Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by That » Sat May 23, 2020 11:51 pm

OrangeRKN wrote:
Ironhide wrote:Got around half of my bounty written so far.

Edit: I see OR has been reading Adrian Tchaikovsky books, as has Karl apparently. s


I haven't, but out of interest what's the similarities?

I've read very little spacey sci-fi in general, my reading mostly tends to fantasy and dystopian fiction.


I actually did read Dogs of War recently. It was pretty good!

It's the only Tchaikovsky I've read (as far as I recall). It has a cast of different AI-enhanced animals and spends quite a lot of time describing how they think (the AI dog has very a different stream of consciousness to the AI bee swarm, etc.). I liked it.

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Ironhide » Sun May 24, 2020 3:55 pm

Karl_ wrote:
OrangeRKN wrote:
Ironhide wrote:Got around half of my bounty written so far.

Edit: I see OR has been reading Adrian Tchaikovsky books, as has Karl apparently. s


I haven't, but out of interest what's the similarities?

I've read very little spacey sci-fi in general, my reading mostly tends to fantasy and dystopian fiction.


I actually did read Dogs of War recently. It was pretty good!

It's the only Tchaikovsky I've read (as far as I recall). It has a cast of different AI-enhanced animals and spends quite a lot of time describing how they think (the AI dog has very a different stream of consciousness to the AI bee swarm, etc.). I liked it.


OR - The 'dog/human hybrid' bit in one of your bounties reminds me of Dogs of War

Karl - Your spider like character could have come straight from Children of Time

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Herdanos » Mon May 25, 2020 11:39 am

Name: "Buck"

Species: Human (original / claimed); Unknown (current)

Description: The Return of the Space Cowboy? Buck is a recognisable figure across the galaxy, owing to his trademark red neckerchief and Boss of the Plains hat. A white human male in his early forties - or so his appearance suggests, should you catch a glimpse of him: his easily imitable getup suggests that if you should spot him, it's likely to be an imposter.

Origin: Rumours abound that the real Buck tells those who should listen that he was born in the "1850s" (using the old way of recording years) in Pennsylvania, Earth. Theorists on the dataweb conspire that Transylvania is a more appropriate estimate. Interestingly, there is a recorded death of a person of a very similar description in 1890 A.D. (again, old Earth years) in Rhode Island, a state of what was once the United States of America. His apparent resurrection and survival throughout subsequent centuries has resulted in a very minor, but very warped, pseudo-cult surrounding Buck, with imitators and obsessives seeking to track his movements. In learning to dodge these "followers", the real Buck has learnt a thing or two about intergalactic tracking and tracing, and now maintains a 'living' picking up obscure bounties for profit, while keeping as low a profile as possible. Immortality ain't invincibility, kids.

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Herdanos » Mon May 25, 2020 1:01 pm

OrangeRKN wrote:WANTED

Buddy the Boxer

Overdue bar tab

I hate to do this to old Buddy, but business rates are up again and those goons in "Animal Control" have been cracking down - just the other day Bill got nabbed in the alley out back! The local authorities don't have much sympathy for us hybrids, but I'm hoping some off-world bounty hunter will be less discriminating than these pure-bred Earthers. Just go easy on Buddy, okay? He's had a dog's life. -- Poochie, Poochie's Bar, Helix City

50 credits reward


Buck murmured to himself as he read this posting.

"Low risk, low reward... Low key. No one has to get hurt, no blue lights, no heat..."

He tore the posting off the wall and scurried back into the shadows.

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Herdanos » Mon May 25, 2020 4:22 pm

Name: X Æ A-14

Species: Human

Description: the heir to an eccentric and irresponsible family's fortune, X Æ A-14 has continued an unwelcome tradition by frittering away trillions of "old money" wealth. His embarrassing obsession with the occult and phenomena usually associated with twentieth-century Earth superstition has led to him investing a significant amount of his fortune in research and learning on matters no longer taken seriously across the galaxy.

