>>28123487
However you don’t know if Emily’s even telling the truth. She faked her own death and is a part of some weird splinter group within Leviathan who in and of itself already pretty bizarre and shady.

Gah, things aren’t getting any easier are they? Well sitting around in your room isn’t going to help things. You have a couple of hours before the Diva arrives at Big Ring.

What do you wish to do Dirk?

>[A] Let’s go to the hanger and do some engineering to clear our head.

>[B] Let’s go see Uther’s body and check to see what MID’s managed to work out from that weird notebook of his.

>[C] We need to end this spy business once and for all! It’s time to do some investigation of the suspects.

>[D] Other

>>28123547
> [C] We need to end this spy business once and for all! It’s time to do some investigation of the suspects.
See captain Millais, ask if we can gain access to the ship's security system. The cameras had to have picked up something, or at least show that someone's tampered with them - we should check the security footage as well as all the logs on who entered and exited the ship.

>>28123547
Checking up on MID's research is tempting, but he's only been at it for about a day and we have enough conspiracies to deal with as is. Let's do some investigating of the current situation. How possible would it be to tag the members of our team imperceptibly so we can track their movements? I figure we've got enough microelectronics capabilities to make some pretty good bugs. Maybe even implant the bugs in them without their knowing, given our access to nanotech. Not that we can do much with the nanites, yet, so it would still need a more standard transceiver for backup.

>>28123769
Or we could tap into the communication network and see what's been going on aboard the Diva. So far, we are the only one aboard that has a secure network to the outside world - if someone was contacted by the Vagans, it has to be either over a secure channel or in person, and we can find out both (either received signals or crew logs) by going through the ship's records.

>>28123841
Bugging our guys won't really be necessary at the moment, considering how the Diva will probably be in lockdown because of a possible security breach. No way the Feds will let the crew run around freely when there's a possible spy aboard. It's a wonder they even let us go for Luna base or Solon, especially considering how Zeheart escaped from our ship with possible inside help.

So that means that whoever let us go, had enough pull to circumvent the security protocols and allow a possible security threat and spy to fly around Federation space.

>>28123855
I'm not sure that would work. There have to be other devices with personal channels. The reason none of our friends have G-Phones is that they're technically illegal, and we're just too blase about information technology to care. Growing up with AIs would do that to you, I guess. But a spy could have one without any compunction, so it's plausible we couldn't intercept their messages. I mean, Emily must have some secure communications separate from the other systems. And where is she, by the way? We know she's hiding somewhere on board the Diva. She might have moved to the Dagon, but she should still be around to consult on this. Come on, Dyson, give us some help here. Also, why is your daughter here? You said you left Asemu to protect him. Why don't you care as much about your daughter's safety?

>>28123487
Jesus, those are some high engineering stats for Dirk. Not that I'm complaining, but with the AGE Builder we've got +20 to any electronic engineering rolls, and +18 for mechanical. No wonder we managed to build nanoassemblers with only a day or two of work and some old design papers.

>>28124014
And that's just for small scale work. If we're doing mobile suit scale work we've got +26 and +24 from the AGE Builder's increased bonus. That's some awesome engineering. I fear for Gen 3, if Dirk gets a few decades to work without time constraints.

>>28123949
Yeah, you've got a point.
They probably do have a secure enough system so that we aren't capable of noticing their transmission. Still, looking at the footage and whether it was tampered with wouldn't hurt - if it was, it has to be someone with technical knowledge or some engineering tools. All the stuff and people that have been going off and on the ship are recorded there, so checking it out might give us some idea with whom or what we're dealing with.

Speaking of Yunoa, isn't it weird that she's been piloting a Gundam suit? Was she in the same program as Hunter? And why would Leviathan make one for her? Is she an X-Rounder Ace already or something?

>>28124049
Speaking of Hunter, what's he up to? I like the guy, but there's a possibility he's a spy.

>>28124125
The last we heard of him, he was with Desil and his team aboard the Amadeus.

>>28124045
(Gah I think I made the AGE Builder too OP but considering your dealing with DC 35-40 engineering attempts it makes sense. The AGE Builder only gives bonuses for large scale work, anything small or individual you'll have to do yourself)

>>28123628
>>28123855
If the spy is sending and receiving info it's probably from a secure device like your G-Phone. Unless they're getting it out in some covert manner like texts with secret messages in them or something.

You leave your room and hunt down Captain Millais who is in her quarters trying to get some rest. Unlocking her door she greets you and you quickly ask her if you can access the security system and the communication network so you can do some investigating.

"If you weren't Jake's son I'd be pretty suspicious, but considering the MP's didn't find any clues and so far the brass hasn't sent anyone to interrogate my crew for spies, you are the best chance I have at finding this spy before Big Ring. You can access the security systems and communications, but I can't give you the codes. I trust you and so does most of the crew, but not everyone is a fan of your father. If someone can pin the blame on you they probably will, especially considering your 'cellphone'. You're good with computers, I'm sure you can find your own way in." Captain Mellias explains, glancing around to make sure no one is listening in.

