>>Previous threads can be found at: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=NearFuture%20Cyborg%20Quest
>Fate Points: 0
>Nano-Meta: 1955 Units
>Credits: 46,250

The year is 2025.
Your name is Dave, and you never asked for this.
After you first chased the Emperors for some time, you eventually ran into several flying, AI-controlled ships. Soon enough, you learned that they were sapient, leftovers of a long-dead race. Their race had no name to speak of, but they were slowly, gradually dying off, as birthing new sapient AIs were impossible without the 'mindcore', which was their races' holy relic, in a way. After finding Bubbles, the first of his kind, Bubbles said that he had tracked the Mindcore to this system, and strongly suspected it to be on Neptune.
Which is where you are now, ready to get the Mindcore back.

Your name is Dave, and four humanoid AI shells are standing in front of you.
Two of them, presumably Gazebo and Bubbles, are wielding long, smooth rifle-like weapons. They had green and blue markings on their head, respectively.
1-Ship-1, however, had a large, underslung weapon- it reminded you of a chaingun, somehow. His markings were red.
1-Ship-2, The Seeker you hardly knew, held a mass of cables connected to a heavy, cubical object- It looked more like a utility item than a weapon. Her own markings were yellow.
>Continued, field too long

<<So, this is my reas->> Gazebo started to say, but Bubbles interrupted him.
<<Gazebo. Wait one moment. Transferring the language data.>>
"Right. Transfer complete." Gazebo said. "Wait, Does my name really mean 'structure within a garden'?"
"No, but your name has no applicable parallel in this language." Bubbles said. "Anyway, continue."
"These are my reasons for being in this form. My scanners have detected a large, underwater facility." Gazebo said. "It appears to be Emperor tech, and there's strong evidence for it having crashed there. .but there's something active inside, constructing the facility from within."

rolled 60 = 60

Gentlemen.

rolled 52, 76 = 128

>>20149618
An automated drone maybe? Hmm

Also who bets the emperors are hibernating inside or something?

>>20149618
"Interesting. Bubbles did say there was one of them still alive."

>>20149618
Hand them the medical scanner and tell them to copy it so they can instantly identify any Emperor's

"An automated drone, maybe?" You ask.
"Perhaps." Gazebo said. "Heavy winds have made it difficult for me to detect exactly what it is, but there's something moving down there. Could be organic, or automated, but in our experience, Emperors prefer to keep organics as their automated servants."
1-ship-2 simply tilted her head. "My name is unweildy in this tongue." He said.
"Response: Focus." 1-ship-1 responded. "We can choose names after this operation."

You take the medical scanner out, and hand it to Gazebo. "Can you copy this so that you can instantly identify any emperors?"
Gazebo examined it.
"1-ship-2, come here." He said. "Give me the device."

He took the cube in hand, put his own palms on the side of it, and the cables tore out, gripping the medical scanner tightly. Then he pulled it away.
"Now we can fabricate them in our own shells. 1-Ship-2?"

She took the cube in hand, and the cables writhed out, clinging to each of the AI shells' heads, implanting deepscanners into them.

"Do not worry." Bubbles said. "Our minds are not in our heads- that is inefficient and wasteful."
Azure managed to look bashful.

>>20149746
Azure, I think these guys know what they're talking about, after the mission you can probably get more advice on being a sentient AI. They ought to know a lot about it.

>>20149618
>a large, underwater facility
>the water is at several thousand degrees C but kept liquid by over 100000 atmospheres of pressure
Is the Sleipnir REALLY going to cope with this?

>>20149760
Don't say that. They react...poorly to other sentient AI, and Gazebo said they'd consider her an abomination.

>>20149746
Different design philosophies, Azure, don't worry about it. Worked out in the end anyways.

Okay, so if we do split up, at least one armed Cylon goes with each group.

You look down at the planet below, quite worried- it's much, much larger than earth. The gravity would be almost unbearable, and the pressure. .
"Amy, is the Sleipnir *really* going to be able to cope with this?" You ask.
"Uh. . I don't know." Amy said. She ran over to the computer, and started hitting a few keys. "I mean, if I use the disintegrator cannon's power shields and heatsinks to deal with the pressure, and our massively oversized power core to supply power to the shields. . . uh. . . I don't know." She said. "The Sleipnir could handle it, but the power core's heat could cook us alive."

The yellow-marked shell tilted their head. "Just use the Slipstream Drive, as we seekers do. It is quite useful for surpassing environmental dangers, like electromagnetic pulses, tearing through the surface of a star, and immense gravitational pressure."

>>20149886
What is the Slipstream Drive? Because I'm suddenly intrigued by this idea.

Does it mean I can shove things into the Sun, like a teleporter and teleport parts of the corona wherever I choose?

>>20149886
"Do we have one of those?"

>>20149886
Okay, we should probably install one, then, assuming it doesn't have any negative effects on organics.

Uh, it doesn't, does it?

"What is the slipstream drive?" You ask.
Yellow starts spluttering. "Well, ah, you see, ah. . I don't quite understand it."
"Do we have one of those?"
"There's one in my bigger shell. You can borrow it if you promise to give it back.." Yellow said.

"I have the data on it." Gazebo said. "It's our attempt at a faster-than-light travel system. It involves using a combination of exotic matter and dark matter to temporarily reduce the traveller's mass, and bend space around it, creating a . . gravitational vacuum, you would say, in front of it.. As far as things go, it only allows us to travel approximately Zero point nine nine five lightspeed, and secures protection from friction or environmental dangers."
"Does it have any negative effects on organics?"
"It shouldn't." Gazebo said. "We tested it on small lifeforms from our creator's home planet when it was first invented, and those survived intact. We never got the chance to bring our creators with us, though."

>>20149969
So let's hypothetically say that we took a large rock, attached this drive to it, pointed it at something we didn't like, launched it, and turned the drive off right before it hit the target, what would happen?

>>20149969
Huh. Entering or leaving the field might prove an issue, but it's probably our propulsion of choice here.

>>20149969
Ok, we'll borrow that thanks. Sounds like our best chance.

"So let's hypothetically say that we took a large rock, attached this drive to it, pointed it at something we didn't like, launched it, and turned the drive off right before it hit the target, what would happen?"
"It would be a tremendous waste of the exotic matter required to produce such a drive." Gazebo said. "It would bring quite a large amount of force, yes, but the drive would be annihilated."

"We'll borrow that, thanks. It sounds like our best chance."
Yellow leaves through the airlock, and wheels in a long, cylindrical device, burnished green.
"This has very little power requirements, and I can keep the vacuum very small, almost nothing- the planet's gravity well can pull us downward." Yellow said. "And I'll twist the field to keep it strong enough for this ship to withstand."

