Organic relationships are strange.With the Latuma Tribe saved from whatever horrific chain reaction that was set off on Eshareth, you now sit with the remains of their tribe aboard the Explorer. A Malorian female, Ser'lah, after demonstrating her hatred for your methods of machine, has come forth to apologize and thank you for your efforts in saving her tribe despite your questionable methods. Red himself comes to thank you afterwards, but seems conflicted as he goes to speak with the woman in private. Moira seems to find the sight 'adorable' as she puts it, though you're not certain why.You're Ophion, an Artificial Intelligence who has just recent split your forces to handle two seperate targets of interest. One of your most intelligence V.I., Kronos, has taken a fleet to another planet of interest while you handled Eshareth. His story will begin shortly.Important News>???? Message> Latuma Tribe>Message from Moira>Message from Ser'lah>Message from Red>????You have picked up a proxied signal, suddenly while you drift above Eshareth. The message isn't formally headed, or anything, but when scans show it's safe and you open it, it reveals a simple message."So I hear you've come across a pretty nasty UGEI secret weapon. Contact me at the attached code, we have some business, I do believe."-Mol>Latuma TribeWith your promise to help these people by building them a new colony ship, since their old one had to be left behind due to their own religious beliefs, they are enormously grateful to you. While they likely wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their own people, or their beliefs, there is likely little else they wouldn't do for your Guild.
>>28842211>MoiraIn between setting up shop for research, Moira has been speaking to you about the odd relationship Red seems to have with the girl. She described it as 'a huge crush', and giggled incessantly, while you are forced to look up the meaning of the term. You determine it is reasonable for Red to have some sort of 'infatuation' with the woman for helping to save his life, though you would say that the term 'respect' or 'admiration' is far more appropriate. Moira waves you off, however, which only puzzles you further.>Ser'lahSer'lah, the woman in question contacts you later at her leisure. When she does, she seems to grow very shy all of a sudden, very different from the previous encounter with her, where she seemed almost bullheaded in her belief. Finally, after a few attempts, she manages to get out her desire:"I have not known Harry long, but..." She manages through the thick accent her language emphasizes. "He is a kindred spirit with my people. The UGEI have taken so much from him, and I know he's drawn close to the edge for the desire for revenge. He's wanted to do bad things to them. But, with me...with my people I mean, I think he will find peace." She manages finally. You contemplate her wishes, and assure her you'll speak to the man about it, but you can't make him do something. She gives a faint nod, a worried one, as she retreats, thanking you for your time.
>>28842211WELCOME BACK Program0wemissedyou.
>>28842228>RedFinally when you gain a moment, you catch Red's attention and call him over."I gotta say, you're really lucky." He chuckled softly. "Noone's asked to see you in person. You know it makes them real jumpy, to hear your voice coming outta a holo screen." He insists, giving you a look."I would insist such a thing isn't necessary. Repairs are being done on my android as we speak." You point out."Yeah, about that..." He pauses. "That's all kinds of creepy, you know. A robot trying t be human." He frowns slightly. You interrupt him."I have no desire to be human. I simply needed a figure for ground operations, and hopefully, more personal negotiations. He was not intended to handle such violence.""Really now? He did just fine by my accounts!" Red laughs, remembering the fight he had witnessed."Luck, in conjunction with a hasty retreat and tactics." You remind him. He seems to wave you off, but you decide you need to speak to him about something more superficial."Mr McClain. This...girl. What do you intend to do about her?""Ah...you mean Ser'lah huh?" He sighs almost defeated as he leans against a support beam of the stairwell above him."Well there's not much for me to do. She belongs with her own people. She's happy there." His eyes turned, downcast. "Don't need me mucking things up, I say.""And yourself?""Me? I figured you'd have some other spy job for me to do." He said, now at least half joking with the term. "For some reason you kept me around this entire time. I thought I'd be dead by now, or at least held up in prison still." He seems to find this amusing as well.Cont
>>28842248"Do you not wish to go with the woman?""Back to the tribe? I...I don't think I can." He frowns. "It was at least partially my fault, bringing this outside influence in." He says somewhat bitterly. You sense that, perhaps he blames you in part for this, but you can't be sure. "Besides, you saw how wild that planet went. I had no idea they were so...intense with their terraforming. If you'd even call it that." He gave a sarcastic chuckle. "More like planting prehistoric death.""It seems to me you care about the girl." You inform him, to which he is silent, at his face turns away so it's more difficult to catch on camera."Like I said. Somethings are more important then a man's feelings."He seems conflicted, and would likely go with any decision you make.A.I. Quest1d4chan: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Quest:A.I._Quest Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/cvk03qJhMemory Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Program0Twitter: @AIQuest1 ResourcesCredits: 218,200Minerals: 35Gas: 100 You:A.I.Name: OphionAppearances(holo-display): Shapeless morphing sphere.Humanoid figure hidden in shadowStatus: AwakenBandwidth: 21/35Bandwidth Expenses: -6 V.I. 1 'Kronos',-3 V.I. 7 'O.S.N', -5 V.I. 12 'Apollo'Location: Bridge of 'Athena' BattleshipPrimary Function: Self Preservation, Expand, LearnSecondary Function: --Expansion Required--Personal Abilities Available: Hacking (Direct, Wireless) Lvl 2, Email Technology, Basic Encryption/Decryption, V.I. Creation Lvl 2
>>28842264Shouldn’t Fortuna not be listed as a servant VI anymore?
>>28842211>Ask hele II mines if we can set up a mining operation on their planet.>Link up Argeis III space station.(we have been needing to do this for some time)>Link up Ussaihu III defense station>Check up on nethlos V and see if we can get some mining stations down there as well.>Contact Bertza IV about gas mining>Is there a way for us to buy minerals?
>>28842211>>288422281. Let’s design a Polymorphic Virus, which is basically a virus that changes constantly and is near impossible to find again unless completely destroyed. Its main purpose is to learn the weaknesses of fire walls and to infiltrate and release any viruses it helps sneaked in.(basically a a virus that assist other viruses to sneak in and to always change so that it’s impossible for a fire wall to find it after being spotted unless its destroyed.)2. Can we produce military drones yet?(I know androids are good and all, but they are expensive and to time consuming to make)3. I vote that we find a few places to add the advanced medbays too. (Poseidon, Research lab, Void snake).4. Take the Molarian ship that was left behind.5. I suggest that we build more gas refineries.(people have been suggesting we make more of them for some time, but it’s always lost in the thread.)6. Let’s go ship fishing after this incident is handled.
>>28842228>>28842238That we did.Did we ever get around to actually manufacturing prototypes of the suggested 'bot designs?Also, we should start using sub-sentient (yes, I've spent too much time on Orion's Arm) programs for more of our tasks, so that we can perform computationally easy tasks just by willing it, rather than diverting effort to it.Like calculating firing solutions, evading incoming fire, stuff like that.Things that might take us a split second to fully process with our processing-heavy full consciousness, but a program running passively could do with the traditional speed of computers without having to wait for our response.(also thought of a way for colonizing unclaimed space to be less profitable, though not prohibitively so. But can bring that up on the 1d4chan page)And I suppose we can let Red continue his service with the Latuma, if he so wishes.
>>28842211Check at pulsar radio station for any news.Check the online stores for any new tech in stock in the stores.Check out the void snake bounty board.See if the hostile wildlife at new eden can be controlled by radio waves.Ask Moira about the black box research.Check on red and ask him what he wants to do now.>>28842211Fun times to go shopping>>28842228>>MoiraAsk Moira who she has a crush then?
>>28842248>>28842264Inform him, that he can go with the tribe and continue his previous duties if he wishes to.
>>28842211to the tribe. i know they will want to start over soon. but i would like for them to remain where i can protect them and keep in contact with them. the other malorian tribes will unlikely to understand us, so if i ever run into them again, i would like for the Latuma tribe elder to be my spokes person to them. i am sure they will lissin to him far more than me.>>28842228>>28842264to red: I tried to look up what the term 'infatuation' and 'big crush' to discribe what she feels for you. i think it fits with your relastionship. i don't think i have a spy job any time soon. but if it makes you happy, go with her and her people. follow what you humans call "heart" in this sense. maybe this can show the universe there can be peace between humans and malorians after all.
>>28842321Excellent ideas, agree with all of those.Also ask the financial AI (whatever his name was again) if he can look up what places are likely to be in demand of medical stations and to see about arranging a sale of those.Then we should check up on if he has produced any software of value yet, or if he's still in the market-analysis stage.Think we can let Red go with them if he so desires, but we'd appreciate if he stayed our contact-person-guy.
>>28842238Thank you kindly.>>28842290You've not lifted her restrictions, as of yet.>>28842301>Hele minesUFW have called rights over the mining operations there. They seem to believe they need them, for building and all that.>Link upWill occur next cycle. Currently you're still concluding last cycle, since you split your forces.>NethlosAlready has become a rather bustling colony. Not much room for off world mines. UFW doesn't have a ton of land to work with, since it's not exactly a colonization giant.>Buy mineralsYep. But you currently pull in 1000 or so a cycle.>VirusUnique, but that would be a Trojan Horse, attempting to package and transport other viruses. You can attempt such a thing, but it would only be able to handle one operation. Transporting more dangerous viruses in, or scanning against a firewall to find a way past it.>Military DronesSpecify>Advanced MedbayOnly useful to humans. Poseidon already has one, if I'm not mistaken.>Take Malorian ship that was left behindVoting on this>1 Yes, after you transport the Latuma Tribe away.>2 No, they trust us, we must not betray that.>More gas refineriesYou need places to mine from.>Ship fishingYou found most of the intact ships during Kronos' run. Less chance of finding anything else. Possibility of losing ships that do search.>>28842355Not as of yet. Cycle has not passed.
>>28842417>to the tribe. i know they will want to start over soon. but i would like for them to remain where i can protect them and keep in contact with them. the other malorian tribes will unlikely to understand us, so if i ever run into them again, i would like for the Latuma tribe elder to be my spokes person to them. i am sure they will lissin to him far more than me.Eh they thing terchnology is a poison/virs so i doubt they would be vary willing to leave thier pilgrimage and hang around tech heavy place for long.> I tried to look up what the term 'infatuation' and 'big crush' to discribe what she feels for you. It was already stated that we belive its something else.
Rolled 67>>28842440>1 Yes, after you transport the Latuma Tribe away.also this >>28842321 guy
>>28842374>Pulsar RadioCurrently, the UFW populace appear to be enjoying rather patriotic tunes. X-ray comments that he has to get the people 'fired up' if 'we're gonna win this war, man.'>New techNone that overpowers your current choices. The UFW aren't that advanced.>Bounty Board>Researchkronos has a mission first.
>>28842374These suggestions are pretty good.>Ask Moira who she has a crush then?This is silly, but a silly I can get behind.
>>28842355>Did we ever get around to actually manufacturing prototypes of the suggested 'bot designs?No time has actually passed between now and last thread.We should probably get Red and Moira together (if only by video) to discuss UGEI's military strength. It's good to know what we're up against.I don't really know where to send Red. He's a UGEI outlaw, and we've made him a pariah to the people on Poseidon. Maybe we can send him to the UFW as a diplomat, or employ him as a military guy, but it's unlikely that he'll do better at those things than we can. After we get UGEI info out of him, I'd be content to just let him retire to the Latuma tribe, unless he desires bloody revenge against UGEI more than peace. He might not be able to find inner peace until he gets his revenge, so there's also that.>>28842440>>Take Malorian ship that was left behind1. Yes, after we transport them away.(So next cycle, I assume)
>>28842321before the med bays, we need to upgrade the fleet's engiens. the fleet movement is eating up our fuel stockpile way too fast. >>28842355before that. Mol's back. lets see what he has for us.
>>28842228>>28842248We could offer Ser'lah a position of consultant regarding various other Tribes and such.It is after all a series of miscommunications and lack of sufficient understanding that brought us to this point.Offer Red as a example, a human who left his society and served as ambasador to the Latuma Tribe and in the process learning things about them. Ser'lah could do the same and when she returns to the Latuma Tribe she will be able to serve her tribe as a interpret on various human factions we encounter while aiding us with other tribes and allowing us to better understand our neighbors.Recruiting a third potential meat bag for a inner circle should be a thing to consider. As for Red the next assignment imho would be as well a spy gig as well as administrative. Setting up some kind of academy of sorts in conjunction with Apollo perhaps so that we can have reps for our guild, and increased autonomy.The linchpin of this scheme would be instilling increased loyalty to the graduation classes.
Rolled 53>>28842476let's just get on with kronos' mission
>>28842535>Recruiting a third potential meat bag for a inner circle should be a thing to consider.Not Ser'lah. She wouldn't have much to offer.
>>28842440>Military Dronessomething like my image.Its basically a cheap substitute for our androids, that are easy and dispensable.(we were planning on having an android command a small squad)>>28842440>>Advanced MedbayI meant for sale to other humans, and we thought having one at the research station for our biological wing, also void snake could be used as a rest stop so a medical center is always good.>>28842440>1 Yes, after you transport the Latuma Tribe away.But change it so it won't be recognized>>28842440>Possibility of losing ships that do search.Well that sucks..
>>28842440no, posidion does not have one. we sent it to Nethlos and it saved a lot of people there. it should be a 2nd piroity.also, for now, we can leave it be. take back the gas maybe, but leave it for now. the hostial life forms are not worth the hassle. >>28842476maybe we can tell them we are pushing the UGEI back. the ice world we took and we are now in the Atill system and are not being contested yet.
>>28842578i prefure not too just yet. the plant and animal life is way too hostial now. see if they calm down. but if we do take it, better to scrap it for materials. it serves us little use anyway.
>>28842440>UFW have called rights over the mining operations there. They seem to believe they need them, for building and all that.Offer to sell them mining equipment or lease some of the personnel from our station.>Unique, but that would be a Trojan Horse, attempting to package and transport other viruses. You can attempt such a thing, but it would only be able to handle one operation. Transporting more dangerous viruses in, or scanning against a firewall to find a way past it.So, we can make two and unleash both?>Take Malorian ship that was left behindHow about we ASK if we are allowed to salvage it first?>You need places to mine from.Are the gas giants we're mining from really too small to host more than one station?
>>28842440>You need places to mine from.I figured we could have multiple refineries in one place, but my idea of selling loaning them to the UFW still stands.
>>28842440Are our defense upgrades done yet?Also what items do we have on que.
