>>3559553
“Where would we go?” you ask. “We’re exposed to the elements outside. We could get sick or get dumped on by artillery.” She nods, understanding that completely. “Plus, this ship is our best shot at getting some kind of help.”

“I know. I’m just starting to hate being cooped up in here.” She slaps your arm. “Tell your Wife to build you a palace or some shit.” You just might at this rate. At least a freshly built palace won’t haunt you.

Rutledge opens the door into the medbay. He looks as smug as ever infuriatingly. He walks on over to you two, tugging on the ends of his gloves as he whispers, “I sent Nielson and Delta down along with Hood and Grimshaw. They’ll be trying again to get some comms back up. I’ll head down there in fifteen with more people, make sure nothing sneaks up on them.” At least he’s proactive. “We gonna talk about last night?” he asks. “Because the word’s already got out.”

“What word?” asks Graves.

“The ship is frakking haunted, buddy,” says Rutledge. Haunted? “People want out. It’s bad enough dealing with the Lizards outside. People don’t want to deal with ghosts and shit.”

Graves rubs her hands, smirking a bit. “Depends on the ghost.” You glower at her. Is she really making those kinds of jokes right now? She looks at you. “What? I’m entitled to my fantasies.”

> “We can’t just abandon the ship. We’re not going anywhere.”
> “Let’s get everyone together, we’ll talk it out.”
> “Maybe we should flex our legs outside a little bit.”
> Other

Welcome back to No One Gets Left Behind. To recap, after a successful raid on a Lizard artillery position along with killing one of their Raptor Champions, you returned back to the ship for some celebrations, only to find Tierney missing. You found her again near catatonic scratching on the floor that something downstairs on the ship got out. Mysteries abound.

As per usual, I'm leaving the vote up overnight so go ahead and vote in. We'll start it up in full around 6PM EST tomorrow when I get home from work.

The previous thread is here: >>3527249

And the archive is here: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=No+One+Gets+Left+Behind

I haven't archived #18 just yet but I'll do so when I get home from work.

>>3559556
>> “Let’s get everyone together, we’ll talk it out.”

>>3559556
>> “Let’s get everyone together, we’ll talk it out.”

>>3559556
>“Let’s get everyone together, we’ll talk it out.”

>>3559553
>Though. I noticed something weird in her bloodstream. It’s not like it’s anything big taking over her blood cells or anything.”
I swear to god Survive, if we're slowly transforming into a dinosaur or an alien I'm labelling you as a scalie.

> “Let’s get everyone together, we’ll talk it out.”

“Let’s get everyone together,” you say. “We’ll talk it out. See what their opinion is.” Truth be told, you do understand their fear. But this is a hard target. The Lizards both don’t know about this location and it’s hopefully proof against artillery. If you have enough food and water in here, you could probably outlast them waiting for reinforcements to come when you get the call out for help. Abandoning this location should only be done as a last resort. Or if there’s something down there that’s sufficiently dangerous that staying here is simply not worth it.

Rutledge says, “We’ll get everyone downstairs.” You nod at him. “And hey. We need to tackle this now. No dawdling about, okay?” He steps out of the medbay, pointing to you. “see you down there, okay?”

Once he’s gone, you sigh deeply. Ugh. This is the last thing you need right now.

Graves rubs her eyes. “I’ll go ahead and get down there,” she says. She pats your arm. “Go ahead and wake Tierney and Tombs. Joffrey er…” She looks at Joffrey. He simply lies there. He’s awake. But he’s definitely not saying anything. “He can stay up here, don’t worry.”

With that, Graves steps over to wake up Tombs. You walk on over and gently poke Tierney in the cheek. She grumbles quietly, holding her head as she starts groaning in pain and misery. Probably the hefty hangover. You’re not sure Graves saw it worth it to tell you how much she drank last night. But you can guess a whole lot. Heck, there’s a chance she was probably making all that up when she was drunk and everything else was for attention. She opens her eyes, looking at you. “… mornin’,” she mutters.

“Morning,” you say. “You alright?” She nods. “Listen, I’ll cut to the chase. We’re going downstairs with the entire crew to discuss living here. You’re not the only one here who thinks this place is haunted.”

She looks at you, some terror in her eyes, but mostly compounded by some confusion. She looks down at the floor, then back at you and says, “I’d rather we not.”

“I know,” you say. She sits up, hugging her legs underneath the blanket. “Look, it’s… it’s difficult I think to leave this place. But I’d like to hear your opinion-“

>>3561122
“We gotta get out of this place,” she says firmly. That was quick. She blinks, her lips quivering a bit. “We gotta get off this planet.” She scoots closer to you, looking you dead in the eye. You did promise her you’d get her out.

“Listen, you don’t have to head downstairs if you don’t want to,” you say. “I’d like someone to watch Joffrey anyway.” She nods, completely understanding and probably also relieved too. “But um… listen I’m sorry I wasn’t down there to protect you, Tierney.”

She sighs. “It wasn’t your fault. I was-… I was drunk. And I did some stupid things. I was just trying to… make myself feel a little better and it caused this.” She looks away, pulling her blanket over her shoulder. “I know you’re probably sick of being my frakking caretaker.”

> “A little. But only because I know you’re better than this.”
> “I’m not. Don’t worry.”
> “Yeah, actually. I am.”
> Other

>>3560090
You know, it didn't even cross my mind as a potential idea but now it has.

>>3561123
>"I'm sick of worrying. I'm not sick of you."

>You know, it didn't even cross my mind as a potential idea but now it has.
Scalie

>>3561123
>> “A little. But only because I know you’re better than this.”

>>3561123
>> “A little. But only because I know you’re better than this.”

>>3560090
...

I am not wholly opposed to this on a limited scale. It would solve a lot of problems very quickly.

> “A little. But only because I know you’re better than this.”

“A little. I’m sick of worrying. I’m not sick of you.” Tierney looks at you, some surprise in her eyes. Is she really so surprised at this point? You could’ve just dumped her and left her at so many points yet here she is. “I know you’re better than this, Tierney. You just have to conquer it.”

Tierney sighs, shivering a bit under the blanket. “I know.” You put your hand on her shoulder, squeezing it a little to let her know you’re there. She nods slowly, a frown upon her face.

“Chin up,” you say. You stand up and say, “Keep the place running while we’re gone. We shouldn’t be too long down there. If anything happens, you come running, okay?” She nods, firmly. “I’m trusting you, okay?”

“O-… Okay.” She steels herself, clenching her blanket tightly. “I’ll do my best.” You know she will.

And that kind of terrifies you.

…

…

“Alright, alright, settle down, settle down.” Not only were people scared out of their wits, they were also hungover as hell. So this wasn’t exactly an agreeable crowd to begin with. Rutledge calms everyone down as they sit and stand around. You could see Levy and Smitty by the door, Nielson sitting with Delta by one of the big black boxes, Wexley, Hood, Connell, Grimshaw, and Godwin sitting on the floor while Graves, Stoakes, Early, and Whitney stand against the wall. Bryce and Banner stand around on the other side, watching and waiting. And in the back, Burke and Morrison watch as well with Tombs. Rutledge gets everyone’s attention, holding his hand up. “Come on, people. I know everyone’s scared.”

“We ain’t scared,” says Godwin. “We just don’t wanna share a ship with a bunch of freaky ghosts.”

“It ain’t ghosts,” says Wexley. “It’s some weird grey goo shit and something that apparently got free and did this frakking thing.” He points down to the floor. Tierney’s knife engravings were still there. “We got enough to worry about outside, but frak I’d rather take my chances out there.”

“Yeah,” says Hood. “Least I know the Lizards will either just eat me, torture me, or kill me. Who knows what these things will do us.”

Whitney rolls her eyes. “This wouldna happened if ye hadn’t come by! I woulda been nice and safe!”

“And lonely as frak you frakking dyke!” Grimshaw shouts at her.

“Who ya callin’ dyke you piss for brains!?” Whitney screams back.

“Settle down!” shouts Graves. “Rut! Daddy! Come on!”

> “I know everyone’s scared. But we gotta deal with this. Better in here than out there.”
> “Look. Let’s put it to a vote. Those who want to stay, those who don’t care, and those who want to take their chances outside.”
> “We can step outside for a bit, fine. But this ship is our best bet at escaping.”
> Other

>>3561369
>> “Look. Let’s put it to a vote. Those who want to stay, those who don’t care, and those who want to take their chances outside.”
Want to see the general mood first then we can decide.

