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Your pods scatter across space as you monitor an ever increasing number of locations. Hostile fleet patrols, mounting tensions threatening war, the constant murmur of gas giants, and the chaos of Union news broadcasts. You filter through them as you watch over everything and everyone across the stars of the region. Trade ships meander lazily from planet to planet, and local traffic buzzes around stations, and rival hives. Even as you speak with Lee and trade research data with Elizabeth, you plot the courses of your scouts as they sneak their way into the depths of the systems around you.

Welcome back to Hive Queen Quest!

>Archives http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Hive%20Queen%20Quest
>Twitter https://twitter.com/HiveQueenQuest
>Various pasta http://pastebin.com/u/QuestDrone
>FAQ ask.fm/QuestDrone
>Discussion page http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Quest_talk:Hive_Queen_Quest
>>
>>40317202
[Reprieve]
You return to the home of your mother, the White Queen. The silence is disturbing. Your pod quickly passes the gas giant and its clusters of debris, and you find yourself again looking down at the shattered crust of your mother’s throne world. The ring of debris hangs like a ceiling over the planet, occasionally falling to the dead husk of a world. The molten seas are gone, shriveled into seas of glass and frozen falls of rock, but you still recall your first sight of it. Of the planet burning. There is nothing left for you here, save the forgotten metals of the burned and broken hive fleet.

The sounds of the many stars around the system stream in around you in a constant barrage of radiation. It seers the flesh of your pod slightly. This system was harsh and unforgiving, even before it was attacked. Now it is little more than a graveyard.

As your pod continues to drift into an orbit, you detect signs of activity within the debris. A corvette emerges, ripping chunks of metal from the side of a fractured hull with its consumption beam. Just over the horizon you see more of them. The Obsidian Queen’s ships are consuming the remains. It is the only thing left of any apparent value here, so it is of no surprise.
>>
RIP AND TEAR
>>
>>40317209

Your pod has difficulty picking out all of the ships in the field, but they look to be mostly corvettes, with only a minimum number of defending ships. You count no more then five frigates, but possibly hundreds of corvettes eating away at the remains.

>Continue to observe silently
>Send a fleet to assault the mining ships (write in)
>Other
>>
>>40317209
Damn, it would be nice to task small fleets to conduct raids and disrupt the OB's mining ops, but even with a psionic jammer, she'll know something is up immediately and would likely send reinforcements too soon for us cause any amount of useful damage.
>>
>>40317243
>>Continue to observe silently
>>
>>40317243
>>Continue to observe silently
>>
>>40317243
>Other
Tell Heretic we found the last known location of the completed Psionic Cannon.
>>
>>40317245
Why can't we delegate that to Theseus/Heretic? I mean, what are they doing right now? I know Theseus is probably doing some spy stuff in the chaos of the impending human civil war, but Heretic?
>>
>>40317243
>Send a fleet to assault the mining ships (write in)
She already knows of us and our interest in this place. Let's wreck her shit.

And by wreck her shit, I mean, do our best to give her a conniption.
>>
>>40317261
>>40317263
Huh, Sounds feasible, it's not like Heretic has to worry about running an fledgling space empire, and even if he does manage to get something useful out of the cannon, we can always trade it and have the blueprints. as a backup.
>>
>>40317209
>Send a fleet to assault the mining ships (Heavy Battlefleet)
>>
>>40317243
>Send a fleet to assault the mining ships
Heavy Battlefleet, 1 Light Fleet.
>>
>>40317243
>Continue to observe silently
>>
>>40317243
>>>Continue to observe silently
>>
>>40317243
>Send a fleet to assault the mining ships
Yeah send a small raiding fleet to disrupt operations with a hit and run. It'll at least divert her attention a bit from the other systems. We could use that to do something about the fleet at Refuge.
>>
>>40317243

>Send a fleet to assault the mining ships (Write-in)
Heavy Battlefleet and 2 Light Fleets
>>
Hey everyone, I just calculated the total cost of laying and arming all the drones we voted for in the last thread. Want me to post the results? They're actually quite a bit cheaper than what I expected.
>>
>>40317318
Sure, go ahead. 2nd threads rarely reach the bump limit anyway.
>>
>>40317318
Do it.
>>
>>40317318
No shit they were, we have 9 million of both resources because anons constantly overestimate how much laying drones will cost.
>>
>>40317243
You have your pod continue to observe silently, but you can't help but look for an opening of some kind. You quickly glance back to Heretic and Theseus. A large set of scaffolds have unfolded from a pair of server ships and the driveship is being slowly taken apart. You can see the start of some kind of new hull design forming within the grip of the super structure as the components of the driveship are moved one by one.

>Request assistance in attacking the mining ships
>Leave them alone for now
>Other
>>
>>40317330
>>40317330

I still laugh whenever anons bitch about resources and "We don't need that many drones/ships/thinkers" when we are building up to waging a war against the Obsidian Queen and her masters the TRANS-DIMENSIONAL FUCKING SPACE CRYSTALS.

We are basically in TA/SupCom/PA mode, resources? The second we have them they should be spent unless we are saving them up for something expensive.

What the fuck is losing a lot of resources on a giant spree of building ships / laying drones going to do? Make the Hive-minded Ultra-Space Bugs of Mega-Biology go into a fucking recession?
>>
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>>40317323
>>40317325
>>40317330
Okay, so the Ws in parenthesis are the weapons, but in some cases I just added them to the cost of the drone itself, but still calculated them.

Workers- 750,000N
Warriors- 500,000N 500,000M (W:750,000M)
Wasps- 100,000N (W:150,000M)
Small Sniffers- 15,000N
Colossi- 150,000N 200,000M (W: 300,000M)
Hovertanks- 100,000N 140,000M (W: 240,000)
Fluttercraft- 142,000N 150,000M (W: 60,000M)
Ghost Beetles- 55,000N 10,000M (W: 15,000)
Heavy Warriors- 380,000N 450,000M (W: 150,000M)
Chinook- 36,000N 80,000M
Air defence- 82,000N 156,000M (W: 3,000M)
Bombers- 82,000N 120,000M
Strafers- 60,000N 100,000M
Heavy Interceptor- 56,000N 92,000M
Light Interceptor- 58,000N 92,000M

Total- 2,566,000N (2,090,000+1,668,000) 3,758,000M

Being able to zerg rush the enemies of the hive with 7 foot tall murderbugs armed with lasers- priceless.
>>
>>40317360
>>Leave them alone for now
>>
>>40317360
>>Leave them alone for now
>>
>>40317360
>>Leave them alone for now
>>Other
>Inform Heretic of the location of the last known working Psionic Cannon.
>>
>>40317360
>You can see the start of some kind of new hull design forming within the grip of the super structure
OH BOY OH BOY
>Request assistance in attacking the mining ships
>>
>>40317360
>Request assistance in attacking the mining ships
>>
>>40317360
>>Request assistance in attacking the mining ships
We should really try to do more trade, or anything really. I'm starting to feel really left out with him hanging out with Heretic all the time.
>>
>>40317373
Yeah but did you cover the fleets too?
That's 10 Heavy Battlefleets and 9 Light Fleets.
>>
>>40317372
>we don't need that many ships
That never happens.

Drones, thinkers, yes.

But we never have too many ships.
>>
>>40317403
No, this was just the drones. I couldn't find the cost of entire fleets on any of the pastebins, so I just stuck with the drones. We're still building the Light fleets right now, so I figured it was slightly less immediate an issue than their smaller brothers.
>>
>>40317409

We need drones to swarm inside those ships, drones to punch the people the ships can't reach in the dick, and thinkers to help with the small shit on the grand scale.
>>
>>40317426
So what you're saying is EXPAND EXPAND EXPAND.
>>
>>40317430

I'm saying that we aren't a Dragon and have no need to be sitting on a large sum of unspent resources.

It's one thing to have a decent nestegg when can throw around as needed, it's another to have a frankly obscene amount of resources doing fucking nothing.
>>
>>40317453
Let's ball it all up and lob it at somebody.
>>
>>40317423
>>40317403

Here we go!

676217N 1004090M for 1 Heavy Battlefleet!

That's including drones and drone weaponry though, it looks like for just the ships it'll be...

3941400N 39900700M

For the Heavy Fleets alone!

For 9 Light Fleets it'll come out to...

930150N 2041200M

Totalling for both: 4871550N 41941900M

Grand total purchase: 7437550N 4569900M

Looks like now would be a good time to find some more metals.
>>
>>40317453
I agree wish we had at least two hive ships by now.
>>
>>40317474
>7437550N 4569900M
That is way too much.
>>
>>40317360
>Leave them alone for now
>>
>>40317426

Speaking of boarding, we ought to design a drone to take prisoners alive.

