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>>3399222
A field assessment by the armed forces clearing the tunnels sent you back straightaway, and the comms blackout is rescinded along the way. Pad transit isn’t long after, the authorities (or what’s left of them) in the stadium insisting you be sent not to the nearest hospital, but somewhere better equipped for your injuries.

And so, here you are for the second time in your life, in Lifesaver Central. Last time you were here, you were unconscious or less for most of it. This time, left alone to stew, to dwell, and to regret, you’re not sure you’re all that much better off.

Lifesavers work in threes, focused on their work and in utter silence. On examining your chest wound, one returns with a small spray gun of some sort and reinforced gloves, sized for Reploids. Between steps, you can’t help but notice the gaping hole in your armor is like a less nasty do-up of what happened to Baccarat.

You glance up as the door opens. One of the Lifesavers’ expressions is far sharper. “You shouldn’t be in here, Miss--”

“Iris?” you ask.

“Yes, I’m sorry, pardon me,” she says. “I, erm--I asked…”

“Commander Modem,” assents another of them. “Yes, we just heard.”

“Thank you,” she says, sweeping in, hem of a metal-plate dress swishing. “I won’t get in the way.”

She’s short, for a Reploid, not even clearing the height of a Comm Logis. Her dress is a two-layer affair of blue base with red accents, cresting out around her knees like petals. Her shoulders are sphere-joint, unadorned but for a small blue plate clipped over the side and back. A beret sits atop her pretty, long brown hair, tied back in a ponytail that reaches nearly to the floor. Wide, concerned eyes meet yours as she raises white-glove hands, articulation seams in the digits pleating as she clasps her fingers together. “Captain…”

You give her a weary chuckle. “Just Anode, remember?”

“Erm--yes, sorry. Anode… I’m so glad to see you.”

“You should see the other guy,” you offer dully. “No, really, you should see the other guy. But you won’t, because--”

“It doesn’t matter,” she says firmly. “You’re okay.”

“I’m not so sure of that,” you say, bitterness creeping in around the edges despite yourself. “My systems are…”

“Salvageable,” one of the surgeons tells you. “Please leave the prognosis to us, Captain.”

>Okay, so what’s the damage?
>...Thanks for coming, Iris.

>>3399224
>...Thanks for coming, Iris.
Oh god why is she visiting us I wasn't prepared for this.

Also because I was too busy being pissed last thread I should say it here: the last thread was good, and thanks for running.

>>3399224
>>...Thanks for coming, Iris.
>Do I have any hospital buddies here?

>>3399224
>...Thanks for coming, Iris.

We'll get a damage report eventually. Top priority is making the newbie feel better.

>>3399224
>...Thanks for coming, Iris.
The Lifesavers will probably tell us anyway once they finish giving us a detailed once-over. For now, let's talk with Iris. That can't have been a very good experience for the newbie operator.

>>3399224
>...Thanks for coming, Iris.

>>3399224
>...Thanks for coming, Iris
Shame our therapist is dead, Iris will have to do for the time being I suppose

>>3399224
>Welcome to my second home, Iris
>And by second, I mean my first home is 4th's repair bay

>>3399222
>>...Thanks for coming, Iris.

"Getaway van." Well, maybe we can still mitigate the damage.

Also, Cain Labs' notes mentioned that in this setting, X had to retreat from maverick battles in the past. Maybe Moloch isn't off our roster yet, and this is the equivalent of leaving a stage we can't beat yet?

Eh, I just want revenge on Moloch.

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So concurrent to this thread--because I hate myself--we also have a proper April Fools thread afoot.

I have shit to do. This was a terrible decision.

Let's do it. >>3399416

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>>3399224
>Okay, so what’s the damage?
As much as we shouldn't bother the Lifesavers, I want to see if we get relationship points from them, rather than immediately going for the Iris ending on our first playthrough.

>>3399369
Supporting.

>>3399224
>Okay, so what’s the damage?

Are we game to go back in anytime soon, Coach?

>>3399369
supporting.

>>3399224
>...Thanks for coming, Iris.

I'm touched. We should call up Wellsey when things are less shit-on-the-fan and tease him about never coming to see us.

>>3399474
Yep, get right back on that horse. No need to wait. Go find Moloch and ask him how many for flinching. We'll wait.

>>3399484
>>3399369

Shit, missed it. ALSO THIS.

>>3399224
>...Thanks for coming, Iris.
You did a good job out there. Helped save a lot of people and made our job easier. Yes, Moloch made our belly button a cup holder for a jumbo jug, but that was a mix of things more our fault then anything else.
Not even our worst damage. Saetos gets that title. Plus side, we could probably see our house from sub orbit.

>>3399369
Perfection.

It just isn't quite home until we have at least one lifesaver in every repair bay permanently grumpy at us.

>>3399369
Actually, supporting this instead.

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>>3399474
When even robot satan is low-key telling you you're being an idiot, you should probably stop and rethink what you want anode to Anode ask.

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>>3400565
And I failed almost as hard.

>>3399224
>...Thanks for coming, Iris.

>>3399224
this >>3399369
+
>...Thanks for coming, Iris.

>>3400052
Awww, I suddenly miss DocSaver. He survived the attack on HQ right?>>3399450
Iris for imouto. Plus we really should resolve all that belligerent sexual tension with [SPOILER]Foxfire[/SPOILER].

On the subject of fembots in Anode's life we should check in on sis and India. Been forever since we've seen either.

>>3400565
>>3400568
In fairness, Anode Asking does sound like something he'd do, even if I don't know what it actually is.

Anode asking stupid questions?

>>3400649
That is fair.

>>3400628
spoiler isn't capitalized if you're trying to redact the text anon.

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>>3399246
>>3399255
>>3399263
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>>3399291
>>3399295
>>3399369
>>3399380
>>3399484
>>3399621
>>3400584
>>3400615
You want to be miserable, and the tightwire tension you’ve had percolating for three days--now denied a happy end--wants you to keep your head in the game. But seeing the Innocence Fairy here and in person--and hell if she isn’t every bit as sprightly in person as over comms--forces you to swallow your anger and frustration. There’ll be time for the after-action and facing the music later.

“Thanks for coming to see me,” you say, giving her a battered grin.

“It just felt right,” she replies, one toe twirling on the floor. “Plus, I was hoping to come and see you, regardless.”

“Aw, shucks,” you grin. “No teddy bear and ‘get well soon’ card?”

She blinks. “Oh. Oh, I, er--should I have? I can--“

“I was joking, Iris.”

“Oh. Oh! Yes, I, erm…” She flusters a little, tugging her beret square on her head and glancing away. Oh god, your nonexistent heart.

“Sorry, sorry,” you say. “So… did I miss anything big while I was in Vancouver?”

“Ah--Right, yes, there was a bit of an information blackout, wasn’t there…” She trails off, thinking about it. “Well, General Halcyon had a direct engagement with one of the Philosophers yesterday,” she says.

You blink. “No sh--I mean, really?”

“Yes--he’s back at work today. I’m told Shiva made an attempt on him during an action in Sri Lanka.”

You resist the urge to ask cynically about Halcyon, the fight, or the purpose of the trip he was taking. “What happened to Shiva?”

“Driven back,” Iris reports, sounding a bit like the navigator on the job. “Most likely sidelined for at least a few days.”

“Good to know. Anything else?”

“Let me think… oh!” Her eyes brighten and she looks back up at you excitedly. “My brother is online!”

“Hey, that is cool,” you offer. “Have you met him yet?”

“Yes, he’s wonderful,” she declares. “Smart and strong and brave--like you!”

You laugh. “Iris, you’ve got to meet a lot more people if you think I’m smart.”

She’s about to respond when the door opens--the Lifesavers’ collective murder glare deflects off Commander Zero’s crested helmet, striding in with confidence.

“Captain,” he directs at you with a nod.

“Sir,” the Chief Grump says. “We only just heard you were coming.”

Zero nods. “If he’s stable, could we have the room, please?”

“...Erm,” Iris squeaks, suddenly seeming very small. “I could see myself out?”

He pauses, taking a moment to see her as if for the first time. “...Thank you. Sorry to intrude,” he says, a little more softly.

She nods breathlessly, and makes for the door, absent the slight detail of him still standing in it. He helpfully takes a step back into the corridor to let her past. Iris seems to rally as she does, turning back to give him a hasty salute.

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>>3402449
“I--Major Higurashi was in your unit, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I hope you can find him, and Moloch,” she says. “And bring him to justice soon for what he’s done.”