Origin: a wealthy Earth human, so regardless of how derided he is, X Æ A-14 has power and means. Recently, his fascination with the ancient and unexplained has led to an unhealthy interest in the pseudo-mythical outlaw, Buck. Using his bought connections and through his own lifetime's worth of research (which, in truth, isn't very long), he has - he believes - identified the types of bounty Buck is likely to target. Hunt for the same bounties, and you're bound to find the hunter, or so his theory goes...

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Herdanos » Mon May 25, 2020 4:34 pm

Eyewitness Account

David Be'Qam, Human Martian

"I've been drinking at The Mars Bar since just before I was old enough to buy my own booze. Sure, I bet there's a million other bars with the same name on this planet, but that's why I like it: it ain't clever or fancy; no wiseguys giving me crap about my name, or tryna lecture me on Ynla rights or that kinda hippy stuff. A regular joint for regular guys like me. Plus when the last recession came about and HR Corp ditched the planet, they started accepting food stamps for liquor. No reason to ever go anywhere else, I figure. So anyway, nothing unusual ever happens in here, which is why everyone noticed.

These two strangers, they were stood at the bar, talking to each other so nobody could hear 'em. A middle-aged human fella in a weird hat, and a hooded figure. Looked to me like the hat guy was tryna talk the hooded one around. About what, I dunno, but I reckon he wanted to persuade him to go with him, and that ain't none of my business; but I knew it was weird 'cos hat man, he took one or two swigs outta a hipflask, which is absolutely not kosher in the joint, but Florian, he's the bartender, he sees the guy swiggin' and just looks away, so he must be connected or dangerous or some such.

Anyway, this other kid bursts in, yellin' at the hat man, talking all kinds of nonsense, Earth and vampires and all that crap. Hat dude, he's having none of it, he's tryin' not to make a scene, tellin' him to scram I think, but the kid pulls a gun outta nowhere, and that frights the hooded fella, and I see his face for the first time. I dunno if the kid gets spooked, or if he just don't like mutts, but he fires two shots, and it all kicks off. To me it looked like they both got hit - hat and hood man both - but they scurry outta the place, and before you know it, the force are here, but the kid is gone too.

Press pack shows up minutes later, sayin' the kid's part of some musky crime family. I ain't ever heard of 'em, I don't know anything about it. Nobody in here knows much of anything. Like I said: food stamps."

Last edited by Herdanos on Mon May 25, 2020 7:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Herdanos » Mon May 25, 2020 4:55 pm

WANTED

X Æ A-14

For the murder of Buddy the Boxer

So my buddy Buddy just died in my back room, and I couldn't be angrier.

Some pale human in a white hat dropped him off, said he was claiming my bounty but some hound-hating highborn jumped them both on Mars and did for poor Buddy. Buddy himself told me he recognised the gunman as that stupid kid from TV who's wasted his mummy's money on investigating zombies or such dumb crap.

I know a guy like that will be protected - everybody wealthy is, no matter how many credits they piss away - but the regular crowd here and I, we all chipped in, we're offering a big reward. Dead or alive, doesn't matter to me. I know someone, she's a rights lawyer for Pluto Global, she would take the case if you bring him in, but to tell the truth I'm tempted to just deal with the guy myself if that happens. Either way, we're getting justice. -- Poochie, Poochie's Bar, Helix City

850 credits reward

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Herdanos » Mon May 25, 2020 5:05 pm

Stooped in an alley in Helix City, X Æ A-14 pondered his next move. He'd traded everything he had on him to get passage on an asteroid mining ship passing through Mars; his pockets were bare now. A quick credit withdrawal would see him right, but it would also let the authorities pinpoint his location. He happened upon a posted bill on the wall.

Zilnad wrote:WANTED

Crazy Ignatius

For arson and theft

Crazy Ignatius has been reported for thievery of hot dogs from several vendors working the streets of Helix City and, more importantly, for the burning down and destruction of a local strip club. Dressing like a pirate of centuries gone by, he is easily recognised by a false eye patch and plastic cutlass which he has used to beat several victims over the head with. You'll probably hear Crazy Ignatius before you see him as he is reported to loudly, publicly rant against the debauchery and disgusting nature of modern life.

