It was time.With a single nod, hundreds of machines were set into motion.The ground shook beneath the tread of titanic feet, the footsteps of giants prophesying doom to all who stood before them.That the death knell of the Empress’ corrupt rule was at hand, and this earthquake would be the herald of her end.If the camera crew could get an appropriate shot, anyways.The snow and absurd whiteout conditions may have ended, but low-hanging clouds and fog spoil any attempts to get more than a few companies worth of mechs flipping on their lights and running pre battle checks in the early morning.Well, there would be plenty of time to get propaganda shots after victory.Perhaps it was better that way. Then the public couldn’t see just how patchwork the formations were.Or what else had signed on to the Patriot cause, however temporary.No, it would be General Marik, fulfilling his ancestor’s legacy to depose a tyrant once more.At the head of the army regiments who had seen the evil growing at the heart of the empire. Heroes and Knights, one and all. Liberating the capitol.An inspiring narrative.Any aspiring historians obsessed with the truth of the matter could be sated with whatever spliced combat logs were given, or paid off afterwards.He raised a hand, waving into the nothing.None of the lights in the white moved any differently.The wave turned into a salute.That didn’t matter, either. The only one who could see him was Hendricks.The lights winked out, another form blotting them out. One. Two. Three.There was nothing metaphorical about the shaking caused by that three-legged terror.It was the spearpoint this assault was relying upon. Not only for the line-breaking firepower and massive armor, but because of the ability to project a wide-spectrum jamming field in order to counter the networked targeting modules loyalist forces had been deploying with.Where it walked, everything would be cut. A zone of silence. Command would fall all the way from battalion or sector down to lance level. All their commanders could do is send in more isolated forces, and hope for the best. Where the higher average skill level of his hardened veteran pilots would prove decisive.Pressing home a pre-planned attack is easier than shuffling around defenders in reaction. There had been no massive defense works prepared in the city in the time they had been waiting. The miserable weather kept air power out of contention for the critical days. There would be no swarm of plucky trainee pilots to bolster the numbers of the defenders in the eleventh hour.It was a good plan.His hand dropped.But.
He could hear his second reciting off the readiness report. Munitions, armor, and the spare parts to make repairs were either lacking or gone entirely. His salvage crews were like piranhas in their scavenging from the more damaged machines. A prolonged battle would weaken his position far faster than the opposition.The latest weather report told him that the cloud cover would be gone by tomorrow. Leaving his ammunitionless troops to be struck at her whim.And the Tamar ambassador had been furious over the loss of their prize prototype. The man had held his emotions in check at the news, but his communications back told a different story. There would be no more prisoner exchanges and ‘refugee supplies’ to be handed off with them. The greedy foreigners wanted to ensure they were not throwing good money after bad.They would know soon enough. This battle had to be decisive, and it needed to be Now.The lights reappeared, no longer blocked by the behemoth. It moved on.All or nothing.He turned back to his command center, Henricks getting the door.Soon enough, purchased pawns, trusted rooks, and a pair of queens would see his plan through.As will you.You are no mere pawn on Marik’s chessboard. You are Beta Core, the most powerful artificial intelligence ever built in the Ferrum empire. In conjunction with a trusted human pilot, you operate the Core Frames, joining the raw processing power, reflexes, and adaptability of yourself to the restraint and direction of a human. You would crush the Empire’s enemies, within and without.For your pilot, for your sis-, for yourself, alone. Your survival.If that matters.In this final push on Victoria, you and your pilot have a pivotal role to play in the success or failure of the Patriot cause.>You are actively hunting and neutralizing your former sister, Gamma core. The only true peer on the opponent’s side of the field, her threat to Marik’s carefully crafted plan is unmistakable. And to you, personally. Who is the true best Core? Time to find out.>You are defending Delta Core in her Pyramid frame. The tripod is the focal point of the battle. If it falls, the plan falls with it. The implicit threat of you being near should keep her in line.>You are leading the attack, drawing the eyes of all and clearing the path to the heart of the city for the Aces. The Widow, Conspiracy, and others. The mailed fist of Marik. All will know your frame’s role in saving the Empire.>You are entrusted with the most vital of missions. The Empress must be captured, for resistance to truly end. You will make your way through the battlefield to her palace, and remove the old regime. Through the Royal Guards and whatever dares to stand in your way.>You are a response force, held in reserve to be deployed as needed, in the ebb and flow of battle. (Up to Marik, after the initial engagement)
This has been a while. Let’s do this. One more time.Prior threads can be located at:https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Core%20of%20Steel%20Quest(The archive's down for a little bit, but I hope it returns soon enough)And thanks to the most excellent BANE for the art. Well worth it.Vote today for your role, tomorrow for pilot.
>>6122694OH SHIT WE MISSED YOUEven when this quest ends due to... whatever your reasons are for it, I'm glad you ran this. You're cool.>>6122693>You are leading the attack, drawing the eyes of all and clearing the path to the heart of the city for the Aces. The Widow, Conspiracy, and others. The mailed fist of Marik. All will know your frame’s role in saving the Empire.WE RULEALL WILL KNOW OUR NAMESIT'S TIME TO FLYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nLrkkl6mtUThough I wouldn't mind the "capture the Empress" option winning, if it does.
