Everything feels a bit off still as you look around the room. Like you’re still not really fully there yet, that feeling of still being groggily half-awake lingering. The first thing you are drawn too is the beeping medical machine immediately to your left. It looks fuzzy even though it’s right next to you. What you can see is that your heart rate is slow. Real slow. Is that bad?

Looking over to your right, you realize you’re not the only other person in the room. Slumped over in a chair is the trooper who gave you the idea, Rachel. The MEC trooper you and Harita had rodeo ridden onto the UFO, all the while it tried to disintegrate you with it’s cannon. She’s out of her MEC suit now and currently in her non-combat augments, snoozing with a bit of drool hanging off the side of her lips. Seeing a fellow squadmate in the room, immediately puts you at ease. At least you’re not in some random hospital in Spain or something. An attempt is made to try and wake Rachel up, but your voice is hoarse and dry. You cough more than anything else.

To your far right on the small rolling end table is a clipboard with what you guess is your medical report. You could probably figure out what happened to you yourself. Though you should probably wake Rachel up and let her know you aren’t in a coma or something… unless you were. You don’t actually know how long you’ve been out. That’s a bit worrying. A horrifying thought of possibly being asleep for several years passes through your mind. What if you had accidentally slept through the war and the aliens won…?

You need some answers.

>Make further effort to wake Rachel up. She’ll catch you up to speed.
>Try and get more info from that clipboard.
>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.
>Other

>>2998180
>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.

---

Let's get back to it! Bit of an odd starting time, but we'll make it work!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BurningGray
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=XCOM%20Trooper%20Quest
Squad Info: https://pastebin.com/4KJN5HKK
Reader Made To Do List: https://xcom864106258.wordpress.com/

---

>>2998180
>>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.
Rachel a cute

>>2998180
>Make further effort to wake Rachel up. She’ll catch you up to speed.

>>2998180
>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.

We've more than pulled our weight for a while now. A little rest won't hurt.

>>2998180
>Make further effort to wake Rachel up. She’ll catch you up to speed.

>>2998180
>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.
98% chance all is good

>>2998180
>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.
Do we have white hair now?

>>2998180
>>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.

>>2998180
>>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.

>>2998180
>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.

>>2998180
>>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.
Enough cliches of near-dead patients making it worse themselves by not resting exists already. Just relax...

>>2998180
>Relax

>>2998180
>Make further effort to wake Rachel up. She’ll catch you up to speed.

>>2998180
>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.

>>2998180
>>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.

If things have gone bad, it's not like we're in a condition to do anything about it. Best we can do is to try to recover ASAP. She'll eventually wake up anyway.

>>2998180
>>Make further effort to wake Rachel up. She’ll catch you up to speed.

Relax

>>2998180
>>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.

>>2998178
>Other
>Wake Rachel up and assess her mental state. Whistle, moan hoarsely, just try things

>>2998180
>Just relax and focus on regaining your strength. Everything’s fine, probably.

Calling the vote here!

Rolled 80 (1d100)

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You start to consider how to either wake Rachel up or get your hands on that clipboard in your state until you just… stop yourself. Do you really need to be proactive right now? Doing things in this state? No… you should just relax and focus on regaining your strength. You’re not really in good to do much of anything at the moment. You’re tired too, so you decide to try and go back to sleep...

…Only for your best efforts to get further shuteye to be thwarted. It takes you a bit of fruitless attempts at trying sleep only for you to realize you’re wide awake. The exhaustion you’re feeling right now is your baseline now for the foreseeable future. That’s how much using psionics on an empty tank costed you.

At least it wasn’t something permanent.

Well, you’ll just relax then. Get comfortable. You can totally do that. When was the last time you just did nothing since joining XCOM? Can’t even remember. You were either training, helping Command somehow, studying up tactics, hanging out with your squadmates, or at the bar. You’ve kept yourself busy pretty hard. All you have to do is just lie here until a nurse walks in or Rachel wakes up. Easy peasy.

...

This really sucks.

Your fatigue is one thing, but you quickly realize you’re not the type of person to like to sit still for long. It feels like it’s been hours already just lying here in bed, but it could have just been twenty minutes that passed. No way to tell without a clock. How some other people can just sit down and just space out is beyond you. Sure you’ve done stakeouts before, but that was different, there was a goal. Looking out for the bad guys. This… you basically just have yourself and your own thoughts for who knows how long.

Were you really always this antsy? You’ve recovered plasma burns and stuff before, but those were cakewalks before. You’re probably just overthinking things. At least the bed is pretty comfortable. So there’s that.

Really, all you have to do now is find a way to combat your boredom. Glancing over, you see Rachel is still quietly snoring away, without a care in the world. As much as you want to just wake her up… you feel like you’re going to lose at this little challenge you’ve given yourself. You can be stubborn like that.

Since trying to move around is only going to tire you out further, you try and let your mind wander, thinking about recent events… or just things in general. One thing just keeps lingering in your head is self-reflection. Your mind always coming back to it even as you think of other topics. One thing about yourself just stands out to you. For better or worse, you can’t stop thinking about...

>Your leadership. All of your many successes and screw ups
>Your Gift. It’s power, cost, and implications.
>Your teammates. Your promises and interactions with them… or lack thereof.
>Your past. Seemingly a lifetime ago.
>Your anger. More thought about that other side of you. It’s origins.
>Other

>>2999542
>>Your teammates. Your promises and interactions with them… or lack thereof.

>>2999542
>>Your past. Seemingly a lifetime ago.

>>2999542
>>Your past. Seemingly a lifetime ago.

>>2999542
>>Your past. Seemingly a lifetime ago.

>>2999542
>>Your anger. More thought about that other side of you. It’s origins.
When and where did the anger come from? While it's definitely useful, unlike powers that The Gift provides, this is more more personal part of Dozer that I don't know how much about. Who knows how much it could affect his thoughts and mindset if he used it too much without understanding it.

>>2999571
I was contemplating voting for this, but figured we may learn about it through his past as well. Plus, we know little to nothing about Dozer's past so I figured it might be nice to flesh him out.

>>2999542
>>Your teammates. Your promises and interactions with them… or lack thereof.

>>2999542
>>Your past. Seemingly a lifetime ago.
Time to learn about some more FBI shenanigans with Rachel?

>>2999542
>>Your teammates. Your promises and interactions with them… or lack thereof.
Don't neglect them again.

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>>2999637

I'm really confused by this neglect of our teammates that came out of nowhere.

Think about what happened between now and the Bannon fight.

Peppermint was injured and we visited her which led to her opening up a little.

Sweet was injured and we got him a phone call for his family.

We did Yoga with Harita

We did Psionics practice with Loki

We literally mentally bonded with Zhang

We had the whole Bradford sweater shenanigans with Haru

Rook and Rachel are the only ones I'd say we haven't hung out with in awhile if we aren't counting fucking double teaming Mutons during the Bannon fight with Rachel.

I'm really starting to think people overreacted to Dozer's overreaction when Rachel was having a doki doki moment when we told her we needed her.

>>2999542
Pixel pls explain.

>>2999655
I agree on your points, Dozer has been keeping good relations with most people in Strike-1.
We definitely should talk to Rachel about what happened out there when she froze before boarding the UFO though, not just to ensure her mental health, but also because i'm curious. You know, once we have enough strength to speak, that is.

>>2999542
>Your teammates. Your promises and interactions with them… or lack thereof.

>>2999655
100% this. We have done a fine job at learning more and interacting with our squad. Its Dozer himself we don't know too well.

>>2999655
I don't get it either. most of the events for non-mission sessions were for doing things with people. Hell, the recent training vote even stated how Dozer is starting to get out of shape with how little training he does compared to before joining X-COM.

>>2999655
>that came out of nowhere.
Try not speedreading or jumping to conclusions. Go back to the last thread with the scene where Dozer is on Rachel's back


Yes, we did do a lot of things with our teammates, but Coda's mental state is still a concern. Naru is a concern if she aborts the gene checkup mid-way to come running to us.

>>2999699
Hell, the recent training vote even stated how Dozer is starting to get out of shape with how little training he does compared to before joining X-COM.

