WOO!

You glance around the room. Markos seems just as nonplussed by the weird atmosphere in the room as you are. You reach out and grab another slice of pizza, making sure to keep near eye contact with Elda. You fold it in half, an impressive feat considering its deep dish, and just as you bite into it, you suddenly lock eyes with the woman. She doesn’t immediately respond. You decide to wink. Elda’s face reconfigures into a look of confusion. You swallow. “Somethin’ on my face Elda?”

A pause, then Elda gasps slightly. Her back suddenly straightens, as if someone reinserted the stick that’s so often up her ass. She scowls at you, ears turning slightly pink. Taking advantage of her momentary confusion, you shift the focus of the conversation onto Niels. “So Niels, you gonna be a millionaire any time soon? Or were you already?”

Niels looks at you, slightly dazed, before shaking his head. “Ahhhh, yes, yes, no! No not at all, I mean no. No I’m not on the verge of becoming a millionaire.”

“Yeah man,” continues Markos, clearly glad to have the conversation flowing again, “No rich executives this time. Maybe next drop, right Niels?”

“Yeah…” responds Niels, that dreamy look overtaking him once more. Kid is fucking hopeless. You reach out underneath the low table and give him a little kick. Niels yelps in surprise. Not exactly the manliest reaction. Mentally declaring the cause lost for today, you bury yourself in pizza. Luckily, Tsukino and Markos fill in the conversational void for you, each one relaying the events from their mission.

“Yeah yeah. You would not believe the weird shit they had in the imagineering rooms. Looked like a cross between a hippie’s living room, a kindergarten, and a fucking sex dungeon. Engineers man… So Elda, what happened on your mission?”

Elda looks up at Markos before looking back down at the table. “Nothing. Nothing worth talking about,” she replies softly. Before Markos can needle her for more information, the female merc is on her feet.

“Thank you for inviting me over to your suite, Tsukino. It’s very nice.”

And with that she’s gone out the door.

>What do you do?
>Follow Elda
>Linger with Niels, Markos, and Tsukino
>Write In

>>30022102
>Follow Elda
"I'll be right back guys, gonna go see what Grumpy Gus is upset about."

>>30022077
>>30022102
Awesome, I'm in time for the fun.

>1 Follow Elda

I wanna see what's up.

>>30022121
Basically this works

>>30022102
>Follow the tsundere

>>30022102
>>Follow Elda
Sensually

>>30022102
>Follow Elda

>>30022102
>Follow Elda

That's the sort of response which means it was a very, very, unpleasant mission. We aren't going to force her to talk, but at least give her an opportunity.

>>30022191
Her mission was to kill a bunch of lawyers, right?

>>30022191
What was the mission that Elda went on, again? And her team?

>>30022229
>>30022215
Yeah, Lawyers.

>Operation Extrajudicial Execution
>Contractor: Sinosteel
>Target: Kilburne LLC
> Killburne LLC’s legal team has been causing Sinosteel quite a few problems in their attempts to gain mining rights for the oort cloud in System VXR-342. Sinosteel would like to see the department head of Killburne’s legal division, Roger Carringson, dead. And as many lawyers as you can manage, too.
>Registered Mercs:
>Trang Huu Nguyen
>Elda Acerbi
>Malnera Redskies

>>30022077
>>30022102
So there's a money scam I'd like to kick off as soon as we sort things with Elda that involves using our fifteen minutes of fame to earn some cash. Gonna post it. Involves teammates, etc.

>>30022254
Ouch, so it was basically just a "massacre non-combatants" mission. I guess I can see why she'd be a bit shaken up.

>>30022315
Yeah, no kidding. That's why I voted not to take it.
I mean, even if Lawyers are soulless assholes... still

Money idea is basically

>have Niels send footage of fight with Dreads to corporate news agencies and maybe post it on some online communities and high-traffick sites
>buy stock in the companies that made our weapons, armor, and implants, not to mention Kilburne, our employer, and Tsukino's dad's company
>wait a couple hours
>have a press conference after the buzz has built up, subtly play up how important it was to come prepared with good training and equipment and the fine team at your company, underscore Sushi's dad fought dreads before and trained her, what a badass, etc
>blackmail Kilburne into not grumbling about paying the miners we saved comp by announcing how great they are because you've recently heard they're going to take care of those brave workers, the miners are the real heroes anyway - good press will help their stock recover and maybe make them less mad at us/StrikeOut
>wait for stock price to rise
>sell stock at a profit

We can add in various things to help make it better, like letting other rookies in on the attempt with us and buying a stock portfolio together, same stock breakdown for more money - and getting Niels and Elda to work together on managing it - he can find good portfolio management software and she can run the numbers and watch carefully.

Pull out if the portfolio goes below 80% of buy in, that way everyone only loses like a thousand bucks and we can make it up to them by doing for cheap the tech-work that StrikeOut would charge them re-equipping fees for.

>>30022465
So, in brief
>CAPITALISM, HOOOOO!

>>30022465
Before this even starts, we should try and hole up in Sushi's apartment and make that battery Cy looted the plans for while the buzz builds about how we killed a space terrorist with a 250 million credit bounty.

If we hold the press conference at the firing range in our armor with our team in tow, we can endorse it, maybe start a bidding war for the tech to drive up the price or set ourselves up as an independent tech contractor. We've got eleven days on the Brick, might as well build some cool shit.

Announcing that we plan to go after the bounties on dreads with our team will probably get the local layers interested, not to mention the legal departments of our employer and her father's corp. We may not see all of the bounty, but we might see some of it even after the lawyers take their cut, and the news conference might make it easier.

>>30022465
>deniable asset
mate
cmon

>>30022563
Yeah, I was thinking.
Isn't our whole job...undercover shit for who we work for?

Like, I doubt they'd want us plastering their name everywhere.

>>30022102
>Follow Elda

"Markos, you do realize she went on a mission that forced her to kill non-coms, right?"

>>30022563
>>30022590
Ask the HR chick if the company would care, I doubt it though. OP has said that mercs get famous sometimes, never implied they stopped being mercs.

>>30022537
>>30022465
Let's try it, every good soldier has a retirement scam in mind.

>>30022465
>have Niels send footage of fight with Dreads to corporate news agencies and maybe post it on some online communities and high-traffick sites
>buy stock in the companies that made our weapons, armor, and implants, not to mention Kilburne, our employer, and Tsukino's dad's company
I can get behind this part.

>>30022465
>>30022537
Yeah, I think this might be a cool idea.

Basically, generate some quick hype and then use our 15 minutes of fame to generate a lot of profits.

>>30022632
Hell, a tidy profit would be nice. I doubt we'll make millions or anything, but it might be worth it

>>30022537
Let's do it after we sort out things Elda.

>>30022630
Actually, fuck Kilburne. They tried to skip out on our pay when we saved their miners. They wanted to get compensation when they died.

