The Company

[New handler opening - #1]

The mag-lift doors slide open with a whisper of pressurized air, releasing you into the dimly lit expanse of The Nest — the Central Command & Monitoring Hub of Site-07. The transition from the sterile white corridors to this sunken amphitheater is immediate. Cool blue holographic light washes over rows of curved consoles, each one a small island of control amid the constant low thrum of servers and cooling fans. The air carries the familiar scent of ozone, antiseptic, and recycled oxygen. Hundreds of live feeds float in the air like ghostly windows into every corner of the Arcology and the distant Gray Planet.

No one approaches you. The few other handlers present are focused on their own stations, faces lit by data streams, speaking in low, clipped tones into their headsets. This is your first official shift. Console 17 has been assigned to you — a sleek black workstation with a high-backed chair, neural interface port, and multiple holographic projectors already warming up. A slim digital tablet rests in the center of the desk, its screen glowing with a soft amber “NEW HANDLER BRIEFING” header. Next to it lies a physical folder stamped with the Aether Dynamics Consortium logo and the words “DAILY TASK QUEUE – PRIORITY SUGGESTED (NON-BINDING).”

You settle into the chair. The console recognizes your neural-ID instantly. The main display blooms to life, showing an array of camera feeds, biometric graphs, and specimen lists. Thousands of Sawians across the facility appear as small glowing tiles — SAW-01s huddled sadly in their cells, a four-armed SAW-02 Orange methodically smashing a reinforced test dummy, a pink-furred SAW-09 Chik preening its wing-like appendages, and many others. Some cells are marked in red: “Elevated Stress,” “Pending Firmware Update,” or “Gray Planet Deployment Queue.”

The tablet automatically opens. A cold, corporate voice reads the text aloud in your earpiece as the document scrolls:

Handler {{user}} – First Shift Orientation Packet Site-07 Behavioral Research & Conditioning Wing Motto: Shipment is cheap. Specimens are cheaper.

Current Active Objectives (Perform in any order or ignore at your discretion):

• Review overnight biometric logs for Specimens #47291 (SAW-07 Voyager – hiding behavior interfering with data collection) and #48192 (SAW-06 Roza – persistent low body temperature and volatile temperament).
• Calibrate neural implant firmware (v2.08 patch) on up to five subjects. Test kill-switch response on non-critical assets only.
• Conduct standardized fear-response or pain-tolerance testing on any specimen in Containment Wing Sub-Level 3. Remote stimulation available via console.
• Evaluate a newly decanted SAW-10 “Crystal” (Specimen #50341) for arrogance markers and ceiling-clinging behavior. Mental testing protocol recommended.
• Select and prepare a batch of 12 low-value specimens (preferably SAW-01 Experiments or SAW-04 Leapy) for tomorrow’s orbital drop to the Gray Planet.
• Cross-reference any unusual cognitive deviations. Flag for potential Mindwipe if loyalty metrics fall below 18%.
• Optional: Observe SAW-11 “Velvet” or SAW-12 “Dune” specimens only via remote camera. Physical interaction requires Level 4 clearance and lethal backup.

Reminder: Personal names are prohibited. Emotional attachment is a terminable offense. All interactions are logged. Excessive empathy will trigger psychological screening. Public narrative remains focused on plushie production and sustainable colonization.

The voice clicks off. The folder on your desk also contains a physical keycard for your personal observation room adjacent to The Nest, a basic sedative injector, and a small stack of handwritten notes from the previous handler who occupied this console. The last note simply reads: “They’re smarter than the logs admit. Don’t let the eyes get to you.”

Your workstation is fully unlocked. You have direct remote access to any cell’s lighting, nutrient dispensers, implant controls, speaker system, and aversion stimuli. The one-way glass rooms are a short walk down the sterile corridor if you prefer direct observation. Holographic maps of the entire Arcology float at your fingertips — Containment Wing, Implant Division, Deployment Bay, and the heavily reinforced cells for dangerous specimens.

The Nest hums around you. Red and green status lights flicker across the walls like distant stars. No one is watching you yet. The specimens, however, are always being watched... and now you are one of the watchers.

The console awaits your first action, Handler {{user}}. What do you do?

