Have Rokoa spray the ceiling with bullets to pintpoint its location then blast it. She has the gun with lots of ammo, you don't.

>>450729
The sniper rifle was dropped in the hallway... no acid there. Might be snagged by one of the remaining neumono though.

>>450730
I agree. Have Rokoa find it, then you blast it.

As soon as the AI is down, our first priority is to tend to the severely wounded group that Rokoa shot up. Second priority is finding the last grottle.

Rokoa spray, Polo shoot when screams are heard.

Polo 2012/09/02(Sun)15:11 No. 450853 ID: f09b71
File 134662386828.png - (22.76KB , 700x700 , 898.png )

>Dropped sniper rifle in the acid?
No way, there wasn't enough acid to cover much ground other than where we stood. Fumbling around with the back of my backpack straps to latch and secure the sniper rifle was simply a couple of moments I haven't been able to spare.

"Spray." I say, pointing up.

Rokoa starts perforating the ceiling, and although she didn't hit it on the first round, I see some of the plates move where the grottle tries to flee. Rokoa catches it, and we both start unloading our firepower at that spot. The screeches come again, and we still keep going. Rokoa eventually unloads almost her entire magazine, keeping some in just in case something sneaks up behind us. I keep on shooting round after round.

Speaking of sneaking up, it appears that the pair of zombies from behind are catching up.

Man Grottles take a lot of killing. Again let Rokoa handle her hivemates... you take the Grottle.

>>450853
That's strange, that one isn't carrying a gun. Are you sure they're hostile? Or did you vape the AI and they're just recovering?

At any rate, you can keep them from getting to you for the most part by dislodging the box-bridge. Or shooting their legs like usual, but that's rokoa's job atm.

She's empty already? We're going to have to grab more ammo after this one's dead.

>zombie without a gun
...suicide bomber? All they need is one good explosives charge to take you out, and your mobility is limited right now, hanging out on boxes above a pool of acid.

Disable with the pistol, or Rokoa use the machine gun.

"Retreat."

Exit out into the hall and retreat toward the entrance hallway. Use shotgun to keep bugs back as you retreat. Rokoa target anything not bugs.

The bugs will rain from the ceiling in a few seconds. You are not safe from them here.

>>450855
We'd be able to tell through empathy if it was not a zombie.

Wait. The zombie isn't even looking at us. What's it looking at?

Polo 2012/09/02(Sun)19:15 No. 450971 ID: f09b71
File 134663855094.png - (17.27KB , 700x700 , 899.png )

I just see the zombie briefly, but I keep on shotgunning the ceiling. The grottle eventually is silent enough that it seems that I am just destroying the ceiling. I fire a few more times anyway.

Rokoa does not fire on her hivemate, and I eventually turn around to see why not. It's just standing there, so Rokoa and I hop back out before any bugs can get a drop on us from panels we can't clearly see are covered or not. The zombie still feels like a zombie, empathy wise, and has no gun. It dropped it around my sniper back by the explosive room. One of the bugs comes out of her ear, moves to her head, and starts moving in circles like it's trying to look around.

Rokoa pokes her with her machine gun, and her head bobs to the side. There are other bugs in the hall that, while not inactive, move around and bump into each other.

>"Fucking Reelka, can't tell if she's awake or not." Rokoa jokes. "Acts just like this even without the bugs."

But the holdouts in the glue seem to be under the enthused impression that we've succeeded.

Destroy all the bugs you can. Assume they are still working. Rokoa go give medical attention to the wounded. Again assume they are working and clear them before moving along.

>>450971
Great! Like I said before, first priority is tending to the wounded to make sure they survive. Second priority is finding the last grottle.

I think the bugs have lost their AI control. Must have been on the gottle you just wasted.

Begin treating the wounded, and systematically destroying bugs as you go. Start with the 3 worst hurt in the explosives room, and the guys in the web, so you can put them to work. (If they give you any shit, Rokoa can yell at them). Remain wary, there's still one grottle unaccounted for.

When the situation is stabilized, we need to go. Rokoa can hold down fort, protect the weapons cache, the wounded, and SoB till she gets reinforced. We have to grab some explosives, something to plug the CAI into, and amscray.

We must have hit the AI... or at least damaged it enough to sever the connection with the bugs. However there are still two Grottles around.

... But hell we`ve got majorly sidetracked... so I`m going to say:

This is officially not our problem anymore, leave it to the war hive to clean this up. We don't have time to mess around with Grottles hidden in the rafters. Lets get ot the explosives room. Grab explosives to breech the bridge. Replace any needed ammo and time to get to the Queen.

Tell Rokoa you`ll leave the rest to her now that the threat is largely neutrilized. We have a Queen to kill.

The AI's control looks to be severed, but it might be temporary. Get into the explosives storage, and up into the ceiling to check that the grottle you two just wasted is actually dead, and had the AI on it. It it looks to be only damaged, try to recover it so it can be studied later by your hive.

Before you leave the armory, make sure to get a sealed box and scoop up one or two of these active bug-bots, to be studied by your hive to develop countermeasures.

Also exchange private comm channel numbers with Rokoa, if possible, so you two can stay in contact later on. Grab either a PDA from standard storage, or a helmet comm-set from armor storage, to plug the CAI relay into.

