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After about half an hour of waiting the HOEV finally does arrive, settling down in an open space outside of the server room. You make sure that the various weapons you stole from dead secfors are on your person before stomping into the back of the HOEV in your new BART suit. You step near the side of the cargo cabin, Elda and Niels continuing on into the passenger cabin. Markos hangs a shotgun he snagged from one of the Reyumbi secfors off of a wall mount before walking up to the passenger cabin doors himself. He turns around before entering the cabin and looks back at you. “Need a hand?”

You wave your one free arm back at him, still half in, half out of the BART suit. “Nah, it’s fine. Just tell the pilot to give me a minute before take off.”

Markos nods. “Will do,” he replies before entering the passenger cabin.

You spend the next several minutes extricating yourself from the BART, strapping it down to a wall mount, and finding various safe places to store your pilfered guns and other arms. After debating about it for a little while you decide to leave the MAHWM serial plate in cargo. No one else would get why it’s so interesting, except maybe Niels. Double checking that your little armory won’t be shifting around in flight, you dust your hands off and step up to the passenger door.

“Hey Markos thanks for tell-” your words die in your throat as you see Darius sitting in the passenger cabin. The senior merc’s expression is unreadable. You glance around. Elda, Niels, and Markos look about as confused, curious, and nervous as you feel. Clearly Darius hasn’t said or done anything to indicate why he’s here. Yet.

>Greet your superior

>>31498731
>>Greet your superior

Salute!
"Sir!"

"...isn't taxi above your pay grade?"

>>31498786
I didn't think we did salutes in merc company, apart from that though

>"...isn't taxi above your pay grade?"

>>31498731
>>Greet your superior
Salute!
"Sir!"
What a pleasure to see you.
Not your usual cheery self?

>>31498731
"Did I do good Coach?"

>>31498786
Seconding.

>>31498731

Mentally, we say "Ah fuck".

>>31498731

Uh-oh

We're going to have to see counseling.

Shit

>>31498731
Soooo... Therapy?

>>31498731
"I was tactical this time, honest!"

Rolled 1, 6, 4 = 11

>>31498896
This is good.

Rolling for Ivan's poker face.

>>31498925

Welp.

Rolled 3, 8, 7 = 18

>>31498925
Sasuga, /tg/ dice.

>>31498818
Seconding.
If Darius is here it's serious.

>>31498896
Sounds good.

Rolled 2, 5, 4 = 11

>>31498731
"Hey (Insert usual pilots name here), you seem... blacker than usual."

Rolled 7, 7, 2 = 16

Rolling only to see of we get trip 11s

What's the worst that could happen?

Oh right. Therapy.

>>31498731
"Hi, sir. I know what you're thinking but I came back in one piece this time"

>>31498786
Thirding this

>>31498786
Fourthing

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You give a somewhat informal, but still respectful, salute. StrikeOut doesn’t usually insist on old-Earth style military protocol, but you figure it can’t hurt. “...isn’t taxi above your paygrade sir?”

Darius snorts and waves your salute away. “Kid, you know how much a taxi working Earth orbit makes in a year? I have absolutely no idea. And its beside the point anyway. Siddown.”

<Fuck me. Well, at least he doesn’t seem mad. Not that I’ve ever really seen Darius get mad.>

You take a seat and glance over at the other three squaddies. Elda seems particularly exasperated at your attempt to lighten the mood. <Oh shit. What if he wants my ass in therapy? I mean, I thought I was pretty careful this time. Relatively speaking.>

However, Darius’ words aren’t directed at you. Instead he shifts in his chair until he’s facing Niels. “Listen glasses. We know you hacked into HR’s network.”

Niels looks utterly shocked. His eyes bulge and he glances around nervously. He makes eye contact with you, and you can see the rising panic. You make some sort of ‘cut it’ gesture with your hands. You’re pretty sure that if this was really an issue they just wouldn’t have bothered picking you guys up at the evac site.

Darius keeps on talking, his face still as stoic as it was when you entered the cabin. “According to your employee contracts, which you all signed and confirmed as having read I might add, unauthorized access to any computer system belonging to the StrikeOut corporation is sufficient grounds for termination. As is aiding and abetting such access,” he continues, turning around to glance at the rest of you. “With that in mind, you mind telling me what the fuck could have possibly seemed like a good enough reason to violate your contracts?”

>Well?

>>31499514
>>Well?
Money.
An easy way to erase our newbie debts.

>>31499574
this.

>>31499514
We need to get out of our debts Sir.
It seemed like an easy way to hit the big time.

>>31499514
"I'm sure you know what it's like to have debt so deep you can't see your own thighs. And having equipment that helps us not die is also nice...but what gave us away man? Something tells me if we were caught by the big boys we'd not even have a evac, am I right?"

>>31499574

Thirded. Honesty is probably the best way to go.

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>>31499514
Hold on when did we hack into HR's network?

Also CASH

>>31499667
Seems like better dialog compared to the other ideas.

>>31499679
Niels did back a while ago.

When you all say cash, how specific do you want to be? As in "We did it for the dough," or at least partially detail the plan?

>>31499706
No need for details unless he ask for it.

He should already know enough to understand the situation. I am pretty he had himself a "get rich" scheme, like all soldiers.

>>31499706
Only tell him the bare basics that he clearly already knows.

No sense admitting to crimes he doesn't know about yet, right?

>>31499706
Give him a summary of the plan.

>>31499730
>I am pretty
I am pretty sure*.

I AM NOT PRETTY

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>>31499756
Yes you are

>>31499706
No details unless he wants them.

>>31499732
>>31499730
These.

If he asks for details then we'll answer.

>>31499679
also, did we actually have a reason or did one us just decide to do it off the cuff?

>>31499756
>I AM NOT PRETTY

Stop putting yourself down bro.
YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY, NOW SPREAD YOUR WINGSAND FLY!