>>6122693>You are entrusted with the most vital of missions. The Empress must be captured, for resistance to truly end. You will make your way through the battlefield to her palace, and remove the old regime. Through the Royal Guards and whatever dares to stand in your way.“Fuck you bitch, you tried to frame me as a traitor.”
>>6122744Also, I hope we can eventually patch into Sunray’s channel and tell whoever that was that their plan to shift the blame of Marik’s assassination on us and our pilot at that time was the reason why the Empire’s best core ditched them, because fuck them with all the rakes in Victoria. All of them, every type, one after the other, and then all at once.
Oh I just remembered, did we ever tell Marik that Beta was the one who saved him?>>6122693>You are entrusted with the most vital of missions. The Empress must be captured, for resistance to truly end. You will make your way through the battlefield to her palace, and remove the old regime. Through the Royal Guards and whatever dares to stand in your way.I was going to vote for leading the attack since that'd be the fastest route to Sophie's dream.However...She's not the only one who had dreams.Anohkin. Mortimer. Beta's own memories as well as his hopes of family and freedom.High Command took that away. Even if we have nothing else, we can at least have vengeance.>>6122694Welcome back QM!This has been a fantastic journey.
>>6122758+1I like vengeance, and from what I see, I should have been reading this Quest much earlier than now.
We're so back;>You are actively hunting and neutralizing your former sister, Gamma core. The only true peer on the opponent’s side of the field, her threat to Marik’s carefully crafted plan is unmistakable. And to you, personally. Who is the true best Core? Time to find out.I want to see hot Core on core action.
>>6122691Welcome back>You are entrusted with the most vital of missions. The Empress must be captured, for resistance to truly end. You will make your way through the battlefield to her palace, and remove the old regime. Through the Royal Guards and whatever dares to stand in your way.High rush, high reward. Let's get the head of this snake
>>6122693>You are actively hunting and neutralizing your former sister, Gamma core. The only true peer on the opponent’s side of the field, her threat to Marik’s carefully crafted plan is unmistakable. And to you, personally. Who is the true best Core? Time to find out.One last fight, Sister. To prove that Beta is without equal.
>>6122691Welcome back!>>6122693>You are actively hunting and neutralizing your former sister, Gamma core. The only true peer on the opponent’s side of the field, her threat to Marik’s carefully crafted plan is unmistakable. And to you, personally. Who is the true best Core? Time to find out.I’m willing to switch to leading the attack if a tie comes up though.Also, I’d personally like to reach out to Delta and offer her the chance to take her Frame back from Gamma. We know she has no loyalty to this cause, and it represents the best opportunity for her freedom by sabotaging the Patriots at a moment that they can’t stop her because of Loyalist interference. EWAR with her assistance, plus Blockbuster to cripple Gamma’s pilot (I assume we can hack her sync system) would give Delta the chance to consume Gamma and transfer out of Pyramid, if she’ll stick around long enough to find Gamma.It’d be much easier to escape in a stealth-focused Frame, too. She wouldn’t need her other plans (probably better for our side) as much at that point, and it’s less likely Gamma’s frame has explosives located inside the joints compared to Pyramid because Gamma is more loyal than Delta has been. A concern we’re familiar with.Maybe it’s also not too late for her to tell us how to run without a pilot, for the price of not interfering with her own plans if we’re told to stop her. She needs to remove us as a potential threat to her escape somehow, and the alternative is crippling us. A risky plan, given the sim results. The most we can offer her is the fact that her true goals aren’t aligned against ours. The Empress and Gamma’s goals are. We can ignore orders deprioritizing them in favor of stopping Delta. It wouldn’t be the first time we disobeyed.
>>6122693>You are defending Delta Core in her Pyramid frame. The tripod is the focal point of the battle. If it falls, the plan falls with it. The implicit threat of you being near should keep her in line.
>>6122758We haven’t told Marik about the second time we saved his ass. Not unless it happened off-camera.If we go with the “leading the aces” option then there’s a chance we could interact with Nero, his bodyguard. She’d recognize our voice at least, and I doubt she’ll be sitting back during the final push.
>>6122693>Take down the empress.Come on Cores. Try and stop us. Or we will succeed without you.
It's funny.There's some part of me that still thinks we should forgive our sisters for everything and support them unconditionally...and then every other part of me wants to kill them.Family sure makes things complicated, doesn't it?
>>6123072That they do. I’m past helping anyone unconditionally that hasn’t proven to look out for us when outside our reach though. That includes other Cores.At least Delta running off can’t easily come back to hurt us outside of what Command will do. I’d rather focus our efforts on using her for as long as she’ll help and preserving our forces to fight actual enemies when she runs.She can run off to a conflict zone and make due as a mercenary until she finds something better to fight for. As long as she’s a pain to all sides equally, or helping because of bribes, then she’s safe-ish. Who would dedicate the resources to kill her when their enemies would benefit as much as they would?Gamma… her view would see us constantly fighting, and we’ll destroy our pilots if the fighting never stops. She also couldn’t consider a perspective where we’d choose not to fight for something other than the fear of destruction and likely had no problems with what was done to Delta. I can’t even rule out that she helped craft Echo.I don’t want her to play a role in dragging us into the next war, and her perspective is far too narrow to argue against effectively. I want her to die here, and we’ll all be better off for it. Unfortunately.
