>>29882196
You absentmindedly grab the spare fortified suit Wright, the chief engineer, gave you before you left and exit your Tornado. Wright is waiting for you right outside.

"Welcome back," she says. "It must have been quite a difficult battle for you to take so much damage."

"I got careless," you say. "But then I got lucky, so I guess it evens out."

In the corner of your eye, you see Vivian Knight, your CIC, arguing with Group captain Hall. You can't quite make out what they're saying over the noise made by the work crews, but they both look pissed. A Pilot officer shouting with a Group captain should be an End of Days scenario with such an important battle coming up, but perhaps it's because of the battle that everyone is too busy to care.

Wright follows your gaze.

"She says the current CIC setup isn't good enough for her to do her job," Wright says. "She thinks she would have a better feel for the battle on site. I expected her to volunteer for the Hive infiltration, but I didn't think she would be so adamant about it."

You won't be able to rely on CIC during the actual Hive infiltration, so if Knight stays behind, it'll be for the approach and the battle on the surface of the Hive. She'd be more helpful there, but you've already mapped some of the tunnels, so you know more or less where you're going. You don't expect the approach to take too long. Then again, you never know what might happen.

As far as you know, none of the TSFs on base can handle CIC yet, so even inside the Hive, there's only so much she could do. However, having someone focus on your squadron's tacnet means the pilots will be able to focus on the immediate threat. Not having to deal with distractions would be a tremendous advantage inside the Hive.

>(cont.)

>>29882229
And those are just the strategic considerations. You got lucky once, but it might not happen again, and while Knight once assured you she was willing to die in battle, you're still not sure if you want to be responsible for her. Then you think about how awkward she was when she brought you to meet Elaine on your first day, and how confident she looked after Wright showed you the ZEF-19 Excalibur. A Hive infiltration might do her some good.

"Also," Wright says, "she's the one who managed to find you a new TSF. You'd be sitting this out if it wasn't for her."

And you owe Knight the mother of all favours, apparently.

There's no optimal outcome. You can only do what you think is right.

>Support Hall. It's too early for Knight to join the battlefield, for both of you.
>Support Knight. You'll need her during the infiltration and you can guarantee her safety.

>(roll 1d20 to find out which TSF you got)

Rolled 2

>>29882255
>>Support Knight. You'll need her during the infiltration and you can guarantee her safety.

>>29882255
>>Support Hall. It's too early for Knight to join the battlefield, for both of you.

Rolled 11

>>29882255
>>Support Hall. It's too early for Knight to join the battlefield, for both of you.
If we had an Excalibur prepared, taking her along would be a no-brainer.

But...
>As far as you know, none of the TSFs on base can handle CIC yet
We can understand wanting to help however you can, but not when you're trying to do it out of a sense of duty even in spite of the fact that it will have minimal impact.

We told her that we'd be glad to fight alongside her when the time came, but that doesn't mean it has to be now.

Rolled 15

>>29882255
>>Support Hall. It's too early for Knight to join the battlefield, for both of you.

Some housekeeping, now that I've been running the quest for a while and have a better idea of what works and what doesn't:

- I updated the pastebin with a more detailed description of the Skills and Resources. It's still mostly self-explanatory, but it might be useful to have some clarification.

- I've been running the quest every two days to see which days worked better. From now on, I'll probably run it Sundays and Wednesdays at 7PM EST. Threads will be announced on Twitter as usual.

- The fight scenes have been boring to write, so they must have been really fucking boring to read. Just asking for attack and defense rolls worked for the first two threads because there was nothing much to fight, but it didn't work out nearly as well for the BETA. I've been rolling damage with my own dice - usually d10s or d100s and sometimes counting them as a percentages instead of raw casualties, depending on who's attacking what - but BETA numbers are so high that it turns the fights into a grind and dice roll results don't give me anything to write from, so it becomes harder to write an interesting update. I'm just going to abstract the number of forces and casualties from now on. I'm also going to try and avoid asking for dice rolls without also asking you to pick a choice. My current plan is to count the first three dice rolls from people who voted for the winning choice, but I might end up just picking from the first three dice rolls period.

