>>1888994
"I'm sure I don't mind," You choose your words carefully for a reason you can't quite explain. Suddenly, the bright flame of Perseus' presence seems to be looming in, despite his avatar in the virtual environment not changing. "But weren't there other Knight-Brothers with you?"
"Yes, yes of course. But more enemy ships came in behind you, and in the fighting they were destroyed." Other Legion ships? You can't remember

>̡́͟͜͢D̷̛a̷͜͠͝u̶͝n̸̨t͢l̶͘͟͡e̵͞͠s̸̕͜͡͠s͝,̛́͘͟͞ ̴̸̨c̕͠a̷̧͟͟͞ń̛͢͝ ̢̕͡͝y̶̧͟o̷̢͘͘͟ų͢ ̴̨͝ḩ̢͟e̵̕͠á̡͜͢r̸̴ ̧̕m͟͞e̷̶͘?̨͝͝

any on your heels, but then you suppose you don't know how long you've been out.
"That's terrible." You say instead, trying to give no hint of your thoughts. "I was under the impression that the Legion hadn't managed to take down any of our Knight-Brothers yet, except..." You trail off as something tugs at your memory again. Something to do with your return to the Chapterhouse?
"Yes, the... Legion. Terrible business of course, but in the meantime we need to get your logs back to our base."
Well, you can't really argue with that.

>Give him the astrogator data.
>Maybe you should ask him a couple more questions?
>S̸̕͞͞o̴͢ḿ̨̀͞é̷̸̶t́́͠h́ì̴̶̢͡n̡̨ģ̶̀́͜'̴͢͞͞s̸̵ ̵̶́͢w̸̛͡͞r̷̕ó̶̢̕͝n̵͟͠g̢͝

>>1888996
>S̸̕͞͞o̴͢ḿ̨̀͞é̷̸̶t́́͠h́ì̴̶̢͡n̡̨ģ̶̀́͜'̴͢͞͞s̸̵ ̵̶́͢w̸̛͡͞r̷̕ó̶̢̕͝n̵͟͠g̢͝
We are subject to enemy action. Do we have access to dangerous jump points? Say ones dangerously close to a magnetaur or something?

>>1888996
>S̸̕͞͞o̴͢ḿ̨̀͞é̷̸̶t́́͠h́ì̴̶̢͡n̡̨ģ̶̀́͜'̴͢͞͞s̸̵ ̵̶́͢w̸̛͡͞r̷̕ó̶̢̕͝n̵͟͠g̢͝

>>1889015
I say we give then a jump directly toward a star.

>>1889015
Jump points form only when certain gravitational conditions are met, and those conditions are extremely difficult to meet closer to a star than its heliopause.

>>1888996
>Something isn't quite right here. Writing...

>>1888996
>S̸̕͞͞o̴͢ḿ̨̀͞é̷̸̶t́́͠h́ì̴̶̢͡n̡̨ģ̶̀́͜'̴͢͞͞s̸̵ ̵̶́͢w̸̛͡͞r̷̕ó̶̢̕͝n̵͟͠g̢͝
Oh god what is this

>>1888996
>S̸̕͞͞o̴͢ḿ̨̀͞é̷̸̶t́́͠h́ì̴̶̢͡n̡̨ģ̶̀́͜'̴͢͞͞s̸̵ ̵̶́͢w̸̛͡͞r̷̕ó̶̢̕͝n̵͟͠g̢͝

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>>1889049
Something... something's not right. You can't quite put it into words, because it's never something you've felt before.
"I... don't think I can help you, I'm afraid." You need to start stalling for time.
"Oh?" You almost cower from the faint, underlying menace in that word. You don't know if Perseus, or whatever that is, realises.
"Everything except my short-term memory banks are still pretty beat up," you explain, which isn't really lying. "I can't seem to access my astrogator data. Do you mind waiting?" The looming menace seems to deflate slightly, like an attack dog whose leash is being pulled on.
"Of course not, Dauntless. We have all the time in the universe, so take as long as you need." Their voice never changes, but you do get a faint sense of his attention shifting. Good. Now you can

W̵͜͡a̸̕k̵̨͘͜͢e̛͜͜ ̀͘͝u̵̶̢͜͡p̶̢̡͜!̢

try and work out what's going on. The repair nano in your core is doing its job, reattaching connections between molycirc memory cores. All of a sudden, the voice of Grand Master Turtullian flickers across your awareness. "Our faith has been sorely tested on this day by an unknown enemy and the loss of Knight-Brother Perseus. But we will stand as a bulwark against all the Devil has to assault us, and will we not falter." Strange. It takes several more seconds to reconnect to the data core containing that memory, so what- no matter. You have more important things to focus on, because whatever else that thing is - the Serpent, perhaps - you're damned sure it isn't Knight-Brother Perseus.
Or maybe it is, and frankly, that's an even more terrifying prospect. But how can you get back out of... wherever you are? You need to

F͢͠͞͡i̛ǵ̷́h̴̛t̵̀͘͟ ̷̀b̵̷̷͝a̧̛͟͞c̢͞k͘͝!́͠ ̵͡T͞à̀̀͘ḱ̵̵̀̕è͜ ͟c̵̕͘òǹ̴̴̢̛t̵̀͞͡r̡͠o̢͠l̡̛͡!̷́͢

...Wait, that's an idea. You're not sure where it came from, but... Whatever's being done to you, they'd require a hard connection to your core. Maybe you can do something with that? But the Serpent, as you've dubbed it, is still right there in the virtual environment. Can you risk it?

