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>>1913805

From the lands of Oklahoma, through the scorching deserts and myriad dangers, Lucius has seen more of this world after the bombs than you suspect anyone you will likely find in the next couple of years, the young man recounting tales of how he wandered west looking for hope and found so much more than he had bargained for.

Mutants and raiders, aliens and wild beasts, he tells you things you shouldn’t believe, but you know that you must, recounting his travels through Texas and the lands further west where something like the imperial legion of Rome now makes its home. He tells you of the NCR and its burgeoning democracy, of the Enclave and their secretive agendas and countless crimes, of Native American tribes and the Brotherhood and the Followers of the Apocalypse whose order he traveled with while making his way north.

“We share the same goals,” he affirms, his dark brows furrowing over light blue eyes, “but they hold no great love for the Brotherhood. And so, some stayed in Olympia, and others traveled west and North into the great forests of the Cascades. Only I elected to come here to try to do what I can.”

Apparently, that included developing a radiation nullification wave which you are still trying to wrap your head around, along with an indeterminate amount of research that was stolen by the gang known as the Lurkers.

“It was nothing dangerous,” he assures you again, “but all of it was incredibly valuable. Without it, I fear that I’ll have many years left ahead of me replacing my research.”

Micro-transistors, a plasma condenser, the makings of a device to transfer energy over great distances, and so much more that he’s told you about. Those raiders had pillaged the library of Alexandria without even knowing how to read, and…

> And now what?
> [] The DHS. You need a better body. Plus, there is a SARA there.
> [] Vault 59. An army of dogs and all the dog food you can eat could be handy.
> [] The BoS. Someone is going to buy these vehicles off you.
> [] The Lurker base. Fuck all of this. Go for the throat.
> [] Other

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>>1913813

For new players, welcome to Fallout: Last Spark, a post-apocalyptic game where-in you take up the role of an artificial intelligence originally designed to protect and serve the citizens of Seattle in event of catastrophes both natural and man-made. Woken after a two century nap, you are now back on the path to reclaim your city and tame the post-apocalypse.

For those who want to follow me on twitter for quest announcements and the like:
https://twitter.com/bananon_QM

Though the first archive is misplaced, all subsequent threads will be saved here:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=last+spark

>>1913813
>> [] The DHS. You need a better body. Plus, there is a SARA there.
Will need the computing power as well.

>>1913813
>> [] The BoS. Someone is going to buy these vehicles off you.
Rule number 6: Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity.

>>1913813
> [] The DHS. You need a better body. Plus, there is a SARA there.
Im thinking if we cant find someone to buy the spare jeep, we can always take it apart for parts, use it to build something else.

>>1913813
> [] The BoS. Someone is going to buy these vehicles off you.

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>>1914018
>>1913942
>>1913913
>>1913888

We're at a tie. Writing.

>>1914028
yes, truckbot when?

>>1914094
Oh, I just remembered something we forgot. Theres one more location we have to check out. That one secret stash by that guy we learned about when we looted that armored vehicle in the spider cave, that scientist guy.

>>1914028
Changed my mind to the DHS. We can scrap the parts of the second car to reduce the heat for our buyer, or just use the parts ourselves.

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>>1913813
>>1913888
>>1913913
>>1913942
>>1914018

“So, where do you go from here?” he asks, finally going back into his living room and attending to the tea, steam rising as the leaves begin to steep.

“I don’t know,” you admit. “The Metro doesn’t want to pay to take the vehicles off our hands, and if we leave them here, they’re just going to be given back to the Lurkers. Maybe we’ll consult the Brotherhood. Maybe I’ll leave them here and go after a new body and the main frame in the DHS.”

“Any chance you’d come with us?” Sandra asks, accepting her tea with armored mitts.

“I’m afraid that I’m not great in a fight,” he admits with an embarrassed smile. “I’m a fair enough hand with a pistol, but nowhere near the professional you’d likely need to make a difference. A shame I lack the materials, or I could craft you a few EMP grenades to take with you.”

“What would you need?” you ask.

“A strong capacitor, a copper wire, a few fusion cells, sheet metal, and a powerful magnet. However, I imagine you’ll want to move quickly.”

“Probably. I think as I am that I can reach the mainframe and maybe get the facility on our side.”

“An ambitious play,” Lucius lauds. “It’s something no one who’s been around in the region has been able to attempt.”

“If you want me to come along,” the other SARA interjects, her eyebot floating back into view, “I can probably help you deal with the other-other me.”

“Ugh. How do we deal with all of you being named SARA?” Sandra complains.

“Oh! I could always call myself something else!” other SARA volunteers. “It used to be we just identified ourselves by numbers, but… Hmm. I guess without my data banks, I’m a bit of an airhead… How about Aria?”

“Works for me,” you concede, “but we have to go now if we want to make it back before sundown.”

With that in mind, you stand and begin moving toward the exit, Sandra attempting to chug her tea before realizing how warm it is and spitting most of it back into her cup.

“Please, take the cup with you,” Lucius suggests. “You can bring it back later.”

“Thanks,” your scavenger friend responds with a swollen tongue.

--

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>>1914147

A few minutes later, and you’re back on the underground tracks that lead to the exit, your eyebot up above trying to coax Fred away from the noodle stand where curious patrons have been picking up her tab and placing bets. It’s just as well as the young death claw’s appetite is frankly terrifying.

“Come on, Fred,” you call gently. “We need to go.”

“Ich Rad Scorpion Bowl,” the mechanical server responds, distracting her once again with an offering of a large bowl filled with ice, liquid, and a flame spigot in the middle.

A few greedy slurps later and Fred pulls away with a fiery mustache that brings a host of raucous cheers, one that erupts into an even greater din as she raises her mouth and belches out a gout of flame that erupts toward the ceiling, some of it joy and some of it terror as the roof catches fire.

“Sorry, sorry,” you hear the protectron apologize, as he begins firing extinguishers on full blast. “We closed now.”

Automated shutters roll down and the disappointment in the crowd is palpable. However, you managed to sneak Fred away during the chaos, and she meets you at the gate to the Metro’s topside, licking her lips.

Up above, the temperature quickly drops as the wind presses down on your faces, and with it comes the noise of commerce and the streets. From the sound of things, it seems that something may be going on out front.

> What to do?
> [] Go investigate.
> [] Grab your cars.
> [] Other

>>1914152
> [] Go investigate.

I think we might have company.

>>1914152
> [] Go investigate.

>>1914152
> [] Go investigate.
Im beginning to think trouble is magnetic and we're made of way too much metal

>>1914152
>> [] Grab your cars.
Perhaps they are the source of the fuss.

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>>1914184
>>1914182
>>1914169
>>1914158
>>1914152

Commotions are seldom a good thing, you imagine, and so you leave the vehicles be for right now, finding a throng several persons deep huddled around the gate of the city on the inside. On the outside, your eyebots quickly tell you, is a pair of men in armor and a woman on her knees in front of them, apparently terrified for dear life as they speak over her trembling head.

“What’s going on?” you spy Rex on the wall and immediately move to ask him questions.

“Lurkers,” he responds simply, hefting his rifle. “They got a trader on a leash and a dead man’s switch in the left one’s hand.”

“-and so, if you let them or our vehicles walk out of here,” the dark-haired tough on the right shouts. “The Boss wanted us to assure you that we’ll be taking the difference out of each and every one of your asses. Got it?”

“Huh? Got it?!” the other one demands.

It’s hard to get a read on the crowd from this angle, but you can hear the panic. This may not end well.

> What to do?
> [] Retreat! You’re pretty sure you can find a back door out of here.
> [] Speak up! Try to alter their terms. (But how?)
> [] Open fire! Fuck them and the feet they walked in on!
> [] Other

>>1914228
A dead man's switch only works if the one triggering it fear dying. Us as a robot....You get my point do you?

>>1914235
This is a high bluff, but I doubt they are in a hurry to die by blowing themselves up.

>>1914235
That kills their captive. We'd probably not be supported by town for it but it would work.

We could try and fight them after getting outside of the town but we'd need to know what weapons they are holding before I'd be okay with that.

>>1914235
>>1914248

To be clear, the dead man's switch is a bomb on the woman's neck. It does not hurt the raiders. That's why Rex mentioned a leash in the same breath.

>>1914252
But they are close enough to the bomb? I doubt they have a 30 foot long leash.

>>1914228
A challenge! There's so very few scenarios that end without that bomb blowing up, but... the switch is a radio, right? Can you jam/replicate the signal? You'll need to buy to do so...
> [] Speak up! Try to alter their terms. (But how?)
Send an eyebot to do the (shit)talking. "You've come back for your vehicles, is that it? Can you boys even handle one driveshaft between the two of you?"
If it's only two goons, I think you can definitely shoot the messengers.

>>1914297
As a backup to the sciencetastic option, have the DAVID unit bend its knees so as to become completely unnoticeable and try to flank them, wresting away the physical deadman switch, plus the arm holding it.
Be aware of their possible backups too: a sniper trained on the hostage, a fake switch, even a fake hostage!

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>>1914297
>>1914293
>>1914248
>>1914244
>>1914235

The 'leash' is probably a frequency based device. You'll need to get closer to figure out what that frequency is, though.

> Give me a 1d100 for your approach.

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>1914347
A lady on the streets, a frequency in the sheets.

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>1914347
This is a dumb plan but whatever

>>1914371
Please, outline alternatives.

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>1914347

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>>1914398
>>1914371
>>1914355
>>1914347

> 79

“If I can get close, I can find out whatever frequency they’re using on that collar,” you tell Rex, before floating off, prompting a round of curses from the ghoul as he predictably tries to call you back.

“Listen,” you hear what may be a mayor or council member yell from over the gate. “We can give you the vehicles back, but we can’t do that for the people. They’re already gone!”

“Bullshit, old man!” the one on the right yells. “We’ve had eyes on the gate, and we know they haven’t gone anywhere, yet, and they best keep to that unless they want all of you to pay for-”

“Oh shit!” the second man yells as he spies your eyebot drifting down from the gate, an expletive that captures the ear of the first as he wheels about and slams into your orb with a round of buckshot.

You allow yourself to appear disarmed as the eyebot falls down, marred, but still functional. At least the mirelurk armor seems like it was a good investment.

“We told you to stay behind the fucking gate!” the man with the gun shouts. “If I have to say it one more time, we’re blowing this bitch’s head off!”

Well, this seems to be going marvelously thus far.

> What to do…
> [] Say something (What?)
> [] Try to broker a deal (How?)
> [] Just focus on the signal.
> [] Other

>>1914442
> [] Just focus on the signal.

>>1914442
>> [] Just focus on the signal.
Play dead!

>>1914442
> [] Just focus on the signal

>>1914442
> [] Just focus on the signal.

