>>2577676

[2/2]

“It’s honestly rather fascinating,” Froste admits, looking back at it. “Although I’m certain we’ll be able to figure it out ourselves in due time.”

Thinking on it, you can’t come up with a reason for why a seemingly normal rifle would need additional tech around the barrel. Though, considering where you are, you’re not surprised, “Can’t say I’m not interested. Where’d you find this anyways? This ship’s been rather barebones from what I’ve seen”.

“Apparently it was tucked away in a small concave- a bit of a hiding hole for emergency situations, so I’d wager,” Froste says. “We wouldn’t have found it ourselves if it weren’t for- reasons.” Her mouth keeps in a thin line, and her face is neutral- but you caught the hitch anyway.

“I’m sure,” You drawl out, looking around the rest of the room. Doesn’t seem like much has changed in the few hours you’ve been out, aside from the low-hum of the reactor at work, “Your boss said you were working on the engines, getting them check and in shape. We’ve got some diagnostic program or the other running, so that should finish up within the hour, but is there anything else that needs to be done?”

Froste takes a moment to think, looking around at nothing in particular. “Well, there’s a few areas that we’ve earmarked for further investigation- we’ve done some preliminary looking about and Hidia thinks there might be something here to manage the power output to the various systems a bit more precisely, if the gauges she’s read are what I think they are. Aside from that, I personally am rather interested in seeing what the weapons bay has to offer in terms of armaments. Aside from that, both of us were intrigued by the intricacies of the engine itself. And of course there’s that strange rifle. Obviously, we’ll have things to busy ourselves with for a bit. As for you…well, I’ll be looking into the bay regardless, but if you’d care to come with…”

“Hey! My friend!” Hidia pouts like she just had candy taken from her, and you’re wondering just, why. “You didn’t even LIKE him at first!”

“I don’t like ANYONE at first.” Froste admits, without any shame, either.

> Stay here and work on the rifle; it’s been a while since you pulled something apart
> Investigate the engineering bay further
> Investigate the engines further
> Investigate the weapons bay with Froste
> Other

>>2577680
>> Stay here and work on the rifle; it’s been a while since you pulled something apart

>>2577680
> Investigate the weapons bay with Froste

>>2577680
>> Stay here and work on the rifle; it’s been a while since you pulled something apart
Gives us a chance to talk to Owlia and thank her for helping us out back in our mindscape.

File: Coilgun_animation.gif (56 KB, 600x300)

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>>2577680
> Stay here and work on the rifle; it’s been a while since you pulled something apart
Fuck, is this a coilgun?! If it has a regular feed, consecutive magnetic fields, it sounds pretty much like a coilgun! or better know as the Gauss rifle! which can work with chemical propellant to further speed up any projectile it uses!

>“Hey! My friend!” Hidia pouts like she just had candy taken from her
Heh, Owlia a cute.

>>2577715
Star was always a cute.

>>2577686
>>2577710
>>2577715

Rifle it is.

Writin'

are magical girls still happening
is this still a thing

>>2577800

IC we're on day 6 out of 7.

Other than that yes.

>>2577800
Yes.

>>2577810
So after 7 days is when the other team from our employer arrives right?

File: CoilgunRifle.png (52 KB, 512x256)

52 KB PNG

>>2577838

Correct.

>>2577680

“As amusing as it would be to continue watch you two, I’ll see about looking into that rifle,” Walking around the two to the table, you pull the rough blueprints that have already been made and start looking them over. They’re about as barebones as you can get, though the dimensions of it have been clearly marked and defined. Most of the work seems to have been put into investigating that strange barrel, as there’s markings of ‘acceleration points’ and ‘magnetic fields’, so at least there’s that, “It’s been a while since I’ve thoroughly picked through something”.

“Hm. Well, then, good luck with that,” Froste offers as she walks off. “I’ll have my eye on larger…”

“And I’LL be around if you need me!” Hidia says before she scampers off to a corner of the engineering bay.

Glancing at the two elves as they leave in seperate directions, you return your attention to the rifle. Now, there’s a few ways you could go about this. You could simply look over the weapon from the outside and the already existing holes, mainly where the mag loads and the breach. If you got a bit more involved, you might be able to partially disassemble it to see what’s really going on within the weapon.

And of course, you could just tear it apart entirely to really figure out how this rifle ticks. Of course, you’ll be left with a pile of scrap at the end of that, but if that’s what it takes…

What to do…
> Observe the rifle as best you can
> Disassemble the rifle, see how it is composed
> Dismantle the rifle
> Other

>>2577905
> Observe the rifle as best you can

>>2577905
Start with
> Observe the rifle as best you can
Then continue onto
> Disassemble the rifle, see how it is composed

>>2577905
>> Disassemble the rifle, see how it is composed
I would vote for dismantling for maximum understanding in order to make more like it, because something like this should be mass producible, not remain as a single one-off weapon. But since John might need to use it as a replacement for his own scrapped weapons, it's better to keep it as it is until the operation is complete.

>>2577936
>>2577946
>>2577964

Observe then disassemble it is.

> Roll me four 1d100+30's please

Rolled 27 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2578041

Rolled 21 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2578041

Rolled 18 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2578041
Oh, this isn't going to be good....

Still need one more roll.

Rolled 35 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2578041

>>2578112

That's a 65, Bare Success.

Writin'

>>2578127

Actually, scratch that since you need to roll for disassembling as well.

> Roll me three 1d100+15's please

Rolled 92 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2578138
Where was that last screw!?

Rolled 12 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2578138

Rolled 74 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>2578138
TIME TO RUIN EVERYTHING!

>>2578145
Where was that when we were observing this thing?

>>2578145

Apparently the screw was right in front of you.

That's a 107, Success.

Writin'

Rolled 23 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2578041

>>2577905

As much as you’d like to jump right into the thick of it, having a working weapon rather than a pile of scrap would really be for the best here. So, you might as well start things off slow.

Pulling the weapon to yourself, you begin by going over the weapon in its entirety. It really is similar to the basic design of a rifle, though it doesn’t appear to utilize any Clockwork technology in it. Strange, really.

And that’s about all you get out of it; at least, there’s really nothing of note that Hidia didn’t already write out in her notes. Her scrawling, barely organized notes. You really gotta talk to her about making proper, legible blueprints.

Moving on from there, you work on getting into the internals of the design without breaking anything. Thankfully, your luck takes a turn for the better as you accidentally find a release along the frame. With a small click, the part of the rifle containing the barrel easily comes out of the rest of the structure. Finding the other, more obvious release, you let the magazine clatter to the table top and start looking around the interior.

Grabbing another piece of paper, you start detailing out what you can see, adding to what the overly-excitable elf already created, and confirm for yourself that, yes, the weapon is entirely without any kind of clockwork machinery. Wonder how they managed to pull off an automatic firing system without needing the mechanical input of the trigger being pulled every-

Oh.

Son of a bitch.

They set up the rifle so the force of the round firing not only chambers the next one, but also resets the mechanism so it immediately sets off the firing pin. Shit, that’s almost a painfully obvious solution that its slightly embarrassing you didn’t think of it sooner.

[1/2]

>>2578328

[2/2]

Moving onto the rounds themselves, you note that, interestingly enough, they’re slightly elongated compared to the average rifle round, maybe only by a centimeter difference if that, but you do notice that the jacket of the round is composed of a very, very familiar alloy.

If you’re right about this, then these are some seriously expensive rounds, if only by comparison, but they’d chew through armor like it wasn’t even there.

Adding another note to the series of blueprints that have formed around you as you worked, you consider what to do next.

> You have created: Coilgun Rifle Blueprints!
> You now have the knowledge to create automatic firearms that do not require Clockwork Machinery to function!

The barrel itself is still entirely together, and from what you can see there’s no way, short of doing some serious damage to it, to get into it. In addition, whatever the power source for this rifle is is entirely sealed together, and any further study of it will, again, require permanent damage to it.

Now what?
> Dismantle the rifle, you should get this done in its entirety
> Leave the rifle for now, go catch up with Hidia
> Leave the rifle for now, go catch up with Froste
> Leave the rifle for now, go catch up with someone else (what?)
> Other

>>2578334
>> Leave the rifle for now, go catch up with Froste
Let's wait and see if there's a second rifle or similar gun we can scrap before we decide to permanently ruin our prize.

>>2578334
> Dismantle the rifle, you should get this done in its entirety

Like hell we're leaving a job half finished.

Hmmm... QM, If we take it apart and learn how the technology it uses in full detail, would Owlia and Cylica be able to learn the knowledge from us and be able to benefit from it too? Because as it is my thoughts of this of is this; by keeping it intact, it provides both a short term benefit for us as a weapon, and long term benefit for John so long as John keeps the weapon, but no further benefit to the MG team if we don't take it apart and disclose everything about how it truly works.

>>2578334
>> Leave the rifle for now, go catch up with Froste

>Wonder how they managed to pull off an automatic firing system without needing the mechanical input of the trigger being pulled every-
I was wondering why all the firearms here were clockwork. Couldn't figure out how to make automatic fire /more/ complicated, but that'd do it.

>>2578334
>Leave the rifle for now, go catch up with Hidia

>>2578334
>Other
Go check on the defenses.
Does John have the the capability to reproduce the parts of the gun that he can't get to already? If so I'm with >>2578350 on leaving it for now. He can already make portable power sources (but that small?) and presumably knows how electromagnets work.
Also I feel like we are screwing around with non critical stuff that can be done in the lab back home, not in the field when we could be under siege again at any time.
>>2578374
I'm pretty the intersection has figured out magnet guns.

>>2578374
>would Owlia and Cylica be able to learn the knowledge from us and be able to benefit from it too?
Unless they get into firearms manufacturing, I doubt it. Mono is wielding an easily purchased handheld plasma weapon, a step above railguns in complexity.

>>2578392
>>2578395
Ah, good points.

> Leave the rifle for now, go catch up with Hidia
Let's help her make the ship more energy efficient so it has no trouble powering anything.

Gotta run here for the night. Will continue tomorrow; see you all then.

>>2578374

John would be able to make Advance Blueprints if he got the dismantle bonus, which I suppose the girls could use a copy of them to learn the basics from. Handler would be the final arbiter on that one.

>>2578377

Yep. The pistols aren't clockwork, for the most part, because you have to pull the trigger each time you fire.

>>2578392

John would be able to make a more basic, prototype version of the rifle. In order to get the real deal, he needs to find out whats in those parts he can't get to without compromising them.