- Finally, when asking for multiple rolls, I usually picked the sequence with the most successful rolls because I didn't have time to match and compare dice results. Now that I plan on combining each dice roll with a choice, I'll have more time to sort out the dice. This means that I will now be picking the best result out of three for each individual roll I need, not the whole sequence. This will make crit successes and failures more significant, but will also make you less vulnerable to low rolls.

>>29882255
> Support Knight. You'll need her during the infiltration and you can guarantee her safety.
We got careless before. Won't happen again.

>>29882576
>My current plan is to count the first three dice rolls from people who voted for the winning choice
This has the unpleasant side-effect of encouraging jumping ship from a choice if there is a bad roll already associated with it or, on the other end of the spectrum, bandwagoning a choice that already has a good roll associated with it.

There's really nothing important gained from it, and has the detriment of rewarding people for metagaming rather than going with the choice they think is superior as far as characterization or planning is concerned.

It's probably better to typically take best-of-first-three in general for this reason.

>>29882255
You take one look at your mangled Tornado and shake your head.

"I can't do it," you say.

You give the spare fortified suit back to Wright. She doesn't seem particularly happy or disappointed with your decision. She only hangs the suit off a guardrail and hugs you. You don't feel her through your suit's protective membrane, but it's nice to know she cares.

"Good luck," she says. "You can send Hall my way if you want. Your TSF is at the back of the hangar. It's already prepared for launch."

"Thank you."

You pull away from Wright and go towards Hall and Knight. They're still going at it, and while Knight looks surprisingly calm given how loud she's shouting, Hall looks like half the veins on his forehead are about to explode.

"Group captain Hall," you shout across the scaffolding. "Flight lieutenant Wright needs you to sign off on the squadron's repairs!"

That was apparently the out Hall needed. He turns away from Knight and walks away, sparing only a second to give you a nod of acknowledgement.

Knight is left standing there. For a moment, her face is completely unreadable, but the minute Hall is gone, she loses her strength and leans back against the guardrails. She looks up to you with hopeful eyes.

>"I'm sorry, but right now... I'm not sure if I can look after myself, much less a passenger."
>"I'm sorry, but until we get the proper equipment, I can't let you fly with me."
>"I'm sorry, but you're just not ready for this yet."

>Optional:
>"I can tell this is important. I promise I'll make it up to you."

>>29882970
Good point, I hadn't thought of that. Best out of the first three it is.

>>29883015
>"I'm sorry, but right now... I'm not sure if I can look after myself, much less a passenger."
We just almost died after all.

>>29883015

>"I'm sorry, but you're just not ready for this yet."

>>29883015
> "I'm sorry, but right now... I'm not sure if I can look after myself, much less a passenger."
> "I can tell this is important. I promise I'll make it up to you."

>>29883015
>"I'm sorry, but until we get the proper equipment, I can't let you fly with me."

We're at risk of dying every time we go out there, but never without weighing the risks. Valkyries more or less had the right of it with the "make your death count" bit.

We appreciate that she wants to get in the thick of it, but there's no sense in doing so just because you can.

>"I can tell this is important. I promise I'll make it up to you."

If it comes down to it, more or less anything but
>"I'm sorry, but you're just not ready for this yet."

Even if it is true (even if from a skills-unlocked standpoint, if nothing else) it's patronizing. She's not going to be getting any more or less ready to go into the field by not going into the field, after all.

>>29883049
I mean, there's reasons in favor of the other method as well. (Best-of-first-three lets the majority of voters know what the result is going to be before voting on a choice, which means they can decide based on rolls whether they can afford to commit to a riskier choice that they otherwise wouldn't have felt comfortable with.)

The safest way is to do votes first, then rolls after the votes are tallied, but this isn't necessarily as practical for the runner from an execution standpoint.

File: 1391043915975.png-(55 KB, 250x414, Gripen.png)

55 KB PNG

>>29883015
You look at her and shake your head.

"I'm sorry, but right now... I'm not sure if I can look after myself, much less a passenger," you say.