(Cont)

>>28124181
Giving it some thought she as a point. Only a few people know about the Vagans your Dad helped, but there could be a few people who believe he's a Vagan sympathizer and he technically IS, but not for their cause. There's plenty of faulty evidence they could throw at you and your family if they really wanted too. Getting caught hacking into the security system could be really bad if you get caught...

What do you wish to do Dirk?

[A] Getting into the Security Systems shouldn't be too hard considering how many times he's been hacked (DC 17 Roll 1d20 + Computer Operation Skill)

[B] Convince the Captain to give you the codes. She's afraid it'll come back to her and you, but people's lives are in danger! (DC 20 + Personality Bonus)

[C] Other

Rolled 5 + 10

>>28124195
> [A] Getting into the Security Systems shouldn't be too hard considering how many times he's been hacked (DC 17 Roll 1d20 + Computer Operation Skill)

Can we get Asemu to help us with this? He can stand guard while we hack into the systems.
And we could probably do it from some other location as well, instead of going directly to the mainframe - we could cover this up as some engineering done.

Rolled 13 + 10

>>28124195
> [A] Getting into the Security Systems shouldn't be too hard considering how many times he's been hacked.

>>28124230
>>28124380
"Alright Captain Mellias, I understand. I'll be careful."

"This conversation never took place." The Captain shuts the door and you head down the hall. You go back to your room and get your laptop. After finding a supply closet to hold up in you sit down and try to hack the Security Systems of the Diva remotely...

>DC 17.
>Roll 23
>SUCCESS

After a half and hour you manage to break into the Diva's Security system. It was pretty easy considering the security measures are so old. Your home security network has more protection.

You work fast and look through the security camera footage and the ships logs. Someone's definitely tampered with this stuff and quite badly at that. Whoever did this has a bit of skill, but only enough not to make their entry obvious. If anyone reviewed the security feed properly they'd know it had been looped and later edited.

There's nothing you can use here, but at least you know someone tampered with it recently.

What do you wish to do?
>[A] Reinforce the Diva's Security Network DC 25
>[B] Log out and start investigating elsewhere
>[C] Other

Rolled 3 + 10

>>28124536
> [A] Reinforce the Diva's Security Network DC 25
To avoid this happening again.

Rolled 18 + 10

>>28124536
Reinforce the security and report to Millais.

>>28124575
No, we don't report to her yet. We never spoke, remember? Dirk can't go constantly running to her with updates. We report to Millais when we've got something more conclusive than this. let's reinforce and continue the investigation elsewhere.

>>28124756
Right.

Can we reinforce the security system and see if there're any clues on who or what else was tampered with?

>>28124575
You decide to make sure the Diva's Security is a little tighter. Maybe if the spy tries anything else he'll get caught off guard by the heightened security.

>DC 25
>Rolled 28
>Success!

The coding and programs for the security system are old and a little unwieldy, but after a half an hour of adjustments and a few new programs in the right places things finally look like a proper security system again.

>>28124756
You return the laptop to your room and act like everything is natural as you think on what to do next. Now you know someone tampered with the security system. The same person who killed the prisoner probably coordinated with Zeheart on his escape. Whoever did it has some technical knowledge, but isn't experienced enough to cover thi

At the moment you can think of three possible candidates on who the spy might be. Yurika, Obright, and Max. Max and Obright seem unlikely, but you don't have a lot of solid evidence to go on, everyone is a suspect but at the moment you need to limit it down to a few. For all you know this is totally bullcrap, but if you ignore the possibility of your teammates being spies it could be catastrophic during the defense of Big Ring.

What do you wish to do?
[A] Being investigating the possible suspects
[B] Assume Emily is lying and look more into this splinter group she's supposedly a part of.
[C] Other

>>28124867
> [A] Being investigating the possible suspects

Okay, let's think this through.
Whoever did this, has some minor technical knowledge. Yurika is apparently the Asuno gearhead, so she wouldn't make such easily noticeable mistakes if she was messing with the evidence. She's also the last one who saw Zeheart before he escaped, so we should check in with her if Zeheart told her anything. Also, we don't know if Arisa, Max or Obright have some technical knowledge - we should check that out with Woolf.

>>28124996
Also, why aren't Arisa and Akito on the suspects list? We can't be too sure about anyone.

>>28125171
They are on the suspect list, just down a couple pegs. You don't really have any evidence on them. Akito never liked Zeheart in the first place and he's not particular fond of Vagans. however he'd cover for his sister if she was in trouble. As for Arisa, you could probably bunch her in with Obright and Max. They're on the list, you're merely investigating the most likely first.

>>28124996
It's time to properly investigate things. No more speculation, no more dancing around the subject, you're going to get some answers one way or another.

You decide that Yurika is the one you should focus on first, she had the most reason to help Zeheart and she was the last one who spoke with him.

After poking around the ship you finally find Yurika in the hanger, looking over her busted up AGE-1, shaking her head at it with a frown.

She turns and notices you, giving you a wave and a glowing smile as you walk over.