>>2578334
>>2578334
>>2578334
>>2578334
>>2578477
Welp, all in it is then. I want those advanced blueprints! for everyone!
>> Dismantle the rifle, you should get this done in its entirety
Besides if this gun gets destroyed in combat somehow the knowledge would be gone forever. Fuck that. If it has any risk of being lost like the last time John fought, then knowing how to make more of it is far more important than keeping a single one of it.

>>2578487
So, you want John to just be plinking away at the possible Blight incursion with just a regular semiautomatic carbine, instead of with a railgun assault rifle?

I'm against for stripping it down, but only if we don't find some other weapons where Froste went that operate on the same principal. Dismantling the hardest weapon John has got just runs the risk of using subpar weapons when the next Blight invasion or merc force come in. And remember, if your worried that it's going to be wrecked by another magic user, the other team isn't focused on magic, so we won't have to deal with bullshit super mage "Fuck your armor and guns" spells.

>>2578528
John didn't need it before, and he can do fine with what he has now. But more importantly, John shouldn't be fighting at all in the near future when he has lost his armor and much of everything else he came with. Thus he should really just stay inside the ship and support the team through using the ship systems if the enemy got close enough, and only fight directly if the enemy got inside the ship by somehow bypassing everyone else.

>>2578528
>>2578557
From what we know, the last merc team is going to be wearing power armor. Just a reminder.

>>2578565
Yes, even more reason John should stay the hell back. Honestly, if having a powerful weapon makes people consider risking John in combat again, I'd like to get rid of that incentive, because he would be a glass cannon vs all those enemies.

>>2578573
Well he could let the awoo borrow the gun with fancy armour piercing rounds.

>>2578557
>But more importantly, John shouldn't be fighting at all in the near future

That's fair, but I'd still prefer to wait and see if we can find more than just this gun. Otherwise, if/when things go wrong, we'd be relying on a standard semiauto carbine or pistol rather than an automatic railgun rifle. So I'd prefer to be patient and see if Froste will get a better roll than her first try before we start to dismantle it.

>>2578573
Well, then we could loan it to Izumi then. It'd be in much better hands and we'll be out of the way.

>>2578557
>John shouldn't be fighting at all in the near future when he has lost his armor
Conversely, if he lacks armor, he could make up the difference in arms. He /shouldn't/ be fighting again soon, but that doesn't mean he /won't/ have to.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Magical%20Girl%20For%20Hire%20Quest
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Artificer%20Quest

>>2578334
> Leave the rifle for now, go catch up with Froste

>Follow Artificer Quest
>Crossover happens
>Feel obligated to fully read through MGFH so I have context
>MGFH crosses over with Starborn
>Feel obligated to fully read through Starborn so I have context
You people are conspiring to destroy any measure of free time I have, yes?

Regardless, I'm caught up on everything now. I think this crossover is going much better due to better match-up in writing style and more coherent setting/character building on both ends. Both QM's here have really managed to capture the 'voice' of the characters, which wasn't always the case in the previous crossover.

I think crossovers are actually a relatively good idea to increase reader cross-pollination and up general standards, just so long as it isn't a requirement to have read through everything to understand what is going on. It hasn't been, in this case, but I figure a lot of readers are going to do what I did just because they want context.

Anyway, just my tuppence.

>>2579597
I was temped to do that with Starborn quest. But then i didn't liked the crossover and decided to wait it to end.

In this case however i love both quests and i'm loving this crossover.

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199 KB PNG

>>2579597

Shit man, that's a hell of a lot of reading to do. Good to hear you, and >>2579623, are enjoying things.

>>2578745

Thanks for the reminder; the previous thread is archived.

>>2579264
>>2578377
>>2578350

Catching up with Froste it is.

Writin'

>>2578334

As tempting as it is to start digging into the finer details of this weapon, the strange additions to the barrel and the size of the power cell it uses intrigues you, but perhaps having a functioning weapon around that isn’t a peashooter would be nice. So, with that in mind, you organize your blueprints, tucking your copy of them away into your lockbox, set the strange rifle next to them, and head towards where Froste ran off to. She did mention a ‘weapons bay’, and if you’re really going to try to fly this thing at some point perhaps having some teeth would be a smart idea.

Passing through the main room with the others in it, and stopping by for long enough to note that the diagnostic program is beginning to belt out results which are positive for now, you’re informed as to the location of the bay in question, on the other side of the loading area that Dutch was hanging around in previously. With the information in hand, you make the trek to the bow of the ship.

Entering through an armored door not entirely unlike the one to the engineering bay, you’re greeted with an extremely cramped area with some kind of machinery absolutely everywhere. It’s not a mess, as the machinery in question is similar and placed in regular intervals, but you have to stop and refocus your eyes for a few seconds before you can start making sense of it all.

“Froste?” Walking into the room proper, you start glancing about the various, massive storage crates that are nearly as large as you and metal tubes in search of the haughty elf, “You in here?”

“I am, actually,” a familiar voice rings out somewhere around the back. “If you’ll excuse me a moment to…” there’s the mild sounds of struggling, and then something coming unlodged. “Ah, there we are! Pesky little thing...”

Following the noise, you find a kind of workstation, mostly consisting of a set of chairs and consoles, though the lady in question is off on the side, working on something or the other, “Whatcha got there?”

“Nothing too impressive at the moment, merely investigating the usability of what armaments remain,” comes the response, as she stands over a small box freshly opened. “It seems that much of their firepower, although no doubt powerful is...a bit finite. At least, openly. I’d presumed that would change upon opening these crates- and it appears I was quite right, if you’ll take a look over to that one on the side there. As for this little thing...it seemed a bit out of place. Seems like it’s some sort of...hm. Not certain. Several small vials of some liquid wrapped together...will have to be most careful with that,” she mutters, putting it to the side. “At any rate, it seems that, from what I’ve investigated, the basic loading system isn’t too difficult to decipher- knock on wood- and for the most part seems intact.”

[1/2]

>>2581238

You’re a bit curious as to what exactly she just found, a solution of some sort perhaps, but it’s more of an idle curiosity than anything else, “I imagine we should look over them in depth. No idea what kind of weapons these are, but if they misfire, that could cripple this ship”.

“Quite right; that’d just be deplorable,” she agrees. “I do wish we could know for certain exactly what these were composed of without risk...unless they involved one or more of those sigils, I suppose...ah, but, I suppose that leads in nicely to the only real course of action we have here, hm?” she sighs lightly as she heads over to a crate next to the one she pointed out earlier. “These ARE a touch heavy, from my own attempts. Care to lend a helping hand so we might try to divine a few more secrets?”

“Sure. You find anything else interesting in here?” Walking behind the elf, you come up to the massive crate that just sits there in a very nondescript way.

“A few old and frayed fabrics, oddly enough. Why they were with the ammunition, I’ve no clue, but there was a singular box of them sitting in the corner. To be fair, they were rather plain looking, no real patterns. Still baffling, however. I left them alone. That’s about it, though. I’ve spent most of my time testing some pieces here and there, as I said. Should everything work as I expect, the actual act of feeding ammunition is simply a matter of getting one of them TO the tube.”

“Huh, weird,” Stepping up the crate, you look around for a few seconds to see if there’s anyway to jimmy it open. Unfortunately, it’s thoroughly nailed shut though, fortunately, you find a vaguely crossbar-looking object nearby and get to working the thin side of the tool into the gap, “Alright, on three”. Giving her some space to get a grip, you get ready, “One. Two. Three!”

With a crack, the nails rip themselves out of the wooden crate, the lid smoothly popping off the top as it falls backwards. Within, there’s a vaguely cylinder-shaped object, which takes up the entirety of the crate alone. You assume it’s a kind of weapon, but the fact that it’s the size of you and has no visible grips doesn’t lend itself to that. In fact, there’s nothing to it aside from a slightly pointed tip and a single set of two triangular, metal pieces.

“Now isn’t this an oddity…” Froste murmurs. “Can’t say this rings any bells for me. You?”

“Not a damn clue,” You wouldn’t even know where to start with this thing. Although... “Hey, is that a chemical thruster?” Lifting up the strange weapon as best you can, you look at the rear of it to confirm that, yes, there is some kind of thruster at the end of it.

[2/3]

>>2581241

[3/3]

“That DOES conform vaguely to what I’m familiar with, now that I think of it…” she agrees.

Putting the weapon back down in its case, you turn towards the elf, “And what would that be?”

“Nothing too out of place, but they do resemble heavy ordinance- missiles, of a type.” She frowns, trying to put something together in her head. “There’s something in the back of my head…like the answer is there but refuses to come out.”

Now that you look at it, the front end of this… thing does vaguely remind you of the grenade launcher rounds you can make, “Never heard of ‘missiles’, but I imagine these were probably designed to be used against a similar kind of ship to the one we’re in currently. The payload of this thing would be interesting to look into, though; can’t see them stuffing as many mana crystals as they can and setting them to blow like I do”.

She quirks an eyebrow. “Hm. Never heard of them? Perhaps it’s something for you to inquire about to more military minds, then. I can tell you, however, that they’re rather brutal.”

“I’ve seen some tech in my time, but this shit, like that lockbox you bartered with me, this is Haven-level tech. The kind of stuff the put into vaults far out of the public eye,” Shaking your head, you trace the smoothly manufactured lines across the metal surface, “And I can only imagine what this would do to something like, say, the boat we rode here in”.

“Perhaps best to leave it to imagination, then,” she says simply.

“True. So, aside from gawking, what’s to be done around here?” Stepping back from the crate, you take another look around the room for anything that stands out at you.

“Well, let’s take a look, shall we?” With her usual smile, Froste motions towards the room before walking forwards.

Nothing else really comes to mind, so you follow suit and get to examining what you can see.

> Roll me four 1d100+30’s please

Rolled 62 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2581247

Rolled 9 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2581247

Rolled 80 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2581247

Rolled 74 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2581247

>>2581264

That's a 110, let's see what you see.

Writin'

>>2581307

Actually, I gotta run for the night here. Sorry folks, but we'll see ya tomorrow.

>>2581264
Jackpot!

So we have missiles and what appears railgun tech. Seems who ever used this technology never uncovered plasma weaponry.

>>2581361
See next time Story-T

>>2581364
Which we WILL trade for.

And we're back; continuing the writin'.

>>2581364

Well, Such a (relatively) short ranged weapon for ships (even more so in atmosphere) wouldn't be found on a frigate specialized in BVR combat. I can confirm that such tech did, at one point, exist, just not within this Ruin.

>>2581247

With the new knowledge of exactly what weapons are being stored, and presumably utilized, within this bay, you take a second look at the machinery that positively fills the room. And what do you know, everyone of them is sized to accommodate them being placed within vertically.

