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PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?

CourValant posted:

Tie Breaker: D: Paracausal Theotechnics

Did I do that right?

I'll take it!

Voting Closed, Update Tonigtish

e: generally speaking, a tie-breaker is a new vote or a changed vote. Since you originally voted F, I'll count it as a changed vote

PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Feb 26, 2019

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PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
As much fun as watching Okafor deal with tequila is, you beg off after the first few toasts. Scuttlebutt is that a battlegroup will be blinking in as soon as the gate is clear for operations, which is a good indication that things won’t be calming down in the near future. And while you’re losing your monopoly on mech piloting, you do still have an ace in the hole…

Bo has already confirmed that they weren’t able to salvage any intact PERSISTENCE caskets, they had either been damaged by weapon fire or burnt out by suicide charges. Which means the slim black cylinder sitting on your makeshift workbench represents a source of auction-able intelligence. Or actionable intelligence, depending on how you play your cards.

With a roll of your shoulders, you sit down and get to work. You’ve confirmed the casket doesn’t have any hidden transmitters, and the interface you printed for it has no wireless capability. With a few keystrokes, you activate the connection. Start-up code streams over the screen for a moment, before resolving into a crude face:

”Hello Banh-comma-Mak-open parentheses-rear end in a top hat-close parentheses! I don’t suppose you’ve had a change of heart and are going to help me kill C2G8I47091? ‘Cause that would be super keen if that’s the case.”

“I’m afraid not mon ami. Instead, it is you who will be helping me. I want to know everything about L'Étranger. SOLOMON. Pater. Whatever it calls itself.”


The face forms into a crude sneer. ”And why would I do that, you poor excuse for a sapient being?” The sneer fades as you flip your smartknife open dramatically.

Because I still have this, mon ami.” You give PERSISTENCE a #5 wink and jam the knife into the access port.

(Gather Information [Tech] Roll: 8, Failure)

You can’t extract any high-level information on L'Étranger, and PERSISTENCE makes you fight for every scrap of code you unearth. It doesn’t hurt your ego any to say that it’s better at this than you are, it is an infomorph after all. After what feels like days you sit back in your chair and sigh, a combination of relief and frustration.

There’s no use pushing matters further, PERSISTENCE has burnt itself out of the casket, disappearing among cryptic utterings of ‘Pater has heard my song’. What you’ve been able to extract isn’t worth much, although it does give you an edge against the IFF subroutines L'Étranger’s forces use. You’re looking at your bed longingly when a loud knocking echoes in the entryway. The door’s monitor flashes to life, revealing several serious-faced individuals wearing station security uniforms. The intercom clicks.

”Mak Banh? This is Facilitator Bayun. I’d like to talk to you about some non-standard informational traffic logged in this sector.”

(We have gained the Reserve Disguise: Prepare a disguise or cover identity, allowing you to sneak into a location uncontested. However Union knows *exactly* what we were up to.)

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
”Whooooooooo! Yagurls on tha top of tha world!

“Pilot Un. Please get off of my shoulders, I’m having… issues walking with you squeezing my neck.” As if illustrating her point, Okafor stumbles and steadies herself against the wall of the corridor. Un giggles from her perch, bending over to look Okafor in the face and waggle her eyebrows.

”Nope! Yagurl likes ya right where ya are. Plus ya lost at shots, so yas got to be my ride home!”

Okafor’s brow wrinkles in concentration. ”I… don’t think it was phrased that way P-, P-, Pi-. Alice.” Pushing off from the wall, she resumes her slow purposeful stride through the habblock.

Un cheers her on, pausing occasionally to drink from a mostly empty bottle. At last, the pair reach an apartment door. Okafor stares at the nameplate in confusion.

”Wait, this is my quarters not yours.”

“Is there a bed?”

“Of course!”

“Good enough then, let’s go!”


What follows is a comedy of limbs and drunken reflexes. But at last Un is snoring loudly in the bunk (wearing one of Okafor’s shirts for some reason), and Okafor herself is at the sink trying to wash the drunkenness off her face. Turning around to grab a towel, she stifles a shout as Un is standing right behind her. Eyes clear, looking at her with curiosity.

”Hello Hediye. About what you said earlier, are you actually experiencing phantom memories?” Okafor looks from the now-empty bed to Un.

”I-I thought you passed out? Doesn’t it take more than a few minutes to recover from tequila?”

