Like everything coming out of their mouths, I believe that they are lying to assert their control over us, like come on...turning to ashes from instant exposure ? What a joke." Tosca scoffed loudly.

"Wow, you uh... sure don't like them, huh?" This was an unexpected surprise.

"Why should I? They are no 'gods', only resourceful individuals who refuse to share their knowledge with us. One day, their little cabal will fall apart. It will be glorious."

"Just a sec..." You had to catch your breath in this endless spiral of stairs, she really should have invested in an elevator or something " So... you can't see it in the telescope?"

"That's a negative. I can see other stars and planets though. Ours is a black dot." A few minutes later, you were finally at the top where a somewhat of an expensive but small telescope was waiting for you. It certainly was not an observatory-tier one only capable to look upwards.

" I can give you a star-tour or you can use the telescope freely. I will be happy to answer any of your astro-related questions."

Pick one
>Allow Ynco to start her star-tour
>Ask Ynco about her supposed Zyptids
>Ask Ynco something else else [ specify]
>Mess around with the telescope

>>5802330
>Allow Ynco to start her star-tour
Interesting.

>>5802330
>Allow Ynco to start her star-tour
Show me that black dot

>>5802378

Ynco/Tosca was very happy to show you glimmering constellations in the night sky, every star had an interesting story behind it like the Sdenfa-Ngis twin stars which have imploded millions of years ago, the lights of their death had just reached in this star system only at the start of this century. The influx of images on Tosca's body had helped you to visualize things. The tour ended when you saw the very obscured black dot where the sun should have been. There was nothing special about it. The Scarlet Lords didn’t *really* really want anyone to see the sun.

"...do you know that the redback gorilla can reduce its pregnancy period by two months in captivity? Their children will be as healthy as other gorillas born in the wild."

"Um, okay?" You were just talking about stars a few seconds ago.

"Sorry, sorry, I tend to spout random trivia when I am nervous..."

"But why though?"

"Well..." Ynco cleared her digital throat "... There is a lunar eclipse tomorrow and I want to catch Primva Moths and Bloodmoon Fireflies who only come out at this time of the year for mating purposes. They will help me in my Zyptid research, do you think... you may want to catch some with me? Y-you will be compensated with um, I will think of something."


" Why don't you ask one of the security officers to help you out?" You were curious.

"I...am not good terms with them, or anyone really. Oh forget it. i am overstepping my boundaries here, silly, silly me. Look at the time, you don't want to be late for Officer Gonzalez..." You were pretty sure that a Bloodmoon would only happen once every six months so it was a rare opportunity for this socially awkward weather forecaster.

>Yeah, that guy was a pain, later, Ynco.[Leave]
>Sure, I can catch them with you. Where are we going to meet? [Major + Minor Actions for next Abnight, Mission: World of Imagination]
> [Demand this compensation first ] [ Major + Minor Actions for next Abnight, Mission: World of Imagination]
> What compensation? I am cool with hanging out with you[ Major + Minor Actions for next Abnight, Mission: New Forecast]

>>5802442
>>5802467
Whoops

>>5802469
Soo is this a rip?

>>5802467
> What compensation? I am cool with hanging out with you[ Major + Minor Actions for next Abnight, Mission: New Forecast]
Might be a huge waste of our precious time, but this is just too tempting to not take.

>>5802964
Sorry, work was kicking my ass.
I don't really get why there aren't more voters, this is a fun quest with a fascinating world.

>>5802467
>>5802469
Mornin, was just waiting to see if either of the other anons had an opinion while I think on it.

> What compensation? I am cool with hanging out with you[ Major + Minor Actions for next Abnight, Mission: New Forecast]

>>5802970
Nice, yeah I am rather surprised too. A nice mystery secret agent plot, neat setting. Deleth and Burden are very cute together. I am tempted to start killing the annoyances, but I think theres a few ways to work with Rakko. Need to make friends with that redhead security chick with the heavy duty pistols, or the quartermaster, and get an actual tour inside the facility to check it out.

>>5802971
" Oh, see you next-WAIT WHAT?" Tosca's screen kept flickering in absolute shock " You are not...messing with me, right?"

" Nope. It will be a fun diversion in this klusshole as Wrafs like to say."

"O-Okay! Arches are more likely to develop haemophilia due to-sorry, sorry! I will shut up now. Um, meet me at eastern gate. Don't worry about Slip Pass, I have plenty of these, eheheh. Oh shoot! You only have twenty three seconds, you won't make it!"

"What you mean-WAAGHH!!!" Without warning, Tosca scooped you from the floor with three of her eight arms using the rest of her mechanical arms to climb out of the window for a very quick and dangerous decent that had landed you right next to Gonzalez's Duner. The guy dropped his cig from the ground shattering stomp that was a few feet away from him.

"Thanks, I guess." You hate being manhandled like so but the Cybe had delivered you to Gonzalez in record time so you weren't that mad from her.

"See you soon, Burden!" Waved Ynco enthusacially as Gonzalez was revving up the engine while muttering something under his breath.

==================

"Can you believe that?" You shared everything that had happened with Deleth who wasn't that thrilled about it.

" Mr. Burden, I mentioned that Meteorologist Ynco was very antisocial... I didn't state the more glaring part of her personality. There is some talk about her being schizophrenic or mentally unstable at least. Please don't go with her, Mr. Burden."

" I mean, she is a bit unhinged who believes in some wacky stuff. I don't think she is that dangerous or anything." Deleth didn't say anything afterwards. She was just over-exaggerating , that was all.

===================

With Deleth, you went inside the Maw to the elven bunkhouse looking for Jikeiyh so you could give her the damn Vowder. Luckily for you, none of the few patrolling officers had decided to go for a surprise strip search.

" No one is allowed in the bunkhouse except for elves, the Elverseer and authoritized security officers. Please disperse peacefully." A bulky Cybe armed to the teeth blocked your path with a digitalized scorn on his face.

"I got this, Mr. Burden." Before you know it , your assistant had whispered something to the Therrblood power machine causing him to assume a more relaxed stance "Acknowledged, please wait here."

"Wow, what did you tell him?"

" I just... refreshed his old memory banks, that's all." Deleth gave you a playful wink. Good thing you brought her along.

First of two posts.
>>5802970
Thank you!

>>5802971
>>5802970

The elf in question was brought outside leading you to somewhere more secluded away from security cameras " Wow, did you fist a cybe's mechasshole or something? What happened to you too?"

"Long story. Not the time." You wanted to get it over with so you wouldn't get caught.

"Whatever, you got the goods?"

" I paid good money for it..." disgruntledly, you handed it over to Jikeiyh who rubbed her hands in anticipation.

" That's the stuff, alright." The elf with the ear prosthesis had taken a whiff first just in case " Alright, Clops, you get ... hmm, four questions about Elizker and only Elizker. Hurry the fuck up, got Quality Vowder to snort."

>Make them five, I am not asking by the way [ Specify]
> [ ask her what you have in mind]
> fuck Elizker, I want something else from you [ Specify]
> Write in

>>5803019

> [ ask her what you have in mind]
"Elizker had a warm and marked container locked by a key, with something unpleasant in it. How did he get it?"
"Commander Dorr called Elizker a useful man. What deals did he have going on?"
"Did Elizker have anything else hidden in or out of the facility?"
"He was your lover. You over anyone would know his secrets."

> Write in
"If theres something you want from his storage unit I can bring you back a memento. In return for a fifth question now."

"Was he looking into anything that someone might want him dead?"


Some other ideas I had was what if he was rambling about anything near the end. If he had a journal we could get. If he had connections outside this facility. Why did he borrow so much money, but buy a vaultblood vial instead. Or maybe asking if she wants to work for us, maybe there could be revenge for her lover in the future.

>>5802974
It might just be the OP image. When I first saw this thread I thought this was going to be a usual slice of life.
We gotta get to the bottom of what Whergamm's sister was doing around here. If we need to kill anyone it should be something to do with that I think.

>>5803019
>Make them five, I am not asking by the way [ Specify]
>"Elizker had a warm and marked container locked by a key, with something unpleasant in it. How did he get it?"
>"Commander Dorr called Elizker a useful man. What deals did he have going on?"
>"Did Elizker have anything else hidden in or out of the facility?"
>"Why did he borrow so much?"
>"Was he looking into anything that someone might want him dead?"
I believe the QM said forcing it would work. Not particularly fond of the idea of getting her to work with us. Her personality will probably be more of a detriment than anything. Also I just don't like her much.

>>5803036
>>5803046
This is going to be a biig update, will probably post in a few hours ( in the middle of work rn ) . In the mean time, should I break the tie or will you settle on a single choice?

>>5803046
I just don't like to go around scouring the Internet for a very specific pic so I just settle for an overall them ( tea because it is kind of relaxing ) . I prefer spending mental energy on writing rather than pic hunting.

>>5803055
Overall theme, my bad

>>5803046
True I'm sure with our persuasion we can force it easily. A goon elf for beating people over the head with a pickaxe isn't someone we bring around unless we expect trouble, not for the granny Dorr tea parties. Though I don't like her much either lol, but having lost her lover recently who wouldn't be rather bitchy.

>>5803055
No rush. Go ahead and say we force it for 5 questions of >>5803046
IF the memento idea also works it would be 6 questions then we could hit everything.

>>5803046
>>5803036

You weren't playing around this time, a harsher tone was needed with these type of people. Deleth who had been holding a minor grudge against the miner was quite satisfied with your sterner approach.

"Fine, whatever." Jikeiyh rolled her eyes " Ask away.

" Elizker had a warm and marked container locked by a key, with something unpleasant in it. How did he get it?" was your first question.

"Ah, that thing. No idea, he kept it with him all the time about a month before he went crazy. He would probably spread his cheeks for the lockbox if it had a nice dick." The elf chuckled briefly " The balding freak was actually talking to that thing at abnight behind my back. Glad I jumped ship when I saw the writing on the wall."

" I see." You desperately wanted to go for a follow up question but you held your tongue. A person like Jikeiyh would have definitely counted it as an independent question "Director Dorr called Elizker a useful man. What deals did he have going on?"

"Nah." She shook her head " Elizker was a pussy to go for anything illegal. I almost wanted to call him straight as a fucking arrow If he didn't take it up the ass like a good fuck toy. I heard that the guy before him was a very corrupt Warf that had smuggled a very rare chunk worth a couple of millions outside of the facility. The guy was corrupt as fuck." Jikeiyh smirked recalling a couple of very naughty memories. When your coworker said that they were the perfect match for each other, you didn't think of it this way.

"Okay.. Did Elizker have anything else hidden in or out of the facility?"

" maybe? he used to go to the place with the giant skull once a week and the obser...ob..the place with the telescope where Schizo Ynco is trying to find her imaginary friends. Kind of ironic, Officer Razewall was the guy who was like a bodyguard to him outside of the facility... he was the one to get his skull bashed by Elizker."

"See? I told you." Perhaps this was the first and the last thing the two elves would agree on.

"Intresting. Why did he borrow so much money?"