>>30022666
no meng, we shat on our corp's relationship with them and we need to fix that, and on top of that if we don't put them in a pr headlock they might screw the miners we saved

if we say nice shit about them in public and call them an ethical bunch, they'll have a hard time not living up to that. plus raising their stock price might smooth things over between strikeout and those fucking miners.

>>30022666
>“Yes. Apparently Kilburne is now on the hook for some major comp that would not have otherwise been due had their captured miners been lost with the base. Not that the scumbags would admit it publicly. I had to work very hard to keep them from completely cancelling the mission pay.”

Fuck buying stock from them.

There’s a few moments of silence at Elda’s sudden departure. Eventually you realize that no one else is about to go after her. Standing up, you brush some crumbs from the delicious deep dish off of your shirt. “Welp, it seems like it falls to me to see what’s upset grump guts,” you walk to the door leading out of Tsukino’s suite. “Should be safer than taking on Dreads… I hope.”

You leave the room before anyone has the chance to protest, and stand out in the station corridor. Some careful listening, you hear footsteps. Seems like Elda is went to the left. You hurry off in that direction, taking care not to step too loudly. Wouldn’t want to spook her after all. You follow your fellow merc through a few winding hallways, never quite catching sight of her. Eventually you turn a corner just in time to see one of the station elevators ping as the door closes. Cursing, you run up to it, staring at the position reader. It stops on K-Level. What the fuck is she doing all the way down there anyway?

>>30022711
see
>>30022710
Backhanded but effective. Hits them with the public image stick and doesn't get the boss pissed that we angered a business partner too much.

>>30022710
Shat on their relationship with us? THEY NEARLY DIDN'T PAY US, MAN!

>>30022666
Are you trying to pretend to be me?
Because Killburne is understandably upset, they have to pay out a shit load of money. Corporations lack any sort of morality.

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You consider the conundrum as you recall the elevator and step inside of it. As it descends, you try to think of what the hell Elda could have gone to all the way down there. As it dings down the Levels, you try to recall what you can of that nearly deserted part of the Brick. K-Level was going to be a housing expansion back in the day, when StrikeOut was contemplating a merger with a fellow merc company. Deal fell through, but not before K-Level was hollowed out and early construction phases began. They managed to finish an observatory area, and started on living quarters…

Where could Elda have gone?

The elevator dings open, flooding a darkened hallway with light. Most people on the Brick can’t access K-Level, only the mercs in case of an infiltration or invasion. StrikeOut doesn’t really bother with lighting the abandoned deck. Or heating it for that matter. You shudder in the chill air as breath fogs around your head. There are two ways you can go from here.

>Where will Ivan go?
>To the ghostly remains of the housing development?
>To the silence and serenity of the observation area?

>>30022537
>>30022465
Sounds crazy enough to work with just the right potential to utterly buttfuck us as to be interesting.

>>30022742
YES, BECAUSE THEY WERE MAD WE INCURRED AN EXTRA COST. They nearly didn't pay the whole TEAM. We don't fly alone, there's a whole corp that's impacted by our actions.

>>30022761
>To the silence and serenity of the observation area?

>>30022761
>>30022761
observation area
she's probably trying to calm her nerves

>>30022761
>To the silence and serenity of the observation area?
She probably wanted a quiet place to bawl her eyes out.

>>30022761
>Observation Area
Maybe she wanted a view to clear her head?

>>30022761
>>To the silence and serenity of the observation area?

>>30022761
>>To the silence and serenity of the observation area?

>>30022761
Observation area.

Why don't we just send her a message on her e-glass or whatever it's called instead of playing stalkerboy?

>>30022752
No, sorry 'bout the confusion. I just mean to say that since they seem to not mind screwing with our paychecks, that might come more into play if we have a relationship with them.

>>30022761
>To silence and serenity of the observation area

>>30022742
I'd rather keep their continued business.

>>30022761
>>30022761
>>To the silence and serenity of the observation area?

>>30022837
yeah, may as well send her a note and ask to talk, nothing asshole about 'hey you left suddenly, any chance we could catch up for a minute?'

>>30022858
Alright, I'll be ok with that. When is the breaking point, though, that tells us that working for them is a no-no?

>>30022761
>>To the silence and serenity of the observation area.

Romantic view of the stars cliche in 3, 2, 1 and...

>>30022904
Man, WE aren't gonna work for those fucks again.

We're just gonna not take bread from our company's table until we're a senior partner. That's when your decisions can start impacting policy.

>>30022950
My body is ready

>>30022952
We might work for them again if they ask us to extract personnel or something, but it better be above board.

>>30022952
This... doesn't make much sense to me. "We buy Kilborne stock, but not take our pay from our company" is what this sounds like.

Could you clarify?

>>30023026
>We buy Kilborne stock
Yeah nah fuck that, no idea why we want to do that with them being the cunts they are and likely to do other things to ruin their stock by themselves

>>30023078
We are only buying their stock to resell it a little later.

Who cares if they are cunt? Business is business.

>>30023026
Remember that the press conference is an attempt to bump up stock values of everyone we mention by providing fame and free advertising.

We praise them in the press conference, which gives their stock value and thus improves their bottom line. This also makes it hard for them to be dicks in the near future because the way we'll praise them will be all like 'I just heard that those guys are paying full compensation to their workers, sounds like good corporate ethics to me' and next time they act up and someone hears about it they'll have to explain their shit, which will hurt their public image.

But, they were mad at our whole team and by extension our company for increasing costs for them. We give them a chance to bump up stock value and recover money because of our caper, they might get less mad at StrikeOut as a whole and that keeps our coworkers and the boss happy because that prevents decreasing the company's client list and reputation in the market as not bad for the contracting corp's bottom line.

>>30023078
>not wanting to make money off a shithead while putting him in an uncomfortable position with blackmail that forces him to behave
>even if we don't keep their stock

you're not honorable, you're just stuck-up

>>30023078
I just spent 15 minutes saying we shouldn't buy their stock, I just want clarification on what you meant on >We're just gonna not take bread from our company's table until we're a senior partner.

I'm sorry that I'm so damn butthurt about such a dumb thing, but I just don't know what the phrase is supposed to mean.

>>30022761
>To the ghostly remains of the housing development?
She's clearly remembering some passed trauma, or we killed her surrogate dad. So I'm guessing the remnants of a destroyed home will be where we find her.

>>30023185
This guy >>30023078
wasn't me.

See this post >>30023151

I don't care about your butthurt, but the opportunity to put Kilbourne in a PR headlock sounds like fun to me.q

>>30023205
>I don't care about your butthurt
Rather, no need to apologize, I'm not mad about your butthurt

As for taking bread from StrikeOut's table, Kilbourne complaining loudly about our team's costs is something that we want to prevent. Other corps might hear about it, and StrikeOut needs a reputation that works for them to get more jobs. Our coworkers don't need reputations as creators of extraneous costs.

