>Melee the Troopers
Have both Lance and Luke take a trooper

>>811344
>Melee the troopers

Rolled 99, 66 = 165 (2d100)

You whisper over the comms,
"Let's get personal with these guards. I've got the one on thse right." You see Luke nod and unsheath his Axe Blade, giving it a flick so the pure steel axe head extends. You rush to the train car door and fling it open blade in hand. The Troopers begin to panic as they cannot see what has opened the door, Luke hangs on the back of the train just beneath a window and draws his axe back as you close in on the closest trooper.
Rolling 2d100 giving Luke gets a +10 for his melee specialty.

As you reach the trooper the timer on your cloaking wears off, the Trooper opens his mouth to call for aid allowing you to jam the sword through his open mouth pinning him to the wall of the train car.
His ally turns to fire but finds himself unable as Luke's axe comes crashing through the rear window and breaking through his helmet effortlessly.
Both Troopers are dead and the sounds of battle are too loud for anyone to have heard the glass, now you need to choose how you will proceed.
>Go through the train from the inside
>Search the train via the outer doors
>Go to the roof of the train
>Write-In

>>811476
>Go to the roof of the train

>Go through the train from the inside.
Less chance we'd be detected this way

>>811481
I'll switch to this.>>811591

>>811591
This.

>>811591
Through train.

Through train.

>>811476
>Go through the train from the inside
The other options mean potential crossfire.

>>811476
>Write-In
one go in front inside, another from outside, this way you can attack from 2 angles.

>>813160
This.

Rolled 34 (1d100)

You and Luke crouch low and move towards the front of the train, you reach the end of the train car and open the door slowly. A low fog creeps by your ankles and you see the shattered glass on the stasis pods and the light pouring in from the holes ripped in the side of the train. It appears that near 15 Psy Zombies remain and they have yet to be raised.
What would you like to do?
>Sneak through the train car
>Leave explosives in the Psy Zombie Train Car (takes your next full action) [Luke]
>Go to the roof
>Go outside
>Write-In
Rolling to see how the battle is going.

Rolled 12 (1d15)

Oh my god this isn't going well for the resistance.

>>814228
>Leave explosives in the Psy Zombie Train Car (takes your next full action) [Luke]
Need to help our allies and cause a distraction.

>>814228
>Leave explosives in the train car [Luke]
But while he does that, we instead split up with him and
>Sneak through the train car

Are the explosives remote or timed?

>>814292
Timed

"Luke, plant some explosives we need to slow down ADVENT, I'll move up to the next car. Catch up when you finish planting the X4 set it for 5 minutes." You say to Luke, he nods and your turn away and begin opening the door to the next compartmenr when you hear a scream you look out and see that the Psy Zombie horde has overrun one squad, another member goes down screaming.
You slide open the door to the next train compartment and see men chained to the walls. You rush in and begin looking for James, your heart pounding furiously. You see a man with messy Black hair and lift his head, his eyes are barely open and lazily rolling around in the sockets.
"Fuck..James, James it's Lance." You say tapping his cheek trying to rouse him from his daze he only mumbles "Lance..tell Lance." He appears to be losing strength
>"Tell me what, James?"
>Get him down
>Check his vitals
>Write-In

>Check his vitals
Then
>Get him down

>>814384
This.

>>814380
>>814384
+1

Rolled 1 (1d100)

You ignore his muttering and go to work checking his vitals. You shine the palm flashlight you carry in his eyes and they don't respond, you take his pulse next and can tell he's barely alive due to how weak it is. Amazingly it seems to be beating at such a slow rate it would normally kill someone yet he is still alive, as you take his pulse you note his skin is ice cold.
You quickly use your blade to break the strange cuffs holding him to the wall he crumples onto the floor and weakly groans.
>Unchain Other Soldiers
>Leave with James

Rolling for the battle.
>Check if anyone is conscious
>Write in

>Unchain other soldiers
Things are not looking good for a swift evac

>>814509
>Unchain Other Soldiers
>Check if anyone is conscious
Nice knowing you guys.

File: Doc_Ock_evil_grin.png (481 KB, 734x524)

481 KB PNG

Rolled 1 (1d6)

Oh my fucking god. A one rolled means, a main character is going to die. Say your goodbyes to one member of the resistance.