Why? Because we could have an entire army under our control through our parasites that way. Or, y'know, just take them as hostages for negotiations with their leaders.
>>
>>40317474
The bad news is that it eats up our entire resource reserves. The good news is that since we don't have the pylons to build all of those at once, we can take the time to rake in more resources to cover the costs.

We should reserve a couple of docks to churn out more mining corvettes since they give the most return of metals at 8000M per corvette. And barring something completely catastrophic, this military buildup should be enough for us for awhile
>>
>>40317502
For nutrients it's fine.

Gotta ramp up metal production though. Hopefully Mantle Excavation opens up soon and we can start mining Wonder.
>>
>>40317515
Speaking of that, we need more pylons.
>>
>>40317502
Actually it looks like that grand total is low by several digits.
>>
>>40317515
I concur, we need to get a vote to confirm that we'll dedicate something like 50 docks to constantly building mining corvettes. We've got the Skyl megastructure AND the Wonder system to mine out, in addition to any other holdings we seize.

Maybe we'll get lucky and Huron will be metal-dense too.
>>
>>40317528
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEJd838oNp4
>>
>>40317539
I'd be willing to vote for that. It's important we keep investing into our economy
>>
>>40317515
Well this military buildup will grant us 10 battleships, 40 battlecruisers, and shittons of subcapitals...so if we pull this off then we'll actually finally be a formidable force that can hold our own against any other single faction.

It does mean we really can't add anything else until it's done though.
>>
>>40317539
Sounds reasonable.
>>
>>40317474
Is that including the crew compliment? Because I came up with a number much higher than that...
>>
>>40317608
No, QD doesn't seem to be including crew in fleets. Otherwise our Support Fluttercraft and Ghost Beetle count at the beginning of last thread would've been much higher.

Makes sense, really. Just keep fleets strictly ships and swarms strictly drones. Less a headache for him that way.
>>
>>40317616
I imagine the crew is counted in the initial cost.
>>
>>40317598
>so if we pull this off then we'll actually finally be a formidable force that can hold our own against any other single faction.

Nah, we'd be able to hold our own against the minor factions.

We outpace everyone except the BQ in sheer industrial output and efficiency, logistics for us is vastly simplified compared to everyone else, again, except for BQ, but the other factions have been around for a while.

If you need an example, think of those missions in AVP:Extinction where you have to fight the K-series Aliens, that's our situation right now.
>>
>>40317360
You are tempted to request aid in this matter, but with the ever critical driveship in pieces and freshly forged hull fragments being pulled into position, they seem quite busy at the moment. Perhaps later, when Heretic's FTL capabilities are back in service.

[Desmond]

Your pod quickly scans the system as it moves closer to the star, or at least one of them. Near the center of the system you see a great red giant star, and in the distance, beyond even the few planets, you detect the glow of a blue dwarf. The multiple angles of light make just about anything light up in the void of space, making efforts at stealth slightly more difficult. Your pod attempts to stay far away from anything that may detect it just to be safe.

Near the blue dwarf you find a ring of stellar debris. The field seems to shift in an unstable orbit between orbiting the red giant, and the dwarf, but the debris itself seems largely useless, mostly composed of inert gas and rock, with only the faintest hints of usable metals.

cont.
>>
>>40317663
AVP: Extinction was a mistake.
>>
>>40317668
Further in you find a large gas giant delicately balanced in the midst of the two stars tidal forces. The gas giant emits a powerful magnetic field, and within it, among its elegant rings water ice, is a lush looking world with exceptional conditions and an apparently healthy biosphere. You see a number of Union ships in orbit, and there is a decent presence detected on the ground from the constant radio chatter. Shuttles move to and from the surface, and it looks like the start of a colony is already in the making, with small settlements pocketing the planet's surface. The planet's surface is covered in a light blue vegetation, with a collection of islands set along shallow seas. A strange mixture of gasses give the atmosphere a greenish tint as it reacts with the light of the two suns.

Further in still you find another belt of debris orbiting closely to the red giant. It seems moderately rich in metals, likely the remnants of a small planetoid obliterated by the expansion of the star.
>>
>>40317635
What do you mean, anon?

The way I see it, we've got a Heavy Battlefleet already, sans battleship. We ordered that quite some time ago, long enough that the battlecruisers are done. If the crew had come with it then we'd have far more Heavy Warriors, Ghost Beetles, Support Fluttercraft, and other assorted drones than we do right now.

>>40317663
Fair enough, after all the Union is mining stars and we don't even have a space elevator.
>>
>>40317672

Only in the sense that it was console exclusive.

If it was designed start-to-finish for PC, or even multiplat including PC, it would have been beyond amazing, it was pretty good for what it was though, but sadly being console-based rendered it a blind, mute, and deaf paraplegic.
>>
>>40317616
Well that's reassuring. That puts the total cost of the entire order in the last thread (not counting construction projects) at a cool 4,765,950N 7,209,650M at my reckoning. Hell, that doesn't even drain our reserves.
>>
>>40317680
fuggen union
>>
>>40317680
Thank mother for stealth technology. We can still study the planet's biomes right under the union's nose.
>>
>>40317668
>>40317680

Uh. uwotm8?

This is all rather different from how we found OM-759 the first time.

Just what did the humans do to it?

> a lush looking world with exceptional conditions and an apparently healthy biosphere.

This wasn't here before!

The gas giant had two moons, not one, and only one of which barely had life.
>• P1: A frozen ball of ice with no atmosphere. It is barren and remote, with a crust composed of a mixture of rock and frozen inert gas.
>• P2: A thin atmosphere, geothermal activity, and high levels of oxygen make this small primordial world’s future a bright one, if the star lasts long enough for life to form on it. For now, however, there is little but pools of primordial soup, and lakes of a strange animated dark blue ooze made of a liquid carbon solution.
>>
Just wondering how long it will be until Obsidian Queen attacks the humans.
>>
>>40317724
That's P1 man. They melted the ice.
>>
>>40317693
How did you come to that? We're definitely in the hole several tens of millions of metals from the ship alone. It's not too bad, but production will be slow until we can get more mining corvettes.
>>
>>40317680
And where did the dead frozen ice planet go?
>>33557527
>>33557690
>>
>>40317724
Yeah, I'm actually confused as hell about this. A world supporting life and wrapped in powerful magnetic fields would have been perfect for us, and this is right in our neighborhood. What the hell?
>>
>>40317732
In just a few weeks?

...And they, what, blew up P2 with the Death Star?

Come on anon. Use your brain.
>>
>>40317739
There's a metal-rich desert world that some Valen settled on.
If they all suffer from a mysterious accident, then we can mine there to our heart's content.
>>
>>40317739
Our current Metal income is 2,838,000 dude, that's far from insignificant. Not saying it couldn't be higher, of course, but it ain't sluggish.
>>
>>40317732
The Union colonized Acheron before this quest even began, and they still aren't finished with the atmo-processors.

There is no possible way they turned an entirely frozen world with zero atmosphere into a lush vibrant one with a fully evolved, diverse biosphere.

Maybe we could but humans can't.
>>
>>40317758
I fully approve of this.

A parasite-tastic unfortunate accident.

>>40317763
I meant the production of ships will be slow due to lacking all the metals we need on hand right now.
>>
>>40317775
The ice was full of water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
>>
>>40317787
>still no explanation for where P2 and the frozen ice planet went

And they also somehow caused the gas giant to start emitting a giant magnetic field?

Instead of being full of fiery death that makes it useless to mine hydrogen from?

No, anon, you make no sense, and this makes no sense.
>>
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>>40317724
Oh god, you're right and I managed to get my notes mixed to hell for this system. I'm really sorry. That's all my fault.

Ignore this Desmond description, wrong system. Desmond remains an empty and somewhat boring system with a flaming gas giant and icy moons.

God damn.
>>
>>40317787
>fully evolved, diverse biosphere
I suppose you think that part was hiding under the ice all along too.
>>
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>>40317819
Its alright QD, we all make mistakes.
>>
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>>40317787
Yes, it's just that easy to make an airless ice planet habitable.

Just start blasting shit with heat. Instantly lush jungle errywhere.
>>
>>40317819
OK, so which other system did we blunder into?
>>
>>40317819

I like to imaged the Queen is confused as shit as to where her pod ended up somehow
>>
>>40317836
That is like, my favorite gif.

Alright, it's probably not even my favorite, but it's up there. Shit's fucking cute.
>>
>>40317841
We blinked too hard and fell through the void shard metaorganism to land in another dimension.
>>
>>40317635
What "crew"? Crew means people maintaining and running the ship itself, we don't have or need those.

Any drones we put on the ship are payload, not a crew running it. And it is easier to track payloads separate even if we make a standard bundle.
>>
>>40317847

That might work.

