Also: Hello! Sorry for the delay. The surgery went fine, but unfortunately a quick test demonstrated that the meds they gave me don't cause hilarious levels of impairment, so no matching Anode's drunk with my high. Not that I've needed them, thus far, I guess I got lucky.

Also, someone suggested linking all prior threads, so I'll just do this: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Maverick%20Hunter%20Quest

Try to restrain your own laughter and fail miserably.

>>18058725
Oh dear God, it hurts.

It's all you can do to keep it together, hunching double over the bar and using both hands for stability, helmet nearly hitting the oak as you quietly, helplessly heave. You can still FEEL their eyes on you. Two reploids losing their shit, while a third casually looks back out at them, nursing another beer.

"...Much better," Schwarz adds, breaking the silence he just built. It's too much for you, and with a horrible sputter you lose your shit. From somewhere on the floor Em's whoops of laughter redouble, all while that crafty son of a bitch dogbot takes a slow, well-earned pull on his beer.

It's a good five minutes, still giggling, before you're able to get your shit together. Slowly, the volume picks back up, but not quite as intensely as before. With some effort, you manage to help pull Em back up and into his seat, still gasping.

"Wh--wharn me next time before you go and do that," he wheezes. Schwarzhund says nothing, but just his eyes tell of the shit-eating grin behind his beer.

>I need another drink after that. And maybe a smoke.
>Okay, I think we've officially jumped the roboshark. Let's go, Em.
>WE CAN NEVER BE SEEN IN THIS PLACE AGAIN.

>Okay, I think we've officially jumped the roboshark. Let's go, Em.

Shwarz gets an extra round before we leave, though. I like him.

>>18059324
"Ha ha. Whoo. Hoooooooo..." You take a few more steadying breaths as Em looks up into the ceiling. "We're... probably not gonna see anything funnier than that tonight, are we." He shakes his head.

"Probably not, no. Home?"

"Home. Szchwa, it was a pleasure meeting you, you are a gentleman and a scholar and a reploid dog man." You're pretty sure that's not his name, but you're also pretty sure you're drunk. QED. On your way out, you buy him one more, earning you a nod of thanks and then you slowly amble out of there.

Em might be a more experienced drinker, but he paced himself terribly, and you're clearly better off than he is as you stumble your way across the base grounds. At some point, he bumps into you. "Hey. Heyyy. We should--we should go and fuck with Sev'n. Strike while the iron is hot and stuff."

You're definitely feeling the mischief. You're full of happy, sober enough to plot, and dizzy enough to ignore the Bad Idea alarms. If ever there was a time to concoct a scheme, it's now.

>OKAY, SO HERE'S WHAT WE DO... [write in, surprise me]
>No... my vengeance will be something something served cold. And sober.

Page 7... Gonna bump this to refresh its lifespan, then check on it in a little while. Worst case I save what I have thus far and try it again later.

>OKAY, SO HERE'S WHAT WE DO... [write in, surprise me]

Acquire a non-damaging-to-electronics lubricant that is hard to wash off the armor of Hunters.
Fill a bucket and a large spray bottle with it.
Work out a simple perch that'll activate and dump the bucket once it detects a door opening.
Put it in Seven's room, above his door, so he gets covered in the stuff, head to toe.
Then coat the entire floor of his room in the same lubricant with the spray bottle.
IT'LL BE MAVERICK HUNTERS ON ICE, STARRING SEVEN THE SLIP-SLIDING SUCKER.

>>18060478
Also OP, >>18060533 here.
I think you mighta just had bad timing was all because it seems SEVERAL other quests are running at once.
Totally down with trying to suggest, but if it seems no one besides me is participating, it might be best to save it for tomorrow or later.

It's a shame I didn't see this sooner. I'd hate to see this go to waste.

Getting on topic,
>>18060533
sounds like a neat idea. We need pictures, though. (picturesofspiderman.jpg)

What was your surgery for, by the way, Command?

>>18060949
I do think Command's packed up and gone for the night. Been at least an hour since that last post.

Suppose this is a bump just to keep it alive in hopes he otherwise hasn't left.

Damn, I was looking forward to this too.

Just got here in time for it to die.

>"SO THERE I WAS," he booms, taking you aback, "WITH MY DICK IN HER ASS..."

I had a friend of mine do this the other day.

Just as fucking hilarious in the thread.

>>18060533
for the love of god, this.

I live! I just figured a little break would let the later crowd come on.
>>18060949
Wisdom teeth. Nothing major.

>>18061429

Shit son, I feel sorry for you. I had a friend have to do that.

He was in pain and talked really funny for like a week.

>>18061446
Always a pain to get those out, Command.
But yeah, if you had mentioned it was your wisdom teeth getting pulled, anyone who's had it done coulda told you that the drugs the dentist would give you won't knock you on your ass.
Not unless you have a super-weak constitution or are considerably affected by any drug.
It shoulda just numbed your mouth so much you sound like you fought a few rounds with Tyson and survived.

>>18061446
Honestly, thus far I'm pretty good. About three days in now, which is apparently when the worst is, so we'll see how I am in a day. I've had precisely one vicodin, which was not the magical paradise drug I was hoping it would be. All it did was reset my threshold so the pain was more noticeable when it wore off.
>>18060533
...Yes. YES.

"Em! Em. Em. ShutthafuckupIgotit. We neeed," you stab him in the chest with a finger, "We need lube."

"Whoa! Didn't think our rela'shunship was that far along." He might be a slurring mess, but Em's never at a loss for an innuendo.

"Shaddap, swordboy, I'm serious. Don't we have, like, machine grade oil or whatever for the lechanimoid joints?"

"Mnyeah? Plenty, same grade we use on th' transports."

"Okay, awesome, I gotta get me some of that. And! And we need ... NOZZLES." Em scrutinizes you, narrowing his unfocused optics.

"Nozzles."

"Nozzles." You nod gravely.

"...And you're SURE this isn't leading to some fraterni-whatsit."

"Just quit with the doe eyes an' help me scrap this kit together, loverboy."

----


The next morning began as many hundreds of others did, relatively quiet as the rays crept over the earth, battered by long years of habitation and industrialization, but still turning.

And then the screaming started.

>>18061701

God yes.

Hopefully they don't know it was us.

>>18061701
disgonbgud.jpg
Also, I wonder if reploids suffer hangovers.

>>18061769
Oh, they fucking know it was you. Hopefully you guys won't mind my improv.

>>18061788

>They know.

Isn't one of them known for holding grudges AND outranks us?

This should be fun.

Oh well, I guess that's what we get for brilliant plans while fucking tanked.

Might as well admire our handiwork. From a safe distance.

>>18061827
Hey, they're the ones who, after we came back injured and crippled after our very first op as a Hunter, dressed us up as Lady Justice and posted the picture at the front of the complex.

They had to get it sooner or later.

>>18061701
The early morning calm shattered with the roar of engines as a single hunter fumbled his way out of the base and onto the grounds, slip-sliding the whole way.

A second later his screams redoubled with the roar of an industrial engine and the buzz of beating wings at his back. There, with just the last touches of their drinks filtering through their systems, came two more reploids. One stood atop a roader, legs bowed for balance, hot on his helpless victim's heels. In his hands was an industrial sprayer, running through a sturdy hose up to the second reploid, surfing on the back of a mechanical dragonfly, a heavy tank of tread lubricant on his back. The fly followed the roader closely, swerving this way and that.

The two-man team whooped and cackled, chasing the hunter known as Seven across the base. Whichever way he turned, his feet found no purchase. Only more lubricant.

Lubricant everywhere.

-----
"DIE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" You scream gleefully, turning the nozzle on for another blast. "DIE BY THE VERY WEAPONS YOU ADORE!"
You're pretty sure this was the worst idea you've ever had, but you're also pretty sure it's the best idea you've ever had. Inside, outside, all around the base, you and Em ride your respective mechaniloids, turning the hose wherever Sev tries to run. Now he's a REAL slick bastard.

