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>>30427495

SQUAD GUIDE:

http://pastebin.com/wBB4MwZb

UPDATES:

- Equipment FAQ updated with Meter Accelerator Upgrade.

HAHA, TIME FOR MURDER

>>30427495

JokerOP, is there any path for our squads to retreat?

>>30427634

Straight into the facility

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I just want to throw this up as a suggestion for folks to read before we begin the fighting/voting.

Our objectives here are to find out what they smilers are doing, fuck it up, limit damage to our forces and if possible, kill kraken.

Now we're being beset on three directions by a numerically superior force, theres no reason for us to sit there and take it. Their envelopment means they can concentrate their fire while we have to diffuse ours. The squads may win but we'll take terrible losses.

I propose we retreat if possible. Head back maybe through gigants entry point, past the firsg line of defences. Enough that the enemy columns merge back into one large one in their pursuit, while we cover our squads, retreating in good order.

Then as the enemy is bunched up heavily, we initiate maser bombardment. We kill off those who are heavily wounded, badly injure thos who are wounded and wound those untouched. More importantly, we stall their advance/charge as they'll be in pain and at that point our squads can rake them with their combined firepower.

This method I believe has the best chance of inflicting heavy casualties while keeping our current losses to a minimum.

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(Gentlemen, my sincerest apologies for the late start. I had unexpected work commitments today, which extended for far longer than was intended.)

>>30427634

(Yes: Back the way you came.)

The world is fire.

The air is a poison fog of swirling ash, a dense blackness moving hard on a silent wind. Behind you, a line of firestorm glows: The Cradles, burning, black oil touching off in showers of sparks and leaping tongues of hungry flame. To your accelerated senses, each moment unfolds with strobing clarity - The cohered glow of engines, the beat of ragged wings churning the air, the caws and shrieks of unclean creatures coming home to roost.

From above, from either side of the burning rig, the damnation swarm descends - Some descend on jump packs, some of flying gliders that bank and accelerate towards the battle below, dirty black smoke spewing forth to join the moiling chaos; Until even the sound of black waves against a stony shore is drowned out by the carrion-bird cries, things too large to be vultures swarming around the rig, circling.

The third - And final - tier of the rig is five storeys up from the second one, a sharply steep vertical cliff of metal, criss-crossed by a bewildering profusion of walkways and gantries and platforms. Here, the brutal machinery of the drilling rig and industrial pistons - The vast metal plateau of primed Cradles - give way to banks of consoles and rows of screens, arcane technology of unknown provenance marked with the bizarre symbols and glyphs you've only glimpsed on the visual field of your HUD.

The machinery is dead, now. Screens are pitch-black, pistons at rest, even the great pipelines and drills stilled by the momentary loss of power: The titanic column of the Manifold Tower looming above it all, reduced to the wan red glow of emergency lighting.

(Continued)

>>30427524
First plan of attack: wipe out the scourge swarm, they are the largest enemy group with the most mobility. Fly directly into their ranks and mow them down with the tyrant eye volley.

>>30427735

The tyrant eye volleys are mulyiple beams.

I dont see them being very effective against a swarm type enemy.

And that leaves the squads alone against crushing enemy forces.

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>>30427729

Most of the connecting walkways are on fire, twisted to slag. The main pathway to the third tier - The one that skull-masked Silencers were swarming down - has been reduced to a ragged, trunctuated study in destruction; Minor catwalks and stairs extend from either side, but crossing them means a gruelling, exposed slog through a battering gale of gunfire.

The Smilers are forming up, above. They have the advantage of height, of cover - Their shapes half-hidden behind the rows of unknowable machinery. Three squads, at most, stretched out in a firing line - This is their home ground, and they move with the ease of long familiarity. On the second tier, there isn't much room for concealment; Except for the time-locked bulk of the drilling platforms, their metal bulks burning in places from opportunistic or ranging shots.

Gunfire criss-crosses the distance, as more Smilers descend from the third tier of the rig; They don't move in large groups, but in knots of three-to-four, their return fire minimal at best - But there's something ominous about their silence, something that tells of an imminent and coordinated response.

(Continued)

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>>30427854

For now, the looming threat is eclipsed by the immediate one; The churning mass of the swarm closing in from either side. It's impossible to tell if they're Player or Corrector or some hellish amaglam of the two - One ragged formation swooping for the left flank, the other veering straight for the uncertain line of your squads: Their intention's obvious - To scatter your Players, to drive them out into the opponent, to be cut down by massed firepower and more esoteric abilities from above.

Every Hellion gun not aimed at the third tier is aimed skywards, pumping Ion blasts and rockets and fusion blasts into the dense pack - Already, the first Scourges shriek towards you, cackling in a dead man's voice; Behind them, driving them forward, are the Smilers - CORVUS REAPER. ASHEN GLAIVE. SCARLET CARNATOR. EBON MAW. IDOLO. CYCLONE LANNER. ARC INCEPTOR. FULGURITE BOLT. ALLOY STINGER. - descending on rasping, heat-shimmered forks of blue flame.

You're lit up like a human torch, a supernova. The Sinistral flickers as autocannon rounds from CORVUS REAPER'S autocannons rake across you - ASHEN GLAIVE and SCARLET CARNATOR leading the murder of crows, which seems to unfold like a single entity; Sweeping out of the skies, a constant torrent borne on churning black wings.

HP: 248.5%
COBALT BOOSTER: 110%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 37%
METER: 87%

TIER THREE WEAPONRY UNLOCKED

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>30428002

(Gentlemen, to explain the situation: The aerial attack is coming from roughly two sides. There's an amalgamated mass of Correctors and Scourges, led by flying Players - Part of it is heading to engage you, while the rest is moving to hit your squads.

Meanwhile, the Smilers on the third tier are mostly in hard cover: They're not firing back, but they seem to be amassing and taking up firing positions.

It's possible to reach the third tier, but time-consuming; The main pathway was destroyed by your gunfire, and the remaining walkways and stairs are almost completely exposed.)

>>30428002

Aww shit, they're sending a hit squad against us. We need to kill them as quickly and as brutally as possible.

>>30428062

I say we fire a chain mine or two at the flying players and hopefully take out some of the swarm.

>>30428002
>87% meter

What does a cobalt boosted quantum singularity cannon do?

Meanwhile, let's start throwing down missile barrages. Six triskelions, aimed at the smilers on the ground while we let loose with the vulcans on the scourges. Maybe throw a cobalt boosted plasma caster shot into the crowd if it's packed tightly enough. LIGHT UP THE NIGHT.

>>30428002

Activate argus, designate enemy flying players. Fire missiles to intercept them, at least give them something new to think about.

Tau gun on the corrector swarm heading for the squads. Scatter that formation with the explosion.

Immolator on those closing with us. Bath them in fire with that AOE.

Deploy our bits to support the squads to take down enemys with pin point fire (more correctors than players).

>>30428002

Right, first off, stop SUPER JOKER mode and return to Carnifex level 1. Turn on the Argus system, use Meter so we can give our Booster a chance to regen a bit of juice. Send a Chain Mine into the tightest packed bunch of flyers heading for our squad to thin them out. Fly into the mob that is now reasonably thinned out and use the melee capability of our shroud to start swatting gnats. While this is ongoing, engage the ones that were after us without Vulcans. Send a rack of Triskelions into them for good measure. Do not boost them.

Basically
RETURN TO CARNIFEX 1
ACTIVATE ARGUS. USE METER.
ENGAGE SWARM HEADING FOR US WITH VULCANS AND TRISKELIONS
SEND CHAIN MINE INTO SWARM TARGETTING
OUR SQUAD
HEAD INTO SWARM AND USE ASSAULT SHROUD MELEE FUNCTION

Evening OP. Keeping up with things all right I hope?

>>30428002
>87 meter
Oh my god we're going to hit 100.

>>30428062
Let's use a chain mine on each swarm.
MAXIMUM BURNING JOKER boosting means the life-tracking function is in effect. Since we're flying, let's introduce ourselves to the Smilers on the third level up close and personal, with the Immolator and a vulcan. The fact machines will start slagging from Joker's presence is an added bonus.

>>30428112
>>30428120
>>30428142
Those, time to use some heavy AoE.

>>30428002
Destroy their cover with missiles and then focus on dodging the fliers while riddling them with vulcans.

We should keep 75% meter in store so that we can erase Phantom Edge.

>>30428174
Tachyon Disintegrator?

>>30428168

But the chainmine is optimised for solo targets.

Im totally unsute how it'll fare against a mass of smaller one unless we can retune its detonation settings.

>>30428197
Don't you know it.

>>30428140
>>30428142

Combine them. Argus on. Carnifex 1. Chain mine into each flyer swarm. Send missiles to destroy the grouping Smilers' cover and to catch some in the backwash. Once we've thinned them reasonably enough, engage the grouping Smilers with Vulcans.

>>30428220
>>30428174
>>30428168
>>30428142
>>30428140
>>30428120
>>30428112
So we're basically spamming missiles and explosions everywhere?

THIS IS THE JOKER QUEST THAT I KNOW

>>30428219
Wonder what happens if Phantom Edge is retroactively erased from the timeline.

We should find out.

>>30428120
Same thing the regular one does, boosting a black hole device is somewhat superfluous.

>>30428174
We might be too far underground for the tachyon beam. If at all possible though, we should hold on to 55 meter so we can blast the Holophusikon Hive once we're out.

>>30428220
I prefer keeping Carnifex on. This is the best chance we've had to drastically reduce Smiler numbers, and the all around bonus the booster Carnifex provides is cheaper than every weapon and effect we want to bring to bear.

This is the reason we were conserving booster the entire time. There's no point to all that if we cheap out here.

>>30428271

One more round is all I'm comfortable with leaving it running. That's a shitload of booster to regen at 10% a tick. And now I realize the one upgrade would have basically given us infinite Super Joker. Pity.