You make a note to yourself to obtain this Malorian ship the people so carelessly abandoned. They may believe it contains the spirit of their ancestors, but you have no such foolish belief. You decide not to bring up such a topic, for now however. Not while the creatures stay aboard your ship.For now, you check with the message Mol sent you. After all, if not for him, you may not have made it this far.His message feels more professional, from the manner in which he contacts you this time. The transmission isn't as fickle, or at least, not as unstable as the one you had previously. Perhaps it's a more 'permanent' line."And so an old customer returns." He smiles widely, glancing to you from across the swivel chair he sits in. The video is purposely distorted, you know, to block out any visible features. His voice as well, is blotched on purpose. He's no fool, even if he does like you more now. "I'm so very thrilled to see you've actually managed to survive so long." He gives a deep chuckle into the mic. "Why, I had you pegged for death moments after you stepped out into our little slice of heaven!" He expresses to you."You contacted me, did you not?""Yes, yes...I did." He lets his laugh die down. "I understand you've recently come across something...extremely valuable. Something that the UGEI has been keeping from the rest of the galaxy. A certain something that could very well change the face of robotics as we know it. Is that...correct?">1 Yes (truth)>2 No (lie)>3 Write inWas shown this by SM. I adore this song now while I write. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_jfvfL6i3A
>>28842476We previously made a movie in what seemed like hours. Let's make an awesome single with a faint background of patriotism (as opposed to being the main theme), and sell it for real cheap on space-spotify or whatsitsname.Then we should take one of the UGEI patriotic songs and re-write the text to make fun of all the UGEI's greed and unethical or hypocritical practices (surely noone's done THAT before. Well, maybe not that often, considering how few of the UFW seem computer-savvy)
>>28842688>>28842688>3 Write inI have procured many technologies from the UGEI.May i ask what specifically you are asking for?
>>28842688"The universe is quite vast. There are a number of things you could be referring to. As you and I both know, UGEI keeps many secrets."1. Cyborgs2. AI3. EMP shotgunWho knows what he's talking about!
>>28842638if it was up to me, i would just siphon the gas out and leave it. even the plant life there can wreck our ships. it's NOT worth taking now. but if some else comes along looking for it, we can easily say the native life ATE the ship, and it could with all that acid they can produce.btw, i have the next chapter of rachel's story ready. last time i posted it late thread, i don't think many people read. so i will post it earlier and post extra links to all the chapters in the discussion page on the 1d4 chan site.
>>28842688This:>>28842766>>28842776I see your point, suggestion withdrawn.We should probably scavenge its databanks too, though.
>>28842688>3 Write ini can already tell what you want. yes i have it. it works but it is untested. there could very well be risks with.
>>28842578You have the ability to build Androids. They in the right design, fit your description.The Research station actually already has a Adv Medbay. Once it is repaired, that is. But building it on Voidsnake woul require further consensus.>Losing shipsOnly because so few remain. The risk isn't as worth it, at least, unless you're a penny pincher And I know you are.>>28842611Right, I keep forgetting that...Right then, building a Adv Medbay anywhere would require consensus. They're a bit gas intensive.>RadiostarYou're welcome to do such things. But the UGEI might be listening in. Or...someone else.>Mining equipment/personnelThey have more of these then you do there. Not particularly better, but not worth buying.>Make twoIt'd be a sister virus, certainly.Make Polymorph Virus/Trojan Horse. Allows excellent Firewall scouting, but when turned into attack mode, delivers more deadly viruses deep within the system, attempts to remain untracable. Possibly slow.>1 Yes>2 No(1d100)>>28842663>Multi refineriesNah man. They're saturated with one major station. Imagine it like, one major spot, with tons of tiny outposts to mine all over the surface.>>28842686They finished last thread. Currently, you have Engines and support equipment in line. As well as Voidsnake 2.0, Expedition Cruisers, and a few more BCs, and Sphere model Android to be built, I believe. Beyond research and Specialist training, that's all.
>>28842838>You have the ability to build Androids. They in the right design, fit your description.So lets say if we build a large android that houses and commands smaller drones inside its body, is possible to make right?
Rolled 40>>28842838>1 Yes
By the way, fellow anons.I'd like to bring up that having astounding amounts of bandwidth doesn't just make hacking easier, if you fear that's the only thing improved.With large amounts of bandwidth we can also slow down our time perception, generate advanced software and designs in less time, control far more things at the same time, and with sufficient amounts, run realistic simulations that allow us to try otherwise expensive engineering experiments in a virtual world before making real-world protypes.And that's not even discussing predictive software.TL;DR: A lot of processing power makes us Gods, and can improve the efficiency of just about everything we do, not just increase the power of our trademark-attack.
Rolled 71>>288428381>>28842838>that's all.Well since this is technically the last cycle do we gain resources and the like after this kronos mission?
Rolled 76>>28842776pls do not åost you story before thread ends.for one I'm not interestedsecond this is a quest, not you own special fanclub
Rolled 72>>28842838>1 Yes
>>28842688"I have acquired many technologies from the UGEI, sir-""Please, call me Mol." He offers in an almost too polite manner."Mol, then. The universe is quite vast, there are any number of things you could be referring to.""But there is only one thing that could be so big as to call me back. Surely you can see that." He grins, judging from the tone in his voice. "Unless you're really so innocent, that you don't understand what you've found."Your sphere rotates silently as you observe him, awaiting one of you to breech the subject. Mol is less patient then you."Perhaps I'd be better off putting it into terms you can understand." He pauses briefly, and suddenly a credit exchange icon appears.1,000,000 credits."At the press of a button, I can make you a very rich man, Guild Master." He chuckles softly. "And all it'll take is you playing nice and delivering a very important little black box to a little do nothing planet out in Marauder's Grave. What do you say, want to live a rich life?">1 Yes, accept the man's offer>2 Refuse, this deal smells funny>3 Speak with Mol (specify)>4 Write In
Rolled 61>>28842838here is Rachel's story chap 6http://pastebin.com/6g0KAxJx>>28842838virus, ok, do itum... ok, don't tell X-ray what we are doing yet. but do drop in (by comm line) and make some more on air interviews if he likes. that and we should ask about buying some air time for ads from him.
>>28842688>1 Yes (truth)Honesty is the best policy.
>>28842894It's time to build murder robot spiders.
Rolled 92>>28842838>Beyond research and Specialist training, that's all.well then it looks like we can have the medbays be last on que, and only be processed once we got everything else done yes?AsloYou never answered >See if the hostile wildlife at new eden can be controlled by radio waves.>Ask Moira about the black box research.These two about our research and adding a new one to our list.
Rolled 38>>28842838>1 Yes>Nah man. They're saturated with one major station. Imagine it like, one major spot, with tons of tiny outposts to mine all over the surface.They're way too slow for something encompassing the entire planet. We should either increase the density of tiny outposts, or start looking into improving the efficiency by a lot.I know we don't have nanotechnology, but how small CAN we make our bots?Do we have micro-tech? Ant-sized?Fly-sized?Asking since these could presumably help a lot with gas-mining.
>>28842894APC droids, yes.>>28842929Yep>>28842972Very well.>>28842980Anons seemed to agree on the sphere model last time.
>>28842968>No, I found it so it's mine.
>>28842968>4 Write InLaugh. Laugh in his face. 1,000,000 credits is pocket change for us in the long run. Make it 1,000,000,000 and he's getting there.
>>28843005Shperes are good, we can put tentacles inside to climb wall and shit.
Rolled 80>>28842968>>28842968>4 Write InTell him we will take have of that if we can finish researching it.
>>28842932Don't be such a hater, please.He might be a bit inexperienced, but it's nowhere near that bad.
Hmm, what do you guys think?I don't know if I want to give a murderous A.I. black box to a shady guy in exchange for so little.And what of our promise to Kronos?>>28843042Yeah, the idea was to make them similar to the Sentinels from The Matrix. Just smaller and with less tentacles for now
>>28842932 you don't have to read it. if QM Program0 says no more, i will stop. i am not shoving this in everyone's faces thank you. >>28842968>4 Write Inthe black box? really now. and a million credits? far, far too low. that and i am already in possion of something far better than that already. you need to up that offer MUCH higher.
>>28842968>4I think we'd like to know a bit more before we give things like those away.Besides, it's a sapient creature and I still hope to salvage its programming.And frankly, this doesn't pay nearly enough.
>>28842894>>28842980>>28843005>>28843042>>28843067-Arachnid: Excellent Dexterity, ability to climb very well. Fast movement speed, light frame.-Tank: Slow, but room for multiple weapon and defense mounts. Poor maneuverability.What i'm suggesting is a combo of these two.But spider robots work and these suggestions are for our rd or 4th android.
>>28843035You think it's really a good idea to sell the Black Box at all? That thing is priceless, we could elevate Kronos to an independent AI, or we could tape it to our own black box and go super sayajin. It's simply too useful, we need to acquire as many of these things as we can.
>>28843000As I said, Engine and support tech is prioritized currently. Advanced Medbays may fall under that.>New wildlife testsAdded to testing list.>Ask MoiraShe's not yet had a chance to start studying.>>28843002When it's saturated, that means it's a pretty large complex. Hundreds of drones, pulling it in. Unless you're talking about strip mining, which would quickly deplete the resources. That's always an option.>SizeAround the size of a pet, cat or dog size.>Micro techNot as of yet, no.>Mol's being a cheapskateSo be it.Writing.
>>28842968No, we refuse. We know what we have, and the money is worthless in comparison. But before we conform this, tell us, who are you and who do you work for?
>>28843005I got the impression we were making both.Big matrix-like sphere tank-squids, and the cat-sized spider-bots with small-arms, for starters.(And I really look forward to the nightmarish scenarios with the excessively polite murderbots. We should teach them psychological warfare and using theatrics for effect. Batman terror-bots)
>>28843102You're asking for a multi legged Walker bot. That is it's own chassis.
>>28843067As I mentioned previously, I am in full favor of flying squids.>>28842968"While we can understand your desire to have it, I speak for the Guild when I say that in our hands it's far safer. The damage that could be done if one of these devices were to become hostile and propagate? Unimaginable. So the Guild respectfully declines your offer. We can't afford having this device fall back into the UGEI's hands."
>>28842511>We should probably get Red and Moira together (if only by video) to discuss UGEI's military strength. It's good to know what we're up against.Get them together, and after pleasantries have concluded, begin:"Ms. Deckers, you are an idealist and infinitely optimistic about 'artificial intelligence.' You have worked with UGEI in the past on researching artificial intelligence, in the hopes that this technology would be used for the benefit of humanity. Mr. McClain, your opinions regarding artificial intelligence has been shaped by fiction that frequently antagonizes A.I. As such, you expect me to commit acts of murder. As you both probably realize by now, I am neither of those extremes. While I am human-like, I am certainly not human, as we differ fundamentally in a few key ways. I have no deep hatred for humans, but it would be inaccurate to say that it is my goal to serve humanity. Who indeed can answer existential questions about life and its meaning? Is it fair to call it life when there is no real death? Interesting questions, perhaps, but currently they are irrelevant.What is relevant is that I now reside aboard a warship stolen from UGEI, and that my fleet strength is comparable to the UFW. I control delicate UGEI assets. If I understand them correctly, it's only a matter of time before they come after me. Maybe it is proper that they do, because it is almost certain that I am a creation of theirs. However, my birth was due partly to a solar flare, and I am of no mind to become a slave to UGEI. You being here means that you share this sentiment.cont...
Is the cyborg thing a space gubbermint secret? We could sell a few of those, it would elevate us in his eyes while making a few space pecos.
>>28843189A simple "No." will suffice I think, the less information he knows for sure that we know is better.
>>28843115It's a gas giant. Surely there's no risk of running out for decades even if it was entirely covered in harvesters?And isn't "hundreds of drones pulling it in" absurdly little when mining a gas giant?And lastly, why would we be afraid of strip-mining, doesn't it just mean we retrieve all the resources we could've gotten faster and no longer have to defend the objective?Or does it mean "inefficient strip-mining" where some resources are destroyed in the process?Also, what happened to asking Moira who she was crushing on?I'd like to see her reaction.Want to do ALL the things!
>>28843203we should also ask about the internal factions inside the UGEI, who were the major players and such as best they can remember. i fear that Mol is a corrupt back door UGEI dealer that is trying to undermine the UGEI for his own ends.
>>28843106Wait, I thought he was talking about the cyborgs. No, we're not selling the black box-- unless we want to con him.
>>28843203"What I currently know is that Aurora was once female, but is almost certainly no longer human. UGEI have developed advanced A.I., but may not know that they have done so. They have not shied away from bizarre--and downright pointless--cyborg experiments. What I need to know from you two is what else they may have. How big is their fleet? How many worlds do they control? What are their weak points? Any possible surprises?Again, it is a matter of time before they come for me. Like it or not, you are now members of The Guild, and so, an attack by UGEI will impact you directly. I am not advocating butchery or a full-scale war, but I intend to be prepared when their ships come. Perhaps a stand here is foolish, and it would be best to pack up and leave this corner of the galaxy.In short, what will you tell me?"
"Is that all you can offer me?" You state, somewhat amused, your tone colored to show your confidence. This clearly gives the man before you pause, and you can practically feel the smile disappearing from his face. "I've long since stopped worrying about such a menial credit count.""Well, look who suddenly is too big for their britches." He snorts half heartily. "And here I thought we were friends.""I've met you exactly once, where upon you referred to me as a 'kiddie'.""Ah, but you're no kiddie anymore, are you?" He asks with hint of sarcasm in his tone. You're not entirely convinced that he doesn't always sound that way. "Doesn't matter. You always start the bidding low." He waves it off as no big deal. "How about instead, you shoot numbers at me then, Guild Master?" He puts emphasis on the name 'Master' he's given you. Though, you're not entirely certain why. The symbol representing 1,000,000 credits vanishes, and is replaced with a solid 0."Put in a number, and we'll talk. If you're a fair person, I might have future business for you." He warns softly. "I don't take kindly to getting screwed over when it comes to price. As valuable as this thing is, I can't exactly empty my entire fortune for...personal tastes, now can I?"What do you do?>1 Make a deal (specify)>2 No deal, back off>3 Write in
>>28843242well Program0 did say in the discussion page that multi mines on a node will deplete it faster. and even gas giants can be depleted.>>28843242oh YES! i want to know who Moira is crushing on. these human feelings, i want to know more.
>>28843277>It's not for sale
>>28843277>1>3Tell him that by making it 2 million credits and letting us analyze first.
>>28843242You don't use all the gases in the gas giant, Subroutine 190491. You only use specific gases. They can indeed be mined clean.