>>30023172
>>30023151
NOW I get it. Thanks.

Still, I don't think buying stock from a corp and saying they're the shit is going to help. We might not even be able to buy enough to be noticeable on a galactic scale to alter opinions.

>>30023242
I'm gonna have to agree. I doubt one merc's opinion will change the stock price enough to be profitable without buying huge amounts of it.

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Although you think the abandoned housing area is mad creepy and thematic, perfect for ghost stories and shit like that, you figure that’s probably not what Elda is looking for, whatever that is. You begin to walk down the abandoned corridor that you’re pretty sure leads to the observation deck. The dust, how there even is any you’re not entirely sure, muffled your footsteps as you approach the open area. You consider pinging Elda’s e-glasses to announce your presence, but your network connectivity currently reads at a flat zero. Seems they didn’t even get around to extending the station net down here. A few more turns and there it is.

Man, the view fucking sucks. Sure, there are an asston of stars and what have you, but there really isn’t anything else to recommend it. At least the tram line sometimes runs underneath the local nebula. This piece of shit vista can’t even offer that. Still, at least it’s some light, which is almost blinding of the almost total darkness of the corridor leading up to the room. You take a few steps forward and look around. You can’t see anybody, but you can hear something.

You take a few steps towards the sound, difficult to pinpoint in the echoing chamber. Your footfalls echo loudly. The noise suddenly stops with a startled inhalation. Welp, Elda knows you’re here now. No longer seeing the need to mask your presence, you stride forward, scanning rows of seats. Well, those that are installed anyway.

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So, guns.

We should get us a metalstorm gun sometime, four barrels of electronically activated FUCK YOU. Fires three shots so fast they fly out the barrel before recoil fucks up aim.

Have a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlu56e8nLI4

Hook that up to a smartgun interface that lets us select which bullets fire and how many. Put different specialized bullets into different barrels, select armor piercing or explosive bullet WITH YOUR BRAIN.

Elda has perched herself on one of those borderline bench sized seats, meant for those with a considerably higher BMI than you or she. Elda has both of her feet planted on the wide seat, her chin resting between her knees. You look down at her. She looks up at you.

Her face is slightly wet.

Well, that’s something you didn’t think you’d ever see.

>Seems like Elda has moods beyond pissed off and exasperated! What should Ivan say?
>”View’s pretty shit, isn’t it?” [Open off topic]
>”Seems like I’ll be doubling down on hazard pay today. What’s up?” [Open with joke]
>”You alright Elda?” [Concern]
>”Hey.”
>Write In
>>Also, what should Ivan do?
>>Sit down next to Elda on the seat
>>Remain standing and keep his distance
>>Crouch down so he’s on eye level with her
>>Write in

>>30023407
>”View’s pretty shit, isn’t it?” [Open off topic]
>”You alright Elda?” [Concern]
>>Sit down next to Elda on the seat

>>30023407
>>”Hey.
>Sit down next to Elda on the seat
>”You alright Elda?” [Concern]

>>30023440
This

>>30023407
>>”You alright Elda?” [Concern]
>>Sit down next to Elda on the seat

>>30023407
>>Sit down next to Elda
>"hey." [Squadmate level concern]

>>30023440
>>30023464
Let's not get close to a trained military chick when she's vulnerable without explaining stalker behavior

"Sorry to show up out of the blue. You ran off pretty fast, I thought I'd see if you were alright."

>>30023407
>"Hey."
>Sit down next to Elda on the seat

>>30023504

this seems like it would lower the chance of getting punched
gotta remember she was the one with something to prove in basic

>>30023334

the only stock we should buy is strikeout's, we are mercs for them and we did our jobs, if their rookies killed fucking dreads their stocks are a sure lock
ans we wouldn't need to epose ourselfs to media nad possibly glory hunters

>>30023407
Let's open with...
"Hey."
>Walk up to a seat
"This seat taken?"
>If positive response, or no response, sit down next to her.
"You alright? You left the house pretty fast."

Don't mention the crying quite yet. If it's even that. We're not totally sure yet.

>>30023407

>>30023440
Works for me, seconding.

>>30023535
Someone doesn't want to get out of debt, ever.

>>30023407
This one >>30023536 sounds good.

>>30023440
I can dig it

>>30023151
>>30022465
>>30022537

alright so the plan is

>get input from hr
>make battery
>hacker and wannabe accountant chick buy stock
>hacker sends the video feed to news agencies and posts it on space reddit
>we keep a low profile for a while, then press conference on firing range
>bring team
>say nice things about people
>sell stock if price rises, or if value begins to drop
>play up our tech skills to get a job and maybe start a bidding war for the battery tech by endorsing it
>get money

imokaywiththis

>>30023242
you still dont get it

its not buying the stock that'll impact their opinions, its the public statement

the stock is for us, we buy it at a low point, talk to bring it up, and sell right after it bumps up in price

anyway it doesn't cost anything to find out

>>30023440
I'm good with this.

>>30023536
Yeah, this is good.

>>30023536
Let's fuse this and >>30023440

Alright, seems like a mix of "hey" followed by off topic comment has won out. Writing.

>>30023675
lol tg can't talk to girls

>>30023604
That seems convoluted. Basically there's a high risk and low gain. We'll have to buy a lot of stock to get a noticeable increase in our funds and if the price drops we're boned.

>>30023735
>high risk
No, there isn't.
>we'll have to buy a lot of stock
The rookies each go in for five grand, we get 25K or so worth of stock. If the value drops quickly, which is unlikely, the software sells it for 80% value at worst. We make more than that loss looting wallets.

It's almost loss free.

>>30023604
The one thing I'd look out for is the fact that on the mission Elda went on, Kilburne's legal division was the target. And if I'm reading the situation correctly, they did their job pretty damned effectively.

I'm just saying, Kilburne might be a riskier investment than we initially anticipated

>>30023604
>the stock is for us, we buy it at a low point, talk to bring it up, and sell right after it bumps up in price

Can't we do that with another company, like their rival? We buy other guy's stock, say Kilburne's shit, and sell when other guy's stock is raised. PLUS other guy didn't try to welch on the deal for our pay.

How about instead of involving ourselves with shit we have no place in - some fucking nobody rookie calling a conference call? Really? - messing about with some big-ass corp we just generally avoid tasks coming from them and keep doing our goddamn job?

>>30023842
You are a clever person and will most likely not lead us into being fired by StrikeOut for costing them contracts.

