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Welcome to Hunter Quest. You play as the recently blooded hunter Ebon-Fang from the Stone-Hawk clan, and are about to depart from Yautja Secunda with your new commander Storm-Grasp to investigate the disappearance of a hunter tracking a group of badbloods.

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>>2355707
>A. Ask him about the weapons and cloaking systems
Glad to have you back fish

>>2355707
>>A. Ask him about the weapons and cloaking systems

>>2355707
>>B. Ask him about the engines and power plant.

>>2355707
>A. Ask him about the weapons and cloaking systems

He grins as he responds, leading you through the hallway. “Though it is a scout ship, it packs a punch. I have two plasma bores in the front. Also have two plasma cannons alongside its spine and two more below the fuselage. As for missiles, there is enough space in the bay for three fission torpedoes, or six disruptor torpedoes. Got two of each in there right now.”

“As for the cloaking systems, they’re pretty good. Cloak works anywhere. Capacitor bank has enough energy for three days of cloak in flight, and ninety days if idling.”

The hallway widens as you enter a larger room.

“Here we are… in the command room. Of course, it also serves as the med-bay, training room, and living quarters. Don’t exactly have a lot of space. Engine room is towards the aft from here. Cockpit is towards the prow.

He points up to the ceiling towards two hatches. “Those are the entrances to the maintenance tunnels, if something vital needs to be repaired from within. Got two more below us that also lead to the missile bays if they need to be unjammed. The large central hatch on the floor leads to the combat umbilical in case we need to board something.”

“We’ve also got the medical pod, a computer for analysis, a melee training dummy, charging port, and an armor rack with two hard-suits in case we need to enter the void. That’s it.”

“We might as well take off now that you’re here. It’ll be a week-long trip. The sooner we arrive the more likely we can find out what happens. Follow me, I’ll show you to the cockpit.”

He leads you to the cockpit.

You wonder how you will spend most of your time during the week-long trip.

>Choose two, one with greater priority and one with lesser priority.
>A. You will train with the melee training dummy. This robotic system mounted to a pillar tests your reflexes by trying to strike you with its metal arms, while you try to strike the central pillar.
>B. You will ask Storm-Grasp to teach you piloting. You never learned it properly.
>C. You will try to learn some of the human language so you can understand it without using translation software.
>D. Something else.

>>2356099
>>B. You will ask Storm-Grasp to teach you piloting. You never learned it properly.
>>D. Ask him what is the best way to fight bad bloods.

>>2356099
>>A. You will train with the melee training dummy. This robotic system mounted to a pillar tests your reflexes by trying to strike you with its metal arms, while you try to strike the central pillar.
>>B. You will ask Storm-Grasp to teach you piloting. You never learned it properly.

>>2356099
>>B. You will ask Storm-Grasp to teach you piloting. You never learned it properly.
>D. Something else.
Ask him if he's familiar with Bad Blood Combat Techniques and if he can teach them to us. So we won't be going in blind. No doubt they have some dishonorable but effective techniques.

>>2356099
He leads you to the cockpit. It is more compact than that of Thunder-Spear’s ship, with the co-pilots seat directly below that of the pilot’s seat.

“Using the lower seat you can take control of the ship’s guns manually. You can even fly the ship with those controls, if I allow it. They’re almost identical to those up top. You might as well familiarize yourself with them, but don’t touch anything!”

He climbs up into the pilot’s seat to start the ship and begin the docking procedures. You climb downwards into the copilots seat yourself.

You hear the roar of the engines as he starts up his ship.

…

It’s been three days since your departure. You managed to convince Storm-Grasp to drop out of fold-space a few times to let you familiarize yourself with flying the ship. You feel you have a better grasp on piloting than when you arrived. You’ve also practiced with the weapon, cloaking, and scanning systems.

“What do you know about fighting Bad-Bloods? Any techniques which work well?” you ask Storm-Grasp.

“I’ve killed a few hunting down thieves. Most are not any different from other yautja, considering just their combat skill. Often, they’re below average. Strong warriors do not need to resort to thievery and murder to live well. Where they differ is in their willingness to do whatever it takes to evade capture. Every bad-blood knows he will be shown no mercy by any true yautja, so they fight entirely without honor. They will break any code to win. This breaking of codes is how the cunning succeed. They take advantage of our codes of honor.”

”Once, I made the unwise decision of challenging the only survivor of a raid to a duel, hunting weapons only. I wanted to defeat him completely. I nearly died when he broke his agreement and pulled out a concealed plasma pistol. Never trust a bad-blood.”

“White-Rein and his band are not just common bad-bloods, however. They are strong warriors, successful not just because they are treacherous. It was a mistake for the elders to underestimate him.”

…

Four days later you arrive at sector Ophidian and exit out of fold-space, fully cloaked. Storm-Grasp runs some scans for a few minutes, but nothing turns up.

“No sign of the enemy,” Storm-Grasp says, and continues. “This is the Ophidian-4 system, seemingly entirely barren of life. The lab of interest is on a large moon orbiting a gas giant, you can see it there, fifth planet away from this sun.”

“Go on, take the controls. Make your approach stealthily and then run scans on the lab to see if you can find anything.”

You take the controls and fly the ship towards the gas giant.

Some time later you arrive at the moon. You run some scans as you approach the lab from high orbit.

>Roll 3 1d20 to see how successful your scans are.

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>2356569

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>2356584
Every fucking time

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>2356569

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>2356569

>>2356569
You direct the ship’s scanners to the lab, as you slowly fly towards it. You notice much of the lab is suspended over a cavernous pit that almost splits the lab in two, visually.

First you engage the thermal scan. Nothing shows up. Next you engage the visual scanner.

You resolve an accurate image of the lab complex. You see some craters near a destroyed area of the complex. They don’t look like the other craters from asteroid impacts which cover the moon’s surface.

“Take a look at that,” you say, as you send the image to Storm-Grasp’s HUD. “It has all the traces of a low-yield nuclear bombardment.”

He takes a look and responds. “You’re right. It could be that of a low-yield fission missile. I wonder if White-Rein’s band might have been responsible for the abandonment of this site.”

