Tacit Ronin: The Power of Three

Current attack vectors:

Neo-Seattle:
Attack from Northwest (Naval Attack)
Attack from Southwest (Land Attack)
High Energy Readings - Bainbridge Island (140 units West)

Everett:
Attack from West (Naval Attack)
Attack from South (Ground Attack)
OFFKRAUN Jaeger (125 units North)

Conclusion:
These people know us/have been planning this for a while.

The attack vectors don't make sense otherwise; without an effective means of transportation it appears as though they've snuck their main force past Whidbey Island, and then seperated into two groups: Naval attack force, land attack force, and Jaeger-class units.

The naval attack force split into two groups to hit both cities.

The land attack force landed at Lynnwood and split into the groups attacking the cities. Infiltrators infiltrated the city (note: by infiltration description, human force). The Neo-Seattle attack force went around to around Kent-Renton, while the Everett attackers hung around Lynnwood; from there, they moved until the time was right.

So what are their objectives?

I think there are two possibilities here:
A) This is a Kaiju Master plot, and we are so very very fucked if it is.
B) This is an attempt by an unknown? polity to conquer and annex us.

But all of this is pointless compared to what I think our battleplans should be.

So let me lay them out:
Phenom deals with Bainbridge Island with a light contingent.
Jagdhund defends Neo-Seattle close to the DP, prioritizing Navy then Ground.
Tacit Ronin mauls the Navy, then the land, then OFFKRAUN Jaeger

Of course, we should change our battleplans to suit the situation, of course, but I think that should work.

Oh come the fuck on!

Part of me wonders if this might be those Australian bastards or some other, unknown force trying to implement KRAUN by using either a stolen/subverted Jaeger of theirs or else disguising one of their own in a way that appears to implicate KRAUN.

Still, the title of the quest series is "Tacit Ronin vs The World". If every light in the sky the entire world is our enemy until proven otherwise, then it's just another reminder that we've got a whole lot of asskicking to do.

[x]Plan ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING US?
-[x]Pending further battlefield information, deployment is as follows:
--[x]Phenom deals with Bainbridge Island with a light contingent.
--[x]Jagdhund defends Neo-Seattle close to the DP, prioritizing Navy then Ground.
--[x]Tacit Ronin mauls the Navy, then the land, then OFFKRAUN Jaeger

@Fyrstorm : can we call KRAUN to a) inform them of the situation, b) request reinforcements if they have any assets close enough to reach us in time?

Uh... @EvaUnit01 didn't Tactit and Phenom switch cities earlier this turn, or am I misremembering/wrong about which turn is which?

EvaUnit01 said:

@Fyrstorm : can we call KRAUN to a) inform them of the situation, b) request reinforcements if they have any assets close enough to reach us in time?

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Yes, but like last time, there's no guarantees. They're pretty busy, and thinly spread on most fronts.

New Shadow said:

Uh... @EvaUnit01 didn't Tactit and Phenom switch cities earlier this turn, or am I misremembering/wrong about which turn is which?

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They did. Those plans have no conflict with that.

Mmm. I think Fyrstorm'd like some more specificity.

[x]Plan Huge Dudes. With Guns. Gundudes.
-[x]Pending further battlefield information, deployment is as follows:
--[x] Bainbridge
---[x] Phenom Sable, Meganeura, 3 non-Elite Banshees
--[x] Neo-Seattle
---[x] Priority Northwest Navy, then Southeast Ground
---[x] Jagdhund, all other assets, 5 units from DP
---[x] Railguns split 3 to Northwest, 1 to Southeast
--[x] Everett
---[x] All units follow Tacit Ronin mauling the Navy, then the land, then OFFKRAUN Jaeger

New Shadow said:

Uh... @EvaUnit01 didn't Tactit and Phenom switch cities earlier this turn, or am I misremembering/wrong about which turn is which?

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Yes, but that doesn't really change anything.

Fyrstorm said:

Yes, but like last time, there's no guarantees. They're pretty busy, and thinly spread on most fronts.

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Well, in the worst case at least they might be able to give us some kind of info on who might be behind this.

Editing a KRAUN call into the Point's plan.