Anyone else get the feeling he's just trying to fuck us out of some or all of the money?
Do we know IC what our contract actually entails?

>>31499706
Not unless he asks.

Though it's not really hard to work out, the mission was to fuck with a stock exchange server, the obvious answer if you have a good hacker is to add your own alterations to it to benefit you.

>>31499808
The point is to make money, because of the hacking stuff Neils did we can participate in easy insider trading on the Xuanzang sector stock market. Which means we can all make more money.

>>31499862
"Blah blah blah drop pods, blah blah blah axe people, blah blah blah you owe us your soul."

>>31499862
It seems more likely that he'd be interested in using the info we'll get from the compromised stock market for his own purposes.

>>31499953
>>31499862
I don't know, the first few games of DAQ, he seemed pretty bro. Hell, technically he's our mentor.

>>31499953
Actually, that would be perfect. We tell him that we can include him on the deal and we get to keep our livelihoods.
Changing >>31499797 slightly to hint at this and get some compliance

>>31499953
Pretty sure he's just trying to protect his own ass if this goes south. No idea though.

You decide to speak up first. You might not’ve been the one to come up with the fool idea in the first place, that was Niels, and Elda’s the one who would make all of the actual semi-legal trades, but the responsibility of your self-appointed command still lies heavily on your shoulders. You speak up first. “Well sir, we did it for the money. Something about being up to your ass in debt doesn’t sit well with me. Figure it didn’t for everyone else here either.”

Darius shakes his head. “Morons. All of you were well on your way to get out of debt in the next five or so years at most. Hell,” he points at Niels, “This little bastard got out of debt in his first drop! But that wasn’t the answer I was looking for. Let me be as direct as possible. For what purpose did the four of you decide to go on a drop that was restricted to employees at Omicron rank?”

AWWW YEAH

MAH FAVOURITE QUEST

You mouth at the air for a second, debating on whether you should deflect the senior merc or pony the information up. You’re usually a pretty stand up guy, but this seems like some serious business. Before you can say anything, however, Niels breaks. “Sir! It was all my idea sir! One one of my drops I ended up getting some security codes to the Reyumbi stock exchange and we uploaded a hack to the backup! Going on this mission was necessary since I needed to be on site to access it!”

Elda nods, although you doubt she followed Niels’ spotty reasoning. “Yes. It was to give us an edge in stock trades and investments in the Xuanzang sector. I was to coordinate the trades so as not to alert Reyumbi that we were gaming the system.”

Darius sits back. “So. Let me get this straight. Glasses over here figured out how to hack not only our HR’s computer net, but stole security secrets from a company WHILE ON CONTRACT with them. Then Glasses used this knowledge to subvert said client’s security system on their Stock exchange, perhaps the single most important asset in their inventory. And the Alpine Ice Queen was gonna coordinate your efforts to avoid detection and perpetuate some fraud or insider trading or whatever? And I suppose Shrooms and Suicide Pact over here were in on the plan the whole time.”

Darius leans forward, somehow managing to glower at all four of your at once. “Is that about right? Or am I missing something.”

>Well?

>>31500102

Heh. Suicide Pact.

>>31500102

"Well, that's about all of it."

>>31500102
...Yeah...

>>31500102
>>Well?
You pretty much got it. Am I Shrooms or Suicide pact? Could I be Gizmo instead?

>>31500102
That's more or less correct.

>>31500102
Silence is our response.

>>31500102

One nod.

>>31500102
No.

>>31500102
Yeah....

Also can we ask him how they figured it out?

Rolled 9, 2, 6 = 17

>>31500102
"Since when did I get the nickname 'Shrooms'"?

Rolling for trolling.

>>31500204
meant to add "that's pretty much it" onto that.

>>31500219
Just repeat the words "Nanomachines" over and over again.

It's sci-fi's "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

>>31500102
If he puts it like that it sounds ....
>Yes, and No?


I don't really know much about stocks, but did any of our actions like, cause the Company we were on contract with to actually lose money?

How much money did we actually make?

I'm thinking if we made enough we could just give all the extra money and donate it to Strikeout or the Company and only take enough to pay our debts.

>>31500276
Can the word "son" be said after it?

>>31500308
Not really. Darius is what, nearly fifty years older than Ivan?

Coolio. Have been writing, but while I do so, on a scale from one to "Valk's been in the aphrodisiacs and coke again" how fucked are you guys?

>>31500308
I think calling Darius son will earn us a friendly bitchslap.

>>31500356
I dunno man. I'm just happy we survived the mission.
If we lose our jobs, I guess we can just go work at a coffee shop or something.

>>31500356
Somewhere around an 8? No fired, but definitely losing our seniority and getting busted down a few pay grades.

Rolled 17

>>31500356
I think we're at least fist fighting a Bart level fucked

>>31500356
A 5? not too bad, but not too good either.

Still I'd like to know this or ask him this>>31500304

>>31500356
We are about at Shower Unleashed.

>>31500356
We're probably at "running into Dreads who is wielding the homoshower, while we are naked" right now

>>31500356
Finally, my dream of Ivan full-timing at an idol merc company is possible.

>>31500356

Valk's been in the aphrodisiacs and coke again and is possessed by the homoshower.

>>31500356
"Get demoted to a lower paygrade" fucked if other people know. "Get squeezed out of most of the profits" if only Darius and whoever figured our the hacks knows.

We're not gonna get fired, we're their best rookie.

>>31500401
That's not too bad actually. Well at least for us it ain't to bad.

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>>31500356

Pic related.

>>31500356
I rate it as "our first time f&f-ing Valk." Since we had a chance to get out of it by virtue of kicking ass

Rolled 4

>>31500356
I dunno I think we could be fist fighting a MAHWM stark naked level fucked.

>>31500356
I think someone mentioned this to the armorer so we've even lost our part time job, on the other hand, no one died, so maybe we can sign on to another agency as a team? Nah, the Milenial Man would've thought of that...So Niels is definitely fired, Elda and Markos are definitely safe, and we might be unpleasantly screwed.