>yfw you and Em just rode on a two-wheeled boar and a dragonfly laying down a path of greasy humiliation after chasing Sev around his equally frictionless room until he finally managed to get himself out the door

>>18061847

Oh I'm not saying they didn't have it coming, I just don't want to be in chokeing distance of a pissed off superior when we're pretty high up on the list of possible culprits.

We're gonna have to clean all of this up but it will be so completely worth it.

Also India is going to either murder us or thank us for not involving her and I don't know which.

>>18061865

That's pretty magnificent, actually.

I thought we were going to lay a more traditional trap, but that works.

>You're pretty sure this was the worst idea you've ever had, but you're also pretty sure it's the best idea you've ever had. Inside, outside, all around the base, you and Em ride your respective mechaniloids, turning the hose wherever Sev tries to run. Now he's a REAL slick bastard.

I get the feeling covering half the base in lubericant is 'going to far' as far as colateral damage does.

On the other hand, the mental image is fucking amazing.

>>18061865
>You're pretty sure this was the worst idea you've ever had, but you're also pretty sure it's the best idea you've ever had.
We've only been activated recently, so that sounds about right.

Still, my fucking face.

>Expectation owIntr

Is this the same guy who did the Megaman 40k quest?

>>18061865
"HEY EM!" You yell over your engines, the spraying machine lube, and, of course, Seven's delicious little bitch screams. "HOW MUCH WE GOT LEFT?"

"ABOUT AN EIGHTH A TANK!" He yells back.

"AND HOW FUCKED ARE WE?"

"REALLY FUCKING FUCKED!" He adjusts the hose on his backpack, then throws you a thumbs-up.

Worth it. Worst case you spend all day cleaning up your mess. Well, no. Worst case you get executed or something, but whatever. Finally, the pressure winds down, and the last glob of lubricant spatters across Seven's back with a satisfying splat, and you pull back on the Roader, slowly skidding to a halt. Em's Tombort hovers near behind as he unslings the backpack. Seven, meanwhile, keeps running and screaming, until finally he slides with slow, beautiful, ballerina grace, facefirst into the wall of the mechaniloid bay.

"So!" Em says cheerfully as he hops down from his impromptu jetski. "Think anyone saw us?"

You look behind you. At least a dozen personnel are looking at the serpentine trail of slippery devastation you left in your wake.

"Possibly."

"Shall we run along and get the cleaning agents before Frog delivers them to us as a suppository?"

>Yes
>Very yes
>?

>>18061971

Probably not.

>>18061975
Very yes.

Very yes. This was better than I'd expected.

>>18061979
Did that just die or what? The last I remember someone killed the dog and everyone was being a gigantic douche to megaman

>>18061979
>>18061971
Not I, sir.

Also, it goes without saying that I have to see this scene get drawn at some point.

>>18061975

Ask if we can rig the soap and shit the same way we did the oil.

To make the cleaning faster of course.

Then again, if it's oil....

An 'accident' might clean it up before we can.

How many fire based Reploids are on base?

And PLEASE tell me we had the presence of mind to record this,so we can put it to 'Yakkity Sax' and play it on every monitor in the base later, in case somebody missed the live performance.

>>18062021
We're reploids. I'm pretty sure our optics are remote cameras. There's no way we couldn't have been recording.

>>18062021

>And PLEASE tell me we had the presence of mind to record this,so we can put it to 'Yakkity Sax' and play it on every monitor in the base later, in case somebody missed the live performance.

YES.

This is where India comes in.

When we get talked to about how much is too much dicking around, we send the encrypted signal, look at the clock and wince.

"I should probably apologize for what's about to happen."

And the curtains rise.

I just grinned so wide at this whole bit that I opened my sutures a little. I regret nothing.
>>18061989
>>18061997
"Yeah, let's get on that yesterday."

Em nods. "Say no more." He calmly hops right into the long skid Seven's flight produced, and adroitly skates his way along the ground, right past him. "Come fly, with me, Lucille~ in my merry Oldsmobile~" he sings. "One side, old chap."

Fortunately, the lubricant you picked was apparently so effective they formulated a solution just to neutralize it. You've already made some hefty progress, watching the ribbon of grease evaporate on contact with air seconds after you work in the solution. Not easy work, but it doesn't require a lot of effort. You already cleaned off the tires on your Roader and hosed down Sev with the stuff ("Is this harmful?" "No." "Oh, good."), letting him stalk away in quiet ignominy. Em's gone back inside to mark off the grease trail, not that it's hard to spot.

You've almost made it to the doors yourself when Frog shows up. He folds his arms and looks at you expectantly.

>Say something?

>>18062018
Hey Command, >>18060533 here.
I'll see if I can't get it done.
Can't promise anything speedy but I giggled with madmanic glee imagining the scenario while reading.

>>18062235
"Sir, Emerald and myself were training our comrade Seven how to handle a surprise attack scenario in a frozen battle enviroment, using the lubricant to substitute ice, sir."

And when he calls bullshit, "I regret nothing." and take your punishment like a boss.

>>18062307
Not just yet. Assume nothing.

>>18062235

Wait until he says something.

Continue cleaning.

>>18062375
>>18062403
>>18062307
"Boss." You say by way of greeting, working on the job.

"Anode," he answers.

And then he waits, quietly. You slowly move forward with the project. When you move ahead, so does he.

"So..."

"Just pointing out the value of our polar region terrain specialist, sir."

"An improvised exercise, then." It's remarkable how even and level his voice is.

"Just so."

You lapse back into silence. He punches the door button for you when you get there, leaning against the wall calmly.

"...Too far?" You finally ask.

"Too far."

"No regrets. Do you smash my head in here, or after the cleanup?"

That gets a chuckle. "No, you live with it."

"Damocles' hammer?"

"Just so," he replies in the same tone you just used on him.

"Well, the damage isn't so bad. I can pay for the supplies, if that's a problem."

"The 4th won't collapse because of a missing oil drum, but dealing with Seven is going to be a bear for the next week and a half."

"Ah, damn, I hadn't thought of that. Sorry, sir. Was just trying for a little turnabout. At least anyone who saw only would have caught snippets of it."

"Very true," Hammer answers. "Except for India."

You look up.

"And her multiple-angle recording of the entire fracas."

He looks down at you.

"Already playing on the entry terminal."

You feel an irrepressible smirk growing, despite yourself.

"With grainy film-screen sepia filter and ragtime music."

OH GOD.

>>18062654
Anode and Emerald, right now.

>>18062654
"Sir?"

"Yes, Anode?" Frog asks bluntly.

"Permission to lose my shit, sir!"

"...Granted."

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH DEAR FUCKING GOD SHE DIDN'T.

Oh.

Oh god you're gonna die.

"Better?" Frog asks as you recollect yourself after a storm of giggles fit to kill God.

"I think so," you manage, taking one more deep breath of useless oxygen before continuing. "So, to paraphrase what I was asking Emerald about our little endeavor, sir--how much trouble are we talking?"

"How fucked are you?" He asks.

"Yeah, that."

"Not particularly. Sev knew what he was getting into, hazing the newbie. Or maybe he didn't," he adds with the barest hint of amusement in his dour tone. "I'd bash your skull in if you weren't already cleaning up after yourself. Anyway, fine for the use of materials and equipment, a quick shift doing some menial thing or other, and the understanding that you only get one."

"Yes, sir."

"Carry on, Anode."

>?

>>18062269
Awesome, thanks. I appreciate it.

>>18062803
Finish cleanup.
Find India.
Kiss India.
Maybe find Cathode, wherever she went, and show off to her. "BIG BROTHER'S A BIG OL' BADASS."

rolled 1 = 1

>>18062803
>>18062654

After we clean up responsibly, we find India, kiss her full on the lips because that was fucking beautiful, and leave, laughing. Hopefully before she can recover.

