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>>2510387

Afternoon sun streaks through the canopy of the artificial forest covering the rolling Ouachita Mountains. There were real trees here, once, but after the environmental problems of the last century-and-change, forests like this one had to take their place as the lungs of the world. Every trunk and branch has thin streaks of metal in the bark.

You can understand why Repliforce is here. The “wood” of modern cybertrees is a renewable, ecologically sound source of certain useful compounds and alloys, produced essentially for free with as little as twelve months of patience. That shambling shell of an army is probably hungry for any raw materials that they can get without a fuss.

You step off the secure beam pad, out of range of the cloaking pylon, and into the quiet woods. A rustling to your right catches your attention.

Arbor Elk, seven feet of green and gold deer under a wicked curving rack of fourteen-point antlers, holds stock-still and stares at you.

You stare right back. Propped on his shoulder is a double-bit axe with a Repliforce insignia on the face. That’s definitely him.


>Open fire (specify).
>Try talking, just this once.

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Dropping right into things this time! The week off for prep was well worth it for events going forward, I feel. I'll aim for a new thread every other Friday or Saturday from here on, but time will tell.

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Hooray!

>Try talking, just this once.

Gotta at least try.

>>2510387
>>Try talking, just this once.

>>2510388
>Try talking, just this once.
maybe you want to have the powers somewhere. Wait, we don't have any special weapons. hmm. I feel.....lacking.

>>2510388
>Try talking, just this once.

What the hell, we at least need to show we care.

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>>2510425
>>2510452
>>2510453
>>2510460

He’s not making any hostile actions. Or any action, really.

When have you ever started a mission like this? When will you ever again?

“Elk?” You try.

“Yes.”

You incline your head, eyes fixed on him. “Meteor Showa.”

Elk hasn’t moved a millimeter. “Hunter,” he says, simply. “Defector?”

"No."

The Maverick leaps deeper into the woods with terrifying grace for his size.

Um.

You slam your hand on your earcap and give chase.

“Meteor Showa to Fifth!”

You watch as Elk leaps onto branches which, from your lagging-behind angle, seem to grow out for him. Dashing only barely keeps him in sight.

“Meteor!” A cheerful radio-host voice comms in. “What’s up?”

You know that voice. Atajo! Perfect!

“Beam-in dropped me right on my target but he’s too quick! Need tracking!”

“On it,” your favorite navigator snaps into action. “Getting a lot of interference…”

“That’ll be Repliforce.” You pop off a pair of shots to dismiss a Batton Bone swooping in, but through the weak explosion you lose sight of Elk. “Crap, I lost him!”

“I didn’t. His signal’s going uphill north-northwest. … Aaand now I lost him too.”

You spare the dash but continue running. “Gives me a heading. Thanks. Think you can cut through the jamming?”

“Hey, they don’t call me Atajo for nothing. Pulling up the map… looks like you’re going to a lumber plant. Log flumes and everything.”

“Nice.” You shoot down a pair of bats without a fuss. “They charge admission?”

“No, but you gotta be this tall to ride. Bear left, the gradient’s lower.”

You follow his direction.

Atajo, “Shortcut,” favors time-saving routes more than most navigators. He’s highest on your request queue for always pointing you down the shortest and fastest paths to your goal. They might not be the best paths a hundred percent of the time, but whether to take his reliably quick directions is for you to decide.

“This interference bites,” he observes. “Still, pickin’ up movement. You’re made.”

“Mechaniloids?”

“At least two, coming downhill.”

You see them: two pairs of Flammingle-Rs. The purple buzzsaw-crowned birds see you, and with enviable gyroscopic balance they 360-flip their bodies while still running. A staggered volley of four metal blades comes sailing at you.


>Dodge the blades, hit the birds.
>Hit the blades and then hit the birds.

>Favor Meteor Melter.
>Favor buster.
>Favor sabers.

If Buster or Melter:
>Favor charged shots.
>Pew pew pew.

>>2510468
>Hit the blades and then hit the birds.
>Favor Meteor Melter.
>Pew pew pew.
Keep the total mass of dangerous things down. I'm a little worried about our thermite crashing a tree on us, but that would at least mean Elk has less to fell on us later.

>>2510468
>Dodge the blades, hit the birds.
>Favor Meteor Melter
>pew pew pew

We just got that Flex and solid edged blades + fish = sashimi.

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>>2510478
>>2510484

Blades are not your favorite thing. You step into the first blade’s line of fire and shoot until it melts, sidestep the second and jump the third, chain-firing your buster downrange at the fourth,

>[Flex +1]

and twist to dodge a third pair coming from the front two Flammingles just as you land and spit. Birds one and two explode before reaching you but the second pair kick-strides through the smoke. One disc-like foot swings up faster than expected and clangs under your chin, but that only gives you the best possible angle on its body for another quick Melter spray and follow-up shot. It explodes before it hits the ground.

The last bird skids on the slope, turns and flings a sawblade, but one is easier to dodge than four. You pour on the plasma until its core ruptures.

You’re feeling a little pumped. That frame upgrade from this morning is already paying off.

“Meteor,” Atajo comms in, “got a blip at the top of the hill. He’s parked.”

“Copy.”

You keep heading uphill through the trees. You can make out a building as the trees thin. Guarding it from this angle are a pair of standard stay-put sentry Flammingles and a Gabyoall, a ground-cruising spinny blade annoyance, weaving around their legs. They—

—go dark, as a green and yellow flying squirrel drops from above and clings to your face over your eyes.


>GET IT OFF GET IT OFF
>Keep your cool and shoot the Flammingles while blind; you already have their range and position.

>>2510532
>Keep your cool and shoot the Flammingles while blind; you already have their range and position.
We're still going to get ganked, but unless Elk is clued in on our slash weakness, he probably won't commit to everything.

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>>2510532
>GET IT OFF GET IT OFF

As undignified as it sounds, I feel like we'd need to stay still to take advantage of the Flammingles' range and position. That'd get us hit a few times.

>>2510532
>Keep your cool and shoot the Flammingles while blind; you already have their range and position.

Let's try to not kill the squirrel.

>>2510532
>Shoot the squirrel while it's on your face

There's no way the enemy will predict this kind of tactical genius.

>>2510752
I think it might be a mechaniloid
>GET IT OFF GET IT OFF

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Probably fired the reply too fast on the previous vote, but it was either that or wait until just now. Mornings with good weather mean a busy weekend workplace for me.

>>2510546
>>2510817
>>2510832

You’re a little embarrassed by the undignified noise you make as you wedge your buster under the bridge of your face and shoot once. The remains of the Morgun mechaniloid easily fit into your panicky fist. The Flammingles, quicker on the uptake than you would have estimated, have already sent their buzzsaws flying. You hurl the injured squirrel and watch it explode against one. Following up on the sentry birds is a simple matter of holding your ground, keeping your distance, and filling them with plasma rounds.

Another flying squirrel swoops for you, but you see it coming. The flame that it launches from its tail as it passes over your head is a joke; your thermal regs completely no-sell it. You shoot it down with ease.

“Meteor? Question.”

“Yeah Atajo?”

“Did that ‘aurghfdlaf’ noise come from you or a dying cockatoo?”

“Morgun. Landed right on my darn face.”

“Squirrels,” Atajo audibly shudders. “Hate those things.”

The dumb line-patrolling Gabyoall is vulnerable to few weapons, but you’re lucky enough that thermite is one of them. It summarily ruptures under a glob.

“Forget it,” you wipe your mouth with your wrist, “is Elk still there?”

“Still there. Getting flight movement inbound, maybe backup.”

“More squirrels?”

“I sure hope not.”

You come to the building, a sort of hangar with only two walls. Three Ganseki Carriers, blue-armored flying clamps, ignore you as they carry a giant log under the roof. You can’t hear any sawing going on, but there is rushing water.

You head inside. At the far end, an artificial spring floods into a flume channel bending out of sight downhill. In the middle, wood is being scanned; Morguns glide all around, beaming harmless laser light out of their chests over big logs and bigger cross-sections of trunks. Several Ganseki Carriers wait off to the sides or on made-to-purpose hooks on the ceiling.

Arbor Elk hops onto the freshly-delivered log, axe and all.

“Go away,” he rumbles.

“Make me,” you raise your buster.

He shoots first: a pair of oblong spheroids you mistake for American footballs. You shoot them, but they absorb the damage, and when they land short of you they activate explosive growth, faster than any tree has a right to grow. In the space of a second you face a long cyberwood wall taller than you. … Or rather two walls, you realize. The surfaces meet at an uneven seam.

You run around them. The just-arrived Gansekis take the log – and Elk – out to the flume.

Two other Gansekis no longer wait patiently. They pivot around to you and start firing slow-propellant missiles. The swarm of four Morguns headed for your face will beat them to you.


>Prioritize the squirrels.
>Prioritize the Gansekis.

>Select a weapon to favor.

>>2510963
>Prioritize the Gansekis.

>Favor our buster.

We can always get a quick slash in against the squirrels with our saber if they get too troublesome.

>>2511117
Supporting, sounds logical.

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>>2511117
>>2511307

Charging up your buster, you choose vision over safety and dash clear under the Morgun mob.

>[Flex +1]

The missiles are no sweat to jump. Your first third-level shot since your downgrade strikes a Ganseki between the eyes. A standard thermite spit finishes it off.

The Morguns return and clamp around your head. All four of them. You start charging your Melter, blindly grabbing and shooting them off – but not fast enough to avoid a missile tagging you.

You throw a squirrel off one eye and into an incoming missile. You huck another straight ahead, dash after it and catch it on your hi-beam, the arc of the swing neatly cleaving the Ganseki as well. Explosion follows explosion.

You rub your face. All right, so the hard counter for reflexes is apparently a pile of squirrels...

You tap your ear. “Atajo, position?”

“Last bearing was downstream.”

You look at the water channel. It’s deeper than you are tall.

“Map shows the flume goes to a sawmill by the river,” Atajo continues, “where the jamming’s the strongest. You want to catch up before that, dive in, but expect Repliforce.”

The other Gansekis in the room don’t seem to notice you. Three more bring in a giant cross-section of trunk and the remaining Morguns glide right over to it. Elk must have been selective with which mechaniloids he informed that you were hostile; they act like you aren’t there. The wood must be valuable enough to keep production running… or maybe your target was just aiming to stall you while he prepared something else.

You could easily leave right now and swim down the flume. Maybe you’ll catch up with Elk, maybe you won’t, but you’ll definitely have more velocity – and less room to maneuver, should Elk send something at you.

You could also wait for the mechaniloids to finish scanning the wood slab and then ride it downstream. This will give you more situational awareness and a better firing platform against potential foes, but you’ll lose Elk’s current position again.

You’re headed for the Repliforce encampment either way.


>Swim now, go go go!
>Wait fifteen to twenty seconds and then ride.

>>2511474
>Swim now, go go go!

I mean, we *are* a fish-based reploid. Let's try to keep up with him this time.

>Jump Jump Jump! Swim Swim Swim!

YFW you find out Cain Labs isn't controlling the plot

https://i.imgur.com/0QeS7Gj.gifv

>>2511474
>Make like a fish and swim

>>2511474
>>Swim now, go go go!
Shouldnt we take out the production loids? Or is it better to leave them so we can track where they take the stuff and maybd repurpose them for later?

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>>2511562
>>2511614
>>2511764
>>2512038

Are you or are you not here to catch a Maverick, you ask yourself?

“Going swimming,” you comm. And down you go. You doubt your luck will hold, so you build up a Prominence charge on your Meteor Melter.

“Mechaniloid signals inbound!” Atajo comms. Yep, sure enough…

You rise to the surface and make a splashy wake. A pair of flying domes, ladybug shells between thrusters below and spikes above, moves in to intercept you. Tentoroids, two Black Shells! You decommissioned their entire family line from the Veracruz 4th’s mechaniloid fleet on your very first day because they were costly and redundant. It’s hard not to think of this as their revenge.

Your tail jets let you swim faster than cyberwood can float downstream. Elk, stably stanced on the middle of the floating log, hasn’t noticed you yet. The Black Shells move to flank you and match your velocity, and tilt toward you, spikes out.

Your Prominence charge is at max and holding.

>Fire on a Black Shell.
>Fire on Elk’s log.
>Speed ahead and fire on Elk.

>>2512316
>Speed ahead and fire on Elk.
Attrition. I'd rather lose our water advantage than take on Elk WITH black shells

>>2512038
The mechaniloids working the wood belong to the site itself and are directed by Elk. The most incriminating thing they might be involved in is moving wood into carriers. Examining their logs -- ha -- wouldn't reveal anything of use about what Repliforce is doing with the resource or where they're taking it.

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>>2511738
Neither CainLabs nor Hunter Command have anything to do with either the direction of the plot or the Mavericks arrayed against our protagonist.

It remains to be seen whether this is a good thing...

we bought flex, flex is good at dodg

>Speed ahead and fire on Elk.

>>2512316
>Speed ahead and fire on Elk.

