The way people work to make the history of the world make some sense is great. It's hilarious to see all the places where you can go "yeah, I can buy that this was done out of spite" and "someone powerful decided things are done this way now and no one has wanted to be the guy that changed it again since"
The way people work to make the history of the world make some sense is great. It's hilarious to see all the places where you can go "yeah, I can buy that this was done out of spite" and "someone powerful decided things are done this way now and no one has wanted to be the guy that changed it again since"
It is a surprisingly common reason for why history is the way it is. For example the State of Missouri has that little southern "heel" because some large landowner wanted to be in Missouri instead of Arkansas and petitioned/lobbied Congress to approve borders with the heel. The Missouri delegation was flummoxed when they saw the final map
"Why did Congress give us this southern heel?"
"Who cares,we got more land and coast along the river."
The way people work to make the history of the world make some sense is great. It's hilarious to see all the places where you can go "yeah, I can buy that this was done out of spite" and "someone powerful decided things are done this way now and no one has wanted to be the guy that changed it again since"
It is a surprisingly common reason for why history is the way it is. For example the State of Missouri has that little southern "heel" because some large landowner wanted to be in Missouri instead of Arkansas and petitioned/lobbied Congress to approve borders with the heel. The Missouri delegation was flummoxed when they saw the final map
"Why did Congress give us this southern heel?"
"Who cares,we got more land and coast along the river."
I remember reading about this incident. Purportedly, no one at the meeting would meet the eyes of the Arkansas representatives due to knowing exactly why that heel was cut off, but no one was shameless enough to admit they'd accepted a huge bribe to change the boarder.
Real-Life history is full of examples of 'this was done out of spite' as well. It's a little-known fact that most of the Central and South American revolutions were funded by a small group of extremely wealthy planters in the West Florida/Republic of West Florida area (between Tallahassee and New Orleans) who simply hated the Spanish Crown to an absurd degree. In hindsight, that was probably because of the Inquisition's shenanigans in the Louisiana territory.
But, yeah, there are a bunch of really absurd things if you look close enough at certain sections of history.
Another good example would be Louisiana's land claims. It's an utter nightmare to actually make sense of because the region's been under French, Spanish, and British colonial systems as well as the American territorial system. So looking at property ownership in my home state? It's just bizarre.
Real-Life history is full of examples of 'this was done out of spite' as well. It's a little-known fact that most of the Central and South American revolutions were funded by a small group of extremely wealthy planters in the West Florida/Republic of West Florida area (between Tallahassee and New Orleans) who simply hated the Spanish Crown to an absurd degree. In hindsight, that was probably because of the Inquisition's shenanigans in the Louisiana territory.
People put all of this impressive effort to make the history of Code Geass somewhat sensible, and I just go and handwave it and hope that no one asks for details.
I'm here mostly for the mechs, crazy tech progession and psionic flexing. Oh, and ancient conspiracies who have at least one of those three in addition of their horrifying secret knowledge about the past.
So, it's looking like I'll be putting the quest update out tomorrow, just to let everyone know.
It's a little over half-way done, the combat-heavy parts are merely proving a bit more difficult for me to weave together than I had first expected. I'll try not to have it hold over any further than tomorrow, though.
Results: Red Queen's Squadron consists of potential combat aces, high skill, further (+10) to detached combat operations. Villetta provides Kallen with One rereoll per combat turn.
If we conquer Australia what would our title be (King of Australia, Arch-Duke of Australia, Emperor of Australia)?
If we conquer Australia, what will happen with regards to New Caledonia, do we get to keep or does someone else get to have it (and if so do we get any say of it)?
How many of the New Heaven fleets, are we currently fighting in Indonesia? [Not couting the Fleets fighting the SIC]
"Final count is three battleships, last generation ships of the line, but formidable vessels. Ten cruisers, ten destroyers, ten frigates, and twenty seven troop transports."
If we conquer Australia what would our title be (King of Australia, Arch-Duke of Australia, Emperor of Australia)?
If we conquer Australia, what will happen with regards to New Caledonia, do we get to keep or does someone else get to have it (and if so do we get any say of it)?
How many of the New Heaven fleets, are we currently fighting in Indonesia? [Not couting the Fleets fighting the SIC]
The previous discussion mentions various options such as becoming Governor of the Area, making it a personal Dukedom, or making it a sub-Empire entirely. The examples require more political capital to pull off depending on how much personal power the position gives.
Even once we've conquered Australia, New Caledonia would remain our an important base of operations for us while we revamp the coastal cities on the continent. Since we developed the island from scratch, we have strong claim to keep it. The only way it is given away is if someone makes a political move to steal it from us, like if we cause provocation by declaring Australia a sub-Empire.
A more accurate answer to the 3rd question is: 2 fleets (60 ships, 27 are troop transports).