He looks at the image more closely. “No way atmospherics remain intact after an explosion like that, and after so long. We’ll have to use the hard-suits when we investigate the site on foot. Did you manage to find his landing location?”

“No,” you reply.

“Damn. The records on his ship didn’t include the exact location. We will just have to choose one, then.”

Which landing location do you suggest?
>A. Near the crater, itself near what must have once been most of the anti-aircraft systems and the armory.
>B. Near the biospheres.
>C. On the tram which connects the western side of the lab to the eastern part.
>D. Near what seems to be the power and atmospherics section of the lab.

>>2356705
>>D. Near what seems to be the power and atmospherics section of the lab.

>>2356705
>D

>>2356705
>B. Near the biospheres.
Wonder if they were fucking with Xenomorph shit

>>2356705
“Look, there. The pipes seem to form a nexus. Could be atmospherics and engineering. If we land there perhaps we can reboot the power,” you say.

“Doubtful,” Storm-Grasp replies. “But it’s as good a start as any. I’ll bring us closer in.”

Your controls lock as Storm-Grasp takes control of the ship and flies it closer to the lab.

He brings the ship near where one of the pipes enters a large building and parks nearby, in a small alley open to space.

You hear the sound of the running engines disappear, and you feel lighter. “Shifted to low-power,” he says. “Cloak will last an aeon now. Let’s go and gear up.”

He and you head to the central area he showed you when he first arrived and approach the sealed armor rack which contains the hard-suits. He unlocks the rack and it opens with a hiss.

“Won’t fit over our armor, but it has some integrated plates itself. Works with any standard mask. Cloak efficiency is pretty bad, but it is what it is. Gear up.”

You remove your armor and start putting on the space suit, as does he. The lower area of the suit combines greaves and boots. It forms an airtight seal with the upper chest area which itself has a partly decorative hood near the neck which covers your dreadlocks and head to connect with your mask to form an airtight seal. Decorative light-steel dreadlocks hang from the hood where your head are covered.

All that remains is the atmospherics system. You take a large oxygen tank and latch it to a slot in the back of your hard-suit and connect it directly to your mask with a tube.

You hear Storm-Grasp. “Check comms. Won’t be able to hear anything once we enter the vacuum.”

“Acknowledged. Mine work?”

“They do. Let’s head out. We’ve got about seven hours before our air runs out. Stay wary. Don’t know what we might find here.”

He leads you to the ramp where you entered. This time, the airlock system is fully engaged, and you wait in the airlock for it to depressurize before the ramp extends in front of you.

“Take point,” he says.

You acknowledge, and head out yourself into the vacuum of space.

You hit the dusty ground as you leave the ramp. You see the large canyon in the east, along with the railway for the tram. Above you is a pipe which once carried air, and northwards, the alley leads deeper into the complex. You need to decide where you will go.

>>2357016
>A. You will enter through the pipe above you, shooting a hole into it with your plasma pistol. This close to atmospherics the pipe could still be pressurized. (DC: Medium-Hard)
>B. There is a reinforced window along the alley to your north.
>>i. Break it open with your disc (DC: Hard)
>>ii. Turn it into slag with your plasma pistol (DC: Medium)
>C. You will head east towards the canyon and see if there is a better entrance nearby.
>D. You will head north further down the alley, looking for other openings.
>E. You will climb the building nearby and bound across the rooftops, looking for other openings.
>F. Something Else.

>>2357021
>>D. You will head north further down the alley, looking for other openings.
If we can get in without an explosion or some warning system going off I think we'd be in a better position.

>>2357021
>A. You will enter through the pipe above you, shooting a hole into it with your plasma pistol. This close to atmospherics the pipe could still be pressurized. (DC: Medium-Hard)
Make sure to find cover so we don't get hit by anything dislodged by the explosion, if it is pressurized.

>>2357021
>A. You will enter through the pipe above you, shooting a hole into it with your plasma pistol. This close to atmospherics the pipe could still be pressurized. (DC: Medium-Hard)

>>2357110
Nevermind actually, changing my vote to
>>D. You will head north further down the alley, looking for other openings.

>>2357021
>>D. You will head north further down the alley, looking for other openings.

D then.

>>2357016
You head north through the alley, plasma pistol at the ready. You pass the reinforced window and continue for some time, scanning for an entrance with your eyes.

You see no hint of any heat as you pass by the different buildings.

A few minutes later, you see something in the distance hanging from a wall to your right. It looks like a body.

“Something’s up ahead. Could be a dead human,” you say into your mask.

“Keep moving then. We’ll check it out. If they’re in the void, there might be a nearby entrance.”

You continue onwards. When you finally reach the human, you see a grisly sight. The dead male is impaled to the wall by a piece of metal.

You look to your left for the source of the shrapnel and see a large hole in the wall of the building near you. It seems to have been destroyed by some explosive. The edge of the hole resembles that which can be seen in yautja armor after a hit from a plasma caster, something you once studied at the archives. There’s no question that plasma weaponry was used here.

“Look here,” you say. “It must be the work of White-Rein’s band.” You ponder what could have happened as you look back to the human. “I’d bet he was flung outside by the escaping air, against this wall, after the explosion. Shrapnel came out after and impaled him.”

“Likely,” Storm-Grasp responds. “Go in. We have our entrance.”

You comply, and when you enter the hole in the wall, you see a sight even more grisly. The room is filled with human corpses, along with those of synthetics. Scorches from missed plasma bolts mark the walls and the wounds the dead bodies bear are like those a plasma caster would deal.

When Storm-Grasp sees this, he speaks.

“There’s no doubting it. White-Rein’s band was here. Probably made their way here after landing near the crater north-west.”

You look around you and notice markings on the walls near the doorways. An arrow near a hallway leading has something written on it. After a moment your mask translates the symbols, which apparently mean “Command”.

You find a similar thing nearby the south hallway, except it says “Engineering & Atmospherics”. Nearby the east doorway you see symbols which mean “Tram: Research & Development”, and near the west doorway, “Security.” You assume the latter has been totally destroyed by the fission bomb.

From the scorch-marks and corpses further in the east hallway, it seems that White-Rein's band headed that way.

