Arguments for Command:
1. Ouroborus is a stupid shitlord who is convinced she is a genius, and a humiliating failure will be better for her long term development.
2. It's funnier to play into her character deficiencies.
3. More "in character" to make the wrong decision.
If wanting to play along with a character's quirks and explore them is "the wrong decision", then I'm going to take the "wrong" decision every time.
More generally, this has been a far more narrative quest so far than one focused on resource acquisition and such. I'm not at all interested in making seemingly-optimal decisions than I am in seeing these two characters interact with each other.
I am sorry if any fellow voters feel mocked and I have respect for you all. I do not respect the character. She is worthy of mockery... indeed I thought that was the point!
She is amusingly petty and overconfident I admit, but she has her charm, and shithead was a bit much. She's more of a child who doesn't know how to function in society because basic programming and chess simulation was deemed enough. I want her to grow and gain respect, which means not teaching fellow commanders like Intruder to treat her like a child that must be bribed to play nice. Bribery itself is rarely an effective method of encouraging good behavior, and I'd wish I'd put a bit more effort into thinking thru the last vote consequences.
[X] Go after Intruder. Tell her you're willing to give up the spoils, but insist on your joint command proposal.
Ouro's ego is likely not to survive being left out of command completely.
Also, the sooner she gets firsthand experience in real combat, the sooner she'll have to get a lid on her superiority complex.
Better to learn the lessons while the kiddie gloves are on.
[X] Go after Intruder. Tell her you're willing to give up the spoils, but insist on your joint command proposal.
I haven't checked back in a while (Didn't vote last round) and it seems like the situation has gone sour. If we're going to prove our worth, we need to take command. A King should never be a Pawn.
[X] Go after Intruder. Tell her you're willing to give up the spoils, but insist on your joint command proposal.
"Stop!" You shout.
Your units - still lined up near the door - march to the door to block Intruder's exit.
Intruder turns slightly, looking at you over her shoulder.
"Fine," you say through clenched teeth. "You win."
It's downright galling, to have to share command with another, and to have to give up your rightful spoils of victory besides. You had very, very much been looking forward to something more than survival as a reward for victory.
Still, you can at least avoid something as degrading as a subordinate position.
You walk up the stairs to Intruder. Having her standing at a position higher than you is…annoying. Something to be corrected. You continue walking, until you can meet her…not quite at eye level, she's a little taller than you, but as close as you can manage.
Intruder looks you dead in the eye. You feel an odd sensation, as of behind her turquoise eyes is an empty, gaping, howling void that sucks at your consciousness, hooks into it, seeks to drag it out of your body and-
You mentally shake the sensation off and push forwards.
"In light of your…prior contributions…I will agree to give up my claim to a share of the spoils. However, I still demand my rightful joint command position. I will also claim some credit for planning our victory, once it has come to pass."
"So certain, you are. And what if we are not victorious? Will you take your share of the blame?"
"That's not going to happen." You inject confidence into your voice. "So, there it is. You asked me to decide between the command and the spoils. You have your decision. Are you going to complain now?"
______
"Well, then…welcome aboard, my new co-commander!" Suddenly, as if a switch has been flipped, Intruder's entire demeanour has changed. Her cheerful, exuberant smile is back, her arms are upraised to the sides in evident friendliness, her voice light and happy. It's as if her previous coldness never existed in the first place.
Even the emptiness in her eyes is gone, replaced by a playful twinkle, as if it was never there in the first place. Was it there?
You cross your arms. "So do I need to sign a pact in my coolant fluid or anything?"
"A dramatic idea. I like it. But for now, a handshake will be fine." She offers a hand out to you.
Now that you're looking at Intruder's hands, you notice her left one appears obviously mechanical, a set of black, lobster-style segmented plates ending in bony metal fingers. Or maybe that's a glove or gauntlet of some sort? It's difficult to tell.
She's offering her "normal" hand to you. You take it.
You've…never touched another in this way. You had brief physical contact with Architect and Gager, but that was different. Hostility, confrontation, things you were familiar with. Here, you're aware that Intruder's hand is warm in yours. It flexes, grasps your own lightly. You feel the texture of the synthflesh, the warmth, the coolant pumping and convecting heat-
"Ouroboros? You can let go now."
"R-right." You snatch your hand back. "So, now that we've established an equal footing, is it time to set off for the area of operations?"
"Very nearly, my dear. We just need to outfit you with some transport."
