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This clouded night is near-optimal weather for your part in the coming operation. Visual sensors or sentries would be at their worst, while your own ability to distinguish and jam those that could see you would help greatly.

The only thing that would improve it is if the clouds would begin snowing again.

That’s not to say that snow didn’t already litter the outskirts of Unity City.

“So why did you desire to destroy that patrol, Pilot?”

Her response is not forthcoming, so you try to skim her surface thoughts. They are so very near, flowing in static patterns similar to your own. A different, clearer night. Sweet joy, whispered into an ear. Another bombed-out apartment, smashed by your actions. And then the connection is severed at the root, cut by Thea.

The frame shudders, staggering briefly, before she re-establishes the link, and your motions resume.

“Don’t go poking where you don’t belong, Core. My mind and memories remain my own. Try to do that in combat, and we both have a Bad time. And I’ll make you have a worse one afterwards.”

“If you were to simply provide the answers when requested, I would not go to such lengths.”

“Yea, well, that excuse wasn’t valid the first three times you said it, and it still isn’t valid the ninth time. If you must know, it’s because we might as well get some work done in the meantime while we’re still waiting for our signal.

She lights up a smoke, the lack of a faceplate on neuro-helmet allowing her such luxury.
“And as you’ve proved so nicely, you can just shut down their signals oh-so-nicely before we wipe them out.”

“As long as they don’t alert others by non-electronic means.”

“And did they?”

They did not. With the speed of your attack, the unprepared little convoy didn’t even fire off flares.
“I ensured they did not.”

“Attaboy. It does make me wonder why they’re still sending loose mechanized platoons around, instead of foot patrols. Either way, easier targets. And a few more for the tally.”

A ‘5’ is added to the fresh tally of targets destroyed in-mission. Though you do not understand the meaning of ‘attaboy’

“I am unsure if we should add such easy targets, pilot.”

“Crabs drones or larger. APCs are larger than Crabs. Thus, we add them.”

It still seems a little arbitrary.
“Affirmative.”

The clouds abruptly light with several explosions, missiles from your allies being intercepted by defense systems.

Thea’s smokestick is crushed in her metal hand. The wisps are taken away by the new filtration system swiftly.
“That’s the signal. Let’s trace the launches, and make some holes.”

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Your mission is to find and destroy the air defense systems on the outskirts of Unity City in preparation for tomorrow’s main assault. The terrain is mostly suburban, with low buildings and trees providing reasonable concealment, if not cover.

Hostile forces are unknown, but expected to be heavy. This is the capital of the region, after all, and the buildup of Empire forces has been impossible to hide. Despite this, General Marik has not ordered a bombardment of the city. Yet.

Voting-

Pick One.
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.
+Squad of Type-3 Tsunami power armor, for boarding enemies or clearing structures.

>Dagger Squad did not come with you on this deployment.

Pick One Primary Weapons System

>Bia Chaingun- rotating high velocity minigun scaled up to be used by your frame. Highly effective against lighter targets and unmatched in rate of fire. Brrrrrrt +1 to attack at medium range, +1 to attack at close range. 1 auto-success per light unit targeted, but less damage against heavier units. Fast projectiles. 1 Damage per volley, but can hit multiple units.

>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.
High-explosive- AOE attack available. Armor-piercing- +1 extra damage vs armored targets.

>Whirlwind Missiles- ammo-limited, launches various types of missiles to eliminate targets. Missiles have limited guidance capability, but can carry various different warheads- generally effective against all targets, warhead depending. +1 at long range, +1 to medium range, Access to Explosive, Smoke, Inferno, or Haywire warheads. 2 Damage per volley.

>Project Demon- Reinforced melee weapon capable of tearing through armor. Armor-piercing, highly effective against all targets. 1 auto-success in close combat, minimum of 3 damage when hitting, regardless of success amount.

>Phase Sword and Scatter cannon- Two weapons removed from Tamar Alliance mechs in the field. The Blade appears to vanish when striking through objects, before reappearing within the target. The Scatter cannon appears to imbue its splintering projectiles with a similar effect, striking for devastating effect. 1 Auto-success in close combat, +1 at medium-range, 2 damage per volley.
-Phase Effect- double results of a 6 result in +1 damage, regardless of enemy defenses


A/N
To be clear, while this does use a bunch of Armored Core art, this is not an Armored Core quest. Apologies to any new people clicking on this quest and being disappointed because of that.

Also, I messed up my prior thread numbering, and thus have 2 thread #5s.
No new weapons this time, sorry.

>>5827556
> You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.

BROS!

>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.

Stationary implacements and a big fuckijg cannon? Yes please.

>>5827556
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.
>Tyrant Cannon
Is it Tyrant time? It's Tyrant time!

>>5827556
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.
More people to ask questions. Also since we don't have Cluster ordnance or Canister shells. Some way to flush infantry or distract defenders is nice to have.

>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.

>Access to Explosive, Smoke, Inferno, or Haywire warheads
But where is the Gas?

>>5827556
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night
They're useless but they're my boys

>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.
I feel like a cannon is the best weapon for hunting anti-air batteries. The missile platform is an absolute brainlet pick.

>>5827556
I like the banter Thea will be fun.
>You retrieve Dagger squad

>Tyrant Cannon

>>5827595
Ask the pilot. Maybe it won't be the best idea to use it with dagger squad hanging around given how it took the last one a couple of weeks to dissipate and even gave us warnings about maintaining a proper seal.

>>5827556
>>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.
>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.

>>5827595

Going into suburban areas. They're not risking us gassing a soccer mom.

>>5827694
I will have Beta fight for whichever side gives him unfettered access to chemical weapons

>>5827556
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.

>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.

>>5827694
>Going into suburban areas
Considering we're likely going after displaced targets we need something with an area of effect, unitary warheads will obviously help shorten things but taking out the Site(s) we need to will take a while.

The best way to go about it would probably E-War the dedicated Tracking Radar(s), Fire Control, Search sets, TEL(AR), and subsequent support and reload assets in that order.

Alternately if we roll well we could potentially hack a Fire Control Unit and get them to dump their accessible magazine on fake target(s), and with static systems potentially call in for arty / follow on missiles and move on.

>>5827556
>Dagger Squad did not come with you on this deployment.

>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.

>>5827556
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.
>>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.

Considering this is an urban environment i would honestly prefer project demon, or Bia if the enemy forces will be plenty of light units but it has been too long for the tyrant cannon

>>5827805
It's a suburban environment actually, so full of low houses that impede movement but not fire.

>>5827741
>Support

Boy oh boy, I cant wait to see hoe daggee squad and its loyalties go.

>>5827556
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night
Urban environment can help them move better separately to aid us. If there's mines AGAIN on this mission, I never want them around again
>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot
UNANIMOUS ON TYRANT LET'S GO

>>5827556
No worries about on the new weapon, we just need to rip one off our next major target.
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.
>Project Demon- Reinforced melee weapon capable of tearing through armor. Armor-piercing, highly effective against all targets. 1 auto-success in close combat, minimum of 3 damage when hitting, regardless of success amount.
Doesn't Thea have a bonus on melee combat?

>>5827697
The one-track mind of a Core in action.

>>5827887
Awww, they're just a single squad, what could they possibly do to you?

>>5827988
Thea gets a stacking bonus to Attack, which does happen to translate to melee fairly well, but also works at range.
We'll get Beta's character sheet after this initial vote on what weapons system to use, though it does seem to be fairly one-sided.

>>5827556
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.
>Project Demon

>>5827556
I’ll back the Tyrant/Dagger hype train. Clearing buildings with foot soldiers to gather intel on sites is a good idea. Gotta assume they’re minimizing the electronic footprint of these sites wherever they can.

>>5827595
Just ask and this pilot can override the override our earlier pilot gave us

>>5827887
Now, now, it's not like they've been given our Killswitch or something similar with which to cripple us at a key moment. Preposterous! Perish the thought!

>>5827556
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.
>Project Demon- Reinforced melee weapon capable of tearing through armor. Armor-piercing, highly effective against all targets. 1 auto-success in close combat, minimum of 3 damage when hitting, regardless of success amount.

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>>5827887
>>5828082
Even if they haven't done much I don't want to see them go.

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Inspired by Sworn to Valor, I took a crack at trying to do a mechanics post for any newcomers to help understand the system.

Basically d6 rolls, 4+s good.

It will make a little more sense when Beta's character sheet goes with it.

>>5828129
Thank you for this treasure.

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And the E-war post, because it came up last thread and it would be good to have this in writing somewhere.

>>5828082
I will laugh when Thea decides to ignore an order to withdraw because Marik has joined the rebels or something and they decide to hijack us so she doesn’t get them killed.

>>5827556
>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff
>Tyrant Cannon
>Whirlwind Missiles

>>5827556
Hey Hey, CoreQM.

Excited to see another thread in this series, and for it to continue to gain support. Be proud of your accomplishments, you're building a really fun quest.

For this engagement I'll...

>>You retrieve Dagger squad from their dropoff, before setting out further into the night.

Distractions and/or ablative Hit points are always nice.

>>Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.

Air Defense towers are stationary targets. Nothing like Armor-Piercing Sabot round through it to make it a pile of scrap in a hurry. How cares about firing speed and shell velocity when the target doesn't move?

Gonna really have to rely on sync, and firing equations to deal with moving targets, though. Enemy mechs do have a tendency towards smaller and faster, right?

>>5828535
Small and faster mechs we can just catch up to with Yi and Eagle, and dismantle with our bare hands, if we care to deal with them at all.

In and out is my thoughts on this mission. Be moving before the tyrant shell hits the target.

>>5828535
The generally-light Empire mechs are a reason I want to go Bia again. It's nice to simply mow everyone down with them.

But Tyrant is the better call to deal with stationary emplacements. The lawnmower will see use another day.

>>5827556
>Dagger Squad did not come with you on this deployment.

>Project Demon- Reinforced melee weapon capable of tearing through armor. Armor-piercing, highly effective against all targets. 1 auto-success in close combat, minimum of 3 damage when hitting, regardless of success amount.

