It is the 23rd and three-fourths century. Humans have made their dream of touching the stars a reality, creating a sprawling empire, which, when humans made direct contact with alien species, was mostly absorbed into the Galactic Union, a grand union of alien species working together to expand their reach. Not everyone joined. In fact, the decision was quite controversial. There are a number of coalitions and alliances that have made it their duty to stand up against the Galactic Union, not to mention a handful of old pre-GU alien empires, long past their prime.
You are a young intern, named Dan, who is working on Galactic Union Planet Number 186f, a little over 500 lightyears away from Earth, the genesis of humanity's journey into the stars. Once a garden of Eden, Earth is now more of a harsh inhospitable alien world than the relative paradise it once was. Earth is now nothing more than a historical landmark, and a very sad reminder of humanity's legacy that most try not to think about, including you, not because you don't care, but because Planet 186f has more interesting and pressing matters to deal with... like the fact that you just woke up and were supposed to be at work ten minutes ago.
You find yourself in a small apartment. There’s a bed, a nightstand, a pile of dirty clothes on the floor, a dresser, and an overflowing trashcan. It's your apartment, and so is the mess.
[[Look bed]]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look pile]]
[[Look trash]]
(set: $shirt = false)
(set: $pants = false)
(set: $tabcom = false)
(set: $buttons = false)
(set: $partytime = false)
(set: $badboy = 0)
(set: $fixed = 1)
(set: $broken = 1)
(set: $GWmail = 1)
(set: $unread = $fixed + $broken + $GWmail)
(set: $sneak to 5)
(set: $quiet to 20)It's your bed. One of the cheap ones that comes in a box. The sheets are a mess. You'd probably make your bed, if you weren't already late for work.
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look pile]]
[[Look trash]]A small nightstand you got off the hypernet. On it rests your tabcom, a small electronic chip with a hologram projector. It's an all in one, computer, phone, music player, and personal identification chip. Without this, you practically couldn't function in modern society. Isn't technology great?
[[Take tabcom]]
[[Look bed]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look pile]]
[[Look trash]]
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ]Your dresser is mostly empty. You're lucky enough to have clean underwear and socks, but there aren't any clean pants for you to wear, and the only clean shirt is an old technochocolateremixparty9000 T-shirt.
[[Look shirt]]
[[Look bed]]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look pile]]
[[Look trash]]
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ]It's a pile of dirty laundry. You find a pair of professional looking slacks, a pair of metallic blue cyberpants, and the blue button up shirt you wore last Thursday.
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ]
(else:) [ [[Look slacks]]
[[Look cyberpants]]
[[Look button up]] ]
[[Look bed]]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look trash]] It's trash, mostly old empty ramen containers from the yesterday… and probably the day before. You don't exactly remember when you last took the trash out. You don't exactly remember when you're supposed to take trash out. I don't know what you expected to find by looking in the trashcan, but you found trash.
[[Look bed]]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look pile]]
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ](set: $tabcom = true)
You grab the tabcom and (if: $pants)[stuff it into your pocket.](else:)[go to put it in your pocket only to realize you aren't wearing any pants. You should probably find some.]
[[Look bed]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look pile]]
[[Look trash]]
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ]You step outside your apartment onto your small balcony. When flying vehicles came into popularity, people realized that they could simply use their balconies as front doors, using their flying cars as elevators to get to the street levels below. Around you is the bustling city of Bits. Officially named 8175, locals chose to call it Bits because 8175 kind of looks like bits if you squint hard enough. It's also way easier to say than eight thousand one hundred and seventy five. Other cities weren't so lucky.
Next to your balcony door is your Hover scooter.
[[Get on hover scooter]]It's a technochocolateremixparty9000 T-shirt with a picture of a chocolate robot alicorn (a unicorn pegasus hybrid) flying between an array of laser beams and stars, with the band's name in pink underneath. Technochocolateremixparty9000 was your favorite band when you were a kid, and they still hold a special place in your heart. The shirt probably isn't the most "professional." You might want to find some more professional clothes to wear.
[[Nah! Let's wear this bad boy to work!]]
[[Look bed]]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look pile]]
[[Look trash]]A pair of boring black slacks. Thankfully, 23rd and three fourths century technology has made these actually wrinkle free, even after sitting in a crumpled heap all weekend long. Other than that, this type of leg covering hasn't changed much in several hundred years.
[[Put on slacks]]
[[Look pile]] It's a pair of rad looking cyberpants, with a metallic blue stripe down the sides, and some baggy bits that go just past the knees. Their super "contemporary" looking, and all the cool kids are wearing them.
[[Put on cyberpants]]
[[Look pile]]It's a lime green button up shirt, a ray of awkward sunshine in a cold corporate world.
[[put on button up]]
[[Look pile]]You put on the cyberpants and feel just as cool as those pants look. Any technological stuff happens today, and you'll be ready for it.
