[x] Chassis: Humanoid
[x] Element: Electric
[x] Onboard Weaponry : Beam Lance, Integrated Dual Arm Cannon
[x] Combat Class: A
[x] Anode

Chassis: Humanoid
Element: Neutral
Onboard Weaponry : Daggers
Combat Class: B
Name: Jaff

Humanoid
Neutral
Machineguns
A
DaKKa

Chassis: Humanoid
Element: Heart
Onboard Weaponry: Care Bear Stare
Combat Class: GA
Designation: Love-a-lot

>>17738151
You are Anode, part of a military contract to supply the Maverick Hunters with two new operatives. Your counterpart, Cathode, specializes in directed energy weaponry and operates as a weapons platform.
Your primary combat capability is in interception and defense. Cathode delivers the lightning. Your job is to take it. To that end you are designed with a reservoir through a number of capacitors that allow you to build a murderous charge through electric attacks. The two of you are designed to compliment one another on the field.

Somehow that was lost on Hunter Command, who immediately divided the two of you up. Cathode was shuffled to the 1st Advance unit. You were shuffled into the 4th, the all-terrain specialists. While it's not impossible the two of you will work together again during the many joint operations 1st and 4th lend to, it is by no means going to be common.

You're not sure how you feel about that.

You step off the transport and see your new barracks for the first time. The only information you have says to report to the command room for orientation--the main building ahead of you. You have a little time, though. Hunters are nothing if not punctual with transportation.

In the 'courtyard,' such as it is, you see two reploids--your new partners, you guess--talking. One is lightly armed and armored, and rather diminutive, while the other looks more like you'd expect--large, with bulky armor plates and a voice you can faintly hear even from here.

What do you do?

>>17738379
Introduce ourselves

rolled 73 = 73

>>17738379
introduce ourself

>>17738441
Well, so long as you have a little time, you may as well get acquainted.

You lightly jog over. The two register you and wrap up whatever conversation they had. Now that you're closer you can see the details on both.

The larger is a bullfrog-design with a darker, olive-drab armor. The little guy is humanoid, also green, though brighter. You're a good deal taller than him, though both of you are rather smaller than the frog, even with his hunched figure.

"You must be the new addition," the bullfrog says. "Replacement for Mongoose. Hammer Frog. I run this place."
He does? Well, at least that makes orientation easier. "Took over for Potamus after the first uprising, and I've managed to hang on since."

"You can call me Em," the smaller one says. "Nice to meet you." As he speaks he goes back to whatever he was doing with a crate of supplies.

"Anode," you say, "Looking forward to working with you."

"Likewise," Frog says. "Now that formalities are out of the way, I'd just as well give you the briefing. 4th Overland is the ground-pounders. We're on call more often than not. I can't remember the last time the whole unit was here at once, since we're on call so much. There might be more ocean, but the amount actually in use is laughable. We get the bulk of the work and the least of the glory. Get used to it, kid." He snaps shut the lid on the crate he and Em were working, and haphazardly kicks it over to a pile. "That said, we're frontline and we tend to get stuck occupying territory, but Command isn't stupid."

"Usually," Em injects as he drags over a new crate.

"Usually. We're high-casualty, but low-fatality. They know how often we get thrown into the mix, so we have a lot of Navigator and Lifesaver support."

He looks down at you as he starts to open the next crate. "So, what can you do, kid? Give me the sell."

Bump. You guys need a little more to work with?

>>17739006
Meh. Is easiest if you give us options.

>>17739065
Very well.
Boast a bit, or downplay?

Boast a bit
mite b cool

Downplay it

>>17739143
I second this.

>>17739106
Boast.

>>17739139
>>17739143
>>17739269
>>17739273
"What's there to sell?" You ask. "I'm fresh out of the factory. I can tell you what I'm built for." Frog doesn't seem the type for bullshit, so you just go on explaining. "I'm quick and sturdy, I can hit fast at range, but I'm built to go toe to toe with this." You tap your lance against your shoulder for emphasis. "Rated A-class. I'm pretty much ready for whatever you throw me at."

The massive frog makes a low rumbling 'hrm' noise in the back of his throat. "Untested, but you've got potential. I assume you've got a teleporter and Vee-wes system, standard issue?" You nod. Apparently that's a recent addition to the requirements for a new hunter. "Good. I'm not ready to give you anything until I've seen how you handle, but if you can take care of things out there, I can probably give you a few mechaniloids as a trial thing." Seems sensible enough.