Let's get a shot in while we can.

>>2512316
>Speed ahead and fire on Elk.
so how many amusement parks/water parks has Meteor been to before this. Because if it's none I hope this mission doesn't ruin any future park adventures for her.

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>>2512349
>>2512408
>>2512424
>>2513015

You have a chance for a surprise attack and darn it, you’re going to take it.

You sink to the bottom and engage your dash. The log comes up fast. You veer to the right, breach and fire—

Elk’s seed pod is already in flight when your mouth erupts a thick stream of molten metal. In the space of an instant the device tries to snap active but only spreads charry burning tentacles like a handful of firework snakes before it collides with you and knocks you tumbling back. The charged mass of your ejected thermite still makes it through, however, and Elk’s bellow assures you you scored your free hit.

But now you have bigger problems.

The Black Shells followed you – their position must have cued Elk. Stunned by your charcoal bludgeoning, you kickdash off the channel floor, but your tailfin fails to clear the Black Shells’ collision pinch. Your shields flare as the physics of your acceleration pitch you not out of their grasp but 90 degrees forward and down, splashing you facefirst into the flume -- and then backwards, as the Black Shells drag you upstream.

You build power in your throat for the three seconds, shove your hands off the flume floor to get your head above water, twist half around and splash one of your assailants with a direct-hit Prominence stream. Between the heat, the penetrative ability, and the ladybug’s lack of shields making the effect linger, one full-exposure hit is all it takes. It starts exploding and you come loose, but your tail is punctured, robbing you of full underwater speed.

Not that it seems like it’s going to matter. A peek above water shows that the bottom of the flume is coming up quick and leading into a giant hangar of a building. Elk’s log – sans Elk – clears a pair of signal posts which flash red. Swift mechanical actuator arms grab it and turn it sideways for a titanic buzzsaw to rise from the water and cut it in two.

The remaining Black Shell comes up faster at your side and starts to tilt in, readying a collide. You build charge in your throat, but if you fire another dash, you’ll hit the trigger gate first...

You get a heck of a dangerous idea...


>Dash ahead and trigger the saw on the Black Shell.
>Dash back and focus on burning the Black Shell.
>Jump out right now and then deal with the ladybug; the flume’s not that high off the ground.

Hooray for being home and decompressed. First weekend with nice weather and the lake park where I work on the weekends gets slammed.

>>2513015
She has been to many, actually, but it might take some work for her to find log rides fun again.

>>2513113
>Jump out right now and then deal with the ladybug; the flume’s not that high off the ground.

Let's not test our luck.

>>2513113
As much as I really, really want to try for the saw trap, the potential outcome of getting grabbed and yanked back into it is way too risky. Flex 1 isn't Flex 3.

>>Jump out right now and then deal with the ladybug; the flume’s not that high off the ground.

>>2513113
>Dash ahead and trigger the saw on the Black Shell.

Can we do this with lowered speed?

>>2513399
There's foot-dash, and then there's (currently-) underwater tail-dash. The former is still working fine; it's the latter that got spike-clamped and taken out of commission in exchange for the early hit.

Yes, you can clear the gate and trigger the saw with the dash you have, if the vote goes that way.

>>2513113
>Jump out right now and then deal with the ladybug; the flume’s not that high off the ground.

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>>2513203
>>2513387
>>2513804

… which is more of a Skittle idea, come to think of it.

You dash clear out of the flume and drop, but that stupid ladybug follows you down. It launches, breaking through a strut on its way to you,

>[Flex +1]

too fast to dodge completely, but slow enough to catch your arm on the spikeless side of its shell. Your grip streaks down to its undercarriage and finds purchase. You cling with both hands and spin in midair, riding its thrust in a tight spin headed for the ground…

And you give its little angry-eyes face a fully-charged kiss.

The shell fills with thermite. The black turns red and then white, bursting before your eyes.

You stick the landing as the exploding ladybug crashes to the ground behind you and goes off in a final flash.

Before you the sawmill straddles the river, big as an airship hangar. Far off to your right, another downhill flume from another wooded mountain feeds into it. Inside you see automated rollers and gantry cranes, aided by Mecha-Arm and Sky Claw clamps, moving the artificial wood through all the steps of processing. A glance reveals plasma bandsaws and more traditional spinning blades screaming logs and trunk slices into lumber. It’s big and busy and noisy in there.

“Atajo, I’m outside the sawmill. Where is he?”

“You—n a blind – pt, Me—or,” Atajo warns, his voice crackling like a bad intercom. “No idea if h —ere, but if you— the jammer I’ll p– straight to him. Copy?”

Two Knot Berets rush you from inside. You see several more moving from further back as Sky Claws putter back and forth.

“Copied enough.”

Your health is at three-fourths.

Different combinations of action categories will result in different results as you make your way through. Boldness opens you to risk yet may yield high rewards, while safety limits your liability yet may be exploited. Read your environment as you go and choose wisely. Be advised: the saws of the mill will not discriminate.

Select one of each:

>Safe Approach: don’t get too close to the saws, no matter what.
>Bold Approach: use the full environment to your advantage, at your own risk.

>Offensive Advance: more charged shots / hi-beam. Can be caught off-guard.
>Defensive Advance: more shots fired / lo-beam. On-guard at all times.

>Favor Melter.
>Favor buster.
>Favor sabers.

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>>2513823
>Bold Approach: use the full environment to your advantage, at your own risk.
>Defensive Advance: more shots fired / lo-beam. On-guard at all times.
>Favor buster.

They're going to be advancing on us and presumably on full alert. We need to move swiftly but conserve. Anyone who wants to charge all the way in can eat the bigger hits, but advancing under cover fire will either chip them down before they reach us or clear a path.

>>2513823
>Bold Approach: use the full environment to your advantage, at your own risk.
we can't make them think we hate blades

>Defensive Advance: more shots fired / lo-beam. On-guard at all times.

>Favor Melter.
let's save the hi-beam work for Elk, keeping our melee expertise hidden.

>>2513823
>Bold approach
>Defensive Advance
>Favor buster

>>2513823
>Bold Approach: use the full environment to your advantage, at your own risk.

>Defensive Advance: more shots fired / lo-beam. On-guard at all times.

>Favor buster.

This sounds like a logical pair. Do this carefully and with our buster, but try to use the environment when an opportunity presents itself.

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>>2513823

>Bold Approach
>Defensive Advance
>Favor Melter

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>>2513857
>>2513873
>>2514347
>>2514411
>>2514771

>Bold
>Defensive
>Buster

Staggered approach, two at the spearhead? They’re stalling. Better find out why.

You advance behind your buster. Your screening barrage peppers one to death and drives the other to pay distance it fills with a grenade. You don’t need a flexy frame to dodge it – you dash right under the arc and broadside tackle the poor sap into a water channel branching off the main trough. He flails splashily as your path coincidentally parallels his; the water leads to gripping rollers with the mother of all sawblades in the middle.

You keep going after passing the buzzsaw. The Knot Beret, rather noisily, does not. Bits of bronze-colored scrap litter the rollers and fall between the cracks.

Three more of Repliforce’s famously silent-in-action grunts charge forward, but you hold your ground and fire another barrage. This makes you a stationary target for the fast-moving Sky Claw.

Before you know it you’re off your feet and headed back to the indifferent saw. Fortunately your newly quick-firing Melter is at the ready; you flick back your head and spray hot metal rain at the claw’s propeller. Its expiration drops you on the rollers beside the blade a little too close for comfort. You comically wobble down the beltless conveyor until one of the Knots tags you with his buster pistol.

You spot the one that did it. He and his friend vault a different conveyor and take cover behind it as you hop back to the ground and return fire. They pop out from behind their rollers to throw grenades – don’t they have any other tricks? – which you avoid by hopping down to the floor and dashing across. They duck, but you hop right on top of their cover and, not to put too fine a point on it, vomit a fatal amount of thermite down the near one’s chest.

“Gross!” The far one recoils.

Your eyelid twitches.

The rollers take you right by the rude little football. You grab him by the shoulders, haul him up, dash-jump off and hurl him back at Mama Sawblade. He catches it on the rising side. A few parts of him make it all the way over.

You leave the mother saw behind, but her children are hard at work. Mecha-Arm clamps reach here and there and carefully position wood slabs for trips through pairs of smaller saws.

A Standard Beret piloting a Raiden ride armor now heads your way underneath two Hover Gunners and an electric-blue Jamminger… which… seems to be yelling in a woman’s voice?

“Brave soldiers of Repliforce!” The flying spike-chinned face calls out, its little square mouth flapping open and closed. “Why is it that we have held on so long when our resources are so much less than the Maverick Hunters?! It is because our cause is JUST! …”

You haven’t heard that voice before. You can’t tell if it’s a recording and there’s no time to guess.


>Continue with your current approach/advance/weapon.
>Favor a different approach/advance/weapon combination. (Specify)

>>2515163
>Safe
>Offensive
>Sabers
If there are other leader types, breaking morale now could be helpful.

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>>2515163
Let's not tangle with the Raiden up close just yet.

>Safe
>Offensive
>Melters

We're doing pretty good on economy of HP management, let's try to keep it that way.

>>2515166
Upon review of the particular enemies, I'm gonna say melter for Raiden armor and jamminger, but hover gunners are killed faster up close, and their bullets are one of the few types that can be destroyed without shot eraser.

>>2515166
Currently the other high-rank units are all mobilizing for evac. The one in the Raiden must have a lot of confident bravery.

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>>2515166
>>2515170
>>2515213

>Safe
>Offensive
>Melter + Saber

Too much movement to risk slipping near the saws. You give yourself maximum distance and charge your buster; you’ll have to talk to Skittle sometime about charging two devices at once.

The Hover Gunners sweep out to flank you, but a charged shot plows through one and opens a gap for you to dash into and avoid the Raiden barreling in. The second Gunner keeps circling and opens fire; all you can build up in time is a second-stage shot, but that’s more than enough to silence the string of micro-bomb shells it fires.

The Raiden wheels on you as you charge up your Melter. Distance, distance! You lean back and dash, your broken tail dragging on the floor. There wasn’t anything behind you a second ago, but the Jamminger now fixes that, slamming you to a stop.

“We want our FREEDOM!” A man’s voice comes from the mechaniloid. “Never forget the times when the Maverick Hunters have trampled us!”

The Raiden is on you. Your Prominence blast melts through one reaching hand and thoroughly mangles the arm, but the other arm swings for the fences low and wide and open-palmed.

>[Armor +0]

You catch the hit below your center of gravity and go on a trip straight for the saws,

>[Flex +1]

but you pull a twist out of your high-response joints and land one-legged like a hood ornament right between them.

“Colonel has shown us these virtues through his own valiant sacrifice!” -That- voice you recognize as Captain Decim. The rollers move you into the Hover Gunner’s line of fire, but you swat them down with your hi-beam.

The Raiden dash-slides for your conveyor as the Jamminger goes for another dive, switching voices again.

“VICTORY is the greatest tribute we can pay those who sacrif—”

You shut the stupid chatterbox up with a saber swing and jump back to the floor, clear of the Raiden’s gauntlet blade. Undeterred, the pilot smashes through the platform, but that just gives you the time you need to top off a Prominence charge. You strike the vehicle on the lip of the cockpit; some splashes down the front, but the larger portion splashes in. The Raiden goes up in flames. All that remains is the persistent Hover Gunner, but flyswatting its shots and then cleaving it is no problem for your hi-beam.

You stow the blade, estimate time spent, and calculate that it’s down to half. You yourself? You have a career of good self-estimation behind you, which tells you you're at two-thirds, maybe a hair below. Not bad, for your current specs under the kind of attrition you've faced.

No sign of your quarry. You move on through the mill.

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>>2515345
Whereas the circular metal saws cut slabs and logs to size, plasma-edged bandsaws make lumber of them with the precision dexterity of Mecha-Arms. More Sky Claws and their spindly-armed cousins, Scramblers, take the cut pieces out to boxy Repliforce dropships… where a wedge-shaped antenna rotates on a conspicuous signal tower.

Standard Berets and their Knot subordinates seem to be scrambling to leave. You spot heavy mechaniloid assistance filtering through them and now making their way toward you: two tried-and-true green Victoroids and a newer green Giga Death. Decorative red double-stripes indicate that all three are of the troubling R-Series – meaning speed and mobility options their siblings lack.

On top of that, a Knot Beret who must have drawn a short straw is flying in from your left, securely clamped by a Sky Claw, carrying a currently-inactive Gabyoall under each arm.

“Found the jammer,” you comm, doubting Atajo can hear you. “About to get messy.”


>Continue with your current approach/advance/weapon.
>Favor a different approach/advance/weapon combination. (Specify)

>>2515347
Posting from the gym.

We want to take this one really cautiously. Victoroids hit like trucks, and Giga Death are tanky as hell.

Will vote properly when I get home but my inclination is to use fully charged Prominence and defensiveness here, this is a very strong roadblock.

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>>2515347
Okay, back now, here's my formal vote.

