http://pastebin.com/itfWLrew

Updated with the merc info and our space force. Maybe we should use "Space Force"? Or are we going to do something like "Tempest Wet/Terrestrial Navy" and "Tempest Space Navy"?

>>35512848

Iron Scythe, a Mark XXXIV BOLO, condemned to a life of drudgery in a mining pit before inevitably snapping and providing more "Rogue BOLO" fodder for the news media, now with the programmed locks against him taking to the field of battle removed. Lacking any ranged weaponry to speak of, he is, however, equipped with a collection of drills, scoops, and claw-arms intended for mining in the hardest rock, and virtually invulnerable. The perfect machine for digging out unsightly insects.

Though the Arachnids have nothing that can damage his hull, save perhaps for a heavy concentration of fire from a huge number of the Plasma-Casting strain, his improvised weapons are more vulnerable, and there are several heavy combat castes that could damage the equipment he needs to reach his buried foes.

>Drop immediately, before the Bugs have a chance to re-group.
>Visit the former Flesh Bazaar, now the city of Storms Eye, first.
>Other

>>35512914

I like Tempest Fleet, personally. The Navy can be our mobile water-based Orbital Defense platforms and stealth submarines. When we have oceans.

>Visit the former Flesh Bazaar, now the city of Storms Eye, first.
Lets take a look at our new holdings

>>35513001
I don't know how carriers would function in a scifi setting, but I could see smaller boats also being used for border control.

>>35512980
>Drop immediately, before the Bugs have a chance to re-group.

>>35512980
>>Drop immediately, before the Bugs have a chance to re-group.
we can sight see later, nail these bastard's while you have the chance.

>>35512848
spaceAMERICA! FUCK YEA!

>>35512848
>You just successfully stole a Pirates fleet out from under him, double-crossed a Slaver Lord out of his every worldly possession except for the secret cache of treasure and valuable slaves that he is going to lead you to under the mistaken impression that you will spare his life in exchange
the funny thing is, as long as we treat him gently and maintain the ruse, he won't know what hit him until he actually leads us to the treasure.

>>35512980
Can you tell us about AAA Planetary Industries? What they"ll offer to sell, and how much they may price gouge us in different things?

Also, what year is it? Or millennium and century.

>>35512980
>Drop immediately, before the Bugs have a chance to re-group.

>>35513120
Given the other half is Neo-Tokyo exiles, I imagine a weird mix of scifi westerns (like Firefly) and traditional cyberpunk, except without the latter being too anachronistic.

>>35512980
>>Drop immediately, before the Bugs have a chance to re-group.

>>35512980
drop immediately

also, even if they destroy the drills, we can retreat and repair the drills, then repeat. meanwhile, if we are lucky we would have dug deep enough that orbital bombardment would take them out.

>>35513145
if we rearm bolos, they won't sell us more
other than that they will sell us anything, but will price gouge the fuck out of us AND will have "shortages", as in, they will sell us overpriced food and it is just unfortunate that hydroponics is simply not available in stock whenever we check for years to come.

we are using our contacts in the freetraders to bypass that. but that would result in them clamping down even harder on available of means of production and independence.

>>35513316
>if we rearm bolos, they won't sell us more
>other than that they will sell us anything, but will price gouge the fuck out of us AND will have "shortages", as in, they will sell us overpriced food and it is just unfortunate that hydroponics is simply not available in stock whenever we check for years to come.

I didn't know you were the QM

>>35513070
>>35513083

You feel whole, strong, alive. The intelligence of your partner surging through your mind as you surge through his. Unlike any other machine intelligence you have ever known, his is fierce, powerful, angry. Your minds link, becoming nearly one as you recite the ancient Battle Mantra of the Legions.

God, you missed this.

Your ride down is far from being a Combat Sled, but it should be sufficient for getting you there, with the enemy having no Anti-Air to speak of.

As you descend, you notice that, unlike the wait before a fight in your Trader days, there are no combat shakes. No nervousness. Perhaps it's the feeling of false invulnerability the BOLO gives you, but you doubt it. What you feel instead is the nerveless concentration of a sniper, the calm of a professional practicing his craft. You are utterly confident in yourself and your skills.

It feels like coming home after a long and terrible journey.

As you direct the BOLO forward, working out between yourself and Scythe the boundaries and division of control, you run one last systems check as Scythe brings his systems up to full combat status.

"WEAPONS MISSING, POINT DEFENSE MISSING, BATTLESHIELDS MISSING, ECM MISSING, POWER OUTPUT AT 80% EFFICIENCY, ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS OPERATING AT 90% EFFICIENCY, ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL."

"LOADED IN ELEVATOR TO HELL, GOING DOWN."

Now, who to target?

>There are four Hives close enough to your starting region to threaten your Colony. Dozens more are scattered across the planet.

>Western Hive, located in rugged mountains.
>Eastern Hive, in a dry lakebed.
>Southern Hive, augmented by a massive tower of Bug construction.
>Northern Hive, buried in marshy badlands.

>Prime Hive, where the largest number of infantry-type combat castes originated. On an adjacent Continent.
>Deep Hive, a Hive without a great deal of activity, but buried deeply. Likely the highest concentration of Brain Bugs. On the opposite side of the planet from your Colony.

>Other

>>35513333
the QM answered this question in previous threads and I am repeating what he said.

>>35513339
>Southern Hive, augmented by a massive tower of Bug construction.
I don't like that tower.

>>35513339
>>Southern Hive, augmented by a massive tower of Bug construction.
Bitches fucking die.

>>35513339
not a vote but a question
>Southern Hive, augmented by a massive tower of Bug construction.
why hasn't orbital bombardment leveled this tower?

>>35513339
>Southern Hive, augmented by a massive tower of Bug construction.

>>35513339
>Deep Hive, a Hive without a great deal of activity, but buried deeply. Likely the highest concentration of Brain Bugs. On the opposite side of the planet from your Colony.
they will adapt their stretegy to us if given time... and without the brain bugs they are pretty much harmless.

>>35513339
>Deep Hive, a Hive without a great deal of activity, but buried deeply. Likely the highest concentration of Brain Bugs. On the opposite side of the planet from your Colony.

>>35513339
>Deep Hive, a Hive without a great deal of activity, but buried deeply. Likely the highest concentration of Brain Bugs. On the opposite side of the planet from your Colony.

Sounds like the most dangerous

>>35513379
It's likely underground.

>>35513339
>Deep Hive, a Hive without a great deal of activity, but buried deeply. Likely the highest concentration of Brain Bugs. On the opposite side of the planet from your Colony.

Go for the head.

>>35513145

Roughly 700 years in the future. Humanity was stuck at Hard SciFi levels (Fusion drives, STL Slowboat colony ships, etc) with Biotech only sort of panning out and Nanotech being a complete wash. Humans proceed to jack FTL from alien invaders and expand like crazy in a chaotic Diaspora for about a hundred years of war and turmoil, while still having very little idea how their stolen tech worked. Only in the last 300 years has Humanity seen real advancement under a succession of vaguely "unifying" governments, the latest of which being the Terran Commonwealth.

AAA Planetary Industries is forbidden from gouging you on "essentials", such as the equipment you need to expand your colony, some weapons, infrastructure, and basic food, but anything else they will gouge the shit out of you on. This is where your Free Trader friends come in.

AAA is fairly major Megacorp that specializes in chartering new colonies, especially mining colonies, and providing Terraforming services. Basically, think all-American Weyland-Yutan.

Hey OP. Whats the chances of the Cthall making some kind of Anti-Rach chemical weapon? Or what about just seeing if there's a common tunnel between each tunnel and filling it with flammable gas?

>>35513462
>Nanotech being a complete wash
but we had nanotech rebuild our chest in hours after being shot.

>>35513462
What about Earth? Or the solar system in general?

>>35513339
>Deep Hive, a Hive without a great deal of activity, but buried deeply. Likely the highest concentration of Brain Bugs. On the opposite side of the planet from your Colony.

>>35513494
>Or what about just seeing if there's a common tunnel between each tunnel and filling it with flammable gas?

This may actually be the most efficient way to deal with them, assuming there's any planetary tunnel network

>>35513388
Probably because it didn't pose an immediate threat. Now that we have control...

>>35513585
it is a tower, built by sentient bugs.
of course it poses a threat. who knows what they are building in there.

>>35513339
Secure the perimeter first. Southern Hive. Investigate the purpose of the tower. Then demolish it.

>>35513379
>>35513384
>>35513388
>>35513393

>>35513533
>>35513409
>>35513429
>>35513436
>>35513438

>Deep Hive wins. Prepare for Royal Guard.

You're not an expert on Bugs, but you've heard that some colonies develop castes that create extremely hard natural polymers, comparable to Ceramecrete. It has multiple deep gouges and craters from Slaver bombardment, but would require a LOT of firepower to bring down. A Bug Fortress.

