Shelling: 6
Maneuver: 3
CRC: 2
Affinity: 3

Traits:
Sandwise
Bandit Hater

Personal Assets:
9,600 credits
One side arm
One heavy Anti-Zoid Rifle.
800 credits worth of ammo

Team Assets:
One Demantis
One Hound Soldier
One Cannon Tortoise
30,000 credits
700 credits worth of ammo

Others:
Gordos,
Red Horn,Damaged, Sub weapons missing.

Stealth shield unknown.
1 Molga's worth of parts

Sidewinder base:

Storage-Lv. 2 =8 Squares(1medium zoid per square)
Fortifications-Lv.2
Security-Lv.2

To upgrade to the next level:
Storage-55,000
Fortification-28,000
Security-8,000

(forgot to add Gustav to assets, derp)

You pull into the bay door, after what seems like forever. Eri comes over and takes a look at your ride.
"Wow," she commented dismally, "you weren't kidding about it being busted up."
"It is one step short of bricked, yes." you admit. "Think you can handle it?" The amber haired girl grins confidently.
"Does the sand get in your shoes?" you guess that's a yes.
>What do?

I had a question. How are you working Organoids? Would it be possible to one day find one? Or like, rare zoids, can we go out and hunt wild zoids for new recruits?

>>18889156
Organoids do not exist in this timeline.
There are wild zoids, but they do their own thing.

I'll take this chance to clarrify, I'm basing almost everything on the Battle story tech.

Organoid system is a piece of technology made to improve zoid AI2(artificial intelligence and instinct) to improve performance and reaction time. It's a common piece of technology used by almost all modern zoids.

Then there are zoids like the liger zeros(yes, plural) that are based entirely off a wild zoid. That means a wild zoid is caught, and copied/cloned/has holes drilled into its head. It's a bit vague on what they actually do.

For more on wild zoids, look here:
http://zoids.wikia.com/wiki/Wild_Zoids

>>18889113
I don't know where I'd be without you Eri. You're the best. Give her a hug and a quick kiss. We have to consult with our team about the upcoming battle against Stone Age, they aren't going to be pushovers.

>>18889230
She returns the kiss, and holds on to you for a moment, before you tell her you want to check with the team about the match.
"Vince is in the meeting room, racking his brain. We have a full 24 hours to accept the challenge or not, and he's not rushing the decision."
She stays behind to look over the Gustav more thoroughly, while you make your way to the meeting room. You find Vince sitting cross legged, eyes closed, a heavy crease in his brow,

You greet him, and he opens one eye in acknowledgement. "Yo."
"Hey. So what's it gonna be, are we gonna accept or not?"

He sighs. "I've gone over several scenarios in my head. We either loose, or just barely take it. Really I'm not thinking this is a good investment."
"If you back out everytime things get harry, this team will never amount to anything." you advise. He gets up an sits down at the table.
"Yeah, I know. Ok, here's what I've come up with so far..."
(cont.)

"Plan A; 1 2 3." he begins explaining. "Basically we try to defeat each individual zoid, one at a time, starting from outside their defensive formation."
"The Coyote team tried that and it didn't work." you say.
"Mm," he hums in agreement, "but the Hound and Audrey's mantis can reach much higher speeds than a command wolf. f we could bait the Zaber somehow, and take it out, it would be much easier from there on." If, that is.

He notices your discontent and moves on. "Plan B: Mirror match. We copy their own formation and use it against them. We'd need to use the Gordos for this again. Its guns will give us a leg up on range, and hopefully we can break down their defense before they can hit us."
You rub your chin. That sounds a bit better, but you don't think you could pull off a formation like that out of the blue. Even if you could, the Gordos is more sluggish than the Mammoth, and they also have the benefit of practice, for who knows how long.
"What else you got?"
"Plan C: take a third option."
"What's the third option.?" you inquire.
"Soon as I think of it, I'll let you know."

>What do?

>>18889113
You also forgot our Molga in the assets as well.
>>18889460
We could wait until we've had some more experience. Maybe let this match pass this time and challenge a different team. They've probably watched our matched and tried to thik of the best way to defeat us too, not to mention we could take them in one on ones rather then 3 on 3s as well.
Did the challange say what battlemode they wanted?

>>18889460
Unless we can come up with something really clever the pay for an arena match just plain isn't worth the risk against those guys. They know what we have and are confident as hell. Unless we're able to set the battle as a series of 1v1 battles than I say screw this, and even then I'm a tad iffy.

The Demantis is plain too fragile to last in the slugfest that this would end up with. As much as I hate to say it we should probably put a hold on this.

I'd like to find a nice liger or something similar for Audrey, not quite as fast, but so much tougher and it has a lot more Dakka.

>>18889517
Yeah, I've gotten used to it being the current zoid, even though I didn't put that in either, whoops.

The Battlemode is again 0982. No restrictions or rules outside of using the same number of zoids, which they found lets them bring their A game the most easily.

>>18889557
Meaning we could restrict them to two if we choose to send only 2?

>>18889210
Speaking of Liger Zero. In the future, we should totally try to grab one. I've got a soft spot for the Zero Souga and the Gusoku Myokoh and Shiro Shozoku CAS for it.

>>18889633
unfortunately in the present timeline of this quest, the Liger Zero is but a twinkle in some researcher's eye. I do have a certain story path in mind, that will unlock...something.

>>18889594
Generaly, the challenging team selects the number of zoids that will be used. You could try negotiating for a 2 on 2, though the other team can deny this.

>>18889667
Hmm. Pre or Post Meteor Fall?

>>18889667
I'm still going with the 'fuck em' idea.
"Vince, we're good, but we need more team work before we start taking on a well coordinated team.
So instead of taking the challenge, let's do something else. Maybe scout the desert some more or some training exercises."

>>18889557
They're unlikely to go for a 2v2, they like having all three for their teamwork to be the most effective. Refuse their offer, politely.

For now given that we don't have a battle we should look for some nice jobs, maybe check with private companies or the like see if they have anything they need.

