Damn. Is there another exit?
Also, where is our vehicle? We need to get to it quickly.

>>19570127

It... doesn't appear like there is, not on the ground floor anyway. But, just now, you did see a staircase heading out the other side of the building, from the first floor. It's behind a door from which music is blaring, though; there are people in there.

Your vehicle is not far from that staircase, and you've taken care to hide it. But even as you are considering your options, you can hear police sirens tearing down the roads. Yulia takes her databook out and switches to listening to their radio frequencies.

'We have the contact in the 4th Precinct! 4th Precinct!'

'Fuck, they're quick. How good a shooter are you, Nelson? Because if we have to shoot our way out of this...'

What, in the state she's in now?

> What do/say?

We can leave the databook, maybe.

Anyway, get away if there's a possibility.

>>19570189

It can't be your databook; it has to be Yulia's. You grab it from her, and before she can protest hurl it out the window into the street.

Then, running up the stairs, you barge into the room where three people are watching porn over some beers; you attempt to talk, but Yulia's guns are already out. 'Where's the stairs?'

'O... over there.'

The truck isn't very far off, and Yulia quickly piles into it, panting. 'It's good to have wounds patched up,' she whispers as you start the ignition. 'Well. We could take the small roads, which may end up bringing us to the Connollys. Or we can take the main road, which is fast, but at least it'll get us to the landing yard. We'll probably run into police though...'

'The ship is not at the landing yard.'

'The- what?'

> What do/say?

>>19570249
The ship isn't at the landing yard, I wasn't going to be going to get you and bring you back somewhere quite so public. Take the route back to our ship, have Yulia lie down or otherwise make herself look small, and cover herself in a blanket or jacket so she isn't quite so obvious.

>>19570249
Doesn't she need medical care ?

>>19570277

'I wasn't going to get you to the landing yard, of course. That place is crawling with cops.'

'You reckon those cops are after you as well, now?'

'Maybe...' you make Yulia lie down, and cover her with a makeshift blanket. She seems surprisingly stable for someone who got shot twice... but you're quite confident that you can get her fixed on your ship with the shipboard medical systems.

> So, which course to take? Main road? Alleys?
> Also, what do/say?

>>19570249
You thought I'd leave the ship in the landing yard? They spotted you entering and leaving, came in and searched, asked questions about you. I took off tossed their tracker and disappeared otherwise they'd nab both of us next time you showed up.

Glad I remembered that damn cover story.

>>19570320
Both courses carry dangers, alleys being dangerous as fuck but main roads being crowded with police. However alleys seem to be the best since the police know you.

>>19570320

Take the main road. Arrest is better than a hail of bullets.
Meanwhile, we ask more about the target. Maybe the plan of crashing our ship into the compound would work.

>>19570344
You mean crashing someone elses ship into the compound?

>>19570338
>>19570341
>>19570344
>>19570362

> So, main road or alleys? It's a draw right now.

You are of course very aware of the dangers... because they are brought home to you as you drive out between two buildings and wait for a moment. You hear the sound of doors being kicked in, then men screaming - those men whose house you barged into - before the screams are silenced in a hail of gunfire.

'Woohoo,' Yulia mutters. 'Playing for keeps. What the fuck is Olga doing?'

'Never mind Olga, do you know what this means? Someone's tracking your databook.'

'Yes, I fucking realised,' she growls. 'It must be that Tomas guy. Damnit, I knew he was up to no good when he volunteered for the job for a low price. An 80-20 split of the proceedings! I should've known. Why aren't you moving?'

>>19570408
Alleys.

>>19570408
Take the main road, drive at the exact speed limit, keep Yulia out of sight.

>>19570408

Let's go with main road.
Also, on the way out, we need to plan. Patch Yulia up, maybe get around to hijacking another ship. Perhaps a police ship?

Main road, stay to the speed limits, circle around a few times and the head back to the ship.

>>19570436
>>19570438


Driving at the speed limit, and keeping to the side of the road as the police scream by, is probably the best way out. The police ignore you, while Yulia continues to use your databook to listen to the chatter.

'Fourth precinct... third precinct... yeah, I think we're relatively clear.'

Outside of the town, you step on it and speed up north across the relatively deserted desert roads. A trailing cloud of dust follows you out; through that, you can actually see that there are also patrol vehicles in the air - Police, and some more unmarked ones.

'Well, the compound they're going to right now - it's got guards all around it, but the north is open to the sky. Other than that, it's mostly carved into a cave - pretty impenetrable.'

That sounds good - you'll seal the targets in once you've crashed a ship through the front. 'Do you know any secret exits?'

'There's one I know of. To the west, near the bushes. What on earth are you planning?'

You're about to tell her when suddenly your databook rings. Checking it, you see that it's Olga...

> What do/say?

>>19570535
"Sup sexy?"

>>19570527

Holding pattern established... the police don't seem to be following you, as far as you can see.

You then turn off the lights and go slowly along the road northwards.

>>19570535
Olga, watch out, pretty boy seems to have decided to screw us all over, you may have been outed.

Working on the final target, I have an idea that should both work out beautifully and make quite the statement.

>>19570535
Hey there Olga, what can I do for you?

>>19570572
>>19570563
>>19570560

'What's hello in Russian?'

'Yob tvoyu mat',' Yulia gasps.

'Yob tvoyu mat', sexy,' you say into the phone. There is a moment of silence, then an amused, low chuckle.

'I see Yulia's with you then. I've had reports that the whole city is on fire. Please be careful, boy; I've hired you to take out some of the Connolly-aligned men, not to destroy New Roanoke...'

You explain that Tomas appears to have betrayed you, and that Olga might have been outed, and she sighs. 'I somewhat guessed it might be him. Well, well. Also, so what's that plan of yours? You know, if the Connollys knew it was me already, maybe I could help...'

> What do/say? Yulia is stable. The police aren't really chasing... the night is really quiet after all that gunfire, to be honest. But meanwhile the news of someone killing that Walston fellow has finally come out, over the net. Olga congratulates you on that.

>>19570610
Explain the crashy boom boom plan to Olga. Get back on ship and help out Yulia.

tell her we're going to VIKING RAM our ship into the place, and she's going to pay for repairs.

>>19570610
I've been subtle and quiet, it's everyone else who is loud. However my next plan was going to throw that subtlety out the window, I was planning on using the grandest of all the universal forces, gravity. Either while they're in transit or at the compound I drop a pile of rocks on them and go home.

>>19570683
>>19570677
>>19570675

Olga listens to your plan intently. 'Wait, so is it rocks or a ship? I'd prefer the ship. It makes a nicer statement, by far.'

'I guess it's the ship, then. Look, I want you to pay for repairs if this happens.'

'You can't ask for everything, Nelson.' The voice goes cold as Olga says that. 'Go find another ship to hijack, or something. The landing yard's full of yokels, after all.'

> What do/say? Olga sounds a bit annoyed now. You may have asked for rather too many things now...

Meanwhile, Yulia looks at you and frowns, before whispering. 'Do you never research anyone you take up jobs for? Did you just take Olga's offer sight unseen? Because that is retarded.'

Way to not rub it in, lady. You're almost at the ship now, though, which is a relief...

>>19570777
I will note that I'm not the one with bullets inside of them.

Sure I can hijack another ship or I might just end up dropping rocks if I can't acquire one easily.

>>19570838

'I know a ship that's not very well secured,' Olga says. You listen as she talks about Leonid, and his blue and red ship, and the access codes for unlocking the reactor for atmospheric flight.

