2/2 Polo 2013/03/06(Wed)19:27 No. 498406 ID: c4e5c2
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BAM

"... will agree. Hits shoulder hard, and noise is... deafening."
"You'll get used to it."

Maybe not. This thing could probably tear my head clean off. Cleanly, If I'm lucky. I don't know if I would have let him fire if I knew it was going to wake the dead in every cave corner for a kilometer off. Or just alert the enemy if I want to be realistic.

Well, to be fair, you're up against the salikai and who knows what mad science. The enemy you wake could very well be the walking dead.

Status report? How long has it been since you fought your way into the cave? Have you reunited with the others and retreated deeper yet? Has Rokann been subjected to battlefield surgery and debugging yet? How's your arm?

Encounter any metal bugs yet?

So you still up shit's creek without a paddle or did you upgrade to shit's creek with a paddle (hows the situation, still bad or getting better)

We might want to relocate and/or continue moving to find our allies, if we just made a huge noise. Are we leaving tracks behind at all?

Polo 2013/03/06(Wed)21:20 No. 498432 ID: c4e5c2
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>Status report?
The time is 22:00. We entered the cave somewhere around 17:30. We're getting ready to go to bed.

We reunited with the group, and have moved far deeper into the cave. We settled an hour ago without running into any enemies, be they voklit, arkot hunter hive or bugs. The ground is too rocky for us to leave tracks, too. We don't know if we're in a deadend, or for that matter, if this spot is even a decent hiding or defending point.

My arm is healing as expected. I will take off the cast tomorrow, but treat it gently.

As usual, Katzati will process any data we get for the map into her system, which has become a more pressing issue to find out the quality of our spot. Until then, she's with Marra on Rokann de-bugging to make sure that Rokann doesn't manage to loose any restraints. She struggles constantly while Korli gets the bugs out.

"Hey, Polo." Korli says as I walk into the best hospital we've got.
"Progress?"
"I've only got 9."

The mood is no good, to think the obvious. We're safe for the time. Still up shit creek, but we might have a paddle. Too bad we have no place to paddle to.

Remind us, 9 out of how many?

>>498432
Time estimate?

You'd think she'd grow more lucid as you got more bugs out.

9 out of 70 or so? This is going to be slow. And I assume we're making sure the removed bugs are deactivated, and that they can't jump attempt to jump ship during the surgery?

We've got a head start on pursuit with what maps you already have, and Viln's knowledge of the caves. But the salikai will have cave based monsters, and their own volkit. Plus the hunter hive will have come with the numbers and equipment to scour this cave system.

Evasion and survival are the immediate concerns. Escape doesn't seem possible- you'd be too exposed in the open, and you have no safe way to contact the outside world, or even knowing that you're not contacting a CAI fake, or annother compromised party.

The only options, desperate as it seems, is to deal with the problem on your own.

The hive hunting you is controlled by these bugs. The bugs have four stripes orchestrating them, somehow. There's only one four stripes. If we can find him and take him out, the enemy's control of the other hive will be disrupted, or at least made less effective.

So I take it that Biler Still MIA at this point. So based off the maps you have scanned so far how deep into the caves would you guess you are. And if you had to guess how far behind do you think your enemies are. It's ok if you ballpark it.

Nine out of how many? 50? 70? Too damn many, either way. And without better removal tools, Rokann might not make it through the trauma of removing the deeper ones. Does Korli have any ideas on what would help in that regard? A real strong, narrow magnet on a stick, maybe?

And why are those removed bugs just laying out where any one of you could accidentally step on them? Don't you have a sealed container to put them in? Or at least move them away... Actually, move them away anyway. Far away. Since the bugs form an AI link via short-range wireless, moving those nine bugs away might reduce the capabilities of the remaining ones in Rokann.

You should probably go down the tunnel with Viln to make sure you're not making camp in a dead-end anyway. Take the bugs and head twenty minutes run down the tunnel, dispose of them, then return.

>>498437
Escape actually isn't completely not an option. On the surface it is, but down here the caves extend beyond the boundaries of the voklit (or is it vernaut?) reservation. Almost certainly far beyond the boundaries, considering how the sub-surface of this planet seems to be riddled with caves. Between Viln's knowledge of the caves and Katzati's maps of the surrounding area, it's likely the group could find a route where they surface far away from here. At least far enough away that the CAI is well out of intercept range so they can radio out.

So where is the Inspector and the Translator dude?

Biles is still MIA and, if not dead, most definitely compromised.

>>498442
I'm sure the hunter hive has the resources to lock down the area outside the valley. The known exits will be watched, and their will be sure to be areal patrols, just in case.

And even if we we made it out, there is no one we can trust to call. The hunter hive had to have been compromised in advance. We have no way to know who else might be affected. We are alone.

ugh this isn't working
Have we figured out if they can replicate?

>>498446
Except not every cave tunnel and exit around the voklit reservation has been mapped. Even the surface around here hasn't been mapped in detail. Polo can ask Katzati what has and has not been mapped in the vicinity of the reservation so we'll know what's what.

The hunter hive might have enough resources to lock down the area immediately around the reservation, but not for a several kilometer radius. And aerial patrols don't work so well when the targets are under forest canopy, which is what is around here, or are underground.

And can we please not use the assumption that other neumono on the planet are infested as a reason not to try and contact any other neumono? If we contact everyone that everybody in the group knows how to contact, most of them aren't going to be infected, if any. And if there are any non-neumono in that list, then they're for sure clean.

We have to at least try to get the word out about this; That every neumono needs to be x-rayed. And it's not like we have to sit tight after radioing out. We'll keep moving afterwards so we don't get found.

...And, actually, how much control would the mind-bugs have over a neumono without Four Stripes acting as conductor? 'Cause unless the salikai have shipped out dozens and dozens of empathic relays and arranged for a ridiculous number of hidden communication links to connect them back to Four Stripes, the chance that an infected neumono out there will be able to be controlled well enough to stop Polo from warning everyone is next to nil as far as I'm concerned.

>>498451
The problem is we're the only people we know to be clean. Any attempt at outside contact exposes us, and could potentially get us killed.

You can't assume non-neumono are safe, either. The best way for the salikai to have spread the infection in the first place would be by the use of covert agents or spies, which would have to be non-neumono out of necessity. Any alien could be one of their agents.

And the salikai don't need to keep compromised people "live" at all times- as Rokann proved, these things have a sleeper mode. They can be just sitting around, waiting until they need activation. It doesn't need to be a majority. Just the right people in the right places to fuck us all.

And as soon we blow the cover of compromised hives? Any hope we have of ending this with minimal bloodshed will be lost. It'll be all out war. Thousands will die.

>can we please not use the assumption that other neumono on the planet are infested as a reason not to try and contact any other neumono?
My main complaint is that escaping far enough to contact outside help would require a considerable effort, moves us away from actually doing anything about the salikai, exposes us to considerable risk of being caught or faked out again, all in the vain hope someone else might do better than us.

>>498453

If we're holding out on the chance that only a small group of neumono are infected then our best chance at contacting other hives on the planet is to turn the whole forest into a smoke signal. Only problem with this plan is we don't know if the salikai will conveniently leave any napalm sitting around for us to deploy. We still need more information about how far the infection has gone, we'll have to make an expedition into one of the hunter camps when the arm heals up.

1/2 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)00:32 No. 498468 ID: c4e5c2
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We ran down towards the traintracks, but before we went as low as them, we turned west and went down a few kilometers of twists and turns. My visor is confident of an exact location. I am unsure if Katzati is even necessary, all I see her do is plug my, or someone's, visor into her computer and lounge in her chair while an automated script does the work.

Lucera and Kort are nearby. Lucera is pacing around looking over his notes, and Kort went to bed early.

Biles is still missing. Normally we would assume him dead, but now we'll be assuming him compromised.

2/2 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)00:33 No. 498469 ID: c4e5c2
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"This is going slowly. Is there a time estimate?" I ask Korli.
"They move, doing tissue damage while they do, not to mention the knife. She'd be a bloody pulp if I just tried to yank out all 70 or so! Already got blood on my hands, sheesh. Anyway, the estimate is 'not tonight', because we need to sleep! Never did find those plastic gloves..."
"Can they replicate?"
"The plastic glov- I mean, no. No, I don't think so."
"Katzati, how much of this territory was mapped before we came?"
>"Below ground? Almost nothing, what we have is the leading part. Above ground, we have some aerial photographs and know the topography, but never did much more than burn a dirt road into the landscape, so we don't know what's below the treeline. Why?"
"Every bit of information is better when we're starved for it. And I've got mixed feelings about calling in for help, but that's moot until that even becomes an option. Which might be the case, if we can get to a surface exit far away."
>"How do we know we won't get a CAI fake?" Katzati asks.
"At so far away? I doubt they have the range."
>"Yes, but this could... well, I mean... I don't want to say it, but this is the salikai's base, right? Isn't it possible they mapped this place out thoroughly ahead of time? It's not hard, we just haven't done it ourselves."
"I don't believe I can exclude the possibility, considering they got voklits on their side."
>"Yeah... by the way, we have two days of rations, but we should hunt for food as we can so we won't be forced to, later. After tonight's shift, which we still have to decide on I think?"
"You all sleep." Marra says from beside Rokann. "No point in taking shifts, because I can't sleep."

There is always a need to take shifts, especially when dealing with something like this.

I mean, fuck, the old faulty ones used on the hiveship could operate outside the body, once contact with the AI note was severed they even LEFT the body, whose to say these new ones aren't capable of leaving the body and entering another?

>>498469
Is she alright?

Hey, those bugs aren't gonna move on their own outside her body, right? Or are they being destroyed as they're extracted?

>>498469
You've been handling bugs Katzati, not that we don't trust you, but we need to be careful. They might've hidden their ability to replicate, or if a single one got into your body, well that makes all information you have compromised.

Sorry, but one person on one big shift all the time is just asking for bad news, even with extenuating circumstances such as not having to sleep. Hasn't she seen the movies? Shit always goes down when it's unexpected during a shift. And it goes hard. These are voklit dumps we're talking about, rock hard as their abs kind of shit.

Unless Marra is some other species than neumono, she needs sleep, same as the rest of you. We should have 2 or 3 people up while she sleeps.

Well, capturing hunter hive members and freeing them up one by one to build ourselves a resistance force isn't going to be an option at the rate it takes to debug someone.

>I am unsure if Katzati is even necessary
Just wait till the first software glitch crops up, or you have to deal with something unexpected- like false tunnels that change configuration after you move through them. Something will trip the software up eventually. Then you'll be glad you had her.

>Normally we would assume him dead, but now we'll be assuming him compromised.
There's not a bad chance he is dead. But him being compromised is about as close to certain as you can get.

>bug paranoia
Make sure the ones Korli removed are dead, or at least broken such that they're immobile. And do a quick x-ray of the people who had been working on her, just to make sure none of them tried jumping for another ship.

>Shifts
Well, if she can't sleep, fine, she's got watch (we can't force her to sleep, after all. Still, not something we can allow to go on for more than one night). Viln will probably be with her for at least part of the night, since Voklit need less sleep (so we have 2 people on).

she'd make a poor watch if she's deprived of sleep. we can't make her sleep but we should appoint a second person for the second shift nevertheless.

yeah have all sleep in shifts apart from the 2 who will be going out hunting for food so they're better rested for the day outside, would it be possible to set up some kind of relay so if they run into trouble they can atleast send a message further into the caverns?

Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)08:24 No. 498517 ID: c4e5c2
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Come to think of it, if a mapping glitch comes up, it is true that Katzati would be necessary.

"No. If you can't sleep, fine, but two people are going to be on shifts at a time. You're going to sleep tomorrow if you can't sleep tonight." I look at them with my x ray vision. They're clean. "Korli, have we been breaking the bugs?"
"Yeah, definitely."
"And Marra. Are you alright?"
"She's a lifelong friend."
"Don't let that get in-"
"I'm a fucking professional, alright?"

Ironic.

Apologize, and say you understand. (And mean it. I assume your empathy is on? ...although wait, nevermind, you'd have the stolen jammer up and running to hide from hunter hive searchers anyways).

Check on the rest of camp and everyone else before turning in.

>Ironic.
...I must have forgotten some context, because I'm blanking on what the irony is here.

>>498518

The irony is where she claims to be professional about it, but at the same time is claiming that she cannot sleep because it is her life-long friend sitting there infested with hijackers that could make her a threat to the entire species.

>>498521
Also, the way she said she's a professional wasn't very professional.

Well if we're taking night watch shift in pairs who do you think would be a good partner for Marra? I would say you do it but I'm not so sure if anyone else would be comfortable about doing guard duty with your voklit friend other than you.

1/3 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)10:31 No. 498529 ID: c4e5c2
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Ironic, because she said she is a professional in an unprofessional manner. Unless their ultrahive defines professionalism differently.

My empathy is not on, but it doesn't matter while our stolen jammer is up.

"Sorry." I say to Marra, getting Korli to help me take off my armor. Back at camp, Lucera is tapping away at his computer. Even without sensing the empathy, he still somehow manages to produce a sense of 'don't bug me'. Too bad I have to.

"Lucera, are the shifts set up? Marra says she's not sleeping."
>"Fine. Katz, then you, two hours each, then your voklit for 4. Plus Kort or me if Marra sleeps. Up in 8 hours."

2/3 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)10:31 No. 498530 ID: c4e5c2
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I go to bed. It's more difficult to sleep than I thought. There's still noises in the caves. Not metallic or gunshots, just sounds of wildlife echoing across the walls.

3/3 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)10:32 No. 498531 ID: c4e5c2
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But I must have eventually fallen asleep, as Katzati wakes me up to take over her shift.

".... your shift isn't done for another half hour. Is something wrong?"
>"Yeah, I.... Polo, w-we should move. I mean, really soon."
"Is there someone around?"
>"No, but I keep thinking and looking at the maps and there's 300 or so in that hive, and if even just a light majority are searching they'd be able to scour a large amount of space in a short time and-"
"Calm down. Talk slower."
>"... I'm thinking we aren't deep enough in. Tunnels here are long and... there just aren't many branching paths. There's a good chance they won't find us, but there's a good chance they will at any time. They're called the hunter hive for a reason."

Well unless this tunnel just turns out to be a dead end I don't see much problem in moving further in as that seemed to be the plan in the first place, but you should also check with the others in your group to see if you can move. From what I see everyone is tired and under a hell of a lot of stress and unlike you I don't think they've been in a mission like this before.

Are you in command? If you are, issue orders. If not, give the strongest suggestion possible to the one in command. We need to skedaddle.

"Wake everyone up. We are moving."

Stay quiet if you can. If she's afraid they are that close they may be listening for stuff.

She's injured. Her left ear is bloody- partially covered up by the way she's holding her head.

First thing to do is make sure she's all right, and that the injury doesn't mean she has a bug in her head making her nuts (one might not be enough to control her, but it might be enough to mess with mood. Ie, the enemy trying to make us panic or paranoid, tire ourselves out, run when we don't need to, etc).

If she's clean, calm her down and spend another minute or two having her walk you through her thinking- make sure this isn't just fear or paranoia talking. (She's not exactly a military type- she's not as prepared as the rest of you to cope). Then you should probably trust her. Mapping, exploration, and the math and timeframe estimates involved... this is her area of expertise. If she thinks you're at risk, she's probably right. We'll have to cut the night short and move.

