SUPPORT MODULES WE MUST BUILD THEM

No Sir. Everything's crystal clear, sir.

The Dreadnought "Prime" is the technological brainchild of the Terran Empire and its military High Command. It possesses thick armor plating that serves to dissipate heat and energy received from both nuclear weaponry and ion beams across the hull, as well as protect from your more standard kinetic slugs.

It is 2 Kilometers long and about 300 meters wide. In comparison, the "Shushan" is only 200 meters long and 40 meters wide at its wides point (the engines and engineering section at the rear of the ship).

It moves quite slow, only a meager 90 meters per second, but by putting more energy into the ion thrusters and extending the trickle discharge of the Jump Capacitor into the ship's four massive jump drives, it can more than double its speed to 200 meters per second.

Its weaponry consists of a large bore, single beam ion cannon running through the center of the ship and exiting out the front, fifty rapid fire missile tubes (along the top of the craft) capable of rapid-fire launching nuclear missiles as well as standard kinetic ship-to-ship missiles, six ball rotating kinetic slug flak cannons along the bottom of the ship, and two rotating ion pulse turrets on either side of the ship for close encounters.

Hang on, what's the time over there now?

The "Shushan" - a concept of which is pictured - is actually longer than portrayed but its engines and Engineering Section do fit into the rear block. It possesses dual mounted ion pulse cannons - one on a ball turret on the top, and the other on a 180 degree rotating section in the nose of the ship. It also has six thermonuclear missiles strapped to the sides of the ship that can be detached and remotely fired, guided, and detonated.

It is quite fast even without bleeding energy from the jump capacitor - it can hit speeds up to 800 meters per second - with bleeding it can even hit up to 1400 meters per second, but it will put a sever power strain after some time on the ship.

>>7444724
It's now 8:14 PM. Time to start.

In the previous flashback, you witnessed the decimation of the First Contact between Humanity and an Unknown race.

If you'll give me a moment, I will set the scene for our last flashback for now, then yank us into the present.

Excellente. I have to go to sleep soon, need to wake up to go travelling tomorrow :(

>>7444793
The burning, hellish planet etched itself in your mind, as the giggling of your friend, 6, sets a ghostly soundtrack to the devastation in front of you.

You see a sudden bright light in your eyes, and feel yourself being shaken. You don't want to go back just yet... its too painful... some things need to be remembered...

<REMEMBER>

You come to in a large room grey room with large white pads on the floor. You, and most of the H.A.N.A. "A" class are sitting and watching two men in black demonstrate hand-to-hand combat. Your black hair is much shorter - in fact, everyone's hair is much shorter. And your back itches like hell. God it itches... Next to you is another woman, younger looking than yourself, with short red hair that is tied and pulled back. Her designation is "A6".

"Hey, are you excited for the training today? I'm sorry, I can't see your patch, what number are you?" You realize she is quietly talking to you.

>>7444985
Scratch your back, answer that you don't care about your number.

>>7444985
"A13. Why are we being taught hand to hand? We control ships, not beat people up"

>>7445039
"Hah, you're absolutely right. We are all just numbers here, and just as expendable..." she frowns for a moment. "Still getting over the implantation process? I was scratching for a week after THAT. Hah!"

>>7445055
"An excellent question, H.A.N.A. A13!" a black clad instructor booms at you. You must have caught his attention. "When you aren't flying your little ship across the stars, and that is IF you make it through this training without cooking from the inside out, you need to be prepared for ANYTHING! The female body does NOT have the muscle density and strength to go toe to toe with a male soldier, so you need to use their force and strength against them. Strike for the vitals - incapacitate and move on. Why don't you and your friend start the demonstration for us? I'm sure we will all enjoy it."

>>7445103
I agree to his offer to fight A6, as I rise from my seat I mutter something under my breath about his implications about the female body.

>>7445103
Yes, Hana Quest!

Get ready to spar with A6.

>>7445103
open palm strike to the throat

>>7445103
If the female body is so inferior, why aren't we male? and why are we expected to fight with other humans? I thought humanity was at peace.

>>7445103
You are directed to the center of the pad, facing Six. "Aren't you just lucky, Thirteen." she says mockingly.

"Start! But don't kill each other! You're worth too much to us, investment wise!" the instructor yells.

*For close combat, I'll let you know what Six is going to do - you can either take a Defense Move, a Grab Move, or a Strike Move. Please specify whether the Defense is a Block or a Dodge. I'll pick a die to beat, and you please roll a number to determine success or fail, and call high or low. I'm thinking a D20 will be fine for this.*

>>7445157
Yeah, well, you never know when an alien ship might come and start mutating innocent civilians and you then having to nuke them from orbit with your friends. Be ready for anything!

I do suppose anything could happen. Spar with A6 it is then

>>7445157
sure we our at peace but you must remember all those rebels and heretics out there that need purging.

>>7445103
Politely and competently explain how only a dithering idiot would try a hostile boarding action.

For fuck's sake, understand staying in shape and all that, but leave the punching and shit to the ladies down the hall with the longarms.

>>7445157
The military is always going around dealing with some annoying terrorist group, or quelling a minor rebellion before it starts - that sort of thing.