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>>1914599
>>1914520
>>1914492
>>1914458
>>1914442

Right now, the safest thing for everyone is that the raiders outside believe they are the only ones outside. With that train of thought in mind, you allow the eyebot to continue lying low and begin a bandwidth sweep to try to find whatever frequency the device is operating on.

“Now,” the man continues while you are doing that. “As I was saying, if this town wants to pretend they’re civilized and we ain’t, let’s look at the score. Three of our men were gunned down while scavenging an abandoned building. Five more were killed trying to get back what was stolen by you and yours. And after we took all these pains to stop FUCKING WITH YA, it seems like it’s in pretty fucking poor taste for you to turn right back around and break bread with our enemies, let alone allow them to walk free after eight counts of murder.”

You are going to enjoy killing these people.

“Abandoned, my ass!” you hear Rex shout back. “You assholes broke into Lou’s lab and stole his shit!”

You hear the crowd who had been shocked into silence start to murmur in agreement.

“You got no fucking proof!” the man retorts. “It ain’t our fault if one of you slubs decided to abandon your valuables out near our borders.”

“And what about that woman?” the council member shouts. “Was she also ‘abandoned property’?”

“She and her buddies came walkin’ into our back yard unannounced,” the second man fires back. “Think o’ this little outing as community service for trespassing. Hell, it might even lead to parole. That is, assuming you fucks don’t make us do something we don’t want to.”

While the men bandy about with their words, you have a lock on the frequency at least. Seems it’s something like a game of Simon says where the right answer makes sure the device doesn’t blow up. You just need to make sure you have a lock on the pattern.

“We ain’t looking to start bargaining with fuckin’ raiders,” Rex growls.

“Then you’re lookin’ at a blood bath,” the gunman fires back, “and here we are, freezing our asses off trying to offer you a way out.”

“We’re willing to give you back your vehicles,” the council member objects, “but we will not treat human lives as currency!”

“That’s because you’re still thinking of us as just another band of thugs,” the man professes. “We’re tryin’ to act like a fuckin’ government here, and you’re still treating us like a pack o’ goddamn raiders! Well, if ya want us to act like fuckin’ raiders, WE WILL! YOU HEAR ME!?”

> You have a lock on the signal.
> [] Vault over the walls. Time to start killing.
> [] Tell Rex it’s time to start firing.
> [] Other

>>1914658
>> [] Vault over the walls. Time to start killing.
Shut it down before shutting them down.
Might be good to keep the frequency in case they do have some more prisoners.

>>1914658
>[] Other
Tell Rex we've locked out the deadman switch. He can shoot them, or he can let us out so we can kill them. No real difference to us but he might appreciate the semblance of a choice.

>>1914658
>> [] Tell Rex it’s time to start firing.
Coordinate your shots. Simultaneous takedown!

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>>1914716
>>1914711
>>1914669

Death from above also the side! Give me a 1d100 roll.

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>1914723

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>1914723

The NCR is a government.
Mr. House is a government.
Even the Legion, as brutal as it is, is a government.

The Lurkers are domestic terrorists.

>>1914734

rip

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>1914723

>>1914737
Unfortunately snappy comebacks are a luxury we can't afford here.

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>>1914744
>>1914734
>>1914728
>>1914723

> 92

“We’re clear!”

The other eyebot was moving the second you had the signal, and your DAVID unit is moving a split second after that. A shallow but ludicrously swift climb over the gate follows, almost fast enough to outpace the reaction of the crowd as you soar over their heads, the battlements, and into the raiders’ field of view. Unfortunately for them, Rex had been picking his shots since they strolled up.

“Don n-”

That’s as far as the gunman gets before his partner has a bullet through the skull, and Rex puts a second through his arm. In the end, you imagine he has just enough time to process the injury and his impending doom, the last thing to run through his mind before the searing, metallic spike.

Of course, it’s not like everyone on the ground knew what was going on. There’s a moment of panic that follows the near instantaneous carnage, screams echoing through the air and people shoving to get a better look as you calmly kick the raider to the snow and go for the woman who seems not to know whether she is dead or alive by the way she fumbles at her neck.

“It’s alright.”

A quick examination reveals nothing but a modified explosive payload on a chain, no sensor or inherent trigger to stop you from just snapping the thinnest link between your fingers. So, you do, and the collar goes flying, exploding on its way out of your eyebot’s frequency range as you casually walk the woman back to the gate.

“I… y-you… How?”

“Jamming frequency,” you explain simply, pointing to the eyebot in the snow next to you as it dizzily rises back to attention. “Now, then, you guys mind opening up?”

The reaction of the gathered audience, which had been fairly mixed to begin with, has now swayed toward the hysterical, a crowd of voices going up in a deafening cheer as they realize that something approaching a victory had come out of this terrifying exchange.

Needless to say, the gate opens in short order afterward, and with the bars no longer separating you from them, the arms of would be helpers and congratulators are everywhere, moving in a confusing wave of noise and force as they surround you from all sides.

“Hey…” you hear faintly through the crowd as the sun above you is replaced with a darkened mass of limbs. “Hey!” A few moments later, Rex is there, peeling away people and none too gently. “What’s the matter with you rubes, huh? Get back to work! Let the woman get some air! Yeah, it’s a tiny fuckin’ robot! So, fuckin’ what?”

With a mixture of cajoling and harsh language, soon most of the mob is on its way, leaving just you, the woman, Rex, and your companions.

“Great, we shot the fuckin’ messengers. Now what?” the ghoul mutters.

> Good question.
> [] The DHS. If it’s a fight they want, you’re going to go get some bigger boxing gloves.
> [] Jeremy’s. Maybe he could throw a few protectrons Lucius’ way.
> [] Other

>>1914842
>> [] The DHS. If it’s a fight they want, you’re going to go get some bigger boxing gloves.
It's time to gear up for war. What does Aria add to our unit capacity? Does it take more overhead to run bigger bots?

>>1914842
Let's make sure the woman's okay, and ask if anyone else was captured with her.

>>1914842
> [] The DHS. If it’s a fight they want, you’re going to go get some bigger boxing gloves.
Best thing would be to do both.
Maybe question the surviving raiders on how many cars the gang's got.

>>1914842
> [] The DHS. If it’s a fight they want, you’re going to go get some bigger boxing gloves.
> [] Other
"Give us a day or two,and you can tell anyone else who comes by hassling you to come ask for us there. We'll give them a warm welcome."

>>1914842
> [] Other
"When I salvaged your lab, I managed to find a few pop-up turrets which would grant you a fairly decent defence against them if armoured up with scrap metal.

If you want to do more than just that, might I suggest creating some powder charges in the area outside of your gate and other logical areas they might attack. To be detonated as you feel is needed. Possibly as well you might consider the fact that I have some of their heavier weapons on sale like a light machine gun? Such a thing mounted in a strong, armoured defensive position with a long line of sight would render assault a difficult task.


Meanwhile I am going to the DHS. If I succeed, I'll be back and with far more than I left with. Then I'll be able to spare something substantial to defend you and possibly even start harassing them."

>>1914887
>Supporting

>>1914887
I'll also second this

>>1914898
>>1914900
I'd outline more ideas and shit but I haven't got a map of their town, the surround area or their resources.

>>1914907
im sure they can figure it out, especially since the guy who made the things is here.
We ont actually have one of those military power cell things with us at the moment do we? it might help Aria if she could add that to her limited energy supply shes working off.

>>1914907
>>1914922

The town topside is pretty much just a circular, fenced-in bazaar filled with junk stalls and small, enclosed shops. It has one gate that pulls sideways to allow visitors in and no automated defenses that you can see.

And yes, you do have military power cells.

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>>1914922
>>1914907
>>1914900
>>1914898
>>1914887
>>1914885
>>1914875
>>1914850
>>1914842

“First thing first. You.”

“M-my n-name is Joanne,” the woman answers, trembling either from the cold or near-death trauma.

“Alright, Joanne. They mentioned you were with a group. Are they still alive? Are there others?”

“P-plenty of others,” she says, accepting the ghoul’s jacket as he steers you all toward the Metro-proper entrance. “They’ve… They’ve still got, Andrew, b-but Bobby is d-dead.”

“They tend to fuck with anyone unfortunate enough to be caught out that way,” Rex explains. “Between them and the bridge nuts, trade’s a real pain in the fuckin’ ass.”

“So, they have hostages they might be bringing into this,” you sigh.

“And apparently they plan to shoot the place up if we don’t serve you assholes up on a platter along with their cars.”

“Are you still planning on giving those back?”

“Not my call,” he shrugs. “I just work the watch. I ain’t a part of the council or any o’ that. As I recall, though, when shit like this happens, we tend to just pull ourselves down into the Metro tunnels and let the assholes chase us down to a choke point. We could pull the cars down with us just to spite ‘em, but folks probably just want ‘em gone as soon as possible. The sooner they get those jeeps, the sooner that happens.”

“Anyway,” he adds. “What about you? You gonna book it outta here? Can’t say I’d blame you.”

“I’m not looking to leave you all high and dry, if I can help it,” you explain. “I’m just going to need more than this tiny body and some eyebots to make a dent in their forces. Here, though.

You run over to the vehicle and pull out the scrapped turrets.

“When I ran through Lucius’ lab, I managed to pry a few turrets off the wall. I don’t imagine it’ll take him much work to get them back up and running in the right positions. Throw some scrap over them afterward for good measure, and it’ll make things easier.”

“Wouldn’t hurt,” the ghoul concedes. “We usually just mine the shit out of the yard if we’re expecting trouble then step real light for a couple o’ weeks after. The boys down there on guard duty know how to fight in the tunnels pretty good if they make it through all of that.”

“Well, if I’m not back before everything goes south, hold out as long as you can. Meanwhile, I’m going to head to the DHS and see what I can do about getting the bots there back on the right side. If that works out, then I’ll hopefully have more than a little to spare in your defense.”

“Whelp. Sounds like a crazy fuckin’ plan, but apparently we’re livin’ in crazy fuckin’ times. They gave us the good ol’ ‘Three fuckin’ days’ shtick, which I assume means shit’s gonna get pretty fuckin’ bad when they finally come back around. So, don’t doddle.”

> Was there anything you needed to handle before you go?
> [] Yes
> [] No

>>1915002
> [] Yes
Let's see if they know anywhere nearby with broken down robots or parts for them or even if they have some we could take. Then we can drop those off with Jeremy to repair and either make use of himself or ourselves.

>>1915002
Bringing a car to Jeremy for scraping the important bits could help us, or bringing the two cars for looting might help at the DHS.
Each have their benefits and risks.

>>1915002
> [] Yes
Take one car to the Brotherhood for SARA computer equipment or better stuff for the DHS gambit.
That leaves 1 Jeep for Jeremy, and may split the Lurkers between the Brotherhood and the Metro.