See, this is why you have Katzati around. It may be paranoia, but in this situation, paranoia could very well save all your lives.

>>498534
Yeah, definitely have her walk you through her thinking. Ask her to pull up a map of a similar cave system to the one you're in, as an example, and show you what she's worried about. If her thinking is sound, then wake Lucera and show him, and run it by Marra since she's awake already.

Considering that the salikai have almost certainly mapped this entire cave system, and they've shared that information with the hunters, they're going to be able to efficiently and effectively search the whole place. That means at least 150 hunters, probably closer to 200, in three to five man teams, plus an unknown number of teams of the salikai's own forces. So in the eight hours you have to rest before packing up, they can clear large segments of the tunnel network, and station guards to make sure your group doesn't double-back.

Plus, they'll also know where all the major bottlenecks and intersections are, and post guards there as well. It'll be nasty if your group flees and ends up careening face-first into one of those.

Also, since they know the tunnels, if they do locate us and we don't know they have, they could move teams around into all the tunnels away from our position, then completely crush us.

It'd probably be a good idea to push on for at least another eight hours anyway. The more distance between your group and the hunters, the better. Then everyone can sack out and take a long rest. There'll be grumbling, but it's better than being sandwiched between two hunter teams in a long tunnel.

Basically, all we have on our side here is a head start, and if we give that up we're done for.

And from now on, everyone keep their voices as low as they can and make as little noise as possible. The hard rock walls down here will reflect even small sounds, as your experience with the wildlife shows. In fact, your pursuers might be using audio location systems that filter out wildlife sounds to listen for your group. Check with Korli in a bit if that's a thing that is possible.

1/2 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)12:01 No. 498544 ID: c4e5c2
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She's clean, so I move around to stand on the table and have a look at her head.

"Move your hand. Are you wounded?"
>"No, I'm just... it's noisy here." I feel for a cut or anything, but it's nothing. She is just distressed.
"You haven't been on a mission like this, have you?"
>"I've done basic military training, that's all. I'm a cartographer, I'm not ma-"
"I know. I'm not in command, though. Why did you come to me, rather than Lucera?"
>"Lucera isn't... I mean, he's just..."
"Nevermind. We're understandably stressed, and I don't blame you for being on edge."
>"I'm sorry, it's just dark and cold here, and the wilderness here keeps startling me. But I really think we should go."
"You would know it best. I just don't want you speaking out of fear and paranoia."
>"... don't you constantly think of paranoia? And have it turn out to be best?"
...
>"Sorry!"
"No, you have a point. Show me your maps and your line of thought."

2/2 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)12:02 No. 498545 ID: c4e5c2
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>"Here, let me upload a chunk that we discovered without you... okay. This is what we have. Lucera and them went in through point A, you went in through point B, we met at about point one, and all moved where we're at now, point 2. There's a total of only 20 paths we didn't go explore, in total, or so. I'm sure that those branching paths have more branching paths, but... if they're moving fast and managed to go straight for us, they could catch up in an hour and a half or so. And if one of them finds us, then even if we kill that one, the hunter hive will know where we went once that hunter never returns. They might even be setting down radio relays as they go!"
"Quiet, Katzati. Do you think it's possible they have detectors that can filter out sounds from out group?"
>"Oh... i-it's possible."
"Keep your fear in check. It sounds like that's what's getting you to try and move us, but I still agree. I'll tell Lucera to move. Which way should we head?"
>"I- I don't know. Deeper in, but I have no idea if we should go deeper in south, north or what. South goes downward deeper into the caves, and north goes upward. North, I'm guessing, would be better to try to find a surface exit, but it might make us easier to find, since they might be thinking that's where we would try to go."

tell her to keep her cool, it's good to note these things but don't work herself into a paranoia attack about it

Whoops! No blood. Just thick lines or shadow, I guess. Oh well, got a cute almost cuddling picture out of it, at least. :V

>paranoia
It's good for keeping yourself from being caught off guard. So long as you don't let it make you panic or react carelessly. I just wanted to be sure. Don't afraid to come to me if you think of other concerns- I'll hear you out.

>north or south?
I'd rather head south. If north leads out, we might run right into them if they set anyone down at exterior entrances in addition to entrances A and B.

Of course, going deeper has somewhat higher risks or running into actual Salikai forces, but we have no idea where they are. Only evidence we've seen so far is them using the central pit, and we're miles from there.

I say ask the rest of your group when you try and get them to leave, I want to say south because I feel head north we'll come across the train tracks again which will be more heavily guarded but we have a wounded/slightly brain washed person on our hands that needs treatment or at least a decent medical facility to help remove those bugs. So we might want to put it up to a vote when we start to move.

I think ultimately we have to find the Saliki. And its also the last thing they would expect. At least as long as they know Polo is dead.

>>498552
We're neumono, though. Speedy regeneration. Battlefield surgery will work just fine. The only advantage of an actual medical facility would be getting the procedure done in less time and, well, comfort. (Poor Rokann's getting debugged without painkillers. And we can't even knock her out!)

>At least as long as they know Polo is dead.
We ID-ed ourself to the hunter hive. Odds are pretty high that means the Salikai know Polo's here, unless control is done purely by empathy or routed completely through four stripes, or they didn't believe the intel.

Polo you are so tiny.

If we move topside we would have to find and take out their attack helicopters, or be blown to shreds when they find us.

So i suggest we stay in the tunnels and move south and downwards.

Also the salikai have been relying heavily on the voklit and controlled neumono to do the fighting. So their underground base might not be too heavily guarded.

Better safe than sorry, if we even take a chance at north and are found, we'll likely be mowed down with as much weight we're carrying. We already lost a friend. I don't want to lose any more. South is pretty dangerous too, with likely opposition we have no intel about, could be even more weird salikai experimental warfare tech down there, but descent helped us survive the last time we were in this type of situation. Maybe the cave network could expand for miles under the planet and we can head back up somewhere else entirely, far away. The objective isn't to engage the salikai, merely report it's location to command so we can get an armada. And get these bugs there to so our scientist can invent a counter for it. It might be a month long trek though, requiring constant moving of the camp.

Regardless we go north or south, we should definitely move camp every once in a while. Just to keep shifting. Find more secure areas. If we want to keep our ground instead of becoming underground migrators for what could be an entire county's worth of land mass just to find a secure escape route, we could alternate between the secure areas.

I wonder if the voklits knew a secret tunnel. We already know they were going further out down here than they were supposed to, and if I were them, at the mercy of a technologically superior, traditional enemy, I'd have a back door to escape through. Given that they had an entrance to the caves right in the middle of their camp, it seems likely. Even if they didn't, the salikai must have gotten here from some direction that wasn't overland, they'd want a back door too. Several, maybe.

You should ask Viln for advice before you choose which direction to go. I assume you've already asked him if he knows the kind of exit you want, but there's already things we know he didn't know. Given his previously expressed desire to become the designated neumono-talking person in his tribe, it's possible things were kept from him. Maybe he knows someone else who might know better? Though it'd be impossible to find them at this point.

Tell Katz that paranoia is justified in a situation such as this, just don't let it give you an anxiety attack. Actually, is she feeling extra anxious because she's not used to being in a jammer field, cut off from the emotional support of the empathic link while in a stressful situation? Ask her if that's what she's feeling.

Considering that the hunter hive has almost certainly been given at least part of the salikai's cave maps, they'll know where all the cave entrances are. That means they've likely already airlifted teams up to the nearby north cave exits to guard them. So if we go north, it'll mean we'll have to fight out, and we're in no shape to fight a team of armed, armored, and bio-armored hunters. And because they'll be close to the surface, they can easily radio to raise the alarm and call for reinforcements and helicopter support. Even if we do manage to get out, we'll have all the hunter hive on our tails in short order.

Because of this, I'm in favor of heading south. Even though it means heading deeper into enemy territory, where they know the terrain, it also means the hunter hive can't use their attack 'copters or vehicles against you... Except maybe those motorcycles, but down here you'd be able to hear them coming even farther than on the surface.

Ask Katzati if she can estimate the path of the railway you found, based on what map data she has. Railways very often don't change grade or curve sharply, so from what she has she should be able to draw out a cone in both directions from it to mark it's estimated location.

There's also something else we should be wary of: We don't know where the salikai have hidden cameras or other detection devices. At the very least they've put them on the tunnels near wherever their base is, but beyond that we have no idea how far out they've put in hidden radio relays, cameras, and detectors. If we are unfortunate enough to go past one, then things are going to get real nasty, real quick.

Also, we should definitely think about how to get our hands on the salikai's maps. Probably by taking down a small search party at first. Unfortunately they almost certainly won't have more than a partial map, and it definitely won't show where the salikai's base is, but it'll be better than what we have. Also, because it wouldn't show where the base is, we might be able to guess where it is if we get enough partial maps. That is, if they didn't put false map data in where the base is to hide it.

>>498562
>Secret tunnel
An interesting idea, but I get the feeling we're already well away from the areas Viln and Vern usually hunted. It there are hidden tunnels or secret doors nearby, he wouldn't know them (unless there are Voklit markers for things like that, and he recognizes one?).

>>498563
>hidden salikai cameras, relays
Yes, a concern. However, they've already proved they can hide tech we can't find, so there's little we can do about it!

It might be they limited sowing these caves with tech to increase the odds an inspection team might pass them by (obviously, killing us with the hunter hive is a plan B. Plan A would have been to go unnoticed). If, you know, luck worked out in our favor for once.

>ambush searcher for their maps
The problem, as Katzatai said, is that even if we kill them, the others will know where they disappeared, sooner or later. Which narrows down the search for us considerably. I'm not sure anything we could get in a raid is worth deliberately engaging enemy patrols if they can be avoided.

splitting up to cover more ground is tempting, but if we want to minimize our losses, which we definitely want to do with the low numbers we have (or with the basic sense of morality we also have), we should all stick together.

>>498565
Yeah, the salikai probably didn't install hidden cameras and detection gear for that reason. Though, I'd say there is a good chance they're deploying temporary hidden and not hidden cameras and such, and the radio relays for them, right now as part of this search. Those they can clean up afterwards without a trace.

>Searcher ambush for maps/supplies/gear
Actually, it wouldn't be an ambush with the whole group. It'd be Polo, Viln, and maybe one other, with the rest of the group hiding far, far away. It also would utilize a trap that'd take out most of the enemy group, such as a rockfall, or dumping a bunch of those glowing slugs on them while they're in a slug cave so the predators attack them. Make a good enough trap and we wouldn't have to fire a shot.

>>498577
Eh... even if we use a limited party, and take out the whole enemy group, the people we take out will be missed, and that gives the enemy a narrow area to close in on trap our raiders.

It's not something I'd really want to try to we had a secure hiding place or base setup of some kind. I'd also rather not risk splitting up right now.

>>498584
Oh, of course not now, or even in the immediate future. Just throwing it out as a possible action in the future, if we get a secure location to hide in or something.

1/3 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)17:20 No. 498611 ID: c4e5c2
File 136270562217.png - (19.17KB , 700x700 , 177.png )

"Viln."
"Polo." I am not sure he was even sleeping.
"Do you know much about the caves we are in now?"
"Far north of home, forbidden territory."
"So, nothing."
"Nothing."
"No secret tunnels?"
"Only at home. But home is no longer home."
"Alright. Don't both going to back to sleep. We're moving soon.

2/3 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)17:20 No. 498612 ID: c4e5c2
File 136270563288.png - (15.80KB , 700x481 , 178.png )

I turn to Katzati again. "Paranoia is justified here, but don't get an anxiety attack here. Is the lack of a jammer field bugging you?"
>"Yes, it really is, but there isn't much we can do about it, is there?"
"No, sorry. Same as if the salikai have cameras around, they're good at hiding them. By the way, do you have an estimated path for the railway?"
>"Southwest, northeast, with a slight curve to the west and north."
"I'll wake everyone up and have us keep moving, to the south."
>"Okay. Polo, thank you."

3/3 Polo 2013/03/07(Thu)17:22 No. 498613 ID: c4e5c2
File 136270574788.png - (33.09KB , 700x700 , 179.png )

Lucera grumbles at being woken, but he is not hard to convince that continuing to run from 300 well equipped neumono out for blood might be a better idea than sleeping. We pack our bags, Viln slings Rokann to his back, and we head out.

As few words as possible are spoken now, and we travel in silence. Around 1 AM, we reach a river. Slugs tell us that, in case we miss the running water right in front of us.
>"I know this river." Viln breaks the silence. "The water moves down. Large, open cavern at the end. Lots of prey, lots of danger. Do not know where west goes, but there is the west path.

Take whatever path gets us furthest away from this place the fastest. Except the railroad. It is most certainly guarded.

>>498613
Lots of prey and lots of danger means likely our guns making lots of noise. We DO need to hunt, though. It might be a good path. Plus, if we can set up camp near there we would be able to hear the hunters shooting at stuff if they enter the cave. It'd be a great proximity alert.

Oh goodie. A decision to make on our path without context, while being pursued. Like the early parts of the warship, all over again. Fun.

Alright... so a place with a lot of food and water has it's uses. And the native danger will be less significant since we have modern weapons.

On the downside... a big open cave is going to be easier to be caught in the open, in. And if there are multiple entrances/exits, it will be easier for the hunter hive to discover the place. And if we're forced to defend ourself from the wildlife, we're burning ammunition, and making noise in a big open space.

The unknown may be unknown, but I'm kind of not liking what lies east. Biggest downside of going west though it we're going uphill again (potentially bringing us closer to searcher?).

So how is Marra holding up?

Also I believe a quick scan with the x-ray is needed, just for practicality's sake, hell, It might even tell us whether or not Rokaan has attempted to escape by fucking with her bone layout, we don't know what these bots are capable of, considering that they can apparently keep a neumono conscious far beyond what the body is supposed to take.

I say if you think you've moved far enough set up camp here and do some hunting then after you guys have restocked your supplies head west as I don't think you want to have to deal with the wild life when you only have so many bullets on you and travel though there with your wounded/prisoner slowing you down

>>498617
Hmm. Intriguing. Hiding near the cavern to try and avoid danger and the obvious exposure, but close enough to harvest resources and use the wildlife as an alarm system is something I hadn't considered. Hard to say if the risks are worth it, but that's certainly the way to play it if we go east.

I guess I'm actually wondering too, would that kind of cavern attract the hunters? They might like to, well, hunt while they're down here. Resupply with fresh meat, rather than lugging rations down the caves.

>>498623
...okay, I think that's being a little too paranoid. If those things could free her, or rebuild her, they would have done so earlier, when that would have fucked us over.

>>498613
Let us hunt like real Voklit and Neumono. Primative tech only! GO GO GO! Who can win, Polo or Viln? Would have been a closer match between Biles and Polo since Viln has the edge, but still place your bets here folks!

I'm serious about gambling, raise the morale a bit. Good meat and a hunt will also raise your morale and Viln's. Just make sure gambling on hunts isn't offensive to Voklit.