[[Look bed]]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look trash]]
(set: $pants=true)
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ]
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 5)You put on the slacks. They feel stiff, cold, and soulless, just like the mailroom!
[[Look bed]]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look trash]]
(set: $pants=true)
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ]
(set: $badboy to $badboy - 3)Hell yeah! You (if:$buttons)[tear off your button up, ]pull the T-shirt on, and feel the unicorn magic flow through your veins.
[[Look bed]]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look pile]]
[[Look trash]]
(set: $shirt=true)
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ]
(set: $partytime=true)
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 5)
(if: $buttons) [(set: $buttons=false) (set: $badboy to $badboy + 3)]You hastily button up the button up(if:$partytime)[ over your technochocolateremixparty9000 T-shirt], as you do with a button up. Sadly, the zip ups of the late 22nd century didn't catch on. Those would have made things a lot easier.
[[Look bed]]
[[Look nightstand]]
[[Look dresser]]
[[Look trash]]
(set: $shirt=true)
(if: $tabcom and $pants and $shirt) [ [[Leave for work]] ]
(set: $badboy to $badboy - 3)
(set: $buttons to true)You unlock your blue Honda Metropolitan from the bike rack on your small apartment balcony. It’s better than public transit, but not as great as that Vespa you wanted… or an actual hover car. You squeeze your head into your legally mandated crash helmet, hop on the scooter and turn it on. Its tiny engine whirrs to life.
[[C’mon narrator, I’m late for work! Let me just get going!]]Calm down, I'm trying to narrate here. It's called world-building, and it's important in text-based games.
Anyway, it looks like you're in for a rough time after sleeping in. Rush hour is in full swing. How do you want to get to work?
[[Take the normal route and deal with traffic like a normal person]]
[[Make a new route]]You crank the throttle and you rocket off from your balcony. You spot several alleyways that bypass much of the traffic, and probably wouldn't catch too much attention from nearby cops. Then again, you are on a flying scooter, you don't exactly have to be constrained to the ground if you don't want to be.
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 5)
[[ Let's sneak through some alleyways. ]]
[[ Ground schmound! It's flying scooter time! ]]You whizz off into the streets for a relative distance, following your normal route, until traffic seems to stop. It picks up again, and then stops. This pattern continues for several infuriating minutes. Several other scooter riders have started splitting lanes, riding inbetween the stationary cars. What do you want to do?
[[Go with the flow, maybe listen to some jazz -> Sit in traffic]]
[[Screw this! I'm going to split lanes like a proper scooter rider! -> Split lanes in traffic]]
(Set: $badboy to $badboy - 5)You slowly make your way towards work, slowly and repetetively lurching towards the goal of arriving at work. But hey, at least you got to listen to some smooth jazz.
[[ Arrive at work. ]]You yank the handlebars to the left, crank the throttle, and speed off between the stationary cars. Maybe a scooter wasn't so bad.
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 5)
[[ Arrive at work. ]]You nose your scooter downwards and plummet towards the concrete street below. You yank up on the handlebars, pulling yourself out of the dive and slingshotting you down a vacant alleyway. You hunch your shoulders forward, making yourself more streamlined. Seems like you weren't the only person with this idea, as several other riders have also taken to the alleyways. You and the other riders weave through the slim passages between the towers of Bits, dodging trashcans, parked cars, and the occasional stray person.
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 5)
[[ Arrive at work -> Arrive at work. Super rad. ]]
(set: $sneak to $sneak + 1)You pull the handlebars of your scooter towards you, pulling yourself skywards. You weave between the multiple levels and lanes of sky traffic trying your best not to get hit. You're a cybertronic falcon in a world of pidgeons, the pounding synth beats of technochocolateremixparty9000 pulsing in your ears. You approach your office tower push your nose down into a dive, screaming toward the earth and yank up on the handle bars right before hitting the ground.
[[ Arrive at work. -> Arrive at work. Super rad. ]]
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 10)As you lock up your scooter, you see a large number of armed GU troops that have surrounded the entire building and don’t seem to be letting anyone in. You don't remember any email about a government takeover of the offices, but you could have missed something. Some civilians have gathered in the forecourt in front of the building, but most just walk past without much more than a brief glance
[[ Look soldiers. ]]
[[ Look civilians. ]]
[[ Check your tabcom. -> Check your tabcom at work. ]]You kick the tail out and perform a sweet slide up to the parking lot of the office building.
As you lock up your scooter, you see a large number of armed GU troops that have surrounded the entire building and don’t seem to be letting anyone in. You don't remember any email about a government takeover of the offices, but you could have missed something. Some civilians have gathered in the forecourt in front of the building, but most just walk past without much more than a brief glance.