"Oh, that. Let me think..." Jikeiyh stroked her chin " He told me about it once. Something about him owing money to a big hospital for his crippled kid. When he couldn’t pay fast enough, they pulled the plug on her AND they demanded the rest of their money. A death spiral from that point. Rakko paid the rest of his debt, I really wish he would have killed this bitch instead."

" Damn." You immediately felt sad for him, he probably had nothing to lose after the death of his daughter "Was he looking into anything that someone might want him dead?"

"I don't think so? He mostly kept to himself, only Razewall might have know and that guy is dead. "

First of two posts.

>>5803062
>>5803046

" See you never, Clops." Jikeiyh had left when she was done answering your questions. You did have other plans for her pinned by the idea that she loved the previous blood tester. Overall, you felt like the Nopz you had basically thrown on the floor was very well spent.

===========

You returned back to the trailer feeling mighty exhausted. Before hitting the hay with an empty stomach, you had decided to go for another round of hacking. You had pinned a couple.of targets this time around. They were:

-Fire Alarm system [Elven Bunkhouse]
- Cybe JNTR-221 [Drillorail Station, needs 1 major action with hacking skill less than 2]
-Camera #12 [ Garage]
-Therrblood Charging Station [ Admin building, 1st floor]

You said your goodabnights to Deleth before drifting into the world of dreams. Klara could wait for the next night.

Second post

>>5803300
>>5803062
>>5803046

STATUS SHEET

Burden Deo

Health: Uninjured
Diseases/Affliction: Missing an eye.
Suspicion: None
Wealth: 300 Nopz
Actions per time period: 1 Major, 2 Minor [+1 Minor action at +3 Efficency!]

Vaultblood/??? Blessings:
+4 Persuasion
+2 Sleuth
+1 Lore
+1 Civvy
+1 Cthaii
-1 Agility?

Possessions:
-1 Hacking Tool kit
- Key to Storage unit #24
- Black eyed Impurity
- 3 Shift Pass
- 1 Slip Pass
- 1 Vaultblood Droplet
- Polaris-D39 [ Illegal!]
- 20 9Slv rounds [ Illegal]


Hacked devices:
-Camera #4 (Therrblood Warehouse)

Possible Hacking points:

-Fire Alarm system [Elven Bunkhouse]
- Cybe JNTR-221 [Drillorail Station, needs 1 major action with hacking skill less than 2]
-Sprinkling system #2 ( Food Court)
-Lighting Control system for Sniper Tower #16 ( Western outer parameters)
-Camera #12 [ Garage]
-Therrblood Charging Station [ Admin building, 1st floor]


Missions:
-To Syii or not to Syii
-New forecast

Deadlines:
-Legal Action (Chief Supplier Rakko) [ Day 8]

Investigation
-Demon eye spotted in outside of the facility
-No potential suspects

=====================


Night 6 [ 15 Nights left]
Night [Night-> Paranight-> Abnight]

" Night, Deleth." You greeted your assistant with a yawn " Sook the Fridge is totally empty, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Burden. You can drink my blood if-"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Coming! Coming! " Sheesh, what was the rush? You opened to the door only find dozens of very eager miners spearheaded by the Chief Engineer and Director Dorr herself " Uuuh, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

" Terribly sorry for this unannounced visit but we desperately need your help." Said the woman in a wheelchair as she had the miners haul what seemed to be a glowing black boulder of some Celestial blood "Please tell us if it is Qadblood or Lweblood."

"He won't get the chance to tell us anything, Lweblood will knock him out cold while Qadblood will make throw up in seconds." Spinefield had inadvertently come to the rescue.

"I got the de-tox for both, don't worry." Even Yaqesiro and his two nurses were there. Saying no was an impossibility, everyone had their eyes on you.

"Here goes nothing." You licked the sample immediately getting knocked out the moment after. When you woke up a few seconds later, all the miners were cheering and jumping out of joy.

They had just struck Lweblood

Third post?

The probability of it being Lweblood was 1 in 20 btw
>>5803062
>>5803046

This was big

P-31 was a Therrblood mining facility for decades. The miners had drilled into the Maw deep enough to find one of the rarest Celestial bloods out there. Simply put, Lweblood was functionally similar to Therrblood except for the fact that it was one thousand times more potent with zero chance for any impurities. It had to be diluted because no device could withstand so much power.This recent discovery might not be as good for you since security would be super tight in the Maw. Your discovery might have unseen consequences on the facility as a whole... lying was out of the question for obvious reasons.

+5000 Nopz

On the bright side, The Director had snuck a rolled up stack of money like a grandma handing candies. Nice.


Major Action: Pick one [Solo or with Deleth?]

>Continue your tour [select department]
>Slack off in the trailer
>Go to Rakko's office to deal with your 'debt'
>Go to Yaqesiro, See if he can help you to find the missing person
>Write in?

Minor Actions : Pick two [ Solo or with Deleth?]


>Check on the black eyed impurity
>Taste a sample of your blood
>Taste a sample of Deleth's blood
>Get a feeling of your new working environment/possible tomb , wander around
>Try to make small conversations with randos taking a break from their job
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
>Hack one of your pinned targets
>Nothing
>Write in?

>>5803337
Did we complete the mission for getting the elf her vowder?

>>5803353
It was not a mission sadly. You will know if x is a mission/possible mission with me labeling it so.

>>5803368
[Mission: The Devil's Duo ] wasn't it?

>>5803375
Oh wow, I have absolutely forgotten. Yeah, it's on me, sorry.

In that case, pick a stat to increase along with out actions

>>5803337
>>5803380
Lol np.
Perception+1

>Write in
Go out to the giant skull village and check it out for clues. Solo.

>Taste a sample of Deleth's blood
A nice hearty breakfast of Deleth, to find out what her blood is hiding.
>Check on the black eyed impurity. Solo

>>5803390
+1

>>5803390
>>5803514
Before heading out, you checked on the black eyed impurity again. You could finally figure out whether it was important or not. It was...

...total trash. The only value it might have was in its pretty shape. Children could use it as some sort of a currency in their marble trading and what not. What a waste of time.

You also drank half a cup worth of Deleth's blood. It was mostly the same, you couldn't discern any notable difference. You might want to invest more in your cover up job to learn more.

==============

-1 Slip Pass

" Don't stray too far, no one will save you if get jumped by ferals." An officer had given you a friendly warning after you had refused to hire an officer/dune driver. You had to be solo on this one. Of course, he didn't know that you were packing.

The walk to the feral village was long and arduous, you did spot a couple of wandering ferals along the way but they were ignoring you because they thought you were one of their own. Yep, as a Feralist , the world was your oyster as long as you didn't show any sign of aggression or stumble upon a keener feral/demon.

The Feral village was very surprising in its own way. For starters, it wasn't just some den of beasts living in their own shit, it had its own guards looking out for any sign of danger. You allowed them to sniff you as much as they liked so they made sure that you were 'one' of them before entering the village proper.

The giant skull from up-close was fascinating, not only did it provide shelter against the often harsh weather, it also had different etchings and drawings of past events. This behaviour and type of settlement was rarely seen among ferals. The main source of blood here was from hunted animals, plenty of dead worms strung up nearly decapitated allowing their blood to trickle slowly inside a skull cap acting as a bowel.

Your presence did perturb some of the more senile villagers. They didn't attack you right away but they might alert others should you linger here for too long. The more actions you would take, the more likely that your cover would be blown

>Inspect the carvings on the skull
>Attempt to climb to the very top of the skull
>Attempt to interact with the guards
>Attempt to interact with the senile feral
>Attempt to interact with feral children
>Attempt to interact with feral woman
>Inspect the heavily guarded cave entrance
>Sit down and drink fresh blood with others
>Attempt to climb to the left eye socket, Inspect the strange green fire burning within.
>Attempt to climb to the right eye socket, Inspect the strange blue fire burning within.

>>5803988
More investment in the Cthaii stat makes us a better feralist btw.

>>5803988
>Inspect the carvings on the skull
>Attempt to climb to the left eye socket, Inspect the strange green fire burning within.
>Attempt to climb to the right eye socket, Inspect the strange blue fire burning within.

>>5803988
>Inspect the carvings on the skull
>Attempt to interact with feral woman
Maybe make friends with the locals and give her the pretty shaped eye chunk as jewelry since it's otherwise worthless
>Attempt to climb to the right eye socket, Inspect the strange blue fire burning within
My corresponding lost eye

Rolled 81 (1d100)

Lads, we have -1 Agility. For what purpose?
>>5804043
>>5804045
Despite not having a written language, ferals could express themselves non-verbally with very crude drawings. There were some scrambled nonsense carved on the bony walls decades or perhaps centuries ago, these had probably belonged to someone who had succumbed to the thirst retaining a sliver of intelligence before going fully feral. As for the drawings, they detailed the daily lives of the somewhat tribe-like ferals from hunting together to defending their village from other ferals. Some of these drawings were pretty recent as well like this one with a Duner getting swallowed by a giant worm. There only repetitive carving you had noticed was five black lines or pillars having a bloodstained horizontal line on top of them. You had no idea the significance of this symbol, it had to be important.

Snooping around had earned you a couple of gazes , nothing too serious so far. Ferals had no use for ladders or ropes, only their most agile of their kin could freely climb up the relatively smooth portions of the skull upwards. Without any proper climbing gear, You attempted to reach the right eye socket with its strange flames flickering in the night, the first couple of climbs were doable but then you had realized what you had gotten yourself into...

This was a big mistake.

You...

-Tumbled off like a rag doll breaking too many bones to count on the way down, cold darkness had awaited you at the foot of this bony mountain [ 1-30]

-Slipped earning yourself many cuts and bruises, at least you could still walk [31-60]

-Had found yourself right where you had started with only a couple of scratches [61-99]

-were probably about to fall to your death when a feral had saved your life [ 100]

I also showed the rolls here bec of how critical it might have affected burden. Another note: failure=/= bad out come every single time. Good things can come out of bad situations sometimes
>>5804043
>>5804045

"Fuck..." You muttered. These scratches were very painful ,still, this beated breaking your legs or neck on the way down.

Plenty of eyes formed a belt around you... or a noose. The children were mostly curious while the senile ferals didn't really like your recent stunt. Your hand was hovering slightly above your gun which was a very stupid idea. You couldn't take on a couple of hundreds of them with twenty fucking bullets.

The more rational part of you wanted to get out of here while you still could, however, you felt like you hadn't reached open hostilities just yet...maybe? None had directly interacted with you so far.

>Leave the feral village
>Stay, continue your investigation [ select one of the previous options]

>>5804098

>Stay, continue your investigation [ Attempt to interact with feral woman]
Gift that worthless but pretty black eyed impurity

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>5804084
I was curious to test it out and see how far we could get. The nat100 would have been nice too. I wonder if I would have gotten it.

>>5804114
The women of the village were like any ferals out in the open: very much naked save for a couple of trinkets they might had scavenged or passed down from their wildling ancestors who had gone feral with a couple of personal belongings on them. As any hot bloodied male, it was hard not to get... distracted by certain parts of their exposed flesh. It was very unwise to do it with a feral due to the myriad of transmissible diseases you could catch, some of which remained incurable to this day. You were interested in interacting with one of them, a human with long black hair adorned with tiny warm mandibles acting like hair clips of sort.

