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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Shoo! Girl-talk! :V"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How much ammo do we have for the shotgun?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What shampoo does he use on his ears.

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

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

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

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

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

>>451754
Two questions in particular.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blow it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I should not even be surprised.

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

>>452101
Allons-y!

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

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

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