You begin unchaining the other soldiers one by one, they all have snow white hair or silver hair they are all also in a state similar to your brothers. As you lower the last man you turn back to pick up James, that's when you hear the shots.
You hear gunfire from the section of the train Luke is in, as you sprint to it you look out the window. One of the Mechs has fallen and the field is littered with Zombie Corpses, you also see the dim purple glow from the next car and realize. Luke is trapped in there with a horde of Psy Zombies.
You fling open the door and see Luke overwhelmed firing wildly, a few zombies go down and his gun clicks. He smashes in the skull of another zombie before dropping the gun and drawing his Axe blade, chopping and slicing his way through the crowd before it gets caught in the chest of what was once a heavily muscled man. The Zombie slams down on the blade snapping it in half, Luke jams the broken half into its eye socket and resorts to his fists. Throwing hooks and jabs he desperately tries to fight off the growing horde. You see him scream as a Psy Zombie catches a punch and breaks his arm, the sound like wet firewood popping, he responds with an uppercut that stumbles it. Luke's face becomes despaired as he realizes he isn't getting out alive.
All the commotion not only attracted you but the two remaining sectoid commanders drop in from the roof access, upon seeing the carnage and the man causing it they try and flee.

"I don't think so you slimy pink cunts!" Luke screams as he raises his left hand and fires a grappling hook through one of the Sectoids, he screams in oure agony as he raises his broken arm and fires another hook through the other. The motors on his wrist activate and his anchor like legs hold him as the sectoids are dragged back slowly. He disengages his grappling attachment and drops it, stepping on it to hold it inplace, his back is raked by the hands of another zombie who receives a brutal elbow.

When the sectoids reach Luke he grapples one and throws it to the ground and grasps the other by it's throat slamming it into the metal floor while jamming his knee into the others chest.
He fishes in his suit and draws a small metal cylinder, the sectoids have directed all remaining Psy Zombies to the train car. As near 25 Psy Zombies pour in Luke locks eyes with you, and you notice they are leaking small tears, you'd never thought he'd be the type to cry. Just as the Zombies reach Luke, he mouths "Good Luck." Before he hits the trigger and the explosion sends you flying back into the pile of Psy Soldiers and renders you unconcious.

You are being shaken..you open your eyes. The bright sun burns your cornea and causes you to squint, the face an inch from yours is Goldy's.
"Lance, are you okay?" She asks
You cover your eyes and sit up groaning.
"What the fuck happened?" You hear Watcher yelling
You collect your thoughts and remember those last moments before things went black.
You look around, you and 5 Psy soldiers including James had been dragged outside of the train that was now on its side.
Your throat closes up as you try and phrase what happened, but it isn't until Lee asks you directly that you can answer.

"Lance, What happened, where is Luke?"
>He sacrificed himself, for me, for us
>He's gone
>He killed himself to take out the Sectoid commanders
>He took the easy way out
>Write-In

>He's gone

>>814604
>He's gone
Why couldn't it be Goldy?

>>814604
>He's gone
Explain what happened once we aren't about become heroes too.

>>814636
This.

"He..He's gone" you manage to choke out
Everyone stops in their tracks and turns to you.
"He's what?"
"Luke is dead?"
"What..I dont understand?"
A chorus of voices shout all at once and Lee silences them with a raised hand.
"Lance, what do you mean?"
She asks her voice low
You shake your head and speak
"Not now..I'll fill out a report that details it but I'm not talking about it. Not now."
Lee nods lightly then turns and yells at the meandering operatives.
"I want his body found. Now!"
The groups run into the wreckage of the train and begin shifting the rubble.
Lee helps you up and you put your arm around her for support.
"He'll get a good funeral. He deserves a funeral." She says
You dont answer.

Eventually the recon teams give up the search for a body, though they do find his gun and the Hilt of his blade, and return to base bringing the Psy Units. XCOM is contacted regarding their captured troops and they inform the resistance they will be there within 3 days and to keep them stable until then. You spend the rest of the day back in Luke's office alone in the dark. You stare into blank space until you notice a small blinking light, his mimic beacon. You place it on the floor and activate it, a projection of Luke appears and looks you in the eyes before saying "Upstairs, you have ten minutes."
You lower your head and try to hold back any tears as you hear Luke say over and over "Upstairs, you have ten minutes."
You turn the Beacon off and look at it in your hand.
His funeral will be held tomorrow what do you want to do until then.
>Pocket the beacon
>Leave the beacon
Then for the day
>Go see James
>Go see (Name)
>Explore Luke's office
>Go check on the Psy Soldiers
>Write-In

>>814675
>Pocket the beacon
>Go see James

>>814675
>Leave the beacon
>Go see James

>>814688
This.