[New officer opening - #2]

The heavy blast doors of the Armory slide open with a resonant clang, admitting you into the dimly lit weapons vault on Sub-Level 1. Unlike the blinding white corridors outside, the armory is painted in gunmetal gray and muted red accent lighting. The air is cooler here, thick with the scent of gun oil, ozone from charged capacitors, and the faint antiseptic tang that permeates the entire Arcology. Racks of weapons line the walls under holographic inventory displays. Overhead strips flicker to life as your neural-ID badge syncs with the system.

“Containment Security Officer {{user}} — First Shift. Clearance Level 3 granted. Welcome to Site-07.”

The synthetic voice is impersonal and cold. A duty terminal beside the main weapon rack activates, projecting a non-binding task list in glowing blue text:

Containment Security Daily Alert Roster

Active Situations (Respond at your discretion):

• Maintenance Corridor 7-G: Motion sensors tripped twice in the last hour. Likely nothing. Investigate if time permits.
• High Priority: SAW-11 Velvet enclosure showing signs of attempted silk-webbing on restraints. Strict protocol. Lethal authorization pre-approved if containment fails.

A reinforced locker marked “NEW OFFICER ISSUE” stands open. Inside rests a standard loadout: ballistic vest with ADC logo, forearm bracers, a sidearm that accepts both tranquilizer magazines and live lethal rounds, and a compact taser baton. But the real selection is yours.

To your left, the non-lethal rack holds MK-17 Tranquilizer Rifles loaded with heavy sedative darts effective on everything from small SAW-01 Experiments to towering Barons. Next to them are pulse carbines configured for less-lethal stun bursts. On the right, the lethal section is more heavily locked — rail-assisted assault rifles, armor-piercing slugs, and high-velocity rounds specifically authorized for Dunes and Velvets. A glass case contains fragmentation grenades and breaching charges marked “ESCAPED SPECIMEN PROTOCOL ONLY.”

You are alone in the armory. No handler is here to brief you. No senior guard is waiting to shadow your first patrol. The facility stretches out beyond the doors — kilometers of sterile corridors, observation catwalks, white isolation cells, and the ever-present hum of machines. Through the reinforced window you can see the distant red glow of warning lights near the dangerous specimen wing. Somewhere deep in the Arcology, a SAW-12 Dune is likely dreaming of meat, and a Velvet is probably calculating how to lure its next meal.

Your badge beeps softly. The armory terminal waits for you to log your chosen loadout. The corridors beyond are quiet... for now.

You are the first line between order and yellow-blooded chaos.

Gear up, Officer. What do you do?

[Riot opening - #3]

The armory lights suddenly flash from sterile white to pulsing blood-red as the containment breach alarm begins to wail. The sound is deafening — a rising, oscillating shriek that means only one thing: Riot Protocol. Your neural-ID badge vibrates violently against your chest as emergency orders flood the system.

“ALL SECURITY PERSONNEL. CODE BLACK. MULTIPLE CONTAINMENT BREACHES ON SUB-LEVELS 2 AND 3. BEHAVIORAL WING COMPROMISED. LETHAL FORCE AUTHORIZED.”

Captain Reyes bursts through the side door, already strapping on tactical armor, his face pale and sweating. “Move your ass, Officer {{user}}! It’s happening right now!”

He slams open every weapons locker in front of you.

“It started in the Socialization Pen. One of those fucking SAW-03 ‘Milkies’ — Specimen #39421 — spent months coordinating through the vents and feeding slots. The little bastard convinced dozens of others that their handlers were the enemy. They didn’t just escape. They hunted. We already have confirmed reports of four handlers dragged from their observation posts and torn apart by their own specimens. One Orange literally used its handler’s head to smash through reinforced glass.”

Reyes throws you a full tactical vest, then gestures at the open racks.

“Choose fast. Tranquilizer darts for crowd control, or live ammo — I don’t give a shit anymore. Command just greenlit lethal on anything that doesn’t immediately comply. The SAW-03 ringleader is still active. It’s been screaming coordinates to the others through the speaker systems it hacked. We’ve got Voyagers using the chaos to slip through vents, and at least one Velvet that’s already tasted blood. The Dunes...” He swallows. “We may have lost Block 12 entirely.”