Correct, but that is partly due to times when Dozer is drained from Psi stuff.

>>2999723
Oi maybe you shouldn't speedread my post

>I'm really starting to think people overreacted to Dozer's overreaction when Rachel was having a doki doki moment when we told her we needed her.

>>2999733
Or maybe you can't take criticism. At all. Aside from the fact that speedreading is not possible with the convoluted grammar you used in that sentence.

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>>2999740

>>2999740
I think you're actually a brainlet. It's obvious Dozer jumped to the wrong conclusion when Rachel froze last thread. The evidence is in that guy's post.

Also those sentences are easy to read if you're out of grade school.

>>2999723
>Yes, we did do a lot of things with our teammates, but Coda's mental state is still a concern. Naru is a concern if she aborts the gene checkup mid-way to come running to us.

That's like saying Dozer is not doing enough for his team if he isn't solving absolutely every single person's problems. That's crazy. While caring for people under our command is part of our job, it is not ALL of his job. Dozer's responsibility is to accomplish mission objectives and keep his squad alive, which also includes making sure he himself is fit for duty. There has to be a balance of training and spending time with others to solve their problems, especially when he is also now responsible by order of the Commander for creating the new Psionics division of X-COM.

Besides, people can talk to other people. We aren't the only one they can get help from, and should not be expected to solve every problem we see. Otherwise choices don't matter and everyone can just vote for 'doing everything'.

Why cant people disagree without resorting to name calling? Lol...

>>2999910
Because tone is hard to convey in a conversation without nonverbal cues so people automatically assume the worst when disagreements occur.

>>2999687
One thing we should probably avoid is any sort of telepathic communication lest we're sent into an even worse state than Dozer is now.

>>2999542
>Your leadership. All of your many successes and screw ups

>>2999542
>Your past. Seemingly a lifetime ago.
>>2999740
Try to read between the lines. Why would Rachel be upset at Dozer's words?

>>2999542
>>Your past. Seemingly a lifetime ago.
Yeah I'm going to agree that we need some clarification because this whole neglecting the teammates stuff is pretty strange.

>>2999542
>Your past. Seemingly a lifetime ago.

Calling the vote here! To clarify further, you guys have been doing good overall with keeping tabs with the team, the wording might not have come well with that prompt. It was worded like that as self-reflection is usually pretty critical to oneself.

Apologies for the miscommunication!

Hopefully we'll be running a proper run tommorow unless the sky falls or the sun disappears or something. I'll try and post earlier before start time but start should still be the usual.

>>3000808
>unless the sky falls or the sun disappears or something
Don't jinx it. Nostradamus predicted a world war for 2018 and you may have triggered it just now.

If there is any mental health check Dozer's neglected, it's on Rook. Guy is known to have mental breakdowns in the past and he might still be sour about Dozer being in his former position as a squad leader. He also might get depressed if he fails to get psionics, that he seem to really want. We don't want to repeat what happened in Gangplank

>>2999779
Dozer himself had reasonable doubt, but okay.
>people can talk to other people
Loki and Harita, Pepermint, Rook aren't likely to do that unless it's Dozer.

>>3001033

That's actually part of what i like about Peppermint. I feel she needs us, and that we can be her salvation. I guess that makes me a broken person as well.

Remember how Rachel pranked us after she was MEC'ed? I propose we have a little revenge.
When she wakes up, let's pretend we lost our memory and don't recognise her.

>>3001283
Heh, i'm liking this plan. Just don't take it too far.

>>3000982
>mental breakdowns
Only one as far as I know.

>>3001283
Oh you are on. This sounds fun as heck. Bonus objective achieved if she reveals how she actually have strong feelings for dozer in the process. Even if i dont root for her.

>>3001283
Sure. Pixel ?

>>3001283
No.

>>3001283
She'll be mad after...

Let's do it.

>>3001283
sure. It's fair play.

>>3001283
The best part is where she did not fake being an emotionless robot, she’s instead now faking emotions for the sake of squad cohesion and dozers sanity

>>3001845
You're scaring me anon.

>>3001864
it was my fear. But to be fair, if she was as emotionless as this, she would not have hesitated when dozer told her he wants her with him in the ufo

>>3001845
Cool idea but if she was truly emotionless she would have no real reason to fake it

Just a heads up that I'm working on the starting post! It's taking me a bit as I wanted to give a decent but not too wordy of a synopsis of Dozer's past since you guys have been eager for it.

Gotta get it right to set the ball rolling and I want his backstory to be interesting!

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You just can’t stop thinking about the past. XCOM’s been doing good for you, but you do miss how simpler things were before the alien war. You still had a dangerous line of work, but at least you got to do things outside instead of being a secret mountain base. Not that the mountain base isn’t cool enough or anything.

It’s funny to you, looking back on it, how things just lead to one another that landed you in the FBI. How… convenient it was. You always had your goals set to be an enforcer of the law, you had prided yourself on it. Given how physical you’ve been, you had managed to get into college on a football scholarship, and while enjoyed tackling people you ultimately you knew what you wanted to be… come to think of it all that training is still pretty useful to you even today.

You were even scouted a few times by military recruiters while you were younger, but army life didn’t seem like it would be the thing for you. As an XCOM trooper now, you guess you were wrong.

Initially, you were hoping to just settle on being a respectable police officer, but decided to aim a bit higher first. You applied for the FBI, fully expecting to get no reply back and be done with it. It was more for saying to yourself you did it than anything else. Yet somehow, they accepted your application.

Another lucky break, but that wasn’t even the last of it.

Training was rough, and you quickly learned what you were capable of. The written tests were challenging, but you had excelled at training. You could run, jump, and shoot like nobody’s business. Little did the you know at the time that you had actually impressed your eventual squad leader, Captain Nguyen, during training. He had stopped by for some official matters but always was looking for future recruits to fill out his team. You caught his eye.

You smirk recalling that training op once again, especially when…

>You learned your affinity with shotguns and CQC.
>You found out the test was rigged from the start, but you still past.
>You met an old friend for the first time… as he was trying to knock your ass out.

>>3002113
>>You found out the test was rigged from the start, but you still past.

>>3002113
>>You found out the test was rigged from the start, but you still past.
Adapt and Overcome any situation!

>>3002113
>You met an old friend for the first time… as he was trying to knock your ass out.
It's gotta be Charlie, right?

>>3002113
>>You found out the test was rigged from the start, but you still past.

>>3002113
>>You found out the test was rigged from the start, but you still past.
I feel obligated to point out that it should be passed*.

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>>3002144

>>3002113
>You found out the test was rigged from the start, but you still past.

>>3002113
>>You found out the test was rigged from the start, but you still past.

Calling the vote here, writing!

>>3002155
Its ok pixel, I still love you.

Later you’d learn that Nguyen’s gauntlet was never supposed to beaten. It was fully expected that trainees were supposed to fail, and it was more so he could see how the trainees would react to what is clearly an ‘impossible’ challenge.

It was a building clearing obstacle course with enemies with a very short time frame to accomplish it. Like only a minute and a half or something like that, you don’t recall. It was pretty bad. Though, you had managed to save a lot of precious time by taking a shortcut.
An improvised shortcut.

Really, it was never expressly said that you couldn’t bust through the walls and make a new doorway. It saved you just enough time It had thrown off the remaining tangos long enough for you to quickly take them out as you dove for the end of the course. You succeeded with a few spare seconds left in the clock.

The instructors we’re giving you one hell of a verbal thrashing until Nguyen stepped in and had them cut you some slack. The veteran FBI agent had taken a liking to you from there after witnessing your ‘brute force creativity’. Sure you had to spend the weekend cleaning up the mess, but it was totally worth it.

You were on a fast track towards getting a spot on his squad from there, but you still had to pass training but… once again, luck was on your side. You passed and his good word was enough not have to do more menial grunt work. You were on the fast track to getting HRT if you really wanted… but you stuck around for the teammates you made.

Maybe you have always been lucky. Like lady luck herself was some secret admirer that was helping you every step of the way From joining the FBI and then XCOM. But man, you seriously do miss...

