>Alright, friend of mine hooked me up with a frequency for an old comms satellite that I can contact with this junked old dish.>Apparently the connection is hilariously unreliable, but it's fucking everywhere when it can be assed to work.>This is me, testing the lines. Not sure when the next one will be, but for now.... I'm back.
FUCK YES!A week was too long my friend.
>>19462776Hey, good to see you, AC-Guy. Was wondering where you were.
Welcome back
YOU ARE ALEX RASTON.It's been a couple of hours since you woke up, and your team has gathered back together.You just finished telling them about your dream."Wow." Mooch comments. "Never heard of anything like that before.""I had a dream like that once," Dave comments "Woke up in a straight jacket." He adds, before taking a long slow sip of his coffee, pointedly ignoring the weird looks he's being given."The whole thing is bizarre." Laurie comments. "Why do only SOME of us remember that necklace thing? What the fuck sort of THING can only contact you by vision quest via near-death experience? I mean, where do we even begin?"[ ] With that blue light thing. Said he was a friend.[ ] With that girl. What the hell was that all about?[ ] With Dervish. He's like fucking Batman or something, and we know nothing about him.
[X] With that girl. What the hell was that all about?
>>19462839[x] With that girl. What the hell was that all about?
>>19462839[x] With that girl. What the hell was that all about?Like, is she our Core's AI?
>>19462868>>19462871I'm with these guys.
>>19462886>>19462883>>19462871>>19462868
>>19462839>[X] With that girl. What the hell was that all about?
"With that girl. What the hell was that about?""Well, if she's not like you or him...." Mooch begins. "... my best guess would be some sort of AI ghosting in your core. But your core doesn't have any of the sort of weird signs mine does to throw up those flags as far as activity goes.""That's just fucking bizarre."Before you can contemplate the situation further, Ken walks in the room. "Hey guys? There's a woman outside, looks 30-ish, says we have her daughter."[ ] Let her in.[ ] I'll go talk to her.[ ] .... Am I forgetting something?
>>19463106>[ ] Let her in.
[X] .... Am I forgetting something?Probably
>>19463106>[X] Let her in.
>>19463106Is this the mother of the girl we helped who got asked to talk to Dave?[X] Let her in.
>>19463106[x] .... Am I forgetting something?Yeah, like, where's her kid?
You look over at Dave, and the realization seems to hit both of you at the same time."Molly." He says."Cass." He responds with a nod, and you tell Ken to show her in. She sees the group of you sitting around the table, and after a moment she seems to Recognize Dave with a smile. "Hey, look at you!" She says as she pulls hi into a hug. "Ten years if it's been a day, and you look like the time didn't even touch you." She then pulls away slightly more serious. "Cass is here? With you?""Yeah." He responds, motioning towards the bunks. "We had a pare room to stick her in. She's a bit of a late riser though, so she's probably still asleep."She 'hmps' in a manner that your mother would greatly approve of. "Lazy is what it is. Girl would sleep all day if you let her."[ ] Offer to go wake her up.[ ] Ask Molly about the story.[ ] ..... Ten years?
>>19463207[x] ..... Ten years?
>>19463207[X] Ask Molly about the story.
>>19463207>[ ] ..... Ten years?Something does not add up here.
[X] ..... Ten years?
GuysI bought For Answer for $20 todaywin y/n
>>19463207>[X] .....Ten years?
"..... Ten years?" you ask after a moment. Dave looks at you, slightly apprehensive."It's both worse and not as bad as you think.""Should I be angry?""Not really. At least, I don't think you'd be too angry with me. Would it be alright if we waited until after we dealt with this to talk about it?" He asks, with a slight nod in the direction of Molly's imminent reunion with her daughter.[ ] Yeah, alright.[ ] I kinda like now.
>>19463339[X] Yeah, alright.Very well, but I will drag the answer out of you so don't try to doge this later.
[X] I kinda like now.No time like the present
>>19463339>[ ] Yeah, alright.
>>19463339[x] Yeah, alright.>>19463352Because no one, but NO ONE, out dodges Alex Raston.
>>19463339[x] Yeah, alright.Fine. It can wait.
>>19462776OHMYGODYOU'REBAAAAAACK!>>19463339Yeah, alright.