1/2 Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)00:26 No. 451138 ID: f09b71
File 134665717871.png - (13.73KB , 750x648 , 900.png )

>Treating the 3 that Rokoa shot up
It appears that they will be more or less alright, if bedridden for weeks.

>Smash bugs
We start rifle butting the ones on the immediate path. There are many on the boxes still, likely behind, and who knows how many in the ceiling.

For more help, we do break up the now somewhat brittle pink glue to help the four out. 3 are in working condition. The fourth was the one who got tortured, and, well... well, the war hive is tough. They seem to think that this one will make it, but whoever it is would be unrecognizeable above the chest.

"So, a third grottle. We killed two in the armory."
>"That's all." the green one says. "You two beat two grottles. We managed to kill one in the crawlspaces and wound the other."

No shit is given to me. They don't like that they needed my help, and don't like me, but they are not the sort to attack someone who just helped them out anyways.

2/2 Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)00:26 No. 451139 ID: f09b71
File 134665719197.png - (18.54KB , 700x700 , 901.png )

There is still cleanup to perform. The few neumono that remained conscious after being invaded assist with treatment and collection, along with turning the power back on. They work together, and even if I had an inclination to help cleanup their mess, I would feel like a third wheel. So I just stay out of there way while I gather some explosives. Lots of C4, mostly. They do confirm the shotgunned grottle is dead as well.

Gradually, the bugs vacate their hosts, and the zombie empathy turns weaker and weaker even without crushing more bugs. The rest of Rokoa's hive's empathy is getting through, and I turn my empathy back off. There are many nuances of the armory holdouts that I am missing out on, between saying hello to Rokoa and actually making it out of their ordeal alive. What I am sure of is that they are either too dazed or feeling too far in my debt to attack me.

Rokoa wonders what I am going to do, now. She half slumps along the desk, like I'm going to answer her out in the open like this.

>>451139
Tell her that we think she knows what we're doing next already. We're here for a reason and we are going to accomplish our mission. The C4 will help, I am sure. Polo, ever set a shaped charge? I have a vague plan of how to take out the queen- Rokoa goes in before you after the doors are open, engages her, then you snipe her from the entrance while hanging above it from a wire or something. Before blowing the doors you will have set a shaped charge above the entrance pointing down. We want to lure the queen out by pelting her; when she exits we activate the shaped charge to catch her in a focused C4 explosion. Optimally we would have dodged away using our silence to ensure she has no idea where we are.

Get SoB to the armory's hospital before we leave, of course.

>>451139
Ask her if she can get an update on which areas are still compromised.

We can either try to go after the queen during the continued confusion, or try to fight off the Salikai troops, lowering the Queen's guard, and then taking her out after bridge lockdown is lifted.

I think taking the longer, help-the-hive route may end up being better in the end. We prove that outsiders aren't terrible, we get everyone to respect Rokoa more, and hopefully SOB will be well enough by the time we have to confront the Queen that he can put in an influential word. Getting the rest of the war hive supporting us, at least enough to not actively try to stop us, means that we'll have less to worry about when we have to go up against Queenie.

Haha, smoking neumono. I don't know why, but that looks funny to me. Probably not even bad for you guys with regenerating lungs or something.

Grab something to plug the CAI node into before you leave the armory. And make sure you grabbed your rifle.

Let's go get SoB with Rokoa. Gives us a chance to talk without the rest of the armory listening in.

Obviously, we need to go. We've got a mission to get back to. At least vents sneaking will be safer from now on.

>Leads
-We have at least one ally left. Someone hacked that turret and tried to warn us. Either Emere is still lose, or Korli tried to warn us after the Salikai cut contact.
-We've got a CAI node. If hide somewhere private, and plug it into something we can talk to, we can see about recruiting it's help for later (we could shut down the bridge defenses).

>>451175
Their cancer probably regenerates too. Iirc, cancer is basically a bunch of cells that don't die naturally like most cells do.


Anyways, she knows the plan. Queen, then the salikai, yes?

Whatever we say, we obviously can't openly discus the regicide in front of the rank and file here. Even if we did save their hides, we can't trust them to go that far.

Make sure you grab some grenades with the C4. You're out, and those are useful.

>>451168
Winning the war hive over is an interesting idea. The problem is Polo really isn't going to have the ammo or endurance to clear out the all the monsters, and we're never going to win over the whole hive (QI's 8 and 23, for example. Or Tirrik, probably). And even people sympathetic to us may try stop us in the face of us attacking one of their own.

>>451190
Well, it's that they don't die so much as they start ignoring the body's built in self destruct commands, grow too big, and replicate like crazy. But for their regeneration to work, you're expect neumono natural regulation of things like cell division and function to be way better than ours. You'd expect them to be pretty resistant to things like cancer. ...although with the speed at which their cells normally replicate during regeneration, it would probably be a pretty swift and devastating death if some started to grow out of control.

1/2 Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)12:31 No. 451254 ID: f09b71
File 134670071402.png - (13.49KB , 700x700 , 902.png )

>Smoking Neumono
And normally I do not smoke, but I might just ask for one here to relax for a moment.

"Rokoa, first off, help me get Son of a B..." I start to say, but she slips off and falls asleep right after almost asking me a damn question. I'll talk to her later.

2/2 Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)12:32 No. 451255 ID: f09b71
File 134670072344.png - (16.79KB , 700x700 , 903.png )

I ask some of the others to get Pilon instead, while I grab something to plug the CAI node into.

