They have security cameras, you can bet on that. We need to stick to darkened areas or maintenance shafts to get around undetected. Cutting the power would work quite well for keeping our location unknown if their cameras are optical-only, but would raise the alarm. Granted I'm not sure if we can even get anywhere without raising the alarm...

How LONG did it take for Rokoa to get to the queen after she was separated from you? That should give us a good idea of how far away her chambers are.

We're going to need a map. Pity we don't have access to any hacking tools b/c we're going to need to get to a computer terminal. See any in here?

Close up the crate you just came out of; No sense in giving them even a little hint that someone was in there.

Read the signs on the door to your right, then search for a cargo manifest or other such record of what's in storage here. There may be something you could use as a distraction.

Check the room for other exit points, such as access to maintenance crawlspaces and shafts, large vents, or cargo delivery conveyors and chutes.

You're pretty much stuck to avoiding all of Rokoa's hive in this run. Even a non-lethal takedown will raise the alarm as the target's link goes out. Only way to do it would be to make it look like an accident.

1/2 Polo 2012/07/26(Thu)02:31 No. 436432 ID: f09b71
File 134329508632.png - (10.13KB , 700x700 , 693.png )

>Close the crate, read the signs on the door
Done. "A sign to the Teleporter operation tunnel... and a couple warnings about safety, mostly in the tone of 'don't be a dumbass.' There are many warning signs like these, with basic storage operations. It isn't anything helpful unless I wanted to apply for a job here.

>Is there any computer terminal, map or records?
If there are any terminals or records, it is behind this door labeled Storage Operations. And behind lock and key. It looks like there is a slot for a keycard, a retinal scan, and a numerical password. Either there are different options, or this level of security is borderline paranoid. There are a couple of forklifts, however, and this place is far from full capacity.

>How long did it take for Rokoa to get to the queen after she seperated?
9 minutes, but that would be the most direct route, and for all I know she sprinted through 5 security checkpoints.

2/2 Polo 2012/07/26(Thu)02:31 No. 436433 ID: f09b71
File 134329511561.png - (11.83KB , 1000x600 , 694.png )

>Scan the room for exit points and security sameras
There are grates on the ceiling, and I do have my grappling hook. The air vents in such a ship may even be large and sturdy enough for me. There are trash chutes at two walls.
Security cameras... everywhere! I can spot at least 5 at a glance, and 2 on the second level. There are only blind spots because of all of the boxes around.

And there is already a squad of 4 neumono coming. They are hustling in my direction to investigate. No mistaking it, I've been found out already, and they're going to arrive in under a minute.

Hide in a camera blind spot where you have height on them, if at all possible. Optimally, we'll want to get out of there without killing any guards. Maybe it'd be best if you just hopped into one of the vents, but, knowing these guys, the vents probably have some security bullshit in them. How terrible would that be. Jeez, how're you gonna pull this off?

Check the forklifts, see if they're drivable. People often leave the keys in the things, just out of practicality. You may end up setting a speed assassination record.

Shoot all the cameras. Then jump into the air vents.

Wow, that was quick. Thought our cover would last longer.

Pity you don't have any non-lethal weapons, like a taser, or knock out darts. Because you can't kill these guys. Unless you're willing to make this a suicide mission, or you're willing to kill Rokoa before she finds out (unlikely- she'd sense from her hive things like "intruder danger" and "casualties").

That means a fight is out of the question. Even assuming you can quickly beat these guys 4 on 1, what are the odds you can guarantee non-lethal injures to the whole squad during the firefight? So you need to bug out. We need an escape route, one that preferably gets you off camera. Vents, or the garbage shoot, maybe.

If I may suggest a longer term objective, for later? We should really find Rokoa's quarters. It'll be less secure than the ship's armory, but you *know* there's going to be awesome stuff in there. Her personal stash is worth raiding.

>>436455
i think you are underestimating neomono healing factor, they can have their heads blown off and get better.

Actually, come to think of it, our knowledge in non-lethally disabling Neumono is fairly limited.

We know what doesn't kill Rokoa, but we can hardly use her as a baseline. From the zombie fight, it seemed the difference between staying awake or not from a non-lethal gunshot wound was willpower, which Rokoa's hivemates will likely have in spades. We know stomach and heart shots can produce unconsciousness, but those are likely difficult to hit in a firefight, and they may be wearing some kind of body armor or vest. Headshots will produce unconsciousness in all but the toughest nuemono, but I'm afraid on non-Rokoas that much damage could be fatal without quick medical attention, which we can't afford to give or call in. (Even Rokoa ended up in the Salikai's hospital reasonably soon after both headshots).

Polo, we need an honest assessment of your ability to disable multiple targets non-fatally. If you have any doubts, withdrawing and playing on your stealth seems the better option.

I vote stealth, the vents seem the best idea since there are likely cameras everywhere in the corridors.

Before you hide, make sure the cameras lose sight of you first, and then move to a spot that isn't too close to the last place you were seen. If you see someone, say, hides in a locker, it's easy to tell where they are even after they're outside your field of vision.

Easy Peasy. Block the door with a forklift. Those things are heavy. Think the doors will hold up to having the forks rammed through them?

Was hoping you'd get to do this without most of the hive on alert, but I guess you'll be sneaking in a hot zone instead.

1/2 Polo 2012/07/26(Thu)13:51 No. 436530 ID: f09b71
File 134333591147.png - (19.10KB , 700x700 , 695.png )

>Non-lethal takedowns
Given this hive, they should be able to handle a shot to the head. While they need medical attention, I would be amazed if there was not at least an adequate hospital ward on this ship. My concern is that I do not know how many will be able to stay conscious and fighting with a shot to the head. Nevertheless, I will focus on stealth over fighting. Against 4 opponents, I would have doubts of my ability to take them down at all, regardless of lethality or not.

>Block the door with the forklift
Yes, that is doable! That will tip them off for sure, but it's a bit late for that, and I could use the time.

... except there are no keys, they actually took them out, and I don't see them in any compartments! It's like these guys expected an infiltration.

>Shoot the cameras
I have the ammo to spare, so I will shoot the cameras I can see to at least blind them. They can see me anyway, so this will help blind them to any hiding spots I may have.

2/2 Polo 2012/07/26(Thu)13:52 No. 436532 ID: f09b71
File 134333595921.png - (16.79KB , 700x700 , 696.png )

With the cameras disabled, I will be able to hop into the vents, but they are covered with grates. They do not look heavy duty, but it will be a clear giveaway to my entry. I will also be able to take a trash chute, but don't know where it will take me. Alternatively, I can hide behind some boxes to take a closer look at my immenent adversaries, but it may be difficult to hide from them for long.

Take off the vent covers then go through the trash. If you can you want to go up, not down.

We can't convince them you're too big a threat, or they might actually more vital personal (ie the Queen) off the ship while trying to contain you. We also can't afford to get pinned down in an extended firefight.

I think a fakeout might be the best option. Break open an obvious exit, hide and cover, then take another route when they leave. Stealth, misdirection, and you possibly get to overhear useful information. Get them to underestimate you, if possible. They may assume you're an alien, since they can't sense you, and they may not know of your abilities at all (I doubt Rokoa, Kork, or Tirrek has had a full debrief yet).

You have the advantage of being able to listen to their emotional broadcasts. I don't suppose use your suit's equipment to listen to their comms? ...I doubt you have the right frequency though (it would make sense Rokoa wasn't broadcasting to you on the hive's main communication frequency).

Possible things for the To do list:
-get map / schematics
-frequency for enemy comm channels
-acquire more firepower for the actual assassination. Queenie's likely approaching Rokoa levels of toughness, we need something killtastic. Steal from the armory, or Rokoa's quarters, if she has any on board.
-secure an escape route. A shuttle or pods would be nice, or emergency teleporters.
-possibly break into the brig, take Rokoa off the hook. Might be useful for intel. Or good to have her healed up, and in a position to help keep her hive from killing you after your assassination.

>Specifically trained for this kind of mission- assassination.
Off topic slightly, but Polo, it occurs to me you might actually be the first neumono assassin in history. With the link, stealth would be next to impossible as would keeping the intent to kill hidden. I suppose someone could have done it equipped with a jammer, but a tinfoil hat ain't exactly good for sneaking.

You can't hotwire a forklift?
Wow, an infiltration specialist where their training did NOT include hotwiring
Did they not also teach you how to pick a lock or hack one?

I mean, a child could hack a fucking ATM if taught. I mean, sure, that was in a movie, but there might be a bit of truth to that lie.

Pull off air vent grate, go in trash chutes. Try to go up.

Before ripping the vent grilles off, open the trash chute and check whether you can even get up it. If it's slick walls and no place to throw a grappling hook, you're going to have to go out the vents. Make sure to rip the grilles off more than one vent before leaving.

Just throwing this out, but there might be another way to disable members of Rokoa's hive. This is a space faring ship, so it must have some form of artificial gravity. If Polo can get to the controls for that, even for just one section, she could dial it up. Even they couldn't fight when they, and everything in that section, weighs ten times normal.

Suggestion 2012/07/26(Thu)15:29 No. 436595 ID: f09b71
File 134334178517.png - (19.56KB , 700x700 , 697.png )

>Hotwire
I know how to hotwire, but am not confident I can do so, and drive the slow vehicle to the door, in under what is becoming far less than a minute as they speed up from shooting the cameras. I know basic lockpicking as well, but not hack any computer opened door that has anything more than child safety security.

>First neumono assassin, and jammers
Only among the first in this particular scenario. There have been long range assassinations taking place outside of empathic range, but that is very situational. A jammer is possible, but they do tend to require a large, heavy box. Nevertheless, they are able to be carried, so I will have to be careful in case they try to get to me with a jammer to hide their approach.

I fling the grappling hook up just to yank off the grate, and hop into the trash chute. The walls are somewhat slick, but the armor provides enough friction to gradually climb up. I move up a few dozen meters until I can see an exit above. It continues going up higher, if I wish.

Skip the first exit then go to the second as long as there aren't any neumino near it.

Take the first exit if you sense no neumono near it, otherwise keep going up to the second exit. You want out of this cramped shaft ASAP. They know it's one of only a few ways out of that cargo hold, and they'll check it real soon. They spot you and start shooting, and you've got nowhere to dodge.

Take a look out the first exit. What do you see. A peek, don't climb out.

A second exit might be best. If they think you're in the vents above floor 1, then they're going to try to get at you through the floor of floor 2. Floor 3 won't have patrols actively expecting you, yet.

(Obviously I'm arbitrary labeling the floor we came in on as 1. We can rescale later when we learn actual scale and measurements).

It might be wise to peep out the floor 2 exit as you go by- if it's a high intel value target, say a control room, data hub, etc that could help your survival, it might be worth investigating it.

If we're lucky, they might not be well prepared to deal with this kind of infiltration. It's not a common or practical tactic among neumono. Additionally, you're pretty dang small, and can get into places they may not expect. So they may make initial mistakes in their containment and response tactics, though you can hardly count on that.

Have you considered how we're going to kill Queenie? She's pretty big, and runs a war hive. We have to assume she's pretty tough physically. Maybe not on Rokoa's level, but getting there. I'm not sure what we have in your current arsenal could take her down permanently, and quickly enough for us to get out before guards appear. Sniping, or hit and run, aren't going to work unless you get something with more bang.

Suggestion 2012/07/26(Thu)17:30 No. 436640 ID: f09b71
File 134334903053.png - (6.03KB , 900x455 , 698.png )

I peek out the first exit I see, but don't exit. No neumono to be seen or sensed close by, although I am still surrounded entirely. Left door is labeled 'Stables', right door is labeled Exit, the door next to me is Farm Water Closet, and the one next to that, closest to the exit door, is just labeled 'utilities.'

>Have you considered how to kill Queenie?
I have considered the possibility of attempting to acquire a particularly big gun.

Stables? Thats unusual for a space ship isn't it? Anyway continue on up.

I thought we had explosive rounds. Surely a few of those to various parts of her body would work. Unless she's wearing bio armor I suppose, then we'd need more than a few.

If you can see a security cam from here you're already spotted. Going further up the trash chute would allow them to predict where you're going and that's bad. If the cam saw you, shoot it then enter the Stables door.

What does your training say about infiltration missions like this?

>I have considered the possibility of attempting to acquire a particularly big gun.
Attagirl. Keep an eye out for an armory, or Rokoa's room. You know she's gotta have a personal stash of explosives, or a BFG...

Any guess as to the origin of this craft? Given the timeframe since first contact and major tech step-up, I'm assuming the war hive bought or commissioned this from off world.

What would "Stables" mean on a spaceship? For smaller craft? Fighters, shuttles, etc? We're not out to sabotage the whole ship, so they water supplies aren't really of interest.

Let's try utilities. Maybe they'll be something useful in there.

Keep going up.

Suggestion 2012/07/26(Thu)17:52 No. 436653 ID: f09b71
File 134335036312.png - (15.94KB , 700x700 , 699.png )

>Unusual stables
It implies that this capital ship is either intended to be entirely self sufficient, or to compliment a food supply in case of emergency. A neumono can live off of plants alone, but it is not healthy.

>Explosive rounds
I can hope those are enough. Although Rokoa may be the best of the best, the fighting ability and toughness of a queen of a warhive is at least as important as a fitting, strong personality. The chances of her being stronger than Rokoa are not to be ruled out.

>The origin of this ship
It is most likely built by offworlders. It is most likely commissioned for neumono, as while the structure is large for me, I believe most other major species that have the technology for this would find themselves cramped.

There is no camera in this hall, however, so I can safely continue traversing on up. I get about 12 more feet up, before I hear the telltale metallic thunk of a chute hatch opening.

Brace yourself for falling garbage. Think you can aim that pistol in case its someone looking for you?

Brace yourself. You're either about to get splattered with trash, or someone's about to stick there head in and start shooting. Or drop a grenade, if they're smart.

Can you snipe the poor bastard's head from that angle?

Suggestion 2012/07/26(Thu)19:12 No. 436686 ID: f09b71
File 134335513507.png - (12.72KB , 700x700 , 700.png )

>Aim the gun
I can do that, if somewhat awkwardly. It is still about 20 feet to the next exit, if it is consistent. A head pops in, and the shine of a flashlight that prevents me from seeing anything other than a silhouette. I take a shot, and hear a thok as it hits something thick, most likely a helmet, mixed with the various pinks of richochets as the bullet bounces around the chute. And through it all, I can still tell that I hit that person, as he or she jumps back out in surprise and pain.

>"Contact! In the trash chute! The infiltrator is in the trash chute, she is armed!

But it wasn't nearly enough. I was hoping they would make this easy for me.

We need to be quick. Slide down to the previous exit and get out.

Well, crap. Drop down to level two. They'll be waiting for you up there. I bet the stables has lots of ventilation to escape through.

Hmm. They used specific gender pronouns. Now, that might just be sexism speaking, as neumono seem to be female dominant. You used the correct he or she for an unknown though. I think that suggests they know who you are. That's unfortunate.

You need to bug out, get down to the exit you passed, and move. They'll be coming to cut you off on floor two, and in a moment the people on floor 3 are going to realize they can drop a grenade on your head.

This whole mission depends on stealth. We haven't even got a chance to catch our bearings. I'm not sure how to do this anymore without getting inevitably caught, or blowing the ship.

We need to distract attempts to come after us. Spaceships are delicate. Lots of things needed to function right. We need to distract efforts from searching for us, force people to waste time on repairs and guarding critical systems so we're free-er to move. That means we fuck shit up as we retreat. Break systems as we go. When you get to floor 2, we should damage the water plant, and maybe release the livestock. Give them other problems to manage.

