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You are submerged into the IRO tourney network. Pitch-black darkness fills your eyes, and if not for the neon green wire frame menus, you'd be afraid of having gone blind.

Your mission is a Siege FFA. You will either start outside the Wall or inside of it. If you spawn on the outer side, you and god knows how many others will head for the center. You may or may not have line of sight on the others initially, but you will definitely arrive at a clearing once you're close enough to the Wall. If you spawn on the inner side, however, it's a slaughterhouse with no holds barred. The inner side tends to have a maze-like layout and plenty of cover. Escher-esque architecture also appears on occasion, but thankfully, that kind of hell is a rare thing.

Regardless of where you spawn, you will need to be as lethal as possible. Recons and Engies provide you with the best anti-personnel and anti-armor options, respectively. Assaults and Supports will allow you more staying power on the outside and tactical options on the inside.

Your available classes:
>Assault
>Engineer
>Support
>Reconnaisance

You may use up to 6 pieces. What is your loadout?

>>32515294
>Reconnaisance
knowing when to vamoose is better than trying to out-tank the opponent I feel.
Also after the match we should remember to meet Duva. We did say yesterday we'd see her today.

>>32515294
2 Engies, 2 recons, 1 of each of the rest.

>>32515493
>recon
You mean to make them all recons?

Bold move.

Rolled 1

>>32515493
[1]

>>32515513
[2]

Writing!

aw yeah you're back!

all recon is terrible idea, we'll end up like that recon heavy guy we steamrolled.

>>32515513
this seems more solid team comp

>>32515717
>>32515741
hue, well it'll be interesting.

>>32515741
I-I'm sorry, anonymous, but I'm a man of my word. It be like it do.

~

You decide to try out something unusual. You select six Recons.

This kind of loadout, while almost unarmored, enables you to attack from any angle with equal success. You can make use of the semi-automatic rifles chambered in high-power rounds to let off volleys of 6 shots at a time. Hell, you can cycle through 4 Recons to fire on the enemy at a constant pace. In addition to ridiculous mobility and the non-explosive armaments you pack, you'll be able to liberate all the equipment you need from dropped enemy pieces. This loadout is powerful and versatile, though gimmicky and reckless. It takes balls and skills to pull it off, and nobody can say which is more important.

Fuckin' easy mode for you, though. Leveraging advantages and waging psych war are your specialties. If Lady Luck ain't on your side, you know how to win her over.

You come to life in an odd place. You haven't been here before. In the distance, between two gray rock ridges, is a rock cylinder jutting out into the cloudy sky. The diameter has to be several kilometers at the very least. It's a few dozen kilos away, too. These continuous elevated crests to either side of you continue in each direction for quite a while. Behind you, they slowly separate some ways off. There's a signboard in the way, though, which in no unclear terms tells you to never retreat. The ground beneath you is covered in patches of grass, but both it and the bare ground are beneath a thin layer of ash. A low mist hangs just above the soft-sloped, 3-meter-tall ridges.

You'll be sure to make extensive use of your...
>[] "Ornithopter" VTOL gunship.
>[] "Goodfella" tank.
>[] "Arachnid" spider tank.

>>32516087
>[x] "Goodfella" tank.
Let's take one blunt instrument to go with our scalpels

>>32516087
>[x] "Ornithopter" VTOL gunship.

Forward scouting piece, since we're doing 6 Recons, we might as well go full balls-to-the-walls and max stealth

Tanks without infantry support is utter shit.

>>32516087
Depends on whether we're defending or sieging.

>>32516198
We're outside the Wall, so we're sieging. Or in layman's terms, "using our wrecking balls."

>>32516255
VTOL then

>>32516255
Seems like we're not so much sieging as infiltrating this time.

>>32516323
seconding this, uh, how many rocket/missile pods does the VTOL have on it?
don't listen to me, seriously if it has enough pods expend all the ammunition then have all six recon boys mount onto the pods and use the VTOL as an improvised troop transport. But again seriously don't.

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>>32516367
Yeah, the "Siege" part is emphasized a lot less than the "free-for-all."

>>32516416
This is your birdie.

Also, writing.

I have awoken, let's operate.

Your Ornithopter rests right in the middle of the trench, waiting for you to spin up your wings and take to the misty sky. But you keep it grounded, not letting it make the slightest of noises. It must remain precisely where it is and make nary a sound.

Just as soundlessly, you send two of your Recons - Marcus and Aurelius - to either side. As they make their silent dash, you watch the weather. It's mystifying. Everything is cloaked in a wispy veil, mocking your falcon eyes and taunting your owl ears to make sense of the terrain. It's early morning, you decide, going by the humidity and low light. You can't see the sun, so you have no idea which cardinal direction you're facing. However, you remain adamant. The conditions are good for you. It'll be tough to spot you amidst all this.

It's a good 7 meters from the base of one ridge to the other's. Harsh, dry earth makes no telling sounds as two Recons step on it lightly, pushing themselves towards the rising rock and then upwards along it. As their heads surface beyond the ridges' edge, you affirm your suspicions: there's a squad on each side of you. Your recons crouch and aim their rifles at the enemy, scoping it out.

The one on your right has 2 Recons, 2 Engies, 1 Assault and 1 Support. It has a Goodfella.

The one on your left has 3 Recons and 3 Engies. It has an Ornithopter. It's spinning up.

How do you proceed?
>[] Throw all forces to the right squad.
>[] Throw everything at the left squad.
>[] Fuck bitches, march forward.
>[] Custom.