>Your old teammates. How are they doing now?
>How easier things were. You busted criminals nice and simple.
>Your family. You XCOM gave you a solid cover, but they still must be wondering how you're doing.
>Other

>>3002308
>Your old teammates. How are they doing now?

>>3002308
>>Your family. You XCOM gave you a solid cover, but they still must be wondering how you're doing

>>3002308
>>Your family. You XCOM gave you a solid cover, but they still must be wondering how you're doing.

>>3002308
>Your family. You XCOM gave you a solid cover, but they still must be wondering how you're doing.

>>3002308
>>Your family. You XCOM gave you a solid cover, but they still must be wondering how you're doing.

>>3002308
>>Your family. You XCOM gave you a solid cover, but they still must be wondering how you're doing.

>>3002308
>Your old teammates. How are they doing now?

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>>3002308
Wow my typos are really bad tonight. I double check it yet the real glaring shit I only notice AFTER my illiterate ass posts the update! Gonna slow down a bit and make sure the next posts are less painful to read!

Calling the vote here, writing!

>>3001959
>she would have no real reason to fake it
Well mr psychologist, you are dead wrong. Even emotionless people understand it is easier to work with people when you show emotions.

XCOM has a lot of great perks but it’s still a secretive paramilitary organization. A lot is counting on information of the group being kept on a need to know basis, and every man and woman present knows the score. That includes you.

Sure you had the circumstance of being plucked out and recruited but you still need to follow the rules. You have no regrets bringing the pain to the invaders… but the last time you had talked to your folks and your little sister was… fuck you don’t even remember. You’ve been so busy killing aliens it never really crossed your mind. Until now.

Dad had always wanted you to be a lawyer or something instead of risking your life on ‘bravado’, but Mom always encouraged you to do what you wanted. Sara could be an annoying twerp at times, but she always did think your profession was pretty badass. During visits at home, Mom and Sara would always back you up when Dad would get irritated at you and your life choices because of how worried he was for you. He’d probably have a heart attack after he learned about some of the shit you did in XCOM…

They were given a good cover story, your previous occupation in the FBI really helped with that. Something about an undercover operation or some such with emphasis on how it’s going to save a lot of people’s lives. It’s not wrong, really…

Only now, just laying here in bed barely able to move, that you truly realize how much you miss them. It was inevitable really. You really want to let your family know you’re OK but only Sweet’s going to get that luxury. He definitely earned that reward for sure but… yeah, you’re a bit envious of the Medic now.

Still, they must be worried sick about you with the whole alien invasion thing going on. It bums you out. But, you’ve long since made your choice.

If only…

Your thoughts on your homesickness are interrupted as Rachel lets out a loud yawn. She stretches as she yawns, mechanical arms extending out. It’s more a subconscious habit than anything. When she rubs her eyes and looks over towards you, she nearly falls over on her chair when she sees you’re awake.

“Dozer! You’re awake!” She exclaims, moving over to you. "Fucking hell man, took ya long enough!"

You’re just about to greet Rachel but you stop yourself, a bit of lighthearted teasing coming to mind. Rachel messed with you before, now is the perfect opportunity for some payback. You kinda need it after depressing yourself a bit over your family. Though, the relief on her face is kinda nice…

>Mess with Rachel a bit.
>Don't tease her.
>Other

>>3002594
>Mess with Rachel a bit.

>>3002594
>Mess with Rachel a bit.

>>3002594
>>Don't tease her.

>>3002594
>>Mess with Rachel a bit.

>>3002594
>>Mess with Rachel a bit.

>>3002594
>Mess with Rachel a bit.

May involve tears. And possibly a prosthetic-induced broken nose.

>>3002594
>Mess with Rachel a bit.
Operation "who are you and where am I" is a go

>>3002594
>>Don't tease her.
So conflicted between the choices. But it does seem a little cruel.

Calling the vote here, writing!

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You distinctly remember when Rachel pulled a fast one on you when you met her after her MEC surgery. It’s time for some proper payback after that. The good thing is it’s not difficult keeping a straight face given you really don’t want to do much of anything in this state. Collecting yourself, you look at her with a blank face.

“I… wha…” You manage to cough out, your parched throat further enhancing the effect.

“Hey easy now, man. You were drained after you mindscrewed that Outsider at the end. The docs said you were both exhausted, dehydrated, and couple other things. So like, relax.”

That takes you off guard for a moment, and you are definitely are going to press her for more info but you have an act you have to commit to. You look at her confused eying her augments with surprise and confusion.

“...What… are you…? Who…?” You sputter out as meekly as you can, further emphasizing your totally real amnesia you’re having right now.

“Oh please, don’t give me that crap. You’re fine. Rachel rolls her eyes.

You don’t let up.

“I don’t understand… where am I? Who are you? W-what happened to your arms?” A dramatic pause. "...Who am I?"

You attempt to sit up, but it’s still as fruitless as ever and all you accomplish is lightly jostling the seats.

“Yeah yeah, you can drop the act now.” Rachel crosses her arms, glaring at you… but you can see a bit of concern as her resolve starts to waver.

Just a bit more…

>Roll 1d100

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>3002799

Rolled 55 (1d100)

>>3002799

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>3002799
can Dozer act good?

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>3002799

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>3002799

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>3002799
I swear I didn't mix up my first one. You didn't see it!

>>3002804
Sign us up for movies.

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>>3002804
Welp, now we know what Dozer's new job could be if he ever retires from X-COM. Action movies.

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>>3002799
Just finished reading all of your xcom quests in the archive.

Good Shit.

“Oh god… what’s going on? Oh god oh god. I can barely move.. A-and my head...” You press, starting to impress a bit of overwhelming confusion and rising panic in your performance. You continue to move about in your bed, trying to stand up or roll off of bed.

Like any good performance, you channel a bit of your own current emotions into it. Kinda like when you use your anger to accomplish things, except this time it’s something else for once.

Rachel holds for a few moments longer. But only just a few, and then she cracks. Her eyes widening in horror as she thinks something really bad had actually happened to you. It takes an effort not to feel really, really smug. She’s always been good at messing with people, so it’s nice to have the tables turned around for once.

“Aw crap!” Rachel says frantically. She babbles out a stream of information at you, trying to help. “A-alright, I know you have a lotta questions and you might be a bit freaked out about the whole robot thing I got going on but I’m your buddy and you’re alright!”

Now that’s a topic you want to learn more about. You have her completely under your thumb.

“Huh? Are you saying… t-that you’re my buddy?” You say blearily to Rachel, sounding like a man trying to grasp onto a life preserver while at sea. Desperate for more context and understanding.

“Yeah!” Rachel says, placing her metal hands on your shoulders. You consider wincing back to further sell your act, but that would be a bit too mean. “You’ve been and are one of the only three people keeping me sane in all the shit that’s been going on man! You were number one when the both of us joined XCOM, the outfit we’re in!”

You nod slowly, wearily.

“Oh shit… where do I even begin… um-- uh-- OK! I’ll catch you up to speed, alright? What do you want to know? I know you’re really confused but I’m here to help!” Rachel says insistently, determined not to just leave you high and dry, lost and confused.

It’s… actually a really nice gesture from her. It’s the most Rachel she’s been with you in a long time and… well… maybe you should draw the line and end the act before you go too far? At the same time, you are naturally curious.

Hm.

>Keep the act going a bit, ask her some questions.
>Cut the act. You’ve had your fun.
>Other.

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>>3002910
Glad to hear you enjoyed binging it!

>>3002919
>>Cut the act. You’ve had your fun.

>>3002919
>>Cut the act. You’ve had your fun.

>>3002919
>Cut the act. You’ve had your fun.

>>3002919
>>Cut the act. You’ve had your fun.

>>3002919
>Cut the act. You’ve had your fun.

>>3002919
>>Cut the act. You’ve had your fun.