Also, if you act more like a saboteur, they'll suspect assassin less.

Suggestion 2012/07/26(Thu)20:40 No. 436728 ID: f09b71
File 134336045271.png - (8.21KB , 900x455 , 701.png )

I slide down as fast as I can manage and not risk falling farther, and hop out of the exit.

Not seconds later, blaster shots fly upwards through the chute.

I hear the intercom from other floors flare up as well, but I can't hear it clearly enough to hear what is being said. Either this floor does not have an intercom, or they are specifically turning this floor's intercom off so I can't hear what is being communicated.

>>436728
Stables.

Stables, go go go

I doubt the Farm Water Closet will effect anything else but this level. Peek into utilities.

How many can you sense on this level, and in what directions?

Peek into the Farm Water Closet. If there is a very large water tank in there for the farm, a block of C4 dropped to the bottom of it would punch a hole through into the level below. In addition to creating a flood, it would make another route down through the hole.

I'm glad we didn't try dropping to the bottom.

Pop the door to the water facilities, lob some explosives and or shoot the place up a little. We need to buy breathing room- force resources towards things other than hunting you. That means we damage systems as we go, but nothing too vital to not crashing.

Farm seems a good escape route- lots of cover, hard to track you by sensors with animals around. You can also release them for more havoc.

There are probably multiple exits too. To the slaughterhouse, or waste processing, etc. We need to lose pursuit for a little while.

1/2 Suggestion 2012/07/26(Thu)23:22 No. 436828 ID: f09b71
File 134337017296.png - (27.13KB , 700x700 , 702.png )

I head into the water closet. Using explosives here would likely not have as much effect as I would like, as I do not know how thick these walls are. It looks more to be a pipe section rather than a water storage area anyways. I do pop a few shots in, causing heavy leaks.

2/2 Suggestion 2012/07/26(Thu)23:24 No. 436834 ID: f09b71
File 134337029336.png - (49.90KB , 1002x647 , 703.png )

I can't afford to stay long, and run into the stables. There are sunlamps on the ceiling, and animals grazing here in what is distincly not a stable. Honestly, I don't even know what these things I'm looking at are, but they don't look interested in escaping. Slaughterhouse entry to the far left, and a stairwell to the right end. And in between my entry door and the slaughterhouse door is a cryogenic chamber. And of all the continually bad luck, another camera is here. Worst off, there's a squad coming straight down from the stairwell, and these ones are practically sliding down the stairs. They aren't investigating, they're here to either subdue or kill.

And of all things, they are happy to have something to do, like they were sore they got stuck up here instead of getting to fight in the facility.

>they are happy to have something to do, like they were sore they got stuck up here instead of getting to fight in the facility
Well... given that this is Rokoa's hive, that response perhaps isn't surprising.

Well, the water will be a hassle for the engineers, depending on how long it takes them to notice the leaks. If you're really lucky, the water will get into some of the electrical systems before they do anything about it. It would be really handy if they lost lights or comms for a little while.

Adorable, passive, bunny-lizards. Free range. Great. No cover, no hiding places, no stampede. A docile food animal makes sense,actually, dangit.

Kill the camera, can't let them see which way you go.

Damaging cryogenics might divert more manpower for repairs, but only if they're using them. No good if they're only for storing people while deep space traveling.

There has be heavy equipment in the slaughterhouse. Something you can knock over and block the door with. There should also be multiple exits- a place like that needs good ventilation, access to waste disposal, and possibly a way to ship the meat out.

Sabotaging food production while you're in there is another petty annoyance to slow them down.

>>436834
If you haven't been spotted by the camera, *don't* destroy it. Simply avoid its line of sight as you go through another door.

I'm thinking Slaughterhouse. The cryo chamber is likely a dead end.

If there's only one camera, and you didn't step into its line of sight, don't destroy it. Otherwise, shoot it and any others in sight before proceeding.

Head towards the slaughterhouse, but stop and look in the cryo-chamber room on the way. Shoot any and all canisters that look like they contain cryo-gas or cryo-liquid, then shoot the hinges off the door. That'll flood this "Stables" area with suffocating, and obscuring, cryogenic gas, which won't do the livestock any good, and possibly the pursuing neumonos. However, if there's no time, just skip it and continue to the slaughterhouse door.

Suggestion 2012/07/27(Fri)01:11 No. 436864 ID: f09b71
File 134337668139.png - (19.33KB , 700x700 , 704.png )

Unfortunately, the camera trained on me as soon as I entered the door. I suspect they have security personnel actively watching for me.

I peek into the cryo, but it is merely a mass chamber of frozen livestock, I suppose for backups. Standard cryo glass is extremely strong and thick, and I would need to put out a more firepower than I have time for while that squad on my tail is falling fast.

So I head into the slaughterhouse.

I do not know what kind of slaughterhouse needs a neumono jammer.

>"Freeze. Don't get cocky in that armor, there's a reason I'm hanging back here. Drop the gun."

Seconds until the other squad shows up.

At the side of her helmet is a small incription. Q.I. #23.

>>436864
You're boned. Time to hope she's a surprise ally. Keep it short and sweet: "I'm a friend of Rokoa's. Hide me from your pals and I'll talk."

If shes hanging back there to avoid blowback dive to side, then use the wall to push your way to her. It will take time to move that thing around. Once your close enough aim directly at her lovely eyes. Take the shot and book it.

That's a goddamn double-barrel shotgun, that isn't built for piercing armor. Unless Neumono shotguns are.
She also isn't anticipating Rokoa's bioarmor being under there.

Ugh, QI, greeaaaaat. I'm good with the plan of saying something short like, "Friends with Rokoa. Wearing her bioarmor under. Hide me. Queen bitchslapped her, have to rescue from cryo." That shouldn't take too long to say.

...Fuck. That's gotta be an anti-armor gun with explosive rounds, and at this range she doesn't even have to aim well to hit. You can only hope she agrees with Rokoa, but don't count on it.

Don't move, only say "I'm on Rokoa's side." If that doesn't get a favorable response then it's time for plan B.

Dive through the doorway and to your right, and tuck into a roll. Hopefully she'll miss, hit the wall behind you, your armor will soak the blast, and you'll be thrown across the room. If she hits... Well, you'll find out if the shot can penetrate both armor layers. Whatever happens, keep moving, and sprint for the nearest exit.

>>436864
All you have out is a pistol? You won't be taking her out with that. You're boned.

Wait. She's a QI? They're all supposed to be in the field. You can bet she's Rokoa's buddy, to have stayed behind and hidden herself with a jammer. Tell her you'll drop it as soon as you get the door closed behind you. No cameras in here, right?

>>436879
err rescue from brig
for some reason I thought she was in a cyro brig jail.
because I don't think anything else could effectively hold her.

>>436867
This. All the others were operating on a shoot first basis. This QI hasn't started blasting yet, and that means she has some reason to not splatter you across the bulkhead.

Okay, it's been, what, minutes since they first discovered you in the storage chamber, right? They couldn't possibly have had time grab the jammers out of storage, and deployed QIs behind doors on your potential path to wait for you. She must have been here, and had the jammer ready, before you were spotted.

Okay... tactically, I've got two possible analyses.

(1) You're fucked. She's one of Rokoa's squadmates, she's got you in her sights, and all you can quickly bring to bear is a pistol. You're not going to quickly take her down or get by her before the squad of gleeful no longer bored guards shows up behind you. You might be able to retreat and hope she's slowed by the jammer, but then you'll be caught in an open field, and outnumbered.

(2) You may not be quite fucked. Just because she's cocky doesn't mean she's actually using ammo that can penetrate layers of conventional and bio armor. Shoot her in the face (jammer's not made to double as good face armor, I assume), take the hit, move into the room, and get to a fucking escape route.

...but then you're in the same desperate situation as before, running to stay just ahead of an opponent who's been tipped off from the start and isn't giving you any room to do your stealth thing.

We need a third option.

(3) You'd really think the A team would be in the field now. And as I said before, it really doesn't make sense she was ready and waiting for you. Plus, she's talking instead of just shooting you. All that together means there's a chance she's not out to kill you.

Best bet might be to move into the room (buying precious seconds before the squad sees you), and ask her what the hell that reason is.

I don't like spouting off "Rokoa sent me" since it obviously puts her in deep shit if it doesn't work. On the other hand, she's already being tortured, refused to kill you, and carried in a crate you came out of. They'll figure it out. If you're going to say it though, you might want to lower Silence just long enough for her to see you're telling the truth.

Lower you gun, but don't drop it. Tell her the response team is about 5 seconds away. Ask if she wants to to be the distraction, or spring Rokoa herself.

Because why else would a member of Rokoa's QI unit be hiding near cryo with a jammer turned on in their worn hive?

OK just to be clear on this we're not here to save Rokoa. She will kick your ass if you try to save her. We're here to kill the rogue queen, and stop this hive from annihilating what's left of our own. With the queen tipped off she either went into hiding or she's ready to take you on herself.

Rokoa did make it perfectly clear she wouldn't help us fight her hive, so breaking her out the brig wouldn't help us in the short term. Heck, it would probably be a detriment, as we could blow our cover (except, derp, no cover they already found us >_<).

The only advantage sneaking into the brig to see her might have had was:
(1) Useful intel to accomplish the mission with. Although really, you'd think she would have given it to you at the onset if she had any to give. And not left you in a room full of cameras.
(2) Give her the tools to escape later, and/or pull her off the hook so she can start healing. That way, she'd be in a position to stop her hive from killing us after we kicked up the anthill shooting the queen. I mean really, they'd need to be called off, and we'd likely need some help in getting off this death trap.

Of course, we were discovered already, so that's kind of a moot point.

On the subject of motive- yes, we're here to kill the Queen. But we've got a few reasons. Partially to stop the needless agression and attacks, partially for revenge. But it's also because this hive is sick- Polo said it herself. The Queen is a disease to be cut out. We're here to help, in a strange way. Because everyone's better off with the warhive not crazy. And maybe we're doing it, just a little bit, for Rokoa. She's earned some grudging respect, and we feel we owe it to her- or that she doesn't deserve her home and family to be fucked up the way we they are.

>Because why else would a member of Rokoa's QI unit be hiding near cryo with a jammer turned on in their worn hive?
Possibly as a crazy prepared anti-infiltration countermeasure. I mean, it worked, did it? Yeah, it's great if she's hiding because she turned on her Queen too, but you can't just ignore the possibility of crazy. Rokoa-class elites, remember? And just because she was one of them, doesn't mean they're more loyal to her than the Queen. We can hope, but we don't know.

That said, we probably just have to risk it. Our options right now are basically (1) surrender, get tortured and killed. (2) Fight, get killed, or subdued then tortured and killed. (3) Find out the reason she's here is to help you and somehow escape survive.

Suggestion 2012/07/27(Fri)11:56 No. 436926 ID: f09b71
File 134341539113.png - (16.26KB , 700x700 , 705.png )

I do want to know how this QI managed to get a jammer and get down here in the short few minutes that I have been discovered, but I have more important questions than what is already done.

>Possibly lower silence
Neumono jammers work in and out. This QI may not even know that there is a squad coming, and if she does, it's because it is communicated, not because she can sense them.

I start lowering my gun as I inch my way in past the door.

"I'll drop it when I have the door closed. I'm a... friend of Rokoa's. Are you not out to kill me?"
>"Just gonna bring you in alive for some questions, since I doubt poor old Rokoa will answer any. You won't like our treatment much, but you'll live if you cooperate. Now drop it!"

I entered the jamming field, but I can estimate that the other squad will enter the pasture in a couple of seconds. I can dive in to avoid being seen for a few more seconds. A gunfight would last about that long, whether or not either of us need multiple shots to bring down. It may come to that. If she is allied with Rokoa, she is doing a poor job of showing it. Although I have a rifle, I've kept my gun at hand given the short range I've usually been in. I am certain that all of my practice to duel Rokoa will guarantee me at least one good shot before she fires that shotgun.

In the back, I can see a door labeled Exit, likely the entrance this one came through.

>Don't get cocky in that armor, there's a reason I'm hanging back here
Wait, shit. I just figured it out. She's saying she's standing well away from the door because she's got explosive ammo. That's why she's confident the armor won't help you. We were so desperate for help we ignored the obvious answer. -_-

>Surrender or no?

Well, she's promised you'll live if you give. Unfortunately, there are fates worse than death, and her Queen has already shown she doesn't honor bargains, and wants you dead. Captivity is therefore not a safe place to be.

Also, you're fully equipped with gear right now. Even if you escape later, you'll lose all that you have on you- putting you in a much worse position to get the mission done.

Take the shot. Got for the head. Throw yourself from the coming explosion as you do. Maybe if you're real lucky, the blast will block, obstruct or damage the door so the squad can't follow immediately.

I'd like to throw in a quip like "Sorry, but your queen doesn't honor deals", but won't really have time.

tl;dr: Headshot. Dodge.

>>436926
well that's about the worst case. There's no way you can let yourself get captured. (Though it's curious she doesn't shoot first anyway.. you spacebunnies can take a ridiculous amount of damage and live to be interrogated later.

explosive ammo is likely, considering she's standing back instead of right beside the door, which would have been ideal for solid shot. Think you can dive into the room and put a shot down one of those barrels? This is good time to give thanks for generally slow neumono reflexes.

>>436920
but if you let them THINK you're here to save Rokoa, they'll be defending the wrong place.

>>436926
Walk into the room and close the door.
"First, some privacy.
You know I cut a deal with your queen, right?
She doesn't attack my hive, my hive stays out of the fight.
You know what's going to happen when other hives find out yours negotiates peace just to catch others off guard? They're not going to let you run, since you would come back. They're not going to let you surrender, since your word has no meaning. They're going to wipe you out.
Unless, of course, your rogue queen is deposed.

I am going stop this nonsense by any means necessary. I strongly suggest you let this happen.

>>436935
Hmm. Misdirection. I like.

>>436937
...I don't think telling someone our assassination plans are such a good idea. Kind of defeats the purpose. Also, a speech wastes time, of which we have little to spare.

"The reason Rokoa is not going to talk is that there's nothing to talk about. I can sum up everything important in a single goddamn sentence. Your queen is a big fat red bitch, she is the daughter of Clifford the Big Red Dog and a chihuahua. That's the entire extent of it."

Dude, shoot it's gun then it. You don't have time to be fucking around surrendering and shit.

1/2 Suggestion 2012/07/27(Fri)14:01 No. 436953 ID: f09b71
File 134342289924.png - (8.38KB , 700x353 , 706.png )

Normally, shooting down the barrel of another gun is a notion too ridiculous to even think, but the oversized barrel of that shotgun looks far too inviting. Especially for what must be a loaded shotgun, with what I suspect is armed and loaded with explosive ammo. I can't resist the potential one-shot.

I launch myself to the forward and side, popping a shot before I get too misaligned with the shotgun's barrel. She doesn't get a chance to fire the gun, and I don't get a chance to lay out a snazzy one-liner.

2/2 Suggestion 2012/07/27(Fri)14:03 No. 436954 ID: f09b71
File 134342299018.png - (82.93KB , 700x700 , 707.png )

I don't know if she attempted to fire reflexively or if it happened when I shot in the barrel, but her gun explodes in her face.

I get launched back into the wall, having dived. My armor takes any serious damage, and my bio armor prevents even much dazing from occurring from the noise and blow.