Additionally, will you mount Recons on the Ornithopter to make a "ghetto gunship"? If so, how many? The Ornithopter has 2 forward-facing MGs and two ground-firing ones. It also has two wings in the rear, which are sturdier than they look. Only Recons mounted on the ground-firing MGs and rear wings will be able to fire, reload and otherwise operate in their full spectrum.
># of Recons mounted [0-6]

>>32517148
>[] Throw everything at the left squad.
Mount two recons on the VTOL.

>>32517323
Well then, five minutes and I'm writing.

>>32517323
I'll just second this

also
>Marcus
>Aurelius
oh you

>>32517148
errything on the right side, lets see if the VTOL can take out the goodfella while we've got no recon mounted to it. if it kills the tank and we succeed with the squad mount up then, reason being the "gehtto gunship" is to get our happy recon asses either in, or out, in sufficiently quick manner.

>>32517713
oh to expand upon this, try to catch the more anti-infantry they have unawares. same anon by the way.

>>32517781
I think we need to take care of the Goodfella first

>>32517926
of course but then we're basically waving a neon sign saying "here we are" unless we get the VTOL to come in from offside.

>more namefags
Dammit

>>32518010
That's pretty sound advice. Goodfella has a nice caliber, which means trying to aim down your sights just over the ridge's top will get you literally blown out by a shell tearing through the rock formation.

I'm not sure about the Goodfella taking a tank with 2 MGs, though.

>>32517323
>>32517678
Is winning though.

>>32518062
OOQ knows me

>>32518010
>>32518285
I'll change my vote to second this >>32517713 then.

>>32518329
>OOQ knows me
oh boy here we go
i'll be here, waiting for the inevitable finger-pointing and shitstorming this will bring upon in the future

>>32518745
>Quest with four active players
>Shitstorm
You wish.

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>>32517713
>>32518377
You go for the more balanced squad, the one centered around a Goodfella. You spin up your Ornithopter while your Recons, all of them, scramble to the right ridge. They peer over the top at the enemy, which hasn't noticed you. It's go time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=836BSkl6LM4

Your Ornithopter roars to life as the propeller generates enough lift for takeoff. It hovers at first, then soars, then screams in a half-turn maneuver at the enemy. Propeller blades dissipating the mist around it, the birdy screeches and spits a barrage of .50 cal rounds at the enemy's Goodfella.

BLAMBLAMBLAM!

You aim for the turret first. You perforate it, sew it through with lead. And just as the seventh round runs right into the tank, just as the hostile pieces face towards your chopper, just as two of them raise their rocket launchers, you leap. Sixfold, your lithe bodies overcome the vertical obstacle and sail through the sky, the shock of your opponent evident as pieces raise their heads from their guns, following your trajectory. Two of your Recons, Octavius and Augustus, open fire before they even touch down, dropping two Recons with fire from the hip.

Your feet touch the ground, and one by one, you pull the triggers on your perfectly-positioned rifles.

No survivors. None.

The Goodfella tries to turn it's mangled head to face something, anything of worth you might have, but you both know that Operator's done for. You're a predator, this is what you do. After a few well-placed shots the tank dies down, its motor going silent. A new noise quickly takes its place, however, as you hear an aircraft approach you from the right.

It doesn't sound like an Ornithopter.

Two of your Recons rush for the rocket launchers. Your Ornithopter turns to face the music. It's a Lobera. Two four-shot missile pods on either side of the body, elongated and narrow, perfectly suited for advancing on enemy positions. Not so great for a dogfight.

How do you..?
>[] Custom.

>>32519050
Open up with your VTOL and rocket launchers.

>>32519050
Would it be possible to fire upon and detonate its missile pods?

Have the Ornithopter fire at its propulsion, fire the rocket launchers, have the rest take cover.

>>32518817
;_;7

You're killing me, here.

>>32519129
>>32519141
Writan, just dozen minutes!

>>32519141
I feel that hunkering down is the wrong move with this force, but alas, I post too late. Welp, for better or for worse our surprise is gone, the ship must have the ability to talk to some kind of ground units.

See you in an hour, GoT awaits.

>>32519129
>>32519141

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KMr9oyXMKU

You propellered body turns in the air to sight the new threat, simultaneously dodging two missiles. This guy isn't all that experienced, you decide, if he can't wait for you to finish turning. You wouldn't dream of strafing him, though. That'd put your squad in danger. You face the bastard head-on.

You open full fucking fire on it. Your forward-MGs tear through the air intakes while your heavier guns mince the pods. They detonate at a moment's notice. An inferno flares up, consumes the Lobera whole and blasts a shockwave through the surroundings.

That's one down. Would be great if that was it, but the Espada Lobera comes in a package with the Espada Ropera. Another, identical gunship should be nearby. Probably.

You don't hear any aircraft or infantry. You don't see anybody coming. You raise your Ornithopter up into the air, but the mist only gets thicker as you rise, only dissipating with proximity to the Wall.

What will you do?
>[] Loot the bodies.
>[] Stay on the move.
>[] Custom.

>>32519562
>[] Custom.
if the rockets can be reloaded loot the ammunition for them leaving those two behind and the gunship as they search, they'll be able to catch up. have the rest move forward quickly in a chevron formation.

>>32519562
Nice, cooked the pods.
>Stay on the move
There's an additional gunship close by, and the explosion will have alerted whoever else is near.

>>32519562
>[] Stay on the move.
Fall Back and watch the dead bodies for curious cats

>>32519626
>>32519631
>>32519684
Gaius and Julius quickly grab the rocket launchers and fasten the quivers to their backs. Their rifles hang from the slings. Augustus picks up an extra sling of grenades - all 3 of them are still present, unused. The Recon team splits into two halves, moving single-file along each ridge. This wasn't your burrow to begin with, but you know where to expect an assault from, eyeing the ridge.

