Sci-Fi Dogs: Episode 6

##### SPOILERS

This episode is spoiler heavy. If you are not interested in Sci-Fi Dogs spoilers and spoilers for the Sci-Fi Mercs universe then DO NOT proceed with reading this page as it is full of new lore developments.

### Character Appearances

This episode features the Sci-Fi Dogs, Howel, St-N1K, Leon, Taylor, and Bernard and details the Commander's response to some burning questions.

#### Prologue

After the commander's announcement at the beginning of the last episode, Taylor is left incredibly conflicted. The commander tells the crew that he will answer any of their questions in the morning over some pancakes and syrup, but Taylor is no longer entirely convinced that he can trust him. Once Howel had returned from the mission, and had a talk with Leon in the bar, Taylor approached him in his meditation room, cautiously knocking on the door. Howel reluctantly invites him in before asking him his business. Taylor takes out his comm and, unsure whether Howel has done the same, tries to speak curtly before quickly breaking down. Taylor asks Howel about what happened on the mission, as well as asking him about his opinion on the commander and his loyalty to the Wolfenstein, before admitting that he is extremely concerned that the illegal mission may have been acting against the best interest of the Wolfenstein. Howel quickly brushes this off, implying that Taylor is the one having rebellious thoughts for doubting the commander, and arguing that they don't work for the army any more they work for him saying that "The Wolfenstein doesn't pay our wages, the commander does", and if his private business is technically against the law, then they have to trust it is ultimately in the Wolfenstein's best interest. Far less comforted than he expected, Taylor returned to his quarters, planning on having a drink in his room to cool his nerves.

A short while later Taylor encounters Leon at the bar when he goes there to refill his minifridge. Taylor contemplates questioning him like he had Howel, but decides that there's no point. He approaches the barman, a robot behind the bar that operates on a conveyor belt behind the bar. He asks the bar-bot for whatever drinks they have to help restock the fridge, however the robot wrongfully detects him as a minor, refusing to serve him without adult supervision, to Taylor's frustration and embarrassment. Leon agrees to 'supervise', whilst making a seemingly endless stream of jabs at Taylor about his age, eventually causing him to storm off and grab the minifridge in order to take a break from Leon and make it easier to carry the drinks back. Taylor eventually returns with the minifridge, and is instructed by the bar-bot to place it in a hatch in the bar so the bot can take it through to begin filling it. At the same time as this, Leon makes a comment that "that's a lot of drinks for a kid", and the three realise that the bot had told Taylor to place his minifridge into a trash compacter. Taylor tells Leon to "Fuck off!" before again storming off to spend the rest of the night in his room, angry, conflicted and a little drunk, not noticing Howel, who was stood outside in the corridor. The commander orders Taylor another minifridge.

#### Answers and Arguments

The Dogs are called to breakfast, where Bernard presents them with their upgraded Old Lizzie's, now featuring a battery, and improved armour. The group eat their pancakes, with syrup made from the Australium they acquired in Episode 5, in uneasy silence. The Commander invites the dogs to ask him questions about Leon and Howel's mission, however it turns out Bernard and ST-N1K were almost completely oblivious of it, and it seems to have only bothered Taylor. The commander tries to reassure Taylor, but is unsuccessful. This line of questioning is quickly cut off however when Howel and Leon notice on the Yesterday's News Today program a news report about the dogs, naming them as traitors to the Wolfenstein, quoting a recorded audio line of Leon commanding the dogs: "Don't shoot" during Episode 1. The commander admits that he has been battling for them in court for several days. The crew are all shocked or outraged. Leon points out that the pair of Wolfenstein soldiers they had met in Episode 4 said that they were viewed heroes for returning from a suicide mission, but the commander points out that whilst that may be their public image, in reality they had failed the mission (Episode 2). Bernard butts in and chides Leon, reminding him that his lack of thinking had gotten those two soldiers killed shortly after, a mistake Leon seemed to have taken no responsibility for. After the commander tries to reassure the dogs, telling them that it will all be alright, and and trying to liken them to a family. ST-N1K breaks down, shouting that the dogs don't treat him like family or one of them, or respect him, and that everything would have gone better for him if he'd just been assigned to some other soldier squad. Taylor retorts that he'd hang out with ST-N1K if he learnt to shut the fuck up (in reference to ST-N1K's outburst in Episode 4). Leon chides Taylor for his language, and Bernard and Howel jump to his defence, scolding Leon for constantly treating Taylor like a child. The commander decides that the team just need a break, before announcing that he has bought out the hot springs resort that Howel and Bernard had previously visited, in order to help the group unwind.