Zero nods, voice resolute and confident. “Moloch isn’t the first of his kind Shinobi has seen, and nowhere near the worst. We’ll get him. I’ll make sure of it.”

She beams. “Yessir.”

With that, she makes her way down the hall, and Zero steps back in. You try to salute, and he waves it away. “Just Anode’s fine, sir.”

“All right.” He pauses and looks over to the Lifesavers. “Can we proceed?”

“The Captain is stable,” one replies. “Repairs will take several days at least, but yes, you may speak.”

He nods, turning back to you. “I want to ask you what happened to Higurashi.”

>

>>3402451
>Note the Big Score rumours. Kidnapping him was most likely planned over several days, which includes knowing he specifically would be there.
>note the electric ring that seemed to interrupt his ability and stun him
>note the box that Moloch had obssessed over, and how it could have been worked on by a VWES specialist
>Note how Moloch managed to kill someone without triggering shields. Could have been Hutchins, testing the Box, or Moloch's own 4th VWES in action

>>3402467
Don't forget the messages that are probably for Zero.

>>3402451
>I only made it in time to see the end. He went down one of Moloch's tunnels to pursue. Mavs tagged him with some sort of electrical ring to hold him still, then Moloch put him in a stone cage.

>>3402451
He needs to know about the two personalities, at least; that they were treated by his own minion as two discrete entities, and that one of them seems to have some kind of history with someone he expected us to get a message to. I had previously thought that the "red bastard" he was complaining about was some kind of man-behind-the-man who was actually running his gang and he was working out his frustrations at the situation on them, but...

Given that out of Kermod, Papillon, and Higurashi, he was targeting the 0th unit member from the start, maybe the message of revenge was meant for Zero?

>>3402477
Higurashi didn't go in the tunnel out of his own volition, Moloch made a sinkhole right underneath where he was standing.

>>3402451
Tell the truth.

"We tried to get there, but weighed the tactics and silenced the SIGINT specialist first. He was a live capture under significant duress and getting him out alive was crystal-clearly Moloch's top priority. Also he wants revenge on you specifically."

Expand as necessary.

>>3402524
yo. YO. That would explain so much. Moloch has all these VWES stuff because he's a receptacle for testing DNA resurrection techniques.

>>3402524
And Dammahnation said he was trained by Komodo. Maybe he wasn't as unconnected with Moloch as Grach thought?

>>3402597
Spider thought they were unconnected. That said, if Dammahnation is back again, and we encounter him, I vote we steal his sword. It'd look good over a mantle.

>>3402451
>Moloch's team managed to infiltrate stadium despite inspecting the scene before hand, killed a SP0C, set up a Sifer
>Upon killing Sifer, Moloch was detected, Higurashi chose to engage
>Hole in ground, lightnning rings, Higurashi paralyzed
>pursued Moloch, loaded Higurashi into a van
>Not fast enough to keep up with a vehicle, took a screenshot and gave orders, pursued Moloch
>Moloch shifted personality & skill, weird purple stuff armor
>Didn't give a shit about damage, broke me, left
>Made a cryptic threat

>>3402451
>Raschen mentioned that Moloch was mad about a 'red bastard'. Moloch's second personality said he'll have his revenge.
>Moloch's tactics sharpened when the second personality took control. Was more aggressive, used the VWES more efficiently, and was generally more crafty. The personality was likely what designed the plan.
>What got us was a mix of him grounding us and some sort of liquid dripping from his tail. Ate into our armor pretty bad.

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>>3402467
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>>3404367
You sigh. “Right, from the top, then. We started hearing rumors that the mavericks were planning a ‘big score’ from a few days out--and if that was Higurashi, they knew he would be there.”

Zero inclines his head, his sharp gaze telling you he’s still listening.

“He was definitely prepared for it. He had a SP0C in his roster, killed and replaced one of the Americans at the summit. He also put a SIfer in play.”

The Commander nods--even standing stock straight with his arms folded, he projects a certain intensity, not helped at all by how vulnerable you feel, split open and lying on the slab.

“The security teams had swept the whole stadium top-to-bottom, but they still got their plants.” You recount bitterly. “I--well, on another op, I ran into a SIfer, so I made him a priority.”

“The Himalayas, right?”

“Yeah. He was projecting fake Reploid signals and isolating teams from comms. I went after him first to clear the air.”

“Good call,” Zero responds.

“Maybe,” you hedge. “It meant I wasn’t there when Moloch actually showed up.”

“What happened?” Zero’s responses are clipped, eager, almost tense, like he’s right there with you.

“Came up right under the center of the ring. Not first, he had Hutchins--”

“Hutchins?”

“A G005E,” you explain. “Brawler. Pretty legit one, too.”

You go on, detailing the basic rundown--Moloch’s weapons, his brutish mannerisms, the flight and chase, his focus on getting out with Higurashi, the electric ring trap he sprung on the Shinobi officer.

“Almost sounds like a Hangerter field,” Zero offers. “We’ve seen a few of those used in high-profile ops.”

“He might have had a penchant for gadgets,” you muse. “We know he had that weird black box, whatever that was.” You think back on First and the RCMP’s hard-won intel. “Plus, a human captive, a DNA expert, and most of his crew had VWES. We snagged a gun from one of his guys.”

“Yes, ‘Crewd,’” Zero confirms. “We heard back that he was found dead in the cockpit of the helicopter that was shot down.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” you reply. “Moloch tried to have one of our captures offed for failing him. He was brutal.”

Zero looks back up at you, fire in his eyes. “Tell me about him.”

You sigh, racking your brain, already less-than-pleased with the memories you’re wringing out of it. “To be honest? At first, he was just… a thug. A dumb thug. He ran as soon as he saw me, didn’t stand to fight. I remember feeling disgusted that this miserable little bastard was causing so much grief, how he was commanding the loyalty of guys like Hutchins.”

“But?”

“But…” You sit upright, carefully assisted by the Lifesavers. “Once we were alone, it was like he was a different person. Cheerful. Casual, almost. Like he was making sport.“

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>>3404842
His expression clouds over, becoming unreadable. “Go on.”

“He was a damn sight more dangerous, that’s for sure. Suddenly no more twirly motions, just fire javelins and shoulder lasers and dirt-and-metal axeblades without a single tell. He started using cover to break line of sight, climbed the ceiling, laid traps.”

Zero remains silent.

“Hell, even his armor was shifting,” you recount. “All his purple bits started lining with spikes, he closed up damage I did to his chassis. His shields seemed like... “ You try to remember exactly how many hits you scored on him. “I dunno, but I put a hurt on him but they just never seemed to run out.”

Zero takes a step closer, earning a hawkish glare from one of the Lifesavers. “How did he get away?”

“He got me in a one-two,” you growl. “First he landed one of his spikes, completely blew out my capacitor. Then...” You gesture down at your abdomen, still gaping wide like a carrion ribcage. The grinning, wide-faced Moloch shines coldly out of your memories, giving you a begrudging, hateful jolt of fear. “All his spikes went bright green, and he just… melted me.”

Zero’s gone very, very still. “Melted you.”

“Early on, I found another victim, a hunter named Baccarat. His entire chest was burned open, just like this. His shields hadn’t gone off.”

He remains silent for a long, uncomfortable moment, every inch of the Zero Unit commander wire-tense.

Finally, the still air churns as he pivots on his heel and walks back to the exit. “Thank you for your time, Captain.”

“Wait,” you call--he pauses, back to you.

“He also said…” You remember his genial, smug farewell, a cackling funhouse mirror of the brutish thug Raschen described to you. “...He had something against ‘that red bastard,’ and before he escaped…”

He looks back at you over one shoulder, his low-cast helmet giving him a predatory cast.

“He told me to tell ‘him’ he would have his revenge.”

He stands there a moment longer, stock still and stone silent, before marching out the door, long hair whirling at his heels.

Silence falls over the bay, the Lifesavers still hard at work without sparing so much as a word.
>Ask how bad it is. You have to know.
>Let yourself rest. The news will come.

>>3404845
>Let yourself rest. The news will come.

>>3404845
>Ask how bad it is. You have to know.

>>3404845
>Ask how bad it is. You have to know
Do we need to call the moms and dads and ask for a loan to cover our medical fees?

>>3404845
>Let yourself rest. The news will come.

>>3404845
>>Let yourself rest. The news will come.
Been through the ringer. Relax and maybe the berets will bring a get well soon card.

