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ExoSquad: Flightline
- Thread starter NickAragua
- Start date
- Sci-Fi Action
I would have been sad if we took another turn holding. Will be editing this post once I get back home, but I'm assuming the JumpTroop Shuttle moves this turn or will it do so next turn?
EDIT: Maybe give Melee an additional [GRAY] Order - Blue for Evade just in case a wild Corvette pops up from the encounter sheet? I'll let Jumper hold unto column D again as it's now safe.. for now. Unless another unforunate roll of a 4 happens which spawns a lot of stuff. @_@;
[X] Recon - Pilot: Ian "Jumper" Lorenze
-[X] [BLUE] Evade - Negate the next incoming attack of any kind.
-[X] [GRAY] Power-To-Weight Ratio - Move one space in the grid in any direction. (C3 to D3)
-[X] [RED] Blaster - Attack any target within one space. (Attack any nearby or revealed hostile units in the adjacent tiles.)
EDIT2: ..though thinking about the Enemy Commanders.. It'll be bad if another enemy Signal Contact (barring D2) comes after Jumper due to only having one Evade Action. Should I just let him hold position in C3? I don't like the fact that if we roll a four, they'll pop up enemy combatants on the other tiles though and one ending up in C3 is a very bad idea: though it's kinda RNG, but it's like getting a Nat 1 Crit Fail somewhat so I guess that's fine. Melee + Engineer is doing a lot of work destroying enemies at C2 though it's only a matter of time before the enemy smarts it out and pushes forward Corvettes. This will be one scary retreat on the next ~5 Turns. @_@;
EDIT: Maybe give Melee an additional [GRAY] Order - Blue for Evade just in case a wild Corvette pops up from the encounter sheet? I'll let Jumper hold unto column D again as it's now safe.. for now. Unless another unforunate roll of a 4 happens which spawns a lot of stuff. @_@;
[X] Recon - Pilot: Ian "Jumper" Lorenze
-[X] [BLUE] Evade - Negate the next incoming attack of any kind.
-[X] [GRAY] Power-To-Weight Ratio - Move one space in the grid in any direction. (C3 to D3)
-[X] [RED] Blaster - Attack any target within one space. (Attack any nearby or revealed hostile units in the adjacent tiles.)
EDIT2: ..though thinking about the Enemy Commanders.. It'll be bad if another enemy Signal Contact (barring D2) comes after Jumper due to only having one Evade Action. Should I just let him hold position in C3? I don't like the fact that if we roll a four, they'll pop up enemy combatants on the other tiles though and one ending up in C3 is a very bad idea: though it's kinda RNG, but it's like getting a Nat 1 Crit Fail somewhat so I guess that's fine. Melee + Engineer is doing a lot of work destroying enemies at C2 though it's only a matter of time before the enemy smarts it out and pushes forward Corvettes. This will be one scary retreat on the next ~5 Turns. @_@;
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- Location
- New England
Looks good. Welcome aboard!
In practical terms, unless something goes horribly wrong, this particular sortie is going to end either this or next turn, so our new E-Frame pilot won't get too much action until the next sortie.
The shuttle will stay in place this turn while it accelerates, then will start moving "south" next turn.
Ah, gotcha, thanks for the clarifications! So we have to hold out for five turns... Or actually, we can hold out for 2-3 Turns then go backwards one cell at a time whilst Signal Contacts go down slowly. Unless some of them are Commanders though I'm under the assumption that they need to be rolled as such though I could be wrong as well since there was some interesting happenings in the action resolution logs. @_@;
..wonder how many are the 'pirates' sending in to the meat grinder though. I know a Turn takes around ~10 seconds or so but really morbidly curious where'd they get such material power.. not to mention, with the presence of their own Commanders, whose information popped up in the Tactical/Technical Readout when they appeared for the first time means the need to be cautious. .-.
Alright, if the jumpship isn't moving this turn then,
[X] Falcon
-[X] Red: GatlingBlaster to anything that shows up in or around our zone
-[X] Blue: Move Evade
-[X] Gray: Order Blue - melee
just to switch it up a bit, I'm gonna use the Gatling
Let me know if anyone wants another move
Edit: I'm giving melee another blue so they can evade in case one of the censors turn into a corvette
[X] Falcon
-[X] Red: GatlingBlaster to anything that shows up in or around our zone
-[X] Blue: Move Evade
-[X] Gray: Order Blue - melee
just to switch it up a bit, I'm gonna use the Gatling
Let me know if anyone wants another move
Edit: I'm giving melee another blue so they can evade in case one of the censors turn into a corvette
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Probably on Melee I guess? Recon could as well but priority's on Melee due to being two Signal Contacts over there. @_@;
I could give melee an evade in case one of the sensors turn into a corvette
[X] Red: Blast A3
[X] Blue: Evade
[X] Gray: Assist
[X] Blue: Evade
[X] Gray: Assist
- Location
- New England
Depending on how this turn goes, it's either the last or the second to last of this mission (unless it goes *really* poorly)
I guess you mean by the rolls right via the Signal Contacts right?
Mission 3 - Tethys Drop - End and Interlude
- Location
- New England
Raw Plan/Resolution:
Tom "Joker" Ward
"Moving in to engage remaining targets." Lestari transmits. She's quick - by the time you finish blinking, designate a target and your computer starts chugging through a firing solution, the pirate fighter you'd wanted to shoot has had its right wing severed. Then, as you switch targets to the nearby torpedo, it disappears in a burst of directed energy. Finally, you open your mouth to say something about an approach sensor contact to your left, but the red blip on your map disappears while Em clangs the mag grapple against the back of Lestari's E-Frame for the third time, reeling her in again.
"Torpedo neutralized." Plague Doc reports, drawing your attention to a brief flash coming from his direction.
"No, torpedo neutralized!" Josh calls out - you watch a missile fly out from his construction E-Frame and impact something far away from your formation. You're pretty sure you hear a snicker over the comms, but don't bother identifying who it is.
