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>>1179046
Available are a number of funnels with beam guns, which are likely better left as a last resort due to their tendency to pierce metal surfaces, as well as your wrist-mounted beam blades which are best used in that fashion rather than as beam guns. Your current main weapon is a grenade launcher, capable of damaging vulnerable areas of even heavy-armored mobile suits. In reserve are a GM variant with a cannon and the Sericea, which can launch a barrage of missiles which Catrina can guide into their targets.

Unfortunately that may be difficult inside a colony, both in terms of getting them into range to take over control and in terms of what may happen if you miss.

>Risk the collateral, call in ze missiles.
>Close with one of the Zakus, make it hard for the others to fire on you.
>Move 'down' towards the colony walls, close off half the angles of attack.
>Try and lead the Zakus out of the colony entirely.
>Other?

>>1179055
>>Close with one of the Zakus, make it hard for the others to fire on you.

>>1179055
>Close with one of the Zakus, make it hard for the others to fire on you.

>>1179075
Though if the grenade launcher has the option to be detonated at will, as opposed to hitting the target first, I'd probably lead off with that.

>will get to writing
But I will need three rolls of 3d10 against DC 17, critical threshold at 21.

Rolled 1, 6, 5 = 12 (3d10)

>>1179140

Rolled 4, 3, 1 = 8 (3d10)

>>1179140

Rolled 9, 10, 8 = 27 (3d10)

>>1179140

>>1179158
That's pretty clutch, anon.

>>1179163
Now watch me blow all my luck on the next set of rolls.

Little late, but I'm here. Let's kick some ass.

Almost done re-reading the first quest, actually, just read the post where the anon critted getting out of bed after we were in a coma for 3 days.

>>1179140
If they're really trying to outflank you, then they understand that their numbers give them an advantage. But at the same time they're keeping their distance... those old mobile suits can't move their limbs as quickly as your machine, and their close-range weaponry doesn't look to be that spectacular at all. So it's likely that if you can get into close range with one of them you can take them out quickly and even the odds.

“Give me a hand,” you tell your sister. “We're closing to sabers range.”

Got it, I'll try and speed up our reaction time as best I can.

With Catrina in support you close the distance with one of the Zakus, feeling even more in tune with your own machine than the Psychoframe normally allows. The movement of your machine's arm feels almost like moving your own arm as the blade ignites to clash against a beam blade projected from the end of the Zakus autocannon. Instead of backing down however you switch off your beam saber, and the weapon which had been pressed against it slides out of the way to your left side as you reignite your weapon just in time to slash through the gears and servos of your opponent's arm. Without Catrina's help you're not sure you could've operated the manual controls that quickly, though with her it's almost instinctive.

You can feel the other pilot panic for a moment as his machine's right arm falls away along with his primary weapon, and you quickly move to butcher his suit even further with a swipe back down through its left shoulder and a blow to its monoeyed head sensors. One final kick to the Zaku's chest section dents the heavy metal protecting its cockpit and sends it spiraling away towards the colony walls.

“And stay down!” you shout, more for the recordings being made of this engagement than out of actual satisfaction.

Behind!

Catrina's warning alerts you to a threat you already anticipated, and you continue the swing of your left wrist saber to cleave through the weapon of a second Zaku which had been trying to jump you. The blade cooks off some of the physical ammunition stored in the weapon's magazine, forcing the pilot to back off in a burst of shrapnel and expanding gasses.

>Pursue the disarmed Zaku as it retreats, maintain offensive pressure at close quarters.
>Shoot after the Zaku, damage or destroy it as it's already moving backwards.
>Maneuver after one of the other two Zakus, prevent them from taking your back.
>Other?

>>1179223
>>Maneuver after one of the other two Zakus, prevent them from taking your back.

>>1179223
>>Maneuver after one of the other two Zakus, prevent them from taking your back.

>>1179223
>>Maneuver after one of the other two Zakus, prevent them from taking your back.

>>1179223
>>Maneuver after one of the other two Zakus, prevent them from taking your back.

>consensus is pretty clear
>3d10, DC 16, Crit 22

Rolled 2, 1, 7 = 10 (3d10)

>>1179265

Rolled 1, 4, 1 = 6 (3d10)

>>1179265

>>1179271
Ah cock.