Real useful, Operating proficiency. One Recon leads the line and looks only straight ahead. Another looks at the ground in front and makes sure nobody trips. The last constantly stares to the right, constantly watching for hostiles. It's like each of them has 3 pairs of eyes. The beauty of remote operating.

You proceed apace, travelling a considerable distance with no disturbance. Your Ornithopter has to rise higher and higher in order to stay out of rocket range. You begin to grow nervous at how little disturbance there is. Are you being followed? Observed? No, impossible. You've got too many eyes, too sharp and on the lookout.

Eventually, calm turns to storm. As the ridges begin to drop and the burroughs begin to narrow, explosions start ringing out more and more. You hunch, but it's only a kilometer or so until the ridges will stop providing cover completely. The open arena begins where chance for survival ends.

You see squads speeding towards the Wall here and there, occasionally being picked off by sniper fire. To your sides, aircraft do battle and squads fire rounds into the air. Pillars of smoke tower here and there. The Wall's looking like a chimney, too. You've got 6 Recons, agile and accurate. Two of them have RPGs. You have one Ornithopter high in the sky. It's safe to assume noboy has noticed it yet, given its altitude advantage.
[1/2, choices coming up!]

>>32520267
Your course of action?
>[] Rush the Wall before the defenders man the point defences.
>[] Join in on the sniping. Business seems to be good.
>[] Search and destroy sniper squads. You shouldn't engage in frontal assaults, however.
>[] Board the ghetto gunship and try to get into the defending area through the top.
>[] Custom.

>>32520267
>[x]Search and destroy sniper squads
This is basically TDM, right?
As much as I'd like to all board the gunship and get into the defending area, there's a mill- well several things that can go wrong with that which will end in elimination.

Man, slow night. Gotta go catch some winks, got work tomorrow, please don't mess this up anons, even though we slightly did already by picking 6 Recon team

>>32520280
choices choices. what to choose.
>>32520360
yeah going to second this with its reasoning. however have one of our rocketeers use his rifle but keep the launcher close, the one we have can keep an eye out for birds getting to antsy and keep it busy enough for him to pick it back up.
good news guys! we've lasted longer than I had thought we would!

>>32520360
>teams
>implying operators aren't lone wolves hunting in the night, howling at the moon in anguish as their dark souls are wont to do

>>32520424
>spoiler
We stumbled into a couple of rookies so we didn't even have to roll dice. Yet. The open space outside the Wall is where 95% of the sieging team's casualties take place.

The other 5% are in the defending zone proper.

>>32520515
>lone wolves hunting in the night
Hmmm the tactic sounds tempting, dividing our Recons and having each of them go solo. We can handle that much distance between them, completely different sensory input from each one?

>>32520604
don't forget our very important VTOL

>>32520618
Depends on the optics and effective range of the guns, I'd say. We could have it flying around like crazy, or spraying from quite a distance.

Snipe the Snipers.
Can't have others doing our job now, can we?

>>32520770
In one or two volleys preferably, wouldn't you agree? Now that's operating.

Right-o, writing!

Sorry it's slow, but as mentioned above, it's a slow night.

>>32522072
>slow

>>32523748
I am the slowest. I'm back to writing, though!

>>32523754
>I brought OP back from the ded
shit man

>>32520360
>>32520424
You decide to forego storming the Wall and do a little hunting of your own. It'll be a while yet before the coast is clear, so it's important to be productive and trim some fat.

There's a lot of it.

You double-check your equipment. Everyone except Gaius is using their marksman rifles, ready to start letting off shots and tearing off faces. Augustus has double the grenade stock at 6 round ones, but you aren't yet ready to go double-fisted grenadier. Gaius, special case that he is, has assumed the Engineer's role now that he's armed with an anti-armor weapon. You're doing well thus far.

You gather everyone and start cresting the rows of hills, moving to the left, strafing the epicenter of the struggle. You hunker down and advance in a firing squad formation, shoulder to shoulder. Several empty trenches leave you with nothing but disappointment. Most of the Operators on the attackers' side have already been neutralized. The rest are in the process of it. Going by the gunfire that rings out closer and closer with each trench you traverse, you're about to get the jump on somebody.

And you do. As you crest yet another hill, peering over it you notice that you've reached a squad with 2 Recons and no vehicle. Your own is still way up in the sky, but if it needs to fire straight down, there's no problem. The problem is that you've reached the enemy - and you're not alone. Looking at you over their own edge, 3 pieces seems as shocked as you are to find out somebody else had the exact same idea as them. You're just a little bit faster than they are.

>Roll "dice+4d6+-4", DC is 8/11.

Rolled 1, 5, 4, 6 - 4 = 12

>>32524022

Rolled 4, 1, 4, 1 - 4 = 6

>>32524022

Rolled 2, 4, 1, 1 - 4 = 4

>>32524022

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>>32524037
>>32524041
>>32524048
[12>11/8: Complete success!]

Every muscle in your bodies snaps into action, jolts upright and brings your rifles to your eyes. You lock onto the enemy in the vast space of milliseconds and let off a volley of gunfire. Perfectly coordinated, sending out a wave of hot metal death at supersonic speed with faultless accuracy, you execute the key tactic of the "firing squad" formation beautifully. Three enemy pieces over the next ridge drop, and just as another pops up, Gaius sends him a "Get Well Soon" rocket. It follows its trajectory faithfully, unerringly to strike at the center mass, the tip crumpling ever so slightly against the artificial muscles, before finally unfurling into flaring blast.