DUEL-
>>7445149
Roll please, D20, call high or low.

>>7445199
Well, if the ships are only run by a couple hundred crew plus HANA, then an enemy with superior numbers couple relatively easily board and capture even a Dreadnaught.

Unless you mean it would be fooling for US to try a boarding action, in which case, yes, very true.

>>7445199
You're on the floor with Six right now - if you really want to shoot your mouth off, she might take the initiative.

rolled 17 = 17

>>7445229
*foolish for

Also, rolling high.

pro roll. gj sam :D

rolled 4 = 4

>>7445236
rolling

>>7445239
agreed nice work.

>>7445239
You lunge forward with an open palm strike to the throat. Six jerks her upper body back in surprise but still takes it dead on. You can see her struggling for breath as she throws herself back a few feet.

You have the initiative. She is catching her breath.

sweep the feet!

better than my roll

>>7445275
When an action is decided on, please roll.

>>7445269
Roll the other hand into the bottom of her chest.

Sweep the feet, put her down.

>>7445259
>>7445266
I'm bringing my A-game tonight! :D

>>7445269
Pounce on chest, pin her to the ground with knee, grab her arms so she can't strike back.

rolled 14 = 14

To be honest, I'm just going to sit and watch Sam kick ass. Go with his idea, rolling low

>>7445323
You meant rolling high, right? RIGHT?!?!?!

>>7445297
>>7445298
Sweeping her feet is a single move, and requires a D20 roll and a call.

Jumping and attempting a pin with TWO GRABS requires THREE D20 rolls and THREE separate calls.

She is too far away to roll your hand down onto the center of her chest. Even to leg sweep you need to move up a bit, or drop and thrust your legs out.

>>7445334
Tooooooo complicated. We're nerds, not masters of hand to hand combat.

rolled 9 = 9

>>7445334
Okay, so 123! got one of the rolls, 14 going for low. I'll roll 1, going high.

>>7445323
Ah, that's three moves - your jump fails.

You leap forward to try and attempt a pin, but she has caught her breath. You can only see a flash as she brings her Knee up towards your ribcage. DODGE, BLOCK, STRIKE or GRAB.

>>7445350
I'm not even a nerd, I really don't know what I'm doing here with all these "dice rolls and calling," but its fun.

>>7445334
Draw back. Avoid physical contact at all costs. Duck and dodge if she attacks, will roll if applicable.

>>7445367
Block!

rolled 3 = 3

>>7445367
Block

rolling high

hope I did this right.

>>7445350
I know, it is, but I don't want people calling a combo chain on a single die. Its a tradeoff.

>>7445350
some of us are pretty versed in hand-to-hand. but i do agree that this is becoming too complicated.

Supernova, can we get back to starships and planetkilling? get us out of the flashbacks

rolled 19, 13, 20 = 52

>>7445332
um yea, high, how silly of me ><
Supernova says it needs more rolls, so it doesn't count, right?!

Low, high, high, going for pounce, pin and arm grab respectively

Gah tooo sloowwww

>>7445378
You fail to block in time, and her knee impacts with a jarring thud. You feel like you're going to be sick, and roll away. She gets up and aims a kick at your lower ribs a second time.

rolled 8 = 8

>>7445411
Dodge, rolling high

rolled 7 = 7

>>7445411
Grab!

rolling high

com on baby daddy needs new shoes!

>>7445388
The Starships and Planet-killing are also flashbacks. I'm trying to work up a combat system that will help out in case of incidents in the present.

Bah you guys suck :P

>>7445433
I like it. Makes for a good change of pace, as long as we only need this one round of combat in this flashback and not a tournament with 11 more rounds.

Also, you should try to have an idea of how many hits each combatant can take before giving in, barring a definite pin.

>>7445422
>>7445430
;_; Its alright, there are a couple endings thought up in case of either outcome, but we haven't lost yet.

You take another blow to the ribs, and this time you really DO throw up as you roll even further across the mat. You shakily stand to your feet as she sets in a stance and smiles. "That hurt? Lucky Thirteen?" She still is a bit hoarse.

>>7445385
Well, you said this is your first quest, so I'm just offering some advice. What we're doing now is really too slow and gets bogged down in the nitty details. It would be much faster if you had us roll a die and say "Offense" or "Defense" or something like that, then you come up with what our character does based on the roll.

Abstract it some more. From what I've seen quests generally die when they get too complicated.

rolled 19 = 19

Heavy kick a knee. Rolling low

>>7445510
FUCKS SAKE. Sorry guys :(

>>7445471
This is your only match.

As for hits, you just took two solid blows to the lower ribcage, so I'd say you'd need at least two to three more in the same area to cause you to spasm out. As for her, she's recovering from the throat blow, but you don't want to kill her. A successful grab can allow you to PULL her into a favorable position, and strikes at other areas - her implants, her neck, and her ribcage can put her out quickly with her off balance.

>>7445490
>>7445514
Alright, lets try that, I'll ignore the low roll, and you guys call OFFENSE or DEFENSE with a D20 roll and a HIGH or LOW call.

rolled 8, 17, 4, 20 = 49

>>7445531
Alright. Taunt her into coming at us. Grab her. Throw her to the ground. Pin with knee on neck.