'Right. Okay.' You shift the databook while helping Yulia out, and then dump her into the medical system booth, which closes around her. Her eyes flutter before shooting wide open and looking around her, the pupils so large they nearly cover her ice blue irises.

'Wait. Wait! You're not keeping me in this! Oh god I hate medsystems!'

'It's either that or you bleed out, lady,' you say. Then you close the bulkhead, and listen to the screams and wailing from inside. It sounds more like she's getting her arms blowtorched off than being anaesthetised and cleaned out.

'That's very kind of you to Yulia, young man...' Olga says. You almost feel the smile behind that voice.

> What do/say?

>>19570677
Why do you keep saying "our" when there's a landing pad full of ships available to steal? Seriously, jack someone elses.

>>19570948

She's in my employ, she's my responsibility, teach me to hire somebody before finding out they're the time to get in a shootout with every asshole on the planet.

>>19570953

That plan seems to be going on quite well, actually!
Though. If we ram our ship into the cave, isn't that rather risky? We might die in the crash. Or not take them out, if it's a deep cave...

We need to plan harder.

>>19570989
That's why we use /someone elses/ and have a datapad plugged into the console with pre-set course.

Manually guiding it most of the way and bailing before setting it to auto would also be a good idea.

>>19570983

... I didn't understand that.

But say Yulia's useful. At least her shooting is. So we patch her up and she shoots for us.

Also, ask what's with Olga and the Connollys.

>>19570948
Is she claustrophobic or something? Because she really doesn't seem to like the med booth.

>>19571027
>>19570989
>>19571031
>>19571053

Yulia, surprisingly enough, is still trying to yell even through her anaesthesia. Damnit, if she breaks the med booth...

You then tell Olga about your plan, and she laughs. 'Very clever of you. I want you to also do something else. You know Leonid, the owner of that ship?'

'Yeah?'

'I want you to ask him where his brother is. And after you get the answer, I want you to lock him in his bridge before crashing the ship.' You are slightly stunned by this, and she goes on. 'He misbehaved.'

'What in the universe is between you and the Connollys, anyway?'

'They misbehaved,' Olga said. 'And in any case, I owe the O'Shaughnessys a favour. You know, if you've performed well and like this planet, I might bring you to meet Chevy one day.'

> All right. Do/say anything more before she hangs up?
> Also, let's go through in detail the plan for tomorrow's attack, then. There's two of you, and you may roll d100 for research or insights.

>>19571053

Yeah, it sounds like claustrophobia might be part of it... Olga just says she's being whiny. Yulia doesn't quite strike you as being whiny, though...

rolled 31 = 31

>>19571165
I think after what I'm about to do I should probably steer clear of this planet for a fair bit.

Who's Chevy?

It'd probably be best not to bring up extra payment, she would probably not take kindly to that.

After we finish talking to Olga check in on Yulia and make sure she's doing ok.

The plan, get Yulia patched up, get to the ship, gain entrance to ship, talk to Leonid, ask the question, program the route we want him to take into a datapad, stick a gun to his head and make him ask permission to leave from the authorities, knock him unconscious, duct tape and tie him to a chair, tell the ship to go in 15 minutes, get off the ship, acquire a bottle of vodka, then watch the fireworks.

rolled 10 = 10

>>19571165
Once we get on the ship it's pretty simple, the hard part is getting on the ship. Do some research on Leonid, see if he is getting any deliveries, is expecting any guests, if there is anyone other than himself he lets aboard on a regular basis, whether he has prostitutes come to his ship often?

>>19571263

This, but we need to fly with our own ship to the secret exit. We have to make sure everyone is dead. Yulia says it's a cafe; a single ship crashing in might not be enough.

rolled 21 = 21

>>19571165
-take the ship over
-use codes you were given to access the ships systems, -change the codes to something random so the captain can't change the route after he's locked on the bridge
-fly the ship most of the way to the caves
-lock the captain in the bridge with it on auto-pilot the rest of the way in
-bail from the ship using whatever escape means are at hand (possibly a parachute?)
-watch the pretty explosion

rolled 14 = 14

>>19571165

rolled 68 = 68

>>19571302
>>19571299
>>19571287
>>19571263
These rolls are depressing.

>>19571322
>>19571299
>>19571290
>>19571287
>>19571263

'Call me if you need anything,' Olga says in her usual, pleasant voice. Come think of it, you still have no idea what exactly she does. 'And if I need something, I'll call you.'

After she hangs up, you do a little checking up on the Leonid guy. Huh. A gangster and small-time hustler, who runs a mobile gambling and money laundering operation from his freight ship. Also carries contraband around the systems for a quick buck on the side...

You appear to be in luck - he's waiting for a delivery of something that's due tomorrow. It'll be in at 10 in the morning, says the- what, the order just came in two minutes ago? Then you check the message's details, and see the sender:

> O. I. Yekimova

... she's setting things up for you. You don't know if that's good or bad.

Later, you open the medbooth to see Yulia lying in it, exhausted, curled up in a foetal position. You tap her shoulder; her eyes fly open and she nearly kicks you full in the chest before sitting up. Then she touches her own wounds, poking her chest.

'Huh. You've got a pretty effective medsystem. Still stings, though...'

> What do/say/ask?

>>19571403
Ok, we'll want to be the ones driving that shipment.

Sorry about stuffing you in there but it was the only way to fix you up, I am not anywhere near good enough a doctor to take care of those wounds. Why do you hate medsystems so much?

>>19571403

She seems to know a lot about Olga, ask her. Also ask if she's got anything to add to the plan.

>>19571462
>>19571546

'What've you got against medsystems anyway?'

Yulia seems about to yell at you, but then thinks better of it and simply glares instead, looking away. That's almost scarier. But now she looks a bit more sad than angry.

'Bad experiences with boxes and crates, mostly.'

Huh. You nod, and then tell her about the plan. She listens. 'Well, how about this? I can drive on to the secret exit, and plug anyone who survives. You do the ship jacking, come pick me up, and then we bugger off together to kick Olga's ass for getting us into such a scrape.'

'You seem quite familiar with Olga, don't you? What's between you and her?'

Yulia sighs. 'Well. Olga's relatively new on the scene, with her group. You should get to know more about them if you want to work with them. Search for the Strelsy. They're military people, running a criminal organisation...'

> What do/say? It's... about 10 in the evening now. But Yulia seems more psyched than tired.

>>19571593
Interesting. Do a quick search on the name Strelsy.

As for Yulia we should probably get some food, get a bit of light drinking in, not much as we have work in the morning, and make sure we have everything nicely planned out.

>>19571639

This, let's flirt with the shooter a little. Maybe we could get ourselves a partner.

>>19571639
>>19571665

Well, you've only got six pints of beer in the fridge for now, anyway. As the protein packs go in the microwave, Yulia asks if you haven't at least got some real-looking ready meals.

'Not really. I run a freighter, not a starfaring restaurant.'

'God, you must be really sad,' she says, sitting in the first mate's chair. She's taken a liking to that chair, you swear. 'I bet you stop by the gate-side stations, or in the shielded anchorages, and wank to hologram porn while crying quietly and eating protein paste.'

'Not at the same time, eating and wanking together is gross.' You search for 'Strelsy', and find that it refers to a group of elite regiments of troopers raised for the Alliance of Systems, far off in the Grozny System. Yulia sees your search and smiles.

'There's many people say Olga used to be in those regiments. Until she was cashiered, for some reason. Then she took some of her men, and came here. Naturally, it's a gang full of coffin nails...'

As you continue talking, you notice she's drank four of your six pints. Her speech is starting to slur a little, and she's humming happily to herself...