>>35513503
>>35513524
>>35513494

HUMAN Nanotech. Sorry, I forgot that bit: Alien Tech led to limited Nonotech development, followed by the discovery of natural Silicone-Based nanobots that were used to greatly expand it, but it is still limited. Most modern nanotechnology comes from Tau Biotech, discoverer of the Cloud Whales of Tau Kapri and their crystalline dreams, which can be mined for strange micro-machinery which they either reverse-engineered or simply integrated into their products.

>>35513602
Could be a relay point for the brain bugs to command a forward base while being safe. Could be some kind of railgun to shoot them up into space.

>>35513602
Well we know that. The Slavers didn't. More focused on the massive 'HOLY FUCK, IT'S COMIN RIGHT FOR US!' horde bearing down on them.

>>35513552
>assuming there's any planetary tunnel network
But why would you assume that the brain bugs are dumb enough to not build in blast doors and prepared collapse points in case one of the hives gets compromised?

And as for the development of anti-Rach bio and chemical weapons: if the Cthall could have done it, the Commonwealth would have paid them in planets to make it already.

>>35513728
>And as for the development of anti-Rach bio and chemical weapons: if the Cthall could have done it, the Commonwealth would have paid them in planets to make it already.

Look at Ravies. Problems can exist without having the solution immediately available.

>>35513728
>And as for the development of anti-Rach bio and chemical weapons: if the Cthall could have done it, the Commonwealth would have paid them in planets to make it already.
who says they haven't?
maybe if we call up AAA they will offer to sell us some premium anti rach bioweapons produced by cthall in exchange for a world.

Just a reminder: We have NO Destiny Points left, so doing something stupid will kill us.

That said, if we're going straight at the most heavily defended, deepest built Hive, and we haven't done anything to reduce the size of the swarms yet, much of our soldiers and colonist-militia will need to stay behind at Storm's Eye in order to protect it from being overrun (this is with the orbital strikes concentrating on destroying the swarms as they attack relentlessly).

>>35513804
With what? We have no leverage. AAA is a company first and foremost, and wants a profit.

>>35513814
>much of our soldiers and colonist-militia
they wouldn't be any help even if they could come with us

>>35513814
That is why striking at the brain bugs is the best first move. We have the surprise. They have not factored our BOLO into their defenses and since orbital bombardments won't reach the deep nest they would have a slower reaction time if we hit it with ground forces since they think we are concentrating our defense at the city.

>>35513814
I thought we kept one in reserve

File: Plasma Bugs.jpg (3 KB, 256x136)

3 KB JPG

>>35513618

The shuttle loops around the planet, a piped feed from exterior cameras giving you an excellent view of your new world.

Right now, it looks kind of ugly, marshland and shallow seas where there should be oceans, much of the planets water locked up in glaciers and polar caps. Still, covering everything is the Algae, pond scum stretching across continents.

Somewhere down there, you know, most likely dwell the Algaes strange intelligent symbiotes, the Bandersnatch Worm. You must remember to make contact with any the Arachnids haven't yet killed.

Finally, you come over the target continent: A raised, yellow mass of dry-climate Algae over typically mountainous terrain. The Heavy Lifter begins entry, and you feel the familiar rumble of superheated Atmo against the hull.

Soon enough, your Lifter slows, lowering over a rocky valley, before unexpectedly coming under fire.

"FUCK!" Goes the pilot, trying the dodge ablls of Bio-Plasma in a transport craft with the aerodynamics of a brick.

"YES, WORTHY CHALLENGES!" Roars the BOLO in approval.

"Here we go here we go here we go!" Hisses the Driver, all pretensions of Governmental dignity abandoned as the thrill of battle descends.

POP! Goes the ramp as emergency bolts release, and you eagerly drive forward, preparing for the shock of a hard landing from a moving Ascraft.

You hit the ground with a thud, shocks absorbing the impact of the hard, broken, scum-smeared ground hitting your treads.

Before you are four Plasma Projectors, the Bug Anti-Orbital Caste. They haven't really been a threat to human ships since the Expansion, but their combined firepower was enough to drive the Slavers out of orbit while their smaller kin assembled their swarm. You thought that the Slavers had killed them all, but apparently a few were left in reserve, guarding this Hive.

You're in the right place.

>ACTION?

>>35513804
If AAA had an anti-Rach bio/chemical weapon, they would have made sure we had it.
AAA, and all of the other companies we took a loan from, can only get money from us if we successfully start up a mining colony.

>>35513862
>>35513877
We still have to be worried about the Plasma Weapon Caste of bugs. They can knock out Scythe's drills and mining equipment easily, and without shields, our defenses could be worn down through pure massed fire.

>>35513919
Nope. All Destiny Points have been used up.
No extra lives.
And even all of the heroic stuff we've done up till now hasn't been enough to get us a single Destiny Point.

>>35513922
Do the plasma bugs explode when hit?

Are they in the valley? Can we go up the sides of the valley and push rocks and dirt onto them to cause an explosion/chain-reaction?

>>35513954
Because we have always gotten hit and downed. All the heroic actions have been done by our subordinates.

>>35513922
>ACTION?

Tank Shock. Run them over.

>>35514020
>running over big giant balls of bio-plasma and the reactor organs that create those balls
>while our shields are down
No, I don't think that's a good idea.

>>35513853
>>>>Cthall can produce bioweapons against rach
>>>if they could it would already exist
>>Who says it doesn't exist? for all you know AAA has some for sale
>With what? We have no leverage. AAA is a company first and foremost, and wants a profit.
1. with cash. AAA sells us stuff with cash, its called "the company store" and is a thing we have access to as a planet under their charter
2. I didn't say that we should buy it, I said that it might be for sale. aka "it could exist" and that the assumption of "it doesn't exist" is just an assumption.

>>35514020
fuck it, going with this guy.

>>35514016

They do, but only when they're charging for a shot. The longer they've been charging, the bigger the explosion.

>>35513954

I was going to award a Destiny Point at your Level Up for successfully clearing all threats from your new world with maximum efficiency. This is the final step to doing that.

Hey, it's not like I'm going to be killing you every five minutes. Extra lives are meant to be hard to come by.

>>35514058
Bolo hulls are built to withstand heat, with plasma bugs gone we can start digging.

>>35513924
>If AAA had an anti-Rach bio/chemical weapon, they would have made sure we had it.
they didn't know there is a rach infestation here.

Long story short, were getting the BOLO some fucking weapons right?

>>35513922
>four Plasma Projectors

Get the orbital guns on our ships to target them while we tank rush

>>35514175
In three months, which is how long Mark said it would take to plunder an abandoned BOLO base and get here with the goods.

>>35514175
Only after getting more BOLOs unless you want to secretly rearm them.

>>35513922
Get a ship in orbit to get over here and, having Scythe give them a targeting solution, drop an orbital strike on the Plasma Projectors.
It's the least damaging to us.

we should have bombarded the LZ before deorbiting.

>>35514058
do they have an exploding reactor? the rach aren't a new and unknown race, so we should be well aware of whether that is the case or not.

>>35514123

The Bugs, being excellent at selectively breeding and sometimes directly splicing their servitors, based on specialist castes available, have always developed immunity to bio-weapons with extreme speed.

>>35514129
>>35514020

"TANK SHOCK. BITCHES!"

With that, you urge your BOLO forward, driving up a rise near the closest Bug and slamming down on top of it.

It's pinned and half-crushed underneath you, and is trying to charge its plasma weapon. The remaining three Bugs retreat, trying to find a good firing position.

>Pierce its body with drills until it dies.
>Put extra weight on the Plasma Projector, kill it with its own weapon
>Try to tear off its tough, stubby head with Mining Claws.
>Other

>>35514175
>>35514185
>>35514193
Remember that because we bought a decommed BOLO, that the Commonwealth WILL be watching us closely.

>>35514175
we already bought bolo weapons, they will be delivered in 3 months times IIRC.
we plan on putting them inside the bolo where they can be quickly reattached, but not actually do so for a while as we try to acquire more bolos first.

>>35514214
>>Put extra weight on the Plasma Projector, kill it with its own weapon
Our hull can tank the plasma blast while our weapons can't.

>>35514214
>Other
Call up a ship in orbit and have it strike those remaining Plasma Projectors while we pierce the bug we have pinned with drills.

>>35514214
start digging. once we are deep enough underground we can have our ships blow up those plasma bugs from orbit without harming us.

>>35514245
This seems like the most reliable one.

>>35514214
Pursue. Run the bug over completely and move for the other three. Keep them from drawing a bead on us.

>>35514209
>we should have bombarded the LZ before deorbiting.
People were too impatient to get going to think ahead.

In retrospect, our reactor is at 80% efficiency, we could have gotten some engineers to look at it as well.

heck, we could have loaded up a full support crew. maybe some soldiers in case they manage to enter the inside of the bolo to attack us,.

>>35514245
>Our hull can tank the plasma blast
We could still suffer damage, and the explosion can still damage the drills and mining arms.

