Curt 2016/12/06(Tue)19:32 No. 764115 ID: 521e29
File 148108157324.png - (263.52KB , 387x537 , Slice+Dice.png )

She journey through the sector is perilous. The Mantis hive growing here is sending out Brood-Ships to seed nearby worlds- and all of them are eager for blood to prove themselves to their queens. You scratch four more ships, all not even offering the chance for surrender. Your Zoltan shields, thankfully, prevent what would likely be immediately fatal boarding action from the enemy.

On a stop along the way, you drift into an asteroid field. It looks to be the work of human miners cracking a particularly resource-rich planet; this field is the remainder from the blast, and the slag from the industrial work.
A lost little combat drone is stationed here, for whatever reason. It has no shielding. How has it even survived? Regardless, it powers up to attack you.

Hold on a moment.
It has no shields.

Oooooooh yeaaaaaaahhhhh that's satisfying.

Curt 2016/12/06(Tue)19:37 No. 764118 ID: 521e29
File 148108186563.png - (130.60KB , 575x307 , SectorMap5.png )

You arrive at the long-range gate. Mercifully left open by the Mantis currently occupying the station; perhaps even they recognize the value of trade. Or a lane for new prey to enter the sector.
Either way, you're unaccosted as you exit. There's only one option, so you take it. The long flight is brightened up by a packet of Yammerin' Yellow LiquiNutro.
God this shit is awful. Another gulp of wine. Better.

Curt 2016/12/06(Tue)19:45 No. 764123 ID: 521e29
File 148108232574.png - (306.84KB , 391x517 , FastBall.png )

You arrive in Engi space. Decker seems relaxed an at ease as he begins to pick up friendly signals; signs of home, for him. His screen darkens as more news reaches his receivers; Mantis incursions from the sector you've just left, threatening Engi factory worlds and storage spaces. Perhaps this is why the gate was left open and undamaged.
Either way, you're here now, and have landed in the middle of a nebula. You press on into it.
It seems that the Rebels have already sent ahead automated scouts. Which, upon close examination, are becoming more and more advanced as you encounter them. It's unsettling how quickly they design and send out these AI units.
This one is planted in orbit around a sector beacon, itself in the middle of an icey storm. The drone is designed to take advantage of this; open cooling ports taking in the floating ice to supercool it's systems, leaving it able to fire much faster than anything before it and repair it's shields at an alarming rate. You put all power to your own shields, as a precaution.
Looks like you might take a beating here. You're unsure how to attack the thing.

Nope

You've hauled in a bounty, focus on leaving. Maximize the FTL Engine power, then shields, one oxygen, then weapons. This one might cause more damage costs than it's worth in scrap.

Target shields with Flak and weapons and onward with the beam, and hold your beam's fire until the second the flak connects. You'll disable it within the first shot anyway, long before the FTL is ready - or not so long considering you took the Flak II - so steady as she goes, cap'n! You may want to switch to ion targeting the shield and beams hitting the weapons/shields/engines? after the first volley.

>>764125
This little guy? He ain't shit. He's got some kinda' laser and a bomb. We can take him, easy. Hit with plasma, then flak, then beams. If he starts spooling up FTL for self-destruct or retreat, be sure to knock that cockpit offline.

>>764123
Pretty sure the move here is to aim the flak gun more-or-less at shields, hitting it with the one ion gun we can power with it just beforehand. Don't worry too much about the weapons, at worst that's a burst laser 2, which isn't too bad when we've got two shields and some engines. Unless they bomb us to shit, I guess, or if they're a LOT faster than normal. Anyway, aiming the flak at the shields should get some splash on the weapons anyway. We can aim at weapons instead of they're seeming too dangerous. Don't try to use the beams unless we break shields all the way down though.

Curt 2016/12/13(Tue)20:19 No. 765709 ID: 521e29
File 148168914602.png - (243.76KB , 934x425 , BuyingPower.png )

Your initial panic subsides as the drone ship begins to fire: while it's rapid-fire laser may be threatening to a ship with lesser shielding, your two-layer one does just fine. You sit back and blast away at the drone for a time until it's superstructure collapses. You can't hear it through the void, but it looks like the crunch of vacuum pressure tearing the air from within out with violent force would have been very satisfying to hear.
You scavenge the thing, and find a fully operational Flak cannon jammed in the ship's weapon ports. It seems the frost in the area froze the weapon hatch closed, preventing it from deploying. A lucky find, and luckier still you didn't have to face it.
You jump away, glad to be free of the nebula.