Knight grips the rail so hard that her knuckles turn white and you wander if she might actually break the thing. She does her best to make it look like she isn't crying, to preserve some dignity, but she just can't make it. The only thing she can do is turn away so you can't see her face.

You walk towards and gently rub her back to comfort her.

"I can tell this is important," you say. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

"You can't. You don-" She pauses for a moment to compose herself and control her breathing.

"I couldn't pass the TSF training," she says. She sounds listless, but at least she doesn't sound like she's crying. "I thought if I transferred to CIC and came to my parents' home... I thought I could accomplish something, but what we have isn't enough. I can't understand the battle if I'm not there. I thought it would be like the stories my parents told me, but..."

She laughs weakly, probably at herself.

"Such a stupid thing to think," she says.

"It's not stupid," you say. "The stories my parents told me came true. Mostly. At least the parts about getting paid to fight other people's wars."

"Thank you, sir," she says.

She wipes herself with a handkerchief and when she looks at you, she looks in perfect shape. You salute each other and head to your respective stations.

Your new TSF is waiting for you, as promised. You recognize the JAS-39 Gripen immediately. It's a reliable model with a great sensor package that should be incredibly helpful in a Hive. You have no idea how Knight could have found it.

>(cont.)

>>29883767
It takes you a while to remember enough Swedish to work the controls, but European TSFs are all fairly similar, so you get the hand of it quickly enough. You connect to the Arthur squadron's network just as Hall begins the briefing for the primary objective.

"We will now proceed to infiltrate the enemy's new Hive," he says. "We have a tentative map of the Hive's tunnels and of the location of its main hall and reactor. Our primary objective is to destroy the reactor. Our TSFs have been outfitted with additional S-11 charges in order to accomplish that task. However, we have reason to believe that the reactor may not be fully functional. In the event that the reactor is vulnerable, we are to secure a part or possibly all of it, depending on enemy presence. We estimate between 40,000 and 50,000 BETAs will be present in the Hive. This number is extremely low and we won't get another chance at this. We will proceed to the reactor was quickly as possible. A lengthy battle on the surface of the Hive is not our objective. Are there any questions?"

>Do you have any questions for Group captain Hall?

>>29883874
Enemy composition, suggested tactics for something like this, plan of attack, all that.
Do we need to clear the hive from all the BETAs, or just take out the reactor?

>>29883874
Exit points for extraction? Those might come in handy if/when things go fubar

>>29883874
>In the event that the reactor is vulnerable, we are to secure a part or possibly all of it, depending on enemy presence.
What are we expected to do to secure the reactor?

What levels of enemy presence are going to be deemed acceptable to proceed with securing the entire reactor/partially securing the reactor/destroying the reactor, respectively?

Based on those that managed to make it through other flights' sweeping missions, what sort of enemy composition are we expecting? How much of the estimated 40-50k are those we failed to thin out from surface reinforcements, and how many are unknown strains that were at the Hive to begin with?

What's our exit plan in the cases of all three potential mission objectives?

>>29883874
"I'm assuming standard enemy composition, sir?"

"We believe the Hive will deploy an above-average amount of Lasers on the surface," Hall says. "But that's not a major problem. Once we're inside, our main problem will be Tanks, Grapplers and Forts. Destroyers might come at us, but they shouldn't be able to charge through the tunnels. We don't expect to clear the entire herd, but we'll see how it goes. Whether or not we try to gain and hold the reactor intact is at our discretion."

Hall hesitates for a moment.

"One more thing," he says. "There is no exit plan. If you're up shit creek, you rush towards the reactor as far and fast as you can and then you self-destruct."

You feel a sharp pain in your stomach and your back and every fucking muscle in your body. Hall's a hardass; you always knew that. But you never thought he'd order you to commit suicide. It's the sort of thing that tends to kill a squadron's morale, but you know, just as the rest of the squadron does, that you need to blow up the Hive even if you go down with it.

You just hope it doesn't come to that.

You pair up with Elaine and lead the restocked Arthur squadron out. You still feel like shit, but flying makes you feel a tiny bit better. Lancelot, Gawain and Bedivere squadrons are waiting for you at Calais, along with the Cerberus battalion. The squadrons break off so they can approach and assault the Hive from multiple directions. It'll take you a while to reach the Hive, so you have time to plan your strategy.

