[The Sprawl] Escape Velocity

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Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | 0/10 XP | 5 Cred

Music fills the Obsidian Lance's hold.
For once its coming from the open hold of Corrido instead of my tall war-mech, which hangs, headless, in a repair rack just up the ramp into my own ship, El Corrido.
Haven't been on many rides big enough I can dock inside them.

I let my legs swing idly as I blow smoke rings into the ever expanding hazy cloud moving into the wider bay. Spectre's New Mecha sits a few meters away, first thing I unloaded just so I could walk around in my own drat ship. Voices in my earbud, the others discussing our next move.

"You make good points mis amigos, I favor burning Solward as a rough direction, but I'm thinking after recent poo poo, we should maybe prioritize speed, Sh�? So uh...gimme a bit to make some calls, maybe I know a guy who knows a guy that can get us somewhere. Of course, there's also the matter of getting paid."

I switch off my Vape, and drain the last gulps of my Nova (popular brand of SmartDrink, whatever option you choose; its ridiculously caffeinated) I kick back from the ramp, drifting backward into El Corrido's hold, with an ease borne of doing it a thousand times, I reorient just as I pass into my ship's A-Grav pocket, feet hitting the deck no harder than if I'd been casually strolling. I ping G0U, who acknowledges and soon I hear the skittering of his Beta Configuration body coming out of the ductwork where I'd been monitoring his routine maintenance work.
His body is pretty much just a socket for the main processor unit 'head' which I swap between the battle-body and this one covered in manipulator arms, and sensor eyes more suited as an assistant rather than bodyguard.

<<Ping YF//actl:to:G0U//Bcf - Clean out primary field guides in thruster 9, I was getting weird fluctuations while we were burning out from JSS, and I want my ship purring before we burn again.>>
<<G0U//Bcf:to:YF//actl - Directive Acknowledged>>

The spidery mecha climbs into another maintenance hatch, heading for the engines, as I continue up a short ladder and into the C3 of Corrido, a moment to re-handshake my headware with my system and I'm scrolling contacts via AR as I kick up my feet on a console and crack open another Nova...

Declaring a contact: Andrzej Bozalski, Fixer working for the Allians in the Belt, I've "heard" they might have a couple slingshots hidden among the rocks.
I don't owe him anything, nor does he owe me, but I've been working the occasional job with him ever since the HA got my rear end off mars and I earned my way free. He's almost more of a friend than just an ally.

Ying Flores

Engineer, Occasional Bounty Killer, and Genius-of-Fortune
Hailing from the slums of Fascia, a factory-dome of the MPSSR - Mars Protectorate Socialist State Republic's Cydonia region, Ying is a smart-rear end with a talent for talking techno. She's an accomplished sharpshooter who likes to stay back from the action, relying on her custom-built warmecha, G0U to act as close support, or spotter, or as a distraction while she rigs up or hacks together nasty improvised solutions from whatever materials she finds at hand. She works as a freelance technician with occasional moonlighting as a Licensed Bounty Killer to keep the bills paid. She hates Mars, but chooses to stay apolitical about it. refusing to work with the brewing rebellion and work contracts as far from Mars as possible.

G0U (custom built combat Robot)

G0U is a custom built combat drone, he started out as a simple MARSTeX 3k model MIL-bot frame, with a (slightly dinged) Protectorate AI processor core crammed under the cranial shroud. He's a little over 6 feet tall at the shoulders, and weighs several hundred pounds.
G0U comes equipped with twin-linked DaoLung 5 LMGs built into his torso, basic welded plate armor, hydraulic claws and a standard targeting sensor package/signals reciever along with a host of other surprises. He's still mostly a basic frame at this point, but there's always room for upgrades...

Corporation: ARES TRANSPLANETARY UNION
The R&D gateway between the MPSSR and the Megacorps of the rest of the system. Don't be fooled, in spite of having Union in the name and mouthing platitudes about "paving the way for the people". These guys are just like any other Corp. They oppress their workers, build weapons and ships to sell to off planet factions, and maintain a veritable army of social and industrial espionage operatives.

What's even better, they work hand in fist with the ruling parties as secret police here on Mars. With domes as crowded and resources scarce as they are, you work or you die. holding political prisoners is too costly and mass executions are too wasteful. There's experiments to be done...

Welcome to the Red planet.

quote:

Name: Ying Flores
Playbook: Tech
Armor: 1
Look: impatient eyes, friendly face, wiry body, tan skin, scrounged & mismatched milspec
Directives

Financial: When you hinder the mission for a chance at extra profit, mark experience.

Violent: When you deliberately choose to use violence to overcome a problem when a non-violent option exists, mark experience.

Edge +0 Style -1
Mind +1 Meat +2
Synth +0 Cool +1

GEAR
Toolkit and gear (Mechanic)
milspec armor (1-armor)
Goggles +light amplification +magnification
M390SR Sniper Rifle "Zeus" (4-harm near/far/extreme silenced)

Silenced (-loud)

Hi-power (+1harm)
FNP220 Combat Rifle (3-harm near/far loud autofire)
EAP-10mm 'Tovarisch' Holdout Pistol (2-harm hand/close discreet quick reload loud)
CRED: 11

Links
Spectre +1
Fedor-II +0
Mahren Inares +0
Roosevelt Profit +1

CYBERWARE
Neural Interface: Remote Control Module
Adds wireless broadcast and reception capacity to allow the remote control of vehicles and drones.
+encrypted, +multi-tasking
Why: necessity
Cost: Bought it myself. +substandard

quote:

MOVES
Expert Mechanic

G0U (Alpha-Config)

6 foot tall gorilla shaped warmecha with mounted LMGs

Motive: Quadroped

Frame: Large (+obvious)

Strengths: Rugged, Autonomous, Easily Repaired

Sensor: Targeting (Analysis) Software, Jamming

Weaknesses: Loud, Obvious

Weapons: Twin LMGs (5-harm near/far area loud messy auto reload), Claws (?harm hand messy)
G0U (Beta-Config)

A dog-sized secondary body, as an assistant and companion rather than fighter.

Motive: Octoped

Frame: Medium

Strength: Autonomous, Easily Repaired

Sensor: Analysis Software, Image Enhancement

Weakness: fragile

Ship: El Corrido

A medium shuttle, my home and workshop. In spite of the aggressive angles, this is not a fighter. It's old, patched together, and crammed with random junk with barely room for me to lay my head. But, the Corrido's got it where it counts. A couple salvaged Belter military fusion cores (30% smaller and roughly 2500% more power capacity than civilian cores for this class), dumb luck finding an intact Jovian patrol frigate's thruster assembly, hacking together a GARDIAN sensor net to slave the guns to...look you get the idea.
My baby looks like a 30 year old piece of drek, and I don't go for heavy weapons, but I can outrun anything that can outfight me, and outfight anything that can outrun me! I can pull a 400G Δv for almost an hour before I hit redline! Of course I've also got some beefy loving Grav-Compensators off a ship 20 times this size to keep me from getting pasted.