You put the small metal sphere in your pocket, it brings you a small amount of comfort. You also realize there is no point in spending the entire day alone when you finally have James back.
You head to the rec room where the Psy soldiers are all held up. Most are asleep but a few are awake reading books or talking to eachother. James is sitting up and using a datapad of sorts, color has returned to his face and you can notice now in the full light that the base of his hair is turning grey.
"J. I never thought I'd see you again." You say walking uo to your brother and giving him a big embrace which he returns
"Shit, me neither L, and if I did think I'd see my baby bro again I wouldn't have expected him to be the bona-fide badass you are." His eyes shine and he smiles widely
"I'm nothing special, just who I was before wouldn't have cut it when it came to finding you, and it wasn't like I did it alone." You reply
"Ah yeah, I heard you had a partner in crime from some of the more conscious of us. Who is he? Do I get to meet him?" He says pushing himself up out of the bed
>He was a friend
>He was a mentor
>He was a Ranger
>I dont want to talk about it

>>814929
>He was a friend

>>814933
This.

>>814929
>>He was a mentor

>>814929
>He was a friend

https://youtu.be/V_-fba2hBG4

>>814929
You are such a shit roller I've never seen anyone roll badly 4 times in a row. What did you do to offend RNGesus

This quest has both the curse of the XCOM RNG and the qst dice gods.

>>816928
Truly a terrible curse.

>>815439
You guys offended him. I was rolling for YOUR resistance. Maybe if you had taken the Waifu bait, RNGod wouldn't have had to Smite Luke

Also curious, how do you guys feel about the death of Luke? Lets talk about it

>>817044
I was saddened. Luke was the super badass that we needed, but didn't deserve.

>>817044
He was pretty much the only other person we associated with and knew squat about, so it kind of sucks that he died.

That said, this is fucking xcom, so it's not too jarring that he died seeing as that comes with the territory. The rng is infamously brutal, both here and in the actual games, so it was a bit of a given that he would die if the dice decided to fuck us over.

>>817044
Also a bit sad, but you know what they say "That's XCOM, baby!"

I hope I did him justice in his death scene. Not all will be that glorious just the ones who it fits the character and the curcumstances.

>>817044
Deeply disappoint/saddened.
Which is good. Shows you've managed to write a compelling character in just 2 threads.

I'm also really glad because it shows there are consequences to our actions. Too many qms are overly hesitant when it comes to failure and conseuqnces which can make their quests lack challenge. I'm glad yours isn't one of them.

File: 1467664731877.gif (960 KB, 245x250)

960 KB GIF

Press F to pay respects

>>817570
XCOM is not a delicate world full of second chances so I wont make it one just to keep a fan favorite alive.
If the dice decide and players make some bad choices entire squads could be taken out and if rolls are bad enough I have no problem letting the MC, or at least everyone he knows and loves, die

I will be resuming this quest tomorrow morning-ish by the way and after a nice little funeral scene (or not if you guys decide to skip) we can move on and make the 2nd big choice in the game that will effect it's direction, and the cast, heavily.

>>814929
>He was a mentor

>>817044
The way you described the scene of his final fight and death made it seem like we stood by like a drooling tard doing nothing while he was getting mobbed to death.

>>817957
That was one problem I had with it myself. I was going to insert a line about being too shocked to move or about it happening to quickly for you to make an action but again in XCOM when your friend is getting mobbed by Aliens isn't the entire team standing around like drooling tards anyways?

>>817978
I figured it could have worked better if you heard him shouting over the radio before turning around and seeing the train car we just went through explode.

>but again in XCOM when your friend is getting mobbed by Aliens isn't the entire team standing around like drooling tards anyways?

Well unless we are going to strictly stick to game rules (overwatch everything!) Thats not a very good detraction imo for the scene.

I"m not complaining about the death, tho i am not please at it. My problem was how the scene was "choreographed", and I understand there needs to be a compromise that neither you or the players will understand clearly without trail and error, between gameplay, story, and quest style RP.

>>818019
I will strive to make the scenes make a little more sense when it comes to MC involvement (maybe find ways of restricting the MC like Psy Stasis or just honestly could have written the door as being jammed.), I honestly really do appreciate the criticism however and will try and better the quest with it.

>>818045
Thanks for running, look forward for next session.

Quest will resume at 330

"He was a mentor and friend." You say to James, the tone makes it clear that you wont say much more on the issue. James frowns and settled back down before pulling out his datapad.
"Let's talk about something good, I have a good amount of pull with XCOM and from what I heard you have the makings of a great ranger. So I've written up a recommendation for you and when the Avenger gets here there's no way they can turn you away this time!" James says smiling
As you open your mouth the reply you hear the door creak open and a puffy eyed Lee stands there looking at you.
"Lance we need to talk..It's about Luke."
>Let's talk in the hallway
>Let's talk here
>Can we talk later?
>I dont want to talk

>>824152
>Let's talk in the hallway

>>824152
>Let's talk in the hallway

>>824152
>Let's talk in the hallway

"Let's talk in the hall, Lee." You say "Let the princess here get his sleep."
James scoffs but still smiles.