>>3002919
>Cut the act. You’ve had your fun.
Continuing would be just mean.
>Ask about Billy and see how long it takes for her to get it

>>3002919
>>3002955
I was just about to post basically the same thing bastard
Supporting

>>3002919
Also down with >>3002955
>Cut the act. You’ve had your fun.
>Ask about Billy and see how long it takes for her to get it

>>3002955
This works.

Calling the vote here, writing! This will probably be the last post for tonight!

>>3003004
Can we put on the smuggest grin in Dozer's life and slowly say "Gotcha!".

You can really go all out with your act with Rachel, but just because you can keep going doesn’t mean you will. Still, you aren’t going to just call here. You’ll have just a bit more fun, all good natured of course.

“I think I remember something. A name.” You mumble.

“Say it and I’ll help you remember!” Rachel insists.

“B… It starts with a B…”

“I think you’re thinking about Bradford. Yeah! Definitely. He’s one one of the main Command staff. Super by the book, grumpy, wears a green sweater, totally loves to drink when nobody’s looking around. Is he ringing any bells to you?” Rachel looks really hopeful at that, her eyes lighting up with a little glimmer.
“No, it’s that, it’s another name. It still starts with a B.” You shake your head slowly.

“Um, uh… Oh! Burnout! He’s one of your squadmates! You and him are cool with each other I think. I mean, you’re both trying to outdo the other in getting shot at the most by plasma! Er, I’m probably going to fast uh I’ll explain the plasma thing later.”

“That’s not it either…” You frown, and decide to throw it a few more cheeky pop culture quips at her. “Help me, Rachel, you’re my only hope.”

“I know I know! J-just let me think...” Rachel begins to pace about the room anxiously, talking to herself. “B names… B names.. C’mon think Rachel! You’re not bad with names, you’re great at it!”

You smile a bit, but she doesn’t notice.

“I have an image in my head. It’s not a person.”

“An alien maybe? Are you thinking about aliens? You freaking hate aliens, Dozer. They really piss you off so much you literally start to glow purple in anger! I’m not joking on the purple part -- er -- I’ll explain that later also.” More hopefulness.

That face of hers is really hitting you right in the emotions, it’s very satisfying.

“No, I don’t think so. I think you’re close…? Like you said, you’re not ba-a-a-a-d with names.” You roll your word at that, extending it out to a sound similar to… a goat.

Rachel blinks. It finally clicks in her head.

(Part 1 / 2)

“...Billy? Do you mean THE Billy the Goat?”

That gets you. Whether it’s the waiting punchline or the way she enunciates it, that just sets you off. You give her a huge, hugely smug grin. As well as you can manage it given your circumstances.

“Gotcha.” You say simply, the single word just oozing sheer cheekiness and satisfaction. For once, you got her, not the other way around in these bouts.

She’s just confused… and then a rapid succession of emotions fire off. Her face flitting about wildly in relief and anger.

“Y-you motherfucker! You got me!” Rachel sputters out, her face flushing red with embarrassment and other emotions. “I’d strangle you or tear my hair out, but I might actually do that by accident! Maybe I should do the first one anyways! Dick!”

You begin laughing and laughing, well, it’s more wheezing. It hurts like hell but… it’s oh so… so… worth it. A part of you is guilty until Rachel’s just laughing also, even if she clearly wants to throttle you. It’s that spike of adrenaline leaving one’s body in laughter, Getting it all out of her in relief at a jape well played. it’s… it’s good hearing your buddy laugh.

She did all but confirm that your her buddy still. A part of you worried after what happened with her but... it was just that. Worry. Now that's a weight off your shoulder.

It seems like you both really needed this little moment. Whatever this is.

You'll take it.

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>...And with that I'm going to call it here. Hopefully Dozer's backstory wasn't all just mere infodumping. Going to try and add more here and there going forward as organically as I can! So until next time...

Thanks for playing!

>>3003101
Thanks for running!

>>3002919
>You’ve been and are one of the only three people keeping me sane
So... assuming that the other two are from Strike-1 too, my guess would be that they are Harita and Naru. Harita because they seem to spent much time together and Naru because of that bonding after Vegas.

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>>3003101
See you next time, boss!

>>3003099
Thanks for running!

>>3003101
Sweet job OP, thanks for the run!

>>3002344
Dont sweat it, you are consistently excellent at grammar and spelling and a lot of other qualities.

Good run, well done on the write-in. And again, love your artwork.

Has this one been archived ?

>>3003304
These threads run thought the week at slower pace (typically 1 post per day) after the proper run on Friday, so this thread is not done quite yet.

When both you and Rachel eventually calm down, it feels like you’ve chuckled out a lung. Your voice sputtering into dry wheezing at the end, your own body paying back for the mirth you had. With a groan, you feel yourself lay your head back on the already warm pillow. The pillow is very slightly soggy from your sweat from all your jostling about, not exactly a comfortable feeling lying in bed anymore. You’ve endured worse however, so it’s not really a big deal.

“Whew, really needed that.” Rachel says, relaxing. “Wait shit, I was going to have this whole bit planned for you when you woke up y’know.”

“And what would’ve that been?” You say.

“Was gonna say you were in a coma for like twenty years. Aliens won, and we’re a bunch of rebel resistance fighters.” Rachel shrugs. “Didn't hammer out all the details in it yet before you got me.”

“Like the plot one of those B-movies you love watching, honestly.” You muse. Rachel always did have an active imagination due to all the sci-fi media she’s consumed over the years. Combine it with Naru’s encyclopedic knowledge of action movies and actual alien invasion fighting experience, and there’s one hell of a IP that could be made.

You’re about to comment on that further before you start coughing again, wincing.

“Don’t worry, I got you.” Rachel reassures, walking over to the room’s bathroom and filling up a cup of water from the sink.

“Never liked drinking tap water.”

“Oh don’t be a baby, one of the Engineers assigned to the Goliath MEC Suit says all the water’s from freshwater from a reservoir in the mountain HQ’s built in itself and filtrated. It’s fine. Better than most water we’d normally drink, apparently.” Rachel chides walking over and holding out the little disposable cup to you.

You attempt to reach out for it with your right hand and only manage to lift it up from the bed for a few inches before it limply falls back with a quiet thud.

“Shit.” You grimace.

“Heh. I still got you. Say ‘aah’.” Rachel carefully moves the cup forward and pours the throat soothing liquid into your lips.

(Part 1 / 2)

The water’s alright and doesn’t have a metallic taste that you dislike, but you still prefer a bottle of water or something. There’s a soft and quiet whir as her arm precisely and steadily tilts the cup. It reminds you of the sound a coffee machine makes when it dispenses a fresh pot of brew. For a moment you feel embarrassed, but honestly at this point you’re long past that.

“Now you owe me.” Rachel smirks. “I expect you to fan me with a giant leaf or something sometime. Treat me like proper royalty.”

“Yeah yeah.” You say, your voice sounding a lot better. You could easily flip the tables on her and recall the whole head pat dog thing she did on you, but you let it slide.

“So. Like I said earlier, you probably have a whole bunch of questions right?” Rachel sets the cup on the bed stand. “I’ll get the immediate one out first, everyone’s alright and you’ve been unconscious for nearly two days now.”

“Two whole days? Damn.”

“Yeah, and if you think you’re bad now you were looking way worse after the UFO landed. You looked like you were going to drop dead from exhaustion at any moment.” Rachel mood saps a bit at that. “But you didn’t and the docs will probably say you need a LOT of rest and you’ll be good.”

“I see.”

“Yeah. Now, is there anything of note you want me to catch you up on?”

>How’s the rest of the squad doing?
>Did Jimmy’s squad find out about your powers?
>Are you in trouble with Command due to the over the top bullshit you, Rachel, and Harita pulled?
>Other

>>3011074
>Is everyone alright, how mad is command, and did anyone else figure it out? Also what happened to Muton -2? How long have you been here? The outsider spill anything good?

>>3011074
>How’s the rest of the squad doing?
>Are you in trouble with Command due to the over the top bullshit you, Rachel, and Harita pulled?

>>3011074
>>Are you in trouble with Command due to the over the top bullshit you, Rachel, and Harita pulled?

>>3011074
>>Did Jimmy’s squad find out about your powers?
was information security maintained?