You're certain you got more than one piece with that shot.

Everybody you've got drops their heads below the edge of cover, out of sight and in relative safety. You don't want to get picked off by the squad you came here to annihilate. As you flatten against the earth, Augustus throws a grenade at the entrenched squad. Then another. The first is somehow counteracted, as you feared it might be, but the other does quite a number on their formation. Gaius reloads and pops up, all in the span of seconds, to let off one more devastating shot. Then he drops back down.

You decide that this is a good time to make use of the Ornithopter to make sure everybody's dead.

>Roll "dice+4d6+-4", DC is 9/12.

Rolled 1, 1, 5, 2 - 4 = 5

>>32524230

Rolled 6, 2, 1, 3 - 4 = 8

>>32524230

Rolled 3, 1, 5, 2 - 4 = 7

>>32524230

Rolled 6, 5, 3, 1 - 4 = 11

>>32524230
these rolls are crap

Gotta post fast, he said. It's going to be a quick session he said.

>>32524305
>>32524502
>>32524527
>>32524623
[11>9: Slight success! Whew.]
Your descent from the obscured sky is swift and spells certain doom for those below. You point your machineguns down and they spin up, bristling.

BLABLABLAM!

With 3-round bursts, you pepper the ground beneath in hopes of catching the enemy unawares. With lead raining down like hellfire, it's practically impossible to concentrate on attacking the source. You don't send your pieces in just yet, since you don't have a clear visual of the area you're spraying. You continue your assault for an entire minute, until you finally let up. The very moment you do, however, a missile brushes right past your rear wings, detonating and blowing one of them clean off. It takes a part of the tail with it.

You struggle with the controls for a few seconds until you realize you've given the rocketman time to reload. Without thinking twice, you send Augustus in. His leap is mighty and his body soars in a wide arc. Just as you begin to descend, you take your rifle in hand and hold it fast, letting off a single ruinous shot as you drop nearby the troublesome Engineer. You focus too little on your feet, however, and wind up tumbling through the dirt for a short while.

Doesn't matter. Operators are dirtproof, waterproof, foolproof and fearproof.

You pull everyone up to Augustus' position and land your Ornithopter, having finally won the fight with the controls. A cursory once-over tells you that nothing too important got blown off - you'll just have to make do without a few features and with a clicking engine. Flying this little guy will become harder, but not impossible. You scope out the area ahead. A few smoking tanks of various make, dead bodies strewn about, black smoke mixing with white mist in a yin-yang concoction of total blindness. Can't see shit.

You hope Kara isn't dead just yet.

Everything is quiet. Your state-of-the-art ears pick up nothing but the sound of smoldering wreckage and crackling flames.

You don't see anyone, and judging by the volume of fallen soldiers, there shouldn't be much anyone left.

Just as you're finishing up your assessment, a low rumble rises and the ground finds itself with a gaping hole, presumably leading to a tunnel, halfway between where the ridges end and where the Wall begins. This is certainly new.

You look back at the Wall. From here, you can just barely see that the guns sticking out of it aren't manned yet. Either that or they're lying in wait. The volume of smoke coming from the wall has increased considerably. It's like a freight train at this point.

Will you go for the tunnel entrance?
>[] No. The standard entry points at the base will suffice.
>[] Not yet. Let's wait a while to see if anyone goes first. [How long?]
>[] Yes. The first of either side to kill the last of the other automatically wins.
>[] Custom.

>>32524993
I'm sorry to disappoint, anon! Please have it in your heart to forgive an amateur yet ambitious QM.

>>32525026
>[] Yes. The first of either side to kill the last of the other automatically wins.
lets see if we can't send the copter to get behind the tunnel, and maybe carry a recon with it, at minimum, we can use it to gather intel

>>32525026
>>[] Yes. The first of either side to kill the last of the other automatically wins.
Might as well.

>>32525041
>>32525099
Alright, writing.

>>32525041
>>32525099
You head right for the newly-opened entrance, closing in as quickly as you can. Your feet push off the ground at a steady but swift pace and you gradually approach the target. A chevron of three pieces leads the charge while another two pieces bring up the rear, watching for an ambush. You don't have to wait long for one. Before you're halfway to the spot, bullets start whistling by, threatening to leave you dead and bloodied. Your Ornithopter hangs in the air a little ways above the tunnel's mouth. Octavius, holding onto the Ornithopter last rear wing with one arm, watches the spot where the gunfire seems to be originating from.

They've covered their presence well. You can't see the muzzle flashes. Gonna have to play this one by ear.

You open fire from the lower MGs, kicking up dust and dirt to obscure your enemy's vision. It works, and they stop harrying your main force. However, a shot runs right through Octavius' thigh, tearing through fake flesh like a lion and shattering composite bone like fine china. You can't keep this up. The wound will self-close in less than a minute, but you can't risk losing a piece. You do the only reasonable thing and let go of the wing.

Another shot runs clean through the neck, expanding halfway through. The mechanized spinal cord explodes out the back of Octavius' neck. His limp, lifeless body falls forever, though only a few meters, and sends out a soft thud after smacking against the ground like a ragdoll.

Your Ornithopter rapidly advances on the enemy's position, having pieced together the general direction now. It rushes to the aggressor, its engine firing on all cylinders, thirsting for revenge. Shots glance off the armor and plink against the sensory systems. You finally see the trio of one Recon and two Assaults that were lying in wait for you. One charges you, one heads up the hill, another leaps out of cover and retreats.