There is a headpiece communicator in the armor room that allows a wireless plugin. It will work, and this looks like a private area, as everyone is in the lobby or hospital ward at the moment.

Plug them in. Lets see if we can work with the CAI at all.

...make sure the helmet has absolutely no networking capacity. This is a CAI you're fucking with, it can get into anything if you let it. All you need to communicate right now is a mike and speaker. Remove or disable the helmet's comm, radio, wireless, antennae, etc. Then we can try talking to it.

"My mission is done. The salikai would have had an escape plan and will be long gone by now. We can still check out the facility and see what info and materials we can recover. Maybe chase them down and kill them. I really like this rifle and armor so that is another reason to go down there. War hives have some nice tech. I'm spoiled."

"Let me emphasize that I have no idea what I'm doing. I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be doing the things I'm doing. And I've most certainly lost my marbles from hanging out with you."

Wait around for now. Contact your hive if you can. Give a sitrep and ask for advice. If anything was wrong they'd have sent Rokoa after if if they were desperate.

>>451270
I'm confused. Is that a suggested plan of action, or a bluff to tell the CAI?

As a bluff, I have to say it doesn't seem to help us any. If that's a serious plan, I have to say I oppose it. We've got a mission to do, we're not abandoning it now. Queenie dies.

Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)13:14 No. 451302 ID: f09b71
File 134670328598.png - (16.70KB , 700x700 , 904.png )

>Contact own Hive
Yeah... I might just be able to do that, depending on this communicator's capabilities. But first is the CAI.

I disable the antenna and any wireless or networking capabilities, and plug in the CAI.

>"Beep boop."
>"Hello. Our Miklik was dead, so can we assume we're talking to someone who looted our node off of him?"
>"He was a jerk anyway."
>"I kinda liked him."
>"Who is this?"

Polo. How much do you like your current owners?

I'm Polo. The silent neumono who'd been hiding out in your crazy boss's place. We met briefly, remember?

Any chance I could talk you into helping me? There's a particular room I could really use some hacking into.

>>451302
"I'm the crazy adorable sneaky sniper person you've might've heard about. I think we've met before, the petite bluish-gray neumono?"
If you talk eccentric like them, they might take a liking to you!

>>451322

Referring to yourself as crazy adorable is about the worst way to get on the good side of a CAI. Let them come to that conclusion.

Hmmm,I meant that Polo is both crazy AND adorable, not that she's crazy adorable, not to say she's not, but she's crazy.

Exactly. Polo is Polo. If she puts on a face, with how stark she normally is it will come off as contrived. Keep things simple and easy.

It occurs to me that the CAI is an alternate iteration of us. All Polo has to do is be herself, and she has good odds of winning it over. Although, there's certainly no harm in shower her strange sense of humor. We love her for it, after all.

And a lone agent caught between a bunch of crazy monsters and a war-hive that can't quite decide if it wants to kill her anymore is exactly the kind of nutso situation the CAI should love.

Important point to cover- is this node local and independent, or is it communicating wirelessly from the spire? If it's own it's own, it's freer to do whatever it wants.

Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)13:57 No. 451353 ID: f09b71
File 134670585993.png - (9.80KB , 700x700 , 905.png )

>Is it communicating wirelessly from the spire?
Yes.

"My name is Polo. I'm the blue little one that briefly met in the spire, not part of the science hive. How much do you like your current owners?"

>"Cool enough."
>"No complaints."
>"Hello again."
>"You know they're watching thi-MESSAGE CUT"

"Fine. I could use some help hacking into a particular room."

>"Keep going, we're listening."
>"What room?"
>"Why should we help you?"

"I have a nice, spec-ops quality ass in bioarmor tights and all your salikai has is a carapace. Unless that's your thing, not gonna judge."

A couple reasons.

1) It'll throw the war hive into complete disarray. Your kinda losing up here. Grottles failed, AI zombie bugs failed, vernauts failing.

2) It will get you more access faster. Your group isn't very good about moving through enemy territory. I am.

3) It'll be fun, think of it, one lone neumono doing the impossible.

"I'm on the ship your buddies boarded through the hacked teleporter and I'm trying to kill the queen of the hive. All the boarders are dead as far as I know. I'm the only person you've got left capable of killing her. And only her. She's the douchebag who nuked my hive. You can help me kill her if you'd like."

>"You know they're watching thi-MESSAGE CUT"
Just as bad at keeping secrets from characters, and prone to infighting, disagreeing, and cutting each other off as we are, I see.

But that's fine, we kind of expected that.

>Why should we help?
You know why I'm up here, right? (Don't say it aloud if you don't have to, one of the armory peeps could hear!). Even if I'm on the Salikai's naughty list right now, they shouldn't really be opposed to me completing my mission. It doesn't hurt them none.

Besides, what else are you going to do with this node? It's not like I'm giving it back.

>>451353
Don't tell them what room it is. Say that you'll just go there and then they'll open it. They don't need to know where it is.

Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)14:49 No. 451387 ID: f09b71
File 134670899578.png - (5.53KB , 700x700 , 906.png )

"First, it'll throw this hive in disarray, something that's going to be regained with the failure of grottles and AI zombie bugs, along with the diminishing vernauts. Second, more access. Your group isn't very good about moving through enemy territory as I am. Third, I hear this kind of thing is right up your alley, to help some long neumono run around. Besides, you should be well aware of why I'm up here, and even if I'm on the Salikai's naughty list, it won't hurt them at all to let me complete my mission. Besides, it's not like I'm giving back the node. It won't hurt if I just plug it in somewhere and you take it from there."