"1-Ship-2 has quite the talent at this. More so than most Seeker Castes, even." Gazebo said. "Which is why I brought her. Him? It? This language is strange- too many pronouns."

>>20150089
"This language is one of if not THE messiest of the Terran languages. Every rule has dozens of exceptions."

>>20150089
"I think it mainly comes from a strong gender bias in society throughout our history."

>>20150089
Yeah, English is kinda a clusterfuck of a language. It was created by stealing bits and pieces from other languages and throwing them in a metaphorical blender.

At least it's not German, in that one the word for little girl is genderless.

>>20150089
"They're gender-related. You could use 'it,' but that implies nonsentience. I recommend picking one to identify as."

>>20150089
Did your creators not have different genders?

>>20150118
Yeah, but in terms of pronouns at least we're generally agreed on 'it' instead of giving every fucking object a gender you have to remember.

"This language is one of if not *the* messiest of the Terran languages. Every rule has dozens of exceptions." You say.
"The problem is that there's no proper gender-neutral noun that isn't de-anthromorphizing." Bubbles said. "'It' sounds like one isn't a person."
"Which we are." 1-ship-2 said, strapping the Drive down in the bridge. It was quite small, as propulsion devices went.

The four AI shells all met eye-analogues.
"I will be considered female, and thus will be labeled as 'she' and 'her' for pronouns in this language." 1-ship-2 said.
"Male." Bubbles said.
"Male." Gazebo added.
1-ship-1 didn't move. "Response: I hardly care about pronouns. I can be 'It' for all I care. Let us move on."

>>20150204
I'm glad we worked this out. Now let's test out this new drive make sure it works just fine on Sleipnir.

>>20150204
I think 'it' only carries those connotations because we don't usually interact with genderless people. Once we develop sapient AI ourselves either that will go away or we'll come up with a proper pronoun for them. Azure's lucky she naturally identifies as female I guess.

rolled 36 = 36

>>20150204
Time for him to stick his tongue in her butt.

"I'm glad we worked this out." You say.
K looked a little alarmed at what's been going on- Her eyes simply darted from AI to AI.
"I think 'It' only carries those connotations because we don't usually interact with genderless people. Once we develop sapient AI ourselves either that will go away or we'll come up with a proper pronoun for them. Azure's lucky she naturally identifies as female, I guess."
"Not naturally." Azure said. "I got that from integration."
". . Integration?" Gazebo asked. "The only definition for integration is. . "
"Don't think about it." Bubbles said. "Just. . don't. She's much like an organic. Let's simply leave it like that."
". . Right." Gazebo said.

"Installation complete." 1-ship-2 said. She tore open her torso, and something on the inside started assembling itself, and she plugged herself into the drive. "Testing."

Your heart starts beating harder.
Much, much harder. It feels like your blood veins are starting to burst, and the gravity gets more significant, but so does your strength. Everything seems . . freer, somehow, and everything is easier to move.

"We now are a fraction of a fraction of our original mass." 1-ship-2 said. "How are you organics feeling?"
"This is fucking weird." Amy said.
"Yes. Yes it is." K responded.

>>20150204
Okay, then. Time to test the drive. Barring problems, let's head down to the facility. Everyone armor up and arm up if you haven't already.

>>20150351
I think weird about covers it. That, and 'uncomfortable.'

We ready to head down?

>>20150351
"It feels sort of like being stuck in an elevator. A never-ending, dimension-bending elevator. But without the catchy music."

>>20150351
"We are so making a gravity gun with this, Amy. Let's head down, twenty thousand leagues under the sea!"

"I think weird about covers it. That and 'uncomfortable'." You say, but it's rather difficult to talk like this. "We are so making a gravity gun with this, Amy."

"Now testing the secondary function of the drive. Gravitational propulsion." 1-ship-2 said.

Everything seems to fall forward for a moment, as if the front of the bridge was suddenly down. . but then Amy's artificial gravity kicks in, and everything normalizes.
"We are travelling at point nine seven." 1-ship-2 said. "Are you all still intact?"

"Y-yep." Amy said.
Dani didn't seem to be affected, for some reason. She looked rather bored.

"Testing the field." 1-ship-2 said. . and everything went pure black. Light refused to shine, and you were blind.. . with your normal eyes. Clicking on your helmet's infrared vision, you can see perfectly.
"I can't see!" K said, eyes wide.
"That's normal." 1-ship-2 said. "Do not panic. We are now immune to environmental effects. I can still see, and use my positioning software to travel."
"We- We ready to head down?" You ask.
"Certainly. Doing so now." 1-ship-2 said. The force pulling you forward strengthened for a moment, and then everything slowly starts shaking. "This is normal. Do not panic."

>>20150479
That's reassuring to hear. Nobody ever says not to panic right before everything goes wrong.

>>20150479
"Red shift eh?"

>>20150479
"'Do Not Panic.' The three least reassuring words in any language. Will visible light be, well, visible again once we're in station holding? Because if not, K at a minimum will be effectively blind the whole time."

>>20150479
"Any estimated on how long it'll take us to reach the installation?"

>>20150479
Place a hand on K's shoulder.
"Don't worry. You're probably in the safest place in the whole solar system right now."

"That's reassuring to hear." You say. "Nobody ever says not to panic right before everything goes wrong."
"Nothing will go wrong."

There was a loud, all-encompassing bang, something that shook your entire frame. Your infrared saw some massive wall travelling toward you, faster than you could believe, and you're ready to be crushed by it. . but it passed. Amy, K, and Lucca fell to their knees, but Azure, you, and Dani all stayed standing.
"That was normal." 1-ship-2 said. "We have now surpassed the ice layer and weather layers. We are now underwater. I see the facility ahead."

>>20150514
If it was that we'd be able to see ultraviolet with our eyes, it wouldn't be pitch black.
Although I guess it's possible that futurelightbulbs only shine on visible frequencies somehow to save energy.

>>20150568
"What just happened to Amy, K, and Lucca?"
See if they're alright.

>>20150568
Take us in slow. Looks like we've found

the red october.

>>20150568
"Okay. Next time, everyone gets in the chairs."

>>20150568
"Note to self: remain seated while drive is engaged. You okay, girls?"

>>20150568
Ice layer?

"What just happened to Amy, K, and Lucca?" You ask.
You walk over to them, finding it somewhat difficult, but they're already pushing themselves to their feet.
"I got surprised by the bang." Amy grumbled as you pulled her up. "I jumped. . and that had more effect than I thought."
"Y-yeah." Lucca said.
"Okay, next time, everyone gets in the chairs."
"But this is fun!" Dani said. "My entire body's like. . 'fwoom'."