>>18889715
post meteor fall. Instead of keeping the war going, the 2 nations negotiated a peace treaty, and the battle sport came a few years later.
The meteor, refered to as the Cataclysm, happend 30 years ago, before your character was born

>>18889044
Does the Cannon Tortoise have it's Buster Cannon? Because the Demantis is fragile as hell, if it gets hit, it'll probably drop. It'd be best if we could fix the Red Horn before the fight.

The Hound Soldier can probably counter the Zaber Fang. The Gordos/Cannon Tortoise focusing on either the Elephander/Opposing Cannon Tortoise. We need to drop it to that they can't get support from each other.

>>18889789
As interesting possibility as that is we'd either have to stick Eri, who isn't an amazing pilot, or Audrey, whose strengths are absurd maneuverability and high close combat, in the Cannon Tortoise. Neither of those possibilities are really that good.

>>18889815
I'd suggest Eri if we do use the Cannon Tortoise. It's not the most complicated zoid out there, designed for heavy defense and artillary. She just has to calm down and pick her shots well.

>>18889765
Damn, that means we can't get a King Gojulas.

I'm getting a 'turn down the challenge' vibe here.

Is that alright?

>>18889887
I'd like to go for it. One loss isn't the end of the world and we have funds to spare for repairs.

>>18889887
Turn it down, given how competent these guys are we'll either lose, or pay more in repairs than the reward money. It's just not worth it, we don't have the teamwork to take them.

>>18889887
I'd like to try as well. The fact that they challenged us means they see us as a threat. If we can get a good strategy going we might be able to win.

What about using the Molga to burrow under the field and create sinkholes under the cannon tortoise and the elephander?

So mainly we're flip flopping around.
I still go with turn them down for now, and hey, maybe we're find a new mechwarr-i mean zoid pilot that'll help make the choice easier.

>>18890001
You ask about dealing with the heavy zoid that is the Stone Age's center point.
"Bury the Mammoth like you did that Gordos before? This won't be in some narrow tunnel, you know." he says dryly. "If you tried that, he'd just start moving out of the way. You'd never pull it off."

"Not necessarily." Eri states as she entered the room. "I had an idea when I heard the story from Gerald."
You both look at her intently as she sits down with you. "What did you have in mind?" Vince asks.
"Det. Cord." the girl states simply.
"Det. Cord? Like the demolition stuff?"
"Sized to Zoid scale, yeah. I might could rig something to the Molga that'll let you discharge the cord as you tunnel, and then detonate it remotely. You could use it to collapse a large amount of ground very quickly."
Vince raises his head. "Yeah...yeah, that could work! We'd need to keep it pinned down, though. All three of them, while we're at it."
"There's always 'that'." Eri stresses the last word. Vince frowns.
"You sure we can afford to invest in that?"
"We got the money." the girl eyes him seriously. "How long do you plan on fighting with a handicap, V?"

>Go with Eri's suggestion.
>Turn down the challenge
>Something else

>>18890136
Go with Eri's suggestion. We are going to be the goddamn Molgaman by the end of this quest.

>>18890136
Go with Eri's suggestion, and get Vince's murder cannon back. We're doing fine on cash and they won't expect it given that we didn't use it last fight.

As long as we're going balls out unexpected I'm cool with the fight.

Make sure Audrey and Vince are cool with keeping them distracted and pinned down while we pull Molga shenanigans.

It's a risk but if we can pull this off it'll be a hilarious example of MOLGA STRONG.

>>18890136
Eri's plan sounds good. Find out what 'That' is.

>>18890178
>>18890219
>>18890221
Well, alright then. You tell her you think its a good plan, but ask where she will put the device in.
"The tail." she explains. "See, you lay it out like a real caterpillar lays out silk. There's plenty of space to work it in. I just need another couple of days to get all the details worked out."
Vince rubs his chin. "We can request up to five days to prepare, with all five we can get everything sorted, and have a chance to practice to boot." He ponders quietly.
"I think we can do it." Audrey pipes up. You forgot she was even in the room. "I have faith in everyone. We can win."

Vince sighs, but smirks despite himself. "Alright you rabble, if you're all so insistent, I'll send the acceptance notice in. But no complaints if things don't turn out like you want."
"Fine by me." Eri states.
You also nod. In five days you will battle Stone Age. But that's not all you have on your plate.
>What do?

>>18890362
Re-obtain the Hound's murder cannon of death and destruction.

I'm not all that psyched for the underwater salvage mission, see if there is anything else available, maybe something from a private source that falls more within the capabilities of our current Zoids.

We might be able to use our past as a Merc to find or remember clients that need a small competent team for a bit.

Keep our eyes open for something speedy and maneuverable that is tougher than the Demantis, Audrey deserves a present.

>>18890362
Is there time to fix the Red Horn more during that as well?

>>18890425
The underwater mission was already accepted in the last thread.

>>18890477
You'd have the time, but it'd put you in the Red(rimshot)

>>18890512
Given that we'll have to rent zoids for that and we're already burning money on detcord/molga mods and the Hound Soldier's cannon we might want to hold off on that for a little bit, at least until we have some spare dosh.

See if anyone on our team knows if someone needs our services and check our own contacts given that the job board was empty last time we checked.

>>18890528
Agreed, but, After the sleeper mission, where we may find some valuable catches, we might/should be able to afford it if we sell most/all of the salvage

>>18890528
You consider your options on spending your time till the match. You accepted a job that you don't have equipment for, and might not have the funds for getting it. You could rent the necessary zoid, but that will cost you as well.
Rick pulls his Sinker into the hanger about that time.
"Hey, dude." he says as he exits the zoid. "What're you looking so serious about?"
You explain to him your lack of aquatic zoids. He thinks for a moment. "If you don't have money to spend, maybe you could borrow one from someone you know?" he suggests.

You think for a moment about who you know that owns zoids. Your dad's out, he's retired, and over 500 miles away. He might could give you some contacts to earn some income. Really the only one you know that could lend you one is...
Damn it.
"How bout it, Gerald?" Rick asks. "I'll give you hand if you want, since you guys patched my Sinker up."