[[ Look soldiers. ]]
[[ Look civilians. ]]
[[ Check your tabcom. -> Check your tabcom at work. ]]They are dressed in the standard blue and white armor and full face helmets of the Galactic Union Urban Combat Patrol. You can tell because the entire phrase is printed on their chest plates. About twenty of them are standing at attention forming two rows of ten. Each soldier is armed with a compact combat rifle. There seems to be people moving inside the building, but you can't tell from this distance.
[[ Get closer to the building. ]]
[[ Talk soldier. ]]
[[ Check your tabcom. -> Check your tabcom at work. ]]It's a group of normal people who are talking amongst themselves, occasionally glancing at the soldiers. You don't recognize any of them as people from work. Then again, you don't exactly hang out with anyone outside of the mailroom and the IT department.
[[ Look soldiers. ]]
[[ Listen to their conversation. ]]
[[ Check your tabcom. -> Check your tabcom at work. ]]You see a number of Galactic Union soldiers and personnel walking inside the lobby of the building. You don't recognize any of them, even Karen, the secretary, is gone, and she hasn't missed a day of work in decades, or at least that's what she claims.
[[ Talk soldier. ]]
[[ Look civilians. ]]
[[ Check your tabcom. -> Check your tabcom at work. ]]You flick a tiny switch on the side of the chip, and the hologram display bursts to life.
[[ Menu -> Menu at work. ]]You inch toward the group trying not to look too suspicious.
"Something about routine checks is what the guy said. I don't know."
"Didn't he also say something about apprehending and subduing people?"
"Wait really?"
"Yeah, I don't remember what he said, but it was something to that effect. I kinda drifted off with all of his Gee-Yoo paperwork babble, but I defintely heard him mention the phrase 'apprehend and subdue.'"
"They carted off a bunch of people earlier today. Seemed like the whole building was evacuated."
Well that sounds, weird. What do you want to do?
[[ Check your tabcom. -> Check your tabcom at work. ]]You approach one of the GU troops who is standing in front of the building. "Hey, do you know what's going on?"
The soldier stands up straight, as if he hadn't been straight enough beforehand.
“I have not been informed of the current situation only that that our brigade was instructed to leave our routine patrols and report to this location in full combat gear in case anything goes wrong and to inform any and all concerned civilians that nothing has gone nor will go wrong and that this is entirely part of our daily routine.”
That’s comforting.
“We were also instructed to apprehend or subdue any and all employees or persons affiliated with the business and bring them in for questioning. You wouldn’t happen to be one of those people, would you?”
[[ Nope, just walking by. ]]
[[ Yes, I'm an intern here! ]]“Very well then. Have a day, civilian.” You give the soldier an awkward glance and walk away. Looks like talking with the soldiers might not be the best idea.
[[ Check your tabcom. -> Check your tabcom at work. ]]
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 10) “In that case...” The man raises his rifle at you. I gave you a way out, and you decided not to take it. I’m not sure whether to be proud or ashamed of you. Well, you’ve now got a rifle pointed at your face. What do you do?
[[ Put your hands up like the good GU citizen that you are and surrender. ]]
[[ Try to duck out of the way. ]]
[[ Dance off! ]]You raise your hands in the air, but before he realizes you’ve given up, he’s already pulled the trigger. Your attempt at submission looks more like a spasmic flail as he shoots you in the face.
[[Oh no....]]“I have an idea! I’ll duck, and he’ll miss!” At least that’s what your brain thought. However, before that idea from your brain could reach the rest of your body, the blaster bolt from his rifle had already reached your face.
[[Oh no....]] You think you can dance your way out of this? You aren’t Chris Pratt! You’re some unimportant intern! You get shot in the face!
[[Oh no....]] You tap the icon with your labeled "Work Email." It's surprising that email is still around.
(set: $unread = $fixed + $broken + $GWmail)
You have $unread unread messages.
[[ IT'S A TRAP! DON'T GO TO WORK! From: Glen Watkins Today 19 minutes ago]]
[[ Watercooler is broken! From: Maintenance Yesterday at 3:10 PM]]
[[ Watercooler is fixed! From: Maintenance Yesterday 3:00 PM]]You tap the icon labeled "Holo chat."
You have no unread messages.
[[ Back -> Menu at work. ]] You tap the icon labeled "News."
There are some articles about the stock market, a clickbait holo-vid that you apparently won't believe until you see it, and an editorial about sportsball, but nothing about your office being taken over.
[[ Back. -> Menu at work. ]]An icon reads over your work email reads "$unread unread messages."
What do you want to do?
[[ Work email ]]
[[ Holo chat messages ]]
[[ News ]]Dan,
DON'T GO TO WORK TODAY! It's absolutely imperative that you not go to work. I can't tell you too much over email, but you are in serious danger. Don't talk to anyone with connections to your job or the Galactic Union. I'm in Laoda's Cafe across the street wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora. Simply use the phrase "dog fart" to let me know that it's you.