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>>31500308
Sure can, AND I can put it in a thumbnail pic for you, too!

>>31500437
Yeah, I predict that too. We might lose our BART that we just got, lose a pay grade, be on probation and under a certain amount of surveillance and watch, lose most of our profits, a public apology to the Company or something, maybe even a short period where we are grounded, and us telling them how Niel's technique on how he hacked HR and makes money.

>>31500529
Oh we're definitely losing the BART and out basepay/bonuses for the mission.

>>31500356
"Prepare Your Anus!" levels of fucked.

You swallow before letting out a quiet, “Yeah,” Markos manages a similar confirmation. Niels is too busy deflating to find the air speak. Elda on the other hand, replies with a soft “No.”

You and Markos look at your fellow rookie in shock. She seems to be on the verge of making eye contact with you before Darius skewers her with a look. “No? Is there something I missed, AIQ?”

Elda looks around, slightly panicked. “N-n-no! I simply just meant that you were not missing anything in your summation of events!”

Darius sits back, crosses his arms and closes his eyes. He exhales loudly through his nostrils before speaking, his voice slow, words chosen with extreme care. “So that’s how it is. I have to say, very disappointing. I personally expected better from you. All of you.”

Darius stands up and turns around slowly, pulling out a tablet and typing something into it. He seems almost defeated. As if what ever he’s doing right now is paining him. He shakes his head as he types, sighing once more.

Markos speaks up. More like he mumbles up. “Sir? What’s going on?”

Darius looks up, still not facing any of you, his eyes staring straight into the bulkhead. He waits a few seconds before answering. “Wiring twenty K to Val. I could have sworn you guys were trying to redirect all that money from LLS’ shell corps to your bank accounts.”

>Wait what?

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>>31500529
awwwwwwwwww, but I hate losing loot and money

>>31500102
uh uh this looks really bad guys. Hacked employer, stole from customer, hacked ex-customer with intent to continue stealing from ex-customer. did I get everything?

>>31500586
Hug Darius. HUG HIM NAO!

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>>31500586

>>31500586
Wait, the redirecting money thing is a way better idea than we had, why didn't we think of that?

>>31500586
>>Wait what?
Nah, that would have been too obvious.

Gotta be subtle.

>>31500586
Darius just salty at losing a bet. As well as the fact that we don't OPERATE on his level.

Can he tell us the terms of the bet?

>>31500586
>Only 20K?

>>31500586
Sir, with all due respect, I'm still having a fear-induced ulcer burn through my stomach lining. Could bets wait until we get reamed?

>>31500586
"We could have done that?"

>>31500586

>Wait what?
Seconded

>>31500586
a moment of confusion, followed by immense relief, followed shortly by curiosity.

>>31500586
"Does that mean we're not dead?"
>>31500676
Also, this

>>31500586
"You dick."
"I thought we were as fucked as a rookie that just ran into Valkyrie."

>>31500586
"20K on a side bet...I really don't want to know how much you guys are worth. Scratch that, yes, yes I do."

>>31500676
Second.

change>>31500658

>>31500586
"Wouldn't that have been a bit too obvious?

I'm not a financial expert or anything, but they'd notice that, and we'd be on the short-list of people for them to track down. Stocks can make us money for our foreseeable future without being caught."

>>31500586
"Gaddamnit that woman already knows me too well."

Fall Guy.

Real talk. I love you man.

>>31500709
seconding
ask this before>>31500628

>>31500586
Going with >>31500676 and >>31500697

>>31500721

I'm seconding this. Point out that we knew redirecting the money straight to us would have been stupid.

I mean, we're stupid, but not THAT stupid.

>>31500586
"That sounds like one of those little plans Elda would smack me in the back of the head for suggesting."

>>31500586

Going with these
>>31500676
>>31500721

>>31500872
This one sounds good.

>>31500721
This
"At least this way we don't have to go for a fuck ton of money all at once, and as such get caught, easily. We can use it to keep ourselves ahead of our debt. So that We <gesture to Markos, and Elda> can keep most of what we get from missions."

>>31500721
Thirding.

>>31500586
Might I just register my theory that Val got some juicy pillow talk out of Elda and that's why any of the senior partners got tipped off? Also how she won that bet.

>>31500923
Yes, all my yes's

>>31500721

Fourthing this

>>31500923
Let's not mention that idea out loud.

>>31500923
>>31500872
>>31500721
>>31500676
goddammit, so many suggestions, so little time! I want all of them!

>>31501068
WHY NOT!?!?
LET"S DO ALL OF THEM!!!

The four of you are still silent, but the mood has completely changed. Where trepidation reigned discombobulation now holds sway. Markos makes a noise not unlike a gasping fish, assuming fish can even gasp. You’re still not one hundred percent on that. Elda finally manages to string together something close to an actual word. “What.”

Darius simply sighs and rubs his eyes with his free hand. Eventually you find your voice. “We could have done that?”

Darius spins around to look at you, arms outstretched as if pleading for an answer. “Fuckin’ I know right! That would have been tens of billions of credits each! What the hell? Did it just not occur to you or something?”

“N-no,” reponds Niels, clearly working more from an instinct to answer questions than any higher thought process.

“It never did. Merda, we could have been rich…”

“Hey wait a minute, they could have easily tracked us down, right? Stocks were clearly the safest option. Besides,” you say gesturing at Elda, “That sounds like the sort of idea she’d smack me on the back of the head for.”

Darius shakes his head. “Coulda been multi-billionaires. Coulda easily gone into hiding while Steadfast and LLS both tried to figure out where the money actually went. You could have done it man!”

>>31501050
Oh crap, didn't mean for that to be taken as a write in. Hang on.

>>31501114
That's what Val said.

>>31500923

Interesting theory, but for the love of all that is holy, we should never, EVER voice this theory to anyone, especially Elda.

