>>38703103
"So it all comes down to how we split our forces," you explain to your assembled teams not fifteen minutes later. "Where do we want to attack, where do we want our allies to attack, and whether we want to involve Voight in this."

"I trust our allies completely," Carrina replies, "I just don't want to risk losing Six Shooter to the Remnants."

"So we'll just concentrate our own efforts there," Haman tells her. "We can still kill two birds with one stone here."

Audrey shakes her head. "I don't know, I'm still concerned about the newtype labs. If we didn't try to set up Voight like that we could hit both sites in force."

"It'd be easier if we just blasted the station," Rossweisse observes. Honestly, you really like where her head is on this: solve it with firepower. Simple. Elegant. Effective. And if it doesn't work, add more of it.

>We should use Voight's attack as a distraction for Karaba to take Gryps, then we'll mop up anything left around the station.
>We should use Voight's attack to cover our own attack at Gryps. Karaba will sweep the station when Voight and Om are weak.
>Karaba should attack the station to give us an opening to attack Gryps.
>We should attack the station to give Karaba a chance to seize Gryps.
>Other?

>>38703277
>>We should attack the station to give Karaba a chance to seize Gryps.

>>38703277
How close are we to Riah? Riah doesn't have long deployment capabilities, or modern MS designs. We have room on the Nagato, and with materials and designs (materials from riah, designs from Karba, Republic or us stealing something) we can build them a new military long term.

>>38703277
>We should use Voight's attack as a distraction for Karaba to take Gryps, then we'll mop up anything left around the station.
What's up KoH? I was lookin forward to this thread.

>>38703277
>>We should use Voight's attack to cover our own attack at Gryps. Karaba will sweep the station when Voight and Om are weak.

>>38703277
>We should attack the station to give Karaba a chance to seize Gryps.
Don't risk Voight getting his hands on the interplanetary nuclear machinegun, that can't end well. And we're the better team for attacking Six Shooter, it'll be primarily 0G combat with no entering gravity (well, centripetal pseudo-gravity, but you get the point), meaning we can use the funnels to their full extent. Meanwhile Karaba can hit Gryps with a rapid strike from their Zetas. Get in, trash the place to the point where Paptimus can't use it, get out.

>>38703277
>We should use Voight's attack as a distraction for Karaba to take Gryps, then we'll mop up anything left around the station.

>>38703365
Fairly close, actually. Just on the opposite side of the L5 point, so it's the closet Side to Side 1, where Londenion is.

Problem is that their political situation is messy. They may not cooperate.

>>38703423
Well, its worth asking. Hopefully they'll accept the idea of a wholesale military upgrade for material costs and helping destroy a superweapon pointed at them anyway.

>>38703277
>>We should use Voight's attack as a distraction for Karaba to take Gryps, then we'll mop up anything left around the station.

Trojan Horse insertion. Stowaway on a Columbus supply run heading for the station. We go full Libot and pop out to Shrek Riddick's new toy.

>>38703493
"What's that, you don't want to help us? Fine, I'm just rather dissapointed, I mean FIRST you try to kidnap one of our members for Newtype expiments, so I thought you'd want to make it up to us...."

>>38703277
I feel kinda stupid now. Who is Voight again?

>>38703598
The guy the Sisters have a hate boner for.

>>38703277
I forgot, is Gryps a colony laser now or not?

Anyway, get that third Titan commander on the line. Fill him in that Bask has a superweapon designed, and that he's probably planning to blow him up as a test. That recent attack on them was mostly to test their strength, so he plans to nuke them all from orbit while they're stationed in one location.

We can use that to our advantage. If they decide to relocate (say, to a friendly Fed base, or our base under Antarctica) the other Titan leaders might get confused enough to try and retake their old base, weakening their forces.

Meanwhile, we should attempt to seize the Six Shooter, and if we can't do it, we need to blow it up. We need a trump card against Papsmear and Axis.

Ideally, if we could get that third Titan leader (forgot his name) to help us, it'd be great. Have him arrange a meeting with Papsmear, infiltrate Gryps with his troops, and shoot it out from the inside (or take it over).

>>38703598
The most recent leader of the Zeon remnants.

>>38703629
Supporting this.

Even better if we can leak this information to Papsmear and trick him in attacking 6-shooter as well, so we sweep more eggs at once.

>>38703277
"I suggest we use Voight's attack to draw Paptimus and Om's forces into a confrontation at the Six Shooter location," you conclude. "Then we'll mop up whatever's left while Karaba takes Gryps."

"It's a big risk," Karen replies, "but you know me well enough to know I'll go for it."

Carrina, however, doesn't seem convinced. "Why are you saying that, Dom? I thought you'd be leaping at the chance to liberate another Newtype lab."

"I'm puzzled as well," Rossweisse agrees. "I could guess at your reasoning, but it's simpler to ask."

>Voight did something horrible to you, Catrina, Carya. You deserve closure for that.
>We're the ones with the firepower to pull this off against three fleets. Simple as that.
>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.
>Because we need Karaba to conserve its numbers if we're going to face Mars.
>Other?

>>38703760
>>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.
>>Because we need Karaba to conserve its numbers if we're going to face Mars.

>>38703760
>>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.

>>38703760
>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.

>>38703423
Lets try it at least. We have the time.

>>38703760
>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.

>>38703760
>We're the ones with the firepower to pull this off against three fleets. Simple as that.
>>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.

>>38703760
>We're the ones with the firepower to pull this off against three fleets.
>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.

>>38703760
>>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.

>>38703760
>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.
>Because we need Karaba to conserve its numbers if we're going to face Mars.

>>38703556
That's not a bad idea.

We could infiltrate the base using the Columbus supplies, then pop out from inside the station while the three fleets are duking it out.

>>38703760
>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.
>Because we need Karaba to conserve its numbers if we're going to face Mars.

And by this point, I think Dom would be sick of superweapons being pointed in his general direction. There isn't gonna be a third time here, no sirree!

>>38703760
>>Because we need Karaba to conserve its numbers if we're going to face Mars.