The jammer, nearby her, got knocked around and, fragile as they are, let me sense. In that, I can feel the QI's pain, as she was not knocked unconscious. More importantly, the squad, can feel her pain, and they know what happened. And most of all, I can feel their pride taking a hit. In an instant, even if it was luck, I took down one of their elite. She is attempting to kill me still, but she can't move her arms, and I believe that she is trying to get her bearings despite what I am sure is blindness either because of shrapnel in her eyes, or lack of eyes.

I get up while I hear one of the squad members yell into his comm. They aren't having any fun, now. For better or worse, now they are taking me dead serious. They aren't slowing down, either. Once again, I have a couple of seconds.

I can't stick around. In the moment of vision of the room prior to shooting, I saw the main exit, a few air ducts that I could scrample in, and another, larger, trash chute. There is also a mini-elevator I could fit in that is used for delivering goods upstairs, but I don't know if I can operate that by myself while inside.

Run towards exit, leave her. She's down for sure. Not going to be a problem anymore.

Too bad about the armor, but that's what it's there for. She survived, but is in no condition to stop you if you move fast.

The pride hit is a mixed bag. It's good they aren't having fun, but now they're coming fo reals. Yay.

Okay. Obviously, you need to get out of here fast, before you're forced to fight the squad, or put down the temporarily disabled QI23. The question is which exit is best, and we're still horribly lacking in intel. Choices?

(1) Vents. Classic for sneaking, there will probably be branch points, and corners we can duck around. Plus, big people hive will have trouble following or tracking you unless they've got drones or advanced sensors. In damaged armor, you might make a lot of noise in air vents though.

(2) Trash. Only goes strait up and down, we've done it once already. Not a good idea, someone will probably look in before we've climbed up or down out of sight. Also, if it's wider, it's harder to climb. The laser fire earlier might also mean there's a team waiting by the shoots where the trash comes out.

(3) Dumbwaiter. Almost certainly goes to the kitchen, and given the size of this hive and how regularly neumono need to eat, that's probably manned. So no.

(4) Exit door. Complete unkown. Fastest way out, but they can follow, and there's probably cameras out there somewhere. However, the QI came in that way. They probably don't have backup for her- they didn't think she'd need it. The path that way might be clear.

Okay, I'm thinking the vents or the door seem like the best option. I'm open to additional analysis though- we need to think this fucking through if Polo's ever going to get far enough ahead to start putting her stealth to use.

I'm going to say vents this time.

I'm curious if you could spam anger, frustration, a desire for justice, and bloodlust towards them to make their morale lower. Or if you can spam any emotion to make their morale lower. If you could even slightly emulate Rokoa's psychotic broadcast of emotion, they might actually shit their pants. It was all fun and games when they had their own Rokoa, but when they think they found an equivalent from an enemy hive that can turn off their link at will... hoo boy.

Bolt for the exit.

Crawl into the vents. The squad can't follow you there. Take the first turn you can so they don't have a direct shot.

Remember, folks, no killing members of Rokoa's hive, or Rokoa will kill Polo. Disabling, but no killing.

Polo. You just shot down the barrel of a gun. That's amazing.

>>436958

Yeah, where's three-stripes when you need him.

>>436954
Take another shot at her head if you can, to see if you can knock her out. Don't slow down though. Get the fuck out! Vents, I think.

>>436954
Rip off the vent cover, then rush through the exit. Let them think you're in the vents.

>>437005
>shoot the blind cripple.
Why?

>>437051
To force those coming from behind to spend time getting her to a hospital. Granted, they might do that as she is now. I dunno.

We blew her up. Polo couldn't decide if she was blind from shrapnel or lack of eyes. She's due a visit to the medics already, I'd say.

Plus, we're in a hurry, on a no kill conduct, don't know when we'll get more ammo, and she's currently well enough neutralized to bypass. All good reasons not to bother hurting her more. She's not a threat unless we actually wait around for her to get her bearings and pull out a grenade or something. So let's just move on.

>Where's three stripes?
Amusing enough, he's currently our friends' best line of defense against any war-hive complex raider who might wander up the spire while we're off running a suicide mission for the fun of it.

I'd also just like to comment that the picture of mecha-Polo riding the explosion is awesome. You can almost read it backwards so it looks like she's throwing a fireball, actually.

1/2 Polo 2012/07/29(Sun)21:34 No. 437476 ID: f09b71
File 134362289020.png - (40.49KB , 700x700 , 708.png )

Despite that she is attempting to yell at me, with a broken jaw, I do not believe that she needs a shot to the head.

>Spamming anger/frustration/etc
Forcing emotions rarely works, and when it does, it feels as forced as it is. And despite everything, I don't feel a damn thing. I am simply their enemy, in their home. And for a couple of seconds, I take down my link to share that absolutely nothing. Nothing except that I just took out one of their supposed elite, I am an enemy, and I am here. I take the normal exit. The live squad and they just barely manage to get a visual glimpse of me.

2/2 Polo 2012/07/29(Sun)21:35 No. 437477 ID: f09b71
File 134362290007.png - (17.00KB , 900x900 , 709.png )

The squad will not be following me, at least not immediately. Two of them are tending to the heavily wounded QI before bringing her to the ward, and the other two are covering my exit, so I reload. The stairwell blares red.

>"QI is down! QI is down! Infiltrator is in stairwell section G-7! All non turret-recognized personnel get out of sight, all battle units cover, all available QI hunt her down!"

Not a single code in their speech. They wanted me to hear that.

The door leads into a staging hall, ending with a sliding metallic door ahead of me that I peek throw, revealing a stairwell of several floors.

Alright since we're not going to get that map we're going to have to have to guess. Or visit Rokoa for information. Where is the bridge usually located on these things? Where is the brig? If you have no idea just head one floor up and find someone to interrogate.

Up.

Cover all areas, sweep as you go, there is going to be some security and we need to spot it before it shoots us. Take out any cameras as you go.

>>437476
I thought that maybe you had those legit emotions, since you've been under a lot of stress and that you might have a flux of all sorts of emotions. Then like, color them up sorta like Rokoa's by suppressing the fear? Though the fact that you're chill is pretty chill.

Sooooo... there are turrets in this path. Great. Any training on dealing with those? I hope Rokoa wasn't running the entire time, that wouldn't help you judge how far the objective was at all. If she did keep a standard walking pace, it shouldn't be too far in x and z directions, it's the y direction that's the real issue. In a ship design like this, which floor do you think would be most likely to have the bridge? Second to last, perhaps? If we can find just the type of ship we're on, it's standardized and popular enough for you to know it, you might be able to pinpoint its exact location through your own logical deduction.
Just be careful with the corners and test them if you can, in case of disguised turrets in the walls, floors, or ceilings.

>Empty emotionless link stare of doom.
Damn Polo. You actually gave them pause there. You just earned your title of Silent in a whole new way.

...remember why you're here though. It's not all about revenge. Crazy as it may feel, you're here to help the nutter-hive by cutting out the sickness at the core. Not that you can really think about that right now, but don't let your hate get the better of you again.

>They wanted me to hear that.
Well, that's interesting. If they're being honest, we now know their are automatic defenses active, and there will be less personal in our way. But what personal we do encounter will be QI. That's a mix of good and bad- we don't have to worry about not killing them much, and we've been training specifically to combat one of their best. Also, many of them will be away in the facility attack. Bad news is obviously they're sending their best after you. And that they want you to know they want you dead.

I kinda doubt they're bluffing to trip up your expectations. It's possible, but from what we know of the psychology of this hive, straightforward anger and retaliation seems more likely than deceit. It also sounds like they took your message as a challenge- and they're answering it.

All in all, this is probably your first chance to put a little distance between yourself and your pursuit, and try and leverage your stealth.

>G-7
Okay, so we're on the 7th floor then, so we came out of the box on 6.

Any markings or indications of where the stairs lead? I'm getting kind of tired of picking turns at random. We need intel, bad. Barring any info, I say go up.

>>437480
Scratch that. We are going down. We are finding the engines and shutting them down. We force the ship to land. They won't go on an offensive with a ship crippled that badly. Especially one this important.

We are not going to be able to kill her, but we can stop the attack.

>>437487
Is that important? The gang of hives fighting the war-hive is warned and prepared against any nukings, and it sounded pretty clear that the war hive was going to be routed. They were only willing to consider peace because they were losing.

Head upwards. Watch for signs marking the levels. The bridge on a capital ship will likely be buried in the center of it, for protection. So it'll either be on either level 4 or 5, or level D or E, depending on which characters they're using for level marking.

Standard operating procedure from here on out is to break any and all cameras encountered. Ammunition is tight, so hitting them with something heavy to break the lenses is preferred, with knocking them to face the ceiling a second option, and covering the lenses with something, like paint, a third.

Do you have a mirror you could use to check around corners? If not, keep on the lookout for one, or something reflective enough to be used as one. The automated defenses might not pick up on you checking around a corner if you us a mirror.

>>437487
No, we don't want this hive to be grounded. If they're cornered, about to lose, they're going launch their entire arsenal at everyone; Conventional, nuclear, and chemical. What we want is for them to blast off on a one-way ticket to outer space, without using their arsenal as cover to take off.

Polo 2012/07/30(Mon)15:09 No. 437582 ID: f09b71
File 134368619575.png - (12.88KB , 700x700 , 710.png )

>Any training with turrets?
Yes, unfortunately. They do not mess around, but I do not know what the quality of turrets there are on this ship. At worst, they take a moment to recognize a target before deciding to fire with questionable accuracy. But I have heard of turrets that can lock on, process a target, and fire half a dozen rounds in the time it takes for a neumono brain system to process the data the eye sees. I am hoping that either they do not have that kind of budget, or that that was just exaggerated rhetoric.

>In a ship design like this, which floor do you think would be most likely to have the bridge?
I have no idea about the design of this ship, I still don't have any bearings. Most likely near the center or partially off-center, as ships with bridges with windows right in the front tends to be a bullseye target. Where I am in that regard, I do not know.

I head up, shooting the lens off another security camera. Ammo will be difficult if I do that every time, but at the moment, I can't think of anything I have to use as a club, aside from the sniper that I would rather not use like a baseball bat.

>Do you have a lens to look around a corner?
My knife will perform sufficiently for that.

The next floor up, G-8, has an especially large door labeled 'Embassy.'

I still sense lots of neumono, but the ones around are playing it more cautiously. Prepared to fight, but not quick to come at me. This door does not appear to have any signs that it is locked, if I wish to stop here.

The Embassy is sure to have a map. It is also quite likely to have turrets. Try to stay around the edge of the door when you open it.

>Anti turret tactics
Be observant for anything that looks like paneled recess in the walls or floor, peek around corners before progressing, and move into new areas cautiously enough that you can fall back quickly. Don't cripple your speed, but be cautious.

If there really are well hidden devices that can pop out and fire faster than your reaction time, there's not much we can do, except maybe take unconventional paths (vents, etc), or hope your armor saves you.

>Neumono- Prepared to fight, but not quick to come at me
Confirms that troops are following the announcement's orders then. They've fallen back, and are likely defending hardpoints while the QI commandos look for you. If you sense outright aggression- that's one of them coming for you. They may have jammers though.

...I really wish we'd asked Rokoa what QI stood for now, that's gonna bug me.

>Embassy.
I wonder if the human who started this whole mess is there. If Rokoa was right about half of what she said about him, there's a target of opportunity I wouldn't mind putting down.

>>437582
The human Rokoa wanted dead is probably in there.
Target of opportunity time. Duck in and nail him if you see him, but if not then try to trick them into thinking he's your target; once you encounter resistance back out, then rip open a vent to make it look like you're trying to navigate through those. Ideally you would also rig a proximity explosive around the first bend in order to make it hard for them to follow 'you', but that's not really an option.

>>437582
Oh, ambassadors, these should be easy to convince to betray the queen. They stand to gain a lot, hell, they'll probably be like 'oh, we don't have to follow our dumb queen anymore and put someone else in charge and don't have to deal with the consequences of the betrayal? Sign us up!". These are also the dudes that chose a job based around diplomacy or "diplomacy" over something fun and violent in a fucking psychotic warhive.

Charge in there, proclaiming to the diplomats that you come in peace! Slightly. You're here to kick ass, but not theirs. Just the douchebag or bitch who decided to backstab the peace deal.

Check in there. Do the usual stand to the side when you open the door and check with the reflective knife. Hopefully there'll be a map you can check. Unfortunately, there will be loads of cameras, and probably turrets.

>>437585
Actually, don't kill the human right away. He is probably on the auto-turret white-list, so he could be used to keep them from firing on Polo by standing behind him. Actually capturing and keeping him from running away easily will be the tricky part. Of course, we'll have to see if the human is actually in there.

We obviously can't pop the human as soon as we see him. We need to at the very least confirm his identity first. And we might be able to squeeze a little info out of him first, if he fears for his life.

Not sure if he has any value as a hostage though. And even if there are neumono diplomats aboard (which kind of doubt- this hive doesn't seem to have allies from what we know), they aren't worth trying to recruit. Potentially useful for information, but you're probably best off stomach shot-ing them if they get in your way.

Polo 2012/07/30(Mon)19:19 No. 437617 ID: f09b71
File 134370115885.png - (18.88KB , 954x624 , 711.png )

There is a hall on the way, but no turrets to be found. I will have to constantly remember to use my knife around every corner whenever possible.

There is a belenosian in the next room.

>"Don't... shoot. Are you taking us - me - hostage?"

She is nodding frantically as she asks that question.

Roll with it. "Yes."

Oh, hey, it's a sheep person! Been a long time since we saw one of them. And we finally know what they're called.

I'm kind of surprised they have allies on board, though.

She *wants* to be taken hostage? (They might already be political hostages of the war hive?) I'm not sure why, but I doubt hostages will slow the QIs down. And they might slow us down. Not to mention we might get her killed. We can comply until we leave the room, I suppose. "Sure".

Keep weapons ready- she might be armed or bluffing. What do you know about disabling or killing this species?

Computer connection. Registered user. *Bingo*. Have her start pulling intel *now*, before they notice the line is compromised and cut her off. We need maps, schematics, communication frequencies. Locations of the Queen, troops, military resources, vital ship systems. *Go*.

Also ask who's we. Who / how many in the embassy?

"This hive is about to break a truce and attack my hive. I am here to stop it. I am not here to do anything more than that. I need a map of this place, now."

Failing that ask for direction of armory, central security, bridge, brig, engineering. Ask for all of those to mask which one you want to go to.

when you leave
"Give them a message for me. I am here to enforce the truce. If the truce is kept, I leave."

If you really want to, you can use "unconditionally surrender" instead of "leave".

Polo 2012/07/30(Mon)19:58 No. 437630 ID: f09b71
File 134370353623.png - (13.51KB , 700x700 , 712.png )

>What do you know about disabling or killing this species?
Disabling, hit them once. Killing them, shoot them once.

"Yes, you are a hostage. Start pulling up maps, schematics, communications frequencies. Location of the queen, troops, military resources, and vital ship systems. Go. While you are doing that, who is 'we?'"

>"We're a military corporation. Well, we are just businessmen and women, not the actual builders or anything - uh, anyway, there's only about 8 of us, including bodyguards."

Neumono are gathering outside of the hallway, where the embassy sign was held.

>"Miss Emere, are you alright in there?!" is heard over the intercom.
"Respond, slowly, keep your hands visible."

She is cooperative.

>"This one is holding me hostage - please don't come in!" She releases the intercom to speak to me again. "I'm going to print you a map. And vital areas? There are lots. Teleporters, where two thirds of the hivewould get borderline stranded if the teleporters were destroyed, the engine room, engineering bay, the airport where fighter jets are deployed, the security room, and of course the bridge. What are you here for?"

"This hive is going to break a truce and attack my own. I am here to stop it."
>"How would you plan on that?"

