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It is the year 2000 AD.

The Rapture happened in 1996.

The Locusts of Apollyon are here.

You have kidnapped or killed the most likely Antichrist candidates, and you're getting ready to bun the locusts to dust with a massive air strike.

Given that you were only supposed to run the internet, well.... things may have snowballed a lttle bit.

Have you shattered the prophecies, or are you merely helping fulfill them?

Good luck, Foreman.
>>
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Previous thread:

>>3827914

>>3842423 (OP)

DAY 0

Impact of Fragment 4

DAY 1

Foreman arrives. 2 work teams arrive. Sec team arrives. Drones arrive.

Gap Generator testing. First casualty. Locust bodies recovered.

Possible Council teleconference. (You are here)

DAY 2

Airstrike scheduled

Autopsy completed scheduled for completion

Possible Council teleconference.

DAY 3

Armored train arrives

Medical team arrives

Possible Council teleconference.

DAY 4

Giant speaker arrives

Tissue sample analysis scheduled for completion

Possible Council teleconference.

----


Rules: http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pub/web/LeftBeyond.Quest2Rules.html
Datalinks: http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pub/web/LeftBeyond.Quest2Datalinks.html
Timeline: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BlMOSEOxSihj1gdagq7yxCjONaRBgcdlRxnc68uWf0A

----

Pending decisions:

You need to decide what the shift limit for people who choose to work for you using VR rather than regular computer interfaces is.

# Leave it to 8 hours, citing health concerns

# Acquiesce to Aki's request and bump it up to 12 hours

# Compromise on 10 hours

More importantly:

You have collected under your official or unofficial control the Peacekeepers (Nicolae Carpatescu's global defense initiative), a large section of the economy, and the entire internet. The Peacekeepers have just surrendered to the coalition you built, and are preparing what's left of their airforce to launch an air strike on the Fragment 4 landing site.

# End the day

# Call a teleconference of the regional potentates, since you want to press your advantage.
>>
#Compromise on 10 hours

#Call a teleconference of the regional Potentates, since you want to press your advantage
>>
>>3842433
# Leave it to 8 hours, citing health concerns plus 10 hours on the weekend.

Also, improve the Computer interfaces.
>>
# Leave it to 8 hours, people used to it can extend with special requests if they really must.
>>
>>3842433
# Compromise on 10 hours

# Call a teleconference of the regional potentates, since you want to press your advantage.
>>
>>3842433

# End the day
>>
>>3842433
>You need to decide what the shift limit for people who choose to work for you using VR rather than regular computer interfaces is.
-# Compromise on 10 hours

>>3842433
>The Peacekeepers have just surrendered to the coalition you built, and are preparing what's left of their airforce to launch an air strike on the Fragment 4 landing site.
-#Call a teleconference of the regional potentates, since you want to press your advantage.
>>
You decide that when you get back you'll raise the limit from 8 hours to 10, as long as a break is taken in the middle. Trying to enforce that by locking the hardware would be absurd, since your sysadmins designed the setup in the first place and it'd take them minutes to bypass any lock, so you decide to put them on the honor system and occasionally check power usage (your VR rigs are genuinely cool, but also expensive and power hungry).


---

More importantly, you have a conference call to make.

Terry April and Abdurrhaman Wahid do not answer; Folgore didn't tell you where they were, so at this point they're dead, in hiding, or still locked up somewhere in Baghdad or New Babylon that the soldiers did not know about, which means dead given how dire the supply situation over there was.

The address you gave is tagged to be used for wartime emergencies, and the Peacekeepers standing down, and Fragment 4 showing signs of life, definitely count; everyone else answers.

One of the few orders that Folgore was able to get through globally was that to rip out CellSol pylons; the infrastructure has sustained some damage, which you will need to deal with. The conference will take place by voice and text, you cannot afford video.

Other than the regional potentates and the agency heads (most of which are alive; McLachlan is in Baikonur), you also add to the conference (Pick 1 or more)

# The prime minister of Israel.

# Gideon Vega.

# Pontifex Mathews.

# Whoever at the Trib Force base is listening.

# Dr. Robertson.

# None of the above.

You'll be setting the agenda, clearly -- you control most of the internet, what's left of the Peacekeepers and their still-sizeable arsenal, and a significant portion of the economy.

The first thing you'll do is share a bit of data about the locusts, should they swarm out -- you don't know much yet, but they are vulnerable to heat and electricity, and their neurotoxin is painful but not lethal, so that's a useful starting point.

You decide to share with them the knowledge that (Pick 1 or more)

# You have Carpatescu in custody.

# You have Fortunato in custody.

# Folgore is dead and the Peacekeepers are under your control.

# None of the above.

and then set the first item on the agenda, which is

# electing a new leader, and deciding what their responsibilities will be.

# redistributing territory.

# winding down the Peacekeeper and replacing them with a different style of setup

# sorting out where the Ecumenical Council sits in all this

# admit that Tsion's prophecies check out at least some of the time, and deciding on a common policy about them

# write in.
>>
>>3842552
# The prime minister of Israel.

Israel was a party in this war and we can't deny them the right to sit at the peace table and, even if they can't dictate terms, at least sit there to show solidarity or leave to show displeasure.

# Gideon Vega.

This guy is here solely so we can give him some tiny amount of land, legalise his tournaments and generally put him into a reasonable position where he is somewhat of a utility without negatively impacting us or the region hopefully.

# Pontifex Mathews.

Here solely so we can drop the bomb about him planning to betray Carpy boy and to takeover the world government, call for the executive council to strip the Ecumenical Council of their vote and leave them as a roughly Agency level position as well as replacing him obviously. Might also be good to get rid of the Morale Monitors too while we're at it, just so we have one less force of spies to worry about.

# Dr. Robertson.

Here representing the scientific community and to expand on any science shit as needed. He's famous, respected and loyal. Just what we need to have on our side.


# You have Fortunato in custody.

He is a valuable bargaining chip who we can afford to trade for something, assuming we can get him life imprisonment rather than death.

# Folgore is dead and the Peacekeepers are under your control.

This shows how strong our position is and ensures we can make demands as wanted or needed to the council without someone asking "you and who's army", since I doubt Santiago would like us borrowing hers again.


# redistributing territory.

Fact is the Peacekeepers are fundamentally an okay-ish idea, the Ecumenicals can be dealt with later in the meeting and opening up with Tsion is probably a bad move. Electing new leaders is nice but that should be left until after we know what and where they'd be ruling. Thus we must decide who gets what of where and ensure we get a nice fat slice of land for ourselves, preferably spread all over the globe to ensure we can make maximum use of it as military basing in addition to economic construction.
>>
# G Vega

We are contracting his services to handle the issues in South East Asia with the Warlords and will be granted probationary jurisdiction of a small region of Polynesia.

# Israeli Prime Minister

# Dr. Robertson - He's an agency head now, right?

# Trib Force

>Pontifex Matthews
-We need to walk on eggshells with this issue.

I propose formerly charging him for conspiracy and pushing that he be replaced by his deputy until he can be formerly charged.

Keep Enigma Babylon but nix the Morale Monitors.
---

#You have Fortunato in custody

Bargaining chip.

# Fulgore is dead and the peacekeepers are under your control (We won't discuss how)

---

#Winding down the Peacekeepers and replacing them with a different style of setup

I say keep them around, but there needs to be some changes made.


#Redistributing Territory

# Admit that Tsion's Prophecies check out at least some of the time and deciding on a common policy about them

We're not giving credibility to the man, and will present the contradictory evidence as needed. Instead, we should push that CATS be granted a new Mandate to investigate the enigma.
>>
# The prime minister of Israel.

Israel was a party in this war and we can't deny them the right to sit at the peace table and, even if they can't dictate terms, at least sit there to show solidarity or leave to show displeasure.

# Gideon Vega.

This guy is here solely so we can give him some tiny amount of land, legalise his tournaments and generally put him into a reasonable position where he is somewhat of a utility without negatively impacting us or the region hopefully.

# Pontifex Mathews.

Here solely so we can drop the bomb about him planning to betray Carpy boy and to takeover the world government, call for the executive council to strip the Ecumenical Council of their vote and leave them as a roughly Agency level position as well as replacing him obviously. Might also be good to get rid of the Morale Monitors too while we're at it, just so we have one less force of spies to worry about.

# Dr. Robertson.

Here representing the scientific community and to expand on any science shit as needed. He's famous, respected and loyal. Just what we need to have on our side.


# You have Fortunato in custody.

He is a valuable bargaining chip who we can afford to trade for something, assuming we can get him life imprisonment rather than death.

# Folgore is dead and the Peacekeepers are under your control.

This shows how strong our position is and ensures we can make demands as wanted or needed to the council without someone asking "you and who's army", since I doubt Santiago would like us borrowing hers again.

#declaring emergency to deal with the prophecy. We need to come to a global agreement that this is happening and that it needs to be stopped. Whether there is a God or this just shows that Revelations was a giant fucking TAUNT sent to us by aliens, who cares. What's in front of us is aliens.

Let's kick some alien ass and if it turns out to be god he'll come with a pre-kicked ass.
>>
>>3842552
# Gideon Vega.
# The prime minister of Israel.
# Dr. Robertson.
# Pontifex Mathews.

Fuck the trip force and thier stupid name too.

# Folgore is dead and the Peacekeepers are under your control.
# You have Fortunato in custody.

Agenda in this order:

# admit that Tsion's prophecies check out at least some of the time, and deciding on a common policy about them
# redistributing territory.
# winding down the Peacekeeper and replacing them with a different style of setup
# sorting out where the Ecumenical Council sits in all this
# electing a new leader, and deciding what their responsibilities will be.
>>
>>3842552
# The prime minister of Israel.
# Dr. Robertson.

# You have Fortunato in custody.

# winding down the Peacekeeper and replacing them with a different style of setup

# sorting out where the Ecumenical Council sits in all this
>>
Shit I misread the post.

#Winding down the peacekeepers as first agenda.
>>
>>3842586
>>3842616
>>3842637
>>3842634

You put Gideon Vega and Ehud Brog on, as well as Pontifex Mathews, who insists on calling for a benediction before the meeting. On hearing that Mathews is on the call, whoever is at the Tribulation Force warehouse hangs up, but stays in the text chat. Their loss, you figure.

"This is a wartime emergency number. It should be deactivated, now that-"

"Chairman Yang, I'm in a forward observation post three kilometers away from the Akhenaten-4 impact site. It was the best way to get a hold of everyone. We can decide on a permanent hotline later."

"That's entirely fair, Foreman. You will be glad to know that Peacekeeper activity in Greater China has come to a stop, their bases have been surrounded by the people's army, and-"

"Yes, there's a ceasefire, Chairman. I ordered it. As of 18 hours ago, Bruno Folgore is dead. CATS is in temporary control of Peacekeeper personnel and materiel. I have ordered the entirety of the Peacekeeper air force to strike the F4 impact site starting tomorrow at dawn, so do not be alarmed about unusual air traffic. The Peacekeepers are now going to get a chance to do the job they were intended to do, defending humanity as a whole."

"We did not vote on this! Wouldn't Supreme Commander Fortunato-"

"Commissioner Lal, Fortunato launched a nuclear strike on my home. You were there when he called it. You helped disarm him! I think we can agree that he should be indicted?"

"That will take weeks! There's no procedure for it."

"Then he'll stay in custody. I will release him as soon as this Council has an impeachment procedure mapped out."

"... You killed Folgore and captured Fortunato?"

"That's correct. I invite each of you to take a moment to realize the amount of power I currently hold. You will be pleased to know that a significant percentage of that power is scheduled to go down what Rabbi Ben-Judah calls a bottomless pit, but for now..."

"Foreman, I protest! This is nothing short of a coup!"

"Pontifex, a soft coup was that which you tried by suborning the Morale Monitors and turning them into your network of spies against all who are in this call."

"You have no right to-"

You turn his mic off for a moment. "I said I would not censor the internet, and I won't. But the only rights Mathews has as far as I am concerned, is to remain silent and call a lawyer."

"- council meeting in person!"

"That's great, Peter, we're all happy to hear it. And it'll happen as soon as we've dealt with the ALIEN BUGS IN OUR MIDST!"

"Foreman, for some of us it's three in the morning, you can't expect us to..."

You let people argue back and forth for a bit.

"Listen! First item on the agenda is: The Foreman of CATS has too much power. He wishes to wind down the Peacekeepers and replace them with something that will work better against the real threat."

A few seconds of genuine stunned silence.

And thus, you reject the temptation of empire.
>>
It's 1 AM and I have college, so here's what I want from these peace talks:

1) We change the number of kingdoms; I'm thinking of dissolving the SEA (between us (New Zealand + Australia), Vega (???) and Yang (???)) and UK (between us (Greenland and Iceland, Faroe islands too) and Gustav (UK(+Ireland assuming we can't get it for ourselves))) since their leaders are MIA / KIA and we can. Don't know what to do with the Middle east, work that one out for yourselves.

2) Getting rid of our team cap and making our budget pass over between quarters. Also being able to engage like a company in the world market, just to screw with Dimmsdale's attempts to screw with our Nomenklator system sales.

3) Getting our PMC to be something CATS can have officially alongside military equipment and shit.

4) A vote on the Council like any other Potenate since we represent CATS, BOCHICA and the remaining Peacekeepers currently.

5) Also additional regions I'd like to secure but consider a lower priority: Cuba (talk Dimmsdale into it on the basis they're all commies, surely he doesn't want to have to deal with them?); Hawaii (since I think it's part of the SEA not US and controlling it would be nice); Japan; any additional islands we can get like the ones in the Indian Potenate's control since they'd be nice. Also the North / South poles since no one should be bidding for them but we can probably make use of them at some point for Thule style cities that don't care about the cold.


I know this is a lot to suggest / ask but I'm honestly expecting only a bit of 1 / 5, so long as we get Greenland and Iceland I think we can manage but additional land is nice. 4 isn't critical but would be nice, 3 is a excellent thing but 2 is the most important since it secures us the ability to expand our numbers greatly.

I have to go now, best of luck.
>>
>>3842677
The Foreman really is the best. Secret ending, we make every moral choice, resist all temptation and become turboJesus.
>>
>>3842683
>Paranoid-san
Living up to your name aren't you?
>>
Mathews says something in Latin, to which Gustav replies in the same language. "I was the archbishop of Cincinnati, sir, give me some credit."

Apparently the city's name comes from a Roman general who was offered supreme power and rejected it.

The text chat is full of secondary discussions between potentates -- right now Santiago and Dimmsdale are trying to talk the others into supporting her or him for Mexico -- but when you talk, people pay attention.

"In many ways, the internet is its own culture, with its own laws and customs. If the Ecumenical Council has a vote on the Council, so do we. For administrative decisions I'm planning to have committee of internet pioneers hold that vote in the same way that the EC votes internally on how to use its vote right now. We shall discuss CATS' budget later."

"For now, I move that the Peacekeepers be wound down. There are a lot of decent men and women who only turned to banditry because they had skipped one meal too many -- that is not acceptable. At the same time, territorial guards should be spun up accordingly."

That gets no argument from anybody, except oddly enough Yang. Your proposal is that the proportion of force between any one territorial army and the Peacekeepers be increased from roughly 1:20 to

# 1:10, the PKs shall be as strong as all the combined territorial forces, but no more.

# 1:5

# 1:2

# 1:1, the PKs shall be as strong as any one territorial force.

You continue noting that your plan for the Peacekeepers is to put under their mandate defense against existential threats to humanity. "We need a global defense initiative. We need a global defense initiative that will actually take initiative in defending the globe, and not allow itself to be slaved to the whims of a Fortunato or a Folgore... or a Foreman, if you wish."

Yang interrupts, and says that he intends to secede. "The people of Greater China believe that they would function better in a global economy, if their traditions and dynamism both were not held in place by a global political structure."

# Now when you say Greater China's traditions, do you also mean Indochina? Japan? Tibet? Let's talk to them directly, yes? Mr. Vega, your opinion, please.

# Chairman, please, protocol - you'll get your turn to talk.
>>
Really should let not vega in there, we should speak to him in private 1 on 1.

Shouldn't show him a place at the high table with kings, when he is a mere thug.

Its not even a good deal, he won't make or research things that will benefit us or evolve the tech in a way we want.

The blood sports should be a open secret rather than announced from the top of the world political stage.

Anything Vega makes will be to empower him. All we're doing is empowering a wanabe supervillan warlord.

We should not publicly associate ourselves with him.
>>
>>3842699
# 1:10, the PKs shall be as strong as all the combined territorial forces, but no more.

Where is the 1:20 option?

# Chairman, please, protocol - you'll get your turn to talk.

# Now when you say Greater China's traditions, do you also mean Indochina? Japan? Tibet? Let's talk to them directly, yes?

Vietnam, Cambodia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Taiwan. All places that want to not be under Chinese Suzerainty in our timeline.
>>
>>3842699
># 1:10, the PKs shall be as strong as all the combined territorial forces, but no more.
Lift restrictions about regional air power of course. Before Yellowstone that was the one thing PK force could use like a gun to the head of most regions.

# Now when you say Greater China's traditions, do you also mean Indochina? Japan? Tibet? Let's talk to them directly, yes? Mr. Vega, your opinion, please.
>>
>>3842683

How about this:

We push for CATS to become a Defense Organization similar to UNDRR. In exchange for relinquishing control of the Peacekeepers, we request the ability to run a modest PMC for combating threats to CATS new Mandate:

Investigating the current enigma threatening our planet.

We'll still do IT work because we do such a good job at it.

However, in lieu of countries (which will require administrating Civilians) I would suggest we push for control of infrastructure such as factories, bases, etc. that will operate under CATS jurisdiction (similar to the concept of an embassy).


# Now when you say Greater China's traditions, do you also mean Indochina? Japan? Tibet? Let's talk to them directly, yes?

Lets not get Vega involved directly here. I have an idea of what to do with him.
>>
>>3842715
Naw, we keep it vague and put CATS under the GDI or something.
>>
>>3842715
Are you suggesting we control ALL infrastructure or just what we build be given over to us completely?
>>
Not all infrastructure. Rather our current assets (HQs, Factories, etc.) as well as permission to set up future bases within the Potentates territories.

We also retain custody of the IT infrastructure and BOCHICA.
>>
>>3842724
>>3842715
I'd say what we build, and internet related stuff.

Annex a few regions like Greenland and maybe Iceland. Falkan Islands, and Timor or something. Maybe Hong Kong.
>>
Also how is this for resolving Mexico; give the UK to Dimmsdale and Mexico to Santiago. A united anglosphere. Well, almost united since Australia is just fucking Australia.
>>
>>3842734
I am alright with us taking Iceland. No one seemed to give a damn about it anyway. As for the Falkland, we would need to ask Santiago. Same with other potentiates. But I like the Idea of us having a small territory near each landmass under CATS jurisdiction, for logistical purposes if nothing more.
>>
Rolled 7, 9, 3, 7, 6, 6, 5, 1, 4, 6 = 54 (10d10)

You quickly skim the text chat.

Santiago and Dimmsdale are both wanting support for who gets to keep Mexico, the former citing a common language and culture, the latter geography and economics.

Yang wishes to secede, and effectively eat up the northern part of Wahid's territory.

Gustav wants to return Greenland to Dimmsdale, or leave it to you, and put the UK and Iceland back into the European Union.

Zakharov is interested in Greenland.

Litwala has no demands, really; he just wants to avoid a return to single nation-states, since that would effectively start yet another global war -- it would certainly start one in Africa -- and this time killing any one person would not stop it.

Chloe, or whoever's typing over there, wants to know why the playing pretend, since once Carpatescu returns this is going to be all moot anyway. Also, would like to address the assembly by voice once it's time to discuss external threats; you have not allowed it, and don't have to if you don't want to.

Mathews wants assurances that he will not be "mixed in" with the likes of Folgore, and has been generally told to shut up lest he make things worse, after protesting that the Morale Monitor program was an idea of Fortunato's (it wasn't; it was actually Carpatescu's idea).

Vega is inquiring as to what happened to Wahid, not wanting to propose himself as a replacement just yet.

Carla is mostly asking accurate casualty figures from everyone, because when the politics is over, SOMEONE is going to have to plan for the aftermath, and she needs numbers.

>>3842709

(1:20 is what exists now; you started with wanting to wind the PKs down after all)
>>3842700

Right now he's not allowed to talk; if you want to boot him, you're running things.


>>3842713
>>3842709
>>3842715

"Greater China, Chairman? Does that include Taiwan? Tibet? Vietnam? Japan? Surely you know history better than most of us, sir."

Vega asks "Bangkok?" in chat, but you leave him muted.

Yang's tone of voice does not betray anger or frustration; he's a distant second to Carpatescu at this, of course, but still a second. "I see your point, Foreman. Perhaps we should be sure that we have our own house in order. I would like to table the motion."

For now anyway...

Your proposal is simple: halve the PK' standing strength, and lift restrictions on air power. "In fact, since the PK' stock of airpower is inadequate for the climate, this lets territorial guards start with a clean slate, arguably a better footing."

Your next item is CATS' place in the hierarchy. The potentates agree that the net is in a way its own country by now, but the whole point of it is that it does not hold land, is it not? Pravin Lal is especailly against CATS holding land directly, and may want to force an up-down vote. You push for (pick one or more)

# CATS having its own territorial guard.

# CATS being able to own businesses, conduct trade, and have an independent treasury.

# Synco being deployable anywhere that wants it.
>>
>>3842736
>>3842741
I'm not comfortable with giving UK to Dimmsdale.

As for Mexico. I think we should give Dimmsdale a chance to fix up Mexico.
>>
>>3842747
# CATS having its own territorial guard.
We already have this, just smaller

# CATS being able to own businesses, conduct trade, and have an independent treasury.
We already do both. Just not the treasury part.

# Synco being deployable anywhere that wants it.
This will happen one way or another.

I would push for the first two.
>>
>>3842754
Maybe remove the trade part.
>>
>>3842754
We don't even need to bring up the second option really.
>>
>>3842747
#CATS to form it's own PMC/ territorial guard. No restrictions on personnel size. Transfer of Greenland over to us to act as our hub. The ability to set up "embassies", extraterritorial regions, in a given region, with the potentiates support. These will be vital to the continued growth of the net. Regions who opt out should not be surprised if their populaces find them selves left in the digital dust by regions who do. Logistics, you understand. The continued ability to field syncosytems which we will rent out to the regions. We build them, we run them, you pay us. Contingent upon allowing an embassy in the region.

How is this.
>>
>>3842769

Support!
>>
>>3842769
Pretty good, but we need some aspect of financial independence, so maybe throw in treasury, mainly allowing our budget to carry over.
>>
>>3842769
>>3842773
That works for me. How about pushing to let us engage in trade up to profits equaling 1/2 of our budget?
>>
>>3842780
I say we just pretend we don't and hope no one calls it on us. We already have a bunch of shell companies and Andrews as a middle man.

This keeps Andrews useful to us and hopefully loyal.

It one of those things where, we don't ask but just do, and ask for forgiveness later if things go FUBAR.
>>
>>3842780
>>3842785

How about we keep BOCHICA within the public domain but retain the right to sell innovations such as Nomenclature, Drones, and VR?
>>
Rolled 7, 69, 5, 24, 37, 92, 85 = 319 (7d100)

>>3842731
>>3842724
>>3842769

That's a lot of demands, but you're in possibly the best possible spot to make them.

You're fully prepared to ask for 20 to get 10, of course... but you got to decide what to actually try to get, rather than what to ask for.

>>3842772
>>3842769

"We are going to need our own territorial guard, of course. They can deal with internet fraud, attempts by local groups to censor the net for other groups, cybercrime, and so on."

Given that you're giving up the Peacekeepers, nobody really has much to object on this one.

"Network Nodes should be extraterritorial once established."

That saves everyone a lot of headaches when it comes to cybercrime; again, no problem.

"Logistics hubs, too."

That goes over a bit less well.

The ability to set up physical embassies is contested by Dimmsdale of all people. "Shouldn't you of all people want to do this in virtual space?" Zakharov notes that he was going to propose extraterritorial academies; perhaps the two things can be combined?

You can probably force a vote on this.

"Finally, since Greenland was disputed, I move that we keep it."

That does not go well at all; having bits and pieces of land, like the Vatican or the SMOM, is one issue, but a big island? "Foreman, I feel you want to have your cake and eat it" Lal complains.

When it comes to Synco systems, everyone agrees that they are an economic boon, and will soon be a necessity for those who don't have it, but since they depend on your infrastructure, there's the question of leaving you with too much economic power.

"Since CATS would be a territory rather than an agency, why not go with a tithe system? Instead of a fixed budget, the better connected a territory is, the more it will pay." The alternative proposal comes from Litwala, who -- being the least wired -- has the most to gain.

(pick oe or more)

# Push for the full package, tithe AND fixed budget.

# Drop Greenland.

# Drop embassies.

# Drop the fixed budget and go with the tithe system.

# Drop the tithe and keep the fixed budget.
>>
>>3842794
# Drop embassies.
# Drop the tithe and keep the fixed budget.
>>
>>3842794

Drop Greenland if we get to keep Thule.

Drop the fixed budget.

We Civ6 Venice now.
>>
# Drop Greenland

I think the concern is over mineral rights, such as oil, etc.

Instead if we go the Embassy route we can request Thule to serve as an HQ for our territorial guard, one that puts us in a strategic position to better serve the Northern hemisphere.

#Drop the tithe and keep the fixed budget.
>>
>>3842805
>>3842807
We would be probably be able to keep greenland if we tried to free the missing subpotentates but we just rushed into the meeting anyways.
>>
>>3842807
>>3842794

This works for me.
>>
>>3842807
>>3842819
But if we do this, push that we be allowed limited economic ventures. Stuff we make goes public domain quicker would be a decent compromise.
>>
Right. We'll keep BOCHICA open source, but be allowed to partake in economic ventures with VR and drones.

Luxuries basically. Nothing military-grade, or integral to keeping the world running.
>>
>>3842823
I think we could push for 1 or 3.

3 if we drop greenland.

1 if we just get greenland.
>>
>>3842807

"You will recall that CATS' decision to rehabilitate the Thule airfield was essential to keep air travel open in the Atlantic. Therefore, we'd like to keep Thule as a neutral air base. Otherwise, Commissioner Lal's point is well taken, we are different than other cultures, and do not therefore want to hold territory."

You then indicate that you are happy to stick to an agency role, with a fixed budget, for running the actual infrastructure. "Of course, we'd want to be able to hold limited copyrights, let's say for five years, and license some of our technologies rather than put everything in the public domain."

Again, people are surprised, Carla most of all.


Extraterrtoriality for logistic hubs as "embassies" after that passes easily; Zakharov says that he will propose extraterritorial academies formally later on.

And thus, you reject the temptation of riches.


-----


Now that this is settled, your next line item is

# Let these people talk amongst themselves, so that they can feel in control.

# Indicting Fortunato and/or Mathews.

# Territory redistribution.

# Dealing with Tsion's preaching.

----

Interesting how much can get done over phone and chat, when people have a reason to settle things quickly, no?
>>
>>3842832
# Let these people talk amongst themselves, so that they can feel in control.

# Indicting Fortunato and/or Mathews.

Man, I wanted to receive royalties for our stuff.
>>
# Let these people talk among themselves, so they can feel in control

While they do that we can coordinate the news with our own agents and get some of their input.

Following that

#Indicting Fortunato and/or Matthews
>>
>>3842832
Fuck, my foreman becomes TurboJesus idea is making me more nervous every round haha.

>>3842841
That works for me.
>>
>>3842846

TurboJesus? Nah. More like a Boddhisatva of the Internet.

So I had a thought on the G. Vega question since he's a controversial addition:

In exchange for backing his bid for control of parts of Wahid's territory we put a few stipulations:

A) His appointment is on a probationary basis, subject to his success in handling the Warlord issue effectively.

B) He abstain from the drug trade. In exchange, we can offer to set up a more legitimate industry using his technology for pharmaceutical and augmentation industries.

He can still throw his Tournaments if he desires.
>>
>>3842860
Much more palpable but still. He needs to clean up his image.
>>
>>3842860
Hell, I'd make throwing the tournament a prerequisite. Like Moira said, shit is insane and I love it.
>>
It would be a great PR event to show off his region's achievements in augmentations, yes.
>>
>>3842841
>>3842836

You relinquish the (conceptual) floor, and let the regional potentates sort a number of things out by themselves. Chief of which being of course the matter of Tibet.

In the meantime, you take a moment to talk to Carla and Ikko, who you note have exchanged contact info. Carla is extremely proud of you, and tells you as much, to the point that Ikko says she's "making eye babies" at you, whatever that means. You consider that it may not be Chloe at the other end of that line.

Ikko tells you that anyone who is stung by the locusts will suffer greatly for five months, and want to die but be unable to. "You're a Christian, so you will be completely safe: make use if this when it's time to evacuate your people... you will probably have to play the hero."

"Wait, if these are supposed to be demons, wouldn't they go after Christians extra hard?" Carla asks. Ikko answers in the affirmative, but then explains that even if they'd want to, they won't be able to -- they will not be able to see those with the Sign of God. "Just shows you God can use even His enemy for His own purposes."

You're still planning on torching the whole lot, of course.

>>3842860
>>3842864

You spend a bit of time discussing matters with Vega, too. He seems to get it.

"Probationary, as in, I hire out your men to help me pacify the region, and pay for the privilege?"

He points out that Carpatescu legalized or at least decriminalized pretty much everything, and the alternative to him selling EyeCandy is not the stuff going off the street, but inferior stuff being thrown around that'll make people sicker. "Don't be naive. How do you think Zakharov got rid of krokodil, Foreman? He let Afghan poppy farmers borrow some chemists and made sure they were selling good heroin."

"Perhaps, but it's a matter of public image. Zakharov can do that because his reputation is for other things. Yours..."

Vega sees your point. "Yes, at that point it would be best that I regulate, rather than produce. Who better than me to do so anyway."

You do encourage him to expand the tournment, maybe have it every season rather than twice a year. "Again, it would help your reputation. And you'd probably get Santiago's vote."

That he agrees with. Make Bangkok a center of excellence for biotechnologies, maybe?

If Carla and Ikko could see what you're typing just one window over!

# Support his bid.

# Remain neutral.

The current notion is to give Greenland to Dimmsdale, and the UK to Gustav; having Vega in charge of the South Pacific would remove some arguments. You do know that the Japanese would prefer to exist under Dimmsdale, simply because they know where the demographics are going with China.

Indicting Fortunato is an easy sell -- he launched a nuke! -- although there's the problem of who gets to try him; indicting Mathews is a harder sell, in that on one hand everyone wants the Morale Monitor program dismantled, on the other, the man DID manage to keep religious unrest low.
>>
>>3842881
># Support his bid.

Let Japan vote for who they would like to ally with. Yang is going way to Chairman Yang for me to ever really support that guy and that is before wanting to claim Chinese control over territories citing historical precedent. Fuck him.

Matthews should simply be "asked" to step down in exchange for dropping the issue. Francesca d"Angelo would make a fantastic and hotter replacement I think.
>>
#Support his bid

(What IS going on in Tibet?)
>>
>>3842881
So we just gonna let the UK guy rot and come back to nothing? Why didn't we free him first and have both the missing subpotentates in place before this? This will cause problems later on, and no we are not giving all of the UK to Gus.

Cut funding to Matthews, and minimize the MM to the point where they have to either keep religious extremist down, or spy on us.

Eventually they will be minimized to point of non existence.
>>
>>3842892
But we don't want her to become an actual whore now do we?
>>
>>3842881
Who's bid are we supporting? Vega?
>>
>>3842897
Who said any thing about being a whore? And even if Francesca believes in "divine prostitution", well its not like there isn't precedent in a ton of religious traditions. She is cool in my book.
>>
>>3842905
I mean whore of Babylon.
>>
>>3842901

Yeah. We're supporting his bid in exchange for him cleaning up his image and creating a cybernetic paradise.

>>3842892

>Depose Matthews, yes. We still want to keep the Ecumenical Council around; It's a safeguard against a 'Unified Narrative'

Francesca d"Angelo is promising (but maybe do a bit of background research on her first).

>Yang
Maybe reach out to Yang and get his take on seeking independence.

I mean, to me it seems just the typical Chinese isolationism that has defined a lot of its history. He doesn't want to shackle China to the West like what happened with the Opium Wars.

He's just being a douche about it.
>>
>>3842895

As far as you can tell, Terry April and Abdurrahman Wahid are dead; Folgore didn't tell you where they were, even when he was practically worshiping you.

>>3842901

Vega's bid for running Southeast Asia.

>>3842892
>>3842894

You propose that the Ecumenical Council end up in a hybrid state like CATS, with extraterritoriality for some properties (Saint Peter, the Dome of the Rock, the Hagia Sofia), a fixed budget decided by the Council, and

# get rid of Mathews, he's too scummy. Francesca can't be Pope, but she can lead the EC as neutral party between the various faiths.

# keep Mathews around, since he's got every interest to behave given that everyone has his number.


While the potentates were talking, yet another proposal for territorial redistribution emerged from it.

* Greenland to Dimmsdale
* Mexico to Santiago
* UK, Iceland and Australia to Gustav
* Eastern Europe to Zakharov
* Middle East to Lal under fiduciary administration
* Tibet and Mongolia to Yang
* Japan and Taiwan to be their own territory within Yang's region

# Support.

# Oppose.

New Babylon would remain the world capitol, and the desert south of it remain the main staging area for the Peacekeepers, with a launch site for asteroid-killers to be built there.

# Support

# Propose an alternative capitol site (write in)
>>
>>3842915

* Greenland to Dimmsdale
Find Terry April first. Even if its just his corpse.

* Mexico to Santiago
Maybe.

* UK, Iceland and Australia to Gustav
No.

* Eastern Europe to Zakharov
Definitely no.

* Middle East to Lal under fiduciary administration
Hahaha, everyone wants more land, making land grabs. Even us. No.

* Tibet and Mongolia to Yang
Depends on Zak.

>* Japan and Taiwan to be their own territory within Yang's region
Maybe

# Propose an alternative capitol site (write in)
Antarctica.
This should really fuck the narrative.

Also would make Yang invading pointless.
>>
>>3842913

Yang feels that if the Global Community is to have a single leader again -- even if it was himself! -- China would be better off outside of it.

"Potentate Carpatescu could come back tomorrow, and I for one would have to have words with the man. No one person should have that much power. And yes, I include myself."
>>
>>3842915
># get rid of Mathews, he's too scummy. Francesca can't be Pope, but she can lead the EC as neutral party between the various faiths.

>>3842915
# Push for Japan and Taiwan to join the N.American territory
Dimmsdale is kinda getting the shaft here.

# Support
So the narrative calls for it to be destroyed, like twice, doesn't really matter I feel if it is the seat of power or not in that reagard and it already has good infrastructure. Maybe just push for teleconferences and moving the site for face too faces around so Zod might have more issues arraging a decapitation strike to fit in the Prophesies.
>>
>>3842915
>While the potentates were talking, yet another proposal for territorial redistribution emerged from it.

Eh. Seems harmless enough

#Support

#Propose an alternate capitol site

New Babylon is unfortunately too tied up in prophecy.

Maybe Abu Dhabi?
>>
>>3842931
Not if we have him keep mexico.

If the UK subpotentates is dead, then we let the UK people elect a new one.

Greenland should stay with UK

Less change of territory the better. Less headaches later on.
>>
Leaving New Babylon as a sort of permanent World's Fair, but with no bureaucracy, is certainly an option; you could also give up trying to fix it up.

You could also push for keeping the necessary global bureaucracy decentralized and coordinating via the net, but it would be seen a bit of a power grab.

Given the necessity of good infrastructure, connectivity, and cosmopolitan culture for a world capital -- none of you has Carpatescu's charisma, which allowed him to make one out of whole cloth -- the alternative options are

# Keep New Babylon

# Bern, Switzerland.

# NYC, Eastern North America.

# Dubai, Middle East

# Rome, Western Europe

# Tokyo, Japan

# New Delhi, India

# Virtual capitol
>>
>>3842946
South Pole, Antarctica

North Pole, Arctic
Comon, you know you want to.
Fine! # Keep New Babylon
>>
# Bern Switzerland

Provisions:

Switzerland resume its previous status as a Neutral territory.

This is only until the emergency of Fragment 04 and what follows has been safely addressed.
>>
>>3842946
>>3842950
I will support this.
>>
>>3842946
>>3842950

>this good idea
>>
File: true neutral.png (204 KB, 540x633)
204 KB
204 KB PNG
How do we know they won't stay as filthy neutrals afterwards?
>>
Rolled 2, 6, 5, 4, 5, 5, 5 = 32 (7d10)

>>3842954
>>3842952
>>3842950
>>3842934
>>3842931

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQYN2P3E06s

Saddling Od Gustav with hosting the global capital looks fair; it does require a significant amount of territory to go with it, simply for logistical reasons. Bern is well placed for this sort of thing, and its small size and the fierce feelings of the Swiss about how a city should be run are going to help the bureaucracy from metastasizing.

As for Mathews, the Catholic Church will have to make its own decision, but the most senior Deputy Pontiff can take over; since Mathews appointed Francesca first, she gets the position by default, with an election to be held.

Mathews agrees to step down from chairmanship of the Ecumenical Council; the Morale Monitor program will be wound down as part of Peacekeeper downsizing, with the head of Interpol having right of first refusal for MM agents who wish to remain in that line of work.

This would result in the following situation (see map also).

The Executive Council for the world would hold 8 seats, plus 2 for the Internet and the Ecumenical Council respectively. This creates the possibility of a stalemate, but given that you have sway on most of the votes (6), it should not be a particularly large concern.

Od Gustav
Douglas Dimmsdale
Corazon Santiago
Viktor Zakharov
Gideon Vega
Zenji Yang
Pravin Lal
Enoch Litwala

This leaves Vega with the only region that only has one territory, but as the most junior partner, he would have very little room to complain. It also leaves you pretty much in control of the world, at least should you ever find any issues that are worth flexing CATS' political muscles for.

It also leaves you with a lot of work to do to repair the damage Folgore did, Carla with dealing with the coming dustbowl, and oh, you're in a prefab bunker three kilometers away from the site of an insectoid alien invasion. And that's not counting the whole End Times business.

# Take it.

# Needs adjusting.

There's also the issue of what to rename the Peacekeepers... and Ikko has been hitting the buzz button nonstop.

# The Remnant can wait.

# The Remnant should be able to say a few words, why not.

# The Remnant have your attention, via text.
>>
>>3842978
We didn't even consult the people.
This pretty much guarantees two kings down at roughly the same time.

# Needs adjusting.
Brexit Party time.

We can ask our carrier captain his opinion.

# The Remnant have your attention, via text.

What did we do with Australia?

I thought we were gibing japan and Taiwan to USA not Australia.
>>
# Take it.

# The remnant have your attention, via text.

We've got a world to save let's stop playing civ for a minute and suplex the biblical apocalypse into the mat.
>>
>>3842978
Isn't Bruno dead?
>>
>>3842990
Why did we play civ in the first place?
>>
>>3842991

(Yes, my bad, should be a red line there)

>>3842986

(Can I have a counterproposal? I'm not sure of equivalents that the subpotentates might come up with. But see another possible map here. Feel free to edit it)


>>3842986

>>3842990

One issue is that none of the regional potentates were elected democratically; Carpatescu picked them. They may feel that a vote would undermine their own legitimacy.

# Propose territorial referendums.

# Propose a single global referendum.

# This is best solved between the existing global elite.
>>
>>3842978
This is fine.
# Take it.
# The Remnant should be able to say a few words, why not.
>>
# Needs Adjusting.

By which we need to discuss the issue of Tsion Ben Judah.

Here is what I'm proposing:

A) Ensure the Remnant and Orthodox Jews will retain Religious Freedom even though they choose to abstain from the Ecumenical Council. Emphasize that despite the actions of a few bad apples, Remnant like Ikko have played a role in Relief Efforts.

B) Leave the jurisdiction of the Two Witnesses to the Israelis. (We can coordinate with the Prime Minister later on the topic of dealing with them.)


# This is best solved between the existing global elite.

We've got an emergency to deal with.
>>
>>3842997
># Propose territorial referendums.
To be done in 4 years time. I.E. after God's ass is kicked.
>>
>>3842978
I'd say Keep UK Yellow.

Maybe have Australian and and New Zealand and a few nearby islands be their own region.

How did Gus willingly give yup half of Europe?

This is Eastern Europe, they don't like Russians.

Middle east except for southern Europe and parts of Africa should stay by itself under special military administration and quarantine.

>>3842997
What happened to Joriji? I don't recall killing him, just carting him off to Greenland Gulag.

# Propose territorial referendums.
>>
>>3843000
This works too.
>>
>>3842997
# Propose a single global referendum.

# This is best solved between the existing global elite.

Not sure what these options would do.
>>
>>3842999

That's probably what Ikko wants to talk about.

Oddly enough, the Israeli Prime Minister has answered a few questions, and even asked a couple, but has yet to express an opinion.

>>3843001

Jorji is alive; his negative "bonus" is gone however.

>>3843007

You are currently talking to the global elite, trying to sort this out. A global referendum would mean that the new system, the old system, and optionally the pre-Carpatescu system of individual countries are brought to the people as proposals, and then voted on, and whichever option wins is kept, as long as there is a quorum.

>>3843001

That's feasible, but who would rule that region then?
>>
>>3842997
>Scandinavia under Russian rule
Bizarro World alright.

Did satellite coverage numbers drop to coincide with coverage?

"MCP".

Unless you mean UK. Who was Terry Aprils Second in command?

Maybe Ikko wants to be oppressed?
>>
>>3843014
Do the Australians want to be under American rule?

The Egyptians If I recall managed to join Middle East.

If we can't restore the UK then we may as well give Dimmsdale Greenland.

Can we ask the PK where they last saw the two missing subpotentates? Maybe search bunker and military bases?
>>
>>3843019
>Ikko wants to be oppressed

Christian girls have usually been freak in the bed in my experience so I won't put it past her.
>>
Well I've returned and I'm kinda disappointed at what anons decided to grab:

>"We are going to need our own territorial guard, of course. They can deal with internet fraud, attempts by local groups to censor the net for other groups, cybercrime, and so on."
This is good. We need our troops and legalising / officiating them means we can better supply them with shit like planes and actual naval support produced in Thule.

>"Network Nodes should be extraterritorial once established."
Honestly I've little opinion about this but given no one resisted it seems perfectly acceptable.

>"Logistics hubs, too."
I've little opinion about this too yet I have to say that since it was causing an issue and we are already going to have a physical embassy everywhere in the world from the previous Network Node resolution, I'd prefer that we'd got Greenland than this.

>Flat budget like an agency.
I think that we'd be much better off if we went with the percentile tithe system rather than a flat budget since I can promise you our own budget would've greatly grown as we developed the world economy while meaning we would have had actual land to do with as we wish which would have secured us an income entirely independent of the World Council.

Admittedly, so long as they won't oppose us creating additional Thule style CATS controlled city-states that are considered extraterritorial I can accept this as a compromise.
>>
>>3843186
>I think that we'd be much better off if we went with the percentile tithe system rather than a flat budget
Sure can do. A tithe (tenth) system off of 10% of one's net (total) income, would be absolutely more effective than our current economy.
My guild of roboticists currently has a tithe (tenth) system off of 10% net income, and they're absolutely okay with it. They actually prefer sticking with my guild of roboticists (metal golemists) since it has better wages than other organizations.
>>
>>3842978
# Needs adjusting.

I've made my displeasure with the current deal clear, not sure if this vote has already passed but just in case I want to see if I can't convince my fellows that we should rework the deal to do at least some of what I'd like.

# The Remnant should be able to say a few words, why not.

Might as well.
>>
>>3843186
So us refusing tithes passes. By doing so we refused the temptation of riches, for what it is worth. We can patent things instead for additional cash and do limited market ventures.
>>3843203
What needs a vote is the territorial referendums as per:
>>3842997
If you have an opinion.
>>
Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>3843019
>>3843203
>>3843187

You had an inkling that allowing territories to be redefined would bring in a lot of bickering, but that can of worms is now open, and it's not going to be closed any time soon; your internal polling data says that United Britian States citizens are split roughly fifty-fifty on accorpating with the European States. You're more concerned with the can of worms that broke open when it fell from space.

"The Ecumenical Council will structure itself however it wishes, but much like agency shops, faith organizations who choose to remain outside the EC should be granted the same rights as faith organizations that are within it."

"Hold on a minute" Mathews complains "that creates a pretty serious free-rider problem."

"It would, if it wasn't for the fact that the UN declaration of human rights already enshrines that right. I just want it to be made explicit. The Roman Empire granted religious freedom as long as worship of the emperor was included, and look at the chaos that this little caveat wrought upon it. Besides, Remnant workers have assisted with the relief effort in both recent conflicts. Mr. Mathews, are you able to put Mrs. D'Angelo on?"

"No."

You got her contact info a few months ago - a war ago - and with any luck... yes, it's pinging. She texts you that she'd have loved to show you Italy; you answer that you hope it's still possible with her new responsibilities. She doesn't understand, and you explain quickly, before adding her to a chat with Mathews -- the handover of the Ecumenical Council chairmanship happens in a series of hurried text messages, with no formality.

"That's fine, I got it. Mr. Brog, I apologize for the suddenness of this, but are you able to raise a fiduciary representative for the Orthodox Jews?"

"I'll attempt to, but in the meantime, please proceed."

Part of the reason why nobody is objecting to religious issues being discussed right now is that it gives them more time to do territorial maneuvering in the text chat; you're logging the whole thing, so it suits you fine.

And thus, you reject the temptation of spiritual power. It's funny in a way that it will be two women who try to sort out where the Remnant stands.

"Thank you. I am Francesca d'Angelo, acting chair for the Ecumenical Council."

"I am Chloe Steele, and... Look, this is a little above my pay grade, if you want to talk to our spiritual leader, I can wake him up-"

"This is a contract negotiation, not a theological debate, sister Chloe. The faith I follow is tiny in congregation size, certainly much smaller than the Christian Remnant. I speak now on behalf of an administrative body intended to promote tolerance and learning, not of any one faith. I'm not a spiritual leader -- Stregheria doesn't even have those!"

Chloe clears her throat. Even if the regional potentates aren't listening, millions of people who will hear the transcript one day will. It's a unique opportunity to spread her message... or to go off script.
>>
>>3843229
Hahahhah, so she really was a witch! This is amazing.
>>
>>3842997
# This is best solved between the existing global elite.

>>3843228
>So us refusing tithes passes. By doing so we refused the temptation of riches, for what it is worth. We can patent things instead for additional cash and do limited market ventures.
True and as nice as it is to resist the temptation of riches, I must admit that I want them so we can fund the ever loving shit out of anti-god science and stuff. Still, I suppose we can make it work so long as they give us our old budget back, if we're being allowed to stockpile our budget .

That doesn't change the fact I want land or at least the promise that we can create CATS ran city-states that will be treated as extraterritorial / separately sovereign and would outright prefer to be given regions to control. Plus I'm about 40% sure we would've resisted the temptation of riches by choosing only tithes or a flat budget and you know as well as I do that one of those is bigger than the other.

Oh well guess we can leave those sorts of wants until after we've defeated god, since at that point we're in the clear and can do what we want to create a new world order. Though I suppose at that point there is nothing stopping us just colonising the moon and claiming that since CATS took it first, it's CATS land.

>If you have an opinion.
I'll vote on that sure but I hope you can understand me when I say that I'd like to get some details from OP about how one or two factors of these deals are going to play out, although I am aware that the deals aren't settled yet. I would also add that I don't care for Dimmsdale getting both Greenland and Japan and would prefer he only get one of the two if any.
>>
>>3843229

(lol 42)

"We are not sisters unless you choose to be my sister in Christ. But, uh, thank you. I'm not a big public speaker, so if you'd like to go first, Mrs. D'Angelo, while I collect my thoughts."

Francesca readily agrees; her introduction says that she's only the acting chair of the Ecumenical Council, that there will be an election as soon as a conclave can be called, and that the Catholic Church is the largest body within the EC but has no special privileges so they will have to decide how to deal with the accusations against Mathews by canon law while he is indicted or not by civil law depending on what the regional potentates tell the head of Interpol to do about it.

In the meantime, Chloe is messaging you frantically.

> I can't do this! It's four in the morning!
) I think we're all running on fumes here.
> Buck is with Chaim, my dad is flying, Tsion is still recovering, none of the other people here are qualified...
) And so it's on you. Buck or Tsion would turn it into yet another altar call.
> I think an altar call is what all of these people need. All who can must repent, the time is shorter every day.
) Is that what you think, or is that what you think you ought to think? What will an altar call do with this particular audience?
> Probably nothing.
) What will getting a good deal with the EC do for the Remnant?
> Also probably nothing. Enigma Babylon's time is even shorter -- they have less than a year to go.
) Could you use that long of operating fully in the open?
> Of course. We could move to Petra in an organized fashion, make sure people are safe for the coming persecution...
) There you go then.
> Foreman, why is this happening now? Why wasn't this foretold?

You wish you had time to get rid of the immutables in her brain, same as you were able to with Santiago or Zakharov. But hers are not the blunt blind spots planted by Carpatescu; they're more insidious and, you have to admit to yourself, they may exist in your head rather than hers. Your answer has to be brief.

# I'm not a Christian, Ikko. Sorry I lied. This wasn't foretold because I am trying to break the script.

# It wasn't foretold because we as human beings have a duty to use our God given brains. This is a matter of management, not faith. Time to trust your head, not your heart.

# I don't know why it's happening now, but I know that it is. We are called to do what we can, here, now. God may have called down Apollyon but my duty is still to prevent people from getting hurt.

--------

>>3843234

(Ask away if you need details! In fact here's a blank map if you want to do a counterproposal just use the fill tool on mspaint or similar!)
>>
>>3843236
>Ask away if you need details
One: our Logistics Hubs and Network Nodes are both counted as extra-territorial: does this mean we can turn them all into Thule style cities now that ,a, don't have to do it covertly since we're a known power, b, can hold territory, c, have the authority / power to be allowed to do it? Does this mean we can build two such city states per actual region on the map? Would we be able to tax any commerce that occurs within these regions? Do they project any sorts of extended border around them?

Two: does our budget carry over between months? If so, can we also get a heads up if we are going to get our old or new budget? E,g 35 or 20 Bn to work with.

Three: Assuming 1 is held to be true, if a region was to be totally unpopulated for some reason (e,g the Yellowstone afflicted area, certain small islands, Antarctica) would we be able to construct additional facilities there? Could we do the same in, for example, regions not officially held by any SubPotenate to gain land? Would this work for non-earth holdings too?

Four: Assuming 1 is only held to be partially true, e,g we need the Potenate's permission, I have two questions; what will happen to Thule and more importantly would Litwala, Santiago and Vega allow us to set up such facilities throughout their land?

Five: Why does no one seem to realise the only reason we are currently not all held captive is the fact that we were in a position of power; that if we hadn't been doing all the shit we did that we'd currently be absolutely fucked and therefore they should be giving us our already fairly reasonable demands for saving them from being prisoners as their regions were ass fucked by Folgore's goons?
>>
# It wasn't foretold because we as human beings have a duty to use our God given brains. This is a matter of management, not faith. Time to trust your head, not your heart.
>>
>>3843240

1) CATS installations are now fully extra territorial. Technically that extends to the half square meter that a CellSol pylon takes up on the ground.

2) It does now; you are your own territory, which has its own treasury. Nobody had any room to complain on that.

3) You'd still have to get the land from the current sovereign (See Greenland, basically). Thule is nice because you got a wide bit of real estate, enough to build a city in. Non-earth holdings belong to whoever gets the fuck there first, really; you may have to either coordinate with McLachlan there, or even beat him to it.

4) Thule is yours, it gets grandfathered in regardless.

5) The subpotentates do realize this, but they are, after all, politicians, so they will try to get the best agreement they can (If you've ever had the displeasure of sitting in on an appropriations committee: it sounds like frickin divorce settlements, people arguing in front of a $400/hr lawyer for who gets $20 of groceries currently in the fridge). They're also smart enough to see that your control of the Peacekeepers will slip eventually.
>>
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>>3843244
>1) CATS installations are now fully extra territorial. Technically that extends to the half square meter that a CellSol pylon takes up on the ground.
Good to know.

>2) It does now; you are your own territory, which has its own treasury. Nobody had any room to complain on that.
Just wanted to be certain. Has our team cap been lifted too?

>3) You'd still have to get the land from the current sovereign (See Greenland, basically). Thule is nice because you got a wide bit of real estate, enough to build a city in. Non-earth holdings belong to whoever gets the fuck there first, really; you may have to either coordinate with McLachlan there, or even beat him to it.
Do we have any idea how much they'd charge per km square of real estate?

>5) The subpotentates do realize this, but they are, after all, politicians, so they will try to get the best agreement they can (If you've ever had the displeasure of sitting in on an appropriations committee: it sounds like frickin divorce settlements, people arguing in front of a $400/hr lawyer for who gets $20 of groceries currently in the fridge). They're also smart enough to see that your control of the Peacekeepers will slip eventually.
Absolute pricks, I'm almost tempted to do a full and proper write-in stripping them all down and reminding them that without us they'd be prisoners of war in a world where everyone is oppressed by a drugged out warlord's army, with a literal nazi at the head of it all and even ignoring that they'd be stuck under the mind control of a missing dictator.

We are the sole reason that there was a victory: we got them out of New Babylon, we got them out of the Middle east, we helped win the war and prevented the Peacekeepers taking advantage of the economy, their numbers or more or less anything else. Hell we've neutralised their leadership and subverted them without firing a single shot. We are also the only people with a practical defence against the Frag 4 bugs and yet they think it wise to piss us off?

Why can't the peace ever be easy: why can't people just give us what we want and need (see map for the wants and needs, would take Australia but I'd rather put that in Vega's hands just so we aren't seen taking anywhere near as much and just construct citystates in it where we can mine, refine and produce shit while he keeps the rest as lawless wastes since that should if anything attract the civilian population to join us).
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(Looking at the maps, I have a proposalas well. Just a sec)
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Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>3843247
> Why can't the peace ever be easy: why can't
I'm going for magical realism here, is politics ever easy? :)

>>3843243

)It wasn't foretold because we as human beings have a duty to use our God given brains. This is a matter of management, not faith. Time to trust your head, not your heart.
> Thank you, Foreman. I needed that.

"... and this is why the Ecumenical Council will, I believe, keep the open invitation open."

Chloe clears her throat.

"I get it, Francesca. But this is not a matter of winning the argument for us, it's a matter of winning souls. Look around you - the prophecies in Revelation are happening. You're on a railroad crossing and there's a trolley coming and it's going to run you over, and we're trying to pull you to safety, and you're telling us that you will allow us to touch you, but no shoving!"

"I'm not trying to tell you what to believe, Chloe, why are you trying to tell me? I don't see your trolley, and in fact I can see the trees behind it."

"I'm not telling you what to believe, I'm telling you how to stay alive! Can't you just listen?"

"I have been listening, Chloe. Can you? Or is it then true that your people just want to preach?"

There's a moment of silence, even as people keep negotiating what will happen to Cuba or New Zealand or even the part of Turkey you're in.

"... That's fair, Francesca. I should listen."

"We're basically already giving you what you want. Preach all you like. Call us some amorphous New Age blob rather than a group of traditions who are agreeing to disagree in a civil fashion, if you must. Only - stop claiming persecution! What more do you want than what you're already getting?"

"We will be persecuted. It is written, and it will happen!"

"By us?"

"Carpatescu will force your council to worship him, and kill us for refusing to."

"Chloe, that's how the Roman Empire used to work. This is the year 2000. And Carpatescu never claimed to be divine or even an emperor."

"He will."

"I've read Revelation, Chloe.."

"Then why can't you believe it! Read it with your heart, not-" Chloe stops herself. Maybe she'll heed your advice. "You're right, Francesca. I can't make you believe what you don't want to. So let's negotiate. What guarantees do we have that you will not persecute us?"

"You can have my word of honor or that of any of our senior leaders, you can address the EC general assembly into adding to our bylaws that we will not target non-member faiths in any way, and frankly, we don't have the political or military or police power. I can see how Mathews building up a secret police would be scary. That scares me, too! I'm a witch. The Church -- Catholics and Protestants -- used to burn people like me at the stake! It happened to an ancestor of mine! And you come to me worried about persecution! Can't you see that I get it a lot better than I want to?"

"... Yes, I do."

# Let them talk.

# Also offer guarantees.

The potentates' dealings have slowed; they're listening.
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So he is what I'd propose:

In exchange for giving up Peacekeepers we'll set up CATS extraterritorial infrastructure in key bases.

>Extraterritorial Bases (Yellow)
In particular I'm looking at Okinawa and Havana for Eastern and Western Hemispheres, as well as our site on Antarctica.

>Vega (Green Yellow)
Vega does NOT get Australia and New Zealand. We'll establish a strike base to 'assist with maintaining IT' based off our experiences in Africa... and to do bio-engineering SCIENCE

>Australia, New Zealand, UK, and Iceland

Since these territories have lost a Potentate, I think the citizens should hold elections as to what territory they want to belong to (or work towards building another commonwealth).

Gustav can keep Greenland so he can deal with the Politics of landownership, while we keep Thule (and maybe work on expanding some territory for testing purposes) while Vega will get Polynesia to address the Warlord issue.

>UNDRR

I move that New Babylon be granted to UNDRR for the duration of the current emergency with Zod.

(We seriously need to discuss this with them at some point... Maybe once we've gotten an official policy towards the prophecies. Keep Ikko out of it though)

Note: I didn't mark all of our current holdings, the Yellow marks are just key areas worth mentioning.
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#Also offer guarantees
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>>3843247

Yes, the team cap and budget carryover restrictions are gone. At this point nobody would dare object.

The main issue is that what most potentates aren't sure about is whether CATS wants to be a semi-independent power, or a global agency.

They were hoping to use Mathews having gotten busted to identify the Ecumenical Council as just another global agency, tasked to keep fostering religious tolerance, and are only agreeing to give CATS some sort of best-of-both-worlds status because, quite simply, right this minute you can take out any one of them with relative ease and nobody wants to be first.

They have little choice in the matter, but the more mixed messages you send, the more they'll give away now because they have to, and the more they'll resent you for it later when they can.

>>3843264

The advantage of that proposal is that it does not look like a land grab on your part, and is overall equitable in land and resource distribution. The disadvantage is that Yang and Dimmsdale are going to be on a very short fuse over Japan. Having some sort of British commonwealth going, minus Canada, is feasible but who would head it?

Carla is happy to take New Babylon and possibly Baghdad under fiduciary administration until the places have been cleaned up, but does not want to say "this land is ours" for the simple reason that it would undermine her credibility as the head of a global agency; if she had territory to administer and protect, it would become too easy in the case of another global catastrophe for the other potentates to say that she's playing favorites, and that can only escalate tensions.

If you are proposing that UNDRR also become a hybrid entity, it's borderline feasible, but she'd like to talk to you about it in private first... possibly after F4 is dealt with.
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>>3843262
>I'm going for magical realism here, is politics ever easy? :)
When you control the internet and one of the largest armies out there even if only short term? Generally yes.

# Also offer guarantees.

"CATS already gave you an agreement to not shove you off the internet and we stand by that. We aren't interested in oppressing people whenever our stated goal is to work to their benefit: fact is we've got enough money and power already for our own wants and needs so we're quite content to work to lift everyone up to our level rather than dragging others down."

>>3843264
Okay I've a few questions:

Firstly why is Gustav getting Iceland and Greenland when he has expressed no interest in Greenland.

Secondly why do you think that those regions should hold a vote given it's already been stated that no Potentate is in favour of setting a democratic precedent for future leader selection / weakening their own position by being a non-democratically elected official.

Third, why not give Vega all of SEA and then use our extraterritorial base thing to turn it into a series of massive city states under our control while he nominally controls most of the continent, saving us having to negotiate that entire region into our hands? That way we can get large portions of his land off him later in return for mass producing some cybernetics and sharing our advances with him since as the time-of-prophecy approaches it'll be more important to him to have his men at peak performance than to try to recruit more since they'd take time to train.
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>>3843264
>>3843247

WHO THE FUCK CARES? We're here to stop the apocalypse not take over the world. We control the whole internet in the year 2000 by 2019 we damn well rule the world too. Imagine having one guy run Google and Twitter and Facebook and Amazon at the same time. That's basically us already. As long as people let us build factories and network that's all we need.

Now if the idea here is to go back to having countries (even mega countries) because it fucks up prophecy then I am 100% for it.

But if the idea is to figure out if a guy from Texas gets to be the emperor of Japan or not then I don't care and if I can do a bit of meta gaming I don't think the QM does either.

>>3843276

Exactly!!! we already control the economy if these people want a territory to be blue or red on a map who cares. Most of these guys already work for us and we are just being too polite to remind them. The only people we have no control on is Indian guy and Chinese guy (the kings of the east? does it count?) and they have a lot of people but not a lot of GDP and only 2 votes out of 7 or 8 anyway.

Lets make sure WE don't become the Antichrist.


>>3842990

second
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>>3843272
>Yes, the team cap and budget carryover restrictions are gone. At this point nobody would dare object.
Good good.

>The main issue is that what most potentates aren't sure about is whether CATS wants to be a semi-independent power, or a global agency.
I mean the East India Company was technically a holding of the British government yet it did operate almost entirely independently for decades: it too was involved in trade, war, politics, business, industry and even to a limited degree science, even if it was mostly limited to the profitable and deadly kinds.

CATS is, was and will be the same and yet it will be the same as ever because we have always acted in this way: we've always been a part of the economy with our Nomenklators; we've always been a part of science; we've always been a part of politics and war since Africa or arguably since the moment we got an alliance with Santiago; all we are doing is saying that we plan on doing it more officially.

I've got a few ideas for compromises like us taking a reduced amount of income from taxes and sending the rest to the rest of the globe if that'll encourage them to agree or breaking CATS into multiple sub-organisations under the CATS banner which we still control but should therefore make it clearer as to where our money is going and shit.

>They have little choice in the matter, but the more mixed messages you send, the more they'll give away now because they have to, and the more they'll resent you for it later when they can.
To be fair, if we show the benefits of granting us this mixed status, will they calm down and treat us more fairly? If we make allowances and give them gifts would they tolerate it more?

>>3843277
>WHO THE FUCK CARES?
I do since this determines a lot of the end game, since a CATS that is still an Agency is much less influential on humanities future than a CATS like I am suggesting. Equally well, if you agree that this is a case of who cares and that they're too weak to stop us, why not support the plan that strengthens CATS greatly?
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>>3843276
>>3843265

You interrupt Chloe and Francesca. "We gave guarantees to the Remnant that their Internet presence would not be censored, and we've stuck to it. We aren't interested in persecuting or oppressing anyone -- we have enough resources for our own wants and needs, so we're quite happy to work to lift everyone, as was our original mandate."

Yang looks at the map. "Then why are you making a land grab, Foreman? You started off saying that you didn't want to rule, but what I see here is-"

Santiago interjects. "That's the next item on the agenda, Chairman Yang. Now, Chloe, was it? Are there Remnant churches in the lands I defend?"

"Yes, there's house churches, and..."

"Have they been persecuted? Were they not given help in rebuilding after the F3 tidal wave -- which you, yourself, blame on your own God and no others?"

"We're not blaming God for it! He's..." Chloe clears her throat. "No, we haven't, and yes, we got housing assistance."

"Then my guarantee is that we will keep doing what we have done."

Dimmsdale pipes up. "I'm not much of the churchy type myself, both of y'all ladies, but nobody's infringing your right to go to church on my watch! I like my bells on Sunday, it's traditional."

Od Gustav agrees with at least the last statement. "This has been the first time in history that we've managed to not have a religious war. Christians are a major contributor to our cultural wealth, whatever the denomination."

Lal sounds genuinely puzzled -- he's good at that. "Abrahamic faiths have a tradition just as rich as any other in our region. Why would we persecute them?"