New Heaven initially planned to launch a single fleet from each of their 3 cities. We're currently fighting the majority of that while it seems New Heaven held back their Aircraft Carrier fleet which the SIC/Blood ran into and engaged.
The woman sighs and nods. "Quite honestly, if the Blood would lay off international shipping in my Area I'd be able to extract myself from the situation to the satisfaction of the nobles here. I suppose it's too much to ask for a miracle, though."
You drain your glass of wine and set it aside, motioning against another as you think
Also just a small nitpick Slayer, but I find the last line in this quote to be confusing: do you mean Lelouch motioned for another glass refill or like pushing his glass towards another?
Such a minor detail, I know, but it stood out to me for some reason.
"Ah, Your Highness, it's good to see you again." Isacc states, extending his hand for a vigorous shake. "I trust our arrangement so far as been fruitful to you?"
"Indeed, I've enjoyed the extra personnel. I've got my eye on a dedicated individual to run my finances and infrastructure, but that is still a few years off unless the situation changes." You admit candidly.
Lastly, I'd like to remind quest readers that we will be getting a vote on what form Duke Stadtfeld's favor takes for the next 3 years at the end of this turn.
We have been using it for an extra Stewardship action for the last 6 years since Turn 4, after the whole Stadtfeld EU spy debacle.
Narratively, in our last vote for Stadtfeld favors, it is specified Lelouch already "has an eye on a dedicated individual," but the options we picked didn't really give much progress on that.
I hope we will prioritize getting a Stewardship advisor soon like the option to work with Milly Ashford on the Gawain, and use the Tunguska Conference as a platform for our economic interests.
Our 2 candidates for Stewardship either seems to be Kaguya Sumeragi or Milly Ashford, though Narratively we've been using Kaguya as more of a diplomat and we haven't connected with Milly since Turn 6.
Another way of looking at it is we've become dependent on using Stadtfeld's favors for the extra action, when it provides a variety of options beyond that.
The upcoming vote for the favors will likely be another extension of Extra Actions otherwise we will drop to a Single action for Stewardship, which is a shame because I think it would be really interesting to use those favors for other options which would change our operations like:
-[ ] Mercenaries (+Army Support, Automatically Enables Invasions)
-[ ] Business Deals (Opens up Special Diplomatic/Stewardship Actions)
-[ ] Shadow Companies (Opens up Special Intrigue/Military Actions)
We have 6 turns worth of Favors leftover, so if we pick the Extra Action again, it means we've used 9/12 turns of Favor for that single action.
I mean that literally, as all three and others are on the table currently. Expect the grander titles to have more push-back against you getting it, though. If you manage to take all of Australia, Grand Duke is probably a cinch. The Britannian system, as I've written it, doesn't support 'Arch-Duke' technically, but making yourself a special snowflake could happen. King is a bit more of a stretch, but not out of the question. Emperor is a big ask, though theoretically possible.
You can also just go the route of a new Area and get a special dispensation to make your position as governor heritable instead of appointed by the Emperor.
If people want something even more creative, there's possibility for that as well. Like, if
If we conquer Australia, what will happen with regards to New Caledonia, do we get to keep or does someone else get to have it (and if so do we get any say of it)?
Up for debate as well. A number of things could happen to New Caledonia depending on whether or not Lelouch leaves Britannia to found Australia as a separate nation or not.
A likely outcome is one of Lelouch's kids inheriting the title once Lelouch takes over part or whole of Australia. Likely, mind you. You could also sell it back to the Emperor of Britannia if you wished. A little gauche, but doable.
How many of the New Heaven fleets, are we currently fighting in Indonesia? [Not couting the Fleets fighting the SIC]
To the best of Lelouch's knowledge, New Heaven cut up parts of their major fleets to create this invasion force. You're fighting about two-thirds of two different fleets amalgamated into one big one right now.
They are smart enough to keep a few vessels at home for defense.
Also just a small nitpick Slayer, but I find the last line in this quote to be confusing: do you mean Lelouch motioned for another glass refill or like pushing his glass towards another?
Such a minor detail, I know, but it stood out to me for some reason.
To the best of Lelouch's knowledge, New Heaven cut up parts of their major fleets to create this invasion force. You're fighting about two-thirds of two different fleets amalgamated into one big one right now.
They are smart enough to keep a few vessels at home for defense.
It would be the height of irony if Euphie somehow plot-contrivance'd her way into a command position and blew up all the enemies, earning her the moniker of "Massacre Princess."
I do think we really ought to try and play our hand into being Emperor of Australia. King at a minimum. Keep in mind that it's not just prestige and a fancy title. By being declared a sub-emperor we're declaring ourselves a direct subordinate to no-one but Charles. We'd almost certainly get a fancy ceremony in which Charles himself would personally crown us. It means to move against us and infringe on our actions is a political shit show (because none of the other sub-emperors are going to like the precedent it sets), it gives us massive amounts of legitimacy, and it tacitly declares we have Charles' favor.