>>3404845
>Let yourself rest. The news will come.
Take a breath, nothing to do until the Doc's finished.

>>3404876
Don't think it'll come to that, though we might have to dip into the Himalaya fund.

>>3404845
>Ask how bad it is. You have to know.
Got to at least check our Beret team is okay.

>>3404845
>>Let yourself rest. The news will come.

>>3404845
>Let yourself rest. The news will come.

>>3404845
>>Let yourself rest. The news will come.

>>3404845
>Let yourself rest.
We should call our parents before we end up on that date later. Maybe we should tell our date that we'll probably be a little late due to repairs, too. It's just good manners: we weren't built in a barn.

>>3404845
>Ask how bad it is. You have to know.
Don't let "you're no longer electric" come as a surprise, if that's what's in store. Get hit by it on our own terms.

>>3404845
>Let yourself rest. The news will come.
However bad it is, they'll tell us when theyre done anyway. And were going to stew, so we might as well get it over with.

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>>3404869
>>3404922
>>3404955
>>3405035
>>3405458
>>3405463
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>>3405576
You catch the eye of one of the Lifesavers, whose stare bores a hole in you as you get ready to ask…

Then you let it go. No, no sense in it. You’ll know, one way or the other, soon enough. Instead, you let your eyes close, silently reaching out and counting the fingers and toes of each of your internal systems. That near-miss fatigue that comes from heavy shield use washes over you, and you drift off into what passes for sleep.

Sure enough, the news comes. A full two days later, you’re still not fixed--rotations in and out by a small cadre of medics, working around the clock. Your chest wound is stabilized--no longer do they wear gauntlets to protect their hands, or extract slaggy, runny pieces of you, or carefully apply a pipette of something that hisses and sizzles within yourself to counteract the one already there.

Gopher enters at the end of those two days, himself looking more than a little beleaguered. Non-trivial damage still shows through with dented, scuffed, plating, but his demeanor is as charged as ever. “Captain.”

“Thought you’d forgotten about me, boss,” you greet--talking comes easier now, at least, especially after 48 hours being locked in your own head. “Or I’d already gotten the axe.”

He scoffs. “You wish, Anode. You don’t get off that easy.”

“Sure looks that way. You take over my roster or something?”

“We’re a man down without you. Had to pick up the slack.”

Ugh. “Damn it. How bad?”

He holds up a hand. “Before I forget--your squad wanted me to pass on that they all made it out.”

You exhale a long-held sigh. “That’s a relief.”

“One of your subordinates was very vocal about making sure you knew.” Gopher turns to one of the Lifesavers. “How is he?”

The lifesaver taps the wall, and a rather large diagram of your internals winks on, ceiling to floor. “The integral work is done. Minimal damage to the skeletal structure. Compromised cords have been cut out and patched. He’ll be clear to leave within seven to nine hours.”

“You mentioned some permanence?” Oof. Gopher could give Frog a run for his name on hammer-bluntness.

“Yes.”

Son of a bitch, here it comes.

The Lifesaver gestures at the screen, and it zooms in to your sternum. “The Conduit Capacitor system is salvageable--we’ve offlined it for our own safety, as it’s currently not regulated by the Captain’s neural array.”

The diagram slides over to one of your arms, a long line of red Xs dotting the length at regular intervals. “However, its outer capillaries were destroyed due to undue stress. To protect more critical systems, they offloaded strain downstream from primary conduit vessels to the outermost layers. They were already under some fatigue…”

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>>3407294
Gopher nods. “I’m appraised of the incident.”

“...And when exposed to the caustic compound the Captain was afflicted by, the relays burst, and carried their damage downstream.”

“What’s the damage?” You ask, interrupting Gopher asking the same.

The Lifesaver turns to you, his gaze steely but less harsh. “The most noticeably effect will be less clean channeling of current. You’ll have some loss of energy on each use--minor, only a few percent--but discharge will no longer be discreetly contained within the capillary channels. Projecting electricity directly will see the most pronounced falloff in efficacy.”

“Irreparable?” Gopher asks.

“Not without considerable time and resources,” the Lifesaver says flatly. “The capillary system was by far the most complex, running off every main branch in the system.”

“What about other uses?” You ask. “Tapped systems? The refinements to output--”

“All functional. You’re fortunate for the upgrade to your primary system, Captain. It both regulated the damage to the furthest possible extent, and means you’ll see the least impact to your combat effectiveness.”

“Am I looking at ranking down? Anything?” You ask.

Gopher folds his arms. “You’re still equipped with 99% of what I sent you out with, and we’re on a war footing. You’ll get your annual rank assessment bumped up, but we all have better things to be doing right now.”

He turns to leave. “Mission debrief will come after you’re released, probably sometime tomorrow morning. Anything further?”

>

>>3407297
Well, less damage than projected. Thats good. Though, it seems to be we are less hidden with our use. Honestly, makes me wonder if we could use the excess burned off with some tuning to do a sort of side improvement. We'd have to see for ourselves though.
As for what to say, how are the others holding up? Surprised Em didn't rush in or India giving us a poke.

>>3407297
>I don't regret it.

If we had to do that business with the train all over again, I imagine we would.

>>3407297
>check whether green bro has been behaving without us
>if Moloch hasn't been bumped up to an S yet, we need to have serious and impolite words with someone

Most importantly, we need to get online and check if our train bullshit has gone public.

>>3407297
Ask if the the dignitaries made it out okay. We didnt really have the chance to check, considering.

>>3407336
Agreed, the permanent damage seems mostly minor. Frustrating, but acceptable. It sounds like Anode will glow a little more when using his powers, which is fine, he was never very subtle in combat. As for dealing with the bleed-out... maybe the parents have some ideas on how to channel that? Turn the battle scar into an advantage, that sort of thing.

>>3407297
>Is Moloch still at large? How's Vancouver doing?
Gotta ask the big questions.
Also, I get the feeling that now we shouldn't Shriver anything unless we want it fried, although if something's grounded it'll probably sap some of or all our juice.

>>3407297
So until we can settle down and get things deeply looked at, Anode's core gimmick - a gimmick that doesn't see as much use as it should - is permanently less efficient. You unironically "nerfed" Anode.

>Who's gonna handle Moloch?

>>3407297
>How's Spider?
>Who's gonna handle Moloch?

>>3407336
>>3407393
I'm spitballing a few options.

Maybe a weaker version of
>Candemir KE20 “Sivrisinek” Shield Regulator
Mission 15: Not Constantinople
60k
Draws on operating energy instead of direct LIFE tap for small physical shield hits - individual pesky Mechaniloids will hit it and fry. With Anode’s capacitor, a 5% charge deduction is enough to keep this running without any impact on his combat performance and will let him just body small jerks without worrying about it.

We could also finally get something that lets us output MORE without damaging our systems. Sacrifice the efficiency we no longer have for more dakka faster.

There's attempting some sort of magnetic pulse, kinda like Hutchins.

Given how our buster has been neglected for a while, we could also see if it the waste energy can help that. Something like Rage Circuit?

>>3407297
>The Lifesaver turns to you, his gaze steely but less harsh. “The most noticeably effect will be less clean channeling of current. You’ll have some loss of energy on each use--minor, only a few percent--but discharge will no longer be discreetly contained within the capillary channels. Projecting electricity directly will see the most pronounced falloff in efficacy.”

I... don't know if I read that right, but what it sounds like is that we pay an Electric Tax now on direct Capacitor abilities, draining charge faster when we do zappies? And spitting electricity around as a byproduct?

But the add-ons like the Shriver and the Blueshift don't pay the tax because their power draw is direct and not linked to the capacitor via the conductive capillaries. That about right?

>>3407297
How is Vancouver doing?

>>3407818
Sounds like Raikousen, Blueshift and Mass Shriver are fine while Electricity Projection and Electrify Ascent Lance now have a higher usage cost due to conduit damage.

>>3407294
>Who's gonna handle Moloch?
>How is everyone? (Grach, Spider, our unit)

>>3407297
>Did anyone recover Baccarat's remains?

Updates hopefully to come, just had a rough evening.

>>3407297
"Thanks for covering for me."

>>3410412
Good point, seconding.

>>3410412
Throw this in.

>>3410412
>>3408493
Oh, seconded. (Also he already told us about the unit I can't fucking read)

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>>3407348
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>>3410412
“Get comfy, I have questions,” You say, giving him a ragged, cheeky grin.

He groans. “Of all the things Moloch broke, of course it wasn’t your spirit. All right, Captain, do your worst.”

