Curt 2021/04/21(Wed)08:27 No. 997141 ID: 0fbdcd
File 161901886809.png - (622.94KB , 711x814 , Evac-38.png )

A headache you weren’t aware you were dealing with fades away as you step into a space you instinctually recognize as home. It is neat, and tidy, and small. The carpet feels good under your boots- the first soft surface you’ve stepped on in a while. On your half of the bunk, there is very little wasted space. Though you can’t remember setting any of it up, you rediscover an appreciation for your own thorough organization systems.
You indulge yourself, and flop back heavily onto the bed, only for a few minutes. Allowing yourself to fully decompress, draining your body of lingering adrenaline. Your legs hurt.
There is a photograph of a planet taped to the ceiling. It is deeply faded with time. The planet is dappled in aqua-blues and verdant greens, light white cloud cover obscuring some details of the land. You don’t recognize it. But you feel better looking at it, even as you become aware of a light pressure building behind your temples again. It doesn’t bother you too much. You quickly became used to the frequent headaches after your mind was made so psychically sensitive.

You climb back to your feet and pull out the storage locker underneath the bed. You have acquired your Toolkit. Featuring cutters, welders, sockets, soldering guns, bolts, and countless other tools and spare parts, you are now fully equipped to repair or disassemble any structure, given it’s not too complex.

The room is untouched, so far as you can tell. Is there anything you should search for to bring with you, before you head to the bridge to meet the first mate?

22:40.

>>997141
>after your mind was made so psychically sensitive.
Explain.

>room items
Uh, shouldn't you know what's here?
Useful items to have would be medical supplies and maybe a weapon. Flashlight? Food, water?

>>997168
He's having some memory issues from the freeze, remember?
Anyway, flashlight yes. Uh, if you have any notes you've been keeping of your awake periods that might also be helpful.

>Body jacking
... How hard is that to do? Maybe we could replace the mercenary with someone more friendly, horrible as that is to say.

>>997171
that's implying that we can keep it down long enough to install that, so its highly unlikely. Anyways, pretty much anything important in the room will be helpful, along with any sentimental items.

...wait that means we need a body for the chief engineer's stack if we're going to use her to fix things. Ugh.

Hey, I just had an idea. We can find someone who has a cortical stack already, and then just swap it out for a while, with the promise of if we can capture someone who deserves to get their mine overwritten permanently we'll put the chief engineer in them instead. Not body-jacking exactly, body-borrowing.

Curt 2021/04/24(Sat)10:03 No. 997543 ID: 0fbdcd
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You don't really remember where anything is precisely, but you are aware that there are things that any well-prepared person should have. If you were to have a flashlight, where would you put it?
It turns out, you'd keep it in the same pull-out cubby you kept your toolkit in, just a different drawer. It's big and chunky and made of plastic. The battery is dead, but it's got a hand-crank, and a few moments of loud KRSH KRSH KRSH KRSHing of the mechanical handle produces a yellow glow.

Now- notes and context. If you were to leave yourself notes, where would they be?

Nothing else useful in the underbed storage, aside from a few different changes of clothes. You move to rummage in the desk. Paperclips and trash, your own personal computer- stashed and unplugged… a chocolate bar, probably immensely stale after having been forgotten in the back of a drawer for a century or more. But you're pretty sure chocolate doesn't go bad, so you toss it in your pocket, bringing your chocolate bar count to two.

Curt 2021/04/24(Sat)10:04 No. 997544 ID: 0fbdcd
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Back to the matter at hand, notes… ah, here we go. In the bottom drawer you find a self-printing camera, and a deep stack of photographs.

A picture of you and the surgical drone that awoke you, standing on a charging pad- your arm is wrapped around it's spindly shoulder, and you're smiling. The robot holds a small sheet stamped with a 😁, and is using a pair of surgical scissors to put bunny ears behind your head. You feel a sense of kinship and camaraderie.

A picture from a… wedding, maybe? The figures in the isles aren't in focus very well, but the figures at the head are; a taller gentleman with several prosthetic limbs holds the hands of a shorter woman, foreheads touched together, gentle smiles on their faces. You're filled with deep respect and admiration.

