.........
What wonderful timing for them to vanish
I hope they pull a big damn heroes moment or at least return safely...... and I hope this clock doesn't take more inspiration from off
Don't want our minions to into monsters or slaves, that would be horrible
Also
Anyone got an idea as to getting a supply of blood for Hard times? A blood banker or blood vending machine would be good
.........
What wonderful timing for them to vanish
I hope they pull a big damn heroes moment or at least return safely...... and I hope this clock doesn't take more inspiration from off
Don't want our minions to into monsters or slaves, that would be horrible
Also
Anyone got an idea as to getting a supply of blood for Hard times? A blood banker or blood vending machine would be good
Well, I got an idea. Perhaps we can make a deal with her to get a steady supply of blood? I'm pretty sure she could pull some strings or arrange their catalog to give us a blood option.
>[VID HEAD] Ask her for a discount or a deal involving some yummy, yummy blood. A certain little fella we have needs it.
If they don't have the ability to provide us with blood
>[The ELECTRIC EYE] Ignore her. Take your time to peek on the nature of the incoming threat instead. (Roll 1d100, best of three.)
As for the work orders...
>Employee D, Foster Atom Bomb Baby. Hug it? It seems to go on about physical contact and love a lot.
>Employee A, Research Timekeeper's Schedule. We don't know what the fuck it does, be very careful dealing with it for the love of FUCK.
>Employee E, Enable Hard Times. Spruce up its room for the upcoming fight.
Honestly, I'm fifty/fifty on some of these but considering three of our employees disappeared into the ether? Yeah.
>[VID HEAD] Ask her for a discount or a deal involving some yummy, yummy blood. A certain little fella we have needs it.
If they don't have the ability to provide us with blood
>[The ELECTRIC EYE] Ignore her. Take your time to peek on the nature of the incoming threat instead. (Roll 1d100, best of three.)
As for the work orders...
>Employee D, Foster Atom Bomb Baby. Hug it? It seems to go on about physical contact and love a lot.
>Employee A, Research Timekeeper's Schedule. We don't know what the fuck it does, be very careful dealing with it for the love of FUCK.
>Employee E, Enable Hard Times. Spruce up its room for the upcoming fight.
Beam directly into the face of the M-ployee. Acting on instinct, she retaliates with a quick thrust of a long hunting knife that surely would have destroyed your nerves and sliced your innocent throat if it weren't currently a holographic projection. Frank grabs her elbow and struggles to pull her back.
"MOST APOLOGIES" you offer in shimmering confusion. The Drone takes another desperate stab at it, but the your probe only wavers in response to her attacks. Your MOVING EYE PICTURE hologram is absolutely unable to be harmed by physical instruments. The M-ployee pouts as she realizes the futility of her actions. You feel absolutely superior for a moment, but the look on Frank's face dampens the mood.
"202095! Is this a spy from R Company?" the foreign Drone demands. There's a deep suspicion in her eyes and a welling belligerence in her stance. The sun and the moon are fighting again. It's only natural, given their corporate competition.
"N-No, 202717. T-t-this is our facility assistant, Super Admin Genius Lucy!" Frank's voice raises suddenly and she gives a sheepish grin, as if an embarassing answer exploded out without her permission. The other Drone is clearly not satisfied with the answer. You give her points for it. It's a promotion worthy answer, even! But what's the Drone is really asking about is-
"L-LUCY is not a robot," Frank clarifies after a second. Instantly, the tension in the room dissipates. "R-Robots thankfully still do not have souls."
Off to the side, you hear A and D whispering.
- What the fuck is she then? -
- Don't pry into the pockets of people who pay you. -
- Huh? -
- I don't know, I don't care to know, and we're definitely not paid to know. -
- Mmm. -
"Well, why didn't you say so 202095!" She slaps the side of her head for emphasis and the saleswoman smile returns in full force. It's rather jarring, given she was just about to kill you a few seconds ago. "Let's be friends then, okke? We need to pull on the same rope, speak the same language, and stick to what the manual states. As per Standard Company Politeness, my given name is Camellia. It is nice to meat all of you!"