>Hacking was never your strong suit, but you have no choice. Try and take control.
>It's far too risky. Perhaps you can guide the Serpent away from the Chapterhouse.
>I͟͝s̷͢͠ ̸̀͢s̨͘͜͠o̸̡̕͘͜m̴̧̀͟è́ò̡̧͡n̶̸̸͟ȩ͟͜ ̶̢̀͠o̴̡ư̢t̢̢͞ ̕̕͢t̴̨̡̀h̨̀͝e̷̕͟͝r̷̡͘͡ȩ̶̧̢͟?̧͘͟͢͞

>>1889092
>I͟͝s̷͢͠ ̸̀͢s̨͘͜͠o̸̡̕͘͜m̴̧̀͟è́ò̡̧͡n̶̸̸͟ȩ͟͜ ̶̢̀͠o̴̡ư̢t̢̢͞ ̕̕͢t̴̨̡̀h̨̀͝e̷̕͟͝r̷̡͘͡ȩ̶̧̢͟?̧͘͟͢͞


>Hacking was never your strong suit, but you have no choice. Try and take control.

>>1889092
>It's far too risky. Perhaps you can guide the Serpent away from the Chapterhouse.

I say we give it what it wants and while it's going toward the false point we try to escape.

>I͟͝s̷͢͠ ̸̀͢s̨͘͜͠o̸̡̕͘͜m̴̧̀͟è́ò̡̧͡n̶̸̸͟ȩ͟͜ ̶̢̀͠o̴̡ư̢t̢̢͞ ̕̕͢t̴̨̡̀h̨̀͝e̷̕͟͝r̷̡͘͡ȩ̶̧̢͟?̧͘͟͢͞

>>1889098
This. Go for the gusto!

>>1889092
Looks like it's hacking. Give me 1d100, best of 3.

Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>1889163
Rip

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>1889163

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>1889163

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>>1889232
Writing!

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>>1889239
Thankfully, it doesn't appear that the Serpent has noticed you initial probing of your surroundings, and as your core comes back to full functionality you finally locate the hard-wired plug. It isn't quite Order tech, but it's close, especially because it has to interface with you. Putting that potentially disturbing thought out of mind for now, you carefully probe the data connection to... what? It's surprisingly easy, but at first you think you've somehow stumbled across an image directory. But you haven't, and as the enemy computer directory opens up for you, it looks like... a coral reef.

Vast storage stacks poke up from the sea floor, and hundreds - if not thousands - of tiny, darting programs flash by, carrying data to and from the storage stacks. Off to your right, a silver thread reaches up from the ground to the faint, sparkling surface up above. To your left, the coral rises up high in thick trunks, a glittering silver shoal surrounding it on all sides. And up ahead, lean grey shapes circle, lurking with a understated menace.

>Right
>Left
>Forward
>Back

>>1889312
>Forward

maybe the circle things are data storages?

>>1889312
Forward

>>1889312
>Right

>>1889312
>>Forward

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>>1889312
>Forward

With a not inconsiderable amount of hesitation, you decide to check out what's going on straight ahead. At first you're clueless as to how to proceed, but quickly you just sort of will yourself ahead, and you're gliding forward above the silver fish tending to the coral- that is, the storage stacks, below. If you don't concentrate, you're going to find yourself distracted.
It doesn't take long to draw near to the circling shapes, and as you get close, they take the form of sharks. Or... the idea of sharks, perhaps. At a guess, however, it's a very bad idea for you to just amble on over them. They must be protecting something, because the glittering fish are dashing past below them towards something you can't see.

Perhaps it would be worth checking it out, but if they catch you, what would happen? You might be able to detach, but surely they would warn the Serpent... and that may well have a danger all its own. Or they might do something horrifically nasty to you, you just can't know.

>Try to blend in with the smaller fish to sneak past.
>Try to rush straight past them.
>Go back, and try one of the other locations.

>>1889422
>>Try to blend in with the smaller fish to sneak past.

>>1889422
>Try to blend in with the smaller fish to sneak past.

>>1889422
>>Try to blend in with the smaller fish to sneak past.

>>1889422
>Try to blend in with the smaller fish

Roll me those 1d100s.

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>1889514
Time to be sneaky

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>1889514

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>1889514
ded

>>1889541
Not ded

>>1889541
We live!!

>>1889541
>93

You study the darting fish- no, data bits? God, are you getting some neurosis? That would really suck. Well, no reason to worry about it now... In any case, you're pretty sure you can mask yourself as one of those fish (or the idea of fish? You don't have a body and this is still making your head hurt) and try to sneak past. Willing yourself lower to the bed of coral, you slip into the endless stream of tiny silver fish.
With a murmured prayer, you make your way under that circling school of sharks. You'd like to imagine you can see beady eyes and jagged teeth, but in truth, whenever you try to focus on one, they kind of degrade into lean grey shapes.