I do not know if telling her my assassination plan is beneficial.

Feed her a bogus plan, something that will divert forces away from you for a while.

What we plan on doing is disabling those aircraft and as many weapon ports as possible. They can't attack if they have nothing to attack with. Destroying the main computer so everything is on local control might help with that as well. As an afterthought ask where the Queen would most likely be say we wish to avoid her as the security will be far too high to do anything about it around her. Do not mention your plan to kill the Queen, as the neumino probably will question her after you leave.

>>Aircraft
>>Teleporters
We have two escape routes now.

nope, no plan revealing.

"Classified." Things to keep an eye out for on the map: Queen's location, and EXITS

Order secretary to sit/stand up against the desk facing the door. You get behind the desk away from the door. Hit the intercom and say "Keep the truce, get the fuck off this planet, and I will surrender. Otherwise you've got a hostile neumono on your ship."

Private contractors, doing delicate computer work giant fat fingered neumono aren't so good at, I guess.

>What are you planning?
Don't bother with bogus plans. That's not worth it. Honest answer:

"You're better off not knowing."
(Implied, I'd have to kill you if I told you.)

Grab some more info, but be fast. We need to move on: non-engine power generators might be nice to take offline. Central camera control. Number of QI on board. Location of command personnel. Central engines (we would never actually disable those and suicide, but it might be worth throwing them off track a little).

Then we need an exit route. Sheep girl would probably prefer it if you didn't have a firefight with that squad in this room, and a prolonged hostage situation will almost never ends well.

Remain wary- she appears comliant, but could be activating a turret or something. Or the nuemono could decide they want you dead more than her alive and come in anyways. Or her guards could enter from one of the other doorways.

>>437638
Negotiation or blackmail won't work. The whole problem with this hive is the Queen is insane and cannot be trusted. She needs to be removed for them to function, at all. Besides, we came here to help Rokoa- we came at her bequest, to do her mission. And the mission objective is killing the Queen. Anything else we can do is an action of opportunity. (Although, with internal security flipping out over us, and most the crew hiding, I'd say we're probably distracting them from external fighting pretty well right now).

Polo 2012/07/30(Mon)21:43 No. 437660 ID: f09b71
File 134370982248.png - (10.92KB , 700x700 , 713.png )

"You're better off not knowing. How many QI are on board?"
>"Theyyyy're often the queen's personal guard, handpicked. I doubt she sent more than half down below, so you're going to have a bunch chasing after you."
"There is already a bunch outside of this hall. Two dozen in the stairwell, waiting for me to get out. I need that map, and I need an escape route."

She raises her hands again getting up and slowly putting the printed map sheets on the table. Before I can get to them, however, she moves closer to me and gets on her knees, eyeing the computer again before whispering quietly to me.

>"I - we - are in deep poo here. The hive isn't allowing us to leave, as per our contract. And even if we could escape this ship, we'll be betraying our contract. Our corporation will throw us under the bus. I'm desperate here, I'm begging you, if your here to stop an attack, you can kill the queen. We can help you, and want to, because our treaty wasn't exactly with the hive, but rather with the queen, and won't live a minute longer than her."

"I'm not specifically after the queen. I only want to stop this attack. And I've already made a promise to not kill anyone (besides her). Stay here and wait this out."

"Are we in orbit or atmosphere?"

Plan is to take out engines and force a landing or make this ship vulnerable enough they can't launch an attack without leaving it open to attack.

We need to stop the offensive and all we have to work with is stuff inside this ship. The engines are easier to go after than the queen. And will accomplish the goal of stopping the offensive.

If the queen was my target, I'd need a route to her, a weapon capable of putting her down permanently, a way to get at her despite her guard and a way off this ship afterwords. If the queen was my target.

>>437665
We aren't here to stop the attack, not really, we're here to assasinate the queen to prevent a rogue queen from ruling this paticular bunch of war-crazy maniacs.

Oh, that's excellent if she's telling the truth.

And I'm inclined to believe her. This hive strong-arming assistance fits with what we know of them. It's possible she's loyal and is just trying to squeeze your objective out of you... but really, I don't see that making this stealth blown disaster much worse. We need an edge, or we're going to get caught, soon.

I vote we go for it.

It's also apparent from her behavior she thinks you're being listened in on (the computer). You need to answer her in a way that doesn't expose yourself to the listeners.

Nod, "That's fine- I learned some things from Rokoa."

Anyone who hears- it sounds like you're explaining your confidence to handle QIs. But if sheep-girl heard about the uproar when Rokoa confronted the Queen, she should understand.

>>437665

Fairly sure the plan is to kill the queen. There's no actual imminent attack on our hive (they already set them up the bomb). But don't agree with her out loud! She's obviously being monitored and if you announce "YES YOUR PLEA TO KILL YOUR CONTRACTED EMPLOYER IS SURELY ONE I WOULD AGREE TO HELP YOU WITH" to the microphone, then you'll be looking for her under busses for parsecs.

Just nod, say "Agreed" quietly.

Honestly these twigs break so easily for them to have simply survived a contract with this hive they've got to be packing some heavy arms.

ask her if that one merchant Rokoa wants us to kill is here and works with her.
If he is, do not comply with them completely, because then these motherfuckers started a lot of this mess in the first place to increase trade.

Why is landing the ship a good idea? Right now our target is trapped on board with us. We land, and she could escape. Plus, the other hives in the fight could destroy the ship (breaking our no kill conduct), and kill us. Also, corning them encourages the fuck it all last barrage of nukes.

Besides, after the queens dead, we want these guys to be able to flee offworld.

>for them to have simply survived a contract with this hive they've got to be packing some heavy arms
That, or they're just really handy with computers, and worth keeping around (and pushing around). This hive doesn't strike me as producing many techies or IT people (though, I suppose, if we are in the past, Lakkat might be here).

Nod in agreement, take the printed map, and make a writing gesture to indicate you need a pen, if you don't have one. Write in the map margin "will help; need secure comm," where she can see it. Nod towards the computer and add "sec. monitoring? AI?" as well, while saying you're only here to do your mission, nothing more.

Definitely ask how good the auto-turrets installed in the ship are. Are they insta-kill top-of-the-line models, something cheaper, or a mix? Also ask how good the security cameras are. Do they have night-vision, infrared, or motion sensors? Ask the same for the turrets.

Find out if the ship is still in atmosphere or not. If it is, then the option of taking a parachute and jumping when the objective is complete is open.

If the queen has these people tied down to a contract, then there might be others on board in the same situation. We might as well grab all of the help that we can in order for the queen to go down.

I'm thinking that because this is a warhive, then they might have recruited a few extra engineers and technicians to handle some of the non-war aspects of the hive. We could grab these people to disable turrets, teleporters, cameras, computers, doors, etc.

If they're aren't tech-savvy, then I guess they can help by hammering cameras, releasing these >>436834 things in the hallways, start a fire or anything to create distractions away from Polo.

Polo 2012/07/31(Tue)00:40 No. 437724 ID: f09b71
File 134372043434.png - (13.42KB , 700x700 , 714.png )

I do not believe that having intensely bad luck gives me entitlement to an qual amount of good luck, but if this is the truth, this would be a step in that direction. I give her a nod.

"Are we in orbit or atmosphere?"
>"High atmosphere, and the artificial gravity is turned on.
"Turrets. What kind, how good, and do those and the camera have night vision, infrared or motion?
>"Very good, not very accurate at a distance, but the response times are extraordinary. They have all three visions you mentioned, and the security camera have night and infrared."
"I am going to assume you are packing good weapons here. I want some."
>"Er... s-sorry, this is the embassy, not the armory!.... we might have something! Yes, speaking of turrets, I actually have a smoke grenade in the desk, but that's all I have here, I swear it!"
"Another question. Is someone named Lugo here?"
>"Yes, he's our main businessman. How do you know about him? Do I even want to know about that?"
"I've learned some things from Rokoa."
>"... oh. I think that's the one that socked Lugo in the face, once. Her ire is misplaced, Lugo is just a middle man. I know it might seem odd to some of you, but we don't necessarily have even similar ideals to some of the people we associate with."

I find it odd, but also find it odd how she handles the grenade. Like it would go off at any time, with inexperience, enough to make her continually nervous. That she would be a weapons dealer with no experience with weapons is what makes them alien to me.

I will communicate a couple of things via pen and paper, but first have to decide if Lugo being here will change my level of cooperation.

Lugo being here doesn't change a thing. Rokoa has a beef with him, but she also implied you'd be dead if you killed him--'suicide mission.'

>That she would be a weapons dealer with no experience with weapons is what makes them alien to me.
She's out of her element. She's a negotiator, or a businesswoman. She has skills that a weapon dealing group needs- but no experience with weapons herself. She was hired and put into position by people who wanted those skills, and didn't care if she was unprepared for the rest.

Besides, the war-hive almost certainly hired her firm for support services (tech, IT, ect) and resource supply. Not as military support. Her helpless is probably a plus for them.

>Lugo
If he's the middle man, that may mean the corporation set this up. We don't necessarily want to get the employees killed for their bosses decisions. We go for the head.

That, and sheep-support is too good to pass up right now. We need an edge, desperately. For now we work with them, and learn. If it turns out Lugo is behind everything? We can betray him later. It might turn out someone higher up, or off world, is to blame. Or the sheep is right, and some of the other corporate people are just jerks. Or Rokoa was wrong, and projecting her feelings about the Queen. For now, allying with the trapped contracts makes sense.

We need to get out of here, ASAP. Establish some means of secure communication, then find an exit. It the sheep doesn't have anything better, there's a vent by the door.

Trade names on the way out, just so I don;t have to keep calling her sheep.

Rokoa is the one with the problem with Lugo. You've got no reason to not cooperate with Lugo right now. Even if he turns out to be neck-deep in orchestrating this whole conflict, he's still the middleman, and middlemen are meant to take the fall when things go bad to protect the higher-ups. He can be squeezed for information later.

Gladly take the smoke grenade, but double check that it's actually a smoke grenade. Comment that you find it a little odd that Emere hasn't had much contact with her employer's stock-in-trade.

>>437727
Makes sense, given how fast this hive armed and built up, that they contracted a complete logistical package. Though the question of what they offered in trade for all these goodies is still up in the air.

I'm also assuming they can do something to help once you leave? Independently? The intel is nice, but it would be awesome to have them running interference in some way, maybe make cameras or turrets miss you, minor technical problems or delays, warn you of incoming troops, etc. There has to be ways they can impede the efficacy of the war hive without giving themselves away.

>>437724
Take a look at the maps.

Polo 2012/07/31(Tue)15:13 No. 437872 ID: f09b71
File 134377278882.png - (49.88KB , 1400x1400 , 715.png )

The smoke grenade will now look like a proper smoke grenade.

>See the map
I pocket the smoke grenade, and scan the map as fast as I realistically can.
>"It's a simple version, just to show what is where! For security, we don't have free access to where every air duct, side entrance or panic room is. There are so many entrances to everything though, you'll have a difficult time finding a dead end. The whole ship is 16 floors high plus the roof, divided into 4 layered sectors. We're at the top of the second sector by stairwell G."

I write down on some spare paper that I am expecting them to run some interference for me, but she silently replies that the hive has ownership over their tools, not the embassy. She cannot give a communication frequency for me to hear what the hive is saying, but she can give a frequency so that she may communicate with me directly, and she further writes that Lugo and them will attempt to seperate the queen as much as they can, at least to get her out of the bridge. How, she isn't sure, but she'll keep me updated. If she feels confident, she may be able to hack the system and mess with turrets or view security, but she would certainly be killed caught.

>Her name
The communication to her earlier would imply her name is Emere.

Oh, I missed her name, since they addressed her, she didn't introduce herself.

She's more useful to us alive and doing what she can, than dead and doing what she can't. Hacking something and revealing their betrayal to the hive is only worth it as a surprise tactic near the end.

Take the comm frequency, and bug out. We've been in one place too long. The QIs could be lining up around this room. There's a vent in the wall behind you if Emy doesn't have any better options.

We want to head up. It's not worth going all the way to the bottom of the ship to fuck with engineering. It's suicide to go for the engines. We could raid storage or the teleports, but there are other places to get guns, and the teles aren't our priority.

Sneakiest place to get big queen killing guns is to sneak into residential and grab Rokoa's. Residential people should be hiding in their rooms, per orders, and the residential area isn't where they'd expect a saboteur to target.

Convenient that the brig is on the same floor as the target. We can wave as we go by.

A good place to sabotage, or at least pretend to make the attempt to sabotage is the shield and gravity emmitters. Blow that and they won't dare to attack, furthermore low gravity might give us an advantage. It also gives us a reason to be in that part of the ship.

I... wonder if this can be made simpler.
Can we ask her if we should just straight up yell to the other neumono outside that we demand to challenge the queen into a fight to the death? That you accepted Rokoa's challenge and won, thus you deserve the right to challenge the queen through some form of a psychotic code of conduct. And that if you are refused this right, you insult them that their queen is weak and frail, after all. She shot an unarmed Rokoa, she is a fucking pussy. That you heard the shots on a bug you planted on some of her equipment. (maybe phrase it in a way that doesn't implicate Rokoa too hard or that she's a traitor, that she just think the Queen is fucking retarded at most and wants her to step down and let someone better take the ropes. That doesn't sound too heretical? Wait, ask Emere that too, if that isn't too heretical for this hive)
Just throw out all the stops. Insult them for following such a weak coward and propping her up on a pedestal. And that she looks like a clown dressed up in red make-up.

What I mean is, ask Emere if she thinks any of that might actually work. We wouldn't have to sneak our way though, I mean, I wouldn't actually trust them to let you just walk to the bridge, but you could egg on the queen to come down here and deal with the matter herself. Just have a big ol' fight in the embassy. You are the both the predator and the prey, you hunting in the shadows and out of sight while she hunts you down in the hallways. You could shoot out various light sources in here.

It flat out won`t work. The queen will happily order them to kill you no matter what you or they say. The Queen is insane. Besides we aren`t built for the type of combat a duel will need. We`re an assassin and infiltrator, not a soldier.

>>437893
but will they follow a queen's orders when she's been appropriately served with no comeback whatsoever? Well, yeah, they will. They're soldiers after all, but they'll still be like "Oh no she didn't. Queen, you are NOT just gonna let that go? Oh, you're not going to beat her up? well fine, I guess. But now she's kinda got a point you big red bitch." which may slightly alter morale, which can affect the battle in many ways.

Any psychological or morale damage we could inflict with a challenge like that isn't worth giving away our target. If defenses on the Queen are tightened too much, we either won't be able to kill her, or we'll have to kill her a lot, in ways that leave collateral damage.

If it's any consolation, they likely are somewhat shook up by the Queen ordering a truce betrayed (they might not all take it as seriously as Rokoa- but I bet honor matters to them). And Polo's open, terrifying challenge to the QIs shook them up some. Plus you know, slowly losing the war can't be good for morale. So they aren't golden on that front.

>>437888
Shield emitters are a good target- it seems legitimate, could distract personnel from our actual target, and discourage them from closing to fight or firing nukes close by.

But I saw we go for getting guns first. When we blow a system, we give away what floor we're on, and I'd like to sneak in and out of residential first, which is on the same floor(s). There have to vents between the rooms there, and if we can get our support to look up an exact address for us, it shouldn't be hard getting to the one we want.

Assuming of course we can ditch pursuit for a little while as we leave this room.

...do we have to knock Emere out as we leave this room? To make it not look suspicious? Otherwise, they'll wonder why she doesn't alert them as soon as we leave. We want a head start, and her to maintain her cover.

