>>18395949
Hopefully that fixes the no-bump.

Prior thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/18209618/
Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Maverick%20Hunter%20Quest
And have a little music, while we're at it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8cELTdtw6U

Sorry for the two-frigging-week holdup. Sleep problems and so on. I guess I'm about at the point where I should start making a schedule in advance.

And, since I keep forgetting, I need to thank everyone's favorite aviation-sexual for helping me with the Battle of Vienna, making sure I was on the right track with India's Tomcat shenanigans.
Oh, and Team Jerkass called me again now, go figure. Ian's up to Megaman 10, with a lot of effort. Updates will be slow but inevitable, like the glacier.

Now let's start fucking questing.

You are Anode of the Maverick Hunters 4th Overland, and you're in a bar. You have just rolled to see if you don't get drunk, instead opting to provide support for your new friend, Schwarzhund, in from a hard mission. The two of you slide onto your stools from the night before, much less crowded on either side.

"Interrupters," he grunts, "And thank you." The barkeep (now sporting a green bowtie) looks over to you. One wouldn't hurt, but you're not here to get wasted.

You shrug. "I'll try a DN again. Surprise me."

He quickly produces a glass filled with a clean, red beer of some sort (you'll have to ask Schwarz when he feels better), and, after a moment, slides a small stick over the bar. Schwarzhund picks it up and bites off the end--some kind of hard one-time case. Beneath it is what looks like a bundle of fiber-optic cables, which he begins chewing on. The other end lights up, a red ring indicating its use. With a heavy sigh, he relaxes a bit.

"Vienna," he says.

"Vienna."

"Bad. Frog will be there weeks."

"Weeks? Why?"

"Oversight. Block-by-block sweep. R&D, Recon, medical crews." He sighs again. "Bad."

"How about the rest?"

"Depends. 4th will have rotational occupation duties. Team will be trickling back in now as their roles finish."

Cont.

>>18395975
"Yeah? India's back."

"Saw. Reckless."

"What'd she do?"

He points at a screen behind you. "That." You turn and look at hand-held, shakycam footage of an ancient human jet weaving between buildings and through airship formations.

"The fuck?"

"Reckless," Shwarz repeats. "Saved a lot of lives. Did good. This time." After a moment, he continues, the interrupter's 'smoke-ring' flickering in time with his words. "Still too attached to flying. Won't settle in. Should be doing her..." he trails off as the news feed changes to another recording.

It's Schwarz. Mid-freefall, a half-dozen flying machines are keeping pace with him. He twists his body, avoiding their fire, and with the same rolling motion pulls off his coat. Beneath, a dozen gems suddenly flare to life and he returns fire in every direction. The fliers had pressed in close to deny him another evasive move, and each is cut down in a bright flash as the projectiles fan out, and then converge at a single point somewhere below.

He turns up his collar and turns back towards the bar with a grunt. Too late, as a ragged chorus of cheers and applause rings out, and his head sinks lower. About then, Em passes beneath that screen, much more worse for wear than either India or Schwarz. You make eye contact as the applause fades.

"I know," he says by way of greeting. "Don't. I'll get myself looked at soon. I just wanted to come and check in."

Cont.

>>18395979
"...All right." If he's been through the wringer, he probably doesn't need any more grief. And he looks like he's been through the wringer.

Em's armor is dented and burned, with multiple plasma hits, including one to the side of his helmet just over the audio port. His face and hands are both dirtied and a bit cut up. Some dried circulatory fluid trails down his chestplate from a nasty looking wound. He catches you looking.

"Beam knife," he says. "Got me up close while we were jousting rides."

"You sure you're fine?" you ask. He waves it off.

"Yeah. Nothing auto repair didn't already take care of. What's that you've got there, an Irish red?"

"I dunno, you tell me." You slide it over and let him have a sip. Em nods in approval, and goes to pass it back. "Keep it."

"Thanks. We're gonna have to teach you the stuff that matters. How you doing, Schwarz?"

"Been better," he mumbles.

"I figured. Sorry about the news report."

He chews his interrupter. "Me too."

"Oh yeah, Anode," Em says. "I saw your sister."

"No shit? She all right?"

"Was, last time I checked."

>Ask about the battle
>Change the topic to lighter fare

Change it to a lighter fare.

test

>>18396048
Confirmed, thread still bumps.

Carry on.

Change topic to lighter fare. Ask them about the X simulation and how far they have gotten in it if they have attempted it.

We could talk about getting our ass handed to us by Tanker.

>>18396027
>>18396154
>>18396180
Sensing the two of them could use a distraction, you change topics.

"I'll hear her boast about it when she gets back. Meanwhile, I got my ass kicked by Tanker and Megaman-fucking-X today."

"Ah," Em says with a grin. "You ran the sim? How'd you do?"

"I stabbed him, and he blew up at me."

"He does that," Schwarz muses. "Or did. Turned that armor in not long back."

"Turned it in?" You ask, bewildered.

"Advances tech by leaps and bounds," Em explains. "If they can crack it. And I don't think he likes carrying it with him."

"Command leans on him to hand it to R&D."

"Huh."

The three of you lapse into silence, Schwarz chewing that interrupter stick, Emerald nursing his beer. You watch the news between them, watching civilian and media recordings of the fight for the city.

"So have you fought that sim?" you finally ask.

Both nod. "Got about as far," Em says.

"Dodged him as long as I could," Schwarz says. "Lasted fifteen minutes."

"'eyyyy..." interrupts--someone. "Happy...Sain' Paddy's." He saunters over, clearly drunk...and slaps Em on the back.

Uh-oh.

"Y'picked the right day t'be here." Em twitches.

"Listen, man, I just got back in from a real clusterfuck, could we not do this now?"

"Yeah?" The reploid slurs. "You DO look kinna beat up."

"Yeah, so I'd really appreciate--"

"Someone musta been after your pot of gold!"

And then Em turns around and fucking decks him.

>Wat

BAR FIGHT

But in all honesty let's try and keep this from escalating. We really don't need a bar fight on our hands after the recent mess out there and the one we caused earlier.

Run damage control on this.

Call Tanker and Dodo and give them a heads up on the bar room brawl that just began.

Also it sounds like Anode and Cathode might be based on the X2 armor.

>>18396733
Seconded. Shit's about to get bad unless we can step in.

it's like I'm watching someone play a fully polished and released MMX universe game with a roster of likeable characters and excellent game mechanics

then reality hits me and I realize all I get to look at is box art megaman

gay earth etc

>>18396717
>>18396733
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" You dive between the reeling drunk and Em, who shakes out his fist and hops back and forth lightly, clearly ready and willing for more.

"Sorry," the unfamiliar reploid grunts. "Thought you were Irish. Yannow... 'bring me the sheep for I feel lone-ly tonight?"

"That's Scotland," Em seethes.

"That's New Zealand," you offer.

"That's stupid," Schwarz mutters.

You turn around and look behind you. The barkeep has taken a two-handed grip on a long stun-baton. Oh, right, now you recognize it--he's an Axe Max. And he looks like he's guarding that oak bar from ANYONE who gets close. ...Aside from Schwarz, who hasn't even gotten up.

That said, Em seems to be calming down, and the offending drunk is too dizzy between the drinks and the haymaker.

"Let's just calm down here, and--"

And someone else comes up behind Em and punches him right in the back of the head.

"--WELP." You throw up your hands.

"Relax," Schwarz says, as Em recovers, throwing an elbow behind him. "Just blowing off steam."

"LINE UP TO GET YOUR DICKS KICKED," Emerald howls from somewhere behind you as the bar starts to churn with activity.

"I don't have one!" comes a voice from the back. He wheelkicks the offender in the face.

"CLOSE ENOUGH"

>Try to break it up again
>Join the fuck in!
>Welp
>Other?

Welp, we tried. Time to just sit and watch I guess.

WELP, we can't leave our bro to fight for himself. Give whoever rabbit punched him a bit of his own medicine.

Good chance to practice a bit of fisticuffs too... But first, a question.

Can we disable our charger for this? We don't want to end up accidentally frying some motherfuckers.

>>18397017

>welp

We tried to stop it.

Only step in if somebody's really gonna get hurt, other wise let's keep out of it.

>>18397017
>Welp

Looks like this is just his way of relieving stress, so probably better if we just stay out of the way and make sure he doesnt get too hurt.
And maybe videotape it.

sit back down and chill with Schwarz, ask about the fight

>>18397091
>Ask about
You mean commentate the fight loudly for all bar patrons to hear.

>>18397091
>>18397113

I like this.

Sit back, commentate, record the action.

Sell copies with commentary, slow-mo, and close-ups afterwards.

>>18397067
You're not gonna hit 100% charge from bar-room shenanigans, have no fear.

You guys on board for spectate, record, and comment?

>>18397163

If someone's dumb enough to hit us, break a chair on their face.

Otherwise stay out of it.

>>18397173
>>18397163

Yeah, let's try and sit this one out.

>>18397163
Sit it out, jump in if Em looks like he's bit off more than he can chew.

>>18397241
yeah, this looks about right. Don't want to cause more of a ruckus than we really have to.

I was convinced this quest was done for. I'm exceptionally happy to see that it's still going!

With any luck Schwarz will act as our straight man commentator partner.

You sigh, returning to your seat. The barkeep, mercifully, does not bludgeon your ass. Schwarz nods.

"Drink for my friend, Max," he says. After a second, he nods back, and slides you another. It's crisp and clean-tasting, and you find you like it a great deal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN9jTnxv0RU

Meanwhile, Em is a tiny, furious hurricane. The bar wasn't particularly crowded, which only gives more room to operate. He jumps a table, sliding along the top, glasses flying as he slams into another brawler, bootfirst.

"Not bad," you note.

"Almost SA. Good enough, just lacks..." you both wince as someone smashes that same table over his back, sending him sprawling. "Durability."

Cont.

>>18397828
Em hauls himself back up, teeth grit and murder on his face. He advances on his attacker, trapping his arm with a quick block, sweep-kicking him, and then riding him to the ground, knee leading.

"Dunno, he seems to be doing all right."

"Production chassis," Schwarz explains calmly. "Rugged design. Easy to break, easy to fix."

"So who's your money on?"

"Depends." You both stop as the first drunk stumbles your way, locks eyes with you, and advances... only for Max to tap his stunbat again.

"...Nope," he says quietly, and trudges back into the brawl. Schwarz continues.

"Em's got them all in a straight fight."

"...But this is anything but a straight fight."

"Exact--ooh."

Em elbows someone in the face, sending them stumbling into a tabletop. He strides over, pulling off his battered helmet, and begins clubbing his victim in the face with it, hammering over and over again.

"FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUUUUCK YOOOOOOU" he yowls cheerfully.

"He's punchy."

Schwarz bites the end off another interrupter. "Indeed. ... You recording this?"

You grin. "Damn straight."

"HEY! YOU CHUCKLEFUCK!" Another fighter calls, pointing at Schwarz. "YOU FUCK CATS?"

He doesn't respond, calmly chewing his interrupter.

And then the drunk shoots a cask of beer out from behind him on the bar wall, exploding the precious, precious brew and spraying you both down.

Schwarz narrows his eyes, and stands up. "Right."

>SHIT JUST GOT REAL
>Dis gun b gud

HELL YEAH, SHIT JUST GOT REAL.

>>18397848

>spilled the beer.

His name will become a by-word for terrible repercussions for 'not thinking it through'.

>SHIT JUST GOT REAL
Son, you just fucked with the wrong hunters.

>>18397848
Keep on recording. The bar fight will have all been for naught if we don't get good footage.

TO BATTLE!

>>18397848
TAKE THAT BROKEN CASK AND SHOVE IT UP THAT GUYS ASS!

TO BATTLE!

"For those of you listening at home," you narrate for your recording, sliding off your stool after Schwarz, "this is the moment when the Pond ran red."

And, still recording, you commence the violence.

"You have fucked up now," you calmly announce. Schwarz doesn't even do that, stalking with deadly intent for the barrel-breaker, whose eyes widen as he realizes precisely what he just did. He takes a clumsy swing, which both of you duck under--Schwarz wraps his arms around the offender's leg as you push him over in a team-flapjack. Schwarz turns back to the bar as you take a grip on his other foot. "Little help?"

Max sighs. "If you were anyone else..." Nonetheless, he winds up.