>>3561369
>> “Look. Let’s put it to a vote. Those who want to stay, those who don’t care, and those who want to take their chances outside.”

>>3561369
Well, first I think we need to powwow and figure out every possible resolution. Regardless of if it's a good or a bad one. And then we need to figure out what kind of order people would prefer to do those in.

>>3561369
> “I know everyone’s scared. But we gotta deal with this. Better in here than out there.”

The military is NOT a democracy. We make it clear our position and that's that.

Honest to god, we're soldiers. The Dominion has encountered alien species of all shapes and sizes, but you all see something a little spooky and all of the sudden we're being assailed by ghosts. Toughen up, all of you. Whatever is crawling in this ship can't be any worse than what we have got to go through.

I suggest we make arrangments for a incursion into the ship to clear it out. I say we take EVERYONE.

I'd love to get this last post out but it's getting late and I can't quite, so we'll leave it for overnight and I'll let you guys have the night to discuss it. We'll be back in the morning and we'll do it then. So sorry for the delay.

>>3561510
Supporting

>>3561510
+1

>>3561510
It's a pile of goo. We've never seen it before, but okay. I'll support this for the keks once people start complaining. We're becoming the people we killed.

>>3561369
>> “Look. Let’s put it to a vote. Those who want to stay, those who don’t care, and those who want to take their chances outside.”

>>3562046
To be honest whether we stay or go outside we should do a sweep of the place anyway since it's our only chance of contacting anyone.

>>3561369
>> “Look. Let’s put it to a vote. Those who want to stay, those who don’t care, and those who want to take their chances outside.”

>>3561510
+1

>>3561510
sure

>>3561510
Finally, someone who gets it.

> “I know everyone’s scared. But we gotta deal with this. Better in here than out there.”

“Listen up,” you say. Everyone looks at you, quietening down. “We’re soldiers, okay? I know most of us have been drafted. But we’ve tackled bigger and better than this. The Dominion has tackled bigger and better than us. Just because it’s a little spooky shouldn’t shake us. I know you’re all scared. But we have to deal with this. Better in here than out there.”

“We don’t even know what’s down here with us,” says Bryce. “It really says something when the giant frakking snake is probably the most reliable thing down here.”

“I know.” Everyone seems quiet, not wanting to voice dissent but not really wanting to support the idea of staying in here much longer. “Now listen. It’s better in here than out there. Out there, we fight or die. In here, we can at least rest, we have a way to contact command if Nielson can get it running.” You snap your fingers, pointing to him and Delta. “You can get it running, right?”

“I-…” He hesitates. You stare at him. Don’t make you a liar, damn it. “Yeah, of course.”

“There it is,” you say. “We have no other way to call for help than for this ship.”

“What about that Orbital Relay that Cope had?” asks Hood. “I mean, I know the guy died and everything but you know, we could always try and go back and look for it.”

Morrison, the one with the most experience of knowing what it took to get here seeing as how he was injured on the way here, glares at Hood. “We’d have to go through kilometers of enemy territory to find it. If we even find it.” Hood glares at Morrison, as does Grimshaw. “I mean. Safe to say, I agree with Boss here. I’d rather be in here than out there.”

“Same,” says Tombs. “We have food, we have water, we have shelter. Those are essential to our survival. Without shelter, we’re exposed.” Stoakes nods, agreeing too. Graves folds her arms, sighing deeply and quietly. Again, no protests from anyone. Just a general hesitance.

Rutledge places his hands on his hips. “Does anyone want to say no? I’d rather we not force anyone to stay in here if they don’t want to. We’re not making our the downstairs after all.” No answers back. He slaps your arm. “Tell you what, buddy. Maybe we can smoke the bastard out instead. What do you think?” That immediately gets everyone’s attention again.

“No way!” says Levy. He points to you and Rutledge. “We’d have to go room by room! Someone’s gonna get frakking killed! Like me! Remember what happened last time we were down here!?” You do. And it did look very painful. “I mean, I still don’t feel right after what happened to me!”

“Well why didn’t you frakking say something to me!?” Graves shouts to him. “You shoulda told Tombs and I you idiot!” Levy quietens down, clearly distressed.

>>3562595
“Hold on, hold on.” Wexley raises his hand, getting everyone’s attention. “… We have Godwin’s flamethrower, alright? And we have a shitload of explosives. Bear with me a second.” He stands up, walking up to you two. “Now, we don’t know how big this ship is. We know some of it is flooded, hopefully most of it. But, there’s still a lot of rooms to cover. There’s vents we can’t get into that that grey goo thing can get into. And who knows what got out that scared the bejeezus out of Tierney.”

“What are you proposing?” you ask.

Wexley places his hands on his belt. “That we work smart, not hard. We set a fire down here. Get some logs, turn this place into a giant smoker. We suffocate anything down here of oxygen first. If it tries to come up for air. The only ways it come up are right into our little rooms. We have enough people to cover every angle of escape on the top floor where there's only that hallway and the labs and the closets.” Everyone starts listening intently to Wexley, now clearly interested in a plan that doesn't involve room clearing and the possible threat of death. He points to Nielson. “We have welding tools, right?”

“The little arc welders on Joffrey’s belt, yeah, but-“

“We weld over some- not all- the air vents. We start a fire. We choke out the organics. Hell, we could probably suffocate that Titanoboa too.”

“There’s a problem with that,” says Rutledge. “There’s clearly another way out of this ship. There’s no way that Titanoboa just grew in there. There’s probably a cave somewhere we still don’t know about that leads into this ship. There’s a chance that if we do suffocate it, it’ll just escape out that way and not right into our hands.”

“And if we do start a fire downstairs, how are we supposed to put it out?” says Graves. “It’s a stupid idea.”

> “Stupid enough to work. It’s risky, but I’d rather we take a risk rather than put people’s lives on the line right now.”
> “Let’s hold off on that Wexley. Let’s just give ourselves some time to think and regroup. Then we can formulate a plan.”
> “Too many variables. The most reliable plan is to clear the downstairs room by room.”
> Other

>>3562604
>> Other
We need to look for that cave first and foremost. We struck a blow to our enemies, now we focus inwards. We'll take some of our dino friends and go looking around it, and go from there. For now, no one goes down without at least a group of 5, and let me make this clear, no one gets left behind down there.

>>3562604
>Someone finds that fucking cave while the rest prep the site for Operation Holy Smokes.

>>3562626
>>3562663
Supporting. But once we find that cave, what are we going to do?

> Other

“Well. First and foremost. We look for that cave. We try and find it. We focus inwards now. We struck a blow against the Lizards and now we gotta try and regroup and figure out our next move. We can take some of our Deino friends and go looking. Most of you will stay here. Down here, no less than five people down here at a time. No one gets left behind down here. You all get that?” They all nod, understanding. “I just want to remind everyone. I know we try and have these group talks and everything. But in the end, this isn’t a democracy. I expect the best from all of you to help me and Rutledge make decisions for everyone. We have to work together here. No more infighting, no more gossip, none of that. We good?” A few murmurs of yes and sure here and there. “Fine. Right. Nielson.”

“I’ll get to work,” he says. He stands up, as does Delta. People start moving about, trying to figure out who’s going to stay down and who’s going to go up.

Rutledge says, “Right. Tell you what.” He nudges you. “I’ll go look for the cave. I can take Burke with me.” Burke steps up, hearing her name called. “We’ll search from the outside on.”

“You sure?” you ask.

Burke says, “I don’t mind. But I’d rather more people come along. That cave could be anywhere. It could be deep behind enemy lines for all we know.”

“Hence why it’s safer to go in a pair,” says Rutledge. He looks at you. “You agree, right?”

> “Sure. Good luck to you two.”
> “I better go instead with you, Rutledge.”
> “Nah. I can take Burke with me. You stay here and watch the fort, Rutledge.”
> Other

>>3562836
>> Other
Have Rutledge and Burke take two others with them, Burke did say she wants more people along for the search.

>>3562836
I honestly feel like we can't trust Burke anymore. it's entirely possible that she told us to be suspicious of Godwin and mentioning Rutledge protecting us in order to get us to trust Rutledge more. This is not the first time she has been seen buddying up with Rutledge too. Maybe I'm just imagining things.