[x]Plan Huge Dudes. With Guns. Gundudes. v2
-[x]Pending further battlefield information, deployment is as follows:
--[x] Bainbridge
---[x] Phenom Sable, Meganeura, 3 non-Elite Banshees
--[x] Neo-Seattle
---[x] Priority Northwest Navy, then Southeast Ground
---[x] Jagdhund, all other assets, 5 units from DP
---[x] Railguns split 3 to Northwest, 1 to Southeast
--[x] Everett
---[x] All units follow Tacit Ronin mauling the Navy, then the land, then OFFKRAUN Jaeger
-[x]Call KRAUN and inform them of the situation. If they can send reinforcements, great. If not, hopefully they can may be able to offer some insight into who our enemy might be and/or what's up with the Jaegers we're facing.

[x]Plan Huge Dudes. With Guns. Gundudes. v2
-[x]Pending further battlefield information, deployment is as follows:
--[x] Bainbridge
---[x] Phenom Sable, Meganeura, 3 non-Elite Banshees
--[x] Neo-Seattle
---[x] Priority Northwest Navy, then Southeast Ground
---[x] Jagdhund, all other assets, 5 units from DP
---[x] Railguns split 3 to Northwest, 1 to Southeast
--[x] Everett
---[x] All units follow Tacit Ronin mauling the Navy, then the land, then OFFKRAUN Jaeger
-[x]Call KRAUN and inform them of the situation. If they can send reinforcements, great. If not, hopefully they can may be able to offer some insight into who our enemy might be and/or what's up with the Jaegers we're facing.

This is it. I knew this day would come. The world is finally going the way of Mad Max. And we have all the fuel.

[x]Plan Huge Dudes. With Guns. Gundudes. v2
-[x]Pending further battlefield information, deployment is as follows:
--[x] Bainbridge
---[x] Phenom Sable, Meganeura, 3 non-Elite Banshees
--[x] Neo-Seattle
---[x] Priority Northwest Navy, then Southeast Ground
---[x] Jagdhund, all other assets, 5 units from DP
---[x] Railguns split 3 to Northwest, 1 to Southeast
--[x] Everett
---[x] All units follow Tacit Ronin mauling the Navy, then the land, then OFFKRAUN Jaeger
-[x]Call KRAUN and inform them of the situation. If they can send reinforcements, great. If not, hopefully they can may be able to offer some insight into who our enemy might be and/or what's up with the Jaegers we're facing.

The plan is solid, but I think we should keep the Jaegers in reserve until we get a better idea of the number and composition of the enemy forces, and possibly until the K-scale units start moving. This way we can respond to any surprises they show and decide where our really heavy firepower would be best deployed. Plus, Phenom isn't going to fare well when fighting alone against two Nuclear-powered units, meaning they can be anywhere between Mark I and Mark III, but we might need Jagdhund's extra firepower to thing the number of Cat 0/Conventional units.

Oh hey, if we target their Con, or i guess so long as we don't completely break their jaeger , it's a free jaeger frame!

Fyrstorm said:

Now, at long last...

===

It is 0300 hours. The sky is still dark, filled with clouds and the faint light of stars. All is quiet in the outskirts, save the chirping of wildlife and the whoosh of wind.

But soon, that peace shatters.


For Neo-Seattle, it starts with an alarm.

A routine sensor sweep has caught a pair of large, radioactive signatures just over a dozen kilometres to the west! Their identities are unknown, but they're certainly new arrivals!

<ALERT! MULTIPLE HIGH-ENERGY SIGNATURES DETECTED!>
<LOCATION: WESTERN SECTORS>

A moment later, a flurry of other alerts sound off throughout the command centre, coming from several places at once! Internal security has found a group of seemingly civilian individuals near the Shatterdome, armed with explosives and other tools of sabotage! They've been detained, but there's no telling if anything's been planted yet-- any deployments are going to need to be held back while they check for anything in the area.

Meanwhile, one Perimeter patrol group has found what appear to be incoming units-- followed shortly after by another group on the opposite side of the city! Composition of these forces are unknown, but they seems to be a mix of aerial types and surface-bound types, they're not responding to commands, and they're incredibly close to the city!

