Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)

[ReaperofInterest]

Alright, so for Tim's build actions, I'm thinking the surgical suite, and some advanced medical kits. The former will be of use in attaching Vista's new arm, while the latter will be useful for the Privateers if there are any injuries. Any objections?

As for the skill points, I'm thinking we just buy Carbon Fiber Plating this time, and save the last point for next week.

 

[Bombastus]

Hey, Storm? Did that seem weird to you?" A chime comes from the ruby orb. "Yeah, me, too."

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Ominous, but it might just be Dragon trying to find a way to ask about Intelligent Device AIs.

It's the middle of the week, isn't it? Guess that means time to plan things for Tim to build. Since a few people asked about it, building a surgical suite (which he needs if he wants to install prosthetics into anybody) will take two of his three time slots. Power armor also takes two slots in case anyone forgot, so no building a second suit of power

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Could we ask him to build one thing and half of another? Like, have him build a set of Power Armor and then get started on the surgical suite?

---

In other news, Saint and the Dragonslayers now have our name, face, and approximate location. Maybe actual location. Joy.

Other than that, great update. Glad we were able to contact them before the Enforcer Team showed up.

 

[landcollector]

"The same thing we tried to talk about last time we rang them up, I guess. The Endbringers and how the hell we deal with them. It'd be nice if they had to fight the same sort of thing and successfully defeated their own."

"I believe the phrase you're looking for is 'impossibly convenient'."

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I see Dragon's somewhat internalized a sense of Defeatism. Unfortunate, but then again she's likely seen firsthand or read about other supposed secret weapons developed in the past that completely failed.

Your dad and Samantha both told you that you were absolutely, one-hundred-percent barred from any kind of combat this week as a result of your misadventure with MS-13 and their explosives. Not that they have anything to worry about today; after spending the last couple of days charging cartridges, you're worn out.

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It's nice to know we've started stockpiling Mana Cartridges.

"Earth Bet— Oh! Pleasure to see you finally. Is your power supply stable enough to speak with one of our admirals? He has been hoping to talk to you ever since you first contacted us."

"S-Sure." Holy crap, an admiral.

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Straight to the top, eh? I suppose that's not unexpected in a situation that has a combination of an update regarding a lost ship as well as a First Contact Scenario.

"I did. The Agharti, the ship that crashed onto your world? It was carrying a very dangerous magical artifact on board, one that was being brought back to Midchilda – the TSAB's capitol world – for containment. It activated once after being discovered, and it killed the entire crews of two ships and nearly destroyed a third before it was sealed. I sent a team of some of my best to retrieve it before it reactivates."

You swallow and tighten your hand around Perfect Storm's shaft. Something that dangerous could be running around loose here on Earth Bet? That's a terrifying thought.

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Yeeeaaahh. Unbeknowst to us IC, we're holding it. Fortunately, it is loyal to us. Also, whew. PS was...busy...during that time wasn't he?

You have nothing to fear, Taylor. Perfect Storm is yours."

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For now, at least. Should (more like when) the TSAB discover the truth, this issue will almost certainly be revisited under far less amicable circumstances.

Nice update, Silently Watches.

The former will be of use in attaching Vista's new arm,

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You do remember that there's likely no way the Protectorate/PRT will approve of that, right? How do you plan to get by that?

 

[Jetsmillion]

Yup Surgical suite is definitely a must. Both for the option to give Vista her arm back and for the impending Endbringer attack. With Amy's bad situation right now, any form of healing even if it is surgical will be needed in the aftermath of an Endbringer attack.

Edit: I do wonder how long the TSAB will mistake Perfect Storm for an Intelligent Device when the arrive. Cause I think it would be entertaining to see them freaking out, thinking the Logia is lost somewhere on the world.

You do remember that there's likely no way the Protectorate/PRT will approve of that, right? How do you plan to get by that?

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We know that, but Taylor doesn't.

 

[MobiusC]

For now, at least. Should (more like when) the TSAB discover the truth, this issue will almost certainly be revisited under far less amicable circumstances.

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It doesn't really seem all that different than Hayate's situation.

