"Rusted Hall" Union Grange 1503

The Union Grange 1503 was a squat box of prefab building and cargo-container modules that sat on a low rise 1200 KM south of the orbital anchor city of Olympia, atop Olympus Mons. This far out there was nothing but rolling fields of bio-fixed genecrops; Cassava, hyper-productive moss, grass that fed the massive cattle and pumped in tons of CO2. The bioengineered cattle that roamed in massive paddocks had hair that was as red as the sands of Mars and horns that twisted and spiraled in planned whorls and fractal patterns. All of these details flashed briefly past the blank eyes of a lone Martian Ranger who was slowly banking his hov-truck around a large squat building, looking for a good place to set down. The truck lowered itself down to near the ground and deployed its smart wheels; the vehicle settled and turbofans began to spin down in the red dust storm that they picked up.

The Ranger stepped down from his rig and adjusted his Stetson hat, setting it just over the top of his face mask and walked into the grange. The first set of doors rose open as he approached, motion sensors activating unthinking servos and opening the inner chamber to the harsh Martian winds. As the ranger passed into the chamber the first door swung down just as the inner door opened allowing only a small breeze to pass into the hall. No one turned to look at the new entrant. Throughout the hall, they were all sitting in various chairs around the dance floor. On the floor, Martian kids danced in an elaborate and very practiced partner dance. Their white and gold attire shined in contrast to their deeply red-tinted skin. The Ranger felt a small smile bloom on his face, the kids were dancing because they were turning ten. Back when the Corps controlled the birthrates and genefixing on mars they made sure all of their employees needed genetic service packs constantly. Being a homesteader and having a kid get to ten without dying from a poorly coded planned obsolescence was something to celebrate. And the fact that the Corporations made it so kids were always conceived in exo-wombs in batches that were "economical" you got really close to your friends when you all share the same birthday. The tradition of batching kids still carries on as a part of the martian culture and they try to pass it on even 2 generations after the Corporations were destroyed.

He walked through the hall and went back towards the kitchen, there two older Rusters worked to combine ingredients from cornucopia machines into dishes made out of red sand glass. Nodding to them briefly as he slid into the storage of the grange. Among racks of nanoslurry and feedstock a barrel made out of printed bamboo sat against the back wall.

Increasingly Lethal Enemy

Played Straight, especially when it comes to weapon systems developed by the GODS (that's what I'm calling them for now).

The Bushbot is a perfect example of this. Due to the fact that the fractal branches on a Bushbot can manipulate things on a molecular scale, if they are not taken out quickly and with sufficient force they will use any matter that hits them (like grenades and flechettes) or that is available (other bots, cars, ships, people) to assemble their own launchers and guns with which to shoot back.

Top that off with the fact that damaged branches can be caught and reprocessed into new limbs and that they are capable of moving in ANY environment means that the best way to kill them is not to hit them directly, but to melt/vaporize/blow up the entire area immediately surrounding the bot with any and all heavy firepower that will not give it any physical matter to scoop up.

This is also best done from long range as the Bushbot can very quickly and very efficiently turn you into component atoms if it runs into and then through you.

The only upside to a Bushbot attack is that they are very good about cleaning up their own messes.  

Spot of Tea

Spot of Tea: Played Straight

Part of the blended culture created by the Commonwealth - and a biological need for every basic biomod bearing morph - to take in up to 3,500 calories to power the bodies boosted metabolism, a tea time meal is common in every Commonwealth habitat from Sol to Frontier Colonies.

Love Floats

Love Floats: Played Straight

For 1/5th of all habitat bound Commonwealth citizens this is something that tends to happen with each romantic grouping, as they all live in microgravity habitats. The idea of lovers in a romantic embrace hovering a few inches off the ground is the reality rather than the fiction. 

In a Single Bound

In a Single Bound: Played Straight.

With humanities spread throughout the solar system and pushing into space via the Gate Relays many a number of rocks have been found where a simple jump from a baseline human can lead to exiting orbit of said rock.

Also massively popular in most microgravity habs is a very advanced and dangerous game of horse, where one tries to set up a near impossible leap that others have to copy without launching themselves into space. In regular or simulated gravity most Commonwealth citizens who are using civil service body mods and Exo-Suits are capable of feats of athleticism that would have been the envy of any 21st-century Olympic competitor.

Some drones and bots also use a "hopper" based form of propulsion where nanite assembled muscle analogs can fling a 20-kilo robot into the air at an average height of 10 meters in standard gravity. Though this is often not equipped on larger bots used in low or microgravity habitats, as the associated repairs and rep damage can be extreme.