Take the river route only if either Viln thinks your group could take down the prey or the danger without using firearms, or if the danger is the kind that will ignore your group if you don't go after the prey. This is a case where you can't afford to use up ammo if you can avoid it, but the big issue is the noise the guns would make. Any enemy acoustic sensors would definitely be set to listen for the distinctive sound of a gunshot.

If Viln doesn't think your group could make it through without using your guns, then take the west route. There's plenty of opportunities to hunt or gather food down here; The group is bound to find one within a couple days.

If you can, right before leaving this area send someone up to collect a couple glow-slugs. They'll be good as a light source so the group isn't running down batteries for flashlights, and as emergency rations. You also need to reapply your armor's cave camo, and everyone else should consider rubbing slug slime into their fur and clothes to blend in as well.

Did Rokann finally fall asleep once Korli stopped digging out the bugs? Or did the bugs keep her awake even afterwards? If so, that could become a problem if they keep Rokann up continuously. Laying sleep deprivation on top of everything else may just drive her insane or comatose.

Good to see you don't have to keep your arm in a sling any more. You won't have any problems if you go easy on it, right?

>>498432
>>498613
we should keep out of the prey cave, reserve that as an emergency ration-gathering area. Move west, be careful about cracks and fissures and if it looks bad head back and go the other way.

unless we have a shortage of rations, go west.

>>498636
Actually, I changed my mind. Don't take the river route; Go west instead. Priority one right now is to put as much distance between your group and the hunter and salikai forces. You don't have time to hunt in that cavern and tangle with whatever danger is there, especially since the group will have to avoid using their guns for fear of being detected. There's enough food for now, and there'll almost certainly be other opportunities to hunt within a day or two, so push on for as long as the group can before resting.

In fact, with the hunters infested with those mind-bugs, we can't stop or slow down for anything. Those bugs will keep the hunters going indefinitely, even if it turns the hosts into zombies. Our only chance is to get far enough away that they have to spread their manpower out so much it slows their search to a crawl. Plus, if we get out of the salikai mapped areas, they'll be as ignorant as us as to the terrain.

Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)11:55 No. 498777 ID: c4e5c2
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I did remove my sling, and should be fine as long as I don't stress it unduly. Marra seems fine, as much as I can tell considering that we're in a jammer field, she hasn't said a word, and hasn't changed her stone faced expression. Rokann eventually fell asleep as well once we stopped 'threatening' her with taking the bugs out.

I get off Viln, who goes to collect some more glow slugs. Lucera moves up to me and whispers.
>"Since Biles is missing, you'll continue being our guide. Katzati, you'll be next if Polo gets compromised or killed. Input, Polo?"
"West."

So we move west for about one hour. We only hit one deadend in that time, and I'm pleased at how much branching there is in this section. If we're lucky, it isn't just one path that keeps winding back into hours every couple hundred meters.

We hear a couple of rocks fall uncomfortably close behind us.

Whups. Something's there.

Everyone quiet, assume defensive positions, while the sneaky person goes to investigate. Alt visor modes may help.

If possible, it might be nice to turn down the radius of the group's jammer, so when you step out of range (silent) to investigate, you'll be able to pick up if you're being pursued by unjammed hunters.

We probably want to evade rather than engage, but we may not have a choice. And we want to know what's out there (animal? monster? Salikai trooper? Hunter hiver?).

split & keep against the walls, anything to minimise your sillouette (spelling?) & gain possible cover, dispite it being used so much can the xray goggles/visor be used to get a glimpse, just a mere quick on & off to save power, down the tunnel? even if it's just a brief flash it could highlight if something, voklit, creature or "posessed" neumono are following

Something back there, but it could be anything: Hunters, salikai forces, local wildlife stalking the group, or even a prelude to a tunnel collapse. Any which way it is, you still have to check it.

Motion for everyone to stop, split up, get flat against the sides of the tunnel, and remain quiet, then listen for any movement while looking back and cycling through your visor modes. If you don't see anything, whisper to Viln to move back the way you came and ready his gun, but to hold fire until you say to; If this is just a wild animal, you'll want to take it down relatively quietly. Ready your rifle as well, in case something has to be shot, it'll be somewhat quieter than Viln's gun.

If there are any corners or curves that need to be checked around, perhaps Viln could hold you horizontally in one or both hands and stick you out just far enough that you can peek around them.

>>498777
Infrared, quick!

Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)14:13 No. 498803 ID: c4e5c2
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I'll have to remember to camoflauge myself again. Green is hardly inconspicuous against these purple rocks.

"Get close together, reduce the range of the jammer. I'm going to have a look." I say. "Viln, watch my back."

I move back the way we came, briefly flicking through my visor's modes. Nothing on normal, night, xray or thermal. I'm about ready to give up after a few minutes, as the rock could have come down an increasing number of branching paths. But I finally see something stick its head out. Just wildlife. I think.

>>498803
Back away slowly, getting your gun ready.

Those look like they could be robots. Infrared would probably reveal their true nature.

Try scaring them away by appearing as big as you can and waving your arms around.

Some kind of bug or bird thing? Unless the Salikai have started mind-controlling the wildlife, or that's a robot (or a really weird miklik) you should be fine.

Back off and regroup with the others. If it attacks, aim for one of those huge eyes. Check with Viln what it was (give him a description if he couldn't see from where he was). And continue on your way. We're looking for a secluded spot to hide out, if we can find one.

They are wearing helmets. That's not natural. It's seen you. See if your radio will work at this short a range. It may be more powerful than any radio jammers down here. Tell them that the group is compromised. Get a better view of the creature. If it's not something you know to be friendly it's time to shoot. If you see neumono shoot them in their legs to slow them down. Headshots will not stop them from chasing you unless you take out both eyes.

>>498807
We're trying not to make a lot of noise, here, and these things already seem a little skittish. (They hid for a few minutes, before sticking their heads out).

>helmets
Eh, I don't see it. It's not like it's uncommon for something like a beak to be a different color from the skin fur or feathers covering the rest of a creature.

It may be "just wildlife," or they may be some kind of weird looking robots, or a bunch of mikliks with really funky mutations.

There is a way to test if it's either of the latter two. Bring your rifle up to aim towards them while backpedaling towards Viln. If they're not wildlife, they'll pull their heads back for sure. If they are they won't, or even start moving out of cover. Also check for IR signatures to determine if they're mechanical or biological.

Once you're back at Viln, flip on all the directional lights you have and point them at the creature if its still coming, both so he can tell you if it's dangerous, and to blind it since it's been in the dark for so long. If they didn't follow, describe what they looked like to him so he can identify them.

I say see if you can get Viln to tell you if those are just the local wildlife or not and if they are how dangerous are they.

Also get your gun ready just encase things go south.

make sure they aren't constructs or have man-made equipment on them before backing off.

Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)15:29 No. 498832 ID: c4e5c2
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I move backward, pointing my gun at it with one hand and waving my left at it menacingly. I flip to thermal. It does have a heat signature, and it remains still as a statue the whole time.

I describe it once I reach Viln.

"Longbeak pecker. Will follow, but not attack, always annoying, never know what longbeaks want." Just wildlife, and a waste of time.

The hunters would follow them and thus find us if they knew the longbeaks' habit of following people. How likely would that be?

How easy are they to fight off? Could we do it without guns?

Return to the group and report what it was. How much time was wasted here, anyway?

Ask Viln how hard it'd be to lay a trap for the longbeaks, and if they're alright to eat. They might just end up being mobile rations for your group. Also ask him how likely it'd be for your enemies to track your group by following the longbeaks. It may be you'll have to either scare them off, or kill them in a way that doesn't show your group killed them.

Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)16:19 No. 498840 ID: c4e5c2
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"How easy is it to fight off without guns, and is it edible?"
"It will run away. Too quick for spear. Then it comes back to follow more. Edible?"
"Can we eat it."
"Yes."
"Can we lay a trap?"
"Possible, if big rock is found, and only if it does not see is making trap."
"Can they be tracked, leading the enemy right to us?"
"Harder to track than smelly neumono."

Write them off for now. We need to keep moving, and they're not a threat. If they're following us, that means they're covering any tracks or smell we leave with their own. We can try killing them for food later, if we need to.

Let's ignore them. They can't be killed easily and a trap would make noise.

yeah let it follow, with any luck it could end up acting as an early warning/detection system or meatshield (then food afterwards)

Well that was anti-climatic. Oh well lets just keep going and see if we can't find something that is actually useful a little farther up.

Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)16:52 No. 498854 ID: c4e5c2
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I report to the others that it was just a harmless thing. No one is disappointed that the outcome was, as is the case, anticlimactic. Rather, I think we could use less things to keep us on edge. Short of shooting it and making a great deal of noise, there isn't much we can do about it, so we let it follow.

Another half hour passes. We reach another path choice. The cave continues on still downward as usual, but there is a hole now that leads nearly straight down. Shining a light down, with or without my visor modes, shows that it twists around slightly, limiting how far down I can see.

>>498854
Is there any way to go down the hole quietly, also without leaving a grapple behind?

Would our annoying pests following us be able to get down there? Would they TRY? I imagine it would be quite noisy for them to scrabble down that tunnel.

Seems like the best thing to do is ignore the hole. I can't think of any benefit to going down there.

We absolutely do not want to go down shafts that have no known exit, unless we have the tools to carve handholds or something. Imagine if we went to all this effort and then just got trapped at the bottom of a deadend cave?

or... we could try misdirection, leave subtle but non-the-less noticable clues that people have gone down there very recently & proceed onwards with our current course, with any luck it could throw possible persuers off our scent for at least enough time to gain significant ground distance

Um. We have one grappling hook, and a convoy of allies lugging boxes of supplies. Descending down a vertical shaft seems logistically difficult, if not outright infeasible.

I suppose a quick zip down and up via grappling hook yourself might be doable?

>>498860
Eh, the enemy has no idea where we are in the cave systems. Any attempt at misdirection narrows down where we were, and the area they need to search. It's not worth it.

Okay, it might be a good idea to go down that hole to get ahead of your pursuers, but you have no idea whether it's going to end up in a dead end, or lands in a carnivore pit or something else nasty. And even if it does check out, it's going to take awhile to get everyone down it. You'll also have to figure out how to undo the rope used to get down, from the bottom of the hole. Perhaps tying it with a knot that had an equal lead from it down the hole, and will undo when that lead is pulled?

Anyway. Head down to scout the hole out. Tie a rope in a harness to yourself, the other end to a rock, and have Viln, Marra, and Katzati lower you down. Between the three of them they'll be able to haul you up real quick if something goes bad. Figure out a rope pull signal system before going down. You're going to have to be quick about it down there, though; Who knows how close your pursuers are.

>>498840
>"Smelly neumono"
You'd be slightly insulted, except that that brings up an important point: Can your group be tracked by scent? Ask Viln how easily he and other voklits would be able to sniff out the group's trail. Do they have domesticated creatures that have an even better sense of smell they use to track. Does he know of other creatures down here that have better senses of smell. ...Could those longbeak peckers have been salikai trained trackers? Is that even possible?

Considering the group's scent trail, the next time you come to a river or pond, everyone should wash themselves and their clothes, and rinse off everything they've been carrying. It's either that or coating everyone in something that smells like creatures that belong down here to mask the neumono scent entirely, and that might not be possible.

You should leave that empty explosive shotgun with the rest of the group. It'll be one less thing to rattle against your armor, and without ammo it's only useful as a really ineffective club.

Also, remember to re-coat your armor in purple slug slime camo as the group is marching along.

... It might be wise if we were to kill the beak nose, it could be artificial, mimicking the wildlife as a way to look for intruders inconspicuously. I say we kill it, don't worry about the hole, keep moving.

>>498873
I still think we should be ignoring the bird things, for now.

Well if you want to give the hole a quick peek to see if there is anything of interest down there make sure you have people that can quickly pull you up encase something happens and that this time the rope you're using isn't cut. If you don't plan on giving the hole a quick look ignore it completely As I think it would be to much effort and not enough reward to try and get your whole party down there, what with all the equipment you're all carrying. Although that same problems would also burden anyone else who also tried to go down that hole too.

Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)19:29 No. 498923 ID: c4e5c2
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"The hole is too dangerous." I say as the others catch up. "Ignore it. It is high risk and a low chance of reward, plus the time it would take for mE to poke inside, myself."

I get on Viln's shoulder again after leaving my empty shotgun with Marra and start to coat my armor with the slime again. "I'd be somewhat insulted about being called 'smelly' neumono, but that brings up a point. Can we be tracked with scent?"
"Yes. Why insulted? Is smelly. Not disrespect, but fact. If voklit is nearby before smell dies, could track us."
"And what can we do about our smell?"
"Bath."
"..... I mean something to coat ourselves with."
"Nothing around."

We walk longer. Several hours pass this time, nothing but silently walking at a brisk pace, or the group's attempt at brisk. We start hitting deadends and paths that wrap around to areas we've been to before. We do reach a stretch of river, finally, in case we actually did want to go dive in freezing water. This one does not have slugs, and is only a brief edge of a river that comes out of an underground hole for about 15 meters before slipping back into a tunnel we can't get into without diving in. It moves rapidly, no doubt because of the rain on the surface. The time is around 10 AM, now.

Katzati motions me over to her. She sounds winded.
>"I think we may have gotten about as far as this section of caves go." Katzati says. "There's more paths, yes, but we might have to go north or south if we don't want to stop here. Let's... I know it was my idea, but let's take a break."

5 hour break. Sleep, eat, whatever you need. Any spare time is spent ripping bugs out of Rokann.

I think a break sounds good. Even super solders need sleep from time to time, Much less all the other mortals you're around.

Remember that you at least got a few hours of rest- she spent that shift on watch. Plus, as the scout you're not hauling anything but your own gear, and you were carried for part of the trip. The others will be more tired.

A break gives the people who need to rest a chance to rest, a chance to dig some more bugs out of Rokann, and a chance to scout around the local area. If we're found, knowing the immediate surroundings will help, and there may be resources we can use, or threats we should know about.

Fair enough. There's water here too, so we can... maybe try to get rid of our smells?

Oh, and going down a river will put them off our trail, if they're on it. Might be a good idea, here.

Yeah, it's about time for a rest. Take a four hour break. Half the group can nap for half that time, and the other half the other half. Katzati is in the first nap. Have Korli and Marra up together so they can continue pulling bugs out of Rokann. You and Viln will be up for the first two hours.

For your and Viln's time up, you two will scout down the tunnels for twenty minutes, then return, and do that two more times in different directions to map out the immediate area. Hand your mapper over to Katzati so she can update the master map before you head out.

Ask Marra if she could talk to Rokann to check her mental state before Korli starts work on her again; Get an idea if the bugs are screwing with her in more subtle ways and such.

Oh, and if there's a spot in the river where the flow isn't bad, perhaps those who are up could take turns bathing and washing out their clothes.

>Rain on the surface flowing down here
Ask Viln how much the tunnels down here flood when it rains hard. In the upper tunnels it's not as big of a problem, but once you get down lower you may be looking at many blocked routes because of water.

Take a look around, know the area, find a good secure place to take a break, then take the break.

