>Last time on Freelance Ghost Quest: You woke up half a day after your battle with Primus, and had a talk about the omega project and the future of the battlecruiser with Quartus. You convinced him to let Lisa check on the crew and use it as a base of operations. After reviewing files on your teammates and yourself you called Lisa and murphy over to the battlecruiser.

“Well, I think the first point of order is to introduce you to Quartus and Sextus.” You lead the two women through the ship while you quickly contact Quartus to get out of the lab. He tells you he’ll meet you in the lower crew mess. It only takes a few minutes to reach it, and by the time you arrive, Quartus is sitting at one of the tables already, a neutral look on his face. Sextus is standing slightly to the left behind him, his usual place it seems.

“So, Lisa, Murphy, meet my brothers Quartus,” you gesture towards the sitting ghost, “and Sextus.” adding another gesture.

An eerie silence hangs in the air. Murphy seems to be eying the suits mostly, and you can just see the gears in her head grinding and calculating. Lisa’s face is mostly showing shock, but you think you can also feel a bit of curiosity emanating from her. Quartus simply looks bland and emotionless. For a moment it seems no one is going to say anything and you’re about to blurt out something to break the awkward silence when Quartus takes the lead.

“So you’re the miracle doctor Secundus thinks can cure the crew?” You can tell he’s trying, but he just can’t hide the sarcasm in his voice. You see Lisa physically recoil, like she was slapped in the face. You see the storm coming, but you’re too late to stop it.

“And you’re the toy soldier the confederacy cooked up? Isn’t it a bit late in the evening to be out of your test tube? Who the hell do you think you are, lab rat, to go around and judge people? How many people have you ever treated? Oh wait, I forgot, that’s not your thing. You just get pointed at them and kill without thinking.” At this point, she’s already shouting. ”I’m sorry, for a moment there I thought you were even remotely human.”

It’s not aimed at you, but it still stings. Everyone is looking at Lisa now, shocked at what she just yelled at Quartus. Even Sextus slightly inclined his head to the side looking at her.

>This might be your chance to get in between them. What do you do?
>1. Say nothing. Lisa can fend for herself and Quartus needs to be put in his place.
>2. Say something before they actually start fighting (write in)
>3. Quickly tell Quartus goodbye and get Lisa and Murphy away from there. Show murphy the way to the engines or something and go to to the medbay with Lisa.
>4. Write in.

>Due to complications, my internet shuts down at 12, so it's gonna be a relatively short thread. If it cuts out before I actually wrap it up, could someone else please archive?

>>32713981
>2 by that definition I'm no human either?
Quartus is somewhat pessimistic and frankly, I can't blame him... on the other hand, the correct thing to do is at least give it a shot, Quartus... we'd be inhuman indeed if we didn't even care to try

>>32713981
>>2. Say something before they actually start fighting (write in)
"Secundus, I know behind your cynicism you mean well and are just defensive, but there's no need for sarcasm and antagonism on the first meeting, we're all going to be working together, so do try to get along civilly.

Lisa, that's exactly why I brought you here, for that human aspect, I have faith and hope in your abilities to help the crew of this vessel and do the work me and my brothers were very evidently not made for, but there is no need to go burning bridges before they are even constructed.

Now, how about we start the introductions again, and this time like nice human beings?"

unfortunately the timezones remain my nemesis so I'm heading to sleep now, good luck OP and fellow anons

>>32714041
>1. Say nothing. Lisa can fend for herself and Quartus needs to be put in his place..
> Be ready to intervene in case things get violent.
I'll archive from my phone if necessary.

>>32714126
Thanks.
>>32714117
Good night anon.

>>32714171
Archiving from a phone is hell, but this quest is worth it.

>>32714105
>>32714117
>>32714126
Ok, writing.

>>32714117

Something in this vein, but I doubt Artemis would phrase it that way.

Maybe something like 'show some courtesy, she is a good friend.'

“Lisa…” You begin.

“Sorry Artemis, but that asshole needed to be put down a notch.”

You sigh. She’s right, but the way she did it wasn’t exactly ideal. At least she got to vent a bit. She probably needed that, seeing how much you complicated her life.

