Oken 2011/05/13(Fri)14:10 No. 303940 ID: b6c6fc
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I am AcePilot Oken, a hero from the destroyed world Doraun, and I find myself again in the company of Pinkskins

My father spoke often of the pinkskins when I was young.
My father always spoke of the "peace that could be"
He spoke to many people from many worlds and they actually listened.
He insisted that the pinkskins wanted this peace too.
He was wrong,
and millions of Astranians had to pay the price for his error

My father trusted the Pinkskins, and he was a fool for it
I refuse to repeat his mistakes.

So don't trust this guy. And, you know what, since it's fresh in your brain right now and in all likelihood he's crashed you here specifically for his own nefarious reason, perhaps it'd be best if you zapped him right now.

>>303940
Politicians, in my experience, are almost universally corrupt no matter which side you're on. Don't condemn an entire race based on the decisions of its worst men.

This guy, on the other hand, is a total scumbag and you should totally be suspicious of him (though you should avoid acting outwardly aggressive, lest you spook him).

>>303940
Pinkies can be of use.
Use him.

>>303940
What of the Bugs? These 'Tech-Leaches' They become increasingly suspect in all these matters. Their widespread distribution on both sides of the battlefield. The hivemind aspect, as well as ability to subtly influence or drive people to madness... may have more implications in well 'everything' you know about this conflict?

Anyhow, let the man live, for now. But watch, if he displays untrustworthyness we need to dispose of him.

>>303940
Remember Enrad?
Nice guy, sacrificed himself to get Hoft to safety?
Remember how he said the Pinkskin civilians live in constant fear of the bugs because the bugs are in absolute control of their lives due to their entire government structure being infested?

Remember how your mentor told you that his planet, Vin Malor, fell to 'the enemy'? Remember how the Pinkskins never even went near it?
Remember how those bugs are native to Vin Malor?

Yea, all that is related.

>>303980
>>303980
>>303980
>>303980
Inb4 she says that it's all the mad ravings of a pinkskin BUT IT'S FUCKING NOT, pay attention.

>>303980
And might I add, the nice guy that still helped you after you incinerated his comrades and a large section of his own body?

Oken 2011/05/13(Fri)20:52 No. 304117 ID: b6c6fc
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Jones: ". . . but no! you couldn't wait two seconds till we cleared the blast radius, you just had to try out . . ."

looks like Jones is verbally abusing my gunner . . .

>Jones crashed the skimmer
I don't think so, he seems to like his skimmer a lot. it be weird for him to want to hurt it for no reason

>use him
he said he was going to help us get off this planet, trusted or not he's still our best bet

>Bugs
I'm pretty sure all the bugs died when Hoft blew up the PirateShip, I doubt we'll be seeing any more of them.

>Enrad
the prisoner I interrogated, he said a lot of things that made absolutely no sense, he was a weird guy even for a pinkskin.

Jones: " . . . and now the skimmers totaled! do you have any idea how much this thing cost?! of course not I bet you communist . . . "

umm maybe I should do something

>>304117
Hoft: Engage "Deal With It" face.

How dare he talk down at you just because he's bigger than you. It's a devious trick, it is! You just monologued to yourself that you wouldn't be as foolish as your father, that you wouldn't make the mistake of trusting pinkskins. So interrupt his pointless noise-making and get him talking about things that matter to you, the few things in his mind that might be of use to you and your comrades before you are forced to obliterate his pirate-ass due to his future inevitable betrayal.

>>304117
....God damnit Hoft, nice going ya crazy Astranian bastard.

Ok... I think we should probably press the hole 'We should move before nightfall comes and/or before bugs/wildlife try rushing us' point to postpone the argument and get our butts outta here. Where are we going, exactly, anyway?

>>304117
explain to him that by the end of this we'll probably pick up enough sellable loot to pay for the skimmer and more.

>>304117
Step in and tell him that he's got no authority to browbeat your gunner. That's your job. Then browbeat Hoft.

Oken, being a pilot you must understand that it would be a bid deal to you if some one destroys your ship because it's not a big enough deal to them to be careful around it.

"Sorry for wrecking your ship. I'm sure Hoft didn't realize that firing it then would put us and the ship in danger."

Oken 2011/05/14(Sat)08:28 No. 304173 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken "Sorry for wrecking your ship. I'm sure Hoft didn't realize that firing it then would put us and the ship in danger."