Walking up to one in particular, you glance about it for a few minutes, getting a good idea of how it is laid out before you mess with it, and pull a release handle. A hiss of pressure being relieved preludes the rounded end of this particular piece slowly opening. What it reveals is another one of those ‘missiles’, and while you can’t see further than it based on the placement of this one you can guess that there’s maybe three more within this one alone. There’s not too much else to see from this angle, but this is interesting enough for a second look, “Hey Froste, you might want to take a look at this”.

“Hm?” She cranes her head backwards, then turns around completely when she gets the idea of what you’re looking at. “Well, now…” walking up to where you are, she gently puts a hand on one of the objects. The strange armaments in this place are looking more and more odd the more you think on it, but Froste just has a pensive look about her, as though she’s still trying to piece together a puzzle that she’s been working a lot on lately. “These are what I was looking at earlier, but it seems I overlooked this. I daresay, it’s probably a good thing we were so methodical about this entire situation.”

“So these… launch these weapons?” Looking it over, slightly puzzled, you tilt your head to the side. And you keep tilting it, “Uh… You know, this almost reminds me of a magazine and a gun… with these ‘missiles’ as the ‘bullets’ and all this crap is what loads them into the ‘barrel’. But then why would they be pointed upwards?”

“A pertinent question,” Froste admits, a frown on her face. “One that I dearly wish I could answer…”

[1/2]

>>2583810

[2/2]

Straightening your neck back, you take a harder look at the outside of the machine to no avail. Whatever the inner workings are within this metal device, you’re not going to get to them unless you liberally utilize your Multitool and you have a feeling that would not go over particularly well with the Genovese. Instead, you decide on another source of info that shouldn’t involve permanent damage, “What exactly are you familiar with in regards to these kinds of weapons?”

“In all honesty, not as much as might have been inferred from my earlier comments,” she admits with a low tilt of her head. “I am aware they exist, and that they’re quite powerful. The exacting details, on the other hand...well, as you well know I more prefer crystal-based technologies and magic than anything else. I have been called ‘single-minded’ at times.”

“Right,” Backing away, you frown slightly at this latest mystery that you, sadly, can’t do much about currently. Oh well, you’ll figure out something more later, “So, you find anything else interesting in here?”

“Afraid not,” she answers. “I am quite curious to see this in action...though I suppose the more merciful thing to say would be ‘I hope I never have to see this in action,’ hm?” She chuckles to herself briefly.

“I can think of a few instances where I’d like to use one of these, but I get your point,” Sighing for a moment, you consider what to do next.

> Keep poking around here, see what else is tucked away
> Call back to the rest of the group, see about routing power to this bay
> Leave the weapons bay, head back to see what Hidia is up to
> Leave the weapons bay, return to the main room
> Leave the weapons bay, go somewhere else (where?)
> Other

>>2583813
>> Keep poking around here, see what else is tucked away
NEED MORE SHOOTIES

>>2583813
>> Call back to the rest of the group, see about routing power to this bay
Power it up!

>But then why would they be pointed upwards?”

OOOH!! Guided missiles? Now that is interesting.

>>2583813
> Keep poking around here, see what else is tucked away

>>2583822
>>2583835

Look for some more stuff.

> Roll me three 1d100's please

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>2583929

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>2583929

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>2583929

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>2583929

>>2583936

That's an 88, pretty good. Let's see what that gets you.

Writin'

>>2583967
Please let it be a cool toy!

>>2581364
Lets be honest here. Plasma weaponry would suck ant any range and against any armored enemy.

>>2583813

“Regardless, there’s still a lot of dark, dusty corners in here. Perhaps there’s something else hiding around,” Motioning to said dark, dusty corners, you take a step back from the strange machinery. As much as it intrigues you, just standing around and staring it won’t get you anywhere.

There’s still those piles upon piles of crates, likely loaded with more ‘missiles’, about, as well as more machines identical to the ones you’ve just looked over, so you decide to head back over to the small control area you noted before. Walking to it, you see that same bank of dusty consoles and screens, dark and inert as they run on emergency power. You’re not entirely sure how the girls are working the computers here, but you definitely can’t understanding the series of squiggly lines that these things belt out so you change course right then in there.

Sadly, there are no secret compartments along the underside of the banks, getting your bandaged hands more dirty for your troubles. Standing back up with a bit of a huff, you catch the barest hint of something lurking in the shadows off to the side of the room. Curiously, and cautiously as you immediately pull your old pistol from the lockbox at your backside, you approach what eventually clears up to be an old, metal locker of sorts.

“Noticed something?” Froste asks quickly when you move, but she calms when she follows your own eyes. “Ah...suppose one can’t be too careful. Care to see what’s inside?”

Tucking the peashooter back behind your back, you reach out and easily pull the thin door open, the lock long since broken, revealing a few pieces of rotting material collecting on the floor. That catches your attention for a split second before you lock eyes on a tube-like object, propped up on an angle. Reaching in and grasping it, it’s definitely heavy enough to be a weapon, but it’s nowhere near as heavy as that ‘missile’ from before, as you easily hold it in one hand out in the open, “What do you think, Froste? Some kind of explosive?”

“Mmm…can’t say.” The way she says it makes you wonder just what it could be. “It may be best to see what our boss says about it all, at this rate.”

“Yeah, don’t want to fuck about with too many things now,” Taking the strange object and storing it safely within your lockbox, you shut the door to the locker. Turning to the elf and, seeing no objection from her, you motion back towards the backside of the ship, “Don’t want to keep her waiting, yeah? Let’s go”.

> And that’s where we’re leaving things for tonight. See you all tomorrow.

>>2584066
>a tube-like object, propped up on an angle.
Did he find a LAW?

>>2584261
Yeah, I was guessing it's some form of rocket launcher

>>2584066
> “It may be best to see what our boss says about it all, at this rate.”
Good idea. It's easy to forget SES's newer members aren't going to be familiar with the same range of tech as Randa and Izumi. Though I'm surprised they didn't get at least a crash course on the basics of various techs.

>>2584261
Something like, though hopefully this one isn't disposable.

>>2585622
Maybe it's more like a javelin bazooka?

>>2584066

It’s not long in traveling back to what they called the CIC, but that doesn’t stop Froste from looking your way once or twice. Before you can ask her what’s up, she answers for you, “If you don’t mind a personal question…well, I suppose I should preclude this with the fact that Hidia informed me you had a significant other. She did not go into details, but I couldn’t help but be curious how one such as yourself manages to...commune?” She frowns to herself almost before the sentence is out of her mouth. “Mm. Perhaps that’s not quite the most accurate term...synchronize, perhaps...no...bah.”

“You mean fuck?” The brutally blunt phrase escapes your lips without much thought on your end. As amusing as watching the normally haughty elf trip over herself talking about this topic is, you are getting closer to where the others are.

She visibly flinches, a torrent of blood rushing to her face- it’s honestly pretty hilarious. She manages to keep a fairly straight face despite that, and her voice is strained at the response as she slows down. “Nnnno. I’m FINE in that aspect, THANK YOU. I am referring to the interpersonal aspect of a close relationship. Behavior with each other. I feel I am...not entirely the best in that regard, though I do try. Considering the circumstances, I thought it would be prudent to...solicit a bit of potential advice.”

“Oh right. Well, uh…” You’re glad that she’s not coming to you about ‘performance issues’; that’s not exactly a conversation you want to have with anyone. As for what she did ask about, “How to put this… Sierra and I are… similar in more than a few ways. We’ve both been through a fair amount of shit: Blight, a seriously fucked train ride, resurrecting vampires; and those are just from after we met. So, after all that, it’s much easier and enjoyable to relax with her. Most problems tend to look pretty minor after you’ve just finished killing off a vampire patriarch that turned into a monstrosity by tearing its own skin off”. You shrug here, “It’s nothing complicated or secret, really. We don’t get to see each other too much, since I’ve got my work and shop to take care of and she’s got her own job as a bartender, but that just makes the times we do all the more special”.

She stops before the door, taking your words in with a pensive look on her face, that slowly shifts into a thin smile. “Fair enough. I suppose I’ll just have to continue as I am. I’d hope she’d not feel like she couldn’t complain if there was an aspect she disliked.”

[1/2]

>>2586549

[2/2]

“That’s a conversation to have with her, then,” Looking over the elf, you briefly remember the short conversation you had with another certain elf. These two… “But, call it instinct, I don’t think you’ll have any issues”.

“Good to hear...now, let’s see what we have here...” And the two of you finally head inside.

Essie looks up from another piece of paper as you both walk in, nodding slightly but is still deep in thought, “John, Froste, welcome back. Find anything in the weapon’s bay?”

You glance towards Froste before responding, “We found something. A lot of things, really. I’ve got no previous idea on what they are, but Froste called them ‘missiles’. They’re easily as large as I am, vaguely cylinder-shaped, chemical thruster at the tail; any idea on ‘em?”.

Her eyes flash in recognition briefly, before she nods. “I have an idea or two. Should come in pretty handy. I’m guessing there were large hollow tubes that they looked like they could fit in, too?” At your nod, she continues. “I’ll send Yuna down there to take a look as well, but I’m glad to know what we’ve got there.”

“From what I could see, those machines are still functional and in order. Granted, I can’t take too close a look, but considering how everything else in here has held up…” You motion to the room around you, with its multitude of computers that still function even after all this time. Walking up to the table, you reach back into your lockbox and pull out the tube-like weapon you found before, “There was also this hiding out in a locker”.

You weren’t expecting her to move as fast as she does; but she practically teleports over to you, looking intently at the weapon in your hands. Her eyes are more intense on this than you’ve seen her outside of a fight…

“Weight’s not bad, doesn’t look like any parts are rusted or jammed…” she mutters to herself. There’s a few more half formed words out of her mouth before she places a gripping hand on the device. “I might be able to use this, if you don’t mind. Very powerful.”

> Well, if she knows how to use it…
> You could probably figure out how to reverse engineer this thing. It’ll take time, and resources you really don’t have, but still.
> Recommend someone else wield the weapon (who?)
> Other

>>2586555
>> Well, if she knows how to use it…
"I can go for either a loan or a trade. I can loan it to you for the rest of the mission, or if you found anything around here I could use, I'd gladly let you take it off my hands."

Hopefully she found something pistol sized and a couple of power tools for us to play with.

>>2586555
>> You could probably figure out how to reverse engineer this thing. It’ll take time, and resources you really don’t have, but still.

On the one hand, it's just a rocket launcher, not something critical to reverse engineer or invent. Even if it was made, it would be limited in ammo both in quantity from weight and size, and cost per round for people that uses it.

