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As you enter the sanctioning branch, the smell of motor oil and carbonized metal gives way to incense and hot wax. The utilitarian uniformity of the Suppression Bureau is less pervasive here. Many of the narrower hallways are festooned with flickering candles and thrice-polished mirrors. Pinned lengths of annotated parchment flutter in the light breeze, casting a shifting interplay of light and shadow along the walls.

After spending nearly half an hour weaving around robed adepts, you arrive at the central chapel - just in time to catch the second half of Father Gregori's service. As Ren alluded to days earlier, there is something incongruous about the way he carries himself. One one hand, his face captures the thin, kindly features of a rural minister. But whenever he makes a particularly vivid point, his voice bellows with passion and his eyes burn with suppressed hatred.

"...I have read the words, I know of the changes they bring, and I have seen the monstrous transfigurations that visit upon the helpless. But all souls are equal under the eyes of our Illuminated Patron, who enlightens without regard for... "

Unsurprisingly, much of the sermon is lost on you. Even allowing for the haziness of your memories, you are confident that the good father's teachings diverge radically from any religion you are familiar with. There are moments where you are uncertain if he is trying to inspiring worship, devotion, or abject fear. In either case, the vision he paints is stark: a choice between uncompromising light and merciful darkness. Following a lord-patron who embraces utter enlightenment or rejecting him for an eternity of base ignorance.

The sermon concludes with a slow chant that extols the coming of the eternal dawn. The language is alien. Your poor attempts at mimicking the pronunciation leave a hot, tingling sensation on your tongue that slowly morphs into the dry taste of wood-ash.

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By the time the congregation exits the chapel, Father Gregori has found you. He clasps your fingers in his wrinkled hands and bows slightly. His smile looks warm.

"Well met, Pilot. You have my gratitude for saving my children in their time of need."

Not entirely sure how to respond, you nod. "It was my duty, father."

He chuckles before gesturing for you to sit down. He joins you a moment later, leaning on his cane to lower himself into the pew next to you.

"...and you earned even more of it by showing some modesty. Truth be told, I am surprised that you chose to stay for them. Our church is focused. Dedicated. Perhaps even insular." He taps his cane once for emphasis.

"The glory of enlightenment often overrides our care for more...conventional social graces. It is often easy for our allies to overlook our humanity"

You shrug, reflecting on your own history as a strike pilot. "Combat is inhuman enough as it is. No need to make things worse"

"Agreed."

After a few more minutes of moderately pleasant small-talk, Father Gregori sighs. For a moment, the intensity bleeds out of him.

"The coming days will be difficult, pilot. My patron has shown me secrets that have scalded what little blood I have left. Something is nipping at the edge of our world. I have seen its face - once, briefly - but it was enough for me to sense its intention."

"What was it?"

"Envy. She wishes to steal and become. To hoard."

With your help and the support of his cane, he stands back up up. "The precise situation will be conveyed to you with time. But for now, know that my congregation and I will do our utmost to support you in whatever way we can. Now...."

>...Take this scroll and present it to the young sister up front. It is a modest thing, but it should furnish you with a regular supply of our main export. Salt and wood-ash for the demons, so to speak. [Each mission, you can choose one projectile weapon [8mm-60mm] to load with a limited supply of sanctified ammunition. Sanctified ammunition is exceptionally effective against summoned entities and incorporeal targets. Like all specialty ammo, sanctified ammunition rolls over if unused]

>...Open your right eye. Wider. Wider. Don't blink. The stinging will go away in a few hours, but the radiance will remain. [Permanent +1 RP bonus after every mission]

>...yes, that patch of skin will do. Avert your eyes until I am done writing the Sigil. The precise meaning difficult to translate, but you could consider it a particularly incandescent rebuttal. [Permanent +1 to all rolls with directed energy weapons]

>>5371330
>...Take this scroll and present it to the young sister up front. It is a modest thing, but it should furnish you with a regular supply of our main export. Salt and wood-ash for the demons, so to speak. [Each mission, you can choose one projectile weapon [8mm-60mm] to load with a limited supply of sanctified ammunition. Sanctified ammunition is exceptionally effective against summoned entities and incorporeal targets. Like all specialty ammo, sanctified ammunition rolls over if unused]
Holy bullets! And yay, it's back!

>>5371330
>>...Take this scroll and present it to the young sister up front. It is a modest thing, but it should furnish you with a regular supply of our main export. Salt and wood-ash for the demons, so to speak. [Each mission, you can choose one projectile weapon [8mm-60mm] to load with a limited supply of sanctified ammunition. Sanctified ammunition is exceptionally effective against summoned entities and incorporeal targets. Like all specialty ammo, sanctified ammunition rolls over if unused]

>>5371330
>...Take this scroll and present it to the young sister up front. It is a modest thing, but it should furnish you with a regular supply of our main export. Salt and wood-ash for the demons, so to speak. [Each mission, you can choose one projectile weapon [8mm-60mm] to load with a limited supply of sanctified ammunition. Sanctified ammunition is exceptionally effective against summoned entities and incorporeal targets. Like all specialty ammo, sanctified ammunition rolls over if unused]
More gun!

>...Take this scroll and present it to the young sister up front. It is a modest thing, but it should furnish you with a regular supply of our main export. Salt and wood-ash for the demons, so to speak. [Each mission, you can choose one projectile weapon [8mm-60mm] to load with a limited supply of sanctified ammunition. Sanctified ammunition is exceptionally effective against summoned entities and incorporeal targets. Like all specialty ammo, sanctified ammunition rolls over if unused]

>>5371330

>...Open your right eye. Wider. Wider. Don't blink. The stinging will go away in a few hours, but the radiance will remain. [Permanent +1 RP bonus after every mission]

Glad to see you again, OP.

>>5371330
>>...Take this scroll and present it to the young sister up front. It is a modest thing, but it should furnish you with a regular supply of our main export. Salt and wood-ash for the demons, so to speak. [Each mission, you can choose one projectile weapon [8mm-60mm] to load with a limited supply of sanctified ammunition. Sanctified ammunition is exceptionally effective against summoned entities and incorporeal targets. Like all specialty ammo, sanctified ammunition rolls over if unused]
Not keen on bodymod, or inscribing prayers on our skin, even if we used energy weapons to great effect last op. The RP boost is nice, but the ammo is also a permanent boost, unlike our last choice with the Sanctioning team. Besides, extra effect against the incorporeal would really help since we won't have many direct ways of touching them. Same for summoned entities. Blasting a summon as fast as possible will probably be the difference between an easy mission like last one and hell on Earth like with our last mundane job.
Also, I like the idea of a terrifying creature crawling out of a portal, stretching, then getting showered in holy bullets before it can do anything. Would make for some real funny footage!

>>5371330
>>...Take this scroll and present it to the young sister up front. It is a modest thing, but it should furnish you with a regular supply of our main export. Salt and wood-ash for the demons, so to speak. [Each mission, you can choose one projectile weapon [8mm-60mm] to load with a limited supply of sanctified ammunition. Sanctified ammunition is exceptionally effective against summoned entities and incorporeal targets. Like all specialty ammo, sanctified ammunition rolls over if unused]

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You hand the scroll to the diminutive secretary manning the chapel's modest reception desk. Her expression shifts from polite indifference to shock as her eyes pass over the distinctive seal light-burned into the document's final page.

Slowly, very gently, she re-rolls the scroll and places it into a filing cabinet beneath her desk. She searches for a page - possibly your page - in the massive ledger in front of her, adds three quick markings, and beckons you to follow her.

Fifteen minutes later, you enter a dark vault where the air is sharp with the scent of gunpowder and fresh snow. The room is filled with ammunition. In one corner, rifle rounds lay in neatly-stacked boxes and pleated belts, glimmering as you pan over them with your flashlight. Null grenades shaped from blown glass sit nearby, pulsating gently at your sudden intrusion.

"They don't like the light. Move along, please," warns the secretary.

She leads you further back to where the heavier munitions are stored. Normally, you wouldn't have any difficulty identifying the shells arranged in front of you. Black tips for armor piercing. Yellow for high-explosives. Red for incendiary. But here, none of those standards seem to apply.

Your attention lingers on a peculiar belt of 20mm rounds. The bullets are grooved and translucent, catching the light like cut gems.

"Glassknife rounds. Vitrifies on impact," explains the secretary.

"And these?" you ask, gesturing towards a box of foam-packed shells that vibrate quickly enough to visibly haze their own outline.

"40mm singing shells. For dispelling and immediate sanctification."

Before you can ask another question, she adjusts her glasses and inhales.

"The - very generous - terms specified in your requisition scroll permit you to withdraw one - and only one - ammunition box at the start of each officially sanctioned operation. Please do your utmost to be prudent."

With that, she turns around and leads you out.

On your way back to a more familiar section of the facility, you manage to catch lambda-null-null as they cycle between training facilities. The five operators are as terse as ever, though null-one manages a quick nod and null-three a quick wave. You...

>Attempt to strike up a conversation. Based on your conversation with Father Gregori, the five of them might even appreciate that kind of thing.

>Wish them well and head to medical to check on Marie.

>Wish them well and return to your room to rest. [Skips to next briefing. You will have time for one additional dialogue option before the start of the next mission]

>>5372541
>Attempt to strike up a conversation. Based on your conversation with Father Gregori, the five of them might even appreciate that kind of thing.

>>5372541
>Attempt to strike up a conversation. Based on your conversation with Father Gregori, the five of them might even appreciate that kind of thing.

>>5372541
>Attempt to strike up a conversation. Based on your conversation with Father Gregori, the five of them might even appreciate that kind of thing.

>>5372541
>Wish them well and head to medical to check on Marie.
They seem to be busy. A quick acknowledgement should be good enough for now.

>>5372541
>>Attempt to strike up a conversation. Based on your conversation with Father Gregori, the five of them might even appreciate that kind of thing.

>Attempt to strike up a conversation. Based on your conversation with Father Gregori, the five of them might even appreciate that kind of thing.

>>5372541
>Attempt to strike up a conversation. Based on your conversation with Father Gregori, the five of them might even appreciate that kind of thing.

>>5372541
>>Wish them well and head to medical to check on Marie.

>>5371325
This looks... interesting. Is the setting based on/inspired off something?

>>5373369
Cultist simulator and footage from desert storm.

>>5373381
Aaand now I'm caught up.

...That's an eclectic mixture of inspirations, for sure.

>>5372541
And a vote
>Wish them well and head to medical to check on Marie.

Wouldn't want to disturb them while training and we're overdue for a talk with our Prototype knockoff companion. Speaking of which, we will also need to speak to our recently recruited Dr.Death at some juncture.

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"....so how is training going? Have you had dinner yet?"

Your conversation opener isn't brilliant, but no one in Lambda-null-null seems to mind. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, you find yourself leading them through the open doors of the OPS commissary to catch their final dinner service.

The six of you find a table in a quiet corner of the eating area. As you cut into a modest helping of Tuesday special, your five companions work through an absolutely massive volume of food. You estimate three clean plates per person and counting. Some of the more lucid pilots eating nearby glance over with looks of mild astonishment.

"I met with Father Gregori before I ran into your team today. He seems surprisingly...modest...given his position here," you say, hoping to throw out a topic that the operators would be familiar with.

"The good father is modest because he has no need for pride, brother." says Null-one.

"Are you aware of his deeds?" interjects Null-three, pausing between bites of toast.

"No, not beyond his work as a branch-head."

Ignoring Null-one's slightly reproachful look, Null-three elaborates with enthusiasm:

"He is a survivor from a history that is now foreign to us. Prior to his ascension, he was a warrior, a poet, and a king. Now, our patron's favor has turned him into something greater. He taught us how to excise worms from the souls of men and enmesh human spite into the shards we fire from our carbines."

"Is he not human now?" you ask.

"Decidedly not. Fifty years ago, it was his...'