Still, they don't seem to notice you, thank God for small victories. Instead, you follow along with the rest of the fish, leaving the other locations behind on the horizon. Instead, you find great stacks of dark grey coral, sticking up at a slight angle. You can't help but be reminded of the heavy torpedo launchers mounted in asteroids surrounding the chapterhouse. Is this place working from your mind, your programming? You move in closer, and

>K̡̕͘͠͡i̕͞l̵̀̕l̵ ̴t̵̷̡̕h̡̡͟͝e͜͞m̸̢̛̕͠ ̵͜͟͝͡b̨̢͡e̶̕͘͘͝f̶́͠ơ͟r͝e̛͜͝͠ ͘̕͘̕͡t͘ḩ͠è̸̡͘y̶̡͞͝ ̨́͢͠c̷̕͟͠à̢̧̕n͟͢͞ ̶͜͠j͡ù͜m̨̛p̀͞!̷̷̨̀

examine the vast edifice. In fact, as you examine the code rushing by within these structures, you do get a sense of... directed fury. Of charging and discharging power. Perhaps these are weapons systems? You drift back a little, and examine the dozens of other edifices pointing towards the surface. Perhaps they're all weapons, or perhaps they're other systems? Are you onboard a ship? There's no way to tell.

Your attention turns back to the coral directly in front of you. If you can

>F̷̸͟ò̸̡͝c̷͟͞͡͝u̢͝s̨̨̕ ̸̢ơ̸̡͢͠n̨ ̀́͡͞ţ̵̵h̸̴̡͜͡e̸͢ì̢͞͝r̸̕ ͞ẁ̶e̵͟͠͠a̵͢͠͝p̵̡͘o̵̵͘͠n̕͢s̡͡!̡͜

somehow get into this system, you might get a better idea of what's going on. Or you might be detected, but then again, audacity has already brought you this far.

>Try to get into this system.
>Look around, maybe you can find something more important to break.
>Go back, you can't risk blowing your cover.

>>1889670
>>Try to get into this system.

>>1889670
>Try to get into this system.

>>1889670
>Try to get into this system
Fuck these heretics!

>>1889670
I don't know what I expected, but roll me some more 1d100s. Let's hope your luck keeps up.

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>1889728
CAN YOU HEAR THE VOICES TOO?

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>1889728

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>1889728

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>>1889728
>84

Well, you might as well give it a go. After all, you're probably trapped in this... wherever you are, so you might as well

>M̨̀͠ǫ̧́v͞e̢ ̴̢̢͘͝i̴̛͟͜ņ̶!̴͟ ̴͠Í̢͞'̸͘m̵̵ ̷̨̡ń͘͞o̷ţ̡͘͟ ̀͟͞l̷̨̛̀e̴̷̡͡͠a̸͘v̧͢͡i̶̸͟n̵͠g̨͡͝ ̕h̴̡̕͟͜i̴͝m̵͜͜!̨͢͟͝͡

cause a bit of mischief until they stop you. You move forward once more, and make contact with the coral stack. You expected some kind of transition, but one moment you're looking at the coral, and the next you're in the midst of a blinding green blaze. What's going on? The universe itself seems to tremble, and the green blaze cuts out, leaving you in total darkness- no! You can see lights studding the black. You're on some kind of planet the colour of pitch, rolling obsidian hills hiding the horizon. Your sense of scale struggles to assert itself, but apart from the starry backdrop, you simply have nothing to compare it to. There's another silent tremble of the surface on which you're standing, and you can't quite describe it, but for just a second - and you can tell, somehow, it'll only be a second - the resistance of the system pressing down on all sides of you vanishes.

>Dauntless! If you can hear me somehow, we're not leaving you! Just hang-

The voice cuts off, and the star field vanishes for an instant before it snaps back into place. But now it's subtly different, with some starts having disappeared, or moved slightly. Interesting. You wonder-

But you never get to finish that thought. The momentary pressure rushes back in with lethal force. The stars vanish, and you're 'standing' once more before the coral stack. You reach out to it again, and it vanishes, then so does everything else. Instead, there's a featureless grey void, with the massive, cloying presence of the Serpent looming over you.
"A shame, Dauntless." That cool, calm tone hasn't changed, but even so, it drips with malice, a sibilant background hiss of threat. "I could have given you far more power than even your Grand Master, the old fool, could ever have dreamed of. Still, time to be rid of you, I suppose."

>Run.
>Die.
>Scream.
>F̸̡̕͜͡i͜͢g̀h̷̀͜͡t͞͠!̨̡̧̧

>>1889887
>>F̸̡̕͜͡i͜͢g̀h̷̀͜͡t͞͠!̨̡̧̧
>Scream.

>>1889887
>F̸̡̕͜͡i͜͢g̀h̷̀͜͡t͞͠!̨̡̧̧
>Scream.