#### A Break

[please make this sound better i fumbled]

Confused by the Commander's sudden gesture, the D.O.G.S are quickly whisked away to the resort. When they arrive they notice that many ships are leaving the resort and the shipbay is soon to be completely desolate aside from the presence of their own. The Commander deflects any of their questions as he ushers them, as well as the labour bot crew, into the resort. When they enter the resort there is no staff to be seen. The crew is generally confused because before this place had been lively and manned by staff. They approach the reception and after waiting a while in silence one of the Commander's labour bots arises from behind the counter. The Commander chimes through the comms that they do not need to wait for registration and that they can go onto the pools. Now that The Commander owns the entire resort the D.O.G.S are free to go wherever they please in the entire facility. The D.O.G.S stop in the locker room and find it to be packed with labour bots however they manage to put their belongings into the lockers.

The D.O.G.S go to the V.I.P area and get accustomed to one of the pools. Whilst they *'relax'* from the gesture of their Commander they participate in back-and-forth about their situation. Bernard chimes in to ask the Commander what the best outcome of their situation even would be. The Commander's channel is majority occupied however he states that it would be something like retirement which stirs discourse amongst the crew. Bernard doesn't seem too disgruntled by the idea of retirement however it is clear that ST-N1K has other feelings. Robots cannot retire. ST-N1K begins monologuing to Howel before Howel evacuates himself out of the pool and goes to the bathroom without saying much in response. The idea of retirement seems to make Howel visibly uncomfortable. Taylor too is unsettled by the prospect, but after an initial protest sits back quietly in the pool, brooding. ST-N1K remains frustrated, talking the crew's ears off about a robot's lack of agency. Leon digresses also that he is not sure what he would do if he was offered retirement. When Howel arrives in the bathroom he sees a labour bot exit one of the stalls behind him, he brushes it off and washes his hands in the sink, looking at himself in the mirror.

After a few minutes Howel returns and the conversation hasn't particularly died down. The frustration amongst the crew for the uncertainty of the situation ultimately continues building until almost in unison, they demand to know who their 'Commander' is anyway. The Commander then announces *"Well, they call me ISIC."*

-essentially the crew dies down as that name is instantly recognisable. the crew know the name ISIC to be that of dr haydon's artificial intelligence, an accumulation of his life's work. this a.i is an incredibly complex super computer capable of controlling multiple planets worth of technology. isic heads the technology development for the wolfenstein, the robotics industry, and currently maintains all of haydon's unfinished projects. this a.i is the equivalent to a high commander and works hand-in-hand with the fuhrer himself.

-after isic reveals himself there is little room for more arguing and it feels as if a great weight has been lifted off of their shoulders. no longer are they working under what they perceived to be an incompetent commander, they are working under the world's most complex artificial intelligence who's resources just happen to be stretched a little thin in some areas.

-isic enlightens them that break time is over and he has a few errands for them to run. he makes them gather their belongings and meet back at the ship.

#### Amazon Delivery/Here be Dragons

[to be rewritten]

-isic informs the dogs that they will be performing a quick pickup on more ice for the cryopod. it seems that everything is suspiciously back to normal despite finding out that they are working for one of the highest commanders operating within the wolfenstein. a menial task is easy work for the dogs, they get to it immediately as the ship begins tracking the package's drone.

-they hyperspace warp into the vicinity and from one of the windows it can be viewed clearly, a dinky primitive amazon drone with a little package held firmly in its grasp.

-leon volunteers to go and snag the package, heading down to the airlock and preparing himself with a tether. howel express that this will be a sinch and that leon will make it back in no time. some of the crew wait on the bridge whilst howel and bernard await leon's return at the airlock near the cargo bay.

-leon exits the ship and begins to drift towards the drone when a "vwoosh" sound occurs. ahead of him floats a dragon. a giant majestic stingray-like psychic being charged with psychic energy known for its endangered status and the high value of their blood. leon is this big and the dragon is THIS BIG

The amazone package thats been trying to reach the dogs get halted by a dragon, the ship goes there and leon jumps out into its mouth before it hyper drives around, leon collects its blood and gets back to the ship as the others collect the package. the package contains a dtane da rock johnson ice head and a mini fridge with 3 dragon eggs

#### The Museum (Doctor Haydon's Laboratory)

[to be rewritten]

suptaica planet, go there and haydon lab isic is like go there and look at stuff. dogs go there and see an obilisk, a outline of a cube with some corners filled made out of an odd mettle, a vate of green liquied with something inside, whight boards, somthing similer to a knight called a soldat, a advanced combat bot with mantis claws, a psi tumer box. they soon leave and big fish swim past

#### Cut Off

[to be rewritten]

power gous out shortly after the dogs upload every thing the downloaded into the ship, the bots onbored became hostile, the ships starts hyper driving towards an asteroid field.

#### The Cavalry Arrives

[to be written]

isic and karl arrive, say its sci fi dogsing time and sci fi dogs all over the place

#### Post-Credits Scene

Howel asks Taylor to have a look at what he has copied down from Haydon's whiteboards. Taylor invites him to have a look, since he could use all the help he could get. Howel writes some notes down to ponder later, but shortly returns, unable to decrypt them.