Polo 2012/07/31(Tue)20:32 No. 437968 ID: f09b71
File 134379196981.png - (11.68KB , 700x700 , 716.png )

I have felt this hive constantly since coming, and I can say with better certainty now that Rokoa's sense of honor is unique more to herself. The rest of this hive does not give me a sense of constant betrayal and subterfuge, but doing what needs to be done to win, even if honor has to go by the wayside.

Especially concerning the queen, whos outright backstabbery may be as much out of line as Rokoa's romantic ideas of fair duels. If I challenged the queen, I would be genuinely more terrified if she accepted.

"Again. Give me an escape, or I start shooting."

This grate in the wall is too small, even for me.

>"Uh... uh, in the back. There is an escape grate for, well, us, in this circumstance. Two, actually, one secret door and one grate. The door goes starboard right into the hospital ward, just underneath the shield and gravity systems. The grate goes up a few floors, entering, uh... a c-crawlspace that goes up a few floors, more towards the bridge and security room. Not in them, mind you, but along the outskirts. Oh, and one more thing, the armory specifically is in the supply rooms." As she speaks, I input the comm frequency in my armor's communicator as she gives it with her fingers.

The intercom on the Belenosian's phone opens in chat.

>"Infiltrator! We wish to speak about your demands."

I plan on knocking this girl out, as to not blow her cover.

>>437968
Don't respond to them at all. We can deliver our demands once we hold an obvious upper hand.

Knock her out while telling them to disable the gravity, the cameras the gun turrets as well as prepping a shuttle for use. They are to clear out the engineering section, as well as the planes. Any interference will see your hostage dead. Tell them you found their com frequencies and any hesitation or noncompliance will see her dead. Changing the channels will see her dead. Once she knows those sections are cleared she will exit with the hostage. If she sees signs of any gaurds she will kill the hostage.

After giving your spiel take the secret entrance to the shield generators... we'll stop off at residential after.

>>437968
I am tempted to whisper coffee cake, though joke responses that imply noncooperation like that will probably result in immediate response. No response will get you a few extra seconds. Perhaps real demands could keep them a little distracted to put up a show of complying with them, but that's it.

I vote no response. I see it as better for the hostage's cover. They'd think we merely disposed of her after we used her for all she's worth.

If we use the secret door, we'll be seen on a few cameras in the hospital shortly after. If we use the crawl space and they have no sensors in them, then we'll be off the grid. Should they storm the embassy, and we're nowhere, they'll put two and two together and search the crawlspace, that is if security heads are smart enough and have the plans with them to anticipate your moves. Use the crawlspace. It'll take a bit to put two and two together, though your travel will be slower.

>victory before honor
Huh, it sounded like whoever Rokoa talked to on that radio call disliked the backstabbing, at least.

>I plan on knocking this girl out
Remember when you do that you're currently covered in metal, and strengthened by bio armor. Compensate for that so you don't overdo it.

Going for the armory would be nice, but there's forces coalescing around this room, and supplies is too close nearby. The upward exit is better- puts us close to our planned distraction target, and crew quarters.

>Demands
Best thing I can think of is to stall while you make your way out of here. Can you tie/relay your comm temporarily through the intercom, so you can stall them even as you sneak away in the exit?

Stalling means getting them to talk as much as possible- we don't invent stories, we goad them into talking to us. They'll play along, as they think they're buying time while they surround and trap us in the room, preparing to come in for us.

I'd play up the nukes. They're losing. We know about their nuclear contingency. We offered them a chance at truce and withdrawal, and they turned it down. So now the stakes are higher. If they don't want you killing hostages dead, or doing anything worse, they can start by calling off the nukes.

(pause and let them get a word in whenever they want- draw it out).

I like this threat, because we're relatively confident that our hive and allies are prepared for the nukes anyways at this point.

If you can't stall and walk, you might want a quicker stall, like you'll make your demands when you're good and ready.

>>437972
Don't say things they can easily falsify- they'll discover pretty quick when don't react to them doing forbidden things with their comms. Once they know we're bluffing, that's bad.

Also, I'm not sure disabling gravity helps us, if we want to move quickly. Hell, do our guns still work in zero g?

>>437980
There's nothing wrong with starting with a sarcastic "Slice of coffee cake would be nice." =D

>>437986
Polo's guns would still work in a low gravity environment, along with, unfortunately, their recoil; One shot would knock her off her feet. However, if she does gain access to the artificial gravity controls, there's other ways to use them. Perhaps turning them up, to the point that those without the strength benefits of bio-armor are stuck to the floor under their own weight. How slowly tilting the gravity like the ship is listing over, until the walls are the floors, or spinning it 'round 'till everyone hurls. Really, theres all kinds of fun to be had with gravity control.

Eh, Things like gradients or spinning are probably not good for the structural integrity of the ship. There's a good chance we could cause casualties (especially in say, the infirmary), or that the ship could break up.

As for just strait ups and downs, I can't imagine either way gives us a significant edge. We're fighting almost exclusively QI, who will probably all have bio armor, and the whole hive is physically stronger than us. The turrets would be designed to work in even a zero-g boarding action.

Dynamic, on the fly gravity control, now that would be awesome. But I highly doubt we could rig that up.

Ask if they have any cake. No, no stay silent.

>>438001
Alright, the possibility of casualties and deaths is a good point, though I doubt a ship that's kept aloft by a gravity drive couldn't structurally take or compensate for extreme gravity events. Now, if the artificial gravity settings could be changed in only certain areas, then that'd be something else.

However this is all moot if Polo doesn't go to the artificial gravity generators, or can't access the controls, and is stuck with either pulling the plug or blowing it up. There's also the matter of the hive probably not being able to safely head into space without artificial gravity, delaying them until repairs can be made, so that's another thing to consider.

Go towards shield and gravity systems. Reply with this but nothing more. "Stop the attack. Keep the truce. And I will surrender.". The surrender is of course after they have confirmed left the planet and no longer pose a threat.

Did somebody say gravity systems? >: D Polo, how good are you at 0-G combat?

And shield systems. We can make this ship vulnerable if we go after those too. Force them to spend resources defending this ship and pull them away from any offensive actions.

Polo 2012/08/01(Wed)13:33 No. 438118 ID: f09b71
File 134385320643.png - (40.47KB , 700x700 , 717.png )

>Rokoa talked to someone who disliked backstabbing
Yes, disliked backstabbing, but there is a middle ground between backstabbing and standing toe to toe trading blows in honorable combat. I believe that is where this hive lies, with exceptions such as Rokoa and the Queen.

>Can you tie/relay your comm temporarily to the negotiator
Emere writes that this is possible, and gets my communicator tied in with the telephone in good speed.

>Fighting in 0g
I can do this, it is likely no more of a nuisance to me than it is to them. There will still be as much atmosphere, so my guns will still be able to combust and fire.

"First of all. No nukes." I begin telling them, moving while I wait for a response.

>Be careful while knocking her out
I do not have a lot of experience with handling other species. I do not know how hard I have to hit to knock her out, but not do harm such as, I hear, a concussion. In fact, I believe this species cannot hold their breath for half a minute. I will take advantage of that.

They do not respond as Emere leads me to the door, as I will head through there to sneak through the hospital. I do not see anyone else around the embassy. I expect they are hiding, and I begin asphyxiating the belenosian while pocketing the paper we used to communicate.

>"Fine. We will not be using any nukes. Do you demand anymore?

"...... Coffee Cake."
Another pause.
>"Excuse me? What does coffee cake mean?"

... I do not know where the one negotiating with me is, but based on the neumono that are around and hearing this, they think that 'Coffee Cake' is some kind of code.

"You don't what coffee cake is? You are missing out. It's... I don't know what it is made out of but it makes a great breakfast and you drink it with coffee. Ask around, like, Rokoa, apparently she's a good cook and knows how to make it. Before we tried to kill each other in our duel, she made this delicious cake out of salikai... I think. Just like Mom used to make. 'cept with more salikai."

>>438118
Give them a basic recipe, but tell them if they don't know how to make it already it probably wouldn't be any good anyway. Also it was a joke, since you don't expect them to give you anything. If they're serious about giving into your demands, ask for them to get you a shuttle ready. We could use an escape route...

>>438135
I don't think we should keep throwing Rokoa's name around, not unless we want her branded as a traitor.

Aw. Poor Emere. I hope she knew that was coming, and doesn't think you betrayed her. Little late too warn her though.

>0g combat.
This is a spaceship based war hive. They've gotta have some people trained for that contingency.

Continue to the upward exit, stall them as you go. Gotta keep them thinking you're in that room as long as possible.

They agreed to the nukes fairly easily. Probably means they don't intend to keep the promise, or they aren't important.
>Coffee cake?
"*Sigh*. I guess the sense of humor isn't shared trait.

Forgive me if I don't immediately release the hostages, stand down, and trust your word. You haven't stood by it so far. What assurances are you offering me, negotiator?"

>>438141
That's why I added a bit about the duel. They know what Rokoa's like. And they've already thrown her in the brig. And that hurt QI already knows we're friends with Rokoa.

They want to know what's up, and if they anyone to Rokoa, or connect the radio to her, they'll know exactly what's up. It's just coffee cake. Plus, it implies that both Rokoa and Polo have devoured some Salikai baked into a dish. That is some hardcore shit right there. And these are neumono we're talking about here, Rokoa can't really lie to them at all, she shouldn't be broadcasting traitor signals, at most, she's broadcasting hate for the queen and only the queen and, if they mention salikai coffee cake, hunger.

how about we just GET ON WITH IT instead of ranting about cake for an hour.

>>438162
We're going out the back door, using comms, while they think we're in the room on the phone. The longer we talk, the longer we can trick them thinking we're somewhere we aren't, and build up a head start.

Alternate idea for coffee cake:
Play up the codeword. Respond curtly, "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about." Cue them frantically try to figure out what you are talking about, and being unable. If they think to ask Rokoa, she'll just laugh insanely when she realizes you've made her hive paranoid over coffee cake.

>>438162
Just leave, yeah.

Polo 2012/08/01(Wed)16:33 No. 438199 ID: f09b71
File 134386403677.png - (48.99KB , 700x700 , 718.png )

>Get on with it, just leave
>Play it up
"...... figure it out yourself." I am leaving regardless, as my comm is hooked up to the phone.

>"Keep talking to us, infiltrator! Don't fuck with us!"

I remain silent. It isn't far before the range of my communication with the phone expires. Continuing on leads to a shift in the hive, going from the unnerved soldiers to the hospital ward. The feel is far different, and for them, I may as well not exist.

Lots of frantic doctors and medics work on lots of wounded neumono. By the time I can reach the dead end to open the door, I can sense Tirrik here as well. And... two others. Not part of this hive, but rather, similar to.... whats-her-face. Korli. From the science hive, native to the facility. It seems that they have been brought up here, after sustaining injuries. I do not sense anyone in the immediate vicinity outside of this door.

>>438199
Then we should enter.

What's that on the ceiling? Another grate?

Walk in. Get to the gravity gen and shielding room place thing and disable both systems. I don't think everyone else will have an easy time fighting like that.

Careful of QI units with jammers, still ya go in.

>Door, what do?
Make sure your line to the phone is disconnected, so they can't use it to track you or anything.

Do you know where we are on the map right now? Make sure you've got your bearing in case we have to run again.

I'm assuming this is a secret bolt hole for the company people? So the war hive doesn't know about it, and hasn't deployed shielded teams to cover this exit?

We want to exploit our small lead as much as possible. As soon as you leave this passage, we need to find a path out of camera sight, and start moving up and over, towards gravity systems and residential. Getting into the vents is probably a good bet for this.

>Pinkie-hive prisoners
They got all the way down to the science hive, and started taking prisoners? That or the Salika were low enough on monster cannon fodder to send their pet nuemono into battle. Either way, that means the battle's going better for the war hive than I expected down there, and faster too. Not good- they may have more QIs freed up soon.

The prisoners are none of our concern, though. We can't afford to blow the little bit of cover we've earned ourselves to rescue them. That and you can't, as their movement would be sensed.

>Tirrik
I wonder if the same "shoot 'em, earn friendship / respect" thing we saw in Rokoa and Kork applies to him too now. XD

Seriously though, avoid him. He's no help to you, and we don't want to kill or shoot him particularly.

Open the door slowly, just far enough to check around it in the reflection of your knife. If it's clear, then pass through, and close it after you.

Once through, take a moment to monitor the movements of the neumono nearby. Pay attention for any that blink out of your senses and back again; There's probably a QI in a jammer bubble near there.

Polo 2012/08/01(Wed)18:31 No. 438245 ID: f09b71
File 134387108516.png - (15.78KB , 700x700 , 719.png )

>The ceiling
It does appear to be a gap in the ceiling, but it may or may not move anywhere.

>Does the hive know about this secret hole?
If they do, they are doing a poor job of covering this exit.

I open the door, checking as much as I can with a knife. I end up at the side and back of a room with 4 neumono that are sleeping or passed out. None of them wake up, thankfully, as the door does make much noise. Then again, I don't know if these ones could be easily awoken in the first place.

Keeping my sneak advantage may be difficult. I do not see any cameras in here, yet there is a lot of bustle outside of this room, covered with only a flap for a door out into what I am presuming is a hallway. I can bolt out and attempt to find a stairway, attempting to keep out of sight based on my senses, but I will otherwise be out in the open, and whether or not I am seen is just as much luck as skill.

>Watch out for neumono fading in and out in case of a jammer
..... now that I think about it, there is a small disturbance a floor or two before, where there is some phasing in and out. It is somewhat difficult to tell, as lots of neumono from the same hive tend to blend together. If it is a QI with a jammer, then I still doubt that I will be too pressed for time so long as I don't twiddle my thumbs here.

Take a peek outside the "door".

...dangit, we should have taken the other passage Emere offered. Too late to go back though, they may have breached the embassy by now.

Hmm. Not that it's relevant, but do we recognize any of the patients in here?

Medical is a bad place to be with your no-kill conduct. Any fighting has high odds of collateral damage- we could get the wounded killed, and any medical personal we injure reduces their capacity to keep people alive. Plus we can expect the patients and medical staff to be more fragile than the soldiers.

Bolting isn't a great option, I'd rather not immediately lost our stealth advantage. Getting off the camera grid- into the vents say, should be our goal. Stairs will be watched.

Could you create a distraction, to improve your odds of sneaking out? A patient's alarms going off to draw people in for a code would be great, provided you have a (non gunshot) way to set off the medical alarm at range, and a place to hide (in a side door? In an empty bed?) as people rush in/by.

Go through that gap in the ceiling you just passed, instead

Peek out using the knife as a mirror.

>>438253

Set alarm off at distance. Find a place to hide. How about the morgue? You can convincingly imitate a corpse.

You could use the smoke grenade to make it look like there's a fire, by putting it in the air ducts. Their fire protocol would likely be to move the patients out, leave, and have fire control come in, leaving you with fewer people to handle, and smoke to hide in. Is there a vent within reach that you can take the cover off, roll the active smoke grenade into, and put the cover back? Do that, then go back and close the door until they clear out.

>>438253
Hold on any action that would bring them in here if you can't hide where you could slip out behind them, or close the door you just came through; It's a dead giveaway you came through here. If you do do this plan, don't get fancy, and just simply pull some leads from the medical monitors on one patient until it alarms. It'll look like the patient shifted in their sleep and popped them off.

>>438245
Can you sense whether or not Rokoa is in here? If not, you may want to check top left. No visible head, tons of tubes going in... I'm guessing massive damage.