>>3011089
>>3011092
WE can vote for more than 1 guys

>>3011074
>>How’s the rest of the squad doing?
>>Are you in trouble with Command due to the over the top bullshit you, Rachel, and Harita pulled?

>>3011074
>Did Jimmy’s squad find out about your powers?
>Are you in trouble with Command due to the over the top bullshit you, Rachel, and Harita pulled?
>What happened to the Outsider?

>>3011074
>Are you in trouble with Command due to the over the top bullshit you, Rachel, and Harita pulled?

>>3011074
>>Are you in trouble with Command due to the over the top bullshit you, Rachel, and Harita pulled?
>>Did Jimmy’s squad find out about your powers?

In this order of priority. We already know our squad is alright, even if they might be worried.

Also,

>You bagged that outsider, right?

>>3011074
>>3011086

>>3011074
>Are you in trouble with Command due to the over the top bullshit you, Rachel, and Harita pulled?
>Did Jimmy’s squad find out about your powers?
>You bagged that outsider, right?

>>3011074
>Did Jimmy’s squad find out about your powers?
>You bagged that outsider, right?

Calling the vote here!

Dozer's life is a fucking action movie, and its hilarious.

>>3012557
Can you imagine what it's going to be like once someone tries to make a movie out of it once all of this is over and declassified?

>>3012616
>hey bro have you seen the new XCOM on sensovision? I think they should stop calling it a documentary.
>yeh I know what you mean, I bet cyberdynamics and marsec are paying out of ass to get most of that product placement.
>and don’t forget those corny as fuck squad interactions
>yeah all that hamfisted camaraderie, I bet extropians are behind this.

>>3012648
Or worse, people complaining how about how the aliens look like guys in rubber suits, or terribad CG animation.

Next thing you know, Old Man Dozer sees the movie with everyone else and laughs their asses off when they have AAA actors portraying a heavily interpretive version of them

>>3012616
I think all of XCOM are gonna be HUGE celebrities in the post-war world, those who survive it anyway. Naru and Rachel would be ecstatic to be starring in a XCOM movie. Heck Dozer's journey is so long that you'd probably need to make a movie trilogy to fully cover it.

I wonder, how much public knows about XCOM at this point? Civvies saved in Vegas and other missions might think they were saved by some regular rescue forces, but eventually some news team will capture footage of mysterious organization shooting down UFOs and killing aliens while armed with MECs and futuristic armor and weapons. It's going to be awkward in the next terror mission to convince frightened civilians that our giant robots and friendly.

>>3012686
>that our giant robots and friendly
are*
whoops typo

>>3012686
Our MEC is Rachel, and Rachel is friendship-shaped.

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>>3012686
We just need to get the egineers to make em loom like the iron giant.

>>3012686
>I think all of XCOM are gonna be HUGE celebrities in the post-war world
Knowing the Council they will set it up like they are the heroes and X-com made mistakes. Just like that asshole captain.

>>3011074
>>Are you in trouble with Command due to the over the top bullshit you, Rachel, and Harita pulled?

“Just give me a summary of everything if you can. How’s the squad doing, did Jimmy’s team find out about my secret, is Command going to raise hell, things like that.” You say, adjusting your position in bed a bit. “It’s not like I have anywhere to go right now. I basically can’t move.”

“Fair enough. Let’s see here...” Rachel nods. “Everyone in the squad is fine, scrapes and bruises here and there but nothing as serious as what happened with you. Mostly everyone’s worried you had fallen into a coma or something. Loki is probably going to passive aggressively sass you out for all the paperwork you dumped on her in the after action report but that’s about it.”

“She’s not that bad you know.”

“Ehh, she’s opening up a bit I GUESS.” Rachel shrugs. “Anyways, once the UFO had landed there was a lot of… fast talk and improv we had to do to make sure Jimmy and company didn’t catch wind you’re a wizard. You were glowing purple for a little while.”

You groan at that. If you could bury face in your hands you would.

“Don’t worry, we snuck you back onto a Skyranger before they got a good glimpse I think. Bullshitted you needed casevac, which you kinda did actually. Rowdy Sky was still in the air and landed and picked you up. He’s uh, in on it now. But what can you do.”

You groan at that. The conversation you had with the guy and his rebellious desire to listen to music had already painted him as quite the character. Who knows if he’ll keep quiet. The last thing you need on your plate is word getting out and everyone asking questions. You can only imagine how the hell the others managed to pull it off, but you’re grateful.

“Guess I gotta keep an eye out on Jimmy then.”

“We’ll take care of that. You just sit cozy there in bed.” Rachel teases, prodding your leg with her metal finger.

You grumble at that. Rachel just giggles a bit.

“What happened with the UFO anyways? The Outsider and other Muton we captured?” You press on.

“From what I heard they’re both… interesting cases for the eggheads to figure out.” The MEC trooper starts to lean a bit against your bed, scratching her cheek. “Muton’s basically feral for some reason, guess it didn’t like losing an arm.”

“That was me.” You admit.

“Sounds about right. Dunno what the hell they’ll use him for, but I’m sure Vahlen’s happy she got a more disposable plaything I guess” Rachel shrugs. “The Outsider is… well… he’s still in the UFO.”

“What?”

(Part 1 / 2)

“Yeah. It’s just still standing by the controls believe it or not. Docile sure, but still there. Salvage teams were freaking out all day at having to be near a living alien for once.”

“And nobody tazed it?” You gape, astonished.

“Nobody wanted to touch it! Salvage was scared poking the Outsider would piss it off. Technically we said that you tazed it while it was on the controls as a cover story and nobody wanted to see what would happened next if you tazed it ‘again’.” Rachel does air quotes, before smirking. “No idea how Salvage is going to do their job, but I’m sure they figured it out by now.”

Jesus, that’s awkward. Guess once the Outsider received your psionic directive it basically turned into standby mode. That’s something to take into consideration. You’re not sure this was how Command would have wanted to capture an Outsider, but maybe it’ll be beneficial in the long run. Heck, maybe you could prod it to do other tasks for you. Maybe you had just made an alien butler or something. Heh.

That really should be something you should be happy about, but it is. That is until you feel dread start to bubble up.

“...And what about Command? What did they think about what we did?”

“I… have no idea.” Rachel says at that, trailing off. “The Commander wanted to wait to debrief you if possible personally. If you kept being unconscious she’d have spoken to us but, seems you woke up in time. Y-yay?”

“Great...” You mumble.

“Sorry ahead of time if my dumb idea brings the hammer down on you.” Rachel says apologetically.

“Don’t worry, I’m not throwing you on the chopping block. It’s my responsibility to deal with that.” You reassure her.

“Hah, Commander can’t chop me up any more than Shen has already!” Rachel laughs, she waves her robotic limbs a bit. “But really though. It’s fine. I don’t want you to get any extra flak.”

You’re not sure how to reply at that.

“I’m supposed to report that you’re awake now so the Commander can get down here by the way but…” Rachel fidgets a bit at that.

>Have her let Command know you’re up. Best to get possible suffering over with ASAP.
>The Commander can wait just a bit longer. You want to prepare yourself and chat with Rachel a bit more.
>Other.

>>3013514
>>Have her let Command know you’re up. Best to get possible suffering over with ASAP.
Yeah... no keeping the Commander, not for something like this Outsider thing. Who knows if it would be safe to keep working around it if it's not given more commands via Psionics.

The fact that it really is kind of a psi-controlled computer-drone is enlightening though. If only there was a way to translate alien knowledge it could have to a format we can understand and give to the techs and scientists...

>>3013514
>>Have her let Command know you’re up. Best to get possible suffering over with ASAP.

>>3013514
>>Have her let Command know you’re up. Best to get possible suffering over with ASAP.

>>3013514
>Have her let Command know you’re up. Best to get possible suffering over with ASAP.

>>3013514
>Have her let Command know you’re up. Best to get possible suffering over with ASAP.

>>3013514
>Have her let Command know you’re up. Best to get possible suffering over with ASAP.

>>3013514
>>Have her let Command know you’re up. Best to get possible suffering over with ASAP.