>Call your dad
>Call the Rental agency
>Call Vlad

>>18890627
Hmm, I'd like to avoid owing Vlad a favor, call up dad see if he has any interesting contracts in. Preferably ones that don't go against our moral sensibilities. We might not be able to bring Audrey which is fine, but at least ones Vince is comfortable with.

If that doesn't turn anything cool up we'll check in with Vlad and promise him a cut of the Zoids we salvage and if he wants, some complimentary lessons in sneaky tactics and general piloting for Sarah.

>>18890627
Cool thing about rail-guns, there pieces of metal flying at crazy speeds. cool thing bout the sinker? its made for underwater combat. little tidbit bout snipers. they have a spotter who helps them target the opponent. so sinker recon and spotter with close fire support from a big old rail-gun on a Gordos should be sufficient. he paints a target, and we nail it with massive firepower. sound good guys?

>>18890812
Afraid the distance from the shore would render that tactic ineffective. It can only go so far.

>>18890689
You've been putting off calling home for a while. Might as well take care of that now that you have the time. You ask Rick for a moment alone, and make your way to a console and dial in his work number, since that's where he'll likely be at this hour. There phone rings 5 times before the video screen finally brings up an image.
"Whadaya want, asshole!" comes your fathers harsh gravely voice. "I'm bu-" he pauses, then his expression lightens. "Junior! So you finally decided you weren't to good to call."
"Please don't call me junior, dad. I'm an adult now."
"Hah!" he jeers, the cocky smirk you remember donning his face. "You're in good enough spirits to still talk back to me, I see."
"You look as annoyingly healthy as always." you bite back.
"So what is it you called me for. I already told you I'm not gonna send ya any money."
"Just wanted to catch up. I joined a team, by the way."
"Oh yeah?" he says, looking genuinely interested. "What sorts are you with?"
You go into some detail of your companions, avoiding some of the more complicated matters. "That girl hot?"
"Dad," you say, annoyed, "aren't you a bit old for skirt chasing?"
"I'm not too old to still whip you, boy, in or out of a zoid."

>What say?

>>18890973
I know that Dad, as you've said far too many times, you taught me everything I know, not everything you know.

Onto the reason I called you, the job board here is rather sparse and I pretty much cleared it out. I was wondering if you knew anyone or had any friends that need the expert services of some Zoid pilots. Houndsoldier, Molga or Gordos, maybe Demantis for a few jobs but nothing involving hurting people. Nothing blackhat.

>>18891042
(hilariously that sounds exactly like something he would say)

He scoffs a bit. "You know I keep my hat clean." he strums his chin. "I know a guy in that region, his business is getting harassed by local riffraff. I'll send word to him if you go meet him, its somewhere up north. Might take a few days, though."

>What do?

>>18891198
Is that few days in total or few days there and a few days back?

Got any more details about riffraff or are we gonna have to ask this guy?

What exactly is his business pops?

Assuming it's on the level and we'll be able to pull this off and get back in time for Stone Age accept the job and thank him.

>>18891227
"It's about 2 days travel, to and from. Give it another day for doing the job. He's a business partner who refines the iron i dig up. Lost a whole shipment a few days ago, and just last night someone attacked one of his stores on site. Security fought them off, but he took a lot of damage to his facilities."
You thank him for the info and give him the go ahead. He sends you the coordinates over the screen.

As you hang up, you add one more idiom. "Oh, and dad?"
"Yeah?"
You grin. "Say hi to Mom for me."
His face devolves into an angry scowl. "You son of a b-"
*Click.
Heh. You love riling him up like that.

It's the late evening now.
>What do?

>>18891605
Find Vince and Audrey, ask if either of them want to join you in a mission to deliver justice and make some money. Then we spend some time with Eri, inform her of the mission, spend some time with her.

We'll leave at dawn.

>>18891644
Audrey seems eager to help, until you mention that you'd be fighting other people. She shy's away and says she sorry, but she doesn't want to .

Vince is a bit more receptive. "Could stand to go out on a romp, didn't really get enough action in the battle today." He thinks a moment. "Not likeing leaving the girls here by themselves, though." He eyes Rick, who's still hanging around, and calls him over. They talk for a moment, then he addresses you again.

"Rick said he'd either stay on base for a while, or head out with you. What do you think?"

>Go with Rick
>Go with Vince

>>18891891
Go with Vince, he's remarkably competent and I'd like a chance to acquire some teamwork with him.

Also his Zoid suits the job better, it's more multipurpose instead of fulfilling a small niche.

(gonna take a break for a bit, till some more people are around)

>>18892254
>>18891938

I'm sure there's quite a few lurkers content with the options being presented. Seconding heading out with Vince, though.

>>18892254
just caught up with the thread. Gonna agree with the other two and say "Go with Vince".

>>18892301
Ah, ok
It's hard to tell.

You give Rick the go ahead for staying around. He seems more than happy to.
"I'll keep a close eye on the girls." he assures. "Real~ close!"
You and Vince both lean in.
"No funny business." you both echo. He shrinks back like he just saw a Gilvader.
"It was a joke, dude...."

You go find Eri, and tell her you and Vince are heading out tomorrow.
"Be careful, now." she says, giving you a hug goodnight. "And give me a damn call, this time."
You promise to do so, and head off to bed.

Dawn comes, and you and Vince both head out as soon as your ready, bidding the others farewell.
["So who's the bigshot we're bailing out?"] Vince asks over the com.
"Some guy named Timothy Rightward. He's an iron whole seller my dad does business with. I think I already took out some of the guys that were robbing him, but it seems there's a lot more up north."
["Hm, any idea what we're up against?"]
"Nothing to big." you estimate. "The security force beat them back when they tried to rob the iron stores directly, so they can't have to many in there numbers. Also if they attacked like that, it's a sign that they're getting desperate. They may even just turn and run if we pick a fight with them."

You hear him chuckle a bit. ["I like how you use your head so much, its the sign of a born leader."]
"You're the leader if I'm remembering right."
["For now."]