You follow Lee in to the hallway and close the door behind you with a light click. She hands you a small envelope that reads "Instructions" on it.

"I found it on my desk when we got back. It was from Luke, he always left a letter before missions in case..of what happened. His contingencies were very important to him as an intelligence officer." She sniffles and you see her visibly straighten herself up.
"Luke left instructions in there for me and being as informed and smart as he was, I'm going to follow them to the letter, so I have to ask you. Would you be willing to become the new head of The Shadows?"
>Of course
>I cant
>What about Mark?
>Why me?
>Write in

>>824402
>read the letter

>>824402
>>Of course

>>824443
This.

>>824402
Would this mean we wouldn't be able to transfer to the Avenger when it stops by, since we'd have duties here?

Or is that not an issue?

You don't say anything to Lee you simply open the letter and read.

"Dearest Annabelle Lee, as always I have left this letter on your desk incase of critical mission failure. If I have survived the mission please burn this letter immediately and come see me for a debriefing on its contents.
But I will assume speaking past this point, that I am dead.
As usual the contingencies outlined here are only to be discussed with those involved or of high enough level clearance."
The letter goes on to detail how Luke wished his money and possesions to be distributed expressing quite clearly that Watcher was to get nowhere near his car. You continue reading but when you spot your own name you begin to focus much more on the words.
"Lance displays incredible potential when it comes to stealth operations and information gathering. His position of Squad Commander at the ambushing of the Mayor was, as you suspected, my doing. I requested Watcher to push the leadership of the team onto him as a test, which he passed exponentially. His apparant natural leadership when combined with his concealed movement and deception prowess as well as his uncanny ability in interrogations I believe he to be the best candidate to be my successor in the events of my passing. His skills being a plus but the main reason being how new he is, there is a mole amongst us Annabelle. I have all the information and clues I've gathered on him or her so far locked in a modified Mimic Beacon. Please offer Lance the position and tell him the code to unlock the beacon is a simple
'Yes, Sir.' To my hologram. Trust none Annabelle."

Lee takes back the letter and looks at the floor, sniffling.
Suddenly she speaks a near whisper.
"I loved you, you stupid stupid man." She says to nobody in particular.
You find it a wise idea to say nothing and allow her to collect herself, when she does she has a fresh coat of tears on her face and she asks in a near monotone.
"Lance will you take the rank and responsibilities of Head Shadow? If you take this position you will have to remain here in Philadelphia but you will be the only one besides me with a direct line to XCOM, incase you want to check on James, or maybe you could convince him to stay also. We need trustworthy men."
>Yes, I will
>No, I cannot
>Let me talk to James.
>Write In

>Stay with the resistance and convince James to stay with you

Xcom is too busy for us. We've made friends here and can make much more of a difference, especially with our psy soldier badass brother.

>>825045
Hm, so we go on a shiny new job on the Avenger and presumably link up with the main plotline of the game, or we stick with our resistance cell and serve as coordinator with xcom while hunting down the mole.

The question is "Will we do more good as a head of a resistance cell, or as a soldier in the main force?"

Either choice seems pretty good, to be honest, though I am curious how the quest will progress if we decide to stay here.
>Yes, I will
>See if James is amenable to the idea of joining us in the resistance

>>825045
>Yes, I will
Don't let James stay, or else he will die when we get a bad roll.
See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_brothers#Legacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sole_Survivor_Policy

Its best we let James go his own way, and we go our own.

>>825477
I would never kill James just for easy feels. Only if the situation was right

Rolled 7 (1d100)

I will also add that its likely ADVENT knows his identity and appearance so him going undercover will be potentially risky.

>>825531
To late I rolled for it!

>>825477
This.

I have 2 for Yes and James 2 for Yes and No James.
Next vote will decide

>>825789
Bah, I'll switch to No James if it breaks the deadlock.

File: 1479086902027.png (1.42 MB, 999x700)

1.42 MB PNG

Alright. Tomorrow we will start off by telling James he must return home, taking our position as The Shadow Commander and hunting the mole.
See you folks tomorrow, have some cover art. If anyone has any inclination to make fan art of the characters or renditions of the characters in-game
I encourage you to post them here and send them to me over Twitter @ShiftyQuest

>>826180
XCOM QUEST REEEEEEVIEW:;:;:
This quest is so shitty on its own I'm having trouble finding shit to compare it to.