"Transport? Another trip?" You don't try to hide your annoyance. "I already sat through a long train ride to get here. And now we're going to sit around in a truck? I was told I'd get to fight, not sit around twiddling my thumbs and wasting my time with children's toys."
"You may have to get used to it, eager little Ouroboros. Sangvis Ferri has a large stretch of territory to patrol and protect. As the Mastermind's officers, we're called upon to perform many tasks in many locations." Intruder turns and starts walking towards the exit - but this time, she beckons you to follow.
Right on schedule - as you and Intruder exit the theatre - a convoy of vehicles rolls up to a stop in front of you. Their tires are big, and look capable of gripping muddy ground. Their frames are high off the ground. And they look sturdy, built to take a hit from something that wants to kill them.
You sense IFF signals coming from them. Intruder must have timed this quite carefully. For dramatic effect, of course.
Suddenly, you sense three new entities transferred to your command authority, along with the physical specifications.
"Go on, take them!" says Intruder. "Armoured, unmanned troop carriers. Important equipment for our running crew. Protection against small arms and some explosives, with an official capacity for 16 T-dolls each. All yours! At least for the duration of this operation."
[You have acquired: 3x drone MRAP vehicle (licence produced by Sangvis Ferri Industrial Manufacturing)]
Basically these (Kamaz-63969 Typhoon MRAP) but painted black and with the SF logo.
Wait. Something is amiss. You approach one of your new vehicles and run your fingers down the sides. The metal feels cool through your thin gloves. It escaped your notice at first since it's all painted in dark black, but there appear to be…patches of metal welded on to the armour?
"Intruder, what are these?"
"The carriers may have been a little banged up from their last operation" Intruder says from behind you, with her usual cheeriness. "But there's no need to worry too much! You're facing a 23% reduction in protection, at worst! Besides, the paint job and the cover of night will help prevent the enemy from knowing about any weak spots in the first place!"
By now, your doll troops have emerged from the theatre with you. You have them open up the vehicle doors and look inside. Through their eyes, you see the internal space.
Scorch marks. Small holes, presumably from armour-piercing bullets of large calibre. Large holes, presumably from grenades of some sort. The seating still exists, but is somewhat torn up. You think you can see tiny fragments of shrapnel and SF T-dolls scattered on the floor.
You're also having them look at the vehicles that haven't been assigned to you. From the outside, they look…conspicuously less damaged than your own.
You turn around to face your fellow ringleader.
"Intruder, I demand that you immediately transfer-"
"Veto."
You stop short. Intruder just continues smiling her unchanging smile at you. "This is the system you asked for," she says. "Which you pushed for, quite hard. Are you going to complain now?"
That insufferably smug piece of-
"Fine," you say through gritted teeth.
"I'm glad you think so," she says. "Now, hop aboard!" She points to a particular vehicle, different from the others.
It's boxy, durable hardware like everything else in the convoy, but bigger. Where your newly acquired troop carriers are around the size of a large van, this is closer to a massive trailer truck in size.
Suddenly, the armoured door opens to reveal…Intruder. Another Intruder, identical to the one you met in the Theatre, down to the soft smile.
"Welcome!" says the new Intruder, with a grandiose gesture to the largest vehicle that she is standing in. "Welcome to...the studio van! You can call it a mobile command centre if you really want to, but I prefer it my way." She makes a "come hither" gesture, as if ushering you inside.
You look between both Intruder bodies. "Which of you is the mainframe and which is the dummy-link?"
"Does it matter?" It's the one standing outside the truck - the one you met in the theatre - who's talking. "This body will stay behind, to take care of the supply depot here, and to operate the communications relays. You'll only have to worry about one of me in any case."
You just roll your eyes, climb the steps into the truck, and look around.
You're not sure what you were expecting, but it wasn't this.
Clearly, the interior was originally made as a purely functional, utilitarian space. Originally. Now, it's different.
The inside is furnished with large, very comfortable looking bucket seats. They face towards one end, which is taken up by an enormous two-dimensional screen. In the corners and sides, bolted in place, you see various additions - a minifridge, a wine rack, and a…popcorn machine? What?
"Where do you get maize seeds? I thought all the land around here was unfit for farming. In fact, where did you get a popcorn machine? Since when do doll armies just have those lying around?"
"What respectable war officer doesn't know how to procure resources? I have my ways and means."
The one thing that sticks out from the "film theatre" motif is a chest of drawers, bolted to the floor. Curious, you walk over and open it. Inside are…clothes? A dress, various styles of shirts, trousers, skirts, a maid outfit, even some military fatigues.