On the other hand, even with the limits on expense and ammo, this is a weapon that can totally neutralize heavy/elite targets with a single shot, with far better range, accuracy and firepower compared to a grenade launcher. That makes it a cost efficient weapon for the military or specialists to use to fight against tough targets that they would normally lose too many lives to fight. A few rounds of this would surely be cheaper than paying to replace dead soldiers, which makes this a game-changer of the battlefield.

>>2586555
>Well, if she knows how to use it…

>>2586555
> Well, if she knows how to use it…

>>2586555
...Is it not a missile launcher? Because Randa already has one of those in her bag.

>>2586555

> Well, if she knows how to use it…
>Writein:"What is anyway? I'm curious"

>>2586804
Supporting. For miranda to react like that makes me curious. Like what >>2586681 says, miranda already has a guided missile launcher so this could be something else.

>>2586681
Maybe it's and she just want ro use tech on ground so she can save her ammo?

>>2586913
Man, in that case it makes even more sense for us to reverse engineer it instead. I mean if she has a more advanced version already then the only benefit to let her use it is to let her save a bit of mote for reloads, while we lose an entire potential tech advancement.

>>2586926
Conversely, if she's interested in another launcher, the one we have could be more advanced, or have a different feature from what she has with the other one.

But still, we don't have any skill with rocket launchers, so if we can give it to someone who knows how to use it on a temporary basis, or trade it for something that we could actually use regularly and can fix with what we have back home, all the better.

>>2586940
Maybe a recoilless rifle, or an energy AT launcher equivalent? Say laser or plasma based? Maybe something wacky like a radiation cannon, or something simple like a small mortar?

>>2586940
>But still, we don't have any skill with rocket launchers, so if we can give it to someone who knows how to use it on a temporary basis
Our skill with it means nothing if we intended to dismantle it for the tech to begin with. As for temporary? once the rocket is used the ammunition is gone. You can't properly learn by dismantling something that isn't there. Both the rocket ammunition and launcher should have their own separate blueprints, that or dismantling only the empty launcher would provide an incomplete blueprint.

>>2586940
Also, even if it is a more advanced version than the one she owns, it's just one rocket, and thus not worth using over the dozens of replaceable ones she has in her inventory that she can simply buy more of.

>>2586994
Assuming it is an unguided single-use launcher, the launcher itself is functionally just a pipe, a grip, an electric trigger and a few wires. Not terribly complicated. The missile itself would be the difficult part; namely the fuel, warhead (shape and compounds), and aerodynamics.

If it's a reusable launcher, there might be more missiles around though.

>>2587012
>The missile itself would be the difficult part; namely the fuel, warhead (shape and compounds), and aerodynamics.

Great points, which only further emphasizes the value of the ammunition that over the launcher. Thus it's even more important to keep it for getting the tech, since all those parts that we don't know about would be gone once it's used.

>>2587012
>more missiles around
Hey, shouldn't a ship this size have an armory somewhere? Military ships always have one somewhere in case of boarders or mutinies or some such.

>>2587023
Which brings us to another issue: Is the launcher even loaded?

John doesn't know how rocket launchers work. For all he knows, this thing is armed. And if we're going to talk about taking back the ammo to scrap it, wouldn't we have to use a skill we've never invested in (demolitions) to try to disarm an explosive so it won't blow up when we try to dismantle it for research?

>>2587031
>Which brings us to another issue: Is the launcher even loaded?
LOL. Ok dude, if the thing is not loaded and Miranda still wants it, she can have it.
But seriously, why would you expect her to want it if it wasn't even loaded?

>>2586555
>> Well, if she knows how to use it…

>>2586555
> You could probably figure out how to reverse engineer this thing. It’ll take time, and resources you really don’t have, but still.

>>2586555
supporting this >>2586601

>>2586601
>>2586649
>>2586654
>>2586804
>>2586908
>>2587082
>>2588018

If you know where the safety is...

Writin'

>>2586555

“If you know how to use it and where the safety is, sure,” This is just about the most interested you’ve seen Essie in a single object since you’ve met; she’s probably used something like this before. Though, you are curious as well, “What exactly is this anyways?”

She pauses at you words, slowly tearing her gaze from the new toy to look up at you, “It’s a high-yield projectile explosive device. I happen to enjoy the concept of explosives.”

Ah, makes sense, “Can’t say I’m too familiar with explosives aside from the crystal-based ones, but whatever works. On the topic of ancient weapons, we found some kind of rifle down in the engineering bay”. Pulling out the set of papers consisting of the blueprints you cooked up, you set them down in front of the very interested mercenary.

You note Yuna, still looking over the diagnostic computer, clearly showing signs of intrigue. Well, they are mercs.

“What type, now…” Essie mutters as she looks over. “Magnetic systems, long barrel...huh. Yuna? Wanna take a look?” The girl in question moves over, having been overhearing everything regardless- she take a quick step over.

“Hm...ah.” She looks like she barely flitted over the drawings before she seems to come to a realization, looking up at you. “Impressive that they’d have this type of technology. I could certainly make use of it, but personally I’d suggest you keep it.”

Essie’s eyes flit over to hers. “Wait, you don’t want it? Technically by rights we could…”

“I have my own arsenal,” she insists. “While I wouldn’t say NO were it offered, obviously, I think it would be better in his hands than *anyone* else’s for now.”

“I’ll take it, but considering I’ve currently got a filthy set of pants for armor and a single magazine for the rifle don’t expect me to be charging into the fray,” As fun as it would be to do some field testing, you’d rather survive the next few days. And with the fact that you’ve already had two close calls, you’re not in the mood to test your luck, “Froste, you and Hidia found the rifle in the first place. Any chance that there were more of them or at least more ammunition?”

Froste sways her head a bit. “Ammunition, yes. At least, I presume that pack of bullets was for. Other rifles, that is a resounding nay.”

[1/2]

>>2588271

[2/2]

“That’s good. I can do some test firing to see what this rifle is capable of,” Pulling the blueprints back to you, you give them a quick tap to get them back into order before sliding them back into your lockbox. You really do wish you could do some more work on this thing, but with the lack of spare part- “... Hey, whatever happened to that industrial area down below? With the base’s power back online, has anyone tried to see if anything still works?”

Essie shakes her head. “We’d been working on getting this whole thing reasonably working.”

You nod at her words, “Was just thinking that if that equipment is still working, and there is material available, I could probably get some work done, possible even make another one of these rifles once I figure out how it ticks. But that’s a fair point on getting the ship running; what else needs to be done?”

She looks to the side, where Hidia is walking into the room from the other side, who speaks up rather quickly. “Heeey! Okay, so there’s not a whole lot left- well, no that’s a lie, there’s a TON of stuff left, but it’s mostly non-vitals, except for the stuff I’m about to mention which kinda IS. And there’s two things. One is making sure that the energy output for the engines is consistent- which is gonna require a test, like it or not. Shouldn’t be more than a minute or two for me to get an educated guess, but yeah! There’s that and one last inspection job in case something’s up with the power. And I mean like, everywhere in vital systems. Buuuuuuut!” she holds up a finger. “It’s not teeeechnically a two person job, so you don’t GOTTA. I’ve already got a theorized system for all this...or the basics of one anyway. So I can handle it myself.”

Somehow, you’re not exactly comforted by her words.

> Trust Hidia to not fuck everything up, go down to the industrial area with Froste and see about building some on-the-job gear.
> Trust Hidia t- yeah, no. Help out the loony elf and make sure she doesn’t fuck up.
> Other

>>2588275
>> Other
Sprint down to where Hidia is before she inevitably fucks up.

>>2588275
>> Trust Hidia t- yeah, no. Help out the loony elf and make sure she doesn’t fuck up.
Ha ha ha, no. fuck no. I want this ship to stay in one piece and working condition thank you very much. Time to work with our fellow nerd to get this baby ready to Fly!

>>2588275
>Trust Hidia t- yeah, no. Help out the loony elf and make sure she doesn’t fuck up.

>>2588275
> Trust Hidia t- yeah, no. Help out the loony elf and make sure she doesn’t fuck up.

>>2588470
>>2588298
>>2588291
>>2588283

Not for a second.

Writin'

>>2588275

It would have been nice to get some extra gear in order, assuming you managed to get the machinery down there to work for you, but the thought of leaving Hidia unattended for any length of time and an uncertain plan… Yeah, you don’t want to return to find the ship in pieces, “Well, I suppose that answers that; like hell am I gonna let you fuck around with a reactor I jury-rigged into working condition on your own”. Turning to Essia and Yuna, you just nod at them, “Let me know if you need me to work on anything else”.

“Aww, you don’t trust me?” Hidia pouts. “After all we’ve been through? The moments we shared?”

“I’ve still got burns from jury-rigged devices exploding on me,” You motion towards your arms to emphasize your point, “Let’s just say I’m not brimming with confidence when you’ve only got the ‘basics of a plan’ and there’s a mana reactor the size of a small house involved”. Walking towards the back of the ship, you lightly push the elf in the same direction, “You are free to prove me wrong, however”.

“Fine! I accept it! I’ll show you just how good I am! Come on!” Why she says this when you’re the one pushing her...eh, whatever. You just hear a few chuckles from behind yourself; Froste’s no doubt.

“Good luck, then,” the elf in question says. “Perhaps I’ll be along later…”

Hopefully there won’t be a smoldering crater when she does.

Traveling the semi-familiar halls of this airship, you and Hidia walk into the engineering bay, where the rifle and its blueprints, now sporting a few additional scribbles, lying at the table, “Alright, so what’s your master plan? Something you couldn’t say to your boss?”

She gives you a nervous laugh, which inspires exactly zero confidence in you, “Oh, c’mon John. I just want to run a few stress tests with the reactor; really see what it can handle. Is that so wrong?”

The shuddering breath you exhale through your teeth answers that far better than words ever could.

> Roll me three 1d100+25’s please

Rolled 15 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>2588656

>>2588669
Outlook: Grim

Rolled 12 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>2588656
Cmon!!!

>>2588675
Ok, no more rolls from me, for this entire quest.

>>2588679
Maybe just the session, don't be too hard on yerself

Rolled 80 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>2588656
Oh Owlia...

>>2588688
Wait,
OH YES OWLIA

>>2588679
Nah, it just means you need to refresh your sacrifices.
I get the best results from blonds, but the dice gods are fickle.

>>2588700
I usually nab the girl guides.

not for the girls themselves, but the gods really seem to love a pallet of thin mints

>>2588700

dutch.exe

>>2588688

That's a 105, Success.

Writin'

>>2588711

Is John Dutch's favourite blonde?