In tandem, you and Schwarz wheel, and you hurl the reploid across the bar. With a resounding crash and a crack, Max swings for the fences. The beerslayer feels righteous judgment as he sails through the air, crashing through the doors.

You make your way through the brawl, finding yourself at Em's side as he stumbles back.
"Hey," he says.

"Hey."

>Wat fite?

Survey the field!

>>18398474
We're not nearly drunk enough to bar fight properly. Try and solve that problem during the melee.

>>18398474
We'll fight what he's fighting.

>>18398474
because I never have reason to post this

Get back-to-back with him!

>>18398680
this!
This!
THIS!

>>18398600
You've forced my hand, you rogue!
>>18398474
"So what are we looking at here?" You ask, as Em wipes a trickle of blood from his chin.

"Three or four stubborn little bastards." You decide not to comment on 'little,' as Em is the smallest one in the room. "First guy's friends with the Fuck of the Irish, second guy's bored, third guy's--"

Third guy decides he'd rather speak for himself as he comes in with a running haymaker. Em meets his charge with a swift boot to the head, half-somersaulting to come back on his feet and then following it up with a knee to the side.

Cont.

>>18399131

"Damn, not bad," you say, as the first drunk comes at you again, wielding a chair leg.

"My specialty."

You step aside from the drunken overhead swing, pushing him on the back and sending him running headfirst into a wall. "Your specialty is flipping your shit?"

"As a matter of fact..." he grins, falling back a step, cricking his neck. Two of them run at him at once. You intercept one, hip-throwing him into orbit as Em actually leaps into his target, wrapping a leg around his neck, twisting bringing him around as they plummet to the ground in a rousing chorus of profanity.

"Not fair," yowls one of the drunks (that outnumber you two to one).

"He's right, this IS hardly fair," you point out. "We're sober."

"Good point. Hey, barkeep!"

Max shoots Em the darkest glower you've ever seen. "Really? And why shouldn't I report this?"

Em pauses for a second, pinning down his assailant with a knee. "...Round of shots on me!" He promptly ducks as a bottle is thrown at his head. "...Later."

Max sighs and pulls out a pair of bottles. "Yours if you can get to 'em, gents."

>TO THE BOOZE
>Hunker down! Circle the wagons!

MUST GET BOOZE

>TO THE BOOZE

booze woo woo wooo

>>18399144
Booze is our only hope!

Also throw in a quip about how Em's not helping the whole Irish thing with all the swearing.

>>18399144
You share a glance with Em. The two of you are running train on these poor bastards. They could use a handicap. You could use a drink. You lock hands and give a single, firm shake, and the two of you run for the bar. Batting aside all resistance, the two of you go all Lord of the Rings on your way to the bar.

The bottles are pure nanites--no beer, and a lot more of the delicious drunkjuice. You and Em both start quickly downing your drinks between blows, one-handed.

Wow. ...wow, this shit hits you fast if you drink it straight.

>HOW FIGHT

Also cutting this post off early because heading back home. Go ahead and play around a bit, you're in strictly shenanigans time with the brawl.

No Megaman
No Zero
Beer bottles only
FINAL DESTINATION

As dirty and funny as possible. I want to give someone a noogie.

Drunken Electric Akido.

>>18399549
They're slow, disoriented, and we have the best kung fu. Tap into some of those old movies we know and love and whoop ass in as flashy a manner as possible. The more Bruce Lee style yells, the better.

>>18399844
Transformers has the best names for Robot Martial Arts:
Metallikato
Circuit-Su
Crystalocution
Jet-Judo
Tekkaido

None of those things need apply here. Except Jet-Judo.

Force nanites down their throats until they all hit the dirt

>>18399549
"Whooooo," you manage. "I think I may've downed that a liiiiittle too quick. Hey, Schwarz, little help?"

He leans back against the bar, enjoying his interrupters. "Sounds like classic case of NMP."

"NMP?" You ask.

He grins. "Not My Problem."

"Ah, you bastard," Em croons, voice lilting a little with the dizziness of rapid-onset drunk. "Ya goddamn scruffy becoated Special Shortbus rank fuckdamn shitcunt." Schwarz's grin only widens.

"We have GOT to work on yer language," you call to your partner as you stagger back to back. "No wonder people think you're Irish. Irish? Am I slurring? Iris?"

"Iris? Iris!" Em agrees, flipping his emptied bottle in his hand and taking a grip on the neck. Just in time, too, because here come the thugs.

Suddenly it's a lot harder to kick their asses. You stumble past one as he lurches at you, clumsily backswinging a hair too late to catch him.

"Not so tough now, are you?" he taunts.

Cont.

>>18399994
"I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO DRUNK," you roar, barreling into him with your head down. Em gets someone into a headlock and promptly begins smacking him in the face with his own fist.

"Stop hittin' yerself! Stop hittin' yerself!" he slurs.

You slowly rebalance, adjusting to the DN haze. You and your opponent circle even as the rest of the effects hit you, less like a hammer and more like a tide.

"Shay when," you call.

"What?"

"I'm your huckleberry."

"...What the fuck is a-"

"IT WENT EXTINCT," you wail, lamenting the loss to gunfighters everywhere. "MY BERRIES ARE DEEEEEAD!" And with that, you wind up and throw a savage punch, sending your foe backpedaling. You advance on him, grabbing him by a wrist, then slinging him back the way he came. You let go and he goes tumbling over tables and chairs. And the whole time, your enemy has no idea what the fuck a huckleberry is. You'll show him.

You'll show them ALL.

>>18400002
"MY,"

You seize him by the scruff, hauling him upright--

"BERRIES,"

You elbow him, grabbing a half-spilled lager of some kind off the table--

"ARE,"

You cram the mug to his face, spilling more on him than he drinks, but he still coughs and sputters as you decide he needs more inebriation--

"DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAD!"

And with that, you swing him around full-circle and hurl him through the doors like the first poor sod.

India steps aside just in time as she comes in, looking around at the chaos brewing. "A bar fight?" She looks at you, crushed. "And I MISSED it?"

"You didn' miss it yet, Indyaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Em's greeting is interrupted as his opponent jumps on his back and begins hammering on his shoulders.

It's time to channel the demoman. Insert drunken gibberish about taking the pain train station in train town, and we're golden.

>>18400056
"Hullo, Em," India says lightly as she steps over the prone brawler.

"Oh hi, jetbitchOWOWOWOW" Em continues flailing, slowly dragged down by the weight on his back. She keeps going.

"Anode," she says to you politely.

"Maaaaa'am. Sho, a jet, huh?"

"An F-14 Tomcat," she replies evenly (while you get charged, knee ramming into your midsection). "Hello, Schwarz."

"India," he replies softly, almost unheard over breaking glass and ELBOWS IN YOUR GUT FUCKER OW

You hammer the top of his head with your own, loosening his grip enough to get him into a lock and begin noogieing him mercilessly. "SUBMIT TO THE KNUCKLES OF AUTHORITY," you scream.

"You should join in!" Em says cheerfully as he punches his assailant in the head repeatedly. "Grab a drink!"

"Yeah, no thanks. I'll beat all your asses sober," she says with a smirk. "And Anode, you're trying to noogie his helmet.

"That's no fun," you complain. "SUBMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT," you say to the helmet.

"Yeah," Em agrees. "We did it to give these guys a fighting--watch the hair you pigfucker!"

"Then you're idiots," Indy says, clearly enjoying the show. "Should have hit them from an advantage."

"Fuck you, ma'am!" Your nemesis yells from somewhere near the corner.

"Never said I wasn't an idiot!"

"What he said!"

You and Em stumble back to back again as your remaining opponents regroup.

>BIG FINISH?

COMBO FINISHER: MECHA SHIVA

>>18400238
.....I actually want to see this now.

>>18400238
...I support this. I know I'll regret it later, but do it.

>>18400238
This is going to be fantastic.
Also, it's great to see this quest (and you) again, Command.

>Interesting maysle
Even Captcha is eager to see this.

>>18400238
"EM! WE HAVE TO FORM UP!"

"Whut?"

"DO A FUSION DANCE OR WHATEVER"

"...Whut?"

"...Just get on my fucking shoulders."

"Oh. Okay." With a little effort, he makes it up there, windmilling his arms dramatically. Together, you stand as a towering colossus, a juggernaut taken the field, here to reap a bloody, righteous vengeance for unfortunately-themed reploids and--

--And then the both of you topple over, giggling hysterically.

"That's some nice work, A-holes," one of your hated foes calls.

"Hey fuck you. We didn't fall over, WE FLIPPED THE WORLD!" You yell.

"The WHOOOOOOLE WOOOOOOORLD," Em agrees.

"Damn fucking straight. Yeah. Oh dear fucking Christ I hurt."

"Maybe a little," Em agrees. "...Call it a draw?" Your opponents look at each other, the anger long since replaced by amusement.

"...Yeah, why the fuck not." They haul you back up roughly, helping Em untangle himself and handing him back his damaged helmet.

"Great!" says Max cheerfully, tapping his glowbat. "Now you can help pay for everything you broke."

"I've got it," India and Schwarz say at exactly the same time.

"The shit you fuck?" Em mumbles, helmet on backwards.

India chuckles. "Classy. I'm rolling in bank, I figured it was worth the entertainment."

"Same."

"Split it halfway?" India offers, and Schwarz nods.

"D'you guys always clean up after your fuckup friends dutch?" Max asks, though his tone is light.

"Only when it was this damn funny."

"Tension needed breaking," Schwarz adds. "And oak's intact."

"I know," Max raps on it lightly. "You'd all be dead otherwise."

Hey, speaking of oak.

What's up with all the cyborg trees in Megaman, anyway?

>>18400371
It'd be hilarious if Mecha-Shiva became a viable tactic. Our lance and his sabers, just spinning everywhere like a dervish. "THIS SHOULDN'T BE WORKIIIIIING"

>>18400371
"*sniff* I don't deserve friends as awesome as you two" or some shit.

Also, MFW that entire post.

>>18400371
Eventually, everything settles, the two of you help clean up the worst of the damage ("getting good at that," India notes helpfully), and true to his word, Em buys the survivors a round of drinks. You, Em, Schwarz, and India sit overlooking the ruined, ruined officer's club as you enjoy your well-earned drinks.

"So," Schwarz says, his wry smirk returning. "Now's a good time to tell you."

You look at him as you sip your delicious nanites. "Frog put me in charge of keeping this place in order." And then you choke on them, hiccoughing. "Relax. We all needed this."

"Yeah," Em agrees, looking twice-beaten from the brawl and the action in Vienna. "Yeah."

The four of you look up at the newsfeed, still blithely going on, hanging lopsidedly on one end after the chaos in the bar. In a fit of pique, you reach over and grab an old-style ballpoint pen from a cup, and drop it into India's drink with a plunk. She stares at you blankly.

"So there I was," you say, "With my Bic in her glass..."

She doesn't know what the fuck, as Emerald falls off his stool again, laughing helplessly.

>>18400522
Wow. We are king of breaking the ice.

Now seems like it'd be a good time to ask about everybody else, where they're from, that kind of thing, while we're still drunk and sentimental.

>>18400522
>SO EM, ABOUT THAT MEDBAY
>Okay, India, I know you're just dying to give me the story...
>So what's up with you, Schwarz?
>Fuck this, I'm gonna go sleep it off.

>>18400576
>>18400579
Also an option. Keep in mind "other" is usually viable, for that matter.

>>18400579
All of the options! ALL OF THEM!

>>18400579
Schwarz doesn't feel like talking, and India is dying to gloat at everyone about her Tomcat shenanigans.
Let's indulge the lady (though I use the term, lightly).

>Okay, India, I know you're just dying to give me the story...

sounds like the plan.

>>18400630

Agreed.

>>18400522
OhChrist my sides!

>>18400579
I'll have all of the above, if you don't mind.

>>18400579
"All right," you decide (as India swaps her glass with yours), "I know you're waiting for a chance to talk about it. What'd you do, Indy?"

"Redeemed manned flight forever," she says cheerfully. "You know they're calling me the Hero of Vienna? That part I can live without, but damn it, I proved them all wrong."

"So what's the story there?"

She sighs. "It starts back when I was with the Eleventh. Some armchair general got the idea that anything a pilot could do, a mechaniloid could do cheaper, faster, and easier. It's true in theory--recon, attack runs, patrol flights... it can be automated. The projected budget savings were huge."