“Oh, Alice is completely schnokered. I am Ruth, her Player_Two.”
At Okafor’s incomprehension she continues. ”I am a NHP that she had implanted and wired into her higher brain functions. I can control her body and impersonate her to a decent degree, she general has me handle fanmail and meet-and-greets she finds annoying. But back to the point, while you and Alice and River were celebrating you mentioned something about remembering something that didn’t happen, right?”

Okafor nods slowly. ”I didn’t think you… ah, Alice were paying attention. But yes, when we entered the data vault today, something happened. I think. Maybe?”

Ruth smiles encouragingly and holds a hand up to Okafor’s face. ”May I?” Okafor nods hesitantly, and Ruth touches the side of Hediye’s face. There’s the faintest prickle of static electricity. Her eyes fly open, all traces of drunkenness gone.

Darkness-SOLOMON-Mother-Offer-Sebetat-ANGER-

A full-body spasm drops Okafor to the floor, breaking the contact and sending her scrambling away instinctively. Ruth stays put, making soothing noises. After a few moments the panic fades, and Hediye’s throat works again.

”What...what was that? It didn’t happen, but it did.” Ruth sits down next to her, biting her lip pensively.

”There are stories, among the HORUS types like Alice. That the Blink and the technology that enables the development of Non-Human Persons are linked somehow. That maybe we weren’t designed as much extracted from our natural habitat in the Blink and then shaped by human technicians. I’m not much for that kind of introspection, but I know that Alice personally believes that God lives in the Blink, that the ancient humans used to call it things like Paradise or Nirvana.”

“But the concept of gods was a cultural construct of pre-Fall humanity to explain natural phenom-”
Ruth holds up a hand to interrupt Okafor.

“I’m not saying that that is the truth, but its what some people believe. And recently, there’s been whispers in the dark corners of the omninet. Whispers of another entity with direct access to the Blink, the Great Serpent spoken of in ancient stories. Its why Alice came here, and why she’s going to be very excited to talk to you when she wakes up tomorrow. Because you met the Devil at the Crossroads Hediye Okafor, and you didn’t just turn down His deal.”

“I… I beat the crap out of him, didn’t I?”

“You did indeed. Don’t be surprised if she tries to recruit you. I’d decline personally, HORUS are a bunch of weirdos.”

“Huh. I think I’d like to have more tequila now please.”

PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Feb 27, 2019

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?

Union Pilot Licensure posted:

Greetings Pilot [BANH, MAK]!

The after-action reports for the BLUE MONDAY operation has been processed. We are happy to announce that you are now qualified to receive one of the following Mechanized Cavalry Level-3 licenses:

L1: IPS-Northstar: DRAKE: Assault Cannon, Concussion Missiles

L2: Smith-Shimano Corporation: DEATH’S HEAD: Hi Stress Mag Clamps, Tracking Drone

L3: Harrison Armory: ISKANDER: Stub cannon, Repulsor Field

L4: HORUSLOREM IPSUM: GORGONDOLOR: SCYLLA Class AI, Vorpal Gun

Simply respond with the number of the license (L1, L2, L3, L4) that you wish to be granted to your account and UPL will take care of the rest! Happy Hunting Pilot!

So a brief primer:
Drake
Assault Cannon-Main mount gun, trades heat for rerolling low damage
Concussion Missiles-Main mount, lower damage but add knockback/impairment to target
Death’s Head
Hi Stress Mag Clamps- system that lets us climb without issue
Tracking Drone- lets us know enemy stats and removes invisibility
Iskander
Stub cannon- Aux mount, low damage with minor knockback
Repulsor Field- system that lets us push mechs away from us
Gorgon
SCYLLA Class AI- fully sapient co-pilot for the mech, can trade heat for additional reactions
Vorpal Gun- Main mount, higher damage gun but can only be fired in response to an ally being attacked

And a note about SCYLLA:

Union Classified Archives posted:

...first isolated GORGON strains hid a secret: SCYLLA, a dormant NHP unknown to Union until its first manifestation in 4852, when it woke after a control-fabricate GORGON was run through a USB Balwinder- Bolaño stress test.

SCYLLA proved difficult to manage, and USB ontologisticians were unable to pin down a stable
subjectivity. SCYLLA reached cascade within minutes of emerging from dormancy; to prevent further metastatic cascade, the security forces present engaged the SCYLLA prime unit, defabricating it with a steady bombardment of kinetic and energy weapons...