"Do you want...this?" You extended your hand with your black eyed impurity which had piqued her interest enough to inch more towards you.

The feral began to sniff your impurinty diligently before slapping the gift out of you hand as it was flinged towards the cave entrance. Naturally, You had tensed up. You were this close to draw your gun on her until...

Lick

Ah, it seemed that the feral was more interested in the speck of blood from your most recent scratch. Blood sharing could be seen as a form of affection between ferals. It was always a prerequisite before coitus...unless the physically stronger partner had decided to take a more violent approach.

"Shit." A whisper had escaped your lips when she had secured your arm to continue licking it. She didn't sink her fangs in your flesh or anything, the feral human was very gentle actually.

"Where are we going?" You allowed her to lead you deeper in the village. She eventually stopped at what appeared to be her little abode instead a hollowed out portion of the giant skull's lower jaw. THE panting woman was visibly sweating, her eyes were festering with desire. You had to ask yourself one simple question:

Are you possessed by the same desire ?

>No, better turn feral to outright reject her advances
>No, better leave her without any fuss.

OR

>.... [ Mission: Children of the Land]


In case of saying no

>Leave, you are really pushing your luck
>Stay, one more action couldn't hurt [pick one from the previous options]


>>5804114
Let's leave the rolling to me. Faster this way too. Probably last post of the day too.

>>5804145
>No, better leave her without any fuss.
>Leave, you are really pushing your luck
I don't want us to get aids or some other disease lmao

>>5804145
Sure could use that mission to pump agility, but cheat on Deleth for a chance at power and feral AIDS? I think not. Even if Deleth did seem rather enamored with the movie about the guy 7-timing. Burden could atleast check her blood for diseases baka.

>No, better leave her without any fuss.
>Leave, you are really pushing your luck

Surprise update
>>5804187
>>5804166
You stood your ground refusing to go with the feral. In response, she screeched at you and entered the abode by herself. This little commotion meant that you had to leave right now. There were a few close calls here and there from the bigger sized ferals in the village looking for a challenge to prove themselves, however, you gave them all a wide berth o your way out.

=========

Paranight

When you returned to the facility, you found Hakodd on his way to the Drillorail station running as fast as his short legs could carry him. The reason ? A new batch of new elves had been freshly shipped here in P-31. The bastard would get the chance to thoroughly 'examine' them.

Major Action: Pick one [Solo or with Deleth?]

>Continue your tour [select department]
>Slack off in the trailer
>Go to Rakko's office to deal with your 'debt'
>Go to Yaqesiro, See if he can help you to find the missing person
>Back to the feral village?
>Write in?

Minor Actions : Pick two [ Solo or with Deleth?]
>Taste a sample of your blood
>Get a feeling of your new working environment/possible tomb , wander around
>Try to make small conversations with randos taking a break from their job
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
>Hack one of your pinned targets
>Nothing
>Write in?

>>5804221
Man I really could have used that mission point. What were the chances of STD? Plus we lost the eye impurity if we didn't pick it up. What a waste of three minor actions that would be.

I've got a couple ideas outside the current options.

If theres a drillorail drop off, then theres a chance for the Missing Elf to get on or be there to scout out for next time. Could go over there and start looking for her. Then hopefully spot, talk-no-jutsu into cooperation, or capture. Maybe Ask Albera if anyone on the cameras looks sus, maybe let her know what we are up to. Though I wonder if she cares about elf slavery at all.


It would be a good opportunity to snoop as Hakodd will be busy for a while. Enter his house with the excuse that we wanted to talk with him about getting Deleth Privileged Elf status. Except we don't have the lockpicking tool for the half dozen door locks. Don't have the agility to climb up through a window cleanly. Might be lucky and he was in such a hurry he didn't even lockup and thats pretty much it. If the stuff he is hiding is on a computer we could be nearby to try to ping and hack it, might just be full of porn.

>>5804306
Well, the Drillorail segment sounds like a major action to me.

What about the two minor actions?

>>5804310
Make it so

>Try to make small conversations with randos taking a break from their job with Deleth.
>Hack one of your pinned targets
-Fire Alarm system [Elven Bunkhouse]
Might as well have something if we need a distraction if we need one. Don't any of these people have computers? Should I just ask to ping for Hakodd's computer?

Writing!
>>5804329
Basically the more tech skill we have the more vulnerable targets we scan. Part of me is envisioning the setting to be retro-futursitic or at least something parallel to our tech. The Drillorail for an example is a complex bore that auto-create its own path/rail ( albeit very slowly counting the debris/any other hazards etc).

>>5804329
Since Twilight Spring was under a very damn good disguise, you couldn't just spot her out of the blue. You had to observe your surroundings first in the most likely place that she might be since wanted to get out of here. You sat around in different spots trying to suss out any suspicious behaviour or anything out of the ordinary...

Nope. Nothing had caught your eyes while idling around for a couple of hours. You did notice the right armbands on every member of the 'Family' , however. Most were dark blue, few were dull red and you only caught two workers with a purple armband. Interesting.

When that didn't work, you sat down with Albea and her adorable pet , Boozy, who was enjoying its kipple meal. You shared some of the info regarding the shape shifter.

" Eeeh, I don't like this Hussy. He treats women like property. This *is* serious... did you notify any of our security officers?"

"Why should I?" Your response had put a big smile on her face.

"To answer your question, no, I haven't noticed anything suspicious in the station. If your sex worker was right here, I would have known." The Drillo had stressed the last sentence with absolute certainty, perhaps unintentionally so.

After a friendly game of classic dice, you left her office without any tangible progress. You *needed* Yaqesiro's help... there were simply too many people to go through. Assuming that the hoe was still here, she had to act inconspicuously, her new job must be super mundane so she wouldn't stand out, probably somewhere that isolated her from others so the close friends of the person she killed wouldn't know. Damn it, you really had nothing to cling on here.

You took Deleth for a stroll in the open so you could refresh your mind and hers. She was doing well with her new disability unlike you.. the eye patch had kept the hollowed socket out of mind. You would do anything to get your eye back.

You and Deleth had sat down next to a very exhausted officer who was about to light up his cigarette "Man, you look like shit."

"Just casually starving to death, Rakko banned us from buying anything from a totally legal debt."

" I feel you, my friend had offed herself when she couldn’t pay no more. Look, the key to Rakko is her nutless boys, stay on their good side and they will vouch for you. Much easier than kissing her hairy ass. The one with pink ribbon, Candy, wanted a gun. A real one from Ashton last Ashton last week . It was a shitshow and a half."

"Wow, thanks for the help." You had no idea why the officer had freely shared this info with you. Maybe he wanted Rakko to get killed or something.

First of two posts.

>>5804945


You returned back to the trailer for another round of hacking. This time, you had accidently pressed the wrong button when typing too fast targeting another vulnerability was that...hidden? You were not that much of a techwizz so you couldn't really grasp what was going on. The screen kept flickering until a pixilated three of diamonds had showed up on the screen.

"Hello, User Burden Deo, are you a friendfriendfriendfriend?" A distorted child-like voice had addressed you as the screen kept flickering and flashing images for a hundredth of a second.

"The fuck?"

"Please help me, I am scared. I don't want to diediediediediedie." Unsettling images kept flashing relentlessly.

"W-who, what are you?" It probably wasn't the chief of Cyber security. He would have busted you right away.

"Alone, Trapped, Integral file corruption in... three daysdaysdaysdays." The distorted voice seemed to screech in pain. You had to lower the volume so Deleth wouldn't find out.

" Let me see..." You opened another tab, with your limited hacking skills, the only thing you could do to this thing was to delete the mumble jumble of busted codes and files.

"User Burden Deo, here, help me. Need a Cybe body to this location... hurryhurryhurryhurry.." The screen had another image on display... another artillery platform that was seemingly abandoned, it was dilapidated with what seemed to be a couple of ferals calling it their home. The place was too far for walking...you would need a Duner for it.

>Don't worry , little guy, I got you [Mission: Ghost in a wire]
>[ Delete the three of diamonds, they know too much]
> Can't really help you. Sorry [Sever Connection]

>>5804954
>Don't worry , little guy, I got you [Mission: Ghost in a wire]
This raises a few red flags, but the opportunity from this could be amazing. Also how can I say not to a potential robot buddy?

>>5804954

>Don't worry , little guy, I got you [Mission: Ghost in a wire]

Can't say no to a ghost in the shell reference. Major to hack the damn robot then another to use a slip pass and rent a Duner to get out there. Unless we can get two point of tech real fast.

Use some minor actions to talk with the femboy elves and persuade them to our cause.

>>5805046
>>5805021

" Thank you. Please hurry, I am scaredscaredscaredscared. " You had no idea what you had gotten yourself into... saving some AI in the middle of nowhere? You do need a Cybe to come with you for a ride... and a security officer who would act as your bodyguard/ driver for the military grade Duner. Sheesh, that was going to be a pain.

=======

Abnight

Against Deleth's wishes, you had decided to go out with Ynco/Tosca to catch some bugs. Did you come early or something? You couldn't see her anywhere.

"Psst, Burden, over here!" Someone had called you behind a tree.

"Ynco? Why the hell are you in a trench coat?"

"Zyptids can't see the colour beige too good... I think." She looked like she had just come out of a classic noir movie with her trilby hat and a pair of shades. All the stuff she wanted was in an duffle bag strapped to her back making her look like a mechanical hunchback.

"You do you, I guess." You shrugged , it was a bit weird but an acceptable thing to wear " Where are we going?"

"It is not far." Said Ynco while handing over two slip passes to the officers at gate " Follow me!"

The two of you walked for a good while, you had to endure an onslaught of useless trivia
which meant that the Meteorologist was pretty nervous up till halfway through according to her calculations.

"I... need a break." Your legs were killing you in the middle of a desolate wasteland "Ynco, not all of us are controlling a badass cybe remotely. You need to keep that into consideration."

"Uuuh, urm... d-duly noted." The Arch-like cybr had given you eight thumbs up.

First of two posts bec I almost lost the fucking update

>>5805021
>>5805046


"Wow, it looks beautiful." You paused for a bit to appreciate the red hue of the bloodmoon casting its reflected light upon the barren land.

" So many mysteries up there." The Cybe went for a digital sigh " I long for the day where we can reach our hands and claim the stars for the glory of Archekind."

"Huh, I didn't connect the dots till now... of course you are an arche behind all of that chrome." You remarked. Usually, Cybes were humanoid or elfoid in appearance for a more streamlined production.

"N-No? I-i am not an Arche! This model was designed with mobility in mind. This is...oh.." Ynco had fell silent for a pretty good reason...

A feral was walking towards you.

PANT-PANT

It wasn't just any feral, she was the same on whom you had rejected her most primal needs. She had tracked you all the way over here outside of the scary walls of the facility.

