Alright, boys and girls, grab your popcorn.

>>40170768
Ah QD this quest keeps pulling me back into the hivers in sots. Galatic civil war with union/commonwealth ahead?

Diplomacy!

>>40170816
I wouldn't call it a galactic civil war since the entire span of human-influenced space barely reaches a hundred light years across.
But a civil war between the two would mean more opportunities for us. Maybe.

>>40170768
>His skin trails off from his face and flaps with every movement in the zero gravity.
fuck
i keep laughing

>>40170848
Imagine a geriatric with a bulldog-like face.

Oh, random question. Are our human allies piped into our 'livestream' or no?

>>40170866
Like Vaughn?
No, we only tell her on a need to know basis.

>>40170816
I know right anon. God I love playing hivers.

>>40170892
>>40170816
Fucking Hivers are OP in defence, and having any Hiver gate within 10LY of a system of mine in the late-game is a high-priority target.

>>40170816
SOTS?

>>40170768

The old man clears his throat, the first sound made in the room.

"I am rear admiral Oskar von Reuenthal the third, second prince of the city of Strasbourg, capital of Aurora." He speaks the title with a hint of contempt, as if he feels the words are too good for the company in front of him. The woman scrunches her nose for a only a fraction of a moment as she too detects the contempt, and returns it.

"I am Seamus Alder, elected chairwoman of the Green party, elected representative of Dirian, and member of the Union Security Council." She emphasizes each use of the word 'elected' as if it were a weapon. "I have been given authority to negotiate on behalf of the Union of Independent Colonies."

Please roll 1d100, best of 3.

>>40170932
sword of the stars, an older 4x turn based strategy made by kerebos. Look on steam its cheap or gog

>>40170932
Sword of The Stars. Pretty fun 4x for it's time, sequel is absolutely horrible though.

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>40170943

>>40170915
No argument here. Shame they changed how ships work in SOTS 2, I loved building a huge fleet of gate ships and colonizers and sending them out in a massive wave.

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>40170943
roll?

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>40170943
For Mother

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>40170943
>roll
Oh god. Someone from the Commonwealth is psionically sensitive and can tell we're there?

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>40170943
For mother

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>>40170964

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>40170943

>>40170959
ah id love to indulge in that, but lets save it for later on, I am quiet sure our cheeky queen and crew will get a ton of non relevant post later, save it for when thread nearly done or for steam ya?

>>40170964
Mother. Fucking. Based Anon.

>>40170964
>>40170966
Was there ever any doubt?

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>>40170964

>>40170943
So Union has Current Englands government(trying to become americas), and common wealth is old englands kingdom bullshit?

>>40170990
No. The planet Aurora happens to have kingdom bullshit.

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Quest:Hive_Queen_Quest#Commonwealth_of_Free_States
> The result is that the concept of government is totally different on every world, with some functioning under the rule of wealthy noble families, others run by dictators and despots, and others still as republics or even existing in outright anarchy. The only constant among the worlds of the Commonwealth is that each planet is expected to pay a levy

>>40170943

As the two exchange a harsh glance before pulling out a number of files, your scout corvette drifting further away on the outskirts of the system detects... something.

You turn your sensors to it, but you can't find it. An incredibly faint gravitational distortion some unknown distance away. You can't tell when it arrived, it just seemed to slowly fade in, like a slowly moving object that you just now realize is moving.

Whatever it is, it feels like it's getting closer. Slowly.

Cont.

>>40171052
>You turn your sensors to it, but you can't find it. An incredibly faint gravitational distortion some unknown distance away. You can't tell when it arrived, it just seemed to slowly fade in, like a slowly moving object that you just now realize is moving.

>Whatever it is, it feels like it's getting closer. Slowly.
Ceph?
Holy shit QD you WERE planning on blowing up the station >>40170992

>>40171052
oh boy
OH BOY

IS THE OBSIDIAN QUEEN GONNA RIP THE STATION APART

>>40171068
>>40171064
So does this prove that we would be working with the crystal gods if we force the common wealth and union to fight each other?

>>40171052
Wow, the DC must have been something like 95 if we got a friggen 96 and only barely managed to register that 'hey, something's there'.

>>40171076
Ceph destroying the station would have the opposite effect, with the Thundercock here to witness it and attribute blame.

It might remind them they have a common enemy or something, and that's the effect the void gods want.

>>40171087
No, that's just the natural nature of G-sensors, they only allow vague detection of mass. Also void cutters are tiny, only 10 meters.

>>40171087
Well it is ceph stealth and i don't believe we finished researching the shit that helps us spot cloaked vessels.

>>40171052
ITS THE FUCKING CEPH! FUCK!

Jesus god almighty is there a civilization in the entire GALAXY not interested in derailing these talks?!

>>40171098
>Ceph destroying the station would have the opposite effect, with the Thundercock here to witness it and attribute blame.
>implying the ceph would let them know it was them.
More like it would blow up and both sides would blame the other for ruining peace talks and go to war.

>>40171052
Michael swirls the last of his morning coffee as he sits in his apartment. In the distance there is a faint beep of his phone's voice mail. He seems to be ignoring it for the moment, until he finishes his coffee.

>Have him bring his old files to Killinger
>Contact Killinger by phone
>Other (write in)

>>40171087
More that you were able to detect it at a much, much greater distance, and thus while you know it is there sooner, you know less about it.

So are we going to let this happen or what?

>>40171098
Thundercock? That's a new one.

>>40171101
Probably not. This is grade A entertaiment.

>>40171117
>Contact Killinger by phone

>>40171117
>>Other (write in)
Can we have a local Theseus forge something that implicates that xeno-lover forum and send it to Michael's email?

>>40171121
Yes. Interference and revealing our presence to to the Ceph isn't an option.

That, and this is going to be SO fun to watch. Theseus was right about human political scrambling.

>>40171111
How will they stop the fuckhuge battleship from reporting in what they're seeing?

Ceph vessels and weaponry are rather distinctive in their appearance and effects.

>>40171121
Either we tip our hand right now, or we let NQ stage the attack. I could see this going either way.

>>40171136
>Thundercock?
I'm just saying.

Look at the vessel the Union sent here.

Look at the vessel the Commonwealth sent on this diplomatic mission.

One of these guys is compensating for something.

>>40171121
Yeah, I think we're just gonna sit back, chill, and enjoy the show on this one.

>>40171143
We'll have to see how bad the situation progresses. I doubt that it's the OB since as far as we know she has never deployed stealth vessels and I don't see the Ceph sharing that tech with her. And the Confeds have a bigass dreadnought right there.

>>40171166
>And the Confeds have a bigass dreadnought right there.
True, but stealth.

They could tear the station in half and depressurize everything before the dreadnought even realizes what happened.

Maybe we can let Theseus know we're picking something up?

>>40171208
agreed.

>>40171052
Can we ping Theseus about some unknown (but probably Cephs) approaching the talk and ask what he thinks? He's been doing this political shit for longer, got experience.

>>40171189
You know, with the Union corvette docked with the station, it might not survive whatever attack is coming. With only the word of a Confederate ship to go by, I doubt the Union is going to be in a believing mood. Worse since the warhawk party is gaining traction in the Union.

>>40171117
>everyone too distracted by HAPPENINGS to actually vote about Michael

Uh.

>Contact Killinger by phone
Okay let him yell at us first.

>>40171140
It's too early in the investigation to start planting leads to that.