“Look, Quartus, I know you mean well, but please don’t antagonise people you just met. We’ll be working together for at least a bit, so at least try to be civil.” He’s still a bit stunned from the outburst, but he’s gathered enough of his wits to give a small nod, keeping his eyes on Lisa.

“And Lisa, I have every bit of faith in your abilities to help the crew. I understand you’ve been stressed out lately, but let’s not go burning bridges before they’re even built.”

There’s a small pause before she responds. “Artemis, please show me to my patients, I have work to do.” The cold rage in her voice is still noticeable, but at last it’s not another outburst. It’s clear she won’t take no for an answer though.

“Very well, let’s all go do our job now.” Might get them calmed down enough so they can actually talk next time they meet. You lead your companions away while Quartus gets up and goes back to the lab with sextus. Outside, it seems murphy has regained the ability to speak.

“Whoa girl, I didn’t know you had it in you! Would have used a few… different terms there, but damn. Showed him good!”

You show Murphy the way to the engine room and tell her she’s free to roam the ship as long as the doors open and she doesn’t take anything apart. A quick message to Quartus informs him of this and tells him to lock the lab doors. A moment later, you’re alone with Lisa, quietly heading towards the medbay. You’re not really sure what to say to her now so you stay silent.

When you arrive, she sets down her bag on one of the tables and starts unpacking various tools of her own. When you’re finished ordering the crew to send someone to the medbay over the intercom, Lisa starts talking.

“I’m sorry about that. It’s been… hectic lately. I didn’t mean to insult you.” She’s looking away from you, but you can tell she’s rubbing the bridge of her nose.

>Reaction?
>1. It’s ok, I understand. I think he needed that wake-up call, but I couldn’t seem to give him one.
>2. I’m not exactly ok with how you handled that, but what’s done is done.
>3. So… I’m not human then?
>4. Write in.

>>32714530
>>3. So… I’m not human then?

>>32714530
>. So… I’m not human then?

>>32714530
>1. It’s ok, I understand. I think he needed that wake-up call, but I couldn’t seem to give him one.

>>32714530

>It's ok, I understand. Keep in mind though that he's been through a lot, and with no friends of his own.
>and I'm sure you didn't mean it either.

>>32714588
second this

>>32714560
>>32714582
>>32714585
>>32714588
>>32714693
Writing.

“It's ok, I understand. Keep in mind though that he's been through a lot, and with no friends of his own. And I'm sure you didn't mean it either.”

She turns around, and her eyes are reddened. You can tell she’s holding back tears. She seems to have reached her breaking point. All the weirdness of the past weeks, and this sent her over her limit. You instinctively stand up and move a bit closer, but you’re not entirely sure what to do.

“My my, how unprofessional of me, I’m expecting my first patient and here I am, almost crying.” She rubs her eyes for a moment and she seems to gather herself a bit. You can tell she’s still tense, but at least less so. Perhaps you’ll have to talk to her later when she’s calmed down a bit. You probably owe her the full explanation at the least.

All of a sudden, the door zooms open, and a young man, about 25-ish, with military trim light brown hair and wearing a science officer uniform enters the room.

“Well, no rest for the wicked.” You give her a tense smile and lets out a short sniffing laugh.

“Right, let’s get to it. What can you tell me about this?” You proceed to explain to her in detail what you felt while you were inside one of the crew members earlier, quickly checking this one to see if he’s the same. You explain to her what Primus’ most likely method was, though your own knowledge of the ‘procedure’ is very limited. You’re more about reading minds than breaking them.

“So, All I have to do is try to find a way to recover erased memories, unscrew screwed up personalities and do it again two hundred times over? Boy, and here I thought you’d be asking something hard.” She says, smirking a bit sarcastically. Quietly, she adds: “I guess I understand why he reacted the way he did then.”

“I’m going to need your help for this first. Your descriptions were pretty good but I think it’ll be a great help if I could see for myself. If you could kind of guide me into their minds? I’m still kinda new at this.” She waves one hand around her temple, obviously meaning psionics.