Rolled 10, 5, 4 = 19 (3d10)

>>1179265

Rolled 2, 5, 2 = 9 (3d10)

>>1179265

>>1179273
>>1179271
Reminds me of when I got the naval review nuked to fuck.
>>1179274
YOU HAVE SAVED US

>>1179276
Good times.

>writing

>>1179278
I felt so bad for that that I stopped posting with my trip for almost the whole rest of the quest, lol.

>>1179285
Didn't your roll also result in Alpha stepping into that nuke landmine?

>>1179292
I don't remember, honestly.

In trying to go after a damaged and vulnerable enemy you may simply end up exposing yourself to his two remaining teammates, both of whom are circling at a distance... just waiting for you to make a mistake. So instead of making the predictable move you allow that pilot to disengage cleanly, turning to focus your attention on the other Zakus. As it turns out it was a smart move, since you're quickly forced to counter a warhead shot in your direction with your head vulcans. Tracers scythe across the explosive and set it off early, giving you enough cover to maneuver clear of the blast and towards the “ground” as it rotates past you. The strain increases on your machine, feeling a bit more like trying to maneuver close to the Lunar surface.

“Get after her!” you hear the lead machine's pilot order through the contact link still attached somewhere on his armor. “Keep out of melee range, we still have her outnumbered!”

Autocannon rounds streak past, peppering what looks like an abandoned warehouse.

Minimal human presence here, your sister reports. We're still in contact with the Sericea, if you want to end it here.

As you evade another rocket, you realize she has a point. If this drags out longer there's a greater chance of causing civilian casualties, particularly if these pilots push you closer to a district with actual residents. It'd also limit your ability to fire back for fear of causing collateral.

>Let them move you towards the city, if they have any sense that'll leave them no choice but to engage.
>Head back into the air, though this risks making you an easier target it gets you away from civilians.
>Call in that missile support. This is probably the best place for it.
>Other?

>>1179341
>>Call in that missile support. This is probably the best place for it.

>>1179341
>>Call in that missile support. This is probably the best place for it.
We leading them in ourselves, pre-detonate it if the trajectory looks iffy?

>>1179341
>>Call in that missile support. This is probably the best place for it.
Bring the rain.

>>1179341
>>Call in that missile support. This is probably the best place for it.

>Roll 3d10 for bringing in the rain
>DC 17, Crit 22, best of four

Rolled 4, 7, 9 = 20 (3d10)

>>1179383

Rolled 4, 2, 7 = 13 (3d10)

>>1179383

Rolled 10, 1, 3 = 14 (3d10)

>>1179383

>will start after one more roll

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

>>1179383

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>>1179495
“Rossweisse! We need some missiles out here!” you call out, avoiding a burst of fire by ducking behind a building. Even with the substantial barrier in the way bits of concrete, steel, and glass bounce off your gundam's cameras. “Sis, you take over in the last ten seconds of flight!”

Understood!

“Fox three, munitions out!” Rossweisse reports. “Impact in twenty-seven seconds!”

As the missiles approach you can feel your sister's presence fade as she shifts her focus, guiding each of them towards you as you maneuver against the Zakus.

“Missiles inbound!” the lead machine reports, having held back in the air to observe and direct his subordinates. “I'll hold them...”

In a burst of static Catrina sets off several of the missiles early, the blasts and shrapnel tearing the lead Zaku apart and sending the wreckage crashing to the ground. The remaining missiles detonate over the heads of the remaining two Zakus, buffeting them and peppering their armor with shrapnel, but probably out of concern for collateral damage Catrina triggered them too soon to finish the battle in one blow. You do however take the opportunity to close to sabers range again with the Zaku you disarmed before.

>Mince the Zaku in close combat, then move on.
>Disarm this Zaku, use it as bait or a hostage.
>Drag this out a little longer, see if you can draw out more mobile suits.
>Other?

>>1179595
>>Mince the Zaku in close combat, then move on.
Rip and tear, huge guts, etc.

>>1179595
>Disarm this Zaku, use it as bait or a hostage.
>Other?
Use it as a chance to take the fight outside the colony.

>>1179595
>>Mince the Zaku in close combat, then move on.

>>1179595
>>Mince the Zaku in close combat, then move on.