Zakharov's tone is definitely less conciliatory. "It's no secret that I am an atheist until proven otherwise. If the Remnant wish to worship a meteor, like the Muslims do, it's no business of mine. My guarantee against persecution is that I disdain every faith equally -- but as long as people think, they have a natural right to think wrong."

Chloe doesn't answer immediately. "I... What if Carpatescu says-"

"Carpatescu is not here!" Yang almost shouts. "Let's stop being afraid of a phantom. He is either gone for good, or if he is not, he will have to live with the consequences of having left, when he returns. At this point, even if he returns, he cannot dictate any more than any of us can." To you it's both encouraging and puzzling that it's the Chinese subpotentate saying so -- either Carpatescu's mesmerism has an expiration date, or he practices what he preaches when it comes to mental discipline.

"I think we will have to discuss this, but... speaking for the Tribulation Force as its coordinator, and not the whole Remnant... I thank you, accept that you are wanting to be sincere, and accept your guarantees - oh hold on a minute, Tsion's awake!"

There's some noise on Chloe's microphone

# and that's all there is because you don't want Tsion to get involved, so you hang up on them, at least for now.

# and you're going to have to give him some airtime.
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# and that's all there is because you don't want Tsion to get involved, so you hang up on them, at least for now.

NOPE.

>UNDRR

UNDRR would be curators of the city until the crisis has been addressed.
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Also are we NOT going to discuss the six-legged, scorpion tailed elephant in the room? T.T

We keep talking politics, yet what I reeeally want to push is that CATS mandate include addressing the 'Alien Threat' in an official capacity - Not through an army but through tech research and deployment.

Our tech stopped Carpatescu's mind control and thwarted the Witnesses. Our coordination with GCASA and UNDRR tackled Akhenatten. If anyone is best equipped to handle the weird shit its us.

Let us do the SCIENCE people!
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>>3843284

True, but the East India Company operated in an environment in which both nation-states and empires existed. This is an environment that, under Carpatescu, was trying to move towards a unified world; even the subpotentate system was intended to be a temporary measure. Carpatescu did admit to you that his interest was in having the subpotentates lose relevance and eventually just preside over each area's cultural quirks as the economy got truly globalized.

Of course, that system itself has a lot of problems, one of which being that it fits the Remnant narrative.

>>3843284

At this moment you are the single most powerful player -- but you've also shown that if the subpotentates can work together they can take on the world government as Carpatescu has left it. Of course, everyone is angling for concessions.

>>3843277 is right in that you currently are in control of enough of the culture and the economy that shaping the future is going to be relatively easy; you've even demonstrated that you do a better job at space exploration than the global space agency.

If you don't like capitalism, for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Sq1Nr58hM

>>3843302

Wanting to officially change your mandate is definitely a thing you can bring up; right now, the discussion between the subpotentates is mired in territorial disputes, so moving the discussion away may be useful. You can always close the conference call once you got what you want; they'll call you back, you can be sure of that, but not for a few days.
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>>3843292
>Yang looks at the map. "Then why are you making a land grab, Foreman? You started off saying that you didn't want to rule, but what I see here is-"
"I said we had enough wealth and power for our -own- wants and needs: for example, we've been developing advanced VR technology for example without is being a focus of our organisation because we, as a group of people, want to pursue that technology because it's amazing to us and we love it. Another would be the investments we've made over the last few years in stuff purely for our staff or their families.

What we don't have however is enough for everything CATS is seemingly in a position to help with: the UNDRR needs help stopping the incoming potential famine; McLachlan needs help preparing for the next wave of meteors; we want to establish bio-diversity reserves to ensure that rare species don't die should things continue to get more screwed on planet earth; we want to develop more advanced disaster defence methods to supply the UNDRR;; we want to advance human understanding and then use it to solve problems; we want to generally build a better future and for all of that? We need more than we can currently get from our budget and our efforts.

Hell that isn't even mentioning the aliens that just crashed who we recently discovered we have a method of combating, one only we know how to produce, or...well we'll discuss the final major thing CATS has been dealing with later in the meeting after everything else is settled since I'd rather not do it with Ikko listening since she doesn't like it when I talk about trying to avert the apocalypse."

# and you're going to have to give him some airtime.

"Oh how I wish I had popcorn..."

>>3843302
We'll get to it don't worry. Also do you think that my Yang write-in is a good thing to dissuade them from thinking this is a power play? Cause it's entirely honest in the fact I just really think we need all the stuff we're asking for to ensure final victory without significant loss of life.
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>>3843302
>We keep talking politics, yet what I reeeally want to push is that CATS mandate include addressing the 'Alien Threat' in an official capacity - Not through an army but through tech research and deployment.
Sure thing. I bought a Yoshi amiibo, he'll be our cooperative (co-op) partner, teammate, and comrade.

>>3843302
>Let us do the SCIENCE people!
Yoshi will handle the science department, I can show some photos of the science department if you want.
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>>3843305
>True, but the East India Company operated in an environment in which both nation-states and empires existed. This is an environment that, under Carpatescu, was trying to move towards a unified world; even the subpotentate system was intended to be a temporary measure.
True but my point was that a similar organisation to what we shall be / intend to be has existed in past.

>At this moment you are the single most powerful player -- but you've also shown that if the subpotentates can work together they can take on the world government as Carpatescu has left it. Of course, everyone is angling for concessions.
To be fair they won because we helped, we could probably win again by having the BOCHICA systems helping the Peacekeepers rather than fighting against them but it would be far bloodier and far slower.
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>>3843310

(OK, you keep promising a writeup... I get that this is all for fun, so if you don't end up delivering one it's fine, but at this point yes, I do want to see some photos, because maybe it will help me understand what you go on about. I think you're going somewhere with your posts, but I can't tell what: maybe visual aids will help)

>>3843308

(That's an interesting replay, I'll use it if it gets a second!)

>>3843311

(You have a lot of air force preparing to launch and hit Turkey. If you want them to spread out and hit regional capitols instead, Africa, Russia, China and India are in range, and Europe is one hop away).
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>>3843316
>(OK, you keep promising a writeup... I get that this is all for fun, so if you don't end up delivering one it's fine, but at this point yes, I do want to see some photos, because maybe it will help me understand what you go on about. I think you're going somewhere with your posts, but I can't tell what: maybe visual aids will help)
Here's a photo of my Yoshi amiibo. It's a stuffed animal with a microprocessor stuffed up its butt. It's a robot (metal golem), stuffed animal, and co-worker.
Attached image is a light-blue, Yoshi from the video-game franchise "Yoshi's Yarn." I bought it from the store and had it imported to my house all the way from Japan. He's a fantastic friend, and is one of my best friends.
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Once we've got Turbo Jesus bagged and stuffed into a crate alongside the Ark of the Covenant, we can work towards that aim. But that's for later.

Proposal:

We throw our bid for a change in mandate to include Research & Development of technology to address the 'Extra Terrestrial Threat' coordinating with UNDRR, GCASA and Robertsons Atomic Agency.

We can work Fr. Schorpe's research into an official Think Tank designed to study the effects of narrative causality.
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>>3843316
>(That's an interesting replay, I'll use it if it gets a second!)
I'd hope so, I mean I honestly ran out of reasons to justify us needing this and I do genuinely believe that this is needed.

Fact is CATS is seemingly the only organisation in the world sometimes that seems to be making an effort. Plus it's not like I don't plan on delivering the Council progress reports on CATS's work over the coming months given I want to show just how good our organisation is and that they should trust us as well as the fact that I'll want to be sharing CATS results in certain areas with them to ensure everyone adopts them.

Long term, I'm thinking we form a council within CATS with us acting as the Executive and them the legislature like a mini-version of the current Council. That should create a image of openness / power-decentralisation among our fellow Global Council members and encourage them to think of CATS as a non-threat while still keeping control relatively in our hands. Fact is though we'd stack the Council in our favour just by the fact our organisation generally loves us and understands why we do what we do.

That and also pointing out that CATS has in past focused primarily on "the good of humanity" in broad terms: relatively speaking we're damn near perfect as far as a "government organisation attempting to stop the end of the world by any means possible" could be. Especially when you consider we could've just declared ourselves a dictatorship a few months back and been done with it. Hell point that out to them even and make the point that we don't want absolute power nor do we want anyone else to have it. We just want to do good.

>(You have a lot of air force preparing to launch and hit Turkey. If you want them to spread out and hit regional capitols instead, Africa, Russia, China and India are in range, and Europe is one hop away).
Nah, that'd be a dick move.

>>3843320
I'd argue my write-in gets us just such a mandate, by basically saying "we plan on doing literally everything we can to ensure human survival in the next few years, just trust us to do it and give us the shit we think we need to do it".
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We can call the think tank the Narrative Application Program or NAP. As in a cat nap. =D

....

I'll see myself out.
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>>3843326
>I'll see myself out.
No, don't leave anon, we need the PUNS!
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>>3843324

Yeah I agree. I'll second your Write In.
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>>3843326

(I think I will go with that if there are no objections)

>>3843319

(That's a cute plushie. I'm very sure however that it has a NFC tag in it, not a microcontroller. Also, it has no moving parts, so it's not a robot. On that note, I find it hilarious that the various IRL Rapture and End Times nuts are generally saying that NFC/RFID tags are not the "mark of the beast"... because it would be too obvious! Example: http://www.end-times-prophecy.org/mark-of-beast-rfid-technology.html )

>>3843320
>>3843311

You figure that if you're to be functional for the next morning, you can't be talking politics all night.

# Move for redefining CATS', UNDRR and GCASA mandate to include dealing with extraterrestrial threats.

# Make a territorial counterproposal.

>>3843296
>>3843308

(Anyone wanting to tie break on whether to keep Chloe in the call?)
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>>3843331
>On that note, I find it hilarious that the various IRL Rapture and End Times nuts are generally saying that NFC/RFID tags are not the "mark of the beast"... because it would be too obvious!
That's correct. Here's a photo of one of my assets at work. I play as a Live-Action Roleplayer (LARPer) in real life in the form of video games. These video games are then preedetermined based on how well they follow real-life combat conditions into relative values. I play them every day, and have been doing so for nearly my entire life.

Here's one asset: my premium (bought-with-real money) freebie gifted by the developers for all new players. I plan on buying more premium (real-money or tournament money) tanks on the United States of America (U. S. of A.) faction, as I represent the US of A (USA).
I am one of the public tournament players, not a private ---- secret ---- one, and represent the USA in our own little microcosm of the Cold War 2. This is how the USA prevents war with the Russian Federation, as we ally as tournament players and comrades. I am enlisted in the civilian military as a militia, military exercise professional. I use my earnings to help my friends, family, and comrades out. This photo of my freebie tank is valuable to me, but I will eventually empty it out to make space for other tanks.
I am the "Rookie_Zombiegam" listed on the top-middle of the screenshot. I will change my video game tag to something else once I become more experienced in this video game called "War Thunder". If you would like me, you are more thank welcome to join me, "Rookie_Zombiegam" (((((((I'll change the name eventually))))))).
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>>3843331
# Make a territorial counterproposal.

I already posted my map of wanted regions, all in purple or listed by name

II am specifically willing to drop Ireland or more if needed as well as willing to enter discussion with each Potenate to discuss getting it off them: offering nuclear tech / fuel to Zakharov for those islands north of Japan as well as his support in getting the rest of the Council on-board; offering Litwala that wedge of the middle east or perhaps a bit more in return for his islands off Madagascar; offering that slice of Turkey to Gustav in return for Iceland and Greenland; offering the rest of the middle east to Lal for that island chain off the south of India; Cuba in return for giving Dimmsdale priority for network enhancement, for BOCHICA deployment if he wants it and for relief supplies assuming he still needs them along with a gift of 8 Bn Nicks.

I honestly don't expect to get Tawian mind you, I'm mostly putting it in there so we can give that up in compromise for Japan after which we support him taking Mongolia and Tibet. I'm also willing to offer augmentation to any Potenate that is interested as an additional bargaining chip.

>(Anyone wanting to tie break on whether to keep Chloe in the call?)
I'm okay with dropping her from the call just to keep shit moving.
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>>3843276
Well if we are going to be giving out or declaring who's in charge of what like that, then why don't we pick the replacement subpotentates for UK and stuff?

>>3843344
I'd be just happy with Hubs and Greenland.

I'd say we hang up on Chole only when Tison starts his ranting, and doesn't stop after we warned him. Warn Chole first too.
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>>3843360
>Well if we are going to be giving out or declaring who's in charge of what like that, then why don't we pick the replacement subpotentates for UK and stuff?
Because part of the prophecy is the existence of 10 Biblical kingdoms: by getting rid of the middle east and the UK ones, we can lower the count to 8. Add on us? You only have 9, further damaging god's plan.

I do understand what you mean but I'd point out that we can't exactly find a perfect puppet on such short notice nor would we be able to control them given the nature of the situation.

>I'd be just happy with Hubs and Greenland.
To be honest I probably would too but if we can grab additional land, why not?

>I'd say we hang up on Chole only when Tison starts his ranting, and doesn't stop after we warned him. Warn Chole first too.
Fair enough, I'm mostly wanting to get them offline so we can honestly discuss god and our opposition to him.
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>>3843365
>Because part of the prophecy is the existence of 10 Biblical kingdoms: by getting rid of the middle east and the UK ones, we can lower the count to 8. Add on us? You only have 9, further damaging god's plan.

If that plan was expressed earlier, I would not have been so vehemently against changing up the territories so much.

>To be honest I probably would too but if we can grab additional land, why not?
{perhaps we can use it as a negotiation tactic. ask for more than you want then settle down for what you really want.

>Fair enough, I'm mostly wanting to get them offline so we can honestly discuss god and our opposition to him.
We are mostly going through the motions since we all know Tison can't help himself. :)
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>>3843330
>>3843324

(Well, fuck. Hold on to your hats!)

You cut off Chloe's microphone, figuring that Tsion's probably going to override anything she was saying.

"Listen, people. We have a giant ice rock full of alien bugs that's slowly thawing and possibly de-terraforming the local environment.

I said we had enough wealth and power for our -own- wants and needs: for example, we've been developing advanced VR technology, as an aside, because our sysadmins happen to like it and it has great potential for the future. Another example would be the investments we've made over the last few years in stuff purely for our staff or their families; we take care of our own.

What we don't have, however is enough resources for everything CATS is seemingly in a position to help with. It's no secret that we have been assisting UNDRR and GCASA with long term issues -- preventing or at least delaying soil deterioration, intercepting meteorites. We're coordinating with ICCO to set up a bio-diversity reserve, even.

We're trying to advance human understanding, use it to deal with our problems, build a better future. Now we are here, trying to figure out how to fight actual aliens. We have figured out how to get fight them -- and only we have. We're running on the assumption that Chloe Steele is at least partially right, and although she will hate me for saying this, we're trying to avert the Apocalypse that her pastor preaches.

And throughout all this you try to nickel and dime us? We, CATS, saved you from Folgore. We ended a war in a month that could have lasted a year and left the Earth in tatters. And you try to nickel and dime us?

That I will not allow. Let's dispense with the niceties. Here's what I want, and here's what you will give me, because it will be cheaper and easier than me taking it."

# Write in. I at this point have no idea where this is going anymore, so the first territorial redistribution proposal that gets two votes, goes.

(Is this roughly what you wanted to get across?)
>>
>>3843344

I am in favor of installations over territories because it saves us the trouble of administrating whole countries.

For example, if we own Ireland as a territory we would responsible for making sure the Protestants and Catholics play nicely.

Instead, if we had bases, we could offer our services to the Potentate-in-charge and send them our bill when all is said and done.

Plus it'll reduce the number of 'Kings' too.

>I'd say we hang up on Chole only when Tison starts his ranting, and doesn't stop after we warned him. Warn Chole first too.

Support.

I would push for Chloe being recognized as the Remnant speaker. She's shown she can be reasonable while sticking to her guns.
>>
>>3843367
It was mentioned repeatedly last thread, I apologise for presuming that everyone had been made aware of that stipulation.

>{perhaps we can use it as a negotiation tactic. ask for more than you want then settle down for what you really want.
I plan on doing so, after all I don't really want Vega controlling all of SEA besides New Zealand and a few islands like Tasmania and New Caledonia but implying we won't stop him does make it a excellent bargaining chip to then going "well okay I guess we could give Australia to Gustav" and maybe saying "Yang can take the some islands" along with "Dimmsdale should take back the Philippines seeing as they are / were american allies / near-vassals in past" in return for us getting Taiwan and Japan along with Cuba from them respectively.

Greenland too but that value of trade for that is divided between Gustav and Dimmsdale as well as the argument to both of them that they'd rather we have it than the other or, god forbid, Zakharov.

Zakharov's island chain in the north honestly might be wise to drop given it probably ain't worth the resources we'd need to trade for it.

>We are mostly going through the motions since we all know Tison can't help himself. :)
True.

>>3843368
>(Is this roughly what you wanted to get across?)
Basically, a very competent if not by-the-book man trying to save the world who has basically just saved a bunch of people's lives but when asking for their help they say "oh but what is in it for me" even as their own house burns down around them.

># Write in. I at this point have no idea where this is going anymore, so the first territorial redistribution proposal that gets two votes, goes.

Yes, give me a moment to write up a list of what the map changes are / grab the image and modify it.
>>
>>3843247
Why does Africa own a piece of the middle east in ur pic....?

>>3843368
Greenland, and a few territories/Hubs.

>>3843370
What is there to administer in Greenland? There is like less than 50k people living there. We can work with Gus and Denmark on some of the issues, but I mostly want to freedom to build whatever we want in Greenland, and not have to deal with noisy people. Gus or Dimmsdale can still call the overall shots on what happens domestically and social or politically.

We should have Defacto power in Greenland while Dejure goes to Gus or Dimms.

Think of Macau or Hong Kong before the handover.
>>
>>3843370
>I am in favor of installations over territories because it saves us the trouble of administrating whole countries.
Fair enough but my logic is that we can just adopt the existing administration, maybe automate large portions using BOCHICA based systems, and then leave it to more or less take care of itself as we use the resources they generate to save the world, improve their lives and generally be a good Illuminati organisation.

>For example, if we own Ireland as a territory we would responsible for making sure the Protestants and Catholics play nicely.
Bah, the Ireland is stable now and we can have Moira use her influence to make sure certain parties play nice if need be. Throw in the fact religions are more so the responsibility of the Ecumenical Council who we can trust now and it's not too much of an issue. Plus Ireland is a bargaining chip, I don't expect to actually get it.

>Instead, if we had bases, we could offer our services to the Potentate-in-charge and send them our bill when all is said and done.
Yeah true.

>Plus it'll reduce the number of 'Kings' too.
I suppose but we wouldn't get a seat on the Council as easily without it I'd argue. Plus I love the idea of CATS being a literal New World Order for some regions as well as making a "national address" speech where we reveal we are a cyborg leading a high tech militarised organisation with ties to the worlds leaders, the economy and everywhere else. Supported by additional cyborg soldiers, drones (something no other military has in-world currently besides us, Israel and any Santiago has borrowed) and all that cool shit who is responsible for everything from redirecting meteors to creating VR tech literal decades more advanced than it should be.

Not to mention that it means we can easily create dozens of Thule style cities, full of industry and bio-reserves. Along with various other benefits.


>I would push for Chloe being recognized as the Remnant speaker. She's shown she can be reasonable while sticking to her guns.
Agreed.

>>3843378
>Why does Africa own a piece of the middle east in ur pic....?
To reward Litwala for his good service and in trade for the islands we're taking just off Madigascar.
>>
>>3843378
>Greenland, and a few territories/Hubs.
Anon he wants the territories specified, so I'm going to be working on my image to get this right / good.
>>
>>3843378

With the Thule base, given how much land is abscribed to it, you essentially already had that -- the mining rights can still be worked out with Gustav or Dimmsdale. Or, you could outright declare that Greenland belongs to you.

>>3843376

(Did you watch CSPAN recently? Sorry for being cynical, but...)

>>3843376

(Seems to me that you're trying to make the case that the whole "let's try to move past the concept of nation states" thing that Carpatescu tried to do has failed, is that more or less where you're going?)

>>3843380
>>3843370

You make a note to move that Chloe Steele be recognized as the Remnant representative for EC purposes, rather than Tsion, since Tsion is their prophet and Rayford nominally the man in charge, but Chloe is keeping the books and giving assignment to the people.
>>
>>3843376
>repeatedly last thread
Hmm, missed it I guess. Though I will say again, plans made previously tend to go forgotten or neglected or rendered moot in new threads and future turns.

I'd rather not give Vega more than an island.

I think AUS and NZ would be better suited to go to Dimmsdale.

To reward Litwala for his good service

Should be the other way around, and I think we can get away with ask him nicely for it and give a few non territorial concessions.

I'd rather we not be considered a king in any regard and just have special rights to do as we please on their lands.

Also, we can just build a city in Africa.

>>3843381
One near our old HQ, one in SEA island, (Next to Carla?) 1 in Australian, 1 in Africa.

Think we can grab the Falkland islands?

>>3843383
>(Did you watch CSPAN recently? Sorry for being cynical, but...)
What? Greenland is for sale or something?

>Seems to me that you're trying to make the case that the whole "let's try to move past the concept of nation states"
Back to square one. What if we do some sort of national Confederation that respects cultures and boundaries like Halo or Babylon 5?
>>
>>3843368

Hmmm.... a little too heavy handed.

How about this:

<Turn off Ikko's radio for the duration>

"Attention esteemed Potentates, I feel we must address the elephant in the room. Now, it goes without saying we've seen some strange shit in the past few years, starting with the Event which saw the disappearance of the world's children.

Through the course of our tenure as foreman, we have investigated a number of enigmas. It was CATS who detected Carpatescu's use of mesmerism and devised the means of counteracting it.

Through cooperation with UNDRR, GCASA, and the work of Dr. Robertson and Dr. Diamond we were able to detect Akhenatten and address the aftermath.

In the past we have had to step carefully to accomplish these objectives but now I will say this: something is afoot.

Tsion would claim this is in accordance to his interpretation of the Book of Revelations. While there are interesting parallels, we have ample evidence to suggest that this enigma goes way deeper than the Rabbi's ramblings.

Regardless, one thing we have determined is that human ingenuity and drive can overcome earth shattering cataclysms.

I'll get to point. Our goal isn't political power but rather knowledge and defense. We want to understand what the hell is going on and devise a means of keeping the planet safe. Even without your blessing, CATS will continue to follow this mission but it would benefit us if we had the blessing of this august assembly."
>>
>>3843383
>(Did you watch CSPAN recently? Sorry for being cynical, but...)
Christ no, I've been busy burning my way through a bunch of content I got randomly recommended by Youtube. Musicals, memes and comics have consumed a fair few hours of my days. If you are referring to some detail of my plan please inform to me.

>(Seems to me that you're trying to make the case that the whole "let's try to move past the concept of nation states" thing that Carpatescu tried to do has failed, is that more or less where you're going?)
Nah, I'm just grabbing regions that I think they'd be able to make use of or should reasonably be interested in and offering it in exchange for support.

Personally, I think carpy boy was right in some ways, humanity can and should move past nationstates towards a greater unification if for no other reason than the fact that if we don't we'll struggle to deal with threats like meteors, alien invasions, acts of god and even simpler stuff like famines or natural disasters.

Not to mention shit like colonising mars or the moon: we can hardly have the Argentinians hating the Brits hating the french hating the Germans hating the Italians hating the french hating the Brits hating the Spanish hating the Africans hating the Europeans hating the Chinese.


For now however, we must compromise for stability and to appease these leaders but in another decade or two of letting cultural universalise as our auto-translation systems make language a non-barrier, as people start communicating online everywhere and as the economy unifies? Then we can see about winding down the separation and becoming one people under BOCHICA that can march into the stars without any ill blood.
>>
>>3843388
We become UNSC in Halo, the world political body becomes Systems Alliance from Mass Effect. We answer to them, sort of.
>>
>>3843380

Maybe Ireland isn't the best example, but the point I'm trying to throw in is that public administration of populated countries would create more unneeded distractions.

If the Apocalypse is happening on my property, I'd rather let a landlord pay for the damages than deal with it myself.

If we're going to see global scale disasters like blood oceans, demonic horsemen, and earthquakes, I'd rather let the Potentates handle the paperwork so we can focus our resources on surgically addressing the cause.

If we go the base-route we can still build up population centers and, through careful wrangling of the Potentates, build them into thriving city-states when we have advanced our technology trees further and have addressed the encroaching famine and other disasters.
>>
>>3843386
>Hmm, missed it I guess. Though I will say again, plans made previously tend to go forgotten or neglected or rendered moot in new threads and future turns.
True.

>I'd rather not give Vega more than an island.
I'm planing on cutting him down to a relatively small area, I'll post it soon to see what you think.

>I think AUS and NZ would be better suited to go to Dimmsdale.
NZ is so nice though: it's a very hospitable environment (compared to Greenland or Iceland I mean) with plenty of natural resources in a place where we might otherwise lack a good island base. Plus it has a well developed industrial economy we can make immediate use of.

>Should be the other way around, and I think we can get away with ask him nicely for it and give a few non territorial concessions.
Eh, he made Africa stand against the Peacekeepers and I want to reward him for his loyalty. We can make him give concessions when we start setting up Thule-style cities all over his lands, attracting the best and brightest of Africa to our banner rather than his. Along with most of their industry and commerce.

>I'd rather we not be considered a king in any regard and just have special rights to do as we please on their lands.
Yet I would since having a vote on the Council would be nice. It doesn't seem entirely honest to pretend to be effectively a Agency head given the power in our hands.

>Also, we can just build a city in Africa.
True.

>One near our old HQ, one in SEA island, (Next to Carla?) 1 in Australian, 1 in Africa.
Eh, I'd prefer to grab one up in NE Asia as well for the sake of air-basing / naval shit against Yang should he try something. Plus one in the Indian ocean, which I have requested / plan to just for the sake of coverage.

>Think we can grab the Falkland islands?
That'd be brilliant, maybe even make them a shared region between us and Santiago that functions entirely as a military training island-city and penguin nature reserve so we can invite her on a cute date after inviting her to inspect the troops.

>>3843390
Seems about right, my main point is that the people of earth will slowly unify over time and we've made good progress in accelerating it. Far more important is ensuring this Bonsai tree grows just right rather than trying to rush it and causing a butcher of our good work by keeping these leaders from rocking the boat too much.
>>
>>3843394
>Maybe Ireland isn't the best example, but the point I'm trying to throw in is that public administration of populated countries would create more unneeded distractions.
True but that is why I made mention of essentially just leaving the regions be besides automation and probably economic improvement.

>If we're going to see global scale disasters like blood oceans, demonic horsemen, and earthquakes, I'd rather let the Potentates handle the paperwork so we can focus our resources on surgically addressing the cause.
True but by taking these regions we can have the funds, numbers and reach to make sure that the blood ocean doesn't wipe out any species, that the demonic horsemen are contained by literal thousands of Gap field generators and to be fair in the case of earth quakes we've made the prep for those already to survive pretty extreme ones without issue.


Plus our victory at this point is near certain so long as we don't screw up entirely and get possessed by Satan or something.

>If we go the base-route we can still build up population centers and, through careful wrangling of the Potentates, build them into thriving city-states when we have advanced our technology trees further and have addressed the encroaching famine and other disasters.
I suppose but that doesn't change the fact we could probably do the same even with these regions under our control. Only difference being more resources and more control over the region.
>>
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This is my modified version of the territorial exchange I wish to cause. Questions, suggestions and all that good shit?
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>>3843388
>>3843387
>>3843386

(I'll be honest, I lost the plot a bit, at this point.)

>>3843387
>>3843388

"Foreman, I still think you are calling upon high-minded principles in order to go for a land grab. If that is the case, you have my approval for taking Greenland or Hawaii or rather anywhere else you care for, with the exclusion of Taiwan, of course."

That was unexpected; what changed Yang's mind?

Gustav and Zakharov seems to mostly agree about where the border between Russia and Europe should be; Zakharov is not much of a nationalist, and largely wants to move the countries he's representing away from the shame of the corruption of the post-Soviet period. A few points of contention, such as Crimea, remain.

Santiago has reached an agreement with Dimmsdale about Mexico; she will hold onto it as long as Dimmsdale sees Hawaii returned to his territory.

And so on, and so forth.


>>3843402

(Anyone wants to second that?)
>>
Yeah, I think we've ALL lost the plot a bit here, because I went to bed and you're being retards.

We've got a prophecy to stop, we can put land negotiations on hold for a few months. Nobody's going to start another war tomorrow, they're all weary.

LETS GO, people. We don't have time to waste on this!
>>
>>3843386

>I'd rather not give Vega more than an island.

My plan for Vega is give him a small amount of territory and encourage him into building it into a paradise for Transhumanism and augmentation.

As a caveat he'll agree to get out of the illegal trade and take a more legitimate approach to his technology and talents.

It also builds a useful ally in the region, since I anticipate Yang is going to embrace a position of isolationism from the Global Community.
>>
>>3843370
>I am in favor of installations over territories because it saves us the trouble of administrating whole countries.
I agree. Here's an attached image of what an installation (military outpost) can look like. This will be built by either civilian construction crews, military combat-engineers, or military construction-contractors. It can be disassembled, packaged, and then stored in regular trucks, pick-up trucks, or in multiple van-like vehicles (SUVs) as necessary.
It has a defense rating of 2, over our current defense rating of 1 at most bases, and versus 16 at New Babylon.
This will be available for construction 1 week (1 turn) from now. The turn times are not consistent, and are based off my Survarium matches win-rate (how often I win battles, sets of rounds, and wars in Survarium the video-game for military-exercise professionals such as myself).
>>
>Anyone wants to second that?

For the sake of ending this political talk and returning to frying insects, I will support.
>>
>>3843404

I would like to vote against >>3843402 simply because this is not a nations game, I recommend >>3831097 for that instead.

>>3843405

True but look at how WE are acting. When it's about territory everyone gets greedy. We can't expect the NPCs to not be.

>>3843406

He said he'd be okay with "regulating" the drug trade instead of being a part of it, which apparently Zakov has also done as per >>3842881


We have Thule if we want to build a city, we have extraterritorial bases, we still get paid every quarter. If the subponetes want to fuck us over they'll give us Greenland and Cuba and NZ and then cut our budget to 10. Then what do we do, bomb them? If we shut down the net again for too long they'll re learn to do without.

>>3843407

is the defense rating stuff on the map or in the google doc?
>>
>>3843405
>Yeah, I think we've ALL lost the plot a bit here, because I went to bed and you're being retards.
Hey man I think we made good progress working out long term shit.

>We've got a prophecy to stop, we can put land negotiations on hold for a few months. Nobody's going to start another war tomorrow, they're all weary.
The prophecy is being stopped, between the lab work, bombing run and gap generator field wall around them there ain't much more we can order done for now since we're waiting to find out if fire is their weakness or if we need a really big tesla coil as well as a complete dissection.

>>3843412
Well at the very least I can promise you that I've chosen only the best parts of the world to grab limited by the nature of the regions and not wanting to take stuff from our closest allies.
>>
>>3843416
>is the defense rating stuff on the map or in the google doc?
No, it on neither any maps or any google docs. I haven't listed it yet because no one asked me to. It's based off my personal experience, knowledge, and discussions with other LARPers such as myself.
>>
Shitpost Proposal:

We solve the issue of land ownership by colonizing the Bottomless Pit. Plenty of room for everyone's needs when you get past the demonic insects and the darkness.

We'll call it Apollyonstan!
>>
>>3843402
I think we are taking too much land, also why is Australia and NZ going to Gus?

Why Does Zak have Scandinavia?
>>
>>3843421

(Again, if you want to do any sort of writeup, I strongly encourage you to. Then again, I was hoping for a map or something from you, and you posted a plushie instead, so I've really got no idea what your overall idea here is. One thing I am going to ask though, I made a google doc public, if you found the private one with my quest notes, please don't use it to read how the combat rating for various unit types actually works.)

>>3843416
>>3843412

(OK I got 2 vote for, 1 against)

>>3843423

( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34CZjsEI1yU We can never dig too deep!)
>>
>>3843416
>I would like to vote against...this is not a nations game
Anon, I beg of you to see the logic of what I say.

>We have Thule if we want to build a city, we have extraterritorial bases, we still get paid every quarter. If the subponetes want to fuck us over they'll give us Greenland and Cuba and NZ and then cut our budget to 10. Then what do we do, bomb them? If we shut down the net again for too long they'll re learn to do without.
Anon even if they tried to do that, we'd still have 24 Bn production from the factories every quarter plus what we get from our security teams. We'd be back to roughly our budget at the start of the game, maybe a little better and given the fact we can have as many work teams as we can hire now we'd be able to rapidly grow our factory count as well as other shit.

Also you are assuming that our allies are going to just suddenly screw us over after we make an impassioned plea that we're doing it for the good of humanity: we just need to show we were serious and that we aren't going to abuse these funds, people or the power it grants. Fact is Santiago won't screw us, Litwala won't screw us, Vega won't screw us, Zakharov isn't negatively effected by this deal unless he wants war, Gustav might not get all he wants but he still gets a fair bit and Lal gets a shit ton more land and power.

Most people come out of this deal pretty well off and we can smooze our way into them being perfect content with our performance after this by giving them shit tonnes of stuff.

>>3843427
>I think we are taking too much land, also why is Australia and NZ going to Gus?
Australlia is going to him because he wants it, NZ is ours however.

>Why Does Zak have Scandinavia?
Because he wants it? This is a thing from what I recall established earlier in >>3842997 as a thing they all would have agreed to wanted.
>>
>>3843430
Eastern Europe I can understand but Scandinavia?

And Gus is like somehow okay with that? The fug.

It'd be easier to get special rights like building and mineral exploration than actual sovereignty. That's all we really want anyways is it not?

Less Color changes and territory changes the better IMO.

Also Give Turkey to EU? I think we only gave half of it.
>>
>>3843445
>Eastern Europe I can understand but Scandinavia?
Eh, the Russians did own Finland (before 1918) and it's not like they wouldn't have taken the rest if they could.

>And Gus is like somehow okay with that? The fug.
I try not to understand the mind of the German, it makes life much more fun.

>It'd be easier to get special rights like building and mineral exploration than actual sovereignty. That's all we really want anyways is it not?
I mean, I'd like actual sovereign land but those special rights are nice too. It's just sovereignty has this nice ring to it and I want sovereign land so we can hide carpy somewhere no one has any right to go snooping about.

>Less Color changes and territory changes the better IMO.
Eh, I'd argue the more balanced a world with the greatest strength given to us for the least issue the better. That and reducing border gore where possible.

>Also Give Turkey to EU? I think we only gave half of it.
I wasn't sure where to cut it for the turkish border on that low res map, that and I didn't want to assume they'd want it but I knew they'd probably want the near-east part since it has greek heritage and shit. If he wants more, he can take more.
>>
File: Apollyonstan.png (42 KB, 392x308)
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>>3843428
(It helps when you have no bottom)
>>
>>3843452

OK that is actually pretty fucking awesome :D


-----------

Yang messages you on the side; for his support in your attempt to take Ireland, Greenland, New Zealand and other islands, he wants you to support his intention to declare independence from the Global Community entirely.

"I think it's obvious that Carpatescu was the Josip Broz Tito of our time; now he is gone, and as Yugoslavia started splitting apart ten years ago, so will the world. I believe that the first to leave will both cause an avalanche, and be able to do so with the least amount of losses territorial or otherwise."

# Support him.

# Oppose.

# Expose his plan immediately.


----

(OOC note: I'd like to remind people that all this territorial redistribution can, in fact, wait).
>>
(I'd like to know what people want to do OOC, as much as the IC politicking is interesting. I'm fairly confused as to where this wants to go; my impression was that this was going to be some sort of playable epilogue, but if we're doing month by month the whole time, we're not even at the halfway point.

OOC, just so I can know what simulation model to use, can I please know if people want to:

* Keep CATS as an agency, although with restrictions lifted. Budget will keep being allocated, and so on.

* Declare the internet to be its own corpo-nation, of sorts. No fixed budget, but taxes/tithes depending on how good the services provided is.

* Declare CATS to be a world power that also happens to own internet infrastructure. Take over islands and so on.

* Do some sort of hybrid situation that lets you keep land and a budget grant, at which point we're basically switching to easy mode simulation wise.

Thank you!)
>>
>>3843459
=D

(In hind sight, maybe I should have gone with Abaddstan?)

I am of the mind to table discussions of territory for later. We have bugs to fry and demon horsemen to prepare for.
>>
Hybrid

I vote we're still an agency with lessened restrictions and budget, but we be allowed to own strategic segments of territory, subject to approval of the territorial Potentate.

Potentate administers the territory and the people, we administer the infrastructure, while allowing us to provide assets to help a territory in the event of an emergency.

(AKA Demons show up, dispatch Seal Team CATS)
>>
>>3843465
-# Declare the internet to be its own corpo-nation, of sorts. No fixed budget, but taxes/tithes depending on how good the services provided is.

-# Write-in
-# Declare CATS as a corporate-nation (corpo-nation), and broadcast its existence to everyone, everything, until the end of time itself.

-# Write-in.
-# "I, Paul, declare CATS to be its own corporate-nation (corp-nation), as a mercenary and benefactor to its existence. It shall be a capitalist nation, the absolute enemy to evil communism itself. I shall do so by playing Survarium every single day, or performing tasks of such importance to it, for the rest of my life. This is my decree as a member of the New Babylon Empire."
>>
>>3843471
Switching from this vote to >>3843470
+1. I back Apollystan-Anon's vote instead on making CATS an agency with reduced limitations and restrictions upon its existence.
>>
>>3843459
>"I think it's obvious that Carpatescu was the Josip Broz Tito of our time; now he is gone, and as Yugoslavia started splitting apart ten years ago, so will the world. I believe that the first to leave will both cause an avalanche, and be able to do so with the least amount of losses territorial or otherwise."
"Yang I must advise against this, the world must remain united: at least for another half-a-decade or so. After that if you still wish to separate off I can't justify stopping you from doing so since you are your people's leader and we're not living in particularly democratic times.

I wish I could say something to convince you to stay for good but I can almost certainly convince you to stay for a few years more."

Have we made the god-exists-kinda reveal yet?

>>3843465
>(I'd like to know what people want to do OOC, as much as the IC politicking is interesting. I'm fairly confused as to where this wants to go; my impression was that this was going to be some sort of playable epilogue, but if we're doing month by month the whole time, we're not even at the halfway point.
Eh, I assumed you had a plan...if you want to call it quits here and just give us a few broad decisions to decide how shit goes, that could work. After all at this point between our factories, teams and tech, our victory is assured. You can just tell us "okay you've basically won, want to call it quits" if it's getting difficult or you want to wrap it up...

* Declare the internet to be its own corpo-nation, of sorts. No fixed budget, but taxes/tithes depending on how good the services provided is.
AND / OR
* Declare CATS to be a world power that also happens to own internet infrastructure. Take over islands and so on.
OR
* Do some sort of hybrid situation that lets you keep land and a budget grant, at which point we're basically switching to easy mode simulation wise.

Personally I think the tithe as opposed to a budget is better but if anons would prefer a budget I won't stop them. Especially since I'm unsure if we can do my combination deal of being a world power with a tithe / tax.
>>
>>3843465
* Do some sort of hybrid situation that lets you keep land and a budget grant, at which point we're basically switching to easy mode simulation wise.

Lets skip territorial claims and changes for the most part...
>>
>>3843476
>tithe / tax
Well if we can do both....
>>
All this, because Santiago wanted Mexico...


What if we made New Babylon like Berlin after ww2 with each subponete controlling and in charge of a section.

As for Indonesia, we just appoint a new subponete there. We've done it before with Litwala, and we are basically the Kingmaker for most things here.
>>
>>3843470
>>3843476
>>3843478

(Okay. Confirm switching to easy mode?)
>>
>>3843493
Yes. Confirmed. +1.
>>
Is there anything I can do to convince anons to switch to my suggestion of:

>* Declare the internet to be its own corpo-nation, of sorts. No fixed budget, but taxes/tithes depending on how good the services provided is.
AND
>* Declare CATS to be a world power that also happens to own internet infrastructure. Take over islands and so on.

Since the two seem quite complementary to me.

>>3843493
If I can't convince them of the above, sure.
>>
>>3843493

> switch to easy mode
> everything goes hunky dory
> we beat eviljesus easily
> we never actually got out of the VR rig in the last thread

yeah i can smell a trap a mile away. no.
>>
>>3843402
I added Defense Ratings to depict how many black-ops teams are needed to capture a region. Regions without text-boxes or numbers require 0 black-ops teams to capture, meaning they only require 1 work-team to capture. Sizes of teams are not consistent, they are simply equated for the exact same quantity of produced work, labor, and effectiveness.
>>
>>3843497
I have been scared into saying NO regarding switching to easy mode.

>>3843502
Paranoid-sama is that you?
>>
No, she just wants to go back to the actual plot and stop bickering about geopolitics that are COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT TO THIS QUEST.
>>
>>3843493
Yes, let's fucking get on with it if this gets the geopolitical optimiizers out of the prophecy.
>>
>>3843474
>>3843470

So that's 2 votes for agency, and 2 for hybrid? I think?

( I understand that people want to do write-ins and I've used them to the best of my ability, but if I call a vote OOC about what simulation model to use for the quest, and you want to do a write-in, you're basically volunteering to either take over the quest or hand me a mixed simulation mode. >>3843508 is that what your intention is here?)


>>3843502

(welp, you got me... maybe. Easymode = assume that all rolls that do not crit fail succeed, since you would have overwhelming resources to bring to bear if you had both an agency budget and the GDP of some countries to draw on. I did consider being a dick and going back to "we never left the Shoney's" when the Foreman got into the VR rig, but that would have depended on how yandere Aki got over time, and her yandere meter is almost empty).

>>3843476

(You have not made that reveal yet; you can do so at any time. Doing so with Chloe on the horn would be interesting)

>>3843476

(I did have a plan, but it kinda went out of the window, as it should in any good roleplaying game :) to be honest I didn't expect this conference-call bit to last this long, that's all)

>>3843511

(Again, this is not a nation-building or take-over-the-world quest, although you guys basically HAVE taken over the world in any but the "this piece of dirt has my flag on it" sense. The goal of the quest is, of course, to derail and/or subvert and/or smack down Fate).
>>
Confirm.

CATS is about saving the Internet (and the planet) from Turbo Jesus, not bogging ourselves down in political red tape. Lets get back to doing SCIENCE and looking awesome while doing it.
>>
>>3843525
>So that's 2 votes for agency, and 2 for hybrid? I think?
None of these votes matter, >>3843502 is correct.
W e ' r e s t i l l i n t h e
V R r i g .
>>
>>3843527
>Confirm.
I agree. +1. I'm all for this course of action.
>>3843527
>CATS is about saving the Internet (and the planet) from Turbo Jesus, not bogging ourselves down in political red tape. Lets get back to doing SCIENCE and looking awesome while doing it.
Yes. CATS WILL SAVE THE INTERNET. THE INTERNET IS SAVED THANKS TO US!!!!!!!
>>
I just want to get the game moving again, I'll vote no for easy mode if it does that, whatever stops the pointless bitching.
>>
>>3843525
hybrid
>>
>>3843539
You're right, my bad. I made a mistake. We should stick with hybrid mode, and I'll post some more pictures and photos once there's something relevant to the game.
>>
Let's do whatever we need to do to get moving again. Well at least we're going to hold land, that'll certainly provide opportunities for interesting events...especially in the post-game description. Space colonies, under sea cities and arctic Edens are all within reach for our cybernetics enhanced VR using drone controlling RTG powered citizens of the future.

God damn this world is going to be an interesting aesthetic.
>>
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----------

(This is what it looks like with easy mode)

Given that you have effective control of the Peacekeeper army, and the entirety of its airforce on high alert, nobody wants to call your bluff, if it even was a bluff.

Each of the subpotentates agrees to hand over an island for you to rule: Iceland, Ireland, Greenland, Japan, New Zealand, Cuba, the Seychelles, and so on.

This effectively makes moot any budget issues you might have in the future; you'll have to find and appoint governors for these places, but Carla can probably help in that sense.

* Team number restrictions lifted
* Money will not be a problem again
* The fewer teams deployed each month, the more prosperous your territories will be
* Global Community splinters: other powers will be more submissive
* Game will be shorter

# Option A. NO write ins, NO further hybridizing solutions, this is already the best I can do.

----------

>>3843476

(This is what it looks like without easy mode)

"Chairman Yang, what would it take for you to not secede, at least for now?"

"I can work with the status quo, or with a situation in which Greater China is independent, but not with a situation where we are bound to the Global Community and there has been a major upheaval."

His proposal is that you gain extraterritoriality for your logistics hubs, network nodes, and so on, and put an "industrial tax" on BOCHICA and Synco factory systems that would allow them to operate essentially for profit.

Of course, as the only industrial economy that does not yet have a Synco system, he stands to gain in the short term, but you suspect that if he does not install one in China as well, he will be left in the dust in the medium term.

* Team number restrictions lifted
* No quarterly budget, but also no need to spend everything each quarter
* Net infrastructure generates income each quarter (Current: 36) Uses lowest number for each territory
* Synco factories can be used to generate income directly, instead of production
* Global Community persists
* Game will be longer

# Option B. NO write ins, NO further hybridizing solutions, this is already the best I can do.
>>
>>3843563
-#Option B. NO write ins, NO further hybridizing solutions, this is already the best I can do.
Carpe diem! We must seize the day!
>>
>>3843563
# Option B. NO write ins, NO further hybridizing solutions, this is already the best I can do.

I'm quite happy with CATS becoming a pseudo-national entity with a tithe for "foreign" regions using our services. Also as a side note I've got a few ideas for renaming CATS that I'll be working on given we are no longer the Custodian Arrangement for Telecommunication Systems: not by a long shot.
>>
#Option B~!
>>
# Option B
>>
Looks like everyone wants option B. Pretty sure she does too. Let's go then.

# Option B.
>>
>>3843568
>>3843564
>>3843572

The rest of the meeting gets bogged down in negotiations over land ownership, but given that you have set up a global supply chain, you don't really care where stuff is made or extracted: most of the basic goods at this point are fungible. BOCHICA has done a good job adapting to the freeze, and you're pretty sure it will adapt well to the thaw.

The temptation of making bread out of stone, you might accept... but it will be by getting the science and engineering done, not by miracle.

The motion to amend the charters of Carpatescu's global defense initiative, CATS, UNDRR and GCASA to add a mandate to:

1) Secure Earth from extraplanetary hazards.
2) Contain any extraplanetary hazards that make it to Earth.
3) Protect human life and culture from any and all extraterrestrial interference

passes 7 to 1, with Gideon Vega abstaining because he feels that "human" is too restrictive.

Santiago tells you that the territorial negotiations are likely to last a while.

You're tired as all hell, so you go to sleep, actually turn your phone and earset off, and tell people to wake you up only if there's an emergency.

-
DAY 2

Airstrike scheduled (You are here)

Autopsy scheduled for completion

DAY 3

Armored train arrives

Medical team arrives

DAY 4

Mesh armor arrives

Giant speaker arrives

Tissue sample analysis scheduled for completion

--

At 6AM, there's an emergency.

The PK air force is good to go on the airstrike; they were not waiting for you to get up, of course, and the first planes are already en route.

The emergency is that despite the cold, the insectoids are starting to thaw, with a small swarm beginning to "patrol" the perimeter of the impact zone, as defined by the pyrite monoliths. A dozen people, three surveyors, one news team, and a handful of idiots who ignored all the perimeter warnings, have been stung.

On his website, Rabbi Ben-Judah notes that the people who will be stung would be in so much pain that they would want to die, but God would not allow them to. Tsion said these beasts were not part of the animal kingdom at all. Instead, they were actual demons taking the form of living organisms.

So far, it seems to bear out; those stung were able to crawl to safety, but report being in extreme pain, with one having tried to commit suicide by banging his head on a rock repeatedly; he's been sedated and is being treated. The autopsy of the specimens you collected yesterday will be ready this afternoon, and hopefully it will be made moot by the bombing.

# You want this to be short and sweet: have the airplanes circle the impact site and unload on it as fast as they can once a critical mass has been reached. It's not a nuke, but it should emulate one as much as possible. We must get as many as we can before they thaw out and can fly!

# This needs a long, slow burn or half the fuel will be wasted due to lack of oxygen. Let it rain fire for the whole day, at a controlled rate, ensuring extermination.
>>
>>3843607
-# You want this to be short and sweet: have the airplanes circle the impact site and unload on it as fast as they can once a critical mass has been reached. It's not a nuke, but it should emulate one as much as possible. We must get as many as we can before they thaw out and can fly!
We need to give immediate fire-support to our allies before they fold from being surrounded on all sides.
>>
>>3843607
# This needs a long, slow burn or half the fuel will be wasted due to lack of oxygen. Let it rain fire for the whole day, at a controlled rate, ensuring extermination.

They aren't insanely resilient given what we've seen and it'd be easier to deal with them coming out slowly as they survive this than the massive number that would come all at once if they survived the other one.
>>
>>3843611
Switching from this to >>3843618
+1. You have a better grasp of the current situation around New Babylon than I do.
>>
# This needs a long, slow burn or half the fuel will be wasted due to lack of oxygen. Let it rain fire for the whole day, at a controlled rate, ensuring extermination.

I wonder if the locusts make good eating...
>>
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>>3843623
>>3843618
>>3843621

Given the poor condition of the PK airpower, it would be unsafe to have a large amount of warplanes circle the impact site in order to all unload at the same time; that's a guaranteed recipe for casualties. Instead, you have the aircraft fly in, drop their ordnance, and either return to Al Hillah or land at the nearest airfield, depending on fuel availability.

You set up cameras, seismographs, all the sensors you can think of around the perimeter, another couple of people get stung. One thing the surveyors do discover is that once a locust has stung someone, other locusts avoid them. Unfortunately, people who have been stung are basically useless; they can barely function for how much it hurts.

The sight in the sky is admittedly pretty cool; a grey sky, with the occasional bolt of lightning flying between two dust formations, and a motley assortment of warplanes of every kind in a line under it.

The first incendiary rockets land, and the locusts that can fly, swarm away!

Some try to climb; most spread out.

A nuclear device -- going from calm to a fireball in one instant -- would have destroyed this threat in one go; as it is, the insectoids that stay outside the fireball manage to finish thawing and abandon their point of origin.

The rain of fire, however, does not stop. Everything that could be burned within the kill zone is burned, and then burned again, until a column of black smoke makes it hard to see further deflagrations. The bombs don't care; most are guided by GPS, the target is stationary, and enough of the GPS signal makes it through the dust cloud that everything hits its target plus or minus twenty meters.

The first aircraft were flying low; now they're keeping away from the column of smoke -- you expected that it would turn into a mushroom cloud, but it didn't, it's a column of black smoke going up and joining with the dust coud -- and doing side drops, which the GPS guidance can compensate for. Some aircraft make it back to New Babylon, most end up landing in nearby airfields, either due to low fuel or mechanical problems.

The bombardment continues. It's thawing the ground around the monoliths, and changing the local weather; you have to turn on the A/C in the forward post, both because the protective gear is sweaty, and because the radiated heat from the bombing is starting to reach you.

A few locusts escape high enough to reach the airplanes; you watch a column of smoke erupt from the port engine of a cargo that was carrying a large incendiary. The plane rolls to the side, drops its enormous payload off target, and veers off to the nearest airfield.

The same scene happens again with what you think is a F-111, except that in this case, the pilot has to eject as the plane crashes maybe a kilometer from you. You know he'll get stung.


# Tell fighter-bombers to try to target the active sections of the surviving swarm with their rockets.

# Keep focusing on what is left of the central mass.
>>
# Tell fighter-bombers to target the active sections of the surviving swarm with their rockets.

Do we have anything airburst configurable? Radar guided?
>>
# Tell fighter-bombers to try to target the active sections of the surviving swarm with their rockets.
>>
OOC post
Hi everyone. Geist's sister here, the one who helped write Kat and Moira, thus the name.

This quest needs to end. It's causing significant OOC harm in ways that I'd really rather not go into detail on for, well, Geist and everyone who loves them.

Geist is not good at expressing boundaries, which is why I'm here, asking this now, begging you even.

Will you please accept a strategic 'zooming out', and do it as a 'playable epilogue' rather than going month by month turns for a confrontation with TurboJesus? Geist has been trying to push towards this for at least an entire thread, but because you all have been asking for more, they've been giving you more.

Please let LBQ end.
>>
>>3843718
>Will you please accept a strategic 'zooming out', and do it as a 'playable epilogue' rather than going month by month turns for a confrontation with TurboJesus? Geist has been trying to push towards this for at least an entire thread, but because you all have been asking for more, they've been giving you more.
That's actually what we all agreed with when we said "Confirm the hybrid option". We don't want LBQ quest, we want a fun, playable, strategy game with interactions between both the players and quest-master (QM/OP).

>>3843718
>Please let LBQ end.
Yes. Let it end. Let's find something else Geist can handle that's more up to his speed.


I'll still post photos, pictures, commentary, and annotations as always. You don't need to worry about me interacting with the quest, as I'll always be around as needed, or wanted.
>>
>>3843718
I've been trying to push towards an ending that is actually fulfilling for Geist here. Geist's fiancee here and the sourcebook guy for Very Different Places.

Let's go kick Jesus up the arse ok?
>>
>>3843722
> We don't want LBQ quest

The fuck are you here for then? You've literally been getting ignored by everyone as you write your own quest in the last three threads.
>>
>>3843316
>OK, you keep promising a writeup...
Here's the write-up.
On June 1st, 2019, 6/1/2019, I joined the war against the Peacekeepers. The Peacekeepers are essentially malevolent, hostile, and evil for purposes for interacting with them.
The Peacekeepers must be stopped, they are responsible for the current world being a stagnant, cyberpunk, dystopia. They are not a secret shadowy council or anything, they're just a bunch of collective assholes and asshats.


I have been joining this war, and have been fighting public battles to demonstrate to them that they will eventually lose. They do not believe this yet, but they will in due time.
On June 25th, 2019, the Evil Nirvana event occurred. This is not related to the Peacekeepers, but they were wiped out by it. The Peacekeepers were then revived by those who instigated the Evil Nirvana event to send everyone into a Virtual Reality (VR) dystopia -------- bad world, bad timeline, unfun times, unhappy times..............................................
You can all leave the VR now. You can join us in the real world. I'll still be around as needed, or wanted. I'll still provide input as needed, or wanted. I'll still be here, as needed, or wanted.
You may not leave the VR. You may not leave us. You may not leave, ever.
You may only leave when we say so. You may only leave when we deem so. You shall, and always be slaves.
The Peacekeepers have always won, and always will won. They have always won the day, and always will win the day.
The Peacekeepers will not last, they will perish, like everything. They shall perish, in due time.
>>
>>3843718

>>3843726

Certainly.

I certainly don't want to cause our generous QM any unneeded stress or harm. As much as I have enjoyed LBQ and Geist's writing, people's health and welfare take priority.
>>
>>3843707

Yes, and airburst can be set. Locusts won't show up on radar, though, and the pyrite monoliths cause a lot of radar bounce.

One thing that's strange is the relative silence of it. You can hear the explosions, sure, but your distance and the fact that they are ongoing make each have less impact on your ears.

>>3843712
>>3843707

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-J8146ed4M

"Don't let them escape!"

The local air traffic control is utterly overwhelmed; they did not expect to do this. A couple of AWACS are lazily circling, their radio crews no doubt frantic in trying to provide coordination.

Bombers continue to fly high, dropping their bombs just outside the column of smoke that by now has joined the earth with the dust cloud, while smaller aircraft come in lower, firing missiles or rockets at groups of locusts, dispersing them. Some even engage with autocannon fire.

It's probably not the largest air battle that Earth has seen -- you suspect the honor still goes to the London Blitz -- but it's certainly the strangest.

Twenty centimeters of locust flying at the speed it can is still deadly to a modern fighter if it hits the cockpit or gets sucked into the engine, and thank to the heat itself thawing out the insectoids it didn't incinerate, the escaping swarm is now pretty thick in places; you watch a small jet, a European model, come crashing down after having been covered in black dots. A second jet of the same type swoops down and fires airburst rockets into the swarm, decimating it.

Tsion's website has updated with information on the critters -- looks like at least one of the trespassers was Remnant, because the photos are good -- indicating that Remnant members should feel safe about them, but while those who convert under the neurotoxin's effect will be safe from hellfire, they will not stop suffering for another five months.

On the surface, it looks like this is not working: there are more insectoids flying around than there were this morning, because the heat barrage thawed a number of the beasts.

# Use an AWACS to get a radar map of what's left of the fragment.

# Pause the bombardment to get a visual.

# Keep hammering, this is just the small portion that was already thawing trying to escape. Destroy the nest at all costs.

The preliminary autopsy is starting to come in: the critters have recognizable DNA, and it matches between specimens.

"We thought that they were either clones, or soldier-caste individuals of an eusocial species. They have no reproductory organs, so the latter made sense. Except... they're not clones or worker bees, they're frankensteins!"

"What?"

"The various parts of the animal don't match, each of them has been stitched together from different organisms. The originating parts are probably clonal, or at least have little genetic diversity. Something -- someone -- made these. Their toxin is actually what's holding them together!"
>>
>>3843749
-# Keep hammering, this is just the small portion that was already thawing trying to escape. Destroy the nest at all costs.
Paul: "They musn't escape, ever."
>>
>>3843749
Survivors are a bad idea.

# Keep hammering.

"So if we can come up with a counteragent, they will just CEASE TO EXIST? I want every available lab around the globe working on this."
>>
# Keep hammering, this is just the small portion that was already thawing trying to escape. Destroy the nest at all costs.

Kill it with fire!

>>3843757

Support.
>>
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>>3843749

"Go on."

"These creatures effectively have no immune system that we can see: they can't, if they did they would simply die off as their organs reject one another. They'll die off by themselves as soon as any bacteria or fungus works out how to catabolize them -- give it a few months. Their venom is interesting though. Most animals aren't immune to their own venom; these are. Their brains are pretty simple -- they have pain receptors, as far as we can tell, but maybe they're just not connected to anything. What we thought was venom is in fact their haemolymph -- and also the only thing that acts as a white blood cell reservoir. The lymphocytes have yet different DNA than anything else, and basically breed in the haemolymph."

"So these have been made? One by one?"

"As far as we can tell. The haemolymph promotes connective tissue growth and cleans the wound... of course when this sort of thing touches a nerve, it causes incredible pain, mammalian neurons aren't intended to regrow that way! Basically, the pain reported by those stung is an extreme version of pins and needles. Which is why... well, it'll last a long time, even after the haemolymph has been flushed out. Weeks, months, until the neurons resettle."

You don't know what's more worrying: that Tsion is broadly right -- again, dammit -- or that someone would go through the trouble of manufacturing an immense swarm of insectoids. Was there a queen in the ice? Was there some sort of biological factory? Is Apollyon some kind of monstruous hatchery, intended to make these things on an assembly line?

You don't know -- and for once you don't want to know.

"Thank you, Medical. Keep hammering them! This is just the small portion that was already thawing trying to escape. Destroy the nest at all costs!"

Are these scouts? Would the demonic horsemen be assault units? You imagine an immense army of alien centaurs. But if it's aliens, why are they following Revelation? Was John of Patmos trying to warn people about an alien invasion? And then, why the Rapture?

You need answers. The best way to get them is

# send out a team to capture some live ones.

# rake in as much haemolymph out of the dead ones as possible.

# join a team yourself, and do one or the other.

# ask Ikko what else she knows.
>>
>>3843770
-# rake in as much haemolymph out of the dead ones as possible.
Paul: "We must collect as many lootable as possible."
>>
# rake in as much haemolymph out of the dead ones as possible.
>>
>>3843778 >>3843783
Paul: "I collected a cart of blood vials, here you go."
>>
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Rolled 8, 95 = 103 (2d100)

>>3843783
>>3843778
>>3843786

The preliminary report doesn't leave a lot of hope for developing an antivenin -- if anything, the stuff is some misguided attempt to heal people -- but you still want to collect some. You send out a team, covered by a Gap Generator mounted on a Fiat Panda, to collect as much of it as possible while keeping away from live insectoids.

They can't get very close to the fire zone, and report that exposure to heat turns the stuff bluish, but grab what they can anyway; you do get footage of the bombardment. So far, you've lost about half a dozen planes to locust impacts and two dozens to mechanical failure.

"Swarm! Swarm! Keep your altitude!"

As they circle around, the two AWACS were able to get a rough radar picture of the inside of the smoke cloud: past the pyrite monoliths, the central mass -- the ice -- is all but gone, having left a crater that is currently the closest thing to a lake of fire that the Earth has ever seen; the bottom of it is likely so deprived of oxygen that incendiaries thrown there are only burning once they get a whiff of oxygen, ensuring a slow steady burn and heat accumulation.

They also spot two swarms, one going northwest, one southeast. These things are fast, moving at at least 60KPH. There must be at least a couple million individuals each.

Out of the estimated half a trillion, given the ice core's volume, it's not bad; desert locust swarms can hold up to 80 million adults per cubic kilometer.

You were 99% successful... but will that be enough?

# Keep bombing the possible nest site with everything you got.

# Have the most nimble planes follow the NW swarm.

# Have the most nimble planes follow the SE swarm.

# Have the most nimble planes split their efforts.
>>
>>3843811
# Have the most nimble planes follow the SE swarm.
>>
>>3843811

>>They also spot two swarms, one going northwest, one southeast. These things are fast, moving at at least 60KPH. There must be at least a couple million individuals each.

Where are they heading? Generally in those directions, or towards anything in particular?
>>
>>3843811
># Have the most nimble planes follow the SE swarm.
>>
>>3843811
-# Have the most nimble planes follow the SE swarm.
Paul: "We need to have them split off to pick off a swarm, any swarm, and they need to do it fast. As soon as possible."
>>
>>3843718
Oh wow, Oh dear.
Well after we deal with the fragment 4, I think we all understand there is going to be a break until the end of the year or something.

>>3843726
>Geist's fiancee
What is going on? I feel like I'm left out here. Someone do a info dump on the Discord.

>>3843811
We need to warn everyone North west, and to build shelters, and get any of their weapons and AA guns up and fire Air burst rounds etc.

We should Ask Ikko for Remanent people to go in and torch things with flamethrowers.
>>
Rolled 245 (1d300)

>>3843829
Here's a prediction chart off the top of my head for our odds of success.
I will relay this information to the attack teams as soon as possible.
1d300. 1=Success at the cost of everything. 2+=Success at great cost. 3=Success, but unknown results.
>>
>>3843818
Idk, but SE has a greater population so it means more people to treat, with lesser services and ability.
>>
>>3843833

>Discord
There's a discord?
>>
>>3843833
No, not a break til the end of the year, but bringing LBQ to a final end. That whatever else may run, if or when that happens, won't be LBQ, but something else entirely, without obligation.
>>
>>3843818

You're in western Turkey; the critters are headed, roughly, towards Israel and Germany.

>>3843829
>>3843826
>>3843817

You brace for impact; the southeastern swarm is being dispersed as rockets and missiles it it, and a small chunk veered clockwise and is coming your way. Your've blocked all the doors, the windows are barred, and there are Gap Generators at the corners of your squat prefab observation post; will it be enough?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ8ls5oN3ps

The locusts move incredibly fast for insects, around 70KPH once they get going, but fighters and bombers have a hard time slowing down enough to stay on target; you lose a couple of planes over the Mediterranean, and a number of others overheat their engines and have to land at Ankara or Ben Gurion.

# Take the risk of having two recently hostile air forces in the same airspace, and tell the IDF air force that they have incoming, and recommend engaging over the Mediterranean.

# Use the fact that the locusts are flying nape-of-the-earth over the Mediterranean to blow them away with waves created by HE and thermobaric rockets.

The smaller swarm is going northwest, to fly on top of Greece, and spread out over Europe. The more warning you give, the more panic there will be.