>>35514268
>>35514214
Going for this

>>35514386
>Though the Arachnids have nothing that can damage his hull, save perhaps for a heavy concentration of fire from a huge number of the Plasma-Casting strain

>>35514268
>>35514406
Seriously? You think that digging in would be faster than the Plasma Projectors can aim and fire at us?
This is one of the most stupid ideas ever put forward.

>>35514245
>>35514272

You grind your armored bulk backwards, putting as much weight as possible on the Bugs Bulbous Bulge. It gives way with a satisfying crunch, and the resulting plasma explosion rocks you up a bit.

"MINOR BIO-PLASMA CORROSION OF UNDERBELLY PLATE. NO DAMAGE."

The remaining Bugs have taken up hard-to-reach firing positions nearby, lining up shots on you. You key your comms.

"James, got anyone in the sky?"

"Considering your recent track record of going off half-cocked and almost getting yourself killed, I took the liberty of re-directing one of the Frigates to cover your patch of sky. They can fire when ready."

"Paint the Three Stooges around me, and I'm set."

"Rods on the way. danger close, I repeat, Danger Close."

As the Bugs begin building up rumbling charges of Bio-Plasma, three rods of fire and metal come shrieking down from orbit, slamming down onto the unwary insects. The force of three small nukes rocks your weighty machine, and the wave of Plasma from the Projectors scours rocks around them.

With the smoke beginning to clear, you bring your BOLO forward, running over the inconsequential swarms of lesser fighters as they try in vain to impede your mighty war machine.

"ALL SYSTEMS GO. PREPARING TO ENGAGE."

>Roll 1d100 +10 for Drilling.

>>35514453
That's for the hull, not about the more fragile drills and mining arms.
>his improvised weapons are more vulnerable, and there are several heavy combat castes that could damage the equipment he needs to reach his buried foes.

It occurs to me, if they destroy our digging equipment, we can end up trapped and buried underground.
they won't be able to penetrate the tank, but we will starve to death, unable to get back out.

>>35514454
their shots can't penetrate our armor. they can damage our digging tools which would be facing towards the earth and shielded by the entire bulk of the bolo from their shots.

>>35514492
Why would our weapons be under the actual tank. The option is crushing the bug with our weight.

Rolled 24 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35514491
>Considering your recent track record of going off half-cocked and almost getting yourself killed
We really need to reign in this stupidity.

Rolled 65 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35514491
should there be some GURREN LAGGAN references here?

Rolled 85 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35514491

Rolled 3 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35514491
No, I misquoted. I meant >>35514261

And it wasnt so much impatience so much as at least I thought the Rachs were entirely underground

>>35514491

>>35514537
failure
>>35514538
succcess
>>35514548
critical success

very nice.

>>35514565
But that's the definition of going off half-cocked.
Instead of doing some orbital recon of the area by getting a ship on-station, we just dropped into the AO without any plan for backup in case the Deep Hive had the heavy Plasma Caster strains.

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>35514491

>>35514616
also we didn't even do basic maintainence.
our reactor is operating at 80% efficiency. that means it could use a tune up.

>>35514645
He takes the first 3-4.

>>35514646
We didn't even check if the backup shield generators have been removed, or just turned off and the cables disconnected.

>>35514537
>>35514538
>>35514548

>If you want Gurren Lagann, you're going to have to let some Neo-Tokyo Neckbear introduce you to ancient 2D animation. And then comes the inevitable argument over whether Soul eater references would be more appropriate.

You have a rocky start (Ha. Ha.) as you fumble with the unfamiliar control scheme of the mining harness. Soon, however, you're grinding along, the chutes coming out of Scythes back spitting the misplaced dirt and stone up into the air, to come raining down for miles around.

"Did they seriously hook up those dirt-removers to the Weapons Motivators?"

"YEP. MANY A MINING TOWN HAS BEEN INTRODUCED TO THE SIXTH PLAGUE OF THE IRATE BOLO: ROCK FROM THE SKY."

As you near the main tunnel complex, you see on the Seismic Scanners (Now that's an add-on you approve of) that the Bugs are trying to tunnel down and away from you, through a narrow fissure in a mass of iron ore. Now, this is no match for your mighty war engine, but you don't want to wind up chasing these damn bugs in zig-zags under the mountains, on the off chance you wake up an irritated Balrog. You're just going to have to cut them off.

>Roll 1d100 +10 to GO FAST

Rolled 50 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35514815
>on the off chance you wake up an irritated Balrog.
is this actually a thing?

Rolled 94 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35514815
Gotta go fast!

Rolled 47 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35514815
Gatta go fast motherfucker.

>>35514815
rolling in this quest terrifies me.
i think part of it is because of how reckless we are and knowing that a bad roll can be fatal.

....
>success
>Crit success over 100
>success
hot damn.

>>35514895
>because of how reckless we are and knowing that a bad roll can be fatal.
Then don't be reckless.

Of course then we have the players that complain when there's any delay in an action.

>>35514932
Or rather complain about the 8+ hour debate over a simple three choice prompt.

>>35514815
>Neo-Tokyo Neckbear
>Neckbear

What? Also, can we stick to first 3 rolls? It's less swingy to crits that way

>>35514895
It's just a matter of thinking for a few minutes about the existing options and OTHER ones. And having a sense of self-interest. Holy shit. Imagine if we went with that guys choice in just giving them all the land to the Cthall for free?

man this day is for the history books

>8 AM - stole a pirate fleet
>11 am - stole a slaver fleet, and a ground base with 20k slaves
>12 am - lobotomized the planet's rach hives.

today has been a good day

>>35515035
But for me it was a Monday.

>>35514815
>Balrog

What could a Balrog even do to a BOLO?

>>35515034
>It's just a matter of thinking for a few minutes about the existing options and OTHER ones. And having a sense of self-interest. Holy shit. Imagine if we went with that guys choice in just giving them all the land to the Cthall for free?
its not for free, its in exchange for their terraforming assistance.
and then they wouldn't have suddenly tried to charge us for services that they had previously been offering for free

although then we wouldn't have gotten that crit on the sense motive and found about their long term goals and made that advanced deal.

also
>Self interest
our problem is actually lack of self preservation.

>>35515035
There's a very good chance there's Brain Bugs located in each Hive. We"ll be taking out a lot of literal brainpower from the Rach, though.

OP, do Bugs have methods of long range communication with eachother outside of runners?

>>35514971
Choices in this quest have consequences, each choice building upon previously made choices.

Just because there are three pre-generated choices doesn't mean we should just choose one, without coming up with alternatives first.

>>35514865
>>35514868
>>35514873

"Venerable War Machine Iron Scythe, I believe that we have developed a need. A need for SPEED."

"INDEED."

You cut into a channel of porous rock, weakened by the passing of a long-dry underground river. You quickly overtake the Bugs, turning around and drilling right down through their own tunnel.

Eventually you wind up back at the main complex, doing a few doughnuts in its heart to make sure you've stomped everything of importance.

You get back under your entry shaft, hoping to catch a tightbeam from the ship above.

"James, you there? I can't tell what I'm running over down here."

The crackling reply comes through the debris-chocked shaft: "Well, you ran over at least one of them. Every bug on the surface staggered for a and kind of milled around for a minute before they split up and started heading in different directions. I'm seeing a lot of Royal guard and Elite Warriors mixed in with the swarm, a few tankers too. I've given orders to scrub the major concentrations, but the peons they can replace faster than we can produce more ammo."

"We can have a shuttle at the flat ground 12 Klicks to your east in 20. Can you be there?"

"On my way now." You engage your treads and start a looping climb up to the surface.

Who's your next target?

>Hit South (Tower, one of about 6 on the planets surface)
>Hit East
>Hit West
>Hit North

>Hit Major Source

>Call in Arachnid expert, if available.
>Other

>>35515086
Whoever argued about it had a lack of self-interest in the QPC, who wanted to play Michael as Reinhold 2.0.

>>35515117
>>Hit South (Tower, one of about 6 on the planets surface)
fuck this thing.

>>35515099
>do Bugs have methods of long range communication with eachother outside of runners
OP mentioned that they use telepathy in a post a few threads ago.

>>35515086
>then they wouldn't have suddenly tried to charge us for services that they had previously been offering for free
Aside from emergencies (like the Ravies outbreak), I don't think that medical and genetic services were going to be free at all.

>>35515099
>There's a very good chance there's Brain Bugs located in each Hive
Yes, but this hive contains the highest concentration of them. So even if some survive the hivemind is significantly dumber with a majority of its brain destroyed.

>>35515117
>>Hit South (Tower, one of about 6 on the planets surface)

Get the area bombed while we're in transit

>>35515117
>Call in Arachnid expert, if available.
FUCKING THIS!
Get an expert's opinion on what the Hives are up to, and what that Tower is for, before we choose the next target.

>>35515099

Yes, Telepathy.

There are usually numerous small Brain Bugs, grey slugs the size of a human torso. There have been encounters with Prime Brains, large creatures that can consume the brains of organic, carbon-based life to gain some scattered insight into their psyche and memories, but they are rare. The remaining Brain Bugs are likely spread across the planet.