And while we're taking it... I remember that, a long time ago now, you said the "needle trick" for hiding your empathy was a "one way ticket to insanity". But if it comes right down to the life-or-death mark, being killed or having your personality wiped, wouldn't insanity be the slightly less worse option? I mean, Rokoa is a psychotic killer, but she was lucid enough to still be useful last time. Messed up enough in the brains that a predator couldn't quite put the stopper on her murderlust. What the salikai are doing here may well be a threat to your entire species, so getting out of here, stopping them, is worth more than any individual's life or sanity. If you know enough about it to maybe tell any of your companions how, with emphatic instruction to only do it if it's a choice between that and death (or worse), it might be a good idea to pass it around.

>>498943
Unfortunately, the "needle trick" is something they can't just do. It takes lots of training for a neumono to channel all their empathic signals down one path where they can stick a needle in. There's just no time for the others to even begin to learn to do it. Plus, if they did try it, the jammer makes it impossible to determine if they're actually doing anything.

>>498943
Rokoa didn't use the needle trick to try and block three stripes. She didn't know it back then- she picks it up sometime between the intermission and asteroid quest 1.

Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)20:54 No. 498951 ID: c4e5c2
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The needle trick. It is a good way to go to insanity. Rokoa was insane, but that may be because she is just insane on her own. I do not recall her ever saying she knew what the needle trick was... but, that would explain a thing or two. I don't recall her saying she didn't know what it was, and if she knows, the bitch would probably do it for fun. Yes, doing the needle trick to block empathy would be best if it's that or getting caught by the salikai, but even the needle trick needs some practice and training to hold it for any useful period of time. Damage on a brain system is already likely to happen by the time one can get to that level. I also will not teach my allies to do something that is only befitting of Rokoa. I still cannot think of her without getting agitated, if not pissed, which is not befitting me. So, enough on that.

It is true that as far as load goes, I have had it among the easiest. Even if I kept in physical shape for exactly this sort of scenario, it is not something I could expect of everyone, regardless of loads carried.

"We'll break for four or five hours. Katzati, take a nap first, you never got sleep. Same with Marra, but if you don't, check on Rokann, see if she is doing well. If so, please have Korli continue taking..." I whisper the next part to her to not trigger Rokann. "out bugs between rests." And turn to everyone again. "We also smell. Take a bath carefully, the water moves fast."
>"That about covers it." says Lucera. "For what we're doing here. But you, I and Kort have had the least work so far. What do you think about us, either together or splitting up, looking around and mapping out this string of dead ends and loops for a couple of hours? We all have enough mapping gear to not get lost."

Do not split up, gang.

>>498951
I don't think it's safe to ever have anyone other than Polo go out of the jammer field. Keep in mind there could be tunnels we don't know about all around us. With hunters in them. Within empathy range.

Aside from that issue, sure, let's do some exploratory work.

Mapping the immediate area isn't a bad idea. Knowing the surroundings may help if the enemy get close, and there may be threats or resources nearby we should be aware of. (We might also might find a better hiding spot for a more permanent camp).

No one should be alone, though. Too easy to be compromised. ...he should be sure to check everyone who heads out when they return, though. Including us.

Go out TOGETHER, i can not begin to count how many things could go wrong if you split up. just map the immediate area so you have an idea off were to go when you take off again, even you guys will need to sleep at some point lightest work loads or not.

We have two jammers right? (One from the hunters, and the one Korli converted from the four stripes relay). That means splitting up is feasible- leave one at base, have have the non-Polo searches take the other. Protects them from empathy ID and predator broadcasts, at least.

Not sure the logistics of who's resting, watching the camp, and searching though.

Well, you did eat part of her. Maybe there's some scrap of knowing what she was capable of that passed over. As for not wanting to make anyone crazy, though... well, having a bunch of bugs in you, controlling you, seems based on similar principles to the needle trick, and I can't imagine it'd have less effects on the subject's mind. If Rokann's still not all right after having her bugs out, there wouldn't be as much to lose for her. Just a thought. As you say, enough on that.

Splitting up is a bad idea; if any enemy neumono gets in range of your companions without them being in the jammer field, all your walking is for nothing, not to mention the possibility of being captured and amnesia drone'd. I don't doubt Lucera thinks he's making sense, but it's possible he's itching about not feeling anything and wants to get a spot of empathy for comfort. They all might. You should go out, go a short distance in every direction you can, and see if you can sense anyone. If you can't, then let the others take a break from being jammed, but ready to duck back into the field when they can.

Alright, Lucera and Kort can head out with you, but they will have to coat themselves in glow-slug slime to camouflage themselves first. They're going to be taking a bath when they come back anyway, so it won't be too bad.

Map northward until it's a half-hour trip back to camp, return to camp, then do the same southwards. Mark intersections with witch way you went using a glow-slug, then wash the marks away as you head back. That way if you do get separated, or the people at camp have to run, they'll know which way you went.

Leave Viln at camp to guard, and also just in case they do have to run he can carry Rokann so she isn't left behind.

Make sure that when everyone gets back to camp, that Korli x-rays them, and you x-ray her and everyone else.

1/2 Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)22:35 No. 498982 ID: c4e5c2
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"We have two jammers, so we can have two groups, but for our exploratory group, we don't split up.""
>"Right."
"Are you getting bugged by the lack of empathy?"
>"Not particularly."
"Alright. Viln, stay here, and someone make sure to X-ray us when we get back. Lucera, Kort, slime yourselves."
>"Excuse me? I w.... erg, fine."

We spend the two hours uneventfully and wordlessly walking more.

2/2 Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)22:36 No. 498983 ID: c4e5c2
File 136281097319.png - (18.43KB , 700x700 , 188.png )

We come back to see everyone still in one piece, and the sound of Rokann voicing her usual disdain about getting her bugs removed. She is a bit quieter, though. She looks to have around 48 bugs remaining.

I go to Katzati, after our x-rays, to upload our data to the master map. As suspected, there are no immediate paths west, and there is only one path north, at another river bank entry.

>"Kort and I are going to nap. After I... take a bath." Lucera states. "You can sleep too, but make sure more than one person is on watch."

>>498983
Oh dear. That's bad news on the map. We're at a dead end. Also, shouldn't we be heading towards the Salikai base eventually? We can't hide forever. It's literally impossible. I guess we could just swim in the river until it leads us out of the caves, and run away... but that could take so long the hunters might report back and manage to return to base to spread more bugs, leading to our leadership being compromised. With enough nanobots being constructed, the salikai could take over the ultrahive. That's an end of the world scenario for us.

...hmm, there is some silver lining here. Being at a sort of dead end means we're less likely to get headed off.

Check in on Rokann, ask how she's doing. Better, surely?

>slimed
Oh that was just mean, even if it was for stealth. At least you got armor. (Karma's totally going to bite you in the butt for that later and force you to slime up naked).

Find anything of note scouting?

>camp management
Right, organize watch rotations, taking into account who's had to miss sleep with the last one being interrupted, and with differences in biology (Viln needs less shuteye).

Sleep as you need to, spend time trying to be productive otherwise (maintaining gear, figuring out how long the food we have will last, helping with Rokann, etc).

well get some rest. we are all going to need our strength tomorrow when we have to cross that river. I'm also going to be that guy that jinxes everything but it has been pretty quiet since we got away from the hunter hive and other then some uncomfort this trip has be pretty peaceful.
How long do you think until it all goes to hell.

Polo 2013/03/08(Fri)23:31 No. 498993 ID: c4e5c2
File 136281429575.png - (21.51KB , 700x700 , 189.png )

Having Lucera and Kort slime themselves without armor may have been mean, yes, but having us discovered because Lucera looks like a bullseye is also 'mean.' I suppose at the least, I will wash his clothes, and I do not believe in karma, because there is no suitably terrible end for the salikai at this point. It is wishful thinking that there is some balance in the universe.

I am not tired, so I check on Rokann, who is now allowed to rest.

"How are you doing?"
>"I'm getting torn up from the inside out and outside out."
"Hang in there."
>"Easy to do, cause there's no choice... Can I stretch? I've been in this position for almost a full day. Asked Marra, but said it wouldn't look good if it was her that let me."

Get Viln to hold her by the torso while she does it, and it'll be safe. Especially if you have her tethered to something too.

She looks beat to hell, there. I'm not sure she poses much of a threat loose. (Unless she grabbed a weapon, or the enemy cam by right now).

Get Viln or one of the big-neumono to supervise her with you though. By yourself, your only option if something happened would be to shoot her.

Probably a good time to eat something, while we're at it. How we doing on food reserves?

I wouldn't have thought she'd want to stretch with a bunch of open and scabbed wounds on her. Isn't there a risk of infection from opening them up again, or at least of misaligning the tissues in the case of the deeper cuts?

Well, if you do want to let her, have someone else on hand, and see if you can only have her stretch part at a time.

sure it's not like she really wanted to be here like this and it's not really her fault so just have someone nearby to hold on to her and maybe keep a rope or something tethered to her foot or something encase she (or the bug make her) runs for it.

"One limb at a time. The other 3 stay tied up."

Don't be an idiot and let her go.

>>499001

Yeah, this, one limb at a time with heavy restraint on the others, she'll understand, after all, it may hurt like a motherfucker to have us remove them like this, but at least she's still alive.

Also, we had OURSELVES scanned, but did we scan the party that actually stayed with her, I am assuming that you already did that but it never hurts to have confirmation.

Yeah, you'll let her stretch, but there's going to be plenty of precautions, both to prevent her from attacking anyone, and to keep her from running off.

Place a tether tightly around her neck and one ankle, and anchor them down. Then have Viln pick her up off the ground by the torso with both hands and keep holding her tightly while her leg binds are undone. Once she's done stretching her legs, bind only her ankles back together for now. Have Viln hold her upside down by her legs, then have someone else release her arms from their binds, but only have one out at a time. Once she's done, completely rebind her the way she was before.

Perhaps Rokann could be bound in a more comfortable position, where her legs aren't scrunched up into her chest. if you had a sturdy pole to put behind her to bind her legs and hands to. Or a strong board of some kind. There anything like that in what gear the group has? Maybe that folding table is strong enough?

1/2 Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)00:50 No. 499006 ID: c4e5c2
File 136281900455.png - (24.03KB , 700x700 , 190.png )

I scan everyone once again just to be sure nothing changed.

"Arms, then legs, one at a time. Try not to reopen your wounds."
>"Thank you."
"Feeling better, mentally?"
>"It's hard to think, but I feel like I'm more in control, if you know what I mean."
"Alright. I'll look into a better way to restrain you."

I have Viln hold her and Katzati keep an eye on us. That, as well, goes smoothly.

Everything is going smoothly and I have learned to treat that as cause for worry. Between that and Rokoa, I am thinking that perhaps I did not come out of the last mission as mentally unscathed as I thought. I do not know what is more terrible, that I have begun to take every possible precaution for the slightest action, or that I have been proven perfectly justified in doing so.

2/2 Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)00:50 No. 499007 ID: c4e5c2
File 136281903536.png - (86.66KB , 700x700 , 191.png )

With that done, I go be productive elsewhere.

Legendary super soldier and spy extraordinaire Polo gets a bite to eat and performs menial tasks. While tethered to a rock in case an earthquake happens, Katzati doesn't watch where she's walking, or I trip over nothing, each leading to my falling in the river.

>"What next?" Katzati asks.
"We can't hide forever. Eventually we do have to find an exit, or find the salikai base?"
>"Wh... the salikai base? Just... walk right in?"
"We won't ring their doorbell. There might not even be a 'we', as half of you are not suited to combat. I would be content with a single place where we can sleep easy for even just a few days, but can't rely on that."

>>499007
So long as we don't take excessive precautions, it's not harmful paranoia. I mean, it's not interfering with our operations. Maybe the rope tethering for washing laundry is a bit much though. Sheesh.

On the other hand maybe we're just on edge because nothing's happening? Keep in mind you reacted to the annoying animals following us by doing nothing. You didn't overreact there. Be cool.

Tell her you want to sneak behind enemy lines and try to reenact the same thing you did in your last mission, where you managed to get to the salikai communications room. Even if we, again, get surrounded by arkots, it'll be worth it. We'll have sent out a warning and confirmation that the salikai is here. The salikai will be swarmed, the hunter hive outnumbered. Even if you die in the process, it would be a victory.

Do whatever else you can to rest and recuperate.

uh, guys? What if those "harmless" creatures are some sort of tracking device made by the salikai and set into the wildlife?
Not likely, perhaps, but something about them puts me at unease.

>>499017
remember, they have proven to be masters of biological manipulation. I wouldn't put it past them to have figured out some way to have them transmit information without machinery somehow.

>>499017
What? No dude, we asked Viln. They're native fauna. Besides, if they were salikai tracking beasts we'd be knee-deep in hunters by now.

Are you TRYING to make her paranoid?

hmm, I doubt it could harm to double check inventory & food supplies before we rest, always good to keep tabs of essentials

>>499021
actually, yes! I am trying to push her a bit into crazyville, not to harm her cause or anything but as a sort of safety measure. Push her into the water so she learns how to swim sort of thing, only the water is her neuroses and the push is an errant thought here and there.
TL:DR I'm being an evil bastard.

>I do not know what is more terrible, that I have begun to take every possible precaution for the slightest action, or that I have been proven perfectly justified in doing so.
Technically, it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

You're being hunted by dangerous enemies who have proved to be one or more step ahead of you. Trying to second guess the next thing going wrong is a perfectly natural and healthy response- and it may very well keep you and the people depending on you alive. Yeah, maybe you're a little more jumpy than most people now, but oh well.

And I wouldn't worry too much about any mental damage from your previous mission. You were almost consumed by hate and rage at one point, but you still stopped short of killing Kort. And despite everything- you spared Rokoa (and you even still thought your hive was dead, at the time). And you put yourself at great risk trying to take the path that ended the war quickest, and saved the most lives even among the warhive (would have been a lot easier to let them all get killed). I'd say you've show remarkable mental fortitude and resilience.

Don't let the bad times get you down, Polo. Not the time to start doubting yourself.

>Wh... the salikai base?
I've survived one before. And our best bet might be to take out their predator. They integrated four stripes with the bug-tech, somehow. Without him, maybe they won't be able to control the hunter hive. Or maybe just less effectively.

>>499035
Yeah, we should do that.

>>499021
I agree. The animals are unlikely to be Salikai trackers, or we'd be screwed by now. Remember that Viln recognized these things- they've been behaving this way for generations- they aren't something new the Salikai introduced. We might as well worry about the invisible cameras we can't find. It doesn't help anything.

>>499037
>TL:DR I'm being an evil bastard.
That's not appreciated.

The salikai base offers opportunity for sabotage, even of taking out this problem for a long time, at least if they haven't found more predators. Or cloned Four Stripes somehow. Or something. Besides that, though, the salikai are guaranteed to have a back door exit, crazy prepared as they are. Or we might even hijack some of their comm equipment to get a message out. It's a high-reward target, though equally or more high-risk as well. Especially if they think Polo is in town.

Don't worry about your paranoia, Polo. So long as it's only when you're on the job, and remains justified, it's fine.

1/2 Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)09:10 No. 499063 ID: c4e5c2
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"I've survived one before. They have more resources than I would have thought possible, but their micromanagement is awful. At some point I will attempt to re-enact what I did last time. Sabotage, intel, or destruction. Plus, yes, the salikai have compromised a whole hive that was the one to come down. They bought themselves time, but eventually my hive, and I would think your hive, will miss us and start demanding more resources be put in here. Even if I die, as long as I can do significant damage, it'll be worth it."

