>>30411564
>Last time on Indiana Ghost Quest:
You got some clothes and cleared the plants off of your wraith. Afterwards, you had a nice dinner with Doctor Fringers where you talked about several topics, and she showed you to your new house. Left alone there, you started working on getting through your ghost conditioning, and had a flashback to the ghost academy.


You wake up from screaming close by. Instinctively you jump up from your bed and grab your mask. You were sleeping with your suit on, so you’re ready to go. At the door, you quickly unlock it and throw it open, already trying to locate the source of the scream. Gunfire erupts, and you hear a loud roar. Not too hard to find now. You quickly climb up to a roof and dash over to where the fighting is going on, securing your mask in place on the way there.

Arriving at the eastern wall, not too far from the gate you entered through, you quickly scan the situation. The wall is breached, leaving a gap of roughly two meters wide. To the side, there’s two people in CMC’s trying to shoot at a very large and dark feline, almost invisible in this light. More people are arriving now, most of them armed in some way, though some of them only have machetes or small handguns. The house closest to the gap lies in rubble, and you hear at least two voices coming from the ruin. Children, you think.

>How do you proceed?
>Psi points: 4/4
>Activate cloak Y/N?

>1. Check on the children, see if they’re seriously hurt or trapped under the rubble.
>2. Attack the Stalker from where you are. You’ve got a fairly good overlook from the roof right now which should provide you with some advantage.
>3. Cut off the Stalker’s escape route, go into the gap and attack it from there. If you manage to hold it off it might try to smash another wall, but if you can deal enough damage it might not have the strength.
>4. Write in.

>>30411579

> Can we sense if the trapped children are in immediate danger?

> If we can, and they are not, try and knock the stalker out with mind bullets

> If we can and they are, or we can't asses their state, check on them first.

>>30411631
You can sense they're panicking, but you can't really tell what their exact situation is. You could actually enter their mind and see through their eyes for a moment but that'll take more time than just rushing over there and checking it out yourself.

>>30411631

On second thought, I'm not sure if helping the kids would be a ghost's first priority, so I guess alternatively we could focus on the beast first and only look for the children as an afterthought.

>>30411675

Oh, and naturally do all of this with cloak active.

>>30411675
>>30411688

So, attacking from where you are, with cloak.

>Writing.

>Might have to start the threads a bit later in the future. Might not get as much running time then but at least there'll be more than one person at the start.

>>30411733
Oh derp, not writing just yet.

>How do you attack?
>Psi points after cloak: 3/4

>1. Mind Shock (moderate damage, stun for 2 turns, dangerous to use against complex minds.)
>2. Kinetic Wave (specify 1, 2 or 3 psi points for force behind it.)
>3. Pistol
>4. Knife
>5. Write in strategy

>>30411757

Might as well try to stun it for the good doctor.

Hmm, gotta go eat now, earlier than expected.

I'll be back in 15-20 minutes and I'll start writing then.

>>30411855

no rush

>>30411798
Ok, back, writing.

>>30411921
I always eat this fast. I'm not specifically rushing for the quest.

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You activate your suit’s cloak as you mentally go over your options. Kinetic Wave here might cause some collateral damage, but if you use your mind shock you might be able to capture the thing alive for Doctor Fringers.

You open your mind, gathering psychic energy as you do, and look for the psychic signature of the Stalker. It’s easily distinguishable between all the human minds, but as you brush slightly against it, it reacts. In a swift movement it turns around to you and dashes forward, seemingly knowing your location despite your cloak.

You have little time before it gets in range to pounce on you, but your attack is ready and locked on.

>Psi points: 2/4
>Roll me d20! best of first three rolls.

Rolled 4

>>30412290

Mind over matter, mind over matter!

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>>30412411

Well, so much for first impression

>>30412432
Feel free to roll again, I need all three dice. Unless you want me to go with the 4 of course...

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Rolled 20

>>30412462

m'kay

>>30412609
Welp, first crit of the quest. I'll start writing since unless the next roll is a 1 it won't matter what the result is

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Rolled 8

>>30412733

Was hoping another player would chance by

The beast is rapidly closing in on you, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Your mind takes a hold of the Stalker’s, and you ram all the psychic energy you gather into its surprisingly sturdy defences. It doesn’t matter though, as they are blasted away, your psychic attack runs free into the beasts mind. The energy ripping and tearing at whatever it encounters.

You blink, and less than a second has passed. All the momentum the beast had goes to waste as it trips and slides a few metres until it crashes against the wall of the building you’re standing on. You can hear its heavy breathing, it’s definitely still alive, and it should be down for at least a dozen seconds or so. With the force you let loose in its brain you might be inclined to up that to about half a minute or so.

The townsfolk are coming your way though, and someone is manning a searchlight on top of the gate. They don’t seem all that intent on keeping it alive, but maybe you could try to convince them to haul it to doctor Fringers.

>Psi points: 3/4
>Cloak duration: 2 more turns before it needs refreshing.
> Stun duration: approximately 30 seconds. You can keep it stunned by keeping up the psychic pressure if you stick close enough.

