>Mechanics: http://pastebin.com/JkfytG2X
>Character Sheet: http://pastebin.com/CGK4nsrY
>Equipment: http://pastebin.com/QYsxy8aH
>Companions: http://pastebin.com/7Dpm66hh
>Previous threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Mercenary%20Quest%202030
>Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaremProtaGuide
So, a little early today but every minute counts right? Not sure how much we’ll get in but it should be fun, questions and comments welcome like always. Slimmed down the rules a little bit since we don’t use them that much, we’ll see what happens.
>Fate Point: 2
>Money: $565
>Equipment Carried: Tier 2 Assault Rifle. Tier 2 Armor. Tier 1 Pistol. Tier 2 Rucksack. Tier 1 Med-kit. Tier 2 Med-kit. Tier 1 Toolkit.
Your name is William and you are a mercenary. Currently you are on the verge of dreaming and wakefulness as you make your way by train from Kansas City to Chicago, where you will continue on to New York City, which you have been told is full of building that stretch to the sky and more people than you can imagine. You’re unsure about all of that, but since essentially everyone in MMS had discussed it at one point or another, you’re pretty sure they aren’t lying to you.
Last night was a big night for you, as you ordered from a menu for the first time, at least Mary did it for you, and you learned how to dance, sort of. Well not really but you made Bellona happy because you at least tried. As the night drew to an end and you finished up, you then agreed to climb into bed with her since she offered and the floor of a moving train seemed like a much worse place to sleep.
At the moment you’re in a dim place where you can’t quite move yet and don’t want to wake up, but are mildly aware and can feel things about you. You’re pretty sure that Bellona is behind you from the way an arm is around you and some soft things are pressing into your back. Currently you feel rather…
>Safe and comfortable.
>Warm and… funny.
>Other?
>>43727808
>>Safe and comfortable.
>>43727808
>Warm and… funny.
>>43727808
>Warm and… funny.
>>43727808
>>Safe and comfortable.
Baby steps.
>>43727808
>Safe and comfortable.
>>43727808
>>Warm and… funny.
This choice...
>>43727808
>Safe and comfortable
>>43727808
>Warm and… funny.
>>43727808
>Safe and comfortable
>>43727808
>>Safe and comfortable.
>>43727808
>>Safe and comfortable.
>>43727808
>Safe and comfortable.
>>43727808
>>Warm and… funny.
>>43727808
>>Warm and… funny.
>>43727808
>Safe and comfortable.
>>43727808
>Safe and comfortable.
Come on kids, no samefagging.
Well at least don't do it on the first vote where we can obviously see the IP counter not going up and the fact we have more votes than IPs.
>16 votes
>14 IP's
The samefag isn't even trying to hide anymore.
>>43727808
>Warm and… funny.
Calling vote here for Safe and comfortable.
Glad to have you all back, please try not to samefag too hard, otherwise I'll just call it how I feel.
Interesting choice by the way.
>>43727808
>Safe and comfortable.
>>43727808
>Warm and… funny.
>>43727808
Looking at the character sheet, the personal history section probably needs to be updated. Says we haven't slept in our bed yet.
>>43727808
At the moment you feel rather safe and comfortable. Despite whatever may have happened between you in the past, Bellona is by now a trusted teammate. She’s saved your life on more than one occasion and you’ve had the chance to do the same for her. Thankfully nobody was hurt badly in any of those confrontations either; meaning that the most you’ve done is gone back to Doc’s to have a few drinks.
With her behind you and the blanket over you, you feel pleasantly toasty and while it is a little bit odd, you don’t mind the feel of her against you either. As you doze in and out of your sleep, you feel her move against you a little bit, but not enough to disturb you. After a few minutes you hear shuffling from the cabin, someone waking up. A few scuffs later and you feel somebody brace themselves on the bed, a small extra vibration cluing you in. Nothing happens for a moment, but then you hear a thump followed by muffled grumbling that signifies Morrigan waking up.
“What the…” comes the sound of Morrigan’s voice, before she’s shushed by Nem.
“C’mere and look at this,” says Nem, causing Morrigan to grumble some more and climb out of the bed underneath yours.
“What…” starts Morrigan, before she silences herself.
“Must’ve gotten back later,” says Nem.