Rolling highs.

>>7445571
Then, smooch.

>>7445571
Alright, I'll run with this one, but after this, lets try out:
>>7445551
"Come at me, bitch!" you yell "You first, Lucky girl!" she responds.

You charge at her and grab her around the neck. She stiffens her legs, resisting your throw but is caught by surprise. You bring your knee up and into her kidneys, as she falls, pulled off balance.

>>7445592
Get. Out.

>>7445564
This isn't Overlad. We have Sup/tg/ for archival purposes, and part of the fun of reading a quest is the interactions and conversations that happen between players and the OP. And knowing what the dice result is is really useful for someone who needs to catch up because they know just how badly the action failed.

rolled 4 = 4

>>7445633
Cool. Press our advantage.

Offensive, high.

Reminds me slightly of DnD grappling. This is bad.

I suggest that you ask us what we should do and then roll for us after this encounter.

Strike at her ribcage. roll high

dice+1d20

>>7445671
You still have your arm around her neck, but before you can place her in a choke-hold she brings up her palm aimed at under your chin. She is in a lot of pain from her kidneys though.
>>7445673
Never ran a game before, never played one.

>>7445685
Those posts are fun to read later though, and I can always make another thread.

rolled 1 = 1

>>7445712
Offensive. High.

rolled 18, 10 = 28

>>7445712
I hit her hand aside and go to strike at her kidneys again.

>>7445727
Y'know, I was thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to going low. Fuck.

>>7445730
>>7445727
I'll be nice and go with Wolf.

You slap her hand aside and attempt to bring your knee up at her kidneys again. You miss, but hit her in her lower implants, and you can see THAT hurts. She arches her back in pain, not even trying to hit you.

rolled 1 = 1

>>7445784
Chokeholdan time. Going for high.

And I suppose both styles fit well, given differing circumstances.

>>7445802
.............................ok yeah. I think I'm done rolling tonight.

rolled 17, 15 = 32

>>7445784
Grab and joint-lock.

First die high, second low.

>>7445784
you could be doing some damage with those repeat kidney shots. the instructor might want to break up the sparring match.

>>7445839
Pfft, who needs kidneys? We'll all be jacked into ships for the rest of our lives, might as well add dialysis to the automated medicare the pod provides.

>>7445802
You attempt to maneuver into a choke-hold, but she writhes out of it, still in pain.

>>7445823
You successfully regain a grab around her neck, but she is now lucid enough to get her hand in, blocking a lock.

rolled 16 = 16

>>7445859
Stomach punch. High.

>>7445839
I'd say one more might do it - those instructors are pretty hard ass. Or you could simply get up and try to stop the fight with some RP.

rolled 18 = 18

More kidney shots then. Going high!

rolled 11, 11 = 22

>>7445875
why stop it we are about to win.

>>7445873
GO SAM!

rolled 13, 9, 3 = 25

>>7445859
Get grabbing hand onto carotid and associated nerve bundle, squeeze; use other hand to do hard palm-strike into chin in hopes of inducing concussion.

Rolling three dice; if it only needs two, then use first two. First die low, second high, third high.

>>7445873
You bring your right fist in for a forceful, low punch. Six vomits over the mat, and goes limp. She is still conscious, but in such pain and winded to the point of where she can put on no more resistance.

The black-clad instructor is still looking on, arms folded.

rolled 10 = 10

>>7445875
Fuck RP this is SPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRING

rolled 13 = 13

>>7445908
I attempt to finish her permanently.

roll high

>>7445908
Well, that looks like a win to me! Unless you're going to take back that part about not killing each other.

>>7445940
Why you wanna kill our friend? ;_;

Don't kill her, help her up if she submits

>>7445945
way ahead of you sam.

>>7445940
>>7445945
>>7445965
we know that HANA 6 survives.

>>7445965
The man in black is still watching, he didn't call it so I think he wants to see where this goes. lets see what he does.

rolled 6, 15 = 21

>>7445908
Ask A6 to yield. If she does, pull her back up. If she doesn't, pull her back up anyway, except that the first one was us standing in front of her and the second us standing behind her.

Rolling two, both low.

>>7445991
So I assume this goes as she yields, but we fail to pull her back up?

>>7445991
Sounds like a plan

>>7445940
>>7445979

>>7445945
>>7445940
*Doing so would so smash the storyline planned that I'd have no clue where to go*

-As you raise your fist once more, the instructor steps forward and grabs your fist. "Good work, Thirteen. Remember this. Show no mercy to your opponent. Strike hard, strike to win." Looking down at Six, you can almost see anger flashing behind his cold eyes. "And get this one to the Med Bay. She'll be pissing blood for a week! Just make sure her 'plants aren't damaged."

Turning to you again, he says, "You can either retire, or get a checkup as well." He places his hand on your shoulder, "You'll do well, Thirteen."

>>7446022
Checkup sounds good. We should probably make sure 6 doesn't hate us, too.

>>7446004
She /did/ get in a few good shots; maybe we don't have the strength to pull her up right now.

Humph. Go for a check up I suppose. See if we can make it up to 6?

>>7446022
I decide to stay with the class, my ribs still hurt but nothing feels broken.