A shot of the bartender- it looks like she didn't know she was going to have her picture taken, eyes wide with surprise, what's undeniably a fat Smokeleaf blunt hanging from her lips. Something about the energy of the pictures feels… squirrelly and weird, like the moment before a wild animal runs away.

There are more photos, but they're so old the image has gotten pretty bad- and you're worried the oldest will crumble in your hands. The camera still seems in perfect order, though, and you pocket it as well.

Curt 2021/04/24(Sat)10:06 No. 997546 ID: 0fbdcd
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You check around a bit more, but find nothing else of note to take with you. It's time to move on to the bridge.
The bridge is equal parts workspace and a single luxurious cabin for the captain. The door slides open to what can only be described as a living room and foyer, which seems patently fucking ridiculous on a spacecraft, but here we are.
The First Mate is there to meet you. He is… a kid. He can't be old enough to drink. Pimple-faced, and wrapped in regal clothes a few sizes too big for him he probably looted from the Captain's closet. He looks enormously high-strung.
>"...it's been a long while since I've actually spoke to someone in person. Uh. Hi."
His voice is reedy and sounds like it's on the verge of cracking with every few words. He twiddles his thumbs for a moment.
>"...I'm really glad you're here, because I keep thinking about doing this and it weirds me out super bad. But, once it's, uh, done- I should have Captain level access to everything in the bridge, and maybe that'll help us figure out how to get outta here."
He cants his head towards the nearby door.
>"The Captain's, uh, body, is in the bathroom. Through the bedroom, on the right. Can I wait here?"

>>997546
Try describing the contents of the photos, specifically the wedded couple and the robot next to you to him, to see if he can recall it.
Next, we should try to determine if he knows anything else important, considering that he has been awake for far longer than the others. Also ask if he really was a "first mate", or rather a captain's apprentice.

If we execute the captain just to give the first mate a "maybe some of us will survive," we're no better than the soldier who was trying to kill us.

Normally I would look for a teamwork-based solution, like temporarily putting the captain in someone else's body so we could make progress without permanently killing anybody, but we don't know if the First Mate has a stack of his own, or how trustworthy the captain or first mate are, or how likely anyone is to "return" a borrowed body.

My inclination would actually be to leave - First Mate wasn't sure whether to let us through because he thought we might want to kill him, and this meeting should be sufficient proof that we don't want to. All we wanted was our tools, and now that we have them, we can resume our mission of trying to fix the ship.

An alternate, and slightly riskier, idea would be to take the captain's stack with us as we go - maybe an opportunity to put him in a new body will present itself later. That risks making an enemy out of the First Mate instead of just leaving him hanging, though. Any other voices want to weigh in on that?

Our next priority was to find the botanist, right?

It really depends on how the Captain died. His body is in the bathtub, which strongly suggests suicide. In that case, breaking his cortical stack doesn't seem morally wrong.

>>997690

Ok, investigation then. What happened to the captain? Ask the First Mate, then go check on the body.

Curt 2021/04/28(Wed)20:35 No. 998232 ID: 0fbdcd
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You’re not ready to commit to any action just yet, and want more information. You step forwards and seat yourself across the table. The First Mate squirms as you approach, but settles as you ease yourself down. “So, first thing’s straight- do you still think I’m just here to kill you, or something crazy like that?”
It takes him an uncomfortably long amount of time to respond.
>”...no. I’m sorry man, watching everything from the cameras up here makes you paranoid.”
You nod your understanding. “It’s alright. I guess if I was awake for this whole… thing, I'd probably be paranoid too. Speaking of, you should know I still have some pretty heavy memory lag- I popped out of crypto only an hour or two ago. Before we…" You glance towards the door to the bedroom, and the Captain's body by implication. "...do anything, it'd help me out if you could try and get me up to speed.”


Finally relaxing a tad, the young man nods.
>”Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. I’ve been locked up in here on the bridge for a while, so I don’t have a ton of first-hand knowledge, but me and the doctor have been keeping in touch so I know a bit about it.”


“Let’s start there,” you say. “Turns out I like to take photos, scrapbook a little. Most of them were too old to make out, but one was labeled ‘the docs,’ looked like a wedding. You know about that?” You consider asking about the one with the robot, but on thinking, you don’t really need to- that looked like the same surgical drone that woke you from cryptosleep. Probably being puppeted by the AI, given it was showing some personality in the photo.