>>38703760
>Because if that weapon goes online, we're all boned. Newtype or not.
>Other?
There is a hail Mary here. If we can seize this weapon intact, we can force all parties to the negotiating table and end this conflict early and focus on saving the Earthsphere and preparing for Mars and Jupiter.

>>38703760
"Because we'll have the bigger gun if the facility is seized intact."

>>38703842
50 bucks says we're going to be dealing with both the Six Shooter being ready by the time we get there, and with Voight bringing in those giant cannons he used against us already.

There's no shortage of super weapons this time. All we need now is for Mars Zeon to drop in with some Newtype MA piloted by the rest of the Purus.

>>38703556
There are like 2 references I don't get here.

>>38703863
>>38703883
>seized it intact
It would be nice if that happened ...

>>38703889
Bask be like:
>"Witness the power of this FULLY ARMED and OPERATIONAL battlestation!"

Voight be like:
>"I will unfurl one thousand years of Zeon justice upon the Federation and BURN IT TO ITS CORE. Then, O'Hara, I'm coming for you!"

This is where having a hangar full of disposable mooks would be dandy. Dom invested in the Thrallherd prestige class but hasn't bothered with collecting believers.

>>38704019
>Voight coming after O'Hara *after* "one thousand years of Zeon justice"
Interesting you should phrase it that way.

>>38704060
It's a quote from Guardians of the Galaxy

>>38703829
>not a bad idea

There's also just shooting the thing with the mass drivers and rail guns on the Moon. You send enough micrometeorites zooming towards the thing, it'll ruin any attempts of continuing construction for fear of getting your engineers killed.

>>38704157
And the moon is owned by Vist, right?

You think we could ask them to lend us a mass driver? Mineva could meet Banagher, we could fire some rocks at Bask.

>>38704157
We also need to take out all three opponents at once.

>>38704203
>Mineva meets Banana
I could get behind this.

>>38704212
I said it would slow or halt construction. We'd still haft to physically bully Riddick into handing over the keys to us, but this would let us concentrate our forces on one thing at a time instead of splitting up into smaller strike teams.

Keep it Simply Stupid and don't split the party.

>>38703760
"Because even if I could liberate every lab in the Earth Sphere and unite its whole civilian population through the magic of Newtype shenanigans in the next three days, Om could still blast my ass with a nuclear machine gun," you point out. "If we're going to end this stupid war on our terms, we can't let anyone else have that weapon."

Carrina shuts her eye, leaning back into her chair: seems she's satisfied by your explanation. "Point taken, but I want to be there when Voight gets what's comin' to him."

"You will," you promise. "Karen, Audrey, ALICE, Reiko. Could you work something out for me?"

Reiko's attention suddenly shifts to you, after several long minutes of staring at the image of Six Shooter on the screen.

"I can try. What do you need?"

"I need a few Columbus-class ships and some false registries," you tell her. "I want to sneak our mobile suit teams in close, so we can launch a surprise attack timed for when the Nagato arrives on site."

"Operation Rubicon," Chris nods. "Except this time we'll be the ones pulling the surprise attack."

You nod. "That's what I based it on, yeah. Think you can do it, Reiko?"

>Give me 3d10, you'll be trying to beat a 6.

Rolled 1, 5, 5 = 11 (3d10)

>>38704294

Rolled 2, 2, 4 = 8 (3d10)

>>38704294

Rolled 9, 9, 3 = 21 (3d10)

>>38704294

Rolled 7, 4, 5 = 16 (3d10)

>>38704294

Rolled 10, 3, 5 = 18 (3d10)

>>38704294
Let's do it then!

>>38704319
Thanks.

>>38704131
I know. It's just strangely apropos.

>>38704319
>,9,9
Thanks!

>>38704319
Oh wow, thanks for saving us.

>>38704319
I will be continuing using this result in a few minutes.

Smoke em if you got em.

>>38704357
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky1HiwZjYKE
I don't smoke.

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49 KB JPG

>>38704357

>following through with my Columbus suggestion

I love you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W6dShYD9LU

>>38704523
>>38704672
Sorry that took a bit longer than anticipated.

>writing

>>38704672
Eh, I just hope we get to try the Riah thing.

>>38704294
"Who do you think I am, exactly?" Reiko retorts. "I'll get you as many damn ships as you need."

"Just the one, I think" you suggest. "It may mean putting all our eggs in one basket, but it also means there are fewer baskets to find."

"I've never heard that one," Karen chuckles. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you made it up."

"You gonna call Kowen or should I do it?"

"I'll do it," Karen replies with a grunt as she stands. "You rehearse your teams a bit and we'll begin the operation as soon as the Columbus is ready."

"Catharine, please prepare a transmission to send towards the shoal zone, maximum output," you order. "Encrypt it a bit, but make it easy to break, and bounce it off a few SatComs so it looks like legit Federation traffic. Can you do that?"

Catharine Blitzen nods. "Piece of cake, sir."

"I will handle the satellite links," ALICE offers, "and compute the probability of Miss Blitzen's cipher successfully tricking Colonel Voight."

With the marching orders issued, you're left with a dilemma: whose Mobile suit setup will you review first?

>Your own team
>Team Puru
>Team Emma
>Team Christmas Cake (Cima)

>>38704877
>>Team Christmas Cake (Cima)

>>38704877
>Team Christmas Cake (Cima)
I don't think we've seen it yet.

>>38704877
>>Your own team

>>38704877
>>Team Christmas Cake (Cima)

>>38704877

>Team Emma

Gotta watch out for our prototype-less friends.

>>38704877
>Team Emma
Does she even have a team right now? Roberto and Apolly are with Kai investigating the Murasame labs.

>>38704877
>>Your own team

>>38704984
If we could convince Serein to pilot she'd have three total, which is a viable team.

>>38704877
>Team Emma
We still need to upgrade their suits.

>>38704877
We don't really need to look at ours as we know what's on it. The Purus we know about, so, they might wanna sit on the catapult with their suits and just launch Funnels and Mines while enjoying the creature comforts of meter thick titanium alloy. We know jack-all regarding Emma's arrangements as the Unkillable Duo have yet to return. And Best Cougar just got a new ship.

>>38704877
Riah's

Okay, quick count before I get to it.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>38704877
Emma and Cima are tied, so I'll roll for order then do both.