"HELLO, HELLO, HELLO. IT IS I, GENIUS LUCY. I HAVE COME TO MAKE BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS FOR SPECIAL DEALS AND" Wait, wait, wait. You need to introduce yourself first. It's only polite. "THIS ONE IS FRANK, AS YOU MAY KNOW. I NAMED HER MYSELF. ("Hello.") THE LABCOATED ONE IS EMPLOYEE A. ("Salut.") THE GLASSED ONE IS EMPLOYEE D. ("Yo!") AND THE SLEEPING ONE IS WHERE DID"
"Oh hey Ed," Camellia waves to someone right behind you. You turn around.
You didn't notice it earlier, but Ed has apparently been wearing a loosely tied bathrobe for the entire shift. You look down to see a pair of dumb-looking bunny slippers on his feet. Well, I think they're rather cute~ He looks more pajama than man and this entire getup would almost be a complete violation of the dress code were it not for the business tie over the entire thing, which excuses the reprimanding he would most indubitably deserve. Ed squints behind his glasses to assess the situation.
"So uh. How's 'Princess' doing these days?"
"Fantastic as always! We look up to Miss Management every single day, cause we don't know what we'll do without her. A shining example of M Company value and expertise!" Camellia pumps her fist repeatedly. "YEAH!!!"
"Cool, cool -- cool." Ed looks like he's about to say something else, but the exhaustion gets to him and he yawns instead. "Could you tone it down a little? I'm still sleeping off the night shift. Really killing me with the hours."
"Sorry, sorry! I'll try my best!!!"
"Uh-huh." Ed scratches his head and staggers out of the break room.
"UH. HOW DO YOU KNOW"
"Ahem. Ad-Admin," Frank intones politely. "Didn't you mean to ask 2-0-Camellia about the deals while you're down here?" The pipes groan and groan as if they were listening and are now adding to the weight of her question.
"OH RIGHT. YOU. BURGERFLESH WOMAN, TELL US ABOUT THE DEALS FOR BLOOD. ONE OF OUR FACILITY'S ABNORMOA ABNOMAL WEIRD THINGS NEEDS BLOOD TO SURVIVE."
"Wellllllllllllllll, let's see." Camellia takes out a well-worn manual and consults the THE ROLE OF THE BRAND AMBASSADOR AND YOU chapter. The text is incredibly small and disjointed, even for an M Company publication. "All lactating women are to maintain a minimum distance of 10 feet from all cockroaches." Huh. You didn't realize it before, but it makes total sense.
"Camellia," Frank says.
"Frank," Camellia says.
"H-How about we just... skip to the important bits, Camellia. D-Don't drag it on."
"Right! This facility and M Company are friends forever - maybenotforeverbutjusttodayisgood - so friends are doing each other favors~" Camellia claps her hands together. "So, for the acquisition of tasty, tasty blood..."
[Choose one option.] (You peek very hard between the buzzing lines and flexing muscle fibers of this sales pitch...)
>"I can arrange another supervised sponsorship tomorrow with lots and lots of blood involved. My team has a lively batch coming in tomorrow, and we need all the hands we can get!" (A sponsorship option similar to today's will be offered tomorrow morning. Definitely starring Camellia and her cronies, no doubt.)
>"Or! We can just have a nice 'n' easy sponsorship. I'll have to talk to my supervisor about the specific blood reward for that one though..." (Guarantees another M Company sponsorship. Possibility of Goodwill (MOONLIGHT) loss?)
>"Or! Maybe we give you something reaaaaaaaaaaally interesting, with lots of blood???" (OH! OH! MYSTERY BOX!)
>Camellia won't meet your gaze exactly when she says this. "I could also put in a SPECIAL ORDER to your copy of our Company catalog, but Mo-the Admin won't be too pleased about this change. Too much friendship is tricky in the corporate ecosystem, you know..." (Guarantees something juicy will be added to your set of catalog options, but definite Goodwill loss.)
>You starting to really dislike the ambiguity of her offers. *Squeeze the juice* and get a more solid terms of sponsorship. (Write in.)
Sorry about the wait, came back from traveling. Also, Gregor is the best Sinner out of the bunch, the wannabe acting bits leave a lasting impression of him.
You only have enough focus for a quick peek through the pipe... Something chitinous and disjointed is burrowing its way through...
Somehow, I'm not shocked, considering M-Company seems to be associated with cockroaches. As for what to do: I'm half tempted to pick the mystery box because...mystery box. Supervised sponsorship could be good if people agree to buy more employees.
