oh absolutely, best part is that Devlin has very good reasons and cause to do so without having to explain himself. So increasing our defenses just went to top priority.
if we find this rogue actor, it's going to be a toss-up if he joins the DFRI or one of the other Super Robot Groups. If he is working on an AI like I think he is then he'd be perfect for Ignatov's group. if on the other hand he's working on a Super Robot Chassis than he'd be better off joining a different program with his Super.
Hello, westys I see it's time for you to make a push as an arc villain. Bad news for them is that we are arming up super well.
Base defense, those guns on the super battle ship as defense weapons is probably the play. I think we need to get some more combat power moving fast. Actually could we build a funnel defense team. Like someone sitting in a machine controlling funnels from inside the base. Just an idea.
I think we should focus on getting some proper upgrades off the ground as soon as possible. I say we get going on Jackal 2 and Jackal 2 Full armour as soon as possible
Pretty sure the only other Super Robot program under union control is already being helped by the DFRI. Any other programs are still in the planning stages.
Hell. Stand up a secret black ops super robot program for him to utilize against Westphalia Always good to have a wild card up your sleeve when you've got assholes that keep infiltrating the higher ups.
we'd have to find him first. Right now no one knows he exists so barring some really lucky rolls, the only way anyone finds out about him is if we find him by accident.
The workshop still stood in ruins ever since that army of Kaiju had stomped through from the coast towards Mercury V's haunt. The JSDF and the EUDF had cleaned up most of the mess – but aside from field stripping the electronics considered sensitive enough to salvage, most of the wreckage had been left in the junkyard, unaware or uncaring at the time that the junkyard manager had stopped operating for awhile.
No one had asked too closely when he claimed to be the new manager. And that gave him more than enough materials and isolation to make progress.
So since I think we can all Agree to work on Improving our Defenses Next Turn for the Attack here are some Ideas Ive got for our Engineers to make just for that.
Experimentation: Blaster Turrets
-With our Experience with Kausen Energy Blaster Create Gun Turrets Using them akin to the Cannon we installed on our Pegasus Class to Serve as Base Defense that would Shoot Down any Attackers.
Experimentation: Dispersion Wall
-Use our Dispersion Technology to create a Defensive Wall that would Protect our Base from Attackers either By Blocking Attacks or Keeping Attackers away from the base.
Another Way we can Improve our Defenses is more support Squadron that we can have focus on Guarding our Base and for that I think the Below is the best we can go for.
Construct: Centurion Squadron "Archer"
-Create a Centurion Squadron that will be manned by Golems to serve as Mobile Artillery and Guard for the Base.
Construct: Golem Pilots for Centurion
-Create Golems that will Mann Centurions to serve as Guards for our Base.
You know I just realized how easy it would be to defeat it severely weaken Westphalia. Koenig was part of the Pre-Starfall Illuminati right? And they were likely responsible for the Day of Starfall in some form. So in actuality Koenig just hates the EU because he isn't running it. So you just need to present said facts where it looks like Koenig caused the Day of Starfall and created the EU on purpose. He just failed to take control of it. Then you spread that throughout the entirety of Westphalia's lower ranks who actually believe the propaganda. And the entire faction would just implode on itself. The best part is that it doesn't really matter even if that's not true. Because by the time their leadership tries to do something about it. It will be far too late for them to change the narrative.
Man literally isn't counting the guy sending Murderous Kaiju and a Alien Gangster as an External force. This man is messed up.
We have a, small, Alien Invasion going on with the Free Brothers and Giant Monsters Rampaging. This is absolutely the time for the Earth to be United, not divided.
I'm starting to wonder if he's not a plant for another faction to weaken the Earth ahead of yet another invasion.
Man literally isn't counting the guy sending Murderous Kaiju and a Alien Gangster as an External force. This man is messed up.
We have a, small, Alien Invasion going on with the Free Brothers and Giant Monsters Rampaging. This is absolutely the time for the Earth to be United, not divided.
Kek that makes Ignoring the Engineer even more Hilarious. If were only fighting the Westies wed probably ignore him since taking on someone who already betrayed the union once is too costly and risky. With the Kausen and Kaiju though its an acceptable risk especially if we can second him to a SR Program.