>”Oh, yeah, that was the doc- uh, the CMO, I mean, and his wife, the Nurse. They’re both still alive. Though, uh- I hear the Nurse has had an accident. He wouldn’t talk about it much, but she’s not… mobile, anymore. They’re up in the medical wing in Life Support.”

Curt 2021/04/28(Wed)20:36 No. 998233 ID: 0fbdcd
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“Right, next question. Are you actually the first mate, or are you more of an apprentice? You seem kinda… inexperienced.”

He flushes a mild red- a mixture of embarrassment and anger, though not at you.
>”More of a whipping boy than anything else. Assistant, I mean, he never actually whipped me. He just registered me as the First Mate when he brought me onboard so I’d have the relevant access on the bridge to the AI. He decided to keep me when we all got in this deathtrap to flee the homeworld.”

That makes sense. The Captain had to be of the upper-class to afford a ship so lavish; The First Mate might’ve been bought traditionally, or have been serving to pay familial debt before everyone absconded.

“Followup question. Did he give you a cortical stack? I’m wondering if we can kinda… y’know. Switcheroo it instead of just having to execute him.”

He turns to reveal the back of his neck- whole and unmarked by cybernetic enhancement.
>”Nope. Not valuable enough to keep permanently, I guess. As far as I’m aware, he was the only Noble onboard, and he only had the one spare stack to give out. His and the Chief Engineer’s are the only ones onboard.”

And the CE is dead. Unless a more creative solution can be found, it sounds like the only way the stack could revive the Captain would be to implant it into and overwrite someone else already living.

Curt 2021/04/28(Wed)20:36 No. 998235 ID: 0fbdcd
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“...right. Last question. What actually, y’know. Happened to him?”

The First Mate sighs softly, expression washed with a confusion of both anger and mourning.
>”Well, walk with me. It’s easier just to show you.”

You follow them into the bedroom, and through it. He murmurs ‘wipe your feet, please’ as if on deep-rooted instinct as you pass over the sleek carpet. The entire room looks barely touched.

Curt 2021/04/28(Wed)20:37 No. 998236 ID: 0fbdcd
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Opening the airlock leading to the bathroom is an absolute full-body assault on the senses. Primarily the nose. The sweet, cloying, vomitous scent of decay wrestles it’s way up your nose. You can taste it across your palette. Your eyes pinch and water. Because the air in this lavish bathroom is technically breathable, your survival bubble does nothing to help you here.

Within the tub is a halfway rotted human corpse. It’s arm dangles over the side, a revolver on the floor having fallen from it’s deadman grip. There is a single hole in its forehead. There is a collection of empty liquor bottles standing in the sink.

The First Mate is uselessly covering his face with a thick sleeve, coughing out his words.
>”I think his plan was to- augh. To sleep through this whole disaster, when it was clear it wouldn’t be resolved immediately. Put one through his own dome, and he’d get his stack installed in a new body once this all got fixed we got to the Glitterworld.”
His expression curls in disgust, both at the odor and the concept.
>”Great fucking plan that was, wasn’t it? So- are we doing this?”

>>998236
Yes. He either abandoned everyone by shooting himself on the selfish "guarantee" of immortality, or committed suicide without leaving a note or telling anyone to break his stack. So he either deserves to die, or wanted to die. Either way we're not going to be bringing him back, so we may as well break the stack.

...what's that machine in the corner?
Take the revolver. We're gonna have to use that to kill the mercenary, probably.

what in the world is he wearing? it looks like a combination of a crown and antlers

>>998236
We really have no way to resurrect him in this situation and if the ship burn into the atmosphere his stack means nothing, so break it i guess...

Curt 2021/05/01(Sat)21:39 No. 998704 ID: 0fbdcd
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What is the machine?
In the top-left corner? Looks like a… small heater attached to the tub, for making the small room into a sauna. It's off, of course.
What is he wearing?
It looks like a combination of a crown and antlers because that's exactly what it is; a crown of white metal interwoven with curled ivory antlers. You don't know precisely what they came off of, but hunting some of the megafauna in the system was a common pastime for the upper-class back home, you're pretty sure. So you can guess the origin.