>Safe approach
>Defensive
>Melter, Buster

Specifically, the first thing to try for is a charged buster shot on the Beret/Sky Claw/Gabyoalls. If we line it up just right, we can get a four-for-one and take them out of the equation before the big guys engage.

As for them, like I said, they're tough and strong. This is a LOT of meat to chew through. On that note, even, if NOT engaging them is an option, that would be my pick--they're not the target. Between Showa's lackluster mobility post-downgrade and the R-models having improved specs, though, I don't fancy our chances on that. To get fancy with it, I would try to string them out and use that to evaluate their movement versus ours. If they're too fast to escape, then that way we can at least engage them singly at a time to avoid nasty crossups.

Regardless, if we have to fight them, favor Prominence-charged raw thermite. We need high punch with sustainability.

>>2515163
>Go with a new approach.

>Safe
>Offensive
>Melters
Burn them all.

>Safe Approach

>Defensive Advance

>Favor Melter

let's take out that jammer if we can.

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I'll leave the vote up for a couple more hours because of the variables at play, but while I do, I'd like to do some due diligence and address something unprompted, in case even the slightest doubt crops up later.

Being a future-tense spinoff of Maverick Hunter Quest, there may, eventually, be a supposition of favoritism toward votes cast by The Guys What Run MHQ. I assure everybody that there is none.

In this quest, Hunter Command is just one player vote among many. You are, too! A vote is a vote, and more is better. There's no need to feel that what input HC puts forth is any more or less valuable than yours.

(They just reply early and often because, well, so would I in their place!)

>>2515545
My browser didn't refresh when I posted this, but I *do* want to use this for the current situation, albeit adding buster as well.

>>2515559
I like more of me.

>>2515347

>Safe
>Defensive
>Melter

I agree we should take out the small fry first. We can't rely on charged buster shots for the big guys. These guys are both big AND fast.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in MHQ, when we controlled Emerald, wasn't a Victoroid of some sort a challenging miniboss of sorts for him? Or at least it would have been if Anode hadn't let him borrow his Ascent Lance?

>>2515968
Emerald fought the up-armored pink variant. Victoroids are very solid, the upgraded form having a harness grenade launcher that it will shed before taking damage directly, and they hit ludicrously hard, particularly their contact damage. Emerald could have died in one hit.

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>>2515455
>>2515545
>>2515551
>>2515575
>>2515968

>Safe
>Defensive
>Melter

This is a wall with a lot of moving parts. All your training (and recent experience) tells you that the deadliest enemy is backup, so choosing to reduce numbers is easy.

It is just not that Knot Beret’s day. The Prominence charge you’ve stored on the approach drenches him from the equator up, the molten backsplash catching his carrier and cargo and crashing the lot of them into the floor.

The Victoroids impassively regard the wreckage. Glance at each other.

They earn their racing stripes as they fire their dash systems, side by side, a defensive line you can’t possibly crack before it hits you. So you don’t even try. You turn and dash and vault onto a conveyor for the height boost, turn back and hock a Melter glob their way. Before it even strikes you’ve sent a pair of plasma rounds after it.

They fire after you, but you’re already off the conveyor and running. They chase you, their EAS even worse than yours and needing longer to cycle up. The light cover provided by the conveyor lets you dodge what high-density plasma shots make it through.

You’re almost feeling safe when the Giga Death slides in. Only that hecking stripe-type has a dash function. You want absolutely none of him right now, so up you go back on and over the conveyor before its missiles can make contact.

The Victoroid twins follow the conveyor back to you at high speed. You brace your back leg and fire as fast as you possibly can at the injured one, plasma upon thermite. It starts to explode and you dash straight through its wreckage, leaving its partner eating your dust.

“ONE!” You shout. Victoroid Two turns and fires, high and low. Child’s play to dance around as you return fire.

A colossal crash to your left cues you to your other dance partner. Whose idea was it to let Giga Deaths jump?! Flying claws bustle to move lumber off the suddenly-smashed conveyor. Your attention is split, and as you charge another Prominence,

>[Flex +1]

you time a dash just right to smoke a Giga Death missile, leap over the Victoroid’s persistent shots and bathe it in thermite. Its shields flare, but its head is covered in liquid metal, so you sidestep and let it predictably blind-dash past you.

Up comes your buster and you pepper the conveyor itself. The Giga Death fires from its mouth, but it’s an easy dodge. What’s left of the log-rollers explodes under it with one more hit, toppling it off-balance.

You have a spare instant and you spare it for the panicky yelling outside. That last missile struck a corner of a dropship. The others start taking off. Repliforce is getting the heck out. The jammer stands unguarded.

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>>2516090

Victoroid Two, thoroughly blinded, stomps toward you as it fires indiscriminately, striking down unlucky claws and breaking probably-expensive lumber equipment. Explosions rock the sawmill as the Giga Death dashes free. It reopens fire but you stay well back, charging your buster, dashing at the last moment. The incoming missiles strike the jammer and your charge shot joins them.

“—teor! Meteor? Aces! Comin’ back strong now!”

“I know!” You run outside beside the river where the flume water empties out, firing at the heavies as they keep coming.

“Got a couple big carriers coming in south of you, dropships—”

“Elk! Where is he?!”

“Scanning!”

Now that you’re outside, the Giga Death’s ordinance is blessedly easy to dodge around. Your buster shots strike and strike the troubled aimless Victoroid until it bursts. “TWO!”

“Meteor?”

“Just a sec!” Your buster-hell shooting erodes the Giga Death as it comes in for another dash. It’s a good thing you can handle equipment heat. “C’mon c’mon come ON!” Your last hit shears into its LIFE core, and down it goes. “THREE!”

Still keyed up, you sweep your buster over the enemy LZ, but it doesn’t look like they left any other surprises. Somehow, someway, you got out of that encounter without adding to your scratches. You’ll take it.

“Okay, done,” you cautiously let yourself come down. “Sorry. Situation?”

“Gettin’ a full spread now. Four dropships leaving the scene.”

“Where’s Elk?”

“Not on them. Be advised, they’re on rendezvous with two Rightwhale-class carriers a couple clicks south of you – and he’s not there either.”

“Reinforcements?”

“Really don’t think so, they’re empty. And I’m picking up a lot of reploid signals in what the map tells me is laborer dorms.”

“Armed?”

“Couple. Power rating’s way too low on most of them. They’re all civs. Some forty, forty-five of ‘em.”

It hits you all at once. The mission description said Elk was taking in Repliforce sympathizers weeks before the combatants arrived. If you met him close to the dorms, then he’s been leading you away…

“Got him,” Atajo cuts into your train of thought. “Parked in the flume-control building at the top of the other mountain.”

Even further away. Elk was protecting his people.

“Meteor?”

…

He still killed the humans. He still aided Repliforce. He’s still a Maverick. He knows what’s coming, which is the whole reason he ran. He knew you’d follow.

“Copy.”

“Good. My opinion, play salmon and swim the flume up. It’ll lead you right to him and the channel’s less likely to have land mines.”

“Noted. Any big mechaniloids on the way?”

“Big? No. Saws didn’t get you, did they?”

“No. I’m ready.”


>Swim to the top.
>Log-jump your way up.

>Offensive advance: more attacking than maneuvering.
>Defensive advance: more maneuvering than attacking.

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>>2516090
>>2516136
(Of all the times for connection errors, immediately after half a scene may be the worst.)

Did we manage to break visual contact?

> More Sky Claws and their spindly-armed cousins, Scramblers, take the cut pieces out to boxy Repliforce dropships… where a wedge-shaped antenna rotates on a conspicuous signal tower.

Because we've already been on one ride at this amusement park, and the next one looks pretty fun.

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>>2516136
>Log-jump your way up.
>Defensive advance: more maneuvering than attacking.

Tail's damaged; Elk at the very least had to log-jump himself, and might expect you to take the water route.

Either way, we danced through what could have been a very lethal encounter. Let's keep up the health like we have been, and pay Elk a professional, courteous visit for what he's done to protect the civs and the Repliforce evacuation.

>>2516146
ah okay, other half of the scene is up

... still kinda want to ride one of those scramblers, though

>>2516136
>>Log-jump your way up.

>>Defensive advance: more maneuvering than attacking.
We have the advantage that we CAN swim, if we want, so let's make use of it.

>>2516136
>Swim to the top.
>Defensive advance: more maneuvering than attacking.

According to Chinese mythology, if we swim far enough, we're going to spontaneously upgrade into a dragon!

>>2516136
>Log-jump your way up.
>Defensive advance: more maneuvering than attacking.

Agreed with >>2516177 .

>>2516174
Yes, my apologies, my phone's hotspot will be disciplined later.

Do not ride the Scramblers. Do not touch the Scramblers. Do not make eye contact with the Scramblers.

(Imagine here a picture of a Scrambler if my connection was allowing me to upload pictures now.)

>>2516136

>Log jump
>Defensive advance

For some reason I get the feeling he'll be waiting for us.

At least he's keeping civilians out of the way.

Post-failure after post-failure. Next post might come in an hour when I'm home and not on this hammer-worthy phone.

Rolled 50 (1d100)

Boop

>>2516392
They're all sympathisers, who cares if they die?

>>2516511
Hi there rezador

(Right. Back home and the problem persists. I am clearly unable to upload images. On an image board. Waiting for the problem to clear up will, given my luck, delay this post until June, so here we go.)

>>2516149
>>2516177
>>2516183
>>2516184
>>2516363

“Heading up. Keep an eye on him.”

“Keepin’ two.”

You hustle around the side of the sawmill, quite done with that funhouse. The flume stands unguarded, so up you go on the side. A big trunk slab rides the wave down; you hop on and dash right off.

Hops and jumps are a welcome relief from dodging live ammo. You kick off the flume’s edges when the gap between logs and slabs gets too wide. Quiet so far.

Gabyoalls pinball their way down the channel under the wood. For once in your life you’re glad you aren’t swimming. You wonder what price your luck is paying for that, and down it comes: a series of Gansekis, each carrying short sections of spiked log.

Well, nuts to them.

You ride a slab for long enough to dash-jump off. From platform to platform to edge to platform you make your way up, side-hopping and outrunning the heavy log sections as they crash and splash around you. Taking one on the head would hurt, but you’re just too deft on your footwork for many to even get close. The few that the luckier Gansekis release on inconveniently accurate vectors are no match for the charged thermite you keep building up.

You climb the mountain by way of the flume and enter the control building, much like the other one. Mechaniloids innocently go about their business.

Arbor Elk has his back turned to you, his double-bit axe shouldered like it's bolted there. Your hit from earlier has cooled; the melt-scar runs from his armpit to his hip. A Scrambler’s long pointy actuators poke around in it, sparking inoffensively, fixing him up.

“You’re too late, Hunter.”

“For the sympathizers?” You ask.

Elk turns his head, but only that. “You won’t kill them. They’ll be dropped off. The ships will crash. They’ll say that Repliforce captured them. That they were innocent. That they escaped.” He turns his body and the Scrambler turns with it, closing the wound with fast-set filler. “Everyone will believe them. They’ll live in peace again…”

“Because they were hated for picking the wrong side,” you finish.

“Yes.”

“You wanted to protect them.”

“Yes.”

“No matter who you had to kill.”

Elk lowers his head, briefly. The Scrambler flies off to the ceiling. “Yes.”

“You had to have known where that would lead.”

"I have no regrets, Hunter.”

Arbor Elk at last shifts his axe off his shoulder. The solid ceratanium blade, bigger than your head, rings on the floor with dramatic purpose.

“Come.”


>Act.

>>2516588
I assume we have better footwork and can handle stepping on thermite better than him, so rapid fire thermite all over the floor to make potholes and limit big sweeping motions without tripping. Charged thermite is the strongest weeapon, but hell be wary of it.

I doubt it will work as well as charged thermite, but i hope a charged shot stops the wallmaker before it deploys.

Our melee game is more or less getting inside the big axe. Disengaging from there would be more dangerous than just slashslashslash.


In a plane, about to fly. Dont get sashimid, guys

>>2516588
Charge up a Meteor while we can. Pepper him with regular buster fire, assuming we can hold the Melter charge, then blast him in the air when he commits, dodge, and switch to thermite. Use the lobeam saber for defense, keep the hibeam ready to exploit an opening if he leaves one.

>>2516588

>>2516630 idea doesn't sound half bad. Limiting his mobility options would be pretty great, as is reading our buster.

>>2516588
Use buster shots to jab at him, then hit him with a charged melter when we find an opening. Have the Hi-beam ready to counter the wall-seeds when he inevitably fires them.

>>2516692
Agreed, although he probably has killer jumping ability, being an elk and all. I'd go with limiting his ground options with a thermite spray, but being ready for an aerial assault of that seed weapon with either a saber slash or a well placed charge shot from the buster. We don't know if we can attack the seeds and have it do anything, so opt for testing that with shots before it comes down to close combat with sabers. Hopefully we can swing our melee options faster than he can, but if we get that close I'd opt for a big glob of charged thermite or even a Prominence blast to the face or whatever we can aim at. Disabling one or more of his weapons by melting them with the thermite might be a valid secondary strategy for this fight, actually.