Your own team is a distant backseat, and Purus got no votes.

>>38705304
We really do nee to upgrade the Purus' suits at some point. They're still tooling around in Tusche Scwartz models, right? After this mission, let's see if we can get those up to Quebelys.

>>38704877
"Emma's short two pilots," you announce to your fireteams. "Let's go take a look at the situation, shall we?"

Emma and Chris both nod. "Thanks," Emma tells you. "We really need to straighten this out."

In their hangar, you spot the machines Emma's team have been using. They all seem in a good state of repair, but as Emma points out they're a badly-mixed bag of old and new: especially Emma's own Mk II, which has a mix of old and new parts existing side by side.

The Mk II is configured for an all-around combat role. Hard points on the arms hold shield booster units, each with a mega beam cannon protruding from the end opposite the thruster. They've been given beam coatings as well, and the suit's backpack has a mobile mount that you know is designed specifically to hold the shields when Emma needs her arms free. On the front skirt is a pair of subarm units: with the skills she's gained as a pilot, Emma can use these to engage in close range combat in a pinch, or to hold handheld weapons like beam rifles or bazookas.

There's also a Kampfer: it used to be Rossweisse's machine, and now it's Christina's. It's been given racks for weapons, either beam or physical, as well as an upgraded reactor that can handle both the powerful thrusters and the more powerful weapons. But sadly it still suffers from the fact that most of its armor is tissue-thin, and there's not enough gundarium in it to compensate for that fact.

Then you have the rather tragic excuses for mobile suits Apolly and Roberto have been using. Underpowered, under-armed, and thoroughly conventional. Since they're on forward deployment it's less pressing of an issue, but were they still here those Barzams would probably be the death of them.

The wild card? Serein's mobile suit, the Tera-S'ona, which is in pieces on the deck as the Doctor's teams race to figure out all of its internal intricacies. It's reasonably powerful, if conventional now that its support unit is gone.
(1/2)

>>38705555
Substitute the captured Marasai for the Kampfer in the meantime then?

>>38705555
The issue is, of course, the pilot it's tuned for: you're not sure Sera would want to return to the battlefield for any reason, nor are you sure you even want to ask. You didn't exactly "liberate" her to send her right back out into the fray under different colors.

You stare for a while at the machines, toying with various ideas in your head.

>The following are not all mutually exclusive: you can make suggestions for each, and I'll see what has the most support and what would be reasonable in the amount of time allotted (3 days).

>Suggest an upgrade to the MK II
>Suggest an upgrade to the Kampfer

And of course,
>Consider a way to get Sera back in the fight
-or-
>Redistribute machines in teams Two and Three so that each is a team of three
-or-
>Suggest a third pilot for Emma's team that isn't Sera

Since this is a complex vote, I'll give it an additional ten minutes for discussion.

>>38705555
And that's the reason we should not have went hogwild upgrading our own suits while leaving our subordinates in death traps. Simplifying the Liliums would have paid off for us in dividends. Sowly kitbashing our super Liliums would have been smarter instead of this mess.

>>38705717
>>Suggest an upgrade to the MK II

>>38705771
... such as?

I can have NPCs make some suggestions, but I'd really prefer player input.

>>38705717
Since we will be seeing Cima shortly anyway, ask if she or the Republic has any Zaku III or Kampfer Kai-2's laying around they might have misplaced. If not, install Funnel wing binders for extra Funnels and psychomines the Purus can control remotely. Use them as delivery vehicles so the Purus can bring more lasers to the lightshow.

I think I missed it but what happened to Char's wing men? Were they killed?

Okay, horrible idea coming through.

Since Emma's team is two pilots short, can we join them up with the Purus?

We can try to modify the TS suits they have to serve as long-range support by upgrading or replacing their bits with more powerful weapons. Turn the TS units into Newtype artillery of sorts. We can use the Barzams to upgrade them, since I'm pretty sure they're newer than the TS suits.

Emma's and Chris' suits can be bashed together into a faster moving machine whose job would be to protect the Puru artillery if shit hits the fan. Or go for artillery as well, and make a two-seater with one pilot and one on heavy gun duty.

>>38705717

>Suggest an upgrade to the MK II
>Redistribute machiens in teams Two and Three so that each is a team of three

Who are the unassigned folk who can actually pilot?

>>38705717
Sigh. I feel bad now. I had forgotten to upgrade your teams suits along side mine.

>>38705957
Karen, Sera, Artesia, Defrah. There may be a few trained pilots among the rest of your crew, but nobody with much experience.

You've been constantly facing down threats too dangerous to field anyone but your best, ever since you got back from Axis.

>>38705717
>Suggest an upgrade to the Kampfer
It's less an upgrade and more of an outright pilot/suit reshuffle + upgrade.

Port the weapons from the Kampfer over to the Marasai and give the Marasai a beam machinegun like the one Carya uses to make use of it's reactor output. Have Chris pilot it for this mission.

Of course, this is assuming no one called dibs on it yet. I have a feeling Ilia or Cima might be sortieing with it though.

>Redistribute machines in teams Two and Three so that each is a team of three
...still thinking of having Emma, Chris and Ilia take one Puru for themselves.

>>38705883
I like this idea, we just simply need more (modern) suits.

>>38705951
Better idea. Since the Barzam's are old, install a psychommu receiver in them and load them with enough e-caps to vaporize a colony. Send them flying at the barrel of the coil gun in the worst case scenario in that we fail in capturing Riddick's toy.

>>38706014
I'm just wondering, can they communicate among themselves at a distance? If so, than they can greatly improve coordination among teams.

>>38705717
>>Suggest an upgrade to the MK II
Lots of missile
>Consider a way to get Sera back in the fight

>>38705717
>Suggest an upgrade to the MK II
As I recall, Emma originally wanted an I-Field generator but we didn't have the tech to miniaturize them properly at that time. We do now, though, the Liliums feature them. If we have any spares, equip one to the Mk II. I'd also like, if it's possible, to change the shield boosters' mounting from the arms to a pair of sub-arms on the shoulders or upper back. We can probably crib the design from the Gaplant, maybe even take them directly if we have any Gaplant parts. That way her arms will always be free, and the shield boosters will be more easily employed as thrusters or guns. So she'll get better defense and mobility with those upgrades, best we can do in a short period.