You are under attack! Enemy forces appear to be incoming from the Northwestern and Southeastern Sectors, and both groups are only about 40 units away!

The high-energy signatures are located out by Bainbridge Island, about 14 kilometres away. Their readings are consistent with nuclear power reactors, but seem to be in the process of startup.

Due to catching the attacker's saboteurs before they could inflict damage, Neo-Seattle is delayed from deploying for only 1 round! Defensive Augments may ignore this delay.

===


For Everett, however, the wake-up call is far more violent.

A series of detonations split the quiet of the night, as hidden explosives rip through transmission towers, hanger doors, and power lines! A third of the city is knocked dark, while fires rage across the docks and airfield! Emergency Response and Self-Defense Force members are immediately forced into action, trying to battle the flames and quell the disaster before it spreads any further.

Nobody notices the figures sneaking away from the smoldering destruction, their work now complete.

Sabotage:
(4)

Astonishingly, however, the sensor web remains functional-- and a brand new alarm goes off, setting the city's leaders on edge. Something familiar-- not to Everett, but the Protectorate as a whole-- is coming.

<ALERT! BREACH ACTIVITY DETECTED!>
<LOCATION: NORTHERN SECTOR>
<SIGNATURE NOT WITHIN PARAMETERS OF SERIZAWA SCALE.>
<EMISSION READINGS ANALYZED. IDENTIFICATION: SUPERCELL EXHAUST>

Even as the members of the conventional force and jaeger operations are delayed by the sabotage, order tries to reassert itself, and those who guard the Perimeter rush to high alert. Just in time, too, because the Supercell's not the only thing incoming.

A group of boat-sized units are approaching rapidly from the bay, while another of ground-based units are coming in from the south! Due to how the scanners are calibrated, neither were picked up until the patrol teams found them, and they're already close to the city!

You are under attack! Currently, enemy forces appear to be incoming from the Western and Southern Sectors, and both groups are only about 35 units away!

The signature with the Supercell reactor is located 12.5 kilometres north of Everett, but isn't moving. The radiation profile is similar to that of a standard Mark VI Supercell on a low output setting, though the reactor's shielding seems substandard. The actual signature is extremely heavy and dense, with a bipedal silhouette and high concentration of metals.

Due to the attacker's sabotage, Everett is delayed from deploying its units for 4 rounds! Defensive Augments may ignore this delay.

===

Make your move. Combat starts now.

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*twtiches*

Furgur margle fleeeeeble PPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPSSSSSSSSS!

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I WANT TO STRANGLE SOMEONE!

*Tosses nearest cup straight out the window*

Welp.


[x]Plan Huge Dudes. With Guns. Gundudes. v3
-[x]Pending further battlefield information, deployment is as follows:
--[x] Bainbridge
---[x] Phenom Sable, Meganeura, 3 non-Elite Banshees
--[x] Neo-Seattle
---[x] Priority Northwest Navy, then Southeast Ground
---[x] Jagdhund, all other assets, 5 units from DP
---[x] Railguns split 3 to Northwest, 1 to Southeast, set to Overwatch
--[x] Everett
---[x] All units follow Tacit Ronin mauling the Navy, then the land, then OFFKRAUN Jaeger
-[x]Call KRAUN and inform them of the situation. If they can send reinforcements, great. If not, hopefully they can may be able to offer some insight into who our enemy might be and/or what's up with the Jaegers we're facing.
-[X] Prep Skadi for deployment to Everett if things go south there.

I'm expecting an OFFKRAUN Jaeger for Seattle too, otherwise this force distribution seems a bit odd. I want to prep the Skadi for deployment.

*continues to fume at whoever this is*

E: Oh. Also set the Railguns to Overwatch. Man I wish we had the Positron Cannon on line. Put the Fear of Best Girl into 'em.

So... temp strikes on the enemy Jaegers maybe? I mean, if we can disable them (and they don't have some sort of lolnope self-destruct system) then we can steal them for ourselves, and temp strikes should reduce the recommissioning bill.