We both need the evidence and a plausible reason that they never found it before when they investigated Lee.

>>40171143
Each has its pros and cons.
[Interfering]
Cons:
Revealing our presence
Might put the ceph on our tail if they already aren't
no clue what other negatives i can think of right now.
Can be seen as an enemy vessel
Will put us on the big stage of politics
Pros:
We reveal our selves
We make it seem like we are protecting them
Will put us on the big stage of politics
depending on reactions we can either star diplomacy shit or go through skirmishes
[Not interfering]
Con:
we are playing into the crystal gods hands
Depending if the ceph are seen either side will go to war or be more prepared for future stealth
Giving up an opportunity to shine our species in a positive light
Pros:
Fuck humans
Fuck politics
We get to see an attack
We don't reveal our presence

>>40171208
>>40171217
No, let's tell him right as the attack happens.

Since he can't contact his instance here, we'll have to be his witness.

He'll find it valuable to be updated so quickly. But no need to tell him in advance.

>>40171219
Oh man that would be great.

>>40171238
you do know we have contact to all instances and we can get his feed back on what we should do.

So, Space war now between Confederates and the Union, Huh, US Civil War much? good memorial day theme, I like it.

>>40171238
>No, let's tell him right as the attack happens.
Why? Waiting is completely pointless. Hell, foreknowledge is even more valuable.

>>40171251
Starts off like that, but turns into space proxy war as we and the OQ pick sides. Cold war jazz.

>>40171238
I still say we let him know asap. He can be trusted not to act against the hive's interest, and his insight would be genuinely helpful in this situation. The longer we wait to get that input, the more our window to change the events in our favor (if we decide it is in our favor to do so) shrinks. Knowledge is power and Theseus can provide it now.

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GLORY TO THE UNION DEATH TO THE SOUTHERN HICKS, HEEEYAAA THE SOUTH WILL NEVER RISE AGAIN

>>40171117
Inform thesus of the craft.

>>40171117
>>Other (write in)
Ping Theseus and inform him of the stealth vessel approaching the station.

>>40171248
Well it'll be fun to tease him with a hypothetical. "What do you predict would happen if the Ceph raided the Proxima Convention?"

Openly interfering with a Ceph raid is just too, well, open to be an option though.

>>40171287
>He can be trusted not to act against the hive's interest,
You don't think he'd consider making his own, Unity raid on the Thunderchild before retreating, forcing the humans to evacuate the convention, before the Ceph can get close enough?

That would be against our interests in popcorn.gif.

>>40170943
>Oskar von Reuenthal
Commonwealth confirmed for based.

Also, yeah, the vote is low. Everyone's focused on the meeting event. Apologies. (I already voted).

>>40171346
Ain't nobody got time for that.

>>40171335
>That would be against our interests in popcorn.gif.
To be honest i'm not even sure what our interests here are. I thought we were just getting front row seats.

>>40171355
That's our entire purpose here. We're just watching for the hell of it. hence popcorn.gif

>>40171117

Michael finishes his morning brew and moves to the phone in his personal office. He quickly puts on a suit jacket, but doesn't bother with the pants, and calls Killinger's office. There is a long wait, and eventually a secretary picks up. A human, by the sound of it, so whatever Killinger was doing it was important enough to avoid the use of an automated message machine.

"Hellow agent Devon, I'm sorry, but Mr. Killinger is in an important meeting right now." She says.

"I need to speak with him as soon as possible. Can you let him know?" Michael says to the holographic seal in front of him. There is another long wait.

"He says he's expecting you. Hold one moment please."

The seal splits into five. One for parliament, and one for each office of the council. Killinger's seal folds into a small holographic man standing behind a desk, where his eyes are locked on several projectors off screen. His hand scratches his chin in thought. He addresses Michael without looking.

Good morning Michael. Since you're calling instead of showing up, I assume you're not finished with those reports."

Actually, he had finished them already. He never liked paperwork piling up. Most of it was done even before you and him had become so closely acquainted.

"Well it doesn't matter much anyways." He finishes.

"But sir, I did at least want to discuss with you the matter of Richardson, your opponent? I know you're confident, but he's gaining numbers with the religious vote, and as much as my agents tried, they couldn't find any dirt on the man." Michael says. Killinger lets out a chuckle just as the seals of the council members fill in.

"He can have it. I have bigger ambitions then Talgo. The place is a pigsty. Of all the damn animals to bring to a new world, it was the settlers of Talgo that managed to bring the mosquito along for the ride."

Cont.

>>40171374
>The place is a pigsty. Of all the damn animals to bring to a new world, it was the settlers of Talgo that managed to bring the mosquito along for the ride."
Literally Space Florida

>>40171374
Called it. Killinger is the proposed Head of State after the king bill passes.

>>40171374
>mosquito along for the ride."
We should literately destroy this planet absolutely horrible.

What are the odds that the Union reverse-engineered some Ceph tech and Ceph-11 is an inside job?

>>40171374
B-but, Mr. Killinger, what about space Disney Land?!

>>40171374
>mosquito
Gas this planet with no survivors.

>>40171374
>mosquito
ASSIMILATE ASSIMILATE
WE WILL ANNOY EVERY OTHER SENTIENT BEING THERE IS WITH OUR INCESSANT BUZZING

>>40171423
tin-foil/teel beams

>>40171406
And destroy a good research opportunity? Just think what we could do with mosquitoes.

>>40171441
You are a horrible person, No, Just, No, This is not something you do, Its just cruel.

>>40171423
Completely zero. There is no way in a month of sundays they got their hands on a functioning slip drive, as well as established the psionic capabilities needed to pilot the damn thing. The engine of each and every void cutter is a living piece of a hyper dimensional eldritch being. There isn't any possible way they figured out how to operate one according to the user manual.

>>40171432
>you are now imagining giant hordes of mosquitoes used as terror weapons on earthling forces

>>40171450
You are still thinking in human terms. Here, hop into this pod, we'll show you how the hive's mind works.
>inb4 we make a drone that looks like a cloaked skull and drags about a bio-pod, while screaming to anyone it meets about GET IN THE POD

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>>40171491
IG, stop, you're giving me ideas.

>>40171374
He looks to Michael briefly. "Oh don't mind the conference call, you're cleared for these things anyhow. Tell me, who's giving the biggest opposition to the new bill?" As he asks the question a sly smile creeps across his face. Michael knows the answer, but it's so obvious he hesitates for a moment.

"The Greens, sir. But sir Richards is a Green, isn't that-"

"And who is the current leader of the Greens, and the only person on the Security Council with the funding, public backing, and popular support to actually throw enough weight around to fight off Tory proposals?"

"I'm, not sure I understand, sir." Michael says. Killinger nods his head.

"That's fine. Just get your files on my desk by tomorrow." He turns from the unseen screen to another unseen projector, as if something had just appeared. "Ah, Commander Grey, you're right on time. What's the status of the Mirage?" He seems to listen for a response, but the echo cancellation removes it. "Good." He says finally. "That's more than thirty years of research and engineering you have there. Don't fuck this up."

"Inspiring." Anderson says over the call.

"It better be, after the recent setbacks we may only have one shot at this." DuPont says. Killinger ignores them for a moment, as if listening to some long stream of data, then he types something into his data pad and looks to his desk, where the council members are projected. They each nod in silence, and Killinger quickly turns back to the unseen figure.