I suppose all things considered, while I may have issues from my last mission, they are relatively paltry compared to honest PTSD or an equivalent. I can still function and perform intelligently, all things considered.

>"Geez, Polo..."

I will just have to get over these small issues, as they are still a source of undue agitation.

2/2 Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)09:10 No. 499064 ID: c4e5c2
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>"Don't think like that. We're going to make it out, alright?"

Another thing to take care of, I have had an unpleasant reaction to having a hand placed on my head. A common physical display of comfort being turned into mild agitation.

>"Er..."
"It's fine. I'm going to take a nap before we go."
>"I'm sorry."

I am still expected to direct where we are going next, despite having little to work with. I will also take inventory of our remaining supplies prior to napping.

>Another thing to take care of, I have had an unpleasant reaction to having a hand placed on my head. A common physical display of comfort being turned into mild agitation.
Yeah, you'll have to work on that. You tiny, girl. You're going to have people doing that the rest of your life.

>I am still expected to direct where we are going next, despite having little to work with.
Well... our list of things to do works down to:

*Move until we have a hiding spot we feel moderately secure in.
*Explore area around camp (for resources, escape routes, early warnings, etc).
*Continue debugging
*Gather food. (Might as well take out the bird things when we need to go hunting. Then we get food, and we don't have to worry about them potentially being tracking devices anymore).
*Try and find an escape route and/or locate the Salikai base.

Aww, Polo has PTSD just from Rokoa.

hmm everybody's focused on murdering the bird... hows about this? ask Viln if it'd be possible to say tie a rope around it then use it as a form of pack-mule, lightening the load off everyones backs & potentially make it easier to traverse the tunnels for longer

>>499076
We'd have to catch it first. Viln said they'd run if confronted and were fast. We'd then need to deal with it potentially running off with our supplies if it got loose of whoever was holding it somehow. We also don't know if it would start shrieking or something if we managed to capture it.

Hmm. There's an issue. The salikai will be wanting to cover themselves up. They can't do it by letting you go, and they can't do it by just killing you. Their only option to escape is to capture you all, or at least most of you, and mess with your memories so that you go out and report that everything's ok.

Of course, they can't do that to you, unless they implant you with bugs, maybe. But most likely they'll have you killed, and have the others say you died in an accident or an issue with the locals. So the thing to avoid most of all is the capture of your companions.

Actually, for all we know, they might already have Biles, and made him feed your hives a line about some cavein or something that has you incommunicado.

Well check your stuff then take that northern passage ater your nap since that seems the only way to go.

Also you look adorable when someone pats your head

With what you have to go on, it's nearly a coin flip to choose direction... Go north. It's slightly better because it'll keep those longbeaks from following your group, and if the group does have to flee from up north, they can jump in the river and swim back to this camp site. Better ask Viln how long he can hold his breath for, just in case you all have jump in the water.

You and Viln will have to scout across the river before the rest follow, just so you're sure it's not just a dead end or something like that.

>Killing the longbeaks for food
Actually, this might be the best time to do this. There's a section of tunnels to the south of camp with only one entrance, and a long loopback in it. If the group goes in there and down the loopback to the end, then sends Viln and Marra back into the other end of the loopback while the rest of the group makes a barricade using the gear, we might be able to trap the longbeaks between the two groups. Maybe not enough to get them all, but enough to bash a few down. Run this idea past Viln and ask how likely it'd work.

>I have had an unpleasant reaction to having a hand placed on my head.
Yeah, the stress of this situation is starting to get to you and wind you up. It also might be that in some small way Katzati reminds you of Rokoa, even though, outside of being from a snow hive, she's nearly the opposite of that psycho.

Before suiting back up in your armor, take Katz aside and let her know that she shouldn't be sorry for trying to comfort you; You just have... issues, and all of this is bringing them slowly to the surface. ...And frankly, you could use some comforting now, to push the darkness back...

Out of nowhere, hug Katz, and let her hug you back. Clear your mind and let your tention melt into her warmth and softness. Think of better times, and center yourself. It's not as good with the jammer on, but it's something.

>>499095
Actually, we'd just gone about as far west as we could. We could go north or south.

My first inclination would be to head sort of south anyways (we are in the NW corner of the valley, aren't we?) but really, whichever way goes deeper is probably still the answer.

1/2 Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)12:44 No. 499116 ID: c4e5c2
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"Don't feel sorry for it. I've got some issues."

>Hug Katzati
.... a compromise.

"Put your hand back."

I'll just retrain myself to learn that a hand on my head does not mean Rokoa. And Katzati is about the polar opposite of her. It would be easier if the jammer field were off, but if nothing else, physical contact can still breach a jammer to a small degree. Small, but there. For the sake of fairness, I let my empathy go for this.

"We'll move north, past the other river crossing. Hopefully that damn bird won't follow us."
>"Do you think it's an issue?"
"As long as it really is just a wildlife stalker, I suppose it isn't harmful, but I would rather it not be around at all."
>"I get you. It keeps just poking its head out and staring, too."

I probably need to work on this hand issue more than sleep, so we stay like this for awhile more.

2/2 Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)12:44 No. 499117 ID: c4e5c2
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Inventory is as expected. Somewhat less than two days of food now, plenty of rope, tools, a decent amount of medical supplies... the load is rather heavy, although I do not want to discard anything. There is not a single particularly heavy item that is dead weight, even our folding table is light. There are simply a lot of items.

We move around to go north. The longbeak, unfortunately, followed us through the river.

"How long can you hold your breath for, Viln?"
>"Under Voklit hair. Can breathe underwater."
"... oh."

Some more time passes before he speaks again.

"Odd smell." Viln says.
>"I assume it's not us."
"No."

Then I smell it. It is that wrong smelling, unmistakably distinct gas. Neumono hallucinogens.

Good news. We're near enough to their base that they can flood the caves with gas.

Also good news. The gas relies on the link to work. The jammer should mitigate its effect.

Do we have air filters? Im kinda assuming its something that would come with as needed since they did use gas last time.

Turn on the seals on your suit, then tell everyone, then back everyone up the way you came, keeping calm and focused. Be on the lookout for an attack, or for the gas to continue spreading. The larger people are probably affected more slowly so have them stand guard while the rest of you wait and get whatever dose you've already gotten out of your system. If nothing happens, you and anyone else who has some sort of appropriate breathing apparatus will need to come back down here to investigate.

The gas may or may not be a danger to Viln. I doubt it will have its intended effect on him, but it might still be harmful or mind-affecting in some way. I don't know if any of you know how different voklit neurochemistry is from yours?

Fuck. They found us. They can't possibly flood the entire cave with gas, they'd have to know close to where we are.

Either we walked pat a hidden camera, or the bird thing had monitors installed in it after all.

Close your armor's vents, like you were underwater. Your armor's missing a piece, but you should still be able to limit contaminated air getting to you (hopefully, with that, your past experience, your three stripes training, and holding your breath, you should be able to hold out long enough). Everyone else has to hold their breath, or break out masks or respirators, if you've got them.

Warn Viln that this is the gas you warned him about before. If we don't do something soon, he may be the only one left in his right mind. We have to get to clean air, or stop the gas.

Viln's got a superior sense of smell. Can he tell which direction the smell is coming from? That would allow the main party to try and move away, or for the two of you to go try and take out the source.

>Also good news. The gas relies on the link to work. The jammer should mitigate its effect.
It probably uses the link to build coherent, shared hallucinations. Without the link the effect may be diminished, or they might all just break off into their own delusions.

you guys have gas mask right? if not have everyone move back until you all have clean air again and you and Viln can find where it's coming from. Also If you guys don't have gas mask then just put some cloth or something over your faces to at least lessen the effects.

GAS MASKS

NOW

Use any filtration you have. Tell everyone about it.

...Fuck. They somehow know where you are. Either a hidden camera, or those damn longbeaks were rigged with remote cameras or trackers. Of course the salikai would take advantage of anything that follows intruders around. Should have killed those fuckin' peckers when we had the chance. Should kill them now if we can. Kill them, and butcher them to find the damn camera or tracker.

You know that this gas doesn't last long before breaking down, and has to be continually replaced. Also, since these caves don't have a ventilation system like the war hive's ship to stir it up and distribute it, it'll settle out along the floor and in lower areas from wherever it's piped in. Get to higher ground and it should be safe to breathe.

Whisper to Viln that this is the neumono crazy-making gas you mentioned earlier, and to turn around and head back. Motion to the rest of the group to turn around immediately and head back the way they came. Climb down and whisper to everyone that it's hallucinogenic gas, and to hold their breath. If the group has gas masks, get them out and put them on. If they don't, then we're just going to have to head back until the air is safe.

Gonna have to figure out if you and Viln should track down the source of the gas and risk a fight to disable it, or if the group should stick to the higher tunnels and try to avoid it.

>birds or camera
Or we pinged some of their neumono who hit the edge of our jamming field (less likely, since we opted for a narrow bubble) or one of their miklik scouts got lucky and spied us (they are sneaky bastards, and as the CAI pointed out last time, not completely incompetent, even compared to Polo).

>>499132
Well, fuck. It could have come from anywhere, then. We could even be near the salikai's base, and they're flooding the nearby tunnels with gas as a precaution. Though, that might not make much sense, since it kinda gives their base position away.

I don't think they know where we are. They're probably just plain flooding the tunnels with the gas.

I think we're fucked, unless we can figure out which direction the gas is coming from and run in the opposite way. Going downstream on the river might work regardless of what direction it is though!

>>499145
That'd only work if they have enough gas for that. We'd have to ask Korli how hard it is to make that gas, and how long it takes to make it. If they couldn't have produced enough gas in the last three months to do that, then we're looking at them either knowing where we are, or dumping gas around someplace they don't want us to come. Unfortunately, the only way to tell if it's that is find the source of the gas.

If we're going to the gas source, then Polo's helmet air filtration should still work if the helmet is compartmentalized from the rest of her armor. Even if it isn't she could work with Korli to stuff something under the neck armor to seal it up well enough.

Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)14:43 No. 499150 ID: c4e5c2
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"Hold your breath!" I say in a muffled shout behind me. "Get our gask masks on!" We did bring some, although only a few made it in the retreat. We have 4. I seal my armor. It is expected that I have excellent resistance against this, but of course I would not rely on that.

"Viln, do you know where it is coming from? This is the hallucinogen I told you about."
"Downward from low cave. Bad air is rising."
"Everyone move back, we're going back up to the river. Viln, was that longbeak one bird with multiple heads, or multiple birds?"
"Many heads." Something about the way they moved told me that.

I may wish to investigate the source, but since we do not have enough gasmasks for everyone, it would put a few of us at high risk. There is also an overall detriment of air that could catch up with us if we spend too long.

"Korli, how cheap is the gas to make for the salikai?"
>"I'm still working with outdated info. It's possible they could've gotten it down to such strength that they could afford to dilute it and double their reserves or something, and... I don't know, last I knew we didn't mass produce it because we hardly knew how well it worked." she answers. I would hope that the Salikai do not have enough gas to fill the entire cave, but knowing our precise location is not any better.

I rush back to the new front of the retreating line, and see the bird poking its heads out. I may wish to kill it, but the gunshot is still an issue. Or gunshots, given it has multiple heads.

>>499150

Given how humungous its eyes seem to be, I'm not sure shooting it in the head will do more than blind it. Probably keeps its brains in the central body.

>>499150
Get your gun out, and get a look at the MAIN BODY this time. It's been hiding its main body all this time. Maybe it's a hunter with a camera disguised as a cluster of longbeak heads.

If it's really just a longbeak, continue to ignore it and move past it to check out behind it.

>4 masks
You can seal your suit instead for a while, Rokann is tied up and doesn't matter, so that leaves Kork, Korli, Kazati, Lucera, Marra. Hmm. Still one short.

>situation
They either know where we are are are closing in on us, or they don't- and are flooding the lower levels of the caves with gas to try and drive us back towards the hunters.

If they already have made us, killing the bird won't change that- but it might prevent them from continuing to monitor us if that's how they did it.

If they haven't made us, killing the bird won't change anything, and has a small chance of compromising our position.

Er. Not sure how to resolve that.

Distribute the gas masks to Marra, Katzati, Korli, and Lucera. Gag Rokann so she can't make any noise once the hallucinations hit. Sorry, Kort, but you're going to have to be bound, gagged, and carried like Rokann if the gas catches up.

>>499154
Yeah, this is a good idea. Pull your rifle, and charge the longbeak so it runs away down a straight tunnel, that way you have a clear view of its body. If there's something obviously wrong about it, then shoot it. Otherwise hold your fire and continue going back to the river, but keep your rifle ready. If it turns out to be just a longbeak, then a gunshot now would just give your position away.

There is a way you could trap and kill it without shooting it, if the group can get back to the river. Put Viln in front and have him climb down into the river and hide where he can watch the tunnel. The rest of the group will pass over, and the longbeak will follow them. Then Viln gets out of the river a little after its passed. Meanwhile the rest of the group will stop two intersections away, then head back. Between Viln and the group, the longbeak will retreat into that dead end side tunnel, where we'll block it in and beat it to death. Then we'll butcher it and search for any devices on it.

>>499162
The only problem with using the visual examination is it doesn't tell us if there's just a camera chip and transmitter hidden behind one of those enormous eyes. (They wouldn't even need a control mechanism, if these things follow people already).

...although an x-ray would show you if it's got hardware installed.

>>499162
Actually, change of plan with the longbeak. Instead of trying to corner it in a dead end tunnel, push it back so the only place it has to go is jumping into the river, to be washed away by the current. That way your group doesn't end up cornered in a dead end while beating the damn thing to death. Won't get the meat or a chance to check if it had any salikai devices on it that way, but the risk of being trapped is too high otherwise.

>>499164
...Oh, god! Why didn't we think to do that earlier? Hold still and x-ray the damn bird, then charge forward so you get a look at its body. Look for anything that is obviously technological.

1/2 Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)16:06 No. 499167 ID: c4e5c2
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As far as armor sealment goes, my helmet is also compartmentalized from the rest, so my busted left armpiece is no matter for the current threat.

I run after it. Once I get closer, it bolts off as expected. Viln was not lying, it is fast, so I pull my pistol instead of attempting to unbuckle my sniper. There is nothing unusual about the body, and a flick to my x-ray mode shows nothing out of the ordinary, so that may not be the source of the problem after all.

2/2 Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)16:07 No. 499168 ID: c4e5c2
File 136287403037.png - (76.13KB , 700x700 , 198.png )

We make it back to the river. The smell is gone, so it does not move quickly.

>"We've got to kill the bird." Lucera says.
"I think it's clean, but we can surround it, so it will have nowhere to run. Then attempt to stab it to death."
"Longbeak death cries also annoying. Last forever, very loud."
"If we surround it by the river, we might be able to get it to just jump in to avoid us."

Since Rokann is already compromised, the only person without a gas mask is Kort. Before I can decide whether or not to tie him up to be safe at the downside of needing him carried, we all hear a small, steady noise of something coming down the caves. It sounds like a small helicopter. It is coming from the south and upward, the original direction we were at before crossing the river again. It is effectively impossible to tell how far away it is.

From what we saw, everywhere north is all downhill, probably to the gas.