As a side bonus, if the Jaegers aren't AI then we should be able to interrogate the pilots to find out what the hell they're so pissed off at us about, how they managed to get so much info on us, and how they got their hands on functional Jaegers. Assuming we can't get all that info out of the saboteurs, that is.

And yes, I kinda read things as both cities having Jaeger attackers - Seattle's attackers probably have conventional nuclear reactors, while Everett has a confirmed Supercell (albeit somewhat more primitive than KRAUN's).

With this in mind, Everett's enemy Jaeger is probably around low-mid Mark II level. I don't have enough info to speculate on Seattle's high-energy signatures beyond "they're probably Jaegers" though.

Yeah, I do advocate that if at all possible we take for ourselves any and all salvageable resources from the enemy.

Let the world know that the price for attacking Tacit's turf is steep.

Sir Plusse said:

So... temp strikes on the enemy Jaegers maybe? I mean, if we can disable them (and they don't have some sort of lolnope self-destruct system) then we can steal them for ourselves, and temp strikes should reduce the recommissioning bill.

As a side bonus, if the Jaegers aren't AI then we should be able to interrogate the pilots to find out what the hell they're so pissed off at us about, how they managed to get so much info on us, and how they got their hands on functional Jaegers. Assuming we can't get all that info out of the saboteurs, that is.

And yes, I kinda read things as both cities having Jaeger attackers - Seattle's attackers probably have conventional nuclear reactors, while Everett has a confirmed Supercell (albeit somewhat more primitive than KRAUN's).

With this in mind, Everett's enemy Jaeger is probably around low-mid Mark II level. I don't have enough info to speculate on Seattle's high-energy signatures beyond "they're probably Jaegers" though.

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Could be Super Heavies like the Sutr or Heimdal. In which case, pfft, Phenom is gonna make himself a new pair of shoes.


But like I said, I kinda expect there to be a hidden, inactive, Supercell Jaeger near Seattle.


Anyway aside from this, this seems like a prodigious force investment. Let's just start with listing what we have on hand and then I'll make my point.

One confirmed K-Scale unit, with sensors indicating that its power source is quite similar to KRAUN platforms but more primitive. This indicates what is likely to be active development from some kind of interaction with KRAUN(be it observation, infiltration, combat or trade), OR, that Supercell configurations have a generally similar exhaust just by nature of being a Supercell, but this Supercell is more primitive than KRAUN's.

Two possible K-Scale nuclear powered units. From our own knowledge such developments are strenuous, and also the devices themselves expensive.

An assortment, unknown number, of naval, airforce, and land based military units. We don't know how large the total assessment is, but it is enough that, through whatever calculus they made, our opponents were willing to split their forces to attack both of our cities. That willingness speaks to some sense they can accomplish something.

Like hYGP noted, they also seem to have pretty solid intelligence on us. This speaks to planning, which assumes reasonable actors of some variety.

My point then is that I think, looking at our forces, and the forces fielded by KRAUN and DJINN, this is a serious investment of military power in this post-TdJ world. This should mean that if we can soundly defeat them here, we'll have time to figure out what the fuck, who the fuck, and who I need to punch with a Jaeger fist. It should also give us enough time to do the Oblivion Crusade.

This could be another city-state muscling in on our turf, which would be an interesting conclusion. Reason I mention it is that this level of force is comparable to us, possibly leaning more Con heavy, kinda depends on exact force numbers. If it is another City-State, then I'm a bit perturbed. Because that would be, looking at us, the equivalent of them throwing a Crusade of their own. In which case I gotta wonder what the dickens we did to piss them off this much. Breach or Raubtier research? How the fuck did they know?

Either way it looks like something of a gamble to me, with this actually costing something to whoever is doing this.

To round off, I'm thinking that if/when/presuming we do win, we need to think about what our response will be. That response is of course predicated on whatever information we get from interrogation. What I'm currently thinking involves ripping the head off the Supercell Jaeger and then tossing it at their metaphorical feet along with a message. Some kind of "Fuck off" response, backed by the fact we basically ate their forces. I don't have the interest, because I don't think we have the time, to entertain these feck's version of war. Post Crusade we can consider if hitting them with our own forces is worth our time, i.e how much of a shite they've decided to be.