A civilian beacon nearby offering rest and relaxation seems very appealing, and you head for it. Unfortunately, the day spa and resort here seems specifically catered to the Engi residing in the sector. Sterile halls lead to individual pods, where Engi sit hooked into what Decker explains to be simulations of experiences; a date with a passionate lover, an excellent meal. The Engi, unable to truly experience the sensation, seem willing to pay out the nose for these simulacra.
Fortunately, the place is also outfitted with an Engi engineer, with a small shop for fixing dents and small batters in incoming ships. He seems at first shocked when your battle-scarred Zoltan cruiser docks, but then begins to buzz with excitement. Literally. His Zoltan assistant seems equally curious.

The mechanic offers to upgrade your systems, and sells a small selection of parts, as well as two Engi; deactivated and in a sort of stasis. He proclaims proudly that their personality matrices were developed on-site by his own two hands. As the Engi examines your ship, the Zoltan approaches you, offering you his services, for a nominal fee. When you ask why he wants to come with you, he says, rather bluntly, that this rock is a dead zone and he would rather bang his head against a wall more than he would spend another week in a network of steel corridors with no decoration.
You have 212 scrap.

Curt 2016/12/13(Tue)20:20 No. 765710 ID: 521e29
File 148168922676.png - (208.16KB , 588x426 , Inv.png )

You consider your own stores and equipment, in case you wish to sell something.

Wow, we have hardcore armaments! I say sell a bardiche, because the combo of flak I and II should be enough for most ships, without even using ion or the other bardiche. Too bad they don't have any rockmen--we could really use one. I think also buy hacking. If we're low on gas, buy some fuel, and if we're below 50% hull, repair up to there. After that, let's spend leftover scrap on upgrades, but keep around 50 in case we run into events requiring it.

Sell Flak 2 and a Bardiche, buy Flak 1. This will give us faster volleys for less power. Hire Kaira (see if you can't haggle him down to a lower price) so that we can have ion protection on our shields. Purchase hacking, it's a versatile tool that can solve a lot of otherwise impossible encounters. What does a radiation projector do?

>>765804
Why would less, weaker weapons be better?

>>765805
They charge faster and are more energy eficient.

>>765804
Flak 2 charges faster and releases more projectiles than Flak 1. It is a significant upgrade from the first model, though it does havegrester power requirements. Namely, two units of reactor energy, instead of one.
The "radiation projector," the Engi shipwrite explains, is a home project of his that he thinks could be weaponized. Essentially, it diverts radioactive FTL engine waste, typically stored to be offloaded onto empty dumping worlds, into a specialized compartment. The waste is vaporized and released as a particulate cloud, directed towards an enemy combatant, giving most severe radiation sickness, killing them over time. Using this would consume two units of energy for the duration of operation, however, in the same way that your Subspace Scanner expends it to track invisible targets.

You give the Engi a long, long look, fully aware that this device breaks half a dozen health codes and Federation laws, as well as universal restrictions for ship based combat.
He seems unconcerned.

>>765807
In that case, dont buy the flak 1 or sell the flak 2.

Make a note to report this guy to the proper authorities, unless... how good are this stations defenses, and how closely does this mechanic seem to be associated with them?

>>765807
Iiiis that part of a mod you took? Vanilla flak I is 2 power, 10 secs, 3 shots and flak II is 3 power, 21 secs, 7 shots.

We have two flaks, only one EMP cannon, and four weapon slots. Can we just hold on to all our weapons for now and equip the Flak I in one of the beam slots?

Sell exactly enough missiles to hire Keira and purchase the Drone Control and Hacking systems. Both of those are AWESOME.

However, we don't have any drone schematics, so if the purchase bonus is a beam attack drone or a repair drone, switch the Drone Control with Mind Control.