After several hours, you finally reach the town of Bursberry, the location of the factory Rightward runs. You made good time, thanks to the Molga's and Hound's speed.
You could look around town for a bit, or head strait to the site.
>What do?

>>18892507
What time of day is it?

>>18892507
The town, we're already here and you should never go into threatened territory without information if at all possible.

Talk to the Rightward first and see what we can get out of him, and if any of the security personnel who fought are here ask about the enemy composition, repair, numbers, tactics and skill.

Then find some locals who have spent their youth hiking in the area, get a map of the area and have them point out likely places for their base to be set up.

>>18892541
About 8 at night. The suns still barely up. And by site, I meant the factory. Obviously the bandits didn't stick around

>>18892579
If it's that late I say factory, the bandits could attack at any time. Actually, we ought to go in underground, so any bandits watching think there's just the HS.

If we tunnel under we could cause serious damage. Because we're tunneling underneath a Village. We could destroy magor power lines, sewer, collapse buildings, So crashed buildings covered in shit and electrified. Not a pretty sight.

Let's walk over. We could leave Vince here.

>>18892606
Don't think they'd appreciate you digging a hole under their wall.

You suggest going to see Rightward first thing.
["You go on ahead, I'll keep a look out from out here, while I grill the locals for info."] You wish him luck and pull your Molga around to the factory. They only have a couple of Godoses standing guard, as well as a few turrets. They might have some other assets in reserve though. You pull up to the entrance. The guard ask for identification. You hand him a disk with your dad's recommendation and let him know who you are. He can't get you inside fast enough.

You make your way to the office, where you find a thin, mustached man with a plain suit and glasses.
"So you're Andy's boy." he states in a squirrely voice. To his side is a large, burly man wearing a formal shirt and tie. Must be a security adviser or something.
>What do?

>>18892761
"Quite a lot of security you have for a mining operation, is this all new security or did you have these in place before?"

>>18892761
Yep, I'm his son, the name is Gerald DeFlynn, nice to meet you.

I'm here to deal with your little problem.

I'd like you to tell me everything you know about the attackers, how large their group is, how well trained, in how good repair their Zoids are, where they make their camp, what is their motivation outside of money?

>>18892779
>>18892786
He sighs a bit, and says he wish the circumstances were better for meeting you. "Honestly, I always thought the security was excessive, myself. Until last night. It was just barely enough. They climbed over the walls with Guysacks and shot up the place. Killed 2 of my security personnel. We beat them back with our zoids and turrets, they didn't stick around long enough to get the stores open."

He brings up a map, its marked where there have been attacks on his convoys. "I don't know what they're thinking, iron isn't that valuable unless you can get a large amount to sell at once. The zoids they're wrecking is more valuable. It only started up a month ago. As for where they might be, I don't have a clue, there's all sort of caverns and caves that they could hide in."

>What do?

>>18892883
Joy, have you pissed off anyone recently? Did someone offer to buy your mine or the land it was on and did you refuse? Did you find something something other than iron in the mines at one point?

Did you catch a rough estimate of how many Guysacks?

Also how burrowable are the caverns and caves they might hide in?

Do you have any locals who used to do a lot of spelunking, they ought to know more about the caves that either of us.

>>18892883
Did they get an accurate count of the bandits? And how many were taken out by the security forces?

>>18892911
>>18892910
He tells you there were 3 Guysacks, and while some were hit in the firefight, none were brought down. None of his employees that have been hit on route has survived to tell him anything else.

"No, no one wanted to buy the company, we're in a remote area, so I shouldn't have any competitors either. If I had to guess I'd say that they 're just recklessly doing whatever they think will earn them a some quick money."

His phone rings, and he picks it up, he asks you to wait outside while he discuss some business. The larger man follows you out, as the door shuts behind you.
"My name is Joshua." he states flatly. "I'm the head of security here. Ask me anything you'd like to know."

>What do?

>>18892996
Can you find me someone who knows the caves of this area?

You have been with this guy for a while, you sure that no one has pissed him off or that nothing weird is in the mines?

If after we find their location we need backup, it's unlikely but they might have an ace up their sleeve, we can call on your guys right?

Are there any notable cave systems that would be good staging areas for all of the convoy attacks, if not it might suggest they migrate between caves.

>>18892996
3 Guysaks are the cause of this? That's some shit security they have. If it's they same group as the one we got the Helcats from then there is probably an inside man. Don't actually say any of that to him though.

Ask what they have defending the place and ask for the locations of where his transports were hit. If we examine them spots on a map we may be able to discern an zone of operation that will help us pin down where they could be operating.

>>18893019
"I'm afraid we cannot risk leaving here." he informs you. "We do not have any high speed zoids, so even if we were to try and assist you when you called, we would not be able to reach you quickly enough. My appologies."

He tells you he himself has some knowledge of the caves in the area. "Logically speaking, they would need to be close enough that they can reach their target and back quickly, yet also be far enough from roads that they would not be stumbled upon by authorities and passerby's." He takes out a note pad and scribbles on it for a bit, and hands it to you. The caves southwest of here are circled.
"Many of those caves interconnect, giving them a wide window to hide before raids. Odds are that they would be set up in there some where. It's still a wide area to search, though. Again, my apologies."

>What do?

>>18893111
It's fine, I was just checking. We ought to be able to smoke them out.

We'll need to check with whoever is in charge of paying us for this job and come to an agreement on how much we're getting paid. Also we can make some more money from selling them the Guysacks, assuming they're still in half-decent condition after we're done with them.

>>18893168
"Mm. I am told you will be payed 20,000 if you can drive them out. I'll ask that the proper paperwork be drawn up to ensure a contract."
You thank him, and, having nothing else to ask, leave the office area. It's getting late now.

>What do?

>>18893254
Find some of the security pilots who fought the Guysacks, see if we can't get an idea of how well trained, disciplined and organized they were.

>>18893306
Yeah, this. Then we meet up with Vince.