"You have a green light for the operation. Maintain video feed, but otherwise maintain comm silence." He turns away, having dismissed whoever was there, and he turns back to Michael as the council members hang up one by one.

cont.

>>40171521

>"It better be, after the recent setbacks we may only have one shot at this." DuPont says. Killinger ignores them for a moment, as if listening to some long stream of data, then he types something into his data pad and looks to his desk, where the council members are projected. They each nod in silence, and Killinger quickly turns back to the unseen figure.
>"You have a green light for the operation. Maintain video feed, but otherwise maintain comm silence." He turns away, having dismissed whoever was there, and he turns back to Michael as the council members hang up one by one.

OH FUCK ITS A HUMAN STEALTH VESSEL. THE UNION EMISSARY IS A GREEN. WHAT DO

>>40171521
Well shit. The Union is going to blow up the station...

Definitely alert Theseus

>>40171521
So lets fuck up thier plans.
Also steal that ship, it must be a prototype.

>>40171535
I thought you wanted the union to become more militarized?

>>40171521
Oh man, all these shadowruns. Let's make a mental note about any project linked to the codename 'mirage' and a Commander Grey when we get the chance.

>>40171545
I'm asking because I've lost track of which side is which. Is fucking up Killnger's op better for us in the long run or do we just let it happen?

Holy shit, this rabbit hole goes deep as hell.

>>40171521
I just imagined Theseus coming over the speakers and being like
>"Pardon me Miss Alder, but it has come to my attention that Killinger has enacted a plan to have you killed. There is currently an experimental stealth vehicle on approach to destroy the station. I suggest you vacate immediately."

>>40171521
"Get me those files by tomorrow, and dammit, get yourself checked by a doctor. Today if you can. I want to see a bill of good health with those files. After what you've been through I don't want you keeling over from some internal bleeding."

"Yes sir." Michael says.

>Speak with Killinger (write in)
>Hang up
>Other

>>40171538
I'm just going to note, we could always blow up the ship with one of our pods, if Theseus thought it was advisable to do so.

>>40171559
>Hang up
>Other
Update Theseus on the situation.

Also, remind me, what's so bad about the Greens? There's too many factions in this game, I'm losing track of who's doing what.

(I love it though)

>>40171559
>Hang up
>Update Theseus

>>40171554
I think we should fuck up the op.

>>40171557
Don't forget that no one will believe that the common wealth didn't attack since they brought a huge ship and everything, so killingar can use this to help bolster his plans.

>>40171559
Uh, shit, we can have our doctor give Michael a clean bill of health, right?

>>40171559
>>Other
ALERT THESEUS
HE'LL KNOW WHAT TO DO

>>40171573
They aren't militaristic supercunts like Killinger. Thats pretty much it. Oh and the Green party is looking to get elected over Killinger so he wants their guy dead.

>>40171573
IIRC, Greens are the incumbent while the Tories are pro-military spending and are led by Killinger.
correct me if i'm wrong.

>>40171559
>Hang up

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Taking a moment to go back to Lylechat from last thread, I contend there's only one option for what he looks like.

>>40171568
Explosions are too visible and suspicious.

A nice, quiet pod with a cruise-sized Molecular Disassembler warhead onboard colliding with it will be stealthier and more mysterious.

They just never heard from it again.

>>40171573
From what i gather they are the guys who we should start politics with.
WAIT GUYS IF THE SHIP IS PROVIDING A VIDEO FEED, DOESN'T THAT MEAN THESUS CAN HACK THE SHIP?

I don't really see what our motive is in stopping this course of events, aside from spite against Cuntinger.

But spite is an okay motive I guess. Although letting the Union become more centralized and corrupt only makes it more potent when we corrupt it ourselves.

>>40171622
The vid feed is probably through quantum comms, and the ship is still to far away from the station for Theseus to jump. And even then it's a military ship, it will have countermeasures to guard against such intrusions.

>>40171521
>"Ah, Commander Grey, you're right on time.
Wait.

IS THAT MOTHERFUCKING TREVOR GREY.

The one guy who has ever seen hive technology up close and has escaped to live among the Union.

Now we have to molecular-disassemble that Mirage ship.

Although preventing the video feed...we need to activate a quantum scrambler bomb first.

Ask for one from Theseus.

>>40171649
wait why don't we capture the ship?

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1.63 MB PNG

>>40171559
Michael clicks the end call button and pivots around in his seat. He has no idea why, but he feels incredibly nervous over... something.

You ping Theseus several times and he quickly responds. You transmit the memory of the call. He churns on the data for a moment.

"I am unable to find any relevant piece of data for the term 'mirage', however, the only Commander Grey currently unaccounted for by public record is Trevor Gray, promoted after the events of the Clarke incident to Colonel and granted the title of ship commander of a small patrol craft. The patrol craft has been in service dock, and I am unable to find any records of it actually existing. He has not been seen in person since."

Zero One bickers into a standstill, and after nearly half an hour of it, Theseus speaks again.

"I am unable to conclude the best course of action."

>Do nothing and watch
>Other (write in)

>>40171672
>Other (write in)
Try and capture the ship if we can't destroy it.

>>40171672
If we cannot capture the stealthed craft I want to have our pod explode near the craft and destroy it.

>>40171663
Because it's transmitting you retard.

>>40171672
>Other (write in)
Theseus, my neigbor, can we borrow a cup of quantum scrambler?

Or whatever disables A-grade FTLComms.

Then we load that and a disassembler warhead on a second pod, which rendesvous with the mirage. Deactivate the video feed, then dissolve the ship and the pod together.

Although sitting back and watching is tempting. I kinda want Grey gone.

>>40171672
Well fuck, thanks a lot, Theseus.

>Other (write in)
Would it be possible to get a disassembler on top of that thing?

>>40171672
>"I am unable to conclude the best course of action."
Goddamit Theseus this is what you're supposed to be good at.

Any ideas? Attempting to capture it sounds good but it's highly probable that the Confed Dreadnought will detect the both of us in a boarding op. And that has it's own can of worms.

>Other (write in)
Close and destroy it.

>>40171672
>>Do nothing and watch

Let's see how this plays out before we make a move.

>>40171672
Take out the ship/capture and cut any feeds being sent.

>>40171681
>literally transmitting a video feed constantly back to killinger
>capturing it

>>40171688
>exploding
>visibly
Disassembler warhead.

>>40171672
>Other (write in)
I say we should bring in ships to ambush the ship once it starts leaving this area after its job is done.

>>40171672
Can we sneakily detach our pod from the station and approach the stealthcraft?

If we detonate our podnuke, we can damage the stealther to the point it becomes visible while at the same time not leaving any trace of OUR involvement (makes it look like somebody tried nuking the talks but fucked up their bomb)

>>40171690
There's no such thing as a quantum scrambler, what you think was a quantum scrambler that was used in Raligha scrambles traditional electromagnetic frequencies.

>>40171672
Keep your corvette ready for interception, whether it's to destroy or capture. They don't know there's more than one cloaked thing here.

Alright, crazy idea time, what do you say we slowly move in front of that other cloaked ship? If we can do so while keeping stealth, that's great. That way, when it decloaks or otherwise attacks, we also decloak, and point our guns their way, and then recloak. As in "don't you dare try anything" kind of gesture.

Guys, you don't think the Illuminati won't find out immediately considering that they've got a video feed up at all times?

>>40171704
I think is just might work. We would still have eyes on the area.

