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Rules are pic related, more information at
http://padlet.com/BoredofDirector/Macross_2054

>>34679424
>you just wanted to go home

disregard bitches, acquire comfy bed.

Besides Jive was the one that wanted the bar, shouldn't he be in-charge of stocking it?

>>34679424
>a beer run sounds great
might as well help her keep out of trouble and probably see what hijinks ensues.

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“Claudia, I’m going home,” you stated, “I need a shower.”

She pouted.

“Then we can go on a beer run,” you finished.

“The fuck we waiting for then?” she asked as she pulled you out of the bunk.

She had an amazing grip. You’d be more appreciative of it if she wasn’t dragging you down the hall by your ankle in a tangle of clothes and blanket. On your way out, you passed by Jive’s Office. The collective had been grumbling about how there was no beer because Claudia consumed it all. Your passage silenced whatever conversation in the room. Then they went back to grumbling about how she was taking so long. Sergei, who actually was one of the few still with a beer, raised his glass to you with a knowing smirk. That settled it. He was getting his as soon as you figured what you were going to do to him.

“Will you let me go?” you demanded.

Claudia was fiddling with the automated public transportation system.

“Besides, do you even know where I live?”

She let go. It was a long ride, by your standards, back to your apartment. Opening the door, you were greeted with a blast of music and Maliki dancing to it.

http://youtu.be/a_426RiwST8

The first question that entered your mind was,

“Maliki why are you wearing glasses?”

Your cousin turned to you with a start, surprise etched on her face. It didn’t last long. Claudia went and picked her off the ground.

“Pecker look, she’s so tiny!” “Pecker help!”

The music didn’t stop. You needed a shower. Claudia was prancing about with a flailing Maliki along to the song. Maybe you should,

>separate the two
>go take a shower
>Other (write-in)

>>34680553
>go take a shower

>>34680553
>seperate the two
Wow, not many people here totday, huh.

>>34680553
>go take a shower
Let the hijinks ensue

>>34680553
>go take a shower

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Bah, the two were fine together. It was probably better to let them get to know each other. While Maliki was often too easily coerced in to things, you were sure Claudia didn’t mean any harm. By the time you were finished, the two were chatting about music you think.

“I can’t believe I’ve found someone else who doesn’t think Nekki Basara is the best thing since sliced bread,” Claudia exclaimed.

“Well he was trying to emulate rock from around the late eighties and nineties,” Maliki explained, “and technically speaking he was good but in this case, the fake couldn’t surpass the original.”

“Wait, you don’t like Fire Bomber?” you asked Claudia.

It was pretty much a given of your parent’s generation loved him, and most of their children as well.

“Used to live on Zola,” Claudia replied, “One day, he showed up, made a huge racket and everything.”

“That’s hardly a reason to hate on Fire Bomber.”

“Well I don’t hate them. I just hate Nekki Basara,” she clarified, “Pansy ass coward who didn’t like to fight even when he could. It’s why I moved here. Granted everyone loves Sharon Apple here but I’d say that’s an improvement over that blowhard. That and I prefer classical. Maybe someday someone will mix the two and maybe I’ll have more to talk to people about.”

You turned to Maliki who shrugged.

“Wait Pecker, I thought we were going to get some more beer,” Claudia asked.

“We are.”

Maliki looked at you questioningly.

“I have a day off tomorrow, and this knucklehead here finished off all the beer at the office so we’re off to get more.”

“Well, enjoy your date I guess?” Maliki resigned herself from the conversation.

She was padding back in to her room with a slump.

>”Oh no you don’t!” (bring her along)
>”It’s not a date but later Maliki” (just go get the booze)

>>34681826
>”Oh no you don’t!” (bring her along)
Basara did nothing wrong.

>>34681826
>”Oh no you don’t!” (bring her along)
Well they are bonding well so far.

>>34681826
>”Oh no you don’t!” (bring her along)
She probably needs to get out more anyway

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“Claudia, grab her, we’re bringing her along,” you instructed.