>Suggest an upgrade to the Kampfer
Honestly, we might as well swap the Kampfer out for the captured Marasai entirely. If we can't do that for some reason, give the Kampfer the Marasai's rifle. It's a good rifle, adjustable between single shot and burst fire. Add some of the gundarium we got from the Matabiri to reinforce it, it's acceptable to lose some speed in exchange for better protection. Give it a subflight lifter to extend the Kampfer's notably bad endurance, I believe we have some Base Jabbers somewhere around here.

>Redistribute machines in teams Two and Three so that each is a team of three
Emma and Chris can take Marida to give them some additional firepower.

>>38706035
I just wanted an oldtype version of the Ex-S...

Okay, do we have our old psycommu mine deployer? Could we plug it in the Val Varo and have the Purus remotely control the Barzams from it as G-Bits?

Depending on the actual battlefield, we could equip the Kampfer with a portable generator mounted on it's back and a beam sniper rifle ala GM Sniper style. Or hook it into the Val Varo's generator to act as an impromptu artillery platform. The Purus should stick to escorting the Nagato, honestly.

>>38705717
Okay, I've got a bunch of vastly divergent suggestions and no real discussion thus far.

I'll be trying to sort all this out into something that makes some amount of coherent sense.

>>38706253
Basically, it comes down to what we have on hand in our bunkers. Put the Kampfer and the Mk-II in supporting roles, as in, sniping, scouting, spotting, etc. We don't exactly have the time to go off and yank the reactor and install a shiny new one.

>>38706351
>>38706253
Although I'm in favor in getting more modern Mobile Suits from Cima, to shore up our old ones.

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>>38706223
>The Purus should stick to escorting the Nagato
Agreed. The Tusche Shwartz isn't a bad suit, but it's almost as old as the Val Varo.

Which is honestly why I'd rather upgrade their bits to serve as sniper/artillery support. We can use the extra beam rifles for it. Or make it modular, so they can swap the bits depending on the battlefield. And we could keep Emma/Chris in the back as well, and have the second team be entirely focused on defending our ass. If they have to deploy, keep them with the Purus as sniper/artillery.

We could mash the Kampfer and the GII together into some horrible abomination that's entirely focused on that - one pilot to move the thing around, the other to control the turrets. Basically the Destroid Monster from Macross.
>https://youtu.be/IwxlwBya_To

File: A fine and upstanding inv(...).jpg (257 KB, 1279x747)

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>>38705918
Sent them on a mission to assist some reporter dude to retrieve a cyber newtype inductee from Murasame and dig some dirt along the way.

Pic related is the reporter.

They aren't back yet, nor did we receive a report from them how their mission is going.

>>38706351
I think the Mk-II is still fine for a general combat role.

The Kampfer should be in a scouting and scouting and all around harassment role. Take advantage of it's high speed.

If they both get funnels, they can easily support the main fight, especially the Kampfer. It would make the Kampfer a fast reaction force.

>>38705717
“I... actually have too many ideas,” you admit. “We've let our second and third teams fall too far behind. I think we can agree the Barzams are a write-off?”

Emma nods. “And there's nobody here to fly them anyhow. So yes, I would write them off.”

“That leaves the Kampfer and the Mk II,” you continue. “Emma, you said you wanted an I-Field generator?”

“I did.”

“I think we can get you one,” you tell her, turning to face Audrey. “What are the chances we can manage it?”

Audrey produces a dataslate and quickly looks over the relevant manifests and schematics. “In three days? I think we can pull it off. Exchange one of the shield mounted cannons for it. You have a preference?”

Emma ponders the question for a moment. “Left. I was always taught to keep my shield on the left.”

That leaves only the Kampfer... the problematic old Kampfer. “It's fast,” you muse, “but outdated. Inefficient. Underpowered. Honestly I don't think the armor is a big deal with so many beam weapons in play, it's just the Marasai is newer.”

Rossweisse bites her thumbnail in concentration. “The Kampfer is modular, yes?”

Christina nods in response. “Makes it easier to ship in and out of a colony. Why?”

“The Marasai uses a movable frame,” Haman points out, catching on to Rossweisse's plan. “Audrey? Would that work?”

“Taking the arms and legs off the Kampfer and sticking them on the Marasai to combine the virtues of both?” the mousy-haired woman asks. “Would you like me to add some shield boosters to the shoulders? I can have the left arm of the Marasai squared off, and it would compensate for the loss of some of the apogee motors.”

“I'd like that,” Chris smiles. “Of course I'd like anything with up to date avionics, mass balancing, and a decent reactor, but this monstrosity sounds like it'd fit the bill.”
(1/2)

>>38706504
Destroids don't really have that long a life span in Macross (but man, what a way to go!), and being stationary equals death in space MS combat.
And putting it into a dual pilot config too...

Sorry, but I'm just not in favor of this plan.

>>38706701
“I think I'll also deploy teams three and two in three pairs,” you conclude. “One Tusche Schwarz with the Mk II, the... whatever Chris is gonna end up with, and the Val Varo.”

“That should improve communications and let us give supporting fire for each of the faster suits, right?” Marida asks. “Diana? Cynthia? You okay with that?

Cynthia nods immediately, seemingly fine with the arrangement. Diana takes a few moments to feel out the situation, but sensing her sisters' confidence she eventually agrees as well.

>Speaking of Purus, let's check out the next hangar
>What has Audrey got planned for our own machines?
>What's baking in Cima's oven?
>Other?

>>38706769
>Speaking of Purus, let's check out the next hangar

>>38706769
>>Speaking of Purus, let's check out the next hangar

>>38706769
>Speaking of Purus, let's check out the next hangar

Alright, after this we need to do some major overhauls. Right now we're doing this quick and dirty to make up for lost time, but if we survive this we need to make more substantial upgrades. Any ideas? I've got one for the Mk II I like, but I'm drawing a blank for the others.