Null-one coughs, cutting her squad-mate off. "In short, his reputation is well earned."

Null-five - who has been quiet up until this point - raises his gloved hand slightly. "Apologies for the aside, brother, but there is a question I have been meaning to ask. Why did you choose to arm your craft with two laser emitters during our last mission? Were you predicting that we would fight in close proximity to a summoned entity"

You give a brief overview of your rationale for choosing heavy armaments, which Null-five seems to take in stride. After this point, the conversation opens up. You learn more about the composition of their team. Null-one was by far the most experienced member, appropriate for his role as team-leader. Null-two and three were specialized for remote-viewing, while four and five were kitted for neutralization and termination. But from what you could gather, all five of them had undergone the same modification procedure to reach their current state - something prolonged, intense, and challenging to convey with words.

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>>5373526
"So what's the reasoning behind the Satin blindfolds?"

"Protection, Brother. For ourselves and those working around us." responds Null-one. "It keeps our light contained."

He gives a wintry smile. "But no, the blindfolds themselves are not strictly necessary - that part is simply tradition. A pair of eyepatches might also suffice. Perhaps even sunglasses."

Null-three shudders at the last suggestion. "Unacceptable," she mutters, almost sullenly.

As the evening winds down, you feel like you have a better understanding of your allies. While their practices may be peculiar and their biology hazardous, you begin to see the good father's point: the humanity was there, even if it was well hidden.

Just before you leave, Null-one stops you for a moment to talk about arranging a future...

> Mutual training session. Perhaps you could polish up your working relationship.

> Social Event. The team was surprisingly decent company. Maybe they feel the same about you.

> Secondment. Cross-branch work is rare but not unheard of. A few of the null-operators may be interested in working with your team more closely

>>5373527
>Social Event. The team was surprisingly decent company. Maybe they feel the same about you.

>>5372541
>Wish them well and head to medical to check on Marie
They're likely busy with their training, let's not bother them any further.
Besides, I'm curious about Marie.

>>5373527
>Secondment. Cross-branch work is rare but not unheard of. A few of the null-operators may be interested in working with your team more closely

>>5373554
Please ignore this!

>>5373527
>Secondment. Cross-branch work is rare but not unheard of. A few of the null-operators may be interested in working with your team more closely

>>5373527
>> Mutual training session. Perhaps you could polish up your working relationship.

>>5373527
>Mutual training session. Perhaps you could polish up your working relationship.

>>5373527
>> Mutual training session. Perhaps you could polish up your working relationship.

If we ever end up shot down, any little bit of cross-training could help.

>>5373527
>> Secondment. Cross-branch work is rare but not unheard of. A few of the null-operators may be interested in working with your team more closely

>>5373527
>Mutual training session. Perhaps you could polish up your working relationship.

>>5373527
> Mutual training session. Perhaps you could polish up your working relationship.

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"...I think we would enjoy such a session, brother," he says with a slight smile. 'Null-five has voiced some interesting ideas about using our abilities to refine the accuracy of your laser weapons."

"And it would probably help if I ever find myself stuck on the ground," you reply.

He laughs. 'That too. But let us hope that the situation never becomes that desperate."

"And one more thing."

Null-one hands you a thin envelope. "As you can imagine, our good father takes steps to ensure that our intelligence is a bit more...prompt and unfiltered...than what most receive. These pictures were transmitted by an advance recon team one hour ago."

You surreptitiously flip through the glossy prints before giving the envelope back.

"Is that fog?"

"Unclear. It appears to cover the entire area. But judging from the size of that entity, there is a strong chance that your ordinance will be required here."

"And the recon team?"

"This was their last transmission. They haven't radioed in since."

++++++++++++++++++++++++

As you stroll back to your room, mind still lingering over the images Null-one showed you, you spend a moment to consider your plans for tomorrow:

> Head to medical and meet your team members. Your visit is overdue.

> Take a day of rest. [Skip to briefing]

> Write-In

>>5374655
>Head to medical and meet your team members. Your visit is overdue.

>>5374655
>Head to medical and meet your team members. Your visit is overdue.

>>5374655
> Head to medical and meet your team members. Your visit is overdue.

>>5374655
>> Head to medical and meet your team members. Your visit is overdue.

>>5374655

>Head to medical and meet your team members. Your visit is overdue.

>>5374655
>> Head to medical and meet your team members. Your visit is overdue.

You're back!

>>5374655
> Head to medical and meet your team members. Your visit is overdue.
did the catch up, boy do i like those animation you doing, boy do i not like your upload schedule
also nice supernatural + secret org mixup
lambdas (and father gregori / the whole department really) remind me of EyE divine cybermancy
and who doesnt like hovering above the mundane ground and reign with impunity by grace of superior fire- Power

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>>5377268
Yeah. I'll try to be more regular with my updates, but having to set up the animations also creates some inconsistency. If you or any other anons have specific suggestions I will try my best to accommodate!

+++++++++++++++++++

The medical bay occupies the majority of the facility's highest sublevel. You walk past the main intake area, the examination rooms, and the surgical units, making your way into the laboratory partition. Here, the air is cold. Hallways branch into brightly-lit rooms packed with specialized assay machinery. Scrubbed-up researchers hurry from bench to bench, carting samples packed in styrofoam and dry ice.

Deeper in, the chill intensifies. Condensation drips from vault-like doors. After finding the correct isolation unit, you are stopped by a pair of watchful guards who double-scan your badge and identification before pinging the people inside.

A few minutes later, the door to Marie's isolation unit swings open with the muffled hiss of hydraulic actuators. But instead of the aging head pathologist you were expecting to meet, you see a young woman standing in front you. She takes off one of her gloves and reaches for a handshake. Even through her face-shield, you can see the dark circles under her eyes.

"Pleasure to meet you! I'm Dr. Leng - but just Leng is fine. I heard that you're my new...manager?"

"That sounds right. I believe I recruited you as a toxicology specialist" you reply.

She nods vigorously. "Ah yes - I certainly do know about those, hehe. But first, I want to show you something."

You put on protective garments and a heavy respirator before following her into a chamber filled with dense, acrid mist. Leng giggles. "Looks like they switched to peroxides for decontamination."

"Harmful?"

"Not acutely."

"What about long-term..."

Your question dies in your throat once you enter the next room. You see the Marie lying on a extended hospital bed fixed to the room's center. The change is worse now. Most of her upper body has been subsumed into a fused, mantle-like mass of fronds and bifurcating tendrils. Her limbs have lengthened, tapering down to whip-like projections that weave back and forth, as if sampling the ambient air. A trickle of reddish vapour streams from her mouth into a waiting evacuation funnel.

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>>5377569
"Is she doing better?"

"Unquestionably," smiles Leng. "Her vitals are surprisingly robust - the ones we can measure, at least. Many of her core metabolic functions have been substituted by the...undifferentiated mass...that now comprises most of her body. And the pace of the change appears to be stabilizing"

She retrieves a sheaf of notes from a nearby workstation, listing out additional findings. "blood oxygen concentration far above human...extensive de-differentiation of existing tissues...synthesis of proteins bearing anomalous..."

"That doesn't really answer my question, Leng, at least not fully. Is she able to talk? Can she communicate"

Leng looks slightly uncomfortable. "We're not certain. I was told - in very certain terms - by the acquisitions branch that we should avoid bringing her to consciousness unless absolutely necessary. " She gestures towards the thick ring of metal clamped around her neck. "The pacification collar is probably there for a reason..."

"True, but we'll need to communicate with her eventually. And if we can't, I would prefer to know as soon as possible. And on that note, why are you looking after her? I was expecting to meet Dr...Eagen?"

This time, she looks slightly offended. "Eagen was preoccupied with another case, and I have the requisite medical training. He signed me over yesterday. Besides...we've been getting exciting data from her condition. Can you see those reddish spores coming she's exhaling?"

"Yes."

Her voice is cheerful again. "Wonderfully virulent. One of my assistants ran a test a few days ago. Eighty percent mortality rate for single particle inoculations. Unlike the change afflicting her body, they don't have the decency to stop replicating in foreign hosts....they just go faster and faster" She pauses, searching your face for a reaction. "But fortunately for us, they're too big and aggregation-prone to lodge deep into the lungs from biological dispersion. A fixable problem, of course. I have a team working on it now."

Seeing your blank expression, she sighs. "But still, I do have the necessary expertise - and documentation - to wake her provided that you sign off....'

>Sign-off
>Avoid for now.

>Sign-off
We came here to meet our team members, no sense in backing out now.

>>5377575
>Sign-off
We do want to know as soon as possible.

>>5377575
>Sign-off

>>5377575
>Sign-off

>>5377569
theres no need to push yourself, eitherway im the kinda anon to ask for evermore, no matter if youd upload daily or once a week.
Also i dont think i have anything to add towards the animations. I do also understand that those do take time. And good things do take time mostly .

>>5377575
>>Avoid for now.

>>5377575
>Sign-off

>>5377569
Speaking as a humble /qst/er, I would gladly trade the (admittedly impressive) animations for a better update rate. We're here for the words, the images are wrapping.

>>5378346
I disagree, I like the animations. I can't think of any other QM who made whole 3D animations for his quests.

>>5378351
I'm not saying I don't like them, I'm saying they're not the point of the quest and thus not worth delaying the actual meat and bones for. Maybe if they were once per mission or only for impressive bosses?

Anyway back on topic
>>5377575
>Sign-off
No point in coming all the way down here without at least attempting to communicate.

Also, I called Leng "Dr.Death" before as a joke but damn if she isn't reinforcing the stereotype.

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Without hesitation, you provide both a signature and a fingerprint.

"Well that was...indecently fast," comments Leng, as she files away the approval form. "Team two, get in here. Purge the IV lines, and swap in a resuscitation bag. Supplement the stock solution with fifty milligrams of Zolpidem, twenty milligrams of atropine, ten units of recombinant..."

A practiced team of medical orderlies rush into the room, followed closely by a trio of heavily-armed guards. Transfusions are performed and drug-shunts are re-set. Gradually, the heart rate monitor by your side accelerates from a steady beat to a frenzied beeping.

"Is this normal?"

"Not if you're human. At this heart rate, you would be dead within a few hours. But her physiology is different. Based on the data I have, her normal resting heart rate should be even higher than this."

Leng reaches into her coat and hands you a piece of hardened plastic. "Also, this is the control unit for her pacification collar. Blue for sedatives. Green for stimulants. See that trigger there?"

"Yes. For termination, correct?"

"Precisely. Hold it down and press the red key twice. Her collar will inject a fast-acting hemolytic toxin before detonating its inbuilt explosive charge." She stops for a moment and grins. "I'm assuming that the toxin is there in case the explosive is insufficient. The fact that this redundancy even exists is quite exciting."

"I'm getting more activity on the EEG," reports an orderly. "She'll be awake within a few minutes"

Leng nods, but you note - with a mild concern - that she has positioned herself a few paces behind you. The black-armored guards have matched her motions, spreading out into the corners of the room with their rifles at low-ready.

Marie shifts slightly. One of her limbs tugs against her restraints, snapping it with only a modicum of unconsciousness effort. You hear a familiar, papery voice that drifts in and out of comprehensibility.

..."gone?...alone again.....but still don't know..."

You listen closer, focusing on the individual words.

"...why they left me alone....but I was grateful and always so grateful to both of them....and I thought it would be enough to keep me from being alone but I am here...I can't remember where they have gone and why they have left...and I am alone...but I don't understand.

Something snaps you out of your reverie. You look upwards and meet a pair of red-flecked irises, only a few inches from your face. The control unit in your right hand suddenly feels very heavy.

"...WHERE they have GONE?"

>Roll 1d20, best of three.
>Subjectively good write-ins will grant a roll bonus.

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>5378419
>"I'm here. You're not alone."

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>5378419
I don't know but we can find out.