Power+2, Looks+1, Weakness+1; 1-Armour

Frame: Medium shuttle

Design: Courier

Strengths: Fast, Responsive

Look: Nondescript

Weakness: Cramped

Weapons: Multiple Point-defense guns (3-harm near/far area loud messy autofire)

Cost: Hunted.
By who? gently caress if I know, take your pick. ATU, MPSSR, Belters, Jovians, SOLCops, or any number of extra-planetary cartels either because I stole their poo poo to upgrade my stuff, or to force me to use my skills for them. gently caress 'em, they can't take the sky from me.

INTERIOR LAYOUT - Corrido

Expert Gunsmith
(Diverse Interests)
you are an expert in armaments; you begin with the Killer move custom weapon

Storage
After receiving a job you may look through your accumulated parts and supplies for equipment that might help with the current mission. Roll +Mind.
10+: gain 3 [gear] relevant to your chosen area(s) of expertise.
7-9: gain 1 [gear] relevant to your chosen area(s) of expertise.

Customiser
You can identify and examine new or complicated technology related to your area of expertise, and modify technology with which you are familiar.
When you try to modify a piece of tech, tell the MC what you want to do and discuss what tags or game effect that modification will have.
The MC will tell you the requirements in terms of: time / tools / parts / help from contacts / more research

Behind the Wheel
When jacked in through your Neural Interface to a cyber-linked vehicle:

when you act under pressure, roll Cool

if you mix it up, roll Synth (instead of Meat)

if you play hardball, roll Edge

if you help or interfere with someone, roll Links

if someone interferes with you, add your car�s weakness to their roll (in addition to their links)

Hot poo poo Pilot
When you�re driving a vehicle in a high-pressure situation, roll Cool, Edge, or Synth.
10+: gain 3 hold
7-9: gain 1 hold
You may spend 1 hold to do one of the following:

Avoid one external danger (a rocket, a burst of gunfire, a collision, etc)

Apply one of your vehicles tags for a +1 forward

Escape one pursuing vehicle

Maintain control of the vehicle

Impress, inspire, dismay or frighten someone

quote:

BASIC MOVES
ACT UNDER PRESSURE (COOL)
When you race against the clock, act while in danger or act to avoid danger, roll Cool.
10+: you do it, no problem
7-9: you stumble, hesitate, or flinch: the MC will offer you a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice

ASSESS (EDGE)
When you closely study a person, place or situation, or when you quickly size up an opponent or a charged situation, roll Edge.
10+: gain 3 hold
7-9: gain 1 hold
In the ensuing action, you may spend 1 hold at any time to ask the MC a question from the list below if your examination could have revealed the answer. The MC may ask you questions to clarify your intent.
Take +1 forward when acting on the answers.

What potential complication do I need to be wary of?

What do I notice despite an effort to conceal it?

How is ______ vulnerable to me?

How can I avoid trouble or hide here?

What is my best way in/way out/way past?

Where can I gain the most advantage?

Who or what is my biggest threat in this situation?

Who or what is in control here?
FAST TALK (STYLE)
When you try to convince someone to do what you want with promises, lies or bluster, roll Style.
10+: NPCs do what you want. PCs choose whether to do it or not. If they do, they mark experience. If they don�t, they must act under pressure to go against your stated wishes.
7-9: NPCs do it, but someone will find out: the MC will advance the appropriate Countdown Clock. For PCs choose one:

If they do what you want, they mark experience

If they don�t do it, they must act under pressure to go against your stated wishes
Then its up to them.
HIT THE STREET (STYLE)
When you go to a Contact for help, roll Style.
7+: You get what you want.
10+: You get a little something extra (choose either [intel] or [gear]).
7-9: choose 2 from the list below:

Your request is going to cost you extra

Your request is going to take some time to put together

Your request is going to attract unwanted attention, complications or consequences

Your contact needs you to help them out with something.
If you turn them down take -1 ongoing to this move till you make it right

MIX IT UP (MEAT)
When you use violence against an armed force to seize control of an objective, state that objective and roll Meat.
7+: you achieve your objective
7-9: choose 2:

you make too much noise. Advance the relevant Mission Clock

you take harm as established by the fiction

an ally takes harm as established by the fiction

something of value breaks
PLAY HARDBALL (EDGE)
When you get in someone�s face threatening violence and you intend to carry through, roll Edge.
10+: NPCs do what you want. PCs choose: do what you want, or suffer the established consequences
7�9: For NPCs, the MC chooses 1:

they attempt to remove you as a threat, but not before suffering the established consequences

they do it, but they want payback. Add them as a Threat

they do it, but tell someone all about it. Advance the appropriate Mission Clock
PCs choose: do what you want, or suffer the established consequences. They gain +1 forward to act against you.

RESEARCH (MIND)
When you investigate a person, place, object, or service using a library, dossier or database (or combination of them), ask a question from the list below and roll Mind.
10+: take [intel]; the MC will answer your question & answer a follow-up question from this list as well:

Where would I find ______?

How secure is ______?

Who or what is related to ______?

Who owned or employed ______?

Who or what is ______ most valuable to?

What is the relationship between ______ and ______?
7-9: take [intel]; the MC will answer your question
6-: the MC will answer your question and make a move

HELP OR INTERFERE (LINKS)
When you help or hinder another character, roll Links with them.
7+: On a hit they take +1 or -2 forward, your choice
7-9: you are implicated in the results of the other character�s move and may expose yourself to danger, retribution, or cost.

DECLARE A CONTACT
When you need to call in a favour from a new contact, name and describe the Contact, then say why the Contact owes you a favour or why you owe them a favour.
The MC will ask you some questions about the Contact and your relationship. Add the Contact to your list.
You can only declare a contact once per mission, although certain Playbook Moves may allow you to gain more contacts in similar ways.

PRODUCE EQUIPMENT
When you produce the equipment you need at the right time, describe how and why your professionalism and forethought told you to bring this equipment on the mission and spend [gear].
You must spend [gear] to produce equipment.

REVEAL KNOWLEDGE
When you reveal your knowledge of the opposition�s preparations, dispositions or environment, describe how you discovered that information and spend [intel].
You must spend [intel] to reveal knowledge.
Take +1 forward to exploit the opportunity offered by that information.