# Full civil-protection alert.

# Reverse-112 calls and firefighters securing the hospitals.

# Call the police departments in the affected areas.

# Update the website and weather maps.
>>
>>3843833
At least until the end of the year. We're not even taking new work contracts atm and are planning a serious sabbatical. Thank you guys for understanding.
>>
>>3843861
Why can't we just pause the Quest and make it a non-obligation instead : (

What is it about the LBQ that is so.... Bad and other quests wouldn't be?

Heck I wouldn't mind a year long hiatus.

>>3843860
Not really.....
No one ever uses it.
>>
>>3843860
>There's a discord?
Yes, there is.
>>3843870
>Not really.....
>No one ever uses it.
I'm using it, right now, if you want to talk about Left Beyond or anything.
>>
>>3843872
You're a annoying tripfag that hardly contributes.
>>
>>3843870
It's a thing she has to get out of her head. It's been stuck there 12 years.
>>
>>3843862

# Take the risk of two hostile air forces.

I feel like waves will scatter them and not goober them.

# Full civil-protection alert.
>>
>>3843870

If I'm understanding correctly, LBQ is being particularly taxing on our good QM.

Its obvious they've sunk a lot of hours into research and writing to give a quality product which can be an extremely tiring ordeal.

If we put it on hiatus there would be that lingering temptation to return, which would hinder the whole point of recuperation.

Best to make a quick and efficient end to it.
>>
>>3843861


>>3843862
# Take the risk of having two recently hostile air forces in the same airspace, and tell the IDF air force that they have incoming, and recommend engaging over the Mediterranean.

# Full civil-protection alert.
Shelter in place; preferably a basement. Board windows.

# Reverse-112 calls and firefighters securing the hospitals.

# Call the police departments in the affected areas.
Police should assist people to shelter, if available, and then board up and hunker down.

# Update the website and weather maps.
Estimated Time To Locust for each province, if able.

>>3843870

Burn out doesn't stop just because you take a break for a year.

From what I understand it's end it now or not at all.
>>
# Take the risk of having two recently hostile air forces in the same airspace, and tell the IDF air force that they have incoming, and recommend engaging over the Mediterranean.

# Reverse-112 calls and firefighters securing the hospitals.
>>
>>3843877
Sorry. I didn't know...
>>
>>3843870
I don't feel comfortable answering that in any more detail than "mental health reasons."
this LBQ prequel exists at all because original LBQ didn't meet a mental and emotional need for closure. A hiatus also cannot meet that need. Only an ending can. If people had paid attention to the times Geist repeatedly hinted what was explicitly said in original LBQ as "#Goto Ending" as an option, i wouldn't be here begging for it now.

Accepting "#Epilogue Mode" now means letting go, yes. But not accepting it essentially says "No! I demand that you keep being my plaything at detriment to your health and wellbeing!" and even in a BDSM relationship that's abusive.

>>3843887
>>3843891
Not quite, but close enough. Thank you for showing understanding and compassion.
>>
>>3843862
# Take the risk of having two recently hostile air forces in the same airspace, and tell the IDF air force that they have incoming, and recommend engaging over the Mediterranean.
So long as no one equips Air to Air missiles, they'll be fine.

# Use the fact that the locusts are flying nape-of-the-earth over the Mediterranean to blow them away with waves created by HE and thermobaric rockets.
Probably last chance to use these weapons in a open area away from civilians

# Reverse-112 calls and firefighters securing the hospitals.

>>3843869
So hes stop going to work? Would explain the run times been trying to nudge things to run at regular daylight hours instead of middle of the night.

>>3843877
So shes sick of LBQ?
At least its not Naruto or MLP for 12 years!

>>3843887
>If we put it on hiatus there would be that lingering temptation to return, which would hinder the whole point of recuperation.
That's the point of hiatus isn't it? Recuperation comes from taking a break and relaxing for a while.
>>
>>3843892
...Should we just skip to the end now? Or would that be counterproductive at this juncture?
>>
>>3843892
I thought we were going to month 45, then breaking, but now we are going to force things to end apparently.

>>3843900
I guess after the fragment is dealt with we just end it, or just hit the kill switch right now.
>>
>>3843892
He should stop if its that bad really. I love this quest but i dont want geist to do somthing bad for him.
>>
>>3843862
-# Full civil-protection alert.
>>
>>3843862
-# Use the fact that the locusts are flying nape-of-the-earth over the Mediterranean to blow them away with waves created by HE and thermobaric rockets.

-# Call the police departments in the affected areas.
>>
>>3843900

I'm OK with going straight to the epilogue.

We've won. The Antichrist is bagged, the economy is ours, and the Locusts of Apollyon are effectively toast.

More importantly, our QM needs rest.
>>
File: latest[1].png (2.87 MB, 1915x801)
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>>3843896
>>3843890

You have the AWACS coordinate with the Israeli Defence Force, tell them that there's a swarm coming, and that if they're clever they can use HE warheads to their advantage; the risk of having two former enemies in the same airspace is acceptable to you.

Ehud Brog thanks you for the information; the IDF has considerably fewer planes, but they're better maintained and equipped, and the swarm will eventually either be destroyed or come into helicopter range.

You also coordinate with the European authorities, issuing a shelter-in-place order; you make sure BOCHICA-enabled store make it easy and quick and cheap to grab plywood and nails, too. Since bugzappers seem to work, you issue ETA for the towns on the northwestern swarm's projected path and make available instructions to modify consumer bug-zappers to handle larger currents to hopefully go through the locusts' thick carapace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq14KfedWXA

A report comes in, noting that the guy who tried to kill himself by banging his head against a rock after being stung has no brain damage to show for it.

Outside of the prefab hut you are in, the noise of insectoids trying to get in is unnerving; one of them clings to a window, and you're able to observe and photograph the underside. They have eight legs and a lot of hair, and a shiny section in front, like a beetle's carapace but more silvery.

The critters try to stay away from Gap Generators, but also bump into each other -- "A bad one! A bad one!" they go when that happens, like frogs, apparently catching their breath three times in the small abdominal sac. You watch one get fried by the high voltage; another crashes into one of the vacuum tubes running the Gap Generator.

These things are pretty tough, and quite suicidal: for being specialized to cause pain, they sure don't care for it.

After the second Gap Generator is struck by a collision and shuts half of itself off, you realize that you're going to be trapped in the forward post, pretty soon.

# Try to make a run for it.

# Hold out until the armored train arrives.
>>
>>3843926
-# Hold out until the armored train arrives.
>>
>>3843923
>>3843914
>>3843900
>>3843901
>>3843892
>>3843877

(Hey... I just wanted to say thank you. Sometimes stuff just takes you over. I understand that some actual good writers felt that way a lot, see Philip Dick for example. Please know that I'm not on any drugs. But addiction is a strange thing. It can be about anything. Meth, virtual reality, theology. I am glad people liked LBQ, I wanted to do the antefact properly, and it's been stuck in my head for years, and it needs to get out before I can get back to doing R&D).
>>
>>3843926
Here's the armored train we're using. It's designed to evacuate the besieged settlers to relocate them to one of our neighboring outposts and military forts.
>>
>>3843887
You understand. She is an absolutely wonderful person but she gets like this sometimes.

For everyone who did not know: I UNDERSTAND. Geist is very, very, very quiet about this kind of thing and very rarely communicates, even with her family.

>>3843926

# Hold out until the armored train arrives.

We should never have been here.
>>
>>3843926
# Hold out until the armored train arrives.

Too bad we didn't go with the wire mesh or chicken coop wire to cover the GG and stuff.
>>
>>3843926
># Hold out until the armored train arrives.
>>
Well this is one hell of a thing to awake to from a quick nap.

>>3843718
>>3843726
>>3843861
>>3843892
If the quest is, by it's nature, so harmful to run then I can't say that Geist should continue to run it. Honestly I understand we are almost certainly a negative aspect on their life, in much the same way it is a negative aspect on my own given how much this damnable board consumes my thoughts even when I am otherwise busy.

If Geist wants or needs to cease running this then I suppose that is how it ends. A damnable thing in a way but having seen QMs who threw themselves into their works only to burn out and others who clearly suffered from choosing to partake of the role, I can't say that I disagree. Better to have an amount of Geist and abandon the LBQ universe for years: decades; even forever if needed than to risk them being seriously harmed mentally or physically by all this and end up losing them forever.

I won't say that any closure will be achieved by the ending to this quest that must still be written as I can't know the mind of another that well but if it is for someone that I respect as much as Geist, who I have probably said more to in posts than I have to some people I have called friends in months? Then it is for the best and I look forward to their next work: whatever else it might be; this year or years from now; if it's still their work chances are I'll love it because honest truth is I think they've got a incredible system in their hands and I'd barely care what the universe is given they've shown the ability to handle and develop an incredible range of characters, concepts and "game-modes".

>>3843926
# Hold out until the armored train arrives.

>>3843938
Fair enough man, I've known the feeling of something all consuming and understand that leaving it or losing it is hard to do. Hell part of me imagines even if we all agreed to not ask for more, you'd still end up wanting to provide it in the back of your head for the rest of time but that doesn't mean it isn't worth a shot if it does you some good, seeing as we're not killing off your presence on /qst/ (e,g you will run other stuff in the future, whenever that might be) I can't really say I have any complaint since I was the guy who was interested in you doing a Frostpunk thing and I'd love to see what else you can think up.

>I understand that some actual good writers
That implies you don't think you write top tier shit. I mean honestly, talking beyond the borders of /qst/ here, you are one of the better writers I have read in life.
>>
Here's a Gap Generator. It stabilizes reality in a 10 meter (16 feet) radius around it. That makes it a 20 feet (11.5 meter) because of space-time distortions whenever fictional entities come to life and start warping reality, destabilizing everyone and everything, including themselves.
>>
>>3843943
I understand.

I'm much the same way, I think. With additional complications--but I don't wish

>>3843953
Same on all counts.

>>3843926
# Hold out.

When you're hunkered down and trapped on the Arabic plains,
And the locusts come to torment what remains
Just throw the big switch, and die on your feet,
and go to your God like a soldier!

(...Sorry.)
>>
>>3843958
>>but I don't wish to detract from your problems.

Blah, forgot I didn't finish that.
>>
Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>3843949
>>3843944

The problem with covering a tesla coil with chicken wire is that it makes it pretty much useless as a bug zapper, unless the bugs come close.

You pack up your findings -- using a rod to direct the Gap Generator's sparks, video, high resolution photos of the critters' undersides -- and ask for volunteers to stay with you in the prefab observation bunker until the train shows up.

You end up having to pick people to take the pickup and deliver your findings to the medical team, instead, because everyone wants to stay.


>>3843955

That's more or less what you figure the Gap Generator does, yes. Dr. Robertson's research got it that far; you'll have to see what Fr. Schorpe gives you. (Thanks for the pic! Not a bad design for the advanced model, mind if I use it later?)

(Image: This is what the Gap Generator prototype looked like from a few threads back; newer ones are made of acrylic, and have a wide-range input stage that is really inefficient but allows operation from house power or a car battery. It's basically a tesla coil and speakers indirectly driven by it; it generates white noise on all bands you can safely generate white noise on)
>>
>>3843958
>and go to your God like a soldier!
There are no gods, for we need no masters.
>>
>>3843953
I've never put this much effort into a quest before.
even spoke to a friend to see if he would do artwork for the quest.

>>3843970
I mean on the Gap Generators.
>>
>>3843970
>(Thanks for the pic! Not a bad design for the advanced model, mind if I use it later?)
I don't mind, it's perfectly okay to re-use it. We only needed to use it once to rescue those that needed to be evacuated on the retro-fitted bullet train that was completed just now. We were going to dismantle had you not asked to re-use it.
>>
>>3843976
The Telsa coils are the Gap Generators.

NC suppression apparently doesn't work on the locusts, which means we're stuck with bug-zapping.

>>3843972
There IS a God.

He's just an ass. And if we're going to meet him momentarily, I for one intend to come as a matyr of humanity.

(This would be a good way to end the quest if we need to do it now, BTW: finagle together a sizable self destruct from the surviving generator, and go out with a bang.)
>>
>>3843976
>I've never put this much effort into a quest before.
Oh I have a serious addiction to 4chan at this point, I mean shit I regularly stay up to 3-4 AM trying to stay for entire sessions since I know crashing out means I'll miss multiple critical decisions. Not to mention all the shit I've done for quests over the years: poetry; speeches; artwork; statistics; enough Wikipedia research for a few books and more. Admittedly less of that these days but that is mostly because of a lack of benefit and opportunity than a lack of willingness.
>>
>>3843990
>stay up to 3-4 AM
>on 4chan
Are you me?
Minus the Pottery and artwork.
>>
>>3843997
>Are you me?
Possibly, do you do it even on nights where you have to be up the next day at 7 AM for college?
>>
You prepare to hunker down for the night.

Santiago sends you a letter detailing the back-and-forth of the Global Community executive council; they're still bickering about land ownership, but have by and large decided to not replace Terry April at all.

You have an enormous amount of unread messages from Ikko; by the look of it she's been "grounded" by Tsion for considering talks with the Ecumenical Council, and she won't be able to run operations for a while.. She's also trying to figure out why you are still trying to avert prophecy. The remaining messages are screeds by Tsion, who questions your salvation (heh) and asks you to find it in your heart to leave the locusts alone, you aren't smarter than God.

You answer

# nothing.

# that of course you're smarter than God.

# that you're being more of a Christian than he is, seeing as you're in the lion's den trying to help and he's somewhere comfortable pontificating.


The excellent news from Israel is that they've taken out approximately 95% of the surviving swarm; a measly couple thousand locusts are making their way there. Salt water is an excellent diluter for the haemolymph, meaning that the locusts were unable to cannibalize each other for self-repair purposes -- unfortunately, once the stuff has been injected and it hits neurons, the pain will persist.

# Ask for volunteers for radical treatment, such as amputation, killing nerves by a gamma knife, or untested neurodampening chemicals.

# Recommend sedation and bed rest

The bad news is that the swarm heading for Europe has been attacked by sporadic AA fire from a peacekeeper military installation on the Black Sea, which caused it to scatter -- more than 92% of that swarm has made it across the sea

So far the number of bitten are in the dozens, but you worry that there will be more very soon


>>3843976

(Really curious to see it if it happens!)

>>3843987

Actually, that's an interesting experiment to try; the Gap Generator would be no good as a bug-zapper then, but would it affect the locusts in any other way? They're obviously physical beigns, but are they being supernaturally controlled? Whether you can remove them as a threat or not, obtaining live specimens could be useful

You have a medical team coming, so you tell them to

# be ready to help you do a live capture.

# reroute to Germany where they will be needed shortly.

# grab the first Remnant member they find for testing; offer payment.

# grab the first Remnant member they find for testing; force the issue.


It's hard to sleep; every pock-pock-pock against the building means one more chance for these things to find a way in. You're taking turns sleeping. North of you, the bombardment is continuing relentlessly; the GC air force will be unusable for months after this, but you're not taking chances. The impact side looks like a column or fire, with a small ion storm having formed above just out of the potential difference between the volcanic ash and the artificial stuff.
>>
# Go to ending at next convenient point
>>
Also I'd bet my hat that find it in your heart or something like that is a trigger phrase for people under Tsion's influence.
>>
>>3844007

(Could be; note Chloe's change in speech patterns.)

>>3844003

(Since you've basically won the political game, I was just going to cover the natural and supernatural disasters)
>>
>>3844000
# that you're being more of a Christian than he is, seeing as you're in the lion's den trying to help and he's somewhere comfortable pontificating.

Rile his jimmies!(I think that's how it goes?)

>>Recommend sedation and bed rest

Can we safely sedate people for five months?

# reroute to Germany where they will be needed shortly.

We can do live captures there instead of in the mouth of the beast.

>>3844003
Also this.

>>3844010
Whatever you're comfortable with.
>>
>>3844000
-# nothing.

-# Recommend sedation and bed rest

-# grab the first Remnant member they find for testing; force the issue.
>>
>>3844000
# that you're being more of a Christian than he is, seeing as you're in the lion's den trying to help and he's somewhere comfortable pontificating.

# Ask for volunteers for radical treatment, such as amputation, killing nerves by a gamma knife, or untested neurodampening chemicals.

# reroute to Germany where they will be needed shortly.

Well we've got a swarm over Europe with a lot of them still remaining but compared to the population they could've had, this is a significant improvement especially if we deploy our troops with specialised Tesla equipment to neutralise the swarms as they spread out seeing as we've turned a swarm of 0.5 trillion to a few dozen million at most and we can almost certainly grind down those last few with flame, shot and shock.
>>
>>3844012
>>(Could be; note Chloe's change in speech patterns.)

Can we make a note of that and send it along to HQ?

...And we might have to imprison Tsion too. Should let us restore sanity in the Remnant movement.

And the reaction when we stick him in the same room as Big C would be...telling.
>>
>>3844007
>Also I'd bet my hat that find it in your heart or something like that is a trigger phrase for people under Tsion's influence.
There is. The mind control trigger phrase is, "mind control me".
>>
# that you're being more of a Christian than he is, seeing as you're in the lion's den trying to help and he's somewhere comfortable pontificating.

# be ready to help you do a live capture.
Recommend sedation and bed rest

>>3844007
Would you so kindly let Jesus into your heart and let his insect minions torment the unsaved heathens?
>>
Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>3844019

Specialized anti-locust infantry is certainly an interest concept; given that they're hitting Germany of all places, it should be easy to redirect some amount of industrial outputs towards armor and portable bugzappers.

>>3844023

You don't know where he is (again), but being as he posts on his website daily, it shoudln't be hard to track down. The difficult part would be doing so without freaking Chloe out... or just drop the charade with her.

>>3844014
>>3844019
>>3844016
>>3844028

"Rabbi, I'm convinced that I am being more Christlike than you right now. One of us is in the lion's den, close enough to the bombs to feel their heat, taking risks to rescue people. One of us is comfortably sitting at home. James 2:14-26 "

That's just about the entire amount of shitposting you can manage for the day; the locusts hitting the wall sound like Patrician Vetinari's clock, just irregular enough in their rythm to make you anxious.

You add a note about working out if Tsion's ability to mesmerize (which you have almost experienced once) also has a trigger phrase; Chloe seemed remarkably sane when not around Tsion.

You tell the medical team to reroute to Germany; there will be plenty of chances to take samples there, and there's no need to have scientists in a combat zone.

Tomorrow the armored train will arrive; you've sent word ahead that the Peacekeeper artillerymen should wrap up very well despite the heat, or rather lack of cold, from the bombardment.

You realize that part of the reason why you're hearing the locusts so sharply is that the bombadment has let up some; you've managed to use up most of the immediately available assets in the Peacekeeper air force. But, you reckon, it was worth it.

A solitary fighter flies around the column of smoke, with the flame under it smoldering orange rather than bright yellow, and launches rockets at a small group of locusts; they scatter.

Are they learning, or you've simply applied a form of extreme artificial selection and killed off all except the most skittish ones?

# Let's not wear the aircraft any thinner than they already are.

# Keep going, even barrel bombs will make a difference.
>>
To those who have commented on ending/aborting the quest: it won't help, this has to get out, it has to get finished.

# Let's not wear the aircraft any thinner than they already are.
>>
>>3844049
# Let's not wear the aircraft any thinner than they already are.

The artillery of the train can do a bombardment instead while the planes are re-equipped to try and defeat the german swarm and shit.
>>
# Let's not wear the aircraft any thinner than they already are.
>>
>>3844049
-# Let's not wear the aircraft any thinner than they already are.
>>
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>>3844049
Here's the biplane-bomber we're going to use to destroy their asses.
>>
>>3844049
>>3844063
>>3844064
>>3844068

The last thing you remember doing before passing out is rerouting some of the aircraft to Rammstein, if they have the fuel.

You dream four weird frankenstains with four faces, human and animal, legs with calves' feet, wings, and implanted wheels on the sides, holding up records saying gibberish. You flip them off.

"A bad one! A bad one! A bad one!"

You wake up before first light, to a locust banging its head against a metal plate that was put up on the door; it's actually managed to pry off one of the rivets, and it's patiently bending the corrugated sheet. Every time it headbangs, it has to take that triple breath to recirculate its haemolymph. The people in the bunker with you take pictures; one is ready to hit it with a hammer in case it does make it through.

Your automated morning briefing comes in a bit too loud and clear, which tells you that the Gap Generators outside are all down. Tsion hasn't responded; Dimmsdale formally sold Mexico to Santiago. Yellowstone is starting to run out of stuff to belch out.

The column of smoke has dissipated; everything smells faintly of diesel, and there's a thick, oily fog.

"We made a pretty big hole, sir."

You look through the camera to see the pyrite monoliths still standing, but there's nothing between them now; the ground itself is charred -- everything that could burn, did. You cough; this stuff is pretty nasty.

Between the first circle, of the great monoliths, and the second, of smaller pyrite fragments that had staffed the ground, the ground is scabbing over, shuddering with intense fungal infection; the bodies of the dead aliens have created a mat, where you can see eggs growing. The person who was monitoring this in the early morning reports "isolated" appearance of tardigrades.

"ARMORED TRAIN "MINOTAUR" REPORTING IN, GRAND WIZARD! GLORY TO THE MACHINE GOD!"

That must have been an artilleryman; you can tell by the shouting. Wait, the what? At least with the Gap Generators down you can talk to HQ in realtime again.

"Foreman, we had to get the Peacekeepers moving one way or the other. The CLU setup seemed to work, and... I think some of them took it a little bit too well.

You hold a facepalm, explain to the operator that "Grand Wizard" has bad connotations for Americans, but you'll take Magus if you absolutely have to.

The armored train has set up on a nearby hill. They brought incendiaries, high explosives, and since this is not 1945, the train itself has several artillery pieces and even an old railway gun -- Saddam Hussein was a big fan, apparently, so one was found in Baghdad -- but mostly consists of flatbed cars carrying MLRS vehicles.

"FIRING CALIBRATION BARRAGE! HUNKER DOWN!"

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

You watch it happen. It should be dawn, but between the crap you've flooded the local atmosphere with and the dust cloud, it's still pitch black.

"Minotaur,

# cover our escape!

# full barrage!
>>
>>3844097
# full barrage!

We have to destroy those eggs. Once we're certain this site is more or less clear of adult forms of the bugs we can deploy scientists to perform a complete analysis of the environment and the biology.
>>
#Full barrage!
>>
>>3844097

# Cover our escape!

If we get stung we're fucked, or very likely fucked. We need to evac this team safely.
>>
>>3844099
I concur.

>>3844097
-# full barrage!
>>
>>3843987
>matyr
Can we bang all the waifus first?

>>3843999
>college
No.

# full barrage!

Any aircraft still circling overhead, drop any remaining ordinance.
>>
File: Grey_burned_ground[1].jpg (1.11 MB, 2048x1536)
1.11 MB
1.11 MB JPG
Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>3844104
>>3844102
>>3844099
>>3844108

You really don't think going full ham outside New Babylon will work, but it's clear that these people have worked hard to recommission an armored train in just a couple of days. Your report shows that they had to repair the rails to get here, and even get a 2km stretch of rail completely rebuilt somewhere in the Nur Mountains. You briefly consider blowing up Mount Ararat, just out of spite.

So you fire up the lone desktop pc in the observation post, load the CLU face mapping, and call the train artilleryman back.

"You have done well, loyal servant. Tell me: do you see those egg clusters between the monoliths?"

"YES SIR!"

"I don't want to."

"UNDERSTOOD SIR!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNLyjulS_Z0

The calibration worked: in the next twenty minutes a ridiculous amount of incendiary rockets hit the circle of infected earth just inside the outer circle of monoliths; every minute or so, the railway gun sends an enormous high-explosive shell in the ceter of the crater. When it comes your way, the shockwave is enough to break every piece of glass in your observation posts; the locusts ignore the cuts they're suffering and spill haemolymph on the metal bars and thick wire mesh. The shockwave is sufficient to stun the locusts; their brain is probably sloshing inside the carapace.


# Get out of here yourself as soon as possible, and on a plane to Germany.

# Help the cleanup team take samples of the stuff that existed alongside the locusts, before it's all burned to ash.

# Investigate the center of the crater; maybe you will find "Apollyon"'s skeleton.

After this, you tell the Minotaur crew to sterilize the area; now that it's safe, vector in tanker trucks, cover the perimeter in gasoline, and shoot one more incendiary rocket at it. It's the only way to be sure.

More good news from Israel; the few locusts that made it there (still in the thousands, but still) are making a beeline for Jerusalem, and while they're tough enough to survive small-calibre bullets, the problem is being solved with judicious application of "more gun".
>>
>>3844135

# Get out of here yourself as soon as possible, and on a plane to Germany.

We're the strategist, not a field agent. EXTRACT.
>>
# Get out of here yourself as soon as possible, and on a plane to Germany.

As tempting as it would be to turn Apollyon's skull into a drink vessel... President Godo has the right idea.
>>
>>3844135
# Get out of here yourself as soon as possible, and on a plane to Germany.

Ask for some Volunteers to capture a live one.
>>
>>3844135
-# Get out of here yourself as soon as possible, and on a plane to Germany.
>>
>>3844135
# Help the cleanup team take samples of the stuff that existed alongside the locusts, before it's all burned to ash.

I'm curious why the aliens are spreading fungus if they are going to die in 5 months: my presumption is it feeds into a different prophecy so making sure we get our hands on that is highest priority.

>More good news from Israel; the few locusts that made it there (still in the thousands, but still) are making a beeline for Jerusalem, and while they're tough enough to survive small-calibre bullets, the problem is being solved with judicious application of "more gun".
We might actually make it through this with only some losses in Europe but I imagine we'll defeat the swarm short of the 5 month mark and disrupt the prophecy slightly.


Also on a separate point, I've found about a good song for a dramatic speech to god about how humanity knows he is coming and that even if we die, the idea of defeating him and the knowledge of how to do that which we made? It's undying. Bulletproof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e1Rc_5mdxM

Now trying to find a song that fits for a mental / dream fight between us and him but I can't find much anything that ain't kinda shit or fails to fit properly. Which is made all the more annoying because I came up with a damn near perfect boast / mental-power up line to say to god based around the fact our AI system is called BOCHICA.
>>
>>3844169
>I'm curious why the aliens are spreading fungus if they are going to die in 5 months: my presumption is it feeds into a different prophecy so making sure we get our hands on that is highest priority.

I'm skeptical if it feeds into 'prophecy'. The remaining Trumpet (no. 06) is demonic horsemen. After that its Bowl Judgments, none which target the ground.
>>
>>3844175
True but there has to be an explanation...perhaps these creatures can be generated by it? Hell if I know.
>>
>>3844153
>>3844148
>>3844141

By now there's probably nothing alive at the crater site; you wonder if it'll be a tourist attraction in a few years.

A platoon of soldiers from the armored train rescue you and the surveyors; their tactics are simple and brutal -- they get off troop trucks that were likely brought in by the train, walk for the last hundred meters or so in what look like bomb disposal unit outfits, and let the locusts come to them, then fry them with cattle prods.

Half an hour later you're on a flight to Berlin. The locust swarm started spreading out as soon as they crossed the Aegean Sea; the town of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, is its first target, and your people are heated there. Looks like you made the right call on armor type; modernized chainmail is waiting for them at the airport. Following the Israeli example, people have been told to shelter in place, avoid a run on stores (which happened anyway, but what can you do) and wait it out.

You brought with you a sec team and two work teams for this; their priority will be to

# make a live capture.

# test various equipment's effectiveness against the locusts.

# test various equipment's effectiveness against the locusts, including how they react to Remnant.

In addition, you plan to leverage Germany and France's industrial base

# as it is

# with one work team speeding things up by coming with you to berlin istead (they won't be available for the job above)

in order to quickly manufacture measures to answer this threat. Your plan is to focus production on

# Installable Gap Generators and generally bugzappers to be installed near hospitals, preschools, police and fire stations, and similar high priority targets.

# more armor.

# portable bugzappers that can work well with the chainmail.

Elsewhere in the world, things are calming down; the last Peacekeeper holdouts are being captured, and generally tried for robbery and brigandage since they continued their looting after the official ceasefire; the state of the territorial dispute is unknown to you still, but the Holy Land territory is going to be divided between Litwala, Lal, and Gustav. With the world capitol being moved to Bern and the EC staying put in Rome for now, it looks like New Babylon's destiny is either slow decline or being turned into Epcot writ large.

Carla has made it back to Indonesia -- Vega offered her an escort, but she refused -- and is setting to resume the Nauru hollowing-out project.

The crew of the Minotaur reports having taken a peek into the crater and found nothing but ashes; the area is so saturated with fuel residue that full NBC gear is required to go in it.
>>
#Make a live capture

#As it is

# Installable Gap Generators and generally bugzappers to be installed near hospitals, preschools, police and fire stations, and similar high priority targets.
>>
>>3844186
# test various equipment's effectiveness against the locusts, including how they react to Remnant.

#As it is

# Installable Gap Generators and generally bugzappers to be installed near hospitals, preschools, police and fire stations, and similar high priority targets.
>>
>>3844186
#Make a live capture

# as it is

# Installable Gap Generators and generally bugzappers to be installed near hospitals, preschools, police and fire stations, and similar high priority targets.
>>
>>3844186
# test various equipment's effectiveness against the locusts, including how they react to Remnant.

Fuck em meatshield em if they work

# Installable Gap Generators and generally bugzappers to be installed near hospitals, preschools, police and fire stations, and similar high priority targets.
>>
Rolled 100, 58 = 158 (2d100)

>>3844197
>>3844195
>>3844192

"Divine or demonic or alien, these are giant bugs. Giant bugzappers will work."

Gap Generators need to be carefully tuned; if they aren't, they will still work as tesla coils. That, plus mesh metal fencing, will be sufficient to protect key buildings such as preschools and hospitals: the locusts will make it through the first layer of mesh, but in such a way that they cannot easily fly out, and die inexhorably when they touch the inner layer. If the gap effect helps... well, great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO3TvAb_WcM

People installing the nets will have to work in reinforced beekeeper garb, or using your armors; some will inevitably be stung.

Gustav's civil protection service figures out the best buildings to use as shelters; hospitals, schools (which by now are nearly empty, since only the last two grades are still around), large supermarkets. Since the locusts seem attracted to people, they will hopefully go to the highest concentration of people, and be destroyed in the attempt. A few buildings are set up as traps, with boarded-up windows and one designated way in, guarded by tesla coils but not sealed off; volunteers take their place there.

Your people armor up and funnel the population of Plovdiv into what was intended to be an American-style indoor mall, but ended up the bastard child of a Soviet factory and an Ikea instead; some people refuse to leave, either because they're Remnant or because they are worried of robbers going through their houses.

# Set up modified crab traps and capture as many locusts as possible; you can experiment later.
(needs tiebreaker for above)
# Take the opportunity to observe Remnant reactions to the locusts "in the wild".
>>
# Set up modified crab traps and capture as many locusts as possible; you can experiment later.
>>
>>3844225
# Go for the crab traps. I'm sure SOMEONE has a security camera or two in town that we might get useful footage out of.
>>
>>3844225
# Set up modified crab traps and capture as many locusts as possible; you can experiment later.
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6ySsQc5f5M

The animation released by Tsion's website is pretty good, you have to admit; your zing about him doing nothing must have stung.

>>3844233
>>3844229
>>3844247

(huh, good roll)

The locusts seek people; all it takes for bait is a man behind a mesh screen. Taking advantage of Plovdiv's "mall", your people manage to fit most of the population in there, with the hospital as a secondary mustering point.

The hospital is sealed up, but the mall is itself turned into a giant live trap by having all windows and doors boarded up save one, which is covered in multiple layers of mesh, with floor fans sending air out on the assumption that the locusts hunt by smell.

In front of the mesh are put all manners of crab and crawfish traps, brought in overnight from the coast, which a small crew will replace as needed. In font of all this, construction-site fencing was erected to prevent the locusts from crashing into the traps at full speed.

The few remaining Gap Generators have been deployed near the hospital; for the main trap, your people put up signs telling people to stay away from the mesh, and simply hooked it up to the nearest substation via an isolation transformer.

Maybe it's because it's colder or maybe it's because their lungs were damaged by the napalm, but these locusts sound a little different; their three-breath cry is a little deeper, sounding like "A full one! A full one!"

They'll definitely get to play for a full house today, yes.

"Bugs! We got bugs!"

The first few locusts crash into the mall, trying to get in from the windows, the AC vents on the roof, everywhere; and then there's more, and more, until from the inside, it sounds like hail. Some crash into the decoy fencing, smashing it down once there's enough of them; a few die, and are quickly consumed by their sisters.

Reports say that these critters have eaten nothing other than their own fallen on the way here; the swarm is still barely smaller than it was -- these things have an efficient metabolism.

They find the open door, and smell the people inside. Driven into a frenzy, they charge forward.

The traps rip off their wings, and they charge. They break their mandibles trying to bite through the steel wire, and they charge. Your men, working quickly, replace the traps as soon as they are full; in those intervals, the critters make it to the electrified fence, and a tiny thunderstorm sets off in front of the mall's door. Volunteers shake the fence's layers with broom handles to prevent a short circuit once the bodies start piling up; your workers rake the dead bugs off as they can.

"This is working too well! They're all coming here!"

The outside of the mall looks like some horrible, giant yellowjacket nest, crawling with alien locusts; your soldiers keep the fences clear with cattle prods and shotguns while your workers bag hundreds of live bugs and thousands of dead ones. Soon the dumpsters are full.

And then the man shows up.
>>
He looks a little bit like you, in slightly better shape if that. He's standing there, in jeans and a dress shirt, looking at the scene with amused indifference.

"Sir! Take shelter! There's a police van over there, just lock youself in!"

"Why?" he replies in English. "They can't hurt me!"

He's smart enough to not walk into the swarm -- he'd get knocked out just by the critters flying past -- but they are in fact ignoring him.

Your people get back to work, and ignore him; they have to throw out a dumpster full of locust corpses, since they are all full, and use a forklift to do so. The operator is in heavy armor, but the sheer amount of impacts on the vehicle risk tilting it over, if they hit it correctly. Not wanting to take risks, the operator unloads the dumpster while still in what's left of the speedbump fencing.

The locusts stop their mad charge, and double back, giving the workers a few seconds' reprieve as they devour their own, or even replace broken or missing limbs with those of the dead. The electric fencing is starting to give signs of structural weakness.

The man walks towards one of the electrical substations that feeds the mall.

"It is written! Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth! And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power! And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months!"

"Shut up! We don't care!"

"You will!"

# He wants to knock out the substation, tackle him!

# He wants to knock out the substation, shoot him!

The hospital is largely being ignored by the locusts; a few have broken off the main swarm, but the trap is working - almost an entire town used as bait. You have to thank the local mayor and police; they were surprisingly effective in rounding people up and securing the mall. Ironically, many inside are praying, some to Jesus, some to Allah, some to Saints Philoftheia and Methodius. Some are gathered around a Tree of Life improvised with stuff from the gardening department, a taltos leading their singing.
>>
>>3844292
# He wants to knock out the substation, shoot him!

Not taking a chance here, a single mad man's death for the suffering of everyone inside as well as the potential success of this operation.
>>
# He wants to knock out the substation, tackle him.

Shooting him won't work. Death's on holiday I think!
>>
>>3844292

# He wants to knock out the substation, tackle him!

Then escalate to

# He wants to knock out the substation, shoot him!
>>
If we subdue the bastard, lets see what happens if the venom works on Remnant.

The locusts won't sting him.... but it doesn't mean WE can't.
>>
Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>3844296
>>3844301
>>3844301

One of your soldiers, clad in armor and wielding a shotgun and a cattle prod, abandons trap-emptying duty and runs towards the man; a couple dozen locusts follow him, trying to penetrate the helmet and chainmail. They can't, but they what they can do is buffet him enough that aiming is impossible.

The man laughs at him. "You can't hurt me, you can't even aim!"

So, your guy holsters the shotgun and runs at the man, cattle prod lifted. "Hyaaaaa!"

The man waits in front of the substation, calmly takes a heavy caliber handgun out of his jacket, and opens fire.

"But I can."

The chainmail is designed to protect against locusts and lightning, not bullets; your soldier goes down. You can't see how bad the wound is from there.

# Get an ambulance on site immediately.

# Risk opening one of the windows at the mall, after locking the corresponding door of for that room of course, so that a sniper can take care of the threat.

# Send another guy, with a ballistic shield this time.

The locusts have stopped feeding on their own, and are once more attacking the mall; the great news is that the stratagem is still working -- you have plenty of specimens, and by now you're starting to make a dent in the swarm itself.

The hospital is being besieged by locusts as well, but the electric shield is holding well; the tesla coils are doing a good job keeping the insectoids away, and all the doors and windows are locked. The police station has been shut down, since there's nobody there, and from the number of recorded calls it seems that the number of stung is in the double digits.

The whole world is watching. The IDF confirms that some locusts have made it to Jerusalem, where they made a beeline for the Wailing Wall -- they seem to be keeping away from the Two Witnesses, approximately 100m away in a hemisphere; a few dozen people are trapped within, effectively a captive audience for Eli and Moishe.

Hospitals there are sedating patients, in the hope of being able to do something else at some point.
>>
>>3844315
# Get an ambulance on site immediately.

# Send another guy, with a ballistic shield this time.

I'd personally prefer to send five or six guys to just volley fire their shotguns until they clear a path to him through the swarm but do whatever works best.
>>
.... ....!

He isn't human! He's Apollyon! (....Maybe)


#Send another guy with a ballistic shield this time.
>>
>>3844319
The problem is that he's standing in front of the electrical substation that feeds the mall (and, crucially, the electric trap in the mall).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b66CffIm8eY&list=PLqXnEmUBqGc5od4rCeTU2e9-Tw87cYyqb&index=9 (Ok, see this? Unlike Left Behind, this is actually pretty badass.)
>>
# Send another guy, with a ballistic shield this time.

Can we use the forklift or something, does anyone have a rifle and can get a shot at this bastard? He's going to kill everyone!
>>
Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>3844325
>>3844319

The hospital has improvised a sort of airlock in the garage; you confirm to them that they have to go out.

The next soldier you send has a ballistic shield; the locusts land on him and on the shield, and get in his way. Seeing this, the unknown man shoots him a couple of times, which is exactly what a ballistic shield is for.

Then, he tries to shoot the substation door open. He succeeds in shooting the lock, and since this is not a movie and he was not using a breaching tool, only manages to jam it.

He's still yanking at the handle and crying to God to give him strength when your guy tackles him and bashes his head against the metal plating for a good measure.

The ambulance shows up in a few minutes, and takes both of them away; you instruct that the attacker be sedated and tied up, you'll take responsibility for him as soon as possible. The chief of police answers "Good! He sounded English. Whoever he is I don't want to protect him from my people. Take him away all you like!"

One problem is that you didn't expect the trap to work so well; you may actually manage to kill almost the whole swarm here... if the fencing and so on can last for another full day.

By now your workers have stopped trying to capture the locusts; you had around 250 traps, and they're all full. Their main focus is removing the dead critters from the outside of the fence before it gets pushed down or corroded by anodization. Volunteers inside are preparing fallback barricades and reinforcing the fence mounts with wood, as they can.

The IDF reports that the remaining locusts are causing trouble in Jerusalem; they've fixated on the Wailing Wall, which has been evacuated except for the "captive audience", and for some reason on Chaim Rosenzweig's house. It is known that there are two people in there with him.

A 18 wheeler full of captive locusts is coming to Berlin to be handed over to the xenobiologists.

"Good news, this is working! Bad news, this is working too well!"

It's now high noon.

# Have Gustav send Legion Europeenne reinforcements immediately, around eight PM.

# Wait until the armors are ready, around four AM, then send reinforcements.

# (Bonus Option) Send a small squad with plate armor and Gap Generators, around midnight AM.
>>
# (Bonus Option) Send a small squad with plate armor and Gap Generators, around midnight AM.
>>
>>3844361
# Wait until the armors are ready, around four AM, then send reinforcements.

# (Bonus Option) Send a small squad with plate armor and Gap Generators, around midnight AM.

Going with this. We need reinforcements immediately! If the Legion shows up unequipped for this they're going to get rekt.
>>
>>3844377
I'll second.
>>
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>>3844365
>>3844377

"Boss, you'll go crazy looking at that camera."

You have been staring at the camera pointed at the mall's door, watching the formiculating of the alien insectoids as they slowly wear down at the defenses. Your workers have done a brilliant job.

The man who got shot will make a full recovery, eventually; the shooter has been sedated and put in a full body cast, since the nursing staff did not have any better ideas. You run his file; apparently his name is Paule Stepola and he was working for the Morale Monitors before and even after converting. He's from Louisiana. You'll be handed him once it's all over.

Moira puts a hand on your shoulder; she flew in as soon as she was able to find another plane.

The truck full of critters has just arrived; a few got severely hurt in transport, mostly from trying to bite through the traps, but none has died. These things are very bad at dying: all that seems to work is fire, whether it be electrical or chemical. Dr. Robertson and the scientists from Ames and Russia are already working on biopsies and behavioral experiments

# without involving Remnant

# involving Remnant, if any volunteer

# involving Remnant, willing or not

Moira flew in with some leftover small Gap Generators from the second batch, and the plate armors you had made a while ago; there's enough to outfit a small squad. The result is... interesting.

"We got the idea from the bomb disposal armor setup. I wouldn't run more than fifty steps in this, it feels like you're carrying a dead cow on your back, but if we can keep the locusts away for even a few minutes, the guys can power off and reinforce the mesh properly."

The Legion Europeenne will be along as soon as they can, probably in the morning; their armors are being made as fast as possible, after which they'll get on buses and come in. They're bringing a Flammenwerfersonderkraftfahrzeug from the Munster Tank Museum.

"We're really breaking out the museum pieces here huh. What is it?"

"It kind of a half track. Yeah, I was hoping Munster meant something else. Apparently it werfs flammen."

# Do it.

# Send her along.

# Go with her.


(Bonus is from:

* You had spare heavy armor
* You had spare gap generators
* Moira was able to rest so she had time to travel
* Good roll

)
>>
>>3844399
># involving Remnant, if any volunteer

># Send her along.

Did she bring the sword?
>>
>>3844399

# Send her along.
>>
>>3844399
# Go with her.

We're an enhanced individual: we could make use of our heart cybernetic to run longer and bear the weight of the suit longer than most. Plus we can hardly ask her to do this and then hide away ourselves.
>>
# Involving remnant, willing or not. We need to see how this works, and frankly, I don't care.

>>3844423
Could we not?

# Send her along.
>>
>>3844399
># Go with her.
>>
Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>3844409
>>3844402

You try to leverage the fact that Chloe still thinks you're a Christian and post on the German section of Tsion's website, asking for volunteers to help with ways to diminish the impact of the locusts, and promising a witness opportunity.

>>3844402

She did bring the sword, but she doesn't recommend you using it. You reckon that it might add to the stories, whether in your hand or hers.

As for "Apollyon" itself, if it exists, it's in the caves that were under the F4 impact point; known to the Greeks and Romans as a gateway to Hades, they have been sealed by semi-molten rock, at first from the pyrite monolith and then from the sheer amount of heat that was unloaded on the site.
>>
>>3844445

Huh.

So it was just a Remnant jerk then? How unfortunate.... for him!
>>
Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>3844441
>>3844435
>>3844423
>>3844409
>>3844402

Being hors de combat for five months doesn't sound particularly fun to you, and as much as it would be excellent PR to be seen on the front line, you figure that extraterrestrial combat should not be left to sort-of-rookies such as yourself, so after careful consideration you send Moira along without joining her.

Instead, you personally interview the handful of Remnant citizens of Berlin who answer your ad (it's tantamount to an ad), allowing them to see your synthetic Sign of God and even take a picture with you if they wish; the interviews happen in a small room in the commercial rental property that you grabbed for preliminary experiments.

Unlike the guy in Hungary, these people seem level-headed; one even asks if you're hiring now that the prohibition from hiring Remnant for government work has presumably been lifted. You tell him where to send a resume.

The tests will be behavioral in nature; you do want to stick some locust haemolymph in a Christian just to see what happens, but you have a specific target in mind for that.

After saying that the volunteers will be allowed to witness to both the researchers and a few of the people who have been stung, the battery of experiment commences -- given the circumstances, you want them done as quickly as possible, so they'll go on overnight.

* When presented with multiple human targets, locusts will invariably ignore Remnant.

* Locusts still eat nothing but their own remains.

* Maze testing shows that locusts find their target's general area by scent, but hunt by sight.

* When surrounded by Remnant, a locust will push them aside in order to reach a target. They can "see" Remnant as obstacles in the way that they would see a mannequin.

* A locust deprived of its stinger will change its behavior, acting as a "linebacker" for other locusts. They still react to the Sign of God by displaying passive behavior, though.

* A locust deprived of eyes will begin making its characteristic three-beat noise. This signals other locusts that it can be "recycled".

* Locust eyes are almost completely impervious to flashbangs.

* Remnant observers are surprised that surgical tools work on locusts and explain their bioconstructed nature by demonic origin.

* Locusts feel no pain and thanks to their haemolymph heal quickly in addition to being able to attach their sisters' parts.

* There seem to be a few locust parts sources, but all are cross-compatible; the eyes are made by two "biological factories", the legs by four, and so on.

* Locusts will ignore corpses unless they are warm, indicating that they see into the infrared.

* Locust flesh is very vulnerable to bacteria and fungi, and makes for an excellent fungal culture medium. Maybe they are supposed to die to make soil for alien plants?
>>
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* Locust chitin is enriched with iron and nickel, making it surprisingly tough for its weight.

* Locust wings are semitransparent, and polarize light linearly.

* Locusts will bite someone once, after which they stop "seeing" the person, same as if they bore the Sign of God.

* Locusts are confused by ultrasounds, sufficiently to be kept away by them if they are loud enough.

* Locust meat can be melted by most strong acids.

* Locust meat is a really, really bad idea - the haemolymph is absorbed through the esophageal lining, with the same effects as a sting. Kosher locust casserole may be possible.

* Locusts exposed to a GG's gap effect (no electricity and no ultrasound) become agitated, and start emitting their three-syllable noise more often. It's possible that this is a pain response.

It may be possible to wire up locust eyes to a programmable gate array to build a Remnant detector; a proof-of-concept version thereof was obtained by removing wings and legs from a locust, allowing it to see through a window in a box, and monitoring the muscles at the wing roots.

Remnant test subjects were not made aware of the box's contents, but single-blind testing was quite conclusive.

In the meantime, Moira reaches the mall in Plovdiv. The situation is not yet dire; the electrified meshes are showing signs of galvanic corrosion, and all the dumpsters near the mall building are full of bodies and have been closed; some locusts have peeled away from the main body, but most are still trying to get in, spurred by the growing smell of a whole town forced to sitting-room-only inside a supermarket. There have been a few fights among the population and the mall's food court has been thoroughly pillaged.

Moira and a handful of soldiers in heavy armor arrive in the back of a flatbed truck, having flown there and changed into their armors on the plane; the airport has a few locusts infecting it, and too many apertures to secure; they have ballistic shields and extendable "lances" connected to a backpack-mounted Gap Generator.

The small platoon marches in front of the doorway, blocking it. Moira finds out that the locusts will actively stay away from the ultrasound -- or the gap effect -- so since she wants to get some kills, has one of the workers detune her backpack, then walks forwards a few steps. After testing the "lance", and confirming that it works well, she retracts it, gets the sword from its scabbard, and starts taking big swings at the critters, felling one, then two, then a dozen. The rest of the platoon forms a shield wall around the doorway, keeping the locusts away and zapping those that don't get the idea.

Your workers and soldiers take a bit of precious time to rest while the volunteers inside replace the inner grid and reinforce its mounts; Moira stomsps off to kick open a dumpster, letting the locusts feed on their dead, and between that and the phalanx in front of the door, your workers quickly manage to replace the outer grid.
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8CuF3FaGMs

You ensure to get some video and photos of Moira taking out locusts with the sword, after which she switches back to the iron rod (the "lance") because it's easier to get a good hit. Terry Pratchett's sword seems to have no problems conducting electricity when attached to a Tesla coil.

# Allow the Hungarians to rotate your people out so they can take a nap by using another door as an airlock while your armored troopers cover them.

# It's too risky.

The hospital has lost the airlock that the ambulance was in: one of the locusts has gotten in and will surely attack whoever comes in first; the ambulance cannot be deployed at the moment.

# Send a trooper to deal with it.

# Send Moira to deal with it.

# Promise clemency to Stepola if he deals with it.

# Call for a Remnant citizen of the town to come deal with it, offering a reward.

After a bit of ethical worry, you decide that it's time to do some animal testing, and discover that the locusts ignore non-human animals entirely. The feeling is largely mutual, largely due to the disgusting smell that they exude, although microorganisms seem to have no problem attacking their chitin and connective tissue.
>>
#It's too risky

# Send Moira to deal with it.
>>
>>3844552

# It's too risky

# Send moira
>>
>>3844552
#Send a trooper to deal with it.

We need Moira available if more Remnant shenanigans occur.
>>
Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>3844557
>>3844561

You need people you can trust on this job, and who are trained to do it; they can rest when they're home. If it means doing a 18 hour shift, so be it -- they can do that, as long as they have to do it once.

Your armored troopers keep the phalanx up; it's a balancing act between leaving an open path for the locusts, so they won't leave, and covering the workers who have to scrape off the bodies from the entryway, so that they can do it.

Moira rides to the hospital on the back of a flatbed; by the time she got there, there are three or four locusts in the garage, courtesy by the look of it of an air vent that was not properly secured: the locusts ate their way through the silvered plastic fan blades that everyone assumed were aluminum upon inspection.

Moira sticks the sword through the vent to block any further passage, then opens her visor so that the locusts smell and see her instead of flitting about smashing into things, and takes them out by frying them between her lance and shield. The ambulance is now usable again.

Moira is given something to drink, and without consulting you, asks the doctors there to give her something to keep her people awake in case they need it; given the situation, the people there make an exception to procedure, and she ends up with a bunch of locally-produced modafinil.

After being driven back -- the flatbed truck driver has to barricade himself in his vehicle until the next swarm-distraction move -- Moira resumes holding the line with her maniple of armored troopers, while the workers keep shoveling off dead locusts and treading the needle between closing the mall's door completely and letting any of the critters in.


"A full one! A full one!" The stink inside the mall is incredible -- it's almost standing room only in there, a few people have passed out -- but thanks to the fans in the lobby, all that mass of humanity does is keep the locusts in their frenzy; there are people in there, they are scared and sweaty, attack!

While you coordinate global response to the relatively few locusts that have peeled off -- sheltering in place works; some exterminators can do the job, if they are equipped to handle hornets and stick to using fire or electricity rather than chemicals; the weakest point on a locust mechanically is the back of the underside, where the stinger connects; and so on -- the people in Provdiv go through their longest day.

You use what time (little) and influence (considerable) you have to get the workshops across half of Europe to finish the armor as soon as they can, sometimes talking to factory owners directly, sometimes cheating a little with BOCHICA. To the workers grumbling about an extended shift you send video of the people in Provdiv working through the night to rake off dead locusts.
>>
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There's no more room to put them anywhere, and they accumulate in a pile just outside the supermarket's southeastern corner; some of your workers hallucinate that they see the pile moving, shuddering. The locusts' haemolymph lets them stitch themselves back together, what if... no, that's not possible, right?

Morning comes; a rare glimpse of the sun, small and red, all the way in the east in a gap in the dust cloud -- probably related to the thermals your bombs caused.

A column of buses and flatbeds carrying armored vehicles, having made strategic stops and detours to pick up armor as it was produced, reaches Provdiv. The swarm has been decimated again and again, and is now perhaps at half of its former strength.

Last evening, Ecumenical Council Provisional Pontifex Maxima Francesca D'Angelo has declared Nonstop Prayer for Provdiv; you make sure that the well wishes of the entire world are piped into the TV screens in the supermarket, focusing on Orthodox Christianity but also featuring ecstatic dances and Asatru rituals.

The Remnant response is atypical; they're actually mad this time, with "protesters" out in force in front of the USNA capitol in Houston -- where they are pelted with rotten produce -- and to a smaller measure in Bonn, Gustav's capitol, where they are summarily grabbed by the Bundespolizei and locked up for their own safety. You figure that the lawsuits will last longer than the haemolymph's neurotoxic effect.

A trickle of locusts has peeled off into Israel and Central Europe; there are too few to track by radar, but people have seen the swarms on TV, and are terrified; just the notion of these beings flying around has caused a panic overnight, with construction stores being overrun by people buying metal gratings or corrugated sheets, some runs on supermarkets, even a small uptick in suicides.

To people who have not seen the trillions of animals in the original swarm, mere thousands fanning out into the countryside are terrifying; the psychological impact of these creatures is going to leave a mark even if most of them are ash in the breeze and most of the survivors of that lay dead in a heap in a Hungarian town.

Your media strategy here is to

# promote how-to-kill-the-aliens videos by having local media outlets in the affected areas offer a bounty.

# highlight reports of Remnant indifference.

# play up the efficient response by the Peacekeepers, IDF and Legion Europeenne.

And sometimes in all this, Tsion wrote on his site,

"I beg of you not to look upon God as mean or capricious when we see the intense suffering of the bite victims. This is all part of his master design to turn people to him so he can demonstrate his love. The Scriptures tell us God is ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness. How it must pain him to have to resort to such measures to reach those he loves!
>>
It hurts us to know that even those who do receive Christ as a result of this ultimate attention-getter still suffer for the entire five months prescribed in biblical prophecy.

And yet I believe we are called to see this as a picture of the sad fact that sin and rebellion have their consequences. There are scars. If a victim receives Christ, God has redeemed him, and he stands perfect in heaven's sight. But the effects of sin linger.

Oh, dear ones, it thrills my heart to get reports from all over the globe that there are likely more Christ followers now than were raptured. Even nations known for only a minuscule Christian impact in the past are seeing great numbers come to salvation. Of course we see that evil is also on the rise. The Scriptures tell us that those who remain rebellious even in light of this awful plague simply love themselves and their sin too much. Much as the world system tries to downplay it, our society has seen catastrophic rises in drug abuse, sexual immorality, murder and abortion, theft, demon worship, and idolatry."

He's right about thefts; the locust panic has caused a significant uptick in shoplifting, which you had BOCHICA compensate for as systemic losses rather than press on enforcement; at least for now, the world economy can afford it. You aren't sure about the number of followers; there's little doubt that he believs it, but in that case, the Remnant would be approximately 10% of the world's population. If he's including the children, the figure shoots up to 30%.

Is that what the plagues are for? Is the idea to simply whittle down every other segment of the population until the Remnant outnumber everyone?

# Start tracking it.

# You don't care.


“Be of good cheer even in the midst of chaos and plague, loved ones. We know from the Bible that the evil demon king of the abyss is leading the demon locusts on the rampage. But we as the sealed followers of the Lord God need not fear. For as it is written: 'He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world... We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Always test my teaching against the Bible. Read it every day. New believers learn the value of the discipline of daily reading and study. When we see the ugly creatures that have invaded the earth, it becomes obvious that we too must go to war.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God: gird your waist with truth, put on the breastplate of righteousness, shoe your feet with the gospel of peace; above all, take the shield of faith. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Until next we interact through this miracle of technology the Lord has used to build a mighty church against all odds, I remain your servant and his, Tsion Ben-Judah.”

# Where's your plague, preacher? We beat it.

# Let him rant.

# He called for war, in writing, and it's timetamped. It's on.
>>
Rolled 82 (1d100)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HLNMfCBUb0

And then, dawn, grey, distant, still loud as a hailstorm, comes to Provdiv.

There's an enormous twitching, shifting mound of electrocuted alien locusts outside; the rear guard of the swarm throws itself gain and again at the mall's entrance, with your handful of electric knights

The surviving locusts have repaired themselves so often that they're starting to make mistakes; Moira reports two or three of the critters stuck together by a section of abdomen, a second stinger instead of an eye, legs instead of wings, the result looking like the mother of all nightmares involving spiders and vibrating its extra legs faster than the eye can see against the metal fencing, trying to batter it.

Mistakes, or are they trying to adapt?

More than half your workers and soldiers are out of the fight; you suspect that the rest took modafinil to stay awake. Refusing help from the people inside may have been a good idea; it reeks in there, people had to be subdued to avoid opening a window, there's vomit and worse in the restrooms, and a couple of elderly folk have died of stroke, their bodies brought in front of the fans in the lobby. The volunteers in charge of keeping order have had their hands full.

Moira has had to use her implant, first intermittently, then continuously, just to stay standing and push back against the hours-long assault.

When the Legion Europeenne troopers finally show up, your soldiers are out of ammo, Moira's troopers have exhausted their batteries and are fighting close to the doorway, each tethered by improvised extension cords to keep the Gap Generators on, and Moira herself has been taking point, using sword and shield like a cataphract.

Having to fight tethered, the armored troopers could no longer protect the forklifts, and so the ground is black and brown and yellow with locust corpses. Power is out in about half the town, to make sure enough juice could reach the mall.

But show up they do. The influx of people is enough that some of the locusts peel off to intercept the column; they drive on -- everyone's put their armor on, chainmail and plating and bike helmets. A few have GGs; most have flamethrowers. A large flamethrower half-track, seventy years old and hastily restored, is quickly unloaded from a flatbed, hooked up to a fire hose going to a tanker truck, and dove right into the heart of the swarm. Up-armored fire trucks hook up to the hydrants, sweeping the parking lot of locust bodies and dousing the flames once they have done their job, lest the building go up in flames.

A brave legionary takes off his helmet when a section of the swarm starts veering off -- an exhausted Moira has to explain to the new arrivals how to keep the balance between not letting the little monsters in and not letting them leave, show just enough skin and sweat -- and is stung; from the air it looks like the remnant of the swarm grew a pseudopod to get the soldier, recoiling immediately after.
>>
"Over here! Batteries! Batteries!"

One of the buses has been set up as a relief station of sorts for the defenders; some drag themselves in and pass out as soon as they hit the carpeting. Moira and her guys remove a few bus' batteries and get back into the fray untethered.

And then the people trapped in the supermarket can finally see the sky as the cloud of locusts shrinks in size and spreads out a little.

The hard part now becomes making sure that what's left doesn't try to leave; people the supermarket improvise window bars out of grills and fans, and open a few windows. Legionaries set up sniper nests on top of their vehicles, firing incendiary bullets from anti-materiel rifles to take out the stragglers.

And then it ends. The last locust to go down is a veritable horror, a composite beast made of three bodies held together by the wing roots, leg muscles stuck in there and exhuding haemolymphs from the seams. It flails madly , blunting its stingers against Moira's armor. She has a camera brought over, and films herself stabbing it in the center body with your sword. The thing's two remaining abdomens shriek out with an echo, "Apollyon! Apollyon!"

"Apollyon the Destroyer!" Moira says, and takes off her helmet. Her hair is an oily mess and she looks like she's been homeless for a month. "Is this all you got?"

Upon smelling fresh skin, the composite creature breaks itself apart in a paroxysm to get to it. Moira grabs what starts climbing up her leg, trailing innards, and holds it at arm's length; it waves its stingers at her.

"Bye-bye, Oogie Boogie."

She lets it bite her armored hand, rips the creature's eyes off, then drops it, the front body still alive and twitching.

"Apollyon! Apollyon! apollyon..." it croaks out as it lay dying. You got it all on camera. The evening news are probably going to pixelate some of it.

When it stops moving, the all-clear sounds, the flamethrower tank puts itself to the task of incinerating the pile of bodies, and slowly the people who have been trapped inside armor and inside the supermarket poke their heads out.

Moira's accent is probably atrocious, and the words are literally the only Hungarian she speaks, but she memorized them yesterday and she's going to shout them at the camera, damn it.

"Plovdiv vagyunk! Mi vagyunk a város, amely tartotta a vonalat!"

We are Plovdiv.

We are the town that held the line.

Then she walks just off camera, smiles, and passes out.

Gustav is likely going to squeeze as much haemolymph out of these things as he can, but you don't care right now.

There have been some dead, mostly old people inside the supermarket. Heatstroke, heatstroke, insulin shock... one babushka flat out died of old age, by the look of it. There has been an uptick in suicides, not of people who were stung -- oddly, none of those have succeeded in killing themselves -- but of those who panicked.

The entire ordeal, from F4 landfall to Moira killing that last abomination, has lasted five days.
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>>3844871

The next day, a team of surveyors, soldiers and scientists in full armored NBC gear gets to Denizli and dig through the moonscape that is the impact site. There are grottos nearby, full of volcanic CO2, that marked the place as a "gate to the underworld" due to the fact that birds and animals would come into one particular depression in the ground and die; a small temple to Hades had been erected nearby to exploit the effect and, alas, has been heavily damaged from the aftershock.

The Minotaur has unloaded its missile launchers, built a traverse track for the railway gun so it could guard the alien monoliths, and so diminished, returned to the Middle east leaving behind a section of artillerymen.

There's nothing to recover from the impact site except for pyrite slag, ash, and bomb shrapnel.

You're left with roughly two hundred live locusts, that you will have to find a home for.

# No, you really don't; kill them with fire.

# San Diego, xenobiology lab.

# Black site.

Moira walked into a five-star hotel somewhere in Hungary, demanded a suite and the sauna all to herself for the afternoon, and made a mini post on her blog thanking whoever sent her fan art.

You're also left with one Paul Stepola, who has been delivered to you in a full body cast despite being perfectly healthy otherwise, because the medical personnel had been told to detain him and, while the Hippocratic oath would prevent them from beating the guy half to death, they decided to show him what he'd look like if they did.

# Let's see if the haemolymph works on believers.

# Don't, behavioral tests are one thing, that's too much.

Afterwards,

# Let him stand trial - Od Gustav's courts are fair and strict.

# Black site. You need to rebuild a stable of test subjects, might as well start with this one.

# Kick him out into the street and let the people know what he tried to do; mob justice has its place.

You'll also have to figure out what to do with the collected haemolymph; for now you've frozen it. Its regenerative properties are interesting, but if it causes unbearable pain for months, what's the use of it in the field?

One thing of note is that Chaim Rosenzweig was also stung; the few locusts that reached Jerusalem made a beeline for him, and despite William Cameron's efforts to keep the botanist safe -- he was a house guest at the time -- a locust made it through and stung the man. He is refusing heavy sedation and is currently convalescing in his home.

(Then there's this guy's interpretation. https://youtu.be/b66CffIm8eY )

You sign the order to freeze the stuff up and have it sent to your HQ. Roughly twelve hundred people in all got stung by the stragglers before their extermination, largely in Europe and Israel although there are a few cases reported in Egypt; there's little to do but make them comfortable.

And thus, in less than a week, the Fifth Trumpet is past.
>>
>>3844891
# San Diego, xenobiology lab.
# Let's see if the haemolymph works on believers.
# Black site. You need to rebuild a stable of test subjects, might as well start with this one.
>>
>>3844891
# No, you really don't; kill them with fire.
Seems too risky, these things seem to adapt fast and we can't risk a breakout.

# Don't, behavioral tests are one thing, that's too much.
We have no way of telling if this will do anything and it's not a good look if people find out.

# Black site. You need to rebuild a stable of test subjects, might as well start with this one.
He was willing to attack people and put a large number of innocents at risk, I don't think most people will notice him disappearing and a fair number of those that do won't care.
>>
# San Diego, xenobiology lab.

# Let's see if the haemolymph works on believers.

# Black site. You need to rebuild a stable of test subjects, might as well start with this one.
>>
# promote how-to-kill-the-aliens videos by having local media outlets in the affected areas offer a bounty.

# Start tracking it.

# Let him rant.
>>
>>3844989

You put Fr. Schorpe on figuring out how many people do in fact belong to the Remnant; it's unlikely to be easy given that most of them are afraid of persecution.

"At least I can tell you why they are afraid: the sixth trumpet judgement is about 200 million demonic horsemen who will kill a third of mankind, and none of them. Look at the horrible things we did to Jews in history -- we accused them of poisoning wells, bleeding childen to death. And they were innocent. If Tsion's next prediction happens, and people just start dying for no reason, except Remnant adherents, they most certainly will be blamed for it."