>>5378419
""Container 5, please help." Those were your words. I was there. I heard you. We answered. We helped, as much as we could. You are not alone anymore. We will help you, if you want our help."
Honestly, keeping eye contact and the panic off our face is probably going to help just as much as whatever it is we're going to say. I don't think obvious terror and disgust is going to help, so deep breaths!

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>5378419
Guess I'll roll. Oh boy, here I go again!

>>5378419
Rolls are done but I'll throw my hat in the ring for write ins.
>You are safe. You are not alone. I am here to help you. I heard you before when you asked for help and we rescued you, we can help you again. Right now we just need you to help us understand what you need and where you came from. My name is Marcus, what's yours?

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>13+2 = 15

Deep breaths. In, then out. Remember to retain eye contact. Slowly, you loosen the fingers of your right hand to bring the arming trigger back to its neutral position. It was an option perhaps, but not one that you found particularly conscionable.

"I'm here. We're here for you. You're not alone," you say as closely and calmly as you can manage.

Her face pulls back slightly, eyes flashing with apparent recognition.

"...remember...voice in the sky?"

"Yes, that was me. I heard you cry for help, and we tried our best to answer. We're here to help you - and stay with you - provided that you want us to."

"I...would." She seems to think for a moment. "...very much."

Encouraged by the progress, you continue: "We heard that your name is Marie. Is that right? Can we call you that?"

She nods.

"Well, my name is Markus. And this here..." you say, as you step aside to introduce Leng. 'Is Dr. Leng. She's the one who has been...helping you get better over the past few days."

Leng tries to sound nonplussed. She isn't particularly successful, and standard greeting she gives Marie is half-octave higher than the one she gave you. Fortunately, she regains her bearings quickly.

"Can you tell us a little more about how you feel, Marie?" she asks.

As Marie tries to assemble a coherent response, you realize - with a degree of resentment - that the report you received from the manipulative headhunter was somewhat accurate. Marie wasn't non-communicative, but her deficits are certainly noticeable. Gaps in memory and knowledge lurk just beneath her surface. No specific memories of her biological parents. Few recollection of her time in the cult, or the processes that led to her transformation. Even her brief "meeting" with the acquisitions headhunter - something that happened no more than four days ago - is recalled using the vaguest of terms.

But emotions often persist even after founding memories vanish. Marie didn't remember specific events, but the emotional valence they held could still shape her actions. When she tries to recall her time in captivity, the fleshy filaments that make up her limbs thrill with rage, and becomes easy for you to see how acquisitions dragged her into a service contract. Of course, now that she a member of your team, whether to continue capitalizing on that tendency fell onto you.

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>>5379331
After receiving assurances that both of you would talk to her again, Marie allows Leng and her orderlies to drop her back into unconsciousness. Leng breathes a sigh of relief as the heart rate monitor slows down to its normal, steady beat. She looks at you.

"You know, she's a fascinating case. I certainly wouldn't mind spending more time working with her." After catching the look of hesitancy plastered on your face, she quickly adds "...partly for my own research but also to help her, of course. I have some ideas for balancing her normal physiology with the more invasive elements of her biology. It may improve her cognitive functions, at the very least."

"Sounds promising," You say tentatively. "Is there a downside?"

"There will be a risk to her, obviously. But the bigger issue is time." She shrugs. "I can only manage so many projects at once, and focusing on this will probably compromise other work you may have for me."

You decide to...

>Ask her to prioritize Marie. This will commit Leng to a sizable research project focused on improving Marie's condition. She will have less time to analyze potential targets and provide specialized munitions.

>Ask her to prioritize other tasks. Leng will focus on her original duties; her ability to support Marie will be naturally limited.

>>5379332
>Ask her to prioritize Marie. This will commit Leng to a sizable research project focused on improving Marie's condition. She will have less time to analyze potential targets and provide specialized munitions.

>>5379332
>>Ask her to prioritize Marie. This will commit Leng to a sizable research project focused on improving Marie's condition. She will have less time to analyze potential targets and provide specialized munitions.

Quite apart from the fact that it's the right thing to do, the more Marie's cognitive faculties are restored the better she will be able to fight on the field. We have a loosely guided berserker human missile now, but with full control over her powers we could have super-Kerrigan (minus the genocidal tendencies).

Forgot to ask>>5379331
QM, will Leng's research prevent us from taking Marie with us on missions in the mean time? And if we do take her along what will be the mission parameters for her? Will she be treated like another "munition" for us to loose at will or will she be joining whatever ground team we happen to be supporting at the time?

>>5379332
>Ask her to prioritize Marie. This will commit Leng to a sizable research project focused on improving Marie's condition. She will have less time to analyze potential targets and provide specialized munitions.

>>5379332
>Ask her to prioritize Marie.
Can we also ask gregori if he has someone who could help out in a more detached, from our material world, way? Considering Marie is a victim of spiritual means, fight fire with fire?

>>5379332
Ask her to prioritize Marie. This will commit Leng to a sizable research project focused on improving Marie's condition. She will have less time to analyze potential targets and provide specialized munitions.
Let's trust in Gregory's munitions for the time being.

>>5379388
Oh, good idea. It wouldn't hurt to talk to him about Marie.

>>5379332
>>Ask her to prioritize other tasks. Leng will focus on her original duties; her ability to support Marie will be naturally limited.

>>5379332
>Ask her to prioritize Marie. This will commit Leng to a sizable research project focused on improving Marie's condition. She will have less time to analyze potential targets and provide specialized munitions.

>>5379360
>No, it will not. Apologies if this was unclear, but the choice above was more about what Leng does with her time. Marie will be available for missions regardless of your choice.

She will be a member of the ground team. How you deploy her will be up to you - you can either pump her full of stimulants and drop her in the middle of the fight (as acquisitions would probably recommend) or you can embed her among the regular (or semi-regular) ground troops.

>>5379388
Yes - interesting idea! I will try to incorporate this suggestion into the next update.

>>5379332
>Ask her to prioritize Marie. This will commit Leng to a sizable research project focused on improving Marie's condition. She will have less time to analyze potential targets and provide specialized munitions.
>>5379949
I advise we let Marie get her "pound of flesh" and assist us in our operations, when she is well enough to do that.

Perhaps we can have the "pump her full of simulants and sacrifice" her an option for if.... the world is about to end and we're about to die anyways.

I don't think she should be anymore expendable then men on the ground.

>>5379949
>>5380244
Let's just hope her current issues don't affect her ability to recognize friend from foe. I'd hate for one of our new friends to kill the other group. Maybe we could have her take part in that joint training session with Null squad.

>>5380341

Prolly too soon, considering she met us like ten minutes ago and is back under. Let's just try to get her stable first.

>>5380969
Well I presume we won't have time for it until after the next mission anyway. At which time it may be a moot point.

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Leng nods with enthusiasm. "Fantastic I would be happy to send you a daily report regarding the progress of my work...and her recovery. Do you prefer citations in APA or CSE?"

"Just the key points will be fine, thank you."

She looks almost crestfallen. "I suppose that works too..."

"And one more thing. I'm planning on talking with Father Gregori about Maries condition as soon as I can arrange another meeting. Given their branch's experience with esoteric phenomena, I feel like their expertise might help us out here. Is there you think I should..."

Leng audibly through her teeth, audibly. "...No..."

"Something wrong?"

"Apologies - just a difference in perspective. I'm a scientist first and foremost. I've never agreed with their methods," she exclaims proudly. 'That said, I've found it equally difficult to argue with their results. I'm fine with working alongside them, but working with them...'

"I'll just go and ask some questions, Leng. We can always hash out the specifics after we know what they are."

She perks up again. "I suppose that's fair. I've got some assays to supervise soon, but I'll wait to hear back from you..."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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>>5381320

After filing a meeting request with Father Gregori and catching a quick meal, you receive an urgent briefing notification.

It was a bad sign. Well-planned operations would have their meetings scheduled weeks ahead of time. Urgent, off-the-cuff operations would still leave a day or two. This meeting was arranged two hours in advance. Evidently, command was spooked.

You enter a small, soundproofed meeting room packed with several dozens operatives and support staff seated behind an old-fashioned projector board. The air is dense with the smell of dust and cigarette smoke.

RD - the person largely responsible for the latter - slaps the table. Her dry voice cuts through the pre-mission chatter. "Attention everyone. ATTENTION. Thank you."

"The rest of OPS is busy analyzing data, so I'll be running the briefing today. I'm not going to mince words. The situation we're dealing with isn't good. A week ago, a cluster of logging towns in rural Montana dropped off the net. Since we don't have any assets nearby, this discrepancy escaped our notice."

A rakish operative raises her hand. "Several towns? How could something like that escape your notice?

RD pinches the bridge of her nose. "Because it's rural Montana, in a place with no containment facilities or known cult activity. Contrary to what you seem to believe, most utility outages there aren't caused by evil spirits."

"Anyways, it escaped our notice at first. When local police failed to check-in, we sent recon squad delta-nine to the westernmost settlement."

She advances to a contour map. "The team observed a persistent fog as they crossed the outer perimeter of the area. Visibility was poor; tracking them through high-altitude ISR was nearly impossible. Comms were spotty ten miles past the perimeter; they went completely out once they entered the town itself."

Lighting another cigarette, she continues. "Last check in was 46 hours ago; we haven't from delta-nine since. But they managed to rig up a memory card to their quad-drone to return some intel. Some of the pictures we recovered were quite...concerning"

"Now, optimistically, we might be dealing with something that can alter digital memory. That would be the best-case scenario, and it would also explain why we have such a severe comm drop-off." She pauses. "But this possibility no longer seems likely. After we established a perimeter, we sent a few more scouting groups into the occluded area. Our routes were more conservative this time, but they documented at least a few anomalous entities through direct visual observation. Oh, and the perimeter is also expanding. Look at these traces here."

>>5381323
"Our working hypothesis is that we're dealing with a Class IV dimensional disturbance - maybe a transient merge event with one of the poorly-characterized planes. We're trying to get archives to comb through their records. But regardless, I shouldn't need to explain why we need to put a stop to this."

The map zooms in on the Westernmost settlement. "This town has been tentatively set as our initial objective - we have some intel on it already, and it's isolated from the three other settlements. We will be sending two heavy recon units, supported by low-altitude ISR." She pauses for a moment. "Here are some of the images we recovered. We are uncertain if the...diversity and scale...of these entities are representative."

"Regardless, objective one is to collect usable DATA, particularly if it helps us understand the root cause of this breach event. Objective two is to LOCATE and SECURE noncombatants as well the initial recon team, provided that they are still alive and compromised."

In terms of force allocation, please reference the the chart above...[Pick ONE]

>You notice that you have been assigned to the WATERFRONT TEAM, tasked with data collection near the lake-wharf

>You notice that you have been assigned to the BREACH TEAM, tasked with penetrating the town center and locating the recon team.

"Formal mission briefings will be mailed to you later tonight, after we finalize our intelligence. Expect departure in 18-24 hours."

Any questions?

>Write-In?

>>5381326
>>You notice that you have been assigned to the BREACH TEAM, tasked with penetrating the town center and locating the recon team.
Does a dimensional merge mean the entities won't count as summoned? Cause if that's not the case we have a new tool to try out! And breach team sounds more up our alley. And I like to think not leaving the null operatives behind last mission makes us a good choice for a tense rescue mission. We're less likely to cut and run at the first sign of trouble.

>>5381331
If you're asking about sanctified ammo, yes, it grants bonuses against all "non-natural' entities, not just those that are explicitly summoned.

>>5381326
>>You notice that you have been assigned to the WATERFRONT TEAM, tasked with data collection near the lake-wharf

>>5381345
Ignore my name please, I used it on a thread I made on a different board.

>>5381326
>You notice that you have been assigned to the BREACH TEAM, tasked with penetrating the town center and locating the recon team.
We're definitely gonna have to bring our sanctified ammo on this mission.