>>35515117
>Call in Arachnid expert, if available.

Let's get some input first choosing targets.

>>35515140
>Aside from emergencies (like the Ravies outbreak), I don't think that medical and genetic services were going to be free at all.
they were doing the ravis service for FREE
and when we asked them to continue performing this exact same type of service they suddenly bulked... and by suddenly i mean after we scalped them on the terraforming trade

bah, whatever, it came out alright. we ended up selling it all to them and agreeing to work together for mutual benefit in the future

>>35515140
They weren't. That was the entire point of why we were negotiating instead of giving them free shit at all.

>>35515163
>Hit Major Source
>Call in Arachnid expert, if available.

Whatever you vote for, dont forget the expert

>>35515183
So does our crazy AI have an estimate on the amount of brain bugs we killed?

>>35515117
>Call in Arachnid expert, if available.
Tell our troops to push out since we destroyed their main HQ.

>>35515117
Can't we mobilize some ships for bombardment to pummel the towers before we move in? Also to deal with the swarms on the surface?

>>35515117
>Call in Arachnid expert, if available.
can't hurt to ask around if we have someone who knows.

also
>They split up and are heading to other hives.
I am guessing that the royal guards are heading towards hives with more brain bugs, we could track them to help determine where those are.

>>35515198
>they were doing the ravis service for FREE
Because it was an emergency that threatened them, as I pointed out.
What did you think
>Aside from emergencies
meant?

>>35515205
>They weren't.
Tell that to this guy >>35515198 then. He believes that the Cthall were going to give us free medical and genetic engineering services if we gave them all of the regions, as well as cutting us into their scheme to break the monopolies of several high value products.

>>35515205
>>35515117
Shit. Let me rephrase. Changing vote from >>35515163
to
>Hit Major Source
>Call in Arachnid expert, if available.

Go for the major source!

>>35515242
>Also to deal with the swarms on the surface?
We ARE dealing with the swarms on the surface. Our ships in orbit have been constantly hitting the swarms with orbital strikes, and the slavers were doing that before us.

The Arachnids simply produce soldiers so fast that they can produce Warrior Caste bugs faster than we can make bullets.

>>35515255
>What did you think
>>Aside from emergencies
>meant?
I thought it meant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tautology_(grammar)
because we asked for emergency services specifically and they bulked at those.

File: Zerg Rush the Zerg.jpg (7 KB, 237x136)

7 KB JPG

>>35515233

Zerg Rush the Bugs with mostly green light infantry and little armored support? Yeah, that always works out well.

>>35515117
We shouldn't hit major sources yet... we got lucky here but it could have gone badly. we should clear the 4 hives that threaten our colony. then start building the colony and have our technical colonists examine the bolo and see if we can reenable the shields. as well as deploy all our tanks and other drilling machines. that way we can have some support when we go after the other hives.

currently the risk of being buried alive and unable to get out with the bolo because they damaged our digging gear is too great.

>>35515291
No, we didn't ask for emergency services and they balked.
We asked for regular medical genetic engineering assistance, not when there is a colony-wide medical emergency.

Ravies counts as a colony-wide medical emergency. Helping the genemod community of the Neo-Tokyo Exiles with genetic treatments does not count as a colony-wide medical emergency and we would have had to pay for those services.

>>35515255
I dunno where he got that idea at all, since we began negotiating specifically for that, and they ignored our initial offer of the rest of the lands for medical/genetic services and knowledge. The second fact kind of reinforces the point that the anon was full of it.

>>35515343
He was pretty much bitching that we were being dickish and should've just given it away for free since we had no use for it. Now he's just making shit up, which I think he's done a few times already.

>>35515287
It was mostly to protect the Bazaar, IIRC. They never went for the tower, which is presumably aboveground.

>>35515296
Our soldiers are trained up to real military standards + we have vet mercs and we have armored vehicles. If the slavers could hold out themselves I think our troops can handle a little pushing out.

>>35515340
I would also feel better if the bolo is examined for any uncovered access hatches through which a bug can crawl in and assassinate us... as well as have a few soldiers and mechanics in the bolo with us to crew it.

>>35515287
>The Arachnids simply produce soldiers so fast that they can produce Warrior Caste bugs faster than we can make bullets.
orbital strikes aren't bullets.
and they only produce them faster if we nuke every single individual bug.
at the moment our men are hitting every group of bugs that is large enough to be worth the ammo cost.

>>35515117
>Hit South (Tower, one of about 6 on the planets surface)
fuck those towers, i want to see them collapse.

>>35515382
I personally think it's a shame we didn't get those hundred Grizzly MBTs.

Anyway, I think we just need to focus on the Brain Bugs and Hives. OP can then specify whether they'd be able to make new hives without Brains, or new Brains. Either way, it'd just be a bug cleanup operation since we'd have ended up taking out the bulk of their real assets (the Brains & those construction buildings)

>>35515171
>>35515196
>>35515247
>>35515272

When you get back to the surface, you call up the fleet, and get your expert. Well, someone who has read a lot about them. Unsurprisingly, it's one of Rigels scientists.

"What you're looking at with that tower is primarily a Fire Magnet," explains the young man you were just connected with, "It's big, it's tough, it looks intimidating as all hell, and it's used to provide fortifications to Plasma Casters and launch swarms of airborne bugs rapidly. Naturally, we apes assume it's important and go charging in to take it or concentrate orbital fire on it, while the Skitters just build some more spit walls to patch up the holes. Brilliant, really."

"That other major Hive, though. That's where the action's at. You hit the primary collection of Brains first, smart. They should still be reeling from that loss and trying to cohere themselves, but you have to remember that they're individual intelligences, not a true Hive Mind. Two in TP contact aren't twice as smart, but they can concentrate on twice as many things and personally direct twice as many bugs. That main source of infantry-Caste Bugs you saw is probably a Spawning Hive. See, most bugs are created by Queens, big, bloated ugly bitches that churn out bugs of every shape and size. But there's a second variety, a symbiotic species picked up in their travels, actually, that's sort of a coral analogue. While Queens are still needed to produce complex Bugs and the really big ones, like Royal Guard and Plasma Bugs, the Spawn Hive can churn out basic infantry and the simplest airborne castes like you wouldn't believe. This is what they've been putting their resources into while underground, along with the massive swarm of basic Warrior Caste and that absurd mob of Plasma Caste that's currently dead and scattered around the planet. Take that out, and you hit their primary troop production. It'll take them quite some to grow a new one."

>ACTION?

>>35515560
Hm in that case we should go take out the Fire Magnet while the ships concentrate fire on their spawning hives.

>>35515560
Alright have our boys run a massive distraction maneuver at the tower while we go destroy the queens. Make sure to point out that their attack is mostly for show so no heroics or unnecessary loss of life will be tolerated.

>>35515560
Attack the other hive. Let's try to crush the Coralspawners first, so they can't try to rush us with cheap units.

>>35515593
what? no mate, we IGNORE the fire magnet, the fire magnet is a psychological trap for us apes, its completely useless and serves only to cause us to waste our firepower on a harmless useless thing that looks scary to apes like humans.

>>35515560
In that case, if we have more than one lander we can use, task a pair of ships to begin striking at the tower while the empty (or filled with junk) lander comes in to make it look like we're going after the Tower.

While that distraction is happening, us in the real lander, with a ship tasked to be in orbit above us to provide support, will hit the Spawn Hive.

>>35515623
Problem is it can still spawn troops and our ships can't easily take it out. Though the problem is those plasma casters...we can't afford to take that much heat from them. But if we go attack them from underneath where suddenly they can't hit us with mass volleys...

>>35515623
>we IGNORE the fire magnet
I and one other anon >>35515604
disagree.
We can play this smart, by making it look like we've fallen into the Bugs' trap of attacking the Tower, while we sucker punch them when they thought they caught a break.

>>35515560
Go for the Prime Hive/infantry spawning hive

Ignore the Fire Magnet.

>>35515560
So

>Towers
useless, a trick to make humans waste their ammo on useless stuff
>Queens
produce plasma blasters and other specialists
>Coral
produces massive swarms of baseline bugs
>Brains
trying to re-cohesion themselves.

I think we should attack the brains first, followed by queens, then coral.
the brains because without them they won't think to intentionally target our drills.
the queens because they produce the only troop type that can damage our bolo's drills
the coral last because it produces the major source of the troops

once we have taken those out the bolo can just independently travel around and squish bugs all day every day until the purge is complete without any risk

>>35515663
>We will play it smart by falling for their trap.
>It will be brilliant!
what?

>>35515710
We already hit the brains what we should hit next is the Queens to take out their bad ass, elites, and special troops followed by Coral.

>>35515731
Retard, we make it seem like we fell for the tower and while the brains are too busy patting themselves on the back, we strike the brains or the queens to cause massive damage. Don't you know tactics fucker?

>>35515560
I want to capture those towers intact and use them as forts.

>>35515731
By making it *look* like we've fallen for their trap. We only throw enough firepower at the Tower to make it look like we've taken the bait, while in reality our BOLO drops on their Spawning Hive.

