+ Chapter 2: King of the Hill

"Am I doing the right thing?"

A question that's crossed your mind at least once since you joined Fortune. "Am I doing the right thing? Was this the right choice?" For some of you, it was easy. Yes, you got into this because the pay was good and it meant doing what you were good at for a living. Frankly, it has been a blessing. For others, it has been... A harder question to ignore. The covered-up destruction of Coalten outside of Tumbleweed, 'Mr Leach' on the last mission, Kenneth just beating on Delilah? More was going on here than Fortune was letting on.

A majority of you care, some don't... But some...

Some want to discover the truth.

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REDACTED 1: "Here's your coffee."

REDACTED 2: "Awh thanks [REDACTED], you're a sweetheart."

REDACTED 1: "Hey anything for my favourite pain in the ass, what are you working on?"

REDACTED 2: "Oh erm nothing! Ju-"

REDACTED 1: "Oh my god, is that a bounty? Heh [REDACTED], you're an account manager, the hell are you checking bounties for? Wai-"

REDACTED 1: "It's nothing really-- I'm, y'know just curious."

REDACTED 2: "Wait ... Can you? Can you edit that? I thought we weren't allowed to touch those?"

REDACTED 1: "What- No, no, it's not like that! Look, I'm jus-"

REDACTED 2: "Fuck [REDACTED]! You could get into so much trouble for that?! If anyone finds out that you've tweaked bounties they'd shut down the whole department... "

REDACTED 1: "No one needs to know-"

REDACTED 2: "No, fuck that! I'm not losing my job because yo-"

[Sudden gunshot sound, systems have homed in on surveillance of the local area].

REDACTED 1: "Fuck fuck fuck fuck ......... Hey, yeah it's me. I've been made, I need extraction- Yes, the trail is covered and I have what I nee-... Ok most of what I need..... Fuck they're onto me. Meet me at [REDACTED]. We need to get a hold of that research now before it’s too late!"

[Sounds of vigorous footsteps leading away from the scene, followed by the footsteps of the security team]

[REDACTED 1 was not located]

Chapter 2: King of the Hill

[SEASON 1. CHAPTER 2]

___________________________________________________________________ FRTN: 5.3▲ // VG9: 4.0▼ // TMBW: 2.3▼ // MBS: 4.9 - // HXCB 4.9 ▼ ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾

Settling into your new found fame, doing SpaceTube interviews and seeing your face all over pop-up ads, you revel in the small-time wealth and fame you KNOW you deserve, at the very least EARNED with your heroic deeds. Sadly, the life of a bounty hunter is never quiet and as soon as you felt like you were starting to settle, you get that infamous call again, that annoying little smiley face popping up on your phone

Fortune needed you for another job.

“Howdy hunters~ Looks like you all have been

VERY BUSY bringing law and order to the galaxy.

Great job!

With your current track record of success you

have been chosen to take part in another

important life-saving mission.

The galaxy needs your help once more bounty hunters.

So strap up and buckle in, this one is gonna be fun!"

You open up your app expecting another 300+ page brief like last time, an easy way to waste a day staring at a phone screen and going blind trying to read the small print –if only it had a night-mode– but it seemed this wasn't the case? As you open up the message, you see an invitation for a meeting at Fortune HQ, some sort of 'official' Fortune briefing. You must have made an impression because you were never called in for briefings like this. Even with 'Crazy Train' you were picked up and shipped off by text, while this time you were meeting some of the big wigs, face to face.

It was time to make tracks

On arrival, the group of you, around 30 give or take, were led towards a large circular briefing room. At the front, the top bounty hunters all gathered around some sort of holo table showing a large green planet, its display illuminating the room in a calming soft blue. Some of you –the more perceptive– even noted Mr. Leach, stood at the far back, arms folded and lingering off to the side with two female figures dressed in business attire... Like someone took the latest supermodel, put them in a pencil skirt and gave them a promotion... Both of them were a little unsettling to look at... You weren't sure, but it was like they hadn't moved a millimetre since you all got there.

As the house lights went down and all focus turned to the hologram, a briefing executive speaks up from the corner of the room; they're charming, polite, as all of the briefing exec's were, good with people, better with swindling you a deal on your bounty. The tall, lean marble looking man stepped forward into the light of the hologram.

"Hey hey, ladies and gents, how we doing? Doing good? Yeah? I mean, you sir in green, look like you've had a great day? Heh, alright." This impulsive schmoozing carries on for 5 minutes, nobody enjoys it.

"So, thank you all for coming, I mean not like you had a choice or anything but, he-h, y'know doing the right thing and all-"

"ANYWAY"

He flicks a switch on his clicker as he points it towards the glowing holographic orb floating in the middle of the room.

"This is Pandora 8, beautiful place for a holiday home, lush jungle planet with exotic plant life and Papa-plants that are to die for~ Seriously, throw some of those bad boys in a martini and you're welcome~. Now I bet you're asking yourself 'why the hell does Fortune want to send me to another holiday planet armed to the teeth?' Well, as of last month Pandora 8's wonderful wildlife got a new addition-"

He taps his clicker and a short looped 2-second clip replaces the glowing circle. it seemed to be a clip of some sort of warzone with the local population and some sort of swarm-like creature.

"Gross right? These nasty lil’ critters can pack a hell of a punch. Populations have gotten to calling them 'Hive', giant bugs ranging from the size of a dog to a 20 story building. Now, these lil’ guys aren't native from Pandora and bred like wildfire. 17 days ago there was estimated to be around twenty thousand, a day after that 800 thousand, and as of a few hours ago? They overran at least 2/3rds of the planet's surface. So, as you can guess, that's a problem. All thanks to our good buddies~ Yup, you guessed it 'Remnant'."

The room goes quiet and still.

"So, for you newbies to briefings like these, Remnant is our resident pain in the ass, a terrorist organisation that has been causing us and the galaxy a whole heap of trouble. Anyone on project Crazy Train knows of their handy work first hand. Anyway, our sources tell us that they implanted the species on Pandora 8 and it's our job to save the day."

"Now, shy of levelling the planet there isn't much we can do about the Hive... BUT there is a large populated city on the northeast quadrant that has been holding out since, big walls, autocannons and limited ammo and resources. This is where the last remaining survivors of Pandora 8 are held up, and it's our job to pull a full evacuation."

"Plan is to send you over now and help hold out until the Super-Carrier ships can come along to evacuate the rest of the city. It won't be easy, but right now Pandora 8 doesn't have other options left. So, let's send you down there, kick some bug ass, and in a few days time we'll pick you up and get you home in time for pizza m'kay?"

The meeting ends with an abrupt lifting of the house lights.

Guess it was time to save the day again!

OBJECTIVES

[This is an OPEN GM EVENT, this means everyone is involved, and we'll try to keep the progress moving as we go! Please be active as anyone who doesn't engage and interact won't get the reward!]

▷ Watch out for the GM EVENT on discord!

▷ Either/or: Draw your character taking part in the event (information available in the Story)

REWARD

▷ +500 REP bonus per on-time submission. Can only be taken once!

▷ +500 REP Per OC For taking part!