Quickly mock saluting you, she did as you had asked, grabbing Maliki before your tiny cousin could even begin locking herself in her room. She was held under Claudia’s arm as she protested,

“What? Wait, stop it. I have work to do.”

“I get a day off and all you want to do is work?” you pretended to pout, “Besides, you should go out more, meet interesting people.”

“But I do go out,” she struggled in Claudia’s grip.

“For work,” you pointed out, “Besides, how can I enjoy a date without you?”

Claudia snorted. Maliki blushed.

“That is the second worst line I’ve ever heard from you Pecker,” the former said, “I swear you’re trying to not get laid or something.”

You remained quiet as the two of you walked to a supplier of alcohol in bulk. Technically the bar wasn’t actually part of SMS and thus the budget. Everything had to be paid out of your own pockets. Fortunately, Jive’s Office had an electronic tip jar which was filling up. That was how Claudia said they were paying for the booze anyway. In hind sight, you probably should have just brought the empty kegs with you but Claudia admitted to not having thought about that at all.

Night time on the Avalon was much different. Sure it was just lighting but only the important thoroughfares and passages were lit. The shadows cast on smaller alleys and tunnels gave off a different kind feeling. It also helped that pedestrian traffic was down. You still felt like a kidnapper though, even if there was no one actually pointing and staring. Maybe you should do something nice for Maliki after getting the booze. It was a date after all. The question was what?

>Get some ice cream, and cake, ICE CREAM CAKE
>Visit that antique music shop, you heard there was a new remaster
>Bring her back to Jive’s Office, drinks were on you

>>34683010
>Get some ice cream, and cake, ICE CREAM CAKE

>>34683010
>Bring her back to Jive’s Office, drinks were on you
now she can meet all the interesting people

>>34683010
>Get some ice cream, and cake, ICE CREAM CAKE
only answer
yay macross quest, sorry I missed the first bit OP

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The supplier tried to look unaffected by the little girl in Claudia’s arms. Getting the kegs delivered and refilled was easy.

“Right, let’s head on back,” Claudia said.

“Actually how about some ice cream? My treat?” you interjected.

“Better, but still no Romeo.”

Maliki, who had kept quietly fuming indignation throughout actually lit up at the thought. Claudia noticed.

“Well I guess if she wants some, here you go,” Claudia manhandled your cousin.

She set her on your shoulder, almost tossing her. You had to scramble to keep her balanced but did nothing to allow her to clamber down like a real person.

“Good luck with your date Pecker,” Claudia parted.

Now it was just you and Maliki.

“Can you let me down now?”

Your response was to trot off towards the nearest ice cream parlour. It was a tiny shop, such that you had to visibly hunch over just to fit. At least you could seat yourself upright. If Maliki thought she could hurt your wallet in retaliation for that then you would let her think so. The ice cream cake she ordered was about the size of your head. You settled for a cup with three scoops of the holy trinity, strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla. While there was some small talk, you think Maliki was far more interested in her treat.

“So er, who was Claudia?” she finally asked.

“She didn’t tell you?” you weren’t expecting that.

She shook her head.

“She’s a Queadluun pilot for Force Recon, she’s interesting isn’t she?”

“So like Aunty?”

“Yeah, I guess. What’d she tell you anyway?”

“Well since you didn’t help I had to turn off the music so that she’d stop dancing,” Maliki was annoyed at that, “Said it sounded a bit like Basara, without Basara.”

“And it went on from there huh?”

She nodded, strangely having finished her cake in the mean time. Then she was ordering another. You let her have it as you considered your next course of action.

[1/2]

>>34684184
>Take her to the music shop
>Go back to Jive’s Office, alone

>>34684200
>Go back to Jive’s Office, alone
We've been awake for precious MINUTES and haven't drank yet!