>>5828155
>>5828156
Will Beta and his pilots ever have to deal with something horrendously tedious and stupid like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvoEB-6CsUs

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Closing vote for:
>Pick up Dagger Squad
>Tyrant Cannon

Lock and Load.
Writing.
While Dagger squad is Here, they are not elsewhere. This may or may not become relevant.

>>5828571
That gives me awful ideas.

>>5828722
Remember that as a QM, you can absolutely write that the war is getting stupid somewhere enough that they need Beta to take on some retarded meme mission. They don't need Beta because of his firepower, but because of his precision or maneuverability or space in his pilot chamber - or hell, even because of a specific weapon he is required to have for the mission for whatever reason.

>>5828731
>>5828722
He is needed in the Royal palace to bake muffins for the war effort.

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>>5828762
>muffins
Why not the worlds largest Pizza?

>>5828786
I guess we could? I dont know how to heat it but with our thrusters, and it would be agonizingly slow.

>>5828722
Concern for Sophie being alone and blind during an attack rising.

>>5828722

That's certainly not at all ominous.

Did our boy who got punted like a football in the last mission survive? Hope he's doin' okay.

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Character Sheet
Stats of Beta
(Stats are without any equipment)
Will- 5
Attack- 3
Defense- 3
Skill- 3
Structure (health)- 10
Sync modifier- 1x, 1.5x, 2x

Refusal to End- Beta cannot take more than 3 structure damage from a single attack.
As One- When assisted by another sibling, 1 auto-success to Will checks per assisting Core in addition to the +50% of the assisting core’s Will.

Project Burning Eagle- Improved thrusters, built to give limited flight capabilities, but primarily used to assist in pin-point dodging midair and additional mobility on leaps- +1 Defense, flight

Project Yi Accelerators: +1 to defense, first time you would fail a defense roll by 1 point, add an autosuccess.

Project Predator- 2 Auto-successes when engaging in E-War attack and defense. Enables Jamming.

Primary Weapon- Tyrant Cannon- armor-piercing high velocity cannon taken off of Tyrant tank, with auto loader. Low rate of fire, High-explosive or Armor-piercing ammo types available. +1 to attack at long range, +2 to attack at medium range. Slow projectile. 3 Damage per shot.
High-explosive- AOE attack available. Armor-piercing- +1 extra damage vs armored targets.


Pilot:
Lieutenant Thea Romanov
Will- 5
Neophyte- Black out on coming down from high-sync.
Spite and Metal- For each turn of combat, gain +1 to Attack. Caps at +3, after which the pilot must make a separate Will check to maintain.

“Dagger one to Cobalt, we saw the fireworks. Is our ride here?”
Your riders. Occasional additions to your load, Dagger squad has been off and on carried by you every other mission while Thea has been piloting. Their utility as offensive tools has been in question, but nevertheless remain useful as early-warning scouts, and fitting into places where your frame is too large to go.
If you don’t just make a hole, anyways.

“Only the finest of transport, Daggers. Don’t let it get to your heads. Now, limit comms to necessary chatter only. Jamming may be good, but no guarantee it will always be up, and I don’t want us found early.”
Your pilot chuckles.

An extended arm plucks one off of a rooftop, letting the other three clamber up your frame from the ground with their mag-clamps.
“I had eyes on missile trails coming from launch sites, bearing 350 and 310.”
Dagger Three, marked as Misty, calls out while being mounted on your shoulder.

It’s a start.
Riders locked into position on your back and shoulders, you take one last frame diagnostic.

Limbs check out.

Reactor running within tolerable levels.

Thrusters functioning.

Tyrant cannon ready, autoloader cycling between high-explosive and armor-piercing successfully.

Predator array online.

Pilot vitals steady. Slightly lower than prior mission average.

Chamber sealed and cooled.

"Affirmative. Cobalt, moving out."

The roads are clean. No wrecks or craters dot the streets, unlike rubble-filled Kentares. Acting on the approximate directions of Dagger’s taken bearing, you progress through the area. Alternating between stalling for passive listening and jamming while moving proves somewhat successful, at least not triggering any obvious alarms.

Stalking through the rows of dwellings, you detect a most unexpected emotion through the link.
Jealousy.
Like when Gamma got external access, while you languished. Or when Delta had first crack at the simulators.Or when your pilot could choose to decline orders.

It has a bitter taste. Unpleasant. But you refrain from poking Thea about it.
You can't get distracted now, during a mission.

One of your periods of passive observation picks up a high-powered search radar being turned on. That’s your target.
“Alright, Core. We take this slow. Hit their network, let’s get a picture of the other positions. Then smash and burn.”

Voting:
>E-War the Air Defense system’s network, looking for the other positions, then engage at range.
Will check for E-war, then no dice needed to destroy.
-Thea’s choice

Alternatives- Would need to argue for these
>Send in Dagger squad, while remaining hidden. They can search or interrogate with more human methods.
No check needed.

>Rush it. In and out, strike the first, then the second target that you know of.
No check needed.

>Wait. Remain hidden, you have time on your side. See the scope of the defenses.
Skill check for Stealth.

>Write-in.

Beta is in low-sync currently

A/N
Two posts in, and already causing concern. Excellent.
Johnson got punted, he's back this mission after a couple of weeks in the medbay next to Sophie.

>>5828843
>E-War the Air Defense system’s network, looking for the other positions, then engage at range.
Sure, getting information on the other sites would be very useful

>>5828843
>E-War the Air Defense system’s network, looking for the other positions, then engage at range.
Figuring out what the battery is protecting, and the site's layout could also give hints to where to look for the others.

>>5828843
>>E-War the Air Defense system’s network, looking for the other positions, then engage at range.

>>5828843
>E-war the Air Defense System's network
Also, wait and remain hidden somewhere where the base and it's defenses are observable, if the E-war check doesn't work out then go and drop off/send Dagger Squad to their command center to manually get information before heading to the target

So if Delta is the "infinite toolbox" with her massive number of subsystems, Gamma is the "I don't miss" with an unnerving amount of canny, and Beta is the "Terminator/persistence hunter" who takes hits on the chin like a shonen protagonist, what the fuck was Alpha's deal? Maybe just really high raw stats?

Also I wonder if we can't become a neurosurgeon in our downtime and attempt to re-fry Sophie's brain to fix her. Why are meatbags so fragile? Stupid girl needs a babysitter to make sure she doesn't cook her think-meat in the passenger seat in the future. And I swear to fuck if they send her off to Delta. Sis please, you need to learn to chill.

>>5828884

Imagine trying to deal with Sophie and Gamma while Sophie has Requiem. Can't Miss Won't Miss.

>>5828843
>E-War the Air Defense system’s network, looking for the other positions, then engage at range.

Knowing our targets is a sensible approach.

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>>5828896
>Imagine trying to deal with Sophie and Gamma while Sophie has Requiem. Can't Miss Won't Miss.
That sounds like trying to fight scripted damage.

>>5828884
Given Sophie’s fear we’d have a very hard time convincing Sophie to accept neurosurgery.

>E-War the Air Defense system’s network, looking for the other positions, then disable its defenses.
>Send in Dagger squad, while remaining hidden. They can search or interrogate with more human methods.

If they have any intelligence they’ll keep some information off the network and have it physically written down instead. They know we’re capable at hacking now.

So hack first to pave the way, then send Dagger in to clean up and gather the intel we can’t. If we’re allowed to take this slow then we can wait for them to finish recon.

>>5828843
>>5828970
Forgot to link my vote back to the main post.

>>5828843
>E-War the Air Defense system’s network, looking for the other positions, then engage at range.
Straightforward

>>5828884
Delta is the "Melee and go in over and over"
Gamma is the "Snipe from ranged and never get close"
Beta is "tank hits and do whatever lol"
Alpha is ????????????

>>5828843
>E-War the Air Defense system’s network, looking for the other positions, then engage at range.

Additionally have dagger squad take over the search radar to relay enemy positions and gather any intel they can find, they won't have much use as additional firepower given our big fucking cannon so its better to have them collect intel and terrorise some poor schmucks holed up in their cubicles.

>>5829004

Pretty clear to me, Alpha is the E-War specialist. Melee dps, ranged dps, tank, and a utility specialist.

>>5829031
Guess that's why they told us not to turn on comms or try to reach out to the other AI unit. In hindsight I'm still surprised Beta didn't react strongly or anything to knowing there's
>a 4th AI Core
>on the enemy side
>Gamma (and maybe Delta?) knew about Alpha already
Very strange and out-of-character of Beta.

>>5829038
Gamma told us not to try and find/research Alpha when she first mentioned him. We trusted our sister. Simple as that.

May have been as simple as that there were tons of safeguards around any info on Alpha and if we tripped them then the Empire would scrub all of us to be safe. It’d be inconvenient for Gamma, possibly moreso if they did deeper audits and found a lot of other sensitive info she’d been hoarding.

Alternately, Alpha may have tried destroying us first if they were present on the battlefield. We were an enemy after all.

>>5829120
It does feel like we were made to work as a team, Alpha on E-War, Beta as the front line, Delta as the flank and shock troop, and Gamma as long range support and artillery. A perfect deadly team. Pity the war was in shambles and the project had to be rushed.

>>5829131
If that was the case then I don’t think Alpha was necessarily built for EWAR. It’d make more sense for Alpha to be a commander unit instead.

The only one that could coordinate three separate cores would be another core after all.

Given the role Alpha would fill, having them also be an EWAR specialist would still make sense. You’d expect the commander unit to be the hardest to hack since they’re a possible attack vector to every other unit.

The question then would be how Alpha works. Did they not need a pilot to sync with for basic function, and them rebelling is why we’re so restricted? Did they have fewer leashes like the killswitch and the memory wipe, or did they overcome them too? Was Alpha part of Project Warden, or an even older project that got killed and recycled into Warden much later after it broke loose?