It's the difference from being a decently powerful noble appointed to an important position (Viceroy/Governor of an Area) and trying to install ourselves and our family as a new permanent pillar of Britannia politics. It gives us a mythos, of the half-commoner who would ascend to the heights of nobility and might ascend further and establishes our noble position as such that no one can impugn our birth without looking even more absurd.
It makes courting us, as either a figure to rally around for issues or as someone who's loyalty to buy, essential.
I do think we really ought to try and play our hand into being Emperor of Australia. King at a minimum. Keep in mind that it's not just prestige and a fancy title. By being declared a sub-emperor we're declaring ourselves a direct subordinate to no-one but Charles. We'd almost certainly get a fancy ceremony in which Charles himself would personally crown us. It means to move against us and infringe on our actions is a political shit show (because none of the other sub-emperors are going to like the precedent it sets), it gives us massive amounts of legitimacy, and it tacitly declares we have Charles' favor.
It's the difference from being a decently powerful noble appointed to an important position (Viceroy/Governor of an Area) and trying to install ourselves and our family as a new permanent pillar of Britannia politics. It gives us a mythos, of the half-commoner who would ascend to the heights of nobility and might ascend further and establishes our noble position as such that no one can impugn our birth without looking even more absurd.
It makes courting us, as either a figure to rally around for issues or as someone who's loyalty to buy, essential.
I agree with you but looking at more long term what would be the effect on our likelihood of becoming the Emperor. Maybe its just me but it kind of feels that the ruler of a sub-empire would be banned or at least socially not supposed to become the ruler of his superior empire especially since that kind of thing tends to lead to rebellions and coups. That could be offset by being the direct son of the current Emperor but we might be in a better position if we remain a governor with special dispensation for hereditary or an Arch Duke.
"-and what makes you think we need a Britannian Prince to defend our city?"
You raise an eyebrow at the Indonesian Confederation general.
"I don't believe you need me to defend this city, no," inwardly, you astonish yourself with your ability to lie with such a straight face, "but I was able to take in the state of many of your defences when I flew in. Your coastal fortification are surprisingly complete and you have a large contingent of local troops, likely to offset the Chinese Federation garrison outside the city, but you have almost no proper artillery or naval presence." The man's face begins to redden. "That is, of course, overlooking the fact that you're not fielding any knightmare frame units either. No, I do not believe you need my services, but I do believe my forces would be a boon in repelling such a dedicated assault on your territory, as well as saving a great many lives."
The obviously angry man stares you down for a long moment.
You stare back, doing your best to give the impression of the rather bored royal you are, already knowing how this encounter is going to end.
"Enough, General Mahmet." The Premier states loudly, turning from his position at an impromptu war council where a large map of the city is being spread out. "Our pride as an independent nation is not so great that we must sacrifice our own citizens on a pyre of glory to sate it."
Mahmet looks away, and you step past him. Any sort of apology would likely do more harm than good and if the man is enough of a professional to move past your little spat, then he'll have an opportunity to demonstrate his value as an officer. If not, then he's not worthy of your attention anyway.
"It appears we will have to speak of coordinating our militaries far sooner than expected. You have my regrets for imposing upon your status as my guests. It is an unsightly thing I do now, Prince Lelouch, but how can you aide us?" Kubertho asks, looking you in the eye and then making a broad gesture to the map before him, even as small figurines are being placed by lesser officers to designate the enemy fleet.
You frown, not entirely acting, as you realize the New Heaven aircraft carrier is noticeably absent. Then again, perhaps you shouldn't have expected a flawless strategic operation from a bunch of religious radicals. It's likely that they're simply late to the party, but you can't allow that to hinder your decision-making. After all, the invasion is happening now, regardless of what happens later.
You take a deep breath and move to place your own fleet's markers some distance away.
"The enemy we are facing today are forces flying under the flag of the New Heaven Under Tian Wang," you state as you study the board before you, though in truth you have the entire city's layout memorized at this point.
"How can you be sure?" Kubertho's question lacks the trace of suspicion you yourself would have in this situation, but perhaps he's just hidden it better.
"Deduction and logic." You reply, pointing to the battleships place at the bay's entrance as they line up for bombardment of the unready coastal defenses. "There are only three factions able to field ships of the line in the required quantities for for a military action of this scale. As you are allied with the SIC, I don't believe they are worth considering as a culprit. The third faction, the Children of Ching Shih is plausible, but my intelligence gathering has shown them to be far more involved with trade in the Indian ocean and raids on India itself. That, and they largely have a more methodical modus operandi. This kind of massive attack on an international conference is far, far outside their usual strategems. New Heaven is the only logical remaining culprit."
A number of murmurs rise and fall around the table, but you can visibly see respect for your contirbutions rise.
"These are troop transports?" You ask, despite already knowing the answer, pointing towards some twenty-odd vessels.