>>5381326
>You notice that you have been assigned to the BREACH TEAM, tasked with penetrating the town center and locating the recon team.
We joined to save people so let's save some people. Question: Do we know the location of Delta Nine at time of last check in and also where the drone was sent from? It's old info but could be a place to start and maybe we can make a guess at their heading by comparing the two.

>>5381369
Seconded
Is there any way we might gain access to a transcript or a log of their coms? Might help us find them.

>>5381326
>You notice that you have been assigned to the BREACH TEAM, tasked with penetrating the town center and locating the recon team.

Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more unto the anvil of war!

>>5381326
>>You notice that you have been assigned to the BREACH TEAM, tasked with penetrating the town center and locating the recon team.

>>5381326
>You notice that you have been assigned to the BREACH TEAM, tasked with penetrating the town center and locating the recon team.
Our friends from lambda-null-null showed us the recon team's last transmission. It makes sense that we'd work with them again to search and rescue the team.

>>5381326
>You notice that you have been assigned to the BREACH TEAM, tasked with penetrating the town centre and locating the recon team.
Here comes the cavalry, lads. If they're all dead, I shall be Mad.

>>5381323
>You notice that you have been assigned to the BREACH TEAM, tasked with penetrating the town center and locating the recon team.

If there is one thing we are good at, its wasting baddies.

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You notice that you have been assigned to the breach team, tasked with penetrating the town center and locating the recon team. You would be supporting two ground units [Choose Two]:

>Lambda-Null-Null: Special operations unit. Equipped to neutralize infantry and infantry-sized esoteric targets.

>QRF-15: Two squads of veteran infantry; flexibly equipped to handle most threats.

>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.

>Delta-Seven: Dedicated scout/sniper unit. One infantry squad, trained for infiltration and spotting.

"...if you're on the breach team, stay where you are - I'll finish up the briefing here. If you've been grouped into the waterfront team - which should be most of you - follow YK into conference room B12-G..."

There is a brief pause as the attendees reorganize based on their team assignments. Once the waterfront team leaves, RD switches her slide deck to show a close up of the town center.

"Now, as I was saying, the breach team will be tasked with locating the recon squad. Due to the comm blackout, we don't have transcripts detailing their activity after they crossed the town outskirts; the drone they sent only carried photographs"

You raise your hand. "Do we have any information about their last known position, in that case?"

RD nods slightly. "Not directly. But we were able to comb through the drone's inertial positioning system and trace its launch position. By referencing this information against their original scouting route, we can estimate where they became compromised.

"See the red circle marker on the hill? That marks the first check-in waypoint they missed. Here, it was probably just the comm disruption."

A few more waypoints appear on the screen. "They also missed the next two waypoints - shown here and here. Now look to the right. This dotted black arrow shows the flight path of their drone."

"Thus, it seems reasonable to assume that they launched somewhere between waypoint three and the final waypoint - marked with an X. The area is a central commercial district. A few abandoned buildings; some old warehouses. Nothing particularly notable. But if our reasoning is correct, Delta-nine was rendered mission-incapable in this region. Otherwise they wouldn't have been able to launch their drone at all."

RD turns the projector off. "Search broadly, but pay special attention to this central block..."

>>5382330
>Lambda-Null-Null: Special operations unit. Equipped to neutralize infantry and infantry-sized esoteric targets.
>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.
I have a feeling were gonna need big guns for this one, plus if Delta Nine is incapacitated but recoverable the ifv should let us extract them without slowing us down.

>>5382330

>QRF-15: Two squads of veteran infantry; flexibly equipped to handle most threats.

>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.

Flexibility, numbers, light armor and close air support. Just the ticket.

>>5382330
>>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.
>>Delta-Seven: Dedicated scout/sniper unit. One infantry squad, trained for infiltration and spotting.

>>5382330
>Lambda-Null-Null: Special operations unit. Equipped to neutralize infantry and infantry-sized esoteric targets.
For the weird creatures
>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.
More funny aircraft stuff

>>5382330
>Lambda-Null-Null: Special operations unit. Equipped to neutralize infantry and infantry-sized esoteric targets.
>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.

>>5382330
>Lambda-Null-Null: Special operations unit. Equipped to neutralize infantry and infantry-sized esoteric targets.
>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.

Lamba Null-Null for the freaky shit, 5A for the bigger stuff.

>>5382330
>Lambda-Null-Null: Special operations unit. Equipped to neutralize infantry and infantry-sized esoteric targets.
>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.
Hello again, guys! Miss me?
Seems like a complementary team.

I just want to take a moment to remind anons we're on a mission to comb an entire city block while our instruments are under heavy interference, meaning we're gonna need numbers to canvass the place without splitting up too much.

Also, Lambda-0-0 are equipped to face INFANTRY-sized boogiemen, and those things in the photos do not look infantry-sized.

>>5382696
I think Lamda Nulls clairvoyant abilities will be more beneficial im finding delta nine than sheer numbers

>>5382696
Also, Lambda-Null-Null are the only guys prepared to take on extradimensional threats, and we're the eyes in the sky. We don't actually need a platoon of infantry going door to door. If our vision is so compromised that we can't see at road level from our gunship then we're fucked anyway and should have chosen the other, safer team.

>>5382330
>>5382345
I'm changing my vote to support this.

>>5382330
>QRF-15: Two squads of veteran infantry; flexibly equipped to handle most threats.

>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.

were supoused to locate and extract, so more boots and therefore eyes are what we need.

also i believe the bureu wont send guys with ineffective weaponry on purpose (for the anons arguing we should take lambda cuz otherdimesional threat)

>>5382696
Good point, L00 seems more the dynamic-entry team than this kind of task, though I still think their anti-esoteric abilities would be good insurance. Though RE bigger monsters, that's the job of us and 5A to deal with.

>>5382539
Swapping
>Lambda-Null-Null: Special operations unit. Equipped to neutralize infantry and infantry-sized esoteric targets.
for
>QRF-15: Two squads of veteran infantry; flexibly equipped to handle most threats.

>>5383000
Seems like we have pretty poor intel on what's going on, so unpleasant surprises like that are possible. Still, we shoot them in the face.

>>5382330
>Lambda-Null-Null: Special operations unit. Equipped to neutralize infantry and infantry-sized esoteric targets.
>QRF-5A: Mechanized airborne unit. One infantry squad supported by a light IFV.

>>5382525
Changing my vote from
>Lambda-Null-Null: Special operations unit. Equipped to neutralize infantry and infantry-sized esoteric targets.
to
>QRF-15: Two squads of veteran infantry; flexibly equipped to handle most threats.

Could use more numbers on reflection.

>We don't want the special forces who are specialized in taking out the threats we're definitely going to encounter, we want a large number of generic infantry
Human wave tactics ftw. God, it's going to be a bloodbath.

>>5383447
i mean it isn't established yet just how good (or bad) "baseline" bureau units are.

Also im just talking out of my ass but something tells me the secret organization thats been at it for a seemingly long time doesnt just solve problems (mundane or not) by just throwing more bodies at it. Idk ill just trust the bureau to know what units to send after we already actually know stuff. RD literally told us the bureau classifies the threat as extraplanar. So either we gonna see the bureau implode on incompetency, or we actually just trust the guys who've been at it for eye knows how long

>>5383491
Yes, they do have units they send in specifically to take out extraplanar threats. They're Lambda-Null-Null, like we saw in the last mission. Literally everything about them is specialized in these exact conditions. And yet for some reason we are deciding that this time, quantity>quality. This is not on the bureau. This decision is on us.

I mean, if you're planning an amphibious assault, you want the marines, not a random unit of infantry. If you want to traverse mountains, you want mountaineers, not a random unit of infantry. You can't possibly believe that a bunch of unspecialized infantry is just as good as the spec ops at doing the spec ops' job. What's even the point of having the spec ops if that's the case?

>>5383491
>>5383502
While I do think lamda null is the better choice I presume that agency troops are baseline geared for combating spooky shit considering the agency's reason to be.

>>5383554
Counterpoint: Our gunship wasn't baseline geared for combating spooky shit. Father Grigori gave us that gear as a favour.

>>5383626
He gave us stuff that made us better at combating spooky shit, we fucked up spooky shit pretty good with just conventional weapons which is what I'm getting at. Lamda null would be better for this I think but also the conventional squad should still be able to fuck up some spooks.

>>5383502

EVERYTHING the bureau investigates is spooky shit, there is no way L-0-0 are sent in every time. They specialize in spooky-side INFANTRY-SIZED threats, like the cultists we met them investigating. For other spooky shit other units work out better. Notably our very first mission against the hell-blob was just us and regular infantry.

>>5384408
Also, as I noted before, our mission this time is SAR, not search and destroy. For THIS mission quantity>quality, especially when we likely can't rely on our instruments for the job.

>>5384408
>For other spooky shit other units work out better
There is no indication whatsoever, other than you misreading the unit descriptions, that Lambda-Null-Null will be less effective than generic infantry against the threats we're going to face. If that is indeed the case and Lambda-Null-Null's specialist gear randomly stops working against eldritch threats that are taller than 8 feet or so, then they're fairly useless considering how few monsters are likely to be at the exact same size as a human. Why did they even receive the intel hours before everyone else if they're as ineffective against these enemies as you claim they are?
>Notably our very first mission against the hell-blob was just us and regular infantry.
You mean the tutorial mission where the blob didn't do much at all and we were drugged out of our mind? How fucked would we be in our second mission if we had generic infantry with us instead of the commandos?

>>5384409
>our mission this time is SAR, not search and destroy
You have this backwards. Securing a specific, limited objective in the middle of enemy territory against foes they are specifically geared to fight is the exact kind of mission that special forces are for. Generic infantry are to be sent to secure the city itself, and that's not our job this time.
>quantity>quality
Sounds like something said right before a bunch of people are killed because you thought throwing more warm bodies at the problem is how you make progress.
>especially when we likely can't rely on our instruments for the job.
Radio interference =/= all electronics stop working. Remember, the drone came back with no issues. If our instruments are too fucked to locate the missing team, then they'll be too fucked to fly and target properly so we should not have been sent in at all.

I realize it is useless to continue arguing when anons have made up their minds and I'm only causing them to dig their heels further in, but w/e.

>>5384446
i feel like alot of our arguing is simply due to the quest not having had the time/threads yet to establish how exactly the militarized arm of the bureau works. and tbqh im just banking on observer not letting us run into quest end just like that (but maybe it does indeed turn out "generic" infantry wasnt the choice, in which case trolololo). anyways lets wait for next post

>>5384509
I have to agree with the reason behind this arguing, yeah. But
>tbqh im just banking on observer not letting us run into quest end just like that
I don't believe a possible quest end is at stake here. I think we're pretty much choosing between
>Flawless victory, team extracted, no casualties, elites showed us why they're elites
and
>Pyrrhic victory, team extracted, most of the grunts were killed but who cares they're expandable anyway lmao

>>5384509
I'm banking on Q15 being like the task forces of the SCP Foundation/UNGOC i.e. their degree of redshirtiness varies heavily but they are nonetheless trained, equipped and experienced hardasses capable of handling most situations without difficulty if the writer lets them (and doesn't dip into the irritating trope of killing them en masse just to make a point) with veteran status being very well earned in their line of work; though if something comes out of left field, we bungle things and the mission goes south people will die regardless of who we have with us.
Either way, we'll find out soon.

Considering that it was explicitly stated that the infantry are able to handle most threats, I think they are pretty badass.

>>5384446
>specialist gear randomly stops working against eldritch threats that are taller than 8 feet

Please try not to be retarded, anon, nobody said their gear would stop working against enemies more than 8ft tall. The issue is that they're armed with small caliber carbines and grenades, which even with added anti-spook juice won't hurt a fucking kaiju. As proven in the tutorial mission you conveniently ignore, however, superior firepower works just fine.