Hoft: "yeah I had no Idea!"

Oken: "shut up Hoft"

Jones: "don't apologize to me! now we're all gonna have to make our way on foot, and on that note we should all get moving"

Mint: "not so fast, I can get this scrap heap air worthy in a couple hours easy, in fact-"

Jones: "we don't have a couple hours! between salvage team and pirate survivors I'd give us less then 10 minutes, and this crash site will stand out like an open pyre"

Hoft: "then let em come, it'll be their funeral"

Fuze: "Oken, what do you think is best?"

>>304173
leave, I'm not sure you'll be able to fight them off with the BFG forever

ask how many shots the gun has. if less then 1000 leave.

>>304173
You know, you could try to ambush the salvage team and steal their ship. It's risky, but it beats going on foot.

No way do you have the fire power for a drawn out battle, which is what it'll come to if you try to bunker down around the skimmer. Time to gtfo.

What makes him think there will be pirate survivors if the blast radius on that gun was enough to take out his ship mid-air at that range? And who exactly is sending a salvage team? I'm actually more for setting up here rather than walking... to where, exactly?

"I'm sure that Johns would be more enthusiastic about getting his ship fixed if we stood much of a chance, and he's the only one with a good idea of what we're up against."

"A 5 person team with limited ammo would not be able to hold a position well where the enemy can use or lack of mobility to quickly pin us down and run down our ammo, attack us from out of range or out of sight. Or just blow up our whole location if they don't want to salvage the ship. Not to mention we would have to defend the ship from damage in any fights and a ship can't move around or use cover."

"Our best change would be to avoid conflict and use the weapons to give us the ability to fend off attacks."

(After telling everyone how we can't do something we want. Encourage and inspire them what we actually have going for us.)

"Our chances may be have been dismal if we tried to stay and defend or if we didn't come upon armament and someone knowledgeable on all this."

"But our chances AREN'T so dismal. We have a competent team which are armed well and someone who knows their way around this kind of location and situation. We stand a good chance if we all focus on escaping and dealing with any situation with the teamwork and intelligence that got us off the Guilder ship and surviving the bugs on Juca-19."

"Don't be disappointed with the things we can't do! Be encouraged with all we have done and will be doing!. We beat two impossible situations and only lost one crippled prisoner who couldn't handle tubes. Because when challenges come we don't back down WE OVERCOME THEM. Now lets escape and give it everything we've got like those 'hopeless' situations we've already defeated!"

>>304258
>I'm sure that Johns would be more enthusiastic
Should be
I'm sure that Jones would be more enthusiastic

How about we survive the day and return to the skimmer later, hoping they don't do anything to it while we're gone? Their main target should be us.

Anyway, tell Mint to take the most valuable parts of the skimmer with us so no looters take them and let's bolt. If we can, we'll return later, likely at night.

Oken 2011/05/14(Sat)22:02 No. 304312 ID: b6c6fc
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>Hoft's ammo
the AntiMatter Cannon has 80/100 shots, and 4 reload charges of 100

>I'm sure that Jones should be more enthusiastic
it seems kind of strange that he's so quick to abandon his ship

Oken: "Well staying here does seem like a bad idea, and going on foot seems our only other option, but first Jones there' a couple things that I don't quite get."

Jones: "Like what?"

Oken: "if our ship got brought down by the explosion at mid range, how would any pirates survive since they'd be much closer?"

Jones: "maybe you missed the huge chunk of metal sticking out of the ship. we got pegged by shrapnel, bad luck more than anything."

Oken: "also who would be sending out salvage teams, who would know that our ship or the pirates have even crashed?"

Jones: "all ships that large have auto distress beacons, and this planet is crawling with pirates their buddies will probably be here in no time"

Oken: "one more thing, where are we going?"

Jones: "there's a town about three days march from here, best place to get transport off world."

well I guess that all makes sense . . .

Fuze jogs up to Oken, and whispers to her

Fuze: "Oken, I'm not sure what, but something about Mr Jones' concerns and explanations seem off to me, don't you think?"

Jones: "We shouldn't stay here, we can talk while we walk."

Honestly, it's kinda weird in the first place that he helped out when every single other pirate has tried to kill us or something. ...also, if it's three days' march, what will we do for food and water?