So, a radiation projector slowly kills the enemy over time, through shields... Replace our subspace scanner with it! Or the requisition license. I mean, come on, it's a sticker you slapped on the hull. How much space could it take up?
Replace the flak II with the flak 1 regardless: We're no longer shooting to kill, but to disable. The radiation will take care of the rest. More flak shots will make it harder to keep the enemy ship in one piece. Keep the Flak II in the cargo bay for future use, though. Anything else that's left over, sell now.

>>765862
This as well, but... switch Drone Control for Mind Control. Hacking and Drones run off the same resource - bad idea to use both. Not to mention the power efficiency of mind control versus most drones.
Basically, we're set for the rest of our probably short lives after this store, all we have to do is upgrade our reactor to match.

Buy Drone Control and hire Keira. Become the turtliest ship. (Even if the bonus isn't a defense drone, I'm sure we can find one soon enough.)

Don't buy the super illegal immoral thing. Sure it might be effective but there are lines you don't cross.

How many drone parts do we have? If more than ten we can go ahead and get hacking as well as drone control. Just don't use either except against exceptionally tough ships.

I wouldn't bother with mind control though. Doesn't really fit our build.

Buy mind control. It is always useful. Even without upgrading it at all we can:
Counter nearly all mind control attempts.
Prevent many enemies from escaping by targeting the helmsman.
Prevent enemies from immediately repairing damaged systems by targeting the crew doing repairs.
Increase the potential of depopulating rather than destroying enemy ships without the need to board.
Easily repel boarders by setting them upon themselves.

And all this for 1 power by itself.

Done control in the mean Time usually needs three power minimum to be worth it, and that's assuming you are lucky enough to find a winning combination of drones. And it takes expensive ammo to boot.

Mind control all the way.

>there are lines you don't cross.
In FTL, the only line you don't cross is critical hull integrity.

>>766019
In this quest we're doing a pretty good Lawful Good run, I'd rather not spoil it.

>>766102
Screw your Lawful Good run, this is an Ironman game and we don't have the skill to be the good guy.

>>766102
Haha, yeah, it was so Lawful Good when we spaced everyone on that spider-infested station for extra scrap. Remember that? Good times.

it's about what our crew finds acceptable. moral is an issue that the base game doesn't model. so take it up with the crew.

>>766135
To be fair, it was a last-ditch effort to try to keep the spiders from getting to the last remaining survivors. We knew we couldn't board with the crew we had, and if we did nothing, they would have definitely died.

That said, I support getting the Mind Control system. Is it really immoral if we're fighting to the death anyway? It'd be immoral if we used it during negotiations or something.

>>766135
That was both in accordance with the law and a good thing to do.

>>766139
We're not talking about the mind control, that's okay. We're talking about the "radiation projector", a weapon which violates the Space Geneva Conventions.

>>766148
Oh. And it consumes 2 units of energy to use. (and will be useless against the last boss unless we metagame and don't kill the entire crew)

I don't like it.

The Radiation Projector will assist us in the final fight by exponentially increasing our scrap reserves. Get that and begin brightening up people's day.

Curt 2016/12/21(Wed)20:32 No. 767459 ID: 521e29
File 148238113041.png - (891.92KB , 1277x552 , NewStuff.png )

You begin by purchasing the mind control systems, as well as hiring Keira from the Engi mechanic. They shuffle onto the ship happily, saying loudly that they'll be glad to explore new places with the crew.
As they board, they confide in you quietly, thanking you profusely for getting them off of the place. They're terrified of their previous employer. This "radiation projector" isn't the first of his horrifyingly brutal weapons- it's merely the one he hasn't yet sold to less scrupulous passers-by. You hope, privately, that you won't see many of them in the field.
Returning from your quarters, you inspect the remaining purchase options. The projector, while illegal, does seem effective. You're unsure about the morality of buying such a device, let alone using it.
In the end, your practical side wins the internal argument. The projector is installed on the back of the ship by the Engi- it lets out a whining tone that you think is an attempt at whistling as it works. It also offers to upgrade your reactor in order to power the thing for a fee, which you pay. This doesn't sit well with you. It's against training to use weaponry like this, as well as your conscience.
But this is a war, and you carry vital data. Sacrifices must be made and principals compromised upon. If you're found out and held accountable for war crimes, you may be forced to face the music. But you'll hold your head high, knowing that this piece of tech was vital to stopping the destruction of the Federation as a whole.
Besides. It's better you have this thing than some pirate. Right?

