See if we can do bagels.

You're a bit late tonight OP.
Look around, where is Emmie?

Don gasmask, find Em.

>>10464152
Grab donut and cup of coffe; see where Emmie is.

>>10464152
Consume edibles. Search for Emmie.

As promised. I can easily do a recolor if people don't approve.

Okay. While I hate to represent the the more cynical and realist side of our character's psyche, endearing though Emmie is, we can't be expected to support her indefinitely. So unless something big happens to forward the plot ((maybe a small-scale invasion or resurgence of internal heresy in the 68th Krieg's absence, just throwing ideas around)) we should start trying to find a way for Emmie to help support herself.

We should find Emmie, and perhaps discuss it over breakfast.

Check outside first

>>10464191
>>10464205
>>10464248
>>10464284
You'll be sick of Donuts later, but not today. You munch a few of the donuts, the glaze making your fingers sticky, and look around the apartment. You Coffee is lukewarm, how early did Emmie wake up?
Speaking of Emmie, you find her in the spare room, sitting on her cot. She has your card table set up, you've been looking for that thing for MONTHS Where did she find it? On the card table she has her new Lasrifle disassembled, and appears to be saying the prayers of routine maintenance and cleaning. The smell of incense has filled the room. Her Laspistol seems to have received the same treatment, and sits on the corner of the table, shiny with fresh oil.

>>10464417
>>10464425
Oh the irony! And its a quest thread. He needs to wait for responses then write what happens.

>>10464425
Best not to bother her while engaged in rituals. Let's wait for her to finish.

>>10464425
Greet her, then begin discussing her future.

lets wait for her to finish and then talk

>>10464442
Yeah, we need to wait.
Aren't we planning on taking her to an amusement park today?
... and I kinda wanna find her son...

>>10464550
I think we'd be overstepping our bounds there.

>>10464442
>>10464524
>>10464550
You say hello, then lean against the door frame and watch her. Her hands move quickly and efficiently, as she chants under her breath. As clumsy as she is, she doesn't seem to be making any mistakes now. She soon finishes, slapping the last pieces into place with a shark CLACK. She looks up at you. "Good afternoon. I was beginning to think you would sleep all day. How are your hands?" Well son of a crap, it IS afternoon. But just barley.

>>10464581
How so?

>>10464612
>a shark CLACK.
LOOK OUT SHE HAS A SHARK!

>>10464652
Maybe she's happy to have her son be an officer-to-be?

>>10464612
Yeah, it's time to have a talk about her future.

>>10464674
She seemed kinda sad at being separated.

>>10464743
We should find out more about the situation before white knightan.

>>10464612
"Fine. Say, Emmie, I don't want to put you on the spot, but... have you given any thought to, y'know, the future? We can go looking for a job for you."

She might still be upset about being abandoned, best to not mention anything about a job.

>>10464674
>>10464524
>>10464466
>>10464805
>>10464838
As Emmie finishes up, you sit on the cot next to her. A few seconds of shuffling and you're positive that there is no way you would be comfortable on this thing. You glance at the weapons on the table, she was polishing her bayonet as well it seems, you turn to Emmie. Time to have a serious chat. You explain to her that, while you live comfortably, you are by no means wealthy. You're more then willing to keep her around, but you can't do it all by yourself. She;ll need to start pulling her weight.
Emmie nods, her face not betraying any real emotion. She pauses a few seconds and takes a breath. "I want to find out why. I want to eventually find my Regiment and find out why they left me. Anyone else like me would have been executed or died years ago. But not ally did they let me live, but they also left me here. I want to find out why..." She pauses again, and you think you may see a faint blush on her pale cheeks, "But I also want to stay around you."

If we're worried about upsetting her by bringing up her abandonment, we can just make like we're trying to keep her busy and occupied. Idleness leads to heresy, after all.

>>10464870
You know... I've been wondering the same thing.

>>10464870
We could try sending a letter asking about it to the 68th... but if her fellow kriegers really were covering for her for this long, and then ditched her here just before they left... it may be best to leave this stone unturned.

But it's her decision.

>>10464870
>>10464924
>>10464938
I say we go for it. Find out where they went, sell everything, and go on an adventure with our new Krieger gal-pal.
But first THE AMUSEMENT PARK!