Sincerely,
Glenn Watkins
PS Throw your tabcom in the trash. They could be tracking you.
You switch your tabcom off. Well, this isn't how you expected your day to go. What do you want to do?
[[ Find this Glenn guy. ]]
[[ I'm doing this on my own. No one can be trusted except me. ]]We regret to inform you that the watercooler is no longer functional.
[[Back -> Work email ]]
(set: $broken = 0)We are glad to inform you that the watercooler is no longer broken!
[[Back -> Work email ]]
(set: $fixed = 0)Smart move. Maybe Glenn can help you figure some of this out.
[[Walk across the street to Laoda's Cafe]]Sounds like a good idea. If things really are going down, maybe it isn't the best to trust some guy named Glenn who dresses like a wannabe spy.
How are you going to go about this?
[[I'm going to escape the planet!]]Oh no, indeed!
Everything goes dark.
[[Am I dead!?]]The darkness doesn't answer. There is nothing but darkness.
[[Look into the darkness.]]
You see a gray ethereal fog begin to approach from all sides.
[[Fog can't be good!]]The fog is joined by a slowly rumbling sound that seems to shake the fog.
[[That doesn't sound good.]]The rumble rises to a hum, causing the fog to vibrate more eradically, almost like water droplets on a hot pan, sizzling without a sound other than the hum.
[[What's going on?]]The hum rises to a buzz. The droplets of fog bounce around chaotically, becoming more and more solid with each passing moment.
[[I don't like the sound of this!]]The whine fades rises beyond your ability to hear and the walls of sand stop abruptly, closing you in.
You are incased in it, surrounded by steel walls.
This hellscape, my friend is reality in a GU holding cell.
Four metal walls and a door that doesn't look like more than a slight outline of a rectangle in one of the walls.
What do you do?
[[Look cell]]
[[Look door]]
[[Check yourself]]The buzz becomes an earsplitting whine. The fog begins to form into shapes around you, walls of gray floating sand closing in on you.
[[What sort of psychedellic fever dream hellscape is this!?]]I already described everything in the room; four walls and a door. I guess I forgot to mention the ceiling and the floor, but I kind of assumed you would assume that they were there. There isn't a bed, or a toilet, or anything.
[[Look door]]
[[Look ceiling]]
[[Look floor]]
[[Check yourself]] You approach the door. You don't see any mechanism of opening it. They're probably on the other side, given that this is a prison cell.
[[Knock politely on the door.]]It's the same solid metal as the walls. There is a small vent in the center of the ceiling.
[[Look floor]]
[[Look door]]
[[Investigate vent]]It's You try to get as close as possible, but you have nothing to stand on. The vent has tiny slits that are only a few millimeters wide, and, from what you can see, you have no way of removing. There aren't any screws. In fact you can barely make out the lines where the grate ends and the ceiling begins.
[[Scream obscenities at the vent.]]
[[Look floor]]
[[Look cell]]
[[Look door]]You vent at the vent.
[[And?]]
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 2)Nothing.
[[Look cell]]
[[Look door]]
[[Look ceiling]]
[[Look door]] Your knuckle gently raps against the metal. You can tell that the door is quite substantial, at least ten centimeters thick.
[[Knock again]]
[[Look cell]]
[[Slam your fist against it]]I mean you've already wrecked yourself, but hey, better late than never.
You are still wearing the clothes you put on this morning, but you cannot find your tabcom. Seems that they took it while you were unconscious.
[[Look cell]]
[[Look door]]There is no response.
[[Ask politely]]
[[Slam your fist against it]] You feel the anger and frustration begin to rise within yourself. You pound at the door with your hand. There is no response from the other side.
[[Kick the door]]
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 5)"Could you please open the door?"Your anger You take a step back, ready your stance, and then thrust your foot out. Your heel slams against the metal, but it doesn't give, instead you end up pushing yourself backwards on the floor.
[[Give up]]
[[Stand up and scream obscenities at the door.]]
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 5)You jump to your feet facing the door, fists clenched, but before you can utter a single word, the door opens, sliding upward into the wall above it with a smooth swift hiss.
A uniformed man is standing in the doorway.
What do you do?
(Set: $badboy to $badboy +5)
(if: $badboy > 10)[ [[Crouch and charge at the man, full power.]] ]
[[Look man.]]He's wearing the black and red uniform of a Galactic Union Military Police officer; light armor and a full face shield. Standard GUMPO. He is armed with a shotgun.
"Holding inmate two-seven-three-five-seven-nine-seven-one-three-four-six-nine-seven-three-two," he addresses you in a mechanically distorted voice. "You have paperwork to fill out."
[[Paperwork?]]You fall to your knees put and put your head in your hands. Before you can start sobbing the door opens, sliding upward into the wall above it with a smooth swift hiss.
A uniformed man is standing in the doorway.