>>30428142
>>30428112

Through a caul of blue flames, the twin launchers take form - Your Argus system's sweep highlighting your targets, the sharp chime of a target lock echoing in your ears; You have the Sinistral up, as the swarm boils towards you with seething, searing hunger - If you listen, you can *hear* Bardiel's voice, unfurling in hissing whispers. There is a madness in it, now; It sounds like a distant echo, fading and doppling, your Tempest Scrander's static jets flaring as you bank to the side, stray shots and projectiles splintering against the burning wedge of your hard-light shield...

-Launch.

A backwash of bitter smoke boils around you, as the twin Chain Mines erupt forth on their first and final flight. They're already separating, incendiary components flaring to life - Spheres of seething blue flame boiling forth in a hellish phosphorous glow-

The swarm boils down to meet you. Your Chain Mines plunge into them, like twin spears fired into the heart of darkness. The explosions, when they come, blot out all colour, all sound, in a fierce actinic glow. Will o'wisps scorch out in every direction at once, like distant flares - The overlapping blasts a cataclysm of sound, like a storm breaking and unloading it's fury.

The hunting cries of the Scourges turn to screams.

And then there is fire.

(Continued)

>>30428271

This. Take Ivory Zouave's squad up into the air to deal with the flyers, prioritizing whichever ground is led by our own personal exp-farm.

By which I mean Bardiel.

Jesus Christ 87% Meter

>>30428332
>Joker gets to kill Bardiel dozens of times over

This is fantastic.

We should start laughing. Psychological warfare. If the Smilers see Red Joker flying above them raining fiery death on them and cackling like a badman, they are probably going to piss themselves. Or oil themselves. Or whatever it is that robots do.

OP, I've been meaning to ask, are we still accumulating Hollow Sun charge? Or is that suspended until after the raid?

>>30428308
Depending on how much damage we do here it might be less painful later on. If we can clear the lion's share of the Smilers above and the Swarms, we can and should turn off the burn and start regenerating for Kraken/Phantom Edge. But managing that requires Burning Joker, otherwise we won't be able to kill enough Smilers.

>>30428396
How about taunts? "You shouldn't have run, coward Kraken, I had to come looking for you."

>>30428396
>implying we haven't been laughing maniacally the entire time and just haven't noticed

It's a good idea though.

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>>30428332

Whenever Chain Mine is brought up, I always think of the Kampfer's chain mine.

>>30428427
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-XEINagmaU

Except replace Sinistar with Red Joker

We still have those two Raid Leaders of the Smilers who are directing their troops right?

JokerOP mentioned 2 of them last thread.

I think we should introduce the one directing troops from behind to a railgun shell.

>>30428427

(Yes, you're still accumulating charge.)

It's not one blast, but many - A chain of fireballs, bellying out above the refinery, swirling with eye-searing flame. Not all of them die immediately, of course - Burning comets plunge earthward in Icarian descents, radiant with halos of flame. You can see them burning, feathers and scales raining down, crisping apart and shredding from the speed of their own fall -

You imagine that it must be very much like hell. The Essence signatures of CYCLONE LANNER, ALLOY STINGER and ASHEN GLAIVE all wink out at once, EBON MAW'S blazing track wrenching sharply to the left and descending, descending-

He hits the side of the rig, and his sensor ghost vanishes with a brutal suddenness.

You can hear shouts from below. A frisson of panic ripples across the concealed forms below, peering up at the battle in the skies. You hear snippets-

> "...stard's unstoppable-"
> "...everyone down here, everyone down here *now*-"
> "...the others? Don't they car-"

>>30428341

You hear the roar of jump packs going live. Ivory Zoauve's knights blast skyward, as you bank sharply over the raised platform of the third tier in a strafing run - Lances impale Scourges, weapons firing point-blank, scorched ichor splattering white armour, thrusters setting thrashing forms aflame-

Crimson particles fume from your Tempest Scrander, as rockets spiral out from your Triskelion Launchers; When they hit, they explode in blue napalm, as retaliatory plasma bolts and frantic, stabbing beams of light spit forth in your direction - But you're moving too fast, razing the ground before you in your bombing run, the *whoosh* and roar of launching missiles adding a new note to the symphony of destruction, the rig groaning as great chunks rain down from the superstructure...

The Smilers fall back.

(Continued)

>>30428508

I have the most massive boner right now

>>30428508
RUN, COWARDS!

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>>30428527

Makes two of us

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>>30428508
YES

YES

Iron Bro has got to be laughing like a madman right now.

>>30428614

Hes probably pissed he cant join in the dealing of death

>>30428508
Holy shit. How in the blueberry fuck are non-joker/card suite archetype players even relevant?

>>30428627

Because this level of destruction requires meter buildup.

>>30428508

It's the only thing they *can* do, as you rain down fire and death from above. They abandon any attempt to set up a firing line, as an actinic blue burn inferno burns along the line of dispute - Machinery slagging apart, banks of consoles and monitors turned into ready-made pyres. The path is clear for the advance, free of the potentially devastating fusillade your squads would face-

You don't think you kill any of them - Not immediately, but more than one Smiler is turned into a human torch. Your Interceptors lance searing spears of cobalt energy in the air - Incoming missiles plough into the burning web, beams of energy slashing across those who try to gather; Armour slags, glows cherry-red, molten furrows scorching into the deck below.

It doesn't mean that victory is decided, however. Not by a long shot.

>>30428452

They're retreating in surprisingly good order, despite the totality of your assault; Your Interceptors slash through a gantry, and the swinging guillotine of the orphaned catwalk smites ARGON AVOIDER from the rig - He pitches over the side, his fingers raking out desperately for some handhold as you close in like a burning comet...

> "Fall back! Form up at the gate - *Move*, you bastards!"

There's one leader. CALCITE ARROW, his bow in hand - Translucent crystals jagging from his pauldron, his armour white and dull yellow. The vision slit of his helmet reminds you - Of all things - of wrap-around mirrorshades.

He is, categorically, not running away. His great bow creaks as it's drawn back, as he sets his feet: Taking aim, as if he has all the time in the world. You twist aside, two missiles spiralling into a silo of black oil - It explodes, your Interceptors lancing the burning debris from the air, the blast hurling another Smiler from the rig, flailing and thrashing with sick desperation-

Your HUD chimes with a target lock, picking him out around the fleeing crowd.

You fire at the same time.

(Continued.)

>>30428627

I think the best/worst part about this is we're actively murdering kids and teenagers in the real world right now. The headline tomorrow is going to be grim as fuck.

>>30428648

>We're actually killing one of their leaders now.

All of my yes.

Then we kill the other one.

>>30428657
>I think the best/worst part about this is we're actively murdering kids and teenagers in the real world right now.

Then maybe they shouldn't have been part of the terrorist group that killed all those people in Nara Dreamland.

If they are still active Smilers after that shit then fuck them all. No fucking mercy.

>>30428657
Yep.

5 lives snuffed out in as many seconds, consumed by the Joker's hellfire.

>>30428627
It's all because Joker is in his element right now. He's constantly moving, his senses are greatly augmented and all his weapons boosted. He has a shitload of meter and is keeping at a range from his enemies. This is the perfect situation for him to utilize all he has.

>>30428657

They made their bed.

They can lie in it 6 feet under.

>>30428664

I think "leader" is a bit strong of a word here.

NCO, maybe.

>>30428627
Because we're doping and we charged meter on the trip down. If we'd spent a lot or didn't have the Carnifex, this battle would be going much differently.

>>30428657
They could have chosen to join the faction that isn't pumping people full of the decomposing Essence of dead Players and trying to bring the Red World to the real one. None of them seem to regret what they do, only that they're being made to pay for it. Megumi is perhaps an exception, but she's got her own reasons.

>>30428707

He's max level++++ too. These are scrubs. Barely worth the meter he's expending to slaughter them wholesale.

>>30428707
The Red World Angel of Death moniker is becoming more relevant by the second. I'm so glad we upgraded the Scrander this high.

>>30428725

NCOs are still leaders. But thats was roughly what I meant, just that I was thinking in MMO terminology, Raid Leaders.

>>30428648

Your Vulcans fire first, as your fists clench down on the stirrup grips: It's a long, satisfying burst, one that hits him and staggers him - He grunts, his knees buckling as you actually see the exit wound: Stone chips and spalling punch through from his back, exiting in a flare of actinic Essence and smoke-

A single arrow streaks across the distance. The motion is fluid and perfect, but easily predictable - Your thrusters flare, and...

The impact is total, all-consuming, defying all reason - Your sensors actually *black out* for a heartbeat, displaying impossible readings as they fight to process it-

You've been hit.

By a stone wall.

A stone wall, moving at the speed of a runaway train.

Not by an arrow: By a great spike - A *pillar* - of calcified stone, at least four times the size of your entire body. The force it imparts is incredible - Your Sinistral's field shatters in a concussive blast, but all it does is to add a new angle to your descent; You hit the ground hard, so hard your optic sensor cracks, and your HUD scrolls white static and red alarms as the azure flames gouting from your form gutter out.

He knocked the fire out of you.

(Continued)

>>30428753
And Red Joker is the max level world boss.

>>30428647
>Because this level of destruction requires meter buildup.

This.

They thought they were clever, placing their base in a corrector hive.

What really happened is we caught them *all* at *zero meter* while our survivors had spend *no meter at all* using hellion weaponry, and started the fight at a higher power level, on TOP of an *ambush scenario*.

Our planning paid the double-fuck off

>>30428693
>>30428702
>>30428714
>>30428735

Based upon the sheer level of destruction and ease at which Joker is slaughtering them, i'd say they were freshly recruited Smilers. They're barely speedbumps. I'd bet money they actually think this was a game.

Kinda makes me wonder what the Smiler recruitment posters look like.

>>30428774

Son of a bitch.

I think we should use some of our excess meter to heal up rather than use booster now.

