The head frowns, “As I said before, Ged, I do not know. Centauri was working on a project handed down directly from Admiral Shael and Asura was aiding him in some ways while commanding his fleet. We each had our missions.”

“I see...” you pause then switch topics, “What about when I return? Will the drain pick back up where it left off?”

The head goes dormant for a bit before reviving and doing a slow bob, “No, it will start over... but beware. It works by mapping the pathways of your mind, insinuating itself within. The more familiar it becomes with you the faster it will re-assimilate areas it has already taken control of once. The faster it will ensnare you and leech your vitality. To merely retreat from this realm will not solve that.”

#############

You’re snapped back to the present as you come to a fork in the road, torches leading to both sides. The library lies to your right, barely perceptible in the gloom... though you could have sworn you were able to see farther earlier. Along the left hand path, high up on the surrounding ridge, lies the glittering point of light you know to be the exit. So far away, so far. Perhaps if you rested here, just a bit? The cold seems to be beginning to fade bit by bit after all, though you note the ice continues to envelop you....

==Map Legend==
Green Dotted Arrow: Current Jump
Yellow Dotted Arrow: Last Jump
Orange Dotted Arrow: Last minus 1 Jump
Red Dotted Arrow: Prior jumps.
Green dot: Current position.
Purple Dot: Elaborated Destination
Yellow Square: Your awakening position
Teal dotted zone: Hundred Systems Territory (Hundred Worlds Rebellion)

==Command Staff==
Lieutenant Kateryna Ivanova - Executive Officer
>Second Lieutenant Dray Parson - Intelligence Officer (Cryo)
Second Lieutenant Robert Tynes - Steward
Chun-Fan Dai - Chief Engineer
Third Lieutenant Mardigan “Guns” Rinn - Weapons Officer
Dr. Christof Burr - Physician

==Junior Officers==
Ensign Fie - Communictions Officer
Ensign DuBois - Staff officer (Sensors)
Ensign Tremko - Staff officer
Ensign Rao - Staff officer

==Persons of Note==
>Dr. Eliphim Ketro -- Civilian Scientist (Cryo)

==Armada Officers==
HAdm.. Kurar Razon - Captain of the Asura
HAdm. Charles Urwright - Captain of the Maestro
HAdm./Gen. Olianas Paxil - Captain of the Majora Centauri
HAdm. Serg Iridan Mastok - Captain of the Dreadnought
GAdm. Aurora Shael - Captain of the Hydra

Previous Threads:

1: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15474877/
2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15527576/
3: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15547424/
4: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15558914/
5: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15581324/
6: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15603188/
7: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15626860/
8: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15671288/
9: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15681393/
10: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15702140/
11: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15725852/
12: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15749179/
13: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15760403/
13-2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15765549/
14: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15783485/
15: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15807704/
16: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15856771/
17: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15880596/
18: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15904452/
19: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15916825/
20: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15949806/
20-2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15954334/
21: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15994976/
22: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/16075942/
23: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/16087046/
24: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/16157217/
25: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/16182076/
26: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/16240864/
27: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/16296928/

>Also, when archiving make sure to include the thread number in the title and a "Void Quest" tag.

Well then...

I have a strange feeling that our only way of ending Charles' imprisonment would be to implement the kill routine. I highly doubt that we have any means to overcome what has been put in motion, so we can't kill what is draining him and attemptint to overtake ourself, without killing him.


I say we ask him, what he believes we should do, and wether or not we should use the killswitch we stumbled upon.

Tell him, that if he wishes so, We WILL leave him here and TRY to return.

OR he could tell us all he knows, give us as much help as possible before we turn the switch, get him and the dreaded thing ensnaring him offline, before continuing on our way.

>>16319578
>implement the kill routine
That would erase the EI the binding program is on.

Just a reminder

>Tell him, that if he wishes so, We WILL leave him here and TRY to return.
pic related

>>16319444
>Perhaps if you rested here, just a bit?

You know what that is soldier? Faggot xenoi talk!

You are responsible for leading the last remnant of the Armada and lying down to die isn't really an option. So get your ass to the exit, or they'll probably send Ivanova after you.

See if some of your phages can be used to temporarily boost your defences, or something like that. Think of all those who depend on you, if that warms your heart but KEEP THE FUCK MOVING TOWARDS THE EXIT.

>>16319643
>Think of all those who depend on you, if that warms your heart
What are we doing dicking around here?! We're in the core of the Maestro, we've won. there's no reason to hold back.

Even in the void we can keep going forward. And when we've broken through, it's our victory!

Whether it's impossible or laughable... Great men open up paths of battle! If there's a wall, we break it down! If there's no path, we make one with these hands! The darkness will stay the fuck back, it cannot break this spirit! My heart is a black hole burning with the flame of life!

And we never forget. Don't believe in the Charles who believes in us. Don't believe in the humanity, that is waiting for us.

Believe in the us that believes in ourselves!

>>16319729
oh, if it wasn't clear, i was advocating not stopping and moving towards the exit so we can regroup and think of a good way to deal with the darkness because shouting at it isn't going to help.

>>16319729
>>16319773
Also, since Vedi likes us to elaborate on our actions:
Get to exit
Check how much IRL time has passed. We were limited by the Godspeakers, after all.
At this point we either realize we need to leave because Godspeakers gon' speak, or we can exchange a few words with our crew (Ivanova, specifically).
The few words are: "there's a lockdown program placed on Charles' EI construct. He can't interact with the world, he can only do dumb machine tasks. Any advice on removing the lockdown program without erasing the EI?"

If the Godspeakers arrive to usher us out, I want to talk with them, and tell them that the gates to Ophidia lie broken, and they can now see the true labor that Maestro has been subject to for their sake. Then tempt them, saying they want to talk to him in-person, not through a dumb face, right? I can free him, but it'll take some time.

>>16319862
Sounds like a good outline for a plan.
It's too bad we don't have a programming specialist among the scientists or crew; at least, I don't think there was one who had that specialty listed on their record.

Vedibere, you said that when the Harbinger goes into battle mode, that it brings lots of extra processing power online. Would this extra processing power give us more time against the lockdown program's draining effect, or have we already been running at the heightened processing levels?
And if we can do it, but haven't yet, would Dai recommend against it because of the strain it would put on the reactor?

>>16320113
Not really possible unless you set up a way to access Maestro's core from the Harbinger.

>>16320274
Something like a direct hardline cable connection from the Maestro EI Core to the Harbinger itself?
Or would a satellite uplink connected to an open dataport from a part of Maestro still above-ground and directed at the Harbinger be enough? Or would the lag of such an uplink be too large to make this a worthwhile endeavor?

I don't like the idea of linking that mess to our core.

Lest, we end up infected with the same damn thing.

Down voting any attempt to do so.

>>16320365
>a satellite uplink connected to an open dataport
sounds like a good idea.

>>16320394
We would need something to maintain the link. We don't have a drone down here, and unless you want to leave the power suit behind, that idea won't work.

>>16320389
>Lest, we end up infected with the same damn thing.
Can't happen. Ged's brain is already pure cyberware so if we don't feel it once we are out, we're home free. It's not a virus, just a program uplaoded to and keyed to Charles, which is why it is taking it so long to do anything to us.

>>16319444
GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE.

>>16320799
Thinking about it some more, the danger of linking the Harbinger directly to the Maestro EI core isn't that we'd get infected by the lockdown program. It's that if it is able to map out and siphon off enough processing power, it could seriously endanger ship functions. Especially reactor containment.

So yeah, probably best to not attempt a direct link yet.

More importantly: we're pretty much agreed that the amount of infiltration by the lockdown program is bad enough that we have to leave for now. When we log back in, it's going to hit us faster, giving us less actions.
What should we plan to do? There's still the other logs we could decrypt, and we still need to find a way to disengage the lockdown program other than attempting to reprogram Charles.

>>16320830
Oh wait, this is a Vedibere quest. You want a plan, not just an action....

>Log out
>run diagnostics, clear registry files, that whole thing.
>scan for anyone or anything coming your way, check how much IRL time has passed exactly.
>Talk to the bridge crew. Don't send up the packets of info we found, and don't mentio them either, lest Ivonova's Spook-tech makes her do something about it.
>take a minute to scan thoroughly the whole complex, try to get an idea of the layout and where the hell all those cables are going.
>Beat feet and find your friend, keep shields up and lasers warm just in case.
>Tell them that Charles is all right, and nothing has gone wrong, but tell them you learned some dark and reality-shattering truths that you will not tell them unless they ask and are certain they want to know.
>ask them about the polar facility you detected.

BTW, did Charles give us the Nanite codes?

