>>1259194
Perhaps that's why the colony of Sweetwater feels more like home now than your actual birthplace, in a strange and unpleasant sort of way. It's full of people who are just as angry and bitter as you were once taught to be. And perhaps what leaves you so incensed about the way these people act is because the last ten years have made it hard to recall just how much like them you used to be. That they remind you of a time you'd hoped was in your past.

“Are you okay?” Rossweisse asks. You had just been considering how best to deal with the fact that the terrorists who claim to be led by Char Aznable tipped their hand to you, revealing the locations of three hidden mobile suits. You must have zoned out for a moment.

Those were old memories, sis. Sorry to say it, but that doesn't mean they're irrelevant.

“I was thinking,” you admit. “Thinking about how far some of us have come since the war, and how little others have changed.”

“These people remind you of the old days in the Duchy of Zeon,” your partner realizes aloud. “It must be like finding a time capsule.”

“A time capsule full of shit I don't want,” you grumble. But still, when it comes to dealing these people who seemingly support the insurgency in their midst, Catrina has a point: the reminder isn't without use.

>Follow up with the three mobile suits you located, destroy them from the air and see what happens.
>Try and bait the insurgents again, get them cozy with the idea of dummy MS. Then attack.
>Go to ground with Lieutenant Carlyle, the MS pilots must spend time in those three districts.
>Other?

Yay, missed this last week.

On my birthday.

>>1259202
On one hand, potential civvie casualties. On the other, there's Carya's arm holding up. Not to mention out of suit experiences haven't been exactly kind.

>>Follow up with the three mobile suits you located, destroy them from the air and see what happens.
>>Other?
Though disabling them might be slightly more preferable, enough that their pilots will need to get busy repairing them back to normal service.

>>1259227
Has a good point, nuked my vote, I'll side (ayy) with this.

>>1259202
supporting >>1259227

“I'm thinking we need to kick the hornets' nest,” you decide, highlighting the locations of the three mobile suits on your HUD. On the bridge Rossweisse can see the same information as well, giving you the same view of the soon-to-be battlefield. “Strike before they get a chance to relocate, draw them out of hiding, and destroy them. They're probably so hopping mad they'll oblige.”

“You've just been blown up,” Rossweisse challenges you. “You're hurt, and you won't be able to pilot at full capacity. As fine a ship as the Sericea is we have blind spots close to the hull and we're not as maneuverable, we need you on intercept even if it's our own point-defense guns we're engaging with.”

“And I shouldn't have to remind you that our main cannon would blow out the colony walls.”

Having fought at Loum, you know that much is true. You've seen firsthand what happens when a battle inside or around a colony gets out of hand, and you nearly saw a repeat of that twice so far today.

“All the same we need to maintain the pressure,” you counter. “Any delay only gives these people time to rally.”

And who's going to pilot this thing? You're taking a huge risk if you sortie with a busted arm.

“You can take over primary piloting duties.”

Sis... we haven't trained for that. We're still better off working in close support, and if you're inside the cockpit when I maneuver... I can't guarantee your safety.

“We're test pilots, there's never been a guarantee.”

“For God's sake Carya, you have a child!” Rossweisse shouts, seemingly surprised at her own outburst. “Apologies... I shouldn't have raised my voice, but you've been acting like you're invincible since this whole business started.”

“You're not. None of us are.”

>Catrina will pilot our mobile suit alone. We can handle that much even if it loses us a machine.
>I'll take the risk and fly with Catrina. We're stronger together, and always have been.
>We have Lieutenant Carlyle to escort the Sericea. That should suffice.
>On second thought, maybe an immediate combat sortie is too much of a risk.

>>1259291
>>Catrina will pilot our mobile suit alone. We can handle that much even if it loses us a machine.

>>1259291
>>Catrina will pilot our mobile suit alone. We can handle that much even if it loses us a machine.

>>1259291
>>Catrina will pilot our mobile suit alone. We can handle that much even if it loses us a machine.
If it gets too much, Catrina's gotta fall back. Don't wanna lose her just when we got her back again.

I also wouldn't mind some assistance from Lietenant Carlyle too. Every little bit helps.

>dice3d10, DC 19, crit 24
Your teammates are very opposed to direct action, and are getting pissed that you're ignoring their objections.

Any write-ins will be considered.