>stress tests with the reactor;

>Stress test
>on a mana reactor that showed the same aspect as radiation

Owlia please...

>>2588656

You spend the next few minutes nervously double-checking all of your previous work. Or at least, as best you can; like fuck you’re touching live wiring with a source of this size. Luckily, you can’t find any signs of damage in the smaller reactor feeding this barely contained reaction of raw energy and the specially designed cables to carry said energy. Moving onto the behemoth itself, you note the much brighter glowing the array of mana crystals are giving off compared to the last time you saw them. Hopefully the relatively stable reaction occurring currently manages to maintain itself after Hidia is done with it.

Speaking of the elf, she’s looking far too happy as she skips over to you after putting away one of those strange magical stones, “Alright! Essie is gonna start booting up the other main systems shortly. Yuna finished analysing the diagnostics and can’t find any issues major or minor, so we should be all good to go!”

“Everything is holding up over here as well,” Standing up, you give your back a quick stretch. You don’t particularly wish to say the next words out of your mouth, but you can’t find any reason not to, “There shouldn’t be any issues”.

“YES!” Yup, that’s about the reaction you expected. “Then that means it’s time to heat things up! Oh, just to clarify, it’ll be loud, and probably take a few minutes, like I said. Gonna need to make sure the meters are accurate and all that- no overheating or anything, y’know? Or at least keep it within reasonable parameters.”

Dry doesn’t begin to describe your response, “Sure. I, too, enjoy not dying horrifically”.

Any further banter is cut off by the low, but noticeable hum the reactor is giving off slowly getting louder, at which point you take a very large step away from the volatile mixture of magitech and mana.

Hidia, on the other hand, only looks more enthralled by the developments, “Ooooh, here we gooo!”

The elf runs off to the console that you assume contains the previously mentioned meters, looking them over with wide eyes and a slightly uneven grin. You ignore that, and pay close attention to the reactor in the same room as you as it begins to switch from running ‘warm’ to ‘hot’.

And despite your nerves and caution, after a few minutes the rising whine levels off to something not quite painful. From what you can see, the glow has diminished slightly but is still going strong and you’re not seeing any signs of your jury-rigging beginning to fail. Somehow, it seems that the reactor is running steady. You’re almost glad of that fact, if not for the fact that you can practically guarantee that Hid-

[1/2]

>>2588947

Her shrill laughter cuts through the air at that point, stopping your thoughts short, and you look over your shoulder to see her cackling away at her seat. There’s a smug grin on her face, and you get the feeling when she looks at you that she’s gonna be talking about this for a while. “And there you HAVE IT! You doubted me and HA! It’s all working just as planned! No unusual fluctuations, no leaks, no nothing! I AM AMAZING!”

You’re about to snap back at her, with something about watching a piece of magitech overload in her face, when there’s an odd feeling of warmth that spreads across your shoulder. Looking back towards the reactor with a growing pit of worry within your stomach, your nerves are eased when your eyes land on the glowing crystals. There’s a second where you can’t see much past the pale light emanating from them, then your eyes warm and focus, allowing you to confirm that the mana within, while being far more energetic than before, is still stable. That’s good; one less thing to worry about, “You want to call up your boss and tell her that things are fine down here?”

She’s almost already got her strange crystal out as you finish the sentence. “Heeeeeeey, so guess what! All systems green! We could probably light this candle whenever you give the word! I mean, if we had enough people to launch. DO we have enough people to launch? I want to say we do, I saw a lot of consoles, but…”

Tonning out the dialog in the background, you continue double checking your efforts though there doesn’t seem to be any reason to. Even the far smaller scaled cables and personal reactor show no signs of instability, smoothly adding additional raw mana into the main reaction to help deal with the heightened draw. From there, larger reactor amplifies that raw mana between the array of crystals before sending them out through the cables leading to the rest of the ship.

Blinking at the blank wall you were just staring at, you feel a vague sense of confusion before you walk over to Hidia, who is happily chatting away with her boss in all likelihood.

“...so I dunno if you guys can work the radar control bu-” she stops in her tracks when she notices your approach. “Yeah what’s up?” She says seamlessly.

“There’s no issues in the wiring and shouldn’t be any unless something else breaks or shorts out,” Shrugging at her, you lean against a nearby wall.

“Hear all that?” she asks the crystal. “We are good to go!”

The voice out of the stone is low, but still clear. “...Alright. Great job, then. In that case, we’re going to make sure that we’ve got a plan going forward. That last merc team hasn’t shown up yet and it’s concerning me. Meeting in ten.”

[2/3]

>>2588715

You'll have to ask him.

>>2588951

[3/3]

There’s a moment of remembrance to the last time you knew someone was coming for your throat, until Hidia tucks the stone away and snaps you out of that line of thought, “Your boss have any thoughts on just flying this thing out of here?”

“That’d be cool!” Hidia quickly admits as she gets up. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. Come on!”

“Give me a second,” Stopping long enough to swipe the mysterious rifle from the workbench and hand the elf her copy of the blueprints, you tuck the weapon into your lockbox and follow her out of the bay.

> You have obtained: 1 Great Quality Coilgun Rifle!
> You have obtained: 1 Coilgun Rifle Magazine (15 Rounds per Mag)!

You’ve no idea what it’s capable of, but having something a bit beefier than a peashooter is comforting.

> And that’s where we’ll be leaving things for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll be starting things back up from Miranda’s POV, so see you then.

>>2588955
Why are we thinking of flying away again?

>>2588960
I think more in case we can't hold the base. So this is more to secure the primary objective.

>>2588955
Thanks for running.

>>2588978
Hopefully. We won't be able to secure the secondaries if we just fly off.

>>2588978
Where would we land it?

>>2588951
>There’s a second where you can’t see much past the pale light emanating from them, then your eyes warm and focus, allowing you to confirm that the mana within, while being far more energetic than before, is still stable.
Whoa... So John can see mana directly?
>Blinking at the blank wall you were just staring at, you feel a vague sense of confusion before you walk over to Hidia
and is this a new development?

>Hopefully. We won't be able to secure the secondaries if we just fly off.
Agreed. Now that the primary objective can be launched at any time, we can shift our worries to getting as much secondary goals fulfilled as possible. If at all possible I want all those planes secured as well.

>>2588988
This is a valid question. Next session can we try to ferry as many working aircraft and squad mates as possible out of here to a discrete location? I'm an AQ fag but I don't want to shaft the MG folks from their share of the spoils, and we still have to talk about the situation with giving air superiority to either the genovese or the Shirahoro government.

depending on the size of the air fleet, you could in theory have one for each merc.

assuming they all figured out how to fly, and there\s enough planes, and fuel. and they're all that insane

>>2589187
>discrete
The frigate is large, distinct, and loud. I dunno where you could park without everyone in the country knowing. Honestly, the best place for it is here in the hangar, at least for long-term storage and maintenance, which is another reason to avoid needing to cut and run.

I dunno about the local politics, but our contract is with the gangsters. Though any group that wants to operate this fleet will need the men, materials, and space to keep it running.

>>2589212
>Honestly, the best place for it is here in the hangar, at least for long-term storage and maintenance, which is another reason to avoid needing to cut and run.
I agree with this. While having an escape button is nice in case the main plan fails, it;s better if we can keep this facility instead. In fact, with our reinforcements coming the day after the next day, we only need to hold on until they arrive so we can secure the entire location permanently for the Mafia.
If only we also had enough time to clear out the Blight...

>inb4 local blight colony is fully alerted and awakens on the last day

>>2589354
Of course it will.

I'm pretty sure the blight is attracted to magic. Turning this baby on has just put a giant 'EAT ME' sign on the ruin, or possibly some kind of horrible eldritch bat signal.

>>2589679
Well, yeah, whoever built this place probably had their reasons why they kept it mothballed… and probably more than just being dead at the time.

>>2589679
I wouldn't say attracted to magic, But i wouldn't be surprised.

I think it may be more acurrate to say it becomes more active/smarter/more observant when a living thing is nearby from what we have seen. Otherwise its just an automated spreading and eating shit is my guess.

>>2589684
I think, as long as the second team gets here we can safely relay a need for an eradication team in the area.

>>2589691
I don't think there's gonna be eradication team big enough in the region if shit really hits the fan

>>2589694
Without knowing how big the local infestation is, we can't really say

>>2589682
This place kinda feels like they took an old military base and set it up as an emergency cache/exit strategy, but never came back.

>>2589691
>yfw the second team gets ambushed by more blight bullshit

Not forgetting the other mecr team on it's way. Giving us Infected people with blight, and that are also using power armor anyone?

>>2588955

You are Miranda Styles, and you’re currently standing in the center of the CIC of an ancient frigate that the more tech inclined members of your team have been doing their level best to get back into working condition. Through some luck, and a lot of electrical tape, Owlia and John have gotten the ship’s reactor well up to full power, with which you’re now fully powering up the ship’s systems.

The thought of having access to fully-sized cruise missiles is comforting, even if you’re confident that you’ll be able to take the final incoming mercenary team it’s always a smart idea to have heavy fire support. Optimally, it means that if that last team shows up they’ll have far more than a few guns pointed at them and decide to turn tail and run. If not, then…

Well, it’s not as grand as it sounds, the logistics. But it’s still a GREAT deterrent. But, that’s why you felt the need to call this little meeting. You’re here to perform a job, and like hell are you going to let this one slip away at the last second.

Cylica’s the first to show up, followed shortly by Gladiator- who knows where he’s been off at. They show up at the same time, so you can only presume that she informed him. The engineers show up shortly afterwards, Owlia grinning about something or other while John looks both exasperated and satisfied all at once. Dutch comes next by his lonesome- although from his surprised expression, he just lucked out- maybe he wanted to ask something. Mono’s not long after, either. Izumi’s here already, so...ah. Last up is Archmage, who walks in through the door with his usual scowl, which by now you figure is just his normal expression, and silently awaits things to begin.

[1/3]

>>2590442

Guess that’s where you step in, “Alright, good-ish news first. I’m pretty sure you all heard the noise a bit ago? We conducted a brief test of the engines, and by all accounts, we could theoretically just fly this thing out right now if we knew how. So, good work to the engineers on that front.” John nods to you while Owlia simply gets smugger at your words. “Obviously, there’s a few concerns regarding that- although technically that’s not part of our job. This little get together is mostly to consider what we’ll be doing for the remainder of our time here on matters of defense. We got this brick working again, but we’ve still got known hostiles gunning for it- and no doubt if they learn it’s in working condition they’ll fight all the harder for it. So, if we were to ride this out of here, it won’t be done in half measures. Archmage, would you or the Don have any issues with us doing that?”