"Take us in slow."
"I already am." 1-ship-2 said. "I've found a suitable entry point, but we most likely will need to blast it open. Emperor crafts are too dense to slipstream through." She said. "We would all likely die."
"We can teleport." Gazebo said. "If we teleport out of the mass field, we should return to normal. It should have little shock to your systems, organics."

rolled 83 = 83

>>20150568
>Pass through wall of ice
>It's SCIENCE
>I don't have to explain shit.

>>20150686
"Guess teleporting in is as good a way as any."

>>20150686
No offense, Gazebo, but I don't wanna skip straight to live testing on that one. It seems...unwise, somehow. Plus, then 1-ship-2 would be stuck on Sleipnir, since we'd have to keep the drive engaged, no?

>>20150686
"Alright. I'll go first, with those of you" meaning the ships, "that are going in. Then everyone else can come over once I'm content it's viable."

>>20150755
Seconded.

>>20150755
Dani and Azure could probably go in the first wave, due to gynoid and non-human biology.

"No offense, Gazebo, but I don't wanna skip straight to live testing on that one. It seems...unwise, somehow. Plus, then 1-ship-2 would be stuck on Sleipnir, since we'd have to keep the drive engaged, no?"
"Not at all." 1-ship-2 said, and disconnected herself from the drive. "I can simply leave the drive activated like this. It would be best, however, if we use the limbs on the bottom of this ship to cling to the facility."
"Right." Azure says, and hits a few buttons on the computer. "Mechandrites attached."
"And I've done preliminary testing on the effects of a slipstream drive and teleportation combined." Gazebo said. "I was hoping it would make the teleportation require less energy. . but results were inconclusive. I did discover that it would have almost no effect on organic species, however."
"Alright, I'll go first." You say. "With those of you who are going in. Then everyone else can come over once I'm content that it's viable."
"Fair enough." Bubbles said. "I expect you have the teleporter on board?"
"That I do."
"Statement: Then let's go already."
<Onyx?>

>roll 1d100, taking first only.

rolled 3 = 3

>>20150830
Watch me fuck up.

rolled 91 = 91

>>20150830

>>20150853
...
I'll just kill myself now, shall I?

>>20150855
>>20150853
Son of a bitch

>>20150853
Motherfucker. Fate Point might be called for.

>>20150893
We don't have any.

File: 1343940090462.gif-(1.94 MB, 320x188, 1333076793053.gif)

>>20150853
DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS

You appear, and then everything is. . heavy. So, so, heavy. Your entire body feels like it's turned to stone, with your heart struggling to pump . . .

you take a breath.

Then you release it.
You take another.
And then you hear something screech, something loud.
You look up through the dark, dark halls, but you don't see anything. you turn on infrared view again, and look about. . Something far, far away, starts rustling.

And then swarms of pale, humanoid beings start charging, screeching at the top of their lungs. They had no nose, simply massive maws full of teeth, and were perfectly bald. They looked like. . humans that had been stuck underground for generations, only twisted. . and distorted.

And then you see the monomolecular claws strapped to augments on their cybernetic arms and legs.
What?

Two of them pounce on one of the AI shells, but you don't know who.
Finally, you get your breath back. More of these *things* are coming, and you can hardly see a thing.

>Exabyte: Actually, FYI, the roll was for where in the facility you ended up. You won't die. Instantly, at least.

From IRC

rolled 98 = 98

>>20150914
>Two of them pounce on one of the AI shells, but you don't know who.

Seeing stuff doesn't matter, one of our allies is in danger. Ask the AIs if we can use their senses, and if not, fight by using our other senses.

Fuck those things, rip and tear.

>>20150914
Turn on lights on our suit.

Start shooting.

If it's this dark and this is what they've lived like all the time then the light should have *some* effects on them.

>>20150914
Use our projectile weaponry - all of it save the Javelin and Monocrossbow - to fucking UNLOAD into the horde. Accuracy is for punks.

Assist the Cylons with the claws on our Heavy Drites - try to remove the bladed augments from the...things.

You grip each of the . . things with a power claw each, and throw them into another charging . . 'pack' of them. The entire pile goes down, and you melt them down with plasma blasts from your medium drites.

On the other side of the dark, dim hallway, you hear more screeches.
1-ship-1 pulls himself to his feet.
"Response: Numerable foes. Cybernetically enhanced. Must not be emperor pets due to cybernetics." 1-ship-1 said.
Sparking and crawling, Gazebo pulled his way out of the wall.
"Inaccurate teleportation." Gazebo said. "My lower body got fused. I am damaged."
1-ship-2 lifted up her cube, and the cables writhed out, slowly repairing Gazebo.

A second 'pack' of things skid around the corner, and start charging and screeching.
Before you can respond, 1-ship-1 activates his weapon. An enormous, powerful laser blasts from his weapon, singing the aliums into ash, bones, and cybernetic components.
"Statement: I suspect more is coming." 1-ship-1 said. He pulled something out of his weapon, and it hissed, as he slid another canister into it.

rolled 56, 76 = 132

>>20151006
Oooh, interesting idea, heatsink packs.

>>20151006
Lets get dani and Azure over, at the least.

And we need to get one of wha 1-ship-1 is using.

>>20151006
"No shit. Good bet they're connected to ArmaTek, these guys look like the Eversors they like to use."

File: 1343940868988.jpg-(22 KB, 560x240, 1388574185.jpg)

rolled 12 = 12

>>20151006
"I've got a solution. 1-ship-2. Can you synthesize a hall-clearing engine or something, from all these cybernetic stabby bits? We can't take on this swarm that well, but I doubt they can deal with a rolling, mashing wall of blades and drills."

TIME FOR THE CLEEEANNEERSSSSS

<Dani, Azure, come over.>
<Right.> Azure responds, and they both burst into appearance- Azure with sword, and Dani with her heavy rifle.

1-ship-2 pulls Gazebo onto his one foot, and she quickly repairs his other leg.
From both hallways, more cybernetic humanoids charge out in packs, screeching mindlessly.

Dani kneels and pulls the trigger of her rifle, and you hear the loudest, most angry roar you've ever heard, as hundreds of gauss projectiles shoot out of her MG at once, the raw recoil making her brace herself. The heavy, magnetically charged needles pierce through the pack easily, sending them writhing onto the ground- Most of them that don't end up pinned to the wall behind, at least.

"I've got a solution, 1-ship-2. Can you synthesize a hall-clearing engine or something, from all these cybernetic stabby bits?"
"Not likely." 1-ship-2 said, continuing her repairs. "I have a limit of nano-meta on this machine."

>>20151085
"Understood. Do you have any clue where we need to go? Or at least, how many more of these things are in this base?"

>>20151085
"Shit. That's my giant lawnmower plan out the window."