“I wanna know why the hell he’s in her bed,” mutters Morrigan.
“Probably didn’t think too much about it one way or the other Morrigan,” says Nem, “You know how he is.”
“Yeah I do…” says Morrigan, “I also know how SHE is.”
By this time you’re starting to wake up a bit more, but if you wanted you could go back to sleep for a bit.
>Curl up and snooze some more.
>Wake up and look at Morrigan and Nem.
>Wake up and tell Morrigan and Nem about last night.
>Other.
>>43728281
>>Wake up and look at Morrigan and Nem.
>>43728281
>Wake up and look at Morrigan and Nem.
>>43728281
>>Wake up and tell Morrigan and Nem about last night.
>>43728281
>Wake up and look at Morrigan and Nem.
>>43728281
>>Curl up and snooze some more.
Make them melt their hearts will.
>>43728281
>>Wake up and look at Morrigan and Nem.
Just stare into their eyes. Unblinking.
Alright, going to disappear for a while now, but I'll be back.
>>43728281
>Curl up and snooze some more.
>>43728281
>>Wake up and look at Morrigan and Nem.
While I'd like Will to explain things, I get the feeling it wouldn't really be in character. A bit too independent for Will (for now at least, but we are getting there)
>>43728281
>Curl up and snooze some more.
Get sleep when we can, not when we want.
>>43728481
Its not really 'explaining things' in the 'this isn't what it looks like' way. Its more of 'Hey, I tried dancing. I'm not very good at it' which is in character in my book.
>>43728281
>>Wake up and look at Morrigan and Nem.
>>43728281
>Wake up and tell Morrigan and Nem about last night.
>>43728281
>Wake up and look at Morrigan and Nem.
Looking back through the archives, I discovered that it's been a whole year and a day since we got back from the Rescue Arc in HPQ.
Where the fuck has the time gone?
>>43728526
True, guess I misinterpreted how Will would react. Still I'll be going with my original choice.
>>43728653
HPQ?
>>43728653Karasuba;_;
>>43728715Harem Protag Quest, Guide's first quest.
It's currently on hiatus.
>Curl up and snooze some more
>>43728739Dude, I'm following the manga and some of the new chapters that were translated are giving me conflicted feels.
On one hand, I know our Karasuba is different than the original. On the other, it's still a damn tear jerker.
>>43728715
Harem Protag Quest, Guide ran it before he started this quest. It's sort of been left twisting in the wind without much conflictHas it truly been forgotten?
>>43728774
Eh. I thought it was alright. I was more interested in the meta concepts than any of the waifus or the MC personally.
>>43728745
>>43728774Wait is it weebshit?TRIGGERED
>>43728822
More or less.
Wait a second, the world in Mercenary quest went to shit because suddenly there was a flash and all electronic equipment went to shit, right?Why do I get the feeling Koko might be involved with that
>>43728900
Koko was involved in a solar flare? Impressive
>>43728954
Didn't we rule out solar flare?
>>43728986
I don't think so.
>>43728774
I still want Guide to do a sekirei quest, I want to be the snarky MBI sec officer.
I want to earn Karasuba again.
>>43729246
Ah but anon, the question is do you want to play Hiroto's game or not?
I'm back, vote called for waking up and looking but not talking initially.
Writing.
>>43728281
>Wake up and look at Morrigan and Nem.
>>43728281
Still voting? If so
>Curl up and snooze some more.
>>43729365
No, because I also want to sleep with his ex wife.
>>43729377
Then I'd be prepared to very quickly become an Ex MBI security guard.
>>43729412
It'll be fiiiiine, when have I ever steered you wrong?
Besides, it'd be totally worth it.
>>43729365
Are we also going to motion to Morrigan and Nem to quieten down a little please, because Bell is still sleeping?
>>43729551
No?
>>43729551
Prolly not.
>>43729441
You enjoy a challenge, don't you anon. Though I doubt she would actually be the hardest girl to somehow woo.
Hard/Impossible mode pic related.
>>43729551
Nah.
>>43729597
I'd go after her too, I'd love to see the catfights between her and Kara over us.
>>43729597
>>43729656
>>43729441
You guys don't think small do you. Each one of those could murder an average man by themselves and you want all three.
>>43729691
Oh Guide. You know the kind of anons we are that follow you. You know the things we pulled off back in HPQ.