"Yeah, alright." You say, making a mental note to make a point of it later.The two of you keep a slightly respectful distance from the two women, as Cass collapses into Molly's arms crying. Looking at it you can see the sort of loving Mother/daughter relationship you'd expect to see. You also see that Molly is WAAAY to young to be Cass' birth mother.[ ] Leave the two to their tender moment.[ ] Talk to them about ____.
>>19463498[X] Talk to them about the attack.Not that we don't want them around, but it'd be nice to know if we've got ANOTHER bunch of people gunning for us.
>>19463498>[ ] Leave the two to their tender moment.We can grill Dave later. I'm sure he'll have the info from Molly.
>So how bout them tie votes?
>>19463498>[x] Leave the two to their tender moment.
>>19463694Yeah, how rude.
>>19463711It's your fault, Udz.
>>19463753No it isn't. It's the fault of Captcha fucking up
>>19463498I was going to ask about the attack but that would be a tie again so...>[X] Leave the two to their tender moment.
rolled 15 = 15Leabe them
>>19463826Right gentlemanly of you, Snaps.
You turn away from their tender moment, and opt to go back to the rest of the team.Dave stays behind.Laurie looks contemplative. "So wait, I thought he was 23.""Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Elsie responds.""Does his age REALLY matter?" Ari asks "I mean, he's still the same guy.""The age gap doesn't bother you?""Not even a little bit. Given all the crazy shit that's been going on, something like that just seems kinda.... petty to get worked up about."
>>19463843>Fucking cut off my post....As you re-enter the room, they kinda turn towards you, and you start to plot your next move...[ ] Do some training in the sims.[ ] Talk to the team.[ ] Take up Dervish on his offer.[ ] Look into Josh's lead.[ ] (Insert option here).
>>19463872>[ ] Take up Dervish on his offer.>[ ] Look into Josh's lead.What were these again?
>>19463893>Dervish offered to give your team some hands on training, Josh discovered some sort of magically vanishing weapons shipments that look suspiciously like somebody's trying to amass a bunch of MTs.
>>19463872[x] Take up Dervish on his offer.First, we win this tournament.THEN we look into Josh's lead.
>>19463935Seconded
>>19463872>[x] Take up Dervish on his offer.First things first, we win the big money.
>>19463872[> ] Take up Dervish on his offer.
Yes, ninja training sounds fine.
You take a long hard look at your teams performance. "We're doing alright, but we could be doing a lot better." Everyone kinda nods along to this. "We're scraping by, but we can't be 'good enough' anymore. Not when 'good enough' leads to one or more of us getting hurt, our cores getting wrecked, or whatever other misfortune occurs. Especially since we're supposedly on the lookout for something big and crazy coming our way soon, and the tourney in the last stages.""What're we going to do about that then?" Asks Mooch."Dervish offered to help us step up our game. I intend to take him up on that as a start." You then turn and make your way to nearby coms terminal.Tony answers a moment later. "Hello?""Hey. Dervish there?""Yeah." he says, before turning to address someone off screen. "Mike?""Yeah?""Alex." He answers, before jabbing a button on his console, and his face turning to static for a brief instant, before re-aligning on Dervish's console."Hey." He says, brushing a couple of loose hairs of of his eyes, then pinching the bridge of his nose. "What's up?"[ ] About the offer.[ ] You look... 'well'.[ ] (other)
>>19464147>[x] You look... 'well'.
>>19464147>[ ] About the offer.
>>19464147[X] About the offer.
>>19464147[x] About the offer.
>>19464147[x] Let me guess, they tried to talk to you again?or[x] You look... 'well.'
"Hey, that offer to help us train still on the table?""Sure." he says, as he puts hi glasses back on. "Fair warning though, my training is going to be unlike anything you've ever done before.""Meaning hard?""Meaning hard, unpredictable, and sometimes what you could only call 'bizarre'. While I'm on the clock, nothing is sacred, and you will probably come to hate me. You're sure you want this?"[ ] Yes.[ ] I'll need to check with my team.[ ] Just making sure you were game. I still need to think about it.
>>19464384>[x] Yes.This sounds like fun!
[X] Yes.I say bring it.
>>19464384>[ ] Yes.Let's do dees
>>19464384[ ] Yes.Good to see you back AC-Guy
>>19464384[x] Yes.Bring it.