>>34684200
>Go back to Jive’s Office, alone

>>34684200
>Go back to Jive’s Office, alone
went through all that trouble and not get a drink would be a waste

>>34684200
>Take her to the music shop
I'm going too throw in a vote for poor Maliki, why are we just up and abandoning her to go get drunk?

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“So what work did you actually have work to do?” you questioned.

Maliki dropped her spoon in the middle of her cake.

“Oh no,” she muttered, “There’s a deadline today and I still haven’t gotten started.”

She gripped head panicking. You fed her some ice cream.

“Calm down Maliki,” you said.

“Mmph,” she vocalised then withdrew the spoon from her mouth, “Ah, it’s just this one is really important and the company wants a new theme so.”

“Why not do what Claudia said, mix it up with classical?” you suggested.

“It’s been done before, like how they mixed Elgar’s Variation on a Theme with electronic for a futuristic soundtrack,” she reminded you of who the music expert was, “Well maybe, I’ll figure it out. Thanks anyway Pecker.”

With one last bite, she polished off her cake and left to finish her work. You almost felt bad for dragging her out like this but it wasn’t like you ever had time to spend with each other too often. Speaking of which, Sergei sent you a message, telling you to bring some cake. So you did.

To say that it was a small party at Jive’s Office was putting it a bit mildly. It seemed Cavalier was finally allowed out of the hospital. Granted he was missing hand, three more fingers and all his toes, but he was up and about. It was a powered wheelchair with a simplified brain control mechanism not unlike the one found in the YF-21.

“And here’s Pecker with the cake,” you heard someone call.

“Good because someone has been hogging all the booze,” another added.

“Yeah man, go tell your crazy girlfriend to let us have some,” that was Soapbox you were sure.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” you answered, “Hey Cavalier, how you feeling.”

“Alive, thanks to you man,” he handed you a drink, “If there’s anything you want just name it, I owe you one.”

>”You don’t owe me anything”
>”Just stay alive”
>”If you get shot down, crash where I can’t see”
>Other (write-in)

>>34685434
>”You don’t owe me anything”

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“Don’t owe me anything,” you replied.

Soapbox wrapped his arm around your shoulder.

“You know, if you think about it,” he spoke, “We’re called Boomerang Squadron because like a boomerang, we always comeback.”

“Oh, the new guy’s finally figured it out huh?” Sergei chimed in.

“I suppose he fancies himself a clever lad,” Jive added.

“Now, now, just because he’s actually completed my challenge doesn’t mean he’s dumb,” Huck countered.

“Then it is undoubtedly his childish naivety.”

The two team leaders agreed on that.

“How about a toast then,” Sergei offered, “here’s to us all, those who go out and always come back again.”

That drew agreements all around. You probably should have gotten more alcohol.

The morning after, you were thinking the complete opposite. You probably should have gotten less alcohol. Most of Boomerang Squadron was slumped over some surface or another in Jive’s Office. Cavalier was snoring in his wheelchair as it did a lap of the room. Amidst the empty, dirty glasses in the room, there were a few mechanics sharing a pint. They were unmindful of the unconscious pilots in the room.

A quick sniff and you confirmed that beer may or may not have been used as a pranking tool before you fell asleep. First things first, you took a shower. While you did, messages arrived from whoever needed to contact you,

>From: Dad, Subject: Cool thing in the lab
>From: NUNS, Subject: RE: Your rifle

>>34686460
>>>From: NUNS, Subject: RE: Your rifle

Say do we have some sort of end goal in mind, or is just flying around in space the goal?

>>34687527
There is a bit of a plot, but it's slow going, like this thread. If you're talking about the main character's personal goal then we have nothing presently save to survive.

>>34687608
Ah, so this is the filler before things starts popping off. SOL segments essentially.

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>>34687707
It was a message from NUNS. They were sending over a representative with their response regarding your sniper rifle gun pod. From the wording, they were very interested in adopting your design on a limited basis. There were details of how a small limited production run was all they would be interested in. Unsurprisingly, you’ve had no such response from any other party that attended your demonstration. The rep was already waiting by the gun in question, which was stored in the hangar space near your Valkyrie.

