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>>27364289
Beside you is Diamond, Seventh Air Cavalry officer and junior co-commander of their detachment here. Your primary objective is to retire the dangerous maverick Solstrike Saetos. His primary objective is, apparently, in another castle.

Before you is ... the Daedalus Icarion UV, apparently, according to lettering stamped across a long column that makes up part of the room-wide mechaniloid's body.

Speaking of, it is attacking you. You and Diamond juke in opposite directions as it opens fire. You note that the pivot-mount guns on the columns are slow enough, but they're pretty dead-on--the air is going to be filled with a lethal maze of particle ordnance.

And then there's these drones--whatever they are, they're fast. "Diamond, keep the little ones busy while I look for an opening!"

He responds by taking to the air, thrusters in his boots and along his limbs propelling him up as the long wingfoils down either arm stretch to full extension. He only just manages to cut enough maneuverability to evade the first attack the drones throw at him, spreading wings of contained plasma that scythe through the air at high speed.

>Hit the guns!
>Hit the pillars!
>Hit the drones!
>Hit the middle pod!
>Other?

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So, we're moving along at a pretty fast clip on the Saetos op. I've spent all week writing other stuff, so hopefully I'm not too burned out.

That said, we've had a few new readers, and one of whom, our own Gale, went ahead and produced some MHQ art! Big thanks for that, and I'm told more's on the way.

>>27364301
Well at least Solstrike didn't turn out to be an elephant...or a walrus...

>Hit the Middle Pod

I AM SUSPICIOUS OF THINGS THAT DON'T SHOOT AT US IMMEDIATELY

>>27364386
seconded

Try for the middle pod, though we might benefit from taking out the guns if they prove to be too much of a threat.

>>27364301
>Hit the guns!
The less we have firing at us now, the easier life will be in the immediate future.

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>>27364386
>>27364584
>>27364733
You decide to hit the least immediate threat, hoping it's actually the weak spot. Sighting it down your buster, you fire a burst of plasma, sending a trio of shots downrange.

Unfortunately, they hit the power field and do precisely zip. A moment later the field goes down as a new drone takes off like a shot for the column overhead, and the core snaps shut behind two heavy cowlings. You doubt you could get through them.

"Power field and armored covering," you inform Diamond, "thoughts?"

"Hit it when it's open and before the field kicks on?" he grunts, pivoting in midair to sight and track the first drone, firing ahead of it and blasting it out of the sky. "Looks like we--whoa!"

Fortunately he took down the drone on the far end of the room--as it hits the ground the plasma generators in the wings overcharge and the entire thing goes up in a burst of intense flame you can feel from here. They spread along the ground in a small area before wicking out.

"Right," you say, "gotta keep that in mind. Don't go dropping any of those things on my head."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replies. "Okay, after it makes the new one we both hit one at the same time, right?"

"That's what I'm thinking," you agree, repositioning to avoid the now-steady stream of tracking fire. Hell of a setup, you note. Drones can whack you out of the air, the particle cannons will limit your mobility, and the death-fire for the drones will punish you if you try for an easy takedown.

"Get ready," Diamond warns, "it's almost finished." How do you want to do this?
>

>>27365185
Diamond swoops in and pulls the new drone out of the way while Anode opens up full-auto at the exposed core. We need a clear shot to maximize damage. In the meantime between exposures, take care of those particle cannons so we can open up our mobility.

>>27365185
We could really use a character sheet. I can't for the life of me remember what Anode has equipped.

>>27365250
Make it so

>>27365250
Vote Three for this.

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>>27365593
Sorry for the delay, had to update some info and double-check the ammo counts for this op.
Ascent Lance (Custom Beam Lance): Lo-phase, effectively an upsized saber.
-Arrest Buster: 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): These busters are optimized for rapid-fire plasma, excellent for deterring enemies. They have been upgraded with charge capacity, allowing bursts of mid-charged shots, rather than single, large blasts.
Conduit Capacitor: If Anode has a 'special weapon,' it is this. A bank of high-capacity reservoirs 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.
Misericorde Beam Knife: A hibeam weapon, this short blade is compact and precise, at its best in a press. The powerful blade output is taxing, requiring frequent recharge and making it a poor choice for protracted dueling. Still, it pierces armor with great ease, and even has capacity for further improvements.
-Flash Freeze: By priming your targets with a quick blast of LN, you have vastly improved your misericorde's damage and penetration even beyond that of a hi-beam weapon. Unfortunately, the supply of LN recharges very slowly and the difficulties of working with cryogenic weapon data make this weapon somewhat cumbersome.

