A revolver.

They are sending you into a heavily fortified research and development complex with a manual-fire, metal-based, EXTREMELY LOUD weapon that may or may not use insanity-inducing metal-based chemicals as ammunition. To kill/capture a SINGLE scientist who, for all we know, may be secretly working on a cure to psychopathy.

This couldn't reek more of a setup if they ordered you to kill the Prime Minister of Sol with a shiv.

Screw it, you'll take your chances with the breakout. This Space Pardon is nothing more than an amateur photo-shopped child's drawing, and you know it.

kome'd

Nah nah.
Do it.
Take the gun. Kill the guy.
There will be more riots. More chances to break outta jail.
Worst case scenario? This is a setup and you end up right back here.
But... It's a chance.
A chance at something better.
Take it.
You got nothin to lose.

"What happens if I don't succeed?"

Accept your patriotic duty. You're a bad enough dude to pull this off.

"What happens if I don't succeed? Won't this scientist be in a heavily fortified research and development complex or something?" You ask, probing for holes in the PSB's plan. You get the feeling that this is a setup, but don't want to openly challenge him just yet; if it is real, you also think that you might just be a bad enough dude to pull this off.

The slightest of smirks, barely perceptible, flashes in the corner of the PSB agent's mouth. "You won't have to do anything while he's at work. Jupiter Station, like most space cities, is primarily a commercial hub. Lots of civilian areas. Our scientist is just like anybody else: He's got to go home some time. We've been monitoring his routine for some time now. Takes long walks through high-traffic and low-traffic areas. Plenty of unaccounted for time spent off-camera and away from secure zones. You will have no shortage of easy opportunities."

You sit in silence, thinking. What if the pardon isn't real - but why would he lie? The breakout seems like a good idea - but what if that fails? Then you'll have spurned your only opportunity to get out the legal way, and marked yourself as an unreliable criminal for life.

I count 2 votes for breakout, 2 votes for assassination, and 1 neutral non-vote. First choice to 3 wins.

Let's do it. Maybe do a quick investigation ourselves once we're there; we don't know why someone would make such a virus. Actually, ask how you might go about destroying what he has so far before inevitably accepting. If we're doing this, we're getting the extra credit.

Negotiate for gun mods. You need a revolver that (A) can be deconstructed into harmless-looking tools, or (B) has a future-silencer. Something you can use without attracting excess attention.

Also, your ammunition has to be non-toxic. Driving people insane is not healthy for the universe as a whole.

Suggestion 2019/08/11(Sun)11:48 No. 942239 ID: 4c4c12
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Your heart is pounding. Your mind is spinning. Before you can talk yourself out of it, you swallow your fear give him your decision.

"I accept."

The smirk returns, his face full of satisfaction behind those dark glasses.

"Glad to know there are still patriots left on Mars," he says, standing. He takes the datapad and a briefcase as he turns to leave, but leaves you the revolver. You pick it up hesitantly.

"How...does this thing work? And what do I do to his re--"

"Special Agent Pilar will fill you in on the details," the unnamed PSB agent calls from over his shoulder, already in the hallway. On cue, a young Marsican man in a dark suit steps into the door way and beckons you to follow.

Pilar, a native of the Mexican Mars Colony (colloquially known as Marsico), debriefs you on your revolver as he guides you to the shuttle bay. He tells you the basics of holding, aiming, and firing the weapon you've been given, as well as how to disassemble it into fairly inconspicuous parts. It's what the ancients used to call a six-shooter, so named because it can fire just six times before having to reload. That won't be a problem for you, he says, because you're only being given six rounds, and in theory you only need to use one. They're loud, crude, barbaric, and extremely illegal throughout the system, but they're the necessary tool for this particular job.

"So, I know how to deal with this guy now, but what about his research? Don't I need to destroy it, or bring it in?"

"Don't worry about it," Pilar says, impressed that you'd think to ask. "We have other assets in place that can take care of the research without getting themselves caught. It's the scientist himself, a guy named Hans Cruise, that we need you to handle. He's a genius when it comes to this, one of a kind. If we destroyed his data, he could always start over. But if there's no brains behind it, the whole project will fail."

"Wait, project? So it's more than just this Hans guy?"

"Que claro, of course there'd be more! But the financier, the goons, the suppliers, we can handle all of them. We just need to make sure that the scientist doesn't get away. No technicalities preventing arrest or imprisonment, no jailbreaks, and most of all, no warning that we're about to act. The only sure-fire way to make sure this succeeds, is to take him by surprise. Then the rest of the plan falls into place."

"Why me though?" You ask, uncomfortable that apparently a huge sting operation hinges on you doing something you've never done before perfectly on your first try.