>>35515560
Hit the Queens

>>35515560
attack their spawners

>>35515770
>We already hit the brains
we hit the largest concentration of brains, there are secondary concentrations of them.

>>35515774
>Retard
look who is talking
>We fall for their trick, therefore they will feel really secure and won't notice it when we also attack them elsewhere
Of course they would notice you blithering fucking moron.
There is no trick here or tactic, they are not going to shift troops to the towers, they are not going to be caught unaware.

attacking the towers does nothing except waste ammo that could be used to destroy targets of actual value as well as our time

>>35515657
the tower doesn't spawn Anything

>>35515710
>>35515770
>>35515774
>>35515786
Do we even know if they concentrated their Queens?
Because there are just:
North Hive
South Hive (with Tower)
East Hive
West Hive

Major Source (Coral Spawning Hive)

There's no indication where the Queens are concentrated, and each Hive has their own group of Brain Bugs, since we already took out their main Think Tank Hive.

>>35515560
Destroy the spawn hive. Set a few ships to bombard the fire magnet to show the illusion we think its important.

>>35515710
The remaining Brains are presumably in Hives. There's no more "Brain Hives"
>>35515770
It's the same guy who thought just giving away good shit was a good idea so we wouldn't be "hardballing dicks" and a Nice Guy instead.

>>35515560
Get some ships/troops to harass the tower while we go for the Coral Spawn Hive.

>>35515782
humor me please

Scenario A: Orbital bombardment of large concentration of enemy troops while bolo destroys hives
Scenario B: Orbital bombardment of useless tricks while bolo destroys hives

so please humor me and explain what exactly you think the difference is going to be in their reaction to the two scenarios and how it is going to be better for us to to waste time and ammo blasting a useless gaudy trick instead of killing actually dangerous enemy troops?

>>35515710
I'd reverse the queens and coral, the coral provides troops that might swarm and attack the slave encampment. It's a lot easier to defend against a few elites than a mass of smalls if you're infantry.

>>35515848
My bad. Giving away shit for free.

>>35515850
It's called a feint, Reinhold. It makes them plan their tactics the wrong way. Also:
>implying our entire fleet are just one abstract block that can only target one thing at a time.

>>35515850
It is a trick but can allow them to launch a flying raid on our base and allow the casters to bunch up and start shooting at our ships.

>>35515882
>A feint
that is what you WANT it to be, not what it actually IS.

>>35515560
>Source is where the action is at
>Its where coral is at
>It will be the most heavy loss for them to lose this
>It will take the longest to replace

well, we have our target. go to the source and kill of their coral thing that is mass producing basic units.

Hey guys why don't we just go around hitting each hive in a circle or whatever while the rest of our boys and girls go hitting hives in the other direction, eventually both sides will meet up.

>>35515887
>Instead of shooting the enemy in the head, I am going to shoot him in his shield
>I am going to pretend this is clever, a trick, a ruse. that i have lulled him into a false sense of confidence.
BRILLIANT! /sarcasm

>>35515907
Because it is a feint:
>>35515887

It's not like we'd land the Bolo just as our soldiers attack the south hive

>>35515955
Now you're just trolling/having a tantrum.

>>35515936
Our soldiers aren't immune to the Rachnids. We are. If we stick them to just one harassment campaign and then a later clean up operation, we"ll have minimal casualties.

>>35515840
This anon has a point we can't hit their Queens if we don't know where they are at...but we do know where the coral spawning hive is right?

>>35515882
It would be useless to target their bait hive unless we can at least null its protection.

>>35515936
Our infantry would get slaughtered.

Their hives and tunnels are built to nullify armor and make a killzone ground for infantry.

Only our BOLO with its mining gear can hives with any degree of safety.

>>35515955
Did you not read the last part. They can still use the actually construction to raid our city and attack our ships. Setting a few ships to bombard the structure keeps them from actually doing so. You want a swarm of flying bugs coming down onto our city now where orbital bombardments won't work? Our AAs aren't in place yet.

>>35515882
>It's called a feint, Reinhold. It makes them plan their tactics the wrong way.
what tactics, I want specifics.
do you think they are going to relocate troops to the tower? they are not.
the only thing you have done is spared actual threats which you could have killed in order to waste ammo on a psychological trap of no value.

them thinking that you fell for the trap, or did not, makes no difference.

if this becomes a long protracted multi year war, then eventually they wise up that we know the towers are traps and stop building them
but in the meanwhile we wasted a lot of ammo and spared a lot of bugs that are actual threat to us. and the towers are extremely cheap for them to produce and highly costly for us to destroy.

>>35516003
Thats what I was going for in the beginning but SOME people had to throw a pissy fit about the whole deal,
>>35516009
Welp there goes plan #2 so lets go with plan #1 giving off the illusion we fell for the trap while we go around killing their heads in precise surgical strikes or whatever.
>>35516027
Then we just leave enough guys or proper equipment to protect our backsides.
>>35516051
Honestly I don't know if your actively trolling or just this autistic.

>>35516027
They can raid our cities and shoot our ships better using the swarms on the surface that will be allowed to live and escape underground because we ordered ships to divert fire from actual threats unto the towers

also, they can do it without any towers at all, just by digging up to the surface and popping out a few ships/fliers/whatever.

>>35515840

The Queens are usually found 1-3 to a Hive, and are Mobile. Like the Brain Bugs, if they have time they can be removed to fallback positions if threatened. The Coral Analogue is immobile, but the Bugs could use time forewarned to build BOLO-specific traps around it, once they figure out what the Hell you ARE.

Brain Bugs reproduce through Mitosis, spawning a smaller, weaker version of themselves, and immediately kill their spawn with telepathic attacks if they do not respond to telepathically induced pain with an instant attack. Human scientists have tried to re-create this in laboratories, to see if those Brains that do not instantly attack can be reasoned with, but the Brains refuse to Spawn under such conditions.

Even if you kill all the Brains, the Queens will continue their war, but without higher strategy and thought. There have been reports of remnant colonies spontaneously spawning new brains, though.

>>35516072
the autism is you anon

>>35516003
dude aren't they telepathic. their going to know where we are anyway so why feint

>>35516082
OK OP. Theres been enough votes, and discussion is currently going nowhere. Go write.

We need fire based weapons. Like a flying napalm bomb with rotating turrets of death or something, Fire cures everything.

>>35516027
The bait tower is on the OPPOSITE side of the fucking planet where the base is.

>>35516082
In that case we MUST hit the Coral Hive before they wise up. As for the rest of our forces...have our infrantry and armor defend our base. Meanwhile the ships should continue bombardments on concentrations...until we wipe out the coral hive.

After that they will have the secondary objective of hitting the hive(s) as we approach the hives from below intercepting the brains/queens as they head towards fallback positions.


Hm...seems like Queens can also produce brain bugs. Great.

Wait...would that mean we could potentially capture a Queen and force her to spawn a brain bug that isn't hostile as is reasoned might be possible in the above instance?

IF we can't use a brain bug for it why not a Queen?

>>35516080
Yes but this tower allows the bugs to fly on mass. Not just a small part of them in a battle but a full on flying raid.

>>35516207
Have you even been in this thread the whole time? When we were choosing which nests to raid QM specified the 4 closest nest + the brain nest + the spawning nest. The south nest is the nest with the tower which IS one of the closest to our base.

>>35516207

Incorrect. The Tower is one of four Hives near enough our starting area to threaten us. There are Five other Towers on the planets surface, but this one is looming over our city.

The Brain Bug Colony we just hit was on the opposite side of the planet. The Coral Thingy is on a nearby continent.

Protip: lrn 2 OP psts

>>35516245
>>35516235
hm my bad must of gotten the hives mixed up.

>>35516003
>Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing.[1] Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or even none, will. In military tactics and many types of combat, there are two types of feints: feint attacks and feint retreats.
if you use the dueling definition
a feint would be if we convinced them that we are amassing troops to attack the tower
only for to divert said troops to attack a hive in the last moment
if you actually go through with your "feint" then it isn't a feint, it is a completed attack.

>A feint attack is designed to draw defensive action towards the point under assault. It is usually used as a diversion to force the enemy to concentrate more manpower in a given area, to weaken the opposing force in another area. Unlike a related diversionary maneuver, the demonstration, a feint involves actual contact with the enemy.
if you use the military definition
the tower is lightly manned and has nothing of value, attacking it will draw 0 troops from other locations.

there does not exist a definition under which it would be a "feint" to order our ships who are currently killing large masses of enemy troops to instead fire on a cheap gaudy ornament meant to trick us into wasting our firepower on it.

>>35516245
>Incorrect. The Tower is one of four Hives near enough our starting area to threaten us
false, the tower is NOT a hive, it is an object that is built ON TOP of a hive

we can tunnel into the hive and destroy it without attacking the tower itself

>>35516082
OP pls. Just post

>Writing

at least. So we know you're alive and typing

Who about we do a simple vote on what to attack with the BOLO? Just to move the discussion faster.