>1. Jump down, decloak, try to convince the townsfolk to let it live and bring it to doctor Fringers. Your appearance might startle them, but if you can get it to Lisa she can back you up.
>2. Stay cloaked, try to convince the townsfolk to let it live and bring it to doctor Fringers. They might be scared by your disembodied voice though and panic.
>3. Let them kill the Stalker.
>4. Write in.


>>30412882
Yeah, people start popping in around this hour if I'm not mistaken. I think I might just start the quest at 8 CET next time.

>>30413036

Throw voice: "It's out cold, we should bring this to tha doctor fer examinations, she mentioned it would help if she could study them"

>>30413198

Also whichever the outcome, go take a look at those kids afterwards.

>>30413230
Well, you'll have to stay close to the Stalker if you want to keep it under. Like, 20 metres close. By the time you drop it off someone else will have seen to them.

You can psychically check on them to know their general status though. I'll add that in the next update I guess.

>>30413316

Do it please. Maybe make the angry villagers aware of those as well.

as in "hey I think I heard some kids when we passed that pile o'rubble"

>>30413354
Gonna wait 5 more minutes to see if anyone else wants to pitch in, then I'll start writing.

You’d prefer not to reveal yourself in this suit before you make some modifications, so you decide to throw your voice. It’s a bit trickier than most psychic powers, but you’ve done it before.

“Wait, don’t kill it. Dah doctah sed she could use one of ‘em alive!”

Before anyone else can interrupt, you do a different voice, coming from further back in the group. “Yeah, she did! Might help us fight them better if she got a look at it!”

The mob comes to a halt in front of the beast. The mood seems to be mixed. You take the opportunity to read the name of the man in a CMC at the front of the group, clearly the one in charge.

“Come on Ethan, keep this one alive and the doctor might find stuff that could prevent the next attacks.”

That seemed to have turned the crowd, and more, actual people are starting to shout about bringing it to the doctor. You quickly check on the Stalker’s mind and push some more energy into it to prevent it from recovering. Some people have gone off to get some vehicles to tow it with, and you remember the sound of the panicked children. Time for some more voice throwing…

“There were children in that house! I heard them! Did someone check on them?”

It’s the CMC-clad Ethan that responds, his voice a booming baritone. “Yeah, Paul went to check on them as soon as the thing dashed off. He just reported in, they should be fine.”

After a few more moments, with you keeping the Stalker unconscious, a van arrives, and they tie ropes around the beast. With the van and several people pushing the massive beast, it takes a few minutes to haul it to the doctor’s house, who by then is awake and treating several wounded people.

“Doc, look at what we caught!” Ethan seems quick to steal your glory. You’ll put that right once things calm down. You stay on the rooftops and most of your focus goes into hammering on the creature’s mind, but you catch most of the conversation down below. Most of it is Ethan bragging that he took it down with a well aimed shot, which set it running and it passed out before it got anywhere. The doctor seems less convinced after a quick check of the body which is missing any entry wounds large enough to have such an effect, but she doesn’t openly object.

Suddenly, you feel tugging at your mind. You quickly focus all your attention on the Stalker again, as its mental barriers are reforming. Try as you might, it seems they’ve become stronger than before, and you won’t be able to keep it under for more than another minute. You have to do something, and fast.

>Psi points: 3/4
>Keeping the creature stunned is becoming harder than before and requires a psi point every turn.

>1. Psychically tell Lisa that you’re keeping it asleep but that it won’t hold much longer, she’s bound to have some medicine or other to sedate it.
>2. Jump down while still cloaked and whisper the same message in her ear.
>3. Uncloak and tell her openly.
>4. Throw your voice so it seems like someone in the crowd is shouting about it waking up.
>5. Write in.


>If no other people show up now I might call it quits here.

>>30413952

Well it worked before.
>4.

"hey, did that thing move? It might be coming to!"

>>30413952
>1. Psychically tell Lisa that you’re keeping it asleep but that it won’t hold much longer, she’s bound to have some medicine or other to sedate it.

>>30414095
>>30414098
Hmm, can't really combine the two or I would. If there's no tie breaker in 5 minutes I'll roll for it.

Rolled 1

>>30414229
Rolling

1: >>30414095

2: >>30414098

>>30414339
Ok, writing.

Throwing your voice worked before, you figure it’s your best option if you don’t want to startle anyone.

“Hey, did that thing move? It might be coming to!"

The doctor quickly rushes to the stalker, pressing a little device against its throat. You spot a confused look on her face before she recovers and takes control of the situation.

“Clear back people, it’s waking up. Bart, you know the lab, get me the big bag under the dissection table.” She doesn’t even look to see if the man she shouted at complies and runs into her house. A few seconds later, she comes back with a syringe full of yellow liquid. She quickly presses it into the stalker’s neck, and a few seconds later you feel the stalker’s psychic resistance weakening. It’s not giving up, but then Bart returns with Lisa’s bag. She quickly takes it over and rummages through it. She takes some time tapping on the little device she used earlier, prepares a new syringe and jams it into the creature’s neck again.