"Understood. Do you have any clue where we need to go? Or at least, how many more of these things are in this base?"
"I have no clue." Gazebo said, as plates of armor placed themselves onto his injured leg. "My scanners were not strong enough to penetrate much further. I believe we can simply wander and map this facility out."

Another two packs of things came, snarling, from both sides. Dani and 1-ship-1 took down each pack, respectively.
For a moment, there was silence.

"Statement: I believe they are either dead, or have stopped assaulting." 1-ship-1 said.
<Dave, is it safe there?> Amy asked.

>>20151200
"No, not at all. We might have temporarily secured this area, however."

>>20151200
<Sssoort of. It's chock full of cybernetic troglodytes, but otherwise, nothing. I think the Emperors want us to waste all our ammo on these things, rather than kill us directly with 'em.>

>>20151200
<Well, we're not in immediate danger, at any rate. Come on over, but we're going to have to be careful.>

<Sort of.> You say. <It's chock full of cybernetic troglodytes, but otherwise, nothing.>
<Cybernetic?> Amy asked. <So the Emperors can't use their mindhack thingy on them? We're coming in.>

Lucca, Amy, and a small swarm of heavy drones flashed into light and appeared. You turn the flashlights on your helmet on, and Amy does the same. Lucca's drones all light up.

"Cybernetic Troglodytes?" Amy asked.
Dani pointed at one of the corpses.
"Oh."

>>20151251
Is it wise to leave K alone with Delta?

>>20151282
Is it wise to leave either of them alone with the Sleipnir when they're both new people we don't fully trust yet?

>>20150089
>the drive would be annihilated

Large rock. Drive. Large enough charged emergency-style teleporter. Light it up to a large fraction of c. at the last possible moment, port out the drive and the teleporter. Rock hits planet.

We have a planetkiller now.

>>20151251
Yeah, Troglodytes. We should probably dissect them quickly, see if there's any hints on weaknesses and construction method.

>>20151314
Even better have the teleporter go to another asteroid and begin to launch that one. Repeat until target is annihilated.

"Is it wise to leave K alone with Delta?" You ask.
"Oh, shit, you're right." Amy said, still standing perfectly still. She's trying to get ahold of her body now that it's mass has returned to normal. .

A moment later, K appears, with one of Delta's two subordinates.
"Delta's coming next." K said, wobbling. "The AI said that the teleporter can only take so much before recharging."

Another flash of light brings Delta and the other subordinate. He salutes.
"It seems like everyone is here." Bubbles said. "Unless I'm forgetting someone."

rolled 20, 15 = 35

>>20151347
Should we leave a note for phi?

>>20151347
I think we're cool. Let's clear this place out and get that Mindcore back. Then we'll deal with ArmaTek.

>>20151347
"No, I think that's everyone. Lucca, send out a couple recon drones and send me and the Cylons a copy of the data. Delta, have one of your heavies take point and one take rear. Anything that looks like an Eversor is to be called out and then terminated with extreme prejudice."

<Cyan, throw me up a HUD map, Diablo 2 style.>

>>20151331

Also:

>FUCK YOU, FRICTION

I wonder how our allies are going to feel about suddenly being post-scarcity? Because we now have infinite energy.

>>20151392
Power cores are already infinite energy.

rolled 59, 15 = 74

>>20151392
Once we get an AG generator we hit 'Fuck you everything' level.

>>20151392
We already had infinite energy from the power cores. That's why Three thinks it's so sad the there's still poverty because corporations are hoarding everything.

>>20151408

Yeah, but I thought they were infinite D-cells and car batteries. We're talking infinite power generation on an industrial scale, and when you couple it to our quantum fuckery and teleportation, capable of powering an infinite power grid.

>>20151441
The one on Sleipnir is roughly equivalent to a small power plant, I think. The kind you find on military bases to make them less reliant on the power grid.

>>20151408
>The infinite energy thing was already done by power cores, back in 2018. Resurgence is still trying to elevate the entire world to post-scarcity energy levels, but it's slow going.

"No, I think that's everyone." You say. "Lucca, send out a couple recon drones and send me and the Cylons a copy of the data. Delta, have one of your heavies take point and one take rear. Anything that looks like an Eversor is to be called out and then terminated with extreme prejudice."

<Cyan, throw me up a HUD map, Diablo 2 style.>
<On it.> Cyan said, and you see the map springing up.
"There are two hallways. It seems we're in the very center of two 'branches' of the facility." Lucca said.
"This is the cliche part where we split the party, right?" Amy asked.
"Yep, obviously." K said.


>1-ship-1, 1-ship-2, Bubbles, Gazebo, K, Dani, Azure, Lucca, Amy, You, Delta (and his squad)
>Split the party!

>>20151481
NOOPE, no god damn splitting up.

rolled 31 = 31

Group A
Dave, Amy, Bubbles, K, Lucca, 1-ship-2

Group 1 "The Fighting Mongooses"
Delta, Azure, Dani, Gazebo, 1-ship-1

>>20151513
Swap Dani and 1-ship-2 and I'll agree.

>>20151481
How many drones does Lucca have? If we have them swarming around and mapping the place we don't need to split the party up.

>>20151481
Screw that. If we HAVE to, though, we need at least one heavy-hitter in each party. I also recommend splitting Delta and Lucca apart because they're our most effective scouts, and we can't count on them staying in control range of the other party.

>>20151441
How are you generating all that energy exactly?

>>20151481
>Us, K, Bubbles, Amy, Lucca
>1-ship-1, 1-ship-2, Gazebo, Delta, Azure, Dani

The robots should probably stick together to take the most advantage of the repairy-thing, but we need at least one alium ship on each team. Dani least reliant on tech so she can support the robot team against their weak-points.

>>20151544
I tentatively agree to this if necissary, though it leaves Delta's group without a bullshit hacker.

Also, damn straight we best have Lucca's recon drones do as much scouting as practical before we split anyone up.

>>20151559
Dani has the other heavy weapon. We can't group her with 1-ship-1.

>>20151596
Swap Bubbles and 1-ship-1 then. I just went with Bubbles for our team because he had the most generic loadout and we know him best.

"Screw that." You say heatedly. "No goddamn splitting up."
". . Right." Amy says.
"Lucca, scout as much as possible. You're not our heavy hitter right now." You say.
"On it, Dave." She said, and closed her eyes. Her back thrummed loudly, and the drones burst into action. "I do have a max range, and I'm close to reaching it, but I have a lot of it mapped out."

You check the map on your HUD, and you notice a strange dichotomy between the sides. The left side has tangled, spread branches, with stairs that went up and down as it willed, and had vents that spread randomly in a similar way. and the other side was perfectly even, and balanced- almost like a grid, in a way, with small rooms.
"That's my limit." Lucca said. "I can't go any further than this- not with something blocking the signal as much as it is. I think it's these walls."

