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Into the Black
Book XXVIII Prologue - Trade Chat

Book XXVIII Prologue - Trade Chat

(NERV Game Site – Official DAtS Offline Forums)

Number5Alive, Golddigger, BurtBacharach, CrazyCelt, Blaze, DoYouEvenLyft?, MarcoPolo, MightMakesRight, l33tpally, Bennie, SEA-TAC_Sweetie, Requiesce-in-Pace, MacD, HaveGunsWillTravel, TheDespoiler, Guardian, GunKitty, Chummer, Inquisitor, Lizard, RedFox, SemiSolidSnake, ElfMama, Not_the_Face!, Scholar, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, Anonymous7, Anonymous9, AggregatorOfSorrows, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, DigDug, BigGunn, Dolcett, Starwatcher, Backlog, DarkAvariel, Knocker, Hullu_Kapteeni, GrimDark, BloodForTheBloodGod, Queen’s_Bitch, BackDat@55Up, DoYouEvenDPS?, MajorTom, Parca, and DarkAngel are in the chat.

RedFox: So, like I said, QT3.14 is going to be the hottest group in the Cygna System this year, and I’ve already got VIP tickets with backstage passes for their Gintama Station show!

Knocker: Huh. I’m looking at the vids now. Those are some real cuties. You think you can get more backstage passes, Fox?

RedFox: I didn’t know you were into ElfPop, Knocker.

Knocker: I’m not. But I know a ‘business partner’ that would love to arrange a private showing for a cute group like that. After I sample the goods, of course.

RedFox: Oh, fuck all the way off! I’m not helping you enslave those angels so you can sell them off to some sleazy pervert!

Knocker: Come on, RedFox. I’ll split the take with you, 50-50. We get the whole group, that’d be at least a million credits, each.

Inquisitor: Knocker, I believe I should arrange a commissar to ‘talk’ with you.

Knocker: Oh, fuck off! It isn’t like I’m doing anything that is against the Terms of Service!

Anonymous3: For those interested, Knocker is currently on Choson Ring, in Sol System. As of ten minutes ago, he was in the Dark Net Connection shop, where he was looking for some Hundeherstellar nanites.

GrimDark: Inquisitor, send the commissar.

Inquisitor: No, I think I’ll take this one myself.

Knocker: Wh-what? How the fuck do you know that? YOU HACKED ME!

Anonymous3: No, I didn’t hack you. However, you started streaming your ‘adventures’ to in-game social media. After the ‘show’ with the Knelfi slavegirl went viral, I decided to do something about it. So, I’m hacking your in-game social media to find out what sick fucks are following you.

DoYouEvenDPS?: Wow, talk about amateur hour.

Dolcett: Oh, is that the live roast barbecue show? That was so exciting! You know, there’s a whole fetish community based on longpig…

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: WTF? TMI!

M.Mollen has joined the chat.

M.Mollen: Hello, all.

BloodForTheBloodGod: Oh, if it isn’t Mr. Black Star himself! Been kind of quiet recently, haven’t you? I don’t think I’ve seen you online for a while.

M.Mollen: Real life crap. Some legal things to deal with, and some medical things.

Anonymous4: Is this about the comas people were in after the Psychic Wave?

M.Mollen: Basically. As I was the worst affected, they did some extra work over time to make sure that there were no adverse effects, either physically or mentally. Suffice to say, I am pleased with the results.

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: So, did they tell you what happened?

M.Mollen: Obviously, there are limits to what I can talk about, due to NDAs and the like. But, what I can say is that the psychic wave was basically like a lightning strike. Yes, safety systems were in place, and they activated in response to the event, but a big enough bolt of lightning will still damage computers and electronics, even if the breakers blow.

Scholar: So, why did some people get hit harder than others?

M.Mollen: Basically, it had to do with how hard you were pushing your Psy usage. Someone running an overclocked, high-end gaming PC is going to be more affected by a lightning strike than someone running a potato laptop in sleep mode, yeah?

Scholar: Fascinating. Is there any way that I could get a look at the research data?

M.Mollen: You would have to go to NERV for that.

Scholar: Damn.

M.Mollen: Anyways, I can say that they are going to be rolling out new safety features to keep it from happening again.

Blaze: So, what exactly are they?

M.Mollen: Read. The. Patch. Notes.

Blaze: Geez, what the hell?

M.Mollen: I am not a PR person hired by NERV. I’m a gamer and a streamer who is involved in things that are covered by heavy NDAs. I’ve told you everything I can, and you’re not worth going to jail for.

Golddigger: Well, when you put it like that, makes sense.

Number5Alive: Hey, Mollen, since you’ve basically had some time away from the game, what are you going to be up to, now?

M.Mollen: At the moment? I plan to continue infrastructure projects in Star’s Reach and other places, building up what I already have, while sending ships out to explore the Gateway network.

Scholar: That’s what those Starhunter ships are for, right? Is there any way I could tag along on one of them?

M.Mollen: No. They are too small to have passengers. Only employees or property of Black Star are allowed on the ships.

Scholar: Ugh. Fine. Will you at least share the data you get from the exploration?

M.Mollen: Not for free. Offers will be made to sell or otherwise distribute data as I see fit, depending on the type of data collected, and how immediately useful it is to me.

Scholar: Come on! Information wants to be free!

M.Mollen: Then buy a ship and go exploring. I won’t stop you.

Scholar: But—

M.Mollen: No. No but. You want information that comes from the time, money, and hard work that Black Star put into exploring, then you pay up. You don’t like that, you put your own expedition together.

CrazyCelt: Isn’t there any way to cut a deal?

M.Mollen: Sure, you can do like the Chaos Brigade did, and make a deal. I outfitted their ships with new experimental drives and weapon systems, for the cost of materials and labor. In return, I get field data on the new systems and copies of their navigation data, as well as first option to buy any information they want to sell.

GrimDark: You gave those bastards the tech to get into Chaotic Space, didn’t you?

M.Mollen: Yes, and it is already proving to be very lucrative, for the both of us.

TheDespoiler: That reminds me, Mollen. We need to talk.

M.Mollen: Right, switching to private.

M.Mollen has left the chat.

TheDespoiler has left the chat.

Inquisitor: Oh, by the throne, that can’t be good.