Where do you suggest to go?
>A. Engineering. If you can restore power you might be able to find out more.
>B. Command. If there are any records or recordings, they will likely be here. You doubt the computers will work without power, however.
>C. Research and Development. This is likely where White-Rein's band went. Perhaps it is also where Life-Queller went.

>>2357282
>>A. Engineering. If you can restore power you might be able to find out more.

>>2357282
>>B. Command. If there are any records or recordings, they will likely be here. You doubt the computers will work without power, however.
Power it with our power pack

>>2357296
If this is reasonable let's do this. Bringing the power online, if the gang is still here, is a dead giveaway of our presence AND exactly where we are.

Alright, going with B.

>>2357282
“Where to, Ebon-Fang?” Storm-Grasp asks, testing you.

You think for a bit and then respond.

“North, to command. It could have records of what happened here and exactly where the band went.”

”Alright then. You’re first in line,” he says.

You take point once more and go through the hallway to the north.

You can’t walk more than a few meters without encountering a human corpse. Many thick security doors which might have blocked your way have also been blasted through by White-Rein’s band.

You finally reach the lobby of the central command room. From the blood and bodies which surround you it is apparent this was the site of very heavy fighting. The human corpses are well armed and armored, but they obviously stood no chance.

“Must have made their way here right after landing to destroy the human command structure,” Storm-Grasp says.

The actual central command room is a two-story room, and formerly well secured. You notice a broken window in the second story.

“There,” Storm-Grasp says, pointing to the hole which you just noticed. “If there is anything to find here, that’s where it’ll be.”

You spring upwards towards the hole and dive right through. The jump is extremely easy due to the lower gravity of this moon.

Storm-Grasp jumps in after you, but he climbs up less acrobatically due to the bulky titan pack on his back.

Looking at the ravaged room, and the gore which covers it, it’s apparent it was the center of an explosion from a plasma mine. Nothing remains of whoever was inside but a dry, red paste.

Most of the computers which line the desk of this room have been destroyed, but you manage to find one which seems serviceable.

You extend a chord from the waist of your spacesuit and hook it up to what seems to be the power port of the computer, removing the old, broken one.

>Roll 3 1d20 to see how long the computer stays active.

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>2357459

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>2357459

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>2357459

The computer boots up. You see many human symbols. Your mask translates the symbols at the top left of the screen first. It reads, “FULL ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS. Welcome, Director Anderson.”

It seems you are logged in as whoever was in charge of this site before.

Your mask continues to translate the text. You notice a few options. It seems only the first few are of any interest.

Storm-Grasp stares at the screen from behind you as you decide what to input.

>A. Security Camera Footage
>B. E-mail
>C. Progress Reports
>D. Security Settings
>E. Communications Array (ERROR: DEFUNCT)
>F. Synthetic Control (ERROR: DEFUNCT)

>>2357563
>>C. Progress Reports
I think this will give us the most info

>>2357563
>>C. Progress Reports

>>2357563
You press the screen where you see “Progress Reports”. New text appears.

“Progress Report #2

To the Board.

I’m increasingly becoming disillusioned with Dr. Frederick’s method to achieve total mental control. The pharmaceutical methods inspired by synthetic biology are simply too restrictive in terms of what the subject can do, requiring too strict a routine to keep them harnessed, with dosages varying too much depending on the subject. Trauma-induced disassociation is also too limited, resisted too much by already grown subjects.

Dr. Weber’s more direct method is more promising, although more crude. We are still running into problems with preventing neuronal degeneration due to rejection and preserving the subject’s stability. I am confident, however, that with time this will be rectified. When it is perfected, it is clearly the best option.

With Love
Director Anderson”

The screen begins to flicker. You hear Storm-Grasp behind you. “Come on, that computer won’t last long. Find something that will help us find Life-Queller.”

Do you:
>A. Continue reading the progress reports.
>B. Go back and press E-mail
>C. Go back and press Security Settings
>D. Go back and press Security Camera Footage

>>2357727
Security Camera Footage

>>2357727
>>B. Go back and press E-mail

>>2357727
>D. Go back and press Security Camera Footage
So clearly they were developing various methods of mind control, although who or what they're intended for use on remains a mystery. Perhaps the Bad Bloods want it to enslave other Yautja who are too proud to join them?

>>2357727
>>D. Go back and press Security Camera Footage

>>2357727
You press the text which translates as “Return” and see the same screen you said before. The screen keeps flickering.

You put your finger exactly where you remember “security camera footage” to be before your mask even translates the text.

New text appears. You grit your fang in impatience as the screen flickers at an increased rate while your mask translates the text.

Your mask finally completes the translation. There are many options, but only a few catch your eye.

You think about which one to choose.
>A. Armory Records
>B. Command Lobby Records
>C. Engine Room Records
>D. Tram Records
>E. R&D Main Records
>F. R&D Fredericks Records
>G. R&D Weber Records
>H. R&D Surgery Records

>>2357864
you saw before*

>>2357864
>B. Command Lobby Records

Hopefully it will tell us where they headed after wiping out the human command center.

>>2357901
>From the scorch-marks and corpses further in the east hallway, it seems that White-Rein's band headed that way.
You can pretty safely assume that they headed towards RnD, since you saw corpses that way and Storm-Grasp himself believes that they landed near the crater first.

I think I'll end the session here for tonight and call the vote sometime tomorrow.

Voting still open.

>>2357864
>>E. R&D Main Records

>>2357864
>>E. R&D Main Records

Will be about four hours before I start up again. Going with R&D Main Records

Hmm, I think I would've gone with option G. If the Bad-Bloods are here for the mind control projects they were working on, the "Crude, but more effective" option sounds right up their alley.

>>2357864
>E. R&D Main Records.

You select R&D Main Records.

The screen changes to a video feed with a text overlay, and red symbols which you recognize as “defunct”. Your mask quickly translates the other text and you see that it is used to view video made at different times.

The current time is visible on the overlay. You change the controls to one month ago and still see only blackness. You go two months further and something else appears.

You see a large room, full of humans wearing white lab coats, conversing while consuming something. This seems like it is the lobby of Research and Development.