If we don't win, well we got problems. Likely based around planning a rebellion or something.


Moving on to other topics, this debacle, has me wanting to bump researching the material improvements to the Positron Turrets so it can fire more to Joint Research then installing the improved version in Seattle on top of the command tower.

Sir Plusse said:

With this in mind, Everett's enemy Jaeger is probably around low-mid Mark II level. I don't have enough info to speculate on Seattle's high-energy signatures beyond "they're probably Jaegers" though.

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Oh also, if this is the case, I expect Tacit to eat it for breakfast. Sitting at the edge of Mk IV is scary business in this world.

BungieONI said:

Anyway aside from this, this seems like a prodigious force investment. Let's just start with listing what we have on hand and then I'll make my point.

One confirmed K-Scale unit, with sensors indicating that its power source is quite similar to KRAUN platforms but more primitive. This indicates what is likely to be active development from some kind of interaction with KRAUN(be it observation, infiltration, combat or trade), OR, that Supercell configurations have a generally similar exhaust just by nature of being a Supercell, but this Supercell is more primitive than KRAUN's.

Two possible K-Scale nuclear powered units. From our own knowledge such developments are strenuous, and also the devices themselves expensive.

An assortment, unknown number, of naval, airforce, and land based military units. We don't know how large the total assessment is, but it is enough that, through whatever calculus they made, our opponents were willing to split their forces to attack both of our cities. That willingness speaks to some sense they can accomplish something.

Like hYGP noted, they also seem to have pretty solid intelligence on us. This speaks to planning, which assumes reasonable actors of some variety.

My point then is that I think, looking at our forces, and the forces fielded by KRAUN and DJINN, this is a serious investment of military power in this post-TdJ world. This should mean that if we can soundly defeat them here, we'll have time to figure out what the fuck, who the fuck, and who I need to punch with a Jaeger fist. It should also give us enough time to do the Oblivion Crusade.

This could be another city-state muscling in on our turf, which would be an interesting conclusion. Reason I mention it is that this level of force is comparable to us, possibly leaning more Con heavy, kinda depends on exact force numbers. If it is another City-State, then I'm a bit perturbed. Because that would be, looking at us, the equivalent of them throwing a Crusade of their own. In which case I gotta wonder what the dickens we did to piss them off this much. Breach or Raubtier research? How the fuck did they know?

Either way it looks like something of a gamble to me, with this actually costing something to whoever is doing this.

To round off, I'm thinking that if/when/presuming we do win, we need to think about what our response will be. That response is of course predicated on whatever information we get from interrogation. What I'm currently thinking involves ripping the head off the Supercell Jaeger and then tossing it at their metaphorical feet along with a message. Some kind of "Fuck off" response, backed by the fact we basically ate their forces. I don't have the interest, because I don't think we have the time, to entertain these feck's version of war. Post Crusade we can consider if hitting them with our own forces is worth our time, i.e how much of a shite they've decided to be.

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Unless the invading forces are led by a deeply traumatized nine-year-old girl in desperate need of soup and a blanket under the mistaken belief that defeating/destroying/assimilating us will FINALLY get her mentally ill mother to love her again, or something equally over-the-top sympathetic?

Fuck 'em. For all that we have our issues with DJINN, we haven't yet come to blows with them (unless they're secretly the masterminds behind this operation), and it can more-or-less be agreed AFAIK that the Kaiju are a greater/more important mutual threat.

For humans to be attacking fellow humans, post Tod der Jeager? They're guaranteed the number 2 spot on our shitlist, second only to the Kaiju.

EvaUnit01 said:

Unless the invading forces are led by a deeply traumatized nine-year-old girl in desperate need of soup and a blanket under the mistaken belief that defeating/destroying/assimilating us will FINALLY get her mentally ill mother to love her again, or something equally over-the-top sympathetic?

Fuck 'em. For all that we have our issues with DJINN, we haven't yet come to blows with them (unless they're secretly the masterminds behind this operation), and it can more-or-less be agreed AFAIK that the Kaiju are a greater/more important mutual threat.