>>16320908
I'm a bit afraid to ask, but couldn't Ivanova interface with Maestro?
The lockdown program would have to adapt to her pathways and she wouldn't have to tear down the gate either.

>>16320908
> it could seriously endanger ship functions. Especially reactor containment.
Nope. It locks down the PERSONALITY of the EI, but it still runs everything.
Imagine if your computer gained sentience one day. If you used the lockdown program, it would go back to being a computer.

Fuck yes Void Quest! I just finished reading all the other threads! I won't let you down Ved! I won't let you down!

VOID QUEST FUCK YEAH!

>>16320931
>I'm a bit afraid to ask, but couldn't Ivanova interface with Maestro?
...Probably? It wouldn't be the same at all though, and there is no telling what her Intel-Inside firmware will make her do.

>>16320962
Perhaps Dai , then?

>>16319440
>So far away, so far. Perhaps if you rested here, just a bit? The cold seems to be beginning to fade bit by bit after all, though you note the ice continues to envelop you....

GET OUT OF HERE STALKER!

>>16320986
THIS WILL NOT BE THE END OF OUR QUEST.
I mean, I know Vedibere is serious about concequences of our actions, but still!

>>16320908
Well, I figured that if it's possible to inject code on top of an EI, you could eject code from it as well.

I have no clue if this is possible in-universe though which is why we should ask our crew. Basically, I'm waiting to see if stuff happens if we exit. If not, we can talk and plan a bit, but I'm thinking shit will have either already gone down.

>>16321024
Ohhh, he deleted it, eh?

>>16320979
>>16320962
See, but Dai and Ivanova are just people. We're a computerized human brain. There's no telling if they could last as long as we did this first trip.

>Atmosphere
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO8P_7NpCPk

You make for the exit, its brilliant light a beacon as you plod along. On and on you tread, but the distance seems hardly to close... or rather it does, but slowly. Tediously. Achingly slow. You stumble, falling and throwing out your hands... watching as they shatter on the unyielding ground. You lay in shock for a moment, looking at the broken stumps, before pulling yourself painfully to your feet once more. No, you have to keep going. You have to get back.

Pain is an illusion, a feeble construct of the mind. You keep repeating the phrase, gritting your teeth and stepping forward once again. A dozens steps away the chill shadows are already ravenously devouring the area you were in, closing in ever farther... ever closer.

You must return. Your crew awaits, depending on you.

Your bodies, both unisteel and flesh.

Your plans, your desires.

You must return.

You must.

##########

#####################

##########

The cold stone kisses your face, sucking away the warmth. Up. You must... must stand up. You lift your head, jerking it away from the freezing terrain below, looking around. Darkness. All is darkness, caressing your form, fingers of shadow trailing along your back and arms. Down your legs, their icy touch draining the last of your energy. But their touch is... no, it’s not that bad. It’s warm, comforting. something you can relax into. You won’t need to think or struggle any more... just simply exist. No more pain, no more killing, no more weight of decision on your shoulders. All you need to do is relax and lie down again....

>>16321034
It shouldn't even function on them, in theory. It's made for EI's, and while Dai and Ivanova are cybernetic in the brain, they are not EI's exactly... Or rather, they aren't using the same protocols one would need to run a ship

No. That’s wrong. Ahead. A few feet away. Shadows cloud your vision, pushing at you. You don’t need to see this. You don’t need to pay attention... come, it’s cold, don’t you want to rest? The chill begins creeping back into your body, your core... the warmth fleeing as you resist.

Ahead, feet away, the gate. Brilliant as always, though you can barely see it. You inch along, dragging your frozen legs behind you with the stumps of your shattered arms. You can feel the blistering heat of the desert beyond... you have to get there....

Without warning your right arm-stump sparks in unimaginable pain. You scream, the cry echoing up to the shattered gate-arch above, but pull forward again. Your other arm touches the heat, the burning pain, and then your face. Your torso, your body... then your legs and feet. You writhe on the softness under you, caught in a burning crucible of agony. Why?! It wasn’t like this before, it wasn’t!

And then the pain starts to fade, replaced by a tingling sensation. You slump back, exhausted, and though it feels like a million needles are pricking every inch of your body you sigh in relief... the burning heat is still there, but it’s beginning to fade away again. You absently look down at the rest of your body, afraid to see charred and blackened skin, and instantly see why.

The clear blue ice that had been caking your body is dissolving before your very eyes. Rather, most of it already has. Only a bit of frost remains, quickly burning away in the blasted heat of the desert... hot, you begin to feel, but now a more normal type of hot. You watch as the last remnants of the permeating frost fade and the blue frostbitten blocks you call limbs begin to regain their color.

The stumps of your arms begin to itch and flash, restored between heartbeats or thoughts, the transition impossibly fast as whatever was choking your processing fades. Phages slip from your body once more, frozen nodules thawing as rapidly as your own form. You lay back, the sand warm at your back.

Close. Far too close.

############

“--a-tain --n -e--d m-- - --pe-t- t--s is Iv---a- ca- --u r-a- m--”

The normally clear comm-link flickers in and out and your view of the bridge and -- worryingly -- everywhere else in the ship is obscured by a grey-white haze of static. You shake your head, looking around, and struggle to your kness from where you are lying on the warm unisteel floor. You blink twice, clearing your eyes, and pull free the jack you linked into Maestro’s core before unsteadily walking up to Charles’s inert humanoid form. Well, what was once his form at least. As gruesome as before, it hangs like a horrific cyberized mockery... but that’s not what caught your attention.

You reach out to his right hand, cables in place of fingers coiled around a small gleaming object... a chess piece. The same as the pawn you found clutched in Razon’s hand, marble and pearl inlaid with gold. A white horse’s head, a knight.

“I re-eat, thi- is Ivano-a, Captain do -ou read me?” The connection barks again, distorted and metallic, but you can hear it this time. You switch back to the bridge, the image still slightly hazy and completely devoid of color but there... your command staff are there, rebreathers over their faces. Ivanova sits in your chair, furiously tapping at your comm console while Tynes flicks through ship schematics on the holo-display alongside... Dai?! What is he doing on the bridge?

>>16321067
oh shit, as it sucked our processors it made us run slower, taking up more realtime.

>>16321067
>Tynes flicks through ship schematics on the holo-display
Oh fuck it was draining the HARBINGER'S functions too!
> your command staff are there, rebreathers over their faces.
My god, the Lifesupport systems must have started shutting down!

Vedibere, is this a 'wat say' moment?

So this is my take on the hidden northern facility. Note I am making many assumptions off a few small facts here:

IIiiji (sp?) had is followers, but Rakin did too. Rakin passed on the truth that about the nanites and Maestro to his people, or at least tried his best. When after Rakin disappeared his people kept their secret vigil and knowledge until now. You appear and they recognize you not as a god, but rather as another like Maestro. They have reason to fear you and mistrust you because they know you are no more than human at heart, but more powerful. One of them is the bastard on the council who gave us such a hard time about our divinity and has the tattoo/decoration/thing of Rakin slaying IIiji. They are centered out of the secret underground complex in the northern base.

There you have it. My wild poorly educated guess at things going on here.

>>16321106
Yeah, this is wat do.

>>16321067
Blast over our coms. "Is everyone okay? I assume the ship's power began to fail. It should return to normal soon, I hope."

Quick, how much time has elapsed, and is there any damage to the ship.

I'm worried of an attack on the ship, you see.

>>16321112
I like the idea of it.

>>16321126
>assuming assumptions

>rebreathers over their faces
>Tynes flicks through ship schematics
I'm thinking Hull Breaches.

Or maybe Ivanova was trying to warn us that jacking into an EI would sap our sentries i mean functions.

>>16321082
And made the ship interior colder as our 'body' got colder. Fuuuuuck.

>>16321125
Vedibere as for 'wat do' and 'wat say' read the following posts.
>>16319862
>>16320922

>>16321161
Add in to that "ascertain status of crew and ship"

Having life support be gone for a few seconds isn't as bad as having it go for minutes, which is why we need to check internal clocks.

>>16321067
Talk to them, ask what happened up there, then tell them about the lockdown program on Charles, placed by the traitor researcher Oral, who is now dead. Start rebooting systems, run diagnostics, tell them you are alright, and ask for updates on your location to see if anything is going on on the surface or if anyone is coming for yo, and info on the fleet in orbit, and info on if the nanite atmosphere did anything weird.

>>16321197
seems like that course of action covers pretty much everything.

>>16321197

>seems like that course of action covers pretty much everything.
Quite. Thirded.

>>16321222
This, and
>>16321161
This as well. Can't let ideas go to waste.