Calling the vote here!

>>3013514
Uh oh, i hope we don't have to be on the receiving end of Mommander's fury. Hopefully this is more about the Outsider than about our suicidal charge into the UFO.

>>3014034
What if Mommander tells us we did a good job instead? Gives us headpats and cookies?

>>3014047
Very possible, considering her personality. Even after our fuck-up at Vegas she didn't really explode on us. However, she does have a scarier side, which those council dudes got to know first hand.

>>3014058
What if she gives us burned cookies as a sign of her disfavor ?

“There’s no point delaying it. You should let the Commander know I’m awake.” You say begrudgingly to Rachel.

“Uhh, str you sure?” Rachel says, concerned. “I don’t think anyone is going to mind waiting for like another-”

“I’ve kept the Commander and everyone else waiting for me long enough, Rachel.”

Your resoluteness on what could be hell is enough and Rachel leans back away from the bed with a sigh.

“Alright, fair enough. I should probably do other things anyways instead of staying in this room the entire time practically.”

You blink.

“You we’re keeping me company for nearly two days while I was out?”

“Yep. Someone had to keep watch for you to not start suddenly glowing in front of a nurse and I volunteered for most of it. I may lied a bit about how MEC Troopers can stay awake longer the others.” Rachel says sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

“...Why?” You ask her.

When you look at her in the eyes, she oddly enough looks away for a moment. She rolls her mechanical shoulders a bit.

“I mean… that’s what buddies do y’know? Look out for each other.” Rachel says, her voice lowering into an honest murmur. “I haven’t been doing that for a while, and I need to catch up. More importantly, I know what it’s like lying down on that bed. I didn’t want you to be alone when you woke up. It sucks.”

“Thank you.” You say simply. There’s further relief to that. It’s clear the both of you still need to really talk things out, but you both are on better terms. You’re glad.

“Don’t mention it.” Rachel smirks, rubbing her nose and blushing slightly. “I’ll go and get the Commander now. Good luck, man.”

With a bit of effort, you manage to give her a thumbs up even if you don't raise your arm off the bed to do so.

At that, Rachel takes her exit.

(Part 1 / 3)

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That gives you time to settle down a bit and wait. A nurse comes in to check on you while you wait, Rachel assumedly letting Medical know you’re up. She goes through a basic health rundown of your situation. You really were bad off but nothing that couldn’t be treated. A cautionary experience for any future rookie psions to impart. You’ve been assigned to lots of bedrest and no physical stuff once you’re able to move around, which is reasonable for you. You’ll also have the option for some physical therapy too if you need it.

Hopefully you won’t.

Some time after the nurse leaves, there’s a quiet knock on the door and the Commander steps in.

“Hello again Dozer.”

“Commander. I’d salute you if I could but I can’t. My motor functions are pretty crap at the moment.”

“I’ll let it slide this once. You should focus on conserving your strength. Are you feeling any better now?”

“It’s a work in progress.”

“That’s good to hear. Now, are you able to talk comfortably?” She asks. You nod. “I’d like to talk about your last mission.”

“Ma’am I…” You sigh, this is going to be rough. “I can explain myself about what we-- no-- I was the one that decided that move at the end of the operation. And if there’s anyone who needs to be reprimanded for that, it’s myself and not the others in my sq--”

“Slow down there. You’re getting ahead of yourself! We’re you worried I’d be upset at you?”

“I-- ...yeah? I mean all of that was… and the Outsider and… uh…”

“I can’t deny that I was concerned, very concerned in fact with what you were attempting in the moment. I thought I was going to lose not only one of my best squad commanders but an invaluable MEC Trooper and quite possibly our most outstanding Assault all at the same time.”

“Yeah… we really committed pretty hard there at the end. Go big or… get vaporized, I guess. Ahaha...”

The Commander smiles at this, the slight grin otherwise inscrutable.

“Yes I suppose so. Though I think most would consider simply turning the aliens trap back on them “Big” enough.”

“Sure, but I really didn’t want to give the aliens the satisfaction of flying away. I can be stubborn like that. Plus, orders were orders. I mean, when are we ever going to get another intact UFO anytime soon, right? ...Besides the Battleship.”

“Yes you can be very stubborn like that Dozer. I think it’s one of your defining features in fact.” The Commander’s tone is that of someone humoring a favorite who gets out of hand sometimes. Which you suppose is a fair assessment.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, ma’am.” You say sheepishly.

...This is going way better than expected.

(Part 2 / 3)

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“Good because it was.” The Commanders tone lightens enough that you can tell she was yanking your chain just a little before. “Despite any worry you gave me the results speak for themselves. You not only detected and neutralized a trap laid by the aliens but turned it back on them, revealed their newest attempt at a trump card and still managed to accomplish your original mission. All with only one major casualty, yourself.”

“...That does sound a lot better when you say it like that.”

“Your methods could have been a little more refined and I’d appreciate if having Trooper Coda throw herself with both of you as passengers off a mountain at a UFO was never part of a plan again but this time it worked.” The Commander’s smile is now clearly pleased, if not even a bit smug.

“I’ll try and keep things a bit less crazy next time… if only so I don’t have to deal with all of the damn paperwork.” You shudder at the thought. The Observatory mission took you a whole evening and morning to finish writing up. That last mission…? Oh god. You played yourself.

The Commander actually laughs at that one, a light airy chuckle that doesn’t fit her normal persona.

“Yes, I suppose that’s true. I know it’s not always possible but I will appreciate you trying.” The Commander’s face settles back down to her normal slightly amused/happy grin. “Loki has finished up a good deal of paperwork already and has given a very solid outline of the battle overall.”

You definitely make a mental note that you owe Loki for that.

“However, I’d like to ask you if there’s anything you think is important enough to bring to my attention before you get around to writing your own report.”

Hm...

>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
>Explain current level of experience you have with Psionics.
>You have a very nice laugh ma’am.
>Other

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
Followed by:
>You have a very nice laugh ma’am.
Commander route is for true men, every other route is for cowards.

>>3014112
Mommander good
Rachel better

>>3014108
>>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
Useful to know how aliens think, so we can kill them even better.

>>You have a very nice laugh ma’am.
Uh... also important. Yup.

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
This is the most pressing one.

>>3014108
>>Relay what you learned from the Muton.

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
>Also mention that the Outsider's mind was more like a computer than an organic being

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
>Relay what you learned from the Outsider.
>Explain current level of experience you have with Psionics.

>>3014112
>>3014119
>Have a heartfelt scene with Rachel
>Immediately flirt with the Commander
The absolute state.

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
Commander needs *all* the info.

>>3014108
>>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
Which kinda ties in with option 2 considering the Psionic fuckery you used to get that info.

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
>You have a very nice laugh ma’am.

Mommander best girl.

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.

>You have a very nice laugh ma’am.

>>3014108
>>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
>>You have a very nice laugh ma’am.

>>3014108
>>3014110

Sorry guys, this ship is loaded with Peppermint & Loco.

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
>You have a very nice laugh ma’am.

If there was an option to vote against flirting I would do that

Oedipus complex, Oedipus complex everywhere.

>>3014505
You already did by not including it in your vote anon.

>>3014108
>>3014165
Info dump.

>>3014165
>>Have a heartfelt scene with Rachel
>>Immediately flirt with the Commander
>The absolute state.
Rachel is a good buddy but the Commander is absolute perfection
>>3014506
The best form of Commander isn't Mommander, but angry pissed off Director of XCOM Commander

>>3014605
Freud was right, it seems.

>>3014608
>Say you like a character when she acts like tough boss lady and not doting mother
>YOU JUST WANT TO FUCK YOUR MOM
I'm not following your logic anon.

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.

Rachel is better imo.

Do you think Dozer will get laid by the end of this quest? I'm pretty sure it's no secret that some XCOM members realize that death and humanity's defeat are real possibilities, and they need to deal with that stress somehow. Even if it means doing it casually.

>>3014637
Sort've what's going on right now man. Gotta pick a girl first. Anon doesn't normally like casual sex is all.