“How’s Vancouver? Did the dignitaries make it out?”

He folds his arms, leaning against the doorframe. “You realize you have a debrief tomorrow, right?”

“Still…”

“Still. All of the major players made it out fine--a few broken bones and plasma burns, but no fatalities. Their entourages had some losses. Once you dropped the SIfer, the Americans and Canadians got together and cleaned house.”

“Yeah?”

“They work well together.”

“They get Hutchins, by chance?”

“A piece of him. He made a play for the American group and they took his arm off. Since they were trying to secure VIPs, they didn’t pursue when he broke off. They did manage to take in Pauling.”

“Damn. Small favors.”

“I’ll do you one better.”

You sit back up. “Yeah?”

“Dr. Leobrenner and his family were rescued.”

“No shit.”

“They weren’t in the best of condition, but clearminded, and they’ll mend. And they have good intel on Moloch.”

“That is good.”

“We can go over the finer points tomorrow.”

“Right. What about the city itself?”

“Breathing a sigh of relief. I’m pretty sure you tapped out damn near every domestic maverick in the entire place.”

“Too bad about the SkyLoop.”

He waves it off. “Not your call. You saved lives, whatever the talking heads say.”

“So they’re saying--”

He cuts you off brusquely. “Don’t waste my time, Captain. You can be mad about television on your own.”

“Right. Sorry, sir. So what about Moloch?”

“Reclassed to an S, and they’re even tossing around the capital G.”

“G? Really?”

“It’s strange. Usually Zero is the first to shoot down that assessment, but here he is pushing hard for the letter-grade jump. It’s turning some heads.”

“No shit. So who handles him now?”

“0 unit, full stop. I told them I’m not throwing bodies at him like we’re Recon. As far as I’m concerned, he’s anybody else’s problem.”

Jesus. “What about my team? Spider got beat up pretty hard.”

“He’s back in the game. Grach’s already back at work and taking the lessons to his 10th newbies.”

“What about--”

“Baccarat? We got him. He’s coming home.”

“Good.” You pause a moment on that. “Thanks for covering for me.”

He waves it off. “I don’t thank you for doing your job, Captain, I don’t expect it for doing mine.”

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>>3410712
You chuckle a little. “So what about back home? Em behaving himself?”

He scoffs, the derisive snort turning into a shrill whistle through his teeth. “Hardly. I don’t see much of him, and that’s how both of us like it. He’s cleared his roster--again--and gone after a few extracurriculars. Biggest concern is how much time he’s spending around the mantis.”

“As always,” you agree. “Still got his commission, though?”

He chuckles. “For now. I sent him to go deal with a thing in the States with no deadline, I don’t expect he’ll be back any time soon.”

With that, you’re tapped, and he goes on his way-and you’re keenly aware he wouldn’t have spent a fraction of the time on most other service calls.

The last of the repairs are better--however stern they are, the Lifesavers aren’t blind to the needs of a sapient mind, and provide distractions in the form of books, conversation, and TV--though you note all the news feeds are not in the rotation. Finally, though, you take a step off the slab under your own power, the feeling almost foreign after so long.

You’re not done, they tell you, not by a country mile. But you’re free to finish your noncritical repair back with the 4th.

>Report for debrief ASAP.
>Go check in on someone. [Any available, write-in]

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And, now that we're through the Vancouver op, here's an announcement I've been holding onto for a while.

Unfortunately, due to his real-life issues and circumstances, ELK is unable to continue providing art for the story. I want to give my appreciation for many years of truly excellent, professional-grade, made-to-order work on bringing the story to life through his work.

I'd also like to announce now that we have a new "official" artist of Maverick Hunter Quest, as I'm sure you've seen through the art of Scatter Seelie, Anode, and, of course, Moloch. Please join me in welcoming Cas, who has already given us some dynamite offerings, and steadfastly endured CL and I throwing eleventh-hour requests at her feet and delivering miracles.

>>3410712
Check in with the 'rents. Tell them we'll visit soon

>>3410718
>Go check in on Cathode.

>>3410718
>Go check in on Cathode.

Give her the utility belt already!

>>3410738
Farewell ELK, and welcome, Cas! I love Moloch's artwork!

Speaking of whom, Anode is fucking lucky to have survived that encounter. If Zero thinks that Moloch is G-rank, I believe him. We never had a chance.

>>3410718
>Report for debrief ASAP.
>Anode got dropped onto a “””G”””
Lmao

>>3410801
>Implying Zero isn’t inflating Moloch’s rank for the express purpose of getting to kick his shit in faster

>>3410801
That all but confirms some connection between Moloch and Komodo

>>3410830
Inflating him to G wouldn't get Moloch killed faster. It would keep A and S rank hunters away from him for the most part.

>>3410718
>Go check in on Cathode.

I'm sorry to any Frog loyalists, but Gopher is officially my guy.

>>3410718
>>Report for debrief ASAP.

>>3410718
>>Report for debrief ASAP.
get it done and we can figure what we have to work with in terms of resources and money.

>>3410718
Call Cathode and then call our parents. They all must be worried SICK.

>>3410718
>Go check in on Cathode

>>3410851
>I'm sorry to any Frog loyalists, but Gopher is officially my guy.

Both have been great commanders. If we lose Gopher, I hope his replacement can live up to both.

>>3410718
>Cathode
She was down for repairs last I recall, and now Anode's been down for a few days, so she's probably up and about and just as worried as he was.

Would it be tasteless to drop constant hints about why exactly he was getting repaired?
>Gee, it's great to hear from you, sis!
>Gee, can't believe I was out that long.
>What hit me? Gee, I dunno. Oh hey, did you see me throw that train?

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>>3410851
Don't get me wrong, I liked the hell out of Frog, but I'd much rather have a no-bullshit, gets-shit-done motivated commander than a depressed dude who openly hates his job, no matter how cool of a person he was. People like Gopher get things done proactively.

>>3410718
>Report for debrief ASAP.
Gopher knows when we were cleared and has done right by us. There will be time to inform everyone of our patched up holes after.

Preferably in a fireworks display spelling out "I LIVED BITCHES"

>>3410738
Thank you for the work, ELK. Looking forward to seeing more from Cas.

>>3410718
>Check on Cathode
our date can wait for after the debriefing

>Send Spider that greeting card, even if it's sloppily done on paint21XX

>>3410718
Cathode

>>3410855
>>3410919
Debrief isn't scheduled until tomorrow, we've got time to kill.

>>3410848
You act like that's not part of the plan.

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Trying to get an update out tonight but you bastards would get me to write a social call while my brain's on the fritz, wouldn't you.

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>>3410718
>Check in with Cathode.

>>3410738
The "looming Moloch" piece was outstanding, wasn't it folks? Cas also put together what character art there was in last year's Shooting Star MHQ spinoff, up to and including protagonist Meteor Showa!

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>>3413611
Imagine work like this, at least three more times this season. Only question is who'll be the first Maverick to face Stripped-Wire Anode.

Which reminds me...

>>3413415
Let's check the bullet-list news too, if possible.

>>3410738
>>3413635
Yeah the duality art is really cool.

>>3413642
To be clear, ELK did the "hunched Moloch" piece, which Cas then combined with HC/CL's input to do the "looming Moloch" piece.

>>3413699
ahh, that explains things a bit better. I thought one artist did both molochs

Lurker spitballing out a piece of useless advice. Em got good because he had to fight repeatedly under restrictive conditions (he has essentially no upgrades, I think he just has EAS and that's It.) so he's refined what he does have to an Incredible degree.

Anode's always been dependent on his charge and most likely until this 'season' Is over we've just got a nerf to our capacitor. Before next mission, I suggest we have Anode spend some time In the simulation room alone. In theory, we can use data of our previous time In the sim to compare the difference In how our capacitor functions, get a feel for It before we use It for real. Furthermore I'd like to suggest we try to get used to fighting without our capacitor. If Anode Is heavily dependent on charge for his damage and mobility then If we ever have to keep fighting against a serious opponent In a situation where we lose It due to damage we could very well die.

The more comfortable Anode Is fighting without relying on his Charge as a crutch the better we stand a chance by having a stronger fundamental of the basics as well as an overall gain In stored charge by being able to better conserve It for when we really do need It and being able to really push hard when we do use It. We don't need to use charge to outmaneuver or outbrute our enemies If we can outskill them Instead.

Let's have Anode spend a few hours fighting without his Capacitor, have him fight In the simulator against some of our past mavericks perhaps, or preferably some melee focused ones.

