I mean, the Head could probably do it.

If they can get a full Abnormality breach under control in a week or two, then they must know a way to put those things down for good. Or at least control them.
Thing is, the head only do things out of necessity or keeping the ecosystem of their garden intact. I really doubt that They will listen to our reasons and help some miserable dog, They probably can, but do you really think they would help even a bit?
It's like expecting dictators to actually care about the people.
that and they probably all binah like mfs that will 'accidentally' kill the puppy just to fuck with us and see us cry and despair.
 
Thing is, the head only do things out of necessity or keeping the ecosystem of their garden intact. I really doubt that They will listen to our reasons and help some miserable dog, They probably can, but do you really think they would help even a bit?
It's like expecting dictators to actually care about the people.
that and they probably all binah like mfs that will 'accidentally' kill the puppy just to fuck with us and see us cry and despair.

I mainly mean in the "can permanently affect abnormalities" way.
 
They have conceptual level weapons, im sure someone has figured out how to forcibly force the concept of death onto someone.
 
true.
Anyway, There's so many ways the head can deal with an abnormality that I don't want to even count. The easier way is open a tear of time and space, Throw the abnormality in, close it up and just forget about it.
The second way to deal with them is to stuck that thing forever in a time loop, then just lock it up and forget about it.
or just press the pause button on the damn thing.
The 3rd way to deal with them is to cripple them. But don't kill them, keep them sealed in the safe when they are very weak and cannot recover and then just throw it somewhere itt can't escape because it is extremely weak and crippled
The last way is fairy.
 
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1.9 - Structural Analysis
[X] Make connections. (15 votes)
-[X] Always good to have more friends. Chat, tell stories, laugh and relax with everyone there, they seem like good company.
[X] Interrogate Capone. (8 votes)
-[X] Coordinate with Texas. See how much he values his goons in exchange of information.

1.9 - Structural Analysis

You're... not the information gathering specialist of Turbulence Office. That'd be Linette.

Generally speaking, the most effective tactic for interrogation you've used before was what you called "The Breakout." Essentially, Linette would play the part of someone important to the interrogated party, and you would stage a breakout. There would be a chase through the streets of District 19, where your Office is located.

All of it carefully staged, obviously. Linette would lead the victim into a previously prepared location, and mantain her deception. As she made care to always look like someone the victim utterly trusted, rarely did them not tell her everything she needed to hear. It did have some flaws, obviously. If the victim did not have any people to impersonate, was aware of Linette's abilities or simply knew that there was no way that person was going to break them out, the scenario would fall flat entirely.

So you either extracted the information during the mission, using Linette's superior inflitration capabilities, or you just handed the person you wanted to interrogate out to someone more skilled. Like the Seven Association. But if that wasn't possible, you did have some tactics that you could use.

Straight torture was right out. It just isn't a tactic that works. The biggest issue about torture is that the information is unverifiable. The person isn't going to stop being tortured when they say the truth, it stops when they say what you want to hear. And as someone completely unaware of this city's inner workings, you are fundamentally biased. You are going to let your ideas on Syndicates back home influence what you believe is the truth, and what isn't.

So, even if whatever you do to Capone does lead him to give in and tell the truth, you might fail to accept it, and disbelieve him because it doesn't fit in with your own preconceptions. This applies beyond torture. You are simply unfamiliar with this place, and you need someone to help you out in this aspect. There is never a reason to work alone when working with friends is plausible.

So. That leads you to your current situation.

"Could you please help me in interrogating Capone?" you ask Texas. She seems to be the most levelheaded of the group, and is likely familiar with the local Syndicates. Hm. Perhaps you should stop using that word and ask what they're actually called.

"Yeah, sure." she says, bringing out a stick of chocolate from her bag. "Got any plans?"

"I don't actually know anything about the local Syndicates." you answer, shaking your head. "By the way, do you know their name? Of the organization, I mean."

Texas takes a bite out of her "pocky," you think that's the name? "The group? They're just the mafia. The Sicilians, I believe. Immigrated from Siracusa to here. Got purged by their higher-ups and fled instead of getting killed."

So. This gives you some clear insight already. Suggests a Thumb-like power structure, in which entire groups can be annihilated if they do something their superiors don't like.

"Well, let's do this then." says her. "Exusiai is making her apple pie. Where did you put the guy?"