"Hey Dirk. How's it going? I was just looking over my suit. It's pretty badly damaged. Dique says he's going to try and save it, but I told him not to bother. Dad has a AGE-2 waiting for me at Big Ring with the Phoenix Mk.II gear waiting for me to try out. He had a new wear for Akito, but he's really taken a liking to the Amateras, so much so that he's painted the rest of his suit gold and customized it around it. Never knew he had a thing for gold." Yurika shakes her head and laughs.

"I'm sorry, I'm rambling. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I want to ask you about Zeheart". You say flatly, looking her in the eyes as you speak.

She frowns and shifts around, leaning up against the nearby railing. "Why do you want to talk about him?"

"You were the last person to talk to him before he escaped. The security system has been tampered with and the Vagan prisoner I brought in was killed recently..."

"Do you think I had something to do with that?" Yurika asks, looking somewhat hurt.

(Cont)

>>28124867
[A] Being investigating the possible suspects
Might as well. We don't trust Emily, but we need to put at least some effort into investigating our team. Okay, whoever the spy is probably helped Zeheart escape. Let's dig through some duty rosters and see who would have been available at that time to help him. Also check who would have been on duties around the brig and armory during the escape. Maybe someone saw something that could point to the double agent.

>>28125305
What new wear would Akito have? Artimes or Double Blade, maybe? Well, we'll just have to hand it over to Asemu, then. Might as well have one of your kids benefit from it, eh, Flit?

>>28125305
"I can understand that you didn't want to see him hurt. I can't rule out the chance you were the one who helped him escape. Just tell me what I want to know. Please Yurika. You're my friend. I'm not going to throw you to the dogs. If you're in trouble just tell me. If you aren't involved then maybe you know or heard something that might help me."

Yurika looks to the floor and sighs, nodding. "OK. Me and Zeheart talked, but that was it. I didn't give him anything and I didn't help him escape. I just sat down and talked with him a bit."

"Why keep it under wraps then?" You ask.

"Because it was personal and very...intimate. It's not something I'd like my father, brother, or anyone knowing about. I liked Zeheart and I still think he can be helped...but I would NEVER help him escape. If I can save him I will, but if he tries to hurt any of my friend I won't hesitate to kill him." Yurika's eyes furrow as she speaks, looking rather upset now that this has been brought up.

Do you believe her Dirk?
[A] No. Press her further (DC 25 vs Information Gathering)
[B] Yes. She seems to be telling the truth. See if she knows who might have helped him.
[C] Other

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>>28125471
> [B] Yes. She seems to be telling the truth. See if she knows who might have helped him.
We'll keep an eye on her, but we'll respect her privacy. Fill her in on what happened on the Moon, though.

>>28125399
Yeah, probably one of those two. I'm guessing the Artimes because the DB would require some improved scissor anchors to be properly developed.

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>>28125668
And she did bring him those iron pills he asked for. Though I guess that's our fault for falling into that one.
As for that "if he hurts my friends" speech, the fucker blew our arm off, and he shot us again on the Moon. Does that mean she'll fight him for real now, or what?

>>28125668
"Zeheart has tried to kill me at least twice and when we were at Luna he told me what he had planned. He's going to kill anyone who gets in his way Yurika."

Yurika seems saddened by this but doesn't seem surprised. "I had a feeling he was that far gone when he shot off your arm."

"He's ether gone totally crazy or Ezelcant has done something to him. Ether way, neither of us can cut him any slack." You explain, Yurika nodding in agreement.

"Now can you think of anything that might help me? I believe there might be a spy in my team."

"Well, I can say for certain that my brother isn't involved with the Vagans. Outside of that I can't think of anything."

"Do you know if Arisa, Max, or Obright are good with computers at all?"

"Arisa doesn't know much, me and her have talked a lot and she's always complaining about how her Dad's tech talk goes right over her head. Obright's always hanging out with Remi, one of the engineers so maybe he picked something up from her. As for Max I'm not sure." Yurika shrugs.

Do you have any more questions for Yurika or do you want to move on to other suspects? If Yurika's information about Arisa and Akito is true that really narrows things down.

>>28126008
Ask her how is she dealing with everything going on and if she needs help with anything.
We're her friend, after all, and we could both use somebody to talk to about all this mess.

Then we go see the crew rooster and who accessed the armories and all that stuff.
If it's either one of our suspects, we go after him next.

>>28126008
While we're at it, unrelated to the investigation and just out of curiosity, maybe we should ask her why Akito tensed up when we first joined them for riffing the other day. Did we do something to offend him? If it's something personal he's dealing with then we'll respect his right to privacy, but he is our friend. We'd like to help if there's anything we can do.

>>28126401
That's a good point. We should check up on him as well.

>>28126243
(Gah, when things get slow I start freaking out about my writing)

"Yurika, how are you holding up? I mean we're a day away from the largest defense operation in human history and we all have a lot of shit on our plates. If you need anyone to talk too just come to me. I have some crap I wouldn't mind sharing ether."

"Thanks Dirk. I'm doing alright. If I need to chat with you I'll give you a call."

You turn to leave but stop and turn back around. "Hey Yurika, why did your brother get all tense when I joined you guys for riffing?"

