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Oh man I want that assault cannon but the AI was a good choice.
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Mar 5, 2019 18:02
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 18:57 |
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Good news is we now have a fully complete Gorgon package, which means if/when we start earning more licenses we can start branching out and customizing things.
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Mar 6, 2019 08:23
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Update will go live tomorrow. Its a little slow because I've decided to break out GIMP to celebrate the start of Mission 3, and I am... unskilled.
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Mar 9, 2019 04:25
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PoultryGeist posted:Update will go live tomorrow. Its a little slow because I've decided to break out GIMP to celebrate the start of Mission 3, and I am... unskilled. 
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Mar 9, 2019 08:08
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This Safar seems like a decent enough fellow, but who the gently caress is he to demand your reason for being here? The shining knight that’s never had to live through block wars or med shortages or interest compounded over generations. You could tell him about your growing fondness for the overly large Liyongese. Or your curiosity over what exactly is going on with L'Étranger. But you’re not ‘Little Mak’ anymore, you’re RIVER, Mechanized Cavalry Pilot. Lancer. You don’t have to justify yourself to anyone anymore. You wave a hand lazily. ”Well. As long as they’re happy to pour manna into my account, mon ami, I’m happy to take their orders. Tu comprends?” Safar’s smile fades a bit, but he nods. “Afhamu, Ser Banh. The love of money is an old and well-understood motivation, my banner shall be added to the three of yours.” The air grows a bit tense, as it seems that Safar is waiting some response from you. But before you can say something potentially insulting, the sound of child-like glee distracts the two of you. Looking back into the hangar bay you see Un on Baby’s shoulder, snuggling up to the emitter/head and giggling. Seeing the two of you, her smile grows. ”Omagurd! Yas got a Scylla?! Do ya have any idea how rare they are?” She gives the emitter scritches. ”Whosa gudgurl? Yas a gudgurl!” You tense as SCYLLA’s holo flickers to life, waiting for the noise. But to your surprise, it doesn’t come. ”SCYLLA is SCYLLA, NIMROD. Acceptable deviation: SCYLLA is also ‘gudgurl’.” Un’s squeals of delight echo across the bay. You clear your throat, as you get the uncomfortable impression that SCYLLA is purring. ”Ah hello Ali, what brings you out here this late? Can’t sleep?” She grins and gives you… a #4 Wink? ”What, yagurl can’t check up on her bestboiz?” She jumps off of Baby’s shoulder, and uses its myriad armatures to swing down to the ground in an obvious show of skill and grace. Safar offers polite applause, and she blows him a kiss. ”But yeah, Hediye sent yagurl to find ya. Something’s going do-” She’s interrupted by a priority message hitting your comm. And Safar’s by the look of it Priority Memorandum posted:To:/PriOneLiyongo ***** Aboard Watchful Makeda, One Hour Later ”What do you mean they left! Ah, sir. Why would they do that?” Captain Okafor can only answer the younger Okafor’s angry confusion with a shake of her head. ”I don’t know He-Pilot. The Battlegroup blinked in approximately two hours ago, withdrew what they needed from SDF stores, and went full-burn out-system shortly after. “Any idea where they’re headed mon Capitaine? Okafor nods, obviosly relieved to have someone aside from her fuming daughter to talk to. A starmap that’s familiar to you appears over the table. ”While we can’t be sure of their destination since this ‘BLACK PARADE’ is classified higher than any of us, their trajectory is taking them to M4, one of the muon hotspots we discovered. Which reminds me, here.” She taps a few commands into her slate and data begins to stream to everyone at the table. ”While most of this has leaked out, I’m giving everyone my dossier on Tumani/SOLOMON. We discovered the hotspots while tracking radiation from his first attack, it looks like Union also believes that its a valid way of tracking him. Safar looks up from his slate, his jaw clenching slightly. ”Since you are not giving this briefing while we are underway, am I to assume that you are not following them?” “No, I am not. Its out past Liyongo heliopause, if they’re going there it will be nearly a month there-and-back. And there is a problem much closer to home unfortunately.” A schematic and camera view of a small orbital replace the starfield over the table, a standard GMS Type-1.  ”LSDF O-8 is the Self-Defense Force’s R&D hub, home to 152 personnel kept on-site due to security concerns. It was where the material gathered in Operation HOUSEKEEPING was taken for study, which included an inactive Schedule-2 printer. It appears that at least the printer was subborned by SOLOMON, and his forces have gained control of the station. It was the source of the corrupted mechs and subalterns that were used in the attack on Amarkantak, and monitors have confirmed that they have also been used to reinforce O-8. Plans were in process to retake the station, but with the confiscation of the BOUDICA instances, the SDF has a negligible EWAR capability. And then the most recent surveillance showed this:” The holo zooms in, showing two tower-like structures on the station’s spine. Structures that aren’t on the schematic, structures that are terrifyingly familiar to you. "Merde! Are those-” ”Yes Pilot, they are structurally identical to the containment towers for T3’s USHABTI installation. Except these will be approximately four times the size when completed. We aren’t sure what exactly that means, but High command isn’t going to take any chances-” “The size of the containment superstructure dictates how much paracausal material can be drawn through the rift. The more material you can manifest, the more damage and larger the range. Her calm and clear speech draws everyone’s attention to Un, who seems to be playing with her slate. Noticing everyone’s eyes on her, she shrugs. ”Ya forealz don’t wanna be on that side of ya planet.” Captain Okafor nods. ”That was High Command’s fear. which is why they are preparing enough kinetics and unguided explosives to reduce O-8 to reentry-safe scrap. There are two issues though: projections are unsure if that can be done without endangering the surface and local orbital traffic, and 138 biomonitors are still active on the station. I can’t in good conscious support High Command’s plan without at least attempting a rescue and improving the odds of safely decommissioning O-8. Safar clears his throat. ”As much as I abhor leaving civilians to die, why do you think we would fare any better than your SDF forces against the hijackers’ EWAR?” ”First, we have Pilot River’s EWAR defense frame. Also, I did not comply when instructed to turn in all NHP caskets.” A familiar face appears over the table.  Your laugh is out of place, but you can’t help yourself. ”Bo! Good to see you again mon ami!” ”BOUDICA, Pilot.” She ventures a relieved smile. ”I’m very glad that you still trust me enough to let me help, I’m ready to do my part!” ”Aces up our sleeve are good, glad you have you BOUDICA. So what’s the plan River?” You arch an eyebrow at the younger Okafor. ”Moi? Shouldn’t the Captain be giving us our orders?” Okafor shrugs. ”We’re going up against an insane entity with incomprehensible technology. You’re kinda off-kilter with weird tools. Fire against fire, I say. Okafor looks at you blankly, you can’t tell if she’s kidding. The Captain, BOUDICA, and Safar are all nodding in agreement, and Un is smiling and giving you two thumbs up. You roll your eyes at all of them and chuckle. ”All right mes amies, here’s what we’re going to do…” A: Task Force rear end-KICKER Load up as many ships that will agree with it with BOUDICA instances and attack in strength, to hell with what Union says. B: Tactical Stealth Mecha Use your spoofed IFFs to land the four mechs on the station in secret, with minimal backup C: Use Okafor as a Distraction. Again The Apocalypse Rail on Okafor’s Barbarossa is basically a ship-class weapon. Have her run interference while the rest of you board the station. Coming Soon: 
PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 00:33 on Mar 10, 2019 |
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Mar 10, 2019 00:29
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B This is a sneaking mission
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Mar 10, 2019 00:45
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The Lone Badger posted:B This is a sneaking mission Maybe in the same sense as the missions in Alpha Protocol. But yeah the closest thing to that here is EDIT: Vote changed. dont be mean to me fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Mar 11, 2019 |
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Mar 10, 2019 00:48
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Yeah, option B sounds best. Option A runs the risk of a whole lot of people dying in a frontal assault and C runs the risk of Okafor getting overwhelmed. Plus this way we'll have the Apocalypse Rail on hand to shoot our way out if we need to.
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Mar 10, 2019 01:09
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B, of course
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Mar 10, 2019 01:53
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B
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Mar 10, 2019 03:30
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Bandwagonning.
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Mar 10, 2019 05:37
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B really seems like the obvious choice here.