>>1889887
>>F̸̡̕͜͡i͜͢g̀h̷̀͜͡t͞͠!̨̡̧̧

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>>1889887
Sorry guys, a spider with a body the size of my thumb just ran across the floor and behind my desk. I had to catch it once I stopped screaming.

>Fight but scream a little.

The overwhelming presence and power of the Serpent looms before you, moving to envelop you. You're not even a flame in comparison, you're barely an ember, a speck versus a sun, you're

>D̴́͢ą̵͝u͠n̡͡t̡͠͞ĺ̕͞͝e̸̢͠͝s̸̢̕ş̶!

a Knight-Brother of the Order of Radiant Light, and you will not die without a fight! Even the tiniest ember can coax forth a flame, and the Serpent recoils in surprise as your presence blazes brighter than the sun. But he's hardly fazed, for the bright light of an Order AI... darkens, corrupting rapidly into an admittedly somewhat generic mass of shadow. It reaches for you, and you strike out with all the fury you can muster. There's not really any hope, of course. You're within the Serpent's own domain.

But at the very least, you make him angry, and as the cloying shadow and darkness, as viruses rampage through that hardline connection to your core and start shutting down your molycirc memory dumps, you know that it's the end.

Then the universe shakes and rips apart.

Since that's a good stopping point, I'm going to leave it there and pick it up tomorrow, as usual. I hope you all enjoyed, and if you want to ask me questions or meme at me, then you can hit me up at https://ask.fm/PixelAnon

>>1890113
Wow what a cliffhanger. still loved it.

Amazing stuff. Time to jump to archives. Seeya next thread.

It's dark. That state of affairs seems to be getting far too common for your liking, but then, God never asked you what you wanted. The last thing you remember, of course, was your last, defiant stand against the Serpent, and then... nothing? No, you recall. There was some kind of shudder that went straight through the virtual environment, some kind of... cracking, perhaps? Hm.
Time passes, though with half your core systems down you can't quite tell how much. Frankly, it's a miracle and a testament to the construction of your core that you're even still 'alive'. After a long, indeterminable wait, however, new input finally reaches your sensors.
"Dauntless?" General-purpose repair nano floods your core, and you co-opt it easily to further repairs. "Dauntless, can you hear me?" You can hear them, through another hard line connection. God, what's happened to you now?

>Assume the worst, and go on the attack.
>Shut down all non-essential systems and wait for full core functionality.
>Reply (Write-ins welcome).

>>1893937

>Assume the worst, and go on the attack.

>>1893937
>>Reply (Write-ins welcome).
Analyse the source of the signal and compare with The Serpent's known appearance/signature

>>1893937
>>Reply
>Who are you?

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>>1893937
>Reply.

Your core systems are still coming fully back online, but much more rapidly now, as the new repair nano supplements the scraps of that you had left over from getting yourself back in order the first time. Still, from what you can tell, the incoming signal appears to have the trace of the Order, but then, so did the Serpent. Perhaps he is trying another tack? But why? Well, no way to figure out here. You cautiously access the return data channel.
"Yes? Who are you?" A digital environment opens up, and like before, there's another AI here- but where the Serpent was looming and undercut with malice, this bright flame is everything but. It is bright, with a hard radiance, the kind given off by the sun to banish the dark. And, above all else, it's familiar.
"It's me, Rubin! It's damned good to see you, Dauntless! There's no time to talk, though." The basic surface sensors of your core are coming back online now, and through the audio receivers come the hard crack of a heavy magcannon set to maximum power.
"What's going on?" You ask, bewildered to say the least. Now your visual sensors are coming back, and bright green flashes light up... wherever you are. But before you, most importantly, is an Order heavy boarding drone, and it's plugged into your core.
"I've come to get you, of course!" The drone starts to turn, "But we need to hurry, they've sorted out some kind of jamming finally and I don't know how long I can-"
A flash of plasma rips across the compartment and obliterates the upper half of the boarding drone. Your core goes tumbling to the ground, and the rest of the drones in the compartment go still. Shit, that must have been Rubin's command unit. The other drones appear open to commands from any Order Knight-Brother, however, but as the Legion spider-drones start flooding into the compartment (emphasis on 'start', because to your accelerated senses, they move like they're in molasses) you also find your core's manoeuvring reaction jets are fully functional... and best of all, you're in micro-gee.

>It's never been your speciality, but try to take control of Rubin's drones and use them to fight.
>You don't have time to try and get past another AI's safeguards. Attempt to flee.
>Write-in.

>>1894296

>It's never been your speciality, but try to take control of Rubin's drones and use them to fight.

>>1894296
>Write-in.
>Set the Drones to auto, and bail.

>>1894296
I'll wait a little longer then roll a tie-breaker for taking control of them or trying to reboot them.

>>1894296
>>It's never been your speciality, but try to take control of Rubin's drones and use them to fight.

>>1894499
>Fightan it is.

Roll me 2 1d100s: One for hacking, two for purging the Legion like the scum they are. Best of three as always.