>>3413867
Ah yes, a training montage episode it is.

Which means CL can throw in ALL the simulated birds.

>>3413867
A swell idea. We don't utilize the sims nearly enough.

>>3413867
While true, Em has literal years of experience over Anode. We're not going to see quite that noticeable returns that we aren't already getting from lessons on the job.

>>3414070
I don't think Anode has actually hit a year's worth of service yet. He was thrown into the grinder the moment he touched down in Geneva.

>>3414181
True, but some practice to figure what the effects are and to test limits will help. What we can't compensate with experience we can compensate with gear that compliments us.
For instance, that Green Screen idea of Em's. If we modify it, it could serve as a cover for our movements. Not only that, but if we add refractive material, whenever we use some juice we could cause a flash that could further disorient the enemy. Would mix well with our style even without charge.

>>3414334
Green Screen is not very effective on Anode. He's a much bigger dude, with much more obvious tells. Shriver has visual AND audio cues, and old Em was specifically geared for fakeouts and small, unreadable hits.

Making a FLASHY green screen is a possibility though. Since we have all this wasted energy when ejecting electricity now, maybe we can just turn into a discoball.

>>3414334
>>3414361
Although sidenote, Green Screen in its base form MIGHT pair well with Lockon Hunter.

>>3414361
Well, we have a means to do more flashy fakeouts ourselves. One thing I have been thinking about is how exactly are we going to be stealthy when we shine like the sun when we use shriver? The answer: Hide the sun behind another sun. Find a way to circulate our current without releasing it. Have our channels give the sign, but produce nothing at the end. If any use of our channels suddenly has the chance of being nothing, then that tell becomes a lot less reliable. Even dangerous, giving us another means to control the situation.

>>3414451
I wonder if there would be a way to tune tumult shells so that they function like a one-way window. Having a huge opaque screen flying out to hide what you're doing behind it could prove very useful.

>>3414655
Well, we could also use them in a different way, by shooting at the shells ourselves and have them burst at the enemy with the concentrated energy. Could even combo it with throws to add more pain.

>>3413872
>>3413955
Running a sim of Schwarz would probably be a good idea. Would give us an idea how the damage to the capacitor affects us in combat, and possibly give us an idea of what areas Anode needs improvement on. Schwarz was a generalist like Anode after all.

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>>3413867
>>3415162
I'm definitely for doing a Schwarz sim.

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>>3410779
>>3410794
>>3410851
>>3411113
>>3411340
>>3411903
>>3412463
Cathode was just coming out of a crisis of her own, when last you called. You may as well call back now that you’re returning the favor.

You damn near walk back to the old 4th barracks before remembering you’re based out of the main campus, now.

It’s a short walk to the outer ring from the elevators and back into friendly territory. You check yourself in the window with a grimace--you’ve finished whole hunts in better condition than you look right now. The work of the Lifesavers--practical, focused on repairing the damage and not so much about what they had to do to get there. A long white patch over your middle, running from beneath your partial breastplate down to your waist makes you feel like you’re wearing a giant band-aid, and the damage to your armor itself hasn’t been patched--you suspect because the entire outer layer has been written off.

You almost opt for an audio-only call to Cath as you settle into the comms booth, but decide to just keep repping your fall-down-the-stairs-of-life brand.

She picks up already howling.

“YOU THREW A TRAIN.”

You grin. “I definitely threw a train.”

She leans in, nose to the glass. “You look like shit AND YOU THREW A TRAIN.”

“It was awesome,” the two of you chorus, and break into giggles as one.

She leans back in her seat, taking a proper look at you. “Vancouver wasn’t nice, I take it?”

“I’m on that caustic base weight loss plan,” you reply dryly. “It was a long few days, I’ll tell you that. What about you? Last time I called, it was your turn.”

“Yeah…” She folds her arms. “Was on an advance positioning op into Dopplertown. Real rat bastard, Crush Crawfish, jumped my team.”

“You get him?”

Cathode scowls. “He got me. Soaked up a full barrage without even slowing down and cut my barrels.”

You wince. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“All but my pride, yeah. And you too. What happened?”

“Graverend Moloch.”

“Edgy.”

“I almost wish he was. Imagine getting disassembled by the most cheerful fucking psychopath.”

“No thanks.”

“He…” You side-eye. “Did some permanent damage.”

Cathode’s eyes flash with sororal fury. “I’ll kill him. How bad?”

“Not sure yet, but I’m still in the game. And don’t,” you warn. “He’s Zero’s problem now.”

She processes that for a moment before sitting back again, exhaling through her nose. “No shit. Zero? Really?”

You nod. “I hit him with everything but thoughts and prayers, and he just did not give a shit.”

“I’m glad you made it out. You talked to the folks yet?”

“Not yet. Sounds like they might already know, I think one of the ‘savers mentioned something about getting their damage assessment.”

She nods distantly. “Let me know when you find out, okay?”

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>>3415503
“I will. Honestly, it doesn’t sound bad--it could’ve been a lot worse. I think I’m just gonna be a bit more sparky.”

“Let me know,” she repeats. “I gotta go. I love you, little bro.”

“Love you too, little sis,” you reply with a grin. “Be safe.”

The line goes dark, and you push the chair back with a sigh.

You decide to knock out the call home while you’re at it--everyone’s glad to see you, apologetic and sympathetic and concerned and so happy you’re up and at ‘em again. It’s a little painful, but you grin and bear it, knowing they need to know you’re okay. The capacitor damage, they’re sorry to say, will take a long time to fix, and be a long time before they can fix--but they share the Lifesaver assessment that you’re not going to be impacted too grievously.

With that done, you at least feel the nag of obligation and Not Wanting to Worry off your back. You still have some time.

>Go find a friend. (Specify)
>Catch up on the news you’ve missed.
>Go to the range to check the damage.
>Other?

>>3415508
>Go find a friend.
>Em

Maybe we can go to the bar and face the talking heads together, if he's not busy catering to a psychopath.

>>3415508
>Report for debrief

>>3415508
>Catch up on the news you’ve missed.

>>3415519
Em is out of town right now on an extended mission. Gopher said this up thread.

>>3415508
>Go find a friend

Haven't heard from Indy in awhile. Or see if our favorite gun bear is on site.

>>3415508
>>Go find a friend. (Specify)
Electric date bear?

>>3415519
>>3415528

You are right, my friend. Okay, changing to "Go find India".

>>3415508
>Find a friend
Indy, maybe give Grach or Spider a quick ‘Glad you’re alive’ call.

>>3415508
thirding India

>>3415546
We did see India just before the Moloch mission. She was building her jet with Foxfire's help; apparently they get along well together. We live in dark and terrifying times.

I assume "our favorite" gun bear is the electric one we have a casual date with, and not the explosive Russian one we do not currently have a date with?

>>3415508
>Go to the range to check the damage.
I would like to see if Looey has anyone in a headlock yet for trying to bring the Culverin onto the range.

>>3415865
I will back this if only to see that mad man and figure out what we can do with the damage. Sides, might see others there as well.

>>3415508
>Go to the range to check the damage.

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>>3415865
> We live in dark and terrifying times.

>>3415503
>Crush Crawfish
>Takes on entire squad and drives them off.
>Will be promptly soloed and murderized along with all of his troops by the blue boy scout.
X is kinda bullshit isn't he?

>>3415508
>>Catch up on the news you’ve missed.
Might as well find out about Detroit: Be drunk Hunter.

>>3415972
Also

>grab a cheesesteak at some point

something something organic matter something something autorepair something something wiz wit

>>3416028
I don't think Crawfish had any troops, just the Vile teleporter, a boat, and some mechaniloids which actively destroy his own base of operations

>>3415508
>Go to the range to check the damage

>>3416235
We should also have check in with our Lightning Bear to confirm our date time table for getting those drinks

I reaaaaally think we should get the debriefing done with before talking to electric bear.

Upgrades and the like could involve significant downtime.

>>3416337
Agreed.

>>3415865
I meant our good Russian friend, gatlingbear always knows how to have a good time. But maybe we should see our date. Or Crankshaft and his 'granddaughter'

>>3416028
Really curious where X is in his roster lately.

>>3415508
Skim the news on the way to India. See how her plane's coming.

>>3415508
>Go to the range to check the damage.
It'll be nice to see Looey again.

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Every damn time.
>Go to the range to check the damage.
You can’t put it out of your mind any longer. You head straight for the range.