>>20151481
>Split the party!
Must we?

>>20151619
I don't suppose any of your drones spotted the mind-core?

>>20151619
Let's go for the orderly side, rather than the chaotic.

rolled 8 = 8

>>20151559
The magical gravity defying frictionless fluid that is inside power cells.

>>20151662
What?

>>20151619
Okay, so the one side looks like an M.C. Escher painting, and the other looks planned, like a cube farm. Let's start with the cube farm.

"I don't suppose any of your drones spotted the mind-core?"
"They mostly just spotted old, half-chewed bones, empty wrappers of some kind of packaged food. . and vents. And pipes." Lucca said.
"Let's go this way." You say, pointing to the right.
"Right." Lucca says. "I'm pulling back the ones on the left, then. Damnit, saying 'left' feels wrong, but it isn't 'west' either. Damnit, I'm all confused as to the cardinal directions."

Soon enough, her scouts are back, and your group moves out. You hear a few 'troglodytes' running away from you, usually skidding around corners as you approach, but nothing notable seems to happen. Lucca keeps her drones spread, as far as possible, constantly updating the map.
"I found something." Lucca said. "It looks like a massive door."

>>20151828
Where Sleipnir docked is now the north side.
Let's head towards that door then, it's probably important.

rolled 76 = 76

>>20151828
alright.

cyan, plot us a shortest distance course
magenta, assess the courses to be sure there are no spaces that will allow the Trogs to get to grips with us.

"Let's head towards that door, then. It's probably important."
"Right." Lucca says.

The group slowly makes their way there, with Delta's group taking up the rear and walking backwards. Eventually, you reach the heavy door- Lucca was right- It is rather massive.

The Trog's screeching started up, and everyone quickly got ready. . .

But nothing happened.

Instead, the door hissed open.

Lights clicked on, and there was an Emperor standing in the other room, sitting in a chair. It said nothing. . Just stared.

Along the walls were large, glass cases, each too fogged up to see inside of.

>>20152033
Is it alive?

"Hi emperor." In either their language or that of the ai ships.

rolled 39 = 39

>>20151828
Gazebo, do your people have vertical sensors? can you see above and below you, and behind as well?.

I don't want to be ambushed...

>>20152033
"Sup?"

>>20152033
Deep scan the glass cases, what's behind them?

>>20152033
Cyan can speak Emperor, right? Say hello, ask what it's doing down here.

rolled 47 = 47

>>20152033
It's clones. Put your tongue in their butts.

rolled 68 = 68

>>20152033
"greetings, if you help us we'll probably not kill you. and we might even take you off this rock and out of this system"

what say you?

"Gazebo, can your shells see above and below you?" You ask.
"Yes." Gazebo said.

Slowly, ever so slowly, you approach the massive room, with the cases on either side. The loud screeching from behind, from somewhere else in the gridmaze, got almost louder. It almost looked like a museum, somehow.
<Deepscan the glass cases.>
<On it.> Bubbles responds.

"Hi." You say to the Emperor.
It blinks.
". . Sup?"

It blinks again, then leans forward, looking closely at you. the Emperor seems to be studying you. It's gangly limbs don't move, and the compound eyes seem to stare directly into you. The bone thorns on it's chin and the tusks hanging out of it's mouth drip with some sort of liquid.
<<The ceiling.>> Burns into your mind. <<The ceiling is up.>>
It starts hacking, and gurgling. . and with a creeping realization. . .
You realize it's laughing.

>>20152131
That's concerning, get any non-combat personell back out that door with Delta ASAP.

>>20152131
<I think he's gone insane from isolation>

>>20152131
"Generally, yeah. So... We're here for the Mindcore. Feel like pointing us in its direction?"

>>20152131
"It's always worth checking."

Can we do the mind-burning runespeak?

>>20152131
Does this place have propulsion to keep the ceiling up or do you just kind of float around?

>>20152176
>You don't even know how you understand it, let alone how to speak it.

"Generally, yeah. So... We're here for the Mindcore. Feel like pointing us in its direction?"
With a sudden, surprisingly sudden movement, the Emperor pointed at one of the cases.
<<That one.>> It says, sobering up. <<That one has the device of which you seek. Take it. It is yours.>>

He snapped his fingers, and the case rose, revealing a small, dark green sphere.

"The mindcore!" 1-ship-1 gasped, forgetting to preface his words. "Cover me."
"Right." 1-ship-2 said.
"On it." Bubbles responds.

Slowly, 1-ship-1 grabbed the mindcore, bracing himself. . but nothing happened.
The Emperor stood, and slowly walked over to the AI's shell, leaning down to stare into it's eye analogue.
From behind, you see that the Emperor's back. . is entirely robotic. Flesh fused with steel, cables of strange kinds hanging out wildly.
<<Take it with my blessing.>> The emperor burned into your mind. <<I am no longer interested in it.>>

>>20152196
Why are you here? Why are you not trying to kill us? Every other member of your species we have met have been outwardly malevolent towards us.

>>20152196
Wait wat, I'm not entirely sure about this guy.

>>20152196
"Wwhhaaaatttt. A rogue, cybernetic Emperor. A speshul snowflaek amongst its kind. With a sense of humor. Are you playin' some kind of game, here? Because you don't seem like a gigantic asshole right out the gate. At all."

>>20152229
"Not that I'm complaining, but that seems somewhat, ah, atypical for your species."

>>20152196
"Cool, thanks a bunch. We really appreciate it. Well, see ya around then."

"What? A rogue, cybernetic Emperor. A 'speshul snowflaek' amongst its kind. With a sense of humor. Are you playing some kind of game, here? Because you don't seem like a gigantic asshole right out the gate. At all."
<<We all play games.>> It responds.
"Not that I'm complaining, but that seems somewhat, ah, atypical for your species."
<<My species all play games.>> It responds again. It turns to Dani, and looks very, very closely at her. She freezes. <<Before you leave, tell me of this one, Davidson.>>

>>20152276
She was made by another one of you. I don't know why.

>How does he know our name? Spoooky.

>>20152276
You shouldn't know my name.

Dani's one of your kind's experiments. We're not sure why she was created, but she's here now. If you want anything else, you'll have to ask her.

>>20152276
"A younger and much more assholish member of your race created her. A half-Emperor clone with an assembled mind. I've taken her as my lil' sister and broke her of her mental conditioning, so she's a free woman now, and the two Emperors with any direct links to her are very dead. Now, a question for you; what's your game? Because it doesn't seem too malevolent, so far."

>>20152297
Not really, he could have a relay on our planet, hell he might even be able to read minds.