>Gundam Mk II
Strip the shield boosters down to the thruster and the beam cannon. Mount these on the sub-arms on the hips, use as mobile thruster pods/ guns. Use the saved weight on the arms to mount heavier weapons there, I'm thinking the hybrid solid/beam rifle with integrated heat blade that Audrey likes. Also use a hand-carried shield with integrated I-Field generator, give her some nice protection against both beam and solid projectiles. Shoulders each get a micromissile launcher and a turreted vulcan gun for interception capabilities. Back gets an enlarged propellant storage tank. Legs are fitted with the thruster shoes the original Liliums equipped, for an added bit of extra thrust and hoverskating capabilities in gravity conditions. The net result should be something like a cross between the Super Gundam and the Hyzenthlay-Rah, a fast and maneuverable suit with plenty of long-ranged firepower.

>Kampfer/Marasai
???

>Tusche Schwartz
???

>>38706769
>Other?
Also, it possible to install funnels on the remaining suits, or is it just not possible?

>>38706769
>Speaking of Purus, let's check out the next hangar

>>38706769
Cima. If she has lost suits we could find, then that would save us the trouble of bringing our old suits to par. Next time, don't pull a Zeon and build two wonder weapons and leave the rest of your forces to undergunned Dom. I called this several threads ago when we had the opportunity to upgrade our suits or everyones.

>>38706864
I personally kind of assumed that the other teams were getting their upgrades off-screen without our input. The first time they got upgrades it was on their own, I thought they'd keep up.

>>38706769
>>What's baking in Cima's oven?
>>38706838
they are not newtypes

>>38706838
Impossible, in most cases. Any pilot who's not a newtype can't use them, and the cockpit block would have to be rebuilt from the ground up.

>>38706864
To be fair, everything aside from the Barzams is a serious step up from any grunt that ever has been or will be fielded until the Crossbone Vanguard becomes a thing. And even then, yours aren't made out of toilet paper and wishful thinking.

They're powerful, but they're eclipsed by your own pair of superweapons.

>>38706834
>Tusche Schwarz

They stay behind meter thick titanium alloy on the Nagato and simply launch Funnels from the hangar.

>>38706929
Hearts specifically stated we spend resources to put all of our eggs in one basket (the super Liliums) or bring everyone up to par. We chose the Nazi route and built the Maus.

>>38706995
Ah. I thought the "all eggs in one basket" thing referred to how we consolidated pilots in a few suits and focused on superior performance over numbers. That lead me to think that the other teams were focusing on superior performance, too. I guess I misunderstood, and now we're in this mess. Sorry.

>>38706769
>Speaking of Purus, let's check out the next hangar
>Other?
Whenever Dom sorties with the Twin Hyper Beam Rifles, is the gatling gun always left behind? Assuming it a beam gatling, maybe Chris can make use of Old Painless in the meantime?

And...
"Kampfasai? Marapfer? KaMara? MaraKampf?"

>>38706932
>>38706976
I meant installing the funnels so the Purus could control them. Like the idea above.

>>38706834
For the second team, I say we go modular based on the MkII and the Kampfer/Marasai. Something that'd be fast, modular and most importantly, used everywhere. That thing can be the basis for our MPs in the future.

For the Purus, we give them modular bits that can be swapped depending on the situation. So either smaller bits that can serve for close combat support, or something larger that can bring a lot of pain over longer distances. Imagine sniper bits.

Alternatively, if we go with the MkII/Kampfer/Marasai combo for mass production, we can just make a Newtype version of that new suit, and have a modular backpack for it where they can store their bits.

>>38706976
>impossible

Not if we're just installing Funnel binders for extra Funnels out in the field. Oldtypes can still act as the bitch delivering our mobile weapons.

>>38706995
>>38707049
But once the super Liliums are ready, they're basically going to be unstoppable for the setting.

>>38707049
Originally that was the issue, but more recently the decision was to focus on getting the Psychoframes built and installed as quickly as possible.

>>38707160
Out of curiosity, they said it would be done in one month, so how is their current progress?

>>38707073
Kampfasai is good.

>>38707142
That won't matter if you were caught with your pants down waiting for your wonder weapon to come online. You'd be dead because you failed to adequately equip your grunts protecting your wonder weapon.

>>38707269
I most certainly understand the downside. I wonder how much longer until they are ready?

>>38707220
Though it disturbingly sounds like a Nazi army group run by an Imperial Japanese commander.

>>38707363
that's the joke

>>38707363
So business as usual.

>>38707363
Man, that can only end in bromance followed by colony drops after one of their honor was questioned.

>>38706769
Moving on to the next hangar, you're greeted by the sight of three red Tusche Schwarz machines and an upgraded Val Varo.

"Psycho launchers, upgraded armor, and handholds?" you muse. "It's the meanest subflight system I've ever seen."

"That's what I was going for," Ilia admits. "Sort of like a psychopathic soccer mom. An once the Minovsky craft system from the Matabiri goes in, it'll be more useful than a window on a submarine when we're in atmosphere."

Seems the pink-haired young woman is perfectly content with the status of her machine, and thrilled that she'll never have to use a Barzam again.

"You're a spacenoid," Carya shakes her head. "You ever even seen a submarine?"

"Nope."

"Anything else you need?" Audrey presses as Carya sighs dramatically. "I-Fields, beam weapons?"

"Its armor resisted beam rifle shots already," Ilia points out. "So now that it's got a layer of treated gundarium on it, it's a goddamn flying tank with crab arms on its underside."

"And the Tusche Schwarzes?" you ask, turning to the Puru sisters. "Have you considered what you might want done with them?"

"Larger bits," Cynthia replies.

"Something that won't suck under gravity," Marida adds.

Diana shrugs. "Either make them lighter or faster. I don't like that they're as slow to maneuver as they are."

>Response? Any clever ideas for how to execute these requests?

>>38707198
On track. I'll need to check my timetables for things that are in progress to give you an exact date.

>>38707502
>window on a submarine
wat

As an aside, I didn't intend the tech to take up the whole thread, but it seems to be rapidly heading that way. I'll try to wrap things up cleanly in a few updates, and next weekend can be devoted to the battle.

It's gonna probably take both threads, because shit's gonna get a little nuts. For certain, at least one major faction will end up getting wiped out.