"Oh he enjoys his privacy. Riffing has always been our private little activity, having someone else join made him uncomfortable. He doesn't like people thinking he's anything less then a hard ass."

Yurika said Akito wasn't a spy, but maybe it might be a good idea to check up on him. Still, the more time you take to investigate the more time the spy has to pursue his nefarious plans.

What do you wish to do Dirk?
>[A] Continue with the investigation.
>[B] Check up on Akito
>[C] Other

>>28126602
>[B] Check up on Akito
Enlist his aid if we could.

>>28126602
Check up on Akito.

For the investigation, we should check up who accessed the armory the day Zeheart escaped and where were the rest of the suspects. Side note - Zeheart said that he killed the guard protecting him, but we don't know if anyone found the body. So maybe the guard is the guy who got him out?

>>28126602
Don't worry, your writing's fine.

So, what do we know so far about this entire mess.

Zeheart claimed that he used the iron in the tablets to create a compound that allowed him to break free, that he killed the guard and that he got the gun from him. So far, we didn't investigate further into that, but we probably should. He was also capable of walking around with both his knees shot, which means he probably wasn't fully human back then - maybe he already used the nanotech found on Zarth to heal himself?

Emily and Leviathan suspect that someone aboard the ship was the traitor, as well as that they investigated the incident. If they did, we should see if they filed a report on the accident. For all we know, Emily only acts as a mouthpiece for information her superiors have been feeding her, and that entire traitor line was a lie they told her.

When Zeheart shot us, he was carrying a rifle strong enough to blow up our arm. I don't think that guards aboard ships carry such weapons, so that thing was probably delivered to him by the traitor. There's also the fact that the Magician's 8 ship was capable of tracking down the Diva without much trouble, as well as inform him that they'll deliver his suit to him - so the traitor had to have a form of communication with them without anyone noticing.

This shit all started when we left Zarth, which means that the spy was either aboard the ship already, or that he climbed aboard back then. And even then, he had to have a way of reaching the 8 over a secure channel instead of his contact, so the spy was either really high ranking, or it's an Anansi.

>>28126709
>>28126658
The guards body was found you remember that much. Don't remember how he was killed

You decide to check up on Akito, the investigation can wait. What's the worst that can happen?

"Yurika where's your brother?" You ask, looking around the hanger.

"He's in his room, think he's filing a report."

"I'm gonna check up on him. Let me know if you hear anything weird."

Leaving the hanger you enter the hall and make your way to Akito's room. You knock and you're let inside. Akito's sitting at his desk.

"Hey Dirk what's the matter?" He asks.

Well Dirk? What do you want to talk to Akito about?

>>28127123
Ask him for his aid in tracking down the spy. He has contacts within Leviathan, does he have enough pull to request details on their own investigations?

>>28127123
Ask him for his help finding out who the spy is.

>>28127123
Ask him how's he handling all this and if he needs help with anything.

Then fill him in on how you're investigating Zeheart's escape and ask him if he could help us. If he could get us Leviathan's investigation results. It's obvious that they didn't really bother with this thing, considering how they didn't notice that the system was hacked or that someone made a bad video feed loop. It's almost as if they didn't care about this case, or that they deliberately did a crappy job.

>>28127123
Minor detail I'd like to add, in addition to the serious questions: Let's ask him about the Amateras. We never actually got a chance to see it, and now Yurika mentioned he's redone the entire AGE-2 to match the wear. We need to take a look at that thing. He seems to be proud of it, we should show interest in it.

>>28127190
>>28127258
>>28127273
"How are you doing Akito? Holding up OK?"

Akito rolls his eyes and laughs. "Yeah Dirk I'm fine. Did you come to get all touchy feeley or did you have an actual reason for coming here?"

"Akito, I need your help. I'm trying to track down a spy and I was wondering if you could access any of Leviathan's investigations into Zeheart's escape."

"I do have access to some of Leviathan's files. My clearance isn't very high but that's probably within my range. I'll look it up right now." Akito makes you turn around as he accesses where ever Leviathan stores their files.

"Alright I got it." Akito states, waving you over.

"Zeheart broke out using an acidic compound. It's believed that he hid the main agent somewhere inside his body and used the iron in the pills you have him to activate it. The acid burned through the cell door."

"How was the guard killed?" You ask.

"His throat was cut. However there was a lack of any signs of struggle, suggesting someone came in from behind him. So unless Zeheart can teleport it was probably someone else."

"What kind of weapon did the guard have on him?"

Akito scrolls through the file. "He had a standard 10mm pistol as a side arm and a automatic 12 guage shotgun stored in the security booth. He exited the booth with the shotgun and was killed outside of it."

"Was the shotgun on his body when they found him?"

"Yep. Wasn't touched."

"That means whatever blew my arm off didn't come from the guard."

"Whoever killed the guard supplied Zeheart with a gun. And considering no one's mentioned anything I bet he has some way to easily access it." Akito says. "Because really, the security on this ship is terrible. If someone can screw up the security they can probably find a way into the armory"

"Thanks Akito. Say what about the new wear of yours, the Amateras?"