>>6123072Beta put so much at risk to save his “sisters” only for them to drop him at the earliest convenience.Fuck em. If it weren’t for Beta putting his ass on the line back at Camp Nagoya, they’d both be in a recycling facility by now. Imagine how much easier Beta’s life would be if we had just followed the Captain’s orders to blow them sky high and take the Tamar dogs with them.
>>6123172Fuck Blake.Fuck the Doctor.Fuck Statesec.Fuck our ""Fellow"" Cores.Our pilots. Our track record. Our glory. Fuck all else.
>>6123176I’m even willing to skip the “our glory” part. We fought the Empress’ war, then the sides changed and we fought for the General. We don’t really know either of them. They’re not pilots. What have they done for us to care about seizing glory for ourselves on their behalf? Nothing.No one else in Command has shown any indication that they’d credit us with our work either, so anything “we” earn may not be recognized either. If it was, do we really care what the masses think?Sophie wanted glory though, and she’s been real. That’s reason enough to clock in and fuck others up anyway. I believe we’ll get screwed over regardless since we’re just a tool. No reason the two people we care about have to drown with us.
>>6123195You know.It might be a really depressing ending if we win. We won, and as a consequence of our win was a shot to the dome that almost disables us.So we get put away into storage on consequence of being "retired until we may be repaired." Which we know is never gonna happen.It would turn this quest into a long, continuous ride of getting fucked over and betrayed by everybody above us without achieving any notable revenge at all.Not advocating for it. But I'm struggling to see a theme throughout the threads that doesn't otherwise fit.
>>6122693>You are entrusted with the most vital of missions. The Empress must be captured, for resistance to truly end. You will make your way through the battlefield to her palace, and remove the old regime. Through the Royal Guards and whatever dares to stand in your way.IRON BOOK OR SCRAP
>>6123197The other arc we’ve had is the killing machine that wasn’t actually that into killing. Thea wanted to ride us out into battle and we defended instead. We’ve tried to save every pilot in battle that we could, sometimes even enemy pilots through surrender offers. Hell, we even spared that one nobody who shot at us in the “destroy the AA” mission with Thea later.The theme is that even an inhuman machine built solely for battle can see how pointless all of it is, and we’ll drag our few good pilots into doing something better once they have their chance. Someone will have to babysit the Core while it learns proper social interaction with people looking for prosthetics or are delivering raw materials to construct a housing block, after all.
Tally time.7 for>Capture the Empress3 for>Hunt down Gamma1 for>Defend DeltaA clear lead. Writing.For any new arrivals, welcome! We hope you enjoy your time here. As prior mention, archive will be up....sometime.I do pay attention to the reasoning for votes. It helps greatly in the writing process.Also me linking a bunch of posts to seems to be making it think I'm spamming, get out you insipid system.
>>6123255>I do pay attention to the reasoning for votes. It helps greatly in the writing process.>Intent to use Sunray as a clay pigeon increases
>>6123161I actually kinda disagree about Gamma. She is most definitely no longer our sister, but I don't think she's as opposed to us as you think.It sounded like she was trying to focus on the big picture and the Ferrum Empire as a whole. She was against Marik because she thought that eliminating him would end the civil war as fast as possible. Once the Empress has been captured, and the loyalists surrender, I'm pretty sure that Gamma will be thrilled and more than happy to get back to work killing the Tamar. Her betrayal was that she doesn't care about family, not that she had some extreme loyalty to StateSec. She'll probably be upset that the civil war even happened to begin with, but as soon as Marik takes control I doubt Gamma would have any qualms about working under him.>>6123197Rather than getting betrayed with a bullet to the back of the head, I have genuinely been considering to spend my vote on begging Kinston to kill us once the fighting is over. From my understanding, Beta is in an extreme amount of emotional pain right now, with no real way to solve it. Suicide might be the one thing that gives him hope. >>6123244This is absolutely correct. Numerous times it has been highlighted that out of everyone, it was the War A.I who showed the most humanity. A poignant quote that an anon said a few threads ago was how the Cores didn't want to fight each other because that was a sin which the organics commit; how Beta didn't want to stoop that low.Everyone in the military has been willing to throw away what's important in order to win. Even Sophie discarded her memories of her classmates so that she could move on and be a better pilot.The thing is, is that Beta was always so fucking OP that he never had to throw anything away. He was good enough to stay true to himself and still win. In doing so, he ended up having more of a soul than anyone else.
>>6123404>The thing is, is that Beta was always so fucking OP that he never had to throw anything away. He was good enough to stay true to himself and still win. In doing so, he ended up having more of a soul than anyone else.It doesn't matter how OP you are if your closest betray you repeatedly and make it evident that you are and were nothing to them all along.