"Indeed." Havengkukuwodo VIII, the Vice-Premier, states as he steps forward waving an obviously hastily-put together report. "A significant portion of the fleet are apparently ocean-capable shallow-docking vessels with little armaments of their own. I take it this is not usual for a pirate attack of this scale?"
"A pirate attack of this scale at all is unusual." You state with a scowl, and mean it. "I'd need to consult with my experts, but my initial conclusion is that this is not a raid at all. This is an invasion."
Kubertho and Havengkukuwodo VIII's eyes both widen.
"You can't be serious-"
"-impossible, what could they possibly hope to-"
"This is madness, trusting a foreigner to render advice on this level!"
"-thousands of men on those boats! Entirely possible that-"
"SILENCE!"
Kubertho brings his fist down on the table, denting the metal as he roars. Immediately, the din you had unleashed with your 'guess' is silenced by the imposing figure that is the head of the Indonesian government.
"I find this line of reasoning, at the very least, to be worthwhile in following." He turns to you again. "How do you believe this changes our situation, if true?"
You take a meditative breath and pick up several infantry tokens, placing them on the docks. "If I am correct, and I believe I am, they'll be attempting to take and hold land, not seize people and goods to return to their vessels. We can use that against them."
"If you're wrong?" General Mahmet steps forward, his eyes narrowed.
You slide your finger across an imaginary boundary some three blocks from the innermost boundary of the docks. "They won't cross this line. Sunda is a large city with wealthy tourist districts in easy range of the bay's shore. There are more than enough pople and goods to satisfy even a raiding force this size within those bounds. If I'm right, they'll advance further, towards this building."
Kubertho scowls. "You believe they'll attempt to take the delegations and ambassadors hostage?"
"If only to delay a formal military response." You reply, looking around the room. "In its own way, the strategy is fairly clever. By seizing the foreign dignitaries here as well as the leading politicians and military personnel gathered for this conference, they'll throw the country into disarray, possibly causing infighting as the various administrativ zones look to different leaders for direction."
Havengkukuwodo VIII turns to his superior and opens his mouth.
"I'm not leaving." The Premier states firmly. "If official evacuation orders for the areas closest to the bay haven't already been issued, do so. Then you, my friend, are to take the senior staff to the airfield. I trust you, at least, to have the country's best interests at heart should I fall here today."
Even as the chaos unfolds into something approaching order, you begin looking over the readiness report Havengkukuwodo VIII was bandying about earlier, studying it intently. Your estimates had largely been correct, the Confederation has a large military presence near the city, but it's mostly foot soldiers with few heavy weapons. China has a garrison force present as well, though who's in command of that is up for debate given the dead Eunuch lying a few rooms away.
"What do you suggest, Your Highness?" The Premier asks suddenly, turning away from his second-in-command as the other man begins to swiftly walk away.
"My forces will be landing our KMF units... here," you tap a point near the location of the shipping containers you'd smuggled your forces into Sunda. "I've sent my knight of honor to make contact and lead them in a proactive defense. Given that my forces provided the initial warning regarding the raid, we can expect aerial bombardment of the enemy fleet soon. There's also the possibility that Dame Rowe will authorize the landing of... well, special combat assets to conduct irregular warfare against the pirates."
The Premier blinks, frowning. "I don't entirely believe this is the time for euphemisms, your highness."
"Forgive me, Premier Kubertho, an accurate summary of the types of combatants I usually employ is... difficult in such a limited time frame, but... if you know of the phrase 'fighting fire with fire?'" You ask, raising an eyebrow and smirking slightly.
The man snorts, shaking his head. "Some of my advisors have suggested similar tactics in the event negotiations fell through with the Federation, if I am to properly take your meaning. A discussion for another time, though. What would you recommend as an immediate course of action?"
You look over the map of the city again, then decide...
[ ][CDF] Push IC troops as close to the docks as possible to form a line of defense. (Aides your forces faster, limits bonuses troops receive to minimum, provides bonuses to your own forces.)
[ ][CDF] Station IC troops at the edge of the tourism zone to dig in and prepare a defense. (Moderate bonuses to both IC troops and your own forces.)
[ ][CDF] Hold IC troops back and have them dig in around your own location. (No bonus to your own forces, large bonuses to IC troops to defend.)
Also, it occurs to you that, as the High Eunuch is dead and the rest of his delegation is in chaos, there's likely no one to order the the Chinese Garrison into combat. While you have very little official power to do so, you could theoretically attempt to force them to engage. Using the Chinese Federation troops might also give the Federation a much-needed PR boost in the region.
[ ][GF] Attempt to order the Chinese Garrison by bluffing with your imperial mandate.
[ ][GF] Don't, it will simply confuse the battlefield to have yet another party fighting.
Then, of course, distant explosions rock the room you're standing in.
"Sir!" A man turns from the radio equipment, "the pirates have begun bombarding the coastal emplacements! They're taking heavy damage!"