>>40171707
Quantum Tuning clearly has weapon-applications.

We haven't finished it but Theseus could give us an area of effect device like that that will retune the FTLComm relay to us and/or nothing instead of the Union.

>>40171708
>showing up on camera for the Union
>ever
That is retarded. You could at least go for immediate disablement and disassembly.

>>40171672
>>Do nothing and watch

>>40171672
>>Do nothing and watch

>>40171672
>Other (write in)
destroy the ship.

>>40171722
Well yes, but Theseus hasn't indicated that he has such device. In the event that he does, it would require a corvette to jump to Unity space and then jump again to Toliman, which has a high chance of being detected by ships in-system and even then, the quantum tuning tech requires close proximity, which isn't easy when you're in fucking space.

>>40171747
>>40171741
Anon too obvoius.

For everyone who's just saying 'destroy it' without elaborating- rememeber that we can't just blow it up without people asking questions and doing inquiries. The question would be 'how to blow it up without implicating us?'

>>40171672
>>Other (write in)
Send a cloaked corvette equipped with stinger missile launchers (if any are built yet) into the system and keep it on standby. Make sure this ship is stocked with molecular dissassembler warheads and a full complement of standard and heavy warriors, just in case.

This way we can keep our options open without having to commit to anything just yet.

>>40171760
Why not introducing ourselves to the green party head while the Illuminati is in the dark?

>>40171672
>>40171760
Use a Molecular Disassembler warhead and aim for the warp drive ring first, that way they can't jump out.

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>>40171759

>>40171741
Okay, so if they decloak, we immediately disable them, and shield them from the station's cameras (we cloak in front of them and showing only the stars).

Can we even do partial cloaking, as in cloaking only one side of our corvette?

>>40171672

>Other (write in)

If he can, get Theseus to activate an alarm on the station, saying that some asteroid's hit it and they're all fucked if they don't get back to their ships immediately, make sure it's urgent enough that they don't bother bickering.

Then protect the COMMONWEALTH ship - Killinger wants them dead (to get the Commoners pissed and "show" the Greens as incompetent) more than he wants a single Green dead.

>>40171754
It's not that hard to get close when you're cloaked and they're cloaked and you're going to get real up close and personal anyway.

The Mirage is a stealth ship, it probably is not very big. Can't be more than a corvette.

>>40171781
>the station's cameras
The Mirage itself has cameras, are you fucking dense.

>>40171782
>more than he wants a single Green dead
You mean the green that holds the most power against him and could foil his plans, this is two birds one stone for him, it breaks treaties with the common wealth and cripples an enemy party.

>>40171782
>If he can, get Theseus to activate an alarm on the station,

We can't communicate with Theseus instance on the ship in any way, I'm pretty sure.

Although Theseus COULD cause a malfunction in the oxygen. that will force evacuation, if we signal him somehow in a way that the humans cannot detect.

But how? Last time we spoke it was through the stations speakers. Have a fly tap something out in morse code that only he can hear?

>>40171801

Yes.

The Green can be replaced within her Party. Losing the Commonwealth representatives and not the Union ones would give the Commoners massive conspiracy boners, utterly derailing any possibility of peace in the foreseeable future.

I said to get them both onto their ships so that the mirage has two targets to deal with instead of one.

>>40171806
>We can't communicate with Theseus instance on the ship in any way, I'm pretty sure.
We chatted with him when we arrived at the station.

The humans likely occupy only a portion of the station.

We can have a fly sit on a camera and show him things.

>>40171816
>The Green can be replaced within her Party.
Not in the fucking next three days when they push through the King Bill, you moron.

>>40171789
>The Mirage itself has cameras
Not if we slag them. And how useful would that be to the illerminati, anyways? They release it, they would be known of having stealth ships. They'd only know that there's this alien ship that attacked them.

Crazy idea #234: we need to make a corvette that could shapeshift. From Union ships to Scav ships, we could make false-flag attacks in the name of collecting specimens. Specimens of technology or biology!

>>40171782
Sounds alright combined with

>>40171806
>Have a fly tap something out in morse code that only he can hear?

>>40171782
We are not going to interfere if we successfully make the humans evacuate. Getting the Union contingency to leave is more than enough. Who the fuck cares about the Commonwealth.

>>40171672
You send a quick request to Theseus regarding the technology known as a quantum scrambler. He is quick to send back the specifications, and while it is a decently effective thing that you may wish to trade for at some point, it is not quite as good as you had hoped. Essentially an advanced EMP device, it disrupts the quantum states of entangled particles, disabling quantum comms and quantum computers, however it holds an incredibly limited range, forcing it to be deployed via an unguided or fly-by-wire warhead due to its payload interfering with any sufficiently complex navigation and targeting systems. As such, they are typically highly ineffective in space, although they are useful when deployed by defenders against invading and low flying warships. Regardless, your ships are not equipped with such a device.

>Have your corvette intercept the cloaked vessel
>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel
>Do nothing and watch
>Other (write in)

>>40171841
>>Do nothing and watch

Let's WAIT and see how it plays out. We're being hasty.

>>40171841
>it is not quite as good as you had hoped. Essentially an advanced EMP device, it disrupts the quantum states of entangled particles, disabling quantum comms and quantum computers, however it holds an incredibly limited range, forcing it to be deployed via an unguided or fly-by-wire warhead due to its payload interfering with any sufficiently complex navigation and targeting systems. As such, they are typically highly ineffective in space
Well fuck.

>>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

>>40171841
>Other (write in)
Ponder feasibility of contacting the Theseus instance without humans noticing something.

Flies have radio transmission capabilities, but humans can detect that. Morse code tapping from the air ducts in one of the sleeping quarters, near a microphone?

>>40171841
>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

>>40171841
>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

>>40171841
>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel
Boom.

Oh man I wanna see Killinger's face (through Michael of course) when he hears the news.

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Honestly, I just want to fuck up Killinger's plans.

>>40171862
>>40171863
Disassembler warhead variant I hope.

>>40171841
>>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel
>>40171782

>>40171841
>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

>>40171841
>Have your corvette intercept the cloaked vessel

Why are we trying to stop the space war guys?
I thought we wanted the !FUN!?

>>40171871
Your pods have been built with atomic self destructs by default, although even a disassembler would be detected as it broke up the target cloaked ship.

>>40171879
Yes, but it's not us doing the !FUN!
And we're also doing it to spite Killinger.

>>40171879

Most of it is mainly cus fuck killinger

>>40171841
>>Do nothing and watch
Look, we should probably actually think about the consequences here, but it ultimately boils down to: do we want a war between the Commonwealth and the Union?

And this ship has got to go of course, but blowing it up isn't worth completely destroying the talks just...yet...

>>40171841
>Do nothing and watch
And/or maybe see if we can get Theseus to spring an air leak on the station.

>>40171879
I don't know man, but people are notoriously biased towards DO THE THING when the other option is "don't do the thing." And Killinger is basically giving supervillain speeches. It makes you want to spite him.

>>40171879
We're having a space war with the BQ and the Scavs already. We can have space war with/between humies later, for desserts.

>>40171887
So a big explosion that kills fast of a delayed disintegration that will still be visible either way.

>>40171887

>even a disassembler would be detected as it broke up the target cloaked ship.

C'mon guys. There's no way we can take action without being noticed. Just let this one pass and we can get him later on. Think long term.

>Do nothing and watch.