"Negative on all nearby sensor contacts." Jumper calls out. "Just debris and echoes out here. Looks like the pirates are letting us go."
"Shuttle here, we're in the clear. Always nice to go out for a walk." comes the transmission.
"Understood, shuttle." you reply. "All right, all units collapse back to the shuttle and return to the ship. We're done here."
You sigh and let out a breath. This one went a lot better than your last two sorties. Not only did nobody die or get shot down, but the squad is really starting to work together. Although you're not really sure it's anything you did.
"Easy-two here, where's the fight? Did I miss it?" comes a transmission - the squad's Exofighter.
"Yeah, you missed it, Morze." Jumper replies. "But I'm pretty sure we didn't get all the pirates yet. You'll get your chance."
---
Final Kill Board:
Easy-1 Falcon: 1x torpedo, 1x fighter
Easy-6 Wraith: 1x corvette, 1x fighter, 1x commander, 1x torpedo
Easy-7 Engineer A:
Easy-4 Engineer B: 1x fighter, 1x commander, 1x torpedo
Easy-8 Melee: 3x commander, 1x corvette, 3x torpedo
Easy-3 Recon: 2x commander
---
Natanael "Nate" Weaver
"All sections, secure for main engine burn and report status when completed." comes the announcement over ship comms, more or less the second the last E-Frame enters the hangar - the dark purple-painted Exofighter. The fighter carefully hovers into its cubby as the hangar doors close and the bay re-pressurizes. The camera shows a short, mousy-looking blonde woman getting out as the techs swarm over the fighter and attach it to the floor with magnetic clamps. The last thing anyone wants is for an E-Frame loaded with missiles and a fusion pack to start sliding around the hangar, colliding with other E-Frames, also loaded with missiles and fusion packs.
"You better get to the briefing room." the comms officer tells you - you'd spent the battle on the bridge, monitoring chatter. Thankfully, E-Frame jocks tend to have the run of the ship for the most part, as long as they don't get in people's way. You may still be wearing a neck brace, which kind of put a damper on your attempts to flirt with said comms officer, but the idea of sitting in your quarters or the medical bay and not having idea of what's going on out there while your squadmates are getting shot at really bugged you. "I'll be along in a few minutes, we've got a situation update from the homeworlds."
You consider nodding, but are actually unable to move your neck, so you *hmph* an acknowledgement and pad out.
---
"Commencing three-minute main engine burn." comes the announcement from the bridge.
"Wow, we're going fast." the "new" squad member comments, sitting in a nearby (acceleration-secured) chair in the briefing room as you feel the force being applied to your body. The room itself isn't much to look at, just a big table with a couple of wall screens and places for people to plug their ExoPads in to charge. "That is, what, two G's of acceleration?"
"It'll be uncomfortable for sure." you reply. "I don't think we've met before, I'm Nate." you add, extending your hand, which she reaches out and shakes. Rounded eastern European features, and the accent, lead you to think she's ... from eastern Europe. You're not really an expert on the local countries.
"Morze." she replies.
"Why do they call you that?" Josh pipes up from behind the two of you. "I thought Poland was land-locked."
Morze frowns. "It is most certainly not land locked. Just like you Americans to not know geography. Do you even know which planet we were just orbiting?"
Josh chuckles, raising his hands placatingly. "Ok, ok, sorry. Just that 'the sea' is kind of an interesting callsign for an E-Frame jockey."
You smirk, looking at Morze. "Give the man some credit, I didn't even know what the word meant."
"All right, settle down everyone." the ship's comms officer states, walking through the door. "If you'll all direct your attention to the screen."
The chatter dies down, eventually, and a panicked-looking admiral appears on one of the wall-screens. As he speaks, some people stare at the screen, while others look at each other with concern. You're one of the latter, exchanging looks with Em and Josh (the former having sat herself down next to the latter).
"This is Admiral Romero to the fleet. Urgent you return to Earth immediately. Break off the attack. We are under massive assault from Neosapien forces - there was no warning. Suddenly, they were... they were everywhere. Urgent you..." the recording fuzzes out at that point.
"So, as you can guess." the comms officer begins. "We are heading back to Earth. Time lag is a little over an hour, so we don't know what the current status is over there; we'll have a clearer picture over the next day or two as we get closer."
"Guess we're not getting that updated ExoBall championship game score." You quip before your brain even has a chance to process what you're saying.
"What, did you have money on it too?" Joker asks with a grin.
"Maybe we'll finally get a real fight, then, instead of these pirate turkey shoots." Em comments. You raise an eyebrow - the last sortie you went out on didn't seem like a turkey shoot to you, but maybe your perspective is a little skewed, given that you're wearing a neck brace and your co-pilot is still unconscious. Not to mention all those jump troopers that got blasted.
"Against the Neos?" Morze counters. "We don't have the slightest idea of their capabilities! They weren't even allowed to have E-Frames, let alone ships."
"Hopefully fleet HQ can at least send some data over on what the Neos have." Jumper comments. "Most of the fleet may be here, but they still have fixed defense stations and sensors back at the homeworlds."
Lestari scoffs. "Yes, I expect the remaining defense personnel will be very focused on intelligence gathering efforts."
Jumper smirks. "Not all of them. But we don't need all of them, just enough so we have some idea of what we're going up against."
You look over at your flight leader, wondering if he's got anything to say.
[] [Joker] "Pretty clever of the Neos, actually. They make a show of backing this anti-piracy op and wait until we leave..."
[] [Joker] "Wow, our intel people screwed up big time..."
[] [Joker] Nope, nothing to say
---
Joshua "Josh" Walker
Endeavor Hangar Bay
24 hours later
"Hey man, good shooting out there." you tell Plague Doc as he tinkers with his E-Frame. "That corvette could have snuck up on us and done some real damage if you hadn't zinged it with your sensors."