"Burden? My Feralology is a bit dusty but I can tell that she is barely keeping her hostilities at check. She is trying to assert her dominance over...you?"

"Stay behind me." You pulled out your plastic gun without thinking about any future consequences. This situation could quickly develop out of hand if not managed carefully.

"Nonononono! Y-you can't shoot or harm her! i can't be around violence."

"You are fucking serious?! What do you want me to do? Politely suggesting that she will leave us alone?"

"You don't understand! The weight of the last drop of Nyvblood is twenty three poun-mmrrgh! Something *really* bad will happen when I am this close to anything violent and no, I can't turn off my sensors...it is very,very complicated."

SCREEEECH!

Although you were talking to a walking screen, you could sense fear radiating from Tosca. There are very few ways to resolve this matter peacefully and you liked none of them.

>[Go all in and turn feral to intimidate the advancing woman]
>Can't believe I am doing this I hope you are fucking happy [ Mission: Children of the Land]
>[ Just fucking shoot this feral ]
>Ynco, do you think you can outrun this feral with me on your back?
>Write in

>>5805289
swear on me mum, no magical realm 'round here. If you are feeling uncomfortable. It can dial 'It' down to be as sterile as a surgeon's table at the cost of this extra World building flavour

>>5805308
>Can't believe I am doing this I hope you are fucking happy [ Mission: Children of the Land]

I had a feeling she might try to track ol Burden down. Take one for the team.

>>5805308
>Ynco, do you think you can outrun this feral with me on your back?
This one sounds like fun. And I refuse to get stds from this fucker.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5805321
>>5805336
Rollan

>>5805336
But think of how happy Karla will be to know she could be a grandmother lol. Slowly I am shifting the point of view. Burden's suffering is Tragic, but if his suffering becomes so great at what point does it become a Comedy?

>>5805364
Eh I've read enough borderline torture fetish porn to make me apathetic to that sort of thing.

Thoughts about the spoiler?
>>5805321
>>5805336

"Yes but not on my back.."

"Not again." Getting manhandled again was not on your to-do list for tonight, the feral woman was on your heels for a while keeping up with the mechanical wonder until Tosca's legs began to vent out a red steam of overpressurized Therrblood. Soon after, your pursuer was eating dust. You were off the hook.. for now. Your stalker would track you down again eventually.

"Ynco? Your body is getting kind of hot. You are overheating."

"Right." The Cybe had stopped over a large hill " I am not used to this kind of action... it is very scary and unhealthy. The average lifespan of Goe Leeches is seven to eight years. Sorry,sorry! My emergency override is on cooldown, I used it last week when-er forget it! I...it erm a very private matter." Ynco had avoided your single eye "Where did you get that gun?"

>Tell her the truth
>Use her same excuse against her
>lie
>Write in

>>5805364
What's going on down there?

>>5805375
>Write in
"I'll tell you if you tell me."
I wonder if shes got some sort of lie detecting facial reader.

As to the spoiler, I am not uncomfortable. As for the rest don't worry, just remarking on Burden's Bizarre Adventure having injured him in several ways, and likely to cause him more in one way or another.

>>5805375
>Use her same excuse against her
Should be entertaining at least.

>Thoughts about the spoiler?
Hm I'm not entirely sure. I guess I don't mind since it shows the corruption of this world, but having it be pushed too much on us can get annoying. I mean if I really wanted to be a coomer in a quest I'd just go to Akun or something.
Also not sure if I need to say this but if you go too far with the lewd then you'll get b&

>>5805392
I've gotta wonder if her recent emergency override was some odd encounter where a certain killer elf sex worker tried to kill her or something. Besides, I don't think Ynco is the type to want to file a report and have to talk with security officers for a few hours or rat us out.

I think I've spotted some lewd a few times in ongoing quests without repercussion, so theres certainly some kind of tolerance level.

>>5805392
>>5805404
First and foremost, this is a quest of actions and consequences, preplanning and intrigue. Certainly not a coomer quest. I am very careful with my selection of words during rather spicy prompts via the scared art of implying or off-screen stuff. The spoiler was for your personal preferences.

This strange attraction is solely because we are a feralist enforcing the idea of roleplay and choices. The whole feral village wouldn't be accessible peacefully without one of the first few choices you picked at the start of the quest.

Goodnight!

>>5805404
>I've gotta wonder if her recent emergency override was some odd encounter where a certain killer elf sex worker tried to kill her or something.
Might be possible, it could have something to do with the elf we're looking for or Jikeiyh. And yeah we're one of the only people that tolerate her so I don't think she'd try to mess with us (at least not intentionally).
And as for lewd it mostly depends on the mods noticing it or not.

>>5805410
Night QM!

>>5805390
>>5805392

"I'll tell you if you tell me."

"What are we, kids?" Tosca shook her head " Weapons can be dangerous. You don't want to hurt yourself or others by accident."

" Well, this too is a private matter." You replied while crossing your arms. She couldn’t retort with anything. An acceptable stalemate.

"Shall we get going? We are getting close to Fairheart Glade."

"Fair what? A glade? Here?" You raised an eyebrow.

" Ahem, allow me to explain..." According to Ynco, centuries old ferals who were quite powerful could sometimes surrender their bodies to the land revitalizing and allowing it to thrive further. The blood-watered vegetation would sprout out of the ground. Life would prosper in a small patch surrounded by nothingness. Technically speaking, the ancient feral was still alive underground. Their location should be visible thanks to the monolith that would be above them... a collection of Veins tangled with plant/animal matter, minerals and some Celestial blood if a vein was nearby resulting in quite the spectacle. This Monolith could be anything depending on the previously mentioned factors as well as the race of this feral.

"Wow.." All of that walking had paid off when you stepped inside the glade. The place was captivating with a small critters hopping around, blue and red tall grass and bio-luminescent trees bearing plump fruits drooping off their branches. You took notice of the fireflies and the moth minding their own spicy business up ahead. As for the monolith, it was a creepy amalgamation of ten feet hands made out of mostly wood sprinkled with bits of flesh here and there. A moat with bright blue liquid had surrounded these hands fused together reaching for the skies. Huh, you swore you saw one of them twitch right now.


" Here is your sweep net and bug box. Primva Moths are lumbering giants, they are so easy to catch buut you must handle them very slowly and with care... their wings are too fragile and their massive wings can be ripped apart."

"And the Bloodmoon Fireflies?" Ynco had two bug boxes on her, each one was labeled accordingly which meant that one of you would catch Moths while the other would go for fireflies.

"They are quite sturdy so you can swing as much as you like with your net. They are pretty fast though. Do you have quick reflexes?"

" I think?" You did lose an eye...It might not be as easy as you had imagined earlier.

>Catch Primva Moths
>Catch Bloodmoon Fireflies
>Make up an excuse, you don't feel like catching tonight

If you are going to catch bugs:

>Do so close to Ynco/Tosca
>Spread out , catch bugs somewhere else in the glade.

If you are not catching bugs:

> Ask Ynco a single question [Specify]
>Wander around in the glade
>Inspect the Monolith
>pick one of the fruits ( eat them?)

>>5805875
>Catch Primva Moths
>Do so close to Ynco/Tosca
I do not trust those hands, or maybe its something hiding behind the monolith. Then again one must wonder if they are reacting to the us that has survived the Sun.

We could *really* use a map but alas, I am a filthy phoneposter.
>>5805947
You were as gentle as a new parent with their newborn child. They didn't really attempt to fly away accepting their fate silently. Tosca , on the other hand, was zooming around like some kid high on Fea-sugat. Her bugs were more elusive catch had giving her a run for her money for certain.

" How many did you get?"

"Twenty three, you?"

"Sixty two." Replied Ynco proudly.

"Pfft, showoff." The moths were five times larger than the fireflies so it made sense for you to catch much less than the Arche-Cybe " Are we done now?"

" Not yet , we still have... this! I bought it from the D-twins the other night at a good discount." It was a deceptively small picnic box fully of goodies that would unpack on its own.

"D-Twins? Discount? Yeah, right."

"Oh, did you visit him during paranight? He is a lot crankier in that period. Go to him at abnight." Huh, well that was a useful information about him " Can you help me to find somewhere more scenic for our picnic?"

"Sure." You couldn't say no to free food. It must have been her way of repaying you for tagging along. The glade had plenty of great spots, the best place you had found was next to a small field of flowers overviewing the mystic monolith.

"Over here!"

"Coming! " just as the Meteorologist was approaching you, you had spotted something ominous amongst the seemingly innocent flowers [/b] :

A decomposing corpse of a Tauws

It had belonged to a child that had somehow escaped the horde massacre. You were certain of it from the injuries on his lifeless face...silver had maimed half of his face beyond recognition. The place was pretty far from here so it was a miracle for the true feral to crawl his body all the way here. The strong odour of his rotten flesh was masked by the field of flowers.

You had a couple of seconds to decided what to do. Ynco had expressed ultimate fear from violence and by extension, Gore. Was she just icky from such sights or was it something more serious?

>Do nothing , hope that she wouldn't notice it.
>Point it out in the middle of the picnic to see her reaction.
>Point it out while she is a few feet away from you
>Create a verbal diversion without telling her of the rotten corpse [specify]
>Create a physical diversion without telling her of the rotten corpse [specify]

>>5806219
Rip the format
It was a lucky one in a seven perception check

>>5806219
>Create a verbal diversion without telling her of the rotten corpse [Keep her attention with various questions]
A verbal diversion seems like the way to go with our silver tongue.
A rather general and redacted version of our own backstory with lots of training, until we got this position with some family connections.
Her own backstory
She would hang out with Elizker, what did they do and talk about
Does she recognize the symbol of 5 black pillars and 1 horizontal blood red line on top of them
What she plans to do with the bug research
Can she eat and stuff with this body?
Can she still make out any constellations out here
The blue water moat around the monolith, the fruit
Why she considers the Scarlet Lords poorly
Have she ever heard of a historical sixth Scarlet Lord like being?
etc.
Shes rather mysterious. I'd almost wonder if she was Uvoi if she wasn't more like a bigfoot cryptid hunter. Protected and isolated, with quite a high tech body. Anti-Scarlet Lord. If she someone's weird experiment on their own daughter? A Big-O Dorothy recreation using some brain scans.

I'm guessing some kind of automatic combat mode if anything relating to violence is recognized. Which would be rather awkward, but very useful for someone to bring her out to explore the feral village or somewhere dangerous if Elizker had that idea. Or...

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>5806282
Just showing this roll since this is kind of important. Anything above 10=good

the more ruinous part of me wanted us to fail for a more interesting result. moreso if it was a Nat one . Oh well


>>5806282
You kept bombarding her with a lot of questions long enough for you to stand in between her and the corpse. What followed was a very tense picnic where you had to keep up appearances so she wouldn’t suspect a thing.


You didn't remember half of your rapid-fire questions but they did the job, alright. Funnily enough, Tosca didn't or rather couldn't eat anything. As a cybe, she just needed her Therrblood Charging Station.