>3d10 to get killy, DC 16 crit 21

Rolled 2, 6, 4 = 12 (3d10)

>>1179702

Rolled 3, 10, 3 = 16 (3d10)

>>1179702

Rolled 6, 4, 3 = 13 (3d10)

>>1179702

>>1179702
In trying to hit the gun-less Zaku you stray into his partner's field of fire, taking a few hits on your armor in the process but ultimately closing the distance quickly enough to avoid any damage worth noting. You are however grateful at the armor design of this new machine, which you and Catrina's presence serves to reinforce: another mobile suit might not have made it through that exchange so unscathed.

Your left saber slices the Zaku's weapon hand clean off its arm, then with a second swing clashes against its left shoulder armor leaving a deep, melted crease in its plating. A grenade from your rifle catches it under the arm at close range, before it gets a chance to arm, and lodges deeply into its waist armor.

Overlaying reticle, your sister announces as she places a small box on your HUD to highlight the spot where your first grenade has activated itself. Switching round to airburst mode.

“Thanks!” you reply even as you hit the firing stud, arcing the second grenade perfectly. It goes off just feet from the Zaku's armor and triggers a sympathetic detonation, effectively blasting the suit apart from inside its own armor. Most of its body remains, albeit badly-charred and melted, but its internal support has been shattered.

And then there was one.

“Engaging the last Zaku,” you report, watching as your HUD highlights where your last foe should be.

>Try to convince the last one to surrender. Maybe you can get some intelligence out of him.
>Make smoke and withdraw, dealing with the nerve agent is more important.
>Take him down. Leaving this halfway done could backfire.
>Other?

>>1179791
>>Try to convince the last one to surrender. Maybe you can get some intelligence out of him.
Hell, having a backup mobile suit that Cima or someone could use might come in handy.

>>1179791
>>Take him down. Leaving this halfway done could backfire.

>>1179791
>>Try to convince the last one to surrender. Maybe you can get some intelligence out of him.

>>1179791
>>Take him down. Leaving this halfway done could backfire.
no half measures.
Those who lay eyes on a Gundam shall not live to tell about it.

Unless someone breaks the tie in the next few minutes I'm gonna have to make a decision myself.

Okay then.
>3d10, best of 3. DC 15, Crit 23.

Rolled 2, 7, 10 = 19 (3d10)

>>1179910

Rolled 1, 6, 6 = 13 (3d10)

>>1179910

Rolled 8, 10, 7 = 25 (3d10)

>>1179910

Rolled 2, 8, 8 = 18 (3d10)

>>1179910

>>1179932
nice.

>>1179932
... impressed. You may just survive this with life and reputation intact.
>writing

>>1179982
“You're done,” you insist to the last pilot, now thoroughly terrified to face you alone and within regular radio contact range despite the M-particle interference. “You lost when it was six to one, and now you're on your own. We've given you every chance to back down and walk away alive... this is the last offer you'll get.”

“We don't have to do this.”

After a moment you get a panicked response. “Stay away from me you witch!”

“I'm not going to fire unless you do something stupid,” you tell him in the calmest voice you can muster. “Just drop your weapons and withdraw slowly...”

“Drop my weapons... drop my weapons!?” he rants. “Of course you'd love that, wouldn't you!?”

“Well, I'm on to you witch. You keep dodging everything I throw at you? Let's see you dodge this!”

“Sieg Zeon!”

You hear Rossweisse and your sister both react to the buildup, the change in sensor readings that betrays the last pilot's intent, but it's too late.

“Rossweisse! Clay rounds!” you roar even as the last Zaku explodes, slamming your own mobile suit partway through a nearby storage building from the shockwave. Shattered wooden pallets, bits of corrugated metal, chunks of concrete... anything that's not firmly affixed to the colony wall is rapidly pulled towards the site of the blast as atmosphere starts to escape through a hole punched through the relatively thin barrier between space and atmosphere.

“Pressure dropping inside the colony!” Rossweisse tells you, her voice alarmed. “That bastard!”

The fact that your partner is swearing tells you just how serious the situation really is.

I've got the missiles! Targeting the rupture, impact imminent!

Even as you brace your mobile suit, trying desperately to give your sister as stable a footing while she concentrates, the missiles track over your gundam's head and towards where the 'ground' should be and detonate. You can't see the immediate results, but the air loss seems to slow. Objects aren't being sucked out anymore at least, so you maneuver quickly towards the edge of the hole.