(Cont)

>>28127592
Akito grins at the mention of the golden wear. "Saw it huh? I customized the torso and head with the same reflective beam armor as the arms and legs. The Bry Riser rifle is like a scalpel in beam rifle form. It's beam is more focused, smaller hit range but incredible armor penetration. I don't know why I like it so much, the wear seems too flashy but...I don't know it just feels so damn stylish to pilot."

"I'm glad you found something you like to pilot. What about that other wear your Dad made?"

"Oh the Artimes wear? Asemu can have it, I don't really care for it. I think I prefer style over firepower. Enough about that though. Do you need anything else Dirk?"

Well Dirk?

>>28127755
Can he dig up the files on the remaining suspects? See if anyone has any technical knowledge needed to pull this off, or their reports they gave to Leviathan.
And while we're reading reports, who saved our ass from bleeding out to death?

>>28127755
I can't think of anything else. Onward to check the armory now, I suppose.

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>>28127755
Sweet, Artimes for Asemu. We should definitely upgrade it to pic related between generations.

>>28127877
"Think you can dig up the personal files of Obright and Max?" You ask.

"Sure, shouldn't be a problem." Akito pulls them up and scrolls through them. Obright's file seems pretty bare. Didn't know he was raised on a farm though, didn't really seem the type.

Max's file on the other hand.
"Max's parents were killed in A.G 130 during Commander Maverick's attempted coup of the Federation Government. My Dad was part of the team that killed Commander Maverick. He didn't mention any casualties during the fighting..."

What do you think of this Dirk?

Rolled 1 + 4

(Crap, put it in the wrong place)

>>28128179
Oh good, this means the spy just crit failed.

>>28128148
"Civilian casualties or were they part of the fighting?"

Also, while we're at it, have Akito pull up our, Arisa's and Asemu's files just for completeness. Though I doubt there will be much on Asemu that's within Akito's clearance.

>>28128236
This. Let's see what we can find out about this coup, as well as what Leviathan has on us.

>>28128225
It got mentioned in the Q&A thread. During the timeskip there were a bunch of missions Jake and Flit went on. One was an attempted coup by a rebel faction within the Federation using the chaos of the war to break free their own little province. Flit got sent on that mission to save the hostages that had been taken. Maybe he didn't save them all.

>>28128360
Right. Still no evidence that Max is the traitor.

We still haven't checked who got access to the armory, or did we get any new guys aboard since Zarth. If the Vagans were capable of infiltrating the Camelot, no reason to think the Diva is any better.

Rolled 19 + 4

>>28128225
>>28128236
>>28128360
"The coup?" You ask.

"You know, back in 130, it was one the history test back in high school Dirk. Akito explains.

"Alright, so where the causalities civilians or where they part of the fighting?" You ask.

"They're listed as civilians. Do you want me to look up the other's file-" Akito stops dead as the sound of gunfire rings beyond the door.

The two of you bolt from your seats and head into the hallway. You run in the direction of the gunfire and turn the corner to see Captain Millias lying in the hallway in a pool of blood, Max standing over her with a rather nasty looking weapon.

He looks up and sees you and beginsfiring down the hallway. You and Akito duck into cover and pull out your side arms.

As you and Akito come out of cover you see Max is gone and probably running.

Running up to the Captain you see she's been shot multiple times, she's still breathing but she's bleeding out everywhere.

"I'll get the med team down here and stay with her. You go get him!" Akito yells.

What will you do Dirk?
[A] Raise the alarm and chase after Max
[B] Have Akito go after Max and you stay with the Captain
[C] Other

>>28128479
>[A] Raise the alarm and chase after Max
Honestly had a feeling it was Max, either him or the cook.

>>28128479
Have Akito take care of Millais, raise the alarm and go after Max. Hopefully she's going to be alright.

>>28128522
Yeah. Too bad, Max was an okay guy.
Though this move doesn't make any sense - he can't run away, and we're about an hour away from Big Ring. This is suicidal.

>>28128479
Damn it Max, I knew it would be you. You were too boring to have nothing going on. And we let him use our phone, I knew that was suspicious.

Yeah, let's chase him. Do we still have the self-defense grenades we picked up before going to Solon on leave?

Rolled 14 + 10

>>28128522
>>28128638
>>28128653
You chase after Max, leaving Akito behind to take care of the Captain. All you have on you is your 10mm pistol, all your grenades are in your cockpit.

As you run you pull the fire alarm to raise an alert. Chasing after Max you hear more gunfire. Where is he headed?

(Roll an Athletics check. 1d20+1)

Rolled 17 + 1

>>28128739
He's going for his suit.

Rolled 5 + 1

>>28128739
After him!

>>28128775
Yeah, that seems likely. We really should have put some sort of safeguard in all the suits. It would be so convenient if we could just make the Samurai Adele collapse from the wear detaching.

>>28128820
Or installed that escape pod he insisted on so much, but added a remote switch to it.

Rolled 14 + 10

>>28128775
>18 vs 28
Failure

Panting and gasping you race after Max, but fail to catch up to him. As you reach the hanger you see various engineers lying dead on the floor, others hiding as Max rides a lift up to his cockpit.