Well now, a camera drone. That means they haven't seeded these caverns with minicameras.

Destroying it would be bad. As would being seen. ... if we all held our breath in the river we could let it pass by.

Damn. Camera drone. If it's coming down though, would that be from the hunter hive? Or would they not have been issued that kind of gear since the expectation would be the enemy CAI could hack it?

The drone has to have ears of some kind. A noisy gunshot or prolonged bird-brain death cries aren't something we can risk, at the moment.

Well, regardless of whether that's a Salikai drone, or a hunter drone, we need to evade it without being seen. And then either get the hell away from the gas or disable it at the source.

Into the gas we go. The gas won't report our position and sic the entire hive on us.

We can share a mask with two people like that passing the scuba breather thing back and forth. If that isn't possible, Have Marra put a rope around Kort's neck like a leash. It won't impede him in moving with the group and will impede him from running away for any reason.

>>499170
Problem with hiding underwater: the damn bird would probably come up to the edge of the river to watch us and give away our position.

We're trapped. They probably have something set up downstream to catch us if we run that way, because they know these tunnels. They're trying to drive us that way.

Let's analyze the situation. A drone means there needs to be someone within range to operate it, but it also means they're using it remotely so they probably won't be very close. What is the max range for a helicopter drone? It could be that the only thing that way is the drone, and it's a feint. Unfortunately if we DO go that way, there's almost nowhere new for us to go.

The gas requires a machine to pump it, which requires people to maintain it, but it ALSO means they have gas masks on. If we can ambush the team operating the gas, we can get another two gas masks to fully cover our team. Also, we have branching paths that direction, so we might be able to avoid the gas generator entirely by just going further downhill. The gas rises, so it will be coming down a single path! Viln should be able to tell which path to go to avoid the generator, or we can choose to fight whoever's guarding it.

So, we can run into a likely trap, call their bluff with the drone(and get spotted), or take a chance in the gas to either run or fight.

The only real chance I see here to avoid getting spotted is to go into the gas and pick a path that the generator's not pumping into.

Our past experience with the river has shown us that it is a BAD IDEA to go into it, there would be virtually no chance of us staying as a group if you go down the water route.

>The gas requires a machine to pump it, which requires people to maintain it, but it ALSO means they have gas masks on.
No. We know for a fact at least some species are not affected. (Likely all others, since the hallucinogen is tailored to mess with neumono empathy. Might work on predators I suppose, but their physiology might be different enough to be safe). None of the Salikai troops guarding or in the war-hive bridge needed to wear gas masks. The pumps / generators are likely tended by arkots, mikliks, and/or voklit, none of which should need masks.

Fuck, it's a flying recon drone. Why didn't we think of that? Of course they'd be using those to search the caves. Only question is if it's an autonomous AI controlled one, or if there's a group of enemy nearby controlling it. We might end up having to tangle with them if they are nearby, even if we do manage to evade the drone.

As quietly as you can, tell everyone it's a flying recon drone, and to head back the way you just came. Be as silent as they can across the river, then pick up the pace once out of the water. Might need to explain what the drone is to Viln once you're far enough away from it.

We'll have Lucera and Korli hold their breath and put their gas masks on Kort and Rokann every ten minutes so they can take some deep breaths before holding them again. The reason to do it for Rokann is so she isn't freaking out for a long time after you eventually get out of the gas.

>>499177
Since the salikai have almost all non-neumono forces, those manning the gas generator wouldn't even need gas masks. And even if they did have them, they'd be the wrong size and shape for neumono faces. So there's really no reason to seek out the gas generator. We should pick a route that stays away from it if we can.

>So there's really no reason to seek out the gas generator.
Well, except, maybe taking out the gas generator. It is a problem, after all.

And the only routes away from it would be going higher into the cave, towards the hunters. And the gas line will only continue to creep higher the longer the generator runs.

Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)17:30 No. 499191 ID: c4e5c2
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No good. I handwave us to move back downwards to the gas.

Initially, we marginally move into branching tunnels to see if gas doesn't go down some, but it's no good, it seems like it's leveled out more by elevation than individual tunnels, except for a couple of deadends. Katzati thinks this means that the non-deadend tunnels are interconnected at some point lower down.

We swap our gas masks every once in awhile. I did find two items I should keep in mind. A partially filled air tank with about an hour's worth of air, and a small metal detector, not like we have the time to scan the walls with it.

Since we are only somewhat short on gas masks, air should not be a big issue unless we have to try to sleep inside of the gas, so we will be fine on that front.

There is a source of light up ahead, however.

Do we have a hand mirror or something so we can peek around the corner without exposing ourselves?

Swapping masks will work for a while with minimal exposure, I guess. Seeing as how individual neumono can hold their breath from anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.

>light source
Sneaky investigation time. It's unlikely to be an exit (because then air would be escaping and Viln would have noticed the air quality getting better). That means it's probably artificial light- most likely produced by your enemies. (Rokann's gagged, right?).

>>499192
We have a knife.

Stop, motion for everyone to hold still, and listen for any sounds up ahead. What kind of light is it? Glow-slug, electric, or something else? Is it holding still or moving? Is it moving towards or away from your group?

If the light is moving towards the group, motion for everyone to quickly move back. You want them to get around a bend in the tunnel, or down a side passage before the light gets here. You can peek back from there to see who or what is coming.

Otherwise, approach the corner, get low to the ground, and poke whatever reflective surface you have handy down there just far enough out to check where the light is. Make sure to angle it you don't reflect it back by accident.

There is one thing you can guess pretty confidently though; Whoever is using that light is almost certainly not a hunter, since they have fancy optics like your helmet visor has, and so wouldn't even use lights.

Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)18:11 No. 499203 ID: c4e5c2
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I do not hear noise, so I get low, motion everyone to hold still, and use the knife. I am not positive what it is I am looking at, but it is something. Although I am careful not to reflect light back, and my first instinct is to yank my knife back, I am not able to say with confidence that even a small knife poking out was not seen. Unless I start rotating the knife around to look more, I don't see the source of light or if there is anything around besides... that.

Rokann has been quiet. Especially quiet.

It just occurred to me that while radio range around here must be short because of all of these bends and tunnels, Rokann's remaining bugs might still be trying to broadcast outward and try to link up with whatever relay Four Stripes was hooked up to.

>>499203
There's nothing we can do about the bugs except extract them or kill Rokann. We're not killing her.

Ask Viln about the thing you're seeing. Quietly.

ANother denizen of these caverns maybe? Ask Viln

>>499205

I think that's a Miklik mutant, and not just a creature that just happens to have a fuckton of eyes.

What the heck is that? Those things kind of look like... leaves? Could it be some kind of miklik? They're part plant.

Or I suppose it could just be an animal looking plantlike for camo. Are those white spots extra eyes? Or light emitting?

How big is that? Hard to tell from that perspective, but is looks big.

Too bad you can't really ask Viln what it is if we're this close and trying to be quiet.

>Rokann has been quiet. Especially quiet.
For how long? Can you remember when she last made a normal noise?

It's kind of a given that her bugs would try to give us away when they can. Regrettably, there's no way to avoid that until we've finished debugging her.

Unless we were willing to kill her, but I don't think we are. Besides, even then, her bugs might not shut up for a while.

Looks like a mutant miklik and not some underground creature. A real funky looking miklik too. You can see that it's wearing clothes, if you need confirmation. Just gotta hope all those eyes are actually just fake eye-spots and not real eyes.

Hold the knife still for a little bit and see if the miklik moves or makes any indication its seen you. Watch for any of its eyes looking right at you for any length of time. If it makes no indication its seen you, very, very slowly pull your knife back, watching the whole time for if it reacts.

If you get away without it noticing you, back petal to the group and tell them what you saw, and head back to follow a different route. Also check if Rokann is all there as best you can without removing her gag. There's nothing to do about the bugs, but if there's a relay nearby you've got to get away quick.

Don't move movement brings attention with it. Just see what it does and be ready to pull out your gun and blow its damn head off

Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)20:36 No. 499231 ID: c4e5c2
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I am relatively sure that anything green is not part of the local fauna. I will assume it is a particularly mutated, enormous miklik, and I slowly retract my knife. I cannot say for sure if those were real eyes, but they were not the source of the light. Perhaps he didn't see me, at least based on the fact that we are not neck deep in hunters. All show or fake eyes, I suppose.

When I look back, I see Lucera staring at Rokann at her new, barely-more-comfortable position, so I head over. She is breathing sharply, despite there being gas around and she is without a gas mask. She does not look right. Her eyes are darting around. It is likely the hallucinogen. I don't stare at her for long, but it is getting worse, and she is beginning to hyperventilate.

Someone should share their gas mask with her. Why aren't we already doing that?!

Also let's go down a different path to avoid the mutated thing.

In addition to the lack of gas-mask rotation with her, why isn't she gagged?

>I am relatively sure that anything green is not part of the local fauna.
Yeah, and fake leaves wouldn't exactly be useful camo down here.

>Rokann
...so she's not part of the gas mask rotation, and she's not gagged? That's not good.

We'll either have to offer her a mask, or ask her what she sees, and try and reassure her within the scope of her vision.

...actually, the real problem is if there's noise, you guys are about to alert that monstrous miklik. And whatever else is around that corner.

Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)21:02 No. 499240 ID: c4e5c2
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We were sharing a gas mask with her once we decided to go back into the gas to avoid the helicopter, but we were also under the impression she would stick to holding her breath when she did not have a gas mask. But here she is, hyperventilating away.

I also notice her gag is off. I whisper, as low as I can, to Lucera.
"What happened to her gag? If you can answer without speaking."

Lucera, who is currently holding his breath and has the sense to not risk breathing in by speaking, gnashes his teeth and makes a demonstration of swallowing. I will assume Rokann's devouring of a gag happened just now, otherwise I would expect it would have been mentioned.

>>499240
Give her a gas mask immediately. Tell her she's under the effects of a hallucinatory gas, and she just needs to breathe through the mask for a while. From now on have her exclusively wearing the gas mask. I can only assume the bugs made her breathe the gas. It might be a good idea to also blindfold her while we're in the gas.

Whatever we do, we'd better do it on the move, because that mutant is still there and it will hear us!

Oh. The bugs kicked in. They didn't let her hold her breath, and they made her eat the gag. If she doesn't know what's going on, they'll have an easier time controlling her.

This is bad. We can't knock her out, and if she doesn't keep quiet, she's going to force a confrontation with the miklik and any friends he has around that corner.

You need to either get her calm, get her gagged, or prepare to jump those jerks before they can jump you.

Dammit. Should have figured the bugs would do something like make her keep breathing when she shouldn't or make her eat her gag. Would have kept her gas mask on all the time in that case. Gonna have to do something fast. If she starts yelling and screaming, things are going to get real bad, real fast.

Get Marra to take her gas mask off so Rokann can see her face and have her gently put the mask on Rokann; Hold it on if she doesn't have time to do the straps. Marra's been Rokann's friend for a long time, so she's least likely to cause her to freak out, as long as she doesn't make any sudden moves, but she should be ready to clamp Rokann's mouth shut if she's inhaling to yell or something. Perhaps she could try placing her hand on Rokann's head to make even a small empathic link to try and calm her, or would that make thing worse?

At the same time, have everyone start moving away from the giant mutant miklik, just in case it does get alerted to our position.

>>499245

Do this and get Viln into a firing position if the miklik makes a move towards you.

Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)21:54 No. 499252 ID: c4e5c2
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I motion to Marra, already nearby, to get her gasmask on Rokann and try to calm her down while we get out of here. Marra seems successful.

We move away as swiftly as I could ask for, and quieter than ever at that. Once at the intersection, the luck with Rokann turns sour again. We hear a helicopter drone, and footsteps. The helicopter is southwest, from where we came. There are footsteps coming from our northeast, and the miklik was northwest. As usual, it is hard to tell how far away the threats are.

>>499252
I hope our stalker gets spooked by the drone.

Go northeast and figure out which dirction in that fork the footsteps are coming from. Go the other way.

Ah. Surrounded. Lovely.

...the drone would be the easiest to subdue, but taking it out would alert the enemy command the quickest. Whatever the footsteps are from is likely easier to take down than the big miklik.

Obviously, we'd prefer not to alert them at all, but if we have to kill or disable a patrol quietly to slip by, we will. (Which might involve you sneaking ahead of the group, and ambushing the patrolee with your knife or something).

>As usual, it is hard to tell how far away the threats are.
I don't suppose anyone with a bigger model set of ears could provide a better estimate?

Well what path has the most exits if we have to engage one of the threats? The drone will alert people instantly once taken down. The Miklik and mystery footsteps should provoke a slower response if attacked. Unless we can hide somewhere and let them pass us by.

Just figured it out: It's the bugs in Rokann that are giving your position away. She's close enough to a relay that the bugs are linking to it, so they know she's nearby. There might even have been another relay you passed earlier, and that let 'em on to your general location. And there's nothing you can do about it now... Dammit.

First thing, tell everyone to get their weapons out and ready, but not to fire unless things go bad. Ready your rifle as well, or your pistol if you don't have time for the rifle.

If the path to the northeast branches, get everyone up to the branch and listen carefully for which path the footsteps are coming from, then you all go down the path without them.

Otherwise, have everyone run back towards the heli-drone. Maybe you'll spook the longbeak and it'll run right into the drone, destroying it, but that's really not likely. Have Viln move well ahead of the group, and when he sees the drone, he's to grab and smash it as he passes it. That'll just tell them that he's down here, not the whole group. Then everyone is to get up to the river, dive in, and swim to the previous camp site to get out.

...There's also a third option, but you will not like it, at all: Pull the gas mask off Rokann, cut her loose, drop her at the intersection, get everyone else up the northwest tunnel, and watch from around the bend. The enemy will find her, figure she got away from your group and ran down here. Then your group will follow them as they take her away. She'll be so full of hallucinogenic gas, that she won't be able to tell them anything for quite awhile.

how heavy do the footsteps from the group sound? do you think it is the hunter hive or more of Viln's people? If it is the hunter hive do you think they would have gas mask because if not then the gas around you might actually cover you making the hunter hive less effective since they will be tripping balls. Anyway you guys also need to get out of the gas so I say go whatever way leads up and see if you can't find yourselves a clean air pocket.

Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)23:02 No. 499271 ID: c4e5c2
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If I had to guess, I think it is a hunter, but they are well armored and likely have sealable armor like mine.

I make handsignals for weapons out and to only fire if fired upon or similarly dire circumstances.

We run northeast. We get there in time to sense that the footsteps are coming from the north, although they are not producing any light that I can see, but they are around a bend anyway. We run to the more east path to avoid them, but they catch up before we all get out of sight. Marra's shoulder is shot. She doesn't break her stride, but we've been spotted.

This passage also appears to be leading upwards, it may come back out of the gas.

>>499271
Well, shit. Get up on your walking turret so you can return fire without breaking stride. Or are you skilled enough to snap shot with good accuracy while running?

Do whatever! Shoot back!

If we are going to fight then We really need to get to an area without gas because we only have so many gas mask but if we can't get out of the gas before we are forced into a fight I say give all the gas mask to the solders of the group and make a stand then after that little fight move your ass until you find a gas free area and recover if you can.