"Right," Frog adds. "Em and I are about done with inventory, why don't you head inside? Even though you met me, command is nothing if not sticklers for protocol. Head in for briefing anyway. You can meet a few more of the guys and I can give you your first deployment. Any questions before you go?"

>>17739342
No, let's go.

Lets go.

>>17739412
You shake your head. "Off you go, then," Frog replies as he starts stacking the mess of crates.

The inside of the barracks is about what you'd expect--plain and sparsely decorated, and relatively quiet, especially for such a busy unit. Apparently most of the members are either recharging or out on duty. Even without your guidance system, the briefing room isn't hard to find. If nothing else the place is laid out sensibly enough.

You don't have to wait long before a few more figures enter, giving you cursory nods. One is an avian-type model of some sort, another is a canine, and the third is a humanoid with a large chaingun mounted on one arm. All three stand at a parade rest. A few moments later, there's Hammer Frog again.

"Right," he begins briskly, "This is our new man, Antion. I don't need to tell you lot to be civil, and I've already given him the crash course in what we do, so I'll cut right to the chase. He's electric-type, dossier's pretty cut-and-dry. We've had no less than four separate assignments already--" The bird-reploid groans. "--and lucky for him, one is in Belanus power plant. That's where you're headed," he directs at you. "Dodo, you get the highway again. I need to work out who to send to the waterworks, and I'll be handling the last request personally."

The briefing hologram mid-room flickers out, humming as a teleporter warms up. You're given a brief dossier on your objective--mostly conjecture, but given the damage done to the power plant infrastructure, you're dealing with a B-class threat. Ostensibly it should be no problem... ostensibly.

At least the terrain fits, you think to yourself as you engage the teleport...

The lights flicker intermittently in the plant. Automated warnings for the workers still broadcast. A quick check confirms comms to HQ are still working, so they can't have been here long. There's not much sign of damage here, but you're not far into the plant. How do you wish to proceed?

What happens if we take electrical damage when we're already at full capacity?

Assuming no ill-effects and no hostages, there's no point in not filling up at the next loose wire or outlet or whatever that you see.

>>17739879
Taking further electrical charge without capacitor reserves to store it could damage them or you, but venting said electricity is almost reflexive for you. As for hostages, no reports of any, but this factory was crewed by civilian reploids, and it's likely some are still alive.

Let's forge ahead to the most damaged area with caution then, keep an eye out for threats or civilians, and if we get the chance, get a 70% charge built up. That should be enough so that if we're hit by a sneak electrical attack, we'll be able to vent if needed.

Do we have any Navigator support? Or any way to get a map of the area?

Bumping for the sake of bumping. With pictures, even.

>>17740014
Maps are being acquired as fast as intel can get them, but the report says they should be on file. Navigation support is available should you ask for it.
...you guess you should ask for it.
"This is Anode," you say as you key your transceiver, "On-site and requesting Navigation." After a moment, you receive a crackle of static and a response as a dry, bored-sounding voice filters into your comms.

"This is Wellington, 5th Navigation. So one of you finally decided to accept some help?" A moment's pause. "I see, you're a new transfer. And this is your first mission, no less. Don't worry, I'll be gentle." ... Great. You guess you DID ask for it. "Short-range scans reveal no hostiles in your immediate proximity, though terrain appears compromised from fire."
"Leave that to me," you reply as you examine the damage. A conduit has been exposed beneath the floor, arcing wildly.
"I'm detecting a power drop in your...oh. I see. You can leech sources of electricity. Mind you don't overdo that, you're in a power station that provides service for an entire city--"
You realize that about when your capacitors hit 97% charge in a quarter-second. Fortunately, you let go almost as soon as you touch it. A controlled release gets you back down to an even 70% capacity.
Cont.

>>17740436
"Taken care of," you respond.
"So I see," Wellington muses. "I wouldn't recommend doing that more than you have to. It takes a good deal of energy to spin up those turbines from cold."
"Noted." You progress further in. Still no signs of activity, but the damage begins to look more severe. "So no one in the 4th asks for Navigator assistance?" You ask.
"The 4th? Try the entire thing. We get requests off and on, but there's this belief floating around since the first war that navigators are spread too thin to provide coordination for every operation, so no one asks. Others...there's a misguided sense of pride in not asking for help. Just a minute," Wellington suddenly says in a less bored, more serious tone, "I'm reading nonautomated activity just ahead."
How do you want to move forward?
>that feel when you call Anode 'Antion' by mistake
Chalk that up to beer, not Frog being a dick.