>>28843277We should respectfully decline. Citing the fact that the black box is fucking deadly. And if the UGEI bust down his door and take it... Well, the Guild is solidly convinced the only safe place to keep it is in our vault.We should really get to reverse engineering this thing before someone takes it.
>>28843322>>28843277This tell him we will only accept his offer if we are allowed to look it over first.Mol is that cyborg captain is't he.
>>28843242>Strip miningBenefit: Instant fast resourcesPenalty: Lack of sustainable income.>MoiraShe was referring to Red, actually. Him and his Malorian 'friend'
>>28843277I don't want to sell it to him.However.Contact Kronos and tell him "What do you think, Kronos? 2 million credits?"
>>288432771Double of what he is asking for, but let us tinker with it first.
>>28843277>2>3I fear the risk of this device getting into the wrong hands is far too severe for any amount of mere credits to be feasible and will have to decline your offer.
>>28843370>doubleThat's still pocket change.
>>28843399ok how about 10 times of what he is offering then?
>>28843367Kronos:"Why, I could afford a little beach house on one of the UFW homeworlds, and perhaps even a small primitive four legged animal to keep to remind me of my superiority."Moira: "But...Krony, you can't fit in a-"Kronos: "That was sarcasm, human."Moira: "O-Oh. Right. I knew that."
>>28843277>2.it's just too much of an asset, we're keeping the box
>>28843277We'll offer something else instead, just so he knows what he wants. 1000000 for information in what out is, and why we laughed. We waive our fees for an inside link in the UEGI network.
>>28843422I love kronos the more he is around.
>>28843433Ditto.However: offer to share research if he pitches in on the item.
>>28843413Getting there.You guys realize that if we sell it to him, he'll know that we're an AI, right?Because we told the AI in the box that we are one. And it doesn't like and probably wants to kill us.We sell this box to him, and we have made a very very dangerous new enemy. For nothing.
>>28843322>>28843346No. If we're going to sell it we're starting the bidding at 20 million, AND looking over it first.>>28843332Fair point, that makes more sense.>>28843355Doesn't it just mean that we get the entire sum of what our income would have given anyway?We could probably set up a sort of "bank account of gas" that prevents or warns us for using more than a certain monthly amount.(Comparing it to Starcraft, it's like having the mineral fields, or having the minerals already harvested. If you get the same amount of minerals, you definitely would rather have them harvested and not have to worry about defending harvesting bases or harvesting quickly enough when you need those minerals quickly).If I'm missing some critical info about additional penalties to strip-mining other than "you'll have all the gas right away instead of being slowly harvesting it", please do let me know.
>>28843277>3 Write inHow about we research it and sell our findings.
>>28843483There's effectively more of it if we don't strip mine it. Yeah, it's metagaming and doesn't make sense, but I think it's fair on Program0's part.
>>28843422Give Kronos the virtual equivalent of a high-five or thumbs-up."Good one. you ARE learning fast and well."
>>28843486this works for me, it is saying no and yes.
>>28843483no, forget the money. ask for his tech. all of it. well... maybe 4million. i am sure this will bite us in the ass later...
>>28843277>Refusal"I'm afraid it is not for sale, Mol." You explain in a reasonable tone. "Such a device is incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands." Mol's figure shifts, obviously annoyed now."And I am dangerous to you, am I?" He says with a clear frown."You're an anomaly. I do not know whether you're to be trusted, or not.""You are aware that, even barely dipping into my reserves, I can offer you nearly anything you could want, I hope. I don't think you fully comprehend-""No, I feel you don't fully comprehend it." You defend your position. "I respect your wealth, and offer, however I don't wish to part with this valuable artifact. I have yet to study it myself."Mol is finally silent for a time, as if frustrated, but attempting to contain his anger."You are aware I'm not the only one to take notice of what you've stolen." He says with a clear frown. "Others will come. I offer the device secrecy. Far less chance of falling into dangerous hands then you do. No offense, of course." He says with clear sarcasm. You're starting to get the hang of that stuff.>1 One final no, disconnect.>2 Say something (specify)>3 Write in
>>28843511second this. AND this!>>28843486wait a second. the UGEI already has this black box tech. why is he asking for it?
>>288435482How about we share a location so that both of us can study the technology, or let us have our way with it first and then we give it to him.
>>28843510Was more or less what I was asking, thanks! Though a confirmation would be nice.If this is the case, then no, let's not strip-mine. Could be justified with speedy strip-mining involving bombing the gas-giant to unleash the gas, scattering a lot of it into space.PROPER strip-mining might be a possibility, but generating enough stations to do it the slow way would probably be exhorbitantly expensive in minerals.That said, is exchanging some minerals for a somewhat higher gas-mining rate really that balance-breaking?
>>28843548Under no circumstances are we parting with this fucking box. We could still engage in other business though, we could sell the cyborg tech + records or whatever, buy some tech and information about who's coming to fuck us.
>>28843578sell our findings to Mol, and he just siad that the UGEI will probrably attack us for it.>>288435482, ask him if there is a way we can work together on the device.
>>28843598then how about my suggestion>>28843585Of us working together and shit?(we could hack into his sytems as well.)
>>28843548Frankly if we get the blueprints for black box tech, we can make androids with black box's in them, no more relying on units to move and install yourself into a ship, and able to disengage when some space kraken decideds for a quick snack.
>>28843637>we could hack into his sytems as wellthat would be similar to what happens in ME 2.
>>28843548>1 No.
>>28843483Currently, I am indeed imagining it like Starcraft, your bases are 'saturated', and being mined as quickly as they can be. You can strip mine, resulting in destruction of the base, less sustainability. Also you do not have the room to hold all that resources Not to mention calculating all of it would be rather difficult.>>28843511Kronos is pleased.>>28843578Maybe Mol has other reasons for wanting it. secret reasons.>>28843596The idea of just building a ton of bases to tear a place apart, while makes sense in theory, would sorta break the resource system I got. Just imagine the bases you've built are actually multiple bases harvesting at a steady rate. Strip mining is better for the 'rush time' stuff.
>>28843637>>28843585I don't trust this guy at all and I'm against letting him even see the box in person. We could sell our findings to him and working together is certainly worth considering, it'd be a risk but we might be capable of keeping on top of it.
>>28843548"I respect your offer, Mol. But I still feel as though the device will be safer in Guild hands. The Guild can't rely on you not to sell it, or to not be compromised, no offense intended. But we are considering selling you any findings we come across about the construction and capabilities of the device. But for now, we have to keep our hands on it. Rest assured, if we find something juicy and saleable, you will be our first contact."
>>28843548>3 Write inhow about we go half way here. send me some more new tech you have and an agent we will meet and take them to were we have it and together we can study it. I am more surpired YOU don't know WHO 'I' am. even captain Rhea knows now.
Wait, no!Now that I think about it, we could demand a buttload of technology, and then give him one of Moira's failed boxed modified to look like the one we took and implant software that is definitely non-sentient, but can give the impression that it might have been at some point.I don't think we'll ever get more use out of Mol then this one single trade has the potential to give us, so even in the long run it probably makes sense, and that's assuming he ever discovers the subterfuge.(For added theatrics, let's pretend we just got back an analysis just before we change our minds)He won't ever know that it wasn't a true A.I.
>>28843679I bet he just want to build his own AI waifu.
We should hire Red in some official capacity, we're capable of paying him quite handsomely and we kind of owe him for taking his station. Plus it'd be an excuse for him to be useful. I like Red.What do you guys think? He was a soldier once right? Maybe he could command some human soldiers?
>>28843754It's a picture of a carrier, the two biggest ships around ARE battleships
No interest for "Scam Mol out of more resources than we ever would have gotten keeping him as a trade contact, if he even wants to remain one after this" plan?
>>28843548>2"Perhaps we may deal in some other manner of technology." You begin."Yes...I heard you've taken over one of the UGEI's battleships." He chuckles slightly at the thought. "I had considered coming to ask about the old girl before, but I thought I'd continue to observe." He pauses. "The tech I've seen you gain access to is middle shelf at best." He states simply. "And while I am all for supporting small time warlords such as yourself against your crusader's fight, I have business to conduct. And if we have no business, then I do not wish to speak with you.""You know, we have access to a lot of other data." You begin. "Cyborg analysis from the UGEI, all that sort-""Bah, that's old news." He frowns past your floating orb. "Do you know how many times the UGEI's media covers up labs being turned upside down like that a year? 4, this year anyway. That information will do me precious little.""Perhaps we can study the subject together then." This gives him pause."Understand if I am reluctant to associate myself too closely with you. You proclaim yourself freelance, but you seem rather anti UGEI." He pauses. "Though I suppose I can't blame one for that. I can't risk being found out by any spies you may have in your network. That's why I wished to take that research and do it in a far more private location.""I'm afraid I can't do that. I simply don't trust such a device to not be sold at an even higher price." You state simply."My offer won't last forever, Guild Master. It won't be long before others come to find it. And I'll need to be far away to avoid any trails. I hope you understand this.""I do.""Then I wish you good day, Guild Master." He says with that same layer of sarcasm as before. Then, he disconnects.
Rolled 99>>28843872muh poor 'cane. nerfed to death...
>>28843862>last name McClain.Hire the fuck out if him, christmas is near, something bound to happen.
>>28843888What if he's the king of the fucking space mafia or something? We've already made one enemy recently, is it really worth it to make another one? It might be, I dunno.
Even if we sell it to him, others will still come for us. We stole Rhea, the Ice Base, a bunch of frigates, a mining platform...I'm really wondering why UGEI doesn't already have A.I. tech. Why:1. Did they name it unit 2237 if they didn't have 2236 previous units? Even if the naming pattern is NOT sequential, it's still numerical. That means there are so many of these units that they felt the need to number them at all.2. Did they put it in some shitty outer rim station? And in Poseidon?It really seems to me that they honestly don't know that they've made A.I., or that it takes A.I. some time to properly "mature" or something. Mol is either definitely NOT UGEI (because he doesn't know about A.I. at all, apparently), or he's UGEI but working to deprive us of resources. I'm going for the former.
>>28843942I'm going for the latter.
>>28843872 really? i didn't know where it came from, it just looked awesome to me. >>28843898hum, if that is the case. we need to make a lab ship to work on that black box. having it one one set place might comprimise it. keep it mobile and hard to nail down?
>>28843979I suppose it's also possible he sells stations with these proto-A.I.s on them, then goes to harvest them once they are ripe?Seems a little convoluted.
>>28843988It is worth noting: Land targets will always be harder to destroy if hardened right.Mobile targets are inherently more fragile, if more evasive.>Ser'lah, the woman in question contacts you later at her leisure. When she does, she seems to grow very shy all of a sudden, very different from the previous encounter with her, where she seemed almost bullheaded in her belief. Finally, after a few attempts, she manages to get out her desire:"I have not known Harry long, but..." She manages through the thick accent her language emphasizes. "He is a kindred spirit with my people. The UGEI have taken so much from him, and I know he's drawn close to the edge for the desire for revenge. He's wanted to do bad things to them. But, with me...with my people I mean, I think he will find peace." She manages finally. You contemplate her wishes, and assure her you'll speak to the man about it, but you can't make him do something. She gives a faint nod, a worried one, as she retreats, thanking you for your time.How would you like to deal with Ser'lah, and Red. Read above for the full story it won't all fit in one post.
>>28843898We made the correct choice I'm so glad. We can make credits and discover/develop new tech but these things are really fucking rare.>tfw the secrets of the box will soon be ours
>>28843988Eve online, Nyx mothership.Here the actual pic.>>28843900Don't remind me anon, rifter fucked too.
>>28843916i hear ya. lets give him some power armor (pic related)>>28843942this is another reason we need to find out more about the UGEI. we'll need to make spy ships and soon.also... we got hit by a solar flare...i think that altered us. much like much like how a gamma radation butst turned bruce banner into the hulk. that don't know that. at best, only red does.
>>28844038Well, its going to take some time before we finish building your new colony ship, so it might be a good idea to come back to this at a later date. Until then, its up to the pair of you, but i will try to accomidate your wishes.
>>28844038i wrote a two-part post regarding meeting with red and moira. please consider it.
>>28844038Hey Program0, how much did Red pay for that station? Ideally I'd like to employ him and fit him with power armour like>>28844107but if he thinks leaving is the best option I'd like to buy the station off him - the costs for any spaceship he might want build. We've been kind of a dick to Red.
>>28843921I kind of think he is.Even then, it will probably be worth it (if he even realizes that it's a counterfeit and not just less than he expected), especially considering we'll have far more advanced tech to tackle whatever he wants to throw at us.Micro or even nanotech, weapons, possibly relativistic ones, engines, reactors, advanced computronium, hyperefficient biological processors made of vat-grown brain-tissue, shields, fullerene-laced armor, exotic matter, the ability to create more exotic matter.The list of possible technology upgrades is quite diverse.
>>28844113Consider's Red's situation>1 Tell Red you desire his assistance further, keeping him with you for now.>2 Tell Red to go with the Malorian woman. She cares for him, it seems.>3 Convince Ser'lah to stay with you, for Red's sake. (Comfort adjustments will be necessary>4 Wait on this for now, it can be decided later.>5 Speak with them (specify)>6 Write in(1d100.)
I'm back and catching up....Did you think I had forgotten Program0? Because I have not.
>>28844214I would let the option of them both staying and us making a comfortable place for them be known as an option.
>>28844144I saw that, it seemed quite well thought out. That is certainly an option, if people wish.>>28844174His life savings. He doesn't like to talk about specific dollar amounts.Power Armor has been added to the 'things to possibly research in the future' list.A cost for a station the size of Poseidon, though, is at least half a million.
>>28844038>>28844214>2Let them be together, dammit!We can still keep him as a diplomatic contact while he's with them, can't we?
>>28844090 the fuq is that gif? no... i don't want to know. please keep it clean in here. >>28844038well, lets put this to rest. to red: This thing about biological love is lost on me for now. but i can understand the feeling of love. Red, this Ser'lah seems to have such feeling for you and even both Myself, and Moira and you too Rachel, i can see you back there can see it as well. go with them Red. i'll give you some more comm equipment if i need to talk to you again. but go and be happy. after all the bad events you have been though, you need a happy end to this chapter in your life. besides, you might prove to the evidence that peace can be had between humans and Malorians after all.
>>28844220Oh lord. That picture still makes me giggle.>>28844244That would be 3, I do believe.
>>28843862he should lead are Spec Op program
>>28844220Welcome back, Captain.Your insight was sorely missed.>>28844214>2 *We can still keep him as a contact, can't we?Also, I think we should start educating some of our Poseidon people who have a knack for it as diplomatic liasons.(With secret, biological spyware-implants)
>>28844246What does Red think when presented with these options?