Rolled 1, 10, 2 = 13 (3d10)

>>1259339

Rolled 3, 10, 8 = 21 (3d10)

>>1259339

Rolled 1, 10, 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 5, 10, 5, 6, 7, 3, 8, 8, 10, 5, 7, 6, 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 6 = 133 (25d10)

>>1259339

>>1259366
wat

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

>>1259339
Damn. Can't wrack my brain for a write-in that might help.

I guess waiting it out to recuperate from the start could've been considered in hindsight.

>>1259390
You voted for an unwise plan twice over the vocal opposition of every NPC present. If something goes poorly it's ENTIRELY on you.

>I need a 3d10 roll now for initial success when you make contact with the enemy. DC is 18, critical is 22. Best of three.

Rolled 5, 7, 10 = 22 (3d10)

>>1259398

>>1259405
Here you go, have a crit.

Rolled 1, 6, 7 = 14 (3d10)

>>1259398

Rolled 3, 10, 9 = 22 (3d10)

>>1259398

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“Catrina will pilot the new mobile suit alone,” you decide, having made up your mind. “The Sericea will use its missile batteries to destroy the identified mobile suits, and then we'll reassess... but what I cannot condone is inaction. If anyone has an idea that capitalizes on our intel I'll entertain it.”

“If it were anyone else I'd refuse,” Rossweisse grumbles, her tone still uncharacteristically frustrated. “Even though I'll support you this time, as I've always done, if I think you're putting us in too great a risk I'll assert my command authority and get my ship out of here.”

“That includes undue risk to yourself.”

“Noted,” you nod. “You'd be perfectly within your rights to refuse outright, so thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt.”

Rossweisse shakes her head. “If I felt you were the type to take my trust for granted we wouldn't still be friends. Please don't make me reassess my views... you know how I hate being wrong.”

You should be the one reassessing, sis. Regardless of how well this goes, it's a mistake... don't forget that.

“Maybe so,” you admit. “But this is a situation that needed to be resolved ten years ago. The longer we wait the harder it'll be to deal with down the line. It's about time these people moved on, whether they want to or not.”

And if they take up arms to protect their mistaken ideals?

“Then that's their mistake,” you counter. “Don't forget that.”

It takes only a few minutes to move the Sericea into position, with the Viola and Lieutenant Carlyle positioned as escorts fore and aft. You find yourself seated on the bridge of the Sericea beside Rossweisse's position, watching your own mobile suit from behind in an awkward mixture of nervousness and fascination.

“We're ready,” Rossweisse informs you. “On your word we'll increase speed ahead, bringing us into contact range within ten seconds. ALICE will acquire targets and we'll fire three shots, then I'll wait for you to determine the next course of action.”

“Sounds like a plan,” you nod. “Captain, recommend ordering all hands to general quarters. Forward thrust in ten seconds.”
>1/2

>>1259456
Once the crew has secured to general quarters, you give the order to execute the operation. Two mobile suits and a cutter move through the inside of Sweetwater in immaculate precision, following the central axis of the colony cylinder as closely as possible. After several seconds you hear ALICE report.

“Target signals locked!”

“Fire!” Rossweisse orders, and there's a faint vibration as three bursts of solid slugs are sent streaking towards the warehouses each mobile suit is hidden inside. Tin and concrete roofing caves in, small secondary explosions touch off, and thankfully the collateral seems minimal... in part due to the fact that the last several rounds of each sustained burst were retrofitted chemical shells filled with firefighting foam.

Rossweisse really likes having special rounds available, and it's worked so well for you today alone you're thinking about making it a standing order to carry them aboard ship.

“Targets neutralized,” ALICE reports. “Rounds complete.”

>Full reverse out of the area of operations... we've already scored a flawless victory.
>Keep moving, we're going to try and exit through the far side of the colony cylinder.
>We should head back to the open cylinder, regroup and rethink our strategy.
>Hold in place. See what they do in response.

>>1259485
>>We should head back to the open cylinder, regroup and rethink our strategy.
Since every NPC is basically telling us to slow the fuck down, maybe we should.

>>1259485
>>Full reverse out of the area of operations... we've already scored a flawless victory.

>>1259485
>>We should head back to the open cylinder, regroup and rethink our strategy.

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“We should reverse course,” you admit to Rossweisse. “We achieved our tactical goal and that's enough. Time to get while the getting's good.”

“All hands brace for impact! Firing all retrothrusters!” Rossweisse calls out just before slamming on the proverbial “breaks”.

