"Materials." Hinako decided. "This will be a plan with several steps. The materials must seem like they're always in Chaldea or have the information pertaining to those treasures be logged in Chaldea. Sadly, neither of you have Golden Rule, else this will be easier."
"So a reverse heist, eh, Master? I might just get used to your command~"
"It will be tricky." Caster cautioned. "But the disarray in Chaldea will work to our favour. Do you have any particular thing you'd like to find, Master?"
"No, I've my primary catalyst with me for my planned Servant. But there will be need for more Servants. And of enhancement."
"Like what, Master?"
"Henry Colt had designs for better versions of his guns, ones that involved thaumaturgy. Thunderer can be," She paused, unsure how attached the gunslinger would be to his piece. "Refurbished."
"...I take it back, I already am used to your command. Just- no more fighting a Greek demigod?"
The Master allowed herself a small smile. "I'll consider it."
Director Olga Marie Animusphere would consider the past day to be the worst day of her life.
But there's no time to ruminate on that. Not now.
The scared and scarred daughter left alone is not here. Here, is the Director of Chaldea, orchestrating the effort of saving humanity. Built out of her father's success and with numerous hagglings and dealings, Chaldea brooked none of the standard cutthroat practice of the Clocktower or the mundane frivolities of normal society. The business of averting extinction is not to be distracted by subversions.
It had a price. All things do. None would accept a large number of people privy to the Moonlit World. Many would not accept the lack of the pettiness of the Clocktower. The proverbial ship was run tightly, drawing from all the influence of the Animusphere Family to gain specialists and polymaths and more from all corners of both worlds.
Was.
Eighty people died from the bombs. Out of the 400 of Chaldea's On-Site personnel, only sixty four remain stable and relatively unscatched from the sabotage. There is much work to be done and here, that work starts.
"Report." The firm voice of the Animusphere is heard and the representative of the five Department gives her their undivided attention.
The first representative is from the Staffing Department — the artifact name the HR Department — responsible for the wellbeing of Chaldea's personnels. The logistics — from food, board, and materials — that Chaldea needs to operate rest on their table to deal and work with
Department Cohesion (1d100): 60
Department Leadership (1d20): 3
Chief Staffer Harold Wittgenstein, the man who had served Chaldea for twelve years is not here. He's dead when the first bombs hit. And so is his second. His third and fourth are interred in cryofreeze. His fifth, contained in a wheelchair, could only nod at you. Sulo Anselm, a UN bureaucrat in his fifties, speaks to the assembled personnel. His voice leaden deep as he speaks his piece.
"Despite the losses, the department is surviving. For a given word anyway. Our main concern is as has been compiled. The perkele Lainur," Olga Marie's heart twinge still at the act... or even the mere mention of his name. "Is trying to ensure that we die in all the ways possible. Hydroponics is bombed to smithereens. We have, at best, one week of food supply. Incursions to retrieve food supplies might be the best choice we have in this endeavour."
"Repair of the bay is impossible?"
"Yes, Director. It would take too long to do so. Aside from that, we - the department, that is - have one or two proposals that we can execute should you will it." His eyes betray his expectations. 'Too many fires, Director. We can survive without them… but they might prove of use.'
"I'll consider them." With that, he looks at the representative of the Security Department. The name betrays its second purpose. The security of Chaldea resides in its legitimacy and purpose, and the existence of Servants as deterrent. No, the second — yet arguably main — function of this department is that it governs the power generation of Chaldea. Without which, Chaldea is left to its doom.
Department Cohesion: 63
Department Leadership: 1
The Director, and most of everyone else, spares Avrum Yisshakar a sympathetic glance. The sole standing survivor of Squad One to Five that Chaldea maintains. Of all the Departments, the Security was hit the hardest. Of Chief Harold Grainsbury, there were no remains. Of Vice-Chief Jennifer Runa-Velstad, there remains but a comatose woman missing most of her limbs. Of their subordinates, all but Yisshakar remain uninterned in the cryofreeze. When he speaks, he speaks in a mechanical cant, his voice modulated under a wrapping of bandages and prosthetics that covers his whole being.