 

[Silently Watches]

Could we ask him to build one thing and half of another? Like, have him build a set of Power Armor and then get started on the surgical suite?

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You… could, but you need to make it clear in the vote that this is what you want to do.

It doesn't really seem all that different than Hayate's situation.

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Hayate's situation didn't start off all that great either, you know.

 

[landcollector]

It doesn't really seem all that different than Hayate's situation.

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Again: I've not watched the series, so I don't know this.

 

[ReaperofInterest]

You do remember that there's likely no way the Protectorate/PR

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As Jetsmillion said, we know, but Taylor and Tim don't. Besides, the suite will still be useful if any of the Privateers wind up needing medical treatment, or agree to becoming cyborgs in the future.

 

[DonLyn]

@Silently Watches How many build slots does it take to build a Basic Device and can we still install a Template into someone even after they have bonded/played around with one?

Because we have a person with a known linker core running around with the Privateers, being all under-utilized and stuff...

 

[Jetsmillion]

As Jetsmillion said, we know, but Taylor and Tim don't. Besides, the suite will still be useful if any of the Privateers wind up needing medical treatment, or agree to becoming cyborgs in the future.

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The great challenge of Roleplays and Quests, Character knowledge vs Player knowledge.

There have been a few D&D games where I new something was a very bad idea, but my character didn't and I could come up with any in game reason why he would avoid the situation. The dangers of playing an easily pissed off barbarian who is getting mocked by a character I knew was several levels higher then mine.

 

[LancerisDead]

The surgical suite only makes sense. Not only will it enable Tim to install prosthetics, it'll also help in the case the Privateers suffer injuries like shrapnel and internal bleeding.

So Saint now knows everything about us. That's great. I think we now definitely need to get him a Guardian Beast, preferably the Shield one in case some indoctrinated idiot comes knocking on the door, and while that will help it doesn't change that the Privateers (and our dad!) are still regular squishy humans. Given that the Dragonslayers are an organized group I would bet they'll attempt either an ambush or a kidnapping, maybe even during the Endbringer truce, so our best to would be to spend either other two points in Mass Weapons or Carbon Fiber.

For now, at least. Should (more like when) the TSAB discover the truth, this issue will almost certainly be revisited under far less amicable circumstances.

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Hayate's situation didn't start off all that great either, you know.

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In that analogy, our Wolkenritter are already on better terms with the TSAB than in canon, so I don't think it should be that problematic. Maybe we will have to leave to have and audience in Midchilda, but we certainly didn't go around ripping Linker Cores out of mages.

 

[UberJJK]

So things to be aware the Saint now knows:

• Calamity Witch has at least one additional AI, which she gave to the Privateers new Tinker, and may possess even more.
• The TSAB are an alien race of humans!
• Calamity Witch's first name (Taylor), face, and her city of residence. This plus the fact she moved from BB is more then enough to nail down Taylor's exact identity.
• Confirmation that the TSAB are not parahumans but mages and that Calamity Witch is also a mage.
• There is a team of TSAB mages, which Saint will likely assume to be around Calamity Witch's level, coming in the next couple days.
• There is a dangerous item that may or may not be on the ship Dragon is sending a mission to in a couple days. Can anyone say Raid Target?
• TSAB culture is similar enough to ours that retrieving the possessions of their decease is considered quite significant.
• Intelligent Devices, and hence AIs, are common enough, and liked enough, in TSAB space that confiscating one could result in all their mages revolting.

I think that's all that's worth noting to someone like Saint.

 

[Always Late]

You point a finger at the radio tube lying in front of you. "You remember the power issue we had the last time we tried to use this to talk to the TSAB? I talked to our Tinker, and he put a generator together for it. Now we can talk with them about whatever we want whenever we want."

The heroine's digital avatar stares dumbfounded at you. "The Privateers have a Tinker? And he can work with magic? When did that happen?"

"A couple of weeks ago. He isn't really a Tinker, though. Storm and I gave him a Device loaded up with blueprints and magi-engineering books when we found out he had a Linker Core. I just asked him to build me a generator once he got his workshop set up." Nodding at your handiwork, you scoot over to the blue shell. "I thought I might give the TSAB another call now that we can actually have a conversation with them."

