So in light of this, I hereby declare a troop surge to reinforce this quest and guide it on the path towards a decisive and definitive victory. The new deadline to finish this quest will be 30th April 2020.
[X] The SAA was able to occupy parts of al-Sukhnah before it was fully secured.
So let me get this straight: we're stuck in Hell in a Cell with Nathan Filion👮♂️, Mom👮♀️, Crazy Horse👨🔧, Twombley-Dongwly👱♂️ and little miss molestor-in-waiting👧, alongside some Marines👺♠ we bearly nurnt 🤖🌠🌪🔥(to ashes) a month back, some 'militia' 🔫🧒 of questionable repute, while the SyAA's Golden division🇸🇾 and ISIS💀💣💥🚗 stand there menacingly, in their hiddey-shushy Murderholes™️ and in the abandoned domiciles of dead people💀💯?
People🧒👩 we killed cause oops-a-daisy😅, turns out these mecha🤖 don't like to play well in FIBUA🏙️🏘️ as they ram➡️, crash🌟 and slash🔪 their way through all 'destructible' terrain😢?
Contrary to what the movies portray, there's no telltale whistling to mark their flight, so the first indication that ISIS is firing mortars at you is when they start landing nearby in scattered clusters.
Your mecha won't be the only thing that goes limp by the time this quest is finished.
...
A-Anyway, it looks like The SAA was able to occupy parts of al-Sukhnah before it was fully secured has a comfortable majority, so I'm gonna call the vote here. Next update is relatively short so it shouldn't take too long to write.
Adhoc vote count started by Tayta Malikai on Mar 1, 2020 at 7:51 PM, finished with 24 posts and 23 votes.
[X] The SAA was able to occupy parts of al-Sukhnah before it was fully secured.
The SAA was able to occupy parts of al-Sukhnah before it was fully secured.
Some of the consequences of aftermath votes have less immediate and obvious effects, but they all come home to roost sooner or later.
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TRUMP TO PULL OUT OF IRAQ, SYRIA
In a press conference at the White House, US President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced that he would begin drawing down US military forces deployed to Iraq and Syria.
"We want to bring our troops home," Trump explained his rationale for the decision. "It's been many, many years. It's been decades, in many cases. We want to bring our troops back home. And I got elected on that. If you go back and look at our speeches, I would say, 'We want to bring our troops back home from these endless wars.'"
It is unclear to what extent this decision may have been influenced by Trump's personal interactions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Just had a very productive conversation with @RTErdogan," Trump tweeted only a few hours prior to making the announcement. "Big news coming soon!"
Shortly after the announcement, the White House announced that Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned in protest of the decision. "I didn't accept this role just to leave a job half-done," an anonymous White House staffer claims Mattis said to Trump in the Oval Office. "You're going to have to get the next secretary of defense to lose to ISIS."
When reporters questioned whether the drawdown would negatively impact the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Trump defended his administration's record in battling ISIS. "We've done more than anybody else to defeat ISIS. I've done more than any other president to defeat ISIS. Nobody knows more about fighting ISIS than I do. Believe me."
"Look at Obama," Trump continued. "He had eight years to beat ISIS and he couldn't beat ISIS. When I came in it was all a mess, a huge mess. Nobody knew what was happening, nobody knew what was going on, everyone was looking to us for leadership. I took it over and got it together, and we did it very quickly, more quickly than anyone thought we could do it."
Trump further justified his decision by claiming that other members of NATO benefited unduly from the presence of the US-led coalition. "It's very unfair, you know, all these other countries are taking advantage of us. You've got France, you've got Germany, all these European countries where ISIS fighters came from in the first place. We're doing them a great service and they're not paying their fair share."
Details of the planned withdrawal remain scarce. Leaked Pentagon memos suggest that the Trump administration would aim to withdraw all troops within six months, just in time for Christmas. Mechas returning home would be reassigned to garrisons along the US-Mexico border, where Trump's promised wall continues to take shape.
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"So, what's this I hear about someone wanting to pull out?" Buck opens as you arrive at the briefing room at the leisurely time of 1100 hours.
"Wasn't me," Clarke intones flatly. She's brought three of those uncomfortable plastic chairs together and is currently lying on her back across them, idling tossing a steel bolt up at the ceiling. You give her a cautious glance, and take a seat in the opposite corner of the room.
"Argh! I can't believe Trump went and did something like that!" Hansen rages, stalking back and forth in front of the projector screen. "I know he said he was gonna do it, but I didn't think he actually would!"
"Really? Then why'd you vote for him? Sounds like you were gonna be disappointed either way."
"You don't get it, Buckface! I– we can't get out yet! There's so much liberating to do!"
"Speak for yourself, man. I'm already looking forward to that cushy beach posting in San Diego. Riding the surf, hitting bars, checking out dudes in speedos, laughing at all the Mexicans on the other side of the border…" Buck adjusts his aviators for effect. "I can dig that, no problem. How about you, Buster? How does it feel to get in and out so quickly?"