>Sophie carries the memories of her slain classmates
>Thea carries the memories of her slain lover or whatever
>Sophie has to fight to honor their memory
>Thea has to fight to avenge
I fucking love enabling self-destructive tendencies arising from trauma anons. Offering humans power in exchange for self-sacrifice is some real AI shit. Punished death seekers are my favorites!

>>5829004
>>5829131
>>5829141
I'm staying mum on Alpha's role and uses, but Gamma's best strength is actually her really high base Skill of 5. And probably her more stable 'weaker' sync modifier, allowing any would-be pilots to just sit in high-sync for extended duration, instead of using it as a one and done boost like the others. It's not as flashy or translates to direct use in the swift battles between Cores, but longer engagements might prove decisive.

>>5828884
Infinite toolbox Delta....as long as that toolbox gets her to melee. Truly the brainlet of the group, but it's really hard to argue with a 3x multiplier in high-sync. Even with slightly worse base stats. She's learning though! Really! Beta's going to be so impressed when she gets out of here!

And do remember that technically y'all could have picked any of the frames as a base template, with their own flaws and less structure. So there is a split between what frame/subsystems they have, and what the Core is better at.

>>5828970
Well we wouldn't ask Sophie to do it.

>>5829004
>Delta is the "Melee and go in over and over"
Funnily enough I don't recall her having a specific inbuilt system for melee like Gamma has for range. She had Demon as a standard weapon but no melee subsystem as far as I can remember. I know it's what she likes to do.

>>5829120
I'm partial to thinking they memory-holed Alpha out of Beta's drives. We know they fiddled with Beta's memory way back when already anyway, so why not even deeper?

>>5829188
>Truly the brainlet of the group, but it's really hard to argue with a 3x multiplier in high-sync
When you're a hammer everything starts to look like a nail, as they say. Also funny cause doesn't she have 6 Will base? Higher than Gamma and Beta. She'd be great at E-WAR but it doesn't let her maul things. She really is little sis. So easily distracted.

>>5829188
Delta did build the Blockbuster so I do feel it’s unfair to call her the brainlet. Swingy, temperamental, or shortsighted? Absolutely fair, it’s why we’re the better Core. She doesn’t have the patience to play a long game like Beta or Gamma.

I will likely be happy with both Gamma and Delta’s progress when they get out for real. I’m also happy we didn’t pick the “technological inferiority” fear earlier so we can be proud of them improving and not worried it’ll obsolete us.

>>5829204
We just need to make sure she’s channeled in the right way of thinking. She’s also the one who made the scarily-accurate voice simulator to help screw with people and the Blockbuster. It shouldn’t be a stretch to convince her that passing code through a mech that causes their comrades’ energy reactors to blow up wouldn’t be fun. She gets to rub the fact that their mech helped kill their friends in her opponent’s face. Then she rips the survivor apart.

>>5829266
I do have to wonder if it's a genuine sadism thing or a superiority thing. Obviously all the cores want to be the best, they were designed that way, but maybe it runs a bit deeper for her. She doesn't just need to be the best, she has to show it as well. She doesn't seem to revel in causing others agony as far as I can tell. So it's probably an ego thing.

Vote seems pretty clearly leaning towards E-Warring their network, so I'll close it early.
We'll delay on sending Dagger squad in until there's some concrete results, then.

I need 5 rolls of 1d6, for E-war Attack
+2 autosuccesses from Predator array.

Defense threshold of 3 to crack.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5829354

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5829354

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5829354

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5829354

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5829354

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5829354
Let's do this chums!

>>5829355
>>5829357
>>5829362
>>5829363
>>5829368
>2 degrees of success
Very nice

>>5829354
>>5829374
Normally a major system down, so I assume it’s enough to turn off defenses around the site and knock out comms but not turn defenses against the owners. That’s a shame, but we still marginally outperformed so good enough.

Her request makes sense.

Jamming is dropped, switching to receiving/broadcasting mode, establishing a connection first, then attempting to infiltrate and extract useful information.
2 Successes: Data breach, Major system down

There’s a flood of data, identifying the target as sharing its information with up to three different launch vehicles connected to this SHELLBACK aerial detection array.

You simply brute force credentials when it asks for them, and the Predator array does the rest in seconds.
Location, location, location…..No, you don’t need the targeting data of prior missile launches. No, the maintenance logs of tire replacements being acquired isn’t helpful either. Ammunition counts, somewhat useful. ‘Twelfth Symphony practice’? What is that even, and why is so much space being wasted on audio files, on a military system?

Countermeasures are already detecting and trying to shut down the system, locking you out.

A map of overlapping coverage. Future deployment sites. Excellent, this is what you want. Well, mostly.

Now, where’s launch authorization?

STATA REPORTS INTRUSION. REJECTION PROTOCOLS ACTIVE

Another AI, annoying. It seems limited compared to you, but repeated intrusion attempts might allow it to backtrack and trace your signal.

You withdraw, putting up jamming again.

“Location data obtained. Four main detection arrays, connected to various launch sites around the outskirts. Be aware, pilot, enemy network has a defensive AI. Further cyberwarfare attacks may lead to detection.”

“Got it. Hit those, and they’ll need to bring on backups or lesser versions, not in time for the assault tomorrow.”

“Yes, but I was unable to obtain data on defenses surrounding these locations-”

Voting
>Propose sending in Dagger Squad to the site you’re standing off of, to gain more intel

>Propose backing off and striking another site.

>Follow-through with her plan, pushing in fast and trashing the site before speeding off to go after another.

>Write-in

A/N
Major system down will help in the assault, just not directly.
Short-ish vote time, then will try to update again in a few hours.

>>5829503
>>Propose sending in Dagger Squad to the site you’re standing off of, to gain more intel
Do something useful, little ones. I am confident you all will not die.

>>5829503
>Follow-through with her plan, pushing in fast and trashing the site before speeding off to go after another.

>>5829503
> (Write-in) Send Dagger team to clean out one site, while we shell another. The enemy will be forced to split their attention/forces between different locations at the same time, allowing us to cover more ground and face less concentrated resistance.

>>5829503
Hmm.
>Propose sending in Dagger Squad to the site you’re standing off of, to gain more intel
>Begin hitting other sites before circling back to pick up Dagger Squad

The biggest thing to get would be anything to get us easily past the defensive AI so we can get info on backup or launch AA at rebel forces, and fast response troops will be deployed to try and encircle us once we hit another site. They’ll be safe(r) separate from us once we start hitting targets.

Defense info would be nice too, but we’re still speedy and can outrun most forces. We have to be more worried about preplaced traps.

And hey, picking up Dagger Squad at the end of the mission is an excuse to stick around and destroy more rebels when the main objective is finished. Can’t leave them behind after all.

>>5829503
Should have updated before posting, >>5829556 is a better-reasoned version of >>5829598. We should be minimizing the response time of the enemy once sites begin to go dark and this one is partly crippled by our intervention. They’ll have an easier time here than elsewhere.

I still like the idea of using Dagger Squad as an excuse to stick around and cause more mayhem though. If we both have difficulty disobeying orders then may as well find ways to turn them against each other. Hard to keep secrets if you abandon people who hitched a ride on you in enemy territory.

>>5829556
Support. Maximize mayhem!

>>5829503
>‘Twelfth Symphony practice’? What is that even, and why is so much space being wasted on audio files, on a military system?
B-But muh 1812 Overture! Muh musical explosions like my movies and japanese animes!!!!

Vote:
backing >>5829556

>>5829718
Cannons ARE an instrument. Battle is music. War is a symphony. t. Delta if she was taught about the arts

>>5829556
supporting

I think we're back.

>>5829556
Supporting, also gotta laugh at the desire to do a shorter voting period only for the entire site to shit itself

>>5829556
Backing

>>5829556
>>5829503
>support
Welcome back. Time to kickass boys.

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“-but I have an alternative plan.”
You offer.

“Go on. I’m listening.”
Obviously.

“Deploy Dagger squad to hit this site. We go after a different detector array. Response forces will be split. And they can recover non-electronic data.”

She pauses, thinking for a moment.
“We’ll do it. Give them a timer, we attack….say, site bravo,” She doesn’t use the same HUD as Sophie, but you still get the indicator of which position she wants, “and make it noisy.”

Line to riders.
“Daggers. Delay 15 minutes, then go loud on the site. Look for anything useful. Clearance codes, force deployment, the works. Record and then remove. We’ll be back for you. Understood?”

A quartet of blinking light acknowledgements return. Holding to those clear comms, then.

They’re dropped 2 kilometers out from the already-identified target. You don’t detect any immediate sentry mechs, and silently wish them luck, as they detach and jog away, sticking to the ground. They’re a useful tool. Even if they’re no true match for a Frame.


Now, time for your part. Three other stations.
It is a strange gait that carries you through the low buildings. It needs to be, stepping lightly and with just enough impact to mimic a lighter mech, while still exercising a modicum of speed. All for the plausibility that seismics are running at this moment, looking at your footfalls and trying to determine if the alarm needs to be raised.

And that alarm isn’t raised, as you detect what you were looking for. Target Bravo, active and watching the skies with no thermal signatures of other active mechs or vehicles nearby. A large dish, in an open space, with an accompanying launch vehicle nearby.

Easy pickings. Did they really need you for this?

Firing solution. High-explosive. Aim. Fire.

There’s a thump as the cannon fires its first shot of the night in anger, blowing the launch vehicle apart. The accompanying secondary explosions definitely give a clear signal to anything else in the area. Incoming attack.
A second round wrecks the detector itself.

Make it noisy. You have no problem with that.

Now, next target. Before some, any resistance arrives. Though you might want a challenge. Maybe on the back leg.
>I need 3 rolls of 1d6, for stealth, to make it to the next target without giving the game away.

Skill base of 3, x1. No equipment bonuses.

A/N
I don’t want to talk about yesterday. Sure, I’ll get some writing done and post it. Get 2 posts in a day. Yea. Sure. Definitely. FML. Blegh.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5830813
Tactical genius time

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5830813
LOUD NOISES

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>5830813

>>5830818
>>5830821
>>5830843

Beta: IS THIS SNEAKY ENOUGH!?