>>2516630
>>2516676
>>2516692
>>2516706
>>2516864

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uQjgTzw1Qw

You build a charge in your throat. The hum cues him to leap, and up comes his axe. You read his arc, spit the floor and dash under him. He lands low, hooves straddling your puddle. Clearly not his favorite thing. You turn and spit again, but he already fired a seed. A wall of wood blocks your line of sight, but your Melter spit sets it on fire.

Elk cleaves it lengthwise near the bottom with a single blow and kicks it straight at you. You twist to your left and the flaming square sails past.

You realize he was following it as a shield when the axe intercepts you, his grip two-handed.

The blade connects and blows you into the near wall, shields strobing over the rend in your side.

Okay then…

Foregoing the charge, you alternate rapid-spitting your Melter and rapid-firing your buster, one to deny him full use of the floor and the other to keep him moving. He’s one step ahead each time, allowing himself to get tagged by buster fire if it means avoiding the fire on the way to you. Three scored hits in, he makes a new wall which instantly catches ablaze, but rather than making it a projectile he uses it as a tall step to leap the last distance to you.

You spit him hello and dash the heck out of dodge. His axe rips a gap in the wall even as his shields flash.

“Stay put,” he growls.

He wrenches his axe free and charges you, antlers down.


>Act.

Heading to bed (and to a fresh new week of work hell tomorrow). Parting warnings: Elk is gonna be fast and he's probably got jumps. I suspect a bullfight.

>>2516937
Think we can oblige him up until the last second, then break out the hi-beams? Maybe score a hit as we roll to the side?

Also I don't think anyone can upload images right now. Shit's broke, dwogg.

I don't think elk knows we have a chargey buster or a hi-beam yet. So far the only things he's actually seen are the signature spit and rapid-fire lemons.

So basically he's probably thinking of Showa as a discount flame mammoth, a mid-ranged guy with little close-up or long-range capacity.

Fake charging a mouth spit. If he dodges back, hit him with a charged *buster* shot. If he closes in, try for a surprise hibeam hit.

>>2516937
Wall jump over him and spray charged thermite down if he's just going to charge at us. If unable to clear him, dodge sideways. Keep sprays on the ground curved: limit his ability to safely charge in straight lines and force him to jump, then counter the jumps with charged buster shots. Unless he can affect his trajectory in the air (this being Mega Man I wouldn't doubt the idea too much, but then again bosses rarely exhibit this ability in the games unless they have some way to fly, and I haven't been a part of previous Maverick Hunter Quest threads so this may not hold true here) this should make his movement a bit more predictable and limits his move set unless he's willing to take some hits from ground fire. Utilize that to read a bit into his actions and score some punishes.

This guy seems like a "commit" sort of fighter but willing to trade small damage for big damage: some obvious tells but hits hard and fast, so use that against him. Maybe even use it to whittle him down over time for some ironic woodworking humor, so we can score some bigger, meaningful hits later.

If he exposes a vulnerable joint or something like that after a swing, it may be worth it to trade a hit or two from his antlers for a crippling strike to the arms with our hibeam, but otherwise stay away from the cutty thing and his pointy bits.

If he tries sending another block of wood at us, we could vault over it and slash or spit at whatever follow-up maneuver he throws at us while we're in the air, be that more wood or just him. Shots seem ineffective vs seeds.

tl;dr: stay loose. Keep limiting his actions and go for some hard reads, punishing with either a charge shot if we're dashing away and getting into longer range or thermite if he's closing in on us. If we can get in close to disable his arms with our sabers then that's a plus, but only if we know we won't get totaled by those antlers or the seed launchers in the process. Wall jump to escape charges and play the walls if we're nearby.

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>>2517067
>>2517106
>>2517277

You would have preferred another charging hellpig. Elk’s clearly a brute fighter, but you bank on him being smart enough to change tack fast.

With your throat charging, you jump to the wall and dash-kick off the instant your EAS cycles back up. His bucking head misses your body, only scraping your busted tail, but with you in midair and him on the rear-back he has a perfect window for an axe swing.

You slam that window with a swing of your neck and a Prominence spray. The bright molten stream lashes across him and flashes his shields, burning deep.

“Nngh—!”

You land. He swings low. You jump. You swing high. Your pastel hi-beam actually hits too fast and knocks interference sparks off his still-flashing shields, but they quit their flash halfway through and you carve a cleft in his left arm, setting them right off again. You dash out of there before his head-thrashing impales something you’d rather keep, then turn to keep him in sight as you backpedal a bit further.

The exchange broken off and the two of you separated by four or five meters, he snorts a heavy-burdened breath and seems to reassess you. The thick stream of thermite caught across his axe haft; he snaps it in the middle and wields it one-handed now.

“Surprising.”

“That’s me.”

He snaps his fingers.

There is a clanging all around the building as Sky Claws drop their cargo and turn toward you.

“Surprise.”

“Hecking—!”

Elk stands firm and fires a pair of seeds straight at you. Four Sky Claws have literally dropped what they were doing to fly at you, clamps open.


>Shoot the seeds and dodge/counter the Claws.
>Shoot the Claws and dodge the seeds.

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Ah, delicious image-posting once again.

See you in the morning.

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>>2517342
I'd say we came off well, there.

Shoot the claws, dodge the seeds.

>>2517342
>Shoot the seeds and dodge/counter the Claws.

>>2517370
We'll be here when you return.

>>2517401
Thinking on this some more, both of these have trade-offs. I stand by my choice but figured I'd speculate some.

Seeds are probably easier to dodge, but will snap-grow into trees that we'll have to deal with.

Four Sky Claws is a lot to deal with at once, and right now our evasive defense style means that getting immobilized is really bad. Best to deal with them before they become a significant factor.

Maybe with his axe haft halved he won't have as much chopping power, but I wouldn't bank on that, so be ready for him to use them as barriers, springboards, or even just trying to fell one on us.

>>2517342
>Shoot the Claws and dodge the seeds.

I was thinking, why can't we use these seeds against them? If they're erupting into big wood things, can we use it for cover or have them run into it?

>>2517342
>shoot the Claws and dodge the seeds

I'm betting that he'll charge after those seeds deploy, either jumping high and straight on or grounded to the side to try to catch us. I say we jump over to one of the sides during a dodge and shoot the Claws in front with our buster, but readying our dash for a quick dodge in case of nearby Elk sightings. We don't need his stupid backup ruining our straightforward boss fight, so if we can spray some lava on the ground to slow him down between shots at his airborne cohorts then go for it. They should only take a couple shots each to dispatch, so I'm sure we can find some time to multitask.

Last time we shot the seeds our shots got absorbed. Doesn't seem like that'll work now if it didn't work then. Where is he shooting them out of, by the way? His arm? If so, that goes hand in hand with our need to disarm him, which would only leave his cranium mounted weapons to stay out of head to head combat with. Keep up with the read and punish game: it's worked so far, buying us a little bit of damage reduction by disabling his ability to 2 hand the weapon. Maybe we can push it for a bit more leverage.

>>2517342
>Shoot the claws and dodge the seeds.

If they grow into trees, we can probably cut them down with a hi-beam. Actually, we can use that. Take care of the claws first, then try and read when he's gonna cut through the trees to get at us, then cut him first through the trees... if that's possible, anyway.

>>2517342
>Shoot the Claws and dodge the seeds.
The more trees we set on fire, the closer we get to the whole battlefield becoming an inferno

>>2517342
>Shoot claws, dodge seeds

>>2517342
>Shoot the seeds and dodge/counter the Claws.


If we get grabbed we should be able to cut ourselves out fairly quickly. We might be able to burn the seeds, but once they've grown it'll take a while, and we don't want our mobility cut off by walls we need to burn through.

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>>2517401
>>2517459
>>2517461
>>2517544
>>2517577
>>2517834

The last place you want to be right now is held still. The seeds are slow and easy to spot, so you give them distance and let their walls form as you charge another Prominence and fire up your lo-beam dirk. The Sky Claws are single-minded; a burst of buster fire takes out two, a back-and-forth with your short saber takes out the others.

You look back, ready to fire, but Elk is now far above you. Four perpendicular wooden platforms jut out of the wall; before your eyes he fires another seed and it sticks in place, forming a fifth platform onto which he hops, just shy of the ceiling.

He points his stupid seed-buster over the side and drops another pair. These two spread out not into walls but stretching tangles of roots like the one you set on fire back on the flume. They’re easy enough to dodge while keeping your charge held, but if restricting your mobility is his game now, he must be hurting.

His vantage is just out of range of your Prominence. You could scare him off his perch with the slightly-less-damaging Grenade option on your Melter, but he’d likely either hop to a lower step or crash straight down on you. You could also climb up after him and really let him have it, but your mobility options would be limited up there.

You doubt he’ll get closer than he needs to again without intending to chop you. For him, the floor is lava.

The buzzing of two more Sky Claws gets nearer.


>Stay on the floor; shoot him down with lesser weapons.
>Get off the floor; jump-climb his platforms and engage him hard.

>Swat the claws before your action.
>Evade the claws for the time being.

>>2518087
>Stay on the floor; shoot him down with lesser weapons.
whichever he picks, he'll have to deal with burning cyberwood falling on him.

>Evade the claws for the time being.
use that flex, and pull out the hi-beam

>>2518087
>Stay on the floor, shoot him down with lesser weapons and get ready for a punish when he moves
>Swat the claws first

Keep forcing him to make bad choices about how to engage us. Chasing after him is going to play into his hands. I imagine those claws are going to be a problem if they catch us, but if getting caught lures the Elk to us then we might be able to do some serious damage with melee options or a super focused thermite charge. That said, we'd probably get gored in the process so let's stay out of grabbing range of those Claws. I get the feeling that he'll just make new "floors" for maneuvering by seeding the walls, but that still keeps him on the back foot and us out of harm's way directly. With this in mind, we should be lighting more wood on fire as the fight goes on to keep pressure up.

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>>2518098
>>2518109

You haven’t lasted this long by giving up terrain advantage.

You switch to Grenade setting, squelching your charge but giving you the range you need. Elk side-hops to a lower step before it hits and volleys another pair of seeds over your head. He’s clearly penning you in, but no time to worry: the Sky Claws are on top of you.

Moving parts, moving parts… you start charging your buster and flash out your hi-beam, dismissing the claws. As soon as the charge is set you aim up at Elk and let it loose, but an incoming seed takes one for the team, absorbing the flash of plasma and landing behind you.

This freaking guy.

A cursory glance reveals you’re now surrounded by walls high and low, wood and metal, with one smallish gap left for escape. You hear incoming buzzing again. Your fuse burns short.

You bought that rapid-fire Melter setting for a reason, and this is surely it. You spit glob after glob, close and far and as high as you can reach. A Sky Claw gets in the way and you slash it down in rhythm with your fire barrage. Elk’s lower platforms energetically burn while the one higher step that caught the grenade crumbles off the wall. Your target is stuck on a step at upper-wall height above rising flames.

You charge up Prominence again, expecting him to seed-step his way out. He doesn’t. He seeds the wall, chops off the new platform and kicks it down to the center of your flaming pen. You sidestep toward the gap—

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>>2518260
—right into the path of his spinning axe.

Your reflexes aren’t enough this time. The plank hid the axe throw until it was too late. It fillets your right arm and sets off your shields, but the limb stays attached and every finger remains responsive. Your Prominence charge stays charged.

Elk follows his axe down, firing seeds – not at you, but at the gap in the burning wood.

If the seeds land, you’ll be at least temporarily fishbowled in with him. You’ll have all the proximity you want, but so will he.

If you dash out before the seeds land, you’ll conserve health and buy yourself breathing room, but you won’t be able to read his next move – and be right in the middle of a room full of tactically infinite flying clamps.

You’re both hurting, but you can both take at least one big hit and still be in the fight. By committing to the jump, it’s clear that he’s at max aggression no matter where you yourself go next.


>Act. (Endgame)

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>>2518265
>Take the risk, stay.

>Use our saber and melter while he's in close quarters.

>>2518286
Seconded.

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>>2518265
CAGE MATCH
SABER+MELTER

>>2518286
Sounds good.

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>>2518286
>>2518413
>>2518430
>>2518792

He had traded hits for better positioning before. You trust your instincts and your environment, and dash to where he can’t follow: right up to the flaming walls. He lands like a dancer, but you’re already kicking off the wall and spraying white-hot thermite.

His shields flash brighter and whiter, molten aluminum slicking down his armor over the strobe. He thrashes his head and spears your tail, throwing you for a roll. You stop against the metal wall and see him lunge for his axe embedded in burning wood.

Nope.

