Silence 2026/02/20(Fri)14:01 No. 1121335 ID: 6d1406
File 177159610494.png - (5.50KB , 205x77 , Mech417.png )

>>1121226
You decide to inspect the garage

Silence 2026/02/20(Fri)14:07 No. 1121336 ID: 6d1406
File 177159646211.png - (152.96KB , 649x457 , Mech418.png )

The inside of the garage is much different than you expected, you were expecting a mech hanger but there seems to be actual trucks and APCs in here. You can hear activity and it does sound like someone is here.

This place is an old Spaceport for certain.

Let's go see what people are doing.

mosey around

Silence 2026/02/23(Mon)16:02 No. 1122539 ID: 6d1406
File 177186257674.png - (22.96KB , 314x224 , Mech419.png )

>>1121348
>>1121350
You wander about, between the vehicles, there are a lot of trucks here. You get near the entrance of the garage when suddenly an ape pokes his head out.

Hey! What are you doing in here?

You ask him for his name.

I'm Paul. The hell are you doing in here?

'I'm one of the mech pilots. I've got nothing to do, so I'm just wandering atm'

There's nothing to do, so just looking around. Seeing what we've got and weather we'll stand a chance.

Silence 2026/02/25(Wed)14:37 No. 1122624 ID: 6d1406
File 177203023753.png - (38.74KB , 386x242 , Mech420.png )

>>1122540
>>1122541
You inform Paul that you're just wandering around, there's nothing for you to do.

Ah, passing time and getting a lay of the land. I get it. Yeah for you pilots there's really just short downtime and the next mission, think you get wired up that way?

You're not certain.

Well regardless, you've probably got a lot of questions. Go ahead, ask em. You wouldn't be the first one I've dealt with all day.

>>1122624
Do any of these vehicles ever get used? What are they used for? And what's your opinion of the current situation on this planet?

Don't want to interrupt him while he's on the clock. Maybe you can hang out and talk while he works.

Silence 2026/02/27(Fri)15:00 No. 1122690 ID: 6d1406
File 177220443434.png - (38.10KB , 326x253 , Mech421.png )

>>1122636
>>1122644
If you wanna stay here for a bit, that's fine. Got time to kill, just doing some tuneups.

The APCs you should be familiar with, they're used for transporting people, occasionally VIPs for important missions.

The trucks however are for cargo and logistics. Most of the parts around the ITA campuses on the planet get their parts shipped from here and there. These things usually ship them.

Can't wait for this war to be over though, I want off this world...

oh yeah? Where's he want to go?

Silence 2026/03/02(Mon)14:55 No. 1122844 ID: 6d1406
File 177246335208.png - (42.64KB , 289x302 , Mech422.png )

>>1122711
He relaxes and leans against one of the trucks.

Oh man... Pirmante, a lovely tropical world. I'd relax on the beach, just drink, and watch the waves. Far away from any frontier or war front, god what I wouldn't give for my job here to be up... what about you? Where would you go?

>>1122844
Don't know, haven't really thought about it before, I'm usually taking jobs and piloting a mech. But if I could take a vacation……

Maybe I'll also go somewhere tropical. Wear a bikini, catch some sun, try and learn to surf, if my implants are waterproof.

Then again, I might go somewhere with lots of snow. Sit by a fireplace, drink some hot chocolate, try and learn to snowboard.

Wherever I go, I might try and find a date or something. Never been on one and I figure it'll be an interesting experience.

Silence 2026/03/04(Wed)14:43 No. 1122987 ID: 6d1406
File 177263542692.png - (92.63KB , 457x451 , Mech423.png )

>>1122849

You reply that you're not certain, probably take a vacation if you could, or at least get your implants corrected. Learning to surf, maybe sitting by the fireplace, getting your memories back and maybe find a date. There's a lot.

Right you're one of them Indentured mercs. Sucks to here... anything I could do to help with that?

You're pretty sure he can't fix it, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

[Slight error when it came to saving the art, can't correct it, will make sure it doesn't happen next time.]

>>1122987
Yeah, might as well ask.

Does he have a secret side hustle that can bring in a lot of cash?

Well, what's keeping us indentured? Just debt? I guess we'd have to find some way to get rich then. If it's some kind of prison sentence then we'd have to look for ways to get a pardon.

Silence 2026/03/06(Fri)14:47 No. 1123095 ID: 6d1406
File 177280843380.png - (53.00KB , 359x341 , Mech424.png )

>>1123039
>>1123072
You ask if Paul has a secret cashflow or anything.

