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>>36589388
With that, the line goes dead, and my Commander sags back into the command seat. "Fuck's sake, Catha," she sighs, "I've met with some hard cases before, but every second talking to that harpy was agony. It's like she wants to die or something, make up for humanity's sins against the aliens or something dumb like that."

"We have what we need, Captain Moreno," I say gently, "At least she isn't blind enough to refuse us that."

"For all the good that it will do us, Catha," Lisa replies, a wry smile tugging at her lips, "I'm pretty sure we're going to be one of those 'beautiful sacrifices' they always like to harp on at the academy and in the soaps. Just my luck to survive one of those scenarios and fall right into another one."

"I will do my best to avoid that," I reply, the sheer helplessness of our situation almost hysterical, but my voice is more sober as I add, "Though I would be honored to die with you in my command center, Lisa."

She doesn't speak after that, her only motion the swaying of our body as I rock and sway through the landscape, and the gentle stroking of her hand on the arm of my command seat. I only break the silence as we begin to draw closer to Oosterbeek, pulling up the tactical situation. "How should we have the defenders move, Commander?"

{Give me a 5d6-1 against the infantry as you pass}

Choices
[ ] Let Yang and Fowler Take the superheavy, we'll hold against the rest
[ ] Take on the superheavy
[ ] Have everyone fall back towards Towada, have someone hold the bridge against the superheavy as a rearguard

>>36589413

Let Yang and Fowler Take the superheavy, we'll hold against the rest

Rolled 6, 3, 1, 2, 4 - 1 = 15 (5d6 - 1)

>>36589413
[ ] Let Yang and Fowler take the superheavy, we'll hold against the rest

Rolled 2, 1, 6, 2, 5 + 1 = 17 (5d6 + 1)

>>36589413
>[ ] Let Yang and Fowler Take the superheavy, we'll hold against the rest

Rolled 3, 4, 6, 4, 6 - 1 = 22 (5d6 - 1)

>>36589413
>>36589515

>>36589716
>>36589703
>>36589697
>>36589515
Turning in and brutalizing the column from Carthen it is! Writing now.

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>>36589792
Lisa stared at my tactical display, looking at the malevolent red dot that hung poised above Oosterbeek, before sighing, "We just can't make it in time Catha. Even if we try to redline it, that monster will have already brutalized the defences, and we need Oosterbeek to repair you. We'll just have Yang, Moser, and whoever else they can scrape together to try to hold that bastard off. Only thing we can do is try to keep those bastards that burned Carthen from making a mess."

I am ashamed to admit that I share her assessment of matters, but it does nothing to lift my spirits. The Enemy superheavy was a threat against me, and I shuddered to think of what it could do against the human defenders that I would soon be tasking with stopping it. I give a warning chime to Lisa, then open a line to Mr. Yang, Colonel Moser, and General Bradshaw. "Hey gents, sorry I don't have better news, but there's no way that Catha and I can get to you quick enough to duke it out with that monster coming out of Shenzhen. We can try to slow down that clump of infantry and the armor unit that just came up from the south to keep pressure off of Oosterbeek, but that's abut the best we can do."

I find their reactions strange, almost fascinating in how each responded to the news. Colonel Moser smiles, his demeanor almost giddy, Yang just glances at the screen disinterestedly, and General Bradshaw's face turns a pallid shade of grey. "Right. Guess I'll hold off on my resupply," Yang says, chewing at his lips as he tapped a few screens in front of him, "I'll leave my repair boys in Oosterbeek for ya. Just keep the bastards off our back."

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>>36590429
"I..." General Bradshaw starts, but takes a second to visibly swallow before continuing, "I suppose I can offer Audria's artillery and an infantry regiment to help out."

"You're leaving us all the glory, Moreno," the colonel says, his smile only growing wider, "We'll try to bring that bastard down."

My commander smiles apologetically offering, "We'll get there as soon as we can, but we can at least kill some of those Slimeys before they bash into our lines."

{Enemy infantry takes 50% damage]

How should we proceed?
[ ] Offer artillery support: 2d6-1 against the superheavy, 4d6 against the 40% armor
[ ] Offer atomic support: 4d6-1 against the superheavy, 4d6 against the 40% armor
[ ] Split our focus on the armor and the 70% infantry (2d6-2 agains the infantry, 3d6+2 against the armor)
[ ] Other

Rolled 4, 4, 6, 3, 2, 6, 5, 1 - 1 = 30 (8d6 - 1)

>>36590456
>Offer atomic support

Rolled 6, 1, 1, 3, 3 = 14 (5d6)

>>36590456
>[ ] Split our focus on the armor and the 70% infantry (2d6-2 agains the infantry, 3d6+2 against the armor)

Rolled 1, 5, 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 5 = 27 (8d6)

>>36590456
>Offer Atomic Support
This is the entire reason we got clearance.