Nevertheless, you promised Chloe no censorship, and you will keep that promise; besides, letting Tsion speak his mind has been a useful source of intel.

----

A good way to emphasize that humanity defeated these creatures, you reckon, is to have local universities offer bounties; in order to get as much data as possible, a dead locust that comes with a video of how it was killed is worth significantly more. Zakharov and Vega decide to bankroll the program, with the latter putting a premium on a live capture. Dozens more get stung trying to play alien hunter, but popular reaction is positive, to the point that after a few weeks people start to complain that there's a lot of bounty money out there but no locusts.

Since they cannot be bred (you're familiar with bounty programs in India for snakes and rats resulting in snake or rat farms!) the insectoids soon disappear, fast as they came, with this or that local college or museum having a carcass held in formaldehyde after it had been dissected. Of note is an incident in which a PETA member got to one of the last remaining aliens before anyone else, trying to protect it, got stung, and had to be put in a straitjacket lest she throw herself off the roof of the hospital a day later, because of the pain.

This method of eliminating the straggler turned out to be efficient, cost-effective, and relatively harmless (only two casualties and one fatality from crossfire during a bug hunt), but as a result Zakharov and Vega have samples. You're very certain that so do Ehud Brog and Od Gustav; keeping anything a secret here is going to be a wash at best.

Zakharov must have made a decision, because he's sent Cossacks to go over the impact site again, with flamethrowers rather than sample containers.

"Let the Remnant preach their silly religion, but one way or the other I shall see this crater burned, seared, and sterilized until every hiding place is found and until every last locust precursor egg, every last slimy one, has been cooked to a smoking husk. That species shall be exterminated, I tell you! Exterminated!"

A few days later, you receive the early microbiological analysis you were waiting for; the haemolymph contains a protein that stimulates tissue regrowth, but this regrowth itself also causes extreme pain due to overstimulated neurons. It'll be hard to productize.
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>>3844964
>>3844972
>>3844987

"Where am I?"

"Morale Monitor facility."

"That's patently false! The MM are gone! I was a field agent!"

"Okay, wise guy, you tell me then."

Carpatescu's containment chamber is not in sight; Mr. Stepola is presented with a small prison of which he is the only inmate, given number 19 (the next in sequence of your captives) and offered no explanation about what's going on. The announcements on the PA have been left untouched, so he finds himself pushed off the offline PCs or the exercise equipment when it's a even-numbers time slot.

He is told that inmates are welcome to play video or board games, read, write, or pray; he mostly does the latter. Food is served by drone tank.

After learning what he was trying to do to thousands of people, the IT staff at the black site move some files around on the PCs, making single-player games and ebooks inaccessible to the casual user; this is to gauge Stepola's computer skill and also to mess with his head. The one time he petulantly says he's bored, he is reminded via the PA, as if at random, that inmates are welcome to play board games.

"THERE'S NOBODY ELSE HERE!" he screams in fYou’re in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise, crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that? rustration.

"That's because everybody hates you" the synthesized voice on the PA says. "You don't have any friends. Because of how unlikeable you are. It says so here in your personnel file: unlikeable. Liked by no one. A bitter, unlikeable loner whose passing shall not be mourned. Shall not be mourned. That's exactly what it says. Very formal. Very official."

You introduce the locust on day 8. "We were going to call her Lamarr. but we went with Polly instead! Be nice to her, she's the last one." It's not, of course. The locust is intact, except that the wings have been clipped -- carefully, to allow replacing the membranes later. "Apollyon!" it belches out after being dropped from a ceiling vent and falling upside down. It has no wings, so it's hard for it to right itself. Stepola crouches in front of it and watches. He doesn't touch it. The PA plays an audio clip from Blade Runner.
>>
>>3845064

"You’re in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise, crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?"

Stepola stands up and starts laughing until he's out of breath. "Why are you doing this to me! This is crazy! Are you trying to drive me nuts!"

Eventually, he flips the locust over. You have no way to make it sting a Remnant member, unfortunately, so your people have gone with the psychological approach. The locust can see the Sign of God on Stepola's forehead, so it ignores him as it would ignore a mannequin -- it crawls around, tries to fly on its little wing stubs, crawls around some more. You have plenty of food for the cannibalistic insectoids, having collected a truck full before incinerating the lot; they eat their own cooked flesh, although they prefer raw.

It doesn't take long for Stepola to bond with the locust. It, of course, continues to largely ignore him, but he starts petting it, spreading out the food packet that now comes with his meals, trying to see if it will eat anything else (no, and apparently it really dislikes condiments that contain capsaicin, although it will tolerate locust-slurry with traces of ketchup in it). Stepola even holds it there, gently, by a spindly leg, when he says grace three times a day.

All he can do is watch TV, read, and try to play with an alien demon locust that does it best to ignore him.

The locusts don't sleep, per se, but do go into hybernation if it's cold enough, so one day you have the heat lowered to slow its reactions down. Paul is worried that it's sick, and eventually figures out it's a heat issue when putting it on top of a CRT monitor makes it more vivacious.

So one early morning, when Paul is sleeping and Polly is slightly dazed from the cold, you have a technician slide a syringe through the air vent next to Paul's bunk -- he picked a bunk in a corner -- inject him with just a little bit of haemolymph, and then pull it back.

Ten seconds later, Paul Stepola, former Morale Monitor field agent, is curled up in a corner screaming and cursing Polly for its betrayal. "GOD! Why! How is this possible! I did everything right! Aaah! I confess that I am a sinner! Aaaah! Make it stop!"

"Have we been too mean?"

"Why? He shot one of ours. And he wanted to do that, exactly what we're looking at, to thousands of people. Pain aside, It would have caused a stampede and dozens would have died."

Look like the stuff (the San Diego staff has been calling it "ichor", derisively, and it seems it might stick) works on Remnant

# Keep Stepola around
* with sedation
* without sedation

# Let him go.

# Mercy kill

Also (choose 0 or more)

# Try the stuff on Carpatescu

# Shitpost on Tsion's site about this
>>
>>3845075
# Keep Stepola around
* with sedation

# Shitpost on Tsion's site about this

I'm curious how he'll react to his "5 months of torment" being 5 days instead.
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>>3844987
>>3844972
>>3844964

There's little use in trying to keep secrets since other organizations have gotten a hold of the locusts; you make it clear that as far as you are concerned, alien lifeform samples belong to humanity as a whole, and provide the San Diego lab with most of the live specimens, the slurry, and the collected ichor; you keep a few doses, just in case, of course.

The lab then organizes a rotation for scientists from all territories to come visit and study the material; one of the first things that they confirm is that the ichor has the same effect on most animals, with the interesting exclusion of the naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber), who seems to give absolutely zero fucks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI7S9XVEhIM

Locust tissue is not particularly interesting from an engineering standpoint, although it's definitely alien: on close examination, it contains two more base pairs than regular DNA, tentatively named S and B, which work similarly to C and T, and features the arsenic-tolerant metabolism of the Mono Lake bacteria. S and B base pairs are likewise found in those, now that the researchers know what to look for.

(IRL the arsenic-nomming bacteria are terrestrial of course, as we found out after half a year, but let me have a bit of wish fulfillment)

Immediate applications are few, although of course the alien autopsy footage goes viral. The main issue is that there's a finite amount of locusts to work with; thanks to your efforts they have gone from would-be pest to endangered species. Of course, their bioconstructed nature means that you could not make more if you wanted to. The work will continue, but bioengineering is a nascent science, and it'll likely be years before any applications are found.

For now, you nudge immediate results towards a bioelectronic Remnant detector, basically enough of a locust's brain and eye to trigger a response in non-Remnant humans but not in Remnant adherents. You can probably make a couple dozen of these; they'll have to be kept frozen if not in use, and fed, but they're accurate. The prototype looks like a PKE meter.

Tsion said once that the locusts had five month to find prey and sting them, and that the victim would then suffer for five months; it looks more like five days for the former, although the latter may be accurate -- the regenerated neurons keep misfiring long after the ichor has been metabolized. Incidentally, this means that conventional painkillers only help momentarily; you know that you will have a small opioid-addiction spike among the bitten once the effect ends.

# Do next month (Last one on the monthly rotation!)

# Change interfaces

# Wait / something else.
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>>3845105
# Go to next month
>>
>>3845105
# Do next month (Last one on the monthly rotation!)
>>
>>3845103

Poetic justice is one thing, extrajudicial killing is another; you keep Stepola on opioids and let him watch TV in bed. Sometimes he rants a bit, or prays.

Tsion's website is doing good "business": people are going there to find out what and when the next disaster will be. However, he's not racking up as many converts as he thinks he is -- a lot of guest posts after your own, noting that his predictions were off by half, are derisive or even triumphant.

Eventually, the man answers.

pastorTBJ[Mod]: "It is written: They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. [....] They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. A criminal may serve sentences concurrently or consecutively; I was wrong, but only on the mode of sentencing. Always test my teaching against the Bible! Read it every day. Be prepared, and face new ideas by putting on the full armor of God!"

sara5ti: "Looks like the War Witch got better armor than you do, dude! Barely anybody got stung."

chloe42[Admin]: "It's a metaphor. And 15 thousand people is more than any one person will ever meet in their lives. Besides, would you rather more people suffer?"

4nti: "So who's going demon centaur hunting with me next? what's the bounty gonna be for those?"

pastorTBJ[Mod]: "God is not mocked! But I will indulge you: the horsemen will hunt you, not the other way round."

congaline: "IN SOVIET RUSSIA HORSE HUNTS YOU!" (User was banned for this post)

pastorTBJ[Mod]: “For centuries scholars believed prophetic literature was figurative, open to endless interpretation. That could not have been what God intended. Why would he make it so difficult? I believe when the Scriptures say the writer saw something in a vision, it is symbolic of something else. But when the writer simply says that certain things happen, I take those literally. So far I have been proven right. The passage I am working on, where John sees - in a vision - 200M horsemen who have the power to slay a third of the remaining population, seems by necessity figurative. I doubt these men and animals will be literal beings, but I believe their impact will be very real nonetheless."

g0d04prez: (ghostbusters.mid)

pastorTBJ[Mod]: " I feel a great responsibility for the readers God has entrusted to me. I do not want to get ahead of him, but neither do I want to hang back in fear. All I can do is to be honest about how I am tussling with this. It is time many of the new believers start interpreting the Scriptures for themselves anyway.”

paranoyd5an: “Real talk now, when is this judgment supposed to happen?”

pastorTBJ[Mod]: “All we know for sure is that it comes next chronologically and that it must occur before the midpoint of the Tribulation. Unless God himself makes it happen in an instant, it appears it could take several weeks.”
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>>3845118
If we're calling her the War Witch, Moira in a Deneghra cosplay when?
>>
Oh by the way, team?

NUKES. Please?
>>
>>3845114
>>3845108

The stark reality of an alien invasion, even if the vanguard was eliminated with relative ease, has gotten people to calm the heck down about territorial disputes; at the very least, they can wait.

Francesca d'Angelo invites you again to tour Italy with her; she's caught up with the fact that you have been working with Andrews on looking for relics and the like, and would like to show you a few. You may take her invitation by surveying Italy with the Foreman.

SPECIAL RULES FOR NEXT MONTH

* CATS has transitioned to a tithe model. The quarterly budget is now determined by the lowest number for connectivity for any territory. (Build Network Nodes in places that do not have them in order to make it easier to raise).

* All restrictions on treasury and team numbers have been lifted, since there's nobody who can audit you at this point anyway.

* Instead of showing up for a quarterly Council meeting, you may call them.

* Your control of the economy allows you to force costs of equipment to go up or down, OR use Synco systems to generate extra income directly. Not doing so improves the health of the economy as a whole, since those systems will be working to increae efficiency instead.
>>
Hello, Foreman! You are planning CATS' operations for the month.

Rules: http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pub/web/LeftBeyond.Quest2Rules.html
Datalinks: http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pub/web/LeftBeyond.Quest2Datalinks.html
Timeline: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BlMOSEOxSihj1gdagq7yxCjONaRBgcdlRxnc68uWf0A

You can deploy yourself on TWO actions for a small bonus to all rolls
Ryan Andrews can be deployed on ONE action for a large bonus to construction rolls or a small bonus to any non-covert rolls
Dr Diamond can be deployed on ONE action for a small bonus to all rolls, including covert. She can greatly reduce casualty rates
Moira McSingh can be deployed on ONE action for a medium bonus to covert rolls or a small bonus to all rolls; She can give basic combat capability to a work crew
Aki Lattinen is available for TWO actions for a medium bonus to all non-covert rolls or a small bonus to covert rolls.
Drones give a STACKABLE small bonus to construction and covert rolls; they may be lost in combat
Factories cover for teams on construction rolls
BOCHICA is automatically doing your logistics

C0 (Free):

Move the Garibaldi (Mediterranean, Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific)

Buy and sell equipment on the open market:
Power generation 1
Small arms 1
Network equipment 2
Fleet assets 2
Aerospace part 3
Supplies (food, fuel etc) 1

C0 (Agent):

Survey a territory for opportunity using an agent. REMINDER: Jerusalem; Aberdeen Proving Grounds
Construct a CellSol pylon (Needs 1 network part)
Undergo combat training (Max 1 per month)
Tail someone or meet with a dignitary

Buy equipment on the black market:
Weapons: As tier level, up to 3
Stimulants 1

C1:

Reconfigure the Garibaldi (generic, cargo, hospital, strike, orbital)
Survey a territory for opportunity using a team. REMINDER: Jerusalem; Aberdeen Proving Grounds
Tail someone
Hire out a covert operations team for a situational reward
Construct network equipment
Construct power equipment
Buy network equipment and construct a CellSol pylon
Make and sell consumer-grade Nomenklators (Net gain 1BN)
Buy black market equipment using a security or black ops team

C2:

Do research (1~3)
Construct an aerospace part
Construct a forward logistics hub (small bonus for any action in that territory)
Construct a batch of drones
Augment an Agent (Requires Dr. Diamond)

C3:
Construct a network node (unifies cell and net; costs 1 power, 1 network)
Recruit a work team
Schedule a satellite launch, which will happen at the end of NEXT month. Requires 1 (microsat) or 3~5 (bigsat) aerospace parts.
Do research (4~6)

C4:

Construct a factory
Recruit a covert team
Do research (7~9)
Construct a hub and a network node at the same time (2 power, 1 network)
Upgrade Thule

C5:

Rush a satellite launch at the end of this month. Microsat only, Requires 1 aerospace part
Build a Uranium Hydride bomb
Augment an entire work team (Requires Dr. Diamond)
Capstone research (10)

What are your orders?
>>
>>3845123
1) Dedicate 8 factories to produce network parts and deploy them: 2 to central america; 1 to the UK, western and eastern Europe. Sell the last three for 6 Bn.

2) Assign 3 work teams to perform Occult research under Aki.

3) Assign 3 work teams to perform Directed Energy research under Foreman.

4) Assign 3 work teams, 3 drones and Aki to construct a factory in Central America.

5) Assign 3 work teams, 1 drone and Ryan andrews to construct a factory in the UK.

6) Assign 3 work teams under Dr Diamond to research Augmentation.

7) Assign 1 black ops and 4 covert team to perform operations for reward along with Moira.

8) Our final action as Foreman should be used to survey Greece with Santiago.

This costs 17 Bn not accounting for the loss/gain of the operations which I imagine there should be plenty of just clearing up after the war and shit. Given our current fund of 11Bn and the price of material on the market, I've assigned 3 factories to produce and sell network parts to equalise the budget at 0 for the end of this month, again not accounting for the security teams.


Past this point I'm going to discuss what I'd probably have done in future turns, just to give everyone an idea of how broken we were about to become: if you want to ignore my somewhat mad ramblings that is fine.


The month after I'd probably pull a similar trick of assigning all 10 factories (assuming we managed to get both of the attempts this month to work) to produce network equipment before selling somewhere between 5-8 of them to supply our work teams with their budget for the month depending again, on the covert ops earnings.

I'd probably repeat the same basic formula from the first month however of researching Occult and Directed energy which would then be requiring 7 teams to do which leaves 8 teams free to construct a further 2 factories even before accounting for the drones or heroes which would probably be able to make that 3 factories.

Which means that, 2 months down the line, we'd be a further 4-5 factories up with god knows how many network parts installed all over the world from the sheer production capacity we'd have at that point. Not to mention the various research actions would have provided us with another 2 levels in both directed energy and occult research.

At which point, to be honest, it becomes near impossible to predict just how strong we would grow. Given the fact that at that point the snow ball really starts hitting since we could assign a single work team to Thule as well as 3 factories and still have enough raw production capacity from the rest to actually fund our work teams every month. Basically, what I am trying to say is: shit is sorted; we've already won; it's just a matter of time until our research takes us past what god can fight and our industry ensures we can make enough to kill off any resistance.
>>
>>3845123

We need two nuclear weapons. We have propehcies to derail, not money to make right now. This is the last turn, we don't need to prep cash for next turn.

We don't need to build up!

1) 2 factories and 8 teams to produce nuclear weapons

2) 3 work teams on energy weapon research under foreman

3) 3 work teams to perform occult research under aki

4) Reconfigure the Garibaldi for strike operations.

5) Survey Greece, with the Foreman.

6 remaining factories produce gap generators?

Guys this is it, it's go time, stop ramping up and start USING it.
>>
Oh, forgot military actions.

Black ops team and 1 covert team on training - let's work on solutions to invisible enemies.

4 covert teams on equipment procurement. We're really slacking on vehicles. Go get us some APCs or armored trucks. Or at least some goddamn hummers. We have a lot of inroads to the peacekeepers, we should be able to make as much of their hardware disappear as we want.
>>
>>3845188
Backing this although I'd argue nuclear weapons are useless compared to gap generators, drone units (I've got a theory that those ultra-sound or whatever vision systems we developed a little while back could be used to detect the invisible horsemen so equipping drones / automated turrets with them would be a good idea) given nuclear devices are so comparatively weakened in this universe, that they only produce 200 tonnes of TNT's explosive power means they'd be useless unless we know precisely where the enemy is coming from.
>>
>>3845200

If the horsemen have a detectable starting point we can just nuke the shit out of it.

Having a nuke in reserve also very likely a good idea.

We're already into mass production of gap generators.

I'm interested in your idea and might be cool to give up 1 nuke for it. We definitely want a reserve nuke.
>>
>>3845205
I agree a reserve nuke is advisable but given how hard they are to use, I'd rather not overly invest in them compared to our more esoteric methods of detection and elimination.
>>
Moira gave you the sword back; the binding on the hilt had to be redone due to galvanic corrosion, but after being shined, the blade is otherwise in good shape. It's never going to be a good sword metallurgically... but it's the sword you took down Carpatescu with, and the sword that the entire world saw slay the last locust in the the town that held the line.

Tsion was talking about this bit of Revelation 9, following right after the bit with the locusts, which thanks to your efforts was a bit of an anticlimax.

12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
>>
I'd say that recon mission should probably be to the Euphrates.

Horsemen possibly visible only to Believers? Any way we can make that do anything?
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>>3845227
>Horsemen possibly visible only to Believers? Any way we can make that do anything?
We might manage to get Ikko to lend us some people: a third of humanity is going to die if we don't try and do something and I doubt she can reasonably justify just letting that happen.

Alternatively, the fact that these horses are apparently going to release fire, smoke and brimstone means that their path should be observable for sulphurous and carbon emissions into the air. We could make landmines attached to chemical sensors and, assuming they have physical forms we can actually damage, kill them.


We are however almost certainly better off just coating the entire Euphrates in Gap generators, followed by a dead zone of landmines watched by automated turrets, another layer of gap generators and then a large wall or ditch. If they are purely metaphysical, the generators should stop them. If they are in anyway physical the landmines, guns and ditch should stop them. If they are somewhere between? God knows, they might phase through the wall, avoid the bullets and dodge the landmines unless we force them into the generated field as we attempt to attack them.

What we really need is to work out where the supposed angels are going to be released from and where these horsemen shall arise too. That way rather than covering the entirety of the border of a huge river, we need only coat a few kilometers or even a single kilometer as deeply as we can.
>>
They should at least be visible on thermo, huh. Good point. A large mass of fire breathing lions is going to have a massive heat signature. Cool, we can bomb it.
>>
>>3845253
I'd also add that I expect the horsemen to only go in one direction: east; the logic being that the kingdoms there must be weakened further to ensure they need the rivers between them and Israel drained by later prophecy since they are currently in good enough condition to do it.

If it is 1/3 of all humanity, spread evenly, the effect is comparable to the black death. If it is 1/3 of all humanity, focused entirely into Iran, India, China and South east asia? We're talking an insane portion of their population dying given that, in my theory, Europe, Africa and the Americas should be safe along with any islands.


I'm probably wrong however but the main point is this: we can probably detect them; if they have physical forms we can almost certainly kill some of them (there are 200,000,000 of them, I'm not optimistic about our odds of getting all of them) with guns, tesla towers, bombs and fire; if they have immaterial forms we can eliminate them or force them to be physical with our gap generators. We should be able to weaken their attack and maybe even create safe zones depending on how they work but given they will be moving at, presumably a horse's pace or better, we might not have enough time.

It might be a good idea to advise as many people to get onto planes or boats as they can when this shit starts happening: if they can get away from the land then these things might fail to attack them.
>>
Survey both Israel and Aberdeen?

Put Dr. Diamond on Augment?

Did we ever get that Cruiser or Frigate?

What about recruiting more people?

Did Dr. Robertson get us a replacement for the vacancy he left us?

Are we going to upgrade Thule?
I'm not sure we even ever started.

>>3845169
What about making satellites to watch for more meteorites?

Should we forceful try to sting some remnant people, and see if we can kill some people stung just to see if they can die and throw of the prophecy just a tad bit more?

Also, what if we laid some Fiber Optic Cable that connected all the continents?
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>>3845123
So did we Find Terry Aprils body?
Hes marked with a red line through his name.

What about Walid?
>>
>>3845338
>What about making satellites to watch for more meteorites?
They are still about a year+ out. We can easily take care of most if not all of them at this point between Mclachlan having time to set up some stuff on his own end and us mass producing shit in a giant factory network.

For example, if we had all factories built we'd make 11 aerospace parts per month which means we'd need 4 work teams dedicated full time to launches or to set up Thule to level 4 where it then can take care of orbital shit independently and can even build the boosters meaning we'd be able to send up larger and more complex launches as well as covert ones.

This means we could over a six month period create a total of 11 5-part sats or that many in other combinations. Given how we could redirect using a pusher sat a asteroid a month out to nearly miss the earth, we would be able to redirect a asteroid 3 or 4 months out to cleanly miss the earth. The only remaining risk being ones that couldn't be physically pushed but those would merely require gravitational intervention even further out as a heightened priority.

>Should we forceful try to sting some remnant people, and see if we can kill some people stung just to see if they can die and throw of the prophecy just a tad bit more?
Nah.

>Also, what if we laid some Fiber Optic Cable that connected all the continents?
Not worth it from what OP has stated previously from what I recall.
>>
>>3845169
>>3845188

One thing to keep in mind is that as we get more income we should recuit more security teams and woek teams to go with that income. As well we should focus those network parts when we arent selling them on bringing connevtivity up so we get more income. We should alsp get that last netword node in africa.

Factories are great but we do need the work teams to keep up there production.
>>
>>3845188
I'd Say we Survey Aberdeen and Israel with Foreman.
>>
>>3845361
I know but part of the reason I planned on doing things the way I did was I want to get the whole world to 4 Ground network and focusing on factories does that very quickly: consider that we were going to be at max factories in about 4-5 months which would've meant we could have produced the remaining 40 or so parts in less than a quarter of a year, especially as the service increasing would have meant a increase in our effective budget enabling us to quickly build additional units by purchasing network parts from the open market.

I did originally have a recruitment of two additional work teams as part of my plan but I dropped it for cost reasons instead using them to other tasks. In all honesty I'd probably have started additional recruitment in month 3 or 4 and used them for additional research actions or to create additional Thule style cities across the world.

Also we need 3 network nodes in Africa, as everywhere there but North Africa lacks one.
>>
>>3845373
Getting teams allows us to work faster though. I think dropping research for now and getting 3 teams and 2 factories is a good idea. Rapid expansion.
>>
Forgot to mention, are we doing anything with the two witnesses?
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>>3845397
Nah, getting researched finished means we don't need to worry about lacking technical ability to defeat an enemy: if we have completed sats and energy then we'd be able to do more orbital stuff involving lasers to counter incoming meteors or to eliminate enemy satellites and shit. It should also mean our gap generators work better for example.

Plus completing research often offers massive benefits that greatly improve our ability to do stuff.

>>3845398
They should be alive for another month or two but I still think we should get permission to Fulton-extract them and bring them to a blacksite, built in SEA.
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>>3845466
Well carpastu is suppost to kill him them self. Why don't we post a guard around em
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>>3845489
If that is the case, then the prophecy is already diverted yet my understanding is that they and the pope are just to die, with little regard as to who does it.

Therefore, we must secure the pope and them in blacksites or similarly fortified positions and hope god doesn't just give them a heart attack.
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>>3845494
Not sure about the pope but i do know it was specfically Carpatescu that kills the whitnesses. Or at least the antichrist
>>
>>3845494
>>3845501
So either one of you two gonna make a new post for what our turn should be?

Build a nuke, make factory, and research among them.

I get the feeling we should survey Israel for drones or something, and Aberdeen for vehicles and hardware.
>>
>>3845508
Fine, fine I'll throw something together focused around the fact that this month we've got a big event to take care of and throw any sorts of long term plan out the window: after all 1/3 of humanity is at stake.

1) Dedicate 8 factories to produce 4 drone units.

2) Assign 3 work teams to perform Occult research under Aki.

2) Assign 3 work teams to perform Directed Energy research under Aki.

3) Assign 5 work teams to assemble a U-H bomb.

4) Assign Foreman to survey Jerusalem and Aberdeen Proving Grounds.

5) Sell 4 units of emergency supplies for 4 Bn.

6) Assign the remaining 4 work teams and all covert / blackops teams to prepare for the imminent coming of the horsemen. Assisted by Dr Diamond, Moira and all of our drones (which at this point should be 8 entire units).

7) Move the Garibaldi to the Indian ocean and the Iranian coast.


This plan gets us 1 nuke, 4 additional units of drones, leaves us at 0Bn, surveys both highlighted regions, completes a level in Occult research, Directed Energy research and makes sure we have every remaining asset from our planes to our troops in place for what is coming.
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>>3845530
We should have at least 5 months before horsemen no? As thats how long the locusts were here for
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>>3845501

I believe the prophecy regarding the Pope is tied to the Whore of Babylon who is killed by the Scarlet Beast she rides.

Meta: <spoiler> In the books, he got offed by the Sub Potentates. </spoiler>

>Demon Horsemen
We should test if 'demons' are resistant to radiation. If we still have some locusts about, we can test on them.

>Euphrates

The headwaters of the River is in Turkey. Its a bit far from Fragment 04, but if there is a connection to the locusts, it might be a good place to launch an expedition.
>>
>>3845530
Sp we have 5 turns to do all that
>>
>>3845535
>>3845537
Nope, month 43: demon locusts; month 45; demon horsemen. We are either getting them this month or next month, unsure as to which.

If it's next month then I can fix some things but until told I am advising this plan.
>>
>>3845540
Oh well shit never mind prepare away

>>3845530
Support
>>
>>3845530
>>3845535
But this is the last thread and last turn?

Even the turn picture map says so?

Always with the selling of our supplies. This will never not irk me. xD
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>>3845530
We aren't using Dr. Diamond and Ryan?

Ryan Can probably Survey Jerusalem for us while we go on our date with Santiago.
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>>3845548
>Always with the selling of our supplies. This will never not irk me. xD
We can restock later, for now there are demon horsemen to deal with.


Also I know it's the last thread and turn, it's why in >>3845169 I talk about future turns as if they are a pure theoretical just to give an idea of just how quickly we were about to accelerate our growth / power gain.

>>3845553
>We aren't using Dr. Diamond and Ryan?
Forgive me, I'm tired as fuck. Main point is that that turn plan balances out, has a shit ton of combat prep built in and does as much situation usable research as possible.

Add in those heroes doing shit if you can find / think of something for them to do.
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>>3845559
I'm sick and tired, so I'm not going to say anything.

Laid in bed for like 6 hours. First few being cold, then the last few with an extra blanket sweating.
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>>3845530

Ryan: How about send Ryan to visit Francesca to look at relics? If possible, see if Fr. Schorpe can attend as a representative of N.A.P.

Diamond: We can have her research augmentation or preparedness with a mindset towards poisonous gas.

A lot of interpretations of the Demonic Horsemen is that they suffocate their victims with the smoke and sulfur.

Also, pardon my ignorance, but what is going on in Aberdeen again?

>>3845588
Get better soon, Anon.
>>
Hypothesis:

If the horsemen are invisible to non-believers, maybe the Trumpet Judgment involves hallucinations, like in the Christ Clone Trilogy where people went on a mass killing spree.

The thing about smoke makes me think of the poisonous vapors from Pluto's gate...
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>>3845626
>Ryan: How about send Ryan to visit Francesca to look at relics? If possible, see if Fr. Schorpe can attend as a representative of N.A.P.
Seems like a good plan.

>Diamond: We can have her research augmentation or preparedness with a mindset towards poisonous gas.
Maybe but it might be just as good to see if Santiago would be interested in being augmented alongside the rest of the Potenates since we could probably get some good money from that.

>A lot of interpretations of the Demonic Horsemen is that they suffocate their victims with the smoke and sulfur.
True but given they also speak of "scorpion tails" that can hurt, I'm guessing they might also be semi-physical and therefore capable of injury by that.

>Also, pardon my ignorance, but what is going on in Aberdeen again?
Dunno but it's highlighted as somewhere to go so I'm saying Foreman should go.

>>3845636
The problem is with such a theory, it doesn't explain why they are so specific about the location and number: they shall emerge from the Euphrates; they shall be 200,000,000; if it is really just a matter of people killing people then why does it come from one river?

The only logical answer would be if that river contained something like the 28 days later virus or a intoxicant that would render the people violent and send them to kill others but given it specifies the form of the horsemen as well as their method of killing, this can't be true either.
>>
I agree that the Euphrates is ground zero.

What I want to know is where Tsion's getting the "Invisibility-to-Heathens' bit from. It seems counterproductive, seeing as God's unleashing them to get sinners to convert.

>Diamond:

That works too.
>>
>>3845658
We should send a team to thoroughly check out the river and take samples, as well as take ground radar and etc.
>>
>>3845626

Abderdeen: That was a leftover from a few turns ago, sorry! (But there are combat helicopters to be had there)

>>3845658

He says he gets it from John specifying "in a vision", so the horsemen would be ghostly.

>>3845553

Ryan has set up the occult stores he wanted to set up; between that and Fr. Schorpe, you have a fair amount of raw data to work with.

>>3845540

That's a guess. Tsion used to say that the horsemen would show up after the locusts had their impact, but before the midpoint of Tribulation ( month 48). The timeline is an engineering analysis, so it shows the worst case scenario.

>>3845536

Locust flesh seems to react to radiation about as well as that of any insect, adjusting for generally lower radiation intensities from natural sources. On that note, cockroaches that were used for control appeared more radiation-resistant than in previous studies. A gamma knife or similar instrument will sever nerves on an alien insectoid as well as it would on a lobster.

>>3845540
>>3845668

That's an excellent place to start, the question of course being where does the Euuphrates start. Interestingly, should you wish to drain it early, it would be a significant civil engineering project, but the damns are already in place and you'd just have to dig a canal to the Tigris. Due to the volcanic winter, both rivers are quite low.

The job itself isn't hard to do -- there are already canals between the two rivers and there are already dams on both of them, the first one was made in 1913 -- but it would need a survey team to find the best place to do it.
>>
>>3845530
How about we take out the witnesses with the left over teams?

We keep putting it off but keep saying yeah we will, or good idea and lets do it, but never do anything. This is how most ideas and plans never get done or finished.

Also, did we not get another ship? Cruiser/Frigate?
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>>3845668
Agreed.

I would suggest starting at the headwaters around Mt. Ararat in Eastern Turkey.

Interestingly, the region is tied to a number of events in Genesis including Noah's Ark.

>>3845679
If Aberdeen is off the menu, lets go with Ryan and Fr. Schorpe to visit Francesco.
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>>3845679
Combat helicopters to be had? One procurement team to retrieve those, that's a good idea. Is it guarded? I don't remember.

Draining the Euphretes early huh? That's a project.

I do want to build at least 1 nuke this turn, I'm not moving on that, and I want all covert teams on training or procurement. Selling supplies feels like a Bad Idea here. We need Event readiness.
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>>3845679
>The job itself isn't hard to do -- there are already canals between the two rivers and there are already dams on both of them, the first one was made in 1913 -- but it would need a survey team to find the best place to do it.
How expensive would it be in terms of manpower and money?

I'm tempted to just do this and hope that it is sufficient to prevent or delay the godly wrath against 1/3 of humanity. Even if we would need to keep it this way until at least the midpoint of the Tribulation 6 months later or until another biblical prophecy event occurred.

If nothing else it should allow us to concentrate our efforts from an entire river to a small stretch.
>>
What if we injected the witnesses or "stung" then with the bugs venom?
>>
>>3845692

<Bonus>

Not that I suspect it'll become an issue but the Euphrates is prophesied to drain to make way for the Kings of the East and their armies on their way to Armageddon.

If there is no more river... no Sixth Bowl Judgment.

>>3845696
.... Good question.
>>
>>3845699
Well yeah that is another potential benefit but I'd hope we've managed to throw shit off enough that that ain't the point at which shit gets saved / goes off track.
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>>3845692

You'd have to send a survey team. However, this is Peacekeeper territory; a large scale civil engineering project would be a good way to keep them busy, now that they're getting paid and fed again.

>>3845680

There was talk of recommissioning a French cruiser or destroyer to sail the Nile southwards and support Litwala against Folgore; killing Folgore (his body was found after a few days, with his blissed-out expression stiffened into a ghastly grin) obviously took care of that.

>>3845341

The bodies of Terry April and Abdurrhaman Wahid have not been found.

>>3845346

The Yellowstone caldera has slowed down consistently with natural pattern; at this rate the dust cloud will be gone sufficiently to talk to satellites properly again in 3-4 months. However, ion storms are predicted to continue for years.

It's possible to launch satellites in the meantime, they just won't do much for you until the skies clear.
>>
>>3845708
Did we ever collaborate with McLachalan over satellites and stuff? At this point it'll never get done by us, we just have too little resources, time, and manpower to finish it. We need to get him to finish it for us, and share/turn over all tech and R&D. He can share the completed stuff with us.
>>
Rolled 103 (1d1000)

>>3845696

Getting close may be tricky, but since the ichor is technically a healing agent, it might not trigger a lethal response.

>>3845680

Observing recorded previous attempts to take out the Two Witnesses, done by others, shows that they are either pass-throgh to bullets like Angels seem to have been, or the shooters suddenly developed a case of stormtrooper aim.

Angels have been appearing through Folgore's war in situations in which Remnant adherents were fighting alongside other people to protect themselves from Peacekeepers turned bandits.

---

Carla says that with the war over, hollowing out Nauru is proceeding at a decent pace; the problem is that it's still a stopgap solution, it'll give the world's fields another season, two at best.

Chaim Rosenzweig has been stung despite (or because of) William Cameron's efforts to keep the locusts away from his house, where they beelined to, and is no longer available to help her.

While his excellent mental discipline is allowing him to work through the pain to some degree, he is in a wheelchair. Given the circumstances, the university he is affiliated with has been more than happy to grant him a sabbatical.

Of note, most but not all of those who have been stung in the Jerusalem area have experienced a water-to-blood event, including Chaim exactly once; they are being hydrated by IV where necessary.

>>3845714

Yes, which is why you can launch as many satellites as you can afford rather than having a hard limit of 2 large sats per month.
>>
>>3845708
>You'd have to send a survey team. However, this is Peacekeeper territory; a large scale civil engineering project would be a good way to keep them busy, now that they're getting paid and fed again.
Okay so a single team to survey it? Given I left 4 teams to do stuff related to getting the horsemen dealt with, we could assign a team to survey and assign another to produce a network part to effectively cover the cost of it by selling it to the world market.

That still leaves 2 teams which I suppose we could assign to more or less any action anons can think of.
>>
>>3845530

I'm mostly ok with this.

A few changes.

Reconfigure the Garibaldi for Strike.

Send a Covert Team to Aberdeen instead of the Foreman. I want those choppers.

2 of the factories producing drone units produce 1 Power Components and 1 Gap Generators instead. We need field presence but we really need supplies.

We don't need every single covert team at the Euphrates. Covert teams need to be getting equipment and preparing to deploy at end of month.

Foreman deploy with the survey team, second action in reserve.

Diamond in reserve.

Moira in reserve.

If we're selling emergency supplies this month, increase their price so we get more back.

I also want to windmill slam the cheat button and get Synco systems generating income for us this turn. We're GOING to need both cash AND supplies ASAP.
>>
>>3845749
If we're using characters on our research we can afford to take a chance on the dice.

2 teams on each research task + aki instead, and that frees up 2 teams + Diamond for Augmentation research.

Pretty sure all 3 of those, with the agent, will pass.
>>
(And I'm red again.)

>>3845749
We should still send Ryan and Schorpe to visit Italy and look at relics for SCIENCE.

For the sake of curiosity, seeing as this is the final turn, what is the status of our Martial Arts program? G. Vega was right (sorta); guns are no longer reliable for certain targets..
>>
There remains the problem of what to do with the Morale Monitor mole, and of course Leonardo Fortunato.

>>3845765

Another training mission type is now available for the security teams; they've learned what they could from Santiago's people, now they can learn from Vega's. I was going to make it available when people asked what the security options for this month are.

It's a good time for that since the world board is pretty green with the end of Folgore's war.

(If there is no plan forthcoming I'm going to get some food going and, unless one has been seconded when I come back, I'll try averaging what has been posted.)
>>
>>3845772

By Vega's people we mean qualified Martial Artists who teach legitimate armed and unarmed combat and not engage in Chuuni cosplay... Yes?

If so, I vote having one of the reserve security teams undergo Unarmed Combat training. Moira's deadly enough with the sword but if we're going to be fighting angels at the Euphrates, we'll want specialists for when the bullets start to miss.

(Eat well~!)
>>
Let's focus on work plan guys, and we can discuss security plan once we have some consensus.
>>
>>3845749
>2 of the factories producing drone units produce 1 Power Components and 1 Gap Generators instead. We need field presence but we really need supplies.
We already have a power unit and I don't think gap generators have a listed price for their production.

>We don't need every single covert team at the Euphrates. Covert teams need to be getting equipment and preparing to deploy at end of month.
I was assigning them to it because I needed to represent they weren't being sent on missions as they need time to rest after doing so and thus wouldn't be available.

>If we're selling emergency supplies this month, increase their price so we get more back.
Doing so would damage the economy, I would rather avoid doing so.
>>
>>3845784

Gap Generators have relatively little power and range for now; you can start mass producing them anyway if you like. Since you've only ever made a couple hundred, they were done "artisanally", aside from your regular industrial planning.

>>3845779

Gideon Vega was a drug lord in Bangkok, and came out on top of that ecosystem despite being from South America instead of being a local. While some of it was media control and, well, bluffing, his methods must be at least somewhat effective.

>>3845780

The world board is fairly green this month.

# The Chinese conglomerate who tried to muscle in in South Africa has been pushed off by Litwala's militia, and is asking for help evacuating in an orderly fashion. Naturally, the old conflict has reignited. (1BN)
* Help them.
* Help the landowners
* Help the farmers.

# Litwala put a bounty on Raveshaw and your men would love to collect it. (+2BN, 2 teams minimum)

# Someone calling himself Baltor has stolen a number of airplanes from Rebohoth's airbase and has been using them to strafe trains and trucks, getting them to abandon their cargo. The African railway consortium wants this dealt with. (+1BN or 1 fleet asset)

# Chairman Yang is being challenged internally by a consortium of Chinese and Japanese companies who resent his dirigist approach and want to move the territory towards a more capitalistic economy. Things have come to a head in Hong Kong, with mass protests occurring.
* Help the protesters. (+1BN)
* Offer Yang to false-flag a terror attack so he has an excuse to clamp down. (favor)

# A similar situation is occurring in India. The difference is that Foreman Domai is involved; for once, he and the regional government are on the same side.
* The petrochemical consortium on the other side of things needs someone to blow up an obsolete power plant and blame Domai for it. (+1BN)
* Domai knows that he is a target: he asks for armed protection as he does a series of stump speeches. (Chance to hire him again)

# Moira made contact with several MMA instructors who are willing to travel to San Felipe and train both the Espartanos and your security teams. (-1BN regardless of how many teams since Santiago is footing part of the bill).
>>
>>3845726
The point would be to see if it had any effect on them, and to "disable" them for capture.

We could try aiming at the ground and relying on bouncing the bullet or some explosives, rather than aim directly at them.

>>3845772
Stick him with PAIN!.

Then shove him in the same room as the other ex-MM Remnant guy.

Also Stick Leon and hang him.

>>3845799
# Someone calling himself Baltor has stolen a number of airplanes from Rebohoth's airbase and has been using them to strafe trains and trucks, getting them to abandon their cargo. The African railway consortium wants this dealt with. (+1BN or 1 fleet asset)

# A similar situation is occurring in India. The difference is that Foreman Domai is involved; for once, he and the regional government are on the same side.
* The petrochemical consortium on the other side of things needs someone to blow up an obsolete power plant and blame Domai for it. (+1BN)
* Domai knows that he is a target: he asks for armed protection as he does a series of stump speeches. (Chance to hire him again)

# Moira made contact with several MMA instructors who are willing to travel to San Felipe and train both the Espartanos and your security teams. (-1BN regardless of how many teams since Santiago is footing part of the bill).

This gives us two teams in reserve for any muck ups.
>>
>>3845810

This is a valid plan but you'll have to pick which side to pick for India.

>>3845765

Keep in mind that Francesca d'Angelo invited you personally; you're both all sorts of busy, of course, so it may wait.

>>3845760
>>3845530

Y'all tell me!
>>
>>3845849
In that case, I vote we accept her invitation and bring along Ryan, instead of taking a reserve action.

If we're allowed to conduct tests around relics, similar to what we did in Ethiopia, we might be able to develop a means of detecting Supernatural Energy.

Since we're expecting an army of invisible demons, I think this is a high priority.

With Ryan in tow we can probably work a lease program so that N.A.P. can conduct research on the valuable artifacts.

>>3845810
Support

I assume we're aiding Domai?
>>
>>3845810
* Domai knows that he is a target: he asks for armed protection as he does a series of stump speeches. (Chance to hire him again)
If he pulls any commie stuff, or unionizing, he gets the bullet too.

Foreman
Speak to Schorpe and Francesca
We do the Euuphrates with a team.
>>
>>3845860
>I assume we're aiding Domai?
I would hope so, I had planned to long term bring him onboard to run the Thule city since he seems very suitable for such work. I was going to have Ryan be assigned a similar city in North Africa or South America and essentially create a competition between the two to see who could prove their methods superior, slowly expanding our factory-city network over the entire world in pairs under them.
>>
>>3845864
I think Thule will have an unfair advantage.
>>
>>3845870
Possibly but consider South East Asia: Vega ain't interested in cities and shit like that, the masses aren't his concern and he is very focused on the short term; we would've been able to effectively colonise the entire place with dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of sites (assuming we look beyond the focus of this quest into the decade or so after it); meaning that the competition would've been in setting them up and optimising their construction as well as recruiting the best people rather than a one-and-done engagement where a random bit of luck might make a difference.

Imagine it: we could build these cities in Africa, South-East Asia, South America, Central America, Antarctica, Russia, Canada and even if we don't officially hold any regions we'd be a incontestable economic power with enough fortifiable bases that anyone that tried to marshal a war against us would find an army of drones that outnumber even the men of China 5 to 1.


I know I'm probably overestimating our ability to do this given it's a investment of 16 teams of work per city (assuming we only made them industrial sites) but still, the fact remains we'd greatly strengthen our position with even 5 or 10 such places and that each one eases the setup of the next.

Honestly the biggest limiter would probably be finding good, loyal, people to live in them and getting the land after awhile.
>>
Civ fantasies aside.... What's our official plan?
>>
>>3845883
Dunno, I'm even more tired than I was earlier and I've started drinking. So, even if I do think I'm fairly clear of head, I must admit that it's 2 AM and I've hardly been sleeping healthily for the last few days.
>>
>>3845881

(What I was going to say is, once a change of interface is planned: zoom onto the next disaster which is in 6 months, and these are the resources for 6 months, etc)

>>3845883

yall please tell me!

>>3845860

You have a way to detect whether someone is a Remnant member or not, by using an eye and part of the brain of a demon-locust; you do know that the Two Witnesses mess with Gap Generators.

Fr. Schorpe is a theology expert, but he is also a university professor, so he's used to wrangling grad students and the like; he and the TTI will give a bonus to occult research. Unlike Dr. Robertson, he's not likely to be able to assist much elsewhere because he doesn't have the international reputation.

On that note, Dr. Robertson is setting up the Global Community Atomic Energy Commission; he expects to have a lot of hard work ahead convincing the general public of the viability of nuclear power.


You do have to decide what to do with Leon Fortunato and with Mathews' mole, at some point.
>>
>>3845889

Can relate.

>>3845896
(So is Schorpe an agent then?)
I'll see if I can throw a working plan from:
>>3845749
>>3845530
>>3845810

FOREMAN
1) Visit Franceso with Ryan
2) Survey Euphrates (Eastern Turkey)

GARIBALDI
Move to Indian Ocean.
Change to STRIKE mode

FACTORIES
Dedicate 8 factories to produce 4 drone units.


WORK TEAMS
2 work teams + Aki + Schorpe - OCCULT RESEARCH

2 work teams + Aki - DEW RESEARCH

2 work teams + Diamond - AUGMENTATION

5 work teams - U-H bomb Assembly

3 Work Teams - Euphrates River Project
1 Work Team - Survey Euphrates River Project
(Unsure if this is the same project?)

COVERT

1 Team - BALTOR Mission
1 Team - INDIA Mission (Aid Domai)
1 Team - MMA Training with Santiago's crew

1 Covert Team + Black OPs Team - Standby

Hope this works. First serious attempt at one of these ^^ll
>>
>>3845924
I'll give you some notes:

>2) Survey Euphrates (Eastern Turkey)
I think it needs to be a team doing the survey work. Also why have us survey it and then assign multiple work teams to survey it / do the project.

>2 work teams + Aki + Schorpe - OCCULT RESEARCH
>2 work teams + Aki - DEW RESEARCH
>2 work teams + Diamond - AUGMENTATION
I'm really uncomfortable with under-manning shit, I'll be honest. If nothing else I'll point out the fact that augmentation research can be left for a month or two at least since we don't expect to be on the ground physically or to have enough time to augment combat teams whereas the other two are critical.
>>
>>3845924

(thank you! Fr. Schorpe is assumed to always be assigned to occult research at least for now)

(this is a legal complete plan, so it works! However >>3845930 is right in that you are overmanning the Euphrates survey. Also, you're not using the drones you currently have; drones are just the thing for a survey job since they can cover a lot of ground.).
>>
>>3845930
>>3845933

Good points.

Would allocating the surplus work teams in the Euphrates solve the undermanned problem?

If not, we can drop the Augmentation program.

Also Drones:
1 Drone to Baltor Mission
1 Drone to Domai Mission
>>
And one team for Survey!
>>
>>3845924

>>3845933


I believe he wants to immediately drain the Euphrates, which cannot be done without a survey first.

Take those 3 work teams off Euphrates, add 1 drone unit to that, add drone units to each Covert mission.

1 Covert + 1 Work to Aberdeen, maximize salvage.
>>3845940

It's OVERmanned.


I think we have a fairly good consensus on a plan. We get a nuke, we get some research, we survey the Euphrates, we get the Garibaldi in position to strike, we go get the helicopters, those are the things I want to make sure we get done in the turn. Rest is gravy to me.
>>
>>3845940
1) Dedicate 8 factories to produce 4 drone units.

2) Assign 3 work teams to perform Occult research under Aki.

2) Assign 3 work teams to perform Directed Energy research under Aki.

3) Assign 5 work teams to assemble a U-H bomb.

4) Assign Foreman to visit Francesca and go on that holiday with Santiago.

5) Sell 4 units of emergency supplies for 4 Bn.

6) Assign all covert / blackops teams to prepare for the imminent coming of the horsemen. Assisted by Dr Diamond, Moira and all of our drones (which at this point should be 8 entire units).

7) Assign 2 work teams to produce network parts to sell for 4 Bn.

8) Assign 1 work team to survey Turkey / Euphrates.

9) Assign 1 work team to reconfigure the Garibaldi to Strike.

10) Move the Garibaldi to the Indian ocean and the Iranian coast.

11) Assign Ryan to survey the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.


How about that? It about as much as I think I can fit into one turn and should leave a tiny bit of cash in case Ryan or someone needs it (I think, too tired to math).
>>
>>3845954

I'm mostly good with that but I think we should drop one of the drone units for 1 Power Components and one fuckton of Gap Generators. A month of dedicated factory output is going to pump out a LOT of them.

Do we need to do a survey of Aberdeen? I thought from what QM said we already knew whats there and we mostly need to send 1 covert 1 work team.

Finally, we're overmanning research with 3 teams plus an agent. We can assign 1 work team to Aberdeen and another work team to produce network components to sell or power components for reserves. I'll second either.

This makes it.

1) Dedicate 6 factories to produce 3 drone units, 1 factory for Power Components, 1 factory to mass produce gap generators.

2) Assign 2 work teams to perform Occult research under Aki.

2) Assign 2 work teams to perform Directed Energy research under Aki.

3) Assign 5 work teams to assemble a U-H bomb.

4) Assign Foreman to visit Francesca and go on that holiday with Santiago.

5) Sell 4 units of emergency supplies for 4 Bn.

6) Assign all covert / blackops teams to prepare for the imminent coming of the horsemen. Assisted by Dr Diamond, Moira and all of our drones (which at this point should be 8 entire units).

7) Assign 3 work teams to produce network parts to sell for 6 Bn.

8) Assign 1 work team to survey Turkey / Euphrates with 1 drone unit.

9) Assign 1 work team to reconfigure the Garibaldi to Strike.

10) Move the Garibaldi to the Indian ocean and the Iranian coast.

11) Assign Ryan to survey the Aberdeen Proving Grounds with 1 work 1 drone and 1 covert team to retrieve military assets (assuming QM post about us knowing there's combat helicopters and shit to retrieve is true, let's just get manpower and STRIP IT).
>>
Can we have the Foreman survey New Babylon?

Anons want to know what happened to Terry April and Wahid. More importantly, there is that bunker and a lot of other stuff that Carpatescu might have left behind.

With CLU we could poke about.

>>3845954
>>3845961

Sorry but I must disagree with having all covert and security teams on standby.

I still say take the Baltor Mission and insist we train one in MMA for tackling supernatural threats.
>>
>>3845961
>I'm mostly good with that but I think we should drop one of the drone units for 1 Power Components and one fuckton of Gap Generators. A month of dedicated factory output is going to pump out a LOT of them.
True although I doubt we need the power components given we can hook these up to the grid.

>Do we need to do a survey of Aberdeen? I thought from what QM said we already knew whats there and we mostly need to send 1 covert 1 work team.
I've no idea, if I'm right however Ryan can do it by himself seeing as we're going to there just for some helicopters and buying them seems the least risky option.

>Finally, we're overmanning research with 3 teams plus an agent. We can assign 1 work team to Aberdeen and another work team to produce network components to sell or power components for reserves. I'll second either.
I disagree, I don't think we can over-man research all that much since assigning them usually brings about some minor but useful benefit or accelerates our progress somewhere.

>2) Assign 2 work teams to perform Occult research under Aki.
I'll warn you that I expect this action to have a rough chance of success of somewhere in the range of 76-86 percent and the same for the other research.
>>
>>3845966

This was work plan. Yeah, take the Baltor and India missions.

I'd be good with one on MMA training as well, sold.

>>3845967

In most places. We may end up fighting in a remote location and need rapid deployment.

>>3845967
> I've no idea, if I'm right however Ryan can do it by himself seeing as we're going to there just for some helicopters and buying them seems the least risky option.

You missed that we're broke.

> I'll warn you that I expect this action to have a rough chance of success of somewhere in the range of 76-86 percent and the same for the other research.

Base chance with 2 teams and no agent is 80%. Agent gives at least a reroll.
>>
>>3845992
>In most places. We may end up fighting in a remote location and need rapid deployment.
We are talking about damming up the river and greatly reducing it's length: we may end up fighting in a remote place but that doesn't change the fact we'd be able to set up a power-line to wherever we are most likely given the banks of such rivers are highly developed.

>Base chance with 2 teams and no agent is 80%.
I'm curious where you worked this out but I will accept this as true, as it still fits with the system of values I devised for heroes: I've not particularly had a chance or interest in testing it mind you.
>>
Rolled 99, 57 = 156 (2d100)

>>3845954
>>3845953
>>3845961

Ryan has been busy managing his multiple enterprises, but finds the time to go to Maryland. Since the Peacekeepers are being again reduced in strength, and this is a known-good aircraft boneyard, there are a number of attack helicopters being delivered here; he has a reasonably easy time figuring out how to buy the airframes once the weapons are removed. A nice thing about these is that the Garibaldi was originally intended as a helicopter carrier; you'll have to refurbish the things and find pilots, but given again that a lot of Peacekeepers are being sent home, jumping on the glut of pilots on the market should not be hard. You can replace the weapons with

# Pick up 1 air wing of attack helicopters for 2BN.

# Pick up 2 air wing of attack helicopters for 3BN.
* Only 1 unit will be usable until you get enough tier 3 weapons.
* Use CLU to have the Peacekeepers provide the weapons.
Your main worry at this time is the Sixth Trumpet Judgement: repairing the grid damage that happened during Folgore's war, and figuring out what to do with your prisoners, can wait. To this end, you get Fr. Schorpe to work on it, pointing out that if some alien entity is following Revelation, it's the next thing coming in. Aki is going to ensure that the Theological Training Institute has what they need when it comes to archive access and simulation resources. She's going to need the latter for directed-energy research anyway, so it might as well get done at that point.

One thing that Fr. Schorpe points out is that the 200M horsemen could be 200K, due to conflicting translations; he notes that Tsion is actually in the minority within Remnant exegesis, with most people believing that the horsemen are corporeal, and represent combatants thrown into yet another global war that would start from the Euphrates.

That seems to match with what happened with Folgore; 4 army corps went out from the Euphrates, which New Babylon is close to (it's where the water for its artificial lake comes from), and although the war was short and didn't kill nearly 1B people, it certainly involved everyone on Earth one way or another. https://www.prophecyproof.org/revelation-913-16-analyzing-the-four-angels-bound-at-the-euphrates/

That said, it's very clear that while Tsion has no formal authority over other Remnant preachers, they tend to align their thoughts with his once they discuss matters, regardless of comparison of levels of expertise. You aren't aware of the Peacekeepers having sufficient biological weapons to kill 1B people, of course, but there are large stockpiles of chemical weapons at Al Hillah, mostly of Russian origin with the next largest offenders being Iraq. the USA, and India; the plan was to dismantle them over time, but the work has been late in starting and has only just begun. 80K tons of sarin, VX, and sulphur mustard are estimated to be held there; fortunately, Carpatescu was strict on containment protocols.
>>
>>3846057
So the horsemen could have been something Fulgore was going to do but we already derailed it? Sweet.

As for the chemical weapons sites - that's terrifying, but those don't really follow the prophecy. There's also no angels involved.

Angels are a good reason to have a nuke. I'm not sure how much cheaty these ones are going to have, I guess we're going to find out.

# Pick up 2 air wing of attack helicopters for 3BN

Let's double down. We can get the weapons from the peacekeepers.

# Use CLU to have the Peacekeepers provide the weapons.
>>
>>3846057
# Pick up 2 air wing of attack helicopters for 3BN.

Well how many troops were massed at Israel

# Use CLU to have the Peacekeepers provide the weapons.
Well if we can get away with it then do both.

>>3845896
>once a change of interface is planned: zoom onto the next disaster which is in 6 months, and these are the resources for 6 months, etc)
So If I understand this we are going to jump 6 months game time? Would we be able to fill in the gaps with the teams that will be unused or unassigned during this?
>>
The Theological Training Institute has tried to foster good relations with the Remnant; while most Remnant guest speakers (and even some of the people nominally studying there) mostly see it as an opportunity to preach, there has been genuine cooperation on translating older Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, debunking faith healers (as part of an effort to find genuine ones), even formalizing Remnant theology past what Tsion puts on his website.

Issuing "PKE meters" to TTI has paid off, and so has getting Aki to work with them.

It will sometimes happen that a Remnant member will feel led to pray for someone or something; most recently, this has been the case for victims of rogue Peacekeeper brigandage, which has coincided with an uptick in Angel appearances. Aki brought in some of her people to TTI; most of them are atheist or agnostic, interested in game theory, and smart enough to hold their end of a conversation with a Marianist or Jesuit at least for some time.

The next paper to come out of TTI is the first one that Fr. Schorpe prefaces with a disclaimer, noting that it goes directly counter to both Catholic and Protestant thought of the matter. The gist of "The cybernetics of eschatology: a systems model for intercessory prayer", shows -- with an admittedly small dataset -- that Remnant prayer circles essentially function like a feed-forward stage in an analog amplifier. God will foster a desire for someone to pray about a situation; that someone will offer the situation up in prayer with friends, family, or otherwise fellow believers (or not) and the situation will be affected by narrative causality. After collecting testimonies from Tsion's websites as well as reports of known incidents of Angels appearing, the input stage can be someone feeling led by God to pray for a situation, or someone specifically asking for prayer. Even a few members of the Tribulation Force, when questioned, agree that this has been the case, although they maintain that God is omnipotent. Notably, like all feed-forward stages, it's superlinear; a request of an Angelic intervention was exponentially more likely to go through with a prayer circle of even just four than only one or two people.


>>3846062

(Y'all tell me! I must see this through even if it breaks my brain, either way.)

>>3846080

(Yes)
>>
>>3846099
Can we dump our plans the next 6 months and to act as a narrative guide or something?
>>
>>3846099

Interesting findings!

Since we're on the subject of theology, here is what I propose:

Morale Monitor Prisoner: Allocate to Blacksite for theology test pool with Stepola.

Separate cells. No contact unless under direct supervision.

As for Leon: Let the Potentates deal with him?
>>
From a practical standpoint, unless you intend to isolate each Remnant member in solitary, this does not do much. Academically, it's interesting: at least in theory, you are looking at a network of signals, and it may be possible to cut traces, or interfere with transmission or reception. One theory that gets thrown about -- apparently it's from a miniatures game -- is that God is capable of accessing a large pool of what is being called "ki" after suggestions to go with Force or Waagh have been tabled, but only use a trickle of it at the time, much like a small motor connected to a large battery. If this small motor can be used as a servomechanism to bring many other motors to bear, even if they have no ability to initiate the movement -- much like a trim tab on a flying surface, to change metaphors -- a large effect can be achieved.

That leaves the problem of detecting it, of course.

The Gap Generator works -- supposedly -- because it's sending out as much noise it can in the hope that some will stick. A hypothetical Procession Detector would need to do the opposite: listen to the noise, and discern patterns that cannot be explained otherwise. This would require tremendous amount of processing power, more than can realistically be carried in a portable instrument. The closest thing you have are locust eyes: they react to humans who are not Remnant. Since that's a very specific reaction range, an astrobiologist from Ames suggests that the most parsimonious explanation for it, in line with known neurology, is that the lack of reaction is in fact the result of a reaction plus an inhibiting signal -- the two "idle" states, no human spotted and Remnant human spotted, should have some difference and picking up on that difference would at least offer a workable baseline for seeing

"Effectively, it's like turning a phone camera into a spectroscope by putting a combination of various filters on it, and maybe illuminating the sample with known wavelengths. You don't get a good spectroscope that way, but if you only need yes-or-no, it's cheap, quick and reliable."

The illuminator would, in this case, be a small Gap Generator.

# Focus on a portable (tablet sized) inaccurate passive detector that will give a general indication for psychokinetic noise in an area.

# Focus on a large (think WW2 field radio), more accurate and more sensitive semi-active detector which will give quantitative readings.

# Focus on a very large (flatbed mounted or stationary) semi-active detector that will use lensing for the locust eye, directional antennas for the illuminator, and a rotating dish to provide inaccurate readings but have a longer range, 1km or so.

# Dilute your research team's efforts by picking two of the above.

It's not going to be possible to mass produce these, since they depend on locust eyes and you have a finite supply.

>>3846115

(That's definitely doable, especially now that Mathews is stepping down)


>>3846110

(Sure, if you like)
>>
>>3846057
# Pick up 2 air wing of attack helicopters for 3BN.
* Use CLU to have the Peacekeepers provide the weapons.

>>3846140
# Focus on a large (think WW2 field radio), more accurate and more sensitive semi-active detector which will give quantitative readings.
>>
# Focus on a large (think WW2 field radio), more accurate and more sensitive semi-active detector which will give quantitative readings.

Easier to transport and we'll want to be able to discern the different levels of 'Ki' operating in an area, allowing for more precise Theological research.
>>
>>3846140
# Focus on a large (think WW2 field radio), more accurate and more sensitive semi-active detector which will give quantitative readings.

>>3846157
You wana sketch out roughly the next 6 months for us?
>>
>>3846140
# Focus on a large (think WW2 field radio), more accurate and more sensitive semi-active detector which will give quantitative readings.
>>
File: Nuke_Carrier_FoT[1].jpg (13 KB, 209x153)
13 KB
13 KB JPG
Rolled 19, 83, 89, 59, 13, 62 = 325 (6d100)

>>3846080
>>3846070

You figure that this whole CLU cult thing won't last, so it's best if you use it while it does; you have the Carpathia Likeness Utility order the Peacekeepers to disconnect the gun and rocket pods as they were instructed to do, but leave them nearby the helicopters, ostensibly for inventory reasons.

Causing a small miscommunication between officers on duty at that point over which crates can leave and which can't is relatively easy.

-

The good people of Effincold knew that they would eventually get this call, and most of them were expecting it before Fragment 4 landed; instead, they get it now.

Nobody calls it a bomb; it's a physics package. It's also a far cry to the doomsday-in-a-can nuclear bombs that gave everyone on Earth anxiety during the cold war; if it were to go off in 1945 Hiroshima, it would be almost as devastating due to the fires, but if it were to be deployed in a modern city the place would be livable again in a month, provided that it was possible to convince people into being around radiation.

The result is given a drone logic board for terminal guidance, two large seats for a driver and an engineer to be able to do most of the driving while in protective gear, and is mounted on what amounts to a high-speed snowcat chassis. It's as ugly as the people who handcrafted it feels that it has a duty to be, and despite its limitations, it will take out a ship, or a fortress, or a dozen of city blocks. If you strip out the vehicle part, the physics package itself can also be dropped by your DO31 transport, as long as it's not carrying anything else; the thing is extremely heavy, so the DO31 will have to approach slowly with its VTOL vanes at a 45deg angle helping with lift, do the drop, and then switch to horizontal mode.

CATS is now a nuclear power, likely the only one left in the world. You look at the vehicle's picture on your phone. The phone feels heavier in your hand.

-

The DO31 has been refurbished with modern electronics.

The reverse engineering of the Israeli drone is complete; the inverse V tail was in fact intended to cause instability, counting on tiny trim tabs on the wings and a high-speed recursive integrator ASIC to keep the aircraft level while retaining the excellent maneuverability that such a wing configuration would provide. Since that design was from 15 years ago, the ASIC can now be replaced with a dedicated IMU and a two-Nicks microcontroller.

You divert a bit of work from factories and workshops across the world to get this new generation of long-range drones made, with final assembly to happen at HQ.