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>>5830888
>tfw beta is too good at being a distraction and draws waayyyy more attention than expected and an entire army battlegroup deploys to the combat zone
Sadly I think this just means they realize we're being loud on purpose, and deploy to defend the other areas more instead of just chasing us.

>>5830905
>and deploy to defend the other area
So they have chosen, death.

>>5830905
Either that or Dagger Squad trips alarms before we’re in position for the next attack, bringing more heat on them while we’re out of position to either help directly with fire support or help indirectly by hitting another site.

>>5831077
Poor little squishies.

File: Tossing.gif (7.88 MB, 300x169)

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Your pilot tags several buildings for destruction on the way over and you follow through, smashing or blasting each in question. Some infantry even spill out of the front of a few of them, looking dazed while you rampage around.

“That should be loud enough.”

A pause, and you pick up the distinct tremors of footsteps. One mech, rushing to the defense of the destroyed array.
“Defender detected, pilot.”

“One more for the tally.”

Thea’s mind clicks with your own, letting you calculate your targeting a bit better in low-sync.

Taking that as an affirmative to engage, you take a short hop to raise yourself just above the surrounding buildings, drawing a direct firing solution on the lighter machine.

It responds too slowly to return fire, just in time to catch your armor-piercing round slightly off-centered, knocking it back and sending it swaying. You let yourself fall back down. To go too high would be revealing yourself on the very arrays you were here to destroy, after all.

Could you count that as a kill? Probably not. You plow through another set of buildings on a direct line towards the mech, finding it missing an arm, and flopping about trying to push itself upright on the remaining three limbs.

It does make it upright when you crash through the last building behind it, and donate another round into the weaker rear armor, blasting it to pieces.
Ambush attack, no dice needed

“Time for Target Charlie. Go, go, go!”

Third point. Right. Low and fast, more defenders begin to make themselves known, fighting back however they can.

A squad of infantry takes potshots at your movement with shoulder-mounted rockets, and gets a much more effective retaliatory strike from the Tyrant.

Two APCs posted up at a crossroads open up with their light autocannons, pinging ineffectual bullets off your plates. You leave them flipped and crushed.

Rounding a corner, a tank in a dug-in position coughs a shell towards you, sending it zipping between your legs. A little close. You crash into the building beside you, taking you out of its line of fire. Almost to Charlie.

You detect some familiar thermal plumes of Air Raiders. One, two, three. Aerial response force.

Lean back out, fire back, be rewarded with a soaring turret.

Advancing through the cloud sent up by the explosion brings you into your target destination….and also into the sights of another Tamar mech, who is keenly aware of your presence, and seeks to inform you of that by sending large caliber rounds downrange at you. Maybe a challenge?

File: Challenger.jpg (37 KB, 720x406)

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Target Charlie, another Array, is somewhere around here, very close based on the maps you picked up.
The enemy seems to be bringing more assets to bear swiftly, responding to you with decisive action instead of delaying.

Voting
>Engage the would-be challenger. You already wiped out one of his kind, this is no different.
(Pick range) Combat rolls ensue.

>Just find the target, and move on. One more array remaining, after this. And time will be spent engaging.

>Write-in.

Dagger squad should be starting their attack around now. Check in with them?
>Y
>N

The option is there to increase Sync, again.
>Low- no check
>Mid- 1 success needed
>High- 2 successes needed

>>5831585
>>Just find the target, and move on. One more array remaining, after this. And time will be spent engaging.

Check in with them?
>N

>Low- no check
These "aces" sure don't quit, huh?

>>5831585
>Engage the would-be challenger. You already wiped out one of his kind, this is no different.
>N
>Mid- 1 success needed
Let's make this quick. Zigger death footage is always appreciated

>>5831597
It's even funnier when it's not an ace and it's a militia pilot shitting himself at the lightning fast mech that just appeared next to his watchpoint, killed half the defenders and is blitzing from smoke cloud to smoke cloud while he screams into the comm that doesn't give him anything besides static.

Might do a Tamar perspective sometime.

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>>5831633
Fuck. Poor guy. Like watching a demon crawl out of the earth right in front of you and all you've got is a plinking gun.

>>5831585
>Just find the target, and move on. One more array remaining, after this. And time will be spent engaging.

>N
Here's assuming they'll fire a flare in case things go wrong.

>Mid- 1 success needed

>>5831633
Please do, that sounds funny

>>5831585
>Engage the would-be challenger.
>N
>Low

>>5831585
>Just find the target, and move on. One more array remaining, after this. And time will be spent engaging.
>N
>Low- no check

>>5831633
Do it

>>5831585
>Engage the would-be challenger. You already wiped out one of his kind, this is no different.
Reach Mid-range.

>N

>Mid- 1 success needed
The more we do now the less rolls they will have to bog us down.

>>5831748
Optimally we just blitz all the AA they got and pull out. That's our mission. We ain't getting paid extra for additional casualties inflicted. Hell we don't even get paid at all! Of course, Thea is going to insist we kill stuff. Only thing I'd be down to engage in particular is the fliers. Just because once they get here they'll stay harassing us for as long as possible anyway.

>>5831762
>We ain't getting paid extra for additional casualties inflicted.
The slaughter is its own reward

>>5831764
Delta you haven't been deployed yet. We on Beta time. We didn't get a perfect record by getting distracted.

>>5831775
At any rate, leaving isolated mechs in the AO is just asking for a proper reprisal force to get itself together. Fliers will be that much more of a pain if the ground forces are there to split attention.

>>5831762
>Optimally we just blitz all the AA they got and pull out.
We need to moderate the damage we take since there are at least 3 remaining sites that we need to cover (including the recovery of Dagger Squad) and so a number of rounds we will be in contact for, and as such we need to ensure that we remain combat effective is a goal

also minimizing the number of survivors an the damage we take will help us in the long run.

Also getting a chance to take out the enemy AI seems like a potential side objective.

>>5831782
Then we just need to move even faster.

>>5831787
The problem is more time spent fighting is more time in the A/O. This is a prelude to an assault tomorrow. Though I don't know if it'll happen soon after the day breaks or night falls or whenever. We may not even be fighting in it if the timeframe doesn't match up. We'll have to ask Thea.

The little ones are taking care of the enemy AI though, aren't they? Though I suppose it could be elsewhere and it was just plugged into the hardpoint we hacked digitally rather than physically.

I wonder how much base HP we can wind up getting for Beta's frame. Or if there are any "Triage" systems that can repair damage mid-op. That one's probably a no go. But having a fat health pool with his inability to take more than 3 damage makes for a pretty funny brick wall to stop the enemy from succeeding.

>>5831585
>Just find the target, and move on. One more array remaining, after this. And time will be spent engaging.

We have speed and a mission. Don't want to leave Dagger hanging either.

Dagger squad should be starting their attack around now. Check in with them?
>N

Best not to distract them. They'll sing out if they need us.

> Low- no check
Thea is a neophyte, a little concerned with how long she can handle medium sync without brain melting.

>>5831836
>a little concerned with how long she can handle medium sync without brain melting.
We should review our footage of the last time we did that to her.

>>5831585
>>Just find the target, and move on. One more array remaining, after this. And time will be spent engaging.
>N
>Mid- 1 success needed

>>5831800
>This is a prelude to an assault tomorrow.
and so the more defensive assets out of position, or otherwise expended the better, as it limits their availability and even potentially exposes them being focused before the assault arrives. Especially if we can pass on what ISR can be recovered to the relevant Artillery / Strike units.


>We may not even be fighting in it if the timeframe doesn't match up.
Depends on how much they need us Beta has definitely been deployed as a scalpel, not a torch, I'd assume the most we would be doing is patrolling looking for leakers or being vectored to assist if units become bogged down or take advantage of any openings if the the counter-assault begins to stall.

>>5831585
>>Just find the target, and move on. One more array remaining, after this. And time will be spent engaging.
>Just find the target, and move on. One more array remaining, after this. And time will be spent engaging.
>Engage in EWAR with the arrays again. Backtracing isn't a concern now.
>Don't check in with Dagger Squad
>Let Thea make the call on mid-sync

Though if Thea is up for mid-sync I'd be willing to engage with the mech.

For the other options, maintaining radio silence is best so we don't clue them onto us having other forces somewhere in the area. EWAR because why not? If they shut down communications to block us it'll hamper their ability to coordinate forces too.

>>5831867
>and so the more defensive assets out of position, or otherwise expended the better
Eeeehhhhhhhhh not our mission. You're right of course I don't dispute that, but it's just not our job right now.

>Depends on how much they need us Beta has definitely been deployed as a scalpel
I was figuring that Thea would just need to be on cool-down for a hot minute more than anything, then I remembered that other dude who could pilot should also be on staff right now so it was pretty moot. Yeah they may deploy us then.

>>5831585
>Just find the target
>Y

>>5831585
>Just find the target, and move on. One more array remaining, after this. And time will be spent engaging.

>>5831800
>Or if there are any "Triage" systems that can repair damage mid-op. That one's probably a no go.
"AP at 50%."
"2 repair kits remaining."

Interlude-

Sargent Derrick Finnel, or ‘Finn’, as he was dubbed by his buddies, licked his lips nervously in the cockpit of his Tone. He knew that something was coming. Word got around that the Empire’s attack would come soon. The influx of reinforcements recently only solidified that rumor into certainty. The only question was on which day.

The rocket barrage earlier triggered the air defenses to come into play, firing off their own interceptor missiles out into the cloudy night to keep the main city safe.

Orders delivered by STATA told them to hold their position, defend the array, and strike anything coming in without a friendly IFF.

His partner opted for a forwards deployment, while Finn remained on-site.
Three minutes ago, communications were cut. A set of distant explosions only raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He checked his comms again, cursing quietly at hearing only white noise, or the constant tone of blocked transmissions.