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
>Relay what you learned from the Outsider.
>Explain current level of experience you have with Psionics.

>>3014567
That's just a 0. I want a -1.

>>3014645
Problem with picking a girl is that some of those who didn't get their favorite picked might be upset about it, people will just have to deal with. Personally i'm fine with any outcome, even if i do have my favorites. Currently Rachel, Mommander and Peppermint seem to be leading on the waifu war from what I've seen.

>>3014720
No such thing as negative votes my man, but I understand your frustration. I just came back to Rachel being thrown out the door unanimously.

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>Unironically doing waifu wars

>>3014747
Waifu wars, and especially how QM's handle them, can make or break quests.
Always remember VMQ2 on how to NOT handle a waifu war.

>>3014747
If you haven't seen this coming we've not been reading the same quest.

>>3014724
That's always an issue with things like this, well just have to watch how Pixel handles it.

>>3014720
There's at least three girls in play, maybe more. So if you get a negative everyone else does too.

>>3014793
>If you haven't seen this coming we've not been reading the same quest.

I mean I have seen it coming, but people should grow up I guess? All the girls are fine. Who cares if your favorite doesn't win? Whoever wins is still good imo. It's not what the quest is about.

My only request for those that really care about this is: Don't sabotage each other to try and get your favorite to win. Things get nasty OOC and IC when you do that.

>>3014793
>So if you get a negative everyone else does too.
I would be okay with that

>>3014819
All girls get negative votes, Dozer is a bachelor till he dies. The end.
>>3014815
I'm fine with whoever wins as well, but I am going to push my favorite.

>>3014770
What happened in VMQ2?

>>3014815
If Rachel wins I'm not going to REEEEEEE and fling shit like what has happened in other quests, because I like the quest more than just the waifus.
That does not mean that I am not going to legitimately fight tooth and nail for Commander end.

>>3014770
>>3014850
I'm curious too. I've never read that quest, so can you give quick summary?

Everyone dislikes not getting their way. It's the player responsibility to act mature about, not that i expect it. Im pretty sure Loco wont be picked, but I wont sulk when it happens.

The way yall are writing makes it impossible for pixel to do anything. Shame on yall

>>3014946
I mostly support Loco x Dozer as that one idea that I know that will never be done. Plus, the potential hijinks from that.

>>3014850
>>3014893
Its been a long time since VMQ2 but if I remember correctly Merc got sick of the waifu wars between Falynn and Lucina so he railroaded Falynn and ignored Lucina despite her arguably being more popular.
Ever since he has taken a more hands off approach to waifus and all his quests have maintained a relative civility compared to VMQ2. This is a personal opinion but considering Merc's habitual reuse of characters its telling that I don't think Falynn has ever reappeared.

>>3015085
She got pushed really hard for a couple of threads and then we got to do a final vote between her and Lucina. I still regret remaining neutral on that one since it ended in a tie and Merc decided on going with Falynn.

>>3015085
>This is a personal opinion but considering Merc's habitual reuse of characters its telling that I don't think Falynn has ever reappeared.

She came back as supporting character in Cyberpunk Idols. I'm guessing there hasn't been much reason to bring her back too often.

>>3015216
I forgot about that. Still my point stands, Lucina has reappeared multiple times and she hasn't.

>>3014108
>>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
>>You have a very nice laugh ma’am.

>>3014108
>You have a very nice laugh ma’am

>>3014108
>>You have a very nice laugh ma’am.

God Commander is the best. Can there truly be any other choice?

>>3014108
>Relay what you learned from the Muton.

>>3014108
>You have a very nice laugh, ma'am

>>3015513
>>3015516
>>3015524
>all these mono voting 1 uids

>>3014108
>>Relay what you learned from the Muton.
>>Specifically decide not to mention the commander's laugh at all

Calling the vote here!

Given that you’re face to face with the Commander, if there was ever a better time to relay what you had learned while digging through that armless Muton’s mind, this would be it. It goes along with what you’ve learned so far with your Gift. You can also throw in the bit with the Outsider as well, it sounded like Salvage would really appreciate some watered down version of it.

“There is something I learned through… my personal method.” You say to the Commander, getting serious.

“I’m listening.”

So, you tell her. Prioritizing every detail you could recall from the memories of that Muton. What you’re relaying is likely the first information of the alien’s hierarchy, command structure, and culture. You almost expect that the Commander wouldn’t believe you since it’s all literally just your words and nothing else.

She does, thankfully enough. When you finish explaining things, you wait quietly for the Commander to process all this new information.

“That... certainly puts some things into perspective.” The Commander says thoughtfully, idly tapping her chin with her finger in thought. “There is clearly a unique history on the origins of the Mutons. If we can gleam more from our first captured Muton for more details we might have something to work with. By the way, you also technically made first ‘contact’ with the environmental suited ‘scientist’ alien in that Muton’s memories, so you have the option to name it.”

“Well… the thing had looked like it was something straight out of an old black and white sci-fi movie… so how about Andromedon?” You arbitrarily decide. You have a strong feeling Rachel would approve of a cheesy name like that. Naru too, probably.

“Very well, Andromedon it is.” The Commander nods. “More importantly than anything else we now have a name for the alien’s leadership. These… ‘Elders’.”

“The Intruder that was in my mind is probably one of those Elders, and if that’s the case they’re going to be a serious issue.” Your mood darkens at the thought of that thing coldly and methodically sifting through your mind…

“Given the Elders prior activities and how you’ve handled them so far, I think you’ll be able to handle them Dozer. Through stubbornness if nothing else. I’ll be sure to let Dr. Vahlen know about what you did with the Outsider, she’ll likely find that very intriguing. Initial attempts had been made to lead the Outsider away from the pilot’s console only for it to attempt to walk back to its position.”

“I’d be more than willing to input further psionic orders to it… if I could. I can’t at the moment, obviously.”

.“No, you can’t. But, this will give the good doctors some useful information to theorize on.”

“I hope all that helps, I’ll try and be more thorough on relaying the rest of the Muton’s memories once I can. First order of business for me besides resting is starting to wiggle my toes or something.” You sigh, finding your general weakness, as temporary as it is, pretty damn frustrating.

(Part 1/2)

The Commander laughs a bit again, and you can’t help but take note of that laughter once again.

“You have a very nice laugh…” You think to yourself.

“Oh?” The Commander raises an eyebrow at that.

It takes you a good few seconds to realize you said those words aloud. Just blurted it out right into the air without any warning or thought. You feel like you might as well have just said, ‘please court martial me’ and you freeze in place.

“A-ah, well-- I -- I wasn’t thinking clearly and my exhaustion -- er --” You begin to stammer and fluster again, somehow something even more pathetic in this state as you try and flounder out a haphazard apology at clearly going out of line.

What the fuck, you’re only making it sound worse!

“Thank you Dozer.” The Commanders smile… softens? It looks less like the permanently placed one she normally has and more genuine. “I’ll take it as intended.”

As intended? What does that even mean you didn’t mean to say it at all!

The Commander stands, moving in such a way that you happen to notice there’s a woman under the uniform and not just an XCOM executive. Did she do that on purpose? Can she do that on purpose? Are you overthinking everything?

The Commander’s smile is just like it was when she teased you into walking through the barracks with her as she leans down and brushes her fingers over the back of your hand.

“I’ll let you get some rest now Dozer. Thank you for the thorough report. It was… illuminating.”

“M-Ma’am.” You mumble back, trying to figure out the right way to process this without ruining the moment or making it worse… a small voice in the back of your head wonders if that was too informal.

She then turns and walks away, your eyes on her until she’s out of your range of vision. What the fuck just happened?!

...You decide to just not think about it. You are not in the state of mind or body to do anything still. One thing is for sure, you feel like you’ve mighted started something… or at the very least nudged things a certain way. Hopefully it doesn’t blow up in your face.

Haha…

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---

>...And with that I’m going to call it here! But hold on! Before you guys pull out the pitchforks and torches let me explain!