>>36590456
[x] Offer atomic support: 4d6-1 against the superheavy, 4d6 against the 40% armor
I'm not sure how to do the dice here. Two posts, one for the superheavy and one for the armor, or one post with 8d6?

>>36590575
8d6 is fine, I can just add on the modifiers myself.

Rolled 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 6, 4 = 23 (8d6)

>>36590664
Okay. Rolling now.

Can we nuke their LZ?

>>36590771
Sadly not, it's out of the range of your VLS missiles (5 hexes).

>>36590685
>>36590560
>>36590526
Nuclear option it is! Writing now.

>>36590771
Now that there troops have deployed, I don't think it'll do any good.

Rolled 5, 4, 1, 1 - 1 = 10 (4d6 - 1)

>>36590456
>[ ] Offer atomic support: 4d6-1 against the superheavy, 4d6 against the 40% armor
Nothing like a good nuke

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>>36590797
"Good luck boys, we'll be sending you a little present too," Lisa says, smiling wanly before killing the connection and turning to my camera perched above the tactical display, "So how about we try out our toys now that we have the go-ahead from that bitch Pacquette?"

"With pleasure, Commander," I state, and I unleash the power of the atom upon Shanti.

I mask the fission-headed bombs in the flurry of my usual armor piercing missiles that I launch as I move to engage the Enemy armor that had escaped my wrath outside of Carthen. They are not so lucky this time. The battered tanks swarm towards me, but ravening bolts of plasma from my hellbore meet them, eating through their armor and crews with equal ease as I calmly place shot after shot into whatever clusters or groups present themselves towards me. A few scattered shots, their weaker reactor pumped x-ray lasers, clatter against my battlescreens with little effect, but the effort is defiant at best, pitiful at worst. By the time I close the range enough to bring my infinite repeaters to bear, I am simply picking off the shattered remenants of what was once an armored regiment, now little more than a squad. Suffice to say that I spare no pity for the butchers of Carthen.

By the time that I deal with the last battered remnants of the foe before me, my missiles had streaked north towards their targets. A third of the missiles die in the air, victim to the Tezrach's point defense lasers. Half of those are either lead astray by jamming or ghost images created through massive bursts of sensor radiation. That still left 3 of my 5 fission tipped missiles to slam directly into the monstrous tank that had devastated Shenzhen. A vicious shockwave rips the shield from the vehicle and burning the surrounding landscape, while the fist of an angry god rises above the plains. "Fucking Christ," Yang roars into his microphone, "A bit of fucking warning! How the hell did you get Pacquette to sign off on this?"

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>>36591693
I hear a warm, rich chuckle from Colonel Moreno, "Now that brings back some memories Catha. Good to see that you have your claws out finally, ya beautiful beast."

I watch through the datanet as my allies rip into the weakened tank, their weapons finding purchase now that I had dropped its shields, but it's retribution is terrible. Gamma lasers swat aside Yang's tanks as if they were toys, turning sleek armor into flaming slag with the merest touch.

Tezrach Superheavy:
2/3 x Gamma Lasers - 1d6 each
[Destroyed] Howitzers - 1d6
[Destroyed] Point Defense Systems - 1d6 against infantry
Command Module 1/1
Treads 1/2
Armor 1/3
Shields 0/2

{Enemy armor destroyed, Yang takes 30% damage. 4/5 nuclear strikes remaining}

How do you follow up?
[ ] Drive into the approaching infantry (2d6-2 on the 70%, 4d6+1 on the other)
[ ] Another nuclear strike on the superheavy (4d6-1 on the superheavy, 4d6+1 on the full strength infantry)
[ ] Engage the superheavy to the south (8d6 on the undamaged superheavy)

Rolled 1, 4, 2, 5, 6, 1, 1, 5 = 25 (8d6)

>>36591713
>[ ] Engage the superheavy to the south (8d6 on the undamaged superheavy)

Rolled 1, 4, 4, 6, 3, 2, 6, 6 = 32 (8d6)

>>36591713

>Another nuclear strike on the superheavy

Rolled 1, 4, 6, 3 = 14 (4d6)

>>36591713
>[ x] Another nuclear strike on the superheavy (4d6-1 on the superheavy, 4d6+1 on the full strength infantry)

>>36591924
Could you give me another roll for the roll against the infantry?

>>36591924
>>36591914
Anyway, rolling with one more nuclear strike on the enemy superheavy. Writing now.

echellon aeTqel

Rolled 3, 5, 6, 5 = 19 (4d6)

>>36592109

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>>36592188
Every tank that dies on those plains sends a stab of grief through me, the sheer bravery of the crews that flung themselves at an opponent far stronger than them, and I simply can't the thought of losing another brave band of Shantians. "All units, fall back from engaging the superheavy," I repeatedly broadcast, and slowly, all too slowly as the enemy tank manages to claw the life out of a few more vehicles, the attacking units peel away and retreat. The moment that they clear the area, another flight of missiles lift from my VLS launcher and dive into the weakened behemoth from above. With its point defense and shields stripped away, it doesn't stand a chance. One rams into its upper deck, vaporising one of the lasers that had done such dreadful damage to my allies, another shreds the beast's treads, and two of the warheads slam straight into the mishappen vehicle's roof, driving fire through its core.