Then we find something to do out of the way until we know what her reaction was.

>>18062884
>>18062881

Riding the same wavelength there?

I like it.

If not full on kiss, then at least full contact hug and dancing with repeated cries of WE'RE NOT WORTHY! WE'RE NOT WORTHY!

>>18063034

No, kiss.

Because there's no way she'll se that coming.

Then we walk away laughing at her brilliance, humming the tune she put to it.

Hopefully it'll take her a second to process, which is long enough to make out get-away.

The key is to be gone before she recovers from it, in case she freaks out.

"I'mma go do somethin' else stupid, boss." Then proceed to go find and kiss India.

>>18063192

Nah.

Let's make this our little secret.

>>18062840

Hey, this might sound like a weird question, but how 'human' are human reploids? I mean, I know we're human SHAPED, and we have more or less human psychologies, but how close to human are we?

I mean, Em took off his helmet, and had hair, but is there a very human body underneath it all? Or is the armor our actual body?

Are we... equipped? Or like ken/barbie anatomy?

Before anyone asks, I'm not fishing for robot sex or anything creepy, I just want to know this shit so I can better understand the characters and the world.

>>18062884
>>18062881
You finish your work in near-record time--turns out Em stocked up on more cleaner and started working from the opposite side, a passing hunter tells you, so the two of you should be done...

Sometime...

Your train of thought derails as you come within earshot of the main terminals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_dI6BZt06U&feature=related

Oh god. Frog didn't do it justice.

THERE ARE MUSTACHES.

Great, swooshy, curling wisps of sinister black facial hair, combined with top hats, making you and Em the dastardly villains chasing the righteous hero Sheriff Seven across town aoh my god is that a tumbleweed

It is

God damn that woman is a genius

You watch as you level your rakish cane at Seven and another jet of blessed, blessed industrial grease paves the way to Humiliation Junction. Which she helpfully labeled.

It's about then you notice the "RECORDINGS 1,000 ZENNY -- HELP PAY THESE GLORIOUS IDIOTS' FINES" blinking at the bottom.

Genius. She is a genius.

Cont.

>>18063295
Half-dazed, you stumble away, job unfinished, barely registering pats on the back or applause until you find India, as ever, thumbing through a datapad.

"Oh hey. How'd you like mymmph?!"

There are of course limits to these things, so you only really plant one on the lips for a brief second...then pop down on one knee in classic proposal fashion. She looks down at you, eyes still wide from shock for a moment.

"...That's a nut, dumbass."

"You think a man who goes through as much mustache wax as I do can afford a ring?" She laughs, and punches you in the face. With the nut on her finger. Ow.

"Glad you liked it, then. I know I sure as hell did. So how fucked are you?"

"Barely at all, but I need to go finish the cleanup or we're right back to dead motherfucker."

"Go on then, shoo. And take this damn thing." She pelts you with the nut, bouncing it off your head.

"Heartbreak!" You wail, "'Tis no wonder I turned to villainy and revenge against that rapscallion Sheriff Seven!"

"If you try tying me to any train tracks I'm shoving your engagement ring up your ass," she calls.

"You?" You grin and call over your shoulder as you leave. "Hell no, I'm tying up Seven."

"I'll hold you to that," she says with a grin. "Thank Em for me, would you?"

>?

Clean! And whistle while we work! We have done THE LORD'S work today.

>xhyster about

God damned Xhyster! I told him not to come round these parts no more!

>>18063314
Is the video only broadcasting at the entrance, or is it scattered across all of Hunter HQ?
If the latter, we've just become fucking legends.

>>18063360

Whistle the tune from the video.

It must be done.

>>18063380

Oh god I hope it's the latter.

Clean and make sure to give India's regards to Em.

>>18063292
Being completely honest, I'm still up in the air on this, as well as many things. 'ere we go:
For starters, though, there's no hard and fast rule. Em has hair under his helmet because he was built that way. Some, even most (particularly mass-production models), tend to have very simple designs where their armor layer IS their body.
Reploids can also buy what's termed endoconstruction, or endostruction: Basically a body beneath their bulkier existing armored frame. Some are made that way, but most aren't. Most hunters, being function-over-form by design, don't bother with this.
Last, even if not in Tab A-Slot B style, reploids can have sexual activity. Studying "reproduction" is an ongoing process, and it obviously requires a body one could put amalgam data into.

TL;DR reploids in general can either be built with or later purchase physical parts, or you can not have them at all and do the Bedtime Buster Duel with nothing but wires.

Make a future plan to invest in a mustache implant that'll let you choose from a different assortment of whiskers that you can grow on command.

This way, should the call for a prank war ever be made, Anode the Agitator shall ride again!

That and so you can look stylin' as -fuck- with a Reynolds 'stache or something of the sort.

>>18063455

All very interesting.

Thanks for clearing that up.

>>18063360
>>18063380
>>18063383
You return down the hall with a spring in your step (literally, with those K-Coils installed) and pick up where you left off. You jauntily whistle along to the sound of music hundreds of years your senior. The music of victory. The song of your people. Or, well, the people who built your people.

In any case, you're pretty damn chipper. Doffing a nonexistent hat and twirling an ethereal mustache at passerby, you feel like you've struck a great blow for abused new guys everywhere, and really cemented yourself as part of the Fourth.

Which is about when the alarms start, and Frog's voice filters over the basewide speakers, echoed in your personal comms:
"This is Hammer Frog. All combat personnel are hereby on active duty until further notice."

Oh, damn it.

>TO BE CONTINUED!
>PROBABLY TOMORROW, SO LONG AS THE THREAD LIVES!

But seriously I'd keep going but I swear I laughed about five stitches loose tonight and I'm getting pretty tired.

>>18063455
>TL;DR reploids in general can either be built with or later purchase physical parts, or you can not have them at all and do the Bedtime Buster Duel with nothing but wires.
Also, there should be a little bit of 'recombobulation' that reploids are instinctively programmed capable of, considering they eat, drink and breathe nanites.

HWAWSHIT

I don't think we ever got a chance to jam our upgrades in, in between drunken revelry and drunken shenanigans.

Still worth it.

I'M UP

ARE YOU GUYS?

>>18063784
You redouble your efforts on the cleanup--if people are going to be mobilizing, they'll be marching through here.

Sure enough, it's not long before you see Frog again, with dozens of Berets behind him. He marches right past--you kip up and follow him a ways.

"What's the situation?" You ask.

"G-class threat," he replies tersely. "1st, 4th, 7th, and 15th on deck. 10th as advisers. You're staying here. I'm not leaving the base unguarded if this is a feint."

"Hell of a feint," you note.

"17th and 0th are occupied, an-"

"Sir!" It's India, rounding the corner briskly. "Situation?"

"You're coordinating with the 7th," Frog answers, all business. "Air threat and you're the most experienced with ship-to-ship. Sev's overseeing civilian evac, Conda's screening, Schwarz is doing recon. Too risky to mobilize the 2nd. The rest are with me." He turns back to you. "Anode, right now it's going to be you and Dash on-base. Tanker's due back sometime soon from his own mission. I'm not expecting anything here, but that's exactly how ambushes happen. Any questions?"

>?

>>18068551
Anything that has the Hardcore Traitor Buster Unit and the MOTHERFUCKIN NINJAS Unit busy has to be worth talking about.

>>18068551
If a P-class is Sigma, then what's a G-class threat?

>>18068681
"Both are occupied?" You ask. "To a man?"

"May as well be," Frog says grimly. "They're sending along people when they can, but we can't rely on them. That's part of why I'm leaving a picket--all our heavy hitters occupied at once speaks to a plan."

"So what are we dealing with?" Your turn to get the door for him this time, standing to either side as the berets file out.

