Badass Space Dragon 2.0 - Round 4 - Cube Farm

PromptedInk · March 17, 2015, 8:56pm

The weekly Unizone bulletin pings onscreen as Wooster glides into the room. A nearby robot whirrs as it recites the system check-up routine, “Hull damage moderate…thank you for using Grand Dry Cleaning G.L.C.”

Wooster sighs, Not again, he looks at the monitor and notices the message on unauthorized missions followed by their latest job. He sighs at he reads about their new operation and more:

…and I thought I escaped from the jaws of bad fashion. Then again I wasn’t one of the brave few who faced Nilah. Wooster fiddles around with the small droid. It bleeps and circles towards him with its small, orange visor.

“Incoming transmission,” it chirps.

Patch it through the CTTPS channel. The robot connects itself to the comms terminal and a message from Ella comes up onscreen:

Wooster lies down on the captain’s chair commanding the droid to set a course for the The Duck’s Pond. He reads through Ella’s missions. He stops at the third one and thinks about hiring a tailor. He lost his last one to the Buggrocs during a fashion show.

Sign me up for…

Augment me with…

3 Hull Repairs (b25 each totaling at b75)

1 Four Leaf Clover at b25

The comms screen flashes a breaking announcement from The Royal Bowler. Wooster picks up the small remote near the latest copy of Vague and flips through the selection.

Someday, I’ll have one of those hats…but for now I’d like to buy…

1 cask of Benemede Honeywine

Remaining Funds: b16

anon63496581 · March 17, 2015, 9:06pm

I have no idea what I should do.

But hey, I did get a nice consolation prize for the damage my ship took on the last mission.

** shakes head* *

I have no idea. So few bits remaining. Gotta think.

patrace · March 17, 2015, 9:18pm

Mission Q & A

Could a captain (say, a desperate, indebted captain) try to hack an inactive captain’s StarBit accounts to mine for StarBits?

There is a 0% chance of cracking the universal monetary unit given available skills and resources. You may try to persuade the slumbering captains to pitch in for common cause (or just for you) before I wipe them from the rolls.

Could a captain (say, a comfortable, flush-with-StarBits captain) register a will bequeathing his account to another captain? In the event of a bad event, for example. For insurance or bargaining purposes, you see.

Yes. A will takes one week to process and verify. They may only include StarBits and salvage rights and can be posted publicly or private messaged to the GM. Salvage rights will only pay out if a ship is destroyed by something inanimate like an asteroid.

Are parts transferable ship to ship? Several of the craft certainly have skilled enough mechanics and engineers.

Yes. You can use the same command you use in currency exchange to transfer SH, FP, EN and ST between ships. LK, GRIT and HP may not be redistributed. None of these things can be willed.

Ex: give @daneel 4 FP

Due to time constraints, you can only move up to 4 units of each stat per week.

Can we transfer items?

Yes. You can use the same command you use in currency exchange to transfer Items between ships. Items are clearly labeled “Item” in your weekly summaries.

Ex: give @otherMichael Bee Hive

Is it possible to stock up on Unizone parts, declare a Unizone mission, but then wheel about and do some task for Ella, having conducted some back-channel communications prior? If “possible”, are there negatives involved in this scenario (damage, etc) ?

You can try but Unizone is riding herd on their debtors this week and stepping out of line means you’re likely to be made into an example for the rest of the fleet. You’re still running their software and hardware. It would probably be better damage wise to go along with Unizone this round and live to fight another day.

EDIT: For clarity, the answer is very unlikely. It would take incredible luck to come out alive.

Ella - for Mission 3, what counts as “successful” - undetected return? Or “merely” return with HP > 0" ? And meaning no disrespect, but do you require equipage at your depot prior to an undertakement of one of your missions?

Success is measured by the information you gather. We can deduce quite a bit from weapon scarring but it would be more practical and less expensive for you to bring back visual data.

EDIT: To be clear, you have a near 100% chance of success but you might get shot up pretty good.

No purchases are necessary. Any captains who do take our missions will be provided with clean hardware and software even if they don't purchase anything.

Re: Blowing up your ship

Nilah: You’re seriously considering popping your hull? Why? What fun is that for me? Awww mate, don’t be such a sad sack, I promise I won’t kill you out there. I know you’re over a barrel on this one. Just doing your job.