[[Look man.]]You let loose a roar and charge at the man. You shoulder hits his sternum and you drive him through the doorway into the hall, and into the cell door opposite of yours. You turn to see a slightly overweight man in a trenchcoat and a fedora. He has a thin layer of gray stubble on his relatively pudgy face. He is also frozen in shock. Seems neither of them were expecting that.
[[Sorry, about that. I assume you're Glenn Watkins.]]
(set: $badboy to $badboy + 15)(set: $encounter to (random: 1, $quiet) ) (set: $guards to 22-$quiet)
(if: $encounter is < 5) [ You encounter $guards guards. (set: $spotted to (random: 1, $quiet) + $sneak)
(if: $spotted > 10)[They haven't seen you. What do you do?
(link: "Hide!")[(goto: "sneak past action")]
]
(link: "Fight!")[
(set: $ehp to $guards)
(set: $ename to "Guards")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to 100)
(set: $eatk to (random: (0,5)))
(set: $eatkname to "blasters")
(set: $quiet to $quiet - 1)
(goto: "combat")]
(else:) [They've seen you and they do not look happy.
(link: "Fight!")[
(set: $ehp to $guards)
(set: $ename to "Guards")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to 100)
(set: $eatk to (random: (0,5)))
(set: $eatkname to "Blasters")
(goto: "combat")]]
[Run -> (display: "run")] ]
(else:) [The room is clear.
[[Move on to the next room.]] ] [[Test]]
(set: $shirt = false)
(set: $pants = false)
(set: $tabcom = false)
(set: $buttons = false)
(set: $partytime = false)
(set: $badboy = (random: 1,21))
(set: $fixed = 1)
(set: $broken = 1)
(set: $GWmail = 1)
(set: $unread = $fixed + $broken + $GWmail)
(set: $sneak to 5)
(set: $quiet to 20)(display: "Encounter chance"){(display: "Enemy")(display: "Log")(display: "You")}{<div id="enemy">$ehp $ename.
</div>}{<div id="log">
(if: $log is "you")[It is your turn.]
(elseif: $log is "atk")[$atk]
(elseif: $log is "Glenn")[]
(elseif: $log is "enemy")[The $ename fire their $eatkname at you, dealing $eatk damage.]
</div>}<div id="you">You: $hp/100
{(if: $turn is "you")[
(link: "Use your Pistol!") [
(set:$quiet to $quiet -1)
(if: $badboy > 20) [(set:$shots to 5)(set:$hits to 5)
(if:$hits > $ehp)[(set:$hits to $ehp)]
(set: $ehp to $ehp - $hits)
(set: $atkdmg to $hits)]
(else-if: $badboy is >10)[(set:$shots to (random:3,5))
(set: $hits to $shots - (random:0,$shots-2))
(if:$hits<0)[(set: $hits to 0)]
(if:$hits > $ehp)[(set:$hits to $ehp)]
(set: $ehp to $ehp - $hits)
(set: $atkdmg to $hits)]
(else-if: $badboy > 5)[(set:$shots to (random: 2, 5))
(set: $hits to $shots - (random: 1,$shots-1))
(if:$hits<0)[(set: $hits to 0)]
(if:$hits > $ehp)[(set:$hits to $ehp)]
(set: $ehp to $ehp - $hits)
(set:$atkdmg to $hits)]
(else-if: $badboy >0) [(set:$shots to (random:1,5))
(set: $hits to $shots - (random: 3,$shots))
(if:$hits<0)[(set: $hits to 0)]
(if:$hits > $ehp)[(set:$hits to $ehp)]
(set: $ehp to it - $hits)
(set: $atkdmg to $hits)]
(set: $atk to "You open fire with your pistol, firing $shots shots at the $ename, killing $atkdmg of them.")
(set: $turn to "Glenn")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "Combat")]
(link:"Run and gun!")[
(set:$lost to (random: 1, $ehp -1))
(set:$ehp to $ehp - $lost)
(set: $encounter to (random: 1, $quiet))
(set: $guards to 22-$quiet)
(if: $encounter is < 5)[set: $ehp to $ehp + $guards]
(set: $atk to "You run into the next room, guns blazing, in which there are $guards new guards. $lost of the previous guards are lost in the confusion.")
(set: $counter to $counter -1)
(set: $turn to "Glenn")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "Combat")]]
(elseif: $turn is "Glenn")[
(link: "Continue") [
(set: $turn to "enemy")
(set:$gshots to 2)
(set:$ghits to $gshots - (random: (0,1)))
(if:$ghits > $ehp)[(set:$ghits to $ehp)]
(set: $ehp to $ehp - $ghits)
(set: $atkdmg to $ghits)
(set: $log to "Glenn")
]]
(elseif: $turn is "enemy")[
(link: "Continue")[
(set: $log to "enemy")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $eatk to (random: (0,5)) * $guards)
(set: $hp to it - $eatk)
(goto: "Combat")]]
(if: $hp <1)[(goto: "Lose")]
(if: $ehp <1)[(goto: "Win")]
</div>}
(if: $badboy > 20) [(set:$shots to 5)(set:$hits to 5) You raise your pistol and fire $shots shots. All of which hit their targets.]