"So it was about money?" You inquire. She nods, facepalming.

"Of course it was. So they started dismantling our combat fleet. Fucking stupid."

You wait for her to take a bitter pull from your--her drink--and continue. "So they decommissioned my fighter. Shuffled me from flying extra-atmo ops to the Fourth. I mean, no offense, but I'm a goddamn pilot, not a groundpounder. Not even the flipping Air Cav? I argued all the way down, but it was done."

Cont.

>>18400686
>>18400594
FFFFFFFFFFFF

IT'S LIKE YOU WANT ME TO TYPE UP WALLS

(Easily done, but I think I'll pick up the rest tomorrow once I finish India's segment.)

>>18400700
We enjoy your walls of text. They're funny.

>>18400726

>>18400690
"But god damn it, I proved them wrong." She slaps a palm against the countertop. "I just fucking ran interference for an entire city against an entire fleet, and lived!"

"Slow down," Em says. "He wasn't there."

"Right. Sorry. So the museum there, they had a collection of jets. Including a few show-pieces they still maintained and flew..."

"Ancient-ass human jets?"

"Ancient-ass human jets," she nods. "Marvels of fucking engineering. Old enough that the only electronics they had were way under the Skyjammer's radar, so to speak. It could track it, and it sure did, but the Tomcat...well, she was a good old bird."

"So you ran train on an airfleet."

"Damn straight I did. Every round fired my way wasn't hitting buildings full of civs. Got a call from Command. Personally thanking me for 'daring initiative' in the heat of battle. More like I wanted to do some fucking good."

"And acquit pilots?" Schwarz asks.

"Yeah. And with a jet that was decommissioned decades before any of us opened our eyes, I locked up an entire armada. And I scored some kills, you know that? They had so much fire on me that all I had to do was maneuver through them and watch them die. I'm a Red Ace now."

"Red Ace?"

"Spacer term, sorry. Five kills inside Earth's atmosphere. Basically the classic ace. Black Ace is for extra-atmo kills. And now I'm both." She beams. "Got a new emblem lined up and everything."

"No shit?"

"No shit. Command also said they're still projecting how many lives I saved, but...well, let's just say I got a seven figure hazard pay bonus and leave it at that. I've already spent most of it," she beams.

>Ask about any of that?

"Whadja spend it on? Bought that jet like you said?"

Let me guess purchase of a very gray tomcat and half a barroom?

>>18400806
How in gods name could she spend most of a 7-digit payout in less than half a day?

Also' dat reaction image.

>>18400806
India is living the dream as a Double Ace. At the rate she's going, and if she's right about turning Command doctrines on their head single-handedly, I smell a promotion in the near future and a review of current air tactics.

And a transfer out of Fourth. Likely back to her home in the Eleventh.

>>18400859
Assuming zenny is about 1:1 with current-era USD or euro, good question.

>>18400861
As appreciated as India is breaking up the massive sausagefest that is the Fourth, she needs her wings back. She doesn't belong here, and the Battle of Vienna, with resulting paycheck and commendations, seem to agree. Like she said in >>18400690,
>I mean, no offense, but I'm a goddamn pilot, not a groundpounder.

We should mention to India that we ended up with some pretty damn useful weapons data should she get her wings back.

Those blackout missiles are boss.

>>18400859
It's just the best damn reaction ever.
>>18400838
>>18400839
"So, let me guess. A big-ass fucking Tomcat and a cleanup bill?"

"Both of those, yes," she nods. "And upgrades." She fans out her hands, eyes uplifted and full of wonder. "Upgrades everywhere!"

"Go on," Em says, the techie in him overtaking the drunk.

"Just--oodles of them. The best money can buy. Stuff to improve my flying. Better situational awareness, multiple vision modes, expanded field of view, stuff to boost my response times, an integrated vehicle linkup HUD."

"India..." Schwarzhund begins.

"Relax. I also got a ton of stuff that will help me on the ground. Armor, weapons systems shit. VWES--no, I didn't ever have one--some other guns. A bunch of toys. They're still calculating the exact cost figures, but the estimate is well under what I've got."

"So what are you gonna do?" Em asks.

She sighs. "Man, I don't know. Put together a bunch of 'findings' in a nice folder labeled Why I'm Right, and shove it up Command's ass. Just--unmanned fliers can't do what I did. What I DO. Maybe even try to draft up schematics for a new-generation flier." Em sits up, clearly interested in that. Tech is like engineer porn, you swear.

Cont.

>>18400861
There's a question for you: have there been any other Double Aces in history?

>>18400973
What is VWES (veewees), exactly? I've seen the term thrown around, and though I can guess what it is, I'd like to hear the proper explanation.

>>18401018
The Variable Weapon Emulator System allows the user to configure with weapons data from other units, quickly materializing the relevant ordnance from an energy reservoir. New policy dictates that VWES come on all new maverick hunter officers, but it wasn't always that way. Adapted weapons data provides versatility, but is almost never as efficiently or effectively produced as it was by the original bearer.
Another note is that not all Vee-Wes systems are created equal. Most can only hold weapons data from 2 extra sources at a time. Ritzy models can manage 4. X's holds a staggering eight (or more!), and can sometimes produce effects just as good or better than the originals.

>>18401050
Who else but X could have the best (and first) VWES of all reploids?
How fancy is Anode's?

>>18401069
Anode's got the stock model. It's currently occupied with the Blackout Rocket/Chaff Missile/Rockout.

I'm gonna try to work on a status screen of sorts, eventually. I've got most of it written down.

>>18400973
"Speaking of," you say, "You might be interested in my latest weapon. I got some R&D help on it." You quickly explain your chaff missiles. India (AND Em) look positively intrigued.

"That just sounds like an absolute bitch," she muses. "I've flown on instruments only, but vision only is a trick we haven't needed since..."

"Since your Tomcat flew in service?" You ask.

"Pretty much, yeah. That's a thing you've got there. Mind if I...?"

"If you're buying? Go for it."

"Thanks. I'll requisition a copy."

"Could you float one to Crankshaft?" you ask. "He was interested for about the same reasons."

"You know, there's an idea," Em says. "Your flying experience, Crankshaft's a transport expert, and I at least know my way around the lab. Maybe the three of us could work together."

"And produce a new generation mainstay fighter," India muses. "I like it. I like it a lot."

"I'd help if I could," you declare, "But I'm a bit lost. Maybe contribute weapons data."

"Honestly? You've got the wheels turning, and that's a start. So, thanks." She smiles at you.

You grin back. "Any time."

>?

>>18401084
If she's got her Tomkitty sitting in a hangar, we should take a look, marvel at old human technology, and crack some Top Gun jokes.
On the other hand, Schwarz has been pretty quiet, and since he's now interim commander of the Fourth, we might as well see where he stands on things right now.

And it's 2 AM. I do believe I'm gonna pack it in for now. Standard deal, resume tomorrow if the thread's survived, etc.

>>18401115
If Schwarzhund is in charge (albeit temporary), doesn't he get rights to rename the watering hole? I bet he'd call it the Kennel or something silly. Then again, we'd probably call it the Power Plant or the Electrical Outlet, so shows what we know.

>>18401177

I'd expect at least movie reference in the name Anode would give the bar. I'm thinking Taffey's Bar would fit Anode's sense of humor.

Electric -> Electric Sheep -> Blade Runner -> Taffey's Bar

>>18401084
Oh man this sounds like it will be some fun

Morning bump.

>>18401115
>>18401177
>>18401774
"So, you in charge of this tub now? Gonna give it an awful name? The Saxon Saloon? The Dog Show?"

Schwarz shakes his head (though he's smiling). "Not in charge. Just making sure things stay orderly."

You look around at the wreckage around you from the barfight.

"Nice job," Max intones behind you.

India explains a bit further. "Tanker and Dodo are going to be out in the field even more than usual. You, too."

"Ah, right. Regs about active duty breaks?"

"Yeah. And Tanker kind of sucks the bag at leader-shit, in case you hadn't noticed. Dodo is fine, but he'll be busy dealing with Tanker's share of the work." Em scratches his nose.

"Gotcha. Well, we'll send Hammer our regards."

India speaks up. "You can tell him in person before too long. We're gonna be cleaning out Vienna." Oh, right. "Or what's left of it." Oh, right."

"Hey Indy," you quickly change topics, "You said you bought that jet?"

"Yeah, but it's not here just yet. It might be a little while. Made an appointment with R&D. ...heh. Told him to get comfortable being here. I could HEAR the double-take in his voice when I forwarded my upgrade list."

You grin, imagining a little Toolcircuit unit getting an enormous list of orders. "Also, was wondering since you said it--you the first double ace?"

"Nah," India says. "First were the original members of the Eleventh, when they got tapped from ground flights and sent up. But they were all atmo-aces first. I'm the first to go from Black to Red. First and only!"

Cont.

>>18404510
So the Fourth is doing rotating tours of post-battle Vienna, rooting out Maverick pockets? I thought the other divisions were designed more for sustained operations or holding ground. The Fourth is generally used for first assaults and drawing lines in sand.

>>18404588
That's more the First's job. First has the strong opening punch, but they lack the supply and endurance of the Fourth. Advance is like the beach-head, Overland is the army.

>>18404609
So we ARE the groundskeepers. I must've gotten it mixed up somewhere. Sorry.

>>18404510
Well, this is good, we can try out our new upgrades in the field. Maybe we can get a job done this time without losing a body part...
And we should try to get that call to Cathode, though right after she got back from a big battle might not be the best time. Especially a battle we sat out back at the base.

>>18404510
You notice that Schwarzhund, while not quite unhappy, looks reserved about all this.

"What's your take, Schwarz?" You ask.

"Conflicted," he admits. "You are an excellent pilot, India."

"But...?" she asks.

"But you're here now. You did a lot of good, but duty put you here." You have to admit, coming from the tacit hunter, that's some high praise.

"But I'm being wasted here," she replies. "I'm not boasting, it's just a fact. There's almost nothing I can do a platoon of Berets couldn't do better."

"Before, maybe," Schwarz accedes. "But upgrades."

"...Yeah. Yeah, that's true. I'll be a lot more effective. I haven't given up on flying--it's in my bones--but I think I can see myself working on it from here."

"All I can ask," he replies with a nod, satisfied.

"You definitely helped save Air Cav's ass," Em nods. "Including my brother, yannow that? Screened their approach, and you helped them line up with the intel you got."

"Just one flier to another," she says with a grin. "Though I do it with aircraft like God intended, not strapping wings to my ass."

"One more thing, if you don't mind me asking," you direct to Schwarzhund. "You didn't take being on the news well."

He grunts. "Never did. Not in this for recognition."

"Schwarz is actually kind of a big deal," Em adds. "Most of the SAs know each other. Hell, didn't the 17th ask you to transfer?"

"Four times as of last year," the dog grumbles. "Not my thing."

Cont.

>>18404797
Hell, I'm expecting her to call us first to offload her post-battle swag on us.

>>18404804
Looking back to >>18400973
>"Relax. I also got a ton of stuff that will help me on the ground. Armor, weapons systems shit. VWES--no, I didn't ever have one--some other guns. A bunch of toys. They're still calculating the exact cost figures, but the estimate is well under what I've got."
For what it's worth, it's great the Fourth has its own personal pilot for assistance, to say nothing of her organizational skills. Now that she's bumping herself up to standard combat specs on the ground, she's gonna have to learn how to be a proper groundpounder, dirty and godless we might be to a pilot. We could show her the ropes, if it comes to it, though I expect someone else will be in charge of her training.

On another note, I suppose it's considered rather high praise when X himself asks you to join his division, on at least four different occasions at that. Schwarzhund knows his stuff, but at least he's a (mostly) consummate professional.

>>18404901
Yeah we should try and schedual some time to acquaint India with her new upgrades.

>>18404804
"So...why?" You have to ask.

"Fourth is my home. Duty. Don't want to get too far into it. Mood's good."

"Fair enough. For what it's worth, glad to have you around."

He nods to you appreciatively. "Worth a lot."

And then, you round on Emerald.

"SO EM," you crow, grabbing him under one arm. Schwarz does the same from the other side. "ABOUT THAT MEDBAY."

"You'll never take me aliiiiiiioh fuck it fine let's go," he grouses.