"Yes.""Alright then, I'll let you know when I ca-" And then the power goes off in the Hangar.>Give me a d100 for perception.
rolled 82 = 82>>19464453
rolled 18 = 18>>19464453I like this training already.
rolled 97 = 97>>19464453
>>19464476well that sucks
>>19464470>>19464476>>1946447965.6 average
>>19464453I can't remember, is low good or bad, good or bad?!
>>19464499Low is good unless other wise stated
rolled 80 = 80>>19464470>>19464476>>19464479It's so sudden that you're momentarily disoriented by the shutoff. You quickly regain your wits in time to see Dave hit the floor with two darts in his back, eyes glazed, and then you hear A scream from upstairs.It sounds like Elsie.>Beat my roll.
>>19464499Low is good.Do we use a fate point?
rolled 17 = 17>>19464516Aw, damnit.
rolled 82 = 82>>19464516better roll this time?
rolled 8 = 8>>19464516
rolled 2 = 2>>19464516Awwwwwwwwww shit.
>>19464537that's it I'm done rolling tonight
Well, we still beat 80 by several degrees.
rolled 28 = 28>>19464527>>19464537>>19464538As you hit the top of the stairs, you realize that the scream sounded slightly off.Then you realize that this would be the second time you fell for the trap.With nothing to prompt you, you hit the deck in a sideways roll just as you reach the top of the stairs. A sharp crack reveals a whip cracking around where your neck should have been.Looking to the source you see a black boot inches from your face.>Beat my roll by ten.
rolled 72 = 72>>19464574>28>must beat by 10Oh come on!
rolled 89 = 89yikes
rolled 84 = 84>>19464574>28Well, Rika has the right of it, /tg/ dice want to rape us.
rolled 23 = 23>>19464574Aw, shit.We can use a fate point to make you reroll, right?
rolled 34 = 34>>19464574We're probably going to need to fate point this.
>>19464594>Would you like to?
>>19464607yes
>>19464607I'll vote for yes.
>>19464607I'd say yes.
>>19464607i think so
>>19464607Very much so, yes.
I forgot in your absence but is it under or over your rolls?
rolled 21 = 21I haven't rolled in a while.
>>19464631d100 roll-under
>>19464631under
>>19464631Except for event rolls, which are a d20, we want to get as low as possible.
rolled 25 = 25>Very well then, new dice, same threshold.
rolled 97 = 97>>19464653The dice don't want us to succeed at this.
>>19464653Really dice? Really?
rolled 27 = 27>>19464651>>19464649>>19464647Ah, thank you.>>19464653AH FUCK.
>>19464661... Fuck. I'm sorry.
>>19464653
>>19464661You. Put the dice down.
rolled 55 = 55>>19464653Son of a gun!
>>19464678You can't make me!
rolled 77 = 77C'mon dice.
>>19464685>>19464665>>1946466159.6 average
rolled 85 = 85>>19464653ah geez, one more go even though we are totally failing this.
You take the kick solidly in the face, and as you stumble back you take a pair of quick jabs to the ribs and a sharp shove backwards into a rail, before the person vaults past you to where you see Ari trying to run away.>It hurts. Beat a 60 to will down the pain and try to help her.
rolled 18 = 18>>19464827Luck be a lady tonight.
rolled 91 = 91>>19464827Damn it dice, our sis is in trouble!
rolled 87 = 87fuck you ninja person
rolled 83 = 83>>19464827rage punch
rolled 50 = 50>>19464827Come on first time rolling.
>>19464842>>19464844>>1946484865.3333So close.
So close. A 65
rolled 35 = 35>>19464842>>19464844>>19464848and 65.3
rolled 30 = 30>>19464867
>>19464842Should we use a fate point to lock this?I mean... She's our little sister. Fuck them if they want to hurt her. Fuck them with an axe.
>>19464879>>19464873>>19464866And now we get a good average. C'mon dice, pull your shit together.
>>19464895Doesn't work that way. First three only.
>>19464894Do we have another one to use?
>>19464895Yeah, >>19464899 is right, I just forgot to turn off my dice and thus wasted a decent roll.
>>19464899That's why I said it. If I thought it worked that way I would have said "Use these three"
>>19464894I think I'm with this guy.
>>19464901We've got 4 total, I think.Seconding locking >>19464842
>>19464901Should have three left, assuming we've gotten a refresh since the last tourney round.So yeah, what the hell, let's do it.