>>40171879
>>40171888
and getting rid of that fancy undetectable ship would be nice

>>40171841
>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

>>40171906
Yeah that too, something tells me that the stealth tech was not cheap and easy to get.

>>40171888
C'mon anon, think about the implications of what you're electing to do right now. You're basically saying its worthwhile sabotaging the talks and risking inter galactic war JUST to spite Killinger. I fully agree the old bastard deserves it, but is it really worth it?

>>40171887
If all evidence goes up in the explosion who gives a shit.

>>40171841
>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

>>40171918
>>40171918
What?

Spiting Killinger prevents the space war he wants.

>>40171918
Nah. Been quiet, but this shit ain't worth it.

>do nothing and watch

>>40171918
Anon, Killinger is going to sabotage the talks anyway. At least doing it on our terms makes sure that he does not get the result he wants, which is the head of the Greens being dead.

>>40171841
>>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

>>40171918
Hell yes. Nobody gets to plot interstellar wars but us.

>>40171925
But it starts a space war with US.

>>40171841
>>Do nothing and watch
Doing nothing really is the smartest thing to do right now.

>>40171912
Yeah. It's a very expensive asset of theirs.

>>40171918
The ship is there to sabotage the talks anyway. If we let it do it's job.

If we stop it, it'll spoil the talk still, but much less so than an actual completed attack on the station.

>>40171937
No it doesn't

So that's it, then. We've got the OB/Void Gods, the Scavs, and soon we'll have the Union all against us.

Lovely.

>>40171933
>>40171940
Anons, has any of the info we recieved ever actually suggested the ship was sent there to do anything OTHER than spy on them passively?

>>40171937
No it doesn't. It's two unidentified stealthed ships going boom. There won't be anything to implicate us here, hell that's the PRIMARY function of the nuke: to leave nothing of the pod.

>>40171841
>do nothing and watch

>>40171954
But they'll be able to detect that a dissassembler warhead was triggered. They can work backwards from there, and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they were smart enough to suss out that 'Hey, maybe a third party's at work here.' I'm running off the assumption that these government folks AREN'T utterly stupid.

>>40171953
They won't get any spying done from outside the station's hull.

Look, we can start a giant space war later. Hell, doing this might cause them to go to war anyway. But this way they will be down an expensive stealth ship.

>>40171953
>Tell me, who's giving the biggest opposition to the new bill?" As he asks the question a sly smile creeps across his face. Michael knows the answer, but it's so obvious he hesitates for a moment.
>"The Greens, sir. But sir Richards is a Green, isn't that-"
>"And who is the current leader of the Greens, and the only person on the Security Council with the funding, public backing, and popular support to actually throw enough weight around to fight off Tory proposals?"

>"I am Seamus Alder, elected chairwoman of the Green party, elected representative of Dirian, and member of the Union Security Council."
>"You have a green light for the operation. Maintain video feed, but otherwise maintain comm silence."

We wouldn't be panicking like this if the stealth ship was just sent in for spying on the talks.

Seriously guys, doing nothing will let them start a war anyway, might as well give them the finger for getting started without us.

>>40171841
>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

So let's say we want to trade for the quantum scrambler.
What would we trade for it?

Quantum tuning when we finish researching it?

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>>40171953
>spy
>when their own people are already there, and the Union already knows what's happening there
>Killinger's obvious motive to have Green dead

>>40171841
>>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

I want to ask QD for clarification on a couple things, but that's meta-knowledge.

>>40171971
We already have two fronts to deal with. You want to fight three wars at once?

>>40171966
1)We don't even have a disassmbler there
2)Work WHAT out? That somebody somewhere has a nanite bomb. That's freaky, but still tells them nothing about who and where.

And of course there's a third party - Killinger&Co. We're fourth.

>>40171981
Who says were going to war with them?
I want them to fight each other

>>40171841
>>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel

>>40171974
...Quantum tuning is obviously the tech tree prerequisite that unlocks quantum scrambler. You can't trade Theseus something he already has, and it's stupid to trade for something you can research with what you already have.

Trade only makes sense when the other party has a complete monopoly on the research subject, like singularity weapons.

>>40171981
They have no reason to suspect us.

Not going to name names but, The detonate cloak pod guys are starting to get a little samefaggy.

>>40171989
I don't think they're going to be that stupid to just accuse each other and have at it, is the problem. I'm presuming people behind the scenes are intelligent and will investigate.

>>40171974
Sounds reasonable, since we're not dependent on quantum comms ourselves.

>>40171992
Who's to say that Theseus has it? Its much easier to destroy a quantum entanglement than to modify it to connect with another particle.

>>40171981
All they're gonna know is that a stealth ship went boom, no way to tie it to us.

Like, it's happening either way, but we have a really juicy target right there...

>>40172004
>I'll jut throw out some accusations without any ground to stand on!

>>40172005
Yeah, and the conclusion is going to be "it was the space bugs!"

Little off topic here but we may want to get some clones ready so Michael can turn them in.

...fine, whatever. I still think this is a horrible, horrible idea that's gonna backfire on us in the worst possible way, but alright.

>>40172005
Our pod is barely a dozen meters across. Everything in it is going to be obliterated by the nuke.

>>40171981
Doesn't hurt to ask. I always try to answer questions from the perspective of the queen. I don't think clarifying a vote is meta at all.

>>40171841
>>Attempt to detonate a cloaked pod along the cloaked vessel
Light them up

>>40172004
Same could be said of the leave it alone fags.

>>40171841
You dispatch your pod to intercept the approaching ship, guided by the sensors of your corvette. You find it difficult to pinpoint its location, but your pod slowly narrows it down and closes in.

Please roll 1d100, best of 3.

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>40172039

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>40172039
Surely this would be more foolproof if the corvette got closer too.

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>40172039
For Mother

>>40172024
alright, then:

Is it plausible that detonating the pod (and the ship could get traced via type of warhead used, specific materials of debris left (IF any), and general interpersonal relationship to the current parties?

Basically, it's hard for me to buy that the disassembler does a perfect erasure that no one can detect. Furthermore, I'd imagine that as much as they hate each other, both sides would at least give a cursory inquiry to the other side of 'was that yours? Can you even MAKE that?'

>>40172045
The system works!

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>40172039

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>40172039
For mother

>>40172049
Whoop, too late to ask now. Happening whether I like it or not.

>>40172045
I'm paranoid that that's not good enough.

>>40172049
An enemy's denial that they have never-before-seen technology is hardly convincing, when you know you have your own secret research into unlocking the secrets of alien civilizations.

>>40172058
Look on the bright side space wars always fun.

>>40172067
They are, but I prefer 1v1s, not 3v1s.

We really should start building non-organic ships for these purposes.

>>40172049
>>40172058
I'm assuming that our pods carry at least a 1 megaton nuke. Our pod is around 10 meters across.
Anything that close to a nuke is going to be utterly obliterated with no trace.
Well there's the problem of the Union Stealth Vessel, but that's Killinger's, not ours.
Point is, the nuke isn't going to leave any evidence of us other than the blast and the stealth ship's wreckage.

>>40172049
The disassembler leaves behind a cloud of atoms, while a nuke leaves behind radiation and, well, atoms, mostly. Both are excellent ways to remove something, although nukes to it faster, and with a bigger bang, while disassemblers are able to eat through fortifications, making them good as bunker busters.

You could expect that there would be at least some manner of inquiry by both parties, but you are unsure if that inquiry will be cooperative in any way or not.

