>Last time on Freelance Ghost Quest: You finished your spar with Quartus and Sextus, read about protoss and finally got a decent lead on the ghost conditioning data, which you promptly followed. Arriving at the derelict science vessel you found its innermost areas infested with zerg.

You let the drone pass, careful not to move an inch. They shouldn’t be able to see through your cloak, but you’d rather be sure. The zerg have surprised people a few too many times to not take extra precautions in dealing with them.

The creature hovers past you without a fuss. Somewhere in the back of your head you wonder how the thing floats, but you suppress it. Not important right now. You continue on your way, finding large growths of some kind in some of the larger rooms you pass. The creep seems to be attached to it and you suppose they’re the creep colonies you’ve read about.

The corridors seem to be empty, and the deeper you go into the nest the hotter it becomes. Your suit compensates most of it, but when you’re near your goal you find yourself sweating from the brooding heat.

Finally, you find the doors to the databank cores, and they’re open. You carefully peer inside. Creep covers everything, and most places not occupied by the large zerg organic structures are filled with eggs, at least three dozen. Closer inspection makes you conclude the eggs are centred around what is most likely the creep-covered super-computer with the information you need. It seems to be active, getting power from somewhere deeper in the science vessel, and the heat it generates appears to be used for hatching the eggs.

Another careful look around the large chamber leads you to discovering several zerg creatures here and there. Mostly zerglings, but a few hydralisks here and there too. They seem to be dormant, but you’d rather not find out really.

>>33249876

>psi points: 5/6
>Cloak is active.

>Plan of action?
>1. Sneak through the nest to try and avoid the zerg to get to a console on the computer.
>2. Time to test the C-10. Snipe off all the zerg one by one, starting with the most isolated ones to avoid premature alert.
>3. Write in.

>>33249890
>>1. Sneak through the nest to try and avoid the zerg to get to a console on the computer.
fucking timezones, I wish it wasn't 4am here when this started, good luck OP and fellow anons, I'll probably pass out before the next update.

>>33249948
Good night timezoneanon.

Rolled 26

>>33249890
>1. Sneak through the nest to try and avoid the zerg to get to a console on the computer.

>Captcha
Assrun diallor

>>33249948
>>33249996
Ok, roll me a d20.

Rolled 15

>>33250147
hooray I haven't collapsed yet

Rolled 6

>>33250147

Reinforcements have arrived

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>>33250455

...and it seems they suck balls. Oh well.

>>33250455
>>33250219
Feel free to roll again, we've been stuck here a bit too long already.

Rolled 10

>>33250147

>>33250219
>>33250455
>>33250574
Ok, lower dc met. writing.

>>33250478
How is that marine eating with his helmet on?

You carefully step into the room. Again, like your first step on the creep, you wait an instant to see if anything changes. Doesn’t look like it though. You walk in a bit further, carefully noting the positions of the zerg. Four hydralisks around the giant blob of flesh you think is a hatchery, not too far away from the data core, but two of them out of sight from it. About ten zerglings scattered throughout the room, fairly randomly as far as you can tell.

You start picking up the pace, and suddenly you have to hold yourself back. You nearly smashed right into a drone suddenly exiting the hatchery, carrying a small egg. Another step further and it’d have run straight into you.

You freeze, waiting to continue until the drone is further away as it heads to the core to nest the new egg there. You make sure to avoid it when it returns, and a few moments later, you’re at your destination and you find yourself with a new problem. All the places there should be consoles are covered up with creep. You try carefully brushing it away, but it doesn’t seem to want to give way.

>1. Take your knife, cut it off.
>2. Circle around. The zerg base is at the front, perhaps the consoles at the back are less covered.
>3. Use your psionics to push the creep away from the console.
>4. Write in.

>>33250767
You see those three slits on the beak? That's how.

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>>33250774

>3. Use the Force, Luke Skywalker

Start gently, but at any sign of agitation cease the effort and relocate.

>>33250774
>>2. Circle around. The zerg base is at the front, perhaps the consoles at the back are less covered.
If not then we can resort to more forceful methods of removing the creep than merely petting it.

And with that, timezoneanon heads to sleep

>>33250774
I'm not very good at Starcraft, would they know if we cut it off or used our psionics?