>>18893254
We should try and slim down the number of locations and find out which sections of the tunnels could fit transport zoids since those will likely contain the heart of the operation even if the guysacks travel through the whole system.

>>18893340
Also given that the zoids see combat they'll have to have somewhere big enough to store and repair them. So they'd need a reasonably big section to house all the equipment to maintain a Zoid. If we find someone who knows the caves we might be able to find where the bigger hollows are and prioritize searching those.

>>18893306
>>18893335
>>18893340
>>18893366
You stop by the guard station and interview them. The pilots and members who were present during the attack seem to think that they weren't particularly skilled, though they could maneuver well enough to escape. They probably planned to knock out what security was present before going for the stores, but they greatly underestimated the difficulty that entailed.

Heading back out, you eventually find Vince, who's talking with a few locals. He informs you that they were once miners many years ago. You take out the makeshift map and show it to them.
"Hm, I think this here's the old diamond mines from years back, before the cataclysm, even. It was emptied out before then, I'd say the debris that got thrown up covered it. Probably big enough to hold some zoids, especially if you dug it out further."

>What do?

>>18893470
Are there any particularly large areas in it that they're more likely to have shacked up in? Could you draw me a more complete map of the interior, I like knowing where I'm going and if there are any areas that I might accidentally cave in if we're not careful.

>>18893526
He can't tell you where any parts are deeper or not, but suggest you get a map from the town records. You thank him and make your way over to the Mayor's office, and secure an old map. It's not particularly detailed, but its better than nothing.
"What do you want to do?" Vince asks. "We can rest a bit and go searching while its dark, or wait till morning and search during light."
You know the Hound has a good sensor array, so even in the dark you could probably pick out hostiles before they even realize you're there. of course waiting till daylight might catch them unprepared.

>Go at night
>Go in the morning

>>18893624

Retreat, call in orbital lance strikes, the heretics shall burn in the light and glory of the God-Emperor of Mankind!

Then turn the heretical harlot Eri over to the Adeptus Mechanicus to be turned into a servitor for daring to meddle with the sacred machine-spirits.

>>18893624
Go at night, we're the shadow Molga. Their sensors are probably nothing compared to ours. I think our gameplan should be to have Vince hide a bit outside the caves, us explore them a bit using our invisibility and burrowing. Once we have a hit on their location we call in the Houndsoldier and show them the meaning shock and awe.

>>18893624
But what if they're going to launch another attack tonight?

We spend plenty of time underground anyway, between the hound and our experience with vibration sensors we shouldn't have much of a problem.

no consecus, and I need to take a break anyway.

I set my alarm, so I should be back in 8 hours to finish this thread up. Argue amongst yourselves until I make my return

>>18893795
Yeah, Think waiting till morning would be the best bet.

>>18893682
We can't burrow around the factory or town though. And I think just sitting around with the stealth cloak on waiting for an attack that might not come is kinda dumb. Also, if we pull the night shift and nothing happens we'll be tired when we go hunting in the morning. Hunting them now is a better idea. If you're worried we'll pass by them in the dark maybe us and Vince could take different routes to the caves in an attempt to increase our chances of intercepting the bandits should we be traveling at the same time.

>>18893795
Hunt them as soon as possible, at night. They will fear the Molga of the shadows.

Dis be a bump man, page 10 is a no-no.
>>18893624
go at night, we do this quietly, and we should be able to secure some decent quality salvage plus 20K.

>>18895344
much obliged

>>18893668
>>18893964
>>18893978
"Let's go after them as soon as possible." you say. "If, by chance, this is the wrong place, we'll still have time to make it back and try somewhere else." He agrees, and you both take a quick power nap, before heading out to the Southwest caves.

About two thirds of the way there, Vince informs you that there are still no signs of movement. You opt to turn on the Stealth Shield, just to be certain.
["There's two large entrances, one north, one south. How do you want to do this?"]

>What do?

>>18896171
Better we go in together, they have the home field advantage here.

>>18896273
["Yeah, that's probably the best. So which one you like, North, or South?"]

>North Cave
>South Cave

And also
>Take point
>Have Vince take point

>>18896360
Sorry, had to reset the computer and do some other stuff.

"Eeehh, How about the cave in the opposite direction of the road and settlement. I'll take point, my stealth field will make it easier for me."

>>18896586
Do you mean the one facing the road(South), or the one in the opposite direction(north).

>>18896594
North.

Figuring the entrance closer to the roads would be better guarded, you head for the northern entrance. After reaching the cave, you see no sentries, you cautiously enter with the Molga cloaked, Vince following at a delayed pace to keep a look out.

You go down several tunnels, hitting dead ends each time. You about give up on finding anything when Vince pipes up.
["Hang on. My sensors are telling me this wall here is artificial. There should be another tunnel further back."]

>What do?

>>18889765
Mmm.... does this mean that, somewhere out there, there's a perfectly good Gojulous-King wreck just waiting to be repaired? Along with a bunch of Descats? Cause that's be a nice find....

>>18896641
Fuck YEA MOLGA
'silently' dig through it.

>>18896652
Maybe...
>>18896661
You tell Vince to hold tight, and burrow into the floor. You go as deep as you can before going under the wall, just in case they have any sensors set up. Going under, you look at the map you had gotten. Seems your more or less still in the recorded mines, though you can't be sure what you'll find when you surface. You get your surface camera up through the floor, and take a look around. That's when you spot the first sign of hostiles. This is the place alright.
>Keep going
>Take out the sentry
>Others

>>18896712
we should find a location deeper in the base and get a rough idea of their defenses so Vince can come in at the weakest point. So continue scouting.

>>18896712
Keep going, get a full idea of their defenses so we can pull the most badass shock and awe attack ever.

>>18896818
>>18896846
You give Vince a heads up, and continue forward. You follows the lines of the map, nearing the center shaft. You figure that's where they'd most likely hole up with the majority of their zoids, since they'd have enough space if they cleared it out a b-
You barely stop in time when you see no more earth to dig through. You're canopy is just barely jutting out of the wall, and gives you a nice view of what's below you. The section dug out is massive, and wrought with equipment, parts and personel.