Personally, I think it far more likely the reason the senior partners got suspicious is because this kind of shit is exactly what THEY would do.

Quite honestly, I think even if they scold us, I think they are more impressed we actually pulled this off, insane as it probably was.

>>31500721
Fifthing this

Niels laughs. It’s not the most stable of laughs, but he seems to have recovered from his fear coma. You simply sit back, crossing and uncrossing your arms, unsure what to do with the sudden release of nervous energy. “So wait, we’re not dead?”

Darius tilts back his head and roars with laughter. “Hell no. Shit, the worst we had planned for you guys was letting you get shot up by Reyumbi secfors, maybe a fatality or two, before Valk and I came crashing down, to teach you a lesson about getting in over your heads. If anything performing so well on this drop is only going to help your careers at SO out.”

Darius snorts, rubbing his nose as he sits down once more, his eyes twinkling in amusement. “You didn’t try to fuck over StrikeOut, your fellow mercs, or NeoLogos. And we don’t think you’ll be caught either. So long as you don’t do any of those four things, we don’t give two shits. For Chrissake. We shoot people for a living! What’s a little white collar crime in the face of that, am I right?”

>Anything you want to ask Darius?

>>31501194
>>Anything you want to ask Darius?
Can I be Gizmo instead of Suicide pact? That sound depressing.

>>31501194
"Did you record the entire drop on video?"

>>31501194
"Did you see me wreck that MAHWM?"

>>31501194
If I had survived that drop only to have a heart attack I would have haunted your ass.

>>31501194
>Can I keep my BART then?
and
>>31501225

>>31501231
seconded

>>31501231
Followed by
>>31501227
So much.

Rolled 7

>>31501194
"Darius, your the best mentor a merc could ever ask for."

>>31501194
God dammit Fall Guy I love you. Damn fine twist there

>>31501194
>"So, on my upcoming mission performance review, more or less self preservation instinct than usual?"

>"Wait, Val's in orbit?"

I was totally proffessional and not suicidal at all this drop. Frankly I think I neeed a new nickname.

>>31501194
"How long have you known? What tipped you off?

Also, I take umbrage to being called Suicide Pact, I played it smart this drop. I mean sure, I got into an axe fight with a MAHWM, but I was in a BART at the time."

>>31501194
>Anything you want to ask Darius?

"So, it's cool for me to keep the BART, right?"

Grin like a maniac.

Wait a second. If we get to keep our BART and we name it Umbubu, then that means the shotcannon is our SHOGGOTH GUN.

>>31501194

"Hang on, does this mean Niels is in danger of the Valkyrie Special for setting all this up?"

>>31501261
Followed by "Oh shit, did Val see that?"

>>31501194
>Ask Darius anything?

"So, how're the rail gun mods holding up?"

>>31501231
>>31501227
these two

>>31501272
Yes

>>31501156
"Shit. I guess this is why we're not omikron team"

>>31501282
I like this

>>31501225
>>31501227
>>31501265
>>31501269
All of these.

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>>31501282
This.

Followed by: "Or is it me for hijacking a BART and taking down that MAWHM?"

>>31501282
Because I honestly fear for his ability to remain upwardly mobile if so.

>>31501331
Adding this to>>31501326

>>31501326
Agreed.

>>31501282
Niels lacks the constitution to survive the encounter.

So probably.

>>31501194
Wait...shooting people for a living is legal, white collar crime is shooting a corporation, that's much worse.

>>31501363
Niels was the first out of all of us to go through it after his first drop I think?

>>31501384
No, that was Cy.

>>31501384

No, that was Cy.

And it traumatized him so much he's spending all his money on armor for 'extra protection'.

I wonder if the BART has a fly/crotch hatch.

>>31501414
Or at least we should claim when we get back to the Brick.

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>>31501272
It fits

>>31501567
>Harry Flashman

Bah, Jurgen is better in all possible ways.

>>31501461
I don't think Val could handle our BART's seismic truncheon, no matter how glazed her donut is.

>>31501619
I don't the donut would be glazed, so much as smothered.

>>31501641
Like pushing a five dollar footlong against a wedding ring.

>>31501688
A messy foot long meatball marinara covered with extra cheese and sauces.

>>31501619
Depending on how modded she is, it's possible our BART' seismic truncheon wouldn't be able to handle Val

>>31501619
>>31501641
>>31501688
>>31501780
>>31501788

I thought coining the "glazed donut" thing was going to be the highlight of my DAQ funnies but participating in this back and forth has been the best.

I coughed pineapple juice all over myself. Twice.

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You lean back and shake your head. “Goddamn sir. If I survived that drop only to have a heart attack I would have haunted your ass.”

Darius chuckles. “I would have had it coming. But shit. I gotta fuck with you mercs somehow, and Valkyrie’s already got a monopoly on one interpretation of that.”

“Hang on. Valkyrie’s in orbit? Also, on an entirely unrelated note, did you see and or record me wrecking that MAHWM?”

Elda makes a tching noise and shakes her head, looking slightly irritated. Markos crows with laughter. “Hey sour grapes and all that Elda.”

Elda sticks out her tongue, apparently Markos’ jibe was beneath a proper italian cussing out. You do note that her ears are slightly pink as she turns away, however. Darius snorts before answering your question. “Probably have something on the helmet cams. And since Niels here hacked the security net he can probably get some footage of the fight too. Right buddy?”

Niels finally manages to find his voice. “Yeah! Yes, I think I could do that. Darius, sir, how did you, Strike Out I mean, how did you find out I hacked into HR?”

Darius shrugs. “Eh. I’m no programmer, but you can bet your ass we’ve got a few people on the Brick with a century or so on you kid. Probably got rumbled by one of them.”

“And wait,” continues Niels, “StrikeOut is okay with mercs just doing that? Hacking their systems?”