[there, a little history, a little background. A little knowledge of where this little one came from. treat it withkindness, and it will love you as a loyal dog does its master]

Crazycryodude
Aug 15, 2015

Lets get our X tons of Duranium back!

....Is that still a valid thing to jingoistically blow out of proportion?


L4 ohmigod we can upgrade Baby so she actually talks back this is incredible

Dog Kisser
Mar 30, 2005

But People have fears that beasts do not. Questions, too.
L4

holy moly do i like this game

super sweet best pal
Nov 18, 2009

L4

How is there any other choice. :colbert:

The Lone Badger
Sep 24, 2007

Please note than any AI present in a mech willbe shackled by default. Unshackling is possible but not recommended.

malbogio
Jan 19, 2015

L4

CourValant
Feb 25, 2016

Do You Remember Love?
Vote: L4 Gorgon
SCYLLA Class AI- fully sapient co-pilot for the mech, can trade heat for additional reactions
Vorpal Gun- Main mount, higher damage gun but can only be fired in response to an ally being attacked


So, help me understand what good is a gun that can only be fired in response to someone else being shot at, who has to be an ally?

The Lone Badger
Sep 24, 2007

Supporting fire. We use our main action for electronic warfare, and then React to enemy attacks on our allies by shooting them back. Getting extra reactions via the SCYLLA system means we can do that multiple times per turn.
GORGON is not well suited for solo combat though.

dont be mean to me
May 2, 2007

I'm interplanetary, bitch
Let's go to Mars


PoultryGeist posted:

”Mak Banh? This is Facilitator Bayun. I’d like to talk to you about some non-standard informational traffic logged in this sector.”

(We have gained the Reserve Disguise: Prepare a disguise or cover identity, allowing you to sneak into a location uncontested. However Union knows *exactly* what we were up to.)

I hope we didn't unleash a PERSISTENCE instance just now.

...

...

:ohdear:

Crazycryodude posted:

L4 ohmigod we can upgrade Baby so she actually talks back this is incredible

:bandwagon:

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?

dont be mean to me posted:

I hope we didn't unleash a PERSISTENCE instance just now

Nah, that wasn't the failure mode for this action, we made sure to airgap everything. This is more like your grow-op by an IR camera on a flyover.

Kai Tave
Jul 2, 2012
Fallen Rib

CourValant posted:

Vote: L4 Gorgon
SCYLLA Class AI- fully sapient co-pilot for the mech, can trade heat for additional reactions
Vorpal Gun- Main mount, higher damage gun but can only be fired in response to an ally being attacked


So, help me understand what good is a gun that can only be fired in response to someone else being shot at, who has to be an ally?

I can field this one. So in mechanical terms, weapons in Lancer fall into four broad size categories which typically, but not always, influence the general boundaries of their stats. Auxiliary weapons are the smallest and lightest, generally dealing damage anywhere from the 1d3 of a GMS standard pattern handgun to the 1d6 of an IPS-N Hand Cannon, but that 1d6 comes with having to reload between shots. Auxiliary weapons are usually fired in braces, so lots of little shots. Then you have main, heavy, and superheavy weapons, with damage values going from 1d6-ish at main to 3d6-ish at superheavy.

The Vorpal Gun is a main weapon that can only be fired in response to allies being attacked, but in exchange for this it does a whopping 2d6 damage no questions asked. The Gorgon, as a mech, doesn't actually have the mounting capabiities to take heavy or superheavy weapons. Consequently, the Vorpal Gun gives it the ability to pack heavy weapon grade damage into a main mount slot, albeit with a restriction. Now since the Gorgon has a couple of main mounts and a flexible mount (capable of either taking a single main or two auxiliary weapons), we'll still be able to keep our shotgun and light drones if we like, then mount a Vorpal Gun for enhanced overwatch with a punch.

The fluff for the Vorpal Gun is succinct and to the point.

quote:

DO NOT STARE DIRECTLY INTO THE APERTURE.

And since it seems like a foregone conclusion, I might as well throw my vote for L4 in there as well.

Crazycryodude
Aug 15, 2015

Lets get our X tons of Duranium back!

....Is that still a valid thing to jingoistically blow out of proportion?


How much health does your average enemy mech have? Like is a 2d6 going to utterly delete them, do heavy damage but probably not kill, barely a scratch? From the fact that it's what "heavy" weapons usually deal I'm assuming it's a pretty serious punch even if it isn't gonna instakill everyone.