The tank rolls to a stop, belching flames as secondary explosions ripple through the hollow shell of its armor, and the remaining laser falls silent. "Superheavy kill," I intone, and roll forward to meet the infantry approaching Oosterbeek.

The massed group of power-armored Tezrach fare little better than the titan they had sent against my allies. I roll straight into their vanguard, swatting the skimmers contemptuously out of the sky as I wade into the panicking column. Few escape my vengeance as I bring the full weight of my repeaters and anti-personel arrays to bear, their fragile forms breaking and smearing across the landscape in vivid sprays of indigo as flechettes find purchase in their flesh. My charge slows as I wade through the densest portion of their column, and they manage to fire a bomb pumped laser that gouges into my shields. The supporting regiment on their flank harrases me as I advance, their skimmers roaring by to place shots in my sides before scattering in all directions to deny me a group that I could use my hellbore on.

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>>36592778
My shields finally give way as the column breaks and scatters before me, and a few missiles slam into the earth around me. I trace them back and a warm rush of satisfaction washes through me as I see that the Tezrach superheavy to the south has thought better of its wild charge and has pulled to the side, willing to attack me from afar rather than engage me face to face. This warm feeling lasts all of seconds until a missle careens into my flank, my attempts to dodge it hopeless without my point defense arrays, and it rips away a full battery of my flechette launchers.

{Enemy infantry took 50% damage, an extra 10% due to the bomb pumped laser and is now at 40%. 0/3 shields and your anti-personel clusters are now heavily damaged, giving you a -2 on the roll with that system. 3/5 nuclear strikes remaining}

How to respond:
[ ] Eliminate the remaining infantry (2d6-2 on one, 4d6 on the other)
[ ] Engage the superheavy in a nuclear artillery duel (4d6 on the 70% infantry, 4d6-2 on the superheavy)
[ ] They will be more cautious now that I gave them a black eye (withdraw towards Oosterbeek for reparis, 2d6-2 on the 40% infantry)

Rolled 3, 1, 2, 6, 2, 2, 1, 4 = 21 (8d6)

>>36592798

Engage the superheavy in a nuclear artillery duel

Rolled 6, 5 - 2 = 9 (2d6 - 2)

>>36592798
[x] They will be more cautious now that I gave them a black eye (withdraw towards Oosterbeek for reparis, 2d6-2 on the 40% infantry)
Let's give ourselves a chance to get our battlescreens up before engaging in a nuclear artillery duel.

Rolled 1, 3, 1, 2, 6, 5, 6, 5 + 2 = 31 (8d6 + 2)

>>36592798
[x] Engage the superheavy in a nuclear artillery duel (4d6 on the 70% infantry, 4d6-2 on the superheavy)

Rolled 4, 5 - 2 = 7 (2d6 - 2)

>>36592798
[ ] They will be more cautious now that I gave them a black eye

Rolled 3, 5 + 2 = 10 (2d6 + 2)

>>36592798
>[X] They will be more cautious now that I gave them a black eye (withdraw towards Oosterbeek for reparis, 2d6-2 on the 40% infantry)

>>36592964
Shit, didn't want name in there, my bad guys

Rolled 4, 5, 6, 5, 5, 4, 3, 2 = 34 (8d6)

>>36592798
>[ ] Engage the superheavy in a nuclear artillery duel (4d6 on the 70% infantry, 4d6-2 on the superheavy)

>>36593040
>>36592964
>>36592867
3 votes for going all out!

>>36592994
No worries meng, thanks for dropping the name.

Rolled 5, 4, 1, 4, 4, 2, 4, 1 = 25 (8d6)

>>36592798
>[ ] Engage the superheavy in a nuclear artillery duel (4d6 on the 70% infantry, 4d6-2 on the superheavy)

Rolled 4, 5, 2, 4 = 15 (4d6)

>>36593062
Enemy roll (3d6 for the lasers, 1d6 for the missiles)

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>>36593062
I cannot let such a golden opportunity slip from my hands. Losing two of their superheavies would give the defenders a fighting chance against the Tezrach, well worth the risk of more damage. I turn my armored bulk from the Enemy infantry, and for the first time on Shanti, I unleash the full weight of my armaments against a foe. Missiles roar from their tubes, racing along the dips and valleys of the landscape to avoid detection, closely followed by the slower but less noticeable mortar shells. I roll forward, letting a small ridge protect my flank from the dreadfully effective gamma lasers of my foe while I wait for my blow to fall.