>>1915025
This - let's add more points of interest to the to-do list.
>>1915029
The cars might have trackers, and the Lurkers might have access to those trackers. Either way, they found out we were here somehow, and I'd rather not drag Jeremy into this yet. the Brotherhood, on the other hand...

>>1915002
Wait, hold up, how far away is the Vault with the dogs? Mr. Handy's would be helpful, and it might have the basic complements of Security armor and guns.

>>1915002
>>1914964
>>And yes, you do have military power cells.
Then give one of them to Luscious for the aformentioned Aria usage. She should stay here in case she they need help and shes finally mobile.
Err, How damaged was that eyebot that got shot? could we repair it significantly in a small amount of time?

>>1915095
>>1915095
>>Luscious
Autocorrect, get your mind out of the gutter.

>>1915095
If he has a generator here, does Lucius even need the power cell?

>>1915025
This.

>>1915057
I would prefer it if we could somehow manage to trade a jeep over to the Brotherhood in exchange for that SARA computer equipment they got.

Problem is if we go to the DHS first there is a chance they will follow us and try retake their vehicles while we are busy inside. On the other hand if we swing around to the Brotherhood we would be able to trade for SARA stuff and drag them into the fight. Only problem is that would delay our DHS trip unless we could also get them to hand over some robotics stuff to us as well.

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>>1915029
>>1915056
>>1915057
>>1915127

Alright. So, it's a little hard to answer all of the questions in a consistent, narrative format. So, let's start with this one.

> Try to take one Jeep to the BoS for barter?
> [] Yes
> [] No

>>1915099
>>1915125
>>1915095

Aria has more than enough batteries to keep herself running. You can leave her on base if you choose to, but that effectively contributes just one more eyebot's worth of fire power to them. Remember, she doesn't really have any useful information in her servers.

>>1915156
>> [] Yes
Where else would Aria go, our junction? Does she not have the ability to remote as far as we do?

>>1915156
> Try to take one Jeep to the BoS for barter?
>Yes
Would it make things faster if we drive both to the BoS, and use the second one to bring the SARA equipment back here to have Aria and Lucius bring it online while we drive to the DHS?

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>>1915156
>>1915168

Aria did not actually know how to rebuild her uplink to the network. So long has she has the correct code and basic satellite amplifier, she can access the network just fine, giving her the equivalent of SARA's range.

>>1915171

There's no real telling what they have or do not have, but I would assume you travel with both vehicles if you take one.

>>1915069

Vault 59 is in Tiger Mountain State forest, twenty five miles outside of town. You could get there quickly via Jeep if you chose to go there.

> Would you like to pursue the contents of Vault 59 before the DHS?
> [] Yes
> [] No

>>1915221
>> [] Arf

>>1915221
>Yes
I mean, it's 25 miles. With a Jeep, that's less than hour.

>>1915221
> [] No
I'd like to get this thing we've been putting off for so long started. Plus, the dogs are going to be used to Mr. Handy's so I'd like to actually have a Mr. Handy with us, or a reasonable facsimile when we go there.

>>1915221
>>1915230
>>1915262

Yes, no, and dog noise.

>>1915321
Take it as a no, then. Let's go meet more robots.

>>1915221
> [] No

if anything we go to the brotherhood before going to the DHS to trade the jeep to them.

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>>1915356
>>1915346
>>1915285
>>1915262
>>1915230
>>1915321

One last question, I swear.

> When to try to trade the jeep...
> [] Before DHS. Hell, they might have a new body for you.
> [] After DHS. The Metro dwellers will be more willing to give up the jeeps when they have something substantial to help them in the fight.

>>1915384
>> [] After DHS. The Metro dwellers will be more willing to give up the jeeps when they have something substantial to help them in the fight.

>>1915384
>> [] Before DHS. Hell, they might have a new body for you.

Trading a jeep over to the Brotherhood forces them to split their attention. This is advantageous to everyone involved who aren't them.

>>1915384
>> [] Before DHS. Hell, they might have a new body for you.
Or guns. You never know. We need to make our introduction sooner rather than later.

>>1915416
>>1915438
Support

>>1915384
>> [X] After DHS. The Metro dwellers will be more willing to give up the jeeps when they have something substantial to help them in the fight.

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>>1915584
>>1915545
>>1915438
>>1915416
>>1915403
>>1915384

“Actually…” you correct as your processors work overtime trying to come up with an optimal strategy. “I have an idea that might make things a bit simpler.”

“And the reason you’re beatin’ around the bush is because…?”

“It’s because it involves me needing both of those jeeps before the raiders arrive.”

“Jesus…” the ghoul sighs while shaking out a smoke. “What for?”

“In exchange for support, I can trade one to the Brotherhood,” you affirm. “If this is going to turn into a fight-”

“Nobody here wanted a fight,” he corrects, fixing you with a stony gaze, “and nobody here wants the fightin’ to be any worse than it has to be. Listen, we’re already grillin’ our asses for ye, and that’s because for all the shit yer kickin’ up, ye did the fundamentally right thing.”

“And now?”

“And now… Ugh. And now I gotta go grab Arthur to see if ye can convince him that what yer proposin’ is a good idea.”

The ghoul sighs, muttering under his breath as his footsteps echo down into the darkness. Fortunately, he isn’t gone for long before he emerges with a grey bearded and grey-haired gentleman in tow, the same one that was on the wall.

“Well, Rex gave me the basics,” he says frankly, “but I’d be against it.”

“Why is that?” you ask.

“Why? It’s because yer payin’ the bastards up front so they can piss off and arrive a day late and a dollar short. Don’t get me wrong. The only good raider is a dead raider, but the second you pop out of here with one of them damn jeeps, they’ll get antsy, they’ll get stupid, and more good people will die as a result.”

“What would you recommend instead?”

“Send a message, but do it discretely. Don’t let the enemy know what you’re planning. Then, when they’ve rendered the services that they promised, they can take their damn jeep and go shove it somewhere the sun don’t shine or drive it off a cliff for all I care.”

> Hmm…
> [] Demand the jeeps. They won’t take the offer seriously if you don’t pay up front.
> [] Send an eyebot to conduct negotiations.
> + [] Start moving the DAVID and your company toward the DMV
> [] Other

>>1915636
>> [] Send an eyebot to conduct negotiations.

>>1915636
>> [] Send an eyebot to conduct negotiations.
>> + [] Start moving the DAVID and your company toward the... DHS?
We can spare an eyebot for BoS negotiations while we go to the DHS.

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>>1915686
>>1915668
>>1915636

“Sounds good,” you concede.

The situation being what it is, you opt to send the slightly battle-damaged version, as is. That will help sell the severity of the Metro’s circumstances and minimize the amount of time you need to spend on repairs.

Fortunately, the distance to the BoS base is just a couple of miles west, where they’ve bunkered down in the old train yards. It isn’t exactly hard to locate what appears to be a metal fortress on the horizon, one of the few multi-storied structures still standing that they’ve assembled from old box cars. What’s more, red, white and blue cargo cars seem to have been given priority on at least one side to be reminiscent of the American flag.

The rest of the fort is a mixture of greys, military greens, and barbed wire, the latter coming into view as a mile zooms past in the first couple of minutes. Power armored soldiers aren’t hard to spy soon after, those and conventional soldiers patrolling the walls with something resembling military formation as recruits run drills out in the yard and what appears to be a vertibird comes flying down onto a helipad within.

You suppose they weren’t kidding about these people, but hopefully that will work to your advantage here. With a fort the size of several warehouses situated over a multi-leveled concrete storage structure running underground, they must have something here that can be of use.

> But how to approach the front gate
> [] Focus on the town’s need for immediate defense. Leave details of yourself vague.
> [] Introduce yourself properly as SARA. Explain the town’s needs and your needs.
> [] Other

>>1915760
>> [] Focus on the town’s need for immediate defense. Leave details of yourself vague.

>>1915760
>> [] Focus on the town’s need for immediate defense. Leave details of yourself vague.

>>1915760
> [] Other: we're here for the SARA parts, not defense of the town. It's a bonus if the BoS come and help or divert some Lurker attention

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>>1915760
> [] Focus on the town’s need for immediate defense. Leave details of yourself vague.

Do we have any recordings of the RALPHIE the Robot TV show? Can we play the theme music as we head up to the trainyard?

>>1915285
Getting a Mr. Handy would have helped in either repairing our damaged Eyebot or in helping us get into the DHS by cutting doors/restoring power to lock mechanisms.
Why would we care whether a bunch of dogs yip and growl at us or not?

So we're trading the Jeep to the BoS for their help against the Lurkers, not for more computer parts that would help us when hacking the military-grade defenses of the DHS network, like the original plan?

>>1915827
I thought we are trading it for the SARA stuff they have in their possession. Doing so would indirectly set them against the Lurkers because the Lurkers want their ride back and obviously the Brotherhood is gonna refuse.

Hopefully we shouldn't need to bargain for their help directly. All we need to do is nudge them in the right direction. Even their command should realize that crushing the other raider groups before focusing on the Valkyries would secure their flanks and allow them to focus on their real enemy.

Its basic strategy.

>>1915827
Could go at it sideways, offer them the option to ride the jeep from time to time for the help, if they counter with the jeep rights, demands for the SARA parts and the help.
If they refuse, just tell the hoard boys that we've got two jeeps.
They'll jump other the chance for two vehicles, or they're not the BOS.

>>1915850
Except people are voting to trade the Jeep for the BoS helping to defend the town, not for SARA parts. Look at what the votes say.

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>>1915881
>>1915850
>>1915859

To clarify, "focus on" doesn't necessarily mean to the exclusion of other matters. The real question is how you will go about justifying your desire for parts of the SARA system if you don't mention that you are SARA.

>>1915892
We could explain that we're one of those few talented to tinker with an eyebot as they can see, and from what we've heard the system is gathering dust in one of their hangars.
If that's the case.

If they demand that we work for them, we could either cook up something or the other.

>>1915881
That would go poorly. We are talking the BoS here. The only thing they understand is hording technology and stopping the abuse of technology.

They like what 1 Elder who is actually trying to cause some shifts problem is he's on the East Coast leading his own overgrown chapter.

>>1915892
Simple we are a computer technician and greatly desire SARA system for our use.

Should they ask what we intend to use it for state that we know SARA is deeply connected to what remains of the Seattle infrastructure. Which is true. What we want to do is tap into SARA(also true) and see what's left of the system.

Doing so we have not technically lied ONCE and just ignored certain parts of the truth that would run against BoS Creed.

So long as we don't go against their Creed the BoS wont become hostile to us and even helpful.

They wont stay nice however if they find out SARA is an Advanced AI(and we are also SARA) and seeks to hijack control over robotic combatants. Even if said control is meant to save lives.