"Think about it," Pilar replies, as though it were obvious. "What are you good at? What makes you, you?"

[Allocate 2 points on Attributes, 3 points on Skills, and select 1 Ability. You may also take the opportunity to assign your character a name and sex.]

STR1, WIL1
Fortitude, Tech, and Charisma
Make it Rain seems like the OP choice, although I prefer saintly

Theodore "Crispy" Takos

+1 Int, +1 Agi
+1 Tech, +1 Engineering, +1 Pilot
Saintly

Mary "No" Mei (Female)

STR, AGI
Melee, Parkour, Piloting
Iron Mind
Delphine Vega. You were chosen for your... moxie, maybe?

>>942259
I like Kome's character here. I second this.
To expand, as I am wont to do, Mary's a pilot and technician; she can get herself in quietly as crew on a ship servicing Jupiter and get herself out much the same way. She can mess with cameras, divert traffic, make a low traffic area a "no traffic" area.

And her crime was one that was popular with the general public. A hacking charge against corrupt officials; sure she's caught a 20 year sentence but she exposed a lot of dirty politicians. Really shook up the parliament, effectively made herself a folk hero. If Mary "No" Mei is caught geeking a chemical weapons scientist, the public will EAT IT UP. Of COURSE she had good reasons, the BEST reasons.

Male, Teemo Versailles

1 Intelligence, 1 Agility

Guns, Deception, Fortitude

Iron Mind

He was always a survivor. Whether it be talking his way out from in front of a laser pistol, firing first when the trigger is compressed, or at least surviving the shot in the worst-case scenario.

Suggestion 2019/08/12(Mon)18:05 No. 942388 ID: 4c4c12
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"Uh, I'm good with technology, I guess," you say, uncomfortable as ever with bragging.

"You guess? Amiga, you're famous for it!" Pilar exclaims as you enter a lift together. With the press of a button, you're off zig-zagging through the prison complex on your way to the shuttle bay. "The hacktivist that severed the Cabal's grip on Martian politics, gave us our democracy back! Shame that the law wasn't on your side for the particulars, but the people still love you."

"I'm just a piloting school cadet. I wasn't ready for all of this...attention."

Pilar grins. "Of course you weren't. Look at you - bangs nearly covering your eyes, face tilted downwards, you've barely made eye contact with me this whole time. You're too intelligent, too introverted, too concerned with tinkering around with machines in your engineering classes to bother with people. But, it's OK. Destiny will take you to where you need to be regardless of your own planned meandering."

He's right. About the body language, anyway. You've never considered yourself an introvert, but you're no social butterfly, either. Despite your newfound fame, you aren't charismatic in the least, and will have a hard time swinging it to your advantage to obtain favors. In the past, you toyed with ideas of taking up jiu-jitsu or parkour, learning to shoot a gun, training your mind and body to withstand greater challenges, or at least learning how to lie convincingly, but you never pursued them. Your dogged interest in technology, piloting, and engineering meant that your academics in other areas had suffered, leaving you with little clue of the world outside an engine room or pilot's seat. A gadget geek, girls like you were called - young women that put more emphasis on solitary technological pursuits than society, beauty, or anything else. Still, your natural intelligence and swift reflexes had served you well so far. You regretted nothing.

"Though," Pilar said, his tone changing from adoring to inquisitive, "Before you leave, I have to ask...how did a girl named Mary Vega get a nickname like 'Crispy'?" Scratch that. One regret.

"I do not wish to discuss it," you say evasively. "I find it deeply embarrassing." You can feel your face and ears heating up at the mere mention of your horrible nickname, mortified that it made its way into your government file.

He shrugs. "All the same to me."

With that, the lift doors open, and Pilar sees you off to the shuttle bay. He hands you a datapad with more intel - mainly blueprints and maps of Jupiter Station and Cruise's dossier, complete with field agent notes. He bids you good luck as you board.

You lean back into your seat and sigh. Your journey into the world at large has begun.

The shuttle takes you from the prison to a public landing terminal where you board a transport to Jupiter Station. On the ride to Jupiter, a mere 20 minutes, you familiarize yourself with the basic layout of the station. This is a tourist transport, and will be moored in the Lower Commercial District Docking Bay, below the main habitation area. Shops, restaurants, sideshows, and other tourist traps are plentiful there. On the far side of this same level are the LCD's less touristy areas - bars, beer halls, and noodle shops frequented by the workers of Jupiter Station. Above the LCD stands the Habitation Dome, a cityscape contained in a snowglobe-like structure. Below, on Level 3, are semi-open access industrial areas - tourable factories, wholesale markets for bulk buyers, and the Imports Dock, where the station receives its supplies, namely food and raw materials. Levels 4 and lower are restricted access with various levels of security clearance required; these levels on the main stem are connected via speedrail to outlying structures housing various components of the station, such as the power plant, water purifiers, and other vital systems.