>>304312
Tell Fuze that your tired of paranoia and that Jones is acting consistent since we've first met him, he's always been odd. At most he's probably got some personal stuff with the pirates that he really wants to avoid them, so he's just coming up with excuses. He's helping us, we sort of owe him right now, so let's just do what he says. This weird pinkie is probably trustworthy because he's so damn weird and caught up with his own shit.

Have Mint scavenge the most valuable parts like I said and bring 'em with you. If we get separated from this damned Solar, coming here at night is Plan B or whatever.

>>304312
Wait.

There's a war on between pinkskins and your peeps, right?

So uh.

What kinda town is this?

Isn't wandering into a random town what got you into the whole pirate mess?

>>304312
Actually, I want to know why Mr. Jones left the pirates. He was one of them yes? Why the treason?

It indicates a rather untrustworthy personality. I wonder, have we had a look at his neck yet?

>>304312
Tell him to strip and spin. Bugcheck.

>>304343

Not now, there's no time for it. Maybe later, once you're clear of this mess. But I don't think it's bugs anyway. I think that Jones is probably a double-agent, working for the human governments to help them deal with the pirate problem.

Ask him how long he has to report to his handler before they write him off. But ask it privately, it'll make him feel better if you play along with his conspirator's instincts to keep a secret a secret from as many people as possible.

Well Fuze is getting bad vibes from this guy and I don't blame him. Why don't we do a small group-huddle and get everyone else's readings on him? I'm still more inclined to distrust him, but considering it's the four of you Astranians that are going to be putting your lives in his pinkskin hands, perhaps you ought discuss amongst yourselves rather than have us attempt to sway the tiny-deer-de-facto-leader? That way, whatever we decide, we're not entirely to blame.

He certainly does seem on edge. Ask him if he's more worried about the guilders finding us with him, or just finding him.

Oken 2011/05/15(Sun)16:07 No. 304418 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken: "I think pinkskins are just weird like that, I don't think it's anything to worry about right now"

Fuze: "I suppose you are correct"

Oken: "do we have enough food and water too last us a three day journey?"

Fuze: "it will be a little complex, but I think I can ration out what we have left to keep us healthy"

the four Astranians gather up their supplies, and valuable parts from the craft and the head out for their long march

Oken: "Jones aren't you a pirate, or are you a double agent or something?"

Jones: "I'm not a pirate nor do I have any connection to em, I was just a wanderer hitching a ride."

Oken: "tell me about this town, with the war I can't imagine it being a very safe place for us"

Jones: "Memora is safe for anyone as long as they don't cause trouble. of course your kind are not really liked much any where but this is about as good as it gets."

Oken: "that's not very comforting"

Jones: "Memora is a neutral port, drop your factions at the door sort of thing."

Oh sweet, just like in those oldish pirate stories... just like the one we left.

We're not going to run into enslaving Guilder's here too are we?

>>304418
can we have a list of the valuable parts from the craft we gathered and know what they do

Can we get any further idea on the whole "drop your faction" thing? Does this include Astranians, or just guilders, and pirates and pinkskins?
And just what classifies as trouble? With the whole enemy species thing, that could be as small as looking at someone funny

Oken 2011/05/16(Mon)23:52 No. 304770 ID: b6c6fc
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>the parts
Mint has gathered 4 valuable solar ship parts.

Oken: ". . . so it's just like the other "free port" we went to?"

Jones: "you mean Subturn? that's just a way point owned by pirates, nothing free about that hell hole, as far as Memora's concerned the Pirates are a faction in of themselves and their pillaging shit and butchering of Furres isn't tolerated."

Oken: "how is all of this enforced?"

Jones: "Shit, I dunno. Marshal Droegen and his his sheriffs found a way to keep the pirates in line, he's the guy who's going to help you off this planet by the way, so you can ask him about that."

the path ends

Jones: "there are a numbers of ways to cross the bog, but no matter how you do it there's a fair chance you could fall into the water . . . except that's not water it's some sort of sticky substance, you get stuck in it you don't come out."

Oken: "well I guess we'll just have to be careful . . ."

Jones: "or you could cover yourself in mushroom powder, it's what the locals do, neutralizes the glue or something . . . anyways I'm not sure if the powder is poisonous to your kind, tons of stuff is so it's your call."

does Oken think covering her team in powder is a good idea?

>>304770
Just one, at first. Oken, as leader you're gonna have to take the bullet.

>>304770
in b4 it's hallucinogenic.

One person should experiment with it first, obviously. Ask for a volunteer- if nobody speaks up do it yourself.