The crimson mage doesn’t appear to be too irritated at your question, clearly thinking it over before responding, “The contract is for securing this airship. The rest of the Ruin, while interesting, is secondary to the primary. If you believe that flying this ship out is the best way to accomplish that, I will support that strategic decision”.

Alright, then. Good to know. “Thanks. I’m still unsure on the idea, to be honest. Could go horrible, could go well. I’m just airing everything out here and now.”

Izumi’s quick to speak up. “I’ve informed her that I think it’d be best to remain here and defend from a stationary position. It’d cause a deal of logistical headache to suddenly reposition and force our contacts to change plans.” She had- fairly strongly, in fact. You were kind of surprised, and part of you wonders why, considering she’d intimated to you before that she just wanted this job done. Might actually be some professional pride shining though… “Even beyond that, we know the area and are already used to its issues. The matter of the stairwell being nigh obliterated only helps our position from a defensive viewpoint.”

“It also means we’re cornered down here,” Dutch cuts in, for once not smiling in the slightest, “Sure, we’ve got a great choke point, but if we lose that then what? We’d have to fight out in the open again or fall back behind the ship; the one we’re supposed to be securing from damage”.

Gladiator frowns, though you can tell he agrees with the gunslinger, “Unless we’ve got an escape route available, having our main plan be a final stand is… concerning”.

[2/3]

>>2590444

[3/3]

“Froste told me the ship has weapons, though, yeah?” Mono speaks up. You’re honestly pleased with how she’s adjusting to speaking her mind. “We couldn’t use those to help us? Won’t matter about a chokepoint if we kin blow ‘em to bits as soon as they get in.”

“We’ve got point defense guns that, since power is fully online, are now able to help out with our perimeter, but the ship’s main armament looks to be long ranged anti-ship weaponry, which I have no plans of using underground,” Bringing a hand up, you look over the rough sketches in front of you of the base you’re in currently. You figure you’ve got some time before the next team arrives, and some of your spells survived the last merc team and that scare with the Blight, which gives you some room to work with. Looking up and glancing over everyone else in the room, you make your decision, “Alright, this is what we’re gonna do…”

> Focus on getting the frigate out of the Ruins. You’ll be able to control the battlefield and you can always swing around at the agreed upon time to meet up with the other Genovese team later.
> Focus on fortifying the Ruins before the mercs arrive. You’ve got the defender’s advantage here, and, considering all of the ship’s systems and infrastructure are functional, you can task the techies with securing as much secondaries as they can.
> Other

>>2590445
> Focus on fortifying the Ruins before the mercs arrive. You’ve got the defender’s advantage here, and, considering all of the ship’s systems and infrastructure are functional, you can task the techies with securing as much secondaries as they can.

I'd rather not take a crash course in giant airship flight.

>>2590445
>> Focus on fortifying the Ruins before the mercs arrive. You’ve got the defender’s advantage here, and, considering all of the ship’s systems and infrastructure are functional, you can task the techies with securing as much secondaries as they can.
Better all around, if somewhat more difficult to achieve.

>>2590445
>> Focus on fortifying the Ruins before the mercs arrive. You’ve got the defender’s advantage here, and, considering all of the ship’s systems and infrastructure are functional, you can task the techies with securing as much secondaries as they can.
Get ALL the secondary objectives whenever possible! Since the primary can be flied out at any time, there's no need to concentrate on getting it out ASAP. We still have time left before the other team arrives. Think of all the planes!

>>2590445
> Focus on fortifying the Ruins before the mercs arrive. You’ve got the defender’s advantage here, and, considering all of the ship’s systems and infrastructure are functional, you can task the techies with securing as much secondaries as they can.

None shall pass!

>>2590466
THINK IN ALL THAT SWEET BONUS!

Also i'm fairly certain that if we try to fly away with the ship we are just asking for a ship to ship battle in the sky.

>>2590451
>>2590461
>>2590466
>>2590468

Dig in, secure the perimeter. And the loot.

Writin'

>>2590476
Not to mention where and how will the mafia hide and maintain this thing. Keeping the hanger just makes sense.

>>2590476
This would be a bad thing?

also

>> Focus on getting the frigate out of the Ruins. You’ll be able to control the battlefield and you can always swing around at the agreed upon time to meet up with the other Genovese team later.

>>2590476
Ship to ship with who?

>>2590483
Yes? the loot will take damage

>>2590485
The other mafia who are know to have high-tech stuff.

>>2590483
Yes because it risk to damage the objective.

>>2590445

“...while I understand the concerns, I’m a bit too concerned about our capacity to safely fly this thing- it uses technology most of us can’t understand, and even of us who CAN figure it out, we might just be too visible to keep trouble away, to speak nothing of any possible accidents. I wouldn’t really call it a last stand, what we plan to do, but either way I personally think our best bet would be to maximize the advantages we know we have. I hope you’ll excuse the confidence, but I feel as though we should be able to handle the...Lucchese, was it? So long as we take proper precautions.”

While it’s clear that not everyone in the room agrees with you, you catch the signs from each and everyone of them that they’ve accepted your decision.

“Now comes the question of who will be doing what. I’m going to need people on watch, people to keep at the fire controls just in case, and lastly...I’ll be frank, I’m interested in that air fleet that was discovered earlier. Seeing as there was little reported back there in the way of concerns, I’m thinking it’d be a good idea for a two, maybe three person team to see what might be done about wrangling a few extras-”

“ME!” Owlia predictably shoots her hand up, waving it like an eager schoolgirl. “Pick me! Pick me! I’ll do it!”

“...right. You annnnd…”

“I would like to go.” You blink at the sound of that voice, your eyes flitting to Izumi.

“Pardon?” you find yourself asking without realizing.

“I said, I would like to go,” she answers evenly. “To help Hidia determine what crafts might be possible to bring back. I think I’d be fairly capable of that.” You look her in the eye for a moment, but she seems calm and collected as ever.

Huh. You had wanted her on fire support, or maybe patrols...but considering Owlia was going, it might actually be a reasonable idea to have someone like Izumi to keep her from getting too...engrossed in things. You wanted at least two of the more science-minded individuals to stick close to the ship, so…

>Allow Izumi to go with Owlia.
>Pick someone else to go with Owlia.
>Neither of them- pick a different duo.
>Other

>>2590500
>>Neither of them- pick a different duo.
Don't let Owlia near them. Send John and one of the magical girls, I don't know enough about them to choose.

>>2590500
>>Allow Izumi to go with Owlia.
It's unusual, but not unreasonable.

>>2590500
>Allow Izumi to go with Owlia.

>>2590504
Why not? Owlia is a tech nerd let her look into the aircrafts and Izumi is a /k/ommando waifu, she can keep Owlia from destroying anything important

>>2590500
>>Allow Izumi to go with Owlia.
>>Other
Have John go with them as well, at least to translate Owila's technobabble and keep her from building a giant robot out of the planes.

>>2590500
Hmm... Izumi isn't a bad pick, but she one of the powerhouses I'd would've liked to keep around for direct combat. Still, Cylica can stick with us on the ship while Izumi goes to secure planes I guess, since Izumi knows about modern tech and how planes work and even fly them, so she would be a good fit for knowledge.

>>2590504
Miranda(Essie): Team leader, strongest overall, primarily uses magic, melee weapons, and explosives, can heal others, Very experienced, some versatility for knowledge on tech, level-headed and focused on completing missions.
Izumi(Yuna): Weapons expert, knows modern weapons tech, also very strong overall, using melee mostly, with magical attacks and support such as efficient healing added in. Very high sense of morality, to the point where she doesn't accept jobs from 'bad guys'.
Owlia(Hidia) Overexcited nerd. She can do plenty of crystal tech stuff, and fight somewhat with her powerarmor, but the biggest thing she is above all is a geek that LOVES to learn and DO !Science!.
Cylica(Froste) Former world leader, almost empress, with Best knowledge on crystal tech, knows how to fight, and overall intelligent enough to learn anything, I think. Also very prim and proper
Mono(Emma) Wolfgirl that looks like princess mononoke(kek), has some good melee, but most known for reality changing support singing magic. Slightly newish, but got blooded a mission ago and overall a nice girl that just wants to see the world. She is also from a different quest crossover. Although I never did read the Starborn crossover thing beyond one thread.

>>2590500
>Allow Izumi to go with Owlia.


>>2590504
What are you talking about? Owlia comes from a sky world that utilizes aircraft for transportation, why wouldn't she be trusted? Also Izumi is familiar with aircraft and has flown planes before.

>>2590500
>Allow Izumi to go with Owlia.
She’s probably the person most experienced with sci-if stuff after Miranda. At the very least, she could identify the things that Owlia could not, and give our engineers a frame of reference.

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>>2590523
But i want a valkyrie.

>>2590500
>>Allow Izumi to go with Owlia.
forgot to vote

>>2590500
>Allow Izumi to go with Owlia.

>>2590506
>>2590512
>>2590523
>>2590526
>>2590527
>>2590530
>>2590539
>>2590540

Looks like Izumi's with Owlia.

And that's where I have to end things for the night. See ya all tomorrow.

>>2590531

I'd be happy with just some kind of personal transport. I hate having to rely on other people's transportation. Hell, if we can get something a flying APC we can use it as a mobile base.

>>2590541
cyaa

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>>2590541
>See ya all tomorrow.
Gets me every time.

>>2602408
It's a little unusual that we haven't heard from either QM over the last couple days though. Handler's Twitter hasn't been updated, and I'm unsure as to whether Storyteller has one or not.

>>2602641
https://twitter.com/Storyteller_QM
no news though

>>2602641
Handler's tweets during the crossover have been links to Storyteller's tweets. Both have been silent. The was Memorial Day weekend though, maybe it was a little wild for them?

>>2602408
>>2602641
>>2602660
>>2602663

Sorry for going MIA like that. Handler and I have both been out of state for the holiday weekend, but we are back and we’ll be continuing things around the usual time today.

>>2602663
Completely forgot about Memorial Day. Whoops.

>>2603151
S'all good.

>>2590500

Bah, well. Couldn’t hurt, you guess. “Alright, then. You and Hidia go take a look around and see what might be practical. Nothing too big or too reliant on massive amounts of fuel or people. We don’t exactly have a lot of time for this, we’re just getting what can be gotten quick. Clear?”

Owlia salutes and Izumi nods. “Don’t worry, we’ll be speedy!” Before you can say anything else, though, she darts up to you and whispers as low as possible. “So what’s the split for us?”