>>438287
I'd assume Rokoa is in the brig, hanging on the hook the Queen sent her too. It's only been what, half an hour, an hour, since Rokoa's confrontation with the Queen? I doubt any torture or physical discipline has crippled her to the point they'd have to stop and send her to the infirmary, yet.

Idea: you have a much closer connection to Rokoa than anyone in this hive, and she should be immobile. Can you sense her at all at this range? If you can, you can use her as a reference point as you travel- she's a north you can track with your emotion-compass.

Polo 2012/08/02(Thu)12:33 No. 438397 ID: f09b71
File 134393602339.png - (34.60KB , 900x700 , 720.png )

>Sense Rokoa to use as a point of reference for navigation
This would be a nice idea, however, by the map, I should have passed right underneath the brig. And when I think about it, I did not sense a single neumono inside. I am thinking that there is a constant jammer inside, as I have heard of that tactic being used in rough prisons. Solitary confinement is undermined if the prisoner can sense the guards and cellmates around them. It also prevents guards from forming sympathy from prisoner feedback, or the prisoner getting a sense of authority from the guard's feedback.

>Massive damage
There is the one whos head is not visible. The one to his bedside has a blanket that drapes off to mattress level far earlier than it should. That is the one whos plugs I detach from the monitors. Not the life support itself, but simply a few of the heart detectors and so forth closest to the injured one. I barely manage to get on the doorflap bar before a doctor swings in to work on this false emergency. In the instant the flaps are open, I hold my knife down to view the hallway. No turrets or cameras that I can see, and the coast is clear. Normally I would expect myself to get found out like this, but the doctor's focus on the task is resolute.

>Hide in a morgue
While my silence helps with playing dead, my armor would both be subject to removal, and also act as identification.

I can't say I like the idea of bolting for the stairs, but the vents out in the hall may not be ideal. Though I can fit in them, they are likely difficult to crawl through with any satisfactory speed, most likely create noise, and aren't made to hold a person's weight.

>>438397
Leave quietly but quickly. Do not attack the doctor; that endangers lives indirectly and would leave a trail for the QI to pick up on.

Man, a neumono in a surgical mask is kind of scary.

>shielded brig
Hmm. Bonus of that. We could actually conceivably sneak in and talk to or release Rokoa if we had reason to, and it would't be sensed until she left.

Although if the brig is secure enough, there's a good chance it's not worth the effort.

>>438398
This plan for now. We'll hope a better route presents itself. We know stairs have cameras every floor. Don't take the vents if you think they'll give you away. Maybe another garbage chute? Or enter/leave the staircase via vents to bypass cameras.

>Morgue
I think the idea was more you'd be just one more lump under a blanket, temporarily. Obviously you wouldn't want to hang around long enough to be examined or stripped.

Silently drop down and make a break for the stairs. Head up to Shield and Gravity Systems. Note the locations of vents as you pass, in case you have to hide in one to avoid detection.

Keep mental watch on that jammer void you noticed earlier, in case it moves towards you. If it does, you've been spotted and called in.

We're going to need something other than bullets to disable cameras soon. Keep on the lookout for a long narrow pipe or broomhandle, and a spike or heavy weight that could be attached to the end. Also keep an eye out for something that could be used to slip up or slow down pursuers, such as lubricants or ball-bearings.

Run for stairs go up to grav gens.

1/2 Polo 2012/08/02(Thu)18:44 No. 438626 ID: f09b71
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I run for the stairs as quietly as I can manage. Most of the activity is downstairs, much of the top floor, from what I can see, is for stabilized patients.

The jammer void down below is moving swiftly but steadily. I am quicker, and manage to make it through the stairwell, shooting another security camera after not finding any clubs or conveniently heavy object on my way through. I couldn't have avoided this camera either, and no convenient alternative entrance showed itself unfortunately. But, at least I have a head start, and a clear shot to the shield and gravity room.

2/2 Polo 2012/08/02(Thu)18:47 No. 438634 ID: f09b71
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The door to my goal opens without resistance, and I go through. Only to have the door beep and lock after I make it through.

There are warning labels. Unlike most others that talked about not being a dumbass, this one has threateningly serious tones about not using guns or any sparks, as death will occur. Not serious injury or death, it claims, but serious injury and death.

There is a strange smell here. I would not say it is gas, but I have never been around plasma generators before. Gravity generators, as far as I can tell, do not make such a smell.

>>438634
...Maybe it leaks hydrogen? That shit's flammable, and it'd probably blow the generator if it went up.

Also, probably radioactive, given the nature of the generator and its incredibly poor design if it really is leaking.

Maybe high oxygen content? ...Avoid sparks at all costs. What floor are you on, again?

We can't just fire a bullet into here from a safe zone without investigating first. IF there are neumono with a jammer in here as well and they're caught in the explosion, there goes our no-kill policy.
Look for a console of some sort.

Hydrogen is most convenient to render into plasma it's true. Though helium might be preferable for its stability. But that aside, you probably walked into a trap. Until you can identify the smell I advise holding your breath.

>>438634
Shit, the door LOCKED?! You need to find a way out, pronto. Fast fast fast.

Polo 2012/08/02(Thu)19:48 No. 438694 ID: f09b71
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>Look for a way out
The grates at the bottom are bolted down hard. The larger door at the other end is also flashing LOCKED. I don't see any ready exits, but I will keep my eyes peeled. There is a fog in here that is more apparent in an open area.
To be safe, I close my armor's air vents and hold my breath.

>What floor are you on?
This should be floor 9. This area appears to encompass two floors, as the map indicated.

I do not know which contraptions are the gravity and which are the shields. Perhaps it is a single mechanism for both. It sounds unlikely, but the existence of nebulous shields forming a bubble that can block high level explosives sounds magical anyways.

>Look for terminals
I do not see anything major, but each tube here appears to have some kind of control panel. I have no idea how to work them.

The jammer void has not moved faster, but it did change to my direction. There is a high chance that it is coming for me.

Move slowly and carefully to conserve oxygen. Get a close look at one of the terminals, and if there's no off switch, then climb the ladder in the back and continue searching for hiding spots.

Any exits when you climb up?

TIme to see if the sheep has recovered, we need her help. Click the com link once to get her attention. If she doesn't answer right away click again every minute while you mess with the control panel of one of the generators.

Click the radio com to get Spiky's attention. Start fiddling with the controls. Even if you don't know what you are doing.

If you have a plasma sword or some other form of really hot flame pull it out and keep it handy. Only Rokoa knows you are trying not to kill anyone. And blowing up this ship to save your hive from attack is a perfectly reasonable thing to do from the enemy's perspective. They will take this as seriously as it gets. This would be an even better place for an armed standoff. Your hostages are things that blow up really really big. And would at the very least take out a chunk of the ship's shields, if not all of them.

If they try to communicate again give us a chance to think up a response.

Check for cameras. Considering the haze, they're probably set lower here. If you can reach any by climbing or jumping, do so, and knock them around so they face the wall.

Did the warning sign indicate any emergency shutdown or venting procedures? Considering the flammability of the air in here, it's almost certain there's atmospheric dump vents to the ship's exterior from this room, since there would be no way to fight a fire here once it starts. Look for any buttons, switches, or controls outlined in bright red or black and yellow warning stripes. How well can neumono handle low or no atmospheric pressure environments?

Once the jammer void get's starts to get near the entrance, climb up on the catwalk and move over where it'll come in.

>>438698
Definitely get Emere on radio, discreetly. In fact, don't say anything that'd give away you're talking to her or anyone in the Embassy; There might be security microphones active in here. If she picks up, ask how to identify a gravity generator from a shield generator, and instructions on how to operate whichever these turn out to be.

>>438703
Even better, deliberately not knock one of the cameras all the way to the wall, pull out the C4 and remote detonator just within its view, move out of shot, and put the C4 back in your pack. Then you could use the remote detonator as a bluff.

>>438694
Get up above the door the void is heading towards. Sneak attack with your knife the instant the door opens. They'll be expecting to take YOU by surprise, not the other way around! But y'know if there's a security cam in here you won't be able to sneak attack at all.

First priority is finding an alternative exit, though. If we can avoid having to face the QI at all, that's optimal. Climb that ladder.

Polo 2012/08/02(Thu)21:04 No. 438715 ID: f09b71
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There are a couple camera. I knock them into the wall, flashing the fact that the capability of laying C4 should I want to bluff.

I cannot tell where the void is anymore. There are no neumono specifically to that location anymore, so whoever is holding it is alone.

>Fiddle with the controls
Completely locked down. It needs permissions of some kind.

>How well can a neumono handle no atmosphere pressure?
Not for long, it would kill anyone within a couple minutes tops. The only procedure signs I see for emergencies are to get the hell out and let the technicians handle it.

>Check the sheep
"Come in."
>"Yes, infiltrator? What do I call you?"
"Polo. I'm in the shield generator rooms." I speak quietly. The armor, I believe, muffles much of my volume well.
>"Oh. OH, do not take the shields down! We're on high alert for incoming missles!"
"What are the differences between shield and gravity?"
>"The plasma cells are the lit up blue parts, and the gravity generator is a gigantic engine spread throughout the room - the idea is that if there is an explosion, it won't be destroyed completely and utterly, or at least reduce the chance of it."

I climb up to the higher area. The only exit I find is also locked from the inside. There are plenty of hiding spots in the mess of machinery, especially with the fog.

>>438715
Ask her why it smells funny in here. Just so you know if it's okay to breathe. Also we need an exit; everything's locked!

And hide. Can you listen closely enough to tell when the QI enters, and about where they are?

Yeah, ask what'cha breathing here.

"That's the plan. I take down the ship shields, they are forced to keep the truce else their queen gets blown to hell. How do I shut them down without making this entire place explode? And taking out grav gens is a given."

Confirm if "high alert" means either missiles are incoming right now, or just really likely to be incoming. 'Cause if there are missiles incoming, the truce is busted already. If they aren't, then breaking the shield generators will encourage them to keep the truce.

I think she means the missiles are on there way here now. Taking the shields down would probably mean deaths. Then Rokoa would kill us. Since we have sticks of C4 lets bluff some more and stick two on a couple plasma generators. Set them up with a dead man switch and such so they can't disable them easily... they'll also have to sweep the entire place for more.

Ask the sheep how to disable the gravity generator from here and are are there any exits or can she re-enable the doors.

Honestly, you can't hide in here; You'll end up stuck in place while every QI in this ship comes in to search for you. You have to get out ASAP, and the only obvious chance is when that QI in the stairwell comes in. They're going to close the door as soon as the QI crosses the threshold, so you'll have to jam it open.

Here's how you do that: Swing over the edge of the catwalk and drop down, to save time. Drop the grappling hook at the edge of the doorway, and play out just enough rope to tie it to either the ladder up to the catwalk, or something more solid. At this point if you're going to plant C4, place it on the shield generator nearest the rope.

Wait next to the door, with the grappling hook in hand. When your sense of the neumono below blinks out, that means you're in the QI's jammer bubble, and the QI is about to enter. This is when you crouch down, ready to spring forward. As soon as the door opens, hook the grappling hook over the edge of the frame. The QI's going to charge in, since they want to keep the door open as short as possible. That's when you spring forward as hard as you can to knock the QI off balance, then slip through the door when it jams.

Once outside, rush up the stairs. If you've planted C4, wait until the QI is just starting to climb the stairs after you, and detonate it. The explosion will sever the rope, and the door will close, shielding the QI and you from the brunt of the blast.

Hmm. Eme regained consciousness and got out of any questioning or medical check rather quickly. I thought we'd have to wait longer till she was free to offer support.

If the air in here is combustible, we can't really afford to fight a QI in here. With ranged weapons out, we're at the same disadvantage we were always afraid of with Rokoa. You just can't match them in strength and durability at close range.

If the combustive fog is heavier than air (so it fills up the bottom of the room) you could always exploit that to blow up the QI when she enters. Of course, you have no idea how big the explosion could be. You could easily kill her, or take out the shields completely, or kill yourself. So that's not such a great idea.

Taking out the shields completely might be a bad idea, but it would be nice to distract them with something. Partial damage of shields or gavitics. Besides, if you don't want them to guess your actual target, it'd be good to look like you're targeting something else.

...could you rig a spark trap? The fog seemed less dense at the door, and when opened, it'll mix with clear air. Maybe a smaller, non-fatal explosion could be triggered there. A single cartridge maybe, left on the floor it such a way that opening the door will crush it. Boom. Explosion in the doorway, knocks the QI back on her ass.

Might want to let sheep girl explain exactly what's in the air and how combustible it is first though.

>>438715
"Don't worry; blowing up the ship is plan B. That should be incentive to help me as much as possible with plan A, which involves some aggressive negotiations with a certain Neumono.

However, right now I'm stuck in this room, and all the exits are locked. I hope you can find me a way out of this area, because plan B is looking more and more likely. The QI are closing in on me, and combat in this room would be a fast-track to plan B."

>>438778
She's already afraid for her life staying here, I don't think threats help. We don't need coercion to motivate her- the war hive's already put a gun to her head for us.

Heck, we may even want to take the opposite approach, and try and build a rapport, so she sees as more than a disposable means for her own escape. You could start by quickly apologizing you couldn't warn her before knocking her out to maintain her cover.

There's nothing wrong with reassuring her that blowing the ship is not your objective- you'd very much prefer to kill the Queen and escape alive if at all possible. You were hoping damaging some of this stuff would make a useful distraction, and keep them from guessing your true intent.

Polo 2012/08/03(Fri)09:27 No. 438861 ID: f09b71
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"You got out of questioning pretty quickly."
>"There wasn't much to say! You just came in to take advantage of the opportunity. The hive does trust us well, I don't think they would expect us to play against them."
"Sorry about knocking you out without warning."
>"It was the best way to do it, I know."
"Does high alert mean they're coming? And do you know what the smell here is?"
>"No, but it means that an enemy base or ship has them actively armed and trained on us, and just needs to give a command. And the plasmashields emit a tiny bit of radioactivity, and, well, there are some funny molecules in the air. It's why the shield generators aren't manned, but so long as you don't hide out in there, you'll be fine. Oh, and hydrogen. There's that too."
"Do you know how to mess with the gravity?"
>"Well... yes, I think you can do it there, there are emergency backdoors, but even those require logins. You know, Rokoa's ID probably isn't locked out or anything, if you can get to the brig to ask her."

>Jam the door
The problem with this is that a jammer bubble can be as short as a couple meters, so I will barely get a notice even if I do wait by the door. That is not, however, as big a problem as attempting hand to hand combat with even a single QI.

"Most of all, I need an exit. Something more detailed."
>"Uh... I would have to hack something, which I'm willing to do, but there is always the risk of discovery."

Set explosive charges on the shields. Announce that you are in a more comfortable position to discuss things with their hive now. Don't go anywhere near the doors.

Are the user names just peoples' names, and not quasi-randomly generated tripcodes? If so, we might know Rokoa well enough to guess her password.

ID: Rokoa
Pass: Kakra

If this works, proceed to fuck with gravity.

Hacking and giving away our source of intel probably isn't worth it just yet.

Could you hide just out of sight, outside the room? Then when the QI enters, you fire past her, into the room. Explosion knocks her back out the door, into the wall, hopefully disabling without killing. Then you gtfo.

We can't get bottled here. Tell her to hack it. Do place the C4 though as it will take her a little bit of time.

Hold on the hacking for now, and try the login and password in >>438869 first.

While Polo's hive would abide by the truce, consider that if the shields go down, there's a chance one or more of the other hives will take advantage and attack. Even so, plant one charge on a plasma generator, just to have the option. Use the grappling hook to get up high and stick the C4 in the mess of tubes and wiring around the generator's "chimney." Uh, but first ask Emere if these shield generators put out a lot of EM or comm interference that would block your remote detonator.