Looey is currently standing atop a table, arms folded, head shaking ‘no’ back-and-forth like an oscillating fan.

Flak, frowning hugely and making the puppiest dog eyes, wibbles. “But--”

“Nough,” declares Looey.

“We can--”

“Nooooooough.”

“But I just--!”

“Nnnnnooooooouuugh.”

“Fiiiiine,” he sighs, huffing like a melodramatic four-year-old.

“Was that the culverin?” You ask, trotting up.

“It was the culverin,” Flak replies with a salute. “Good to see you again!”

“You too, and--hold on.” You don’t remember Flak being quite so… tall.

A quick glance tells you he’s had some work done. His boots seem to have had small platforms installed--and more than that, working around the cage of metal hanging from his chest, four clawed stakes in construction-bar black and yellow ring either of his boots, running up from the soles straight up past the ankle.

“Upgrades?”

Flak beams. “Yessir. We made bank off Vancouver. We chipped in together and bought a second EAS, and Susan insisted it go to me, and I figured, well, if I was getting my legs opened up anyway...”

“So, you’ve got a dash now?”

He bounces giddily (and heavily) on his new toys, rattling with bits of kit and a few straps for his heavy weapons. “Yessir! Spent the last few days practicing with it, too, look--”

He raises a foot, only for Looey’s hand to clamp down on his shoulder like a vise.

”Nough,” Looey whispers.

“Aw.”

“Anyway, I’ve got some testing of my own to do. Looey, have we got a safe place for me to do some zapping?”

His head slowly turns to face you, eyes wide and unblinking. “NoooOOOOOOUUHHhhhyes we do, right this way sah.”

Flak waves you goodbye as you follow him to a side-bay, paint on the wall indicating IMPACT RANGE. It seems to be, more than much else, a hardened box. Looey gestures to a small table on the side, featuring a small number of apparatus and an ammo tap.

“Can I get a charge off something?” You ask.

He frowns, mulls it over, then produces a cattle prod with a flourish. A few minutes later, he retreats out the door, three interlocking seals and a status light indicating the room is secured. A small target whizzes up from a hatch in the floor, which vanishes beneath a heavy ceratanium slab.

You pulse your Shriver, feeling the current bound through your limbs.

You also watch it arc and snap in the air, saturating it with low-level static electricity, buzzing and crackling off your body as blue-white sparks fly.

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>>3418582
You frown hugely. It felt the same as ever--no more of that nasty under-the-skin burn--but you feel like a fork in a microwave. Your capacitors seem about the same as ever, dutifully reporting your charge level.

You try a more overt use.

Raikousen is a lightshow as you zip from wall to wall, turning to see the last of a shower of sparks rain down in your wake. Lightning lingers and sizzles after the move, rippling down your legs.

You try the most overt use.

A torrent of electrical wrath fountains from your fingertips, bolts surging forward with hellish noises rebounding off the barren walls, fairly well drowning you in a miniature tesla coil. You fire as long as you can, and find the number ticking down to 0 just a second faster than you’re used to.

It’s like missing a stair. You grimace--they’re not wrong, the damage was relatively minor, but you’re a day-glo, fulminating popsicle. Every little move sends up a little arc, and your armor smokes lightly from flash-heat along the surfaces. Silently grateful that your most frequent options seem more-or-less unharmed, you resign yourself to being slightly less zappy--and more showy--than you were one mission ago.

>Now you know. Look into your pay for some upgrades.
>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.

>>3418596
>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.
debrief before upgrades. The global situation could be greatly different.

>>3418596
>>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.
I want to see what our mission in the end gives us in terms of help and other things before using money. With the scientist alive and safe, maybe we can look into contacting him to help with Em's pet project, the variable saber.

>>3418596
>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.
We turned down the stealthy upgrade path, long long ago.

>>3418596
>>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.

>>3418596
>>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.
Manageable.

>>3418596
>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.
Well, it's not like we were all that subtle beforehand. I'm glad the Berets are getting paid, they did great.

>>3418596
>Debrief

RIP any stealth options. And good to know there's one less EAS to buy!

>>3418596
>>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.

>>3418596
>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.

Always get that debrief first when it's freshest.

>>3418596
>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.

>>3418596
>You pulse your Shriver, feeling the current bound through your limbs. You also watch it arc and snap in the air, saturating it with low-level static electricity, buzzing and crackling off your body as blue-white sparks fly.
>Raikousen is a lightshow as you zip from wall to wall, turning to see the last of a shower of sparks rain down in your wake. Lightning lingers and sizzles after the move, rippling down your legs.
>You grimace--they’re not wrong, the damage was relatively minor, but you’re a day-glo, fulminating popsicle. Every little move sends up a little arc, and your armor smokes lightly from flash-heat along the surfaces. Silently grateful that your most frequent options seem more-or-less unharmed, you resign yourself to being slightly less zappy--and more showy--than you were one mission ago.

This is the best battle damage I've ever heard of. This belongs in Fucking Awesome Upgrade territory.

It's like having a badass facial scar, but one that catches fire and has a heavy metal background theme whenever you level a glare at someone.

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>>3419012
> It's like having a badass facial scar, but one that catches fire and has a heavy metal background theme whenever you level a glare at someone.

I don't know about heavy metal so much, I think you'll recall Anode's moment of awesome had this cue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGyugYwuY5M

>>3419012
While it looks badass and has minimal effect on our powers, I suspect the main downside is giving us more Weakness triggers.

>>3419022
Hell yeah! But a bit too clean for what I was imagining. Doesn't really put me in mind of "random electrical sparking".

Maybe more like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUP1ZBwK2S0

>>3418596
>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.

>>3418596
>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.
Well the Mavericks will be pleased to know that calling us Livewire is more fitting than ever

Probably no main thread update tonight. Will try to get through shenanigans because we're on something of a timer, ain't gonna bother making a second thread for it.

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>>3418848
>Enough faffing. Report for debrief.

Your worst fears allayed, if not exactly completely to your satisfaction, you head back to base for debrief, giving Gopher a quick ping you’re on your way. However relieved you are about the majority of your tricks remaining undamaged, you can’t help but feel diminished, lessened in a tangible way.

More than despondence, you find it annoys you--like you’ve been given a score to even with the marauding bastards.

You’re in the right mood for the breakdown, at least, when you meet up with your CO. Zero is already there, arms folded as he leans against the wall, still managing to look intense and impatient with his eyes closed and his head down.

“Good timing,” Gopher greets. “Your navigator should be here any…”

“Sorry! I’m sorry!” Iris intrudes, almost stumbling into the room. “I’m not late, am I?”

“Right on time. If you’re both ready?”

You nod, taking a seat. Iris hesitates for a moment before sitting next to you.

Gopher clears his throat, the wallscreen winking on behind him. “From the top, then.”

“While your mission has officially been classed a failure, you made a very good accounting for yourself. Canada is grateful--mostly for the Richmond action--and appreciative of the work you’ve done to clean up Vancouver.”

You frown. “Richmond? Really?”

“Raschen was holding down the airport all by himself. All air travel, commercial or otherwise, was grounded. Imagine that for a city Vancouver’s size.”

You nod--you can see it, even if Raschen’s attack felt like small potatoes next to everything else. “What about the SkyLoop?”

Gopher’s tone is no-nonsense. “They’re not stupid. While neither they nor Command can endorse the kind of property damage you doled out, everyone knows how much worse it would have been if you hadn’t. Officially, no reprimands, no commendations, and Canada’s posture is about the same. The mayor vouched for you, thank your lucky stars.”

“Gee, thanks,” you mutter. Iris giggles.

“Unofficially, Kermod would like to thank you for cleaning up his city, and on consultation with the CAF, they’ve elected to open their internal catalogues to you. You’ll get a missive.”

Zero makes a sharp exhalation through his nose, forestalling a chuckle. You suspect he’s gotten a lot of “no-thanks-thanks” like this in his time.

“Which brings us to the after-action proper. As you probably heard, Claxton made it away with Higurashi, and he’s being classed MIA, presumed KIA.”

You nod, matching Zero from the wall. He stands straight, blue eyes clear and focused on the debrief materials.

Gopher continues. “However, in order to make his escape, Moloch and his crew had to give up their basing. Which is where the DoD/RCMP forces found Dr. Leobrenner and his family. Nourished, such as it is, injured, but alive and clearheaded.”

Iris raises her hand. “Pardon me, but were they able to…”

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>>3423706
“They were. Dr. Leobrenner shed some light on Moloch’s operation, as you probably have some guesses on. Moloch’s mystery box was a tool he used to transfer DNA imprints from live captives--captives like Higurashi.”