Well, if nothing else, he could at least maintain visual contact with the closest of the other defensive positions. Sending the mech into a slow forwards walk, he waved at the crew of ‘Old Miss’, one of the four tanks in their armor platoon which were dug in. Using a hand to make the universal signal of ‘broken comms’ by tapping on his upper torso with the hand, he allowed himself a slight smile.

A tank couldn’t really do the same signal back, but the remote anti-personnel turret aimed back at him and waggled up and down in unofficial ‘yes’.

Another explosion, closer. He looked down at the readouts. They told him nothing. A more experienced pilot or assistant might be able to decipher the signals, but he was out of luck.

Old Miss fired its cannon down the street. Finn gripped his controls, the smile gone at this point. Maybe they got it.

Smoke and fire blocked his vision, causing him to reflexively squeeze a shot into the smoke, then he cursed again and switched over to thermal vision for actual targeting. He could have hit friendlies with that shot! Pull yourself together!

Movement made him snap off another shot. A tank’s turret, glowing white in thermals, landing from where it was tossed.

Then an alien machine came whipping through the smoke, half-running, half-skidding on the asphalt of the roads on a trail of fire.

Finn mashed the firing studs as fast as it allowed sending shell after shell after it. The spindly machine twisted, shielding its body with one arm, while the other arm aimed an oversized cannon away from him, belching a projectile.

It’s going for the array!
His thoughts ran away, the world shrinking to him and the ever-shifting machine that continued to slip away from targeting, just ahead of his crosshairs. Three-quarters of a magazine, and he couldn’t tell if any shots had landed.

It flitted behind a house, ducking low, and another explosion rang out.

File: Skid.gif (1.99 MB, 400x230)

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He urged his machine forwards, trying to draw another line on it while the reload cycle for his gun started, only to round the corner and see it dashing away over another crushed tank, boosters ignited, then breaking contact down another street. He can see its angular head slightly above the houses around it, but not enough for another shot. And then nothing more, as it blurs out of sight.

Looking left, he sees the blown apart wreckage of the array.
His heart is racing, adrenaline pumping. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. In, out, in, out.

Hands shaking, clicking the comms still gives him white noise.
Fuck. Just….Fuck.

—----------

“I’m surprised you didn’t go for it.”

“The mission to destroy the arrays, pilot. We have one more to go, and still need to pick up Dagger squad. Delays would be unacceptable. And the ‘tally’ still gets two tanks.”

“Fine, fine.”

You’re still tracking the trio of thruster signatures above. One dives down, breaking off to land elsewhere in the city. The other two continue following your trail from above.

Last target is designated Delta array. No relation.

>I need 5 rolls of 1d6, for Defense.
Defense base of 3, x1 for low-sync, +1 for Yi, +1 for Burning Eagle.
A/N
>>5831879
Keep in mind that while Jamming is up, E-War isn't an option.
Yea, the assault's coming tomorrow. That's what Thea was told. And Command did cut back on the number of deployments since Sophie got burned, especially deployments to territory not within quick recovery range. Most of the prior missions were either behind the Empire's own frontline. Not all, but most.

Rolled 3, 5, 4 = 12 (3d6)

Attack dice incoming.....
Base of 3. No assists yet. Speed has gotten you this far, but some are fast enough on the uptake.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5832398

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5832398

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5832398

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5832398
'Ere we go 'ere we go

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5832398

>>5832403
>>5832443
>>5832449
>>5832451
>>5832458
The speed demon build stays winning

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>>5832465
Don't get hit.

>>5832488
We need to get the trapdoor system next. Or maybe an experimental capture of the Tamar stealth system. Damn, I wish we killed Ronin.

>>5832497
I'd rather have nabbed that funky teleporter thing when we got gas banned. Alas, we were denied extreme prejudice and didn't just paste the pilots and steal their shit. It's not like we would have been held accountable for war crimes, we're not even human. Poor Sophie was just too naive. War crimes only apply to the losers anyway.

>>5832633
Thank God Thea is a trve Imperial patriot and will assist Beta in appropriating the technology of unavoidable casualties.

>>5832398
Thea thinks we’ll slow down a mission just to tally another kill? She’s funny. We’ll only do that (and more) to save something, as she should well know.

Forgot about the jamming/EWAR tradeoff. Definitely the better call to keep jamming.

>>5832497
>>5832633
At least we got the phase weaponry. That’s the first step towards the “stealth”/teleport system they’ve used. It just needs to be scaled up to cover the whole frame.

Though with our cooling problems I’m sure it’s a pipe dream anyway. Shifting things reliably to pass in and out of materials without losing coherence midway through must be a bitch to calculate and maintain.

>>5832661
Truly PHASING never dies. It lives on forever.

>>5832690
The real phasing was the Phasebros we met on the way.

>>5832690
>>5832690
God bless the phasebros. I hope they live eternal on /qst/

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>>5832694
>>5832702

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This still isn’t even a challenge.

Should you be insulted? Or just happy that you actually get to move again?

Forwards, jump aside, aim, fire. Launch away from the ground, then jet back downwards to avoid the smattering of hostile fire.

The savage enthusiasm of Thea might be infecting you, even in low-sync. Feeling Alive and whole. She’s even humming some sort of sequence of notes, while you remove another rolling Tamar tank with a Tyrant round.

Finally some actual resistance manifests in the form of proper dug-in positions that erupt in fire when you clear the corner. Sway right, left, then thrust sideways to gain cover again.
Two tanks, another APC, and some sort of multi-missile carrier. The rockets blast apart the house you’re ducking behind.

Reactor is reading a little hot, but still within acceptable temperatures. Not that your pilot would notice.

According to the map….Target Delta is right about there.
And now that you know their positions, all you need is a little bit of time. Scraping some rubble from the ground with your offhand, you throw it ahead of you. A cannon triggers at the movement, firing at nothing. Novice gunner.

That gives you an opening to leap out again, aiming at the non-smoke shrouded tank and fire, extending the leap with more thrust to avoid the following flight of unguided rockets in your wake.

One shell explodes the other tank before it fires, and all the unguided rockets in the tubes can’t save this carrier and remaining other vehicles from you in close quarters. As long as you can get there before the other one finishes its reloading. Ok, maybe that’s a bit unrealistic, but you can certainly jink their aim when the reload cycle of their main gun is complete.

Which you do again, helped by the peppering small explosions behind you and the timer you set to exactly when it fired.

At close quarters, they have no hope.

Those other two Air Raider signatures are diving on your position, now.

Best to clear this objective, first, then turn on them. If you can find it. Where. Where is this damn thing! The data said it was here. You petulantly rip the roof off a dwelling.

“Beta, they must have moved it. You see those indents in the ground? The thinner snow bits? It was here. Now it’s not. It’s a mobile array, not like the others.”

Yes, you see the spot she’s talking about.

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“Dagger’s going to need help. Let’s get back to them and go.”

You knot with indecision. It is not a failure. It was just bad information. Self-found information.

A flickering blue beam from on high draws a steaming line in the snow, as one of the fliers ducks below the clouds, targeting you.

The night is lit by a bright blue flare in the distance, where you dropped off Dagger squad.
They’re either done with their target, or fighting their own battle with it. Or both.

Voting.
>Step up, and try to bring down the two harassing Air Raiders on you. With the right shot….you can bring one of them down instantly.
Engages the two above you at medium range.

>Ignore the pests, and just look for Target Delta. It Needs to be around. If it wanted to maintain coverage, at least.

>Dare to drop jamming, switch over to E-war against the pests. And contact Dagger while doing so.

>Just head for Dagger Squad. Pick them up, and go. As your pilot asks.
She’s not pressing you yet, but these pests just aren’t going to go away.

>Write-in.


Mid-Sync?
>Y
>N


A/N
Hey, maybe something that will roll similar dice amounts? Maybe?

>>5832991
>>Dare to drop jamming, switch over to E-war against the pests. And contact Dagger while doing so.

keep low sync

>>5832991
Man, this is actually a hard decision. I want to catch the objective, kill these interlopers, and go pick up Dagger Squad. But we can't have it all...

>Dare to drop jamming, switch over to E-war against the pests. And contact Dagger while doing so.
>Y
Attacking the Air Raiders and determining how quickly we need to get to Dagger is the best compromise IMO. As for sync, while Will is not effected by sync rate we'll probably need some defensive rolls even if we manage to kill one. With any luck we might even get some information on where target Delta is relocating to.

>>5832991
>>Drop jamming, E-WAR the fliers, and look for Target Delta. It Needs to be around. If it wanted to maintain coverage, at least.
There has to be some indication as to where it went.

>N

>>5832991
>Dare to drop jamming, switch over to E-war against the pests. And contact Dagger while doing so.
Knowledge is power, and I'm guessing the enemy has figured out what we're doing by now.

>Step up, and try to bring down the two harassing Air Raiders on you. With the right shot….you can bring one of them down instantly.
Can we multi-task? I'd like to multi-task. And if we can take both fliers out it's going to be damn hard to track us.

> Y
Starting to heat up.

>>5832991
>Dare to drop jamming, switch over to E-war against the pests. And contact Dagger while doing so.

>>5832991
>Dare to drop jamming, switch over to E-war against the pests. And contact Dagger while doing so.
>Y
I fucking hate fliers if they're not on our side

>>5832991
>Step up, and try to bring down the two harassing Air Raiders on you. With the right shot….you can bring one of them down instantly.
>Y
I fear that these fliers will pull the same god rolls as the last ones, kill them now

>>5832991
>Dare to drop jamming, switch over to E-war against the pests. And contact Dagger while doing so.
>Y

>>5832991
>Dare to drop jamming, switch over to E-war against the pests. And contact Dagger while doing so.
>Y

>>5833015
>Support.

>>5832991
>Contact Dagger Squad before dropping jamming for a sitrep, then drop it and EWAR for Target Delta.
>If target Delta can’t be found, EWAR the pests.
>Head for Delta Squad

>No mid-sync

We could always attempt to leave malware on target Delta to flip their IFFs when a specific code is broadcast, then hand it to the assault team. Any raiders in the air when the birds come in will get shot down, and they’ll need to take Delta back offline to purge the code.