Well, great. One gunshot won't slow her down much, but the damage is done. We've been found. That gunshot will alert the done and the miklik to come this way.

Even worse, we're now fighting and/or running in the gas. That's going to make handing masks around harder, and exertion / injury is going to make people want to breather. At least we're headed up, but there will be more searchers there.

>hunter
Well, we don't want to kill them necessarily, but if we can't lose them, we may have to shoot them. Explosive snipe to the face? I mean, sure, it's load, but our only other option to shut down someone in armor is Viln's gun, which is worse, and probably more deadly.

Polo 2013/03/09(Sat)23:34 No. 499278 ID: c4e5c2
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Art error: Gas masks should have been on Korli/Marra in the previous updates.

I get on Viln and turn around to get a better shot if I have to. Katzati and Korli are the slowest ones, but they move as best as they can and Marra shoves them forward if they fall back too far. If we are being chased, then we are faster.

I don't bother thinking about which branching paths to take, they all look the damn same. It doesn't stop me from choosing poorly, and the path narrows out before it dips, eventually appearing to go at an extremely sharp incline down. I saw two other paths on the way here, and at a full sprint, we should be able to reach the previous one in one or one and a half minute, and the second to last path in around 4 or 5 minutes.

Masks are rotated again since this might be as close to a breather as we're getting.

>>499278
No way are you faster. They're not chasing us. They want us alive, so they're getting reinforcements, enough to ensure they can get us alive. That, or they can't track us and took a wrong turn... but that doesn't make sense, they should be able to hear you.

Retreat to the previous intersection at least to see if we're blocked and what our pursuers are doing.

>If we are being chased, then we are faster.
It's likely that the friggen hunter is smart enough not to pursue you too closely while outnumbered. This is a coordinated effort to get you- it would be much smarter for him or her to report in and get reinforcements to close the noose.

>backtrack to 1 min or 5 min
Er, 1, I guess? That puts us going SW.

Problem is we're the hunted right now. We're facing superior forces, and making decisions out of context and with little information. If we can't get some breathing room (in more way than one) we're going to be caught.

they might be trying to funnel you into a trap or kill zone so if you think ALL of you can make it back to one of those side paths then take them but at the same time they could be waiting for reinforcements and if they get enough people with them then they can just put a group down every path and going back to one of those side paths will just wast time and put them one step closer to finding all of you. Or maybe lucks on your side for once and the miklik mutant thing was attracted by the gun fire and is now fighting the hunters... and if that is the case and we aren't hearing any gunfire that means it A) wasn't as tough as we thought it was or B) took out the entire group in the short time you have been running and if that one is the case you're stuck down here with that thing and god knows how many more are down here.

Polo 2013/03/10(Sun)00:10 No. 499283 ID: c4e5c2
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Considering the way Korli and Katzati are wheezing, though, I would be surprised if we have speed over hunters.

"Viln, are you in good shape? Can you carry Korli?"
"Yes."

Korli and Lucera give their gas masks to Kort and Marra. I lead on backwards to the previous intersection, carefully, to find that are not blocking this intersection. Which leads me to believe that either this other path is either somewhere they would like us to go, or it is just another deadend.

>>499283
Sounds like the sensible thing to do is to go down that pit. How would we do that? Do we have a way for viln to go down? Like, would our grappling hook support his weight?

If it can, um... someone fighty should go first and someone fighty and light should be the last to go down.

go back to where you were originally going. proceed.

I suppose that means we head back to the next turn off.

Although the problem with this logic is in order to know we're going the right way / not to a dead end we're going to have to punch past the enemy at some point.

>>499284
We don't have the time or gear to take the whole party on a vertical descent. It would have been problematic before, and the prospect is worse now, considering we're closely pursued and surrounded by gas.

I guess we lost the bird thing at some point? All this doubling back we've been doing lately and we never saw it.

The reason that the hunter scouts aren't coming right after you is that they're waiting for reinforcements. They likely sent a runner up to the nearest radio relay to call in more forces. That means that very soon all the exits from this section of the caves is going to blocked off. You can't just run away now, 'cause you have no idea what is down these tunnels, and they do.

The best option you have right now is to head back the way you came and punch through to get away, while you still can. They're expecting you to run, so instead you'll fight back. You might even get lucky in taking down the hunters and get their map as well as any other guns, ammo, and armor.

Ask Korli what happens if two empathic relays connected to the same source get too close to each other. Do they pick up and amplify feedback into each other, creating an empathic "screech?" 'Cause if they do, then maybe she could switch the one you have back into relay mode, and you carry it out to flip on while in range of the other relay. Maybe it'll feedback so much that Four Stripes will get "deafened" for a bit. It'll at least screw up his hold on the hunters around here.

Get down from Viln and get ahead of the group, out of group's jammer range. That way you can sense if there's any relays around. You might even be able to sense where the hunters are, since for Four Stripes to work most effectively they can't be under the effect of a jammer. You should probably stay off of Viln's shoulder when fighting hunters or anyone with guns anyway, since it makes you a big open target. Better to hide behind his legs and fire from there.

You sprint ahead to the next intersection, while the rest of the group takes a slower pace. Check around the corner with your knife, then proceed if it's clear to the next corner and check that one. If that one is clear, wait for the group to catch up, then proceed to attack the hunters.

Polo 2013/03/10(Sun)12:00 No. 499315 ID: c4e5c2
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>Ask Korli what happens if two empathic relays connected to the same source get too close to each other.
The same as if there is only one.

Viln should be able to have his weight supported by the grappling hook. It is strong enough to support at least a few large neumono, so if Viln rappels down alone, it should be fine. Ultimately, the only danger is that we are going to the unknown. The hole could narrow down and turn out to be too small. It could lead to hostile wilderness or hunters. It could drop me off right into Four Stripes bunker allowing us to shoot him and also find out that his room is right next to the salikai central control panel that controls everything, is left unguarded, letting us destroy it and ruin everything the salikai has except for the telecoms that allow us to report in to all of the non infected neumono. We just don't know.

Katzati says that she hears water on the south. Likely a river, possibly another dead end.

But I don't want to go in blindly yet. I move back northwest to the second previous intersection, not necessarily to fight, but to see what is going on back there. If it is just a couple of hunters and a miklik, we may be able to punch past through them and lose them in the caves again before reinforcements arrive.

So I have everyone stay far enough back that their lights won't reach me, and I move through with night vision outside of jammer range.

I find a couple right at the intersection. Fighting through might be possible, but casualties on our side far from implausible. They are also operating in pitch black. One of them must be those genetically grown giants. Either they taught them how to use technology or made new giants, but either way I will assume their old giants do not use loincloths and spears anymore.

I can sense both of them. They are waiting to attack, and the big one is unreasonably excited to do so.

well unless you think you can take both of them right here and now I think it would be best head back to the group. If you do fight them aim for their heads so the gas will miss with them.

HE round to the head of the biggin. Run like a motherfucker.

>They are also operating in pitch black.
Assuming they don't have IR or night vision modes in their helmets.

>fight?
...I don't like these odds. They're both armored, and we only have a few weapons that will punch through armor, (explosive sniping, Viln's gun, and not sure what else) and a giant will take a lot of hurt to go down. Plus, those damn bugs are going to keep them conscious longer than they should (almost forcing us to kill them. The hunters don't really deserve to die for being enslaved, but we may not have a choice).

And I don't see us making it through bloodlessly. Any injuries are going to slow us down against the pursuit that's sure to be coming.

Kind of tight on options though. Our alternative is the vertical descent, which will take who knows how long to get everyone down (assuming it's a viable path), leads to the unknown, and will trap us well below the gas line (which will be a problem when it becomes time to sleep).

If you do attack, obviously we want to use surprise in our favor. The smaller hunter isn't wearing the ear armor- you could snipe him right through that opening and put him out of the fight, then everyone else opens up on the giant and puts her down before she can do much.

Any sense from the non-giant how long he plans to be waiting?

This fight is doable, if you can disable their weapons. Once their big guns are down, they'll only have pistols and knives. Then your group can dog-pile and pummel them

An AP round through the side of that big MG's firing mechanism would render it useless. What's that other weapon the giant has? A grenade or rocket launcher? Think you could put another AP round through that before they can react?

Alright, here's the plan. Run back quietly and get Viln and the group ready. Have Viln drop Rokann, ready his gun, and take a lantern with him. Everyone else drop everything but one jammer, lights, and weapons. Dial the jammer back to just far enough that everyone can bunch together in it.

Lead Viln forward in the dark by having him hold his hand on your head, and everyone else hold onto his tail. Go slow enough they don't make noise. Leave the rest of the group back so their jammer doesn't reach the hunters, then move forward with Viln. Tell them that once the fighting starts, they're to turn their lights on, crank the jammer to max range, and charge up into the fight, leaving the jammer just around the corner. You want them to get to close combat range and pile

Before reaching the intersection, whisper to Viln that once you fire, he's to turn on the lantern and roll it past the corner, then step out and fire a single three-round burst into the giant before charging it. Once at the intersection, take aim on the giant's big MG, and blow out it's firing mechanism with an AP round, shoot the other big weapon with an AP round, and then take aim at the short hunter's helmet with a regular round. Then join the fray with the rest of the group.

you can't assume you'd be able to kill them before reinforcements arrive. go back and have everyone go down the rabbit hole quickly, before we're found.

>>499329
Crap! Change in plan! The hunter is on the radio, and that likely means that the rest of the forces are within its limited range. That means there won't be enough time to get away after taking them down, especially if you take casualties. No choice left here: You gotta head back.

Get everyone back to the intersection before the hole. Set the grappling hook and go down the hole yourself to check it out first. Figure out a set of rope tugs to communicate beforehand.

If it's no good, have Viln pull you back up quickly and everyone head down the south tunnel towards the water noise. If it looks alright, have Viln come down first, then everyone else. Throw the gear down that can take a hit and have Viln catch it. Last person should either be able to climb down, or willing to jump down and be caught by Viln, 'cause they're going to have to disconnect the grappling hook so the enemy doesn't know you came this way.

>>499315
An AP round to the big one's head, then the small one, would allow us to take their gear.

HE rounds here would be a bad idea. They're wearing the same armor as you, and that shit's STRONG against explosions.

>>499336
Forgot we had AP sniper rounds, actually. Advantage: punches through armor. Disadvantage- a sucssful explosive shot (say, sniped carefully through an open spot in armor) will do a lot more damage to a fuzzball (especially one hopped up on mind control keeping them awake).

>>499332
The radio doesn't tell us how close reinforcements may be. If they've been laying down portable signal relays as they go, all that means is he's close to a relay, not necessarily the people on the other end.

>>499330
I am really torn on whether we should be running or fighting. Poor Polo never has enough intel.

Alright, I've change my mind again; We're going to attack them. Modify this plan >>499329 to take out either both of the giant's eyes, or both of his helmet's goggles, whichever you think you can pull off. He'll be blind, either by having no eyes or no night vision, making his guns useless. Then take a shot at the other's visor, even if you have to put the round through his head to do it.

>>499340
Yeah, we never seem to have enough intel. But if we take these two down, we might get their maps and their radios, which'll help greatly on that front. If we strip them down we might also get bio-armor, as well as regular armor. And if it doesn't fit, maybe Korli can fashion some of it into something to protect Viln's more vital spots, so he doesn't end up like Vern.

>>499342
Actually, forget trying to take their visors or eyes out. If you only manage to take their visors out, then once Viln throws down light so he can shoot, they'll be able to aim to fire back. They won't if you take their eyes out, but you're not high enough off the ground to get a good angle on the giant you could reliable take both his eyes out, and the short one you'd only be able to take out his visor.

Go back to taking their big weapons out. That way Viln and the rest can light up the situation and attack without risk of being hit with major weapons.

>>499342
>maps
OH GOD WE MUST SHOOT THEM

SHOOT THEM NOW

>>499352
If they have maps to steal, they will be useful, yes. Less so if they're being guided remotely by controllers, or even their bugs, instead of carrying maps or mapping gear (remember, initially our mapping hardware was record only, we couldn't eve view the map on the move until we got it plugged into our helmet HUD). And if they have electronic maps, it might be dangerous interfacing them with our gear with the CAI is already hooked up to their stuff...

>>499349
...is shooting out their guns something that even works? Would take a precise AP shot, or an explosion, I'd think. I'd think the opening snipe would be better spent trying to lay one of them out.

Personally I think shooting their guns is a waste of perfectly good equipment that we could be using.

>>499354
Alright, fine. If Polo thinks she can pull off either blowing both of the giant's eyes away with an AP shot on the first try, or put an AP shot into the giant's helmet, followed by an explosive round into the hole the AP round made, then by all means that's what she should do. Once the giant is down, then Viln can throw down some light and shoot the other hunter.

And if they do have maps, they're likely going to be integrated into their helmet visors, so we should try not to shoot up the shorter hunter's helmet. We also don't have to interface it with our gear right away; We could have Lucera or Korli wear the helmet to use the map until we're far enough away to pull the helmet's power supply, then it's data storage, and dump it to a separate hand-held computer to sift out the map files before uploading them to Katzati's master map laptop.

>>499357
Yeah, you're right about needing their weapons. Should also strip all their armor off; Especially bio-armor. Marra might be able to wear bio-armor, once we've gotten away and have enough time for it to bond to her. Also nab their rations, and any other useful gear.

I wonder if they're connected to a local wireless network the CAI can access at any time? (Like how we worked with Rokoa and Wendel on Iron Cove, sort of, with nodes and shit so Rokoa didn't walk off with us). I'd be extremely careful with any neumono with potential video feeds, Polo. They might have tech that allows wireless networking down in these tunnels. And that CAI's as much of a web tactical controller with comm netwroks as Four Stripes is with the empathy relays. You have two different head tactical leaders out here to look out for.

Polo 2013/03/10(Sun)23:35 No. 499438 ID: c4e5c2
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Pitch black was a bad term. I simply meant without active lighting that made things reasonably visible to the naked eye.

I wait for them to turn their focus away so that I can pop out and get at least one good shot off. I would have liked to tell my crew this, but if I go back to warn them, the situation can change too much too fast, so they will have to use their judgement. Unfortunately the only way I can get a clean shot on a visor or goggles is by entering directly in front of them, so I will settle on an explosive round while one is at the side. Specifically, when the giant turns its head. And while the explosion is more flashy than intense, it absolutely has to be enough to break the goggles and severely disorient, if not completely disable, even a neumono horror experiment. The chance happens, I fire, it works, although the scream that comes out of a mangled throat and comparatively worse face is far from pleasant.

But I immediately sense Four Stripes take over. The other hunter half dives, half is knocked down in a prone position for cover. It knows where the shot came from and immediately fires upon me. So quickly that I can't reliably fire even just a second shot with confidence, and with the limitation of ammo, I don't risk it in the hope of getting lucky. Four Stripes is also using the empathy and knowledge of the healthy hunter to direct the actions of the giant, who while is blinded, was not disabled. The giant has bugs and no one is surprised. It is trying to recover from the blast and grab one of its weapons it dropped. Its plan is to shoot in my general direction using the other hunter's vision as a beacon using the explosive weapon. While he tries to get what might be a hand mortar, the hunter fires bursts to try to keep me from getting another shot off easily.