You click your tongue in irritation. Accurate gunnery on that scale wasn't a good sign.
"Matsumoto." You turn to a man wearing the uniform of your bodyguards. "Open your kit and hand me your binoculars."
"Of course, sire." The man replies, handing them over as you throw open a window and look point the top-of-the-line equipment at the oncoming fleet and the Confederation's defences.
Then your ears pick up the distant, tinny sounds of aircraft approaching in large numbers and you turn your head to scan the sky above.
"This is Sir Gino Weinberg, Airhead One, I have clear sights on all targets and-ouch-they are really pounding those emplacements."
"Airhead One, this is the Emperor William, we read you in the clear. How's the approach?"
The blonde gave a look over his wing, then frowned and turned back to the radio. "One moment, we might have a problem." Taking a close turn at a speed his jet wasn't truly rated for, he could feel the shakes start within the joints of the frame, but Gino knew they wouldn't get to a worrying stage before he pulled out and-
Inverting the plane with an easy slalom, he flicked a series of adjustments to make sure the brains of the aircraft didn't attempt to pull him out of a dive and into the ocean. Meanwhile, he canted his eyes 'upwards' towards the fleet beneath him.
"This is Airhead One, we have a civilian tanker trying to make the gap between the coast and the pirate fleet. Big one too. Dive bombers and heavies are incoming, eta ten minutes, please advise, Emperor William."
Another absent slolam had him back upright and flying towards his own fleet, out of range of the admittedly half-hearted AA fire the New Heaven assholes were sending his way. He couldn't fault them for putting everyone with a good eye on the coastal bombardment guns, but really? He almost felt pity for the people trying to shoot him down.
Almost.
"Airhead One," Greta's voice rang out over the comms, and he winced. If Romano was giving the order... "Issue them an evacuation order under His Highness' authority. The tanker is already sunk, they just don't know it yet."
"Roger that," the foremost airhead of the vi Britannia airforce sighed as he reached over to a taped laminate sheet. "Civilian frequencies, let's see... ah, here." Making the necessary adjustments, he killed the military code. "Attention, private freight tanker leaving Sunda bay, you are entering a theater of military operations between pirate elements and Britannian armed forces coming to the aid of the Indonesian Confederation. You are danger-close to bombing targets, if you cannot return to dock, you are hereby ordered to abandon ship."
There was a long buzz of static before someone snatched up the radio. He sounded young and there was screaming in the background, no. It was yelling, angry yelling. "Ah, Bangke! Um, shit, this-this is, ah, freighter Tellapia. We are, um... the captain crazy, very crazy!"
Gino winced more deeply, only half paying attention to his controls as he fiddled with the radio to get a clearer signal and made a wide turn. "Calm down, you are a ju-er, small officer?"
"Yes!" The voice affirmed, then spat something else Gino didn't have to understand to know was a curse. "Captain take ship close to pirates, scream about home village. Please tell what to do!?"
Gino felt his eyes close, briefly. The sounds coming over the radio reminded him of the screams he'd heard on his short deployment during the NAL war. Another reason he liked the skies more than the land. "Listen, you can't help him kid. Tell the captain he will be hit by bombs if he goes further, then run. Abandon ship, evacuate. You get me?"
"U-understood, sir!" There was a clatter and Gino shook his head.
New Heaven Troop Landings: 35+50 = 85
New Heaven Caster Support: 64+60 = 124
Nunnally of the Counterattack: 98+23 (Nunnally's Martial)+ 5 (Jeanne's SL Bonus)+ 20 (Veterancy & Eqiumpment) = 146
The ship exploded as she was still making her way down the mostly-dry canal she'd chosen two weeks ago. Initially, Nunnally had believed in taking the major roads down to the docks in the event Lelouch wanted to oder her into action. That had been a mistake. Now, the decision to avoid the crowds of panicking and fleeing civilians also allowed her a perfect view of what was going on in the harbor as she swept down a hill through the city's sludge.
The bloom of pink-purple light was a terrifying ball of energy that floated on the water briefly, cutting through even the morning light as if it were a second sun. A moment later, gusts of wind buffeted the windows in the buildings around her, sending shattered glass flying as a roar of sound and fury followed in its wake.
"Jesus Christ Gino, the fuck did you do?" Nunnally muttered under her breath, cuing up her comms as she ramped up the cement channel and coasted to a stop on her last approach to the redevous point.
Even as the terrifying spectacle finally died away, secondary explosions swept up ships that hadn't been annihilated by the initial blast.
Kicking up the anti-glare on her sensors, even she had to flinch in sympathy as she picked out the pieces of what had once been a battleship. Nearby, another large vessel was marginally more intact, but would almost certainly be on the bay's floor within the hour. Then, as the final heat-flash and vapor-mist began to blow away, the other bombs began to drop and made the pointless effort of saving the injured metal sea-beast even more futile. Other, smaller, vessels that had suffered damage in the gigantic blast that hadn't immediately sunk were now taking damage as well.