"I suppose it is a good thing I finished the first-contact files," Dragon replies with a sigh. "Anything in particular you plan to discuss?"

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The screaming you can hear in the background is Saint losing his shit.

"Yes…?" the man on the other side of the screen says in a slow voice. He doesn't have long ears or ridges on his forehead or even green skin; he's just some white guy in a vaguely military uniform and a black buzzcut! So much for sci-fi movies. "Who are you?"

Indecision wages war in your head for a second, but then you take off your hat and mask. This is against all aspects of cape culture, but Tiburon has no mask, and it isn't like they don't already know your name. "Taylor, the mage from Earth Bet who talked to you last month. Hi again."

"Earth Bet— Oh! Pleasure to see you finally. Is your power supply stable enough to speak with one of our admirals? He has been hoping to talk to you ever since you first contacted us."

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Whelp. We showed ourselves to Saint indirectly, but we're going right to the top.

The screen turns a calming blue with alien symbols scattered throughout, and Dragon whispers, "This is real. This is really happening."

"I told you they were real, didn't I? You even heard them talking back to us."

"Calamity, this is solid proof that we aren't alone in the universe. Not only that, there are other humans out there. No aliens that might see us as food. No monsters that we can't understand and who we can't understand in return. Humans! This is… I can't even begin to express the magnitude of this."

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Saint can. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
See?

"Parahumans." Tucson turns his confused expression from Dragon back to you. "That's what we call people who suddenly develop strange and amazing powers. Indestructibility, lasers, advanced technology, teleportation; all sorts of powers are possible. They can't be learned, and they aren't taught. That's been tried and failed. They just appear without any warning."

"Spontaneous manifestations of Rare Skills?" mutters the admiral to himself. "How many of these powers are there?"

"How many parahumans? A few tens of thousands over the entire world. A large number, but just a drop in the bucket compared to the billions that make up our total population. How many powers?" Dragon shakes her head. "As many as there are parahumans. Some parahumans' powers share similarities, particularly those that belong to close relatives, but there is always some difference."

Tucson stares at her, then you, then her again. "I see," he finally says. "I must admit that I have never heard of such a thing before, but I would have to consult with the Infinite Library to be sure that it is truly unique. I would recommend you give this information to the Enforcer team, as well."

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So we now know parahumans are unique in the multiverse.

"Enforcer team? You sent people here?" That isn't good. You just know people are going to be screaming alien invasion or some such nonsense.

"I did. The Agharti, the ship that crashed onto your world? It was carrying a very dangerous magical artifact on board, one that was being brought back to Midchilda – the TSAB's capitol world – for containment. It activated once after being discovered, and it killed the entire crews of two ships and nearly destroyed a third before it was sealed. I sent a team of some of my best to retrieve it before it reactivates."

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Aaaaaand Saint is now telling the Dragon Slayers to suit up Right The Fuck Now.

You swallow and tighten your hand around Perfect Storm's shaft. Something that dangerous could be running around loose here on Earth Bet? That's a terrifying thought.

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Saint: "I know, right? I miss the days when Dragon was the least of our worries."

"When are they planned to reach us?" Dragon asks.

"They should arrive shortly. The last communication we received from them was two days ago, and they said they would proceed slower than planned because of a strange turbulence in the Dimensional Sea. If you are concerned about the effect their presence could have on your leaders and your populace," he says, correctly guessing the source of their apprehension, "you can put yourself at ease. My men are quite discreet."

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1. 'Arrive shortly' ? Looks like they are going to be arriving during the EB battle after all.
2. I think the whole 'discrete/don't violate the prime directive' thing is a bit late Admiral.

"And their Devices, too, I guess?" you ask in a weak voice. You sound like a child, you know it, but you can't help the fear creeping into the back of your head. "Somebody will want Perfect Storm back, won't they?"

Tucson recognizes your worry for what it is, and he gives you a soft smile as he shakes his head. "Intelligent Devices have a way of choosing their own wielders. If we so much as thought about trying to take your partner away, every single one of our mages would rise up in revolt not a minute later. Besides, if you can retrieve even a single personal item from the Agharti, everybody who lost a loved one in the crash would be firmly behind you. You have nothing to fear, Taylor. Perfect Storm is yours."