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>>27365756
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.
Improved Emergency Acceleration System: With upgraded emitters, reservoir, and auxiliary charge/discharge systems provide a fast, efficient dash. Distance covered is up and recharge time is down.
VWES: Anode's stock VWES-2 has been improved to a VWES-4.
Blackout Rocket/Chaff Missile/Rockout: 7/8 shots. 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.
Tension Coil: 31/32 shots. As the name would suggest, a high-tension cable launched from the buster. A twist reveals sharp monofilament edges in the braid. High utility, though further upgrades would unlock its full potential.
-Wire Spool: Allows partial reclamation and limited mobility, though not quite a proper recharge/zipline just yet. More upgrades could help.
Lockon Hunter: 10/16 shots. Fires a variable-penetration laser. Can be dimmed for discrete and precise damage without collateral, or doubled (at a similar ammo cost) to overpenetrate.
Tumult Shell: 14/16 shots. Shots are slow-moving orange energy barriers. They cancel out most plasma fire, but usually dissipate on physical contact. Most projectiles and lighter mechaniloids will be destroyed outright with it, though.

>>27365185
>>27365756
Huh. Okay. F.Misericorde ⇒ your armored cowlings are made of buttery-soft cheese. Still need an opening, because we don't want to get caught in the power field, but we have a lot more "opening" to work with that way.

A couple of T.Shells will give Diamond (and Anode) some room to maneuver, too; this may be a reasonable add-on to any plan.

>>27365900
T. Shells at the guns.

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>>27365964
>>27365900
>>27365723
>>27365597
>>27365250
Right. From what you've seen you can make a few inferences. The particle guns are easy to dodge, but their main function is forcing you into the drones or the fire. If you can open up a clear lane, you can invalidate most of the threat this room has for you. You hope.

"Pick a clear angle of approach," you call, "I'm about to clear it."

"Roger that," Diamond says. "Straight line from here to the wall?"

You stow your lance again and activate your other buster, readying up a pair of Tumult Shells. "Consider it done."

You lead your target (generously, the shells are slow), and then fire a pair. The first sails on, soaking up all the particle shots in a straight line from you to the gun. The second glides at a more shallow angle, clearing the way for your partner. He takes off like a shot, corkscrewing in midair to rake a wingfoil across an Icarion drone, cutting across in the opposite direction. He barely (you think) avoids the plasma plume, but you don't have time to check, instead cycling back and firing another shell.

You managed to time it just right, catching one more particle shot as it reaches its destination--the second Icarion careens straight into it, spiraling down in a trail of fire. The cowlings guarding the central core retract--unfortunately the guns wisely tuck in and fire downward, covering the core. Diamond can't get in close to hit it, so instead he opts to switch to his buster and fire it as quickly as he can. ...Which, next to you, isn't much.

You only have a brief window of time before the powerfield snaps on and denies your attack on the core.
>High risk, high reward. Brave the covering fire to stab the core with your hibeam knife.
>Stay back, this is an endurance fight. Pepper it with shots from afar.
>Other?

>>27366835
Try and end it quick; we've still got other things to do, we can't spend too long messing around with this thing.

>>27366835
>High risk, high reward. Brave the covering fire to stab the core with your hibeam knife.
>If anything goes wrong Blame Em and his stabbing tech

>>27366835
>High risk, high reward. Brave the covering fire to stab the core with your hibeam knife.
The sooner we leave, the sooner we can track down Saetos. We can't afford to let this elaborate stalling tactic last longer than it's allowed.

>>27366835

>High risk, high reward. Brave the covering fire to stab the core with your hibeam knife.
Spending another couple of T.Shells will almost certainly reduce the covering fire sufficiently.

This is absolutely SUPPOSED to be an endurance fight. It's supposed to occupy us while SS and company do other things like escape and/or fuck other shit up. Therefore we want it over and done with as soon as possible.

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>>27366924
>>27366936
>>27366988
>>27366995
You size it up, and don't like what you find. The mavericks have got your forces spread all across the mountain, and time is on their side for... whatever it is they have planned. This drone-spitting contraption requires careful consideration and a cautious approach, both of which cost precious time. You're supposed to keep yourself conserved for Solstrike when--and if--he shows up.

Fuck that.

You dash in under the gunfire yelling for Diamond to hold fire as you let off one last pair of T. Shells to screen your approach. They manage to get most, but not all, of the particle shots. Fortunately, you're built tough, ignoring the familiar sizzle of energy offloading itself onto your armor as you bound up, hand going back for your misericorde. You clear the shells to either side, plunging meteorically forward as you bury the 'corde to the hilt in the plating just as it retracts.

The blade itself doesn't ignite right away, for the split-second it's in your vision--the field is instead filled a clear liquid almost like water. The instant the 'tip' touches the cowling, it explodes into a cloud of grey-white fog as the containment envelope cycles, and finally, the blade springs to life with an audible snap, all in a fraction of a second.

The results are immediate and gratifying, even as your shoulder slams into the cowling with your momentum. One whole piece snaps off, shattered clean through. The blade itself failed to penetrate the core deeply, but you left a wound--and what's more, the covering is no longer complete, leaving an opening, just as long as the power field is off. You disengage the blade and fall back to the floor, rolling away as the field re-engages.

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>>27367601
"Anode, Communications," you hear Fryctoria's voice again over the comms, "Our forces are reporting a total of five SIfers encountered. They've been pinging Saetos sightings all over the place, burying us in false positives. All of which have been verified no-shows."