1 Tower
2 Queens
3 Coral
4 Brains

>>35516416
Remove brains from there. They are now spread out across all the hives. No more single hive with brains.

>>35516416
We are best off going after the Coral. Considering both Queens and remaining Brains are highly mobile along with being in the different hives. That one isn't and they haven't caught on to the BOLO yet meaning no traps.

>>35516416
3 Coral

>>35516416
3 coral hive aka "source hive"

>>35516416
fuck it #3

>>35516416
What discussion? The discussion was going nowhere so I stopped responding. TheGameRoom just has to post. But ok.
>Coral

>>35516416
3
OP said that if we give the Bugs any time, they can fortify the Coral with Anti-BOLO traps.

>>35516416
3

>>35516416

3 Coral

>>35516490

I thought it was call Prime Hive
>>Prime Hive, where the largest number of infantry-type combat castes originated. On an adjacent Continent.

From the description of the coral fits this one.

>>35515593
>>35515604

>>35515619
>>35515637
>>35515679
>>35515788
>>35515847
>>35515848
>>35515859
>>35515931

>SPAWNING HIVE

"Take me to that Spawning Hive. We're hitting their main producer before they can organize defenses or pull up more hidden Plasmas."

"Understood. Lifting off now."

As you near the Hive, you see a massive swarm of Arachnids, mostly base infantry and airborne, with some of the heavy Tanker bugs and a number of Royal Guard.

As you land, they swarm. Trying to cover your hulking BOLO in a swarm of alien bodies in a foolish attempt to slow you down. But then, they can't know what it is they face. This world has never before known the tread of the Legions.

As you drill into the mountainside, the controls of the mining harness feeling more natural to you, you break into a vast hollow chamber, wet and filled with organic growths. Obviously, the Spawning Chamber. As you begin lashing out with your implements, a section of the wall uncoils, a pod at the end spitting acid onto an outstretched claw-arm.

"Uhm, Bug Expert? You getting this?"

"Hey, I have no idea what the fuck. Maybe some kind of defensive adaption left over from before it was absorbed into the Pseudo-Arachnid horde? I've heard of smaller versions of those attacking soldiers trying to plant Nukes, but I always assumed they were specialized defense bugs. Now..."

As you struggle to free yourself from the pile of rubble and broken Coral, your sensors ping a column of Bugs making a break for it just under the surface, likely a resident Brain Bug or two trying to escape.

>Row Row Row, Fight the Coral
>Back off, you can't afford to lose equipment to that acid
>Go after the Brain Bug
>Fight the coral, give the Bugs coordinates to the ship above.
>Other

>>35516541

>Forgot Trip again.
>Had to go AFK for a minute, sorry about that.

>>35516541
>>Fight the coral, give the Bugs coordinates to the ship above.

>>35516541
>>Fight the coral, give the Bugs coordinates to the ship above.
fuck it we got the guys, lets use em.

>>35516541
>Fight the coral, give the Bugs coordinates to the ship above.

>>35516541
>>Go after the Brain Bug

The coral can't move we can come back for it once the brain bug is dead.

>>35516541
>Give ship coordinates to the bugs
>After bombing is done, GTFO while making a nice big hole. Even if the Rachnids try to cover it, it'd just be patchwork. Get some bombs dropped there after we move on.

This is the lowest risk while assuring we get both of them.

>>35516541
>Go after the Brain Bug
We can come back for the Coral after the Brain Bug is confirmed dead.

basically, current status

>Coral hive
>few brains
>1-3 queens
>lots of coral
>Status: one exists on the planet.

>Brain hive
>Lots of brains
>1-3 queens
>Status: DESTROYED. only one existed on planet

>Tower hive
>few brains
>1-3 queens
>1 tower above the hive proper
>Status: 6 exist on the planet, 1 within striking distance of our capital site

>Vanilla hive
>few brains
>1-3 queens
>Status: lots exist on planet, 3 within striking distance of our capital site

>Brains - not a true hivemind, telepathic, boost each other's intellect, but each one is an individual. produces brains
>Uber brain - giant brain, can eat the brains of humans to steal their knowledge
>Queen - actually mobile, produce specialist units. may spontaneously produce a brain if none exist.
>Coral - immobile, mass produce troops.

>>35516568
>>35516573
>>35516565

You clear enough rubble around yourself to get some maneuvering room, jinking your BOLO from side to side to evade some of the acid blasts.

"DAMAGE DETECTED TO MINING SYSTEMS, WE MUST FINISH THIS SOON."

"Working on it," You growl, "James, we've got probably Bug VIPs burrowing just under the ground 1 Klick to the Southeast, you got em?"

"Firing now. Going to hit the area with three, just to be safe."

>Attack Coral Arms: remove the enemy weapons
>Smash its central body
>Continue destroying Arachnid hatcheries
>Other

>>35516662
>>Smash its central body
End this bitch now!

>>35516541
>Go after the Brain Bug
the brain bug is mobile, the coral is not.

instead of duking it out with the coral, we drill a straight shaft into its chamber and then have our friends from orbit drop a nuke down the shaft to take out the coral.

>>35516662
>>Smash its central body

>>35516662
>Clear out after making a nice, big tunnel to GTFO
>Have ships bomb the hole, and therefore hive after we clear

>>35516662
>Attack Coral Arms: remove the enemy weapons
Remove the acid-spitter and we can destroy it safely.

>>35516662
>>Attack Coral Arms: remove the enemy weapons
without its weapon, we are free to take our time and kill it at leisure.

>>35516695
Do our orbital weapons have that kind of accuracy?
Also, while we drill fast, we don't drill fast enough that we'd be able to avoid damage.

Hey OP do these spider motherfuckers have a fear of FIRE or FIRE based weaponry? I mean they are basically super spiders in space.

>>35516731
We'd do it after being picked up.

And:
1. They have no anti-orbital guns there anyway
2. A hole will make the entire hive vulnerable to any AoE hits, or hits with shockwaves

If the plan just couldnt work, GameRoom can speak up since I'm assuming our guns are sufficiently powerful and accurate

>>35516662
>>Smash its central body

>>35516776

Super Termites is closer. The only Bugs that experience fear are Brain Bugs. The rest will walk into Napalm without a single qualm.

>>35516678
>>35516687
>>35516792

"Now it fucking ENDS!"

You drive forward, crushing lesser Arachnids under your treads, as you begin drilling into its central body, intent on killing it quickly.

"A FOES UNLIKE ANY I HAVE EVER FACED. TRULY, THIS IS A GOOD DAY."

>Roll 1d100 +10 to Kill Coral Kill

Rolled 23 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35516879

Rolled 2 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35516879

Rolled 34 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35516879
i fear

Rolled 52 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35516879
good god help us all

Rolled 1 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35516879
Yeah, this was a bad idea.

>>35516781

You're pretty far into the mountain at this point, but a missile strike could work. You'd be getting your tools sprayed on the way out, though.

>>35516896
>>35516901
>>35516905
fail
fail
fail

well.. at least no crit fails

FUCKING /TG/ DICE BULLSHIT!

>>35516678
>>35516687
>>35516792
Congratulations on fucking us over.

>>35515560
>While Queens are still needed to produce complex Bugs and the really big ones, like Royal Guard and Plasma Bugs
Kill the queen next, and then attack the Spawning factory.

>>35516957
Hey better than that 1 that was after us. Now were u that 1?

>>35516928
when we mine we toss rocks like crazy, what if we aim those as makeshift projectiles?

>>35516942
>Get massive successes on all rolls in the thread
>Including crit successes
>Get one failure
>Rage

>>35516986
its the consistent failure that is pissing me off rather my own.

>>35516975
a nat 1 would not be a crit failure.

crit failure is a roll of 1-10 after modifiers. our modifier is +10
meaning the lowest we can roll is an 11 (1+10) which is a regular failure.

>>35516896
>>35516901
>>35516905
>>35516908

>FAILURE

Try as you might, the heart of the beast remains illusive. Perhaps because it has no heart. As you gore its central body, the pod-arms continue spraying your harness with corrosive bug-fluid, and the immature bugs in the wall hatcheries are carried off to relative safety by Worker Caste.

One by one, your tools fail, until you have only one arm remaining functional and some slightly marred drills. Still, you press on.

Slowly, inexorably, you core out the heart of the beast. But even as your sensors tell you that the outgrowths are beginning to die, the acid arms continue to pour burning hate on you, operating independently from the central creature.

>Your MINING HARNESS is now DISABLED
>Your Drills are SLIGHTLY CORRODED
>Your Hull is VIRTUALLY UNTOUCHED

>Try to back out and call for a missile strike (1d100 -10)
>Try to destroy the pod-Arms (1d100-10)
>Other

Rolled 9 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>35517049
>>Try to destroy the pod-Arms (1d100-10)

>>35517049
>Other
Back away, turn around, and direct the rock output/Weapon Motivators at the acid arms and try to knock them out using a wall of stone.