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“Well A,” says Darius, sticking out a pinky, “It’s just friggin’ HR. Who gives a shit? And two,” his ring finger, “All you did was put your own necks on the line. Like I said earlier, don’t fuck with StrikeOut, don’t fuck with your comrades, definitely don’t fuck with NeoLogos, and it’ll all be good.”

“Alright, one thing though,” you say, “Well one more thing I guess. Am I really Suicide Pact?”

Elda nods vigorously. “I would like to also voice my concern that I am the Alpine Ice Queen.”

Darius shakes his head. “Goddamnit rookies. You think you get to choose your nicknames? Quickest way to just get called ‘Supreme Prissmaster’ for the rest of your professional life. But no, I don’t think that any of you have nicknames yet. I was just coming up with some shit to call you.”

All four of you breathe a sigh of relief, which earns a mock hurt expression from Darius. “Hey now, I thought Shrooms and Suicide Pact were both pretty good.”

“Like anyone would wanna drop with a guy called Suicide Pact,” you grunt, shifting in your seat and activating the G-harness as the pilot announces that gravity well escape is imminent.

The cabin falls silent as the HOEV fires it’s thrusters, and the five of you are pushed back into your seats. A little while later the pressure subsides, and the Gs recede like the tide. Unbuckling yourself, you allow yourself to drift ‘up’ towards the center of the cabin, enjoying the weightlessness.

>How shall you pass the time?
>Talk to someone about something
>See if Dwight Schmidt is piloting the HOEV, and if he would let you try your hand at it again
>Return to your seat and consume some form of media to pass the time (taking write-ins. Also, is the timeskip option)
>Write in a Shenanigan

>>31501871
>>Return to your seat and consume some form of media to pass the time (taking write-ins. Also, is the timeskip option)
Read about 21st century privilege enlightenement.

>>31501871
SEE IF IT'S DWIGHT.

IVAN BOY, YOU WERE BORN TO FLY.

>>31501871
>Check up on our BART and talk to someone/anyone about getting gear and stuff for it.

>>31501871
>>Talk to someone about something
Might as well set up a party with the others. What do you guys think of an old earth movie party? We still need to see "The Thing" with Elda, and everyone else can enjoy it as well!

>>31501912
I can't upvote this enough.

>>31501871
>write in
Go to your BART. Stare at it. Ponder what features to give it <spoiler>then fap to it</spoiler>

>>31501871
>See if Dwight Schmidt is piloting the HOEV, and if he would let you try your hand at it again
It's been like 30 threads since we talked to this guy, might as well pop in.

Plus, we could gain some valuable skill. Eventually we're gonna need to steal a HOEV to escape just before a facility blows up, and someones gonna need to fly the damn thing.

>>31501871
Can we get an inventory on our lootings from this mission? I mean, we obviously got the BART and matching toys for it but what was our entire yield?

>>31501871
>>31501912
Like this guy said BORN TO FLY.

>>31501930
>>31501923

I can dig these two, just in this order.

>>31501871
>How shall you pass the time?
Work with Niels to get a video made of the combat with the MAHWM to show off at the Brick.

>>31501871
>>See if Dwight Schmidt is piloting the HOEV, and if he would let you try your hand at it again

>>31501952
>>31501957
>>31501947
>>31501936
>>31501923
>>31501912

Born to fly and BART just gave me a crazy idea.

>FIND SOMEWAY TO MAKE OUR BART FLY!

>>31501871
seconding >>31501930 & then >>31501912

>>31501871
See if you can convince your teammates that there is someone with even less regard for their own saftey during missions. Fail.

Debate merits of shooting your BART at future drop points after you've landed on future missions.

>>31501912
Yes!thirded.

Check equipment an ammo stocks in the hoev, ambush val on the cruiser with macguyvered jokes. Paint can lighter, etc

>>31501930
>>31501912
YES. PARTY PLANNING TIME WITH EVERYONE. FOLLOWED BY FLYING TIME WITH DWIGHT.

>>31501930
Might as well set some kind of party up. We'll follow up with >>31501912.

I think the most important thing with the BART is to:

- Make sure it's customised/tech'd out in ways that mean it won't get taken out easily/can be retrieved easily even if damaged.

- Grind our tech skills with armoury work/open up more armoury discounts

- Seriously weigh up if keeping the BART is worth the money vs other gear/augments because those BART drop pods might be expensive.

>>31501871
>See if Dwight Schmidt is pilotting the HOEV

Hey, can we apply for pilot training next time we have a month off?

Rolled 1, 5, 10 = 16

>>31501930
If we watch "The Thing" with Elda, we should set up the thermostat to subtly lower the room temperature as the movie progress. It will help with immersion and increase cuddle chances greatly.

>>31502073
We should see if we can lighten it enough to bring on a regular drop pod. Maybe upgrade it with lighter armor.

>>31501912
>>31501930
Supporting these two. The BART can wait a bit.

>>31502107
oh this is fucking brilliant, as should tell Niels about it too and bring some blankets to snuggle up together in for us and Elda and him and Tsukino

>>31502073
IIRC Fall Guy said that BART's have to be lifted in by HOEV.

>>31502088
Yeah, most likely. Hell, you could probably buy and DL a flight simulator if you want Ivan to get a lot of practice in and be a massive nerd at the same time.

>>31501950
You got:
>one BART
>One BART sized grenade launcher/shotcannon
>One two handed seismic axe
>One thunder thump 9000
>one future-tech sword I still need to fluff
>Various mementos from the MAHWM

I think that's everything, but somebody remind me if I missed something

>>31502073
Don't sell it, but don't use the BART all the time. I'd rather have it but not need it than need it and not have it.

>>31502158
So no basic shotgun?

>>31502158
>"You make sure that the various weapons you stole from dead secfors are on your person before stomping into the back of the HOEV in your new BART suit."

Some guns/rifle we picked up from the dead.

>>31502181
I think someone else grabbed that.