>>33250790
Dem crafty fuckers

Since the slits are pretty far from where his mouth should be, I am now picturing a marine with extensible lips inside the helmet.

>>33250774
>>1. Take your knife, cut it off.

>>33250853
There doesn't seem to be any of the "higher" forms of zerg around like overlords or queens, so you doubt they'd notice.

>>33250888
in that case, I'll change my vote from >>33250847 to
>3. Use your psionics to push the creep away from the console.

>>33250873
nah, I bet they just use stab the beak straight into the can and use it as a straw

>>33250888
Hrm....I have a feeling we'll regret it if we take the easy option.

>>33250774
>2. Circle around. The zerg base is at the front, perhaps the consoles at the back are less covered.

>>33250908
"Doesn't seem." is a large point.
What if there is one?

>>33250844
>>33250908
psionics.

>>33250874
knife

>>33250912
Circling around

Well, looks like Psionics wins.

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>Psi points 5/6
>Cloak will need refresh cost next turn.

You gather up your will slowly and prod at the creep with it. It doesn’t seem to react much so you pour a bit more energy into it, and slowly it parts. A bit more and you can see the console. You quickly start typing into it, navigating to the data you need while you put a small data chip into a socket, and start the transfer of files. It seems it’ll take a minute or so.

You hear a low rumbling groan behind you and you turn. You can’t pinpoint its origin, and it steadily grows in volume. All of a sudden, you notice a rippling mass of flesh on the ceiling, and the thing turns to face you. It’s a Queen. It’s a bloody queen.

You quickly recall everything you know about them. They’re some of the most independant zerg creatures. Intelligent, fast, and psionically sensitive. They use a mixture of psi and biological attacks and are living chemical and biological factories, producing all kinds of sludge and parasitic organisms. They usually avoid physical confrontation, but then again, you’re a lone ghost against a creature the size of a small house with multiple tentacles and spikes.

It keeps on screaming, and slowly you see the zerg creatures come out of their hibernations while the few drones floating around retreat to the hatchery. The queen seems to be able to track your position and will most likely be able to convey it to other zerg, albeit not as effectively as an overlord would. It’ll take a while before all of the zerg wake up, but one thing is clear: This isn’t a fight you can win.

>Download will be completed in three turns.
>The Queen can detect you and act accordingly. It can also relay your position to other zerg but with a slight delay.
>The zerg forces are still inactive but slowly waking up.

>Actions?
>1. Hit the Queen with the strongest Mind Blast you can. If you stun it the zerg might not wake up as quickly.
>2. Shoot it down with your C-10. You won’t be able to kill it in just a few shots, but you’ll hurt it badly so it might retreat.
>3. Relocate and take cover behind one of the eggs.
>4. Write in.

>>33251283
WOW.
FUCKING *KNEW* IT

>>33251326
You guessed what you'd have noticed had people rolled ever so slightly higher earlier. Congratulations sir you win one internets.

>>33251303
Supervisor, what if we run and then cloak?
Would she still be able to detect us?

>>33251283

Well fuck.

Shoot it in its ugly face, if it retreats we will benefit from the cloak.

>>33251303
can we do 1 then 2? if so I vote for that, if not then just
>2. Shoot it down with your C-10. You won’t be able to kill it in just a few shots, but you’ll hurt it badly so it might retreat.
then cloak and get some distance

question, is the download wireless or must we retrieve it physically?

>>33251303
>>1. Hit the Queen with the strongest Mind Blast you can. If you stun it the zerg might not wake up as quickly.

>>33251373
>Lets do the only option which alerts it to the major threat in the facility and block ourselves in with hordes of newly awakened zerg!

>>33251397

It's already alerted though, and it's the only detector (we know of)

>>33251429
But then it would designate us as a major threat.
Psi-blast does the same, but at least gives us the chance to stun it.

>>33251429

Plus we're gonna need some psi power to blast open our escape route.

>>33251364
You're still cloaked. It can see you, but if it doesn't have a visual it won't be able to tell its forces where you are.

>>33251395
It's a physical thing. Like a USB stick of the future. You pushed the creep far enough away to not have to worry about it regrowing all over it in such a short time though.

