>>4728087
>Human (MWR)

>>4728087
>Vurjok, a proud boar like race, but always looking for a fight (MERC)

>>4728087
>Human (MWR)

>>4728087
>>Human (MWR)

>>4728087
>Vurjok, a proud boar like race, but always looking for a fight (MERC)

>>4728087
>>Vurjok, a proud boar like race, but always looking for a fight (MERC)

>>4728087
>Celloid, service droids with their own side agenda (OS E)

>>4728087
>>Human (MWR)

>>4728087
>Human (MWR)

>>4728087
>Human (MWR)

File: sketch-1617662771589.png (104 KB, 720x960)

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>>4728087
Human wins with 5 votes
That's right, you're a member of the species that founded the Milky Way Republic, a human. When they finally started exploring space in an efficient manner around the year 2164, they encountered the other two members of the republic to be, the Saurians and the Barsorians. Things went very well regarding the formation of a united people considering all three had ancestors from Earth. Because of the positive interactions that formed this government, explorers hailing from it tend to be a more prudent and diplomatic type, electing to try and set up good relations between any aliens they encounter, while also looking for planets and systems that might make for good colonies.

Now that we know your employer, let's see just see just what sort of skillset you have. See pic related, and distribute 7 points however you see fit. For future reference, the maximum any stat can reach is 10.

>Prowess determines your ability in combat. This includes using spaceship weapons
>Mettle is your ability to survive, persevere, and maintain composure. Reduces danger from many sources
>Leadership influences you interactions with others, as well as buffing those under your command
>Development is your hardware knowhow and key to innovation. If it breaks, you'll know what to do, and maybe give it an upgrade to boot
>Logic is used for making accurate deductions, gleaning useful information, programing, and also helps with innovation.

>>4728087
What do the different initials mean?

>>4728254
Prowess: 0
Mettle: 2
Leadership: 2
Development: 1
Logic: 2

>>4728254
Prowess: 0
Mettle: 3
Leadership: 2
Development: 1
Logic: 1

>>4728254
Prowess: 0
Mettle: 3
Leadership: 1
Development: 1
Logic: 2

>>4728255
Faction affiliation. Example: (MWR) Milky Way Republic.

>>4728254
Prowess-0
Mettle-2
Leadership-3
Development-1
Logic-1

>>4728255
This anon >>4728274 is correct, they are abbreviations for the faction affiliation the majority of a species has.

Also, I didn't have the foresight to think the stat allocation would be very variable, so lets fix that a bit. It seems like everyone agrees on Prowess and development, so we'll cut those out for this. Everyone roll 1d100, and the highest will have their score used.

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>4728297
I'm glad we are all in agreement to be weak with weapons.

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>4728258

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>4728262

File: EF Starmap 1.png (181 KB, 720x720)

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>>4728299
Okay, then our stats will be >>4728264

When you got the job, it came with a slew of training regiments before shipping you off with your own ship. Because of the very anti violence stance the MWR upheld, combat wasn't one of them. But with your wise and level headed response to various situations, perhaps you might never need combat skills after all. You easily completed the rest of the courses, though equipment maintenance gave you a bit of a problem early on, and earned your Navigator class vessel.

From there you had free reign to chart your own course. The emblem in the red portion of the map is your current position. Uncolored areas have not been fully explored/explored at all. MWR is Red, OS E is blue, misc is yellow. What will you do first?

>Start off easy, go to the small star system that has been mostly charted and logged
>Go to a completely uncharted system
>Write in

>>4728365
>Go to a completely uncharted system

Also for reference, I know 10 is the stat cap, but what level is considered average in a given stat?

>>4728365
>>Start off easy, go to the small star system that has been mostly charted and logged

>>4728368
For an average person, 1s the board. For an experienced person, 3-4.

>>4728388
*Across the board

>>4728365
>Start off easy, go to the small star system that has been mostly charted and logged

>>4728365
>>Start off easy, go to the small star system that has been mostly charted and logged

File: tegaki.png (17 KB, 400x400)

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>>4728375
>>4728448
>>4728558
While you are confident in your skills, it might be best to dip your feet in before you really start. Over on the edge of the republic's official territory lies a system called Wiltensolunda that has just about everything already known about it, but you could investigate some of the planetoids. Having your course set in mind, you engage the Star Warp drive after you reach the edge of your home system and watch as space flies by you in a blink of the eye. Within minutes, you arrive at the outer reaches of your destination.

Travel Check

Rolled 16 - 7 (1d20 - 7)

>>4728893
Okay, forgot how to do dice. Let's try that again.

>>4728896
>9
Your first real Star Warp goes off without issue and you can let out a sigh of relief, even if there wasn't really any risk to it. You are at this moment an official of the MWR, and will be one of the trailblazers to tame the void. But before the bigger parts of the job, you need to get a feel for the what you'll be doing right? Which of the scant few stones left unturned here will you seek?

>The 14th satellite moon of a gas giant needs to have a core sample taken
>Get a reading on the gravity of a far out planetoid
>Write in

>>4728912
>The 14th satellite moon of a gas giant needs to have a core sample taken

>>4728912
>Get a reading on the gravity of a far out planetoid

>>4728912
>>The 14th satellite moon of a gas giant needs to have a core sample taken

>>4728912
>The 14th satellite moon of a gas giant needs to have a core sample taken

>>4728921
>>4729124
>>4729165
You decide to take the core sample from a gas giant's 14th moon. It takes about an hour for your ship to reach the vicinity of the giant, and about ten minutes to find the right moon. It is a very light grey coloration with large streaks of greenish blue. After landing, you quickly take your sample.
Logic 2
While performing an analysis of the sample, you notice that the streaks you noticed were copper, making this moon a viable area for mining. This discovery will definitely make you look good, and may lead to a raise or other benefits if you can show it with other productive reports.

This was a good start, and you feel more confident in your abilities. Now that you have some experience under your belt, what next?

>Take a chance and set your navigation to head to a random unexplored star system (Roll 1d30)
>Head to the closest unexplored star system
>Take a detour through OS Enterprises territory
>Write in

>>4729405
>>Take a chance and set your navigation to head to a random unexplored star system (Roll 1d30)

>>4729405
>Take a chance and set your navigation to head to a random unexplored star system (Roll 1d30)
I assume we (or you) roll after the vote resolves

>>4729405
>Take a chance and set your navigation to head to a random unexplored star system (Roll 1d30)
Is OP kill?

>>4729405
>>Take a detour through OS Enterprises territory

>>4729405
>>Head to the closest unexplored star system

Rolled 10 (1d30)

>>4729409
>>4729448
That is correct, I'll do the roll here.
>>4730251
Nah, just don't have a good sleep schedule.

Emboldened by the success you just had, you feel ready for something new. You take a look at the list of star systems you can reach with your ships current amount of power, and set one at random. With names like Q-340001 and and WD-118900, It's not like you really knew too much about where you were going anyway.

>>4730696
You make it to the edge of the system, and immediately grit your teeth; thousands and thousands of asteroids, all surrounding the three significant planets. It isn't going to be a problem to get around safely, but it is going to take up more time than you would like. Oh well, better get started. Where to first?

>The outermost planet, which seems rife with satelite moons
>The cloudy planet, which might have an atmosphere
>The innermost planet, which appears to have a variety of colors lining the surface
>The very, very numerous asteroids

>>4730768
>The outermost planet, which seems rife with satelite moons

>>4730768
>The outermost planet, which seems rife with satelite moons

>>4730768
>The outermost planet, which seems rife with satelite moons
Probably from all the asteroids.

>>4730775
>>4730903
>>4730908
Alright boyos, the time is right, so for now voting will be around an hour long. I'll call out when it is closed and I am writing the update. I will announce if this changes later.

You decide to start with the outermost planet and work your way inwards. Cutting out some backtracking should make this more efficient anyhow.

Your ship lurches towards the planet, getting in range for an orbital probe. The little pill shaped robot rockets towards the surface of the planet, feeding a flurry of information back to the ship.
[bold]Gravity strength: 10.201 m/s^2
Atmosphere: Toxic
Liquid Content: Acidic
Crust Potential: Light Traces of Metals, Quantity Unknown
Current Habitability: 10%, Unlivable[/bold]
Well, what a hell hole of a planet. It doesn't even seem like it would make for any good resource extraction. You wait for the probe to propel back into the ship, writing up your report on the planet all the while. When you finish, you turn your ship and start heading towards...

>The cloudy planet, which might have an atmosphere
>The innermost planet, which appears to have a variety of colors lining the surface
>Some other system, this one is lame. Roll 1d29

>>4730989
>The cloudy planet, which might have an atmosphere

>>4730989
>>The innermost planet, which appears to have a variety of colors lining the surface
Maybe the colors will be space drugs.

>>4730989
>The cloudy planet, which might have an atmosphere

>>4730989
>The cloudy planet, which might have an atmosphere

>>4730989
Voting has ended now, cloudy planet has won. Also I actually forgot that I have a dental thing in a couple of hours, so when I am about to leave for that I will tell you all, otherwise voting remains the same.