> What do/say? Or just go to bed?

>>19571759
Get the other two pints of beer and start drinking them before she can take them as well.

So Olga is a Russian ex-special forces lady who brought her command with her.

So how'd you get into working for Olga?

>>19571802

'Yep, that's about the sum of it. Dangerous woman. Of course, she's new, which is a disadvantage. There's other gangs around here too. Chinese... Viets... Irish, like Chevy.'

'Who's Chevy?'

'Chevy O'Shaughnessy. She runs the black lines into and out of New Roanoke, and New Lexington, and New Salem as well. Many gangs focus on spreading themselves across the system, but her family's got a good idea too, they just consolidate on Menvalle itself. Olga's a good friend of hers, kinda.'

'As for why I came to work for her, well... she bought me out from a pretty nasty job once. I've shot my way out of many things before, but that was one time when things went... badly. Everything. And then Olga comes in... and she gives a small speech, and clears things up. I guess after her I'm more prepared to accept that diplomacy works. Sometimes...'

> Do/say anything more?

>>19571912
Do we have anything alcoholic aside from the beers that we're almost finished with?

She seems like a good person to have on your side, and a very bad person to be on the wrong side of.

So what are your plans after this job?

>>19571984

> I'm going off to bed after this post, but if the thread's alive tomorrow morning I will continue if there's interest (intriguing how people kinda dropped off, hmm.) Thanks for playing!

There's a bottle of whiskey you've got (synthetic, of course), but Yulia refuses. 'I don't want to go to a job hungover.'

'So what do you plan to do after this?'

'I don't know. Well, I've worked with Olga, but I'm not within the Strelsy. And I don't really want to be, either. Maybe I'll hitch a ride on a ship, or just travel around on Menvalle looking for work. There's plenty of people who want killings done out here but haven't got the balls, anyway...'

She continues talking about other things, about what car she likes and how she'd prefer to be in the deep night actually, but no one's going to take a killer on board they... and by the time you look over again, she's fallen asleep, breathing rhythmically and slowly. Well... she could be a worse drunk, you reckon...

Sighing, you go to bed yourself.

>>19572107
Well, looks like we have the option to recruit her as a first mate/ ships security officer.

Which would be quite helpful if we do get into bounty hunting/piracy (and since we're about to steal a ship, it looks like piracy isn't too far off of what we're willing to do).


Another thought, we should see what kinds of cargo is already aboard the ship we're going to steal, no reason to waste potentially valuable cargo in a shipwreck, right?

>>19572177

Agree with this. Load the cargo onto our ship. And maybe not piracy, we don't want to mess with the gangs, but I think we're taking the criminal path now anyways.

I wonder why Olga wants that man dead.

>>19572240
It doesn't really matter "why" at this point and IF we are gonna steal anything it has to be small. We kinda need to do this fast as possible. (Note to self anything we steal check for bugs especially if they are crates)

rolled 18 = 18

>>19572177
>>19572240
Pirates?
no.
we're going to be outlaws, blue rogues, mercenaries

File: 1340340953368.jpg-(20 KB, 313x417, Vyse.jpg)

>>19575569
>Blue Rogues
Fuck yeah!

>>19576487
>>19575569
>>19575496
>>19572240
>>19572177

When you wake up in the morning, Yulia is still sprawled on her back in the first mate's chair, snoring loudly. Settling into your own chair, you activate the reactor and slowly taxi out of the valley; it takes until the characteristic whine of the ground-lock being deactivated to wake her up.

'Huh...' she rubs her eyes. You explain the situation to her, and her first reaction is to reach for the pistol and sawn-off she's placed on your console. 'Well. I'll head off for the secret exit then, shoot everyone who survives and wait for you there, right?'

'Suppose so. First things first, though.'

The landing yard appears to have cleared of policemen for now, so you land as quietly as you can in an empty spot. Leonid's spacecraft is just 200 metres away. The cafe on one edge of the yard is packed with people having breakfast, though.

> What do?

>>19577441
Are the police men just doing patrols or are they looking for us (Yulia and people working with yulia). Anyways just walk up to Leonid Ship with a fake package. Wait how to we even get inside to begin with? Is the mobile gambling operation going on at his ship right now or are we just depending on Olga's fake delivery thing.

>>19577538

You carry a box up, while Yulia waits in the ship. Leonid's craft seems pretty quiet, actually.

... there's no answer as you buzz as well. Hmm. You might be able to gain entry on your own; it seems he's not in the ship right now. You are rather early for the delivery, after all.

> What do? If breaking in, roll d100.

I've been reading the archives for too long.
I'm finally able to join in a quest I like and I can't think of anything that helps.

rolled 30 = 30

>>19577617

Well, we could always help with trying to break in. Rolling!

rolled 82 = 82

>>19577607
Grab some duct tape to secure the captain with after the delivery. then if he's still not around break in I guess.

>>19576487
;_;
That game is glorious, curse you for posting such nostalgia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVdUo8BoaV0

We probably shouldn't break in. The last thing we want is to have problems before we even start securing the ship.

>>19577607
We could break in but how big is the ship anyways does it seem he is running a one man operation? Don't feel like breaking in and just getting shot in the face.
Kinda have to keep in mind Olga's request as well
"I want you to ask him where his brother is. And after you get the answer, I want you to lock him in his bridge before crashing the ship."
If he feels like he ship has been broken in he is gonna be on edge. So I guess what I'm asking is can we do the break in gently?

>>19577676
Second this

>>19577698

> 82 roll is noted, but meanwhile...

Well, the ship is capable of being run one-handed, kind of like yours. But that's a point - if he's running a mobile gambling operation, there might be others to provide security.

Your research hasn't turned up any specifics on that. That's not particularly surprising; no one would know Yulia's on your boat as well, for instance. Other than Olga of course.

Your databook crackles and it's Yulia. 'Oi. Should I go jack a car now in town, and drive off first?'

> Hmm. What do/say?

>>19577725
Wait a bit Yulia I'm just trying to figure something out real fast. I'll call you when you should.

>>19577725

Let Yulia go, then wait around for a bit for leonid to come.

To speed this along let's just go with this >>19577773
and forget my idea >>19577768

> Sorry, accidentally deleted my post. Incoming soon.

'Yeah, you know what, you go first. But be careful. The patrol cars are still around.'

You think it's possible they're still looking for Yulia, but then again the elections are also coming soon, and they would be crazy if they didn't know the risk of a gang fight in the city. Anyway the girl can take care of herself. 'I'm going to have another protein pack before I go, okay?'

'Yes yes, okay.' You hang up, turn around, and a man with an orange beard comes up to you. 'Are you Leonid?'

'Yes, and you... oh. You're from Olga, aren't you? Come on in then.'

He mentions Olga in hushed tones, and his ship is much more nicely made-up than yours, with tapestries and carpets. A few gaming tables sit in the rear hold. 'So,' he turns to you. 'You're just a courier, aren't you? I don't remember seeing you in the Strelsy.'

He sounds quite familiar with the Strelsy for some reason, as he turns around and starts up the reactor. You're not... actually sure if he ought to do that...

> What do/say?

I just thought, has our and Yulias description been put out by the police? It would be very inconvenient to be waiting for someone who knows we're doing illegal things.

>>19577931
Just Yulia so far but they for sure have us as a suspicious person

>>19577931

Yulia's is; yours isn't. They do know that Walston Doppel is dead, however - they just don't know who did it.

Yulia doesn't seem to care if it's the case, though. Seriously, she's reckless.