From the movement of the hair of a female scientist you can deduce there was a gust of air. You notice the reflection of the tram on one of the glass walls in the room.

Three humans walk out from double-doors made of glass. One male, in the front, wearing a suit and tie. A female and a male follow behind him, both wearing white coats.

This is of little interest to you. You move forwards one month as the screen flickers more rapidly.

You see the same sight of humans talking over drinks. You are about to move forwards further when the camera shakes and the humans within stumble, some dropping their drinks. Suddenly, the cold, white lighting of the room turns to a dark, flashing red. The humans panic as metal shutters close over all glass windows and doors which you see in this room. Most flee out of your sight, but you notice one of the humans run to go hide in a closet, near the covered glass double-doors.

This must be when the attack was launched. You set the video to play at an accelerated pace.

After some time, you see the metal shutters covering the entrance to the room open. A few blood covered yautja wearing heavy armor stroll through. You notice on their masks are identical symbols of a white hand, fingers upwards, in between which is something that looks like a red string. It looks like the reins used to control creatures which fight in the arena of Yautja Prime.

The yautja closest to the closet looks towards his left and pauses. He stares at the closet for a moment and then approaches it as the others stare.

He grabs the closet with both hands and heaves it upwards, tearing it from its mounting and throwing it across the room. The pitiful human rolls out onto the ground, and the yautja who threw him walks up and crushes the humans hand with his boot as he writhes in agony.

He is about to slam his boot on the human’s face when he is pushed away by another yautja who holds a tube. Inside the tube you see the most basic form of black-beast life, the infester.

He grabs the human by the neck and hoists him upwards as he removes the parasite from the tube. He holds the creature up to the terrified human and it pounces towards his face.

>>2360796
It’s then that the computer finally fails. The screen fizzles out as you hear a hiss from within the computer.

“That’s it, then,” Storm-Grasp says. “Those humans we saw, they weren’t warriors. Likely lab technicians and researchers, which means they were in the eastern part of this complex.”

“If that infestation bore fruit, I’m not sure if there will be any to hunt left for us. Even they can’t survive in a vacuum for long,” he muses, and then speaks again. “I don’t suppose you saw anything in those records which would give us the exact location of where that happened.”

“I did. I saw the reflection of the tram near one of the glass doors. It must be near the railway,” you respond.

“That makes it easy. All we must do is follow the railway, then. How do you suggest we get across?” he asks, curious what your response will be. You notice that he has been letting you take the lead for much of this mission. You wonder if he is testing whether or not he can trust your judgement.

>>You can suggest anything, but he might respond differently if he thinks it is a good idea or a bad idea.
>A. Suggest that you get on top of the railway and run across, over the canyon.
>B. Suggest that you get back in his ship and fly across.
>C. Suggest that you go to Engineering to attempt to repower the tram, so that you can ride it to R&D.
>D. Something else.

>>2360802
>>A. Suggest that you get on top of the railway and run across, over the canyon.

>>2360802
>B. Suggest that you get back in his ship and fly across.
We might avoid the aliens this way

>>2360802
>A. Suggest that you get on top of the railway and run across, over the canyon.

Going with A.

>>2360802
You suggest you run across the bridge on foot.

“The most furtive path,” Storm-Grasp says. “I’ll lead the way. Let’s go.”

You follow him as he jumps out of the hole in the window through which you entered.

You make your way back to the central hallway where the wall was blown open.

You both exit from the opening. He looks up to the roof of the building right outside.

He jumps up to the wall in front of him, and then makes two more alternating jumps, bounding off the walls in this alley to reach the roof, then look down at you while engaging cloak. “Stay cloaked,” he says. “There is always a chance they’ll decide to come back to cover their tracks. Don’t want to be seen on a scan.”

You do the same maneuver yourself. While it might have been difficult on yautja prime, the low gravity of this moon does not demand significant effort.

You reach the top and engage your cloak. You both bound across the roofs of the buildings towards the railway of the tram.

You are forced to take a long, running leap onto the bridge from a nearby roof. As you sail through the air you look downward to see a deep, dark chasm, barely lit by this system’s sun. Falling off the bridge would be certain death.

You land on the reinforced glass which hermetically seals the actual railway. You both run across the bridge, wary of the sloping surface of the glass.

Your runner pack is almost out of energy when you reach the end, after a vigorous run. You see the tram at the end of the railway, beneath the glass, and to the right, the same double doors you saw on the camera records.

You see Storm-Grasp charge both of his plasma casters as he aims at the glass you stand on. His cloak fails for a moment when he blows a hole in the glass right in front of him and then drops down. It seems it is just as much a vacuum within the building as without.

You drop through the hole yourself and disengage your cloak. You both approach the double doors.

“No trace of damage.” Storm-Grasp says. “They hacked open these doors when they could have just blown through like me. Strange.”

Storm-Grasp extends his right wrist-blade and slams it into one of the glass doors, causing it to shatter into pieces.

You both walk through the opening. You manage to see the camera which you viewed from in the command center.

The closet the human hid in is on the floor exactly where it was in the records, but there is no trace of the human, aside from blood where his hand was smashed. A trail of blood leads deeper within R&D.

>>2361096
Storm-Grasp follows the trail and leads you deeper into the building down a hallway.

You reach a central area and you see a yautja corpse. Oddly, this one is entirely naked aside from its weapons, energy pack, and mask, one with the symbol of a white hand. You see many wounds on its body, likely dealt with wrist-blades.

You both approach the corpse which lies on its back and Storm-Grasp kneels to look at its masked face, staring for a moment.

“This isn’t Life-Queller,” he says, pausing. “Wait a minute, look here.”

He turns the corpse’s head to the side and you something mechanical protrude from its skull, between the dreadlocks.

Storm-Grasp removes the corpses mask and you see its face, consumed by terror. You also see some strange metal protruding from its forehead. It looks technological.

“What the hell is this?” Storm-Grasp mutters.

“From the human computer I learned that the humans were researching methods of mental control. Maybe this is an invention of theirs,” you respond.

He looks disgusted. “Is that what this is? Still… that doesn’t explain why it is on one of White-Rein’s marauders.”