"He's in one of your storage rooms. I took all the drinks out of it first and left him there. Still unconscious, and fully restrained with these cables you had." you found some of thosse in the very same storage room. You're not sure of what they were for. Right now, were it not for your hat, you'd look sheepish right now. "Plus some tape."

She chuckles. Oh well. You think it's time to get this done.



It took some time to get all the tape out of his body and get him into a more... comfortable state. He's breathing quite heavily, now.

You've stripped him of his yellow-tinted glasses, and he looks quite annoyed for being without them. For now, you've decided to get him into a more comfortable position: no cuffs, no rope, no tape, just him sitting in a chair, alongside you and Texas, who are standing upright. You have to get him comfortable.

This will not be easy- you're sure of it. There exists no single behavior that indicates deception- no "clues" that you can follow to know if Capone's info is false. You have to rely on Texas.

"Good night, Capone." you say. He remains silent.

You need to lower your tone as much as you can. Don't intimidate him. You'd ask the Voice for advice- she always sounded like someone who understands people. But... to be frank, you're not if she'd be open to that. Her intentions seem to be to break people, not necessarily in an useful way. Following the advice of your obviously malicious, Library-related voice in your head does not seem like a good idea, and-

"Hey, I can help out!" says the Voice. "You see, I know him. I know him well, Sieg. He's so-"

No. You clamp down on her. Tune her out. Ignore the information- it's likely to make you biased. While the Voice does have useful insight at times, it's a far safer bet to trust Texas here.

You take a look at her. She's finished eating her pocky.

"Capone." she says. "I will be quick here. What do you two want?"

He just continues to stare at the wall for a while. You'd have to use threats, maybe? Texas looks at you, and nods. You reveal something hidden in the corner of the room.

It is the torn-off hand of one of Capone's soldiers. You wrenched it off one of the two goons that died during the battle.

According to Emperor, torturing and mutilating prisoners would probably get you in deep trouble with the L.G.D. There isn't any rule that says you can't torture and mutilate those who already died in battle, no? Actually, you are pretty sure that mutilating corpses is actually deeply and absolutely illegal around here, but frankly you just don't care. It's not like anyone but you and Texas are going to know this, and she said she's okay with it.

Anyway, you place the hand in Capone's lap. He stares at it for a while in surprise.

"...this is... Fronze's hand?" he mutters.

"It's simple. Some of your goons are still alive. Not this one, though." you come in closer. "If you don't tell us what we need to hear, we'll slice the other. Cooperate with us, and we'll hand your "family" to the L.G.D with no further issues."

You'll be direct and simple. No beating around the bush. Bad cop, good cop, trying to bribe him, none of these are going to work because there is no guarantee that you'll follow with anything you're promising. A clean, straight threat to a thing that these Siracusan mafias value- the idea of "family," according to Texas.

"Okay, cazzo. I'll talk." says Capone, visibly shaking.

Uh. It was that easy, then.

"Oh, don't you understand, Sieg?" says the Voice. "He never cared about them at all. He is still denying himself- mantaining the façade that he cares, that he cares about his family. But deep, deep down he knows. He wants to survive. To keep going. Everything else is secondary... no blood too sacred."

...
you despise that kind of person, but making these judgements based on the Voice's words is not a good idea.

"Our goal." he says, between deep breaths. "was to take over your operations. It's all busted now. I ain't got any way to get out of this situation, and Gambino sure as fuck isn't comin' for me."

"So." you can see the hatred in his eyes. "I'll talk. What else do you want?"



You know, he's my blood brother and all. Real important shit.

But fuck that. He's a moron. He's tryin' to get us all killed, I'm sure of it. He comes into my house, takes over all my operations, and just sets it all on fire.

Kidnap Bison, split Penguin Logistics and MDL, rub out Emperor, that was my great plan. Not sure if it woulda worked, even without you on the scene, merc. What I've seen of you guys has been changin' my mind around a bit.

Gambino's new here. He doesn't know- or care about- the rules. He's making too much waves. Now, you've stung his pride. He has to pull some huge stunt to satisfy his ego. Moron. He'll be going after the Rat King. The truth is, you gotta know when to fold 'em, cazzo.