"They're calling it the Skyjammer. Every bit of aerial machinery around it just shuts down. It's leading an attack on Vienna. Air Cav is grounded until we can find a way to disable that thing. As for 17th and 0...no idea." Outside you can see a sizable force marshaling--more than you've ever seen assembled at once--out in the base yard. "Okay, the mass teleporter's set up," Frog adds. "We've got to move."

"Good luck, sir."

"Yeah," he says, mostly to himself, and out he goes, leaving you with an almost empty base and a half-finished job.

>Wat do?

>>18068912
P is "Perfect," the grade above G. That's where, if you can, you pull everybody out and bomb the shit out of the site. G-class response doctrine is mandatory evacuation and elements of multiple units required just to set up the attack, then letting the 17th or 0 unit operatives working in tandem make an attempted arrest. Mechaniloid support is mandatory, and individual engagement is forbidden.

>>18068959
Well... Kinda wish we didn't fry the Enigma...

>>18068919
A mechanism that literally shuts down an entire air force? Sheeeeeeit. Well, how big is the 4th's complex at Hunter HQ? We should link up with Dash and get organized. Otherwise, I can't think of anything else but start patrolling the complex. If anything, we can start building a sizable charge while we wait for an attack that might not even come.

>>18068959
So a good chunk of this is just a setup for X and Zero to show up and be awesome. Figured, considering their track record. Do we get a mechaniloid complement for our guard detail?

>>18068988
Guns Wallaby shot up the gun while trying to access it, and we were backed up against a wall out of options. It's too late for that now, so we'll make do.

What, Maverick Hunters only have the one big weapon?

>>18069069
They're busting the other immediately ready one out of storage, codenamed Congo. Someone from the Shinobi unit went out to the site.
>>18068989
Nah, X and Zero show up to be awesome later. The reason they're throwing the works at this is because they can't get any 17th/0 support.
You do have some mechaniloids left, but most of them have been deployed. Sizewise, the base is quite a bit for two hunters to cover, but there are still some berets, servicemen, and so on.

>>18068919
You frown. May as well make sure you're coordinated, you decide, keying your basewide comms. "Dash?"

You don't have to wait long. "Here," comes his answer. "What's up?"

"Just making sure we're coordinated. You probably know more than I do at this point."

"Yeah, I was there when Frog got the call." He doesn't sound particularly worried, but then, you only saw him once, on your first day.

"Just wanted to make sure we were in contact. What's the game plan?"

"Business as usual. Just keep working on whatever you were doing."

You look back at the grease trail. "Shit."

"That boring, huh?"

"Something like that. You been near the base front today?"

"No," Dodo answers. "Why?"

>

>>18069085
"Oh, are you in for a surprise."

>>18069085
Careful where you step.

>>18069085
Well, we're defaulting to seniority on this one. If Dash says "business as usual," then we remind ourselves our glorious grease escapade isn't going to clean itself up.

>>18069096
>>18069139
You let the mirth creep back into your voice. "No reason. Why don't you come on up here so we can coordinate?"

"All right..."

"Mind your step, though. Out."

It's not long before you see Dodo again. He makes eye contact with you, just as the ragtime music starts looping from the top again. You watch him look at you. To the screen. To the grease. To the screen. Back to you.

"...Not bad, kid," he finally decides. "I would have gone with Ride of the Valkyries."

"I think my finely-groomed dastardly facial hair speaks for itself," you respond primly.

"Fair enough. Dash Dodo. It's a bit late, but welcome to the Fourth." He extends a hand, which you shake.

"Funny, that was what Sev told me."

"Don't get any funny ideas."

Dodo hangs around while you clean up the last of the trail, eventually reaching where Em left off before the alert went up.

And then you hear a yell from the command room.

"Where the fuck is everyone?!"

Dodo facepalms. Investigate?

>>18069266
Better fill them in.

>>18069266
Do we recognize the voice?

Also, is it bad if I keep picturing Dash Dodo as a mildly altered (read: not as huge a neck) Overdrive Ostrich?

>>18069285
You look over at Dash. "I recognize that voice."

"It's Tanker. He's not gonna like this. Ugh, better get it over with."

The two of you almost walk straight into him as he storms out. Now that you've actually seen him for the first time, he's ... imposing. He towers over you and Dash, looking like a shark with an almost boatlike body frame. Black and yellow bands stripe his arms, with bulky pressure tanks on his shoulders, forearms, and likely more on his back. A massive pressure gauge assembly and nozzle runs down the length of one of his arms. His legs are actually almost transparent, filled with some kind of ballast and pressure control system. Steam flashes from gill-shaped vents on his neck. Bladed, angular teeth with a nasty hydraulic clamp open and close with a faintly audible hiss as he speaks.

"Sorry, big man," Dodo says. "Hammer just got called out with half the base on a G. You're in charge."

"DAMN IT." You notice he's also superficially damaged--the banged-up look somehow only serves to make him more intimidating. And he's looking at you.

Um.

>?

>>18069395
Only makes sense to introduce ourselves. Dash should probably fill him in on everything else.

"Anode, newest member of the 4th Overland, at your service. It's just me and Dash here."

>>18069395
Don't be rude, We should introduce ourselves.

>>18069422
Don't forget to throw in a salute, just to hammer home how fucking green we are.

>>18069422
>>18069434

Anode? What kind of name is that for a hunter? Get out of my way little man, I have some unfinished business to take care of.

Saying that he walks off and punches a wall hard enough to leave a dent before rounding a corner.

You and Dash both look at each other with quizzical looks.

rolled 14 = 14

I don't think he's the type to apreciate our humorous antics, at least not in this present state. kill the video feed if possible.

Ask him how to best cover the base. Find out about any weakpoints the enemy could possibly exploit.

Also see if you can't get the loids to patroll the grounds with whatever Berets are on hand

>>18069462
Oi. Stop that.

>>18069434
>>18069422
To be fair, you did meet, it's just you were blind at the time.

>>18069490
Well, now we can introduce ourselves properly.

Also try calling our sis to see how she is. She probably didn't get deployed this time since she's still a newbie in the 1st

>>18069490
Sorry... I thought it would be funny

>>18069523
I should assume we have Cathode's comms information ever since our activation, since we're compatible and all. Whether calling her in the middle of a scramble is a good idea or not is debatable, though. Plus, she's more artillery than us, making me wonder if they'd keep her at HQ during this time. Then again, we don't even know what sort of missions she's run, if any.

I'm still of the opinion that a reunion is in order at some point.

>>18069517
Fair enough.

If he expects you to wilt, he's disappointed as you give a snappy salute to the base Second-in-Command. "Sir. Nice to meet you properly."

He stares at you inquisitively for a second. "...Yeah. The hell, Dash?"

Dodo shrugs. "Call came priority. It's you, me, and him. Sorry, Tanker."

Tanker abruptly spins on his massive heel and departs.

"...Where are you going?"

"Training." After a second, he pauses and looks back. "...Why, you wanna come?"

>?

>>18069603
Take a rain check for now, go get what loids are still lying around active and get them patrolling. Get on the coms to get any SB that aren't preocupied to come and do a patroll on the grounds and give orders to report anything that even smells suspicious.

Then we can go get ourselves humiliated in the training area.

>>18069633
I second this

>>18069574
Don't forget we still have some cleaning left. Though it could become an asset if we make sure we know where the spots we didn't hit yet are...

>>18069661
>>18069633
Thirded. Let's face it. The rules of story telling demand that shit shall hit the fan, verily.

>>18069697
Regardless, Having possible prior notice wouldn't hurt...

>>18069695
Cleaning finished just as Tanker arrived at base. There's really nothing left but patrols or getting rattled by Tanker in training.

Do we have any charge, or is it nothing worth noting?

>>18069299
>>18069695
Shit. Get that cleaned up before we kill Dodo.