>captcha, I'm starting to hate you.

>>33251462
>You're still cloaked. It can see you, but if it doesn't have a visual it won't be able to tell its forces where you are.
Alright, best idea would be to run outside then, and circle around back to the USB stick, feinting a retreat.

>>33251439

I'm pretty sure that an uncontrolled sapient creature in its hive cluster is already a major enough threat.

Hey, do we have a laser pointer on the c-10? Maybe we could trick it into thinking it's targeted by a nuclear launch

>>33251462
>You pushed the creep far enough away to not have to worry about it regrowing all over it in such a short time though.
Would the creep damage it?

>>33251480
>Nuclear launch
>On a space station
>With no detected ship nearby

>>33251462
right then, in that case I'll switch votes from >>33251395 to
>1. Hit the Queen with the strongest Mind Blast you can. If you stun it the zerg might not wake up as quickly.
then
>4. After stunning it get out of its line of sight, and loop back around the room to retrieve the data stick when the download is finished

>>33251480
Nope, it's a bog standard C-10 without any additional features. Not even the grenade launcher for EMP or other types of grenade. You'd have gotten the fancy version if you'd chosen to be a support type at the start of the quest.

I'm not ruling out of you guys getting your hands one them, but it'll be hard.

>>33251535
This.

>>33251491
No, but it would prevent you from retrieving it if it grew over it again. It took you some time to push it off, and time is something you're in rather short supply of now.

>>33251535
Best idea.
Unless >>33251491 means it can be damaged by creep, which would be weird.

>>33251559
>>33251568
>>33251462
The point of the post was that the creep was a non-issue when dealing with the console. Unless you go around taking much longer than the download takes of course, then you'd have to get through it again.

>>33251597
Couldn't we just extract it faster since it's such a smaller space though?

>>33251613
Probably. But if you take that long I'd say your more immediate concern would be the horde of zerg.

>>33251535
Anyway, seems like this won. Roll me some D20's and I can get to writing.

Rolled 7

>>33251658
I think in any case the horde of Zerg is a problem Supervisor.
4 should only happen if it is stunned.

Rolled 10

>>33251668

Note to self: bring a flamethrower next time.

Rolled 1

>>33251668

>>33251721
Next time we shouldn't be fucking retarded.

>>33251749
>>33251721
>>33251679
That's a critfail. Sorry gentlemen.

>>33251764
We deserve it for using FUCKING PSIONIC POWERS IN THE MIDDLE OF A DAMN HIVE

Might be a 10 minute delay people, being called away for a moment.

>>33251764

>game over
>next time on /tg/: infested ghost quest

>>33251863
Maybe you should think before you take stupid unnecessary risks next time then.

>>33251779
Ok, back and writing.

>>33251899

I guess I overestimated subtlety with which we can use our psionics.

Then again, if the queen was already there, it would hardly make difference if we cut the creep instead.

>>33252038
>Then again, if the queen was already there, it would hardly make difference if we cut the creep instead.
Which is why the FUCKING REASONABLE OPTION WAS TO GO WHERE THE CREEP WAS NOT!

>>33252060
This. Look around back, maybe there's a secondary area where we can DL it. Since this isn't hard combat, I'll assume the entire hive has woken up and we probably will need to skidadle.

>>33252111
Entire everything is going to wake up.

>Psi points: 6/6
>Cloak upkeep costs 1: 5/6

You quickly use the leftover psionic energy and lash out at the creature. You use the energy to attack its mind, trying to daze it and buy enough time to get out of there safely. The attack goes through its mental defences.

>Psi points: 4/6

It went through a bit too easily…

In an instant, your mental attack is turned against you. Alien thoughts and mental energy slam into your trapped mind until you are violently thrown out of it. When you come to you are lying on the creep in front of the monitor, strange shadows playing over your vision unnaturally. It takes a while before you manage to get up, and had you taken a second longer you’d have been impaled to the floor.

Where you were lying down just a moment before are now several barbed bone spines protruding from the ground. It seems the hydralisks have woken up, and the closest one has just released its first barrage at you. Most zerglings are still waking up, but those that are already active are working on surrounding you. Meanwhile you seem to have lost track of the queen. It’s still out there but it seems to be keeping still somewhere to make itself less of a target.