"The Department is able. We will fulfill our task. Give us your word, Director." That's all he said.
"...Right." The Director turns to face Romani, the beleaguered mission control from last night is somehow more frazzled. Yet despite that, the Animusphere finds comfort in his presence. For years on end, he worked as the Chief Medical Officer of the Medical Department under her father and for that, the sense of normalcy settles in her. "Your report?"
Department Cohesion: 43
"We're doing badly, Director. Too many people are injured and the capacity for us to handle them are pushed to the breaking point. We'd need help and fast, before we run out of supplies."
"Would the help of Medea lessen the burden?" She queried.
"Some," Romani shakes his head. "But at a certain point it would, um, be more impractical than not. From both power expenditure and the sheer attention needed. Miss Medea is well, very useful for a lot of our projects."
"I'll see the report for myself. And-" She turns to see the representative of the fourth department, Analytics Department. Their task is the task most unsung. The ones who worked on the clock inferring data given from TRISMEGISTUS and SHEBA in order to gain even the locations of the Singularities. The ones who would report on the numerous mini-Singularities that dot the earth to make incursions to.
Department Cohesion: 20
Department Leadership: 18
"-Report, Chief Analyst Sterling Maxamed." Another comfortable normalcy. The Analytics Department is spared of the decapitation strike that plagued the other departments… but it's not spared much else. When Maxamed speaks, it is with softness and calm.
"Director, my report will state the severity of the chaos that befell my department. In the short, our databanks and servers are fried and destroyed and most of the data we have collected over the past decade are more or less missing."
"Recovery?"
"Weeks. Not even complete recovery is possible at this juncture. But I handle the work of the Department, if need be." Not a boast, a statement of fact. The heir of the Maxameds rose to this position for a reason, after all. "Aside from that, we're still finding the location of the first major disturbances. Western Europe. At the very least, we've narrowed it down there."
"Thank you. And finally, Da Vinci?" At that, the head of the Research Department beamed. Of course, the moment it became clear that Chaldea had summoned this one ace, all considerations on who should head the Department vanishes. In the meetings of past, her normal exuberance is something welcomed.
Department Cohesion: 36
Yet even here, in this room, that youthful verve dims. "Well, it's better than I feared, Director. But I will need time to sort everything. Rebuilding the facilities is well, technically my task but there is a pressing matter. The Holy Grail of Fuyuki. From what info Medea relayed, it seems to be the cause of the Singularity. It needs to be checked before we could find a use for it."
"And the uses are…"
"Plenty, Director. But I'm afraid that my methodology would not be useful in this scenario. A fully magical construct like this is not beyond my understanding but Medea's help would expedite the process."
"She would be crucial for healing and-"
"I know, Romani. But the proposal is well, a proposal. I have some other ones that can help your department as well, you know."
The Animusphere interjected. "Very well, Da Vinci. We'll be taking a recess for ten minutes. I need to digest the proposals for a time." At that, the assembled representatives nodded as they relaxed and went on their way. She notes the ease in which Maxamed took the handles on Anselm's wheelchair, the aging man using his free hands to light up a pipe as they exited the meeting room. Noted too, are the sheer placid calm of Avrum, who merely closed his eyes and waited in place for his orders. And of course, the talks between the Archaman and Da Vinci, it always was odd to know that a Heroic Spirit took an interest in him but well, that's that.
Right, now to mull over the proposals.
Chaldea Turn Overview
Chaldea Actions
In this turn phase, you will be directing the Director as she tries to rebuild Chaldea, one week at a time, and push it to save the world from its destruction. To her — and yours, Questers — advantage, Marisbilly's selection method picked not for the best, but for the cross-disciplinarians. People whose skill sets lend them capacity to work in all sorts of tasks within Chaldea. This lends them the capacity to flit between the Departments and as such, gives each Department a base of one Action and gives Olga Marie one Action that she can assign to any Department. As interred personnels return active and milestone actions are committed to, the Departments and Director will gain more actions.
