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Beneath Celestial Depths (An Arpeggio of Blue Steel Quest)

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...It kind of sounds like the GM's getting bored. That rarely bodes well. If it's any consolation, we'll probably be heading out somewhere by the next turn. If we can, at least.
 
Late or not, just for the record...

[x] Leave the island and head to...
-[x] Antartica
[x] You can try using the Satellite Uplink you've hacked before. But there's no telling if they'll be able to notice you now if you used it. Nevertheless, the information is still there.
 
That is what it's sounding like now yes. Well... fuck. Guess I didn't take into consideration that enemies might come to us unprovoked. Well, the greed was real. I thought we could take just one more day for stuff. Guess we'll just have to take the lumps, and (try) to live with it.
 
Zedman7054 said:
I didn't take into consideration that enemies might come to us unprovoked.
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A Civilian ship just got attacked. And we are A FOG VESSEL THAT IS IN THE AREA this place will be checked within a day propyl less and unlike if we went to a Human nation are said we mean no harm, here the assumption will be that we are the ones that attacked the ship, and there is no way in hell we going to beat the human navy ship at this time,
Also why did every vote for checking up on fog again?
 
SpeckofStardust said:
A Civilian ship just got attacked. And we are A FOG VESSEL THAT IS IN THE AREA this place will be checked within a day propyl less and unlike if we went to a Human nation are said we mean no harm, here the assumption will be that we are the ones that attacked the ship, and there is no way in hell we going to beat the human navy ship at this time,
Also why did every vote for checking up on fog again?
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We voted to check on the Fog because we thought we had time to make some informed decisions, and we can't do that without information. As for the first thing, yes because sneaking on-board a heavily populated civilian cruise liner and riding it all the way into a nation, while sneaking your several thousand-ton warship in it's wake isn't suspicious at all. They wouldn't know we were a dog that's borrowing grandpa's dentures to bite people. They'd treat us almost the exact same as they will now. Suspicious and with every weapon system they can pointed at us.

Also, you might be underestimating how big the ocean is. There's a reason ships and crew go missing and are never found. There's a scene in Castaway where the main character does a ton of math and figures out the search parties will have to search hundreds of thousands of square miles of almost empty ocean to find the good-sized island he's on. So it's possible they might find us while searching, but may not be as likely as you think. And even if they find the island, would they know it has an abandoned sub pen? It's been lost for decades at least, and even back then it might not have been common knowledge. If a ship shows up looking for this wreck, it might be possible to just hide from them, or failing that, run while they're searching the island. I don't think this is as bad a situation as our first instincts might think it is.

Of course, the GM could just roll in and build a scenario where I'm a big fat liar/completely wrong. In which case, oops, that'll be a very large egg on my face.
 
Zedman7054 said:
Also, you might be underestimating how big the ocean is. There's a reason ships and crew go missing and are never found. There's a scene in Castaway where the main character does a ton of math and figures out the search parties will have to search hundreds of thousands of square miles of almost empty ocean to find the good-sized island he's on. So it's possible they might find us while searching, but may not be as likely as you think. And even if they find the island, would they know it has an abandoned sub pen? It's been lost for decades at least, and even back then it might not have been common knowledge. If a ship shows up looking for this wreck, it might be possible to just hide from them, or failing that, run while they're searching the island. I don't think this is as bad a situation as our first instincts might think it is.

Of course, the GM could just roll in and build a scenario where I'm a big fat liar/completely wrong. In which case, oops, that'll be a very large egg on my face.
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You do know how much crap there is in Orbit right? Also unlike in Castaway Military action token against a Civilian target means that anything of interest (like say an abandoned Navy base) will get looked over, also with how big the ocean is and how close we are to what happened we are likely the closest land to were the ship was attacked.
 
SpeckofStardust said:
You do know how much crap there is in Orbit right? Also unlike in Castaway Military action token against a Civilian target means that anything of interest (like say an abandoned Navy base) will get looked over, also with how big the ocean is and how close we are to what happened we are likely the closest land to were the ship was attacked.
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I really don't want to turn this into an argument Speck. So let me bow out with this. You're right. There's a lot of ways to argue points, make generalizations, and bring up comparisons and examples, but you're right. But so am I. We both have good points to raise about this, but it all boils down to one thing. There's good reasons we might be found out, and there's good reasons we might not. There's a good chance we might get found out. There's a good chance we might not. Did we make a mistake by staying, maybe. We won't know until the chapter comes out. And if staying was a mistake, then so be it. We had a single clue and a line of inquiry (that of 'I wonder if the humans are looking for Fog ships/ the wreck of their ship') that we as a group missed. So, we'll deal with the consequences. That's life. And that's all we can do about it.
 
I still don't get how you three QMs divide up the writing responsibility

Rotation?
Best at certain scenes?
Plot arcs?
Whenever you can/feel like it?
Dibs?
 
[x] Stay in the submarine pen
[X] Try accessing the Tactical Network. If there are indeed Fog Ships awakening, they should be converging there.
 
Always Late said:
"DAMN IT! You were going to OD on Catnip!"
"You were going to get a cheese grater to the face!"
"I was actually going to turn you both into animals."
"OK, I guess that wins."
"This one's yours Higure."
In case of a draw, creativity decides.
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Bit late for that...suppose I could turn that cat into a rabbit and vice versa, though.
 
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Depth 13
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    • [X]Stay in the submarine pen
    [X] Try accessing the Tactical Network. If there are indeed Fog Ships awakening, they should be converging there.

    No, you don't quite feel like leaving yet. While you're fairly certain that the American Empire will send a fleet here to respond to the destruction of one of their warships, making it vastly harder for you to leave unnoticed... maybe they'll ignore this place? Forget that their ship was attacked and just leave shortly afterwards?