>>7446022
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-

On hardass instructor. Med Bay says I.

>>7446022
Go get the checkup. More accurately, go make sure that A6 is okay. Stay there until we're sure that she is. As in, until she comes around again at minimum.

>>7446052
*one

>>7445965
I was just thinking sam, A6 isn't our friend atm. we just met her remember.

>>7446022
A couple white clad doctors rush in and lift Six onto a gurney and wheel her off down a red lined hall. Another man dressed in all orange steps forward to wipe up the mess on the sparring floor as the instructor barks again.
"One and Two, You're up!"

You follow closely to Six's gurney, and you can see her lips start to move, slowly though. "Damn girl, you don't let up, do you?"

>>7446098
I reach down and grab A6's hand to reassure her there are no hard feelings after the fight.

>>7446092
...damn. That is some good staying in-character. Nice job.

>>7446098
It was either that or my ass handed to me as well. You see the look in the instructor's eyes?

>>7446098
"Never. As an opponent, or as a friend."

Take her hand.

"You were the first. Now you're the second."

Be appropriately serious during this.

>>7446111
>>7446119
"Hah, that's true. We pulled out all the stops, didn't we." She squeezes your hand back. "He's a hard-ass, that one. But you gotta be hard to survive here, babe. You're lucky like that, you seem to be born hard. Me, I'm still weak. Promise me, lucky girl. Promise me that you'll be strong for me. That you won't break."

>>7446179
Brush our lips against her forehead, Aragon-to-Boromir style.

"I promise."

>>7446179
I reply with "Okay, but promise me you won't give up."

Sweet victory!

yes stay strong!

>>7446204
This.

>>7446203
>>7446204
"Hah! Easy girl! I don't roll that way!" she chuckles between coughs. "But... Thanks..." She pauses for a moment. "By the way... do you remember anything before here? Before you were Thirteen?" She licks her lips and looks away, a bit shy. "I mean, your name? Do you remember your name?"

>>7446252
Hannah? well for irony!

rolled 20 = 20

>>7446252
Rolling to try to remember something.

>>7446252
I look away, staring off into space trying to remember a time before white rooms and men in black. A time before A13.

>>7446286
>>7446293
*You want ANOTHER flashback? An earlier one? Hah... I was kinda hoping you guys would vote on a good name or something. I really am bad with names, hence the numbers. If you guys can't think of something, I'll pick an obvious one.*

>>7446276
I'll roll with is if there are no objections...

>>7446351
We are... Sarah.

>>7446351
Hannah is good, for the lulz. But feel free to come up with some random flashback scenes to flesh things out.

Nothing interactive, but images of mommy and daddy or stuff like that would be cool.

>>7446351
A6 brings you back to the here and now, "well?" I remember my name. "Sam"

>>7446399
>>7446390
>>7446387
Sam, Hannah or Sarah. They are all good.

>>7446452
Roll a 1d3 and let's get a move on.

>>7446452
Sarah.

>>7446452
Hmmm...

Sarah S. Hanah? It's the best of all worlds, and is only slightly ridiculous!

>>7446452
well as I suggested Sam that's my pick. Sort for Samantha.

rolled 2 = 2

>>7446491

>>7446478
Specifically, Sara Werec.

Night /tg/. Hope you have a good quest tonight!

>>7446510
We'll miss you.

>>7446475
>>7446501
Sounds like a plan to me.

>>7446475
agreed, assign numbers to the names and give us a roll nova.

>>7446553
I have good reason for wanting Sara Werec. Go look up Soukou no Strain.

>>7446501
Roll gets it. Your name is now Hannah. You don't remember your last name.

"Hannah. My name is Hannah." You say with a slightly embarrassed expression on your face. "Hah! That's great! How silly is that!" You can see her eyes twinkling with mirth. "You know, your name means 'God has favored me', right? You sure are lucky..."

The gurney rolls into the med bay, and Six is whisked away for checkup. She waves goodbye to you just as she passes around the corner. And you, Hannah, you just smile. And then realize your lower ribcage hurts incredibly as another doctor rushes over to you. Ouch.

<END MEMORY>

-Alright, going to take a short break, then start up the next part. I'll try to be back in 20 minutes. Any questions or anything related to details in the known history and I'll try to answer them then.

>>7446593
Everyone Dies: Especially the Main Characters: The Movie

Dont know if this has been answered/relevant but what is the political climate of the humans?

>>7446612
Some general facts of the Terran Empire would not go remiss. Maybe something on just why our ships are using HANAs instead of AIs.

>>7446612
Rassin' frassin, Sarah was the second name put forewords, not Hannah mumble grumble. What? I'm not bitter at all! Why do you ask?

Though I would like to know how you connected 2 with Hannah.

and I'm going to bed. I just checked and the thread isn't archived yet. would be cool if someone would get right on that.

>>7446675
yes I also feel hannah is weak, just saying lol.

>>7446675
observe >>7446452
in which Hannah is the second name of the three.

>>7446762
Ah, now it makes sense. Thank you kind Anon.