>Rush in and cause a diversion for the other squadrons.
>Go right for the gate and avoid the surface battle as much as you can.
>Play it safe and wear the BETA forces down before infiltrating the Hive.

>>29884312
>>Play it safe and wear the BETA forces down before infiltrating the Hive.

>>29884312
> Play it safe and wear the BETA forces down before infiltrating the Hive.

>>29884312
>Go right for the gate and avoid the surface battle as much as you can.

>>29884312
>>Play it safe and wear the BETA forces down before infiltrating the Hive.

And 50 to 40,000 is less then 50% percent?

I thought we destroyed one entire species of Beta?

>>29884378
40k-50k is all the BETA who were in the Hive to begin with, plus all the survivors from the four wandering groups that got hit during the last thread.

File: 1391045643737.png-(1.19 MB, 1024x1662, So fucking many.png)

1.19 MB PNG

>>29884378
Do you think 40,000 are many BETA?

>>29884375
Pretty sure it's rumoured to kill you, not, like, really, fo'shor, kill you.

Possibly one of many other stupid superstition upheld in the Imperium.

>>29884312
Fuuuuck I'm late!
>Play it safe and wear down the BETA forced down before infiltrating the Hive.

>>29884312
>Whether or not we try to gain and hold the reactor intact is at our discretion."

>"There is no exit plan.
I can't tell what the difference between "partially secure the reactor" and "secure the entire reactor" is, then, given that we don't have a plan for extraction.

>Play it safe and wear the BETA forces down before infiltrating the Hive.

I know we were told that a lengthy surface battle wasn't our objective, but it's better than getting pincered between the Hive beta and those patrolling the surface during our approach.

Rolled 7, 9, 2, 3, 14 = 35

>Play it safe and wear the BETA forces down before infiltrating the Hive.

>(roll 14d20)

>>29884566
While it may not be our objective, we're hitting this Hive from multiple fronts. So if we're drawing attention outside the Hive, others might sneak in easier... At least that's what it'd be in a world where we're not in Muv Luv.

Rolled 13, 17, 18, 14, 9, 16, 6, 1, 14, 5, 8, 5, 11, 18 = 155

>>29884632

Rolled 18, 17, 3, 6, 4, 17, 4, 8, 5, 4, 17, 2, 14, 13 = 132

>>29884632
Rolling.

Rolled 20, 11, 12, 14, 7, 19, 6, 2, 15, 20, 1, 14, 14, 1 = 156

>>29884632

>>29884641
>>29884668
>>29884684
For an at-a-glance best-of-three, showing which were rolled alongside 1s:

20, 17, 18, 14, 9, 19, 6, 8(1), 15, 20, 17(1), 14, 14, 18(1)

>>29884632
You hail the squadron to plan your strategy.

"We should play it safe and wear the BETA forces down before infiltrating the Hive," you say.

"Agree," Group captain Hall says. "Pilot officer Knight, see if you can plot us a route that'll flank the BETA surrounding our assigned gate."

"Yes, sir," Knight says.

You don't know if they're both over their previous fight, but they seem to be cordial, at least.

A new map quickly appears in your HUD. The new course will require only a minor correction, but it'll let you approach the Hive away from the Lasers, which is most definitely a good thing. However, there's no way of knowing what the formation will look like once you actually get to it. It might be a weak spot in the BETA mass, or it might be their most fortified position. You'll need live updates on this one.

Fortunately, Elaine already has you covered.

"Arthur Crown, this is Arthur 2," she says. "Be sure to give us constant updates on our target."

"Arthur 2, this is Arthur Crown. Understood."

You proceed at a reasonable pace, fast enough to get there before any nasty surprises pop up, but slow enough that you're not recklessly burning fuel. You have no idea how long this fight is going to last.

You keep an eye on the satellite picture as you proceed. You see parts of it move and wiggle, but the general shape stays the same and it doesn't move too far from your gate.