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>>30428790

I Will Maintain Anarchy

>>30428742
Grim Fucking Reaper of the Red, wasn't it?

>>30428774
Fuck, massive trauma resets the Sinistral. Guess a stalactite at great speed counts.

>>30428790
Word of mouth, I imagine. People tell their friends about the amazing turn around their luck has had, and the rush, and the power, and so on. We saw people treat it like a game at Nara Dreamland, remember? They were talking in l33t.

>>30428742
Speaking of the scrander, lets test out the Tempest Cannon someone came up with a few threads ago.
Fire our jetpack fueled lightning bolt attack directly into a level 3 charged sinestral and point the business end at our enemies.

>>30428826

>They were talking in l33t

It's been a while since the Revenge Arc. Forgot about that specific detail.

>>30428774

Aw, we only hit him with a vulcan, not the railgun.

>>30428829

Not now. We only have One Shot with our tesla cannon. Don't waste it when we have more pressing matters. Like Sir Edge and the BETA Wrangler. And a pillar to the face.

Actually, considering how shitty Joker is at dodging, maybe we should blow it.

That was a joke. Don't use it. Yet.

>>30428790
"See the Red World! Gain power and fame! Get vaporized by the Red Joker as an afterthought!"

>>30428829
>Speaking of the scrander, lets test out the Tempest Cannon someone came up with a few threads ago.
>Fire our jetpack fueled lightning bolt attack directly into a level 3 charged sinestral and point the business end at our enemies.
>>30428892
>Not now. We only have One Shot with our tesla cannon. Don't waste it when we have more pressing matters. Like Sir Edge and the BETA Wrangler. And a pillar to the face.

I ame up with that - but we need the mobility right now

>>30428935

(Gentlemen: My sincerest apologies, it appears that I have made a mistake. I forgot to reduce your maximum HP capacity by the Carnifex's penalty - I'll apply it to the next status update, so don't be alarmed by the sudden drop in your HP.)

For a moment, all is blank confusion - Your systems recohering, visual feed struggling to reassemble the world around you: You hear shouts, bruising impacts, the oddly tinny sounds of Hellion weaponry being discharged.

And a cackling, close by and around you - The *screech* of talons gouging against your armour...

Then the roar of flame, as cackles turn to shrieks. The world returns, in a rush - Your accelerated perceptions slowing, as the Carnifex's crusher retracts with a bruising rasp.

For a moment, you literally cannot make sense of what you're seeing; Just wailing, thrashing shapes, reduced to collapsing human fireballs as a form crashes down next to you-

"*Cover* him." Iron Ogre growls, in a voice that brooks no disagreement - His kinetic mace is cased in one fist, as it smashes into IDOLO'S faceplate: The Smiler's visor explodes, and he falls back hard. Ogre swings the mace and breaks both his legs, finishing the job with thudding, impacting swings-

"Get up, Joker - Get up get up get up -" Alchemical fire drools from Nova Drake's flame projectors, as he holds out a taloned hand to you; You're back on the second tier, and the poison smoke has gathered like a fogbank. Scourges come thundering in like missiles, plunging down - They arrive killing, raking with furious claws, ripping into the other Players; They move with Bardiel's genius of flight, using their rippling wings like shields - Slamming them into opponents to throw them off-balance, before leaping on them to rip them apart on the ground.

"There's dozens of the little fuckers, we're going to have to fight like bastards-"

HP: 189.8%/260%
COBALT BOOSTER: 90%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 18%
METER: 61%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>30428979

Give us some idea at where we are currently and directions we can go. Can we move into the rig proper or do we haft to cross catwalks? I can't make a suggestion until I know the lay of the land.

>>30428979

Immolator. Burn the scourge near us. Use the vulcan on thick concentrations.

Deploy another chain mine right into the thickest concentration of the swarm that won't kill our own guys.

Should we deploy EXE-SWARM? This appears to be similar to the previous situation.

>>30428979
>"Get up, Joker - Get up get up get up -"

"I"m not out of the fight. Not by a long shot."

>>30429006

Seconding that, please. Bit status?

>>30428979

"So hang on. Your latest bad idea of a form is splitting yourself into dozens of tiny little fuckers to go flying around like a ravenous dust cloud.

You know what dust clouds are good at?"

Level the arc gun.

"Conducting electricity."

>>30429007
I agree with this plan

>>30429018

holy crap it's finally useful. we can shoot bardiel dozens of times with one shot

>>30429006
>>30429014

(You're currently back on the second tier, in the middle of a swirling melee. It's a point-blank battle, with Scourges and the few remaining flying Smilers engaging the group - There's not much room to bring heavy weapons to bear in the press.

The main path to the third tier is damaged, but there's an array of exposed catwalks that can be crossed to reach it. At present, a large part of the third tier is on fire, with most of the cover effectively destroyed.

Your Interceptors are being recalled to your position - You have three of the five remaining.)

>>30428979

"Cover me for a sec, I need to repair my sensors."

>>30429007
>Should we deploy EXE-SWARM? This appears to be similar to the previous situation.

They can't fly. We also can't afford the meter or HP at this juncture so.... no swarm.

>>30429018
>Level the arc gun.
>"Conducting electricity."

No arc gun. Its inferior to our basic weapons.

Immolator out+Vulcan. Lets clean up.

Argus Scan (meter)

Look for High Profile Targets - we NEED to wreck kraken, bardiel, and phantom edge in no particular order since we're the biggest fucking hammer on our side - and we need to do it before they gank the crap out of our allies.

Plan as follows:
Clear the trash/scourges around us while we get our bearings and look for the big bad smilers.
OR
Make a push for the Manifold Tower controls, depending on the situation and positioning

>>30429059

Yes the EXE-SWARM can fly.

We deployed them as a mobile shield for our squad.

>>30429059
>>30429037

>whynotboth.jpg

Still going to recommend dual wielding Immolator and Arc Gun here. Two AoE weapons with different damage vectors.

>>30429038
>It's a point-blank battle, with Scourges and the few remaining flying Smilers engaging the group - There's not much room to bring heavy weapons to bear in the press.

Oh. OH.

Deploy Sinistral, and the Fusion Annihilator behind it. Since its an armored, less volatile weapon now, begin using it in Blaster Mode(ie, non-beam) and clearing house of the smilers close to us.

Offhand the Immolator, and use the armor pen and incendiary modes as needed.

Since we have a link to the bits, use them to get a view of the situation as they're recalled, and then make a push up to the third tier.

>>30429083
>We deployed them as a mobile shield for our squad.

Yeah, underground, in a tunnel, where they looked like scarab bugs. Does not = fly
The point about Cobalt Booster and HP still stands though - its a waste right now.

>>30429097

This is a point. We haven't had a chance to try out the upgraded fusion annihilator at all.

Bring that shit out. Gatling mode, HO!

>>30429103


When you activate EXEC_SWARM, your vision blurs. The emerald glow of Essence lights you up from within; For a moment, your defensive hail of gunfire falters, as the Codeburst draws energy from the very core of your being...But then the swarm boils outwards from you, in a cloud of glowing parasites - Flesh-eating fireflies, lit from within by their sickly radiance. Every one is shod in red steel, as they churn away from you in a thick, buzzing cloud of crimson damnation, swirling around the squad like a halo of flies. You hear muffled curses, shrieks of surprise as Players duck and flinch, wondering what new horror is about to be unleashed.

>>30428979
Oof, that one hit really did a number on us. Surprised we stood still long enough for it to hit. Is the number you're showing here the "next status update"? Or are we getting a 35% reduction next?

Anyway, get up. Vulcans out, purge the Scourge. We want to move out of here, preferably toward the third tier. We're sitting ducks for another rock blast where we are.

"What's our status? Calcite Arrow's arrow is what hit me? It expanded, right?"

>>30429038
Hm. In light of this, no chain mine. Swarm could be a pretty good idea though.

What we should try to do is get a few Players onto the third tier to keep the Smilers heads down until the heavier Players can cross the catwalks and bring big guns to bear. That means us and Silver Cross's team.

>>30429090
The arc gun's a weaker version of the lightning bolt. We seem to have been grounded. Launch the lightning bolt, then use the arc gun.

Once we've cleared the air some, us and some light units dash for the third tier. There they suppress the Smilers and Scourge, until Gigant and similar types arrive. Then we knock down the Smiler defenses.

>>30429038

Alright. Alrighty. So it'll be a turkeyshoot for the Smilers if we move from our present position. That's what I was worried about....

"WE'RE MOVING FOR THE RIG PROPER. *NOW*. THIS IS A FUCKING KILLBOX. FORM UP DAMNIT. MOVE MOVE MOVE. PAIR OFF. TWO'S AND THREE'S. ZOAUVE, WITH ME."

Take off with our wingmates and start clearing off the catwalks. Our priority is to secure a corridor for our fighting advance to the rig proper. Once we get into the rig, we'll have a secure beachhead to defend ourselves. Right now, we're in a fucking shooting gallery.

>>30428979

Activate EXE_SWARM

Save our guys

>>30429125
>The arc gun's a weaker version of the lightning bolt. We seem to have been grounded. Launch the lightning bolt, then use the arc gun.
>Once we've cleared the air some, us and some light units dash for the third tier.

>>30429038
>The main path to the third tier is damaged, but there's an array of exposed catwalks that can be crossed to reach it.

Giving up jetpack is a bad idea when the main path there is damaged.
Lightning bolt is fun, sure, but if they're falling back, we want to use the opening to get the the manifold tower ASAP - and that means taking the direct route, and THAT means flying

>>30429125

Thing is the 3rd tier is almost cover-less after our strafting run.

We go up there we'll still be fighting the swarm of correctors and putting ourselves in the line of fire of the next smiler defence line.

I think we should clear these guys before advancing.

>>30429135

NO SWARM

We need that barrier for Kraken.