“Sadly, there’s not much to see, but sure. I understand.”

>Roll me some d20’s, best of first 3.

Rolled 10

>>32715060

Rolled 4

>>32715060

Rolled 6

>>32715060

Take her to the spark of humanity, and help her rekindle its flame.

Rolled 12

>>32715060

Rolled 6

>>32715088
>>32715099
>>32715111

RNG doesn't like the crew it seems. But two doubles and one trips, that surely has to count for something?

>>32715088
>>32715099
>>32715111
Well, looks like anime cheesy lines didn't help your roll there. Failure, writing.

>>32715140
Yeah, doesn't look to good for the crew now

>>32715240
>>32715137
A single failed roll on your part doesn't have that much of a drastic impact though. Don't give up hope yet.

>>32715291
yeah, maybe she can do it on her own...
I believe in you, Lisa!!!

You’ve never done anything like this, actually guiding another person in their sensing, so it’s hard. You try to guide Lisa’s metaphorical hand into the mind, or lack of really, of the person sitting next to her now.

You suddenly find a mental barrier. It’s not a strong one, but only seconds ago, the man didn’t have any. It takes a few moments before you realise that instead of guiding her, you went into her mind on accident. You quickly apologise, and try again. It’s tricky, and several times you end up going into the man’s mind by yourself. It some more attempts before you actually manage to take her along, and even then it’s not ideal.

You try to give her a tour, but it seems that she can’t sense you anymore no matter what you try, and the two of you figure she’ll have to manage on her own then. You withdraw yourself from the man’s mind, and find him sitting exactly the way he was about 20 minutes ago, apparently not having moved a muscle.

You sit there for another 15 minutes, but nothing seems to change. Lisa is still incredibly focussed, eyes closed and her left hand slightly stretched out towards the man. You almost forgot, but it’s fairly common for weaker and beginner psionics to use their hands as a focus for even mental tasks.

>Checking the ship’s clock, it’s roughly 4pm now. After a bit of math, you conclude it’s about 10am on frontier.
>1. Stay there, she might need us a bit further down the line.
>2. Check up on Murphy.
>3. Check up on Quartus.
>4. Write in.

>>32715403
>1. Stay there, she might need us a bit further down the line.
May as well don't need her making dudes heads explode... Yet

>>32715403
>1. Stay there, she might need us a bit further down the line.

Rolled 16

>>32715403
>1
Stick around

>>32715403
>1

>>32715403
>>3. Check up on Quartus.

>>32715439
>>32715475
>>32715479
>>32715507
>>32715512
Writing.

You decide to wait until she’s finished. She might still need you soon. It takes long though, so you meditate a bit more. Your ghost conditioning is completely blunted off, but it’s still unyieldingly impenetrable. You definitely need that data on it. You go on to extending your psionic senses again like you did before on the planet, and can easily sense all crew members. Murphy seems to be busy in the engine room, in a vivid conversation with one of the engineers. Well, she’s vivid, the engineer most likely is anything but. Quartus and Sextus are still in the lab, and you can feel quartus’ smouldering anger flowing from him. Underneath that you sense something else though. A bit of guilt. And uncertainty.

You come back to your senses as Lisa taps you on the shoulder. “Artemis? Wake up!”

“Whoa, yeah, I’m here. What did you find?”

“Well, mostly what you told me already, but it’s different seeing it for myself.” She lets out a deep sigh. “Look, even if I manage to help them, I doubt I’ll be able to restore them to who they were before, and it’s going to take a long, long time. I probably need over a week to just think of something that could work. Not to mention I still have obligations down on the planet.”

“Also, I’m fairly new at this, so I’m warning you that even with your help, I might seriously hurt these people mucking around in their brain. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t even think of doing this to someone, but these people need it.”

“So I’m asking you, are you absolutely sure you want me to go through with this knowing that I might do more harm than good, and that it might take a commitment of months, maybe even years?”

>1. Yes.
>2. I’m leaving the decision in your hands.
>3. No.
>4. Write in.

>>32715745
>1. Yes.