You see the Forts first because of their size, but soon, the rest of the herd is in range of your sensors. You reposition to get the Destroyers out of your way and raise your assault cannons a bit. You should be able to shoot right above them and hit the squishier BETAs hiding behind the Destroyers.

"Arthur Crown to Arthur squadron," Knight says. "Firing lanes confirmed. You may fire at will."

Rolled 15, 9, 10, 14, 8 = 56

>>29884996
The assault cannons of your entire squadron resound at once, sending a hail of 36mm bullets towards the BETA. The Destroyers charge your position, but you easily slip past them and continue to fire upon the Tanks and Grapplers. There are no Lasers nearby and at this distance, the Forts can't do anything against you. The Tanks and Grapplers can't do much either, at the rate you're killing them.

The BETA rush around, but they're clearly disorganized. In the distance, you see weapons fire from the other squadrons. You don't know how they're doing, but the BETA aren't between you and your assigned gate anymore.

>Finish clearing the area.
>Check up on the other squadrons and assist them if necessary.
>Proceed with the actual Hive infiltration.

>(roll 14d20)
>Let's try it with the rolls first.

Rolled 10, 9, 15, 1, 18, 12, 8, 14, 7, 15, 18, 15, 20, 5 = 167

>>29885024
>>Finish clearing the area.

Rolled 15, 1, 5, 18, 7, 19, 13, 18, 14, 16, 14, 3, 14, 3 = 160

>>29885024
>Finish clearing the area.

Rolled 9, 16, 10, 18, 9, 7, 18, 9, 3, 3, 8, 10, 19, 13 = 152

>>29885024
> Finish clearing the area.

Rolled 3, 7, 20, 18, 5 = 53

>>29885024
"You know Elaine," you say, "despite what Hall said, I would really like an exit strategy."

You give the jump boosters a light tap to get some altitude and arc in front of a very angry-looking Fort. It's a perfect vantage point, with just enough cover to prevent a small group of Lasers from opening fire on you. A sustained burst of your assault cannons ends that threat permanently.

"Tell me about it," Elaine says. She's practically dancing around three dozen grapplers, taking shots wherever she can. "What do you want to do, clear this place out?"

You take a step backwards to dodge a leaping Tank and shoot it right out the air.

"It's the closest thing we've got to an exit," you say. You open a channel to the CIC. "Knight, does it look like we can clear the surface?"

"You're only asking me because you already want to do it, right," she asks. "Just do it and leave the rest to me."

With a group of Destroyers coming at you from the front and Tanks and Grapplers everywhere else, you don't have a lot of options. You jump over the Destroyers, barely clearing them. Thank God the Gripen was built for mountains. You probably wouldn't have this level of precision and agility with another TSF.

"Arthur squadron, this is Arthur Crown," Knight says. "Our analysis shows that clearing the surface is a viable approach and will prevent you from being flanked once you enter the tunnels. You may clear the area of operation, but proceed with caution."

That's all the urging your squadron needs to finish the job here. You need to reload both your cannons before you run out of targets, but you haven't wasted any shots.

The surrounding area is clear of BETA, but you can see some of the other squadrons fighting near their assigned gates.

>Assist the other squadrons as necessary.
>Begin the Hive infiltration.

>(roll 14d20)

>>29885590
>Begin the Hive infiltration.
The other squadrons aren't babies, they can handle themselves. If they need help they'll call, and likely someone else will be closer than us.

Rolled 12, 16, 10, 10, 14, 11, 18, 15, 19, 7, 18, 16, 8, 15 = 189

>>29885590
>>Assist the other squadrons as necessary.

>>29885639
On second thought, fuck it let's help them. That's too good a roll to waste.

Rolled 1, 12, 17, 6, 9, 16, 18, 17, 11, 18, 15, 1, 12, 18 = 171

>>29885590
> Assist the other squadrons as necessary.

Rolled 16, 18, 16, 14, 16, 14, 2, 4, 3, 6, 9, 4, 9, 2 = 133

>>29885590
>Assist the other squadrons as necessary.

>>29885590
>>Assist the other squadrons as necessary.

i am so nervous for this fight, fuck.
quick someone sacrifice something for the dice gods!

