Hema walks to the armory

Hema asks the Quartermaster "Could you please give me the specifications of explosive grenades? And what are the recommended uses for napalm grenades?"

((I'm kinda new to this. Let me know if I do anything stupid.))

((Sly - please don't. I understand your love of programming, but it makes it more difficult for me to read. If everybody did that it'd take me far longer to update.))

Tulius After SCAMPS stops talking, you take a look around - you're in the Mess Hall. It's right off the side of the main prison, probably by design: newbs like you can't help but come through here first.

Feeling a mite hungry, you walk over to the nearest table and snatch yourself an apple from where it sits - a green one. Doubtlessly originally intended to be somebody's lunch, you don't really care if someone comes looking for it later - you just want something to eat while you ponder the beauty of dynamite. Or anything else explosively volatile.

You head for R&D.

When you arrive, you find that the R&D labs are actually pretty great. The screens all over the lobby are showing you all kinds of explosive tests - including some things that aren't actually supposed to be explosive at all: thrusters, rockets, engines, cockpits, even a crash dummy or two and at one point you get a brief glance of a professor's shoes going up in flames. You start munching on your apple and wander into the Prototype Testing labs, looking for something explosive.

You'd think the place would be a little more intuitive - unfortunately, it seems like it's anything but intuitive. The hallways are winding and narrow, and some seem to loop back around on themselves or go up flights of stairs without any explanation as to why. Just as you're starting to feel discouraged, though, you find what you feel you're looking for: A room labeled "FISSION INSTIGATOR TESTING". There's an absolutely magnificent cannon strapped to the top of a Mk III CASKET mockup, pointed at an open portal, and a number of scientists in spacesuits. Scaled-up photographs on the wall show enormous fireballs, and even things that look like miniature stars.

This is it. If you'd ever wanted anything explosive, this would be it...

Unfortunately, it appears to be through two bulletproof glass walls, a hallway, and an airlock besides. You frown in disappointment... but hey, at least you found something.


Zorathex You walk into the complex, headed for ... well, robotic limbs, wherever they are. There aren't any helpful signs here - everyone seems to be expected to know their way around already. You're really just wandering blindly... but somehow, your blind wandering works out, and you find yourself in the manufacturing section. You pass prototypes of all sorts of gear and armor being developed, sparks flying, robotic anvils pounding away - and then you see something amazing - fully-working robotic arms. Not just robotic arms, either - something else - something new. It looks almost electric in nature - almost like science fiction. As you watch, the machines assemble new ones from hundreds of pieces - circuit boards, wiring, odd metallic parts and synthetic membranes.

It's all very cool and all, but you're not sure what you could do with it, apart from ask someone about it.

Rosh You introduce yourself to the woman, and shake hands professionally. She's clearly somewhat taken with your leadership ability. You further this by explaining your plan to her: you'll fix what you can in the suit and then wait until Dr. Seinberger comes back, trying to impress him. It's a solid plan, or seems so - and Annalea agrees.

You and Annalea set to work fixing the suit. There's still a lot to be changed or repaired, but you're definitely making progress. Much of it will need redesigned, and there are even flaws in the manufacturing, but you do what you can with what little you have. Annalea proves to be exceptionally apt in the task - her display of knowledge is quite vast, and she seems rather intuitive about things, even if she lacks any leadership skills.

And then Dr. Seinberger walks in. "Hmm, you're still here," he mutters, keeping his eyes away from you as though entirely unconcerned as he walks over to his desk and sets his mug down. "And you have someone with you, I see. I haven't authorized her - I could get both of you locked out of here or sent out of the REKT program for this."

You don't give him a chance to gain the upper hand. "Take a look at what we have here," you suggest, holding out your pad. "We solved some of the inefficiencies in the wiring, and repaired the metatarsal framework so it won't crush the operator's feet when they attempt to jump over three meters." Seinberger takes it, frowning and peering at it through his glasses, and you go on, "Some of the alloys will need reworked and there are a number of things that we simply can't fix without a total remanufacture, but we've marked the necessary changes."

"Hmm... mhm..." Seinberger mutters, thoughtfully scratching his head as he walks idly towards the suit. "And you've told no-one of this? I can't legally allow both of you to help me, you understand... but if you don't mind me taking the credit, I could send you down to Design and you could see what you could do there. No sense wasting your young minds. In the meantime..." He pauses, muttering as he traces some of the wiring in the chest with his fingertip, glancing sideways at the datapad. "In the meantime, I would look this over and try to apply my own knowledge... How does that sound to you?"


Tonon A smile tugs at the corner of your mouth as you walk over towards the woman, smirking slightly as she plays with the dog at her feet, seemingly oblivious to you - of course, you're approaching her from the road - it doesn't take her long to notice you.

"Waell, hae thar!" she says, slurring her words loudly in a thick TE-34 accent. You frown in disgust at this loathesome creature. "I ain't seen you 'round these roads, whar you from?"

Her question is promptly answered by a bullet right through the forehead, right between the eyes as you whip your pistol out from its holster. The smile, half-frozen on her face, remains there as she slowly tilts over and upsets her chair. The little animal beside her starts howling angrily at you - it doesn't seem to understand its owner is dead, but it definitely recognizes you as an intruder.