It's a god damn factory. Some segments already up and running, some still being under construction.
"Yeah," you whisper to yourself, "they'd need iron for this."

>what do?

>>18896918
Inform Vince of this development. Return to the dirt, confirm the locations of all the enemy Zoids. Once we have all their locations we can take them out with the element of surprise.

>>18896918
Fuck. Well, I doubt we're well enough equipped to take them on by ourselves at the moment. We'd be better off telling Vince what's up, then heading back to the town/base/thing. We wait for them to attack again, destroy their attacking assets, then immediately redeploy to the cave factory and wreck them when they least expect it. With their resources diverted to the attack (which hopefully we'll have defeated), they will, ideally, have much less left over to defend with.

>>18896941
You back up, and manage to raise Vince on a secure channel.
["...Are you shitting me?"] he says bewildered.
"I shit you not."
He thinks for a moment. ["Okay, just...I guess go around and spot what you can. In about five minutes I'll blow through this door. You can take them out from the bottom up, and I'll meet you in the middle."]
You acknowledge, and make your way around. The map you have won't be much use now.

>Keep submerged
>Surface while cloaked

>>18897009
Keep submerged for a bit longer, when we get to the five minute mark surface and begin to wreak havoc.

Surface while cloaked.
If any sentries get near us we can just flatten em with the zoid.

rolled 8 = 8

>sigh

you know what. screw it. Flipping a coin.
Odds is stay submerged
Evens is surface and cloak

rolled 10 = 10

>>18897117
(yes, I feel like an ass for doing that)
You surface with your Stealth shield active. Making you way through the tunnels, you get a glimpse of a few more sentries, but they stay far away enough to avoid them.

You reach a heavy elevator, even bigger than the one that was in the coal mine. Seems this is the way down into the factory proper. You now realize you haven't seen any actual zoids guarding the area, though they might also be behind some false walls.
There's no one around, you could get the elevator going, if you wished.

>What's the plan

>>18897174
MOAR scouting. we don't know enough yet.

>>18897174
Vince said to take them out from the bottom up, either take the elevator or dig straight down right next to it.

>>18897187
Agreed.

rolled 2 = 2

>>18897187
>>18897212

>Take the elevator
>Dig
>Ramp it

>>18897212
I agree, more scouting is needed. The elevator, is nice though, but can draw attention.

>>18897222
Tell the Elevator to go down, don't get in the elevator, then dig straight down.

>>18897222
Dig, definitely. The only time they'd usw the elevatus is if they're going to, you know, put shit on it and use it. Which means they might brush against us and these guys seem a lot more organized than the bandits we faced before, so if they notice us it could be bad.

tl;dr- dig iz bettar

>>18897232
this is best. were going to trap and trick people.

rolled 2 = 2

>>18897230
>>18897232
>>18897246
>>18897258
You feel a like being a little devious, and exit the Molga. You make your way to the console, and enter some commands, before bolting back to your zoid. The mechanism whirs to life, and sluggishly starts to lower itself just as you hop back onto the tunnel floor. Working quickly, you remount, and start digging downward. The elevator shaft serves as a giude, of sorts, and you quickly make your way down.

You open your radio and listen to different channels to see if you pick up any chatter. There is none. Either they aren't using radios, or were smart enough to use more secure channels.
You make your way to the factory floor level, by you estimate, and circle around a few hundred meters. You dive a bit and push into the factory area proper, using your upper camera once more. It seems the elevator has attracted some attention, two zoids have moved to investigate from further in. You don't spot any others from here.

You have 2 minutes till Vince makes with the 'Oh Yeah!', and the floor around you has many metal supports dug deep in the ground.

>What do?

>>18897335
I'd rather not collapse this joint given that Vince is going to be above us and we want to loot them.

Sneak up on the the two zoids and prepare to pop out of the ground/wall and murderize them.

>>18897335
Investigate supports, what are they holding up? How strong are they etc.

>>18897335
Can we determine which type of zoids they are?

>>18897335
Move around from where those zoids came from, avoid them.
If we can find where the zoids are located, we can possibly take out their cockpits leaving the out of zoid pilots with little to defend themselves with Asuming that they arnt in their zoids.

>>18897365
Also, I'd really recommend that we radio back to Vince to radio the base about what we've found. Forr all we know they might include a bonus for us taking the place intact or some shit.

And Hey! if we can scare off all these bandits, and tell the iron miner we found a whole damned Factory that we could come and take over, Boom, Huge bonus.

rolled 3 = 3

>>18897357
the factory bits, not the facility itself. it just hampers you tunneling through the floor

>>18897415
In that case stick with everyone elses plan. Which I think is to check out what the zoids are and prepare to ambush them.

rolled 8 = 8

>>18897365
You think they look a lot like Godos's, but theres something off about them...
>>18897354
>>18897368
You sneak around in the wall, letting them waste time looking at an empty elevater, and head further into the factory.

You see a number of zoids, half assembled as you go. You see a few maintanence squares, but they are all empty. Finaly you find another elevator, which leads back up, though the platform is already above you.
One minute to go.

>What do?

>>18897506
I loved those old style Zoids.

I had the really massive mammoth and Tyranasaur ones. The 10" ones.

>>18897506
I'm in favor of checking back to the Godos and making an attack just before Vince bursts through. Pop up from a tunnel nice and close to the rear of one, and hit em with our high powered cannon.

>>18897547
I like this, but I'd say we shoudl instread of doing it just before Vince attacks, doing it just AFTER. That way, they might get distracted by him and not notice a couple of gogoses failing to report.

>>18897506
Number of half assembled zoids
Hoo mama we hit the jackpot.
Wait for the right time to attack, We can probably take out the two ahead easy, One stealth laser cutter to the cockpit, the other an immediately followup Sandshooter headshot

>>18897506

>LOOKS like a Godos.