>>43729691
We're anons, we're greedy as fuck. That and they're all qt's
>>43729597
Bro, she's a goddess who's still faithful to her dead husband. We ain't getting anywhere near that.
>>43728281
You may have fallen to such decadence as sleeping on beds with blankets and having a belly full of warm food, but you haven’t fallen so far that being aware of your boss being up causes you to remain in bed. You manage to force your eyes open, a yawn coming from your mouth despite your best efforts, your body stretching as much as possible in the small cramped space. Bellona murmurs a bit and tries to snuggle up against you a bit more even as the last of the cobwebs clears from your eyes and they focus on Morrigan, Nem being short enough that you have to glance down at her.
Morrigan seems surprised that you woke up, at least long enough that you stare quietly at each other for a few seconds.
“Billy,” she says, “You got in bed with Bellona.” It’s more of a statement than a question.
You nod, fighting back another yawn.
“Why?” she asks.
“You were asleep,” you reply, reaching out to slide the netting in front of you out of the way, “So was Nem.”
“And?” asks Morrigan again.
“Bellona offered to let me sleep with her instead of on the floor,” you say, “The floor is hard.”
Morrigan doesn’t seem to have anything to say to that, at least until Nem elbows her.
“See, it wasn’t anything bad,” says Nem, “Just Billy being Billy.”
“I guess so,” mutters Morrigan, who then looks at you, “If you need something Billy you can wake me up.”
You nod to her.
“Anyway,” she says, scratching her head, “I think me and Nem are going to get some food, I think we’ve got an hour or so until we have to go relieve Koko’s people. You want to come eat or are you gonna snooze some more?”
You yawn a bit, trying to decide. You haven’t moved from the bed yet, so you could nap for a bit more or you could probably eat, it’s been about five hours since the last time you did so.
>Stay and sleep.
>Go and eat.
>Other?
>>43729691
We are a quite determinated group.
>>43729691
>/tg/
>wanting a waifu that can't murder an average man
Guide pls.Who wouldn't want to court death?
>>43729809
>Stay and sleep.
>>43729809
>Go and eat.
>Bring some food back for Bell in case she doesn't wake up in time.
>>43729809
>Go and eat
>>43729809
>Go and eat.
>>43729816
>>43729812
>>43729717
>>43729739
Just saying, you most definitely wouldn't be John if that happened.
>>43729807
Anon isn't exactly easily dissuaded other anon.
>>43729809
>>Go and eat.
>>Bring back some food for Bell
>>43729809
>Go and eat.
>>43729809
>Go and eat.
>>43729809
>Go and eat.
Wonder how Will would handle coffee/caffeine.
>>43729816
A faggot, that's who. Even then, she'll still be your friend.
>>43729809
>Other?
Try to gently release ourself from Bell's firm grip. And then go grab something to eat.
>>43729809
>Go and eat.
>>43729809
>Go and eat.
We haven't been useful for a while now.
>>43729809
>Stay and sleep.
>>43729888
Not wanting to risk being deaths best friend. Great rewards come with great risk.
>>43729809
>Go and eat.
We got work to do soon.
Looks like food is more important to Billy than sleep. Probably bring some back for Bell.
Considering previous circumstances, this makes plenty of sense. Writing.
>>43729809
>>Go and eat.
>>43729809
>>Go and eat.
>>43729832
This.
>>43730085
...your grammar is worse than Billy's social skills
>>43730121
Yes it is.
>>43730085
But anon, consider that we already have a bed, and not one, not two but FOUR blankets! Sleeping with a full stomach in addition to that would be tantamount to the height of decadence!
>>43730144
You have a point. We really should sleep then.
>>43729809
“Food,” you say, stretching a little bit as Bellona tries to hold onto you. Morrigan seems pleased by that for some reason, moving to the side so she can pull her boots on and you can climb down. You have to pull Bellona’s arm off of you but thankfully aside from a few mumbles she doesn’t try to pull back towards you. You wiggle out of the bed and climb down the ladder, putting you boots back on as Morrigan and Nem move out to the corridor.
With you boots on you head out to the corridor, Morrigan and Nem turning to look at you.
“Which way to food Billy?” asks Nem.
“Good food that way,” you say, pointing up the train like you went before.