"Oh, me?" You blink, surprised at being called on. "It's kinda nice, I guess. I'll believe it when I see it, to be honest."
"Ugh," Hansen groans disgustedly. "I knew you'd turn out to be a fucking pussy too. Can't believe it took me this long to realize it. Buster, my ass."
"What a shame," Clarke deadpans. "Here, catch."
You find yourself instantly bracing for whatever she's got in store… and she tosses the bolt at Buck instead.
"Hey!" he complains as it bounces off his head. "I thought we had ourselves a ceasefire, Predator?"
"Collateral damage," she replies blandly.
"If I'm the collateral, then who's– Oh. I see how it is." A knowing look crosses Buck's face as he glances at you. "Hey, listen, later tonight–" He crouches down next to Clarke and whispers something in her ear. You're too far away to make out anything, let alone anything juicy.
"Mm," Clarke nods after a moment. "Okay."
But then again, you're not sure you want to know what they're talking about. Ignorance is bliss.
"Will you two stop–" Hansen begins, then stops as the door opens.
Everyone stands to attention as Capt Tanner and 1st Lt Taylor enter the room, neither of them looking overly pleased at recent developments; with the exception of Clarke, who salutes without bothering to get up from her improvised resting place. Taylor frowns disapprovingly at that, but, once again, declines to prosecute the lack of propriety. You wonder what the deal with that is.
"Morning, everyone," Tanner greets. "I'm sure you've all heard the news by now. Now, I know what you're thinking: How does this affect my operational readiness as a pilot and our force posture as a squadron? Well, I've got good news and bad news for you in that regard. Let's see now…"
He pulls a quarter out of his pocket and flips it.
"Alright, first the good news: the withdrawal of our forces is set to occur in phases over the next six months. Our squadron will be one of those remaining in theatre. Until we're formally withdrawn from H-3 Air Base, we'll be continuing operations against ISIS and other hostile actors as planned."
"Thank fucking Christ," Hansen declares, pumping his fist. "Makes me real glad to hear we aren't leaving a job half-done."
"What?" Buck gapes in disbelief. "Isn't the whole point of pulling out that we decided to stop fighting? What's the point of going out there and getting blown up when we're gonna leave in six months anyway?"
"Settle down, Lieutenant Buck," Tanner cautions.
Personally, you can't say you're too thrilled about the idea, either. But you know better than to voice that aloud.
"Now the bad news," Taylor takes over from the captain. "Due to the logistical hurdles involved in extracting ourselves from the region in a timely manner, the supply situation will depreciate noticeably. As a result, we can expect to see our inventory of spare parts begin to approach exhaustion within the next three months."
You feel yourself blanching in shock upon hearing this. Everyone else seems to need a moment of silence to process what they've just heard.
"Are you fucking serious?" Buck demands loudly, leaping to his feet in outrage. "We're not only gonna keep fighting when we've got no reason to fight, but we're gonna do it without spare parts. For our mechas. Which need more than seventy-five hours of maintenance per flight hour. Am I the only one who thinks this is an utterly retarded course of action?"
"Will you sit the fuck down and quit being such a whiny little bitch," Hansen snaps with exasperation. "We're here to kill terrorists and liberate hajis, not sit around in a hangar sucking nerds' cocks all day."
"See, this is why pulling out never works," Buck retorts, glaring at his wingman. "Even when you think it's all over, some asshole decides he wants to make a name for himself and ruins everything for everyone else. Isn't that right, Predator?"
"Mm-hmm," Clarke answers in the affirmative, seeming neither enthused nor dismayed by these unfolding revelations.
"Now, there's no need to get too worked up about this," Tanner scolds, "because we're going to win before it becomes an issue. We still have enough force in-theatre to pursue our goals in the region, and that's what we're going to do."
"Nevertheless," Taylor continues smoothly, "we'll be implementing some precautionary measures into our activites so as to reduce the maintenance burden on our mechas and staff going forward. After consulting with Colonel Marquez and the other squadrons, we've determined that the best method of achieving this will be –"
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[] Rotate mechas out of the squadron.
It's very simple: fewer mechas being deployed in the field means fewer spare parts are needed to maintain them afterwards. The only question is: who gets to sit out? Selecting this option will lead to sub-votes before every battle to decide which member of Queen Squadron does not participate.
[] Prolong maintenance cycles.
This attempts to squeeze additional flight hours out of your current stockpile of spare parts by putting off both essential and non-essential maintenance as long as possible. Of course, your hangar crew will have widely varying opinions on exactly how reasonable a proposition this is…
[] Don't make any changes.
H-3 Air Base will continue to operate as though the looming issue of spare parts doesn't exist. Who knows? Maybe Trump will just as suddenly reverse course, or your enemies will all spontaneously combust, or the free market will provide…
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Depression makes easy updates medium, and medium updates hard.
[X] Rotate mechas out of the squadron.
It's very simple: fewer mechas being deployed in the field means fewer spare parts are needed to maintain them afterwards. The only question is: who gets to sit out? Selecting this option will lead to sub-votes before every battle to decide which member of Queen Squadron does not participate.