>>19577907
Best case scenario this guy just used to work with Olga a lot but worse case scenario this guy used to be in the Strelsy.
Either way we might as well cut to the chase and ask him where his brother is.

Since we're inside, time to secure the ship. We do have our pistol, correct? If yes, think we should get it out.

>>19577990

You are standing behind Leonid, and quite aware that he knows so. He's still chatting amiably, when you stop him.

'So, Leonid.'

'Yeah? What's the matter, you sound quite serious.'

'Well... I'm just wondering where your brother is right now.'

'Hmm?' Leonid turns around. His smile has disappeared, but he still doesn't look very alerted to danger; your hand, halfway to the pistol, withdraws a bit. 'Which brother? Dmitri or Vlad?'

'Dmitri,' you say, recalling the name of the brother Olga requested.

'So it was Olga who sent you just to ask this, right? Seriously, young man, have you any idea who Olga is? You seem very thrilled to be working for her. Is it because she's blonde and pretty and attractive with a lovely voice?'

He goes on in this vein for a bit, and then you feel your databook trembling; someone is calling you. You also hear that the ground-lock is about to be deactivated, once capacitors are charged...

> What do/say?

rolled 55 = 55

>>19578052
Sorry, but money is money, you know how it goes.

>>19578076
What are you rolling for

>>19578052

Point gun, take call.

>>19578093
Rolling for forgetting to turn the dice off, what the fuck else Mr. Perfect?

>>19578104
Nothing man just wondering calm down

I've been wondering, how big are databooks? The name suggest something the size of an ipad, but I'm guessing it's the equivalent of a phone. Also, what apps and such do we have on ours?

Say you have a call, take call.

>>19578076
>>19578102

You whip out your pistol and point it at him, and he pauses for a moment. 'Well. It's the money. I guess the legs help, but it's the money. You know how it goes.'

'I guess I do, yeah,' he says, as you reach for your databook and bring it to your ear. It's Yulia.

'Nelson, be fucking careful, I just saw two men enter the ship through the hatch. I'm com- is that the ground-lock going off?'

It is. In a moment of inattention, Leonid moves with surprising speed, slamming the lift throttle. You quickly fire off two rounds but he dives behind the console; then you dive behind something yourself as you hear the footsteps and gunfire, rounds pinging off metal where you were standing just half a second ago.

'Stop firing you idiots! Cut him up!' Leonid yells.

'Nelson? Did you just get- oh, for fuck's sake!' Yulia's voice is tinny, and surprisingly concerned.

> What do/say/observe?

>>19578154
Can we see the guys who shot at us from where we are now?

>>19578154
"Talk later"

>>19578186
>>19578191

Your databook goes back in its pocket. You haven't chosen a particularly good place to hide; it's rather narrow. But within leaping distance is the first mate's console, beside the captain's console where Leonid is now.

You manage to get a peek in at the two attackers; they are standing behind one of the gaming tables, about ten metres away. Both of them carry pistols, and also combat knives.

'Did we get him, Leonid?'

'How the fuck would I know?!' He yells back. Yeah, behind the captain's console.

> What do/observe?

>>19578216
Great those two guys don't seem all that bright but unfortunately you don't need to be bright to kill someone.
We could jump to the first mate console and take a potshot the moment one of them tries to rush us due to the fact Leonid told them to "Cut him up" with him being us.

Take out the guys that shot at us, then get the info Olga wants from Leonid.
after that, knock him out and get to configuring the ship as planned.

>>19578248
>>19578249
Hell we could just drop the leaping and just shot one of them to see what they do. (I'm guessing we need to roll now right?)

>>19578261
>>19578249
>>19578248

> Roll for shooting. They're pretty close, but you'll have to take a penalty if you're taking a diving shot.

rolled 10 = 10

>>19578275
Rolling

rolled 41 = 41

>>19578280
Wow that was awful

rolled 2 = 2

>>19578275

No leaping, just stay behind our bit of cover. Maybe listen out for anyone who's moving and shoot using that.

File: 1340353627248.gif-(2.59 MB, 400x215, FUCK.gif)

>>19578280

ROLL

rolled 34 = 34

>>19578293
>>19578290
>>19578286
>>19578280
Jesus we do not work well under pressure (It's the first 5 rolls so it's a 41 right now)

rolled 77 = 77

>>19578293

Yeah you think the 10 was bad...

Rolling!

>>19578304
and the 77 saves the day

>>19578304
>>19578286
>>19578290

> Well, I guess you might want Yulia on your crew after all.

You try to listen out for any movement, and can hear footfalls headed for you across the carpets. Turning out of your cover, you quickly loose off two rounds and then turn back, listening to the voices.

One of them's been hit; the other man yells something in Russian, and lets off another fusillade of rounds, denting and holing the steel. Once he stops you turn around to fire back, but don't notice Leonid coming out of cover until you feel something punch into your shoulder.

Oh, FUCK. Son of a BITCH! You dive behind the console, and then sparks fly as more shots are poured in there before another argument breaks out.

'NOT THE FUCKING CONSOLE DO YOU WANT TO CRASH THE SHIP?!'

'Sorry, boss!'

Fuck, your shoulder. Fuuuuck.

> What do? One down, two to go, and you're been hit. The ship appears to be headed south, though, if that comforts you.

>>19578328
If it's the captain's console we could shot at them but they can't really shoot at us which is good cause we just got stab/shot in the shoulder.

rolled 18 = 18

>>19578353

Try to shoot Leonid.

rolled 73 = 73

>>19578328
FUUUCK take more potshots at them

rolled 84 = 84

>>19578328
Rolling

rolled 20 = 20

>>19578390
Shoot the easier target

>>19578407
Fuck didn't want to use the dice but whatever

>>19578370
>>19578390

> Nice rolls!

You wait behind as the two men discuss what to do, and then pop up from an unexpected quarter and fire another two rounds. This time things work your way; the henchman yells as you hit his leg and then his chest, and he goes down.

Rolling out, you catch Leonid off-guard and point your gun at him. 'Drop it. Drop it!'

'Man, you don't know who you're working for and who you're working against,' he says, as he throws down the gun. 'So you want to know about Dmitri? The man whom your good friend Olga ruined? She led him into an ambush and he got his leg blown off, and what's she want now? The other leg?'

> What do/say?

>>19578417
I don't give a fuck about that! Where is he?

>>19578417
Man this is setting up for Olga to double cross us but fuck it we are to deep in the rabbit hole to stop now. I mean we are stealing a space ship

"I don't care why or how he is, I just need to know where he is."

>>19578432

'How are you going to make me tell you? We're flying towards the police station in the south of NR now. Four more minutes, and you'll have way more guns pointing at you.'

He grins, confident he's got the upper hand.

> What do?

>>19578451
Shoot his legs, kick the guy away, and use the code Olga gave us to turn this ship around. If that doesn't work make him do it cause now we are nervous and when we get nervous we shoot people.

>>19578470
don't kick the guy kick his gun farther AWAY from him.

Also, retrieve guns. We don't need him being able to easily arm himself.

>>19578484
this works

>>19578470
>>19578480
>>19578484

Calmly, you kneecap him and he howls as he falls. That puts the gun within his reach!... nope, you've got it. It's not a bad gun either, mind.

'Now, I'm just going to put this ship on course to where I want it...' you punch in the access codes, and feel the weight of the ship shifting as its thrusters realign. It's not a big realignment; the bunker is maybe six or seven miles south of NR. 'And then you can tell me where Dmitri your brother is.'