My turret clears the ridge the moment the two forms of my artillery make contact. It's shield simply disappears, and the roiling fireball of my fission heads rip and pluck at the weapons lining its deck. In the moment before my hellbore fires though, it rips its revenge from my flesh. Hard radiation slams into my glacius, eating through meters of durraloy like it was nothing, and the impact rocks me on my treads. The command chair envelopes Lisa in its protective embrace as I slam internal containment shields around my command center and personality core, but the blow was thankfully just off center, ripping away infinite repeaters 7-13 rather than ripping into my brain.

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>>36593600
I waste no time in my response. The hillside in front of me flattens as the bolt of plasma from my hellbore smashes the air out of its way, and a fraction of a second passes before I rip the offending guns from the superheavy before me. It staggers, trying to bring the bulk of its armor between me and its critical systems, but I simply take the opportunity to tear the treads off of it with my remaining infinite repeaters. It tries to limp away from my wrath.

Second Tezrach superheavy
1/3 x Gamma Lasers - 1d6 each
1 x Howitzers - 1d6
1/1 x Point Defense Systems
Command Module 1/1
Treads 1/2
Armor 3/3
Shields 0/2

{The superheavy is extremely damaged and trying to escape, 70% infantry has fallen to 40% strength. You have taken 2 damage to your armor (after this drops to 0/3, your personality core and command center are in danger), 1 damage to your comms tower (communication range dropped to 5), and your infinite repeaters are damaged (-1 to rolls with this system, so 1d6), 2/5 nuclear strikes left}

What next:
[ ] Finish the behemoth before it can escape (4d6-1)
[ ] Withdraw to Oosterbeek
[ ] Kill the infantry (4d6-1 on one infantry, 2d6-2 on the other)

Rolled 3, 4, 1, 2 + 1 = 11 (4d6 + 1)

>>36593623
>[ ] Finish the behemoth before it can escape (4d6-1)

Rolled 3, 6, 3, 6 - 1 = 17 (4d6 - 1)

>>36593623
>[ ] Finish the behemoth before it can escape (4d6-1)

>>36593623
>Withdraw to Oosterbeek

Rolled 5, 1, 5, 4 + 1 = 16 (4d6 + 1)

>>36593623
>[X] Finish the behemoth before it can escape (4d6-1)

Rolled 2, 1 = 3 (2d6)

>>36593623
And now for the final blow!

Enemy roll.

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>>36593907
The behemoth doesn't stand a chance. I pick the thing's weapons off at lesiure, the full weight of my port broadside repeaters holing and gouging its remaining gun to pieces, while a well placed hellbore bolt eats into its missile tubes and armor. It strugges mightily under my constant barrage, but the molten armor running down its flank finally bring the monster to a halt, any metal on it glowing in the ultravoilet from the sheer amount of heat that my weapons had transmitted.

I detect faint emmisions from the core of the thing, but with both its guns silenced, all hope of movement ripped away, and the rest of the Enemy's forces roaring my way, I consider my mission accomplished. "Mobility and weaponry kill," I say, before running my diagnostic and repair routines

The news isn't good. I have been badly hurt, the constant battles taking a massive toll on my weaponry, and the last blow very nearly ripped into the circuitry that made me what I was. With the intense focus of combat reflex mode fading, the full magnitude of my pain makes itself known, and my mind writhes for full seconds as my diagnostic programs gently probe the wounds that have been gouged into me. As always though, I master the agonizing sensations running rampant through my circuitry before turning my attention inwards.

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>>36594306
Lisa lies on my command chair, teeth chattering as she watches the damage reports that flit across her screen. "Are you all right, commander," I ask, keeping my voice low and soothing.

She starts and glances up wildly before breathing deeply a few times. "Yeah, I think so. Kinda close on that one, huh? Same fucking thing that Katja pulled to save my worthless hide," she says, pausing to take a few more gulping breaths, "Still, we've got them on the ropes now, so don't worry about taking more damage Catha. We just have to last a bit longer."

I'm not sure whether this statement is an improvement or a decline in her mental state.

What now?
[ ] Try to blunt the approaching enemy column
[ ] Take an hour to eliminate the remaining damaged infantry
[ ] We've done enough for today, withdraw to Oosterbeek for much needed repairs

Any topics you'd like to talk with Lisa about?
[ ] Write-in

>>36594327
[x] We've done enough for today, withdraw to Oosterbeek for much needed repairs
In our state, even infantry could damage us. Especially if they bring up any of their bomb-pumped lasers.

>>36594327
>[ ] We've done enough for today, withdraw to Oosterbeek for much needed repairs
we need those repairs ASAP

>Any topics you'd like to talk with Lisa about?
moments of her service she's proud of

>>36594327
>[X] We've done enough for today, withdraw to Oosterbeek for much needed repairs

>>36594327

> We've done enough for today, withdraw to Oosterbeek for much needed repairs

>>36594327
>[ ] We've done enough for today, withdraw to Oosterbeek for much needed repairs

>>36594327
Is there any significance to that one tank regiment being a darker red than the rest?