Servant Actions
The other advantage to the Director's favour is the existence of Servants themselves. In the background, each summoned Servant will not be idle and will assist in the tasks around Chaldea — more so in the early turns — and make life easier for everyone. But some Servants are… more. In expertise, in speciality, in some given form, the materialization of these Servants unlocks certain Actions that only they can do.
Not every Servant has an associated Action, or even have them be unlocked right off the bat, due to the lack of preceding actions done in Chaldea. A single Servant has one action that they commit to per turn. Collectively however, there is a base of two Actions that all Servants share. As with Chaldea Actions, reaching certain milestones will increase this cap..
Success Rate and Action Costs
The only cost is well, time. Well, that, and opportunity costs of the actions not committed. Normally, that is. With the damages sustained, there are certain additional costs that may be incurred. On the plus side, the omni-disciplinarian nature of Chaldea's personnel and the force multiplier on each Servant means that there's no need for fate (heh) and luck to interfere in the completion of the tasks. Once Chaldea itself becomes self-sufficient, the artificial costs imposed by the sabotage will become non-existent. Before that, those costs — food, medical supply, fuel/energy — would need to be contended with, however.
Pick 1 Action from each Department and 1 Action from Olga Marie. In addition, pick a total of two Servant Actions for eligible Servants.
Staffing Department: Sulo Anselm is not a mage. In the department though, he would be the third best thing. A people's person. His proposals are sound, but they carry an edge of dismissiveness towards the magical portions of Chaldea. Nothing that wouldn't be considered unprofessional, but something to note.
[] Food. Just… food. Send an incursion into the many many disparate micro-Singularities that dot the world. The objective is simple. Procure as many foodstuffs that you can get. Accompanying the proposal is a simple quota of what sorts of food items that should be procured. It does not escape your notice that a lot of the food categorization seems to be tailored for a shepherd and a rancher to acquire easily. Time: One Week. Result: Gain 3 Weeks worth of food.
[] A Memorial. Earth is Incinerated. The survival of the human race is in doubt. In Chaldea alone, a fifth of its staff are dead. There, Anselm states, is a need for a time to reset the broken bones. For a painful time of remembrance, lest it festers and brings down the cohesion of the Chaldean as a whole. Time: One Week. Result: Morale… increase? Other benefits?
[] Hydroponics Reactivation Pt. 1. The entirety of the Hydroponics Wing is buried in rubble. They need to be cleared first. Enlist some Servant-power and what few able workers to shift the debris and prepare for rebuilding. Time: Three Weeks. Result: Hydroponics Wing is cleared of debris. Unlocks Part 2.
Security Department: Avrum Yisshakar is… not an ideal person to lead the department. You know it, he knows it, everyone does. But for now, he's the only one you have. And to be fair to him, he's not just a soldier, he's also an engineer aware of the problems his department needs to solve. His proposals leave much depth to be desired but in its simplicity lies solutions.
[] Repair the Reactors Phase One. The destruction to Chaldea's power supply is… significant. Repairs would be something to be done in a matter of months and unlike foodstuffs, procurement of refined fuel is decidedly harder. The best way then, is to make more with less. The secondary reactors have their spare parts relatively untouched in the destruction. Increase the efficiency of those reactors and prolong the fuel supply. Time: One Week. Result: Increase Secondary Reactors Operational Level to 50%, 'Increase' 2 Weeks worth of fuel supply.
[] Repair the Wind Turbines. Chaldea, as a measure of energy-sufficiency, has a small windfarm. Its output is enhanced through cutting-edge tech, thaumaturgical expertise, and a large amount of capital. With its almost complete destruction, there'd normally be no way to repair the turbines. But the existence of Leonardo Da Vinci changes things. Divert her effort here and let her genius be applied. Cost: Da Vinci Action. Time: One Week. Result: Fully repair the turbines to 100% Operatibility. Increase fuel supply by 1 Week. Lessen the load on the overworked Reactors. ???
[] Seal the Storage Wing. The Storage Wing. It's a deceptive simple name. The Storage Wing stores many things. From the personal effects of the Master Candidates too large to bring to their room, the numerous supply caches amassed from world over, and many many more. You have no way of quantifying these, not yet. But what you can do is to ensure that no further degradation occurs. There's no telling which inventory items are liable to be destroyed from the extreme cold. Makeshift tarps, rubble clearing, the works. Time: One Week. Result: Self-explanatory. Gain Actions to inventorize items.