Move forward cautiously and quietly, prepared for attack if necessary. It may be a civilian straggler.

>>17740556
Your hunch pays off as you level one of your busters on the signal Wellington relays to you. You move forward hesitantly and almost jump when there's a clatter and a small-framed reploid tumbles out of a wall panel.

"OHGODDON'TKILLME!"

Civilian, by the looks of it. Even given his size, it's somewhat impressive that he managed to wedge himself between two conduits to hide.

"Maverick Hunters, 4th unit," You say, lowering your weapon slowly. "Identify yourself."

"I-I-I'm nobody, I swear!" he says, putting up his hands in a pliant gesture. "My name's Artee, I just work here. I was the one who sent the distress call!" You relax a bit. Even if he turns hostile, he doesn't seem like much of a threat.

"What can you tell me about the attack?" You ask.

"It started hours ago. I don't know exactly when. All our cameras spazzed out and overloaded and half the mechaniloids shut down. The other half started trying to kill us. Then came an army of... things. War-bots. I don't know any makes or models, I just regulate power."

"I see. Thank you. Stay here, it should be secure. Did you get all that?"

"I did," chimes in Wellington, "And it seems troublesome. Even assuming war-grade electronic warfare materials, a total sensor blackout is very unusual. I'm tentatively bumping the threat level up to 'A,'" he says. "Do you want me to try to arrange some backup?"

>>17740728
"It's good to have a plan B, so have some prepared incase I don't keep radio contact at regular intervals."

On the one hand, we don't want to jeopardize the mission by underestimating the threat. But on the other hand, we should also make a good showing for our first proper outing, and it may take a while to arrange back-up anyway. Besides, the terrain favors us and we haven't run into any proper enemies yet. We should go it alone for now, but see if we have anyone on a backburner for if the situation gets out of control, just in case.

Also, ask Artee if he knows of any other civilians in the plant, then continue onwards.

>>17740875
>>17740917
"I'm good for now," you decide. "But if I stop talking, send in the cavalry."

"Acknowledged," Wellington replies. "But how will I go on without your dulcet tones?" And we're back to smartass.

"I'm sure you'll soldier on," you snark back. "Just have reinforcements on station if things go sour."

"Will do," he says.

"So," you turn back to Artee. "Can you tell me if there are any other civilians?"

"I...I don't know who's left," he says haltingly. "There were four of us on my line, but we all got scattered... one of them was on my shift supervisor and I just watched him -melt-..." He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I dunno. There are a lot of civilians, but in an attack we're taught to lay low. Keep an eye out, but..."

"...But don't expect anyone, right. I'll be cautious." You nod.

"Thanks," he says. "I'll just, uh..." he waves vaguely behind him at his hidey-hole in the wall.

You don't make it much further before Wellington sends you another warning. "Mechaniloid activity. Expect hostiles."

To put a period on his sentence a giant spike crashes down where you were a moment ago. It's some kind of electrode probe and oh damn it's swinging at your head. You dive to one side and pepper it with a volley of plasma fire. It stumbles, giving you a moment of breathing room. That spike looks nasty, but the thing is pretty clumsy. What do?


Also, sorry for the delay, I got invited over a friend's. On my laptop there.

>>17738107
Use our superior speed to stay out of range and continue firing. Also try to get behind the spike and aim at anything that might be a structural weak point.

>>17741572
No worries.

So is it like a tentacle? Is it connected to anything bigger? For now, let's keep our distance and slather the thing in hot, buttery plasma, get a feel for its movements and attacks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxC0VjiUQAQ&feature=related

Also music, if that's your thing.

>>17741748
>dat music

>>17741748
Was just thinking of doing this whenever relevant.

>>17741724
It lunges again. You size it up for weaknesses. You find one.

The industrial laborer holding it. It lurches ungainly, the tip of the electrode sparking. Now that you have breathing room you can see that the weapon is some kind of industrial probe, ripped off a mechanical arm somewhere in this plant. The wiring is crudely hooked into the shoulder of the mechaniloid. That can't be good for its power draw.