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So their either going to seal us away or try and get us to join the TSAB. That's good.

"Are you—" The screen showing the heroine's face blanks out. "—sure? Hey, Storm? Did that seem weird to you?" A chime comes from the ruby orb. "Yeah, me, too."

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... whelp. Time to kill Saint.

It's the middle of the week, isn't it? Guess that means time to plan things for Tim to build. Since a few people asked about it, building a surgical suite (which he needs if he wants to install prosthetics into anybody) will take two of his three time slots.

Click to shrink...

*sees above discussion*
Whelp. Let's see what happens in addition to the surgery: Bullets or medkits.

 

[UberJJK]

Hayate's situation didn't start off all that great either, you know.

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To be fair the Wolkenritter were running around draining the Linker Core's of Mages. Odds are they racked up dozens to hundreds of cases of assault from that.

What's more I've seen it mentioned that Hayate lied and said she ordered the Wolkenritter to have done that. The reason being that if the Wolkenritter did that of their own free will, especially in defiance of her orders, it shows they had enough free will to defy their previous masters and hence are guilty for all the crimes they have committed since the Tome became the Book. Hayate meanwhile would only be guilty of the crimes committed in this latest awakening and the justifications of being nine, having zero magical background, and under the impression that filling the book was the only way to save her life.


Edit:
Taylor meanwhile has, as far as we know, committed no crime under TSAB law. So while they should certainly be suspicious of her possessing such a dangerous lost logia she is still in a far better position.

 

[ReaperofInterest]

Whelp. Let's see what happens in addition to the surgery: Bullets or medkits.

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I'm not entirely sure what you're saying here, but if you're suggesting Tim make some Cartridges, he can't. He needs the Knight Template as a secondary (possibly tertiary, depending on what a tertiary Knight Template looks like) in order to make Cartridges, or a machine to automatically make Cartridges.

 

[Jetsmillion]

You point a finger at the radio tube lying in front of you. "You remember the power issue we had the last time we tried to use this to talk to the TSAB? I talked to our Tinker, and he put a generator together for it. Now we can talk with them about whatever we want whenever we want."

The heroine's digital avatar stares dumbfounded at you. "The Privateers have a Tinker? And he can work with magic? When did that happen?"

"A couple of weeks ago. He isn't really a Tinker, though. Storm and I gave him a Device loaded up with blueprints and magi-engineering books when we found out he had a Linker Core. I just asked him to build me a generator once he got his workshop set up." Nodding at your handiwork, you scoot over to the blue shell. "I thought I might give the TSAB another call now that we can actually have a conversation with them."

"I suppose it is a good thing I finished the first-contact files," Dragon replies with a sigh. "Anything in particular you plan to discuss?"

Click to shrink...

The screaming you can hear in the background is Saint losing his shit.

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I actually think Saint would have the opposite reaction to this section. Sure he might freakout a little if the assumes that Tim's Device also has an AI, but Taylor basically described Tim as a normal with access to a high tech tech database.

As far as Tim is concerned, I think Saint is ether interested in stealing his Device or possibly trying to recruit Tim. Saint knows the magi-tech Calamity Witch uses has AIs, so a tech database that might describe AI functionality in detail would be a gold mine from his point of view.

 

[Nottheunmaker]

So Saint now knows everything about us. That's great. I think we now definitely need to get him a Guardian Beast, preferably the Shield one in case some indoctrinated idiot comes knocking on the door, and while that will help it doesn't change that the Privateers (and our dad!) are still regular squishy humans. Given that the Dragonslayers are an organized group I would bet they'll attempt either an ambush or a kidnapping, maybe even during the Endbringer truce, so our best to would be to spend either other two points in Mass Weapons or Carbon Fiber.

Click to shrink...

With that in mind, there's merit to the idea of making just half the suite and then a full suit of power armor. We're not even talking to Vista this week, so just having to finish it up the next works out fine. This assumes Tim would finish it up by midweek, but I see no reason why he couldn't.