Anyways, writing.

>>40172004
Leave it voters
12:12:28 >>40171854
12:17:29 >>40171892
12:17:53 >>40171898
12:21:17 >>40171938
12:23:21 >>40171956

BOOM voters
12:12:50 >>40171857
12:13:25 >>40171862 less than a minute past
12:13:35 >>40171863 well maybe same as the previous one
12:14:05 >>40171868 <min
12:14:44 >>40171872 <min for two posts
12:15:01 >>40171873 <min x2
12:15:41 >>40171877 <min x2
12:17:29 >>40171892
12:19:10 >>40171911
12:20:30 >>40171924 potential samefag
12:21:11 >>40171935 <min
12:25:55 >>40171972
12:26:46 >>40171980 <min
12:27:44 >>40171991 <min
12:30:38 >>40172028

So that's like TWO posts that look at all suspicious to me, and a ton of posts that are less than a minute apart. Even on maximum paranoia, they still win the vote.

>>40172096
Speaking of which, how big a boom do pod nukes carry in terms of megatons?

>>40172109
Fifty. They're equivalent to Cruise missiles, and Cruise corresponds to the Union's 50-megaton classification. He said this earlier.

>>40172083
Nope.
Also I hope, since the enemy probably wanted a low heat signature and used fusion powered warp drive instead of a quantum power tap, that we aim the pod to detonate near Engineering.

So they might blame it on the fusion reactor being sabotaged. Maybe.

>>40172074
3v1 is when we, Theseus and Heretic decide to fuck somebody's day.

Union and Commonwealth still have nothing leading to us and our planets. ESPECIALLY the Commonwealth, they probably don't even KNOW Leeland is a planet beyond astronomical observation of the star.

>>40172109
It is equipped with an atomic self-destruct, which is comparable to a cruise missile's warhead.

>>40172039
Your pod closes in as your corvette remains at a short distance to prevent the blast from harming its cloak. The pod continues to zero in on its location, and eventually you are able to make out the faint shimmer of the cloak itself, and your pod closes in by visual using the faint silhouette of its hull.

"Remove thing for mother!" The pod's mind is filled with the thought, and it speeds its hull towards the shimmering cloak, detonating beside it with the fury of a dying star. The pod blinks out of your mind in an instant, and you watch as for a moment the Mirage comes into view of your corvette, a sleek craft with no visible hab rings, and a slight shimmer from a small ring woven tightly around an expanding cluster of flat metallic plates that seem to make up its engineering section. For a moment the ship flickers in and out of visibility, and a fourth of a second later, the flames engulf it. A few small pieces of hull fragments continue on, and as the radiation subsides, you see only the tip of the ship's bow, tumbling end over end towards the station.

Via Maris station is filled with activity. Alarms blare as warnings are read out simultaneously in English and Esperanto, as if the computers were yelling over each other. The politicians leap from their seats, sending themselves tumbling into the ceiling and banging heads and scraping elbows. You can hear the panicked but still hushed conversations as each side attempts to figure out what is happening without informing the other, and then they begin scrambling to retrieve their devices and paperwork as they scramble to leave the station. They hook their arms together as they scramble out of the airlock to their waiting ships in a rushed but well trained maneuver, and your corvette detects a flurry of radio chatter.

cont.

>>40172256
HAPPENING ALERT HAPPENING ALERT

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>>40172256
>"Remove thing for mother!"
Great Mother Bless you child.

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>>40172256
This has been a most fruitful day for the hive.

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>>40172256
If anyone's going to be causing terrorist incidents, it's going to be us.

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>>40172256
>Remove thing for mother!

See, weeks ago I wanted to track down and parasite Trevor Grey for daring to look upon our royal pod and living to tell about it.

We could've seen this from a whole new perspective if we had.

The longer this goes on, the more I'm convinced We're the villain of this story.

>>40172364
No such thing as heroes and villains in this world. Only winners and losers.

>>40172345
Wouldn't work either way since according to Theseus, Gray has been unaccounted for months, but damn it was pretty convenient that he just happened to be in command of the ship we were about to blow up.
At least that's one less loose end.

>>40172364
We're above such petty distinctions like "heroes" and "villains" anon. The only thing that matters is that we're the protagonist and that we win.

>>40172256
"Thunderchild, this is Admiral Reuenthal. You are to retrieve the detected debris immediately! Recover this shuttle only after the hull fragment has been recovered!"

"This is Commander Allison of the USV Galileo, you will do no such thing! Any attempt to recover the unidentified wreckage will result in us boarding your shuttle for violation of the salvage clause of the Proxima Convention! I repeat-"

"This is the Thunderchild. Any burn maneuver towards the admiral's shuttle will be seen as an act of war. You will be fired upon!"

You watch as several dozen fighters are loosed from the belly of the dreadnought. A small wing is launched from the Galileo in response, mismatched as it is, and you listen to the chaos of radio signals increase ten fold as the fighters begin looping each other, twisting back and forth to enter proper firing solutions while evading one another, although they hold their fire.

"Lance to Thunderchild, are we weapons free? Repeat, permission to fire?"

"Galileo this is turning into a blender, do we have clearance to engage? Galileo!"

A number of large tugs emerge from the Thunderchild and begin drifting on an intercept course to the still-simmering bow of the Mirage. The drive ring of the Galileo shimmers briefly as it begins moving towards the sluggish shuttle in response.

"Recall your tugs, Thunderchild!"
"Permission to engage?"
"Reverse your course or we will open fire!"
"Are we weapons free? Commander we need orders out here!"
"Check your course!"

cont.
I normally don't link music, but I can't help but feel it's appropriate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlcUwUwjLrs

>>40172364
The villain of the Union's story, sure.
But the hero of our own.
And I think we're a side protagonist of the Unity's story, or something.

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>>40172387
>"Lance to Thunderchild, are we weapons free? Repeat, permission to fire?"
>"Galileo this is turning into a blender, do we have clearance to engage? Galileo!"
>A number of large tugs emerge from the Thunderchild and begin drifting on an intercept course to the still-simmering bow of the Mirage. The drive ring of the Galileo shimmers briefly as it begins moving towards the sluggish shuttle in response.
>"Recall your tugs, Thunderchild!"
>"Permission to engage?"
>"Reverse your course or we will open fire!"
>"Are we weapons free? Commander we need orders out here!"
>"Check your course!"
Jesus what a clusterfuck

>>40172345
We still can review his memories when we find him. And Killingers too. It's going to be delicious.

>>40172364
We're friggin scary space bugs. But morality wise the story is kinda gray vs. black.

Only black are the total Void&Servants. And maybe scavs.

We and the humies are willing to talk and, to a degree, do nice with people that are nice in return.
Union wasn't much nice and has dickwad internal conspiracy, but aside from that can be worked with. We know nothing about Commonwealth so we could open up talks at any time and see where it leads.

>>40172376
I doubt he was personally on board.

>>40172387
Can we just swoop in and take that shit?

>>40172364
Hey, as far as morality goes, this was a wash! We destroyed a super-secret government pet project, and saved a bunch of civilians.

Sure we've done some questionable things, but overall, we've kept the death toll quite low and are re-starting a whole race! And uplifting another one! Yeah, we've got some parasites, but those come out with few ill effects, unlike the awful experiments the humans have going. The other side built a psionic cannon. Yeah we went all Aliens on their science lab, but they were going to do vivisections and the they hired a bounty hunter to poach the specimens in the first place. And let's not forget the Smith that infiltrated our hive!