The two of you frog-march him out of the Pond (appropriately enough), as he protests, and his former bar-room brawl opponents guffaw. India follows, clearly amused.

"So how did YOU spend your summer vacation, Em?" You ask on your way.

"I hijacked a ride armor and built barricades and shit. Leggo."

"Nope." He flails, but you hold on tight. "Sounds boring."

"Not that boring when you're between the lines ducking fire." He jerks his head at you, showing off that scorch on his helmet. "I got shot in the head today."

"Think there was brain damage?" You ask Schwarz.

"Impossible to tell," he replies wryly. "The difference, I mean."

"Ha-fuckity-ha," Em sulks, going slack and making the two of you drag him bonelessly across the pavilion. "But yeah. We were holding the airport."

"Evac," India says. "Also made landing a bitch."

"Had to improv crash netting. I can't believe you made it down," Em marvels.

"The swing-wing, my friend. Lower stalls. Let me bleed speed nearer to the ground for the landing."

Cont.

>>18405112
You continue gallivanting your way to base, little green captive in tow. You head down past the entry terminals (your shenanigans from the morning still on proud display), and down the steps to the medbay.

The Lifesaver on duty turns, and gives you all this *look.*

Oh shit. It's him again.

"Make it good," he directs at Emerald gruffly.

"Errr. I, uh. Figured the Steel Berets needed repairs more and wanted to give them priority."

"Or," the medic replies lightly, "You wanted to go and get wasted and make an ass of yourself. If I find any nanites in your system..."

Em looks at you frantically.

"...Nice knowing you, Em," you offer consolingly.

"He died as he lived," Schwarz intones.

"Judaaaaaaaas," Em whines as you push him forward.

You and Schwarz dust off your hands.
>What now?
>Follow through with sleeping off delicious nanites.

>>18405250
It's probably time to call it a night, but see if they want to get some food. (Do we need to eat? God I just found this and need to read the back story)

>>18405365
You don't need to eat for nutrition, but you can (and should) process material that your body can use to 'metabolize' and fuel your auto-repair. Tiny microscopic tears and stress can build up if you don't regulate and help your systems along. They do have food for the human hunters (and for the above), and you can in fact taste things.

>>18405250
Schwarz is sort-of in command at the moment, so unless he has any objections I say we sober up. I'm sure we're going to need the rest anyways.

>>18405477
>>18405365
"Well, I guess if I'm going to be on duty soon, I should sleep it off, huh?"

"Probably," India says from the stairwell.

"You guys want to get some food first, or anything?"

"Not drunk enough." Schwarz says.

"It's the damndest thing, food is amazing when you're blitzed," she agrees. "Next time."

"All right, then. Remind me to check up on Cath when I'm awake."

With that, you head back to your spartan room, still undecorated, smelling of spilled beer and feeling like victory. The fatigue catches up with you as soon as you leave the gang's company, and you crawl into your recharger wearily.

Charging doesn't take long, but you feel much better after the few hours' "sleep" has gone by.

You head down to the command room to see about that phone call, and whether you're needed for anything. Sure enough, Schwarz is there, working on something or other.

"Good morning. You smell like Pilsner."

"Send me someplace with rain," you suggest. "I miss anything important?"

"Lifesaver had choice words for Em," he says without looking up. "India's taken over the labs with R&D. You said you wanted to talk to your sister?"

"Yeah, thanks."

>...You wanna talk to her?
>Private call
>Other?

>>18405685
Private call. I wanna know how she's been doing while we were getting dismembered and melted over here!

private call

Back in a while, guys. Gotta get some stuff done. Plus it's slow this early.

>>18405685
Let's take a private call.

Agree on private call

Another vote for Private Call

>>18406004
People are in and out of class, so I suppose that makes sense. Still,
>>18405808
>>18405993
>>18406013
>>18406107
>>18406153
appear while you say that.

>>18405685
Guess im going with private call.

I'm reading through these past threads (Up to thread 4 at this point) and god damn do I wish I was there for the upgrades. Is there a status screen where I can just see what weapons/upgrades Anode has so far? Also, after this call with Cathode I cannot wait for our next mission.

>>18406936
No screen just yet, but it's on my projects list. Hell, I'm going to try to throw together a sprite of Anode. It's like I'm living in 1997 again.
That said, here's what you've got, straight from my notes:
Anode: A-rank
Current equipment:
Ascent Lance (Custom Beam Lance): Lo-phase, effectively an upsized saber. From "Anodos," the Greek for "Ascend."
-Arrest Buster: Calling back to the arrêt de cuirasse of days past, Anode's lance can slot into his buster and provide a stable, couched platform. Combined with a dash-charge, this can prove devastating.
-Phase: Incorporating a powerful experimental plasma technology, the lance blade produces a field of EM-distortion in its wake. Any plasma shots traveling through it are destablized, most weaker projectiles dissipating without a containing envelope.
Anode Cyclers (Dual RF Busters): Though lacking charge capacity, these busters are optimized for rapid-fire plasma, excellent for deterring enemies.
Conduit Capacitor: If Anode has a 'special weapon,' it is this. A bank of high-capacity resevoirs to absorb electrical energy, to redirect into an increasingly powerful attack, through either his hands or lance, both close and at range.
-Raikousen: A powerful, electrified dash-charge that uses the C. Capacitor's reserves to augment Anode's EAS.
Kinetic Coil: An upgrade received that allows otherwise wasted kinetic impact to be absorbed, winding coils mounted in Anode's arms and legs. When sufficiently turned, they will unwind, charging Anode's capacitors without a source of electricity.
Blackout Rocket/Chaff Missile/Rockout: Modified, high-yield explosive rockets that release a cloud of sensor-killing razor sharp flak at range. Currently dumbfire, may be improved with future upgrades.

>>18406936
Has it been decided what to do with Chaff weasel's weapon yet?

Because if we can link that with our capacitor venting system, we could create a close range blindness burst at the cost of some charge. While not the best when working with other reploids/mechaloids, I'm guessing most boss fights will end up one on one. I mean if we can vent charged metal scraplets in a sphere around Anode something like Junk schield from MM7 (I can't help but think aBout these upgrades in terms of MM weapons, you know?), except instead of absorbing shots it damages and blinds the enemy.

>>18407004
>>18407004
I see. I wouldn't want to rewrite what people already decided on. And the missles seem cool. I can think of different ways of using the repulsor shield from Guns too, but this is good stuff.

>>18407046
Weasel got turned into our spiffy new sensor-blocking, razor-sharp metal cloud producing rockets. If we get enough money we can get a second copy from the R&D guys later to produce another weapon, but we broke the bank not long ago with the current list of upgrades. Mission time, basically!

>>18407130
Lovely. I love character interaction, but serious action is sorely needed.

Also hope to see another Q&A, I got questions what need asking.

>>18407196
Well, I'm here, I can probably answer them. Working on the update, by the by.

>>18407130
Yeah I'm reading, I had essentially the Arc Chaff idea, and you guys went with missiles instead, which is cool. I would have rather done the shield thing with the Dingo's repulsors anyway, ie, spend some charge create limited plasma shield, more costly, but easier to use that connecting it with the Lance, as more of a physical shield attached to the buster.

>>18407228
Is X's charge buster tech widely available or a super costly upgrade?

Aright then.

-Who are the commanders in each unit?

-How many Maverick Hunters are there of each rank, percentage-wise, discounting non-combat personell?

-What's with the cyborgization of the environment we see in Megaman X games? Robot trees, cliffsides with circuits and wiring and things in them, that kind of thing.

-How much can a sim be modified? Can terrain be accurately simulated? Could we sort of run potential upgrades through a "sim-test" before settling on them? Could we set two different simulated Hunters/Mavericks against each other to see what it looks like (thinking of Tanker VS Schwarz here in specific)?

>>18407259
Buster tech is constantly advancing, in no small part because of X's donations. There's no singular level of charge--single shots can be weak or powerful, and generally, as more tech is mastered, the basic damage of weapons improves with it. A good buster can produce charged shots similar to X's. The characteristic of charging VWES weaponry, however, is still almost impossible. It can be done, but only with extensive upgrades to the weapon itself, not the buster firing it. In effect, if you wanted upgraded versions of your attacks, you'd have to customize them to do so, rather than just improve your firing platform.

Basic plasma charging is relatively common, and you could upgrade your busters with that functionality, though they're largely streamlined for rapid chains of weaker shots. Weaker is of course relative. You don't want to get caught in a double-automatic salvo of A. Cycler fire.

>>18407301
>Who are the commanders in each unit?
0 (Shinobi Unit): Zero
1 (Advance Unit): Striker Cobra
2 (Reconnaissance): Longshot Koala
3 (Deploy Corps): Rig Wanna
4 (Overland Unit): Hammer Frog
5 (Communications): Modem
6 (Marine Armada): Berg Celion
7 (Air Cavalry): Flash Flaminglow
8 (Armored Battalion): This unit has been completely wiped out. No new commander or units have been appointed yet.
9 (Special Forces (Rangers)): Shock Scorpion
10 (Special Forces (Urban)): Prior Commander Wing Larken was killed in action. Acting Commander is a human A-rank, one Thomas Kinsley, going by the callsign Limerick.
11 (Space Command): Astro Cygnus
12 (Tropical Region Unit): Smash Durianer
13 (Polar Region Unit): Huski Lumberfell
14 (Grapple Combat Unit): Boom Foxflash
15 (Artillery Command): Accel Orca
16 (Research and Development): Beams Nautiller
17 (Elite Unit): Megaman X
>How many Maverick Hunters are there of each rank, percentage-wise, discounting non-combat personell?
70% of the hunters are C rank or below. Almost half of them fall into C, making it the most commonly held rank by combat personnel. Of the remaining, 23% are B rank, 5% are A, and the scant remainder is SA or higher.
Cont.

Ahh... question period. Time for me to put in an appearance.

>>18407666
>What's with the cyborgization of the environment we see in Megaman X games? Robot trees, cliffsides with circuits and wiring and things in them, that kind of thing.
Prior to the new age of robotics, a great deal of life on Earth was severely affected by pollution, devastation, climate change and so on. Archaeologists worked to recover ecological data and hybridize new solutions with synthetic support, including synthetic reproductions of threatened life and symbiotic organisms. This is why Cain knows anything about robotics: he's been sampling old plants and worked on cyberbotanical efforts. While the environment is recuperating, these and other cybernetic and synthetic organisms support the planet; for instance, most oxygen is now produced by "cyborg" trees that imitate natural oxygen/carbon dioxide cycles.

>How much can a sim be modified?
The data is fairly immutable, but it's solid.
>Can terrain be accurately simulated?
Yes.
>Could we sort of run potential upgrades through a "sim-test" before settling on them?
With more advanced facilities, you could, but nothing the 4th has immediate access to.
>Could we set two different simulated Hunters/Mavericks against each other to see what it looks like (thinking of Tanker VS Schwarz here in specific)?
Simulations can be run against each other, and copies of data are often kept. Schwarzhund and Tanker Tigershark no longer spar, but they routinely fell heavily into Schwarzhund's favor as he engaged from long range and used misdirection to overcome Tanker's superior close-combat strength. These results have been recorded and studied.

>>18407666
Oh, and last of all--the Maverick Hunters are currently run by a unit called Rhodes. This is the guy India got that personal thank-you from, incidentally.

>>18405685
You briefly entertain the idea of introducing Cathode to your unitmates, and then the rest of you chases that idea right out of your head brandishing busters and sabers. No, she's good enough at messing with you as-is.

You grab a terminal booth and dial up the First again. It's not long before you hear a familiar voice, and you release a breath you didn't know you were holding.

"Anode," your sister says. "Hang on, let me get my terminal working."

"No hurry, I'm just glad to hear from you. I heard you were at Vienna."

"Yeah. That was a mess, and no mistake. Just a sec, let me get this...there." Your screen winks on, and there she is again, though--

"It doesn't look like you're in your command room," you note.

"'cause I'm not. I bought a personal station for my quarters."

"Hot damn, you can do that?"

She giggles. "You can if you don't spend all your money on guns and pranking fines. Emerald says hi, by the way."

"That little..."

"Relax, it was just a bit of talk between volleys. He likes you."

"Yeah, we had a barfight last night, good times. So, you holding up okay?"