Romance is a tricky subject in both real life and even more so in a 4chan Quest, and ever since the quest’s inception and my decision to draw a bunch of cute XCOM soldiers I’ve accepted the consequences of a dreaded waifu war, the terror of all quests besides flaky QMs. If there’s something I’ve learned from reading and participating in quests over the years is that these things can and will highly depend on how I as the QM will handle things and how you guys as the readers will as well. As an Anon said above, this might make or break the quest and I want to handle things as best as I can.

So, I’ve worked on a general simple set of rules on how we’ll work on narrowing down what girl you guys will ultimately settle on. Note, it is a SINGULAR girl. There won’t be any harem in this quest and I will not be malicious to you guys and have you try and two-time girls, it’s not in character for Dozer and that will ultimately just end in tears for everyone involved. That won’t exactly help in killing aliens!

What happened with the Commander is in no way, shape, or form, a route lock. It’s more of a… route nudge so to speak. Either through player choice or convenience of the plot I’ll be having you guys spend some time with each girl once again and will eventually throw up a very clear ‘flirt’ prompt much like what happened with the Commander in the last prompt. If there’s at least around or over half majority that has or includes the flirt option like what happened above, I will then consider that girl to be in the running. If it isn’t, well, she’s out.

Once every girl is given a chance to see if she’ll be in the running, we’ll go again for another round, the flirt prompt being a bit more serious and meaningful, thus further solidifying said girls chances. We will keep going until just before a major event where you guys will, well, ultimately decide.

Nice and simple.

Now, I know what you all may be thinking. There’s a LOT of variables at play here, and I’ve tried my best to consider everything and will be trying my damndest to be fair for each girl. But, this isn’t a one-way street. I need your guy’s faith and responsibility to not send this quest crashing and burning if your girl doesn’t win or that you guys don’t stuff the ballot and etc.

Remember, you guys had decided near unanimously that Dozer is interested in someone to Sweet, so we’re all in this together here. You guys agreed to romance and I will gladly try and do my best to answer that.

And finally just to be clear, the Commander is in the running at the moment.

I will answer as many questions as I can and will want to be as transparent as possible so things run as smoothly as they can. Let’s all have fun and not have waifus tear us apart!

So until next time…

Thanks for playing!

>>3018290
Thank you for running.
Guess everybody better think about the girl they like the most and only vote on the flirty action for that girl, otherwise we'll never get anywhere.

>>3018290
Thanks for running

What are you going to do about romance samefagging may I ask? Lots of 1 vote unique ids at the tail end just to try and force in the laugh flirt vote.

>>3018309
Should he ? and while those id's COULD be samefagging, it could also be anons only interested in voting when it's a "romance option", or a new timezone coming into daylight like the European one in a few hours.

>>3014747
Read rule 3 of this board.

>>3018290
Sounds fair. Well, I have a girl in mind, so I'll just vote for her. Assuming I'm actually awake when you run.

But seriously, thanks for being upfront about this. I'm certain we can get through a dreaded WAIFU CHOICE intact.

>>3018309
I'm likely going to count it as really there's no easy way of determining samefagging as now that the rules are set anons could just samefagging all thread to make it seem convincing. I'm going to have to rely on sheer trust from you guys to not completely rig it. If it's blatantly obvious, I won't.

>>3018330
For a possible romance decision I'm likely going to leave the vote up for an extended time so everyone in all timezones will get a chance to vote. I might even throw a heads up on Twitter as well to let everyone be informed. So expect romance votes to happen during the week or at the end of a Friday session. We'll see!

>>3018335
>All threads on this board should be created by the associated quest author. Please refrain from making meta-threads.

?

Also stop trying to rules lawyer tranny, I'll write what I want.

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>>3018290

>>3018290
You seem to be saying that Dozer will lead the girls on before making the final decision. Isn't that a bit of a shitty behavior?

>>3018773
He's saying for every 'round', each girl will get a chance to interact and gain points with Dozer, and the list gets smaller per round as the ones not chosen per 'round' are dropped from the list. How is that leading them on when he's doing what normal people IRL do, which is testing out the waters via talking and/or dating before deciding on who to go after for real?

>>3018795
>dating before deciding on who to go after for real
Isn't that like the definition of leading on?

>>3018814
>Dating someone and finding out you don't like them romantically is leading them on.

>>3018814
Wut. Leading them on means giving people the wrong idea even when you don't mean it, which is not what dating multiple people necessarily means. If Dozer was trying to get them all equally interested in him, but not letting them know he's also dating other people to find out his compatibility with them, then that's leading them on. Now if Dozer and others act like mature adults on the other hand, they would all know they're merely being dated at most, and not promised a committed relationship from the start simply because he complimented or/and dated them a few times or something.

The whole point of dating is to see which of the other person is really the right one for you, because only fools rush in.

>>3018290
Damn, this waifu choice feels like presidential election. Not that it's a bad thing, it's better to go slow than to rush into bad situation.

>>3018825
If you do it sequentially, no. If you're doing it with everyone at the same time though...

>>3018848
Imagine a girl you like telling you "I will date you, anon, but will also date that other guy and if he makes for a better BF than you I'll dump your ass"
Imagine your reaction.

>>3018934
No, it's more like: "Anon you seem like a real nice guy but I'm not sure I'm ready to do this so give me a bit of time to make sure I'm not a mistake."
Or alternatively: "You both are very nice dudes so let me first get to know you better before I decide"
You know, like real people do.

>>3018987
That's the same thing said in different words. How is it any better?

>>3018635
>I'll write what I want.
So you'll insist on being a sociopath ?

And it was rule 2, seems like my memory glitched
2. The author controls the story of the quest. They can take suggestions from other posters, or not, at their sole discretion. If things don't go your way don't complain!

>>3018773
Pixel wouldn't do such a thing, knowing him (if you do).

>>3019031
I hope he won't, but that's how his words sounded to me.

>>3018309
At least three of the one-vote unique IDs were down to a handful of friends on the Teamspeak server Pixel and I frequent having a giggle. They're all uh... fans of the character that the Great Commandy One is based off of.

Apologies for the trip

>>3018934
>Imagine a girl you like telling you "I will date you, anon, but will also date that other guy and if he makes for a better BF than you I'll dump your ass"
Imagine your reaction.

Imagine? I fully expect that sort of thing from dating. It's like you expect people to become girlfriend and boyfriends from just a few dates or something, which is just plain crazy. I could believe that immature people like teenagers could get the retarded idea that that they could only go out with one person at a time, but adults shouldn't be that stupid. Dates are just that, meetings to figure out compatibility, and not promises for a permanent relationship.

Personally if I was dating and found out the person I was dating picked over someone else over me, then that just means I wasn't as good as a choice, and we weren't meant to be together anyways. I'd feel disappointed, but move and see who else is in the world for me. It's not like there's only one fish in the sea.

>>3019029
>So you'll insist on being a sociopath ?
You really need to learn the definition of words.

>>3019157
There are very few people in the world who would feel like that.

New thread soon!

>>3019220
You really need to stop denying what you are.
"whose behavior is antisocial,..., and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience."

>>3019689
How is greentexting on 4chan about waifu wars being kind of dumb sociopathic?

It's a quest on 4chan. It's not that serious. There might be something seriously wrong with you man. I'm getting concerned.

As a change of subject while we wait for the new thread, what would Dozer be like in the sack?

>>3019795
Hope his partner has painkillers

>>3019795
A bottom until he flips on the psionics/anger.

>>3019795
Depends on who he's in the sack with.

>>3019864
Well, if he's doing the Commander, and he's in full rage-psi mode, does she just take it, smile, and reach up to pat his cheek?

Or is she on top somehow? Like y'know, riding a bucking bronco?

>>3019899
I imagine he'd react in the same way the first time he found out he was in her bed, stone still and hard as a statue, for as long as she wants him to be.

>>3019689
I'm going to be honest with you anon you are looking pretty fucking autistic right now.

>>3019899
I question why he'd been in rage-psi mode in the first place when screwing somebody as that seems counterproductive to enjoying yourself given he's supposed to like said person.

Though I think that Dozer will be surprised by the Commander one way or the other, not sure which direction it will go.