Am I the only one slightly worried by this? Here's a list of some things that 'look' like a Godos.

http://zoids.wikia.com/wiki/King_Gojulas
http://zoids.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Saurer
http://zoids.wikia.com/wiki/Geno_Saurer

There's a list of Godos variants that are quite a bit worse as well.

http://zoids.wikia.com/wiki/Godos

>>18897581
Ah, but what about the mayhem that will ensue when they are first attacked from below, and THEN a hound soldier bursts in and starts fucking them up?

>>18897610

Of course, I'm not saying it's a Death Saurer, that's crazy. It's like 20 stories tall, it would never fit in the mine. BUT STILL.

>>18897610
Love how those zoids are inspires by Godzilla, while we're in a mothra larva zoid.

>>18897610
I'm pretty sure it looks like the pic that Zoid Mother posted. Which is clearly none of those things.

>>18897699

He posted a picture of a stock, basic Godos.

And then said 'It doesn't really look like this.

>You think they look a lot like Godos's, but theres something off about them...

So there is clearly a distinguishing characteristic, clearly visible, that makes it look NOT like the one in the pic.

>>18897719
No, the one before that. Here.

>>18897335

Im in favor of hitting them right after the hound makes his hit. That way we can hit them with their backs turned.

rolled 10 = 10

You watch your time as you position yourself to attack, and wait. 3, 2,1.
There's a tremor, you guess from Vince plowing through the door up above. The two guards flinch and turn their heads up. Right where you wanted. You fire a full barrage at the nearest one, your 35mm and laser mach.guns at the cockpit, and your quads at its legs. Your not quite close enough for the Blaster cannon, so you save it for now. The zoid seizures from the fire, and falls over, the other leaps back and fires some thrusters on its shoulders, twisting itself around and opening fire. You've already duck behind some machinery though, and your cloak is still on.
Shit, now you know what those things are. They were designed to be the Godos's better, the Iguan. You look at the downed one's cockpit. It isn't destroyed, probably just had a CSF. If things drag out too long, he might be able to reboot.

"Vince, be careful!" you radio to your companion. "These aren't just regular bandits, I think they're deserters."
["Professional soldiers?"]
"Maybe, going by their gear."
["Alright, I'll be careful. Meet you at the bottom."]

>What do?

>>18897845
Circle around the machinery, get to the side of the Iguan and Blaster Cannon him.

>>18897875
Then move fast and take out the downed one too

>>18897845
I really hope that roll is for Vince's shooting...

rolled 5 = 5

You circle around, keeping an eye on the enemy as he cautiously moves around, scanning for you. He probably has to mind the equipment around him. Too bad his boss doesn't sign your checks.

You position yourself in front of a smaller piece of equipment and wait for him to walk by. He steps in front of you, and immediately you engage your cannon, the covering sliding back, and a familiar 'thump' resounding as the off yellow beam goes right through the machinery, as well as his leg. The Iguan shudders before falling on its face.

Then your rocked in your seat as a heavy impact on your left sends warnings up on your HUB.

["I. SEE. YOU."] you hear over the radio. You franticaly look over to the other Iguan, propping itself up with one arm, the other aiming its cannons at you. Damn it all, it was playing possum.

>What do?

rolled 2 = 2

>>18898026
Damnit. Fire back!

rolled 9 = 9

>>18898026
Fire Back, finish him off.

>>18898026
Shoot him before he shoots us!

rolled 3 = 3

>>18898026

KILL IT.

rolled 3 = 3

You're not sure what gave you away, but you back pedal like mad as you swivel your turret around to fire the lasers. However the other pilot engages their thrusters again, kicking with its toes to slide across the ground. Your weapons fail to hit, and they in turn bring the weapons on the tail to bear and fire at you. Through some luck the volley narrowly misses, and you move behind more cover.

>What do?

rolled 7 = 7

>>18898120

Keep firing.

DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!

>>18898120
Continue the Dakka, take him down.

rolled 8 = 8

>>18898120
Finish him off quick!
"Vince, engaged with some Iguan, havent seen any guysacks yet! "

rolled 10 = 10

>>18898138
>>18898150
The Iguan takes some pot shots at you as it stalks around.
["A stealth shield. Cute."] they jeer as they gradually close in. ["But you know, that cannon or whatever puts out a lot of heat. Real easy to find you on thermals. Hiding isn't gonna do you any good."]
"Thanks for the tip." you say, ramping over some machinery and drift turning hard as you land. You open up with your guns, even as they attempt to face you with the thrusters. Too late, though, you get in some solid hits, and end up knocking the zoid over.
"Now here's one for you." you add, firing into the zoid's torso just to be sure. "Don't talk so much."

You cautiously survey both enemies, seems they're both down, for real. You get a warning that your stealth shield is shorting out, and you switch it off. Then you get a contact on your radar, coming up from ahead. It's a third Iguan, using its thrusters to boost toward you. You curse to yourself as you back around some cover. It starts to shoot at your position, but another rumble from above gets your attention. As you look up, Vince bursts through the wall, jumping down and charging the Iguan. The unsuspecting zoid is knocked over by a shoulder tackle. He then steps on top of it and lowers his lance, casually spearing the throat. The enemy zoid quickly falls still.
["You all right, Gerald?"]

>What do?

rolled 8 = 8

Shit, I'm out of time.
Sorry guys, gtg to work. I'll finish upp the thread tonight

>>18898348

Make sure that's all of them.

Then if it is, begin to investigate the area. Secret factory controlled by bandits? Plus if we could claim the machines as salvage, we would be making money hand over fist.

>>18898374

Ah, it's cool. Hopefully I won't be too bust with AC-quest to contribute.

man how many times am I gonna bumps ya? I ain't lettin ya die on me yet man.
>>18898348
respond with a just fine, but I need to remember to add some internal heat sinks on my Molga. keep on your toes, there will likely be more.
With that said we should burrow and start hunting threw the rest of the facility for more hostiles.
Now I'm off to buy a bed! see yall in a few hours.

>>18899989

Long time lurker here to give a friendly bump from page 9. Love the quest so far, keep at it Zoid Mother.

As for what to do, further survey the area for enemies and gather more intel on what was going on here.