"Thanks." the man responds. He's of average height, average weight, brown hair parted on one side. Completely non-remarkable.
"I hear you're the man to talk to about E-Frame software mods?" you ask. "I'm surprised you're into that stuff, the programming libraries they've got on there are goddamn awful."
Plague Doc scoffs. "Yeah, they are."
"Especially the targeting subsystem, it doesn't even use the same scripting language as the rest of the E-Frame's systems. I was trying to see if I could increase the payload on those missiles and had to make some adjustments to it one time," you begin. "I'm surprised I didn't accidentally light the whole hangar up."
Plague Doc chuckles. "I bet that would have been pretty cool."
You laugh, breaking off a piece of an ExoBar in your mouth. "Yeah, for someone else who wouldn't have to clean up the mess afterwards."
"Naturally." he acknowledges.
"So anyway, what're you working on now?" you ask.
[] [Plague Doc] "Scanner noise filter."
[] [Plague Doc] "Probe payload adjustment."
[] [Plague Doc] "Missile payload adjustment."
[] [Plague Doc] "None of your business."
---
Nathanael "Nate" Weaver
Endeavor Hangar Bay
"Nice paintjob." you comment as you approach Morze in her hangar cubicle, fiddling with an ExoPad wired to her (mostly) dark purple fighter.
"Thanks." she says. "I hope the Neos like it when we fight against them."
You rub your neck, a phantom itch from the recently removed neck brace still making itself felt. Your finger rubs up against the cyberlink implant on the back of your head, reminding you sharply that you haven't been hooked up to an E-Frame in a couple of days now.
"I've always wanted to try one of those Exofighters." you say. "Every time I see one, it's always flying circles around me."
Morze smirks, looking up at you briefly. "You should get in line, this one is mine."
You chuckle. "Well, maybe I can catch a ride as a passenger one of these days." you add with a grin.
She raises an eyebrow, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "What, you don't have one of your own?"
"Not uh..." you sigh. "... not right now. I was flying the two-seater before, but those pirates really shot it to bits."
She nods. "Well, I suppose we have some spare E-Frames in storage." her expression brightens up a little as she taps away on the ExoPad. "Look on the bright side, maybe you really can try out a new E-Frame you haven't flown before."
You rub your chin, considering the idea.
[] [Nate] "Yeah, maybe the Heavy."
[] [Nate] "Yeah, maybe the Trooper."
[] [Nate] "Nah, I'd feel weird flying around without a co-pilot."
AN:
Melee
Blue: Charge C2
Additional Blue: Evade
Red: Blaster anything in sight
Engineer A:
Blue: Evade
Red: Grapple Melee back to C3
[X] Recon
-[X] [BLUE] Evade
-[X] [GRAY] Power-To-Weight Ratio (C3 to D3)
-[X] [RED] Blaster - (Attack any nearby or revealed hostile units in the adjacent tiles.)
[X] Falcon
-[X] Red: GatlingBlaster to anything that shows up in or around our zone
-[X] Blue: Move Evade
-[X] Gray: Order Blue - melee
Wraith
[X] Red: Blast A3
[X] Blue: Evade
[X] Gray: Assist
Enginer B
-We'll see
Player Phase:
Melee
Charge C3 -> C2; 2x contact revealed, rolls 8,3 (commander, torpedo)
Laser Cutter vs commander; target destroyed
Blaster vs torpedo; target destroyed
Engineer A
Grapple Melee C2 -> C3
Evade
Wraith
Scan A3; contact revealed, rolls 3, torpedo
Evade
Blaster vs A3; target destroyed
Engineer B
Blue: move move move stay, rolls stay
Evading
No valid blaster targets - missile vs E4 torpedo; target destroyed
Falcon
Order Blue: Melee - evading
Evade
No valid blaster targets
Recon
PTWR C3 -> D3
Evading
No valid blaster targets
Allied Phase
Shuttle accelerating
Hostile Phase
B3 Contact down right x7, rolls right -> C3; revealed, rolls 1 - false contact
D2 Contact D2 -> D3; revealed, rolls 1 - false contact
E3 Contact E3 -> D3; revealed, rolls 1 - false contact (1/216 odds, nice)
All contacts down one, new row of contacts in row 0, but it doesn't matter - no commanders left on the field and no way they can catch up to the shuttle.
Blue: Charge C2
Additional Blue: Evade
Red: Blaster anything in sight
Engineer A:
Blue: Evade
Red: Grapple Melee back to C3
[X] Recon
-[X] [BLUE] Evade
-[X] [GRAY] Power-To-Weight Ratio (C3 to D3)
-[X] [RED] Blaster - (Attack any nearby or revealed hostile units in the adjacent tiles.)
[X] Falcon
-[X] Red: GatlingBlaster to anything that shows up in or around our zone
-[X] Blue: Move Evade
-[X] Gray: Order Blue - melee
Wraith
[X] Red: Blast A3
[X] Blue: Evade
[X] Gray: Assist
Enginer B
-We'll see
Player Phase:
Melee
Charge C3 -> C2; 2x contact revealed, rolls 8,3 (commander, torpedo)
Laser Cutter vs commander; target destroyed
Blaster vs torpedo; target destroyed
Engineer A
Grapple Melee C2 -> C3
Evade
Wraith
Scan A3; contact revealed, rolls 3, torpedo
Evade
Blaster vs A3; target destroyed
Engineer B
Blue: move move move stay, rolls stay
Evading
No valid blaster targets - missile vs E4 torpedo; target destroyed
Falcon
Order Blue: Melee - evading
Evade
No valid blaster targets
Recon
PTWR C3 -> D3
Evading
No valid blaster targets
Allied Phase
Shuttle accelerating
Hostile Phase
B3 Contact down right x7, rolls right -> C3; revealed, rolls 1 - false contact
D2 Contact D2 -> D3; revealed, rolls 1 - false contact
E3 Contact E3 -> D3; revealed, rolls 1 - false contact (1/216 odds, nice)
All contacts down one, new row of contacts in row 0, but it doesn't matter - no commanders left on the field and no way they can catch up to the shuttle.