BTW @Basarin Is my plan for Creating the Energy Blaster Turrets and Dispersion Wall fine for increasing Base defense?
Feel free to pitch the idea under Experimentation, but I wouldn't expect this to be a fast process. This is more of the 'could we do it?' phase, as right now there's no perceived need.
So since I think we can all Agree to work on Improving our Defenses Next Turn for the Attack here are some Ideas Ive got for our Engineers to make just for that.
Seeker Super Robot Frame
The Seeker Super Robot frame looks quite different from the standard model that you've grown more familiar with. A lot of it comes down to many different subtle differences that were taking place under the hood. All of the critical internal workings and the technologies you jealously guard for the Super Robots have been installed, and they all somehow seem to be creeping into the externals.
SFC Henry notes that the Seeker is an interesting challenge for one specific reason – there are so many critical moving parts in the Seeker when it changes between jet, buggy and mecha mode, that the joints run the risk of grinding themselves into uselessness at the pace a Super Robot is expected to operate at. So not only is the K-Scale Mesh woven around the weaker parts of the joints and the delicate K-Circuit linings, even more layers are woven and shocked-tightened around the points where the most friction is expected to take place. There's been some false starts on that front, as even Wilde and Henry are finding new spots where they weren't expecting so much wear and tear.
Next is the Anti-Gravity Solution. This is another part where the Duo had unexpectedly run into trouble. They had never run into the problem of 'too much Anti-Gravity,' but that had become a first when a component had been too light and the reconfiguration process had literally mangled itself as the calculations for mass and motion had been thrown off. Thankfully, that issue was resolved, but now apparently the Configuration process is having it twist around in different ways than the standard.
Finally, the Zirvitium. This is where the most pronounced difference was taking place. Somewhere along the way, extra Zirvitium layerings had been put in as a placeholder to see how it would work and fit practically, with the understanding that there wasn't really a power source to produce enough power to move or even fly. But they had reckoned without the Faedium Block Engine – and now the chest is even bulkier, protecting the new beating heart of the Super Robot.
They're not done, nowhere close – but now they have a working frame, and now it's just running tests and simulations to make sure it doesn't fall apart or explode or something.
Though Henry brings up another good point: until you find a suitable candidate to Combine this thing with, much like the Thunderbolt this thing is flying solo. Even Wilde had put his foot down on recommending against using the Sledder. While the Seeker Super Robot can probably fight on the ground, it wasn't the best idea to limit it to the ground, and the ground-based vehicles will keep it chained there.
Also: Who is going to pilot this thing? While finding a human pilot will take some time, Wilde tentatively wonders if they could also use a SAI Pilot for it.
There's one final month left for finetuning.
One Turn Remaining. Decision Pending at next turn.
Mega Blaster Sledder (SAI-01 Banner)
"So the…Buster Pack? Buster Armor? Banner Buster? Oni Pack? What are we calling this thing? Anyways, we made it work!"
That's the official tag line report from 1LT Wilde. Thankfully, SFC Henry helpfully fills in the gaps as usual.
The Buster Pack that Lana designed was based off of a single Sledder unit combining with Ichiro's body. However, it had stretched itself a tiny bit thin, and the combat performance increases, while very welcome, was not as high as it could have been. As it stands, it adds a new modular head guard, forearm gauntlets and bracer boots along with a chest plate and a backpack unit.
What this addition to the Pack does is add bulk, and guarantees a tiny bit more protection to the relatively vulnerable joints.
This Sledder effectively combines with the original unit to detach itself into armor plating, slotting along the torso and the rest of the arms and legs that the original didn't cover. However, the real prize is the augmentation to the cannon arm. Up until now, it had fired with some augmented power. Now a power pack effectively forms at the base of the arm that links directly by wire-guided cables to the backpack unit, giving it a relatively similar punch to the Mega Blaster wielded by Perseus Megas.
It's big, it's bulky, it's a little unwieldy. But that works for Ichiro.