>>31502158
don't forget all the secfors wallets FG

>>31502161
Hell, we can just give it to Cy eventually if we don't want it. Lord knows he's going to try to buy one eventually, and this way he'll finally have an excuse to save up for that El Supresor HMG he's been giving googly eyes.

>>31502222
>>31502181
Markos picked up a basic one from the Secfors, we however got the massive BART sized shotcanon/grenade launcher

>>31502181
>Wanting a shotgun
>When we have a shotcannon

That's like wanting a pistol when we have our hand cannon.

>>31502222
We can always ask Marcos for his old one.

>>31502158
Eh, I just expect Ivan to have to pilot his way out of a mission in a hurry. Probably just barely ahead of some massive explosion.

Right so, old Earth movie night, leaning towards the Thing, followed up by harassing possibly-Dwight for flying lessons.

Writing.

>>31502250
Shotcannon is a bit too big and forceful (simple weight/kickback issue) for Ivan it use outside of the BART suit. For now.

>>31502250
True dat.

>>31502299
Use money that we will acquire from our stock market thing, to get augmented enough to wield shotcannon and similar armaments without the use of a BART.

>>31502299
I'm really hoping we take care of that spoiler sooner than later.

>>31502380
It's on our to-do list, the first part of that process will be reinforcing our skeleton, we need that before we can stack on more muscle mods.

>>31502380
Well this mission was supposedly out of our pay grade so I am hoping we get a nice payday from it and can splurge on some genemods/augs.

>>31502299
Can we still use it as a grenade launcher though?

>>31502527
I'm aware. People seem to have been much more interested in augmenting our arsenal than ourself the last few times we've had the opportunity.

File: 1397614396194.jpg-(35 KB, 203x200, The Pilot Headshot.jpg)

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You drift around to face your fellow rookies. “Alright, you know what this calls for?”

“Some antacids,” asks Niels, holding his stomach and looking slightly queasy.

“Naw,” you scoff waving your hand at him. “I was thinking an old-Earth movie night! We could watch the Thing. The effects didn’t age so well, but I think it’s still pretty creepy.”

“Creepy?” says Niels, looking nervous.

“Ah c’mon Niels,” replies Markos, punching him gently on the shoulder, “It’ll be a good way to practice for movie night with Tsukino! You know how Japanese girls love horror flicks.”

“They do?”

“I guess? I was just saying that to be honest. Besides, knowing Ivan the movie is probably like 300 years old and dated as fuck.”

While you let those two speculate on the Thing, you consider the possibility of the arctic stratagem. You speculated on the possibility with one of your fellow Earth Culture classmates, Johnny. Guy was weird, craggy as fuck face and spoke with an accent, but he had a lot of ideas. Most of them bad. Anyway, the idea was to lower the thermostat as the movie goes on to increase the chance of cuddles.

Of course, you’re assuming Niels brings along Tsukino here.

Shrugging to yourself you drift up to the pilots cabin and activate the wall terminal. “Hey Dwight?”

You are incredibly satisfied to see Dwight’s less than sane grin on the terminal. “Ivan! It’s been too long! You here for a ride along?”

You grin as the pilot bay doors open, and float inside, strapping yourself into the co-pilot’s seat as Dwight gives you a friendly handshake. “Been ages. How’re things?”

>How’re things?
>Also, roll for piloting

Rolled 4, 4, 1 = 9

>>31502611

Rolled 9, 10, 9 = 28

>>31502611
IVAN AM BEST PILOT

Rolled 9, 9, 9 = 27

>>31502611
I looted a BART and took down a MAHWM. Shit is fucking awesome.

>>31502656
>>31502662

YES. IVAN AM THE BEST PILOT.

>>31502611
Show him the tattoo and give him a brief run-down on how things have been

Rolled 7, 3, 4 = 14

>>31502611
"Smooth sailing, had a bit of a heart attack two minutes ago though"

>>31502656
>>31502662

>"I WAS BORN TO FLY!"

Is there really any other answer now?

>>31502656
>>31502662
Ivan truly am the best pilot.

>>31502656
>>31502662
And apparently, so's our piloting.

BORN TO FLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

>>31502656
...holy crap you're right

Rolled 1, 4, 3 = 8

>>31502611
>>Also, roll for piloting

>>31502656
>>31502662
Fuck yeah!

>>31502611
>>31502656
>>31502662
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK0P1Bk8Cx4

>>31502656
>>31502662
Okay. We're the next ogre quest. It's official

Rolled 6, 4, 2 = 12

>>31502611
"I stole a BART and then beat the shit out of a MAHWM and I'm still intact, so I'd say pretty damn good."

>>31502655
>>31502656
>>31502662
wat

Fuckin' Darius

When we make it rich we're gonna get that guy something you don't find anywhere near this side of the solar system

Oh hey, I'm pretty sure no one has asked, but here is a full accounting of the StrikeOut pay ranks, as well as which mercs you have either met or are on the character sheet belong to which rank.

Tier 1 Technology: Firearms, limited augmentation
>Omega- Mercs in Boot Camp. The Himawari Force is currently Omega ranked mercs
>Tau- Rookie mercenaries fresh out of basic. Elda, Niels, Markos, Cy, and Tsukino are all Tau ranked.
>Sigma- still relatively new mercs, but have proven themselves somewhat. Ivan and Simge both hold this rank.
>Omicron- This is the first rank of "average" mercs in terms of combat experience and skill. This rank marks the beginning of really dangerous missions. Includes Marlena Redskies and Dr. Tran prior to ganking
>Lambda- More experienced than Omicron mercs. All squad leaders need to be Lambda rank to seek squad leadership accreditation. Include Clayton, Maxim Bodrov, and Choi Lei
>Theta- This is the upper tier of what can be considered a normal merc. Past this it becomes difficult to balance civilian life with mercenary responsibilities. Includes Ifu Mokwena and Jason Smith.