"You are momentarily confused as to how the system has become so different from your previous scouting mission..."
>>
>>40317819
>>40317668
>>40317680
Again, I'm so sorry. Fucking hell.

>>40317841
Librae. A small human colony in Valen space. It was founded by human settlers around the time of first contact with the Valen. It's like an Indian reservation the Union runs and the Valen just ignore.

I'm really sorry, you were not supposed to end up here. I was being a dummy.

You know what, if you'd like, we can just say you had a horrible blink malfunction and ended up here, and I'll work on adding visible Valen systems to the map.

Again, all my fault, really sorry.
>>
>>40317908
Sure lets go with that. Also don't yourself over it QD, it was an honest mistake.
>>
>>40317908
Dont sweat it, QD.
>>
>>40317908
>You know what, if you'd like, we can just say you had a horrible blink malfunction and ended up here, and I'll work on adding visible Valen systems to the map.
We had a Quantum Thinker calculate the blink, didn't we.

So your notes only included the natural planet formations, not the colony's politics, which you overwrote with Union ships?
>>
Oh shit, guys I just calculated the total cost of our purchase in the last thread, it's 5,538,490N 8,534,750M. We've used half our nutrients and almost all our metals.
>>
>>40317934
Good.
>>
>>40317908
It's all good QD, happens to the best of us. I for one am psyched to learn more about Valen space.
>>
I just realized that to Valen, all humans have autism. Socially dense and utterly unable to pick up on subtle social cues so you have to explain the terms of everything literally.
>>
>>40317908

Hey, hey, now.

Calm down, mate.

None of us are pissed about this, and if anyone if is then they're a fucking idiot.

You make ONE mistake like this in 46~ threads? You've done far better than most people. And you didn't even pull this shit out of your ass, this was just some wires getting crossed and putting us somewhere else that you'd already planned out.

You're doing fine, buddy. Now stop apologizing so much or you'll turn into a Canadian.
>>
>>40317934
Upfront costs are lies anyway, since it would take a period of several threads to finish an order that big and QD apparently only deducts the cost when the ship is actually being laid down, in which time we would have earned back our initial investment of resources.
>>
>>40317925
Union ships are indeed present. They govern and maintain the colony, but the planet itself is like a specially administrated zone, like Beijing. It was a part of the deal the Union made with the Valen to stop the fighting during the first contact war. The locals wanted to keep their independence, the Valen wanted compensation for their system, so the Union agreed to meet in the middle.

But you should not have known all that until later. Anyways. Your pod is currently located just past Groombridge, so it has missed its mark by quite a large margin. The thinker within is embarrassed to say the least.

Anyways, back to business, and hopefully we end up in the system we aimed for.
>>
>>40317970
Hey at least we didn't end up appreciating the inside scenery of a star or planet.
>>
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>>40317848
I wish I knew how to edit gifs.
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>>40318023
aw shit is that kruger

i mean lyle
totally meant lyle
>>
>>40318032
You know it.
>>
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>>40317908
You are unsure if you should be upset or impressed at the astounding miscalculation, but your pod, after careful study of the stars, seems to have missed its mark my many, many light years. You have it hold its position, unsure how you will get it back just yet, at least until you can chart the rest of the sector.


[Helion]

Your pod drifts into the system of the main sequence yellow star, and you quickly begin counting the ships and heavy traffic. Near the outskirts of the system you pass through a thin but vast cloud of stellar debris with sources of water ice and gas. Within the cloud you find a number of planets, almost all of which are easily habitable through either outstanding luck or tremendous feats of terraforming. Near the edge of the system is the planet of Arcadia, an oceanic planet kept warm by its thick atmosphere and the numerous weather control stations spread across the planet, that seem to force water flow up or down to regulate oceanic temperatures and alter currents. Each one seems to double as a city, with a large number of docks and floating harbor towns set along its rim. The planet is mostly an anarchy world, with no official world government. Each individual city is itself an independent power, making estimations of the planet's population difficult at best. From the data being bounced around in the system, you guess at least three hundred million, but that doesn't take into account the many nomadic states formed from fleets of ocean ships, or the freely floating and unregulated port cities that you can see dotting the surface.

cont.
>>
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>>40318082
So approximately where on our galactic map are we? Are we still in Union space?

That quantum thinker should've known to take that left at Groombridge.
>>
>>40318082
>Waterworld the planet
I won't be surprised if there's a planet like the world of Mad Max.
>>
>>40318133
Ironically, there are several planets in Huron's system that might fit the bill.
>>
FEED ME MORE MERCS.
>>
>>40318082
Further inward is the colony of Gendrick, a strangely organized feudal planet. The surface is cold, but perfectly habitable. You move in for a closer look, both intrigued and confused, as your pod makes out the sight of dirt roads and stone castles spread out across the surface. Periodically, the pyramidal structure of an weather acclimation center, little more then a less efficient atmospheric processor from your limited understanding, rises from the mud and frost. It spews steam from its sides, creating a dense fog around its foundation where the heat of freshly processed oxygen rich air slowly rises from the huddled shanties and scattered stone towers. You can spot near the equator a Commonweath corvette floats above a small farming village, docked to what looks like a grain silo as its drive ring creates a glittering golden halo in the sky above the hull. It has no official global census available, but its population is estimated to be several million at least scattered across the planet, with nearly six hundred thousand listed as living within the processors as administrators.

Even further into the system, you can see the planet of New Jerusalem. A ring of space ports are loosely arranged around the equator, where three space elevators connect to the surface. The planet itself is arid, but plentiful liquid water and the scattered placement of habitation domes seem to maintain good conditions for its inhabitants. Trade ships move to and from the planet almost constantly. The official public records seem to indicate it has a population of three billion humans, but with the rare appearance of city sized domes or settlements in the surface, you are forced to either suspect the number, or assume most of the inhabitants live bellow the surface. Unusual for humans, but not unheard of.
>>
>>40318196
>You move in for a closer look, both intrigued and confused, as your pod makes out the sight of dirt roads and stone castles spread out across the surface.
The Commonwealth literally gives no fucks, a libertarian's wet dream.
>>
>>40318124
About 5 or 6 light years or so from the boarder next to Groombridge.

Like missing the off ramp to New York and ending up in Johannesburg.
>>
>>40318196
Holy shit, this is like the Imperium of Man. I wonder if they've got a force of knights on Gendrick.
>>
>>40318196
[Winsor]

The red dwarf offers little support to these few pitiful planets, but before you can make any judgment on their worth, you realize that at least two people seem to think they are valuable enough to kill for. The intense, blazing beams of blaster cannons and particle beams glitter in the dark of Winsor's faint glow as Commonwealth and Scavenger forces grind each other to nothing. The fighting is fierce and desperate, with damaged ships ramming each other or self destructing to prevent capture or to gain the upper hand as clouds of missiles fly and fighters swirl in a dizzying cloud of shrapnel and directed energy. The Scavengers are unrelenting, but the defenders fight with a zeal that is almost reminiscent of your own warriors. You find the display of dedication surprising coming from humans.

Amidst the pitched battle, you can spit a single planet and a number of stations, mostly destroyed by the looks of it, but it is impossible to tell more at this distance.

>Watch the battle from a distance
>Move in closer to examine the system in more detail
>Other
>>
>>40318307
>Move in closer to examine the system in more detail
Ooooohoo
>>
>>40318307
>>Move in closer to examine the system in more detail
>>
>>40318307
>Move in closer to examine the system in more detail
>>
>>40318307
>Move in closer to examine the system in more detail
>Send a group of drones to investigate the ruined stations.
>>
>>40318307
>Move in closer to examine the system in more detail
>>
>>40318307
>>Watch the battle from a distance
I don't want to roll to not get hit in the crossfire.

>>40318334
Docking a corvette to the stations requires breaking stealth fuck that.
>>
>>40318307
>>Move in closer to examine the system in more detail
>>Send in a team of ghost beetles and flies to investigate the world.
>>
>>40318307
>Move in closer

You have your pod move in closer to view the planet, but the fleets surrounding it have practically entered a melee.

Please roll 1d100, best of 3.
>>
>>40318341
Pods dude. We can fit 5 medium sized drones and literally countless small sized drones in their hold.
>>
Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>40318355
>>
>>40318307
Anyone tempted to blink in a huge fleet, obliterate the scavengers and then blink out without saying or doing anything to the commonwealth?
>>
Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>40318355
For Mother
>>
Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>40318355
>>
>>40318375
>>40318373
Holy shit
>>
>>40318375
>>40318373
The hell?
>>
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>>40318373
>>40318375
ITS HAPPENING
LOOKS LIKE SCAV IS BACK ON THE MENU BOYS
>>
>>40318375
Hive wins the battle somehow parasites everywhere Commonwealth worships us as gods
>>
>>40318373
>>40318375
We stealth'd these bitches so hard we blink inside of their most heavily defended bunker without them even realizing it.
>>
>>40318361
And letting the drones out of it would also require breaking stealth.