You learned about her brief interaction with Elizker. Apparently, he was not interested in astrology ( which offended her) but he bought loads of Astro Tickets so he could inspect one of the few functioning service tunnels leading to P-30 which was the original location of the mining facility that was abandoned when the few veins of Therrblood had dried out. One thorough geological survey later, the Maw was discovered forcing a full relocation to nearly all of the facility's previous assets. He said that an 'accident' had happened which had sealed the tunnel for good after returning to the surface.

"Is Dorr okay with it?"

"Of course not. I didn't tell her, the older facility is infested with something worse than ferals... Ikhor . It settled in a few weeks after the facility was abandoned. No one knows why."

"Shit.." Every sane person would dread this Ikhor capable of killing anything, even demons. It was a mysterious self contained silver fog that could manifest itself out of nowhere. It was once thought that this was result of paradimensional rift but this was proven to be wrong since even in the demon world, there were fogs of Ikhor plaguing the land. Only the Ikhorfolk could survive inside the fog. The only thing known about them were there unblinking eyes shining brightly in the fog as a formless menace of the unknown.

+Fake Death pill

" I... want you to have this." Ynco had given you a small pill " I am not really that good with gifts...or normal conversations. You will 'die' for two hours straight, good way to skip work , right? Haha..."

"Where do you get it from?"

"I used to take them... a lot hoping for the real thing because I am a little coward who...who..." Ynco had couldn't finish her sentence. She didn't answer your question though. You felt like it wasn't the right time to pressure her more for answers.

" It is getting late, should we head back?" The mood was already ruined.

"Yeah."

===========

The walk back to the facility was a bit of hassle because Tosca had insisted on carrying you AND the boxes full of bugs. When a duststorm was brewing in the horizon, Ynco had wrapped you and the bug boxes with her tench coat.

"You can put me down, now." It would have been embarrassing if she kept carrying you inside the facility.

"Thanks, Burden. Tonight felt ... pretty nice. Good abnight!"

First of two posts

>>5806282
"You too, Ynco." You had finally returned to the trailer afterwards where you found Deleth sleeping on the couch with a really gritty movie running on the TV. It was about senseless murder in a dome city torn by civil war. Brutal.

After changing your clothes and carrying Deleth to her bed like a good parent. you called Klara for a status report.

"Does my hatchling have some good news for me? "

>Write in

AND

The Scarlet Lords award those with a noble heart

Pick one


> +1 Persuasion
Smooth talker, silver tongue...etc

>+1 Perception
Awareness of your surroundings.

>+1 Endurance
How hard can you get hit

>+1 Agility
How nimble and acrobatic are you

>+1 Sleuth
Big brain time. . Makes you connect the dots faster, among other subtle things..

>+1 Efficency
How fast are you to finish numerous tasks be it trivial or crucial to your mission

>+1 Lore
Your knowledge of the world around you. The obscure, The unknown....

>+1 Tech
Your knowledge with anything with wires in them

>+1 Combat (Ranged)
Throwables, guns, paradimensional larval weaponry...etc

>+1 Combat ( Melee)
Up close and personal, weapon at or your feral claws...

>+1 Cthaii
Makes you better at being a Feralist.

>+1 Civvy
Makes you better at being a Blood Tester

>>5806282
Also sorry for not including all of this barrage of questions.

>>5806365
>Write in
>Tell her everything that might be important.

>+1 Agility
Mostly to negate that -1 Agility.

>>5806365
>Write in.
We struck Lweblood. Theres an escaped elf sex worker who got her hands on celestial blood allowing her to shapeshift, might try to recruit her as an asset or collect the bounty? Tell her about the trip to the feral village, the 5 pillar and 1 horizontal blood symbol. Fires in the giant skull eyes, and a level of peaceful organization in the village. Dorr's expo, where she didn't bomb the skull, and we saw an intelligent set of demon eyes sitting in the shadows instead of killing us. Tell her about the old tunnel, supposedly sealed after an 'accidnet' that Elizker used to visit, which leads to the old facility that has Ikhor in it. Also if we want to deal with Rakko we will have to bribe or convince her elves.

>>5806369
I am not deterred.

>+1 Agility
Might as well start working on this, really should get a set of climbing gear or something too. Or maybe Ynco can help with those spider legs.

>>5806380
>>5806383
We are going to have to call it for today, goodnight!

>>5806445
Goodnight

>>5806383
>>5806380

"Yeah, I already know about the Lweblood.Just a heads up, someone very important is going to visit the facility in week from now. My sources aren't sure who exactly is that person."

"Great." Just what you needed.

"Someone had a busy day, eh? Try to look for other service tunnels if you can't go through the one in the observatory grounds. Remember: Numbing all over your body means there is Ikhor nearby, got it? Take it slow and don't get yourself killed. I will come back to you in a few days with some info about the feral symbol."

"Got it. Good abnight."

=========

STATUS SHEET

Burden Deo

Health: Uninjured
Diseases/Affliction: Missing an eye.
Suspicion: None
Wealth: 5300 Nopz
Actions per time period: 1 Major, 2 Minor [+1 Minor action at +3 Efficency!]

Vaultblood/??? Blessings:
+4 Persuasion
+2 Sleuth
+1 Lore
+1 Civvy
+1 Cthaii
+1 Perception

Possessions:
-1 Hacking Tool kit
- Fake Death Pill
- 3 Shift Pass
- 1 Vaultblood Droplet
- Polaris-D39 [ Illegal!]
- 20 9Slv rounds [ Illegal]


Hacked devices:
-Camera #4 (Therrblood Warehouse)

Possible Hacking points:

-Fire Alarm system [Elven Bunkhouse]
- Cybe JNTR-221 [Drillorail Station, needs 1 major action with hacking skill less than 2]
-Sprinkling system #2 ( Food Court)
-Lighting Control system for Sniper Tower #16 ( Western outer parameters)
-Camera #12 [ Garage]
-Therrblood Charging Station [ Admin building, 1st floor]


Missions:
-To Syii or not to Syii
-Ghost in a wire

Deadlines:
-Legal Action (Chief Supplier Rakko) [ Night 8]
-Complete file corruption (???) [ Night 10
-The *big* visit (???) [Night 14]

Investigation
-Demon eye spotted in outside of the facility
-No potential suspects

=====================


Night 7 [ 14 Nights left]

Night [Night-> Paranight-> Abnight]

" Night , Deleth."

" Hello, Mr. Burden." Your assistant didn't look too good after a night's sleep. Starvation was one of the most common reasons for someone to go feral. You must deal with Rakko one way or another...you only had one night left to reach for a more decisive action before the sleazy warf would take legal action against you.

BEEP

Director Dorr had sent you a message on your ID, She intended to half your two shifts at the cost of making the single shift pretty long. Again, she really was affected by your current disability.

Select a working time period ( Major + 2 Minor actions)

>Night
>Paranight
>Abnight

AND

First of two posts

>>5807242
>>5806383
>>5806380

Major Action: Pick one [Solo or with Deleth?]

>Continue your tour [select department]
>Slack off in the trailer
>Go to Rakko's office to deal with your 'debt'
>Go to Yaqesiro, See if he can help you to find the missing person
>Back to the feral village? (Need Slip pass)
>Write in?

Minor Actions : Pick two [ Solo or with Deleth?]
>Taste a sample of your blood
>Get a feeling of your new working environment/possible tomb , wander around
>Try to make small conversations with randos taking a break from their job
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
>Hack one of your pinned targets
>Check Camera #4 footage
>Nothing
>Write in?

>>5807243
Use a Slip Pass. I really feel I should have just gone with the plan to kill Rakko instead of letting Karla talk me out of it. All those people we talked to and not one with useful suggestion on dealing with Rakko until some rando security officer last night. No proof on smuggling therrblood chunks but that the last one got away with millions. Just legal chicanery.

>Find Rakko's Elves and see what they want. With Deleth. Maybe hold her hand to get the elves sympathetic.

>Check Camera #4 footage. Alone.
>Make some time if any of the elves requests is minor enough


I thought I did a hacking action for the Elf Bunkhouse here
>>5804329

>>5807282
You mean a shift pass, right?
We technically didn't hack into the bunkhouse, we went for the ghost in a wire mission remember?

>>5807284
Yeah shift pass. Ah right the ghost in the wire popped up instead okay.

>>5807282
-Shift pass

Since you didn't really studied Rakko's nightly routine, you had wasted a *lot* of time trying to figure out the chink in her armour... you simply couldn't talk to any of them with her around. Patience was key here.

Three hours had passed for an opportunity to present herself. Candy, the elf with long pink hair, had gone to the men's bathroom in the food court area while his big mama was enjoying a greasy meal with the rest of her entourage. Perfect.

You slipped by unnoticed taking a leak next to Candy who took a peek almost instinctively "Nice coc-Ooops!"

To ease the tension, you took a peek too over his...sheesh, there was nothing to be praised down there. To call it below average would be a fat lie "Uuuhhh....nice..hair?"

Zzzzzip

" Oh thank you! You are too kind!" Came his high pitched compliment " Big Mama always buys the finest hair products for me...I remember you! You are the Burden Guy, right?"

"Ayep." You nodded.

"You totes should buy Kashionista Noir for your lady elf friend, it will be perfect for her type of hair!" Candy write it down for you so you wouldn't forget " See ya!"

"Candy, wait."

"Hmmm? Oh, sorry, Not really into men. Want me to get Sugatplump for you? He likes naughty boys like you~"

"Nonono, not like that!" You shook your head " I heard that...you might need some kind of help?"

"Oh about that..." Candy was overwhelmed by sadness for a second " I need a gun. Can't tell you why."

"And in return?"

" Big Mama will accidently shred your contract if you get what I mean." The elf kept blinking his eye coyfully "Do you have one? I can't really meet you anywhere tonight. Big Mama wants us to check a couple of elves all night long."

>Yep, here it is, non traceable and hasn't been fired once [give him your gun and the box of ammo]
>here you go [Give the gun only]
>Sorry, can't help you [leave]
>Write in

>>5807328
>Yep, here it is, non traceable and hasn't been fired once [give him your gun and the box of ammo]
Oh boy this can't go badly.
Honestly I'm hesitant about picking this since it's sacrificing useful items for a stranger's promise but I'll ball in the hope something good comes out of this.

>>5807328
>Yep, here it is, non traceable and hasn't been fired once [give him your gun and the box of ammo]

>>5807337

Well it is what it is, unless we want to find another elf or use our silver tongue to convince Rakko to do a little therrblood smuggling like the last Warf and maybe get out of here with a couple million nopz.

>>5807339
>>5807337

- Polaris-D39
- 20 9Slv rounds

" Oh wow, thanks!" The outgoing elf had shook your hands " Tommorrow, Big mama will pay you a visit with the good news, pinky promise!"

"Uh huh." You might have put a lot of faith in this random guy but your choices were limited given the short window of time available.

"Are you okay, Mr. Burden ? You had spent a lot of time in the bathroom." Asked the concerned Deleth.

" Just had a little conversation with one of Rakko's boys. Reasoned with him over his Big mama's illegal schemes. Candy is on our side." Deleth didn't overtly show it but she was really impressed with what you had done. In a way, her life was depending on it.