>>16321197
>>16321210
>>16321222
I don't think we can plan or scheme any further until we know what just happened.

Hopefully it's nothing that will set us back months in repair time.

Vedibere, do you have enough, or do you want more?

>>16321252
Got enough.

>>16321067
First, respond to Ivanova via bridge communications that we're back. Ask for an immediate status report.

We don't know whether it's hull breaches, an attack, the Harbinger's life support going down as our own sense of self entered hypothermia, or the lockdown program clawing its way back through our avatar's link and sucking away vital processing power from critical systems.
>Hull Breaches
Get damage control teams and self-repair drones out there and working. Find out what caused them.
>Attack
All weapons hot, ECM on full, processing up to full combat readiness. Transmit down to the planet and demand to know this sacrilege, that they would attack our physical form using Maestro's instruments.
>Life Support went offline
Bring it back up, check our system status.
>Lockdown went for our throat
Have all personnel suit up in vacuum suits. Bring life support back up.

Then the following from:
>>16319862
>>16320922

Hm, I do not agree with telling the Godspeakers anything they can't figure out on their own.

Again, it's like saying "Jesus was a cool guy but his mom wasn't a virgin and he wasn't god in the flesh, just a cool guy. You know."

Don't go blowin' their minds out of their sockets.

Just tell them that there is no more gatekeeper. We simply visited Ophidia, talked with Maestro and his heavenly host, and looked around a bit.

>>16321288
>Just tell them that there is no more gatekeeper.
Not even that. Maestro will probably have replaced it by now anyways.

>>16321283
>Attack
>All weapons hot, ECM on full, processing up to full combat readiness. Transmit down to the planet and demand to know this sacrilege, that they would attack our physical form using Maestro's instruments.

We had already pre-planned everything before we jacked in.
>Meanwhile your bridge bustles quietly, tracking the movement and all the craft in orbit. A well-oiled machine, efficient and exact. You check the missile tubes and verify their payloads: Disruption warheads, precomputed targeting vectors.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/16182076/#16187311

Not much use if the ship lost power, though, I guess.

>>16321288
I think this guy already covered that.
>>16320922
>Tell them that Charles is all right, and nothing has gone wrong, but tell them you learned some dark and reality-shattering truths that you will not tell them unless they ask and are certain they want to know.

>>16321288
Hear, hear! The less we tell this zealots the better! Just enough for pleasant diplomatic relations.

>>16321316
Yeah, but it can't hurt to re-confirm. Especially if the ship had lost power for any reason, and we need to recalculate missile trajectories.

What probably happened was that we were getting owned hardcore by the lockdown program, and then Ivanova pulled out some technowizard shit and saved our asses.

That's GM Bailout #3.

>>16321503
Uh no. What happened is we got to the 'desert' outside of the lockdown program's purview, and then we logged out to find that our slowdown effected the ship's systems, including the life support.

“Yes, I’m still here Lieutenant. There were some unexpected defensive measures. Give me a status report.”

Looks of relief wash over the entire command staff, accented by the slow bleed-in of color to your images. Ivanova leans back in the chair briefly and closes her eyes, pulling free the mask, before standing again, “Yes, sir. You linked with Maestro’s core seventeen minutes ago and immediately went out of contact. Then about... Tynes? Dai?”

“Five minutes thirty seven seconds.” The dark man replies, clearing the display and making for his station. Dai nods.

“Roughly five minutes in we began to have system shutdowns across the ship. Weapons, shielding, engines, gravity, eventually life support around the ten minute mark. Unable to contact you we have been searching for ways to restore functionality.”

“Not much success. Designed properly for a warship.” Dai quips, heading for the bridge doors, and Ivanova nods.

“No, we were quickly running out of options other than cryo.” Your XO concludes, “We have also been monitoring groundside since sensors were one of the last things to go. Fighting appears to have broken out on the grounds of the compound above you, sir. I advise caution and perhaps a rapid withdrawal if possible.”

“I am afraid that might not be possible.” you say flatly, going on to fill them in on your discoveries within Maestro’s core.

Silence reigns for a long moment before Rinn speaks up, “Well, uh, congratulations then, Admiral? But I dunno what We can do ‘bout it. ‘Course I’m not an expert.”

“Understood. Ivanova, Dai?”

Your XO shifts in her seat, brow knitting, “It sounds like a custom program, sir. You said you had a copy and we have several specalists on board so it’s possible an exploit could be found, but it would likely take time.”

Dai stops at the door with a grunt, “Not enough information. Could reverse engineer. She’s right, would take time. Might be something in databank library you mentioned before. Could try hardware solution too if given physical access. Bypass security with lower level routes, let Maestro handle.”

“Umm, sirs?” DuBois pipes up, “I’m getting some activity from the fighters around us. Some are heading back to the planet, others are splitting off into groups. None of them are weapons hot or approaching us, but the fighting on the ground has moved into the complex the Captain is in.”

Ivanova nods at the man, “Keep monitoring the situation.” Turning to you, or rather your main bridge viewer, she speaks again, “Orders, sir?”

Check our chronometer, how long were we in there?

If the systems drain was significantly affecting the ship we need a plan before we jump back in there, which means consulting with the crew. Getting back down here for a second dive will be tricky, but when can burn that bridge when we come to it.
So, things to do, in order:
1: Check the time.
2: Reassure the crew and find out what has happened up there.
3. Get out of here and tell the officers what we've learned and ask for their thoughts on how to free Chuck.

>>16321537
>wat do?
Get everything online, you want them constantly watching whats happening down there.
Have them also look towards the polar facility, see if anything is going on down there.

>"I advise caution and perhaps a rapid withdrawal if possible.”
>“I am afraid that might not be possible.”
Why not? Anyone see something I don't

>>16321537
Uh, this is definitely not the only things. But everyone needs to get independent life support and survival suits ready to go at a moments notice.

Transmitting the lockdown virus to people opens the opportunity for them to use it against us in the future. Therefore, if we do, then only to Dai or whoever is the programming specialist, and then we monitor them while they read it.

Of course, even after this, they could always rewrite it.

Hrmm.

>>16321570
>Check our chronometer, how long were we in there?
Seventeen minutes.

Hold position. "Prepare a ground team, Ivonova, Rinn, I want you two on it." Basically have one ready should we need it.

There's nothing we can do far Charles right now. Sounds like we have some loose ends to chase down. We'll probably have to fight our way back here. This rebellion could help us do that, though.

Right now, we need to GTFO. Go back and meet up with our liaison. If we're to offer any support to the fellow we're going to need to know what he needs and where.

Sorry Charles, I'll be back to get you out yet!

>>16321571
We need to free Charles still, which is our goal.

>>16321571
Aaaand I'm late, but Vedi gave me pretty much what I was looking for.

>>16321601
Don't worry, we aren't totally fucked.

Still, I'm concerned. They said they weren't going to start a fight, but now shit is going down!
Also, did we ever get those Nanite codes?

>>16321537
>>16321522
Oh shit! We've got to move fast!

Upload a copy of the defense program and get someone working on that.
Can Dai walk us through a hardware solution?
I hate to go back in there before we're prepared and another visit to the library could steal away essential time we need both in RL and to save Charles.

How long does Dai estimate a hardware solution will take?

>>16321537
We dont have much time regardless of what we do. One option would be to EMP the site using the missiles then go in and try to rescue Charles but that'll put the fighters on alert towards us and the moment we log in our ship will be defenseless.

Another way would be to keep the ship where it is and try to resolve things by breaking Charles out of his imprisonment and hoping that he can resolve the battle on the surface.

>>16321616
>Upload a copy of the defense program and get someone working on that.
What defense program? You mean the lockdown program?

>Can Dai walk us through a hardware solution?
Fuck no. The cables are juryrigged like a Slanneshi dick in a Tzeenchian fleshlight. Don't you remember how much he hates working remotely anyways?

>>16321636
>One option would be to EMP the site using the missiles
That;s true, we do have a bomb ready and primed to specifically shut down the nanites. We could use that to get in and out, but as a last minute resort.

>>16321641
Yeah lockdown program.

>>16321636
Will the EMP affect Charles?

>>16321636
You gave me an idea. Only a little ways back the way we came, there are a bunch of combat level Ophidian Drones. We could go back and hack them to our side to cover us while we dive back into the mess.

Hell, getting more firepower on our side is always a good idea.

>>16321674
>Will the EMP affect Charles?
No. In the last thread one of our conscirpted scientists managed to create a pulse to shut down the nanites specifically, but it only last like half an hour.

>>16321636
This sounds pretty good except...what do we do to rescue Charles?

Well, in hindsight, going in power armor was certainly a good idea.