Medical Department: Romani Archaman is a frazzled bundle of exhausted energy. You can relate. His proposals are penned in his usual conciseness and leaves none to be desired. You can work with this.
[] Procuring Meds. The medical supplies are strained and with few methods of procuring modern medicine, low-cost alternatives are needed. Within the proposal lies numerous medicinal plants that can be procured throughout the globe and times. Procuring these might not be a straightforward affair though… Time: One Week. Result: Alleviate Chaldea's strained medical supply. Unlocks further medical procurement actions.
[] Grecian Healing. Romani is adamant on pushing this proposal through. There's a number of Chaldean personnel who he thinks can be healed by the end of the week and allow for further productivity and more work to be done. To allow for this, Medea would be needed, working to stabilize critical personnel and free up space. Cost: Medea Action. Time: One Week. Result: Alleviate Chaldea's strained medical capacity. Unlocks 'Directorial Coordination' action.
[] Prosthetic Procurement. Da Vinci have, at the end of the recess, added an extra proposal. A good number of the confined Chaldean personnel are invalid for one reason or the other. She volunteers to fit most of Chaldea's incapacitated staff members with mechanical prosthetics. She reassured that there is negligible motor function loss for most of the personnels. Cost: Da Vinci Action. Time: One Week. Result: Alleviate Chaldea's strained medical capacity. Increases Chaldean productivity. Unlocks further mechanical augmentation options.
Analytics Department: Sterling Maxamed is a man of few words. But you can work with that. For a new Family, he is hard working, diligent, and nonplussed. His proposals are short, concise, and do not meander into tangents. Not that there's many proposals to begin with for now.
[] Backfill Documentation. Tantamount of the effort of the department is the recovery of information from the wrecked databanks and servers. It will be a hard slog, shifting through corrupted data and files to find the usable information. But it's a slog that the department excels in. Time: Two Weeks. Result: Unlocks actual departmental options. ???
[] AAR: Fuyuki. A side proposal put forth by Maxamed is a simple one. He believes that there's a particular need to compile a report of how the two Masters performed in Chaldea's first crucible. Attached preliminary data is… interesting, to say the least. And enlightening too. Time: Two Weeks. Result: Gain an AAR and lessons to be learned from Fuyuki. Unlocks enhancement options in other Departments in the coming turns.
Research Department: Da Vinci. You don't need to say anything else. She has a lot of plans. Plans that, admittedly, neglects her actual subordinates in their worth but she's Da Vinci. There's no bad blood in this on the part of staff under her, not in this scenario and after years of acclimatization. It is a bias worth noting though.
[] Automata Creation. There's a demand for untiring workers and while the current roster of Servants aren't ones to shy over menial work, other Servants may voice objections. It will be somewhat costly, of course. Cost: Da Vinci Action and 1 Week of Fuel. Time: One Week. Result: Mechanical Automatas capable of doing programmed tasks. Alleviate the workload of human personnel. Cut the time cost of certain Actions and unlock others.
[] Spare Parts Creation. Out of the many tasks that presses Chaldea, maintenance is an insidious one. As it stands, with the facilities being put to a straining point, there are signs of early wear and tear and, Da Vinci explained, replacement would be needed. Catalogue which facilities need repair and create a rudimentary supply line. Time: One Week. Result: Have a cushion of parts needed to repair Chaldea's facilities. Gain early warning to system failure.
[] Holy Grail Investigation. Of import is the recovery of the Holy Grail of Fuyuki. It is a chalice fully brimming with energy and could do much for Chaldea… and yet, it is something that needs testing and checking. Fortunately, one of the greatest Magus of the Age of Gods is here. Have her ascertain the use of the Holy Grail and if it is indeed worth using. Cost: Medea Action. Time: One Week. Result: Gain information on the Grail. Unlocks actions on utilizing it.
Vote in Plan Form.