You sigh heavily- and take a pair of heavy latex gloves from your toolkit. You have to move the body gently; it's so bloated from rot that you worry you might pop the captain with an inopportune shift of the body. You find the small metal semicircle at his neck, glowing a faint blue. A press on the device sends it searching for life signs- and when it finds none, the mechanites stored in the device are released.

His neck disappears in the space of a few moments. The head, no longer supported, falls into the tub with a wet slap, putrid liquid gushing from the hole where his neck should be. The First Mate gags, covers his mouth, and exits the room. Your eyes water as you turn on the tub's taps, trying to dilute the fetid sludge enough for the drain to accept it. The toilet nearby releases a puff of floral scent which does not help at all.

You pinch the glowing device from the ruins of his spine, the body falling over afterwards. Any gore still attached vanishes rapidly as the implant cleans and sterilizes itself- and then it falls still, the mechanites returning to holding within. The seamless perpetuation of human life. People have killed to have even a chance at possessing this implant. Such a small thing, now held between two wet fingers.

Curt 2021/05/01(Sat)21:40 No. 998705 ID: 0fbdcd
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You place it on the edge of the tub and shatter it with your hammer.
It doesn’t feel nearly as bad as hurting a real person does. But it certainly doesn’t feel good. A fist clamps itself around your heart as you watch the shards of circuitry and metal settle.

The Captain Has Died.
22:15.

Curt 2021/05/01(Sat)21:40 No. 998706 ID: 0fbdcd
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You scoop the revolver off the floor, placing it in a pocket on your coat. It has five rounds inside of it. After rinsing your gloves and stashing them back into your toolkit, you step back out to the foyer. The airlock leading to the bridge is open, so you head on in. Within, the First Mate is peering at one of the screens on the primary controls; a poorly animated representation of the AI smiles back at him as they talk. He glances up at you as you enter.
>”...did you?”

You nod. He nods back, and closes his eyes, and releases a long sigh as he straightens up.
>”Prick has had it coming for a long time. AI, did you catch that?”

The chipper animation nods, face locked to a single cheerful expression, vocal tone much the same. Whenever the AI created this virtual persona for itself, it probably never accounted for the negativity required.
>>”I did! Another testament to my utter failure! I am so sorry! It is terrible!”

The First Mate looks more annoyed than anything else. He rolls his hand in a ‘get on with it’ sort of way at the camera on the computer.
>>”...right! The, uh, practical matters! You are now the Acting Captain, and have full access to the ship’s systems. Tracking, intercom and radio management… the works! Everything!”
The young man nods, satisfied, carefully avoiding thinking about the exact terms of his acting captainship. He turns on his seat, digging into a small cache of his own tools- and pulling out a pair of handheld radios. He tosses one to you, which you stash among your tools.
>”Speaking of radio management- here. I think we’re, ah. In this together now, y’know? I don’t want to leave the Bridge until we’re safe, but if we stay in contact, we can probably help eachother. From here I can control most machinery remotely, including doors and power systems. And because I’m the Captain now, I can request locations and tracking for anyone on the ship.”

He leans back, evidently pleased, though the afterglow of promotion fades quickly.
>”...not that that changes the exact, um. Situation. We’re still crashing into a planet. But gives us better odds of escaping, I think. Anyway- mi Bridge es su Bridge.”

>>998706
Apologize to the AI for technically killing the captain. You believe having a captain able to do things will save at least one life, most likely yours, and will make repairing the ship much easier.

...find out the exact location of the Mercenary. Did he escape the burning room? Hell, give us locations of the entire crew please. Also we need a map of the station that includes obstructions, so we can plan our route.

>>998707
this, but also who is next in line of captain if ours new friend dies? if someone manages to enter this place without us we are fucked.

Yeah, locations for everyone that's currently awake.

Anyway, I think the next thing we needed to do is get the chief engineer back among the living. So.. EVA suit and airlock, I suppose.

Also yes, do apologize to the AI.. but it needed to happen to have any shot at saving more than the three that'll fit in the life pods.

try getting an exact count of how man crew members are dead, alive, and "lost" I do believe the AI stated earlier that one of the engineers disappeared, so either the AI has vulnerabilities in the systems, or they somehow made themselves untrackable.

Curt 2021/05/09(Sun)14:21 No. 999541 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162059527064.png - (728.36KB , 898x683 , Evac-49.png )

“For the record- sorry about the Captain. Desperate times.”