As far as their Creed states we are then an Abomination because we do not have a human master(bit of a grey area but the Brotherhood doesn't have much experience with such advanced AI fortunately however as an Advanced AI and thus technology so long we become 'part' of the BoS we technically become one of their 'horded technology' that they are to treasure and protect.

That is assuming the worst case scenario in which hostilities form with the BoS and us. They will stay hostile unless we conceed to become BoS property and thus part of their horded collection of technology. A loophole that we might have to exploit in order to stay alive.

>>1915960
>>1915892
Basically I already have a plan in case it should all go tits up in regards to the brotherhood and how we should talk with them.

Technically we ARE a computer technician with great skill in robotics and has quite the knack for tapping into old data archives...but we are also an AI which we wont mention.

Technically SARA is a deep connected to the Seattle infrastructure...but also harbors many other secrets that we yet again wont mention.

So long as they don't figure out what the SARA actually is we'll be fine. As far as they would be concerned they are just trading a piece of computer equipment that they have metric tons of. For a working vehicle that their scribes can study. As far as they would be concerned they are winning big time in this deal. They get a whole piece of working technology in exchange for some computer equipment that was part of an utterly crippled network. Its a no brainer even for the non scribes.

So long as we avoid certain aspects of SARA we'll be fine so long as they don't demand a face to face meeting with this mysterious Computer technician. We can easily explain as safety precaution due to how dangerous the world is. For someone with our lack of...skills and our cautious nature. We considered it best to make use of robots to fulfill our objectives in our stead and we of course watch from afar. Making sure things go according to our plan.

Of course all of this hinges on the fact that the BoS hasn't figured out what SARA actually is, but we'll know the answer to that by the trade. If they refuse it would mean they know.

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>>1915760
>>1915775
>>1915779
>>1915796
>>1915805
>>1915811

You hover toward the fortress feeling somewhat naked on open ground. Paranoia in the wasteland is a dangerous thing, after all, and so, to fill the uncomfortable void you begin playing as non-controversial a tune as you can imagine, Yankee Doodle, to be precise. You debate Robot Ralphie at first, but… Well, you doubt the kids are quite as enthralled with his wacky misadventures nowadays as they used to be.

It seems to work, sort of. At the very least, you seem to get the guard’s attention and none of the bullets from his gatling gun as he turns toward you with his partner.

“Halt,” he commands, taking a half-step toward you. “You are presently on Brotherhood of Steel property. Please identify yourself and the reason that you’ve come, or we’ll have to ask you to leave.”

“Pretty courteous greeting for an eyebot,” you note.

“With respect, ma’am, this wouldn’t be the first courier bot that we’ve seen coming our way. Bullets are in short supply, and so we pick and choose our battles carefully.”

“Fair enough,” you oblige. “I’d imagine that by a similar token, vehicles are also a valued commodity.”

“Not the general kind you see out in the street, no,” the man corrects, “but I have the feeling you knew that. That said, functional vehicles are always welcome and fetch a fine price, regardless of whether they go on land, sea, or air.”

“Then we might be able to strike up some barter.”

“Sorry, ma’am, but you’ll need to speak with the Quartermaster to confirm anything on that scale. If you’ll submit your eyebot to a brief search for explosive devices, we can let you through.”

“I don’t see why not.”

A couple of waves with a wand and a few remove panels later, and your eyebot is floating through the gates with a Paladin walking beside you.

“Right this way,” the man says. “Quartermaster Buford should be right where she always is.”

“She?” you ask.

“Yeah, she,” comes the bark from around the corner as you descend a flight of stairs. There stands a woman over what appears to be a suit of power armor, the right leg’s outer panel removed as the spark of a fusion welder lights up the room. “Could hear you and Davis plodding along in that rust bucket from halfway across the yard. The servo’s on the fritz again?”

“Yes, ma’am…” the man agrees.

“Well, you know the procedure then. Put in the work order, and pray I don’t croak before I get around to it. Now, get going. The last thing I want is someone getting the jump on Fredericka. Girl couldn’t talk her way out of a wet paper bag.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Davis repeats, and with that, he’s on his way.

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>>1916036

“So,” the old woman begins, putting away her tools and pulling the thick gloves from her hands. It appears even beneath those, there’s grease. “What can I do for ye?”

“I have a vehicle for trade.”

“Did you drive it in here? Because I sure didn’t hear it.”

“No, it’s back in the Metro.”

“My foot,” the old woman spits. “We don’t trade in things we can’t see.”

You sigh as you fumble with the television feed, positioning your remaining eyebot in front of the vehicles.

“You happy now?” you demand.

“Looks like a still imagine to me,” the old woman shrugs.

“Still, this then, ye rusty ol’ grease monkey,” Rex cuts in, waving back from in front of the cars. “They’re here, alright, and the symbol painted on the front of these bad boys should tell ye the sort of shit we’re in.”

“Heh. Somebody finally worked up the nerve, huh?”

“That somebody’s on the other end of the mic,” Rex confirms. “Still debating whether to be impressed or pissed. Before I figure that out, though, I’ve got some drills to run with the watch.”

The armored grill flips back over the eyebot monitor as you try to float just a bit closer to her eye level.

“So, you’ve got the goods or you’re damn good at video editing. What do you want from me?”

> That’s a good question… (Select more than one)
> [] Men to help defend the Metro
> [] A military grade robot (Model?)
> [] Power cores (Military/Commercial)
> [] Weapons
> [] SARA components
> [] Other

>>1916046
> [] SARA components

>>1916046
>> [] Men to help defend the Metro
Not only do you get to stick it to some raiders, you gain favor with the general populace, and get a working vehicle.

> [] A military grade robot (Model?)
I am looking for something to put my "conscious" into, something sturdy but fairly humanoid. I don't think it's going to be a run of the mill robot, though.

> [] SARA components
If that is not possible, I need SARA components for a pet project of mine. It would be nice to get all three of these though

>>1916046
>> [] Men to help defend the Metro
> [] Power cores (Military/Commercial)
> [] SARA components

>>1916046
>> [] SARA components
>> [] A military grade robot (Asslutron)
>> [] Power cores (Military/Commercial)
Especially the first two. We're looking to bolster the Metro's forces using an automated defense grid.
(If need be, I think we can explain to the QM that we're a SARA unit. It was mostly salvagers and the REMFs we were concerned about deciding to salvage us. )

>>1916046
>> [] Men to help defend the Metro
>> [] A military grade robot (Assaultron preferred, Gutsy okay too)
> [] SARA components

>>1916046
>> [] SARA components
> [] A military grade robot Sentry bot, a step above the Protectron and a step below the Assaultron.
> [] Men to help defend the Metro

>>1916046
> [] SARA components
top priority.

secondary concern.
> [] A military grade robot (Model?)
> [] Power cores (Military/Commercial)

I am gonna try to figure out how to spin
> [] Men to help defend the Metro
Into being worthwhile for the brotherhood.

But its a toughie its not like the Metro produces much supplies or tech. We really don't have much leverage besides pulling the mutual enemy clause. If the Metro gets fucked by mutual enemies. They will be able to focus more on the Brotherhood. Which would obviously. be bad for them.

I think we would have an easier time convincing their Commander of that fact then the quartermaster. All they gotta do is lend a helping hand and force their enemies to pay more attention to the Metro. Thereby helping out the brotherhood in the long run.

All we gotta do is press this point.

>>1916046
>Men to help defend the Metro

>>1916204
So you're going to abandon the primary reason we did this, and the one thing that is most likely to help us acquire as much loot intact as possible from the DHS?

>>1916259
Is the Jeep made of gold? Getting men, trained and in power armor, seems awfully expensive when held on balance with a goddamn Jeep. Especially when we have two.

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>>1916046
>>1916064
>>1916073
>>1916075
>>1916093
>>1916095
>>1916195
>>1916201
>>1916204

“Men to protect the town from what’s coming, a couple of military robots, and whatever components from the old SARA system you guys happen to have scrounged up.”

“Hmm… Guess you’d call that direct,” the old woman hems and haws, grabbing a notepad and licking the tip of a pencil before beginning to write. “Twenty-five thousand, give or take. That’s the sort of credit a jeep in good, working condition’s gonna ring up at a fair price. Of course, that’s without some group o’ coked up mercs trying to take your head off at every turn or the added bullet holes. So, let’s call it twenty as a starting figure.”

She continues to write.

“Manpower is Crowe’s prerogative, but a fair man’s wage on a life or death mission is probably at least fifty. That’ll buy him bullets and a last meal worth having, maybe an extra day if he doesn’t spend it all on hooch.

“Robots are more my wheelhouse, of course. Sentry bots are big, deadly, but fussy. I’d chalk one up to 14k. Assaultrons are strong enough but fragile, so 10k. Mr. Gutsy’s are the runts of the bunch, but still deadly: 7.5k.

“And, gotta be honest, why the hell do you want bits of the old SARA stations? It’s government tech from before the war, ZAX construction and damn near impossible to crack into. We’ve had scribes doing everything short of blood sacrifices trying to make headway with the damn things and nothing.”

“I’m a computer technician and a damn good one,” you say confidently. “If anyone can figure out what’s in those old servers, it’s me. Beyond that, I think restoring the system that used to be critical in so many places throughout the city could do a lot of good for the people just trying to keep their heads above water out here.”

She gives you a long look, chewing on the end of her pencil, then probably realizes she’s trying to read a robot’s expression and sighs.

“Honestly, I don’t think we can do much for you on that front, kid. If you ever feel like joining up with us, it’ll be a different story, but… Well, there’s dangerous stuff on those old machines, and selling them off to some stranger who came to us with a pretty penny would go against pretty much everything we stand for.”

To be fair, she has a point. The thought that anyone else with the right amount of caps could come up and just buy one of you with no background check would be kind of scary.

> Still…
> [] Press for more money. Twenty thousand seems low.
> [] Try to convince her to let you buy the SARA parts somehow.
> [] Move on for now. You want to buy things.
> [] Other

>>1916331
>[] Try to convince her to let you buy the SARA parts somehow.
If we're going to be cracking the military-grade firewalls and anti-intrusion countermeasures of the DHS, we're going to need as much computing power as we can get.

>>1916331
> [] Try to convince her to let you buy the SARA parts somehow.

SARA was limited to infrastructure in Seattle. The reason why its impossible to crack is simply because everything it connected to was mostly destroyed. Hence why it became useless and entered a lockdown state.

Normally it would be a bitch to crack them and what you would get frankly wouldn't be worth the trouble given how its entire purview was largely destroyed. Hence its uselessness besides its unusual complexity.