As you raise your gun he notices you and raises his much larger gun. He fires the underslung grenade launcher and hits the ceiling, causing the machinery they use to haul around mobile suit weapons and parts to come crashing down on top of you.

For a moment it seems like you're about to be a Dirk Pancake when Woolf rushes in and yanks you out of the way. You're thrown back as the machinery crashes to the ground. Splinters of metal, gears, and wires are throw everywhere, one nasty wire swing out and slashes Woolf in the leg.

"Gaaaaah!" He grabs his leg and falls back.

"Commander!" You shout, running up to him as Max begins to move out.

"I'm fine, get him!" Woolf yells as you run for your suit.

By the time you make it to the cockpit of the Merlin, Max's Samurai Adele is already at the door to the hanger with a Hy-DODS rifle in his hand.

With a single shot he blows a mobile suit sized hole in the door, depressurizing the hanger and causing all the air to go rushing out.

Max flies out as Engineers cling for dear life, trying not to get sucked out in the vacuum.

What will you do Dirk? Save the Engineers or chase after Max? There are safety systems install for such incidents but they take time to activate and by then a few men could die.

>>28128995
Save the engineers.

>>28128995
Go after Max.

>>28128995
Would it be possible to do both? Go after max, but grab a shield and wedge it or one of our shield bits into the hole, to try and abate the air loss until the systems activate?
I'm surprised we don't have Birdlime in our MS. What about sealing the hole with a goo grenade as we leave?

>>28128995
Can we deploy our bits to slow Max down while we close the doors?
Or use some shields with birdlime or goo grenades to close that thing before we go after the guy?

>>28128995
Go after Max. Seal the hole behind us with some goo if we can, but Max isn't getting away. Fuck that guy. We're going to take out on him all the frustration we've been building up about Zeheart escaping.

>>28128995
Are we the only pilot around? If we are, save the engineers.
If we aren't, have that guy focus on saving the engineers (we should help as well with some goo) and then we'll go after Max.

Rolled 13 + 10

>>28129096
Checking your suit you find that none of the weapons have been reloaded, but thankfully you have a single goo grenade left in your grenade launcher.

Flying out the hole you turn and seal the hole with your last goo grenade as a Hy-DODS shot streaks over your head. Flying upwards you see the bridge of the Diva has been destroyed, leaving nothing but a super heated metal stalk.

Turning around you begin to chase after Max, frustration and anger burning in your chest. As you do you realize a few things.

The first is what you realized earlier, none of your weapons have been reloaded. What you notice next is that the spare clips were removed from your suit so they could do repairs which weren't finished.

You have 3 shots left in your Hy-DODS Rifle and you only have 1 functioning beam shield funnel, the rest were destroyed by the Monkey's explosive barrel gambit.

Max appears to be trying to put distance between you and him. What will you do Dirk?

>>28129239
Also, the Amadeus and Dagon are nearby, see if they can intercept him while we help here.

>>28129283
Open channels, see if there're any friendly suits nearby. We need to capture this guy.
Then try to contact Max, make him surrender - even his suit can't match a shot from our Hy-DODS buster.

What are the chances that Max's not working for the Vagan but those separatists?

Rolled 12 + 10

>>28129429
You open your channel and ask the two other ships for assistance.

Max is flying to the starboard of the Diva, the Amedeus and Dagon are to the portside. They can't fire their guns because the Diva is in the way. However they begin deploying suits to help you, however with the distance you and Max have put between the ships they have a lot of catching up to do.

In the distance you see a debris field, a rather large one. Max seems to be heading for it.

You open your channel to try to talk to Max.

"Max you-"

"Shut the fuck up! Just shut the fuck up Dirk! I don't want to hear any of your stupid shit.I'm sick of you, Akito, and all those other privileged little fucks with your Gundams! I'm going to watch the Federation burn! I don't give a shit that the Vagans are crazy, I don't care what their plans are. I just want the Federation to pay for all the shit they've done!"

"Max there's no where to run! This is stupid!"

"I fucked up with the captain but I'm smarter then I look! I have bombs planted on the Photon Blaster Cannon. I detonate them and it'll take it and a nice chunk of both of the hangers out in the process. Ether you and the goons back off or I'll add to my kill roster. I'm not getting captured Dirk, if I'm going down I'm taking as many as you fucks with me as I can!"

As he speaks Max speeds towards the debris field...

Is he bluffing? What will you do Dirk?

>>28129615
>I'm not getting captured Dirk
Then you'll die. Get the Amedeus and Dagon to start peppering the debris field.

>>28129615
"Why?"

Can't risk it. Call the thing off, and notify the Diva that he's placed charges everywhere.

>>28129695
Plus, if he did place bombs on the Photon Cannon, we'll risk both the AGE builder as well as the entire Diva blowing into dust.

>>28129283
Wait, why do we only have three shots left in the rifle? It holds enough energy for seven and we only fired the one blast. Did that take up more power than normal because it was a sweeping beam?