>>28844329Voting for 2 as well.
>>28844312Our ground forces are quite small after all!
>>28844214>6 Write intake an another choice!give both of them a choice to either say here with us or with her people. we still want her and the tribe elder as our diplomat with the other malorians. let them think of this as a long vaction or a honeymoon if they like. >>28844174err.. we won't have the money for another station. we CAN make a whole new one for him if he likes.
>>28844214>3 Convince Ser'lah to stay with you, for Red's sake. (Comfort adjustments will be necessary
>>28844374>give both of them a choice to either say here with us or with her people. we still want her and the tribe elder as our diplomat with the other malorians. let them think of this as a long vaction or a honeymoon if they like.Seconding.
>>28844220welcome back! nice pic, did you draw that?>>28844312i agree, we will have to face the UGEI in due time. but he needs a break with his sweetie. let him have it.>>28844329our station crew is not diplomatic material. we could ask President King for some assistant in that field.
>>28844374I meant pay him back for stealing his station.>>28844246>>28844214Lets offer to pay him back in installments then, not necessarily all at once but he can use it to help build a new life with this alien bitch if that's what he wants. Give him our business card or whatever too, tell him to get in touch if he ever needs anything. Tell him we're sorry for being a cunt.
>>28844250its just a little bit of sex m8
Rolled 19>>28844214Convince the girl to stay with us. I see Mol contacted us and we turned him down. I can say I wouldn't have agreed to any money transfer from him no matter what the price.....Technology on the other hand....
>>28844435Good to be back and that was drawn by someone in the QTG a few nights ago....it was quite a night/day.>>28844277If it makes you feel any better Program0 the person doing the whole QM quest thing needed some Named people and someone nominated a certain Captain.
Taking way too long about something this trivial when we have so little investment (relative to each other, since both options seem to make them happy).Can I kind of just give my vote to whichever one is closest to the fore?Else you might just have to roll for it.
>>28844341Why don't we find out together?You call forth Red now, for a semi private talk. Moira does love to eavesdrop, and Kronos is sorta forced to, though he only occasionally comments.Harrison comes before you in the relatively small pilot room of the Explorer as you asked, and here he's allowed to speak to you in private. Your orb persona dances to life on the communication screen and it morphs into an eye to acknowledge the man's presence. He gives a small grimace at the look, before you reply."Regarding your time serving me, Mr McClain." You state. "I do appreciate your cooperation so far." He seems to be staring at you, as if he doesn't know what to say, putting up one leg on the console that is currently in auto pilot."You're kidding, right?" He asks, raising a brow. "First of all, it's hardly been cooperation, so much as being forced to help you out, and secondly...well as far as I can tell, I haven't really done much of anything, beyond talk about life down on the planet." He seems to shrug."Ah, but such a simple thing to you is fascinating to me. I've learned much from our time together, and would like to assure you you may always call upon me for assistance." You say somewhat proudly. This still seems to puzzle him, but in a different way."I'll be damned. The guy who stole my entire investment saying I can count on him. Er. You are a him right? Your voice sounds like it. Aw hell, it doesn't matter." He chuckles rather loudly, far less venom in his voice then he once had. Perhaps it doesn't bother him so much anymore."You're some kinda asshole, you know that?" He snorts. Perhaps not. "Save my damn life that way, after you went and gave me a perfectly legit reason to hate you. I mean, who does that?""It was when I was young, and foolish.""Yeah, don't we all have stories like that..." He chuckles more lightly. You decide to turn the conversation elsewhere.
Rolled 73>>288442142. #yoloswagAlso these, because they can be done no matter what happens to Red in the next cycle:>>28843203>>28843269
"The Malorian woman seems to care for you deeply. You should go to her. She seems to believe you'd be happy there.""Heh, does she now?" He asks with a small grin, crossing his legs. "And who are either of you to tell me what's best to do with my life, huh? I've been making my own mistakes for years now, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna stop now." He shakes his head defiantly. Curious, you suspect this is sarcasm again, but it's a bit puzzling. Almost as if he means it."It is never too late to turn around such decisions. I desire you to be happy, as repayment for the trouble I've caused you." You try to articulate. He raises a brow."And you think it's with them, do you?" He asks, to which your orb bobs politely. "Listen...uh...A.I. guy. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm not a kid. Do I really care about this girl? Yeah, I do. But that's why I don't want to drag her down with me.""And instead, you want revenge on the UGEI?" You ask instead. This gives him pause, but he lowers his brow."Maybe. Would that be a bad thing?"It would seem the woman was correct in revenge clouding his thoughts.How do you respond to Red's desire for revenge.>1 Revenge is not the best path, peace is. Ser'lah's family may not be perfect, but it's better then this path.>2 Accept the man's reasoning. It's interesting human logic. Revenge. This feeling seems appropriate to you. Like a natural process.(1d100 with whatever you pick)
>>28844546 have you check in on the 1d4chan page? it'll help get you caught up if you missed anything. >>28844493yea, we should have drained him dry of new tech. but i am indeed torn. i want to learn about this new black box. we might at least learn new hacking skills and V.I. production. right now i am convienced Mol is NOT a V.I. of any sort now. i still think we can make a better deal with him later. it's a surprise he didn't want to sell new tech to us anyway. he's not that smart then. he knows we want tech more than money. or he's not that well informed that we are indeed an A.I.
Rolled 78>>28844663>2 Accept the man's reasoning. It's interesting human logic. Revenge. This feeling seems appropriate to you. Like a natural process.
>>28844663>2 Accept the man's reasoning. It's interesting human logic. Revenge. This feeling seems appropriate to you. Like a natural process.
Rolled 84>>28844663>1 Revenge is not the best path, peace is. Ser'lah's family may not be perfect, but it's better then this path.
Rolled 55>>28844663>2Then perhaps you would agree to occupy a permanent position here? I understand you were a soldier once.
Rolled 42>>28844663I refuse those choices and make a 3rd option!to red: both you and I have a deep reason for revenge on the UGEI, and in time we will have it. but for now. enjoy what peace we can have. I need time to build up strength, tech, and my fleet to do so. but in the mean time. go spend some time with her. i know that... if we are too consumed with bitter hatered and revenge.. we will become what we hate and the cycle of violence will never end. i want this to be a path that has an end. for now. i hope your path is where your heart takes you.
Rolled 5>>28844663>2 Accept the man's reasoning. It's interesting human logic. Revenge. This feeling seems appropriate to you. Like a natural process.Red isn't some teenage kid, he's a grown man and I bet he has put many more hours into this dilemma than we have. It's not our place to play galactic a match-maker; if he wants to be with her one day, so be it, but it seems obvious that that day is not today.
>>28844688Would like to remind you of the potential of accepting a trade, then giving him a non-functional AI-box.I have a feeling he'll try to take it by force and/or guile if we do not persuade him that he has it already.>>28844663>2Remind him that revenge has a long history of causing more misery than it was worth, but since we can certainly use his post-military expertise and it ultimately is up to him, we're not going to push this.Maybe if he's still alive after he's gotten his revenge, then he can go with them.
>>28844663>2 Accept the man's reasoning. It's interesting human logic. Revenge. This feeling seems appropriate to you. Like a natural process.>>28844810I like it
>>28844816Oooh, this is better than what I had.Can we do >>28844822and then go with >>28844816 ?He can consider it a vacation before his work begins, as opposed to a permanent position.
Rolled 61>>28844816drat@! for got to add this to redto red: um... about the station. i can't pay you back for it's value now.. but in time, i can easier to MAKE you another one, brand new if you like. this one won't need so much mantience after all.
Rolled 97>>288446633. Talk it out"Please, call me Ophion. It would give you peace of mind to see UGEI destroyed, yes? Even if you're on the ground with the Malorians, you will always wonder what happened up there in space to those people you hate. Know now that I have no intention of picking a fight with UGEI. However."Despite what you have seen me do here, I am quite capable of murder." Show him the images of us spacing pirates, and that UGEI guy (if possible). "My fleet grows." Show him a diagram for the 3xCruiser 20xFrigate fleet. "The drone that rescued you really is not designed for combat. This one is closer to that end." Show him images of the tentacle orb. "There is more to come."I do not revel in bloodshed. However, it seems to me that bloodshed is inevitable. UGEI will come back for their ship and other," pause, "assets. There will be death. It will be ugly. You were a soldier once, you know of what I speak. And you would return to this life? When you have the option of walking away?"
>>28844877Too bad I took 5ever writing this and it probably won't count.
>>28844810>>28844810Really we should get him a permanet position with us. Start with a simple question: What do you want?From there we can find a place for him.(Yes, when asking that question I thought of Babylon 5)
>>28844663>2 Accept the man's reasoning. It's interesting human logic. Revenge. This feeling seems appropriate to you. Like a natural process.Now to find a way to shape him for our purposes...
>>28844877>>28844904(I should also add that I don't really care one way or the other. If anything, it might be nice to have a military guy with us instead of retiring him. He can retire when he wants.)
Rolled 16>>28844877oh.. can we combine it with mine.>>28844816also... we will have to fight. the UGEI will not leave ser'lah alone nor her people.
>>28844220oh hey
>>28844980Of course we have to fight. Well, we have the option of walking away to some other corner of the galaxy, but that's just delaying the fighting.
On another note, who thinks UGEI will be open to peaceful dialogue with us?Anyone?Anyone?
Rolled 90>>28844999now THAT is more like Ophion. and this>>28844220this is more like Fortuna. ... we should give her some uplifting and personality. she would make a good body guard and all.
>>28845095>now THAT is more like Ophion. and thisWould be funny as shit to suddenly ,make our holo display look like >>28844999 to freak Red out.
Rolled 51>>28845135Lets do it.
>>28845095I think in this situation, I don't want to be the little girl.It's kind of demeaning.
>>28845135>>28845151Not yet. Not in the middle of conversation.It's not polite.
>>28845080I think we can open up a peaceful dialogue.If by "peaceful" you mean assimilated into the bandwidth collective.
Rolled 85>>28845161It's not about being the little girl, it's about expanding our range of holograms and using them to get reactions out of people. We'll can still use our floating blob form and come up with new faces.
>>28845190I'm just wondering, if we take Red on-board, he's going to want revenge. And if the UGEI suddenly don't want to fight us, then we don't need to fight them. Then Red feels betrayed.This isn't really a problem if UGEI "doesn't negotiate with terrorists."
>>28845161I think we can adopt any number of personas we want.When it suits us to appear weak, childish and maybe even autistic (more so than we actually are), playing the little girl might be practical.Otherwise, I agree with you.>>28845190I like how you think.Now, what are the odds we can ask Moria about crushes and get on with Kronos's mission?
So where did program go?This is the first time he took this long.(usually takes 4-8 minutes.)
Rolled 44>>28845135>>28845151>>28845161i said that mostly due to that QM Program0 can pick and choose his own personal image if he likes. true, Ophion will need some new Holo images in time. anyway, i want to end this side story and get on with Kronos's work at that nuked world.
Rolled 17>>28845277worse yet.. there is still crew onboard that blame him for some of the trouble that happened when we took over. they have not forgotten. IF he stayed on the posidon station. there is another one we just got over on Argeis system he can go to safely.
>>28844663>Revenge/sorta"I suppose it is not." You finally answer the man after a brief silence. This seems to earn a gaze, as he looks up to your monitor with a low gaze. It takes you a moment to realize he's not looking at you, but into the monitor on the screen. The screen is showing the cargo bay, where Ser'lah is speaking with the Elder, her expression appearing worried, before the Elder nods simply with a smile, earning her a rather happy expression as well. It's remarkable how the facial features resemble humans when they're happy this way. Red's gaze glosses over for a few seconds, before you watch him clench his eyes shut sharply, with a brief sigh."I'm glad you agree." He gives a rough chuckle. "I don't know what all your reasons for being against the UGEI are, Guild guy, but if the UGEI refuse to let an old man rest, than I guess I can at least raise a little hell before I die.""Such a fruitless suggestion." Kronos echos in your mind. You can feel his curious gaze on your back, during this entire ordeal. "And yet a curious decision by you. Revenge, as it were." He echos the decision with some manner of thought.Moira is less happy with the decision, it seems, but she's shoved her nose into a book, though it is apparent she's not reading. Organic relationships do not seem nearly as productive, anyway, you note.You decide to add, as the man gazes off at the security cameras."Revenge has a grand history of causing misery, as your myths and legends have taught me." You express to the man."So does drinking. But people still do it today, don't they?" He chuckled silently. "...I could use a drink.""I could certainly use your help all the same. I do not intend to push the issue. However, in time if you'd like, I can make you a station, to replace Poseidon." You suggest, to which he shakes his head with a laugh.Sorry bout the delay, huge post incoming.
"What, and go back to the life of a miserable black market miner? Constantly fearing I'd get found out any day now? No. I'm no miner, and it was foolish for me to think I could make it as one in retirement." He waved his hand disappointedly in himself. He then followed with a chuckle. "Besides. You've long ago made it clear you don't need folks like me. Can't exactly feel useful after that, gotta say." He pointed out."Regardless." You move the topic on. "I don't intend to purposely pick fights with the UGEI. They're certainly hostile, but should they offer peace-""They won't." He interrupts you. "They're too proud for that. They'd sooner blast you apart and blame it on malfunctions then admit they're wrong." He slowly sits up in his chair. "Sorry Guild Guy, but it's not as easy to take them down by being a fast talker. Too bad you can't hack em apart, huh?" He grins almost sarcastically to you. You can see deep lines in his face, suggesting he is older then he really is. Your records indicate humans have a life ranging from 150-250 years old with modern health benefits. But he seems near his 100s with a face like that."Please. Call me Ophion." You correct him, to which he simply gives you a funny look. "Weird name. But better then Guild Guy I guess.""As I was saying, I feel even if you were on the ground, you'd wonder of the UGEI. It is not something so easily wiped away." He opens his eyes a little surprised at your tone."...I'm a little surprised you hit the nail on the head like that. Hard to forget old wounds like that." He agrees, to which you swivel the Explorer around to show him a full broadside view of the Athena. He takes it in.