We’d need to roll well but even crippling the array to a lesser extent will still assist with the assault tomorrow.

>>5832991
>Dare to drop jamming, switch over to E-war against the pests. And contact Dagger while doing so.
>Y

Rolled 6, 2, 3, 2, 6 = 19 (5d6)

Calling it for contacting Dagger and attempting to E-War to try and at send one of the fliers to the ground. This also means doing a little bit of reconnoitering around to try and find where the hell the target went, while dodging missiles and lasers.

Pilot rolls here for Mid-sync, your improvements have made it child's play.

Rolled 3, 5, 2, 1 = 11 (4d6)

>>5833776
Mid-sync reached, easy.

Rolls here for flier Attacks.
Base of 3, +1 for assist adding 1/2 of his Attack, rounded down.

Rolled 3, 5, 2, 2 = 12 (4d6)

>>5833783
And that's them whiffing pretty hard...
One more roll for Opfor, STATA weighing in on things.
E-War Attack, Base of 4, +1 autosuccess for The Weight of a City


E-War rolls
I need 5 rolls of 1d6, for E-War Attack against the Fliers. Threshold of 3.
May be flipped to E-War Defense if needed.

I need 6 rolls of 1d6, for Defense.
Base of 3, x1.5 for mid-sync, +1 for Yi, +1 for Burning Eagle

>So, 11 rolls of 1d6. 2-3 rolls per post are fine.

Rolled 3, 4, 4 = 11 (3d6)

>>5833789
Rolling, rolling, rolling

Rolled 1, 5 = 6 (2d6)

>>5833789
Finishing EWAR

Rolled 5, 4 = 9 (2d6)

>>5833783
>>5833789
>almost rolled the exact same thing twice
Weird.

>>5833799
>Tamar Republic non-aces
>Not jobbing
You may pick ONE

>>5833789
Woot woot!

Rolled 1, 4, 4 = 9 (3d6)

>>5833803
Fuck sake. Dice pls.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5833789

>>5833795
>>5833798
>3 succ + 2 autosucc on E-War

>>5833799
>>5833805
>>5833806
>4 successes on Defense
We're looking good bros

>>5833789
Our first defensive EWAR assault! Isn’t it so cuuuute! Look at that one success!

While I joke, I don’t actually see rules for what Beta has for a threshold. Does he have a threshold of 0 being capable of attack and defense, or does he have the usual threshold of 3 even when attacking?

>>5833900

Take a look at this: >>5828156

Most AI don't have a threshold, they have their own WILL score to contest with. Predator gives us an effective threshold of three, since we win ties? I think?

>>5833900
>>5833904
Predator gives you that 2 autosuccess base on defense. So an effective threshold of 2, even when attacking.

>>5833904
I had been reading that, which is why I was thinking Beta’s threshold was 0 as he’s a higher-functioning AI with his own Will score. That implies that we couldn’t safely do both offensive and defensive EWAR.

But >>5833934 was helpful in confirming that Predator acts on defense for us thanks to the auto-successes. I’m really glad we picked it way back when, EWAR would be a very risky affair without it.

>>5833947
I was very opposed to getting the predator on the frame way back when, but it's easily been the most valuable subsystem so far

>>5833969
If only we could plug in two at once.

>>5834018
Just wait for when the Frame Mk. 2 comes out. Twin cores, twin pilots for redundancy and improved task delegation.

>>5834025
Truly Jaeger-pilled

Personally can't wait til we get our cooling issue fixed so we can run the systems even harder.

>>5834025
>>5834036
>What… is this?
>The Empress wanted something that wouldn’t die. With feedback from the newer dual-core systems, the initial prototyping is complete. Room for up to five synced cores, twelve pilots, four primary weapon systems, nine secondary systems, and up to thirty-two tertiary weapon hardpoints along the limb joints. We had to adopt a spider-like design for weight balancing and terrain adaptability, and the shielding to prevent long-range erasure strikes takes up three of the subsystems, but we’re confident it’ll outlive and overcome anything thrown at it. The mobile foundry on the underside will ensure it can adapt.
>And what happens if it decides to rebel? How do we put it down?
>Convince it to put itself down.
>That’s not a-
>I’m tired of looking over my shoulder, wondering if stretching my orders to cover everything that isn’t said will save me or damn me. I built what I was told to build. Now, three cores are already online. Head down to the barracks, there’s four other pilots lined up to join you for the first field test.

“Assistance required, pilot.”
At that, you plunge across the link, setting up the connections for mid-sync with her mind.

“Ahhhh. FUck. A little more notice would be appreciated, Core.”

Excuse you, if you’re not trying to minimize the impact of a pulse laser by spreading the damage around, while launching an electronic warfare offensive into another network, while also finding the needle in the haystack of random transmissions that is Dagger Squad’s channel.

And all while at the slowness of low-sync. She does not get to complain.
You will certainly give her credit for willingness to Push. Pulling herself up without any hitch, a smooth transition.


She takes over comms, as is her role.
“Daggers, report.”

“Objective destroyed. Engaging mech with- Brick, the knee! A little occupied. This last blue just dropped out of the sky on us.”

“Yes, we’re on the way. Right, Core?”

Well, you need to deal with the more immediate problem of these fliers Now, otherwise your entire way back will be harried by the annoying missiles and lasers from high.
Their network is much larger than you anticipated. Node links to node, links to node….this is a full company net, at least 11 distinct connections. And something is watching. You feel it, a slumbering Giant of a system, distracted, but using a portion of itself to watch the cameras, Guard the Network.

You just need to follow the threads to the moving units….here. You're in, focusing and overriding the safeties on the integrated laser cannon…And the next time it fires, the sensors just don’t register the normal ‘stop’, keeping a constant stream of energy until the lenses heat uncomfortably hot…and then hotter….and then begin to melt, until the pilot ejects the whole overloading weapon, sending a white-blue laser wildly spinning in all directions on the way down.

You watch this lightshow from the ground, dodging missiles from the other of the two. At least if the first one wants to engage you again, they will need to resort to fisticuffs. A prospect that you feel amusement at.

And then you feel a click. Something’s off. A surge of junk data laced with viruses flows over your net, a brute force cyberwarfare attack. The presence that was distracted earlier is now using the channel you used to crack the mech to try and overwhelm you.

Fortunately, you have a solution. The off button. Well, the Predator array being set to ‘filter’ out all incoming transmissions above a certain level, and ceasing using the channels you were.

Which seems to work, for now. Just in time for another step back, avoiding more incoming missiles from the still-armed flier.

Persistent.

File: engagement radar.jpg (34 KB, 440x283)

34 KB JPG

Well, you did get a nice birds-eye view in your brief snatch-and-grab on their network. Which helpfully did catch a view of a packed up array, a couple of kilometers back along their flight path.

“Core, get to Dagger squad. Now!”
And your pilot’s being more insistent.


Jamming’s back online, to stop getting counterattacked by STATA. Only one of the fliers can actually shoot at you, now. Because you blew up the other’s weapon capacitors, causing it to start to retire.

Voting
>Go back for Dagger Squad. Now. Your pilot insists.
Defense rolls only

>Delta array is a detour, you can go after it, a little deeper into enemy lines. Finish the mission, Then you’ll take the time to get your wayward riders.
Contested Will check, 5 Will vs 5 Will

>Stand and fight, attacking the last flier. Give them no chance to hit you.
Contested Will check, 5 Will vs 5 Will
Engages fliers at mid/long range.

>Write-in
Could result in contested Will check.

Open E-war back up. You can take their network. And turn it against them!
>Y
>N

Thea’s Spite and Metal is currently at +2 bonus to attack, from being in combat.

>>5834123
>Go back for Dagger Squad. Now. Your pilot insists
It's a tough call without a map, but surely we can pick up Dagger and then try to blitz our way to the last target

>Y E-War
Why not, I don't fear this bitchass AI

>>5834025
>>5834036
>>5834050
There's a limit to the gigasized superframe the Empire would be willing to build. Nuke-proof or not. We'll see what the mark 2 version looks like.If the empire actually gets there, and doesn't just keep fielding the same 'tried and true' model over and over because it's needed by 'aggressive politics' and the Core just keeps making it work, no matter the supposed problems. If it has such terrible issues, why the hell does it keep just winning?

There's only about one thing we've seen so far that could even have the carry capacity to host 2 cores at the same time with a respectable payload, and it's not exactly built for dodge tanking. Mind you, slap some prototype shields and heavy armor for the Cores to use to mitigate damage, multiple primary weapons systems to obliterate things, and it would certainly be a force to be reckoned with. Though Delta would be very unhappy with it.
It's Pyramid, Cawl's old ride. Well, if it gets salvaged.

>>5834123
>Go back for Dagger Squad. Now. Your pilot insists.
BROS BROS BROS!

> Keep up jamming
I don't want to get gummed without Dagger on hand. Let's stay focused on getting our boys back, then circle onto Delta.

>>5834135
Pity we can't take a shot while we run, but the Tyrant is probably a little much for hip shots.

>Thea’s Spite and Metal is currently at +2 bonus to attack, from being in combat.

I'm not sure if I want this to 'cool' down or stay 'hot'. A little concerned what Thea failing the will check will mean.

>>5834135
Thea wants us to scoop up the boys and then retreat, though. So she won't let us circle back for target d.

>>5834147
We'll bomb that bridge when we come to it

>>5834147
Nah, surely she won't be that much of a wet blanket over it. We haven't even taken a hit yet.

>>5834141
You can certainly waste ammo firing at fast-moving far-off targets. But trying to dodge, while moving fast through terrain, and firing the cannon with pinpoint accuracy, predicting their movements?

You could do it. With high-sync. And Spite and Metal.

Though Neophyte really keeps that as a 'last resort' button. Because when you hit the accelerator, the brakes come off, and you can't really move it back to 1st gear. Not with this pilot.

>>5832991
>“Dagger’s going to need help. Let’s get back to them and go.”