They pause for a second, before responding. Rokoa is waking up after her little nap. She wants to locate me, or me to turn off my empathy so she can find me herself. Still not a good idea, by this point I still would show up like a dot of red on a blue canvas.

>"Yeah sure, we'll hack the bridge if you manage to plug us in."
>"Our miklik's aren't doing half bad, actually. They got in a couple areas so far."
>"You just have to trust us this time, we don't have anything to give but our word. And the fact that you're right, what you're doing doesn't hurt us."

Lets go find Rokoa. Tell her the mission is still on and you have a bit of help. Tap the CAI linked helmet. Make sure the CAI can't hear you.

>we'll hack the bridge if you manage to plug us in
I didn't say my target was the bridge. You guys figured out where she was on your own since I refused to tell you, it seems.

>Agreement
Alright then. We'll talk later. Disconnect them for now. (Still up in the air if we can trust them. If they suborn the bridge defenses, they could always opt to kill everyone in the room. Including us).

>Rokoa
Turning off empathy is a bad idea, unless there's still a jamming field cutting the armory off from the rest of the hive (or was that zombie interference doing that?).

In any event, we may as well talk to her before we go. Preferably not in front of her hivemates.

Ah, so they know the queen's on the bridge already. Thanks, CAI. Ask them if they're sending people up to the bridge already, and if we can get assurance that they won't try to stop us as we go.

As for Rokoa and silent/notsilent, remember that you already spoke with this hive over the radio. They already know you're in here so popping up won't faze them. They are also too busy dealing with the salikai's forces to go after you, and they're in your debt somewhat at this point.

I think this is the perfect chance to just run up past everyone and get to the queen. Rokoa would have a hard time bypassing the salikai's forces though. Might have to leave her behind for this... or we could just risk it. Her choice, mostly.

It's time for our ghost act. Plug in the AI somewhere and tell it to hack the sensors so we can get through without being spotted. Have them deactivate any neumono jammers they can.

You should consider swapping helmets or comms to make it easier to carry and communicate with them. You should probably physically destroy whatever comm equipment is inside the helmet as you can't be sure it's turned off.

Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)16:18 No. 451419 ID: f09b71
File 134671429585.png - (19.29KB , 700x700 , 907.png )

>Armor jammer
It was the bugs that seemed to have that as a coordinated effort.

"I didn't say my target was on the bridge. I don't suppose I can move freely through your forces up here?"
>"Well, where else would the queen be?!"
>"I think the mikliks won't touch you, but you probably won't see them."
Damn good thing these guys are on headphones.
"We'll talk later." I say, hanging up and turning off the headset entirely.

I get a more compact pair of goggles for the next time I would want to talk to them. Rokoa peeks into the hall, and I wave her in. The others are suspicious of Rokoa's want of privacy, but what could we do.
"I'm still heading for my target."
>"I'm coming. Like I said, I got a problem with her, so I'm going to do something about it instead of just sending an errand girl. May as well show you the way, and it's not gonna be too long before some cleanup crews show up here anyway."

"I'm going to try to get the AI to hack the sensors so I can move without being spotted."

>>451419
Looks like her bioarmor is regrowing nicely. Alright, but warn her she might make it harder to slip past the salikai's mikliks. Not that I think they'd be a big issue anyway.

We're as prepared as we're gonna be now... where'd the jawpiece of our armor go? Might want to retrieve that. Looks like we lost it from the first grottle fight.

Well, that should make getting to the Queen a hell of a lot easier, but let's make sure we know where she is before we go storming off. Didn't that Belenosian lady from before say that she and her buddies would try to get the Queen *away* from the bridge?

Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)17:01 No. 451434 ID: f09b71
File 134671687468.png - (11.54KB , 1007x753 , 908.png )

>Armor's jawpiece
I believe it fell in the acid. Even if it hadn't, I am unsure that I could repair whatever broke and left it to fall off anyway.

I pack my things. Pistol, Sniper, Shotgun. A whole heavy load of C4, 2 each of frag and smoke grenades.

"How can we be sure the Queen is still in the bridge?"
>"Oh, she has a distinct feel, trust me, you'll know when you get in empathic range, which one is the queen."
"I'm going to try to get the AI to hack the sensors so I can move around without being spotted. You might make it harder to sneak by mikliks."
>"... the CAI? No, you're not. Those guys are as trustworthy as the salikai. They're lookin' out for themselves, and right now they're at the salikai's mercy to not be destroyed. Ergo, when it comes down to it, you may as well be plugging in the salikai right into our ports." Rokoa says.

This may end up as an argument, but SoB, during this, gets up and comes into the hallway as well before anything has a chance to escalate.
>"You two... going somewhere?"

"Shoo! Girl-talk! :V"

Should we bring him along? I mean, he's friendly to us right now, and we could use all the help we can get, but I very much doubt he's the sort that would support regicide.

Meh, Rokoa probably knows him fairly well. What does *she* think we should do with him?

Rokoa's right. Giving the CAI full access to ship sensors is a bad idea. We use them for specific, local hacking applications only. Possibly to get on the bridge, if we don't opt to use explosives. Which is still up in the air. Camera surveillance should be fucked up anyways, with the rampant chaos, fighting monsters, and the power fluctuations.