Remember, the first thing he does is Disrupt us!

No Swarm.

You want to save the guys, use more gun

>>30429007
>>30429135

+1.

Deploy the swarm

>>30429007
>Deploy another chain mine right into the thickest concentration of the swarm that won't kill our own guys.

Remove this from my suggestion in light of:>>30429038

>>30429147
>>30429151
The Smilers are falling back, likely to reinforce another place. If we get up there now we can convince them to stay down for long enough to get the siege units up. We're not going to be able to dig them out ourselves, and we don't want them to actually rally.

Though actually, that's a decent point: We should get up to the third tier ourselves, launch the lightning bolt, have the light units race to us, and have the heavy guys come up while we keep the Smilers pinned.

>>30429151

Those guys are retreating. We push we route them. Haven't you played any Total War?

>>30429185

They are retreating to regroup to form another firing line from prepared positions. You heard what the leader said, fall back to the gates.

>>30429196

Another reason to rush them. We can't let them get cozy and fortified behind their walls. The more we dally, the better prepared and more men they funnel towards the outer defenses.

>>30429125

(It's more that the projectile went from an arrow to - unaccountably - a massive spike of rock halfway through the launch. Significantly harder to dodge, when you aren't expecting it.)

>>30429018

Nova Drake flinches back as you level the Arc Gun directly at him:

"No, wai-" he begins, as white tines of crackling lightning lance from the Hellion weapon - Surprise slows him, and that's a good thing, because the blast of electricity sizzles over his shoulder and sears into the Scourge that's landed behind him, silent as the descent of night; It spasms and judders as sparks crackle across it's form, and Drake recoils with a surprised grunt, tensing in belated realization.

"Right *behind* m-" he manages, as you wrench yourself to your feet: An instant later, ALLOY STINGER'S force gauntlet smashes into the side of Drake's head, so hard his knees buckle, and you have to save him a second time with your Immolator - Flame roars from your double-barreled weapon in a scorching torrent, engulfing the Smiler: It doesn't stop him, as he drives at you, swinging his fist in a lethal arc-

You bring your Sinistral up in time, as his weapon mows through the air. Chips of hard-light scatter like glass, as Alloy Stinger's augmented gauntlet shatters your shield: Your Arc Gun spits lightning into his face and he goes down, thrashing as his myomer fibres overload within his cooking armour - Drake is upon him in an instant, his crackling talons punching through Stinger's cuirass-

(Continued)

>>30429227

There's no order to this fight. An autocannon round explodes across your left pauldron, and you go down with a gun in each hand - You're hit again, thrown sideways into (Of all people) Palladium Rook; He's dueling two Scourges at once, his movements slowed by sheer horror - At some point, he's gained a main gauche, a short stabbing blade that flares with a tachyon radiance of it's own.

> "Alwwwayyysssss - Hatttteedddddd yyyyyyouuu -"
> "Nnnnnnhhhhhh. Hunnnnngerrrrrr-"

The caw-shriek of Bardiel's voice - A mechanical growl like an idling turbine - is whining, buzzing, fractious; They're like faded copies of him, twitching, leering things that move with a jerky parody of grace, hewing with their claws, beaks clattering in razor crescents.

"Oh shit, what did they *do* to you?" Rook crackles, in breathless horror; He's losing ground, his blades raised in a cross - Too focused to notice you, until...

Essence flares, your armour's glow dimming; But then the swarm boils outwards from you, in a churning cone of devouring parasites, glowing with emerald radiance as they sketch themselves into being. Crimson steel locusts, churning outwards in a thick, buzzing cloud - They engulf the Scourges, eating into them, eating through them, drawn unerringly to their targets in the midst of the swirling, brutal fight.

Rook takes the advantage - He drives forward, finishing the nearest Scourge with a brutal, scything slash: His stabbing sword drives into the side of it's skull, the glowing blade punching through it's flesh. You're right besides him, lighting up the thrashing survivor with a crackling jag of electricty - As it spasms, riding the lightning, you roast it slowly with a focused spear of flame, until it crumples upon itself in a twitching pyre.

(Continued)

>>30429315

It takes a lot to rattle Rook, but he's *definitely* rattled now.

"Joker-" His helmet buzzes, as he snatches a glance in your direction - "Joker, what the *fuck* is going on? That was-"

He's interrupted, his breath punched from his lungs by a grunt, as he's struck by a flying arm: SCARLET CARNATOR cackles, as his hovering glider banks, hard - The powered edge of his great axe cleaving BLAST SCARAB cleanly in half, before he banks away on vernier thrusters.

"You bastard - NO!" Vector Geist's shout is an explosion of fury - His Pulse Carbine chattering as he fires it past you, chasing the fast-moving marauder with a hail of gunfire.

> "WE'RE MOVING FOR THE RIG PROPER. *NOW*. THIS IS A FUCKING KILLBOX. FORM UP DAMNIT. MOVE MOVE MOVE. PAIR OFF. TWO'S AND THREE'S. ZOAUVE, WITH ME."

Rook's back slams into yours - You snap off shots left and right, lightning searing into a Scourge, your Immolator spitting bolts of explosive flame as ARC INCEPTOR - Flying on static thrusters - is hit again and again, veering away on a twisting plume of sparks from your surgical intercept shot.

A rough circle has formed around the drill-rig: The attacking Scourges mostly slaughtered, now, almost every gun aimed outwards at the slashing track of the raiders sweeping past, too fast to be accurately targeted. More Correctors are clambering down the walls - Spider-things, scorpion-things - to join the black swarms called forth from the depths of the Hive. The constant fire is keeping them at bay - But it's keeping the squads locked in place, too, a headlong battle to stop the vultures from coming home to roost.

(Continued)

>>30429473

"Have you *seen* what's coming?" Rook snaps back - "It's the *entire Hive*-"

[ ] "...Kraken. Kraken's doing this."
[ ] "We need to push forward, and finish this."
[ ] "There's no end to them. We need to fall back."
[ ] "We can beat them - Just keep shooting!"
[ ] "Let the others hold them back. Get me a squad - We're going after them."
[ ] Free

HP: 172.3%
COBALT BOOSTER: 37%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 12%
METER: 71%
INTERCEPTORS: 2/5

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>30429440
Concentrate fire and move towards a high value target, possibly Bardiel or Kraken. Kraken in particular has had so much of the upper hand in previous dealings with us that I think acting cocky with him would make him underestimate our new capabilities, letting us get in a couple cheap shots before he takes us seriously in a fight.

>>30429485

JokerOP, a question, has the Void Anchor finished deploying?

Is it now invulnerable?

>>30429485

(Gentlemen: To clarify, you're on the second tier. You could advance to the third tier almost unopposed - The Smilers have fallen back to the final compartment, and don't seem to be making a counter-punch - but there are a significant number of Correctors being drawn to the refinery.

The concentrated fire is doing an excellent job keeping them at bay, as is the position of the rig. The few flying Players remaining - About a handful, at most - are now focused mostly on harassment.)

>>30429485
>[ ] "...Kraken. Kraken's doing this."
>[ ] "We need to push forward, and finish this."

>>30429440
>>30429485
>[X] "...Kraken. Kraken's doing this."

OP, how long will the Void Anchor's draining effect last?

>>30429522

(Yes: It's already fully deployed, and I'll reflect that the next time I display the Hollow Sun meter.)

>>30429485
>COBALT BOOSTER: 37%

what the heck did we spend all that booster on?!

>>30429540

So the refinery should be completely shut down already and should not be reactivatable?

Where are the smilers gathered?

Because if they're in the tower, I say they squads hold the line, we bring Hazes and fire one of his FUCK EVERYTHING missiles into the doorway.

>>30429524
>You could advance to the third tier almost unopposed -

Then lets do so.

>>30429553
Exec_Swarm.

>>30429556
Nope. Because we want to access the Tower controls, and if we fire one of those we'll have to wait until we're overwhelmed to do it.

>>30429579

Actually, I was the opinion of fucking everything up inside the tower and then calling a general retreat.

We've dealt the smilers a heavy blow, a lot of men lost and the refinery shut down by a invulnerable anchor.

>>30429485

We're eating booster? Thought we went down to level 1 when we were pile drived.

"We're moving up before we're overwhelmed! We wasted too much time here they'll be dug-in and ready for us! Squads, move!"

Joker takes the lead. Kills the remaining fliers with his Vulcans. We get a lay of the land before the remaining squads catch up to us and maybe take a few potshots at the defenders to size them up.

>>30429485

Use the argus and lock onto the remaining raiders. Missile those bastards to death, let our squads be able to concentrate fire back on the incoming correctors.

>>30429528
>>30429556

(You're uncertain. At present, things are currently still down, but you get the suspicion that it's more like a temporary blackout than a permanent one. Given the substantial damage to the rig, it's unlikely that the automatic defences are going to reactivate - Or that they'll even be able to target you, in the event that they do.

The rig is in pretty bad shape. Most of it is on fire, and a substantial amount of equipment on the third tier has been destroyed. The first tier is basically a ring of fire, now, and it's gradually eating through the superstructure, which has actually collapsed upon itself in places.)

>>30429553

(EXEC_SWARM. My apologies: I forgot to include the HP cost to it - The round-to-round resolution for mass combat is slightly more time-consuming than I expected. Your stats should be...)

HP: 152.3%
COBALT BOOSTER: 37%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 12%
METER: 71%
INTERCEPTORS: 2/5

>>30429485

We can control the swarm right?

Its not something most players are built to deal with.

We bring it with us and use it against the defence line they smilers put up against us.

Let it eat their faces.

>>30429588
There's enough of them left that they'll overwhelm the majority of the surviving squads that I think taking out one of the leaders would save more lives than it would cost.

>>30429610
Should we just collapse the rig and call it a day?

>>30429485

JokerOP, I say that we take our best squad and move forward, while leaving everyone else to hold the Correctors at bay. Make sure to take Rook and Haze with us, no matter what.