You were surprised it was Irina, of all people.

“Pecker,” she greeted.

You didn’t salute. She was never one for extraneous frivolities.

“So what’s the deal?” you asked.

“I am the NUNS liaison stationed aboard the Arthur,” she answered, “We will evaluate the performance of your rifle in live combat. If it passes, we will give you a production order.”

“And the criteria?”

“Quote, ‘A significant contribution to an engagement against Variable Fighters, Queadluun-Rhea suits, unmanned drones and of course, the GAME,’ end quote. We prefer its user survives.”

“Sounds easy enough then.”

“That is all Pecker.”

She turned and left. The information you were given wasn’t exactly surprising or extraordinary. Though, short of switching to an actual VF-171, you were going to have to rely on Soapbox, and probably Claudia too, given the very loose criteria for the evaluation. It was rather vague you thought. Still you were left inspecting the rifle for a bit until someone else found you.

“Hey Pecker,” it was Sergei, “I know you’re technically on your day off but we got a job from Spacy just now. There’s some bonus pay in to take care of a loose end, all hush-hush, volunteers only. I was just wondering if you wanted in.”

You wondered if it had to do with the unknown frigate you encountered yesterday.

>Yes
>No
>Other (write-in)

>>34687863
>Yes

>>34687863
>Yes
What a coincidence we were just looking to show off the rifle.

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“Right, I’ll tell the mechanics to get you a fold booster, we launch in an hour. Fold to these coordinates, hit the target and come back home,” Sergei said.

He wasn’t smiling.

“If you really need to, we’ll get your gun delivered in to the AO separately but it might be more trouble than it’s worth, rest of the details is in here,” he handed you a data stick.

It was convoy protection, which wasn’t strange. In fact it seemed really straightforward. However the client was Spacy and given the attack yesterday, you think this might be the linked to the unknown frigate. The plan was to defold ahead of the principle and escort them until as they entered the atmosphere. Then you were going to defend them for as long as it took for whatever it is the principles did and escort them back to the fold point. As for the planet, it wasn’t one you’ve been to before, nor have you heard of it before. Initial surveys classified it as a Breathable Kuiper-class 201. Which mean it was tiny, by planetary standards, not even half the size of Earth’s moon, but had a breathable atmosphere despite and gravity similar to Earth. That was the strange part and you supposed this was why Spacy was interested in it.

As you finished, you think this actually might turn out to be something boring but the last time you thought that, you got in to a serious fight. At least the job wasn’t as illegal as you thought it would be. You honestly thought you’d be shooting up cruise liners or something. Sergei may have warned against it but in the end the decision was yours. You haven’t tested your rifle in atmospheric conditions yet either and it didn’t seem likely in the near future otherwise.

>Bring the rifle
>Leave it

>>34688784
>Leave it
A sniper rifle doesn't seem like it would be useful in an escort mission.
Besides this thing was made for shooting stuff in space, not in atmosphere. All kinds of things could go wrong.

>>34688784
>Leave it

We need to acquire samples of atmospheric-use sniper rifles then.

>>34688784
>>>Leave it

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The crew of the transport was only five, since most of the space aboard was for a mobile laboratory. Alongside Sergei and yourself, there was Huck and Baker. The last one was from the Bravo Team. You had elected to leave your rifle behind, having not given much thought to how it would handle in atmosphere. That you didn’t think it’d be useful for an escort. The planet, or planetoid, was actually kind of white. It was pale, like it was coated with a compacted powder. A few craters were visible on approach.

“Atmosphere density checks out,” one of the coats started, “More Helium and noble gases than I thought there was.”

“So keep the suit on and sealed at all times,” his colleague suggested, “Don’t want you making funny noises over the radio.”