You remember the body count Raschen recounted to you in his interrogation. “That explains all the VWES his gang was swimming with.”

“And now he’s got my officer,” Zero not-quite-growls.

“He does, but there’s a silver lining,” Gopher says. “Moloch had some understanding of the process, enough to work on it himself, but nowhere near the acumen as the Doctor. Jacob was working on implementation, hardware, and installation for the gang. He was as sure as he could be that Moloch would be unable to provide stolen data for any prospective replacements for his losses.”

“...Meaning no more easy VWES access for his crew,” you note.

“What’s left of it.” Gopher gestures the list. “Three confirmed captures, three retirements, more than half of which were your work.”

The Moloch gang as you know it winks onscreen--and you feel a moment of dirty, savage satisfaction at the number of red Xs on the board.

“Without Dr. Leobrenner, we can assume Moloch will have full DNA hijacking access, but his team will be declawed. Given testimony from the captives, he didn’t command their loyalty for his sunny personality, more for the weapons he could offer them.”

“That still leaves us the primary on the loose,” Zero adds softly.

“It does. Which is where I tell you, Captain, that as of this morning, Graverend Moloch is no longer your problem.”

“I’ll be handling him personally,” Zero adds. “Though I may ask you--either of you--” He glances at Iris, who suddenly takes a keen interest in the ceiling--”For your insights.”

“Yessir.”

Iris bobs her head like a particularly motivated drinking bird.

“On that note, Captain.” Zero looks over at you. “I need you to tell me everything you can about him.”

So you do--his mannerisms, before and after, his VWES--the fire javelins, the gravity pulses, the shoulder lasers.

“Just the spears? No other fire attacks?” Zero asks pointedly.

“None I know of. I’m guessing it was VWES, I guess, he didn’t seem to have many.”

He seems to accept that, and you go on , outlining Moloch’s control of the earth spikes, the caustic, the change from thuggish brawler to canny ambusher. The regenerating, spike-growing armor, and, most infuriatingly, his seemingly bottomless shielding.

“I hit him with everything,” you recount. “Emptied my VWES, damn near. Shot him, burned him, shocked him, stabbed him, froze his chestplate.”

“And we saw what you’re capable of outputting on the news,” Gopher adds wryly, point underscored by the damage estimates for the action in Vancouver.

“Which is why he’s coming to Shinobi,” Zero agrees with a scowl. “He took one of ours.”

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>>3423711
“Think he’s a Hunter Killer?” Gopher asks.

Zero shakes his head. “No. I’m going to need to talk to Nautiller first. Keep this under wraps until further notice. The last thing we need to do is lionize him.”

Gopher nods. “I agree with Zero’s assessment. While this isn’t classified--yet--I suggest discretion. From both of you,” he directs to Iris, who ‘eeps’ quietly and sits up more fully in her chair.

“And I guess that’s the ballgame,” he finishes, turning back to you. “Once you’re 100%, we’ll assess your roster situation, but as I recall, you’ve got at least a few more ahead of you.”

“Yessir.”

“Then you’re dismissed.” He turns back to Iris. “Thank you for your time.”

Iris nods again, gathering herself as she shuffles off the chair and scurries out like she’s late for war.

Zero watches her go, before turning back to you. “Captain?”

“Yessir?”

“Who was that, anyway?”

“Her name’s Iris,” you shrug. “She’s new.”

“Iris… right. Thank you.”

Gopher dims the wallscreen. “Anything further?”

>

>>3423721
>What did we get from the captured officers?
>What's your take on the shield-disabler? The box was for DNA imprinting, so was it one of his hidden VWES options after all, or something else?

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>>3423721
>No, sir.

Should we make a quick call to sis to tell her to keep anything we told her about Moloch on the down low?

>>3423745
we only have to tell her not to talk about the zero bit, but that alone might be more indiscrete than just not saying anything.

>>3423721
Actually, yeah. There is one thing. Dr. Leobrenner is pretty good when it comes to DNA, and we might have something for him to look at; Emerald's design for the variable saber. Seems he hit a bottle neck with it, but if its made right, we open up a new kit for hunters that can help the war. It would also serve as a big carrot for a certain green midget that he has talents outside of fighting.
Honestly, just want to open up the possibility of getting one of those for us, or even moding our lance with one.

>>3423867
I'll support that.

Anyone else want to add a third potential melee weapon to our list, by the way? Kind of think it may be time to open up the arsenal a bit further.

>>3423918
Not really, the lance more or less covers everything we need out of a melee weapon.

>>3423918
I agree.

>>3423923
No, it doesn't. As a low beam even with an electric boost it doesn't deal that much damage. It is a solid weapon when we want to be defensive but become less useful when we need to cut through well shielded opponents.

A hi-beam twohander would be a solid increase to melee damage.

>>3423867
Thirding

>>3423923
>>3423960
Don't get me wrong, the lance is a beast. But right now, we have a can opener and a decent damage, spectacular defense lobeam. I'm wondering about something at least above average melee wise meant primarily for sustained heavy offensive. Or at least we learn to knife fight with our misericorde properly

>>3423721
>Any trace of Pink and Blink?

>>3424011
Which is why I'm think a hi beam two-hander tuned for wrecking shielded targets.

Could always look into a vibroblade.

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>>3423918
>>3423960
>>3423988
>>3424079
You'll have pay and a chance to upgrade/replace expended resources (flare, throwing knife, Pullu cells), you can discuss melee weapon ideas there anyway. I've also got a few toys of my own to suggest that I think would really add to Anode's burgeoning combat style.

Also, I took tomorrow off work. Let's aim for a few posts, eh?

>>3424079
Imagine the Damage Anode could do with with a Vibroblade coupled with the Mass Shriver
Down side is lugging around a Vibroblade

>>3424231
Well depends on how we design it. While weight might be important, we could try for wrist mountings. A Axe would be pretty handy for a shape, even if one handed.

>>3424231
You gotta go gauntlets with the shriver.

>>3424079
True, but the only way a vibroblade could match against a beam saber and not melt into slag upon contact is if it matches its frequency, and when you have no way of knowing if someone's packing a hi or lo beam, it becomes a liability, right?

Unless, of course, we sink the resources into making it dual mode, which I think would be far more feasible with a solid weapon than a beam saber; far less fiddly bits to fuck with that could produce undesired effects.

>>3424342
That would be pretty cool

>>3424342
Well, think of the weapons Revived Chaff Weasel and Collide had. If its sturdy enough, its not a issue. Also a matter of how you use it and the size. A heavy swing is easier to block than a quick jab.

>>3423918
>>3424078
In terms of raw damage output, a long reach weapon geared against Shields would round out our specialties.

But from recent experiences, such a weapon would be of limited use to us. Collide was no-selling anything but heavy armor-pen, and super evil Moloch had too much strength and too many attack vectors to fight off with only one weapon.

I need to think on what I would recommend.

>>3423918
>Misericorde
Honestly, when was the last time we got to use this for super close range fighting? How many people WANT to get into super close range against the highly mobile electric hug machine with bursty shriver strength?

From a strict "get to use this consistently and effectively" standpoint, I would recommend completely rejiggering it into
>>Shoulder Hardpoint
>>Spiderbite
>>Grapple Motors
This will get us something much like Moloch's tail: a hands-free armor penetrating attack that hits fast and hard, only with more range, icy payload, and an extended electric hug if we want it.

The main downside(aside from cost) is that this would very likely cost us T.Coils. We could conceivably move all the batmanning to the shoulders(or wherever else we want them), but we're still greatly limiting the angles we could work with for grapple hooks. On the other hand, I think a hardpoint would enable faster Coils, both firing and pulling us this way and that.

>>3424649
>Dual solid-material blades
Shriver two heavy weapons. Go full kirito. Not EXACTLY armor-pen, but we have enough strength and tankiness to just be a roving sphere of destruction.

It overlaps a lot with what the Lance already does, though, just with a higher offensive cap and a lower defensive cap.


>Zweihander/Halberd/big 2handed shield shredder
>Beam Amplifier - Ejderha LKB040 “Klaımor”
>Hardpoint->Saberpack
For the sake of posterity, I'll leave an entry for this.

I really feel that if we go for a long reach Hi-beam geared for shield damage, we need to go all the way and add the saberpack. The electric component will boost the shield damage as well as enable us to consistently use it on mechaniloids and minibosses.