>>40318375
Okay worries assuaged.

Man we have been crit100-ing on the most mundane of shit though. Medical scans and now dodging space bullets?
>>
>>40318375
Well never mind. It looks like you manage to get close enough to check their serial numbers.

Writing up.
>>
>>40318375
>>40318373
Inb4 the planet holds the plans for the psionic cannnon and we get a disabled scav ship to take apart.
>>
>>40318370
Unlikely with how close they are to each other. We'll be blowing up both sides.

Although blink in, slag some scav ships in the back and blink out can work.
>>
>>40318375
>>40318373
The legend is true, typing For Mother while rolling gets better results!
Hoping to get sweet sweet salvage from that 100, or more.
>>
>>40318432
Fun thing, it even works in other quests.
>>
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>>40318386
Prepare for couch stomping of biblical proportions.
>>
>>40318432
We're going to notice extraordinarily small details on the planet to potentially investigate later when our enemies aren't helpfully culling each other's populations.
>>
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>>40318355
Your pod dives through the conflict towards the planet, and very soon you see why.

The planet of Iserlohn is covered in fortifications and shipyards, as well as the scars of munition tests and live fire exercises alike. Innumerable anti-orbital batteries lay down a continuous wall of fire, and interplanetary missiles periodically launch from fortified silos. You are able to skim the atmosphere, masking your pod among falling debris as it skims just bellow the battle. You can see on the surface landing pods and drop ships from both sides fire upon each other in close proximity, and you see the Scavenger infantry clad in strange looking bulky suits reminiscent of a human drop suit. The combat has spread across the surface as the Scavengers fight for control of the anti-orbital batteries and sensor stations.

Among the chaos, however, you find something that instantly gains your full attention. Across the surface, rings of undamaged land surround some of the larger military installations. Command posts, major silos, sensor stations, all unharmed and untouched by the bombardment and rain of debris. You wonder why, and as you do you watch as a high velocity impactor hits with the force of an atomic bomb. It detonates half a kilometer above the ground, and as the blast fades you spot the slight shimmer if a shield covering the area with a dome of faint energy. Along the rim you can find strange looking projectors, previously dismissed as radio towers or sensors of some kind. You are unsure of how they managed to perfect shielding for the surface of a planet, but your thinkers already have theories, especially those working on shield miniaturization.

cont.
>>
>>40318543
Damn, this is one hell of a party.
>>
>>40318562
and they didn't even invite us...
>>
>>40318567
Dammit guys, I can't believe we missed out on a space war...
>>
>>40318441
https://archive.moe/tg/thread/40135386/#40140225
The reactions were hilarious
>>
>>40318543
Call me crazy, anons. But I want this technology.
Are we a bad enough dudes to quell the space combat, and steal the human's shield technology?
All without getting identified as the space bugs Lee encountered?
>>
>>40318567
Well the battle itself is an invitation, so let's self-invite!
>>
>>40318543
As you continue to watch the battle unfold, you see the projector towers fail one by one, melting to slag or overloading. In other areas the Scavengers begin to overwhelm the local forces, and several of the anti-orbital batteries shut down, and then even worse, begin firing on the Commonwealth fleet.

The battle quickly turns against the defenders, and as the planet falls piece by piece, you start to see the Commonwealth capital ships open fire on their own world, blanketing the critical points with atomic warheads and kinetic rounds. Several command stations detonate from within as the Scavengers break through the defensive line, and entire swaths of land, occupied by both sides, are bombarded in desperation.

>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
>Join the battle and open fire on all sides
>Continue to watch
>Other
>>
>>40318594
>>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
>>
>>40318594
>>Continue to watch
>>
>>40318594
What size force can we field compared to the ones they already have beating each other?
>>
>>40318594
>>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
I know this is going to be bad but fuck it.
>>
>>40318594
>>Continue to watch
>>
>>40318594
>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
>Broadcast only horrible screeching noises over all radio frequencies.
>KILL THING FOR MOTHER
>>
>>40318594
>Continue to watch
We are not gonna reveal ourselves anons.

Resist the urge.

All the research samples are being destroyed anyway even if you wanted to take them. They will not be there.
>>
>>40318594
>>>Continue to watch
>>
>>40318594
>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
Just because the following reason:
Fuck the Scavs and their couch-stealing antics.

But, this guy >>40318622 has a point.
How can we help without being seen?
>>
>>40318594
>Continue to watch
Get a fleet ready to roll in and pick up the pieces the moment everything is calm.
>>
>>40318594
>Continue to watch
Maybe, maybe when the Commonwealth is entirely annihilated and has no more witnesses to report over FTLComm what they're seeing.

Maybe then we come in and mop up what they couldn't, before they send reinforcements.
>>
>>40318586
>S-s-sir, things are getting heavy out here!
>Stand your ground soldier! These vultures can't last much longer!
>Sir they're all dead!
>What?!
>Yeah, these giant bugs showed up out of nowhere and just slaughtered them! The scav's didn't even have a chance to retreat! They were speaking Esperanto to, kept screaming something about 'where is the convenient seating' or something.
>>
>>40318612
At the moment they seem to be largely evenly matched, with at least two dozen capital ships on each side, but the tides are quickly turning to the Scavengers' favor as they take over the surface positions and turn them against the Commonwealth. Even still, at this moment reinforcements could make it go either way.
>>
>>40318638
We don't let our ground forces get seen.
No Commonwealth forces have seen our ships, our drones on the other hand...
So yeah.
>>
>>40318594
>>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth

>>40318622
Well maybe not Commonwealth data, but an intact scav ship sounds like a good prize.
>>
>>40318594
>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
while also stealing salvaging technology as we go. Commonwealth AND scavenger tech.
>>
>>40318594
>>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
This could net us some diplomatic points, and any day spent kicking the Scav's shit in is a day well spent.
>>
>>40318646
Yes but how big force do we have ready to arrive there? Is it enough to dwarf both sides and show our superiority?
>>
>>40318594
>>Continue to watch
>>
>>40318661
We can always open with some podbombs if required.
>>
>>40318594

>>40318661
>>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
We have one Heavy Battlefleet on standby, that's 4 battlecruisers and accompanying escorts.
>>
>>40318594
>>Continue to watch
>>
>>40318594
>>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
>>
>>40318659
Wut. The Commonwealth has no dealings with xeno scum like the Valen. We are not going to be friends with the military assholes either.

>>40318594
>>Continue to watch
>>
>>40318594
>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
>>
>>40318594
>Continue to watch
>>
>>40318594
>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
>>
>>40318594
>>>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
>>
>>40318594
Even if we decide to join the battle, we should wait until the scavs have the advantage for max gratitude.
>>
>>40318720
But the further we let this go on, the more stuff is broken!

Also damn, the votes are going neck to neck.
>>
>>40318737
We can alrady duplicate it with our unlocked shield tech trees. We're working on it.

Don't let researchlust blind you to the importance of secrecy.
>>
>>40318594
>>Continue to watch
>>
>>40318737
If the Scav make off with samples, we can then raid them in turn to get them.

Win win.
>>
>>40318594
>>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth
I'm laughing because this is one of THOSE votes
>>
SPACE WAR SPACE WAR
>>
>>40318594
>>Join the battle and open fire on all sides
>>
>>40318765
Sure why not.
>>
>>40318757
No, we can't. Their system has a huge fleet. And capturing Scav ships intact was a pretty rare sight, what with their love of selfdestructing everything.

So the only thing we could is to ambush them before they exit this system, and that would end with everything they looted going up in smoke.

Meanwhile, 13/11 in favour of blowing scavs up.
>>
>>40318594
Looks like
>Join the battle and aid the Commonwealth

>Send your heavy battle fleet
>Send spare, non fleet ships (write in)
>Send everything
>Other (write in)
>>
>>40318594
Oh boy here we go

>Continue to watch
>>
>>40318779
>>Send your heavy battle fleet
>>
>>40318764
>gas the scavs space war now

>>40318778
Well, we could attempt to board one of their ships and take it whole. Though that would probably end poorly for us.

>>40318779
>Send your heavy battle fleet
>plus some extra sub-capitals
>>
>>40318779
>>Send everything
We have to make an impression.
>>
>>40318779
>>Send your heavy battle fleet
shock and awe bitch
>>
>>40318779

>Send everything

Overwhelming power helps us to both annihilate the scavs and make a more impressive standoff with the Commonwealth.
>>
>>40318779
>>Send everything
You know we're never getting any research out of this.

They will never let us take it.
>>
>>40318779
>Send everything
>>
>>40318796
>standoff
They will turn on us immediately.

Also this will reveal the nature of blink drives when they see us blink into the system guys.