'Fuck!' He grits his teeth. 'Okay! Okay. He's... he's in New Salem. Hiding out. He's with... he's with the Harsanyi bunch. Ferenc Harsanyi, and his friends.'

He struggles to clamber back up on the first mate's chair, as you look at the navigation readings. Yes, you are headed quite where you wanted.

... You being all four of you. No, that's problematic...

> What do?

>>19578509
Duct tape him to the chair, make sure his hands are tied firmly, double tap the guys we took out in the gun fight then find and escape pod to take once we're out over open fields.

>>19578524
Second this but do we know where the duct tape is? Well doesn't matter just ask him where it s and take the other two guns off the floor with the knives so he doesn't get any funny ideas.

Check if there are any escape pods or parachutes or other form of emergency escape.
Also, change the codes so he can't change course after we leave.
After that, prep for escape and sabotage other ways of escape so he's stuck

>>19578548
>>19578547
>>19578524

You haven't got duct tape, but you have got rope. With that you lash him tightly to the chair, and then tap a few more buttons to set course. And also to fire all thrusters once within 1 km of the target bunker.

'Thank you,' the voice says. 'We are now re-setting navigational priorities.'

It's almost sad when a robot gladly agrees to its own destruction. Anyway. You finish the two henchmen off with shots to the head, and then head back to where you know the escape pod is, off in the back of the ship. You also notice the ship's still got a cargo hold, interestingly enough.

> Roll d100!

rolled 90 = 90

>>19578581
Rolling

>>19578587
Oh shit a 90 well that has to be some good news

I still can't get over the fact that we offed that young guy. We're awfully cold-blooded for someone who came here looking to haul cargo and passengers.

>>19578610
After that guy's death it went all downhill. The fucking rabbit hole man

>>19578587
>>19578594

You are halfway to the hold when a voice suddenly makes you freeze. 'Voice command! Launch escape pod immediately!'

FUCK! But then just a moment later, the emotionless voice replies, 'Please validate command with alteration key.'

'AAAGH!' A stream of what is probably multi-chromatic Russian pours from the man's lips, echoing through the bridge. You head down to the aft cargo hold, where you notice something else near the escape pod - a small locked box which Olga had mentioned. On a hunch, you enter the access key she told you...

... and are met with two rows of silver bars.

> What do? You estimate you have two minutes to get out. The pod's just there... but it looks to be a bit cramped.

>>19578610
>>19578619

Well, in the public's eye, you still haven't stepped past that line yet. Which is good.

So it's just about whether you'd do it again...

>>19578610

65,000 credits is the price for our morals, it appears. well i guess we could always change later.

>>19578644
But that's the thing, we're giving 30K to Yulia. So we are essentially being paid an extra 10,000 to murder someone.

>>19578621
Are we gonna log around silver bars? How heavy do they even look?
>>19578626
Yeah I know I said the rabbit hole part because how fast we became cold-blooded. When you stuck in there you might as well go deeper sort of speak. At least this guy HAD to done something fuck up in the past so we can rest easy in that I guess.

How big is the case and how big are the bars?
If it's the size of a small toolbox, grab the whole thing.
If it's too heavy to carry, just grab a bar or two.

>>19578651
Well I guess 35k is our price or more like we realized we were over our head and we needed help.

>>19578668
>>19578658
>>19578651
>>19578644

> Well, to be fair - we don't actually know anything about this character's backstory yet. Maybe he used to be a killer as well?

As for the silver bars, you think you could probably lug them all in with you - it's a bit of a tight fit, but it should be okay.

... oh fuck, it *is* a tight fit. You end up trying not to get any weight on your busted shoulder, and reach around the box to launch the thing. Please launch properly! You've got 90 seconds before the whole thing-

And then you're tumbling, in the air, wildly - the box smashing repeatedly into you, your face, your bad shoulder, the other shoulder, your face again - before the parachute deploys and eight kilograms of silver bars drops onto your lap. Oww. Once you touch down you fling the fucking thing out onto the sand, then clamber out after it.

Your databook's got two missed calls from Yulia and one from Olga. But fuck that... you can see, in the distance, the bright red main entrance of the hilltop compound; and the trail of black smoke behind Leonid's screaming blue and red dart. Then it hits, and for a moment there is silence before a shockwave throws dust all around you and shakes you to the core, nearly blinding you with light.

That's got to attract some fucking attention...

> What do?

>>19578702
Answer the missed calls as we try to figure out how to get there WITHOUT being shot

>>19578702
Grab the box and get the fuck away from the escape pod in case it was detected, then call Yuria as the higher priority.

>>19578702
Yeah maybe he used to be a killer but he was a poor shot so he tried to quit. Yup that's our canon background story

Respond to Olga to find out why she called. Then call yulia and arraign a pickup.

>>19578712

When you call Yulia, you hear the staccato of gunfire again - and screaming in the distance, apparently of all sorts of people. 'What?'

'The hell are you doing? Also, how did you get a databook?'

'I'm at the entrance- BOOM! - gunning - PANG! PANG! them down! Just like you said! Come fetch me soon, Nelson, there's more and more gunmen now... I stole it, of course. Fuck!'

You hear more gunfire, this time with her on the receiving end. And then the call ends.

As for Olga... 'Hello Nelson. Good job. I'm watching the fireworks from here. So where is Dmitri, and where's Yulia?'

> What do/say? You can talk to Yulia as well - we can time-slide a bit.

>>19578719
>>19578712

You get the box while calling and manage to stagger away. The dust helps cover your escape, and you can actually hear several vehicles heading for where your pod was. Well, they're out in force then...

Hiding behind a rocky outcrop, you can make out two vehicles passing by about 150 metres in front of you. Then they stop. They're black, not police - maybe the Connollys...

>>19578724
Leonid told me he's in New Salem, don't know f he was telling the truth, but since I had just kneecapped him I don't think he was in any mood to be lying either, as for Yuria, she's taking care of the people trying to escape from the "secret entrance" after a ship was kind enough to close the front one.

>>19578724
Dmitri is with Ferenc Harsanyi, and his friends. Supposedly hiding out with him. Gotta go Olga (And fuck we gotta go get Yulia now)

>>19578742
>>19578747

'New Salem, really? Ferenc Harsanyi? Of all people?'

'Um, well, it's what he told me. I kneecapped him before that so I don't think he was inclined to lie.'

'Fair enough,' Olga said after a moment's silence. 'Yulia?'

'She's covering the other exit and taking out all those other targets. I'm going to pick her up.'

'You're going to pick her up? The hell would you do that for? She's running loose with her guns and is a registered criminal.' You blink. Olga's voice is completely unfazed by what she's saying.

> What say?

>>19578760
Olga's a cold bitch no surprised there but odds are those Connollys are gonna follow us due to the fact we don't have a vehicle and on foot. Odds don't look good at all.

>>19578760

'um... because she's helped me before?'

"How do you recomend I finish this job, then? I'd like to help her finish up since she's helped me."
I don't think that would be the best way to put it.

>>19578778
Dude we are paying her. She does not give a shit about us. A better answer is we can't fucking drive and shoot. Also still on foot.

>>19578783
As in without her we still kinda fuck. We gotta steal a vehicle from the Connollys.

>>19578788
>>19578783
As in I don't think a town is near a bunker.

>>19578778
>>19578779
>>19578783
>>19578771

'Well, she's helped us before is the nice answer. And I need a shooter, is the better one.'

'Huh. Well, suit yourself then.' And with that Olga hangs up. The cloud of dust is beginning to settle, but you're properly hidden now; your shoulder's still bothering you though. As is the box of silver. The two cars in front of you are splitting off, and you hear several other cars behind you as well.