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>4731066
Special Event Check
You go towards the cloudy planet, hoping it isn't another unusable place. When you get closer, you notice that the clouds look like those of Earth, but with a slight sickly yellow tint on them. Hmm... well, your probe should have some answers for you. It leaves the ship and careens below.

File: Goldilocks.jpg (3.33 MB, 4534x2550)

3.33 MB JPG

>>4731075
Woah! This planet is a Goldilocks class! The atmosphere, despite the odd coloration, is actually fully breathable without the need of any equipment or outside interference. There is also an abundance of what appears to be drinkable water, and a surface rife with a variety of different geographies and mineral compositions. It seems as though it also has plant and animal life on it. Home base is going to flip when they hear this, and as per customs, you get the right to name this planet for discovering it.

For such a great discovery from a rookie, you have reached level 3. As well as naming the planet, add 4 stat points, or 2 stat points and one unique perk. The most supported option is chosen. If it ends up with a deadlock, I'll roll to determine.

Current Stats
Prowess: 0
Mettle: 3
Leadership: 1
Development: 1
Logic: 2

>>4731128
+1 Development
+1Leadership
+1 Perk

>>4731128
>Prowess: +1
>Mettle: +1
>Development: +1
>Logic: +1

As for the planet's name since it is Goldilocks class how about Oso (bear in Spanish)?

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4731128
Voting ends now, and this will be the last update I make until I come back from the dentist.
>>4731149
Is 1
>>4731258
Is 2

>>4731258
For such a discovery so early on in your career, you must be destined for greater things. Whether or not this proves to be true, you can say at this moment you are better than you were.
New Stats
Prowess: 1
Mettle: 4
Leadership: 1
Development: 2
Logic: 3

As for the planet name, you decide on Oso. Nice and simple, but with some thought put behind it. You are certain this planet will be buzzing with activity in just a year, once you actually manage to report in at least. Speaking of that, what do you want to do now? You do have quite the catch on your hands already after all.

>Continue exploring, finish this system
>Continue exploring, but head to another system
>Return to the capital planet and hand in your findings, maybe do some shopping
>Write In

Voting will end when I get back. After that, it'll go back to 1 hour between.

>>4731314
>Continue exploring, finish this system

>>4731314
>Continue exploring, finish this system

We might as well finish what we started.

>>4731314
>>Continue exploring, finish this system
Yeah, let's do a good job, we might find more cool shit.

>>4731314
I'm back, and as a sidenote, that oral epoxy tastes BAD.
>>4731336
>>4731515
>>4731582
Even if you found the literal garden of eden, it would be lazy to just drop everything before you finish you what you started. With that in mind, you steer your ship towards the last notable part of this place, a planet absolutely swathed in color.

You reach it within minutes, readying the probe once more. While not as exciting as Oso before it, it proves to be a very promising candidate for resource production as it has a bounty of many different gases, some extremely hard to find elsewhere.
Logic 3
Development 5
You have an idea, maybe you could harness a bit of the rarer gases and do some experimenting of your own with them, or sell them, or whatever. But to create a suitable extracting device you would need to be an artisan or an infallible machine. Maybe you could find someone to help you out with this before you call it in.

With the completion of this star system, you are now at 1/4 XP to the next level. With your duty complete in a responsible manner, what will you do now?

>Keep the ball rolling and explore another system
>Return to the capital planet and hand in your findings, maybe do some shopping
>Write In

>>4731840
>Maybe you could find someone to help you out with this before you call it in.
You have successfully tempted me.

>Keep the ball rolling and explore another system

Rolled 17 (1d29)

>>4731942
Why stop a streak of good luck early right? Maybe your fortune thus far will continue, so you decide to traverse another system, taking the one you just explored out of the list before doing so. You get your ship in position, and hit the Star Warp.

>>4732055
Your ship comes out of warp drive, and once the radio comes back online, it picks up on something unexpected.
[bold]This is the GS Obelisk requesting immediate assistance, I repeat, this is the GS Obelisk requesting immediate assistance. Our hull has been breached, and we are running out of air fast![/bold[

While you were in training, you were taught the various ship lingos, including for those outside the MWR, but you have never heard of any 'GS' before. Whoever sent out this distress beacon may be entirely alien. What to do in this situation?

>Respond to the distress message
>Ignore the message and just investigate the planets
>Write in

This will be the final update for tonight, I'll see you all tomorrow.

>>4732128
>Respond to the distress message

>>4732128
>Respond to the distress message
Here's hoping this isn't a trap, cuz we have no valuables.

>>4732128
>>Respond to the distress message
We're tough, we can take it

>>4732907
Well, we have the Mettle to not immediately get shot down but we sure as hell can't fight back.

File: Space Station.jpg (80 KB, 1024x683)

80 KB JPG

>>4732219
>>4732531
>>4732907
Setting aside any possible complications, helping others is a noble goal to strive for. And if they are never before seen aliens, it was in the job description to get a good foot forward diplomatically for the MWR, or to at least try. You move to your radio.

"GS Obelisk, this is the MWE Sherlock, what is your current position?"
A minute passes in silence before the radio calls out once more
>"We are currently above Euphinat, with a westward orbit"
That doesn't help any, considering you don't know what the hell a Euphinat is.

Leadership 3
Logic 3

You realize that asking what Euphinat is might make yourself seem like you are joking, not qualified, or even an alien. You are to them, but they don't need to know that yet. Fortunately, you have a great idea. You use your ship's sensors to detect the source of the radio transmission. and start flying there.

"Confirmed. Obelisk, heading your way now."
>"Thanksss Sherlock. We'll hunker down for now."

You arrive at the source of the signal within minutes. It looks like one of those space station from the older days of Earth you read about while in history class. There is a large hole in its hull. How are you going to approach this?

>Coordinate a rescue with the occupants, bringing them to your ship (Leadership roll)
>Use your fabricator to patch up the hole (Development roll)
>Put on your jet pack and bring them over one by one (Mettle roll)
>Write In

>>4732972
>Coordinate a rescue with the occupants, bringing them to your ship (Leadership roll)

>>4732972
>Put on your jet pack and bring them over one by one (Mettle roll)

>>4732991
Our Leadership is one of our lowest stats. What are you doing?

>>4732993
I guess misunderstanding the leadership 3 in >>4732972 as some kind of bonus or increase.
Anyway changing my vote to >Put on your jet pack and bring them over one by one (Mettle roll)

>>4732972
Voting has now ended. Jet pack it is.

Rolled 5 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

+2 to roll from excess Mettle

"I have arrived Obelisk. Prepare to open your maintenance hatch, I'll bring you all back to my ship one by one."
>"...You're here already?! That'sss great! Preparing the hatch now."
You strap on your jetpack and ready the cargo hold of your ship to face the space station. You zip out of your ship and carefully adjust your thrusters to aim at the hatch.

>>4733064
Holy shit. That's a bad roll, isn't it?

>>4733064
You smack very bluntly into the hatch, not really damaging you but hampering your hand-eye coordination for a brief moment. You lose control of your jet pack controls in that moment and fall from the hatch, but manage to reorient yourself in time and zoot back to the hatch, with a more gentle landing this time. You knock on it, and hear a voice on the other side.

>"That must be him. Open it!"
A creak of metal rings as the hatch begins to open. Out of it pops a head in a very weirdly shaped spacesuit. You hold out your hand, but it seems to just stare at you for a moment, before retreating inside. You hear some hushed but intense talking on the other side, unable to discern what is being said. Another, possibly different head comes out to look at you. This one also stares at you for a moment, but grabs your hand this time. You take it in your arms and ferry it to your ship, noting the lack of legs as you do. Once you safely deposit it on your ship, you repeat the process for the others, one of them more apprehensive than the others, for a total of 4 crewmembers.

Leadership 2
Leadership 2
You all stare at eachother awkwardly for a moment, before what appears to be the captain of the station crew cuts the silence.
>"Ahem, thank you for saving me and my crew. I'm Erwic Yigan."
You nod and tell them your name as well. It seems they all are very wary of you, so what will you do?

>Introduce yourself as an emissary of the MWR
>Introduce yourself as a human
>Don't tell them anything they don't need to know, sidestep the issue
>Write in

>>4733090
Is the MWR well-known?

>>4733090
>Don't tell them anything they don't need to know, sidestep the issue
Just in case of hostiles.

>>4733090
>Introduce yourself as a human
We aren't an emissary.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4733090
Voting is over, and now we need a tie breaker.
>>4733105
Is 1
>>4733108
Is 2

>>4733181
Though explorers are tasked with making a good first impression on behalf of the MWR, you aren't a diplomat, and aren't particularly good with talking as others might be. With this in mind, you elect to introduce yourself just as you.

"I am sure I seem alien to you all, and that is because I am. I'm a human, and I come from a planet known as Earth."
>"So there IS life outssside Ophidia." says the captain
"Yes, an entire intergalactic community even. Speaking of, would you like for me to introduce your people to an official representative of one?"

Leadership 1

The captain asks for a moment alone with his crew to discuss this. You oblige them, and a minute later the captain comes back to you with an answer.