>>3562843
Supporting. We should choose some neutral folks.

>>3562843
Supporting

>>3562843
+1

> Other

“Take two others with you,” you say. Rutledge frowns a bit, folding his arms. “I dunno, Wexley and Grimshaw I guess. They can help.”

Rutledge says, “I don’t know about-“

“Perfect,” Burke says. She nods to you, her hands on her hips. “I’ll let them know. We’ll get scouting out today and be back before nightfall. If we’re not back before then, don’t bother with a search party.”

You look at Burke as she walks away. “Hey, Burke. No one tell you no one gets left behind? You ain’t back by then, I’ll look for you myself.” She turns around to you, then rolls her eyes. “Don’t give me that. You’re just as important as everyone here. Now go on.” To that, she leaves. Rutledge nods to you, clearly displeased with packing on additional weight. But he’s definitely not saying anything. “Bring her back safe, okay?”

“I’ll do my best,” he says. He better. And to that, he leaves too.

Nielson comes up to you and says, “Me and Delta will be down here trying to get comms running. It’s still going to take time and we’re definitely not going to be finished today that’s for sure. But we’ll do our best.” He better. This is your only hope for escape after all. Still, you’re proud of him for taking up this job. “And of course, I’ll make sure some people are down here with me, so don’t worry.”

“Right.”

Well, now that that’s that. Well.

What now?

> Remain with Nielson. Best to guard him a bit.
> Walk and talk with Graves as you go back upstairs to the medbay.
> Get some fresh air outside, maybe see how the Wife is doing.
> Other

>>3563087
> Remain with Nielson. Best to guard him a bit.
I'd rather focus on the upcoming mission.

>>3563087
> Get some fresh air outside, maybe see how the Wife is doing.

Gotta check in with our kids. maybe teach them fetch.

>>3563087
>> Get some fresh air outside, maybe see how the Wife is doing.
Check with the WIFEY

>>3563087
>> Remain with Nielson. Best to guard him a bit.

>>3563087
>> Remain with Nielson. Best to guard him a bit.
See if he can try to access other systems on the ship; maybe we can find out what the heck was kept in here.

> Remain with Nielson. Best to guard him a bit.

You decide to remain with Nielson and Delta. Everyone else except for Morrison, Tombs, and Connell stays down with you. Nielson kneels down by one of the boxes, saying, “Delta and I have been thinking. These machines might not work physically from touch the way our machines work.”

“How so?” you say.

“They might be uh… mentally activated,” he says. Mentally activated? “You know, like a psychic or some shit. Problem is, none of us are psychic. So. I might have to cross that theory off the list. But, we’re making progress at least. We’ve gotten a few things going but none of them work for any longer than a few minutes. I think what’s happening is that they’ve been off for so long, that they can’t really survive being on anymore for longer than a few minutes. We might need to do something about it but I really don’t know what.”

“What about other systems on the ship?” you ask. “Can we try and maybe get ourselves cameras or something that can tell us what’s being kept in here?” Delta chirps, pointing to one of the boxes and shaking his head. You say, “Ah, come on. Don’t give me that.” Delta chirps that he will give you that. “You’re the most familiar with this tech. I know you aren’t –that- familiar but just the fact that you have some basic idea of it means you’re our go-to guy. So shut up and stop whining.” Delta snarls, tapping one of the boxes.

Nielson stares at you. “D-… Did you just have a conversation with Delta?”

You blink. Huh. You guess you did.

Well. You won’t dwell on that for long. “Look, Nielson, what can you do? Or rather, what can I do for you?”

He folds his arms, thinking. “Well, I got an idea. Maybe we could catch one of those mini-drones, give it an autopsy and see how that works. Work our way up from there. Those things seem capable of repairing this tech.” That’s a good start, yeah. “I saw one or two on our way down here so we shouldn’t be going very far anyway.”

Morrison steps up, curious. “You want us to go bee hunting?”

“It’s not bee hunting. They won’t hurt. Right?” He looks at Delta. Delta shrugs in confusion. “Er… Yeah.”

> “We’ll put it off for later.”
> “Guess we’ll go a hunting then.”
> Other

> “Guess we’ll go a hunting then.”

Tis time to make honey

>>3563458
>> “Guess we’ll go a hunting then.”

>>3563458
> “Guess we’ll go a hunting then.”

>>3563458
>> “Guess we’ll go a hunting then.”

>>3563458
>> “Guess we’ll go a hunting then.”

> “Guess we’ll go a hunting then.”

“Guess we’ll go a hunting then,” you say. You fold your arms, then look at Morrison. “You ever hunt birds?”

“Once,” he says. “And I didn’t catch the bird and I got pecked repeatedly by fledglings.” Oh. Right.

Connell says, “Ah, how hard can it be, right? It’s just a mini-drone.”

…

…

You wish Connell hadn’t asked how hard it would be because the next thing you know, all of you are panting and sweating after having to basically to try and grab one out of the air. All they do is float out of your reach and speed into one of those ports in the walls and ceilings that refuse to open when you try to pry them open with your fingers.

Right, this is a lot harder than it seems.

“Okay.” You sigh. “This is harder than it looks. Anyone got ideas?”

“They like to repair damage,” says Tombs. “Maybe put a dent in something then ambush it.”

“I mean, we could open one of these ports, right?” asks Morrison. “That’d be easier!”

“We just tried, it didn’t work.” You sigh, thinking on it.

> Put some dents into a few things, see if it draws them out.
> Wait around. Maybe one will float by.
> Try and pry open the mini-drone ports.
> Other

Right, it's gotten late so I'm done for tonight. But go ahead and leave your votes in overnight and we shall return in the morning. Hope to see you then.

>>3563894
> Put some dents into a few things, see if it draws them out.

Could draw something else out, but hey it could be worth it.

>>3563458
Ah, finally learning to speak lizard.

>>3563894
>> Put some dents into a few things, see if it draws them out.
What could possibly go wrong?

>>3563898
Night Survive.

>>3563894
>> Put some dents into a few things, see if it draws them out.

> Put some dents into a few things, see if it draws them out.

You take the stock of your carbine and whack the wall. You look around. No response. Morrison immediately picks up on what you’re doing and then proceeds to toss his helmet down onto the floor. You all start banging and whacking on the walls, trying to summon mini-drones to come and fix the admittedly superficial dents that you’re causing. It’s like schoolkids who are inside during recess.

It culminates in Tombs firing a shot indoors, surprising you all. “Whoa! Tombs!” yells Nielson. “Call that shit out next time!”

“Sorry,” he says, not particularly so.

But that results in a port opening up and showing some mini-drones flying out. There they are! “Hold it!” you say. The mini-drones slowly fly down to your scratches and dings, then start zapping them with tiny blue beams to fix them up. “Alright, now!” Connell rushes one, trying to body slam it. The drone flies out of the way, and he simply flops down onto the floor. Morrison and Tombs try to grab some out of the air too. All of you whirl and run around, like trying to catch birds.

“Hey, that one’s mine!” says Morrison.

“Shut up, they’re all free, jackass!” Connell shouts back.

“Excuse me but…” You see Tierney out of the corner of your eye, stepping down the stairs. One of the mini-drones flies next to her, hovering by her head. She barely seems to notice it. “What the hell are you guys doing?”

> “Tierney. Don’t move.” Grab the drone next to Tierney!
> “Grab that drone, grab it!”
> “What does it look like!?”
> Other

>>3564925
>> “Tierney. Don’t move.” Grab the drone next to Tierney!
They like Tierney, oh no

>>3564925
> “Grab that drone, grab it!”

>>3564925
Come on guys!

>block the escape ports and catch the buggers with nets

> EVERYTHING

“Tierney. Don’t move.” You point to Tierney. She blinks, looking at the Mini-drone to her right. “Don’t move.” Morrison, Connell, and Tombs step around you, trying to get around the sides so if it bolts, it can’t escape. She stays stock still, waiting. You all come around, closer to her. She stays there, shaking, waiting for your next move.

…

The drone continues to float there, apparently more attentive to Tierney than anything else.

“Now! Grab it!” Connell jumps at it, managing to actually get a hold of it. You all hurry to come up to Connell and help him. He squeezes it against his body. Morrison comes down and hugs him, moving to press the mini-drone between their bodies. But it quickly squeezes out between them, flying right into Morrison’s face and sending him flopping back.