Clak clak click

Nilah: Oh… Well, Crabby says he’s fine with killing you… But show him you’re a survivor, maybe we’ll let you join the gang? Chin up kid, have another drink! On seconds, maybe time for some water.

daneel · March 17, 2015, 9:34pm

These would seem to conflict:

and

And this doesn’t really explain anything.

Is the b200 result some kind of sliding scale, then?

uphill · March 17, 2015, 9:43pm

@patrace does this balance include my slug race winnings?

jlw · March 17, 2015, 9:48pm

Just like a vulture capitalist. Adding the word “community” to horseshit doesn’t fool me.

Baddass Dragons of Sandhill Road sounds boring.

daneel · March 17, 2015, 10:00pm

obviously, you never played this:

As a 6 year old, I loved it.

bizmail_public · March 17, 2015, 10:31pm

Instead of posting insults and smug statements of self-assured mental superiority, could you please answer my question:

What is your word for “people who help each other out rather than be Ayn Rand atavists”?

bizmail_public · March 17, 2015, 10:38pm

No, Captain Everest Fullerton, you are the one who sounds boring.

You’ve never told us anything yourself, you’ve never shared a story, you’ve done little besides post orders and make brief remarks displaying more interests in the self than the surroundings.

That’s fine. If that’s all you want from Charybdis, I wish you well.

But some of us are trying to build something more. We have before. And we do that by working together.

We understand that there are sub rosa social graphs that allow you to wield enormous sotto voce power over hardworking Unizone contractors like @patrace. Perhaps that’s all the power you need around here. But past Charybdian experiences suggest that Captains that work together tend to thrive, while those that go it alone – die.

You’ve already posted your orders. They’re clever orders that will keep The YOLO Mk2 amongst the snappiest ships around. But I invite you to join us in helping us build something more — or stop wasting the community bandwidth.

Sincereley,

–David Falkayn.

p.s. I assume you come from some sort of capitalist hell-hole, because real-life community banking is far from a “vulture capitalist.”

Self-Interested Cooperation is the Basis of All Success

anon73629133 · March 17, 2015, 10:54pm

said quietly over a honey mead to @OtherMichael

eh? snappy ship? the reactor on that Mk2 is air-cooled, or I’ve a bee in my bonnet. yea, laddie?

~Unizone Update~ 
Bonnet: None

Ah, quiet you. Time for you to be disabled.

Aye, any quote from a Founder gets a drink from ole Mackey. Phuck that King George, right-o.

Here, all’s I gots spare at the moment is b1.4. Put it to best use, in liquid form or as a liquid asset.

-give b1.4 to @daneel the Wallet Gap.

Slaal · March 17, 2015, 11:38pm

I am not unsympathetic to your cause and would happily listen to your proposition over a glass of honeywine.

My concerns would be whether I could part with enough to make it a worthwhile investment while not also endangering my own survival and growth. How much are you looking for? What are your plans? What are you offering?

anon73629133 · March 18, 2015, 12:27am

Mackey: Hullo, Ella. How yous been?

Ella: Long-time, no-see, Old Mack. I’m fine, but would be finer if there weren’t certain…trade constraints. I heard you’ve been shipping for Unizone lately.

Mackey: U-crap is all there’s to ship around this space. Well, I don’t need to tell you how things have been since the don went silent.

Ella: Truly spoken. Have you seen him recently?

Mackey: Ah…I’ve not yet had the privilege. Suppose I should pay a visit, give my regards, all that jazz.

Ella: Well, here you go. [ hands over Hat Box ]

Mackey: Thanks, Ella. [ turns to leave ]

Ella: MACKEY! [ holds hand out ]

Mackey: Sorry, been so long I plumb forgot [ hands over b40 ]

-b40 = Mission 4 - Hat Box

Mackey: [ heads for door, then turns back to Ella ] Hey, Ella, is it still a 2-cycle delay between when U-Partners cancels an “insidership” and when accounting relays updates to the Un-Insurance Division?

Ella: Wow, you HAVE been out-of-loop if you hadn’t heard. Apparently Alces went rabid and spaced THREE top hoomans from the Insider Program side, and the Chief Financial Lobster is snacking on them.

Mackey: So, that probably adds a 2 cycle delay.

Ella: AT LEAST. You know how slow Unizone’s Sentient Resources department is.

Mackey: [ sincerely ] Thanks, Ella. I owe you a cask of Benemede.

Ella: So you keep promising. Good luck, Mackey.

anon73629133 · March 18, 2015, 12:27am