>"We would humbly accept your proposition, but that is for our leaders to decide. Would you be willing to share this with them instead?"

>Agree to do so
>Agree to do so, but not in person
>Decline, but drop them off so they ask in your stead
>Decline, this is an ultimatum now
> Write in

>>4733194
Oh fug, first contact.

On the one hand, going personally might be the least off-putting, but it also puts us at risk of imprisonment.

>>4733194
>Agree to do so, but not in person
This might be the best option.

>>4733194
>Agree to do so, but not in person

>>4733260
>>4733275
>>4733277
I apologize for the wait, my internet went out for a bit, and my mobile provider is range banned. Agree, but not in person wins.

>>4733367
"I am fine with this, but I can't do so in person. You understand yes?"
>The crew all look at each other, nodding together
>"That is reasonable, we will see about getting a secure channel created for you. Once we are planetside again that is."

With everyone in agreement, you then proceed to drop off the station crew off near one of their most dense cities, giving them the signal channel you will be under. While doing so, you see that the entire land is covered in a sort of tinted fog that few buildings rise over, and note the architecture when you do, seeing that the majority look to be solid concrete. This must be the Ophidia you heard them talking about.

Now all you need to do is play the waiting game while above orbit. You don't really have much to do, so you spend the next couple of days playing an ar game designed to keep you on your A game
Temporary +1 to all stats for the remainder of this thread

Finally, you hear your Radio spring to life with another voice on the other end.

>"Is this the commander of the MWE Sherlock? We are asking if this is the commander of the MWE Sherlock. Over."
You activate your microphone
"This is he. To whom am I speaking?" you ask.
>"This is President Dalim. I am also on the line with the members of my cabinet. So you are the alien I have been hearing about, eh?"

You and the Prez talk about various matters, you gleaning some information about them and their world at the same time. From what you gather, they are very early into their spaceage, and have the majority of their planet covered in toxic clouds leftover from a bloody war. But you keep it focused on whether they would like to meet with a proper delegation from your government.

>"Well, what leader would I be if I refused? We would be honored."

You say your goodbyes and promise to bring word back asap. You leave the system for home afterwards. You have the opportunity to be the person who introduced a new species to the republic, and you'll probably get loaded with bonuses and accolades if everything goes smoothly.

A couple of days of star travel later, and you are back with much to report. You are given many handshakes and congratulations for such good work in such a short time. While the rest of the MWR is swarming with activity as they work to validate your findings, you have some free time and some moolah to spend. Choose 2 places to go to spend your well earned dough.

>An employment fair (Gain a crewmate)
>An equipment shop (Lower stat requirements)
>A ship shop (Better ship)
>A VR trainer (+1 stat permanently)
>A movie theater (Pointless at the moment)
>Black Market (Random encounter, possibly illegal)

>>4733418
>An employment fair (Gain a crewmate)

>An equipment shop (Lower stat requirements)

>>4733418
>An employment fair (Gain a crewmate)
>An equipment shop (Lower stat requirements)

Actually, what does a better ship imply? Different specialties and the like?

>>4733464
Each of the different options has sub-options. For ship, it might include shipboard targeting system, side thrusters for evasion, etc... Except the theater.

>>4733418
>>An employment fair (Gain a crewmate)
>>An equipment shop (Lower stat requirements)

>>4733418
Voting is over. Looks like we're becoming a captain and getting some new gear.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4733551
Even with your string of luck, you know you won't be able to handle every situation by yourself, and space does get lonely by yourself. So for your first stop, you decide to head by an employment fair and list yourself as looking for some help. You should receive some calls later from your prospective hires.

While you are waiting on that, you head to the equipment shop. They offer a few different odds and ends that can make up for area where you are weak, or further bolster your strengths. Which one will you take?

>Vital goggles: Show areas of tension in others to allow easier takedowns. -1 Prowess requirements
>De-stressing dispenser: Adds calming supplements and drink to your nutritional synthesizer. -1 Mettle requirements
>Craftsman's Set: A multitool that automatically corrects shakiness while working. -1 Development requirements

>>4733592
>Craftsman's Set: A multitool that automatically corrects shakiness while working. -1 Development requirements
Who needs to be stronger than average?

>>4733592
>>De-stressing dispenser: Adds calming supplements and drink to your nutritional synthesizer. -1 Mettle requirements

>>4733592
>Craftsman's Set: A multitool that automatically corrects shakiness while working. -1 Development requirements

>>4733592
Voting is now over. Craftsman wins.

>>4733695
After some careful thinking, you decide to take the Craftsman's set. It seems to be the most useful to you, considering you are already a pretty relaxed guy, and you don't see yourself getting into any altercations anytime soon. You pay the clerk and head out of the store, getting notified by your wrist bound communicator that you were sent 3 applications to work with you. With your current ships capacity, you can only pick 1, though you can also keep the others on the call back list for if you increase it later.

>Stitch & Suture
>A duo of medical field type celloids, eager to help any organic lifeforms stay alive.
Prowess: -10 (Pacifist)
Mettle: 5
Leadership: 3
Development: 4
Logic: 5

>T'challa
>A saurian hailing from the Utauraptor genus,
she wants to explore the vast unknown, but couldn't afford a ship.
Prowess: 3
Mettle: 3
Leadership: 3
Development: 1
Logic: 1

>Gald
>A Barsorian scientist that scoffs at lab studies and wants to have his research be hands on.
Prowess: 1
Mettle: -1
Leadership: 2
Development: 4
Logic: 5

>>4733722
>>Stitch & Suture
>>A duo of medical field type celloids, eager to help any organic lifeforms stay alive.
These guys will be useful for when our Mettle doesn't work out.

>>4733722
>T'challa

it's a fucking raptor, who says no to a raptor.

>>4733722
>Stitch & Suture
>A duo of medical field type celloids, eager to help any organic lifeforms stay alive.

We're already good at logic and development, and their skillset will be useful when Mettle doesn't work out anyways. We're not specced for combat, we should be good enough at evading it or talking our way out of it most of the time. Eventually we can upgrade to a ship that complements this strategy as well.

>>4733722
Time is up. Looks like we got ourselves some robo friends.

>>4733806
Thinking about what you truly might need in the future, you realize that having some onboard medical care could probably save your behind if you got into a dire situation. You thank the other applicants for applying, and put them onto the back burner for now. After this, you call the Celloids and tell them they are hired. They squeal with mechanical joy and say they'll meet you at the docking bay where your ship is located.

With your business back home concluded for the moment, you trek back to your ship. As you are on your way, you are stopped by a large hand grabbing your shoulder. You look back to see the owner of the hand is a monster of a man, being nearly the size of a T-Rex based saurian. He is also decorated in a plethora of badges, medals, and other merits.

>"Are you the one what found them aliens?" he asks with a baritone voice
"Aye, that would be me" You respond
>"Then follow me."

You do so without much question. This guy could probably knock you out on your ass if you tried anything anyway. The high ranking man brings you before a large meeting room, filled with many important looking people.

>"This is him." the man announces to everyone before exiting
All eyes look to you as you take a seat.

>"Splendid. Alright everyone, who should be the one to tell him?" calls out a Barsorian with little glasses
A woman in a purple suit raises her hand.
>"Well dear explorer, communications with the people of Ophidia have been established a few days ago. Though we were elated to have another potential addition to our galactic community, it would seem they have come under attack from Brugecii pirates in the middle of our talks. We offered them full support in fighting off the buggy bastards, and they agreed."
She touches a pad on the table, and a holographic image of the planet is displayed, with destroyed ships surrounding
>"We won handily, and this has led to the present. They said that they would be open to a cultural exchange program, but specifically asked for your inclusion in the exchange. It would last 3 months, and would be with the intention of better understanding each other before we extend them an invitation to join the MWR. We wanted to hear your thoughts before we sent back a response, considering you were the one they wanted."

>Write in

That is going to be it from me for tonight, and probably tomorrow since I am getting wisdom teeth pulled. Since that is the case, let's flesh out our character a bit with a nice response, how about it?

>>4733880
>I'm no trained diplomat but this is too big to refuse, I'm in.

Also good luck with the wisdom teeth

>>4733880
>Agree on the condition that we receive all-expenses paid leadership and diplomacy training so we can meet the demands such a program calls for.

>>4733897
>>4733880
+1

>>4733880
>>4733897
Straightforward and denotes motivation.

I'm back, but I need to do stuff around town before I can write some updates, but I just wanted to let you all know everything is all good. Be back later today

>>4736309
No problem.

File: Current Stats.png (126 KB, 720x960)

126 KB PNG

>>4733897
>>4734342
>>4735541
You hold a hand to your chin for a second as you contemplate your answer, before giving a slight smile. You look back to the woman in purple and nod.
"I'm no trained diplomat, but this is too big to refuse. I'm in."

Your answer seems to have pleased the room to a great degree.
For your actions in assisting your government, you have earned the perk: [b}MWR Appreciation[/b]
You are now a trusted individual in the eyes of the MWR, and may have some small scale recognition, both good and bad.