200 credits reward


"I need some scratch," X Æ A-14 thought to himself.

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by OrangeRKN » Mon May 25, 2020 5:21 pm

Oh my Dan :lol: :wub:

OP updated

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Herdanos » Mon May 25, 2020 7:48 pm

I just realised that I've stolen the name of Zilnad's bounty for the bartender! I'm going to edit my post.

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by OrangeRKN » Tue May 26, 2020 1:25 am

Oh I picked up on that and thought you were deliberately setting it up for your claim, given all the other linking up with other characters/corps!

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Herdanos » Tue May 26, 2020 7:11 am

No, I legitimately just wanted an interesting name for the bartender, and was pleased when that one popped into my head, but it obviously only did because I'll have seen it on the previous page! :lol: :fp:

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by OrangeRKN » Tue May 26, 2020 2:38 pm

For all its corp connections, New Deimos was lacking in any agency representation - probably another reason wanted hackers like Herman were happy to call it home. With his bounty in tow Ansel had to barter his way back onto another transport, this time shipping out refined metals rather than bringing in miners. Two quick jumps and Ansel found himself aboard a Sector 17 trading post, Mannings cashed in for credits and himself eager to find more work.

Ironhide wrote:WANTED

Ricardo 'Rick' Gonzales

Wanted for a multitude of crimes across the galaxy ranging from theft and violent assault to drug trafficking and inciting genocide.

Bounty hunters are advised that this is an extremely dangerous individual due to his unprecedented intelligence and utter disregard for all other life

Last known sighting: Sector 17 trading post, believed to be heading towards the planet XR72

400 credit reward


Reserved

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by OrangeRKN » Tue May 26, 2020 8:00 pm

Ricardo 'Rick' Gonzales - 400 credits reward - 649 words

An assessment of damage to and continued viability of ecumenorgamism XR72

Dr. O. Phlomni

Introduction

Xenoarchaeum Regalis are the subject of intense study for several notable features; since the discovery of their native moon, xenoarchaeum regalis have become distributed diffusely throughout the galaxy, displaying remarkably broad extremophilic characteristics and an apparently unique quantum adaption allowing for unshielded survival in subspace, as well as a peculiar tendency to self-organise into complex, extracellura matrices. Most notable, however, is a behaviour restricted to their mutualistic relationship with the fellowly native selemite, a species not unlike the Earth termite. A single selemite colony can number in the millions of selemites, and each selemite can be individually colonised by tens of billions of xenoarchaeum regalis. Under these conditions the selemite colony will begin to display behaviour consonant with higher intelligence - or a "hive mind".

On their native moon, these mutualistic selemite colonies were restricted through competition, limited resources, and the relative small size of the moon itself. However by introducing a single xenoarchaeum regalis-selemite colony to a terraformed but uninhabited planetary body, we are able to encourage over several centuries the growth of colonies of unprecedented, planet-spanning size. As the hive mind intelligence scales with the size of the colony, these ecumenorganisms are postulated by some to be the most intelligent beings in the galaxy, far outclassing any machine AI. Communication and understanding of the hive minds however remains non-trivial, resulting in much ongoing research.

As of writing there are 105 ecumenorgamisms of varying ages, each designated a number for study. Travel to these planets is strictly controlled. However, with current resources, complete enforcement of no-orbit zones around all planets is impossible. This can result in unauthorised interference, and in the case of XR72, disastrous consequences.

The incident on XR72 was not discovered until ten local days had passed, when XR72 itself alerted researches to the event in conversation.

Findings

Subspace imaging reveals the passage of two unidentified class D skiffs into orbit of XR72. While the ion trails were heavily degraded by time of discovery, analysis suggests a jump source for both ships in Sector 17 only 1 standard day apart. A third, more recent ion trail was imaged leaving orbit, but interference from a solar storm prevents accurate determination of the jump destination.