>How fucked would we be in our second mission if we had generic infantry with us instead of the commandos?

Not fucked at all, but that's not the issue. The second mission was exactly the kind of mission Lambda Null excelled at, and that's why they were chosen. THIS mission's profile is completely different.

>You have this backwards. Securing a specific, limited objective in the middle of enemy territory against foes they are specifically geared to fight is the exact kind of mission that special forces are for.

Except we DON'T have a specific objective and Lambda are NOT specifically geared ti fight whatever it is we're up against. Once again, stop being retarded.

>Radio interference =/= all electronics stop working.

Obviously, but guess fucking what: Radio interference does mean that our RADAR stops working. And this being who knows what kind of supernatural shit, I wouldn't put odds on IR cameras working either. What else are we gonna detect the survivors with, sonar?

>>5384509
I don't like to dip into metagaming, but I don't think this is some kind of puzzle where there's a "right" solution and the other solutions offered are "traps". We'll go in, face what we will face, and deal with the issue according to what we have with us and what the dice say. Not to rub it in too much but Lambda would've taken serious casualties in Mission 2 as well if we hadn't rolled just well enough to save them (or if we'd decided to cover our asses rather than pull theirs out if the fire).

Anon is just attached to the first shiny thing encountered, as usual.

>>5384743
>nobody said their gear would stop working against enemies more than 8ft tall
Oh please, you keep insisting that they're completely ineffective against threats that are slightly larger than infantry-sized.
>which even with added anti-spook juice won't hurt a fucking kaiju
Wait, you think we're up against a fucking pack of godzillas here, and we're meant to win with something less than a barrage of tactical nukes? L M A O
>As proven in the tutorial mission you conveniently ignore, however, superior firepower works just fine.
Except when it doesn't, like when we encountered the light bender that would have royally fucked everything up if we hadn't let the specialists deal with him.
>Not fucked at all, but that's not the issue
Not fucked at all? See above. Anyone other than these guys would have been utterly, utterly fucked against what we encountered in that mission. If they are as useless as you seem to think they are, then that entire department is a colossal waste of money.
>Except we DON'T have a specific objective
You didn't even read the briefing, did you? Our objective is to locate a specific group of soldiers in a specific group of blocks in the city. It really couldn't be more specific than that.
>Lambda are NOT specifically geared ti fight whatever it is we're up against
Are you fucking kidding me? What are they geared to fight if not monsters overlapping from a parallel dimension? Why did they receive the intel hours before everyone else and even share it with us if this is not the mission they excel at? Care to answer those questions this time, or are you going to keep ignoring them because they're too inconvenient for the theory you've pulled straight out of your ass?
>Radio interference does mean that our RADAR stops working
Holy fucking shit, you think frigging radar is how we detect people on the ground? Crash course on physics 101: Radar works ONLY on metal objects that are large enough. It CANNOT pick up people, or even giant monsters (unless they're conductive, I guess). Please sit down, shut up, and let the grown ups decide about this.
>And this being who knows what kind of supernatural shit, I wouldn't put odds on IR cameras working either.
How convenient for your retardation. Lambda-Null-Null's gear is useless, our gear is useless, everything is useless except for the good old human eyeball, lol
>What else are we gonna detect the survivors with, sonar?
Sonar is unironically better than frigging RADAR at detecting humans. Sonar works with sound waves, they at least bounce off humans, unlike Radar's radio waves. You may consider this your free lesson for today. As for how we can detect the survivors? Optical cameras. Even if somehow nothing else works, which we have no reason to suspect won't, those HAVE to work, or we're completely screwed for the mission and should be grounded immediately. Cameras flying high are pretty good at detecting things on the ground.

>>5384749
>don't think this is some kind of puzzle where there's a "right" solution and the other solutions offered are "traps
And that's because you're retarded. This is an extension of our decision about our loadout for a mission. There are right and wrong loadouts that make the mission easier or harder. They tell us what we're likely to encounter, we pick the tools we think we'll need, the job gets easier if we picked the right tool for the job. This is self-evident to anyone with more than room temperature iq, which I guess includes you.
>Anon is just attached to the first shiny thing encountered, as usual.
Oh please, you're the one who insists that conventional weapons and grunts worked great in the tutorial mission, therefore they work great against anything we encounter ever.

Apologies for the delay gents, but updating tomorrow probably. (._. )

>>5384782
>You didn't even read the briefing, did you? Our objective is to locate a specific group of soldiers in a specific group of blocks in the city. It really couldn't be more specific than that.

A target whose status AND whereabouts are unknown is as unspecific as it gets prior to "just see what's out there". Retardx1.

>Wait, you think we're up against a fucking pack of godzillas here, and we're meant to win with something less than a barrage of tactical nukes?
That was an example, retardx2. There are kaiju smaller and less durable than Godzilla who nevertheless aren't gonna feel anything from a piddly 5.56mm, retardx4.
>Except when it doesn't, like when we encountered the light bender that would have royally fucked everything up if we hadn't let the specialists deal with him.

What light bender, you frothing retardx5? We encountered ONE (1) psychokinetic in that mission, and we opted NOT to shoot him because anon was suspicious that he MIGHT have been powerful enough to bend light because the QM indicated it MAY have been possible for someone. All he did was throw a trailer around, then die after Lambda cancelled his spook juice. Zero indication that a laser to the dome (or indeed, just being shot from two directions at once) wouldn't have worked.


>Are you fucking kidding me? What are they geared to fight if not monsters overlapping from a parallel dimension?

INFANTRY. SIZED. THREATS. RETARD.(x6). CULTISTS. MAGES. ESPERS. BIO-TERRORS LIKE MARIE. ANYTHING SMALL ENOUGH FOR THEIR WEAPONS TO ACTUALLY DO DIDDLY AGAINST. YOU FUCK.

>Crash course on physics 101: Radar works ONLY on metal objects that are large enough. It CANNOT pick up people, or even giant monsters (unless they're conductive, I guess). Please sit down, shut up, and let the grown ups decide about this.

Radar works on anything at all that can reflect radio waves, including land (non-metallic) and even cloud formations. So it would work just fucking fine on building-sized monsters, unless they're coated in radio-absorbing material. Sit down, shut up, and fucking kill yourself, retard (x7).

>Sonar is unironically better than frigging RADAR at detecting humans. Sonar works with sound waves, they at least bounce off humans, unlike Radar's radio waves.

You want to use a fucking SODAR on the surface? Mounted on a fucking GUNSHIP no less? How many levels of retarded are you? Do you have any idea how sound works? This motherfucker told ME to read Physics 101, holy shit.

>As for how we can detect the survivors? Optical cameras.

So after all your fucking retardation (×100) we're still back to mark 1 Eyeball, unless you're planning to pull a bunch of drones we don't have out of your ass. Pottery.

Responding to you is frankly a complete and utter waste of my fucking time. Should you fail to kill yourself (a likely proposition since judging by your confidence in being blindly incorrect about elementary physics you wouldn't even be able to tie a noose right) at least remain quiet.

>>5385372
>What light bender, you frothing retardx5? We encountered ONE (1) psychokinetic in that mission, and we opted NOT to shoot him because anon was suspicious that he MIGHT have been powerful enough to bend light because the QM indicated it MAY have been possible for someone. All he did was throw a trailer around, then die after Lambda cancelled his spook juice. Zero indication that a laser to the dome (or indeed, just being shot from two directions at once) wouldn't have worked.
ngl, I stopped reading there. That guy could bend light, anons were smart enough to notice the flickering light indicating that he was, you weren't, and the mission would have been FUBAR'd if Lambda-Null-Null wasn't there to "cancel his spook juice", as you put it. QM fucking confirmed it you subhuman mongoloid, and no matter how many times you call me a retard, it remains just a projection. You are too stupid to notice even the most obvious things, you are too stupid to even realise how stupid you are, and it's a complete waste of effort to continue arguing with you. I only hope the anons that were convinced to embrace soviet tactics by the retardation you espouse don't end up regretting it too much.

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Hey gents. As an anon said, this argument is mostly my fault for being a bit cagey on both the composition of the different ground forces and the nature of this quest. To clarify on this point, I don’t purposefully include troll options in my posts (ie. unclear options designed to bait you into a quest failure). All the options are intended to have specific benefits and drawbacks.

And as a consequence of that, its OK if some of you guys have different predictions for what’ll show up on the scopes and what to bring. And this is partly by design – given how little information I tend to give. But please try to keep the arguments classy! We’re all here to shoot some ghosts with interesting weapons, and I do try to keep things somewhat accessible so that people can make choices with the super nitty-gritty /k/ stuff being somewhat optional.

Based on my count:

>QRF-15
>QRF-5A

A short, unassuming man in grey-brown fatigues raises his hand. “Ma’am, given the comms breakdown in recon what kind of interference are we looking at here? Will it mess with Natash…our vehicle’s optical systems? Electricity?"

RD flips back the picture of the map. “Not likely, sergeant. The interference is probably a boundary effect – something partitioning the inside of the occluded area from the outside world. The fact that we recovered the drone suggests that electronic equipment will remain functional even inside the town center.”

“What about short range comms?” asks his taller, older counterpart, as he lights up a cigarette of his own. “Are we going to have to yell to get the flyboys to hear us?”

After shooting him a quick glare, RD responds: “For the same reasons I discussed earlier, short range comms will probably be effective. That’s part of our rationale for pairing you up with the gunship. A vehicle-grade transmit/receive unit – at a higher altitude – might let us get a workable signal.”

Still looking somewhat dissatisfied, he leans back. “And you’re sending my team to search…because satellites don’t work for recon now? Don’t you guys have favors in the intelligence community to call in?”

RD’s glare hardens. “No, captain - and even if we did, I wouldn’t be at liberty to tell someone like you. And we’ve tried to get both high-altitude imaging and satellite surveillance. None of its useful.”

“Fog?”

“Worse. The last few satellite images don’t show a town there at all. Like it was never built. Even though we can still see the outskirts if we approach from the ground. ”

The man sucks in on his cigarette, sighing. “Oh. That doesn’t sound great.”

“It isn’t.”

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After a few more questions, the meeting ends. RD storms out of the room with urgency – either real or feigned – leaving you with the two ground commanders.

The older, taller man comes up to you and shakes your hand. “Reid Carter. We’ve worked before, but this is our first face-to-face, I think. I’m in charge of the merry bunch called QRF-15.” He jerks a thumb at his companion.

“And this sullen little bastard is…”

“Sergeant Popov, of QRF-5A. Mechanized airborne.” the shorter man finishes. “And I’m not sullen. At least not without good reason. I don’t like the…smell of this operation.”

“Neither do I,” you point out. “That briefing was pretty sparse given the area we’re supposed to be searching”

Carter laughs. “Yeah? Even more so than usual. At least they gave us some photos this time.”

“But still, I agree with you. Not a whole lot of intel. Judging by those photos, I’m kitting out my crew for urban work. A few extra AT launchers and full medpacks. Maybe an AGL if requisitions still have any in stock. Between you, Ivan’s ride, and my squad, we might have enough to cut anything big down to size.”

“Plans for searching?” you ask.

“That’s a tough one. We could cast a wide net to find them faster, but I’m also hesitant to space anyone beyond visual range…”

Popov nods. “I agree with that at least.”

Carter turns to you. “Well, I better get my crew briefed ready – seeing that we have less than a day to get our stuff in order. Was a pleasure.”

Reminded of the timeframe, you decide to….

>Visit Archives. Kerashim seems nice enough, and the briefing was pretty sparse. Maybe he can get you some information that you – or Leng – could analyze to learn more about the occluded area?

>Train with Lambda-null-null. They were assigned to the waterfront team for this mission, but the training is still on the table.

>Meet with Father Gregori. You were planning to seek his advice regarding Marie’s recovery.

