Round 1 Day 2 Part 4: Planning Phase

Katie and Carla returned to the ship. It was a few hours before they needed to return but neither had ideas other than indulging in public lewdness. Miri and Pandi sent a message about something the whole crew needed to hear. Once inside the collectives headed to the cafeteria where everyone else was waiting.

"Protesters got you?" Katie asked noting the change of clothing her best friends had made since this morning.

"Yeah but it's a blessing in disguise. I'll spare you the details cause you'll just get them when you get blasted but we can get that golden dildo if we take part in the Wyld Hunt." A small glimmer flashed in Miri's eyes at the mention of the hunt. "We don't even have to win. We just need to score well enough to negotiate with some of the other teams."

"I'm not opposed. How about everyone else." Katie looked around to the others. Pandi gave a thumbs while she was messing with some screen projecting a map of what the captain guessed was the city.

"Like I'm fine going along with this, but this feels weird to just intrude in a cultural event for prize." Odie announced brushing hair that had turn blonde except for faint lavender highlights.

"When is the Wyld Hunt. Cause I have some plans and I need Katie for them." the goblin replied as she prepared her dinner.

"Two days from today. It would be nice to have everyone we can get between then and now. What do you need Katie for?" This came from Pandi stretching as a map of city appeared in front of everyone.

"So I was inspecting the greenhouse in the ship and received confirmation that I can bring on other plants than those just in the catalog. I intend too, for reasons of food and profit. There is plenty reason to believe our 'esteemed' host might leave us stranded in some desolate area and I would rather be able to bring food I've grown than leave things up to chance. We also don't have any idea of how we make money once this contest is over so I'm going to do what I know works, drug money. Now the problem arises from the only light source the greenhouse has is some magic pink lights that make side effects appear in the produce." Mickey emphasized her point by inducing an oscillation of her chest size. "So I figured out of all of us, Katie's the one who would be happy to be a guinea pig."

"Guilty as charged there." Cocktail Katie replied with a shrug.

"Okay sure but can we have you help tomorrow recruiting people?" Miri asked.

"That sounds fair enough."

"So what actually is your plan? While there is a distinct possibility of getting second place, this plan seems too normal for what you and Pandi normally cook up."

Miri pulled up the left sleeve of her shirt and got a market from a cabinet. "Well I didn't just get honey from our first round of TF." The copywriter wrote the word 'invisible' on her exposed skin, and in that instant she vanished from sight. At least, her body did, Miri's clothing still remained perfectly visible for the rest of the crew.

"If you wanted to try exhibitionism you should have just asked to join us earlier." Katie replied as her lipples stuck their tongues out. "You can't just expect to just walk in naked and steal the dildo. There's no way they don't have infrared cameras."

"That's why this is plan B. If we win or just have enough people to negotiate. Besides this is more the plan for how we expand our forces tomorrow. Can't escape a shot you don't expect." The captain opened her mouth to continue but just shook her head. It was less dangerous than her usual schemes.

"Before you two start the next round can we go over the general plan before Katie has to leave?" Pandi commented. The map of the city displayed a large pink square in the center. "So up on the wall is a map of the today's hunting grounds. Over the next two days the grounds are going to expand to the point that they will cover the entirely of the university. Which is effectively half the city." As she spoke the map filled in more areas in pink. "It won't technically go into effect until tomorrow but Miri and I have set up a Hunting Band, it's something that will keeps tracks our contributions to the Wyld Hunt. So we need to do is add them to our band in addition to the zap for the final hunt two days from now."

"So what do we have to offer to them?" The question came from Carla who was watching a patchwork pink develop in the map. "We are not going to be here for the long term. Do we even know if we can come back to this planet if once we go somewhere else?"

"All evidence on the ground suggests that its possible we are just in the 'tutorial' so our options for verification are limited." Noel replied looking through the show's rules on her bracelet.

"My original point still stands; we don't have anything to entice people."

"That's why the goal should be second or third place, then we can negotiate with the others give one of the other bands a numbers for the new governance board. We are argue based on that." Miri responded.

"Why wouldn't they join one of the more organized groups then?"

"Because… having more people means they dilute their control." Miri said with head learning over under the weight of her leap of logic, not that it visible to the others. "We just have to focus on individual stragglers and people in the new areas anyway. Those people will probably be likelier join the first group that gets them if they don't have anything more pressing on the big day."

"Nonetheless," Pandi cut it redirecting the conversation. "I think our best immediate plan is to split up in pairs and just comb through the area. We want an early start to tomorrow so we can catch the people who missed the news bulletin of the expanded hunting grounds."

"Ok makes sense see you all tomorrow then," Katie replied as she and Carla headed to the Captain's Quarters.

The two collectives made it to Katie's suite with no difficulties. Once the captain was in her room she wasted no time stripping out of the scant outfit she was wearing.

"My are you eager, planing on something exciting for tonight?" Carla teased.

"Depends on what you want. In my experience when Pandi says early start she means like 4 AM. I know we can skip food and sleep with your TF but would suggest resting this time."

"Coward," she said walking towards the shower.

"Yeah I am. Trust me you are going to want a full tank tomorrow." The captain replied as several of her bodies also approached the shower. "Anything you are feeling hungry for?"

After a short break both collective had finished washing up and had ordered some food. Drones flew in carrying some kind of fish entree. Compared to yesterday's meal the fish had a resemblance to its Earth counterpart.

"Oh that's disappointing I was hoping it would be purple or something like that." the surger mused.

"Speak for yourself, I am happy to have food look safe."

"So you can finger me on a park bench but food is your line?"

"I know right? I can't believe that food is where my line is." A couple of captains laughed. The collectives continued their meal with no surprises, other that a pink pudding desert. Finished with her meal Lipple Katie started pacing around the room.

"What are you doing?" Carla asked.

"I'm trying to think," responded Cocktail Katie. "We got ten weeks at least of this kind of lifestyle and we have to find and/or steal cultural artifacts. Even if we can go back to Earth at the end of all this we would be know intergalactic criminals."

"That makes it more exciting." The Katies at the table turned their heads to her coworker, eyes wide in astonishment. "This ship is upgradable, so if you are worried about safety just start upping the ordnance on-board."

"That's insane."

"So is this show. If we need to become thieves and scoundrels to end it so be it. You think our jobs back home will be anything like it was? Fuck no! I can be a perpetual energy machine. Once we get back to Earth things will be different. Its ten weeks away, who knows if you will even want to go back Katie. This ship is yours, we all can go anywhere." Carla pause to note stare Katie in her eye. "I'm not saying we don't visit our families but why limit ourselves."

"But..."

"We don't know Katie. So limit your plans to two or three steps ahead and not twenty. You can't see the future yet so aim at what you can look at." The pacing Katie just flopped on the bed in the center of the room.

"This was not how I expected tonight would go."

Carla gave a smirk on all her bodies, "Well if you weren't interested in getting physical so I got to make sure you exercise yourself in some way."