“Ah!” Morrison holds his nose. “He frakking got me, the bitch!”

“Close the port!” you shout, pointing to the port on the wall. A few crates are set up by it. “Tierney!” Tierney sprints across the hall, running to it. She jumps up onto the crates and forces the port doors down. The mini-drone tries to fly into it and ends up slamming against the wall before flopping down onto the floor.

“There!” You jump down and hold it in your arms. Yes! It stops fighting. Haha! You got it! Tierney grins, smiling at you. You nod at her. She did good. Morrison comes over, looking at it. “We got him!”

…

…

The Mini-Drone was disabled with a quick blow to its top and was dismembered by Nielson and Delta. It was even more foreign in its insides than those balls that you saw. Barely anything inside of it resembled anything you could make in the Dominion. You all stand around Nielson and Delta as they go over each component. Delta explains that these Mini-Drones at least appear to be service workers of some kind, repairing the ship, keeping it running. However, the actual method of repair works like a 3D printer. There’s a set blueprint that it comes off of, then it basically prints the intact component over the damaged one. Weird, but it seems to work.

Nielson says, “If we get more of these guys-“

“No no,” says Connell, sweating profusely. “I ain’t doing that. Enough exercise for me.”

“Connell the first thing you need is some exercise,” says Morrison. Connell rolls his eyes, shaking his head as he walks to the door to guard it.

You look at Tierney. She definitely knows you want an explanation. “I came down to see what you guys needed. I heard we’re still staying in the ship so…”

> “I guess another hand guarding these Nielson and Delta won’t hurt.”
> “No no, back to the medbay with you. Don’t make me carry you there.”
> Other

>>3565316
> Other
>What does Graves or Tombs say about your condition? Should you be down here? If those two say you can go about, you can go about.

>>3565343
Support.

>>3565343
Support

> Other

“Did Graves or Tombs say you can go around?”

Tierney says, “Graves said I was free to move about. Just that I shouldn’t exert myself too much. I know last time I was down here things happened but I uh… I just want to see if I can help you guys.” You look at Tombs.

Tombs says, “I’ll keep an eye on her.” You nod. Great.

All that said however, Nielson and Delta start working something together out of the components from the Mini-Drone. Nielson says, “Right. We’re going to see if we can salvage its repair component. And if we can salvage that, we can probably get some of the things in here working. Once that’s done. We might have a chance at this.” That’s good, real good. “Thanks for your help, Boss.”

“No need to mention it,” you say. “Any idea on when we can have some progress?”

“Give us the day,” he says. “Maybe two days. We can probably at least get some systems on this ship working.” He smiles happily at you, gently bumping his fist on your arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you something out of this. I promise ya.”

“Don’t make promises if you know you can’t keep them,” you say back with a smirk. With that, Nielson starts going to work. Delta chitters at you, looking up at you. “Yes, Delta. I know. Just take care of him, would you?” He nods, snorting through his nose before going to work. He delicately picks up components with his claws, assembling and disassembling things carefully.

“I tell you something,” says Morrison. “Maybe the way things go down here, you’d think this place really was haunted.”

> Go outside and get some fresh air.
> Remain here. Maybe think about exploring around too.
> Head up to the Medbay. If you’re right, Graves might be checking on Levy.
> Other

>>3565681
>> Remain here. Maybe think about exploring around too.
Let's explore.

>>3565681
>Go outside and check with the Wife and Kids

>>3565681
P R O G R E S S
Maybe Delta is being so cooperative and sticking around like he is because he gets to do shit he likes doing with us, and also doesn't have to worry about getting eaten by one of the other lizards.

>>3565704
This

>>3565704
+1

>>3565704
>>3565810
>>3565997
>Getting attached to children in a warzone
It's going to end one way fellas. Let's just explore the spaceship.

> Other

…

…

You open the door leading outside and see the Wife fooling around with the kids a bit. At least, three of them. The Runt is probably still in the Medbay. The kids, Little Red, Orange, and Darko, all look up at you as soon as you arrive, swishing their tails and waiting for you to do something interesting. You look around and see all the gifts that were deposited have been placed around the stable. Meanwhile Godwin, Banner, and Bryce pull some leaves and weeds off the Land Rover and the Command Truck. Those things haven’t seen much use as of late now that you think about it.

The Wife snarls, stepping up to you. Aw, you know you’ve been neglecting her a little lately. You pat her muzzle. She remains calm, looking you in the eye with her lizard eyes. “Things have been tough lately,” you say. “Sorry.” She snorts, shaking her head. She probably doesn’t understand what you’re saying. You keep patting her muzzle, nodding to her.

Darko meanwhile tries to climb up on your leg. Hey! You gently bat him away. To that, Darko gently bites down on your finger. You flinch back and look at your hand. Blood! You look down. Darko bares his slowly growing teeth. Wow. These things grow –fast-.

The kids run around, laughing and chirping playfully as they expect you to join in with them. But before you even get a chance, Godwin comes up to you. “Hey, boss. I saw Rutledge and Burke take two guys and go hunting for the cave.”

“Yeah,” you say, looking at him. “Listen, Godwin. I want you to be ready when we go downstairs, okay? I’m thinking we can probably go on a little scouting trip later.”

“We could,” he says. “Though, I got something to talk to you about after we do that, maybe.”

“What’s that?” you ask.

He shrugs. “Don’t worry about it, not too important.” He winks at you, sneering as he goes back to working on the Land Rover. “Just between me and you though, okay, boss?” Yeah.

You squint. Godwin better not be playing you.

Unfortunately, this is where I gotta end it for the weekend. Thanks for reading and we shall be back this coming weekend too hopefully. I'll see you all then at the usual time and place. Good night.

>>3566056
Thanks for running. Also I sure as hell don't want to get into a one on one meeting with Godwin.

>>3566056
Thanks for running.

Optional Retort for Godwin:
> "I'll make sure to bring my grenades."

>>3566056
Short thread, but solid updates today OP.

>>3566056
Thanks for running Survive.

Finally making some progress on this ship.

>Repair drones interested in Tierney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybJWKZB0Erk&feature=youtu.be&t=314

>>3568932
Actually, if we had Tierney wound her palm, I wonder if the drones would fly right into her grasp.

After a bit of fooling around with the kids, you decided to get yourself ready to go downstairs again to explore a little. However, while you’re setting Darko down on the ground, someone nudges you. It’s Stoakes. “Hey, boss. Can I talk to you for a second?” You nod. She wears a bit of concern on her face. Something’s eating at her.

“Sure.” You walk towards the door and stop right before it. “What’s up, Stoakes?”

“It’s Tombs, I’m worried about him,” she says.

“Is he talking with God?” you ask, figuring that’s probably what it is. You wouldn’t be surprised if it were.

“I mean. Yeah. He is. But that’s not what I’m actually concerned about,” she says. She folds her arms, grimacing a bit. “He seems to think that Cope and Harrell were actually murdered by someone else.” Oh. Ooohhh… “He and I got to talking about it a bit last night before we heard what happened to Tierney. You don’t think that’s actually true is it?”

“Well I-“

“Of course not,” says Godwin. Stoakes stops, looking at Godwin as he approaches you two. “You know those two hated each other. Of course they shot each other up.”

“Yeah, but Harrell was so… I dunno.” She shrugs. Godwin shrugs back, hands on his belt and relaxing. “Hm. Nah, I- I guess you’re right, Godwin. Still.”

“Hey. We gotta stick together, Stoakes.” Godwin nudges her with his hand, smiling at her. Stoakes smiles back at him, genuinely. “Aside from Joffrey, we’re the only ones left of our platoon.”

“Right, Harrell and Horner and Bakker.” She frowns a bit. “But hey, we’ll make it I guess.” Godwin nods, he then nods to you too. Well. Smooth save there, buddy. “Anyway, sorry to bother you, boss. I just wanted to know but… yeah. It’s no biggie.”

“Don’t worry,” you say. Stoakes mockingly salutes you before stepping inside the ship. You look at Godwin. He smirks back at you, as if wondering if you’ll thank him.

> “What are you smiling at?”
> “Gee. Thanks.”
> Ignore him, go inside.
> Other

Welcome back to No One Gets Left Behind. As per usual, I'll leave the vote up overnight and I shall resume updates when I get back around 6PM EST. Hope to see you then.