HARM AND HEALING
When you suffer harm (even 0-harm or s-harm) lower the harm suffered by the level of your armour (if any), fill in a number of segments on your Harm Clock equal to the remaining harm, and roll harm suffered.
10+: choose 1:

you�re out of action: unconscious, trapped, incoherent or panicked

take the full harm of the attack, before it was reduced by armour; if you already took the full harm of the attack, take +1-harm

lose the use of a piece of cyberware until you can get it repaired

lose a body part (arm, leg, eye)
7-9: the MC will choose 1:

you lose your footing

you lose your grip on whatever you�re holding

you lose track of someone or something you�re attending to

someone gets the drop on you
APPLY FIRST AID (COOL)
When you treat someone�s wounds using appropriate medical equipment, roll Cool.
10+: if their Harm Clock is at 2100 or less, reduce their harm by two segments. If their Harm Clock is at more than 2100, reduce their harm by one segment.
7-9: reduce their harm by one segment. If their Harm Clock is still at more than 2100, they take -1 ongoing until they receive proper medical attention.

ACQUIRE AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY (MEAT)
When you hit 0000 on your Harm Clock, roll Meat
10+: you survive until the medics arrive
7-9: you survive at a cost. Pick one: owned, substandard treatment (-1 to a stat), cyberware damage (give one piece of cyberware a negative tag)
6-: you bleed out on the street

COMMERCE

GO UNDER THE KNIFE (CRED)
When you have new cyberware installed by a street doctor, roll Cred spent (max +2).
10+: the operation was a complete success
7-9: the cyberware doesn�t work as well as advertised, choose one: +unreliable, +substandard, +hardware decay, +damaging.
6-: there have been... complications
When you have new cyberware installed in accordance with a corporate contract, ignore all of that bad stuff. You�re +owned. Your cyberware works exactly the way they intend it.

GET THE JOB (EDGE)
When you negotiate the terms of a job, roll Edge.
10+: choose 3 from the list below
7-9: choose 1 from the list below

the employer provides useful information ([intel])

the employer provides useful assets ([gear])

the job pays well

the meeting doesn�t attract attention

the employer is identifiable
GETTING PAID (LEGWORK)
When you go to a meet to get paid by your employer, roll and add the number of unfilled segments on the Legwork Clock.
10+: choose 3 from the list below
7-9: choose 1 from the list below

It�s not a set-up or an ambush

You are paid in full

The employer is identifiable

The meeting doesn�t attract the attention of outside parties

You learned something from the mission; everyone marks experience

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 06:56 on Mar 1, 2017

# ¿ Apr 19, 2016 22:17

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 03:29

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | 0/10 XP | 5 Cred

Still waiting to hear back from my contact, I conduct G0U throughout Corrido, and finish my Nova.

"Hey Mahren, if you're having power draw troubles I could run a daisy-chain from my cores into your grid. If my math's right, and it always is, I could boost your reserves by around .48 over redline.

Just lemme know and I'll start laying cable."

triggering my Customizer move: wanting to add Corrido's power to the Lance's, specifically in a way that can be quickly undone should I need to take Corrido out.

EDIT: Hit The Streets 6

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Apr 20, 2016

# ¿ Apr 20, 2016 04:26

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | 0/10 XP | 5 Cred

Ok, discussed with Xian wrt hooking up power to ship, there's no conditions so I'mma just do it, but if (when) something happens and I need to disconnect, it'll be AUP +Synth to disconnect.

"Right-O bro!" I call out cheerily, "You'll need to set up a step-up breaker sequence from one of your Hold's transformers to take the incoming juice..." I leap up out of the pilot's couch, charge down the ladder and out my hatch, flinging myself a few dozen meters straight out once I leave my A-Grav and enter the Lance's Micro-G. My aim is true, and within a few seconds I hit the 'Hazard - High Energy - Tag and Lockout before work!' panel opposite my ship. I deftly unsnap the catches and swing it wide, reading off the junction ID as I go.

"...Transformer...uh...Hold-A/959B. Yeah so set up a a step up sequence for here, and I'll give you a GHz average to put into your load-balance algorithms in about 20 minutes. I'm gonna shut this down to work on it, but you'll get a heads up before I kick it back online. "

I leave the panel open and kickoff back to Corrido, doing the same spin-drop-step maneuver as before, I rush around, grabbing tools, tagging gear, current measuring, and about 50 meters of high capacity superconductor cable. I ping G0U, and direct him to climb onto my back, wrapping his legs around like a nightmarish-looking backpack. I seat one end of the cable and unspool it. With the added weight of tools, gear, and 'Bot, I get a running start through my hold to get the right velocity to cross back to the panel. Then I get to work:

I break contact and tag-out the Mains connect and the lights in this part of the hold go dark, roughly a third of them, I slide on my goggles and activate my own lights.
Under my direction, G0U crawls over and away from me, swapping fuses, running monitoring leads, y'know making the kinda beautiful mess that says 'hey fucko, don't touch this, I'm working here'.
I patch in my cable with a couple micro-welds here and there, nothing permanent, just enough to make sure it holds if there's turbulence. Voltmeter sends a couple small pulses through, makes sure there's throughput without not too much resistance over the connection. Greenlight!

I kick back to Corrido again, spin-drop-step, Ping G0U to pull the tag-out and be ready at the switch. I snatch up the free end of my cable and stomp through into the cramped Core compartment. It's a sight to make a shipmaster go pale and feel ill, but for me it's pride. heavy, inefficient, big-rear end original martian Core? fuckin gone. In it's place is two Cores scored off of Belter ships, and both running in tandem, giving me 3.67823... something times more power than the original, but the modifications and reinforcement I had to do to make them fit? Not pretty. I have to duck under a Hev-E-Weld I-Beam to get to the ops console. I crack the panel under there to reach the AUX buffer and...brain bone connected to the eye bone...There! micro-weld here and there, test charge one (12 volts). Greenlight!

I stand back up at the console, the touchscreen showing a flashing command toggle: Execute? y/n

"Alright Mahren, I'm about to punch it, you're gonna need to load-balance 838.14 Ghz, ready?"
Once he says go, G0U and I execute simultaneously.

A small buzzer goes off, I squelch it, the temp rises about a degree in here, and I start hearing the familiar WUMP...WUMP of the reactors cycling up. WUMP WUMP WUMP WUMP WUMPwumpwumpwumpwumpwumpwumpwump the cycles increase until it's just one undifferentiated rumbling, more felt than heard. and I crack a smile to almost outshine the Cores.
Gauges are high, but well within limits, I'm now generating and spending energy at an almost 1:1 capacity with the Lance, equivalent to my making a moderately hard sustained burn. Business as usual, and now the Lance has a lot more power for the time being.