>>19464895ballz
Yeah lock >>19464842
>>19464894lock it
rolled 61 = 61You've had ribs broken. You've surfed more mushroom-clouds than you want to count.This? This is nothing.your sister is in trouble.He makes it about half-way to her when you catch him in a flying tackle.>Beat my roll.
rolled 91 = 91>>19465033Luck be a lady tonightLuck if you've ever been a lady to begin withLuck be a lady tonight
rolled 24 = 24>>19465033Here goes... something?
>>19465046Welp, no more rolls for me tonight.
rolled 48 = 48>>19465033FOR THE LITTLE SISTER!
>>19465046>>19465050>>1946506454.3333JUST made it!
Success!
>Gotta go AFK for a sec. Someone mind getting me an average?
Hooray! We did it! (Barely)
>>19465074see>>19465071
rolled 7 = 7He twists to meet you, but is just a hair too slow. You slam him to the ground viciously, and the two of you roll around trading strikes for a few frantic moments.You manage to pull him into a headlock, when he finally speaks "Alright, alright, I give. Let me up. Not bad kid."You stop struggling, and let him up. He pulls off his mask, and you see the face you didn't really expect staring back at you from behind cool brown eyes."Dervish? What the fuck?""I told you my training methods would be brutal and odd.">Give me a perception roll, target 60.
rolled 76 = 76>>19465223nice one
rolled 64 = 64>>19465223Well, at least we're not trying to beat the 7.
>>19465229... Doesn't seem to be helping, though.
rolled 89 = 89>>19465223Man, which of his friends kicked us? Might have to pay them back for that.
>>19465229Probably because that's an event roll. I see bad things in our future.
>>19465237So it is. I didn't even look.
>>19465223"We've had some really nasty attacks from people dressed like that before."
>>19465223Fuckin' Dervish man.
>>19465226>>19465229>>19465233Average 76.33333>>19465237Not with this roll, you didn't.
You breath a sigh of relief, watching Ari approaches from the other side, visibly calming herself down as she approaches."Man, I thought this was a real attack or something. Scared the shi-" A sharp pain in your neck cuts the thought off.You feel yourself blinking heavily as a sharp slap crosses you face. Looking up, you see Dervish in his normal attire, black dress shirt and jeans looking at you with something resembling concern. "You alright Alex?""Yeagh.... Why the fuck did you hit me?""You were out cold and non-responsive. I was hoping the slight shock would be enough to wake you up.""No, I mean earlier, in the back of the neck."".... what the fuck are you talking about?"You look him right in the eye, ready to call him on his bullshit.His green, slightly glowing, artificial eyes.
>>19465304>Green Artificial eyes>Cool Brown EyesFUCK. I forgot that Dervish had artificial eyes.
>>19465304I'm either much less mentally stable than I thought or you are a huge son of a bitch.
>>19465304Feel for dart wounds in the neck.
>>19465334This.
>>19465334this>>19465332then this
You realize exactly what happened, as you feel the bruises on the back of your neck."You're damn lucky, that blow caught you right on a vertebrae. a quarter-inch lower it would have crushed your spinal cord." Dervish notes. "Looks like whoever he was didn't take the time to make sure."The two of you quickly sweep the hangar for anything weird, and quickly find the one thing that was changed. This one wasn't about you, you realize as you see Dave trying to comfort Molly. "What happened?" She sobs "Where's Cass? What happened to my daughter?">Seems like a good a spot as any to end.>Might not be able to do a thread Thursday, but by this time next week I should have a mostly stable internet connection again.
>>19465393alright leave us on this cliff AC-Bro, we will see you when we see you
>>19465393What are the ramifications of using cores in Vegas proper? Because I bet Molly knows where they are.
>>19465393So how would the cops react to us finding these guys and blowing their doors down with our Cores?
>>19465407>>19465418>Starting shit on that scale would be looked favorably upon by exactly nobody.>ESPECIALLY in the city limits.>>19465406>I COULD do a brief Q&A.>Who would you prefer: Steve or Laurie?
>>19465444Let's go with Laurie.
>>19465444Well if your going to offer....Laurie
Lets get this over with then.
>>19465497How long have you known Alex?
>>19465497So what do you make of the "magical" pendent that Alex seems to have acquired?
>>19465497Alright, starting off light.Got any favorite hobbies outside of core piloting?Favorite genre of music?How do you feel about your dad coming back?
Good night, AC Quest. See you whenever the next time actually is.
>>19465497How's your new girl doing?