It lunges again, and you quickly step aside, shooting into its back with another volley from your cannons. Okay, this is going pretty well, you're immune to electricity, it's big and stupid, it shouldn't--

You dive reflexively, and the electrode buries itself in the wall behind you like a javelin.

"Oh." Wellington adds helpfully.

"Yeah," you say. The mechaniloid stumbles ungainly, damaged from your shots and having torn the hasty addition from its shoulder. It lurches at you, much more slowly. Skewering it on your own lance is trivial. "Oh, and thanks for the warning about impending doom."

"I didn't see it," Wellington answers. "And before you get smart, that means it was jammed from our short-range detection. The remains look modified."

"I'll tag it to bring back to HQ," you say.

...Maybe it was the almost-dead thing, but you kind of want to sass Wellington a bit. Indulge in a bit of sarcasm as you proceed?

And for that matter, how are you going to proceed? That spear-throw almost took you off guard.

We should proceed with caution and give Wellington a little bit of sass.

A little friendly ribbing is alright, it lets off some of the job's stress. But let's not aggravate our help too much. We dodged it, and he can only do so much babysitting from where he is. No harm no foul, right? Maybe even dole out a thank you at some point when he's really earned one.

But back to the task at hand. The fact that this thing was modified... Did it modify itself, somehow? Did somebody modify them themselves, or modify them to modify themselves? Who knows what kind of weird garbage they could staple to themselves in this place. Let's keep an eye out for any more ambushes as we proceed, especially if they favor dropping in from above.

quick OOC: when is this in the MMX timeline? What was the last Maverick uprising?

>>17742225
Third uprising. Information about viral infection is just starting to be crystallized and understood.

>>17742171
>>17742172
"So yeah," you say, "Is this why no one uses the Navigators, Wellsey?" He doesn't answer. "Or is it the other way around, you ask their help and it gets you killed?"

"I'm sorry," he says, "Would you please drop it and move on?"

"Relax, I'm just kidding a bit," you reassure him.

"And don't call me Wellsley."

"Yeah, you have to earn that one," you say with a grin as you proceed.

"Damn it. Fine. I'm still reading those mechaniloid signals ahead, so be careful. And there could be more like this one that I can't pick up."

"That's a good thought," you acknowledge. "Thanks."

The plant itself is rows and rows and rows of turbines. Most are still working, though a few are damaged and not working. The noise is deafening. Or would be, if you weren't a reploid.

You continue onward, paying attention to your surroundings, particularly the ceiling. Every now and then you swear you see sets of glowing red eyes watching you from the far reaches of the plant, but they disappear when you look closer. No further attacks...yet.

"Wellsley, is that map coming along? I feel like I'm wandering blind here."

"Should be loading...now." You wait.

Nothing happens.

"Um."

"Oh, shit," he says tactfully.

"Wellington...?"

"You're being jammed. I can't even get your signal now. Map information won't transfer. Frankly, I'm amazed comms are still working."

...Uh-oh. What now?

>>17742615
Ask him if there's anywhere nearby that could hold a map. Or is there a data access point in here that I could reach and get the map transferred over through that?

If that's not possible then continue to cautiously move towards wherever the most damage seems to be.

Any way to figure out the source of the jamming?

>>17742782
Okay, gotta stay calm. "Wellington, is there any place I can get the info on my end?"

"No," he says, "But I have the information. I can guide you. You're going to want to make for the central control room, north of processing. Most everything can be controlled from--"

With a nasty screech and a hiss, there go your comms. Great.

At least you know where to go. And at least you haven't run into any more wait, no, there they are. Damn it.

A handful of those converted laborers-with-electric-spikes and a scattering of industrial machines, and a few actual war machines with gun mounts, vaulting over the turbine dynamos, scuttling down walls, and otherwise 'emerging-from-the-woodwork.'

You kind of wish Wellington was here to provide a dry remark.

They're mooks, but there are a lot of them. What's your plan for this battle?

Get up close and personal with those laborers and have at them with the lance. And then I think it's time to use up our charge and try to burn through to the objective.