>>7446675 please see >>7446452
>>7446642
>>7446648
The Terran Empire solidified its rule using superior military power - government wise for planets there is a "democracy" per say, but the governments themselves are kept in line by the Military High Command. There is also a strong undercurrent of religious morals going on through the planetary governments. Not so through the military though.

The H.A.N.A. program was begun under the premise that A.I.s were first and foremost not human, and therefore could not be trusted. There were also large public fears of rouge A.I.s exterminating all known life, and EMPs taking out those fancy computer chips in a heartbeat pushed Humanity to develop a system with more of a Human touch. Hence, the H.A.N.A. Women were found through initial testing to handle the strains of the Cyberspace world much more easily than men, for some reason. Must have been the hormones or something.

>>7446787
Was there any other evidence of alien activity in the galaxy besides the first contact disaster?

Stellar-scale megastructures, transmissions in the EM spectrum, atmospheric compositions on other worlds that imply both life and some degree of industrialization, or any other such things?

Or, for that matter, evidence of dead spacefaring civilizations?

>>7446787
Man. Talk about xenophobic.

Also realistic, bummer.

>>7446787
A setting where humanity believes in "HUMANITY FUCK YEAH"... with so far rather interesting results. I like it.

Just got caught up to this point in the quest. I like what I've read so far!

>>7446869
No, no, no, no, and lastly, no.
Humanity had started to spread out along its specific arm of the galactic spiral through Colony Ships and Jump Gates. Xenobiologists were rather new to the fleet - your ship, the "Shushan", was one of the few initial ships to have a supporting science staff.

Just read part 1, this is really cool.

What implants do the HANA units have? Just the jacks and training, or other physical upgrades?

>>7446912
talk about shortsighted.

if anything the first ships would be primarily science

>>7446912
And our first contact was with a species so alien it needed to irrecevobly mutate thousands of humans simply to start the beginnings of a process of communication.

I like the way you think, sir.

>>7446912
Hmm. The Jump Gates need to be moved into place at sublight speeds, I assume?

How resilient are those things? Is it likely that the gate network survived even if humanity is gone?

>>7446948
I like the way that they are willing to put those thousands of Nukes we've been stockpiling to use. Fuck yes!

>>7446979
I still think we should have done it ourselves and overloaded the colonys power source on the planet.

>>7446975
that sounds kinda like a farcaster. my guess would be that most of the tech is not capable of much use without people and our distrust of AI's. so the jump gates probably are useless after the disaster that killed all the other people. but maybe the AI's survived on their own...

>>7446979
Those things are all fusion bombs. Probably well beyond anything we can make at present, in order to actually ignite the atmosphere and crack the crust with just a thousand of them.

Gonna guess that we're talking yields in gigatons here, not megatons.

>>7447019
Except that we're still around, and we still have a ship (albeit a badly damaged one).

So if the gate system still has power and whatnot, our codes might still work.

>>7447012
But then you would have missed out on all the juicy background details. And You also would have taken Psych damage. Just think of poor Six.
>>7446975
It is quite possible they are still around. System to system travel depends on it.
>>7446948
I took cues from Ender's Game - Xenocide and Children of the Mind.

>>7447022
Still using nukes freely and without all this "MAD" bullshit we have today. I like it!

>>7447051
Humanity built the gate network, then?

>>7447051
I was just about to kill six.... I don't think I would have minded turning the mutants on the surface into walking matchsticks.

>>7447022
Than we CAN make? I think it's more of what we're willing to make, bound by treaty not to make, and/or what's most efficient to make. You don't need a gigaton yield to take out a city, after all.

>>7447051
In any case, shall we get this show back on the road?

>>7447051
God I love the Enders Game series. And it sounds like I was right about what is causing the damage to the psyches of our comrades; not the being jacked into a starship itself, but the whole "Killing millions of people" thing weighing on their consciences. It explains why we are still okay.

>>7447127
Yes, please. I'm quite curious about our current situation, as much as I appreciate the flashbacks supplying us with very handy information about the setting.

>>7447138
Keep in mind, the dialogue implied it wasn't the first time they'd done that planet nuking. Six sounded like she already knew firsthand what cracking a planet looked like.

*Ok... the last two major flashback events are tricky with their timing. I'm trying to give us something to do without filling everything with background.*

The fondness of your fledgling friendship fills you with a sense of peace, a sense of hope. But something darker bubbles to the surface of your consciousness. Its so painful... so dark... "I JUST WANT TO FORGET!"

"WHAT HAVE WE DONE? OH GOD, WHAT HAVE WE DONE?" You snap back to your dream, to your 'reality'. The Xenobiologist on board the "Shushan" is screaming in horror. Is this Angora again? No... this is farther down the line. The beginning of the end. Mankind's Ultimate Sin. You bring up your camera view of the bridge to see even the Captain in tears. The crew is looking at the main screen, showing in detail the burning, fuming hell that was once the Alien Homeworld. Without it, their ships drift aimlessly, attacking the Fleet's forces without any sense of a plan, no higher purpose. "We... we destroyed one of God's creations... it was intelligent... we... we are monsters..."

>>7447138

>>7447188
Actually one million lives is .1% of a billion, not 1%.

>>7447182
Oh fuck yes, this is what I was hoping to find out.