>>3573777
>> “Gee. Thanks.”

>>3573777
>> “Gee. Thanks.”

>>3573777
"You handled that nicely."

Easy on the grudging thanks, folks. The man knows his social ties better than we do unless someanon starts posting an accurate relationship map every thread.

>>3573961
Supporting.

>>3573961
Switching to this.

>>3573961
sure

> Other

“You handled that nicely,” you say, folding your arms guardingly. Godwin beams, smiling happily. “I don’t imagine you two are close?”

Godwin says, “Oh, Stoakes is like a sister to me.” This is the first you’ve heard of this and honestly Stoakes might contradict that. “We’re tighter than hens in a hen house. Trust me.” You’re not sure you will on that. Still, he did handle that situation well. And hopefully Stoakes won’t ask again. “Granted, since I got your attention now.”

“I thought you said you wanted to talk after we did our thing downstairs?” you ask.

“Ah, we can walk and talk,” he says. “Since I imagine you’ll want me downstairs with you anyway.” Frankly, you were probably going to volunteer him for the job anyway. You and him walk inside. You look to the side and see Stoakes walking to the medbay. “Let me tell you though, Wexley’s idea is pretty bold. I actually like it.”

“It needs a lot of things working for it to even have a chance, but I won’t dismiss it outright,” you explain. Wexley’s smart, but it is a bit of an overconfident plan. Plus, there’s always the chance that unless you kill the Titanoboa now, if you smoke the downstairs out, you’ll just smoke out the Titanoboa. And given how tough it was fighting it earlier? You think you’d prefer the Rex. No wonder these Lizards have so many explosives and guns if this is what their wildlife is like. You come up to the stairwell.

The two of you walk down the stairs to see Tierney being followed by more of those Mini-drones. Tombs and Morrison watch curiously, completely baffled by it. There’s got to be at least five now following her. You step up towards her, and they immediately bug out and away. Tierney looks at you, also confused. “I swear, they followed me, I didn’t follow them.”

“I know,” you say.

Morrison looks at you, frowning. “Were you about to head up an exploration?”

> “Yeah. Let’s go.”
> “First I want to see what Godwin wants to talk about it.”
> “Not right now. Let’s give people some time to rest.”
> Other

>>3575184
> “Not right now. Let’s give people some time to rest.”
Though we should rest with Tierney and spend quality time and maybe guard her from the drones while she sleeps, or observe their actions.

Seems to be a quiet day today so I'll just call it a night and we can come back to it in the morning. Hope to see you there.

>>3575184
>> “Yeah. Let’s go.”

>>3575184
>> “Not right now. Let’s give people some time to rest.”
Nielson and friends are working downstairs, Rutt's group is looking for the cave, so I find no reason to go and cause a ruckus

>>3576014
Time to make Godwin play with the kids?

> “Not right now. Let’s give people some time to rest.”

“Not right now,” you say. “Let’s give people some time to rest first.” Morrison nods, a slight breath of relief coming from him. “Maybe later tonight. Right now let’s just focus on resting up, getting some food and water in us, then we can worry about the insides of the ship.”

Tombs nods. “If Godwin’s going to be down here, I’ll head back up to the medbay.” You nod. With that, he steps past you and Godwin, moving back up the stairs. You and Godwin glance at each other, unsure of Tombs’ motive. If he really is onto Cope and Harrell, things could get interesting. You’ll have to make sure that doesn’t spread too quickly.

You decide to sit down by the door near where Nielson and Delta work. They zap one of the boxes with a Mini-Drone laser, succeeding at nothing apparently. Morrison and Connell step inside too, watching them closely as they work. Godwin leans up against a wall, zoning out idly. You look at Tierney as she comes to sit down next to you. “You sure you’re okay?” you ask.

She nods. “Yeah. I mean. Aside from these Mini-Drones following me around everywhere.”

“Why is that?” you ask.

She shrugs. “I mean, I chased one of them down here but… I guess maybe they just have a vested interest in me.” Perhaps. Tierney sighs, hugging her legs. “Should I get re-examined?”

“On your own time,” you say. “For now, they don’t seem to want to hurt you.” Tierney nods, the usual look of doom and gloom on her face. “Gotta say though, maybe next time don’t drink so much.”

“Yeah. Learned my lesson,” she mutters. She blinks, then looks at you. “Can I ask you something?” You nod. Of course she can. She looks up at you, scooting closer to you. “So. I’ve been thinking about when we get off this planet. When I get back home to Madrigal and everything. I definitely want to be as far away as possible from this planet. Do you ever wonder about what you might want to do once you get back home?”

…

Actually. It hadn’t crossed your mind for quite a while. You know you want to go home but… Ḥ̷̨͐͋͐͜Ḁ̶̝̻̉͘ ̶̱̐̾Ň̴̯̾͛O̴͙͐̀ ̴̺̿́Y̵̧̽̒Ȯ̶̢̞̈́U̷̦͝ ̶͇̃́D̶̬͍̥͝O̴̭̽̀N̵̹͈͗̔'̸̠͔̂T̶̰̕

> “Getting home is the first step. Everything else, I’ll just make up as we go along.”
> “I mean, the farm life isn’t so bad. Boring, but it’s not bad.”
> “I don’t know.”
> Other

>>3576989
>> “I mean, the farm life isn’t so bad. Boring, but it’s not bad.”

>>3576989
>> “I mean, the farm life isn’t so bad. Boring, but it’s not bad.”

>>3576989
>> “I mean, the farm life isn’t so bad. Boring, but it’s not bad.”
Need more hands to help take care of a farm, if you know what I mean.

> “I mean, the farm life isn’t so bad. Boring, but it’s not bad.”

“I mean the farm life isn’t so bad,” you say. “Sure, a lot of hard work out in the field, not too much thanks from anybody. You just harvest, load, plant, plow, boom boom, etcetera. But it’s not bad. It’s stable.” Stable. That’s really the best way you can describe it at least. Stable. Your thoughts drift over to your days with Hal, away from your Mom and Dad, how the two of you would find time to go out in the woods and camp out and hunt. Those were good times. But being on the farm?

Well, truth be told, being here on this planet…

You shake your head, pressing your lips together. “That said, need a lot of hands to help take care of a farm,” you remark.

Tierney leans in, blinking. “Is that an invite to come live with you?”

“I never said anything like that,” you say. “Besides, you’re a city girl. You’ll go crazy on a planet like Hopewell. Nothing’s too developed, everything’s spaced out. You have to walk like an hour just to get to the nearest store.” Tierney stares at you, almost bemused by what you’re saying. She puts her hand on yours, smiling brightly. “It-“

A sudden screech blows out your helmet radios. You all shout and throw your helmets off. Ah! What the frak!? Tierney screams, holding her ears in pain. Godwin, Morrison, and Connell all shout in frustration and pain. “What the hell was that!?” yells Godwin.

That was like-

Wait. You look at Nielson.

He stands there by one of the black boxes, completely baffled. Delta too looks surprised as a Lizard can be.

…

You stand up, walking over. “Is it-“

“Okay, before you say anything,” he says. “No. That was just-… We were fiddling with it. I don’t know if it transmitted anything or not.”

“We can transmit now!?” Tierney runs up, hopeful.

>>3577205
“Now, now, hold on!” Nielson says, suddenly aware that now everyone thinks the comms are now up. Are they though? “Look.” All the others come together too, listening. “Let me explain. That was just the comms turning on and I guess pulsing something through our radios.” Tierney rubs her ears, grimacing still in pain. “Now, that means the comms…” He smiles. “They work!” Tierney gasps, holding her hands together. Morrison starts laughing, tears starting to come from his eyes. “No, no! Don’t start crying, Morrison! We can’t send anything yet! I need-“ He comes up to you. “I need more time to fix this.”

“How long?” you ask, eager now.

“I-…” He sighs. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” you ask.

“I mean-“ He sighs, frowning deeply. “I don’t know how to make these systems work. Sure we can get the Comms working. That doesn’t mean they’re on. Doesn’t mean I know how to actually breach atmosphere and send a signal to space. Doesn’t mean that the ship is even –capable- of sending messages out into space. A message would need to cross to the Fleet in exclusionary orbit outside the system. That’s a huge distance to cover!” Any joy and elation you felt are now suddenly sucked away by Nielson’s explanation. “And it’s not even guaranteed that they’ll even receive it. I-… I need more time to work on this.”