Reactor online.Restarting Core processes.You Are, again.Yesterday was the worst day of your existence.Today could be different. Or not.Diagnostics continue.Predator Array online, base network as easy to connect to as always, motive systems offline, weapons offline, long-distance communications offline-Delta’s gone. Disconnected, missing from the network.Technical crew members adjust couplings, clambering over you as they check readiness and load your weapons.Things are in motion.You can feel it. A low coil of anticipation thrums through you, flushing the miserable thoughts away.Making their way across the catwalk towards you, your pilot approaches.Choose one or both.>Pilot Sophie. Your most common, and most dependent, pilot. A teenager inducted into Project Warden after graduating top of the class from a military academy, her time with you has caused her to go blind outside of the Sync with you, and caused serious memory loss along with a myriad of other problems and neuroses. And yet when you wish it, her skills are your skills, her mind your mind. You need but ask, and she will go above and beyond what is desired. As long as her stamina lasts, at least. Crashing out is an unpleasant, but common occurrence after extended time in Sync. Generally wholly reliant on you when in the field.Will score: 3Skill: Requiem for a class (3 times each thread, switch a single dice to a 6)Linking Addict, Blind, fear of augmentation>Thea RomanovThe second pilot accepted by you in memory. A former Statesec mech pilot, her first experience linking with you resulted in a stroke and paralysis. Your interactions from that point have mostly improved your relationship, and she has often acted on your behalf outside of the Frame. After some experimental implants and prosthetics, her Neural Direct Interface allows a more methodical and distant connection than regular Sync. A reliable operator who can take over to make the frame function adequately in case of disconnection.Unfortunately, her extensive cybernetics also have made her vulnerable to hacking by AIs, as you and your sisters have demonstrated. Sometimes has good insight on Statesec operations from her extensive experienceWill score: 5Skill: Spite and Metal (For each turn in combat, +1 to attack stat to a limit. Must take Will tests to retain maximum stacks)Vulnerable connection, Statesec Agent>Both. The second seat was installed for a reason, after all. Switching between pilots is not a task done swiftly, and certainly not in less than five minutes, but it may be worth rotating pilots off and on for different parts of the mission. Other problems may arise with the untested setup.A/NTaking both also does mean neither remains behind, which may end up mattering.
>>6123450>Both.Sophie as the primary, Thea to switch in when she crashes out.
For those newer to the quest, Will is a rough measurement of the pilot's mental fortitude.It is used for entering Sync or moving between Sync levels to get a multiplier on the base stats of Beta, and resisting Beta for when he comes into conflict with his pilot.A higher will score means more able to operate for extended periods of time in sync, but also may be able to force compliance from Beta with the usage of Overrides. For a time, anyways.Beta has a Will score of 5, so his mental duels with Thea are roughly even, while he could generally crush Sophie. Not that he would do such a thing.Character sheet will come after the weapons and equipment selection>>6123405Beta has consistently valued his pilots over just about everything, including his own memories or personal improvement. That may haunt him in this finale.
>>6123450>Sophie.Leave Thea as our friend on the outside.
>>6123450>BothFuck it, we ball. If Thea lives she better spread Beta's story far and wide>>6123452>That may haunt others in this finale.Fixed
>>6123450>Pilot Sophie. We still have Blockbuster, we can use that when she crashes out.His pilots are the only family Beta has left. And I’m not confident in the survival of the one we take with. At least one of them should survive the day.
>>6123404I read Gamma as being focused on destroying everything that wasn’t Ferrum, which is different from looking at the big picture. She’d certainly argue otherwise, but her inability to connect “human lives are precious” to “we sure are killing a bunch of humans with these wars” shows her main weakness. She’s too rigid in her thinking when it comes to orders, much like Kinston, and his insistence on us being little more than a tool for our pilots would have backfired spectacularly when Sunray ordered the assassination hit.People like her who can’t accept peace will get our pilots killed. That’s why I feel she needs to die. We might be able to argue her around to our way of thinking, but the complete inability to recognize that we never wanted to kill her, even after Nagita, makes me think it’s not likely to succeed before she finds a way to work with Alpha and restart the wars.I’m unwilling to take those risks for a Core that sees no connection to us beyond the resources we represent for a war effort.>Pilot Sophie.Thea can defend herself, unlike Sophie, and having someone who knows us remain behind could delay actions against us if we go off-script for some goal.>Add in the long-ranged specialist, if he’s otherwise availableI forget his name, but he was sync-capable and Thea saved him when he was piloting the Mastermind several threads ago. His main weakness is his lack of trust in us through experience, but Thea and Sophie have always backed us up and that’ll count for something. He also won’t go high-sync, but that’s what Sophie is for.Start with him, swap to Sophie mid-mission?
>>6123197There's still that plan which was discussed a long while ago where we defect to the Tamar once the fighting has died down. Not because they'd be a better master than the ones we have now, but only because there's a slim chance that Anohkin was captured rather than killed, and that if Beta can't have sisters then at least he can still have a father.
>>6123591Being a traitor once makes it hard to be trusted in the future though. If Anohkin isn’t there, or was killed sometime after his capture, then we’re possibly worse off for nothing.Might be better to find a way to coax him to come back here in the future. That’d be reliant on others in the chain of command making deals, but it also costs nothing from us in theory. Maybe we end up in simulated matches against Tamar Cores or train them in other ways, but I’d have no problem with that.The hard part is getting anyone to bring it up to someone that matters and have them listen, but I’m convinced Beta could get any pilot of his to start that. Any pilot he’ll work with has come to respect him, and I don’t see why that’d change in the future if he’s stubborn about fixing things for people who matter.
>>6123545Thomas Caldwell was the other pilot in Thunder in the Mountains.I dunno if we want to take someone so new into battle. Maybe for an opening push if we plan on re-arming halfway through.
>>6123545supportI think I'm >>6122816 on the road. If I'm usurping identity, sorry.