>"Then we shall schedule the exchange at once. Please stay within the Solar system so we can tell you when everything is sorted out promptly." Says the Barsorian with the little glasses
You oblige them and stay for the moment, especially since it was implied to only take a couple of days.

Within this time, you decide to go to meet the Celloids you hired. As you agreed before hand, they were waiting by the docking bay. They both look at you at once, and also give an eerily similar smile to you.
>"Greetings Captain!" they say cheerily in unison, "I'm Stitch and Suture, a medical team all in one!"
"One?" you ask quizzically
>"Yes, despite appearances," says the first, "I am actually one being." comes the other
"Well, all right then. Before I can officially hire you, I must say that there's been a change of plans, and I am to be in a cultural exchange program for 3 months. Would you be fine with coming with me during that?"
Both of them give a thumbs up
>"That's no biggie captain, as long as I can help in any way, I'll be happy!" They both say

With that taken care of, you wait around for a couple of days, catching up on some movies and tv that released while you were gone. On the third day, you finally receive the go ahead to head to Ophidia, along with the aproximate coordinates of where you are to land. Is there anything else you want to do before you go?

>Nope
>Yes (Pick one option from >>4733418 (You) that was not chosen, with reduced benefits)
>Write in

>>4736580
>Yes (Pick one option from >>4733418 that was not chosen, with reduced benefits)
>A VR trainer (+1 stat permanently)

We gotta get our leadership up for this.

>>4736580
Voting is now closed. To the vr trainer we go.

>>4736584
Before you take your 3 month trip, you decide it might be best to sharpen your people skills as much as you can. This is partially complicated by the fact that most vr training regiments are only available on an appointment basis, and are unavailable on such short notice. Fortunately, you are able to pick up a copy of Persona 365. Although it isn't really your first choice, it has lasted so long for a reason. The writing really took a nosedive after 320 though, so it may take a bit longer for you to glean any benefit from it.
+1 to Leadership after next level up

After finishing your session with the game, you round up your crew mate and head to parts now known. During the time it takes to reach your destination, you help Stich & Suture learn about the ins and outs of the ship. You finally reach the fogged planet, and land your ship where you were told. You are in the middle of what looks like a landing strip, but missing most of the workers one would expect to be milling about. A few minutes later, a large circular elevator rises from the ground besides your ship. Out of it comes many of the Ophidians, all wearing what looks like some form of hazmat suits, some with rudimentary ballistic weapons. Your space suit should suffice, and Celloids are immune to most toxic gasses, so you open up your ship and go down slowly. One of your soon to be hosts slides forward towards you and extends a hand.

>"Welcome to our home Human. I have wanted to thank you personally for saving me and my crew, but I was a bit more nervous back then."
Oh, it's one of the astronauts you saved when you first came around. From the voice, it seems to be the one that was afraid of you originally. You shake his hand as well, him doing so much more heartily than you were anticipating. It all stops in a second with an uncomfortable silence, him and all the others looking towards your ship. You look back and see they are looking towards the pair of Celloids.

>"Did you bring those soulless machines with you?" asks the Ophidian who was shaking your hand.
You nod a bit, unsure what the issue is.
>"I can not allow those things anywhere near our people. Leave it on your ship."

Hmm, that's strange. What should we do?

>Say you'll have responsibility over them
>Agree and have them stay on the ship
>Say they are part of your party
>Ask why they are an issue
>Write in

>>4736728
>Ask why they are an issue

Considering they're our crew, I think we at least deserve to know why they have to stay behind.

>>4736728
>Ask why they are an issue
This might not go over well but we should at least be allowed to know.

>>4736728
>Ask why they are an issue

>>4736728
Alright voting is over, and we want answers damn it.

>>4736742
>>4736814
>>4736812
Leadership 2
"What's wrong with them? I don't mean to offend, but I don't understand what problem they might pose."
The one who was shaking your hand a moment before seems like he wants to say something, but doesn't for a moment, seemingly thinking about the wording he wants to use.
>"I suppose you wouldn't know, so I don't fault your curiosity."
He gestures to the sky
>"Our world wasn't always like this. A century ago, we had a beautiful world, filled with life. Then someone had the bright idea of making machines with a will of their own. Needless to say, they didn't like us, and it ended with the surface almost entirely uninhabitable."
He starts pointing at Stich & Suture
>"Even if you can trust them, I can't guarantee anyone else here will be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt"

What will you do with this information?

>Continue to say they should accompany you
>Relent and ask them to stay on board
>Write in

>>4736954
>Write in
>Agree to leave them onboard, as long as their safety is guaranteed for the duration of their stay and their needs looked after, provided they stay onboard the ship as instructed.

We're here for diplomacy, so not offending our hosts is crucial. But if our crewmate ends up in trouble or needs repairs, we want to make sure there won't be an issue.

>>4736954
>Relent and ask them to stay on board

This galaxy is full of "machines" you're going to have to get used to them eventually

>>4736954
Supporting >>4736976.

If they find the two of these off-putting, we've got some bad news.

>>4736954
>>4736976
+1

>>4736954
Voting closed, we'll avoid being rude guests, but only if they are reasonable in their demands.

>>4736976
>>4737009
>>4737077
While you are sympathetic to their feelings, it wouldn't be fair to flat out neglect your newfound employee(s) either.
"In that case I will agree to having them occupy my ship during my stay, but only if their safety and wellbeing is guaranteed. Would that be fine?"
The Ophidians all look around at each other, shrugging nonchalantly.
>"If you can guarantee they will stay put, then that will be perfectly fine."

Great, that went well enough. You ask for a moment to explain this all to your crew mate(s), and are given it. St&Su understand the situation, and though they are a bit disappointed, they are fine with staying on the ship at low power mode.

With that taken care of, you are now free to continue on with the exchange as normal. You ask the Ophidian his name during the elevator ride, to which he responds
>"Faren Dalim"
The last name rings a bell, and after a moment it occurs to you this might be the son of the president. He confirms it when you ask. Now you understand why you were requested specifically, how nice. When the elevator reaches its stop, you are funneled into a decontamination room, and you finally get to see what they look like without a suit. Given their body shape and lack of legs, you are surprised you never thought they could be a bunch of giant snakes. Well, they do have arms, so not really snakes, but yeah, snakes.

Faren acts as your tour guide as you are taken throughout the immense underground capital city, filled with much more vibrant colors and creative architecture than above. It is truly a sight to see, especially considering the tech difference between your peoples.

After a day of sight seeing, you feel beat and can't wait to hit the hay. Before you go to bed, you resolve to visit one of the sights you visited before and give it a more concentrated lookover.

>The Museum of the Automaton War
>The Capitol building
>Sidewinder Labs, the creators of many of Ophidia's products
>The library
>The movie theater

>>4737160
>The movie theater

>>4737160
>>The Museum of the Automaton War
We should probably learn more about their issues with intelligent machines. See if there's any room for mutual understanding. As many anons have said, there's going to be issues later if they end up joining the MWR.

>>4737160
>The Museum of the Automaton War
Let's tear the band-aid off.

>>4737160
Voting stops now, and with our trip to the museum, maybe we can get some insight on how to stop something else.

>>4737215
>>4737256
Considering how earlier in the day went, you decide getting a more concise look at the reason they hate intelligent machines. Perhaps you could smooth things over a bit for them if you had more info on them. But this is something for the you of tomorrow to think about, so you get some rest.

The next day, you head out to the museum by yourself and start from the very beginning, while some passerby look at you curiously before continuing on.

Logic 4
Right off the bat, you notice that the machines described didn't have true A.I. like Celloids, but rather a singular purpose; improve the quality of living on the planet. It also appears as though they had their own version of the laws of robotics

I. A robot may never deviate from the orders it was given
II. All life is precious, and must be protected at all costs
III. A robot must protect its life, but may not if it violates the prior two laws.

You can see any number of ways as to how a robot could misconstrue this, especially one with a singular purpose. If what you are reading is correct, this whole war may have happened over some poorly thought out programing, and it may be heartbreaking to tell them.

Pushing that aside for a while, you read more of what happened. The robots apparently started killing their masters in the name of other lifeforms that improved the quality of the world more than the Ophidians. The war was very onesided in the machines favor, until the world was seeded with a gas that eroded a small but vital component all the machines had. This won the world back from the machines and was fine for a time, but three years later the gas had undergone a decay that made it highly toxic to breathe, leading to going underground.

Woah that's a lot to take in. You may have the source of the problem, but it is tangled in many other bits of unpleasantly. It is probably going to take some tact to open them up to being neutral with Celloids, let alone amicable. The only thing you might be happy about is that Celloids are primarily from OS E, and are a minority in the MWR. Still, this problem WILL come up one way or another. What should we do?

>Relax and enjoy the hospitality, leave the big problems to the people getting paid to solve'em
>Introduce helpful tech gradually to change their minds
>Set about finding a way to disperse the surface gas
>Look elsewhere for other information, something not tied to the war
>Write in

This'll be my last post for the night, see you all tomorrow

>>4737309
>Look elsewhere for other information, something not tied to the war
>The movie theater

Dispersing the surface gas is the best way to undo least some of the pain caused by the war and gain their trust. Introducing technology may make them think we are trying to subvert them.