>>30023783
>Operation Extrajudicial Execution
>Contractor: Sinosteel
>Target: Kilburne LLC
> Killburne LLC’s legal team has been causing Sinosteel quite a few problems in their attempts to gain mining rights for the oort cloud in System VXR-342. Sinosteel would like to see the department head of Killburne’s legal division, Roger Carringson, dead. And as many lawyers as you can manage, too.
>Registered Mercs:
>Trang Huu Nguyen
>Elda Acerbi
>Malnera Redskies
Yeah, looks like they're not a good choice...

>>30023842
>fucking nobody rookie
>fucking nobody
>just killed a guy with a fuckhuge bounty on him, fucking nobody
If the portfolio gains a 10% price increase it's free money. We're going to tell the world we just killed a terrorist with 250 MILLION in bounties on his head. I don't get you guys if you think that won't make waves in the stock market.

>>30023735
>a high risk and low gain
I have no idea what this is about.

>>30023783
They're not an investment, we're just trying to make money off their asses and dumping them after.

>>30023807
We're doing it with all the mentioned companies in a portfolio. Whoever buys in adds to total portfolio value. Any individual stock that tanks or doesn't perform, we drop.

You guys are fixating on Kilburne when they were an afterthought, there's two merc companies and a bunch of equipment manufacturers we'll be talking up.

>>30023842
yeah, I'd rather we not paint a target on our back

>>30023842
>>30023868
angry samefag detected, just shut up and vote no when the time comes. your cynical whining is ruining the quest right now.

>>30023879
>he still thinks he's dead!
>not just repairing his armor!

>>30023807

i'm telling you, no stock will raise more than strikeout's in this episode, trowing money at other companies is literally wasting profit

>get in DAQ, sudenlly in Wall Street

sorry about the english

>>30023868
I too agree with >>30023842's assessment and would like to continue putting a vibro-hachet into douchebags and assholes rather then go into stock trading.

>>30023902
QM himself said he's probably dead but you're still doing this, wow

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>>30023842
Forgot my image.
>>30023879
>>just killed a guy with a fuckhuge bounty on him, fucking nobody
So other mercs will be impressed. Big whoop. You think any of the corp's stockholders will give even the tiniest of fucks?

>>30023901
The only one who seems particularly angry here is you.

>>30023879
If we put in 25k and it raises 10% we get 2.5k. That's barely worth the risk of putting 25k in it. Also, there are other factors to consider: how well is the company as a whole doing? You can't expect a press conference by a relative nobody to raise their prices 10%, and you shouldn't invest in a company without thoroughly researching it before hand.

>>30023902
Really? You haven't figured out Dreads is named for the Dread Pirate Robinson yet?

>>30023879
Can we just get back to hitting dudes with axes? Please?

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>>30023925
It costs only time to find out, but you're still resisting potential free money with a thousand credit loss.
We lose about twice what we pay for a practice run on the range and less than five percent of mission salary according to this plan.
>>30023966
We lose about as much in worst possible circumstances, but there's always the sudden chance the stock could go up...more than that.

Free money is free money.

>>30023966
I'm on this side of the fence, I think. It's a neat idea, but we don't have the profits to really make some cash off all this.

Not worth the risk, anyway.

Are we in some weird future where buying and selling stock is tax free?

guys we can sort it out when we're done talking to elda
>>30023981
we have eleven days of downtime anon, talking to people, making money and practicing shit is all we're gonna do for a while

>>30024031
Nope.

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>>30024000
And a stupid idea to turn this into Future Insider Stock Trading Quest is still stupid.

>>30024031
>/tg/ understanding stock trading.
There's your main problem.

>>30024062
see
>>30024045
and take your own advice

>>30024000
There are other factors to consider. For example, the reason they're pissed with us is because they have to pay their workers because we saved them. That impacts their profits which impacts their stock. Compared to that a good word from a local celebrity mercenary means nothing.

>>30024091
It's like you don't even read, that's been answered.

Also I'm with >>30024045
Both sides can shut the fuck up for now.

>A women crying in front of us
>Ivan contemplates the stock market

At least we're not a communist.

Markov will be displeased.

“Hey.”

Elda doesn’t respond. You take the lack of italian profanity as an implicit greeting. Walking forward, you sit down on the opposite side of the bench seat, leaving enough space between the two so you so that you aren’t at risk for accidental physical contact. Not that you think Elda has cooties or anything. You just don’t want another hospital visit to delay your next drop even more than it already has.

You lean back on the seat, staring out into space. “Pretty shit view, isn’t it?”

A gasping sort of laugh. Not a happy one. False mirth masking actual sorrow. You glance over at Elda just in time to see her bury her face in her knees. Shit. Shit shit shit. Dealing with crying women isn’t something you’re terribly good at. You usually just try to keep the situation from rising in the first place.

“So, uh. You alright Elda?”

Elda raises her head slightly and shoots you a look from the corner of her eye. “What do you think, mona?”

Yeah, pretty obvious answer there. You twiddle your thumbs between your knees. “No, not really.”

C’mon man, gotta think here! You’re beta-ing out around a girl like thirty centimeter shorter than you and without half of your strength augments. Nothing to fear.

“Just wanted to check up on you. After you left so suddenly. From Tsukino’s I mean.”

Elda sniffs. “Am I really that scary, can’t even ask a straight question?”

>What say you Ivan?

>>>>><<<<<

I'm going to try and keep update times short and posts shorter so as to give you more control in this conversation. Ten minute voting window.

>>30024121
We've already decided a course of action, so now we're just killing time.

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>>30024078
I really ought to, I really should.

Because this entire thread is now derailed because of the fucking stock market.

Goddamn.

>>30024121
I chuckled

>>30024121
We can buy him a samovar and team up for a Cossack dance.

>>30024121

>so Elda I came dawn here to talk to you.....what's your position on killbourne stocks? I mean you were on one of their bases so....what can you tell me about their business, any inside information?

>>30024143
Would you kindly go fuck yourself? The HR chick was offering us the StrikeOut stock benefits program in like thread two, you're just a huge fag who can't shut up and pisses in everyone's cheerios.

>>30024137
You got the contract for the hit and run on Kilburne. Not sitting well with you, huh?

>>30024137
>Hold her and let her cry on your shoulder.

>>30024137
"Crying women are terrifying, yes. What happened on the mission, Elda?"

>>30024137
"Partially, you worked up a mean reputation in basic, and I'm not really good at this sort of thing but saw you were clearly hurting. Whats going on with you Elda? I'm assuming its something to do with the mission?"

>>30024137
Ha, oh Ivan, you're such a dork.

Right.

"Scary? No, you're not scary. Especially not after getting my ass beaten by a rasta twice my size and made of pure metal. Anyway, uh. No. I'm just pretty shitty at, you know. The whole words thing. But I saw you leave, and thought I'd make sure you were alright. Just a shame I can't really say it worth a damn. So you know. Yeah."