For humans to be attacking fellow humans, post Tod der Jeager? They're guaranteed the number 2 spot on our shitlist, second only to the Kaiju.

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Which is really a good point.

A couple things occurred to me after my last post, both of them related to our enemies.

First: These guys may possibly be working off of out-of-date intel, since we only switched Jaegers this week. Which would mean that Tacit's up against something intended to fight PHENOM (which means either "fast enough to stay out of reach, possibly with heavy reliance on ranged weapons" or "strong enough to contend with Phenom, at the expense of all other stats"). Either way, Tacit's probably gonna have a much easier time than Phenom would (assuming, of course, this possibility is actually true).

Second: My paranoia tells me there is a non-zero likelihood that we're under attack by a faction that's been compromised by the Kaiju Masters. I kinda hope this isn't the case, but I'm not ruling it out until it's rendered impossible (because paranoia).

Sir Plusse said:

A couple things occurred to me after my last post, both of them related to our enemies.

First: These guys may possibly be working off of out-of-date intel, since we only switched Jaegers this week. Which would mean that Tacit's up against something intended to fight PHENOM (which means either "fast enough to stay out of reach, possibly with heavy reliance on ranged weapons" or "strong enough to contend with Phenom, at the expense of all other stats"). Either way, Tacit's probably gonna have a much easier time than Phenom would (assuming, of course, this possibility is actually true).

Second: My paranoia tells me there is a non-zero likelihood that we're under attack by a faction that's been compromised by the Kaiju Masters. I kinda hope this isn't the case, but I'm not ruling it out until it's rendered impossible (because paranoia).

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Really, any faction we meet could be, but truthfully the KM's probably don't need to waste time with that. Looking around at the current state of the world is a perfect example of why.

And yeah, I agree with your first thought as well. A heavy reliance on ranged weapons would be a bit of a potch, but the GAPAS is helpful there, wonderfully broken piece of CORE "kit" that it is.

So what do people think their actual objective is here? The obvious one is to militarily defeat our military, based on behavior, they're clearly looking for a fight after metaphorically severing our Achilles tendons. But what do you all think is the point?

Annexation? Vassalage? Complete destruction?

BungieONI said:

Really, any faction we meet could be, but truthfully the KM's probably don't need to waste time with that. Looking around at the current state of the world is a perfect example of why.

And yeah, I agree with your first thought as well. A heavy reliance on ranged weapons would be a bit of a potch, but the GAPAS is helpful there, wonderfully broken piece of CORE "kit" that it is.

So what do people think their actual objective is here? The obvious one is to militarily defeat our military, based on behavior, they're clearly looking for a fight after metaphorically severing our Achilles tendons. But what do you all think is the point?

Annexation? Vassalage? Complete destruction?

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Notwithstanding my earlier point about humans attacking humans (tl,dr: barring exceptionally extreme circumstances, it doesn't matter what their goal is because they've signed their own death warrants)?

With as much preparation and planning has apparently gone into this, I have two theories in mind.

1) The enemy leaders are wanna-be dictators and/or may be LARPing Civilization way too hard, and have committed wholesale to pursuing a Conquest Victory (destruction or conquering of all other powers), in which case fuck their dreams and fuck their lives. They're actively an enemy to humanity as well as to the Kaiju and need to be exterminated to keep them from coming back to hamper us, KRAUN, or any other potential allies we haven't made yet.

2) Much like the first half of End of Evangelion, our enemies have been fed (presumably false or misleading) intel by a third party (DJINN? Kaiju cultists/KM agents? Who the hell knows?) that makes us look like a threat to humanity/psychotic dictator state/something else really bad, and these whackadoos mistakenly think that by taking us out they're doing the world a favor. In which case we still bitchslap the stupid out of them for attacking first without a reasonable attempt at diplomacy, and then the guys who set them on us get that previously mentioned, highly-coveted number 2 spot on our shitlist. Which may or may not start with an angry phone call and may or may not end with a full-on Crusade after we've finished with Oblivion Bay.

EvaUnit01 said:

Notwithstanding my earlier point about humans attacking humans (tl,dr: barring exceptionally extreme circumstances, it doesn't matter what their goal is because they've signed their own death warrants)?