You dash so low your wrists scrape the floor as you go for a tackle at knee-height. You collide, but only stumble him, which is still enough for you to tip him into the flaming wall. His armor burns as his axe comes free, but your saber swings up through his elbow before he can aim a strike. You throw yourself up, he swings his head down,

>[Flex +1]

but your saber sheds his left antler. He thrashes, catching your hand on the other and knocking your saber out. But now, off-balance, he’s open for your buster. You fire and fire and fire, opening holes in his failing armor. He swings his remaining fist, but you see it coming miles away, backpedal and spit one last grenade.

It cracks against his chest and leaks inside. He lolls his head, his shield-flash going from strobe to blink.

“Protect… them...”

Arbor Elk expires in flame. You watch him go; it’s the least you could do.

The wood burns until it crumbles. Inquisitive Sky Claws putter over and scoop the char, running on automatic.

“Clear,” you call in.

“Copy. Relief team’s inbound, ETA ten minutes.”

“Thanks. Showa out.”

You walk over to the flume generator, sit on the edge and stick your feet in.

Twenty minutes pass before you hear VTOL engines approach. You don’t mind the wait.

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>>2518810
“… Which is when they directed me to the sawmill team,” you tell Turtle in the command room, some hours later.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Turtle stops recording. “Well done weathering his merry chase.”

“Could’ve been worse,” you shrug. Your right arm is back in one piece, though unpainted on the shorn-off section.

“Indeed,” Turtle examines a datapad. “Your medical report includes the word ‘sashimi.’”

Of course it would.

“Anything else?”

“Yes ma’am. About the civilians…”

“Known sympathizers of Repliforce are liable to be treated as Maverick loyalists and face heavy persecution,” Turtle says, too quickly. “It’s quite fortunate that none were to be found.”

Your eyes widen. “We didn’t—”

Turtle interrupts, “Records recovered by the Combat Analysis department indicate that the Repliforce cell was using hostages as labor, and took them when they departed. Where-and-whensoever the hostages are rescued, they will be given a psychological screening and re-integrated into society with counselor support – and relocation services, where necessary.”

Whew. “Thank you for doing what you can, ma’am.”

“They’ve been through a lot, Lieutenant. There’s no need to condemn them all merely for proximity. I’ve transferred your payment. Good work.”

You can’t help but check, right then and there.

MISSION
C O M P L E T E

- B-Rank Mission Parameters Complete: 25,000z
- Repliforce Cell Neutralized: 5,000z
- Disruption of Enemy Supply Line: 5,000z

TOTAL: 35,000z

“Supply line?” You squint.

“Repliforce’s production chain has been stubbornly durable, and now we know why: you proved they’re willing to take cyberwood. Smart of them. Now they’ve lost a major source, and we know they’ll look for more.”

“I see. Thanks, ma’am.”

Turtle’s seat turns of its own accord, back to monitoring the monitor. “I’m genuinely pleased to see you hitting your old stride again, Meteor. You can get back to it tomorrow evening. Dismissed.”

Sounds like good news to you. You’re feeling up for a day off. Where to?


>See what Skittle’s made of their little lab.
>Catch up with friends.
>Catch up with news.
>Other (specify).

Go visit the 8th. If we want to use Elk's data they're the perfect choice to make a Gundam SEED.

>>2518853
>Catch up with friends.
We just got off a mission, let's see how our buddies are.

>>2518853
>Catch up with news.

>>2518891
Sadly the Veracruz 8th isn't equipped for giant mecha construction. Tokyo, now, that's a different story...

>>2519035
Does Hunter Base Veracruz have a bar?

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>>2518853
>Catch up with friends.

We do owe them all some chats and belated Didn't Die discussions.

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>>2519048
The base has several, in fact, with varying rules of conduct. For example, 6th Marine's (the Depth Charge) is a popular hangout open to all units. The contingent of 11th Space has one, Kuiper, strictly limited to 11th Space officers only. 15th Artillery's, the Library, will let you in on condition that you observe silence.

4th Overland's, the Eighth Hour, was established by the late unit commander Earthquake Jaguar. He specifically intended to be a social hub (as opposed to the Dodo of Geneva 4th, an officer's bar which organically became non-officer by permissiveness). The hours are Noon to 4:00 AM daily -- and strictly. Civilian staff are instructed to eject lingerers immediately upon closing time. Despite that, the atmosphere is best described as a sports bar.

>>2519129
>Civilian staff are instructed to eject lingerers immediately upon closing time.
Why do I imagine this as a literal statement?

>>2519281
The Defenestration Station?

>>2519281
Oh, it's literal. The late Commander enforced responsible limits. Out the door, nobody should be drinking past four, don't have to go home but (etc.).

Also, writing now.

>>2518853
>Catch up with friends.

>>2519300
Yeah, what I was imagining. A chair like device designed to launch troublemakers (safely) through an open skylight.

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>>2518901
>>2519104
>>2519339

Upgrades can wait. You need some heckin’ social time.

The Eighth Hour bustles so boisterously underground that the neighboring truck ramp goes unnoticed. The monitors play football (Spanish subtitled) and basketball (Mandarin subtitled) while one particularly raucous corner watches cricket. No news is ever on the screens here, per the management. News exists in plentiful supply outside or on personal datapads; here, 4th Overland can unwind.

Volt Batteram leans an elbow on the bar, watching two Chinese teams compete on a full court. His stool legs are zigzagged like a step pyramid.

“Hey Volt,” you step up.

The dark blue ram streaked with white raises a wine glass by way of greeting.

“Who you watching, Suzhou?”

He tosses you a workplace glare.

“Just kidding.”

“Mm.”

“Foshan’s new center’s worth the transfer, huh?”

“Mm.” He sips whatever it is in his glass, almost daintily.

“So, how’s your day been? We haven’t really caught up yet since I got back.”

“Cop-killer in Baja,” he replies. Gosh but he could be Elk’s brother. “No sweat.”

“Cool, cool. Hey Brav,” you knock on the bar, “I’ll have what he’s having.”

“He’s having the last twenty-sixty meritage, sorry,” says Bravo, your Standard Beret bartender. The seam around his artificial hair betrays where the factory-model peak-cap helmet once sat. The seam around his jaw betrays where the beard-plate once hung. Repliforce had no monopoly on his model, but a certain stigma came with the obvious signifiers of the generation that filled the Repliforce officer ranks. If his luck had been different…

“Fine,” you stop your train of thought right there, “daiquiri me.”

Volt snorts a chuckle.

“What?” You jab him, grinning. “Surely that wasn’t an aspersion you just snorted, Mister Wine Snob?”

“It’s not snobbery,” his stone face cracks, “it’s respect for craftsmanship.”

“You want to talk about craftsmanship, you should sit down with Skit—uh, Scatter from R&D.”

“I did,” Volt rolls his neck. “And I thought you and Deco never shut up.”

“It’s being social. Sooo-shull. You oughta try it more, you gotta be like the stiffest electric-type I know.”

“Mm.”

“Mm,” you tease. “You do anything fun while I was knocked out?”

“No.”

“Oh come on! Nothing?”

“Paperwork.”

Figures. He’s the lead officer for that department… by choice, astonishingly. It’s thankless work.

“Then thanks for keeping us running.”

He smiles a little.

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>>2519483

“Your repairs cost a fortune," he notes. "Saw the bill."

“Yeah, my whole piggy bank.”

His smile fades. “Not everybody saves up. Their systems get trashed, they’re a burden. Discharged. Makes space for others to come in.” He sips. “Makes me wonder.”

“About what?”

“Where the Hunters are going. We weren’t intended to do as much as we do. We keep taking on tasks, taking on tasks. Grow, grow, grow. We set up a whole other institution to share the load. Now they are the load.” He sips again, swirls his glass. “Just gotta keep lifting, don’t we.”

“Lift and carry,” you sigh. “Uphill. With people shooting at you.”

“Mm.”

Your pink-as-hell nanite infusion comes in a frilly glass with sugar on the rim. Bravo knows you so well.

Volt holds out his glass, inviting a tap. You oblige him.

“To getting back at it,” he offers.

“Kanpai.”

“Mm.”

You sip in tandem.

The basketball game goes well for the team he likes. You don’t really have a preference when it comes to sports, but you like that other people like them. Besides, watching a lot of running and jumping in a non-lethal format takes the edge off the recent experience, which is rather the point of all the game monitors.

You head out after the quarter’s done, clapping Volt on the shoulder in farewell.

“Good to see you again, ma’am,” Bravo nods.

“Mm,” you grunt back. Volt playfully flicks your hand off him.

You check your datapad on the way to the elevator. Given the time, Deco’s probably back from her roster mission…

You happen to glance up at the passing windows.

Sky Claws hold up a banner, a legitimate cloth banner, reading “WELCOME BACK METEOR” printed among swimming koi. They hang out below the skywalk observation deck and pivot in a slow circle. A third and fourth Sky Claw follow the pivot around just to shine spotlights on it.

You run your hand down your face to hide your broadening smile.


>Find Deco and tell her thanks.
>Find Skittle and play upgrades.
>Other (specify).

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>>2519490
>Find Deco and tell her thanks.

That was pretty awesome of her!

>>2519490
>>Other (specify)
Prank someone. Praaaaaank someone.

>>2519518
Supporting. It is a 4th tradition.

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>>2519513
>>2519518
>>2519534
>>2519621

Find Deco and tell her thanks.

Via good-natured pranking.

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>>2519693
YES!

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Oh dear. Should've seen Pranktown coming.

Writing, slowly, during news and FFXIV group things.

>>2519747
Bene

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>>2519513
>>2519518
>>2519534
>>2519693
>>2519717

You swipe the front page of the news aggregator off your data pad – removing something about Zero doing important heroism in Senegal – and text Skittle a single sentence.

{I need to prank somebody.}

They comm you back immediately.

“Who is this and why is she suddenly cool.”

“Hush. Did you see that banner right in the middle of the Courtyard?”

“Yeah, Sunny McHappyface put it up.” They pause. “Please let me prankback. She’ll never do anything like it again! She’ll shudder at the thought of glitter! I can make her see in kaleidoscope vision for a week!”

You blink, as the elevator opens back up on the top floor.

“That’s… kind of a big escalation of hostilities for a mild embarrassment.”

“Hey, go big or go home.”

“Well, ‘going big’ was more in line with my idea. I need an infinite-ribbon printer, admin codebreaks for some mechaniloid flyers, some of your self-replicating glitter…”

Before the night is out, and indeed before it really begins, a few enlisted hang out up in the observation deck where the 4th base’s skywalks intersect. You join them, with Deco tagging along.

“You really took it down?” She pouts. “I know Brother wouldn’t mind, it wasn’t blocking anything!”

“I kept it in storage, don’t worry. I just wanted to thank you for the… exuberant… show of friendship.”

“Aw, it’s nothing! Not even a tenth of what I had when you were out!”

“Right, and it’s a nothing you do for everybody. But I thought, who does it for you? It’s about time you got to experience just how it feels to be Deco’d.” You tap your earcap. “She’s here, hit it.”

Deco cocks her head at you. One of the regulars at a bench points something out to his date.

“Hey, you see that?”

You grin. Deco puts two and two together and hurries to a window.

A Bee Blader with half a dozen active spotlights on descends to the Courtyard. A lone Sky Claw pulls a giant ribbon out of its stinger, then more Sky Claws fly in to pinch the ribbon and help support it as it unfurls. Like an antique news-ticker, your message stretches around and around the observation deck, written out in exceedingly sparkly font.

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>>2520108

WELCOME BACK FROM YOUR MISSION, DECO! HOW ARE YOU? I’M DOING FINE! I’M DOING SO FINE, IN FACT, I FEEL THAT I SHOULD TELL EVERYONE I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY FRIENDS UP TO AND INCLUDING YOU IN THE FORM OF A TOTALLY-NOT-DISTRACTING RECITAL OF ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS.

WHEN MISTER BILBO BAGGINS OF BAG END ANNOUNCED THAT HE WOULD SHORTLY BE CELEBRATING HIS ELEVENTY-FIRST BIRTHDAY WITH A PARTY OF SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE . . .

Deco squints. She laughs. She holds her stomach and doubles over.

“Oh WOW, Mimi this is… um…”

BUT SO FAR TROUBLE HAD NOT COME; AND AS MISTER BAGGINS WAS GENEROUS WITH HIS MONEY, MOST PEOPLE WERE WILLING TO FORGIVE HIM HIS ODDITIES AND HIS GOOD FORTUNE . . .

“Is this the whole first chapter?”

“It’s the whole book.”

“Uh?”

Out and out the ribbon scrolls, faster and faster. More and more Sky Claws support it, but after a certain length it sags and drapes over the windows. Repeatedly. The Sky Claw team loops it around a skybridge, over another, wrapping and weaving…

“Is this really how I come off?” Deco gapes at the growing literary drapery.

“A little,” you pat her arm. “But you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t. You just have that much force of personality, and if somebody doesn’t ever like making a huge, y’know, deal out of themselves… it can be a little awkward. Understand?”

Deco sighs, not in humility but cheerful disappointment. “Well, shoot. Guess I’ll have to keep the banners indoors from now on.”