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Mar 10, 2019 10:25
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B stands for Best course of action.
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Mar 11, 2019 01:59
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A B isn't a bad plan but I feel the need to layout an alternative. It may well be impossible to extract that many civilians quietly. A large assault in force gives us more to work with, and has a chance of knocking out all opposition quickly. Actually that gives me an idea, would it be possible to do B, but with the goal of knocking the local sensors offline long enough for an all out attack as per A?
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Mar 11, 2019 15:39
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B for sure
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Mar 11, 2019 17:41
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paragon1 posted:B isn't a bad plan but I feel the need to layout an alternative. It may well be impossible to extract that many civilians quietly. A large assault in force gives us more to work with, and has a chance of knocking out all opposition quickly. Well, the SDF ships are already on standby for the bombardment, and some could be called in for emergency support if needed. But having them at the ready after the mechs have specifically knocked out comms/defenses is different enough to use another letter: D: Secretly Board with the Mechs to Knock out Defenses Prior to an All-Out Assault
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Mar 11, 2019 17:51
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Changing my vote from A to D
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Mar 11, 2019 20:13
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PoultryGeist posted:D: Secretly Board with the Mechs to Knock out Defenses Prior to an All-Out Assault
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Mar 11, 2019 20:23
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PoultryGeist posted:Well, the SDF ships are already on standby for the bombardment, and some could be called in for emergency support if needed. But having them at the ready after the mechs have specifically knocked out comms/defenses is different enough to use another letter: D
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Mar 11, 2019 20:30
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Swapping B to D
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Mar 11, 2019 20:42
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dont be mean to me posted:Maybe in the same sense as the missions in Alpha Protocol. Switching B to D because it is even more Alpha Protocol.
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Mar 11, 2019 20:43
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Lol if you think this isn't a trap by Stranger for us.
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Mar 11, 2019 21:10
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I sort of expected that B would become D by default but if that's what we're doing then sure, D. My concern here is less about being quiet per se, it's about what happens if we bring a bunch of ships to the front door and it turns out the Ushabti emplacement under construction is more active than it looks. We already know what one such emplacement can do to capital ships and this one could be even bigger. If we are going to call in the fleet it has to be only after we've confirmed that we've taken at least that thing well and truly offline or a whole bunch of people are going to be vaporized by bullshit space gun magic.
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Mar 11, 2019 21:26
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Kai Tave posted:I sort of expected that B would become D by default but if that's what we're doing then sure They are similar. B is 'Sneak in and do stuff on our own, calling in reinforcements if poo poo goes to hell' D is 'Sneak in and knock out the defenses so the fleet can kick butt (relatively) safely'
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Mar 11, 2019 21:47
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I figure it's pretty hard to hit what you can't see, but yeah confirming the status/presence of any paracausal weaponry onsite should be a priority.
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Mar 11, 2019 21:51
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PoultryGeist posted:“Also, I did not comply when instructed to turn in all NHP caskets.” Union Command is going to Court Martial Okafor the Elder once the dust settles on this one. A familiar face indeed! Vote: D: Secretly Board with the Mechs to Knock out Defenses Prior to an All-Out Assault
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Mar 11, 2019 21:51
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CourValant posted:Union Command is going to Court Martial Okafor the Elder once the dust settles on this one. Somewhere there's an anthropologist that looks up and mutters 'I tried to tell them', befire shaking her head sadly.