You chew them all up. You aren't ceremonious about it, either.
[1/2]

>>32525428
What's left of your squad trudge through the tunnel. The walls are dirt, the floor is dirt, the ceiling is dirt. Your only saving grace is the extreme sensitivity of a Recon's sensors. The faint light in the distance is all you have to go on.

Your squad reaches the exit and makes their way aboveground.

You are in a house of sorts. The first floor of some building. It looks like a storage area, or maybe a garage.

You send two Recons onto the roof and three out into the streets. The latter quickly find themselves surrounded by bodies, then hide in various alleys and behind corners.

Your Ornithopter just barely makes it over the Wall without its engine dying (though it threatened to putter out a few times) and is now standing on the edge. Heading into the smoke will render it incapable of remaining in flight.

How will you proceed?
>[] Safety in numbers. Move together towards the nearest source of noise.
>[] Knowledge is power. Spread everyone out and do reconnaisance work.
>[] Custom.

By the way, how do you intend to make the Ornithopter useful?
>[] Custom.

I'm going to be gone for a little over an hour. Once I get back, we'll blitz through the rest of the encounter. The inner area is full of adventure.

>>32525505
>>[] Knowledge is power. Spread everyone out and do reconnaisance work.

>By the way, how do you intend to make the Ornithopter useful?
How would we normally fix one up?

>>32525505
>>[] Safety in numbers. Move together towards the nearest source of noise.
but be smart about it, move cautiously and stealthily, don't charge straight towards the noise
>By the way, how do you intend to make the Ornithopter useful?
can we use its guns to provide indirect suppressive fire?

I'm probably gonna be asleep when you get back OP, I hope more anons start playing

>>32525505
>[x] Knowledge is power. Spread everyone out and do reconnaisance work.

No sense in bunching up and get fragged out.

>By the way, how do you intend to make the Ornithopter useful?
Can we crash-land it on a piece of enemy artillery?

>>32525555
Seconding this. It would be great if we could leave it on the edge, and just point the guns wherever we need it.

>>32525546
>How would we normally fix one up?
I forget if Engies are able to, but it seems like they would be the only ones if ever.

>>32525505
>Custom

Since we can't move the Ornithopter we should send two Recon out for reconnaissance. They should lead any squads they encounter back to our autocannon ambush manned by the other 3. We can spend the time waiting for a catch to make the place defensible.

>>32525505
>[] Knowledge is power. Spread everyone out and do reconnaisance work.
how many do we have still? four?
>[] Custom.
have it wait, when things get dire have it kamikaze into something full tilt.

>>32525705
can you please stop being retarded

we have actual good ideas your sidelining to be stupid, and you can't even be bothered to properly read the updates, otherwise you would know we have 5 recon, we just lost the one hanging on the copter...

>>32525739
fine

>>32525784
apologies for being overly harsh, but there are appropriate times and places for such things, picking 6 recon at the beginning of a fairly 'easy' low tier match, fine, but continuing chains of thought during the finale of a match ain't the place for them

>>32525546
>>32525652
>>32525705
>[X] Scout.

>>32525555
>>32525656
>[X] Advance.

>>32525669
Nice general strategy.

>>32525546
>>32525656
You can't fix it. You'd need to waste time going back through the tunnel and meeting the Ornithopter there. It took a couple of small miracles to sidle up onto the Wall. Darius used his know-how to manually control the engine and make it "just werk."

>>32525555
Considering the Wall is something like a skyscraper in height, that's not going to give you a lot of advantage. I haven't mentioned it yet, but the inner city is like a downtown city area, with narrow streets and shit. You'd only be effective if shooting combatants on roofs.

>>32525652
>>32525705
You sure can. You're also the majority, so this plan wins.

Writing at the speed of Sonico!

>>32526763
Forgot to mention! You can try to lower the Ornithopter to roof level, but you'll need to roll 3d20 and crit. The advantage granted is dubious, but dual .50 cals are never in excess.

>>32526763
okay if we're doing the whole "destroy our only option for any kind of rapid fire or suppression" thing we'd better get a damn good trade out of it. (A vehicle and 3 pieces at least)

>>32526812
It's a damaged vehicle with limited options in a hostile place, not our lifeline... Any of the surviving operators is going to have a field day mopping the floor with its downed carcass once they get the chance.

>>32526865
I say we crash it onto knightfu, when it is clear she is the last one inside the wall.

>>32526886
That's what I'm saying, save it for a shot worth taking.

>>32526886
Let's try to make it count and not something gratuitous..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAeL6o4LWzM

You've got five Recons and you're in the middle of unknown territory. Visibility is poor, fighting conditions are cramped, the terrain is ungodly difficult to traverse. You'd need to jump roof-to-roof to move with any sort of reasonable mobility.

Perfect.

There's dust in the air, smoke in the sky (which is aggregating within the cylindrical confines of the Wall, for some reason) and enemies afoot. Before you can do anything else, you need to press every last advantage you've got to make yourself familiar with the environment and increase your odds for survival. If you don't, you're dead meat.

You think about this a little harder. By now, the only Operators left are going to be the most skilled by far. Likely more skilled than the ones that were fought out in the semi-open. After all, these guys are forced into battle by their immediate neighbors, which they'll usually have to fight on unfavorable terms. Unfavorable terms like loss of strategic initiative.

You don't bother to try to hear anything. The acoustics in this urban jungle are fucked and you won't get smoked from afar unless you take a real liking to travelling by roof. Your Recons start zipping through the nearby area in a moderately large radius, entering primarily through windows and other indirect means. Just as you suspected, plenty of the doorways are mined, and not just those. Bombs absolutely everywhere. The doorways? Bomb. Stairs? Bomb. Corpses? Also bomb. You even saw a bomb in the toilet. For what purpose?