However, before doing any of that, we need to learn about the rest of their culture. We shouldn't focus on touchy subjects at first. We need to show them that we are making a good faith effort to understand them, their ways, and their struggles, and not just playing politics.

>>4737309
>>4737325 +1

>>4737309
Supporting >>4737325.

>>4737309
>>4737325
+1

Rolled 5, 23, 53, 71 = 152 (4d100)

>>4737325
>>4737389
>>4737419
>>4737854
You know the best way to get them to forgive would be to fix what they lost in their ordeal. But just going around fixing problems without really understanding them and their culture may make them wary of you. Before you get some community work done, you'll need to get a feel for their morals and values. And what faster way to do that than at the movie theater?

You use some of the local currency you were given yesterday to buy a couple of tickets for various movies throughout the day. An action, mystery, horror, and rom com line your list. You get to watching them with some snacks and a drink at the ready.

>>4738829
The action movie was unfortunately just a bunch of mindless setpieces without any engaging characters. You definitely wasted your money on this one

The mystery isn't much better, but does provide some better story. It revolved around a CSI unit trying to find the culprit behind elaborate murders, with themes of dark justice and vengeance

The horror movie wasn't half bad, and actually managed to get you to cringe a few times. It involved a monster stitching the molted skins of its victims to into its own, and then using them to lure in others. Besides learning that they molt, you get a feeling that Ophidians may have a common fear of loss of identity, and of imposters.

Out of all of them, the rom com was surprisingly the best. It was an alternate history flick about what might have happened if the robots they made ended up developing feelings for their creators. Despite the taboo associated with them, this was also the most seated movie in the theater, so maybe there is a possibility that they don't want to hold onto their fears and grudges.

Your day ends shortly after, having done some important information gathering. You will spend one more day in the capital before you travel to the next destination of the exchange. You should have enough time to see two of the locations you haven't already.

>The Capitol building
>Sidewinder Labs, the creators of many of Ophidia's products
>The library

>>4738891
>Sidewinder Labs, the creators of many of Ophidia's products

Another great way to determine what people value is to find out what they spend their hard-earned money on.

>>4738891
>>Sidewinder Labs, the creators of many of Ophidia's products

>>4738891
>Sidewinder Labs, the creators of many of Ophidia's products
May as well see if they heckin' love science.

>>4738891
Voting is over, time for a factory tour!

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>4738896
>>4738902
>>4738965
Knowing some of their history and entertainment, the next logical step would of course be to see the who and the what of their industries. Luckily for you, the biggest of them all has their HQ set up in the capital city, Sidewinder Labs.

It takes a while to get there, but when you do, the first word that comes to mind is Opulence. Even when compared to the rest of the buildings you have seen thus far, this large, long, and winding building puts them to shame, and borders on gaudy. A tour guide comes out to meet with you, initially expressing a large amount of surprise at the fact you aren't an Ophidian. After that though, you are given the bog standard factory tour. As you are getting the history lesson from the guide on the company and its products, a pattern seems to come up. Many of the successful products seem to be substitutes for the amenities lost from the surface, things like 'I can't believe it's not Zathos!" Light bulbs (Zathos is their sun) and self heating basking rocks. Others fail to reach the popularity of the those, but are still very profitable. Their R&D department seems to be thriving, or at least gives off the impression of thriving. When you get to the food portion of the factory, the guide seems much more tight lipped and answers questions in a way that seems very rehearsed.

You finish your tour, and head out to find Faren and get ready to go to the next city for the exchange program.

>>4739017
Wait, we want to see the Capitol before we go to the next city! I thought we got 2 locations ;-;

>>4739028
Oh yeah, you're right. Hold on one second.

>>4739017
Before you continue on to find Faren, you give a look at your communicator and notice you actually made good time on the tour. You can make it to one last site before you'll need to go.

>The Capitol Building
>The Library

>>4739038
>The Capitol Building
Time to see how politics work here.

>>4739038
>The Capitol Building
We might be able to make our move regarding the automation war here before leaving. If nothing else, we can learn more about the political landscape here.

>>4739038
>The Capitol Building
Might as well.

>>4739038
Voting is now over, time to go to capital hill.

>>4739040
>>4739046
>>4739151
With this little bit of time you have, you decide to cap of your visit to the Capital City with the Capital itself. You are able to get fairly easy access for the purposes of learning of their political spectrum. They apparently have five clans, each working to maintain their faucet of society.

There are the Seekers, focused on development of new ideas, research, and practical use of whatever is discovered. The Architects, who create and maintain the infrastructure. The Peacekeepers, in charge of preventing and punishing unlawful acts. The Prima, who orchestrate laws that go into effect, and finally the Wyrms, the treasurers and financial overseers.

Each of the clans has 50 members that vote on legislation, totaling to 250 at any given time. To pass something that would change society radically, you would need majority vote, along with the okay of the acting president.

That seems to be the gist of it from what you were told, and what you had read. They also seem to have some smaller inner clan factions with different beliefs in how to run their clans, but that is less important.

Glancing down at your communicator, you see that you are nearly out of time, so you resume your search for Faren. He greets you enthusiastically when you arrive and asks if you enjoyed your time in the capital city. You nod and say it was very enlightening. He then says that he will be escorting you to the last city on the planet not covered by the fog.

You and he travel using a form of bullet train going around the core of the planet, and end up on the other end of the world. You take an elevator up with him and see vivid colors when the doors open. The city is on a mountain, covered with numerous buildings, accented by trees of wild purple and magenta.
>"This is Thayla, the last city above ground. I would join you, but I am needed back at the capital. You will be staying at room 301 at the Edinbug Hotel. I'll see you later.

>>4739252
You wander around the sights for a brisk while, taking in the difference in setting.
Mettle 8
But in between all the beauty, something is wrong. You feel a chill up your spine, despite the lack of danger, and you can't place it. Normally you would try to find it, but something in your gut is urging you to leave the area. You listen to it and head straight for the hotel you were told to look for. You check in and enter your room. Everything seems to be fine after that until later in the night you get that same dread feeling. The feeling increases in intensity as it goes on, your heart rate is steadily increasing, your lungs rapidly pumping. This makes no sense at all, why are you having this reaction? This won't do at all, so what are you going to do about it?

>Investigate defensively
>Investigate aggressively
>Try to ignore it with other activities, like checking in with the MWR
>Have St&Su fly the ship to this part of the world just in case
>Hide
>Attempt to calm self down
>Write in

>>4739286
>Investigate defensively

>>4739286
>Hide
This might be the act of a pussy but that reads like a "Hold [Shift] to Run" prompt.

>>4739286
>Contact St&Su and get detailed atmosphere ratings, immediately!
+
>Attempt to calm self down.

I think the atmosphere is making us go insane. We're in a safe hotel room, under the watch of people who like us, and this is the *last city above ground.* We need to calm down.

>>4739387
You might have a point.

>>4739286
Switching to support him.

>>4739286
Voting is now closed. This place is just getting to us... It's going to be O K...

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>4739387
>>4739397
You close your eyes, level your breathing, count to ten, and do all the other calming tricks you know about. When you feel as though you can talk normally for the most part, you immediately contact St&Su.

"Ahem, Stich, Suture?"
>"Yes captain?"
"W-would it be possible for you to fly the ship around to my coordinates and perform an atmosphere rrreading?"
>"Of course Captain, but why is your voice trembling?"
"I... I don't know. It may be the air around here, they have me s-staying at their only above ground city."
>"Understood. If you experience any further symptoms, please drink some water and use deep breaths, okay?:"
"Got it."

Well, you heard them. They won't be able to give much more advice than that until they know what is in the atmosphere, if anything. The feeling still lingers with you, so you drink some water and sit back down on your bed. Everything is going to be okay, right?

>>4739470
You manage to fully shake off the feeling of unease. There is nothing wrong, you're safe and sound in a room just for you, you're an appreciated guest. Stitch and Suture call you back and tell you that the atmosphere is perfectly normal in your area, and you shouldn't have any abnormal effects. You thank them and go to sleep. If anyone or anything WAS watching you, they would have done something to you while you were sleeping, right?

Morning comes and goes uneventfully. Whatever was causing your unease seems to have gone, real or not. Putting it in the back of your mind, you start to think of what you are going to do today.

>Go sightseeing with no real goal in mind
>Take a hike, get an in person look at the gas from above
>Have St&Su join you discreetly to do some testing on the fog
>Try out some traditional dishes
>Go to an amusement park
>Write in
Look for whoever/whatever was watching you

>>4739496
Okay, so this isn't going very well. Clearly we're in danger from something we know nothing about, and since we know nothing, nobody is going to take us seriously. At least we crossed off the worst possible scenario to take hasty action on, so that's good news. That said, what do we do now?

Dishes could be poisoned. The rides at an amusement park could be tinkered with. We could be ambushed if we go off places others aren't likely to be. I'd say the amusement park may be best, because if they do make a move there, it'll be obvious enough to get authorities involved, but I'd like to hear what other anons think is best here.