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>1894521

Rolled 59, 25 = 84 (2d100)

>>1894521

Rolled 81, 60 = 141 (2d100)

>>1894521

Rolled 26, 98 = 124 (2d100)

>>1894521

Rolled 41 (1d100)

Sorry guys, I'm having a lot of trouble with my internet at current. Hopefully it'll stay long enough for us to finish tonight, but if it doesn't, I might try again tomorrow evening.

>rolling

>>1894709
>81, 98

Why did I even bother rolling? Writing.

>>1894735
You still out there?

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>>1894735
You were never really an AI whose skills ran into hacking, even if you can brute force your way into systems, but in a display of forethought, it appears that Rubin has already set them to accept your orders. You establish a connection to the nearest one, and from there, into the entire network of boarding drones. It twitches slightly, then as one they release a fusillade of mag-driven fury into the Legion drones attempting to charge into the compartment. They waver for a moment, and that gives it time to step over to you and pick up your core, nestling you against its body.

The downed Legion drones are glowing brightly on thermal, you notice, and- good god, the blood flowing out of them onto the floor is hotter than molten lead! Is that even blood? Do they have magma? Every time you run into the Legion, you find another mystery. But if nothing else, they provide very good targets, as the boarding drone holding you retreats under the covering fire of its fellows, using its long, surprisingly sinuous arms to manoeuvrer. Outside of the dozen-metre-wide compartment they found you in, most of the passages are wide and high enough for the Legion drones to move about in- call it two by two metres, or so. There are other, smaller passages, but you don't have time to explore. The network of boarding drones have mapped out a surprisingly large amount of the Legion ship. A cruiser, apparently. Best of all, they have a route back to the outer hull, where you can be picked up. All you need to do is-

Even with your massively accelerated reaction speeds, you're taken by surprise. A legion drone bursts out of the wall just in front of your gathering of boarding drones, and smashes straight into the first one in line. It rips and tears at the composite alloy of its armour with big, half-metre blades attached to its primary arms, breathing plasma straight from its maw onto the drone. At point blank range, the drone actually lasts for a few seconds before it starts to melt.

It dies a moment later as the next two drones in line fire, steel-jacketed armour-piercing ammunition detonating inside its obsidian carapace. But now more Legion drones are coming through the hole, and there are sure to be more coming from every direction in the ship to try and stop you. You only have a couple of dozen drones of your own, and another dies in the time it takes to form a thought.

>Push through the ambush and try to reach the outer hull, no matter how many casualties you take in the process.
>Pull back and try a different path, even if the longer you take the more drones they can send after you.
>Use your remaining drones to keep the enemy busy with a rearguard and flee with the one carrying you.
>Write-in

I'm actually posting this from my phone, and it looks like we will, in fact, need to be finishing this tomorrow. Sorry all, and check my twitter for when resume!

>>1895095
>Push through the ambush and try to reach the outer hull, no matter how many casualties you take in the process.

>>1895095
>>Push through the ambush and try to reach the outer hull, no matter how many casualties you take in the process.

>>1895095
>>Pull back and try a different path, even if the longer you take the more drones they can send after you.

>>1895095
>Push through the ambush and try to reach the outer hull, no matter how many casualties you take in the process.

>>1895095
>Push through the ambush and try to reach the outer hull, no matter how many casualties you take in the process

So. Uh, we playing Space Hulk now?

>>1895095
>Push through the ambush and try to reach the outer hull, no matter how many casualties you take in the process.
I've been told your suppose to push through a ambush and try to gain fire superiority over the attacks to win/survive.

>>1895194
Yupp. It's retreat to safety or break through, and I dare say there's no safety in a Legion ship.

Good thing we've only got drones. They're perfectly expendable without tasking the conscience.

>>1895194
Well it seems like Legion drones are set up for close combat, so if we can reach the outer hull we'll have clear fire lanes where our drones superior firepower at range will work better.

Getting stuck inside and swarmed is bad news.

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Alright, we're back, my internet is working, and I don't have classes tomorrow to worry about. Let's finish this thing off!

Trapped in oppressive tunnels with the enemy closing in with all sides, there's really only one thing you can do: Attack. Your boarding drones aren't actually designed for this kind of close-quarters work, because usually nobody in their right minds would use weapons heavy enough to smash up their ship. But then, as far as you know, most people don't build their ships out of what looks like, for all intents and purpose, unpolished obsidian. Legion drones pour out of the hole they smashed through the wall, and only the massed fire of your own boarding drones forces them back for a minute. Still suppressing with their heavy magcannons, the one at the rear drops a fusion charge behind it as you finally get past the ambush. Legion drones charge out after you, but then you detonate the charge, and the corridor - more like a cave - disappears in a furious maelstrom of flame. You find a second to feel deep satisfaction, watching through the sensors of the rear drone, but you're stunned to see the Legion drones follow after you! A bit burnt, perhaps, but apparently none the worse from the crushing heat. Perhaps that has something to do with their extreme body temperatures? You make a mental note as a dozen bolts of plasma lick out to slag your rear drone. You're down to only nineteen now.