>>18069741
Ah. Ok then.

>>18069633
"Maybe in a bit," you call after him. "Gonna get the Berets patrolling. Never hurts to be a little paranoid." He waves over his shoulder and stalks off.

"...You realize he's been trying to get new a sparring partner for ages, right?" Dodo asks.

"No... what does that mean?"

"It means he's bored of everyone he fights. He hasn't fought you."

"So I'm..."

"Fresh meat?" He offers.

"Great word choice, THANK you."

He grins cheekily. Beakily? "Anytime. Come on, I'll help get the 'loids going."

You start issuing orders by comm, not that they're terribly necessary. Seems like patrols are elevated just in case--Hammer knows his shit. Dash finishes relaying orders to the last of the old, first-gen mechaniloids.

"Didn't take long," you note.

"Nope. So are you gonna go train?"

"I dunno. I was thinking about it."

"Word of warning," he says. "Tanker's SA. He won't kill you or anything, but...you're probably not winning that one. You know the rule of 2?" You shake your head. "Two Cs to a B, two Bs to an A, two As to an SA. That's to have an even chance. After SA it kinda falls apart, and it's more a rule of thumb, not consistent, but..."

"Well, there's two of us, aren't there?" He shakes his head.

"I'm B-rank, kid. Sorry. Although, you could just go in for the training sims instead."

>Since when have I ever run away from an asskicking?
>Sims, you say?
>NOPE NOPE NOOOOOPE

>>18069768
As much as I love the idea of getting our ass kicked by a shark, the LAST thing in the world that we need is for the two highest ranking on-base members to beat each other into scrap before a possible attack. Let's play it safe... maybe just stick with the simulations.

>>18069768
LETS DO THIS!

TRY THEM NEW LANCE THINGY!

>>18069799
No. But at soon as we get the all-clear, go for it.
>>18069797
Yes.

>>18069768
No one told us Guns was SA, and we only beat him after hijacking the power supply of an ORBITAL CANNON. If we literally feed ourselves to the shark, it'll be doable, but an uphill battle.

Then again, we probably haven't even seen the training facilities in general, so it's worth checking out at any rate. I want to try the sims first before we go reploid-balls-deep against Tanker.

>>18069768
Go with sims this time. We can challenge Tanker once we get our bling. for now, lets get humbled by a non tangible opponent.

Like Zero, or maybe even Guns, if there's data of him. Maybe smooth out some regrets.

>>18069799
What upgrades did we actually get installed, not counting our K. Coils? We've only ever had the potential for upgrades given to us.

Em was tinkering with our lance earlier, but I can't remember if he actually implemented Guns's phasing tech into it, allowing us to "block" shots.

We could've used Chaff's weapons data raw to give us a signal-scrambling shotgun/flechette cannon, but we defaulted on that to wait for R&D to come and give it a proper once over.

I can't remember if we had ourselves altered to allow us to store our lance inside one of our busters, letting us stick it out the front for stabbing/charging.

We also don't yet have an electro-dash or any other alterations to our capacitors or anything, but I'm sure we're inventive enough to come up with things as we go.

>>18069895
That's true; we're still woefully un-upgraded in most respects. I suppose a choice now is, do we call R&D to see if they can get us equipped, risking being mid-upgrade if an attack comes, or do we pray we can handle any possible ambushes with our current gear?

TANKER IS WATER: We are electricity. I think we may be his weakness.

>>18069984
I doubt R&D's gonna be moving about with a G-class hanging over our heads. They probably won't risk moving until the situations been pacified.

Command is having trouble with the Updating Index error; expect a post shortly.

>>18069984
>>18070007
The ethos of a good Maverick Hunter is to make do with what you've got and what's on hand. We're clever, and we know what we can do. It's why we're 2-0 against Mavericks right now.

How does training work? Is there anything in place to safeguard from accidental death or debilitating injury?

UNRELATED: Do reploids have religion? Do the Maverick Hunters have military chaplains?

"I'm not so much worried about getting my ass kicked as much as I am getting my ass kicked and then being attacked," you muse.

"Good point." Dodo agrees. "Tanker will be grumpy."

"...You mean that wasn't grumpy?"

"No, that was him trying to be diplomatic so you'd spar with him. For Tanker? That was positively friendly."

"So I'm fucked either way, is what you're telling me."

"Welcome to the Fourth."

The two of you head down to the training facilities where, sure enough, there's Tanker, beating the everloving hell out of a training drone of some sort.

"Sorry, not today," you say. "I'll take a rain check for a later ass-kicking."

"Just in case we do get hit," Dodo adds, placating. "We're gonna run him on sims."

"Oh, that's always fun to watch!" Tanker says with an unsettlingly wide grin. "Hey, hey. We should make him run the Sigma simulation." He walks over to a pod similar to the recharge bay bed in your room, rapping on its hull with a massive knuckle.

>SELECT SIMULATION:
>NOTICE: Simulations of active unit members is not permitted.
>Megaman X (B-rank)
>Zero (SA-rank)
>Sigma (P-rank)
>Guns Wallaby (A-rank)
>Other [input]

Meta-note here: The Sigma program has nothing to do with actual Sigma, virus or otherwise--it's recorded and projected from his combat data and the stats left on file.

>>18070132
I can't remember a single religious thing from the games, aside from maybe the final boss going I'M GOD!

Let's do it, to mollify Tanker and to satisfy our own curiosity.

It's always good to know one's limits. It sets the baseline for pushing them.

>>18070159
Tempting as it is to throw ourselves against Sigma, we'll take a pass on that. Although I'm pretty sure Tanker's trying to kill us.

Let's start with Zero, making sure our melee is up to snuff. After that, we'll take on X and that crazy Mega Buster of his.

>>18070159
Guns
Is X the newb that he was as a simulation? We could try warming up with that, if not just go ahead and start with Guns

>>18070204
This quest takes place between X2 and X3, so I'm pretty sure X's legend as a bonafide badass has been solidified by now.

>>18070223
He's still considered B rank though... I'm guessing he probably downgrades himself volountarily after the games.

Goddamn pacifist.

Also, if I can make a random request? Slash Beast, if he exists already. Was my fav for quite a while.

>>18070159
Alternatively, since we won't actualy get hurt, why not just do them all, starting from the lowest rank and working or way up to the big man himself

Okay, test here. If I'm still getting the error (I had someone else post the last update for me), I'm gonna take a break for a little while and resume later tonight.

rolled 57 = 57

>>18070342
Lets fight Fan Man!

>>18070342
Figures.

Right now there's one vote for Sigma, one vote for X, one vote for Zero, one vote for Guns, and one vote for Slash Beast.

DISCUSS AMONGST YOURSELVES, I WILL BE WAITING AND IN NO WAY PLAYING SHOGUN 2 WHILE YOU DECIDE.

Guy suggesting Slash Beast here.

Come on. Guy can outrun a train and has a flash kick that shoots lasers.

>>18070363
Throwing in a vote for fighting X. We need a little more experience against long-range opponents, and B-Rank or not he's pretty much the best around when it comes to blasting holes in Mavericks.

>>18070491
I love the idea of fighting Slash Beast, but if we can start requesting we may be here all night, because I want to fight Magma Dragoon.

>>18070528
Fight X with the shoryuken and hadouken upgrades.

rolled 12 = 12

>>18070491
>>18070493
>>18070528
>>18070539

So... we're not going to fight fan man?

I don't know if Slash Beast exists yet, since Repliforce doesn't exist yet. It's possible, but not likely.

>>18070581
Yeah, he probably doesn't.

Fuck it, lets fight X or Zero.

"You know what? I've always wanted to beat up my dad."

Tanker guffaws. "X it is, then."

You climb inside the pod as the information processes.