>>4739496
>>Go to an amusement park
I have to agree that going to an amusement park is probably our best shot. The food will all come from the same place, making it less likely to be poisoned, and if shit goes down we can try to hide in the crowd.

>>4739496
Voting is now closed, and we're going to the amusement park. Woohoo!

>>4739518
>>4739610
You decide to take a visit to the amusement park they have here. Worst case scenario, if you really did worry for a good reason yesterday, this would be the place to avoid any nefarious actions. Best case, you'll be amused.

You trek over to the amusement park with some of your allocated funds and purchase an all day pass. You go on a few rides, eat a couple strange but delicious food items, and generally have a good time.

Mettle 4

You also find it really easy to go on the rides after eating. Guess spacefaring requires a more sound stomach, huh.

You don't notice anything or anyone out of the ordinary, so you finally relent a little and start to really loosen up. They don't really beat the stuff possible in VR nowadays, but the rides are still good fun.

You finish out the day with a slight headache from the rides, but all fine other wise.

Mettle 6

It is on the walk home that you get that chill, that 6th sense that warns you of danger. This time however, you finally understand what it is that was on your tail, and can stand up against it without fear.

Up in the sky, an unmistakable little glimmer that would go unnoticed by those who weren't looking for it. A stealth craft, hovering over the city inconspicuously. You can't tell the affiliation of the thing with it being almost completely invisible, but you don't know what it might do if found out. You'll have to weigh your options carefully.

>Act like everything is normal, but secretly contact the MWR and ask for an investigation
>Create a device to disrupt the invisibility long enough to get a good look at it (Development+Logic)
>Carry on as normal, nothing happened so far, and now you know what was giving you the willies
>See if St&Su might be able to do something
>Alert the local government
>Write in

This is my last post for the night boyos. I am going to stop updating daily from now on since the quest is nice and rolling, and moving on to a every other day schedule, like Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. If you have any questions, message me through discord (I'm in the qtg server under ZanderDander) or in the thread. See you on Tuesday!

>>4739675
>Alert the local government
+
>Inform the MWR of what you saw.

A MWR investigation would likely cause a diplomatic incident, since we're not in MWR territory. If the government was behind this, we'd be in a lot more trouble by now anyways. Best to just alert them and have them deal with it. Letting the MWR know as well would be best, in case we really do get into trouble with the government.

>>4739675
>>4739687
+1, but make sure to alert the MWR first, just in case the government really is up to something. It might just be them trying to be cautious of an alien lifeform, but better safe than sorry.

>>4739675
>Act like everything is normal, but secretly contact the MWR and ask for an investigation
>Alert the local government

>>4739687
>>4739699
>>4739760

You know that whatever is up there is more than you can handle by yourself, and is something for the government(s) to take care of. You head back to your hotel room under the guise of being unaware. You decide that it would be best to inform the MWR first, considering they would have the technology to combat whatever is spying on the city where the Ophidians would not. You'll still tell them as well and will probably be thanked for trusting them enough to bring forward the matter to their attention.

While laying down on your bed, you open up communication with one of your contacts at the MWR, who then puts you in a conversation with the relevant authority for the situation. You tell the man, Lt. Harper, about the stealth craft you saw and the coordinates of where it and the town are located.

>"Thanks for the tip son, I'll have one of our nearby patrols take a look. Don't engage it under any circumstances alright? Oh, and please don't disclose this with anyone else, we don't need an interplanetary incident."

Don't tell anyone else huh? Should we honor what he asked for, or should we go ahead with also alerting the Ophidians?

>Tell
>Don't tell

>>4743730
Now we have a dilemma. I say
> Don't tell
Better this one world gets pissed at us if shit goes down over the entire MWR.

>>4743730
We didn't want an investigation, but okay.

>Don't Tell

>>4743730
Voting is now over. Looks like our lips are sealed.

>>4743810
It's likely that they would investigate whether we wanted them to or not.

>>4743774
>>4743810

You decide to do what the Lt. asked and hold off on telling the Ophidians for now. You don't know how they might react if you told them, but maybe this situation could be solved without much trouble. That all depends on how the MWR handles it, but you've done everything you need to do.

It's likely that the stealth craft will stay in place for a couple of days if nothing else changes, so it may be best to ignore it for now and get back to enjoying the exchange for the time being. Now that you don't have to look over your shoulder, maybe you can try a few of the things you were hesitant to before.

>Go sightseeing with no real goal in mind
>Take a hike, get an in person look at the gas from above
>Have St&Su join you discreetly to do some testing on the fog
>Try out some traditional dishes
>Write in

>>4743869
>>Take a hike, get an in person look at the gas from above

>>4743869
>Go sightseeing with no real goal in mind
A double-edged blade, public enough to dissuade an attack but public enough to hide an attacker.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4743869
Voting is over, and we need a tie breaker. Same as before,
>>4743875
Is 1
>>4743923
2

>>4743923
You can't really think of something you wanted to do in particular, so you decide to just wander around a bit and so some sight seeing. It isn't that hard to find interesting things around town, and with it being the last of their above ground cities, you can guess it is one of the most popular tourist spots around here.

Along the way you come across a couple of spots that piques your interest. The first seems to be some sort of church with elaborate woodwork etchings, depicting some sort of dark creatures of many shapes and size scared by the light and in holed up in the core of the world.

The other spot is the original factory where the robots of ophidia were produced. It seems to be billed almost like a haunted house to go for a scare.

Which one will you go to?

>>4743992
>The Church
I think we understand the robots well enough. Let's see if we can learn about something else.

>>4743992
Voting is now over, let's go to Sunday service shall we?

>>4744027
You go up the steps and go through the large double doors. It was honestly very rare to see anything religious in this day and age, not that it didn't exist anymore or anything, but they just seemed to lose their popularity as tech carried on. You've been in one or two before, but this definitely took the cake for the best looking one. It was covered head to toe in wonderfully made decorations, your favorite being the three pronged candelabra with a serpent wrapping around the middle. As you are browsing the church, an ophidian clad with a white and lightly trimmed top with black bottoms comes out and smiles at you.

>"Ah, so you are the interstellar visitor we have as our guest. I am Elder Golt, and welcome to this church of ours."
"Thanks for the warm welcome Mr. Golt. Might I ask what this church dedicated to? I haven't really seen much about your people's religion during my stay."

He chuckles and gestures for you to follow him. You do so, and he takes you to the back of the church by a grand mural.

>"Many do not follow our religion anymore, but we still maintain a dedicated group of believers here in Thayla. As for what we believe in, I can give you a brief overview over anything in this mural. It was made by a talented artist 200 years ago, and encompasses the majority of this religions history."

What portion of the mural catches your eye the most?

>The numerous black creatures, seemingly trapped at the core of the world
>The great father serpent, seen with many heads and different personalities
>The gigantic whale like beasts around the edge of the mural
>The giant eye at the center of the earth, looking with a patient stare upwards

Last post for tonight, see you guys on Thursday!

>>4744099
>The great father serpent, seen with many heads and different personalities

>>4744099
>>The great father serpent, seen with many heads and different personalities

>>4744099
>The numerous black creatures, seemingly trapped at the core of the world
I wanna see what --or who-- these could be.

Hey everyone, my schedule got changed on short notice, so I'll be doing the Thursday updates on Friday for this week. I apologize for the inconvenience.

I won't be able to do an hourly update today unfortunately, but I'll make the update for today extra long to compensate when I have the time to sit down.

>>4750994
Damn, hope your schedule frees up.

>>4744112
>>4744743
You point to the large serpent with multiple heads, asking what he is. Elder Golt smiles at your question.

>"Ah, so your eye was drawn to Eylar, our great Father and the engineer of all that is our world. Very few seem to gravitate to him, so blessed are you guest of the stars."
He walks closer to the mural pointing to the many heads of this 'Eylar'.
>"Eylar is the creator of all Ophidians, and each of his numerous heads represents a different effort of his to shape the world as we know it. The calm, yet quick to anger head of oceans, the passionate head of flame, the wise and still head of plants, all under the same being known as Eylar. Though he plays many roles, he loves all of his children and detests those who would harm them."
He starts pointing to the black creatures in the mural
>"The Formless Demons that sprung forth from the void of space one day tried to enslave the Ophidians in a way impossible to fathom, robbing them of themselves. Our Father Eylar grew a new head that day; one of a watchful jailer. He took all of the Formless and entrapped them deep in the planet."
He takes on a slightly somber tone
>"Unfortunately few even know of the Formless Demons today, nor what fate Eylar has saved them from. I fear every day we tunnel deeper, because they may even release them again."

You thank the priest for his explanation, to which he perks up once more.
>"It is not a problem friend. Please do stop by if you want to learn more, surely it was ordained that the first Human we have met also happened into this church, so who knows what Eylar may have in store for you."
You're not exactly a believer, but you thank him nonetheless and leave the church.
Perk Gained: ???