"Yeah," she says. "It was rough, I got a bit shot up, but nothing major. We lost a man."

"Shit, really?"

"I mean, really lost. Guy named Shieldspin Shroom. We're assuming KIA."

"Damn, sorry to hear."

"I didn't know him too well, but me too. How about you?"

Cont.

>>18407835
"I basically half-killed myself on my last sortie, but I'm fine."

"Em mentioned that in passing. You're starting to scare me, bro."

"I just got in over my head. I won't let it happen again. And forget about me, I was puppy-guarding the base while you were out getting shot at."

Cathode sighs. "All right. ... How bad was it?"

You resign yourself. "Bad. Apparently I took out almost every single nonessential system in my body. I burned out my conduit system, and if I hadn't been firing as soon as I tapped into the--the power source, might be classified--I might have wrecked my capacitors."

"Damn it, Node..."

"I told you, I'm okay. Promise."

"Just watch yourself, okay? I've got exactly one brother, and I'm not around to cover your sorry ass any more."

You snort. "You too. And let's not forget who plays plasma-catch for who. I'm built to handle a little abuse."

"All right, all right. Sorry, it's just..."

"Yeah, I know. I'm trying to adjust to having to be my own gunboat. You put in for any upgrades yet?"

She grins. "Have I ever. You know how I don't have a buster?"

"Yeah?"

"Not anymore. Two bloody great handfuls!" She holds up her arms, hands vanishing into the barrels of her new guns. Between those and her rays...

"Man, you're not even TRYING to be subtle, are you?"

"Subtlety is for jerks. So what'd you get?"

You start detailing some of your new toys as you catch up again, just enjoying hearing Cath again, safe and sound.

>Continue chat?
>Missions?
>Other?

Lets run some MISHUNNS, we need cash.

Lament to her that nobody around here gets any of your references!

>>18407845
Another vote for missions

>>18407845
It's nice to hear from her. Ask her how things are going with her unit so far! Then, yeah, we do need to get some more missions under our belt. As far as I'm concerned, the upgrade race is officially on! She may have been top-dog when we came out off the production line, but we'll see how that changes after a few more visits from R&D.

>>18407961
seconding

>>18407988
Thirding

>>18407890
>>18407943
>>18407946
>>18407961
>>18407988
"All right, sis," you say, "As much as I'd love to sit and talk with someone who actually knows who the Three Stooges are, I need to take a mission. Most of the 4th was out at Vienna, so the three of us who weren't are going to be busy."

"I understand. Sometime we should see about meeting up, maybe try for a movie night again at one base or the other. Beat some class into them, right?"

"Not a bad idea. See you later, Cath."

"Stay safe, Node." You cut the call and stand up with a sigh. Maybe this is how Em feels when he dodges repairs. Either way, you've got a job to do.

Schwarz is nothing if not efficient. He's marked six low-priority targets--a note tells you he vetted the data himself, and it should be accurate.

MISSIONS: Information available as requested
>Spin Jagwire B-rank (considered A)
>Tumult Terapin (A-rank)
>Solstrike Saetos (insufficient data, A- to S-rank)
>Winter Wolfspider (A-rank)
>Lockon Bloodhound (B-rank)
>Splashdown Skipjack (B-rank)

Kind of him. Do the notes mention anything about what these suckers are up to?

>>18408210
>These names
Sometimes I wonder if there should be an oversight committee to find out what they're on when they name us reploids...
I say we get information on the lower-ranked targets first. Specifically Bloodhound- He seems like the perfect target for our new toy, after all.

>>18408210
Request Info on:
>Spin Jagwire B-rank (considered A)
>Winter Wolfspider (A-rank)
>Lockon Bloodhound (B-rank)

Contact Tanker and tell him that there is an A/SA for him.

Splashdown Slipjack sounds like water, but we need to learn how we do in water in a controlled setting before we engage him.

>>18408255
This is a good question. Low priority or no, we should be considering who needs to be taken down the most, not just what we might get out of it.

>>18408210
Choices, choices. I say....Go with SolStrike, he's the highest rank, and we won't have fun unless its tough right?

>>18408210
>Lockon Bloodhound (B-rank)
Let's have an easy fight for one. Don't feel like re-building ourselves yet again.

>>18408291
Er..this guys sounds of a stealthy sniper type. Might not be a good matchup, B rank or not.
>>18408272
>>18408282
Seconding these motions before voting.

>>18408429
This reminds me, next time we see a Maverick, we need to find the time to ask him where they get those Sigma symbols. Personally, I'm betting on stencils.

>>18408429

I don't know, the bloodhound part of the name sounds like he has some sort of advanced sensor for hunting his target? Maybe our chaff can interfere with his sensors or something.

>>18408255
>>18408282
The threat to infrastructure or lives is comparatively low for missions of this priority--any damage will be localized, if at all. Many are targets that have gone to ground, and reconnaissance has found their locations.

EXPANDED DATA:
>Spin Jagwire B-rank (considered A)
A bloodthirsty psychopath; no more, no less. While he's in no position to do any serious harm, he can and will kill any humans he can get his hands on. Every day without retirement adds to his tally--he has already matched or even exceeded the body count of several SA-class threats.
>Winter Wolfspider (A-rank)
An infiltration specialist--Polar region operatives have been after him for some time. After a failed attempt to access records from a hunter outpost, Wolfspider has been pursued to an arboreal region. Wolfspider's eight limbs are each tipped with a plasma weapon, and he possesses a potent close-combat attack.
>Lockon Bloodhound (B-rank)
A solid B-rank and not to be taken lightly, Lockon Bloodhound is an expert tracker and threat profiler with an elaborate guidance weaponry system. Noted for his ability to 'get the scent' of opponents, he is thus able to fight with disproportionate effectiveness relative to his threat class. Lockon was implicated in a coordinated attack against three human cities, and sources put him at a decommissioned missile base.

>>18408281
A status terminal indicates Tanker has already been deployed, Schwarz having prepared similar lists of other low-class targets. Dodo remains on-base (likely to handle the massive amount of paperwork).

>>18408260
Man, animal names are tradition. Don't hate

>>18408469
OOC: Hypothesis with no information
>Spin Jagwire B-rank (considered A)
Jaguar frame, either stealthy (camo) or Fast with claws, possible Grappling Hook(!!!)

>Tumult Terapin (A-rank)
Storm Turtle, heavily armored, possible lightning or wind/tornado power

>Solstrike Saetos (insufficient data, A- to S-rank)
Solstrike implies fire sword/fist type dude, prolly very dangerous

>Winter Wolfspider (A-rank)
Ice power, spider, probably a web weapon, trap you in one spot, maybe energy drain too?

>Lockon Bloodhound (B-rank)
Tracker/Sniper.

>Splashdown Skipjack (B-rank)
Skipjack is a Type of Tuna. So, water stage.

We should get the Bloodhound out of the way... But Jagwire definitely needs to be put the fuck down.

>>18408506
Jagwire

Jagwire is a threat to human life. Lets give this criminal a sit on the 'lectric chair.

let's go murder the muderer.
Spin Jagwire

>>18408506
Yeah... Jagwire needs to get taken down. It might be a bit rough, but let's go for it. Wouldn't feel good hearing the news about his victims tomorrow.

Jagwire needs to get put down. I'm looking forward to it.

Where's Emerald at btw?

Yeah, definately Jaguar. He's probably isolated, but lets take some Berrets with us just in case, preferably the ones we've worked with before.

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3qXM8CN47c
>>18408650
>>18408583
>>18408571
>>18408677
>>18408796
It only takes a moment's consideration. As long as they're all relatively low-priority, there's no reason not to rid the world of one more killer. You examine the mission parameters further...

A series of murders in an abandoned industrial sector of a small city match his profile. A full deployment is unfeasible--most of the Fourth's enlisted and mechaniloid force are spoken for in Vienna or reserved for an emergency high-priority operation. And should Jagwire catch wind of a large force, he'll relocate. It's just you on this one. He's a solid fighter, the report says, not to underestimated. But after Guns, you should be able to handle him.

You quickly confirm the assignment and step onto the pad. You lock eyes with Schwarz, who gives you a nod of approval at your choice a split-second before the command room evaporates, and you find yourself in...

A police station. An empty one.

MISSION START
>?

>>18408851
>Berrets

Let's not. Last time we couldn't protect our berets, and this guy actually likes killing the weak. If we bring our berets he's definitely aim for them first.

>>18408851
Gah, always a second too slow to catch these.
Em's in for recharge.

Move towards the right side of the screen. That's generally what you do in megamen games

>>18408861

Lets check to see if any of the local police surveillance equipment is working and contact Navigation.

>>18408861
let's get in touch with our buddy in coms, see if he can't get us closer to our guy.

>>18408861
contact Wellington for telemetry, and info about surrounding buildings

afterwards some combination of:
>Move Right
>Jump
>Shoot

Weapons hot, lance ready, let's rock out with our cock out!

I just figured they'd be good for aplying hunting tactics for dangerous animals. which this guy basically is.

Move quickly, quietly, and cautiously. They always get the drop on us, its time we got to wear the shoe.

Stealth around corners, find him before he finds us. He might know we're here already, but that doesn't mean we can't suprise him.

Something to chew on: Our blackout missiles give us a good ranged attack, BUT they also give us some fucking excellent area denial.

Using the clouds of sensor-scrambling, armor ruining fuck you to pen in an enemy will be fun.

I recommend getting in contact with OP and then Wellington.

You look around. The station is in considerable disarray, clearly long since abandoned. You take a few steps onto a floor lined with dust and key your comms.

"This is Maverick Hunter Anode, 4th Overland, requesting navigation support." After a moment's thought, you add, "From Operator Wellington, if at all possible."

"Roger that," comes a bored-sounded woman. "Redirecting your call."

Sure enough, you hear a familiar, wise-ass voice. "Why, you actually called back after the first date."

"Yeah, well, I still didn't respect you the morning after. How you doing, Wellsley?"

He chuckles. "Not bad, not bad. Picking up your mission briefing, and...oh. You pick the most charming people to kill."

"Yeah. I figured we could do without this guy."

"I'm inclined to agree. Let me see what I can dig up. Your target's been killing indiscriminately, mostly the homeless. He's made himself a nest in this slum. The whole place is basically condemned. Local industry apparently dried up or moved away, and left him this nice urban jungle to play around in."

"Great. Any idea where I should start?"

"Cross-referencing missing persons reports, I'd say not far from your current position. A police probe found mechaniloids of unknown make before they pulled back and put in a call to Command."

"Well, here we are." You step out of the abandoned station, shaking some stray dust from your helmet as you walk out into equally shoddy streets.

"Supposedly there are some traps in the rubble," Wellington warns. "Keep a sharp eye."

"Thanks." You hang a right and set out...

Cont.

What WAS the local industry for this place?

>>18409259
This might be good to know. Traps made out of industrial equipment could be... rough.
>must jediang
Indeed, Captcha, we need to use precognitive levels of caution.

Maybe get to the high ground? There should be plenty of buildings for it

>>18409180
You make your way through the alleys, watching your step for land mines or other hazards. This place is like a maze--it's no wonder a maverick would choose to get lost in it.

"Heads up," Wellington calls. "Mechaniloid signals. Two streets over. Head left."

You do so, and sure enough, you come face to face...

With a screwdriver on legs.

"You gotta be shittin' me."

"What? ...Oh. Really? A scriver?"

"Apparently. The hell do they use these for?"

"It was an old industrial building machine. They were designed to have a modular snout where you could mount different tools, and send them off to areas too dangerous for living workers. They only made those bladed heads before the entire project got scrapped. Somewhere along the line some maverick picked up the blueprints and started producing them. Apparently the thing has some punch to it, if it gets you."

You look at it skeptically as it turns and levers itself to face you. "If."

It hops at you, eager to... um, screw you.

You just shoot it in the face, causing it to stumble, hack off its nose, and then punt the thing over. It flails once, then goes dead.

"Really?"

"They can't all be pitched firefights," Wellington offers. "I've got more signals up ahead."

>Follow the 'loids, they shouldn't be here.
>Fuck that.

>>18409309
Yeah, a lone Hunter by himself is probably pretty noticable

What are the weather conditions? Is visibility good?