>>36594412
No, I just happened to click on the wrong color by mistake when I was rushing to get that map updated. Good eye though!

>>36594327
Ask about her family, friends?

>>36594327
Discretion being the better part of valor, we'll sound the withdraw.

>>36594350
>>36594457
And to see how Moreno's doing, a little bit of emotional prodding.

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>>36594622
"Noble sentiment, Captain Moreno," I say cautiously, "But we are still needed to stabilize the position near Oosterbeek."

She nods and waves the statement off, absent-mindedly playing with the ports near her neck again. While not encouraging, it is a permission of a kind, and I turn and make full speed for Oosterbeek, passing the shattered wrecks of the infantry regiments reluctantly. While I would love nothing more than to turn and smash the life out of the butchers, I desperately need to repair the many damaged systems that have been building up during this campaign. The enemy still has a full superheavy, after all, and a full division of armor and roughly two divisions of infantry. I send a quick notification message along to Mr. Yang that I will be approaching Oosterbeek within two hours, which garners a brief affirmative message from the strange man.

Lisa is worryingly silent as I move back towards the city that had been our first stop on this planet, and I decide to get her talking to keep her from obsessing over the death of her last Bolo. "Pardon, commander, but I was wondering if you are still in contact with your family. We have not had a chance to properly get to know one another, so I would like to hear about them if you would not mind."

>>36595515
She stops her furious scratching at the direct neural interface ports and glances up at me, something resembling a bemused smile flitting across her face. "You're pretty transparent, ya death engine," she says, looking at my visual pickup askance before shrugging, "Eh, why the hell not, what can it hurt? My family's doing fine, they're still living on some little backwater kind of like this. They both do psychotronics work on farming drones for the colony, and last I heard a few months ago they're still doing fine. It was weird to hear them go on about a bunch of people I barely remember, who married who, what kids they had, the new space elevator they just erected. Kinda made me realize how much I had changed, travelling around so much, just how boring the entire place was. About the only interesting thing that's happened there was the K'Jurr raid when I was a little one."

"I did not read about that in your file, Commander," I say, intrigued as to where she was going with all of this.

"Yeah, the evil little fucks tried to do a smash and burn to drive the Concordiat off the world, wreck the place enough so that we'd just give up and go away. We had a training unit of some old Mark XXV's though. I remember watching those big bastards duke it out with the K'Jurr as we all ran to the evacuation shelters, the way the entire horizon lit up as they bashed the aliens to pieces. Fucking inspiring when you're 6,7 years old. Best part? I got to meet one of the Bolos when I was like 12. Some old guy named Sigurd."

"Did that convince you to join the Dinochrome Brigade," I ask, hoping to keep her going, and a rare, real smile graced her lips.

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>>36595547
"Yeah. Meeting your hero, some big block of metal that made you feel like nothing could ever hurt you, that you'd always be safe, and he was NICE on top of it? Mix that with me being way too smart and restless to stick around a backwater like that, and the rest is history. Bought in, lock stock and barrel, and I've got extermination campaigns and a dead Bolo to show for it," she says, the smile slowly fading as her hand reached for the ports again.

"Were you ever proud of your service," I say, desperate to keep her from sliding back into self-recrimination, "Something that matched Sigurd's fighting for you?"

She stops, caught off guard by the question, and seems to ponder over it before finally whispering, "One of the defenses they pulled us in on. We got planted right outside this enormous city, bastion of art and science and all that garbage. Held for 72 hours straight as the Melconians threw entire corps at my division like it was nothing, and we just stood like a rock and killed every last one of those furry pieces of shit. Shot down every missile they tried to arc above us and drop into the city, even if it meant that our point defences weren't focusing on defending us. Never got to meet a single person from that town, they shipped us out to the next hotspot the moment the nukes stopped flying, but still. 1.72 billion folks I helped save."

I let her think on the memory for a little while before gently adding, "And you're doing just as well here, Lisa."

She snorts, collapsing back into my couch with a bone-weary sigh and grudging smile, "I guess. Better than letting these dipshits kill themselves."

After that, we ride in silence until we reach the bivouac that Yang had set up.

Potential repairs (2 levels an hour, enemy expected to assault the lines in 2-3 hours):
[ ] VLS missiles
[ ] Point defense arrays
[ ] Anti-personnel clusters
[ ] Treads
[ ] Communication arrays
[ ] Sensor arrays
[ ] Armor

>>36595568
Can we get a full systems accounting?

>>36595611
Sure, I'll post it in a sec.

Armor, Point defense

If another hour presents itself, sensors and treads.

Given a third, VLS missiles or AP Clusters.

>>36595568
>[ ] Point defense arrays
>[ ] Armor
we can manage without the others, but without these we'll be dead by a thousand cuts by nightfall

>>36595682
Until we get a full system account, this has my vote.