>>30024205
This

>>30024137
"To hell with all that. How about I use my fifteen minutes in the sunshine to get us a nice, private table at an upscale resturaunt downtown this evening, somewhere to remind you of home, and we can get some decent coffee? Maybe not Italian Roast, but it might be steamed in a real cappuccino machine. What do you say to that direct question?"

>>30024185
I'm not even in that argument and I can see your making it worse for yourself, so just stop for now, calm down and stop insulting your fellow players.

>>30024205
i'll go with this

>>30024238
this

>>30024137
"It'd be easier if you were being scary, but tears, I don't know how to deal with them.

Want to talk about what happened?"

>>30024205
Lets go with this

>>30024205
Sure why not this

>>30024137

>>30024188
>>30024205
One of these, let's not monologue at her, please.

>>30024137

what happened in the mission? by your state I assume it was a complete success

>>30024223
>>30024205
I like these. Let's fuse em, so the first part of the first one is replaced with the first part of the second one

>>30024238
waaaay to strong of a come on

>>30024308
They're like... polar opposites.

>>30024256
Well, at least Fall Guy knows his quest is a success now...

>>30024137
"Elda, I'm male, which means I am basically retarded when it comes to emotions and shit. But even I can tell something's up."

>>30024238
No.

>>30024223
>>30024238
Please no.

>>30024238
Sure.

>>30024339
I like this one. Ivan seems like a pretty direct guy.

>>30024316
Sometimes strong come ons are the best come ons.

However, this is definitely not the time or place for it.

>>30024238
Wow, that's terrible.

>>30024238
pfffft HAHAAHWHAWHAWHAWH

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>>30024205
>>30024223
I like these two.

FUSION!

>>30024223
hurr we so badass
>>30024277
can't into tears help me distressed person
>>30024339
calls self retarded

>qm mentions beta shit right in the post
>players respond with more beta shit

>>30024401
>>30024308
Dude, what? No. They're basically mutually exclusive
One is short, sweet, to the point
The other rambles on about nothing and then peters out ineffectually.

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>>30023901
Pic related
>>30024137
>Ten minute voting window.
Finally the sandwich-making has betrayed me. The prophecy is fulfilled.

>>30024422
Worse, they're responding with a beta's opinion of what alpha behavior is.

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>>30024238

In this episode of Deniable Assets Quest, /tg/ can't talk to women.

>>30024424
We don't even know if that is the reason, dude. It's pretty presumptuous.

>>30024223
Too spaghetti.

>>30024137
Remain silent. It's the only way to not cock this up.

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>>30024238
"W-will you be my waifu, Elda?"

"PLEASE RESPOND!"

>>30024422
>Implying Ivan isn't Beta wishing he was Alpha anyway

Pretty IC to me.

>>30024438
>>30024422
>beta
>alpha

Fuck off back to reddit where you belong.

>>30024447
I don't see you making better suggestions, asshole.

This is what happens when you don't close voting on time, OP.

Post faster or enjoy more of these delicious arguments. I'll just sit back and watch the fireworks.

>>30024513
I don't see anyone making better suggestions, because we're all posting anonymously.

>>30024447
Today, Pope Francis admitted, to much shock and disbelief of Catholics worldwide, that he is, in fact, Catholic.

>>30024532
he did, he said

>Ten minute voting window.

...

Lets see the bright side of things.

No one suggested to have sex with her yet.

>>30024447
It's easy to deny that /tg/ has any conversational assets.

I'm really amused at the way this all plays out so far.

Let's try to keep the negativity under control here. We're all here to enjoy DAQ, albeit in different capacities.


Crying anyone is a bit of a minefield to navigate, approaches vary. Just remember Ivan is an earnest, if joking guy. He's probably not totally adept at dealing with this sort of stuff.

That said, post should be up soon.

>>30024570
Perhaps she's not crying hard enough for that yet.

>>30024583
I was mostly pissed off at the people making fun of other suggestions.

Not voting for them is fine. But don't be a dick about it, you know?

Waiting warmly.

>>30024570
>follow woman who wanted some privacy into a near-abandoned area
>walk up out of the shadows, see her crying
>immediately decide to sit next to her
>say stupid beta bullshit
>can't even commit to anything straightforward, ask about mission which amounts to small talk about work

LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE GUYS
WE HAVEN'T RAPED AND MURDERED HER YET

You're a class act, anon.

>>30024627
>ask about mission which amounts to small talk about work

I thought we were doing that because we're fairly certain she's crying about what happened on her mission.

>>30024659
>fairly certain she's crying about what happened on her mission
>walked out of a room full of friendly people in a huff after staring us right in the face
>after uncertain, halfway flirting behavior previously

You read people so well. Are you a forensic psychologist?

“Not you in particular. Crying women are generally terrifying.”

A wet laugh. Maybe less faked than the first. In any case Elda raises her head fully off of her knees and rubs some mucous away from underneath her nose. “Ha… nice recovery.”

Before you can say anything else, Elda continues, “But I wasn’t crying during that drop, so ther-”

Her voice peeters out and her head is buried back in her knees once more. Gasping breaths. Ah shit. You’re just here, man. You didn’t put up the job listing. You didn’t make her take it. You weren’t one of those fool suits you presume got in the way of her bullets. So why do you feel so goddamn irrationally guilty?

“Hey, I… I uh. Fuck.”

Words aren’t working out too well it seems. Maybe you should just let her talk about it when she feels up to it? But what if she never does, and it just festers? Fuck. Words are hard. Markos is the smooth one anyway, he’d know what to say right now.

>Try to say something else?
>Distract Elda from her mission
>Try to get her to open up about what happened
>No words. Hand on the shoulder. Let her take it from there
>Write in.

>>30024691

she left the room when we started talking about missions, she left before we had the chance to ask her.....her mission was to kill unarmed civilians....thats probably whats making her sad anon

>>30024734
>>No words. Hand on the shoulder. Let her take it from there
sit next to her and let her lean against us

>>30024734
>>No words. Hand on the shoulder. Let her take it from there

>>30024734
>No words. Hand on the shoulder. Let her take it from there

>>30024734
>No words. Hand on the shoulder. Let her take it from there

Words are clearly not our forte, but we have strong, comforting hands at least.

>>30024734
Actually, I like that idea. No words and just a hand on the shoulder. Ivan's pretty much not gonna get through any other way. She'll open up when she damn well wants to.

>>30024734

let her take it, we are here already

>>30024734

Say that we're just trying to be helpful without butting into her life. If she doesn't want to talk about it with US, that's fine, we hardly know her. Still, she helped us out, and Ivan wants her to know that he's got her back.

>>30024734
>>No words. Hand on the shoulder. Let her take it from there

>>30024734
>>No words. Hand on the shoulder. Let her take it from there

All together now!
Daaawwwwww!

>All together now!
>Daaawwwwww!

its ptsd, stop getting gushy over it

>>30024873
They're a pack of murderous mercs, ptsd is probably the closest to Dawwwwww! that they get.