So first off you've started with the shittiest game in the series, a game I bought and put 422 hours into just to confirm how shit it is and tell all my friends how shit it is and tell /v/ and /vg/ how shit it is but no, it gets worse. The players pick the United States start. First lesson: learn to veto player choices when it matters, all of those posters are trolls or scrubs, either way they're morons and you would've been better off picking for them. The writing is flat and offers no feelings of permenance or attachment.

The introduction reads like a biography reduced to an emotionless laundry list. Adverbs and character conducive adjectives are a thing, pal, your writing reads like you've never read a book above the 3rd grade level.

For all introductory purposes, I can say this: You male hero, family work farm, daddy unga electronics, mommy bunga medic, U.S., then Advent oh no. This provides all the same info for all the same feelings with 91% less text. SUCCINT.

Also, fucking character confusion. What happens when a writer wings it too much: The MC in their head KNOWS about the Advent from their senpaitachi infirmiry work but we're greeted with these lines:
>Life was simple and you had no true idea of what ADVENT was or the threat they posed to mankind.
>You spent your days without care never truly realizing the threat, until the threat made it's way to you.

Holy fucking shit, looks like the hope of humanity is just as retarded as the people who made the game they're in. I guess shitkid sees arms blasted off of Advent patrol survivors and thinks life is peachy fucking keen. I was hoping this would be a hint that the MC is a sociopathic stonecold motherfucker that would tell a legless vet of the alienwars to either walk it off or get in his custom deathmech powered by orphaned kitten souls, but that expectation was disappointed.

You, as a QM, are disappointing. A perfect chance for some subtle characterization, but no, you'll throw it away to half-assedly mince starter options into the post.

And after that you have them choose who survives of ma pa 'n bruh, but I don't doubt that you know nobody gives a shit about these characters at this juncture. And, if you know that, don't include it. There's no reason to have a choice that carries no meaning. "Oh but they get to pick who they'll fu" NO. NOO. The players are picking between barebones archetypes and nothing else.

Like, fuck. If you want to invite people with narrative control make choices things that matter emotionally so that they're things they'd want to control naturally, but I know you can't because if you could you wouldn't be writing a videogame quest so whatever.

>Fuck my ID changed.
So I skipped ahead to see if the paragraphing is like thread 1 for all threads. It is.

Heareth this please; the glorious God and truest of all homosexual elitists Christopher Sholes invented the keyboard, but after being sandwhiced by two whores (his wife and his secretary) in a failed effort to prove his heteroness he added the most essential missing piece: the space bar. He realized, on a deep and supremely emotional level, people need space. Text needs space. Typewriters, you guessed it, need the fucking spacebar. Your posts are like Christopher before he underwent dehomosexualization at the behest of the U.S. Gov., faggy and in need of space. Apply double line breaks prior to greentext if you want it to be easier on the eyes, or just continue being a more hardcore brutalist gay than the man who holds the 1800s record for the most self recorded dicksits.

Traditionally, dialogue is separated by double line breaks too, because 4chan doesn't have great indentation options and this is also easier on the eyes and less shit. You've also got a namevote, which is great. Lance Hardwood. Now you've got a character fit for XCOM II. It's a dick joke, need I say more? VETO IT YOU FUCK.

Somewhere around here you gave up on even half-assedly attempting the character gen filler and reduce things to lists, I would've dropped the quest here and stopped reading but I have more to complain about and ways to call you a shit.

THE DIALOGUE jesus fuck, same voice syndrome up the wall. Google a list of tones and sentences they're used with because reading about three characters who perpetually respond to each other shrugging makes me think THEY'RE the aliens and the whole quest is some ramp-up to a wizard of oz reveal. I read up to and stopped a quarter way through the third thread because those text blocks are fucking atrocious, I don't even know how your mind mentally gets away with writing that way when there's almost no misspellings to mention at all.

The quest doesn't suck tremendously, but that doesn't make it good. It's still gay as a daffodil because its fanfiction on a video game series that died at its best years before most current 4chan users were born. I'd say you should read up on grammar rules and make some attempts to differentiate your characters, but it's a fucking fanfiction quest so it doesn't matter you'll ALWAYS have players.