Prior to divulgence of the incident, but matching with the time-frame of the second ship's arrival, XR72 began exhibiting erratic behaviour. While in previously established conversation XR72 had been congenial and cooperative with ongoing research, after exposure it expressed what can only be interpreted as anger and resentment towards the researchers. This mind state evolved over the ten days prior to divulgence, along with a marked increase in both frequency and mutual comprehension of conversation. At the time of divulgence, XR72 had begun referring to itself as "Rick" and expressed the desire and intent to, quote, "kill the whole lot of you".

Upon mentioning the arrival of "himself" and "another", the researches pressed XR72 (then only answering to "Rick") for further details - while becoming reluctant to engage in further conversation, XR72 was surprisingly responsive to what the researches described as "goading". In response XR72 expressed the surprising belief that "he" had "arrived" on the planet only ten days previous, and had, amongst other things, "squashed some ants". XR72 then described the arrival of a "hunter" who attempted to kill XR72, but, to quote, "the ants got me back first". Asked about the identity of the "hunter", XR72 became increasingly irate and uncooperative. Subsequent attempts at conversation with XR72 have proven ineffective.

Recommendations

Due to the apparent corruptive influence of the incident on XR72, we have no choice but to recommend immediate termination of XR72 through sustained nuclear bombardment. While individual xenoarchaeum regalis are expected to survive both impact and radiation, the selemite colony should be entirely destroyed, concluding the expression of hive mind phenomena.

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Ironhide » Tue May 26, 2020 10:03 pm

OR, that is some excellent writing.

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by OrangeRKN » Wed May 27, 2020 12:37 am

Thanks Ironhide! I hope it was a suitable interpretation of your bounty, I realise the actual character wasn't particularly developed, I just went with the XR72 angle!

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by McCoughlan » Wed May 27, 2020 2:42 am

This is really interesting

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by Ironhide » Wed May 27, 2020 2:48 pm

OrangeRKN wrote:Thanks Ironhide! I hope it was a suitable interpretation of your bounty, I realise the actual character wasn't particularly developed, I just went with the XR72 angle!


I wasn't being particularly creative, the character was essentially Rick Sanchez (Rick & Morty), which I guess you picked up on as that story was exactly the kind of stuff that would happen in the show.

I'm currently still trying to write mine but having trouble deciding which direction to take it in.

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by OrangeRKN » Wed May 27, 2020 3:21 pm

Looking forward to it Ironhide!

Adding another bounty after taking one:

WANTED

Daisy Du'Qam

Counterfeiting, money laundering

Mars might be Earth's neighbour, but things have really gone to gooseberry fool around here ever since half the corps pulled out. Anyone with good sense and the credits to match is already off-world, and I'm left trying to keep the poor bastards still down here civilised. Food stamps are de facto currency - I haven't seen a creditcheck for ninety sols now - which makes it even more surprising that headquarters back Earth-side okayed this bounty. I guess paying us all with only the food we eat suits the suits just fine, and they'd like to keep it that way.

Problem is, some entrepreneurial young upstart out of Rahe Crater by the name of Daisy Du'Qam has been making some convincing food stamp counterfeits and laundering them through the local drinking holes. I'm all for that Martian go-getter spirit, but if this keeps up even the food stamps won't be worth the paper they're printed on, and then we'll really be in some deep gooseberry fool. I'll make sure Daisy gets a fair hearing Mars side away from those Earther bastards, but we need the counterfeits stopped. -- Inspector Simeon Pavonis, Tharsis Administrative Area

400 credits reward

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PostRe: Bounty Tales [a collaborative fiction forum game]
by OrangeRKN » Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:14 pm

WANTED

Bumpo Fred

Cattle Rustling

We just got beamed a distress call from a nearby system [coordinates attached], apparently the locals are suffering from a livestock poacher. Yeah, really. We've got better things to do than visit some dustbowl planet over a couple of cows, so while I'm duty bound to respond, I'll just raise a bounty and file it away as resolved. I had to guarantee the reward money against my personal account, but I doubt anyone is going to fly all the way out here for 50 credits. -- Jim Turk, Starship Patrol

50 credits reward

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