And thinking back of Marie, you reflect on the difficult position you are in. Despite her damaged state, acquisitions made it obvious that she could bring significant advantages to your operation. If you were planning on bringing her, you would have to inform the rest of the ground team now…

>Deploy her. She seems stable enough.

>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

>>5386316
>>Visit Archives. Kerashim seems nice enough, and the briefing was pretty sparse. Maybe he can get you some information that you – or Leng – could analyze to learn more about the occluded area?

>>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

>>5386316
>Visit Archives. Kerashim seems nice enough, and the briefing was pretty sparse. Maybe he can get you some information that you – or Leng – could analyze to learn more about the occluded area?
I also don't appreciate the lack of intel. Let's see if there's anything we can dig up.
>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.
Let's give Leng some more time for research. And, I'm sure we can talk to Father Gregori about Marie after the mission.

>>5386316
>Visit Archives. Kerashim seems nice enough, and the briefing was pretty sparse. Maybe he can get you some information that you – or Leng – could analyze to learn more about the occluded area?
>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

Oh, look at that. All our instruments will be working normally. And lack of info? If only there was some team, perhaps a team of elites specializing in extradimensional threats, who were briefed before anyone else and were willing to share some of their intel with us...

>>5386316
>Visit Archives. Kerashim seems nice enough, and the briefing was pretty sparse. Maybe he can get you some information that you – or Leng – could analyze to learn more about the occluded area?
>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.
We can't take the risk of her going crazy as this is a rescue mission and not a destruction mission.

>>5386316
>Meet with Father Gregori. You were planning to seek his advice regarding Marie’s recovery.
>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

>>5386316
>Meet with Father Gregori. You were planning to seek his advice

>Keep her in medical.

totally not selecting the waifu options because of waifu huehue

>>5386316
>Meet with Father Gregori. You were planning to seek his advice regarding Marie’s recovery.
>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

>>5386316
>>Visit Archives. Kerashim seems nice enough, and the briefing was pretty sparse. Maybe he can get you some information that you – or Leng – could analyze to learn more about the occluded area?
>>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

Forewarned is forearmed

>>5386316
>Visit Archives. Kerashim seems nice enough, and the briefing was pretty sparse. Maybe he can get you some information that you – or Leng – could analyze to learn more about the occluded area?
>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

>>5386316
>Visit Archives. Kerashim seems nice enough, and the briefing was pretty sparse. Maybe he can get you some information that you – or Leng – could analyze to learn more about the occluded area?
More info is always good, hopefully we can speculate about where these things come from and what works best to send them back there
>Deploy her. She seems stable enough.
I seem to be going against the grain here but I'd like all hands on deck for this

>>5386311
I wouldn't worry about the argument too much I don't think you're writing is too vague. The default state of anons without something to distract them is shitflinging. I'm not tryna give you shit for the time between updates, take you're time because I'm really enjoying this quest and the animations especially, it's just how it is.

>>5386316

>Meet with Father Gregori. You were planning to seek his advice regarding Marie’s recovery.

I don't think looking up the town's history would help much given the epicentre is most likely elsewhere. Lambda are probably busy with their own prep for the mission. Father Grigori it is.

>>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

Better safe than sorry and let's wait until she can form coherent sentences first.

>>5386345
Still no luck with that noose huh?

>>5387514
Cope and seethe, faggot.

>>5386316
>Visit Archives.
>Keep her in medical.
Will you two faggots knock it off? It's a vote in a quest for fucks sake.

>>5386316
>Meet with Father Gregori. You were planning to seek his advice regarding Marie’s recovery.
>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

>>5386316
>>Meet with Father Gregori. You were planning to seek his advice regarding Marie’s recovery.
>>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

>>5386316
>Visit Archives. Kerashim seems nice enough, and the briefing was pretty sparse. Maybe he can get you some information that you – or Leng – could analyze to learn more about the occluded area?
>Keep her in medical. She doesn’t seem stable enough for combat deployment.

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The tea is different this time. A Chinese variety, perhaps? Golden chrysanthemum petals float gently as you bring the steaming cup to your lips. The tea is sweet. A little light for your tastes, but Leng gives a nod of sincere appreciation.

Again, Kerashim doesn’t drink anything himself. After steeping tea for the two of you, he slides over a page filled with elegantly penned notes. You suspect that they were written solely for your reference – not his.

“A pleasure to see you as always, Pilot. And you – a fellow scholar I see – welcome to our humble library!”

Leng shakes his proferred hand with more enthusiasm than you expect.

“Originally, I had arranged another reading list for the two of you. It was shortsighted on my part – I was not entirely aware of the time constraints you were being subjected to.”

You manage to catch a glimpse of the note sheet before Leng steals it away. There is text, but the center of the page is occupied by a drawing that almost looks…anatomical. Like a cross section of a particularly ugly mushroom. Or a ripe tumor.

Unhurriedly, Keratin continues. “Regardless, I believe that I have identified – to an extent – the entity responsible for this event.”

He tilts his mask towards the two of you. “The first individual to name her was an Assyrian scholar. Aššur-šumi-aṣbat if I am remembering correctly. His writing is fragmented, but he references a rival queen – or more accurately female king – who steals settlements away to a kingdom beyond reach. First the fog. Then the viscous rains. Then her tithe is complete.”

“Since then, I have found scattered references in our history. A few medieval occultists have made references to a similar entity – dubbing her the growth-in-regal-purple or the filamentous queen. Again, there is the fog and the rains. They describe her motive as something between lust and greed. A desire to grow and become.”

While you were familiar with Kerashim’s particular…style… of speaking, Leng was not. She looks at him with mild confusion.

“Like biological hunger…?”

Kerashim gives a slight nod. “Close. When you were a child, have you ever spat in someone’s food to make it yours?”

Leng frowns in disgust. “No.”

“Well, that might be the best human translation I have. There are many ways of declaring ownership. You can put labor in it. You can trade for it. You can raise it. But the easiest – and most disgraceful – way is to ruin it for all others. To soil it with a part of yourself so that it is acceptable to you and you alone.”

“That is the base motive behind the entity you will be facing. A desire to steal and own, enforced through corruption.”

As Leng mulls over Kerashim’s words, you try to press him for more practical advice.

Kerashim hesitates for a moment. “It is difficult for me to comment – the accounts are somewhat fragmented, as I mentioned. But I would approach her domain with caution. Do not trust anything that she has taken her touch….

“…and in the old accounts, her lower appendage-subjects were described as being numerous but slow. Tough in body, but simple, with a particular aversion to flames. Her rule is hierarchical; remove her court-nobles, and the foundation collapses…”

He sighs. “Unfortunately, that is the most I can do. Anything else would-be pure conjecture.”

After thanking him again, you leave. Leng follows close behind, grabbing copies of the excerpts that Kerashim recommended. While you doubted that occult history was her forte, she seems surprisingly excited about the prospect of looking at his sources firsthand.

By the time you reach your room, the formal briefing is already waiting for you:

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+++BRIEFING+++

NAME: "LIGHTLESS GREY"
OBJECTIVE: RECOVER AND EXTRACT RECON TEAM DELTA-NINE
SITE: Cedar Point, MT
EST. FLIGHT TIME: 4:00:00
FUEL ALLOC: 12:00:00
DEPARTURE: 04:30:00
WEATHER: FOG/OVERCAST
ROE: RESTRICTION - LVL -1 [PROVISIONAL]

SUMMARY:

Central command has identified a prospective class IV dimensional disturbance event [See Addenum 1-6A, Table 2b.] localized to ||||||||| |||||, a loosed cluster of logging communities within western Montana. Current estimates suggest total area coverage of roughly ~1000 square-kilometers, with a constant boundary expansion rate of ~0.26 kilometers-per-hour. Expansion is projected to intersect with the city limits of |||||||| and ||||||||| within 14 and 18 days, respectively.

To acquire intelligence pertaining to the root cause of this event, recon unit delta-nine was ordered to penetrate and scout Cedar Point, a small community located within the westernmost edge of the occluded area. All radio contact was lost five hours after on-site deployment, and no members of the team were recovered at their designated extraction zone. However, subsequent retrieval of a makeshift courier drone raises the possibility that some element(s) of the team may remain stranded near their final waypoint.

PILOT-17, you are ordered to provide low-level ISR coverage for QRF-15 and QRF-5A as they breach the town center and search through the target area. Coordinate ground movement and provide direct fire support as needed. While your team’s primary objective is to extract delta-nine and retrieve their mission-critical intelligence, you have also been authorized to conduct independent exploration and intelligence-gathering as-able. Information pertaining to the SOURCE of the disturbance, the BEHAVIOR of anomalous entities, and the STATUS of the town’s inhabitants will be particularly valuable.

Deployment of high-explosive, thermobaric, and esoteric munitions has been given preliminary authorization [See Addendum 13A]. Although it is currently unknown if the original civilian population (est. 1285) remains intact, you are encouraged to exercise caution when engaging targets near residential/commercial structures.

+++GOOD HUNTING, PILOT+++

>[Choose your weapon loadout]

Below your standard weapons requisition form, you also find a small page of wax-sealed parchment. On the front, the symbol of the sanctioning branch is emblazoned in gold. On the back...

[Choose one specialty ammunition type. All choices offer a base +8 roll bonus against esoteric/summoned entities]

> Glassknife Shells [20mm or 40mm, Usable for 1 turn]

"To light, clarity is the highest virtue..."

20mm shells hand sharpened from thrice blessed, ash-bonded glass. [Successful hits will instantly vitrify human-sized targets.]

> Choircall [40mm, Usable for 1 turn]

"Follow our song ..."

There is compartment near the base of these silvered shells. If you listen closely, you can hear a quiet rhythm. [These rounds cannot be dodged or deflected]

>>5388172
Oh, and if anyone wants a quick summary of the weapons options here's a pastebin.

https://pastebin.com/r8535Lgd

>>5388172
>MAIN [CHOOSE 1]
2A13 40mm HEI
>AUX [CHOOSE 4]
5X HYDRA RKT-HEDP
2X AGS-9 MSL-HEDP
1X AGS-12 MSL-THERM
1X 40MW LAS-POD 2-SHOT
>Glassknife Shells [20mm or 40mm, Usable for 1 turn]

>5388172
Main:
>2A13 40MM HEI
Kerashim said that the monsters have a particular aversion to flames.
Aux:
>40MW LAS-POD 2-SHOT
This is our precision weapon to use against specific targets while avoiding collateral damage or friendly fire.
>1X AGS-12 MSL-THERM
This is our one-use emergency weapon to use if we encounter a massive threat that all our other weapons are too weak for.
>30X RKT-FLCH
This is our AOE weapon to use against large groups of weaker enemies.
>6X HYDRA RKT-HEDP
This is our general-use weapon for situations that don't fit the niche of any of our other auxiliary weapons.
Specialty ammunition:
>Choircall
I don't want to restart the "infantry-sized" argument, but I don't think that the monsters we're about to encounter are human-sized.

>>5388172
>>5388192
I left out a ">".

>>5388172
>>MAIN [CHOOSE 1]
>2A13 40mm HEI
>>AUX [CHOOSE 4]
>5X HYDRA RKT-HEDP
>2X AGS-9 MSL-HEDP
>1X AGS-12 MSL-THERM
>1X 40MW LAS-POD 2-SHOT
> Choircall [40mm, Usable for 1 turn]
Fire to burn out the corruption. The Choir to ensure that whatever we want to hit gets hit.

>>5388172
>MAIN [CHOOSE 1]
2A13 40mm HEI
Incendiary seems a no brainer if they don't like fire
>AUX [CHOOSE 4]
5X HYDRA RKT-HEDP
2X AGS-9 MSL-HEDP
1X AGS-12 MSL-THERM
The mention of nobles has me worried so hopefully we can just step up our ordinance until they die
1X 40MW LAS-POD 2-SHOT
Having a highly accurate weapon seems smart when working with ground troops incase we have to go danger close
> Choircall [40mm, Usable for 1 turn]
I don't think we have to worry about getting dodged but the aformentioned nobles might have some kind of deflection ability

>>5388172
Also can we share the info we got from kerashim with other units before they pick their own loadouts? Or is it just assumed they already got this info too?