"Sh� se puede amigos! That's one problem down, but I still haven't heard back from my contact, so maybe we should go with Profit's idea, eh?"

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Apr 20, 2016

# ¿ Apr 20, 2016 21:48

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | 0/10 XP | 5 Cred

"Hey cheer up ghost-bro, at least now you got a kickass walking deathmachine to play with!"
Work done, I head back to my hold, string up a stretch of cargo netting into a hammock, and pop another drink and kick back with another load of vape, working my way through a dank stash of hydro-grown poo poo they call Master Yoda over on Godwin station, gift and payment for helping some Allians folks hotwire a late model Uno Skimmer.

It hits me as I rock gently back and forth, I start up some more music and close my eyes.

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Apr 20, 2016

# ¿ Apr 20, 2016 23:20

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | 0/10 XP | 2 Cred [1 Gear]

I bolt upright at the news, my makeshift hammock swings unbalanced and dumps me on the floor of Corrido's hold.
"Uh...hey hey payday!? Sweetness! ping me the details and I'll see what I got."
I scramble back to my feet and rush around, grabbing things off of racks and rummaging through drawers, and collecting bits and pieces. I stuff things into a rucksack, a toolbox, and a toolbelt, throwing it all together into waiting spots on G0U's war-frame.
Storage 9
gain 1 [gear] relevant to your chosen area(s) of expertise.
That done, I Ping G0U.
<<Ping YF//actl:to:G0U//Bcf - RTB
Message received, the bot skitters into the hold and settles. I grab a tool and pop the case open right above his eyes, undoing a couple bolts and pulling free the heavy oblong processing module. I heft it up and push it into the open faceplate of the larger body. It slides home with a click and I bolt it in, slide down the armored faceplate and bolt it down too. I lower the winch, and G0U takes a few experimental steps, clanking across the hold and running diagnostics. After a minute, my hud shows green, he's ready.

I pick up the deactivated helper body, and stow it securely.

Staking 3 Creds

# ¿ Apr 23, 2016 06:04

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | 1/10 XP | 2 Cred [1 Gear][1 Intel]

I exhale, adding more to room's haze. gently caress it, I work better with a buzz on. My music plays through my earbuds, likely able to be heard by everyone else over the silence. We're all crowded into this tiny-rear end room, poring over digital readouts, and 'someone' even helpfully printed a hardcopy of the deckplan. I'm spinning my chair and leaned back reviewing the specs.

Mons-Maersk?
Figures its a mars build. See, a big reason mars-poo poo trends tougher than what you need has to do with economies of scale. Civ and Military ships are all made in the same places, and it's cheaper to use the same parts and materials and methods. So a Martian Civ-ship is basically a stripped military ship, light armor, a civ core and civ engines and civ computers, but the skeleton, the hookups? all Military spec. Which means if you got the cred, and the know-how, up-gunning a mars ship to be more than it looks is loving easy.
Which further means, you can hide a lot of nasty surprises if you have even half a clue. I've got lots of clues, and I've done blackjob refits on ships like this for all kinds of folks, I know what to look for and what kind of compromises their tech may have had to make to get it done.
Research 10
How secure is The Hilsa?
+[intel], and:
Where would I find The Primary Power Nexus (the place to get hard control over a ship's power systems, turn on or shut down poo poo, set the ship to blow without needing computer access if necessary, etc.)?

# ¿ Apr 27, 2016 05:16

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred [1 Gear][1 Intel]

I nod along with the group, but jump in at Mahren's mention of the Lance.
"Yeah so, uh, best case scenario, this bucket's got smuggler holds and a jumped up core to run engines. At worst, we're looking at a full "sheep's clothing" job and what basically amounts to a fully armed and operational military transport.
Now maybe Fedor's 219 friends are pulling fuckshit, maybe they're legit and someone else is causing the fuckshit, from our POV that doesn't matter a whole lot. So, I propose we keep the Lance outside likely weapons distance, I'll unhook Corrido and we can ride over that way, Spectre and Fedor can clamp onto my hull and catch a ride over."

I'm going to spend the remaining time unhooking Corrido from the Lance's systems and getting prepped to fly us over, since I'm not under pressure, and have time to do it, do you still want me to roll?

# ¿ Apr 29, 2016 05:01

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred [1 Gear][1 Intel]

"Go with Magnetics, no need to clean up that way. So, yeah, I'ma head down and prep Corrido for launch, whoever's coming with, ven conmigo!"
I maneuver expertly through the micro-Grav passages, twisting, turning, tumbling until the final hatch. I grip the frame, eye my target, and push off, snagging El Corrido's ramp frame and swinging around and into my A-Grav. G0U regards me silently as I break my pressure suit out of a storage locker, checking for wear or damage. I reach back in and pull out an improvized frame and what look like a set of mechanical hooves. It's a set of Mag-boots and thrusters I 'scavved off of some other pressure suits and rigged up in a way that my Bot can use.

In a few mninutes' time, I install G0U's extra equipment and crack open another Nova. Gonna need the caffeine on this run. I double check his ammo drums, make sure the feed sensor is green, and then check out my own loadout. Not much need for a big fuckoff sniper rifle on a half-hulled transport, so I snag my nice, compact FNP220, and get it locked into my battle rig along with my sidearm and other useful bits.

That done, I get into my pressure suit-sans helmet- and make my way forward. Ping-handshake, and I'm eyeballing readouts, flipping the analogs and tap-swiping the digitals. A fringe bennie of helping to bootstrap the Lance's power is that my cores are nice and hot, so that cuts 5-10 minutes off my startup right there.

I'm getting ready for launch, so whoever is riding with me should join up!

# ¿ Apr 30, 2016 05:27

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○»
2 Cred [1 Gear][1 Intel]

"Corrido copies Fedor."
I turn to face profit, "yeah, we're not in a hurry here so I'mma take a few close passes and give Spectre time to scout before docking. Bee tee dubs, there's fold out seats in the hold for y'all to strap in. Just in case."

I recheck my feeds, chug my Nova, and wait on Mahren's greenlight.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2016 23:52

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○»
2 Cred [1 Gear][1 Intel]

I'm gonna go ahead on the assumption Mahren did as they said before and locked up as we left.

I goose my axial thrusters with a light touch, lifting Corrido up and out of the Lance's hold. We drift a moment before I gently kick in the main engines, nothing major, 20 seconds at 1G ought to put us there in a few minutes, and I have to watch the speed with Fedor hitching a ride, he's outside the hull and outside the protection of my A-Grav, so if I pull too many G's he's toast unless he's got some kind of stress compensation of his own. So, slow and easy does it on this run.