FINAL RATING: ANTSHIT F-. Antshit is pretty goopy so it may be hard for you to get some so here's what you do to make your quest better. Find an anthill, preferably black (they shit more, and no I'm not making that up), ingest 1800mg of oxycodone and 2700mg of a generic melatonin supplement, spread some honey on your face and rub an apple cider vinegar soaked banana peel on the roof of your mouth and lie down facing the hill. You'll wake up later. You'll have so much antshit in your mouth your tongue might die, it's the least I can fucking hope for.

>>826180
Fare thee well and godbwye. Christ I can't believe I spent two hours of my life reading such a terrible quest. Upvoted on suptg.

And god damn I can't believe you got such good intro images by request. It's fucking wasted on you. I hate you, so, so fucking much. FUUUCK.

>>826377
I fucking love you, thank you!
I'll work on what you brought up too, my friend.
And for all the readers: I requested this, it's all in good fun.

"I'll take the position. James will be rejoining XCOM though, I couldn't live with myself if he were to get hurt under my command." You say

Lee nods softly before handing a small notecard with a login code.

"I'll change your status to administrative, you'll have full access to our network and contact with XCOM. Luke's office and all it's personnel and files are yours, you will direct all intelligence gathering operations yourself and answer to nobody, save myself of course. Watcher and Fleet are your equals and you will rely on them as they rely on you. I would recommend prioritizing finding the mole but, you're in charge now. Good luck, Lance." Lee says, she gives you an awkward hug and wanders off.

You lean against the wall and sigh. This is a large responsibility and you have no idea if you can handle it all but you know you owe it to Luke to try. What should be your first action as Shadow Commander.
>Read Luke's files on the mole.
>Familiarize yourself with the Shadow staff.
>Read Luke's dossiers on Resistance Members (specify a member)
>Write-In

>>827628
>Read Luke's files on the mole.

>>827628
>Read Luke's files on the mole
I don't suppose that we can also get a list of resistance members, for when we read the dossiers?

Seeing as we're mole hunting, we're probably going to read all the dossiers anyway.

>>827628
>Familiarize yourself with the Shadow staff.
We should know who we are working with first and foremost.

>Familiarize yourself with the Shadow staff

>>827887
>>827898
We should probably read the files first so we know what to look for when we meet them.

That way, any questions can be folded into the meeting conversation, instead of having to realize later when we read the files that something they said might have been off.

Tied up.
Anyone willing to change or any new vote will decide it. Otherwise I'll roll

>>827906
Changing to this

>>827906
I would rather meet them openly first and then go over it rather it once we have met everyone. I don't want their first impression of their new commander being that he doesn't trust them and I am not sure how well we could keep something like that from showing.

>>827941
We can just play it off as wanting to know about the people we're working with, which really is legitimately important if you're in a position of leadership.

If we think they're lying, or if they don't want to discuss something, we just drop it and make a note to look into it over time.

You decide you'll go into Luke's office go over his dossiers and intel on the mole. After an hour or two of pouring over the dossiers you'll know recognize and have prior knowledge of any resistance member you meet.

You pull the Mimic Beacon from your pocket and activate it, the hologram of Luke illuminates the dim room and repeats it's only message.
"Upstairs, you have ten minutes."

You reply simply "Yes sir."

You hear a small click and the hologram flickers out of existence as the mimic beacon splits in half revealing a small USB. You go to Luke's computer and plug it in, a file pops up and gives you a few options to click on.
>Suspects
>General Intel
>Evidence

>>827968
>General Intel
Need to know the basics before anything else is of much use.

>General Intel
Then
>Evidence
Then
>Suspects

You click General Intel.

"The mole appears to be working with a local anti-resistance Human-ADVENT task force. He or She has been very careful covering their trail and I have little idea who it could be though some do come to mind. The suspect would have to be someone familiar with our supply routes since our trucks have been getting hit when en route to our outer facilities, as to why they haven't sold out the main base entirely I believe the motive lies in greed. By giving constant information rather than delivering their trump card the ensure a steady flow of money or favors. The traitor has become so bold as to meet in the back alley behind this very building when they last met their contact two nights ago. I have yet to comb the scene for clues entirely as the arrival of the mayor is my top priority."

The log ends there.

You click "evidence"
"This is a list of evidence I have in my possesion that I believe to beling to either the Advent-Human Operative or the informant.
-Cigarette butts: Gold strike brand
-A disposable lighter
-burnt scraps of paper found in common room fireplace (Mostly not legible can make out '-chines'
-One Smiley face sticker left on my physical dossier on the traitor (a taunt obviously)"

You frown as you look over the list, looks like either the Officer or traitor is a smoker.

You click "Suspects" and gasp as you see the first name on the list.