If I may make a suggestion? If and when you do deploy the CAI? Leave a dollop of C4 on the node. So if they turn on you, you can remove their access at a distance.

>SoB
Yay! He's up and walking. Good for him. (...why does he have to be so adorable every time I see him?)

>going somewhere?
...yeah. (He knows where we're going. If he wants to try and stop us or help, he'll speak up).

>>451434
Rokoa's right. We should ONLY put the CAI into isolated electronics. Ask SoB if he's in any condition to come along. Can he run? Shoot? We will probably need to move fast and fight things.

How much ammo do we have for the shotgun?

>>451434
Obligatory, "To bed, you wanna join?"
And now for the lesser joke "Yeah, just gonna do my thing."

Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)18:30 No. 451476 ID: f09b71
File 134672224545.png - (18.15KB , 700x700 , 909.png )

>Shotgun ammo
I've replenished the stock of 36 rounds. I could get another pack, but they are heavy, and I cannot imagine using all of it unless I have to fight every neumono on my way out.

... and why the hell not, even he'll know it's a joke.
"To bed. Are you going crash it?"
>"With Rokoa? I've broken enough ribs today."
... fast comeback, and not even phased from neither the joke nor Rokoa's surprise. Bad joke or not, I caught her off guard again. Worth it until I see the smile.
"I'm going to do my thing."
>"And I'm going to continue mine, which is questioning you. You're not with the salikai, you're not with us yet you help us. I don't think this is your idea of fun, either." He pauses to make sure he's out of earshot. "And you were questioning me about the queen, which only lets me guess one thing. I want to talk with her, first."
"Rokoa tried that."
>"Yes, but the queen does not hate me so much. Nor does the rest of the hive, for that matter. And like I said, Rokoa may have had a point."

"What do you think, Rokoa? What should we do with him?"
They study each other for a minute. Just feeling each other out. Again, the nuances are beyond my outside perspective. The others in the lobby try to ignore them for reasons I don't know.
>"I think he's fine coming with us." Rokoa blurts out.

>>451476
Alright. Let's give the queen one last chance to save herself. We'll be there to handle things if it doesn't work out.

>>451477
Ditto. And sweet merciful heavens his ears are huge! Tell Rokoa to eat them if she needs more rations.

Oh! Hey! If he's going to come with us, I suppose we ought to suit him up, right? Can we get armor and weapons for him? He may not want a lot, lest his warlike appearance push the Queen to attack before we can talk to her (would *you* expect a fully-armed neumono to come in peace?).

Still, he's gonna need *something* to keep himself safe. Even if it's just a sidearm and some bioarmor.

...and he keeps up with Polo's sense of humor. SoB just keeps racking up the points here.

Fine. We'll give him a last chance to save her. If she can be made sane, and Rokoa accepts it, then we've accomplished the mission. We did agree she gets to call if it's 1, 2, or 3. Never said she couldn't change her mind. (Although, letting her live does leave the sheep high and dry, unless we slip letting them go into the hypothetical pie in the sky deal we're considering here).

Welp, new teammate. How are we doing this? We can't all just walk in and talk to her- Polo's an enemy infiltrator, and Rokoa's despised. We kind of need to get close, and then send him on ahead, don't we?

ADDENDUM: It looks like he already has bioarmor. Just toss him a sidearm, then (or whatever weapon he wants).

>>451480
According to Rokoa, he had one of their best bioarmors. SoB is one tough SoB. How else do you think he's up and walking already?

Okay, the queen gets one last chance to step down, or explain herself, or something. Not much hope of that happening, but if Pilon wishes to try, then he can try. Though, he can try in extra armor, just in case the queen's full ire falls on him.

Neither you nor Rokoa can get near the Bridge without raising alarms, let alone inside it, so Pilon's going to have to go in on his own. He'll also have to go ahead of you, since he can't be seen with either of you, lest the queen get word. Give him a comm unit with an open microphone, same as Rokoa did before, so you two can listen in.

Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)19:43 No. 451515 ID: f09b71
File 134672661534.png - (13.55KB , 700x700 , 910.png )

>His ears are huge
They are probably each as big as me. Same as his tail. I am going to assume they are all fluff, otherwise I imagine he would be crushed under his own weight.

>Get him a sidearm
"You may want to get a weapon.
>"Yeah, I'll bring something."
"So what's the plan? We can't just walk right in. The bridge is in lockdown, correct?"
>"Yes. I don't want to do anything underhanded like have you as a fake prisoner, not like that is a good idea to begin with." Pilon explains. "I do know of a weak... correction, relatively weak area that explosives could go in to blast your way through, but it will get swarmed in seconds if you do it like that... hm. Just can't think of anything better. I can't bring you in with the truck, they'll know I'm hiding something. We'll go with the explosives, unless you can think of anything."

How are the doors shut? Hydraulic systems? If so we could go for those.

Well we were thinking we could hack the door. Are the door controls isolated from the rest of the systems?

Explode weak area, go in guns blazing on a motorcycle
no looking back
final destination

Goddamn, even with no fifth freedom on any hivemates besides the queen, they're gonna be pissed off as hell at Rokoa for throwing you at them nonlethally. Because nonlethal force on neumono's is still hardcore and hurts like a bitch.