>>32715745
would you consider what they have now as a "life"?
because I don't
>1
About your other obligations, what you're doing here is nothing urgent... It might sound cold but these people can wait a long time, so I guess it's something you can do on the side

>>32715745
>1. Yes.
> Take it slowly at first, just examining the crew. Some might be easier to read then others. We don't know if we'll find a better way to heal them later, as well.

>>32715745

>1. Yes

>>32715815
Combine my post above with the second half of >>32715811. No need to be rude.

>>32715797
>>32715811
>>32715815
>>32715849
Ok, writing.

>>32715878
I guess, it's not meant as rude but as giving a "means to an end" argument... pointing out how bad their situation just is

>>32715944
It's more that she probably already knows this. So we'd be stating something she probably already knows in a stressful environment. Easy way for a fight to start.

You think for a while. It’s an important issue, and while you’ve already thought about it, you want to be sure. You start talking, softly. “Would you consider what they have now as a "life"? Because I don’t. And they deserve a second chance. Yes, I’m sure.”

She takes a deep breath. “Yes they do.”

“And about your other obligations, what you're doing here is nothing urgent... It might sound cold but these people have waited for several months already, they can wait a bit longer. I guess it’s something you could do on the side. And you could try examining different people, some might be more helpful cases than others.”

“Yeah. I’ll need some place to stay on the ship though. And a more reliable transport. I just hired the ship I used there for a day.”

“I could probably fly you back and forth with the wraith. It’s a one-man fighter but I think it would fit, for short trips at least. And if murphy gets to work on it a bit there might even be a comfortable second seat. I’ll arrange things on the ship here.”

“Thanks. I’ll stay here until the eveni- Wait what?” She seems to be staring at a small wall console displaying the ship clock. “I suppose this thing’s not synced up to the planet yet?”

“Good call, I’ll get that sorted out too, though I’m not planning on hanging around here. It’s a bit too noticeable.” She lets out a short laugh. “I’ll probably park it in open space nearby. So, do you still need anything?”

“I think I’ll manage for now. Just going to keep poking around his head and try to find a solution. It’s mostly just examining and planning now, though I guess if you have any ideas it could always help.”

> Ship time: 16:30, frontier time: 10:30
>1. Check on murphy, maybe talk about that extra seat in the wraith.
>2. Check up on Quartus.
>3. Write in.

>>32716161
>2
Since he's in a bad mood

>>32716161
>2. Check up on Quartus.

>>32716161

Could we park the battlecruiser planetside, under surface of an ocean? I don't think letting it hang up here is a good idea.

Also
>2
I guess.

>>32716206
>>32716287
>>32716332
Writing.

And it was mentioned that you're planning to park it somewhere in open space, just a jump away. Quartus basically said to do whatever you want with it so you could go ahead with that at any time.

The ship is not meant for operating in water, and probably would have trouble getting out of it again. Not to mention the people getting in or out.

You leave Lisa to her work and head towards the laboratory Quartus is… Working in. The doors are locked as per your instructions, but quartus quickly lets you in.

The place is huge. Several large halls filled with strange machines and lots of computers, most of them smashed to pieces now. Quartus is standing in front of you, and in the distance, you can hear Sextus still working on destroying things in another room.

“So, did you come here to chide me?”

“No, I came to talk things out. Lisa’s working on the crew now, and she warned me it might take months.”

Quartus chuckles mirthlessly. “Didn’t take Primus nearly as long to break them. Three, maybe five minutes each and they were gone.”

“Do you know how he did it? Anything specific on what he did can help.”

“How does one destroy a mind Secundus? Or apparently it’s… Artemis now? Well, it’s simple, you force your way in, you rip out their memories, and most of the job’s done. It’s a lot more thorough than a traditional mind wipe, but you need to be powerful. For the rest, it’s eradicating the bits of personality that’s left, and prevent them from learning new things so they don’t develop a new personality.”

That last part is especially interesting, and you make a note to pass that on to Lisa as soon as possible. “So, what we talked about earlier, parking the cruiser in deep space.”

“I told you, do whatever you want. Just get me a small ship so me and sextus can leave.” Muttering, he adds “Too many damn memories hanging around this place.”