Corrido's relatively quiet, I make sure all our comms are patched through my system as a relay, so we're all real-time, listening to Spectre report back. A single PDG? gently caress, we got off light. I watch the yellow triangles on his feed wink out and the red diamond turn yellow. As Spectre's mech continues in through a breach, I make my first pass, sensors and a spotlight playing over every meter of the hull.
Asses the Situation 9
What do I notice despite an effort to conceal it?

"Spectre, Corrido copies, I'm making some scanning passes myself to see what's up...
Spectre, Corrido, I just got a weird contact, moving to confirm, Keep it Fiver, over."

# ¿ May 1, 2016 06:20

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○»
2 Cred [1 Gear][1 Intel]

"Alright, H� wǒ shuōhu� ba, bǎob�i."
My fingers fly across my controls and vector controllers.
Hot poo poo Pilot 14
Holy poo poo!
Avoid one external danger (point defense gun)
Maintain control of the vehicle (I make this look good)
Impress (the group - with my kickass skills)

Relative to the Hilsa, Corrido matches rotation, then inverts. I put in a couple half G bursts to align the new heading, we slide quickly into the shadow of the ship, towards a maintenance docking collar amidships. I pulse my axials, spinning Corrido 180 degrees and firing another small burst to slow us to docking speed. another 180, and the forward Docking collar meets with Hilsa's. There's a clang-thunk, and a quick tremor can be felt through the ship. My readout shows safe and we're locked. I begin pressure sequence on my airlock, and I safe-lock my cores and make my way back to the others in the hold.

"Si puedo! De nada. Lady and gentlemen, welcome to the Hilsa, please make sure your seatbacks and tray tables are in their full upright and locked positions."
I make a quick sarcastic bow, and then start sealing my helmet, and getting G0U ready to disembark.

_{for reference, here's the basic Corrido Layout. Y'all are in the hold (obviously), the ramp/hatch at the rear is closed, and we're gonna head down a short corridor to the forward facing airlock (unless something really bad happens right now)}

# ¿ May 2, 2016 06:52

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Flores
--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred [1 Gear][1 Intel]

"Hey Profit, you know this whole time how I've been guessing at what we'll face based on 'What would I have done if I'd done the upgrades?'
Yeah, so when you get to the bridge, clear it, but don't try to access any of the terminals until I give you the all clear. Otherwise...it could be bad. Just trust me on this.
Mahren, you should go with Profit, I've got my own backup-" I jerk a thumb at G0U, "I'mma head to the Core Nexus and make sure any signal to overload gets smashed before it can happen."

I snap on my light, check my rifle, and ping G0U to follow in 'Watch-Defend' mode as our magboots *Thunk Thunk* away down the corridor, following the signs pointing to Operations.

Xian told me this via discord: It's a standard core reactor and main engineering room, the the thing is, it's too neat. After whatever happened here, you'd expect some kind of mess. Hell on any given day there'd be tools sitting out. This place is showroom clean.

I ping G0U to stand watch in Sentry-mode, ready to paste any jackass trying to sneak up on me.
I head over to the main control terminal, pop a panel underneath it and start stripping wires, disconnecting it from the main computer system so can take control over the engines, and power to sections and subsystems in the ship. After about 10 minutes I think I have it, the touchscreens above flash warnings for a second and then reboot. On a hunch I input a default manufacturer's access code. After a moment an acknowledgement flashes and I'm in Safe Mode. So now, no other terminal on the ship can access the power systems except this one, and nothing connected to the main power will work unless I want it to.

"Heads up folks, we now own the power systems on this heap, so nobody can scuttle this ship unless they get through me first. I can also wire in a repeater terminal and connect it to Corrido, so we can pilot this thing remotely once we're done here. Profit, you are green for bridge access.
That's the good news.
Bad news is, I'm sure there's still all kinds of independently battery-powered bullshit hidden outside and inside, like those sensors or the cannon, so stay Fiver out there, and watch yer six."

Asses 9
Where can I gain the most advantage?

Heads up: I'm heading out of town for the next few days, so posting ain't happening until at least friday, but maybe longer. I'll try and get a post in when I can, but no promises.

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 06:18 on May 3, 2016

# ¿ May 3, 2016 05:23

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

I'm juggling windows on the terminal screen. The cores are under firm control, but now that I've restored basic power, I'm getting flooded with commands from everywhere. This was expected. Every single one is 'open both ends of this airlock' or 'overload that' or 'hey wouldn't venting reactor coolant into the Hab module be hilarious?' Each command dies instantly, the hard lines having been cut, but each one has to leave me a fun little '502 - Bad Gateway' error pop-up as it goes.

Next I move to the computer cores, isolating their commands but mostly leaving that bit of 'here be dragons' for Profit to gently caress with.

Confident that nothing's gonna explode or reach a critical failstate for the moment, I turn and snag a toolkit and components out of G0U's cargobags. Within a few minutes, I'm elbow deep in the fiber optics wiring in the signal repeater. With a spot of soldering the leads connect to the control board, I double check the battery pack, and send a test ping to Corrido's systems.

# ¿ May 7, 2016 06:53

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

"Hey, so, I've got this poo poo here on lock down, but I gotta stay in ops to keep it that way, so whoever's snatching the logs, you're kinda on your own as far as help from me goes, lo siento mucho. Same for those drones, I'd say seal the hatch and forget about it for now, I'll go through and salvage once we're on our way out and we can set some defenses here.

And yeah, Fedor, I feel you. Someone's watching, and however they're doing it is isolated from the onboard systems, so I can't do poo poo about it, but the faster we get it done and get gone the better off we are."

# ¿ May 10, 2016 21:27

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

I'm finishing up in Ops, re-tightening the screws holding the access panel to the terminal. I leave a quick message on the terminal lockscreen as a finishing touch. [HEY rear end in a top hat, IF YOU TOUCH THIS THE SHIP GOES BOOM. IF YOU TRY TO REROUTE CONTROL, THE SHIP GOES BOOM. NO COUNTDOWN, HAVE NICE DAY], I didn't have the time to actually rig the core, but 'they' won't know that.

Just then the comms chatter hits, gently caress. fuckshit. shitshit. I start scrambling to get my tools put away onboard G0U, I ping him into follow-defend mode once more and start 'sprinting' as fast as my magboots will take me (more like a brisk walk) back to the midship dock and Corrido.