We're going to need Haze to take out Kraken.

>>30429617

I meant firing one of haze's missiles into the tower. Not actually entering the tower. That way lies a prepared killing ground.

>>30429598
>>30429610
Exec_Swarm costs 40 booster. Did we spend the other 13 on Argus/Cybele's Emblem?

>>30429611
>We can control the swarm right?
No we can't.

>>30429627
If they have any kind of bulkhead they can just seal it and wait. If we want the leaders dead (and we do), we're going to have to breach the inner chamber.

Luckily the Fusion Annihilator does that well. Remember the door that would take fusion weapons a week to open? We one-shotted that.

>>30429623

This. Instead of taking everyone with us, just take the best Players with us. Grab everyone who's good and get Zoauve to fly them forward.

>>30429646

But we were able to direct the swarm to cover Vector's squad during our passage through the nest. I think they respond to some of our commands.

Maybe even something as simple as 'eat those bastards there'

I'm off. Didn't realize it was 5:30 in the morning already. Actually gotta be awake to run Pathfinder later today. Why do you always run on the worst days OP?

Cheers folks.

>>30429618

no. We want to t= 47.5ake this area for ourselves, and we want to let the anchor reap as much as it can.
There's also the question of using the tower to undo whatever the shit they've bene up to

>>30429610
>COBALT BOOSTER: 37%

Its gonna cost = 47.5 to defend against Disrupt, at minimum so.... Let that stuff recharge.

>>30429485
>[ ] "...Kraken. Kraken's doing this."

"I can beat him. Keep shooting, and get me a squad of fast movers - we need to end him before he buries us ALL"

>>30429661
I'm pretty sure they just attacked enemies at hand. I can't remember any commands issued to the swarm.

Godamnit guys. Just move on to the next level shooting every enemy we see. It's that simple.

>>30429714

Well the swarm restricted itself to moving about the the squad.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/30229288/#p30230914

> swirling around the squad like a halo of flies.

instead of just flying out to eat. That implies them understanding at least some instructions.

>>30429732

Seconding

File: 1393152641441.png-(641 KB, 563x931, jokerzoauve.png)

641 KB PNG

>>30429646

(Argus and restoring your Sinistral, actually.)

>>30429661

With a thought-command, the swarm boils after you - The buzz of their clattering wing-cases filling the air, churning overhead like a crimson storm.

> [X] "...Kraken. Kraken's doing this."

"He's *what*?" Rook has to shout, to make himself heard - "He can do *what*?"

> [X] "We need to push forward, and finish this."
>>30429491
>>30429578
>>30429598

"Forward! Forward!"

You're not sure who's yelling that, but the convection currents of motion bring the squads sweeping forward - It's not a tidy advance, or even a steady one. Instead, you see Players backing away, firing as they go, along the nightmare tangle of half-collapsed walkways and gantries and melted pathways-

"Joker-"

Vector Geist's hand clamps against your shoulder, ichor sizzling on his machete's cleaver edge - "Joker, get the others over. We'll keep the bastards *back*." Random fire is streaming across the distance, in blurts of carbine fire and ion blasts - Rockets falling short, shaking the rig with the sullen detonations.

At his side, Titanium Gigant is limping, dragging one sparking leg behind him - But he raises a fist in a salute, nodding to you - before he turns his massive launcher back to the advancing line of Correctors. The few Smilers - The ones that aren't dead, that are still flight capable - are peeling away from the burning base, now; There's no order to their ragged retreat. You estimate that perhaps two or three have made it away, as opportunistic fire stitches out at them.

> "I can beat him. Keep shooting, and get me a squad of fast movers - we need to end him before he buries us ALL"
>>30429657
>>30429623

Rook nods, grimly -

"Zoauve - ZOUAVE! Where the hell are you?"

(Continued)

File: 1393153189523.png-(128 KB, 300x372, jokerhaze.png)

128 KB PNG

>>30429765

"Here." The sound is a rasp, heralded by the shriek of thrusters - Wisps of vapour trailing in his wake, Zoauve plunges down from above. His ivory armour is charred with a half-dozen near-misses; He's lost his lance, somewhere, and he's been fighting with the Revolve Bazooka clamped in his right hand.

His other arm is wrapped tight around Distortion Haze's waist.

"Shuya-"

"-No names." Rook cuts him off, but his voice is relieved. Haze's armour has changed, now - The exposed myomer fibre giving way to lightweight carapace. He still has his Hellion firearm, but he has an odd weapon - A syringe-gun? - in his other hand; A spindly collection of brass pipes with a crystalline bulb where a normal firearm might have an ammunition magazine.

No, not a syringe gun. A plague weapon.

Rook actually seems to sag, a long breath shuddering out of him - Before he straightens, composure restored. "Come on. Let's get this shit over with."

Zouave jerks his head, as you clamp both arms around Rook; Your Tempest Scrander flares to life, and a dizzying burst of acceleration hurls you into the air to join Zoauve's remaining knights. Somehow, all four have survived the fighting mostly unscathed - Each one bears a Player with them, an impromptu squad of eight.

(Continued)

>>30429765
>With a thought-command, the swarm boils after you - The buzz of their clattering wing-cases filling the air, churning overhead like a crimson storm.

Oh wow.

Imagine if the smilers had their way. Red Joker could just keep spamming EXE_SWARM.

This is our Kraken minicry.

>>30429826
>"-No names." Rook cuts him off, but his voice is relieved. Haze's armour has changed, now - The exposed myomer fibre giving way to lightweight carapace. He still has his Hellion firearm, but he has an odd weapon - A syringe-gun? - in his other hand; A spindly collection of brass pipes with a crystalline bulb where a normal firearm might have an ammunition magazine.
>No, not a syringe gun. A plague weapon.

hehehehheheehe.
He leveled, for the first time!

>>30429856
I supposed we should uphold the tradition and say "gratz".

>>30429856
Second and third. His first was in the upper hive, he got a Guard upgrade then. Here he's gotten Force and another Guard. Or equivalent, the notation might be different for every Player.

>>30429856

But two changes, armour and a weapon?

He level twice.

>>30429883

If only leveling up conferred a 100% restoration.

I hope Gigant doesnt bite it here.

>>30429894
I expect everyone we left behind is dead. I suppose we might see a miracle, or a Renewal, but those haven't been mentioned outside the flashback episode.

In a loose formation, you streak across the distance; The burning surface of the rig zipping past beneath you. Oddly, Agite Striker has consented to being transported in this manner - Lifted by BOMBARD VALKYRIE, crimson armour against arterial red.

Ten, then.

"What about the others?" you hear her ask, her crackling words half-stolen by the slipstream - "Too slow," comes Rook's answer. "-It's just us, now."

Her silence says it all.

It's a brief flight, as you loft over the flaming destruction; Your swarm boiling forward around you, struggling to keep pace. The world seems to shudder, as you near the Manifold Tower; The Manifold Tower, and the heart of the Smiler base, clamped like a spiked collar around a throat. It's an oddly elegant shape - A ring of black steel, with spikes bristling outwards like a bear trap in reverse. Raised above the rest of the rig, it reminds you - Momentarily - of a colosseum in miniature, like a-

Violet light flares. A deep, dying moan comes from within the Manifold Tower - Cising sparks flickering up and over the surface in leaping arcs of discharge. There's something vile about that light, singular and unwholesome - It reminds, you forcibly, of the light of the Nihl Sphere. You can feel a vibration run up your right arm, through your gauntlet - The Sphere whining fractiously, a cold shudder racing up the limb in response.

"The fuck," Sol Tetrach - One of Zoauve's knights - utters, which strikes you as not very knightly at all.

And then you begin to take fire.

(Continued)

>>30429916
>"What about the others?" you hear her ask, her crackling words half-stolen by the slipstream - "Too slow," comes Rook's answer. "-It's just us, now."
>Her silence says it all.

Dammit...

I thought they might be able to hold on.

>>30429935

Perhaps we can use the iff to signal for them to retreat?

So everything is on fire, we killed an entire swarm of Bardiel and now there's our own swarm of all devouring locusts following us while we make an aerial assault.

This is just awesome.

>>30429935

we lost our organization in the thread swap

>>30429916

"Shit!" you hear Meridian Hand yelp - Somehow, he's survived all this way, borne aloft by JET LANCER - as a great spear of calcified stone rockets past; It hits the far wall of the cavern, and explodes in a cloud of rock dust, the momentary tremor sending a shudder through the rig.

Behind you, the flash-flicker of overlapping fire beards the second tier: Your allied squads have formed a firing line, covering the remnants of Vector Geist's squad as they advance across uncertain ground - But progress is perilously slow, given the horde they're holding at bay. The wall of flame on the first tier helps: The ring of fire almost lost behind the choking smoke, Correctors pitching down into the churning black ocean beneath.

The circumference of the base's core has firing ports - There seems to be rather less Smilers than you remember, or perhaps they lack the range; Spears of lightning and blasts of force sear past you, as you close in on their last stand-

[ ] "Hang on, Rook - I'm going in."
[ ] "We have to rush them."
[ ] "Zoauve - Hang back. We need to take out the shooters!"
[ ] "They're dug-in. We have to pull back!"
[ ] "What the hell are they *doing* there?"
[ ] Free

HP: 152.3%
COBALT BOOSTER: 97%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 12%
METER: 71%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>30429999
>[ ] "Zoauve - Hang back. We need to take out the shooters!"

>>30429999

SEND IN THE SWARM

>>30429999


[x] ". If they're still here, they must be protecting something - we need to get in there. Zoave, hang back a sec. I need to take out the shooters first"

Rake their positions with the fusion annihilator. Beam and blast, we have the meter to spare, and its rapid fire now.

Then

[ ] "Hang on, Rook - I'm going in."

>>30429999
The rock arrow archer fuck is still alive? Go kill him.