>>10464870
"I've been wondering that myself. It'll take more than what I have now to get to the bottom of this, though. I promise to do everything I can to help you."

>>10464999
>gal-pal.
who uses that word?

>>10464999
Do we have no real ties to this world? Can we really just drop everything and go on some wild goose chase with a girl we've just met?

For that matter, CAN we really just go and bum around the galaxy? Logistically, I mean. Unless we become stowaways.

>>10464938
>>10464999
>>10465027
>>10465039
You stop to consider what Emmie is suggesting. You have enough money in your savings that, if you remain here, you could remain unemployed for about six months without having to worry, though it would be tight. You stop to reflect on your life. You have a few close friends, and a few cow-workers from work that you occasionally go drinking with, but you don't know very much about most of them outside of work or the bar. You haven't gotten laid in about two years, and while your job isn't a dead end one, you don't see yourself advancing too much farther then you are now. You're just another worker bee toiling mindlessly.
However, running off and leaving your life behind would be crazy. Who does that? It would also take time and resources that you don't have right now. How would you even go about getting off this dirtball? And if you DID, the galaxy is a dangerous place! Emmie might be able to defend herself, but what about you?

>>10465149
Emmie can teach us! When doing the color layers for my drawfagging I came up with a name for our intrepid hero/stand-in for naming layers. Anyone opposed to the name Neil?

>>10465213
Niel P. McPerson.

>>10465149
Well in the grim dark future of the 41st millenium we shall do what all unemployed worker drones do. Time to join the mother fucking (quite literally if we gain Emmies favor) Guard!

>>10465235
Not complaining but it feels like I'm missing a joke here? Is it just for the sound of the name?

>>10465213
Also, we could get supplies and armaments at the IG surplus store.

>>10465289
>>10465276
>>10465265
>>10465213
are we seriously going to just hop offworld? It's like I'm really in a Niel Gaiman novel!

>>10465319
Yeah, good point. How ARE we going to get off of this rock?
Gravity, you crush my schemes once again.

>>10465319
I swear that connection had nothing to do with naming Niel. Come to think of it, I don't think I've read any of his work. Huh.

A) We join the Guard.
B) We join the Navy.
C) We stow away on a ship.
D) We join some trading ship as workers.
E) We try contacting the 68th from here.

>>10465371
I vote D

I second the choice for D.

>>10465371
F) Become a Fanatical Witch Hunting Priest

I think you can guess my choice

>>10465454
Amazingly awesome but not something to just go right into. We need to ease into it, get used to travel, become a bit grizzled, learn a few ins and outs of heresy. I am not opposed to this as an end-game, though.

>>10465412
>>10465395
>>10465371
>>10465353
>>10465339
>>10465319
>>10465289
>>10465276
>>10465265
>>10465213
>>10465475
You know what? Why the warp not? You look dead into Emmie's eyes and tell her that you are going with her. It'll take planning and preparation, but you're in. You'll help her find her unit, you'll help her get resolution, and damn it, you'll have a great time doing it! The question is no longer WHAT you are going to do, but HOW.
Your savings could probably get you to the next inhabited system, but not much farther, and would be mostly drained. You could try going for a spacer job, the trade barges are always hiring.
However, you need to plan things out first. What are you going to do while you save more money, WILL you save up more? What equipment will you need? What can Emmie show you that will help you survive out there?

>>10465513
Ladies and Gentlemen? Would it be premature of me to declare that "Shit just got real"?

>>10465513
1. Start hording money.
2. Get Emmie to train us in using/maintaining a lasgun and such.
3. Say goodbye to what friends we have.

>>10465513
Investing for short-term gain is too risky. There's probably some high-paying labor jobs Niel and Emmie could get. Or have Emmie get while Niel stays in his job.

>>10465609
I don't think Trench Diggers make that much. And what other skills does she have?

>>10465568
No.

>>10465634
Indeed? Then I shall.
SHIT JUST GOT REAL!

Are y'all forgettin' something? We have a Krieger outfit. You could rock up at the local barracks and get yourself transferred for free. You'd just have to pay return fare.

>>10465693
That would require the Kreigers to be incompetent enough to let you travel without papers. Even if you managed to forge papers, you'd probably be pressed into work as soon as you arrived at their new base of operations.