Let's weigh the options!

Withdraw now:
>"Help us oh, God of War! Bring forth your wrath upon the nonbelievers!"
Obligated to do so in order to keep them on our side.
>Possibly need to fight in space as well
Our body is ready, but that means there will be less spoils of war.
>Return later, have greater success of freeing Charles
Self-explanitory. We'd have to get people inside the core to help as well and trust them not to disable us.
>implying nobody else will access the Core
Possible, but unlikely.

Plug right the fuck back in:
>low chances of brute forcing
Not so sure this will be as effective.
>not need to fight
"Where were you?" "Oh, just freeing the chained god."
>Inherit a sizable space fleet
Undamaged, mostly.

Retreating now is a long-term solution. We'd have to fight our way back in if we leave, but it increases the chances of us actually freeing our bro. We're also betting that nothing will happen to Charles' core while we are gone.

Plugging in seems like a gamble that might leave us with nothing: no bro, no respect of the populace, possibly no crew should hostilities happen in space.

>>16321771
But wait, what's behind door number three!?

Come out, guns blazing, atmospheric drone fighters in tow. Tell the space fleet not to try any funny business.

"Harbinger is here to settle the score. Tanks will be deployed shortly. Vacate the premises immediately."

>>16321791
And if they call our bluff?

>>16321801
Why can't we just start hailing the planet, ask what the hell is going on.
Feign ignorance, see what the response is.

>>16321771
This is unfortunate, but you may be right. We need time to analyze the program and be clear how to defeat it before we jump back in. Perhaps we could withdraw, but leave something to monitor Charles' condition?

>>16321791
"I have spoken to Maestro. He no longer wishes to sit idly by. It is my will, and it is his will.

This world will be restored to another golden age.

The Graveyard of the Gods will be rebuilt.

The wicked shall know righteousness.

The righteous shall receive their just rewards."

>>16321811
Lol it's worth a shot and low on consequences...unless it drives the conflict to include us...

We could certainly use a hologram to pretend we're still on the ship...

>>16321824
Them's fightin' words if I ever heard them.

That conflict going on right now? That's because someone thinks we're going to try to lead a coup against their god/religion/power. If we come out and say "Oh hai guise we just talk to your god and he said do whatever I say!" things will be just the same as before. No matter how eloquently we phrase it.

We are still lacking evidence of our divinity.

>>16321801
What bluff? They dare challenge a god?

We have divine authority. We emerge from Maestro carrying his will.

BEHOLD as the aether is rent asunder!
TREMBLE at the power of HARBINGER!
REJOICE ye who seek righteousness!
For the day is at hand when MAESTRO emerges from holy Ophidia to lead this world once again!

>>16321861
So you're suggesting the bluff in conjunction with the EMP strike I assume? That miiight work assuming they're not too disillusioned when the 30 minutes is up. Is this really the 30 minutes we want to use that on?

>>16321858
>lacking evidence of our divinity.

Maybe when their entire capital ceases to function for half an hour they will believe us.

Also, the ships in their armada are all piloted by pilots. I assume we can communicate in their dialect, but even if we don't, they should understand that we're not afraid to lay the smack down on some heretics.

>>16321905
Fine, since this is the only real suggestion that's been made so far let's do it.

This was probably said elsewhere, but it's been bugging me all the same.

Isn't Earth still Earth? So where then is Ophidia? Does such a world even exist?

>>16321905
>Maybe when their entire capital ceases to function for half an hour they will believe us.

People falling from the sky by the thousands.
advice_harbinger.png
Our popularity will soar to unknown heights.

>>16321888
The thing about it is that they cannot match our firepower on the ground during those 30 minutes. We can potentially disable the nanite net by going into the spire and punching it or something.

Well, how about this. I'm not all for running into combat blind.

How about we exit the core. And then we meet the Godspeakers. And then we ask them, "Hey, Godspeakers. Hey. Is this the time for war? Has it come?" (well, more like >>16321824 )

And if they say "yes, Lord Harbinger, let the heretics tremble!" we lay down the smack.

And if not, then we can just stealth it out of there.

>>16321925
We don't have to disable the Nanites until we know what's going on. (The nature of combat, and the way the nanites are being used, specifically.)

Just say we carry the will of Maestro and if they want to fight us, then fight them. And then if the Godspeakers on our side are OK with it, we can bring down the network.

>>16321965
I like this. Asking first is just polite.

>>16321940
It's the Ophidian Empire. Earth is still Earth...well the same planet anyway...

We need more of a plan for those 30 minutes however, should they come to pass. What/who do we target while defenses are down?

>>16322013
Probably finding out a way to disable the tower in such a way that we would be able to turn it back on.

>>16322029
Do we want to target those fighting against us as well? An example maybe? Or will the spire be enough?

So the plan is to shoot a nuke at their god and demand subservience?

>>16322053
probably good idea to shoot anyone who's openly hostile to us.

Damn, where is everyone? It's like three people ITT.

I've been the one pushing for an assault, but in retrospect >>16321584
>There's nothing we can do far Charles right now. Sounds like we have some loose ends to chase down. We'll probably have to fight our way back here. This rebellion could help us do that, though.

>Right now, we need to GTFO. Go back and meet up with our liaison. If we're to offer any support to the fellow we're going to need to know what he needs and where.

seems like a completely reasonable and not-too-rash plan. I think Rinn and Ivanova should remain on the ship to keep the space fleet on their toes, but a ground fleet with some of the ensigns might be a good idea. We'll need someone to pilot the tank(s), after all.

>>16322090
No, but it's true we haven't come up with anything else...

Look, lets just make our way out, hack those combat droids into our service using Ophidian codes or EI awesome hacking skills, then leave them there to guard the core while we make our way out and find tou what thefuck is going on.

>>16321965
>"Hey, Godspeakers. Hey. Is this the time for war? Has it come?"
Sort of picturing Bjorn waking up and asking if it's time for war now. I'm up for doing this. Seeing if it's possible for them to buy us time to free Charles. If they can he'll have complete control of the nanite network even if we have to knock the damn nanites out of the air for a half hour.

>>16322090
Well when you say it like that... Shit.

>>16322090
no, i reconsidered. firing the nuke/disabling the nanites should only be done as a last resort. The fleet don't look like they are being hostile, and i expect people to defect to our side.

Emerge.
Talk to Godspeakers.
Be ready for space combat, though.

>>16322111
That's a big IF. I too would be in favor of using the EMP IF we can free charles, but it doesn't look like we'll be able to in any timely manor.

We need to get estimates for hacking the program or doing some sort of hardware voodoo from Dai.

>>16322100
Hey cool, someone is backing my plan.

I'm still leaning that way myself, if we're taking a vote or something.

>>16322100
Drones can pilot tanks. Do we dare risk the last of humanity?

>>16322111
When Ivanova and Dai said "it would take time" to find holes in the program, I'm thinking they meant more than 30 minutes.

If we're taking the long-term approach, then we need to get this topside revolution sorted out and get about a week's worth of relative peace, even if it means we have to slug it out with heavy lances.

Really not looking forward to that, though. Nope. Space combat is just bad for everyone in this situation, but I don't think the Godspeakers will care about that.

>>16322152
Jesus.

So you want the man to give you a time estimate for -- safely and without damage to the core EI template -- reprogramming a system put together by a team of secret Intel researchers and he has: 1. Never seen. 2. Only has a rough five-minute description of second-hand. 3. Might be working on in the middle of a battle.

Is this correct? Is that the kind of accurate estimate you expect him to give you?

>>16322182
Space combat is probably a losing situation. If it comes to that we need to be ready to GTFO.

Nothing I can see right now, but some hardcore diplomacy.

>>16322192
Yeah, Dai should be able to give us an estimate accurate to within 2 minutes with that information.

>>16322192
Well, its not a serious thing. More like we want to know if they have an idea if it will take somewhere between a month and a year.

>>16322192
More like we should send it to him first thing and get him working on that estimate. If he can figure anything out quickly it would certainly impact future plans.

We need to talk while our tech guys can work on a solution for Chuck. No shooting first.

>>16322172
>last of humanity

Last of not-barbaric humanity, you mean. If we can get Charles sorted out right'n'propa we can look forward to having recruits in about 40 years.

Meeting these people reminded me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGevVk_Sdzg&t=2m04s

So, the plan in total:

>Send up the info.
>Get Dai to get the ship up and running before he starts analyzing the info.
>Hack the combat drones to our side to guard Charles.
>Head topside, weapons hot and scanning for people.
>Once topside, find our allies.
>If allies can't be found, GTFO and call for a shuttle.

>>16322312
Sounds pretty good.