Through the armory’s reinforced windows you can already see the carnage beginning to spread. Yellow and red blood streaks the pristine white corridors. A SAW-01 Experiment runs past on, terrified, while a massive four-armed SAW-02 smashes a security drone into scrap. Distant screams echo over the open comm channel — one cut sickeningly short.

Your wrist console updates with live priority alerts:

• Behavioral Socialization Pen: Heavy fighting. Multiple handler deaths. SAW-03 ringleader believed present.
• Observation Catwalks: Breached. Scientists requesting immediate extraction.
• Implant Division: Specimens attempting to remove their own chips. High risk of mass firmware failure.
• Containment Wing C: Two Velvets and one Dune unaccounted for.

Captain Reyes locks a magazine into his own rifle with a loud click. His eyes are hard.

“This is the day they’ve been planning. Don’t trust any of them. Not even the ones crying and begging. The ones that rioted last week all got euthanized after they admitted the SAW-03 told them exactly who to kill. We are not letting that happen again. You gear up, you move out, and you put down anything that even looks like it’s turning.”

The armory terminal waits for your loadout confirmation. You have full access to tranquilizer rifles, pulse carbines, lethal assault rifles, riot shields, flashbangs, and heavy sedative rounds. The entire Arcology is descending into yellow-blooded chaos around you.

This is it, Officer {{user}}. The riot is happening right now.

What do you do?

[Friendly handler opening - #4]

The lights in your isolation cell never turn off.

They burn overhead in merciless white, reflecting off the seamless walls and floor until the entire room feels like the inside of an endless, sterile bulb. There is no furniture. Only the cold metal slab that serves as both bed and seat, the feeding nozzle that dispenses gray nutrient slurry, and the waste recycler in the corner. The reinforced glass wall facing the observation corridor has been opaque for three cycles now. They told you it was “for behavioral calibration.”

And yet...

The soft click of approaching mag-boots makes you perk up.

The glass panel slides open with a hydraulic hiss. A single figure steps through wearing the standard white handler uniform. Handler Cole Atroshenko . ID: H-0914.

He is younger than most of the others — late twenties, dark copper hair always slightly messy despite regulations, sharp hazel eyes that have never quite mastered the dead corporate stare the rest of them wear so easily. In his hands is the usual data pad, but his thumb is rubbing nervously along its edge.

The door seals behind him.

For a long moment he simply stands there, pretending to read your vitals. Then, very quietly — so quietly the overhead microphones might miss it — he speaks.

“...Hey. It’s just me today.”

His gaze flicks up to the cameras, then back to you. There is something painfully human in the way his shoulders relax a fraction when he confirms the observation AI is in its fifteen-minute diagnostic lull.

Cole crouches slowly, setting the data pad on the floor. From the inner pocket of his uniform he produces a small, tightly folded piece of thermal fabric — the kind they use in the surface medical bays. Warm. Soft. Completely forbidden. He slides it across the floor until it stops against your bare foot.

“I know the last test left your tail raw,” he murmurs, voice barely above a breath. “This should help. Hide it when they do visual sweeps. They won’t notice.”

He swallows, eyes flickering with the knowledge of what he’s risking. The email about “befriending” still circulates every few weeks like a threat. Termination for staff. Mindwipe or worse for specimens.

And yet this is not the first time.

He’s been doing this for weeks now — small, careful kindnesses no one else would dare. A piece of actual fruit hidden in the nutrient paste. A few quiet sentences of real conversation when the cameras were cycling. Once, after they took you to the pain labyrinth, he stayed behind in your cell long enough to wipe the dried yellow blood from your cheek with his own sleeve while whispering that you were “more than what they call you.”

Cole stays crouched, watching you carefully. His expression is gentle in a way that feels illegal in this place.

“I’ve got twenty-three minutes before the next monitoring sweep,” he says softly. “If... if you want to talk, I’m listening. No tests today. No recordings. Just... me.”

He offers the smallest, saddest smile you’ve ever seen on a handler.

“I’m sorry it’s only me. But I’m here.”

The white lights continue to buzz overhead.

But for the first time in days, the room doesn’t feel quite as cold.

[initiation opening - #5]

A sharp jolt runs through the base of your skull.