"Okay, so basically you're going to be in a cyberspace simulation. No harm is transferred, though it feels real enough," Dodo says as he punches a few buttons. "We can--and will--provide commentary through the system."

And just like that, everything filters out, replaced line by line with a projection directed straight to your processors.

And there, in front of you, is the most singularly recognizable maverick hunter alive--X. That same distinctive blue armor you've seen in countless vids and recordings shines in the simulated lighting as the space around you is transformed into flat, blocky field in a radial burst.

He takes a stance, narrowing his profile and raising his buster behind him. You hear the distinctive, building whine of charging plasma.

WAT
DO

>>18070726
Take this moment to wonder if his pacifism extends to non-lethal combat.

And then dash in on him, jump the inevitable buster shot, and get in an electrified thrust.

>>18070748
Seconding this, but don't jump until he fires! Last thing you want is to eat a charged shot point-blank, in midair no less. If we have our shot-disrupting lance, I recommend spinning it in case he follows up the charge shot with smaller shots.

>>18070782
That is assuming we can spin our lance at all without looking like a moron. Were we programmed with finesse?
I assume there's no cover around, so getting in close really is the best idea.

No disruption saber yet. Also, yeah, you can wheel your lance about defensively.

Also, short break after this post. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY MOONS, TEAM JERKASS HAS SHOWN THEIR WICKED FACES.

>>18070748
>>18070782
>>18070832
Thinking back, you consider what you learned from the fight with Guns, another ranged fighter--he was smart enough to know about his melee vulnerability and had taken steps to correct it.

You're not surprised that X has done the same--he fires, and in the blinding glare of plasma wake he's darted back and leaped onto a wall. You vault the charged shot, feeling virtual heat pass under you and come down where he was. Your foresight pays off, and you hadn't committed to a lancestroke, letting you level your buster on X as he climbs, launching a counter-volley.

He kicks off the wall, the vibration through it telling you he engaged his EAS for distance, and lands far, far out of range. Your shots miserably impact where he had been a solid second late. He's got distance again, and he's building another charge.

>React?

>>18071011
Well hell. Repeat the same strategy, but see if you can jump a bit lower over the blast, reduce our time spent in the air. As we do so, shoot a few times- higher than necessary, accuracy isn't super important. Just see if we can discourage him from going airborn again while we continue our charge. I doubt it, but if we can get close enough to attack make it a fast one.

He ain't no slouch, that's for certain.

Let's see here... Can we... Electrify our plasma blasts somehow?

>>18071011
Let's charge him and keep spitting plasma with our dual busters. We need to disrupt X's tempo and keep those charged shots further and further apart. The more under fire he is, the more defensive he has to be.

Distracted and slow, team Jerkass works their dark magic. Sorry, but I'm still hereish. Worst case I delay until I get back where I can focus.
>>18071103
>>18071130
Nada. Plasma's electric-ish anyway. You can look into electrical upgrades later.
>>18071194
This time you answer his attack on the run, rapid-firing as you go. You're able to foil his shot, letting you duck it as his charged blast goes wide. You continue firing over his head, preventing him from jumping. Instead, he slides down the wall, hopping off at the bottom. And then he dashes right for you!

>?!

>>18072058
Quick-draw the lance and go to work.

>>18072058
Crap. Still, progress! I recommend attacking quickly- stabbing is probably our fastest, but might want to aim for his upper extremities with it. Jumping is pretty much his main form of mobility, after all, and we're going to be in a bad way if he hops over us. With any luck we can catch his leg or something with a high-aimed attack if he tries it, and if he doesn't we can really mess him up.

Kick the shit out of him!

Take him down.

Try to avoid getting shoot as much as possible while closing in close.

We really need to catch up with Cathode after this, it has been too long, and given our current damage track record I think if we wait too long she won't recognize us.

>>18073771
That's a great idea. Especially because we really don't know how she's settling in with her new station, either. Gotta wait till the crisis is settled, I guess... come to think of it, I hope she's doing alright, considering how much of a mess the front lines seemingly are.

>>18073771
>>18073827
I'd been talking about meeting with her for a long while, especially considering we nearly KILLED OURSELVES taking down Guns. If possible, maybe roping her into the 4th so that Command can actually see how well the two work together. Anode and Cathode were designed with inherent chemistry in mind, after all.

>>18074382

Not a bad idea. But we should wait until we deal with the current crisis.

So, Captcha just totally died while I was over there, not that I was doing a great job of paying attention anyway. Something to do with cloudflare, apparently. Kind of out of it myself, just wanted to let you guys know where I vanished to. I'll try to get a second wind to go for a little longer if I can.

Okay yeah, I got nothin'. Bumping one last time, hope the thread makes it another night. I know where I'm going with this, I'm just a bit more tired than I expected. I'm willing to pin that one on the surgery if you are. See you tomorrow.

Also, >competing with SWQ
>laughing axemax.gif

>>18076002
Sorry Command. Just type up a last post and end it here till tomorrow?

Cain Labs here, helping out on the behind-the-scenes stuff for Hunter Command as co-conspirator. While Command is out for a while, I figured I'd drop in and help out with any questions related to exposition, backstory, setting, what have you.

If you have questions or just want to chat about MHQ, I'm all ears. For the next little bit, anyway.

>>18076745
Aighty.

Where's Anode from; what military made him?

Is there any form of spirituality amongst the reploid population, or discussion of what it means to have a "soul"?

How does cyberspace work? Is it something people can actually go into and dick around in, like XTreme or Cyber Peacock's stage?

Where IS Cain? Is he the adviser of the Maverick Hunters or something?

Is X's copying juju special somehow? I seem to remember something about this in the games.

How many Mavericks and encounters and such you guys got between you, or is that a secret?

>>18076871

We've decided to leave Anode's origin up to the readerbase. It'll come up at some point.

The notion of spirituality does have a small foothold. The ideas of free agency and the abilities that distinguish Reploids from Mechaniloids or the Robot Masters of a century prior, combined with a devilish inability to entirely analyze the otherwise replicatable "black box" elements of X, have given a small number of Reploids stirrings of cyberspirituality.

>>18076871

Cyberspace is an ever-expanding concept. Currently, it can be physically entered, but only in certain areas, with special equipment, and it's not fully accessible in that way. What it's developing towards is a sort of overlapping "data dimension," but at this point it's not even close to that level. The Hunters' work in Cyberspace, and really a large portion of global work on it, is spearheaded by an advanced data processing Reploid named Rho.

Cain in our canon is part of the oversight council that monitors Hunter Command and reports to international bodies. He is the primary liaison between that council (and thus those international bodies) and Hunter HQ, due to his John Hammond-like involvement in developing and propagating Reploids.

X's Variable Weapons System is special, though not completely unique. His most standout trait is his supposed "limited potential," part of the black box inner workings that still have not been analyzed, combined with equally cryptic and unpredictable enhancements seemingly provided by his creator from beyond the grave.

I don't know how much Hunter Command has in his corner, but my own resources are substantive. If need be I could draw on dozens of prepared Mavericks given about five minutes.

Can you name an in-game example of a C-Rank and G-Rank threat?

What's up with India and Pakistan? Any other big turnarounds in the global community?

How are human-reploid relations?

>>18077354

G-Rank threats include Vile and the X-Hunters. A fairly sturdy C-Rank would be the Hoganmer from X1.

Indian-Pakistani relations improved with a combination of a devastating earthquake ripping through Pakistan - to which India responded with tremendous aid - and nationalist sentiment in the Kashmir region creating an independent state, which has over the past few generations normalized and improved relations between the two previously feuding states and also its own position. There have been other major political shifts, but you'll have to wait until we bring those up to see!

Human-Reploid relations are... generally good, but there are racists on both sides who vocally campaign against the others. Maverick Hunters only get involved when there is actual Maverick activity, rather than simple discrimination. Admittedly, the various conflicts have not helped, but the contributions of Reploids in a vast array of fields have led to general acceptance.