He wants to "wipe out the competition." Find the Rat King and kill 'em. Knock some heads in the underworld, get the old man out of his sewers, then take 'em down. We have- well, he has a list of Lungmenites with connections to the Rat King. Like that old man who sells finballs. I was hopin' I'd be able to convince him to not do this shit, but. Well. Look at my current situation, cazzo. Not like he'd listen to me with con le sue coglioni girati- what I'm sayin' is that, he's goin' after the Rat King.

The Family don't need cowards... the Family don't need rubes. We'd made a deal with the King, y'know. To live here. I'd probably be the one to let 'em know it changed... like always.

You want locations, hm? Precise dates, the people he's going after? And our numbers, our tactics. Shit. Okay. Just... just hand me out to the L.G.D after this. Well, for starters, there's this guy. Like I said, he sells finballs. People call him "uncle Tung."

Where he lives? Well...




You and Texas stand outside of the room. You gave Capone a ham sandwich she had on the fridge.

"He's lying." she says.

"Well, not exactly lying." you note. She nods. "It's just a completely self-serving narrative. I don't know much about this city, but he's trying to paint himself as a victim in this."

"Even though he set up a bomb in our base." Texas offers you a piece of pocky, and begins scribbling something in a notebook she takes from her bag. You take it off her hands. It's pretty good.

"I can't verify this information. Can you say if anything that he said sounds plausible to you?"

"I think he gave it up too quickly. Not one quip about me, either. I don't have a good reputation with Siracusa nowadays." she rips out the page she was writing in and gives it to you. "The stuff about these citizens connected to the Rat King is all true. I know many of those. Like Tung. Can confirm- they're connected to the key parts of the Lungmen underworld."

Rat King, hmm?



Rats, rats, we're the rats!

We prey at night, we stalk at night, we're the rats.

I'm the giant rat that makes all of the rules...

Let's see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into!




Ah, good memories. You're pretty sure that this Rat King isn't Ocho, though. What Texas told you about him makes him look like some sort of refined, well-dressed figure that rules over the Lungmen underworld enforcing certain rules. Like the "no live ammo in downtown parts of the city" thing, probably? Maybe.

The Rat King you know is probably physically incapable of being "refined" in any way. He's a crafty little bastard, but for sure he ain't refined. Or well-dressed. Depends on who's looking at him, obviously. Rat King changes his appearance to match what people think a "rat" is. To you, he looks like a long-haired dude in a really shitty suit and a crown, to someone that hasn't had experiences with Rats of the Backstreet, such as Nestborn, he looks like a regular-sized hat with a crown.

There was this one client you had, who was so sheltered he couldn't see Rat King at all. Entirely unaware of what a rat was supposed to be.

"If the info he gave is legit, we might be able to trust him. He's basically burned all his bridges by telling us this. If his partner finds out that we have this list, and that we know he has it as well..." you say, reading through the information that Texas compiled.

Texas makes a "cut" gesture through her neck. "Still, keep him away. Not trustworthy in any case. No one willing to sell their allies out that easily is." she says. You nod.

The Voice seems to actually be kind of correct now. That man really is looking one those people. Those who'd sell out everyone that placed their trust in them just for a sliver of a chance to save their own skin. This could be some kind of plan to misdirect you and lead you into a trap, but you already took a massive amount of their forces on when facing an ambush. There is no reason to believe another ambush, with damaged forces and a leader down, will work at all.

Oh well. You'll leave this dumpster fire of a Syndicate leader in his little room. Maybe bring out a piece of Exusiai's apple pie, later. You can already pick up the delightful scent in the air, with your enhanced senses.

It's time to party.

And now the Voice is clapping in the background. Way to ruin the moment.

"Sorry."



The Ends of the Earth is a quite large bar.

The decoration is a bit different from most places you're used to go, but again, the only bar you visit is Dong-Hwan's pub, and Dong-Hwan almost filed for bankruptcy after spending months as a book in the Library. You- and quite a number of other Fixers who were regulars at his place- had to crowdfund him back into financial stability.

Oh, is that Exusiai's apple pie? The smell fills your nostrils and your mouth is already watering. Forget the alcohol. You're here for this pie.

But, obviously, you have to wait for Bison to have his first slice. He's the guest of honor here, after all. You sit at one of the couchs alongside Texas and Emperor. She hands you a bottle of wine.