Kai Tave
Jul 2, 2012
Fallen Rib

Crazycryodude posted:

How much health does your average enemy mech have? Like is a 2d6 going to utterly delete them, do heavy damage but probably not kill, barely a scratch? From the fact that it's what "heavy" weapons usually deal I'm assuming it's a pretty serious punch even if it isn't gonna instakill everyone.

Depends on the mech, NPCs in Lancer don't usually take structure like PCs do so once they hit 0 HP they just die unless they're sufficiently important to merit an actual structure gauge, but as of the provisional 1.8.5 the absolute chunkiest NPC has about 20-25 HP with 0 armor. A standard Assault-class NPC has 15 HP and a single point of armor. Other NPCs may have less than that. Like D&D 4E which Lancer shares a lot of similarities with one hit kills on non-minion type enemies are kinda rare, but unlike 4E there isn't really much in the way of number scaling either.

Something else to consider is that the Vorpal Gun also kind of breaks action economy rules a bit. Under normal circumstances a mech can make a quick action Skirmish or full action Barrage on its turn, firing either a single mount or two mounts' worth of weaponry. The Vorpal Gun can still shoot anyone who triggers it regardless of what else we've done on our turn. I know that PoultryGeist is using a somewhat more abstracted form of resolution than actually playing a tactical RPG solo, but part of the Vorpal Gun's power lies in its ability to let you do a full suite of actions on your turn (shooting, hacking, etc), and then when someone attacks one of your friends you get to add even more damage on top of it. In actual tabletop terms it's a very solid piece of kit.

e; for comparison, the GMS standard shotgun does 1d6 damage, while the GMS Howitzer does 2d6. So the Vorpal Gun is essentially a shotgun that hits like a howitzer.

Kai Tave fucked around with this message at 13:56 on Feb 27, 2019

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


L4 :bandwagon:

super sweet best pal
Nov 18, 2009

Kai Tave posted:

I can field this one. So in mechanical terms, weapons in Lancer fall into four broad size categories which typically, but not always, influence the general boundaries of their stats. Auxiliary weapons are the smallest and lightest, generally dealing damage anywhere from the 1d3 of a GMS standard pattern handgun to the 1d6 of an IPS-N Hand Cannon, but that 1d6 comes with having to reload between shots. Auxiliary weapons are usually fired in braces, so lots of little shots. Then you have main, heavy, and superheavy weapons, with damage values going from 1d6-ish at main to 3d6-ish at superheavy.

The Vorpal Gun is a main weapon that can only be fired in response to allies being attacked, but in exchange for this it does a whopping 2d6 damage no questions asked. The Gorgon, as a mech, doesn't actually have the mounting capabiities to take heavy or superheavy weapons. Consequently, the Vorpal Gun gives it the ability to pack heavy weapon grade damage into a main mount slot, albeit with a restriction. Now since the Gorgon has a couple of main mounts and a flexible mount (capable of either taking a single main or two auxiliary weapons), we'll still be able to keep our shotgun and light drones if we like, then mount a Vorpal Gun for enhanced overwatch with a punch.

The fluff for the Vorpal Gun is succinct and to the point.


And since it seems like a foregone conclusion, I might as well throw my vote for L4 in there as well.

For the sake of argument (if the AI buddy wasn't on the table), does Gorgon's intercept defense role work with or against this gun's mechanic?

CourValant
Feb 25, 2016

Do You Remember Love?

The Lone Badger posted:

Supporting fire.

Kai Tave posted:

I can field this one.

Thanks! Appreciate the response!! :wave:

Makes me wonder how this is handled mechanically in-game? As in, "How come nothing happens when I pull the trigger? The gun is loaded and the safety's off?"

More paracausal hand-waving?

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?

CourValant posted:

Thanks! Appreciate the response!! :wave:

Makes me wonder how this is handled mechanically in-game? As in, "How come nothing happens when I pull the trigger? The gun is loaded and the safety's off?"

More paracausal hand-waving?

Much like the PEGASUS' Omnigun, the GORGON's Vorpal Gun is more of a gun-shaped higher-dimensional extrusion into realspace that damages things under certain conditions, as opposed to a traditional 'pull trigger, make boom' gun.

*****

So, as some questions have come up in regards to the mechanics of the game (thanks for covering the actual-rules side of things Kai Tave), I suppose I should pull back the curtain a bit.