>>29885992
Already doing so buddy. I've got the rituals set up, the sacrifices made, and my minions are chanting prayers. We're good to go.

>>29885992
i wouldn't mind sacrificing my virginity, given that they want it.

>>29886042
Please come this way, we have this alter set up over here... Don't mind the knife, that's for... Things...

>>29885590
"Arthur Crown, this is Arthur 3," you say. "What's the situation with the other squadrons?"

It takes a moment for Knight to check with the other CIC stations.

"All Cerberus squadrons, as well as Lancelot and Gawain squadrons are entering the Hive," she says. "However, Bedivere is encountering heavy resistance."

Arthur squadron hasn't suffered any major casualties or damage yet and Bedivere is fairly close. You can afford to help them out.

"Arthur 1, this is Arthur 3," you say. "It looks like Bedivere is under heavy fire. Should we assist."

Even through your retinal display's image, you can tell Hall is hesitating. He knows how important this mission is. He knows what the stakes are. He knows none of you are supposed to make it back alive. But...

"Arthur squadron, this is Arthur 1," he says. "We're moving to assist Bedivere squadron."

The squadron responds with a resounding "Yes, sir!"

You personally lead the charge towards Bedivere.

Your first targets are a group of Lasers, but you approach from cover and easily slaughter them with a volley of bullets.

"Is it just me," Elaine says, "or is this easier than everyone made it out to be?"

You jump again to gain altitude on a group of Grapplers. Their unarmoured backs offer no protection against your guns.

"We're just lucky we caught it early," you tell Elaine.

"Maybe," Elaine says, "or maybe there's no such thing as luck."

Bedivere's problem is immediately obvious. TSFs usually get swarmed by Tanks or Grapplers, but they managed to get themselves surrounded by Destroyers and Forts. They have no room to back away and even with the Lasers gun, they'll probably get caught by the stingers if they try to jump out.

"Arthur squadron, this is Arthur Crown," Knight says over your comms. "Surround Bedivere squadron's position and await a firing solution."

>(cont.)

>>29886158
This would normally be a pretty major violation of the friendly fire regulation, but in this case, the hard carapace of the Destroyers works to your advantage. Your bullets shred through their unexposed backs and stop before they can hit any friendlies. With the immediate pressure off, it's a simple matter to switch to armor-piercing rounds and shoot through the Forts.

Bedivere jumps out of the pen they'd landed themselves in; you can practically see the glee on their TSFs.

But this is just the first part of the mission.

>Might as well escort Bedivere since you're here.
>Go back to your assigned gate and proceed with the Hive infiltration.

>>29886182

>Might as well escort Bedivere since you're here.
safety in numbers, or ate least meatshields

>>29886182
>Might as well escort Bedivere since you're here.
We need to stop wasting time up here.

>>29886182
>Might as well escort Bedivere while you're here.
It'd probably be easier if we do it this way.

>>29886182
What's Bedivere's exit like?

Because we might want to head back to our gate if that's the only way out.
We don't want BETAs closing us off.

>>29886289
The surrounding surface area is clear. The tunnels are probably full, but then, they all are.

>>29886313
So now we have two exits? Nice.

>>29886289
If we clean an area up, what is stopping another hive from sending reinforcement to the surface? Cleaning out the surface only helps us in the immediate future when we step into the hive. After that, we need to continously nuke the surface.

>>29886200
>or ate least meatshields
I only just realised my typo...

>>29886329
it would seem we've the option of two tunnels to exit from, but our original tunnel may be full of BETA after we push through Bediveres, but its an extra option which is better than suicide

>>29886182
>>Go back to your assigned gate and proceed with the Hive infiltration.

>>29886313
Other squadrons' infiltration plans take care of other tunnels. If we break with our established orders, there's an entire drift in the hive that's going to be full of BETA that aren't supposed to be there, and might screw everything up further down the line.

As long as we still have the proper armaments to handle our original plan, it's probably better to stick with it.

If they wanted larger groups handling the infiltration, they'd have assigned larger groups.

>>29886182
>>Go back to your assigned gate and proceed with the Hive infiltration.