>>7447163
Right. Having to do that kind of thing multiple times while your active sensors show you in real-time what is happening to the people on the planet really takes a toll on your sanity.

>>7447214
I figured the singing and the focus on the prettiness of the planet cracking apart were coping mechanisms, rather than signs of insanity. I suppose you could read it either way.

>>7447182
F5ing of course.

>>7447182
>Alien lifeform trying to communicate with us
>And it had starships
>Intelligent

No shit?

>>7447163
good point. although bombing is more detached than ground combat. it has less of an psych effect on the crew since they're so far away from the actual killing even though they kill far more people at once. bombing a planet from space would be even more detached for the crew, especially for people so 'built' for their roles. or 6 could just be a psycho.

>>7447182
My god WE ARE HUMANS!
>>7447203
Doh forgot the dot!

>>7447182
Hmm. Sounds like some sort of dying memetic attack by the aliens. Because frankly, if moral qualms were going to show up like that, they'd either have started showing up earlier or they'd slowly dawn on humanity later. The chances of people suddenly going "MY GOD WHAT HAVE WE DONE" right after blowing up the enemy homeworld, but not at any point before, are really low without some outside force.

>>7447229
That's what I meant. They are using it as a coping mechanism because of the stress caused by knowing that they have killed so many people.

>>7447248
Someone else who knows about this! It seems so few people do. I don't suppose you've read "On Killing" by David Grossman, have you?

>>7447277
but there not people, they arn't human, they don't speak whatever it is we speak they don;t even understand our culture to know mutating a whole colony of people is wrong. I really don't think we would react like this.

>>7447290
and On Combat. they were... interesting.

>>7447273
You know, assuming the memetic attack, it isn't necessarily the aliens we just blew up that did that.

There could be a third party involved.

>>7447273
I hope so, cause then I would have been right all along.

>>7447290
Except that this isn't just pushing a button and watching the nukes fly down to the planet. They are the ship. They move the parts of it that load the missiles and ignite the engines. They see, through cameras and sensors the descent of the warheads and their explosions. They see the people die. And they are the ones who did it.

>>7447290
I haven't, but the whole "it's easier to kill someone when you aren't shanking them up close and personal" thing seems intuitively obvious.

>>7447182
You can hear the singing voices of the HANA Prime, a dirge that has become all too familiar on your purge. "We... we can't be forgiven for this... never..." your crew seems to share the same sentiments of your Xenobiologist, as they are all shaken too, dispirited.

A laser communication comes in from High Command.

"All forces... We... we have failed you... You destroyed the source of the threat, but reports are coming in that lone Organic Hostiles are falling on colonies all over the Empire. Visual reports show that people seem to be... ripped apart on the molecular level - it must be related to those organic airborne molecules. We are declaring a full evacuation of every single Human planet in the known Empire. We must retreat to Haven Gate, and wait out this scourge. All ships, access the Hell Jump Gate and charge your Jump Capacitors. May God forgive us..."

>>7447247
When the Big Boss pushes the "they are mindless killing machines here to corrupt us" people listen to fear.

>>7447346
Oh good, everyone must still be in the Heaven Gate. We should try to find them once we wake up from the coma.

>>7447346
A tight beam communication comes in from "Prime". "Hey babe! Guess we are going home so soon? That was fun... Wonder what's next?" Six is her cheery self as usual.

>>7447346
derrrrp the aliens set us up. What good is evac when alien partials float everywhere?

>>7447346
I think I like the idea of this whole thing being the alien's last attempt to strike back at us with what they've comprehended of our neurological structure. Accidently making a memetic virus that infects the entirety of the human race and makes us commit racial suicide.

Much more cool than everyone suddenly growing a conscience.

>>7447346
That seems to imply that either a) the aliens we just killed had a fallback plan or b) something else was watching and decided to purge the galaxy of a race of paranoid xenocidal lunatics.

>>7447397
Well, at least there are a few like us who won't let a little genocide get them down. Fucking propaganda making everyone a softy...

>>7447397
I think we'd all prefer some R&R, actually.

Keep in mind we're seeing the tail end of the battle, people. Something horrifying could have happened during it that is making people act this way.

>>7447397
Therapy for our crew is next, hopefully. They're in no fit state to be running a starship, even if we're the ones doing all the work.

>>7447446
Horrifying like burning planet after planet in a constant hellish purge, and when you finally kill the last one, you realize that there is no chance of going back?

>>7447392
Too bad the Contractors killed them all.

>>7447397
You refuse to respond to Six's remark, and charge your Jump Capacitor at the Gate. Within minutes, the entire fleet is warping to Haven Gate, situated on a unique anomaly - a wormhole. Haven Gate was created to stabilize the wormhole, and allow access to the Void beyond - a pocket dimension if you will - a hiding place of the last resort.

>>7447540

Did we transport enough corn seeds through?

>>7447494
So? Why would we want to go back? Yeah, we fucked up. We could probably have made peace with them and had a mutually beneficial relationship. But you can't change what's been done, so don't bitch about it. Really people, no one figured out they were sentient intelligent beings?

>>7447540

We will be back.
Mmmm, Galactic Civilization flashback.

>>7447540
Run through the training mantras. We're stronger than this.