'Goddamn it!' Someone yells in the distance. 'Scour the surrounding area!'

Fuck.

> What do/say/observe?

>>19578802
Odds are they gonna split up as much as possible with group staying here checking shit out. I guess we have to watch them. With our aim there is no way we are taking them all out with a handgun.

>>19578827

You sit quietly observing, watching as they split up to comb the area; and then you realise they will soon come to your outcrop.

But there's a good thing - right in front of you, just 50 metres or so away, is one of the cars with just a driver inside. The gunmen are off looking, if kicking sand around is considered looking...

'Search under the damned rocks, guys!' A voice booms over a loudspeaker.

> What do/observe?

>>19578849
Before I say anything is anyone else on?

What's our current inventory? We should have at least two guns and a box of silver. Getting to the car to jack it will be a bit hard if we keep the box

How baren are the 50 meters between us and the car?

Is it at all possible to sneak over and knock Mr. Driver over the head with our trusty silver box?

>>19578872
>>19578867
>>19578865

You have two guns, your databook, and an 8-kilogram box of silver. Not to mention a gammy left arm.

As for the terrain between you and the car, you estimate you can sneak up to about 10 metres before it - assuming no one comes up behind you...

>>19578849
What I'm more worried about is what kinda guns the gunmen are carrying.

>>19578889

Mostly pistols. But also a few automatic weapons.

Some of the cars even have machine guns mounted on their tops, but the one in front of you doesn't...

I think our best bet is to get as close to the car as possible while making sure not to attract attention, then I guess we'll just have to bolt the last ten meters and smoke the driver.

Unless someone has an idea

>>19578906
P.S.
We'll have to ditch the silver box

>>19578906
That is about all we can do unless we are the god damn best ventriloquist in the entire universe. Are we the best ventriloquist of all time by the way?

>>19578909
Yup bye silver box

>>19578906
>>19578909

> It might be that no one else is on, now that you've mentioned it... Hmm.

> Roll d100. If you're taking the silver box along with you, penalty will be incurred.

>>19578911
>>19578913

> Okay, I stand corrected!

You're not the best ventriloquist... well, not as far as you know.

You begin sneaking, leaving the silver box behind. It's better to be alive than rich... soon you are about twenty metres from the car, when you hear voices behind you and freeze.

Oh. It turns out their just standing there to have a piss. The cars driving around are actually helping you by throwing up more dust...

rolled 48 = 48

>>19578915
Not a lot of folks on right now I think it's just me and this guy here
>>19578906

rolled 54 = 54

I think there's at least three of us

Yeah, seems our only option is to run for it (towards the car).
Not sure what OP is planning with the box of silver, but I have no problem ditching it.
D
No need to be killed because of pointless greed.

rolled 95 = 95

>>19578922
Oh come on

>>19578929
YES YES YES

>>19578919
Should take them out now, quietly rather than risk them coming to help the driver, a knife angled upwards through the kidneys into the diaphragm is both quick, and paralyzes the lungs to they can't scream.

If we don't have a knife then beating them over the head with the butt of a pistol will also do the trick, though there's far more of a risk of it going wrong.

>>19578929
>>19578927
>>19578926
>>19578922

> 95!!

Damnit! Had you known it was going to be this easy, you would've taken the box of silver along...

Crawling all the way to the edge of the rocky outcrop, you manage to time your dash as the driver is looking down at something. By the time he realises what's going on you've reached the door, which had been left unlocked, and slipped in.

'Wha-'

'Shut up, and drive.' You guide him on where to go, while telling him to assure the others on the radio network.

He complies, with your gun trained on his head, and turns on a road southwards towards the bunker. 'I'm okay! I'm okay! I'm okay!' he says, when someone asks him over the radio.

Soon you are close enough to feel the heat of the raging fire from a crashed spacecraft, and you can hear the gunfire. Shit. Looks like party's still on... as you drive closer, you tell him to stop, and then watch. At least twenty or thirty gunmen are firing on several cars and rocks, and you don't know where Yulia is.

... more ominously, there is a big dust cloud moving in from the south...

> What do/say?

Order Mr. Driver to ask (over the radio) what the deal is with the dust cloud, also see if he can get or provide any information on Yulia's situation.

>>19578941
Just fucking great so how big is this car anyways?

>>19578941
Is the dust cloud the direction we came from?

>>19578957
>>19578953

'You won't get away with this, you know,' the driver growls. But he complies anyway, when you put the gun nearer his ear.

He can't provide you with any information on Yulia, unless you want him to ask the gunmen how they're doing - he's with the Connollys, as the gunmen are presumably.

You do manage to hear, however, that the Connollys have no idea there's a convoy going towards them from the south. Wait, what? Who the hell are those, then?

> What do/say? Your databook is buzzing; it's Yulia...

>>19578972
Just answer the call. For all we know the dust cloud is the police in which we gotta fucking hurry up

No, it's from farther south. New Roanoke is to your north; you're between NR and the bunker.

Also, this is a pretty good SUV-like car; it could take 5 or 6 people if necessary. Why do you ask?

>>19578988
I have a feeling the driver will try something if we answer, so we should probably shoot him first. Take the radio and anything useful he has on him, such as weapons.

>>19578989
Well I was just checking if we could run people over if necessary but that has to go in the back burning. Even in an SUV it could fuck the car pretty badly wheel wise and window wise. It can be done but it's a bad idea all around.

>>19578998

This. Then we answer the call while driving straight for the gunfight. We just need to know where she is, and then pick her up.
Wait, where the hell is our ship?

>>19578998
Well with all the gun shots they won't know which bullet came where so that is an option we can do.

>>19579005
Close enough to drive I hope

The ship is still in NR. We left it next to where we got the ship we crashed from.

>>19579005
>>19578998
>>19578988

You take the databook out (yes, it's around the size of an iphone), and then the driver turns around. 'What...'

'A second, Yulia.' In that second the driver jerks, and then slumps sideways, revealing the brains spattered over the side console. Squeezing your way to the front, you push the corpse away and get ready. 'I just need to know where the fuck you are, lady!'

'I'm behind a rock!'

You rev up the car, and then dash forward across the tight-packed dust - a move which no doubt attracts the attention of the gunmen as well. Then you hear the radio chatter, going 'We hear your distress signal! We're coming after you now!'

'Which fucking rock?!' Bullets begin to ping off the car; the windscreen half-shatters as several rounds plough through it.

'The yellow one! The sharp one!'

Just then, another round ploughs into the car, and this time it clips you in the left arm again, a searing bolt. Fuck! But now you see Yulia, and manage to bring your car to a screeching halt to allow her to clamber in over the corpse. She kicks it into the back seat.

'Took you long enough, mate!' You notice she's bleeding out of her wound from yesterday, and panting. 'Where now?'

> Where now, indeed? To your left, 20 gunmen; to your north, a convoy of the Connollys; to your south, who the hell knows?

>>19579028
I think north east might be prudent, allow the to forces to crash into each other then get the fuck outta dodge.

Wait. Which way is our left?

>>19579036

You're facing south, so left would be your east.

> Roll d100.

rolled 23 = 23

>>19579041
Rolling

rolled 83 = 83

I'm thinking south-west.That way, the only thing we get near is a single SUV heading to join the fight. It'll probably ignore us anyway.

rolled 60 = 60

ROLL

rolled 15 = 15

>>19579047
Our ship is north but good roll (just wanted to point that out)

>>19579056
Oh. North-west, then.