You refrain from informing the crew about your purchase, passing it off fairly easily as reactor maintenance and refueling.
Once all systems are set, you pulse away from the luxury center. At a solid distance, you send an anonymous message to local marshals informing them of the Engi and his practices. Hopefully this will be the last device of this kind he produces.
You jump away.

Curt 2016/12/21(Wed)20:32 No. 767460 ID: 521e29
File 148238114261.jpg - (138.60KB , 1280x720 , Fatigued.jpg )

The journey through the Engi controlled sector is relatively peaceful. There are a few mangled wrecks, evidence of the scuffles between Engi and Mantis in the next sector over, which make easy pickings for salvage. By chance, you come across a Rebel stealth drone- and your new upgrades, and subspace scanning equipment, make easy work of the craft.
Eventually, you come across a distress signal, and follow it to a massive station. The hull is burnt and in some places destroyed- clear signs of recent fights. You hail the craft, and after a brief while, are directed to the man in charge. He stands with a wide base, portraying something of a stately air through the viewscreen as you converse.
It seems that this station has been attacked frequently by a gang of pirates, for no reason other than a deranged joy from their suffering. Nobody has yet died, but the citizens aboard are growing weary and wary of pirate assault. The situation can't be held for much longer, and the Engi refuse to help. It seems that this station was actually waiting for the Rebel fleet to arrive in hopes that they'd assist- but seems willing to see if the Federation "Is still worth something after all."
They have a basic idea of where this group is coming from- you could jump away to search for their hideout in a nearby asteroid field. Alternatively, it might be possible to wait for the next assault and lay a trap.
A quiet voice in the back of your mind, brought forward by that last comment of his, reminds you you could always just ignore his predicament. Or profit from the situation yourself.

Explain to these rebel sympathizers that you expect them to sell you out to the rebel fleet the moment you turn your back. So, here's what you're going to do: you will save them from the pirates. While they are in chains. With a known rapist on guard duty.

Then when you're done killing whatever comes to the station next, take their stuff as compensation, turn on their distress beacon, and jump out of there.

Oh wait, we are some pirate. Our bumper sticker says so.

>>767468
While I am a strong proponent of the pirate's life, I believe their quest offers us a decent reward without all the hassle of murdering the station unprovoked. Can they provide anti-ship battery assistance if we lay a trap during the next assault? Otherwise, let's take the fight to their asteroid field. Expect damage from the space rocks, but know it will be worth it when you get to use the silent but deadly gas cloud on them.

>>767494
Agreed, mostly. Note: we probably can't use the radiation projector while fighting in front of the station. I think they'll notice. That might make fighting the pirates at their hideout more advantageous.

Go on the offensive and attack the pirates.

Also, put your engi on piloting and two zoltan on shields. No point in having a zoltan pilot--the energy is just lost that way. If you have two zoltan on shields, your shields will never be fully depleted by ion. Solid choice.

Set the trap, don't go after the base. We aren't equipped for extended bouts in an asteroid field.

>>767494
No, we're privateers.

Let's fight them here, Zoltan shields don't do well with asteroids.

Curt 2016/12/22(Thu)19:24 No. 767654 ID: 521e29
File 148246348513.png - (219.69KB , 384x531 , PiratesIrradiated.png )

You decide that it will probably be best to search for the pirate base itself. If you just destroy an incoming ship, there's no way to tell if they'll keep coming once you're gone- you need to destroy their base of operations, cut off the source.
It also leaves you free to use your new equipment out of sight of civilian eyes.

>>767494
>Oh wait, we are some pirate. Our bumper sticker says so.
You sold the Requisition Licence back to that Engi, to make room for the Radiation Projector. It doesn't keep you from performing piracy; it just isn't technically legal any more. Your crew, already indisposed towards the act, would be further dissatisfied with acts of thievery now.