He stands up. “Still no sign of Life-Queller. Damn it. Still, maybe this dead one had something to do with it.”

He looks around for a moment. “Take a look at these symbols. ‘Fredericks’, ‘Weber’, ‘Hydroponics’, ‘Medical’, ‘EVA’, ‘Telecommunications’… an endless list. We better split up. We can find him faster that way. I’ll head towards Medical first. Maybe that’s where this foul technology was installed.”

“Right,” you respond.

You notice you have five more hours of air inside of your tank. Your energy levels have recharged to six units.

You decide where to head first.
>A. Hydroponics
>B. Fredericks
>C. Weber
>D. EVA
>E. Telecommunications

>>2361096
On yautja secunda*

>>2361098
>>C. Weber
Let's see what the mad scientist was up too

>>2361098
>C. Weber

>>2361098
>C. Weber

>>2361098
You look at the symbols which mean Weber and head down the hallways in that direction.

You enter a large room and see many human bodies wearing lab-coats between arrays of computers, tables, and storage compartments. You see equipment seemingly used for technological analysis and working with electrical systems. From the melted slag it is apparent that the computers have been purposefully destroyed.

Farther in the room there is a more ornate doorway leading to a two-story room. You enter the door on the first floor.

You see what looks to be a bookshelf lays entirely bare. On the wall, you see a portrait hanging of a human female. You recognize it to be one of the trio you saw walking in the camera records. Right by the picture there is a poster of what seems to a brain, perhaps the human brain.

You climb the small stairway upwards. You see a bed inside the room along with a desk and a larger computer.

You sit at the chair by the desk and attempt to boot up the computer. Unfortunately, you find that the computer has been bricked, and it does not respond to any attempts to activate it.

You are about to stand up from the chair to leave when you see something glinting from beneath the table.

You crouch down and pick up some kind of tablet. When you pick it up, it displays text holographically, much like a wrist computer.

You take a moment to let your mask translate the text and then begin to read.

“We’re under attack by an unknown force. They’ve already destroyed the security forces, and from my failed attempts to contact him, it appears the fool Director Anderson is dead as well. At least I have the pleasure of outliving him. If only I could make it to Fredericks. If he lasts longer than me it will be a pity.

They’re approaching. Won’t be long now. Save my work, Weyland-Yutani! It cannot be left to lie in these ruins right after it has been completed! Search my body, the salient info should be integrated into my cybernetics. Still responds to the same code as before.”

You see some strange symbols your mask is unable to translate after that.

“Find anything?” you hear over the comms.

“Something,” you respond, “but it’s not Life-Queller. I’ll keep searching.”

”You do that. I’m still searching medical. They’ve done some nasty things here.”

You stow the table to your belt and decide where you will go next.

>A. Hydroponics
>B. Fredericks
>C. EVA
>D. Telecommunications

>>2361426
>A. Hydroponics

>>2361426
>>B. Fredericks

Maybe we'll find weber's corpse.

Will continue tomorrow. Voting still open.

>>2361426
>>B. Fredericks

>>2361426
>>A. Hydroponics

>>2361518
>>2361594
These!
>>2361426
Loving this quest Fish! I was always a fan of the Xenomorph quests and Hunter quests and you do an excellent job. Great writing and ill try to participate more. This needs a bigger audience.

>>2361426
>>B. Fredericks

>>2361426
>>B. Fredericks

Will start in about 2.5 hours. Got to go to a dinner.

>>2362634
Waaaaait....OH SHIT YOUR THE GUY WHO DID XENOQUEST!

>>2362676
Is he? I thought that was Cursed?

>>2361426
You head back towards the nexus where you found the bad-blood corpse.

You observe the directional symbols and spot the one which means Fredericks. You head through the hallway nearby, northwestwards.

After some walking you approach a doorway and enter a large room similar in size and shape to the one outside the office where you found the tablet, with just as many human corpses on the ground. The equipment is different, however. You see odd arrays of tubes holding liquid. Syringes, jars, and many papers with strange drawings litter the tables.

You head towards the two-story office that resembles Weber’s and open the door.

Inside you see the portrait of the male wearing the coat you saw in the camera records. Strange paintings of young, restrained humans in various states of undress adorn the walls of the room. The walls are also thick, lined with some kind of rubber as if intended to drown out sound.

Aside from a bare table there is nothing else in the room except he stairs. You climb up the stairs to the second level and see something interesting when you reach the top, stepping over a computer which has been physically crushed.

Lying face-down on the floor near the bed is a naked human corpse. You pass a table as you come closer to investigate.

You crouch down near the body and flip it over. Its arm stiffly brushes against your leg as you see its face. It is that of Fredericks. You notice a deep cut in the front of his neck. All the arteries have been severed.

He lays right to the side of the bed and in front of a closet. You look up and notice some of the wood of the closet has been damaged.

You step over the body towards the closet and try to open it. It seems to be locked, so you force it open.

You see strange things hanging from hooks in the surface inside. Black leather harnesses, whips, knives, gags, even some kind of motorized saw. This is not like any armor rack you’ve seen.

You notice a cable in the lowest corner of the closet. It seems to enter right into the back, wooden wall.

You feel around and knock experimentally, nearby the cable. The first two locations you choose produce dull thumps but in the third you feel that you’ve struck something hollow. You extend your left wrist blade and cut through the false paneling.

You look inside to see the cable enter a small computer with a vidscreen, along with a strange back containing hair. You ignore the bag and reach inside to take the computer, unhooking the cable.

As you do so the vidscreen lights up. The computer still has some power!

Your mask translates the largest, central which appears as “THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.” It then begins to translate the other, smaller text. In the top-right the symbols mean “Warning: 2% Charge.”
Further down, beneath the title, you notice something else. “Welcome, master. Which death would you like to relive?”

>>2363033
Below that there seem to be a few options. The list seems to proceed in chronological order from the dates

>>Subject 4 is the most recent.
>A. Subject 1
>B. Subject 2
>C. Subject 3
>D. Subject 4

>>2361646
Thanks. I feel like I've got a pretty good audience. I can't expect everyone to respond immediately with so much time between posts.
>>2362676
Nope. First real quest is this one.