    Have to stay positive. You do, after all, feel like you need more time to decide where to go. You don't really have enough information to make a proper decision.

    So... it's time to access the Joint Tactical Network. You've put this off long enough. As the new Supreme Flagship, you wonder if it'll look any different? Although, you technically aren't the Supreme Flagship, you just have the core of one grafted onto your own. You don't have the authorization...

    Still, you need to see what the JTN has to offer. As you watch Mary read a book you got off the cruise ship you connect to the JTN and just like that, you're somewhere else. An endless expanse of white with a little pagoda in the center, a solitary table accompanied by two empty chairs. You've been here before... back when things were just a bit simpler.

    Not that they were ever simple for you, but still. You remember when Blue Steel filled this space, discussing upcoming battles. Of course, Iona partitioned part of the JTN for Blue Steel-specific communications. It was always a bit livelier, more vibrant than the rest of the JTN, but now it looks like its all returned to its original form. It's all so empty. What you'd give just to hear the voice of another... Even that annoyingly hyperactive Maya.

    Someone, anyone...

    Are you alone?

    A crackle, and you whirl around to face the sound. The JTN has changed. Someone else has connected. The force of their reality shapes your surroundings. Empty blank white turns to cramped hallways which lick with flame. Light fixtures dangle from the ceiling as flashes of electricity arc from frayed cables. You appear to be in a burning building.

    "What in the world..." you breathed as you scanned your surroundings.

    Who would impose such imagery on the JTN? It's supposed to be a place of calm recollection and discussion. This? This looks a bit like Hell.

    "Help me..."

    A shape comes around the corner, a young woman. She's shielding her face as she looks around frantically, searching for an exit. Her gaze lands on you, and she begins running towards you. She's halfway there when a bright flash explodes at the end of the hallway, a wall of flame rushing down towards the two of you. She looks back at her oncoming demise, then back to you, her face full of fear. And in the moment before she's consumed, you get a good look at her.

    You recognize her.

    Kotono. Yamato's second Mental Model.

    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!!"

    And just like that, the JTN is back to normal. You think you can still hear her screams, and yet, it's all gone. Only in your head. Everything is as it was.
    And yet, you can feel something. At the very edges of the JTN... you can't tell if it's other ships or something else.

    Regardless, the JTN is empty...

    "Yamato? Yamato are you here?" you called out as you walked through the gazebo.

    You failed to raise the former Supreme Flagship despite your best efforts.

    You don't know what that was earlier. It was certainly unsettling, though.

    Cursing under your breath, you stepped out to the center of the gazebo and called out, "Is there anyone here? Hello! Respond if you could hear me."

    Was there truly no one else?

    Unfortunately, the JTN has nothing more to offer, and all attempts to raise other ships of the Fog fail. It appears that no one else is awake, and if they are, they can't connect to the JTN for some reason. Or perhaps like you in your first few days, are choosing not to connect.

    So you go back to doing what you decided on.

    You wait.

    Staying was a mistake.

    Within a day, the American Empire brought an entire fleet. And even worse, they're trying to use the Pen. You were able to jam the doors, kill the base's computers, make it look like it just sealed up and rusted shut from years of neglect. But multiple sealed blast doors and collapsed underwater tunnels will only keep them at bay for so long.

    They don't seem to notice that anything is wrong, but they're steadily getting past your obstacles. And from what you knew before you had to seal up, there's a whole fleet out there. Granted, they were engaging in operations against Scarlet Fleet, so your little hideout isn't the main object of their scrutiny, but that's some small comfort. How can you take on an American warship as you are?

    Why didn't you leave when you had the chance? You suppose you wanted to know more before you made your decision. Knowledge is your lifeblood, but you had too little of it. You needed... no, you wanted more. And your greed led you right into this pitfall.

    "What do we do, Surcouf?" Mary asks in concern as you stare at the base schematics, one green line turning red to indicate that they've gotten past another blast door. That's about half. Your obstructions will hold for another 12 hours or so.

    But staying is no longer an option. You briefly checked the situation outside with a little passive sensor you left topside, and you're heartened at the relative inattention they are paying to the Pen. Aside from the team trying to cut their way inside, there's only a supply ship offshore, with what appears to be a Cruiser and two Destroyers.

    The Destroyers seem to be the hydrofoil drone design that wrecked on the island earlier (the supply ship is helping to salvage what remains of that too) but the Cruiser itself is of a design that you don't recognize. It's fairly large, and carries a deck gun that looks distinctly different from the railguns on the Destroyers.

    In fact... it might be a Photon cannon. You can't get a good reading with the passive sensors, but if it is... well, it is probably primitive compared to actual Fog weaponry, but for all of your nonexistent defenses, it might as well be the Sword of Damocles.

    One thing is clear, though. You cannot stay here. But... how do you leave? When do you leave?

    "I'll think of something, darling," you hug Mary comfortingly as your processes run over the possible exit strategies. This is going to get hairy, there's no doubt about that.

    Major Options - 1
    [] Stay and fight. The bunker is defensible, so why not use it for its intended purpose?
    [] Destroy all enemies. They may be advanced Humans, but you are Fog! You'll win in a head-on engagement, you have to!
    [] Fight your way out. Conflict is inevitable, so you'll go outside guns blazing. Hopefully you can break their line and head straight out into the clear blue.
    [] Try to leave stealthily. They're not really looking for you, so it stands to reason that you should be able to sneak out without them noticing.
    [] Surrender. End of the line. Maybe they'll treat you kindly?

    Minor Options- 2
    [] Wipe all traces of your being here as much as possible.
    [] Leave surveillance devices to track their activity.
    [] Leave a little present. And by that, you mean bombs. Lots of bombs.
    [] Try to infect their computer networks before you leave. A hobbled enemy is a weak enemy.
     
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