(else-if: $badboy is >10)[(set:$shots to (random:3,5))(set: $hits to $shots - (random:0,$shots-2))(if:$hits<0)[(set: $hits to 0)](set: $guards to $guards - $hits) You raise your pistol and fire $shots shots. $hits shots hit.]
(else-if: $badboy > 5)[(set:$shots to (random: 2, 5))(set: $hits to $shots - (random: 1,$shots-1))(if:$hits<0)[(set: $hits to 0)] You raise your pistol and fire $shots shots. $hits shots hit.]
(else-if: $badboy >0) [(set:$shots to (random:1,5))
(set: $hits to $shots - (random: 3,$shots))
(if:$hits<0)[(set: $hits to 0)]
(set: $guards to $guards - $hits) You raise your pistol and fire $shots shots. $hits shots hit.]
(set: $guards to $guards - $hits)
(set: $badboy to $badboy + $hits)(set: $spotted to (random: 1, $quiet) + $sneak)
(if: $spotted > 10)[(set:$sneak to $sneak + 1)You dart behind a something, and the guards walk past. Seems you're in the clear. What direction do you go in?]
(else:)[The guards see you! Time to act! What do you do?
(link: "Fight!")[
(set: $ehp to $guards)
(set: $ename to "Guards")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to 100)
(set: $eatk to (random: (0,5)))
(set: $eatkname to "Blasters")
(set: $quiet to $quiet - 1)
(goto: "combat")]
(link: "Run and Gun!")]That's great! How are you going to do that?
[[Well, duh! With a spaceship!]]Do you know how spaceships work?
[[Yeah, they've got engines, and a warp drive, and they go real fast!]]Well, yes, but there's also the fact that they're expensive, require engines that play with the laws of physics to a concerning degree, and aren't exactly easy to fly. That's the actual spaceships, mind you, which you can't find on the ground because they're //space//ships, and making //space//ships that land on a planet's surface requires a lot more equipment, not to mention fuel, so unless you ride up a space elevator, you'll only find small shuttles, and those-
[[Yawn!]]Hey, I am trying to help you understand not only the lore of this universe, but also the complex reality of space travel, which you're trying to do on your own, and I just want you to know what you're getting yourelf into!
[[I know what I'm getting myself into and I'm doing it on my own!]]
[[Maybe finding this Glenn Watkins is the right thing to do.]]
[[Ok, fine! I'm getting help, but not from someone who is an anachronistic cliche!]]Ok then! Just wanted to make sure.
So what are you going to do?
[[Hmmm... you mentioned a space elevator thing, right?]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Ok, so where are you going to find it?
[[A seedy bar on the edge of town.]]
[[At the space port!]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Well, that's a plan. You unlock your scooter, jump on, and fly off towards the outskirts of town.
By now, rush hour has passed, so the traffic is much more tolerable.
As you ride, the town begins to lose its sparkle and sheen, replaced by a patina of greyish brown. You press on, determined to find your escape. The buildings around you become more and more decrepit, towers of shipping containers precariously stacked on top of one another and husks of old buildings that looked like reanimated corpses of buildings that should have been condemned all lit with flickering neon signs. There is an air of unease about the place. People walk the streets with shrouded faces and frantic gazes.
You spot a flickering neon sign that read,
BITS OF JUNK
SPACE BAR
[[Sounds perfect!]]Double-click this passage to edit it.You pull over and park your scooter next to the bar.
Beneath the sign is a mass of old disused shipping containers welded together, like some sort of Frankenstein's cyber bar. The door, hanging partially open, is spattered with scorch marks from blasterfire.
[[Looks seedy enough! Let's go for it.]]You open the door and walk inside.
The first thing you notice is the symphony of scents that immediately assaults your nose. It is a mix of the strong sharp odor of the heavy drugs and synth tobaccos seasoned with the a puree of sweet fruity flavors from vapo-chems. Seems that vaping wasn't just a fad.
The room is dimly lit, a handful of beams of light shining through the haze.
In the center of what could loosely be described as the building is the bar. The bartender is a spindly looking creature with six arms. Behind him is an array of bottles of various shapes and colors.
The rest of the bar is mostly empty. Seems 10:43 AM on a weekday is too early for most space pirates to start day-drinking. In opposite corners of the bar are two men. In one corner is a grizzled looking human man, in a baggy space suit, his helmet sitting on the table. In the opposite corner is an alien space pilot. His skin a dark green, with large eyes, with red eyes, and an array of tentacles coming from the back of his head that he tied back using another one of his tentacles.