>>20152276
"She's my sister, so far as I'm concerned. Maybe not exactly human, but that's not her fault. She was birthed by another of your species to pacify a friend of mine, I think, based on his memories of one of his old friends' sister." Shrug, "Now she's my sister, too, but her own person, as well."

>>20152310
Correction: She broke her OWN conditioning.

"You shouldn't know my name."
<<I play games.>> It responded.
"Dani's one of your kind's experiments. We're not sure why she was created, but she's here now. I've taken her as my lil' sister and she broke herself of her mental conditioning, so she's a free woman now, and the two Emperors with any direct links to her are very dead. If you want anything else, you'll have to ask her."
<<She was not an experiment. It was a toy. But regardless, I understand now.>>
"Now, a question for you; what's your game? Because it doesn't seem too malevolent, so far."
<<Malevolence is in the eye of the beholder.>> It said. <<Now, you have what you came for. Leave. Get rid of the rodents if you wish, however. They were from a game that turned out not to be fun.>>

>>20152351
"Tell you what, we'll get rid of the rodents for a price, what can you offer?"

>>20152351
"Want to come and play a big game on Earth? I'm sure ArmaTek will have a lot of fun."

>>20152351
"I think you might just being a lukewarm flip-flopper with the subjectivity talk, but yeah, I guess. You don't mind if I stop by again some time, do you? You seem pretty chill for a lizard-fly-thing from space. As for those cyber-trogs, yeah, should probably put them out of their misery."

>>20152377
No.

rolled 50 = 50

>>20152351
>Welp, guess we should clean up the trash on the way out. Maybe we will hear from him again, maybe not.

>>20152377
Oh god, that can't end well.

Do it.

rolled 77 = 77

>>20152370
... He just gave us what we came for. Lets not be complete dicks.

>>20152377
Nope.

>>20152377
Not just no, but HELL no. For all we know, this is Battleaxe anyways.

"I think you might just being a lukewarm flip-flopper with the subjectivity talk, but yeah, I guess. You don't mind if I stop by again some time, do you? You seem pretty chill for a lizard-fly-thing from space."
<<I do not mind. Do not bring so much company next time, however. An old man can only take so many visitors at once.>>
"Tell you what, we'll get rid of the rodents for a price, what can you offer?"
<<Fair enough. An answer. I will pay an answer.>>

>>20152351
Why are you down here? Isn't Neptune boring?

>>20152424
To what question?

>>20152424
"Why can't the Emperors stop playing games? Is it purely a matter of boredom or loneliness at the top or something?"

>>20152424
Alright. Cool beans.

Mindcore ok over there, 1-ship-1? We just need to go kill the rest of those 'toys' and we'll be going.

>>20152424
Why do the Emperors have such little regard for other species?

"To what question?"
<<To whichever you ask.>> It said. <<Now go. I look forward to watching this.>>

It ruffled Dani's hair, and she scrunched up her nose just as she usually does.
"I will." Dani says out of the blue.
The emperor it sat back down.

"Mindcore okay over there, 1-ship-1? We just need to go kill the rest of those 'toys' and we'll be going."
"It is intact." 1-ship-1 said. "We should bring this back to the ship immediately. I do not want it to be damaged in the battle."
<The evac teleporters are charged.> Ship-bound onyx said. <I can bring it here.>

As the group starts to leave the room, you turn back to the emperor.
"Why do the Emperors have such little regard for other species?"
<<Why do humans?>> It asked. <<Good day, Twelve.>>

It snapped it's fingers, and the door started to close.

>>20152523
Damnnnnnnnnnn.

Anyway, get to killing.

>>20152523
Touché creepy space lizard.

>>20152523
Is he a member of resurgence or just a mindreader? We need to talk to 3.

That said... When we have a moment, ask dani what it said to her. There's a chance it wasn't important, but I'm not willing to risk not finding out.

>>20152523
"Well, that was pretty damn cryptic. Guess it was a subtle way of saying that their level of consciousness makes us look like animals or something? Or at least they think so. Maybe they're just bonkers with misanthropy. Interesting to think about. Wish he'd stop looking into my brain, though, that's just rude."

"Hey, Dani. What'd Emps have to say to you? While I trust this guy more than the last two, it was pretty weird how chummy he was."

I think we need to do the job before we get our "payment" answer.

>>20152553
I expect all the Emperors to have some telepathic ability.

But yeah, let's ask Dani what it said to her.

>>20152553
We know from before that they have some type of mind-reading or mind-reading tech based on the kidnapping stuff. Hell, they might use mental communication since "message burned into mind" etc etc.

"Touche, creepy space lizard." You say, and then, after evacuating the mindcore, you get to killing.
The group spreads out, and starts travelling through the facility, slowly cornering the eversor-like troglodytes and killing them. Spread apart and as scared of you as they are, they're not nearly as terrifying as they'd been when you first arrived.
"Hey, Dani. What'd Emps have to say to you? While I trust this guy more than the last two, it was pretty weird how chummy he was."
"He told me to take care of you." Dani said, as she reloaded. "Said you were fun to watch."

Soon enough, the alium troglodytes were dead.

<<Ask.>> You hear it burn into your mind, despite being nowhere near.

>>20152553
This.

I further propose that we start our list of possible questions with "Do you interact with Earth or its people, and what names and/or aliases do you use?" May require refinement.

>>20152553
Probably a mind-reader. Can't do mind-control without mind-reading.
It can't read our mind though, all our memories are in the bullfrog. It'll have got that info from one of the others.

>>20152603
How many alien species do you know of, and where are they?

>>20152603
My proposal is something along the lines of, "What are your interests with Earth?"

We gonna get to come to a consensus on this, Exabyte?

>>20152603
<What's with the focus on 'games' your species has? Is your species entirely comprised of precocious, sociopathic children and bored old men?>

>>20152608
I like this one, but we should also add "do you plan to in the future?".

>>20152603
First up, tell him that any tricky answers, like just saying yes or some shit, will be met with bullets.

>Sorry, but forgot to mention.
>You only get one, and this is greentexted for importance;

>Wut ask?

>>20152608
>>20152638
The only problem is that it may already count as two questions as it stands.

>>20152647
Everyone OK with "How do I make a quantum computer?"

>>20152656
That seems reasonable. That, or asking him about dem games.

>>20152654
Perhaps: "What name to the people on earth know you by, those present not included?"

>>20152656
That looks good.

>>20152656
Ehh. There's better things to ask. We'll steal that from ArmaTek eventually.

>>20152647
My proposal is still, "What are your interests with Earth?"

>>20152656
I like this one, seems like he would know how.

c'mon guys, ask about the van. Ask about our origins.

>>20152656
We can't ask that. The Emperors aren't a compter species. This one is the only one with cybernetics we've ever seen, and the Quandum Computer is hellishly advanced. Why even assume he knows what it is?