Nevertheless, your search continues. You can't see anything useful. Street after street, building after building, room after room. Empty. You don't even find guns or grenades lying around, just dead bodies.

That's unsettling.

That's unsettling, because that's the sign of an extraordinary Operator. Somebody has likely gone akimbo throughout the festivities, wearing upwards of ten grenades of various make and specification. What if that's..?

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No, you decide. That's not Helen's touch. She doesn't do things quite like that. She places value on surgical strikes - overwhelming force concentrated on a single point. Then again, she's not the type of Operator whose tactics you can pin down that easily. Or at all, given her sanity levels. Crazy like a fox, that one.

Your own touch is pretty similar. You also like putting forth more force than can be reasonably matched or diverted. You also outmaneuver at every turn, go for the balls-to-the-wall strategy, adjust throughout a match dozens of times, if need be. You're the "Predator" type of Operator. So's Helen.

But this doesn't look at all like the work of a single force of nature tearing through the cityscape. You find carcasses of tanks and helis now and again, which are stripped down, halfway scrapped for parts. Most of them have the touch of an experienced mechanic, somebody who wanted a lot of armor and had the means to use it. They definitely had Engineers and Recons.

You eventually find a few confrontations raging on. Two structures having a shootout with rockets and light machine guns. Some squad pumping a corner building full of grenades they had in the dozens. Once, you were even privy to an almost full squad - 5 pieces, just like you - planting an impressive number of charges at a skyscraper. You watched that with some interest, but from a very good distance. As you expected, the whole thing decided to go down in flames than up in smoke, decimating whoever was inside and anybody within half a kilometer. There are also other, much more mundane battles going on, which you deal with personally. You pull up your pieces and end the 2v3, 2v2 and 2v1 conflicts at every turn with a single volley of fire. You almost get discovered a few times, but that's not important. You manage to salvage some grenades from the combatants and nearly refill your own two quivers.

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Your escapades continue for a while, but you eventually begin to suspect that not everything is actually mined. You start to grow suspicious and check out structures that are only slightly less tactically advantageous than other, more preferable alternatives. Ain't nothing there. Somebody must have anticipated invaders at some point, sure, but...

Your searching patterns are hectic. You regularly decide for or against searching a structure based on a whim, a gut feeling. Yet every time you do so, you find that you just barely evaded a fiery death. Somebody wanted you to take to the streets, right? To go through the maze like a rat while they watched from above.

No, that's not it. They wouldn't have set everything up so extensively. There's just too many spots strapped with explosives, everywhere you turn. They didn't hope to eliminate you - they want to see how long you'll last. They're playing a game with you.
Helen is still at large.

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You take everyone to the roofs and calibrate the coordinates with your Ornithopter. You run through the city, but you don't fan out. You know where to go. The center. It's gotta be the center.

You make it there in one piece. You see 3 Berserkers with metal welded at the edges to their riot shields and 2 Supports behind them, arranged in alternation. They're moving up on a building with a large number of pieces. Going by the dents gradually appearing, one by one, in the shields, there's Recons holed up in that building. There's also a coat of "flame paint" on two of the shields, meaning they took some RPG fire. You're deeply concerned over this fact, since you're looking at an enemy that can mitigate both anti-armor blasts and high-caliber bullets. You take a closer look at the Berserkers and Supports.

They wear Kara's insignia. The girl actually made it. Which means the one she's fighting is probably...

Well. At least your Ornithopter is ready to go.

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Who will you take down first?
>[] Kara. She's too well-armored. I can't drop her in a stand-up brawl.
>[] Helen. She's too skilled. I can't take her down without a significant advantage.
>[] Motherfucking custom.

>>32527438
>[] Motherfucking custom.
Ornithopter and rockets in to the building, aiming for structural points, and drop the building.
At the same time drop the 3 Berserkers, and while the supports are wondering where all this rubble came from and why their shield toting friends are taking an impromptu nap drop them as well.

>>32527438
>>[x] Motherfucking custom.

Let's honor our arrangements. Let the girls wear each other down, while we set ourselves up to deliver the killing blow on the winner.

>>32527614
This seems the best course of action. as much as I want to use the ornithopter and drop a building on people letting them wear each other down -then- wiping them out seems the brightest idea.

>>32527542
>>32527614
>>32527656
Aight, gents. Waiting ten minutes and writing.

>>32527925
No! Write, THEN wait 10 minutes!

P-please ~~?.

>>32527969
Don't bully, anon.

>>32528009
I bet you put the horse ahead of the cart too, you casual.

>>32527925
You still here?

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You can't just up and backstab Kara. Not only would that be breaking your arrangements in the most dishonorable manner, it would also leave you all alone to fend off Helen.

You can't just up and helidrop Helen, either. Not only would that leave you without an ace up your sleeve, it would also leave you to fight off Kara all by yourself.

You need a better plan. Unfortunately, the best plan you've got right now is waiting it out. That doesn't mean you have to sit still. You settle in around the arena, the battle stage, and frame everyone in your scopes. As it turns out, Kara has an Engineer in the back of a building opposite Helen's encampment. Speaking of which, Helen is doing real well for herself, too: three Recons and two Engineers, sixth body nowhere in sight.

You've got three Recons facing Helen's fortifications, two of which are armed with RPGs. Another two Recons are facing Kara's Engineer. All of them are on roofs. Whoever loses this, you'll end up winning.