[[Talk to bartender.]]
[[Talk to human pilot.]]
[[Talk to alien pilot.]]You walk up to the bar. The bartender is dressed in a tuxedo t-shirt with extra holes cut in the side for his four extra arms and a rag on his head, that may at one point have looked hat-like. You try to make out the labels of the beverages behind him, but most are in languages you don't understand. Heck, they're in alphabets you haven't even seen before.
"What'll ye have?" the alien bartender wheezes.
[[What do you have?]]
[[Tell me about the human guy.]]
[[Tell me about the alien guy.]]
[[How's your day going?]]Double-click this passage to edit it.You walk up towards the bar."Everything!" The bartender gestures toward the massive array of bottles behind him with all six of his arms. "Except the good stuff," he adds witha breathy chuckle.
[[I'll have some of what's in that green bottle.]]
[[I'll have a shot of whatever's in the purple hourglass lookin' thing.]]
[[Do you have O'douls?]]
[[Nah, y'know what I'm fine.]]"That's Guy."
"Yeah, that guy," you respond.
"No, his name is literally Guy. Guy Skech. He's a space pirate. Smuggler. Stops by Bits every once in a while. He's got money coming in from somewhere that keeps him loaded. People think he's working with some cartel, but I've seen cartel money. That isn't cartel money."
"Hmmm..."
"If you ask me, the bartender lowers his already whisper of a voice. "I think that guy is sketch." He cracks a small smile.
"Seriously, though. I'm not sure how much you should trust that guy."
[[Tell me about the alien guy.]]
[[How's your day going?]]
[[Thanks for the info!]]"He just showed up today this morning. Haven't ever seen here him before. He's Alkhorri, from just outside the Southeast quadrant of the Union. I've only had one other Alkhorrian show up here before. They look real mean, their red eyes and razor teeth, but that guy I met, was an absolute treat. Didn't speak a word of English, though. Ended up speaking a bastardization of Klingon and Raefia, another language from the edge of the union that I learned when I was backpacking out there some time ago."
[[Tell me about the human guy.]]
[[How's your day going?]]
[[Thanks for the info!]]"It's alright. Just started really. These two showed up a few minutes after I opened this morning, which is surprising. I usually have the place to myself until well into the afternoon, when the rest of the space pirates wake up."
[[Sounds like a nice relaxing morning.]]
"Fine choice." He pulls the bottle down from the shelf behind him with one arm and a tall cylindrical glass from under the bar with another, pops the cork off with another, and pours you a glass of green fizzing liquid.
You take a swig from the glass. It has sharp sourness to it, highlighted by the fizzing, and sizzling bubbles.
[[Tell me about the human guy.]]
[[Tell me about the alien guy.]]
[[How's your day going?]]"Fine choice." He pulls the bottle down from the shelf behind him with one arm, a short square shotglass from under the bar with another, and a spoon with another, pops the cork off with another, and pours you a glass. The liquid slowly slides out of the bottle and a massive drop the size of the shotglass lands in the glass with a //ka-ploop//. He drops the spoon into the glass, stirs a bit, and slides it over to you.
[[Tell me about the human guy.]]
[[Tell me about the alien guy.]]
[[How's your day going?]]"O'Douls?" the man asks with a raised eyebrow. "Let me check."
The bartender turns and walks to the end of the shelf of drinks. He looks at the shelf for a bit, then in the cabinet underneath the shelf, and then in a cabinet underneath the bar. He comes back with a beer bottle caked in what must be at least an inch of dust. He blows off the dust and looks over the bottle. "Turns out, yes. yes we do. It's 170 years old, but we do have a single bottle of O'Douls."
[[Nope. Not trying that.]]
[[Well, it's worth a shot.]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.[[Talk to bartender.]]
[[Talk to human pilot.]]
[[Talk to alien pilot.]]"Yeah. It makes up for cleaning up various kinds of vomit from the bathroom walls and dead bodies from the bar-room floor, but hey. It's a paycheck and an escape from my apartment."Double-click this passage to edit it.The man straightens himself out.
"Yes, yes I am, would you happen to be Dan?"
[[That depends. Are you rescuing me?]]"Do you want to sass me, or do you want to get out of here?"
[[Now you're asking the right questions.]][[Escape]]"Yes, paperwork," the man says. "You have been suspected of aiding a state that is known to be hostile to the Galactic Union, and you have been charged with treason in the 76th degree. Now, I have been commanded to escort you to the registrar's office. You must fill out the proper paperwork before you can be tried, found guilty, and transferred to a permanent Galactic Union Prison Facility." He points his shotgun at your face. "Follow me, or there will be drastic consequences."
Just as he says this, you hear the loud crack of a plasma shot.
[[Was I just shot, again!?]]The GUMPO's body falls face first to the ground, a scorched crater in his back. In the doorway you see a man with a considerable heft to his mid-regions wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora. He has a thin layer of gray stubble on his relatively pudgy face.