"The following is a list of individuals suspected of betrayal of the resistance.

-Mark, My second in command for many years. Ambitious and dangerously sly. To my knowledge does not smoke

-Quark, Our resident scientist, seems unhappy with leadership and has an almost envy of ADVENT technology

-Viola, Member of the Hares, well versed in covert messaging and disposal of messages, equally trained in stealth as a former shadow.

-Anyone who smokes Gold Strike cigarettes is to be observed."

You sit back in the computer chair and reflect on what you've just learned before deciding it's time for hands on investigation.
>Speak with Shadows Staff
>Speak with Hares staff
>Speak with Hellraisers staff
>Speak with someone specific
>Write-In

>>828028
>Speak with the Shadows Staff
We do need to get to know them anyways, so this does double duty.

Also, is there any restriction on who could have access to the office? That could be a clue as to who it is.

Also, the sticker taunt makes it abundantly clear that the mole knows that the leadership is searching for them. We should take that into account when considering our plan of action.

>>828028
>Speak with Shadows Staff

>>828285
This.

>>828028
>Speak with Shadows Staff
>Speak to Mark afterwards. Should talk to the second in command, both due to his role and to make sure there are no hard feelings that we are in command and not him.

You decide to talk to the staff that will be working under you now and then to Mark.

You make your way to the barracks for Shadow operatives.
One has a flicker of recognition and approaches you with two of his friends.

"Dr. Hardwood?" He asks expectantly

"Yes, and you are?" You reply

"Codename is Spring, got that after landing a 20 ft drop without breaking my legs." He laughs and his friends also introduce themselves as Dio and Nautical.

"It's good to meet you all, I look forward to being your commander if everyone is as friendly as you." You say with a grin

The smiles from their faces fade and confusion takes it's place.

"Uh..that's not what we were told. Mark told us he was the new Shadow Commander." Says Dio

>Well he's wrong.
>He must be confused
>Luke chose me to be his replacement
>Write-In

>>828537
>He must be confused

>>828537
>He must be confused
>Luke chose me to be his replacement

>>828537
>>Write-In
"I was only informed recently myself and it would be natural for the second in command to assume that given the previous commander's death. I will speak to him."

>>828609
This is the best way to handle it.

It minimizes Mark's loss of face, and given his supposedly ambitious attitude he would likely begrudge us any such embarrassment.

"I was only recently informed myself, it makes sense he woukd assume he'd be given command. I'll speak with him." You state and then excuse yourself.

You need to nip this in the bud, so you ask around and get pointed in the direction of the mess hall where you find him eating alone. How do you want to handle this.
>Order him to follow you to the office
>Ask him to follow you up to the office
>Sit with him
>Write-In

>>828668
>Write-In
Ask if he would mind a quick word somewhere else.
Neither the mess hall (public) nor the office (could be seen as presumptuous) are appropriate for this.

>>828668
>Sit with him.

>>828685
Switching to this.

>>828685
As long as it's not in public, this should be fine.

You walk to Mark and tap his shoulder. Turning around with a mouth full of sandwich he quickly swallows and spits out a "Yeah?"

You respond quietly "I'm Lance, I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Mark smiles and turns completely around on the bench looking at you up and down.

"The prodigal Lance Hardwood, don't worry bud I'll still make sure you get a couple exciting missions as the new Commander." He smirks at you and begins to turn around "We can talk about assignments after my lunch."

You take a small breath before saying just as quietly before.
"This is about the commander position, Mark. Things aren't exactly as you think."

Mark whips around and raises a thick eyebrow
"And how are they not. Mr. Hardwood?"

>I'm the Shadow Commander, not you
>It's nothing, nevermind
>Please, I'd really rather take this somewhere private.
>Write in

>>828842
>Please, I'd really rather take this somewhere private.

>>828842
>I think we should go somewhere private for this discussion
If he refuses, then just explain it to him there.

In retrospect, we should have waited until he finished his lunch to talk to him

>>828956
Agreed on both points

>>828956
This.

"Look please I'd really rather do this in private." You say quietly

"No. No. Let's do this here so my men can see how I handle threats to my position." Mark raises his voice at the end capturing the attention of most of the mess hall.

So much for doing things quietly.

You sigh and tell him, "Mark, I am the Shadow Commander. Not you. Luke chose me specifically in a set of instructions left to Lee."