"Ok, folks we are the gently caress outta here. I'mma be floating in five. Be there. Fedor and Spectre, maglock onto my hull, I'mma try and keep it smooth, but we might pull some Gs so be ready and sound off with your G-limit (if you have nothing to protect you from G forces, the limit a human body can take is about 9G, 12 is survivable for a few seconds, but you'll have broken ribs at minimum)"

I hit Corrido's lock, command G0U to take up his position, and stomp up the ladder to my console. ping, click, tap, swipe and I'm watching a countdown until the engines are prepped, and I'm eyeballing sensors, internal and external, for trouble and approaching team members.

"Get those asses MOVING!"

I put on some music, and pipe it throughout the ship.
(Music plays over montage of ship disengaging and burning for the Lance. )

# ¿ May 17, 2016 06:40

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●○○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

"Thanks Profit, I'll get on that drive once we get underway with Hilsa."

As everyone else does their thing, I pull up a custom terminal:

code:

>userCRASHnBURN in ~MKD1JTF1G3->$ ssh root@$$4304.2239.0000.0010.4201.1925
	root@$$4304.2239.0000.0010.4201.1925's password: ##########
		>sudo service ssh start
	sudo systemctl 'HILSAPATCHOPSTERM' start ssh
		>sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config{,.bak}
>PING 1024 ms...
	sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
		HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key
		HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key
		HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
	SyslogFacility AUTH
	LogLevel INFO
PermitRootLogin: yes
StrictModes: BurnInSudo&#916;v=SLanceNav=true

So now, the Hilsa is on complete remote, all systems turned off except comms, engines and navigation, which is slaved to the Lance's navigation. So as long as the connection holds, where Lance goes, Hilsa follows.
I kick back my feet and hit comms, "Lance-Actual, Corrido: Feel free to burn for Johnson Contact whenever you're ready, The Prize's gonna be right behind us."

I love it when a plan comes together.

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 19:43 on May 24, 2016

# ¿ May 24, 2016 19:16

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

I've been working via HUD readouts for the last while, spinning lazily in my seat. I could've been mistaken for totally toasted and spaced out, but I was working, I swear. I kick my feet out and stop suddenly, leaning forward and resting my hands on the table.

"I might have a couple of ideas here.
Ok, so. A. Hilsa is an incredibly valuable but equally loving useless weight around our necks. The name of the game was return it to Profit's BFF, not drag it through a combat zone. Ok, so we split the team. I'll take Corrido, and maybe one of you mecha dudes in case we need a gun. We make delivery to Johnson and then burn hard for wherever-the-gently caress y'all go. WHICH BRINGS ME TO...Point B. How to track these fuckshits and the mystery of these 'breadcrumbs' Profit brought up.

I have in my possession a data-drive taken from Hilsa by Profit, and given to me. This thing is a drone controller that was logging pings several hours after the attackers left the Hilsa floating. The little fuckers encrypted tight, buuuuuuut. IF I can crack it, AND IF I can boost it's signal...drumroll please...I might have a trail we can follow to these assclowns.

So, thoughts?"

Gonna go ahead and declare I'm using Customizer to crack the drive and boost the signal.
I volunteer for escort/babysitting cuz that's my idea and not as interesting as kicking rear end.

# ¿ May 31, 2016 05:01

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

I'm on the bridge, putting away tools and resealing the panel under the NAV console. The drone transmitter neatly installed and receiving.

"Yeah, yeah, be there in a sec." I sling my toolbag over a shoulder and begin navigating through micro-G to the lounge...sorry, 'briefing room'.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2016 05:28

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

"Sounds good, I'll extract Spectre and the cargo. I'm still not feeling great about just leaving the fuckin Hilsa, but you're right. We don't have time to let this lead go cold hauling that poo poo all the way back, and fuckdamn am I bringing a 90% dead cargo hauler into a firefight.

But, here's my snag: If we all burn out the same direction there's literally nothing stopping them from sending ships, or HI-EX warheads, screaming after us. So here's my idea.
We roll up slow, get a good look and plan to have everyone scramble in different directions and just meet up at Hilsa. Yeah?"

# ¿ Jun 12, 2016 05:22

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

"Sure, yeah, also how about a plan B-for BOOM. Like, if you get in, poo poo's too hot for our piddly little assault AKA Plan A, you can just find their cargo hold, and (If they're on a station that follows closely to standard layouts) the cargo module should be it's own separable unit. So if there's no way to load it up, you can plant shaped charges at key points, blow it on command, and faster than you can say �qu� pasa cabr�n? I drag the whole loving module out of there while everyone else lays down cover.

How Tā mā de zhēn b�ng would that be?"
I look around the room for any sign that people are digging my idea.

# ¿ Jun 17, 2016 07:35

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

xian posted:

EDIT: You guys can deposit the Hilsa somewhere conveniently safe and en route if you spend an Intel, just tell me where. Not clear if anyone spent it.

Sorry for the long gap in posts. Been on antibiotics and playing too much Overwatch and couldn't get myself in a posting mentality, and then when I did, I had a few days trying to figure out exactly what to write. Hope I haven't lost anybody![/i]

it's cool! things happen, I'm just glad you're feeling better. As for dropping intel, I was under the impression that our moves for gathering gear and intel are once-per mission. and that so far everything we've done on hilsa + attacking the pirate station are all still one mission, yeah? If so, I've already spent my intel and gear.

If not, I'll do a research or whatever roll and find a nice spot to drop hilsa.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2016 18:57

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●○○○○○○○○�
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

"Sounds good to me. Nothing much we can do but hope no scavvers stumble across it while we're gone."

# ¿ Jun 23, 2016 19:17

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●○○○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

"Let's go be the good guys"

# ¿ Jun 24, 2016 04:21

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●○○○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

I sit at Corrido's controls, having separated from the Lance when Spectre did. vapor drifts lazily around my head as I smoke, my ears are buzzing with comm chatter and caffeine.
G0U is fully loaded and strapped securely into the Hold. I monitor all feeds on my AR userface, my music pounding throughout my whole ship as I keep loose before the run.

We're all waiting for Spectre's signal.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2016 01:59

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●○○○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

"Corrido punching out." I tightbeam back as I kick in my primary engines.
I crank my Grav Compensators and perform a series of erratic but precise burns pulling me ahead of the others and keeping as much space trash (small asteroids, etc.) between me and the pirates as I can. It's not much, but if their sensors are poo poo and they're not paying attention, it might give me time to get close before they can really notice me or my flares.

As I pull into the clear, just a few minutes out I do a quick passive scan...and there! As I hoped they've got a few hulls similar to mine, and nobody's broadcasting poo poo. If I'm lucky they'll just think I'm one of the other courier-class ships.
Hot poo poo Pilot 8
Avoid one external danger (Does detection count as a danger for this?)