God damn it. Is he really not here?

>Finish it quickly. Put a Lockon Hunter through the hole.
>See how it likes a Chaff Rocket pinging around inside the casing.
>Wear it down cautiously now. There's no hurry.
>Other?

>>27367633
Put a laser through the hole. The chaff will me much handier if we come across Saetos, I think, so best to conserve as much of that as we can.

>>27367633
>Finish it quickly. Put a Lockon Hunter through the hole.
Again, the sooner we leave, the better. Plus, Blackouts are better served elsewhere.

>>27367778
Not to say they're not good in this choice. Blackout chaff in exceedingly close quarters will ruin any electronics.

>>27367633
>Finish it quickly. Put a Lockon Hunter through the hole.
Fire all aft laser cannons

>>27367633
Currently available L.Hunter: 10.
Currently available C.Rocket: 7.

Of the two, I'd prefer using the L.Hunter. It's a damn shame we can't use the T.Coil (31 remaining) instead somehow, but a) it's kind of impractical here and b) even if it weren't, horrible Jagwire/Wolfspider flashbacks.

(What I wouldn't give for an Energy Tank...)

>>27367633
>Wear it down cautiously now.

he's not out there, so he's probably in here. if we risk a big boom or take unnecessary hits trying to finish it uickly, we might end up facing the boss with no patchup time

we shoudl take it down carefully and then chek back with camp to see what oether intel we're getting on SS

I thought we had less lock-ons remaining.

Drawing out the fight could also mean more errors made while dodging. Ending it now is preferable.

>>27368229
Options say "cautiously" vs. "quickly." I can see where he might get that there's going to be a difference in reliability.

There's also the chance the hole closes and we waste firepower and opportunity trying to angle the LH. And they might be useful against the bird, if he's around. What about charged fire? Sustained pelting always finds an opening eventually

>>27368229
See >>27365772.
We've used zero of either, this thread.

>>27368063
As of >>27367633, the intel we're getting is roughly "what the fuck, what the fuck, I don't know, what the fuck."

>>27367633
Assuming all options mean "wait until the power field goes down, then target the core," we might as well take out a gun or two while we're waiting. Straight buster, though; no point in expending resources on that.

My only concern is that a laser might not be enough to take out the core in one shot, whereas, well, >>27367824. If the laser's powerful, we're good.

(Or we could charge it again and feed it a Double-A Special.)

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>>27367980
>>27367824
>>27367778
>>27367682
Fake sightings or not, you don't like any of this. You quickly rule out a tension coil--while you don't doubt thrashing one around under the plate would tear up the core, you also doubt you could get it moving like that through such a small breach. Sizing up your ammunition, you decide to plunk one precision laser through the gap. "Hit the drone as soon as you can," you say, "I'm gonna try to kill this thing."

Diamond obliges you, flying up and daring the guns to be at the ready. Sure enough, the Icarion is completed and launches out of the field. The thing is dead on arrival, as the 7th's officer slashes the thing out of the air with the tip of his wing. The moment the field drops, though, you've aimed and fired. The laser drills neatly through the middle and leaves a clean, sizzling hole in the control pod. After a series of unhappy sizzles, cracks, and pops, the assembly powers down, the guns falling silent as the system fails.

Just to be cautious, you pump some plasma into the half-open pod, and aside from voiding the warranty, nothing further happens. At the far end of the room, another shuttered gate retracts, opening the way forward. "Saetos?" you ask.

Diamond shrugs. "Probably. Sure as hell isn't Fly. You ready?"

>Let's head upstairs and meet the bird.
>The door could be another trap. Let's make our own entrance.
>Other?

>>27368864
Any entrance we make could be a new exit for him. Let's play this straight and advance with caution.

>>27368864
>Let's head upstairs and meet the bird.
It's common courtesy as this point. If you break a friend's vase, you have to at least tell him, unless you're an asshole like that.

>>27368864
>Let's head upstairs and meet the bird.

>>27368864
>Let's head upstairs and meet the bird.

>>27368864
Time to give the bird the bird.

>>27368864
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he was dead all along.

Lets go see.

>>27369231
He's probably like the Master from Fallout, overdosed on upgrades and is a mess of immobile reploid parts, grafted onto the bases main computer like the emprah to his throne.

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>>27368899
>>27368915
>>27369004
>>27369027
>>27369133
>>27369231
"Yeah," you nod, "Ready. Stack up."

You advance through first, ready for an attack to come from ahead, behind, or below. Nothing ever comes, and before long you find yourself on the stairs up, wending in a spiral up to the top of the battlements. The interior wall is seethrough, and you can see the approach into the open-topped fort is a murderous gauntlet of those "nests" that deploy Tubamails--the unfortunately named bird mechaniloids.

The approach is long and foreboding, but finally things begin to brighten as the sun, high overhead, begins to cast down light through the stairwell. You arrive topside, Diamond right behind you, buster and lance out.