You search the asteroid field between the system's sixth and seventh planets- a whole lot of nothing. Finally, your Upgraded Sensors pick up a faint outline of a manmade structure- hidden well by a cloaking field, but revealed well enough once you close in. The pirates had made a base of an old mining colony on the rock. Defense systems kick on as the ship nears, and you instruct Aj and Kiera to the shield room, in order to provide power.
Incoming fire misses the ship, blasting into a nearby asteroid and scattering chunks of rock at high speeds. The shields will have to put up with the barrage during the battle.
In response, you press a small yellow button, newly installed on your console.
The engine produces an enormous whining noise, audible through the entire ship, and more grinding clunks as the waste is reduced to dust. It's released out of the ports in a nearly invisible particulate cloud, winding past the enemy shielding and irradiating their air. The life support systems will be scrubbing automatically, but hopefully won't be able to keep up.
Virgil connects on your viewscreen, distracted as he begins to take aim, but the worry is clear in his voice. "Captain? Radiation levels on the enemy are spiking. They might be preparing something. Any idea what?"
You order him to hold, and be ready for anything. You may have to explain this later.

If you want the radiation projector to kill the pirate crew, you'll be shooting to disable. How do we go about it?

Weapons, then cloning. Leave the shield only lightly damaged. (Do they get asteroid hits, being stationary?) Those weapons have a nasty bite.

The radiation projector might be defeated by advanced life support systems. We might want to take a few potshots at the thing just to be on the safe side.
Still, That Ion turret will shred us in an asteroid field. We need to take it out.

Aim for weapons, engines and life support. We can blame a radiation leak on the enemy ship for their deaths. Or we could explain that we bought an anti-crew weapon of some sort from the engi, but pretend not to know much more than that, just to gauge the crew's reaction.

I think we need to get rid of this thing as soon as possible. Our crew is made of good men, openly using a weapon this horrible might cause them to mutiny, or the very least stop trusting us.

>>767773
>Aim for weapons, engines and life support. We can blame a radiation leak on the enemy ship for their deaths.
>engines
>It's a stationary base
NVM. Aim for the clone bay, and mention the weapon.

Curt 2016/12/30(Fri)21:29 No. 769257 ID: 521e29
File 148316218548.png - (218.04KB , 382x531 , GoingEasy.png )

You open by circling the base, waiting for the projector to do it's work. It's slower than you would have hoped... but perhaps this station simply has an advanced air filtration unit. Lifesigns onboard dip down steadily, and you let loose a volley to try and keep their own weaponry down. It seems they take quite a while to charge. Use of the mind control systems to confuse those onboard keeps things handily under control as you wait for these men and women to perish.

Curt 2016/12/30(Fri)21:38 No. 769261 ID: 521e29
File 148316268632.png - (186.23KB , 611x402 , OhShit!.png )

Both guns fire in tandem- and Christine simply can't avoid them while also steering the ship clear of asteroid chunks and debris. An ion blast splits mid-volley, sending a trio of the shocks into your shield, disabling it entirely. The four laser blasts that follow rip through your hull effortlessly, as warnings and sirens begin to blare. The crew send hasty status reports as all work to repair their relative systems, the radiation apparently forgotten as danger presents itself.
You can't shoot off another volley before they launch their own, the combined battering of asteroid and laserfire ripping holes in your ship effortlessly, causing damage as your crew strives to fix more.
Your console lights up red as systems start to crash, damage report grim. The FTL has charged during the battle- there's time to make an emergency jump and get away. These pirates would live to see another day... but so would you.

Well I mean, not dying is a good idea. So running sounds good?

Time to pull out. You can make it up to the station in some small way by paying for hull repairs.

Well, run away I guess. How the hell did this happen? I want a detailed after action report. Our weapons charge faster than theirs, so how did they get two volleys off? Shouldn't our first volley have disabled their weapons long enough to take them totally offline with the second? Especially if we were preventing repairs using the mind control. We should hop back to that earlier shop for repairs, as long as the rebel fleet hasn't overtaken it. We could even sell the radiation projector to pay for them.

>>769274
Veto, don't sell our projector. Barely even had the chance to use it yet.

The pirates will live another day, sure, but between their base's location no longer being secret, and all that radiation, probably not many more days beyond that. Depart for repairs.