“Carlyle, you lead us home,” you order, “Catrina, you'll be on rear guard.”

“That should send a message,” Rossweisse admits as her ship begins moving backwards along its previous course. “The insurgents know we can track them down and eliminate them wherever they're hiding.”

“More importantly the civilians will realize pretty soon that we've gone well out of our way to prevent collateral,” you add, thinking back on unpleasant times. “It's harder to see someone as your enemy the more they fail to live up to your worst expectations.”

Our approach HAS certainly been at odds with what we'd have expected from the Earth Federation or the way Titans operated. We got lucky this time.

“You're right,” you admit quietly. “It was a calculated risk, and this time my math was right. But it'd be better to get back to informed decisions instead.”

“So that's why you wish to withdraw,” Rossweisse muses. “You want updated intelligence.”

“Not to mention you can probably wring concessions out of the President now,” Carlyle suggests. “If ever there was a time...”

>We'll check in with the President, update him on the situation.
>I want to get us better military support for the next engagement.
>Maybe now both sides will be more receptive to negotiating.
>Fuck him, I'm going straight to the press.
>Other?

>>1259611
>>Maybe now both sides will be more receptive to negotiating.

>>1259611
>>Maybe now both sides will be more receptive to negotiating.

>>1259611
>>Maybe now both sides will be more receptive to negotiating.

I recall ALICE hijacking their transmission with an excerpt of our own comms during the previous battle. Were we able to convey it well enough as the Grim Guard entering the scene? It might make the closed side consider coming into the negotiating table as a favorable option.

And at least the open side was considerate enough for their leader to meet up with us.

“Maybe now both sides of the colony will be more open to negotiating,” you suggest as the smoke from the destroyed warehouses shrinks in the distance in front of you. “One lost their major bargaining piece and the other just got to see what kind of people they're working with.”

“What kind of people are they working with, do you think?” Rossweisse ponders. “Not terribly invested in the safety of civilians.”

“Morally-deprived weasels who aren't even good enough at what they do to make up for it,” you declare, making no attempt to hide your disdain. “Maybe one or two of them have the experience to back up their aggressive stance, but I suspect the rest are little more than loudmouths with guns.”

“Agreed,” ALICE concurs. “Their decisions have not been consistent with what one would presume a dedicated defensive unit would make. Instead, they function more as if they were a rowdy private contractor who has not been paid to consider collateral.”

“Maybe that's the new norm,” you sigh. “People fighting for no other reason than the fact that they're looking for a war.”

“Sometimes I wonder if that's not what we are doing,” Rosweisse admits quietly.

The Sericea, perhaps due to the speed of the attack and your abrupt departure, isn't harassed as you leave the closed side and reenter the open side, and after exiting into the sunlit cylinder your mobile suit escorts return to the hangar deck. As you approach the main government offices of Sweetwater colony, you're joined on the bridge by both Cima and Bianca.

“Clinical,” Bianca muses happily. “Boy you guys sure run a tight operation, I missed that sorta thing!”

“I'm sure I would too,” you admit. “It gets to be something you kinda take for granted a little... bad discipline and sloppiness just stop making sense.”

Remember thou art mortal.

“Hey, you did well too,” you observe, “so don't tell me you don't feel that way too sometimes sis.”

Fair point. I AM mortal, I AM mortal...

“So what next?” Cima asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, and when can I get a new tat?” Bianca adds.

Wait... does she mean a tattoo?

>This service doesn't follow that tradition. Sorry.
>Maybe we can get you one AFTER this deployment.
>We show up in force, intimidate the President into giving terms.
>The President has a contact line to the other side... we go in and make him use it.
>Other?

>>1259829
>>Maybe we can get you one AFTER this deployment.

>>1259829
>>Maybe we can get you one AFTER this deployment.
Alternatively, Bianca can go ask one of the Sericea's Marines.

>>The President has a contact line to the other side... we go in and make him use it.

>writing

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>>1259894
“Usually that happens after a deployment,” you point out, “which is why I've only got one. Zeon considered the invasion of Earth as a single deployment, and by the end of Solomon there wasn't much time to get a second. Everyone who was still alive was trying to reorganize and keep from joining the ones who were dead.”

“You were at Loum though, right?” Bianca asks.

“Yeah, but we weren't too proud of that week,” you admit. “So my sister and I chose not to commemorate our participation, despite the fact that neither of us did anything wrong ourselves.”