It takes a bit longer now, but a few minutes later, the creature is completely unconscious and you can let go of its mind. At this point, lisa has taken control of the situation entirely and is ordering people around. Most people are returning to their homes, and Lisa herself is giving some final instructions on what to do with it. After this, she loudly declares that it’s under control and that everyone can go home now. A bit too loudly, and she’s glancing around a bit. She probably realised you have something to do with it.

>1. Go back to sleep.
>2. Stay up a bit longer, maybe try to catch Lisa before she goes to bed and talk to her.
>3. Stay up a bit longer, keep watch over the Stalker just to be sure.
>4. Write in.

>>30414805

"Do attacks like this happen often? It tore a hole in the wall..."

>>30414912

(after villagers leave and we decloak)

>>30414912

Seconding this.

>>30414805
Wait until everyone else is gone, de-cloak and then reveal yourself to her. Tell her you incapacitated it, but do not tell her how.

Receive pay.

>>30415038

isn't our pay the lodging?

>>30415038
>>30415012
>>30414912

Ok, writing.

>>30415064
She said the lodging was included in it, but she didn't specify what else you'd get.

You decide to wait a while longer until everyone’s gone. The stalker is towed to the side of the wall where the villagers are already bringing together materials to make a cage of some sort. You decloak, jump down from the roof and knock at the doctor’s door.

“Come in, it’s unlocked.”

You enter and find her sitting on her couch fiddling with the little device she used earlier. When you close the door behind you, she looks up to you. For the first time since you met her, you can’t really read her face.

“I was expecting you… I take it you had to do something with that?”

“Yeah, I took it out, but I thought it was best to get it to you asap. It wouldn’t stay under for long.”

Suddenly she explodes. “What the hell did you do to that thing? It was conscious the whole time, but it couldn’t do anything! It was like it was paralysed or something. Just what ARE you?” She seems frightened now. She doesn’t know about your psychic powers, and every time you meet her you seem to be capable of more and more amazing feats.

She seems on the verge of breaking down, and you get the feeling her trust in you is at a low.

>1. Come clear, tell her about your psychic powers.
>2. Tell her it was a powerful neurotoxin you have. She will run tests on the creature though and has already done some scans earlier with that device so sooner or later she’ll find out it’s not true.
>3. Evade the questions, gather your (lack of) social skills as best as you can and try to comfort her. You might not exactly be the person she’d want to do this though.
>4. Leave without saying anything.
>5. Write in.

>>30414912
Didn't really find a place to put it here, will put it in if the conversation goes on.

>>30415396
>>1. Come clear, tell her about your psychic powers.
(take off mask and mind tell her this way she can see our lips not moving

>>30415396

"Just some fighting techniques I've been trained with in service."

>>30415396
3.
Just because we're taking jobs from people in this colony does not mean we owe them information about our capabilities.

If the information becomes relevant, say because the remnant of the confederacy sends in ghosts for some reason or protoss come to this planet, then we can tell a little bit about psionics.

>>30415510
>>30415558

Ok, seems like Mr Vague and mysterious won.

“It’s some fighting techniques I've been trained with in service.”

You leave it at that. It’d be best not to burden these people with knowledge of your psychic powers. If anyone came looking and people knew it’d be a big flashing sign saying a Ghost was here, and that would be equally bad for them as for you. Especially with how she seems to broadcasting her thoughts.

As to the doctor, you’re not sure what to do. You’re awkwardly standing slightly to her side while she sits on the sofa, confusion and a bit of fear rolling off of her. She’s clearly not sure what to make of it all, but from what you pick up from her mind broadcasting her surface thoughts, the trust that was slowly building between the two of you took a serious hit.

“So, do attacks like these happen often?” You try to steer into a different topic. Might get her mind off of it a bit. It takes some time before she gathers herself and replies.

“Umm, I guess. It’s the second since we rebuilt the wall ten days ago.”

“Rebuilt? Was it destroyed before?”

“No, it was just chest high and a lot thinner then. Before there were attacks almost every night after Haverdam came back from his expedition. At least for this wall they take some time before they break through.” She seems to have calmed down a bit.

“It’s… late though. I should get back to bed, I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.” She’s back to avoiding looking into your face now.

>1. Stay a bit longer and try to talk to her about something (specify what)
>2. “Ok Lisa, goodnight.” And leave.
>3. “Ok doctor, goodnight.” And leave.
>4. Write in.

If you leave:
>A. Go back to bed. The decrypting of those files should be done by the time you wake up.
>B. Cloak and go check on the Stalker and the cage the people are building now.
>C. Write in.

>>30416050
3. "Goodnight, doctor."

A. Go back to bed. The decrypting of those files should be done by the time you wake up.

>>30416097
Writing.

“Ok, goodnight doctor.”

With that, you leave and make your way back to your house, making sure not to be seen. You quickly remove your helmet and go back to sleep. For a moment, you worry about the doctor. She seemed a lot more withdrawn towards you again, but you know it wasn’t worth telling her. The less people know about you and what you are- Were… The better.