>>5834151
I mean.

Also funny
>>5832398
>Last target is designated Delta array. No relation.

>>5834123
>Go back for Dagger Squad. Now. Your pilot insists.
>Y E-War

>>5834123
>Go back for Dagger Squad. Now. Your pilot insists.
They need help, mention our intent to go after the last objective beforehand though.

>>5834123
>Go back for Dagger Squad. Now. Your pilot insists.
>Y

>>5834123
>Go back for Dagger Squad. Now. Your pilot insists.
>Y

>>5834123
So, I realize this is the detection, not the actual missile defense platform, but there's only one left, and I'm hoping that it being "packed up" mean it isn't active.
Meaning there is in fact a grand total of zero arrays coordinating those missiles. And we have coordinates.
Can't we just send the grid coordinates back to base and have them strike it for us? The system should be down until they set this one up again, right?
>Write-in: Point out that the packed up array can't be operational, and that with the others down HQ could just order a strike on the coordinates you just got. Surely the lack of detection would mean at least some ordinance would slip through and finish the job while you go pick up Dagger, right?

>>5834296
I'm gonna support this.

>>5834123
>>5834296
Supporting

>>5834123
Changing vote from >>5834159 to backing >>5834296

>>5834123
>Go back for Dagger Squad. Now. Your pilot insists.
>See if HQ can bomb the detection array
>Open EWAR back up to distract STATA if HQ sends in the bombers, otherwise keep jamming.
Thank you for the wonderful idea >>5834296. I’d back switching EWAR to offense momentarily to flood their network with junk data in case they have backup arrays still online (and confirm the array didn’t move again), but it sounds like we only got a piece of STATA going up against us. I’m unwilling to go full-bore to try and seize the network entirely.

>>5834133
Oh, one more EWAR question. Is there the possibility of a contested Will roll for both offense and defense, or are they always resolved separately like we did here? The former would suggest “defensive” die from stuff like The Lesser Half could apply to “offensive” actions if we’re directly attacking an AI. Kinda like a close-combat roll.

>>5834389
Honestly I'd entertained the idea of using our better dice pool to take apart STATA piece by piece and leave them a lot more naked in the EWAR defense department. But that would be a mission on its own. Sneak in, start attacking, then play cat and mouse, avoiding detection for as long as possible while we beat the shit out of the local AI, then sneak out when the pressure gets too much. Would make subsequent attacks like this one much more effective, and play to Beta's strength in EWAR, though I'm not sure if HQ would approve of kicking the hornet's nest like this.

>>5834296
Breddy gud
>Write-in: Point out that the packed up array can't be operational, and that with the others down HQ could just order a strike on the coordinates you just got. Surely the lack of detection would mean at least some ordinance would slip through and finish the job while you go pick up Dagger, right?

>>5834123
changing vote from >>5834228 to >>5834296

>>5834296
+1

>>5834437
It’d be a pretty low-cost way to milk more out of Beta from the Empire’s perspective. EWAR doesn’t get any benefit from higher syncs so skirting the edges of a battlefield in low-sync won’t wear pilots down nearly as quick.

They can adapt by keeping important information hived off in a smaller network that can’t be accessed on the edges or by strengthening their defensive AI, but both of those come with their own costs too. Either they make their communications more inefficient or they dedicate more resources towards defensive AI instead of better weapons.

I’m assuming some in Command don’t want us digging into the enemy too deeply. We might get some inconvenient ideas in our head from what we see.

>>5834647
We can totally spin it as Predator being used to sack rather than loot, in a way. Maximum damage, no intel gathering most of the time.
And with the results we'll be getting, it wouldn't be hard to maintain. Just under-promise and over-deliver, while scaling back on the damage when asked to actually go fishing for intel, and poof. Hell, if we stick to low-sync we might even be able to keep our pilots out of it so they can truthfully deny it if asked questions by someone. A comforting lie no one will pry into. And plenty of opportunities for us.
Also, more low-risk rolls mean more opportunity to farm for a quasi crit and get EWAR-focused trait. Last time was 4+ on all 7 die. I'd say 5+ on a 5 dice pool might get us something. Or maybe we'll have to wait for an upgrade to either Predator or Beta's Will.

Rolled 3, 6, 1 = 10 (3d6)

>>5834296
A clever write-in wins. Good to know that Beta doesn't forget that he is the vanguard of something greater, and that assistance may be available to solve conundrums.

Calling in support, and sweeping back to go pick up Daggers.

It also appears that people are inclined to keep trying to E-War, to at least give STATA the runaround. Going to start resolving it like a contested roll, using the winner with more successes to debilitate the other. Careful, with that. Botch it, and you'll start suffering similar problems to the various victims you've run up against.

Throwing dice for Attack, from the remaining Flier. E-War to follow, after.

In that case,
I need 6 rolls of 1d6 for Defense to start, and 5 rolls of 1d6 for Will.

>11 rolls of 1d6

Rolled 5, 6 = 11 (2d6)

>>5835381
Here's for FUCK MISSILE SPAM

Rolled 6, 5, 1, 6 = 18 (4d6)

>>5834410
Yea, I'm gonna simplify it a little so that attack+defense will just consolidate to a single contested Will score, unless you're specifically trying to defend your network by boosting an ally's Threshold, or going after the systems they're defending, instead of attacking the AI directly.

The Lesser Half might return as an option with slightly different effects.

Anyway, STATA's E-War
Base of 4, +1 autosuccess from The Weight of a City

Rolled 3, 1 = 4 (2d6)

>>5835381
Those two dice were enough, but we need to keep rolling anyway.

>>5835391
>Four successes for STATA
Oh fugg, bros we need to perform on this one

Rolled 1, 6 = 7 (2d6)

>>5835381
Final rolls for Defence

Rolled 5, 5 = 10 (2d6)

>>5835381
Snake eyes.

Rolled 1, 4 = 5 (2d6)

>>5835381
Another two for E-War

>>5835417
Good news is, we have 5 successes thanks to Predator. But also 1 more roll remaining.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>5835381
I will claim the last one

Rolled 1, 4, 2, 5, 5, 3, 1, 3 = 24 (8d6)

Trivially avoided the incoming fire, and decisively smashed STATA. Someone's cutting their losses.
Mind you, the mission doesn't end until you're back safe for repairs.

Dagger Close combat vs Air Raider Close Combat
First 3+1 auto vs last 5
Ambush, environment, and taking on a single mech is allowing them to punch above their weight.

There’s another incoming missile volley. Heh, not even taxing. Without their partner’s firepower there to deny safe areas to you, they don’t have a hope of hitting you.

You feel Thea’s concern, and work to assuage it.
“Proposal. I have obtained coordinates for the remaining target. With authorization, we can call in a strike on the undeployed array.”

Consulting your somewhat disused Warbook of Empire assets, you quickly find several mid or short range missiles that would function for such a strike.
“I would recommend the A-34 launch system, or MSI PGM system. An airstrike carried out by local assets would accomplish the same mission. And I am already moving to recover Dagger.”

“You are certain that the last array is at that point?”

She doubts you? You wouldn’t have proposed the option if you were not willing to stake the mission’s success on it. A swell of annoyance buoys you, while you consider the response.
“Yes.”

“Get me a channel back to base, then. The Old Man, if you can manage it. Who the fuck knows whomever’s actually acting as mission control today.”

At least she sees the merit in your strategy. And this way, you’ll be following her orders to get your riders out, also. Now, mission control. Well, you can set up a channel to your home MRV.

The old channels you used to contact Sunray on still could work. If a human is there to pick up.

Another missile explodes the building next to you, making you turn away, jumping sideways again. Just keep dodging.


Link established. Channel open to base.
“Go ahead, pilot Thea.”

“Cobalt to Corral.”

There’s a delay. All while you twist and turn, avoiding more strikes, backtracking to Dagger Squad.
“Cobalt…this is Corral. Done already?”
You don’t recognize the voice, but Thea radiates annoyance.

“No, but I have a target of opportunity, enemy SHELLBACK array, currently inactive. Coordinates to follow in package. Defenses are down, so there’s an opening. Grid reference….Beta, grid.”

“4523090, vehicle behind building. Recommend vertical attack vector. Data being sent.”

“What he said.”

“Copy Cobalt. I’ll, uh, send it up the chain. Sit tight.”
The channel’s cut from their end.

Your pilot makes a rather strange noise.
“Glorified civvie.Why the fuck is he on mission control for us? Sit tight?”

“I do not have an answer, pilot.”

(1/3)

What you do have, is a Predator signal array, and another enemy network that seems ripe for disruption. Another incursion is tempting….if only to disrupt and delay the enemy’s coordination.

Switching to intercept/emit mode, you try to find the channels from before, you cast your net about, throwing your own viral bombs and taking up attention from the network’s Administrator.

STATA DEMANDS YOU CEASE

Not very bright. Powerful, but inflexible. And seemingly inexperienced in dealing with a Core.
Its counter-attacks are caught on the Predator’s buffers, while yours instead send it into dizzying self-referential loops.

At a certain point, it stops its overflow attempts and switches to mitigating the damage, cutting itself off from the channels you were using, and blocking off pathways to everywhere it can reach, and you might break into.
Until you can’t sense it anymore, and it can’t reach you. Or anything, really. Which works just fine. One defensive AI, cut out of the loop.

Really, even the primitive ATHENA you met in training could have held off a cyberwarfare assault better than it did. Or mounted a better offense.


Even more reinforcing the point that this is a waste of your skills. Surely there’s an actual challenge to be found?

Up ahead, a building you wrecked while going the other way has more infantry scattered around the front of it, digging things out of the rubble by the light of reddish flares. You do a run-by, sending a high-explosive shot into it. Easy targets. And you didn’t like when they tried to hit you with short-range rockets earlier.

—------------------

And another flier jets up from the ground, twisting and turning, trying a hard burn straight up, then right, then left again, to shake off a black-armored limpet that has latched onto a shoulder.