What's your and Command's favorite Mavericks? How does your co-conspirating usually work?

>>18077797
Who's commanding the Hunters at present?

Where exactly do the events of X2 take place, anyway? Kind of weird to have an island with all those different biomes on it.

What's the stance of Reploid free will? I mean, we're a dedicated Warbot, but what if we decided that we couldn't deal with fighting any more? Would we be forced to keep on? (if so, that'd explain quite a bit regarding defections).

Or what about a Steel Beret or other reploids?

Who are the major producers of Reploids?

>>18077943

I really like Dynamo. Going by normal bosses, I'd have to give it to Chill Penguin. Hunter Command's out of contact right now, so you'll have to wait on his answer.

>>18077953
Commander Rhodes accepted his commission a few months prior after having distinguished himself during the latter part of the Maverick War.

>>18078137

It's an artificially enhanced island on a volcanic foundation with a weather control station capable of drastic changes. Biomes are irrelevant. Myself, I'd place it somewhere in the Pacific.

>>18078209
Reploids have free will. Maverick Hunters are free to resign their commissions. Most of them are designed so that the work will appeal to them, but free will means that such design may not take, or may not last, so there have been prior defections. One of the most notable would be Squid Adler, who resigned during the Maverick Wars in protest after what he saw as an arbitrary retirement action taken on circumstantial evidence.

And with that, I'm done for the evening.

>>18078308

Just spotted this question. I'll respond to it tomorrow if the thread's still active, or else next time MHQ is up.

I wish I had a question to bump...

Oh, how does the transporter work? I was always wondering that.

I don't have any more questions at the moment, but as far as origin goes, I nominate Philadelphia.

Pic related.

>>18078308

Not being a commercial product, Reploids are mainly developed by major science organizations or state governments. Cain Labs has remained a preeminent trailblazer in the field of Reploid development, though they have transitioned toward a role more aligned with stewardship of current Reploid production standards (represented via Reploid "generations"). Other bodies include APEX, SunLight and Zeus Technology Development. The 16th R&D also does Reploid research.

>>18080348

The transporter works through a spatial warp compression field. It's pretty sensitive and relies on precleared arrival sites with field decompressors readied, or else on internal systems that provide the same function (which aren't tremendously viable if field disruptors are active). Those who don't want unauthorized access to their sites employ (or contain) field disruptors that severely limit beam-in, though as establishing the field is easier, systems allowing beam-out are comparatively common. The process is *not* a teleporter or wormhole and requires that the compression beam be able to physically arrive from the departure site to the arrival location.

Y'know what might be a good name for that forearm thing? The Buster Bump. Cause that's basically what those forearms are, aren't they?

>>18080555
Oh, I like that.
>>18077943
Favorite mav is actually pretty hard. There's a bunch of criteria to go off. Stage, theme, design, and actual boss fight, off the top of my head. Damn. I'll have to get back to you, because I can't come up with one off the top of my head.

>>18072124
>>18072194
>>18072543
>>18073540
>>18073659
You go for your lance--if he's going to let you get close, no reason not to punish him for it. You move for a quick strike, countercharging him, just as you realize that he isn't shooti--

HOOF

X's other arm comes up from behind and he slugs you in the stomach, hard, propelled by his dash-thrust. You actually feel yourself get a bit of airtime as he powers through you and keeps going, leaving you to tumble across the floor as he rounds out his move and turns around for another pass.

"Scrappy little bastard," you hear Tanker note from somewhere in the sky while you haul yourself to your feet.

>?

>>18082133
Whatever you do, remember to vary up your moves constantly. Don't get into a pattern with X, he'll rip you apart if you do that.

In fact, try making your attacks seem like they have a pattern, then pull out a new move to catch him off guard.

>>18082133
I don't know how well he can control that dash. Does it look like he can change directions quickly?

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjnEezSfdKE
>>18082133
"How ya doin', big guy?" Dodo calls.

"B-rank my ass!" you yell back, taking quick stock--okay, the damage was minimal (just exceedingly, exceedingly painful), and if nothing else that dash-punch alone jumped your charge up ten percent. It's floating up around 17% now.

You're reminded of your enemy by a volley of plasma launched downrange. You jump the first, charged blast, and twist your body to evade a follow-up bombardment of weaker shots. You raise your arm and return fire, forcing him to move. Quickly, you dash at him again, and once again he takes to the wall. Not this time, buddy.

He vaults as you surge forward--only this time, two things are different. He doesn't have a shot to cover behind, and you know what he's up to. You catch yourself on your feet, and hop backwards, engaging your dash as you angle it forward. You moonslide beneath X, taking your lance in both hands as you match his speed. He twists in midair, trying to set up to defend, firing his half-charged shot to try to dislodge you, but you're committed. He comes down, and you swing for the fences.

X flies across the room, impacting on the far wall with a deep slash through his torso, the deep wound sparking inside. If he can register pain, he doesn't show it, hauling himself up, much as you just did. For the moment, the momentum is yours.

>Use it.

>>18082330
Stay on him! Stick to him like feet to a movie theater floor!

>>18082424
Pin him down with dual busters, get close and swing for another home run.

>israeuma stage
Interesting thing to call it, Captcha.

>>18082424
No giving him any breathing room--that trick won't work a second time. You dash in, leveling your lance and peppering him with shots as you advance. He dive-rolls to one side as you collide with the wall, and rakes your side with return-fire. You put a stop to that with a heavy, sideways swing, putting your lance between him and you, then moving for the thrust. He uses his roll to get distance and haul away, charging up again as he goes. You stow the lance and open up with both barrels, scoring a few hits on his back as you advance after him. Halfway through he turns and fires again, putting you off-guard as you waited for a full shot. You jump it, but then he dashes forward again and tackles you. You struggle to bring your lance in, but he's able to hold your arm away from inside your reach. You skid across the ground as he pushes the mouth of his buster against your chestplate.

You hear the whine of charged plasma again.

>PANIC

Rake his cameras with your hand.

rolled 55 = 55

>>18082629
Headbutt this blue sonofabitch, right in the bridge of his nose... I don't know if he can feel pain, but I intend to find out if he's going to try to light us up like a cheap Chinese lantern...

Jam a finger in it and release stored electricity!

>>18082659
>>18082662
Pinned, you realize that you have one hand free while he has his gun on you. You can't get a shot, but you CAN wail on him as hard as you fucking can. You smash his head as the charge builds, repeatedly bludgeoning him with all the strength you can muster. His helmet crunches, and the optical gem in the forehead cracks. He's got to be seeing fractal, and you feel his strength lessening as you daze him with repeated concussive blows. You wind up for one more, hard swing...

Just as he fires, point blank, into your chest. You connect with him at the same time as the recoil sends the two of you bouncing across the ground in opposite directions, each in a world of pain. Your chest burns, figuratively and literally, the armor literally melting off around a still-glowing hole in your middle. Gritting your teeth, you slowly stand, while X does the same. You exchange another glance.

...And then, in a bright flash, X's battered blue armor is replaced by gleaming white plates with red trim.

>oh god what

What's our charge at from that boisterous beating?

>>18082759
Motherfucker.

How'§s our charge? Shoulda shocked him while he was on top of us...

>>18082759
"What the HELL?" You hear Dodo exclaim. "He can DO that?!" Tanker is laughing.

Your charge is only 32%. Enough, maybe for a solid whack.

Speaking of charging, he's practically lambent over there. ...And it's coming from both arms. Ah, shit.

>

Err... dodge?

...

Let's look at it differently. He's the boss. We are the underdog. We need to find some weakspot there. Or play like a bitch, runaway and chip him.

Evasive maneuvers and obvservation, we can build up our charge while dodging his.