“Lead the way,” says Morrigan, pulling out a cigarette and putting it in her mouth but not lighting it. You nod, leading the way up the train as the two thump down the corridor behind you. With everybody still waking up there’s not any talking as there’s not a whole lot to talk about. You eventually make it to the dining car, which has a few more people in it than last time.
You slide in to one of the clear tables, with Morrigan sitting beside you and Nem on the other side. A different waiter comes this time, doing the same asking if you want things as before, though he hands you a different menu. This one has other words that you recognize, like eggs, hash browns and sausage. Morrigan orders something called a farmers breakfast and coffee, while Nem orders something called pancakes with orange juice. In the end you order something you’re familiar with, several eggs, hash browns, sausage and toast with milk.
>>43730544
The waiter nods, scurrying away to deal with your orders, the chatter of other people around you and the clink of utensils slightly unnerving to you as you don’t know anybody. The waiter comes by with your drinks, setting everything down before leaving. Morrigan sips her coffee, a strong smell coming from it.
“So boss,” asks Nem, “You think we actually need to guard Koko’s shit or is she just being paranoid?”
“I have no fucking idea,” says Morrigan, “Haven’t been this far east in forever. One thing I can say though is that Koko doesn’t like spending money more than she has to. So she probably thinks something is going to fucking happen.”
Nem sighs, putting her chin on her hand. “Damn, I thought we might get away with an easy run.”
“I doubt we’ll have such good luck,” says Morrigan, who then turns to you. “What do you think Billy? Think we’re going to have to work our asses off for Koko?”
>Agree with Morrigan.
>Say you don’t know.
>Say you might get lucky.
>Other?
>>43730565
>Say you don’t know.
>>43730565
>Say you don’t know.
Billy is used to following the arbitrary and capricious whims of people he doesn't understand.
>>43730565
>Say you don’t know.
>>43730565
>Say you don’t know.
>>43730565
>>Say you don’t know.
>>43730565
>>Agree with Morrigan.
>>43730565
>Say you might get lucky.
Billy, the hopeless optimist!
I mean, he HAS been lucky lately. The food isn't cold and he didn't have to sleep on the floor while traveling!
>>43730614
Billy is never lucky, thus he knows shit is about to hit the fan soon.
>>43730565
>Say you don’t know.
>>43730565
>Say you don’t know.
>>43730565
>Agree with Morrigan.
>>43730565
>Say it ain't so.
>>43730679
Billy doesn't really know Koko beyond "sells things".
>>43730679
This doesn't sound like something he would say.
Looks like Billy is something of a realist.
Writing.
>>43730565
You just shrug your shoulders and take a sip of your milk. “Dunno,” you say, looking over at Morrigan.
Morrigan just chuckles as she sips the coffee.
“That’s why I like you Billy,” she says to you, “No bullshit like Nem here.”
“Hey,” says Nem, making a motion that looks like she’s trying to kick Morrigan under the table, “I don’t give you bullshit… much.”
Morrigan just laughs, barely managing to set her cup down before she spills.
“You’re so full of shit that if we shook you up and down we could fertilize a garden with you Nem,” she says, a few people looking at your table from the noise, “Go and pull another one.”
“Well this one time…” Nem says with a grin, before being cut off by Morrigan.
“Wait wait,” says Morrigan, “I’ve got this one. One time you were just minding your own business we suddenly three police officers rounded a corner and surrounded you, prepared to take you down town only for you steal his night stick and beat him with it, making your daring escape.”
“No,” says Nem with a grin, nothing like that.
Suddenly your waiter appears with your food, dropping your plates in front of you as you start to dig in. Pausing a second you call back the waiter and order some “rolls” as you saw those under bread and you know bread is portable. Morrigan and Nem ignore you, as they’re too busy eating. You join them, digging into your food. It’s pretty good, almost as good as Mary’s but not quite. Nem and Morrigan don’t have any complaints, except when it gets close to the end of your meal.
>>43731145
As Nem finishes her meal, she wipes her mouth with the paper thing, then speaks and draws Morrigan’s attention.
“Hey Morrigan,” she says ,”Wanna hear the rest of my story?”
“Hmm?” says Morrigan, looking up from her food, “Sure.”