Meanwhile, Kara's three Berserkers are storming their target building like Roman centurions - shields first, swords behind them, ready to go. One of them knocks down the door while two others raise their shields to cover themselves and their buddy and the Supports pelt away at the windows. The trespassing Berserker rolls a grenade in and puts up his shield.

BOOM!

One explosion sets off several more, all of which ravage the doorway like a train wagon just ran right through it. The rubble just barely misses the trio of 'zerkers and they continue, going up the stairs, single file. Something goes wrong, though, and you're not sure where the explosion originates from, but neither do the Berserkers. They get blasted away and into bi-

No, they're still there.

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Next thing you know, two Recons fly out of the windows with rocket launchers and fire on the Supports, which are busy with tearing their flying enemies apart. The rest- Actually, just a Recon and an Engineer, both with designated marksman rifles, leap out of the windows in turn.

Then, the entire floor turns itself inside out. A shockwave that shatters the very air ravages the urban arena and runs through all five of your bodies, sliding them back a few inches. You smile. That's the Helen you know - that was a Shaheed Belt. A suicide vest, in plebeian lingo.

You check just to make sure, but you already know - those Berserkers are all dead. The Shaheed Belt abuses the fact that pieces aren't people, that they're piloted by a collective consciousness, to level the playing field. It's situational, but devastating.

The Recons and Supports have torn each other apart, but Kara's Engineer takes advantage of the hectic situation to let off an RPG at Helen's Engie. The Recon is flung back a good distance, but is otherwise unharmed. The playing field has now been equalized.

Pfft. As if. It's Engie against Recon and you know which of them wins out in skill. Which one doesn't have to hide behind clever tactics or strategies. Which one doesn't even have to plan - winging it is enough.

So you put a shot through Helen's Recon. It stands still, bullet hole squarely in the center of the cranium, before falling first to its knees, then flat on its face.

"TWO PARTICIPANTS LEFT," an emmotionless voice rings out.

You smile. You wave at Kara, who has now noticed you. You wave at her with a few more arms, too. Her own arms drops in a manner only aptly described as defeatist.

Without hurry, the Engineer throws a grenade in front of the building and descends the stairs, walking outside after the meaningless explosion. Even in defeat, Kara is a noble woman. You're impressed by how dignified she is. She carries herself with grace.

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Kara - or rather, her Engineer - stands before you.
>[] Drop the Ornithopter on her.
>[] Plant two shots at center mass, one in the head.
>[] Custom.

Need another hour+ to relocate, be back soon!

>>32529251
>[] Drop the Ornithopter on her.
Salute while doing so.

>>32529311
this

>>32529251
>>[x] Custom.
Give her a gentleman's chance. Duel it out with our pieces.

>>32529251
>Djibouti-shooty
no need to drop a helicopter on top of her, just be a gentleman and shoot her to end it.

>>32529251
Wait... shouldn't we be concerned about the fact we have no idea if her armor is still running?

>>32529696
yeah. she's probably welded so much armor onto it as well we will need to drop the building on it to kill it. which is why I opted for two to the chest one to the head.

>>32529749
>>32529311
Changing my vote!

>>32529348
>[X] Drop the heli on Kara.

>>32529354
>>32530121
>[X] End it.

>>32529352
>[X] Duel.

Writing!

>>32531403
because we know Kara still has armor someplace. No-one would just "give up" like that. At lease I wouldn't.
>oh fuck erryone's dead, wait. L-E-L five recon guys? okay they can have the engineer I'll just crush them with the hill-billy armored tank.

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You briefly consider dropping your Ornithopter on Kara's Engineer - but catch yourself. It's not that such an execution is a mockery of the dueling concept; Kara quite literally won't know what hit her. Something else bothers you. You haven't yet seen her armor - you don't know where it is, what it looks like or whether it's even functional. Would Kara really vest so much in the Order's policy? Granted, they are a bunch of freaks, but they're freaks, not idiots. She's thrown her grenade already. The duel has begun.

What was the point? There's just the two of you left.

Obviously, it's to keep her honor. To keep her honor when you get beaten the fuck into the ground, caught unawares.

You bolt from the roofs and dash every which way, you scatter like flower petals in the wind. One of you tackles the Engineer, sends it flying a good two meters and rolls into the building Kara's piece came from, then pivots and empties several rounds into the puppet.

Just as you suspected, the match doesn't end. You soon hear whirring and the familiar sound of an Ornithopter approaching. You see it with one of your Recons - there's thick metal plating welded onto the belly and sides. It flies low, which is as high as the smoke will allow without choking the engines, and circles the buildings you've hidden into.

You've found the devil between the lines. How will you smite him?
>[] Bombard with rockets. Maybe pick up the rocket launchers on the ground? If so, roll 4d6-4. DC is 6/10.
>[] Helidrop. How will you pin it down to make sure you connect? [Elaborate.]
>[] Why not both? Roll 4d6-4 AND draw up a plan.

>>32532132
>[] Why not both? Roll 4d6-4 AND draw up a plan.
well, might as well throw everything at it. pull the ornithopter in close enough to peck at it, then use rockets on the engines/control surfaces, same with the recon that don't have rockets.
first time rolling die, hope its a success

Rolled 3, 3, 5, 1 + 4 = 16

>>32532335
and of course I fuck it up.

Rolled 6, 1, 1, 5 + 4 = 17

>>32532132
>[] Bombard with rockets we already have.
>[] Helidrop.
Move from cover to cover while the Ornithopter is distracted by other pieces firing rockets and rifles at the engines, keeping our force spread out to attack from all directions, if that doesn't bring it down it'll be the perfect distraction to stop her spotting our armor speeding towards her.