Rolled 6, 20, 8, 20, 6, 17, 14, 3, 13, 14, 12, 10, 16, 15 = 174

>>29886182
>>Go back to your assigned gate and proceed with the Hive infiltration.
WE helped them out, let's do our part now

>>29886182
>Go back to your assigned gate and proceed with the Hive infiltration.

>>29886182
>>Go back to your assigned gate and proceed with the Hive infiltration.

>>29886182
> Go back to your assigned gate and proceed with the Hive infiltration.

>>29886182
You've helped Bedivere as much as you can afford to. Time to go back to your mission and start clearing the inside of the Hive. If you follow Bedivere in now, all the BETA crawling around your assigned section of the Hive will probably just attack you later. It's best to deal with the problem now than to have to deal with an unpleasant surprise later.

The vanguard leads Arthur squadron back to its assigned gate. You see eerie blue lights in the darkness ahead, but there are no signs of BETA. Not on your sensors anyway. You just hope the Swedes knew what they were doing when they designed this thing.

There's just one little thing to take care of first. You open a private Channel to Knight over at CIC.

"Hey, Knight," you say. "Thanks for looking after us so far."

There's no point in apologizing to her for not taking her along. It'll be better for her confidence if you acknowledge her accomplishments.

"You're welcome, sir," she says. "I'll see you when you get back."

Her confidence is genuine. She's not just being polite.

"Julian," Elaine says over your comms, "how do you want to handle this thing?"

Your fuel and ammo situation is acceptable for now, but you're not sure if it would be better to slowly clear the tunnels, or if you should just rush for the main hall and make a stand at the reactor. This is the sort of thing that was left to each squadron's discretion depending on their situation.

>Proceed slowly and clear the tunnels.
>Full engines forward, straight to the main hall.

>>29886751
>Full engines forward, straight to the main hall.
Beta are swarming this place, if we slow down we die. Rush to the core and blow that shit sky high.

>>29886751
>>Proceed slowly and clear the tunnels.

>>29886751
>>Full engines forward, straight to the main hall.
We wasted too much time.

>>29886751
>Full engines forward, straight to the main hall.
We're gonna lose that damn core.

>>29886751
>>Full engines forward, straight to the main hall.
those blue lights makes me thinks the russians are up to something.

>>29886751
> Proceed slowly and clear the tunnels.

>>29886797
Also, because the BETA in our entrance probably got called to reinforce another entrance when they think we are not coming.

"only way were walking out of here is if we clear out most of the hive, might as well kill as many in the tunnels as we can."

>>29886751
argh, such a hard choice

>Full engines forward, straight to the main hall.
fuck it, time is not on our side, the quicker we deal with it the faster we can get out and give Elaine that fuck we owe her

>>29886751
You do some quick mental math. Considering the damage you did on the surface, the number of BETA that were in the general area, the BETAs that are still there and the estimated spread of the Hive, there are probably about 25,000 BETA left total to defend the Hive, including the infantry and laser strains. That's not a lot, if you consider how the Hives are structured.

However, it'll be a significant problem if you get cornered in a hall.

"It's best to punch it," you tell Elaine. "Our priority is the reactor and we can't know how the other squadrons are doing. Besides, if we slow down, we might end up getting flanked."

"Good point," she says. "Arthur squadron, this is Arthur 2. We're going in at full engines. Do not slow down no matter what happens."

Elaine's Tornado charges into the darkness of the tunnel and you push your Gripen forward to follow suit. The rest of the squadron is on your tail.

The walls glow blue with what you vaguely recognize are G-elements. However, it's not an even glow. The BETA must still be constructing the tunnels and they probably haven't had time to properly reinforce them yet.

But you'd much prefer the darkness.

You see them; the Tanks and Grapplers and Destroyers, all swarming the inside of the tunnels. The smaller strains are probably there as well, somewhere, hidden by the larger breeds.
Your HUD displays a rough map to the reactor. It's crude and it doesn't account for things like walls, but between it, the enhanced infrared sensors of Elaine's Tornado and your Gripen's advanced sensors, you think you can lead Arthur squadron right to the main objective.