"Domaine Leroy Chambertin Grand Cru 1053." you mutter. Looks expensive.

"Don't worry, hatman. This ain't coming out of ya pay. Think of it as a welcome gift. Everything for the homies." says the Penguin. "They don't make those anymore, ya know? Gaulian wine. Can't make Gaulian wine if there's no more Gaul, eh?"

The table in front of you is covered with bottles. Wine, whiskey, beer, and soda. Probably for Bison, who is sitting in another couch next to yours. Well, you suppose it a few drinks won't be a problem.



Oh boy.

It had been a half-hour since they'd started drinking, and most of Penguin Logistics was still not past the "slightly tipsy" stage. Except Texas, obviously. She looked completely unaltered. You have some very advanced filtering systems inside of your body, so you are not affected at all.

There are Fixers that modify their countermeasures against poisonous substances- which you've always seen as a necessity in this industry- to not register alcoholic beverages as a poison. Either that, or they simply drink enough to overwhelm the filters. Your personal opinion is that these Fixers die when someone ambushes them during their periods of drunkeness.

You've already drank the entire bottle of Gaulian wine. That was apparently an impressive feat.

"So... what'd you guys find out?" says Exusiai.

"He broke almost immediately to save his own skin. But for now, we know the enemy's identity, their goal, and their numbers, as well as a vast amount of information in their abilities. Around 170 operators, not counting the ones we beat down." says the Messenger. "We don't exactly have any way to verify most of it, unfortunately. The gist of it is that they're the Siracusan Mafia, and they wanted to take Penguin Logistics's territory in Lungmen ...even though we're a logistics firm and... never mind."

"Well, you do seem to hold territory. Didn't Emperor call that part of the town part of his empire?" asks Bison. Texas stares at him for a second.

"Are we a gang now...?" she mutters behind her breath. You give her a pat in the back.

"Gangs always offer protection rackets, you know. Do you offer any?" you say. "Well, see? You're not a gang. Trust me, I have met a whole lot of gangs around my career. That's their defining characteristic!"

"Speakin' of ya career-" Crossiant notes. "Tell the baws a story! Yer a merc, right. You gotta have a fun story for us folks."

A story, hmm. Well, you were thinking about this one earlier on the day. You'll have to modify the story a little bit. There was a map of the world in one of their storage closets, if you remember it well. It was alongside all the files on previous jobs.

...maybe you shouldn't have opened that one. But eh, no one saw you.

Perhaps have it occur on... Sargon? The map told you they were "wastelands." No one would be able to contradict you. Change the Index a little, mayhaps? No, you just need to keep all things City-specific out.

"Okay. Sit around, all of you. I will tell you... about the Case of the Left Finger-"

Someone knocks in the door. You hear the sounds of unlocking- and the door opens. Your hand would already be in the hilt of your new weapon... if you hadn't left it next to the other couch, stored in one of Texas' spare sheaths. If this is a hostile, you'll have little time to grab it and go in the offensive.

The person who walks in is another angel- Sankta? Is that what they're called? The differences between the newcomer and Exusiai are many. Blue hair- dimmed glow in her wings and halo, plus two black horns protruding from the sides of her head. She carries two ornate staffs.

"Mostima!" squals Exusiai. Oh, so she's not an enemy. You allow yourself to relax.

The horned angel smiles softly. "How are you all doing? It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Exusiai narrows her eyes. "It's been about four years and three months, Mostima."

"Yeah, that's pretty long. Sorry for getting you guys to wait this much. Got a little sidetracked." Oh dear. This does not seem like something you'd like to get involved in. The angel's eyes focus on you and Bison, and she walks closer to the two of you. "So. Who are the two of you? I kind of recognize the kid, but not you."

You offer your hand at her. "Sieghart. I am a mercenary, and I've been hired by Penguin Logistics for a brief task. Nice to meet you." she accepts your handshake. Her grip is firm.

"I guess I better introduce myself. I'm Mostima. I'm the last Messenger of Penguin Logistics. Nice to meet you too."

Bison smiles at her. "Uh. I'm Bison. I work for Mountain Dash Logistics, and I got sent here by my father to learn what I can from you guys. "

Exusiai takes another sip of a can of beer. She looks like she's sulking.

"Don't give me that face. It's not like you." says Mostima. In response, the redhead smiles. It is a fragile smile.