Tier 2: Extensive gene modding, beginning of cybernetic augmentation. Normal firearms are replaced by electromagnetic weapons.
>Epsilon- At this point the merc life start to take over. Some can maintain the balance, but most end up going further up the payranks. You do not know anyone at Epsilon rank
>Delta- Skilled and experienced mercs, will take on the most dangerous assignments. Includes Valkyrie
>Gamma- Yet more skill, yet more experience, yet more toys. Mercs at this rank are a rarity. Inlcudes Darius.

Tier 3: Genemods are insufficient at this point. Mercs are massively cybernetically augmented. Electromagnetic weapons are replaced by directed energy weapons.
>Beta- An extreme rarity. Some people speculate that most mercs at beta rank spend all their time between missions in cryo. Includes Alexander Barrister.
>Alpha- No known mercs.

Rolled 5, 6, 1 = 12

>>31502793
With Ivan at Bawss and Elda as Celicia.

And Valkyrie as Queen Kilkkarak.

>>31503004
Read my mind, you did. Thanks for the info.

>>31503004

Who's Barrister again?

>>31503004
So does this mean that Dreads would have bean at around Gamma/Beta rank?

>>31503071
One of the Senior Partner mercs.

>>31503004
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Also what rank would have Dreads been?

>>31503004
>directed energy weapons

Do fucking want. But damn we have a longways to go. At least we are sigma and not tau.

>>31503093
I'd guess Delta/Gamma.

>>31503004
Kind of a bummer that we have to become all cyberian to get the highest pay ranks. Why can't gene mods work at that point.

>>31503004
>yfw Millennium Man is the sole member of Alpha Rank, it's just that no one knows

>>31503139
What's wrong with getting cybernetics?

>>31503163
I'm guessing the whole removing and replacing of body part and stuff.

>>31503139
>>31503163

Should have gotten that cyber arm when we had the chance I guess.

>>31503220
Wouldn't have been worth it at the time for what it cost.

Alright, apologies for the delay, but I was prepping dinner. Am writing update now. That 28 and 27 are noted.

>>31503004
>Nanomachines not at the top.

Disappointment.

>>31503220
Probably teir 1 stuff, and besides, that shit cost money.

>>31503239
Meh I kinda glossed over a lot of the stuff since I was reading it in the archive.

>>31503259
Unfortunately nanomachines don't work in real life like they do in MGRR and FG is leaning more towards realism for his weapons and tech.

Rolled 3, 8, 1 = 12

>>31503248
>inb4 SPACE DRIFTING!!!

>>31503095
Dreads would have been either Gamma or Beta.

>>31503093
Bingo

>>31503139
Basically, they can't compete with what a cyborg can do interms of physical feats, information warfare, data processing speed, all of that stuff

Also, most heavily cyberized mercs are so old that they'd be loosing their edge even with gene mods.

>>31503259
To be honest, nanomachines would break the setting. Or at least, I haven't yet thought of a good way to use them.

>>31503220
The cyber arm was not a tier 3 enhancement. Think more along the lines of CARBON FIBER/NANOTUBE/WHATEVER MUSCLES POWERED BY MINI FUSION PLANT for tier 3. It's some seriously post-human stuff.

>>31503341
I'm sure there may be ALIEN Nanobots for that type of stuff in the far future.

>>31503370
>nanomachines
I'll take particle weapons over nanomachines any day.

>>31503444

Why not both?

File: 1397616497926.jpg-(145 KB, 720x706, funny-pictures-auto-461449.jpg)

145 KB JPG

>>31503370
>CARBON FIBER/NANOTUBE/WHATEVER MUSCLES POWERED BY MINI FUSION PLANT for tier 3.

Sasuga, Fall Guy. Sasuga.

>>31503475
Why not attempt to rationalize nanomachines with the help of the community?

>>31503385
Its more of a thermodynamics problem than a technology problem. Nanites simply don't have the surface area to disperse excessive heat so they can't be used in high temp environments ( boiling water can destroy nanites ) or even move too fast lest they quite literally shake themselves to pieces.

>>31503370
>Dreads would have been either Gamma or Beta.

How the fuck are we still alive?

>>31503370

Fall Guy, you can take a leaf from Shadowrun for Nanomachines. They're highly experimental and not used very often at all, but they can accelerate healing and do all kinds of shit.

>>31503511
Can't really argue with a shaped explosive charge

>>31503511
He didn't take us seriously in the slightest and we got hella lucky. Also Tsukino is damn fine backup

>>31503549
>they can accelerate healing and do all kinds of shit.
Gene mods already do this and more effectively.

>>31503370
I'm thinking nanomachine medical paste, scouts, and hacking drones would still be fair.

As for actual combat...maybe their strength is in flexibility rather than raw power? No need to carry abnormal ammo when your nanomachines can whip something approximately appropriate to the situation.

I worry that I try too hard to insert megaman into this quest.

>>31503501
Graphene might be able to solve some of those problems, graphene is kinda bullshit.

>>31503576

I'm talking Wolverine level healing.

File: 1397616950121.png-(84 KB, 243x255, 12841400.png)

84 KB PNG

>>31503370
>I haven't yet thought of a good way to use them

>>31503589
For nanomachines you're talking way beyond graphene.

File: 1397617945022.png-(470 KB, 853x480, 1343612462981.png)

470 KB PNG

>>31503370
Fall Guy? you still there?

Rolled 4, 6, 1 = 11

>>31504074
he is, he's writing

>>31504104
Could be

>>31503694
We are also talking about a time a couple hundred years in the future, where we have the ability to successfully integrate tech with the human body, genetically modify the body, jump between stars in a reasonable time period, transmit information over MASSIVE distances instantaneously thanks to worm holes, and even more.

Nanomachines are possible. Or at least theoretically should be.