>Download will be completed in one turn. can also relay your position to other zerg but with a slight delay.
>All four hydralisks are awake, but only one is in range yet. Three zerglings are awake and you can see at least eight more waking up.
>Due to the Queen not being meant for cloak detection, her relaying info is slightly delayed so zerg reaction times will be slow.


>1. Stay mobile. As long as you keep moving and be unpredictable they’ll have trouble hitting you.
>2. Take out the hydralisk attacking you (C-10, Matter bomb or other strategy, specify).
>3. Try to find the Queen and take it out.
>4. Write in.

>>33252060
It was the most sensible option, though cutting through the creep would only have gotten a drone to try and mend it. It was the active use of psionics that attracted the queen's attention.

>>33252180
Question 1: Do we have a shuttle that's here to pick us up, docked to the station?
If so, radio in and say bad shit.

>>33252180
>1. Stay mobile. As long as you keep moving and be unpredictable they’ll have trouble hitting you.
We're not equipped for combat here. If we absolutely have to fight,
>2. Take out the hydralisk attacking you ( Matter bomb)

>>33252256
No, we have a wraith parked far away in low-power mode. No backup, no AI controlled computer on the ship (to my knowledge).

>>33252283
In that case she's most likely setting a trap there or has climbed aboard herself.

>>33252180
>1.
We don't need to kill them just get out alive.

>>33252256
Nope. You came alone and have a cloaked ship parked right outside of where you came in. It's still quite far away since you're currently pretty close to the centre of the science vessel.

>>33252304
It's cloaked in low-power mode. The creep hasn't extended there. It's probably far enough that she doesn't know it's there and can't get there in one turn.

>>33252260

Seconding

>>33252283

We actually have the cloaked shuttle.

>>33252304

Why would it do that? Zerg don't need our ship. We're the only problem bothering them.

>>33252260
>>33252304
>>33252386
Staying mobile it is. Writing.

You see the hydralisk getting ready for another shot, but you don’t stay around waiting for it. You run straight for one of the awake zerglings, causing it to back away, expecting an assault, and change course at the last second. The hydralisk spikes fly through the air where you would have been, and you’ve manoeuvred so that the other surrounding zerglings left openings in trying to catch up with you.

At this point, you see that a second hydralisk has joined the first, and it won’t take long before a third is in position too.

You run back to where you came from, ducking past what seems to be a large pool filled with bubbling green liquid, and weaving through eggs. That last part especially seems to give pause to the hydralisks, but you notice something disturbing. The eggs are moving. Not just the steady beating of before, but rapid movements, as if they’re getting ready to hatch. It seems the queen is doing more than just waking up the zerg already present, it’s also making the eggs hatch.

You reach the terminal again and quickly check whether the download is complete. Your adjutant was keeping track of it but better be on the safe side. It’s finished. You pull out the data chip as fast as you can and put it safe inside a small compartment meant for ammo and the like.

With that out of the way, you quickly get into cover, and a few moments later a bone spike crashes into the terminal you were standing at. It seems the third hydralisk has joined the two others, and at least seven zerglings are awake now, about half a dozen remaining asleep from what you can see.

>Psi points: 5/6
>Cloak is still active.

>1. Make a run for it. They seem to be slow enough for you to get through if you move fast enough.
>2. They’ve only seen you use psionics before. Put them off-balance by shooting at them with the C-10 and then run.
>3. Attack the Hydralisks (specify how).
>4. Write in.

>>33252733

No point in taking time for actual shot. Make a run for it.

Sooner we're out of here, the better.

>>33252773
second this

>>33252733
It's a trap!

>>33252773
>>33252810
Ok, Give me some D20s.

Rolled 10

>>33252993

File: 1390215111574.gif (1.72 MB, 200x129)

1.72 MB GIF

Rolled 19

>>33252993

Legs, don't fail me now.

>>33253046
Great legs sir, cheers!

>>33252998
>>33253046
Seems like everyone's off for dinner or something, so feel free to roll again.

Rolled 16

>>33253179

samefagging a roll then.

>>33252998
>>33253046
>>33253189
Ok, success, writing.