As long as you're up there, look around for other vents, hatches, doors, loose panels, or any other possible way out, or someplace you could safely seal yourself in and detonate the C4 or ignite the air in here.

I'm just hoping the ID is right. For all we know, the format might be more <name>_<rank> or something. Emere could probably fill us in on what the format is, but we don't, for example, know Rokoa's QI number is (one of the three QIs in the chapter 1 reports in as #6, but we don't know if it's her or not). I suppose her rank would be a matter of public record though.

We don't have anything else to guess for the password though. I really hope she didn't use the name of her other kid.

1/2 Polo 2012/08/03(Fri)11:42 No. 438891 ID: f09b71
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I use my grappling hook to start moving around quicker. First to drop down and input Rokoa/Kakra, but assuming that her login is correct, she did not use such an easy password.

"Hold off on the hacking. Do the shields or anything here generate enough interference to mess with a remote detonator?"
>"You're not planning on that?!"
"Bluffs."
>"Well, now, it would be okay, but this better not be a suicide thing for you!"

I plant the C4 out in the open to easily show that I have done so, but away from any doors so that it could not be kicked away safely. At least my pack is lighter now.

2/2 Polo 2012/08/03(Fri)11:42 No. 438892 ID: f09b71
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I head to the top, at the ceiling. I find grates, but they aren't the screw on plates that I can yank off or unscrew. More like closeable grates that are on tight.

There is an echo in here. I can most likely speak without giving away a precise location. My gut is telling me that whoever is coming will be here at any second, if I want to position myself anywhere in particular.

I don't suppose punching through the grates is an option? At least enough to where you can get your hand through and yank it with better grip?

It's kinda hard to see what the best vantage point or hiding spot would be without a good, knowledgeable mental layout of the room. it looks like your hiding on top of one of the generators pipes for coolant or cords.

Polo 2012/08/03(Fri)12:13 No. 438897 ID: f09b71
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>Hard to get a mental layout of the room
It is. There is various machinery blocking much of my visibility on the second floor up, aside from the single exit on the second floor. On the bottom level, there are 8 canisters, and only a couple of security cameras that were mostly trained on the doors before I hit them.

I punch a grate. It makes a bang, but does not bend past its maximum elasticity. I may be able to loosen it with time.

As for the pipe that I am on, it could be anything. It is wide enough to fit into if I had the tool to open one of the plates, but I don't know if I would want to.

>"Oh, I just noticed - your armor's visor can exchange visual info. Do you mind if you let me see what you see?"

Dang. So much for getting an actual tactical advantage out of Rokoa cuddling.

Knife to watch them come in the door?

I'm not sure what our plan is. What do we bluff for? Sacrificing one infiltrator to blow an entire enemy flagship almost makes sense as a tactical wartime sacrifice (or maybe not, considering how rare and valuable a functional neumono infiltrator is). We literally are in a position to destroy the ship right now. So if you don't destroy the ship, that raises a very big question- what the hell are you here for? What's the bigger objective than their deaths? Logically, they'd expect you to demand they stand down and surrender. Or retreat from the battle. If you just use this opportunity to demand the QI surrender (assuming that works), the rest of the hive is gonna be hella suspicious about your actual objective.

They may come to the correct conclusion you're gunning for the Queen. Or they might decide Rokoa's betrayal is deeper than they though, and you've come for her. ...or they could decide you're here for the "coffee cake", whatever the hell that is.

Regardless, I wouldn't seriously try bluffing the warship into surrender. Being pinned here for a long period is more suicidal than the regicide, I think.

Don't count on the QI to be unarmed, or limited to hand to hand. She knows your location, and has had time to prepare. There may be weapons that can be safely used in here (airgun with nonmetallic projectiles?)

>Share video feed.
...that's a lot bigger risk to you than a comm channel if the hive taps your broadcast. If you're confident in the encryption or whatever, go for it- having her be able to suggest things is useful. We never would have thought to check the login, for instance. She may observe things we can use we would never think of.

You know, it occurs to me Emere never questioned how you expect to / are able to sneak through the hive. Either she hasn't had a chance to think it through, or your silence ability is now common knowledge to this hive.

Even if we hide and cloak our voice with the echo, how would we fight the QI? Forcing them to disarm the C4 might allow for enough of a distraction for us to escape, but only if the exit remains unlocked after the QI enters.

Does the smoke grenade produce a spark?

Nay on sharing visual info right now.

Our only demand is that the truce hold. They get the fuck off this planet and never come back. They don't attack anyone while leaving. If they do that, their queen, their ship, and everyone on it are safe. It's very simple.

Emere can use your visuals only if she's sure of the strength of the channel encryption, and that whatever comm. system she's using is isolated from the ship's internal network; You don't want the possibility of ship Security watching and listening through a backdoor in her system. Also ask if she can tell if your visor has a HUD that can display info uploads; You don't know since it didn't come with a manual.

Polo 2012/08/03(Fri)15:33 No. 438958 ID: f09b71
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"Only if you are completely confident in the encryption."
>"Yes, yes, and it can be killed at any time, by just shutting off your armor's communication with that button on your inner left ear, and rebooting it will only have audio again!"

Bluffing will be difficult. I can do so, but it is either that, fight a QI, or attempt to burst through the door right when it opens and hope to catch him or her off guard. The only other idea offhand is to change my mind about getting the sheep to hack information on an exit.

Sure let'er see

OK, Emere can have a look-see. Maybe she'll spot something you didn't.

Once the QI enters, do you think you could bluff him or her that the C4 has a proximity sensor secondary trigger? Hopefully that'll keep the QI from going right up and defusing it.

Those vent doors look like they're probably part of an emergency venting system, in case of fire. Maybe there's a way to trigger a test cycle of the venting system that'll open them. Ask Emere if she can pull up info on the fire response systems for plasma shield generators of this type, and look for the maintenance procedures. They should have directions on how to activate the test cycle, what happens during the test cycle, and how long it lasts.

>Our only demand is that the truce hold. They get the fuck off this planet and never come back. They don't attack anyone while leaving. If they do that, their queen, their ship, and everyone on it are safe. It's very simple.
You can't hold someone at gunpoint and yell TRUCE~!. That's not how truces work. That's either holding someone hostage, or a mexican standoff, depending on the circumstances. And it only holds as long as the gun's at their head, so it wouldn't work. (And it never works at all when your target is crazy. And with the mad-Queen in charge, they are crazy).

It's not our goal, and it's not a good or believable bluff. Please stop suggesting Polo needs to be the impossible peacekeeping enforcer. She's here to force regime change instead.

>>438958
Give her visuals. She's free to alert us to anything useful we may overlook (especially tech or systems we may be unfamiliar with), but we're probably about to be very busy.

If she hacks open a door immediately, that just means you fight a QI in a hall instead of here. If she locks the door behind you, you get away, but almost certainly gives away her interference. I'm reluctant to get her killed so soon- we're going to need intel / interference to get to the Queen (well, that and getting her killed is mean).

...do you have any weapons that are safe to use in this environment? Could you say, turn the energy [i]way[i/] down on your laser rifle, so instead of firing high energy plasma blasts, you just fire a high intensity laser and aim to blind the QI as she enters?

Or you could just keep quite, let her go up to disarm the C4, and then drop something on her. You're up pretty high. Go anything heavy that won't spark when it hits?

>>438968
...There is one heavy thing that Polo has she could drop: Herself.

Could you position yourself over where the QI would stand to disarm the bomb, and remain hidden, even when you drop? It'll have to be from fairly high up to incapacitate the QI with the impact, and you will end up injured yourself, even with the bio-armor. As long as you're not incapacitated completely yourself, and the QI is knocked down long enough for you to cut it to immobility, then do it. Otherwise... I'm out of ideas. Sorry.

>Attack from a two story drop
>Hope the target doesn't notice, move aside and let you splat
>Pray your armor doesn't make a spark on impact.
>Engage Rokoa class person in close combat.

...wow. I can't even count the ways that could for spectacularly wrong. Would be unbelievably awesome to pull off, but waaay too risky.

I was thinking more along the line of a blunt tool, or a detached piece of pipe or something.

>>438974
This is splitting hairs but I'm fairly sure the only Rokoa level close combatant is Rokoa herself.

1/2 Polo 2012/08/04(Sat)09:18 No. 439218 ID: f09b71
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Most of everything is on down tight, as far as the engines and mechanics go.

The catwalks, however, are not so. The railings are solid, but built in a temporary, easily removed fashion. I get a solid pipe out of it. My only other available weapon is a knife. Unfortunately, my rifle does not have a setting to reduce intensity.

"Yeah. Go for it."
>"Thank you."
"Can you pull up info on fire response systems? I see some grates that may be able to be opened."
>"Like almost everything in that room, I'd have to hack. I'm willing to risk it as always, total stranger or not."

2/2 Polo 2012/08/04(Sat)09:20 No. 439219 ID: f09b71
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I get in a position over the C4 such that I can see it if I look over, but am otherwise out of sight.

There isn't much time to spare on it. The door slides open, I hear a couple quick footsteps, and the door slides back shut. It only sounds like 1 person came in.

There is a pause. I do not have visual or empathic contact, but it is obvious when the C4 is discovered.

>"You unbelievable son of a bitch."

Keep still for now

"So how close are you all to being packed up and leaving this rock for good? Please answer honestly. Trained infiltrators with high explosives in ship critical locations don't like being lied to."

...you don't recognize the voice? I was half hoping/afraid it was Rokoa (either she'd escaped, or QI23 actually died). We need some kind of visual contact, if you can get it without giving away your position. We need to know what we're working with here- if he or she has hydrogen safe weapons, if they're armored, or if they have a helmet. Then we can make a more reasonable decision as to if you're going to engage, or risk Emere in retreat.

What's the floor made off? Was it some kind of metal? Plastic, ceramic? That affects how risky dropping the pipe on the QI's head is- metal pipe hitting metal floor could mean sparks and instant space-Hindenburg. (Actually, how viable is that plan? We never thought to ask if a that kind of blunt trauma would be enough to incapacitate a neumono.)

I'm not sure we want to talk to him or her. If we want to try and attack while they disarm the C-4, we want them to not know where we are, or think maybe we got out somehow. If we confirm our presence, the C-4 isn't their priority, necessarily.

Alternatively... you could just try to barter and slow 'em down.

"Yeah, being cornered will do that. Open the doors, and maybe you'll have enough time to disarm it and find the others while I get away."

Bonus: they won't attack you again until they're sure they found all the C-4, and risk you taking a last ditch suicide.

>>439229
>saying there's more C4 than that
We must do this. This is important. Nothing is better for delaying your enemy than a wild goose chase.

I agree that we should try to use it as leverage to get out of the room.

Remain silent, and watch where the QI goes. If the QI moves underneath you and starts to defuse the C4, that would be the time to strike, but what to strike with? The pipe doesn't have enough mass on its own to do more than crack a bone, if it hits right. To make the pipe hit hard enough to disable the QI, Polo would have to jump down, hold it between her feet, and with both hands on top, such that it would impale the QI. How much that would injure Polo depends on how much of the impact the bio-armor can absorb, but at best she'd hurt her legs and be slowed down.

If the QI doesn't go for the C4, start heading up to the closed vent, while saying to the QI "It's proximity fuzed, as well as all the others. My "gift" to you. Enjoy." Once up there, slip your knife between the slats and bend them wide enough to slip the pipe in. Slide the knife to the edge, and pull it and the pipe. All the slats should be on the same mechanisim, so applying enough force should make them all move.

>>439233
Seeing that C4 in such an obvious position, they're going to assume there's at least one other explosive planted in here. It's such a brazen display, they wouldn't think otherwise, even without Polo pointing it out. Best to stay quiet and not risk messing up.

Polo 2012/08/04(Sat)19:24 No. 439380 ID: f09b71
File 134413348379.png - (152.15KB , 700x700 , 732.png )

>Get visual contact
Easy enough. This one looks far better prepared than the first QI, at least by way of bio armor. He moves out towards the C4, but slows down as he gets close until he is simply keeping his distance.

>Blunt trauma to incapacitate
It would require a hard hit on me, a far harder hit on a neumono double my size, and even harder on one with a helmet and bio.

>What is the floor made of?
I don't know. If it is plastic, it is hard enough to pass as metal.

"Being cornered will get certain things done. Open the doors, and maybe you'll have enough time to disarm it and find the others while I get away. How close are you to being packed up and leaving this planet for good? Mind the position your ship is in, mixed with my disliking of being lied to."
>"Less than a day, and it would go a whole lot faster if we didn't keep getting interrupted. You want to get out of here? We want you out of here too. We'll let you get off the whole ship. Even give you a gift basket on the way out. We don't care what hive you're in or whether you're a prisoner, because we're leaving and it just won't matter."

Where-ever they're going they probably won't be sending mail either. Almost a shame, really.

>>439380
"I want to leave too, but first I must correct an inefficiency in this hive. I won't deny it isn't a form of vengeance, but that's relatively minor to what you'll gain. Tell me, can love bloom on the battlefield? Apparently, you can bake coffee cake on the battlefield. Damn good stuff. Sorry about your friend, they'll make it though. You QI's are made of tough brass. You know, you really should have brought a crossbow. Better than a knife. Or a classic spear."

"I have confirmation the truce you agreed to was going to be broken by your queen and an attack launched on the other hives. I'm here to make sure that does not happen. I'm going to oversee your operation and make sure it stays on schedule without any deviations from getting the fuck off this planet. After you have kept the truce and are well on your way away from my home I will disarm the explosives and surrender to you."

Mention you'd like some fresh air in here because passing out would set off that dead man switch you have hooked up to all the boomstuff. Also make it clear you are 100% ok with blowing up this whole ship with you still on it if that will prevent casualties to your own hive.

Well, he looks armored enough that plan "hit 'em in the head" is no go. Also, close combat is a bad idea- you're both armored, so that leaves him a size, strength, and probably training advantage over you. What the heck is that thing on his back through? A rocket pack, with strings strung across? Some kind of senor apparatus? A sonic weapon? Emere, feel free to speak up if Polo doesn't know.

>We're happy to leave, just get off our ship.
Gods dammit, this is exactly why I wanted to avoid this line of discussion! If we really wanted them to gtfo, we have no good reason not to negotiate for that. Passing, or bargaining for anything else now confirms to them we have another reason for being on board. We don't want them thinking too much about that!

Best recovery I can think of:

"Forgive me if I'm reluctant to trust myself to a ceasefire, or an escort off-board, as your hive's already tried to use one truce as a screen for an attack, today."

(That, and their Queen explicitly ordered our death. We can't trust anyone loyal in this hive with our safety, ever. Won't help to say that out loud though).

"Again, open the doors to this room, and I'll consider getting out of your way. But if you're not standing aside to watch me walk out of here, I don't see we have much to talk about. Or that I have another option."

Bing bang boom. You don't trust them enough to accept their out, and you make clear you feel cornered. Cornered people with bombs is bad for them.

>>439385
For the love of your continued life Polo, not this. You're not a danged UN envoy to oversee disarmament, and you'll get yourself killed if you try to be. Also, again, arguing that all you want is for them to leave, but then continuing to act otherwise, gives away the fact you have another objective or target. That's bad.

>>439384
>>439385
These will give the game away, we want to force them to get stuck at as many hotspots as possible. Having us stick around or clue them into our true objective is bad.

>>439392
This sounds good. Once we're out of here we need to head to the living quarters for anything Rokoa might have stashed in her room. Plus its a direction they won't expect.