“I think the whole base would appreciate that. I still remember the streamers you stuck everywhere for Turtle’s birthday. We were fishing them out of the Gulf for weeks.”

“Brother’s going to be so upset,” Deco smiles behind her hand.

“Maybe,” you shrug. “It should be easy to take down. The glitter, on the other hand…”

You two watch the ribbon gradually mummify the dome. Part of your opening lines lays wrinkled on the windows underneath all the rest: TELL EVERYONE I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY FRIENDS.

“Uh, Meteor?” Skittle comms.

“Yeah?”

“The printer’s overheating. I don’t think my glitter’s compatible with it after all.”

“Is that bad?”

“It’s throwing out hot sparks and I set the matrix to fab a lot of polyethylene in the fibers.”

“Um.”

Flames roar outside. The wrapping starts to char, then really finds its motivation and flashes ablaze. The date-night normals whoop and applaud the spectacle.

Turtle comms in your ear.

“Condense your apology into twenty words or less before you immediately march yourself into my office, Lieutenant.”

Heck.

why was skittles consulted. Thats not prank, thats war. o_o

>>2520124
Skittle doesn't really have middle settings. Plus, their mindset can swing like a metronome from merry to dark.

>>2520124
>>2520145
Ah, wait, I misunderstood. They were consulted for their expertise in moving bad/silly ideas, and the equipment for it, super-fast.

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>>2520112

Your day off becomes a night on. And then a morning. Minefield Turtle makes you and Skittle scrape and recycle every yard of the charry goopy mostly-plastic ribbon off the premises. Getting the mass off is still easier than scraping off the baked-in lettering. You and Skittle are still up there on your hands and knees with diamond sanders well into the morning, long enough for absolutely everyone on base to have gotten a chance to see you.

So much for avoiding embarrassment.

You’ve progressed to where the ribbon began, every abrasion-proof window clear enough for a show floor except the dome, when you hear a harmonica play.

Skittle flutters upside-down, blowing into the sander device. You know better than to ask why or how they made it into an instrument.

“So what’re you in for?” They ask.

“Being dumb for fun.” You resume sanding.

“Want something to pass the time, now that it’s mostly past already? I’ve got your upgrades lined up.”

“Sure. Let’s have it.”

“Cool.” They ping you immediately with a list and rotate upright. “Got some new parts in, you’re gonna love this! So I’m technically your handler, right? So your DNA loot passes through me for screening before going to you. Now ordinarily you’ve only got the emulator rights for one bite at each data package, but… get the right DNA crossing my desk, and if there’s a useful element to it, I’ll copy it out on the sly and put it in one of your melee weapons at way below cost.”

“Is that legal?”

“A crafter getting inspired by something is perfectly legal,” they brush their nose meaningfully, “but my inspiration is limited to one per weapon, sorry to say.”

“Just one?” You grind out the word ‘wizard’ baked into the dome.

“Just one. Some sabers out there can handle more than one element, of course – advanced saber tech has exploded just in the last couple years. It’s possible to take Maverick DNA and just stack and stack the goodies into one hilt, it is. But that sort of thing would cost way more than you’d want to put in, and frankly you’re not of a properly meleé-ey disposition to even use a Variable Saber the right way.”

“That’s fair.”

“I mean I’ve seen you, you swing ‘em like bowling pins.”

“Okay that’s less fair. Let’s see now…”

You open it in your HUD, the rest of you busy with manual labor.

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>>2520182

UPGRADES:

VWES (select one):

>Arbor Wall:
Fires a fat seed pod that snap-grows a mass of cyberwood depending on what it contacts. On contact with any horizontal or vertical wall, the pod forms a stiff rectangular monolith (15 x 60 x 135cm), perpendicular to the surface, which will hold your weight. On contact with an enemy body, the seed instead bursts into an equal mass of constricting roots, arresting the enemy’s motion and dealing damage by pressure. 12 shots.

>Arbor Root:
The seed pod produces “all root, no wall.” The roots will be marginally thicker and squeeze for increased damage, but the wall/platform ability will be lost. 8 shots.

>Arbor Barricade:
The seed pod produces “all wall, no root.” The wall dimensions increase to a larger (20 x 180 x 180cm) square, making it more durable and useful as emergency cover, but the root-constriction ability will be lost. 8 shots.

If fired underwater, the seed pod will activate immediately. Be advised: all Arbor-series wood has properties similar to real wood, such as buoyancy and flammability.

GENERAL:

Current Zenny: 35,000

Meteor Melter:
>Rocket:
Allows the grenade setting to be charged; on the second charge level, you spit a small unguided missile, greatly increasing effective range. 20k.

Weapons:
>Beam Dirk:
High-Phase: Uptunes to a hi-beam. More power, but limited active use. 5k.
Blade Length: Adds 60cm to the blade, making it a “proper” saber. 5k.

Fire Element: “Inspired” by Corona Sphynx’s DNA, Scatter Seelie has offered to add high-temperature combustion to any one of your melee weapons for added damage. 10k.

Ceratanium Axe: The long-hafted axe of a woodsman, or perhaps a headsman, once carried by Arbor Elk. Though slower to swing than any beam saber, its damage is still equal to a low-phase blade. It can also parry other solid weapons, pierce energy-nulling defenses, and knock back foes of equal or lesser mass than you. Requires two Gear Slots to carry and two hands to use. 10,000 zenny.


NEW FEATURE: GEAR SLOTS

Apart from bodily-integrated weapons such as Meteor Melter and your buster, you may carry additional weapons on a mission. These are Gear, fitted on Gear Slots, of which you currently have two.

Before the start of each mission from here on, you may fill your loadout with any combination of Gear. All beam sabers, regardless of upgrades, take one Gear Slot each.

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>>2520191

FRAME:

Your chassis may take three upgrades to your Frame. Each new part increases your survivability in a specific way. Each one costs a flat 50,000 zenny, even if it’s a higher Level of the same part.

You do not currently have 50,000 zenny. Still, the options remain open for viewing and future consideration. Your previous purchase has limited them.

>Solid Plating:
Level 1: Reduces incoming damage by one fourth, effectively lengthening your health bar by an extra quarter.
Level 2: Reduces incoming damage by one third of base.

>Flex Architecture:
>Level 1 [Purchased]: Mildly increases reflexes and guards against breakage of major body parts.
Level 2: Moderately increases reflexes and limits breakage of major body parts.
Level 3: Significantly increases reflexes and all but prevents breakage of major body parts.

>Barrier Extender:
Level 1: Lengthens shield flare to 1.5 seconds and mildly hastens its refresh rate, making the invincibility cycle more difficult to thwart.
Level 2: Lengthens shield flare to 2 seconds and moderately hastens its refresh rate.

>>2520191
>Arbor Wall
>Rocket
>Blade Length

Save the rest. Also, if I'm reading this right, does that mean shooting Arbor Root at a wall will not produce anything, and shooting Arbor Wall at an enemy will not produce anything?

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>>2520204
Both single-mode seeds will tonk off the incompatible surface.

- Arbor Wall alone has two modes that activate by the context of what it hits.
- Arbor Root hitting a wall will bounce off and land on the floor to become a tangle mine, activating when stepped on or otherwise touched by a powered body.
- Arbor Barricade hitting a body will bounce off, hit an unpowered wall or floor, and then form its more robust barrier.

>>2520191

Agreeing with >>2520204 's options. Stock weapon along with the Rocket option sound great for versatility, and I'm never saying no to more melee investment.

Ask skittle about making some sort of wooden blade or GaiaSwrd

>>2520222
Alternate mode for hibeam to rapidly project a pray of cherry blossom tree roots.

Climbing apparatus for more vertical mobility

>>2520191
My id might be switching a lot.

Arbor wall
Roots are better on land, wall has some interesting uses on water

Blade length

And im angling for other melee option like my spitballs here >>2520436

Rather than a samurai iai cutting through everything, the hibeam generates a wide swath of cherry ROOTS that we can set fire to at our leisure. Less range than the VWES but more aoe

Ooh, how about having little seeds levitating inside the saber's magnetic confinement? Get a good gash into their armor, seeds are left behind and start growing into them.

like leech seed but without the hp regen

>>2520191
>Arbor Wall
>Rocket
>Blade Length

If we get Arbor Wall, will we be unable to get the Ceratinium Axe? If so, then hold off on getting Arbor Wall: being able to parry solid strikes and deal with energy defenses could bode well for us in the future, at the cost of the Sabers. Also, would it be possible to add fire element to it?

>>2520309
>>2520436

I'll support this.

I don't know why, but I want a High-phase beam katana for maximum cherry petals.

>>2520490
I like this idea too.

I mean, it's kind of silly to put the VWES attribute on a beam saber when we have access to his actual weapon. Then again, his weapon requires two hands, and is steel-type, not grass-type.

I wonder, could we modify the vanilla VWES for underwater use? Maybe something with algae or seaweed?

>>2520552
Floating on water is already good for underwater fighting. Imagine slamming your head on a block of wood while trying to surface.

Deploying bouyant stuff deep underwater also makes them rise REALLY fast.

>>2520552

I dunno how I feel about a cherry blossom petals sword, might be a little too bleach

>>2520592
Bleach didn't tie Samurai to cherry blossoms nor did Naruto make mystical ninjas.

>>2520592
The suberversion is that its the branches or roots unlike every other samurai stereotype.

I'm honestly inclined towards Barricade over Wall or Root, but I do think keeping the dual modality is a good idea. We can set the walls ablaze and zone out enemies with an active damage deterrent, or tangle someone and burn them while they're stuck.

As much as I'd like the axe, we should also probably save up for another frame upgrade.

Rocket isn't a bad idea, and will hopefully let us range out some engagements we'd otherwise have to put ourselves at risk for, but I'm a bit leery of putting more zenny into fire weaponry before we expand our kit.

I dunno, what are your thoughts, folks?

>>2520191
>>Arbor Wall: Multi use and higher ammo is a go!
>>Rocket: Range hell yeah!

Otherwise more fire? .... ehh?
The axe could be neat but saving for next armor seems better.

Darn public school hours keeping me away from peak /qst/ traffic!

>>2520519
The axe is a non-DNA option. Mavericks in this quest will each unlock at least one other treat above and beyond their stock weapon and alternates, for an added cost. The axe is Elk's, for example. The Fire element was one of Sphynx's.

The axe can indeed be modded. As for a tree "element", I'll need to sit down and consider that when I don't have students to herd.

>>2520881
Well I'M back on my comp, so it's time to more effectively brainstorm.

>Koi Tusks
Integrating Arbor Root technology along the.....generous.....headspace of Meteor Showa, a set of cyberwood antlers can be projected.

The antlers allow ramming attacks both above and underwater at negligible loss of speed. They also provide a noticeable amount of regenerative defense against attacks from above, but with a similar danger of the antlers getting caught on obstacles or mechaniloids. Further upgrades would hasten antler regeneration, a quick release function, and an automated system to set the antlers on fire.

These draw on a similar energy source as drone replicators, which may interfere.with drone systems in the future.

>>2520881
>Pili Shellslug
Sacrifices both the wall AND root functions of Arbor Wall and instead makes the seed form itself a dangerous weapon. Has increased speed, mass, and has some capability of piercing armor.

Energy attacks the seed sustains will instead be converted into arboreal growths, reducing speed and increasing the seed's size to block further shots. Physical blades will find themselves caught on the seed, throwing the target off balance and requiring removal before the blade can be effectively used again.


I'm not even sure if I want this, but I thought of a pili nut and this would really fuck with mosquito guy.

>>2520881
>Antler Hooks
Small projectors on the hands and feet allow mini antlers to quickly form and embed themselves on a surface. Good for wall/ceiling clinging and high recoil weapons, as well as slightly better unarmed combat and getting out of grapples.

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>>2520245
>>2520309
>>2520436
>>2520456
>>2520519
>>2520552
>>2520796
>>2520818
>>2520901

You hum in thought. Your hum goes on a while and bounces a tune before you cut it off.

“Mmmmmokay. Stock option, rocket grenade, and top off the length on the short saber. That wood’s flammable, right?”

“Sure is. It’s got some nice durability for a snap-up, but you oughta be able to chop it down with a hi-beam. Or that axe. Sure you don’t want the axe? I can paint it black, give it some skulls…”

“Maybe later. But if I do ever get it, hold the goth?”

“Fair enough. Ten-kay left, then. Save or spend?”

You tilt your head back and forth, grinding off a sentence about fireworks. “Nnn, I’d better save, that frame upgrade saved me a lot of hurt against the minors…”

“Is that doubt I hear swimming in?”

“Unless you have any more options, I’m good with saving.”

Skittle clicks their tongue back and forth. “Gimme a minute.”

You give them a minute.

“Right,” they clap, exactly sixty seconds later, “check this out.”

--

>Sakura Saber
Your 90cm pastel-purple beam saber takes on a cosmetic katana curve and a harmless light effect: its wake sheds a gradient of cherry blossoms. The hilt is modified with cyberwood to be held two-handed for greater striking speed, and adds a short hammering spike on the pommel, while still fitting in a single Gear slot. 1,000 zenny.