You repeat your earlier moves. Feint into one direction, run, stay in cover as much as you can. You can see the zerglings moving in to cut off your escape once the queen realises you’re trying to get away. They’re too slow though. the combined facts of your improved body and the zerglings having only just woken up means you’ll beat them there easily. You stay alert though, the queen is still out there.

It pays off. After another quick slide over the edge of the spawning pool you see a stirring in the shadows to your left. There, clinging to the ceiling, is the queen, and she’s readying an attack of some sort. You try to not react too much to give away that you spotted her, and the instant you see her muscles contract, you push yourself to the side on an egg, transferring your momentum in a different direction.

The green goop she spewed at you misses, but it was enough to still be splattered to some degree. It immediately starts solidifying and impeding your movement, but it’s not enough to prevent you from blowing it off with a bit of psionic energy. You continue your mad run and find a single zergling just arriving at the door, but it’s not in proper position to block you entirely. It sends its top arms towards you, but you jump over the thing, kicking down and behind you once you’re over and propel yourself into the corridor.

The hallway is too small for the queen to be able to pursue you at high speed, so you figure you’re relatively safe for now, but you’re not willing to take any chances and make a run for it. Behind you you hear zerg screams and growls, and a few wet popping sounds indicate some of the eggs have started hatching. Now you really don’t want to slow down. You might not know of any zerg like that, but there might be something smaller in there that can see through your cloak.

You reach the now mended barrier and simply blow it out of your way with a small kinetic blast. And suddenly you’re face to face with a group of what at first glance seem to be about four marines accompanying several SCV’s behind them.

>Psi points: 4/6

>1. Run through them. Don’t look back.
>2. Drop out of cloak, warn them of the zerg and retreat with them. You should be able to pull a convincing superior officer demeanour.
>3. Write in.

>Just saw the time, this will probably be the last post of the day. Not sure when next thread is going to be, possibly Thursday or Friday.

>>33253504

>Run through them without slowing
while
>yelling 'ZEEEEEEEEEERG!'

let them figure out who was there if they are still alive afterwards.

>>33253504
Panic and attack them...
Just kidding, move to the side first circle around them and leave

>>33253557
we shouldn't leave traces, not even small ones like that... those men might have backup and if one survives or reacts to our voice...

>>33253504
>>33253560
Do this. Continue with stealth, hopefully our wraith wasn't found. Try to listen in on their radio frequency, maybe we can figure out what's going on with them.

>>33253557
although I admit, it sounds cool

>>33253560
This.
No yelling.
There's no faction we could warn which would benefit us.

>>33253606

Nah, there's no way they would figure out who we were. Plus they will probably die anyway, it would just mean giving them a small fighting chance.

>>33253641

Having them slow down the zerg advance is a benefit in itself.

>>33253645
>Nah, there's no way they would figure out who we were.
Who did we get the information off of to go to this place?

>>33253669
They'll do that anyway.

>>33253641
>>33253669
We're in the clear, all we need is the elimination of any witnesses...

And archived. I'll continue monitoring discussion and answer if asked until midnight (aka 20 minutes from now for people in other time zones).

>>33253684

Some buddy of Quartus's.

Probably not someone who would be able of being traced to a disembodied voice that might come as a hallucination -

- actually, aren't we in depressurised part of the ship now? I guess that rules yelling out anyway.

>>33253806
Yes, you are, but you could probably just broadcast your voice to their coms while running past without any noticeable extra effort.

>>33253830
I'm out, cheers supervisor!

>>33253830

Hm.

On the other hand it's probably waste of effort anyway. They did just see some barrier in front of them blow apart, they will probably be combat readiness anyway.

G'night people, I'm off now. Thanks sticking around.

>>33253830
Lets not announce ourself. Maybe hide from them, look around for another ghost tastefully (trying not to be discovered), and get out of here stealthily.

>>33253967
What options do we have for a psychic master class?

>>33254030

Let's at least give them psionic impression of incoming queen then. At least they'll know what's coming.

>>33253967

Cheers for the thread, OP!

>>33254117
We should balance this against the fact that they can hear the Zerg screaming. It's probably fine. We can warn them if they're derp, but honestly, we can't let the Dominion know we're still around.