“Ah, right,” she nods. “I getcha.”


“ALICE,” Rossweisse orders, “put us down on the lawn and execute loitering protocol six.”

“Six, aye,” ALICE replies, taking over the maneuvers as you approach the ground. In an unusual move Rossweisse leaves her station, leading the way down to the de-embarcation ramp.

“I need to stretch my legs,” she explains. “And ALICE has a series of emergency protocols that we worked out to allow us both to disembark at the same time.”

“Alright, your ship,” you shrug. “It's not like we follow Starfleet regulations or anything. But just out of curiosity... what's six?”

“Any sign of distress and she goes weapons-free until she hears back from us.”

“Lovely,” you nod. “Shall we go make a call?”

“What exactly is the plan here?” Cima frowns. “If I didn't know any better I'd say you planned to stroll into the President's office and demand that he secure a line to the leader of the closed cylinder.”

“Well it's good that I like keeping people surprised,” you shrug, “because that's literally the plan.”

Two armed and armored members of the Colonial Transit Fleet's ace unit are hard enough for nonmilitary bureaucrats to argue against, but many of them also recognize one of their own as part of your group as well. A few even seem to recognize Cima Garahau, the infamous space pirate, on sight. Hardly anyone even knows what to make of you, whether you're a threat that should be stopped or whether they even could stop you. So you arrive at the President's office without any real delay or opposition, just a few armed guards shadowing you at a respectful distance.
>1/2

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>>1260005
“And what will you do if I refuse?” the President challenges you after you take the time to explain the situation.

You reply with a wicked, one-eyed grin.

>I set off on a PR blitzkrieg the likes of which you've never seen in your pathetic excuse of a career.
>I let details about the G3 slip. What happens after that is up to you and your security detail.
>Then I set the terms and cut you out of the negotiations. That simple.
>Other?

>>1260033
>>I set off on a PR blitzkrieg the likes of which you've never seen in your pathetic excuse of a career.

>>1260033
>I set off on a PR blitzkrieg the likes of which you've never seen in your pathetic excuse of a career.

>>1260033
>>I set off on a PR blitzkrieg the likes of which you've never seen in your pathetic excuse of a career.
Oh hey, those comm satellites that Carya's-personal-villain-what's-his-face used to scramble his whereabouts are getting pretty dusty.

>writing
>this will likely be the last update of the session

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>>1260033
“I set off on the warpath,” you explain. “Before the end of the day the entire human race will know the situation here... there'll be calls for your resignation from Luna all the way out to Thalassa and the rim colonies.”

“You're bluffing,” he counters, though you can tell he's trying to convince himself as much as anyone else.

“She's not,” Cima smiles. “See, thing is newtype brainwaves don't play by the rules. So the comm systems on her ship can contact her home fleet with only a few seconds' delay. It's a very real threat.”

“And before you say anything,” you eye the President carefully. “Our ship doesn't take kindly to threats. You make a hostile move and she vaporizes anything that tries to attack until we tell her to stop. And yes, she'll do it on her own volition.”

“Wait... are you talking about a true AI?” he asks, eyes widening. “So your unit even has technology like that at your disposal... fine. I can see that it's pointless to resist after all.”

“Good man,” you nod. “I need you to put me in contact with whatever civilian government exists on the other side of the colony. I trust you have a comm line out there?”

“We do,” he nods, his tone that of an increasingly broken man. “I'll put you through.”

He picks up the phone and dials, no trace of deception in the actions. You exchange a glance with Rossweisse and determine that she doesn't sense anything amiss either.

“Yes, put me through to Dave Jefferson's office... yes, I'm aware,” he tells the operator. “I'm giving you direct executive authorization.”

“Their leader is a lawyer,” he explains to you, covering the handset with his hand. “Former Zeon prosecutor under the Zabis. The man's slimy, but he has his own code of conduct. A man without a true moral compass has to have that much at least or he becomes unstable. Erratic.”

“So that makes him a kindred spirit,” Cima frowns. “I know the type all too well... like you they always insist to themselves that they're different somehow, if for no other reason than that they're 'right' and the other guy is wrong.”

“You may be right,” the President admits, setting the phone up for a conference call. “Don't underestimate him. I can admit that if nothing else he's shrewd... more so than myself.”
>1/2

>>1260349
“So would this be Mister Jefferson?” you ask when the connection is made.