>Gaia Sword
Scatter Seelie’s technological sleight-of-hand copies the “wood” element from Arbor Elk’s DNA and adds it to one of your hi-beams, Sakura or otherwise. Your saber, upon registering sufficiently long contact with the blade, clicks off and generates a cyberwood stake of double length. The intended function is to exploit the hole stabbed or cut by the plasma and deal greater internal damage. 10,000 zenny.

>Bark Hook
Nano-scale hooks added to your palms and soles allow for greater purchase on a wide variety of surfaces. They also allow a persistent, gecko-like grip on vertical walls. Under a microscope, each hook resembles antlers. 5,000 zenny.

>Nah, save the 10k for future goodies.

>>2521031
>>Gaia Sword
I'll take it

>>2521031
Vlad on a stick, I'll take it
>Gaia sword

>>2521031
Oh man, just picture this.

>Gaia Sword
>Stab someone with hibeam
>Generate double-length cyberwood stake
>Drive it into the wound
>Set it on fire

>>2521055
Jumped the gun on hitting post, there. I was gonna christen that maneuver the Melter Skelter.

>>2521031
>Gaia Sword

I should clarify for bookkeeping: you'll have two regular-length sabers, but only one is high-phase, and that's the one that will take the Gaia Sword upgrade. The matter-generating capacity requires the higher output.

That seems to be the runaway favorite, so let's see if I can fit in writing before the lunch period is over.

Heck yes
>Gaia sword

Too bad we aren't fighting Dark Dizzy, that's obviously his weakness

>>2521075
Would both sabers be able to take the Sakura sword upgrade?

>>2521119
Don't lose hope, maybe that Desmodeus guy goes maverick again

>>2521140
Both sabers would, yes. It's mostly cosmetic with just a dash of utility.

And it turns out I wasn't as fast as I thought. Post incoming.

>>2521140
I do think the Sakura upgrade will be a good idea for the Gaia Saber. Better ergonomics for the cyberwood stakes and a quick little hilt punish to make use of, like Em's elbow kris.

Also, rude!

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>>2521042
>>2521046
>>2521055
>>2521068
>>2521119

You do like saving zenny, but you can think of a lot of fun uses for a stake saber…

“All right,” you give in, “gimme the Gaia.”

“Sweeeeet,” Skittle rubs their hands. “Ready for vampire hunting. You look like you’ve got stuff under control, so I think I’ll flit off to get it prepped.”

“Thanks. I won’t be long.”

Skittle three-finger-salutes you and flies off with their sander, probably to do science to it.

Cleaning up the side of the dome involves suction grips. You had asked for a scaffold, but Turtle wanted to teach you a lesson. You climb down, scraping down layers of words… when you come across part of the intro to Deco.

You jut out your lower lip, furtively glancing for work monitors. The break-timers inside have long since stopped paying attention. You apply some selective grinding, and when you’re done, every word is gone except for a few, resting in the middle at a slight diagonal:

I LOVE MY FRIENDS

… Though from your perspective it’s backwards.

A tapping from inside makes you look down. Nouveau raps on the nigh-invincible glass with the backs of his knuckles. When he’s confident you’re looking, he taps his ear.

“Lieutenant.”

“Captain. Back from Rio?”

“Clearly. My sister has filled the hall leading to your quarters with balloons. They present a fire hazard, so clear them out when you’re done, will you?”

“Can do. I’ll just, um, finish sanding this…”

“Leave it, Lieutenant,” he raises a hand. “Harmless words against the sky. Call it aesthetic.”

“Yes sir.” You start climbing back up, but a thought hits you. “Oh, one thing?”

“Speak freely, Showa,” Nouveau smirks, enjoying his rank a bit too much.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but why is it that you and your sister got to stay in the same unit? I mean, I’ve got a brother in Geneva Eighth, a brother in Tokyo Sixteenth, and even a sister in Second on-campus, but I hardly ever see any of them.”

Nouveau fastidiously brushes dust off his forearm. “Simple. Deco and I were deemed insufficiently threatening if we ever defected together. Our abilities don’t synergize well; all my gravitics tend to foul the trajectory of her solids.”

“Ah. I’ve always wondered.”

“It never hurts to ask, Lieutenant. Next time you want to jibe her, come to me and not that mad fairy.”

“Will do.”

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>>2521173

You climb up and tread a skybridge roof all the way to the barracks.

“Balloons, Deco?” You comm.

“Just be glad I didn’t fill your room with ‘em. Today, anyway.”

You have a childishly fun time popping every shiny celebratory balloon with your lo-beam as you comm your friend back and forth.

“So what was my score in the forest?”

“The plant owners weren’t happy with the broken parts of the sawmill, but they have insurance, they can deal. Forensics was pulling its plates off trying to trace everything, what with those flying clamp guys moving the evidence. Overall, though, solid work.”

“What about Repliforce? They had some big guns to spend on me.”

“Yeah, and the scrap indicates they were brand new. The remnants are building like mad, so be on the lookout for more of the speedy heavies. Oh, and that jammer? Turns out it was a relay. There’s probably more out there, running off a central control.”

“Gotcha. Any idea who was in charge of the cell?”

“Well it wasn’t Elk. We reconstructed some data they left behind, but all we caught was a reference to ‘Lieutenant Carat-Three’ and ‘Captain Ten.’”

Ten. Decim. Outstanding…

“Thanks, Deco. For that and the support, too.”

“Any time, Mimi. Stuff’s tough out there, y’know? Somebody’s gotta bring the opposite.”

You kind of wish you had the foresight to underline the unscraped message on the dome.

You sweep up the balloon scraps for recycling, head over to the tech wing, hand off your cleanup gear and meet Skittle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp-E75UU3Rk

The medical quarantine cell has been expertly converted into an upgrade lab, bed-slab and all. It looks professional -- cozy, even, though for somebody of Skittle's height it's probably a much bigger shop than they need.

“Hey you,” they greet, getting some tools out. “You catch the news?”

“Nnnno?”

“Oh, nothin’ big, like,” they cheerily singsong, “just that Striker Cobra and company retired Major Tertius up in Alberta.”

“Hah! Nice. What’s that put Repliforce down to, now?”

“Two Majors and a shrinking purse of cowards. Just watch, they’re gonna fizzle completely, come next month. So!” They clap. “Let’s get you upped. Say aaah.”

You walk out half an hour later with new toys, an evened-out paint job, a spring in your step, and a few hours to fill before it’s time for your next assignment.

You haven’t completely re-toured the base, though by now every-dang-body knows you’re back and healthy…


>Visit the firing range. (Battle sim, test weapons)
>Visit the command room. (Select Maverick)
>Visit your old office. (Socialize)
>Do something else. (Specify)

>>2521179
>Visit your old office. (Socialize)

RIP Decomissions.

>>2521179
>Visit your old office. (Socialize)
Let's hear how things are since we got canned there.

>>2521179
>Visit the firing range.

>>2521179
>Visit the firing range.

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>>2521181
>>2521182
>>2521212
>>2521249

Tied! Welp, darn, nothing for it but to write both.

>>2521336
... We're going to shoot up our old office? Nice.

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>>2521430
I feel like that's a bit too quick to just go Maverick like that.

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>>2521336

The office! How could you have forgotten them? … Well, you’ve been busy. They’ll understand.

You head around to the administration floor. There aren’t enough field officers for all the jobs in need of managing; Warrant Officers handle unfilled positions like Logistics or Drills. Your department used to be Decommissions. Without you at the helm, of course, that would mean…

You walk into the office and find four reploids manning terminals with the focus of salaryman accountants. All four of them are Standard Berets: two clean-“shaven” male-types like Bravo, and two short-haired female-types in narrow-paneled skirts. Absolutely none of them wear hats.

One of the men, Golf Niner, rises quickly from a desk at the back and greets you somewhat sheepishly. “Captain! Oh, sorry, Lieutenant. Ranks move fast, heh. Welcome back!”

His armor colors match the Hunter logo perfectly, but there was nothing he could do about his silhouette from the neck down.

“It’s fine,” you reassure him. “How’s the office been treating everyone?”

“Tough, ma’am,” says Rubus the ex-navigator.

“Really miss the hours you gave us,” concurs Daucus, her seat neighbor.

Golf runs a hand through his short brown hair. “Yeah, Oversight’s been stuck on my eyelids for a week, making sure there’s not another mistake—uh, all due respect of course.”

“Of course. I mean, honestly, I really deserved it when I…”

You stop yourself, reading Golf’s expression like a book. You were responsible for filling the Fourth with his generation, a ridiculous ratio of whom thought it would be a great idea to join Repliforce. Every Standard Beret left had to prove their loyalty daily. It has not been good for them.

“… Decommed our ride-armor fleet,” you finish.

Golf’s mouth smiles but his eyes don’t. “Yes ma’am. We’re holding up, though.”

“If you call working your hands off ‘up,’ sure,” complains Hotel Two, the other male-type. “Dauc’s right, I could really use some of those four-hour days back. How’d you do it, ma’am?”

You shrug. “It’s basically just garden-accounting. Trim this, grow that, approve or deny keeping things. I guess I just liked it.”

“Maybe we’ll like it again once Repliforce is in the fucking ground,” Rubus grouses.

“Raspberry…” Daucus sighs.

“Don’t even pretend that’s not where our workload comes from, hon. It’s goddamn politics, is what it is, but what the hell are we gonna do? Huh? Say no? Get called Mavericks for working eight hours and not ten?”

The air seems to thicken.

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>>2521457

“So, uh, Showa ma’am,” Golf anxiously rubs behind his head, “any chance of you working back up to department head?”

“I—”

“Oh hell no,” Rubus throws her hands up, “can’t have the nice one in charge of us Mavericks. What will they say.”

“Razz, please,” Daucus hisses under her breath.

“They’ll probably put more eyes on me,” you admit. “I already have a handler from Sixteenth, you know. Internals might even write a nasty letter about me coming here. But I wanted to, because I like all of you.”

“Then you can maybe put in a word about the backlog?” Golf hopes. “I mean, really, they’ve moved some of Sixth’s cross-checks into our queue like we’re interns. A few days ago they had us clear funding requests that Paperwork really should’ve handled. Who has time for that?”

“Her, almost,” Hotel mutters.

“Who?” You ask.

The air goes from thick to gone. The four of them look at you for an instant, then back at their monitors.

“Guys?”

Rubus cuts the tension with a slap of her terminal. “You were on our list, ma’am. You. For a hot minute they wanted us to decommission you, then Sixteenth cancelled the order. Somebody over Turtle’s head thought you weren’t worth fixing, and I really doubt it was because of your damage, if you get my drift.”

You let that sink in, build up, heat up… then let it flow out. Politics. Ugh. It’s all well and good to study when it’s happening to other people, isn’t it?

You sigh for lack of easy solutions. The fact is that you weren’t discharged, and that’s that. More to the point, you spy a solution for a different problem. Paperwork, huh…

“I can’t promise anything, guys, but I’ll put a word in about the workload.”

“Sure,” Rubus rolls her eyes. “Just don’t be surprised if you get court-martialed for it.”

“What she means is, thank you,” Daucus pointedly corrects.

“Yeah, thanks a lot, ma’am,” Golf smiles and bows twice. “We should, um, get back to it…”

“Right. Good to see you all.”

The room mutters assent. You head out.

Fortunately you know just the place to work out some feelings.

>>2521447
I meant the office itself rather than the people in it, but I guess that's also an option! Not one I'd vote for, though.

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>>2521462
The firing range takes up most of a ground floor of one of the 4th’s component buildings. You walk in and book a lane from Thompson, the Disk Boy model who mans the front desk. Nice guy; has a human girlfriend, you hear.

You step into place and queue some mobile targets. The bland circles bounce around at the far end. You introduce them to your new rocket-propelled thermite grenades; gosh that’s a nice improvement on distance. Fast, too. In no time the target end of the lane is awash in scrap and cooling metal.

“Nice thrust on that grenade,” says a rough female voice. “Straight as a pin.”

You look aside – and down – at Flurry, one of the few Snow Riders on base. She’s not bad, if a bit of a gun nut. You’ve heard she lives in the range, and can believe it.

“Yeah, just got it upgraded.”

“And you didn’t go straight to the sims?” Flurry’s cyclops eye goes half-lidded.

“I was thinking about it, actually.”

“Then stop thinking and do. C’mere.”

The stocky fixture of the range leads you into a battle sim room. “I work here now.”

“Oh?”

Flurry ignores the command terminal chair; her shoulders barely clear the keypad. She swiftly keys in selections with her non-gun hand. “Yeah, last guy got whacked by a stray missile and they discharged him. Not me, though. Missile went straight over my head on its way to that poor sap. But hey, silver linings. Now I can keep this damn thing updated. Who you want to fight? I’ve got all the majors, plus some favorites. Here, standard roster spread.”