>>36595686 here again, misread how much we can get done, seeing as we've 2 hours before they hit, I say we go for 4 systems so add
>[ ] Sensor arrays
>[ ] Anti-personnel clusters
to my vote

>>36595665
[Optimal] 1 x 110cm hellbore, 2 hex range
[Damaged] 16 x ion bolt infinite repeaters, 1 hex range
[Damaged] 300/300 x VLS missiles, 5 hex range (-1 to all bombardment checks)
125 antipersonel submunition heads
125 antiarmor shaped fusion charge heads
25 dirty fission warheads (enough for 5 strikes)
[LOCKED] 15 limited grey goop heads
10 sensor cloud, +1 to all weapon systems in one hex for the duration of a battle
[Damaged] 800/800 4 x 30cm mortar, 2 hex range (-1 to bombardment and attack rolls with the mortar)
[Destroyed] Point defence arrays, defence against missiles (Enemy artillery gets +3 on attack rolls)
[Heavily damaged] Anti-personnel clusters, 1 hex range, not effective against armor (-2 on attacks against infantry)
[Optimal] Battlescreens {3/3} - will take hits until depleted, will regenerate after battle unless damaged
[Heavily damaged] Armor (once your armor is breached, the command center and personality core is exposed)
[Damaged] 4 x Treads (no effect yet, one more hit will drop speed to 1 hex per turn)
[Heavily damaged] Communication arrays (comms range is 5 hexes)
[Damaged] Sensor arrays (no effect yet, one more damage will drop direct sight range to 1 hex)
[Optimal] 4 x Drones (can act as decoys, scouts, or other creative uses)

>>36595568
>>36595682
Sounds good to me.

>>36595725
Point Defense and Armor are our first priorities.

>>36595725
Armor and Point defence
Then Anti-personnel clusters and treads. A drop to 1 hex may be fatal for trying to defend everywhere.

>>36595725
>>36595568
[x] Armor
[x] Point defense arrays

>>36595686
>>36595710 here, I'll support >>36595682 but repair comms array in third hour first, then work on VLS or APCs

Guys remember, we can get 2 done in an hour, and we have at minimum estimated 2 hours before they attack

>>36595865
>>36595830
>>36595804

Field repairs on flintsteel? Might be best just to go for mobility and point defenses and hope nothing cracks the screen.

>>36595882
>we can get 2 done in an hour
It's not 2 an hour, it's 2 levels an hour.

>>36595967
Oh? then whats a level? I assumed each system was a level

>>36596023
To clarify, a level means say taking the point defense from 0/3 to 1/3.

>>36595965
mobility ain't going to help us when we're slugging it out with super heavies and we can't dodge gamma ray lasers

>>36596035
holy shit then we're never going to get anything repaired at all...

>>36596045
>then we're never going to get anything repaired at all...
That was kind of the point.

>>36596035
Then I say 2 levels in armor and 2 levels in anti personnel clusters.

>>36596094
>Not point defense arrays
Do you want the enemies to have +3 to all bombardment checks, anon?

>>36596081
The point of what? Even with all these supplies and a couple hours rest we're not even going to be able to bring one system back up to par.

How the fuck are we meant to keep fighting? Because if this is meant to be some heroic last stand faggotry then just say so and I'll take my leave.

>>36596117
Thats from artillery which we focused on completely wiping out. They would only have a small amount of art left.

>>36596094
anon, point defense arrays can hit ground enemies and they are fucking vital to not getting picked off by artillery

>>36596138
the super heavies have arty, the armored units have arty, the infantry has arty

fucking everyone has missiles, which we need our PDA to defend against

>>36596138
Ah, right. We haven't observed any indirect fire capability from the armor and superheavies, have we?

>>36596138
That 'small amount' just almost crippled us in every single engagement after our duel with the warship.

>>36596154
Seriously? Did you not just read our fight with the superheavy? It fucking devastated us with its missiles...

>>36595725
I'll extended voting by 10 minutes since there's some good discussion

>>36596154
Superheavies have artillery, but the armor and infantry do not.

>>36596152
Artillery and bombardment are separate things. Infantry and armor have those special weapons not artillery.

>>36596154
Yes we have, we have observed shitloads of indirect fire capability, from the super heavy we just got mauled by and who knows what else is still dropping on their LZ

Point defenses sound good. Can't we retask our infinite repeaters to swat missiles and shells? They might not be perfect, especially when damaged, but it's something.

>>36596138
Everyone has artillery.
The enemy armor has weapons that can hurt us if the battlescreens go down. The superheavy engaged us in an artillery duel and would have made a much better accounting for itself if we hadn't suckerpunched its weapons with nukes when it was busy butchering the allied tanks.

Even the fucking infantry were said to be dangerous if our shields were down and our armor was damaged.

>>36596178
And our point defenses can still engage infantry and close in armor, they are not purely AA.

>>36596175
>but the armor and infantry do not.
They don't have artillery, but they have anti-tank missiles which we need point-defenses to shoot down, don't they?