I want say, I hate that everyone was okay with shooting the driver. We could have just knocked him out or kicked him out of the car.
It's my fault as well, since I said nothing.

>>19579047
>>19579050

> 83: good roll.

Southwest it is, then!

As bullets continue to ping off you, and Yulia slides to the very bottom of her seat, you pull out from behind the rock and tear away under a hail of gunfire. By now the Connolly cars are close enough to be seen in the rear-view mirror, and they're happily adding their weight of fire at your car too.

'They sure caught on fucking quickly!' Yulia says. 'Wait. Is that the radio?'

You glance up. Miraculously, four shots had landed around the radio, without damaging it at all. Yulia tweaks the volume knob, and a voice rings through.

'Hello, you have 10 seconds before you figure you aren't Nelson and Yulia and we'll open fire.'

'IT'S US! IT'S US!' Both of you scream. Then Yulia slaps you away, nearly into the path of a bullet that flies through the car and glances off the bonnet. 'It's Chevvy! The O'Shaughnessys are here!'

'Righto. I need you to turn left so we can give you a new car...'

You turn, and spot the convoy of vehicles - bearing the clover and circle mark on their sides, and machine guns on top. They fan out as you drive in behind them, headed for a cluster of cars and men; then, as you arrive, the suppressive fire rings out in a thunderstorm of rounds.

Fuck, you're finally safe!

> Do/say anything as you get out of the car? We could do more things, or just get you back into the ship and off to the Station.

>>19579063
I don't think we shot him.

>>19579065
Get da fuck outa dodge.

>>19579066
We did. I am kind of regretting it now.

>>19579065
Fuck this place let's get out of here and thank you guy who said south west

OP mentioned the driver slumping, revealing a brain splatter. Dude's dead.

Mention the silver we left to Yulia, but don't necessarily go back for it.

>>19579078
>>19579067

> give me a second.

>>19579086
That's something we should tell her but man I forgot ALL about the silver because I was just glad to be safe

We could retrieve the silver, tell Olga we forgot, and split the profits with Yulia.

>>19579095
Are we supposed to give the silver to Olga? I don't even remember her saying that

>>19579100
I thought it was implied

>9095
I'm pretty sure Olga just told us about it as an extra. Also, she seems like a bad person to cut out of the profits.

>>19579095
>>19579091
>>19579086
>>19579078
>>19579067

You get guided to a stocky woman, with curly auburn hair and a motherly smile. She shakes your hand and gives Yulia a small hug. 'I'm not getting blood on my dress, just so you know.'

'Yeah. Cheers, Chevy.' You are then bundled into a car and driven, with two escorts, northwards towards the landing yard.

'Did I mention, Yulia...' you tell her about the silver on Leonid's ship. She stares at you for a few moments.

'Did you take it?'

'Nope. Too heavy.'

'What... why did you tell me then!?' She groans and rubs her forehead. 'Well, now I know I could've gotten several silver bars on the side, but they're instead in the sand somewhere...'

She remains sullen as you are driven to the ship. You blink as several police cars drive up and surround you; but then your driver and a few others get out, and soon there is a party going on with cigarettes and ale being freely traded. The path is clear to the ship.

> Bugger off immediately, then?
> Or do something else on this goddamned rock? Yulia and you are both bleeding and holding on to each other. Oww, shoulder. Ow. Oww.

>>19579107
Yeah I mean the whole reason we even decided to go though this in the end was because we are afraid what she would do if we said no after agreeing to what she said.

>>19579113
Good Point

Olga's never mentioned the silver before. But it would be weird if she didn't know about it.

... she seems to know about *everything*, that woman. As you enter the ship, you see a note from Station 1, inviting you to go land there.

'Olga's at Station 1? Yayy-oww.' Yulia's arms fall back down beside her and she coughs. 'That's the luxury station, man. We're going to have fun!'

Leave immediately, before something else goes wrong.

I wonder where Tomas and our rifle are.

>>19579119
I don't care where it is just no more bullets.

From ealier: You head down to the aft cargo hold, where you notice something else near the escape pod - a small locked box which Olga had mentioned. On a hunch, you enter the access key she told you...

... and are met with two rows of silver bars.

She did know there was something, at least.
But this doesn't matter any more, the box is gone.

>>19579133
>>19579127

Isn't it good to be in space again?

Yulia refuses to go into the medbooth again, and pulls up her tank top to prove her point, poking at the hole in her chest. 'I'm fine! It's just oozing a little! Look!'

'I'm not looking. That's ungentlemanly.'

'Then take my word for it. Anyway, Station 1's got plenty of hospitals.'

As you move into the orbital lanes and set course for the station, you hear the police alerts being given out. To your gladness, it seems no one's actually managed to pinpoint you as one of the criminals yet; all they know is that Yulia Kurylenko, who's killed 24 policemen in one night and another 41 men, women and children this morning, is on the top of the current wanted list.

You turn to Yulia, hand over her wound. 'I'm going to take a hot bath later. I smell funny. Also, going to get me some Jugura Protein Mix! Oh, I've eaten four of your protein packs just now. Needed the energy.'

> What do/say? You're currently in orbital autopilot, so you don't have to do anything; Station 1 will come to you.

Maybe we should hop in the medbooth. Our shoulder Is a massive pain.
Also, get a little to eat.

Also, after a bit more, Yulia giggles - she really can be a kid sometimes - and then turns to you.

'You do know, right, that when you asked me what hello was in Russian, what I told you meant 'fuck your mother'? You told Olga to fuck her mother last night, basically.'

>>19579156
Well that's one good reason to have a destructive person on your side they take all the attention off of you. Use the medbooth if we didn't use it yet. and just relax on the bed or whatever passes for one in this ship.

>>19579175
Well thanks for that at least when she asks why I said that I'll know the culprit.

>>19579175
Eh, I think she guessed that you told us that.

>>19579181
>>19579186
>>19579187

You are still in the medbooth, with dendrites picking away at your shoulder and showing you the little bullet in a metal tray, when the hailer of Station 1 requests your invitation. You hear Yulia give it, first softly, then loudly with expletives.

Then a male voice comes on, introduces himself as the manager, and Yulia yells at him as well. You sigh. Well, at least he gets the point after a while... and Yulia hasn't given away her name or anything.

As you enter Station 1, you are immediately struck by the lovely decor even of the docking bay. The whole area is curves and warm lighting, and the parade continues until you reach Deck 3 - a vast, four-storey shopping area, crowded with the rich and powerful. The two of you look positively shabby, but you're quite beyond caring.

A valet comes up to you. 'On Madame Yekimov's invitation, sir and madam?'

'Yep.' That leads to a walk through another dazzling shopping mall, with bookshops and cafes and boutiques, and then an elevator that zips up several decks while offering an occasional view of the deep night and Menvalle itself. That a brown rock like that is orbited by a paradise like this, it's interesting.

Olga is waiting, wearing business attire, behind a desk when you arrive. 'You brought Yulia!' She shakes her head. 'I told you to let her rot, didn't I?'

Yulia glowers.

> What do/say?

>>19579206
And I told you what I was going to do. I don't know why you are surprised. You didn't really seem to care at the time.

>>19579212
Agreed. Do the job together, finish it together and all that.
Once we're done, let's try offering Yulia a crew position.

>>19579212

'Nah, I didn't care either way. But do you want to know your mission results?'

Olga takes out a small file on her databook and starts to read from it. 'Clearly full of mercenary intentions. Technically competent, but martially disinclined. Disloyal, likely to betray. Secretive, cannot be trusted... oh wait.' She pretends to check the file again, squinting at it, and then smiles. 'Nope, that's Tomas' file. Sorry. Yours...'