>>16322332
bump

>>16322462
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrdEMERq8MA

>>16322312
Yeah, this sounds good.

Longer than usual updates mean either we fucked something up or Vedibere is about to drop some more awesome on us.

>>16322671
Wellll, we probably fucked up. It was a good run while it lasted...

*Gently Bumps thread*

>>16322713
But we just managed to avoid a fuckup just a few hours ago!
Granted, it was by the skin of Ged's fucking teeth, but still.

Calm down bros, it's only been an hour since his last post.

>>16322671
Pretty sure we fucked up. Participation in the VQ threats has been declining rapidly anyway. I guess he just wants to end the quest by now.

>>16322764
Nah, if he did, he would say so. Hell, just a thread or so ago he said he was still enjoying it, but hoped the participation went up.

>>16322764
We may be in a tight spot, but we're not that close yet.

What's with all the doomsaying this thread anyway?

>>16322764
On the plus side, this has cut down on the arguments.

>>16322779
I've got to admit, I stopped playing VQ because uni started again but something I don't get, why did this thing drop from two 400+ threads to a mere 130-180 posts per thread?

>>16322790
It's like the above fellow said:
>Longer than usual updates mean either we fucked something up or Vedibere is about to drop some more awesome on us.
>>16322805
Vedi is back at grad school, and I assume others are schooling as well.


Let's cheer up a little so we don't focus on potential doom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiKPgmN5jTg

>>16322805
Summer ended and kids went back to school.

>>16322813
If you want cheer up music, then listen to this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWlx2JiY4t0

>>16322831
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWlx2JiY4t0
>animu
>w/english singing
IT BURRRRNS.

>>16322844
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaqC5FnvAEc&list=FL0vbL9oAZiCkWe5U5XcH_Qw&index=4

>>16322868
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EcgruWlXnQ&list=FL0vbL9oAZiCkWe5U5XcH_Qw&index=21

>>16322844
Do people actually like that show?

>>16322901
A few do, yes. It's slated for a second season as well.

>>16322913
It's like you just can't get 12 oz. Mouse off the air.

You spend a few minutes running system checks and ensuring that no damage was done to the ship. Fortunately whatever happened appears temporary and the process goes swiftly. After transmitting the code for the lockdown program to both Dai and Ivanova (and ordering them to keep it to themselves) you turn and thumb open the huge blast doors that seal the vault. When you emerge you are startled to find Godspeaker Ulinat standing there, his red robes slightly singed. “Hail, Lord Harbinger. You have spoken with our Lord Maestro and now I know your words to be true. Come, we have little time to get you away.”

“How did you know I spoke with him?” you ask curiously, following the steel grey haired man as he starts off.

“How could one not? The flux in the AEther spoke clearly, our spells becoming far more potent and exact. Too many noticed, however, and we have been forced to take action.”

“Yes, my... divine sight sees battle raging above. Has the time for war come?”

He looks around, his eyes widening, “No, Great Lord! Though I know you are the God of War and we would be victorious with your strength, we will wipe their minds clean of the actions this night so none will know. Now is not the time, the people are yet rallying for the coming fight. This way.” With that he turns to an elevator and leads you in. You frown as you follow, your massive armored bulk taking up only a small fraction of the enormous cargo elevator.

“Where does this lead? And why was it not used before during the descent?”

He smiles, “Do not be concerned, Lord. This spirit lifts is capable of lifting us to the heavens and allowing your chariot to meet with us, but it was guarded in the past. Secrecy has been compromised now, though, so we may utilize it. Let us go.” With that the large man taps the up-arrow and the lift jolts briefly... before rocketing up at a speed that would shatter bones and crush body were it not for the inertial compensators you hear hum to life.

After less than a minute of shooting upward you grow bored and begin peering at the grating to your right... and then are forced to keep yourself from reeling back as the blank unisteel wall you were observing gives way to a transparent glass-like substance. Before you stands the entire planet, arrayed in all its majesty, the horizon curving around below. After a moment of thought and locating your body with ship sensors you see... you are shooting up a service elevator in the Spire itself.

You have the drone shuttle you landed on launch and head -- as stealthily as possible -- toward the edifice as your ascent slows near the ¾ mark, nearly ten miles into the air.

“Be prepared, Lord Harbinger. There are yet some deluded fools about who may attempt to halt your return. And please do not... exercise your powers here. It could be dangerous for myself and the other mortals.”

You nod, stepping off after the man and following him. As you do you take in the sights... and quite impressive sights at that. The spire, unlike the Masestro itself, is ornately decorated and sparklingly clean. In contrast to the exposed cabling and claustrophobic halls below the ones here are open and airy, glass and crystal panels all around sparkling with light and allowing you views of massive energy conduits thrumming with power. You take in the sights happily, glancing through the windows and at the conduits....

And freeze.

You rapidly access your databases and compare technical specs. Double checking, triple checking. There can be no mistake.

Lieter-A class energy conduits, overcharged to carry a frankly ridiculous amount of power from the singularity reactor and distribute it through the net. Planet-grade, not starship-grade. And most certainly not warship-grade. Never designed to handle the raw output a singularity reactor is capable of either.

Slowly Ulinat’s warning clicks into place. A breach, even an slight one... You shudder. Singularity reactors are normally safe, even direct hits from heavy lances unable to overwhelm them due to the self-perpetuating shielding system around them. But here, for this, such a thing would have to be bypassed. A breach here would unleash all of this titanic energy... a raw massive singuarity uncapped. A raw geyser of power like a small quasar. Or in the worse case an actual core breach.

Insanity to design such a thing.

Your footfalls resume, only having fallen half a step behind Ulinat. You try to return to enjoying the beauty of the place but behind every wall your suit sensors can feel them... the pulsing threads of unstable power that feed this planetary network. Perhaps if you could get a look at th--

You are brought up short, almost tripping over Ulinat. “What? What are you doing Godspeaker?”

He doesn’t respond, instead raising a finger and pointing while whispering something. In front of you the air shimmers... no, the nanite swarm shimmers to reveal a half dozen men in blue robes advancing toward you. You almost swear, you could have -- should have -- detected them from much farther away. If only you hadn’t been focusing on the walls. And now from both the Godspeaker’s stance and their faces you know only too well... they are not likely to be friendly.

>WAT DO?

"You boys are biting off more than you can chew. Even if you can take this avatar, I can destroy this place immediately afterwards with my true body.

Give it up before you and everyone you ever cared about get hurt."

>>16322931
Call their bluff. This place is a sacred to them as it is to us, and vice versa. There shall be no combat within these hallowed walls.
If they try to push it, tell them bluntly that if there is a single breach, the spire will explode, as it has been strained for millenia to channel the power of Maestro.

>brb cheacking archives for weapons loadout.

>Longer than usual update.

Mah bad, was making hardened leather to reach the next layer in HnH.

>>16322931
Prepare for crushinating, wade in and squish them within your massive metal hands fueled by the power of the black hole which is your heart.

>>16323017
>Haven and Hearth
Seriously, dude? You could have the same amount of fun playing EvE Online.

>>16323028
EVE online costs money, HnH is free, therefore HnH is better.

>>16323028
Or giving yourself a vasectomy using only a potato peeler.

>>16323040
No, that's reserved for when the Russian Hordes come into your map.

>>16322971
I found some of the Weapons loadout in the old thread #23

>“Liking the sidearm? One of my personal favorites, Vodian Ultra-Light Handlance. Thing will put some hurt on anyone you can see. Or anyone you can’t, really, as long as it hits them.”

>You nod, “I think the grenades might be a bit much though.”

>He shakes his head stubbornly, “No way, sir. They’re in case things get really rough. The three X-3s will take out a room each, the X-9 will bring down a spire. They’re for in case things get hairy down there. You asked my advice on armaments, so I’m tellin’ ya. Keep ‘em with ya. The drones might be nice and I hear ya got some goodies yourself... but I been from one side of this galaxy to the other, sir. Seen a lot of crazy stuff. Nothin’ beats a good blaster at your side.”The shuttle jolts again and you nod, walking over to one of the seats and strapping in for final approach..

>>16323065
> the X-9 will bring down a spire.
WE ARE NOT USING THE X-9.

>>16323053
>russians
Yesterday their universal key alt (i kno rite?) got killed during a raid and all but a couple of their cities got raped.

>>16323028
>EVE
I don't want to pay for something I'll just quit when I grow bored.

>>16322931
Clarification: is the SUPER EXPLODEY CONDUIT OF DOOM surrounding the whole elevator or only on one/two sides?

if it is only in certain locations, where is it in relation to us/godspeaker and the blue-robes?