>>40172387
I, personally, like it when you link music in your posts QD. It does a lot to add to the overall feel of what you're trying to convey.

>>40172412
the common wealth built the canon you mean.

Any one willing to steal the ship right under thier noses?

>>40172364
What we've done isn't terribly objectively more evil than what any other government or power in this story has done. Keep that in mind.

>>40172387
>music
I was expecting something more like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ

And, hey, I think this turned out WAY more exciting than just letting it happen.

>>40172438
Fuck no, they're on high alert and we're not going to reveal ourselves now.

>>40172407
>>40172438
Those two are about to fucking shoot each other, no way we're diving into that clusterfuck.

>>40172438
Too risky. They'll notice.

>>40172438
If you think we can pull it off, sure I'm up for taking some of the wreckage while everyone else is still confused and disoriented.

It's probably too risky though. Might want to hang back for now.

>>40172405
>I doubt he was personally on board.
You... can't be serious.

He was listed as head of a ship that doesn't exist. This was a ship that doesn't officially exist.

Grey was the one given the direct order to maintain the video feed from the Mirage. Of course he was on board.

>>40172438
I'm not usually willing to do such brazenly retarded things without a few drinks first.

>>40172364
Naw dude, we're doing this for the sake of getting these people off our bloody asses long enough to effectively kill whatever is supporting the Black Queen. Which seems to want to mind control everything.

>>40172438
I don't believe we have a snowball's chance in hell of pulling that off undetected. There's a fifty percent chance it'll just wind up in the hands of the people who built it anyway, and it's not like its carrying any tech we either haven't already mastered or can't find anywhere else.

>>40172486
It should still have greys body, and you never know it could have some prototype tech.

>>40172496
I doubt anything could survive a 50 megaton blast that close without shields, hell the radiation itself would be enough to kill anything aboard.
Just stick the corvette nearby and listen to radio chatter if they do find survivors.

Hey you know what its the perfect time to send a diplomat think of the look on these humies faces.(this is not a serious sugjestion)

>>40172405
>We still can review his memories when we find him.
Uh.

He just got nuked.

>>40172496
>It should still have greys body

The flames engulfed it anon. Thermonuclear flames. Only a few small pieces of hull fragments were blasted free from the explosion.

There's nothing.

>>40172506
Was just hoping we could retrieve his corpse, but you do have a point.

>>40172509
Nah, the perfect opportunity for that kind of bad decision would be to sneak a camo-sneaker on the station and stealth him in the talks room.

And then once they start just stand up and nonchalantly say Hello.

>>40172438
If we can do it without breaking stealth i am all for it.

So i just joined and, wtf, they have stealth technology? Did they steal it from us or did they get it from the same species we got it from? Or did they get it from something else entirely?

>>40172576
Seems to be a very expensive special ship. They probably developed it on their own.

>>40172576
Yes, No, Probably, Maybe.

>>40172387
You watch as a grav-fighter clips another and the hull bends like raw pasta. Fist sized hull fragments loop around the twisting, decaying singularities in short lived streaks of light as the super-heated fragments skim the artificial event horizon and catapult themselves outwards and into the surrounding fighter formations. You watch as streaks of metal puncture the hulls of fighters in silence, passing clean through their frail structures at fractions of light speed, sending them bursting into pieces like a styrofoam model struck with a hammer. A renegade singularity passes the shuttle, and a portion of its hull is sheered from it like a block of cheese sliding across a deli slicer. Bodies scatter in a puff of gas as the shuttle enters a tumble, and you see the guns of the Thunderchild begin to pivot towards the Galileo.

cont.

>>40172576
reread the thread dumb ass.

>>40172576
Its either native tech dveloped after they saw the Ceph in action or from a downed Ceph fighter, either way it took them 30 years to develop and it was really expensive. Was.

>>40172576
>>40172588
Sounded like they only have the one ship aswell.

>>40172590
WELP.

CIVIL WAR HAPENING.

>>40172563
Taking literally any action but moving within the system breaks stealth, that's its stated limitation. A ship can do nothing but move around while cloaked. It cannot interact with its environment in any way.

>>40172576
They clearly have been capturing Ceph when they can.

Or they just bruteforced it with guesswork, and adapted defensive shields into cloaking fields, which operate on the same principles.

>>40172590
The Thunderchild unleashes a torrent of kinetic slugs, and you watch as the Galileo jinks to the side, several pieces of hull flying off from the strain as it strafes to avoid the volley. Missiles begin to stream from its hull and particle beams lick out against the Dreadnought's shields. The remaining fighters open fire, ripping into each other like a self-destructing Piranha feeding frenzy, sending discarded fragments out in all directions as they dismember each other with auto cannons and particle beams.

The Galileo fires volley after volley of missiles, and the Thunderchild fills the space around it with flak. It is quickly surrounded by atomic fire, blanketing its hull in the billowing orbs of the nuclear warheads. Several railgun rounds fire out, probing for the corvette and glancing it in the process. It jerks harshly and its shields flicker as it spins in space, attempting to right itself.

Your corvette watches the small, burnt bow of the Mirage pass into the chaos, and land firmly into the hull of the station, sending both into an unstable orbit, drifting slowly into the atmosphere of Gehenna. The automated tugs of the Thunderchild trail after it, quickly picked off by the remaining Union grav-fighters as the station begins to glow as it enters the atmosphere bellow.

cont.

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>>40172590
ERE WE GO

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>>40172590
>Bodies scatter in a puff of gas as the shuttle enters a tumble, and you see the guns of the Thunderchild begin to pivot towards the Galileo.
Honestly the Admiral was a dumbass for not docking back to his ship as soon as possible and staying in the middle of an about to ignite battlespace.

>>40172626
>Your corvette watches the small, burnt bow of the Mirage pass into the chaos, and land firmly into the hull of the station, sending both into an unstable orbit, drifting slowly into the atmosphere of Gehenna. The automated tugs of the Thunderchild trail after it, quickly picked off by the remaining Union grav-fighters as the station begins to glow as it enters the atmosphere bellow.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

>>40172626
The Mirage actually hit the station? Damn, the term needle in a haystack doesn't do the probability of that happening justice.

>and you see the guns of the Thunderchild begin to pivot towards the Galileo.
Haha Alder might die anyway if it doesn't use its superior speed to ollie outie fast.

There are no brakes on the Killinger train.

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SPACE WAR NOW

can actually say it this time huh

Wait if we didn't stop the war, what was the point in blowing up Killingers stupid ship, Explosions r fun?

>>40172654
He might get what he wants, but he sure as fuck didn't expect it to happen like this.

>>40172669
He's out a stealth ship.

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>>40172669
Well we didn't expect them to shoot at eachother so soon, still...

>>40172669
1)FUCK KILLINGER

2)Kinda hoped they wouldn't derp so much and start shooting each other.
I suspect QM rolled for it.

>>40172669
Can't have a ship like that just running around unexploded anon.

>>40172669
Killinger is the enemy of Mother.

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I'm honestly laughing because it almost went exactly as planned until they decided to play finders-keepers.

>>40172669
I think people just don't like other people having stealth, so the moment it was discovered they had semi fuctioning stealth the BLEW IT THE FUCK UP. For safety you see.

>>40172669
Same reason the 13th fairy cursed the princess to die at her christening.

Spite.