“Can you give me an estimate?” you ask.

Nielson looks at you. “Er-…”

> “Alright, forget the estimate. Keep working.”
> “No BS. How long?”
> “Judging by the look on your face, I’m guessing a really long time.”
> Other

>>3577209
>> “Alright, forget the estimate. Keep working.”
Though tell him not to work non-stop. Its detrimental to ones health and can slow progress

>>3577209
>> “Alright, forget the estimate. Keep working.”
This has just become priority number one. Now we know we actually have a chance.

We still have to do something about that hill.

>>3577209
>> “Alright, forget the estimate. Keep working.”

> “Alright, forget the estimate. Keep working.”

“Alright, forget the estimate,” you say. “Let’s just continue on. Do what you need to do. Don’t try to work non-stop.” You nudge Nielson on his shoulder, nodding to him. “I need you 100%, Nielson. You’re our best hope on this job.”

“Right.” He nods, looking at you all. Everyone stares at him, some elements of nervousness and hope in their eyes. “Okay.” He holds his hands up defensively. “I’ll work as hard as I can on this. Don’t you worry, Boss. You can count on me.” He doesn’t need to say that. You can rely on him. Hell, you’d trust him with your life. Nielson steps back and point to a box. You nod. With that, he gets back to work with Delta.

This is the best chance you have now. You fold your arms, sighing deeply.

Godwin smirks, looking at you. “Seems we might get home sooner than you think.” Yeah.

You pause. You just might. Ả̴̙̠N̵̢̥͕̾Ḑ̸́ ̴̯͔͂̿T̶̞̔̆̽Ḧ̵̡̰̃̎I̶͎̤̐̈́S̵̛̹̘̘ ̴̱̿̋̓M̸̪͆́͐Ä̶̳̟́Ḱ̸͇̒Ë̸̹́͠S̶͈̜̘̉̚ ̴̰̪̕Y̵̹̱̓O̴̞̔̕͝Ŭ̶̼ ̶̜͕͉̈́́H̴̗̖͚͑͂̉A̴̹̯͒͜P̸͚̀̿̇P̴͖̓̈Ŷ̵̹̎?̷̖͌̾̓

“Well. Hey!” Tierney steps in, forcing a smile on her face. “Three cheers for Nielson, right? Hip-hip!” No one responds. “… eh… okay. Um. Still, do your best, Nielson!” Nielson beams, smiling at her.

> “That said, let’s gather some troops and start an expedition downstairs.”
> “This calls for a few drinks in celebration.”
> “If you ever need any help, Nielson. Just ask.”
> Other

>>3577476
>> “If you ever need any help, Nielson. Just ask.”
Gotta say, in a way, I wouldn't want to leave either. We are god of the dinoes, we have everyone under our command, and it seems that we're in our element.

Maybe we shouldn't leave......

>>3577205
> “Alright, forget the estimate. Keep working.”
Maybe have a small celebration, keep morale up (and away from any thought of Harrell and Cope)

>>3577476
>> “If you ever need any help, Nielson. Just ask.”
> “That said, let’s gather some troops and start an expedition downstairs.”

> “If you ever need any help, Nielson. Just ask.”

“If you ever need any help, Nielson, just ask,” you say. Nielson nods, giving you a thumbs up. You smile back at him, his enthusiasm buoying you. No. For now, you’re trying to get out of here. There’s no reason to stay any longer than you need to.

“I got you man,” he says. He thumps his chest and nods to you before kneeling down by the box to give it a look over. You step back out of the door and look at Morrison. He sighs, rubbing his face and quickly wiping the tears out of his eyes.

“You okay?” you ask.

He nods. “I’m fine.” He waves you off, still smiling. “Gotta be honest, didn’t have a whole lot of hope back there but.” He grins. “We got a chance!” Connell smiles too, the energy apparently contagious. Godwin nudges you Connell, fistbumping him while Tierney quickly hugs your arm.

For now you got a chance.

…

…

After a quick lunch. You brought everyone downstairs again and briefed everyone on Nielson’s situation. The Comms are working. But the issue now is actually getting them –to work-. First making messages. Secondly being able to range those messages and finding a way to send it out into space. Finally, there’s a chance the message doesn’t hit the fleet. Or it does and they don’t respond. Either way, it’s a start. And that finally gets people talking.

While everyone talks excitedly, Godwin pulls you aside. “You got a minute?” he asks.

> “Sure. Might as well talk now.”
> “Hey, you said it can wait. Let’s wait.”
> Other

>>3577843
>> “Sure. Might as well talk now.”
Chat time

>>3577843
>> “Sure. Might as well talk now.”
he wants to confess his love for us too

>>3577843
>> “Sure. Might as well talk now.”

> “Sure. Might as well talk now.”

You and Godwin walk up the stairs to where you know there’ll be no one to hear you. Once you’re next to the closets, you motion to Godwin. “Right. Listen, we’re pals, right?”

“I mean. In a manner of speaking, sure,” you say. He’s going to ask you for something and you’re probably going to have to say no to him.

He nods and says, “Right.” He smirks. “And hey, I’ve done you some solids before so maybe I just need a solid thrown back at me in return.” You fold your arms. You’re starting to se where he’s going with this. “Because see in a partnership like ours, there’s gotta be some quid pro quo, and I figure-“

“Out with it, Godwin,” you say. “What do you want?”

He pauses, taken aback by your forwardness it seems. “Alright, fair.” He steps back, hands on his belt. “You know, Graves.” Yep. As you expected. “Lovely woman. Big stinking tits from what I seen. Very forward and yet not very willing to…” He wiggles his fingers, shrugging. “You know, do this and that with us. But see, that’s where the problem lies. This is a ship full of guys you know. And there isn’t a very good selection of girls besides her all things considered. I mean, the Navy girls are hot too but you know, Navy. Burke, she’d probably try to kill me. And Tierney-”

“What about Tierney?” you ask.

“Exactly,” he says. “Anyway. Come on.” He looks at you, expectant.

“Come on, what?” you ask, more firm this time. Is he really wasting your time with this? If he had some –actual- game, he wouldn’t need to do this.

“All I’m saying is that maybe ask Graves to put out a bit more. Not just with me, but with the other guys too. A little hanky panky here and there wouldn’t hurt anybody.” He gives you a very stern look. “I done you a favor, you do me one in return, you know?”

> “I’ll talk with her.”
> “Godwin, no. You want sex, ask her.”
> “It’s really pathetic that you have to beg me for this.”
> Other

Sorry for the late updates, been a little busy today. We'll be back in the morning once I get some semblance of sleep so see you then. Go ahead and leave your votes in.

>>3578276
>> “I’ll talk with her.”
We should talk to her to discuss how to deal with Godwin (leaving out all the secret stuff of course).Besides he'll get pissy again anyway if we say no.

>>3578292
This. Obviously Graves ain't interested, but we gotta act like we're trying.

>>3578292
Support.

>>3578276
>> “I’ll talk with her.”
But we need to stress "no promises". We can't make her do it, obviously, and he NEEDS to understand that. Lets us look like we're trying to pay him back while we talk to her about how to handle the situation without actually making a promise out of everything. Don't want him whining in two days "So, you said you'd talk to her and my wick's still undipped, the fuck?"

>>3578276
> I mean, the Navy girls are hot too but you know, Navy.
That sounds like being a choosy beggar. If memory servers Nielson was able to get a threesome with two hot pilots.

> “Godwin, no. You want sex, ask her. She's her own person, it's her call to make, not mine. If she says no, maybe you should reevaluate how quick you are to dismiss hot navy girls."

>>3578292
fuck. sure

>>3578276
>"Ask me for something else, Godwin. That favor's hers to give, not mine, and she sets the bar pretty high. Hell, I saved her life when the crisis started, and then there was only banter between us. I /will/ repay what you do for me. Courting Graves is a separate line of credit.
>"We might have some impressive missions coming up. I can make sure you're volunteered, and the rest is up to you."

No suggestion of a promise. He needs to know he's in for a challenge, and the ways we're willing to help him take it on.

> “I’ll talk with her.”