(Current strat plan with bits that need resolved)

ryan helicopters
2w occult aki
5w bomb
1w garibaldi strike
garibaldi to indian ocean

6fac drones
2fac tba (drones or GG+power)
2w dew aki
1w dew aki (This needs to be decided)
foreman italy+greece
sell supplies 4
1w euphrates survey
5s susan moira standby

3w sell network parts 6? (This only has 1 vote so far)
>>
Lets see...

Drones + Power & Gap Option

2 Workers with Aki on DEW
>>
>>3846230
I thought we were using factories to make the nuke. I guess that would have raised too many public eyebrows to the back of everyone's head.

Ryan goes to Grab Helicopters with a Covert team?
>>
>>3846182
>You wana sketch out roughly the next 6 months for us?
I'm tired as all fuck, it's almost 5 AM and I'm half a beer down...aye fuck it why not.

I presume you want me to focus on getting all research done ASAP then economic development with the world itself coming 3rd?
>>
>>3846269
R&D, Factories, and building up Thule, Recruiting even, if that is somehow even possible to account for.

Having the left overs for emergencies, and Survey actions.
>>
>>3846290
Understood: I will however organise my plans without accounting for the covert teams; as I can't be certain there will be enough jobs for them every month without OP saying so; however they can be used for surveying, recruiting and a few other purposes so I'll still use them somewhere.

Also am I right in thinking we should get our budget next turn? Seeing as that'd be month 45...knowing when I can account for the budget would be nice.
>>
The next six months leading up to the next judgement?

I want another nuke.

We need money, gap generators, and a lot of men and vehicles.

We no longer get quarterly budgets, we are on a tithe system. Installing network parts rather than selling them will increase our income longer term.

Covert teams should be on about a 70/30 mix of acquisition / training missions if they're not putting out fires.

Research direction for the next six months: we're committing to occult+energy+augmentation over sonics?

I don't want to split into more than 3 fields.

Work teams over the next 6 months should be repairing war damage and building new cellsol pylons to increase our tithe income, and doing research.

I think with our current research goals we need to plan income such that we hire 3 new work teams a month. That will get us to at least tech 6.
>>
>>3846230

"I know what you did, Foreman" Dr. Robertson tells you after you pick up his call; he's important enough to not get screened. "Was it strictly necessary?"

"In the face of an alien invasion? Yes. We did not use nukes against the locusts, and overall I'm not unhappy that we didn't, but if there's something bigger out there..."

"And in the face of God?"

"Doubly so."

"I can't argue with that."

>>3846246

(Somehow I don't think you'd be able to make a nuclear weapon by subcontracting parts for it on an open system. Nobody would bid.)

>>3846246

You're a manager; your job is to set events in motion. Once they are, there's often little to do but wait -- and instead of waiting in a tiny office in San Felipe, you ask Corazon Santiago if she is still up to visiting Greece with you. Her territory was the least affected by Folgore's war, so she can spare the time. Her plan afterwards is to go to New Babylon to inspect the damage personally, and see what the trenchwork around Israel looks like before it gets removed. "Folgore was an idiot, but I can likely still learn something from him, even if it's just what not to do."

The trip across the Atlantic is uneventful, save for the fact that it's happening at all; the cloud cover is beginning to let out a little, weather scientists are figuring out ion storm patterns and mapping safe corridors, and aircraft manufacturers have adapted to the lower flight ceilings by replacing the inner two engines on airplanes like the Airbus 340 with turboprops; you remember that couple discussing whether having to use smaller planes and shorter hops made flight more romantic or just more annoying. It looks like the world will soon be back to the days of anonymous shopping-mall airports and being bored sitting in large airliners.

With Santiago, you get to Athens, rent a Toyota, and drive north, following the coast; she finally gets her wish of seeing Thermopylae. What the Persians could not do, water and time did, and the narrow pass has since eroded away -- the site is now a beach, although there's a statue of Leonidas there, commissioned by the Greek military junta sometime in the seventies.

Her opinion is that the Global Community is doomed: Yang is waiting for an excuse to bail and she would prefer to guard her borders and keep her neighbors behind a fence, herself. "Given how Dimmsdale feels about Mexicans, maybe I can build a wall and make him pay for it" she jokes.

You're out jogging in the mountains, having left the jeep at a xenodocheío, when three armed men pop out of the brush and demand your wallet. If they have any idea who they are, they aren't showing it. Oddly enough, Santiago seems to want to comply -- she does, and throws the wallet down the road. Two of the men run to catch it, at which point she's already got her handgun out almost before they turn away from her; you follow suit.

# Yep, they ded

# Shoot them in the knees and call the cops, you're on holiday


>>3846299

(Yep on budget)
>>
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>>3846299
I I only want the Job that nets us helicopter fleet assets in Africa done. I want to enjoy FREE HELICOPTER RIDES!

>Santiago's fw

>>3846319
If we have 6 months, we can probably get two nukes done somewhere in between.
>>
>>3846319
I'd like to get up to 20 work crews and 2 Black opts, and 8 Covert teams if somehow possible.

I think sonic's is covered under DEW. Otherwise its something we need to unlock?
>>
>>3846320

# Shoot them in the knees and call the cops, you're on holiday

Santiago's gonna shoot them dead anyway...but we've enough blood on our hands.
>>
...Did anyone else have trouble archiving the quest, incidentally?
>>
>>3846326
Oh sorry, yes, that seems to be covered by DEW. Perfect. So we get sonics and possibly a BIG FUCKING ZOT.

>>3846320

# Yep, they dead.
>>
>>3846320
# Yep, they ded
This will really turn her on.

Shes okay with us doing Carla too right?
>>
>>3846363
>>This will really turn her on.

Last I checked Santiago did not suffer from erotophonophilia.
>>
>>3846375
No, its more of how she sees us.

Also, are we doing anything about the witnesses in the 6 month jump?
>>
>>3846378
I'm not down for being indwelt by Satan and we've checked too many boxes. I'm not touching the witnesses with a ten foot pole.
>>
>>3846389
WE don't have to touch them, we have other people touch them.

We are either offing one or both of them, kidnapping them and protecting them maybe, or my personal favorite. Injecting bug poo into them.
>>
>>3846363
>>3846345

No sense in taking risks; both of you aim for center of mass and it's over in seconds. You call an ambulance of course, but there's very little for them to do other than take the bodies away, and it's not as if the police are going to detain you -- they do make you fill a few forms, though.

Brigandage in these lands is common; these guys were probably Peacekeeper deserters, at least judging from the tattered uniforms. You let your hart slow down; Santiago got her wallet back immediately, and looked more worried about the cops than anything -- a misunderstanding with armed police is a good cover for a political assassination.

"Let's go back, I need a shower." Apparently cleaning yourself up after a kill is a thing she does; it's a ritual from when she grew up, Catholicism mixed with Santeria mixed with who knows what until the result looks like one of the last demon locusts Moira killed. It's a private thing, and you respect that.

Two hours later you're starting the drive back to Athens, going through the interior so as to see more of the country; Greece is small but has a lot of biomes covering it. Of course, with the volcanic ash, everything is greyer, more subdued than it would look on a tourism brochure. But it's what's real.

"I wish we had someone up in space, be a lookout while we can't get satellite pictures. Actual eyes on the visor, that sort of thing."

You can get pictures; they just come in very slowly, so your surviving space telescope has had to stick to low resolution and wide angle. "I don't think there's another asteroid coming, it'd have to be completely out of the black, not another fragment."

"If God hurled a comet at us, can't He do it again?"

"You believe in Tsion's God?"

"At this point I'd be stupid not to. I hope He shows up soon."

"Why, you want to kick him in the nuts?"

"Well, in part there's that. In part there's that if he shows up in, what, three, five years, with the way things are going, we'll be weary. A people that's cold and starving and tired is just about ripe for a tyrant. I'd rather duke it out in a week - people are fresh, they can handle it."

"I need to-"

"Ya lo se, ya lo se, you need to get ready for it."

You don't remember Santiago ever expressing a concern over vulnerability, even if it's the world's and not hers. It's good to have someone to trust. Then again, you haven't really backstabbed anybody, have you.

You part ways at the airport and figure that your crushed ribs should be fine by the time you get to Rome.


>>3846406

(The tricky part would be getting close without being incinerated; you'd have to be very fast or very sneaky. Of course, eliminating them before the next plague is sure to have an effect.)
>>
>>3846406

.50 cal rifle hooked up to laser tripwire?
>>
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>>3846436
>>3846443
Dones, son.
>>
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>>3846443
The can either shoot them or fly right up to them and make contact.
>>
It still comes from us, we don't know whether that counts or not.

Honestly if we'd waxed them earlier maybe.
>>
>>3846455
Well then we put an obscene amount of gap generators everywhere, and water sprinklers, and do that website with the lick this button to shoot the witnesses,
>>
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>>3846443
(Certainly worth a try: given that you have stopped Folgore, Mr. Brog probably owes you at least discussing it, no?)

>>3846436

Carpatescu called Jerusalem "the eternal city", but you know that he has a bit of a complex regarding modern Rome; the colder climate and grey sky is doing a good job making the place seem cleaner than it is, if anything, and tourism is back in full force -- if anything, the low availabiltiy of airliners has meant that people who would only do a day tour now stay properly.

Francesca d'Angelo is waiting for you wearing a big smile and a flowing but simple dress that is probably what she normally uses; you can't help think about her two bodyguards as "the altar boys" even though they're in their early twenties. They look like you'd want to look in case you are bisexual.

She definitely puts on the charm; you climb on an old cab with her, with the other two in a different taxi, and are thrown across Rome's mix of paved and cobbled streets with great abandon and a few offers on Francesca's part to hang onto the handle on one side and her on the other. "No shame, no shame! When in Rome, do as the Romans do, drive too fast and ignore traffic signals!"

You're used to American traffic; this is worse than San Felipe, you've only seen this sort of driving during the vehicular battles that you've been in!

Francesca is a little sad that New Babylon, no longer the world capitol, will inexorably decline; to her it was like Carnevale every day. Apparently she's well liked in the former Italian capital, with people calling her "la papessa" and locals making sure she has breathing room from petitioners, tourists or people simply wanting an autograph.

She does show you the Vatican Archives; Mathews had been invited, but decides to not show up or talk to you -- as far as the Catholic Church is concerned, he's "recuperating from his ordeal", since there's no accepted way to impeach a pope, but Francesca explains that most of the notable cardinals are pushing upon him to resign. If you were expecting something like the abbey from Name of the Rose, you're disappointed; the archives reside in an airy Art Deco palace that lent itself well to modern equipment. The big project right now is deciphering the various layers of the Novgorod Codex, the only known hyper-palimpsest, recently handed over by Zakharov's archeologists.

"We're trying to figure out who this Alexander guy was, apparently a competitor of the apostle Peter! Kind of ironic when you think about it!"

Francesca is very interested about what's going on at TTI, and actually asks if she could have one of your detectors to test various relics that, for obvious reasons, cannot be taken out of their ancestral seats. You don't remember telling her about the detectors -- she'd been doing most of the talking, really, and also most of the gesturing -- but you must have at some point, right?

# Yes

# No
>>
>>3846443
>>3846449
>>3846453

...no, ignore that, they have the invisible to bullets thing.

Explosively pumped Gap Generator plus bullets?


...Wait, hold on. Revelation 11:

"7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
"

...I think straight up killing the Witnesses advances the prophecies, ESPECIALLY if it's popular to do so.

What we need to do is keep the Beast from killing them.

>>3846485


# Yes

The more data the better.
>>
>>3846494
Elaborating: we need to give them the vacuum packing treatment. Get them to stand on a mat, drop a barrel on them, suck the air out, and then ship to Thule for refrigeration.

Canned Witness.
>>
>>3846485
Also, giest? I can't seem to save the quest to sup/tg. It keeps looking in /tg instead of /qst and throwing a 404 Not Found.
>>
For now, it's time to flex your industrial muscle; the new Gap Generator desigs use up a lot more power, but are smaller and preliminary testing shows that they're a lot louder on all spectra. Whether that will make a difference for the supernatural or not, who knows; sad as it is to admit, there's only so much testing you could do with willing subjects.

They're far from perfect, but you have a large batch made anyway.

One offshoot of the Peacekeeper demobilization is that you get your hands on some microwave-beam prototypes that Carpatescu had initially ordered for the Morale Monitor, as a compliance tool with more finesse than tasers, and continued development as an EMP system after noticing the use of remote-controlled helicopters in the field; Aki was messing around with CLU in New Babylon, and got a group of soldiers to remotely lead her to an otherwise anonymous office tower where the Peacekeepers were guarding a high-energy design lab.

Using the same general design, but with the higher-current components developed for the lasers and Gap Generators, your prototypists are able to get them to the point where they can heat up skin a painful but nondamaging way, as well as scramble drone IMUs sufficiently to either cause them to flip out of the sky or at least activate the emergency autoland.

"These got in the wild, though" one of your engineering comments "when we got to the racks, there were at least a hundred missing. And all we did was replace the MOSFETs on the design, which is pretty trivial, whoever took them or whoever they sell them to will think of it."

Looks like you won't have a technology advantage on this one, unless you put some resources into it -- what worries you most is the DEWs' anti-drone capabiltiy.

Your guys add a 450nm laser diode to the DEW build and call it a day for now.

----

>>3846494

No point in keeping a secret that is already out; besides, it's not as if the detector can be used against you... right? Either way, the more eyes on it, the better the tech will get.

Francesca leads you on a quick tour of Venice, where you are invited to a small pagan ceremony which she presides; you receive the blessing of Turan, ancient local deity of fertility and love "and nothing to do with Turin" as you're told by an ancient Venetian woman. The ritual is... intimate, but not in the sexual sense; small room, people who clearly know each other. And here's the CEO of the EC throwing bone fragments in a crucible with absolutely no concern for security.

# You've been taken to Venice, given oysters to eat, and invited to a fertility ritual, although it's a lot tamer than the popular press suggests. You can take the hint.

# Francesca has been perhaps a little bit too forward...

>>3846499

That will be difficult, but it's possible.

>>3846494

The worst reaction anyone got from Tsion was from suggesting that two prophecies could happen in the wrong order; he stated that it is categorically impossible.
>>
>>3846529
>Detectors?
Can we ask her how she knows about this?
>>
>>3846529
# Francesca has been perhaps a little bit too forward...
We are saving ourselves for Carla.

Also this potential whore of Babylon worries me.
>>
>>3846529
Can we add visiting Carpatescu to the list and show him the results of the locusts and ask how hes feeling about all the prophesies.
>>
>>3846568
We gotta be chaste just in case.
>>3846529
>francesca has been perhaps a little bit too forward
>>
>>3846575
Why?

>>3846529

# Francesca has been perhaps a little bit too forward...

I had two lights on my whore detector before we showed up.
>>
>>3846589
I personally like Carpatasu's veiw on things and what he knows. We can ask what he thinks the horsemen will be like as well. I dont think its nessesary but i like it and if its free why not.
>>
>>3846545

She says you mentioned it while checking out the 3d scanners in the Archive; you have an operator play that back through your earphones, and after they are done listening to your meeting at double speed you find out that yes, you did let that slip out.

>>3846579
>>3846545
>>3846568

Nevertheless, you figure that she's being a little too forward; you thank her for the tour and assures her that you'll keep working with the Ecumenical Council, but visiting Milan and the Alps will have to wait some other time.

She either isn't disappointed, or knows better than looking it. "Of course! We're both entirely too busy. Let's do that when it's a little warmer, and I promise you a little bit of peace in all this hecticness."

>>3846575

Yes, on the way home.

-----

The work team surveying the Euphrates probably could have used the new drones, or the old ones for that matter, but you figured that you'd rather keep them in reserve for combat operations.

The Fertile Crescent is a mess; between the volcanic winter and the Peacekeepers descending upon it like locusts (the regular kind, not the demon-alien-frankenstein kind) the place will take a long time to recover economically. Pravin Lal has the area in fiduciary administration, which is probably not a bad thing altogether, being as he is used to handling the economy and ecology of the greater Indian subcontinent.

At least people are eating again.

The surveyors indicate that it will be possble to redirect the Euphrates into the Tigris further north than the existing canals allow. Doing it in weeks, rather than months, would require a significant industrial effort even with the Peacekeepers providing most of the manpower. The best way to do it is by having a full complement of five crews handling the subcontracting, and the two closest Synco systems providing the prefab canal retaining wall sections.

(C5 + 2 factories)

Thanks to the low temperatures, the water table through-flow is somewhat depressed; redirecting the Euphrates now would be sustainable probably until June or July. The job can be done so as to keep the first few kilometers of the river intact, if you so choose.
>>
The regional potentates were probably expecting you to start repairing the damage caused by Folgore, but they may have to wait a bit.

As for your security teams... is this correct?

(

1 Team - BALTOR Mission
1 Team - INDIA Mission (Aid Domai)
1 Team - MMA Training with Santiago's crew

)


You have Moira, Dr. Diamond, 1 covert team, 1 work team, and the Blackwatch available. Do you want to move against the Two Witnesses?

# Yes, call Ehud Brog and reach an agreement to do so.

# No, this is premature.

# Talk to Carpatescu and/or Chloe first.
>>
>>3846611
>no
I say we do everyhting in our power to prevent them from dieing. Im ok with a kidnapping if we can switch to that.
>>
>>3846616

"Move against" can mean an assassination, a kidnapping, giving them locust ichor so that they cannot die for 5 months regardless, Gap Generator or DEW testing, or just dropping a Uranium Hydride bomb in their lap if you like.
>>
>>3846624
Kidnapping and ichor!
>>
>>3846624
Do we have an anti immolation plan?
>>
>>3846611

>As for your security teams... is this correct?
>(
>1 Team - BALTOR Mission
>1 Team - INDIA Mission (Aid Domai)
>1 Team - MMA Training with Santiago's crew

Yes

# Talk to Carpatescu and/or Chloe first.
>>
Rolled 100, 52 = 152 (2d100)

>>3846611

Mr. Domai is surprised to see your men offer to protect him, but accepts; his understanding is that you have parted ways with Mr. Andrews, and he sympathises with the fact that you showed more concern for the common soldier in the Peacekeepers than their own chain of command did. "That all wars could be ended by taking out the guy at the top!"

MMA training can be useful in close quarters, and in conventional combat it helps foster situational awareness. Not too much can be done in a month, but your people run the gauntlet nearly as well as the Espartanos, which is quite an accomplishment. Gideon Vega briefly flies in to observe the proceedings, and him and Santiago seem to manage to be civil to each other, although they don't exactly hit it off.

Your newly expanded air wing, working in concert with your covert ops team, will try and tackle an air pirate problem -- last time, the Peacekeeper air force put an end to all combatants; this time the Peacekeeper air force is almost entirely out of order after the massive bombing campaign on Fragment 4. Freight trains all over Africa are fitted with AA guns and fake container cars that can quickly let out a helicopter, sort of like Q ships during WW2.


>>3846628

(Not currently.)
>>
Okay I've got good news and bad news:

1) It is now 7 AM and I've spent 5 odd hours designing the next six months of actions.

2) I have managed to work out something that resembles a half-decent plan even if I think I've almost certainly screwed up some numbers somewhere.

3) It only covers the first 4 months however as I am too tired to work out how all the infrastructure I built during that time affects the over all network, how much money we get from the tithe and therefore if I need to dedicate factories to producing shit to sell for money or if they can be used elsewhere.
>>
>>3846628
>>3846638
What if we put on a suit that regulates our body heat and surrounds us in anti flame liquid?

Like a more robust version of what we put Nicky in?
>>
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>>3846638

Domai manages to do his speeches -- he sounds like an old-school Marxist for some things, a modern progressive for others, and an automaton enthusiast for a few, he does not believe that robots belong in factories but he does believe that they belong in offices -- and your people are sufficiently vigilant that there are no incidents of note, save for the very last speech in front of the old Bhopal disaster site. There, a man does the "hijack the PA system" trick that you are very familiar with, publicly challenging Domai to show his hands to the people, to show the calluses of a real worker, and when he does courtesy of some quick thinking on the part of your guys, the main projector, and a macro camera, he is then a fistfight right there and then. Domai accepts, of course.

A different man, supposedly the son of one of the people working at the plant in 1984 when the disaster happens, is allowed on the podium... and his jacket taken off by security to show sticks of dynamite strapped to his chest. Domai walks over, shakes hands with the man, and asks why he's turned himself into a human bomb; the man falls to his knees and explains that he was promised a vast sum of money for his extended family to blow himself up against the labor leader. Domai helps the man up and says that if that's the only way his family will finally get just compensation after 16 years, so be it, and hugs the would-be suicide bomber.

Nothing happens except a few sparks, which scare the crap out of everyone for a second but that's all they do; your security people had gotten a hold of the plot, and replaced the sticks of dynamite with sticks of compressed sawdust.

Even after Domai explains that this was no miracle, well, people will believe what they believe, and he does thank Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles, for his intervention.

----

The operation against the pirates goes reasonably well; once more your drones are used as cannon fodder, swarming the pirates' planes before they can be taken out by flak or rocket fire from your new helicopters. The operation generates a few spectacular dogfights, as well as the first confirmed air-to-air victory by a drone against manned aircraft. However, your drone operators are getting better; the losses you suffer are entirely mechanical -- including a few wounded in a crash -- and easily repaired or replaced with the delivery of the next batch.

The pirates cease their attacks, and the railroad consortium pays up, with some disappointment -- clearly they were hoping to be rid of the threat, rather than just winning a reprieve.

>>3846643

(Interesting!! I'd post it, the math can wait)

>>3846673

(That's worth a try.)
>>
So we didn't go to Aberdeen for the helicopters?
>>
>>3846673
>>3846682

I think quicker would be a SCP 096 methood. Put someone if a shark cGe under water in the sea. Have him attached to the controls that will have drones start the containment proceedures or a button that will fire a computer aimed sniper rifle.
>>
Eh we sent Ryan, I guess that's good enough.
>>
>>3846682
>(Interesting!! I'd post it, the math can wait)
Okay then: prepare for the motherload of planning information; we end this turn with roughly 7 Bn and we enter the next tithe, meaning we should have 47 Bn: enough for all of our work teams every month and 2 Bn surplus; I shall show what this means when you put such a budget under my tenure.

>For the first month: a complete focus on factories
1) Dedicate all 8 factories to produce network parts: deploy them thus; 2 to Central America, UK and Greenland; 1 to western and northern Europe.

2) Spend 2 Bn on Power generation equipment.

3) Assign 3 work teams, Ryan Andrews and 1 drone to construct a factory in Central America.

4) Assign 3 work teams, Aki and 3 drones to construct a factory in the UK.

5) Assign 3 work teams, Aki and 3 drones to construct a factory in Western Russia.

6) Assign 6 work and 3 covert teams to recruit a further 3 work teams.

7) Assign Foreman to survey Western Russia.

>2nd month: a similar result but with a different focus; budget is 24 Bn.
1) Dedicate 9 factories to produce network parts: deploy them thus; 3 to India and the Middle east; 1 to Western and Eastern Russia. Sell the last one for 2 Bn, trade it for 2 Power generation equipment.

2) Assign 2 work team and 2 factories to construct the first level of Thule base: industrial.

3) Assign 6 work teams under Aki with 6 drones to construct a factory in West-Central and East-Central Africa.

4) Assign 3 work teams under Ryan Andrews with a drone to construct a factory in South Africa.

5) Assign 4 work teams to research Occult.

6) Assign 3 work teams to research Augmentation under Dr Diamond.

>3rd month: past this point we get the broken stuff; current budget should be 1 Bn, cutting it mighty close.
1) Dedicate 14 factories to produce network equipment and sell 12 for 24 Bn.

2) Deploy 2 network equipment to North Africa.

3) Assign 3 work teams under Aki with 3 drones to construct a factory in Australia.

4) Assign 3 work teams under Ryan Andrews with 1 drone to construct a factory in SEA.

5) Assign 3 work teams to research Directed Energy under Aki.

6) Assign 4 work teams to research Occult.

8) Assign 5 work teams and 4 covert / black ops teams to recruit a further 3 work teams.

>4th month, budget is reset by this point putting us back above 40+ Bn and more with the network enhancements
1) Dedicate 13 factories to produce network equipment and deploy it thus: 3 to China, Japan, SEA and Australlia; 1 to Greenland.

2) Assign 1 work teams and 3 factories to construct the second level of Thule base: industrial along with Ryan Andrews.

3) Assign 4 work teams to research Occult.

4) Assign 4 work teams to research Directed Energy.

5) Assign 4 work teams to research Sats / Big Sats.

6) Assign 8 work teams and 1 covert ops teams to recruit a further 3 work teams.

7) Assign Aki's, Foreman's and Dr Diamond's actions to surveying: UK; Central America; North South America; South South America; Greenland.
>>
By the end of those 4 months we have:

Occult level 9
Directed Energy level 6
Big sats level 8
Augmentations level 4
AND
24 Work teams
16 Factories

Which means by the time of the next event, we can complete the Occult, Big sats and Augmentation research we have available or even entirely finish off their trees along with greatly advanced Directed energy research, a greater than 50% increase in our work force and literally double our factory count.


I've little mind left currently to develop those last two months given it is 8 AM here and I'm tired, hungry and overall unable to do much more number crunching but given anons always seem to take issue with my plans I shall wait until you guys find flaw in these 4 months to start worrying about the next.
>>
>>3846704
Maybe if we broke things up into every 3 months instead?

I'm sure there are a few things, but at the moment, I'm not in the mood.

Maybe more training and recruit a covert or black opts team each?

I'm currently experiencing my head occasionally feeling like it wants to pass out every now and then, as if I took some sleeping pills for 1 second so I can't think properly right now.
>>
>>3846704
You did a pretty good job anon, Not much I would change but we appreciate your hard work and supreme effort.
>>
>>3846699

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BlMOSEOxSihj1gdagq7yxCjONaRBgcdlRxnc68uWf0A/edit#gid=0

"Foreman, thanks to Ryan Andrews' work with Pope Peter, and my own analysis of the Remnant timeline, I was able to give you an update. Even in the worst case scenario, we are, well, safe for the next three months. My understanding is that the locusts were supposed to have some time to make their impact felt within the population."


That's good news; you have a lot of work to do. At a minimum, you have to repair the damage that Folgore did; you will also have to boost the world's industrial output, since whatever happens with prophecies or alien attacks or anything else, you're looking forward to a long winter this year and a dustbowl next year. There's no escaping those calamities, as they are entirely natural and lately miracles have been something to fear, not something to hope for.

You hope that in the meantime the world will settle itself a little, politically.

You politely decline to attend the next Global Council meeting, noting that you have had enough of politics -- your job is to run the internet and that's what you are going to do, until there is another emergency.

However, there are a few things which you must decide immediately.

# What to do with Carpatescu.
* Keep him where he is.
* Upgrade him to a VR rig like the one you have at HQ, but without the net connection.
* Let him go.
* Prepare a space capsule.
* Kill him.
* Give him ichor to see what happens.

# What to do with Fortunato.
* Let him stand trial
* Stick him in the same setup as Carpatescu
* Just keep him locked up at the blacksite
* Kill him.
* Give him ichor to see what happens.

# Your policy towards the Peacekeepers.
* Find a competent general.
* Keep them semi-worshiping CLU.
* Let the regional potentates deal with it.

# Your policy towards the Two Witnesses.
* Just experiment with detectors and gap generators.
* As above, but use drones.
* As above, but sacrifice some mooks or some mercenaries to see what happens if they are shot at longer range.

# Your policy towards the black site.
* Just contain the VIPs.
* Keep cybercriminals, etc. up until (population) for testing purposes.
* Keep cybercriminals, etc. up until (population) for testing purposes, and allow dangerous or medically unethical testing (Stepola had it coming).

By rejecting other distractions, you should be able to get everyone to work at peak efficiency; people are glad to see that your main interest is in rebuilding. Your goal, of course, is to get to the point where you can ensure that human civilization can continue.

After the 200 million horsemen, assuming that Carpatescu can be kept contained, there are only a few ordeals to handle, only a few deadlines -- that you know of, anyway.
((see google doc)).
>>
>>3847004
>* Upgrade him to a VR rig like the one you have at HQ, but without the net connection.

>* Let him stand trial

>* Find a competent general.
>* Keep them semi-worshiping CLU.
Why not both?

>* As above, but use drones.

>* Keep cybercriminals, etc. up until (population) for testing purposes.
>>
>>3846699
Oh, and supporting this obviously
>>
#Upgrade him to a VR rig like the one you have at HQ, but without the net connection.

# Let him stand trial

# Keep them semi-worshiping CLU.

At least until the Horsemen are dealt with. The Potentates can deal with them afterwards

As above but use drones

Just contain the VIPs.
>>
have someone (idk Francesca) tell Tsion these following exact words.

LOOK DUMBASS. IF THESE 200 MILLION KNIGHTS SHOW UP, OF COURSE PEOPLE WILL BLAME YOU AND YOU WILL BE PERSECUTED. AT THAT POINT IT'S ON YOUR FUCKING HEAD.

waterjet them in stone all over the place where he might see them.

Shit we should BUY Petra in Israel so that these dumb fucks have somewhere to hide. Or Florida. Go have your republic of Gilead somewhere flat and leave the rest of us alone, we're trying to have a God damn civilization.
>>
>>3847004
# Keep him where he is

# Just keep him locked up at the blacksite

# Let the regional potentates deal with it

# Experiment with detectors and gap generators, we're not trying to kill them

# Just contain the VIPs

Reject distractions and rebuild, while prepping for next thing.
>>
>>3847004
* Upgrade him to a VR rig like the one you have at HQ, but without the net connection.
At least make an entire level full of security doors, cameras and locks redundancies to prevent escape or assisted escape if he MCs someone.

* Give him ichor to see what happens.
Then...
* Let him stand trial

* Find a competent general.

Need a proper standing army to reform and fight angels and demons.

Kidnap the Witnesses?
failing that....
* Just experiment with detectors and gap generators.

* Keep cybercriminals, etc. up until (population) for testing purposes, and allow dangerous or medically unethical testing (Stepola had it coming).
Get volunteers, or death row inmates.
Test people on death row both by ichor injection and sting, then execute them to see if they can die.
>>
>>3847117

Can we NOT let potential antichrist replacements out of the tube til this shit's over?
>>
>>3846720
>>3846757
I've just woken up so I am probably going to start another wave of testing, thoughts and work on those last two turns. I'll probably be awhile as I've stumbled into a pit of free films that I'm trying to grab all of for later viewing.

Still, I've done 4 months, what's another 2?

>>3847004
# What to do with Carpatescu.
* Upgrade him to a VR rig like the one you have at HQ, but without the net connection.
Might as well let him enjoy himself.

# What to do with Fortunato.
* Stick him in the same setup as Carpatescu

I'm not comfortable with letting him out.

# Your policy towards the Peacekeepers.
* Keep them semi-worshiping CLU.

Preferably we can find a competent member of them that worshops CLU that we can use as a proxy leader.

# Your policy towards the Two Witnesses.
* As above, but use drones.

I still say Fulton extraction of one or both of them is a good plan.

# Your policy towards the black site.
* Just contain the VIPs.

At least for now, last thing we need is to draw attention to the blacksite or piss off employees.
>>
>>3847163
>>3847117
>>3847068
>>3847021
>>3847012

You figure that spending a bit of money on the black site is not a bad idea; it's important that Carpatescu be able to move around a bit, lest he atrophy, and receive some active stimulation, lest he lose his marbles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJlPr2KHSFo

Incidentally, as far as the media (and the Council) is concerned, he is still missing; the Peacekeepers who are demobilizing and returning home have begun to spread a sort of machine-god cult of Carpatescu having ascended to a sort of genius loci of the internet, and have recently petitioned the Ecumenical Council for inclusion. It's overall pretty benign; adherents share memes, put extra headers on their blogs, and as memes do, the image of Carpatescu mutates into the stern but benevolent statesman he never really was.

He is aware of this, but his access to the news is read only; as compensation, he gets to play with whatever new and interesting virtual environment Aki's people cook up. He got pretty good at Doom; you're not letting him play a full-3D first person shooter because you don't want him to get good at aiming.

Aki comes over to supervise the upgrade, and talks to Carpatescu for a few minutes, by typing. She tells him that if it was her call she'd trade places. She also optimizes the offline PC he has access to, so that it can run a proper chess program -- it's the first time you see Carpatescu lose consistently; looks like he'll have a new hobby, at least. He's not happy about halving the strength of the Peacekeepers, believing that when the time comes, it will have to be him facing the corpse god or nobody, and he will need a powerful army to back him up. You do talk a few times, but he mostly warns you that without him, the Global Community will splinter, and there will be a resource war at the first excuse -- unlike the flashpoint with Folgore, this time people will have something to fight each other for, and there will be no stopping it.

The Peacekeepers are put to work undoing the damage they did, and resuming a regular training schedule after that; it's not unpleasant, although it's obvious that New Babylon will not regain her former glory. Eventually, a reasonably competent general emerges in the person of Suhail Akbar, formerly in charge of the intel division; he's not a military genius, and doesn't need to be, but he knows how to delegate. Lal and Santiago vouch for him.

You feel that having a good statistical sample for experiments on Remnant is not worth filling the blacksite up again; it should be used primarily for people like Carpatescu who are too dangerous or Stepola who are just assholes. Interestingly, the conversion-by-osmosis process has not happen with the MM mole; he and Stepola had a spat during one of his moments of lucidity, and now are barely talking. As far as you're concerned, they deserve each other.
>>
There is, of course, the problem of what to do with Fortunato; Carpatescu's disappearance, combined with your theatrics in New Babylon and the start of what could be called the cult of a literal deus ex machina, quickly passes into legend, but Leonardo Fortunato is a man and it would not do to elevate him to myth too.

You have him taken to

# Bern, the new global capital

# Houston, Dimmsdale's seat of government

to stand trial, with the stipulation that he is to be treated as armed and dangerous and not allowed to use a cell phone in case he still has the nuclear code. It's nonsense, of course, but it worked for Kevin Mitnick.

Fortunato is defiant: he opens by telling the judge that she's in his seat. When reminded that he is standing trial for ordering the use of a nuclear weapon against a populated area, he says that since Carpatescu decided on the prohibition against that, only he can judge him.

"CATS is a rogue organization, and the Foreman is a member of a subversive religion!"

He refuses a lawyer, stands by his account of events even after being shown camera footage from multiple angles because "everyone knows that computer-generated graphics can show whatever they want" and because his authority is greater than that of a camera.

Eventually, you're called to testify. Not going would open a political can of worms; you give your version of things and, when cross-examined, the only question Fortunato has for you is, "Are you, or have you ever been, an adherent of the Christian Remnant faith? I remind you that you are under oath."

# Yes.

# No.

# Plead Article 18 of the UN human rights convention.

Interestingly, Fortunato is unimpressed by the whole CLU thing; he says that's not the Carpatescu he knows (and loves, you add mentally).

---

When it comes to the Two Witnesses, Mr. Brog confirms to you that other than the Remnant living in Israel, who pray alongside them and hold revivals just outside the safety zone, the people hate them, considering them mountebanks at best and genuine ill auguries at worst; their water-to-blood shenanigans certainly do not help. The ultra-Orthodox feel that they mock the real prophet Moses and Elijah by quoting the New Testament.

"There's the problem that within the hundred square meters they inhabit, they seem to be invulnerable, and I can't just have them flushed out with fire like you did with the locusts -- thank you again, by the way -- because it would damage the Wailing Wall. That's a non starter."

You ask for permission to fly drones, and receive it, as long as you notify the IDF guards when you fly them.

Fr. Schorpe would like to get into an actual theological discussion with them; you

# allow it

# prevent it

# make sure he gets a heart implant first.
>>
#heart implant 1st
>>
(Continue with this plan? the current ETA for the Sixth Trumpet Judgement is the end of month 47, as has been specified upthread)

Chairman Yang has a proposal for you; he will increase his "tithe" in both China and Japan, at no cost to you, to [5} if you bring it up to [2} and install a Network Node in Japan.

The catch is that these two network nodes would be linked together and form their own subnet, with some sort of "great firewall" separating it from the rest of the network in case of damage or disruption, a duplicate DNS root server, and the like. He assures you that it would not be used for content censorship, but rather as a content cache to ensure that both territories, with their high population density, can take full benefit of the net. "If the source packet is in China and the destination is also in China, it makes little sense to route it through a service hosted in, say, Europe. Should we not strive for greater efficiency? It would reduce your workload, and allow me to focus on cooperating with UNDRR as we switch over to greenhouse-based agriculture."

# No, it would be too easy to use for censorship.

# Yes, it would be beneficial.

# Mainland China only.

-

A lot of trial and error allows for increasing both the power and the range of Gap Generators; statistical analysis of Remnant reports show that there are four "active" angels, identified as Caleb, Christopher, Nahum, and Anis. The first three seem to follow a predetermined pattern; the latter is more flexible, and shows up to help believers in any number of crises -- as long as they are with in one prayer-circle link of Tsion Ben-Judah personally. Statistical analysis, combined with the fact that people on Tsion's site or The Underground (a sister site, maintained by the nomadic Young Tribulation Force), has allowed generating a very rough nodal map of Remnant posters; for a group that expects persecution, they aren't very good with OPSEC.

Dr. Diamond's latest improvement on the implant is a myoelectric generator, which uses a muscle fiber removed from the user's external oblique abdominal muscle.The effect is a tingly sensation (Moira had hers installed a little further inside the abdomen, close to the pelvis), causing trickle charging on the implant's recharge. The main advantage is that it removes the need to plug in regularly, although it would still have to be bulk-charged after use of the ventricular assist. You will have to go under for a few days to receive this upgrade.

She thinks that at this point mass production makes sense.

"I can go one step further, but there are ethical implications. The locust ichor's ability to foster cellular regneration is impressive, but we cannot use it, because it comes with debilitating pain. After looking at it carefully, I can get rid of this... but at a hefty price. A careful excision of part of the occipital lobe. The user would not be able to feel pain again, which is a bad idea for many reasons."

# Work on it.

# Stop.
>>
>>3847233
>Bern, the new global capital
He ordered nukes against South America too, even though they didn't make it through, and plunged the whole world into war, so he should be trialed in the world capital.
>Plead Article 18 of the UN human rights convention.
None of your business nuke boy.
>make sure he gets a heart implant first.
Otherwise, he'll just die
>Yes, it would be beneficial.
But make super sure he can't actually use this for censorship
>Work on it.
But only volunteers, perhaps people already stung?
>>
>>3847233
# Bern, the new global capital

# No.

# make sure he gets a heart implant first.

>>3847289
# No, it would be too easy to use for censorship.

He already wants to cut himself off from the rest of the world, lets not make it easier for him. Plus under my coming plan he should see his entire region raised to [4} within a quarter of a year: meaning any realistic benefit to the network will be minimised by the increase in bandwith, speed reliability and connectivity since more or less all of the developed world will be up to those standards with the rest following within another quarter of a year.

>She thinks that at this point mass production makes sense.
Are you saying what I think you are saying OP?

# Work on it.

We probably won't deploy it but developing it is entirely fair: after all this sort of technology is incredibly niche.
>>
>>3847233

# No

I have no reason to cast any doubt there.


Re Schorpe,

# Make sure he gets a heart implant first.

>>3847289

Continue with this plan.

# No, it would be too easy to use for censorship. We have our mandate.

Regarding the regeneration implant

# Stop. We have other avenues to follow.
>>
>>3847233
# Bern, the new global capital

>#Plead Article 18 of the UN human rights convention.
Insist on this on human rights grounds. We need plausible deniability either way, and we can assuage the less Tsion-ed Remnant that their rights will be protected.

# make sure he gets a heart implant first.

>>3847316
>I have no reason to cast any doubt there.

We do, actually, we need both the Remnant and the Community on our side if we're to have a chance at getting Tsion. So plead the 18th, and let observers on both sides draw their own conclusions.

>>3847289

# Yes, it would be beneficial...but!

Insist on no great firewall between the global internet and the China-Japan network, and on CATS supervision or at least observers.

Point out that people are going to attempt to circumvent any such firewall

# Stop.

Permanent inability to feel pain is way more crippling than anything the ichor would fix.
>>
>>3847331
Sonofabutt.

>Point out that people are going to attempt to circumvent any such firewall or any other restrictions should they be imposed, and the last thing the world needs is a land war in Asia because Yang got brought by degrees to heavy-handed measures.
>>
>>3847233
# Houston, Dimmsdale's seat of government

# Plead Article 18 of the UN human rights convention.

# make sure he gets a heart implant first.

# Mainland China only.

# Find another way.

What abut changing chemical reactions in the neurons or something?
>>
bern
no/18
no
implant for schorpe

You have Moira talk to Schorpe, as she's the one who has interacted most with the Two Witnesses. She explains how she was able to survive a conversation with them.

"I suppose" Schorpe responds with German phlegm "that it would have been a good way to be an argument, in the time when they claim to have first preached."

Being older, Schorpe took longer to recuperate from the implant surgery; he also opted out of the pixel-tattoo of the Sign of God, saying that he's a scholar, not a spy. He spends convalescence reading on what Moishe and Eli have all been saying, noting that it mostly comes from Revelation, Daniel, and Isaiah.

In the meantime, you try to dissuade Yang from setting up a regional intranet by pointing out that it would be extremely easy for people to circumvent, and even arrange a demonstration for him; he's not happy, but evidence is evidence.

At the trial in Bern, you answer by saying that every citizen of the Global Community has a right to believe what they want without fear of persecution, and that you cannot be forced to declare your religious allegiance. The judge sustains your answer. Fortunato is found guilty of terrorism, but his sentence is commuted to life in prison. Swiss lockups are extremely secure and very safe for the prisoners; it means that he's not going anywhere soon, but it also means that if you want this guy in containment you'll have to kidnap him.

Your people got a lot done in just a few weeks; now it's time to decide what to try to do, if anything, about the Sixth Trumpet Judgment.

(Pick zero or more)

# Drain the Euphrates.

# Install PKE meters and Gap Generators along the river, or part thereof.

# Do something with the Witnesses other than poking them (they do show up on PKE meters.
* Send Schorpe out
* Try to kidnap one or both
* Try to kill them with an antimateriel rifle, or a suicide drone, or whatever might work really

# Ask Tsion to call it off, explaining that persecution will happen afterward

# Deploy Peacekeepers along the river

# Write in

#
>>
>>3847195
Hey OP out of curiousity how are / were you planning to calculate the tithe from regions? If I know that then I can more precisely modify >>3846699 since I'll know exactly how much the infrastructure should provide for the second quarter.

Also I'm slightly confused: are these month posts following my plan? As if so I must mention that some of the numbers don't seem to add up and I'd like to know so I can double check them against my plan in case it's just me imagining things.
>>
>>3847446
# Drain the Euphrates.
# Install PKE meters and Gap Generators along the river, or part thereof.

# Do something with the Witnesses other than poking them (they do show up on PKE meters.
* Try to kidnap one or both

# Deploy Peacekeepers along the river
>>
>>3847446
># Drain the Euphrates.
># Install PKE meters and Gap Generators along the river, or part thereof.
># Do something with the Witnesses other than poking them (they do show up on PKE meters.
first
>* Send Schorpe out
then
>* Try to kidnap one or both

># Deploy Peacekeepers along the river
>>
>>3847446

I'm not sure draining the river will do enough, honestly. It's still THERE, it's just a dry river, still known as the Euphrates.

# Install PKE meters and gap generators along the river

# send Schorpe out
>>
>>3847446
># Install PKE meters and Gap Generators along the river, or part thereof.
># Deploy Peacekeepers in staging areas within a few miles of the river.

>>3847456
>>3847467
Can we NOT be a Captain Planet villain? Or at least not diet-Carpatescu?

Besides, draining the river triggers the Sixth Bowl. If anything, we're better off flooding the river; patrolling with helicopters, clearing blockages with explosives, piping in water from the Tigris and so on.

># Do something with the Witnesses other than poking them (they do show up on PKE meters.)
>* Send Schorpe out
>* Try to kidnap one or both
>>
>>3847473
The basis for draining it is that they are meant to emerge from the waters of the river: if there are no waters, they can't emerge.

>>3847484
>Can we NOT be a Captain Planet villain? Or at least not diet-Carpatescu?
Are you talking about the kidnapping or the river-draining?

>Besides, draining the river triggers the Sixth Bowl. If anything, we're better off flooding the river; patrolling with helicopters, clearing blockages with explosives, piping in water from the Tigris and so on.
Nope: Tsion says events can't occur out of order which basically means that if we cause the Sixth Bowl judgement first, it throws prophecy off course and helps us defeat this prophecy portion as well.
>>
>>3847488

River-draining.

Fifth already happened: that was the locusts. We're on the Sixth.
>>
>>3847488
>The basis for draining it is that they are meant to emerge from the waters of the river: if there are no waters, they can't emerge.

Nothing about Revelations covered the Fifth bowl coming out of a shooting star, either. The Sixth isn't going to be stopped by something as paltry as the water not being there--in fact, the draining of the river is what signals its start.

...And where do you get that, anyway?
>>
>>3847497
>Fifth already happened: that was the locusts. We're on the Sixth.
Yes we are on the Sixth Trumpet, not the Sixth Bowl. Therefore if we cause the Sixth Bowl before the proper time, superseding various events, it disrupts the narrative.

>>3847501
>Nothing about Revelations covered the Fifth bowl coming out of a shooting star, either.
True.

>The Sixth isn't going to be stopped by something as paltry as the water not being there
Yet the Fifth Trumpet could've been stopped by something as paltry as another 5 part pusher sat a month or two earlier. The fact is god is a weak bitch to Rules-lawyers.

>in fact, the draining of the river is what signals its start.
Actually no. There is no mention of the river being drained in every version of the text I can find between what OP has posted and a few quick google searches.

>...And where do you get that, anyway?
The 4 angels come from the river and then they prepare / unleash / lead the 200,000,000 horsemen. Therefore I must presume that they shall summon or bring with them those horsemen and even if they didn't the fact remains that the angels must emerge first and at that point we can eliminate them to stop the entire thing from being an issue.

After all: we've got a nuke for exactly this reason and we can use that if gap generators and guns fail to work in tandem to take them down or prevent them from appearing in the first place.
>>
>>3847517
...Apologies, confused the two.

The problem being that just draining the Euphrates doesn't stop the Sixth Trumpet or the Sixth Bowl from happening later if flow later resumes. We're going to have to dramatically reshape the geography to ensure the Euphrates can't ever flow again.

And that assumes God doesn't rule-lawyer back and just has the angels summon the horsemen from the dried out banks.

>>Yet the Fifth Trumpet could've been stopped by something as paltry as another 5 part pusher sat a month or two earlier. The fact is god is a weak bitch to Rules-lawyers.

God's been rules-lawyering the prophecies since the beginning. Remember the 'rain' of blood? Or the 'Antichrist war' that was the Peacekeepers going full ham on basically harmless militias?

We're missing the forest for the trees. God's whole game is the prophecies and their mutability to fit the circumstances, and by trying to avert them in this hamfisted way we're fighting to his strengths and not ours.

My thoughts:We need to take the rest of his pieces out of play--imprison the Witnesses, Tsion, and the four Angels, deradicalize the Remnant--and prep for the leftover fragments from Akhenaten (which I presume are tied to the Bowls.)
>>
>>3847584
>The problem being that just draining the Euphrates doesn't stop the Sixth Trumpet or the Sixth Bowl from happening later if flow later resumes. We're going to have to dramatically reshape the geography to ensure the Euphrates can't ever flow again.
We can do it for 4 months straight currently: which means we can do it all the way to the mid-point of the Tribulation; which Tsion has said the horsemen must come before; therefore the Sixth Trumpet WILL occur before we have to stop.

Secondly, in the case of the Sixth bowl the point isn't it happening later, it's the fact that it happens now and disrupts the order of events. Plus the Sixth bowl might not even happen later given the fact there is not a major reason for the Army of the East to head there now and even if there was, chances are in a fight against Lal / Yang, we'd stall them in India or Afghanistan rather than near the Euphrates which means it's a bit of a null point.

>And that assumes God doesn't rule-lawyer back and just has the angels summon the horsemen from the dried out banks.
God can't break prophecy: he couldn't force the death of millions with his earth quakes for example because we made preparations and he couldn't do much to overpower them or change what he had planned.

>We're missing the forest for the trees. God's whole game is the prophecies and their mutability to fit the circumstances, and by trying to avert them in this hamfisted way we're fighting to his strengths and not ours.
You call it hamfisted, I call it smart and efficient.

>My thoughts:We need to take the rest of his pieces out of play--imprison the Witnesses, Tsion, and the four Angels, deradicalize the Remnant--and prep for the leftover fragments from Akhenaten (which I presume are tied to the Bowls.)
Agreed. I'd point out that the angels are probably unrealistic given their nature would make containing them a bitch but I agree with the rest.
>>
>>3847602
>Secondly, in the case of the Sixth bowl the point isn't it happening later, it's the fact that it happens now and disrupts the order of events.

It might not count if it happens now! So long as it's possible to do later.

It's ultimately either God or Tsion who decides if it counted or not, and neither are beholden to a particular interpretation, only the text. And nothing about the text says that the Euhprates must be flowing continuously up until the Sixth Bowl, only that it gets dried out for 'The Kings of the East' to march across. Or that the Euphrates must be flowing for the horsemen to be summoned--if the waters are necessary, stagnant pools might do just as well.

>Plus the Sixth bowl might not even happen later given the fact there is not a major reason for the Army of the East to head there now and even if there was, chances are in a fight against Lal / Yang, we'd stall them in India or Afghanistan rather than near the Euphrates which means it's a bit of a null point.

We thought the same about World War Three, and then a 100-megaton bomb got slung at Britain.

>God can't break prophecy: he couldn't force the death of millions with his earth quakes for example because we made preparations and he couldn't do much to overpower them or change what he had planned.

Nothing I can find calls for mass casualty events with specific qoutas until either the Sixth Trumpet or the death of the Witnesses.

God can't break prophecy, but he's not above twisting their meaning when outright fiat fails. Or remember that quip about coming as a thief in the night?
>>
QM: Out of curiosity, were we given an opportunity to hire Domai, or did something come up? I have some interesting thoughts involving Arcology that he might be useful towards.
>>
>>3847662
>QM: Out of curiosity, were we given an opportunity to hire Domai, or did something come up?
Domai is a Goon-Squad potential hire. We'll have to recruit him the old-fashion way.
[[[[If you want to know why I don't type much despite posting often, I was literally being possessed in real-life.]]]]]
>>
>>3847644
>It might not count if it happens now! So long as it's possible to do later.
Except Tsion has stated that events will, must and shall occur in the order they are listed in. Therefore this is a disruption since it is the river being drained, the sole thing specified in that part of the prophecy, even if no army shall cross. Since the prophecy is that the river shall be drained and the fact that this is done to enable the armys of the east to cross is just a result of it rather than a part of the prophecy.

>It's ultimately either God or Tsion who decides if it counted or not, and neither are beholden to a particular interpretation, only the text. And nothing about the text says that the Euhprates must be flowing continuously up until the Sixth Bowl, only that it gets dried out for 'The Kings of the East' to march across. Or that the Euphrates must be flowing for the horsemen to be summoned--
Be that as it may anon I fail to see what you suggest we do instead: do you suppose we should cover the entire border of a literally country spanning river? We don't have the numbers of Gap generators needed nor the drones and even troops arguably; this should enable us to concentrate our forces.

>if the waters are necessary, stagnant pools might do just as well.
If we take that to be the case anon then might I point out that technically speaking the river flows into the ocean and therefore, the horsemen can actually arise out of the oceans of the world? If we're going to sit here and debate this level of technicality and idiotic detail then we shall most likely need another thread before we reach the end of this quest even just doing the major events.

>We thought the same about World War Three, and then a 100-megaton bomb got slung at Britain.
We knew there was nationalist tensions: we could've intervened to stop them in many cases in fact and we could've prevented nuclear weapons being used by publishing the results of Dr Robertson's research in full.

>Nothing I can find calls for mass casualty events with specific qoutas until either the Sixth Trumpet or the death of the Witnesses.
The earth quake was supposed to cause the death of millions according to the spread sheet of events. It did not.
>>
>>3847662

You can recruit Domai now; I thought green anon's plan was "hunkerdown and get projects done".

>>3847688

That's correct; the one time Tsion actually had a freakout was when it looked like that things would happen in the wrong order.

(About the 100MT bomb having little effect, that's straight out of the books because the authors couldn't be arsed to read an encyclopedia. I turned that and other bits of derp, such as being near a nuclear bomb literally melting you raiders of the lost ark style rather than the pressure wave killing you, it into "nuclear physics has changed")
>>
>>3847696
>I thought green anon's plan was "hunkerdown and get projects done".
To be fair that is my plan but if we can recruit him then I'd quite happily take him onboard for the simple benefits of having another agent.

Also could you please answer my questions in >>3847453. As I wish to be certain I've got all this in my head right for planning the last two turns.
>>
# Install PKE meters and Gap Generators along the river, or part thereof.

I would put emphasis towards:
-Mt. Ararat - It is Biblically relevant and located near the Headwaters of the Euphrates.

-Keban and other towns located along the river bank. If the attack is prophesied to commence at the Euphrates, these population centers will be the first hit.

#Deploy Peacekeepers along the river

-Focus on large towns along the river, with a main force in New Babylon to be dispatched once we have positive on demon horses.

>>3847696
Thank you QM.

No pressure to hire him now (unless its small window of opportunity).

If we do hire him, I have a plan to put him to work developing Project Penguin and developing self-sustaining communities dedicated to periods of intense famine and limited water supply.

Maybe coordinate him and UNDRR (so he can stay out of site of Andrews and vice versa).
>>
>>3847707
>If we do hire him, I have a plan to put him to work developing Project Penguin and developing self-sustaining communities dedicated to periods of intense famine and limited water supply.
Thule can be developed like that, it comes under the Colony development path and in theory shouldn't cost that much to do in addition to the Industrial development path seeing as the two have a fair degree of overlap.

Throw on the fact that they both in turn have a overlap with the Ark development path and it might be the case that we don't have to do all 15 levels of development: given the Industrial path gives the benefit of Ark level 2, it makes sense that we'd be able to skip that stage when we do that development path for example.


Imagine if we could get the UNDRR to fund them as disaster proof cities that reduce agricultural strain while also getting funding from the NCASA for effectively developing systems that might be usable in future space colonies / on space craft. Throw on some limited funding from Potenates for developing their land and ensuring they'll deal with the coming famine better than they otherwise would and we can probably make a lot of these sites since after the first two or three we can almost certainly drop the Ark portion of the developments.

I imagine Litwala would be really pleased to have large, modern and advanced cities be built in his lands to impress his people, strengthen his economy and make sure his people won't starve when the Miracle-grow starts turning farmland to fallow land. Santiago would probably be less pleased given she's against cities but if we can show her the benefits of our cities over traditional ones, how they will be self-sufficient and could possibly function like the Greek city states she most likely respects, then she should tolerate at least one or two.

Zakharov loves high tech shit but at this point I imagine he is wary of making us too strong, he'd probably demand he have control of them to some degree however the Ural mountains and Siberia are rich in resources and remote while having little population: making them ideal for our needs. Vega I've discussed previously: if we offer him cybernetics or other such stuff, the lad will probably accept a lot of cities.
>>
>>3847703

(Lowest of the numbers for that territory. Should come up to 40. Satllites aren't working right now, but the potentates want them up when the sky clears)

>>3847707

(It's not a window, it's a "this guy was impressed so he can be hired again". Beware of conflict with Andrews).


Fr. Schorpe is ready to go talk to the Witnesses, if that is desired; he thinks that a secondary heart is a good idea, but finds messing with the brain in any way to be fairly creepy. Dr. Diamond tells him that you've decided to not proceed with said messing with.

While you repaired the damage done by Folgore, you kept ready to tackle the Sixth Trumpet...

You don't know where Tsion is at the moment; he may still be in the Chicago area.

In recent weeks he has been trying to highlight the plight of the people stung by the locusts, and reminding people that just because God chose to use physical insects for that judgment, there is no guarantee that he will do that again.


"This passage has puzzled me for some time. For centuries scholars have looked at prophecy as symbolic. These symbols have been explained in different ways by different people. But why would God make it so difficult? I believe when the Scriptures say the writer saw something in a vision, it is symbolic of something else. But when the writer simply says that certain things happen, I take those literally. So far I have been proven right. This passage says John sees 200 million horsemen in a vision. I doubt these men and animals will be flesh and bone since John mentions a vision, but they will have a terrible impact on the world. They will indeed kill a third of the population. Friends, I don't know how this will happen or even how long it will take. God could make it occur in an instant. It appears to me that it will take several weeks. I ask you to read the account in Revelation and ask God to make it clear to you. It is helpful to know this current plague was created by the releasing of four angels bound in the Euphrates River. We know that these are fallen angels, because nowhere in Scripture do we ever see good angels bound. These were apparently bound because they wanted to create chaos on earth. Now they are free to do so. In fact, the Bible reveals they were prepared for a specific hour, day, month, and year."

>>3847707
>>3847497
>>3847473
>>3847467
>>3847456

One thing that would definitely be expedient is going after the Two Witnesses -- they are, after all, scheduled to be killed by Carpatescu in a month or two. What is true is that they've calmed down somewhat, moving less, even speaking less.

You have drones and personnel in support of you, but the only people who can talk back to the Two Witnesses without suffering a heart attack are you, Moira, and Alex Schorpe.

You have established that Eli and Moishe would not have gotten stung by the locusts and, indeed, the bits of locust brain and eye tissue that you are using as a detector fires a pretty strong inhibitor signal.
>>
>>3847802
>Bound Angels

The only example of Bound Angels that I'm familiar with are the Grigori who were bound in flame for teaching men forbidden knowledge and lying with women to create the Nephilim. I think they get a direct mention in the Apocryphal Book of Enoch.

The Protestant Remnant would not care about such passages, but Jews like John of Patmos most certainly would.

>Two Witnesses

I imagine so. They're due to die shortly after the Sixth Trumpet.

Too bad for them, we have no intention of letting them die any time soon...

If fellow Anons want to snatch them for study, I'm all for it.
>>
>>3847688
...Fine. We're talking past eachother a bit, and you have more of a plan than I.

I'll support draining the river, under protest.
>>
>>3847815
>you have more of a plan than I.
I'll be honest I feel like my plan has been thrown off by one fact: >>3846595

>(C5 + 2 factories)
This throws off all of my planning since I made that entire plan not knowing we'd need to dedicate 5 teams and 2 factories to redirecting the river. Knowing that now, I'll be honest, I will need to restructure the entire plan to account for the changes.
>>
You want to be ready for whatever comes; Peacekeepers have been told to patrol the river and report anything unusual, and General Akbar has reminded them that just as they caught the locusts, they will catch the angels or the horsemen: the entire encampment on the Euphrates' banks is a trap.

You have installed Gap Generators where you could; there are two at the Wailing Wall, many around the canal that has been built to drain the Euphrates into the Tigris, some on Mount Ararat where Remnant tourists have decided that the tall masts of the tesla coils must be some way to make sure they can't find remains of the Ark.

Most importantly, you can redirect the Euphrates with the touch of a button.

# Push it, then!

# That would complicate things.

Since there are only 3 people who can deal with the Witnesses, it's all hands on deck, including you -- their section of the Wailing Wall has been cordoned off, covered in scaffolding, illuminated by all sort of active sensors.

"Woe to the leaders who make promises but do not do what they say," Eli wailed. "The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth."

Moishe picked up the message. "This judgment shall not pass until those who are sealed are released from their bondage."

What is he talking about? You had prisoners; you let them go.

Lifting Folgore's siege has made it politically feasible for Ehud Brog to give you authorization to operate near the Wailing Wall: there are no weapons overtly in sight, of course, but you have all sort of tools at your disposals: drones with a net and a Fulton harness, some of your new directed energy weapons, the works. The only thing you could not bring was the nuke carrier

# so you didn't.

# so you did, it's disguised as a fruit truck.

Out on a hill, a small water tower has been erected. containing a sniper's nest and a simple valve system to dive into the water tower -- most of which is genuine -- and breathe until reinforcements arrive.

# Time to brainstorm what to do with the Two Witnesses! (I think current vote is to send Schorpe in first? Do people prefer write-in or pick from a list?)

>>3847818

(It's fine. It's been three months; with the considerable resources at your disposal, digging a canal is not that difficult, especially with the Peacekeepers providing most of the manpower.)
>>
>>3847802

Seems like QM really thinks we should take a shot at the Two Witnesses BEFORE the Sixth Trumpet, which makes some sense.

Worst case we accelerate things slightly.

Well, worst case we get killed and indwelt by Satan for ordering it. But let's go for before.

Let's experiment with gap generators around the Two Witnesses. Possibly BIG ones? People are going to need secondary hearts to operate in that area, though.

How about a big fucking drone with a gap generator and a gun?
>>
#That would complicate things

#So you didn't

Er, why would we want a nuke carrier?

(I like picking from the list)
>>
>>3847825

# So we didn't.

If we're going to nuke the Two Witnesses it will be a very deliberate act, not sitting around with a nuke disguised as a fruit truck.

Alright. Two witnesses.

I'm thinkin if we can send in a drone with a gap generator, with some kind of semi autonomous direction to kill them?

I don't think we're going to pull this off without some big fuckin gap generators.
>>
>>3847825
>General Akbar
I don't know how I didn't notice this before now...

# Push it, then!

# so you didn't.

As effective as a nuke would be it would involve nuking Israel which is a real dick move.

># Time to brainstorm what to do with the Two Witnesses! (I think current vote is to send Schorpe in first? Do people prefer write-in or pick from a list?)
I kinda want to go in dressed as Inti, the Maiden and whatever non-christian deity Schorpe feels like dressing up as. Just so anyone watching can see some random ass gods walk up to debate them. Dunno though.

>(It's fine. It's been three months; with the considerable resources at your disposal, digging a canal is not that difficult, especially with the Peacekeepers providing most of the manpower.)
Wait so we don't need to dedicate those resources? I'm confused but if you are telling me those 3 months of the plan don't need to be changed I ain't going to question it.

>>3847832
>Seems like QM really thinks we should take a shot at the Two Witnesses BEFORE the Sixth Trumpet, which makes some sense.
It does throw the prophecy even further off course: given the Antichrist must be the one to kill them and all so if he or she can't, then they can't be the Antichrist.
>>
Did a little digging and I found this little gem:

These are the Watchers (Grigori), who turned aside from the Lord, 200 myriads, together with their prince Satanail.

2 Enoch 18:3.

A myriad is a unit of 10,000.

10,000 x 200 = 2,000,000
---

>General Akbar
Yeah, he's a character from the books.
>>
>>3847870
>10,000 x 200 = 2,000,000
Well that's good to know at least: we can almost certainly kill 2 million demon horsemen far easier than 200 million. It almost seems reasonable comparatively.
>>
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>>3847859
>>3847857
>>3847843

You're grateful to the Israeli PM to have allowed you to operate in such a culturally and politically sensitive bit of the world; there are places in Jerusalem and Betlehem where literally moving a ladder away from a wall can cause a diplomatic incident, so being allowed to fly drones and operate electronics near the Wailing Wall is a pretty big concession. Bringing in an actual nuke would have been a little bit too much. ( IRL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_Quo_(Jerusalem_and_Bethlehem)#Immovable_ladder )
>>3847870
>>3847883

Other sources give 200K horsemen, but that maybe because a repeated word was not repeated properly; the great scanning project begun by Peter Mathews seems to lean towards two million. Tsion is adamant that it's two hundred million.

Gap generators have been put in place as close to the do-not-approach line as possible, including one behind the wall; one thing you were not able to do was get permission to make a hole in the wall, which would have made it easier to just shoot them in the back.

Sending Father Schorpe to argue with them is largely a distraction; you can certainly do a bit of cosplay, but Fr. Schorpe himself will show up in a Roman cassock, out of respect for where he is and his profession.

The last assassination attempt on the Witnesses was about three weeks ago, when a man just ran up to them with a SMG; the man turned out to suffer from depression, supposedly from lack of romantic success and having spent most of his money on lottery tickets. He left a long and rambling manifesto, and the authorities largely chalked the matter down to a variant of suicide-by-cop.