“70/30, copter if you can.” you immediately answer out the side of your mouth, then push her away. Like heck you’re not going to take at least ONE plane. It might sit in the warehouse for a while, but personal transport is personal transport.

The peppy gal gives you a wink as you skips out of the room, her sullen counterpart leaving at a far more sedate pace. You’ll have to talk to her later on, see if you can’t ease her heart a bit. She’s been iffy about the whole thing almost since word go- but you have to admit, you appreciate her not raising a massive stink about it so far.

For now, however, you have to wrap up this meeting, “Alright, so as for keeping our perimeter secure, between the ruined staircase and the open hangar floor we have a good killzone, but that shouldn’t be our first line of defense. Now, myself and Emma can get back up topside, give them something to think about rather than the Ruin entrance, but we are going to need a rotation and a back-up plan. Archmage, I’m thinking you’ll be able to come in handy there; can you do illusions? If we can misdirect them…”

[1/2]

>>2604372

[2/2]

“Illusions are, sadly, outside of my area of expertise,” The crimson magus gives you a somewhat regretful look. Oh well, he can’t have everything, “What I can do is counter any mages they have and restrain any… targets of priority”.

“That’ll work,” you decide. Slight adjustment to your planning, but should still be workable. Odds are good there isn’t a better illusionist or reality warper as Mono on this world anyways, “Dutch, you’ve got that rifle of yours. I’m thinking you’ll stick up on top of the airship and hit anything that’s either slipped the net or is just too armored to be stopped by anything lighter. Just remember to keep moving, and switch to your revolvers when they get close”.

The gunslinger just gives you a thin grin, “I can do that. Hit ‘em hard, then run and gun”.

Alright. That only leaves…

“You’re not forgetting about me again, are you?” Nope.

“As a matter of fact, no,” You insist to the ex-regal. “I want you and John…”

>On roaming patrol. You don’t need to engage, just scout and let us know what’s coming.
>Remain in the control rooms for fire assistance. If something big comes, you want them available as fast response and support.
>Remain in the control rooms for damage control. If a system goes offline, you want them repairing it back up to functioning levels.
>Other

>>2604373
>>Remain in the control rooms for fire assistance. If something big comes, you want them available as fast response and support.
John should stay inside. While DC is important in case the ship gets damaged, I think preventative actions to make sure it never gets damaged in the first place is better.

>>2604373
>>Remain in the control rooms for fire assistance. If something big comes, you want them available as fast response and support.
John is rather squishy without his armor, and with such a big unknown about incoming hostiles, flexibility will be important.

>>2604373
>Remain in the control rooms for fire assistance. If something big comes, you want them available as fast response and support.

>>2604552
>>2604425
>>2604404

Standby to respond it is.

Writin'

>>2604373

“...to stay in the control room to help with fire support. If something big comes along, I want you two to be able to act as a rapid response backup team.” you decide. Without his fancy suit, John wouldn’t be able to do much, but any extra firepower in a time of crisis is welcomed, and Cylica would ideally be able to assist as well. “You’ll ideally be getting regular reports from all forward teams, and I or Gladiator should be able to help point you in the right direction if need be.”

“Hm. Sounds fair enough.” She looks like she’s not sure whether to complain or be relieved she’s not on the front line, but ultimately says little more than that. If John has any issues with the assignment, he doesn’t show them as he simply nods in response.

“Alright, that’s about it for the meeting. You all have an assignment, so let’s get to it; make sure to maintain communication and don’t do anything stupid. Dismissed”. As the rest of them walk out, you find yourself wondering just what they’ve got in store for you...hopefully, your preparations will be enough to handle the situation.

Now, comes the hardest part: waiting.

> Roll me three 2d100’s please

Rolled 55, 93 = 148 (2d200)

>>2604741

Rolled 48, 41 = 89 (2d100)

>>2604741

Rolled 11, 62 = 73 (2d100)

>>2604741

>>2604743

That's a 55 and a 93, very interesting.

Writin'

>>2604741

The next several hours go by quietly, during which you catch a quick nap, and slowly, simply waiting for the next team of mercs to come knocking to your front door. You’re not really worried about them, though the long stretch of inaction wears away at your patience. So now, here you are, pac- no, patrolling around the area directly around the Ruin entrance, still bearing the scars from the last group of enemies came through, along with Mono.

If you’re bored with the lackluster atmosphere, then the wolfgirl is almost falling asleep standing up. She hasn’t complained, yet, though the thin mask of professionalism she wears is slipping. Admittedly, it’s starting to get to you as well, so after the fourth heavy sigh she lets out you finally break the silence, “Alright, Emma, what’s the issue?”

“Meh. Just…” she looks as though she’s bitten into something sour and isn’t sure whether she actually likes the taste or not. “It’s kinda...I dunno. Just in a mood, I guess. Bored. Kinda...well, I dunno if homesick is the right word for it. More jus’ wonderin’ how things are goin’. That, kinda pissed at myself, too. I know I’m new an’ all, but bein’ around you guys makes me feel like I need to step my game up.”

“...You think you’re performing poorly,” Taking one more look around the area, you turn to face her fully, “Why?” She’d been doing rather adequate, all things considered- arguably above expectations for someone as new as her.

[1/2]

>>2606655

[2/2]

She shrugs. “Eh, just feel like I could’ve handled the creepy-crawlies better...but that just might be something to get over. I’m not blind enough to not realize this probably isn’t gettin’ old.” she gives a small chuckle to herself. “It’s weird. It’s like...now that I can go everywhere, I’m starting to get worried if I’m worth it, an’ I never had those thoughts before. I’m hopin’ it’ll pass sooner than later, though.”

Ah, it’s that then. Nothing serious, “It will, though maybe you’ll regret that as well.” Turning back around, you continue your patrol, “Don’t worry about it too much; we’ve still got a job to do”. When silence is all you get in return, broken only by the sounds of two sets of steps in gravel, you keep going without further thought to the matter.

And it’s a rather good thing that you do, as you catch something flying off in the distance. Raising a fist to stop your companion in her tracks, you do your best to focus on the contact. It’s far away, at least ten, if not fifteen, kilometers and judging by the way the dark speck moves it’s likely some kind of helicopter. Lastly is the direction in which it’s traveling: away from the Ruins and back out into open water. Glancing over, you see Emma watching as well, though she’s more puzzled at what she’s seeing than anything else.

Scouting attempt, is your immediate guess. That or…

Pulling out your murmur stone, you get ready to call it in.

>Go out there and investigate the area with Mono.
>Leave Mono here at the entrance and go out alone.
>Send Mono out to scout while you remain here at the entrance.
>Just continue your patrol, if there’s trouble coming you can intercept it here.
>Other

>>2606661
>Just continue your patrol, if there’s trouble coming you can intercept it here.
It's weird, especially with airtech so rare here, but it's going away from us.

It could have been dropping off the assault team, but we don't know where, and we're rather conspicuous while leaping.

>>2606661
>Just continue your patrol, if there’s trouble coming you can intercept it here.

>Writein: Don't forget to radio everyone. So they know to keep double the attention

Most likely it's just dropping the merc team. Now that is pretty fancy. I knew this guys were from a place were tech like that is common but man. At least now i know what would have happend if we tried to leave. A attack group of helicopters against our little frigate.

>>2606661
>Just continue your patrol, if there’s trouble coming you can intercept it here.
Seems to be the consensus

>>2606707
>>2606742
>>2606806

Continue the patrol.

> Roll me four 1d100+30's please

Rolled 71 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2606963
Nat 1 lets gooo

Rolled 67 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2606963

Rolled 80 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2606963

Rolled 71 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2606963

>>2607073

That's a 110, let's see what you see.

Writin'

>>2606661

It doesn’t take you very long to ring everyone up and inform them of what you could make of the flying transport- which wasn’t much. While getting some early eyes and ears on them would be a good idea, it’d involve risking getting caught out of position, or with little backup. No, as far as you figure, your best bet would be to remain here and brace yourself. “Eyes up,” you find yourself muttering to Mono, who arms her carbine and clears her throat. “We’re gonna have company in a bit.” With Archmage across the way, you’ll hopefully be able to deliver a crippling first strike when they show their faces. You get a nod in response, and the wolfgirl falls into step behind you.

With the knowledge that the final players are on the field, you take extra care of where you move, focusing on covering the same direction you spotted the transport while sticking to the trees as best you can. It takes another three hours, but your efforts do bear fruit as you catch flickers of movement coming towards you in the darkness.

[1/2]

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>>2607210

[2/2]

Ducking around a thicker than average tree and pulling Mono along with you, you peak a single eye out and examine the last team. From what you can see, there’s around ten of them walking through the open, a rather questionable decision, but the rest of what you note makes it obvious that these are no blundering fools. They’re all covered with full body armor, six of which are using some type of power armor, armed for the most part with rifles as they sweep across the area. Unfortunately for you, they’re maintaining an even spread as they advance in step and who knows what kind of sensors the ones with powered armor have.

What really catches your attention, above all else, are the two not wielding rifles. Instead, they carry battle axes larger than the suits they’re entombed within and their armors are colored a brutal, bloody red and a cold, sky blue each. Clearly, these are the two to watch out for here.

Prrrrobably not a good idea to engage them outright. A look at Mono’s face reaffirms that decision; but you need to figure out some plan of action. This squad is heavier duty than you were expecting. Might need to break out the heavy explosives for this…either way, they’re not quite within vocal range yet, but you still keep your voice down as you get your crystal out and quickly sent a message with the current intel to Cylica.

“And what about you?” is the response after you finish. You don’t have a lot of time...but you’ve figured on-

>Trying to get them to scatter- call Archmage, go guerilla style and see if he can’t pick off a couple targets while you and Mono distract with run and gun.
>Seeing if you can’t get Mono to throw them off track- if you remember correctly, she throws her voice when she sings, right? Might give you and Archmage a better ambush opportunity...
>Retreating for now and setting up a stronger perimeter with more force. Engaging right now would be too risky.
>Custom Plan

>>2607214

> And on that note, that's where I have to head off for the night. Do take this time to prepare, and we'll continue things tomorrow.

>>2607214
>>Seeing if you can’t get Mono to throw them off track- if you remember correctly, she throws her voice when she sings, right? Might give you and Archmage a better ambush opportunity...
While she leads them on an illusion, Archmage can prepare traps to neutralize or at least paralyze them.

>>2607214
>Seeing if you can’t get Mono to throw them off track- if you remember correctly, she throws her voice when she sings, right? Might give you and Archmage a better ambush opportunity...
G’night ST

>>2607219
We don't know what kind of illusion she uses as far as we know the scanners on their suits help prevent visual illusions. Maybe instead of that we could make a reality warp so the path is longer? Make her Momo imitate the chirp/sing of birds to camouflage her looks and while they get trapped in that we can reinforce the perimeter?