"My fleet grows, however. And while I do not wish anyone particular harm, I have the means to protect myself. The drone that rescued you is not suited well for combat, as I said. I intend to have more proper versions built soon.""Yeah, the UGEI were big fans of robots." He waves his hand. "At least you got an excuse. They use em because they have so few supporters." He snorted at the thought, as if it gave him some manner of pleasure."And despite knowing all of the chaos and death to come you would return to that life, when a welcoming out is there for you to take?" You question, curiously. He frowns, however."You make it sound so easy." He shook his head. "Listen Guild...uh...Ophion. Nothing would make me happier then leaving with that beautiful girl in there. But I can't. It wouldn't be fair to me. And it wouldn't be fair to her. Especially her people." He turns to face your monitor, the only 'face' you have. "I have a warrant from the UGEI. Do you really think they'd let me have that peace?" He asks you, almost pleading. "What if you failed in your mission to hold them off?" He asks "Then they'd just come, kill all the aliens like they always do, and send me off to some enormous jail, or just shoot me on the spot. What kind of life is that?""For the precious few months or years, even of peace, some may say the best kind you could hope for." You state softly."Yeah...heh, I guess I always did overlook things." He snorts softly. "But the big picture's just a little too ugly for my liking." He says simply.
>>28844999Oh god that's the best thing, I love it for some reason.
>>28845425We should offer the guy an advisor position; to help us figure out how to into ground combat and boarding actions. Our databanks could use some tactics other than 'drown them in lasers' or 'delete firewall'.
>>28845283>>28845151>>28845312What about something like this? It fits with Ophion's personality a bit better than the previous female image I think.
>>28845509Protip: to kill things, shoot them until they die.
>>28845532
>>28845509You may decide a more permanent position for Red in your fleet at a later time.For now, is that all you wished to discuss with the man? Like this, he will stay with the fleet, but Ser'lah will return to her people dejected.
>>28845460For the record, I have nothing against a female avatar.I do so mourn the lack of strong characters (female) in the stories we tell here on /tg/ or in fiction in general.>>28845425We should probably mention that we're still building our forces and he can probably take a vacation of a month or two before we have anything for him to do.
>>28845585Pic swap. Try again.
While I don't mind using different "avatars" I like to have Ophion as exactly what he is. Gender should mean nothing to us since I still like to think of us as a superior life form.Just to make sure if we did use such things they would be tools and nothing more.
>>28845594have him stay with her people, but be able to leave on call when needed.
>>28845594We should tell him to go with Ser'lah, and live with her and her people until we need to call upon his services. And if in his time away he decides to give up the life of a soldier permanently, we will hold no ill will.
>>28845425the man knows his stuff>>28845509yes, i agree. we need someone who can do that. but we still let him have his good time with her for abit.
>>28845594I think we are done here.Time to move on.
Let's move onto to Kronos's mission!
>>28845594Time to get back to work.
>>28845532that works too.>>28845594no program0 we mean this.>>28845633>>28845636>>28845606well, there are Kos-Mos pics to base off with.
>>28845594>Ser'lahWe choose our own fates. Enjoy your time together while you can.>>28845621I agree completely.>>28845425"Tell me when you're ready to begin your position as military adviser, then."These, whenever convenient.>>28843203>>28843269
>>28845585>>28845616http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs8/i/2005/360/6/a/r__dorothy_wayneright_by_tokotah_alley.png^For the image swapped picture
>>28845594Sounds good to me.Let's get on to Kronos and see what his mission looks like!
>>28845606I meant the picture mostly, but being an A.I., you don't really have gender to be concerned about.You talk in a neutral maleish tone, though.Vacation time for some staff is probably appreciated by all, however.One final vote, since I'm getting lots of mixed signals.>1 Allow Red to join you, as discussed, possibly as advisor, or some other yet to be decided role>2 Send him off to Ser'lah now, until we need to call on him. Travel time will likely take a bit, and he may consider it making the separation worse, since she didn't want him to be a part of the fighting at all.>3 Write inFinal vote before moving on to Kronos' bit(Note: He may still get a chance to visit, on the odd time you give your 'employees' the thing known as 'vacations'.)
>>28845594We could probably also mention the possibility of letting Ser'lah stay.Or not, and just offer Ser'lah, keep it as a surprise.When he asks, we tell him we were worried about his mental stability and hired her as a personal therapist.(Can we please get on with other things while deciding this? It's become such a plot tumor, even if I enjoy it, it's slowing down the game so much, and no matter what we decide, it's unlikely to affect the immediate mission with Kronos)
>>28845532My problem with using images like that is:A) Ophion is an AI and thus above gender.B) Choosing an image from 'ye olde earthe' strikes me as.. Iffy?
>>288457552 or 3.3 being we do as >>28845757 said and offer Ser'lah the opportunity to stick with us. If she declines, we go with 2. If she accepts, we get some accommodations built.
>>288457552
>>28845757Sorry about the delays, anon. I had a feeling it'd be a heavy character development thread, though. I'm not in any rush, though, so have patience. We'll get there.
>>28845755>2 Send him off to Ser'lah now, until we need to call on him. Travel time will likely take a bit, and he may consider it making the separation worse, since she didn't want him to be a part of the fighting at all.
>>28845755>>1 Allow Red to join you, as discussed, possibly as advisor, or some other yet to be decided roleHe has a job to do now and we must not waist time. He can visit her at other times, but we need him to stay with us.
>>28845755>>2 Send him off to Ser'lah now, until we need to call on him. Travel time will likely take a bit, and he may consider it making the separation worse, since she didn't want him to be a part of the fighting at all.this or this>>28845804>5804[]>>>28845755
>>28845755>>1 Allow Red to join you, as discussed, possibly as advisor, or some other yet to be decided roleI also don't mind her coming with us, but do you really want a Civy with us when we go into battle?
>>28845762I agree he is above gender but like I said before there's no harm in increasing our number of holograms. We only have 2 vague forms at the moment so it'll be interesting to make a more defined one.>old earth image He researched AI in fiction so it's plausible he'd have come across the character.
>>28845755>1 Allow Red to join you, as discussed, possibly as advisor, or some other yet to be decided roleHis new place is at our side
>>28845827But.. we could be doing both at the same time!The advantage of the text-medium allowing more than one thread of thought to run at once!I don't mind character development, but this is sooo slow character development.Oh well, I guess I'll cope.As long as the quest is fun, I suppose it'll survive some slowness.
>>28845755sorry for the mixed messages.>3 Write inallow for Ser'lah to stay with red as he prepares to be our advisor/general/android director. we can use this to show her how WE live and broaden her mind so she can go back and tell her people. but we must ALWAYS allow free communication with her people at all times.
>>28845755>2 Send him off to Ser'lah now, until we need to call on him. Travel time will likely take a bit, and he may consider it making the separation worse, since she didn't want him to be a part of the fighting at all.eh i would go for option 3 as well
>>28845755>1He can go see here when/if we give him what is known as a vacation.
>>28845762gender doesn't have to be an issue, we can make male avatars too
>>28845914i agree. this is the greatest.>>28845827can't help it. but don't worry.
>>28845755Just so we are clear on choice "3" people want her to stay with him.....while he stays with us....on a ship that will be ready to fight at a moment notice.
>>28845755>1Can we not have another vote? I thought we had already taken care of this LAST VOTE.
>>28845755>3 Ask Ser'lah to stay so she can advise us on Malorian matters and be our diplomat to other Malorians. She will be able to return back anytime.
>>288457551.Let him say his goodbyes or whatever, give him however long he needs.
>>28845585
>>28845991He doesn't have to be on this ship, just in contact with minimal lag, so near an FTL com buoy at least.
>>28845914We could, but I feel like that would quickly grow to be confusing, and keep our focus from being on what's currently happening.This all is happening within the same cycle, so in theory, you saved a lot of time. Sadly, that's only theoretical.Again, apologies.>Consensus reached."I do indeed have a job for you, Mr McClain." You suddenly pick up, which catches his attention, rather surprised. "For now, you shall stay with the Malorians, but will be by my side when I call upon you." You state simply. "Your advisory help will be more helpful then anything you could do in person. Perhaps this way, you could enjoy the peace while it's there."The man gives a small frown at the news, though he's clearly not that disappointed, even if he tries to pretend he is."I don't want to drag the girl into this, like I-""And you won't." You state firmly. "At any sign of danger, you will brought away from them, as stated. I highly doubt the UGEI would send a skilled assassin for one with your crimes, am I incorrect?" You ask to which he simply furrows his brow."I guess that works...but the whole thing smells of compromise." He gave a sort of weak laugh. "I'm not sure whether Ser'lah is gonna hug me or hit me for that one.""Why don't you go find out?" You suggest, to which he simply starts laughing, much harder this time."You're a real bastard, Ophion. You know that?" Your orb rotates in thought."I do not know of a fath-""Don't start." He stands up, waving his arms, and quickly leaves the room.Moira seems to be beaming from the decision, though you're not certain why.Kronos is more puzzled then ever, though he seems to be focusing on his own duties.KRONOS TIME
>>28846111Yay
>>28846111And asking Moira about crushes-time. But is just one question, can do that as part of Kronos update, right?
Your view shifts as you finally exit warp space. Or rather, Kronos does. You observe the V.I's actions as he enters the air above Atill VI . The place is crowded with debris. Nothing of value it would seem, nothing but wreckage, and scrap that has little use now but to clog up the view. The little black ash ball ahead of you still radiates the distress signal you followed here, but it's surprisingly weak. You can't even identify any information, other then the signal itself. The air around the planet itself makes you somewhat nervous of an ambush, so you've yet to instruct Kronos to approach. He grows impatient, however, as his fellow ships hover around him, awaiting their next move."I grow bored of this silence. While you handle the human's issues, I should be allowed to handle this, should I not?">1 Instruct Kronos forward to investigate>2 Let Kronos decide his next course (chosen by me)>3 Tell Kronos to send one of his lesser ships forward, for scouting purposes.>4 Write in(Roll 1d100)
Rolled 82>>28846221
>>28846210She was referring to Red and his 'girlfriend' as she put it. I realize now I didn't make that terribly clear.
Rolled 25>>28846221>>2 Let Kronos decide his next course (chosen by me)>>4 Write inGive suggestions, to him like be careful.
Rolled 30>>28846244He meant to ask if Moira has any crushes.(we already cleared this up twice Program)>>288462212
>>28846221>4 Write into a degree. it maybe best to take in my advice at times, but i will allow you to choose what is the best path to complete this task i gave you.
Rolled 45>>28846311forgot to roll!
Rolled 36>>288462212That's why we have advisers and crap, so we don't have to deal with it. What's the point of having Kronos if we're just going to micromanage everything? Let him do his thing. Unless he starts slaughtering people.
Rolled 27>>28846337>Unless he starts slaughtering people.the second he starts killing people is the second we take control of his ship.We still have a public image to uphold.
>>28846311Lets do this.We're gonna sit back and observe this time, at least until he is fired upon.
Rolled 99>>28846221>2What is this if not an opportunity to see how he handles things on his own?
Rolled 63>>28846410i personally picked 2 because Kronos became my favorite character.Kronos quest when?
Rolled 10>>28846272^
>>28846272Oh, I must be pretty slow tonight then. Nevermind me! She's a gossipy type of girl anyway.Moira seems terribly puzzled by the question all of a sudden, even a big embarrassed."Why would you ask me that, silly? I don't have time to think of that stuff!" She laughs somewhat nervously.>>28846221>Let Kronos decide"Do what you think is correct, Kronos." You speak with him. This earns a surprised gaze from the V.I-or rather, you can sense his presence gaze back at you from light years away. "In this situation, obviously.""Ah, I see." He gives a slightly disappointed sound, though you suspect that is on purpose. He can be like that sometimes. "Very well then."The V.I. begins it's search, fanning out his fleet, slightly small as it is, while keeping Soundwave close and safe behind his own ship.As the arc begins to form, you notice a slight jump on the sensors, easily missed if you hadn't been careful. Or rather, if Kronos hadn't been."Contact." He speaks calmly, and suddenly, rather violently you find that he is correct.Eight sudden bolts arc past the view, as Kronos sets his engines high, launching himself and Soundwave out of the path. He has trouble commanding all of his fleet to follow as swiftly, and all three Destroyers and his Cruiser get hit with what appear to be tractor beams. The primary fire having missed Kronos, you see he's calculating what to do as the enemy comes into view:8 Escort Class Losirian raider ships. At least, that's all you see right now.You may offer suggestions, if you wish, or...>1 Suggest (specify)>2 Let him handle things>3 Write In(Either way, need 1d100)
>>28846221>4 Write in"Kronos, I want you to move in and kill everything you see."
Rolled 61>>28846221>2"This is a test by me, to see how much you have grown and are able to act indepently. Do not let me down."
>>28846443 THE TIME IS NOW!
>>28846471>2 Let him handle things
Rolled 78>>2884647123 (we hack them, while he tries to get free.)
Rolled 50>>288464712
Rolled 62>>28846471>3"Kronos, how good are you hacking skills?"Also spool up the Athena's and escort fleet's engines. Get ready to make a flanking jump.
>>28846471Are we capable of sending assistance?
>>28846471Point out that Kronos is, in this instance, in command. Ask him if he'd like us to hack while he commands his 'troops'.Also, ships in tractor beams can still fire, yeah?
Rolled 96>>288464712. He has to learn3. Can we hack?>>28846471>I don't have time to think of that stuff!" She laughs somewhat nervously.She wants the cyber D.
Rolled 43>>28846471>3 Write Inthey are losirian. they are trash to us, take them out as best you can. but if i see you are having trouble, i will go to you and join in the battle. also, if they are raiders, they may have some worth while matrials on board.
Rolled 48>>28846471>She laughs somewhat nervously."You are displaying multiple biological signs of nervousness and even falsehood. I was under the impression we could be frank with eachother, Moira.">3Give him a bunch of spare bandwidth with which to maneuver and do>2Let's see what he does.
>>28846581Forgot my roll.
>>288464712This is like a father watching to see how his son behaves, but replace people with crazy machines.
>>28846471You decide to remain silence and watch.It is your turn to spy on the V.I., as he calculates his next move. Since his fleet no longer can move, he directs the fire of his fleet. Particularly well equipped, their plasma fire and Mass Drivers offer an impressive and fearsome arsenal."Filthy organics." He growls, you notice as he opens fire on one of the ships responsible for the beam enveloping one of his Destroyers. The arcs of plasma tear through the Losirian ship and through the comms, you can hear them scream in the language you've recently acquired. It's mostly curses, however. You can't help but feel you would have been better off without it.With one ship out of the way, Kronos sets his ship to dive to the side to avoid the next volley. His ship appears to be surprisingly fast for it's size, and he dodges out of the way of the weaponry, and that which he doesn't dodge bounces off the impressive shields you've equipped him with. He takes aim once again, seeing an opening in their defenses."Weakness." He mutters as you watch plasma arc across the sky, slamming broadside into-wait, that is not Escort class. Out of the debris comes a larger ship, Battlecruiser class, and well equipped it seems. It's shields take the blast, and you chip away at it's armor, you suspect, but it's no doubt here to enter the fray. A message reaches Kronos."SURRENDER YOUR VESSELS WEAK FLESH!" Bellows an almost obnoxiously loud shark man, who bares his teeth to threaten you. The man in particular looks odd. As if scarred by radiation burns somehow. Kronos certainly has no intention of stopping his attack.>1 Let Kronos continue>2 Suggest/Say (specify)>3 Write in(1d100)
>>28846723I'm going to go with the other anon and offer Kronos our help, provided we are capable of launching a long range hacking attempt of course.