'Oh, just spit it out, Olga,' Yulia says, and glares at the two men beside Olga who reach for their guns. Olga waves them back to standing guard.

'Well, well. Values self-preservation above money, and appears to be a loyal person. Does not forget favours, and seeks to repay. Brave, if not particularly skilled. Quite brutal towards the defenceless. Reasonably resourceful.' She puts the databook down. 'So. I think, overall, a pass. What about you, what are your thoughts?'

You're not sure if you walked in on Olga the military instructor, or Olga the... what, business manager with quarterly assessments?

> What do/say?

>>19579223
Do we really have the money to offer her that to begin with?

>>19579225
Would of been nice if tomas didn't betray us and got rather hairy at times, at least we survived.

>>19579225

I think we should tell her what we think of her, though... I can't really think of anything other than scarily well-prepared.

>>19579225
"Quite brutal towards the defenseless" Fuck the truth hurts a bit but I can't deny though.

>>19579242
Ain't that the truth.

>>19579227
She said no one would take her up on their ship. We've also probably proved we're a bit good to work with.

How does Olga expect us to respond to those dosiers? We've seen most of what she just said in action.

We can't really complain about brutality Mr "strangle a bitch with a tie"

>>19579250
>>19579247
>>19579242
>>19579233

'Well... let's see... Tomas betrayed us, and things got rather hairy.'

'You don't say,' Olga sighs. 'Looks like I've bought me an enemy by mistake. And what about me?'

'You're... scarily well prepared, I guess?'

A silence hangs over the air. 'What, is that it? I've misinformed you, told you to ditch your partner, and all you can think of is that? Come on, man. I like honesty from my partners.' Olga gestures for tea, and tea is brought in.

Come think of it, you swear that you hear a soft whirring sound every time she gestures with her left arm. She does it again, and this time it's a suitcase with a creditor machine inside. 'That's 65 grand in there, and it's yours.'

> What say/ask?

>>19579256

Just out of curiosity... what does she want Dmitri for?

>>19579268
Odds are she wants him dead. Just a guess though

"How much of this went according to your plans?"

>>19579256
Well, with this kind of cash it looks like my ship is due for some upgrades so I'll be in the area for a while if you happen to have any other need for me. Though next time I'd prefer something a little... Quieter.

Yuria, if you want you can stay on the ship, less chance of being identified if you aren't in public.

>>19579297
30k goes to Yuria remember that

>>19579268
>>19579275

> Okay, last post for today. Thanks for playing, people.

'So... I'm just wondering about that Dmitri guy. Leonid's brother. What you want him for.'

'Oh?' Olga nods. 'Sharp question. Why do you ask?'

'Well... if it's a hit job, I might recommend myself. Or Yulia.'

To your surprise, that draws a laugh from Olga - a loud, hearty, manly laugh. 'Oh, this is amusing, you thought I was going to that trouble to take him out! No, no, Nelson. No.'

'What is it, then?'

Her face becomes serious as she looks down at her hands, then up at you. Her eyes are a darker blue than Yulia's, but still almost luminous in an intense gaze. It's the power of a soldier, you realise.

'You know a little about me, I gather. Because Yulia won't shut up. I was a soldier, an officer in the Alliance Army.'

'Yes...'

'Well. See, I was discharged from the army after some... pretty horrific injuries. But worst of all, my company - my band of brothers and sisters - we got scattered. The dead, the wounded, the fortunate and discharged. After I recovered, I drifted to this system like a leaf, and I realised a lot of my company actually lived around here. The frontier is a hard life, which is good for hard people.'

'So... what, is Dmitri one of them?'

'Yes. He is. He is a good man. He paid a heavy price for his allegiance to the Alliance.' Olga sips her tea. 'But the Alliance ignored him, as it did us. Someone has to repay his loyalty, and if no one else will do it, I will. That,' she gestures to the people around you in this room, all tough faces and wistful expressions at her speech, 'that's what the Strelsy was created to do.'

>>19579256
How honest do you want this? So far I have former spec-ops, robotic left arm, minimal loyalty to new hires, willing to drop people at the drop of a hat, and has a bad habit of not informing people of the dangers on their first job. Also has good taste in clothing and vodka.

'So how much of this went according to your plan?'

'Oh, a reasonable amount. You've done well. I don't begrudge the 65 grand. The city will begrudge about 70 people killed in two nights, but that's Yulia's problem and not yours. You're free to go; I've secured a five-day pass for you. Enjoy Station 1.'

She smiles. 'Or if you'd talk to me more, that's fine too...'

> Suggestions for what else to do welcome. I'll note them and respond in the next thread.

>>19579303
Which means we're at over 40k in liquid assets.

I'd suggest buying a bitchin' electronics security suite for the ship, smuggling compartments emissions detectors, extra computer security so the ship can't be locked down without our say so, or take off without it either (or anybody we give permissions to)

It should be do-able with our funds, and would be a huge increase in security.

We also need to replace the assault rifle.

Oh, one more thing. In case you thought Olga was being seriously nonchalant about whether you were going to save Yulia, she calls Chevy and hands you the databook.

'Hey, Chevy, thanks again for what you did...'

'Don't thank me. Thank the Russian. She said, 'hee ees loyil goi, chyevi, I deemand you syave heem.' That's... actually not a bad impression of Olga's accent, you think. 'That's why I led me boys up to the bunker. I wouldn't go near New Roanoke otherwise...'

You hand the databook back, and nod to Olga. She waves dismissively, and says 'It's no problem. Siobhan needed exercise anyway.'

You stifle a giggle. That is a *good* impression Chevy does.

>>19579311
Stay and chat for a bit, we have 5 days to goof off here. Drink tea, make conversation, see if we can wheedle out more information about her criminal operation, check if she has any contacts to get ship parts and weaponry that "fell off the back of the truck", be charming and polite.

See if she actually needs any transport jobs, as those get you shot at far less than hit jobs.


We seem to be a remarkably nasty customer, before we got into the independent flying business we probably killed before, and quite a bit. Primary possibilities I can think of are former soldier, former mercenary, or grew up on the very wrong side of town and managed to get out.

I'd like to ask about her war injuries, but that's too personal too soon.We should get a basic to full tune up on the ship, since it got shot at recently.
I also agree with replacing the rifle, but with something that has a large mag and a full auto mode. Are m4's still widely used?

>>19579337

I think we should go with former soldier. Maybe we can trade war stories.
I'm kind of warming to Olga.

>>19579403
I guess we'd be the kind of soldier that has killing so trained into them it's basically an instinct, whether they want it to be or not. Doesn't explain our poor performance so far.

>>19579421
Less than excellent performance on the ground, that might not be our specialty. We might be extremely good at ship to ship combat, it makes more sense for a flyboy to go into independent space flight than a ground pounder.

>>19579437
Good point. We didn't do horribly so far, but not what one would expect of ground forces. Do think it would be expected of air force.
Also gives a better reason for our readyness to kill: trained to see deaths as impersonal(we'd have mainly been shooty down giant hunks of metal).

>>19579471
In addition former military gives us a reason for being so loyal to Yulia, we literally drove into a mass firefight to get her out of there. Military drills camaraderie and a willingness to kill. We consider her a comrade in arms, among other possibilities.

We quit the military at some point, puttered around in our ship doing boring milk runs, maybe trying out this whole peace and quiet thing that everyone talked about.

Then we found ourself in a situation remarkably similar to our former life, we don't seem to mind all that much.