>>17743164
Right, almost getting impaled was a lot of no fun. Let's try to avoid that. You surge forward, opening up with your arm leading just as the mechaniloids do the same. Their fire chases you across the room as you throw yourself into the fray. Dodging the first mechaniloid, you circle around him and screen yourself from the guns. They don't let up, battering the sturdy industrial bot's frame. By the time it clumsily swings after you, you're already twisting past the second and making for the third. It comes in with a heavy overhand swing--leaving it perfectly exposed for you to run through on your lance. You don't usually get such clean execution on your hits, but you don't have time to savor it as a wheeled gun unit circles to the fore and locks its barrels on you.

Quickly, you punt the twitching mechaniloid off the end of your lance and into the offending guns. That buys you another two seconds. Dodging the next shock-probe stab gets you two more, which you spend firing on another gun as it maneuvers to hit you. Fortunately it's not built as tough as the workers, and after a hail of plasma something overloads and takes it out. The two remaining converted workers slowly turn to face you again, one heavily damaged from the sustained fire to its back. Two more guns, and then the four industrial models. They're the least threatening, but they could pin you down in a rush. Speaking of, that seems to be what they're trying to do.

Cont.

>>17743630
Fuck all that.

You square your lance and take a low stance, dumping all the energy from your capacitors into it. The stab blows the first's torso out wholly and it just crumples dead at your feet. Your weapon crackles in your hands, and then the backpressure wave staggers you as you trigger the actual attack. You smell ozone and the air ionizes as you release a column of phallic electric death. The industrial workers and one of the guns are reduced to greasy soot in the blast, leaving only one gun and the two probes. The smoke clears just in time for you to realize they're winding up to throw again.

You dodge the first, and register it was thrown by the sluggish, damaged machine just as the other probe pins your shoulder to the wall. In panic and pain, you manage to work your other arm up and fire on the last gun as it does the same. You take it out, but not before it scores a few painful hits. The damaged mechaniloid falls, having killed itself by tearing the probe free, but the other starts slowly advancing on you.

Actions?

>>17743662
How's our energy level? If we have enough juice then fire on the last worker and try to free our shoulder.

If energy levels are low or would become dangerously low by firing then just try to get free.

Blast him, tear the probe from our shoulder, and then scavenge the bodies for energy. If it works that way.

>>17743768
Energy and health are two different things, though you suppose with some finagling you could develop a system to draw on your powerplant to charge your capacitors, but it would be dangerous and difficult.
Damage-wise, your front is splashed with plasma burns and damage, but you've had worse. Your shoulder, on the other hand, has definitely seen better days. To say nothing of being pinned to the wall, that arm is nearly immobile.

As the mechaniloid advances you pepper it with fire, but it trundles forward despite the increasing damage. You blew all your stored energy on that last shot, if only you--

Wait. Capacitors read 11% charge.

12%, now.

You realize the probe is still arcing inside your shoulder--apparently it has a battery built into it. You're thankful for that much as you level your palm and fire off a lesser, but still powerful, gout of electricity at close range. The effects aren't pretty, but now you're safe. ...has there always been a high-pitched whine in here?

"Well done."

Maybe.

"Let me get that for you."

Probably. Oh god the probe just got torn out of your shoulder ow

You register the sensation of motion as you tumble across the floor. You stand back up and ready your lance, but whatever did it is gone.

"I began disabling your frequencies one piece at a time as soon as you teleported in here. I saved comms for last because it tends to help build anxiety, but you... react better to stress than most."

There, above you--you try to fire, but the whining noise grows loud and shrill, distracting you with a building pain rattling around your head. The figure pounces, and finally you get a decent view of the thing as it pins you to the ground.

"The name is Chaff Weasel."

All at once, the whining stops with a sudden, crystalline snap. So does your vision.

"And I just shattered your optics."
Cont.

>>17744138
As you fumble to make a swing, Weasel's weight lifts off you as he and his voice vanish into the bowels of the plant. Hauling yourself to your feet, you realize you are damaged, blind, and utterly cut off from maverick hunter support.

Are you a bad enough reploid to beat the weasel in the dark?

Try to find some way to charge our capacitors up. Either dynamo or another battery from one of the defeated mooks.
How good is our sense of hearing? Is there any way to repair our sight?
Do we have any knowledge of Chaff Weasel? Did our brief glimpse of him give us an idea of what his specialty is?

Well now. This is going to be interesting. What senses do we have left? Can reploids smell? Do we have anything like an ampullae of Lorenzini to detect electricity? Long shot, granted.

Let's keep him talking while we try and build a charge up again. See if we can pinpoint him in the dark by voice. Ask what his game is, toying with us like this. Stall him until backup arrives, and make sure to speak very loudly.