You hear sounds of people calling out and shouting from the houses behind you - they probably heard the gunshot, but may not have known what happened.

"OH MY GOD BRUNNDA!" an old man screams from the door of the woman's house - possibly her husband. "HOLY SWEET GINGER, I-" He seems to notice the pistol in your hand, then looks back at your face - he knows what you did. His face twists with a sort of quiet anger as hatred consumes him; he ducks quickly back inside the house.

Meanwhile, a little heads-up display reads: "KILLS: 1"


Hema After SCAMPS finally shuts up, you walk over to the armory, looking around. There seems to be not just one Quartermaster, but a handful of attendants, each sitting at different windows. You walk over to the nearest - a young woman with a ponytail who looks somewhat discomforted, and knock on the window. "Excuse me?"

The knock startles her. "What?? she snaps - but her expression softens slightly as she looks at you. "Sorry... What do you need? You look kind of new to this."

You merely nod, trying to look decently competent. "Could you please give me the specifications of explosive grenades? And what are the recommended uses for napalm grenades?"

She smiles faintly. "Sure. Explosive grenades are packed with low explosive materials that do an excellent job at pushing things without ripping them up. They'll of course break just about every bone in your body if you stand next to it, though, so don't do anything stupid. The napalm grenades are good at burning through flesh or machinery, or providing a deterrent. The jelly also tends to be very good at getting into cracks... is there anything else you need to know?"

Hema tells the woman "No, nothing else thank you. I might come back down here sometime though. My name is Hema, might I ask who you are?"

"What a glorious idea, to jump-start an entire star on your intended target. We will be united one day, sweet Fission Instigator, then we shall really test your capabilities.

Deciding any effort to get to the machine now would yield little now, continue exploring R&D, this time looking for anything specifically related to fusion devices and Hydrogen bombs.

((Is R&D really THAT big or is it just a holodeck with personalized ads, giving the appearance of an experimental testing area?))

try to find large object out of view of everyone to hide in and potentially wait for whole town to mob together, keep careful watch

~Tonon

Hema In response to her question, you tell her, "No, nothing else, thank you. I might come back down here sometime, though. My name is Hema - might I ask who you are?"

She draws back a bit, looking at you suspiciously. "Why would you want to know my name..." she says, half to herself. After a few uncomfortable seconds, she bursts out, "Look, I've already had two people and a robot try to flirt with me today. I'm an employee, not an inmate, and I won't have any sort of relationship with you people. You should know that, too! So why won't you just all leave me alone??" She pauses, realizing she's yelling - people down the line are looking at both of you now. The woman flushes with embarassment. "I'm sorry," she says, in a quieter tone, "I've gotten death threats in the past... I... I think I need a cigarette break." Saying this, she pulls down a metal screen behind her window, and there's nothing else for you to do but leave. Or find another window.


Tulius ((Yes, it's actually that big. Remember that the Tartarus is capable of holding 30,000,000 inmates at once - and the REKT program makes up a small minority. It's a big ship.))
You stare at the fission instigator in a mixture of awe and love. "What a glorious idea," you whisper, "To jump-start an entire star on your intended target." You hesitate to walk away, and then add, "We will be united one day, sweet Fission Instigator, and then we shall really test your capabilities... parting is such sweet sorrow."

You continue exploring R&D, this time looking for anything big that goes boom. You're starting to get a hang of the layout a little more: One section holds engine prototypes, another section is related to the Tartarus wind tunnel, another section is devoted to weapons... and it's this last that interests you the most. Specifically, fusion weapons - anything that explodes. There doesn't seem to be that much in the way of explosives planned, though - most of the items are related to either infantry or conventional weaponry. You suppose, perhaps, that you could suggest some explosive items of your own.

Slymodi You look around for a good object to hide behind, but can't really find anything. There don't seem to be any good hiding spots anywhere at all. In the distance, you can faintly hear the sound of sirens: someone called the cops.

You don't really have to wait to find action, though - it isn't long before Brunna's husband walks out onto his porch, holding a double-barreled shotgun and yelling bloody murder. He fires a shot at you almost immediately, but it goes wide.

Civilians hardly pose any challenge.

"Seems there is little of interest to me here."

Return to the Mess Hall to grab a banana, storing it on person for later consumption.
Proceed to the Armory and ask the Quartermaster if Thermate Incendiary Grenades can be acquired in some way, or device of equal power.

((Unsure about your knowledge regarding Thermite/Thermate, but in case you don't know, Thermate is the military version of Thermite. It burns hotter and has a lower ignition point then base Thermite.))

((Thermite grenades are coming before the next mission. I like the "thermate" idea, but for one minor detail: fewer people know the name. ))

((Sweet! Will they be reserved for mission survivors, or could a noob like myself swap my frag & napalm grenades out for them?))

((Looking forward to those thermite grenades, wish I had waited to make a character. ))

(( You can a) pick your grenades before each mission and b) still change your loadout at the armory as long as you're not on a mission ))

Dinosawer wrote:(( You can a) pick your grenades before each mission and b) still change your loadout at the armory as long as you're not on a mission ))

((Really? That's helpful, I'll probably want to try them out in the simulator first though. ))

perform a spot check and shoot everyone in sight starting with Brennda's husband, try to take Brennda's house once husband is dead

~Tonon