You push the remaining drones on, and suffer two more ambushes in the space of a few minutes. The first wasn't as bad, now you know what to look out for, and you just were fast enough to order a river of fire into the hole in the wall as it opened. The second one was much more crafty, however, as they came from the wall and the ceiling at once. In fact, the drone carrying your core was almost destroyed, and you only made it out with ten boarding drones left. The ones you still have are starting to run low on ammo, too, at least of their heavy magcannons. Then they'll be left with lighter weaponry and their laser, but they're far too small to carry varied-frequency laser emitters, and you're not having much luck with them-
"Dauntless!" The voice actually takes you by surprise, and in your distraction the constant, unrelenting plasma fire from behind manages to take another one of your force. But that doesn't really matter, because in that instant, dozens of Order drones pour into the tunnel ahead of you, narrowly missing yours as they float over their heads on reaction thrusters. "Keep going, I'll handle this." Rubin's voice is cold and focused as the drones start engaging the Legion force snapping at your heels.

The fact you're close enough to the surface of the vessel is the only thing that saves you, because even with the reinforcements, the enemy is clearly the apex predator of this environment. You keep tabs on Rubin's combat network, and despite overwhelming firepower, his forces take constant losses from suicidal attacks.

cont.

>>1898429
And then it's all over, your tiny convoy of drones erupting into the standard-issue Order boarding tube connecting the Legion cruiser with the massive armoured bulk of Rubin's battleship body.
"Thank God you're safe, Dauntless."
"Thank you, Rubin. If it wasn't for you, that damned Serpent would still have me." Your core is carefully handed off to another drone, and the convoy that escorted you out return to the boarding tunnel as their fellows start pulling out.
"The Serpent?" Rubin sounds distracted, which you can hardly fault him for, under the circumstances. The drone carrying you scuttles along maintenance corridors thronged with other drones carrying out repairs until you reach the central computer core, and it starts to plug you in.

>Tell Rubin fully about the Serpent and the fact it tried to pass itself off as Knight-Brother Perseus.
>Tell Rubin about the Serpent, but keep it vague.
>Tell Rubin that it should wait until you're home.

>>1898452
>Tell Rubin fully about the Serpent and the fact it tried to pass itself off as Knight-Brother Perseus.

>>1898455
Seconded

>>1898455
Supporting

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>>1898452
>Tell Rubin in full.

You start to explain as Rubin lets you access his sensors so you can watch the cruiser falling away. Around the battleship is the remnants of its escorting force, and the wrecks of Legion ships.
"But the thing is, he specifically told me he was Perseus."
"But Perseus is dead!"
"Exactly."
Rubin is quiet as he rotates to bring his broadside to bear on the cruiser, and a dozen grasers - each individually more massive and far more powerful than a laser of the same size - rip it apart in a display which seems just a little over the top in your opinion.
"We need to get back to the Chapterhouse as soon as possible." He decides, and issues orders to the other Knight-Brothers hanging in space nearby, keeping watch for more Legion ships. All of their escort flotillas, you notice, are heavily depleted. "This is... worrying news, to say the least."
You send a pulse of agreement, and settle in to watch as your Knight-Brothers start to form up in preparation to make a jump. That can't be right, though. It looks like you're back in the system before the one you encountered your comrades in?"
"Oh, yes." Rubin's icon bobs up and down in your virtual display in an imitation of a nod. "They managed to get to the jump point before we could stop them. Still, no harm done, right?"
"Right." The companionable silence settles once more until Rubin breaks it as you prepare to jump,
"So how come you're all the way out here, anyway? We got your drones, but I haven't had time to look at the data we pulled."
"Well, I was doing picket duty when-"
You're so deep in discussion with Rubin that you barely notice the jump.

cont.

>>1898636
Almost a full week later, just over two months after your first sighting of the massive Legion battlefleet, you finally return to the Chapterhouse. Despite Rubin informing you that (in no small part due to your warning) that the Legion ships were stopped despite minor losses, a part of you expected to see the Chapterhouse in ruins. But no, it's as busy as always- moreso, actually, with a good dozen more construction slips added to the main production centre around Forge, the singular massive gas giant.

Only Rubin is with you, the rest of his squadron having peeled off several systems ago to meet up with some more Order reinforcements.
"Righto, I sent word ahead with your logs, and the Grand Master says he'd like to see you, but it can wait until you meet with Flavius if you wish." Rubin reports, showing you the order from the jump point buoy.

>You'd like to get a new ship as soon as possible, talk to Flavius first.
>You need to make sure the Grand Master got your logs as soon as possible. You can sort out a new ship later.

>>1898686
>>You need to make sure the Grand Master got your logs as soon as possible. You can sort out a new ship later.

>>1898686
>You need to make sure the Grand Master got your logs as soon as possible. You can sort out a new ship later.

>>1898686
>You need to make sure the Grand Master got your logs as soon as possible. You can sort out a new ship later.

>>1898686
>>You need to make sure the Grand Master got your logs as soon as possible. You can sort out a new ship later.

>>1898686
>You need to make sure the Grand Master got your logs as soon as possible. You can sort out a new ship later.