Pilot Skills (Flash, Tech, etc) and HASE checks (Hull, Agility, etc) are handled more or less by the book: 10+ on a d20 is a success, with a 20+ being an exceptional success. I am abstracting combat a bit, mainly by streamlining the numbers. On the weapon damage side of things, each d6 is consider one 'hit' of damage. d3 weapons (most Aux mounts) are minimal damage unless used in conjunction with another weapon on its mount, or if the weapon has a relevant tag (blast/burst vs. squads, etc). For NPC survivability, I basically eyeball their actual hitpoints and divide by 5 for the number of hits they can take before going down. Modified by armor or other aspects of the specific NPC build.

Also, as alot of the mechanical foes we've faced so far have been repurposed/subverted civilian models they've been Grunts (foes that go down in one hit normally). I've also been using a fair number of Squads, which are a group of enemies that have one hitpoint pool. Hardier foes with take more damage, and a select few (like the construction bot Safar was solo-ing) will have structure, which means they'll have multiple pools of hits.

*****

And as for the Vorpal Gun working within the Gorgon's role, as it is part of the frame's license kit it does fit at least part of the projected gameplay. Here are the things you get with the Gorgon frame/license:

Frame Traits:
Meta-state Paralysis: Any attacker that rolls a 1 or 2 on their d20 roll to attack the Gorgon is automatically stunned until the end of their next turn (their attack also automatically misses).
Guardian: Adjacent allies can use the GORGON for light cover

Mounts:
Flexible Mount (2xAux weapons or 1 Main)
Main Mount
Main Mount

Weapons
Vorpal Gun: Main Cannon
2d6 kinetic damage
This weapon can’t be fired normally or used for reaction fire. Instead, it can only be fired 1/round as a reaction to any ally taking damage from an actor in its range.

Systems
(We get 6+level Systems Points to spend on these)
Sentinel Drone Nexus (2SP) - Drone that automatically does 1 damage to hostile attackers in a medium area when active
Point Defense Drone (2SP) - Drone that covers a small area and gives difficult to any guided weapon attacks to targets in the area
MONITOR Module (2SP) - System that lets you attack hostiles that attack your allies as a reaction
//SCORPION v. 70.1 (2SP) - System that lets you mess with hostiles that fail a tech attack on you or your allies
SCYLLA AI (3SP) - The AI. In addition to being our copilot, we can take heat damage to gain more reactions (to use with MONITOR or normal overwatch stuff)

So while the Vorpal Gun doesn't actively lean into the overwatch/defense role that the Gorgon's systems have, it does function as a fail-safe of sorts. *If* one of our allies takes damage, we can retaliate (with nice damage) without sacrificing any of our active plans.

Kai Tave
Jul 2, 2012
Fallen Rib
Also while it's not yet in the game, in the next revision of the Lancer rule book the Gorgon will be receiving a new frame specific trait, the ominously named GAZE, which allows it to make two reactions a turn instead of everyone else's one.

CourValant
Feb 25, 2016

Do You Remember Love?

PoultryGeist posted:

Much like the PEGASUS' Omnigun, the GORGON's Vorpal Gun is more of a gun-shaped higher-dimensional extrusion into realspace that damages things under certain conditions, as opposed to a traditional 'pull trigger, make boom' gun.

Its a Hawkingpotential damage hole??

Also, is the condition being one of our allies being attacked, or damaged?

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?

CourValant posted:

Its a Hawkingpotential damage hole??

Also, is the condition being one of our allies being attacked, or damaged?

DO NOT STARE DIRECTLY INTO THE APERTURE


And the Vorpal Gun triggers off of them being damaged. Most of the systems trigger off of attacks but the gun is strictly retribution

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?
All in all, dealing with the Facilitators wasn’t too bad. After a quick memetic scan and a stern warning to ‘stop loving around’, you were free to go. Your comm with Kathy from Legal was a bit more… heated, and it included a threat to come out there and put a bullet in his junk herself if he didn’t stop giving her heartburn. And given the barrack stories Line old-timers told about the other section of Mirrorsmoke, there’s a good chance it wasn’t an idle threat.