I on the other hand have experience tapping into SARA. While the vast majority of it is indeed as wrecked as Seattle is that doesn't mean it doesn't hold some value. In my particular case once I gain access I can reprogram SARA computers into being actually useful again.

Frankly it is indeed true that SARA is useless to just about everyone. Even if you cracked it all you would of gotten is an old computer full of junk files that lost meaning the moment the bombs dropped. However once cleaned out and reprogrammed it can be made useful again.

I'll be frank. You have TONS more computers then just SARA which wouldn't even amount to a fraction of what you no doubt have stored away. Those computers of which you can actually use.

ALL I am asking is to be able to take the useless SARA off your hands and I am PAYING you to do it.

You Brotherhood care for the safekeeping of technology yes? Especially the dangerous kind?

Well I am sincerely sorry to inform you that SARA was nothing more then project test to try out a new line of computers to help handle city management of infrastructure. If it worked according to plan the project would of repeated in every city.

It obviously didn't...and not only did it fail. You have also discovered the hard way just how much of a catastrophic failure the SARA computer line is.

It FAILED so SPECTACULARLY the system not only locked itself down into complete uselessness but did so in such a corrupted fashion that all the data it contained was rendered corrupted to useless AND the programming it contained became seemingly indecipherable through sheer failure of its programming, corruption of data, and even attempts to shutdown.

Most like your scribes would consider them trash. Only valuable because of the advanced hardware...that is ruined by the sheer quantity of complicated corrupted programs it contains.

>>1916373
So you can go ahead and keep trying to crack open SARA. A computer that you know in all likelihood has been rendered useless due to its overwhelming complexity due to a simple yet sheer massive catastrophic failure the entire line proved to be.

Or you could throw it away in dusty corner somewhere to be forgotten except for the fact of how it keeps on taking up valuable space.

A broken piece of technology that cannot even be used or deciphered...tell me how is does that make it valuable enough to warrant such precautions?

If all its good for is the components from which it is made...in which case is it not then equivalent to nothing more then a pile of high tech scrap?

Even if you instead had me crack the SARA for you...frankly why bother with the trouble? You have so many more computers that actually work and more importantly don't require the assistance of an Outsider to even access.

Honestly if it wasn't for the fact of how troublesome it is to get good computer parts of no doubt you are well aware then WHY would I even BOTHER dealing with SARA computers?

It's because while an absolute pain in the ass even for one of my skill. I can at least repurpose it when I am finished with it. Trying to find good computer parts like SARA is a huge pain. If honestly weren't for that very fact I wouldn't ever bother with SARA computers, but at times its easier for me to go through the trouble of breaking into a SARA and reprogramming it from the ground up then going through the trouble of finding another equivalent that would work in the same amount of time. Usually its simply easier and faster to just sit down crack open a SARA then trying to find some actually good computer parts.

Your part of the brotherhood you don't have to worry about that given your technological hording but us out here have to make do. Even if making do means dealing with a SARA computer.

...fuck if that speech doesn't work then I give up.

>>1916331
>> [X] Move on for now. You want to buy things.

>>1916331
>> [] Move on for now. You want to buy things.

>>1916373
>>1916396

seconding, this is a damn good reason

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>>1916488
>>1916438
>>1916432
>>1916396
>>1916373
>>1916340
>>1916331

“Are you sure that there’s no way I can take the old computers off your hands?” you ask. “From what I can tell, the vast majority of those aren’t even so much encrypted as completely ruined. They’re needlessly complicated, needlessly heavy hunks of junk that do nothing but take up space. Even so, I might have found a way to make them into something useful again with a bit of tinkering.”

“I already told you,” the quartermaster sighs. “We aren’t looking to sell those computers to interested collectors or even other chapters. Putting aside how you’ve found enough of these things to declare a ‘vast majority’, I just don’t have the clearance to make that kind of deal. Only Crowe, might, but I’d doubt you’d ever manage to sell her on stripping them down for parts.

“What’s left in those old tubs, even if it takes a team of scribes their entire lives to get a percent of a percent of it out, would be worth the effort. Let that sink in, and then realize if you aren’t talking out of your ass what you’ve done.

“With a single swipe of your goddamn finger, you would have destroyed countless years of human history, libraries of information that were burned to ash in the war, never to be seen again. Setting aside the military secrets you may have lost, setting aside the doors you might have locked that’ll never open again, you’ve robbed countless generations of the knowledge their forebears left to them.

“So, no, they aren’t for sale, now or ever. What I do have for sale are much less important, human lives and tech. Pick your poison.”

> You have 20,000 caps in credit
> [] Sentry bot (14,000)
> [] Assaultron (10,000)
> [] Mr. Gusty (7,500)
> [] Suit of Power Armor (6,000)
> [] Military Fusion Core (200)
> [] Commercial Fusion Core (100)
> [] Brotherhood Troops (10,000-5,000 caps depending on coverage)

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>>1916594

And with that, I'm going to finally go to sleep. Wanted to get to the buying phase at least. That said, have fun, shop, and debate what you need. I'll be back tomorrow.

get a sentry bot. not only are they heavyil armored, but they can probably tow fred on a sled if he somehow gets injured.

>>1916594
Fuck me the BoS here is actually that fucking greedy. Goddamn it. Normally they shouldn't care about busted tech unless its for spare parts. Yet they are willing to sell us power armor...

Bloody idiots can't even realize assuming what the computer files aren't corrupt as shit are gonna be outdated junk data that only mattered when there was actual infrastructure and people to keep track off. Now if it was a research computer they would have a point. That isn't even getting into how encrypted it's all going to be and all those keys would of been lost too. Even if they DID crack the damn computer open they still wouldn't be able to access the files that were intact. Given how they would most likely have intact encryption still on them.

At best they could attempt to decipher corrupt data or crack the encryptions...

I don't know how to deal with these idiots they are even far worse then old school BoS. At least they knew when to cut their losses and knew that trading for intact tech for ruined tech is a damn good deal. What are they suppose to squabble over every little piece of hi tech scrap in the goddamn wasteland? Much less over a bricked computer full of corrupt government junked data that is the very glowing definition of worthless?

Like knowing rush hour traffic patterns is going to be useful...oh right fuck me they don't know the kinda data it would contain. So naturally didn't believe us when we said its worthless.

That actually was the truth. The value of that kind of data died the moment the city turned into ruins and everyone died with it.

Actual useful data that is still somehow worth something is the notable exception in that endless ocean of garbage.

Goddamn it we need to talk to an actual top scribe and not the freaking quartermaster who has only delusions about the value of data it would contain. Hell even a commander would be better...though honestly at this point I am not about to get my hopes up.

Its not like we can tell them its actual value or that we are in fact an advanced AI that is SARA and what our body/brains back. I give up anons are on their own on this...

>>1916594
Okay, I think we really should get at least 2 Brotherhood troops to help with the Metro, is there anyone in agreement with that?

>>1916693

actually, how much would it cost to get our campanion power armor training

>>1916659
Think about it: even if the data is junk, the parts themselves are invaluable.
That's why we expended so much effort getting trade goods to get them.
Don't blame them for knowing the value of the hardware they have and spinning bullshit to tell you to fuck off, because you'd do the same.

>>1916594
Does she have any Stealth Boys or Stealth Armor?
We should assume that the DHS building has some assaultrons and other high Perception enemies that we'll need to sneak around or sneak behind, in order to hack them.

>>1916693
By "2 troops" how many are you intending to hire? Their price ranges from 5,000 to 10,000, depending on how many we get.

>>1916594
>Suit of Power Armor
I assume this is T-45b? I remember reading that the Brotherhood did get the ability to manufacture up to this level of tech again.

Does the price include training Sandra to be able to use it?
Would Lucius be able to modify it so that the DAVID unit could pilot it from inside? If we're bringing her into the DHS, she'll probably need it. Though with the need for stealth, I'm not sure if we should.

Does the Brotherhood have the components or a already constructed portable radio amplifier? The more remote hacking we can do, the better. The really good stuff, of course, will require hardline connections, but this might help us clear out some of the weaker threats like Protectrons and maybe Mr. Gutsy's.

As for what's already on the table, a Sentry bot might be the most cost-effective. The Assaultron is faster, but the Sentry bot can provide artillery support with its missiles, and we can always affix more armor plating to it.

Just in case, I think we should get a couple Fusion Cores, 1 Military and 2 Commercial, on the off chance that we need to provide power to something in the DHS building. And if we end up not using them, we can give the two Commercial Cores to Jeremy so the RobCo facility can better repair our bots.

>>1916594
Assaultron, Gutsy, and split the difference in fusion cores: 9 civilian, 8 military. Comparing the price point of renting a jarhead to owning two new bodies, it's obvious which is better.

>>1916957
Isn't a Sentry bot better that an Assualtron and a Gutsy?

>>1916991
2 heads are better than 1. The Gutsy comes with a flamethrower and the Assaultron comes with mobility, not to mention a big-ass laser, emphasis on the big ass. If we were getting more credit, sure I'd swap the Gutsy for a sentry, but we're not, so I won't.

>>1917042
The Gutsy also comes with a plasma pistol-grade weapon, don't forget that.

It's a matter of 2 vs 1; one on one the Sentry is better than either, but when it's two on one, and the possibility of the two using cover, the Sentry is more likely to lose. And we are at a distinct numerical disadvantage.

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>>1916693
>>1916880
>>1916957

I suspected this might cause some confusion. The price range I listed for the Brotherhood is essentially a measure of how much support you are wanting to buy. It isn't renting one or two people for a day. It is renting one or two platoons for a heated battle. Here's a better breakdown.

> Brotherhood Soldiers
> [] For 10,000 caps, you get every man they can afford to spare, many in power armor and some with high power explosive weapons.
> [] For 5,000 caps, you get an appreciably smaller detail, but one you are confident can put a dent in the raider forces.

Anywhere lower, and you suspect a protracted fight will not land in your favor. The Metro only has so many fighters.

>>1916880

They have stealth boys for 100 caps apiece, but no stealth armor.

>>1916699
>>1916659
>>1916917

It's less that the BoS would want to trade you their power armor than that you have something they really want. A few old suits of power armor is an acceptable loss in that trade.

Training in the power armor is an expense of time, more than anything else, and will leave Sandra AWOL for at least a day.

>>1917042
>>1917060
Good points, thank you

>>1917095
Okay... make that an Assaultron, and the 10k troop offer. Try to barter an additional 1K credit for 3 military cores and 4 civilian ones: you need something to run all these robots with. Maybe we'll leverage some of our current or future loot from the raiders for them?
The more raiders we get in this initial siege, the less they'll have to defend their base.

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>1916594
>>1917095

Ill back this guy >>1917137
I mean we at least should have some other stuff we can bring at a later date

>>1917095
I'd go for:
1x Assaultron (10,000 caps)
1x Smaller BoS Defense Force (5,000 caps)
10x Stealth Boys (1,000 caps)
15x Military Fusion Core (3,000 caps)
10x Commercial Fusion Core (1,000 caps)

>>1917137
I agree.