"It's nice to have you back, Mostima." she points at you. "Well, Sieg was just going to be telling us a story. Wanna hear?"

"Sounds nice." she takes her seat next to the gunner. "Go on."

Well. You suppose you have to continue, now. You take a piece of Exusiai's apple pie. It smells really good and probably tastes even better.

"Well, it all started when I received a job offer from an anonymous contractor. They wanted us to..."



...you're so fucked.

Your name is Capone. You are officially a traitor to your family.

If they ever found out what you've spewed out of your mouth, you would not be left alive. Funny that, for someone who was seething so badly about you betraying your family by not being a prideful moron and shit like that, Gambino turned out to be right.

You are a worm. You are now quite aware of that. You will do anything to stay alive. You have realized, after spending so much time denying it... that you are someone who will sacrifice anything and anyone to keep living for one more miserable day.

Can this even be considered life?

You're going to be handed to the L.G.D by the end of this night. Or executed by Gambino. Ha.

What the fuck did just happen to you? You didn't have to talk. You know they wouldn't hurt you. They'd just kill these other guys. Then why did you say this? You don't care about them, you're sure of it. It couldn't possibly be some kind of care, or importance that you give to your "family." You murdered them before. Why would you start caring now?

You must be an even more self-serving creature then you thought you were. You broke your word for absolutely no reason, because you were afraid. Gambino is going to go and get himself killed, with his destroyed forces, against the Rat King.

And you're going to sit here, and then rot in an L.G.D holding cell for the rest of your disgusting life.

Hmph. Seven years ago, when we buried the old boss, you sent me here, to Lungmen.

You came halfway across the world to set up a business that could support the Family, like a backstop. But it wasn't for the Family, was it? Gambino just had to go and screw up in Siracusa. Get himself purged by Signora Sicilia. And what did he do? Take a road trip, hop on over here and take over everything you broke my back to build.

But didn't you deserve it, in the end? You didn't build this for anyone but yourself. You don't have any pride. You just keep going without any sort of meaning...

You keep muttering excuses and self-recriminations, a pointless and timeless endeavor. You don't know how long it takes. The half-eaten sandwich they gave you tastes like ashes in your mouth.

If only you could just live, for once in your life. Not struggle to carve your place in Siracusa, in your father's heart, in the underworld of Lungmen, in your own damned Family. If only.

If only someone could listen to you and tell you what you're supposed to do right now.

And then... a voice echoes in your head.

It's faint. Faint and distant, but she sounds so... sincere. So accepting. She has been listening to your half-mad mutterings for... god knows how long. And for some reason, you don't think she'll use this against you. She listens to you without judgement, and she speaks to you.

"Is it really that bad to want to live, Capone?"

This voice... it sounds like sunlight.



"And then, they give me out the last of their Prescripts. Speak to the nearest mercenary organization. Request them, anonymously, to cut off your left pinky finger. Resist their assault as much as you can. Aside from the finger, the mercenary themselves must not harm you."

"They just went along with that stuff? No questions at all? From a piece of paper?" asks Bison.

"Eyup. Let me tell you, talking to the Index is always so creepy. These people would throw themselves off a cliff if the Prescript told them to."

Mostima throws her can of soda into a trash bin all the way across the room with remarkably good aim. Emperor finishes his... eighteenth? Bottle of beer. He stands up from the sofa and gestures for you to follow him.

"Well, sorry for not being able to answer any more questions about the story, but I guess me and your boss need to have a talk." you walk towards the penguin, as t. "See ya."

You and Emperor sit at the bar stools, a bit away from the rest of the party. He hands you a small file. A contract, hmm? You skim through the pages. It's pretty standard stuff, or so it seems. Unfortunately, you don't have any way to know if this value... 150.000 LMD? You have no idea of whether or not this is a lot or a very small amount of money, but the terms seem fair.

You will assist Penguin Logistics in destroying the Siracusan forces. You will remain in their employ until they have been neutralized or rendered incapable of remaining on the city.

So you sign the contract, and shake Emperor's flippers.



It's been a hour and a half since the party started, and they're all getting tired of this. You can tell that they want to go back into the action. So... might as well propose a plan, right? No one is drunk. Texas hasn't actually drank anything, apparently. Just the non-alcoholic beer. So she can drive. The rest of the folks aren't anything but slightly tipsy, and Emperor seems to have inhuman tolerance. And they're already recovering really quickly, apparently.