Okay, Max's suit doesn't have enough reaction mass to get to the nearest station. Either he's completely panicking and not thinking straight or there's a cloaked ship that's been trailing the Diva that he's heading for. Get a flight scrambled from the Dagon (it has like twenty launch catapults, I'm sure it can deploy suits fast enough) to cut him off. before he can get anywhere. And fire a HY-DODS blast at him. Even if it doesn't hit it will scare him and mess with his responses. Let's try to open a channel to him, too. We need to get him off guard, psychological warfare is our friend, here.

>>28129615
Take the shot. He's right, he's not getting captured.

And why is he complaining about the Gundams? Fuck you, Max! We gave you an upgraded suit, we even offered to do even more than our already extensive modifications. I understand if you have some trauma associated with them because of seeing the AGE-1 accidentally step on your parents or something, but it's not like we're spoiled for having them. We built this thing with our own two hands. Don't make this a classism thing, that's clearly not what it's about.

Guys, we need the Photon Cannon for the incoming battle, and we can't fix it in one day. The entire defense of Big Ring kinda depends on that thing working properly.

Rolled 18 + 10

>>28129753
The Sweeping beam took up more power then you thought.

>>28129695
>>28129742
If the Photon Blaster Cannon goes up it could take the AGE builder with ti and that could probably destroy most of the ship. You call in and tell the Diva about the explosives before telling the suits from the Amedeus and Dagon to back off.

"Why Max?" You ask.

"Why the hell should I tell you? If it'll cause you to stay up at night I'll just let you guess." Max flies off towards the debris field ever faster.

You could take a shot at him, your Custom Hy-DODS has the power and range to kill him in one shot. If you miss however it will probably lead to Max detonating the explosives.

What will you do Dirk?

>>28129615
Relay that to the Dagon, get them to put up as heavy an ECM system as they can. He can't trigger the bombs if the signal can't get through.

>>28129962
Don't tell me it's about LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUV interests again.

>>28129962
Let the motherfucker go. We'll get him next time.
Return to the Diva, see if you can help the wounded.

>>28129962
"Alright, fine. Don't tell me One question I do need answered, though: What was with the number you called when you borrowed my phone? Was that a Vagan outpost or something? Because the alternative is that you needed to relieve your tension with some porn before you tried killing the Captain, and that's just a hilarious image. For your sake I really hope it's the former, not the latter. You'd be the most pathetic maniac ever, otherwise."

Rolled 6 + 10

>>28130141
It's tempting to shoot. Very tempting. However the idea of more people dying, Dique, Remi, and the others, sickens you. Revenge is a dish best served cold, you'll have to wait to serve the main dish.

"Max"

"What?"

"What was with that call to the sex shop? Was that a Vagan outpost or something or did you need porn to relieve the tension of being a spy? Because if it wasn't an outpost your are the most pathetic maniac ever"

"You were always funny Dirk. I'll make sure to kill you last. It was an outpost for your information. Oh and don't think any ECM will save you, I rigged the explosives with a special Vagan detonator design. I can detonate the explosives from quite a ways away."

Gritting your teeth you fly back to the Diva to help with the wounded. You land and enter in through the second hanger and make your way back to the first.

Thanks to your goo grenade you managed to save the lives of Dique and the other engineers. Max's grenade had fucked with the sealant systems.

+1 Hope Point.
Despair points reset to 0

(cont)

I didn't notice Despair points were implented redcently. Did I misss omething?

>>28130578
Despair points get reset when someone we care about is either severely injured or killed. Which one was it? Please don't be dead, Millais. Please.

>>28130687
Yeah, last thread we switched to another system, and are currently testing it out.

>>28130687
(There's a link to the new rules in the first post)

>>28130578
You find Woolf and get him to the infirmary with the help of Obright. His leg is bleeding pretty badly, but he should be OK.

As you reach the infirmary and hand Woolf over to the docs you see Akito sitting in a chair across the room, head in his hands which as still soaked in Mellias's blood.

Looking around, you spot a lot of people getting treated for injuries but you don't see anyone in surgery. In fact you don't see anyone being operated on...

You walk over and shake Akito's shoulder.

"Akito, where's the Captain?" You ask.

Akito takes a moment to respond and looks up at you. "Dirk. She's dead. The Captain is dead."

(Roll a Spirit check to avoid Mental Health damage. 1d20+3)

Rolled 7 + 3

>>28130771
Oh god. Asemu, Woolf. We're so sorry. We failed you.

Rolled 18 + 3

>>28130771
No. No way. No.

Rolled 5 + 3

>>28130771
Fuck no. Freeze her, now. We've got a person full of what may be resurrection-capable nanotech to study. This is not over yet.

>>28130771
Well, at lest Asemu has a nemesis to take Zeheart's place in this timeline. So, uh, there's that.

Oh god, this whole trip has been one big fuck up for Dirk. People keep expecting so much of him and he's trying to be the hero but it's just not working. I want to go back to the character select screen and switch Scarlet to being on the Diva and Dirk running the defenses back at Zarth. Maybe then it would work out better.