You adjutant wakes you up the following morning. You quickly put on your mask to check the message it’s trying to tell you.
*Decryption complete, gamma 4*

Excellent.

>1. Check out the files now.
>2. Take care of your suit modifications first.
>3. Go check up on the wraith and get it to that spaceport doctor Fringers told you about first.
>4. Write in.

>>30416588
Check them files!

>>30416588

Let's read this stuff before breakfast.

>>30416588
Check 'em dubs- I MEAN FILES.

>The advantages of pre-writing stuff you're sure of will come up...

* Ghost designation: Gamma 4 *
* Real name: <redacted> *
* Date of birth: <redacted> *
* Place of birth: <redacted> *
* Handler: Col. Peter Davidson *
* Psi rating: 4 *
* Estimated Psi rating without conditioning: <redacted> *
* Specialisation: Psi ops *
* Currently stationed on: Tarsonis *
* Combat assessment: Gamma 4 prefers its powerful psionics in combat to quickly gain an edge over its opponents, and employing its sidearm to keep the pressure on while it prepares other psionic attacks. What it lacks in finesse it makes up for in raw power. *
* Combat rating: B+ *
* Training academy: <redacted> *
* Mission count: 203 since <redacted> *
* Successful mission count: 186 *
* Mission rating: 91%, A *
* Physical assessment: <redacted> *
* Implants: <redacted> *
* Handler notes: Gamma 4 is inventive enough to turn desperate missions into successes, and generally plays it smart. He is suited for both assassination and open warfare missions. I’m worried about <redacted> though. *

That’s just the first page. You quickly check through most of the detailed pages, but everything that seems to have a bit of worth to you is redacted. That isn’t right. That was the mainframe, THE mainframe where the ghost personal data was stored. That door you went through was supposed to be restricted to specific personnel and generals. Anyone in there had high enough clearance to read anything uncensored. You have no idea what to think of the whole thing. You’re about to give up when something catches your eye.

“Mind wipe history. Hmm…” You’re fairly sure that the last mind wipe you had was about two years ago, but when you open the file your eyes widen. Every month. Every single month you had a mind wipe, with as reason always that blasted “<redacted>”.

>>30416921

You try to recount the days you went through, the entirety of the last month. You get up to about twenty-six days before things start to get a bit hazy. And not just “it’s been a while, it’s hard to remember” hay. It feels… artificial. The strange thing is, you do remember things from before. Lots of things. You remember at least a dozen missions you went on before all that, and if you made some effort, you could easily get to thirty.

It has to do with all those <redacted>’s most likely, but what, you wouldn’t know. It all needs some time to sink in, so you quietly have breakfast from the food you had left over from yesterday noon.

>1. Get the wraith to safety now, the longer you wait the more work you’ll have with the vines again.
>2. Best start those modifications first. If you’re going to land in a public spaceport you best look like an exotic hunter of some sorts instead of a spec ops soldier.
>3. Write in.

>>30416950

>Get the modifications done first

>>30416950
Modifications! Did we pick up a more common weapon at some point, something that wouldn't out us as a ghost?

By the way, how long until that archaelogical expedition we sign onto takes place?

>>30417097
No common weapon yet, you've been busy.
Expedition is tomorrow morning.

Writing.

>>30417173
Internet ate a sentence. Was meant to add "You can get a gun while going out for the modifications too, I'll put that in there."

Oh, cannibalise the Labourer's working clothes you bought earlier to make the hunting outfit, or leave it as is and buy new supplies?

>>30417392
Buy new.

>You have 1075 credits.

You look down at your ghost suit for a second. All white, several grey militaristic looking belts. You best change that into something that screams less “Military spec ops” and more “exotic hunter”. You quickly check the adjutant. It doesn’t actually have the blueprints for the suit, but after some prying you manage to find out a bit about which pieces are non-functional in its workings. After a bit more planning you decide it’s time to go get the supplies, and perhaps a gun to go with it. Perhaps a hunting rifle of sorts? Anything you get will be weaker than your hand cannon most likely, but it’ll blend in a lot better.

You cloak and and make your way to the marketplace you bought your labourer clothing set in earlier. You could have used those to make most of the modifications, but you’d rather keep them intact. They might still be useful.
Quickly sorting through all the clothes and pieces of cloth, belts and pouches and much more, you finally manage to gather pretty much everything you need. A few paints to get a nice camo pattern and you’re done. All in all it cost about as much as the worker clothing itself, but you’ll look a lot more convincing once it’s finished.

>You now have 965 credits.

Now to another issue you’ve been thinking about for the past few days. You only have your handcannon with limited ammo, so you’d rather also have something more “casual”, something that blends in easily with the kind of weapons they have here and for which ammo won’t be an issue. A bit more looking around yields a single stall at the edge of the marketplace selling guns. After this night’s stalker attack, it seems to be doing good business.

>>30417967

“Come here, come here, guns for sale, only just got a new shipment from Vale!” A quick mindscan reveals that Vale is the closest town to this one, to the south in the more mountainous region. It’s several days marching, seeing how with the vegetation it’s impossible to keep roads clear.