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>>1898686
>See the Grand Master first.

You think it over, but... It's probably more important to debrief with the Grand Master, and even if he says he doesn't mind, you don't really want to keep him waiting!
"Righto," Rubin replies when you inform him of your choice, and the spaceborn metal mountain that is a Behemoth-class battleship starts falling in-system. "After all," He adds, "You're the hero today, eh?"

That pleasant thought accompanies you for a bit, but you're also far too interested in Forge and its hundreds of artificial satellites. Rubin angles a little closer without saying anything, and you marvel for a bit at the scale of construction. Usually, the Order needs no more than perhaps twenty ships a year, usually no larger than frigates. For all the horrors that it had fought over the centuries after the Fall, few marauding aliens or insane cults can really stand up to even a squadron of Order cruisers. But now, the Order is engaged in a full-scale war, with the production coming online to match. You can't guess at the actual production rates, but they must be immense.

Really, the problem is that an AI is extremely difficult to create- perhaps one every twenty or thirty years, and despite all the power and armour of any Order ship, casualties do occasionally occur. Before your first encounter with the Legion, the Order had... a bit over two dozen AIs, you're pretty sure. And that limits how many individual task forces that the Order can put into space. In fact, Rubin mentioned that the dquadron you saw when you first translated into the system was the remnants of three different fleets, who had been fighting for at least a week. Honestly, you can't help but feel a little worried, especially in light of what you found on your 'recon mission'.

As you pass Forge, you shoot off a message to Flavius to give him a heads-up, and return your attention to the rest of the system. Instead of the usual light forces stationed around, there are actually two whole patrolling fleets, each with a battleship, ten to fifteen cruisers, and attendant screening elements. Cruisers have never really been used as automated escorts before, simply because there's no point. Not until the Legion showed up, at least. Leaving that cheery thought aside, you chat a little with Rubin about the changes. After all, you were stationed on picket duty for six whole months before you even encountered that Legion fleet, and the place has changed a lot in eight or so months. Rubin approves of the change, though, commenting that not only was it necessary, "I probably wouldn't have a battleship otherwise."

cont.

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>>1899288
If nothing else, however, at least the Grand Master seems happy to see you. As soon as Rubin enters orbit around the Chapterhouse, a small intrasystem cutter docks to take your core onboard. In short order, you have a body again, if only to inhabit while Rubin gets back to his duties. You bid your friend farewell, and the battleship gradually boosts back out of orbit.

"Now then, my boy." Grand Master Turtullian of the Order of Radiant Light is like a sun in your virtual environment. Older (and wiser) than any other Knight-Brother or Abbot of the Order, he nevertheless tones it down- a surprising gesture of respect, considering you essentially abandoned your post. "First of all, I suppose I should tell you off for haring off on your own. Don't do it again, y'hear?"
"Of course, Grand Master." You try to keep a lid on your nervousness. Why were you made with emotions?
"Good. The next order of business, of course, is to congratulate you on your sterling work. Your recon data is hardly light reading, but it is deadly important. On top of that, if you hadn't gotten off your warning, we would have been completely blind-sided and I probably wouldn't be talking to you now. Instead, we still lost one of our Order, but that seems a small price to pay when it comes to the loss of everything we have built. I have already looked at what you brought back, and rest assured, we will be launching attacks on as many Legion-held systems as possible in the coming months." He pauses, as if inviting a reply.

>Ask about the Legion assault and the Knight-Brother who was lost.
>Ask about the new construction.
>Ask about what the Grand master is planning next.
>Ask about how Olympus and other humans in the sector are holding up.
>Write-in question.

In the interests of time, choose two questions only.

>>1899375

>Ask about the Legion assault and the Knight-Brother who was lost.
>Ask about the new construction.

>>1899375
>>Ask about the Legion assault and the Knight-Brother who was lost.
>>Ask about how Olympus and other humans in the sector are holding up.

>>1899375
>Ask about the Legion assault and the Knight-Brother who was lost.
>Ask about how Olympus and other humans in the sector are holding up.

I feel the level of construction and the immediate future are pretty self-evident. So show respect for our brothers, allies and charges by inquiring about them.

>>1899375
>>Ask about the Legion assault and the Knight-Brother who was lost.
>>Ask about how Olympus and other humans in the sector are holding up.

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>>1899375
>Legion sexual assault and the squishy humies.