>>35517049
>Try to back out and call for a missile strike (1d100 -10)
and also because we need to retreat to our territory to repair our tools.

>>35517074
I believe that is the mining harness, which is disabled.

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>35516928
I wish you responded to that post earlier, since it was a low-risk but still successful idea. :<

>>35517049
>Try to back out and call for a missile strike ***After we get picked up*** (1d100 -10)

Rolled 53 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>35517049
>Try to back out and call for a missile strike (1d100 -10)

Rolled 75 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>35517049
>Try to back out and call for a missile strike (1d100 -10)

One more roll. Wait a few minutes since we''re stuck at low rolls.

>>35517122
Oh well

>>35517125
Pretty sure he's going back to 3 rolls (which is better IMO, less critfails that can kill us and crit-successes usually arent that great)

>>35517065
crit fail
>>35517117
crit fail
>>35517122
fail

and then we died.

>>35516969
Uh.. not late or anything :D

>>35517104
I was hoping that the rock feed and intake were still operational.

>>35517065
Thank god you picked the other option

>>35517170
yeah I'm rolling shit right now.

>>35517125
This is the Third roll on the winning choice

>>35517170
I'm pretty sure he's keeping one pool of votes so we can't just change votes to reset the pool

>>35517193
He takes four rolls anyway.

OK lets pull back and make repair before the BOLO surfers irreparable damage. I suggest a more traditional campaign of warfare until repair are done.

>>35517195
Well, it the second one with the correct modifier.

>First three rolls for any one course of action

>>35517117
>>35517122
>>35517125

>FAILURE

As you attempt to extricate yourself from this hellish pit, the sustained Acid Wash finally breaks your implements. Your Harness cracks in half, torn away by an avalanche.

Exposing holes where the Harness plugs into the where the Weapon Mounts used to be.

Now you're backing up your half-collapsed tunnel, Arachnid warriors chewing into your electrical systems. While they still haven't penetrated deeply, there's a chance that they could do some real damage if they get past the Turret Power Relays.

All in all, not good.

"FUCKING INSECTS.'

>1d100 t get the fuck out.

>>35517208
Three dice rolls would really be better.

With four, you raise the chance of a crit. And in quests, critfails are far, far worse than a normal fail; while crit-successes are just better written successes

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>35517246

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>35517246

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>35517246

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>35517246

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>35517246

Nobody roll for like 5 min. God I hope this gets in time.

>>35517270
Guys. If you see a horrible roll, do not roll for the love of the Quest. It means the dice are going to be low for the next few minutes.

>>35517262
>>35517264
>>35517270
Now we're fucked. We're completely fucked.

>>35517297
No crits, at least.

>>35517246
I hope the QM is taking my vote where I specified dropping missiles *after* we got picked up.

>>35517297
I think we still get out, but with damaged power relays which mean we can't mount weapons back on this bolo before they are repaired.

>>35517297
Best part is we got no destiny points to save ourselves.

BOLO is as good as dead either way though.

>>35517319
>dropping missiles *after* we got picked up.
It won't matter too much since the Rach are now able to get into the BOLO itself by tearing through the power relays.

>>35517332
Nar BOLO is fine except for its mining equipment and slight hull damage.

>>35517332
no it isn't
the bugs are either going to destroy our weapon pod power relays meaning expensive repairs before we can arm it
or they will get inside and kill us while the bolo lives on. (because when i said we should get some troops inside the bolo explicitly for this eventuality i was ignored).

>>35517348
They managed to dig their way in and we are still getting flooded with acid.

>>35517351
I figured we would drown in acid first or get munched either way it sucks.

>>35517262
>>35517264
>>35517270
>>35517276

>PARTIAL FAILURE

You eventually drag your sorry self out of the Hive, still covered in swarming Arachnids.

"I HAVE FAILURES IN ALL OUTER-HULL SYSTEMS, MULTIPLE SENSORS OFFLINE. NOTHING MAJOR YET, BUT UNLESS WE GET SOME GROUND POUNDERS TO GO THROUGH MY INNARDS WITH RIFLES SOON I'M GOING TO TAKE DAMAGE WE WON'T BE ABLE TO REPAIR ON THIS ROCK."

"God fucking DAMMIT!"

>Try to outpace the Swarm for pickup, hope the Arachnids on your hull can't destroy the shuttle from the inside
>Drive in circles and try to destroy the Swarm.
>Other

>>35517393
>>Try to outpace the Swarm for pickup, hope the Arachnids on your hull can't destroy the shuttle from the inside

>>35517393
>Drive in circles and try to destroy the Swarm.

>>35517393
>Other
Drive away and have James send down a lander to meet us with both tanks and soldiers to clear off the surviving Rach.
As soon as we're at a safe distance, fire into the hole we came out of until the Hive is destroyed.

>>35517424
Fuck it this works.

>>35517393
is there a nearby body of water? do rach drown in water?

>>35517393
the strikes that took out the 3 plasma throwers earlier, it shoock us but didn't harm us.
another such close strike could clear our hall from the crawlers.

we outpace them
call down airstrike on this hive through the hole we made as well as strike near us to clear our hall from bugs
then we drive to a nearby randezvous point with soldiers to clear out any rach that got in before they do anymore damage.

>>35517393
>>Try to outpace the Swarm for pickup, hope the Arachnids on your hull can't destroy the shuttle from the inside
>GET THE SHUTTLE WITH SOME MERCS/KZIN AND COBRA ON IT
>As soon as we're at a safe distance, fire into the hole we came out of until the Hive is destroyed.

>>35517531
>hope the Arachnids on your hull can't destroy the shuttle from the inside
This option implies that we will be trying to load the Bolo into the shuttle with the Rach still on it.
If you don't want that, then don't use the option that has it happening.

>>35517424
>>35517429

You snarl in rage at the fucking swarm that thinks it's going to kill your BOLOs internals. Not gonna happen.

"James, I need men and tanks, preferably with Plasma and Powered Armor. I've got Bugs inside my hull, and we're going to have to hunt them out."

"Acknowledged. Shuttle on the way."

You put the figurative pedal to the literal metal, outpacing the swarm of shrieking insectoids and gradually increasing the distance.

"James, I need projectiles on my ass NOW!"

"Roger. Danger Close, Danger Extremely Close."

The impact from the barrage of orbital projectiles flattens the Swarms vanguard, the second and third barrages breaking what's left into fragmented swarms that split off in individual directions, some following you.

You reach the designated hill, with nearly a thousand Soldiers and Mercenaries, and a dozen of your Southern Cross tanks. They open fire immediately, scrubbing the feisty Arachnids off your hull.

As you come to a halt, you pop open maintenance hatches and allow parties of grim Mercs in powered armor to breach the dark corridors with high-power Flechette Shotguns, strong enough to kill a bug without punching holes in vital systems.

Some thirty minutes later, you get the all clear. Not many systems damaged that you can't repair with the infrastructure you have, although those Power Relays are going to be a bitch to replace.

There is an explosion in the distance as a Bunker Buster shoots down the tunnel you left behind, smashing through the Bugs makeshift rubble barricades and detonating in the vast chamber.

You feel comfortable calling that one a victory.

>You have lost your HARNESS and sustained LIGHT INTERNAL DAMAGE.
>Your DRILLS are still functioning nominally

>Get some particularly durable scrap metal welded over the holes and go take care of those hives that are close enough to threaten your Colony.
>Call it a day, go back to Storms Eye to oversee the deployment of your Capitol Dome
>Other

>>35517643

>>Get some particularly durable scrap metal welded over the holes and go take care of those hives that are close enough to threaten your Colony.

As long as we're not going to run into any more angry Coral monsters, this is a good choice. Gotta get them Brains and Queens.

>>35517643
>Get some particularly durable scrap metal welded over the holes and go take care of those hives that are close enough to threaten your Colony.
>Have maintenance done, see if our shields are just turned off and can be re-activated

Can we get some ship weapons or bombs mounted? Or at least some kind of napalm launcher?

>>35517643
>>Call it a day, go back to Storms Eye to oversee the deployment of your Capitol Dome

>>35517643
>Call it a day, go back to Storms Eye to oversee the deployment of your Capitol Dome

do some repairs on the bolo before we do our next engagement. and next time go with a contingent of soldiers, engineers, and other support crew inside it to begin with.

>>35517697
and a tank battalion on the outside?

oh, and replacement drilling equipment

>>35517643
>>Call it a day, go back to Storms Eye to oversee the deployment of your Capitol Dome

>>35517643
>Other
Have our aide go through our manifests and see if we have enough spare parts to get another mining harness fitted, as well as drill repair teams.

Have Iron Scythe taken back to Storm's Eye for repairs. We're going to repair what we can, patch those holes, check to see if secondary shield systems can be activated, put some mercs, soldiers, and techs onboard the BOLO this time, and clear out the major hives that directly threaten the colony.

>>35517697

We've already seen Brain Bugs Bugging Out from the hive we just hit. If we give them time to figure us out, they're going to abandon their underground colonies and vanish int the outback. We need to kill as many as possible before they do that.