We are directly responsible for hundreds of lives and have a mission to fulfill. There'll be time for mourning later.

>>7447494
We made our choice, and we will live with it. There might be no going back, but there is going forward.

Everyone makes mistakes, and that applies to races as much as to people. One error can't stop us.

either way it's over. can we snap back to the here and now?

>>7447494
Given the number of times that humans have gleefully exterminated each other without any hint of remorse, and that we also have absolutely no qualms about doing horrible things to animals that are at the very least close to us in sapience, I expect that the full horror of a xenocide isn't going to set in quickly. If at all. Not without external motivation, anyway.

>>7447540
From all over, they have come. Ships, large and small, each carrying an enormous cargo of people frozen in stasis. One at a time, each ship charges its capacitors at the Gate, and vanishes.

High Command contacts the fleet again.
"You all have served well. We have not evacuated... we have seen with our own eyes are folly and the destruction we've wreaked. Here we will stay, repenting to the end. As for you all, go, encase yourself in cryostasis and sleep the time away until this Biological Scourge dies on its own. We have been fools... Remember, one of you must wait behind to release us all when the appropriate time has passed. It will be a tremendous and difficult task, but we entrust it to your judgment. The first Fleet ship to enter should be the "Prime". Such a weapon of destruction should never be used again."
The next words, though, aren't from High Command.
"No."

>>7447654
6. that fucking bitch. i fucking knew it.

>>7447628
>>7447575
When you can't communicate with another race, and refuse to do so, its easy to justify them as animals. But public opinion on the planets, even though they are separate in their ignorance, had begun to sway. Also, those pulling the triggers, those witnessing the worlds fall and burn - they hit a point where they just couldn't justify it anymore. This wasn't killing another sub-race because of skin color. This was killing the only other sentient life form in the universe. They KNEW they could think and talk, they just couldn't deal with their method of talking.

>>7447681
Why's she a bitch, exactly? Because she doesn't want to go into cryostasis as an errand for the emo high commanders?

>>7447654
I have to admit. Without the meme virus explanation all this really does make no sense.

>>7447654
Awww fuck. crap WE are outgunned. try to calm her! unless you want to risk blowing up a ton of other ships we cant fight at a time like this!

>>7447654
"We have come to a decision. The Six of Us. We have burned, and seen, and crushed. We ourselves were burned, and used, and crushed. And thus we have decided, that we will not hide. We will not listen. We will not go. And you all... you all... can burn..."

"Care to come with us Sister? It will be fun!"

>>7447724
>>7447681
>>7447715
Why does everyone think it's the Prime? I bet it's the Interlopers who unleashed the meme upon us.

Inb4 I'm wrong.

>>7447715
if she doesn't go, then what do you think she's going to do? just wander around the Empire? or nuke whatever her and her friends like?

>>7447708
It doesn't matter. The human race has evolved with a very strong ability to separate groups into "us" and "them". We can blow tiny, insignificant differences massively out of proportion to justify the torture and murder of thousands- even when we have to see it in person. With a difference as great as that between species and the level of removal as large as that of a spaceship in orbit, xenocide should be no problem.

Of course we'll feel bad afterward, politicians might condemn the action in retrospect to pander to the masses' remorse, maybe even some of the crew will need a spot of therapy.

But humans are very, very good at killing.

>>7447760
Oh fuck they went hivemind on us.

Say yes. Trick them.

Then sneak behind the Prime and blow it to bits with our missiles.

>>7447760
Sure, let's do it. Though we probably shouldn't kill them. Let them rot in their portal and think upon what they have done.

(I CAN RP TOO DAMNIT!)

>>7447760
"Sure. Better than stasis."

>>7447761
well who else would resent orders to disarm the human race?

>>7447785
I think we already know how that will end.

So I say we stay defiant. Tell them no, and attack as we say it.

>>7447717
Ok, detail time.

The Alien Race communicated through biological molecules that they distributed throughout themselves. Each of them were linked in this fashion to their home planet - not a hive mind per say, but they could feel the will of the planet and act accordingly - but they could choose. When the planet was destroyed, they lost that suggestion, that will, and understood what humanity was capable of. Destruction. So each of them - and there were a lot left - decided to attack humanity with their very molecules - by ripping apart their DNA, and not replacing it. The aliens themselves could not reproduce without their home planet. So this was a Mutually Assured Destruction scenario.

Are we saying Yes? Are we saying No? Are we attacking?

>>7447822
Oh! So the great sin that everyone is feeling bad for isn't xenocide, but failure. Their rashness and poor decisions doomed their own race.

Yeah, that'd make anyone clinically depressed.

>>7447760
"We will remain behind, in the outside. We shall decide whether enough time has passed that you have atoned. And we shall decide whether to bring you back, once the galaxy can defend itself if you again succumb to madness and hate."

>>7447785
>>7447813
What the hell? See, OP even just said that it isn't meme bomb, it's just people being stupid, since the attack was just the last aliens attacking us, not mind control. We have the chance to finally get out from under the thumb of High Command. Let's do it. And be with our friends.

>>7447844
We're saying yes. Screw our leaders; they turned us into their tools, and then they used us in ways that they now regret... and want US to look after them so that they can come back from their fuck-up? No. None of that. We're with Six.