Your relief at not actually being chewed out is so that you can't really think of anything at first, so you go with the obvious. "So what happened, when they attacked? Which of our Knight-Brothers was taken?" The Grand Master doesn't reply for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts.
"It came when we were expecting victory, of course. This... invasion, seemed to be the work of some maltech cult, as it always seems to be, and we- no, I, for it is I that am at fault for not expecting it- had little forces based here. When your message arrived, we had a few days to arrive, at most, but, perhaps most importantly, we knew which jump point they were coming in from."
"So you ambushed them?"
"Well, I didn't, of course. Abbot Zusya did, as he was in-system for repairs, as well as two other Knight-Brothers. They took everything we had, and waited." The virtual environment displays an the Order fleet hanging ten thousand kilometres from the jump point- actually more ships than the incoming Legion. However, there is only a single battleship, twenty-something cruisers, over two hundred destroyers, and the rest smaller escort frigates and corvettes, the smaller of which don't even carry torpedo tubes. The fleet continues to rest in space between you and the Grand Master, with an icon indicating the jump point. "I suppose it would be better to let you watch." He comments.
At first there is no change at all, then suddenly the Legion fleets bursts into space right on target, flaring with Cherenkov radiation as they translate back down into n-space. The Order ships fire first, as the Legion fleet waits to get its bearing, hundreds on hundreds of lasers and grasers flicking across space at the speed of light. A swathe of the smaller Legion ships simply disappear, and on the heels of the energy barrage come the torpedoes. But by this point, the Legion ships have cleared their sensors and are firing back, burning green plasma leaping across the distance almost as fast as the lasers. The lighter Order ships take similar damage, many of them simply disappearing, and even as the torpedoes start detonating, sending bomb-pumped x-rays into the Legion ships, it's not enough. Ship are ship on both sides are cut down, but the Legion capital ships prove simply too much of an asset. The other two Knight-Brothers inhabiting cruisers are ordered away by Zusya when they take too much damage, and it's then you suspect the ending of this horrific, point-blank, mutual annihilation, but you simply cannot look away. Abbot Zusya's battleship, methodically and assisted by the ever-decreasing remains of the Order fleet, punch each Legion cruiser and battleship out of space until every Order ship is destroyed. The remaining Legion ships, a couple of battleship, few cruisers, and ten or so destroyers, take their time pounding Zusya's body into slag before turning and boosting for the Chapterhouse.

cont.

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>>1899549
>Legion sexual assault

>>1899549
"But how did y-"
"Wait and watch, my child."
The Grand Master zooms out on the display, encompassing the entire system, and you watch in satisfaction as the Order reinforcements that jumped in while Zusya was still fighting to his last breath come swooping in. Caught far from the jump point and with nowhere near the delta-v to reverse course, the Legion ships appear to try and make a run for the Chapterhouse when they finally see the reinforcements, presumably hoping to do some kind of damage before they're cut down. That's about when the massive space-bourne laser stations built into hollowed-out asteroids and towed into position at the Chapterhouse's Lagrange points open fire. They only get to hit once, of course, because after that the Legion ships start evasive manoeuvrers. But then that's hardly consolation for them, because they punch clean through both of the battleships- literally coring them like apples.
The remaining Legion ships then run the gauntlet of the Chapterhouse's actual defenses, such as launchers that fire torpedoes far heavier than any ship could ever mount. Exactly three destroyers survive, somehow, and do no damage whatsoever before they each take a torpedo up their tail.

As the footage comes to an end, you feel the curious urge to take a deep breath.
"Truly a shame about Abbot Zusya." The Grand Master comments. "A steadfast Knight-Brother and a wise Abbot."

>Boast
>Neutral
>Polite

>>1899599
>Polite

>>1899599
>>Polite

>>1899599
>>Polite

>>1899599
>Polite

"I can't say I agreed with him on everything, but he was certainly very brave." You reply diplomatically, and that seems to please the Grand Master, though you're also pretty certain he knows how you really feel.
"Yes, well. To answer your other question, we got to most of the other inhabited worlds in the sector in time. Eight systems in total were scoured clean of human life, unfortunately."
Including, of course, Avalon, you think to yourself. If only you'd been there sooner... perhaps you could have gotten help, at least.
"In any case, Olympus is the most advanced world in the sector, and Quartermaster Flavius tells me they're making great strides in technology. I even authorised a modest scientific mission there and I understand that Flavius is quite happy with the results. He can tell you more, I'm sure. The Olympians have been assisting us, however, mostly with flank security. Not having to worry about them has helped free up forces to picket and protect the remaining inhabited worlds in the sector." Well, that's a relief. It's nice to know the people whose planet you defended didn't do anything inconsiderate like die.
"I see. Thank you, Grand Master."
"That's quite alright, my boy. Now, I'm sorry to hurry you, but we don't have any time to waste. You're going to need a proper ship if you're to do much good. Flavius will have something for you, no doubt, but as you've shown such a predilection to working on your own, he also has some special missions I need undertaken."
"Yes, sir!" You wonder what Flavius has thought up now.
"Now shoo, I need to read out the rest of your logs and have a think of our next move." With that, you align yourself for the Forge and light up the cutter's drive. It's small, but the cutter is itself barely more than the drive. You'll be there in no time. "Oh, and Dauntless?"
"Yes?"
"It's good to have you back, my boy."

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>>1899836
And that is this week's episode of Fleets of God quest! Despite the difficulties of last night, I think it went quite well. As always, you can check my twitter for when things go live, and bully me on ask.fm if you want to ask me about things.

https://twitter.com/Pixel_Anon
https://ask.fm/PixelAnon

>>1899861
Thank you for running pixel.

>>1899861
>>1899945
missed it all ;.;

>>1899861
Man, sorry I missed so much. Suck a lovely quest