>The gun choices:

>Hunting rifle: 150 credits. Meant for medium to long range, but doesn’t perform worse in closer ranges. Ammo is 5 credits for a single clip of 8 bullets. Can be bought with our without scope.

>Revolver: 80 credits. Short to medium range weapon. It has a lot of stopping power but the further the target is the weaker it gets. 6 bullets fit into the chamber at once. 3 credits for 6 bullets. Quick loader included.

>submachinegun: 120 credits. Optimal at medium range. Bullets are individually not too powerful, the thing isn’t too accurate but it sprays bullets like no other. clip of 40 bullets costs 10 credits, and lasts about a second of continuous fire. Careful bursts are the key to this weapon.

>Semi-auto pistol: 75 credits. Short to medium range. Not as powerful as the revolver, but more reliable. It’s a fairly standard issue commonly found everywhere. 12 bullet clip for 5 credits.

>1. Hunting Rifle.
>2. Revolver.
>3. Submachinegun.
>4. Semi-auto.
>5. Combination of above (write in).

Also, Ammo, how many extra sets (clips) do you buy? The gun comes fully loaded.

>You have 965 credits.

>>30417994

Scoped rifle to sling on our back and a revolver to place at the hip. And a cowboy hat for good measure. Four clips for both weapons each.

>>30418160

Maybe leave the rifle out if we are feeling cheap.

>>30418160
Styling Cowboy Hat (fully capitalised of course) is already included in the earlier customisation stuff.

>>30418240
>Styling
Eugh, Stylish.

What is it with me and typos nowadays....

>>30418183
>>30418160
So, scoped rifle or not?

>>30418343

How well versed are we in long weapons? Might take some practice until it's of any good to us.

>>30418373
You should be able to handle any weapon you get your hands on aside from really exotic or suit-integrated ones. At longer ranges you normally get higher penalties but the hunting rifle being made for that negates those mostly. Training will help but the improvement is more something over a few weeks rather than just practicing for an hour and ding!

tl;dr
You might not actually be a crackshot, but you'll do fine with it. Practicing for a few weeks will make you even better.

We'll take the rifle then?

>>30418672
yes

>>30418672

Take it.

>>30418726
>>30418730
ok, writing.

>>30411564
Maybe use Google doc instead of Pastebin, Supervisor?

>>30418853
I asked around in the QTG now and I found the problem. I was using an account with my normal online nick but I'd rather not use that for the quest stuff so I posted as guest, which apparently prevents it from being saved under the same URL. I'll make a new account tomorrow and set things straight.
Thanks for the suggestion though.

>>30418889
No worries, Supervisor.

>>30417994
We'll need something for medium or short range, most likely, although having a Hunting Rifle could come in handy as well.

>Hunting Rifle + Revolver

>You have 690 credits.

You quickly settle on a revolver and a scoped hunting rifle, with 4 sets of extra ammo for both. And for 13 extra credits, a machete for good measure. It’ll help a lot with clearing the vines. Utilising your cloak and fast movement, you swap the weapons with the money, and quickly make your way back to your house.

Once there, you strip out of your suit and get to work. Double checking with the adjutant on every modification, the work is slow, but you make sure you don’t accidentally damage some of the suit’s functionality. You can’t entirely remove the mask or you’d miss out on a lot of things, but you remove the mouthpiece and clear away most of the fabric around the mouth. You do make sure that you can still use the mouthpiece in case of gas attacks or something, but you figure it’s best for people to at least see your mouth if they can’t see your eyes. You replace your military grade belt with an old fashioned leather one, and make several more modifications to remove the military look. Finally, you paint most of what’s still white into light brown colours or cammo patterns.

The end result even amazes yourself. Were it not for the mutliple green-lenzed scopes, you would hardly be able to tell it used to be a ghost suit. The cowboy hat just seals the deal.
>pic related, imagine something of that style, but more high-tech and with ghost goggles.

It’s almost noon now, and you still have some things to do.

>1. Go grab something to eat. Make your first public appearance.
>2. Go grab something to eat but stay cloaked. You’ll pretend to only just arrive when you fly in with the wraith.
>3. Stealthily go to the wraith and fly it to the spaceport. Best not keep it waiting with that vegetation out there.
>4. Write in.

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>>30419127
>And I forget the pic of course.

>>30419127
>Go grab something like energy bars and the such to eat while you stealthily go to the Wraith and fly it to the spaceport.

>>30419127
3

Those vines work quickly, we can grab a bite to eat when we get back.

Shouldn't we also try to repair things with Lisa? Maybe subtly find a way to teach her some techniques to make sure she doesn't get in trouble, in case someone comes looking for us?

>>30419207

This sounds good.

Maybe check in with the Doctor to see how she's doing and/or if she found something interesting about her new pet.

>>30419230
I wouldn't really be able to think up of a way you teach her to keep her mind closed without revealing you've at least got some knowledge yourself. And she's proven before that she's smart. She'll put two and two together.