 

[Always Late]

I'm not entirely sure what you're saying here, but if you're suggesting Tim make some Cartridges, he can't. He needs the Knight Template as a secondary (possibly tertiary, depending on what a tertiary Knight Template looks like) in order to make Cartridges, or a machine to automatically make Cartridges.

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I'm talking about the Mass Weapons.

 

[Tisaku]

No aliens that might see us as food. No monsters that we can't understand and who we can't understand in return. Humans! This is… I can't even begin to express the magnitude of this."

Click to shrink...

Not

 

[Silently Watches]

@Silently Watches How many build slots does it take to build a Basic Device and can we still install a Template into someone even after they have bonded/played around with one?

Because we have a person with a known linker core running around with the Privateers, being all under-utilized and stuff...

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It takes one build slot to make a Storage Device. Two for Armed/Intelligent/Boost Devices.

But no, if you give someone a non-template Device you cannot give them a template. IC they won't want to change, OOC I refuse to waste time doing a chargen if you're just going to give them a template later.

So we now know parahumans are unique in the multiverse.

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Ehnnnnnn… Not really, just nothing recent (like the last several hundred years recent).

2. I think the whole 'discrete/don't violate the prime directive' thing is a bit late Admiral.

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At this point, Tucson's moved on to damage control.

Taylor meanwhile has, as far as we know, committed no crime under TSAB law. So while they should certainly be suspicious of her possessing such a dangerous lost logia she is still in a far better position.

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They won't be worried about Taylor, no.

Not

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Completely overlooked those. Thanks.

 

[MobiusC]

Hayate's situation didn't start off all that great either, you know.

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Yep.

Again: I've not watched the series, so I don't know this.

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Basically, after A's, Hayate was forced to join the TSAB on probation and was basically under constant surveillance. She was largely free to live her own life though, despite owning a centuries old world-destroying superweapon and her actions during A's. Before Hayate found/got found by the Book of Darkness, it did kill a TSAB Admiral and his ship, so it definitely had a high profile body count with the TSAB.

Thing is, they would have been able to verify that the BoD was reprogrammed following A's. So they'll definitely want to do something similar at some point regarding Perfect Storm.

 

[LancerisDead]

@Silently Watches, I have a couple questions:

1. Can a surgical suit can manage operations like extracting bullets or fixing internal bleeding? Would it be doable to fix our eyes with it?
2. How much time would it take Tim to build Mass Weapons/Carbon Fiber were we to buy them?
3. In case that we decided to get him a Guardian Beast, would we need to spend an action on our end or could we use one of Tim's timeslots?
4. What would be the complexity of Mass Weapons? Could it be something like this?

 

[Nottheunmaker]

Ehnnnnnn… Not really, just nothing recent (like the last several hundred years recent).

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Makes sense, the Space Whales are multi dimensional beings. If anyone would've heard about them, it'd be the TSAB.

 

[Silently Watches]

@Silently Watches, I have a couple questions:

1. Can a surgical suit can manage operations like extracting bullets or fixing internal bleeding? Would it be doable to fix our eyes with it?
2. How much time would it take Tim to build Mass Weapons/Carbon Fiber were we to buy them?
3. In case that we decided to get him a Guardian Beast, would we need to spend an action on our end or could we use one of Tim's timeslots?
4. What would be the complexity of Mass Weapons? Could it be something like this?

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1. The surgical suite is set up for general and orthopedic surgery, so yes to the first two but no to the third.
2. How long it takes to build shifting weapon would depend on if he had weapons to work with as a base and how far you want to go from that base. 1-3 weapons per slot.
3. Once you buy the Guardian Beast spell, I would let you take an "extra" time slot to make a GB. And, of course, that could be whenever you wanted it.
4. RWBY was exactly what I had in mind when creating the Mass Weapons skill. Pyrrha's would be a little on the complex side, but after you built a few others I'd let you get away with it.

 

[Jetsmillion]

4. RWBY was exactly what I had in mind when creating the Mass Weapons skill. Pyrrha's would be a little on the complex side, but after you built a few others I'd let you get away with it.

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I don't know who it would be for, but we need to build Crescent Rose some time in the future just to get the reactions to the High Velocity Sniper Scythe.