Can we talk about weapons and upgrades while we wait for moar from QM?

I'm pretty keen on the idea of earning cash and helping the other mercs by using tech skills to handle upgrades and modifications for their tech, maintenance etc. Maybe even charge them, but less than what the corp would, good for everybody.

We could also use some better gear what with the kind of opposition we ran into.

>>30024734
>>No words. Hand on the shoulder. Let her take it from there
Maybe one of those good ol' comforting back rubs. Ya know, the small circle on the back one. Always worked ___________on me.___________

>>30024889
>They're a pack of murderous mercs, ptsd is probably the closest to Dawwwwww! that they get.
i have friends in the service people said that about after they came back from combat
you're kind of an asshole

>>30024910
I'm dead inside, so I wouldn't know.

>>30024925
Did your friends in the service ever butcher an office full of noncombatants for a fat corporate paycheck?

>>30024903

upgrade and maitenance booth in the shop level for the nexr 11 days
get Darius to record
"I1m Senior Partner Darius and this is my favorite repairman on the Brick"

Voting Closed, hand on shoulder won pretty decisively. Writing.

>>30024903
helping out fellow mercs with our tech skills doing armor work and stuff that Cy had to pay for but we could do for free like before the last drop would be good, charge say 2/3rd-half what StrikeOut charges for the work

on the weapons front, we really need some grenades, of all types, varying degrees of BOOM as well as flashbangs and smoke/IR.chaff grenades

>>30024925
This is 4chan. We're all assholes.

Let's just enjoy the quest, please?

>>30024925
Don't be so sensitive to what people say on the internet, dude.

>>30024970
you're not making it any easier anon

>Internet died
>Shit!
>Switch to linux
>Internet works again.
Fucking windows, man...

>>30024903
>>30024959
We've got an AK-94 so we can do squad support. Getting proficient with it would be good.

The metalstorm smartgun idea is pretty great, especially if there are smoke or chaff grenades. Or better yet, bullets that can do that in pistol form.

Marking where they are in our hud, GPS tracking style, and then putting a smoke grenade/explosive bullet/flashbang into their midst before shooting at their locations with aim assist would be great.

Switching to a barrel full of flechette bullets instantly by thinking it would also be great.

Reload can be a one-step procedure if we can have a hud interface that puts together the right series of bullets using a little sorter in our back and then using this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Hs4do69ms

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>>30024932
There's a reason I used past tense. This is about the most I smile.

>>30025101
Don't we have another assault rifle? I'd think that would be the better option for squad support.

>>30025101
If we ever get into EVA operations a gyrojet type rifle or pistol would useful I think. We should also look for aftermarket upgrades like extended mags for the AK, I'm guessing they'll be pretty affordable since they're so common.

>>30025161
we do have another, and its probably in better shape than the beaten up space AK we picked off the guards

>>30025175
>Implying a beat to shit AK isn't more reliable than any tacticool operatin assault rifle.

>>30025228
don't bring that argument into this please

>>>/k/

>>30025228
>>30025252
and you guys bitched when someone wanted to make money on the stock market
prepare anus, /k/ found us
it was only a matter of time

>>30025228
If it was an RPK variant, I'd go for it. That one could substitute for an LMG.

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Why aren't we stealing this idea yet?

>>30025309
Why don't you explain that shit to us, anon.

>>30025309
we totally should mod up our AK like that, to be big, loud and hard hitting, while our spess AR15 can be the quiet and precise one

>>30025309
Because it's a shitty idea that ruins a perfectly good gun?
Besides, that's a 47, not a 94, which is basically the best firearm possible.

Shit. Words aren’t your forte. Best to shut up and fall back on your fail-safe plan. You lean forward, resting your forearms on your knees so that your head is only little bit above Elda’s. Reaching out, you place a hand on her shoulder. Elda immediately looks up eyes wide and startled. You give her a sad smile. She stares at you.

Next thing, her head is buried in your chest and she’s crying. Like really loudly. You figure it doesn’t matter, since K-Level is completely abandoned anyway. Lowering your arm, you give her a one armed hug as she tries to form a cogent sentence. This situation falls much more into your comfort zone. Should’ve gone for the shoulder from the get go. You speak softly. “I take it things went a little too well?”

Elda nods, teeth bared in some sort of grimace. “Ah-ahahah.”

Alright, this you can handle. “Hey, it’s alright. It’s all okay now.”

“Th-there were so many,” Elda gasps, “I… I thought they’d just stick to the principle.”

Hm. Seems even the Ice Bitch of the Alps balks at killing civvies. Looking down at her, you can’t help but feel that the moniker was a bit of a misnomer. Premature at best. “I… I… There was screaming…”

Elda pushes herself away from your chest, her expression a mixture of fury and guilt. “That bitch was laughing. Laughing. And I could’ve stopped her. I had so many shots.”

Elda looks up at you, her brown eyes open wide. Much wider than their usual derisive squint. “I could’ve stopped them…”

Head back into chest. Like some sort of pectoral seeking missile.

>Say anything Ivan?

>>30025333
its from Elysium (crappy movie with awesome CG), the sight/computer on it calculates and controls airburst ammo, making them explode about 2 feet infront of the target utterly fucking them up

>>30025348
>Besides, that's a 47, not a 94, which is basically the best firearm possible.
the AK-94 we have is not an Abakan...

>>30025309
Because a 7.62 round can only carry a tiny amount of explosive so any benefit of air bursting technology (i.e. cover defeating) is lost. you need a 25-30mm round to deliver enough to be even worth exploding in midair.

>>30025362
>>Say anything Ivan?
Stay silent, let her vent it out.

>>30025362
Nah, just hold her.

>>30025362
>Say anything?
Nothing but small, meaningless whispers of understanding. Let her get it all out, first. Then, if we get a chance, see if we can't figure out who, but don't interrupt her. Super vulnerable time. Time to be understanding Ivan.

Man, it really did go badly. I didn't think it'd go that badly...damn.

>>30025362
Hang on for a while.
"I'll be around anytime you wanna talk. If you wanna talk. We can stay here for a while though."

>>30025446
>>30025456
I can dig it

>>30025362
There really isn't anything appropriate to say.

Still, if she ever decides to take this sort of mission again...
"I can help you fix up some non-lethal weapons. You'll still need to decide what to do with them afterwards, though."

>>30025362
Give her a PROPER hug, none of this half-assed one-armed shit.

Other than that don't say anything. Still leery of saying anything.

>>30025471

that works

>>30025362
"No, you couldn't. They would have just gunned you down too. This job isn't about doing what's right, it's about making money. Those civvies were dead the moment that contract went out; if you hadn't gone, someone else would have."

>>30025471
This. Let her know she can open up about this if she needs to.