They will know exactly what inexplicable flashes in the sky signify after this.
>>
>>40318779
>>Send everything
>>40318799
So we kill them too!
>>
>>40318819
Then we should have voted for firing on both sides.

It would have been easier to kiill them all by doing that and making it a true 3-way brawl rather than giving the Commonwealth the upper hand first.

Also I think we should wait until the Scavs have more of an advantage before we attack. Until the Commonwealth are nearly dead, or preferably entirely dead.
>>
>>40318818
>They will turn on us immediately.
Why would they and what makes you think so? We're kinda pulling their hides out of the fire here.
>>
>>40318779
>>Send everything
>>
>>40318818
its not like they will tell anyone they're at war with everything
>>
>>40318833
Do humans seem rational to you.

Did you fucking see that Proxima embarassment.

They are paranoid, fearful, xenophobic zealots desperate to defend their planet from aliens. They will rightly assume we lust after its Science.
>>
>>40318779
>>Send everything
>>
>>40318838
It doesn't matter. Anyone knowing who doesn't have to know is a problem. They're that much harder to sneak up on if you don't blink in somewhere they can't see the flashes from.
>>
>>40318779
>>Send everything
>>
>>40318841
We do lust after their delicious science, but we also want to adopt everything.
>>
>>40318779
>>Send everything
But blink in somewhere their view is blocked. Like the far side of the star.
>>
>The red dwarf offers little support to these few pitiful planets,

>Amidst the pitched battle, you can spit a single planet and a number of stations,

Wait so is it "few pitiful planets" or a single-planet system.

is there another planet to hide the fleet blink behind?
>>
>>40318779
>Send everything
Oh mama

>Hive fleet
Heavy Fleet Fighter (272)
Heavy Gunship (36)
Patrol Corvette (126)
Scout Corvette (8)
Lancer Corvette (2)
Fleet Corvette (244)
Heavy Fleet Corvette (48)
Heavy Fleet Frigate (36)
Vanguard Frigate (600)
Heavy Cruiser (110)
Heavy Fleet Cruiser (18)
Heavy Fleet Battlecruiser (4)

Pods, mining ships, shuttles, ect, not included due to them not being combat ships, but you can bring in pods or other technically non-combat ships if you wish.

>Blink your force directly into the melee using your pod to place them directly in weapon range
>Blink your force at a distance and open fire with long range weapons
>Other (write in)
>>
SPACE WAR SPACE WAR
>>
>>40318904
>Other (write in)
Blink in behind the star or something else big so they won't see how we arrived.
>>
>>40318904
>>Blink your force at a distance and open fire with long range weapons
>Have your cloakable ships ships approach under stealth and engage in close range under covering fire from the shielded ships.
>>
>>40318904
>Blink your force at a distance and open fire with long range weapons
Supporting >>40318915
>>
>>40318915
I'd go with this.
>>
>>40318916
...do we want to reveal we have stealth capability?

We gave that cat out of the bag to the Obsidian Queen we don't want to repeat that mistake with the humans.
>>
>>40318903
Sorry, grammar error. It's one planet and, well, there used to be a few good sized stations. Big enough that they would get their own entries.
>>
>>40318915
If we did that there is no way we could reach the battle before it concluded.
>>
Wait so this is going to be our first legit contact with humans huh?
>>
>>40318941
Technically, our First Contact with the Commonwealth, but we can pretend that it is because it's not like they talk to the Union.
>>
>>40318941
Does it count if we don't give them our name during it?
>>
>>40318904
>>Blink your force directly into the melee using your pod to place them directly in weapon range

To fucking cool not to chose
>>
>>40318779
>Send your heavy battle fleet
Full warrior complement time to show the scavs what for!
>>
>>40318929
Space battles take longer than you think. Hours and hours.
>>
>>40318962
Not in this setting. OQ managed to knock out a significant chunk of the Unity's orbital defences, than raze a continent spanning city on 0-1 in the span of few seconds.
>>
>>40318904
How did none of the Light Fleets we ordered a long time ago finish by now?

We first ordered them in thread 43.5.

Also this >>40318915
Or behind the space stations if big enough to shadow us.

No cloaking, don't make them paranoid like the OQ is.
>>
Hey guys how about we pretend to be a /nomadic/ bug species?
>>
>>40318959
>>40318971
Guys, that will not only make our FTL methods blatantly obvious, but we're also much likelier to get shot up by the Commonwealth blokes we're here to support in the crossfire. An entire fleet of unknown ships sudden appearing in smack dab in the middle of an alien invasion is not conducive to good first impressions.
>>
>>40318996
We aren't pretending to be anything but mysterious, silent, and deadly.
>>
>>40318904
>Blink your force at a distance and open fire with long range weapons
Plz no stealth. No sense in revealing it
>>
>>40318996
Or we could just not give them our home address. The only effect on any possible diplomatic relationship is that they'd just be pissed if they find out later on that we blatantly lied to them.

Sides, I imagine they're fairly skittish of nomadic alien fleets at this point.
>>
>>40318904
>>Blink your force at a distance and open fire with long range weapons
>>
>>40318904
Your stealth ships will not be included by default.

>Have your fleet blink in on the far side of the star and charge in (The battle may continue to deteriorate for the Commonwealth)
>Blink your fleet directly into combat (Surprise attack)
>Other

>>40318941
Technically, and I must say it's quite an entrance.

>>40318989
I think I spot a few typos actually. I try to go over everything and cross reference every aspect of the hive whenever I can, to catch those, but it takes almost the whole day to do, and I haven't been able to sit down long enough in the past two weeks to do that.
>>
>>40319029
>Have your fleet blink in on the far side of the star and charge in (The battle may continue to deteriorate for the Commonwealth)
>>
>>40319029
>Have your fleet blink in on the far side of the star and charge in (The battle may continue to deteriorate for the Commonwealth)

That sounds like a good thing!

More desperate the better.
>>
>>40319029
>>Blink your fleet directly into combat (Surprise attack)
FUCK SCAVS
IMPRESS CW
>>
>>40319029
>>Other
>>Blink your force at a distance and open fire with long range weapons
This is the best option if it's either that or showing up after the shows over.
>>
>>40319029
>>Have your fleet blink in on the far side of the star and charge in (The battle may continue to deteriorate for the Commonwealth)
>>
>>40319047
It says "may continue to deteriorate." Not "there will be nothing left."

The Scavs are not winning that quickly. They've only barely skimmed the advantage.

>>40319029
>>Have your fleet blink in on the far side of the star and charge in (The battle may continue to deteriorate for the Commonwealth)
>>
>>40319029
>Blink your fleet directly into combat (Surprise attack)
>>
>>40319029

>Have your fleet blink in on the far side of the star and charge in (The battle may continue to deteriorate for the Commonwealth)
>>
>>40319043
We do that, we risk loosing our ability to blink to a planet an closer than a day away without anybody noticing us.
>>
>>40319029
>Have your fleet blink in on the far side of the star and charge in

Please give me 1d100, best of 3 for dramatic, high velocity introductions.
>>
Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>40319072
SPACE WAR SPACE WAR
>>
Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>40319072
If they fire on us out of fear we're destroying the humans too.
>>
Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>40319072
For Mother!
>>
Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>40319072
>>
Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>40319072
For Mother!
>>
>>40319029

Scavs get annihilated, commonwealth gets saved but badly wounded, no info on our blink drive. Sounds good to me
>>
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>>40319077
SPACE WAR NOW
>>
>>40319056
Exactly, now is the ideal time politically to arrive, before
1, The commonwealth start winning, making it look like we only showed up to help when we knew we could win without risking any of our ships
2, The commonwealth start to lose, enduring devastating losses and making our assistance significantly less dramatic and helpful.
>>
>>40319099
Uh. No.

If they start to definitely lose, interference saving them becomes more valuable, not less. It makes it undeniable who gets the credit.

None of that matters though because this will almost certainly devolve into them shooting us for being in their space and they have twitchy fingers.
>>
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>>40319077
I DECLARE A SPACE WAR
>>
>>40319072
So we're sending in about a thousand subcapitals.

How many are our two enemies fielding right now?
>>
>>40319159
See>>40318646
>>
>40319029
>Your stealth ships will not be included by default.

Well it's not that. It's just that they can be there, they just have to keep their cloak off, rendering them effectively regular ships.
>>
So since we are initiating first contact we should remember to not use terms such as mother, speaker or show our appearance in case the humans might connect the dots too quickly.

We should also adopt an official name since we are going public like the other queens.
>>
>>40319210
And then get torn apart thanks to a lack of shielding?
>>
>>40319214
If they ask, we just call ourselves the Collective.
Or something equally vague and menacing.
>>
>>40319214
Wise thinking. We should call ourselves the red something, but I can't think of anything fitting that isn't 'Hive'. Collective maybe? I was thinking the Red Triumvirate to reference the whole hive mind triple alliance we got going on with Theseus and Heretic, but it might not be wise to hint there are other powers involved with us.
>>
>>40319215
Better than not being present at all.