It won't quite be Collide or Moloch's weakness, but it WILL give them significantly more pause compared to the lance.


>>3424253
I'll do you one better: Detachable Piledriver Gauntlets

Shriver already handles the offensive component of punches. Regular gauntlets would mainly serve to protect our hands from crazy wrestling moves and saber catching.

But if we can install mini-piles into the gauntlets, we can punch lightning rods into enemies we push away, where we can then Lance spray at our leisure.

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>>3424649
>Honestly, when was the last time we got to use this for super close range fighting?
We used it on Moloch and Mortarphant before that. Possibly the guy who died offscreen in Turkey too, we didn't bother using it on the one who was ice elemental and Schwarz rekt us too fast.

>>3424762
Moloch didn't let us use it properly, he had us struck in grapples for all super-close engagements. Mortarphant's was more a killshot and overall damage which we were dolling out with every other weapon.

The only time it's been used for proper knife dueling is when we bailed the BB out of that outpost hit.

>>3423721
Should mention that we discussed that with Cathode then. After all, she didn't tell us that X was gon' give it to Crawfish.

>>3424771
I recall that we learned about Moloch's regenerating armor by breaking it with the LN though.

>>3423721
>No, sir.

>>3423867
This is a good idea, but the guy and his family were abducted for weeks by a bunch of Mavericks. A mere two days after their rescue is probably not the most considerate time to be pitching job offers at him.

Unless he kicks in the doors and starts shouting about designing up some Maverick-smashing VWES JUSTICE. Then by all means, let's give him ideas.

We're probably going to meet him soon, anyway. Usually the rescuees want to say thank you afterwards to their rescuers.

>>3424652
>>3424079
True, just not sure how good that would be for us given most of our stuff so far lacks weight - that is to say, Anode seems mostly trained for plasma weapon usage. So something to consider for a potential sidearm weapon is how much time we could put into knowing even the basics of using it, things like heft and such. Though admittedly I am now imagining a vibroblade hatchet or one hand axe could be nasty.

Something I just got reminded of, so we never got that Spool Reclaim on the T. Coil and we are super reliant on that. We should probably make those better since they're left behind.

>>3425769
And to add to that, what if the harpoon head idea some people have suggested for the T. Coils could be used as a melee weapon we punch into someone? Potentially as an extension of the melee weapon idea, and given a bit of other conversation, potentially upgradeable into a sort of harpoon pile bunker combo where we punch a guy, it gets hammered in by some kind of extra force from launching the spool head, and then we begin to toss them around on the end of a rope?

>>3425769
Whatever else we do, I think this is paramount. They're an irreplaceable part of our kit at this point, and one of our best mobility options and overall versatile moves.

>>3425769
It takes a LOT for us to run out of T Coil, though. Moloch Op proved that it's actually possible to run out, but we need one of the charged variants to justify it.

>>3425835
Thing is, it's the closest to being upgradeable to charge. Mostly just pointing out that it's something that makes one of our biggest staples even longer lasting given we always take it with us. Should probably invest in making it a better weapon somehow, at least - it gets shredded on a lot of stuff these days.

>>3425845
You're preaching to the choir: I have been voting to pick up T Coil upgrades for the last...3+ upgrade sessions.

I even considered it at one point after getting recked by Schwarz.

>>3425845
The issue is mostly about money. We've been trying to open up paths for our newer gear or improving what we have along with our men.
Still, it is a good idea to improve the wires. We should empty the Himilaya fund though. These fights are getting tough and the money is needed.

>>3425855
I'm not sure how good the reels will be if our cables keep getting ripped apart, but it can help with retaining ammo for maneuvering. That said, I think the cables have next to no value for attacking by this point, especially since we put resources into taking the bladed edges off of them.

>>3425911
But we didn't deblade them. Not yet at least. Could, but we can also make them more conductive.

>>3425918
I'm pretty sure we debladed them a long time ago. Like, after the frost spider offed himself with them. Making them more conductive isn't a bad idea though.

>>3426009
we have not.

Deblading them has a pretty hefty cost to it, so we never got around to it.

>>3426009
Nope. We never purchased that upgrade. Was mentioned but never done. Still got brought up in season 2 upgrade sessions and still not bought.

>>3426031
Gotcha, not sure why I thought we did, then.

I think a better upgrade for the Coils is making it so that they don't take up a VWES slot anymore..

>>3426060
Takes time and money, meaning more we pour in, the closer we get.

>>3426060
So, Hardpoint?

>Tension Coil: Wire Reclaim
Mission 7: Where Eagles Dare
50k
Regain half the weapon energy used. Does not reclaim charged shots.

>Tension Coil: Improved Conductivity
Mission 7: Where Eagles Dare
25k
The wires can already channel electricity, this makes them better at doing so.

>Tension Coil: Nonlethalized Braid
Mission 7: Where Eagles Dare
25k
T. Coil is still lethal, most noticeably when actually straining against it, which pushes the monofilaments out. This upgrade removes the bladed braid. Can still do damage by striking with the charged variant (if you get one).

>Charged Tension Coil: Modified Head
Mission 7: Where Eagles Dare
50k
Fires a faster launching-and-retracting cable with an alternate head, chosen at upgrade. 4x ammo cost

>Charged Tension Coil : Shred Zone
Mission 11: Vixen Vexation
Yeouiju Favor, very expensive otherwise
As the weapon with the most development R&D informs you they would be capable of adding a charged capacity to your weapon. At the cost of four ammunition per shot, “Shred Zone” charged DNA option would anchor four cables to your chassis at cardinal points that move with you in a rapid spin. The coils can anchor to surfaces, and firing a coil again will allow you to suspend from or swing from the cable net. Spinning cables are highly dangerous and capable of armor penetration. 4x ammo cost

>Misericorde - Spiderbite
Mission 11: Vixen Vexation
Yeouiju Favor, very expensive otherwise
Interface with T. Coil and capacitor energy to mount the blade on the end of a coil and launch it on an electrified line, hitting from up to ten feet away. The payload is triggered manually, so a missed shot will not expend the LN reservoir.
<Warning: May cause additional instability.

T Coil upgrades are pricey.

>>3426086
Agreed, all of those are really expensive.

>>3426165
Mission 7 is all the way back from the previous season, so I HOPE we'll start seeing discounts.

>>3426190
Discounts or at least some variants more worth our zenny. Pretty sure we're not getting a raise unless we rank up. Otherwise we'd need a slowdown in available upgrades but that prospect is more worrying than others, at least for the sake of quest choices.

>>3426077
Can you even make a VWES a hardpoint though?

>>3426207
Been wondering if deweaponizing it could lead to discounts elsewhere. Like possibly making it easier to reclaim, or give it a ceratanium harpoon head or something.

>>3426207
From what we've seen, upgrades tend to lead to better ones down the road. The spools opened up the ability to reclaim for instance and the jetpack tree has been growing well.

>>3426498
>Can you even make a VWES a hardpoint though?
Charge, our very first hardpoint option was turning Shell Driver into a shoulder canon.

>>3426537
nonlethalized potentially opens the way for sturdier, beam resistant coils.

>>3426824
No, our first one was using Mortarphant to make a hardpoint shoulder cannon instead of Shell Driver. Bit of a difference there.

>>3426841
>Blaster Launcher
Mission 14: Ivory Tower
Mortarphant DNA AND Hardpoint(30k)
By installing a hardpoint into Anode’s shoulder, the larger barrel and more stable firing configuration will allow a longer range, higher-power shell. Though mounting a shoulder cannon will slightly reduce Anode’s overall mobility, any created shoulder weapons will be removeable before fielding. In general, shoulder-mount weapons do not consume a VWES slot, and exceptions will be noted. This particular weapon has no ammunition limit.

Just to set the record straight.

Okay, strictly speaking, that is true. But Tension Coil is the Stock DNA option of Jagwire's DNA, and we have changed very little of the weapon itself, not to mention that we intend to use every upgrade T Coil has in the theoretical hardpoint.

I can't 100% guarantee that it won't consume a VWES slot, but I think we can still do it given that we aren't deviating from any upgrade path for Coils to do so.

>>3426846
Arm mounted hardpoints for the T Coil maybe then? If it is allowed. Though if it is, we should invest in the return spool for even more longevity.

>>3427053
It's absurd just how much work Anode gets out of those coils.

>>3427244
Especially post Shriver. Chucks motherfuckers into other motherfuckers all day now.

>>3427053
I always wanted Anode to be Spider-Man.