>>40172709
Having played some campaigns in which the GM is fond of stealth missions /just working/ (even he lets us pull it off too, occasionally) - yea, it's really annoying as all fuck to have somebody sneaking in your base.

>>40172626
Not even a full light year away, your pod watches in silence as the reserve fleet of Ticonderoga severs their umbilicals and the docking scaffolds detonate, unfolding from the hulls as they activate their shields and accelerate towards Toliman.

>>40172684
My desk sounds like a bingo club right now. Even I'm on the edge of my seat.

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>>40172777
I bet this sums up the situation.

>>40172777
Hah, did they roll a nat one with that fighters collision?

>>40172777
The Galileo tumbles through space, its drive flaring like a ring of fire and it begins entering a wide arc, looping over the Thunderchild as its turrets strain to maintain a lock at such ludicrously short range. The Galileo flips end for end and begins firing its particle beam as it accelerates away, its acceleration unmatched by the dreadnought. The fighters continue to zip and loop around each other in a fierce melee, until the Thunderchild begins accelerating in reverse. The Commonwealth fighters flee with it as the remaining tugs launch themselves after damaged but intact fighters as they streak into the void, and nearly an hour later a half dozen warp fields collapse along the edge of the system as the Ticonderoga fleet emerges. They dispatch their own tugs, and the remaining fighters return to dock among them as the Galileo limps past their line.

The Thunderchild continues to accelerate to the edge of the system, circled by rings of its fighter wings several lighthours from the Union fleet. Another two hours into the new standoff, and another half dozen warp signatures appear, this time near the Thunderchild as a patrol fleet emerges from warp. They enter a holding pattern, looping in semi-random patterns on either side of the system, and the Galileo and the Thunderchild eventually flee from the system to lick their wounds.

The remaining forces exchange no words or signals, but dispatch wings of scout fighters periodically that fire at each other from beyond their optimal ranges and return to their fleets, as if to test one another.

>>40172798
Magnificent film, that was.

What a clusterfuck

>>40172826
What an update for the 300th post.

Alder is alive and onboard the Galileo. The King Bill's guaranteed passing is now averted. Now Killinger will have to roll to become President-Elect 4lyfe instead of auto-success.

If leaders are watched by the secret service, why not just parasitize the secret service members while they're alone off-duty? The main prize may be guarded, but the guards are usually much more vulnerable.

>>40172826
While the events of Toliman were far from any public eye, the deployment of the Ticonderoga fleet appears on the news channels of every Union world you have eyes on by the end of the day. Theories abound, and blurred images of the brief battle as seen by radio telescope from Proxima become the talk of the town.

Michael Drops by the parliament building to turn in his files, but finds Kilinger's office empty. The desk if flipped over, and a data pad is embedded firmly in the wall next to the door. He leaves the files with the secretary and quickly leaves before Killinger can return.

Back on Leeland, you monitor Lee's status with as much attention as you can afford when faced with witnessing such a catastrophic political boondoggle.

cont.

>>40172883
>Michael Drops by the parliament building to turn in his files, but finds Kilinger's office empty. The desk if flipped over, and a data pad is embedded firmly in the wall next to the door. He leaves the files with the secretary and quickly leaves before Killinger can return.
Kek Fuck you Killinger
There goes countless trillions and 30 years down the drain, and to boot the green chick is still alive.

>>40172883
>The desk if flipped over, and a data pad is embedded firmly in the wall next to the door.
Ahaaahaaaaahaaaaaaaaaa!

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>>40172883
>Michael Drops by the parliament building to turn in his files, but finds Kilinger's office empty. The desk if flipped over, and a data pad is embedded firmly in the wall next to the door. He leaves the files with the secretary and quickly leaves before Killinger can return.
It may not have worked out perfectly but everything went fine in the end.

>clean bill of health
Ah, it's time.

Have michael recall the name of the physician he'll visit tomorrow. Then have flies tail the doctor from his office to scout out his home, so the Tech and pal can do a little breaking and entering with their parasites late tonight. Enough for the doctor's whole family.

If the Tech does well enough there shouldn't even be any alarm that reports the break-in to anybody, so nothing unusual will have occurred.

Also new goal: tracking down all copies and backup copies of cloaking technology blueprints and notes in the Union research division.

>>40172874
We suggested that at the end of the last thread already, yeah.

The watchers, and the watchers who watch them.

>>40172883
We should drop him a message "Sup bitch. I blew up Mirage. <3 u, Lyle."

(this is a joke)

>>40172919
Seconded, i want to see him be even more pissed.

>>40172883
I kinda wanna play a video of the events for Lyle just to hear what kind of banter it prompts

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>>40172883
>The desk if flipped over, and a data pad is embedded firmly in the wall next to the door.
That just makes it all worth it.

>>40172941
DO THIS NOW

>>40172919
>>40172936
"Your stealth a shit, stay jelly of my swag ship."

>>40172941
Oh hell yes. Have we got Theseus to hook up a sat tv connection to our roof yet?

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>the debris from our explosion literally knocks the station of diplomacy into a decaying orbit leading to its inevitable destruction

How symbolic.

So when are we doing the lighter joke?
>>40173013
To think this all happened from behind the wall rolls.

Via Maris Theseus must be SO CONFUSED right now as he's about to die.

And RIP Flies.

>>40173020
>wall rolls
Refresh my memory?

>>40173023
Quest drone rolls off screen on his desk using real dice, he even mentions how his desk sounds like its bingo night.

>>40173023
"behind the wall rolls" aka "rolls which are behind the wall".

I don't think where the debris ends up was rolled for though. It's too perfect for the story.

>>40173023
QuestDrone rolls for background things. So this gigantic clusterfuck happened BY THE WILL OF THE DICE GODS

>>40173034
He might have rolled weather it was destroyed or captured by either of the two.

I still think the King Bill might ultimately be a boon to the hive.

To pass the bill, they might just have to buy off Alder by making her into the Head of State instead.

Then Killinger can quietly plot their demise yet again later.

>Privy coat

Do you think this will unlock a passive upgrade to adaptive camouflage that will make parasites more resistant to detection?

>>40172883

You watch as Elizabeth focuses her mind on Lee, gazing into his thoughts. The quills along her skull quiver as she concentrates her will.

You and her watch as Lee's mind slowly unfolds before you.

You can see the interior of the Clarke. Lee is rushing down a small tunnel and onto the bridge, where he takes a seat. The chair inflates, engulfing him in safety foam as he runs his hands over the console, and you can hear the sirens blaring. He looks at the screen, his hands shake, his brow drips sweat, and his throat is dry. A number of simple dots quickly fill the console's display, and he adjusts the various settings and algorithms, marking targets and adjusting fields of fire. Point defense was typically an automatic defense, but against the Unity, the ship's systems had to be separated. The fire control and the sensors were disconnected, and a person had to be placed in the middle. Lee was one of them. Another six were on either side of him, but he didn't notice any of them. He doesn't notice the main display as it shows the planet in front of them. He doesn't notice the cruiser cresting the horizon of the planet. He doesn't notice the navigator as she reads out the incoming threats, and points out that the Clarke doesn't have the acceleration to evade both the planet and the fleet. He does notice the waves of drones on his screen, and how they seem to hold a slight formation among them. Every fifteenth drone is in the center of a small sphere. It's not much to go on, but he guesses it indicates its importance, and he targets them first.

cont.

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Would you guys say this is accurate?