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Mar 11, 2019 22:01
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Switching from B to D
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Mar 11, 2019 22:35
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The hangar bay of Watchful Makeda is oversized for a ship of its class, designed to have room for all the shuttles and assorted vehicles needed to perform deep-space surveys to the Liyongese level of exactitude. But even still, it is a cramped hive of activity as the ship draws closer to Liyongo and the SDF cordon around O-8. The Chief and his printer crew, on loan from the still-drydocked Intrepid Dawn, had done a magnificent job nonetheless, managing to finish assembling Okafor’s new Barbarossa frame and get the four frames kitted for a stealth mission. You clap him on the shoulder in celebration, and its like hitting a rock. ”Magnifique! You and your crew are miracle workers Chief!” You massage your hand behind your back, but he hasn’t seemed to have noticed your wince of pain. He gives you a small nod, the ghost of a smile forming on his lips as he looks out over the activity. ”They did rise to the challenge, didn’t they Pilot. I’ll pass along your words to them, they’ll appreciate them.” His face is solemn again, all business. ”Be careful with those heat sinks Pilot River. They’ve got enough capacity to get you to where you can do your computer trickery, but only just. You’re going to have to run reactor-minimal and it’ll still be uncomfortably hot in the cockpits.” You give him an unnumbered smile. ”If it was going to be easy mon ami, they wouldn’t have called us.” You look down at the bottle you’re holding in your uninjured hand. ”There’s something I need to attend to now, I’ll see you on the other side Chief.” He gives you a curt nod, and moves off to assist the team fitting the last of Amanirenas’ new armor plates. You walk towards Baby, pinging the others as you go. The three of them meet you at Baby’s berth, torn between curiosity and last-minute checks. Looking a the three of them, you get a warble in your stomach and wonder if L-T felt it too. To answer their questioning glances you hold up the bottle. Its a bit grimy, with a home-made print-pas cap. The liquid inside is clear with a few fleck of something floating within. ”So. We’re a new crew that’s about to get dropped into the poo poo for the first time. And since La Géante here has decided I’m point, we’re doing it Mirrorsmoke-style.” You pop the cap, and the moonshine’s pungent aroma immediately fills the area. ”There wasn’t time for a brawl, so shots will have to d- oh poo poo Safar, can you drink?” Safar favors you with one of his Albatross-y smiles. ”I do not for intoxication, no. But allowances can be made for rituals of import.” “Bien. For Haoyi!” You talk a swing from the bottle and pass it on, trying not to cough at the surprisingly lovely taste. It goes around the circle of pilots, each of them adding their own toasts to Haoyi, and then comes back to you. You’re about to complete the ritual when you see SCYLLA’s holo watching you from Baby’s chest. And the subaltern nearby, waiting patiently to help while the rest load ammo into the frames. A: Offer SCYLLA the Bottle B: Offer Bo the Bottle C: Offer Them Both the Bottle D: Complete the Ritual
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Mar 16, 2019 17:01
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C, of course. B-but not because we like them or anything, baka! But yeah what really matters is the P in NHP, plus also what the hell kind of self-respecting scoundrel would pass up on the chance to do shots with his own mech? Crazycryodude fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Mar 16, 2019 |
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Mar 16, 2019 17:05
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C
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Mar 16, 2019 17:29
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C
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Mar 16, 2019 18:19
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C if the rest of them know about Scylla
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Mar 16, 2019 19:05
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Crazycryodude posted:C, of course. B-but not because we like them or anything, baka! Pretend I emptyquoted this while casting my own vote for C.
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Mar 17, 2019 01:20
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easiest C I ever made
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Mar 18, 2019 02:49
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MaliciousOnion posted:easiest C I ever made I'll drink to that. Vote: C: Offer Them Both the Bottle
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Mar 18, 2019 20:30