Nah, don't got that. Cases like yours are more about fulfilling a contract. I do know someone in the infirmary who is a wizard with implants, they owe me a favor.

>>1123078
You ask what could be keeping you indentured.

It's usually one of three things, prison, money, implants. All 3 apply here on this damned planet. If you're indentured via debt then the jobs here will pay that off. If you're indentured for a prison sentence then this is a high risk zone that'll clear that, either you go free or you die. If it's tech and implants, then you're under a contract to test some experimental BS and this is just the kind of high chaos zone needed for it.

Well that's pleasant.

My recommendation, visit my pal in the Infirmary, they'll get you tuned up and hopefully unlock some memories for you. By the way what company do you work for anyways? Different corps have their reasons so...

Do you tell him or just thank him and move on?

>>1123095
Can't imagine why the name of the corp is a secret, may as well tell him.

yeah why hide it, if you know it

Silence 2026/03/09(Mon)13:51 No. 1123236 ID: 6d1406
File 177306430247.png - (48.33KB , 304x377 , Mech425.png )

>>1123104
>>1123133
You inform him that you're under contract with Kowalski-Wayne Mercantile.

Oh shit, Kowalski Wayne? Oh lord... That... wow... yeah I think you should probably hit the infirmary or something. Like if you were with Wislon Scrap or something else that'd be somethin- and you don't even know. Right... look this is probably a little confusing for you. Do you want the information?

>>1123236
If it's that bad, then yeah, I'd like the information.

yes

Silence 2026/03/11(Wed)13:42 No. 1123322 ID: 6d1406
File 177323657370.png - (44.90KB , 359x259 , Mech426.png )

>>1123237
>>1123239
You decide you need to know, Paul places a hand on your shoulder.

Okay so Kowalski Wayne is the premiere freight and shipping company because they are the monopoly on it! Everything they do is to maintain that monopoly.

Your handlers are there to make sure that your implants don't drive you nuts and that you can still focus on the task ahead, you can earn your freedom sure but being one of their indentured means something big happened to you and the only way out was to get them to cover it.

Oh. Well shit.

Tell me, do you have some generic handler, or do you have someone who actually gave you a name?

You're this deep in, do you go further?

>>1123322
Tell him it's not a generic handler, and you were given your name... but you're not sure if you should say who your handler is.

in for a penny, in for a pound

Silence 2026/03/13(Fri)13:34 No. 1123413 ID: 6d1406
File 177340888293.png - (49.05KB , 374x359 , Mech427.png )

>>1123353
You tell him it's Hannibal. You're this far in why not?

Hannibal? Huh... never heard of that one, you sure it's not somebody else?

You know your handler.

Huh... well okay then. Hannibal, don't think I've ever seen that name on the records.

>>1123413
Huh, neat. Special handler! Or maybe you've been stolen and Hannibal isn't with KWM. Can't hurt to do a few basic checks, right? Ask how you can confirm that you're working who you think you're working for.

Hm, weird. Either it's just a codename Paul doesn't know, or there is indeed something strange at work here.

You've been told by a KW suit that Hannibal is legit, though rumor has it that he's ambitious? All he's done is look out for you so far, providing support for whatever mission you happened to be on. He's a good handler, helps keep you out of trouble. Both with the bad guys, and your bosses at KW.

Silence 2026/03/16(Mon)14:35 No. 1123501 ID: 6d1406
File 177367173224.png - (43.57KB , 277x306 , Mech428.png )

>>1123419
Maybe a special handler? Hannibal seems known to other circles, maybe this guy has limited info?

>>1123450
Possible, Paul is a mechanic. Everyone else seemed more in the know.

>>1123468
This is very true, you respect Hannibal and he hasn't steered you wrong once. You're not sure what his end game is but you know he at least has well meaning intentions.

Speaking of which, your implanted comms crackle and suddenly you hear him.

Good news 637, the negotiations are finished and Wilson Scrap has officially allied with Kowalski Wayne for the near future. You've even got a job, tomorrow is the big day, the assault on the door. You won't be in the frontline however, you'll be with the Junk Division.

That's quite the news.

We finish this, we get your life back.

Better get plenty of sleep. Thank the mechanic for the information and head to bed.

>>1123501
Oh hey, we were just talking about him. Odd timing.

Don't forget to go to the infirmary before we hit the barracks. We've still got a wizard to meet.

First we find alien tech on the planet, now we're working with an actual wizard? What a time to be alive.