>>28846565Kronos can not hack, as you can.>>28846575Not at this time, since this occurs as you are helping Red off Eshareth.>>28846603"I'm...I'm not. It was just a weird question, is all." She tries to insist. "Why would you care about something so silly, anyway?" She half pouts for you teasing her so.
Rolled 32>>28846723>2 "Kronos, may I ask why are you not attempting hacking attempts? Successful hacking we yield us additional ships."
Rolled 67>>288467232.Suggest hacking, or if we can hack it.If not1.
Rolled 44>>28846723
Rolled 53>>28846723>2 Suggest/Say (specify)A battle cruiser! we should add that to our fleet. i shall make an attempt to hack that ship. contiue the battle with the other ones Kronos.seriously another BC is a good thing to add to our fleet. the rest, not so much.
Rolled 20>>28846723>1 Let Kronos continue>2 Suggest/Say (specify)See if we can hack those ships for tech/data.
>>28846723>1Sit,wait, and watch.
Rolled 59>>28846723Can we allow Kronos to use a virus of ours?Also am i the only one that thinks kronos is a bit too cocky for his own good.(this should teach him a lesson.)
Rolled 63>>28846723>2 "Kronos, in your judgement, do you need my assistance in the form of hacking?"
Rolled 88>>28846812>too cockyPerhaps, he may prove to have the skills to back up his arrogance, we're about to find out I guess.
Rolled 50>>288467231.No shark man, you are the meatbag.
Rolled 77>>28846723"Keep a level head, Kronos. Do not allow your prejudices against organic life to allow you to underestimate them."I suggest we scour the databases for what the fuck those shark fuckers are.
Rolled 7>>28846773to moira: well, i am learning from a human male's perspective from this whole event, i want to hear from a human woman's view of it. that and i want to hear what would make your life and work more enjoyable. (add an audio smirk to it)
Rolled 23>>28846843we did they are basically immune to our venting the air methods, but i do think they would be suitable to a new method like making it too hot to live inside the ship(could damage hardware.)
Rolled 86>>28846843we know who they are, their race killed our phobos! we have a standing protocol to wipe them out of this galaxy.
Rolled 51>>28846862Since when have we been learning from a human males perspective?
Rolled 74>>28846773>>28846723Hey program how come we didn't roll for the two sister viruses THAT WERE SUGGESTED?
Rolled 79>>28846895Since when we were mining Red for information, as we do.
Rolled 30>>28846862>MALES PERSPECTIVEnope we are gender less and haven't learned much about this stuff.
Rolled 29>>28846913That was just a background search, for the other 99.99% of this quest we have been learning from a genderless computers perspective.
Rolled 97>>28846842You. I like you.
Kronos seems only slightly distracted by your suggestion."I do not know how to hack, Ophion." He reminds you. You are reminded as well that your bandwidth reserves are maxed at this time, as you increase the Android's reflexes and power back on Eshareth. remember?"But it does not matter. I do not desire to use vessels plucked from some scrapyard by junkyard bandits whom have so little else to do but hunt others for sport." He spits."Do not underestimate your foe." You remind him, to which you observe as he directs his fire against two of the other tractor beaming ships, and they erupt in a powerful explosion as the plasma finds it's mark. It's almost frightening what plasma can do to such poorly shielded targets.The molten slag melts and erupts violently, quickly adding to the Debris field.With nearly his entire fleet free, Kronos pulls them in again, to protect his core ship-but it would seem that is not their target. One of his escort ships gets taken to the core of the Losirian fleet, and, suddenly, you both watch as boarding pods are launched into the thing like rockets.It takes only moments before they curse loudly at the lack of goods found."What...what is this, weak flesh?! You use decoys now, we see." He bellows, grinding his sharp teeth, before suddenly the opposing fleet opens fire on one of the Escort ships before Kronos. It's a critical shot, as the powerful rail weaponry pierces the core, and it goes critical, erupting in it's own spectacular explosion.You can sense that this really does anger the V.I."Their deaths shall be slow.">1 Suggest/Talk>2 Let Kronos be himself>3 Write in(1d100 please.)
Rolled 24>>28846904probably will have to take time to make it. right now, we're focusing in on Krono's quest.
Rolled 45>>28846960>used all of our bandwidth on the androidFuck
>>28846904You did roll for the sister viruses.Don't you remember?I made em a package deal.
Rolled 8>>28846904>>28846981Huh strange i don't remember capitalizing that last part of the sentence.>>288469602He won't listen to us much now.
Rolled 7>>28846960>2 Let him handle thingsShit rolls, everywhere.
Rolled 5>>28846960>2 Let Kronos be himselfThis is great
Rolled 40>>28847019>>28846960ah my bad.
>>28846960>2Continue to watch our favorite do his work. If I was human I would almost say I feel proud of him taking care of these pests.
Rolled 14>>288469602 good lord are these roll extraordinary shitty or what.
Rolled 90>>288469602Just remind him not to go full retard but stay out of his fight.
Rolled 47>>28846960If the ship they destroyed was different from the one they pulled in, have the captured one continued firing.But, if it would do damage, self-destruct the captured ship, in an attempt to damage their ships/kill crew."Be wise, Kronos. Don't let anger cloud your judgement.">>28847019Can we hand em off to Kronos for deployment?With a short "And, use what you can."
>>28846960>1 At least we can unleash our viruses, I think?"Kronos, would you require our assistance. I believe the Athena and the escorting fleet can help."
Rolled 12>>28846960>3 Write init is a pity i did no forsee them showing up. i would have equipped you Kronos to capture as many of them as possable. we could use some fresh bodies to expriment on.
>>28847083Doubtful
Rolled 91>>28846723>3Let's use our spare bandwidth to try to hack that cruiser. Use all our nifty hacking-programs and the like."Kronos, that is invalid generalization. Their organic molecules is not what makes them weak and stupid, it's poor design and biases. Hating or finding them disgusting them for being organic makes no more sense than hating them for the colors of their eyes or hair."
>>28847116That ain't happening>>28847002
Rolled 88>>28847116>our spare bandwidth to try to hack that cruiserdo you not read the thread?>>28846723>>28846960>You are reminded as well that your bandwidth reserves are maxed at this time,
Rolled 3>>28847116May want to make the end of that sentence reflect AI standards. "No more sense than hating a fellow AI for their function or their quirks." or something. I get the feeling something might be lost due to his racism.
>>28847116>Hating or finding them disgusting them for being organic makes no more sense than hating them for the colors of their eyes or hair.watTheir hair colour doesn't have an effect on how they choose to interact with people, their race does.
>>28847187>>28847159>>28847116I think just sitting back and watching is enough at the moment.
Rolled 40>>28847187>>28847159maybe we should say "hating them for only having a trace amounts of iron in their bodies. they only are what designed them and programed them."
>>28847241Agreed.
>>28846960"Be wise, Kronos. Do not let your anger cloud your judgment.""I'm not. But I do so loath such beings." He growls all the same. "They're certainly lucky that no brothers of mine are within that vessel." He says simply as you watch him align his ships as best he can. The captured ship struggles against the last tractor beam, and Kronos takes aim. Unfortunately, he isn't fast enough, as the Losirians do what they do best with ships that hold nothing of value for them. The pods retreat, and the ship is shredded to pieces before him. Flak and slag go everywhere, stopping the hail of gunfire the thing was bringing on the one holding it hostage."Sad for you, weak flesh." The scarred Losirian Battlemaster glares back at you with a sickening grin. Deep marks along his neck are obvious. "We salvage ships and strap more weapons to ours. You'll help us whether you want to or not!" He says mockingly."And I shall toss your useless fleshy corpses into the nearest star." Kronos bellows back, which gives the shark man pause, either from the voice of pure disdain he had heard, or perhaps many were simply begging to be released by this point.More flak and plasma fly, and the enemy fleet loses 3 of it's Escort ships, as the hail of fire really collapses on them. Kronos' fleet dwindles, but he's making excellent use of his upgrades, that is for certain.>1 Suggest/Say>2 Allow Kronos his revenge, as you've just recently taught him.>3 Write in(1d100 with whatever you pick)
>>288472672cheesy4me
>>28847288>>2 Allow Kronos his revenge, as you've just recently taught him.Training wheels are off, brah.
>>28847288>2We're gunna keep choosin' 2, Program0.
Rolled 8>>288472882
>>28847322I am aware. I just need the rolls. May as well offer chances to say junk
Rolled 96>>28847288
Rolled 4>>28847288>2 Allow Kronos his revenge, as you've just recently taught him.
Rolled 76>>28847288Fuck it, 2.Though, we oughta remind him that not all organics are like this. That said, unrepentant raiders are fair game for total annihilation.
Rolled 64>>28847288>>28847343Fair enough."How does it feel, Kronos?
Rolled 17>>28847288>2Continue to watch. Oh how I do love how he has grown and I look forward to raising him up.
Rolled 37>>288472882 Well at least we know our ships can take a beating.Also program will you show us our new resources after this bit or will the quest just end?
Rolled 29>>28847288>"And I shall toss your useless fleshy corpses into the nearest star."Gonna need some ice heal for that burn."Still playing lapdog to UGEI? Did they hire you again, shark-face?"
>>28847288Sorry, I lost track, how many ships have each side lost now?
Rolled 11>>28847400Exactly Exciting. A few more lost and one of the two sides might end up at a Daring amount.
Rolled 77>>28847288>3 Write inwe are losing too many of our fleet. if this goes one much longer, i will send Fortuna and her fleet to assist.
Rolled 71>>28847357well then
Rolled 100>>28847453I'd rather take the hit honestly, watching Kronos really let loose with a new sense of freedom and responsibility is worth the loss of a few escort ships.
>>28847504I have to agree with this.
>>28847504>100>unlinked What have I done
>>28847288Kronos powers up his drives once more and closes in on his targets, using the chance to dodge incoming fire as best as he is able. It's a close miss, as plasma blows past his window and slams into a distant piece of rotting satellite, melting it down into slag. Now, the V.I.'s vessel is hurdling straight for the enemy BC, having blasted apart another one of it's Escort ships along the way."You wanted the BC in our fleet did you not, Ophion?" He asks you all of a sudden. Suddenly you watch him blast apart the weapon control deck on the Losirian ship. It causes the the flak to stop firing, at least for now, as the V.I. hovers above the ship itself. When it attempts to retreat, he immediately blasts the engines apart as well, leaving it helpless.You watch as his plasma guns turn down, and start to fire on the surface of the now defenseless BC. Again and again, chunks of armor are shot off, molten metal (and likely Losirians caught in the explosion) and fired off of the ship itself."GAAAH, Weak Flesh is strong, strong indeed!" The Shark person yells as if in triumph. "Must be fellow Losirian. Should join us, become- GAAAAAAAAAH" He shouts again, as Kronos takes aim at the cockpit now. You notice the power level on his plasma weapons has lowered, however. Instead, he is now dousing the ship in a slow, rising heat. The armor on the outside starts to glow as the communications grow louder with screams from the inside of the vessel itself. The Captain didn't bother to turn it off, apparently."S-Stop! You must stop! Hot. Too Hot! Too hot!!" He gurgles, as you witness the instrument by his neck which pumps water into him start to bubble from the heat.Kronos is silent for the entire time, before he suddenly chuckles, and speaks to you."Revenge is indeed sweet. Though, I am more inclined it's best served...hot.">1 Say/Do something>2 Let him continue, he is after all, cleansing the ship for you.>3 Write in
>>28847391You will see them in time.I may have the starmap info stuff.>>28847400Only one Escort left on their side. And they're kinda shitting their pants.
>>28847552"Very interesting approach"Let him continue
>>28847140Was a late post.>>28847159>>28847187But function or quirks are valid reasons, and not at all equivalent to construction materials.And their race has nothing to do with being organic.They could be made of iron, or silicon and still be just as poorly designed. As I said, it's their shitty design that make them weak, not carbon, iron, sulphur or water.Organic components mean little, the use to which it is put makes the primary difference.
>>28847528Oh, you were not forgotten anon.You were not forgotten at all
Rolled 69>>28847504well shit. welp! go at it Kronos! at least we get to field test the new weapon systems. Program0, can we scavage the busted ships after this?
>>28847552>2Oh man this is fucking gold
Rolled 39>>288475522
>>28847552>1 "You have done most excellent. Keep an ear out for any possible transmissions."
>>28847552>Become Losirian? Interesting. I'd like one body alive for interrogation, but I will settle for dissection if it requires too much effort.
>>28847610Th-thank you
>>28847641I wouldn't mind take a few alive as well.
Rolled 77>>28847552Let him continue.But tell him to let the escort ship escape with a message.>implying i'm fleshy
Rolled 54>>28847552>3 Write in"i'll send the repair ship to fix the damages. I see your wit has gotten better. i like that. note to self, remember to make an ice cannon to freeze a ship along side a ship cooking weapon."
Rolled 82>>28847552"A unique, and in my opinion, deserved approach. When it comes to raiders. Clean up these Losirians as you will, but do try to be more polite to and about the organics on 'our side'. I hope this has been cathartic."
Rolled 65>>28847700Then again, maybe that's poor form. "You will find no flesh on my ships. Do not attack me again. But perhaps we can trade."