The biting wind and cold greet you as you crest the battlements. The peaks the fort is nestled between loom on either side. The air is clear and thin. Higher peaks stretch overhead in the distance, giving you a wide, spectacular view of part of the range.

"Communications," you radio, "It's clear up here. Negative on Saetos." Silence. "Communications, come in! Fryctoria!"

Diamond tries as well. "Seventh, respond. Any hunter personnel receiving, come in!"

Nothing. No response. Just dead air.

"...Anode." Diamond murmurs. You turn and see the expression on his face. "Look."

At the base of the mountains, far below, you can just barely make out the outline of the hunter base camp.

Shangri-La is ablaze.

>Diamond, get the guys downstairs. We need the Seventh down there NOW.
>We need to consolidate whatever we can or this is going to be a slaughter.

>>27369344
Of course.

Why would he be here? Why the FUCK would he be up here? What reason did we have to believe that he would be up here?

>We need to consolidate whatever we can or this is going to be a slaughter.

>>27369344
>Diamond, get the guys downstairs. We need the Seventh down there NOW.
Here we go.

>>27369396
That there was a consistent Saetos signal here, and this is his base. For all we know, Saetos could be on his way back after razing the camp.

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>>27369344
And on that note, I'm pausing (not ending) the thread. Team Jerkass assembled in force today, with satellite members Tyler, Jay, and Dylan, who I rarely get to see.
More late tonight if I'm awake enough or, more likely, tomorrow. Shit has officially gotten real.

>>27369344
>We need to consolidate whatever we can or this is going to be a slaughter.
I seem to recall the mission stated to not engage Saetos with flyers.

>>27369344
>Consolidate.

We need to know where everyone is, and the Seventh do not stand a chance against a one eagle army.

So pleased. So very pleased.

>>27369465
He said down THERE, not up here. Seventh needs to return to base and find what happened and any survivors.

>>27369409
We don't trust anything but eyewitness sightings of this bastard from now on, for whatever good that will do now.

>>27369461
>>27369476
just wanted to let you guys know that you are doing God's-Light's?- Work here.

I'm not caught up just yet, but once I am, you can expect more fanart.

I also do requests, as Cosgrove can attest to.

seriously I used to put out between three to five drawings a thread when he ran bleach quest daily

>>27369529
Maverick counterintelligence is a bitch, eh?

>>27369538
Gotta love the SIfers. ^_^

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>we fucked up
god damn

would things turn out any differently if we stop agreeing with HQ and use outside-the-box approaches?

or are we fucked either way?

>>27371671
Too many people to watch out for, both ally and enemy, something like this was going to happen.

Honestly they tell us not to go cowboy but the guilt from having people die under his command is going to do exactly that, alternatively he just gets used to it and keeps going.Either can happen I think since while we like going cowboy we also have a pretty damn high willpower so to speak.

Hopefully the guys we sent back were able to mitigate the damage done.

>>27369520
There is a pretty good chance that Saetos is what happened down there. It is to risky for the Seventh guys.

>>27371671
We knew that he'd been faking his single all this time, but wasted our time here based on a single and because we expected the boss to be in his boss room.

It's just like last time, where we assumed the problem was over once the boss was disabled, because that was the end of the level. These fuckers have started breaking the rules.

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>>27371671
We did everything right, and improvised quite a bit.
It seems this shit went tits up due to bad intel.
Again.

>>27373167
Or Saetos is more clever than the Hunters expected. None of them thought to look underground.

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>>27369344
>We need to consolidate whatever we can or this is going to be a slaughter.

this stinks of bait. even if he hit the communications(which is what you do first when attack any isolated force) and set a bunch of stuff on fire, he shouldn't have the forces left to outright take Shangrila, S rank be damned.
He's baiting us so he can pick more of us off.

>>27369344
>We need to consolidate whatever we can or this is going to be a slaughter.
Agreeing with >>27374467 here. They've got some heavy goddamn hitters, if we break formation now we are just setting up a hunter shooting gallery for the mavs.

oh god please don't die MHQ

>>27380161
Well, okay...

Sorry about that, folks, some stuff came up at the end of the night. Getting geared up again.

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>>27369396
>>27369465
>>27369473
>>27374467
>>27375981
You feel an eerie sort of calm overtake you, with a jagged, frenetic panic buried just underneath it, gnashing and writhing and threatening to burst out and overtake you. You struggle not to let it bubble over.

"Anode, we gotta get down there." Diamond's voice is hurried and tense.

"Negative," you reply, your own high and tight with pressure. "It would be a massacre. Come on."

"It is a massacre!" He protests, following behind as you turn and start down the stairs again. "5th is down there--"

"I know," you nod, "I know. I sent Polar, I hope that buys them time, but the cordon is more than half Seventh. If we lose you, we lose any hope of keeping him here. Anyone we send in one at a time is as good as dead."

"...All right," he relents, "What do we do?"

"Break off. This is now a race. Scour the fort for as much of our team as we can and get them assembling outside, mavericks be damned. Do you know what N5 SIfers look like?"