>>2607214
>>Seeing if you can’t get Mono to throw them off track- if you remember correctly, she throws her voice when she sings, right? Might give you and Archmage a better ambush opportunity...
Mono is great at distraction. We ambush, then hit and run.

>>2607216
Night Story-T

>>2607214
>Seeing if you can’t get Mono to throw them off track- if you remember correctly, she throws her voice when she sings, right? Might give you and Archmage a better ambush opportunity...
>Custom Plan: set up the Moleworm Proximity Mines that we have to catch them in the ambush.

>>2607297
>>2607214
support

>>2607214
>>Seeing if you can’t get Mono to throw them off track- if you remember correctly, she throws her voice when she sings, right? Might give you and Archmage a better ambush opportunity...
>use the mines

>>2607219
>>2607224
>>2607232
>>2607297
>>2607736
>>2607534

Mines and Reality Warping it is.

> Roll me three 2d100's please

Rolled 139, 34 = 173 (2d200)

>>2608638
here we go

Rolled 72, 79 = 151 (2d100)

>>2608638
lemme try that again

Rolled 55, 92 = 147 (2d100)

>>2608638
Do any of you gents Mine if we ask your opinion on the ruins?

Rolled 9, 88 = 97 (2d100)

>>2608638

Rolled 43, 13, 99, 1, 14, 43 + 5 = 218 (6d100 + 5)

>>2608658
>>2608661

That's an 89 for Miranda and a 107 for Mono.

Let's see what this gets you...

[??? ACTIVITY]

>>2608771

... Interesting.

Writin'

>>2608771
>99
That's gonna leave a mark.

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>>2607214

Thinking fast, you reach into your hyperspace bag and pull out the shoulder-mounted mine launcher you bought about a month ago and never got a good use for up to now. Turning to Mono, you whisper out a hurried command, “Emma, get them into an illusion now. Doesn’t have be crazy, but make it quick.”

“Got it. Uh…” Bracing herself, there’s a faint flicker that passes through the area as she begins a high-pitched whistle that vaguely reminds you of a birdsong.

If the enemy mercs notice a change in their surroundings they don’t show it. Biting down on your lip, you brace your multi-launch weapon against your shoulder and begin laying the trap. Pulling the trigger elicits a low thump as the first mine flies out across the clearing, impacting against the base of a tree before burrowing partially into the trunk. With live explosives on the field, you quickly fire off the remaining six in a spread that you hope covers the route these mercs are taking.

With the launcher dry, you drop it back away into your personal pocket dimension before digging out your murmur stone again, “Froste, tell Archmage to get topside now. We’ve got a killzone setup, but I want him here to add to it.”

“He’ll be along shortly,” is the curt response. Hopefully word gets to him quick. Tucking the stone away again, you join Mono, who’s still whistling out her spell, in preparing for the ambush.

And that’s when the elite in sky blue armor steps right onto one of your mines.

[1/2]

>>2608901

[2/2]

Explosions rocks the area, forcing yourself and the wolfgirl to duck behind your minimal cover as a wave of heat blasts apart the forest. Waiting for the dust to settle and the shaking to stop, you peer around the smallish tree to take a look at the destruction you’ve wrought.

It’s a bit hard to see exactly how much damage you managed to do, as most of the mercs have taken cover, but you do note there’s at least two corpses that didn’t made it and enough blood to tell there’s more wounds. Then you come to where the blood red elite is simply standing there over the remains of the other, which comprises of part of a chest and one armor and a shit ton of blood.

Honestly, you’re both surprised and a bit concerned that the other elite’s kind of just...there. Then that ends, as the power armor swivels to face you, any question of if you’ve been spotted gone when that massive battle axe is raised and the whole mechanical weapon surrounding a mortal monster sprints at you.

You’ve only got moments to do whatever you plan to, keeping in mind Archmage should be on his way, and Mono- after some shuddering- is primed for action.

>Engage and try to kill the other elite here and now. With both down, the rest won’t last long, morale-wise.
>Fall back to the Ruin entrance. Dig in there, get some reinforcements up, and get ready for a firefight.
>Time to try and lead them on a merry chase- so long as you keep ahead of them, you can keep them distracted and give them a runaround.
>Other

>>2608905
>>Engage and try to kill the other elite here and now. With both down, the rest won’t last long, morale-wise.
Regardless of what gets chosen, I want that axe blue boy just dropped.

>>2608905
>>Engage and try to kill the other elite here and now. With both down, the rest won’t last long, morale-wise.
get the elite now while they're surprised! don't let the opportunity given by this successful trap be wasted! Elites are always the most annoying when they get to retreat and bring back more meat shields to use and fight with more knowledge the next time.

>>2608905
>>Engage and try to kill the other elite here and now. With both down, the rest won’t last long, morale-wise.

>>2608905
>>Engage and try to kill the other elite here and now. With both down, the rest won’t last long, morale-wise.
Better to get him now in the confusion.

>>2608905
>>Engage and try to kill the other elite here and now. With both down, the rest won’t last long, morale-wise.

You know 'Randa had to do it to em

>>2609017
>>2608973
>>2608968
>>2608936
>>2608932

Engage head on it is.

> Roll me four 1d100+30's please

Rolled 60 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2609031

Rolled 55, 18, 46, 19 + 30 = 168 (4d100 + 30)

>>2609031

[RIZA THE CALAMITY DOG ACTIVITY]

Rolled 27 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2609031

Rolled 20 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2609031

Rolled 77 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2609031

>>2609063

That's a 107 versus 85, Success.

Writin'

Rolled 80, 8, 66, 29, 54, 82, 89, 47 = 455 (8d100)

>>2609031

[LUCCHESE ACTIVITY]

File: Riza_TheBeastUnleashed.png (375 KB, 609x441)

375 KB PNG

>>2608905

Well, if the cornerstone of the enemy’s morale is going to just charge you head on, you’re certainly not going to argue. Giving Mono a quick shove to get her moving in one direction, you begin jumping from cover to cover in the other, moving to intercept the surviving elite.

In the background, the crack of rifles going off kicks up in the background but you put it out of mind as the merc dead sprints with that battle axe prepared to bring down on your head. You’ve no plans to let that occur, but the several hundred kilos of metal smashing right through a tree makes you pause for a moment. With a stride that sends dirt flying, the merc ricochets off another tree, sending that one into splinters as well, and brings the massive axe around.

Putting everything you have into side-stepping, you make certain to observe just how much damage that weapon is capable of, which given the way it passes through foliage, dirt, rock, and trees without stopping is certainly a lot. You do note the merc doesn’t even attempt to stop the moment, literally riding it into an on-the-dime turn to get into position for a follow-up attack.

With that in mind, you rush in yourself, before any more momentum can be achieved. The merc doesn’t take your charge lying down, forcing you to duck at the last second as that axe comes around in a brutal back-swing then jump at a sweep aimed at your feet. Taking advantage of your position, you kick straight up. Backing up is the only thing that saves the merc from dying, your quick retaliation catching the edge of the armor’s helm and shearing a section of it clearly off.

There’s no way whatever targeting systems it once had are still functioning, as you’re now greeted by a single, furious eye peeking out from behind the ruptured metal. The sheer rage contained within the merc’s visage is palpable even at this distance as you calmly stare her down, though the grip on her weapon doesn’t falter for a moment. She says something, perhaps under her breath perhaps to what’s left of her team, but that’s not going to matter.

A few sounds of gunfire, some familiar, most not, rip through the underbrush behind the both of you- from what you can guess Mono’s been targeted, but you don’t exactly have the time to check to see if she’s okay, as a battle-cry echoes out from the pissed merc before she lunges forwards once more.

Hopefully she’s taking her own words to heart.

[RIZA, THE CALAMITY DOG]

> Roll me four 1d100+30’s please

Rolled 48, 4, 1, 93 + 30 = 176 (4d100 + 30)

>>2609289

[RIZA, THE CALAMITY DOG ACTIVITY]

Rolled 63 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2609289

Rolled 64 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2609289

Rolled 50 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2609293
Huh

Rolled 20 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>2609289

>>2609293
>1
RIP in pepperoni

>>2609289
too late but let's see.

>>2609312
Wait how tf do sice work again

>>2609317
if i remember right, we are all "master class" here. so if your a master you get best of 4 rolls on a d100 with a +30 modifier. and at expert rank we get to negate a single crit fail. May be wrong but i think thats right.

or alternatively dice+1d100 in the options field

File: DiceExample.png (15 KB, 309x259)

15 KB PNG

Forgot about one of Miranda's skills, where she gains a +10 bonus for rolls against enemies she has successfully attacked previously.

>>2609317

Here you go.

>>2609302

Don't sigh in relief just yet. Riza's using her Master level skill to negate that nat one.

That's a 104 versus 123, Failure.

Writin'

>>2609332

Handler just reminded me; Miranda has a bonus that allows her to attempt to avoid the damage she would take from a failed roll (DC: 70).

This is a flat 1d100, one roll only, that can be used once per thread.

Use Mercenary's Instincts?
> Y
> N

>>2609372
Y

>>2609372
>> Y
thread's almost dead anyway

>>2609372
>> Y
Unless there will be a harder fight later, I don't see a reason to not use it

>>2609372
Y
while i dont think she is gonna suffer horribly if this roll fails, This is the last "raid boss" so no reason not to.

unless this boss has some mega attack stored for later

>>2609396
>>2609390
>>2609389
>>2609386

That's a resounding yes.

> Roll me a 1d100. Best of luck.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>2609401

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>2609401

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>2609401
Maybe we avoid riza because she in-stinks

>>2609405

That's an 87, Success.

Writin'

>>2609289

With a single stride, you push off and close the distance with the enraged merc. Flourishing the brutal weapon, she brings it up in a two-handed swing, one that shatters the ground a step in front of you from the impact alone.

Moving around the weapon, you ready a vicious right hook fully intent on ending things here and now. It’s a punch that would have parted the power armor’s chest piece like paper, had you not needed to pull it at the last second.

With a blur, the merc spins in place and you catch a heavy backhand before it can swat you away, two trenches of soil being torn into the ground as the weight behind it forces you back regardless of not connecting cleanly. You arms ache from the effort, and you have to jump back further to avoid another swing.

Still staring you down with that unblinking stare, she resets her stance once more, the battle axe not even scratched despite being used so flippantly. That rage is still coming off her in waves, though now it’s tightly controlled as she simply stands in place.

Why would sh-

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