>>31503589
Graphene is pretty magical but being made of graphene wont help at these scales either. The moving parts in a nanite are going to have extremely tight tolerances, and no matter what their made of heating them up is going to make their atomic bonds wiggle. When they wiggle too much, well...

Really we've been researching nanites and nanomachines for years. It's what cells, various single celled microorganisms and their organelles are.

>Enter kinesin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOeJwQ0OXc4

Lol Kinesin.

You wave your right arm at Dwight, flexing the muscle and making the bear head chomp. “Lost an arm. Got it back. Got a sweet tat. Almost had a heart attack two minutes ago.”

Dwight cackles with laughter. “Right! Darius told me what he was doing. Funniest shit, watching your reactions.”

You give him a look of mock umbrage. “For your treachery Dwight Schmidt, I demand another flying lesson.”

“So long as you don’t kamikaze the fucking thing, be my guest,” replies Dwight as he switches control over to the co-pilot’s seat. You settle into the seat and take a deep breath before resting your hands at the controls. The space out here is pretty clear of debris, the planet is a pretty new settlement, only about seventy years old. Not enough time to accumulate any real detritus in the space area. Definitely not like Earth. Last you checked, they had just ramped up cleanup operations once more. Part of you almost wishes for a few more environmental hazards. For whatever reason, you feel supremely confident at the helm of the HOEV today.

As you coast through space, Dwight removes his pilot’s headset, replacing them with headphones and a pair of aviator shaped e-glasses. Very Top Gun. Not that he’d know what that is. You drift on through space, making some minor course corrections as you near the cruiser. It takes you a few seconds to notice the blinking red light on the console. Staring at it curiously, you wonder what it could mean. You reach down and pick up Dwight’s abandoned headset.

[MISSILE IMPACT IN T-MINUS FIVE]

Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit.

Oh shit.

File: 1397618262831.png-(415 KB, 504x460, Valkyrie1.png)

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Your mind races as the world slows down around you. Missile impact. A parting gift from the Reyumbi defense network, no doubt. T-minus five most likely means five seconds, not minutes. Not enough time to alert Dwight and switch control of the HOEV. Your ball now. Think. Evasive maneuvers. Chaff. Both of them simultaneously. Yes. Yes.

You take a risk and hope that the headset had voice activated features. You roar “Chaff!”

The HOEV complies, and a soothing female voice declares that chaff is deployed. You think you can hear a sqwuak of surprise from the passenger cabin. You jerk the controls, sending the HOEV into an aileron roll. Sensors calmly declare that the missile has missed its target.

At this point Dwight has noticed something is up, and you silently transfer control of the HOEV to your pilot, as well as the headset.

“Son of a bitch,” snarls Dwight upon receiving the headset. “Fucking! Ivan, get back into the passenger cabin. Things may be getting hairy.”

You clamber back into the passenger cabin and strap yourself into the harness. The rest of your squadmates do the same. The next several minutes pass in tense silence as the HOEV bucks and rolls. Not that you’d know, but you rather assume so.

Eventually you feel a slight bump as the HOEV lands in the hangar of the cruiser. Dwight’s tense voice speaks over the PA system. “This is your captain speaking. We have experienced some minor turbulence but have now landed safely. Please remember to fly Air Dwight and have a nice day.”

The five of you clamber out of the HOEV, you and Markos taking a moment to assemble your loot, and you taking a moment to get the BART suit on a transport unit for storage… somewhere. As you walk up to your fellow rookies and Darius, you see a ball of red approaching the five of you.

>Reaction

>>31504173
Holy Shit. EVASIVE MANEUVERS!

>>31504192

RUN!

>>31504192
Jump back in the BART! Quick!

>>31504202
HIT THE DECK!

Rolled 4, 2, 7 = 13

>>31504192
COUNTER ATTACK!

>>31504192
Shields up?

>>31504192
>Reaction

We did a barrel roll, haha! We so awes-

Uh oh. Um.

Evasive maneuvers!

Rolled 5, 9, 10 = 24

>>31504192
>>31504202
NO YOU FUCKING IDIOT EVASIVE MANEUVERS FOR THIS RIGHT FUCKING HERE.

DODGE DODGE DODGE

>>31504192
"Cat's out on a hunt. Niels!"

>>31504192

INCOMING ORDINANCE! DUCK AND COVER!

>>31504192
Stand their and pray she's here for Neils

Rolled 8, 4, 4 = 16

>>31504192
Hide under a floor tile.

>>31504192
"So, which footage did you find more amusing, me and Mom or Darius playing Dissappointed Dad?"

Generally see if she's in the mood to talk or jump someone.

>>31504192
As in a holographic ball? from inside the hanger? outside?
if it's from outside, hit the deck!

>>31504192
Get out of line of sight!

Approach with an erect and exposed penis.

Show no fear.

>>31504192
"How'd Reyumbi manage to sneak a heat seeking missile into the cruiser?"

>>31504301
seconded

>>31504321
I don't know if its heat seeking but it's definitely in heat.

Rolled 3, 7, 10 = 20

>>31504248
we don't want her to trash our BART anon

>>31504192
seconding >>31504321

>>31504301
but but we haven't even looked at the footage ourselves, much less published it

>>31504321
Nice one

>>31504192
Jump inside the transport unit

>>31504409
Darius and Val were monitoring us throughout the mission, I'm guessing she's already seen the footage. Even if not, Darius no doubt mentioned that we came back to the HOEV wearing a BART and carrying both a commemorative scrap from the MOM and the murder weapon that killed it.

>>31504192
>Reaction

We should make sure that missile wasn't tracking anything we brought back with us, whether the BART or that emblem we took as a kill trophy.

>>31504603
Seconded. This shit is important
I aint getting fucking atomized for nothing

>>31504192
Dodge roll!

>>31504192
>Wave to Val

She's going to catch us anyway, might as well say hi first.

>>31504603
Oh. Yeah that would be a good idea.

>>31504603
If it was then how would the chaff have fooled it?