Stab the nearest light source with the beam lance. May as well even the odds and charge capacitors in one go.

>>17744281
Your hearing is good, but certainly not echolocation-worthy.
Unfortunately, repairing your sight isn't an option on-station--it's finicky, sensitive work that needs time and expert hands. And probably sight.
Chaff Weasel has a long, almost sinuous body without a lot of heavy armor, clearly designed more for mobility than endurance. As for specialties, he's able to jam communications, and he attacked after that massed mechaniloid rush. Thinking about it, he probably coordinated that.
>>17744304
So far all you've lost is sight. Reploids do possess olfactory sensors, but right now the air still smells like ozone after your pair of charged beams. You can't detect electricity at range, though if you were wired into a system you can get a quick read and tap into it accordingly.
>>17744493

"So what's with the smoke and mirrors?" You call. "Trying to put the Fear of God into your targets?"

"Nothing so dire," comes Weasel's even tone from somewhere in the rafters. "Not all of us have the good fortune to be built for war. So I take any advantage I can get. And I make any advantage I can get."

"Hence the mechaniloids," you say, cautiously backing up. "Nice trick, we couldn't see them on sensors."

"Yes, hence them," he answers to your left. "For improvised soldiers, they were quite effective. Did you like the spear-throw?"

"Yeah, that was my favorite part," you grumble as you finally back to the wall, and feel the warmth of nearby machinery. "Speaking of--" Hoping it's a light, you stab it. You hear wrenching metal and sparking energy as your capacitors begin charging.

Cont.

>>17744651
"Clever," comes Weasel's taunting voice, now from your right. "Do you think I don't know what you're trying to do?"

"Which part, the charging or the blinding or the-" hurk. You slam into the wall behind you as he tackles you full on. You feel a deep cut from a small blade--a beam knife, probably--and lash out, only to find he's once again eluded you, his voice coming from a safe distance again.

"Two things. While you're plugged into the grid over there you can't move, and I AM NOT FUCKING STUPID."

Well, that hurt, but on the bright side you've built up a healthy charge. Whether it was a light or a turbine or something else, you don't know, unfortunately. You could risk staying here and topping off your reserves, or try moving to take the fight to him. Or you could try getting creative. What say you?

>>17744662
What's the effect of us venting our excess electricity? Where does it go?

If we have a metal pipe of sorts we could ram it into the ground and run a strong current thru it. It can arc and keep Weasel at bay, if we have a good supply of energy.

Or use a couple metal pipes, run current thru them and use like cattle prods.

>>17744662
Rush him

>>17744662
Taunt him. He seems to have a bit of an ego.

While I'm sure that knife cut wasn't pretty, pretend that it was worse than it is. Can we get any info from the grid?

>>17744705
Excess energy is usually sent through grounding. You could of course just fire it off as you get it like a firehose of electric death. Generally discharge is unsafe for non-electric or insulated individuals, either directed through the ground or just shot through your weapon systems.
For discharges lasting longer than four hours, consult your Lifesaver immediately.
>>17744760
You basically have all the means you'd need to do that already. The beam lance can channel electric energy, as can you, through your hands. Touching you while you draw from a power source through contact can be damaging to others.

>>17744705
What I'm thinking is, the next time he comes in close, we make a grab on him and vent whatever electricity we have in us, use whatever we're hooked into as a conduit maybe. Fry the bastard.

That's assuming, of course, that he comes in close, but he seems like a sadist. So likely, he'll want to do a lot of little stabs.

>>17744842
And make sure that the sick fuck doesn't throw a civvy at you and you fry him on accident. Keep quiet, try to differentiate the weasel from everything else.

>>17744803
>>17744773
>>17744842
>>17744859
You break the electric charge--stores at about 54%. Good for a nasty hit. Cradling your stomach, you try to appear more wounded than you are. Maybe it will draw him in for the kill. Hell, it might even be yours.

It's hard to both listen and banter, but at least you can get him talking. Damn, he's quick, though. "Okay, so you're not fucking stupid. What are you?"

"Winning," he says flatly.

"Besides that."

"Nearby."

"Besides that."

He doesn't answer. That's gotta be it. He's making his move--!

Before he can give you whatever snappy one-liner he was about to end your life with, you swing your lance forward and feel a satisfying tremor run through it as you run the slippery bastard through. You can actually feel his body heave and shudder as his hands claw at his wound.