>>4751413
You look at the time and realize it may be time to head back to the hotel. It is fairly calm and peaceful as you do so, and even knowing about the stealth craft sitting overhead does little to dampen the mood. By your own estimation, a MWR ship could investigate it within 3-7 days, depending on how close they are when they got the heads up. It doesn't make relaxing any easier, but you'll try your damnedest to do so.

Logic 3, Human
While walking back, it occurs to you what Eylar reminded you of. A hydra! A mythological creature with many heads that was described as very similar (At least physically) to the Ophidian God. Hmm... strange.

Anyhow, you make it back to the hotel and check in. You go through your communicator for any interesting news and find none, you look for any notifications of any going ons and find none. You were enjoying the vacation, but it was getting a bit boring, even considering the stealth craft. Thankfully it was already halfway over, then you could get back to being the pioneer of space you always wanted to be. So for the next week that you wait for the stealth craft to be dealt with, what will you do to primarily occupy your time?

>Be a tourist, check out some attractions
>Be devout, listen to more of what the Priest has to say
>Be productive, see what you and St&Su can do to help out with the fog
>Be a scholar, focus on learning general knowledge about this place
>Be adventurous, you swear you saw some sort of brothel, may as well check it out

>>4751442
>Be productive, see what you and St&Su can do to help out with the fog

With the trip half over, I think it's time we got to work. General knowledge could be useful as well for convincing them that our efforts are genuine, but I don't think we'll have time for that realistically. Maybe in between our fog research sessions, if QM is kind.

>>4751442
>Be productive, see what you and St&Su can do to help out with the fog
Let's get to fixing this.

>>4751442
The elemental heads also remind me of the D& D depiction of Tiamat
>Be a scholar, focus on learning general knowledge about this place

>>4751442
>>Be productive, see what you and St&Su can do to help out with the fog
The brothel tempts, but we have work to do

>>4751848
Hmmmm....

>>4751777
>>4751811
>>4752085
The time for just lazing around and enjoying yourself is over. You can probably still have fun in-between, but you could start the research that could make inducting the Ophidians into the MWR a cinch. You contact St&Su and ask them to discreetly meet with you near a sparse hiking trail closer to the gas. They do so and meet you near a lower part of the mountain, bringing your space suit to allow safe traversal of the gas.

>"It's great to see you again captain! So why did you call me here?"
"Likewise. And during my stay, it occurred to me that the main reason the Ophidians seem to distrust AI like you is the gas that covers my planet. You and I will be getting a start on fixing it in hopes of improving relations all around."

St&Su beam at your response, probably because they finally get to help some organic life. Frist thing's first, you need some solid info on what the gas IS, the components that make it. With that in mind, you all get to work with some instruments to identify gases.

Logic 4 x2

The both of you make great progress, able to get the ins and outs of the gas very quickly taken care of. The gas seems to have become toxic because it has undergone decay. All that needs to be done now is testing with various neutralizers, which will take more time to verify results. If you are lucky, you might even already have a neutralizer that works on the gas. But that is for later. For now, you need to head back to the hotel and not be noticed.

You repeat this for about a week, continuing to make great progress. Sometime between that, you notice that the stealth craft seems to have disappeared for real. You hope that is because of action on part of the MWR, but that is all you can only really do.

Mettle 4

While heading down the trail to reconvene with St&Su, you feel a pair of eyes watching you. You know for a fact you are being watched. What should we do?

>Confront them
>Pretend to not notice them, but go somewhere else
>Continue on to St&Su regardless
>Make it clear you know they are there, and then continue on
>Write in

>>4752704
>Pretend to not notice them, but go somewhere else

>>4752704
>Pretend to not notice them, but go somewhere else
They're probably anti-mechanists.

>>4752704
Voting is now over, looks like we are playing it cool.

Rolled 2 (1d5)

>>4752841
>>4752854
Erring on the side of caution, you decide to instead head down the path that actually travels up the mountain. You might have to explain to St&Su later, but you know it would be best to not show your hand too early. You finally reach the end of the trail and take a well deserved seat on the ground. Under the guise of just looking around after sitting down, you see if you can catch a bit of who is following you.

>>4752923
With your quick look over behind you, you see the look of something not like the Ophidians. It appeared to be more chitinous, a dark yet glossy green. On the one hand, it's good that it doesn't seem like one of your hosts has gotten suspicious, on the other, you don't know who this third party is, and they may even be dangerous.

What should we do now?

>Confront them
>Go back down the path
>Sit for a while longer, be wary
>Give them the stink eye
>Write in

>>4752966
>Sit for a while longer, be wary

>>4752966
>Sit for a while longer, be wary
It's a Brugecii, isn't it.

>>4752966
Voting is now over, and we'll just sit here for a while, enjoy the scenery.

>>4753049
>>4753132
You aren't in any rush, besides these situations are best handled in a careful manor anyway. So you keep your heinie firmly planted beside the rock formation you decided looked interesting. You take in the brilliant vista, even if it is lessened somewhat by the fog shrouding the lower lands. You hear some minor rustling. from the direction of the tail you picked up. Go ahead buddy, get comfortable, you aren't moving anytime soon

Time slows uncomfortably to a crawl, but you are sure it is just as if not more unbearable for your not so secret admirer. Sure enough, you hear something from behind you after about an hour.

>"..."

You didn't catch what was being said, but it was certainly muttered in a annoyed way, almost like it was chittering. You knew that this was working, but you decide it push it a bit further. You fuck with them a bit, getting up and stretching, only to sit in a slightly different spot. This successfully manages to get a rise out of your observer.

>"y o u l i t t l e"

You decide to play dumb and finally speak up, saying "Is someone there!?", trying to act as genuine as possible

Mettle 5

You manage to keep a straight face.

Silence permeates the air for a few moments before your pursuer finally reveals themselves. Insect-like, covered in tough looking chitin with a dark green coloration, and capped off by a truly insidious looking stinger dangling behind like a tail. So, this is a Brugecii in the flesh. It seems rather annoyed given the stance it has taken.

>"You. Come with me quietly. Now.

They seem very serious. What should we do?

>Do as it says
>Do as it says, but try to send a message out without it noticing
>Try to fight it
>Try to talk to it
>Try to run
>Write in

>>4753207
>>Try to talk to it
Ask it why we should go with them.

>>4753316
>>4753207
+1

>>4753316
>>4753330
It stares at you as you ask the simple phrase, "Why should I?" with bit of incredulation mixed with a tinge of the previous annoyance.

>"Are you serious? You really need to ask that?"

You nod back, and the bug furrows its brow.

>"Because if you don't, I'll pump enough paralyzing toxins into you to rob you of your motor functions for a week. And you don't want to see what I'll do to you if you ask any more stupid questions."

This bug must have woken up on the wrong side of the nest. It doesn't seem like it will be easy to get it to back down, so what should we do?

>Fuck with it some more
>Try to fight it
>Try to talk it down
>Relent and go with it
>Relent and go with it, but try and sneakily send a message
>Try to run
>Write in

>>4753375
>Try to run
Our Mettle will do a bit better than our Prowess will here.

>>4753375
Voting is now closed. We know when to fold'em, time to book it.

Rolled 1 + 6 (1d20 + 6)

>>4753414
Seeing that the intentions of this bug are much less than noble, you break into a sprint down the mountain. It didn't appear to be one of the Brugecii with wings so you have a chance of escape if you can just manage to get back to town. Lets just hope that the hike limbered you up enough.

Excess Mettle of 3 gives a bonus of 6 to your roll

>>4753515
On the 4th step during your decent, you twist your ankle in a rather unfortunate way, making you fall down and lose some ground to the bug. Thankfully, it seems the bug is being a bit more careful to avoid the thing that just happened to you, so it hasn't caught you yet. That tumble will make escaping it much harder though.

This is do or die, make sure what you do next succeeds, or things might turn out badly.

>Continue rushing down the mountain (Harder DC applied due to failure)
>Throw the closest rock at the bug, get yourself a second to recover
>Write in

>>4753533
>Throw the closest rock at the bug, get yourself a second to recover
Of course our Mettle failed us at the moment we needed it.

>>4753533
>Write-In: Logic Check - Search for a good place to hide. If they find you, at least you'll have the element of surprise.

>>4753533
>Throw the closest rock at the bug, get yourself a second to recover

>>4753533
Voting is now closed, time to test that pitching arm.

Rolled 18 - 1 (1d20 - 1)

>>4753537
>>4753549
Your aim isn't something to write home about, but it just needs to not fail you in this moment. You grab the heftiest rock you can palm, look at the bug, and chuck it with as much force as you can.

Wanting Prowess of 1 gives a penalty of 1 to your roll

>>4753595
Wtf is this opposite day?
You manage to hit the bug right in the mandible, knocking it right on its ass. It isn't out for the count, but this massive time save is all you need to make it back to the town.

You are panting vigorously when you get back to town. You catch a few somewhat worried glances, but it does just look like you had a rough time with your hike. You look back for any sign of the bug, but see none. You considered telling the locals, but with the knowledge that they were almost plundered by the Brugecii only a month and a half ago, it may just whip everyone up into a frenzy for no good reason. You decide to just excuse yourself to your room for the night.