“One time I was sitting eating breakfast see,” she says, “And…”
“And what?” asks Morrigan.
“And my big dumb friend left her bacon unguarded!” says Nem, reaching out and grabbing Morrigan’s last piece of bacon with a laugh, then darting out of the dining car with Morrigan close behind her.
“Why you little!” yells Morrigan, leaving a nearly empty plate behind her.
You’re just as surprised as everyone else, waiting until the waiter brings you your rolls before you stand up from your table and leave. Heading down the hall you don’t see any signs of Morrigan or Nem, as apparently they continued the chase right past the sleeping car.
Entering your room, you find Bellona awake and slightly grumpy looking, though she perks up as you enter.
“Will,” she says with a grin, “Where’d you go?”
“Food,” you say, holding up some rolls for her.
Bellona grins and holds out her hand, taking the rolls and biting into one.
“Mmm,” she says, “Thanks Will, I guess it’s almost time for guard duty?”
You nod to her, moving to check your gear. As you do so she stays up on her bed, eating.
“Will,” she asks you, “Did you sleep well?”
You think on that a little bit. While it was warm you were a bit cramped compared to your normal bed and you woke up because of the constant noise of the train. Along with that sleeping with Bellona pressed against you wasn’t unpleasant, but you weren’t sure if it was more of a distraction or not.
>You slept well.
>Shrug.
>You didn’t sleep well.
>>43731157
>You slept well.
>>43731157
>>You slept well.
Morrigan and Nem are fun together.
>>43731157
>Shrug.
>>43731157
>>You slept well.
>>43731157
>You slept well.
>>43731157
>It was cramped.
>>43731157
>You slept well
>>43731157
>Shrug.
>>43731157
>>You slept well.
>>43731157
>Shrug.
>It was cramped.
Alright, looks like you slept well.
I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to go on this guys, I'm a lot more tired than I thought and this is all slow stuff, which I apologize for.
>>43731157
>You slept well.
>>43731328
Don't force yourself too much
>>43731328
We got Nem shenanigans. I'm satisfied.
>>43731157
You almost shrug, but you don’t. You slept rather well all things considered, so you nod your head at Bellona.
“I slept well,” you say as you slip on your armor.
You see Bellona smile at that, then slip herself out of her bed with a shake.
“Good to hear Will,” she says from right beside you as she stretches to get her own stuff, “We might have to do it again sometime then.”
You nod, not really concerned about it either way. As Bellona begins to grab her stuff, you realize that she’s also going to change her clothes, so you head out of the room and let her since you’re not supposed to see girls naked. Shutting the door behind you, you think you might hear something from her, but since it doesn’t repeat itself you don’t go check.
>>43731569
You wait up against the wall of the train with your rifle, turning your head as Morrigan and Nem troop back from the other direction. Nem seems very pleased with herself and Morrigan doesn’t look all that happy.
“What’re you doing out here Billy?” asks Nem, her voice playful.
“Bellona is changing,” you reply, nodding to the door, which opens then, Bellona in full gear.
“You’re back,” she says, stepping out into the hall with you as sounds of movement come from the other room.
“Yeah, we are,” says Morrigan, “Little she devil and I need to grab our stuff, we got down to where Koko’s people were before I caught her.”
“Anything interesting?” asks Bell as Morrigan and Nem slip into your room.
“It’s fucking cold,” says Morrigan, “No heat back there and they’ve got people on the roof.”
“Roof duty?” says Bellona, making a face, “Anybody else out there?”
“Army has a few people,” says Morrigan, “Mostly towards the front and a few at the very back. We’re going to need to stick a few people up there.”
The door to the other room slides open, revealing the other three all ready to go.
“Did I hear you right?” asks Mary, “We need to put somebody on the roof?”
“Yes,” calls Morrigan from the room, “Koko’s people have two up there, I figure we should too.”
“Where are we putting everybody else?” asks Sarah.
“Three on the front door, two on the back,” says Morrigan, “Heavy, but what we need.”
“I’ll go up top,” says Sarah, drawing everybody’s eyes, “I’m the best for it.”
“Right,” says Morrigan, “Any other volunteers?”
>Volunteer to go with Sarah.
>Don’t say anything.
>>43731577
>Volunteer to go with Sarah.
>>43731577
>>Volunteer to go with Sarah.