>>30025554
This isn't gonna help right now.

>>30025362
"Some people take to this line of work differently than others, StrikeOut employs all shapes sizes and colours of mercs, its bound to happen that you'd find a monster eventually, but think, what if you did take the shot? Then what what you do? Thats not something you can come back from in this line of work."

>>30025333
>>30025380
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZJHjLXWYNM
The movie was so-so but the setting, the action and the tech were pretty cool.

>>30025471
Here we go.

>>30025554
Way to be as generically unhelpful as possible Anon.

>>30025362
>say anything?
Not yet. Just gently hold her against us. On hand across the shoulder blades and the other hand on the back of her head. Lower our head until our chin rests on her hair, then wait it out.

>>30025471
This is the only useful thing we can say right now.

>>30025554
Making someone who's recently experienced trauma feel powerless is a good way to push them toward suicide.

>>30025601
She already knew that.

>>30025510
She knows that, too.

>>30025471
This, but not until she's calmed down.

>>30025674
>>30025519
can you guys not write fantasy fulfillment about weeping girls and let the woman determine her own level of comfort? thanks

>>30025728
Alright, how about we sit here still as a stone completely unresponsive to everything that happens?
That'll go over great.

>>30025362
Seconding >>30025471

We should bring her back to Tsukino's and the party, she could use some friends right about now

>>30025771
Uhm, yeah generally. When women get sad or mad or angry you let them finish feeling their feelings and then followup with what you intend to say.

>>30025800
now this is some fedora talk right here

>>30025800
Or run away. Run far, far away.

>>30025833
Coward. L2women.

>>30025854
Women are scary though, and operate with different rules.

>>30025800
You don't go off on a long lecture about "Well you should've done this!" but you don't just stand there like a deer caught in the headlights, staring straight ahead and not daring to look at the emotional creature.

>>30025874
So you're a namefag AND a coward? How awful that it's come to this.

LEARN THEIR RULES.

>>30025833
Mind you, I'm basing that off of previous interactions with my stepmother. So I might have a SLIGHT bias here.

Just a small one.

>>30025888
The honest bit in that is that I did not request to be given life, as such, I cannot be held responsible for my actions since I don't know what they're going to be.

>>30025362
Hello there, FallGuy. I have a minor point to bring up with you concerning your writing, but first I would like to say that I absolutely love your quest and your writing. Your characters, while some may be adhering to certain tropes, do not feel hamfisted and shoddily put together. I can get a sense of camaraderie from all the merc characters you've presented us, as well as a glance into the position of a merc in the social structure of their little asteroid city. I an fascinated with your setting and wish to explore more of it as you continue to write.

Now, on to my tiny bit of constructive criticism: when you are writing dialogue, you have a tendency of putting a character's laughter inside of the quotes, rather than having it described. I understand why you would feel it is appropriate to do so, but you Must keep in mind how awkward it can be interpreted. When you write laughter as "Hahahahaha," the initial thought for myself, and for many other people (Although not all) that the character is saying each individual "Ha," rather than busting up into laughter.

If you were to remove any "haha"s or the like from your writing and instead described the laughter, you will find that you can portray a wider range of emotions and actions.

For example:
"Hahaha, dude, you just totally stepped in dogshit." Said Carl.
vs
"Dude, you just totally stepped in dogshit." Carl said between bouts of hysterical laughter.
or
"Dude, you just totally stepped in dogshit." Carl said while snickering derisively.

I do hope that you do not take offense to my criticism, and you are free to ignore it if you so wish. I simply want to see this quest become the best it can possibly be.

>>30025910
More cowards.

>>30025912
What an awful cop-out. It's time to buy cyanide and put you out of our misery.

>>30025912
fucking what

thats the kind of reasoning serial killers and rapists use to get off charges on claims of mental instability

>>30025949
I've seen you before, anon.

You're a pretty cool guy, being all polite and shit.

Keep being cool

>>30025949
Seeing 'haha' every time someone talks is a bit repetitive, but so is 'you laugh' next to every line.

Frankly the nervous laughter isn't that great, it's just what people write to keep things flowing as space-filler. It's kinda weak language.

>>30025912
So you're saying you blame all your actions on your mother?

>>30026001
Misogynist! Misogynist! Throw him to the tumblrfags!

Better not say anything. You double down on the physical contact approach though, transferring her to a full bear hug. You whisper some platitudes as Elda transforms her feelings about the mission into two growing wet patches on your shirt. After another God knows how many minutes of this, Elda pushes away from you again. You let your arms fall to the side.

Elda stares at you, sniffing.

“Feeling a bit better now?”

Elda bites the inside of her mouth. Then she punches you in the shoulder and stands up.

“Hey. Ow.”

You get up and start to follow her. Suddenly Elda’s turned back around, facing you. She looks angry and flustered. You take a step back as she storms towards you. A hard poke. This time, it actually does hurt a little.

“Not.”

Poke,

“A.”

Poke.

“Word.”

Poke.

You fling your hands up in submission. “Lips are sealed.”

Elda snorts and storms off towards the elevator. Just as she’s about the exit the observatory, she stops, turning back around slowly. She whispers a single word, then quickly takes her leave of the half finished observatory.

You return to your earlier seat, and go back to contemplating space. Maybe this place isn’t so bad after all. The view isn’t that terrible, really. And the lack of a despondent co-worker does wonders for the mood. Hardly even notice the bare support struts now. You lean back and smile as Elda’s final whisper echos in your ear.

“Thanks.”

After what must have been nearly an hour of contemplation, you notice that the two tear stains on your shirt are fucking freezing in this icebox. Shivering slightly, you take your own leave of the observatory. Standing in the elevator, you grimace at the deluge of pings and comm-requests that piled up while you were off the grid. Sorting through them, you manage to find only a few from people you actually know. Niels down at the range, Markos and Cy in the armory, and Choi Lei? What does a senior merc want to do with a rookie like you?

>Whom do you meet?
>Niels. Time to see how our little buddy has improved.
>Markos and Cy. Wonder what those two are plotting…
>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.
>Find someone else [Write In]

>>30026096
>>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.

>>30026096

Choi Lei.

And change our fucking shirt before we run out to her too.

>>30026096
>>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.

We steal the source of someone's hateboner?

>>30026096
>>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.

>>30026096
>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.

>>30026096
>>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.

>>30026096
>>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.
let Markos and Cy know we'll see what they're up to after seeing Choi

>>30026096
>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.

>>30026096
>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.

>>30026096
>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.

>>30026096
We should send a notice to the other rookies telling them about our willingness to do techie shit during downtime for a lot less in credits than StrikeOut charges.

Hell, we should tell the other mercs in general, but just those we know.

And check what Choi Lei wants.