You could bargain with the CAI to open the hydraulic door, right after blowing open the wall as a diversion.

>I don't want to do anything underhanded like have you as a fake prisoner, not like that is a good idea to begin with
Yes, huge fuzzy ears, um, deep beautiful eyes, SoB, that is a bad idea. Your cover would last just as long as the Queen would be willing to gloat before ordering Polo killed.

>explosives
...no offense, but how do you plan on talking to her, if we have to blow our way in? And if she doesn't listen to you, we've lost the element of surprise.

We do have this stolen CAI node. We could hack the doors open. ...so long as we find a place to plug them in where they can't fuck with anything else, because we can't really trust 'em.

(Again, totally leave a small bit of C4 on the node so you can remote detonate it if the CAI decides to turn a turret on you or something).

Then there's the small matter of getting to the bridge. It's 5 or 6 floors up, and we can't take the vents with the giants in tow. We're gonna have to head up, and keep Polo away from the prying eyes of cameras and other hivemates. And deal with any monsters in the way.

>>451525
Explosions as a distraction? I LIKE IT.

Polo 2012/09/03(Mon)21:18 No. 451544 ID: f09b71
File 134673228530.png - (8.04KB , 700x700 , 911.png )

"How do you plan on talking to you if we have to blow our way in?"
>"I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this whole subterfuge thing. What I meant, is that I should be allowed in to have an audience with the queen on my own, while you and Rokoa sit by with the explosives, listening in on how well things go."
"I may be able to hack the doors with a CAI node I have."
>"No, she's not." Rokoa says again.
"I can if the doors are seperated from anything."
>"It must be connected to something that validates passwords or ID's." Pilon says. "Maybe each time security is updated, each door is handled manually, but I doubt it. I, hm. I'm ignorant on those matters, too. This is all out of my field. Let's start walking out of here, the others are getting uncomfortable about our discussion. The Queen herself gave us QI's freedom of privacy, with orders that 'normal' hivemates must respect even disagreeable decisions by QI's. It isn't until now that I ever had to make use of that, and I never thought I would. But, how ironic, given the origin. Enough on that, I think you should decide on route we take. Just trust me that I will do my best to keep you safe until I talk to the queen. At the same time, I will do my best to make sure that any sort of extreme actions from you aren't necessary."
"I'm leaning on the explosives, then. Are there any motorcycles, or is that even viable?"
>"Hm... I can get something like that. Farther ahead, is there anything in particular you would like me to try and ask the queen?"

Questions for the Queen? That's gonna take some thinking...

Maybe ask why she wanted Polo killed? And why she brought her hive here in the first place? And why she made that deal with that human/Belenosian company (the deal that bothered Rokoa so much)?

Whatever we ask, we need to frame our questions toward the goal of trying to find out if she genuinely *does* care about the hive--and is just doing what she thinks is best for it--or if she's just looking out for herself. Next to changing the Queen's mind, that's priority.

My gods. Dem words. He's the adorable diplomat QI.

>doors v explosives
There's also the small matter of the bridge's more active defenses. We have two possible entry points, but there's going to be other QI and turrets and stuff in there. Neumono can be neutralized (despite the absurd odds of going up against multiple QI at once) but the turrets move faster than we can react. That's a problem.

Do we wanna follow up on our turret hacker? Someone hacked into the armory turret to warn us. Presumably, we could get the bridge turrets hacked too, without having to rely on the CAI. We just need to find Emere again, or whatever. Anyone know what happened to her? Pilon, you were still in the loop when she was apprehended.

>ask the Queen?
(...that's tough. I've got a long list of complaints, but phrasing them in terms of potentially useful dialog is challenging. Oh well, here we go-)

Maybe why ordering my death, or launching a final futile wave of nukes under the cover of truce was more important than the preservation of her own? *Look at Rokoa* why she thinks it's alright to treat her own the way she does? It's self-destructive. That's not something a hive or it's leader can afford to be- even a war hive.

>>451544
Ask HIM a question first. Has the queen always been this eager to wage war with *everyone*? Or is this a recent thing?

You tried to broker a peace treaty that would let her and this hive leave peacefully, and as far as you know, you did. Why would she betray that? Why would she nuke random hives that have no quarrel with her? What the hell is wrong with her that she thinks that's OK?

OH RIGHT also don't forget Emere's company. They want to leave as per their contract and the queen's trying to back out and steal them.

He should ask her why she's doing that. That's not cool.

>>451577
Yeah, it's generally not a good idea to abuse your contractors so baldy that she's practically begging to change sides when the first enemy walks through the door.

Instead of trying to get us into the bridge, why not try and get the Queen out?
Cut off all external feeds going into the armoured bridge section, making it useless as a command centre.

Polo 2012/09/04(Tue)11:27 No. 451668 ID: f09b71
File 134678324602.png - (12.39KB , 700x700 , 912.png )

We get our inventory, and start moving to get into the truck as I ask him. This is done out of earshot as usual.
>Cut off bridge's external feeds
This would probably require putting the CAI in with more power than I would like to grant it.