>>10465693
>>10465717
That and the Kriegers pulled out a few days ago.

I'm just waiting on you guys to make a plan before implementing it.

Isnt there some sort of news network we can watch, get a handle on what exactly is going on outside of the apartment?

>>10465750
Okay, let's sit planetside for a while. Her son is only 4, he's probably still on Krieg and in no immediate danger. Her company is doing its best to pretend she never happened or something and would be unpleasantly surprised to see her. Get Emmie a job as something her military life prepared her for. Save up money, have some good civilian times before becoming adventrahs.

I say we get a job on a trade barge after we stock up on money/supplies/etc and prepare. Then we can become a couple of vagabonds, going form ship to ship and try to catch up with the 68th.

>>10465788

im sure theres some merc work, bouncing, jobs she'd be perfect in - hell, if all else fails, she could get work as a landscaping contractor

>>10465793

I second this plan.

>>10465788
He's 6. Not much difference, I know.
>>10465793
I agree. Get a stockpile, THEN get a job on a barge, and try to find out where they 68th is deployed.

>>10465793
Shouldn't we try to get in touch with her old unit in another way? They probably don't want to see her anyway.

>>10465838
I suggest some form of letter to her CO asking if he knows anything.

>>10465838
>>10465855

This was suggested before.

>>10465932
Bringing it back up, probably should have just linked. Anyhoo, anyone else behind this or is it a bad idea?

>>10465960
This could be tricky. I'm assuming that her squad left her with us so that they wouldn't have to keep covering for her and worry about her being executed or whatever. Telling her CO that we have her could get her and her squad in deep shit (deeper shit, if her squad is already in trouble simply because she's missing. If the CO found out she was deliberately left there as opposed to simply MIA, I imagine he'd go ballistic.).

>>10465960

I dunno really - she wants to know, but I feel the regiment's reason for ditching her might not be because they dont want her around - maybe they want to give her the chance to get out of the guard, have a life, find her son, etc - or is that just a stupid thought?

>>10465932
So her regiment dumps her in our trunk, sends her locker to our address and leaves planet without her.
Could they have made themselves anymore clear in their intent?

>>10465986
Now we just need to find out how high up the ladder this goes.

Given their grim and fatalistic demeanor (Emmie's sunny and adorable personality being the exception), I find it unlikely she was left here on a whim by her squad alone. For whatever reason, she was left here.

A) She was a burden.
B) They wanted her to live a different life.
C) For teh lulz

>>10465778
First off, recon, The 68th Krieg was stationed on your planet for 2 years due to heavy Xeno activity a few systems over. The blue bastards were beaten back, and the 68th were pulled out. As of now, that's all you know.
>>10465818
>>10465809
>>10465793
>>10465799
>>10465788
You're serious about all this. You ask Emmie to help you help her. Over the next few months she has you run a pretty easy, by Imperial Guard standards, training regime. Waking up early for running, muscle and dexterity building exercises, Emmie's favorite is making you dig trenches on the weekends, and shooting practice. Luckily there's a firing range just outside of town. You had to get a permit for Las weapons, but it was pretty easy to do so. You also get yourself a basic Krieger Kit from the surplus store, however you hold off on more donut extractions. You save diligently, cutting a lot of fat of fat budget, yet you still seem to spoil Emmie.
Emmie manages to get a job as, believe it or not, a substitute teacher, she looks very nice in a suit.
You've managed to track down the 68th. It appears that right now they are beating down a minor Chaos incursion a few sub-sectors rimward.

And it's all led up to this. You've managed to get a position for you and Emmie on a small trading vessel. You'll be part of only about a 12 man crew, and you were told it would mostly be grunt work. But the pay is better then you expected, and they are heading in the right general direction of the 68th. You will be embarking in about a week. You've already quite your current job and sold most of your possessions, anything you couldn't easily carry with you on the ship. You've been sleeping on a cot like Emmie's for a few weeks now, and you're getting used to it.
You and Emmie have decided to take the next week easy.

>>10466058
Choo-choo.

>>10466095
We told him to do all this. The training, saving money, and Emmie getting a job... we told him what to do.
He;s hardly railroading by making it into a montage,

>But the pay is better then you expected

Famous last words.

>>10466107
Calling it now, Tyranids on the ship and/or illegal Xeno artifact smuggling.