>>30419127
2

>>30419207
>>30419280
Writing for quickly grabbing snacks for on the way to the wraith.

You want to get to the wraith as quickly as you can, you took a lot more time with that suit than you had thought. Still, the food stalls are on the way, so you you quickly grab some energy bars and a meat pie while cloaked. Hardly any time lost really. Also, one advantage of your newly modded suit that you quickly find out is that you can eat while walking a lot easier.

As you arrive at the wraith, you find that the vegetation did its best effort to overgrow your ship again, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was before. Thanks to your extra effort the day before, it only covers about half of the lower wing, and the bags you stretched over the landing gear prevented the worst from growing into it. The machete makes quick work of most of the vines, and what little has gotten into the landing gear is easily torn out with just your psychic abilities. All in all, it only takes about half an hour, as you don’t need to weed out the whole clearing now either. You hop into the wraith and start its engines.

>1. Best to fly out of the atmosphere as stealthy as you can without an actual stealth generator and then make your approach to the spaceport as if you just arrived. This’ll prevent anyone from knowing you were here before, but it’ll take a lot more time and some more fuel.
>2. Fly up to cloud level while staying undetected and then descend to the spaceport. It’ll save you some money and fuel but they might be able to tell you didn’t come from orbit if they catch you on radar fast enough.
>3. Just fly over to the spaceport from where you are. It’ll save you time and fuel, but they’ll know you were on the planet before and what direction you came from.
>4. Write in.

>>30419576
>1. Best to fly out of the atmosphere as stealthy as you can without an actual stealth generator and then make your approach to the spaceport as if you just arrived. This’ll prevent anyone from knowing you were here before, but it’ll take a lot more time and some more fuel.

Im back, like the new look

>>30419613
I must say, it's not at all what I expected to happen when I started running this quest. It's half of the fun in running one though.

>>30419679
yea it is, kinda of glad my exotic hunter idea got off the ground. what have i missed?

>>30419576

>1. Go all the way.

Although I'd be surprised if the rumor mills did not arrive at the truth before our time here is through. Still, for now, let's keep up appearances.

>>30419715
You kind of screwed up with Lisa in order to protect her, but you got her a live specimen of Stalker (it was the method how Artemis kept it unconscious that freaked her out and he refused to explain). You read through your files to find an awful lot of <redacted>' that shouldn't have been there, and found out you used to get mind-wiped every month despite. Despite that, you've got memories going back for at least two years and more. Then you got a nice new suit, a hunting rifle, a revolver and a machete. That's most of it. Today has been going fairly slow.

>>30419819
Fun so is it bad i think we should try to explain later, i know its kinda late for my input but i figure we should be somewhat nice to the person housing us.

>>30419883
We weren't being mean to her! We were just not spilling our guts about everything related to being a ghost and our past!

>>30419979

I too think unloading it onto her all at once would not be the best idea. Hopefully she'll see that our intentions are not malicious.

>>30419979
didnt mean to put it that way. meant we need to explain some of the stuff we do or she will distrust us more.

i am assuming that our goal is to get a ship and crew eventually and i figured we may want to explain some of our stuff to a potential crew mate if we are going for a physic crew

were is everyone

You fly back out of the atmosphere, careful to avoid afterburners or anything that would draw attention to your ship. It might take more time and use up more fuel, but the crazy happenings of the past few days won’t be linked to you. You can easily come up with some cover stories with the professor and Lisa to explain why you already knew them.

You decide you’ve flown far enough, and turn around. The descent is much faster, and when you come near the spaceport you get hailed.

“Attention unidentified aircraft, this is tower control of spaceport Saltlake, identify your craft and destination please.”

“This is the unidentified aircraft. My name is Artemis and I’m piloting my Wraith fighter. I’m looking to dock at your spaceport.” The radio goes silent for a moment or two before you get your reply.”

“Copy that Artemis, we’ll be sending you a flight plan, stick to it and you’re all clear.”

They quickly send you the promised flight plan, and following it leads you to a hangar on the edge of the beach. They seem to have some universal docking clamps, so your wraith is parked nice and safely. You’re immediately approached by a spaceport official as you disembark.

“Good afternoon Mr… Artemis was it? Yes, well. You have business on the planet?”

“Yes, I’ve been contacted by professor Haverdam to join him on an expedition.”

>>30420242

“Oh, that man.” His jolly demeanour sours a bit, but he does his best not to let it show. “Well, your Wraith there. Quite an impressive machine. Is that Confederate military making? Oh my, quite the expensive taste you have. I’m quite a fan of the earlier models.” He winks at you. He seems to be a fighter or spacecraft enthusiast. At least it’s preventing him from asking annoying questions…

“Now, we can refuel it if you want, and that also brings us to the docking cost. Standard fee of 150 per month, at least 50 up front. For fuel it’s… 20 to fill her up entirely. It’s still almost full.”