Now, this dinner actually isn't over. I'll come back in like an hour or two and do a good amount of updates for a few hours.

>>2363038
>>D. Subject 4
We could always try powering it up again like we did for the command centre
>>2363046
Work dinner?

>>2363038
>D. Subject 4

>>2363038
>D. Subject 4

>>2363038
You select the option Subject 4. The screen turns black for a moment and then a video plays along with sound.

You see an alive Fredericks sitting at his table as a red light fills his room at regular intervals. He pours a spirit from an ornate bottle into a cup and swallows it all before slamming the glass back to his table.

Something on his computer screen catches his interest, causing him to speak to no one. “Ah, Weber. Maybe I’ll make a heaven out of this hell before I enter the real one.”

He presses something on his computer and then puts his glass and bottle under his table.

Some time later you see Weber enter the camera frame from the stairs. She sees Weber sitting in his chair and stops moving to stare. When they speak your mask instantly translates the human language.

“An odd time to accept my proposition,” Weber states.

“Shouldn’t we enjoy our last few moments?” she responds with a weak laugh.

“We should. I have a great idea how,” he says forcibly as he moves to get up from his chair.

Before he can get up Weber moves towards him and pushes him back down, straddling him with her legs.

“I have some ideas of my own,” she says, and then grabs the sides of his face with both hands, bringing her face close to… suck on him? You have no idea what she’s doing.

Weber responds by grabbing her rear with both hands. He stands, carrying her, and then pushes her onto his table, causing his computer to clatter to the ground. They continue to suck on each other’s faces oddly.

They start to tear off each other’s clothes. You slowly realize they are mating.

He carries her naked form to his bed and throws her on top. She looks at him welcomingly as she lies on her back, but he turns her over harshly and begins to thrust into her from behind. You wonder what Storm-Grasp would say if he caught you watching this. You have no idea how this is supposed to help you find Life-Queller.

A bit later she pushes him off and moves off the bed to stand in front of him, facing him. He responds by grabbing her leg and slamming her hardly against the closet as he once again begins the mating process. He moves his hands to her throat and you hear a choked gasp as he tightens his grip, drawing his head back as if in ecstasy.

Her face turns red as she tries to move his hands off, to no avail. He begins to speak with closed eyes as he continues mating while she chokes. “Ah… Dr. Weber. It is right that it is I who ends you, before these invaders get their chance. This is where your life has always been going, Dr. Weber. This is what you are fated for, to enter my book of the dead!”

>>2363540
He continues to mate with closed eyes, head drawn back. You see Weber move her hand up behind her head to some kind of metal headdress she is wearing. She moves her hand away and you see a shimmering. She is holding a small blade.

She swiftly extends the blade and slashes his neck causing him to drop her. They both fall to their knees gasping, her regaining her breath and him taking his last as he moves his hand to stop the torrent of blood.

He looks at her in confusion as he falls flat on his face at Weber’s feet. She continues to gasp.

You hear a roar of laughter, yautja laughter, as one watching near the stairs uncloaks.

“Take her captive,” you hear in the yautja language. Two heavily armed yautja exit from the stairs and approach her.

It is then that the computer stops working. You try to power it the same way you did with the computer in the command center, but the charging port is simply too small. It is incompatible.

“Bad news,” you hear over your comms. “Got a ping from my ship. Intermittent scans detected something in orbit. The band might be coming back. I’m moving back to the ship to find out exactly what it is. Keep searching! I’ve cleared out medical and EVA. No trace of Life-Queller. Find him. We don’t have much time.

“Affirmative,” you say.

You think about where to go next.
>A. Telecommunications
>B. Hydroponics
>C. EVA

>>2363543
>B. Hydroponics

>>2363543
>>A. Telecommunications
Maybe he tried to send a message out

>>2363543
>>A. Telecommunications

Going with A.

>>2363543
You head back towards the nexus. As you pass by the yautja corpse in the nexus you see that the bad blood’s plasma caster has been removed. What remains of its energy pack, only melted metal, lies nearby. Storm-Grasp must have taken the weapon and then destroyed the pack to make sure the humans cannot discover yautja technology.

You see the symbols which mean telecommunications and head through the hallway nearby southeastwards.

As you walk further down the hallway you see scorch-marks on the walls, but there are no bodies.

You pass a corner and see a wall that looks to have been devastated by an explosion. The thick door which once occupied an open space in the wall is now imbedded in the wall opposite. Nearby the door is a yautja mask which looks like one of the scout models. Its right side has been entirely cut through by a wrist-blade. You notice the mask lacks the white hand symbol which all White-Rein’s marauders had.

You attach the mask to your belt and then walk through the open space and see an enormous black scorch-mark on the floor. There is almost no trace of the machines which must have once occupied the telecommunications room. It is obvious why the option for the communications array in the command center was defunct.

Only one thing here could have caused such a devastating explosion: a yautja honor device. This is where Life-Queller met his end. How, or why, you do not know.

“Almost back at the ship,” you hear over comms. “Have you found anything?”

“Yes,” you respond, “the site of an explosion. Can’t be caused by anything but an honor device. Also found a mask unlike the others. Might be Life-Quellers. I think here is where Life-Queller met his end.”

“Really?” he responds. “Well. I guess we got what we came for, though it rubs me wrong that we don’t know anything about where White-Rein’s band went.”

How do you respond?
>A. Say that you’ve completed your mission, even if you don’t know where the band went. It is better that you two leave before whatever Storm-Grasp’s ship detected lands on this moon.
>B. You can still do more. You should search further to find out where White-Rein’s band went.

>>2363813
Remark that we don't feel satisfied with finishing things here but we'll follow his lead.

going to sleep. vote still open.

i'll run earlier tomorrow. less shit to do so I have more time

>>2363813
>>A. Say that you’ve completed your mission, even if you don’t know where the band went. It is better that you two leave before whatever Storm-Grasp’s ship detected lands on this moon.
and >>2363831

>>2363813
>B. You can still do more. You should search further to find out where White-Rein’s band went
Get in position to extract me quick....One more room

>>2363813
>>A. Say that you’ve completed your mission, even if you don’t know where the band went. It is better that you two leave before whatever Storm-Grasp’s ship detected lands on this moon.