>>5388211
I can add this to the next update if enough anons support

>>5388184
>>5388202
>>5388207
The hydra rockets are 6X, not 5X. Did the first anon make a minor mistake and then the rest of you followed his lead?
>>5388211
>>5388213
I support this.

>>5388223
>Did the first anon make a minor mistake and then the rest of you followed his lead?
Pretty much, he had the same loafout I wanted. Wasn't gonna type all that shit out myself if I didn't have to.

>>5388223
Apologies. The list on Pastebin said "5X" instead of "6X" and I copied my choices from there.

>>5388156

Lol, what the heck. If Kerashim has already got at least a solid lead on the entity responsible, why was this not part of the briefing?

>>5388172
>MAIN:
>2A13 40mm HEI

Enemy doesn't like fire. Incendiary rounds. Elementary.
>AUX
>10x HYDRA RKT-HEDP (two slots of these)
Good all-round ordnance.
>1X 40MW LAS-POD 2-SHOT
In case we need to hit a tiny glowing weak spot for massive damage.

>1x AGS-12 MSL-THERM
The "nuclear option", as it were. Keep away from friendlies.

>>5388318
Forgot:
>Choircall [40mm, Usable for 1 turn]

Just in case we're dealing with some maxed evasion-type critter. While I assume the Glassknife shells will still do good damage against bigger targets, our new bird has enough ordnance to cover that.

>>5388172
>>5388202
support

>>5388314
the plot thickens well we already got a glimpse of the "competiveness" of the branches

>>5388314
>>5388328
In universe maybe departmental infighting, maybe kerashim as a non-human entity has his own motives.
Out of universe I think it just makes a good trade-off for our limited time to consult people, wouldn't be fun if we didn't have to choose some stuff over others

>>5388172
Supporting >>5388318 and >>5388320

>>5388213
Yep. We should tell them to kill it with fire.

>>5388314
Typical bureaucracy. The left hand doesn't know what the right one is doing.

note that the aversion to flame specifically refers to 'lower' subjects. "court nobles" (and other units we haven't heard of yet) might care less about it.

>>5388213
+

just bringing some way to set fire to an area and have it stay burning a bit would be a good way to run away safely.

>>5388213
Please do. The more weapons that can set shit on fire, the less work we have to do.

>>5388172
> Glassknife Shells [20mm or 40mm, Usable for 1 turn]
>2A13 40MM HEI
>40MW LAS-POD 2-SHOT
>1X AGS-12 MSL-THERM
>30X RKT-FLCH
>6X HYDRA RKT-HEDP
Wish we had those incendiary AGMs that were on sale before available but ah well, foresight is 20/20 and all that.
>>5388213
I support this.

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After catching a few hours of decent sleep, you meander into the vehicle bay. The main doors were open now, allowing the cool desert air to whisk away the smell of metal and jet fuel.

Your gunship is a hub of activity. System engineers cluster around the chin-mounted sensor suite, swapping in a high-gain IR filter suited for fog penetration. Meanwhile, technicians – wearing bright red hazard informs – begin filling the internal tanks with pressured fuel. An assortment of air-to ground munitions sits in a pallet nearby, patiently waiting to be loaded.

To the right of the gunship, a similar scene plays out around a pair of fat-bellied transports. You jog over once you recognize a few familiar faces.

Carter gives you a lazy wave as you approach; Popov manages a polite nod.After exchanging a few greetings, Carter calls several of his men over.

“…and we’re taking this old thing with us, thanks to your tip-off.”

The two grumbling soldiers manhandling the weapon place it on the ground.

“Missile Launcher?”

Carter smiles. “Well...close enough. It’s a recoilless rifle if you feel like splitting hairs. But look at these.”

He shows you a box filled with off-grey shells. “Canister shot and good old willie-pete. If it worked for my old man when he was out in the middle east, it’ll do the job here. Closest thing we could get to a flamethrower on a short notice.”

Popov sighs. “’We’ll be carrying the shells for it, so it won’t slow anyone down. You can’t imagine how much my driver bitched about it, though.”

He gestures towards a rather slight looking IFV sitting next to the loading ramp. Seeing your concerned expression, he tries to explain:

“She’s light, but her armor’s thick where it counts.” He raps the glacis plate. “Engine’s good too. Not easy to hit.”

Popov knocks on the hatch twice. A few seconds later, an oil-stained, freckle-faced youth pops out from the driver compartment. “Dmitri! What’s she got under her skirt today?”

“Incendiary and armor piercing, sergeant. Even mix, just like you asked.” He gives a proud grin. “I just tested the feed system a few minutes ago.”

You notice that his English is quite heavily accented. Popov simply shrugs. “Thank you for the information, pilot. The…employer…here have always been quite stingy with their intelligence. Then again, not to different from my old commanders.”

“I still don’t understand that part,” you point out. “Kerashim seemed to have most of the op figured out. Not sure why ops only gave us tidbits earlier that day.”

Carter just shakes his head. “I’ve been here a while, so I have an inkling. It’s a mix of things. Part of it is politics. If isn’t obvious, ops likes to see themselves as real spooks. Intelligence types. They don’t trust information that some rando dug up from the dead sea. And even if it ends up being right, they’re too proud to admit it.”

He lights a cigar. “Now the second reason is more practical. Might be a surprise to you, but us ground-pounders don’t get amnesiatics – at least not regularly”

“No?”

“Nope. Breaks down the squad dynamic. You can get away with emotion-deadening if you’re piloting or doing research, but it wrecks team cohesion. That’ll get you screwed on the ground.”

“But it isn’t all good. Point is, they structure their general briefings around need-to-know as a result of this. And given that this mission is supposed be about intelligence gathering anyways…”

“Yeah, I see what you mean,” you reply. “Still, it's always callous to send people in without proper intel.”

Carter laughs. “Well you should have looked at the contract when you signed up buddy! Same goes for all of us too though, I guess. You know, you aren’t so bad now that you’re off the meds. If you’ve got some time to spare…”

Pick one. This will be your last choice before embarking on the mission proper.

>Chat with QRF-15/QRF-15A? They certainly seem to have character.

>Meet with MB? Maybe he’ll have some thoughts on strategizing for the upcoming mission.

>[Vote is still open for the weapons loadout, if you haven’t picked yet]
>[Also, feel free to recommend new nose art if you would like to switch from the old one. Optional.]

>>5388223
And sorry - this was totally my fault. I mistyped the pastebin as one of the anons mentioned.

>>5389291
>Chat with QRF-15/QRF-15A? They certainly seem to have character.
did someone say teambonding?

>>5389291
>Chat with QRF-15/QRF-15A? They certainly seem to have character.
Can't hurt to get to know our teammates.
>[Also, feel free to recommend new nose art if you would like to switch from the old one. Optional.]
I'm happy with the current noseart for now. I think if we ever get ourselves a callsign nickname type thing then we could change our art to reflect that.

>>5389291
>>Meet with MB? Maybe he’ll have some thoughts on strategizing for the upcoming mission.

>>5389291
>Chat with QRF-15/QRF-15A? They certainly seem to have character.
>[Also, feel free to recommend new nose art if you would like to switch from the old one. Optional.]
The nose art we've got currently is fine.

>>5389291
>Chat with QRF-15/QRF-15A? They certainly seem to have character.

>>5389291
>Chat with QRF-15/QRF-15A? They certainly seem to have character.

Never hurts to know the boots on the ground, for from the ground you came and to the ground you will return, potentially messily and in the middle of enemy territory.

>>5389291
>Chat with QRF-15/QRF-15A? They certainly seem to have character.

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Carter and Popov give you a quick introduction to their men. It was a surprisingly eclectic group. In contrast to the taciturn atmosphere that surrounded lambda-null-null, most of them are eager to meet you. They weren’t familiar with your face, but they knew your gunship quite well. Even with your recent promotion, a level of trust was still there.

You spend several minutes trading anecdotes with a pair of hard-faced veterans who complain loudly and surprisingly openly about the moral degradation of the bureau. There was once a time when this organization had real principles and real respect. Personally, you find the idea a little hard to believe. But after pointing out a few gripes of your own, they grin and clap you on the back a few times.

A sharp-eyed assault-specialist jogs over between combat drills, thanking you for running air support during a particularly chaotic suppression mission three months ago. With a degree of guilt, you see that her body is extensively scarred. Yet her combat knife still whisks elegantly through the air once she resumes her exercises.

An affable medic shows you pictures of a stray cat he picked up several months ago. He was keeping it in his quarters, inside a nest made from old blankets and tattered clothing. Carefully – and with a degree of embarrassment - he asks you about the possibility of adding in some extra requisition items under your name.

Eventually, one of the younger men – probably a more recent recruit – rounds out the hour by reaching into his duffel bag back to retrieve bottles filled with golden cider. Popov grimaces at the sight while Carter shrugs.

“Closest we could get to real alcohol, Ivan.”

“Disgusting.” Evidently, tasting the cider hasn’t changed Popov’s opinion.

“Better than losing your edge before a mission. Besides, if OPS ever found out about this particular tradition of ours…”

"Yes, I know," sighs the sergeant.

After everyone has a shot glass in hand, Carter slaps his hand on the table for attention. He raises his hand up and bellows a warcry.

“Never on record…”

The rest of the men knock their drinks before chorusing back:

“But always remembered!”

Carter’s shotglass shatters against the ground with a deafening crack. Shards of glass skitter across concrete. A few members of QRF-5A break out in a poor rendition of some foreign folk song.

“Stay sharp people! We board in fifteen!”

Just as you prepare to board your own craft, Carter stops you with a smile.

“PILOT-17 is a bit of a mouthful, no? Now that you know the crew, maybe you could share your old callsign with us”

Ah yes. That. You haven’t used it for quite some time for various reasons – most of them amnesiatic-related, but it was something you used to go by.

>Write in a callsign.

>Not now. Maybe you’ll think of something after this mission?

>>5391302
>Write in a callsign.
Seraph

>>5391302
>Write in a callsign.
Oka Nieba or Sky Eye
Let's get some ace combat 5 vibes in here.

>>5391302
>Write in a callsign.
Elvis
Since our last name is King this seems appropriate.

>>5391335
Burger also works for the same reason.

>>5391333
We're not AWACS, though, we're CAS. Cipher or Mobius is too much, but something like Garm or Garuda should work since they're real world mythological creatures anyway.

Or we could go full norseboo and pick Scrinfaxi or something.

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>>5391335
>>5391339
To be clear I made both these posts, phone wifi's just fucking with my IP. I'm fully behind Burger as a callsign now. Even found some possible noseart.

>>5391302
>Write in a callsign.
Oculus.

>>5391326
Supporting this

>>5391335
>>5391339
>Burger King
Burger King!
Kentucky fried chicken at a burger king!

>>5391302
>Write in a callsign.
Seraph
Fits our general motive and actions so far.

>>5391302
>>5391326
Seraph's a cool callsign. Our noseart could be a pair of stylized wings when we return.

>>5391302
Seraph's nice, but feels a bit cliche.
Throne.

>>5391302
>Write in a callsign.
Monarch, the sky belongs to us!

>>5391358
Screw it, I'll support Seraph I guess. I would not stand Burger King.
>Seraph

>>5391302
>Write in a callsign.
after seeing burger and elvis id like to throw my cheese into the ring as well:
Hope
Ties neatly into our "if not us its someone else"

>>5391584
well we also could just keep what we have and add angel wings, a classic biblical angel depiction fitting to the setting

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“Seraph? It’s certainly catchy. My crew will be counting on you for the next few hours, so just make sure you live up to it.” After a quick handshake, Carter jogs away to supervise his men as they begin boarding their transports.