>>18898348
Well with the stealth out I guess were a bit banged up. A more important question would be, how many enemies did Vince run into on his way down and were the Guysaks among them.

Also, it's a damn shame that we have to get back to the hanger fast after this mission thanks to that underwater mission we have and our upcoming fight with Stone Age. There's just so much sweet salvage here I wish we had more time to go through it all.

rolled 3 = 3

Reports of my demise were not completely false but somewhat exaggerated.

You tell him your alright, but for both of you to keep on your toes.
["Yeah, they should have at least a few more guys around."]

You look at the meters for the Blaster. It's cooled off now, not that it matters with the S.S. busted. You forgot to bring up the heat issue with Eri last time, have to get that fixed when you get the chance.

You both stand guard, keeping a lookout on both elevators. Vince warned the downed pilots that if they tried to exit or eject their canopies that he would splatter them.

Five minutes pass, and then those become ten.
["Something's wrong."] Vince says. ["There should be at least a few more, with a setup like this, there should be a lot more. Surely they didn't run off this early."]
You ponder the situation as well. Fifteen minutes now, and no activity.

>What do?

>>18903658
Vince, stay here, watch the elevators.

How many Guysacks did you encounter and take down? They have at least 3 and those guys can burrow. I'm going to go burrow around and see what my vibration sensors pick up and then go look around upstairs.

If anything comes let me know and I'll come to support.

thanks for the bumps, all. I noticed something this thread.
About midnight my time, participation kinda dropped of. and when I picked it up agin this morning, it didn't really come back till 1 or 2.

The solution? Run the quest starting at 2 till midnight. Which thankfully I am fully capable of doing. So hopefully the threads become a lot more efficient from doing this

>>18903726
I agree with this.

Lurkin for now, til I have some helpful ideas.

>>18903726
["You sure, man? You took a few hits already."] he says, a bit concerned. ["I can take a look this time."]
"My armor can take it. Built strong, Molga strong." he laughs a bit, and wishes you luck.

You dig into the wall and head up, because elevators are for casuals, and peak out from the floor. Nothing. You continue along cautiously. Still nothing. By your memory of the old map, your nearing the Southern cave exit. The one closer to....shit.
"Vince, how many Guysacks did you run into back there?"
["Hm? None, just four of those guys on walkers. Didn't see a trace of any other zoids."]
"Get up here now." you say urgently.
["What? What's going on?"]
"We missed them." you grit your teeth. "We went around to the farther cave, and we missed them. They're not here, Vince, they left. They've gone for another raid, right before we got to the caves."
["...Shit!"] he spits in agravation. ["Keep going, Gerald, I'll catch up as quickly as possible."]

You speed out of the cave exit and make a beeline for town. Not long after, Vince is catching up from behind. There's still no sign of the miscreants.
"They got too much distance..." you say regretfully. "We won't make it in time to stop another attack."
["The Hound might."] Vince offers. ["My buddy's one of the fastest things on the ground. If I run ahead I might delay them a bit, you'll be able to catch up that way."]

>Send Vince ahead.
>Keep together
>something else

>>18903861

Send him ahead. He's good enough not to get killed before we get there.

But once these guys are done for, we're coming back and taking everything that isn't bolted down.

And then coming back with a wrench for the shit that's bolted down.

>>18903861
I'd say we let Vince do his thing, he seems competent enough that he'd probably win or at least not lose before we get there and a trap seems unlikely as we haven't been ambushed yet. Loot is gonna be awesome though picking what to haul back will e tough.

>>18903861
Can we reach communication with the town? If so, alert them if they are not already in combat.

I think we should send Vince ahead to scout, but only engage if the town is already under attack. How long would it take for us to catch up?

Let the man go.

>>18903861
Let Vince do his thing, tell him to not take any risks but mainly focus on delaying them, once we're there unexpectedly we can rape them together.

>>18903901
>>18903916
"Alright, Vince, show me what you got. And maybe send a squawk to the town if your in range."
["Will do. Don't dally too much, I'm not THAT good."] with that, his Houndsoldier speeds past you at full gate, going well over 200 mph. You feel a bit of zoid envy as he runs out of site. You pat the console of your Molga.
"It's okay, I still love you." you assure it.

>Elsewhere
The convoy was making steady progress. The attack the evening before had failed, but it also served as a probe. With knowledge of their defenses, and a much more potent force, they'd take the iron easily. With there smelting equipment set up, they'd leap ahead of schedule. The leader chuckled contently in his Twin Horn. "Heh, this time for sure. I won't let anything get in the way."

(cont)

>>18904113
["Contact at six o'clock and closing fast!"]
"What?!" He looked at his radar. It was true, something was closing in from behind them. "Heh, whatever it is, he's alone. Guysack group one, hang back and deal with it. Everyone else advance!"

The Guysack pilots obeyed and broke away from the group of twenty strong, and waited for their foe in the sand. When Vince came in range, they sprung up and opened fire. The Hound nimbly leaped side to side, as the other zoids tightened their formation.
["Out of the way, small fries!"] Vince decried, returning fire with his chest cannon, before running strait at the center most one. Extending his Force Lance, he speared the unfortunate Guysack right in the cockpit, before jumping and using it as a vault over the remaining zoids.

["S-sir! The unknown's broke though!"] the leader paled. "What? That's too quick!" His HUB beeped a warning, as the signal on his radar sped toward his group and circled around ahead. He brought up his zoomed view, seeing the body of his enemy outlined by the dawn light.
["Hey now, don't be so shy."] Vince goaded. ["Why don't you play with me for a bit?"]

>To be continued...

>On Tuesday

apologies for cutting things short, I got to go in to work in the morning. Also I need some prep time for the first truly epic battle in this quest.

I can stay on for a little bit, does anyone have any more questions?

>>18904127
Twenty....oh boy.

Welp. Time to work on a supah awesome plan, for Tuesday.

Or we wing it.

>>18904174
that would be 19 now. heh

>>18904173

I got one. You enjoying AC Quest? You mentioned reading the archives the other thread.