Just have to work on a name, though Ichiro's been liking some of the ideas the staff have thrown around.
Complete! SAI-01's Buster Pack upgraded to Buster Armor. Name pending.
Build Team
Perseus Sledder Pilebunker Upgrade
"This is weird, right? This is weird. I'm not just imagining it, am I?"
Those were Kelly's words as the final upgrades to Perseus Megas's Sledder components are complete. The K-Lung and the Empathic Booster proved to be somewhat tricky to install compared to the relatively straightforward K-Fang and Zirvitium components. But Kelly had come up with the solution:
The cylindrical cartridge already in use.
Almost insultingly simple in theory, if not in practice, the Build Team had found that there was still quite a lot of room to play around with, so rather than try and spend too much more time trying to worry about the K-Lung's longevity, they decided to accept its limitations like any other ammunition source.
So with the cylindrical cartridge already in use for the K-Fang Pilebunker spikes, they added another cartridge right in front of it. Rather than just be limited to electrical shock, they added multiple one-time use elemental 'coating' charges, which would only be activated once the Pilebunker penetrated it on the way to burying itself into the enemy. Fire, frost, and, naturally, acid now have their place alongside the traditional electricity.
That's not what's weirding out the Build Team. What's weirding them out is the fact that after installing the Empathic Boosters and wiring them to the Perseus's core cockpit, debugging proved to be a nightmare as they kept registering a presence already interfacing with it. When Zhang and Tellison were brought out to interface with the Booster, they felt it too. Yet rather than panic, they seemed to welcome it.
Which led to Greg's next question: "Is Perseus alive?"
Complete! Perseus Megas can now field 'Elemental Pilebunker.'
New Engineering Option Unlocked
Questions of Perseus's sentience abound.
Enemy Wreckage Analysis (Polyphemus)
By comparison, analyzing the 'Polyphemus' is a breath of fresh air and normality for them. In fact, they complete it well ahead of schedule – though according to Greg and Anthony, that's not exactly in praise of their own abilities. It's more a reflection of what this thing was.
It's…a Drone. A very, very giant sized version of Zulu or the prisoners you took custody of, but appropriately sized and armored (albeit missing quite a few chunks courtesy of Perseus). Your teams have already analyzed the Drones and are familiar with Zulu's overall body structure, so it was simply a matter of scaling up.
A Drone by itself is nothing special. A basic torso, arms and legs – if you understand even vaguely how a humanoid structure works, you're sixty percent of the way there. The internal workings are a bit more interesting – the inner mechanics of the Drone body are a mixture of mechanical joints and gears, and Shard pump lines analogous to the blood vessels of the human body which all link to the single reactor in the uparmored chest. Normally this would all be operated by the 'brain,' or at least the processor chipset mounted in the head unit.
Which is very obviously missing. This model never had the traditional method, but it was where a pilot had performed the same role before it had ejected. So there is a very clean and straightforward break where the head used to be, along with plenty of ports and connections that Greg had managed to figure out pretty quickly.
Greg's analysis of it is that it's very easily fixable. "We've got the Zirvitium and the knowhow to patch it up no problem," he promises you. "Just…what do you want to do with it, boss?"
Which is another question in and of itself. If you can't make use of it or don't have time for it, you're very certain that Peters knows someone who would. And if you find that you have to give something up to help what you suspect is a wider EUDF expansion of the Super Robot program, you have an offering ready.
Analysis Complete. Giant Drone Body acquired.
New Engineering/Defense Force Options Unlocked.
Jiro Yukimura
Funnels
Jiro is very proud of what he's accomplished, especially since it draws from radically different technology bases. The 'Funnels' are by themselves very simple things, but they had a very complicated and hair tearing journey to get to that simplicity.
They're small (for a Super Robot) arrowlike contraptions with one of the smallest power sources he could find, so small that the tiny engine it sports has enough power only for a few bursts of motion before it runs out entirely. What it does have are extendable wings repurposed from Pteradon leather, which gives it a disproportionate amount of lift and drag midair, enabling it to make the most out of the limited engine power available to it.