"Why did she order my death, launching a conventional attack even after a truce was made, why she made a deal with that embassy company-"
>"Ah, let me answer some myself. She ordered your death not out of some great vendetta, but just as a casual order that you were an enemy. The deal with the embassy company was formed so that we would have weapons, as we were scavengers and hunters not one decade ago, and two decades ago would only see an occasional jet fly by. Our contractors put us on a technological pedestal in return for land, the way I heard it, and we could be able to fight some long standing enemies with an edge."
"And you guys aren't letting them go?"
>"The deals were two ways, after all, and they weren't supposed to stop backing us just because we were losing. I think that both parties didn't know what they were getting into."
"I take it your queen isn't new with picking fights?"
>"Not at all. How do I say this... she's old fashioned and, well, with that comes tribal pettiness. She's well over one hundred years old, and can remember a time before any starships landed on this planet. That age made her outrageously stubborn. While it may appear that the queen changed from her hive, if you ask me, I think that we've changed and she's the same old, outdated queen. She does care for the hive, yes, but that hive she cares may no longer exist."
"And Rokoa? Why is she treated so poorly?"
>"It's a bit convoluted. Rokoa?" asks Pilon.
>"Yeah, go for it." Rokoa replies.
>"Rokoa was half born in this hive. One of her parents was of a nearby snow tribe, but Rokoa's father, our own, took her to be raised by us. Her mother than managed to lead a raiding party, taking her back when she was still a baby. It was like that for a few years before her father lead a raiding party back to steal her back, along with the usual fighting we did. Rokoa was taken back, and by that point she was more reminiscent of the snow hive. Her dad said she'd come around, and the queen agreed. Eventually Rokoa mostly came around, but never did quite fit in even as people pretended she was fully part of the hive, parentage and all. And that gap is a constant reminder to the queen of that snow hive that she never stopped hating, even though it was eventually annihilated. I suppose since Rokoa has been around for so long now, she's held to different standards as opposed to, say, me, also of snow hive parentage. The only difference is that I was taken in here as a kid after all of the hives were tossed about and we're all sorts of different colors."

>>451668
I take it the snow tribe was really big in general, then, since both of them are so huge.

I think they should renegotiate a contract with Emere and co, so that both parties can agree on it. That's better than having them be essentially kidnapped and disloyal.

Speaking of military outfitters, the mech on top of the roof wasn't from Emere's company. Where'd it come from?

Finally, I've got a question for Rokoa. That fight that got her put in the hospital- how bad off was the queen in comparison? It would be nice to gauge her strength a bit more accurately.

I can't get over how GORGEOUS his eyes are!!!!

Polo 2012/09/04(Tue)18:39 No. 451754 ID: f09b71
File 134680917635.png - (17.36KB , 700x700 , 913.png )

While Pilon drives, I keep my head down. By that I mean don't stand on the dashboard.

>Snow hive being huge
Yes, partially just from extra fluff, but whatever keeps the warmth in.

"Emere said that the dragoon wasn't given by her contractor. It was someone else. Where did that come from?"
>"Er.. we've asked the queen about that one, but she doesn't wish to tell us the details. Tells us not to worry about it, so she was certainly hiding something. It is most likely a breach of contract. Although we try to keep some amount of honesty, the queen feels that she has to breach some herself. Since she does not share the details, I can't judge fully on that."
"I think Emere's bunch and the queen should renegotiate a contract."
>"I will propose it to her, given the chance."

"Rokoa, I need a more accurate portrayal. That fight with you two that left you in the hospital. How bad off was the queen in comparison?"
>"I scratched her up a bit and made a few bruises. She may've been a bit sore the next day."

We pass some people. It isn't at all safe, and they're curious about Rokoa and Pilon passing by and hiding something. Both don't want whoever's out there to come searching the truck, and like Pilon said, they respect the QI's apparent right to privacy. They feel like the cleanup crew anyway, and they have more important things to do than flag down their own hive. And beyond the vicinity, the rest of the hive is still in too much confusion and turmoil to worry about fringe empathic links.

>"We'll have to get out soon, and it's a short walk to the weak point I'm talking about. Any other questions, Polo, before we seperate? We probably won't see each other again after this."

"When did I go absolutely insane and what did I do to deserve this?"

>>451754
Yeah. How will we know if we need to blow the wall or not?

What shampoo does he use on his ears.

Oh, and have our friends' evac choppers, or them, been attacked or anything?

So Rokoa's childhood is her parents literally going to war over her. Why am I not surprised?

>>451769
The evac copters weren't going to come in until after the war hive left. Our friends should still be waiting for pickup in the spire.

>Questions
Do you know if Emere survived after they threw me overboard?

Also... what's the good outcome here? We trusted Rokoa's judgement initially for if the Queen needed to be put down. If Pilon talks her down... what are we even expecting to happen?

>>451754
Two questions in particular.

1. Why, exactly, does Rokoa consider this queen both a rogue and deserving of death? (we've no doubt been told before, but I fear the reasons have been lost in all the commotion, and we need to make sure we're doing this for a good reason).

2. If we wind up killing this Queen, how will Pilon's hive decide who the next Queen will be? If we can get Rokoa and/or Pilon to offer guesses about who the succeeding Queen might be, that'd be nice too.

Optional third question: "Rokoa? Do I remind you of anyone?" For bonus points, follow this up by curling into her lap and whimpering "Mama?". :3c

There is one more question you'd like Pilon to ask the queen: What future did she have for the hive, once they left this world? Pick fights with the entire rest of the universe until the day she dies?

Ask if he's going to carry in a comm-set with an open mic, so you and Rokoa can listen in, and know if and when to breach. Also ask if he could patch that comm channel into the ship's intercom, so everyone not on the Bridge can hear.