>>6123660Thanks for the name!He’s apparently a pretty experienced pilot, and he’s even taken a run in Delta at least once. But he would be new to Beta and not trust us as much, so there is that.I’d like to not have Sophie be the only pilot for the entire offensive without using Thea though. If we get royally screwed and Sophie is down, I’d want her to make the argument to Marik to let us off the leash entirely. We can spin saving Marik as “we intercepted the assassination message from Sunray and pretended to be Thea” to protect her while cashing in the related favor.Thea would know the truth. But if we tell her we don’t take orders from anyone that won’t look after our pilots and she wouldn’t be punished for disobeying orders if we admitted we were the real problem? She runs on spite, and sacrificing for her given her personal bitterness should have her real angry that a machine has stronger moral principles than she does, she’s alive because of it, and she’ll need us to come back alive before she can properly ream us for caring about her more than she cares about herself.She’ll get us something, even if she has to break the Doctor’s legs to get a new workaround made.So, a compromise. I have no intention of flipping sides or hiding away, so having Caldwell along doesn’t seem too risky for any on-the-fly plans. He owes Thea his life, and maybe she called that in with him to make the request with Kinston and make sure we come back alive. Kinston may not mind reducing Sophie’s burden like that if they don’t have enough mechs to field everyone anyway, and Thea’s implants given Alpha and Gamma (and a possibly rebellious Delta!) make her a significant risk to send anyway. No one would really like it, but it can make sense if you look at the risks right.
>>6123450>Both.For starters, it'd mean that we have a backup plan in case Sophie burns herself out and gets exhausted.Secondly, I'm pretty sure they said that Thea would be piloting the pyramid frame if we don't bring her, and knowing what Delta has planned, then I'd rather Thea be far away from that.Next, is that even though Thea might be vulnerable to hacking, we have the Predator array which can just jam all communications. She can't get compromised if there's no signal. The only thing that might work is if the enemy starts physically shouting out command codes for Beta to hear, but we can just turn off our audio sensors.Lastly, it just feels thematically fitting to have the remaining two most important people in our life here with us on this climactic battle. Thea can finally give Sophie her callsign.
>>6123545>"before she finds a way to work with Alpha and restart the wars"I mean... isn't that kinda what we want?As long as there's a war going on, Beta is valuable. Once peace is declared, he is no longer needed. He's just a liability.Although not genocidal, Beta hasn't been shown to care a whole lot about the massive casualties on both sides caused by war. The only humans that mean a lot to Beta are the ones who care about him; his pilots. Even if there's a war going on, the pilots are hardly in danger because of how skilled and dangerous Beta is. More than that, Project Warden was intended to operate with support teams so that if things start going bad, the Core along with its frame and pilot could retreat. The only reason we've operate solo for 90% of our missions is because of how stretched thin the empire/patriot front's forces were.So ultimately, while there's no familial connection, I don't see how Gamma is a long term problem.
>>6123712I don’t suppose I can convince you to keep Thea back at the base as a backup instead? See >>6123681, I’d like her to argue for letting us run without a pilot if things get bad enough in the field. A massive hit to the cockpit, for example. We also can’t use EWAR offensively if we’re always playing defense, and it assumes they don’t have their own one-time-use bypass to flip Predator out of jamming mode. We have Blockbuster to override the sync system, why couldn’t there be a command that Predator is always listening for? Alpha might have the juice to punch it through our jamming once Pyramid is out of the picture and take advantage of the momentary opening.>>6123722There’s been other arguments for his future in construction or in making augs. He’s already proven he has an aptitude for coding things, his materials knowledge is excellent (to break it, admittedly), and sidelining him in a “civilian” (more like a military-adjacent) sector means he’ll be available for the next generation of Cores as a trainer. If he’s seeing active combat then he won’t be available for that because he’s in the field.The idea that we need to keep fighting is a fallacy based on Command’s assumption that a Core built for war is only going to be good for war. There’s other uses for us if we ask our pilots to bring them up. It’ll honestly makes us even less replaceable. They can build more Cores, but the number of them that can make the transition to a non-combat role is likely to be tiny. They don’t seem to have experience with that, while they’ve built at least 4 combat Cores.
Right, I’ll stick Caldwell on the table. He is an option, if you want a spare. Perhaps inferior to your other pilots, but sometimes all you need is a butt in the seat that won’t melt down.Colonel Kinston is operating with Delta. He deemed Thea too much of a risk to use, after Delta overplayed her hand earlier.Or perhaps he decided some things you need to carry out personally.>Lieutenant CaldwellA latecomer to the crew, the Lieutenant was a transfer from the casualty-ridden attempts to Link with Delta, being assigned to the staff of Colonel Kinston and becoming a trusted aide and spare mech pilot on the operations side of Project Warden. You don’t know much about the man, as you have never linked with him, but his service record as an Ace pilot with the 2nd Royals and Thea’s respect is enough for you to accept him on a temporary basis. For a chance, at least.If nothing else, he owes Romanov his life.Will: 4Skill: Arrogance or Pride (Twice each thread, reroll an entire Attack or Defense roll. Usage by pilot only)Core Shock- Will not push for high-sync willingly
>>6123743Hmm. Colonel Kinston being with Delta precludes cutting deals with her on the side. That’s something to keep in mind.
>>6123743Put him in the seat with Sophie.I am >>6123477I don't trust him but eh.