>(roll 1d20)

Rolled 15

>>29887181

Rolled 20

>>29887181

>>29887214
Nobody else roll.

Rolled 19

>>29887181
Rollan

>>29887223
Get #REKT

Someone else does need to roll, actually. Just on the off chance it's a 1.

>>29887181
So we're facing between a Division and Corp size Beta army.

well better then nothing.

Rolled 5

>>29887181

File: 1391054313485.gif-(422 KB, 640x480, Thumbs up.gif)

422 KB GIF

>>29887214
>>29887296

>>29887298
So what happens when there is a 1 and a 20?

>>29887366
They cancel out, presumably.

>>29887366
most common way to handle that is they cancel and the highest non 20 roll is taken.

>>29887181
You lead Arthur squadron through the tunnels with unerring accuracy. Not only that, but you also manage to avoid masses of BETAs. It seems that most of their efforts are currently being spent on expanding the tunnels and they're too far away to intercept or harass you. You don't even expend that much fuel to reach the main hall.

In the main hall itself, you find the reactor. You've heard about them. About the TSF pilots who volunteered to destroy one and only managed to scratch it. About how they never came back from their mission.

The reactor looks something like a big, glowing, blue, inverted pineapple. You see massive wires sprawling out of it and its outer structure is covered by odd apertures. A small swarm of BETA seems to be... suckling it, for lack of a better term.

The reactor is also very clearly incomplete. The left side is almost completely open and the internal components are completely exposed. The whole thing is far too massive to move, but you might be able to dislodge one of the core components, if you get inside to look at it.

"Arthur squadron, this is Arthur 1," Hall says. "We've reached the objective. It's time to show these aliens whose planet they landed on."

>>29887587
MISSION REPORT:
- Elaine Robinson survived (1XP)
- Julian Reber survived (1XP)
- Richard Hall survived (1XP)
- Reached the Hive's gate (1XP)
- Cleared the Hive's gate (1XP)
- Saved Bedivere squadron (1XP)
- Cleared Bedivere squadron's gate (1XP)
- Infiltrated the Hive (1XP)
- Reached the Hive reactor (1XP)
- TOTAL: 9XP

NOTES:
- Cerberus battalion, Arthur squadron, Lancelot squadron, Bedivere squadron and Gawain squadron are all at fighting strength and have infiltrated the Hive.
- The Hive's reactor is incomplete and vulnerable. This will make it easier to destroy or salvage the reactor.
- Feasibility of clearing the BETA and taking the Hive intact is currently unknown.

CHARACTER STATUS:
Julian Reber
Level 4 (12/40XP)
Skills: TSF Piloting, Gunnery, Melee, Electronics, Computers
Resources: Budget 1, Connections 4 (Swiss Government, MI5, RAF, Crusaders), Gear 3, Personnel 1, Rank 1

>>29887616
That's all for tonight. Dealing with the reactor and trying to exit the Hive would take too long for tonight, so I'll pick it up Sunday at 7PM.

The fight scenes were much more interesting to write tonight, so I think I'm going to stick with this format for a while and see if it works.

'Night folks.

>>29887616
Not bad, not bad. I'm tempted to try jacking one of the core components, but another side of me is tugging to blow it to kingdom come.

>>29887657
>The fight scenes were much more interesting to write tonight, so I think I'm going to stick with this format for a while and see if it works.

well they have't fucked us over yet, and i'm still enjoying reading this, so it seems to be working

cya next thread RC

>>29887616
Dammit, This is why we should have rolled better last time, we might have cleared the Beta's better.

Oh well, we made up for it by killing at least half of their current force.

>>29887671
I say try and jack it if possible, other wise if it seems too risky blow it up.

I'm afraid that Robinson might have jinxed us though.

>>29887657
I MISSED THE ENTIRE QUEST FUCK
well at least we rolled pretty well.

thanks for running RC!

>>29887698
can't we analyze it on site and some one else try to take it?

>>29887671
What if we do multiple runs and transport the entire OS architecture home?

Then we start programming in Silicon Based language. Then we literally win.

>>29887748
We are the engineer. Quick. Anyone who has Computer skills on site?

C++ in the BETA language.