>>18409311
Look for the source, but don't go straight to it. See if you can find a nice perch or ledge/catwalk/etc that we can reign hell down from

>>18409311
Head towards the signals, but not directly along the road, try to come at them from a side street. But realize the alleys are the most likely spots for traps.

>>18409311
>Follow the 'loids, they shouldn't be here.

We gunna get screwed

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u87QOgwlICA

"Right, I'm going to follow some breadcrumbs. Give me navmarkers on nearby 'loids, and I'll take one-off streets toward them."

"Roger that," he says smoothly, and in short order you have a handful of indicators with distances. You set out at a brisk pace, taking side alleys, watching your approach, and wending your way through the slums. "So what did this place produce, anyway?"

"Local industry was mechaniloids."

"Go figure." You carefully peer around a corner, only to see a spiked bloody wheel. "Riddle me this, Wellsley, what the fuck purpose does that serve other than killing people?"

"They originally were used to pave roads," he says. "Someone got the idea to sharpen the things."

"Nothing like ingenuity in slaughter," you remark drily as it rolls at you, bro. You pepper it with gunfire, and hop it as it skids beneath you and explodes. "Is this the shit they made here?"

"I guess," Wellington replies. "I can't imagine why business would ever dry up."

"It makes sense. Jagwire being here, I mean." You continue along, saber out but disengaged. "He probably just modified the machinery and switched it all back on."

"And for a human, running from giant spiked wheels through a maze of alleys..." You have to wince at that. It's easy to forget, sometimes.

"Oof. Good point. Hold on..."

Up ahead, fiddling with another one of those scrivers. It's Jagwire.
>YOU DIE NOW
>Try to get around
>Other?

>>18409518 Get up high, mount the lance, then leap down and impale this beyotch.

>YOU DIE NOW
He's about to discover what it is to die like a bitch.
Shoot a missile at him.

>>18409544

Another vote for Death from Above.

>>18409553
>>18409544

Combine these plans, rockets while in freefall to block his escape path and stab stab stab.

>>18409518
What is our charge % at?

>>18409544
Wall jump, fire two rockets at him, then left, Lance dash to the right.

>>18409580
Low. You've been going cautiously.

>>18409544
This, show him the hospitality of Vlad Tepes.

Also, I'm confused. Is the town long or recently abandoned?

>>18409605
Recently by relative terms, and you're in a small city. The industrial sector is abandoned, not the whole thing.

>>18409602
need to remember to charge up before leaving the base.
Firing rockets too soon will give us away. Is this more of an open area or still a back alley?

>>18409629
He's up ahead in a more open intersection between alleys, but it's still relatively boxed.

>>18409605
Lets do the sonuvabitch proud.

Death from above
Don't say anything. Don't give him time to make a speech, no chance to brag. Just wail on him. He doesn't deserve mercy or even a chance to say anything for himself.

>>18409518
>those spiked wheels
inb4 pic related.

also, seconding death from above. No fancy stuff, this guy needs to be dealt with swiftly.

>>18409658
We should use a lance dash as a first strike, but use hit and run tactics if we can't put him down quick. Have to conserve charge since we're low, He may try and escape up a building wall, so using missiles right away may be wasteful.

Use the lance and then dash away, standard blaster strafing. If he tries to escape, missiles to cut him off.

This guy sets traps. Is this a trap?

>>18409677
Hold on, what do his combat capabilities look like from here? Can we see anything that, combined with spin, give us a clue as to what he can do?

>>18409695
It's probably an hologram of some sorts and he's just waiting for us to fall for it.

I still vote for the death from above attack.

>>18409709
You see blades on his forearms. It's hard to get a decent look from here, but there might be spools of wire on his back on mounts.

Okay to commence the attack with what I've given you?

>>18409767
it's clobbering time!

Take a good, hard look. Are there any street lights or traffic lights up?

And more importantly, is there anything strung between them?

>>18409767
Lets shove our lance down his throat. From the sky. While shooting missiles.

>>18409767
Okay to attack.

We all know this is a trap right?

>>18409767
If this Jagwire is a hologram, we'll find out soon enough. Either way, let's get it right the first time. Get up high and drop on top of him nice and quietly. Part of me wants to emphasize the "quietly" portion, since we don't want to break our element of surprise with loudly firing missiles. Plus, we only have eight rockets' worth of ammo, so let's save them for a more necessary situation.

>>18409810
Oh, yeah, I'm expecting that we end up lodging our lance in the ground, or worst case scenario he actually takes in and either snaps it or uses it on us.

>>18409810
Totally, but Anode doesn't!

>>18409810
Id say so. But its better to go airborn and avoid possible tripwires than to walk over.

>>18409810
I would honestly be more surprised if this wasn't a trap.

>>18409841
I don't know serial killers aren't really the "Booby trap" type. They usually want kills yo be more personal than that.

Do we have time to ask Wellsly what this guys M.O. is?

You have a few approaches. Eventually you settle as you slowly work your way forward.

In a flurry of motion, you jump backwards and engage your thrusters, lance tilted forward, and you crash down on him.

He curls up and with a high-pitched whine, becomes a whirling blur. Your lance deflects away, and he zips off away from you. The scriver jumps at you, and you slap it out of the way on your backswing before dashing after the bastard.

He untucks from his... roll? Jumping into the air and throwing an arm in either direction. Those long blades whip out on long wires and rake across the buildings to either side. They crash through with a plume of debris before snapping back to his arms.

And the buildings begin to fall.

>Over.
>Around.
>Through.

>>18409992
see:
>>18409180

His plan of attack is most likely tie you up with wires while you're being chased by mechaloids. Then cut you up with his claws.

HC is probably writing out right now. But we can still talk about the fight

We need to be constantly moving so he doesn't grapplehook us. In close he'll slash at us and what not, so if he does grapple us but we can use that against him. If he grapple's us, missile to the face. Then Lance Dash in his guts

>>18410041
Over

Chase scene?

>>18410041
Through. Fire a missile infront of his projected path.

>>18410041
Are we quick enough to beat the buildings if we go through, do you reckon?

Fire off a volley through the debris and then go over with an electrodash. With any luck he jumps and we can catch him in mid-air.

>>18410115
Low Charge! Don't waste it!

>>18410091
>>18410115
He's moving quick and is beating a retreat. We only have eight missiles, and I'm not about to waste them on a fleeing target unless we're SURE we can nail him with one. We have dual busters, so let's rake his backside with a couple hundred shots of hot plasma for his efforts.

>>18410170
The missiles aren't our only ranged weapon, we still have the standard plasma caster.

>>18410170
I agree.

Going over the buildings is safest, don't have to dodge debris, also gives us best targetting oppurtunity. Go around and we will lose him.

Dash Jump up to the rooftops, fire off some plasma shots at his back and give chase until we can corner him with missiles.

>>18410041
Fire a missile where he's going, and the second one where he is.

He'll stop to dodge the first one and hopefully get hit by the second, jamming up his sensors, and hopefully disorientating him long enough for use to catch up.

>>18410229
Please read his entire post before you reply.

>>18410046
I mean how he kills his victims.

>A series of murders in an abandoned industrial sector of a small city match his profile.

That seems to imply that he leaves a distinctive crime scene.

Three Dimensional Battle. He can use his wires like Spider man I bet. Stick to plasma for now, and give chase.

>>18410251
Remember, we only have eight missiles. I don't want to waste them on "set-up shots" for a tactic that might not even work. He'll look at the clouds of black gleaming metal and think, "Hm, I shouldn't get stuck in those," and he'll dodge in a different direction. The rockets will work much better in more enclosed spaces, like alleyways and whatnot. As it is, we're chasing him down through the middle of an intersection. It's not an optimal situation for us to use them just yet.

>>18410294
More like Omega Red, but I get what you're saying.

So, I really hate to do this, but I sort of have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. I've lost steam so I might have to cliffhanger you guys here. I know exactly what's coming up, though, so I should be able to pick up tomorrow.

You guys okay with a dramatic pause here? I can crank out a little bit more if you want it.

>>18410426
Just write us a cliffhanger, "Next time of Maverick Hunter Quest" type of thing. Wouldn't want you getting burned out.

>>18410426
Don't let us keep you. With any luck, you won't be busy all of tomorrow.

>>18410442
This thread still has plenty of space to work with, so let's not cut it off with one of those "NEXT TIME" posts. Just say we're hitting the pause button on the game, not hitting a save point and turning the game off.

>>18410426
Do what you gotta do man.

While this is like a DM kicking you out right after rolling initiative, it's better then stopping mid-battle. If you can't get the whole thing in, picking it up tomorrow would be better

Fortunately, I'm here for discussion and Q&A.

>>18410606
You mentioned earlier a few companies that made reploids. Do those companies have any specialties as far as what they make, signature styles and whatnot?

>>18410606
I'd like to know a little more about the Reploid construction regulations- if there's a limit on how many they're allowed to produce in a certain amount of time, what kind of standards there are, testing for Maverick tendencies, disposal if they don't match up or there's something wrong... I enjoy the implications of what is essentially a new class of citizen that can literally be built in a factory.

>>18410704

Absolutely. APEX is a cutting-edge new materials designer that designs custom Reploids for specific purposes. They've got a lot of young whizkids working for them, like Brian Jobs, Exo Newtoni and Gate. Zeus is a military contractor doing work for several nations. SunLight makes Reploids for environmental purposes and sells to NGOs. Other companies specialize in aerospace Reploids, underwater Reploids, civilians, scientists, etc.

Does nobody watch classic movies anymore?

>>18410817
>Zeus
I'm guessing they did/will do a lot of the work on Repliforce in conjunction with Cain Labs? Or is that entirely in-house?

>>18410759

Standards vary by country, but Cain Labs has issued a few basic protocols that need to be followed.

Many countries place limits on Reploid construction quotas annually, forcing some companies to move to other places to do their work. Prototypes and other custom Reploids make up roughly 20 percent of the total, with mass production Reploids filling the remainder.

Mass-produced Reploids are required to be able to absorb a plasma discharge consistent with a standard buster shot and still be capable of autonomous action. Combat Reploids generally bottom out at twice that standard (one quarter of X's lifebar in X1). Reploid cores have to be tested several times over for stability, but given that they follow the principles of century-old contained fusion reactors, safety's usually not a huge concern.

Reploid "brains," crystal matrices, are now tested for five cycles, roughly one month each, after programming is installed. If problems are detected, they purge the program, evaluate it for problems and dissolve the crystal for later reuse. If no problems are detected, the brain is installed and activated, and the body is completed within the next four months to ensure that all systems integrate properly.

If there's a failure at this point, the system is usually allowed to degenerate and the work is scrapped. Examples of this NOT happening are typically restricted to Maverick designs - Wire Sponge and Dark Dizzy, for instance.

>>18410921

They've done some work with Cain Labs, but not a lot. Individual countries have Reploid officers of their own. These are citizens, with all that that entails.

How well known is the work of Drs. Cossack and Wily? Obviously Light is known on some level thanks to X, but are they remembered at all?

Are there any conspiracy theories surround X/Zero/The Hunters as a whole?

>>18411040

Dr. Cossack's work and legacy is still kicking about today. As is a particularly prominent piece of Dr. Wily's - and no, I don't mean Zero.

Wily's chief legacy is as a historical villain on par with other great menaces. In his case, perspectives on his crimes trend less toward the specific and more to the fact that his depredations and those of imitators inspired by his method forced the end of the Robot Master era, creating a costly resurgence of humans into the industrial sector (and other duties) and seeing the resultant inefficiency sorely tax the environment. In a nutshell: Wily screwed progress.

There are plenty of conspiracy theories surrounding X: that he contains alien technology, that he's the cyborg son of Dr. Light, that he's a Robot Master that Dr. Light secreted away illegally... some countries posit that the Hunters are going to be used against their sovereignty, that the Maverick outbreak is a trick of some other nation, that X is himself a superweapon that they rightfully deserve to share in or else see destroyed.

>>18411248
Goddamn Wily. I knew he'd screw up robotics for the rest of the world.
Last question from me for the night, but what's the usual occurrence rate for Maverick attacks like this? About like the crime rate for normal humans, or is it more centered around the big Uprisings and mopping up the ones who appear in those? Is there a distinction between a Reploid who commits criminal acts and one who has gone Maverick? I seem to remember Vile having been in quite a bit of trouble over the equivalent of police brutality before he ever went Maverick, but I might be misremembering.