>>40319214
We can just maintain radio silence. There's no utility otherwise.
>>
>>40319072
Your fleet emerges on the far side of the star, the combined emissions of the entirety of the Hive fleet dimming the nearby star in your sensors. From your pod, you can feel the burst of radiation ripple through the corona of the star like ripples in a disturbed pond. The fleet itself is quick to emerge, rapidly accelerating towards the chaos of the battle.

In orbit, you see the largest of the Commonwealth ships, the dreadnought Wormwood, release a projectile from its spinal mount. It attracts your attention as you see it move, trailing a wake of twisted light behind it like a gravity drive. It impacts the ground and begins to burrow into the crust, uprooting buildings and capsizing mountains. The blast quickly spreads across a sizable portion of a continent, and you can see the ship maneuvering to a new location, as if to fire again when a Scavenger cruiser snaps in half as it tries to crack through the Wormwood's shields.

"Danger close! Who's shot was that?"

A blast of static marks a sensor tower facing your fleet broadcasting to the fleet. "We're detecting ships incoming. Unknown energy readings. They're not ours."

Several more of the Scavenger ships are torn like tissue as your capital fleet opens fire with their spinal weapons. You can hear several ships near the edge of the battle begin to broadcast to the others.

"Six, eight, no twelve... Christ almighty I'm reading over fifteen hundred unknowns!"

"Unknowns are firing on hostile forces, repeat, they are firing on hostile forces."

"Are you seeing this, Wormwood? They look... organic."

cont.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kWwwh541_o

>>40319159
Hundreds of sub-capitals each.
>>
>>40319231
How about "The Red OF The Triumvirate"?

Mysteriously hinting on other two without saying who or what.
>>
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>>40319255
>the combined emissions of the entirety of the Hive fleet dimming the nearby star in your sensors.
That's a big flash.
>>
>>40319258
The Red Queen? They got monarchial systems, they'll understand it in all the right wrong ways.

Other Triumvirate members are The Heretic and The Scholar (aka Theseus but we're going with impersonal titles here)
>>
>>40319258
Our drones can introduce themselves as "The Servants of She Who is Anointed In The Blood of Her Enemies, Queen of The Void-Shadows, Nemesis of The Kinslayer, One of The Triumvirate."

Something ridiculously frilly and filled with almost useless information for them to grasp onto.
>>
>>40319255
so fucking good
>>
>>40319297
Or we can just withdraw as silently as we came.

Talking is silly.
>>
>>40319305
no
>>
>>40319297
Actually Void-Shadows is too reminiscent of the crystals. Maybe "Commander of The Untold Eyes"

>>40319305
But... our natural desire to be a cheeky breeki.
That said you're probably right.
Can we at least grab some salvage?
>>
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>>40319255
Now, I don't normally say this because it's cliche as all hell.

But this is fucking epic.

I love it when you give us a soundtrack to your posts QD.
>>
>>40319305
If we don't talk we can't convince them to give us their tech. Or alliance. Or anything.

Hell we AT LEAST can point the Commonwealth at the scav's current parking lot system. That will tie up the couch bastards' forces and free us to act.
>>
>>40319315
We shouldn't even be able to transmit in English if we've just happened to meet humans on our Scav-hunting trip.

We really shouldn't.
>>
>>40319291
>>40319258
I actually really like that
>>
>>40319297
You forgot Vengenance of Mother.
>>
>>40319324
They will never, ever do any of those things.

Maybe, sending simple numerical coordinates would be fine. That's universal.
>>
>>40319324
This.
We really should get them to tie up the Couchfuckers.

>>40319332
We could start our broadcast with horrifying screeches, and eventually just sort of transition into english as though we thought we were speaking it the entire time.

>>40319335
That's what I was going for with 'Nemesis of The Kinslayer'.
>>
>>40319258
Sounds regal, militarily powerful, and appropriate. Nice one anon, I can get behind this.
>>
>>40319324
Nothing could possibly motivate them enough to give up valuable tech to aliens.

We can't risk associating closely with them, we can't even trust them to see what our FTL looks like, anything more than the occasional shared interest like this, denying scavs tech, is off the table in practical terms.
>>
>>40319255
As your fleet begins to enter the fray and your ships decelerate, you send out your fighters and your swarm drones, filling the space around your ships. You hear more signals of panic and confusion.

"They are launching fighters. Shit... Shit! There's thousands of them! Where the hell did they come from?"

Your ships open fire as they close in with their plasma lances, and the beams of vibrant light slice through several Scavenger ships at once, ignoring their shields as you burn them to cinders. Commonwealth ships turn sharply and burn to evade as your ships carve through the melee leaving shattered hulls and molten armor in your wake.

A passing flight of fighters weaves past a wing of your corvettes and broadcasts to the rest of the fleet.
"We're not picking up any signals. No communication of any kind. I repeat, the fleet is silent. Wormwood," there is a long pause as the fighters move away quickly, "Wormwood what are these things?"

"Open hailing channels, all frequencies and all languages!" The flagship lets out a burst of mostly meaningless data. Language ciphers for English, Esperanto, Arabic, and a dozen other human tongues as well as the Valen trade language.

>Ignore the hail
>Respond (write in)
>>
>>40319375

I'm thinking we send them that constructed language of ours. Might be to revealing to talk in Esperanto
>>
>>40319375
>Respond (write in)
"We got rather tired of them attacking our shipping unprovoked. Nice to meet you."
>>
>>40319375
>>Respond (write in)
The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy.
>>
>>40319255
HHHYYYYPPPEEEE!!!!!
>>
>>40319375
>>Respond (write in)
Greetings humans of the Commonwealth. We are the Red of the Triumvirate, we have come to aid you in your battle against the Scavengers.
>>
>>40319375
Respond with a copy of their hail (just a total copy, playing dumb a bit) and then a long period of randomised garble that slowly morphs into their language.
>>
>>40319375
Respond in our constructed language, also give them the packet. No reason to reveal that we know their language.
>>
>>40319375
>>Ignore the hail
>>
>>40319375
>Ignore the hail
>>
>>40319390
Bahahahaha
The looks on their faces would be amazing

>>40319399
Seconding this but Red Queen of the Triumvirate
>>
>>40319375
>Respond:
>Horrifying mammalian screeches more similar to a dog-cat-human-moose hybrid's idea of a dial-up modem than anything intelligent.
>Then suddenly the screeching stops, and a rasping voice that seems like a poor attempt at feigning humanity can be heard:
>"These before you are the servants of She Who is Red. These before you who are the servants of She Who is Red assault those who are The Betrayers of Trust. These before you who are the servants of She Who is Red who are assaulting those who Betray Trust wish to know the secrets present in the gears of Those Who Betray Trust, and those who are attacked by Those Who Betray Trust."

Time to confuse them with shitty languages!

>>40319387
That constructed language has more in common with hieroglyphics than English. Also, if they have any hive ruins nearby it'd tip them off right away.
>>
>>40319375
>>Ignore the hail
Just continue eating the scavs.
>>
So anybody here listening to anything to set the tone of our little space war? I've got this going at the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIbXhQ5pUco
>>
>>40319375
>>Respond
"The Enemy of my enemy is my friend, further talks will begin after hostiles have been eliminated.
>>
>>40319375
Backing >>40319400
>>
>>40319375
>Ignore the hail
We speak only the universal language: Blood.
>>
>>40319427
Sure that sounds fun.
>>
>>40319400
Backing this too. This is good.
>>
>>40319429
Not a terribly diplomatic dialect, that.
>>
>>40319400
backing as it might give us an edge if they think we don't understand them.
>>
>>40319419
No, especially no mentioning queens.
>>
>>40319451
This. Aside from not wanting to be too casual when we could have some fun, we want to keep our true nature secret. They probably have spies in the Union who may make some conclusions we'd rather not be made.
>>
>>40319446
Who the fuck cares about that.
>>
>>40319375
>>40319390

"You are the prey of our prey." Followed by more killing the scavengers and radio silence.
>>
>>40319420
I don't see the benefit of confusing them with shitty languages. We showed we learned English in a day with no translators with the Union and they still believed us to be stone smashers. Now we're showing our hand as a superadvanced and powerful force, there is nothing to be gained by playing dumb.
>>
>>40319375
>Ignore the hail
We can scare the humans with vague pronouncements later guys, when we take off like Tuxedo Mask after tossing a rose.
>>
>>40319459
Most everyone who voted to show up and pull their asses out of the fire. Did you just get here or something?
>>
>>40319375
Trade?
>>
>>40319390
This works
>>
>>40319399
We shouldn't even know what a "Commonwealth" is.