You contact St&Su and tell them what occurred. They sound worried and ask to treat you, but you say it is just a scuffed knee and wounded pride. You tell them to move the ship to another location, and to continue research on the gas without you for the time being. They agree and say their goodnights as you finish the call.

Right as you are about to call your contact at the MWR, you notice a little notification. It reads:

>"Thank you for your tip valued citizen. For assisting the Galactic Watch, you have been given a lump sum of 4,000 credits into the account you are associated to. Keep up the good work!"

Guess they did find the craft after all, though you don't know what that 'Gecii was doing here, or why it was going to kidnap you. Pushing those questions aside, it probably won't be safe to continue going out of town for a while, so you might want to change your activity to something in town.

>Be a tourist, check out some attractions
>Be devout, listen to more of what the Priest has to say
>Be a scholar, focus on learning general knowledge about this place
>Be adventurous, you swear you saw some sort of brothel, may as well check it out
>Write in

>>4753623
>>Be a scholar, focus on learning general knowledge about this place
This seems like a solid plan of action now that we can't exactly leave town.

>>4753623
>Be a scholar, focus on learning general knowledge about this place

>>4753623
>>Be a scholar, focus on learning general knowledge about this place

>>4753623
>Be a scholar, focus on learning general knowledge about this place

>>4753623
I'm gonna go against the grain, here.
>Be adventurous, you swear you saw some sort of brothel, may as well check it out

>>4753625
>>4754062
>>4754115
>>4754524
If you can't exit the town for now, perhaps it is best to do some studying, continue to learn about this place and so on. You make a point of prioritizing your intake of information for the time, and get to bed. Throughout the next week, you steadily learn new things about the world while St&Su work on finding a neutralizer that works on the air.

You frequent visits between the library and sites of importance to the Ophidians, getting both factual and cultural enrichment. You manage to snag some details on their biology from a medical journal, and learn that they all seem to have a variant of venom glands that are administered through the fangs. At least. if left unchecked. It seems there is a law that requires capping the fangs before entering the public, possibly for public safety. Some variants of the venom have other uses notes the journal as well, such as in the creation of muscle relaxers and sleeping aides, and is lucrative to milk. The journal then gives a number to call if you think you might have venom with secondary uses.

Logic 4
Development 4

Looking at the various venoms and their individual uses gives you a couple of ideas, but you don't really think you could make anything with it without the proper equipment

Craftsman's Set

You realize you still have your handy dandy tool set in one with you. It should help make a product you want with less flaws. Since you have the capabilities to do so, what would you like to make?

>Stimulants, mental performance enhancing drugs
>Stabilizer, keeps the recipient from passing out, a quick fix up to wounds
>Hardcore Drugs, black market ho!
>Write in (Will need to roll to succeed)

>>4759213
Steroids. We might not be tough now, but we can change that with the power of science!

>>4759294
+1, let's get that Prowess up!

>>4759213
>Stabilizer, keeps the recipient from passing out, a quick fix up to wounds
Can't do anything if we're out cold.

>wanting to juice instead of growing natty
ngmi

>>4759213
Time to juice up bois, voting is now over.

>>4759294
>>4759319
Remembering how powerless you felt when that bug came for you, you decide to make some steroids. You'll need to be careful with this, even though steroids have had many of their faults done away with over the years, those problems could still exist in a product that hasn't been tested.

You go about finding an appropriate snake to milk, which proves a bit harder than you anticipated. Luckily you don't have to ask a potentially creepy question to every Ophidian you see, since you can just look at the scale patterns of them to see which one you need. You manage to find one, and ask if you could buy some venom from him.

Leadership 3

He agrees, but charges you 1.5x the price that normal buyers would pay. It hurts the bank a little, but you were given the funds to do as you please, so it's fine.

You go back to your room after getting the other components you needed from various places in town, and get to work. You mix and measure, observe and calculate, and finally you have your very own brand of steroid. But does it have any side effects?

Excess Logic of 1 grants a bonus of 1 to your roll

Rolled 6 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>4759425
Forgot the roll

File: FHNG2W.jpg (151 KB, 1300x1078)

151 KB JPG

>>4759431
Damn, I expected as much.

File: sketch-1618964168520.png (226 KB, 720x1512)

226 KB PNG

>>4759431
For 1 degree of failure, the drug has 1 positive side effect, and 2 negative. The first roll is for the positive, the others are for the negative

Rolled 6, 6, 8 = 20 (3d8)

>>4759493
Fucking forgot again.

>>4759495
Well, at least our balls haven't shrunk.

>>4759495
Just one off from true terror.

>>4759495
The drug you have made will definitely improve your muscle gains, but will also give you a boost of energy, making those gains all the easier. But you have a feeling you botched something along with the creation of it, because you feel much like you are having trouble keeping focus, and your feelings are all out of whack. You are only really able to focus and level out your mood once the drug exits your system.

Mettle 5

The inner you managed to contain yourself in your room, so at least you didn't make yourself look bad in front of your hosts. You did manage to get in a bit of exercise here and there, so it wasn't a total waste of time

Temporary +1 Prowess for the rest of the thread

Unfortunately, you still feel kind of hazy from the steroid.

Logic checks +1 for the rest of the thread

Hopefully it will wear off sooner than later. You can recreate this and any previously made drugs, items and so on with the exact modifiers they had as long as you are able.

Well that was an experience. Maybe next time you'll get some guinea pigs, or study it a bit more before you try it yourself.

You have one final week before Faren will return to take you to your final stop for the exchange. What will we use it on?

>Be a tourist, check out some attractions, enjoy your time.
>Be devout, listen to more of what the Priest has to say, you did feel something last you went
>Be productive, if that bug shows up again, clobber it with your newfound muscles
>Be a scholar, continue to focus on learning general knowledge about this place
>Be adventurous, you swear you saw some sort of brothel, may as well check it out
>Write in

>>4759551
>Be adventurous, you swear you saw some sort of brothel, may as well check it out
Just human curiosity at work.

>>4759551
>Be productive, if that bug shows up again, clobber it with your newfound muscles
We've got this, boys

>>4759625
Please choose tourism instead. Dude's looks like an ant and is probably as strong as one proportionally.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4759551
Looks like we'll need a tiebreaker. You know the drill.
>>4759579
is 1
>>4759625
is 2

>>4759692
Whores, here we come!

>>4759692
Phew, I didn't want us to break our hands trying to punch through chitin.

Besides, we can probably learn about some underground culture this way.

Before I write this, here is a quick question with a 30 minute time limit:

Is the MC a virgin?

>Yes
>No

>>4759729
Oh fuck, 30 minutes.

>Yes

>>4759762
Looks like our boy was too focused on becoming an explorer to try dating.

>>4759729
>Yes

Well, you won't be in this town past this week, so might as well check it out, for curiosities sake of course.

You go to the place you saw when you discovered when you went for your 'hikes' originally. It looks like any other building from the outside, but there on the door and on the windows was the unmistakeable neon sign: Coils; The Thayla Brothel

You can't say you have ever been to a brothel before, or even really had sex. Perhaps you were a bit too engaged with other parts of life to look for that sort of thing, but hey, maybe you can change that now.

You open the door and stroll in as confidently as you can. There is an Ophidian woman at the counter reading a book in a bored fashion. Upon noticing you, she puts the book away very quickly and looks back to you with a positive expression.

>"Helllllo there, are you the studmuffin from the stars that we've been hearing so much about?

Mettle 5

You manage to shake off the feeling of a blush with no problem.

"I am the person from the cultural exchange, yes"

She smiles a long grin.
>"Wonderful, I have been meaning to come and get a look at you before you left. So what can I do for you honey? You do know what this place is right?"

What do you say?

>"I was just wondering what was here, that's all"
>"Are brothels legal here? I didn't see one in the capital"
>"I am here for the, ahem, services."
>"I like new and interesting things, this seemed new and interesting."
>Write in

>>4759782
>>4759782
>"I like new and interesting things, this seemed new and interesting."

>>4759782
>"I like new and interesting things, this seemed new and interesting."
Questioning legality might not be the best thing to open up with.

>>4759782
We like new and interesting things, yes? Voting is over.

>>4759789
>>4759796
"I like new and interesting things, this seemed new and interesting." you say.

She chuckles a bit.
>"I suppose it is. Well, I take it you know whats what at least at a base level, so is there anything I could sign you up for?"

You look at the 'menu', penned in the same sort of color as the neon sign

1 Hour: 100
1 Day: 1000
1 Week: 5000

>"Oh, and if you take the week long package, I'll cut the price down to 4000, as a first time discount." she says

Given your inexperience, you don't know if the price is right or not. 4000 is around the price you paid for venom last week, so maybe use that to gauge it.

>"So, what'll it be Mr. Human?"

Your response?

>"I changed my mind, maybe another time"
>"I'll take you up on the discount"
>"Are you available?" (Mettle and or Leadership check)
>"I'll take 1 hour"
>"I'll take 1 day"
>Write in