"We have to go." says Exusiai. "They're probably going to go after those citizens with connections to the Rat King. If we just stand here and get drinks while they're beating up a bunch of grandpas..."

"Yeah, our reputation's gonna take a hit." mumbles Crossiant.

"Well, we need a plan." mantains Bison, who's apparently big on being the voice of reason in any given circumstances. "Do you guys have anything?"

"I know where that Uncle Tung guy lives, actually. We bought a whole bunch of finballs from him last weekend!" exclaims Sora. "We can go there and get him safe before the mafia comes for him!"

...well. These are some plans. What now?

[ ] Write-in.


A/N: I'm glad you guys liked my Dreadnought Sieg. What kind of team would you bring him on? Is he, overall, good?
 
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Still speculation.

If they can do that level of bullshit, they wouldn't have struggled to delete the Library at the end of Ruina.
I don't think they ever would've struggled to delete the Library. If they sent 2 more normal Claws, not even Executioners with Baral and Zena, the Head could've easily regained Garion's body/Binah, for example, which was one of their stated goals.

I suspect that it was somehow their plan to exile them to the Outskirts in the first place and part of it was theatre.

Not saying to expect them to have Abnormality killing abilities, but they do have Lock, T Corp stuff, the old dimension opening Singularity W Serum and W Corp uses etc...They have a lot of ways to dispose of them without killing them.

It's not actual death, but from the perspective of the City it may as well be dead with how much of a difference it would make.
 
idk, I haven't been playing the game since i missed the summer event.
Anyway, good chapter,and Carmen is doing her thing again.
We'll be fighting a distortion for sure in the near future...
and PMs are going to be researching a gang called the index, find nothing, Thinks we are bullshiting them, And have a confrontation about it in the near future.
maybe.
 
[] plan: hunting some finballs
-[] the most low profiled member of the group go to his place, if he is there, call everyone over.
--[]if theres any hostile people around, take him and run.
-[] the others go to places nearby, ask around the neighborhood, to know if hes out shopping or stuff.
-[]...maybe go look around that freeway? you did make a lot of noise over there, maybe he wants to take a look.
 
The person who walks in is another angel- Sankta? Is that what they're called? The differences between the newcomer and Exusiai are many. Blue hair- dimmed glow in her wings and halo, plus two black horns protruding from the sides of her head. She carries two ornate staffs.

KYAAAAAA MOSTIMA my beloved.

and voice get out of the poor man's head, Terra's a bad enough place without another mental parasite running around. also I wouldn't really be too worried about them calling out the bullshit, Terra's a large place and there's a load of shenanigans going around, a weird religious cult doesn't even really warrant a raised eyebrow and Sargon is well.. Sargon, it's big and mysterious and out of the way.
 
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It's faint. Faint and distant, but she sounds so... sincere. So accepting. She has been listening to your half-mad mutterings for... god knows how long. And for some reason, you don't think she'll use this against you. She listens to you without judgement, and she speaks to you.

"Is it really that bad to want to live, Capone?"

This voice... it sounds like sunlight.
Fuck the city might end up destroyed.
He gonna distort question is how far will he distort and what threat class will it be.
 
But what happens if people have an image of Rat King, instead of simply Rat?

Rat King is the giant rat that makes all of the rules, and his appearance is always reflective of your own perception of what a Rat is. We, being regular-ass denizens of Planet Earth, would simply see a regular rat with a crown. Angela and Roland saw Pete, the most recent example of a Rat of the Backstreets that remained on their minds.

If your only notion of a rat came from the Nutcracker movie, you'd likely see one of the rats from that movie, whatever one stuck most to your head, as the Rat King.
 
Capone may go distortion on us
That's not good
And from the looks of it
He's going to be a philip
 
So It just dawned on me that I have no idea how bad a Distortion would be and my quick wiki dive didn't really help put it into perspective, my only point of reference is Texas being classified as a Grade 2. Which makes me think that Siggy at full power is at my most generous assumption roughly the equivalent of an "average" Silverlance Pegasus or something.

Anyone got any context or examples that I can understand as a complete newcomer to the Project Moon verse?
 
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