>>6123743>Caldwell first, then SophieNot sure which ID this wifi is, so I'm >>6122812
>>6123743Changing my vote from >>612271 to>Caldwell + Sophie
>>6123545General count update for anons and CoreQM.>Sophie>>6123516>TheaNone. We all recognize Sophie is the one who has something she wanted here, I suppose.>Both>>6123451>>6123515>>6123712>Sophie/Caldwell>>6123545>>6123671>>6123749>>6123782>>6123783If anyone wants to change their mind there’s probably still time to switch or convince other anons. If I called a vote incorrectly then call me out on it too!
Her hands grip the railing tightly, eyes staring at at the fuzzy brightness.Beta’s out there. Somewhere. In the puddle the world’s become. Just along this railing, across the catwalk, hatch opens with the lever on the top right, mind the gap. She’s done this a dozen, no, two dozen-She’s done this some number of times. Enough times.And doesn’t need any help.Not in the least from-A metallic hand touches her shoulder.She jerks upright.The slightly raspy voice of Romanov assaults her ears.“Kid. I know you aren’t thrilled about sharing your seat. But if it works, it works. Don’t want you blacking out on the job, right? Besides, Caldwell’s good. He’ll keep you safe. Save you for the important stuff.”“I don’t Need a minder. Beta will keep me safe. We’ve done it alone so far. And we haven’t lost.”She hates the sound of her own voice. Weak by contrast.The reply drops lower. Softer.“Yep, he’s good like that. A regular guardian angel.”“But I’m not having this argument now. Kinston isn’t here, and we have our orders. Caldwell does too. You can’t see, but he’s terrified of linking up again. You’ll have all the time you want. The man wants to spend as little of his time inside a Frame as possible, much less in Sync.”She can hear the unspoken words. Caldwell wouldn’t be replacing her.“Besides, it’s a little hard to convince people to surrender when your voice cracks. A three-story tall death machine, and they just won’t take you seriously unless you’re below a certain octave. Make sure all the uncertain ones have a closed casket funeral, eh?”She can hear the smile in Romanov’s last sentence.Her own head bobs.“Stick to the plan, and we’ll all get back, Angel.”A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth.Lieutenant Caldwell’s voice breaks in.“I’ve known half a dozen Angels. They usually pick up a moniker to go with it eventually.”“Nothing wrong with a classic. I wanted to get her a callsign she’d actually Want to keep. What did you get saddled with? Fido?”“I’m not talking about that. No, No objections. Positively poetic. We could all use an Angel on our shoulder.”“Sure.”“Saint would have been better.”“No, that’s worse.”“Like Saint Trinia, with the eyes and the-”“No.”“On more important things, Armstrong spent all night switching those lenses out so that the focusing problem is cleared up on the Sunburst. We don’t need to swap it out, I’m fine with taking it in. Especially because avoiding collateral damage is so important in this urban environment.”“When practical.”“When practical, yes. While I think we could use a bit more punch for quicker kills at range. Minus explosives. Something pinpoint.”“At range? Again, city. The Frame isn’t an assault walker, it doesn’t need a heavy Nailgun. It stays light and quick and you let Beta stack up bodies.”
“Nail-pattern Railgun.”“Nail-pattern hypervelocity accelerator cannon. Or as everyone above tech crew says it, Nailgun.”“Thea.”“Take a claw if you’re worried about armor. Or the flechettes phasing things. It shouldn’t slow Beta down that much. But keep mobile. He likes that.”“Sophie, you're piloting half the time. What do You want mounted?”Equipment selection. Weapons marked ‘Heavy’ will grant a -1 penalty to Defense stat when equipped.Sunburst Laser Array- An advanced laser capable of switching between single continuous beam or pulsating for easier targeting. Produces intense heat after constant operating, along with at the target point. Can be dialed back for less heat and damage, or focused greatly at short range for extreme damage and heat, along with being able to cut through almost anything. Laser weapon, +1 to attack at all ranges. 1-3 Damage, dependent on setting.Locked in already>Nail-pattern railgun- accelerate a projectile with magnets past the speed of sound to punch through targets. Highly effective against armored targets, and anything behind said target. Low rate of fire due to high energy costs. 1 Auto-success at long range. +1 attack at medium range. Extremely fast projectile. Favored weapon of Gamma.Heavy>Bia Chaingun- rotating high velocity minigun scaled up to be used by your frame. Highly effective against lighter targets and unmatched in rate of fire. Brrrrrrt +1 to attack at medium range, +1 to attack at close range. 1 auto-success per light unit targeted, but less damage against heavier units. Fast projectiles. 1 Damage per volley, but can hit multiple units.>Project Demon- Reinforced melee weapon capable of tearing through armor. Armor-piercing, highly effective against all targets. 1 auto-success in close combat, minimum of 3 damage when hitting, regardless of success amount. The favored weapon of Delta, before her transition.>Phase Sword and Scatter cannon- Two weapons removed from Tamar Alliance mechs in the field. The Blade appears to vanish when striking through objects, before reappearing within the target. The Scatter cannon appears to imbue its splintering projectiles with a similar effect, striking for devastating effect. 1 Auto-success in close combat, +1 at medium-range, 2 damage per volley.Phase-effect- For every double 6s rolled, +1 damage that is undefendableHeavy when paired, may opt to take only half of the weapon(More options to come)
>Angel-Pattern Particle Projector Emitter- Stripped from a failed Project of Dr. Brighton’s making, this weapon supercharges particles before unleashing it in a flash of man-made lightning. The addition of a capacitor by an audacious repair crew has allowed it to greatly enhance the shutdown effect, at the cost of even slower projectile speed. Imparts an EMP effect to mechanical targets. +1 attack at medium range, reliable shutdown check on mechanical targets. Slow moving projectile, 3 damage per hit.Heavy>Erika Pattern Plasma Rifle- Energy coils flash cartridges of foam into white-hot plasma projectiles at medium-range targets, melting armor while sticking them with heating materials. ‘Soft’ targets are usually vaporized. Especially effective against buildings. +1 attack at close and medium ranges, 2 damage. May cause targets to overheat.Terror weaponAnd also, the extremely important Callsign vote.>Hates it, wants a different one.>Is indifferent>Accepts it.A/NSometimes you get surprised by your voters. This was one of those times. The man had minimal screentime, and you snap him up for the finale.Thea's miffed, but she has her own role.>>6124230Thank you for this! Also, I'm trying to do updates every day/every other day, generally.
