Prologue: Today's strip begins a new tradition -- Schlocktoberfest, in which Schlock Mercenary takes a turn for the dark side for 31 days or so. Oh, you might think that LAST October was when the tradition began, but as everyone knows, it's not a tradition until you do it the second time.

By way of recapitulation, the A.I. of the mercenary superfortress Post Dated Check Loan has recently been granted officer status (Probationary Special Lieutenant), and in that capacity managed to plan one of the most successful missions the Toughs have ever carried off. The fact that this calls into question the relative capabilities of every other officer ever to plan a mission for the company has yet to draw any attention, which itself calls into question the relative capabilities of every other officer ever to plan a mission for the company.

The fact that we escaped that last paragraph without recursion is further evidence that the word 'genius' may not be too strong a word to describe the author. Since 'cocky' and 'schmuck' are also in this category, we'll not pursue this line of reasoning further...

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