"No..." he admits.

"Me neither. Okay, find someone who does, and until you do, kill any maverick you see that you don't recognize. We need comms again, and if they didn't hail us to scream they were under attack, they're being jammed. Fast as you can, we meet up out front in no less than five minutes. Go."

He doesn't need telling twice, throwing himself off his feet and into the air as a blast of thrust overtakes you. You cut in the opposite direction, using every trick available to keep your top speed up, careening through enemy hallways with reckless abandon that would make Schwarz cringe.

>Hunt down those SIfers. You need the airwaves back.
>No time for a wild goose chase, Just focus on gathering hunter troops.

>>27381721
Focus on gathering hunter troops.

>>27381721
First we need to get our shit together, and since we don't know what a Slfer looks like, it doesn't make much sense to start hunting them down.

No harm in slaughtering any maverick we come across in the process, though.

>>27381721
>No time for a wild goose chase, Just focus on gathering hunter troops.
Let's get consolidated and look for something that we know what it looks like.

>>27381721
>No time for a wild goose chase, Just focus on gathering hunter troops.

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>>27381826
>>27381907
>>27382012
>>27382183
You exhale through your teeth as you rocket through the halls, past occasional stray mechaniloids who don't even have time to acquire you as a threat, let alone chase you with fire. No, you can't take time hunting down a type of maverick you've never even seen before. Maybe one of the hunters you find will know what they look like. Maybe.

At least they did a good job here, you note. The halls are scored with fire and rubble, scattered debris and fallen weapons marking the hunter advance through the fortress.

You round a corner to a dozen guns, tensing to turn your sprint into a dodge--And then Strikeforce Siskin barks the order to hold fire. "Commander, where have you been? We've been hailing--"

You hold up a hand. "Jammed. Shangri-La's being hit right now. We need to muster and go."

That's all he needs to hear, falling into line. "Copy that. Stack up, Seventh."

You make the sweep, though unfortunately no one here knows what the goddamned SIfers look like. A few minutes' time and you've found Warwing, your Berets, and most of your Lanceteamers, gathering them with you outside. Diamond shows up with Addax, another of the finches, and Danphe just a moment later.

"You've all been briefed, I assume," you announce. "We can discuss on the move. We need to double-time it down the mountain. Be wary for ambush, I think this was their goal all along. Move out!"

You make good time, even with your slower troops, but every second feels like an agonizing decade, knowing the mavericks are doing--something--to your home base as you speak.

"Seventh, conjecture," you call, to break up the silence. "What do you think he's doing?"

"Boom and zoom," Diamond says, "he's hitting targets fast and hard and then pulling back. He might already be gone with the element of surprise."

"With respect, nobody down there stands a chance against him," Addax counters. "I think he's hitting our softest assets while we're in disarray."

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>>27382700
"We don't even know it's him."

Danphe shakes his head, cutting in. "It's got to be him. It's practically the only place he hasn't pinged on our radar."

"I agree," you nod. "The question is what he's going to do when we get there."

"This is probably bait. For us," adds Euphonia.

"Do we have any choice?" you ask grimly.

"Exactly."

Halfway down the mountain, there's a pop of static and then a message on comms. In unison, every officer's hand--yours included--flies to their ear as the missing finch, Shocklight Fringe, hails you. "Any hunters receiving, this is Fringe. Where are you guys? It's a boneyard in here, we just got another SIfer--"

"Shocklight," Addax interrupts, "The situation has escalated. Get your team out and head down ASAP."

"Roger that," he answers, "What's the situation?"

"Base is being hit. No time to talk."

"On the way," Fringe replies. "Be there in less than two minutes."

A few Lanceteamers and Berets share nervous looks, which you don't overlook. Flak and Susan simply look straight ahead, features set. You all advance, scanning the skies below the high winter sun. Another tense cluster of seconds squeeze by, and still nothing.

"Shocklight here," the missing finch radios again, "We're almost there. I can see you now."

"Wait," Diamond calls. "You're in the air?"

"Judgment call, sir," he says apologetically, "From what I saw, things don't look--"

"Don't look what?" Addax radios. "Fringe? Shocklight? Shocklight, are you receiving?"

You wait there in tense silence a moment as heads crane up to scan the skies for Fringe. For a terrible, cold eternity, there is no response.

And then you're thrown tumbling across the slopes of the mountain as a sun explodes at your feet.

>>27382723
Aw fuck

>>27382723
Anticipation exceeding 100%.

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It's hard to figure out what's happening--your vision swims and you roll end-over-end, scrambling to try to find purchase with your hands, your feet, anything. You see bodies sliding down the hill just like you, some moving, some not, as you finally manage to blindly throw a Coil and snag against the side of the mountain itself. Your body is jerked back as the line goes taut, finally stopping your fall.