Silence 2026/03/18(Wed)12:31 No. 1123561 ID: 6d1406
File 177383707033.png - (8.05KB , 149x122 , Mech429.png )

>>1123504
You thank Paul for the info, and head out.

>>1123511
You remember, the infirmary visit. You should probably get your cyberware looked at, at the very least.

Silence 2026/03/18(Wed)12:32 No. 1123562 ID: 6d1406
File 177383716374.png - (40.75KB , 237x236 , Mech430.png )

The interior of the infirmary is clean, makes sense at the very least, before you can catch on the rest of the environment you're greeted by a Salamander with an armature rig.

Oh hello there! I'm Nora Kensington, you're one of the mercenary pilots right? Pleasure to meet you! Welcome to the Infirmary, do you need any help?

... She's forward and friendly.

>>1123562
She seems friendly, but are we sure she's the wizard Paul told us about? Tell her that the mechanic spoke highly of her skills and see how she reacts. If she knows him by name, I guess we can trust her to take a look at our implants and see what we can find out.

Ask if she knows Paul. Someone here owes him a favor?

Silence 2026/03/20(Fri)13:39 No. 1123632 ID: 6d1406
File 177401394186.png - (68.81KB , 401x411 , Mech431.png )

>>1123563
You ask if she's a wizard of sorts.

I've been called that a few times! It's mostly about my long shifts, I've worked nearly 16 hours here. Man a lot of you mercenaries are augmented! Where do you get all these implants? Haha!

More seriously I am the chief here when it comes to dealing with cybernetics.

>>1123576
You ask if she knows Paul.

Paulie? Of course I know him! He's a good guy and all, but I'm betting you're not here to ask about him or his dating life! You're here because he has a favor he wants to cash in! Am I correct? I bet it has to do with your cyberware doesn't it!

>>1123632
Yep, you're here to see if you can get your implants looked at, maybe some improvements could be made or a few memories unlocked. Nothing that would piss off your handler, please. Next mission should be your last one, so there's no rush.

>>1123632
Sounds like she's the one we're looking for! We're an indentured pilot sent by Kowalski-Wayne Mercantile and we don't actually remember where our implants came from. We're hoping she can take a look at them and see if she can recover some of our memories, and tell us about any other weird surprises she might find. Also we'd like to improve our resistance to being controlled by alien technology, though we still want the ability to interface with it.

I wonder how Nora knows Paul. What's the "favor" about, and why is he spending it on us? They must have worked together if he's this confident in her skills. She says she's had experience working here for... 16 hours? I hope that means "in a row", not "total".

Silence 2026/03/23(Mon)14:10 No. 1123882 ID: 6d1406
File 177427503558.png - (38.67KB , 417x188 , Mech432.png )

>>1123659
>>1123661
You confirm that you're here to cash in that favor of Paul's.

Figures! Well, just lay down on the bed there and we'll get you hooked up, I'll need to get the partition from your implants and we should find what's keeping those memories of yours locked away!

Silence 2026/03/23(Mon)14:12 No. 1123883 ID: 6d1406
File 177427514771.png - (51.66KB , 217x321 , Mech433.png )

You lay down, and Nora gets a cable plugged into the neural port. The bed is a little uncomfortable but you're a pilot, you're used to this.

Alright, this won't hurt a bit, it'll be a dreamlike sequence. You'll be alright, are you ready?

You're already here.

Excellent! Here we go!

You feel a click, and suddenly the world falls away from you.

>>1123882
A "partition"? So the memory loss isn't just an effect of the damage or the surgery, it was intended to keep something hidden.

>>1123883
Nora sure seems nice. Well, we're on our way to a dream journey, so... go on a dream journey, I guess. Not sure what else to say in this situation.

Remember when you pee in the dream, you pee in real life!

Silence 2026/03/25(Wed)13:47 No. 1123930 ID: 6d1406
File 177444644146.png - (372.94KB , 1102x715 , Mech434.png )

The dream begins... and you awaken.

You are a mercenary known as Fox, you've got a job on this station here, Stanford Station as it's called. You have a long job ahead of you and if you play it right you'll make more money than you ever needed, you'll be able to pay off your ITA debts, and retire at last.

Your tail swishes, and you think to yourself about all the ways this job can go wrong. But for now, you have some armor, you have a job, and finally, you have a name. Fox is just a call sign.

What is your name?

And so begins our two week hiatus

Juniper

Steven McDot

>>1123951
Oh that's good!