>>30429999

>[ ] "Zoauve - Hang Back and Open fire!"

> [ ] Free
"Wait for me to make a breech. then follow me in."

Argus and target CALCITE ARROW.

Have Rook hold on to us himself then Railgun the smiler.

Once hes down, charge in, make a breech, have the rest of the squad use that hole to assault.

And yessss:>>30430019

>>30430019
>>30430020

Yup. Send in the swarm to get some of the weight off of vector geist's shoulders.

>>30429999

Have everyone spread out abit, since there s the damn stone wall arrow guy.

>>30429999
[X] "What the hell are they *doing* there?"

Are they activating the Tower to use the fusion blast to wipe us all out? Or are they using it for something, the way the Hollow Sun creates the Dominion after launching the Hellions, a desperation move of some kind?

Regardless, we're not going in the front door. I suggest we knock with the Fusion Annihilator when the time comes.

So, what's the plan?

Sending the swarm to the shooters while we continue?

>>30430040

> Have everyone spread out abit, since there s the damn stone wall arrow guy.

The order gets out just in time - The throaty roar of a chaingun spinning up cuts through the white noise; Before a hail of tracers spits across the distance, the barrels rotating so fast they're a blur. You bank hard, to avoid the shots - Another titanic spear of rock howling past with impossible acceleration, before a stray round *tangs* off Rook's greaves-

"Getting too close for comfort-"

> [X] "Zoauve - Hang back. We need to take out the shooters!"

"Roger that." Zoauve's voice is a low grunt, too harsh for speech - He kicks into a dive, firing his Ion Blaster; Haze yelps at the sudden acceleration, Zoauve's shots crackling ineffectively against the black steel of the barbed ring.

>>30430036
>>30430019

At your thought-command, the swarm descends. They boil through the firing ports, in a seething, teeming mist - You hear the yells of surprise, as the gunfire stops abruptly - the armour-eating locusts devouring with their eternal hunger, clogging up barrels and actuators and chewing through anything in the way-

(Continued)

I just realized that we would be critical currently if we hadn't taken that guard upgrade.

>>30430163
You are pushing it.

>>30430156
>At your thought-command, the swarm descends. They boil through the firing ports, in a seething, teeming mist - You hear the yells of surprise, as the gunfire stops abruptly - the armour-eating locusts devouring with their eternal hunger, clogging up barrels and actuators and chewing through anything in the way-

I'm loving our minions.

We need to use them more.

No one expects the swarm. Especially smilers. Since they're usually the swarm side.

>>30430173
He doesn't seem to be wrong though.

>>30430178
Don't get too attached, energy weapons can eliminate a swarm faster than we can kill a Smiler.

> "Wait for me to make a breech. then follow me in."

A flight of missiles spirals outwards from Bombard Valkyrie's launchers - They explode in rising fireballs, hooked sprays of sharpnel boiling forth from the blasts: And that's all the time you need, to charge up your Fusion Annihilator.

Rook flinches, as power gathers: He's seen this before, and he knows what's coming. Wisely, his fingers dig into your shoulder, as he *hangs on* - As you hover, telltale lights winking to life on the side of the Annihilator-

One charge.

Two.

Three.

Raw flame boils forth. A flashlight of destruction, expanding from a single shaft of light to a wrist-thick beam; Shot through with writhing lightning, as you sweep the erasing radiance across the perfect steel. It doesn't boil away, not immediately: Instead, it *melts*, like a wax sculpture beneath a blowtorch. The structure deforms, losing it's shape - Until, all of a sudden, it *gives*.

The outer wall falls away, and IMPEL TRIGGER with it - Your beam rakes across him, and shears him in half even as he begins to fall. It blasts off his left arm - Chained detonations punching through his armour as all his ammunition begins to explode, before both halves catch fire and he pitches forward into the infinite dark-

From below, a startled curse; You can see into the chamber for the first time, the ebony steel deck and neon lines reminding you momentarily of the inner chambers of the Hollow Sun. HAIL BUSTER is backing away, raising his chaingun - CASCADE SURGER still staring at the hole you've blasted through the last line of defence.

HP: 146.7%
COBALT BOOSTER: 107%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 10%
METER: 67%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

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>>30430188

I can always make more in my tummy

>>30430261

Tau Gun Hail Buster

"Knock Knock Motherfuckers. TRICK OR TREAT."

Dive in.

Once we fire the Tau Gun, dual wield Immolator and vulcan.

Inside, Bath one side with fire, vulcanise the other. Have the swarm continue to chew out any other survivors and avoid our incoming fire.

>>30430261
>>30430292
This.

>>30430261
"Any regrets, Hail? Good."

Blast them both with the Annihilator. Two charges each.

>>30430292
We have to pull the Nova Cannon out. We have the Annihilator in hand. Use that, don't give them a chance to shoot us.

After we've killed them, start punching our way deeper in with the Nova Cannon.

>>30430313
Sure, this.

>>30430313

> "Any regrets, Hail? Good."

"Shit-" he begins, his massive cannon swinging up to fire - The barrels already in motion, whirring as he brings it to bear - but the hum of your Annhilator drowns him out, as you squeeze the trigger. At this range, you can't miss; His chaingun roars to life, armour-piercing round tracking towards you-

As the fusion beam sears into him, and touches off his reactor. You actually see the seething energies *eat* through his polished armour - Like molecular acid - burning into him as the frantic pitch of his gunfire falters-

When he explodes, it's a sooty blast that fragments him like an overripe fruit. His torso, cored through, erupts in a blast of fire; His chain-cannon thudding to the ground like a piece of dead piping, the barrels sobbing smoke as they spin to a stop.

It takes you a moment, to switch from the Annihilator to the Nova Cannon: The schematic sketching itself into existence, in lines of neon light - But by then, the others are already swooping inside. Bombard Valkyrie lands, first; A sizzling arc of crimson plasma searing from Agite Striker's hand, like a tongue of living flame - Cascade Surger has a trident that shimmers with motes of blue force, but he doesn't get a chance to bring it to bear before the weeping light pulls him limb-from-limb.

Slowly.

(Continued)

>>30430430

huh. They like to rush.

I'd have preferred that Red Joker be first in to lessen their damage.

>>30430430
I just realized that I'm going to have to count all these dead Players for the episode guide's kill listing. Do the Correctors we encountered during the descent have species names? It's going to go under "Corrector [animal]" if not.

>>30430495

Good luck with that. The initial missile barrage when we started probably took a number that we didn't notice.

>>30430507
Oh god, and all the Silencers. I'm just going to write "many" for the numbers there, and anyone who's just without a description will be under "other Players".

>>30430495

(I was thinking of giving them Genus names, but there didn't seem to be an opportunity. Corrector [animal] works great.)

Zoauve swoops in for the landing, digging his autoreactive talons in - Sparks shower from his heels, as he releases Distortion Haze. You're next, the Tempest Scrander shedding red particles as Rook draws his tachyon sword - The neon light of his blade clashing with the violet traceries underfoot, pulsing with the beat of an uncertain heart.

"...Where are we?"

It's Meridian Hand, this time, marvelling aloud: He has a moment to look around, taking in his surroundings - You've blasted a hole in the side of the structure, but the inner wall remains intact. The air feels charged, greasy somehow, the rotation that threatens the storm. Further down the circumference of the disc is a great pair of double-doors: Just a depression in the core of black steel, the surface etched with ugly, strangely irregular glyphs - Glyphs that seem to twist and recohere even as you gaze alights on them.

Violet light flickers past it, and the Manifold Tower groans again. The discharges are coming at shorter and shorter intervals, now - The lights in the curving corridor dim. It's not completely empty: The ubiquitous metal consoles and raised ridges of what looks like glassy obsidian jut out at odd angles - Some have vaguely organic curves, as if they're grown right out of the ground like an extrusion of matter...Others are clearly cruder, more recent technology, for some unknown purpose.

From close by, shouts. Frantic, racing footsteps.

(Continued)

>>30430530
>From close by, shouts. Frantic, racing footsteps.
GET READY TO SHOOT

>>30430530

"There's *more* of them?"

"-Why don't they give up?" Haze says - He's hunching, trying to make himself as small a target as possible, as he glances over at the door. He gets a few looks.

"I mean - They can't *beat* us. They know that - *We* know that. So why...?"

Hail Buster's cannon - Still intact, still smoking - lies next to the shattered remnants of his cored form, his ragged gauntlet clamped around the grip.

Another flare of purple light.

"I don't like this..." Agite begins, carefully - She tenses, as a grenade clatters against the ground, bouncing and turning: Thick smoke boils outwards from the canister, as the first shots swirl out of the mist. Zoauve grunts, ducking down as his buckler's ionic field takes the first impact-

"Suicide charge?"

"-No." Rook's drawn his tachyon sword - His head swivels towards you, the lens of his eyes cycling.

"Joker - They're trying to push us back."

[ ] "-They really don't want us here."
[ ] "Did you feel that? Something's happening."
[ ] "They're trying to keep us away from the door."
[ ] "We'll just have to finish them off quickly, then."
[ ] "Haze? frag them."
[ ] Free.

HP: 142.1%
COBALT BOOSTER: 117%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 10%
METER: 70%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>30430588
>[ ] Free.
EXE_SWARM pls go.

Eat their faces.

>>30430588
>[ ] "Did you feel that? Something's happening."
>[ ] "They're trying to keep us away from the door."

BLOW UP THE DOOR

>>30430588

Can we take buster's cannon?

>>30430605

(Yes, if you want.)

>>30430599

(The swarm has, unfortunately, mostly dissipated by this point.)

>>30430588

Can we nab hail Buster's gun?

>>30430588
>[ ] "Did you feel that? Something's happening."
>[ ] "We'll just have to finish them off quickly, then."

Is our swarm still active? Then send them to eat their faces.

Tell Hazes to pick up the Minigun. He'll like it and he probably needs it.