You didn't even notice you were hit. Your entire front is melted and burned, and with a moment of vertigo and dread, you realize you can't feel any of it. Grimacing, you haul yourself upright and finally regain your footing just as Solstrike Saetos bursts out from the blinding sun. Hunters around him stagger and fall with cries of pain as their bodies are shredded by...nothing at all. Addax rises to meet him with a leap, and instead is sent sprawling backwards by a powerful kick to the chin. He reels, recovering as he triggers his gravity abilities to catch himself, just in time for Saetos's hand to grab an antler and the side of his head.

Addax--the guy who you've seen break down walls and crush Ride Armor like a tin can--stifles a roar of pain as the golden eagle tears his antler out of his head. They struggle this way and that for a horrible moment, all while you're trying to get your legs to work, and Addax puts his back to you.

A second later, and you can see Solstrike through a massive hole in the Seventh senior officer's chest. The maverick releases him with a light push, and Vector "Sneak” Addax crumples backwards, dead.

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Solstrike Saetos towers over you, regal and proud, tall and menacing, and sporting the most sickeningly smug grin you have ever seen in your life. Sharp eyes cast down at you from underneath a gold crest, matching the trim on his red armor. High, upswept pauldrons double his wings, made of massive, long plates. Cruel, steely talons on his feet glint on the snow and rock.

"You're alive?" he marvels at you, blithely ignoring plasmafire pinging off his wings and back. "Impressive."

>

>>27383276
S. Definitely S.

>Tell all other hunters to get out of there and head for base camp. Anode is going to engage Saetos and fry the bird.

>>27383276
>"Solstrike Saetos, you're under arrest."
How much charge we got?

Itrs rought - but drain Sneak for the juice, top off, adn can use him as cover - if we're gonan hit him with an electric ubercannon, we'll need every % - especially after all the mad dash to get there and regorup

>>27383563
That's kinda nasty and inhumane by reploid standards.

>>27383490
I'm not sure how useful that's gonna be as a stalling tactic. He's holding all the cards; we don't even know what he killed most of those hunters with. Some kind of invisible energy... Sheer heat or something? And he's shrugging off plasmafire like it was nothing, at least from behind... This whole thing has gone pear-shaped on us.

That's not even discounting the fact that he can apparently generate a miniature fucking sun and fly through it with no ill-effect. My earlier, private thoughts that we could tote along a bag of flour or a tar bomb or something to cut him off from the sun seem sickeningly hilarious right now.

That's a whole lot of energy he must be using, though. Maybe that's his weakness?

>>27383563
I'll vote against that. No Reploid cannibalism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SS94qc_JO8

>>27383276
Immediate tactical options include:
- Misericorde.
- - Raikousen+lance feint followed by side-dash + misericorde to the wing-joint.
- - Wait for his attempted CQC and stab him in whatever he tries to hit us with. Provoke, if necessary, with buster blast to the face.

- Immediate capacitor-blast while SS is in contact with the ground.

- Retreat.
- - Set up a cloud of chaff around _us_, to confuse matters while we do so.

- Stand there and wait for him to gloat.

I favor a misericorde option, since it seems SS's MO is high-velocity CQC anyway: it'll reduce at least one of his offense, his armor, or his mobility -- any of which is best to do at the *beginning* of the fight -- and hopefully also make him a little wary of approaching us physically again.

On the other hand, this means engaging in CQC with an S-class threat who wants to do that -- but then I don't really see how to stop the bastard; do you?

>>27383651
Going by what seems to be the Elemental triangle, Electric eats Fire which eats Ice which eats Electric, the Misericorde might not be the best weapon right now. I think the best weapon right now is T. Coil and our natural talents.

>>27383651
The very first thing we need to do is ground this bird, which means clipping his wings, metaphorically or literally. Whether it's a T. Coil to trap/sever his wings at the joint, or a lance/misericorde to the joint, our first job is to make sure he can't take off. Kill his air superiority, and Seventh can more readily assist.

The weapons are a different matter, though. Radiation is a bitch.

Blackouts above his head to keep him from flying off, shock him with some electricity while he's grounded.

Save juice until we get a tension coil around him and channel all our juice into it, unless he melts it off, then we'll have to try something else

AND STAY MOBILE!

How clingy is the chaffe from a blackout rocket? If this guy still uses solar energy to recharge, maybe it can hinder that..?

>>27383943
>>27383959
We're in the open air on a mountainside. A cloud of blackout chaff isn't going to keep Saetos pinned. There's too much room for him to move. If you want to limit his mobility, you need to cripple him.

>>27383729
>T. Coil to trap/sever his wings at the joint
Hadn't considered that, and I like it more. Only problem is that he's dodgy as fuck so we'll still probably have to do it from close-ish range to prevent that, or at lesat close enough that he can't see it coming.

I'm currently leaning towards "provoke CQC; confuse CQC with chaffsplosion centered on Anode; T.Coil fucking everywhere."

>The weapons are a different matter, though. Radiation is a bitch.
I think all we can do there is hope that he has to charge up to use the damn thing.