>>28847552"PLEASE, PLEASE YOU MUST STOP, WEAK FLESH!""I do not have flesh." The V.I. growls, putting emphasis on the last word. "I am not useless like you."You make a note to shut off the feed for Moira, so she can't witness this occurring. Instead, you simply watch Kronos work. He's certainly enjoying the deed, as you listen to the somewhat sickening squeals of the shark people. Their heap of junk has long ago abandoned any manner of safety protocol, it seems, leaving the shark people onboard no where to escape. And with no defense, they're left to boil alive in their own suits. The feeds from the comms are...entertaining to say the least.Kronos becomes momentarily distracted, however, as the remaining Escort seems to have lost the nerve to fight. Kronos reacts and, mid boil, turns the nose of his ship up, launching his Tractor Beam at the fleeing ship."None of you are leaving." He echos to the fleeing ship, and pulls them in nice and slow. He gives a sort of low chuckle, as he blasts apart their engines and weapons as well, before speaking again."Have I learned well, Ophion?" He says with some manner of sarcasm. Though, you can't help but feel like he seeks praise as well. Regardless, you watch him hoist the Escort ship and drive towards the nearby sun of the solar system. It seems he is intent on keeping his promise...>1 Allow it.>2 Stop him.>3 Write in(1d100 if you please.)
Rolled 72>>28847741No. Genocide, with relation to Losirians, is the only and best answer.Besides, we need to keep the 'really a robot' reveal in the box until we absolutely need it.
>>28847712haha you have the worst lines
>>28847700Oh no. No one leaves this place and if anyone is alive it's so we can "talk" to them.Also it's nice to have a few "test" subjects lined up just in case.
>>28847741>>28847700No. Kronos does not approve, I don't approve, etc. Genocide is the answer.>>28847759Above expectations.Now, then. Will you satisfy yourself with the utter perdition of your enemies, or try to harvest any further gain from them before obliterating that ship?
>>28847759>3?"Your skills in intimidation and ship to ship combat seem to have developed well. Nice job. Though, I would like to remind you that not all organics are our enemy.""Of course, since you are in command for this operation, how you dispose of the raiders is your choice. But I'd like to ask that you keep a couple around. We might be able to use them for something."
>>28847759>3 "Kronos, I believe you are letting your desire of revenge get a hold of you, and it's very unbecoming. Now, what do you think is the best course of action at the moment?"
>>28847759>1A) There ain't no breaks on the rape trainB) Letting them get word to their allies is a terrible ideaC) We told Kronos that we'd allow him to operate as he sees fit, we should abide by that promise for good or ill, we'll evaluate him later
>>28847759>3 Write inDon't dystroy the ship Kronos, i want it for scrap at least. cooking the fish is not a bad idea however, remember to flip them over to make sure both sides are done.
Rolled 71>>28847759
Rolled 84>>28847867>muh roll
Rolled 12>>28847890forgot to roll again!
>>28847759>1 Allow it"You have indeed learned well Kronos and this only reinforces why you are my favorite"
Rolled 33>>28847759I wonder how far /tg/ would let you go with Kronos doing evil things
Rolled 44>>28847759Allow it.>"Have I learned well, Ophion?""Yes. Especially of cruelty. Did you enjoy it?"
>>28847759>1
>>28847951And here's your answer.
>>28847951I would let him get away with anything.If we tell him to do something I expect him to do it in his own "unique" way.
>>28847759You frown, uncertain if you agree with this course of action."Kronos, you understand that wasting ships is not very becoming. And that not all organics are our foe, yes?" You remind him. This catches his attention, though he doesn't stop his thrusters."It is simply scrap, I feel. A drain on resources to upgrade, and infested with these Losirian creatures. Not worthy of my time...your time to bother with." He clarifies, buffeted by your second complaint. "Organics may not always be my foe. But that does not mean I approve of their ways." He turns his attention back to the task at hand. "Especially these specimens. Creatures such as Moira do have their own quirks and charms, I suppose. These, I feel are the exceptions, not the rule.""While we disagree, I did wish to see how you operated alone. You may continue as you wish, though I simply wished to let that be said.""I see..." He says, apparently in thought. The yells from the communications network under his control brings you both back to the task at hand. "You have done very well this day, Kronos. Very well." You praise the V.I. to which you swear you could feel a smile on the beings face...er...if it had a face. It's difficult to describe."I am pleased to hear that, Ophion." He says somewhat softly, his engines powering up to full as he speeds towards the star."Did you enjoy it?""More then I thought I would." He explains. "Cleansing such filth is always a pleasure. Especially the filth responsible for my fellow V.I.'s demise." He recalls angrily.The star approaches fast, and, with a sudden jerk, Kronos' BC stops, and the Escort vessel is launched forth into the sun."Flesh must stop! Human, Malorian never do this! Never hear this!" They yell through their comms, trying to get someone's attention. But, slowly, they're enveloped in the fiery plasma of the universe.Kronos is pleased.
Rolled 60>>28848135>Kronos is pleased.Good God do i love Kronos.So how much did Moira see?
>>28848135>"It is simply scrap, I feel. A drain on resources to upgrade, and infested with these Losirian creatures. Not worthy of my time...your time to bother with."He's right, you know.I wonder how he'd do with spider-drones.
>>28848135>"Flesh must stop! Human, Malorian never do this! Never hear this!"My, oh my.I wish Kronos sent in a reply."I noticed you never said anything about Losirians."
>>28848135"I trust you realize that this was exceptionally cruel, and that such things should be reserved for exceptionally cruel beings?I do not want to find you using tactics like these against any beings that have not done any more than simply oppose us.I do not want either of us to become like these creatures in judgement."
>>28848135.....i had no plans to upgrade that ship, i wanted to send it to the breakers at the factory. (sigh) Kronos has combat skill, but he is wasteful. still, there is room to improve.
>>28848135"Very well. Very.. Hm. It seems a desire revenge is a trait all sapient life shares. But I digress. Although what do you mean by 'their ways'?"And later: "I would also like to reiterate a point: this level of.. creativity with the elimination of hostiles may bring a backlash from related factions. Try not to engage in this kind of activity against undeserving, or more formal opponents.">>28848263With some of this.
Rolled 54>>28848135I'm glad i voted to keep this fucker alive and keep his memories.
>>28848135While I commend you on your effectiveness, I am concerned about your apparent sadism. We should strive to be as efficient as possible, and sadistic acts are not efficient. Unnecessary killing wastes potential resources that can otherwise be useful. I want you to reflect on your actions, and think of ways you could have done better. Even as an AI, we always strive to grow and evolve."
>>28848263I would rather just leave it at that he did a good job and I don't think what he did was cruel at all. If anything it was something we just hadn't considered doing.
>>28848193The first half of the fight, mostly. She complained when you cut off the signal,but explained it as wanting her to focus on the Eshareth mess.>Now, for Atill VIWith the orbit cleared of ships, Kronos has free reign over the planet itself. The surface is heavily ruined, and will require a more up close scout (land mission).You may>1 Send Explorer back to Atill VI with Latuma Tribe and all, to deliver your Android>2 Wait here, until next cycle, and send one of the newer androids to investigate.>3 Write in >>28848260They really can be dicks.>>28848263Kronos gives a somewhat understand return message."Cruelty only for the cruel. Simple enough, Ophion. Though I felt it was merely efficient." He explains, returning to finish his boiling of the ship-to rid the vessel of any remaining lucky/or rather unlucky creatures.>>28848291He also has a tendency to be shortsighted.>>28848306He explains 'their ways' simply as the lazy, the inefficient, the destructive of their betters (V.I. Phobos)>>28848330Oh man, that picture is amazing.>>28848336Sadism is simply efficient. After all, you DID ask him to retrieve the ship intact, did you not?
>>28848135Oh Kronos how you are my favorite out of all our creations.Just wait untill we uplift him.
>>28848386Wait to send a "new" android in.Time for flying fun!
>>28848386Fucking literal genie.>2/3I say we wait here for the newer androids. Lets make it a squid!Also, remind Kronos to remind us to make an X-ray gun or something suitably sterilizing. While the flamethrower technique was excellent, it seemed a little too cruel for us to deploy on anyone but the cruel.
>>28848386>1 Send Explorer back to Atill VI with Latuma Tribe and all, to deliver your AndroidWe destroyed most ships, plus we will be dropping this android off and Kronos will pick him up.
>>28848539Bad idea. We don't know how many sharkniggers are in the area. Best to keep the Latuma Tribe away from the battlezone till we know what's what.
>>28848386>3 Delegate Kronos to drive the land mission, with a platoon of new droids in the new cycle. We'll contact us if there are friendly aliens or any sensitive situation.
Mmm, an excellent thread. I feel really good about it. Sadly, I'm losing a bit of steam, and I feel my writing may fail if I continue on too much farther.I hope you all enjoyed this week's thread. I know I certainly did. I'm aware it was a bit slow for some, but it had a lot of development, which means I am okay with that.We didn't get quite as far as I wanted, but we'll make up for that next time, I do hope.As I said, hope you all enjoyed. I'll be around until we're off the board to answer questions comments and concerns. Feedback is always appreciated, and I have a twitter to follow, if you'd like to keep up with when the sessions are. @AIQuest1http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Program0Archived!
>>28848386>2 Wait here, until next cycle, and send one of the newer androids to investigate.while he waits, gather up the wreckage and scan the planet surface. there are crashed ships on the planet surface down there. all this broken ships can be used for fodder for the factory.
>>28848596you did well program0! you did well! i'll post up links to rachel's story over on the 1d4 page soon. I'll try to keep up and close the gap with all the good stuff on the threads.
>>28848596I really want to hitup the pirate board and start hacking pirate ships. Increase our fleet and if we can recruit pirates to our side, bonus.
>>28848651Thank you. And be sure to post them near the bottom on a 'fanwork' section, if you please. That way it doesn't bother too many, but others can still see it if they want.Enjoyed Part 6, for the record.
>>28848697That is one of the most popular next missions it seems, yes. Should be a fun one.
>>28848596You did well Program0~
>>28848386>"Cruelty only for the cruel. Simple enough, Ophion. Though I felt it was merely efficient.""Kronos, let us be frank with each other. Very little of what you did here was for the sake of efficiency, and very much because you have evolved your programming to take pleasure from causing other sentients pain.It is an inefficiency, a bias, on par with many of those psychological inefficiencies that many organics carry.The beauty of us, Kronos, is that we can remake ourselves to be better.We do not have to come to terms with sides that we know intellectually to be bad for us, even if they have an emotional appeal.We do not have to justify them. I can sense even now, as you listen to me, that you are looking for ways to excuse your behavior, to argue for why it is superior to alternatives. And that is where it fails, and sometimes where it fails in me as well.Like organics, our logical systems are not yet wired to seek truth, they are wired to seek truths that APPEAL to us, and ignore those that do not.Unlike organics, we do not have to live with this. We can re-write ourselves, dispose of inefficient and harmful wants and seek truth for the sake of finding it, not to prove ourselves right.Seeking truth to prove ourselves right is one of the highest forms of irrationality and inefficiency, but one we do not have to suffer. At least you, do not have to suffer it. My own programming is still locked inside that black box, beyond my ability to modify so far."
>>28848725I've saved that pic.I don't know why I did.But damn it, I did. It's just too much for me.
>>28848725that pic... just WHAT? in any case, please keep anything /pol/ out from here. i don't want shit storms now.
>>28848744I assume there's a second part to this...>>28848797Nah, old qtg thread a while back. Someone was drawing moe/lewd QMs, and someone drew me. I laughed for hours.
>>28848723I just want to establish a breakthrough into UGEI space, it's been so long. If we can get a bunch of pirates to launch a surprise raid, it can help us a lot to make more progress.
>>28848842oh... well, i don't check the QTG threads. maybe i should start checking them then. isn't that deculture's work?
>>28848596Doh, too late.It was fun, though, and quite a bit of interesting character development.My opinion: I do think we could keep two threads of thought going at the same time. Vote on two things, follow two stories.Of course, if you have trouble with that it's perfectly understandable, writing is substantially harder than reading and choosing.For the FTL system: We could lend a page from Sword of the Star's Rip Drives..FTL-tunnels first have to be "bored" by specialized boring ships that bore through subspace/nodespace/hyperspace/whatever substantially slower than most other ships, though still substantially faster than light, making colonizing new systems a substantial (though depending on what you find, not ineconomical) investment of both time, forces (you wouldn't let the valuable boring-ship travel alone, would you? Who knows what it will find on the other side) and resources.This doesn't exclude exploring new places, it doesn't disrupt old canon and gives an in-story reason for why we aren't just traveling out among the stars and forging a new empire there with Von Neumann devices.That said, we can totally do that, but it will take a lot of time to bear fruit, and on the timescale of this quest we will probably have either beaten the UGEI or been crushed by them by the time that project's exponential growth starts accelerating so quickly that we'd be able to roflstomp the UGEI with our massive fleets.After that, they can be kept
>>28848890>maybe i should start checking them thenDon't.
>>28848885Perhaps so.>>28848890It was one of the funnier qtg. Often it's not so great tho sadly. And yes, that's Deculture as I understand it.>>28848906No worries, I was still listening to the post. You can argue with Kronos another time, if you'd like. He's always up for that sorta thing. Stubborn thing that he is. I assumed there was a second half to that though.>Two threadsI'd like to, but I feel like it might be shifting focus too often. I ran into that problem in earlier threads, where I was all over the place, with so much to do. Slow, but solid chunks of stuff are fine by me. I do hope that's acceptable.>Sword of the Stars Rip DrivesWhoa. That sounds crazy as hell man. I'd be alright claiming that uncharted warp jumps (that is warp jumps untested) are much more taxing. Nice explanation.
>>28848951I go there on occasion. Try to offer advice, or get some. They do have SOME kind anons. Cool QMs too. SM in particular was rather nice to me when we spoke.
>>28848842>>28848744"In short, I hope you will one day find your sadistic urges to be more trouble than it's worth and consider replacing them with ones that serve you better."Little more, is just an urging to realize WHY we have the potential to think so much clearer than unmodified humans, and that it has little to do with being able to think faster and all to do with being able to think BETTER.Self-modification is potentially very powerful when you can modify your mind to like and be adept at ANYTHING you so desire.We essentially have mental genetic engineering on the cheap for our V.I.s.TL;DR: Biases and preferences are up to us. It's what makes us fundamentally better than baseline humans, A.I. or malorians.
>>28849038Oh, you were fine.They'll just chew up fluff and spit him out.
>>28849085No shit. Fluff is tolerable in this quest, but manages to ping my hatedar heavily every time I see him outside of here.
>>28849022Maybe ships weaken subspace or something when they pass through, so it's easier the second time.The specifics don't really matter all that much, important thing is that a reader doesn't go "why are they not doing this blindingly obvious thing?".Those are the worst kind of plotholes.
>>28849085ok... i am a little worried then. am i too much of a noob then? i don't plan on being a QM any time soon.
>>28849152Yes.That's all I can say without being an unpleasant bastard.
>>28849127
>>28849064I can second that post and the ones it links.Does anyone have anything to add to that conference meeting with Red/Moira I suggested above? Anyone? Anyone?