The next hour is uneventful – at least for you. The boarding sequence was the same. The takeoff protocol never really changed. And besides for a barely perceptible loss of responsiveness during banking turns, you could barely tell that your gunship had been modified to carry extra ordinance.
But thirty miles from the boundary of the occluded area, the situation begin to change. You notice it through the radios first. A sharp clicking noise – like the report of particularly persistent woodpecker – begins to break up the status updates from central command. At first the interference is merely annoying. But as you cross the perimeter, the frequency and intensity of the interference renders their messages nearly incomprehensible. After spending a few fruitless minutes trying to reconnect, you deactivate the channel entirely to block out the incessant noise.

Fortunately, the local comm net was still functional. Your connection to the ground team is significantly worse than what you would expect, but you could hear them well enough. This was good. Now that your line to central command was severed, nominal command over the operation fell on you as the ranking operative. Even if you didn’t have the intention – or knowledge – to micromanage the ground team, a regular line of communication would still be crucial.

It would be especially important given the terrain. Here – nearly fifty kilometers into the occluded area – the woodland is hidden by a thick layer of dense, shifting fog. It wasn’t natural. You’ve run enough missions in adverse-weather conditions to know how fog should behave. And this didn’t match the profile at all. You hoped that it would clear slightly once you reached the AO. Otherwise, you would have to either fly low-level or lose visual of the ground team entirely.

As you scan the treeline for objects of interest, you see a structure poking up from the dense mist. Human made, with a soft glow of…lighting? It was a firewatch station. One of the manned lookout towers marked on the map you studied last night.

With curiosity, you focus your guncam on the structure. The soft glow could mean habitation. And even if it wasn’t an objective for your mission, it could be worth….

The warm light flickers out.

A few seconds later, there is a burst of something. An ugly, black-red flare of un-light with an afterimage that resembles a scotoma. One flash. The structure simply disappears. A pit forms in your stomach as you radio QRF-15.

Carter’s voice is relaxed, but you could detect a hint of anxiety. “Yeah…Our pilot saw that neat little magic trick too. I think we’ve been rustled, Seraph. We need to nudge our drop zone closer to the town center. Get in and pull the recon team out as fast as we can. Strolling our way to the AO with our pants down is bad idea.”

Popov, on the other hand, makes no effort to hide his disquiet. “I disagree with the captain. We should keep to the original plan and drop in the outskirts. If we place our transports in danger, we will put the entire operation at risk of failure.”

>Stick with the original LZ. [The ground team will drop in the outskirts and advance to the search area. The transports will probably be safer]

>Modify the LZ. [The ground team will drop directly into the search area. You will avoid the run-up, but the transports may be in a bad spot if things go poorly]

>>5394027
>Stick with the original LZ. [The ground team will drop in the outskirts and advance to the search area. The transports will probably be safer]

>>5394027
>Stick with the original LZ. [The ground team will drop in the outskirts and advance to the search area. The transports will probably be safer]

>>5394027
>>Stick with the original LZ. [The ground team will drop in the outskirts and advance to the search area. The transports will probably be safer]
Hopefully it was just a one off. But if its not, whatever that was certainly has enough juice to ice a transport. Last thing we need is a large chunk of our forces gone out of the gate.

>>5394027
>Stick with the original LZ. [The ground team will drop in the outskirts and advance to the search area. The transports will probably be safer]
Don't know wanna risk not having enough seats to get everyone home if things do go south.

I have a question, QM. Can our own gunship take passengers or does it only have room for the pilot?

>>5394027

>Modify the LZ. [The ground team will drop directly into the search area. You will avoid the run-up, but the transports may be in a bad spot if things go poorly]

If the ground team gets whacked while in the air, the mission is over before it begins. If the transports get taken down AFTER they make the drop, we can still coordinate extraction by either leaving the interference to call in new transports or, if we can deal with the primary threat, potentially just fucking walk out.

>>5394027
>>Modify the LZ. [The ground team will drop directly into the search area. You will avoid the run-up, but the transports may be in a bad spot if things go poorly]

>>5394027
>Modify the LZ. [The ground team will drop directly into the search area. You will avoid the run-up, but the transports may be in a bad spot if things go poorly]

>>5394060
>>5394027
I wanna change my vote to:
>Modify the LZ. [The ground team will drop directly into the search area. You will avoid the run-up, but the transports may be in a bad spot if things go poorly]
After thinking about it fir awhile staying the same just didn't sit right with me. If my ID is different it's phone wifi.

>>5394027
>Stick with the original LZ. [The ground team will drop in the outskirts and advance to the search area. The transports will probably be safer]

>>5394125
This particular gunship can only carry one pilot.

>>5394027
>>5394250
Changing to:
>Stick with the original LZ. [The ground team will drop in the outskirts and advance to the search area. The transports will probably be safer]

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After spending some time discussing with Popov and Carter, you collectively decide to stay with the original landing zone. Yes – it was further from the AO than Carter’s proposed spot– but it was also an easier landing target, located in a broad clearing that had sufficient space to comfortably accommodate both transports.

The approach was also safer. Instead of a straight shot to the town-center, your flight crests a series of steep, forested hills. The all-pervasive fog shrouding the region made visibility poor, but the varied elevation offered a fair tradeoff. At the first sign of trouble, both transports would be able to duck behind the terrain where they would – hopefully – stay out of harm’s way long enough for you deal with the threat.

This assessment proves prophetic. Ten minutes out from the LZ, the sky waxes black-red. Un-light floods out from a hollow in your vision, coating the surrounding forest like tar. The light builds until…one final flash. The gloom of the occluded area reasserts itself.

Almost.

The open space in front of your flight is now occupied. Through the mists, you perceive a sharp, angular carapace crowned with tumescent growths. A cluster of tentacles trail beneath, framed by a constant leakage of red-black un-light. The data readout next to your HUD struggles to classify the entity. Far too large to be a blimp. Too…aerial to be a structure.

The transports don’t ask for permission. Both pilots immediately begin to descend, trying their best to break line of sight with the entity. Carter makes a morbid joke. Popov is dead silent.

You consider your next actions with great care…

>Engage. There’s no way this entity isn’t hostile. Now that both transports are out of the direct line of fire, maybe you could line up a good shot…

>Detour. It hasn’t done anything yet. Maybe you’ve escaped its notice? Fly around it and proceed to the LZ.

>Observe for now. It hasn’t done anything explicitly hostile yet. And you didn’t fancy your chances against something like this. Not at all. Maybe it would be best to see what its intentions are…

>Retreat. This is ridiculous. You’re not going to consider engaging, nor are you going to wait for it to make the first move. Radio the waterfront team and head back to base. Even the guncam footage you have now would be valuable intel, so you won't be returning entirely empty handed.

>>5397283
>>Engage. There’s no way this entity isn’t hostile. Now that both transports are out of the direct line of fire, maybe you could line up a good shot…
Launch an AGS-9 MSL-HEDP.

>>5397290
I support this.

>>5397283
>Observe for now. It hasn’t done anything explicitly hostile yet. And you didn’t fancy your chances against something like this. Not at all. Maybe it would be best to see what its intentions are…
The fact that it's not immediately hostile has me curious.

>>5397283
>>Observe for now. It hasn’t done anything explicitly hostile yet. And you didn’t fancy your chances against something like this. Not at all. Maybe it would be best to see what its intentions are…
I'd prep a missile, but wouldn't risk a missile lock just yet. It may be able to detect it.
If it just stays there, then we can make a detour. This is a smash and grab rescue, not a cleansing op.

>>5397283
>>Observe for now. It hasn’t done anything explicitly hostile yet. And you didn’t fancy your chances against something like this. Not at all. Maybe it would be best to see what its intentions are…
Let's get ready to evade if it does anything suspicious.

>>5397283
>Observe for now. It hasn’t done anything explicitly hostile yet. And you didn’t fancy your chances against something like this. Not at all. Maybe it would be best to see what its intentions are…

>>5397283
>>Observe for now. It hasn’t done anything explicitly hostile yet. And you didn’t fancy your chances against something like this. Not at all. Maybe it would be best to see what its intentions are…

Mission comes first. Unless we have proof its a critical target, no use expending limited ammo.

>>5397283
>Observe for now.
alas no need to stir the hornet just yet

>>5397283
>Observe for now. It hasn’t done anything explicitly hostile yet. And you didn’t fancy your chances against something like this. Not at all. Maybe it would be best to see what its intentions are…
Make sure our AGS-12 is ready to fire on this thing, looks like a worthy enough target for it.

>>5397283
>Observe

If it's an option, that means it's worth taking.

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As both transports descend out of view, you keep your sensor pod trained on the entity. A steady two-tone growl in your earpiece once you uncage the AGS-12, shifting to a whining shrill after its thermo-optical seeker head acquires a positive track. Your finger hovers over the release stud. In a worst-case scenario, you hoped that could hit the thing hard enough to ground it.

A moment later, you almost do precisely that. Motes of light coalesce around the entity, forming a bright line of squirming sigils. The language is incomprehensible to you. And yet…you blink once.

Twice.

Then, the shifting lines snap into place. Alien knowledge begins to seep into your mind.

++I HAVE AIDED YOUR TRESPASS, FOR I AM A TRESPASSER MYSELF++

++I AM THE HETEROTYPIC COUNTESS, AN EXILE OF THE QUEEN’S INNER COURT++

++WE ARE INTRUDING UPON THE TERRITORY OF 𒄊𒀕 𒀫, HER MOST FAVORED CONSORT++

There is a pause. It gives you a few moments to fight back the nausea bubbling up from your stomach. Vomiting in a cockpit of any kind was bad. But vomiting in a pressurized gel-cockpit was incalculably worse.

The entity resumes, displaying a second line of sigils below the first.

++I PROPOSE AN ACCORD++

++I WILL MASK YOU FROM THE MANY EYES OF 𒄊𒀕 𒀫 AND THE OTHER COURT-NOBLES FOR AS LONG AS I AM ABLE++

++IN RETURN I MAY REQUEST A SMALL MEASURE OF YOUR SUPPORT ONCE I SEEK HER THRONE++

++THINK AND I WILL KNOW++

>Accept.

>Do not accept.

>>5401503
>>Do not accept.

>>5401503

>Accept.

On one hand, we have no way of knowing if there's any sort of altruism in this one. They could be worse than the queen they want to usurp.

On the other hand, their help greatly increases the chances of our mission success here, and we can probably decide how we really want to respond to their support request once we learn more about them from Archives. I'm assuming they're not going for the throne immediately after we're done here, though.

If possible, I'd prefer to ask them for more clarification: how much of a window of stealth can they provide us? How would they bind such an accord, if we agree? What manner of support would they expect from us?

>>5401503
>Accept.
As a rule, I don't trust eldritch horrors from beyond the veil, but I also don't wish to find out what would happen if we refuse this thing's help.

>>5401503
>Accept.

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>>5401503
>Accept.
I don't see how this can possibly backfire

>>5401503
>>Do not accept.
Nopenopenopenope

>>5401503
>Accept
Terrible idea in the long term, but so cool otherwise!

>>5401503
>Accept.
Fuck it sure.

>>5401503
if we accept, we do so as us the person. we and our team can do an op against the queen. these beings having a civil war is probably good for our superiors, so if this deal proves worth if it might not be too difficult to get permission and resources.
we cannot make promises for any other part of the organization, such as the other units here.

>>5401503
>Do not accept.
Ahahahaha, no.

>>5401503
yeah, brother in sight, i dont think i like where this is going

>Do not accept.

>>5401503
>Accept
Only reason I'm supporting this is because it's an opportunity to conserve our fighting strength while gathering more intel.

Let them fight, and when the time comes, mop up the survivors and/or retreat while they're distracted.

Very sorry for the late update gents - New thread will be up in a few days.