... are the red robed godspeakers and the blue robed lesser dudes references to UO? :o

Oh, and does our suit have any kind of combat blade?

>>16323053
Doesn't it always end that way?

>>16323083
>EVE
>pay
since when?

Tell them to back off, unless they think they are a match for the God of War. If they do, punch the shit out of them. We can't use any proper weapons for risk of blow this whole place up.

>fighang 'often
Yes, captcha, there is often fighang.

>>16323092
Or we could, like, use the weapons we brought.

We're still in that battlesuit aren't we? I don't recall having ever taken it off since we left the shuttle.

>>16322931
Could we get our shuttle as close as possible, destroy one of that things windows and simply float/jump pack over?
10-20 secs. exposure to the vacuum should be surviveable for a normal human.

>>16323114
>10-20 secs. exposure to the vacuum should be surviveable for a normal human.
If you mean Ged, he's in a sealed powersuit, he'll be fine.
If you meant the Godspeaker... Eh, he'll be alright.

I was unaware we were in space.

>>16323128
>I was unaware we were in space.

>>16322929
>Before you stands the entire planet, arrayed in all its majesty, the horizon curving around below

I simply guessed we must be pretty high.

>>16323103
If you feel like blowing up the entire planet, go right ahead.

>>16322931
Here is plan:
>Ask what they want. Full power to scanners, look for anything a=or anyone else out of the ordinary. Use ventriloquist voxing to speak directly to Urist and tell him to keep anything from hitting the walls at all cost.
>call their bluff, citing the sanctity of the tower and their godhood.
>Show hesitation or aggression, powersword and handlance out. Use augmented processing and movement speed to kill them all.
>If they start flying, the suit has jetpacks.
>If they start using fireballs or something, take it like a man, don't let them hit the walls.
>If they start trying to disintegrate you with nanites, remember you are wearing Ophidian Pontifex Power Armor. Plasma Window Shielding, Energize the outside!

>>16323152
Mah little plan:
Step forward decisively
"Stop! Do not force my hand! I would not consecrate this holy place with blood!"
Attempt to diplomize. Namely, express to them that you are returning to the ship until the preparations are made to free your brother.
If all else fails punch their appendix out. (No guns or bombs here)

>>16323216
>>16323216
Sorry, second point should read
>If THEY show hesitation or aggression, powersword and handlance out. Bumrush and kill em all using augmented speed and accuracy.

inb4 "I never asked for this"

Actually, we'll use that after the fight.

>>16323216
>Urist
I meant Godspeaker Ulinat.

I do like the idea of a Godspeaker Urist.

If we have any ranged weapons that are not area-of-effect (i.e. grenades) or likely to pierce the target and keep going (i.e. that blaster), use those.

Shooting the blaster but making sure it doesn't hit anything critical (i.e. power conduits) is also acceptable. We're a computerbrain, we can calculate trajectory. Vacuum breaches are also acceptable in this case, but we may need to take Ulinat with us in our magical space chariot. That is also acceptable, but not preferable.

If using ranged weaponry is impossible due to power conduits being ERRYWHERE, hulk smash is OK.

Of course, don't be the first to fire.

>>16323092
>>16322971
>>16322963
These are good, and should take precedence

>>16323289
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnGPgCVJUsI

So diplomacy followed by combat if it doesn't work? Or diplomacy followed by GTFO if it doesn't work?

Because let's face it guys, I'm not too sure why you are expecting diplomacy to work after you have already been told there is fighting all up in this bitch.

"COME AT ME, BRO!"

>>16323309
We are starting with diplomacy because they should be respecting us. And if they won't respect us, we kill them for that percieved slight. Also because they might blow everything to kingdom come if we don't. THEN we GTFO.

By the way, tack this on:
>"Who has begun this riot? Explain this insolence!"
or some variation of that. Might as well pump them for information,

>>16323309
Less like diplomacy and more like intimidate.

Combat, as per >>16323305

>>16323344
>kill them

ahahaha, no.

At least, not ALL of them. Leave one. Shoot off his shoulders so he can't wave his arms around. Then we interrogate them.

>>16323389
>Shoot off his shoulders so he can't wave his arms around.
And we'll call insist his name is Abaddon while we're at it.

Get in front of Ulianat, as well. Our armor could possibly protect him. He is our biggest ally here on this planet. Make sure he doesn't get killed.

>>16323216
this is good for the battle itself
>>16323239
>>16323245
>>16323305
>>16323344
this also works well

>>>16323439
THIS

Oh god. Too much fighting here could crack the conduits. We have to be precise as fuck with our shots, or barring that close to melee.

The following video describes the relationship between Vedibere/Voidquest and it's participants.
(hint: the cars are the posters)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drp9o4E7G7U

>>16323439
Yeah, we need to protect this guy, if at all possible.

>>16323491
>We have to be precise as fuck with our shots
We're an Ophidian EI with a cybernetic body. We gave IVANOVA a run for her money.
We'll be precise as fuck.

Barring the nanites deflecting the beam or something,

What about our drones? What about the shuttle?

>>16323536
The drones are... do we have any on the shuttle?

>nanites deflecting the beam or something,

That's horrifying. Don't even joke about that.

Punch out their throats.

Also, I didn't point this out, but in case you missed it, they know we talked to Charles because their power levels increased, because our CPU was being used as well.

>>16323536
too far away to be of use at the moment

DEFINITELY PROTECT ULINATALYONOMOTOPOEIA. I can't remember how his name is spelled and I'm too lazy to scroll up a few posts.

>>16323641
bump
This is I believe the Ophidian Civil War went.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6mZZiI4ShQ

>>16323844
Accurate in more ways that one, to be honest....

>>16323876
.than*

Man I'm getting tired. Next update will probably be the last.

>>16323876
I FUCKIN KNEW IT.

>>16323887
Ok.

>>16323902
bump

Thread has been archived, by the way.

I did it this time so that the tags are not fucked up the ass.

>>16324046
thanks brah.

>>16323887
Does this mean that you have enough to update?

I will be upset if these fools destroy us all.

That's even worse than space combat.

That's like us dropping the cluster-eater.

>>16324118
I am and have been writing the update, yes.

>>16324174
cool. I've been watching the Total Annihilation Kingdoms annihilation.

>>16324174
Please don't have us discharge weapons when surrounded by unstable high-energy conduits that have been working far beyond design specs for 64,000 years.
Because I can only imagine them being as fragile as a Star Trek EPS conduit, and nanites in the air deflecting our shots into them.

>>16324207
>Longer than usual updates mean either we fucked something up or Vedibere is about to drop some more awesome on us.

>>16324385
Could go either way, depending on if he decided to listen to the idiots who want to shoot things.

I wonder if the way they're handling things is a response to us actually delivering on our claims of godhood.

Think about it. The Godspeakers are all "if he is what he claims to be, he is going to be PISSED at what we did to maestro." Ullinat goes "Let's let him speak with Maestro and hopefully he too will become trapped and boost our power, if not, we can always dispatch him later and FORCE him."

Think about it, they've admitted their power is waning. They feel an energy boost, those who are for the plan are all FUCK YEAR. The others are all "NO YOU FOOLS!" Fighting errupts. Ullinat is clever though and has a contingency in place.

Fuck the godspeakers. They need to be destroyed and we need to uplift the remnants of humanity.

>>16324523
>going to be PISSED at what we did to maestro

I think it's less that (it's almost certainly been 50,000 years since Maestro's been locked down) and more
>man he's going to mess up the status quo!

Do the godspeakers even know? I think they might have forgotten or never known.

>>16324593
One or two might know, but it is doubtful. Remember how Olar talked about the 'mortal fools'? He was quite certain of his immortality.

Still here.

Almost done.

>>16324538
Yeah, I think this is largely a status quo thing.

so, people were talking about putting together all of Vedi's posts in a google doc... anyone actually go ahead and do it? if so, link please.

>>16324631
I think I'm gonna do it. I'm not the google doc guy, but I'm gonna do it in a massive.PNG file or five, so they can be posted in the threads and highlighted and shit.

>>16324644
>massive.PNG file or five
the advantage of a text file is that we can ctrl+f for things like "who's this "oral" guy?"

>>16324655
True. Both methods have their appeal. I'll do mine, the other fellow will do his.

>>16324625
>Almost done
>20 minutes later

Shit. That's some long posts.

>>16324749
He has to write a intense conversation with multiple parties, a combat scene, and a closing section to end the thread with.
In terms of word count it might not be humoungus, but it takes a long while to puzzle it all out so it plays realistically.
If he didn't, it would be the equivalent of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOhgi5vyK6s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ol5SW9In7M

So, do you guys like milk? I think it's pretty good, a good source of vitamin D, calories, and some fat. It tastes pretty good too.