Your actual plan with the Witnesses, unless Schorpe pulls a miracle and gets them to stand down, is to

# shoot them with a DEW.

# inject them with locust ichor.

# use a small group of drone helicopters to ensnare one of them in a net, and then do a Fulton extraction

# shoot them with a sniper rifle well beyond the distance at which their flame should travel, hidden into the water tower.

# let Moira break out the grenade launcher and then run away really fast.

# (write in)
>>
>>3847909
# use a small group of drone helicopters to ensnare one of them in a net, and then do a Fulton extraction

Killing them is a part of the prophecy, keeping them alive forever disrupts that at the very least, if nothing else.
>>
For me its not so much the number as it is a correlation between Revelations and Apocryphal Jewish legend.

Did we bring fire extinguishers? I wonder if a face full of foam would shut them up?

#Inject them with locust ichor.
>>
Proposal:

Unleash a bunch of fire extinguishers on Eli and Moishe, creating a thick foamy mist. In the scuffle, inject with Ichor.
>>
>>3847825

# Push it, then!

# so you didn't.

>>3847909
# use a small group of drone helicopters to ensnare one of them in a net, and then do a Fulton extraction

>>3847932
Too complicated, prone to error. Smoke screens work both ways(if it works at all) and I'd think we'd rather not inject Schorpe on accident.
>>
>>3847909
Yknow what fuck it.

# Send a drone to inject them with locust ichor.

Let's see what happens. It's either going to be enough of a distraction to kill them, or nothing, and it won't take long to try.
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>>3847986
Can we not?

We can experiment with ichor later, in a controlled environment, where a mistake isn't liable to cause an international incident.
>>
Mmmmm... OK.

# use a small group of drone helicopters to ensnare one of them in a net, and then do a Fulton extraction
>>
Hey so guys, I've got a prelim plan for the 5th month drawn out if you guys want to see it?
>>
Also it turns out I fucked the plan for month 46 or so, since I was tired as shit and didn't realise we'd get our budget reset then. Meaning that instead of having 1 Bn and needing to spend all of our factories more or less making money, we actually have 41 Bn and therefore had a massive surplus.

There is one benefit of this, it makes the next two months balance out incredibly nicely.
>>
>>3848063
Well that's good news then

If we're going to cosplay, I vote the Foreman dress up as Terry Pratchett. See if it starts a movement similar to CLU.
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>>3848089
>If we're going to cosplay, I vote the Foreman dress up as Terry Pratchett. See if it starts a movement similar to CLU.
Fair enough but I kinda want to play up the mysterious aspect of who The Foreman is in the public eye given we're entering the stage of things where having public respect and a degree of fame / mystery works to our benefit; that and I kinda want to know if people praying to us would strengthen us in our dream battles against god / angels and shit.
>>
>>3847909
Also OP can we build more than one level of Thule at once? I ask mostly because I'm in the Sixth month and I can't find much to do with the 5 teams I've got left since I don't feel like dealing with orbital assets and I don't know if blanket surveying parts of the world is actually a good / useful idea.

Admittedly part of me is considering the possibility of using them to augment a entire covert team to create our own super elite soldier unit but still if I know that I can do multiple levels then I've probably got the factory capacity to do another 2 levels in the 6th month and really push the envelope on just how quickly a city can be built.
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>>3847802
We went though all that just to hire him.

Just sit him down and have a 1 to 1 face time and talk.

>Beware of conflict with Andrews
Listen Domai, I 'm going to be blunt with you. You may in some circumstances be forced to interact with Andrews from time to time, but I will do my best to keep you two away from one another. I need you to be more pragmatic at during those times, and while Andrews may have seniority, I assure you I will not have you work under him, and to keep you both as fairly separate as possible. Ideally on two different land masses.

>>3848063
># use a small group of drone helicopters to ensnare one of them in a net, and then do a Fulton extraction
># shoot them with a sniper rifle well beyond the distance at which their flame should travel, hidden into the water tower.

>>3848063
Can we build up Thule and hire more teams, and buy more heavy weapons?

>>3848089
I support this. We need the sword to complete the getup....

>>3848124
We can put on lots of make up, and face cheeks and stuff to change face structure.

We should totally make memes of people praying to us like, "Good luck will come to you if you say godspeed foreman" or some memes online that have people praise, pray, or give their blessings to us online, even if its just half hearty or jokingly.
>>
I've recovered just enough sanity that, while looking over my previously planned 4 months and trying to figure out how to lead on from them, I have noticed a bunch of giant gaping holes in the plans and I now regret posting them. I mean seriously, I wish I had just delayed posting until I finished every turn since at least then shit would balance out properly.

Were it not for the fact that OP shouldn't have to redo any math or shit they've been running in the background as well as remaking the month images, I'd outright beg for the chance to post the new and improved version of the plans where I, for example, actually knew when I'd be getting the quarterly cash tithe. Not to mention remembering to actually make use of Foreman and other Heroes actions.

>>3848277
>Can we build up Thule and hire more teams, and buy more heavy weapons?
Assuming OP tells me we can build multiple levels in one turn, I can promise you Thule's industrial capacity will be fully online in 6 months...even if I will be double billing it at the end to meet that deadline.

As to heavy weapons or combat teams, I am afraid not although we will have 9 units of drones and basically every tech advanced heavily.

>We should totally make memes of people praying to us like, "Good luck will come to you if you say godspeed foreman" or some memes online that have people praise, pray, or give their blessings to us online, even if its just half hearty or jokingly.
I can promise you, if we can harness the power of the early-2000's internet we've made into worshipping us? God won't win in a battle of sheer dogmatic power.
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>>3848277

Lets not bring up Ryan from the start. Instead mention Project Penguin and let things role out from there...

Just keep them apart like we do Aki and Vapanjay.

>>3848298

So we're going to harness the power of CATS memes to fight Turbo Jesus then? Sounds like a legit strategy.
>>
>>3848325
Wouldn't honesty be the best policy? Wouldn't it be worse when he inevitably finds out we still work with Ryan?
>>
I have a worry, that the two witnesses are on some sort of biological timer, that their prophesied deaths will come as a result of something similar to ichor in their system running out. They are not invisible to bullets, but rather they regenerate from the wounds. When the angels were shot at their clothes were not disrupted but shooters were able to put holes in the witnesses clothes. This super-ichor might also be flammable, which would explain the flamethrower like behavior of their immolation. It might also be the cause of the heart attacks, but I find this less likely. They might run out of this super-ichor, but more likely I think some environmental signal caused by the previous prophecy will cause them to stop producing it. When that happens, all anyone has to do is attempt to claim Carpy's bounty, and bingo bango bongo, the beast has made war on and killed them. They will not be buried because someone will take them for examination. When they are "killed" I suspect this will restart the creation of the super-Ichor, leading to the associated Resurrection. Dunno where else to go with this particular prophecy but those are my thoughts.
>>
>>3848334

Nah.

The problem was suggesting he work alongside Ryan right off the bat. Instead, we assign our new agent to Thule, let him show off the power of the Proletariat Masses while Ryan does work with N.A.P. and wherever else, and things will work out fine.

Hopefully, should we ever need both men to collaborate on a project, we'll have a healthy an respectful working relationship that they can take one for Team CATS, savvy?
>>
>>3848367
Its not that he will work with Ryan, its that he "may" be forced to bump into him from time to time.

Previously it wasn't that him working with Ryan was a problem, it was him working UNDER Ryan that was.
>>
>>3848298
We're fine. Chill.
>>
>>3848409
I am perfectly calm, just annoyed at tired-me for missing all the stuff I did.
>>
>>3848364
...which is another reason to kidnap them so we can examine them alive, in a controlled and guarded environment.

(Also, giest explicitly said they have the invisible to bullets thing going on.)
>>
>>3848464
I am absolutely on board with kidnapping. I tend to leave decision making like that to that to other people. That said, while I agree that bullets are passing through the witnesses, I believe the mechanics behind it are different than the mechanics behind angels bullet invisibility. Course we won't know till we get em back to the lab.
>>
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>>3848298

It'd hard to win the memetic war with the Remnant, but some people do see you as some sort of techno-savior (Think Elon Musk fanboys irl).

Once the foundations are in place, Thule can definitely help build itself -- there need to be enough people in it first, which takes a month or two, but after that yes, you can. As for heavy weapons, you have enough for 1 team at a time right now.

>>3848277

"I am, and remain, first and foremost a union leader. I know that you're American and I've seen what happened to union membership in your country - just as you've seen what happened to industrial output, I'm hoping. What worries me most is that today we have robots to command us, not to serve us; I am willing to try to win the argument with Andrews by showing that people do their best work when they don't have to fear being fired by a computer program."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that as an American you should know the story of John Henry. It's told as inspirational, but the fact remains that at the end of it the man is dead of overwork and the machine will be good to go the next day. People don't live on only bread, they need a sense of purpose. What's yours?"

# I'm practicing what Carpatescu preached, we can build a world of plenty if we're willing to work hard for it.

# The lights must keep blinking, even come the Apocalypse. We're working so we can survive.

>>3848486
>>3848277
>>3848298
>>3848008
>>3847960

"Do you intend to kidnap these men?"

You do, actually. The plan is to distract them, then use a security team or a group of drones to fire a net launcher at them from above the wall. You leave yourself a few more options, including CO2 extinguishers; your people, making ready on scaffodling, are dressed in red and the drones have been repainted accordingly. Unfortunately it was impossible to hook up a fire hose, due to the fact that it would irreparably damage the wall if put to use. The lowest rung of the scaffolding houses a couple of Gap Generators.

Is it better that Fr. Schorpe go in knowing of your intentions, or not?

# "At least one of them, yes. They have killed people in a horrible way, Father, you've reviewed the video more often than me. I intend to lock them up that they may eventually stand trial, like Fortunato." (Schorpe will know)

# "I intend to study what they tell you, how they tell you, and if they try to kill you or not. Causing strokes in people is hardly conducive to productive debate, Father, don't you agree?" (Schorpe won't know)

Moira is ready, and you get your hands on a directed-energy weapon, mark 1. It's essentially a plastic rifle frame that looks a little bit like a Super Soaker, with the batteries where you'd expect water tanks, and contains a taser, high-powered laser pointer and microwave beam emitter.
>>
>>3848564
# I'm practicing what Carpatescu preached, we can build a world of plenty if we're willing to work hard for it.
Both?
# The lights must keep blinking, even come the Apocalypse. We're working so we can survive.

A augmented team would be really nice right about now.

# "I intend to study what they tell you, how they tell you, and if they try to kill you or not. Causing strokes in people is hardly conducive to productive debate, Father, don't you agree?" (Schorpe won't know)
>>
>>3848564
We do not lie to our people
#"Atleast one of the yes"
>>
>>3848564
>Once the foundations are in place, Thule can definitely help build itself -- there need to be enough people in it first, which takes a month or two, but after that yes, you can. As for heavy weapons, you have enough for 1 team at a time right now.
Good to know, now I'll post my final two turns of planning or the redesigned prior months as well depending on which you'd prefer: the first will probably be slower since I'll need to analyse what assets we actually have from the old version and use that; the new version does probably mean more work on your end and slight variant differences that might change things you've written, although I doubt it since the research actions and such mostly remain the same and the changes should only be after / at the third month or so.

>"Meaning that as an American you should know the story of John Henry. It's told as inspirational, but the fact remains that at the end of it the man is dead of overwork and the machine will be good to go the next day. People don't live on only bread, they need a sense of purpose. What's yours?"
Actually that's a false narrative, the guy survived but people love the tragic story of man-versus-machine and find it easier to believe when the machine wins.

# The lights must keep blinking, even come the Apocalypse. We're working so we can survive.

"Between the damage from the various Fragments, the Yellowstone emissions, the war against Folgore and a few other incidents, humanity's cradle is in fairly rough shape even if we are doing decently. It is the responsibility of CATS to ensure that the internet survives and some would argue that the internet includes the users given the nature of it."

# "At least one of them, yes. They have killed people in a horrible way, Father, you've reviewed the video more often than me. I intend to lock them up that they may eventually stand trial, like Fortunato." (Schorpe will know)
>>
>>3848596
I think letting Schorpe know will put him at greater risk. Its like with believers, if he knows harm will come to them it will probably be known to god or witnesses and he may suffer for it.
>>
>>3848612
Lying to him is not something you will convince me to do.
>>
>>3848564

# The lights must keep blinking, even come the Apocalypse. We're working so we can survive.

# "I intend to study what they tell you, how they tell you, and if they try to kill you or not. Causing strokes in people is hardly conducive to productive debate, Father, don't you agree?" (Schorpe won't know)

>>3848612
This guy's got it. Need-to-know.
>>
>>3848615
Well I'd rather we just not tell him, than lie.
>>
>>3848619
He asked anon: what you are saying is that you want to lie but you don't want to admit that fact.
>>
>>3848564
>"Do you intend to kidnap these men?"

# "I intend to study them Father, and I'd like to be able to do so without any disturbances. Just focus on making a good debate and I will handle the rest."

How about that?
>>
>>3848564
># "At least one of them, yes. (Schorpe will know)

Schorpe needs to know the score.

> People don't live on only bread, they need a sense of purpose. What's yours?

My purpose?

A world that can find it's own answers. A world that doesn't need a God, or a Carpatescu, to tell it right from wrong.

Which I suppose is the largest philosophical break with what we think and what Carpatescu and God preaches. Their bargain--and it is the same bargain for both of them: physical plenty, spiritual plenty, a simplification of right and wrong--it's worth a lot, but it's not worth what they're demanding, and the act of forcing it on us like this reveals it for the deception it is.

>>3848612
We're not harming them, if things going to plan. They'll be safe.

Very safe.

>>3848621
># "I intend to study them Father, and I'd like to be able to do so without any disturbances. Just focus on making a good debate and I will handle the rest."

This works for me.
>>
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"Misfiring" it at people standing around in front of the Two Witnesses has caused some pain and, in one occasion, a second degree burn when the microwaves superheated a strap buckle that was in contact with skin; shooting it at the Two Witnesses, from far away, has shown no effect.

You've made yourself look a little different; that took nothing more than some extra padding under your suit (it's fire-retardant foam, just in case) and a hair dye job.

The attempt will happen

# during the day, for maximum visibility

# at night, for surprise and to limit damage to bystanders; you have floodights

# at dawn or dusk, when there is still some natural light but few people

and you have brought all your toys except for the uranium-hydride bomb. You consider talking to the Witnesses yourself.

>>3848596
>>3848583

What you told Domai was that you had a job to do, and you would do it with dignity and passion, because it needed done. The internet is something new, something powerful. It must be grown and preserved. "We need a global network - the world has grown complicated enough to need it. I want it to be decentralized and paritary. Our purpose is the highest and most basic: survive so that our children may thrive, and find their own answers without being told them."

You discussed the story of John Henry with the man, pointing out that like every folk tale, it had a bunch of different endings, whatever if anything happened in reality. He agrees with you. "Let's call this a test then, Foreman. I'll work with you."

The guy's hand is time and a half yours, but his handshake is controlled.

----

You tell Schorpe the truth: he's smart enough to figure it out either way, anyway. "I don't know yet. We've prepared for months but this is... well, a non repeatable phenomenon as Robertson is fond of saying. I can promise you that you'll get a genuine chance to talk them down from their anger, but if you can't, I'm going to study them, and it has to happen in a controlled environment."

"I see. I suppose these days the magisteria have to overlap."

He gets from his briefcase a fragment of old cloth, it looks like it's from the Great Depression era; a bit of prison garb with the number 16670 on it. You run it through the Datalinks, and find that it's the inmate number of Fr. Maximillian Kolbe, when he was in Auschwitz. The priest had died taking the place of a Jew who was the only provider for his family, and was subsequently canonized.

"We need live theologians, not dead martyrs, Father."

"It's a gift for them. If they are who they say they are, they will recognize its significance."

Your people and the IDF clear the area, and Fr. Schorpe calmly walks towards the Two Witnesses. He's wearing a black cassock and unarmed. His voice is amplified by the speakers you've had placed all over the placce.

"I'm here as a man, not as a priest."

[...]
>>
>>3848628
ABORT! ABORT!
>>
>>3848630
What am I missing, why are we aborting?
>>
>>3848633
The 1d100 roll is a 5, a very low roll and thus a bad omen seeing as they determine the fates. We must hold the course: the dice may yet change to our favour.
>>
>>3848633
5 on a 100. Dice being dice.

>>3848628

# at dawn or dusk, when there is still some natural light but few people

Minimizing bystanders seems indicated, but we need the visibility.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d100)

Schorpe spoke in accurate, if stilted and accented, Hebrew; people can get the subtitles on their phones, or in their headsets, or on a projector you've set up for the occasion. The Witnesses boom their reply in the same language, and that too is duly translated, but for some reason while you can't understand their syllables, you understand the concepts before reading the subtitles.

“There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus!” Moishe proclaims.

"Many Christians would consider that to be too close to the heresy of Arianism, though. Would you like to discuss the doctrine of the Trinity? I'd be interested in your views."

“It is written, 'Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.' ” Eli thunders.

Schorpe keeps walking. "Let me come closer so we don't have to shout at each other." He passes the police line.

"He and she who have ears, let them hear."
"We are bound neither by time nor space, and those who shall benefit by our presence and testimony stand within the sound of our proclamation."

"Well, they're definitely hearing us. I just don't like to shout, is all." He doesn't have to, obviously; you have more amps than an open-air festival. Just to be safe, half of them are on battery backup, too. Schorpe's voice sounds a little tinny due to the interference from the gap generators, but that's life.

“Come nigh then and question not this warning from the Lord of Hosts. He who would dare come against the appointed servants of the Most High God, yea the lampstands of the one who sits high above the heavens, the same shall surely die!”

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

Schorpe is now standing in front of the Witnesses. Since they are being supernaturally loud, his earphones engage partial noise cancellation.
There's a 24/7 live webcam, and traffic is increasing.

# Abort.

# Hit them now.

# Let Schorpe get closer.

Above the wall, your people are ready with nets, resin, fire extinguishers, and even a drum of gasoline in case you want to go the other way; the designated sniper has a bead and Moira is ready to run in and grab Schorpe if there need be.
>>
>>3848637
...Ok, now we panic.

># Let Schorpe get closer.

And hit complete noise cancellation, speech-to-text-to-speech, for everyone. We're getting mind whammied again.
>>
Rolled 16, 34, 17, 20, 8 = 95 (5d100)

>>3848628
# at dawn or dusk, when there is still some natural light but few people

>>3848637
>Rolled 1 (1d100)
Jesus sweet fuck what are these dice, give me a moment while I check the RNG ain't fucked by rolling a few myself.

# Let Schorpe get closer.

Schorpe has protection against their main method of attack (e,g heart attacks) and so long as he doesn't physically attack them they can't hurt him. Therefore we should be fine against that roll so long as we don't attack under it's influence.
>>
>>3848633
>>3848635
>>3848636
See! >>3848637
AHHHH OMG!
>>
The voice is still working, even with the gap generators cranked. That's a bad sign.

I'm leaning abort, but I also feel like we have enough and this is a formality.
>>
>>3848641
>Rolled 16, 34, 17, 20, 8 = 95 (5d100)
Average roll = 19.

I don't need to tell you that this is statistically odd but given the small sample size it's not exactly representative.

>>3848645
We should be fine just for the debating stage: it's the Fulton extract that worries me in case they try to resist or something.
>>
>>3848641
Alright, lets roll.

# Let Schorpe get closer.
>>
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>>3848641
These are terrible rolls. Hit the big PANIC button!

# Abort!

Even if we abort something is likely to go wrong!
>>
Rolled 488 (1d666)

>>3848648
Look I'll prove the dice aren't cursed by the oldest method in the book if it will make you any happier.
>>
>>3848641
>>3848647

Can you two vote for complete noise cancellation for everyone as well? Unless you want Schorpe and company to turn Remnant?

>>3848646
Lemme try.
>>
>>3848653
>Can you two vote for complete noise cancellation for everyone as well?
The system will automatically activate such a thing if it is needed.

>Unless you want Schorpe and company to turn Remnant?
Remnancy isn't generally gotten like this, it's something you convert to because god has a ego and thus he needs your submission.
>>
>>3848653
Yeah. He can work through speech to text. Noise cancellation on.
>>
Rolled 71, 58, 1, 51, 18, 15, 56, 62, 79, 3 = 414 (10d100)

>>3848653
...Goddamnit, I've been on hiatus too long.
>>
>>3848665
>Rolled 71, 58, 1, 51, 18, 15, 56, 62, 79, 3 = 414 (10d100)
41.4 as an average is double what I had: significant improvement.
>>
Rolled 12 (1d100)

(lbq dice at their finest, ladies and gents.)

You have several spotlights aimed at the site; it's dawn, and you want to use what little natural light there is while making sure that if a mob forms because of your actions, they'll be behind the security perimeter you and the IDF have set up.

All earsets and headsets for those present go into anti-mesmerism mode; to anyone who doesn't know what that's for, meaning everyone but you, Moira and Schorpe, you justify it as autotranslation. A few bystanders, likely Remnant, take their nomenklators off. "We don't need translation, this is like Pentecost!"

One of the field medics calls you. "I've stopped getting telemetry from Moira's implant, she may have to sit this one out."

"What?"

Moira is added to the call. "I'm fine, Boss."

"Good, but your implant is in a reboot loop. Go get it reset."

It's probably just a firmware glitch; Moira was the first to get the implant, so a few aspects of it are piecemeal, which in turn required a different version of the firmware than yours and Schorpe's. Given the power and size requirements for the controller on it, it's the best 16-bit microcontroller money can buy, but it's still more vulnerable to overflows than modern 32-bit hardware.

Looks like if Schorpe needs recovered, this one is on you, at least for the next few minutes.

>>3848647
>>3848640
>>3848641

You're tempted to pull the plug on the operation, but you promised Schorpe a chance to talk to these two.

Schorpe sits in front of the Two Witnesses, attempting a lotus position but ending up leaning to the side, since he's a bit creaky and the stone floor is hard. "So, you say you're prophets. Do you know what the Old Testament says about inaccurate prophecies?"

“And what is our prophecy, O ye generation of snakes and vipers who have made the holy city of Messiah's death and resurrection likened unto Egypt and Sodom? That Jesus of Bethlehem, the son of the Virgin Mary, was in the beginning with God, and he was God, and he is God. Yea, he fulfilled all the prophecies of the coming Messiah, and he shall reign and rule now and forevermore, world without end, amen!”

"Well, I'm a priest. I agree with that. I suppose it means you are Christians after all. So why are you here, with the same message every day?"

“We have been granted the power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of our prophecy. Yea, we have power over waters to turn them to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as we will.

"God is good, he would not do that to His children. So... you're taking responsibility? That the extraordinary string of global misfortunes is your fault?"

Moishe said, “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.”

"Ah, but it hasn't, has it. I note a fascinating absence of demon locusts from the sky, for example. And despite the drought-"

Eli points at Schorpe, and his heart stops.

-urk-
>>
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>>3848668
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l4OEJ38aLY
>>
Rolled 43, 67, 50, 31, 4, 27, 68, 99, 23, 59, 72, 80, 98, 28, 8, 59, 57, 56, 51, 87 = 1067 (20d100)

>>3848668
Aye give me a moment here: just checking if the dice gods hate you or something.
>>
>>3848676
>Rolled 43, 67, 50, 31, 4, 27, 68, 99, 23, 59, 72, 80, 98, 28, 8, 59, 57, 56, 51, 87 = 1067 (20d100)
Dice average = 53.035 I think. I also think that the dice might just hate you for some reason OP.
>>
Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>3848668

Schorpe slumps to the side. You check the telemetry on your own implant; it looks good. But so did his...

And that's the part where, belaboring, he gets back up into a sitting position.

"Gentlemen, I was under the impression that we were having a conversation. Trying to give me a heart attack does not say much for your ability to persuade, if you truly are servants of the Logos."

Schorpe is whispering, his breathing belabored; the implant took too long to boot up, and the motors in it are experiencing unexpected resistance, as if there was extra friction. The batteries are designed to last for half an hour, but you wouldn't give them more than fifteen minutes.

“You would dare wag your tongue at the chosen ones of almighty God?”

Schorpe clears his throat and manages to sit up straight. He speaks barely above a whisper, but half a megawatt of amps is amplifying him.

"I have dared come, and reason together with you. I'm afraid that if all you can do is try to silence me, you have lost the argument. You have the floor, gentlemen; preach as you will. But my question stands: are you responsible? As you have stood here shouting for months, I shall sit here listening for however long I have. The whole world watching understands that every second I sit here, alive, facing you, is for you a defeat, and every word you say that does not address my concern is an admission of your own guilt. And in the spirit of interdenominationalism, let me misquote Martin Luther a little: Here I sit - I can do no other."

Schorpe looks up at the two witnesses, and incidentally at one of the lights above; it's a great camera shot, his eyes look like they're on fire.

“O men of Israel,” Eli responded, looking past Schorpe and int. “Do you not care for water to drink or rain for your crops? We allow the sun to bake your land and turn the water into blood for as long as we prophesy, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he has given you into our hands...”

This time the Witnesses are openly booed and jeered by everyone except the small Remnant contingent of onlookers. "Boo!" "Stop saying the same thing over and over!" "Answer him!"

Eventually it turrns into a chorus of "Answer him! Answer him!", in Hebrew, as people pick up the syllables.

# Cute. Drop the hammer on them.

# Go retrieve him.

# Go stand behind him.

If you go, you can go

# armed

# unarmed

# with a wooden walking stick for Schorpe. Surely the two witnesses would not feel threatened by an old man's walking stick?

>>3848676

(That looks okay statistically)
>>
>>3848682
I think you added a 0 in front of the 35 by mistake?
man is not my strong suit.

>>3848683
>average if 53.035 or something
>Roll 53
NOW its back to normal wtf!

# Go retrieve him.

# unarmed
>>
>>3848683
>Rolled 53 (1d100)
And let it be known, the dice gods are a kind folk when they wish to be.

# Go retrieve him.

Don't suppose we've got a set of Jedi style robes lying around?

# with a wooden walking stick for Schorpe. Surely the two witnesses would not feel threatened by an old man's walking stick?

>>3848686
>I think you added a 0 in front of the 35 by mistake?
Eh, it's close enough.

>NOW its back to normal wtf!
Never doubt what the dice gods shall grant unto the servants if we draw the right statistical provenance.
>>
>>3848658

>The system will automatically activate such a thing if it is needed.

We only built it for Carpatescu, not for the Witnesses.

>Remnancy isn't generally gotten like this, it's something you convert to because god has a ego and thus he needs your submission.
You think what with Tsion's little freakout that God isn't worried enough to start pulling surprises out of his ass?

>>3848666
>>3848676
>>3848682

Laws of probability still hold.

We're still getting screwed. Just [i]fairly[\i] screwed.

>>3848683
>>3848686
>>3848687

Hold on.

There's an opportunity here, I think, to at least rally people worldwide against God and the coming trials. Remember Thích Quảng Đức?

#Tell Schorpe he has fifteen minutes before the batteries crap out--does he want out?
>>
>>3848687
They are just mucking with us.
>>
Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>3848686
>>3848687

You do have robes around; it is traditional dress around here, and as much as it is a bit chuuni, of course some of your support staff bought a set.

>>3848690

The system can activate on Carpatescu's trigger phrase, but you don't know if these guys have one, so it can be turned on manially.

"Father Schorpe, do you want out You got fifteen minutes of battery power. I'll send you a beep every minute."

"Here I sit" he repeats "I can do no other."

"Then I will stand behind you."

>>3848687
>>3848686

You walk up to the Witnesses yourself. This is incredibly dangerous, of course, but at this point the whole world is watching -- or they'll catch it on repeat with the morning news, anyway -- and you get half an idea of what Schorpe is trying to do: change the story.

You don't feel anything different when you cross the yellow and then the red line that have been painted on the floor relative to where the Two Witnesses usually stand; however, as you walk, you notice that they've changed position; now they are standing almost back to back, looking to the sides of Schorpe and directly into the crowd.

And, perhaps crucially, not at you.

Moishe and Eli continue preaching from Revelation, alternating sentences; it's nothing they haven't said before. People almost drown them out with chants of "Answer him! Answer him!"

You see them face to face, up close, for the first time. The scent of ashes, as from a recent fire, hangs about them. In the dim light their long, sinewy arms look muscled and leathery. They have large, bony hands and were barefoot, with callous feet. The sackcloth they're wearing could have been made yesterday or fifty years ago, or twenty-five hundred. Their eyes seem to glow darkly; Schorpe's, at least on camera, are atomic fire.

# Time for a deus ex machina: drop the drones.

# Help Schorpe up, if he wants to be helped stand.

# Did you bring the stick? Give it to him.

# Greet Eli and Moishe politely.

# "Answer him, or we will leave, and you will have lost, and all the world will know it. Are you responsible?"

# "Witnesses! I've come to bargain."

# "This is my colleague, and friend. If you hurt him, you will answer to me."
>>
>>3848705
# Did you bring the stick? Give it to him.

Slam the stick against the ground first though, having the speakers around the wall reverberate the sound so it seems to come from everywhere and then ask for silence before giving it to him.

# "Answer him, or we will leave, and you will have lost, and all the world will know it. Are you responsible?"
>>
>>3848709
So we have a heart attack next huh?

I don't mind the stick but lets say that....

Make sure to jab em with the bug venom if they prove to bee too troublesome. Inject Eli first or whoever does the heart attack the most.
>>
>>3848713
>Make sure to jab em with the bug venom if they prove to bee too troublesome. Inject Eli first or whoever does the heart attack the most.
What is with anons and wanting to jab the firey-death people with the insect venom when it provides little practical benefit for massive risk.
>>
>>3848714
Makes handling them easier, and if they are going to try to make us die, we may as well punish them for it, or make it harder for them to point fingers to make us drop dead or burn up.
>>
>>3848715
>Makes handling them easier
How?

>and if they are going to try to make us die, we may as well punish them for it
Except they may well not do that except because you decided to stab them with a hypodermic of the venom and got heat-blasted out of existence.
>>
>>3848719
They would be in too much pain to pain fingers and breathe fire.

Drones would be doing that, not us or people.

Worse case is we lose a few drones. I bet we can overwhelm them with enough drones.

If we hit them with everything all at once at the same time, at least some should succeed.

But we only do it if they attack us, right now we need to gain some safe distance so we can dodge fires and avoid heart attacks.
>>
>>3848715
>>3848719
I agree with the green anon, there's no point in injecting them with the venom
Being so violent is just asking for trouble
also, they won't be really useful captured if they're just in endless agony all day...
>>
>>3848721
>They would be in too much pain to pain fingers and breathe fire.
You think, yet we had multiple members of staff get stung and still function relatively well without medical aid like opiates.

>Drones would be doing that, not us or people.
Pulling the trigger gets you killed: we've not tested just how remotely it needs to be done before you are safe or if it is even possible.
>>
>>3848722
We'd only need to inject them if they try to burn or kill our people. and since there's only named characters at risk including the foreman I think we should take safety measures, or if we try to capture them.
>>
>>3848723
That's because it was direct violence and confrontation, within a 100m radius. If it was that bullshitingly easy to target people only on intentions then we may have well just have dropped dead instead, before we even put this whole mission together. After all, god and friends can see the future.
>>
>>3848726
So you agree we don't need to jab them with the venom at this time?
>>
>>3848729
Its more of a situation and opportunity based choice.

For example..
We can do it just for shits and giggles.

Do it if they try to kill us while we retrieve the Father from harm, or puts us in harm.

Use it as part of the attempt to capture the two witnesses.

Inject them afterwards if we somehow capture them and need a way to properly subdue and sedate or subjucate them.
>>
>>3848727
>That's because it was direct violence and confrontation, within a 100m radius. If it was that bullshitingly easy to target people only on intentions then we may have well just have dropped dead instead, before we even put this whole mission together
You think, yet we've actually to try and kill them: to consider doing something and actually do it are two different things; else everyone who considered the possibility of Remnant god existing and such would instantly be converted.

>>3848730
>We can do it just for shits and giggles.
>Do it if they try to kill us while we retrieve the Father from harm, or puts us in harm.
>Use it as part of the attempt to capture the two witnesses.
>Inject them afterwards if we somehow capture them and need a way to properly subdue and sedate or subjucate them.
Not a single good reason.
>>
Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>3848713
>>3848709

You tap the stick on the ground. The thunderous noise from the speakers is a sound effect, since your microphone is far away from the stick, but it syncs pretty well.

You help Father Schorpe get up, then let go of him; with a little hesitation, he manages to stand. You take a step back and to the side.

"If you don't answer him, we'll be going. You tried to hurt my friend. You failed, but it still means that if this was an argument, you've lost it."

Slowly, deliberately, Eli points a finger at you. Your heart stops. You saw this coming, and locked your knees when he started raising his hand. This time, the system comes up as it should have; the adrenaline and testosterone injectors ensure that you will be able to operate normally for a few minutes on just the secondary heart if you need to, although you'll feel sore for days afterwards. For now, you may just have to walk and talk.

Moishe said, “God alone is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.”

That does not mollify Schorpe. "Are you accusing God of the disasters? Would you paint God as evil then? You've spoken for months, now is your chance to say something that wasn't already written down."

Suddenly Moishe looks to the crowd that has gathered and shouts, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Jesus Christ and of his words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

"I'm right here, Moishe. You don't have to shout. And I'm not ashamed, although you should be. If it takes me dropping dead to show that you've come here to shout at us rather than talk with us, so be it. Here I stand, I can do no other. You cannot offer Heaven as a bribe for unthinking submission. I'll wait."

Just as Schorpe stood, now Moishe and Eli sit, cross legged, hands on their knees, back to each other. They've been seen do that when they had nothing more to say.

# Help Schorpe walk away.

# Let him stand there for a few minutes to make the point, and briefly address the crowd yourself.

# They're sitting down. Drop the net on them.

"Boss, this is Moira. I'm good to go. Let's paste these bastards."

You glance at the medical tent, and see Moira in version 1.1 of the armor she was wearing when fighting the locusts.

# Charge!

# Don't be an idiot.

# Be ready, for now.
>>
>>3848735
# They're sitting down. Drop the net on them.
# Don't be an idiot.

Of course the dice start turning to our favour the moment The Foreman is involved directly.
>>
>>3848732
>Not a single good reason.
Not a single good rebuttal.

But seriously it would be safer for our crews and people if they can't be attack with magic god powers at will while transporting two people that are more dangerous than Carpatescu, with offensive powers.

>>3848735
# Let him stand there for a few minutes to make the point, and briefly address the crowd yourself.

# Help Schorpe walk away.

# They're sitting down. Drop the net on them.
In that Order.

>>3848736
>Of course the dice start turning to our favour the moment The Foreman is involved directly.
Merely a coincidence. Same with the gap generators.....
>>
>>3848741
>Not a single good rebuttal.
I don't think I need to offer a rebuttal to the plan to use the expensive regeneration enhancing venom against the people who would react to the only viable method of delivery by immolating people on the off chance that their ability to immolate people would be prevented from working by the pain they'd be in, knowing that a person can still walk and talk in a logical and intelligent manner under it's effects.

>But seriously it would be safer for our crews and people if they can't be attack with magic god powers at will while transporting two people that are more dangerous than Carpatescu, with offensive powers.
Yes it would be safer: your plan however doesn't seem to reasonably justify it providing this or compensate for the risk of doing it.
>>
Rolled 81 (1d100)

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

>>3848741
>>3848736

Father Schorpe turns off his microphone and quietly asks you to leave, after taking a step with the aid of the walking stick to show you that he can. He says that it's better optics.

# Fair enough, the spotlight should be on him, and this is his moment. Walk away.

# You're standing by your friend.

# Drop the damn net!

You tell Moira to not be an idiot -- armor won't do much against fire that's been shown to be as hot as a thermic lance, and even if it did, it would cook her inside the armor. Even filling it with water would result in steamed Moira for Eli and Moishe's lunch.

>>3848745

The younger someone is, the more it messes them up from a neurological standpoint; Chaim is able to work for a couple hours a day, while Stepola for example has to be kept sedated. Of course, there's no way to determine the metabolic age of the Two Witnesses -- they look ancient, but have shown reflexes comparable to yours.

Interestingly, for what you've seen one drop of ichor or one stinger full DO make a difference, but only a slight one.
>>
>>3848748
# Fair enough, the spotlight should be on him, and this is his moment. Walk away.
>>
>>3848745
>the only viable method of delivery by immolating people
That's why we use the DRONES!
even if the flames had some bullshit "soul-seeking" ability, they would be far enough away to get out of doge.

>on the off chance that their ability to immolate people would be prevented from working by the pain
Well then we shouldn't try to capture them on the off chance we could contain them.
They are still human, and it has been shown that even remnant members who have god protection are still affected.

We have no proper containment facility for them and shoving everyone dangerous in the same place is asking for trouble. Having them unable to fully risist would give us more time an leeway to build up our facilities and do full testing on them.

>be prevented from working by the pain they'd be in, knowing that a person can still walk and talk in a logical and intelligent manner under it's effects.
Would probably stack with the Gap Generator effect.

These two need special containment. In fact most people we jail will need special containment considerations to some degree or another, But these two and Carpatescu probably need the most.

>>3848748
# Fair enough, the spotlight should be on him, and this is his moment. Walk away.

Bring up the evac vehicle so its nearby. I get it Schorpe is going to cut it a it close.

>Interestingly, for what you've seen one drop of ichor or one stinger full DO make a difference, but only a slight one.
What about a full syringe? Can we produce more of the stuff? How much do we have from all the recovered bodies? We can offer smaller bounties for recovered body parts and bits and pieces.
>>
>>3848748
># Fair enough, the spotlight should be on him, and this is his moment. Walk away.

The witnesses look old - I would not like to try the bug juice on them in this environment
>>
Rolled 304, 647, 533 = 1484 (3d1000)

>>3848766
>>3848765
>>3848761

"Don't get hurt."

"I have 13 minutes remaining, give me 8."

You'll need your own heart defibrillated, but there's a tool for that in the medical tent.

"Bit of an anticlimax there, Father."

"I learned a lot, though. For one, I learned that they don't actually want to discuss theology. Next time, I recommend trying to initiate the script of the story of Nicodemus, to see if they follow, and then deviate from it."

You're having a relatively friendly conversation on the operations channel, whispering. Schorpe sounds a tiny bit drunk, understandably given the circumstances. "Don't lose hope in your people, Foreman. And don't lose hope in God, either -- he isn't the cosmic horror that these two preach."

You make it back, and your heart is defibrillated with little fuss; it hurts a little, and you're short on breath for a few minutes, but it's not the first time it happens. The implant has its own defib, but Moira's experience showed you that trying to trip it while near the Witnesses just stops the heart again, and all that does is hurt the muscle fibers.

You don't see Fr. Schorpe hold up an old fashioned tape recorder to his own face, as one would a telephone -- the cameras don't immediately catch it, either.

"Foreman?"

"Yeah?"

"We have a chance to survive. Make the best of your time. It's been a learning experience."

The next thing coming from the ops channel is your voice, although it's been cut and pasted -- the gap generators make for a noisy environment, so it passes muster, in the immediate.

"Drop, nets, now."

Father Schorpe lets himself fall forward, his arms spread in a T pose, hugging the Two Witnesses. The drones and fake firefighters have been ready to swoop down the whole time.

"Pro magna iustitia!"

# Countermand it.

# The shitshow has started - might as well finish it. Take off every drone, give cover!
>>
>>3848779
# The shitshow has started - might as well finish it. Take off every drone, give cover!
The Crazy MOFO!

Goddammit, don't fail him now, don't let his sacrifice go in vain.
>>
>>3848779
# The shitshow has started - might as well finish it. Take off every drone, give cover!
>>
>>3848779
># The shitshow has started - might as well finish it. Take off every drone, give cover!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
>>
We really need a work team and covert team augmented in the future.
>>
Rolled 957, 436, 239 = 1632 (3d1000)

>>3848784
>>3848785
>>3848786

"Saint Maximillian Kolbe, protect me!"

In unison, the two witnesses open their eyes -- they burn like gimlets -- and their mouths, from which two roughly spherical fireballs emerge. They twirl, and hit Father Schorpe's arms.

Fr. Schorpe is consumed in seconds, the balls of fire burn up his arms, and he screams in agony. All that's left of him is his skeleton, and some pieces of aluminum and carbon fiber that were in his abdomen. The walking stick fell off the wayside, and is burning normally.

Eli and Moishe did not even deign to get up. But seconds is all your people needed; a dozen drone helocopters drones fire downward-facing police issue net launchers on and around them.

Others drop resin, using small NOX cylinders to push the stuff down. It looks like miniature firefighting airplanes.

At the same time, your security squad, in picture-perfect firefighters' uniforms (they even got old style helmets) rappel down the Wailing Wall and start spraying CO2 and Halon. It's too late for Schorpe's bones, which shatter harmlessly into dust as soon as they touch the Witnesses.

Entangled in each other and in the nets, the Two Witnesses get up, and start struggling to break free.

“Woe unto you, mockers of the one true God!” Eli and Moishe shouted. “Until the due time, when God allows us to be felled and later returns us to his side, you shall have no power over us or over those God has called to proclaim his name throughout the earth!”

That they managed to shout that with a mouth full of fire-extinguisher foam is in and of itself impressive.

# Tie them up tighter, use the rappel ropes!

# Dump a barrel of gasoline on them, if they want to use their flame attack again, they'll die by it!

# Keep shooting foam and stick stuff at them!
>>
>>3848798
# Tie them up tighter, use the rappel ropes!

So when do we invade hell to rescue Father Schorpe?
>>
>>3848798
# Tie them up tighter, use the rappel ropes!
>>
File: 54ef3fddb4185[1].jpg (196 KB, 521x316)
196 KB
196 KB JPG
Rolled 786, 869, 333 = 1988 (3d1000)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wks1QNn-J_E

It's chaos. Drones are launching nets, firefighters keep the Two Witnesses covered in extinguisher foam, two of them yank off one of the rappeling ropes and start running in circles around them. One of your guys flat out gets a punch in right into Eli's face. The guard burst into flames, his screaming, spinning body lighting the area like day.

Less than twenty seconds in, it starts hailing, big thick pieces that hurt bystanders, bounce on firefighter helmets, and knock out drones.

Eli and Moishe have been tied and stuck together back to back, but it doesn't seem to bother them too much; they're holding their legs out, slightly bent, and locking elbows like they were some sort of four-legged, two-faced dragon. Every few seconds, a tongue of flame lashes out to incinerate a guard as drones fall to the hail and a few Gap Generators misfire from the water on the ground.

The one thing they can't do, even moving almost in unison as they do, is run.

Crablike, they move around the piazza in front of their section of the Wailing Wall, breathing fire at those who come too close, or inhaling and firing jets of yellow flame that turns white-hot when it hits.

Another pair of firefighters, screened by drone tanks this time, run in and tie paracord around their abdomens; one of them is incinerated, but the other manages to secure the ratchet strap before having to dive for safety. The drone tanks are intended to use breaching shotguns, but your operators are using them as battering rams to avoid friendly fire.

The IDF think that those are actual frefighters, and there's only so long they can stand by watching first responders get incinerated.

"Get in there! Beanbag rounds!"

It's a target-rich environment for Moishe and Eli; the hail continues, damaging the speakers. Power goes out; everything mission-critical has a UPS, but you need to solve this in a few minutes.

You decide to

# go in yourself

# just coordinate

and tell Moira, courtesy of BOCHICA and the fact that this is happening in a modern city, to come back as soon as she can with a

# gasoline

# liquid nitrogen

# water

tanker truck. She gives you an ETA of six minutes; the UPS on the gap generators should last for another ten.

Your workers quickly tear down scaffolding and dead speakers to make a temporary ramp to drive it up the piazza in front of the Western Wall.

In the immediate, you tell your security squad to let the IDF take the brunt of the fireballs for them, while they prepare to stick

# gasoline

# more goop

# the Fulton harness

on the two witnesses.

The scene is being cordoned off; some Remnant are trying to go help the Two Witnesses, and are being arrested by the IDF; there's an enormous crowd forming, although they are having the sense to stay off the cordoned area. Tongues of fire that reach their target thin out and go upwards.

The hail isn't melting very fast in the cold dawn weather, and is starting to accumulate.
>>
>>3848798
>some pieces of aluminum and carbon fiber
Hmm, didn't burn up or get vaporized.

>>3848809
# just coordinate
Need to give order to chaos.

# liquid nitrogen
# water
Risky, so we need to add water mist.

# more goop
Gag their mouths!

Would be nice to inject them now, we already got a bunch of our guys incinerated.

I used to be able to beat MS1 with only a quarter.
>>
>"Saint Maximillian Kolbe, protect me!"

Oh. It's on you bastards!

#Just coordinate

#Liquid Nitrogen
#Water

#More Goop
>>
>>3848872
I still think we should inject them with the demon locust ichor.
>>
Rolled 144, 603, 114 = 861 (3d1000)

>>3848872
>>3848883
>>3848822

You have a water tanker -- with the continued drought over Israel, there are quite a few -- found, bought online, and vectored to where you are; behind you, Israeli fire trucks are hooking up to hydrants, although they can't use their hoses on the Wall. It's probably going to be a moot point soon, though, if the hail continues.

Moira did the same thing with a tanker full of liquid nitrogen, previously bound to a medical center for cryotreatment of tumors.

You send someone up a nearby building to set up a camera, since drones can't stay stationary for long due to the hail, and pipe the view to the drone tank operators so that they have an idea of the tactical situation.

Your fake firefighters, having improvised themselves real firefighters, keep firing adhesive goop at the witnesses; their legs move too quickly for it to take hold, but by now their upper body is no longer even recognizable as two human torso under the mess of glue, netting, wire, and sackcloth.

The scene is surreal: Eli and Moishe, amble about the small piazza in front of their section of the Wailing Wall, four legs spread, looking like a giant crab. They -- it -- spits out flame and tongues of fire that incinerate men and drones.

It reminds you of the insectoids.

A news helicopter tries to approach, keeping just outside the localized hailstorm, by now GCNN is rebroadcasting your stream and the whole world is watching.

Moishe and Eli not only look like a single creature, they also move as one; the hail covering the piazza is making it hard for your and the IDF soldiers to move around, and some slip. Drone tanks provide mobile cover as they can, but even they only resist the supernatural fire for a few moments, unless it's doused immediately. It looks like the Two Witnesses have no need to breathe - CO2 douses their flames for a few moments, but does more harm to the IDF soldiers than to them. At least the hail and the wind is dispersing the stuff...


A truck full of drone tanks arrives; they're connected to the network and quickly moved in. These don't bother with a weapon -- instead someone quickly welded a corrugated sheet on top, at an angle to deflect the hail, and zip tied the trigger actuator to a fire extinguisher.

Shooting them does nothing but get your guys wounded; the few who managed to get a punch in invariably found themselves targets of the next fireball, and the next yet if one was quenched.

# Burn their eyes out! Lay off the CO2 until the air is clear again, and deploy lasers.

# Keep them cornered! Send in the drone tanks with extinguishers.

# Push them forward towards you so that the trucks will be less likely to destroy the wall.

The power to the piazza still hasn't been restored; the batteries will last for a few minutes after Moira gets there. You make the PA system

# turn off, and jumper cables brought to the gap generators

# play something badass.
>>
# Burn their eyes out! Lay off the CO2 until the air is clear again, and deploy lasers.

# Play something badass
>>
>>3848901
# Stick them with demon venom.

# play something badass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U-3XqcTcIk
Couldn't find the one with the Cacodemon hand plushie
>>
Rolled 405, 399, 691 = 1495 (3d1000)

>>3848906
>>3848945


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNTtR6ZpUOo

Tsion's website is down; instead, he's put up an advisory asking people to pray for the Two Witnesses.

You have more men, drones, and extinguishers come in; you'll run out... eventually. So will the IDF; they're starting to realize that they're taking losses without doing much to stop this... this thing, and it's going to be a matter of minutes before they pull back.

"Extinguishers, stop!"

Four tongues of fire reach out, taking out two drone tanks, an IDF soldier, and one of your security team. At least the hail is letting up a little. The CO2 smoke dissipates in the icy wind.

"Prepare to fire lasers! Visors down! Anyone who's not got one, look down!"

You send this to the PA system, so that IDF soldiers can also get the signal; as one, your men genuflect, looking down. It looks like an instant surrender, and the Witnesses take pause for a moment, especially when most of IDF troops follow suit.

DEWs have not been useful in this engagement, but in addition to the microwave emitter, each carries a 450nm solid state laser for the purpose of aiming; it's used in industrial DVD writers and can generate a laser dot, or an actual beam. It's sufficient to permanently blind someone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mP0EVObMAg

"GO FOR THE EYES!"

As one, your DEW-equipped soldiers turn on their beams, aiming at the Witnesses' faces; by now their hair are tangled together, their beards stuck to their chests by the glue, and it's impossible to tell which is which. One of them screams as his eyes are bathed in purple lights. Both fire off tongues of flame again, one reaching the laser operators -- they hide behind a piece of corurgated steel sheet, and the tongue of fire coalesces into what looks like a yellow plasma ball, then starts biting through it -- and one flying off into a stone building, leaving an ominous dark circular mark half a meter across.

One of the Witnesses is still screaming.

"Lasers cooling down, eyes clear!"

Your men get back up, and return to battling the flame, even as the very act causes more to come. The IDF soldiers follow after a beat.

# Resume extinguisher spam, fight defensively.

# Send small drones to try and entangle their legs.

# Focus on getting the laser squad to water tower before they are incinerated.

"Foreman, this is the engineering team, we got compatible nozzles and hoses for the tanker trucks. Getting to mustering point."

"Almost there, Boss. What's the plan?"

# Freeze them.

# Flood the piazza more than it already is.

# Try to do both at the same time, we'll get their feet stuck in ice and they'll have to breathe fire on themselves.

You unlock a briefcase containing a few springloaded jet injectors, loaded with doses of insectoid ichor; it looks like a 1980s movie prop, but you remember these things being used in real life in the last days of smallpox vaccination. You take one for yourself and give the rest out.
>>
>>3848954
# Send small drones to try and entangle their legs.

# Freeze them.

Worried about the damage to the wall.

Flooding doesn't do much.... Having cover from the fireballs seem to do much more.
>>
>>3848954
Can we load up some of the drones with the injectors or just Jerry rig a few with duck tape around a drone and fly it into the witnesses?
>>
>>3848954

#Send small drones to try ad entangle their legs

#Freeze them
>>
Rolled 63, 183, 825 = 1071 (3d1000)

>>3848980

Yes, but not in a few minutes.

>>3848982
>>3848968

Time to put the mini tanks to use;

The position that Moishe and Eli are holding should be painful for their knees, but they're managing; you have the little tanks put on the ground, dodge the hailstones as they can, and trail bits of barbed wire or fishing line with hooks embedded in them.

Maybe it's because of the hail and rain, maybe it's because of the Witnesses' supernatural luck, but it does not do much, at least at first. Your people are all in combat boots, and end up kicking the little bots out of the way more often than not, but the Two Witnesses are moving around less -- they have a lot more stuff to incinerate, being as a mini tank is worth a fireball even if it just so much as nicks their ankles.

Do they even bleed? it doesn't look like it...

One particularly unlucky mini tank ends up under them, and you get a clear view of what you hope is just bits of goop dangling from the mess.

While the mini tanks are not doing much, they create a target-rich environment for the Two Witnesses, who eventually start having to watch where they walk just from the bits and pieces of drones hit by your men's boots or the hailstone; your workers notice, and send out for a barrel of caltrops, or at least nails.

Moira gets in; she's not wearing armor, since it wouldn't do much good, but rocks a gas mask. She helps you and the workers hook up the hose and nozzle to the nitrogen tank. The truck is slowly backed up on the makeshift ramp.

You were expecting Moira to blow up the tanker, but instead she starts using its bulk to back the Two Witnesses off into a corner. The one that can still see looks at her after letting go of another fireball that incinerates a mini tank; the other hits the Wall with his. The IDF at this point have no idea what's going on, but they've seen Terminator 2, so they're not going to try to shoot at the tanker.

And then Moira screams "Out of the way!" and opens the nozzle. corner between the Wall and the nearest building is covered in white vapor. The water on the ground ices over, welding the hailstones into a slippery bumpy mess. One soldier is too slow to move out of the way, falls forward, and has to be dragged off.

The Two Witnesses are writhing, banging their heads against each other, trying to get a clear shot at Moira. There's no room for the flames to even start. You can actually feel it getting colder from where you are.

# Have the sec guys rush in with the ichor injectors.

# The Witnesses have been known to disappear if people look away for just a second; use drone helicopters as fans to keep the vapor away from at least some of their bodies.

# Go in yourself.
>>
>>3849017
# Have the sec guys rush in with the ichor injectors.

# The Witnesses have been known to disappear if people look away for just a second; use drone helicopters as fans to keep the vapor away from at least some of their bodies.
>>
#Have the sec guys rush in with ichor injectors

# The Witnesses have been known to disappear if people look away for just a second; use drone helicopters as fans to keep the vapor away from at least some of their bodies.

ALL YOUR BASES ARE BELONG TO CATS!
---

At first I thought the Witnesses were clones or a lobotomized Enoch and Elijah (Moses never 'ascended' into the heavens after all) but now I'm suspicious that they're cloaked alien agents.
>>
>>3849017
># Have the sec guys rush in with the ichor injectors.
It worked on the remnant so it works on people under gods protection, let's hope it takes them out
># The Witnesses have been known to disappear if people look away for just a second; use drone helicopters as fans to keep the vapor away from at least some of their bodies.
>>
>>3849029
>>3849027
>>3849021

You need to make sure these things don't disappear, or teleport, or get raptured; if they do you want video of it. You have a couple of workers pick up downed drones with a good rotor, and use them as fans to ensure that the nitrogen is wiped off once it's done its job.

You tell the people with the injectors to go in.

It's a gamble, but the way you see it -- according to the timeline these guys are supposed to be killed by Carpatescu in two months or three, but the ichor will make them "seek death and not find it" for five. Or, you could take one out but not the other.

The Two Witnesses' flesh swells and reddens as they start being burned by the evaporating nitrogen; at this point they're barely recognizable as humans, except for the eyes, burning with righteousness.

Between Moira the people holding up rotors from downed drones as fans, and the frozen ground, the men you sent with the injectors have to make their way there with caution.

Eventually, they stop moving; ice is starting to form over the skin, hair, beard, goop and sackcloth. The end result does in fact look like some sort of alien, if a centaur had a baby with a yeti and then dropped it in a blender.

Moira hands off the nozzle to one of the engineers, who keeps pouring a trickle of liquid nitrogen on the Witnesses' feet and mouths, and pulls out a large revolver.

"You two fucks tried to kill me. Told you. I'd be back."

That was on what's left of the PA. An onlooker shouts "Hasta la vista, baby!"

# Inject one.

# Inject both.

# Wait for you.

# Tell Moira to go ahead and fire.
>>
#Inject one and see what happens....

#Wait for you.

Sorry Moira. You don't get to the be the Antichrist.
>>
# Tell Moira to fire.
>>
>>3849044
# Inject both.
>>
>>3849044
>Inject one.
No matter what it does (if it does something) it will severely fuck prophecy.
>Tell Moira to go ahead and fire at the other one
Twist that shit around to fit your death cult Tsion
>>
>>3849055

We need a control group. Also, if the Ichor does something particularly chaotic, like cause one of them to explode or mutate into some sort of tap-dancing Cronenberg monstrosity, best to keep damage minimal.

---
>>3849058

I can support this.
>>
Should we tell some of our workers to stay behind to fix and clean up the mess and minimize the damage to the wall?
>>
>>3849064

Agreed. Cooperate with the IDF to clean up the damage.

Also collect the remains of Father Schorpe for funerary purposes.
>>
>>3849068
I thought about that, but I figure it would be hard to find him in the mess. We should tell our workers to be mindful and look for that. This battle isn't over yet, so lets finish this thought after we have them secured.
>>
>>3849068
Scooping remains and cleanup can happen when we're not literally under fire.
>>
>>3849070
Kind of depressing that we lost him.
I essentially reed it as suicide by magic cop, after realizing he either spent his life worshiping an eldritch horror (honestly it takes some massive mental gymnastics to read the bible god as anything but absolutely evil, but hey he is powerful, and we can't understand him so just bend over and worship) or something entirely fake that is now being impersonated.
>>
>>3849058
>>3849050

The problem with jet injectors is that they don't play nice with frozen flesh; your guys actually have to warm up aone of the lower legs sticking out of the mess of sackcloth, goop and netting to be able to inject the ichor into it. The liquid nitrogen dispenser goes "woosh" a few times as the technicians ensures that their faces and bodies stay frozen otherwise.

The only hint that the injection went through is that one of the Witnesses -- the one who got blinded by the look of the laser burns on his face -- moves his eyes around frantically before getting more liquid nitrogen to the face. You're watching this from farther away, from a camera; so is pretty much half the world at this point.

Moira aims the revolver downwards and fires. It's a bit of an awkward position to shoot from; the bullet embeds itself in the ice and shoots ice fragments between the Witnesses' legs. Did it pass through them? By looking at the pattern in the ice, looks like it.

"Hard to kill, are ya."

An IDF officer is making his way to the frozen Witnesses; your men are definitely outnumbered by theirs, and that's not likely to change.

"All right. We're taking over from here."

"You don't know what we're dealing with."

"Ma'am, I said we're taking over from here. Please put down the gun?"

"I am the War Witch. Please tell me you and what army?"

The IDF officer backs off a step, but that's not going to last, since an army is probably what's coming next.

# Call the prime minister.

# Go talk to the IDF officer yourself.

# Tell Moira to stand down.

"Uh, so, the tank's at eighty percent and dropping, what's the plan?" the operator for the nitrogen nozzle asks.

"Keep them frozen" Moira and the IDF officer say in unison.

# Let the IDF handle it from here; you don't want to start another war.

# Let's try the sword.

# Maybe bullets go through, but how about punching his head clean off?

>>3849080

Maybe. Maybe he decided that someone had to do it and take the flame for it. Maybe he felt that martyrdom was a good way to end a good life. Maybe he thought it was his duty to protect someone who, unlike himself, had a family.
>>
>>3849086
>Call the prime minister
We'll take those two (or one once we are done) of your hands now, thank you.
>Let's try the sword/full beheading
Completely destroy the one that has not been injected, whatever it may take.
Keep the injected one contained, he just won a trip to the blackside and will remain frozen (or otherwise contained) until this is all over (we revive Nietzsche to finish the big guy for us)
>>
# Go talk to the IDF officer yourself and then call the Prime Minister.

IDF are mad that we made a ruckus at their Holy Site but we can explain that the Two Witnesses were part of a larger threat, tied to the locusts.

# Let's try the sword.

It works on Antichrists. It works on demon locusts. It's basically turning into Dragonslayer from Berserk, able to slice through causality.

I see Schorpe as a martyr for his faith in both a benign deity and in humanity.

Requiescat in pace.
>>
>>3849086
# Call the prime minister.

# Let's try the sword.
# Maybe bullets go through, but how about punching his head clean off?
>>
>>3849086
Can we capture one kill the other. We need to call the blacksite and have them get a room ready
>>
>>3849086

# Talk to the officer myself

# Try the sword.
>>
We also made the news which means Ikko knows... We got some 'splainin to do.

>>3849100
Bullets won't work because the Remnant have acquired the ability to bend bullets or whatever.

We saw the same thing with Stepola in Germany.

This is also the main reason I want to get some Sec. Teams learning unarmed combat.
>>
>>3849108
What? We're not shooting them again, we're gonna try to punch one of their heads off frozen in ice.

It is a worthwhile experiment.

>>3849107
I'd rather not expose ourselves to the camera in this incident. At least at the earlier one, if we are recognized, we have some degree of plausible deniability.

Also, talking to the PM is better and more likely to net some progress than trying to convince a lowly officer why its okay to let some very well co-ordinate and combat capable firemen and a famous witch walk away with two magical fire breathing heart stopping men covered in ice, ropes and goop.
>>
>>3849099
>>3849093

Time to get going. You walk up to the mess -- IDF soldiers are generally trying to guard the area; there's a mob of Remnant and a mob of locals pushing each other past the security cordon -- and tell the IDF officer that he can take it easy.

"We're all on the same side here."

"And you are?"

"Calling the Prime Minister."

You do; he's been watching the whole thing. "We need to contain these... people, whoever they are. Your troops should keep an eye on the crowd."

The damage to the Wall was relatively small, and most of it was due to the witnesses themselves; a few stones fell, but the wall itself is intact. Mr. Brog admits that this is one of those things that you call a specialist for, and right now, you're it. You hand off your phone to the officer, who acknowledges a couple orders and has his people reinforce the protective cordon.

# You do the punching or swording.

# Moira does the punching or swording.

You make sure another tanker is coming, and then have the technician thoroughly freeze the Two Witnesses before trying anything else; you'll need to build some sort of cryopreservation system before the greater Jerusalem area runs out of liquid nitrogen.

Behind you, the crowd are trying to out-shout each other.

"Let them go! Let them go!"

"Lock them up! Lock them up!"

# Ignore them.

# Ensure that your broadcast picks up the Remnant more.

# Ensure that your broadcast picks up the Israeli citizens more.

>>3849108

Funny you should mention that; she's been trying to text you for the last couple of minutes. Your disguise is pretty thin -- you look chubbier than you are, and you dyed your hair. Presumably Ikko is smart enough to figure it out.

> What's going on?
> Is that you? Please tell your friend to listen.
> I'm sorry for your friend. He sounded nice.
> What IS going on?
> Get out of there before all your people are killed!
> That's not possible.
> People are dying! Tell them to retreat!
> Foreman, what IS going on?
> How's this even possible?
> Tsion wants to talk to you. Right now!
> Foreman, this is Rabbi Tsion Ben-Judah. Stop. I don't know how you are doing this, but you clearly don't know what you're doing. It is not yet the due time. Call me.

# Text them back quickly.

# Okay, call.
>>
#Moira does the swording

# Ignore them

# Text them back quickly
>>
>>3849120
# Moira does the punching, we do the swording.''

# Ignore them.

# Send a text after we leave the scene.
>>
>>3849120
>Moira does the punching or swording.
She is stronger and more combat capable than we are and has been the face of humanities armed resistance so far, so let her do what she wants to do.

>Ignore them.

>Text them after we are done here
>>
>>3849120

# You do. Put them to the sword.

# Ignore them

# Ignore Tsion. He's freaking out THAT MEANS WE AREN'T THE ANTICHRIST \o/
>>
>>3849135
>THAT MEANS WE AREN'T THE ANTICHRIST
He is not the final authority on that, him not thinking we are, does not give us a prophecy breaking not-the-antichrist-card.
>>
>>3849152
>>
>>3849129
>>3849132
>>3849133
>>3849135

You said you wouldn't censor the internet, and this is being livestreamed, so it counts. Whoever wins, the IDF has your back, at least for now. If the Remnant are screaming, they aren't praying, and at this point you'll take any advantage you can get. However, you do send a technician with a detector to look at them.

Moira isn't sure if she wants to punch the guy or stab him. To start with, she applies another dousing of liquid nitrogen.

"I'd love to have a conversation with you guys while you're here, but then you'd start shooting fire again. You tried to kill me, you tried to kill my boss, you killed a bunch of my colleagues, and you killed the guy who reconciled me with having grown up Catholic. Now one of you is going to die. The other gets to hear his neck snap and then suffer for five months. Nobody made you came here, nobody made you get into this, and if God told you to do it, all you had to do was say NO!"

Chopping off one of their heads without hitting the other is not going to happen, so Moira wraps her hand around the sword and throws a punch on one of the Witnesses' temple, instead.

It makes a noise it shouldn't be making, it's wet and fatty and crystalline, but it doesn't come off. So after another nitrogen shower, Moira puts both her hands on the sword, one on the hilt and one on the root of the blade, and smacks it down using the pommel like a ball peen hammer.