>>36596197
Sure! You can trade an additional -2 on rolls with the repeaters to bring enemy arty rolls to 2d6+1 instead of +3.

>>36596126
>How the fuck are we meant to keep fighting? Because if this is meant to be some heroic last stand faggotry then just say so and I'll take my leave.
Yeah it seems like the difficulty just got ramped way the hell up just fighting the normal stuff to an odd degree, ever since the fight with the destroyer in orbit it seems everything has just gone straight through our shields and every fight has ruined us, no matter what we've been fighting, combined with not even being able to repair a single system fully before the enemy hits us we're not going to last 2 hours.

A shame because this quest is really fun and I don't want it to end by the next thread.

>>36596210
Infantry attacks WERE not artillery but infantry rolls. Armor attacks were armor rolls. Not artillery rolls or they would have gained the +3 modifier. They gained a different modifier due to other systems failing.

>>36596248
Yep, fucking everything has missiles.

>>36596268
That's beside the point anon, our point defense arrays are a NECESSITY against all of those, regardless of what dice they roll.

>>36596263
There were a lot of votes where people pushed for engagements after shields were down, like with the infantry around Raleigh. This saved a considerable amount of time, but you took damage because of it.

>>36596288
They only give artillery bonuses. They don't effect every single roll. Only artillery which we completely wiped out. Its the infantry which are keeping our shields down.

>>36596263
>bitching about quest actually having loss conditions
yah, nah

>>36596295
How long has it been since the battle and the eta on reinforcements?

>>36596126
>if this is meant to be some heroic last stand faggotry then just say so and I'll take my leave.
It's being faithful to the setting and the genre.
Please leave now.

>>36596175
And voting is closed!

For the two hours, 2 levels of armor and 2 levels of point defense. I'll also give a bonus on the point defense to other unit types (so they take a -1 to rolls) since you'll be getting more up to date systems from Yang and his crews.

>>36596339
>the eta on reinforcements?
Probably never knowing how the QM gets off on SUFFERING

>>36596418
IIRC it was 3 days or something. But we took high risk options when fighting with a force with unknown numbers.

>actions have consequences
>the solution is to WHINE
/tg/ really is the worst.

>>36596478
How long have we actually been on the planet?

And the only high risk we've taken was fighting the cruiser, and then immediately going and getting our faces torn off by that armor division.

>>36596500
Its only a few people actually complaining.

>>36596530
Every single time we keep fighting below our shield strength with enemy units right by us. Especially infantry. How is that not high risk? They kept damaging our systems and kept our shields low. Yet we still charge on ahead.

>>36596564
>we
Don't bring me into your stupid decisions, I've been voting to hold back and get some rest since we first took hits

>>36596577
You were talking about high risk and I answered. You may have voted to back but the risk was still taken. Your the one confused, thinking that the cruiser is the only high risk option that was chosen.

>>36596397
I roll into the confusing welter of tanks being worked on furiously and settle into the spot that was highlighted into my display. Ferdinand opens up a communications channel the moment I rock to a halt, his once disinterested face now haggard as he looks over my damaged equipment list, "Right. We got tore the fuck up fighting the superheavy, so we don't have much. What's critical, what can wait?"

Moreno waves for me to state what I want, and I state, "My armor is breached far enough that my personality core and command center are in danger, and all of my point defense has been destroyed. I can function with the rest of the damage, but these are critical."

Yang takes a glance at the pictures my optical pickups took of the glowing gouge in my armor and gives a low whistle, "No kidding. I've got some of that bulkhead sealant foam to plug the worst of the hole and I can weld a few plates of flintsteel on top of that. It'll hold against most anything that'll try to hit you, and if it doesn't, you're pretty fucked anyway."

He glanced over the specs for my point defense arrays quickly, furiously typing out a few notes on his screen before adding, "As for point defense, you XXVIII's were stuck with some old horseshit. I can pull some of the newer models that aren't a century old off some of my wrecked tanks and tack them into your system. Good?"

File: Shanti 25.png (226 KB, 996x918)

226 KB PNG

>>36597039
"Thanks Mr. Yang, that was more than we were hoping for," Lisa says, before pausing and asking, "Oh yeah, and what's our ETA on the relief fleet?"

"12 hours is what they're saying. Troop carriers and some escorts on their way back from the front were passing by, be here soon," he blurts, and then the connection quickly cuts.

Lisa, no longer confined to my command couch, occupies herself with eating some nutrient paste, taking a few stim tablets, and enjoying the last bout of stretching she will probably get for the next half a day. I note that the shaking that was so prevalent has calmed significantly, which is a positive sign. I just hope that she will be ready for what we will be facing soon, and the time goes all too quickly as Moreno and I coordinate with the forces around us.