Stay vaguer. Don't use proper names, just relationships, like:

predator
prey
revenge
>>
>>40319493
I disagree man.
We gotta at least be able to communicate that we're scary and dogmatic.
>>
>>40319375
Demand payment for our assistance in the form of luxurious couches
>>
>>40319510
and bitches
>>
>>40319375
>Do not respond to the hail
>Return the hail verbatim
>[incomprehensible screeching noises]
>Other
>>
>>40319520
>Return the hail verbatim
>[incomprehensible screeching noises]
>Other
Hello
>>
>>40319520

>>Do not respond to the hail
>>Return the hail verbatim
>>[incomprehensible screeching noises]
In that order.
>>
>>40319520
Tell them in their own language to focus on the scavengers, not us, and we can answer their questions after.
>>
>>40319520
>>Return the hail verbatim
>>
>>40319533
This.
>>
>>40319520
>[incomprehensible screeching noises]
Let's have them go through the whole first contact protocol. Math, language primers, the works.
>>
>>40319493
Human civilizations broadcast their radio waves across the stars constantly, they aren't exactly trying to hide. It would be trivial for an FTL capable species to monitor their transmissions and figure out their name before meeting them. Do you really think it's plausible that an intelligent species would send an armada of over 1500 ships into a warzone to support a nation they knew absolutely nothing about?
>>
>>40319520
>>Do not respond to the hail
All of those are appropriately spooky though.
>>
>>40319520
>>Return the hail verbatim
>>[incomprehensible screeching noises]
finally. I got really tired of everyone else's paranoia.
>>
>>40319533
Fuck I meant to leave out the first part.
>>
>>40319520
>>Return the hail verbatim
>>Slowly segue into Esperanto
>>
>>40319520
>Do not respond to the hail
>>
>>40319520
>Return the hail verbatim
>[incomprehensible screeching noises]
Slowly become understandable.
>>
>>40319520
>Return the hail verbatim
Then
>Do not respond to the hail further
>>
>>40319520
>Return the hail verbatim
>[incomprehensible screeching noises]
>>
>>40319520
>>Return the hail verbatim
>>
>>40319520
>Do not respond to the hail
>>
>>40319520
"hello joe, nice weather we're having"
>>
>>40319520
>>Return the hail verbatim
>>
>>40319520
Supporting:
>>40319564
>>
>>40319520

Your fleet repeats the call, each ship parroting the hail in rapid succession. The fighter wing closest to your armada returns to the side of one of the more distant corvettes.

"Unknown vessel. What is your status and intention? Do you copy? I repeat-"

Your fleet erupts in noise. A chorus of inhuman screams and incomprehensible chittering that echoes along every channel and frequency. It crescendos into a cacophony of harsh, rasping cries and rapid clicking that drowns out all other signals as your fleet slowly encompasses the planet, and the defending fleet as your over take the Scavenger forces like a tidal wave. You see the remaining forces in orbit being to accelerate away, leaving their ground forces behind as they redirect the anti-orbital batteries against your own fleet.

>Bombard the captured positions that are firing against you
>Deploy drones by drop pod to the captured positions
>Ignore the surface, pursue the fleet
>Other
>>
>>40319564
i like this one.
>>
>>40319670
>>Deploy drones by drop pod to the captured positions
>>
>>40319670
>>Ignore the surface, pursue the fleet
No drones no
>>
>>40319676
>deploying highly distinctive giant bug monsters in public
>>
>>40319670
>>Ignore the surface, pursue the fleet
Drones on the ground means bodies that the Commonwealth can dissect.
Also fuck the Scavs they must not return with word of our fleet.
>>
>>40319670
>Ignore the surface, pursue the fleet
We can make the Scavs burn later. For now we sate our bloodlust.
>>
>>40319670
>Ignore the surface, pursue the fleet
Let the CW recapture their positions once we're moving away from the planet.
>>
>>40319670
>Ignore the surface, pursue the fleet
>>
>>40319670
>>Deploy drones by drop pod to the captured positions

Gotta make sure some Commonwealth tech goes "missing".
>>
>>40319670
>>Bombard the captured positions that are firing against you
>>Ignore the surface, pursue the fleet

Let's just split the fleet. We have our entire armada here, we have more than enough ships to do both.
>>
Once we duplicate the grappling hook ship-to-ship weapon, could we just attach a bunch of corvettes with Heavy armor to a scav ship to render it unable to escape?

Our ships would be vulnerable sitting ducks too shackled to it, of course. But that's necessary to obtain samples.
>>
>>40319718
Not possible.

They would fire upon us if we tried to go down to the surface to retrieve our troops and samples.

They would quite reasonably covet their tech no matter who is going near it.
>>
>>40319670
>Bombard the captured positions that are firing against you
Shell the positions. Can't have Commonwealth looting and researching Scav's technology when we could sell it to them later.
>>
>>40319670
>Ignore the surface, pursue the fleet

Please give me 1d100, best of 3 for pursuit.
>>
Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>40319772
K
>>
Rolled 65 (1d100)

>>40319772
FOR MOTHER!
>>
Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>40319772
>>
Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>40319772
>>
Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>40319772
For Mother!
>>
Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>40319772
For Mother
>>
>>40319780
I hope they like getting kinetic penetraters and plasma up their asses.
>>
>>40319718
You could probably have stolen the samples from the surface if we'd waited to come in until just after the Commonwealth was dead.

It's a bit late for that.
>>
>>40319845
who cares, that was awesome!
>>
>>40319845
In all honesty they wouldn't be anything drastically different from what the Union has.
>>
>>40317680
>The gas giant emits a powerful magnetic field
could be used for the fungi or whatever it is that we have on Leeland, we'd just have to rid ourselves of the humans
>>
>>40319908
We need electromagnetic for that.
>>
>>40319772
You watch as the Commonwealth fleet shrinks back to the battered world as you race past without slowing in chase of the fleeing Scavenger fleet. Your armada devours them ship by ship as they continue to accelerate. Your plasma lances slice through the closest of them, and your capitals rip their hulls open with kinetic rounds and particle beams.

The Commonwealth already begin to retake the surface, with bombardments and drop pods falling on the surface as your fleet accelerates away after the few remaining scavengers. The last of their forces, a battlecruiser sized craft, enters a death spin as your lances pry off its maneuvering thrusters one by one, and it collides into the detonating debris of a cruiser nearby, splitting in two as the fragments shred themselves from the spin.

Finally, you take account of your own casualties. Nothing more then your swarm drones, thirteen heavy fighters, and a single fleet corvette, the debris of which had detonated into radioactive dust amidst the enemy fleet.

>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away
>Attempt to communicate with the Commonwealth forces (write in)
>Other
>>
>>40319916
>>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away

Tuxedo Mask aliens.
>>
>>40319916
>>Other
Attempt to salvage one of the more intact Scavenger ships if any
>>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away

Are there any Scavenger ships that still look salvageable?
>>
>>40319916
>>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away
Peace niggas
>>
>>40319916
>Attempt to communicate with the Commonwealth forces (write in)
"Everyone gets one." Then
>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away
>>
>>40319916
>Attempt to communicate with the Commonwealth forces (write in)
Send them a single hail with "The Red Queen of the Triumvirate is watching your progress, humans. Do not fail them."
Let them deduce whatever meaning they want from that.
>>
>>40319916
>>Attempt to communicate with the Commonwealth forces
Start with a bit of the gibberish then scale down to english or some other language they sent us and give them a neutral place to begin talks in several days time.
>>
>>40319916
>>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away
They must feel very small in the universe right now.

Like a great white shark coming right up into your face, and silently passing you over.
>>
>>40319940
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A3N_v2BJYY
>>
>>40319935
This. Or at least contents that would've survived. I'm sure they had some extra drop suits on board.
>>
>>40319916
>Attempt to communicate with the Commonwealth forces (write in)
Transmit them the coordinates of the Scav base and simple "ENEMY THERE" text in a bunch of languages.

Then move on.
>>
>>40319958
Works for me
>>
>>40319916
>>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away

Give them nothing. Confusion will Make them militarise like nothing else.
>>
>>40319916
>>Attempt to communicate with the Commonwealth forces (write in)
"Greetings. We represent the Red Queen of the Triumvirate."
>>
>>40319935
Pfft.

If we didn't manage to preserve any when we had just a few small scouts investigating Wonder, and we had the chance to pull our punches.