Rolled 6, 4, 3, 4 - 4 = 13

>>32532132
[x]Kamikaze our artillery onto her artillery

>>32532580
That is such a good roll. Maybe you've got a slightly more elaborate plan to go with it?

>>32532680
They're both damaged birds. If we just ram her while she's crossing a corner, we should be fine. Worst comes, we'll just pepper it with rockets while she's trying to regain control.

>>32532741
Alright then, plan accepted. You rolled 13.

>>32532397
You rolled 9.

>>32532360
You rolled 8.

Closing voting in 10 minutes.

>>32532772
>Alright then, plan accepted.
You're scaring me a bit...

>>32532772
>32532360 (You)
>You rolled 8.
aw.

Time to start writing.

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The enemy chopper circles the general area you're hiding in, waiting for you to stick your neck out. It's a good tactic, since there are precious few exits and entrance, what with the windows being on only one side: the front one. You stick your head out a few times in a couple of different spots to while the time away. Eventually, Kara settles into a steady, predatorial rhythm. She gets into the nasty habit of reacting swiftly to any attempt you make at getting out and about.

One of your Recons gets a grazing wound. Coming from a .50 cal round, it's real nasty. You don't feel any pain, however. How great it is to be an Operator.

You need to keep Kara from getting suspicious. You feint by throwing a grenade and moving into a different building. She shoots down the grenade, but this just creates cover for you. Now you're sure she'll fall for it. You watch her position carefully, then raise your Ornithopter and send it into the smoke. Its engines give you a few measly coughs before they die out, leaving the Ornithopter with precious little in the way of navigation.

You repeat your feint. This time, Kara ignores the grenade. Your Recon leaps out of the window, but is instantly run through with gunfire. She doesn't expect you to do much now, so you capitalize on her vulnerability and launch one rocket at her, then another. The knight spots the first one and just barely swerves aside, but the second finds its way home.

It fails to pierce the armor. Your opponent begins to close in on your second RPG-strapped Recon, but before it finishes demolishing the wall covering you, you hit it with another rocket. You strike a particularly thick section of the armor, so the munition only causes her to sway.

In a bout of poor decision-making, Kara doesn't pull up or finish off your Recon, but backs up to get a better angle. She plans on opening fire on both of your Recons at once.

It's now or never.
[1/2]

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6oAcZ93hNY

Your Recons jump out of their windows, all of them, and the rocketeers zigzag and pivot under the stabilized Ornithopter's harsh justice. They run into position and drop to one knee each, skidding along the ground to get into the right position. Your own Ornithopter is real close now.

Two rockets, expertly aimed, leave a wispy trail behind them as they both ram the enemy's hull. Striking the exact same spot, one then the other, they mimic a tandem charge in effect, not only pushing Kara away, but also gutting her warbeast.

WHOOSH!
CRUNCH!
BANG!

The sound of one machine being smothered by another. Kara's helicopter, freshly pushed then punctured, collides with your own, metal crunching on metal. In a flash, with only a soft whistle being the warning, both of them impact the ground. Your squad is thrown back by the shockwave.

Like a volleyball, thrown into the air only to be sent hurtling towards the ground. Like a meteor, dropping from above like the fist of an angry god, your impromptu artillery support serves its purpose.

Even in death, even unable to fly, your Ornithopter still served you.

You face the wreckage, embers rising from the flame-consumed metal heap.

You salute your trusty Ornithopter while an artificial voice blares your victory.

"CONGRATULATIONS.
VICTORY IS YOURS."

>>32534211
Thread end! Thanks for participating, everyone.

I wonder if you guys find the story segments boring compared to these. I somehow get that impression, but once I hammer out the upgrade trees for the tech and skills, that'll definitely be the case!

I mean, I'm under the impression you guys would like that.

I also want to ask you: would it have been better to split this:
You eventually find a few confrontations raging on. Two structures having a shootout with rockets and light machine guns. Some squad pumping a corner building full of grenades they had in the dozens. Once, you were even privy to an almost full squad - 5 pieces, just like you - planting an impressive number of charges at a skyscraper. You watched that with some interest, but from a very good distance. As you expected, the whole thing decided to go down in flames than up in smoke, decimating whoever was inside and anybody within half a kilometer. There are also other, much more mundane battles going on, which you deal with personally.[/spiler]
into multiple encounter, each of them separate. I thought about it, but ultimately decided against it, since it would've contributed to a feeling "what are we fucking around here for?" and might have felt like padding. Or would you not have seen it as filler?

>>32534332
I think either way would have been fine.
I for one expected at least one confrontation at that point, so your skipping the fighting was kinda 'eh, that's how he wants to do it, k then' to me

rather then skipping them or having all of them play out with us making decisions, I think the best would be a middleground where you just have 1 or 2 skirms, or one big battle where we have to decide whenether we want to intervene or not

>>32534211
>>32534332
See guys? six recon worked out breddy good.
I hadn't actually wanted all six to be recon, but in a bout of caffeine induced key-punchyness I had hit send. by the time I had come back it was what we had to deal with. I am so, so sorry.[/spoilers]
we shouldn't forget to see Duva after this in the next bit of story time.
as for the spoilers I feel it was a little bit of padding.

>>32534434
One or two skirmishes, huh? I'll keep tht in mind. Maybe a big battle would have been better. More dramatic, more exciting.

>>32534459
Six Recons are an alright idea, that was mentioned in the first thread. It's just that without good rolls and good plans, you'll need only one misstep to lose most of your squad.

And we will.