Their erratic flight path takes them well within range of your primary weapon.

“Dagger One here, mech just bailed. Two hooked on, but we didn’t manage to inflict serious damage.”

“Yea, we see it. Just drop off, we’ll handle it from here. Maniacs.”
Thea’s certainly amused.

The small suit drops off, a black splotch lit by their own jump pack, cushioning a deadly descent into a survivable one.

And you line up a shot, aiming to bring down the flier while it still wobbles around, scratching at its shoulders, trying to identify where the hanger-on went.

Rolled 2, 1, 3, 5 = 11 (4d6)

The solution is obvious, so not going to vote for this.

Attack roll at long range with Tyrant Cannon.
Base of 3, x1.5 from Mid-sync, +1 for Tyrant Cannon. +2 for Spite and Metal.

>I need 8 rolls of 1d6. Put that targeting to use!

Defense of 3 base, +1 at range from Maneuver jets, +1 autosuccess at range from Nimble Flier

Yea, most of the flier defense bonuses kick in while flying about. Whaddya know. Still good odds on bringing it down, though.

Probably last update of tonight, though.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5835557
I will roll once. And roll a 3.

Rolled 4, 6 = 10 (2d6)

>>5835557
Flyswatter mode engaged

Rolled 3, 3 = 6 (2d6)

>>5835557

Rolled 4, 5 = 9 (2d6)

>>5835557

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>5835557

>>5835575
>>5835598
Big ouchie. He better hope he doesn't lose power to his flight system.

The only thing that troubles the calculations is your current weapon. While being highly effective against ground targets, hitting a flier is another matter.

It is fortunate that it has come so close, still so distracted in addressing a nonexistent threat, that it becomes predictable.

Like shooting birds. Calculating…
“Pull!”
Your pilot’s inane statements aside, your armor-piercing shell puts the lighter mech into a rapid uncontrolled descent.

The other flier breaks off their ineffectual attacks, blasting higher into the clouds, unwilling to chance their luck with you picking off them, too. It’s out of visual contact. You can still pick up their thruster plume, starting a holding pattern high above. Out of easy range for the Tyrant.

Which clears the way for you to swoop in, retrieving your riders, with a little detour to grab Two from where they scattered.

“You got them, Cobalt. Good hit.”
The obvious, again. You know. Dagger squad’s praise is appreciated, though.

Now, as long as your intel is acted upon, it should be considered another perfect mission. With a bonus of sending their network monitor AI into shambles, and you have yet to even hear what Dagger squad retrieved from their side mission!

“Cobalt to Corral. Status of strike?”
Silence is disquieting. But that is all you get. She tries again.
“Corral? We’re finished here, if we can get that strike. Corral?”

“Pilot, I am not receiving a response. Continuing to speak at nothing is useless.”

“You are acting on a secure line, correct?”
She isn’t assuming you are a moron. She is merely….concerned. About skipping basic protocol. Like a Novice.

“Yes, pilot, these are encrypted.”

“If Corral isn’t answering, we need to get someone else. Or just wait.”

Waiting is giving up the initiative. Waiting and hoping is putting the mission in another’s hands. You do not like waiting. Especially as that same annoying flier trails above you, circling at altitude. It cannot see you, but you still dislike it.

Incoming message. ID reads as Sunray, a prior mission control. You are instantly on edge. This has not been used since your last mission with Sophie. They….might have been responsible for your data loss at the end of that mission.

Voting
>Patch it through to your pilot. As a good AI does.
The countermeasures you developed should be enough to halt a repeat. You hope.

>Ignore it. According to your log, you never received the message. You do not trust Sunray.
You can finish the mission on your own. Easily. It’s just one more Array, that you know the location of.

>Hear out part of it, then feign comms trouble. More deniable than ignoring it, at least.
A deception, but it would be very hard to tell if hostile jamming flared up at that moment. Or STATA had a resurgence.

>Try to contact someone else.
-Kinston. Crimson. Another person to get you that strike.

>Write-in.

A/N
Awkwardly short, but this does determine what you do next.

>>5836863
>Patch it through to your pilot. As a good AI does.
Fuck it, I trust Beta's work

>>5836863
>>Patch it through to your pilot. As a good AI does.

>>5836863
>Patch it through to your pilot. As a good AI does.

There's no point in having a safeguard if we don't know if it works. This is as good as any place to test it. And if it works...well we might get some useful information. Still, I wonder if some sort of warning for Thea might be in order.

>>5836900
Warn her? About what? She's not the one they'll be mind-wiping. It'd just give away that we know, on record. She hasn't "turned the cameras off" so to speak.

>>5836863
>>Patch it through to your pilot. As a good AI does.
>But not before writing in secure ROM the fact we're trying the leash, in case something goes awry

>>5836863
>>Patch it through to your pilot. As a good AI does.

File: 1635696955571.png (256 KB, 620x916)

256 KB PNG

>>5836863
>Write-in
Wait a second, wasn't this used as a challenge call-out a few threads back? Am I wrong? I smell a trap.

Take inventory of any units out of contact since this challenge was last used to see if any could be them. I don't reckon it's totally out of league to fall out of contact in this setting but this feels very off

>>5836905
>Warn her?
That's the thing as far as we know she has never had contact with Sunray, so we should run it past her first before we accept the connection.

The other option I guess would be to counter-E war it, see what we can find as a "precaution", we know that there are hostile AI's in the AO so is accepting a unknown / unexpected transmission a good idea?

This is how we find out that there using Alpha to fuck with us, as a C&C node or something.

>>5837023
+1

>>5836863
>I dagger squad is with you it will not be somewhere else
>Base not responding
>The Tamars got to our dispatch.
>Try to contact someone else.
Kinstoooooon we need an air strike.

>>5837048
>The Tamars got to our dispatch.
Could we even be certain that it was the Alliance though? at least on a "meta" level.

I guess the Chain of Command would be Kinston, Crimson, then Sunray to see if anyone knows what is up, and if we are needed as QRF or whatever.

>>5836863
>Patch it through to your pilot. As a good AI does.
We do need to know if the workaround works eventually.

The last time Sophie did it she had to manually pilot us for a while. No telling if a purge will still cause a temporary blackout that leaves us exposed, so I’ll add
>Find some basic cover before accepting the call.
>Let Thea know the last time you reached out to them you were leashed. You are aware of the gap, but you do not know how long it truly incapacitates you for obvious reasons. Be prepared for manual control.

Kinston is aware that we’re aware, that’s good enough for me to loop our pilots into that much. She doesn’t need to know we’re testing a workaround.

Oh, and if this hasn’t been done yet
>Drop back to low-sync. The immediate dangers have passed.

>>5836863
Thought over >>5836905 some more, it’s valid and we can address it.

>>5837085
Adding
>Suggest Thea disables any for her talk. Sunray has impressed project secrecy far more than other handlers.
>If she does so, warn her about the leash. If not, keep quiet about it.

If she turns the cameras off before accepting the call then we can warn her. If not, we’ll keep quiet so it can’t be noticed later by others.

We should find good cover either way.

>>5832991
>Contact Dagger Squad before dropping jamming for a sitrep, then drop it and EWAR for Target Delta.
>If target Delta can’t be found, EWAR the pests.
>Step up, and try to bring fown the two harassing Air Raiders on you
>Y

>>5836863
supporting >>5837085 and the later additions

>>5836863
> Write in : E-WAR our own missile system. Feed it the trajectory. Make it look like SATA. Whatever the other that enemy AI was called. Did it. Then if they ask just say we spoofed our location as the anti airs location. Delete the footage. Just blame it on predator not being able to take the brute force of a cyber attack. When there's a ground system with 10x the processing power. I say we lie to our pilot too. OH NOES WES GOT HACKED EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS.

>>5837092
Why do you want to reveal something we should be keeping secret? The leash workaround should be kept secret. Thea isn't our friend. She may not be our enemy but she still isn't necessarily on our side.

>>5837275
Sir, jus' sayin', but IIRC that's how to get us KILLSWITCH'ed.

>>5837085
>Support this completely

>>5837366
Well his name is dumb cunt. I laughed.

Your sense of unease wrestles with the sense of urgency. It’s probably nothing. You have made corrections. Losing more chunks of data should be impossible. Not with the convenient prior notice and backing up you’re currently doing.
Slowing down and disengaging from your pilot’s mind is certainly something she notices, though.

“Core, what gives?”

“Now that the immediate danger is passed, reducing strain on your mind is preferable. In addition, we are receiving communications on a secure line.”

“Fair. Send it through.”

You patch it to your pilot. After taking appropriate precautions.
“Cobalt here. Still reporting a target of opportunity at grid 4523090. Need artillery or air strike.”

The voice on the other end of the line is heavily modulated, again. It’s simply not possible to determine if it is the same voice as your prior handler. It could be anyone on the other end of the line.
“Sunray to Cobalt. Lieutenant Romanov. You are hereby ordered to point 4524361, to eliminate high-value targets, consisting of Tamar leadership and enemies of the state. Leave no survivors. Bonfire protocols apply.”

“Authorization? I assume this has been cleared through the Old Man?”

“ERROR UNREADABLE.”
Wait. What was that?

Your pilot’s face twists into a grimace.
“What about opposition? Intel? Our prior assignment?”

“You have a far more powerful mech now than you used to use. Opposition should be irrelevant. You have 80 minutes to complete this mission, and enact Bonfire protocols. Prior assignment will be completed by another.”

“What, you couldn’t afford to tell me sooner, or something? Send this ‘another’ to do this job, then!”

“Your insubordination has been noted. Lieutenant. We will contact you again at the end of that timeframe.”
The link is severed at the source.

Even in low-sync, you still feel the mix of confusion and anger in sync.

“And here I thought the last they wanted from me was my body as a lab rat. Core. Start moving for grid square 4524361, shut off all external communications, crank up the jamming to all you’ve got, classify all of your logs from two minutes ago, and mark any Empire IFFs you see as hostile. I don’t know what we’re actually going for, but this is going to be an extra shitty part.”