>1. Try to convince him to stay and help you.
>2. Talk to him about something specific (specify).
>3. Write in.

>>32716663
>3 Sure, just make sure to keep in touch when you leave.
He seems ok, better check on Murphy before she breaks something

>>32716663

"I will arrange something."

>We should be able to gut some parts of the ship to trade fore a respectable vessel. Maybe Murphy has an idea.

"But I'll say this right away - thank you for your help, and if you or Sextus ever get into trouble, you know you can count on me. Same goes for (whichever number it is that's at large now - tertius?), if you come across him."

>>32716783
hmmmmm, second this
sounds better

>>32716783
>>32716822
It's Septimus.

And writing.

“I’ll arrange something. We might salvage enough things from the cruiser to afford you a nice new ship. Murphy might have an idea.” You glance over his shoulder into the room. “Maybe keep some of this stuff that doesn’t have any data or something?”

Quartus grunts in admission, and you continue. "But I'll say this right away - thank you for your help, and if you or Sextus ever get into trouble, you know you can count on me. Just stay in touch.” As an afterthought, you add “And the same goes for Septimus, if you ever come across him." You extend your hand towards this.

“Very well.” He sighs. “I’ll grant you this Secundus. You might be a bit naive most of the time, but it has its charm.” He grabs your wrist with both hands, and looks you dead in the eyes. “You’re a good man Sec’. I’m not sure how you managed to be one with what we’ve gone through, but don’t you ever change.”

You hadn’t expected that from Quartus. By the time you recover from the surprise, he’s turned around. “Thank you Secundus. For everything. And please tell your friend I’m sorry for what I said.”

He walks over towards a more or less intact console, rips off some cover plating, and starts examining the contents. You can pick up some muttering of “This won’t do”, and “bound to be something dangerous on this, can’t use that” and the like. You’re just about to turn around and exit when suddenly the intercom blares to life.

“Ahem. Good day, crew members of the Omega.” You don’t recognise the voice, and suspicion strikes you. “I am Otto Arthur Reichenbach Weissdammer the Third, and I am commandeering this vessel as spoils of war after an unlawful attack on my property. I order you all to lay down your arms and come to Hangar IV where my men will process you. Resist and you will be terminated. I am in control of the ship systems, so if you try to hide, I will find you.”

>What do you do?

>>32717086
>Last post for the day. I don't think we'd manage to do another vote and still have enough time for me to write something up and archive.
>Votes will be counted for the start of the next thread.

>Next thread will probably be friday or sunday, 8PM CET as usual. I'll be stuck with internet shutting down at 12 for the foreseeable future, so I'm afraid it'll always be short threads for now.

>>32717086

Cloak up, check on the friends and then go vape that smug bastard.

>>32717086
"big mistake"
Do we have a warning system? can they possibly be ON this ship without us noticing it?
We can reach Lisa psionically and let her take Murphy to somewhere safe...
While we cloack, gear up and intercept the boarders with Quartus and Sextus (We don't need systems to find them)

>>32717086
Cloak and find him get Quartus to protect the others

>>32717193

If the guy took control of life support, nowhere on the ship is safe. And we have responsibility for the mindwiped people too, since those are no doubt no match for the businessman's marines.

The only advantage we have is our psionics Weisdammer has no means of gauging. So I guess we might pretend cooperation and then take him out in a blast - although since he has ghost bodyguard, he will have some defences. Did we get rid of that inhibition that kept us from turning against confederate officers? I think so, but...

>>32717271
I think we did...
If there are boarders on the ship, they wouldn't shut life support down just yet wouldn't they?
Maybe Murphy can be tasked with trying to regain control of the systems while we take the role of welcome party... regardless, we should be doing two things at once because if Weisdammer was to shut down life support, all those mindwiped will die anyway

>>32717271
I do not recall if you removed the aggression inhibitor yourself, but all your implants were removed during the temple transformation, so yes, it's gone.
Plus, you don't even know if he's (ex-)confederate.

>>32717389

He has a planet and classified weaponry. I'm pretty sure he would take measures against being targeted by ghosts as well.