My part of the plan is to come in first and make contact with Spectre before/as the others arrive, so I'm using the +1 forward from Profit.

I reach the edge of the flotilla, zeroing in on the structure Spectre infiltrated, and attempting to find an out of-the-way airlock I can breach so Spectre has his exit.

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 08:41 on Jul 14, 2016

# ¿ Jul 14, 2016 08:38

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●○○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

I assume I find an airlock with no problems...

As soon as the pressure seals are locked, I'm out of my seat, pinging G0U to meet me at the 'lock.
I check my weapon and the bot's ammo feeds. I have no idea what I'm gonna find here. No idea if Spectre's ok, or dead. gently caress the whole job could be blown, or everything could be fine.
"gently caress it. Maximum Effort." I grumble under my breath as I cycle the hatch and step aboard the pirate station.

I send G0U ahead to Tank as I pull tail, walking forward through corridors in a half crouch, rifle up and reflex sights glowing in my HUD. Now, to find the crew...
Asses 10
What is my best way in/way out/way past? (to find the Hilsa crew)
Where can I gain the most advantage?
What potential complication do I need to be wary of?

# ¿ Jul 18, 2016 19:12

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●○○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

A warning flashes across my hud. I turn in time to see the man scurry into cover while G0U's twin shoulder-mounted machine guns track his progress.
I step up behind the bot's bulk and call out.

"Look, I don't want to have to shoot you, so if you could just point me to your boss, I won't harm you."

Moments later:
I enter the atrium with G0U at my side. Even with it's hunched over, gorilla-like, gait the bot stands at least a foot taller than anyone here. Heavy, armored, and heavily armed, my boy is dressed to impress. I look around and see lots of wide eyes. Mission loving accomplished.

"How are you, T�ngzh�? All your base are belong to us." I declare as I casually walk over to stand beside Spectre.
hoping my presence lends a bit more leverage to whatever Spectre's up to.
Rolling +1 Link and +1 Profit's Plan
Help or Interfere 9
Spectre gets +1 forward, and I will suffer any consequences alongside Spectre.

I notice more turrets, and the bullet riddled body. While Spectre talks, I quietly ping G0U to keep scanning, full broad spectrum. I wanna know everything I possibly can about the people in this room.
G0U's sensors have the tags: Targeting (Analysis) Software, Jamming
Asses 8
What do I notice despite an effort to conceal it?

# ¿ Jul 23, 2016 06:28

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●○○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

I notice a flashing pip on my HUD, expand it and readithe results. micro RF burst, short band, encrypted, coming from THAT guy.

"Sorry to interrupt, but our friend here (I point at the man exactly as I Link-command G0U to turn and target him) is talking to someone out there.
I'm inclined to paste him, but since we're all friends here I figured that would just be rude."

# ¿ Jul 28, 2016 07:20

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●○○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

"Okay then."
I put G0U back in sentry mode, and take up my rifle again.
"Steiger, Karensky, you're with me, let's get your poo poo. Spectre, catch you on the flip amigo."
With that the four of us head back out towards wherever the Hilsa crew's gear is stowed, while Spectre goes to wherever I assume his mecha is hidden.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2016 01:10

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●●○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~

"Sure, first thing: we're not friends, Flores is all the name you need. Second: yeah the plan is to cause a ruckus and kill some fuckin pirates and recover your cargo. Then return the whole fuckin thing to your boss and get fuckin paid. Bee tee dubs, this is MY ship, y'all are just passengers, there's jump seats in the hold here, strap in and let me do my job and don't give G0U any reason to paste you while you're back here."
Pep talk over, I sprint up the ladder onto the foredeck, throw myself down the short corridor and into my crash seat. wireless handshake, AR userface brought up, and all failsafes disengaged, cores are hot and I punch it out from the dock.
I acknowledge Karensky as soon as I notice her drones in pursuit. "Yeah I've practically built this ship from scratch at this point. Most of it's secret-recipe stuff so don't go poking around, but yeah, El Corrido only looks like a mothballed piece of poo poo older than I am, he's special on the inside."

With that I veer off from Spectre's heading, he is more equipped to tangle with fighters, and I scan for what (I assume) I've been told is the lead pirate ship with the cargo onboard.
"Ok kids, one more stop. Steiger, that armor of yours looks like you can handle a fight. How do you feel about running drag for some payback? Karensky, you stay here and chill, Corrido will keep you safe."

With that I swing the nav interface towards the bigger ship and attempt the same 'hot LZ' docking maneuver I did with the station.
Hot poo poo Pilot 5
uh...oh...

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Aug 16, 2016

# ¿ Aug 16, 2016 04:53

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●●○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~
_{El C: [ALERT] [ALERT] [1900] [2200] [2300] [0000]}

My HUD fuckin lights up, coolant for drive A zeroed out in less than a second into the burn. has to be a ruptured line. gently caress, A just redlined and...gone. overheated, probably just melted a loving coupling. at least the burn executes correctly. but now I gotta push B,C,D, E, and F even harder to hit my decel window. the ship shudders and I can hear the hum of my grav compensators working overtime to soak the hundreds of Gs that could be killing us all right now. All according to plan.

I'm unbuckled and running back to the hold the second I see the airlock seal go green. I spare a direct look for Karensky. "Nope, but Corrido decided to show off because I have guests."

I get G0U moving and call back to Steiger. "You know yourself, your armor and the ship. I will mention that handing your candyasses back to your boss alive and well is part of my job. G0U is literally made for ops like this, but I don't feel like arguing if you wanna take point."
I lead the way forward to the personnel airlock in the nose. I cycle it open and my chest tightens up. Where there should be a simple mechanical lock console, there's a shiny new biometric encryptor. gently caress. That's a bit beyond my expertise.
"Ok, change of plan, Karensky...looks like you're coming with, I assume you know more than dick about their security setup and the lock on their airlock is a little over my head. So if we're getting inside we need your help."

# ¿ Aug 16, 2016 06:31

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●●○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~
_{El C: [ALERT] [ALERT] [1900] [2200] [2300] [0000]}

The airlock hatch crashes in with a thud. Cool.
I've already added Steiger and Karensky's sensor profiles to G0U's 'DON'T FUCKIN SHOOT' parameters, So I send the bot forward and the rest of us follow around a corner just as he pings me.
'friendly'
"Profit!?! How the fu-, ok y'know, whatever.
Alright, new plan. We split. Steiger, meet Profit, Profit-Steiger. You two take the bridge, take your time and have some fun. Karensky, me, and my boy here are gonna head towards Core Containment. Profit, remember what I did on the Hilsa? Same drill here, I'ma disable any kinda fuckshittery they may have rigged to blow the core, take down all non-essential systems via cutting power, and maybe set up my own version of the Tick-Tick-Boom threat that you can use as leverage with king gently caress-pirate up there. Muy Bien?"