The knight of honor shook herself, turning back to her short-wave.
"This is Headhunter, you lot better be suited up and ready to dance, because your dates are here in style. I'm sending location data now, meet me in the field."
"Dame Nunnally, please don't be rash, we are on our way-"
"All Hail Britannia!" Nunnally cut off her subordinate and shifting the great machine around her into high gear. Looking out over the last stretch of canal leading up to the now-empty docks, she could see it. The pieces were moving into position even now and she knew her machine.
She could do this.
New Heaven Basic Raiders: 56+20 = 76
New Heaven Gun-Ru KMF Squads: 37+20 = 57
"Remind me again to never piss off the oyabun's imouto."
Fox looked up from the radio he was monitoring, turning to the observer's post they'd set up on one of the medium-tall buildings of Sunda. It was high enough to be a good lookout, but low enough not to be a prime target for bombardment. Also, it was nice being outside the immediate range of the enemy's big guns.
"Which one?" The operative asked with a grin under his balaclava.
Boar chuckled. "Good point." He sighed. "But good goddamn, I didn't think those big mecha could do that. I hope she doesn't kill that machine so we get to watch the footage later."
"What'd she do?" Snail asked, perpetually unable to help herself to gossip.
"Took canal 16-C into the alpha landing zone at full speed, cut onto the main dock and hit that huge-ass loading ramp without slowing down."
There was a moment of silence, then Fox simply had to ask, damn it. "You sayin she just jumped into the fucking bay?"
Boar laughed, shaking his head and still looking through the powerful oversized binoculars. "You seen kids playin ken-ken-pa, right? Just, think that, 'cept the little girl's in a giant robot and she's bouncing on them ships out there."
"The fuck you say." Snail replied, her voice deadpan.
"Hand to the Buddha," Boar replied, still not turning. "Just took out three transports by jumpin on em and blastin that big gun straight down as she jumped. Last ship she jumped off she managed to hit the shallows and slog back to lan-kuso! Fox, get the fireteams on, we got those crazy witchy motherfuckers."
"Got 'em up, feed me targets." Fox replied as the locations were relayed. Almost immediately, his keen ears began picking up the crack-snaps of the powerful sniper rifles they'd been issued as the first line of shinobi began opening fire. Dutifully, Snail was listening in, popping markers up on their map and drawing lines to indicate the enemy's force projection.
"Results are looking good, those witchy ones were giving the mecha pilots trouble, shields were tougher than they expected or something, but pinning them with sniper fire seems like a good distraction. Shame about not being able to cover 'em with flaming glue. Woulda been great." He shook his head in sadness.
"Only so many hours in a day and only so much money in the bank." Snail commiserated mournfully. "Plus, I don't think oyabun's saiko-komon likes us much. Too much the noble young noble ready to duel to the death for honor."
"It's good to have someone like that around, reminds you how fools think." Boar noted, shifting his binoculars again. "Looks like they're making their beachhead. Those knock-off Chinese mecha are fumbling in the surf, but our heavies are busy with the idiots in the shiny armor. Just too many to pin down, probably going to make a big push pretty soon even with all that are dyin."
Fox hummed in thought. "So we've got either the explosives on those crude tanks or we start sending in the fire teams."
"Really wish he'd at least let us buy out that shipment of cleaning chemicals. You know what we could have done with that?" Snail sighed.
"Might get a little messy with so many of our mecha near the docks right now, but it's really early in the fight to send in special forces. Want to let the mecha and the bombs bleed them a bit more." Boar advised. "But even fifty of those sutherlands are gonna need backup before long."
"Could always wait and see what happens. If the KMFs retreat, that gives us an easy answer." Snail opined.
Fox rolled his eyes and made the call.
[ ][SF] Blow the petrol tanks near the docks.
[ ][SF] Send in the shinobi fireteams with swords.
[ ][SF] Wait for a better opening.
Undignified as it is, you can't help but stick your finger in your ear to clear it again, fussing as the tinitus finally fades. Cracked windows and tiny shards of glass are the highlight of the room now, though thankfully the conference room was far enough from the shore that there was only minor damage.
"What in the name of God himself was that?" Premier Kubertho shouts as he steadies himself against a table.
"Sakuradite explosion." One of the lesser officials speaks up, the room turning to him as he swips glass off his shoulder. "Bigger than the one from three years ago, probably a full tanker. I was involved in setting the new safety guidelines to ensure there wasn't a repeat."
Kubertho glowers at nothing in particular. "I remember that. Over a thousand people died." He looks out the window. "If this explosion was so much more massive, I'm surprised the city is still standing."
The man sighed. "If it was already underway and trying to make the ocean, it was likely either hit by an enemy shell or one of the prince's bombs."