I'd like to discuss the apparent continued disagreement over what the mission is where it won't risk Polo.

>>/questdis/58128

Polo 2012/08/05(Sun)03:42 No. 439460 ID: f09b71
File 134416337688.png - (173.48KB , 700x700 , 733.png )

>Thing on his back
That is the neumono jammer. The strings make oscillations of varying size that determine the range of the jammer. As for what goes on inside the pack or why oscillating strings do anything, I have no idea.

"I'm reluctant to trust myself to a ceasefire or an escort. Your hive has already tried to use a truce as a screen for an attack, today."
>"And we're reluctant to let you go to do whatever it is you're trying to do. It's obviously not a suicide mission. If it were, you'd have already blown yourself up in a blaze of glory with that bomb of yours out in the open. Not too hard to admit we're not going to mess around with you just to see if you blow yourself up though. We're at an impasse."

>>439460
Tell them that what you're planning on doing here will not have an overall negative impact on their hive.

No more talking, focus on escape

>>439467
This. Hopefully that hacking job is done soon.

...I don't suppose damaging the strings on the jammer produces horrific link feedback? Cause they're a real convenient target. Yeah, grasping at straws here.

Fuck. Exactly what I was afraid of. He's calling your bluff, and they're questioning your motives. Badbadbad.

...I think we may need to risk Emere. We can stall while she hacks, but I don't see us talking him into submission.

Regardless... here's some suggested dialog. It'll either get you out, or buy Emere the time she needs.

"Not a suicide mission, no. But if I've got no way out, I might as well blow your hive to hell with me.

If you don't believe I'll do it, call it in and ask Rokoa. I blew myself up to stop her the first goddamn day I met her. If there's one thing that crazy bitch knows, it's another crazy bitch.

If you really think my death is worth more than your entire hive, go ahead. Make. My. Fucking. Day."

Emergency plan: a hydrogen explosion might be less fatal then taking the ships shields offline, especially when you're armored and if you set it off well away from you (depends on the concentration, really). You could throw your pipe or dagger at him, get a spark and pray the line you're hiding behind, and your armor(s) save you. ...and that he's not dead. C4 shouldn't go off, I think, it's pretty stable.

>>439476
C4 is fairly stable as explosives go, true. It won't detonate when struck by kinetic bullets, true. However, it will still explode IN AN EXPLOSION. The only way to detonate it is to apply extreme heat AND a shockwave, such as that generated by exploding hydrogen.

...yeah, that was a longshot. So an explosion of any origin will kill us, and then the shields, and then the ship. Yaaay.

Our only outs then are (1) successful bluff (2) stalled bluff, successful hacking or (3) combat. Or (4) defection, I suppose. (3)'s a longshot, and (4)'s a preposterous longshot, though.

...actually. Hmm. Maybe we could play up the crazy bitch angle, and Rokoa. What's our objective? Why're we insane enough to break into a wartime space-cruiser, if not to blow it? She owes us a goddamn rematch. >=D They know how insane Rokoa is. We convince them we're another her. Given Rokoa's refusal to outright kill us, they might believe it.

>>439490
Seems a bit inconsistent with what we said earlier, but I can't think of anything better, so let's go for it.

Polo 2012/08/05(Sun)04:58 No. 439493 ID: f09b71
File 134416789873.png - (98.99KB , 700x700 , 734.png )

>Messing with the wires
It just causes the jammer to fail. It is easy, but won't cause horrific feedback.

"Emere." I whisper. Between my armor and the engines running, there is no way the QI can hear me. "Hack. Get me out of here."

"If I've got no way out, I won't stop myself from blowing away your hive with me."
>"I told you, we're not going to press you. Not going to let you do something worse, either."
"I'm not here to commit genocide. Rokoa owes me a damn rematch."
>"... that's why she brought you on board? So she could get rescued out of this once she turned herself in, because of some match or something you want? Her train of thought is something out of a damn wreck. And if you're not making shit up, so is yours. No offense."

Emere sounds through after a moment.
>"It's coming along... do you want to leave through the roof or one of the doors?"

The roof~

Be all like "She did WHAT" like you snuck on by yourself and have no idea what she was up to.

>>439493
We still have to go up, right? Roof. Besides, we're right next to the roof access. I just wish we actually knew where the queen was. She's NOT in the bridge. We might have to capture a noncombatant to find out where.

Right before we leave, throw the pipe at the wires to break the jammer.

...I'm assuming the QI is large enough he can't follow you if you leave through the vents? If so, that's the way to go. Otherwise, you may as well take the door, let him follow you, and then disable him when you're in a place that guns work.

>Your train of thought is something out of a damn wreck
"Yeah, because anyone willing to sneak into the middle of a war hive on anything but a suicide mission is thinking rationally.

And I think we both know she'd never settle for this kind of rescue."
There. Let them think we're crazy, and we're maybe here to kill or rescue Rokoa. It's kind of crap, but I've got nothing better. Hacking better be ready soon.

>>439500
I don't think risking a spark, killing him in the hydrogen explosion, setting off the c4, taking down the shields and getting the ship exploded is worth just disabling the jammer.

Lets go for the roof. And when you are leaving mess with the QI and throw your smoke grenade at him while yelling fire in the hole.

>>439493
"Well, in all honesty she really needed to speak with the Queen in person. Come on, you're part of Rokoa's hive, you didn't know that she was insane already? The honorable fight is what she loves most, next to her hive. She's always got something to prove, even when completely alone. And personally, I think that's adorable. I can't believe I know her more that you do, a comrade, with just with a few fights. You really should fight her, it's like sitting in a AA group or whatever. Really deals with your emotions."

Polo 2012/08/05(Sun)07:26 No. 439548 ID: f09b71
File 134417681244.png - (79.89KB , 700x700 , 735.png )

It's hard to tell how big he is, but far closer to Rokoa size than my size.

"Did I seem rational when I went on a warship?"
>"Point."
"I am wondering if I know Rokoa better than you."
>"Rokoa is - was - a valuable ally, but I did not like being around her. I'll give you that point too."

There is a moment as the QI continues scanning the room, but does not find anything more, before Emere speaks again.

>"Bingo. 20 feet to your right side. There is a vent that leads straight to the rooftop. I'll open it when you get close."

It is maneuverable, but I will have a difficult time moving without being seen.

>Throw pipe/knife/metal at him/jammer
Sparks to explosion danger aside, there is a good chance he would see it coming, as he is constantly pivoting his vision around.

>"One more thing - they're having a lot of trouble down in the facility. They're moving fast, but taking a lot of losses - you could probably feel that from the hospital, huh? God knows why they're even down there. Anyways, I'll keep you updated if they start heading back, but right now, as seriously as they're taking you, they don't want to retract a ton of forces and QI's for a single infiltrator. More immediately - there is are two squads of 5 neumono each in the warp engine room - and currently QI 8 is on the roof, but I don't see much other choice."

>>439548
Toss the pipe somewhere else as a distraction. Go "Shit!" as it makes noise, as if it were a mistake.

Then when the QI rushes over to the noise you go to the vent.

Well if you need him looking the other way you can always throw that pipe in a random direction to make some noise. You no longer need it as a melee weapon and it is taking up a hand.


As for QI 8 we might have to disable him \ her in order to move past them.


We need a route to Ronoa's room. Here's to hoping she has something stashed there.

What is wrong with sticking around? We are in a good position. An impasse is what we need. We wait till they pull everyone out and leave then the impasse is at an end and our mission is complete. The objective is to prevent an attack and we can do so by staying right where we are.

>rooftop
Wait, rooftop? Of the spaceship? Or just this chamber (that would put us on floor 11, I think)?

>QI8
Well, I'd rather face one of these guys in an environment where weapons are useable than not. Without crazyface to back us up, we're not so good at bomb threats. We'll disable or sneak past, as we're able.

...there aren't any more crazy areas on this ship that auto-lock us in, and you can't use guns in? Because we'd like to avoid those, if possible.

>We need a route to Rokoa's room. Here's to hoping she has something stashed there.
This. Emere should look up the floor, room number. Here's hoping we can get in via vents, or you don't need a damn password to open personal quarters.

>>439554
He doesn't buy our bluffs. It's an impasse that'll only end in our death, either when we surrender, or blow the ship. No good.

the objective is to kill the queen.

"This /is/ a suicide mission. I'm willing to blow myself up and am making no attempt at escaping alive."

>>439548
Before leaving, might want to mention that Rokoa is still a valuable ally to him and the others.

Going to need to distract the QI long enough to get to the vent, but just throwing things down won't work, and might make a spark. However, we could use the knowledge of a metal-on-metal impact causing a spark to our advantage.

Tell Emere to hack the door controls for the upper entrance as well, and be ready to open it, when you say "catch," followed by the vent when you reach it. Don't move and wait until she's ready.

"You know what happens when metal hits metal? It makes a spark. Guess what I have in my hand, and the floor is. Now, catch!" Lob the metal pipe in a high arc where the QI would be able to easily see and catch it in time, but not in the direction of the upper entrance. Jump up and dash for the vent, not caring for how much noise you're making, and get up it.

With any luck there'll be at least some confusion about which exit you took. The QI will also think you're going to blow the C4 any second, now that you're out of the room, and move to either defuse it, or pull it off and run to dispose of it. That means don't detonate it even when you're clear. Though, you may be able to fire down the vent shaft and ignite the room from the roof, if the QI is clear. On the way up ask Emere if she can monitor the status of the doors to the Shield Generator room, since she's already hacked the door controls, and see if any are unlocked, opened, and closed.

...I don't suppose we could use the smoke grenade to set off the fire suppressants when we leave? That would slow him down. Might not be safe for us though, depending on what kind they are (chemical? Rapid atmo evacuation?), or if we're climbing out a fire suppressant chute.

>>439566
I suppose it's worth throwing something like that as we leave. We are kind of digging her a deep hole here. And I suppose stupid bullshitting about feelings buys a little time to move towards out exit?

"For what it's worth, as far as I can tell, crazy-face is still loyal, for whatever reason."

>hey, catch!
That could be a decent diversion, though it he misses the catch, we're all dead.

>Rokoa's room
...it occurs to me now they know we're involved with her. It's not impossible they searched her rooms already. ...or maybe not, they locked her up, and then 10 minutes later were on infiltrator red alter and lockdown. I suppose crew quarters searches would be a low priority, especially since she hasn't been in there a month.

1/2 Polo 2012/08/05(Sun)09:37 No. 439604 ID: f09b71
File 134418463033.png - (145.94KB , 700x700 , 736.png )

"Emere. Open the upper door entrance and the grate at the same time I say catch."

"Do you know what would happen if I made a spark?"
>"Same this as if you set off the whole bomb."
"Right. And I'm willing to blow myself up. Catch."

The door and grate each opens, and I toss the pipe and start leaping to the grate.

2/2 Polo 2012/08/05(Sun)09:37 No. 439605 ID: f09b71
File 134418465778.png - (122.13KB , 700x700 , 737.png )

>"... no."

CLACK

>"You crazy son of a bitch, you really thought this room was made out of sparkable material?!"

... Shit! Can't get a damn break! I can't understand, but I hear him murmur something into his microphone.

"Your sensible designs are making it very difficult to be dramatic."

Oh fuck it, drop an unarmed grenade, pretending it's armed and tell him to toss it out of the door if he wants to live.

That or toss a armed grenade.

Is gender not apparent from your voice? He keeps calling you a son of a bitch. I suppose he hasn't had good line of sight, and you're armored, and neumono might be used to using the link to pick up on stuff like that. Well, that and daughter of bitch just doesn't roll off the tongue as well.

Dang intelligent spaceship engineers. We got spoiled by the crazy ones in the spire. We should have thrown at him, so he had to dodge to keep it from sparking off his armor.

...and we could have kept the pipe for clubbing cameras! Dangit, really not on the ball here today.

We need to get out here asap. There's a chance he's been stalling us because reinforcements are coming, or they're trying to flank you, or something. A one Polo impasse is not sustainable.

Problem is now the QI above is gonna know the grate you're coming out of. ...I don't suppose Emere learned if it's safe to set off fire suppressants when she hacked this room?

Aw fug it.

"Said I was crazy." Throw the smoke grenade at him. He won't see which way you go out, and hpefully ends up mired in foam raining from the ceiling.

Toss the smoke grenade. A distraction didn't work so we'll have to obscure his sight DIRECTLY.

Then go up the vent. If we can sense the QI up there we'll be able to get their position. Hmm. From that guy's angle can he see that the vent is open as well as the door, or just the door?

>his comm
Actually, revision: If he saw the grate or door open, he's either warning them which way you're going, or that someone opened the doors for you when you were nowhere near them. Emere's at risk. She might want to wipe her workstation, and get back to doing whatever it is she's supposed to be doing. Like freaking out over her near death hostage situation on the break room couch like a cowardly sheep while her co-workers cover for her.

Sigh loudly. "Yes. Not like I could check it ahead of time, now could I?"

Tell Emere that the QI just called in the door opening, and possibly the vent too. You want her to pull out all the stops before bailing: open and lock all the doors available, cut lighting everywhere she can, activate fire alarms and suppression systems, and anything else she can think of. You've got an idea to cover her, though. If she sticks a wireless network plug into her workstation, then wipes the system, that might convince them that the infiltrator put it there as a relay for another operative to work through. Maybe burn a hole through the wireless plug before sticking it in, so it looks like it activated a self-destruct.

Just noticed something: This QI doesn't have a visor, so he doesn't have night- or infrared-vision. Could Emere cut the lights in here, or are the plasma generators so bright it wouldn't matter? Instead, would turning the lights on full brightness, then off again in a strobing pattern mess up his sight?

Security is going to be combing over the networked systems in here in short order, and they'll find the vent open as well as the door. The QI on the roof is going to be moving to the vent exhaust anyway, so trying to cover your exit is pointless. Best get out of here before they regain control and lock you in again.

Okay, you know what? Let's more cautiously. We're kind of making decisions too fast here, and burning up options.

Polo, before you chuck the smoke grenade, check with Emere that the fire suppressant systems won't kill you, in as few words as possible. Like, maybe glance at the grenade and mutter, "this safe?".

>>439695
Let's wait for confirmation from Polo that he saw the door/hatch open (he might not have been in a position too, with all the equipment in here). And if he did see, they'll only be suspicious. Emere can hide from and recover from suspicious, I think, especially if she gets her coworkers to cover for her (hacking? She was kidnapped whatever minutes ago. She hasn't stopped shaking, yet). But if she panics, and does last ditch dramatic hacking and interference, they'll have confirmation. That will probably get her killed in short order, and leave us in the lurch.

>>439696
Alright, keep "pulling out all the stops" on the back burner as a last ditch option for when Emere's cover is known to be completely blown and they're going to bust down the door any second. While Polo is climbing up the vent, Emere should still do that stuff to make her workstation look like it was being used as a relay, and she wasn't the one doing the hacking.

>>43960
Thinking about it, the QI might just be calling in that Polo is crazy, and hasn't seen the door or vent open. Is he in a position to see either one?

Popping smoke isn't going to hide Polo's exit route for long enough to matter. As soon as she doesn't show on the cameras on the routes from the open door, they're going to know something is up. Better to keep the smoke grenade for when it's needed to cover Polo's movement in a firefight or some such.

Umm, I might just be I don't know her technology, but I thought smoke grenades created a spark when activated, wheich considering the hydrogen-rich environment, might be bad to do.

>>439709
>>439724
I light of these two, I'm rescinding plan smoke grenade.

We should just run, we're out of options.