Tom "Joker" Ward
"Moving in to engage remaining targets." Lestari transmits. She's quick - by the time you finish blinking, designate a target and your computer starts chugging through a firing solution, the pirate fighter you'd wanted to shoot has had its right wing severed. Then, as you switch targets to the nearby torpedo, it disappears in a burst of directed energy. Finally, you open your mouth to say something about an approach sensor contact to your left, but the red blip on your map disappears while Em clangs the mag grapple against the back of Lestari's E-Frame for the third time, reeling her in again.
"Torpedo neutralized." Plague Doc reports, drawing your attention to a brief flash coming from his direction.
"No, torpedo neutralized!" Josh calls out - you watch a missile fly out from his construction E-Frame and impact something far away from your formation. You're pretty sure you hear a snicker over the comms, but don't bother identifying who it is.
"Negative on all nearby sensor contacts." Jumper calls out. "Just debris and echoes out here. Looks like the pirates are letting us go."
"Shuttle here, we're in the clear. Always nice to go out for a walk." comes the transmission.
"Understood, shuttle." you reply. "All right, all units collapse back to the shuttle and return to the ship. We're done here."
You sigh and let out a breath. This one went a lot better than your last two sorties. Not only did nobody die or get shot down, but the squad is really starting to work together. Although you're not really sure it's anything you did.
"Easy-two here, where's the fight? Did I miss it?" comes a transmission - the squad's Exofighter.
"Yeah, you missed it, Morze." Jumper replies. "But I'm pretty sure we didn't get all the pirates yet. You'll get your chance."
---
Final Kill Board:
Easy-1 Falcon: 1x torpedo, 1x fighter
Easy-6 Wraith: 1x corvette, 1x fighter, 1x commander, 1x torpedo
Easy-7 Engineer A:
Easy-4 Engineer B: 1x fighter, 1x commander, 1x torpedo
Easy-8 Melee: 3x commander, 1x corvette, 3x torpedo
Easy-3 Recon: 2x commander
---
Natanael "Nate" Weaver
"All sections, secure for main engine burn and report status when completed." comes the announcement over ship comms, more or less the second the last E-Frame enters the hangar - the dark purple-painted Exofighter. The fighter carefully hovers into its cubby as the hangar doors close and the bay re-pressurizes. The camera shows a short, mousy-looking blonde woman getting out as the techs swarm over the fighter and attach it to the floor with magnetic clamps. The last thing anyone wants is for an E-Frame loaded with missiles and a fusion pack to start sliding around the hangar, colliding with other E-Frames, also loaded with missiles and fusion packs.
"You better get to the briefing room." the comms officer tells you - you'd spent the battle on the bridge, monitoring chatter. Thankfully, E-Frame jocks tend to have the run of the ship for the most part, as long as they don't get in people's way. You may still be wearing a neck brace, which kind of put a damper on your attempts to flirt with said comms officer, but the idea of sitting in your quarters or the medical bay and not having idea of what's going on out there while your squadmates are getting shot at really bugged you. "I'll be along in a few minutes, we've got a situation update from the homeworlds."
You consider nodding, but are actually unable to move your neck, so you *hmph* an acknowledgement and pad out.
---
"Commencing three-minute main engine burn." comes the announcement from the bridge.
"Wow, we're going fast." the "new" squad member comments, sitting in a nearby (acceleration-secured) chair in the briefing room as you feel the force being applied to your body. The room itself isn't much to look at, just a big table with a couple of wall screens and places for people to plug their ExoPads in to charge. "That is, what, two G's of acceleration?"
"It'll be uncomfortable for sure." you reply. "I don't think we've met before, I'm Nate." you add, extending your hand, which she reaches out and shakes. Rounded eastern European features, and the accent, lead you to think she's ... from eastern Europe. You're not really an expert on the local countries.
"Morze." she replies.
"Why do they call you that?" Josh pipes up from behind the two of you. "I thought Poland was land-locked."
Morze frowns. "It is most certainly not land locked. Just like you Americans to not know geography. Do you even know which planet we were just orbiting?"
Josh chuckles, raising his hands placatingly. "Ok, ok, sorry. Just that 'the sea' is kind of an interesting callsign for an E-Frame jockey."
You smirk, looking at Morze. "Give the man some credit, I didn't even know what the word meant."
"All right, settle down everyone." the ship's comms officer states, walking through the door. "If you'll all direct your attention to the screen."
The chatter dies down, eventually, and a panicked-looking admiral appears on one of the wall-screens. As he speaks, some people stare at the screen, while others look at each other with concern. You're one of the latter, exchanging looks with Em and Josh (the former having sat herself down next to the latter).
"This is Admiral Romero to the fleet. Urgent you return to Earth immediately. Break off the attack. We are under massive assault from Neosapien forces - there was no warning. Suddenly, they were... they were everywhere. Urgent you..." the recording fuzzes out at that point.
"So, as you can guess." the comms officer begins. "We are heading back to Earth. Time lag is a little over an hour, so we don't know what the current status is over there; we'll have a clearer picture over the next day or two as we get closer."
"Guess we're not getting that updated ExoBall championship game score." You quip before your brain even has a chance to process what you're saying.
"What, did you have money on it too?" Joker asks with a grin.
"Maybe we'll finally get a real fight, then, instead of these pirate turkey shoots." Em comments. You raise an eyebrow - the last sortie you went out on didn't seem like a turkey shoot to you, but maybe your perspective is a little skewed, given that you're wearing a neck brace and your co-pilot is still unconscious. Not to mention all those jump troopers that got blasted.
"Against the Neos?" Morze counters. "We don't have the slightest idea of their capabilities! They weren't even allowed to have E-Frames, let alone ships."