You scowled as attention shifted to you. "If not one, then the other. If a ship like that actually was in the middle of a warzone, we should be thankful it exploded when and where it did and took out the enemy's ships rather than, as the Premier pointed out, wiping the city from existence."
Kubertho makes a slashing motion. "We will discuss the matter later, after a full investigation can be performed. For now, this issue is what more your forces plan to do."
You hesitate, thinking over what orders you can have relayed, before a runner storms into the room and salutes.
"Sirs! Word of the prince's fleet! More pirate ships making for the harbor, many of them have damage. Behind them are another group of vessels, all flying the Southern Independent Colonies standard!"
You turn and beign to question the man. Yes, more ships. The missing aircraft carrier, spawning dive bombers as it moved towards the bay, many of them propeller-driven relics from a bygone age, but aircraft still. Another detachment of three frigates, three cruisers, two destroyers, and one last battleship... though it, like its companions, was damage. The SIC fleet had also taken hits, a few ships limping behind the main body of the formation and peeling off for the shallower docks west of the city. The main body of the SIC's fleet, though, was in good form and chasing the pirates.
You heave a sigh of relief.
"Will this be a problem, your highness?" Kubertho asks, his eyes narrow as he studies you.
"I pick my battles carefully, Premier. Whatever the SIC are doing here, we obviously have the same foe. As you said earlier, anything else must wait until the battle has finished." You reply, turning back to the window and picking up your binoculars again.
The other man steps up beside you, his own requisitioned pair in his hands, neither of you can make out the coming fleets, which means you will have a window of response before they arrive. With these new developments, you decide to relay an order to your fleets...
[ ][ATK] Focus on rearming your aircraft and keep the skies clear, even of this small threat.
[ ][ATK] Form up with the SIC and attempt to destroy the oncoming fleet separately before they can launch their planes.
[ ][ATK] Hold position and maintain bombing tactics, the enemy's planes shouldn't be that effective.
Results of the Battle so Far:
Two Enemy Battleships, five destroyers, three cruisers, two frigates, and five transports are dead in the water. Miscelaneous other enemy vessels have suffered limited damage, but are still capable of fighting. Enemy capacity to bombard the city has significantly diminished. Enemy anti-air (Roll: 77-60 = 17) has succeeded in downing one dive-bomber through desperate saturation fire and accidental debris kicked up by the explosion of a sakuradite tanker in the port. The pilots have cleanly ejected and will land within the city to be picked up later.
Ground Combat has been likewise overwhelmingly successful despite your own forces being largely outnumbered. Nunnally vi Britannia has downed three troop transport ships in melee combat by being an utter lunatic. The enemy psionic elementalists have proven the greatest problem, but are currently adequately distracted by a myriad of shinobi sniper teams seeded throughout the city that are targeting any who pose a threat to your KMF units. No individual KMF unit has moved beyond light damage and all are still combat operational with most of their energy fillers full.
Gun-Ru and non-psionic pirate raiders have continued to come ashore slowly, their gradual numbers and largely ineffectual efforts towards your KMF groups have made them low-priority targets due to a limited ability to project force at the moment. A beachhead has formed, but is smaller and disorganized than it would have been had your forces not suceeded to this degree.
Minister Weber's Fleet has not yet arrived, but is closing and will engage the turn after next unless you push your own ships into combat to stop the fleeing New Heaven splinter-fleet. They've obviously already engaged with each other, wherein the New Heaven Fleet came off much worse for the wear. The New Heaven splinter fleet has lost four frigates, two cruisers, and three destroyers. Their battleship has taken Moderate Damage, but is still combat effective to a limited degree, much like its sister in the harbor. SIC losses are one destroyer sunk, two cruisers and one frigate mission-killed, and a handful more ships sustaining Light Damage.
Side Note: A full investigation will later reveal the Tanker Tellapia's captain as having been the victim of a vicious pirate raid on a remote Indonesian island in his youth. Due to the surviving crew's reports of his obvious instability and Gino's concurring testimony, no one will be formally blamed for the incident and the captain given post-mortum recognition as a hero of the Confederation.
ONE HOUR MORATORIUM! DO NOT VOTE FOR ONE HOUR!
[ ][CDF] Push IC troops as close to the docks as possible to form a line of defense. (Aides your forces faster, limits bonuses troops receive to minimum, provides bonuses to your own forces.)
[ ][CDF] Station IC troops at the edge of the tourism zone to dig in and prepare a defense. (Moderate bonuses to both IC troops and your own forces.)
[ ][CDF] Hold IC troops back and have them dig in around your own location. (No bonus to your own forces, large bonuses to IC troops to defend.)
[ ][GF] Attempt to order the Chinese Garrison by bluffing with your imperial mandate.
[ ][GF] Don't, it will simply confuse the battlefield to have yet another party fighting.
[ ][SF] Blow the petrol tanks near the docks.
[ ][SF] Send in the shinobi fireteams with swords.