>>28130810
>>28130820
>>28130820
>21 vs DC 22
>FAILURE 15 Points of Mental Health Damage
>Mental Health: 35/20

"No. No. NO NO NO NO NO!" You shout, hands balled into fists. "I can save her! There's a fuck guy frozen on this ship filled with Nano-machines that can resurrect her! Freeze her!"

"Dirk she's dead." Akito states, tears in his eyes.

"No she's fucking not!" You turn to one of the doctors and grab him by the shoulder. "What the fuck are you standing around for? Freeze her! FREEZE HER!"

You bolt into the morgue and start yanking bodies out of their bags. You manage to drag the Captain's body out of the infirmary and half way down the hall when the MP's grab you and take you to the brig.

After an hour or so you manage to calm down, but only barely. To make matters worse Asemu was coming to see Woolf when he saw you dragging the body bag containing his dead mother down the hall, still shouting "I can save her!" moments before the MP's came and tazed you.

There are two doors between you and the hallway, but you can swear you can hear crying...

(And this looks like a good place to stop things.)

>>28131061
(You guys did good. Max staying around till Big Ring would have probably led to VERY bad things, especially since destroying the Photon Blaster Cannon was part of his plan. However that critical failure on his part fucked everything up. If he had just failed when talking to Mellias she would have gotten suspicious, but crit failing caused her to attack him, not realizing he had an automatic weapon on him. God this got fucked up)

>>28131112
Can we at least spend a Hope Point to retcon our freakout so Asemu doesn't wind up super traumatized? Because fuuuuuck this got bad.

>>28131061
Man, poor Dirk. This just keeps getting worse. I expected some drama, but nothing like this.
And fuck, Asemu, man, we're sorry.

>>28131112
Why did she attack him? Did she see him planting the charges or something?

>>28131166
It's probably too late for that now.

Man, Asemu's going to be a wreck. This was one hell of a week for everyone.

>>28131176
He attacked her because he rolled a Nat 1.

>>28131112
Just once I want to end one of these threads on a high note. We never do. The only times we get non-depressing or non-ominous endings is when you get tired and we cut the thread for the night before that part is really over. Gen 2 just keeps getting worse and worse for us.

>>28131217
But anon, Second Gen depression is normal. It's the Sign of the Zeta.

>>28131217
This is why we need some light hearted dimension hopping shenanigans once Gen 2 is over. Something to lighten the mood and have fun with.

>>28131112
>>28131213
(Max was basically trying to blackmail the Captain. Failing would have backfired on him because she would have just bullshited him and called you guys after , but crit failing caused her to whip out her gun and try to teach Max some manners. Mellias knocked out Max's front teeth and chased him into the hall but she didn't realize he had an automatic weapon.)

>>28131285
(Yeah, you guys deserve some light hearted stuff after Gen 2 I'll begin working on some stuff. It's going to get rough guys and it's going to be hard getting through what's coming unscathed, but I'm sure you guys will do your best. You've done better then I expected so far. I hope you had fun today despite the Zeta-level depression we got here today.)

>>28131285
>dimension hopping
∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X ∀ X

>>28131320
Oh wait, apocalypse cancelled.

>>28131213
I mean story-wise. He was talking to her, probably revealed himself out as the spy, freaked out and attacked her.

>>28131217
Well, that's the Gen-2 for you. And I'm guessing there'll be more before the end - Leviathan still hasn't made its move, the Downes hasn't arrived yet, and the Federation is still managing to survive somehow.

>>28131247
I know. But I'm just sick of the feelings of powerlessness. Crosswire may say we're actually doing pretty well, but that just means that we get fucked up on a personal level rather than on a faction-wide level. And I think Dirk would be feeling that, too. So I say he starts building shit. We're using our trauma as an excuse to have Dirk do nothing but work on the Merlin until it's a walking WMD. I'm talking so much beamspam that even Kira Yamato asks us to tone it down. And then at Big Ring we just kill everything. Because fuck, maybe some gratuitous destruction will make us feel better. It won't, and Dirk will be forever haunted by the things he's seen, and probably go off to join Bisidian just to escape the memories, but at lest we can try.

>>28131376
Let's get the Grand Wing shit out of Jake's secret HD, and make some Wings of Light.

>>28131408
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/28123487/

(Thanks for playing guys. I'll post on Twitter when Part 61 is ready)

>>28131408
Let's get the Grand Wing and make a god damn time machine to undo all this shit. We go back in time to just before we leave Zarth, shoot Max, then...I guess we'd actually have to commit suicide to keep there from being two Dirks. Just head into the time tunnel and let it collapse on us to leave no evidence. But that sacrifice would be worth it if we could keep Asemu from losing another mother.

>>28131467
No, that's a bad use of time travel and would only create a splitting branch timeline, instead of actually changing our own.
Time Travel is for Hijinx and Shenanigans only.

>>28131466
Sure thing, man. See you next time.

>>28131376
Well, the Merlin's on his way to become the RX-93v, and combined with Dirk learning to control his X-Rounder powers, that thing is going to be ridiculous.
And considering how we're making nanotech and psycrystals now, his kid's suit is going to be the Turn A or something.

Which is fucking scary, considering how we're not so much inventing as rediscovering tech. So our timeline SID is probably Turn SID.