# ¿ Aug 21, 2016 06:18

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●●○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~
_{El C: [ALERT] [ALERT] [1900] [2200] [2300] [0000]}

U://>Run/CMD/4SS4ULT/exec cmd_active target profile.exe
I push Karensky back around a corner and swing my rifle back around, seeking targets.
G0U charges forward, faster than you'd expect a bot his size could move, the machine gun on each shoulder sweeping independently for targets. My bot's targeting suite throws up pips on each confirmed and likely target in the area. I select-all and send him weapons-free.
The heavy thuds of his steps fade out underneath the cacaphony of his guns. Hundreds of caseless armor piercing rounds seek his targets in rapid bursts. He continues this way until he stands roughly in the center of the engineering deck, right next to the main console, scanning and occasionally firing in every direction. A desperate pirate rushes the robot, G0U continues calmly firing as he raises one of his massive fore-claws, knocks the man clean off his feet, and then crushes him underfoot.
Mix It Up 11 (G0U's machine guns: 5-harm near/far area loud messy auto)
Objective: to take control of the ship's power cores/engineering, and wipe out any resistance

I watch as, one by one, each of the targeting pips winks out as enemies either run off, or get pasted by 2mm Ferro-Ceramic penetrator rounds.
I notice Karensky's up stepped behind me to peer over my shoulder at the battle. I give her a wicked grin. "drat it feels good to be a gangster." I crow before stepping cautiously into the corridor. I keep my eyes up, and keep G0U scanning as we slowly make our way to the console.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2016 07:30

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●●○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~
_{El C: [ALERT] [ALERT] [1900] [2200] [2300] [0000]}

I put G0U on stationary sentry mode, and turn to the console. "De nada, so hey now we gotta own this core, and everything drawing power from it."
I start grabbing tools out of G0U's storage compartments, "So that's our project. We got bullet holes in the port compressor there, make sure it's stable, this screen is shattered to gently caress, so I'm rerouting control over here. I got a redline on coolant! what the poo poo! coolants not even on this level-"
I stomp over and notice the problem, a nice trio of neat little holes in the deck plating. I run back to my screen and start tapping and swiping furiously.
"ok, shutting down coolant 3, reconditioning flow between the others...and oh holy gently caress me papi. Core shielding took a direct hit, rads are rising. We gotta do what we need to do and be the gently caress off this deck in about 20 mins or the rads'll be high enough to cook us in our suits."

Ok so I'm doing Customiser, and the goal is total control of the basic systems of the ship via power. This isn't a hack, I'm not trying to remote pilot the ship or fire weapons, my objective is to prevent the pirates from doing any of that by depriving whatever system of power. I have Karensky to help, but I'm not sure how that affects things.

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Aug 29, 2016

# ¿ Aug 29, 2016 04:52

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●●○○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~
_{El C: [ALERT] [ALERT] [1900] [2200] [2300] [0000]}

I'm cool with fast forwarding. gonna roll assist for Profit's roll. Like we search the ship make sure no one is free to run around, and look for anything cool or valuable among the pirate's belongings while we wait for the cargo to finish transferring to the Lance
Assist 7

# ¿ Aug 31, 2016 05:49

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●●●○○○○○»
2 Cred ~~[1 Gear][1 Intel]~~
_{El C: [ALERT] [ALERT] [1900] [2200] [2300] [0000]}

I think the Cred is in the form of actual honest to god precious metal. literal gold coins, they're rectangular in shape, like thin gold bars the size of an irl half dollar. Each one is embossed with a stylized image of a skull. We found them in the "captain's" quarters. otherwise I scoured personal terminals for things like movies and music, for my own collection. I'm not sure how we divide 1 Cred, but I plan on sharing with the others.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2016 08:52

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

xian posted:

Easiest way to divide it would be to put it towards a group buy, when something like that comes up.

So, time passes, the transfer is completed per the terms of the deal. 3/4 of Amardeep's cargo is sitting in the Lance, along with Steiger and Karensky. Time to go pick up the Hilsa and then head towards Amardeep?

sounds good to me. And we made a friend in kiko, yeah?

# ¿ Sep 1, 2016 16:56

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

xian posted:

Friend might be a bit of a strong term, but she's definitely a contact you could go to for Hit The Street related stuff, or even for jobs, in the future.

Cool

# ¿ Sep 1, 2016 17:04

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●●●○○○○○�
_{[Cred] 2

[Gear] -

[Intel] -

El C: [ALERT] [1800] [2000] [2200] [2300] [0000]}

Music pounds across the bay, nearly drowning out the hiss of welders and the clank of heavy poo poo hitting the bay floor. I'm taking advantage of the micro Gs, using an overhead winch to lift Corrido up a few meters so I can reach the belly and repair it.

I'm no soldier, but I've known some and worked with more. I got in the habit: 'always clean your guns first thing after a mission, the next one can come up way quicker than you think so be ready' I've taken that advice to heart. weapons cleaned, G0U repaired, and now Corrido is my main priority. I fixed what I could inside, but have now got parts of engine one spread across several dozen cubic meters. G0U is back in his helper body, crawling all over the hull and checking for micro-breaches. I get engine one online smoothly, but that meltdown caused a lot of collateral damage. I start making a list of what needs fixing, and working out parts I'll need.

"I'm on comms if anyone needs me. I've got a parts list I'll need to fill once we pass the spinner to get my poo poo fully operational. Also if anyone else needs me to check their rides let me know and I'll try and do a bulk order for parts we need. I'll be up there soonish, don't drink everything without me." I transmit to the others.

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 08:04 on Sep 7, 2016

# ¿ Sep 5, 2016 05:53

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 03:29

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

--:-- Harm | 1-armor | XP ●●●●●○○○○○»
_{[Cred] 2

[Gear] -

[Intel] -

El C: [ALERT] [1800] [2000] [2200] [2300] [0000]}

"I say fight." I pipe up over comms, having just finished putting Corrido back together.
"I didn't go through all this bullshit not to get paid in full.
The real question: do you think I'd be more useful giving them something else to shoot, or working on spoofing their poo poo?

Also, in my professional opinion if Spectre's mecha is their bug, Spec better stay out of it for this fight. Ringer fuckheads might ICE you somehow."

# ¿ Sep 13, 2016 08:16

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > The Game Room > [The Sprawl] Escape Velocity

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