"I'm Glenn Watkins! I'm here to rescue you!"
He tosses you his plasma pistol and picks up the deceased guard's shotgun. "Come with me if you want to live."
Well, looks like you've been rescued by an anachronistic cliche that spews even more cliches!
[[Wonderful!
(set: $sneak to 5)
(set: $quiet to 20)
(set: $hp to 100)]]You follow Glenn out the doorway and into a long corridor of other prison cells. The two of you run down a corridor.
[[Escape]](set: $sneak to 5)
(set: $quiet to 20)(set: $encounter to (random: 1, $quiet) ) (set: $guards to 22-$quiet)
(if: $encounter is < 5) [You encounter $guards guards. (set: $spotted to (random: 1, $quiet) + $sneak)
(if: $spotted > 10)[They haven't seen you. What do you do?
(link: "Hide!")[(goto: "sneak past action")]
]
(link: "Fight!")[
(set: $ehp to $guards)
(set: $ename to "Guards")
(set: $turn to "you")
(goto: "combat")]
(else:) [They've seen you and they do not look happy.
(link: "Fight!")[
(set: $ehp to $guards)
(set: $ename to "Guards")
(set: $turn to "you")
(goto: "combat")]]
[Run -> (display: "run")] ]
(else-if:) [The room is clear.
[[Move on to the next room.]] ] Insert radical escape scene with combat and encounter mechanics that I've almost figured out.
[[post escape chase scene]]You jump onto the police motorcycle and crank the throttle. The twin ion thrusters underneath you roar in synchrony. You crack a grin. Glen jumps on behind you. There are several guards behind you, and a guard post, with a small railing blocking the exit.
What do you do?
[[Jump the railing.]]
[[Drive through it.]]You crank the throttle, the engine roars and you speed off towards the exit. You yank up on the handlebars and blast the engines. The bike flies upward over the guardrail! You're out of the prison! You look back to see a police cruiser hovercar, smash through the railing behind you.
There is a road ahead of you, that stretches toward the city, and an open sky above you. Where do you go from here.
[[Down the open road!]]
[[Up, up and away!]]Double-click this passage to edit it.You thunder down the road, the police hot on your tail. There is an exchang eof gunfire between the police and Glenn. Guess these guys aren't playing games anymore.
The road ahead veers sharply to the right. At these speeds you, might not make the turn. You spot a narrow alley straight ahead though. Do you want to try to squeeze through the alleyway, or veer to keep on he main road?
[[Cut through the Alley]]
[[Keep on the main road]]Double-click this passage to edit it.You hunker yourself down and open up the throttle. Your bike manages to squeeze between the two buildings. You look in your rear view mirror to see the two police cruisers try to brake, only to smash into the buildings blocking the entrance to the alley, but before you can breathe a sigh of relief, a single police bike leaps over the two wrecked cruisers and down the alleyway behind you.
Ahead you see a glimpse of the road, packed with cars. Rush hour. How do you proceed?
[[Jump the traffic.]]
[[Take the sidewalk.]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.You slam on the brakes, tug the reigns and the bike slides, almost parallel with the ground. You aim yourself down the sidewalk and gun the engines. You look behind you and see the bike that was following you slam into the stationary car, sending the rider flying over the car. However, two more bikes come out of the alley way behind him, turn, and follow you.
You gun the throttle dodging pedestrians.
"My ship's on the other side of that shopping center across the street," Glenn shouts, trying to make himself heard over the noise. "All we need to do is go around the building."
[[Let's play it somewhat safe and take the alleys.]]
[[Hold on, bitch. We're going shopping!]]Double-click this passage to edit it.You nose the bike towards the street and pull on the handlebars. You find yourself ontop of the river of cars. Ahead of you is the entrance to the shopping center, with an array of glass windows. You open up the taps and fly across the tops of the cars and launch the bike, Glenn and yourself toward the storefront. People scream and dive out of the way as you smash through one of the massive glass windows. It almosts disintegrates as the bike flies through it.
You are now at the front of Dillards, in the women's underwear section. How do you always manage to walk in through the underwear section? Anyway, the manager is coming towards you and he doesn't look very pleased. And the police are trying to navigate their way over the cars behind you. you should probably go.
[[Well, let's go then!]]You glare at the center security guard, gun the engines which let out a menacing growl. His eyes narrow, but only for a moment. They then become wide as dinner plates as he, and the rest of the guards, awkwardly scoot out of your way. You fly past the bewildered blockade and rocket down the thoroughfare. Towards the foodcourt at the opposite end of the mall.
[[To the ship!]]
[[See if I can "grab" a bite to eat.]]Double-click this passage to edit it.You weave your way between tables. You actually manage to grab a slice of pizza off of some guy's plate.