"You gotta be shittin' me..." he rasps. You channel all of your electricity through it.

You're pretty sure you're not shitting him.
Cont.

>>17745045
Almost immediately, a painfully loud pop of static breaks the sudden, intense silence following the maverick's defeat as your comms come back. "--ode, are you there? Please respond. Reinforcements being mobilized, this message will repeat--"

"Gah! Fuck, ow, you're too loud, yes I'm here, Wellington." You wince (not that it matters, with the blind and all.)

"Anode? Holy hell, you scared me. Are you all right?" You can practically feel the relief in Wellsley's voice.

"Yes and no. I found the source of the interference and dealt with him."

"Great! You can head back once you override the teleport scramblers in--"

"...But he kind of exploded my eyes," you finish.

"...Oh." Wellington says dumbly.

"Yeah. On the plus side, it turns out he was a counter-surveillance specialist, so you're not just ass-up incompetent."

"Gee, thanks. Okay, well, reinforcements will be there to guide you back, and you can make all the 'blind leading the blind' jokes you want on the way there." he replies. Damn, it feels good to talk to someone again. "And speaking of blindness, I told you that would happen if you played with your lance too much." Okay, never mind that good feeling thing.

"Well, before you send them in, I think I was pretty near the control room before my tragic over-spearing took my sight. Think you can guide me there?"

"Huh. Really? Well, I can try..."

MISSION ONE: COMPLETE. Aside from the awkward and hilarious fifteen minutes of blindly fumbling your way to the offices and disabling the teleport jammer.

Goddamned satisfying. This calls for a a beer or the reploid equivalent.

>>17745061
Fun times. Next time we should definitely have some items with us. Grenades and tools and the like, if those are allowed.

Okay, so, thread one more or less done, if only because dicks, I'm getting tired. Hoping to run MHQ more in the future. I might use the diceroller, but I've been warned it's a bit skewed.

For now, any questions/comments? Did you enjoy it? Any suggestions for future stuff?

>>17745145
It was fun. We definitely need more backstory though. I'm sure most of us know at least the gist of Megaman X's plot but we still need some fluff.

>>17745163
I'll work some expository banter into the interactions back at base.
Anyone mind if I archive the thread? Especially since I'm planning to make this a running thing.

>>17745163
Specifically, when in the timeline of X->Zero->ZX are we?

I would assume X, and probably after 6, but you never know. And in the Zero series, it was more common for both mavericks and main character(s) to wield weapons. Not saying it didn't happen in X, but it was much more prevalent.

Are we even in the same city or region as the legendary S ranked maverick hunters? (any cameos?)

>>17745145
Looking forward to partnering up with Cathode at some point. Also looking forward to seeing what the dynamics are in the 4th. Wondering if water fucks up our electricity.

Maybe next time we can get a pick of missions, even? Who knows.

Dice roller might be interesting; I wouldn't know anything about what results it favors, though. Maybe leave most of it to strategy and let chance have its way when it's likely to. Possibly offset it with modifiers of some kind.

Good times. Have requested archive to sup/tg/.

>>17745253
Disregard, I failed in reading the thread. Pre-X4? Yay!!! Before dashing sucked!

>>17745253
Exact time was actually up in the air until I went to put on some music and got Blizzard Buffalo's theme on shuffle. X3 era it is. Or leading into X3.
Hunter HQ is centralized and the 4th, being one of the most fundamental units, is stationed on the main base sprawl. X and Zero are on-site, busy with the 17th and 0 units, respectively. You might run into them. I'll try not to have them be the would-be DMPCs-to-the-Rescue, though.
>>17745256
Thanks. I'll definitely try to have a good unit interaction going. At some point you might meet Wellington in person, for drinks or a fistfight, depending on the state of your banter that day.
Mission picks are probable, especially since you got thrown out there as a test and did pretty well considering your eyes exploded. Rank progression within the unit is a thing, though don't expect to be bossing around other members for a while.

>>17745308
Have some of the X5 extras show up at some point. That would be a lot less jarring than the big guys themselves. Any others that come to mind? Maybe a couple of bosses before they went Maverick?

>>17745349
Not a bad idea. For now, though, I'm just about ready to head out for the night. Thanks for playing, /tg/. Keep your buster ready.