I hear my teammates coming. They are 15 to 25 seconds away at a sprinting pace, equipped with loose fitting clothes and generic firearms. No grenades unless one of them had them shoved in their pockets away from my inventory check.

>>499438
Wait until they have to reload, then pop out and take a shot to disable the other one.

change your position a bit, stick your hand out of cover and fire back towards the little one hoping it ducks and covers so you can get out and shoot them properly.

Hmm. The toughest part of ending this fight is going to be four stripes and the bugs forcing their hosts to keep going. Ideally, we could just main them and leave them for the hive to recover, but we're going to have a hard time getting them to stop fighting back without lethally wounding them, I think.

>What do?
You need to stop the big one from hitting you and your allies with the mortar. The easiest way to do this is is to face blast the smaller hunter as well- then four stripes loses visual targeting completely and your group can finishes disabling them more safely. It'd be nice if you could just directly disable the big one, but you likely can't do that in one shot, or the time you have, with the weapon you have,

How close is the giant to the little one? Are they close to enough to make taking out the giant's leg and causing it to fall on the Hunter to disrupt his firing?

If not, do you suspect that one of the giant's weapons has explosive ammunition, and would shooting said weapon cause it to explode glorious?

>>499439

That's operating under the assumption that they don't have backup, and that they don't have grenades.

Run like a motherfucker. You got a damn good hit in on them.

>>499439
We don't have time to wait for the little one to burn through a whole clip of unknown size. We're trying to get out before reinforcements show, and the big one is going to try and hit us with explosives.

>>499449
Again, our goal is to punch through. Running just buys them time to recover and shoot at us.

We are not going to save anyone with non lethal methods. We need to aim to kill here. This is not a temporary taken over hive.

>>499458
I think the line we have to walk is we should not be held back by fear of killing hunters while trying to defend ourself (and it's entirely possible we already did so busting through the cave entrance blockade) but at the same time we aren't out to kill them. If we have the choice after the shooting stops to leave these guys an injured wreck for the other hunters to recover or to finish them, we leave them.

>This is not a temporary taken over hive.
That's only true if we fail. The hunter hive will only be taken over as long as the salikai are their to pull their string. They're mind controlled victims, not willing defectors.

If you think the jammer would disrupt Four Stripes' control over these two, and that your group could get it up here fast enough to matter, then you've gotta let them know to turn it up to max range. Take a deep breath, pop your helmet open, and yell back to them "max jammer now!" Otherwise, if you think they'll get the jammer up here before you can do all that, then just stay quiet.

There's a hole up the cave hall where the tunnel forks, as shown here >>499315. Is it out of the hunter's field of vision, and can you scale the wall up to it before the giant gets its hand on that weapon? If yes to both, do it. Get into the hole and line up a shot on the hunter's visor to take it out.

Otherwise, move back across the tunnel, and take aim at a position just in front and to your left of the prone hunter. If the jammer field hasn't enveloped them yet by the time the giant almost has its hands on that explosive whatever, then lean over just enough to fire an explosive round into the ground near to the hunter's gun. The blast will temporarily blind him and maybe damage his visor, and will throw his aim off if it doesn't knock the gun right out of his hand. That's when you step out fully, and line up an AP shot on his visor.

Polo, what do you think will happen if you isolate the hunters in the jammer field? Will it bring them back to 'normal', or is it likely their bots will just take over and have them keep fighting?

In any case, you need to be out of the way of that mortar. If you can't get a good explosive shot on the small one or the big one's mortar itself, GTFO ASAP and try to lure them into a jammer trap. Even if it doesn't fully disable them, it will limit their effectiveness and probably blind the big one.

>>499470
>>499475

Considering that Rokaan is still a liability, even with the Jammer on, I don't think the jammer will do anything, we can use it on their disabled bodies, the little one is still able to fucking see and the jammer is a very, very important piece of equipment for us, and very, very fragile.

>>499476
Rokann only freaks out during attempts to talk about or remove her bugs. The jammer most likely blocks 4-stripe's direct control, leaving them with just the 'default programming' provided by the bugs already inside them.

>>499476
The jammer does have some range to it, you know. Just as long as whoever has it stays back around the corner from the fight, or they leave it there before joining the fray, it'll be safe.

And we don't know if removing Four Stripe's direct control will break the giant's direction or not, or if it'll just hamper it. But it is something we should at least try.

>jammer?
Jammers do not interfere with bugs controlling people, or four stripes controlling people via bugs. The bugs have direct access that bypasses empathy, and the bugs themselves are connected to their own communication network (which includes four stripes) that is independent of normal empathy.

We know this to be true because the hunters, while being puppeted by four stripes, were able to set up ambushes for us from under their own jammers.

All our jammer will do is (a) prevent the hunters from knowing what our allies are thinking (b) prevent the hunters from being able to use empathy to aim at our allies (c) cut off Polo's ability to sense what the hunters (and four stripes controlling them) are thinking / doing once the jammer gets within her range.

...and for heaven's sake, we don't have time to fool around. We're got an enemy reaching for a gun that sprays explosions, and our unarmored allies coming up from behind!

>>499496
Actually that is not true. The network they use is emphatic in nature. You have to remember what Four Stripes is. He is a predator that uses the link to overwhelm a neuminos natural link and control him or her that way. That is why jammers are effective when faced with a predator.

>>499510
Normally four stripes uses broadcast empathy to control neumono. That's why the empathic relay allows him to compromise people.

But that's not how the bugs work!

The bugs have direct access, that circumvents broadcast empathy- they hijack the neural network or empathic setup with direct physical access (proof- bugs control the enemy even when they hide from us under jammers). The bugs also have their own communication network of some kind (when Rokann goes really quiet, it's because her bugs are trying to talk to other bugs. Like what happened right before the helicopter ambush. Polo can tell the bugs are doing something- but it's not empathy. She can't hear it). Four stripes is remotely conducting the hunter hivers via the bugs (he's probably hooked up with cyborg implants at this point), not via an empathic relay. We can't expect a jammer to stop them.

>>499512
The relays are still emphatic in nature. The bugs are relying on Four Stripes to direct them for more complicated matters. And that in itself is emphatic. Without four stripes directing the bugs they go to default like it was mentioned before.

>>499513
Yes, without four stripes, the bugs control of the hunters would be limited to whatever the bug AI could manage, yes.

Yes, the control is empathic in nature.

But no, the bugs aren't talking with one another on the neumono empathy "frequency". Polo can't hear the bugs- but she can sense their effect on the neumono they control, and four stripes behind them.

If the bugs don't talk on the empathic frequency, it stands to reason that an empatic jammer won't stop them from talking. (And we have reasonable evidence it does not). All four stripes would need would be to have bugs in him so he could reach out and control directly through the bug-network. Then jammers wouldn't interrupt his control of the hunters.

We don't have time to wait around trying to cut them off from four stripes when there's a very simple way the salikai could have made that not work. The jammer will either help or do nothing (as I expect) when our allies arrive. In the mean time, Polo should be continue trying to shut down or disable the enemy.

>>499516
I don't see why you think the bugs talk to one another. They have always relied on an outside source to coordinate and control them.

>I don't see why you think the bugs talk to one another.
Well, Polo does, for one. Just a few updates ago, she noted Rokann went quiet and wondered if her bugs were trying to contact the others again. They are a networked AI of some kind- wireless capacity only makes sense. And the mark I love-bugs were controlled wirelessly by one central AI transmitter, too. Even if they upgraded to a decentralized AI with a remote predator overseer, it seems silly to remove that capacity in an upgraded model.

It's also how Rokann knew about the helicopter ambush in advance. She got all quiet as her bugs went into overdrive conferring with the others waiting to hit us. Then once her bugs finished and she realized what was going on, she started panicking and wanting us to get out of there- before we were ambushed and/or we were cut off from the caves (but we continued on anyways).

>>499522
Alright, so the bugs can act as miniature empathic relays that connect either through a mesh network with other nearby bugs, by connection with a big empathic relay, or, likely, through a regular radio relay. That means that bringing the jammer up might only disrupt the direct empathic link between the giant and the small hunter, which wouldn't do much to help us. They might even be able to maintain their empathic link through the bug's empathic relay ability. Either way, Four Stripes is still pulling the strings and we don't have a way to disrupt that. Maybe if we found a portable radio jammer, but that's an objective for later.

Considering this, Polo shouldn't call for the jammer range to be increased. In fact, she should call for it to be decreased to just around the group, so she has longer to sense the two enemies, but she probably doesn't have time for that so should just keep quiet.

Plan here should be to focus on either taking out the small hunter's visor, or his eyes, so he's blind either way. Explosive round into the ground as close to in front of him as possible, then either an AP round into his visor or another explosive round into his face, depending on whether Polo can aim that well, will do.

In the future, we can also use Rokann's bugs to detect if there are bugged neumono around that are under an empathic jammer, or if there's a empathic or radio relay nearby. Any time she goes quiet it'll indicate one of those things. So, definitely put someone on Rokann-watch duty from now on.

We might even be able to get an idea of what the bugs are doing if Polo brings Rokann out of the jammer field with her. So, Polo would go out first, sense if any non-jammed neumono are around, then bring Rokann out just enough to sense her.

Also, Rokann might not have been made to eat her gag by the bugs; She might have done so in a panicked state while trying to warn us and inhaled a load of the hallucinogenic gas before she had a chance.

>>499528
We're also going to have to blindfold Rokann's eyes and plug her ears from now on as well, so her bugs can't relay anything back about where she is or what the group is saying.

Also, Polo wouldn't have to take Rokann out of the jamming field to get an empathic read on her; She'd only need another in the group to put their hand on Rokann to form that small link like she had with Katzati earlier. In fact, we may want someone to hold on to Rokann like that all the time, both to comfort her, and to know right away if the bugs connect. The risk there is that the bugs might try to migrate into whoever is holding Rokann, so somebody else should watch them with the x-ray scanner.

Polo 2013/03/11(Mon)13:36 No. 499549 ID: c4e5c2
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I am not certain how, precisely, the bugs work. I am confident it uses both a combination of conventional radio communication and neumono empathy to communicate, but how these intertwine and what method is needed to do what, I don't know much of. I will think on possibilities later when I am not in the middle of combat.

What I do know, right now, is that the giant is going for the explosive, and I am operating in split seconds that won't allow me to time to yell multiple word tactical orders to my teammates effectively. Even if whatever gave the giant its order is interrupted, the giant did receive the order, and is unlikely to stop even if the bug's method of communication is removed. It is recovering quick, so I chance popping out anyway to fire an explosive round on the hunter. My aim is as good as ever, although I take a couple of stinging hits. Nothing crucial, but it isn't doing my armor any favors and I will be bruised for awhile. I can't say the same for the hunter, who is in far worse shape.

Sure enough, the giant doesn't stop, but it is no longer able to use the hunter's sight to fire at me with any accuracy. While I fired, it successfully grabbed its weapon, and is still going to try to shoot based on my last known location. It is following one of Rokoa's favorite principles. If it's explosive enough, you don't need good aim. I might be able to get a good shot off to ruin the weapon beforehand, or I might not and wish I took the extra split second to run far away.

well if it was just you I would say run like hell but your team is coming around the coner and could be hit in the cross fire so i say you put a round down the barrel of the gaint's gun, I mean you already frickin did it that one time on an explosive shotgun I think you can put a round down the barral of that cannon

Face it girl, you like Rokoa! :3 embrace it! She is a wonderful person!

Any high explosives in this cave will funnel down the passages a ways. So unless you can get at least 5-10 feet away from the impact point before it can shoot you might be better off taking the shot.

run away from your hiding spot and jump towards the screen as the explosion expands behind you.

That thing must have a minimum prime distance, charge the giant neumono and get as close as possible.

You're close enough that even if you did hit right down the barrel of that thing, if it explodes you're going to catch the brunt of it in the face, likely destroying your visor and taking your ears off. If you run back towards the group, it'll catch you in your sturdier back armor, but you'll still take damage. However, if you run towards the giant, around the corner, the blast will be partially blocked by the rock; You might even be able to get behind the giant as well before the shot explodes. The rest of the group are far enough away, and around tunnel curves, that they likely won't take the brunt of the blast.

So charge forward, stay under where the giant is aiming, and get behind that rock before he fires.

However, if you don't think you can make it in time, then shoot an AP round up the barrel of that launcher, then try to shield your face from the possible explosion. If you're real lucky, it'll break it so it doesn't fire, and nothing explodes. At worst, it blows up and takes out the giant, the small hunter, and seriously damages you, your armor, and your rifle.

So the choice is to blow the gun or dive for cover?

If you were alone, I'd play it safe and dive. But you got allies coming up behind you who could be rushing right into the blast while you cover.

Take her out. On the move, if at all possible- so you avoid the last known firing tactics, and so you can roll out of the way of the explosion. (If you're only lightly injured, it's worth it. Viln could carry you. It's only not worth it if you wreck your gear or seriously injure yourself).

>>499567
Actually, forget trying to fire down the barrel of that thing if you can't get around the corner before it goes off. The risk of it exploding and damaging your visor, rifle, all your front armor, and you, is too great. You just can't risk losing your rifle or visor.

Instead, turn back towards the group and sprint as fast as you can. As soon as you hear the launcher fire, scrunch up into as tight a ball as you can, shielding your rifle. The blast will catch your less vital back and tail armor instead of your front armor and visor. The sight of you running away might also make the rest of the group stop running towards the intersection if they see you running away.

Oh, and whatever action you do do, shout "BOMB!" at the top of your lungs to try and get the rest of the group to stop running towards the intersection. The giant and the hunter are deafened by now, so it doesn't matter if you yell that.

Polo 2013/03/11(Mon)15:16 No. 499577 ID: c4e5c2
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I won't be firing down the barrel of the gun, the last time I did that, the person aiming at me actually was, in fact, aiming at me to allow this. This one's aim is too off.

"BOMB!" I yell to my teammates, who may get a punch of shock should the explosion be particularly strong. I only pause to yell that before rushing forward, quiet as I can manage, to get behind the giant as it fires.

I am not familiar with the weapon, as it makes an odd, lumiscent glow for a second as he pulls the trigger and holds it down for a second. It launches some kind of gel. As soon as its out, I fire again, knocking her forward. The gel explodes on contact, flinging the giant, her weapon, and the fire of my own explosion backwards. I am losing my balance as well.

The ceiling shakes. It does not sound good, but I think the cave is still stable enough. Another explosion or two might cause a cave in.

run

Right. Dodge the falling gaint, regain your balance. Switch to AP rounds, and if the enemy is still capable of putting up a fight, shoot them (cripple them- like the zombies last time). Mop up shouldn't take long- your allies are in range now and armed, and the enemy is blind and on fire.

Be careful, the smaller one might be up by now.

Then everyone grab anything useful the enemy dropped, leave the injured hunter hivers for their hive to recover, and get out of here before there's a cave in or reinforcements arrive.

>>499577
A cave in would be to our advantage. It would cut off pursuit. However, it might also suffocate these two, and we don't want to do that! They are from the Hunter tribe, right?

Snatch any dropped supplies and toss them back towards your allies. See if you can switch to normal or AP rounds to use disabling shots on our two enemies and then fully loot them. It would be great to have more armor, even if it's got holes in it.