Lob a couple of missiles to their formation. And then when they're reeling from the blast, TAU GUN+ VULCAN and everyone's mass fire.

>>30430614

JokerOP, can I get a quick run down of who in our squad has what equipment/main weapon?

>>30430620

Forget fighting them. They're dying in droves to slow us down, so logically the faster we move the better. Grab the cannon, get the others to hold them off, and blast the fucking doors open.

>>30430600

THIS

>>30430588
>[ ] "-They really don't want us here."
>[ ] "Did you feel that? Something's happening."
[ ] "Haze? frag them."

Now is the time for heroics.

we NEED to stop this shit, NOW. Liek RIGHT now. not in a turn or two - that shortening intervals on the tower pushing is a Very Major COntext Clue.

Haze missile, carnifex, charge in there and lock that tower donw.

>>30430614
Lets grab it then, more guns the merrier.

>>30430629
>>30430633
>>30430615

Guys, we can tank a few hits - we need to Move..


[ ] "We'll just have to finish them off quickly, then."

>>30430588

Obviously we need to get the door open and the squad will need to hold them off.

Agite has her tentacle ability she can lead those holding them off.

Any close combat fighters should try to open the door after we blast it with explosives.

I vote we give the minigun to someone else.

We have lots of guns and the minigun will aid the squad holding off reinforcements.

>>30430530
First claim the cannon. Weapon get.

[X] "They're trying to keep us away from the door."
[X] "We'll just have to finish them off quickly, then."

Use the Fusion Annihilator again. Sweep it such that it cuts through the hallway as well as the wall next to the door. We make our own apertures, thank you very much.

>>30430614
Only mostly. Do the Smilers know that? Kick their grenade back, then send the swarm remnants to make life uncomfortable.

Also: Red Joker is famous for hoarding guns, according to Trisagion. Our precious, not for sharing. Unless someone asks. Maybe.

>>30430669

But we need both hands to hold it right?

We'd be better served with our vulcans/immolator/tau-gun combo

>>30430658
>I vote we give the minigun to someone else.
Haze.
I want to see him grow.

Then again, how does his plague weapon work? Maybe he doesn't need the minigun.

>>30430681
I was thinking we were going to add it to the arsenal. Notice that we've got nothing but energy weapons, except for the Railgun? If it's something we can't store in our inventory, then pass it off to Agite or Haze, but if we can integrate it, we should.

>>30430629

(Palladium Rook is armed with his tachyon sword, and now has a tachyon dagger. He's carrying an Ion Blaster, and has retrieved a Fusion Beamer at some point in the fighting.

Bombard Valkyrie has missile racks and a hand mortar, as well as a Revolve Bazooka.

Distortion Haze has two of his chemical warheads left, which is instant death for any Player caught in their area of effect: Including you, if you're not careful. He's armed with a Maser Emitter and his Plague Gun.

Meridian Hand has a pair of Pulse Carbines, which he's enhanced with his elemental powers - And a Scatter Laser he's retrieved from somewhere.

Agite Striker has her Mercury Blade, and the ability to create writhing arcs of liquid plasma. She's also armed with a Ion Blaster.

Ivory Zoauve is armed with a Deflection Buckler - Which generates a small field of force, like a more primitive Sinistral - an Ion Blaster, and a Phase Sword. He's lost his lance at some point, but he's replaced it with a Photon Lance.

Jet Lancer has his namesake - It's a piston-driven lance that's propelled by rockets when thrown. He's also carrying a Friction Axe and a Arc Gun.

The last one of Zoauve's knights had to fall back with his passenger, when his flight pack was damaged. There's eight of you left in the squad.)

>>30430716
Oh, shit, you are right.
Yes, projectile weapon for the Joker, if Haze doesn't want it!

By the way, it's a relic. Just like the Shroud.

>>30430669
>Use the Fusion Annihilator again. Sweep it such that it cuts through the hallway as well as the wall next to the door. We make our own apertures, thank you very much.

use some cobalt booster here with the annihilator - the faster cycling time is EXACTLY what we need here

>>30430716

Hmm..

>Frame upgrade: Charging element
>Install Gatling on our shoulder

>>30430615
>Can we nab hail Buster's gun?

Use the Assault Shroud to grab this with muletta on the go.

Its like wanting to each out for somthing, and having mister fantastic arms!

>>30430739
Now I'm wondering if OP has a system in place for calculating the Shroud's grabbing reach depending on percentage of its health.

>>30430588

Get to that tower, through the door, using whatever means at our disposal to do it fast

>>30430730

If we cobalt boost, it'll be a good idea to heal up here too if we're using the booster.

How much do we need to heal up to max?

>>30430723
>>30430615
>>30430605

You reach down - The cannon is *heavy*, but when your hands close around it, the charging elements in your gauntlets linking with the contact points - the weight goes away, so suddenly you nearly stumble back.

It weighs almost *nothing*. The integrated inertia dampeners and gravimetric suspensors let you swing the great weight around with both hands - It's an ingenious way of soaking recoil, startlingly sophisticated for such a blunt-looking weapon.

> RELIC ACQUIRED: HAILFIRE CHAINGUN

> HAIL BUSTER'S signature weapon, the HAILFIRE CHAINGUN requires contact with two charging elements to function; When activated, it weighs about as much as a combat shotgun, allowing it to be utilized on the move. The inertia dampeners reduce recoil, to a certain extent, but accuracy still suffers if you're not properly braced.

> The HAILFIRE CHAINGUN - Also known, colloquially, as the MAULER - is fed by a long, swinging belt of ammunition, and can rapidly discharge an immense quantity of depleted uranium-analogue shells in the space of a few seconds. It does take some time to spin up, and has a tendency to overheat due to an inefficient cooling system - However, it has massive armour penetration, and can quickly shred Players in a hail of fire; Hence the name.

> Note that this Relic takes a substantial amount of time to be summoned: However, by carrying it in your Heavy Weapon slot, you can avoid the delay.

(Continued)

>>30430791

Two handed eh, still kinda conflicted. I like our dual weild.

>>30430791
>When activated, it weighs about as much as a combat shotgun, allowing it to be utilized on the move
We old-school FPS now.

And our next upgrade will *definitely* be charging elements.
This will be fun.

>>30430588

Stop wasting time already. Haze, Mengele them. THEN blast the doors open with your Cobalt boosted annhilator.

>>30430807

I think we should be saving one shell.

For our escape route and blocking off pursuit.

1 for kraken, 1 for escape.

>>30430806
>And our next upgrade will *definitely* be charging elements.
>This will be fun.

As much as I want those, we need the Booster first - we're just so dependant in it to be good, and with our meter upgrades, our current weapons are fine.

I think we should upgrade the sinistral at some point - the shield just keeps breaking all the time.

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>>30430791
Hell yes. What happens when it's boosted?

>>30430806
Limiter first, more levels to be had.

>>30430791
Wait, what happens when cobalt boosting it?

>>30430807

This guy gets it. We need to be *fast*

>>30430817
>the shield just keeps breaking all the time.
Because we are using the charging elements for our guns.
Additional charging element means Sinistral lvl 2 all the time.

>>30430807
>>30430826
Did you forget that Haze's special ability has enormous aoe? It will hit EVERYONE including us if we do it here.

>>30430805
>Two handed
One-handed.
It just uses two charging elements. Two hands just make it more accurate.

>>30430838

Do you remember what happened last time we delayed going for the control console at the holophosukon?
Shit's gonna get real unless we step up our game very very fast

>>30430844
I'm thinking Talon.

>>30430844

We only have one charging element in each hand.

>At present, you can utilize two charging elements: One in each gauntlet.

>>30430838
Why don't we just Fusion Annihilator the door in an arc that will bisect anyone behind it?

>>30430857
That doesn't make it two-handed.
That just means it's mutually exclusive with other weapons until we get more charging elements.

>>30430865

so two-handed

until we get more charging elements

OP, are charging elements just connector ports for feeding energy to a weapon or are they more like hardpoints on which weapons are mounted?

>>30430858
That was the plan.

>>30430853
That's for Hollow Sun weapons though, would it work with a Relic? This calls for science. Or OP.

>>30430857
>>30430865
You can wield the weapon in one hand, the device draws power from both though. So you can have a weapon that doesn't need a charging element in your off-hand.

>>30430858
That's what I said.

>>30430853

We don't need the missile.

We can cut the door open while they return fire.

It also keeps the squad busy shooting the enemy when we run into Kraken.

Them fighting him is just going to be DEATH DEATH DEATH

>>30430883

(It's more of the former.)

>>30430886

(At present, for the Chaingun to work, you have to use it in both hands - However, if you had additional charging elements, you could fire it with one hand. Your Tau Gun is an exception to the rule: As a Primary Weapon, it technically requires two charging elements - But it simply diverts power from your other gauntlet, effectively deactivating it.)

>>30430807
>>30430642
>>30430826

> [X] "Haze? frag them."

Haze freezes - He ducks, as a bolt slashes past overhead. He looks lost, confused; "Shu - Rook - Should I-"

It occurs to you, then, that Haze may never have used his most potent ability on other Players. Or rather, in anything but in true self-defense. Or at the very least, not so many at once.

"*Do something*!" Bombard Valkyrie snaps - You hear the *plunk-plunk-plunk* of her hand mortar cycling, as she fires blind into the smoke. Zoauve grunts as his shield takes another hit - When you turn your head, a searing blast hits you in the side, hard enough to make you stagger.

"-Isao." Rook's looking right at him, now. "Do it."

He fires. The tiny, lethal warhead ploughs into the smoke, and vanishes from sight. The firing continues, for about a second more - Then abruptly, it stops. You can't *see* what's happening, but you can hear the wet, ripping sounds from beyond - Vox-distorted, gurgling screams, the sound of armour giving way, of myomer fibre *growing* explosively before it begins to dissolve; Of Players literally ripping themselves apart in vicious spasms, of the violent convulsions that come before an equally terrible death-

You don't think you'll ever be able to forget the screams.