>>1917161
This is good, but I wonder if they even have that many of the consumables for barter.

>>1917161
I could agree to this

>>1917179
True, you have a point.

My biggest concern is the Stealth Boys; if they have more than 10 available I'd like to change the ratio of SB/MFC/CFC to favor the Stealth Boys even more.

With us going into the DHS, the Stealth Boys would let us hack the robots with minimal damage to us and them, and let us bypass security sensors. We want to get as much of the military hardware there intact as we can, so that we can use it against the Lurkers, and so we can access the SARA unit there to take over the DHS network.

If 5 Stealth Boys let's us take an Assaultron intact, that's a savings of 9,500 caps.

Of course the problem is that we don't know what robots are at the DHS. Protectrons would make it easier, but they're junk. Sentries, Assaultrons, and Gutsy's would make the trip incredibly profitable, if we survive.

Oh shit, that's right. The Valkyries have a big store of reprogrammed military robots, and that's what has made them so difficult to root out.

After this war with the Lurkers is over, what if we prove to the Brotherhood that we can stealthily reprogram military robots?
If they give us Stealth Boys, then we'll sneak in and reprogram the Valkyries' entire arsenal of robots. After the fight, we'll split the robot forces 70/30; they get the stronghold and the Valkyries' weapons, so I think it's a fair trade.

>>1917161
Support

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>>1916594
>>1916631
>>1916659
>>1916693
>>1916880
>>1916917
>>1916957
>>1917095
>>1917137
>>1917154
>>1917161
>>1917164
>>1917179
>>1917182
>>1917196
>>1917201
>>1917246

Now, it’s your turn to wrack your brain over the notepad, trying to figure out how to best decipher the chicken scratch and then utilize the credit you’ve just acquired to meet your own interests and those of the town that’s been caught in the crossfire.

“I’d like an assaultron for my own personal use,” you start, enumerating the largest item on your list first. “I’d also like civilian grade and military grade fusion cores, ten of the former and fifteen of the latter if you can manage it. Other than that, I’ll put five-thousand credits down on backup and the rest on as many stealth boys as you happen to have.”

The woman nods and mutters as she tallies numbers in her head.

“Truth is, we probably only have about ten of the military grade cores knocking around that we can say sayonara to,” she admits. “Same goes for the stealth boys. Why do you need so many, anyway?”

“I told you. I’m good with computers,” you explain. “That includes old military robots. It’s much easier for me to operate one of them out in the field than to risk my own hide. Stealth boys make recovery that much easier and that much less likely to damage the things I’m salvaging.”

“Fair enough. Then, what do you want to make up the difference of five military cores?”

“Ten commercial cores will do fine. I’ve got a use for them lined up, and if you can’t manage that, more men wouldn’t hurt, for them or for you. Try to keep that in mind when you’re talking up troop allocation to your superiors.

“Right now, the Metro is the only thing holding off the Lurkers from pushing right up to your doorstep. They may not have much to offer you directly, but if they fall, it’ll be the Valk’s in the north and then the Lurkers to the south and east tearing up your farmland. You can’t afford to suffer that kind of war on two fronts or to let this gang get much bigger without any form of militant opposition.”

“Not like I can dismiss that,” the woman grumbles. “We’re just spread thin up here, as it is. Keeping the farmers safe and the Valk’s hunkered down is about all we can manage in the best of times. Still… I’ll talk with Crowe about it. That about it?”

> Is it?
> [] Yep. Grab your assaultron and get going.
> [] Ask some questions. (About what?)
> [] Maybe you have information to give up for barter. (What?)
> [] Other

>>1917367
>> [] Ask some questions. (About what?)
What are your plans with the SARA cores anyway? I mean they can't realistically power anything around here, as there is nothing left to power. The only use they would have is if you had an actual SARA unit functioning so they could access the equipment. It doesn't sound like you guys are gonna break into it any time soon

>>1917367
If the SARA unit was functioning, couldn't you just ask it what you wanted? They were designed to assist.
If we want to 'join' the Brotherhood or at least prove ourselves trustworthy enough to work on SARA, who should we talk to?

>>1917367
>[] Ask some questions. (About what?)
Like we said, we're good with computers. What can she tell us about the robots that the Valks use, and if we're able to deal with the Lurkers, would the Brotherhood be open to letting us have a crack at sneaking in to the Valk's camp to turn their robots against them?

>>1917367
>Maybe you have information to give up for barter.
Do we have access to prewar schematics or other concrete information from our memory that BoS might be interested in?

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>>1917669
>>1917435
>>1917420
>>1917402
>>1917367

“Hmm. I’m not guessing you’d be looking to part with the SARA fusion cores,” you muse. “One of those could serve in place of a load of conventional fusion cores.”

“That’s kind of why we want to hang onto them,” the woman says. “They are densified, massive fusion power cells, and what ones we’ve recovered, we use them for running parts of the base. We wouldn’t want to give those up and leave ourselves in the dark.”

“Fair enough. Do any of them still talk, by the way?”

“What?”

“Do any of the SARA’s still talk? Rumor has it on the market that the ones that are still functional have self-aware AI’s. Guess not, if you haven’t been able to access them.”

“Not sure where you’re getting your intel, but yeah. Some of them talk, and if you ever find one that does, for God’s sake, don’t go stripping it for parts. Also, don’t go trying to threaten it into cooperation or the damn thing’ll clam up and shut down.”

“I’m guessing you know this from experience.”

“And I’m guessing you know our old Elder was a bit of an asshole. The scribes were about ready to carve him up when he screwed that pooch.”

> Analysis: Unit has likely opted to engage in hibernation as a means of preventing a data breach. Contact from a known SARA unit with proper clearance should be enough to restore unit to proper functionality.

“I see. Well, with some luck, if it’s just a passive standby and it hasn’t damaged itself, I might be able to use the information I’ve gathered to get the computer talking again.”

“Assuming the scribes will let you near the damn thing.”

“Assuming that, yes, and anything you could tell me to help me get closer to that goal would be appreciated.”

“Do favors, kill raiders, and donate some tech every now and again. If you’re looking to gain clout, it’s not any different than anywhere else, really. However, that’s going to take time, and time is something you don’t have right now.”

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>>1917847

“I at least have time to ask about the other big threat knocking at everyone’s door. Do you know anything about the Valk’s or how we can take them down?”

The woman sighs, scratching her head.

“If the ‘how’ were simple we would have done it already, but you could say we’re about as close to experts in fighting those assholes as you can get. The first part shouldn’t be a shocker to anyone. Their top brass are all women, hence the name, and they have been since before they took over.

“No one knows where they came from beforehand, but with something around thirty women as we were told, they managed to topple the entire dual stadium complex reinforced by remnants of the old National Guard in less than a day. Survivors had understandably hazy recollections of what happened, but most of them pointed toward an insurrection lead from within that paved the way for the Valkyries to take over.

“After taking over they ‘customized’ the place and the machines, adding jump packs to the assaultrons and loading up even more turrets on every surface they could find the screws for. The farm in the secondary stadium turned into a work camp, and still is. Anyone they catch, gets sent there to be broken down and reformed before being shipped off to work somewhere else.

“It’s absolute hell trying to bring the fight to them when they use so many innocent bodies for padding, and trying to infiltrate their main hub is like trying to peek through an iron curtain. We’ve sent in spies, of course, but they either disappear or come back without any info. Might be that they keep drugs in the water from how people describe the psychological effect of being undercover too long in that hell hole.”

> Hmm…
> [] Psychological effects?
> [] Ask other questions.
> [] Get going for now. You have what you need.
> [] Other

>>1917853
>> [X] Get going for now. You have what you need.
We should really hurry, clock is ticking. We can get more info later.

>>1917853
> [X] Psychological effects?
> [X] Get going for now. You have what you need.

>>1917853
>> [] Psychological effects?
Do they all go topless or something? I kid.
> [] Get going for now. You have what you need.
If you could walk out of here with the Assaultron that'd be handy. Or rather, gutsy.

>>1917853
>[] Psychological effects?
> [] Ask other questions.
Any information about their robots, and do they send patrols out?

>>1917853
>other
What has sigint said on the subject? They use radio communication? Put out a feeler to your superiors, I intend to get some solid intel on them. If you don't have it, I will more than happily offer up what I can collect.

We might be able to start putting up some mics and transceivers in their area to start passive intelligence collection. Once we have a vague picture, we might try an op with one of our new sneaky bodies.

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>>1918065
>>1917913
>>1917892
>>1917875
>>1917874
>>1917853

“Psychological effects?”

“Paranoia, auditory and visual hallucinations, infrequent bouts of severe and unexplainable mood swings.”

“And how long did this take?”

“There’s nothing consistent about it, and naturally, anybody that came back, we had them take blood tests, examined their lungs, but nothing stood out.”

> Analysis: Neurodegenerative compounds are unlikely to have been revealed through a standard blood taking procedure. Optimal methods of observation would entail monitoring through MRI studies. Otherwise, all known parameters correspond with a targeted assault on subject will in preparation for suggestive alteration.

Wait. Hypnotism?

> Recommended course of action: Terminate all known individuals who may have been compromised via these methods unless this has been done in accordance with orders from US military personnel.

Somehow, you don’t think they’ll go for that.

“Have you at least managed to put down any bugs on the inside, things to listen in on?”

“Do fish swim? Of course, we have. Some of ‘em have been there for a pretty long time, too. Just hasn’t helped us pinpoint a lot of what’s going on behind the scenes.”

> Interesting… If horrifying
> [] Ask about something else
> [] Get going for now.
> [] Other

>>1918327
>[] Ask about something else
Ask them if they've ever tried scavenging the DHS building, and what they've encountered inside. If they even got inside, that is.

>>1918327
>> [X] Get going for now.
We got a town to defend, no time to waste!

>>1918352
supporting

>>1918352
We have 3 days, and you want to go without getting intel on the place we're going?

>>1918327
>> [] Ask about something else
Fine, ask what they know about the DHS. She's not the knight to ask about the spies being compromised.

>>1918367
Yes, gotta go fast.

>>1918470
I'm not seeing how 5 to 10 minutes will affect a timetable of 72 hours.

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>>1918327
>>1918337
>>1918352
>>1918356
>>1918367
>>1918391
>>1918470
>>1918580


“Well, with my luck, I’ll bump into them eventually,” you surmise. “If I make any headway, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, what can you tell me about the DHS? I’m surprised with your agenda why you wouldn’t have picked it clean by now.”