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>>27383276
A wild Solstrike Saetos appears >Slam and attempt to ground him with T.Coil
>Or Crazy Ivan and go berserk

>>27383276
Jesus christ

so this is like some mega man shit yeah

>>27384588
This is Maverick Hunter Quest, following the adventures of an OC Maverick Hunter between the events of X2 and X3.

>>27384588
Anode<X
MHQ Mavericks>MMX Mavericks
Therefore, we usually survive with 1HP, and sometimes don't even complete the mission.

>>27384788
Technically we have a perfect completion record. Every Maverick we've hunted has been retired, and before this Solstrike op, we have never lost a single soldier under our command.

>>27384832
The russian survived, though I guess that mission doesn't really count.

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Sorry about the delay there, something unpleasant came up. Then it came up two more times.
>>27383408
>>27383490
>>27383651
>>27383723
>>27383729
>>27383943
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XTh2Oh0h0c

You return his gaze as you haul yourself upright at long last, standing on shaky legs. "Stand down," you mutter.

He raises an eyebrow. "Was that for me, or for them?" He almost casually fans his wings and lifts off, adroitly avoiding Diamond as he careens in. He catches a claw to the face for his trouble, grabbing him and clamping down around his head with a snap of electromagnetic force. It surges through Diamond as he snap-kicks and lets go, whipping the now-senior 7th officer away. He struggles to engage his wingfoils unsuccessfully, twisting end over end through the air and then down the mountain.

You don't have time to check on him, because that fucking eagle is attacking again. he stretches his wings to their fullest high overhead, and fires them at the hunters below.

"Fire" is the right word, as his plumes lance down as burning spears, scattering in all directions, embedding themselves in the maverick hunters under your command. You only just dodge one yourself, struggling up the steep mountainside. You're about to move to advance again when your leg catches on something.

It's the hand of a Lanceteamer. Or half of one. "Sir," he whispers quietly, looking up at you through unfocused optics, shorn in half at the waist, "I would like to go home now, please."

His grip relaxes and he goes slack. KIA.

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>>27384892
You grimace and pull your leg free as the plume embedded in what remains his torso loses its red-hot-glow, and you notice that the poor soldier's body begins to take on an etched, scratchy pattern around it. Some kind of nanites? The glow returns slowly as it.. eats away material off the corpse, and then leeching it for energy to return to Saetos. Around the battlefield, they all retract back, shrugging off fire in midair as they return to sender. All the while, the snow kicks up in clouds of steam as hunters stagger and fall under an invisible hail of death.

"UV!" calls one of the finches as he screams overhead, "Switch to ultravio--AGH!" Midair, he clutches at his eyes and lists off-course. Saetos chooses to divebomb him, firing another sun that catches and engulfs the flyer. Only wreckage emerges from the heat.

This has to stop. You fire a coil up and feel it snag on Saetos. An instant later, he emits a glaring flash of light, and stands invisible against the sun, just another point of light. You feel your line go taut and feel yourself jerked off your feet and into the air, still blind. Something connects with your jaw and you reflexively twist, feeling a searing ball of heat only just miss your stomach. You fumble for your misericorde and lash out, hitting--something--and hearing the burst of steam as you plunge it into what feels like his wingjoint. But something's wrong, it doesn't sound nearly so loud, it must only be half charged--

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>>27384922
Your vision returns, faintly, to see him holding you up by your line. Before you can cut it, he grabs hold of your forearm with crushing strength, curiously eyeing the wound your knife left even while you fire your buster into his chest with nothing but faint empty ringing to show for it. You try to build up a charge and dig your buster in, point blank, but he only grabs it with his other hand and pushes it harmlessly aside.

Despite the intense heat around you, it's getting colder. You realize you feel a vague sensation of motion underneath the pain and look down to see the Himalayas far, far below. The air is thin and the sky growing dark. You turn to look him in the eye as he hauls you bodily to the very edge of space.

"Brave," Saetos comments. "Let's go for a trip."

A sensation of vertigo, and you're upside down and falling fast. He accelerates, boosting down at full force with an array of jet thrusters. The heat rises as he crushes you in his grip, ignoring your struggles as the ground grows closer, and closer, and closer--

And then everything goes white.

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>>27384922
>>27384952

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>>27384952
Goddammit.

>>27384952
If Anode survives this I think he's going to need a LOT more counceling.

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And that marks the end of this thread, at least for story content. I expect you have some questions. Cain and I are both on standby.

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>>27385019
Were going to need allot more than counseling

>>27385049

Is the next thread planned for two weeks from now?

>>27385080
That sounds about right. Next thread will be the Friday after next.

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>>27385112
I cannot wait

>>27385049
Are you using the Z/ZX element triangle as a basis for weapon effectiveness? (i.e. Fire beats Ice, Ice beats Electric, Electric beats Fire)

>>27385224
It's generally case-by-case. Suffice to say it's never arbitrary--there's a fluff explanation, and weaknesses/invulnerabilities are decided upon in advance. Jagwire was actually electric-type and immune to Anode's zap taps, for instance.

>>27385249
Is there any chance for us to fire our rockets while he is speeding down?