You sigh. “I’ll talk with her. But honestly Godwin, it’s her call. Not mine. I know you’re a choosey motherfrakker but come on. This isn’t the time for shit like this. We have –real- problems.” Godwin frowns a bit, folding his arms. “Now, if she says no. Then you can ask me for something else. I can and I will find some way to repay you for what you’ve done for me. But Graves? She’s a separate thing. Understand?”

He rolls his eyes. For whatever reason that pisses you right off. But you take care not to show it. “I understand, Boss. Just don’t hog her all to yourself you know. Not when you have two other bitches waiting to sit on your dick. Talk to her. Okay?”

“Alright,” you say, already wanting the conversation to be over. “Now come on, we better get with the rest of the group.” Godwin motions for you to go first. You motion for him to go first. You’re not letting that bastard behind you. He snorts, stepping in front of you to walk ahead. Bastard. Thinks he can just –beg- for sex? Who does he think he is?

In a situation like this no doubt, it’s absolute despicable. Ģ̴͊̇͠R̵̗͇̝̄Ă̵͔͘V̷̥̚Ḙ̸̛̪̑̚Ṣ̶̢͙͒̌͝ ̷̬̇͑̓I̷̧̳̼̒̽͑S̴̖̻͚̉̒̀ ̵̙̪̈́̈́͘Y̵̛̖O̶̗̽͛U̴̖̩̭̎R̶̨̛̼̊̊Ş̶̮͉͘ ̸̡̬̓͂A̴̘̭Ǹ̷̫D̶̢̬̄ ̷͓͑͜N̷̼͇͊O̸̺̊̿ ̴̠̀͐͜Ò̵̯N̵̝͖̹͋ ̶͍͆̏͝Ẻ̵͚̙̫L̸̬̭̝̒̉́S̵̜̖͍̉Ē̷̬̾͑S̴͇̫̿̊

You both head down the stairs to see people waiting around, chatting idly. Tierney smiles happily as she talks with Morrison while Graves talks with Tombs. Godwin quickly falls in with Connell and Hood. Banner, Smitty come in with them too, chatting quietly. You glare at them for a few seconds, then get to walking over to Graves. “Graves.” She looks to you. “Levy, is he-“

Graves is quick to business. “The AutoDoc noticed some foreign agents in his skull cavity but we’re not sure what to think. I’m recommending Levy stay at the Medbay until Tombs and I figure out what exactly is up his nose.”

“Alright,” you say. You look at Tombs, and notice that he has a very inquisitive look about you. You nod to him, looking back at Graves. “Anything else?”

“Nah, not much else to report,” she says. “Everyone’s pretty damn excited though about the progress.” She pats her chest. “I’m pretty excited too I suppose, I could almost kiss that little goober.”

> “Well, talk to me later, Graves. We got some business downstairs to attend to.”
> “Graves, I got something I need to talk to you quickly about.”
> “You sure Levy’s going to be okay? You got any theories on what that stuff was?”
> Other

>>3579072
>> “Graves, I got something I need to talk to you quickly about.”

>>3579072
> “You sure Levy’s going to be okay? You got any theories on what that stuff was?”
Business first.

>>3579072
>> “You sure Levy’s going to be okay? You got any theories on what that stuff was?”
then
> “Graves, I got something I need to talk to you quickly about.”

>>3579102
I'll change to this.

>>3579102
Sure

>>3579102
Fine with me

> “You sure Levy’s going to be okay? You got any theories on what that stuff was?”
> “Graves, I got something I need to talk to you quickly about.”

“You sure he’s going to be okay?” you ask. “I mean, you got any theories on what that stuff was?”

Tombs says, “What we found was trace amounts of what the AutoDoc detected to be artificial materials. Probably some metal. From his description, it was some kind of grey goo. Like nanomachines or something.”

Graves nods. “That’s right. However, we don’t know for sure if it’s nanomachines or legitimately metal living goo or something that just got loose on the ship. Or if Levy just snorted something out of boredom and is claiming that something tried to facefrak him.”

“No, trust me, he’s not lying,” you say. “I saw it.”

“There we have it,” says Graves. “We’ll keep a close watch on him. He’s in the Medbay right now. Tombs will go upstairs and look at him.” Tombs nods, stepping past you. Leaving Tombs alone in a room with Levy and Joffrey? You’re not so confident. Maybe you’ll send someone with him. Graves nudges you. “But hey. You look a bit down. Something off?”

“Does it look that way?” you ask.

“Aw.” Graves tilts her head, looking at you with mockingly pouty lips. “Gonna cry? Gonna shit and cum? What’s up?”

You sigh. “You got a minute?” She nods. You walk with Graves towards the stairwell once more. You look back and see Tierney glancing at you two before going back to talking with Morrison.

Once you’re upstairs. You cut right to the chase. “Godwin wants to have sex with you.”

“Well good frakking luck unless you’re willing to cross swords with him first.” What. “I’m joking. I know. He propositions me every now and again and I turn him down. Did he ask you if you could put in a good word for me or something?” How mighty perceptive of her. “I thought he might’ve honestly. He seems like the type that doesn’t like not getting what he wants. No wonder he’s a boxed crook. Then again, he’s a crook that got caught so… says a lot about him really.”

You fold your arms, a little ashamed that you even suggested these things. “So…?”

“No,” she says. “A thousand times no. I would literally let –Delta- cum inside me before Godwin. I would let your Deino goons run a train on me until I’m mindbroken. I would-”

“Okay. Enough.” God damn. You do –not- need that imagery. Graves giggles a little, some color in her cheeks at seeing you squirm a bit. She's doing this on purpose. But she's getting the point across very well.

> “Okay. That’s open and shut. So sorry about that.”
> “Come on. Give him a chance? I guess?”
> “Well, I tried.”
> Other

>>3579378
>> “Come on. Give him a chance? I guess?”
At least give him a Blowjob. And if he gets freaky come back to me and we will KO the fucker.

>>3579378
>> Other
He's going to become a problem at this rate, something is going to have to be done about this. Sooner or later he's just going to corner one of the girls and take what he wants. Might even get violent with one of the other guys here if they try to stop him.

>>3579378
> “Okay. That’s open and shut. So sorry about that.”
He's going to be a problem that we're going to have to deal with. We might need Burke to handle it. I don't think she's have an issue with tying up a loose end by offing one of the only people who knows she killed Harrell.

>>3579378
oh shit i had an idea. what if we grabbed a couple of mortar shells and detonated them where the Big boy snake is?

Sorry if this is out of context but i couldn't risk this being forgotten.

Sorry, English is not my first language
What does:
> “Okay. That’s open and shut. So sorry about that.”
Mean?

>>3579540
Since thats out of the way. Sorry about that

>>3579540
"Open and shut" means a clear end of the matter.

Okay, idea: we have Burke keep an eye on Godwin. He might eventually try to rape Graves. When he does, Burke kills him. It disposes of the one other person who knows of our involvement in the deaths of Harrell and Cope, and it does so in a way where it's at least plausible that it wasn't related to their deaths. Even Rutledge and his crew might not want to start something over the death of someone who tried to rape one of the people who'd be treating their wounds.

My main concern with this idea is if Godwin has arranged something that would inform people of what he knows after his death. Like a note or something that he told Rutledge or someone else to read in case he died that says we were involved in the murder of Harrell and Cope. But Godwin might not be that crafty, so I don't know if that's a serious threat.

Thoughts?

>>3579625
Very deep man. Though can we still "Trust" Burke? I've been getting suspicious vibes off of what she is doing.

We may need to go on a few missions with her first.

On the Godwin issue, if he knows, he is a threat to us. He will always be a Threat to US if he continues to live. But how we go about getting rid of him and his crook personality, is gonna be tough.

> EVERYTHING I GUESS

“You sure you can’t give him a chance? Like even a handjob or something?” Graves stops giggling, frowning a bit. She looks almost hurt that you’re essentially trying to pimp her out like that. “Okay, you know what. That’s my bad. I’m sorry. Open and shut. Just forget about it, okay?”

Graves squints at you. “Can I ask you something?” You nod. “Why would you even entertain the notion of asking me to give Godwin a chance anyway? I assume he asked you. But I know you don’t like him and I –especially- don’t like him either. So why are you asking? He got dirt on you or something?”

“No,” you say. “I just thought-“ She almost saw right through you, shit. Maybe losing that eye of hers gave her a third one in the brain or some shit. “I mean, he’s not wrong. Guys are asking. We’ve been here a while. Hasn’t been much release aside from their own hands and obviously you’re very attractive, Graves. All the other girls are but they don’t… they’re not you know.”