I don't understand why some people don't like it, though.

>>16324808
I like it, but it sortof makes me sick, in a way. Something about gluten. Anyhow, I drink Skim, since i don't react badly to it, but for some reason whole milk with vitamin d enrichment seems heavy enough to not react either.

You see a thick wall of nanites manifest in front of Ulinat as he holds up his hand, muttering “shield” as he does so.

“Wait.” He turns to you questioningly and you shake your head, stepping in front of him and raising your vox volume, “HALT!” you thunder, “I AM THE LORD HARBINGER, BROTHER TO LORD MAESTRO! I DEMAND YOU SPEAK AND TELL ME WHO BEGAN THIS FOOLISHNESS AND CEASE YOUR FOOL ACTIONS. ALLOW ME TO PASS AND YOUR LIVES WILL BE SPAR--”

Unfortunately you don’t quite get to finish. The lead mage throws up his hand and yells the word “IMPACT” and a concussive force slams into you. The unisteel beneath your armored treads crumples slightly as you slide back a half inch, and from the hurried gestures and sudden thickening of nanites around the blue-robed men you assume they were expecting a different result. “Lord, we must go quickly! With fewer I might be able to manage, but this is beyond even my ability.” Ulinat says, and you feel the nanite shield begin to envelop you.

“No.” You step forward. You’ve been laughed at by the fool Godspeakers, hustled about underground, found your friend in an altered state, almost killed, and now these... these little /upjumped human shits/ are trying to kill you again.

They want a god?

Fine.

You’ll show them a god.

>>16324808
I enjoy milk and dairy products very much. They go good with many things, although drinking too much milk causes the growth of tonsil stones.

>>16324819
I've got a boner.

“Stay here. Do not move. Protect only yourself. Don’t worry about them. Understood?”

“Lord I don’t think you sh--”

“That is a command, Ulinat. Do you understand?”

The man blinks twice, shocked, and nods before swearing and kicking himself backward with nanite-enhanced force. You turn back just in time to catch a face full of flame, the blistering heat crashing over you like water as the liquid ball of fire bursts on your form. The inferno blossoms and rises into a towering column of flame as it overtakes your form, warping the deckplates and causing crystal to shatter from the heat.

The leader of the six, a gaunt bald-headed man, smiles and turns his attention to the remaining target. The Godspeaker stands encased in a protective shell, but no matter the protection it can be cracked. The six advance slowly, cautiously, wary of the Godspeaker’s significant power... but the expected strike does not come. He simply sits in the magical shell, waiting. With a frown the bald man directs the others around the twisting flames, moving closer to the red-robed man, preparing to attack....

Until your arm, wreathed in liquid fire, shoots out and closes an armored hand around his head. A bloodcurdling shriek rends the air as the flames race along his form, the others tumbling backward in horror as you stride unharmed from the pillar of heat, wreathed in flames, “FOOLS! YOU DARE CHALLENGE THE GOD OF WAR HIMSELF?” you bellow, letting yourself go and living in the moment. Your vise-like grip tightens and the screaming stops as the priest’s skull shatters, the hiss of blood-doused flames replacing it as you fling the corpse at another of the blue-robed men.

The body bounces harmlessly off the shield, splattering gore across it and the man responds in kind, “Disintegrate!” he yells, and you see the nanites form into a lance at his finger and rocket across the intervening distance, blasting away the flames from your upper torso on impact. A noncritical note flashes into your consciousness from the suit; slight exterior armor breakdown detected. You flick on the suit shield and the notice vanishes, the nanites that were attempting to dematerialize your suit vaporized by the reactive energy.

“IS THAT ALL?” you sneer, time slowing around you as your processing banks hum to life. Trillions of calculations in the space of a heartbeat, power analysis, precision targeting finding a flight path between the conduits. Half a hundred targeting beams flash out, painting the floor, walls, the man himself. Your Reaper assault rifle sweeps up, glides into it’s notch in the air as if it were made for it...

The flux bolt draws an instantaneous line of distortion through the air between you, slamming into and through the man’s shield, chest, and vital organs, rending apart and randomizing the molecules in a ten-centimeter radius around the impact point.

As the man crumples, gurgling and spitting up blood from his now-nonexistent lungs, you spot a third of the priests, this one barely out of his teens, who has been chanting and weaving his spells since you burst from the flames. But no longer. He looks up, face full of fury and triumph, and throws his hands out to you, “DIE!”

You wait.

Nothing happens.

“Heh. Heh heh. HAH! HA HA HA!”, you just can’t help yourself as the man’s face turns from a look of triumph to shock, shock to horror.

“D-demon!” he cries, stumbling backward. Your targeting reticles light up as you bring the rifle around but this time deny you your easy victory. A vital artery of power directly behind the man stymies the ultra-light lance shot you were lining up. Annoying, but not for long. You settle into a half crouch and spring forward, igniting your maneuver jets and enhancing the motion with suit servos in addition to your own. Your form is a grey blur as you streak across the room, your shroud of flames left behind in brief silhouette were you were standing before. The boys eyes are wide in shock, legs dangling limply several feet in the air before you. You wrench your left arm free from the wall, the boy tumbling down like a rag doll as the two foot long punch-blade slides back into your gauntlet.

“Crush!” you hear to your right, turning to see an brown-haired woman with hands held toward you. A soft chime informs you that external pressure has increased to 1200 atmospheres and removing the suit would be inadvisable until returning to a human-safe pressure zone. You roll your eyes, dismissing the advisory and bringing up the Reaper as your trajectory calcs finish.

“Oh gods, protect me Lord Mae--” she begins, cut off as the UL-Lance flashes, her head exploding in a wet *pop*.

“Devil! Monster! Flee, before it slays us all!” you hear from behind as you turn to the remaining two lifesigns you’ve tagged as hostile... only to have your sensors fall upon their backs. Both are rapidly fleeing down one of the adjoining halls, one airborne the other using nanites to augment his normal running speed. You frown slightly, wanting to take the shot and technically able to do so... but unsure exactly of the conduit layout at the far end of the hall.

No. Too dangerous, and there is no /real/ need anyway. You plod over to Ulinat, the large man dwarfed by your armored form and rather pale as he gazes up at you. As you approach he swallows and speaks reverently, bowing his head, “I... apologize for having ever questioned you, Lord. The Esteemed are the warriors of our order, to not even be phased by their most powerful sorceries...” he trails off and shakes his head, “Truly a god of war.”

“Of course. Now tell me, this is an exterior wall is it not?”

He frowns, “Well, yes, but my Lord I don’t know wha--”

You stop listening, pacing the wall for a minute before finding a roughly man-sized area without conduits and raising the rifle one last time. The discharge rips a hole through effortlessly, the decompression that follows creating a howling vortex as the normal-pressure air from inside is sucked into the stratosphere. And there outside hovers your shuttle, the slow whine of the rear cargo hatch opening a metallic accent to the gale.

You turn back, throwing Ulinat a portable holographic comm, “This is a divine token which will allow us to speak across vast distances. For now I shall return this avatar to my body in the sky, but soon we shall speak again, I have spoken with Maestro and there are tasks that we agreed must be accomplished soon. Guard it well and continue your preparations.”

“Yes, Lord!” he cries, barely audible above the sound of the depressurization, but you nod and turn away. You dial the servo assists to maximum and activate the compensators as you leap, firing your maneuvering jets to glide slowly across the several hundred foot gap nearly fifteen kilometers above the planet surface. Your landing is perfect inside the waiting shuttle cargo bay and you level the ship out, flicking the door control with your mind.

As the doors close you turn, raising a hand in farewell to the Godspeaker even as you watch him casting “spells” to begin moving large sheets of unisteel and plug the gap. With a thud the doors close and lock, seals enabling, and you fire thrusters... upward, onward. Your human form, returning back to your body and crew.

>That’s it for me tonight.
>Next thread Sunday 18:00
>Hope it was worth the wait
>Probably the second or third longest combat scene I’ve written in a quest

>>16324875
YES.
WE. ARE. A . GOD.
Also, I am very very happy that I made all of those pointed and detailed commands.
also, even MORE happy we wore a powersuit.

>>16324875
It was good. Killing the young guy seemed a bit much. Would have rather just battered him around.

But the punk did try to kill us, so fuck him in the ass.

>>16324875
it was indeed worth the wait.

Fucking awesome.

After all this cockblocking, it felt nice to let loose. See you next time Vedi.

Well, that certainly put the fear of God into them.

>>16324644
>>16324631
Uh, it won't all fit in a google doc by the way.