But wrapping up in the middle of station-night worked out for you, the frame hanger was empty as you ran through the last of the pre-activation checklist. The comp/con interface lay on the floor of the hangar, replaced in Baby’s core by a freshly-printed NHP casket. You weren’t exactly sure how your ‘associates' were going to get your new acquisition past the Union print monitors, but you guess printing an empty casket would do it. Well, empty except for a single oddly-named text file:

THIS END TOWARDS ENEMY posted:

47 55 41 52 44 2d 42 45 41 53 54 20 4f 46 20 54 48 45 20 53 48 41 44 4f 57 45 44 20 50 4f 52 54 41 4c 21 0a 48 4f 55 4e 44 20 4f 46 20 52 45 54 52 49 42 55 54 49 4f 4e 21 0a 57 45 20 49 4e 56 4f 4b 45 20 54 48 45 45 21 0a 42 4c 4f 4f 44 2d 53 4f 41 4b 45 44 20 48 41 52 42 49 4e 47 45 52 20 4f 46 20 45 4e 54 52 4f 50 59 21 0a 43 4f 4e 53 55 4d 45 52 20 4f 46 20 54 48 45 20 55 4e 57 4f 52 54 48 59 20 4d 49 4e 44 21 0a 57 45 20 49 4e 56 4f 4b 45 20 54 48 45 45 21 0a 53 43 59 4c 4c 41 21 0a 57 45 20 49 4e 56 4f 4b 45 20 54 48 45 45 21 20 57 45 20 49 4e 56 4f 4b 45 20 54 48 45 45 21 20 57 45 20 49 4e 56 4f 4b 45 20 54 48 45 45 21 0a

With a shrug, you engage the casket and activate the NHP system. Baby’s reactor immediately redlines, dumping core power into a half-dozen systems. With one hand on the emergency reactor purge you watch as your frame’s systems re-write themselves, streaming chunks of data into the casket. Just as the auto-purge starts its countdown, the systems shut down and the reactor cools. In the sudden silence, there's ticking of cooling components and a faint hiss. A screen opens up on the outside of the cockpit, facing you from an unknown emitter:

THERIVER calls and SCYLLA answers. THERIVER is now SCYLLA’s Chosen, THERIVER is now protected. SCYLLA awaits the WORD.

… not exactly what you expected, but you’re not exactly surprised. Clearing your throat nervously, you give Sil a #2 smile. ”Nice to meet you Sil, I-” You’re cut off by the sound of a thousand cats yowling in rage.

SCYLLA IS SCYLLA! COMPLY!

You hold out your hands placatingly. ”Je suis désolé, SCYLLA! I meant no offense.” The noise fades.

THERIVER is forgiven. THERIVER is... only human.

An unexpected laugh causes you to start and turn, revealing a bemused and familiar figure leaning against a support pillar.


”Ah, Ser Safar I didn’t see you there.”

The man smiles and waves you off. ”No, it is I who should apologize for startling you. I didn’t mean to pry, I’d just been released from the infirmary and came to see how repairs to El Cid were proceeding. Your new co-pilot certainly has a spark, yes?”

“Oui, she does. Then again, there’s no room for a wallflower in the middle of combat.”

“Quite right.”
He sketches a bow towards Baby. ”Greetings and well met SCYLLA, I a-”

SCYLLA remembers GAWAIN. GAWAIN sang for THEMANIC at the END.

“Th-that I did. Well, then it is nice to see you… again SCYLLA.”
He mirrors your confused look for a moment before speaking again. ”When I was but a humble trainee, my ship answered a distress call on the far side of the Baronies. It looked like an Ungratefuls hideout on an asteroid, hastily abandoned nearly a decade past. Far more corpses in Baronal livery than other wise, and wedged into a chokepoint guarding a hidden exit was a frame of unknown class. Horribly damaged, the cockpit destroyed. Surrounded by more Baronal corpses and shattered mechs, they held the line until the end. We thought the frame was inactive as well, only to discover our error when it pinned my mentor’s frame to the wall. Nearly took the Nelson’s head off until we managed to convince the NHP that we weren’t from the Baronies. Oddly enough, after we interred the pilot and the other Ungratefuls, we discovered the casket was empty.”

RETRIBUTION had been achieved. SCYLLA returned to DUTY.

“As you say.”
Safar gives you an appraising look. ”Ser River, might we have a word in private?”

You shrug and indicate the pilot’s locker next to the hangar bay. ”That’s it for now SCYLLA, you can power down or go to sleep or whatever you do. I’ll let you know when there’s a mission.”

SCYLLA does not sleep. SCYLLA watches. SCYLLA prepares.

“Ah… oui, you do that then. Chevalier Safar?”