>>38707502
>"Larger bits," Cynthia replies.
k
http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/AMX-015_Geymalk

>>38707652
I'm hoping that via time-travel Flannagan Sheneannigans, it's the fucking Sleeves.

>>38707502
That's a pretty straightforward.

Take inspiration from the quad rotor UAVs while in gravity.

Chop the legs off the Schwarzs' and turn them into Funnel rifles. That'll fulfill the bigger Funnels.

Gut the current Funnels they have to make them lighter and smaller to hit. This will reduce their range and number of shots, but will be offset by the fact their legs are fucking guns.

>>38707639
It's an old saying from the postwar era, "useless as a window on a submarine". Because generally speaking it's pitch dark outside a submarine when it's dived, and even when she's running on the surface there's fuckall to look at.

>>38707502
We could make bits that are larger, faster, and function under gravity by repurposing Core Fighters. Strip out the cockpit, put in a psycho-control system, and use the saved space to mount a heavier beam gun than the dual-purpose beam sabers they have now. They're even already designed to dock with a mobile suit and fold up into a compact package. Based on their size, I figure we could probably mount at least four, maybe as many as six on the Tusche Schwartzs. We'll have to cut some weight from the suits, but that's not so hard. We've got smaller and more efficient psycommu now, so that saves a lot of mass. And the armor can be replaced with gundarium, lord knows we have a lot of it now. We may even wind up with the suits being faster and more maneuverable than before the upgrade.

>>38707502
If we are going for the soccer mom route, can we have the Val Varo attach even more bits and funnels for the Purus? Make it a psychotic carrier of doom?

>>38707652
>faction will end up getting wiped out.
Hoping for Voight.

>>38707659
I wonder what happened to Chara in this timeline.

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>>38707933
sucking Glemys dick

>>38707652
Will we be doing the Riah thing?

>>38707502
"I suppose we could fix something up for the bits next time we plan to go groundside," you allow. "But for now I think we can focus on lightening the chassis and adding shield boosters. Maybe mounting a few rifle-sized bits in with the smaller ones."

"In time, maybe we can design mobile funnel carriers, or something similar. But for now let's focus on easier, simpler fixes. That sound like a plan?"

Audrey nods. "All of that is doable in three days, with your permissions."

One by one the Purus agree to the modifications, and Audrey begins sending orders to the various work crews to carry them out while your teams are en route in the Columbus Reiko is tracking down. It'll take workers away from the Psychoframe project, and set it back by three days. But in the long run, it's probably a fair tradeoff.

Finally, you arrive in your own hangar.

"So what's new here?" Emma asks.

"Simple modifications," Audrey replies. "The boosters on the back skirts of the Sericea and the Iris put out a combined 64 thousand kilograms of thrust, and carry their own fuel supply. If we're careful to conserve fuel, we can peak at about 4.5G maximum linear acceleration without seriously constraining our operational time."

"We also have a few new weapons to test," Haman adds, pointing out two new additions to the backs of each machine's forearms: right at the elbow.

"Beam shields," she continues. "From each emitter we can produce a small beam effect in a hexagonal shape, like a shield. It draws a fair bit of power, and won't stop massive energy blasts like a mega beam cannon or something, but any conventional ordnance and smaller beams are useless if we can respond quickly enough."

"Why don't we all have these?" Ilia presses hotly. "They seem pretty fucking useful."

"We have no idea if they're calibrated properly," Audrey replies. "If they lose containment, or end up angled the wrong way, say goodbye to your arms. This will be their first trial run."

>>38708331
Yay, beam shields! Take that, F-90, we've got you beat by twenty-five years! We've also got you beat on fighting Mars Zeon by twenty-five years, though, so I guess that's a fair trade.

>>38708331
"They're powered by the beam saber in each arm," Audrey continues. "If one's being used to shield us it won't recharge the e-cap, and if we've drawn it or are using it as a spot gun we won't be able to shield with that arm."

"I don't care if it's messy," Carrina replies, her eye practically burning with a violet-shaded flame. "I've wanted something like this for YEARS, and halle-fuckin-lujah, now we've got them!"

>That said, we should only use them in a pinch. No clue if they'll work or backfire.
>Use the hell out of them. We'll never know how they'll work otherwise.
>Test them cautiously: only ever use one arm, just in case something goes wrong.

Also
>Further suggestions?

>>38708439
>Test them cautiously: only ever use one arm, just in case something goes wrong.
>Use the hell out of them. We'll never know how they'll work otherwise.
Hell yeah beam shields.

>Further suggestions?
Can we test them out now? Better to do it while we're near the Nagato than to have them blow up in our face during the battle. Maybe a quick test fight between the two super Gundams?

Also, squee out with Carrina over the fucking beam shields.

>>38707725
Oh, I've only ever heard of the phrase "useless as a screen door on a submarine."

The 'window' party REALLY threw me off, like they were half-serious about it, or something,

>>38708439
>Use the hell out of them. We'll never know how they'll work otherwise.
I can already imagine Carrina using it to elbow drop on Voight.

>>38708439
has the beam shied been lab tested? or is it truely untested tech?

>>38708439
>>Test them cautiously: only ever use one arm, just in case something goes wrong.
>Use the hell out of them. We'll never know how they'll work otherwise.

>>38708439
Oh, are we up again? That was weird.

>Test them cautiously: only ever use one arm, just in case something goes wrong.
>Further suggestions?
Use both if we're under REALLY heavy fire, but otherwise don't risk it. Also, do we have any systems for ejecting them if they overload and risk detonating the e-cap? They're going to theoretically be under a lot more stress than your average beam field.

>>38708550
Weird. I've actually heard both, despite the fact that there are submersibles with windows now.

>>38708606
It's been lab-tested, but not field tested.

Also, it seems we're back.

>>38708532
So we've been back for about 10 minutes. I'll give it 5 more then update.

>>38708678
Can we do a quick test outside with underpowered beams?

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>>38708439
"Use the hell out of them," you order. "Just do it one arm at a time. Gather data on their performance, then use your own judgement."

Carrina nods gleefully, like a child who's just been given free reign over a candy store. "Oh, I'd give my left tit to see the look on Voight's face when we bring these babies to the fight!"