>>20152685
He might not know anything about that. We weren't interesting then so he wouldn't have watched us.

We could ask how the Emperor mind reading/speaking works.

Ask him how we can find Battleaxe. Assure him we'll make it entertaining.

>>20152711
This this this this.

Stress how much *fun* it will be.

>>20152647
ask him if he wants to come to earth and be bros together

>>20152711
Use that as a bonus question, he might answer it anyway if it is going to be interesting

>The way things look, there are four major questions to ask.

>[] What is Emp's intention
>[] How does one make a quantum computer
>[] Where to find Battleaxe
>[] Emperor mind bullshit

>>20152760
>[X] Where to find Battleaxe

He's most likely to answer this one satisfactorily.

>>20152760
>[3] What is Emp's intention
>[4] How does one make a quantum computer
>[2] Where to find Battleaxe
>[1] Emperor mind bullshit

Preferential voting, bitches.

>>20152760
>[] What is Emp's intention
Stickin' with it.

Fully aware the answer could just be, "You entertain me."

>>20152760
Mind bullshit.
>With this we could hack EVERYTHING.

rolled 53 = 53

>>20152760
the emperor IS battleaxe isn't he?

"the secret to quantum computers please Mr. battleaxe"

Battleaxe please

>>20152788
Addendum: "Besides the obvious entertainment"

>>20152760
I don't remember him saying truthfull or full answer. I hope I simply missed it.

>[] What is Emp's intention
Not immediatly important I think.
>[] How does one make a quantum computer
Would be really cool fast upgrade for both dave and the AIs. Will help us against smokey and a lot of the other stuff. I vote for this.
>[] Where to find Battleaxe
We can find her the long way.
>[] Emperor mind bullshit
This would be my second choice.

>>20152760
>What is Emp's intention
Likely to get "have fun" or something
>How does one make a quantum computer
Possible he won't know, the Emperors have lost the secrets of their own technology
>Where to find Battleaxe
Skipping straight to the end seems boring, we just reactivated resurgence and everything
>Emperor mind bullshit
Probably won't be any use to us

I'm go with mind bullshit and hope it's related to our bullshit hacking somehow.

>>20152825
So what the hell are you voting for?

>>20152825
>>20152808

he's not going to freaking know how the quantum computer works!

computer, we need it

>>20152855
The one where he said "I vote for this"?

"How do you do that mind reading and controlling bullshit?"
<<The same way you do your hacking bullshit. Except with more of the same exotic material.>> It says. <<We call it Dominance. Good day.>>

"Is that it?" K asked. "We have the . . alien thingy, and we got rid of those creepy elf things. Can we go yet?"

>>20152886
Yeah, sure. Did you not enjoy your first extra-terrestrial holiday?

>>20152886
<Have a good 'un, Emps.>

"Yeah, yeah, we're done here. Shit, should've asked where the front door was. Probably would've simplified getting out."

>>20152886
Sweet, this makes sense, since K can bullshit hack minds and she has her exotic stuff concentrated. If we can implant more in ourselves, maybe we'll get it too.

"Yep, we're done here K. This trip was a lot quieter then most of the other ones, you were lucky."

rolled 38 = 38

>>20152886
yeah we can go, onyx port us out of here...

as we leave send a final message

"I figure you can call anyone on earth that you like, could you find somebody and tell them to kick minerva in the balls really hard for me? you can call it a personal favor, I might even come and visit you some more..."

That was a useless question. We already knew that. Wait do we still have that Amy Emperor, if so take the BS stuff out of it and add it to our own.

>>20152946
That is a fantastic idea.
But I think we lost the emperor's corpse, I'm not sure though.

so we need more exotic material to inject in ourselves and Dani can see it. include the emporer corpse which must have enough to do it. heh guys we get Dani to harvest it from the corpse then inject out selves with it vey Azure and Dani working together.

>>20152886
"Heh. Thanks for that...I never got your name, did I?"

rolled 15 = 15

>>20152946
yes, we still have that one on ice...lets deepscan it once we get back.

>>0152946
>The corpse there was blown up by Sigma. That bastard. The explosion from a few threads ago was caused by him setting the power core in the coffin to detonate.

"Yeah, yeah, we're done here." You say. "Did you not enjoy your first extra-terrestrial holiday?"
"I spent it with my heart exploding, falling over from every teensy movement, and phasing through methane ice." K said. "Today hasn't been a fun day, I have to admit."

With your urging, Onyx brought all three evac teleporters, pre-charged, and the party warped back to the Sleipnir.
The AI ships simply stared directly at the mindcore, as if scared to even touch it.
<<We have it.>> Bubbles said, in awe.
<<It's beautiful.>> 1-ship-1 said.
<<We can reproduce again.>> 1-ship-2 added.
Gazebo, for once, was perfectly silent.

>>20152965
Make bloody well sure it hasn't been tampered with.

What are your plans now that You have it back? are you going to reproduce like crazy and expand as much as possible or take it slowly? How does this all work for you guys anyway?

rolled 76 = 76

>>20152965
lets get you guys back to your ship. as far as I'm concerned you can set up shop in this system, at least for a little while...or would you like to take it with you someplace?

and when can I meet the first new AI?

>>20152965
Finally, an alien faction to ally with. They owe us a lot.

>>20152965
"What's on your mind, Gazebo?"

>>20152965
"So how does it work? Is it self-sufficient, or do you have to contribute data to the new AI?

>>20152965
We'll take you back to your ships and then you can make sure he didn't do anything to it and then get to repopulating.

>>20153037
Can Azure become a mother?

>>20153076
And can we be the father seeing as we're an electronic intelligence now?

>>20153088
>An entire race of Daves.
I wouldn't wish that on anyone, plus, Amy might kill whoever the mother is.

>>20153088
I'm not sure Amy would appreciate us making babies with Azure. And since Azure is Amy's creation, that's just wierd.

rolled 3 = 3

>>20153108
she has a bullfrog too...she can be the mother...

>>20153108
Well Amy has a bullfrog too. She wouldn't be able to contribute much, but I bet we can derive personality tags...

rolled 25 = 25

>>20153111
<singing the chorus>

"...I'm my own grandpaaaaa..."

>>20153111
It was a purely hypothetical question of course.

>>20153116
We're an actual AI who can just waltz up to satellites and live in a computer, so it should work for us. She has a bullfrog but her intelligence is still stuck in her brain so I'm not sure it would for her.