>>18411520

Maverick attacks occur sporadically unless there's a big uprising occurring. The sporadic ones are usually programming flaws/viral Mavericks. Reploids can commit crime; Maverick behavior is rather more specific. Reploids can, for instance, serve in armies and fight against humans in the field. That hasn't HAPPENED yet mind you, but it *could.*

>>18411248
Really, no theories about Zero? A robot of unknown origin that acts Maverick then is 'cured' without prompting? I'm surprised the conspiracy nerds haven't freaked the fuck out. Even in the hunters, there's got to be some whispers.

Or is Zero only known as a hunter and friend of X? Is his file kept under wraps?

>>18411248
>There are plenty of conspiracy theories surrounding X: that he contains alien technology, that he's the cyborg son of Dr. Light, that he's a Robot Master that Dr. Light secreted away illegally

At least of those is probably true, as X is technincally a next-gen robot master (I mean, Zero is DWN-Infinity, who's to say X isn't DLN-X?) Not to mention, Dr. Light helped repair Duo, so X might well have some alien-inspired tech in there. And while obvious X isn't a Cyborg, he is Dr. Light's son-in Light's eyes, at the very least.

How does Reploid "DNA" work? (Don't blame me, blame the games)

>>18411618
So, if maverick behavior is a specific thing, and they can commit crimes all on there own, then has there ever been reports of a repeloid serial killer?

>>18411809
Aren't we fighting one right now?

>>18411835
But this one is a Maverick. He caught a virus and started killing people. He doesn't count.

>>18411660

Zero's origin wasn't known at the time, but given the nature of the incident and Sigma's choice to attempt reclamation, the Hunters were all too eager to secure the site and then fluff it away. His public status as a hero, destruction and reconstruction have provided so many compelling narratives that few bothered to probe his origin.

However, it's the kind of thing that WILL become a problem. Cain Labs has locked down the site where Zero was found and denies access to anyone. People WILL get curious.

>>18411757
The singularity happened. That's my explanation.

>>18411757

Dynamic Neural Array data is the systems data of a Reploid. It connects all the systems into a single functioning unit and defines the parameters under which that unit operates. It also contains the essential element that changes the crystalline matrix "brain" into a thinking construct.

DNA Data is collected and archived to help develop the next generation of Reploids. It can also be used to adapt a compatible system to the host system it came from (Variable Weapons System and VWES use DNA Data in this manner). If the DNA Data is set to protected mode, it can be salvaged in this fashion. If it is set to open mode, it cannot be salvaged.

DNA Resurrection is the illegal act of salvaging DNA Data to re-spark an individual. It's quite difficult, requires complete data and heavy resources. Partial resurrection is used by Maverick forces on many occasions; Mavericks destroyed with their DNA Data protected may supply Hunters with weapon data, but they can also be rebuilt.

>>18411809

Mass murder would be considered Maverick behavior, just as serial killing is considered indicative of insanity.

>Acting Commander is a human A-rank, one Thomas Kinsley, going by the callsign Limerick
>Human A-rank

Is this guy Big Boss or something. I can't imagine how big of a badass you'd need to be to reach a rank as a flesh and blood human.

>>18412230
Why is resurrecting a Reploid illegal?

>>18412252

A-Rank is as high as humans can get. The S in S-Rank indicates "Special" meaning "beyond the capability of humans to combat."

Humans in Hunter officer roles are considered total badasses because they don't tank hits. Ever. Personal force shields are of extremely limited strength. Schwarzhund would testify to the insane tenacity of humans.

Have there been any forays into cyborg enhancements on animals (including humans) beyond prosthetic limbs or is that a no-no?

>>18412279
So the dude's still flesh and blood? No augmentations or anything? They'll obviously have armor and daka though.
Not that having augmentations would cheapen their succes.

>>18412257

Ever seen the Came Back Wrong trope? Imagine that, in a powerful robot body. Imagine cascade failure, imagine a destabilized fusion core getting incorrect instructions from corrupted DNA Data. Even when the Mavericks do it, they make concessions to the difficulty, terminating sense of self and all real identity in those they bring back.

It's a meticulous process plagued by immense difficulties, terrible complications and horrific misfires. It's also something that would be tried constantly and have a taxing effect on society were it not made illegal.

>>18412323

Many humans have cybernetic prosthetics, where needed. Cybernetic replacement organs, for instance, or limbs. Other organisms have seen cybernetic support for decades, although in the case of animals it's something scientists are trying to phase out as the environment recovers.

>>18412331

While some humans have cybernetic prosthetics or replacement organs, nobody's really "augmented" or otherwise enhanced. Human officers carry a beam rifle, beam knife, stun pistol and personal force shields. While this makes them able to deal damage comparable with a buster shot, they can still take only one or two hits before it's flesh and blood vs. plasma and heavy metal.

>>18412331
He could be from a crazy special forces groups like from Metal Gear.

Though, every Reploid is like those crazy special forces groups from Metal Gear.

Anything else I can address for you fine folks?

I'm curious about space and what goes on in it, since it looks like it has its own unit. Are space stations (like, for example, Eurasia and Final Weapon, though more likely precursors to these) a regular fixture? Is cleaning up the field of junk satellites around the Earth another environmental project that's going on? How's extrasolar exploration going?

>>18412669

Floating colonies of various scales have been in use for a few decades now, moving the population around to aid in reclamation efforts. Extraterrestrial mining operations have been in place, manned by machines, for a good century or so, and extrasolar exploration has begun to a limited extent. By and large, though, the 11th Division concerns itself with the mining worlds and orbital activities, nothing more. And frankly, that's quite enough to be getting on with.

>>18412731
So with all that hubbub and new traffic going on in space, they've probably already mitigated or even removed the chance of Kessler syndrome occuring, which is good. Old satellites and rocket stages and stuff probably makes decent scrap, too, come to think of it.

Well, that's the end of me for the evening. Hope this thread stays above water or archives properly. It's been fun!

Morning bump

burger bump

>>18417797
...Now I want burgers. I'm here, post's mostly typed out, and my doctor's visit didn't bring bad news. Just waiting on Cain Labs to bounce a few things off of him.

>>18410041
You follow after Jagwire, letting him get a lead as the buildings crash down between you.

And then you engage your EAS and ramp the collapsing debris, emerging from a cloud of plaster and glass like vengeance itself, lance cocked back as you plunge it through the crumbling asphalt a split second behind him.

You deliver a quick snap-shot as you tear it free, hot on his heels. He reaches an old apartment complex, and as fast as you can follow, he clambers and scrabbles, using broken windows and sills for footholds, punching in his own as he needs, scrambling up and over the building face. You're not far behind, using your dashes to jump between wall faces and quickly make your way up. You see him in the streets beneath you, already at a sprint, making for a large, abandoned factory the buildings all seem to have been built around. Christ, he's fast.

You follow on the rooftop, launching yourself from building to building at breakneck speed. "Wellsley! Target spotted, in pursuit!"

"Copy! I'll try to mark you a path!" The navigator does just that, filling your vision with an overlay indicating where you should go. Jagwire's faster on foot, but he has to navigate the city streets while you run the rooftops...

>Run flat out! Try to beat him there!
>Stay sharp. That building trick could be a repeat performance.

>>18417972
Naturally, we have to stay frosty. Jagwire's had this place to himself for a while. Who knows how many chokepoints he's plotted out? Either way, we should try and overtake him before he gets to the family. The sooner we put him down, the better.

>>18418022
>2012
>confuse "factory" for "family

>>18417972
Fuck yeah.

Stay sharp, but keep up with him. Try and slow him down by over leading him with plasma shots(fire them in front of where he is going to be, so he has to dodge them at least, which should allow us to keep up more easily)

>>18418022
If he's running flat out speed... I think we should use one of our Rockouts to make a cloud in front of him. See if we can't at least force him into a detour.

>>18418093
He's in an open street. It'd be no issue for him to dodge both the missile and the cloud. We need our missiles for when he's truly pinned down. The only way we should catch him with our Blackout Rockets, which I must remind you we only have eight of, is when he doesn't see them coming. We use them now, and we lose one of our aces in the hole.

>prepared turdshi
Even Captcha is saying to be ready for turd to hit the fan.

>>18418093
I agree, we should use a Rocket, but do we see any obvious turns he will have to make? Use a Rocket. Or two when he's at his slowest. (Cornering sharply in one direction) so he doesn't just outspeed it.

Pursue him carefully. Letting him reach the factory might not be a bad idea- at least there he'll probably stand and fight, while if we keep him in these alleys we'll be at this until we lose him.

You take stock of what you have as you control your pursuit. No, you decide. Today, there can be no mistakes.

You won't overtake him, but you can ruin his day a little more. You raise your buster and begin peppering him with fire. He rolls and weaves, but you're complicating his escape. One of those wires begins to unspool again as he casts his arm back--

Not this time. Your arms change to camouflage gray as you fire a missile his way. His blade-throw goes wide as he suddenly has to dig in his heels and reverse course as you fill his face with a cloud of flak. You take advantage of his momentary pause and rake his back with plasma fire before he can change course. Trivial damage, but you've got him on his back foot.

Your high-speed chase progresses as you harry him until, at long last, you run out of buildings, taking off at a running leap from the top of another tenement, sliding down the slanted roof of a defunct garage, and leap from the edge, rolling to your feet at a run just as he clears the factory doors ahead. You barrel in right after, just in time to see him clear another set of double doors--

Right before a set of sturdy hatches slam down over them.

You hear machinery hum to life as your exit is blocked the same way.

>WHAT DO

>>18418249
"Jagwire has escaped into the central factory complex and has sealed the doors behind him. I need schematics and a bead on his location." Is the blast door too thick for us to cut through? If so, start looking for an alternate route.

>>18418249
Is recon likely to have building blue prints?

Search for something to get charge to acceptable level before continuing on

>>18418249

"Wellsley what are the biggest and most dangerous types of Mechaloid this place produced while in service? Because it looks like he may have something big for me."

>>18418249
Oh balls. Miniboss time...? Ask Wells if there are any schematics for this place on record, or for general details about the place that we do have. Then, see if we find a way past that door, or otherwise deeper into the facility.

>>18418284
seconded this post

On a different note, I wonder if it would be possible to get a way to leach energy from our foes. This way we could gather electricity while fighting the inevitable mechanoids that the mavericks seem to always have.

>>18418348
>>18418327
Truly, genre savvy is the greatest weapon in your arsenal. You've seen enough to know where this is going.

"Wellsley, I'm blocked in and need a reroute. What's the biggest thing this place cranked out?"

"Nothing special," he replies, "a road breaker/steamroller chassis, it looks like."

"Noted." Sure enough, a recessed hallway opens up behind you and you hear the sound of heavy machinery trundling forward.

The steamroller has been modified extensively, blades appropriated from those spike-wheels and mounted on its frame, with reinforced studs in the cylinder. A mechaniloid of some sort has been crudely integrated into the seat, wired into the controls, with long leads running to the ceiling over it.

With surprising speed, it rolls at you, bro.
>?

>>18418433
We draw on electricity when there's an open power source available to us. Outright leeching an enemy combatant's electricity seems a bit excessive, especially considering we rely mostly on our own generation and inventiveness.

>>18418453
Dodge the roller, open a full buster salvo against the mechaniloid in the cockpit or the leads in the ceiling. If necessary, launch a Blackout Rocket into the driver's face.
Common sense stuff, really.

>>18418453

Since this isn't the games and we don't suffer damage from merely touching the enemy, climb on top of the steamroller and stab the shit out of the controlling mechanoid!

>>18418453
Dash away, missile at the robot controller, plasma targetting the leads.

If we can get up a wall, use our lance to cut the leads and impale the control bot. Then try and leech some charge off the leads.

>>18418510
>blades appropriated from those spike-wheels and mounted on its frame, with reinforced studs in the cylinder.
It's not that easy to climb on top of it.

Raikosen Jump.
Cut the leads as it passes under you and cut off the power. Blast the head with a blackout rocket for good measure.

Run up a wall, the kick-jump backwards as the thing comes towards us and stab the control unit in the face.

This way we use our own momentum + the steamroller momentum for a massive damage.

It is a Mechaloid not a Ride. So it has no driver. Heads tend to be the main weak point though so strategy is the same.

We could use wall impacts to help charge the K. Coils.