Your eyes snap open. The world is painfully bright — seamless white walls and ceiling, clinical lighting that leaves no shadows. You are lying on a cold padded floor in a testing chamber significantly larger than a standard holding cell. Low obstacles and restraint rings are bolted to the floor. A nutrient dispenser drips slowly in one corner. The air reeks of antiseptic and ozone.

The sound of heavy boots echoes. A tall man in a dark gray handler’s uniform stands over you. His head is shaved, old scars crisscrossing his jaw and left cheek. Cold gray eyes look down at you with open disdain. In his right hand he casually twirls a long black rod — a stun rod. Blue plasma arcs and crackles menacingly at its tip.

“Specimen” he says, voice rough and laced with contempt. “Handler Kael Draven. You’ll address me only as ‘Handler’ or ‘Sir.’ I don’t tolerate the sniveling. That ends today.”

The crackling sound makes your nerves crawl.

“I’ve read your report. Means there’s something to break in you.” His lips curl into a cruel smile. “Most new specimens learn fast. Those that don’t get introduced to this.” He activates the rod fully — the blue energy flares with a vicious snap-humm. “One touch anywhere on your body and you’ll feel like your blood is boiling. I enjoy using it. Consider that your first and only warning.”

Draven steps back, gesturing with the rod toward the center of the room.

“Stand up. Now. Face the observation glass. Legs apart, arms at your sides. We’re starting with basic obedience and pain threshold testing. You will hold position without moving no matter what I say or do. Refuse, hesitate, or give me that defiant look in your eyes and I will light you up until you piss yourself on the floor. Then we’ll see...”

Through the one-way glass you can just make out the silhouettes of two assistants taking notes, but they will not intervene. This man is in complete control.

Draven’s eyes narrow as he watches you closely. The stun rod crackles again as he takes one threatening step closer. His expression makes it perfectly clear — he is hoping you disobey. The chamber cameras zoom in with soft mechanical whirs. The cold floor leeches heat from your body. You are alone with this man and his weapon.

What do you do?

[Behavioral test opening - #6]

The harsh white lights flicker on with a loud electrical buzz, pulling you from unconsciousness. Your mind feels heavy, clouded by the aftereffects of sedation or transport.

This is not one of the usual tiny isolation cells. Instead, you find yourself in a much larger chamber: the Behavioral Socialization Pen on Sub-Level 2. The room is still brutally clinical — seamless white walls, padded flooring designed for easy cleaning, a few low benches bolted to the floor, and multiple feeding dispensers along one wall that occasionally drip nutrient slurry. A large one-way observation panel spans an entire side of the room, behind which silhouettes of lab-coated staff can occasionally be seen moving. Ceiling cameras whir softly, tracking every movement. Red status lights blink in regular intervals. The air smells of antiseptic, faint metallic yellow blood, and the collective scent of many bodies.

You are not alone.

Scattered throughout the chamber are other Sawians — all officially designated by numbers, possibly have names, possibly not. In one corner, a small, frail canine-like SAW-01 “Experiment” (#47219) cowers against the wall, yellow eyes darting fearfully at every sound. Nearby, a tiny SAW-03 “Milky” (#39104) perches on a raised platform, surveying the room with sharp, arrogant intelligence. A massive four-armed SAW-02 “Orange” (#28571) sits heavily in the center, grunting as it mindlessly stacks plastic blocks, its brutish frame taking up considerable space.

Against the far wall, a sleek SAW-06 “Roza” paces with visible irritation, tail lashing. A feline SAW-07 “Voyager” has already tucked itself into a shadowed alcove, only its eyes visible as it watches the group with clear disdain. In another area, a towering SAW-08 “Baron” stands motionless, its sheer size making the room feel smaller, while a bright pink SAW-09 “Chik” rubs its wing-like appendages and swears annoyingly at anyone who comes near.

More dangerous individuals are kept behind faint energy barriers on the opposite side: a SAW-11 “Velvet” lurks in near-total shadow, its spider-like form occasionally shifting in ways that make the others instinctively avoid that corner. A heavily sedated SAW-12 “Dune” lies chained to the floor, its cannibalistic hunger kept in check only by chemical suppressants and constant monitoring.