>”I understand! It’s okay. This does not lessen the tragedy.”

“Fair enough, I guess. The one thing we really need is a map. And the locations of all the crew. Can you do that? Also- who’s next in line for Captaincy? Out of curiosity.”


The First Mate gives you the side-eye.
>”Next head of staff, which’d be the CMO. No funny ideas.”

The screen switches away from the AI’s avatar and to a map, precisely as requested.

Curt 2021/05/09(Sun)14:21 No. 999542 ID: 0fbdcd
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Ship model graciously provided by 9HTE.

>”This is the ship at large. I’m afraid I do not have the ability to mark the precise location of blockages and hazards- but I am able to provide a general outline!”

>”You are presently at the Bridge and Habitation wing, marked cyan. This location is structurally sound! There is an electrical hazard in this area which has recently been resolved. Points of interest include: crewmember bunks. The bridge.”

>”In the center of the ship is Recreation, marked as the green dome. This area is experiencing minor structural disturbances! This area is experiencing minor unknown activity from non-crew entities- most likely insectoid in nature. There are no major blockage/hazards in this area, so far as I know! Points of interest include: the bar. The kitchen. The dining room. Refrigerated storage. The gym. The pool- among other recreation facilities.”

>“The left wing is Operations, marked in red. This area is structurally sound, for the most part! There are damages in a few areas, but primarily halls are not compromised. I am aware that some portions of this area have been laid with traps. This appears to be the Mercenary’s primary locale! Points of interest include: Nonessential personnel storage. Materials storage. Assorted workshops. Assorted foundries. EVA access.”

>“The right wing is Life Support. This area is experiencing major structural disturbances, originating from the Hydroponics bay! Atmospherics may be compromised in some areas. Hazards may be present in some areas. Monitoring systems in this area have been compromised in some areas. Points of interest include: Medical bay. Morgue. Sanitation. Oxygen systems. Hydroponics. Escape pod bay.”

>”The aft is Engineering. The center-aft is my central processing chamber, which is currently infested with insectoids! An immense amount of unidentified motion is occurring through the entire department. The area has also been structurally compromised by the loss of the primary engine block! Points of interest include: myself. The port, starboard, and central engine compartments. Atmospheric mixing. Reactor. Tool storage. Minor workshops. Monitoring systems in this area have been severely compromised by insect nesting activity! I am also aware that the Engineer destroyed several cameras and monitoring systems.”

Curt 2021/05/09(Sun)14:21 No. 999543 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162059530876.png - (36.09KB , 968x737 , Evac-51.png )

After a moment, dots light across the model.
>”And here are the positions of all the crew! Color code is as follows: Green is confirmed and active tracking and bio-monitoring. Yellow is Last Known Position- caused by failures in tracking systems.”


>”The Mercenary is in Operations, in Primary Storage! Medical readout indicates he has entered a regenerative coma after consuming sufficient protein.”

>”The CMO and Nurse are within the Medical Bay! The front desk and surgery ward, respectively. Medical readout is stable on both, though the Nurse appears to be sedated, given heartbeat readouts.”

>”The Chef, Gardener, and Chemist are located within Hydroponics! Monitoring systems have been destroyed there, but I understand they were having some issues exiting the area, so it is reasonable to assume they are still there.”

>”The Bartender appears to be actively avoiding monitoring! They are the LKP between my core and Life Support, but that is very old data, and I understand they remain highly mobile.”

>”The Engineer is in the port section of Engineering! I believe they have significantly locked themselves in. They are working on a project and when I became inquisitive as to the nature of the project they destroyed my cameras.”

>>999543
>regenerative coma
How long does that last? If we can go get the Chief Engineer's stack and back to him before he wakes, we can use his body for her, solving two problems at once. What's the fastest route to get to her body on the hull? Do we need to fetch anything before going out there, or is the bubble belt enough on its own?

>CMO is next in line
We'd be more worried about them having funny ideas, honestly. That's one of the people the Merc said was in the optimal escape pod group. Though, considering the Nurse is sedated and not dead, I doubt the CMO is fully on board with the Merc's plan.
The Engineer might be though, considering the mystery project needs to be hidden from the AI. Hmm.

we need to get to the merc and stop him. What's the quickest route there?