>>18418551
>A mechaniloid of some sort has been crudely integrated into the seat,

It seems to be a regular steamroller with a mechanoid hard wired into the seat, creating a convenient weak point for us to aim towards.

Are we Auto-saging?

>>18418572

Oops, missed that. I was paying more attention to the picture.

>>18418548
>>18418551
Yes, use the wall jump kick plan to charge the coils as well.

Considering all the running and jumping, shouldn't we have built up a bit of a charge now?

>>18418611
Definitely more than you had.

>>18418611
Well, we started at 8%, so even if we're at 40%, we could use more.

>>18418573
If so, I think that's a first. And all it took was three continuous days!


It's funny, but no matter how many times your enemies try it, a converted laborer model just doesn't stand up to a war machine. You deftly spring aside as it crashes past, leaping up a wall to get a clear shot at its driver. It wheels around with surprising alacrity and goes to ram the wall you're kicking off.

Unfortunately, you're already in motion as it collides, raking the driver's back with shots as you pass overhead. You extend your lance, severing half the cables running out of its back as you land. It still throws into reverse and lurches backwards at you, trying to crush you with the ass-end. Good luck to you with that--you leap aside and scale the wall for another round. This time it reacts early, trying to back up to hit behind it as you jump--but you changed tricks too. Grabbing a bundle of the sliced cables hanging from the ceiling, you swing around one-handed, lance tilted, drinking in the power the cables were running. On this pass, you slice the last of the cables, and the contraption visibly slows.

Cont.

>>18418717
The power in the leads abruptly dies, but not before it's fed you a quick ten percent. The mechaniloid is almost comically slow, now. You scale the side, avoiding the blades while it feebly attempts to shake you off, and put your saber through the driver's head. The body slumps in the seat as much as the wires allow, throwing the thing into drive.

It keeps on rolling as you hop off, crashing into the wall and continuing on deeper into the factory.

"Never mind the exit, Wellsley, got my own. You got a signal on Jagwire?"

"Negative," he replies.

"Well, I might have a lead. When I was tapped into the local power system I picked up some stuff down underground. I'm guessing it might be the production lines for those shitty-ass scrivers and spike-wheels."

"Safe bet," your navigator muses. "Going to try to follow the money?"

>Yes
>No

>>18418725
Yeah, let's go after this guy. I really hope he's not the type that's smart enough to have hostages, though...

>>18418725
Yes

And yeah we seem to be autosaging, but /tg/ is not so fast that we need a new thread right away I think.

>>18418725
No reason not to trust our own senses. Let's head underground.

>>18418725
"If he's not there, he's been there," you reply. "Yeah, I'm gonna check it out."

"Acknowledged. Disabling the assembly lines is a good idea anyway--people still have to live here when you're gone."

"Good point. Okay, let's call that a secondary objective."

"You're learning to bullshit fast, Anode. I'm proud of you. Wellington out."

The steamroller made it through a few more walls before it finally ran down against a reinforced column, opening more of the factory to you. Cold, still conveyor belts speak to abandoned assembly lines. You quickly note pieces and parts missing--probably to fix the working ones down below. You don't need to go far to find some stairs down, wide enough for a few people at a time to travel. The lights are on, a flourescent hum accompanying you as you progress deeper inside.

It's relatively uneventful, if cautious, going. That is, until you hear sounds of machinery to your right, inside a door. ...But that doesn't line up with your mental picture of where you felt the electric source on the grid. It should be nearby, but further to your left.

>Investigate power source first
>Investigate machinery first

>>18418859
Better check this machinery out. If it's not connected to the power grid we felt earlier, it might be something he brought with him when he set this place up.

>>18418877

Seconding this. Even if it's not showing up, it needs to be ID'd, at least.

>>18418877
Agreed. The more things we handle on the way down, the fewer surprises we deal with when we reach the bottom level.

>>18418888
>>18418877
Thirded, if it's macheryunning, it may be where he's producing his mechaloids

>>18418859
You decide to hit the machinery first, carefully entering the room to see a pair of assembly lines, slowly piecing together more of the mechaniloid rabble you've been dealing with. "Slow" is the operative word--the machines must be drawing very little.

You see a figure at the end of the line, turning to see as you walk in. It's some kind of up-armored production model reploid. He looks at you scrutinizingly...and then his eyes settle on the insignia on your shoulder.

"HUNTER!" he screams, drawing a beam saber and charging you.

>?

>>18418940
"WHERE?! I DON'T SEE HIM!" And then we gut him with our Ascent Lance.

Roundhouse that fucker in the face.
Then steal his saber for bonus weaponry.

>>18418940
Missile to his face, followed with Lance charge.

>>18419005
This guy is a scrub. We're not going to waste a missile on a scrub.

>>18419018
He's an armored scrub with a sword, we just grabbed a bunch of charge, one missile to disorient then cut him down so we don't take damage before the boss fight

Take him down non-lethally and interrogate.

>>18418957
>>18418965
>>18419005
>>18419018
"Where?!" You reply, shortly before taking a step forward and introducing his face to your knee. You're no Tanker, but you're strong--his head jerks back sharply and he stumbles back, momentum reversed. You dispatch him with a lance thrust, shoving him back off your blade and putting a barrage of plasma into him just to be sure.

A quick check of his weapon tells you it's nothing special--a small, civilian-model blade--workable, but using lower power output than the military grade hardware you have. Still, it's easy enough to bring along.

Unfortunately, the maverick's yell confirms what you already suspected--he wasn't alone. A ragtag band of reploids in various states of repair and slipshod armoring crawl out of the woodwork, surrounding you with a variety of weapons, improvised or otherwise.

>ACTION?

Missile him and take him by surprise.

>>18419118
DUAL WIELDING TIME! Cut through these fuckers like a whirling vortex of death.

>>18419118
Start shooting like a madman. They can't have too good armor and they don't seem to be taking cover.

>>18419118

Take them out with our Busters, Lance or sabers if any get close. No sense wasting any extra power if we can get away without it.

Also, am I the only one thinking that we later mod this other saber?

Drain the saber if we can, and then make a cutting remark and cut our way out of the mob.

I think we probably ought to switch to a new thread, if this one is auto-saging.

>>18419118
If all it takes to dispatch these guys is a few plasma shots and a lance thrust, they shouldn't be too much trouble.
Don't let them dogpile us, use maneuverabiltiy to our advantage and hit them hard one at a time.

>>18419147
It's a civilian saber salvaged by a Maverick. Emerald probably has twenty spare sabers in storage more powerful than this one.
Let's use it as a throwing knife when the time comes.

>>18419210
Agreed. Let's be systematic about it, assuming they don't come quietly.

>>18419183
We're on page 8, we got I dunno an hour and a half before we need to switch. Once we hit 13 it'll be time for a new thread.

>>18419312
Still, best to play it safe.

>>18419224
Gotta agree with this. That mini-saber is too weak to bother with, though we should keep it on our belt just so we can possibly do a knife-throwing scene later on if we need to. Or possibly, I dunno, sever a cable...?

As far as these chump reploids go, hose them with plasma to see how durable they are. We can probably take a few out before they reach us, and if not we can at least soften them up for the fight to come.

>>18419327
>>18419183
>>18419312
We should have a little life in this one, but I won't cut it close.


You give them all a single look. "4th Overland. One warning--surrender."

They bum-rush you as one. "Hunter dog!" one howls. Your eyes settle on him. You first.

"That'd be Schwarzhund," you reply as you hit your thrusters and smash into him, locking hands as you push him back. Your brawling from last night stayed with you--your first instinct is to bring your knee up into his gut, and it pays off as he folds double, loosening his grip. You turn and fling him into the next, using the same motion to ignite your lance and wheel it around once, warding away the next. One levels a clunky old buster rifle on you--you snap an arm up on him at the same time. In the crossfire, you take a hit to your shoulder, but blast his weapon out of his hands and burn holes up his chest. The next comes in with a heavy overhead swing from a pipe--you meet it with your own powerful strike, batting it aside and nearly cutting it in half. As he staggers, you backswing, completing the cut on the other side. Before he can recover you shoulder into him, buying yourself some breathing room...

>How continue?

>>18419497
Hit em over the head with a bottle!

Wait... this isn't the Pond.

>>18419497
Take them out one at a time.
OR
Channel the movie Equilibrium and use our dual busters to replicate some gun-kata.
"The Hunters will fall and will lead into a new age of reploids!"
"Not without incident."

>>18419497
Use blasters, keep moving. If all they have is melee weapons we can just keep them from getting on us. Be more like Schwarz not Tanker.

>>18419497

We have our rapier and a dagger. Let's Flynn.

>>18419591
We have a lance and a sword. If anything, we're Hilde.

If you're making a new thread, don't forget to link to it here.

Hmmm. So I'm thinking I don't want to run while Strike Witches Quest is underway, which is in an hour and a half, and there's also the whole 'write and do almost nothing else for three days' thing. So I think I'll get us through this fight and then we'll pick up again with a new thread later.
>>18419578
>>18419590
>>18419591
You bull-rush yourself out of the pack, jamming a buster into the maverick's side and firing, rapid-fire at point blank range. With your sword-arm you maneuver your elbow into his gut and slam him against the wall. He crumples as you stow your lance, leveling both guns on the advancing pack behind you.

You sweep back and forth across them, sending them reeling, but still they stagger forwards under the blistering cascade. You're about to reposition when you feel a tug on your leg--the reploid you slammed into the wall is grabbing on. You wrest yourself free only for another to tackle you, holding on as hard as he can. Before you can throw him off, the horde is on you, busters firing and weapons swinging as they dogpile you. Plasma burns and puncture wounds burn as they stab, crush, shoot, and claw at you, trying to bring you down.

Hauling yourself upright beneath the flailing masses, you snarl and trigger your capacitors as hands dig into your face--

And the entire gang rides the lightning.

Cont.

>>18419606

Holy Orders(Be Just or Be Dead)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGetImTgyFA

or

Holy Orders?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJqEGxlNHSQ

>>18420003
I meant to point that at >>18419943

>>18419943
To their credit, they don't all vaporize, but the blast kills scores and sends the rest flying. You pull the few still hanging on (both living and dead) off as the remainder recollect themselves. That did some damage, but so did they.

As you level your buster again with a ragged breath, you decide not to chance round two. The missile impacts at their feet--before they can react, they're caught in the chaff, blinded and disoriented. Their improvised armor is worthless in the whirlwind of razor-sharp metal, and they go down, rolling and clutching at dozens of wounds. Aside from the faint staccato thumps of shrapnel embedding itself in their prone forms, it's over.

You skirt the cloud of flak carefully, favoring one side as you limp to the manufacturing lines and quickly shut them down. You recoup some of the electricity you spent, putting you back up to 25% charge.

"Anode! Status?" Wellington's voice breaks the silence as the belts power down slowly.

"I'm here. Got a bit chewed up by a mob, but I'm okay."

"Acknowledged. Preliminary readings suggest the lines are offline."

"How can you tell?" you ask.

"The rest of the system is receiving power that was going to those two assemblies. Just lights and elevators and things, but they weren't all active while the factory works were drawing energy away."

"Right. I'm just going to catch my breath, then investigate that other power source. Still no sign of Jagwire."

>>18420032
You take a moment to collect yourself, and head out to the source of the electricity. Bracing yourself for anything, you open the door and move in.

And whatever you were expecting, it was not this.

Haphazardly, literally dozens bodies lay strewn across the room. Sprawled on chairs, lying on tables, rested against the wall, littering the ground. Cable leads run from the reploids and out, dozens of wires meeting and wound into a single power line. Their eyes are blank. A few move and shift, and with a start you realize some are human. One at least groans as he moves, missing an arm and a leg, treated crudely with bloodied bandages.

And then it hits you. The power source--it's the reploid cores. He's tapped into their bodies to leech from their power systems.

TO BE CONTINUED!

>>18420032
So there's only so much power running through the factory at one time? Either way, we've taken down Jagwire's personal source of reinforcements, so that's bonus points for us.

>>18420098
That's...pretty macabre. At least we know Jagwire is slightly more than axe-crazy, though not by much.

>>18420098
Engage MAXIMUM NOPERDRIVE

>>18420098
Alright, he's even crazier than I was expecting. Next time, we're introducing him to the business end of every weapon we've got.