"Hopefully fleet HQ can at least send some data over on what the Neos have." Jumper comments. "Most of the fleet may be here, but they still have fixed defense stations and sensors back at the homeworlds."
Lestari scoffs. "Yes, I expect the remaining defense personnel will be very focused on intelligence gathering efforts."
Jumper smirks. "Not all of them. But we don't need all of them, just enough so we have some idea of what we're going up against."
You look over at your flight leader, wondering if he's got anything to say.
[] [Joker] "Pretty clever of the Neos, actually. They make a show of backing this anti-piracy op and wait until we leave..."
[] [Joker] "Wow, our intel people screwed up big time..."
[] [Joker] Nope, nothing to say
---
Joshua "Josh" Walker
Endeavor Hangar Bay
24 hours later
"Hey man, good shooting out there." you tell Plague Doc as he tinkers with his E-Frame. "That corvette could have snuck up on us and done some real damage if you hadn't zinged it with your sensors."
"Thanks." the man responds. He's of average height, average weight, brown hair parted on one side. Completely non-remarkable.
"I hear you're the man to talk to about E-Frame software mods?" you ask. "I'm surprised you're into that stuff, the programming libraries they've got on there are goddamn awful."
Plague Doc scoffs. "Yeah, they are."
"Especially the targeting subsystem, it doesn't even use the same scripting language as the rest of the E-Frame's systems. I was trying to see if I could increase the payload on those missiles and had to make some adjustments to it one time," you begin. "I'm surprised I didn't accidentally light the whole hangar up."
Plague Doc chuckles. "I bet that would have been pretty cool."
You laugh, breaking off a piece of an ExoBar in your mouth. "Yeah, for someone else who wouldn't have to clean up the mess afterwards."
"Naturally." he acknowledges.
"So anyway, what're you working on now?" you ask.
[] [Plague Doc] "Scanner noise filter."
[] [Plague Doc] "Probe payload adjustment."
[] [Plague Doc] "Missile payload adjustment."
[] [Plague Doc] "None of your business."
---
Nathanael "Nate" Weaver
Endeavor Hangar Bay
"Nice paintjob." you comment as you approach Morze in her hangar cubicle, fiddling with an ExoPad wired to her (mostly) dark purple fighter.
"Thanks." she says. "I hope the Neos like it when we fight against them."
You rub your neck, a phantom itch from the recently removed neck brace still making itself felt. Your finger rubs up against the cyberlink implant on the back of your head, reminding you sharply that you haven't been hooked up to an E-Frame in a couple of days now.
"I've always wanted to try one of those Exofighters." you say. "Every time I see one, it's always flying circles around me."
Morze smirks, looking up at you briefly. "You should get in line, this one is mine."
You chuckle. "Well, maybe I can catch a ride as a passenger one of these days." you add with a grin.
She raises an eyebrow, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "What, you don't have one of your own?"
"Not uh..." you sigh. "... not right now. I was flying the two-seater before, but those pirates really shot it to bits."
She nods. "Well, I suppose we have some spare E-Frames in storage." her expression brightens up a little as she taps away on the ExoPad. "Look on the bright side, maybe you really can try out a new E-Frame you haven't flown before."
You rub your chin, considering the idea.
[] [Nate] "Yeah, maybe the Heavy."
[] [Nate] "Yeah, maybe the Trooper."
[] [Nate] "Nah, I'd feel weird flying around without a co-pilot."
AN:
We'll have one more update with some customization options. Unlike the pirates, the Neosapiens aren't using ramshackle crap made from salvaged previous-generation components, so expect a little more of a challenge.
Apologies if I don't get everyone a "personal" decision every update, I'd like to keep these updates relatively bite-sized so they don't take forever to write.
Apologies if I don't get everyone a "personal" decision every update, I'd like to keep these updates relatively bite-sized so they don't take forever to write.
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Interesting... also, nice interactions all together with the rest of the group. Curious on how others will pick their response as well as the customization update. Rather excited for that part.
..might want to re-read that particular update that mentioned Neosapiens though.. Wouldn't be surprised if we face Exo-Frames, probably, it's either that or at least those that can take two hits. @_@;
EDIT: Added an 'or' there for clarification...
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If I pick something, will that be my customization?
- Location
- New England
Not directly, but it will influence the types of options available.
Nate left for the vote/dialog after Plague Doc's.
[X] Scanner noise filter
- Location
- New England
Update might not make it out tonight, but I'll start it tonight.
I'm in no hurry, take your time
Mission 3 - En Route to Earth
- Location
- New England
Natanael "Nate" Weaver
Endeavor Briefing Room
Joker rubs his chin. "Pretty clever of the Neos, actually. They make a show of backing this anti-piracy op and wait until we leave... "
Em scoffs. "Can't blame them, really, given how humanity has treated them."
Lestari shrugs. "Perhaps not, but is launching a sneak invasion of the homeworlds really the way to go about addressing their grievances?"
Em spreads her hands. "Grievances? Your bunkmate playing their music too loud at night without headphones is a grievance. Being created for the sole purpose of performing slave labor in hostile environments is a little more than that!"
The comms officer clears her throat. You grin sheepishly - in all the excitement you'd forgotten that she probably wasn't done with whatever she was going to say. "Hey, settle down, you monkeys." you call out. "Sorry, Ensign. Did you have anything else for the upset beehive?"
She shakes her head, flashing you a quick smile. "Thanks, but no. We'll present updates as they become available." she rolls her eyes. "Or you can come down to the bridge and hover over my shoulder some more."
Your grin comes back.
"All right, everyone," Joker states. "Transit time straight to Earth is going to be a while, so get some rest and get your E-Frames fixed up. Dismissed."
---
Joshua "Josh" Walker
Endeavor Hangar Bay
En Route to Earth
"Scanner noise filter." Plague Doc responds.
You bob your head in understanding. "What, for better effective range?"