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You hold out the bottle to the subaltern on standby. “Get over here Bo, take a pull on this.” “BOUDICA, Lance-Commander.” The subaltern approaches, cocking its head in an approximation of confusion. ”Are you sure L.C. River? This this model frame doesn’t have a digestive tract approximation, we’re afraid your intoxicant would be wasted.” You give her a #3 Smile and shake the bottle at her. ”Like the Albatross says, its a ritual. You’re part of this kiddo, so just try your best.” BOUDICA takes the bottle and hesitantly puts it to the plastine of the subaltern’s face-mask, dribbling alcohol on it. Taking back the bottle with an encouraging nod, you look up at SCYLLA. ”You too, mon copilote. If you bring your holo down I can lend a hand, I guess.” “Unnecessary, THERIVER.” A small armature unfolds from Baby’s chassis, part of the auto-loader mechanism. It gingerly takes the bottle from your hand and pours some of the contents into the holo-screen. Oddly enough the booze doesn’t pass through the holo, but at this point you’re not that surprised. The bottle is handed back to you, and the armature disappears back into Baby’s spindly bulk. Raising the bottle, you look to each member of your squad. ”Bien. We’re a squad now, that means we get in, get the job done, and get paid. And we watch each other’s back, or the Bodhisattva of Broken Noses herself will come after you. NOW LET’S gently caress SOME poo poo UP!” You throw the bottle to the deck, sending glass and alcohol everywhere. ***** Somewhere in High Orbit of Liyongo, Mission Time M+93 The Chief had been right, even with the reactor banked at the bare-minimum of power draw, it was hot as hell. Even worse, since you were using your hardsuit to provide life support, you couldn’t wipe the sweat from you eyes. Not that you had anything to actually do in the last hour and a half, the old inertial transit vector monitor that had been mounted to your console hadn’t budged a bit as your squad’s mechs coasted into position. As far as any sensors were concerned you were just some space junk, and would stay that way until you could blend in with the drones working around O-8. SCYLLA’s holo appears next to gyroscope, lighting up the darkened console. No power fluctuation seen from the sleeping reactor, odd but not surprising. ”A request, THERIVER.” “Ah, about what?” “Please respect BOUDICA, THERIVER.” Your brow wrinkles in confusion, sending more sweat into your eyes. ”What do you mean SCYLLA, I respect Bo! If I didn’t I wouldn’t have included her in the pre-ga-” A new window appears, an audio recording. BOUDICA posted:“BOUDICA, Lance-Commander.” ”Quoi? That’s just…” You try to shrug your shoulders, which is surprisingly hard to do when locked into an acceleration couch. ”Its just a thing you do, its all in good fun.” Many more audio windows open, all playing variations on a theme. BOUDICA posted:“BOUDICA, Pilot River.” BOUDICA posted:”BOUDICA, Pilot. ” BOUDICA posted:”BOUDICA, RIVER.” The overwhelming heat of Baby’s cockpit is gone, you’re being dangled over the edge of the market-railing. Victor and his little gang of teenage assholes singing ‘fly away little bird’, and laughing at your useless squirming. You shake off the mostly-forgotten memory just in time to hear the ping from the commset. The tight-beam laser, Bo letting you know that you were within range. ”Ah, can we table this until we’re not in an op SCYLLA?” The windows all vanish, replaced by a ‘thumbs-up’ icon. Shaking your head, you reestablish the pilotnet and begin transmitting the faked IFF idents. Okafor, CLUTCH now displayed on her comm icon, pings you. ”I think we may have a problem River, I’m getting some more detailed scans than the fleet was able to at their distance. Take a look.” She streams a handful of full spectrum scans to the tacnet, and you immediately see the issue. Large holes had been opened up in the spine of O-8, as the station itself was cannibalized to construct the new Omnigun. You had been counting on those to allow the oversized Barbarossa and Gorgon frames access to the station interior without triggering any hatch alarms. But on the new scans, a maze of cross-beams could be seen with the holes, filling up most of the space. ”Oui, that’s certainly a wrinkle. Keep me updated as we get closer, maybe there’s still an approach available. SCYLLA, systems status?” ”Displaying status now.” Mission Loadout -Omninet hook -EVA Module -SCYLLA A: Full Squad Defense -Sentinel Drone -Mimic Mesh -//SCORPION -Vorpal Gun -Shotgun -2x Light Drones B: Jack of All Trades -//SCORPION -Manipulators -Pattern-A “Jericho” Deployable Cover -Assault Rifle -Thermal Rifle -H/K Drone C: Big Numbers -//SCORPION -GMS Pattern-B HEX Charges -Vorpal Gun -Charged Blade -2xMissile Racks PoultryGeist fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Mar 21, 2019 |
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Mar 20, 2019 03:07
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What do "mimic mesh" and "manipulators" do
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Mar 20, 2019 04:13
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Crazycryodude posted:What do "mimic mesh" and "manipulators" do Mimic Mesh lets us move around as a reaction to an ally being attacked. Manipulators are human-scale arms/hands that have full manual dexterity
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Mar 20, 2019 04:23
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Let's do Full Squad Defense. May as well fully commit to the role, everyone else should be pretty great at attacking directly.
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Mar 20, 2019 04:31
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