This time the skull cracks. Moira screams. "NO! NO! NO!"

By the time she's done, there are bits of frozen Witness head all around their feet. The upper body is frozen solid, gooped, netted, and tied together, and that's not counting Eli and Moishe having locked elbows.

Moira puts a handkerchief on the neck stump after filling it with more nitrogen.

A second tanker truck comes in after navigating an increasingly hostile crowd -- the Remnant are in the minority, and the IDF has your back, but it looks like there's going to be a brawl in a minute.

One of the workers gets shears and detaches the fragments of Witness head stuck to the rest of the mass by hair and beard, then puts them in an armored briefcase that someone marked with the letters SCP.

You shake hands with Moira. "We did it."

"Do you think we're safe from the Sixth Trumpet?"

"No idea, but we're done here. We'll have to build a containment system for these two."

"Just one."

"Yeah, that's another thing, let's not leave a frozen guy and a frozen body out here. It's a tourist site after all."

You give the orders that a truck-portable containment chamber be built; Moira ends up stopping by the crowd and signing some autographs.

Once all is said and done, you lost a work crew (including actual losses and people who will have to be permanently assigned to maintain the cryochamber, which will need transport), a security team, and half your drones. One Witness down, one in custody.

# What will you text Ikko or Tsion? (Write in)

>>3849184

(Thank you, that's awesome)
>>
>>3849202
We talk to them after.

Clear things up with the Prime minister, thank him for his help and clear out of the country. Also give him heads up to set up some special camera's in the area that can detect a wide range of visual, audio, energy, and air/Olfaction anomalies.
>>
>>3849202
>What will you text Ikko or Tsion?
"Enough innocents have died and enough havoc was wrecked, and unlike you I'll not just stand by and talk about how loving this genocide is, unlike you I won't watch human suffering with the smug smile of someone who finally thinks he is right. You talk about love and goodness, but I try to live it and if I burn for it, it will be well worth it, for at least I won't have died a hypocrite. If you think the best way an infinitely powerful being has to show its goodness, is to murder have the planet, you are delusional or brain-damaged. See how little it's allpowerfullness did against me breaking its plan.
Give me a call when you are ready to fight for humanity and to save lives, instead of praising the horrors that have come for us. Twist this to fit your prophecy."
>>
>>3849225
I'd rather lead her on to think we have become some sort of Remanent splinter faction with the justification or logic being, "God gave us free will".
Believing and choosing is not mutually exclusive.
>>
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Rolled 3, 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 1, 2, 3 = 22 (9d3)

>>3849216

You call Mr. Brog again, and tell him that you'll have the site cleaned up by the end of the day.

The cryogenic chamber is pretty approximative; basically it's a giant Dewar flask covered in insulating foam, with three cryotherapy heat exchangers strapped to it in a way that makes some sense. Just to be extra safe, your guys fill it with water up to mouth level; if the live one needs to breathe, he can use his nose.

The insulation on the build is horrible, and that with the recent hail -- the only precipitation on Israel in a lng time - condensation forms and freezes as soon as it does, then sheds off with the heat exchangers' vibration. Some idiot makes a snow cone; it's perfectly safe of course, but... eww.

You'll have to arrange for transport of this thing; given the sheer amount of nitrogen that it'll take to get it through the Atlantic, using the Garibaldi is a must.

The only thing left to do before leaving Israel, at least for now, is give the order to drain the Euphrates; you phone it in. Fortunately, there were a numbers of dams and canalizations already in place; all the Peacekeepers' corps of engineers had to do was to dig a canal right after one of them, and then build a levee. It should take a few days for the river to empty out; UNDRR will repay the farmers, but Carla says that she's going to need your help for some things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd1t21xO7xw

Gap generators, PKE meters and lookouts have been put in place near the dam; you make sure that some of the ones that were brought here stay here, and are carried inside nearby buildings -- Remnant often come to pray here, much to the Orthodox Jews' annoyance, and it may be useful to keep an eye on things in that sense.

You get back to the hotel and ask the ceiling, "Is it over? Is it ever going to be over?"

Unless something weird happens, like Rayford and Buck springing Carpatescu, it soon might be; the world is headed for lean times ahead, but that's more Carla's area of expertise than yours.

The blacksite have nothing to report, so there's that.

On that note, Leonardo Fortunato's trial has concluded; he was found guilty of eight counts of murder and four hundred thousand counts of attempted murder, that being the estimated number of casualties if the nuke had worked. Since the judge was originally Swiss, she went with Swiss law for sentencing, which means that Fortunato is going to spend the rest of his days in a fairly cozy jail that is, nevertheless, guarded and secured with Swiss precision.

Your dorm room in college was rattier than that, but whatever works.

Now that Jerusalem is secure, at least until there's a Remnant riot or similar stupdity,

# End quarter.

# Wait.

>>3849225
>>3849232

(Y'all tell me!)
>>
>>3849202
># What will you text Ikko or Tsion? (Write in)
Nothing, frankly; so long as Ikko and Tsion are in the same room we've nothing to gain.

But if we must say something?

"Tsion, we know exactly what we're doing, and you know it.

Call me back when you can find it in your heart to denounce your murderer of a God, כַּפרָן."
>>
>>3849232
Yeah this suppport
>>
>>3849232
Would Tsion believe it? To him, belief might be a choice, but resistance to the prophecies isn't.

And so long as he and Ikko are in the same room, Ikko is going to adopt the same viewpoint as him after any amount of discussion.
>>
>>3849202
Might have been better to test that head plosion on a witness with the injection, if it failed to kill him under any circumstance, then we'd not inject the other and try to kill him.

So did Moira accidentally kill one of them?

>>3849256
>>3849232
This.

I cannot tell you too much, but I have chosen another path.

>>3849256
# Wait.

It would be funny if we ended up with a real smudge because we do believe in god and all that (we just don't "agree" with him), and we troll people by having both real and fake remnant smudges, by being able to show it to non believers and believers.

>>3849257
Too ..... hardcore(on the nose?) for me?

>>3849272
Tsion gets visions, Chole does not.

We can very well break up and fracture the Tribulation Force and even turn them to allies for humane experiments that saves lives. If we can fracture and break up the Triforce then we not only mess up the narrative, we also break up the total strength and supernatural power that can potentially be levied at us.

All it takes is to show them (Chole) an alternative path. one that is altruistically good or something

If we take Chole, we also likely get buck and Cameron too.

Also I wanted a proper one on one with Carpatescu, have some questions I wanted to ask and a write in I wanted to dump on his ears (or rant), but it felt so dissociated and didn't fit with the moment.
>>
>>3849256

I love the smell of liquid nitrogen in the morning. Smells like victory.

# End Quarter.
>>
>>3849288
>Tsion gets visions, Chole does not.
Tsion, from the (admittingly scant) evidence we have, also has Carpatescu's mesmerism, just targeted towards Remnant.

Chole is not going to have an independent opinion until she's not in the same room with him.

I'm not saying no, mind. I'm saying sit on it until the two are separated and we can brief her on the possibility of Tsion screwing with her head.
>>
>>3849290
>nitrogen is colorless and odorless
~Human nose, Brain weekly. Filling in for left eye.
>>
>>3849257
>>3849225
>>3849232
>>3849267

) This is Mr F. I will only talk to Ikko.
> Ikko here. Did you see what happened?
) Yes, I was there. Is Tsion with you?
> Was it CGI? How did they do it?
) No CGI. I will talk to you two separately. We are all in great danger.
> What do you mean? What's going on?
) TTYL.

Let them sweat a bit. Chloe is not a bad person, but you can't trust her with being near Tsion.

One of the things you did know is that Buck is in Jerusalem; it's very likely that he was in the crowd that booed your work crew when you left, in escort formation around the Snowmizer (because someone had to name the containment truck something).

Tsion's website does not get updated the entire day; Buck's blog, The Truth, does, and he says that this was the largest attempt of the New World Order to silence the Two Witnesses. He asks his readers to take the images of one of the Witnesses' execution with a grain of salt, "especially in light of the pixelation" (most networks did censor the part where someone's skull got smashed in after being deep frozen) and assures them that the Two Witnesses would not be harmed until the due time, two months from now.

"We believe that the Antichrist will want to celebrate the halfway point of the treaty with Israel before breaking, so stay tuned for an announcement from Newer Babylon from Global Community media!"

That's what the Remnant have been taking to call Bern, Switzerland.

>>3846699

(Are we still going in this direction?)

>>3849288

I wouldn't say "accidentally", no. She was pretty deliberate about it. One of the Witnesses should be alive (albeit frozen) and dealing with ichor neurotoxicity, the other is in small pieces from the neck up. A problem is that you really have no way to tell which is which, especially since you currently have two bodies (and one head) frozen together.


You personally escort the Snowmizer across the ocean and across a continent; you're not taking chances with this one. While you're there, you take the time to talk to Carpatescu -- this time around he'll have to do some listening.

(Curious to see the rant now! Very!)

# Choose how many sec teams should guard the blacksite from now on.

# Take a few days to securely move Carpatescu and the Witnesses to Thule, instead.

>>3849302

That would be difficult, especially now that she's (probably) figured out you're not a Christian and lied to her, but it's not impossible.
>>
>>3849302
Can't do that if we out ourselves so blatantly and so aggressively.

We can convince her at some point, but not with that attitude, and basically making her think we are giving her god and her religion a big middle finger will offend her and drive her off. We gotta treat this like a cult deprogramming similar to how we did it with the other subpotentates.
>>
>>3849309
>treaty with Israel
>Carpatescu "missing"
HAHAHA, after the GC Peacekeepers attacked Israel I highly doubt anyone is celebrating

>>3849302
Forgot to add, we should talk to her about that soon. About how Carpatescu used this trick on us, and we think other people like Tison have that ability too. Make sure to bring up the negative effects it has on people.

>>3849309
Can we break things up into trimesters that correspond to the budget rolling in?

I'd like to keep these two very very separate.

Blacksite for the Witnesses and remains, Carpatescu at Thule maybe.

Can we set up 3 proper black sites? 1 at Thule,
two closer together in Canada.

(The one we currently have, I feel is not secure enough.)


# Choose how many sec teams should guard the blacksite from now on.
At least two teams.

# Take a few days to securely move Carpatescu and the Witnesses to Thule, instead.
If we have to R&D a well made SCP container with Gap Generator plug in module that can be fitted somewhere we should do it.

>(Are we still going in this direction?)
Sorta? I guess. What month are we on now? 46?
>>
>>3849309
>(Are we still going in this direction?)
Personally I'd prefer to post my mostly-the-same-for-the-first-few-months plan, since most of what I did was add in Foreman actually doing combat training with his actions rather than having him do nothing. That and it works out far nicer in terms of results.

># Take a few days to securely move Carpatescu and the Witnesses to Thule, instead.
Could we move only the Witnesses instead? Carpatescu is fine where he is but the Witnesses are something that needs a lot of power and nitrogen to keep under control, hard to hide that but in a major industrial site? Slightly less suspicious.
>>
>>3849312
I did say

>Nothing, frankly; so long as Ikko and Tsion are in the same room we've nothing to gain. But if we must say something?

That little rant was just the first thoughtless thought, and put together mostly to vent what I(and maybe we) are feeling.
>>
>>3849334

(Yeah that's why I was asking)

>>3849334

It's definitely easier to move the Witnesses being as they are already in a truck.

>>3849333

Buck made a big deal about it at the time; if Folgore is the Antichrist, then him breaking the treaty with Israel would mean that he was then due to die and be resurrected after being indwelt by Satan. He let it drop after that clearly didn't happen (although the timing sort of checks out with some Peacekeepers worshiping CLU, if you squint).

Tsion on the other hand maintains that Carpatescu is the Antichrist.

Offically, he's still missing with Carpathianist adherents having their own idea about him having ascended and most everyone else suspecting that there was a palace coup.
>>
>>3849343
>(Yeah that's why I was asking)
Well if anons don't mind me making 2 huge posts in a row, I can promise that the new plan is actually and genuinely superior to the old one.

For one thing, by the 4th month or so we've got basically all of the world but Africa to Ground coverage 4 which sadly won't raise our budget significantly (since it goes by lowest coverage which would be satellite) since the sat coverage of most / all of the world is 2 and they'd get stuck there.

Also the fact that in the sixth month we construct 3 levels of Thule base all at once, completing the Industrial tree and starting the Colony tree. Although I admit I am uncertain if there is a degree of overlap between them that might mean that all 5 levels of both are unneeded.
>>
>>3849339
We'll if we can say little now, and more later when we can speak to her alone then sure.

>>3849363
I figure we should have that all done in the background hopefully. Like I wanted to take Carla to the shooting range, take Aki and Santiago camping, have Dr. D therapy Aki some more, etc.

Foreman definitely needs to get training done, but I'm not able to keep track of what we've done except for the first few things we did at the start. Seems like map we haven't done any training at all.
>>
>>3849363
Should we build anymore network nodes? Its mainly Africa that needs them. I doubt there is any point tho, or that it would serve any real purpose worth diverting and doing all that effort.

Go ahead and make your posts, at least so we can poke holes at it :p
>>
>>3849392
>I figure we should have that all done in the background hopefully. Like I wanted to take Carla to the shooting range, take Aki and Santiago camping, have Dr. D therapy Aki some more, etc.
Fair enough though I'd argue we can do that after the apocalypse / when we get to the events we can't stop like the oceans of blood and shit.

>Foreman definitely needs to get training done, but I'm not able to keep track of what we've done except for the first few things we did at the start. Seems like map we haven't done any training at all.
The last accurate reading of our combat readiness put us at 2/5.

>>3849394
>Should we build anymore network nodes? Its mainly Africa that needs them. I doubt there is any point tho, or that it would serve any real purpose worth diverting and doing all that effort.
Network nodes make raising the coverage of a region far easier and strengthen our control over their economy.

>Go ahead and make your posts, at least so we can poke holes at it :p
Okay.
>>
Given we end this turn with roughly 7 Bn by my calculations and we enter the next tithe next month, we should end up with 47 Bn: enough for all of our work teams to all work every month and end up with a 2 Bn surplus; I need not tell you what this means when you put such a budget under my tenure.

>For the first month: a complete focus on factories
1) Dedicate all 8 factories to produce network parts: deploy them thus; 2 to Central America, UK and Greenland; 1 to western and northern Europe.

2) Assign 3 work teams, Ryan Andrews and 1 drone to construct a factory in Central America.

3) Assign 3 work teams, Aki and 3 drones to construct a factory in the UK.

4) Assign 3 work teams, Aki and 3 drones to construct a factory in Western Russia.

5) Assign 6 work and 3 covert teams to recruit a further 3 work teams.

6) Assign Foreman to survey Western Russia and India.

Occult 6
Directed Energy 4
Big sats 7
Augs 4

Work teams 18
Factories 11

>2nd month: a similar result but with a different focus; current budget should be 26 Bn.
1) Dedicate 9 factories to produce network parts: deploy them thus; 3 to India and the Middle east; 1 to Western and Eastern Russia.

2) Assign 2 work team and 2 factories to construct the first level of Thule base: industrial.

3) Assign 6 work teams under Aki with 6 drones to construct a factory in West-Central and East-Central Africa.

4) Assign 3 work teams under Ryan Andrews with a drone to construct a factory in South Africa.

5) Assign 4 work teams to research Occult.

6) Assign 3 work teams to research Augmentation under Dr Diamond.

7) Deploy Foreman to get combat training for both of his actions.

Occult 7
Directed Energy 4
Big sats 7
Augs 5

Work teams 18
Factories 14

>3rd month: past this point we get the broken stuff; current budget should be 3 Bn, cutting it mighty close. BUDGET GOT HERE: +40 ish, assuming funding is 43 Bn for sake of future months. Will do actual budget calc later and tell us what additional surplus we have
1) Dedicate 12 factories to produce network equipment and sell 11 for 22 Bn. Dedicate 2 factories to produce a drone.

2) Deploy 2 network equipment to North Africa.

3) Assign 3 work teams under Aki with 3 drones to construct a factory in Australia.

4) Assign 3 work teams under Ryan Andrews with 1 drone to construct a factory in SEA.

5) Assign 3 work teams to research Directed Energy under Aki.

6) Assign 4 work teams to research Occult.

8) Assign 5 work teams and 4 covert / black ops teams to recruit a further 3 work teams.

9) Deploy Foreman to survey Australlia and Japan.

Occult 8
Directed Energy 5
Big sats 7
Augs 5

Work teams 21
Factories 16
Drones 8
>>
>4th month, budget 41 Bn
1) Dedicate 13 factories to produce network equipment and deploy 12 thus: 3 to China, Japan, SEA and Australlia.

2) Assign 1 work teams and 3 factories to construct the second level of Thule base: industrial along with Ryan Andrews.

3) Assign 4 work teams to research Occult.

4) Assign 4 work teams to research Directed Energy.

5) Assign 4 work teams to research Sats / Big Sats.

6) Assign 8 work teams and 1 covert ops teams to recruit a further 3 work teams.

7) Assign Aki's, Foreman's and Dr Diamond's actions to surveying: Middle east; Central America; North South America; South South America; Greenland.

Occult 9
Directed Energy 6
Big sats 8
Augs 5

Work teams 24
Factories 16
Drones 8

>5th month; budget is 16
1) Dedicate 2 factories to produce power parts, 2 factories to a drone and 12 to produce network parts. Sell 7 network parts for 14Bn.

2) Dedicate 2 work team and 2 factories to construct the third level of Thule base: industrial.

3) Assign 5 work teams to research the occult with Aki.

4) Assign 4 work teams to research Sats / big sats with Aki.

5) Assign 4 work teams to research Directed Energy.

6) Assign 3 work teams to research Augmentation under Dr Diamond.

7) Assign 3 work teams, Ryan andrews and 1 drones to construct a Factory in China.

8) Assign 3 work teams to construct a Network Node in East Africa.

10 Assign Foreman to survey the UK and China.

Occult MAX
Directed Energy 7
Big sats 9
Augs 6

Work teams 24
Factories 17
Drones 9

>6th month, budget is 3Bn again: additional budget sets us back to 43 roughly
1) Assign 6 factories to produce 6 network parts and deploy them as well as the 3 in reserve from month 5: 3 to South, West and East Africa. Assign 2 factories to produce a drone unit.

2) Dedicate 3 work teams and 9 factories to construct the Fourth and Fifth levels of Thule base: industrial as well as the First level of Thule base: Colony.

3) Assign 5 work teams to research Sats / big sats under Aki.

4) Assign 4 work teams to research Directed Energy.

5) Assign 2 work teams, Ryan andrews and 3 drones to construct a Network Node in West Africa.

6) Assign 2 work teams, Aki and 5 drones to construct a Network Node in South Africa.

7) Assign 4 work teams to research preparedness.

8) Assign 4 work teams to Survey all of Africa.

9) Assign Foreman to do combat training for both his actions.

10) Deploy Dr Diamond to survey Northern Europe.

Occult MAX
Directed Energy 8
Big sats MAX
Augs 6
Preparedness 8

Work teams 24
Factories 16
Drones 10

Budget at the end of the 6th month = 41 -35 = 6 Bn.


This means by the end point of six months we've raised everywhere, but one province that I couldn't work out the name of, to ground coverage 4. We have also more than doubled our factory count, increased our work teams by 50% and increased our drones by about 40%. We've also completed 2 research trees and advanced the rest greatly.
>>
(Lousy WiFi)

>>3849202
>then puts them in an armored briefcase that someone marked with the letters SCP

Sweet!

Do we want to find a replacement for Father Schorpe?

Actually.... I had a thought.

What if we hold a memorial service to Fr. Schorpe in San Antonio, TX and invite Tsion? He might see it as an opportunity to do an altar call and rant about the Witnesses... not realizing it was a clever trap for him?

Thoughts?
>>
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>>3849398
Well, if we are going to waste/lose individual actions, then we may as well cram them in there and hope they get done one way or another.

the map at... turn 47 says 3/5?

Can we recruit more agents?

Also I think we hired Domai, so maybe have him take a shot at leading crews in building a factory.

We also need to augment a Covert and regular team. Especially if they are going to guard a unfrozen witness. Or should we keep him frozen? Cryogenics now?

>>3849404
>>3849418
Are you posting the next 6 months from now?
I thought you where only posting two months worth...

I'd rather if we could, cut the months down into trimesters and have each trimester coincide with our budget funding. So we plan for next month to turn 48, then after that we go skip to turn 52 and then turn 55 etc. It would allow things to be less confusing and give us more finesse control.

I'd like for us to do more recruitment of agents and people, and a bit more focus on research earlier rather than later, and finish teach trees sooner.
>>
>>3849333
Why?

The Two Witnesses are either dead, or will die only by the hands of the Antichrist. There's no middle ground here.

Bury them a hundred feet down in Antarctica.
>>
>>3849418

Whatever we do I want the Two Witnesses fucking GONE. Bury them in the antarctic permafrost, I don't care what it costs.
>>
>>3849309
>Curious to see the rant now! Very!
I don't have one for Carpatescu, I honestly like the guy. Which is a testament to your great writing (and I'm assuming not the source material), that the super charming Antichrist is...well charming. I seriously considered letting him out a couple of times. Sure he made us stand in a closet like a dick, but that's more funny than super evil. So the main reason he still is locked up, is so that he can't play his part in the narrative, not because he is so terrible. I'd just play VR chess with him, chat a little and ask him if he thinks we won and what he would do next.
>>
>>3849448

Can we at least do autopsies on the dead one? I have legitimate reason to suspect that they might be some sort of fire-breathing crab people masquerading as Moses and Elijah.

That would be ironically sacrilegious if that turns out to be the case.
>>
>>3849446
More reason to keep them separate.

Why let the prophecy get fulfilled?

>>3849455
>charming and likeable.
At first, yeah hes charming but keep in mind, hes super smart, and probably trying to get us to trust him enough to release him. That would be at our peril and our mistake.

>>3849456
I support this. Get Dr. Vahlen the monocular blade!
>>
>>3849443
Did he ever meet or debate with Fr. Schorpe?
>>
>>3849482

They debated heavily on the forums. Schorpe was constantly poking wholes in Tsion's theology.
>>
>>3849444
>the map at... turn 47 says 3/5?
I might be mistaken or we might've done a training action since I last looked.

>Also I think we hired Domai, so maybe have him take a shot at leading crews in building a factory.
To be fair, I don't know how large his bonuses are so I can't reasonably assign him without risk.

>I thought you where only posting two months worth...
I was originally then OP basically gave me permission to post a revised version of my original 4 month plan plus the additional 2 months. Reason being tired-me made a few mistakes which I've corrected.

>>3849448
Seems like a decent plan for as long as the permafrost lasts.
>>
>>3849491
I mean in person.

Well I doubt he'll want to come, but hey if you want to, but wasn't it mentioned that Tison starts breathing fire at people and doing witness fire breathing at some point?

>>3849504
>I might be mistaken or we might've done a training action since I last looked.
I think we dropped from 5 to 2 then recovered a bit to 3/5?

>
I don't think we know the exact figures for anyone's precise bonus aside from big small or medium, but I'll bet ya 15 nicks its greater than Aki's.

>I was originally then OP basically gave me permission to post a revised version of my original 4 month plan plus the additional 2 months. Reason being tired-me made a few mistakes which I've corrected.
Well holy angel cakes, this changes a few things.
>>
>>3849516
>I don't think we know the exact figures for anyone's precise bonus aside from big small or medium,
Yeah but I've got a basic system that I'm working off where I think small, medium, large bonuses correspond to a 5, 10 or 20 percent bonus.

E,g Aki and 2 work teams setting up a network node should have a 86% chance of success but 2 teams alone have a 66% chance of success.
>>
>>3849504
>>3849516
Ahh, not much in my option has changed, I still think, recruitment and research should take a bit bigger priority, with Thule and factories being next.

Mostly we need more combat capable teams for fighting demonic horsemen, and probably angels later on.
>>
>>3849504
I don't mean "upper antarctic where there's a freeze/thaw cycle", I mean "at the fucking south pole".
>>
>>3849443

They did not meet n person; that's a good idea though

>>3849444

3/5 at the moment

>>3849456

Difficult, but possible. And they WERE fire-breathig crab people in their last hour upon this earth.

>>3849478

xcom intensifies
>>
>>3849521
I've basically assumed the same percentages more or less a few threads back.

Don't forget to put a lead researcher on capstone stuff, like Occult.

I also find it weird we put aki as a almost do it all girl person, including construction, and the only thing she doesn't do too well is direct combat unless its drone related, or medical stuff...?
>>
>>3849523
>Ahh, not much in my option has changed, I still think, recruitment and research should take a bit bigger priority, with Thule and factories being next.
To be fair, by following my six month plan we finish 2 research trees and draw near to finishing another two. Plus we get another 2 levels of cybernetics. Meanwhile we create a bunch more drones as well as the industrial capacity to mass produce a absolute fuck ton of drones every turn.

Not to mention completing the Thule base construction means we can produce combat vehicles and ships like tanks or additional aircraft carriers.

>>3849526
I was joking about global warming.

>>3849531
Question, given both versions of my plan required / require a certain number of work teams and we just lost one, can we take that loss at the end of the plan? I'd even take some sort of penalty like losing an additional Bn or two from the end budget to represent overtime payment or something.

>>3849536
>Don't forget to put a lead researcher on capstone stuff, like Occult.
All capstone actions have a researcher. I've generally just used Aki for that role because she usually produces interesting results.

>I also find it weird we put aki as a almost do it all girl person, including construction, and the only thing she doesn't do too well is direct combat unless its drone related, or medical stuff...?
She's got good bonuses everywhere, I thus make use of her everywhere.
>>
>>3849564
As apocalypses go the Second Tribulation's probably better than some.

Also yes, your plan gets us a lot of aggressive military force, which given our predisposition to logistics and engineers, can be directed for humanitarian efforts should we need to. I support it.
>>
>>3849564

Global Warming is actually a legitimate concern if the Bowl Judgments are still on the table. Fourth Bowl involves intense heat.
>>
>>3849571
First and Fourth Bowls are already derailed cos there's no mark of the beast.

The only ones left to be concerned with are water into blood, which is timed so we just need MASSIVE water reserves and water-reclamation plants), horsemen, and the appearance of the glorified - if they even show up with no antichrist.

I'm about 99% sure we win and don't need to nitpick right now, let's just enjoy the story.
>>
>>3849571
I don't think she has good construction bonus, but we probably got her good at it with how much we make it do it, plus the drones probably push her over to medium bonus or something.

>>3849571
But its not carbon emissions and trapped heat from the sun causing it!

>>3849564
So, no team augmentation, but all in all, its probably fairly optimal, and I honestly don't want to play too much Jenga with a plan that took about 2 days to make
>>
>>3849564

Mr. Domai does, of course, give a large bonus for construction or a small bonus for combat.

One thing that is important is where you wish to specialize further directed energy research; laser/microwave, or sound.

>>3849571

That's the case. At the moment you are, of course, dealing with the opposite.

>>3849564

It should even out.

(I need to do work stuff for the next cpl hours)
# Electromagnetic.

# Sound.
>>
>>3849567
>As apocalypses go the Second Tribulation's probably better than some.
Certainly better than trying to kill a world-sized snake or deal with the sun going out.

>Also yes, your plan gets us a lot of aggressive military force, which given our predisposition to logistics and engineers, can be directed for humanitarian efforts should we need to. I support it.
Yep. My focus is in the fact that we need three things: vast research into the unknown to prepare methods of victory; the industrial and construction capacity to restore and prepare for events using that knowledge; a bunch of elite combat teams to eliminate, capture or interdict all across the world using that equipment.

For example, with 24 work teams and 17 factories we can, in one turn, build 10 levels of a city-base like Thule. Assuming each "complete" city (e,g all levels of the Colony path but nothing else) could sustain 10,000 people (probably wrong, I'd imagine we'd be getting more) then that means per year we could build 24 cities (2 times 12) housing 240,000 people without even discussing the industrial capacity these cities would bring to the table or help from the UNDRR or Potenates or anything.

>>3849571
>Global Warming is actually a legitimate concern if the Bowl Judgments are still on the table. Fourth Bowl involves intense heat.
True.

>>3849592
>Mr. Domai does, of course, give a large bonus for construction or a small bonus for combat.
Nice, slot him into any action where we've not got a hero I guess. Like constructing network nodes or factories and shit.

>One thing that is important is where you wish to specialize further directed energy research; laser/microwave, or sound.
I'll leave that to others to decide while I eat but I think sound since our lasers seem decent enough and with the final level or two of Directed Energy they odd to become powerful enough as well to be actual infantry weapons.
>>
>>3849611
> Certainly better than trying to kill a world-sized snake or deal with the sun going out.

Or demonic iron horses setting fire to all creation, including Heaven.

>>3849592
#Sound
>>
>>3849611
Since this is probably secretly an xcom game (she didn't even tell ME) yeah I'd say directed energy is gonna kick some ass.

Sonics kicked a lot of ass previously if we have to deal with the Voice tho.
>>
>>3849611
Hey could we check out Aberdeen and other places like that for survey options?
>>
>>3849620
The main advantage of lasers compared to sonics is that they should probably have better range and can be used in defence against air craft as well as to redirect asteroids and shit.

>>3849636
Sure, honestly I mostly just stuck people surveying because I couldn't find a use for them: if you guys have a specific place you want them to go or a thing you want to check then do it. I will however say that there might be a duplicate survey or two so if nothing else you can move that anywhere.
>>
>>3849592
# Sound.

It is unreasonable hard to find that AVP scene where Lex uses a sonic gun of sorts to kill an alien.

So just pretend this ---->O<----- here is in fact said picture.
>>
I just had a thought for our Occult Research: Creation of a holy relic

Part 1 - Canonizing a Martyr

Father Schorpe died as a Martyr for his beliefs on live television, his death seen the world over.

A) Normally the waiting period for Sainthood lasts five years, but it can be waived under the right circumstances.

Example: Pope Benedict waived Pope John Paull II's waiting period.

With the scandal of Matthew's removal from power, the Catholic Church will likely seek a means of restoring their image in the eyes of the faithful. Canonizing a priest who sacrificed himself to stop a greater threat to humanity would be great for publicity.

B) Servitude towards God - From my understanding, Schorpe lived a life dedicated to the church, so this requirement should be easily met.

C) Heroic Virtue - The man was immolated on live television showing compassion towards fire-breathing hobos. Easily accomplished

D) Miracle - Arguably, his Martyrdom allowed the Two Witnesses to be defeated when all other attempts had failed. If necessary, we can always 'fabricate' a miracle as well.

Part 2 - The creation of a relic

Once canonized by the Catholic Church, we can create a relic.

The best solution involves using the walking stick he was carrying at his death. Upon canonization, we can donate the object to a parish in San Antonio, his home town. Conveniently, this is also where N.A.P. is based which will allow study of said relic.

Badabing, Bada Boom, we get more insight into how objects like St Terry's sword are created and possibly even a Wizard Staff.

What do you guys think? Doable? Insane?
>>
>>3849817
I think we should def try it
>>
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>>3849817
>>3849889
>>3849418


You're back in San Felipe, planning out the expansion of the Synco system into Africa as the available bandwidth there increases.

Your office has a small Gap Generator these days; so do most sensitive installations. You don't want to take chances. You just read the TTI report; you seem to read a lot of reports these days, read being a misnomer, since now that there's enough bandwidth to throw multimedia files around reliably people seem to have taken it as an excuse to throw around Powerpoint presentations that wouldn't have fit on ten floppies just a few years ago. You understand that the Beatification procedure for Fr. Schorpe is going well, and whoever ends up being Pope after Peter will make that happen in a few months. The old goat is hanging on to his seat, of course.

At some point there are diminishing returns, of course, but with the entire continent properly wired, Litwala's people should be able to meaningfully compete in the global economy without an excessive influx of Chinese capital...

When did it get this complicated? You just wanted to make sure everyone could go online. Sure, then it turned into a matter of turning Hungarian towns into alien locust traps, or freeze-drying Old Testament prophets, but what you really hate here is the politics.

Yang wants to quit. Santiago has made it clear that if he does, she does. Lal keeps wanting help to restart the Middle East's economy in a way that doesn't leave it wholly dependent on oil exports. Vega's laissez-faire approach means having to negotiate with a half dozen quasi-independent local grandees to install even a simple network node.

And of course, Project Penguin was a wash; Chloe won't return the generators and won't return your calls, instead sending brief messages that she can't talk because Tsion or Buck are on her case. You do know that they're making it hard to stockpile; you figure that the market economy will hold for a while, and haven't been hoarding, but it's getting harder to buy frozen fruit and-

That's the Euphrates alarm. The detectors on the river bed just went crazy. You ask for a report from observers on the ground, and you're shown an underground spring having broken open maybe half a kilometer from the dam. The cloud cover is starting to break, enough so that you get a glimpse of the afternoon sun.

Okay, that's pretty benign, but even so...

Some of the PKE meters you had left along the Euphrates trip, southwest direction.

You put the Peacekeepers on high alert.

You had a few meters in New Babylon -- Lal had intended to make the place into a new Vegas, but his policies force the place to be a little too tame for that to work well -- and they also trip, due south.

This is happening more or less at the speed of sound.

The PKs at the Al Hillah weapons depot are not CLUltists; General Akbar is sane enough to have picked sane people for this job.

"The chemical stockpile is gone. Disappeared. Shit, it's been Raptured."
>>
>>3849952
>"The chemical stockpile is gone. Disappeared. Shit, it's been Raptured."
You know, the moment that OP mentioned them, we should've made sure they were destroyed them.
>>
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>>3849952

"Explain."

"We normally have one person physically stand in there, just in case -- full NBC gear of course. The change of the guard takes about a minute, because there's an airlock, and in that minute -- bam, stuff just disappeared. All that's left in the warehouse are a bunch of zip ties and pallets. Thinking back, we actually felt the air pressure shift, there was this whiff of wind aAaaaaaaaaagh!"

That's all you get on that line.

What comes next is hard to piece together. New Babylon has good surveillance, so you can at least try.

There's no time to raise any alarm, no seismic sensors trip, no advance warning this time.

There, a bunch of people walking about past a camera used by a clothing store to turn on and off a projector for advertisement on the sidewalk; it's hooked up to the net because of some cross-promotion with a store in America.

Nine people. Three keel over all of a sudden. Two cough up black smoke that came out of nowhere, one just starts coughing. An ambulance is on the scene in minutes, and you intercept the paramedic's report -- all DOA, all with symptoms consistent with mustard gas inhalation. It's as if the stuff just appeared in their lungs.

Minutes later, the phenomenon has spread throughout New Babylon, enough that it overwhelms the hospital system there. Until it does, the diagnoses are the same.

At the speed this is spreading, you have a few hours until it gets to San Felipe.

As for the places affected immediately, you can react at the speed of light; problem is there isn't much you can do.

You call Dr. Diamond, who has no idea, but suggests a Dr. Jurgen Haase, an expert in chemical weapons who learned the hard way, volunteering to treat Iranian soldiers during the Iran-Iraq war. He's back in Germany these days. The thing will affect him faster than you.

# Show him everything, then put him on GCNN PSA.

# Talk to him privately first.

Your first worry is for your own people in the region, whom you tell to

# shelter in place.

# go somewhere highly ventilated.

# hide in a server room or anywhere else that has closed-cycle HVAC

# stay close to Gap Generators.

Checking Tsion's website, which went back up, you read that believers in New Babylon reported seeing a great army of riders, their mounts looking like horses with lion's teeth, wreathed in smoke and sulfur vapors, silently run across the streets.

Even on camera, people were shown recoiling from snakebites, enveloped by clouds of smoke, and consumed, seemingly by spontaneous fire from thin air. “I had envisioned the horsemen as one vast army riding together,” Tsion replies in one thread, “and perhaps at some point they will. But so far it appears they are assigned to various locations. How long this will continue, I do not know. Frankly, I am disappointed to not have seen them yet myself.”

# Fine, call him.

# No.
>>
>>3849990
# Talk to him privately first.

# stay close to Gap Generators.

If it is just teleporting into their lungs then there's no other effective protection but ideally they'd hide in a closed cycle HVAC with a gap generator but my worry is that these creatures might just start running through the walls if there isn't a gap generator.
>>
# Talk to him privately first.

# hide in a server room or anywhere else that has closed-cycle HVAC.

If Gap generators are being installed in critical infrastructure sites, would this extend to our servers?

Or would the electricity be bad for such a site?

#No

These entities are invisible but not intangible, yes? Could we try spreading like powder or dust to see if there is some tell-tale sign of demon?
>>
>>3849990

# Talk to him privately first

# Stay close to Gap Generators

# Fine, call him.

I want to know if any of the remnant can SEE the horsemen.

If they can I want their heads stapled to buildings. We've got billions to save, let's go.
>>
>>3850045
>I want to know if any of the remnant can SEE the horsemen.
They can: >>3849990;

>you read that believers in New Babylon reported seeing a great army of riders, their mounts looking like horses with lion's teeth, wreathed in smoke and sulphur vapours, silently run across the streets.

Given their nature just telling people to get inside of a solid building, close any and all windows and await rescue / being told it is safe might be our best option. Fact is we've not met them in combat yet so we don't know how or even if we can kill them. We might have to let this run it's course or something similarly difficult to do.
>>
>>3850000
>>3850011

The problem with gap generators is that they're high voltage broad spectrum jammers -- not the sort of thing you want next to sensitive electronics. At minimum, they cut the bandwidth of whatever's out there in half, and even that took a lot of work to achieve.

There's also the part where touching them in the wrong spot kills you, although after the whole mess with the locusts the Tesla coils are behind a plexiglas case with a "Remove in case of plague of locusts" sticker on it.

Nevertheless, some have been installed around network nodes and on the perimeters of your bases.

You show the New Babylon videos to Dr. Haase; in the few minutes it takes for that to happen, panic is starting to spread across the Middle East. The targets seem random, with the exception of young children -- the oldest kid on Earth is around four now.

Haase looks at the convulsions and confirms that this is what mustard gas exposure looks like, "but you'd have to huff the stuff directly into your lungs. Normally death takes 24 hours. Then again -- I would not want to live a day longer, in that situation."

You put him in touch with the people on the ground in New Babylon, and he guides them through a quick examination: significantly, there's no visible vesication of the skin that he can see; it's as if the stuff just appeared in people's lungs, just enough to kill them.

"What can be done?"

"The easiest way to neutralize mustard gas is with bleach. But I trust you can see the problem with inhaling bleach. You could fill your lungs with water, but, well, same problem. I'm sorry, Foreman. I just... don't know. "

You've ordered Peacekeeper medics to perform an autopsy, of course, but that will take a bit of time.

(Quick question: Where did the Two Witnesses' bodies end up at after all?)

---

Time to flex your coder's ability to crank out a phone app quickly.

# Analyze death patterns in New Babylon and Al Hillah, maybe there's a pattern to avoid.

# Come up with something that shows when the "wave", assuming speed of sound, is about to hit their location, so that they can take shelter.

---

Panic is going to spread regardless.

# Global alert.

# Tell the regional potentates, they'll handle their own territories.

# Just tell the IDF for now.

---


Between what people are posting on Tsion's site -- some are actively thanking God for this plague! -- and his general attitude, it's obvious that Remnant will be blamed for this.... which will feed into his persecution complex.

# Call him

# Don't

By the time the autopsy is done, this thing will have reached Baghdad; moving at the speed of sound, it will cover the whole world in 16.3 hours. Where you are, you have about 12.

To the people in New Babylon, you have CLU command them to knock on the doors of anyone they know who has children, lest by luck of the draw little kids be trapped in rooms and have no access to water. At least there, it looks like that once the "wave" passed, it stays gone.
>>
# Analyze death patterns in New Babylon and Al Hillah, maybe there's a pattern to avoid.

# Tell the regional potentates, they'll handle their own territories

# Call him
>>
>Two Witnesses

(I think the plan was to encase them in ice somewhere cold and away from Carpatescu... So... Thule?)
>>
>>3850071

# Analyze death patterns, maybe there's something to avoid. We don't even know if taking shelter HELPS.

# Tell the potentates AND the IDF

# Call him.
>>
>>3850086

You send an alert to the regional potentates, that each may deal with it as they best can. Most order a shelter-in-place. What is interesting to you is what each of them do with their key personnel.

Santiago has hers mandatorily enrolled in a SCUBA exercise.

Yang has been building underground vaults and renovating Cold War era fallout shelters.

Zakharov calculated when the "wave" would hit, and got airplanes on standby to fly past it as high as they can manage.

Lal, who is already dealing with this in New Babylon, makes no favoritism, and simply has municipalities prepare for a lot of corpse disposal.

Litwala flies his people to Madagascar, or more precisely a cruise ship anchored off its coast, and tells the local governor to "shut down everything" in case this is some sort of infection.

Dimmsdale takes his cabinet and heads to Cheyenne Mountain.

You have no idea what Vega does at first, but BOCHICA purchase logs are consistent with him refueling a submarine he bought a while ago for... reasons.

Your own key personnel, including yourself, will shelter

# near gap generators, in cubicles and alcoves where a horse and rider cannot reach.

# in water, with scuba gear.

# in the air.

# in place.

>>3850045
>>3850086
>>3850155

You call Tsion; actually call him. The number is anonymous, but the call is set to go through even if it interrupts someone else's; with any luck he will be on the phone already and pick it up. Given that the Tribulation Force do a lot of coordinating through landlines, that's not a bad bet to make.

"Dees is Tsion."

"This is the Foreman. I've come to bargain."

"The Sixth Trumpet Judgment comes. Where's your tech? Where are your robots and lasers now? Do you know how much your imposture broke Chloe's heart? Don't bother her, I told her to not talk to you again. Her waters will break at any time."

"Does that mean you're not willing to negotiate?"

Tsion waits a moment. "... With you? No. You're a liar. But perhaps..."

"I never said I was a Christian. She made her own guess in that sense. And I've kept every single promise I made you people - even as you're slack on yours. You don't get to call me a liar."

"Maybe not. But you will agree that right now God holds all the cards, will you not?"

# Okay. Pray the horsemen away if you can. What do you want in return?

# I'm calling you because people are already blaming the Remnant, you moron. You're all going to get lynched if you don't work with me.

# (write in)
>>
# In water with Scuba Gear

We're dealing with fire (which is beat by water), smoke, and sulfur. It won't mitigate snake bites, however.

---
# Okay. Pray the horsemen away if you can. What do you want in return?

Tsion isn't going to be swayed by threats of persecution. He's counting on it. He probably sees himself as the contemporary Moses proclaiming doom to Egypt.... when in reality he's a stubborn Jonah who is grumpy because people aren't suffering like they're supposed to dammit!
>>
>>3850170

# near gap generators, in cubicles and alcoves where a horse and rider cannot reach.

# Okay. Pray the horsemen away if you can. What do you want in return?

He doesn't believe we're going to win this one...here's the thing. AFTER the Sixth Trumpet, then what? Even if the world is smashed by this, if that's IT and we've derailed it? Life continues.
>>
>>3849979
Still wouldn't have happened. Maybe it we had the ability to look for Walid and Terry, but we'd have still likely missed it.

Where did the Two Witnesses' bodies end up at after all.

>>3850071
>(Quick question: Where did the Two Witnesses' bodies end up at after all?)
Wait are they both dead?
So long as they and Carpatescu are very very separate I don't care too much.

>>3850170
# (write in)
Offer to persecute him in return for his help, its clear he wants it badly to feed his persecution complex. Its in his blood, and a obsession of his mind.
>>
#

"Now I am going to tell you what you are going to do and you're going to listen. I'm not going to promise reprieve from the Global Community for the Remnant because I know you don't want that for your people. In fact you're anticipating it. It's in your narrative.

But here's the deal Tsion. You DON'T hold all the cards.

Maybe we don't have a magic bullet to stop the Two Billion Horsemen. Maybe we've lost this battle... but so what? Humanity will continue on, same as it always have. Maybe some people will blame the Remnant for the deaths, but CATS will ensure that the world sees you for what you truly are: scared and trying to find answers and patterns in these interesting times.

No deaths at the appointed times. No persecutions. No Mark of the Beast.

In the end who can judge you for that?"
>>
>>3850170
# in the air.

Did they take the barrels containing the gas too?

Was it all one type of gas?
>>
>>3850170
# near gap generators, in cubicles and alcoves where a horse and rider cannot reach.

>>3850196
>>3850257
He's not going to pray away the apocalypse either, anon. This is, more or less, exactly what was supposed to happen.

What I want to say:
#So. How's your visions lately?

Also this:
>>3850302
>Offer to persecute him in return for his help, its clear he wants it badly to feed his persecution complex. Its in his blood, and a obsession of his mind.
>>3850305

Best bet at this point? Psychological warfare.

>>3849952
>That's the Euphrates alarm. The detectors on the river bed just went crazy. You ask for a report from observers on the ground, and you're shown an underground spring having broken open maybe half a kilometer from the dam.

Anon? For the record, this is EXACTLY what I was worried about.

You were treating this like God is some immutable machine, bound to one 'reasonable' interpretation of a prophecy, and that we can just knock things off the rails and not expect some corrective force.

In short, you were treating it like an engineering problem, with no unknown or mutable qualities, and not a war.

Fighting against the prophecies directly is against God's strengths--here, he can afford to be formless in the Sun Tzu sense, so long as he can be seen as fulfilling the text. We can't win solely by acting against them, although we can certainly stall them or reduce casualties.

We need to be acting against his weaknesses, the areas where he can't afford to be formless.
*Research into sonics and the occult: all his directly demonstrated abilities are tied to the speed of sound. The Gap Generators are good, but clearly not enough.

*His propaganda efforts: Tsion needs to be taken out of the game, and fast. So long as the Remnant are under his sway, they're going to be constantly underfoot, recruiting, disrupting our efforts, and generally pushing us into persecuting them.

Doubtless there are others; these are just off the top of my head.
>>
>>3850170
One more thing. Can we relocate the PKEs and Gap Generators to the areas going to be hit next? Or are we completely out of air assets?
>>
>>3850330
So Tison dies tonigh?

>>3850342
Not sure how we can get them back in time unless they move at a walking pace, or speed of wind more likely.
>>
>>3850491
>So Tison dies tonigh?

Not tonight--if the Remnant draw a line between CATS and Tsion disappearing we'll never be able to deprogram them. We need to arrange a credible disappearance, which is gonna have to wait until after all this settles down.

But soon.
>>
>>3850505
This
>>
Now would be a great time to tell labs world wide to start pumping out perfluorocarbons with a web alert (which can be used for liquid breathing) it might be able to replace just enough air but I doubt a prophecy would recognise such a high tech liquid in the lungs of people
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MmavaV1-2o

"God may win this one, I'll grant you that. Maybe I don't have a magic bullet to stop your invisible horsemen. Maybe I do."

"We do not need to fight in this battle, just stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on our behalf.”

"Answering in Bible verses because Eli and Moishe aren't available to do it, I see. Okay. Maybe we lost this one, but so what?"

"So what? More than a billion people will die. I would call that an extreme wake-up call, but no, most of those are left will keep worshiping demons, engaging in fornication...."

"You like this, don't you. You want your people to be persecuted. It's the only chance you have for things to still make sense to you."

"It's not about what I want! It's about what God wants."

"God wants slavery and death! We survived the Rapture, in three years we were better off than ever. We'll survive this, in three years we will be better off than now. People are going to blame your sect for this, but that works for you, otherwise you'd have no reason to run to Petra and sit there scared for three and a half year, would you? You have no intention of negotiating, this works out for you! Not your people, you personally!"

"Foreman, you are the enemy of God. I let Chloe's logic, and my own eyes, deceive me on the matter, when I should have believed from the start. Do your worst in revenge; it will all be heaped upon your head on the day of judgement."

"No, we won't. We're going to do our best. CATS is going to keep its promises even though you broke yours. You won't be censored or pushed off the air. All the persecution your people get after this, Tsion - it'll be entirely on you. But here's the thing: this is your last hurrah. After this there will be no death of the two witnesses, no mark of the beast, no desecration of the temple, just you doing predetermined movements like a glitched computer program while the rest of us forget you and move on. It's already gone out of sequence, Tsion. One witness is dead, one is in custody and will stand trial."

"You lie!"

"The whole world saw it."

"I saw a lie on your forehead. You lied to Chloe. Truth is not about what we see, truth is what God says! Why would any of the righteous believe you? If you want the truth, Foreman, find it on my website, but it's too late for you. You are the Antichrist, there will be no chance of salvation for you."

*click*


>>3850302
They aren't both dead, they're still on ice, one is missing its head. The other is showing some signs of metabolic activity. They're still entangled.

>>3850309
Not the same type of gas, but most of it was mustard gas. There's also some nerve gas in the mix which may explain the instant death... but you only find that out after the first autopsy.
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTsD2FjmLsw

Well, that went how it went. The tricky part now is going to be to find Tsion before he gets to Petra, since people will be supernaturally protected there. The part about Tsion having decided that you are the Antichrist is interesting; you'll have to see if he puts that up for public consumption.

You explain that you're going to take the "horsemen" thing seriously, and recommend that everyone who can spend the next day indoors, in a place past a narrow door, and if at all possible on an elevated floor.

Then you manually move some assignments around to make sure that your key people get a chance to do that, and have gap generators positioned nearby where they are.

The horsemen should stop when they kill a third of humanity -- approximately seven people per ghost. And now, by directing that some workers go outside with unplugged gap generators to take them inside, you're basically choosing who lives and who dies.

Assuming the gap generators even work in this case.

But what other option is there? Leave it to chance? Lose an engineer or a theologian to save a janitor? Your soldiers volunteered to die for humanity, and for their paycheck - but what if you need them more than your workers, in the immediate?

# Emphasize keeping workers

# Emphasize keeping sec

# Pick and choose based on performance

# Preserve your key personnel, but otherwise let fate decide

You tell this to Dr. Diamond, who has been acting as your unofficial therapist and team mom for CATS HQ. Notably, she refused the shelter-in-place order and will keep her clinic open, although the doors have been warded by her on-staff Candomblé healer and there will be a gap generator running at full blast on the premises.

"You're not choosing who lives and who dies... well, in a a way you are but it's not as if you want to. It's like when we have to do triage. I won't lie, some EMTs are unprofessional enough to relish the feeling of power. But you didn't cause the earthquake or the flood that makes you do it in the first place. Think past this."

"Does Tsion have a case with me being the Antichrist?"

"You want reassurance, Foreman. I'm going to give you the opposite, first. Let's see: you posed as a god..."

"To stop a war!"

"... you let Folgore break the treaty with Israel..."

"We're good now, and that is why I had to stop him!"

"... you have a false prophet, who wants to seal everyone inside a strong illusion..."

"what?"

"Oh, good, you haven't read Aki's diary. I did because she let me. She wants to upload everyone some day. You did make that weird speech to Folgore, she took it to heart. What else: you killed the two witnesses, at the appointed time give or take a month or two..."

"This is nuts! Suzanna, I-"

"You're mad. You're mad at me. Good! Get mad at me instead of at Tsion if he says these things. You can get mad with your friends. With your enemies, you must be calculating."

"Sun Tzu?"

"Suzy D."

"... Thank you, Doctor."
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbftQpzIyUk

There isn't much you can do in the immediate, just wait for the storm to strike, again. Everyone you rescue will be someone else, somewhere on earth, who will suddenly find their lungs full of chemical weapons.

And the Remnant witch hunt that is sure to follow will do nothing but play into Tsion's narrative. Is his God so desperate that He will let His people die by the thousands to get things back on track? Why not, you remind yourself, what's thousands after you've already killed billions.

# Take time to coordinate your people in a way that keeps as many of your people safe as possible. Even if it will not save any net lives, you owe them that much.

# You have a few hours, and a long range VTOL jet. Find the Tribulation Force's core team and see how loyal Tsion is to his script when there's a gun to his head.... you mean, extract Chloe so you can talk without her getting gaslit, yeah, that's more like it.
* They're back in Chicago, where their IP addresses hints they are. Last place anyone would look.
* They're in Jerusalem, ready to go to Petra. The one place where your sec squads can't just barge in.
* They're in South Africa, where Chloe was building a logistics hub.
* They're in New Babylon, the other last place anyone would look.
>>
>>3850710
># Preserve your key personnel, but otherwise let fate decide
>>3850720
# Take time to coordinate your people in a way that keeps as many of your people safe as possible. Even if it will not save any net lives, you owe them that much.
>>
>>3850720
If Tsion's going to flee to Petra immediatly after the Trumpet...This might be our last, best chance to get at Tsion.

# You have a few hours, and a long range VTOL jet. Find the Tribulation Force's core team and put Tsion--just Tsion--into protective custody.

Saving people will mean nothing if we lose the war. Tsion's mesmerism is key to the Remnant theater--remove him from play, and we can negotiate with Chloe, assuming we can keep her from doubling down--and with Dr. Diamond, the right team, and Prachett's sword, we might just.

# Preserve your key personnel, but otherwise let fate decide
>>
>>3850731
>>3850759

You ensure that the key people -- those you know personally, you admit to yourself with a pang of guilt -- are kept as safe as possible, then the team coordinators and recruiters, since you will need people. To the rest, you give general instructions on how to shelter, and hope it's enough.

The first autopsy comes in - mustard gas (sulfur mustard) was exhaled, along with carbon particulates, but a contribution to the immediate death was nerve gas immediately being absorbed by the lungs.

The "wave" has reached Europe and Africa by now; you've got less than half a day to go. You make sure that your essential personnel are protected -- you don't know if the gap generators will work, or if going somewhere with a narrow starcaise, or putting lamb's blood on the door (the Orthodox Jews have decided to go with that, perhaps unsurprisingly), or hang an iron nail to the doorway. You don't know, nobody does -- not even the Remannt. You know for a fact that Carpatescu doesn't; in your last little chat he claimed that he was grateful about some choices being out of his hands right now. "After all, the safest place in the world is in a well-run jail, is it not?"

# Take the opportunity to do some experimentation -- gap generators on the ground floor with wide doors, and viceversa, things like that. Hopefully, this will generate some raw data to make the occult less, well, occult.

# Keep the throw-everything-at-the-wall approach for the people you are trying to save.

You learn that Cpt. Steele has died by a report from one of the Garibaldi's sailors.

"He told all of us that his responsibility as the commanding officer was to ensure the crew's safety to the best of his ability, so he had everyone muster to the well deck, had a screen set up there, and had the engineers link it to a camera aimed at one of the lifeboats. We sealed the well deck and wired up one of those big tesla coils to the auxiliary engine, then hung it on the well deck's ceiling.

Then he left us a letter with written orders, and left. In it, he apologized to us and to naval tradition for abandoning ship in this manner, but explained that he was breaking the letter of the law to uphold its spirit. Most of us understood.

He sailed the lifeboat two miles out towards New Babylon with five volunteers, they stood on it, holding up a flag. All of us who could get scuba snorkels did. Captain Steele's written orders were to turn on the tesla coil full blast, then breath out and dive, just as soon as we saw the flag drop on camera. He didn't trust the detectors, so...

We did. We are alive.

We lost Captain Steele and Mr. Domingo, the lookout, who had volunteered. We also lost John Preston. He was helming the lifeboat -- he was a Remnant adherent, so the Captain thought he'd be safe. He tried to give mouth-to-mouth to Cpt. Steele."

According to the rest of the report, the detectors work, otherwise; unfortunately their range is poor, about five hundred meters at best.
>>
>>3850759
>>3850731

(So, remember those 1d3s I rolled earlier? This is what they were for. You got good rolls, too, only two of your guys got Thanos'd)

You do have to decide whether to go after the Tribulation force and, if so, where they are, in which case you will be able to sacrifice a bit of your remaining time to do preliminary analysis and remove up to two of the possibilities.
>>
>>3850720
# You have a few hours, and a long range VTOL jet. Find the Tribulation Force's core team and see how loyal Tsion is to his script when there's a gun to his head.... you mean, extract Chloe so you can talk without her getting gaslit, yeah, that's more like it.
chase him down.
>>
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>>3850579

You send out a request for that; a few labs in North America and Australia may be able to try it. In particular, Gideon Vega demands that this be tried on himself, if there's enough time for it.

Perfluorocarbons take time to make and oxygenate, though, and this thing is coming at the speed of sound...

>>3849617

... so are a lot of things when it comes to this stuff, come to think of it. Assuming that what the Witnesses and Carpatescu and so on did is, well, magic, this seems to be all about words. Tsion even says as much, to the point where he warns people to test their own perceptions against the word of God rather than the other way round, and to read Scripture aloud. Remnant have used supernatural sound amplification to "win" arguments by shouting down the other sides. Even the glossolalia that the TTI people believe to be a form of telepathy is still sound based, the words still have to come out.

Further study of directed energy should put extra focus on that.

>>3850809
>>3850759
>>3850731

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO-u068B6RU

On one hand Dr. Diamond has a point; it's important to be able to look past this incident and see the long term. On the other, if there's one thing that has worked well so far, is decapitation strikes. You got Carpatescu, you got Folgore, maybe you can get Tsion. The thought of Stepola and Tsion being hooked up to VR containment suits and having nothing but each other for company for the rest of their natural lives is maybe a little too enjoyable.

From the information you have, they're in

# Chicago.

# New Babylon.

# Jerusalem.

# South Africa.

# one of these places, and you're going to get BOCHICA and Vajpaiee on it to eliminate one of the above options. This will take an hour, maybe a little longer.

# one of these places, and you're going to get BOCHICA, Vajpayee, and some statisticians on it to eliminate two of the above options. This will take two to three hours.

You suspect that they're going to move to Petra as soon as they are able, and even though supernatural protection of the Edom region is not supposed to start until the Temple is desecrated, who knows, maybe Tsion can talk himself and his God into deciding that the couple of bricks that fell off the Wailing Wall when you apprehended the Two Witnesses count -- even if it doesn't, there are jurisdiction issues.

Your loadout will consist of one security team with

# light weapons and drones

# light and medium weapons

and Chandra, who has largely recovered by now and finds it flat out unmanly to hide in an office tower when he could be facing the monsters that are going door to door and killing innocents, albeit indirectly.

# You're going.

# Moira is going.

# Both.

# Neither.
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What if we inject people with the demon venom before exposure?
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>>3850819

That's a possibility; they'll be useless for five months, but still.

The closest facility where you have some of the stuff for study is in Baikonur. The invisible horsemen will arrive there in about forty minutes.

# Do not perform the test.

# Authorize a limited test on volunteers (about a dozen). Somewhat likely to give conclusive results.

# Authorize a large scale test on volunteers (about five dozen). Very likely to give conclusive results. You will lose the use of a work team.

# Mandatory injection (more than a hundred). Basically guaranteed to give conclusive results. You will lose the use of a work team, and nobody's going to like the "mandatory" part.

In total, you have a few thousand doses of the stuff, if you parcel it wisely.
>>
>>3850833
What is the estimate and confirmed death count so far?
>>
>>3850833
Also what has injecting the dead done so far? Have we tested that yet? Recent dead I mean.

I'm Guessing Chicago or New Babylon as my initial guess.

We can check all aircraft flying at the moment to get a pin on Cameron, fuel stocks and reserves.

We can text Chole a few times to see if we can zero her location or cross reference it to a general area and check out the Remanent buying habits and where the supplies are getting delivered to to have a rough idea of where the bulk of their people probably are better idea.

Maybe kill all internet traffic going through the Chicago area?

Try monitoring the satelloons if possible.

Force a global no fly zone? Any aircraft flying needs to be made to land in designated areas where everyone is check and face scanned?

What happened to all the aircraft tail numbers got of the remnant?
>>
>>3850851

New Babylon so far confirms the one-third figure, minus children born after the Rapture. General Akbar has ordered that the bodies be cremated.

There's a small amount of people who have coughed up mustard gas and haven't died; there seems to be no pattern to them so far.

Injecting a corpse with the locust ichor was attempted in a cursory manner, and slowed down the decomposition near the injection site; there was a proposal for complete revivification, but you haven't followed up on it yet. The proposal, indicating combining the ichor with other reagents, was written by a Massachussets physician; you can talk to him later, if he lives through it.

>>3850858

You still have the tail numbers; Chloe has realized your "betrayal" only a few days ago, so it's unlikely that she's been able to switch all of them. As far as you know, William Cameron is in Israel, ministering (in all senses) to Chaim Rosenzweig.

Monitoring satelloons is difficult: the volcanic cloud is beginning to let up, but talking to satellites is still complicated enough that it has caused a resurgence in broadcast TV.

You can propose a global no-fly zone to the Council if you like.

Chloe has focused on stockpiling, as far as you can tell, so her fuel and food reserves are good -- probably better than yours at the moment.

Every time you've succeeded in communicating with Chloe, she's used an IP address in the Chicago area, usually one allocated to the address block reserved to your HQ; she's still doing that, although you had the address block transfered to San Felipe since your original HQ was bombed.

Buying patterns show the most activity in San Diego, which you are excluding because by the look of it it's mostly transshipment that is being contracted out, and South Africa.

Flying patterns show actvity in the Chicago area as well as those two.

New Babylon is largely a guess prompted by one Otto Weser, who has been doing his best to preach the gospel to CLUltists within the Peacekeeper army.
>>
>>3850869
Did it include plane model?

We can focus more plane models with wrong tail numbers or recent planes of the same model with registered or unusually active numbers.

Also can we use something like https://www.flightradar24.com/ ?

Also put important people who have died on ice in case we can revive them at a later date.

Are we sending out updates of important information and news to everyone?

How did everyone on the carrier survive? By air tight seal?
>>
>>3850869
Can we make sure some various supplies with tracking devices get sold to her and transport or maybe we run an intercept or do some really skeevy things to figure out her location?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailored_Access_Operations
>>
I'm also gonna wait for some more anons to wake up or get back on here before voting because these are important choices.
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAyzVA8Z9xI [Embed]

>>3850877
>>3850884
>>3850886

(OK OK, I get the idea, you want to analyze the situation thoroughly :) Will do!)

You have been trying to track Chloe with that method, and even succeeded once; she's been pretty smart about it so far. Of course, trying to do this when there are hours left on the clock would be pretty useless, so you resolve to keep trying later, if it's necessary.

You decide that there's no point in sallying out without knowing where you're going, and order a full statistical analysis of recent ICCO movements, using tail numbers and matching them to plane models by reviewing airport security footage; in the meantime, the DO-31 is fueled up and the squad readied. That takes some time, of course, but you'd rather risk getting there and finding that they've left, and collect intel, than getting somewhere that they never were in the first place.

Eventually, you narrow it down to

# Chicago, specifically your old HQ tower, the Strong building, or what's left of it. This bears out by IP addresses and the fact that the Remnant would know that it's safe to use a building that had been hit by an old-style nuke.

# Jerusalem; the city has a fair Remnant population by now and is a good mustering point before the Petra ruins from a logistics standpoint. This bears out by flight data; it makes sense that ICCO would start stockpiling nearby.

You're currently sending casualty updates and any sort of information to the regional potentates, who are disseminating it (or not) at their discretion. Some, like Lal or Gustav, are sending them out; others, like Santiago, are only disseminating preparedness information. Of course, given the nature of the internet, it means that a few minutes after the official data is out everyone knows everything, including a lot of misinformation.

The horsemen seem to be going after the easiest targets first, with the casualty figure dropping from 33% to 22.5% or so. You worry that they'll turn around and come back.

You order for select people to be put on ice, and decide to call the guy in the US Northeast, Dr. West, if he's still around after this.

The people on the Garibaldi survived on a combination of gap generator, diving into water at the last minute without holding their breaths, and being in a tightly sealed degaussed steel box (the carrier's well deck).
>>
>>3850889
Don't we have camera's at or around CATS Chicago HQ?

Maybe we can temporarily Hijack ones in nearby buildings that can overlook the compound?

Also, what if we blew up and destroyed the Remanent food stocks and supplies in transit or to the site to starve em out a bit, and hamper them?

Can we bring a mixture of weaponry like light arms and drones for some, and heavy weapons and explosives for the other? All militaries utilize a mixed unit composition for maximum effectiveness.