Moving on, you returned back to the trailer where you had hours and hours of footage to check from the camera you had hacked. The fast forward button had saved your ass there. Nothing, nothing, nothing...

ohh, what was this?

Though you couldn't see it directly. An Arche engineer with a distinct tattoo on his forearms seemed to have some stomach cramps before heading behind Therrblood crates for a few seconds. When he returned back to the frame, he was perfectly fine. You might have thought that he emptied his stomach of or something had it not been for the very distinct demonic gurgling You heard.

This Arche was possessed

Your suspicions were further confirmed by the brief change in his eye pupils...for a couple of frames, they were six. Too bad you hadn't met him or had any idea who he might be.

Your instinct told you that the demon possessing him was probably a small fry. You were a civvy in this facility so there wasn't much you could do directly. Even if you managed to get him killed, you would sever a possible lead on the hidden cult inside the facility. You had to track him down and know more about him before making any move that might compromise your investigation.

> Select one more minor action for this period

AND

For Paranight

Major Action: Pick one [Solo or with Deleth?]

>Continue your tour [select department]
>Slack off in the trailer
>Go to Yaqesiro, See if he can help you to find the missing person
>Back to the feral village? (Need Slip pass)
>Write in?

Minor Actions : Pick two [ Solo or with Deleth?]
>Taste a sample of your blood
>Get a feeling of your new working environment/possible tomb , wander around
>Try to make small conversations with randos taking a break from their job
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
>Hack one of your pinned targets
>Write in?

>>5807364
A Virivi would have known more about this demon/sniffed him out earlier

>>5807364
>Hack the Rail Cybe. Solo.

>Ask around about the arche engineer with the distinct tattoo. With Deleth.
>Message Ynco to ask about a Slip Pass, she said she has plenty. Alone.
>Look into getting a set of climbing gear, lights, and excavation tools. A gas mask.

Let me see. Hack the Rail Cybe and ask Ynco about a Slip Pass now, rent a duner next turn to drive it out there for Ghost in the Wire. The climbing gear for the skull would help, and light with excavation tools might be handy to get through the service tunnel? A gas mask against the ikhor?

>>5807415
Nothing works against the ikhor unless you are a scarlet lord, the fog is a dead zone with some unnatural properties like the gravity defying blood core in the d twins for an example. The numbing sensation would be felt in an area close to the dead zone.

>>5807415
Hacking an actual Cybe was a very serious crime. You just hoped that you wouldn't get caught since their security system was very complex despite its current vulnerability.

You reached a lot of virtual dead ends meant to hamper your progress. Eventually, JNTR-221 was yours to control allowing you to gain direct access to all of its systems. Out curiosity, you switched to its visual feed only to find the Cybe surrounded by Albea and several workers in the Drillorail station.

" Miss Albea, This unit is 23% efficient in its current duties. Requesting termination for a better model to assume duties of this unit."

"Nonsense, Jann. You are part of the family. You are as important as everyone around here. I will get Jean to fix your broken arms. What you did is *very* brave." The Drillo kissed the hacked Cybe on the forehead. Other Workers had given this old model some encouragement as well. Should the Family discover that one of their own was hacked by you, well...

>Sever Connection
>Don't issue any commands for now
>issue specific orders that wouldn't compromise the Cybe [Specify]
>issue more risky orders [Specify]

>>5807908
>issue specific orders that wouldn't compromise the Cybe [Specify]

Check Status of Cybe Unit
Observe surroundings for what just happened.
Request repairs and recharge station.
Review memories.
Bring up Schematics for this unit, how are they usually armed, vulnerabilities, etc.

Great, a broken and beloved cybe.
Can't take it out or have it climb the fence until its arms are repaired. Maybe we can get some information on what just happened that was 'very brave'. Maybe some other stuff if this unit has been around for a while. Getting repaired and recharged should provide plenty of alone time without any suspicion, might be able to see into the life of the Drillo family.

But if we can't use this, maybe we can get some instructions on how to repair a similar model from discarded parts. That might be ideal actually, we bring just a repaired chest and head without arms or legs. If the ghost in the wire is somewhat hostile it will be rather limited in doing anything until we get information from it. Easier to stuff the chest and head into a big backpack rather then walk around with some well known cybe.

>>5808016
+1

T̸̘̙͇̤̳̙̝̟̈̽̓̏́ę̷̧̡̘̙̩̼̱͎̦̗̦͓̻̳̠̒͜͝s̵̡̢̛̭͎̮͔̠̯̹̣͊̆͆̓̋̀̇̐̊̀̈́̏t̶͍̮̠̰̩̥̟̤̳̫̘͇̓

>>5808032
>>5808016

>>5808016

://<Check Status of Cybe Unit>
System overload, Unauthorized access, Unauthorized access, Non functioning arms, 32% damage in Therr-circulation, damaged logic unit, damaged processing unit. Probability of full repair : 21%

://<Observe surroundings for what just happened.>
Unknown registered Unit: Deceased due to direct interference from this unit. Unabe to override desgination Family.zxo. Family unit Miss Mariam: Unconscious due to superficial lacerations. Unable to process further .
::/<Request repairs and recharge station.
Review memories.>
Unable to comply, undergoing repairs are already scheduled by Miss Jean


://<Bring up Schematics for this unit, how are they usually armed, vulnerabilities>
Unable to comply: This unit is a Jannitorial Cybe. Requested Data is not found within memory banks

========

Sheesh, you were extremely lucky not to cause any major malfunctions/expose yourself from your sloppy line of codes aimed at Jann. That was a close one. Hmmm, it seemed like there was more than met the eye with the 'Family'. How were you supposed to tackle this new information? You were in a desperate need of a wingman, a partner...perhaps this solo mission was too much for you
Nevertheless, you ought to continue your investigation.

You went around the warehouses asking for an engineer with distinct tattoos. As it turned out, this engineer was called Odsnn who was in charge of all the Therrblood from the lowest level of the maw (from W-1 to W-4) where the Lweblood was found. You had literally bumped into him on your way out of one of the warehouses.

"So Y̴̡̤̳̼̗̥̏͆̋̇͜ͅͅou are the ō̶͔̗ne who kept ask̷͚̫̓̆ing about me..." Up close, this Arche was built like a truck , his tattoos had hidden his muscular arms ready to deliver a knock out punch if needed. All Cthaii agents were trained to notice subtle differences in speech since weaker demons could only mimic the words of their host so they were bound to slip up eventually.

"M-mr burden?" Your assistant was visibly scared, she had the right to do so when the exit was blocked by two bulky Warfs. Three hardened engineers had crept behind you two as well. The Harpy one had a nasty crowbar resting on her shoulder.

"W̶̬͈̃̚h̴̝̄̌at are you waiting for? Spill it out alŕ̶̥e̴̳̎͌a̴̯̩͛̔d̷̟͋y̵̓̈́ͅ... we have a lot of work to do." Odsnn had taken a step forward invading your personal space.


>[Tackle the possessed Arche, possibly allowing Deleth to escape]
>[Call for help as loud you can]
>[Make up some *really* good excuse for looking for someone you had no connection with] [Better excuse= more bonus to our Persuasion roll]
>How about we stop playing around? I know *who* you are....
>Write in

Feel free to ask any situational questions before making a choice.

>>5808112
>>5808032
>>5808016

Random idea here but supposedly if we kicked the bucket (no safenets/plot armour for burden btw ) would you be interested in continuing the quest ( reshuffled characters, Minor tweaks, consider it an alt reality) ? If so , what is the most optimal build you can think off right from the get go?

Also please vote soon, I am itching to write the next part

>>5808112
>[Make up some *really* good excuse for looking for someone you had no connection with] [Better excuse= more bonus to our Persuasion roll]

"I'm Burden, the new Blood Tester to confirm the Lweblood sample, and I've been trying to make a tour to acquaint myself with the people here the past few days. When I heard where the Lweblood was found and who was in charge of those areas, I was hoping we could all make introductions. Lweblood means much tighter security everywhere for as long as the vein lasts, so I wanted to hear your opinion and experience."

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>5808196
Rolling here for obvious reasons, we need more than 30 for a successful Persuasion

>>5808112
>>5808196
This.

>>5808191
Sure, it could prove interesting. As for an optimal build, I'm not sure. Min maxxing isn't my talent, but I guess a very strong person but is socially terrible could make a good contrast.

>>5808191
I'd want to continue the quest. I wasn't sure if it would become some sort of Groundhog Day scenario depending on the hidden properties of the Sun thing Burden found. Though the most natural continuation I suppose would be that whoever the agent that was already supposed to be here as an option was infact here to watch Burden. Deleth surviving and finding the Burden logs, but that would be very hard.

I probably wouldn't have dumped 2 more into Persuasion to hit 4 but spread them into Tech and maybe some combat abilities since it feels kind of weird to be a Super Agent with Feralist Powers, but we don't really have that much more combat ability even transformed. If the system worked in a certain way to where x levels in Civvy and x in Efficiency made him so good at doing his job he could do 2 time slots of work in 1 or something like that.

>>5808196

"..." The six pupils were perfectly concealed as he stared down at you. You didn't lose your composure playing it cool right until he had the following to say:


" The Lweblood is ş̷͎͎̟̄́̌̍̚͝ę̷̛̛̼̼̠͕̤̍͋͑̃͂ͅc̸̡̖̗̖͂͊̀̀͗ụ̵͐̑̂r̶̗̎͂͒̃̾̈̚e̷̛̟͙͔͚̥̓d̷̛̟̦̩͙̗̥̓̇̑͜ in the seventh warehouse under maximum security and surveillance. Whergamm has personally assigned his best boys with us. W̸͇̋e̵͙̫̭͔͓̚ don't need your help or expertise and I am not willing to waste any time with you." Ah, you exactly know what warehouse he was talking about. It was the one that was also like a small fortress desginated for high valuable chunks found in the maw. Nartually, you couldn't enter it duting your search. You wanted to point out that you saw him a regular warehouse but that might not be good decision. Could the other engineers surrounding you be also possessed?

" Got it. Keep up the good work." Deleth was very confused for your reasoning to see this seemingly dangerous person. You couldn't tell her...just yet.

=======

+1 Slip pass

You messaged Ynco through your ID, She insisted on speaking with you direction ( she thought you might be a Hacking Zyptid) so you gave her a call.

" A slip pass? I don't know, I used them a lot for my research."

"Come on, Ynco, just one...please?" Your silver tongue and charming personality had worked on the Meteorologist, She had Gonzalez deliver one slip to you. You were pretty sure that he had spat on it. Whatever.

As for getting some climbing gear, you had three avenues to go for which were two actually:

-from the chief supplier's shops( you need to wait for the next night for the shops to be opened for you)
-from the Maw by stealing from either engineers or elves
-from the D-twin if he was in a good mood

What were you going to do?

>Go to the D-Twins (new week phrase next night)
>Steal from the Maw
>wait it out (choose another minor action)

Bonus question: how often do you want me to visibly roll instead of behind the scenes rolls?