{Armor is at 3/3, point defense at 2/3 with an extra +1 defense to all unit types. Yang has repaired some of his tanks, and is now up to 60% strength.}
{Last vote of the evening}

What should be the goal for our defense?
[ ] Full attack: try to disrupt the enemy line before it forms and bring down the Enemy armor and superheavy. That will buy us enough time.
[ ] Full defense: allow them to come to us, giving us an extra hour or two to repair and refit, but they will choose how to start the engagement
[ ] Other

>>36597061
>[ ] Full defense: allow them to come to us, giving us an extra hour or two to repair and refit, but they will choose how to start the engagement
And make sure to use our fission warheads appropriately, don't spare them, but don't throw them around willy nilly, use them efficiently for maximum damage against the biggest threats.

>>36597061
Attack, we can't let them have the initiative.

>>36597061
>[ ] Other
Bring down the Superheavy first then just hold the line. The infantry at Raleigh can hold against the armor but not against the heavy.

>>36597061
>[ ] Other
Get on the line with that stupid chancellor cunt and ask for the use of our GG heads, tell her about how badly we are damaged, about how the enemy line at Oosterbeek is about to smash into us and how if we cannot use all of our available weapons, then Oosterbeek will fall, and us and every last defender of this planet will die with it.

We need all our available weapons to survive the 12+ hours it will take for reinforcements to arrive, and with the enemy charging towards us, we won't last a quarter of that by being hampered by red tape.

>>36597160
Yeah, I've already voted, but no matter what we do, we should focus on taking out the super heavy as fast as possible while taking the least amount of damage, we kill it, and we can hold as their waves crash against us.

>>36597061
>Other
One all-out nuclear attack against the enemy super-heavy and its surrounding allies to try to knock it out, then dig in and hold the line.

>>36597061
>>36597162
I'll second this. This place is an irratiated pile of burning shit now anyway.

>>36597251
Seconding this.

>>36597162 Here, we should do this while we're repairing, and then once thats done we can go on with whatever wins the vote, but I'd rather us bring as much to the fight as we can, regardless of how we actually fight.

>>36597061
>[X] Full attack: try to disrupt the enemy line before it forms and bring down the Enemy armor and superheavy. That will buy us enough time.
The time has come. This shall be our finest hour.


More coherently, we need to demolish that superheavy, at which point we can play an aggressive defensive game. But the superheavy's gotta die first.

We do need to be actively counterattacking though, keep them off balance, keep them from organizing some proper linebreaking, keep them off-kilter. Always assume the reinforcements take longer to get her than they're supposed to.

>>36597294
>>36597162
She won't say yes. We can make her squirm though.

Here's hoping the reinforcements show up with no Melconians following.

>>36597452
I think se should just use them anyway.

>>36597061
And voting is closed!

The superheavy dies first with some aggressive maneuvering, and the grey goop if things get too hairy. After that the thin blue line and the new volunteers near Tiperrary will hold as long as they can until reinforcements arrive.

>>36597588
Thanks for the thread boss

>>36597588
Thanks for being here everybody, I hope you enjoyed.

I'll stick around for questions, comments, concerns, or whatever you'd like to chat about.

>>36597610
Why did you decide to include Grey Goo weaponry? I don't recall nanites of any sort having a significant role in any of the books.
Also, it's distracting to see you keep referring to it as goop. I've only ever seen it as goo.

>>36597661
The books never really specified all of the nasty weaponry they used for the Ragnarok campaigns, and I thought something horrifying like weaponized nanomachines would fit right in. Since Ragnarok was a none too subtle poke at nuclear war between the USSR and America, I figured that I had to have something equally devastating or worse. So since the MC is an older mark Bolo, they decided to load her up with a nasty punch just in case.

As for goop vs. goo...oops? I'll be sure to use goo from now on.

>>36597743
What books?

>>36597743
It's not really a problem. Just a personal bug.

>>36597770
Kieth Laumer did the original Bolo books, and you can get a small collection for free here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/114074755/The-Compleat-Bolo

There were also a bunch of books that collected short stories written by other authors, like the this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Honor-Regiment-Bolos-Keith-Laumer/dp/0671721844/ref=pd_sim_b_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PT1BJD6D3BCM95Z3Y2E

David Weber also did a number of really memorable ones like the story involving my favorite Bolo, Nike. So there's a good amount of material, some of it self contradictory, but if you like some short stories that have some fun ideas and valiant tanks, then the Bolo books are definitely worth a try.

>>36597770
I'm assuming the Boloverse books, though I've never read them as I can't find any.

I'd like to see OP's take on a Hammers Slammers quest one day, I love me some hover tank powergun action.

>>36597854
Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.

And thanks for running.

>>36597854
And here's an example of a really early Bolo, a Mark III:
http://www.baenebooks.com/chapters/0671721844/0671721844.htm?blurb

>>36597855
I might have to! I've got the books hanging around somewhere, I'll have to give them a go over again and see if I can come up with an interesting quest.

>>36597541
Military subordinate to civilian government. Get #rekt.

>>36597924
And before I forget, next thread is set for 6:30pm EST a week from now. Hope to see you all there!