"Please don't," Haman insists.

You nod in agreement. "Yeah. I don't think I'm alone when I say I like your tits the way they are."

Emma glares at you, shaking her head dismissively.

"... in my defense, have you SEEN her tits?"

Finally, it comes time to see what Cima has been up to aboard the Valkyrie.

She's brought her own machine, first of all: its massive thrusters have been streamlined and upgraded, now appearing vaguely more like the original Gerbera. You can also tell by the panel lines that the armor has been swapped out in several key areas for gundarium alloy. Her beam machine gun has also been upgraded with improved sensors and a new front end.

"I call it a Smart Rifle," Cima calls out as she floats into the hangar. "The end of the barrel can swivel, letting the rifle fire at targets up to 30 degrees off the line of sight."

"Clever," Audrey admits after letting loose a low whistle. "I see you've souped up its thrust output as well."

"I've been keeping my design bureau busy with it, yes."

"And these grunts?" you ask, tossing a casual thumb in the direction of a bulky-looking pair of machines flanking Cima's personal mobile suit.

"Zaku III models," the dark-haired woman replies. "Fast, mission configurable, reliable, and powerful. The perfect evolution of the classic all-purpose mobile suit."

"I like it," Carrina admits. "How many have you got?"

"Five total," she replies. "We should do just fine in battle with these, and the Valkyrie to get us there. I thank you for her use."
(1/2)

>>38709447
The last pieces fall into place courtesy of Karen, who has been in touch with the government of Riah. They stubbornly refused to commit any forces to the cause, but did make one potentially useful offer: Karen now has their laser ablation arrays at her command. Normally used for destroying debris in and around the colony clusters, such arrays can also be used to great effect as a saturation bombardment: like how the Remnants once tried to off you and your crew.

It would be best as a last resort, and you hope you won't need it, but it IS an option. And ultimately, you're thankful for it.

"That seems like the last detail," Karen muses over the comm. "Reiko's ship will be here at 09:00 tomorrow morning. From that point, the operation begins."

"Just come back alive," she concludes. "Make that a standing order."

>>38709447
>Smart Rifle
>The end of the barrel can swivel, letting the rifle fire at targets up to 30 degrees off the line of sight.

I wonder if this is a prototype/proof of concept tech that'll eventually emerge as the Banshee's twisty beam rifle?

>>38709589
And that's all for this weekend, archive is up and thanks for playing!

Next weekend will be a major battle: the first of several "end game" engagements. A very large number of people are set to die: think very carefully how much quarter you're willing to show, and how much you want to hold back for later battles.

>>38709700
It is. The Banshee's gun is explicitly referred to as a Beam Smart Rifle, the same tech used in the S Gundam and the Gerbera Tetra Kai.

>>38709589
>They stubbornly refused to commit any forces to the cause,
Goddammit.

>>38709720
Oh god, this is going to be brutal. Why didn't we upgrade the other teams' suits more? I feel so stupid now for not realizing they weren't getting any upgrades, I thought they were handling it on their own.

But still, should be a fun thread next week. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for running, Hearts. See you next time.

>>38709774
>Riah
End game Boss

>>38709774
Which is odd, you'd think "Hey, the guy who ordered the deployment of nerve gas on your colony because it was politically expedient now has an interplanetary nuclear machinegun" would get more of a response from them. Do they just not believe us?

>>38709824
Eh, I'm just mad at the stupid amount of hanger space we are wasting. That and Defra totally needs a Dendiborum II

>>38709864
Personally, I just suspect that OP won't let us have grunts on our ship.
Not that will stop us from trying.
Also, did they seriously turn down the military upgrade option? WTF?

>>38709864
Would you believe that sort of line? And given the fact that they have zero ships and mostly outdated mobile suits, would you really expect Riah to jump at the opportunity to piss all over Titans?

And also remember that most ships are coated with a material that makes lasers pretty much useless. Against mobile suits, missiles, and other unprotected objects they're hell, and the Six Shooter is an unknown.

>>38709972
I'd believe it if given the documentation proving it, yeah. But hey, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume that even with the documents we have they didn't see it as a big enough threat to risk getting involved. Stay out of it and maybe they'll get nuked, attack it and definitely get nuked if said attack fails. So I suppose it makes sense.

>>38709873
A lot of that space is full of cruiser most of the time.

>>38709916
You could have grunts if you either dedicated time to churning them out, or captured enough to arm and deploy. But to present most of your time and energy have been devoted to getting shit done and polishing the units you have instead of building an army: quality over quantity and all that.

The two Barzams are an exception, because while there's nothing intrinsically wrong with them they're simply outclassed at this point, and you haven't yet chosen to devote the time and energy required to replace them.

>>38710198
>You could have grunts if you either dedicated time to churning them out,
We tend to get noped when we try that.

>>38710198
>A lot of that space is full of cruiser most of the time.
Never understood why we did that really.
>But to present most of your time and energy have been devoted to getting shit done and polishing the units you have instead of building an army
To be fair, you've never presented any options to get a bunch of grunts, when we do get a few grunts they tend to get taken away, and when we try to come up with ways to get grunts we get shot down without so much as a roll.

>>38710282
>>38710356
That's sort of because people keep fapping over Wunderwaffe.

>>38709447
What the fuck do the two kanji mean together?

>>38709751
>I wonder if this is a prototype/proof of concept tech that'll eventually emerge as the Banshee's twisty beam rifle?

And eventually the Elf Bullock's bendy beam spam and the G-Self's omnidirectional lasers.

>>38709774
>>38709864
Y'all have some real lofty expectations out of politicians in this setting. Lower your standards regarding the amount of fucks they give and it won't bug you as much.

>>38710051
Now here's a proper mindset for it.

>>38710282

Have we legit tried? I've mostly seen halfhearted attempts for grunts. Plus, I see it as a tradeoff for being super autonomous rather than getting ordered around by Kowen and co.

>>38710198
>But to present most of your time and energy have been devoted to getting shit done and polishing the units you have instead of building an army
Yes, because when we were in the formal chain of command actually creating an army is the sort of thing that gets noticed. We started trying to gather an army the instant we went rogue.