(Continued)

>>30430916

Hmm. Oh well.

Hazes is going to be on the top hunting list second place to us now.

>>30430916
>Your Tau Gun is an exception to the rule

Do all of the other secondary weapons also take both charging elements?
I'd imagine the fusion annihilator is especially power intensive

>>30430938
Joker has born another monster.
Just his radiance causes everyone around him to become more murder-y.

We need to take him to the Hollow Sun. Maybe we can build him a reactor upgrade for Hollow Sun weapons or something.

>>30430916
Ah, so the Tau Gun was the exception, not the rule? Interesting.

And wow, has a Red World experience punctured Red Joker's emotional reserve? Amazing, you can make an old Player feel new feels.

"Jesus," Meridian Hand mutters. He flinches at each scream, then again - "*Jesus*."

"Don't think about it." Rook's voice is a brutal rasp. "*Don't think about it.* Joker, *get this door open*-"

>>30430669

You're already ahead of him. Cold azure power floods through you, stinging with strength: The Cobalt Booster flaring as you swing the Fusion Annihilator in line with the hardened steel doors - The glyphs shifting and squirming into new alignments, the revolving chambers of your weapon rotating-

It's a delicate balance. Too little is worse than nothing. Too much, and the backwash of the blast will engulf you all. One charge, two -

Three again. Halfway between a wrist-thick beam of searing light, and utter destruction.

You don't fire at the door head-on. Instead, your blast knifes down the corridor at an angle - And then you *sweep* the beam, as it scorches through the other walls like a sword of light; The harsh glow bleaching all colour from the world, sending up a flare that wars with the growing nimbus of violet light-

-And Iron Ogre pauses, his armour battered, twisting to look up at the light-

-And Silver Cross twitches his head with insect precision, picking up on the high-energy readings-

-And even Vector Geist stops firing for a moment, to give voice to what they're all thinking-

> "What the hell is that?"

(Continued)

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>>30430990

>>30430998
The funny thing is, that this reference is dieing out.
Soon, all websites will update automatically.

>>30431008

Well i just sit her and hammer my left mouse button over update these days...

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>>30430990

The doors give. The walls don't. They glow with immense heat; But, appallingly, the black steel is somehow *resistant* to your Fusion Annihilator. It's like it's struggling to resist, fighting to recohere as it approaches boiling point...

But the doors fail first. They crumple. They slag; And then your blast scorches a jagged hole into the chamber beyond as ripples of lightning play up and down the Manifold Tower.

Within.

The chamber beyond - The *final* chamber - is vast, smooth and curved. There are no straight lines, or hard edges: It reminds you of the inner spaces of a great conch shell, with striations like tubes of blood vessels braiding across the surfaces - Seething with violet light. Like the Hollow Sun, but only fractionally; The first thing you see - The very first thing - is the vast device within.

'Device' is the only word you have for it. You can hear the infrasonic throb of something vast and ancient, within the cave of polished black - The ceiling is domed, the floor almost flat, alcoves set at uncertain intervals within the surface: Black oil dribbles across the ground, is absorbed into it, becomes part of the smooth surface, like volcanic glass.

You've found the secret heart.

And Alura.

(Continued)

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>>30431044
Oh shit yes here we go.

>>30431044
>And Alura.
Time to NTR Kraken.

Also, a certain squad member is likely going bonkers right now.

>>30431044
>And Alura.
And here I am without sniper_takes_off_multiple_pair_of_glasses.gif

>>30431044
Fucking called it.

Now, are they making purple crystals, or is Alura trying to have a baby again?

Great timing for the end here, OP.

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>>30431070
>rooks face when

>>30431044

Time to perforate.


JokerOP, if Rook kills her, can we still use EXE_REAP?

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>>30431084

At your side, Palladium Rook stiffens. You feel more than see him tense, the crackling flare of his twinned tachyon blades casting a jagged light within the chamber - But one thing stops him from attacking, immediately. Or rather, two things.

The first is the hand she holds, with a delicate grace - There's something effortless yet coy in her motions, a debutante at her first ball. Her slim fingers are entwined with Phantom Edge's, her back to you: She's just turning her head, her ribbon fluttering in a secret breeze, her lips shaping a smile - It's surprised, the smile of someone who's had guests drop in unexpectedly.

The center of the chamber is a mosaic of light. Violet crystals are set into the curving spiral of the floor, the twisting fronds that rise in organic contrails from the surface - Like the fruits of crystal trees. They *resonate*, pulsing with a music of their own, a humming vibrations that thrums through the floor, through your form.

In the air - Suspended in nothing - a crackling wedge of light, a blazing doorway that makes reality bleed. It's too brilliant to look directly upon, and Alura is in mid-stride; There's something *wrong* yet familiar about that doorway at once, and it takes you a fraction of a second to realize what it is-

...It's a gate. Like the one Hecate opened, in Nara Dreamland.

The second is Kraken.

(Continued)

>>30431104
HAZE THEM

..I kinda feel that this would remove important knowledge.

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>>30431104
I think it's time for extra strength murder!

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>>30431104

>>30431104

Well then.

Time to haze.

>>30431118

We have enough for Smite.

I think.

>>30431135

In fact, if it looks like they may get through holding hands like lovey dovey couples, just smite the connection - use the sphere to make up the differene the booster can't. Its got a partial charge, but man, if its only like 5% of its worth it.

...otherwise, barrier the incoming disrupt.

>>30431104
>Her slim fingers are entwined with Phantom Edge's

She has his arm?

>>30431104
First:
EXEC BARRIER

>>30431152

(She's hand-in-hand with him: Specifically, she's holding his left hand, the way you would guide a child.)

>>30431104

He's facing you, his axe in his hand - Violet fire streaming from the edge, the same shade as the gems embedded into his carapace.

"Joker," he says. His voice is an urbane crackle, as he looks directly at you. He nods, as if he's seeing an old friend again for the first time: There's an odd kin of kinship, in that nod, as Alura pauses at the very threshold.

"Joker-kun..." Her voice is sweet, fluting. "-What a surprise!" She lowers her gaze, demurely - "-We were just leaving."

And Kraken says, agreeably - As if it's no trouble at all...

"-Betray the others."

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>30431153
This. If we are facing Kraken then we should put up our Anti-Codeburst shield.

>>30431163

EXEC BARRIER.

>>30431163
>"-Betray the others."
We REALLY need that barrier.
Holy fuck. This fucker.

>>30431163

"Haze. Fire."

>>30431163
Put up Exec_Barrier then start shooting rockets towards Alura. If kraken/PE block them then the rest of our squad can shoot to kill them.

If they don't she dies. It's a win-win plan.

>>30431104
Oh damn, I thought the number of Smilers suggested something like this, but I'd hoped I was wrong.

>>30431163
Whelp, only one thing for it. "Kraken. Exec_Dictum: Freeze."

>>30431178
This. Except at/through the gateway.

Put up barrier.
Fill the entire place with rockets and chaingun bullets.
Let Haze fire through the gate.

So.

Bets on the traitor?

>>30431163
>"-Betray the others."

Hold the phone, if he trying to use EXEC_DICTUM on us? Use the barrier!

>>30431209
I thought it was his codeburst.

If it's a traitor...

DEFEND HAZE

>>30431163

Can we do a partial fortress around haze with whats left of our shroud?

>>30431223

Either way, it'll be good to defend.

Unless Haze is the traitor and in which can we're all fucked till november.

>>30431209
Hm. Agite Striker.

>>30431218
Dictum allows one word. We've a traitor in our midst.

>>30431234
Either that or we block the gate.

>>30431193
>Kraken. Exec_Dictum: Freeze."

Oh hilarious. Absolutely secondly backed.


related, dare we Dictum+Verbatim to get two at once?

>>30431248
EXEC_DICTUM:Betray aimed at the red joker would be enough.

>>30431163
>"-Betray the others."

"I'll think about it. Where's Hecate?"

>>30431248
>Dictum allows one word
It might be upgraded.

Anyway, this is the situation:
- We need to prevent those fuckers from leaving
- There is a traitor, who's likely attacking Haze

We need to block their escape, go super mode and punch their faces in. At the same time, we need to spot the traitor.
What do we do?

>>30431248
>Dictum allows one word.

So Exec_Dictum: Betray?
>>30431256
As hillarious it is, we need to put up Barrier before everything else.

>>30431262

and he IS a codeburst user...


FYI barrier is super cheap to put up now - its just spikes in cost when w

>>30431268
>Where's Hecate?
You know, that makes us sound completely deluded.

>>30431283

We kind of are...

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It happens all at once.

It happens in seconds.

Your Barrier springs to life, circling you.

>>30431193

Kraken is already moving. Or rather, he is *about* to move: All uncoiling violence, his cloak of tendrils writhing like the heads of a hydra - But at your word, he stops, abruptly. His muscles seize up; The white Player makes a muffled sound, a snarl, as he freezes in place-

>>30431185

Your Triskelion launchers deploy. They spin up, ready to disgorge their payload, as Kraken fights your command with everything he's got...

Everyone is already moving, at your back. Zoauve's jump pack flares, as he tenses to leap - Agite Striker's hand coming up, in a shrieking nimbus of hellforce; Meridian Hand's fingers closing on the grips of his Pulse Carbines -

You hear, from close by, Haze's strangled shout -

And Palladium Rook's tachyon sword tears into you from behind.

(Continued)

>>30431283

We know she was alive at some point.

We have to inquire at some point.

>>30431163
>"-Betray the others."
>[ ] Free
You know what? Sure. Assuming our barrier/block goes off, lets swap sides by turning around - make sure to WINK at Rook - and pretend to go along with it

>>30431296

...Dammit Rook.

You feed the smilers your comrades.