“It’s called sex, Daddy.”

“I know what it-“ Why is she like this!? “Graves, come on.”

“That’s a consequence of working with women, Daddy,” she says. “Just because we’re in a live or die situation doesn’t mean we’re going to put out like we’re going to die tomorrow. Women have pride. We’re choosey little motherfrakkers. I chose you because you’re handsome and you’re smart and I like you. Tierney chooses you because you’re a bigass motherfrakker with a hero complex and admittedly I’m gonna be honest, the height difference is actually pretty frakking hot. And Burke is like- She’s basically you except she’s a total shit. I’m more surprised there aren’t more women in here gunning for you.”

“You flatter me,” you say flatly.

“Just saying,” she says. “Imagine with Tierney. Wouldn’t you just want to pick her up and carry her everywhere just to find stuff to bend her over and frak her roughly on?” You stare at her. Are you seriously having this conversation? “I joke.” She pats your chest. “Look, Daddy. Let’s be clear. I’m not having sex with Godwin. Not even if he were to save my life. Especially if he somehow saves my life because then he’ll be expecting it just because. He’s not a good man like you.”

Yeah. Good man.

>>3579686
Maybe you need Burke in here.

“That said though. Just in case, I’m going to make sure that we girls try to stick together,” she says. “Tierney likes to stay in the medbay. Tombs and Stoakes hang out there too. Bryce, I don’t know about Bryce. Whitney and Early, they’ll have to stop mucking about in the Common.”

“You don’t think-“

“I don’t think, I know,” she says. She’s right. Sooner or later, Godwin might decide to screw your opinion and just take what he wants. And what’s more concerning is that the other guys might not try to stop him. Heck, they might join him. Something has to be done about this. “Anyway, was that all you wanted to talk to me about, Daddy?”

“Yeah,” you say. “Listen, I’m sorry.”

Graves glances up at you, then shrugs. She points to a spot on your chest. “What’s that?” You look down, then she brings her finger up and flicks you on the nose. “Boop.” With that, she turns and walks down the stairs.

You sigh.

> You need to consult with Burke on this. Wait until she gets back.
> Go downstairs. Maybe organize a little expedition.
> Other

>>3579689
>> You need to consult with Burke on this. Wait until she gets back.
And
>Go alleviate your mental stress with the Wife. (not that way). Hopefully she can provide some insight. and maybe you can take a moment by yourself to organize your thoughts. Or just teach the Kids how to play hide n' seek.

>>3579728
This. Maybe playing with the kids will get our mind off of some stuff.

>>3579728
Sounds fun. Although we haven't been giving much love to the runt lately.

>>3579689
> Check on the runt and make sure he's doing alright. Then go play with the wife and kids.

Also practice our ability to talk with the deinos now.

>>3579728
>>3579984
>include Runt in our plans

> You need to consult with Burke on this. Wait until she gets back.
> Other

You decide for now to let things be. Hopefully Graves wasn’t too offended by that request you made. It was reasonable to at least see if she’d entertain the idea. But you can see now it was wrong to try and force the issue. Right now, you needed to check on somebody.

You open the medbay and find Tombs and Stoakes quietly helping the Runt along in walking. Levy sits there, watching it happen. “There we go!” Stoakes grins, holding onto his claws as she helps him walk in a straight line. The Runt gives a shrill weakened cry out. She looks back at you. “Hey there!”

“Hey,” you say. You step up. “How’s my boy doing?”

“He’s wonderful!” Stoakes holds him up. The Runt reaches out to you, swishing his tail around. You notice that unlike his brothers, the Runt still hasn’t grown any teeth in. Poor kid. “Tombs says that he seems a little stunted in growth. Possibly some kind of birth defect. But overall, he’s eating and he’s healthy.” The Runt nuzzles his muzzle against Stoakes’ chin. “Aw, little baby you. Say hello to your Daddy!” Tombs holds him out to you. You take the Runt up, sighing.

The way the Runt squeals and whines, and yet somehow is still a killing machine deep down if it ever grew up… Reminds you of a certain someone. The Runt licks at your cheek, chittering quietly in your grasp. “Don’t worry, little buddy. You’ll grow up fast and strong.” You smile at him, feeling some fatherly pride in yourself. The Runt cries out, wiggling his toes and fingers at you. You hand him back off to Stoakes. “I’ll check on him later, okay?”

“Alright!”

…

…

You pick up Little Red. He struggles to get out of your grasp while Darko and Orange climb up on your back. The Wife circles around you, hissing a bit in pride as you mockingly fight and grab at the Kids. You let go of Little Red, and he immediately runs from you. Darko and Orange too step off, running with Little Red around the Land Rover while you sprint to catch them. The Wife snorts, chittering quietly. “You’re not going to help?” you say mockingly. The Wife cocks her head, confused. You roll your eyes. The Wife sees you, then rolls her eyes in return. The Kids then ignore you as they start quarreling amongst themselves, harmlessly biting each other and wrestling with one another.

You walk up to the Wife. “I’m starting to get you.” The Wife responds with a simple grunt. “I know I’ve been neglecting you a little, I’m sorry. We’ve been busy.” The Wife stares, probably not completely understanding what you’re saying. But she’s been around you and the others long enough to at least probably get a grasp of what you mean. You pat her muzzle, nodding to her. The Wife quivers a bit, lowering her head down.

Seems like only yesterday the Wife was advocating for killing the Runt.

>>3580077
The Wife snarls, then stabs her toe claw into the ground to draw. You look down. She’s drawn a clumsy stick figure image of you and another that superficially resembles Godwin. Ah, she’s seen you talking with him. The Wife bares her teeth, then quickly slashes through Godwin’s figure.

Okay. A little vicious there. “Right. I need to figure that one out. Just as soon as Burke comes back.” One of the Kids immediately tackles his head into your ankle. “Ow!” It’s Darko. “You little-“ You pick Darko up and wrestle him into the ground. Darko screams, his mouth wide open as you send him gently to the ground.

…

…

It’s nightfall. The kids and the Wife are tucked up in the stable once more. You sit in increasing darkness. Then finally you see Rutledge and Burke coming out of the bushes. Rutledge grins, holding his hand up. “We got ourselves a treasure trove, buddy.” He pulls out a map and lays it down. You put up a flashlight and look in. “There’s a cave on the coastline across the river, about a few hundred meters due direct west of the Hill. Big enough for our Titanoboa. We did some exploring in. Lot of signs like big bones the size of trees, smoothed out rock on the floor, and an absolutely horrific scent. That’s gotta be our cave.”

“Did you explore inside?”

“No,” he says. “But it’s a possibility. I left Wexley and Grimshaw to stake it out to see if the Titanoboa comes crawling out.”

Burke nods to you. “We found a good place for them. Lizards will never find them if they’re careful.” If.

Rutledge stands up, rolling the map up. “I’ll go ahead and tell the others. We might have something with Wexley’s plan, yeah?” Potentially. He steps inside, leaving you and Burke alone in the darkness.

She looks up at you. “I know that look.” You nod. “You want someone dead.”

We are done for the weekend. I hope you enjoyed this relatively slow weekend of Questing. We should be back next weekend for more hopefully so I hope to see you all then.

Good night.

>>3580079
Funny how we went from mercilessly killing every lizard we came across if we could get away with it, to taking care of the wife and her little bitey bastards.

>>3580081
Thanks for running, Survive.

Good thread Survive. See you next weekend.


The Wife does bring up an interesting point, who says any of us have to kill Godwin (if push comes to shove) we could easily have the dinoes do it and claim wild animals.

Another note, we should probably try to buddy up with some of the other members of our retinue, as it seems that we keep gravitating around the same 5 people.

>>3580295
I feel like we're slowly slipping down a dangerous, murdery slope.

>>3580081
thanks for running survive

>>3580295
>>3580306
honestly, I think killing other humans is less of a morality issue but more of a numerical issue.
seeing as the last time we saw new humans was when we found Rutledge.
as far as we know we're the last ones left, with the possible exception of the poor bastards the dinos are raining hell on with the rockets.

but still, it is best to only kill others when absolutely necessary.

>>3580306
>>3580327
Murder solves all problems. No man, no problem.

New thread is up.

>>3589421
>>3589421
>>3589421