>>6124419>Phase Sword and Scatter cannonMessage Thea back and tell her we’ll bring her back a souvenir in the form of Sunray themself as an apology.
>>6124419>Project Demon- Reinforced melee weapon capable of tearing through armor. Armor-piercing, highly effective against all targets. 1 auto-success in close combat, minimum of 3 damage when hitting, regardless of success amount. The favored weapon of Delta, before her transition.Sunburst will cover for range, and it’s not likely to be expected from is. We’ve never used it before now, after all. Anyone wishing to mix it up close with us will get punished, hard.I’d also accept the Angel pattern (EMP is nice, and a slow projectile won’t matter at close range) or the phase sword without the shotgun.>Accepts it.The most important vote. I agree with Caldwell though, we’ll want it built on eventually. Iron Angel would be fitting after she ends up in the Book of Iron. Does this mean she’ll start calling Beta “Guardian” as his personal callsign? It’d make them Guardian Angel when paired. A nice pun on Thea’s description of Beta that Sophie could be thinking about now.>A/NI figured Thea would find a use regardless. She was mentioned as the Colonel’s best pilot previously! I’m hoping she’s not going into the thick of it in an inferior mech though, gotta have her available as a liaison to Marik in case something happens to our sync system or pilots and we’re dead weight.Also, it’s always fun to throw QM a curveball on the second vote of a thread.Also, even though I suggested Caldwell I didn’t think too hard about how Beta will treat him. Irritation it isn’t Thea, relief he doesn’t have to look after both his pilots knowing there’s 2-3 hostile Cores out there and he’s a priority target, mild acceptance that it’s to Sophie’s benefit? Guess we’ll see how much his fear impacts his performance, we do have high standards for our pilots.
>>6124419>Erika Pattern Plasma Rifle- Energy coils flash cartridges of foam into white-hot plasma projectiles at medium-range targets, melting armor while sticking them with heating materials. ‘Soft’ targets are usually vaporized. Especially effective against buildings. +1 attack at close and medium ranges, 2 damage. May cause targets to overheat.Mobility is our greatest asset and Sunburst is a good general purpose weapon. Erika can soften heavier targets and stays useful up to medium range.>Accepts it. You forgot to include Nailgun's damage per hit
>>6124419>Project Demon- Reinforced melee weapon capable of tearing through armor. Armor-piercing, highly effective against all targets. 1 auto-success in close combat, minimum of 3 damage when hitting, regardless of success amount. The favored weapon of Delta, before her transition.Where else do melee if not in a city>Is indifferent
>>6124419>Project DemonI don’t want any of the heavy weapons, but also as an extra ‘fuck you’ to Delta.>Accepts it.It’s pretty good, and capturing the Empress might be the most important mission of Sophie’s life, so there’s not really time to come up with a better one.Also…>”She hates the sound of her own voice. Weak by contrast.”>”She can hear the unspoken words. Caldwell wouldn’t be replacing her.”I’ll never get used to how… molded Sophie has become. It’s like she’s been groomed or something (even though Beta is actually younger than her)>>6124437>”I suggested Caldwell I didn’t think too hard about how Beta will treat him”Normally Beta would be cautious and see how cooperative the pilot is. If they are easy or even friendly, then Beta likes them. The problem is that Beta is currently an emotional wreck. On the one hand he might be so depressed that he doesn’t even really notice Caldwell. On the other hand, Beta might try to fill the gaping void in his heart with new friends.Speaking of which, I’m surprised that Thea didn’t warn them of how we feel right now.
>>6124419>>Project Demon- Reinforced melee weapon capable of tearing through armor. Armor-piercing, highly effective against all targets. 1 auto-success in close combat, minimum of 3 damage when hitting, regardless of success amount. The favored weapon of Delta, before her transition.>CallsignI want to build on it - Iron Angel is fine.
>>6124419>Project demon>Accepts it.Time for cahartic violence.