>>43731577
>>Volunteer to go with Sarah.
>>43731577
>Volunteer to go with Sarah.
>>43731577
>Volunteer to go with Sarah
-3 S Will would have stayed quiet, but -2 S Will is all over it!
>>43731577
>Volunteer to go with Sarah.
>>43731577
>Volunteer to go with Sarah.
>>43731666
Will is helpful anon.
Looks like we're going with Sarah.
Writing, probably last update.
>>43731666
Last time Sarah was spotted. I think Mary is safer inside the train then outside guiving cover fire.
>>43731577
You raise your hand when Morrigan asks for volunteers.
She turns to look at you, giving you an eye.
“You sure Billy?” she asks you.
You just nod affirmative.
Morrigan turns to Sarah, “You good with that?”
“Sure,” says Sarah, “We’ve worked together before.”
It’s true, occasionally you’ve spotted with Sarah or been set to guard her, Morrigan got a bit worried for her since the fight at Fort Riley and made sure she always had somebody to watch her back. Still, you don’t know a lot about Sarah other than the fact that she was a good shot and spotter.
“Alright,” says Morrigan, “You two need to go grab your heavy shit, the Windstream is brutal in this weather. Mary, you and Cath have the rear, I’ll take the front with Bellona and Nem.”
Everybody nods, with you and Sarah ducking back into your rooms. It takes you a bit to get everything put on correctly so that you’re warm and able to grab whatever you need, but you manage it.
Sarah is already outside and waiting with everybody, similarly bundled up. Morrigan doesn’t say anything more, just leads you back towards the end of the train, presumably where all Koko’s stuff is being kept.
It isn’t too far of a walk, as your car is near the end anyway, so soon you see several of Koko’s people, including the old guy who smokes a bunch sitting in one of the crossings, the door shut behind them.
>>43732009
“Oy, Morrigan,” says the man, “Finally time for us to be done?”
“Yeah Lem,” she says, “Time’s up, go do whatever it is Koko has you do when you aren’t protecting shit.”
The man, Lem, chuckles, “Oh she’s not that bad,” he says, gesturing to the others, both of whom head back into the car, “I’m sure I’ll get some food and sleep before she wakes me up.”
Morrigan just laughs, an unlit cigarette in her mouth like his.
“Why’d you join up with her anyway?” she asks him, “Never did figure that out.”
“Oh, you know the old story,” he says as his men start coming back, “World goes to shit, kill some people, move around until you find someplace you feel a bit safe, get bored, look for a job and then boom, young lady with lots of money and guns comes by looking for guards.”
>>43732028
You don’t know why, but you think the man might not be telling the truth.
Morrigan looks at the man and then shrugs.
“Sure Lem,” she says, “Let’s go with that.”
He just chuckles and pats Morrigan on the shoulder.
“Ask me again sometime over drinks,” he says as they start walking down the corridor, “If you buy.”
“In your dreams!” calls back Morrigan, shaking her head before gesturing towards the car, “Alright, get to your positions.” Mary and Cath go first, heading towards the end of the car. You and Sarah go next, a ladder on the side of the car your destination. You go first, climbing up and opening the hatch to reveal blowing wind and a grey sky. You make it up and then move out of the way for Sarah, who shuts the hatch behind you.
Visibility isn’t all that great with the grey weather, so you and Sarah head towards the middle of the car, where there’s a bit of a flat part you can sit in, signs of Koko’s guards doing much the same. As you take a seat and brace yourself, Sarah does the same next to you, the two of you now covering both sides of the train.
As a sudden gust of cold wind hits you, you suddenly think that this might be a long eight hours.
>>43732044
Alright, going to call the thread here.
Not as long as usual, but some decent content in I think.
Open for questions, comments and concerns like normal, I'll be around until I decide to go to sleep.
>>43732069
Cheers, boss.
How was the Rousey fight at the bar?
>>43732069
thanks for running
>>43732103
I got out of it since I was sneezing like a fool and my manager didn't want me to get the guests sick. I assume it was nuts, especially since she lost.
>>43732120
Thanks for reading.
>>43732172
Thanks, guide!
>>43732172
Thanks for running guide, have a young morrigan (I think its morrigan atleast.)
>>43732172
Little late, but thanks for running.