>>27385304
Right now we can't see shit, cap'n.

>>27385342
Don't mean we still can't shoot the fucker if he is right next to us.

>>27385304
Neither arm is/was angled to hit anything with them. They would have sailed off into empty air.

>>27385342
It probably would be a good time for Anode to fire off the Capacitor, though.

It's not like he'll ever be able to do it again anyway.

>>27385249
Figured that that was true about Jagwire.

I'm trying to figure out the weakness chain, and just want to make sure I start at the right base logic.

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>>27385377
well shit there goes that plan/idea, the only other way we can surprises him is if we find a way to use tension coils and Raikousen together.

Hmm... Are we dead?
Do we get to restart from checkpoint if we die?

Bcause if so I suggest we find out all we can about Saetos' abilities before dying.

>>27385633
All this and more will be answered next time.

dew dew dew

>>27385633
No we are still alive, but pretty much fucked up.
I honestly have no clew on how we could beat him we could survive and maybe have suspicion cast on us for surviving a death sentence, but short of getting reinforcements we will be lucky to get out in one piece.

>>27385737
Honestly the situation feels belly up to begin with. Once more intel has fucked us over like an abusive drunk uncle. It's next to impossible to be sure what the hell to do because the moment things look up, we get our rears assaulted.

>>27385775
To rub salt to the wound we probably would be blamed or either have suspicion cast on us again.

>>27385815
man our bet with the 4th just flew out the window

>>27383276
this drawing has great reaction image potential

>>27385049
Was there any way that this wasn't going to end in a bloodbath?

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>>27386319
They gave you this many troops for a reason. This is the face of an S-rank threat.

>>27386494
Yo, HC... I got a question... How long have you planned on running MHQ? From the time period between X2 and X3, or have you thought about continuing it beyond that period?

>>27387307
Well, he did say he wanted to do a Mega Man Zero quest at some point.

>>27387417
Not with the same characters, I'd imagine.

>>27387307
I've definitely got plans for a lot--a LOT--of stuff, and I'd like to start letting you take the setting off the canon rails over time. I think I'd wear out my welcome on /tg/ long before I got there, considering that we're still in what I'd consider the introductory period of MHQ after more than a year and a half.

Suffice to say I'll be continuing for the foreseeable future barring anything disastrous. I'll probably take a few long breaks here and there, recharge the old batteries, do some advanced planning, and to avoid becoming old and tiresome to the board.

>>27387613
HC, come on, now. Whenever you guys come out with a new MHQ, that's like... the highlight of my WEEK.

I can't wait to see what you have planned for the foreseeable future, and I eagerly anticipate the resolution of this cliffhanger in the coming Friday after this one.

>>27387675
D'aww, shucks, thank you.

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>>27388558
You're welcome, pal.

Just keep doing what you're doing and have fun while you do it.

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Still not caught up yet, but I come bearing gifts.

Gifts of Cathode.

This was based off that sketch from earlier on. Hope it's alright.

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>>27389136

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>>27389203
and also an Em.


Still working on BASED SCHWARZHUND.

considering I've been adding to that one every time I read something new about him....it's gonna be a while.

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>>27389253
>That fucking filename

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>>27389253
I don't have enough reaction pictures for this. You're fantastic, thank you so much.
>>27389279
>"Why, what's the filena--pffhahahahahaha"

>>27389136
>>27389253
Just fantastic.

>>27389380
I also did an India.
Was that posted yet?

>>27389336
More is coming.
The more I read of this, the more I feel compelled to art.

That, and I have massive one to three hour breaks in between my classes, so I have nothing to do BUT read more and put out art.

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>>27389440
Awesome. And she's not been posted yet, but since this is doing wonders for my mood, I'm cool sharing now.

>>27389464
There it is.

Also wanted to try my hand at some other characters without designs- any preferences or requests?

>>27389630
Cain Labs says he'll think about any it. Personally, if they're not too complex, I'd love to see a handful of the scenes that stuck out to you sketched.

>>27389761
already working on a Jagwire scene violent chest-bursting greatly prejudiced impalement by way of lance and probably Shoryuken, too, among other things.

Offer's always open, too.

>>27389761
Come on Hunter Command, we all know you want to see Largscale Mustang, former Reploid Hentai star turned Hunter put to art. Or maybe that's just me.

I do think our much put upon Chief deserves some artification. There's gotta be some Hammer Frog fans out there.

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eagerly awaiting next episode

please don't kill this quest

>>27390629
I'd draw a Frog Hammer.

Some ideas were had, but nothing concrete. Any suggestions?

>>27390901
How about Indy giving Anode the "IMMA FUCKING PILOT" kiss? Or "Who run Barter Town?"

>>27392538
>How about Indy giving Anode the "IMMA FUCKING PILOT" kiss?
Sold.

It shall be done, along with another project I've just gotten word of.

This'll be a good one.

>>27385019
The best counselling will be ripping that fuckers' wings off.

Only then can the healing begin.

>>27390901
How about the industrial lubricant incident?