Plague Doc shrugs. "Sort of. Need to know what's behind the front line of noise."
You nod again, thinking. "Do you have the computing power for a good filtering algorithm?"
Plague Doc shakes his head. "Not in the E-Frame. But I can run the harder decisions through here." he taps the back of his head. "I know what a pirate ship's sensor silhouette looks like, even if it's at the slightly wrong angle. Hard for a computer, easy for me."
You blanch. "You sure about that? There's a reason they prevent you from just dumping raw data from the E-Frame into your brain."
Plague Doc shrugs. "I can handle it."
You clap him on the shoulder. "Whatever you say, pal. I think I'm gonna see if I can stuff more missiles on the back of my frame. At least if I'm gonna get blown up, it's not just my brain that's gonna get fried."
Plague Doc smiles slightly. "A worthy goal."
One of Plague Doc's sensor abilities can be upgraded to affect a random eligible target in a random space along the projected line instead of just failing (although it still may fail). Pick one:
[] [Wraith Upgrade] Deep Sensor Scan
- Upgrade the [GRAY] Sensor Scan ability
[] [Wraith Upgrade] Deep Comms Jamming
- Upgrade the [GRAY] Comms Jamming ability
[] [Wraith Upgrade] Deep Target Guidance
- Upgrade the [GRAY] Target Guidance ability
Engineer B upgrade. Pick one:
[] [Engineer B upgrade] Extended Missile Load
- Increase missile count from 4 to 8; may not use Evade until missile count is depleted to 4.
[] [Engineer B upgrade] Shoulder Blaster Overwatch
- Shoulder blaster may be used to attack a random hostile target present in after hostile movement phase instead of making a standard attack.
[] [Engineer B upgrade] Shoulder Blaster Sync
- Shoulder blaster now automatically attacks the arm blaster's target when arm blaster is used.
---
Nathanael "Nate" Weaver
Endeavor Hangar Bay
En Route to Earth
"Yeah, maybe I'll try out the Trooper. Can't go wrong with more lasers, although I'll... " you pause for a second, wondering whether you should go for it or not. It's not even a contest. "... miss the missiles." you elbow Morze lightly in the shoulder. "Get it?"
She rolls her eyes and groans. You laugh.
"You ever meet a Neo?" she asks.
You shake your head. Neosapiens aren't a particularly common sight on Earth, at least not where you grew up. Most of their population is on Mars - the occasional blue-skinned half-giant (both male and female variety - a distinction you find weird since Neos are grown in fluid suspension tanks "on demand") attends a university, and the ExoFleet consists of maybe one percent.
"I've seen a few around, but never got a chance to talk to one. You?"
She shakes her head. "No. I wonder how the ones that are part of the ExoFleet feel about this?"
You shrug and chuckle. "I dunno, I'm not a political scientist, I just fly an E-Frame."
Morze purses her lips. "It's just, we don't know what they want. Which makes it hard to fight back."
You tilt your head in partial agreement. "Maybe, but that's on a strategic and political level we can't control."
Morze spreads her hands. "We don't really know what their tactical capabilities are, either."
You nod and sigh, then shrug. "Like I said, I just fly an E-Frame."
---
Emily "Em" O'Dwyer
Endeavor Hangar Bay
"Hey Em, help us settle an argument." Jumper and Lestari stand in front of Lestari's Field Sergeant E-Frame, the former motioning you over. You raise an eyebrow and pad over. "Which one's faster? My Recon or her Sergeant?"
"Mine, of course." Lestari states without pausing, pointing down to the legs. "Afterburners have equal power to main engine, thus increase acceleration by a factor of two." she points over to the emerald-colored Recon frame in another cubby. You think it resembles an upright crab. "Yours has no afterburners, and even though the main engines are more efficient because of its lower mass, it's not by a factor of two." she raises two fingers to emphasize the point. "Thus, mine is faster."
Jumper rolls his eyes. "Sure, over a period of thirty seconds." he points to the Sergeant E-Frame's afterburners. "But then those things run out of juice and go putt-putt-putt, and you're recharging for another forty five; meanwhile, I'm pouring on the Gs. Other than light speed, there's no upper limit for velocity in a vacuum, so over time, I'm going to go faster."
You chuckle. "What if I give one of you two a tow?"
The two of them both turn to look at you like you have two heads. "Stay in your lane, slow-poke." Lestari tells you. "You're useful for changing direction, not maximizing velocity."
You give a mock pout. "Fine, see if I reel your arse out of a pirate nest next time."
Jumper chuckles. "Some people need help with their evasive maneuvers."
You and Lestari stare daggers at him. "What, and you don't? That E-Frame looks like it could backlight the dark side of Jupiter." you ask.
He grins. "Who says it couldn't?"
Melee and Engineer A E-Frame upgrade. Pick one:
[] [Melee + Engineer A] Coordinated Fire
- When using Mag Grapple on Melee E-Frame, Engineer A may use another RED ability in place of a BLUE ability.
[] [Melee + Engineer A] Slingshot
- When using Mag Grapple on Melee E-Frame in same space, Melee may move one space, use up to two RED abilities, then move back to its starting location, but may not use any BLUE abilities.
[] [Melee + Engineer A] Emergency Vector Change
- When using Mag Grapple on Melee E-Frame, allows it to evade any single attack instead of moving it.
Recon upgrade. Pick one:
[] [Recon] Might as Well
- Evade grants a free one-space move if it is not used to evade an attack.
[] [Recon] Blaster Overwatch
- Arm blaster may be used to attack a random hostile target present in own space after hostile movement phase instead of making a standard attack.
[] [Recon] Claw rip
- Claw may be used to damage the target.