>>5808202
As you can see , there are skill checks for all stats ( some are combined even). Jack of all trades won't work here so it is for the best to invest in 2-3 skills. Furthermore, time is so precious so prepare for not being able to complete all available Missions especially the time sensitive ones

>>5808200
Classic unga bunga

>>5808216
Whoops, I meant:
'Speaking with you directly'

>>5808216
Well theres no rush now.
>wait it out (choose another minor action)
Get access to the Personnel files on Engineering, we want to be on a first name basis with people in our department after all, and know where they work and for how long. Or if thats too much then keep checking on the Storehouse camera to see if we can spot possession in any of the other engineers we spotted, though I was hoping a perception check might have given us that when they surrounded us.

>>5808224
There are several things I want amongst far more than 2-3 skills, and them behind point investment. I have no idea if Civvy is even doing anything other then I want to know what the hidden trait of Deleths is. I will ask Karla for an extension if need be.

>>5808216
>>5808244
Supporting.

>>5808224
I'd rather have all rolls visible if possible.

>>5808244
>>5808250
The more efficient part of you wanted to know literally everyone in the mining department so you wouldn't have this direct confortation again. There were two distinct problems in your little plan: the sheer number of people working with which might as well be over a third or a half of the current work force. You also had to hack into admin files which was nigh impossible without being a tech wizard. Asking for it legally via the vice director was not really worth it either: it would raise a lot of questions.

You returned back to the trailer to rewatch the previous footage looking for the other guys who had surrounded you and Deleth... one had appeared in the footage, she looked perfectly normal. You didn't give up so easily switching to live footage instead. Ah, they were talking right under your camera...

Still nothing.

They were discussing their actual job. Odsnn had reminded everyone not to smoke in the special warehouse. According to him, Lweblood is highly sensitive to heat. It could actually explode given the right temperature. That's why it was refrigerated which was very costly for the facility.

=========

Abnight

You really wanted to do something about that little demon. At this time , you couldn't without incriminating yourself or putting Deleth into danger. Damn it.

Jann was also fixed by Jean. Damn, that girl sure worked fast.


Major Action: Pick one [Solo or with Deleth?]

>Continue your tour [select department]
>Slack off in the trailer
>Go to Yaqesiro, See if he can help you to find the missing person
>Back to the feral village? (Need Slip pass)
>Write in?

Minor Actions : Pick two [ Solo or with Deleth?]
>Taste a sample of your blood
>Get a feeling of your new working environment/possible tomb , wander around
>Try to make small conversations with randos taking a break from their job
>Open your Hacking kit, start pinning possible targets.
>Hack one of your pinned targets
>Write in?


>>5808244
Civvy Makes us a better blood tester which can also mean a better disguise for us.

How do I make asking the mechanic chick for a working cybe chest and head seem reasonable and not weird. Code practice? Learning crafting by working on a Cybe? Trying to create a cybe forearm for Deleth? Turning it into a household appliance or computer?

>>5808311
It is unreasonable. Really can't think of any hook here. I would assume higher tech= more cybe knowledge but even with max tech, we can't minecraft our way to make up a highly advanced machinery out of scrap.

>>5808311
As always, I am not against thinking out of the box. So feel free to put anything you may find reasonable on the table

>>5808325
I've got Pathfinder thursdays so I'll tackle this tomorrow unless other anon has an idea or wants to get started on talking to Yaqesrio. Could always look for a different cybe that isn't Family property. Maybe have it jump the fence after we hack the lights around that one tower and have it go over there. Its far enough for a person to take a duner, but a cybe isn't gonna get tired. Spose it could run out of power.

We take this Cybe with us and rent a duner during this Abnight surely someone is gonna notice it. Unless a cybe can fold its limbs for storage or something and then we carry it with us. Fake its death? Have it do something to alter its appearance and scratch out its serial numbers. Hack the garage camera so it glitches out, have the Cybe sneak in and hide inside one of the duners, then rent it so we can drive it out there.

>>5808374
I guess we will wait for the other anon to voice their opinion too

>>5808734
Making intricate plans is a bit above me lmao.
I guess if this isn't really a viable cyber to hack we should hack a different one despite the sunk cost fallacy telling me it's a waste of precious time.

Honestly speaking of time I'm not sure if we can manage to find that murderer before it's too late. I think we should prioritize on our mission then on the ghost in the shell robot to see if we can get another companion out of it.

>>5808824
Two birds with one stone. Request a Cybe dune driver. We take it out there, and get it to escort us inside the abandoned building. Then the Ghost would be inside a security Cybe who could scout out the Security areas we haven't been able to get in.

>>5808824
>>5808311
Well, we will need a vote here. Reminder that we have an unspent Vaultblood

>>5808860
Friendly reminder that the duner is a military vehicle with an auto cannon, we can't rent it on our own. We must have a security officer accompanying us. Cybes in general are assigned to menial jobs ( mining is reserved for elves though), station greeters, janitors, haulers, etc but not something strictly super important so I hate to shoot down the idea of a cybe duner driver too.

>>5808860
Alright, sounds like a plan. Well I mean the QM just said dunners are military vehicles that need security personnel accompanying us.

>>5808895
I'll wait for the other anon to decide. I can't remember if we needed that Vaultblood for something.

>>5808266
>Request a Duner Officer and a Cybe Jann/Hauler for our Ghost Mission, we are going exploring and might want it to help bring some stuff back. Ask for the Redhead with the big pistols again since there will probably be ferals that need to die.


Fuck it, I don't have any other ideas. This Family cybe is compromised in every way. Its been hacked and altered before us, it has some kind of security duty that has it fight other cybes. They favor it and look out for it so they will notice if its gone. Plus it has to be brought with us where people can put them together. I can't fashion some heelies for it so it can zoom off without a duner which will be needed to clear out the ferals living in the building.

>>5808959
Idk I was just keeping it if we needed to sell it for money mostly. Every time we get money we end up spending it all, and once we got the gun we ended up having to give that up. I imagine this little expedition will also be rather costly even against our 5000 nopz. I might just use it on Civvy since we just got very close to dying if we weren't convince enough in our cover, and I want to know what the Deleth hidden attribute is. I was maybe holding it if we really needed the extra point in agility or Tech, but its Tech 2 we would need for Cybe shenanigans not costing way too much.

I definitely regret spending a point on Lore to find out the eye was worthless and then thrown away instead of handing it to the feral children, but not having any Lore on a secret agent who is supposed to be hunting for demons it seemed silly not to invest a point in it.

>>5808959
>>5808973
-3000 Nopz
2300 Nopz

"That doesn't make a lick of sense. You want to get out there to 'explore' AND borrow a Cybe? " The officer at the garage had raised an eyebrow. He was totally not buying it.

"Well, you see. I got a hunch that-"

"No need, I will tag along with him." Officer Cathy had come out of seemingly no where. The Rookie had overheard your conversation " Staying cooped up here is driving me crazy I need some action."

"Look, pretty lady, you-"

"I scored 124, SSS in the Feral Ranch, no safety net. Mr. Ashton was very impressed of me." The redhead had interrupted the elf officer who couldn't believe it. Must be a high score or something.

"Alright, Need three stacks of red for the Duner and the bot, you got those?"

"Here you go." You hated to part with so much money. Oh well.

The officer sighed before making preparations, in fifteen short minutes, everything was good to go.

Tme to save the trapped AI...


=======

You learned a great deal about Cathy during the relatively long trip. The Rookie was actually the daughter of one of the big politicians in a different Dome city. He wanted her to follow his foot steps but that wasn't her style opting to join the police force instead. A couple of different twists of fate later, she was transferred to this inhospitable place. You had to lie about your blood tester past and your false accomplishment to get the conversation going.

"I see it." The abandoned artillery platform was partially swallowed by sinkhole in what seemed to be an abnormal environment .

Sometimes, Celestial blood hidden in the soil would get frisky with radioactive material or even between another type of Celestial blood... that or powerful demonic activities . Uprooted trees were tangled together with red silk that was strong enough to decapitate unaware ferals that had run through jt. All of the nearby shrubs had attached themselves to writhing ferals forcing them to crawl on their hands and feet. The rest of the ferals were absolutely decimated and piled close to the sinkhole where there was a very obvious entry to the lower level of the platform. Whatever happened here was very, very recent that looked nothing like the image you saw on your hacking device.

" I don't like this, we should report back to HQ..." The good news here was the dormant state of the feral shrubs along with their low numbers, nine to be exact.

"Why don't you just shoot them with the auto cannon?"

"Naw, that will be dishonourable to them shrubfolk. I don't want to face these things directly either."

>You are right, I really don't want to tangle with these guys [ leave]
>Fine, Wait here, I will sneak by them [exit the duner]
>[Sucker punch Cathy, take control of the Duner]
>[Convice Cathy to get out the Duner to kill the plant ferals with her revolver]
>[Convince Cathy to glass them in the comfort of the Duner]
>Write in

>>5809021
>[Convince Cathy to glass them in the comfort of the Duner]
Come on Persuasion +4 do your magic, though whats an argument here?

And let HQ have first dibs and the glory on a find?
I think it would be a mercy, the ferals cant even run or mate anymore.
The Cybe isn't gonna be sneaky enough to get past these things with me, and if the ground is shakey I'll want the Cybe in there with me, but someone up here incase we do need to call for backup.
It'll be fun?
Can't collect any of that red silk with those shrubferals in the way.

>>5809070

" You are putting them out of their misery, they wouldn't even get the chance to register their wounds."

"You are..right. Still, feels too cowardly to me.." it took a single shot to waste them all because they were clustered together. Good riddance.

"All clear. What now?"

" The prize is waiting for us up ahead, we need the Cybe for us." You remained somewhat ambiguous about the trapped AI for the time being, surely Cathy wouldn't object or anything , right?

You climbed over a bit of rubble to enter the half sunken platform. Judging by the large hole and the destroyed equipment covered in feral shit and piss, your deduction had pointed you to the fact that you had just stepped inside a Therrblood generator room with severed giant cables once connecting the platform to the new facility or the older one? Whatever the case might be, an explosion had occurred when the right side of the platform which had no solid ground to support tons of cement and steel beams.

"Ferals sure shit a lot." You made a quick remark , Cathy was a bit more serious already pulling out her revolver and leading the way.

"This way, so closeclosecloseclose..." The rusted speakers came back to life sounding just like the three of diamonds.

"Who is that?!" Cathy's grip on her gun had tightened in response.

" Erm, An AI . It hacked my ID asking for help." You had to tell half truths here.

"..." The security officer didn't reply focusing on the dark and narrow pathways ahead...that were suddenly lit by flickering lights?

The innards of the platform was pretty simple; two giant hydraulics meant to clamp on the Mamm's tracks for extra stability as well as absorbing any shock, they were powered by the power cable while the generator was meant for other regular devices. It was an older model compared to the one close to the horde. Currently one of the two hydraulics was in shambles rusting away inside a large pool of stagnant water full of hungry leeches...better stay away from them.