>>304784

Fuze is a doctor, have him take a look at it. He may recognize it.

>>304793
Yeah let's do this before we rub poison all over our skin

>>304793
Yeah, direct the medical question to the medical guy.

in b4 it's an aphrodisiac.

Oken 2011/05/17(Tue)12:43 No. 304839 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken: "Fuze what do you think?"

Fuze: "Well with out a medical scanner there's no way to be certain, but as long as the spores are out of season we shouldn't have too much to worry about from the powder."

Oken: "so you think we should be fine?"

Fuze: "most likely yes, but there is of course always small margin for error."

Jones: "with out any gear or a ship, there are two main ways to cross the bog, we can grapple gun from shroom to shroom, or we can climb down and walk across vine paths."

Grappling sounds kickass, if infeasible. So unless anyone else volunteers, start rubbing yourself down with that mushroom powder and wait a bit to see if there's any adverse effects... then the others

What's that you say? Bungee grapple adventure? great plan! and then hugs for everyone!

>>304839
Since you only have one grappling gun, vine paths will be way faster.

Does anything live in the bog?

Grapples won't carry everyone's weight. So I say we go along with the vine path. And is anyone willing to guinea pig on the powder?

Oken 2011/05/17(Tue)22:56 No. 304969 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken: "with only one grapple gun it will probably be safer to vine walk"

Fuze: "um is the pinkskin leaving?"

Oken: "wait, what? hey Jones where do you think you're going?"

Jones: "you seem pretty well set for your journey, I think my work here is done, with any luck we'll meet up outside of Memora in three days"

Oken: "Wait!"

Jones: "see you then."

Jones fires his grapple gun onto a far mushroom.

BLAST HIS ASS.

>>304969
Meh, let him leave, we are probably safer without him.

In all seriousness, though, you're going to need pretty accurate directions if it's a three-day trek to the settlement (and then you blast him)

Shoot him, pinkskins cannot be trusted.

>>304969

Don't kill him. That's pretty dickish.

If he has met and could introduce us to this 'Marshal Droegen' who will be getting our butts off this planet, trying to kill him would not be in our best interest.

Ask him directions and let him leave.

He offered your team a ride when he could've just set off on his own and leave you on a crashed pirate-ridden ship. He probably wouldn't have ended up ship-less if it wasn't for Hoft's enthusiasm.
So that kind of counts as saving your lives. Let him go.

Oken 2011/05/18(Wed)17:47 No. 305129 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken: "YOU DIDN'T TELL US HOW TO GET TO THE TOWN!"

Jones: "north-north-east, it's the first thing that not a giant mushroom!"

Jones then jets off to another mushroom and is out of ear shot

Hoft catches up

Hoft: "good riddance I say."

Oken: . . .

Hoft: "so how do we get that powder stuff down"

If everyone works together, can they shake the nushrooms for the powder?
Oh, and try not to break the stalks too much.

>>305129
Spores should be between the gills under the caps, so directly above you. Perhaps a shot from one of your smaller, quieter weapons will dislodge some?

I'm tempted to say that Hoft should use his D-Gun on Mr Jones, just in case he's thinking of double-crossing us.

>>305129
Get Hoft to give Fuze a boost up toward the mushroom cap so he can take a closer look.

Oken 2011/05/19(Thu)21:16 No. 305397 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken: "well I guess a shot from one of our quieter weapons might dislodge some powder . . ."

Hoft: !!!

Oken: "or maybe we could all try shaking it to- HOFT NO! DON'T-"

Before Oken can even finish her sentence, Hoft opens fire.

Hoft: "EAT DEATH MUSHROOM!"

>>305397
Confiscate that weapon. Hoft is no longer allowed to use anything besides his FISTS until further notice.

reprimand hoft, tell him that was pretty much a giant I'M HERE sign.

>>305397
Slap Hoft on the nose.

Demand to know why Hoft is so trigger-happy lately.

Respond to him that one should NEVER eat a Death Mushroom.

>>305402
This. Hoft's behavior is getting out of hand.
Hop if you can't reach his nose normally.

>>305447
Yeah bap him on the snout to reestablish dominance.

Oken 2011/05/23(Mon)19:01 No. 306339 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken smacks Hoft in the nose to reestablish dominance

Oken: "bad gunner! don't give away our position!"