---
Nathanael "Nate" Weaver
Endeavor Bridge, Comms Station
Over the last few days, between running simulated drills in the Trooper E-Frame (while waiting for Wilhelm to finish recovering), getting your ass kicked by Joker and Josh in various network games and finally getting your neck brace off, you've become a fairly regular fixture at the bridge comms station during Theresa's ("Ensign Steinwender") shifts. For one, it's a great way to keep up with fleet-wide comms traffic and the increasingly depressing updates from the homeworlds. The news being - no news from Venus after multiple dome breaches; no news from Mars, unsurprising given the low baseline human population on Mars; declaration of unconditional surrender from the Homeworlds Congress to the Neosapien Commonwealth in Earth orbit. But also, the Ensign is fun to spend time with and hasn't told you to piss off yet.
Just as you're about to begin another round of witty repartee, the comms system indicates an incoming command transmission, and, by unspoken agreement, you shut your mouth. "Resolute to Fleet. All ExoCarriers, proceed towards Earth at full speed."
The Ensign relays the orders, to general grumbling. "Why?" you mouth afterward. "We have no idea what's waiting for us, and we're dividing our firepower in two?" She shrugs.
You sigh. Sure, the ExoCarriers can get there faster, with their fancy engines. But with the rest of the fleet arriving in the Earth Patrol Zone six hours after the ExoCarriers, you don't know whether there'll be any ExoCarriers left by that point.
[AN: Next update, we'll be facing some Neosapiens. Good luck and good hunting!]
Endeavor Briefing Room
Joker rubs his chin. "Pretty clever of the Neos, actually. They make a show of backing this anti-piracy op and wait until we leave... "
Em scoffs. "Can't blame them, really, given how humanity has treated them."
Lestari shrugs. "Perhaps not, but is launching a sneak invasion of the homeworlds really the way to go about addressing their grievances?"
Em spreads her hands. "Grievances? Your bunkmate playing their music too loud at night without headphones is a grievance. Being created for the sole purpose of performing slave labor in hostile environments is a little more than that!"
The comms officer clears her throat. You grin sheepishly - in all the excitement you'd forgotten that she probably wasn't done with whatever she was going to say. "Hey, settle down, you monkeys." you call out. "Sorry, Ensign. Did you have anything else for the upset beehive?"
She shakes her head, flashing you a quick smile. "Thanks, but no. We'll present updates as they become available." she rolls her eyes. "Or you can come down to the bridge and hover over my shoulder some more."
Your grin comes back.
"All right, everyone," Joker states. "Transit time straight to Earth is going to be a while, so get some rest and get your E-Frames fixed up. Dismissed."
---
Joshua "Josh" Walker
Endeavor Hangar Bay
En Route to Earth
"Scanner noise filter." Plague Doc responds.
You bob your head in understanding. "What, for better effective range?"
Plague Doc shrugs. "Sort of. Need to know what's behind the front line of noise."
You nod again, thinking. "Do you have the computing power for a good filtering algorithm?"
Plague Doc shakes his head. "Not in the E-Frame. But I can run the harder decisions through here." he taps the back of his head. "I know what a pirate ship's sensor silhouette looks like, even if it's at the slightly wrong angle. Hard for a computer, easy for me."
You blanch. "You sure about that? There's a reason they prevent you from just dumping raw data from the E-Frame into your brain."
Plague Doc shrugs. "I can handle it."
You clap him on the shoulder. "Whatever you say, pal. I think I'm gonna see if I can stuff more missiles on the back of my frame. At least if I'm gonna get blown up, it's not just my brain that's gonna get fried."
Plague Doc smiles slightly. "A worthy goal."
One of Plague Doc's sensor abilities can be upgraded to affect a random eligible target in a random space along the projected line instead of just failing (although it still may fail). Pick one:
[] [Wraith Upgrade] Deep Sensor Scan
- Upgrade the [GRAY] Sensor Scan ability
[] [Wraith Upgrade] Deep Comms Jamming
- Upgrade the [GRAY] Comms Jamming ability
[] [Wraith Upgrade] Deep Target Guidance
- Upgrade the [GRAY] Target Guidance ability
Engineer B upgrade. Pick one:
[] [Engineer B upgrade] Extended Missile Load
- Increase missile count from 4 to 8; may not use Evade until missile count is depleted to 4.
[] [Engineer B upgrade] Shoulder Blaster Overwatch
- Shoulder blaster may be used to attack a random hostile target present in after hostile movement phase instead of making a standard attack.
[] [Engineer B upgrade] Shoulder Blaster Sync
- Shoulder blaster now automatically attacks the arm blaster's target when arm blaster is used.
---
Nathanael "Nate" Weaver
Endeavor Hangar Bay
En Route to Earth
"Yeah, maybe I'll try out the Trooper. Can't go wrong with more lasers, although I'll... " you pause for a second, wondering whether you should go for it or not. It's not even a contest. "... miss the missiles." you elbow Morze lightly in the shoulder. "Get it?"
She rolls her eyes and groans. You laugh.
"You ever meet a Neo?" she asks.
You shake your head. Neosapiens aren't a particularly common sight on Earth, at least not where you grew up. Most of their population is on Mars - the occasional blue-skinned half-giant (both male and female variety - a distinction you find weird since Neos are grown in fluid suspension tanks "on demand") attends a university, and the ExoFleet consists of maybe one percent.
"I've seen a few around, but never got a chance to talk to one. You?"
She shakes her head. "No. I wonder how the ones that are part of the ExoFleet feel about this?"
You shrug and chuckle. "I dunno, I'm not a political scientist, I just fly an E-Frame."
Morze purses her lips. "It's just, we don't know what they want. Which makes it hard to fight back."
You tilt your head in partial agreement. "Maybe, but that's on a strategic and political level we can't control."
Morze spreads her hands. "We don't really know what their tactical capabilities are, either."
You nod and sigh, then shrug. "Like I said, I just fly an E-Frame."
---
Emily "Em" O'Dwyer
Endeavor Hangar Bay
"Hey Em, help us settle an argument." Jumper and Lestari stand in front of Lestari's Field Sergeant E-Frame, the former motioning you over. You raise an eyebrow and pad over. "Which one's faster? My Recon or her Sergeant?"