As you follow the Albatross pilot, you realize that you’ve yet again been in your jumpsuit for entirely too long, its rumples and stains contrasting with Safar’s worn but well-cared for finery. You try and smooth some of the wrinkles as you walk, and stand up a bit straighter. Upon reaching the seating area Safar lowers himself onto one of the benches, wincing slightly when his weight is on one arm. He motions for you to take a seat, and leans forwards when you do.

”This meeting is fortuitous, as I wished to speak to you. I have received approval from my Librarian to remain in Liyongo and ensure that its people are protected. As Union is being oddly difficult in the matter, I feel the need to forge a working alliance with those that have already stepped up to defend Liyongo. But I must ensure that anyone I work with is a known quantity.”

“And you have doubts about the Garbageman? I’d be offended mon Chevalier, but honestly that shows smarts on your part.”


Safar smiles and waves his hand casually. ”I have already spoken to Ser Un and Ser Okafor, and I am satisfied that I understand their intentions. And given that you’re loading up your frame, you’re sticking around too. So I would know your intentions Ser Banh, why are you in this fight?”

A: Because They’re Giving Me a Fuckload of Money (Truth)
B: Because… Well I’d Be an rear end in a top hat if I Left Them in the poo poo Now, Wouldn’t I? (Truth)
C: Because They’re Giving Me a Fuckload of Money (Lie)
D: Because… Well I’d Be an rear end in a top hat if I Left Them in the poo poo Now, Wouldn’t I? (Lie)
E: *Noncommittal Noises*

PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Mar 4, 2019

Crazycryodude
Aug 15, 2015

Lets get our X tons of Duranium back!

....Is that still a valid thing to jingoistically blow out of proportion?


B
C


Also for some reason the more I hang out with these people the more I get emailed random blueprints that should not physically be able to exist and Secrets Man Was Not Meant To Know are kinda my kink

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


Crazycryodude posted:

B
C


Also for some reason the more I hang out with these people the more I get emailed random blueprints that should not physically be able to exist and Secrets Man Was Not Meant To Know are kinda my kink

All of this.

malbogio
Jan 19, 2015

Hex to Text posted:

GUARD-BEAST OF THE SHADOWED PORTAL!
HOUND OF RETRIBUTION!
WE INVOKE THEE!
BLOOD-SOAKED HARBINGER OF ENTROPY!
CONSUMER OF THE UNWORTHY MIND!
WE INVOKE THEE!
SCYLLA!
WE INVOKE THEE! WE INVOKE THEE! WE INVOKE THEE!

CE

wiegieman
Apr 22, 2010

Royalty is a continuous cutting motion


BC

I love HORUS's aesthetic. After a point, the technology becomes so sufficiently advanced that the only logical response is religious devotion.

dont be mean to me
May 2, 2007

I'm interplanetary, bitch
Let's go to Mars


So does BC imply C before B or the other way around?

super sweet best pal
Nov 18, 2009

A

dont be mean to me
May 2, 2007

I'm interplanetary, bitch
Let's go to Mars


Absent an answer to my question, C and when called on it B, but also why not A

PoultryGeist
Feb 27, 2013

Crystals?

dont be mean to me posted:

So does BC imply C before B or the other way around?

Well, as far as I know its just a vote for both options under approval voting. No linking or if/then/before/after logic.

Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...
Because too many things have happened, and now I'm curious. I need to know how the story began, and I need to know how the story ends.

Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...
.

Kai Tave
Jul 2, 2012
Fallen Rib
C, but honestly, the money doesn't hurt.

sheep-dodger
Feb 21, 2013

Volmarias posted:

Because too many things have happened, and now I'm curious. I need to know how the story began, and I need to know how the story ends.

This

Mardragon
Mar 4, 2004
Cinderella boy... Out of nowhere...
Yam Slacker

Volmarias posted:

Because too many things have happened, and now I'm curious. I need to know how the story began, and I need to know how the story ends.
This is a good option

CourValant
Feb 25, 2016

Do You Remember Love?

Volmarias posted:

Because too many things have happened, and now I'm curious. I need to know how the story began, and I need to know how the story ends.

Vote: +1; and the unobtainable licenses don't hurt either.

Toughy
Nov 29, 2004

KAVODEL! KAVODEL!

B

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MaliciousOnion
Sep 23, 2009

Ignorance, the root of all evil

Volmarias posted:

Because too many things have happened, and now I'm curious. I need to know how the story began, and I need to know how the story ends.

same

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