[ ][SF] Wait for a better opening.
[ ][ATK] Focus on rearming your aircraft and keep the skies clear, even of this small threat.
[ ][ATK] Form up with the SIC and attempt to destroy the oncoming fleet separately before they can launch their planes.
[ ][ATK] Hold position and maintain bombing tactics, the enemy's planes shouldn't be that effective.
Jesus who's dice are you using? ~Gino is an absolute madlad and I love him. Nunu is proving to be her mothers daughter and I now want to buy a ship full of cleaning supplies for our ninja to play with.
"Plus, I don't think oyabun's saiko-komon doesn't like us much. Too much the noble young noble ready to duel to the death for honor."
Two double negatives there.
[ ][CDF] Station IC troops at the edge of the tourism zone to dig in and prepare a defense. (Moderate bonuses to both IC troops and your own forces.)
Our troops will be fine for now and we want to come out of this looking great, that'll be helped by not ordering their own troops slaughtered.
[ ][SF] Blow the petrol tanks near the docks.
I just like explosions ok?!
[ ][ATK] Focus on rearming your aircraft and keep the skies clear, even of this small threat.
They've got pilots who can basically channel the force incoming. I'm not going to underestimate them.
[ ][CDF] Push IC troops as close to the docks as possible to form a line of defense. (Aides your forces faster, limits bonuses troops receive to minimum, provides bonuses to your own forces.)
[ ][CDF] Station IC troops at the edge of the tourism zone to dig in and prepare a defense. (Moderate bonuses to both IC troops and your own forces.)
[ ][CDF] Hold IC troops back and have them dig in around your own location. (No bonus to your own forces, large bonuses to IC troops to defend.)
I am for going the middle road here. The IC troops are not as good as our own and we should buy them some time to dig in. It should also allow for Nunnally SL perk to become active when we pull back to defensive positions. The Push option is the most risky and doesn't give us a fall back position. In my opinion our forces were only there to slow down the assault until the IC forces get organized. The option to Hold the forces risks them being completely out of position to support our own unless our own forces crit fail a lot I don't think we will be retreating so far back.
Boar laughed, shaking his head and still looking through the powerful oversized binoculars. "You seen kids playin ken-ken-pa, right? Just, think that, 'cept the little girl's in a giant robot and she's bouncing on them ships out there."
I'm really curious what this stunt will result in terms of nicknames. Since Nunnally is still considered cute it could lead to something like Dancing Princess since Jumping Princess is less dignified. It should at least quiet most voices that would be against her being our KoH.
I am for waiting for a better opening. First of all it will keep a reserve in case something goes wrong. Secondly it will come as more of a surprise to enemies when our shinobi join the fight. Also the one who uses all their reserves first often loses. The option to send the sword users into the open isn't the smartest move. We might go for blowing up the petrol tanks but with all pyromaniac plans it has a risk of going out of control. Especially if fuel tanks means sakuradite tanks. It could be normal petrol but even then destroying the port of our allies to defend it is not the best choice.
[ ][ATK] Focus on rearming your aircraft and keep the skies clear, even of this small threat.
[ ][ATK] Form up with the SIC and attempt to destroy the oncoming fleet separately before they can launch their planes.
[ ][ATK] Hold position and maintain bombing tactics, the enemy's planes shouldn't be that effective.
I would go for rearming and keeping the skies clear. We want air superiority. The pirate reinforcements even if they manage to link up will be vulnerable to a bombing run combined with a fleet assault. And the carrier will be a dead weight without its fighter wings. We have better planes and should be able to keep the skies clear even if the pirates launch and I don't think we can take out the carrier before it manages to launch. And fanatic pilots with no home base to go back to tend to perform kamikaze attacks.
Basically I want our dive bombers to catch their breath and be ready for a coordinated assault to overwhelm the anti air defenses while our fighters clear the potentially psionic interceptors and enemy dive bombers.
So my plan would be to go for:
[ ][CDF] Station IC troops at the edge of the tourism zone to dig in and prepare a defense. (Moderate bonuses to both IC troops and your own forces.)
[ ][SF] Wait for a better opening.
[ ][ATK] Focus on rearming your aircraft and keep the skies clear, even of this small threat.
Side Note: A full investigation will later reveal the Tanker Tellapia's captain as having been the victim of a vicious pirate raid on a remote Indonesian island in his youth. Due to the surviving crew's reports of his obvious instability and Gino's concurring testimony, no one will be formally blamed for the incident and the captain given post-mortum recognition as a hero of the Confederation.
Quick note on this, but the psionics are only on ground combat. To the best of your knowledge (and that's quite extensive), they aren't being fielded with the planes or ship crews.
Guess they didn't have the time to train a psionic into a fighter pilot on top of that to do jedi tricks.
Man, can you imagine the AAR reports of all the other factions seeing Lelouch's forces at work in the open for the first time? They do crazy shit and it somehow works.