Finally, Jiro's added his own past creation – the directional laser blaster. The Funnel only has so much space left over, so taking a page from the Build Team's project that month, he packs just enough power packs to enable at most three shots before it has to return to recharge both its engine and its 'ammo.' Combined with the erratic motions, you have a point defense weapon that can fire from just about any angle as a result.
"By itself? It's not that special," he admits. "But get a lot of these out there in the air, and you'll give them something to worry about. Controlling this many at once is going to be an interesting problem to overcome, though…missile pods, maybe?"
Complete! Funnels now available to repurpose into Super Robot weapons.
New Engineering Options unlocked.
Saddle Super Robot Combiner
The Saddle is very much a product of its time – much of the internals are either dedicated to the engines, wiring and electronics, or the cargo space.
The Faedium Block, however, solves a lot of space problems. Jiro's found that he is able to remove most of the engines from the rotary blades and fuselage, leaving far more room for Configuration into, say, arms. Likewise for the cockpit and the cargo space, it naturally forms into space where a Super Robot frame could neatly slot into and serve as impromptu armor.
Jiro isn't done, but this is a promising lead.
One that he begrudgingly thanks Lana for.
You can feel the smug from the Engineering databases from your office.
One Turn Remaining.
EAI-01 Lana
Enemy Wreckage Analysis (Predasaur Remains)
According to Lana, the Predasaur, as Scrapheap had called it, is exactly what you expect it to be. It's the Free Brothers' best imitation of a stylized Tyrannosaurus Rex – and for whatever reason, it had more or less behaved the way experts would expect one to. The main differences are that it could breathe fire, is entirely mechanical, and actually had longer arms making it resemble a dragon a tiny bit more. That and the (mostly now broken) Zirvitium teeth.
That said, Lana is quite impressed with its construction. "Props to whoever made it," she admits. "Beowulf exploded it, and there's still enough of it left over that it's salvageable." That answers the unspoken next question – Lana is confident the Engineers can rebuild it and repurpose it within a short amount of time. They just need the time and resources to make it happen.
The other part of the Predasaur is more of an open question. The 'Heart' reactor is an odd contraption. From what Lana can tell without doing invasive probing of it, it's an incredibly compact Shard reactor – the Predasaur would devour energy sources (if not Shards outright), and it would be 'digested' into the Heart reactor which would process it into bursts of energy.
But that's all she can tell you about it right now. "You've got some choices with it right now, boss," she tells you. "Either I can take it apart, and figure out how it works, but we'll lose this one…or we can just plug it into a unit and have it work, but that's all we get." She pauses, adding, "Though I'm pretty sure the Legion wouldn't mind getting its hands on it."
Complete! New Defense Forces/Engineering Options available next turn.
Weapon Experimentation: Tyrant's Bane "You want me to do what? With what?"
To be fair, you and Sasaki had given Lana a combo platter of features to stuff into a K-Fang weapon with the instructions to 'make it happen.' Possibly with demonic summoning and magical rituals. But to your surprise, it's not outright impossible.
In theory, all of the features you want to include for the Beowulf are feasible. The only issue with it is actually figuring out how to source all of it mechanically. She flat out dismisses the possibility of putting it all into the weapon itself – there's just not enough room, and remains a physical impossibility. But, knowing that it's the Beowulf – and more than likely, specifically the Beowulf Fenrir – simplifies things. She's just going to have to outsource some of the work to the Super Robot rather than the weapon.
By the time you leave, she's already trying to theory craft how to make it work, but she warns it's going to take her a few months.
Two Turns Remaining
Boris Ignatov
AI/ESP Guidance System
Ignatov confirms that psychic energy and SAI do not mix. It's literally impossible for them – and by extension the Kausen – to perceive them. ESP energy could be flowing in front of their optics or sensors, and unless there was a physical consequence to it they wouldn't even realize it.
The one workaround that he's managed to find reliably works is to use the human side of the MMI as a 'translator' of sorts. Since SAI requires data of some sort, the brain translates the perception of ESP and intent into tangible data points through traditional computing software, which then gives the SAI something it can actually use.
Which then begs the question – what does that make Perseus if not some kind of sentience?