>>35517643
>Get shit repaired and bolted on in a couple of hours. We can take a short nap and eat if necessary
>Check the shields, see if we can get them turned on
>Go attack the closest hives with air support.
>Get Cobra in the BOLO. Get field-techs in the BOLO. Get some powered armored mercs in there too.

>>35517754
>Abandon their underground colonies that can't be nuked in favor of the outback where we can kill them orbital strikes
nope
>If the brainbug inform the others
telepathy
they already knows

>>35517711

voting for this.

>>35517773

Not if they're underground where only our Seismic Mapper or whatever can see them. They tunnel just far enough down we can't see them from orbit in a random direction and now we have a goddamn Bug guerrilla war on our hands.

>>35517800
We already do.
everything they have is mobile except the coral.
the brain bugs in the brain hive tried to escape from us
the brains and queens from the coral hive succeeded escaping from us.

every single hive has escape routes. and they are constant expanding. our presence doesn't change that.

the hive is a hive because its built around and to protect queens and brains and coral.
if they distribute themselves around the planet in random long distance tunnels then those are under defended.

>>35517880
>the brains and queens from the coral hive succeeded escaping from us.

They didnt. We had them bombed as they tried to get away. You are seriously not reading the thread

>>35517936
>You are seriously not reading the thread
le irony

>They didnt. We had them bombed as they tried to get away.
false, they escaped.
we bombed the swarm of warriors which were attacking our bolo, and we sent an airstrike down the hole we made to destroy the corral, which is a sessile asset.

however, the brainbug got away. because it went down an escape tunnel instead of staying in the site of our attack or joining in the chase after us.

>>35517799
>>35517682
>>35517685
>>35517697
>>35517706
>>35517707
>>35517711
>>35517754
>>35517755

"Take us back. We need to get some repairs done."

On the way back, you open up communication channels with Dian, James, and Dr. Kendricks, your resident Bug expert.

"We don't have any Harnesses on hand," Dian is saying, "And they're a highly specific product. We're going to have to manufacture it locally, but it will take time."

Kendricks breaks in: "And in that time, the Arachnids will be planning. It is only a matter of time before they analyze the images of your BOLO rampage and realize that their best chance is to disperse into the wastes, burrowing to small, hidden, interconnected nests instead of larger fortified ones. You've proven yourself far more dire of a threat to their kind than the Slavers were, so expect them to pull out all the stops in their mission to drive you and this Colony off their world."

James is next: "Good news on the weapons front: We have four essentially garage-built Laser cannons and a box that shoots lots and lots of dumb rockets, all stolen from the Slaver depot, we can attach to your tank. You'll have to have the personnel in your internal fire them manually, but it's a start."

"We'll also be deploying all 80 Southern Cross tanks and 150 SCARS with a mix of Tempest Army and power-armored Mercs to provide support when needed."

"Excellent. They won't be able to dismount very often, but if I'm getting swarmed and a weak point is open, those heavy machine guns will do wonders for my peace of mind."

>Storms Eye

As you near the new City of Storms Eye, you see bustling Military activity and lots and lots of dead bugs. Mostly Warriors and Flyers with a few Tanks.

The "City", such as it is, is currently a ring of converted ship hulls around a flat stretch of ground, still occupied by several Slaver ships, the ones so bad off for maintenance that they couldn't take off again.

>CONT

>>35517936
see

>>35516541
>As you struggle to free yourself from the pile of rubble and broken Coral, your sensors ping a column of Bugs making a break for it just under the surface, likely a resident Brain Bug or two trying to escape.

brainbugs escaping under the surface (in tunnels). not chasing us down (and then getting killed).

>>35518018
>le
>>35517990
>"James, we've got probably Bug VIPs burrowing just under the ground 1 Klick to the Southeast, you got em?"
>"Firing now. Going to hit the area with three, just to be safe."

>>35517773
>Abandon their underground colonies that can't be nuked in favor of the outback where we can kill them orbital strikes
>says Bugs won't go into the outback
>>35518016
>OP says that's exactly what they'll do and do it well
So, yeah, you're pretty much wrong on everything.

>>35518016
OP, in the meantime, can we get the surface bombarded after a bit when they think it's safe to bug out to the outback?

>>35518103
>OP says that's exactly what they'll do and do it well
no, he said something completely different from what YOU claimed

you claimed that if the brain bug informs them they would escape from the hives into the surface and disperse on the surface. which I refuted with saying they are easily nuked there

OP said that given enough time they will dig many smaller hives instead of the few large hives.

>>35518149
The original post >>35517754 only says:
>If we give them time to figure us out, they're going to abandon their underground colonies and vanish int the outback.
Not that they would try to survive on the surface, but leave their current colonies and go into the outback.

OP's post >>35518016:
>realize that their best chance is to disperse into the wastes, burrowing to small, hidden, interconnected nests instead of larger fortified ones

Both posts say that the Bugs will leave their current hives and disperse into the wilds to form smaller hives.

>>35518016
Can we just forget about the harness and go for the rachnids?

The point of spending just a bit more time than bolting on metal to cover the holes was to avoid them from completely bugging out

>>35518016
>We can mount the bolo with turrets (which could have been operated automatically before, but with recent damage will have to be manually operated)
>Fill it with troops (which would have prevented the internal damage if we had them before)
>Support it with tank battalions
really wish we did all that before deploying.

>>35518016

You think the landing area should be more than enough space for your Capitol Dome, and some re-shuffling of the Habitats will allow for major thoroughfares where the mining trucks will take their bounty to load into the Sky-El. Probably have to switch them around for efficiency too. Probably should see a Civil Engineer about that. Do you have those? All your domes are pre-fab anyway, so it's not likely that you'll need Civil Engineers to erect them. Civil Engineers are rarely Civil, anyway, like Civil Wars. The only thing worse than a Civil War is a sibling War. Or is that Family Feud? Feuding, uncivil families plotting to construct hab domes, each knocking into the other like dominoes before their hate, as the bugs tunnel down under the ground and there's a tall cat with arms and legs trying to tell you something you cannot understand, sorry ma'am, don't speak Kzin, especially a dialect that old...

"AWAKEN, COMMANDER. WE ARRIVE."

You jerk awake in your harness, plunging fully back into the BOLO datastream. Damn, it's been a while since you've Jacked In. Falling asleep in a BOLO is *extremely* discouraged, since the dreams you get are all fucking weird and disorientation on waking up is severe. You've heard some rumors the Legions discourage it because it makes you highly susceptible to being located and talked to in your sleep by enemy Telepaths, bypassing the Psi-Shields built into every BOLO since the First and amplifying the visibility of your mind and thoughts, but you never really believed it. Why not just tell you? Anyway, you're going to have to practice the Mantras of Alertness again. You've used it often enough in your career as a Trader, but you've forgotten it of late, with your excess of free time to sleep in.

Your struggle to stay awake eases as the Mantras come back t you, your mind re-focusing. It's no substitute for sleep, but it'll keep you going without side effects.

>CONT

>>35518203
>really wish we did all that before deploying.
Maybe now the players will actually think about what they're doing instead of blindly choosing options to get to the next bit of action.

>>35518016
>James is next: "Good news on the weapons front: We have four essentially garage-built Laser cannons and a box that shoots lots and lots of dumb rockets, all stolen from the Slaver depot, we can attach to your tank. You'll have to have the personnel in your internal fire them manually, but it's a start."

If we knew that in advance, we would've had those installed before going on our first attack.

>>35518212
People are more being pressed for time. I had the bombing idea, but OP didn't respond to the plausibility of it working until he counted the votes and began writing anyway.

>>35518191
>If we give them time to figure us out, they're going to abandon their underground colonies and vanish int the outback.
>Not that they would try to survive on the surface
>abandon their underground colonies
>Not surface
>abandon underground

also, look up the definition of outback.

>>35518255
Can you just quit being an argumentative fuck who insists on arguing over semantics?

>>35518255
Yes, they're going to abandon their underground colonies, because their current hives are underground colonies.

And the definition of outback is:
The remote rural part of a country especially of Australia or New Zealand.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/outback

The remote and usually uninhabited inland regions of Australia.
Any remote or sparsely populated region.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/outback

Kendricks said that they will disperse into the wastes, also a word to describe a remote or sparsely populated region.

So what are you trying to prove here?
Because you're still wrong on all counts.

>>35518243
>People are more being pressed for time
They're making mistakes, immediately going for whatever option is presented and not thinking things through.

>>35518277
>>>>>Hurr, the bugs will abandon their underground bases and go to the outback
>>>>Nope, they will get nuked if they go on the surface
>>>Durr, Lrn to read you retard, OP confirmed it when he said they will abandon their big colonies to make small underground colonies
>>But you said abandon the underground
>Hurr, stop being an argumentative fuck
Can you stop backpedaling while insulting other people's intelligence when they demolish your nonsense, claiming you were right all along

>>35518326
>They are going to abandon their underground colonies for other underground colonies
brilliant backpedaling there.