The three of you had to vault over several gaps in your ascend to the high level avoiding to slip on feral shit fso you could follow the disembodied voice until you had reached a large room in the end of a long hallways littered with dead ferals, all of them were torn limb from limb by... something...or someone.

" You are here, please save memememe.." The AI was actually stored in a Therrblood charging station which was flipped on the side to expose its jungle of wires. A skeleton of someone in a jumpsuit was trapped between this web of wires that had connected the charging station to a large panel that might have belonged to the platform's comms system.

"Connect the cybe... failure imminentimminentimminent.."

>Connect the cybe to the charging station
>Ask three of diamonds a single question
>turn around and leave
>pull out the wires supporting three of diamonds
>Write in

>>5809181
I presume this means getting a single answer before connecting the Cybe, not coming out here to ask it a single question and then it dies. Fucking thing told me it had three days until it failed and now I get only a single question? Its bad enough theres a demon out here.

so the explosion was caused by the sinkhole and not by someone blowing it up? I mean I guess that useful to know it wasn't someone planting an explosive, or the demon knocked a hole in the wall.

>>5809252
Yes, according to our sleuth skills and the pattern of the explosion, it is a structural integrity problem. Also gotta add more suspense, considering its current state accuracy isn't really its best suite.

>>5809181
>Ask three of diamonds a single question
"Is there anything else in this building worth taking with us?"
maybe a small armory we can pillage incase the demon shows up, or a rare therrblood in the generator, records, something.

So many questions left
How long will the transfer take?
Who is your creator?
What kind of AI are you?
Why would an AI be out here
Where is the thing that killed these ferals
Does this connect to the old or new facility
Does it know why there would be Ikhor in the old facility

So atleast someone in a jumpsuit was still here when the ground sank and the explosion bust it open, which would mean it wasn't abandoned at that point, but that a strong demon was nearby enough to react with the celestial blood in the soil. Plus to kill these ferals more recently. Would a strong demon possessing a person be more outwardly noticeable? I can feel a Jurassic park dinosaur chasing jeep scene in the near future.

Burden did call it an AI as opposed to a cybe so he knows what it is.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>5809831
As per the other anon's request, I will SOMETIMES show my rolls. Please note that everything else that wasn't rolled does not exist*.

1=System overload, the charging station explodes, triggering the entire platform to collapse.

2-5= there was no three of diamonds, it was all part of a very elaborate plan to bait you here.

6-10= AI fries itself while trying to search the platform for valuables

11-30= The skeleton's toolbox

31-50= The skeleton's final recording

51-70= A hidden cache under the comms panel , full of cash

71-90= A hidden map inside the charging station

91-99= The 'Unseen Razor'

100= The 'Crimson Deluge'

>>5809831
" Hereherehere.." The charging station had spat out an audio recorder tainted with dry blood. It already playing a message on it:

"
COUGH-COUGH

This is... Maintenence Engineer Jask Ctharick, The platform is sinking. I am the only zookeeper left. I can't get out, too many clock-watching bats past their bed time.

The Tangerine cat saw my pillow hands. It purred and delivered the honey back to the shoemaker. I didn't listen to the opera lady on diet, her vocals were full of fish and stingrays.

BOOOM!!!

To any vending machines high on sugat: Your mail was never on time, too early, I slept over my two dogs. I would do it again and again..the clementine is sour and the skies are mellow. Go to the silent drill, kick the zero fife....I...

"

"What the hell did he just say?" Cathy had every right to be stunned by what she had heard. You too were stunned for the wrong reasons:

This skeleton was a Cthaii agent.

He was using a very convoluted type of encryption to hide a secret message. One that you would be never able to get on your own despite getting trained by the agency for nearly all of your life. You were still a rookie in the eye of many of your superiors. If only you were a better agent...

>Connect the cybe to the charging station
>pull out the wires supporting three of diamonds
>Write in

>>5810035
>Connect the cybe to the charging station

Thankfully, the silent Cybe had done all the heavy lifting to realign the charging station. It had proceeded to connect itself to the device sending sparks everywhere as the place started to shake violently. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed a few inches to your right. Chaos was beginning to unfold before you.

"We need to get out of here!" Cathy had yanked you out of harms way. You probably should have planned an escape route before entering a structurally unstable building.

"NO WAIT! WE NEED TO GET-AAAAHHH!!" Your protest was cut short when both you and her were swallowed by oppressing darkness splashing into stagnant water. Oh no...

The leeches were here

A black swarm of death was rapidly encroaching you and Cathy with no where to climb up to safety. When all hope was lost , something had dragged you with such strength that it had slammed your head against an exposed pipe instantly knocking you out...

=========

"B...de...n. Wake...wake up!" You snapped back to reality when the redhead kept shaking you.

" I am good, I am good." You blinked a couple of times to remove the haziness out of your eyes. Shockingly enough, you were outside of the platform that mostly inside the hungry sinkhole. The two of you were saved by none other than... a cybe bloodhound with four robotic arms sprouting out of its back. Something had happened while you were unconscious.

" Functions limited, Major reset, Memory banks wiped, Requesting a master to be assigned to." It kept repeating those words over and over again...was this the real body of three of diamonds?

"Enemy detected, engaging..." The cybe dog had actually become invisible before slicing a wandering feral to ribbons in less than three seconds flat " Energy reserves depleting, Requesting a master to be assigned to."

" I have never seen anything like that! It looks soo futuristic." Cathy was partially right. The plates on its body kept constantly reacting to everything around it like a squid. One could say that it was almost...otherworldly.

" Chief Whergamm will be so happy to hear about this in my report!"

" Wait what?" You had to double check.

" I have to report everything as per our procedures...you don't want me to give the dog to Chief Whergamm? But why?" The looks on her eyes were very much clear, she was following the rules that would clash with your own goals.

"This unit will not leave its current position without a master to be assigned to."

First of two posts

>>5810068
>>5810135
>[Smack Cathy with a piece of rock, continue bashing her head until she stops moving]
>[Quickly disarm and shoot Cathy dead]
> Look, Cathy, there is something you need to know about me... [Tell her the truth]
>Fine, I have no objection with that.
>[Thia would most likely fail but try to convince her to keep the dog a secret]


AND

>I am your master
>Cathy is your master
>[say nothing]
>
>>5810068
New player?

Also just a heads up, my thumbs are starting to hurt so I will take a short 1 or 2 days as a short break , hopefully the trigger thumbs will go away

>>5810137
> Look, Cathy, there is something you need to know about me... [Tell her the truth]

>I am your master
Just me on the phone, rest as needed my dude. I don't think the thread will die in two days. If you want a discord link or something that can be arranged

>>5810277
support
we need resources to start cracking down on the cult before time runs out and this robot is a major breakthrough, maybe something can be dug up
if she refuses we can just kill her but I'd rather it not come to that

>>5810302
yeah I hope this works. I don't see the other options working out very well. idk what we say about the cybe, its turned into a super robot dog, so maybe we try to say the cybe got destroyed and hide the dog? Or we found the cybe dog and the sec cybe got destroyed? idk im not in condition to think it out properly.

>>5810137
>[Quickly disarm and shoot Cathy dead]
>I am your master
I remember the QM saying it isn't wise to tell people about who we are.

>>5810331
I don't see why we can't shoot her if she refuses.
She could just say sure but be lying and report to her superior though.
We'd have to explain her death at some point, and if they find a body that's been shot to death instead of ripped to shreds they'll know it's a person who did it instead of an unfortunate encounter with a feral. And they'll instantly know that we killed her.

>>5810340
That is true. Though that just makes me want to change my vote to rocking her world (with an actual rock to the head).
I just feel like it's extremely likely she'll pretend to comply with us now but tell Whergamm as soon as possible after we're gone.

>>5810343
we could also do this
>Fine, I have no objection with that.
then say
>I am your master
under the guise of getting it to stop making noise
and steal the dog later
we'd probably suffer disciplinary action but it's better than a murder investigation

>>5810347
That's fair. I can get behind that if you do.

>>5810347
She wants to give the dog to Whegamm and she will see when we take ownership of the dog under the excuse of making it stop barking.

What reason do we have to refuse her giving it to Whergamm when we get back? Finders keepers? Maybe we could tell the dog to their obey orders as long as it doesn't compromise its own ability to function, but thats kinda fucky.

She gives the dog to Whergamm. Presuming he doesn't have it taken apart to see how it works, its under watch, she also reports that we claimed it as master. They try to get us to renounce ownership for a number of reasons, and what ground do we have to refuse.

Cathy also reports the recording to her superior, this gets to Whergamm. It gets us linked to it just by being there. If Whergamms sister who is an ex-cthaii agent knows what the message is there could be very unfortunate business.

Isn't it simpler to see if we can get her on our side instead of play ring around the cybe dog mastership? Maybe it will work out that they can't take it apart while we own it, and maybe Albera's mob Family will help keep them from fucking us up to try and get ownership of the super cybedog. How else we could steal it later or maintain ownership of it I can't really picture.

>>5810277
>>5810302
>>5810331
>>5810441
Final votes? Apparently I got something called texting thumbs from too much phoneposting. Will probably continue tomorrow

>>5810441
The problem with trying to get her on our side is that we don't know if she'll be telling the truth if she agrees to help us or even just keep it a secret. She could very well tell Whergamm that we're an agent for that sweet bonus or just because she's a stickler for the rules. It's the main reason secret service agents never try to 'convert' people that aren't in with them, too many loose ends.
Ideally we should give an excuse to her that justifies keeping the dog a secret, that has nothing to do with us being an agent. How we'd word or what excuse we'd make I can't imagine.

This is why I initially suggested killing her and blaming it on feral shrubs/leeches.

>>5810880
I'm not sure yet. The heat created by a murder investigation where we will clearly be center stage is a huge risk but there's no reason to trust Cathy at all.
I'm not exactly how we'd cover up a spur of the moment killing. It's not like we can set up her death in advance.
Deceiving her would have the best possible outcome if it works out and while our persuasion is pretty good if it fails the outcome would be the worst one possible since we could just get ambushed by demons.

>>5811335
I don't think I have mentioned this before but stats caps at a 10. The odds doesn't really look good to safely go for a roll ( 1 in 3, roughly). Do you want me to go for a Persuasion check ?

>>5810994
>>5810441

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>5811360
Test roll, don't mind me

>>5811365
Talk about bad luck...

>>5811360
Do relax then.
Just to be clear this was me on mobile >>5810277

Persuasion check for the telling Cathy the truth, or the try to convince her to let us keep the dog a secret?

I did have some ideas that could boost a persuasion. She really wanted to be a policewoman so much she left her rich legacy position. I would imagine playing on that a bit would be effective. We aren't a Cthaii Agent but somewhere in between. Theres gotta be another level. Undercover Dome Policeman looking for corruption of a sinister kind, Dome Field Agent? We don't bring proof with us that would risk our cover, but I can get you some through my connections. We will put in a good word for your career.

>>5811365
I presume this wasn't the persuasion roll, but perhaps a 'is the demon coming' roll lol

>>5811433
if a demon just randomly shows up it's a good opportunity to leave her for dead in a way that won't be easily traced back to us