Hans Cruise, your target, has a lab on Level 5, but lives in the Habitation Dome and spends at least two hours per day in the LCD. When he drinks after work, typically no more than once per week, he tends to take the scenic route home (scenic, you note, being a very flexible term aboard a space station), winding through the LCD's tourist and local areas, often cutting through an area known to be a common meeting place for smugglers, drug dealers, and other black market merchants.

The names of the field agents the Martian PSB has aboard Jupiter Station are redacted in the datapad you were given. You have no way of knowing how many others are watching Cruise, nor their identities. As your transport drifts into position on the docking bay, you wonder if they'll be watching you too now that you're here.

You disembark from the transport and exit the Docking Bay to find yourself in the middle of the Lower Commercial District's tourist hotspot. It's 17:00 station time, the beginning of primetime. Throngs of people already crowd every store and restaurant in sight.

"Well," you think to yourself, "where to now?"

Okay, plan's simple: get to know his colleagues, his friends, anyone he's been in contact with for more than five minutes. Talk to them. Subtly influence them into learning what their good doctor is up to. Put pressure on him, and find out if his scientific pursuits in chemical warfare really are geared toward sapient homicide and not, say, just inventing a new pesticide.

Remember, Black Ops has a team ready to deal with any collateral damage you cause. Minimize civilian casualties, and don't worry about any minor evidence or research the scientist left lying around, they'll handle it. Blow this out of the water and make an impact - you need a backup plan in case this really is a set-up.

We’ve established that you’re not the charismatic kind of hitgirl. You’re smart, so tell us; in what general vicinity is Hans right now? Since we’re geared towards hacking and stealth, infiltrating Level 5 while he’s out and having a point-blank shot waiting for him when he gets back might be our best shot at doing this without getting caught. Having full reign of his private quarters also gives us the opportunity to satisfy our curiosity about the “why” and actual “what” of this guy’s deal.

>>942406
Several strong points.

>>942396
It behooves us to run as clean a hit as we can. I wonder if we can make his death look entirely accidental? We may not need the gun at all. It's a space station, there's hard vacuum on the other side. Lots of power conduits running all over that could be accidentally damaged and run a lethal amount of amperage through the next guy to use a given shitter. Ventilation systems and CO2 monitors and other life support we could sabotage.

Knowing how to keep life support on a ship going was part of being a pilot, if only so you'd have a chance of surviving a bad situation. Knowing how to keep it going also means knowing how to break it in ways that look totally normal, and coincidental.

In short, research the local infrastructure and life support and look for weaknesses that can be used to kill just one guy.

You remember hearing once that the loneliest place was in a crowded room. Truly alone for the first time, with no classmates, parents, or teachers to hide behind, the brutal reality of that statement comes crashing in. Intimidated by the sheer size of the crowds here, you rush to the side of the open area and begin to make your way out of the tourist-infested area. From the non-claustrophobic safety of an empty corner, you review Cruise's dossier and the station schematics on your datapad.

The dossier notes that Cruise works closely with Doctors Wilson, Evancho, and Chen - more experts with work in different yet closely related fields. Gary Wilson is a chemical engineer, specializing in systems for storing, stabilizing, and injecting industrial quantities of unstable compounds. Brett Evancho is a propulsion expert with prior work on missiles and civilian landers alike. Deng Chen, an expatriate from Chinese space, is a life support specialist who designed upgrades to several commercially available spacesuits as well as improving air filters for decon chambers.

Cruise has lived here for the past eight months, and in that time has made few friends outside the lab. Towards the end of his first month, the dossier says, "Cruise worked up the courage to make advances on a bartender several years his junior. After this rejection, he has not made any discernable attempt at a relationship." Despite this, he maintains a friendship with neighbor Annette Lyles, a widow living two doors down from Cruise, on the 14th floor of their apartment building.

He is known to sometimes visit the Rusty Pint, a pirate-themed bar on the tourist side of the Lower Commercial District, but mostly frequents Cunningham's on the worker side with lab tech friends Blake Larson and Su Yi Chen (Su Yi, the dossier notes, is Deng Chen's younger sister, but is betrothed to someone off-station; Cruise's relationship with her is thought to be platonic).