>>30025983
Why, thank you Anon. Because I only can access live 4chan from my phone and am generally busy with school as of late, I find myself only able to read the archives for the majority of quests. Whenever I am lucky enough to encounter a live thread, I try to not be a disturbance while providing helpful tips to the QM or whomever.

>>30025996
That is true, I agree with you, but describing laughter can be implemented in various ways, while "Haha"s are just that. So you laugh is SLIGHTLY stronger, with greater malleablity and the potential to really add to a person's writing.

>>30026054
Atta boy Ivan.

>>30026096
>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.

And send a message to Markos and Cy saying we'll try to drop by later, and if we can't we'll let them know.

>>30026153
It's also annoying when the author starts scraping for different ways to describe the same thing, like a bit of laughter common in human speech. Best to just drop it.

>>30025949
Thanks for the input, Observer. I'm still improving on my writing, so advice is absolutely welcome!

I'll definitely try to work on describing laughter better (or failing that, not putting it in the quotes as much). I certainly don't want to give the impression that my character's are just repeating the "Ha" sound like a bunch of robots.

And thanks for the example sentences! I've always found that sort of thing hugely helpful

>>30026149
this works

>>30026096
>>Choi Lei. When a senior merc calls, you best come running.
I agree with Anon change your shirt first.

>>30026204
Oh, I planned to. Thank you for expanding my own horizons, by the way. Everyone is still learning after all.

>>30026211
Never a problem, FallGuy.

Now, enough with me hijacking your attention, and back to writing the glorious adventures of our little Merc!

>>30026480
Best to drop the expression of laughter from the descriptions, not drop the topic of improving writing.

>>30026480
Hey Observer, we could use more like you in the QM IRC on Rizon, channel is #ques/tg/enerals

Choi Lei. The stout demolitions expert might be the jolly sort, but you’re not about to risk snubbing a senior merc. As the elevator shoots up to C-Level and your living quarters you send a quick message to Markos and Cy.

>Hey dumbasses. Don’t shell out for the equipping fees at the armory, I’ve got ya covered.

You decide to forward it to Niels as well. Let him know you haven’t forgotten about him. Need to spend some more time with the guy. As you walk up to your quarters, you are surprised to see some papers clamped onto your door with magnets. Looking around, you see no one else’s doors similarly decorated. You pull the paper off, and read it as you step into your quarters.

Dear Mr. Kostov,

I saw what you did to that Dreads character. It was absolutely brutal! I’ve never seen such a show of force, like… ever! You are such an unbelievable man amongst men. I’ve got some VERY nice… outfits let’s just say, and I’d be thrilled if you came around to check them out. Maybe, if I’m really naughty you can give an uppity feminine sub an encore of that fight? I promise to be a good little bitch for you you can beat me dow-

You crumple up the letter and throw it away, deeply unsettled. Was it the rapidly worsening grammar? The fact that whoever left this note knew where you lived? No. The more you think about it, the more sure you are that it was the phrase “feminine sub”.

Shuddering slightly, you put on a new shirt before sending Choi Lei a comm request. A few moments, then the channel opens.

“Ivan! Seems like I chose the wrong rookie to mentor on that Kagokushi drop.”

“Hey Sir, what’s up?”

“It’s freaking Take Out to you, you crazy sonnovabitch. I’m in the Bar with some fellow mercs and Maxim, who just got knocked down to “the Other Russian” status. You gotta come up here man, it’s a fucking scene.”

“Yeah,” you ask, grinning in spite of yourself.

“Absolutely. They’ve got the damned fight running on repeat on the Bar screens man! Bob’s taking requests for background music for it too!”

“Oh really? It even managed to impress Bob?”

Choi Lei hoots with laughter over the comm link. “‘Bout as close to impressed as the ol’ bastard can get, I think. Come on up man, drinks on the goddamn house for you my friend!”

“Shit. You’re fucking joking,” Bob never gives out free drinks. Certainly not more than one.

“Well, we don’t know for sure yet, but even if he decides to be a dick about it, shit. Well then, everyone’s gonna want to be the one who bought Ivan Kostov a drink! Quit fiddling with your tampon and haul ass up here!”

With that, the comm link closes. Looking around the room, you consider your options. You really don’t like being in the spotlight that much… but free drinks… that’s a potent argument. And Valkyrie isn’t around, so it’s not like anyone’s gonna assault you on the bar floor this time!

Maybe.

>Where does Ivan go?
>To the Bar
>Somewhere else

>>30026912
>>To the Bar

>>30026529
Oh, I didn't mean to misunderstand, I apologize. What other of aspect of writing so you notice that most writers should work to improve on, speaking generally?
>>30026549
Why, thank you!

>>30026912
>To the Bar

Free drinks! And there's probably going to be a number of more experienced mercs there who we can get advice from about weapons, mods, and accessories.

>>30026912
>>To the Bar

Might as well.

>>30026912
>To the Bar
also, that letter was fucking hilarious, we should take it out of the trash and send it to Svenja to figure out who sent it

>>30026912
>To the Bar

>>30026912
>To the Bar

Well not that we've answered we cant exactly snub them, now can we?

>>30026970
I kind of want to find out who sent it, just so we know where to avoid.

Because it's probably a trap, and I mean that in both ways, and I don't like crazy people putting notes on our door.

>>30026912
Go to bar, do Cossack dance with Markov to smooth things over.

>>30026970
>send it to Svenja
Sending a letter like that to HR will get you into not regular but DOUBLE sexual harassment class.

>>30026992
Man, the only response a letter like that should get is 'no thanks honey' or 'sure, meet you at my place on tuesday'

>>30026912
>>To the Bar
We have to go to the bar now.

Keep the letter to figure out later who wrote it.

>>30026912
Ivan, to Vodka! Or have a drink fit for a badass.

>>30027004
>Sending a letter like that to HR will get you into not regular but DOUBLE sexual harassment class.
You misunderstood the meaning of my words, I meant tell Svenja about the mysterious letter, give it to her and see if she can figure out who is doing the harassing.

>>30027004
I like this plan. Two Russians are better than one!

>>30027004
wut, did you miss the
>to figure out who sent it
part of that anons post?

>>30027069
Considering they were asking us to come by, we could probably find out who sent it by reading the rest of the letter.

>>30027038
>>30027069

Or just ignore it.

>>30027038
>>30027069

"Miss Svenja, someone sent me this."
"Do you think it was a coworker?"
"I don't know."
"Where'd you find it?"
"On the door to my residence."
"So you brought me a piece of personal correspondence that you have no reason to think is work related, and it's...this very personal letter right here."
"Yeah."
"I'm not a private detective agency, Mister Kost - wait, are you implying *I* would be interested? Mister Kostov, I'm going to have to speak to your supervisor. And then put in a request for your case to be transferred to another HR representative."
"Haha, no, I didn't mean it like that! Hey don't take it personal!"

Back in your box until you can into professionalism, anon.