>For how long do you want to tell him you’ll dock here?
>1. one and a half week. You’ll pay the 50 up front and that’s it.
>2. Three weeks, you’ll have to pay 100 in total.
>3. The whole month, you’ll have to pay 150 in total.
>4. Pay him his 50 up front but tell him you’re not entirely sure when you’re leaving yet. Leave them to count the days.
>5. Write in

>Also, refuel, Y/N?

>>30420118
Consider that a backwater colony like this has a hidden section in the armory full of ghost weaponry, meaning there is possibly another ghost here.
Also consider that the doctor's mind is an open book for a telepath.
It is probably the best for both us and her that she knows as little about us as possible, trust or not. If she doesn't trust us to the point she decides to no longer offer a place to stay, we can find some other place.

We might not even be on this world for long, depending on how this archaeology thing goes down.

>>30420118
>>30420114
She was also under a lot of stress. She might have overreacted a bit, but she's just not too happy with how you've been keeping things back from her while she's been pretty damn open to you.

I must admit I didn't entirely see the choice you guys took coming there, but once I started to rationalise the decision in character it made a lot of sense.

>>30420265

> 4. Pay him 50 up front. We're not sure how long we'll be staying.
> Fill her up, unless it has negative consequences for the machine.

>>30420265
>1. one and a half week. You’ll pay the 50 up front and that’s it.

Don't know if we'll actually be here a long time. If we are here longer than a week and a half, we can always pay for longer.

Yes to refueling, never know if we'll get into a situation where we won't have a chance to refuel for awhile.

>>30420265
>3. The whole month, you’ll have to pay 150 in total

can go on this and next expedition helps your cover story even if we leave earlier

>>30420365
>>30420390
>>30420401
Well, I wasn't expecting that.

>>30419301
Then let's stop spaghetting around and tell her. If we don't trust her, BAD THINGS will happen. Primarus is already looking for us. Bets on how zergified he'll be?

>>30420315

Welp, we did promise her a live sample, and delivered even sooner than we had anticipated, so there's that.

Let's go check how she's doing with it after we land.

>>30420456
So, erm, any other votes here? It's pretty much three-way deadlocked.

>>30420543

samefag from >>30420365 here.

I was reasoning that we don't know how long the expedition will take, and if we will leave after we return from it, that's why the variable stay... but feel free to count my vote as for 3., alternatively

>>30420543
Pay him 50 up front and have him count the days.

>>30420475
>spaghetting around
Spaghetting around would be dumping our life story on someone who we just met and don't know.

If we don't trust her, what will happen exactly? All we have seen of her suggests that she is just a dime-a-dozen scientist.

Guy who voted one, changing it to 4

>>30420609
>>30420617
Ok, going for
>4.
Then.

>>30420617
Actually, she seems to know her biology. Lots of it. Far above our heads (remember she splurged). And she is psychic. So no, she's not alpha-level, but she could easily be a companion.

>>30420648
Biologists aren't a rare thing. Besides, what use do we have for a biologist?

Also, she is a latent psychic. There is pretty much no good reason for trying to awaken it either, and several not to.

>>30420698
I'm saying we have no idea about her intelligence or knowledge, beyond that it's not quantifiable by us. It's obvious she can perform research on a backwater world on her own. Beyond that we have no info.

Her latent abilities may draw unwanted attention, though.

And I'm not sure if I can see much hope if we just run away when we're done here. We've already spent quite a bit just to fit in with the locals.

>>30420790
>>30420698
Almost forgot. Docking at the spaceport will probably make things pretty obvious if we have Confederates after us.

“I’m not sure how long the expedition will last, and the professor mentioned the possibilities of more expeditions, so I think I’ll just let you count the days. And please do fill her up.”

The man points you in the right direction to go (back) to Frontier. It doesn’t seem like there’s any form of transportation, with roads being impossible to maintain with the aggressive vegetation. As you depart, you take note of how the plants just refuse to grow any closer to the lake than they are, with the spaceport’s fence placed just a metre or two past that border. This planet sure has some curious things living on it.

The trip through the jungle is fairly uneventful, but long. You took a moment to sync your adjutant’s clock to the planet’s cycle at the space port, and you see that by the time you arrive at Frontier, it’s only an hour before sunset. The guards eye you curiously, but after asking directions for show, you confidently walk past them.

>1. Go to professor Haverdam. Maybe give him a heads up on your outfit change and set up your cover story a bit better.
>2. Go to Lisa, try to come up with a reason why you’d already know her with her and check how she’s doing with the stalker.
>3. Go talk to the mayor first. You haven’t really heard a lot about him yet.
>4. Write in.

>>30420815
All anyone knows is that a wraith docked at the spaceport, which isn't uncommon.

>>30420790
Don't worry about the money spent here. The disguise will work on most other worlds, as long as we aren't trying to trudge through a heavily urbanized area while wearing it.

>>30420860
Oh right.

> You now have 620 credits.

>>30420860
>1. Go to professor Haverdam. Maybe give him a heads up on your outfit change and set up your cover story a bit better.

>>30420860
>1. Go to professor Haverdam. Maybe give him a heads up on your outfit change and set up your cover story a bit better.

probably need to visit lisa and try to meet the mayor latter

>>30420907
>>30420957
Writing.