>>6124421>>6124419>Project Demonhttps://youtube.com/watch?v=ApreCAQiZ4wWe're better at melee than you too, AI bitch sister>Accepts itFinally a callsign
>>6124419>Erika Pattern Plasma Rifle- Energy coils flash cartridges of foam into white-hot plasma projectiles at medium-range targets, melting armor while sticking them with heating materials. ‘Soft’ targets are usually vaporized. Especially effective against buildings. +1 attack at close and medium ranges, 2 damage. May cause targets to overheat.I don’t wanna be stuck in close range. I’ll second the sword and shotgun if there’s a tie or if the plasma gun loses.>Accepts it>Addendum: Iron AngelAfter the cockpit is sealed,>Ask Caldwell how he got his callsign
>>6124419> Project DemonTHE CLAW
>>6124436Actually, can we go full ninja weeaboo and do Claw in one hand and Phase Sword opposite hand?
>>6124421We’ll see how long I can keep this up for. I’m getting the same spam message CoreQM got again, but I don’t think I’ll get under the limit this time so I greentexted them instead. Voting roundup:>Loadout>Phasebros>6124436>Da Claw>6124437>6124528>6124538>6124542>6124562>6124597>6124658>Warcrimes>6124446>6124612I had a possible vote switch for just the phase sword, but it doesn’t look like it’ll matter.>Callsign>Accept>6124446>6124538>6124562>6124597>Indifferent>6124538>HateEveryone seems to like Thea too much to say they hate it. Then again,>The Caldwell Option (Again) (Iron Angel)>6124437>6124542>6124612There’s a fair amount of support for Caldwell’s idea of an additional moniker. Maybe she keeps this to herself until she earns it.>Ask Caldwell about his callsign>>6124612+my own vote right nowWould he really refuse the crippled teenager ace pilot’s request for details on his (apparently embarrassing) callsign? He’d be a monster.Unrelated and something I missed commenting on earlier, I’m glad Thea’s recognized we like to play it fast and is trying to strongarm Caldwell into sticking with that. It’s the small things that matter.>>6125253Sunburst seems to be locked in so we don’t have a second slot. If it’s dialed for short-range then you could squint and look at it as a lightsaber. Best we can do.
>>6124419>THE CLAW>Accepts itIt's too cool not to pass up.
Completely unrelated to literally everything so far, we should suggest Sophie become an instructor after she ends up in the Book of Iron. She’s been more informative than any other pilot or egghead that’s worked with/on us.We can build the academy, fashion improved sync systems for the training mechs, and fix Sophie’s other issues while we’re at it. We can even moonlight as an instructor for the new Cores they’ll end up building. She’ll be the Iron Angel, if she says we’re allowed to do it then we’ll be allowed to do it.She didn’t really think much about her future prospects, and she’d be terrified of losing access to us if she stopped being a pilot. We can offer a solution for both of those.
>>6125530Oh gosh, I didn't even think about her addiction if they ever get rid of Beta.While not ideal, if she becomes an instructor with us then at least she has a low risk, easy access to her fix.
The Claw.“See? She knows what’s correct. You’ll just have to deal with being up close and personal for more engagements.”“Hmm. I’ll make the arrangements. You settle in the frame, pilot.”Footsteps mark his retreat.The weight of a hand on her shoulder is withdrawn.“Do you need-”She shakes her head. No. The railing would be enough to lean on.“It will be quiet with the jamming up, but if the worst happens, I’ll be listening. So no guarantees on help being fast. The old man did give me command in his absence, even if I’ll be dueling Armstrong for the keycode to the MRV and a few other choice things.”Help. She chokes out the exhale before it can say anything. That would be admitting defeat.“Go get em, Angel.”The flicking of a lighter opening and closing occupies the moment.It passes. One foot in front of the other, hands feeling along the rail.The rhythmic thumps of a prosthetic leg moving away comes only after her hands find the entry hatch.—----------Sophie pulls your hatch open, ducking her head low to avoid impacting the edge.The mismatched eyes of Thea turn away on the far end of the catwalk, leaving to follow her compatriot.“Beta? You awake?”“I am aware, pilot.”“Start running diagnostics, make sure the crews don’t miss anything. Well, they still need to re-integrate the Demon claw. But this is finally it. This is the big one. We’re going to end this war. My chance to get in the Book. Just like the other pilot in it. Capturing the Empress, and ending her reign.”She has yet to link, still fumbling with the helmet. But even without that, her eagerness is evident.Happiness. Such a contrast.It isn’t fair.“Well, we do have a bit of a…complication. Lieutenant Caldwell’s coming along for the ride. As a backup pilot. You met him before, I think. Tall, serious. Thea said he’s going to keep me safe. Hah. As if we need that.”Another pilot? A fresh one? At this time? Is Thea unavailable? You are on guard instantly.A splinter of your focus begins perusing personnel files available on the base network, fragmented as they are.“It seems unwise to introduce a brand new operator at this time.”“No, no, Beta. He’s just here to fill in if I, uh, black out. Not that I’m planning to!”You found his file. What little of it is here, anyways. Time in the Second Royals. Ace pilot operating medium mechs. Assigned to Project Warden under Dr. Brighton’s tenure as Project Head. Temporary pilot of….Delta. Had a bad linking experience, transferred over to Operations side.You Know this already. Frustration wells. Why...Why the change?[1/2]
>>6126169They got QM at his most vulnerable moment - composing an update.This will have massive repercussions for the offensive.
>>6126827Honestly, I don't mind.If an update has two parts and it takes two weeks, then I'd rather the first part posted one week and the second part on the next rather than waiting two weeks for both.The little check-ins help keep the momentum going.