I should know. I write them in google docs and, well... I hit the character limit. I had to start a second.

A PNG with a list of major characters, their personalities/background, objects, weapons, abilities, and things like that though... Hmm.

That would be pretty neat.

>>16324896
AND we left survivors to tell the tale!
Also, we are NEVER going anywhere without our powersuit.
EVER.

Well once we get back to the ship, get a status report on the space around us, keep monitored the kerfuffle going on on the surface, get to work on the lockdown program with Dai.

Also, get some serious defenses around our upload links and memory banks. Make that shit completely inaccessible. Bury them under yards of unisteel. I don't know if we've done it before, but if not, enter into our own 'cyberbrain' and set up defenses to keep intruders out, beefing up our firewall as it were. We don't want to become like Charles.

And if we can do it, then maybe improving our firewall would help us last longer when we return to Charles.

>>16324905
You write them in google doc? I just use Wordpad and have it set to autosave every couple of minutes.

Also, after archiving all your posts and relevant posts into PNG, I'll go about and collect all the gags and adviceharbingers.jpg for posterity.

>>16324905
Actually, yeah.

An outline. Major characters and events.

>>16324875
>>16324866
>>16324864
>>16324857
>>16324850
It-it's beautiful...

Why did we worry!?!

>>16324937
Because this is a Vedibere quest.
It's like being the protagonist of a Stephen King novel, except worse, because anything that goes nightmarishly wrong will be our fault.

>>16324850
>>16324857
>>16324864
>>16324866
>>16324875
Oh, my sides!
I just read it all in his voice!

>>16324875
Now we just need to figure out what to do in the aftermath.
Aside from ask if they were watching and if your were 'godly' enough.

>>16324937
Because sometimes we don't worry and then people's eyes burst out and we have to bury them in space.

Or sometimes we get too rash and blow up a singularity reactor planetside.

Or sometimes a crewman's lower half gets severed by nuclear explosions.

>>16324836
>I've got a boner.
I know that feel. I popped, like, three.

Right.

What do?
Ivanova. We need to talk to her. Might be a bit awkward after coming on to her, but whatever. We need to talk to her about Aurora Shael (I just noticed that the Hydra is the ship we had that flashback/hacking sequence in) and Olianas Paxil (the dual-commissioned one).

Specifically, ask her that if, in her opinion, there might be some that would not approve of EIs running a government. Maybe we can have a nice chat about what it means to be human. Charles is pretty far gone in that respect, but he's had many years, and he doesn't seem unstable in the sense that he would kill everyone forever once we freed him.

Basically, I'm saying "ask Ivanova in a roundabout way if she would be forced to shut us down if we declared ourselves secessionist forces and that EIs were going to run the Empire from now on."

Then, talk to Ulinat about who controls the space fleet, and if we can expect a battle with them.

So, the current plan seems to be to temporarily retreat to the Harbinger, and have our specialists begin taking a look at the code of the lockdown program. By looking at how it integrates with the target EI, a way of deactivating it might be found.

There's the other encrypted logs in the Maestro databank library, but we'd need to get access to the Maestro again, and it currently seems unlikely that we could do so safely.

And whatever we do, we need to make sure that no harm comes to the Spire. One of those energy conduits being ruptured could cause a containment breach.

Should we contact the polar facility? We've been meaning to ask people about it, but it always seems to get pushed aside by more immediate concerns.

>>16325025
>"ask Ivanova in a roundabout way if she would be forced to shut us down if we declared ourselves secessionist forces and that EIs were going to run the Empire from now on."
She wouldn't know, remember? It's all selectively blocked off or meme-wiped until reloaded later. I'm just wondering if we just scored some MAN points with her.

Also, we warn the crew that no one goes down planetside without a sealed suit, because they have 'spells' that tell the nanites to kill you from the inside, or disintegrate you from the outside.
And we warn them that the Spire is shoveling a quasar's worth of power and will blow if gently bumped by anything.

>Should we contact the polar facility?
YES. We should ask Ulinat about that first, though, and even if he doesn't know ask if he can obfuscate a drone as it goes down for us.

Goddamn. I feel like the goddamn Batman after reading that post, Vedibere.

>>16325025
"Say Ivanova. Hypothetically speaking, if EIs were the only authority left within the empire, and thus, were left to lead it as rulers, what might a hypothetical intelligence operative do? Hypothetically of course.

Unrelated to this, I was curious as to whether you would like to perhaps take a vacation? Spend a few months in cryo, perhaps? I could spend some time reading up on cybernetics and implants, you know. Conditional programming and the like. One never knows when something like that could come in handy."

>>16325025
>Because sometimes we don't worry and then people's eyes burst out and we have to bury them in space.
Emelia, poor soul. No one expected an immortal microbe that could eat through unisteel-weave undersuits.

>Or sometimes we get too rash and blow up a singularity reactor planetside.
Are you talking about those xenos we lanced to hell and subugated to famine? They were xenos, the only thing we lost was maybe some loot.. Besides, it was were they kept the planetary defenses, it had to go.

>Or sometimes a crewman's lower half gets severed by nuclear explosions.
The dumb-launched warheads. I supposed we could've been more paranoid, but we fell for the classic blunder of every advanced civilization: forgetting that the oldest tricks in the book are still there for a damn good reason.

>>16325058
I think she'd probably take offense to that one. Let's approach it from a more romantic angle:

"I want you to be the person you truly are, with no imposed restrictions or limitations. The person you were always meant to be. I'd do anything to give you your freedom."

You know, they were calling us 'Devil' and 'Demon' there at the end. I kind of expected Ged to say "I am Harbinger, God of War! Were you perhaps expecting someone else? Did you really think that there would a different outcome after incurring my wrath?"
Maybe we should save it for when we have to beat some more sense into these primitive screwheads?

>>16325058
No. Just no. We just got at her emotionally by nearly dying, and taking Ivonova and the rest all with us. That would be rude. Besides, Vedi said we don't have the knowledge or the materials on hand.

>>16325075
>>16325058
I'd rather not bring it up at all, because she might not even remember any of that stuff. It might be blocked off from her conscious memory until something triggers it. Such as an EI asking her about hidden Intelligence anti-EI protocols.

>>16325076
"You goad me into proving myself, and then cower and whine when I do so? Are you not men? Do you not understand your weight in the world? Are you not willing to take responsibility for your actions!? You ask for war, and it is brought. Now face it and answer for your sins."

>>16325076
>>16325096
Oooh, hey, we should ask Rinn to go over some lines with us, for the next time we go down. A man like that has some good ideas, I reckon.

>>16325102
Oooh, good point.
Any of our crew into theater or theatrics? Any budding writers?

These Godspeakers want a show? We'll give them a show. Especially now that we know that they're the descendants of a mutinous crew and traitor, who thought only of ensuring his personal power and position, rather than working to restore Humanity to its rightful place, with its boot firmly on the neck of the galaxy.

>>16325132
We could extend the offer to Rinn, and then have him get the enlisted and the conscripted folk to give up some ideas.
>"Howdy major Rinn, what brings you down here sir?"
>"Well boys, turns out the folks on the surface think our dear Captain is a God."
>"...Really? God of what?"
>"War."
>"...Damn! So what does the God of War need from us today, sir?"
>"The hammiest, obnoxious, overbearing and overblown lines you can think of. The 'priests' won't respect a god who won't talk like a god, so here's your one-in-a-lifetime chance. I'll be back by 1700 hours to pick up whatever you guys got. Understood?"
>"Sir, yes Sir!"

>>16325132
I am more than OK with this. Are there any heroes left in man?

Also, I guess this is what a Spess Mahrine feels like.

I'd still want to talk to Ivanova about EIs taking up positions of power in a rebuilt empire. Maybe she can give us some insight?

And then we need to figure out what's the deal with the polar underground base.

And then talk to Ulinat about his plans, how we're going to get back down to Charles, and how we're going to avoid a combat with thee space fleet.

>>16325132
Also, to be fair, the crew wasn't mutinous, the research leader was.

>>16325175
>I'd still want to talk to Ivanova about EIs taking up positions of power in a rebuilt empire. Maybe she can give us some insight?
Yes, this is something that should be done. None of the intrusive stuff the others suggested, just asking for her perspective one what went down and what might've happenned and what will happen.

>Also, I guess this is what a Spess Mahrine feels like.
WE ARE THE SPHESS MEHREENS, WE ARE OPHIDIA'S FUREH!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH_rwCenX9o

>>16325051
PULL RANK ON IVANOVA

WE ARE A HIGH ADMIRAL NOW!!!!!!

THIS MIGHT HELP HER OVERCOME HER BLOCKS!