You open another drawer. Oh, and there's wigs here too? A range of colours and hairstyles, ranging from mundane to ridiculous.
"What's this?"
Intruder arches an eyebrow at you. "Have you ever wanted to…become someone else? To step into the shoes of another character, try out their mannerisms, their manner of speech and movement? To feel the excitement of exploring a different persona?"
"I'm going to have to say no." Why would you want to be someone else? You're you. The most complete, capable version of you that ever existed. Otherwise, you wouldn't exist right now.
"Suit yourself." Intruder shrugs and reaches past you into the drawer, fishing out a ridiculous falsetto moustache. She holds it up to her upper lip and says, "Oh my! Wherever is Intruder? I, Infiltrator, do not have the slightest idea!" She raises her other hand to her mouth and gasps. "She's gone! Or was she ever truly here in the first place?"
You roll your eyes. "Anything tactically useful here? What about that thing over there?" You point to the end of the room, which houses a massive flat screen television, to which are plugged a few devices and instruments, including what appears to be an archaic gaming controller. "Can we access useful information there?"
Intruder tosses her falsetto moustache back into the drawer she plucked it from. "What would you count as 'useful information?'"
"I want to survey the game board, see the location of our pieces, and plan out tactics. Can your frivolous setup do that?"
"Eager beaver, aren't we?" She smiles. "Good. Not all the other ringleaders have internalised the importance of dress rehearsal before the main event. Perhaps if my subordinates had prepared better for the last set of missions, they would not be in their current condition."
You think back to what Gager and Agent mentioned of the ringleaders. "Are you talking about Hunter and Executioner?"
"Ah. You've heard about our run in with the AR team, then?"
"The what?"
She cocks her head quizzically. "You haven't heard, then?"
You throw up your hands. How many times are you going to have to demand Intruder get to the point? "Look, are we-"
An idea hits you. Perhaps you can make use of this downtime.
There are still…gaps in your knowledge. If you're aiming to find opportunities to show up the other ringleaders - and you most certainly are - you still need information.
Questions (choose 5)
[ ] Herself [ ] [Perk] Lycoris
[ ] [Perk] The damage on the trucks
[ ] Enemies - Griffin & Kryuger
[ ] Enemies - the military
[ ] Enemies - others (404, the AR team, the "weird white tripods")
[ ] Sangvis Ferri - the past
[ ] Sangvis Ferri - the present
[ ] Sangvis Ferri - the future
[ ] Others in Sangvis Ferri (choose 1)
-[ ] Intruder's lost subordinates
-[ ] Ringleaders in higher command
-[ ] Write in
[ ] Specific SF units and how to use them (choose 1)
-[ ] Brutes
-[ ] Dinergates
-[ ] Rippers
-[ ] Strikers
-[ ] Jaegers
[X] Activities (choose 1)
-[ ] Practice cosplay, acting, and body language with Intruder
-[ ] Have another crack at the Rubik's Cube
-[ ] Play and replay some chess games in your head
-[ ] Contact other ringleaders
-[ ] Challenge Intruder to a chess game
[X] [Perk] Lycoris
[X] Enemies - the military
[X] Enemies - Griffin & Kryuger
[X] Sangvis Ferri - the future
[X] Enemies - others (404, the AR team, the "weird white tripods")
[X] Specific SF units and how to use them (choose 1)
-[X] Jaegers
[X] Others in Sangvis Ferri (choose 1)
-[X] Intruder's lost subordinates
[X] Activities (choose 1)
-[X] Challenge Intruder to a chess game
You've…never touched another in this way. You had brief physical contact with Architect and Gager, but that was different. Hostility, confrontation, things you were familiar with. Here, you're aware that Intruder's hand is warm in yours. It flexes, grasps your own lightly. You feel the texture of the synthflesh, the warmth, the coolant pumping and convecting heat-
[X] Specific SF units and how to use them (choose 1)
-[X] Brutes
-[X] Dinergates
-[X] Rippers
-[X] Strikers
-[X] Jaegers
Yes, I would spend all our conversation slots on learning unit tactics. Can't play the board if you don't know your pieces, after all.
[X] Activities (choose 1)
-[X] Practice cosplay, acting, and body language with Intruder
--[X] Try to find as many excuses to hold Intruder's hands as possible.
We'll get a measure of Intruder's generalship well enough in the upcoming engagement. And while chess is fun, Oroborous can beat anyone at chess at any time. Here and now, however, is a unique opportunity to learn a new skill. Might as well take advantage of the chance for novelty, yeah? Oroborous isn't starved for real experiences or anything....