“You need to remember that when we arrived here, the region was in a lot worse shape than it is now. Similar to the Valkyries, that meant that we couldn’t overcommit resources to taking down just one problem, and believe me when I say that the DHS was, and still is, a tough nut to crack.

“The foundation of the building is sturdy and its walls are reinforced with beams and brick, which makes it very resistant to shelling. If that weren’t enough, robots are still known to patrol the premises, opening fire on anyone and anything with surprising coordination. Even if those robots wind up having to give ground for some reason, the above-ground complex actually only reflects a very small amount of the overall facility, and they can retreat further down to regroup and repair themselves. Anybody that follows after is pigeon-holed and killed.”

Surprisingly, your search for the schematics to this building show up blank to anything resembling a basement. There was never work authorization put in for the drilling that would have to have happened, the concrete that would have to have been poured. That leaves you with two disturbing possibilities, that either someone built this before you were installed and carefully covered up the public records or that it was built afterward and then someone with the proper authority deleted your own records of the events. Neither gives you comfort.

“Alright. So, don’t use the front door?” you surmise. “Got it. Anything else?”

“Yeah. Don’t be a smartass,” the woman shoots back, “and don’t get cocky. The first squad we sent down into that grinder died in less than five seconds.”

The first thought to cross your mind at that is: “I guess that means there’s probably a suit of power armor down there for the taking.”, and that horrifies you to your core. It makes it a little hard to process a proper response as Buford goes about getting you everything you requested, the sum total fitting in three medium boxes all strapped to the back of an assaultron that looks at you with a single, glowing eye in silence.

It’s a little disconcerting, honestly, after every other machine you’d encountered in the post-apocalypse had been so talkative. However, a part of you remembers that this is how robots were supposed to be before the war, and thus offers no complaints as you take your payment and get on the move.

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>>1918596


“See you managed to work out a deal!” Davis says on your way outside. “If you bump into any other good finds out there, just let us know.”

The fusion powered plane in the man’s garage, the train car full of power armor, the vault full of dogs, you could probably drop his jaw straight through the ground if you told him everything, but for now, you are keeping your cards close to your chest, even going so far as to spare your new robotic body its firmware upgrade until you are well out of sight of the base.

> Analyzing…
> Installing…
> …
> …
> Installing update 1 of 10,87-
> Cancelled.
> Loading…

You come online in the militarized machine with a jolt, your mind quickly playing through your schematics as you flex various plates and run a full diagnostic check. Fortunately, it seems that the Brotherhood’s unrivaled tech lust at least meant they knew their way around a robot, and you find everything in more or less, top condition.

> The question is, how are you going to approach the DHS?
> [] Write-in

*Note: You have the schematic for the top floor of the DHS, its turrets and terminals. You also know that the property is likely to be patrolled by less than friendly machines.

>>1918604
First observe the DHS from about a mile away if possible, and use the Eyebots to try to gather any radio emissions that we can decrypt.

Be on the lookout for robot patrols, and prioritize hiding and using remote hacking to take them over. Look in our databanks for martial law protocols and anything that would give us control over military and DHS forces in times of civil unrest or open war.

>>1918604
Approach cautiously. Long distance observation first, then see if we can at least try an authorized entry without being shot up.

>>1918604
We can pretend to be a military personnel, observe and then infiltrate. Check our database and the stuff we got off the pip-boy for authorization codes.

>>1918604
Disguise yourself as a robot and- oh, right.

The unusual coordination means the SARA unit is likely online and very aggressive. Subverting her control over the robots is an iffy prospect - as far as processing power goes, you're probably outgunned. You will probably have to disable (non-violently) any you run into rather than adding their mechanical and technological superiority to your own.
Take an invisible approach into the back door with the DAVID unit, solo. Once inside find a terminal and attempt to contact SARA from an internal line.

>>1918748
What if we somehow sent it the SARA identification codes?


If it is active, which it seems it is, then it should respond to that.

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>>1918652
>>1918665
>>1918715
>>1918748
>>1918762


It seems there are some different ideas on how to go about this.

> Those are:
> [] Monitor the situation and then approach openly. You are a SARA, after all, and the DHS SARA may not attack you on sight.
> [] Monitor the situation and then approach covertly. Try to get inside and find the SARA without being noticed.
> [] Monitor the situation and then begin tactically disabling/converting units. The other SARA might be crazy. You shouldn't take unnecessary risks.

>>1918762
We would need to know the radio frequency it's using, which still would require us to stay at the outskirts and pick up its control signals.

We also don't know if it's actually SARA in control or if it's a DHS-aligned AI. The DHS went to a lot of trouble to erase their construction from the SARA network.

>>1918792
>> [] Monitor the situation and then approach covertly. Try to get inside and find the SARA without being noticed.
SARA is shooting first and asking questions later. I'm so proud of her.

>>1918792
>> [] Monitor the situation and then approach covertly. Try to get inside and find the SARA without being noticed.
We can use advanced infiltration tactics.

>>1918792
>[x] Monitor the situation and then approach openly. You are a SARA, after all, and the DHS SARA may not attack you on sight.
We can use an Eyebot for this. If it fails, then the DAVID and Assaultron can be used for infiltration.

>>1918327
>> [X] Get going for now.

>>1918792
> [] Monitor the situation and then approach covertly. Try to get inside and find the SARA without being noticed.

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>>1918798
>>1918822
>>1918838
>>1918985

It appears the goal is secrecy and trying to get in as far as you can, correct?

> Well, then. Select your body...
> [] Hand-Eyebot: Smallest profile for maximum stealth.
> [] DAVID: A little bigger but comes with complex tools.
> [] Assaultron: One word: firepower

> Also, roll me 1d100 for stealth

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>1919094
>Hand-Eyebot: Smallest profile for maximum stealth.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>1919094
>> [] Hand-Eyebot: Smallest profile for maximum stealth.

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>1919094
David for sure but let's have the assaultron and a few eyebots waiting nearby

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>1919094
>> [] DAVID: A little bigger but comes with complex tools.
Purpose-built infiltration unit, and able to use (most) human-oriented devices.
Keep the other bots nearby for backup.

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>1919094
> [X] DAVID: A little bigger but comes with complex tools.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>1919094
> [] DAVID: A little bigger but comes with complex too

>>1919094
> [] Hand-Eyebot: Smallest profile for maximum stealth.

This is a stealth mission. Plus it still has a hand tool.

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>1919094
>[] DAVID: A little bigger but comes with complex tools.

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>>1919094
>>1919118
>>1919127
>>1919128
>>1919170
>>1919193
>>1919203
>>1919209
>>1919337

> 87

In the end, you settle on the DAVID unit. It won’t be the subtlest option, but in a pinch, you’ll have some much-needed firepower. However, in the meantime, you have no intentions of leaving your shiny new chassis out in the cold. Instead, you set the few minutes aside it will take your new body to make it back getting everything ready for the next phase of your plan.

“Alright,” you note some ten minutes later, breathing a sigh of relief after you had to warn the gate guards off of shooting the assaultron running toward them at full tilt. “You guys know what you need to do, then?”

Lucius and Sandra nod.

“Good. Get these batteries…” you grab the box of commercial power cells out of the stack. “To Jeremy. Tell him they’re fair trade for whatever help and materials you all need to get everything you need ready. In the worst-case scenario, use the stealth boys to make it back safe and sound. I’ll try to have an eyebot over there as soon as I can.”

You take the remaining six stealth boys for yourself.

“What about Fred?” Sandra asks, getting the deathclaw’s attention as she thumps her tail happily.

“She’s too conspicuous,” you groan, scratching Fred beneath the chin. “She’s just going to have to stay here.”

> Unless… Do you really care if the raiders see you leave?
> [] Yes. Use a stealth boy to cloak Fred on your way out.
> [] Yes. Leave Fred here. She is a good girl. She will be fine.
> [] No. It’ll give the raiders something else to focus on if you sled out of here.
> [] Other

>>1919473
>[] Yes. Leave Fred here. She is a good girl. She will be fine.

>>1919473
> [] Other
Send Fred to the Metro. They are gonna need the help.

>>1919473
>> [] Yes. Leave Fred here. She is a good girl. She will be fine.
Ugh, imagine if we ended up making the first Nightclaw.

>>1919528
This *is* the Metro. We only sent an Eyebot out to the BoS.

>>1919606
Shit thought for some reason we took her with.

> [] Yes. Leave Fred here. She is a good girl. She will be fine.

>>1919473
>> [] Yes. Leave Fred here. She is a good girl. She will be fine.

Maybe let a Stealth boy here, in a pinch cloak Fred and have her ambush any raiders getting close.

>>1919473
>> [] Yes. Leave Fred here. She is a good girl. She will be fine.

>>1919473
>[] Other
Make sure that Aria is able to keep Fred preoccupied with her Eyebot. Give her a memory dump regarding Fred so she knows what she likes and such.

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>>1919473
>>1919502
>>1919528
>>1919605
>>1919648
>>1919716
>>1919828
>>1919971

“Sorry, girl,” you apologize, rubbing Fred behind her horns. “You’re gonna have to stay with Uncle Rex for a while.”

“Why the fuck do I have t-“

*Fwump*

With that settled, you grab a cloak for you and your new assaultron and exit in as discrete a manner as you can manage, Aria hot on your heels.

“Ooh! This is so exciting!” she preens. “I haven’t been outside in ages and… Oh… Everything is destroyed… Still! It’s kind of pretty… right?”

You walk Aria through the basics of how the world has changed as you walk, letting your eyebots take the straight-line path to observe the scene while you try to remain unobserved. It just so happens in the process that you catch the faintest hint of smoke from the airfield where you had been earlier today, stopping short as you realize what may have been a funeral pyre has just attracted something much worse.

It rains from the sky like a comet, releasing a shockwave along the ground as it perches over the smoldering embers as though they aren’t even there. It doesn’t mind the heat, only having eyes for its meal as it rips into the bodies of the fallen, swallowing bones, meat, everything in greedy gulps, as bullets bounce off its skin with no more impact than the insults of the Lurkers gathering around.

In the end, you just remind yourself of your mission and keep going, content enough in the fact that those men won’t be bothering you on your way to the DHS as you double your pace to get free of the prey zone. Fortunately for you, an hour in the snow means nothing to your robotic limbs, the ones that had been burned to scrap by your earlier escapades left on Lucius’ workbench before you had slapped on a new pair.

All things considered, you were fortunate to have that option, but your remaining supply of replacements means that you can’t afford to keep making these mistakes. That’s why you spend a long time gazing over the building that marks your objective trying to spy the slightest hints of motion and the most reliable path inside.

Situated on an open square of greenery, the DHS had been a rather regal building in its time. It still might be, if only when compared to its contemporaries, as it continues to stand despite the obvious blasts and abuse it’s taken since the end of the world. The windows are gone now, the lawn a sheet of ice and snow that completely disguises the pond toward the front. The skeleton of the steel supports lies naked where stone has been blasted away. Still, it stands.