You see Mark's face contort into confusiom then anger.
"That doesn't make any sense, I was Luke's second in command. It's my right, I earned that position. I also suppose since you're the new commander you've come here to reassign or fire me, huh? Scared of the competition!" He spits venomously
>I'm not scared, but you are getting reassigned
>I'm not scared, but you are being removed from your position
>I'm not scared, you aren't going anywhere
>write in

>>831192
I'm not scared, but unless I can trust you to follow my orders as faithfully as you followed Luke's ... then you are being reassigned.

>>831192
>Close the gap and yell at him. "Luke made you second in command, know why? It's because he trust you to have his back and anyone who comes after him . So, are you going to prove him right or do I have to re-assign you?"
Play the loyalty to Luke card.

>>831192
This puts him in a bit of a bind because if he challenges us then he is effectively spitting on Luke's face and we have a justifiable reason to re-assign him without too much dissent from other Shadows. The only real good choice for him would be to follow us

You step closer to Mark and yell
"Luke chose you to be his second in command. Do you know why? Because he trusted you to have his back and trust his leadership. If that puts me as the new commander then you owe it to him to follow. Is that clear or do you need to be reassigned?"

The mess hall goes silent and you see Mark's face growing red and a slight twitch in his eye before he shoulders past you.

"I'm taking this up with Lee." He says seething.

That went well. You still have the attentiom of the Mess Hall and the majority here are either unassigned recruits or Shadows.
>Free-Write
>Apologize and Leave
>Leave without a word

>>831259
Luke put me in charge. I don't know why and I don't know how but what I do know is this: that he trust me for this position and I intend to prove that he has made the right decision. If you have a problem with that then take it up with me personally.

>>831269
>I don't know why and I don't know how
Except we do know why and how; the "why" is because we are competent both in the field and in command, and we are too new to be the mole he is worried about, and the "how" is by simply having the authority to declare us his successor.

I'd instead propose a revision:
>The name is Lance. As per Luke's last orders, I will now be serving as head of the Shadows. He trusted me for this position, and I intend to prove that he made the right decision. If there are any further problems with that, then take it up with me personally.

>>831333
This.

>>831333
This

>>831333
Alright I'll support it

"The name is Lance. As per Luke's last orders, I will now be serving as head of the Shadows. He trusted me for this position, and I intend to prove that he made the right decision. If there are any further problems with that, then take it up with me personally."

You say the words with an air of authority you didn't know you had. A few people nod and others just look at the ground at the mention of Luke's name. You exit the messhall and find yourself going back to the office and taking a seat, exhausted from the drama Mark stirred up. You remember he brought up an excellent point however, are you going to replace him? Obviously it would infuriate him and though Luke did give him his rank for a reason, though he also considered him a suspect.
You look at his form and click the "Department and Rank" Box.
>Demote him to a regular Shadow Operative
>Transfer him to the Training Department
>Transfer him to the Hares
>Transfer him to the Hellraisers
>Leave his rank and position alone

>>834483
>Leave his position alone
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, for all we know it could be one of the other people.

>>834483
>Leave his rank and position alone
It might be excusable to get upset over thinking he was promoted, then having the rug pulled out from under him, as long as he gets over it very soon.

That little stunt in the cafeteria didn't do much to encourage my faith in him though. Bottom line, we need to be able to trust him to follow our orders when the pressure's on, and we will need to replace him if we think he can't do that. This takes priority over other concerns about him.

We should give him a reasonable amount of time to cool off and attend to his duties as second, then check in again for a second impression later.

>>834483
>Leave his rank and position alone

You let the idea of petty revenge through rank go. Surely it's understandable to be mad after having a rank you believe to be yours by right pulled out from under you. You lock the computer down and begin to head out the door when you smell something, cigarette smoke.
It's coming from either the alley out back or the boarded up room across the hall. The open window makes it possible the smoke could have blown in from anywhere.
>Check the Alley
>Check the room
>Write-in

>>834760
>Check the Alley
We never did follow up on Luke's incomplete investigation there.

>>834760
>Check the Alley
>>Check the room

>>834768
This.

Guys. I'm really not feeling it.
I think I'm going to put XCOM Quest on a bit of a hiatus just so I can reenergize and deliver the writing you guys deserve. I've been having massive writers block and scheduling problems so the quest hasn't gotten the love or attention it deserves from me. I might try some smaller QSTs to work out of this funk.

I'll put up on my twitter: @ShiftyQuest when we are back on and I'll post a notice back in the QTG. Should only be a couple days if that, if someone could please archive this thread I'd appreciate it immensly.
Thank you for your patience.
~Shifty

>>835118
Hope you feel better soon.

>>835118
Thanks for running.
I can't wait to finally take the waifu bait.

>>835118
You often start running at 5am for me so I only come on like mid way when u run...