It's a crater, which seems to have blasted a hole some twenty meters wide through the outermost shell of the colony. Several sympathetic detonations have mangled the infrastructure in this block, apparently including a water tank judging by the wet conditions. You use the launchers built into the gundam's hands to patch things up as best you can to stem any further leaks, then add some birdlime to the edge of the large patch keeping the colony's atmosphere in just to be on the safe side.

“Pressure has stabilized,” Rossweisse reports with a sigh of relief.
>1/2

>>1180045
“This is getting out of hand,” you sigh, resting your forehead against the back of your hand in relief. “I really thought we were in trouble there.”

“We have the entire exchange recorder,” ALICE informs you. “Just so that we can set the records straight if need be.”

“That's good,” you reply, returning your hands to the controls. “Good shooting, sis. Saved a lot of lives.”

Your quick thinking helped, you know. Give yourself some credit too.

“Not my style.”

>Return to the Sericea to disarm that G3 device.
>Detonate the G3 device from here, save everyone the trouble.
ALSO:
>Call the Sericea over to make sure the patch holds
>Hand this off to the local authorities.
>Other?

>>1180063
>>Return to the Sericea to disarm that G3 device.
>>Call the Sericea over to make sure the patch holds

>>1180068
In with this.

>>1180063
>Return to the Sericea to disarm that G3 device.
>Call the Sericea over to make sure the patch holds

>>1180063
>Return to the Sericea to disarm that G3 device.
>Call the Sericea over to make sure the patch holds
>Other?
See if ALICE detected any transport trying to make a get-away from the colony after the battle. Could be a chance that any potential leads (or even our Char-like suspect himself) might've bailed after the lopsided beating.

>>1180088
This isn't a bad idea either

“Rossweisse, I need you to keep an eye on this patch job while we disarm the G3 device,” you decide, turning to leave the site of the blast. “We'll be back in a minute or two, stay on site back there. Dissuade anyone who gets too curious.”

“Can do,” she replies.

I'm getting a lot of comm chatter. Want me to try and filter some of it so you can listen in?

“Sure, could be useful.”

A burst transmission about an explosion, confused and panicked responses to the loss of pressure, some grateful expressions regarding the fact that the pressure drop seems to have ceased... there really is a lot of chatter about this event.

“ALICE, you keeping an ear open for anything from our target?”

“Yes, ma'am,” the AI replies as you level off and enter the central spine of the cylinder. “No clear traffic, at least not on wireless channels.”

“Keep looking.”

You set down your machine and leave it to Catrina to loiter near the Sericea along with Lieutenant Carlyle, and manage to work your way back into the control center where the G3 gas is being stowed.

“Looks like the structure is still stable,” you muse aloud, examining the tanks and finding that they've held up adequately. “Still not sure we can move it safely though... might need to bring in a work crew with junior MS to cut through the plating above this chamber.”

Or we could just blast the damn thing.

“We could,” you admit, admitting to yourself that the longer you stay here in Sweetwater the more appealing such simple albeit destructive solutions are starting to appeal to you.

“Incoming transmission,” ALICE announces, “we've intercepted a broadcast originating within the closed cylinder.”

“Patch it to my helmet, audio only.”

“... and this is the result! These interlopers have threatened the safety of all our people once already, we cannot allow them to do so again! A thin membrane keeps us from death on all sides...”

“Is this what I think it is?”

Seems that way.

“Hardly seems eloquent enough to be Char,” Rossweisse sighs. “Shall we?”

“ALICE?” you smile inside your helmet. “Roll the tapes.”

>>1180229
And that's where we leave off for the weekend. Next time, on Shadows of Zeon: the gang hacks a press conference.

Thanks for turning out, and see you next weekend same time, same channel. Archive is up for your reading pleasure, and feel free to comment/ask questions. I'll get around to reading them some time in the week.

>>1180229
I'd say that if Shadow's of Zeon has any flaws, its that the villains tend to be pretty consistently B-list. I kinda worry that any Fallout quest will suffer the same problem, since that series tends to have kinda weak villains.

>>1180239
Thanks for the run, King. I had a question about the original SoZ, but forgot it :(

>>1180239
Thanks for running, King. Finally getting a whiff of that pay dirt.

How's Artesia doing back in Luna after we needed to make for Sweetwater right away? I do hope the misunderstandings are being managed, though we probably owe her big time for that.

>>1180402
Artesia is doing decently. There are quite a few things for her to sort out however and the looming issue of her "brother" reappearing has made things harder.