>>38710487
We get shot down so quickly that it can never get off the ground. And they certainly aren't halfhearted, we just thought they were working, until suddenly they weren't.

>>38710538
Exactly what suggestions did you make for grunts?

>>38710465
And Yggdrasil.
RIP in pieces Regild Century Haman knock-off.

>>38710560
Me personally?
1. Putting Cima into the Republican Navy
2. the Riah thing in this thread.
3. Our work with the psychopath.
4. South and our other stolen minions.

>>38710626
Oh, and basically stealing a mobile shipyard, we did that too.
And occasionally prodding OP to give rules for using our dosh to purchase ships/MS, which he said he'd provide eventually.

>>38710282
>>38710356
You had this conversation a long time ago with the sisters, after the raid on Axis, and it still holds true today, perhaps even more so: "regular" soldiers in "regular" mobile suits cannot face the sorts of threats you typically find yourself facing and expect to survive. In fact, like those GMs Haman killed off, they're more likely to become a liability.

You can make an opportunity to build more grunts and find more pilots, or take one if you spot it. If you can get support for it, I will do nothing to stop you. But I don't see it as a particularly effective use of your time, and I don't really see it as fitting with the long-established positions of the characters where mook expenditure is concerned.

>>38710698
Okay, could you explain why the tech for materials trade we proposed to Riah was shot down? Even if they don't want to provide active support.

>>38710775
>tech for materials trade we proposed to Riah
What? When was that?

>>38710775
What "tech for materials" thing are you talking about, and can you provide details? After 61 threads and nine months of constantly changing my notes and plotting/re-plotting political and technological developments, I can't remember every single thing that was ever suggested.

>>38710854
Earlier in the thread. We had a multipart proposal for Raih that was shot down without interaction, rolls or the ability to modify the proposal once we got their objections.

>>38710855
see >>38703365
If they aren't willing to provide military forces, are they willing to provide enough material to begin MS production on the ship in exchange for designs that aren't completely helpless against their enemies?
I mean, just because the find one part of the deal unacceptable doesn't mean that we can't try to get something out of them.

>>38710894

I figured it was shot down/essentially ignored since Riah won't be doing anything fast enough for it to actually help us. Shit's going down in like, what, three days? It'd be better to just horde what we have.

>>38711003
This.

>>38710948
Points.
>>38711003
It literally costs us nothing from what I understand, and makes Riah less of a defensive liability.

>>38710894
They no-sold you on the co-deployment, anon, and offered the laser bombardment as a token gesture. As for up-arming an entire colony cluster's military forces, do you have any godly idea how long that would take? You have three days until Six-Shooter goes active. Well, two, once the Columbus arrives.

That part was shot down because it's not immediately relevant or even logistically possible in the time frame your team is operating in. So I incorporated the parts of the write-in that I felt were reasonable given the situation: and was under no obligation to do so, as it did not win a significant majority.

That's the reasoning.

>>38711083
>do you have any godly idea how long that would take?
Oh, I knew it would take longer than three days. Although, Mobile suites tend to be produced at incredible speed, take a look at the MS 14 numbers for example.

>>38711183
>>38711083
Ah, to clarify, I knew that we couldn't completely rearm their entire military in three days, I assumed it would be an ongoing process. They'd commit like 12 MS to serve as Nagato's close escort, which we would swiftly replace with Nemos (or whatever) and then start sending the excess MS to their main forces, while slowly building up our MS compliment.
We could probably manage a similar deal with Karba if Riah is out for whatever reason.

>>38711260
Riah is mostly self-interested at this point, and for good reason. They won't just lend you troops that are intended to defend themselves.

At this point Karaba will probably back you up with grunt support whenever they're not tasked with an equally major task like taking Gryps.

>>38711260
>We could probably manage a similar deal with Karba
I'm ok with Karaba but Riah can go fuck it self.

>>38711358
>Riah is mostly self-interested at this point, and for good reason. They won't just lend you troops that are intended to defend themselves
Even if doing so would ultimately enhance their defensive ability? Self interest can coincide after all. Their Rick Dias are utterly useless against the Titans and they have to know it.
>At this point Karaba will probably back you up with grunt support whenever they're not tasked with an equally major task like taking Gryps.
Any particular reason why they are underusing our production capacity then?

>>38711492

Because Karaba probably has their own I bet. They're basically the moon and whoever is allied to em on Earth I recall. And I think you mean Rick Doms rather than Rick Dias.

>>38711492
First, because it's the same mindset as appeasement. Just as Gihren didn't learn from Hitler, Chamberlain taught Riah nothing.

Second, your production capacity is directly tied to the amount of raw materials you have. If you're not actively scanning the asteroid belt or a minor planet for resources, you're not pulling in enough of the raw components of gundarium armor.

You DID in fact benefit from the Nagato's facilities in reclaiming the armor from the Leipzig institute, but those facilities have another role that's already set to come into play. One not directly related to this current campaign, but which is no less important in the grand scheme of things.

Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm beat.

>>38711599
Ah, yeah, the Ric Doms. They got wiped by the Titans in return for basically nothing
>>38711651
>If you're not actively scanning the asteroid belt or a minor planet for resources, you're not pulling in enough of the raw components of gundarium armor.
Or receiving a freighter every few weeks to fill up the raw material stockpiles. Unless they really don't have those.
>First, because it's the same mindset as appeasement. Just as Gihren didn't learn from Hitler, Chamberlain taught Riah nothing.
All the appeasement prone politicians got thrown in jail though.

>>38711433
I don't really get what's the point of propping up the equivalent of WW2 Italy in this.

Heck, even the RoZ politicians were pretty apathetic even after we assisted them during Panini's attack and all the support lent on their behalf came via Cima's connections anyway.
And the Federation Assembly still pretty much have their thumbs up their asses, even after Haman and Artesia's Dakar speech wake-up call, and it took an independent org rising up and doing what they're supposed to do for it to even register.

There really isn't much to expect from Riah as an "ally" based on those experiences.

>>38711751
>I don't really get what's the point of propping up the equivalent of WW2 Italy in this.
Eh, I personally just want grunts basing off the Nagato. That and I'm basically taking OP's aggressive disinterest as a challenge.