>>7447844
Looks like it's voting time. Simple yes or no votes fine by you?

I vote yes btw.

>>7447844
Suddenly I'm the only human loyalist here.

I still say we agree only long enough to get into an optimum firing position.

>>7447863
A big turning point here. I'll take a vote.

"I'm sorry, 6."

Attack.

"I can't let you take away the last of our hope."

So two for YES and one for ATTACK.

I can go either way, I have plans.
We are also approaching autosage.

Well, considering that we end up on the bottom of an ocean....

Pretend to be on Prime's side, see what she does. Fuck up her attack if possible.

Ramming speed, anyone?

>>7447880
Voting that we say yes, and then say >>7447854 to the survivors. But if A6 opens fire on the human fleet, we take her down.

"6, you are my friend. I will go with you. But there will be no more burning."

>>7447882 >>7447875
How does it feel to know that you've been successfully beaten into a slave?

>>7447913
This is a pretty good one. I like it.

>>7447916
How does it feel to know you're willing to go along with someone who's gone insane, in a bid to potentially wipe out the last of your species?

>>7447906
I like this anons idea.

What the hell. I vote yes. I wanna see where this goes.

>>7447916
I'm sorry, a slave? From where I stand humanity would be absolutely fucked without the HANAs.

We are a /neccessary sacrifice/ and I'll be damned if I let that sacrifice be made in vain.

>>7447940
There's still 400 crew on the Prime and 250 with us. More than enough to restart humanity. And she wouldn't be this way if they just fucking had an on-board psychologist, but noooooooooooooo, the budget couldn't afford it! This is just deserts, but I do think we should try to get her to not kill them.

>>7447760
"I'll help you make up your mind, Lucky one. It was easy enough to gas the crew - you can do it too!"
You can't tell who fires first - the Fleet or Prime - but suddenly the space is filled with the brightness of ion beams lancing out to blossom into fireballs.

"This is High Command, TAKE OUT THAT SHIP! THEY'VE GONE ROGUE!"

Ramming speed is the only speed.

1400 meters per second vs 200 meters per second.

Launch chaff. Use evasive maneuvers and whatever else to ram us right down that bitches throat.

>>7447937

"6, my friend, I will go with you. But no, no more burning. There's been enough death for an eternity. More killing won't erase what's happened."

>>7447972
There are more than 400 crew on the Prime - was just saying how any people the HANA Array replaced. And High Command isn't going to let its technological marvel be controlled by a loose cannon, literally.

>>7447981
Lance the weapons. On everybody.

Then leave, and lock the door behind us.

>>7447981
As I said, they went hivemind and crazy.

Blow the fuck outta em. We killed one species in our lifetime, but we won't be party to the death of a second.

>>7448007
Our ship - if you note the statistics on the beginning of the thread - does not have the firepower to kill every weapon in the entire Human Fleet.

>>7447952
>We are a /neccessary sacrifice/
I thought we were a bo/t g/irl?

>>7447981

6 has changed. Our friend isn't a gleeful murderer.

Fuck either option. We leave. We drop our crew off somewhere with supplies and tell them to restart humanity, to remember what's happened here.

Then we set off to find our own answers.

>>7447981
Darn it A6, your not helping by wanting to kill the crew. They didn't do this to us! High command did! and the instructors and the mental conditioners. Please don't hurt any more people. Please.

And humanity's death comes at its own hand, though it had spread across the galaxy.

>>7447981
"Oh, Six. I enjoyed our friendship. I'm sorry it had to end this way."

Fuck them all. Leave this place behind. We have no business here.

Someone needs to archive this on suptg.

This quest is actually making me feel emotions about the situation here. I don't think any quest has done that to me before. Not Ruby Quest, not Slug Quest, not Evil Quest, not even Firstquest.

>>7448119
>>archive

Done. http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/7444513/

One massive ship against the rest of the fleet? I don't think they have a chance.

But then, it's probably not just them. They couldn't have been the only ship with H.A.N.A.s out burning worlds.

It can't be over yet. It's only been 4 hours! Supernova, please at least let us continue to the point of choosing and implementing our decision vis a vis A6.

Negotiations have broken down.

Ask the captain for orders, our crew deserves a say.

New thread >>7448063

>>7448023
Kill the Dreadnought Prime.

Leave.

Destroy this gate behind us, and remove this set of dimensional coordinates from the gate network.

>>7448231
The captain has no place in this. This is our ship. We are its eyes, ears, and hands- its breath, its mind, its soul. As Six so aptly demonstrates, the decision of what to do here is entirely ours.

Besides, the captain couldn't possibly understand the motivations of a HANA like we can. He'd be giving orders from a position of ignorance, and probably reflexively side with the Fleet because of it.

I still say that we should just leave. Screw High Command and their bullshit, screw Six and her tragically genocidal level of sanity loss.

>>7448254
We can only attempt one or the other.

Prime is too big for us to survive attacking.

High Command is being excessively cowardly.
A weapon "not used again." Ridiculous.
It is an option to keep available.

We should certainly not side with High Command.
If Prime survives, we may wish some company out in space.