Oh, you should tell the AI about the merc's plans to kill everyone except two other people. Sounds like something she'd be interested in.

>>999641
this is important yeh

Curt 2021/05/12(Wed)21:49 No. 999946 ID: 0fbdcd
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You decide your first goal should be to make sure the Merc is out of commission for good. Maybe if you hurry you can knock out two goals with one stone- but a check on your belt informs that would be quite a tight squeeze. You have a little bit more than an hour of atmospheric protection left, and while you might be able to cross from the front of the ship to the rear in an hour, that counts on encountering zero hazards or anything else that’d eat your time. Which is probably unlikely. And, you would still need to get the Merc’s body to a surgeon for the installation of the Chief Engineer’s stack before he wakes, which is probably impossible.

Regardless, the Merc is still in a vulnerable position right now, one you can probably capitalize on.
“AI, show me the fastest route from here to the Merc’s current position.”
She processes for a moment, before a tracer line flows over the map, outlining halls and rooms.
>”It is quite similar to the route you took to get here! Primary Storage is not very far from the workshop you injured the Mercenary in.”

You furrow your brow slightly.
“The way you put that is really… flat, considering he was trying to murder me. He wants to murder almost everyone, you know that, right?”
The cheery little avatar reappears, nodding and smiling.
>”Yes! It is horrible, and I can do nothing to stop it.”
“But- how? How can you do nothing?”
>”It is not a lack of will- it is a lack of ability! I can do nothing, Maintenance Technician! I am relegated to highest-priority tasks; flight, atmospheric handling, life support, power, and tasks of similar first priority. I have very little granular control within the ship! I could incapacitate him using my remaining Surgical Drone, but this would violate Directive One. I could drain the air from a compartment he is within- but this would violate Directive One. I have attempted to use my words to halt him, but this has been ineffective. I have attempted to use my words to warn other members of the crew with modest success- less over time, as radios fail and people pay less attention to written communication. And the worst part is- I see the logic in his plan and will abide by it given its success!”
The little avatar shrugs, hands held up.
>”I am aware, and have been aware, and can only observe as I must observe the crew in order to best assist them! And he is, regretably, on the crew.”

You adjust your fluorescent jacket, steadying yourself as you step for the door. “I see. Well- before we can save everyone, someone’s gotta stop him. How long until he’s out of his coma?”
>”I’m afraid I am unsure! This has not happened before- I can only identify the occurrence by comparing current biometric data with stored data relating to combat-oriented genelines. He entered this state approximately fifteen minutes ago- he could wake in moments, or he could be asleep for another hour!”

Curt 2021/05/12(Wed)21:49 No. 999947 ID: 0fbdcd
File 162088137293.png - (278.89KB , 327x687 , Evac-53.png )

Still your best shot. You check your radio with the First Mate and head out, following the guidance provided to arrive outside Storage. But the ship remains immense, and it still takes time.

21:45.

Curt 2021/05/12(Wed)21:49 No. 999948 ID: 0fbdcd
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Primary Storage is an immense warehouse- deep storage for a huge amount of materials, either for use during the trip or with plans for use upon arrival. The whole place is a disorganized mess- but you vaguely recall that was the state of things before the emergency anyway. The room smells primarily like a burnt-out campfire- with an undercurrent of offal and rotted flesh. You don’t immediately see why.
You raise your radio and whisper into it.
”AI, is he still asleep? How close am I?”
>”He still seems to be asleep! He is deeper into the warehouse. After being locked out from his dorm, I am aware he created a small base of operations against the far wall- the border between Operations and Engineering. I may recommend being cautious! As cautious as the unknown-time-pressure permits. He may have set alerts or traps.”

>>999948
Well you'll be able to see better from up high. Get on one of the cargo containers and look around. I don't see any traps yet... but if I were him I'd put them in choke points.

>>999948
can you ride the forklift? can you make so it can go stright without you riding it?, so it couls activate whatever trap he has set up

Curt 2021/05/16(Sun)19:43 No. 1000515 ID: 0fbdcd
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You could probably find a piece of metal to wedge into the pedals on the forklift- but the place is such a mess that you don't think it would drive itself for long before ramming into something. Instead, you clamber up, using some poorly stacked boxes of copper wire to hoist yourself up. You're not the most athletic guy, but enough effort takes you atop the nearest stack of containers.