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>>1920066


And apparently, it’s still occupied. Some have winter camo, others do not, but you slowly count out at least two sentry bots running a circuit around the main hall, four eyebots each stationed on one corner of the building, and a couple of assaultrons perched in the center. Deciding that you really don’t want to alert them or the turrets probably buried beneath the snow, you just engage your stealth boy and get moving, leaving your assaultron on lookout duty.

“Ah! This is so-”

“No. Talking,” you warn Aria, glad that she takes the hint as well as the fact that a single eyebot will apparently work for two of you if she stays close enough.

> 87

Fortune continues to favor you as you at least know where the turrets are and what will set them off, a single, boosted jump sending you soaring over the surrounding yard and through an open window where a roll brings you to a quiet stop.

At least, you hope it is quiet enough as you duck behind cover to avoid the red-eyed gaze of a sentry bot rolling past. Granted it continues to roll and not fire rockets repeatedly into your face, you guess you’ll take that for a yes as you nervously stalk in its shadow, ducking beneath the assaultrons’ vision until you can break away toward the inner offices.

However, something catches your vision in a split second and you have to jerk yourself back to avoid what’s coming. Trip wires, laser trip wires separate you from the inside of a lead-reinforced box behind which a few lights still flicker.

> What to do…
> [] Try to find an access panel
> [] Try to disarm the laser grid somehow
> [] Just gun it and hope for the best
> [] Other

>>1920071
> [] Try to find an access panel
It's easier to not screw around with the tripwire, even disabling it could trip another alarm.

>>1920071
>> [] Try to find an access panel

>>1920071
>> [] Try to find an access panel

>>1920071
>> [] Try to find an access panel
Wait a moment before moving though, observe the surroundings. Try to catch a frequencie.

>>1920071
>> [] Try to find an access panel

>>1920071
>[] Try to find an access panel
Have we detected any radio communications at all?

>>1920071
Hey Bananon? Are we getting any sigint? Are they running a secure net? Are we able to listen in?

Rolled 12, 95 = 107 (2d100)

>>1920255

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>>1920208
>>1920206
>>1920144
>>1920120
>>1920115
>>1920111
>>1920110
>>1920071

If you were the AI defending this base, you would be watching these systems like a hawk for any changes. That means that your options are pretty much going to be limited to finding a way to stop the laser grid from accurately reporting your interference or not interfering with the laser grid at all. And granted that you know you, and thus know how you would try to sabotage you and thus plan to stop that hypothetical you from attacking you, you would…

You stop yourself. The point is that any means of shutting down the defense systems in this sector are probably right next to the assaultrons in what is most likely the old security area. You don’t like the odds of maneuvering your way around them to trip a switch the other SARA would be watching.

However, you do spy a women’s restroom entrance not far at all from where you’re standing, and where there are restrooms, there are pipes. Where there are pipes, there are access panels, and where there are access panels… You really hope there aren’t giant rats or cockroaches.

Either way, you’ll need to work fast, and you’ll need to work quietly. You’ll also probably want to try to listen in for any frequencies pervading the area.

> Roll 2d100 for both efforts

Rolled 20, 41 = 61 (2d100)

>>1920271

>>1920271
Should I reroll?

>>1920277

You are fine.

Rolled 35, 39 = 74 (2d100)

>>1920271
Knowing you, you also know that any roaches would be long dead.

Rolled 53, 17 = 70 (2d100)

>>1920271

>>1920267
Well, at least we're working quietly.

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>>1920292
>>1920289
>>1920274
>>1920267
>>1920271

> 35, 95

You find the access panel right where it should be after stepping through the door. There’s only one problem, and that seems to be that someone got the bright idea to weld the damned thing shut. You internally sigh at that and just get to work, heating the molten spear on your arm as you slowly turn the weld metal back into a liquid goo.

[“Patrolling. Patrolling. Diagnostic 04-74-8000…”]

It leaves you plenty of time to figure out the protocol that the other SARA is using to communicate back and forth with her robots, at least, a short-range, but extremely powerful encrypted channel that is being broadcast from at least four locations throughout the facility. Seems that whoever set up this station wanted this particular system isolated from the SARA network and resistant to being taken down.

[“Peculiar heat signature detected!”]

Oh shit…

There’s no mystery what the sentry bot is talking about, and so, with few options left, you crank up the juice, listening to your arm sizzling away as the vinyl floor cover warps and discolors.

“Identify yourself, citizen.”

That one was out loud, but you doubt it means they’ve seen you as you go rolling under the floor and bring the hatch down on top of you. However, it’s only a matter of time until they spot the patch of unreasonably hot metal on the floor and put two and two together.

> What to do…
> [] Think of something fast! (Write-in)
> [] Just get out of here! Follow the pipes!
> [] Other

>>1920501
>> [] Just get out of here! Follow the pipes!

>>1920501
>> [] Other
tell them we are SARA?

DHS-SARA isn't going to be stupid; she's going to raise the alert once she sees the melted grate and realizes someone got into the pipes. I think our goal has changed from "make sure DHS-SARA doesn't know we're here" to "keep DHS-SARA guessing where we really are".

Given what the DHS did to keep her from the rest of the SARA network, I think that DHS-SARA has diverged from the other SARA nodes, and may not respond in a friendly manner.

>>1920501
> [x] Think of something fast!
Have one of our Eyebots that remained outside fly by on full speed, grazing the perception limit of one of the DHS patrols or of the building itself, transmitting on all frequencies a SARA-based acknowledgment request. Make sure that we hit the frequency that DHS-SARA is using. Hopefully it will distract DHS-SARA while our DAVID unit follows the pipes.

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>>1920501
>>1920513
>>1920525
>>1920571

As I tell you to think fast, I think I'll actually get some sleep for the night. In all honesty, I'd prefer not to run tomorrow, as I've been a little sick and a little stressed this week previous. So, let's shoot for Monday as a time to pick back up in earnest with this thread.

I hope you guys are having fun and please feel free to ask questions and leave comments below.

>>1920501
Identify yourself as SARA through an eyebot. Have Aria vouch for you, or bewilder the other SARA with blather. Same difference, really.

>>1920628
Best quest around desu senpai. Hope you are feeling better on monday!

>>1920628
Bananon, could we get some signal intelligence? We are a robot, so have transceivers constantly going. Can we get some benefit from this?

>>1922239
>[“Patrolling. Patrolling. Diagnostic 04-74-8000…”]
>It leaves you plenty of time to figure out the protocol that the other SARA is using to communicate back and forth with her robots...
You already got your signal intelligence.

>>1922239
>>1922288
On top of what we already got, the actual commands are heavily encrypted by an AI using a secret cypher developed pre-War; we need time to decrypt it, if we can even attempt it.

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>>1922239
>>1922288
>>1922670

Essentially, you can read all of the robotic correspondences on the network right now. They just aren't terribly active, because they aren't yet in high alert. When that happens, the DHS-SARA is likely to up its encryption levels and take a more active role in commanding its units.

So, right now, you have an ear on the heartbeat of the robots patrolling the area, effectively listening to whatever they are reporting back to the DHS-SARA. Other than listening to her commands to them, which would be more heavily encrypted and aren't yet in mass circulation, you are doing about as much as you can at this juncture with your signal intelligence.

One thing you are painfully aware of, however, is how difficult it would be to actively jam DHS-SARA's control signals to her units should that prove necessary. With how powerful her short-range signals are, it would take an absurdly powerful jamming signal to run interference.

Long and short, the most you can do right now is to listen into their reports and track their movements accordingly.

>>1923308
Thanks Bananon! That explains things very explicit. Hope your day went well.

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>>1924639

Getting there. Another good night's sleep won't hurt, though. Have this in the meantime.

>>1924904
Whats wrong with your dog?

>>1923308
Are there protocols for restoring a SARA back to factory defaults, in case DHS-SARA is too hostile to be reasoned with?

When we get locked into a battle of breaking down her DHS controls, would we have the advantage of two SARA nodes to her one, or would additional processing power from whatever the DHS did to her have to be accounted for?

>>1924977
It lacks pigment.

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>>1924904
>>1924977
>>1925401

So rude. Fred's grandpa was an albino, clearly.

>>1925398

As for a SARA vs SARA grudge match, it's not exactly standard procedure and needless to say, reprogramming an artificial intelligence would prove difficult. Between two SARA's trying to seize authority from one, though, you theoretically have the processing advantage.

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>>1920501
>>1920513
>>1920525
>>1920571
>>1920633

You can't think of anything right now that will be more effective to your survival than getting away from this area. The stealth boy is still active, fortunately, but you somehow doubt that it alone will stand up to the rigors of advanced scanning as the sound of the access panel once again being opened echoes behind you.

[“Intruder alert! Intruder alert!”]

Naturally, the chase is about to be afoot, but before the sirens can start blaring, you send your remaining eyebot on a strafing run next to the base, blasting a communication signal at as high an amplitude as you can manage while using your contemporary’s preferred frequency range.

“Attention! Attention!” you hail. “Do not shoot! I am a SARA, acting in accordance with my mission as dictated by the United States government!”

You find yourself hanging for an awkward moment as there is no response.

“Other me!” A static-filled cry erupts from Aria’s eyebot. “I think… trying t-… -am.. -s!”

It’s then you notice your own connection to the DAVID begin to fizzle as it fills up with static. You’re going to have to think fast!

> Roll 1d100 to fight the jamming signal!
> As always, bonus for strategy.

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>1925682
Electronic jamming is done by a jammer sending out a signal on a used frequency.
We can get around it by frequency-hopping to change our frequency to one that's not jammed, and continually hopping to stay one step ahead of the jammer. This will force the jammer to spread the power of their jamming signal over a broad spectrum, letting our signal get through.

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>1925682
Frequency hopping time.

>>1925682
>>1925700
In addition have the Eyebot outside send out false command signals on random frequencies. DHS-SARA will know that we'd use frequency-hopping to get past her jamming, so we can send out false signals for her to attempt to jam. If she thinks we're using Frequency A and jams it when we're really on Frequency H, our real signal will get through better.

As unlikely as it was, I wonder if DHS-SARA would have let us in if we had openly arrived in the first place? I suppose when we get to her, we'll have to apologize and thought she'd gone crazy with all the time she'd spent holed up in her home.

So now we've got:
Us: the sane, and slowly growing cynical, one.
Aria: the rape victim and in a weird relationship with a shady guy (but it's okay now, we vetted him).
DHS-SARA: became a crazy boy lady with a building full of gun-toting and trigger-happy robots. Or would that make her a crazy hoarder?

What other crazy and/or damaged sisters are we going to find?