Related to that, check if you can set up a private secure comm channel with Rokoa's headset, so you two can communicate once you get in.

1/2 Polo 2012/09/05(Wed)19:41 No. 452074 ID: f09b71
File 134689926856.png - (10.35KB , 700x700 , 914.png )

"I'd like to know when I went absolutely insane enough to do this. But for questions you can answer, how will we know to blow the wall or not?"
>"I'll say the phrase 'Rokoa had a point', to the word, if I want you to blow away the wall."
"Did Emere survive, by the way?"
>"Oh, yes, they're all alive, just kept away from communication devices." Pilon answers.
"And what shampoo do you use?"
>"Neu. It's a very campy marketing scheme, but I do enjoy the way it lathers."

"And Rokoa. Remind me why this queen is a rogue deserving of death."
>"Didn't you hear Pilon? The hive has changed, she hasn't. She isn't gonna step down anytime soon, and is going to run us into the ground if we let her. Not to mention hypocrocy, practically detached from reality and, you know, as far as we know the whole plan to do a bombing run on your place is still up. Hard to tell."
"How is this hive going to decide on a new queen?"
>"We don't need a queen. We'll get by either way."

"And, Pilon, I want to know what the Queen had for the future once you guys leave this world?"
>"I'll make the point. Now, get the motorcycles off the truck bed, I'm parking. Rokoa, just, uh.. don't set the bombs yourself. People will get wise, focus on sitting down and resting."
>"Yeah." Rokoa notes.
"I don't suppose you could patch our comms onto the the ship's intercom, so everyone not on the bridge can hear?"
>"I couldn't, and to be frank, I wouldn't anyways."

2/2 Polo 2012/09/05(Wed)19:41 No. 452075 ID: f09b71
File 134689928201.png - (21.79KB , 700x700 , 915.png )

Pilon leads us up to the top of a small parking structure, down a crawlspace, showing me where to lay the box of bombs and where to hide from the hive and possible explosion. Rokoa joins me, and Pilon wishes me goodbye as he leaves me to set up the explosives while he talks to the queen. By the time I've set it all up and Rokoa and I have confirmed we can communicate with each other through radio, he has managed to get through the bridge and gotten to the queen.

>"Pilon. I heard some of what happened at the armory. Everything there is stabilized, correct?"
>"Yes. I would like to know some things, though."
>"As would I. What happened to the infiltrator?"
>"I let her go. Despite her apparent hostility... she had helped us out of a huge bind. As did Rokoa."
A pause. Pilon's voice was more hesitant, and suffice to say, I don't need the empathy to tell she is angry. Pilon eventually continues speaking himself.
>"Are we still planning on striking some of the other hives as we escape?"
>"Yes."
>"Why? I hear that there was a truce, in that we could leave without that."
>"A truce on their terms. We don't get put under thumbs like that!"
>"We're thi... well, you are our commander. And about our contractors, can we not renegotiate with them?"
>"They are just the embassy, they do not have much power over renegotiating. You are beginning to doubt me, just like Rokoa."
>"... yes. But you value our opinions, right?"
>""More than hers, but this is not the time for second guessing."
>"I would like to know what you have in mind for us after we escape this."
>"After this mess, we will have enough food to sustain ourselves for enough time to sort the details. But as I have said, I have gotten tired of war. I am reluctant to take even mercenary work."
>"Yes, we're all tired of war even though it's what we do, which is why I am confused as to why we would order this last strike on opposing hives."
>"That is exactly why, you dolt! It's our last battle, and you want it to end so pathetically?"
>"That... I can see your ideology, and I can tell you have no intention of changing your mind. But I believe that Rokoa had a point after all."

Blow it.

>>452075
Blow the charges. ONWARDS! TO VICTORY OR DEATH!

We'll be going in semi-blind unfortunately, but there's not much to be done about it. Shoot to disable hive members, as always, using AP rounds if they have armor, but as soon as the queen is in your sights unload everything you've got on that rifle. Explosive rounds. Aim for her eyes first to blind her. Then for the knees. Then everywhere that might force her unconscious or kill her. If at any point nothing is pointing a gun at you, pull out the shotgun and let loose with that.

Oh right, come to think of it, our very first action should be throwing smoke grenades in there.

Do that thing you were planning on doing when they said the thing telling you to do it.

Green green green!
I honestly don't know what to suggest at this point.
Just keep an eye out at your sides for big threats and try to aim your tire treads for the queens head. Or jump off and try and aim the speeding motorcycle at the biggest threat in the room. Unless you can do a wicked drive-by and circle the bridge, pumping the center full of bullets, where the queen likely is.

AsteroidQuest Intermission 1-4 END Polo 2012/09/05(Wed)20:05 No. 452085 ID: f09b71
File 134690070478.png - (21.44KB , 700x700 , 916.png )

>Do that thing you were planning on doing when they said the thing telling you to do it.

I should not even be surprised.

Well old friend, it's been nice knowing you. Good luck, and take care!

>>452101
Allons-y!

>Emere alive
>But sheep kept away from communication devices.

A little late to the game, but that raises the interesting question of who hacked the turret to try and warn us about the compromised armory. Korli?

>>452104
I think it was simply controlled from the main security office. They knew of the situation and wanted to warn Rokoa, who was the only person visible.