We definitely didn't leave anything intact enough out here where we pulled no punches at all.
>>
>>40319916
>>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away
>>
>>40319916
Supporting this:
>>40319935
>>
File: 1431397895928.gif (894 KB, 480x256)
894 KB
894 KB GIF
>>40319990
...And you want that?
>>
HUMANS GET OUT

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
>>
>>40319958
this
>>
>>40319916
>>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away
>>
>>40319960
Who is that man and how did he get Sting whip augmentations?
>>
>>40319916
Your fleet continues to accelerate as your smaller craft momentarily pick through what little is left that could be identified as once part of a ship. You find little that is larger than a meter in any dimension, but as your fleet accelerates past the debris you have them search regardless.

Please roll 1d100, best of 3 to search through the collection of scavenger-shaped stains.
>>
>>40320025
In light of the other thing happening? The union sees the commonwealth start Militarising after that fuckup in orbit, They'll start up their own military production.

If we can then lure the black queen to start fighting the humans, We can have two free cannonfodder proxies to fight her with.
>>
File: brake for nobody.png (109 KB, 396x300)
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>>40319916
>>Continue to accelerate and Blink your fleet away after moving a light day away
pic related
>>
Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>40320075
FIND THINGS FOR MOTHER!
>>
Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>40320075
>>
Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>40320075
K
>>
Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>40320075
>>
Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>40320075
For Mother
I know it's too late but I want to find out anyway.
>>
File: sensiblechuckle.gif (993 KB, 250x250)
993 KB
993 KB GIF
>>40320075
>Please roll 1d100, best of 3 to search through the collection of scavenger-shaped stains.
>>
>>40320075
So we just took off without saying anything to the Commonwealth? I can only imagine what is going through their heads right now.
>>
>>40320126
>"Fuck." -Every Commonwealth military officer.
>>
>>40320126
>I can only imagine what is going through their heads right now.
Well considering that we'll still have stealth pod listening in on their radios, we'll get to watch it.
>>
>>40320154
>>40320075
Can out stealth pod communicate with them without breaking stealth?
>>
File: worried-laughter.png (513 KB, 600x782)
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>we still have Mufrid, Cygni, and Tiberion to look at
>>
Holy fuckstick QD. I jojned when the thread started. Went to bed, got up, went to my lectures, had lunch and found you still running... I'm speechless...
>>
>>40320075
Your corvettes open their holds and take in several piles of junk. As your workers sift through them, you find several pieces of the strange, bulky armor you had seen deployed on the surface, although you find no intact samples. You find nothing worth while enough to start a new research project, but at the very least you may be able to gain some understanding of the recent advancements made by their forces, and a moderate amount of scrap metal.

The humans of the Commonwealth attempt to ignore your fleet as they retake their world, avoiding directing their transmissions in your direction. Your fleet has suffered only minuscule losses, and displayed a show of power that will not go unnoticed in Commonwealth society to say the least. As far as greetings go, you feel yours is rather difficult to ignore.

That's it for this week I think. Sorry we couldn't get through all the scouted systems. I'll try to stick around for a bit for questions and feedback.
>>
>>40320154
>we'll get to watch it.
looking forward to it
>>
>>40320154
I hope we can get a copy of their records of this whole thing, make a nice addition to the family album
>>
>>40320166
No. Radio=Radar waves, they'll see where it is.

If we really want to chat we can blink in a corvette later.
>>
>>40320084
Not bad on salvage. Certainly better than our attempts of OQ stuff.
>>
>>40320172
Thanks for the thread anyway QD. Everytime you run it's the highlight of the week.
>>
>>40320166
We could just sail behind a space rock or shot up piece of Scavenger and drop cloak then. It's definitely small enough to pull it off.
>>
>>40320172
Thanks QD! Was a good one.
>>
I wonder what Theseus and Heretic must be thinking when he realizes that almost our entire fleet of ships disappeared for a few hours and then blinked backed like nothing happened.
>>
>>40320172
So was Lee friends with the notorious hacker 44chan then?
>>
>>40320172
Had a great time. Sleep scheduled is ruined, worth it. Thanks again, good night.
>>
>>40320172
Thanks for running, I always look forward to these threads, even if I can't actively participate for the most part.
>>
>>40320172
Thanks for running!

>The humans of the Commonwealth attempt to ignore your fleet as they retake their world, avoiding directing their transmissions in your direction.
We ARE still leaving the pod sneaking in the orbit, right?
>>
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>>40320172
Thanks for running QD, this was an excellent thread. So we had a lot of discussion about it earlier, but do you think we could research making drones that could act as a mounting for a weapon graft like pic related? We did actually do a fair bit of brainstorming about it in between the shitposting.
>>
>>40320172
Will we get to see their response? Will we get to communicate? Will many mysterious things happen?
>>
>>40320172
Just the opportunity to schedule more star systems to explore then.

Like.
>Jewel
>First Landing
>Barnard
>Andromeda
>Chandra
>Lulal
>Procyon
>Unkown yellow star
>Unkown red dwarf
>>
>>40320188
>>40320195
>>40320204
>>40320206
And thanks for playing! Even if you can only stop by for some of it.
And yea, my Monday sleep schedule has been irreparably annihilated. Worth it though.

>>40320229
You can design your weapons to include a basic trigger mechanism if you wish. It would be a rather simple modification.

>>40320236
It is a mystery. Well, I guess you're the mystery, but still.
>>
>>40320172
Thanks for running! How are the Raligha side projects going?
>>
we need to find a planet we can strip mine and we also need to colonize more planets and utilize the ones we have to their fullest potential, as much food production as possible etc.
>>
>>40320256
So is hydroponics on the ocean impossible even for the hive?
>>
hahahahahaha fucking hell guys, i'm so happy you all decided to break stealth for this one.
>>
>>40320286
Agreed.
>>
>>40320256
Is that chimera egglayer really still a chimera and not a hybrid again. I thought we fixed that.
>>
>>40320256
>It is a mystery. Well, I guess you're the mystery, but still.
I wonder what crazy conspiracy theories Commonwealth comes up.

Also: how hard would it be to get Theseus in their systems?
>>
>>40320323
There are dozens of internets probably. There's not really good infrastructure coordination between the planets, is there?

You'd need to smuggle hybrids in and then break into wherever to reach the access ports you're targeting.
>>
>>40320323
Quite difficult, actually, as they are even more decentralized then the Union.
>>
>>40320348
The BFI files on Unity didn't indicate that they share the anti-Unity program with the Commonwealth, did it?
>>
>>40320256
But could we design a small drone that could operate a normal sized weapon graft? I just figure it would make them far easier for a human to use, we could add a variety of useful adaptations to it, and in a pinch could fire the weapon from a set location. Basically a drone equivalent of this.
>>
>>40320348
Ah. But if he gets onto a planet, how easily can he spread through everything actually connected to the entry point? Will it be an unstoppable epidemic given CW's lack of experience or do they still have something offering a degree of protection?
>>
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>>40320369
Oh damn everything, my pic got dropped again.
>>
>>40320369
You want to design a gun which replenishes ammunition by eating food.
>>
>>40320323
I can't tell if this was saying yes or no. >>40317216

A long-lasting acid kept in check with a short-lived binder protein would be something that needs research, or would it already be possible as a cybernetic gland implant?
>>
>>40320379
That is a big bonus, yes. Turning butterscotch into bullets can come in handy in the field I'm sure.
>>
>>40320374
Depends on the planet. He may have a field day, he may have a hard time finding any computers advanced enough to infiltrate at all. A feudal world, for example, would be largely immune to him.

>>40320361
They do not.
>>
>>40320458
Well. We need to have him use nanomachines to turn their abacuses into quantum computers. Then infect them with Theseus.
>>
>>40320483
More seriously. We can offer to target a particular Commonwealth world for him, effectively do a job like Lyle used to do, in exchange for singularity weapons.
>>
>>40320458
Just what is life like on feudal worlds? How aware of the outside world are its citizens?

So is that a 'no' on the gun frame drone chassis for the time being?
>>
>>40320399
I mean, if we start flash-cloning disposable, cheap goons to start a crimewave to build up some money and resources like technology to produce fake IDs. We don't want hybrids bleeding on crime scenes if things go awry.

But if they do leave blood behind at crime scenes, it should be the kind that contains substances that will dissolve it all back to simple water and gases after an hour. So we don't have to burn the building down to get rid of it.

Loosely inspired by the actual biology of plasmid-addicted bacteria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxin-antitoxin_system
>>
>>40320458
thanks for the threads man, you made my week!
>>
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>>40320458
That's some impressive endurance you got QD. I must say I'm impressed, you always manage to squeeze in an event that progresses the quest in despite the slowing pace that plagues these nation-quests. Thanks for running as always!
>>
Should've had the fleet shouting FOR MOTHER AND VENGEANCE in all human languages as we charged in
>>
>>40320179
You know, I'll bet anything our little intervention in the battle is going to be the stuff of urban myth in the Commonwealth for years.
>>
>>40321214
I'd have preferred a simple "Hello, don't mind us."



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