As it is currently just after 17:00, Cruise will likely be getting off work in the next 30 to 60 minutes. Looking at his typical movements, he will be heading here for an evening meal and at least one alcoholic beverage, and will likely spend some time overlooking the area from the second floor balcony. You wonder if he shares your habit of watching for couples, families, and groups of friends and wondering what life might've been like if only he were different...but you dismiss this notion quickly and focus on the task at hand.

He won't arrive at his apartment in the Habitation Dome any earlier than 19:00, even if he's had an off day at work; more likely, he'll be out until close to 20:30. You note that Cruise is an employee of Jupiter Corporation, which microchips all of its workers. If you could tap into the tracking system, you could monitor his movements about the station in real time, but this would require you to hack your way into one of several secured areas: The police station on L2, the server farm on L6, or any of the relays on the levels between. The Habitation Dome has its own relay, but this is positioned at the very top of the dome itself, and your lack of strength and physical training in running and climbing precludes this option.

Your chances to kill just one person without the revolver are scant. Intel on the lab itself is severely lacking; apart from general information about his coworkers and the blueprints, you have nothing, which hints at the PSB's informers not having lab access. From the blueprints, you notice two things about Cruise's lab: It is on an exterior wall, and has an unusual amount of space allocated for a chemical lab. There appears to be a large opening present in the lab, but it is shown only on the earliest version of the blueprints, leading you to suspect that it was an early freight delivery point during construction. Or, you consider, it could've been deliberately obscured to hide something...a secret shuttle bay? You can't quite figure it out from here.

You consider the CO2 monitors. His entire apartment building is connected to the same ventilation system; you could easily suffocate him in his sleep and make it look like a system error, but that would kill all of the estimated 690 residents in the 360 apartments in his building. You may also be able to pull this off and kill only Cruise and his coworkers while they're at the lab, but you aren't sure what additional failsafes are in place for these lower levels, and especially what mitigating factors might exist in the lab itself. His work with chemicals - especially Wilson's work with injection systems and storing unstable compounds - seems like another good opportunity for sabotage that can be made to look like a genuine accident. However, containment and the specifics of what is being worked with make you sketchy on pursuing this course of action.

It would be child's play to reroute voltage to electrocute him remotely as he interacts with a panel or sits at a terminal, however this presents two problems: It would be obvious that this was no accident, and it could be traced back to you - or rather, your location. Your only option here would be to frame someone else for the crime, and unless they had motive, opportunity, and the technical knowledge, but not the foresight to cover their tracks, it would become clear to investigators that someone else was the true culprit.

It's 17:10. You should act quickly if you want to pursue reconnaissance of his home or relaxation areas. The noise of the crowd around you is also discomforting, and you remember that you still have the issue of accommodations to attend to. The datapad notes that a reservation has been made for you at a hotel in the Upper Commercial District, in the Habitation Dome.

Please use subject field for non-image updates even if it just says "Update"
how much video surveillance is there
what if we just tried to talk to him? (too bad we didn't get any charisma) the electrical thing sounds highly promising, though that seems way too easy, like he isn't the REAL mastermind behind the project.

Very possible he isn’t the mastermind, but he’s still the brains the mastermind needs to make his plan a reality, if nothing else. Here’s my idea; find a subtle way to break into his apartment (so that you can lock the door behind you, etc.). Find a place to hide that you’re confident he won’t check (like a toiletries cabinet or under the kitchen sink). Wait for him to come home and go to bed (wait several hours to be safe). Come out, and smother him with a pillow and use that to muffle your shot. Break out before morning comes. As far as I can tell, this is your best shot at getting away with this.

>>942437
We should try to minimize close contact with the target. Mary isn't physical enough to survive an encounter gone wrong without resorting to the revolver, and that is neither subtle nor quiet (it uses frigging chemical explosions to push a slug, it'll be loud as fuck).

I'm liking the electrocution idea. Even if we don't frame someone else it puts distance between the target and Mary, and it buys a lot more time than a shooting does in terms of giving her a chance to escape. If we do frame someone, it'll buy a lot more time. Plenty of time for our collaborators to spring their next part of their plan.

Cruise spends time with Su Yi Chen. What if we could make it look like there was evidence that their relationship was not platonic? What if we could make it look like Deng Chen learned about it, and in a misguided attempt to salvage his sister's reputation decided to just kill Cruise?

It'd require some fiddling with social accounts, some e-mail fraud, some spoofing and phreaking, but it'd be doable. And it would have the authorities detaining Deng while we got away, and our collaborators carried out their part of the mission. Cruise being murdered by an angry brother won't result in the same security response that Cruise being killed by an assassin armed with an ancient weapon would.

I think we should use the gun. They're going to want more of this, so we might as well test our nerves on a semicontrolled contract.