“I'm afraid not,” a vaguely familiar voice replies. “You see, Mister Jefferson and I had something of a falling-out over your recent raids.”

“So who are we speaking to?” you ask calmly, refusing to show any evidence of surprise in the face of the unknown.

“Char Aznable,” the man on the other end of the line informs you. And you have to admit... it does actually sound a lot like how you remember him. “Right now you're comparing the sound of my voice to your own memory of it, and you cannot deny the possibility even though you want to. Am I right?”

“Don't call yourself a soothsayer yet, stranger,” you counter. “If you know anything about me and the way I do business you could guess that much. Come out and meet me unarmed, and maybe we'll see the truth.”

“And catch a bullet in the head for my trouble?” he muses, as if amused at the notion. “I think not. As you've said I know the way you do business, and a surprise headshot wouldn't be off the table if you think it would end the conflict immediately. And so in order to preserve my organization, I'm afraid meeting is quite impossible.”

“Now I know you can't be Char,” you taunt, failing to suppress a sneer. “He'd face me in combat rather than wasting waves of barely-trained pilots on it. Sure he was cocky, but at least he had a spine.”

“I can assure you, that meeting will come,” he insists calmly. “And you can also rest assured that when I choose to engage you the outcome of our duel will be quite irrelevant. I'll have already ensured my victory.”

“Not likely,” Rossweisse frowns, finding her voice in the assumption that this could very well be someone she's known since before his disappearance... at least by reputation.

“And why's that?”

“You're bad at this,” Rossweisse observes. “You who cannot comprehend loyalty to anything save your own selfish goals cannot expect any loyalty after your death. Any success you see will die with you.”

“You are but a child wandering out of a loving home for the first time into a cruel world,” the voice insists, taking on a sinister, threatening edge. “You have much to learn about human ambition, and human prejudices. Anger runs deep, and forges stronger bonds than 'loyalty' ever does among those who share it.”

“You will learn that lesson... today.”

Then the line goes dead.

And that's where we have to leave off. Next up is the final confrontation in this mini-arc, which should segue quickly into the conclusion of the quest itself. Thanks for turning out, archives are up and I'll answer any questions or comments over the next day or so.

Possibly no quest next week due to travel, so as always Twitter is your friend. He fights for scheduling.

Well done, King. No questions from me.

>>1260493
Thanks for the session, King. If the direction of the initial votes left you unsatisfied, I do apologize. If it's any consolation, I did have some personal reasons for going against the other votes here (>>1259202):

- Apprehension with the baiting plan, since I doubt the enemy would fall for the same trick twice.
- Going to ground when Carya's Newtype eye is still exhausted, arm busted, and presumably in disguise so no full armor protection.
Given her track record on foot (losing her eye in the previous quest, a shoot-out in relatively "friendly" Mars, another shoot-out in friendlier-than-Mars Von Braun, Luna), I'm very leery about taking an engagement to the ground in such conditions on guaranteed hostile territory. The Cuithe raid at least afforded us some already useful local intel from Cima, as well as proper equipment.

That said, the situation was quite an emotional roller coaster, with /k/ripple's clutch dice providing one of the high points. And believe me, I did feel pretty bummed for having Catrina and especially Rossweisse, follow through with those orders.

I dunno if those justification would put you at ease, but I still felt the need to put in my two cents just in case.

On a lighter note, what would the crew of the Sericea (and Bianca) consider drinking after the conclusion of this operation, and how much would they consume? I imagine the ship's doctor would take in the most amount of alcohol.

>>1260787
I guess it's mostly just frustrating to me that some of the few players I have left are conditioned to avoid certain situations even if they kind of make sense. In this case deploying even as cautiously as you did risked the Viola, it risked the Sericea and her crew, and it ran the risk of pushing Carya and Catrina's abilities far beyond what's ever been tested.

It turned out okay because of clutch as fuck rolls, yes, but the DCs were set to increase following anything BUT a critical. There was a very real chance you'd have lost the Viola and taken damage to the Sericea, which given the situation with Rossweisse would have seriously harmed Carya's relationships with friends and family.

tl;dr you got lucky as fuck and withdrew at the right time.

>>1263138
Maybe you should have the other characters, and Carya in her own monologue, mention how stupid as fuck her decisions were, and it's only out of pure luck that it worked?
Because I don't think the lesson stuck.