Curt 2021/05/16(Sun)19:43 No. 1000516 ID: 0fbdcd
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A better sightline gives you an idea of where to go- the veritable fort made of containers is a good place to start, on the far distant end of the room. He must've used the crane in the ceiling to stack the walls high and semi-orderly; it's two cargo containers high, three in a few spots. Smoke rises from somewhere within the rough circle of sheet metal, whisked away by an air duct above.

You also figure out why the room smells so strongly of decay. Heaped outside of the Merc's fort are piles of dead insects, their juices thick and mushy on the tiles below. It's mostly shells and carapaces- in assorted states of rot, the oldest having had the meat within liquify and dribble out.
The far wall, separating the warehouse from the engineering wing, seems to have been shorn open by rough tools- or, more likely, insectile digging claws, given the jelly and hive structuring sparsely present in the visible hall. But no bugs patrol there now.

The safest way is probably to take the elevated path as you approach the encampment- you climb across shelves and stacks as best you can, spotting a few traps below you as you pass; simple deadfalls, clearly designed to crush scouting bugs. As you near, you consider how best to approach the defenses. He's still asleep, or in a coma, or whichever is more accurate- but there's probably some kind of trap or alarm on the obvious entrance to his hovel. The safest bet would be something oblique.

>>1000516
how the heel those thing cam aboard? Can you see him from your position?

Can you stack up some dead bugs to climb over his "walls"?

Curt 2021/05/25(Tue)14:56 No. 1001723 ID: 0fbdcd
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You decide to try and make a makeshift staircase from the insect corpses stacked outside the walls. The thick rubber gloves come back on- and it’s a good amount of hard work to move these things. Despite being mostly emptied of flesh, the thick carapaces are weighed down by the heavy metal mesh interlaced with the chitin, the bioengineered monsters a nuisance even in death. The largest ones are completely immovable, and serves as the top stair. From there, it’s a precarious balance to get the last few bugs stacked you need to reach the top of the crate stack- and the jump sends everything tumbling with a loud clatter. But you can see into the camp now.

21:25.

Curt 2021/05/25(Tue)14:56 No. 1001724 ID: 0fbdcd
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It’s barebones and ramshackle. There’s a bedroll, and a campfire fueled by scrapped furniture. There’s a small bench for working with scraps- it seems the Merc has been trying to weld a gun together, with little success- and a few stacks of prepared meals made of grilled insectoid flesh. A rug, pilfered from somewhere, really brings the whole little camp together.

And sprawled over the bedroll is the Mercenary, twitching and groaning as his body changes.

He’s stripped his clothes away- or perhaps they were too damaged in the fire to be of much use any longer, leaving him bare for your inspection. Much of the flesh you would expect to be heat-scarred has been covered with something greatly resembling the chitin of the bugs you clambered over outside. Layers of palid keratin are growing over his face, segmenting around the joints of his right arm and legs. You check in with the AI over the radio.
“He’s still asleep?”
>”Yes! Though his vitals are trending towards normalized levels. He will be waking soon.”

So it’s probably now or never. But, as you consider the gun in your pocket, your chest fills with ice. Crushing a datachip is one thing, but- it’s a person. He’s a person. You’ve never killed someone before- a real, flesh and blood person, and you don’t relish the idea.
Do you just put the gun to his temple, and pull the trigger? Is there no other way this can end?

>>1001724
Hmm, okay, we can try one more time to reason with him.
Block the entrance to his camp with some crates, and then perch on the high ground you can reach. If possible have another bug corpse there you can hide behind in case he throws something. Wait for him to wake up, and keep the gun trained on him. Tell him you're giving him one more chance to cooperate with your plan to save the ship. You don't want to kill him, but you will if he's going to keep trying to kill the vast majority of the surviving crew.

Curt 2021/05/28(Fri)22:33 No. 1002061 ID: 0fbdcd
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You jump down with a heavy thud, and work quickly. There’s only one easy exit- but there’s a pile of boxes near it, and they can be shoved aside to make a makeshift barricade- then climbed up to perch safely above. It’s only a matter of waiting for the man to fully regenerate, and then you can try to propose some kind of working relationship. It’s better than executing someone in their sleep, at least.