A ring of eight headshots around a central square comes up on the selection monitor. Each corner provides a different data stat filter, which you ignore.

You peruse the options…


>Volt Batteram
>Deco
>Nouveau
>Minefield Turtle
>Chrono Sloth
>Mega Man X
>Zero
>Sigma

>On second thought, I'm good.

>>2521473
Batteram.

>>2521473
>Chrono Sloth

That name has my interest.

It's either gotta be Chrono Sloth, or one of the two main characters. Actually, depending on Chrono Sloth's abilities, he may be the closest thing to that edgelord that sliced us up in the intro.

I'm tempted to choose X just to make getting our protag's ass handed to us by his sim data a running gag. Then again, Meteor Showa's already been down that road. It'd be understandable if she didn't want to do it again. Then again, it'd also be understandable if she wanted to be prepared for yet *another* bootleg X.

We could also try to swordfight with a Zero sim, just for kicks. Who knows? Maybe we'll improve? Skittles doesn't have a high opinion of our swordsmanship. Maybe we should work on that.

>>2521473
Why are you allowed to fight all of your unitmates?

>>2521510
Plot reasons that will be addressed right away.

>>2521473
>> combo write-in:
>>Mega Man X
AND
>>Zero
At the same time.
Yeah I know.

>>2521473
>Chrono Sloth

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>>2521478
>>2521483
>>2521667

“… Since when did they lift the ban on same-unit sims?”

“Last week,” Flurry holds up a finger for emphasis, “part of a one-week trial. Halcyon’s idea, actually, but it hasn’t been popular, so it’s back to normal after today. Oh, and the data doesn’t have all the Commanders’es tricks, just in case.”

Your forehead scrunches. If the commander of commanders was worried about people training to retire their bosses, why have it at all?

... Unless the point was allowing everybody train to retire their friends. ‘Just in case.’

Well that’s grim as heck. And the combat ranks aren’t even displayed. I knew Halcyon was a jerk, but this is just… wait.

“Why am I not in there?”

“Some moth came in on orders from Sixteenth and wiped it clean out, said it was classified. I know better than to ask R&D questions, thanks. So who’ll it be?”

“I dunno…”

“Worried about reprisal, right? Well I know for a fact you won’t hurt Sloth’s feelings ‘cause he put himself in there first. His selection rate actually went over X’s for a couple hours after. Kicked my sorry butt. Kicked Batteram’s sorry butt. That was a fun one to watch.”

Maverick Hunter Headquarters Veracruz Base Commander Chrono Sloth… well, who wouldn’t be a little curious?

“Fire him up.”

“That’s your job,” Flurry contrives to wink with only one eye.

You enter the sim pod. Cyberspace integration makes the transition seamless. One instant you’re lying at an angle, the other you’re on your feet in a world of Platonic shapes.

Before you and above you stands a giant earth-toned ground sloth, ten feet high at the ears, carrying a pair of solid one-handed sickles at his hips.

His arms are crossed. Featureless rectangular prisms near him offer a way to gain some height and an attack angle.

Let’s see how he likes nature.

You whip out your Gaia Sword and cycle your VWES to its single entry. You charge forward and seed the wall twice, forming a pair of steps up to the top of the tower. Hup, hup, and down comes your saber – on empty space.

“Hey Flurry,” you land on your feet, “I think he glitched out.”

“Nope.”

A gash opens up on your back. Your systems seem to feel over the injury and give you some non-harmful feedback on weight of evidence. Chrono Sloth stands some distance away, his back to you, one sickle in his hand. His other hand hangs open; his palm is one big WEAPON emitter.

His free hand flexes open. It’s then that you feel a simulated crawling sensation as the space between you and him distorts like light underwater. He turns as slow as a cloud and advances on you with a long stride.

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>>2521697
Time dilation. It was right there in his name.

You thrust the Gaia Sword ahead into nothing but air and hold it there, hoping your timing beats his. Two, three, four – you dash back to your Arbor Wall steps and leap up to the second one.

You land. Your arm has fallen off. You look back at him; a big wooden stake is stuck in his abdomen. He holsters his sickle, plucks the stake out and drops it.

It occurs to you that you’re now at his shoulder height when he opens both palms. You jump off the step and start running for him. His fists close. He leans forward. He takes a step. You thrust your saber at a high angle.

>SIMULATION COMPLETE: YOU HAVE BEEN RETIRED<

What.

Despite the system message, Sloth keeps moving. He swings for your former position and batters your platform with a hail of fists. The platform breaks. The unreal wall breaks.

You look down as craters form in your armor. Your other arm snaps. Your chest caves in. Your—

“I think I get it, thanks,” you groan.

“Give him a sec,” Flurry sounds too pleased with herself.

You stand there and sigh as your sim-body breaks with you in it. Sloth’s path of brutality follows you down to where you wait, a small yet satisfying hole opens up in his chest, he brings down his claws—

>FINAL COMBAT ESTIMATE: B <

And you open your eyes back in the real world.

“Two blows,” Flurry tosses you a thumbs-up. “Better than I got. Go again?”


>Heck no, I’m done.
>Somebody else, please – I should have Mavericks on file.
>I haven’t been humbled enough. Give me one of the legendaries. (Specify X/Zero/Sigma)

>>2521700
Wew. Let's see if we can find someone more our speed.

>Somebody else, please - I should have Mavericks on file.

>>2521700
>Somebody else, please – I should have Mavericks on file.

Lesson learned, don't fuck with the commander.

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>>2521711
It takes a special kind of heavy to be put in charge of a Maverick Hunter base. Like the other HQ commanders, Sloth stays safe behind a desk in order to be let loose in the event of existential emergencies, and not before.

>>2521700

>Zero

>Two sloths as enemies, zero as an ally

Need to pick up some sword tricks, right? Let's see how the pro does it.

>That cyberspace asshole who punked me last time

>fuck we actually summoned the real thing fuck

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>>2521853
Sadly there's not enough data available to get a sim of him.

Zero, however, seems popular, and Showa has a long backlog of defeated Mavericks. Votes on who she'll super-fight will be open for another hour, say.

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>>2521584
>>2521761
>>2521849

You think about tactics, testing, areas of non-expertise…

“Not with him. And I’m not fighting my friends. Set me up with Zero.”

Flurry laughs, her eye smiling for the face that can’t. “Girl, if I could do that I’d keep him for me.”

“You know what I mean,” you roll your eyes. “Guy like that, he’s probably taken anyway.”

Flurry makes an inward hissing sound. Her eye has become a hyphen.

“What?”

“Nothing. Activating sim. Good luck.”

You blink, and in the time between you’re upright in a derelict industrial corridor. The silhouette of the Red Reploid walks toward you, all in shadow from the unclear light source behind him. As he gets closer, some sort of hatch shuts, plunging the space into lower contrast from soft lights in the ceiling. Zero reaches behind his back and settles into a ready stance.

Somebody put some time into this scripted intro. You reach for your saber—

He’s already moving, a full-ahead dash. Oh come on! You move for a Gaia Sword thrust, but he leaps when your arm moves and comes down somersault-spinning.

You dash to one side, but he’s hot in pursuit with red phase-shadows trailing him. Your dash cycle cuts out but his keeps going, too fast, too fast – diagonal across your chest, horizontal across your belly, shields doing nothing – but you parry the splitter! You push back – one second, two, why isn’t the stake forming, does it have to contact something solid? – but he cuts off his own blade, lets yours pass and then reactivates his, scoring a hit from shoulder to hip. All your follow-through does is warm a spike of his helmet.

You dash to the wall, jump, cling, jump back for a stab, but Zero punches the ground. A dome of… some kind of fat energy comets fly up and out of his fist on impact, spaced out over 180 degrees, striking you and blasting holes in the setting. Your mass keeps moving right for him, you thrust, but he’s up and moving before you can strike. Sloth he isn’t.

Zero turns and thrusts, and you’re struck by the beauty of it. His whole body turns to follow his wrist, a grace of intent and clarity of purpose. All your dumpy butt did was shove the blade out in a straightish line. The funny-as-a-cemetery sense of being totally outclassed hits you about as hard as his saber, which has taken on busy electric arcs down its length.

You give him distance, but he gives you pursuit. Perfect. You whip out the full-length low-beam, turn and dash right into him, swiping both sabers and did he just freaking jump out of it?! The somersault slash carves into your head and shoulder, but you still have dash to spare – you slam your front foot down hard, jerk yourself back under his arc and overhang swing both blades.

You scrape his legs. His shields flash. You hit him! You actually hit him!

That’s some consolation as his saber turns into a giant icicle.

He completes his descent and ends your smile.

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>>2522063
>SIMULATION COMPLETE: YOU HAVE BEEN RETIRED<
>FINAL COMBAT ESTIMATE: B <

Flurry whistles.

"I suck," you pout.

“No you don't," she chuckles. "Held on nice."

“I used to be an A, y'know. Used to be...”

"Eh, it's just a letter, you'll get it back. Starting from a good place, too. You’ve got some bulk.”

"So I'm told."

“Done?”


>Yes, I should get back to work.
>No, I’m learning. I’ll take one more and try to crack that B.

>>2522073
>No, I’m learning. I’ll take one more and try to crack that B.

What the hell, get in one more before duty calls. How about those Mavericks?

>>2522063
>“You know what I mean,” you roll your eyes. “Guy like that, he’s probably taken anyway.”
>Flurry makes an inward hissing sound. Her eye has become a hyphen.
Hahaha, ouch

>Yes, I should get back to work.

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>>2522128
>>2522073
A follow-up option for more player agency.

If "No, Try Again":

>A past Maverick of B-class
>A past Maverick of A-class

Showa did tackle a couple S-classes in the past, and their data would be in there, but it's less fun to watch her get crushed.

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>>2522139
Being Zero is suffering.

>>2522128
>>2522144
>A past Maverick of A-class

>>2522073
>Yes, I should get back to work.
If we were really aiming for A, we should be using all our weapons.

>>2522144
I want to see how she'd fare against X, since he's technically a B rank too.

>>2522144
>Past Maverick of B

>>2522144
>>A past Maverick of A-class
lets see how we actually compare to our old skills.

>>2522144
Wait, even if our weapons data was deleted, would it be possible to fight our pre-downgrade self?

>>2522181
True, but there was a vote for getting saber work in. I try to synthesize voter ideas -- and the outclass was so high there wasn't much time to really unload.

The next sim will change that.

Also, good morning, folks! Just a couple more weeks and I can keep later hours.

>>2522471
It would be, but Skittle came in and wiped your data from the options out of respect for you. Having active-duty hunters on-file as battle options, even on a trial basis, was a controversial decision on Halcyon's part, and some hated it more than others.

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>>2522153
>>2522432

“Not yet. I kinda forgot how useful sims were.”

“And fun.”

“Useful.”

“Fuuuunnnnn.”

“Fighting to the death isn’t my idea of fun, Flurry.”

“Wow, are you ever in the wrong job.”

“Job,” you sit up and point. “Noun. ‘Work that needs doing.’ I can find fun parts of it, sure, and every day at that, but the work itself… I wouldn’t want just anybody doing it. I’m a good digger, so I look for bigger and better shovels, so other people don’t have to.”

“Other people like me?” Asks the short, faceless, mass-production reploid. “Disposable late-models?”

Um.

Flurry props her elbow on her buster arm and drums her fingers on her faceplate cheek. “S’not enough to take pride in your holes, you’ve gotta have love. Love the shaft, the blade, the scoop. Love the kinds of dirt there are, love the strata they’re in. Love the survey, the shove, the stomp, the lift, the aim, the toss. Be the dig, every step, don’t just do the dig. You keep digging for the sake of depth and you’re gonna get put in the ground yourself. That’s Maverick Hunting.” She shrugs with just her hand. “Except it’s not about digging.”

A hot feeling bubbles in your head and it has nothing to do with thermite. You didn’t come here for a lecture, but you got one. What right does she have? You’re good at your job, darn it. … But maybe good isn’t good enough anymore. You aced all your quizzes but the final took you apart.

Ugh.

“Yeah. Sorry. You can bring up my Mavericks now, please. A-class.”

“Can do.” Which she does. The list goes back years, but in no time at all she compiles some good choices.

You can spit a missile now. You wonder how you’d stack up to your old missile-type foe.

“I’ll take Leonid.”

“Oof. Good luck, I could never beat him. Got him to half, though.”

“You did?” You lay back, unable to hide your skepticism.

“Of course. Dug my way down to B a long time ago.”

The world blinks out, and you’re on your feet under the stars on a big hill among rocky outcrops.

Starcross Leonid, bright constellations speckling his black mane, rises from a meditative sit on top of a rock tower and jumps down to your level. He takes a boxer’s stance, but not every boxer has a pair of missile launchers on their knuckles. Or on their shins.

You remember him as being a pain at any range. That mane hides a ring of six more launchers with bigger payloads.


>Stay close.
>Stay ranged.
>Mix it up.

>Unload with all your tricks.
>Practice one in particular. (specify)