>>2363813
>>B. You can still do more. You should search further to find out where White-Rein’s band went.
It's odd how there's no xenomorphs here considering the impregnation.

>>2363813
>A. Say that you’ve completed your mission, even if you don’t know where the band went. It is better that you two leave before whatever Storm-Grasp’s ship detected lands on this moon.
They must not know we were here.

>>A. Say that you’ve completed your mission, even if you don’t know where the band went. It is better that you two leave before whatever Storm-Grasp’s ship detected lands on this moon.

This is a tough choice but I'm going to go with A. If it's the bad blood's ship then being back in our own ship will put us in a better position to follow them when they leave. If it's not them we can reconsider our options and possible come back to search further. The only place we haven't searched yet is Hydroponics and we are unlikely to find anything there except maybe surviving hardmeat.

Will start in about three and a half hours.

>>2364193
>3.5 hours
*cries*

>>2363813
“I should get back to your ship,” you say.

“My thoughts exactly. Don’t want to be caught on the ground if they decide to wipe this lab off the map with atomics. Besides, maybe the computer here can analyze his mask so we can find out something more. Get over here as fast as you can.”

You acknowledge and begin your run back to the ship, exiting the telecommunications room.

You pass by the bad blood corpse as you head towards the tram. You reach it after passing by the closet which the human hid in. You wonder if Storm-Grasp found his corpse in medical.

You step under the hole which Storm-Grasp blew into the ceiling over the railway and jump through, engaging your cloak. You begin your run across the bridge, careful not to slip into the abyss below.

You initiate communications as you run.

“Did you find the infested human?” you ask.

“No trace of him, or the infestation. Maybe he threw himself out of an airlock,” Storm-Grasp says, laughing at the end. “I’m running scans now. Have to do this carefully so whoever is in orbit doesn’t notice.”

You continue running across the bridge. You reach the end and jump off to crouch down under a nearby pipe, disengaging cloak to let your pack recharge.

After about five minutes you reengage cloak and run back to the ship.

The ramp is extended when you finally reach the cloaked ship. If you did not remember where it was you doubt you could have found it.

You walk up the ramp and engage the airlock and then head towards the cockpit.

Storm-Grasp is in his seat, running scans. He notices you approach and speaks.

“I’ve got good news and bad news. Bad news is there is a ton of contacts in high orbit. Good news is, they aren’t yautja. It’s the humans.”

“How many?” you ask.

“There’s a large battlecruiser along with two smaller cruisers and three corvettes. They’ve been idling for a while, but they are bound to investigate eventually."

>>Roll 1d100 to see how convincing you are. Suggesting something he doesn’t want to do will require a higher roll.
>A. Suggest that you leave and report your discoveries.
>B. Suggest that he fly his ship to the hydroponics biosphere. You can search it by using his umbilical to breach through one of the ceilings.
>C. Suggest that you go back on foot to search hydroponics.
>D. Suggest that you leave after firing both fission missiles in his ship at the lab to destroy all evidence.
>E. Something else.

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>2364541
>>B. Suggest that he fly his ship to the hydroponics biosphere. You can search it by using his umbilical to breach through one of the ceilings.
WE can always blow it up afterwards

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>2364541
>>D. Suggest that you leave after firing both fission missiles in his ship at the lab to destroy all evidence.

Bad-Blood or not don't want the humans finding a yautja body with a mind control doohickey in him.

>>2364541
D. It's time to cut our losses.

Rolled 49 (1d100)

>>2364541
>A. Suggest that you leave and report your discoveries.
We need to get back and report this, is there any way we can plant trackers or something to keep tabs on these humans. That mind control tech down there is bound to be created by one of their higher Clans and this wont be their only place of interest. We should not let them know we know and should try to track down the source.

>>2364541
>B. Suggest that he fly his ship to the hydroponics biosphere. You can search it by using his umbilical to breach through one of the ceilings.
Xenos are probably in there. This might be the only place with air due to the plants.

>>2364541
>>D. Suggest that you leave after firing both fission missiles in his ship at the lab to destroy all evidence.
I don't like their mind control shit, it needs to be gone

Alright, D. Success vs DC 75.

>>2364541
“Do you remember what they did to the badblood? We should not let these humans recover their foul technology. You have fission missiles in this ship, don’t you? Let us destroy the facility and then leave,” you say, as you strap into the copilots seat.

“I do.” He pauses for a moment, thinking. “I don’t feel right about leaving before searching the whole facility, but I suppose these humans have forced our hand.”

He moves the ship farther away from the site to get you clear of the blast radius and then turns the ship around.

He pulls a lever and you hear the missile bay open.

“I hope I’m not destroying the final clues to lead me to White-Rein,” he says, and then fires the missiles.

You feel the missiles leave the ship as the propellant ignites. Storm-Grasp does not wait to see the explosion. He immediately turns the ship around and flies away from the lab.

There is a blinding flash of light from behind you. You look at the passive sensor screen on the ship’s HUD and see that the humans have begun to move.

“That got their attention,” Storm-Grasp says as he chuckles. “Won’t do them any good. Their ships can’t catch up to mine, even if they manage to detect me through the cloak.”

He flies his ship away from the planet and the befuddled humans and goes into fold-space, towards yautja secunda.

“Well, congratulations, youngblood. You’ve just completed your first mission. Maybe we’ll be able to work together after all.”

You thank him and then wonder what to do next.

>A. Tell him about what you learned from the video you found. Weber was captured by White-Rein’s band.
>B. Go to the central room of his ship to analyze Life-Queller’s mask using the computer.
>C. Ask him to show you how the training dummy on his ship works.
>D. Something else.

>>2364691
>>A. Tell him about what you learned from the video you found. Weber was captured by White-Rein’s band.

>>2364691
>>A. Tell him about what you learned from the video you found. Weber was captured by White-Rein’s band.

sorry for the combat-less mission. there might have been some if you went to search more

might as well tell you what was in hydroponics. turned out it was the only part of the station still pressurized, also filled with oxygen due to the many plants within. it's where the hardmeat went to survive as the air drained from the rest of the lab. it also contained one human who survived by taking a suit from EVA and hiding from the aliums like newt. i'm kinda sad you blew them up.