"Mine, of course." Lestari states without pausing, pointing down to the legs. "Afterburners have equal power to main engine, thus increase acceleration by a factor of two." she points over to the emerald-colored Recon frame in another cubby. You think it resembles an upright crab. "Yours has no afterburners, and even though the main engines are more efficient because of its lower mass, it's not by a factor of two." she raises two fingers to emphasize the point. "Thus, mine is faster."
Jumper rolls his eyes. "Sure, over a period of thirty seconds." he points to the Sergeant E-Frame's afterburners. "But then those things run out of juice and go putt-putt-putt, and you're recharging for another forty five; meanwhile, I'm pouring on the Gs. Other than light speed, there's no upper limit for velocity in a vacuum, so over time, I'm going to go faster."
You chuckle. "What if I give one of you two a tow?"
The two of them both turn to look at you like you have two heads. "Stay in your lane, slow-poke." Lestari tells you. "You're useful for changing direction, not maximizing velocity."
You give a mock pout. "Fine, see if I reel your arse out of a pirate nest next time."
Jumper chuckles. "Some people need help with their evasive maneuvers."
You and Lestari stare daggers at him. "What, and you don't? That E-Frame looks like it could backlight the dark side of Jupiter." you ask.
He grins. "Who says it couldn't?"
Melee and Engineer A E-Frame upgrade. Pick one:
[] [Melee + Engineer A] Coordinated Fire
- When using Mag Grapple on Melee E-Frame, Engineer A may use another RED ability in place of a BLUE ability.
[] [Melee + Engineer A] Slingshot
- When using Mag Grapple on Melee E-Frame in same space, Melee may move one space, use up to two RED abilities, then move back to its starting location, but may not use any BLUE abilities.
[] [Melee + Engineer A] Emergency Vector Change
- When using Mag Grapple on Melee E-Frame, allows it to evade any single attack instead of moving it.
Recon upgrade. Pick one:
[] [Recon] Might as Well
- Evade grants a free one-space move if it is not used to evade an attack.
[] [Recon] Blaster Overwatch
- Arm blaster may be used to attack a random hostile target present in own space after hostile movement phase instead of making a standard attack.
[] [Recon] Claw rip
- Claw may be used to damage the target.
---
Nathanael "Nate" Weaver
Endeavor Bridge, Comms Station
Over the last few days, between running simulated drills in the Trooper E-Frame (while waiting for Wilhelm to finish recovering), getting your ass kicked by Joker and Josh in various network games and finally getting your neck brace off, you've become a fairly regular fixture at the bridge comms station during Theresa's ("Ensign Steinwender") shifts. For one, it's a great way to keep up with fleet-wide comms traffic and the increasingly depressing updates from the homeworlds. The news being - no news from Venus after multiple dome breaches; no news from Mars, unsurprising given the low baseline human population on Mars; declaration of unconditional surrender from the Homeworlds Congress to the Neosapien Commonwealth in Earth orbit. But also, the Ensign is fun to spend time with and hasn't told you to piss off yet.
Just as you're about to begin another round of witty repartee, the comms system indicates an incoming command transmission, and, by unspoken agreement, you shut your mouth. "Resolute to Fleet. All ExoCarriers, proceed towards Earth at full speed."
The Ensign relays the orders, to general grumbling. "Why?" you mouth afterward. "We have no idea what's waiting for us, and we're dividing our firepower in two?" She shrugs.
You sigh. Sure, the ExoCarriers can get there faster, with their fancy engines. But with the rest of the fleet arriving in the Earth Patrol Zone six hours after the ExoCarriers, you don't know whether there'll be any ExoCarriers left by that point.
[AN: Next update, we'll be facing some Neosapiens. Good luck and good hunting!]
..huh. Interesting upgrade choices.. I wonder what the others will pick.. nice to see the Engineer A + Melee upgrade path though! I'm not sure if we should decide as a group on Engineer B's (he's the NPC right..?) upgrade path but assuming we do, maybe Overwatch would be better? Though Shoulder Blaster Sync means any targets with 2 HP are guaranteed to die in one action... Hmmm... @_@;
..?
..?
'in own space' I'm guessing just like the other Overwatch?
..?Does the free one-space Move trigger when you designate it as such or when it's pending evade doesn't trigger at the end of the round?
..?The Claw Rip seems interesting, if not for the presence of the Blaster. I'm assuming on the same space as Jumper is aka a Melee attack. Blaster Overwatch is calling out to me but so does Might as Well... QM, why you do this? @_@;
- Location
- New England
'in own space' I'm guessing just like the other Overwatch?
Basically, this is a slightly weaker version of the Co-pilot Overwatch - the bad guys move into your space, do their thing, and then you get to shoot at them.
Does the free one-space Move trigger when you designate it as such or when it's pending evade doesn't trigger at the end of the round?
You can specify a desired destination (including conditions to move there) ahead of time; if the Evade isn't used to evade an attack, you will move to the destination after the bad guys move.
..ah. I see. That's interesting..
Oooh, I see... Thanks for the clarifications!
Though... additional inquiry, since I thought of it whilst waiting for your reply but if Claw Rip is somewhat picked, will that prevent say an enemy the size of an Exo-Frame or below that from moving whilst dealing them damage? Or do you have to specify each?
..? Like, attack said enemy with Claw Rip -and- prevent them from moving away afterwards? .-.?I'm really leaning to Might as Well, but having another [RED] Action in case Blaster is disabled (and, sure Missiles are there but limited and I sure am not going for an increased number of them if they wouldn't allow Recon to [BLUE] Evade) but also just in case of Jamming? Wraith's Jamming only specifies that the targetted unit cannot Move or Fire, but doesn't mention anything about Melee attacks so I'm guessing if we do end up fighting something similar, Jumper can still Claw Rip if that option is picked?
..?