>>10466058

I believe this is the part where you stereotypically slip in a tender moment with Emmy, only to be interrupted at the worst possible moment.

>>10466134

Aww man! no damn nid's or inquisitors in my quest thread

>>10466058
How do we spend out last week? I saw we take Emmie to that amusement park.

Amusement Park shenanigans.

>>10466167
Yes, we shall not be denied the park scene.

>>10465568
I hope that "learning to understand each other through gas masks" was a part of that training regime.

>>10466251
Ah carp, wrong link.
>>10466058
/own stupidity

>>10466251
This. Do we now speak Kreiger?

>>10466179
>>10466177
>>10466167
It's evening and the sun is turning the sky pink. You're still a little sore from all the exercise you've been getting, but you're now in the best shape of your life. You're a bit nervous about space travel, but Emmie assures you that it's not that bad. As it just so happens, the Fair is in town during your last week on the planet.
You've already sold your car, but it's new owner agreed to let you keep using it this last week, and kept half the money for it just in case. As you drive to the fair, the three roller coasters and the massive Ferris Wheel seem to be the main attraction, although you can already smell the fried foods and hear the noise of the games. Emmie's heard of such festivities, but never participated in them herself.
>>10466251
>>10466275
You've learned most of the hand gestures and their meanings, but for the life of you you can't seem to learn the mumbling.

>>10466296
Ooh! Ooh! Let's go on the roller coasters!

>>10466296
Let's try a few carnival games. Can Krieger training beat the accursed ring-toss game?

>>10466296
I propose that we try a funnel cake.

>>10466359
I second the motion.

>>10466058
>Emmie manages to get a job as, believe it or not, a substitute teacher, she looks very nice in a suit.
DRAWFAGS! WHERE ARE YOU?!

>>10466423
Right here. No time for arting tomorrow, will have stuff for Monday.

>>10466308
>>10466316
>>10466359
>>10466374
AAH, the fair. So much to see, so much to do. You might have to space this out for a few days.
First, games and food. You haven;t had so much fried food around you since you finished off the last of those donuts, which you don't know if you will ever be able to eat donuts again. Emmie is delighted by the fried cakes, as the sponge cakes inside remind her of the shortcakes she occasionally got in the Guard. She makes a terrible mess trying to eat a funnel cake, getting more powered sugar on her face then in her belly.
The ring toss. Your oldest foe. Never have you been able to win a prize. Stepping up to the accursed booth, you pay your tokens and take your rings. This time, this time you WILL... lose like every other time you've ever tried. Damn it these games are rigged! One more and you'll... fail just as miserably. Maybe you'll have better luck at the knock down game? Surly your now improved upper arm strength and accuracy will make short work of this one! Getting yoru three balls you cock your arm back, take careful aim, and let fly! BAM! Off goes the top three bottles. BAM, there goes the three on the left, BAM there goes the rest! You receive the mid tier prize, a pair of fuzzy dice. What use could you POSSIBLE have for these? You turn to go to the next stall... when you see Emmie, holding a giant teddy bear in her arms. "I got this at the shooting game! A friend for Mr. Grizz." She'll... PROBABLY be able to fit that in one of the 2 foot lockers the pair of you are taking with you on the ship.
Slightly embarrassed, you suggest taking a whirl on the rides next. The rides range from the three roller coasters, to the Ferris wheel, to the haunted houses and other normal fair rides.

>>10466568
Let's go on the roller coasters. I'm sure Emmie's had rougher rides in Valkries but I'm sure she'll have fun.

>>10466568
>other normal fair rides.
... TUNNEL OF LOVE! TUNNEL OF LOVE!

we need to save the Ferris Wheel for last.

>>10466615
No, that is for established couples. The ferris wheel is the ride for us.

Right, I apologize right now for the short thread, but I have to wake up earlier then normal tomorrow.
That and I would like to devote an entire thread to the Fair.
See you all tomorrow if you're willing to show up for it. And again, sorry for the short thread today.

>>10466677
I'll be here.

>>10466677
You can count on me!

>>10466677
S'all right. See you tomorrow.

>>10466677
oh damn, see ya

>>10466709
>>10466688
>>10466718
>>10466884
YOU HAVE MY AXE!