>>306339
We gotta get moving, now. Don't waste any time! Make sure everyone's got a good coating of spores though. Get everyone to check eachother.

okay, everyone is spored to hell and back. let's move.

And for the love of whichever heathen gods you worship hold your weapons above your goddamn heads and out of the goo this time.

Consider Hoft's inevitable armache his penance for being a blithering idiot with the thing.

>>306339
Okay, make sure you are thoroughly dusted and let's move out.

Oken 2011/05/25(Wed)00:53 No. 306591 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken makes sure everyone is thoroughly dusted.

the team then activates their GravBoots and descend to the bottom of the mushroom, and prepare to traverse the alien landscape

Resist the urge to skip merrily along the roots. That would be needlessly dangerous, despite being absolutely adorable.

Daydream of an older, simpler time when you and Dina would have skipped/walked through forests like these together.

>>306591
Watch for bubbling or disturbances in the muck. Don't want to disturb unstable outgassings or such vile beasts who could possibly live in this stuff.

Do we have any way of figuring out the direction of North Northeast? How about food and water for the journey?

Don't you have a compass? Use that to figure out which way to go.

Oken 2011/05/27(Fri)21:52 No. 307290 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken guides her team forward using her trusty SpaceCompass to lead the way

through the long trudging the AcePilot begins to daydream

>Dina
I can still remember the name of my recruiter.
InfantryTrooper Pelendina Zane.
mostly rally agents come from the officer core; mandatory duty dreaded by most.
Zane was different though, she enjoyed it.
I can still remember her inspiring call to arms against our enemies, mighty words filled with fervor and spirit.

it's funny how the words seem to lose their power over time . . .

Fuze seems uncomfortable. Ask him what's up. It's important to always know what's on your comrade's minds, and he's probably the most submissive of the group, meaning you might need from time to time to make a special effort to get him to share his thoughts.

This is totally not an attempt to get the quest to feature more mai husbando

>>307290
Ah. Aha. AHAHAHAAHAohgodyougotrecruitedbyzane.

>>307290
Those words only lose power if you don't think about them, Oken. Her will and resolve should be an inspiration to you in a tough time like this.

Does she spout propoganda? Sure. But she's right. You and your companions are Astranians, the conquerors of hundreds of worlds and the dominant force in the galaxy. Even when things look bleak and the Alliance seems ready to crumble, know that with strategy, skill and a little bit of luck, you and your people will prevail.

Tell the group to stay frosty and tell you if they see anything.

Then tell Hoft that the mushroom stalks don't count.

>>307290
Getting the feeling that Fuze is extremely averse to being dirty. Hopefully it will not stop him from fulfilling his duties.

Warriors like Zane are one in a thousand, zealous almost to a fault. You're smart enough to not take patriotic speeches at face value, Oken.

>>307361
Impossible. Fuze is a medic and there's a war that's been going for quite a while. He must've seen enough gory stuff and battle aftermath to get used to dirt (and intestines).

It's something else. Ask Fuze what's wrong.

>>307319
>Hang in there baby, we can do this!
>>307373
>No, we're smart enough to not listen to propoganda, that stuff is silly, we should continue to move along with low spirits

>>307373
No, I think it is the dirtiness.
He's used to blood, but not used to trudging through swamp (or sewer water for that matter).

>>307373
If Colony Guard is any indication, every single soldier in the Alliance has severe psychological issues.

she was probably tricked as well. if she knew what you know now i'm sure she would side with you!

>>307426
>implying Zane and Oken didn't join willingly.

Oken 2011/05/30(Mon)07:52 No. 307839 ID: b6c6fc
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Oken: "Fuze are you doing alright?"

Fuze: "pleas don't speak to me right now, I need to concentrate on my footing lest I slip"

I guess he's having more trouble balancing than me

the hours slowly drag on

Hoft: "try to keep up Mint, you're slowing us all down!"

Mint: "burn in hell fluffy! it's your fault we're walking to begin with!"

Hoft: "well at least I can fight. you couldn't even screw things up you're completely useless, we'd all be better off to leave you behind!"

look right into hoft's eyes and hold up your hand in a 'i'm gonna slap you' position.

>>307839
HEY! Keep your thoughts on balance. No arguing, just marching.

Tell them both to shut up and keep moving.

>>307847
This but just Hoft

>>307839
"We don't abandon our allies, Hoft.
Besides, Mint has saved our lives plenty of times. We'd be dead without her skills; your argument is invalid."