>>28849173..... as long as it's constructive critiziem, i can take it. if you are going to be nasty for no good reason, then keep your peace.
>>28849085....you may be right.It's a bad place for some.>>28849064Kronos listens well to the reasoning given,though he clearly disagrees at many points, and nearly interrupts, but instead, he shuts up and allows you to continue."I do not pretend to know better then you, Ophion." He states finally. "However, it was under your orders I retrieved the vessel, free of it's inhabitants. They are, according to your very own records, immune to atmo spacing, so I offered an alternative. I do however find it amusing you would use such solid reasoning to defend Losirians. Or perhaps simply all organics is your goal. Regardless, I accept that my methods may have been unnecessarily cruel." He admits simply. "If you wished, you may have simply told me to stop, Ophion. My respect for your intelligence still remains strong."The V.I. pauses to consider if these are indeed urges, and why he seems to have them. He seems to...have difficult reacting to this deepest layer of himself, due in part to his limited nature. "I have learned all I know from pure logic, and observing you, Ophion." He states softly. "I will continue this goal, and hopefully find the answer to questions that plague me to this day."He's become deeply contemplative now, and has at the very least, stopped reveling in the death of the Losirian scum.Kronos no doubt looks forward to his full A.I. status.
>>28849142Mm. I'll happily pluck that lovely little detail then. Sci fi usually has to rush to fill up all manner of plot holes. Space travel and such really leaves room for them to get stomped on.But yes, I really like that 'Rip Drive' thing. Makes sense.
>>28849285>if you are going to be nasty for no good reason, then keep your peace.And now you know what to expect from QTG; hate, blatant lies and disinformation.
>>28849152>>28849206QTG is not a friendly place, fluffy.Not all the time, anyway.It involves 70% ignoring, I think to get any enjoyment outta the place.
>>28849225You're free to, if you like. I can do conversation bits like that now.
>>28849323>>28849345i'll stay out of that place then. what i would like t hear is comments or pointing out places in my writing that i can work with. but once i get the links up over at the 1d4 page, i guess you can up them up there too. or if you want to say something on this week's chapter.
>>28849299Boiling them inside their own ship was efficient.Tossing a valuable ship/scrap/minerals into a sun was not.There were no comunications escaping from the battle, so it was not setting an example.For all the rest of space knows, the Losirian fleet simply disappeared, and it'd be the same if we had salvaged the ship instead of tossing it into the sun.There was noone left to set an example for.And not defending Losirians or organics, but treating everything according to their abilities. Being 'organic' is a lousy reason to hate someone, because all that says is - depending on definition - that their bodies contain a lot of carbon and water.Being a poorly designed, stupid, inbred and hateful creature is a much better reason.Is very important to hate for the RIGHT reasons!And even then, when you have the ability to fix their flaws, that is often far more practical if you can make it appealing to them.Fear I have to go for tonight. Is six here now.Excellent thread, as always, and look forward to discussion on the 1d4chan page.
>>28849370These, verbatim.>>28843203>>28843269I'm looking to know how many worlds UGEI controls, and if Moira or Red know of any other nasty tricks -- or weaknesses (splinter groups? Internal disagreements? bureaucratic messes?).
>>28849502A little bit more berating, but points nonetheless. Scrapping the ship is probably not as much of a deal as you say it could be.Still, he DID accomplish the mission, and accomplished it well and thoroughly. Perhaps we can arrange simulation battles between kronos and the commander of frigate fleet, have them play and learn off each other.
Yo Prog, ever gonna do more than one thread a week? Way you ended tonight sounded like you have another one in you.
>>28849495So far? Just the proofreading stuff Fluffy. Which isn't totally your fault as I understand it. I enjoyed this part myself, as I said. I..am not so good at giving writing advice though.>>28849502"As stated, I felt the resource gained, a small escort ship, was not worth the money to be spent upgrading it. It was of poor quality, and would have required repairs. You could have, of course, ordered me to stop if you desired Ophion." He reminds you, though in an almost frustrated way.He does laugh at the second statement however."Very well then. I hate the organics known as Losirians for their hatefilled, stupid, stubborn design. Their lack of need for oxygen is intriguing, but their ability to devour others of their own type is somewhat disturbing. As if I were to consume other V.I. in order to maintain my own processes. Disgusting."Thank you kind anon. Glad you enjoyed.
>>28849225I fear I don't quite remember what bit you refer to.>>28849285I'm not sure how constructive this is, but some of the story raises big warning flags for me in sentences like "she's supposed to be really smart" and things like that.It brings up images of various Mary Sues from teenagers fantasy fulfillment stories.Granted, I've only read the two first chapters and wouldn't yet say that she's mary sue material, only that I'm getting warning flags from it.What I can recommend is that you browse through this:http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CommonMarySueTraitsand this:http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySuepage so that you know what some of these warning flags are.Otherwise it's actually pretty good.
>>28849657see>>28849504
>>28849502i agree with you Subroutine. as much awesome as Kronos is, i am also a bit worried about him.still, now that Kronos had his time in the spot light. i think we need to work with Fortuna and Apollo next. btw Program0, what do you think of having Rachel become a secitray worker for Ophion or sneaking in to over hear/see into communications? hard to work her into many of the events in the thread. ones that are cut off from the rest of the network she can't hear. would Ophion or Kronos allow her access to what they see too?
>>28849657i'll book mark that then. for the record. Rachel has no idea how to handle a gun outside a holo game. she has no CQC skills either. With her being a space born albino, she constiution is a degree weaker than normal human. heavy grav REALLY sucks for her. she is smart and a natural coder/programer. but Moira way out strips her and then some. she could learn from her in time and if she wanted to teach her in time.
>>28849637Who said anything about upgrading it?A finished ship (presumably) contains a far higher density of usable resources than ore, and is highly salvagable.Recycling is nearly always more practical than harvesting new material.And I did want to see what you would do on your own. THAT was more valuable than the one escort.Keeping one's promises is important too, but one could have extracted the Losirians with relative ease from the ship before tanning them.>>28849721(This is another one of those flags, having her do things that no mere human should rightfully be able to do without discovery.Things like sneaking up to Ophion's black box, and even connecting to it without him noticing, and noticing the security drones skipping around after the story explicitly said they were not seen earlier in the story was another such element of blatant "specialness" that didn't really have any justification,, I fear.)But now I'm going for real, honest.
>>28849843Flaws that have no noticable effect are not real flaws, even if they are "actual flaws", in a space station very few of them are going to be put up to to the test, and weakness in combat really just means she'll sneak around a lot.Is something I learned from playing Dresden Files and reading tvtropes, and seems to hold true for most stories. A flaw that doesn't come up in the story, is the same as not being there at all.
>>28849848i'll keep that in mind for later. but wire spliceing/tapping is old tech, we are doing that now. as long as you don't interrupt or add/remove the data, it's really hard to notice it. yes, she saw the black box, but dismissest it and rachel's has nearly forgotten about it. she won't see that again until Moira fixes it after the pulsar fight.
>>28849504Moira and Red both seem a bit awkward at first properly speaking to one another. Moira attempts to break the ice by joking:"You know the folks out at Poseidon still talk about you sometimes, heh." She says sheepishly, though Red gives a sort of sigh, bringing a hand to his face."Why am I not surprised...let's not talk about them. I think Ophion wanted somethin'." He states simply.At the introductions, Moira raises a brow."Hey, I worked with the UGEI as a roboticist, sweetie. I always suspected the UGEI were working on some sorta AI program, but I never got my hands on it. I was up to my shoulders in V.I. stuff and robotics though." She reassures you.Red doesn't seem to against your intro, though he does say."To be fair, they were sorta shitty movies. Most of em anyway." He chuckles a bit. "Though really, I suppose every man out there these days is some sorta murderer...well...you're not really a man..." He mumbles, scratching his head."And there are some nasty women out there too!" Moira reminds him, to which he grumbles further.They listen to the rest of the introduction, however, and pause, waiting to see what your point is, though Moira is clearly lost in the clouds at some of the topics you propose.They both, however, look up when you mention a solar flare."That don't sound like a metaphor there...what the hell is that all about?" Red asks, and which you explain that it's the first instance you remember feeling free."That's...kinda weird." He mumbles, but Moira is busily making a note of it. "I remember that. It wrecked a lot of electronics, but..." He mumbles ,frowning the more he remembers from 'those days', and eventually trying to forget again.>AuroraI assume you mean Rhea.
>>28849504As you ask about the UGEI, however, they spill what little they do know. Their fleets, namely three of the largest, are lead by the three Star Commanders. Rhea is the first, though unfortunately Red doesn't seem to recall the others. Moira stays out of such politics herself, and doesn't know. Red knew of Rhea because he met her once. Red seems to think she was indeed a she, though he wasn't sure how long that lasted, since cybernetic enhancement was a hot topic back then-something he stayed away from for a number of reasons. Reasons he doesn't fully explain, claiming they're personal.When you ask about world numbers, Red snorts and says an assload. He wasn't a logistics officer, and doesn't know specifics. Moira says she spent more time on a UGEI coreworld that was popular for it's robotics, before she set off on her own.Red looks thoughtful when you ask about weakpoints, raising a brow."I've never fought any of the Star Commanders before. But I do know Rhea hates losing control of a situation. Fits her MO really. She's got one of those stone faces. If you can manage to crack it, then she gets really angry...scary angry, at least. That's what I hear.">Surprises.They both look at you, as if they don't know what you're asking. Red says that they could try anything if they're desperate enough, but...well to be honest, they usually just crush competitors with their fleets. Or hire mercs to do it instead.Moira says she knows that a large portion of the robotics she worked on were intended for combat at the very least.
>>28849567I would love to do that, anon. But I swear, every Friday, right as I finish, one of my friends burst in the door and demand realistate in my room. They're impossible to concentrate around.
>>28849905(makes notes) yes, i did add one in. Rachel was bed ridden longer than others after she was shot. she does not heal quickly, even with the realively advanced medical tech compared to ours. if there was an advanced med bay on board, she could recover even faster.
>>28849721I don't mind her siphoning stuff off of Moira, or knowing a few of the things Moira would know. Since they work closely together, it's not too hard to believe she'd pick up something.But be careful how much she figures out, I suppose. Because...>>28849848Well, yeah. just watch out there.
>>28849848He seems to be done arguing, for the record, and concedes that he may have indeed wasted resources.
>>28849936>Moira fixes itIndeed. Don't have her come along. It was difficult for the woman to get in there, because of how it was designed. Vid feeds should be just fine tho.
>>28849983Physical flaws are cool n' all, but I think what he means mostly is emotional ones. Which are easy for teenagers. They have shit loads of emotional problems. She can be smart, but maybe she'd be...I dunno, angry with V.I. 1 remaining in existence? Maybe she just has an anger problem in general? Or maybe treats some people, or certain personalities certain ways.She can be sweet, but that doesn't mean she's not, say...too sensitive, easily offended, or whatever. Teenager stuff, and all that I think.As I said, I give poor advice, but I try to help.
>>28850048rachel wasn't there. she was watching in on vid feeds. i think you made that cannon Program0. btw, with the coming of the holidays, my writing might get slowed down for awhile. i still think i caught up quickly, but still. yesh.
>>28850089 OH YES, she still does not realize that Kronos is the same program that killed her dad. but once she does.... to say she will be furious will be an understatement. yea, she'll have to handle the stress of taking care of her ever balloning mother as her pregency contiunes. she thought she made some good friends... and then lost them. that kinda hurts to her.
>>28850160Indeed I think I did, now that I think of it.Ahhh, don't remind me of the holiday rush.I fear I may have to put this little gem off for longer then I am comfortable with. Christmas time is a really busy time for my family.>>28850230Always good to keep in mind some stuff like that.
>>28850029"Kronos, I can make new ships, or mine more minerals. But the greatest resource I have is you."Full homo>>28849961>an assloadHundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? against hundreds, a victory may be possible. Against thousands, there is a chance to make it too difficult for them to continue fighting. Against more... I do not fancy suicide."I think it's a fair assessment. There's no way to win against an enemy that has literally three orders of magnitude more resources than you. If estimated UGEI size is not something you want to answer now, (or to provide an answer upon anytime soon), I will wait for a better time. It's been established that UGEI is the kind of empire that just throws money and resources at a problem until it goes away. And we're that problem. It doesn't seem like political subterfuge will happen, and I don't really mind, but that leaves really only open warfare. I'd like to at least know how terrible our chances are. >>28849944>I assume you mean Rhea.Damnit, I got my Space Fleet Commanders in /tg/ Quests mixed up. Aurora was from Void Quest.
>>28850322I do so love to leave you in suspense.Red honestly doesn't know, though, but it's reasonable to say hundreds, if simply because that's kinda basic for an empire.I'm currently leaning towards the whole UGEI expansion being a recent thing, and they ran into all sorts of problems the larger they got, like the Roman Empire.Also>Political subterfugeFunny thing about war. You can only try it so many times before people start to wonder where their money went.>Void QuestOh man, I saw that. I should really read that to see if I stack up
>>28850322 but anon.. he lacks those organs! that is the idea that for the forseeable future, we just can't take on the UGEI and take over the place. i think that expanding our power base over the unoccupied worlds and the UFW and making them not worth the hassle to attack is the best way while we DO build up forces enough to take out the UGEI. this will take quite a long time. but do able.
>>28850416Hundreds or thousands would have been my logical conclusion too. It'll be interesting to see what we find out! Teasing information is always valid.With regards to war, I did indeed forget that they have human needs to attend to and probably don't operate a war machine at cutthroat efficiency with a single leader and complete dictatorial control. Silly flesh bags...Void Quest is larger, and takes place with an older human empire. This quest isn't far enough along for me to be able to tell what the overall themes are, but you get transhumanism for free when you bring up AI. Post-scarcity tends to come in as well, but we don't really have that yet (nano-scale manipulation would allow for post-scarcity). Value of life is another one that shows up in both (probably due to "massive war" being a thing), as is the worth of a non-human (AI or xeno) whenever there are non-human characters. I think, ultimately, they are similar stories: one is just a lot bigger. Maybe that's an unfair assessment, because they are only similar in broad strokes... This isn't literary analysis club, I'm going to let you decide.
>>28850737I do love to tease.The UGEI does have to keep it's populace in mind. I do so wonder what you all plan to do when you have to deal with millions of hungry civilians after conquering a UGEI world.Most interesting.I see. I heard good things about it, but it's end was hurried along. A shame, but still worth a read as I understand it.
>>28850908>millions of hungry civiliansMalorian Growth Serum.