With as much preparation and planning has apparently gone into this, I have two theories in mind.

1) The enemy leaders are wanna-be dictators and/or may be LARPing Civilization way too hard, and have committed wholesale to pursuing a Conquest Victory (destruction or conquering of all other powers), in which case fuck their dreams and fuck their lives. They're actively an enemy to humanity as well as to the Kaiju and need to be exterminated to keep them from coming back to hamper us, KRAUN, or any other potential allies we haven't made yet.

2) Much like the first half of End of Evangelion, our enemies have been fed (presumably false or misleading) intel by a third party (DJINN? Kaiju cultists/KM agents? Who the hell knows?) that makes us look like a threat to humanity/psychotic dictator state/something else really bad, and these whackadoos mistakenly think that by taking us out they're doing the world a favor. In which case we still bitchslap the stupid out of them for attacking first without a reasonable attempt at diplomacy, and then the guys who set them on us get that previously mentioned, highly-coveted number 2 spot on our shitlist. Which may or may not start with an angry phone call and may or may not end with a full-on Crusade after we've finished with Oblivion Bay.

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Make sense. And most motivations basically result in such things though the nuance is valuable in identifying who we need to punch and or stab, as you say.

My specific theory is currently a city state faction and they are trying to expand for... some reason via annexation/vassalization.

I'd also note that there's something interesting if folks click through the "sabotage" link.

E: There's also the concept of Morale for these guys and gals. If we rip into their shit vociferously enough, they are probably gonna book it. In which case I'm pretty cool with rolling up their stuff and cleaning them out, no escape and all. If they don't get back their intel is worse and we get more out of this.

BungieONI said:

Make sense. And most motivations basically result in such things though the nuance is valuable in identifying who we need to punch and or stab, as you say.

My specific theory is currently a city state faction and they are trying to expand for... some reason via annexation/vassalization.

I'd also note that there's something interesting if folks click through the "sabotage" link.

E: There's also the concept of Morale for these guys and gals. If we rip into their shit vociferously enough, they are probably gonna book it. In which case I'm pretty cool with rolling up their stuff and cleaning them out, no escape and all. If they don't get back their intel is worse and we get more out of this.

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Yeah, these idiots gave up the right to "escape" when they decided to sabotage and attack us without warning.

If we see them running away, until further notice I'm all for shooting them in the back.

I'm all for shooting fleeing enemies in the back on general principle. These guys have earned the "hunt down their home base and BURN IT TO THE GROUND, repeat until their faction is annihilated" treatment, in my book; after all, first contact was them attacking us with absolutely no attempt at communication, so I have no qualms about giving them the exact same treatment we give the kaiju. Right down to post-mortem dissection, if there's anything interesting about the corpses (such as cybernetic implants).

I'm just gonna say that you guys definitely don't fuck around, and leave it at that.

*Devlin scribbles a memo to build enough bombers to scorch these fucks back to the stone age when we finish here*

Honestly, there's something that just feels wrong about this; whoever's doing this somehow knows where to hit our sensor grid but doesn't really try to hit our command staff???

If I had to place my bets, I'd guess this force is actually acting on behalf of another force who's given them noticably incomplete information; as if they're the Muscle to someone else's Intelligence.

Which means that we need to establish our own Janitorial Division to see what we can do about this...Intelligence.

(incidentally, I think Drift techniques can be used to enhance interrogation techniques)

huhYeahGoodPoint said:

(incidentally, I think Drift techniques can be used to enhance interrogation techniques)

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Sounds nice until you leak vital information to the enemy. And I doubt we could NOT risk that happening, since the interrogator would have to know what's important before he can find it (or to put it pseudo-philosophically: "In order to get the answer you want, first you have to find the question"), and if the interrogator knows what he's looking for he probably knows other classified information, which will, in turn, leak to whoever they're interrogating during questioning. And if they have some way to send messages to their base in spite of being captured... well, I'm sure you see where this is going.

Put simply: Drift-based interrogations are unlikely to happen in this quest because they're such a huge security risk.