File: 1393120875225.png-(405 KB, 500x667, Professor Haverdam.png)

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\You briskly walk towards professor haverdam’s house, and knock on the door. When he opens it, he seems to stare at you for a few seconds before he realises who you are. Seems like the modified suit is doing its thing.

“Oh, Hello, Artemis was it? Right, come in, old chap!” You enter his house and he continues. “So, you seem to have adapted to the frontier life quite well? I heard a stalker was caught alive this night, did you have anything to do with that or was that buffoon Ethan speaking the truth?”

>reminder: He knows of ghosts and roughly what you’re capable of already

>1. Yeah, that was me. Can’t really go around telling people that and blow my cover. Speaking of which…
>2. Nope, wasn’t me.
>3. Write in.

>>30421191
>1. Yeah, that was me. Can’t really go around telling people that and blow my cover. Speaking of which…

>>30421191
1

Since he already knows for certain, no reason to lie. After all, he knows what we can do if he goes around telling people.

“Yeah, that was me. Can’t really go around telling people that and blow my cover. Speaking of which, I set myself up as a hunter you hired to escort your expedition. It’s mostly true anyway.”

“Ah yes, fine. And Miss Fringers?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she did mention you showing up on her doorstep when I visited her a few days ago. She set you up with some housing, right? Seeing how you’ve already got a house from her, I suppose your cover story would include something with her too.”

>1. Good thinking. Maybe she had heard of my reputation as a hunter of exotic wildlife from other xenobiologists and I seemed to be a good choice to help you on your expedition. The whole thing was set up through her.
>2. I don’t know, I think I’ll talk to her about that first.
>3. Rather not include her in the cover story. Let’s just say you negotiated with her to get her to rent me the house.
>4. Write in.

>Captcha: Pleasee coronation
Silly captcha, Mensk's coronation is still about 10 days off.

>>30421428
>1. Good thinking. Maybe she had heard of my reputation as a hunter of exotic wildlife from other xenobiologists and I seemed to be a good choice to help you on your expedition. The whole thing was set up through her.

>>30421428
>3. Rather not include her in the cover story. Let’s just say you negotiated with her to get her to rent me the house.

>>30421428
No reason to say that she set things up when we already told the guy at the hangar that Haversham contacted us.

Go with 3, it's the closest to the truth anyway.

File: 1393122043977.jpg-(50 KB, 560x640, Tiefighterfull.jpg)

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>>30421448
>>30421552
That's a tie.

File: 1393122110436.jpg-(14 KB, 480x360, hqdefault.jpg)

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>>30421552
>>30421635
Ah, perfect, tie no more.

“It might be best to leave her out of this mostly. Say that you set up the room thing with her. Keep it simple, not too many holes that can be found.”

“Right, sounds like a plan. So, everything in order for tomorrow then? Seems like you made some more acquisitions than just a new suit.” He gestures to your rifle and revolver hanging openly on your belt and back. Your handcannon is hidden away a bit more, but also easily accessible if needed.

“Yeah, I’m ok. Do I need a tent and sleeping gear though?”

“That would be preferable yes. I could lend you some old stuff of mine, but they’re not exactly in the best state anymore.”

>1. Say goodbye, accept the tent lending.
>2. Say goodbye, refuse the tent lending. You’ll find some of your own. Do note that a tent of somewhat good quality for in the jungle will be too large to fit into the wraith’s storage compartment along with your other stuff, so you’ll have to leave it behind.
>3. Stay and talk to him about something else (specify).
>4. Write in.

>>30421799
>Say goodbye, accept the tent lending.
We've got no real reason to turn it down.

>>30421799
1
Maybe stop by and visit Lisa before we go to sleep?

>>30421891
Ok, I'm getting too tired and it's waaay too late for me (3:40 am, to be exact). Sorry but I'm gonna call it quits here. I'll take this vote and run with it tomorrow.
Archiving in a second.

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>>30421799
>1

Very generous, this one. Almost too generous.
Inb4 he is evil archeologist looking for Protoss weapon of mass destruction.

>>30422008
We can read minds. We'd be able to tell.

>>30422008
>More like me realising buying a proper tent would set you guys back at least another 100 credits or so and the archaeology trip would become entirely non-profit in terms of credits.
>He's got a bit of a way with words though. "Not exactly in the best state" might be a slight understatement.

And archived! Feel free to upvote if you enjoyed it!
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Freelance%20Ghost%20Quest

>>30422050
>Inb4 Evil Archeologist is the actual owner of the Ghost Armory in the Warehouse and is trained in only letting Psionic influence reach certain parts of his mind.

Or I could be joking

Upvoting now, you glorious OP, you.

>>30422088
Oh right, twitter for live updates on quest ETA. I... might run tomorrow, might not. If I do, there's a chance I'll have to take a half hour-45 minute break at 9:30 due to other obligations.

>see, I'm tired enough to forget giving a next quest ETA. It's probably for the best I don't continue writing now.