>>18082915
He has all his X1 upgrades. Shit is not going our way very quickly. Stronger (dual) buster, ablative armor, improved dashing and an especially thick head. We need to back off and see what he's doing. Charging him now is suicide.

>>18083179
Actually, he just went full X2.

Bite the pillow, son.

Also I'll keep going a bit but I just got some bad news about a friend of mine, which kind of took me out of it. Writing now, regardless, but I might leave to go drop in on the poor bastard.

>>18083191
Go for it.

>>18083191
So (about) omnidirectional air dashes and improved radar, ON TOP OF improved armor and busters. Fuckin' A. Now he knows where we are and can chase us down from wherever.

May as well chase him down and pop him in the eye, show him who's boss.

>>18083028
>>18083162
You dodge the shot--barely--feeling it on your back as it sizzles by, and, sure enough, you hear him release a second blast hot on its heels. You engage your dash, and again only just evade a blistering wave of plasma.

You return fire as you run, looking for any cover the cyberspace-projection might be kind enough to provide, and come up basically empty. Fuck you too, simulation.

You pelt him with shots, but they practically slide off his armor, barely registering. He charges after you again, with an audible 'chuff' of released energy from his dash thrusters, upgraded along with the rest of him.

And he's gaining fast. This is getting ugly...

>?

Can we pole vault with our lance?

I think we're going to have to get in a killing blow, here. We can't drag this out much longer.

>>18083475
Pole-vaulting is a little much. You might eventually be able to either make a telescopic hilt to give you the reach for that, or just start carrying multiple weapons.

Get in close for a hit. Dodge what we can, but we have to get in close for a hit, and when we hit, put all of our thunder into it.

>>18083425
We might be a little outclassed at the moment. But no one can say we didn't go down swinging. It's obvious we're gonna get pasted in ranged combat; we're not that good at it yet. We need to get inside and stick to him like Crash Man's bombs stick to walls.

>the enticir

>>18083567
Note that this version of MM unlike the game version can smack you in the face.

...

Maybe he DOES have the shoryuken upgrade.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCiOAWW4Ljw

Still, I agree. Maybe we should do a break turn, dash back and try to lance him while he's chasing us.

>>18083565
>>18083567
You turn and square yourself, holding your lance ready. In a flash, X is on you again, but this time you're ready. You thrust, finding purchase as you manage to stab him through the thigh. Not waiting to see his response, you trigger your capacitors and unload all of your juice through him. The light is blinding and lightning snaps in your ears as you fry him.

The smoke clears, and he's still fucking standing. He locks eyes with you one last time as you swear you hear a faint 'ping!'

And then he rises into the air, armor springing alight, the small reploid's frame silhouetted in a blinding wave of white...

>SIMULATION OVER -- YOU HAVE BEEN RETIRED
>FINAL COMBAT ESTIMATE: A

Abruptly your senses rush back to you as the pod opens, lifting off and flooding your sensors with the light of the training facility. Your pain is instantly gone, just a hollow echo of it remaining as your body processes the sudden change in stimulus. Tanker is laughing. Dodo fumes.

>?

rolled 31 = 31

>>18083863
>Dodo fumes.
What? Why?

>>18083911
I bet he lost a bet. Though if he thought we'd actually beat X, he really is a Dodo.

>>18083911
>>18083969
"Should I ask?" you interject, rubbing the back of your head.

"I just can't believe he's never actually made it far enough to see X armor up," Tanker wheezes between laughs.

"I don't normally have occasion to fight simulations of X," Dodo grouses. Tanker laughs harder.

"If you two are done bickering, could you at least tell me how I did?"

"Better than me," Dodo says flatly.

"Well, no shit," Tanker jibes.

The dodo huffs. "Bite me."

Tanker triggers his teeth, snapping his pneumatic jaws with a sharp clang, before turning to you. "Not terrible, kid. Your shooting needs work, but you know what to do and when to do it, and that's half the job right there." He grins. "Lookin' forward to sparring with you. Haven't had a proper opponent for a while."

Well, simulation over, and it was definitely an educational experience.
>What do?

Like... get out?

Also, why aren't we on max capacity? Can't we just stick our fingers into a socket and charge up before missions?

>>18084097
Ostensibly, you could. Though you're basically a walking power plant when your capacitors are full, and you have to vent anything over maximum capacity or it will hurt you. You wouldn't want to suddenly have to discharge a load of electricity in the middle of paperwork, or walking around base, or what have you.
It's also not good for you to hold the energy long. It's less an easily accessed battery reserve and more a volatile bucket of death you can build up and then throw on someone.

>>18084138
It's just that building it up is hard and we can't really too often do it. Most of the time it was basically "grab conveniently hanging cables and channel something" with the sole exception being that time we fell down.

So it's like a one shot/mission thing, if that much

In this fight, for example we didn't even get half charge.

>>18084203
So, we should charge up to at least 50% before every mission.

Shit, we better do that now, actually. In case this is a feign.

>>18084245
Yeah, that's pretty much what I was trying to convey.

Wheeee hardware problems

Gonna take a break for a bit, might try again later tonight, can't promise anything.

While Command is down, I'm back to take questions/comments.

rolled 57 = 57

>>18085854
I just finished watching Strike Witches and Sky Girls, and I'm almost done with Hayate no Gotoku.... What Should I start next

>>18085854

How badly would Sigma have wrecked our shit?

Wouldn't fighting Zero have been more appropriate than X in a way, since he's kinda the guy to beat as far as Melee goes?

>>18086006

Old School Gundam.

>>18086006

Some colleagues have been trying to sell me on Carnival Phantasm; if you've seen Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime, you may want to take a gamble on that madness. Beyond that, I don't know that I'm qualified to make recommendations.

>>18086579

Sigma can kill basically any Reploid in ~4 hits tops. It would have been a bloodbath. Figuratively speaking.

Zero might have been a fun sim to run as well, but it wasn't up to us and Anode could probably use the ranged combat practice.

>>18086672
It's a bit off of the topic at hand, but I was wondering what the Human situation in the current day and age was. I know the population took some heavy hits later in the X series, but we're already up to 2 and a half Maverick uprisings... What do they think about all of this Reploid nonsense?

>>18086897

They're actually still doing pretty well. It's a bit touch-and-go at times, but they're still thriving, surviving and progressing. SunLight's Reploids have been spearheading environmental reclamation and sustainable habitat efforts, so humanity has been working on viable orbital colonies to get out of the way. A fair number of floating cities are already up in the sky and running very well.

There are definitely anti-Reploid movements, of course, but the efforts of Reploids to counter their Maverick kin during the Maverick Wars and preceding crises, as well as the damage done to Reploid citizens, has generally made for a realization that both groups have shared the pain.

>>18086986
What's the split between Human science making advances in Reploid technology and Reploid science making advances? If they don't want certain Maverick Hunters becoming too powerful/self sufficient, how do they feel about Reploids building/designing other Reploids? Are there limitations in place for that sort of thing? I guess I'm a bit more interested in the politics of the world at the moment.

>>18087236

Humans are actually pulling off a lot of novel things in Reploid design; they've been the predominant proponents of "humanizing" Reploids as well as the trend of zoomorphic Reploids, and their research contributes a great deal to Reploid life and culture. Reploid-driven research and development, on the other hand, is a little more practical, focusing on advances to the nature and development of Reploids and more future-oriented answers. These are, of course, generalizations.

There's been fear of "bio-obsolescence" through Reploids propagating Reploids, which the Maverick threat does nothing to help, but Reploids aren't a single political or cultural bloc, as these people have feared. In fact, they tend to integrate more with compatible human groups, where possible; so Italian Reploids may perceive more allegiance to Italy than to "Reploidness," for example. Several nations have definitely tried to limit autonomous Reploid development, but it's actually been fairly self-limiting, since a vast majority of Reploids just want to live their lives as citizens; humans remain the driving force behind Reploid production in terms of direct involvement.