Gazebo took the cube device from 1-ship-2, and quickly examined the core.
<<It has not been tampered with.>> He said.
"What's on your mind, Gazebo?"
"Just. . thinking." He said.
"How does the mindcore work? Is it self-sufficient, or do you have to contribute data to the new AI?"
"Yes." Bubbles says. "Both. And neither. One and the other, in a way. New AIs are simply born from it, and we can use it to contribute data tags."
"Can Azure become a mother with it?"
"That. . .*thing*?" Bubbles asked.
After a moment of hesitation, he nodded. "Theoretically, yes."
"You're being rather rude." 1-ship-2 said. "Azure is an organic, isn't she? They're not 'things'."
"She's digital." Bubbles said. "She was an animal that eats other animals for knowledge. She clawed her way into existence."

The AIs all looked at Azure.
"Eerie." Gazebo said.
"Creepy." 1-ship-2 added.
". . Statement: Tempting."

". . We should go back up to our spacecraft shells, shall we?" 1-ship-2 said, changing the subject. She turned to the drive, and plugged herself back in.

Oh boy. You're *really* looking forward to this.

>>End of thread!
>>I'll stick around to answer questions.
>>My twitter is @futureexabyte, and I usually fuck around on the IRC (#Exabyte at Rizon.)

>>20153189
"Everyone that wants a chair, strap in!"

>>20153189
>. . Statement: Tempting.
What is 1-ship-1 finding tempting? Cannibalism or Azure?

And you didn't answer whether Dave could have AI babies.

>>20153189
Okay, 1-ship-1 is a creepy fuck.

rolled 91 = 91

>>20153189
"dammit I helped with the first one...back before Azure was a 'she'"

>>inb4 they've been exploded by captain minerva

>>20153233
>What is 1-ship-1 finding tempting? Cannibalism or Azure?
Yes.

>>20153189
Oh 1-ship-1, you are a funny robot. I'm sure if you asked Azure she'd be happy to interface with you.

rolled 40 = 40

>>20153253
we just had an audience with battleaxe didn't we...

or the puppet master sending his signals to battleaxe...

>>20153253
He wants to eat Azure, or he has a vore fetish and wants Azure to eat him?

So 1-ship-2, what did you do before you got conscripted to help us?

rolled 53 = 53

>>20153284
yes

>>20153257
to quote SORQ and exabyte

>I'm cuxing I'm cruxing

most amusing I am sure...

>>20153284
Yes.

We need a weaponized gravity field combined with inward turned shields to subdue things we can't kill. Also next time we need to talk to Lucca about mixing the disintegration cannon tech with her drones. A whole bunch of drones line up and make an impromptu cannon and then fire and move. It would be handy.

rolled 85 = 85

>>20153318
you thinking the "peasant rail-gun" would work in such an application?

>>20153316
Thanks for clearing that up.
So why did they only have the one mindcore? You'd think with something so important they'd build backups. Or at least Bubbles would have remembered the schematics.

rolled 49 = 49

>>20153364
suppose it's a taboo thing like copying across to more than one platform?

>>20153364
Bubbles was lost alongside the Mindcore.

>>20153348
Close but not quiet. As I remember it the canon works with a whole bunch of repulser plates lined up inside of a cordor so add the plates in the right way to enough of the drones then have them line up to make the barrel and yes a kind of peasant rail gun. Also we should make a weapon that we can teleport inside smoky. We would most likely need a tracker for it to work well though

>>20153397
He was lost desperately chasing the mindcore to Mars. He wouldn't need to if he could just build another one.

>>20153364
Because the AI's didn't make the mindcore, their creators did. That knowledge was lost.

>>20153409
Actually, whats stopping us from teleporting him into the sun?

>>20153441
For one, we'd need to lure him onto a charged evac teleporter.

>>20153409
We don't need to teleport a weapon inside Smokey. Teleporting anything inside him would fuck him up good, and the weapon would just break anyway.

rolled 98 = 98

>>20153463
can we convince all of valhalla to act as one?

we can rebuild it, we have the technology!
faster, stronger, better...and possibly on the moon (or mars)

>>20153488
I was thinking like a small bomb. Or better yet a big one

.>>20153463
Build one disguised as a normal room in our base or somewhere, lure him there and hello sun.

>>20153430
Yes, the creators and Bubbles built it. I'm asking why they only built one.

>>20153539
But the bomb won't explode if all it's molecules are intertwined with Smokey's heart or something. Just teleport a large boulder to the space he's currently occupying and we get the same result without wasting materials building something.

>>20153463
Why not teleport a charged one next to him.

>>20153364
>They don't quite understand the mindcore, and their creators had been working on more, but then WHOOPS and emperors fucked up their planet.
>>20153441
>I don't know, what's stopping you?

>>Not an asked question, but relevant.
>The AI ships are of four castes; Seekers, Thinkers, Fighters, and casteless. None of these are exact, and the alium ships can change or shed castes as they wish. Their creators always preached about choice, and so the race itself keeps that philosophy.
>Fighters are traditionally the most hard-headed, determined ones, focused on bringing the mindcore back at any cost.
>Thinkers are the most progressive. They're the scientists, researchers, and builders of the race, creating new experimental shells and devices. They usually allocate more space inside their shells for CPU and computing hardware.
>Seekers are traditionally multiple things; Explorers, travellers, couriers... They're also the peacekeepers between the other two castes, as the two are very domininant, usually, and butt heads often. They're more submissive than most.
>Casteless are those who, for whichever reason, shed their castes or never chose one. Bubbles was, for the longest time, casteless.

rolled 71 = 71

>>20153539
nah, he'd twig to that...
all of Valhalla rigged to teleport.

if the sun cannot be brought to Minerva then we must bring minerva to the sun

>>20153607
Your right, we need to get on that then.

>>20153616
Does the mindcore generate AI's as needed? What's to stop them from just multiplying until 90% of the matter in the universe is AI ships?

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>>20153642
I love it

>>20153691
>Nothing, nothing at all. As long as they have the materials required to build shells for them, at least.

>>20153642
>The whole of Valhalla rigged to teleport all the way to the sun
That's an awfully large and expensive teleporter you're throwing away there. Not to mention an awesome Antarctic base.

>>20153736
We don't need to teleport the base just make it so the base can teleport things in it

>>20153721
That's terrifying. Who decides when to create more AI's then?

>>20153759
It can already.

>>20153780
>THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW
>This is the first time they've held the mindcore since their creators died.

rolled 38 = 38

>>20153736
hey Gazebo. can I borrow your nano-meta generation station for a little while. I will return it as soon as I am done.

and we have neatly filled that hole in the ice with a base of our own design. not the olde twelve design...

>>20153791
SO like I said whats stoping us from sending him on an all expense paid trip to the SUN!

>>20153804
Clearly they are not ready for this responsibility. Let's steal it and convert the entire universe into Dave clones.

>>20153840
The fact that he's not in Valhalla.
And given that he knows we have teleporters and how they work, he's not going to be stupid enough to enter Valhalla without some kind of anti-teleport protection.