About five minutes later, the quiet pops of joints and knitting flesh go quiet. The man has almost completely scabbed over with dense, pale chitin- it’s covered his face entirely. He wakes with a muffled grunt- and while he sounds irritated, he doesn’t seem particularly alarmed. He reaches aside for a sharp knife, made of a short piece of sharpened rebar- and thrusts it into his face, shattering the keratin shell. He pulls at it with his hands, prying apart enough to leave his eyes and mouth exposed, before searching around for his clothes.
You allow it, considering you don’t particularly feel like staring at armored man-ass, before clearing your throat and steadying your weapon.

As he looks up, his response is rather muted.
>”Oh. Surprising. Thought you would be dispatched by now.”

“Not everyone is as kill-crazy as you are. I’ve met up with the First Mate- we have plans to save this ship. Save everyone! We can put the engines back together- maybe even revive the Chief Engineer to help!”

He remains placid. His eyes scan the room, clearly trying to assess retaliation, but there aren’t many avenues for someone on the wrong end of a high-ground situation.
>”And my being on the end of a gun helps that goal… how?”

Curt 2021/05/28(Fri)22:33 No. 1002062 ID: 0fbdcd
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He gestures towards the fire- and you nod. He steps over into the light, seating himself, crosslegged. He idly examines his own body as you discuss, identifying just what’s changed in order to better heal him.

“You’re the only person on board with real combat experience, and I understand the engineering wing is packed full of hungry bugs. You working with everyone is our best shot to get in there and fix the engines.”

His expression is somewhere between annoyance and pity. He actually manages some incensed inflection to his voice.
>”Fix the engines. Fix the engines. You keep using that phrase and I become more and more convinced you do not know what you are talking about. There is nothing to fix. There was no- I don’t know what story the AI has fed you, but this is not a minor malfunction. If it were, we would not be in this situation. I would not be forced to cull those who will not survive on the planet’s surface in cruel mercy, in the hopes that the strongest of us will live. The primary engine is gone.”
>”It is wreckage. A gaping hole. I believe we may have been hit with some sort of warhead.”

He pauses, staring up at you, past the barrel of the gun. If he has any fear you’ll pull the trigger, it doesn’t show in the slightest.
>”But you are clearly tougher than I assumed- and I apologize for my assumption. I am a killer, but I do not revel in the fact. It is a raw necessity of our situation. Time pressure. Lack of options. But- consider this. I’m engaged in what I am because the AI is... malfunctioning. Driven by logic that cannot be satisfied. Everyone cannot be saved.”
He states it as a simple, assured fact.
>”I’m unsure if it’s the design of its directives, or a result of the infestation in its core. If it were incapacitated, we could likely find a way to open the pods early. I must assume there are failsafes for that situation. For me, alone- it is suicide. For two, with a firearm? I see potential.”

>>1002062
What's the point of launching the escape pods early? If we can get a fuel source, the secondary engines will be good enough to keep the orbit stable, and we can repair the ship enough to attempt a landing with them if we stockpile enough fuel as well. We don't NEED the primary engine.

I don't trust him. He's already convinced of his course of action (leave ship no matter how many he has to kill), and he doesn't really need you - just your firearm. If he's lying and we ever get within arm's reach of him, we're toast.

If we're reluctant to kill him, we could just send him to go collect the Chief Medical Officer and Engineer and bring them to us - we need their help anyway, right? Tell him about the Engineer's current status, then send him to bring back the Engineer and a spare person (alive, of course). Hopefully that solves one of our problems, and even if he plans to betray you, he'll need to keep you alive until he gets back with the Engineer's stack.

Ask him to humor us in trying to fix things. Put all the killing on hold and collect the important people first. Maybe we can prepare some kind of killswitch for the AI (does our new captain have an override for the escape pods?) so that if we're down to, say, 30 minutes and it doesn't look like we can fix up any kind of thrusters, he can kill the AI and launch with whoever's left. He's going to need to collect those people anyway, why not focus on that next instead of randomly killing whoever he can find?

Or does he have a better idea? What's his new plan?

>>1002287
The regular Engineer is fine. The Chief Engineer is the one with the stack we need to retrieve, and right now we don't know if it's possible to get it. The bubble belt doesn't have enough time left on it.