>>2364705
I was thinking they got the hard meat to trick Frost Mantle and the others into a trap.

Alright, going with A.

>>2364691
“I found something else in one of the scientists’ rooms. There was a hidden computer with a vidscreen. It contained a very strange recording. Near the end I saw that the scientist responsible for the direct methods of mental control, Weber, was taken captive by White-Rein’s band,” you say.

“Damn,” Storm-Grasp says. “I was hoping that all trace of that foul technology was destroyed by my missiles, but the scientist responsible is alive, and worse, in White-Rein’s hands. This isn’t good. They already tested the technology on the dead marauder we found.”

He sighs. “We have a long flight to think about it and write a written report for the Matriarch, though I suspect she will want to hear it from us directly.” He unlatches himself from the pilot’s seat and steps down to the floor. “Let’s go put these suits back.”

You both head towards the center of his ship and approach the armor rack and then remove the cumbersome hard-suits. It is a great relief to take off the suit.

“Ah… that’s better,” Storm-Grasp says. “I see you have White-Rein’s mask. Give it here so I can examine it.”

You give him the mask and he takes a look.

“This is bad. Wrist-blades grazed the memory chip which stores visual data.”

He moves over to the table in front of computer. There are some mechanical and electrical instruments attached to the computer. Solders, small tweezers, and some kind of scanner. He walks behind the table to the computer and boots it up.

“See those tools? Grab them. I’ve always thought it’s important to learn how the gear you use works.”

You oblige and move towards the tools.

“Move the scanner over the damaged area of the mask,” he says.

You oblige. You hear a hum as you see a lazer extend from the scanner towards the mask.

“Interesting… now follow my instructions.”

>Roll 3 1d20 to see how successful you are in repairing the mask so you can retrieve the data.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>2364803

File: de057dfb43acfe752f43a3766(...).jpg (41 KB, 693x663)

41 KB JPG

>>2364810
Shit

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>2364810
ANON

>>2364711
The Bad Bloods could use the Doctor to get the mincontrol device implanted into Frost-mantle and co.

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>2364803
Lad come on >>2364810

Maybe this is the Gods punishing us for not saving that girl.

>>2364803
You follow his instructions, soldering when and where he tells you, adjusting the position of the mask with different metal clamps.

“Good. Now move the solder seven micrometers to eight degrees. Use just the lowest po-“

He is interrupted by a loud crack, and then a fizzling which causes you to cringe. You think you have broken the data chip.

“Damn it! The chip shattered. I’m not sure if even the Archivists can fix this… I should have known better than to let a young-blood do this. I’m taking the controls. Maybe I can give the Archivists something to salvage.”

You watch him shamefully as he attempts to repair the chip.

>roll 1d100. not best of 3
>1-59 the chip is beyond repair
>60-95 he manages to repair the chip enough for the Archivists to salvage some data
>96-100 he manages to repair the chip enough to salvage some data himself

>>2364870
I'll let someone else roll this one

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>2364870

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>2364870
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

>>2364914
FUCK

>>2364870
He pivots a different tool towards him, as well as some goggles which he looks through. He laboriously glues together the shattered chip, soldering it intermittently.

“I’ve done all that I can. We will have to wait until the Archivists take a look to see if any retrieval of data is possible.”

You nod, embarrassed.

”Ah, I almost forgot. I have something for you, even after you bungled this.” He moves his hand towards his belt and removes a plasma caster, along with its shoulder mounting. “I took this off the dead bad-blood. Unexceptional, but I noticed you were lacking one. Don’t understand your choice of a pistol. A pistol can be disarmed… but a caster, well,” he gestures to his shoulders, over which are his dual plasma casters, “chances are nobody is going to be knocking these off unless they knock off my head.”

You take the plasma caster gratefully and attach it to the pauldron of your medium armor.

>Is there anything else you want to do before you arrive at Yautja Secunda?
>If not, select what you want to do during the transit time.
>>A. Try to learn some of the human language.
>>B. Practice with the melee training dummy.
>>C. Something else.

Rolled 80 (1d100)

>>2364870

>>2364932
Check in one how Frost Mantle is doing if not ask to spar with him

>>2364932
>C. Something else
Teach me tech stuff so this don't happen again

>>2364932

>>2364946

>>2364705
Ugh i was the only one who kept voting to head down there

>>2364932
>C. Something else.
"teach me how to not butcher any more gear"

>>2364932
The next week passes uneventfully. You ask Storm-Grasp to teach you what he knows about repairing technological systems so what happened doesn’t happen a second time. He explains the function of the different components in yautja masks, and even some of the theory behind them. At first it is difficult to grasp but you slowly catch on, and even manage to disassemble much of your own mask and put it back together. You notice how full of space your own, duelist mask is, compared to Life-Queller’s scout mask. In your mask the components are spread out, making it less likely for them to collide if your mask distorts from a blow. In Life-Queller’s the components are far closer. You see why his mask is more vulnerable to damage.

You even ask Storm-Grasp to spar, but he says that there isn’t enough room for a real spar in his ship, not without something else getting broken. Instead he shows you how to use his training dummy. You suffer some painful welts as the training dummy’s metal arms strike your own when you block. The attacks which do not miss are strong enough to knock the wind out of you.

…

It is only one day before you arrive at Yautja Secunda. You have just ended your shift at the controls and move to one of the bunks in the central room to sleep.

As you lie back and drift into sleep you think about your friend Frost-Mantle. You hope his hunt has been as successful as your mission.

And that is thread 3. Sorry for ending this so soon but I need to plan out what will happen next.

In the next thread you can expect meeting with the matriarch, your mentor, maybe getting some more gear from the armory, and getting your next mission. The next mission will be more exciting.

Could run as early as Thursday. Probably Friday or Saturday though.

>>2365001
Thanks for running

Thread archived: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=FishQM
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>>2365001
Really enjoying it so far, thanks for running.

I hope technology will not become our Fis.

>>2364803
LifeQueller's mask, not white reins. Jeez that is a bad typo. Woops.