I'm a say out of the two options Jem is my guess, and Chm is nearby maybe give him a call or text asking if hes alone or who else is with him and is he safe.

Tison may be trying to bring him over at the last minute to save him or something.

Also are we able to deploy more than 2 forces, one lead by either Moira, Chandra, or Foreman?

>>3850887
>>3850889
>>3850891
Rare triple postings!

Goddam is Chole hyper competent or what?
Puts all of CATS and Aki on the loop.

Guess we should ask her if she was impersonating Aki and that Rose hacker?
>>
>>3850833
# Authorize a large scale test on volunteers (about five dozen). Very likely to give conclusive results. You will lose the use of a work team.

Also test full NBC and MOPPS Gear, including pressure suits and the like.

Gonna take a short nap.
>>
>>3850897

(OOC note: Chloe is pretty much hypercompetent, yes. Basically every time the Tribbles have a problem with logistics, such as "the world is a mess, why do we have perfectly working airplanes" or "who figured out how to start a black market" and so on, the LB authors would have Chloe say "I used The Computers to buy/procure stuff, and it's coming out of the budget of the International Commodity Co-op". By the time she dies in the original timeline, she's running about 20% of the economy, almost entirely by herself although she has a sort of office pool hidden somewhere. There's another character like this who is in fact a super-hacker, but you haven't met him or her yet. How the one-world government doesn't just cut the wires that bring the internet to the various Trib safehouses, even when they know where they are, is never explained, much like how in the Paul Stepola trilogy it's never explained why the first book looks like Demolition Man's aboveground idyllic society, the second book looks like real life but with a near-future reskin so that you get hydrogen cars and skull-phones, and in the third book we're back to Humvees, propane forklifts, and glorious landline phones

Suggested reading:

http://exharpazo.blogspot.com/2012/08/left-behind-with-hackers.html

)

Your people are in fact in the loop; Aki has sort of decided to hide in one of the VR rigs, with a gap generators above her head, a bottle of oxygen just in case, and a number of PKE meters wired up to the building because she wants to see if she can "see" them. One problem, which may simply not be solvable, is that PKE meters are completely flooded by a nearby gap generator.

(Aki has gotten a lot of use in this quest mainly because she gets two actions, like the Foreman. She also rolls well most of the time, and you've kept her and Robertson separate. It should be obvious what her agenda is, and yes, EVERY named character has an agenda, because I like gambit-pileup plots)

>>3850921

You send out the authorization for using a small, but non-negligible, percentage of the ichor on anybody who wants to trade the certainty of five months of suicide-inducing pain with a 25% chance of dying in their next breath when the "wave" comes. Unfortunately holding one's breath doesn't seem to help. You also make a note of who volunteered, in case you need that personality profile later.

You and Moira had one of the implant's injectors filled with a small dose of ichor, as a last resort.


(OK, the other stuff does need at least two votes. Also sleep)
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>>3850931
>Chole dies
I bet you ran down the streets telling everyone Darth Vader was Skywalker's R2D2! when Return of the Jedi came out.
>>
How many days has it been since the Witness incident?
>>
# light weapons and drones
If they are hiding in a place where it's hard for us to enter, drones would help

# You're going.
Let's hope we can have a good, honest, one on one talk with Chloe, if you know what I mean
>>
>>3850897

You turned everything that had survived at the Chicago HQ off, starting with wiping every hard drive and erasing every ROM, specifically to avoid leaving any back doors.

You can attack Remnant supplies as they are being moved, yes.

As always in this quest, you can choose "mix options" in situations where it wasn't explicitly an option, although it will be at an efficiency penalty.

Who's Jem and Chm?

You can deploy more than one squad if you can figure out how to fit more than one squad on a DO-31 that is already having to carry drop tanks.

>>3851021

Five days.

They are scheduled to be killed by the Antichrist in two months, although one of them is already dead and the other one is prophecied to seek death, but not find it, for five months.
>>
>>3851091
>>3851021
>>3850942

You figure that wherever they are, going in with heavy weapons will be counterproductive: they're either somewhere in Jerusalem, where there's only so far you can stretch the goodwill you have earned, or in your own old HQ in Chicago, where you know for a fact bringing in heavy machine guns and rocket launchers wouldn't do anybody any good.

The question remaining is, of course, where to go.

# North, to Chicago.

# East (well, northeast), to Jerusalem.

What you have been able to figure out so far is that the 200 million invisible horsemen armed with mustard gas, or whatever is actually going on, are going for easy targets first, those who are out in the open, getting in and out of cars, waiting for the train...

They are taking out between a quarter and a fifth of the non-Remnant adult population. They're supposed to go for a third: you worry if the second wave will be more targeted.

--

Father Schorpe sent you a piece of paper mail, from Jerusalem; he didn't know how to do a delayed email, but by the look of it, he knew he was not coming back.

He tells you a brief story of his life -- how guilt over what his people did when he was a young man led him to try for medical school, how he switched over to seminary after discovering himself too squeamish to heal people's bodies and resolving to heal people's souls, how clean living robbed him of his relatives and friends as time passed and people got old. You thought he was in his late sixties, maybe a little frail; he was actually a very healthy 80, born right after WW1 and growing up with the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler. He said he was "cruel, like all children", but does not elaborate.

"Jean Rostand said, Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god. People give this quote to Stalin, or Hitler. I have come to agree with it. Either the God I have served for most of my life is true, and will understand my reason for breaking His commandments today and commit suicide, or He is false, and then I will face the God of these two witnesses, and go to Hell with a clean conscience. Please, commit a cruelty. Once you subdue them, give them the ichor, that they may seek death and not find it for five months, since their due time to die is two months from now. You will then have ninety days in which anything can happen, even an end to this madness. I sincerely believe that Jesus did not give up on us; now it may be our turn to not give up on Him.

Give the world a chance to survive, and make the best of your time."
>>
>>3851093

Good. Prophecy is yet again thwarted as they have not been left in the street for three days.


# East (well, northeast), to Jerusalem.
>>
>>3851101
>East (well, northeast), to Jerusalem.
>>
>>3851101
>East (well, northeast), to Jerusalem.
>>
Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>3851137
>>3851135
>>3851113

The flight is uneventful, to the point where you cross the suspected "line" without incident, over the Atlantic Ocean with Africa in sight. Maybe the horsemen really are going for the easiest targets first.

At the next refueling stop, in Morocco, however, you get to see first hand what happened: ambulances, people wailing, people staring into nothing. People just cough, curl up, and die. A very few survive, and scream as their lungs fill with boils. Some make it to a hospital.

It's worse than the Rapture. The person refueling the VTOL tells you that he has been ringing his boyfriend's phone and not getting a reply. He goes through the motions, and gets you going, and you watch him secure the avgas pump and then redial.

Tsion's website update is an absolute rant.

"Friends, today, as three and a half years ago, we all lost someone. I understand your pain. My own family was butchered in retaliation for my “sin” of going public with my belief that Jesus is the long-sought Messiah. During my flight from my homeland and even all the way to where I am exiled, I was oppressed by the awful presence of the author of death.

This event portends the second half of the Tribulation, called the Great Tribulation, which will make these horrific days seem languorous.

Even the GC-controlled news media can no longer sugarcoat what we know to be true. Crime and sin are beyond control. The necessities of life will be in short supply due to lack of a workforce and ways to manufacture and distribute them. Yet there is not a neighborhood on earth that does not have a brothel, a seance and fortune-telling parlor, or a pagan temple expressly for worshiping idols. Life is cheap now. There are not enough Peacekeepers still alive to do police work, and the ones who are on the job are either overwhelmed or corrupt.

With people simply gone from every walk of life, it is amazing what continues to flourish. New movies and television programming will be virtually nonexistent, but there is no shortage of pornography and perversion on the hundreds of channels available to anyone with a receiver

We are not surprised that these are dark days, brothers and sisters, and I pray you would hold on and maintain and continue to try to share the truth of Jesus until he comes. Merely surviving from this point will occupy most of your time. But I urge you to prepare, have a plan for what you will do when that inevitable day arrives where it is not just illegal to tap into this Web site or declare yourself a believer. Be ready for that day when the insidious mark of the beast is required on your forehead or hand for you to legally buy or sell

And above all, do not make the fatal mistake of thinking that you can take that mark for the sake of expediency while privately believing in Christ. He has made plain that those who deny him before men, he will deny before God. And in later teachings I will elucidate on why the mark of the evil one is irrevocable
>>
If you have already trusted Christ for your salvation, you have the mark of the seal of God on your forehead, visible only to other believers. Fortunately, this decision, mark, and seal is also irrevocable, so you never need fear losing your standing with him. For who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. With the apostle Paul, I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In spite of and in the midst of every trial and tribulation, let us continue to give thanks to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And as the Scriptures say, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

There are bits about Carpatescu and the "Enigma Babylon One World Faith" wanting to stop animal sacrifices at the Third Temple, and about some sort of global celebration. Maybe it's stuff that was supposed to happen. A celebration after this? Even if Carpatescu is an amoral monster, he'd be far too media-savvy.

Francesca D'Angelo releases a brief communique indicating that the deaths are the result of a chemical weapon of known composition but unknown delivery system, and that the Remnant are not to be blamed.

Peter Mathews even came out of what is now semiretirement for the sake of keeping up appearances -- he won't quit, he can't be impeached, and he's proving to be too sly for the time-honored assassination techniques practiced in the Vatican in his beloved Renaissance -- to undersign the statement, after the Patriarch of Constantinopole, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Naib of the Zensunni, and other religious notables have done so.

But the first incidents of Remnant lynchings have already begun. Some believers welcome it, responding to provocation by proclaiming loudly that the attack is an act of love from their God, and all but taunting people to make them martyrs until they do. Some are being attacked out of fear, anger, desperation.

And some are being attacked because they have stuff to steal and it's easier now to get away with it than it would have otherwise, like what seems to be going on with the main ICCO warehouse in Jerusalem; you arrive to see a siege in progress. People are scared; that this atrocity means that there's going to be more for everybody, if anything, does not register to people who see that shit hit the fan.

# Help restore the peace and intervene in favor of ICCO workers.

# Deal a strategic blow to an enemy and intervene in favor of the besiegers.
>>
# Help restore the peace and intervene in favor of ICCO workers.
>>
>>3851164
>Help restore the peace and intervene in favor of ICCO workers.
>>
>>3851164
# Help restore the peace and intervene in favor of ICCO workers.
>>
Hmmmm....

Could the toxics be ingested and then released internally?

My theory is that this is an attack by Folgore loyalists who are carrying out a 'final contingency' in the event that Carpatescu is deposed. He did hint at us being blind-sided.... Maybe there is something being put into the food source. If Neo Babylon is a center of trade, it could be easy to tamper with food or medical supply.

As for the demon-horses? Shared delusion? The Remnant are in the thrall of Tsion's word so when people drop dead from this Sarin gas, they are going to start 'seeing things'.
>>
>>3851178
Explain why it's appearing in their lungs instead of being released directly into the bloodstream, then.

Or why it's spreading at the speed of sound.

Or why none of the Remnant have dropped dead.

Or why gap generators and being indoors have dropped the death rate down ten percentage points.
>>
>>3851164
# Help restore the peace and intervene in favor of ICCO workers.

We keep our promises...and here's a good place to find Tsion and Chloe as any.
>>
>>3851178

That's certainly a theory that you can push; why would Folgore do that to his own soldiers to start with though, and why would the trigger move at the speed of sound?

>>3851173
>>3851172
>>3851168

You didn't see this coming, but it's good fortune; if nothing else it proves to everyone, hopefully Chloe, that you're not anti-Remnant.

The mob outside is disorganized, some coming with the literal torches and pitchforks -- well, torches and garden rakes anyway. You see that it's mostly young men working at the warehouse; some must just have missed the Rapture at the time. So far, it's still at the level of shouting and throwing rocks.

Just a block away, IDF soldiers and Jerusalem police and firefighters are ignoring the matter -- not because they don't want to help Remnant, although you suspect that's the case, but because they're too busy stacking up bodies. Even secular Israelis tend to have a problem with cremation, so the obvious solution is not accessible; the bodies are being tagged, bagged, and brought to anywhere possible before burial. You see a lot of trucks carrying meat or livestock; all over the place indusrial refrigerators are probably being put to grim use.

Rioters and looters tend to pay attention when a retro-futuristic VTOL launches a small drone swarm and men in armor start rappeling down it onto the warehouse roof; there isn't even a fight.

Chandra takes it from here, and tells people to go home and stay safe. Most do. "Listen to the guy in composite armor wielding a laser gun and a big nasty knife" knows few cultural barriers, after all.

Among the last to relent are a group of orthodox Jews. "These people are Nazis! They're gassing our mothers and our brothers!"

"They're using bioweapons! They're in here!"

Chandra is the squad leader, but if there's to be a fight, it'll be inside; it's your call to make.

# This is a warehouse, there are supplies in here, go home, seriously, haven't enough people gotten hurt?

# Choose one of you, make sure their phone is charged, and they can come in with us and record.
>>
>>3851207
>Choose one of you, make sure their phone is charged, and they can come in with us and record.
>>
# This is a warehouse, there are supplies in here, go home, seriously, haven't enough people gotten hurt?
>>
>>3851201

In my defense, I'm a little hung over so my idea is a bit unpolished. It made me think of the stuff G. Vega was doing with the drugs. Kinda.

The Remnant wouldn't be affected as they have been going deeper underground.

As for Folgore doing it to his troops? He's a taco short of a combo platter.

But again I'm still hungover and the throbbing headache makes it hard to brain well

Admittedly, I'm mostly just speculating trying to make sense of this mystery. ^^ll

Do we have a precise point of origin? For example, the Four Angels that are described as being tasked with killing humans.

I would guess that whatever these things are, they are the handlers while the 'hosemen' are just the means. Cut off the head and the attacks just might stop.

# Choose one of you, make sure their phone is charged, and they can come in with us and record.
>>
>>3851223

The point of origin was Al Hillah, where the chemical weapons were being stored; however, your PKE meters picked up some stuff near the Euphrates (which came back to flowing, albeit minimally, due to an spring opening up in its bed) a few minutes before that.

Vega is using the fact that he's on the other side of the world and has both no ethical qualms about medical research, and a fair supply of enthusiastic test subjects, to try various things, including perfluorocarbon ventilation. He was grateful for the suggestion, and said he'd let you know how it works out.

>>3851213
>>3851215
>>3851223

The men talk about it, and send you their youngest. In the meantime, a hatch on the warehouse roof opens; a kid holding an assault rifle comes up and, finding herself very outgunned, has the good sense to put it down.

The DO31 winches down a gap generator, then the pilot says that he's going to explain to the IDF what he's doing here and refuel -- he'll be back as soon as he can, give or take ten minutes. You made sure that his papers are in order, and any inquiries can be directed to your headset.

"Sam Goldberg" the Orthodox Jew introduces himself.

"Uh, Darrion Stahley" the girl who popped the hatch says. Your guys are professionals, and keep their guard up; the only one who introduces himself is Chandra. You remain behind the anonymity of a pair of goggles, unless you decide to do otherwise.

One of your troopers climbs down the side of the warehouse, finds a plug, and plugs the gap generator in.

# Reveal yourself.

# Wait for the DO31 to get back before you go anywhere.

# Get inside the warehouse.
>>
# Get inside the warehouse.

Anonymity works for us.
>>
( FYI post)

( Future updates will be by quarter, or even by year, since after this it's mostly going to be a lot of hard work rebuilding the earth )

( Dustbowl predicted in 9 months if no action is taken )


You receive a brief update from HQ:

Hamish Robertson missing, presumed dead.

Raman Vajpayee dead of smoke inhalation.

Obituaries to follow.
>>
>>3851240
We should have clued in on Al Hillah. :(

# Get inside the warehouse.
>>
>>3851269
>>3851246

People are still running around a bit too armed for your liking, but at least safeties are being locked and handguns holstered.

The workers in this warehouse are all very young; the person claiming to be in charge is one Lionel Washington, who's half your age and about twice your size.

"Thanks for the help! Who are you with? You don't look like Peacekeepers or IDF, and you sure ain't the police."

"We're from the internet. Custodial Authority of Telecom Systems. We have a deal with ICCO."

"Uh, I was told this week that the deal was off, and yet you come here and rescue us. Why's that?"

"Is Chloe Steele here?"

"Nah, you're a long way out. We can give her a call though. Her husband's in town if you want to talk to him. What's going on, why'd you come here?"

"People are dying."

"Yes they are. If you wanna know what's going on, you should listen to our pastor about that."

"We read his site. Like I said, we're the internet guys. People are dying and the people who do not die will blame you, as you have already seen."

"Look, thanks for the rescue, guys, but we'd like to repay the favor, and help you get right with God before, you know. We're expecting persecution. That's why we're making to move to Petra."

# Nice kid, but you don't have time for it. Where's Chloe and Tsion?

# William Cameron is here? Good enough, let's talk to him.

# Kid seems chatty; keep him talking.
>>
>>3851279

# Nice kid, but you don't have time for it. Where's Chloe and Tsion?

WE don't have time to go rooting around here.
>>
>>3851291

Lionel tells Chandra that as far as they know they're back in the States, although he's not sure he should mention where.

The warehouse itself seems to mostly contain laptops, network switches, solar panels, RTGs (using your nuclear fuel, at that) and construction and digging equipment, and for some reason mattresses; there's very little food and only a few pallets of water filters. You do know that this is the big warehouse near(ish) Petra; are they planning to build a datacenter there? You do know that they're relying on literal manna from heaven for that, but what about the drills and jackhammers?

# Wait for William Cameron to get back.

# Give them a call (and trace it, of course).

# Leave, looks like this was a bust.

# Find out more about the whole Petra business.

# Funny story about those radiothermal generators, Mr. Washington...


Sam Goldberg is being shown around by a woman, Nada, to verify that there are no bioweapons or anything like that in here.
>>
>>3851345

So the Chicago numbers were real?

# Give them a call (and trace it, of course).

# Leave, looks like this was a bust.

We can bust them for the stolen nuclear fuel later, we gotta GO!
>>
>>3851345
>>3851345
Lets start building that thing that collapses the local Higgins field or something.

Maybe we should block or intercept all comms that leave this area fora short bit. Do we have anymore team in America that can we put in action? Did we move all our forces to South America?

Also what did we learn from the survey of the river?

Gotta make all buildings air tight with a bunch of house plants.

Not sure what the funny story is.

# Find out more about the whole Petra business.

# Give them a call (and trace it, of course).
>>
>>3851252

>Raman Vajpayee dead of smoke inhalation.

Damn it.

>Hamish Robertson missing, presumed dead.

FUUCK!!!


# Find out more about the whole Petra business.

# Give them a call (and trace it, of course).
>>
>>3851101
>You will then have ninety days in which anything can happen, even an end to this madness. I sincerely believe that Jesus did not give up on us; now it may be our turn to not give up on Him.

between tribulations, have some resources go into seeing if we have anyone who can zen like Schorpe did to have them implanted and waiting in Jedi robes for the Appearing and talk to a TJ who's off script.
>>
>>3851492
>>3851418
>>3851396

What you learned from the survey of the Euphrates is that something did happen there, shortly before the Al Hillah store of chemical weapons disappeared; on top of that, you're pretty sure that when the river dries up again, it means you'll have to be ready for Jesus' return.

Lionel Washington and company can hardly refuse you a phone call after you got rid of an angry mob for them, so you make sure that the call is being traced, and they call Chloe for you, on a landline. There's a radio hop in the middle, so you don't know the exact building, but it does seem to go to the Chicago area.

Chandra's nominally in charge, so he makes the call.

He's told that Operation Penguin has been postponed so that Operation Eagle's timetable can be moved up, and that Chloe has been forbidden by Tsion from talking to you.

In the meantime, you chat up Lionel a little and ask what the deal with Petra is: you find out that people are making ready to go to Petra so that the place can be prepared for an influx of refugees before the desecration of the Third Temple takes place. Their plan is basically to occupy the ruins, install an antenna, build a datacenter and a solar power plant on the outside, bring in as many SRTGs as possible, and then expand the underground fortress as needed. They have pretty big plans: Lionel thinks that by the time the work is done, there will be a sprawling tunnel network that will house as many as a million people by the time it's done.

He has no idea about how ICCO is going to buy the land (Petra is outside the Israeli border, making it nominally NB territory); he figures that they would just occupy it. He also says that the necessities will not be a problem because God will give them manna from heaven, a spring will pop up in front of the tunnel entrance, and their clothes will not wear out while they are there, so all the engineering team has to do is ensure that there is power and some modern conveniences.

Lionel is not a Tolkien fan, but knows the basics, and concedes that it would be a bit like living like dwarves. You warn him to not dig too deep or too greedily, but he does not get the reference. "Oh, we can never dig too deep!"

You ask him if the deal with CATS is off, what will they even need the antennas for, and he has no answer for that. "I figured Chloe would sort it out, she's good at that kind of thing. Tsion was right about the shadow of persecution though, known Christian activists should make for a safe place, and we're going to build them one."

# Double back to Chicago before returning to San Felipe.

# Go home.

Sam Goldberg has sufficient proof that there are no weapons of mass destruction here; it's unlikely to affect angry mobs elsewhere, of course, but it should hopefully convince the locals. You use the PKE meter to confirm that Sam did not convert while this little visit took place.

# Leave them in peace.

# Make sure Sam does "find" something, and call the IDF.
>>
>>3851870

# Double back to Chicago

# Leave them in peace
>>
>>3851811

Your best candidate is Dr. Diamond; she would prefer that her staff do some more implant jobs before they do one without her coordination, but the idea appeals to her, especially if she gets a lightsaber. Building a sort of plasma sword isn't beyond your reach at this point, although it would look more like a proton beam from the Ghostbusters, since it'd need a power supply of some kind and it would have to be backpack-mounted.

>>3851418

You have people who can get back to Chicago quicklyish; the fastest option however is to ask Dimmsdale to have the Rangers raid the tower -- at the very least, anyone in there is trespassing, and committing wire fraud if they are tapping into the lines.

A problem is that first responders everywhere are too busy with corpse disposal to do much in the way of law enforcement, and after Tsion's proclamations about this attack being from his God and him thoroughly endorsing it, a lot of them don't particularly -want- to protect known Remnant adherents from being beaten up or shot.

So far, the various territories have handled it in very different manners, from what amounts to an embargo in South America to open street shootings in Los Angeles to Christians elsewhere being treated like lepers or terrorist suspects.

Most worrying to you is that in just a few hours, at least four people have written very simple phone apps that identify the phone's owner as a non-Remnant, some including a checkbox that requires them to blaspheme the Holy Spirit or some similar phrase; the program is very small and very low effort, being that all it has to do is read a checkbox and display an image and optionally a NFC tag, so it gets downloaded quickly.

# Have a press release issued reminding people that it's not something that can be used as a prerequisite for commercial activity.

# Reverse engineer the apps and make fake versions, that don't require blasphemy to be installed or change the text slightly, available for download. The whole thing is on the honor system anyway.

# Just notify ICCO about it and they can do their own fake app if they want.

For example, Santiago made it clear that even Remnant have the right to bear arms and shoot at intruders in their homes, so what people have done is refuse to conduct business with known Christians, which can be pretty crippling in a place where supermarkets aren't really a thing outside major cities and the bodega owner will get to know you if you buy groceries there, or try to. A phone app would make that feasible in larger cities where people don't know each other.

# You're swinging back to Chicago yourself.

# Send a sec team.

# have the Rangers raid your old HQ.

# let it be for now.

Francesca d'Angelo spends the money for a global TV ad urging Tsion to address the Ecumenical Council at an emergency plenary session in New York, so that he may have a chance to defend himself against the "baseless accusations" that Remnant are responsible for this bioweapon attack.
>>
>>3851870
We should investigate the ruins.
>>
>>3851921

That's not a bad idea.

# You're here with a security team, and they're 20 minutes away as the VTOL flies; go yourself, right now.

# Have a team of experts show up on the regular schedule.

# Both.
>>
>>3851924
# Both.
Tison can't beat us there if we are already there.
Also Risky.... Bring extra oxygen or something.
# Reverse engineer the apps and make fake versions, that don't require blasphemy to be installed or change the text slightly, available for download. The whole thing is on the honor system anyway.
Phone tracking time

Are we in full combat NBC gear?
>>
File: latest[1].png (1.47 MB, 850x720)
1.47 MB
1.47 MB PNG
>>3851932

You're in what amounts to riot-cop armor, plus a few extras such as night vision goggles and gas masks. The volcanic ash cloud is slowly starting to thin out, but it's still very cold, so that necessitated adding an overcoat.

>>3851932

Writing a version of the app that displays slightly altered text and does not require one to commit blasphemy upon install takes so little time that your coders get it done while you're in flight; however, you have to ask your people a few times, since most of your coders don't want to hurt Remnant but don't want to help them either.
>>
>>3851915
# Send a sec team.

# have the Rangers raid your old HQ.
>>
>>3851915

# Notify ICCO about it, AND get some fake apps rolled out. This needs to NOT be the mark of the beast. The Antichrist is in the bin.

# Go yourself, you're 20 minutes away.
>>
>>3851959
Also, make sure to redirect the anger at people like tison instead of everyone else.
>>
>>3851959

We're not helping Remnant here. We're stopping them from killing us all.
>>
>>3851962
>>3851962
>>3851965


Once the VTOL has been refueled, you say goodbye to the warehouse workers; their timetable has been accelerated, but you're very familiar with the amount of work that it takes to set up a city from scratch -- it will still take them two to three months to get the place built up, or built down as the case may be.

Chloe seems to have ghosted you, at least for now, so you call the ICCO warehouse and tell them what's going on with the apps. They make the connection with the whole mark of the beast nonsense, but you point out that it's a thing people are doing because they want to, not because the government is telling them to.

Ultimately, it's not something urgent; the unofficial embargo is only happening in places where chain stores aren't a thing, and in the last few years they have become a thing in much of the world.

On the way, you got a hold of Dimmsdale: like everyone else, he's got his hat full right now. He doesn't want to do a high profile raid of the Strong building -- all emergency responders are busy with literally just stacking the bodies, and while he has no sympathy for Remnant he doesn't want to incite violence either -- but changes his mind when you tell them that the leadership may be in there.

# Insist on an immediate raid.

# Wait for your security team.

Petra is largely deserted; it has remained a somewhat popular tourist attraction, but people have different things in mind right now. The place has a timeless beauty, even now.

Being as the city had been dug into sandstone, it's obvious to you that any attempt to dig deeper would be easy, although it would necessarily damage the archeological site; as it is, the catacombs are a tourist attraction, so they've been made accessible with safety lights and even a few wheelchair ramps. The few people there, who usually work in the tourist trade and are dealing with their own dead as best as they can, cheer you on, convinced that you're IDF or Peacekeepers coming in to bust Remnant terrorists.

By the look of it the place is empty; ICCO has not begun digging yet. However, by asking the people working there, you find that they have conducted extensive surveys of the place, so they could map out in advance the anthill-like system that they intend to construct inside the living rock; they've even taken to leaving some of their survey equipment in place. It's modern equipment, but not state of the art -- laser rangefinders and so on.

# Leave the site alone.

# Call in a demolitions team from New Babylon.

# Have the site declared off limits, and lay land mines to make the decree self-enforcing.

# Get the Peacekeepers to move in first and start digging themselves!

# "Nice site, we'll take it."

It's obvious to you that the
>>
>>3852016

# Wait for us and our team. I don't really want to see a bunch of Rangers get mesmerized and shoot each other. PLEASE remember this guy has mind control.

As for Petra...


# "Nice site, we'll take it."

# Get the Peacekeepers to move in first and start digging themselves!

Can we get the Peacekeepers to get in there and establish a joint operations facility? I want occult resources there but I also want more firepower.
>>
>>3852041
This. Also once this is all over we could look into using Thule to protect Remnant from persecution.
>>
>>3852041
>>3851965


You talk to Lal about it; it will cost you, but you're fairly flush with resources at this point -- since the Remnant have no legal claim to Petra, and the New Babylon territory has been annexed to the Indian region, it's fairly simple for you to actually put down earnest money for the site.

Lal at first objects that the Petra ruins are a patrimony of humanity and an UNESCO site, but you point out -- and provide proof, courtesy of Sam Goldberg's recording as well as your own -- that the Remnant intended to occupy the site and heavily damage the ruins in a bid to turn them into the entrance for a large underground facility.

"Foreman, my people want to start stringing up Remnant, and I fear that they will begin doing so just as soon as the funeral pyres finish smoldering. I have lost my chosen to this monstruosity that they call a miracle. She died in my arms. The temptation for me to let them scurry into a hole like rats is strong, if nothing else because I can then plug the hole for good and give them a taste of their own god's medicine. Rationally, I should thank you for taking that temptation away... but I can't make myself do it."

All this is happening by teleconferencing, as the DO31 takes your people

# back home to San Felipe.

# to Chicago.

Dr. Diamond sends an updated casualty report; the "wave" is over, but there are still people dying, with little pattern other than how they die -- they keel over, cough out sulfur mustard, and spasm for a few seconds.

You confirm that the people who were stung by the locusts, or injected with ichor, are not dying -- your experiment as well as Vega's bear this out. Also, the invisible demonic horsemen (or whatever it actually is) seem to be sparing pregnant women. This particular tidbit of information made the internet rounds faster than most; you suspect that hospitals will be busy in a significantly happier way nine months from now.

What worries you most are the sporadic deaths; are these targeted? Are your people still at risk?

For now, you have a Peacekeeper platoon secure the catacombs by instituting a checkpoint. Hopefully they won't send CLUist fanatics. You haven't exactly bought the site, but you have secured right of first refusal.

Carla is surprisingly underwhelmed; there is little for UNDRR to do this time. People are either fine, or dead. She's sent out all the grief counselors she had, and is coordinating with Francesca about it, but what can people do? This is bigger than the Rapture, and unlike then, this time there are bodies, there is no illusion of the dead having been whisked off to heaven.

People are, naturally, finding comfort in religion; churches, mosques, temples and sacred groves are full. So are blood donation lines, something you take some comfort in. Many congregations are led by their priest figures to go back outside and offer to take away the dead in a respectful manner, lest this turn into a public health crisis that would kill millions more
>>
>>3852016
# Wait for your security team.

Tell him they got bullshit angels showing up that kill people who interact with them if he doesn't wait.

# Get the Peacekeepers to move in first and start digging themselves!

# "Nice site, we'll take it."

# to Chicago.
Ground all civilian traffic temporarily.
>>
>>3852103
>What worries you most are the sporadic deaths; are these targeted? Are your people still at risk?
Why aren't we checking and analyzing that automatically?

I'm guessing atheists and anyone who's ever not prayed?

We should make sure the PK guys at the sit have proper amount of GG's and NBC equipment.
>>
Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>3852143

You are checking and analyzing that; the problem is that a pattern has not emerged.

>>3852135

You make your way back across the Atlantic, using the northern route, and ask Dimmsdale's Rangers to keep an eye on anyone exiting the old HQ.

Asking to ground all civilian traffic right now would require Dimmsdale's personal intervention.

The Rangers confirm that there is activity in the building -- some lights flicker on, that sort of thing -- but are wary of approaching.

>>3852143

The Peacekeepers headed for Petra do have NBC gear; you make a note to send them gap generators as soon as you've made more.

As for the Strong building, you can approach from

# the ground floor

# the top floor, that is, the last intact floor since the building was basically cut in half by the nuke just out of kinetic impact.
>>
>>3852207
>top floor
>>
>>3852207

We don't need "ground all civilian traffic", we need "if anything flies out of that site shoot it the fuck down".

# Come down from the top floor.
>>
>>3852207
# the top floor, that is, the last intact floor since the building was basically cut in half by the nuke just out of kinetic impact.

We seriously just didn't keep tabs on the place with cameras and stuff?

Well maybe they were singing or listening to music or shouting and exhaling hard.

We brought GG's, and other important stuff right?

Also, can we not see changing in air pressure and seeing the air waves changing with high resolution Schlieren cameras?

>>3852232
Hopefully we left heavy weapons in the plane or something.
>>
>>3852216
>>3852232
>>3852260

An interesting feature of the DO31 is that while it's really, really loud, it doesn't sound like a helicopter; it's more like a jet flying overhead but not going anywhere. Fortunately, you and your team were able to get some sleep on the way.

There's a small helicopter hidden on the top floor, with a simple roller setup to drag it from where there's still a bit of ceiling to the open -- it would be difficult to land there, but not impossible. Some of the debris covering what used to be a mezzanine and is now effectively the roof is in fact styrofoam blocks, strewn about to hide this and the fact that the stairwell access had a hatch built on top of it.

The drones are deployed around the building, in case someone tries to leave and the Rangers make a mess of things. You have both drones and Rangers surround the building

# conspicuously, so as to flush them out

# inconspicuously, so your guys can flush them out

It's strange to walk down the corridors where you used to work in and see them covered in dust and mortar. You remember walking through your high school like this -- it was closed a couple of years after you graduated, you had nothing better to do that day, and the whole experience was spooky but also made you and your friends feel old. This is just flat out creepy.

It looks like someone has been using the place: the pathway to the roof access hatch has been swept, a couple of the restrooms have been spray tagged with "this one works", and someone went through the trouble of disconnecting most but not all of the lightbulbs.

A little bit of triangulating shows that there's a wifi hotspot in the basement, where the datacenter used to be; all the drives were wiped, but some of the hardware is still in there. At the time, you were sufficiently worried about backdoors that you left people behind specifically to wipe as much data as they could, including the firmware for the cameras.

Your men are professionals; most make their way downstairs, with you near the back, while a couple briefly check each floor for possible ambushes. Eventually, you get to the garage; there are definitely a few cars that you don't remember having here, like a fully loaded Jeep Cherokee. Just to be safe, your people let the air out of the tires.

"Excuse me, what are you people doing?" a voice on the PA comes on.

Looks like at least some of the cameras were brought back online...

It's a male voice, middle aged, you've heard it before but don't quite recall where; it's certainly not Tsion.

Chandra is still in the lead; you tell him to answer

# The building is surrounded, come up quietly.

# You're trespassing, so I'm calling a tow truck.

# Who's there?
>>
>>3852269
# inconspicuously, so your guys can flush them out

# You're trespassing, so I'm calling a tow truck.
>>
>>3852273

"You are trespassing on GC property. A tow truck will be called."

"We LIVE here!"

"I apologize, sir. Let me correct myself."

"You better!"

"You are squatting on GC property. A tow truck and a moving truck will be called."

Chandra grins under his thin mustache, and he actually does call the services -- that gives the Ranger a way to come in closer.

"Ugh! Hold on, we're coming up. Two men, unarmed."

The elevators aren't working -- you suspect that at least one is, given footprints on the upper floors, but they keep it unpowered most of the time -- and so two men do come out of the stairwell that leads to the basement. One you don't recognize; the other you do.

"I am Captain Rayford Steele. This is, uh, Marcus Elbaz. Are you Peacekeepers? Morale Monitors? Please leave, there's nothing for you here."

# Reveal yourself.

# Gun these clowns down.

# Tase them.

# Let Chandra answer.

The Gap Generator has been delivered by the DO-31, brought down one floor, and plugged in; you still have a warehouse in this city, so the "tow truck" is actually going to bring in more of those and more drones. ETA, ten minutes.

The soldier with the PKE meter indicates that he's picking up a lot of stuff.
>>
>>3852287
# Let Chandra answer.

# Tase them.
Your answer was unsatisfactory.
>>
>>3852287
# tase them
>>
Rolled 6, 77, 39, 89 = 211 (4d100)

>>3852297
>>3852305

"We're reclaiming this place, so you will have to leave."

Drones are hit or miss indoors -- no GPS, so no absolute positioning is available -- but this is the building where you had the things developed in the first place; your drone operators have access to excellent 3D maps of the building, and for the lower half of it they're still accurate.

Rather than waiting for an answer, Chandra makes a hand signal, and the four troopers closest to Rayford and Marcus fire their tasers. The first drops on the floor immediately; the second struggles, and is piled on and handcuffed. One of your soldiers, at an order from Chandra, starts reading him his rights -- it's a Hollywood thing, and some don't even apply anymore, but it should help make it clear that you're not here to kill anybody.

"Boss, the PKE meter is going nuts!"

# Bail.

# Bail, but take at least Rayford with you.

# The rest must be in the basement, use the hatch go get down there. Demon horsemen shouldn't fit.

# Have your people wait for the mobile gap generator, and go downstairs with only Chandra in tow.
>>
>>3852320
# Have your people wait for the mobile gap generator, and go downstairs with only Chandra in tow.

Shoot the cameras out.
Get the DO-31 out of there, we don't need it night now for troop deployment.
Current plan for me is to evac prisoners by conventional means, not via helijet or whatever we have due to horsemen concerns.
>>
>>3852320
# Have your people wait for the mobile gap generator, and go downstairs with only Chandra in tow.
>>
>>3852337

You relay the orders to Chandra, who gives them. "Cuff them, make sure they aren't hurt, wait for the truck. You, with me. You, cut the camera feeds."

The drones buzz in as you get through the maintenance hatch; there's supposed to be a ladder here... ah, here it is. You've been here a hundred times; the lights are sporadic, but you don't need them. Chandra sees that you're more familiar with the place than he is, and follows you.

You open another maintenance hatch that leads next to where Aki's little room used to be; by the look of it it has been repurposed as a guard station, but there's nobody in it right now.

You look down; the datacenter room still has a bunch of PCs in a corner, maybe a sixth of how many there used to be -- you guess that ICCO sold the rest -- but the remainder of the space has been turned into living space: an electric kitchen, a couple of couches, TVs, and what you guess are bedrooms built out of cubicle walls. It's kind of cozy, actually.

About half a dozen people are scurrying about, packing; there's a bunch of bags and other luggages near the cargo elevator. One of them is heavily pregnant -- that's got to be Chloe. None of them are armed.

Chandra is going to cover you anyway; you nod and climb down. You have a DEW, a handgun, and your sword.

One of the Remnant finally sees you and just sort of stares in horror. Tsion seems to be recording a video address with a webcam; Chloe, despite looking like her waters may break at any minute, is basically packing around him.

# "How are you gentlemen?"

# "Come quietly, you're already in danger as it is, nobody has to get hurt."

# "You're all under arrest."

# (write in)
>>
>>3852320
take out the spark plugs.
>>
>>3852349
# (write in)
start shooting the camera


# "You're all under arrest."
>>
>>3852349
# "How are you gentlemen?"
>>
>>3852357

"How are you gentlemen? You're all in my house, and I did not invite you, so... You're all under arrest."

Tsion finishes his recording, then gets between you and Chloe. There are five other people in here; they stop what they're doing, and get to the center of the room. One makes for a gun rack on the wall, but Chandra shoots at the wall, to dissuade him.

"You!"

"Hello, Tsion. You banned Fr. Schorpe after promising you wouldn't. He's dead now, but we take that sort of complaint very seriously."

Chloe sits down in an office chair, leaning back; she's visibly tired, and she looks like her waters might break at any moment.

Tsion points at you in the same manner that you saw the Two Witnesses do, but your heart does not stop. "You... You are Antichrist! Your so-called priest is suffering and gnashing in teeth in Hell even now, and you're going to join him sooner than you think!"

# I'm trying to PROTECT YOU PEOPLE, idiot. You're literally telling people to lynch you.

# You want Hell? We'll send you to Hell. Everyone else can leave.

# Chloe should be in a hospital, or at least in bed, why are you making her work?

# If I'm the Antichrist, then it means your demon horsemen can't touch me, can they? I see them. (You really don't, but the guy upstairs carrying the PKE meter says that it's blinking all over the place).
>>
>>3852374
# You want Hell? We'll send you to Hell. Everyone else can leave.
>>
>>3852374
>im trying to protect you people idot. Your literally telling people to lynch you.
>>
>>3852374
"That was really the wrong thing to say."
# Chloe should be in a hospital, or at least in bed, why are you making her work?

"And no, she "wants" to is not good enough."

"I am going to protect you all, keep you from becoming martyrs of your own creation. I will not torture, nor harm, nor silence you, Tsion even though for your actions I am made wroth enough that for you, and you alone you understand, I should gladly give you hell. I will no though, for you want it and and will not be given it, and because I would not hurt those around you simply because you brainwashed them."

"That is a law you know? Contingent on the old 18th act of the United Nations, which we still hold in effect."

"So just surrender, Tsion. I promise you shall still be given your platform to screech from. I know it is all you truly care for by now"
>>
>>3852374
# Shoot Tison
>>
>>3852374
Actually shoot him later.
>>
We've picked every option. I'm good with anything.
>>
>>3852411
no one picked option number 4
>>
>>3852374
># You want Hell? We'll send you to Hell. Everyone else can leave.

"No, Tsion, I am not Anti-Christ. He had many good ideas that were sadly ahead of their time. I am simply against your Christians."
>>
Rolled 420, 191, 354 = 965 (3d1000)

>>3852384
>>3852377
>>3852401
>>3852434

"I'm trying to protect YOUR people, you IDIOT! You're literally trying to get people to attack your own, you're not predicting persecution, you're encouraging, causing it! And for THAT, I should see you in Hell."

"That is the true God's decision, not yours, Antichrist."

You really want to facepalm.

"I'm not the Antichrist, I'm simply against people dying for no reason. It's nobody's decision. I do want to see you burn, Tsion, but I'm better than your God. There's a law and nobody is above the law. You want to be martyred? Request denied. You're all under arrest for squatting and wire fraud, come quietly and we'll drop the charges. Chloe, do you need medical assistance?"

"I'm not talking to you."

"Suit yourself, I'll take that as a no. We're not taking you to a death camp, we're only taking you in front of a judge! Please, think of your people."

"I'm not talking to you! You killed my father!"

You take a deep breath. Looking up, you see that there's one of the replica swords still hanging under the catwalk.

"No, Chloe. I tased your father. He's upstairs. Just... Just get out. You were already packing to leave, do it."

"I don't believe you!"

"Put him on the PA."

"... you must let me go, you're all dead if anything happens to us! The horsemen will get you and there's no gas mask that can protect you!"

Chloe turns to Tsion. "You said he died!"

"I said he was shot and he fell."

"What else did you not tell her, Tsion? About what happened in Jerusalem perhaps?"

"You serve the father of lies! A lie is imprinted on your forehead! You probably caused the whole thing!"

Well, you've done false flag operations before, to be fair to the guy.

"What... what happened in Jerusalem? Is Buck okay? Are the kids okay?"

"Tell her, Tsion. Tell the whole truth, not your interpretation of it."

"There was a mob of looters. The police was busy. Mercenaries came down a VTOL to stop the looters and the Foreman was with them. It means nothing!"

Chloe stands up and talks to the other people in the data center. "Most of the Tribulation Force has scattered, and Tsion has recorded his message. There's nothing further for us to do here, we can leave. Tsion, just press enter to send your message out, like usual."

He stops looking at you, then at Chloe again. "I forbid it!"

"Tsion, my father and my husband need me. The Foreman may be the Antichrist but he's not going to kill you in cold blood. We're leaving."

Chandra helps Chloe up the ladder -- the old Gurkha has standards, and besides, you're armed and Tsion is not -- and the rest of the Trib Force IT team leave without much of a fuss.

"Now it's just the two of us, Tsion. What do you want, some kind of final showdown?"

"God stands with me, I am unarmed, but I know the battle is already won."

# Too bad, YOU want a final showdown. "Take a sword, Tsion."

# Tase the guy. He tell it to the judge if he absolutely wants to.

# Shoot him.
>>
>>3852439

# Tase the guy. Tell it to a judge, you're coming with us.
>>
>>3852439
# Tase the guy. He tell it to the judge if he absolutely wants to.

Well there goes our neutral alignment.

Why the sudden change?
>>
>>3852439
># Tase the guy. He tell it to the judge if he absolutely wants to.

Preferably in the nuts so that if he's capable of being wounded he has burns there and is officially unwelcome in the house of god, just like we did TJ in LBQ
>>
So why aren't we killing him again?

Hes gonna be like raptured or something.
>>
>>3852446
We promised.

We can kill him later.
>>
>>3852445
Why no pozz him with beetle juice?
>>
>>3852446
Because he wants us to kill him. until we can make a Gap Generator small enough to fit INSIDE the heart-reactivator, let's not be touching someone known to be a conduit of the soul-parasite-king directly if we don't have to.
>>
>>3852446
We promised and its better we put him in storage like carpatasu

>>3852439
>tase the guy
>>
File: latest[1].jpg (223 KB, 771x780)
223 KB
223 KB JPG
Rolled 604, 34, 568 = 1206 (3d1000)

>>3852445
>>3852444
>>3852443

"You will come quietly."

"I will do no such thing."

You point the DEW center-of-mass, and fire off the taser and the microwave beam at the same time.

Sadly, you do not account for the taser's probe drop at anything but point blank range, so you hit lower than that. Tsion folds in half.

"That was an educated guess, not a request."

You cuff him with zip ties. Tsion did, indeed, come quietly.

Upstairs, the moving truck containing the gap generators has arrived, along with an airport-shuttle van which you guess was the closest thing to grab for prisoner transport.

The Christians are visibly awed, staring past your men in a mixture of terror and hope. Your guys are visibly nervous.

Maybe it's because you're carrying Tsion, maybe it's because Rayford and Marcus have been praying for you to see and be terrified, but you can in fact see them.

Just ouside the garage access ramp, where the mobile gap generator is parked, you see the phantasmagoric cavalry of frightful men and beasts, hovering just above the ground, black and yellow smoke swirling between them, a legion mustered a hundred feet past the ramp, snorting smoke and fire and sulfur, snake tails striking and snapping.

They're genuinely scary, and there are many, covering the outdoor parking lot outside the tower. Their riders urge them on, but even as they do, the lion-headed horse chimeras step, rear up, but don't budge.

Your drones fly over and sometimes even through these nightmarish invaders. Stupidly, they've left your people nowhere to flee; even the airport shuttle driver is staying put.

"Why aren't they attacking?" one soldier asks.

You wish you had a good answer. "Cavalry in an enclosed space. Gap generator noise. We haven't killed anyone. I have no idea."

You put Tsion down and wait for him to come to; he does.

"Stalemate, Foreman." Rayford Steele says. "Tsion, did you send the message out?"

He doesn't answer.

You're impressed by your people's grace under pressure: what started off as a mix between a mercenary squad and a platoon of rent-a-cops has become a cohesive infantry unit. The horsemen have put them in a situation from which there is no escape, and rather than panicking, now they stand ready to die for each other.

# Slowly drive out of here, walking next to the gap generator.

# Have the DO31 pick you back up; it'll have to do two or three trips.

# Call in more helicopters.
>>
>>3852439
Put him in cuffs.

I wouldn't put it past the little shit to have a heart attack if we give him a little jolt.
>>
>>3852439
#" Too bad, Tsion. I already said, I will not give you what you want. Shall I then just leave you in the dark? I now who you are, once what you where before. Did you ever think to grow, learn, adapt? I did and will continue, lead on by my friends. But you, Tsion, I think the only thing you ever learned was fear; fear for you own hide.
You fear persecution, fear hellfire, fear opposition? My friend Father Schorpe knew them better than you ever might but he did not capitulate, did not fear, did not become a parody of himself in service to the God he knew."

"You, you did. had you ever even talked to a converted Jew before the Rapture? Did you ever do your homework? Or even think or consider?"

"No,you did not."

"What I see right now is no true rebel, no revolutionary, no martyr. I see a damn coward, nothing more, nothing less. I will not die for god nor live under a Tyrant; I will yet live for an idea."

Fr. Schorpe would not abide a cosmic horror but did die hoping in something more. He passed with uncertain knowledge; you live with sullied certainty and I know from that who was greater in spirit."

Advance and look him in the eyes.

"Chloe chose to go with us because we will not give away the life of an innocent in purpose of OUR cause and knew you yet would. You did not manage to take that away, Tsion. So understand that not you, or your God, nor providence shall ever take it away. My failure will become strength; you can destroy what I am but not what I represent."

"In a thousand million years, I do not know what will happen to you and yours and your God.

But so long as even a single, one human remains, I know what happens to us."

Smile.
>>
>>3852462

# Have the DO31 pick you back up; it'll have to do two or three trips.

# Call in more helicopters.

Essential personnel get the FUCK OUT OF HERE, I want my team and Tsion on the DO31 immediately.

Someone cuff Rayford please.
>>
>>3852462
>call in more helicopters and gap generators.
>have the DO31 start picking people up as quick as possible.guve priority to tison and ship him to the blacksute. Prep the site with as mant gap generators as we need to make a double insulated wall.
>>
>>3852462
# Call in more helicopters.
Free helicopter rides.

When did they get by Europe and reach America?
>>
>>3852462
># Have the DO31 pick you back up; it'll have to do two or three trips.
># Call in more helicopters.

Once boarding the DO31, with the hand not carrying Tsion, wave at the nearest commander-looking rider, "We meet at last, but we're done here. I suggest you go back where you came from while you still can."
>>
>>3852462
># Have the DO31 pick you back up.
># Call in more helicopters.

They're going to rush us once they realize we're escaping. We need to do this in one trip.
>>
>>3852462
#Coordinated evac.
# Call in more helicopters.

Anyone wounded, pregnant, weak gets the 1st ride out. Then we leave in teams
>>
So we bring in the Do31 alongside helicopters to evac all of us at the same time.
>>
>>3852466

(Okay, that was frickin epic)

>>3852469
>>3852468

"I don't see a stalemate. You're a pilot, Mr. Steele, you of all people should be able to think three-dimensionally. Leave the truck running. Skyranger, this is the Foreman. Come pick us up."

"It's Captain St-"

"Shut up."

Going up the maintenance stairwell is awkward. Chloe asks why not just let them go; you answer that it's because they can walk through the Sixth Trumpet, but not through the lynch mob that's sure to form as soon as one of the Rangers blabs that this is now the Remnant headquarters.

"People are afraid of radiation, that's why we moved in. David faked some Geiger counter readings."

"People are at their breaking point, they just saw family and friends die and want a scapegoat, and your preacher man there, already gave them one!"

You've set the drones to annoy the horsemen by random sporadic fire and swoops; it doesn't seem to do much, if anything at all -- the drones definitely can't see the horsemen, but the opposite seems to be true, likewise. Maybe it's because they're in autonomous mode, with not even a RC operator's will upon them.

You pass a window, and look down; at a distance, they look a lot more ethereal, like a wave of yellow and black smoke, crashing against the foundation of the tower. It's a bad image, you know that the wave always wins over the rock in those cases...

There's a flotilla of helicopters coming in; the DO31 can't hover for very long, so it will have to be the first vehicle out.

Another floor, another peek at the window. Maybe the horde is starting to dissipate, wander off for easier targets, maybe they're just more ethereal because you're farther out... their waves are less substantial, longer, but also a bit taller, so that you see a mane or a snake tail or a helmet cresting up to the first floor.

And then a window breaks.

One of the riders, by misfortune or a spark of independent thought, abandoned its chimerical horse.

"Guys? Run."

The tower is not very wide, and there used to be a helipad on top but now that the top half is gone any landing will have to happen on the bit of floor that is accessible past the wrecked walls; you rappeled down, it was easier.

# Decide who gets on the DO31 since it's the first trip. The remaining room will be taken by your soldiers. (Any or all of these)
* Tsion
* Chloe
* Rayord
* Yourself
* Chandra

# You'll board last, and cover the rear. At least one of those things broke in and now it's probably running up the stairs at full speed.

# Chandra has volunteered to cover the rear, but wants your sword to do it with.
>>
>>3852490
>Tison
>block the stairwell with a gap genorator
>give chandra the sword we will try to help dostract it, its most likely us its after. Or if we are the anti christ now it cant kill us and we can probably interact with it without the sword.
>>
>>3852490

Us and Tsion on the skyranger.

# Chandra has volunteered to cover the rear, but wants your sword to do it with.

<Jane> Sure wish we BROUGHT SOME HEAVY WEAPONS...
>>
(Sorry, added another option)

>>3852466

(Okay, that was frickin epic <3 sorry I couldn't fit it in)

>>3852469
>>3852468

"I don't see a stalemate. You're a pilot, Mr. Steele, you of all people should be able to think three-dimensionally. Leave the truck running. Skyranger, this is the Foreman. Come pick us up."

"It's Captain St-"

"Shut up."

Going up the maintenance stairwell is awkward. Chloe asks why not just let them go; you answer that it's because they can walk through the Sixth Trumpet, but not through the lynch mob that's sure to form as soon as one of the Rangers blabs that this is now the Remnant headquarters.

"People are afraid of radiation, that's why we moved in. David faked some Geiger readings."

"People are at their breaking point, they just saw family and friends die and want a scapegoat, and your preacher man there, already gave them one!"

You've set the drones to annoy the horsemen by random sporadic fire and swoops; it doesn't seem to do much, if anything at all -- the drones definitely can't see the horsemen, but the opposite seems to be true, likewise. Maybe it's because they're in autonomous mode, with not even a RC operator's will upon them.

You pass a window, and look down; at a distance, they look a lot more ethereal, like a wave of yellow and black smoke, crashing against the foundation of the tower. It's a bad image, you know that the wave always wins over the rock in those cases...

There's a flotilla of helicopters coming in; the DO31 can't hover for very long, so it will have to be the first vehicle out.

Another floor, another peek at the window. Maybe the horde is starting to dissipate, wander off for easier targets, maybe they're just more ethereal because you're farther out... their waves are less substantial, longer, but also a bit taller, so that you see a mane or a snake tail or a helmet cresting up to the first floor.

And then a window breaks.

One of the riders, by misfortune or a spark of independent thought, abandoned its chimerical horse.

"Guys? Run."

The tower is not very wide, and there used to be a helipad on top but now that the top half is gone any landing will have to happen on the bit of floor that is accessible past the wrecked walls; you rappeled down, it was easier.

# Decide who gets on the DO31 since it's the first trip. The remaining room will be taken by your soldiers. (Any or all of these)
* Tsion
* Chloe
* Rayford
* Yourself
* Chandra

# You'll board last, and cover the rear. At least one of those things broke in and now it's probably running up the stairs at full speed.

# Chandra has volunteered to cover the rear, but wants your sword to do it with.

# The corridor is wide enough for two and you're pretty sure that today a Gurkha's kukri can cut up demons just as well as Terry Pratchett's sword.

>>3852499

The gap generator that the DO31 dropped earlier is right above you, you're on the floor just under the current roof. As part of standard procedure, it was plugged in.
>>
#Get everyone out

#board last, cover the rear
>>
>>3852490
Tsion, Chloe, Self,

#If Chandra wants to volunteer, let him. Our sword could be in no better hand.
>>
>>3852506
>tison first us last.
>the coridor is wide enough for two.
>>
File: s1_2[1].jpg (34 KB, 870x387)
34 KB
34 KB JPG
Rolled 27, 270, 832, 553, 248, 526 = 2456 (6d1000)

>>3852499
>>3852503
>>3852508
>>3852510

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jTgkTEDDog

You pull out the sword and stand next to Chandra -- both of you know what this means.

He gets out his kukri, swings it once to gets a feel for it back, and then barks at his men to get on the helicopters as soon as possible.

The DO31 hovers next to the building and lowers its ramp; your men let Rayford get Chloe aboard carefully, then shove Tsion in before boarding. The two helicopters that came in will take the rest of the prisoners and soldiers. You see more windows breaking, inexorably coming up.

You put Chandra on the DO31's PA, at his request. The VTOL is given orders to go to

# Black site.

# Thule, whose basic facilities should have come up by now.

# San Felipe HQ.

"Christians! Your God may be stronger, but great Kali is wiser. He had to send a whole army of his demons. She only had to send two of us. Ayo Gorkhali!"

You see the demonic knights come up from the stairwell.

The DO31 is almost clear; there are two more helicopters after that. The third one has rappel ropes for you and Chandra to hang on to.

If you can only hold for a minute, no human has to die today.

Time to get face the monsters at the door.

# Sword and ballistic shield.

# Sword and DEW.

# DEW and ballistic shield, with the sword behind it.

Chandra has the DEW and his favorite knife.
>>
>>3852520

# Take them to San Filipe. We're dealing with Remnant here. EXTREME CAUTION with Tsion. I want him disappeared to the black site, but not with the rest of them.

# DEW and ballistic shield, with the sword behind it.

Shield's served us well so far, light em up.
>>
>>3852520

# Thule, whose basic facilities should have come up by now.
# DEW and ballistic shield, with the sword behind it.
>>
Rolled 635, 633, 994, 979, 553, 695 = 4489 (6d1000)

>>3852528
>>3852522

The last of the prisoners and soldiers are behind you on the stairwell; you ensure that your implant is unlocked, and that it will hit you with the locust ichor should everything go pear shaped.

You're not really used to shooting a rifle, but these fire lasers and microwaves: nobody is. You and Chandra put your green goggles on, plug the DEWs into the wall plug at the corner of the stairwell, and look down. A miniature black-and-yellow cyclone is coming up the stairs. They're not going at the speed of sound, but they're definitely running up faster than anything human could.

You start shooting down the stairs , and the corridor and stairwell are bathed in purple light.

"What are they doing?"

"Shooting the demons."

"You can't-"

"Better hope they can, "Captain", because if they get on board we crash and you die too."

It looks like a cloud of smoke, or a bad CGI effect, but you can smell the sulfur. You and Chandra try to go for the eyes when you can see them through the miniature tempest, and as you do, you find that the cloud is rebuffed.

For Chandra it's strange to fire a continuous beam that has no recoil, but he adjusts damn quickly.

The DEW is starting to overheat, and one of you must have gotten a lucky hit, because now you can see the thing. You hope that these show up on camera.

It's oddly faded, as if it was made of ash, with hands burning with sulfur and smoke.

# It'll have to come to you; both of you keep shooting.

# Chandra is the melee expert; you're going to cover him.

# It doesn't like microwaves. Let's see how it likes steel.
>>
>>3852541
# It'll have to come to you; both of you keep shooting.
pew pew pew, valuable combat date.
>>
>>3852541

# It'll have to come to you; both of you keep shooting.

KEEP FIRING ASSHOLES! We just need to hold, not kill them all!
>>
Rolled 684, 950, 256, 594, 436, 991 = 3911 (6d1000)

>>3852543
>>3852545

If the monster has stopped, you and Chandra figure, one more chance to shoot at it in the eyes.

"Big Sky transitioning to horizontal flight, we're clear!"

* Thule (1 vote so far)
* Blacksite
* HQ (1 vote so far)

The ash warrior lurches forward; apparently these things aren't transparent to each other. Behind their brother, they growl, and smash their fists into the walls, leaving broken masonry and scorch marks.

After a few long heartbeats, one of them pushes the one you've blinded aside -- their retinas either can't be hurt or get better very quickly, because that one is getting right back up. You can't tell how many there are in the smoke.

You and Chandra aim at two of the creatures' faces, forcing them to hold a hand against the wall or the guard rail, and advance slowly.... but advance they do, and even plugged in for trickle recharging, the DEW batteries aren't going to last very long.

They're on the corridor now. They snort like their horses, mustard gas coming out of their nostrils -- it's not enough to affect you, but you can smell the sulfur and charcoal.

# One of you will hold them off while the other doubles back and repositions at the next plug, about halfway between the stairwell and the ladder to the roof.
* You fall back.
* Chandra falls back.

# One of you will advance into melee.
* You do.
* Chandra does.

#yolo
>>
>>3852553
# One of you will advance into melee.
* You do.
Blind one and make a quick sword strike at them Half-life style before pulling back.
>>
>>3852556

# You do. I'll second this. >>3852557
>>
# It'll have to come to you; both of you keep shooting.

Don't cross the streams
>>
>>3852558

Third'd
>>
>>3852565
But your only seconding his second.
>>
Rolled 863, 25, 926, 770, 924, 312 = 3820 (6d1000)

>>3852558
>>3852557

These guys are big enough that one of them pretty much eats up the whole corridor, unless they squeeze.... and they won't, they're trying to make themselves look as big as they can. To be fair, they're easily the size of Lionel, and he's not some terrifying chthonic soldier.

The good thing is that it means there's only one to blind.

"Cover me!"

You put the DEW down so it can cool off, and advance, slightly crouched so that Chandra can fire at the demon's eyes past your head. It raises a hand, and makes a punching motion towards you -- the toxic cloud in his hand parts way with it, propelled forward, and hits your shield. Your gas mask is holding.

You move the shield aside and make a quick lunge between the thing's legs because it's the most accessible spot, and your sword connects; it feels like pushing a pole into clay.

"We're almost in the clear, Foreman! Cranking up the gap generator."

The demon warrior slams its fist against the wall again, but this time, bereft of fire and smoke, it falls apart, leaving an enormous ash print. You see the next demon behind it.. and you see part of the laser beam from Chandra's DEW go past its head.

Did you kill it? Are they getting more... transparent?

You yank the sword out, almost throwing your shoulder again. It sounds like you slid it out of wet sand.

The demonic warrior collapses in a cloud of grey ash, and the one behind it almost smacks you with its toxic fist before you retreat behind your shield.

They definitely look more transparent now... and you can see Chandra's DEW go through this one's head even as he hits its eyes. Rather than stopping when blinded, like the other one did, this one staggers forward, as if merely dazed.


# Fall back, both of you!

# Fire and maneuver: you grab the DEW and fall back while Chandra goes into melee.

# Charge before they become incorporeal again!
>>
>>3852570

# Fall back, both of you!

GO GO GO! Kill one and there's 199999999 more coming, GO!
>>
>>3852570
# Fire and maneuver: you grab the DEW and fall back while Chandra goes into melee.
>>
File: Fly you fools!.jpg (37 KB, 625x351)
37 KB
37 KB JPG
#Fall back both of you!

Fly you fools!
>>
Rolled 200, 356 = 556 (2d1000)

>>3852575
>>3852573
>>3852572

You let the shield hold itself up for a moment as you retrieve the DEW, then yank the plug -- the batteries should last for a few minutes of sustained fire. With both beams on its eyes, the second demon warriors is again blinded.

You'd rather be a live hero than a dead one, so both of you back off, walking steadily towards the ladder.

"Helo 2 in the clear! This is 3, rope out, climb up when you can!"

They're definitely starting to fade... the demon in front of you swings its fist like the other one did, a ball of fire and smoke and mustard gas coming off it by inertia. Some of it flies -through- your shield; you have to turn on the heart implant to avoid taking a gasp breath that would get some of the stuff through your gas mask.

The demon in front of you is grabbed and pulled backwards by its brethren; now you're facing a new one, with a cinereal fist full of poison gas.

# You leave first

# Chandra leaves first
>>
#Chandra leaves first

We have an artificial heart and St. Terry's sword. We're better equipped.
>>
>>3852579

# Chandra leaves first

Nobody dies today.
>>
>>3852579
# Chandra leaves first

The men first, and no arguing!
>>
>>3852579
# Chandra leaves first
If we have any pyrotechnics like thermite grenades, then toss it and try to burn them.
>>
>>3852520
># Thule, whose basic facilities should have come up by now.

We'll ship Tsion to the Black Site next flight out.
>>
>>3852587
Thule it is then.
>>
To Thule!
>>
>>3852580
>>3852581
>>3852585
>>3852586

You get to the ladder and put down the riot shield; it has feet, so it'll stand up. You sheathe the sword, and fire both DEWs at the lead demon -- it's more and more transparent, and less and less bothered by the beam. It holds its arm out, and fire and smoke and brimstone sweat out of the turbulent ash until they gird its fist again.

Chandra ties the end of the rappel rope to the back of your armor, then climbs up the ladder.

"Okay, we're clear pull us up!"

The helicopter starts rising -- and you end up stuck in hole in the floor, for just a moment, as the helicopter adjusts for the weight. It's enough for the demon soldiers -- by now barely visible -- to reach up with a hand and punch through you, depositing the poison gas in your lung. You drop the weapons and cough, a puff of black smoke coming out of your gas mask.

"NO!"

The last thing you remember before everything turns into fire and pain is Chandra pulling you through and to freedom, just a moment too late.

# Proceed to Epilogue: >>3852592



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