That was the boring part, just waiting and listening in on the scientists go about doing their extensive survey. There were a few gasps of surprise here and there, but mostly it was related to discoveries regarding the planetoid. Apparently the layer of crystal that they landed on was due some kind of chemical process that had hardened in to a layer. Some had been taken aboard as a sample and further drilling was required. That was well underway until something weird happened.

“Hey did you move the crust sample?”

“No, I left it in the hazmat shelf like we agreed.”

That was only the first sign of trouble.

“Why is our mass spectrometer malfunctioning? Didn’t we just replace the magnets?”

“I dunno, where’d my GIS textbook go?”

Sergei then spoke up on the squad network,

“Looks like the eggheads are having some trouble. Either one of them is not who we think he is or we have bigger problems on hand. I mean we don’t have to but who wants to check it out?”

>Consider bonus pay for EVA and volunteer
>Disengage weapon safeties and stay put

>>34689562
>Consider bonus pay for EVA and volunteer
How fit is our dude, and more importantly does he know the basics of CQC?

>>34689562
>>Disengage weapon safeties and stay put

This is a universe of giant monsters.

Stay in the robot and safeties off.

>>34689731

EVA suits aren't Spartan powered armor. They're basically giant pressurized ballooney suits where you can't do much in them anyway.

>>34689562
>Consider bonus pay for EVA and volunteer
yeaaah

>>34689562
>Consider bonus pay for EVA and volunteer

>>34689797
Surely they have made some advancements in the EVA suit department in this far off future?

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Not an EVA suit per-se, but this is the closest thing that appears in Macross on-screen.

>>34689966
IIRC the Ex-Gear it is EVA capable/rated.

>>34689966
The Ex-Gear isn't rated for older model planes unless they're extensively modified in the cockpit.

>>34690015
Indeed, it is rated for the newer VF-171 and perhaps later prototypes.

>>34690043
>later prototypes
;_;
We'll never have a shiny new VF-25

>>34690059
We're five years too early.

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“I figured you’d say that, this is going to cost you extra,” you volunteered.

“How charitable of you,” Sergei replied, “Everyone else, weapons hot.”

The various Valkyries in their battroid modes hummed louder. You stepped out, full flight suit on. It was nearly skin-tight and while it would do for the purposes of your current endeavour, something more protective would have made you feel more comfortable. Something like an Extender Gear power suit that Huck was probably wearing. All you had was your helmet and a service pistol. You felt naked really, on the ground. The radio chatter had continued on as you moved closer to the transport.

“Oh God what the hell is that?” one the scientists exclaimed.

“Interesting, its mass has increased since I fed it Billy’s GIS textbook.”

“You did what?”

You found the scientists huddled around a conference table. In the centre was a beaker, filled with some black goop you’ve never seen before. It was bubbling, like it was boiling, yet it was not even under a heat source. Hell it was dancing about the table, straying close to the edge before a scientist put it back in the centre.

“Is everything under control?” you asked.

The five scientists turned to you, nodding. Then the sound of glass breaking could be heard.

Episode 8 End. Haha, we’ll continue next week!
https://twitter.com/BoredofDirector
Next Episode: Phagocytosis
Questions? Comments? Ask away.

>>34690348
JAM connection detected.

>>34690348
Sorry I missed it, had to work. Looked like fun.

I am enjoying the SOL stuff.

Any recommended viewing to keep up on this?

>>34691369
If you had to prioritise, Macross Plus for the planes and Frontier for the general setting. The former because the YF-21 featured in it is basically what we're flying. The latter because it's the closest, timeline-wise, and it'll only get closer.

>>34691458
Frontier HO! Saw Plus when I was first available.

I don't have to worry about II, Zero, or 7?

>>34691534
II is AU apparently, SDF and Zero are historical bullet points. 7 is shit.

>>34691559

II is not core canon? I did not know that. Liked it, but did not know it.
I assumed 7 was shit. Never heard anything good about it and all the stills and promotional images I've seen make it look like garbage.

Thanks for the heads up. See you next week