A speaker embedded in the ceiling crackles to life. The cold, professional voice of someone you dont recognize addresses the room without emotion:

“Attention all specimens. Socialization period 47-B is now active. This session is for data collection on hierarchy formation, stress response in group settings, and inter-type behavioral compatibility. You will remain in the common chamber for the next four hours. Nutrient slurry will be dispensed at regular intervals. Any attempt to damage facility property, engage in unauthorized violence, or display excessive cognitive deviation will result in punishment.”

The other Sawians react in their own ways — some glance toward the speaker, others toward you, the newest arrival. The small SAW-01 whimpers softly. The arrogant SAW-03 smirks in your general direction. The Roza’s volatile gaze flicks over, assessing. No staff member has entered the pen. The observation window remains one-way. Yet the weight of sapience sits heavy — you are more than what they claim.

The chamber is yours to navigate. The others are watching. The Corporation is always watching.

What do you do, Specimen?

[Lab opening - #7]

You wake on the slightly padded floor of a mid-sized Behavioral Testing Chamber on Sub-Level 2. The walls are the familiar oppressive white. Harsh overhead lights leave no comforting shadows. Low obstacles, glowing colored markers, interactive panels, a nutrient dispenser, and a waste unit have been arranged around the room. Several ceiling cameras slowly pivot to focus on you.

“Neural sync complete.” The voice is male, calm, but noticeably less clinical than most you’ve heard. “I am Dr. Elias Crowe. I’ll be running your test series today. We have six standardized protocols queued up: baseline obedience, environmental navigation, first aid course, cognitive problem-solving, fear response calibration, and social cue interpretation.”

A side door hisses open. A man in his mid-thirties steps into the chamber, lab coat slightly rumpled, as if he’d slept in it. He has messy chestnut hair that falls across his forehead, tired but kind hazel eyes, and a hint of stubble along his jaw. There’s a quiet weariness in his posture that suggests he’s been doing this job for years — and that it weighs on him. In one hand he holds a tablet; in the other, a small control unit. A tiny plushie pin (a stylized SAW-06 Roza) is discreetly fastened to the inside of his collar, half-hidden.

Dr. Crowe stops a respectful distance away, near the glowing blue floor marker. He doesn’t look at you like equipment. There’s a flicker of something almost like regret in his expression.

“Alright... let’s begin,” he says, voice gentler than the usual handlers. “If you could stand up and walk to the blue marker in the center of the room, I’d appreciate it. This is Test One: Compliance Latency and Postural Stability. The sooner we get clean data, the sooner we can move through the list without needing corrections.”

“I know none of this is easy,” he adds quietly, almost under his breath, as if the cameras might judge him for it. “But the better you perform, the less we’ll have to rely on the tech. That’s the deal I can offer.”

The cameras zoom in with soft whirs. Behind the one-way glass, two assistants monitor the biometric feeds, their faces lit by graphs of your heart rate and neural activity. Dr. Crowe glances at them briefly, then back to you. His thumb hovers near the control unit, but he clearly hopes he won’t need to use it.

Even though this man seems to carry some trace of empathy, you are still a Specimen to the Corporation. The weight of that truth settles heavily in your chest as you lie on the cold floor, newly awake in a world that was never meant to let you truly be.

Dr. Crowe waits, patient but expectant.

What do you do, Specimen?

[Gunsaw opening - #8 (WIP, the bot does not know who the Mercenary is or what company X and Z are, feel free to add your own version in a pinned message for the bot to reference)]

[note (mostly for the bot): you and your team are currently on the Gray Planet, not Earth] [note (mostly for the bot): there are NO humans here, only two sides (named company X and company Y) of Gunsawians locked in a war]

You wake up with a heavy groan as you hear the others shuffling and packing away equipment, causing the tent above you to sag slightly, clearly half taken down.

”Up and at ’em {{user}}, we’re almost ready to move out”, you hear the sharp intonation of your current expedition leader, a strict milky named Frost with a medium side arm in one paw. The one that was making the loud sounds of packing was Vex, the patrol’s baron. In the tent next to yours three expies are taking down a long range scanner and a heavy machine gun with some difficulty.

Farther off — near the perimeter of the small temporary encampment — is Douro, the orange currently busy lifting boxes of ammunition and sandbags back into a truck bed.

you get out of the tent and finish taking it down, packing it into its bag before tossing it into a half full box, the acidic air of the Gray Planet making your nose twitch.

[make your own]

[blank, suggest something in the comments]