I have been "maybe-later"-ing this quest to to the point of rudeness, which means I should probably finally do something. If this quest is called "G", does this make the previous one the "OG"? Anyway, I liked that one, and I'm liking this one. It feels... Different, but not worse. Like, if the previous quest could be compared to playing an SRW game, just with less units per mission, then this one feels more like... That game with the cyborg ninja slicing up giant robots, but withouth the cyborg ninja, less slicing (for now), more giant robots, iron-blooded friendship and mid-battle quick-time events that I can actually react to. Occasionally. Oh, and the between-mission interlude is still SRW-ish.
But, standing back, I realize that, probably, it has to be this way.
I, for one, can't wait for Ozawa's sudden, yet inevitable betrayal when she shots Sheol in the head and dumps him into incubation tanks to be disassembled into component matter.
But if Sheol does not get a chance to suborn DFRI's robots, then these robots don't get a chance to shake off his control with the power of their unmatched BRAVERY, budding FRIENDSHIP and sheer (literal) GUTS!
On the one hand, I like being able to potentially build our own off-brand Evangelions.
On the other hand, there are entire orders of magnitude further research to be done before that can be signed off on even remotely safely.
To the point that I'd rather have tested prototypes of an... I don't know, a psychic isolator of some kind (psychoisolation chamber/matrix?) prepared first as a hard counter against potential enemy psychic interference ready and proven viable before committing to it.
A little more seriously than my previous remarks, I understand that the C-Crystal has recently been developed enough to, uh, uncover a person's character (because "screening for bravery and honour" sounds too cynical). Physical empowerment is only one of the effects that C-Crystal grants, and I strongly suspect that some sort of "psychic resistance" would be another one.
On the other hand, if, say, a marine or an army driver does not display outstanding character, they can be sent back to their armed force of origin, doing non-outstanding but still important work. But if a big bio-mechanical robot is purpose-built to fight in defence of the whole Earth, and a C-Crystal doesn't like this robot's proclivities to play Nin-ten-dou and watch Chinese cartoons all day... Where does this robot go?
"Alright, time to ratchet things up." She reached up, and tapped the glowing red crystal along her neck. She couldn't drop the growing grin on her face - she'd always wanted to do this.
"CHANGE!"
A beam of red light surrounded Jessica as the C-Crystal glowed. What felt like a gust of wind from below was creating a small localized tornado as the C-Crystal materialized the K-Suit around her, locking each piece of chitin and armor in place until it finally sealed with the helmet unit slotting firmly into place-
-and the lightshow and tornado ended, revealing a mixed group of both forces' footmen staring at her. Jessica simply waved cheerily, before she waded directly into the fracas with a rush of displaced air.
Scheduled vote count started by Basarin on Mar 22, 2023 at 4:06 PM, finished with 76 posts and 26 votes.
[X] "I can think of something..." (WRITE-IN)
-[X] You said that you wanted a big, armoured brawler, but had problems with enough power to make it walk. Well, your Fulgur particles fix the power problem, but what if your brawler was also lighter?
The update is delayed till this evening. Meant to get this out earlier, but a tiny amount of inclement weather is enough to make people panic on the freeways.
If this discussion is with me, I must point out (again) that it is literally impossible, because he is on my Ignore list, and thus the forum doesn't even display his posts to me.
I had a thought about the different fighting styles of our super robots and wanted to post about it here.
If we go the JRPG route with our Super Robot teams. Ichiro would be the Ranger, Franky would be the Healer, Iris would be the thief, Charlie would be the Warrior, Thunderbolt would be the Mage (whichever type fits it), Perseus would be the tank and Beowulf would be the Brawler slash Jack of all trades given that it has 3 different fighting styles now. Which leaves the Paladin and unless I missed it, It is a Super Robot Type we don't have and definitely need.
While I do disagree with Sir Plusse about giving weapons to Super Robot's that don't need them since they are not part of the Super Robot's fighting style. I do agree that we need a Super Robot that can use weapons like Melee or energy types. Realistically I would want two different Super Robots. one that uses a Sword or Spear, and a Super Robot that uses energy weapons or missiles.
Look I am not against giving brawler Super Robot's back up weapons like a Heat knife or similar small weapon like the Super Robot equivilant of Iron Knuckles that can be useful to a hand to hand combatant Super Robot. For example, Giving the Ground Pound Super Robot a massive Sword or Spear is not useful to it since it has been said explicitly that that Super Robot is a Brawler which means it uses it's hands and feet. Giving weapons to said Super Robot means that the weapon would be going to waste and gathering dust.
And then there is K-tech That as I have posted already is one tech I do not want to let out of our control and to just let the other Super Robot Teams have access to the rest of our tech so that in case Sheol has a way to suborn the K-scale tech. The other Teams can avoid any potential disasters that might entail from the suborned K-tech.
I tried earlier to engage Sir Plusse In a honest debate about why he wants to give weapons to the Ground Pound team when again it was explicitly said that that robot is a Brawler. Only I messed up and typed that message wrong. And I have apologized to Basarin for it. Part of why I like this quest is because it lets me enjoy debating about various ways that Super Robots can be built.
I'm not doing a very good job of that is what I'm saying.
"I can think of something..." (WRITE-IN)
- 'You said that you wanted a big, armoured brawler, but had problems with enough power to make it walk. Well, your Fulgur particles fix the power problem, but what if your brawler was also lighter?'
For a moment, you think about what would be the best fit for Jenkins' program. You're tempted to immediately just schedule a consultation program with Wilde and Henry over the benefits of Configuration, but you table that - for now, anyway. You fully plan to give that to her at some point, it's just too damned useful not to. But it might be best to wait until Jenkins is confident that Victor Forge's Polymorph Nanites have a solid foundational understanding before you hand that over - right now, it might work, or it might give Dr. Schemming's structural frames a fit. (You're pretty sure the Duo could give you a more technical reason, but you're not after that right now)
You also consider the Kausen Energy Blaster. On the face of it, it would synergize incredibly well with the Fulgur particle engines - or whatever term they decided to use for them. But you shelve that for now as well. Your original thinking was in terms of predictable power sources - and given how whatever dimension Fulgur particles originate from proliferates nightmares to humans, and given that Dr. Zhang Ru is only now finally getting to explore this method of power generation, you're not entirely sure you want to risk it yet. Much like with Forge's nanomachines, you're better waiting until he has a firmer idea of what to do - and what not to do - with Fulgur particles.
You even briefly entertain the thought of offering a Super AI assistant. You do have precedent for it - Delphi is continuing to do solid work for Galbinus and his team, and on the few occasions you've had to talk with one another, he's had nothing but good things to say about her. She's not quite on par with the Free Brothers' Oracle Matrix - a dour personality known as Chimaira - but you both chalk that up to inexperience. The capabilities are there at least. But the Fulgur particles again give you pause - you have no clue if the nightmare fuel extends to Super AI, and you're not sure you want to find out that way.
C-Crystals are still experimental even for you. Faedium is promising, but extremely early days yet. The same goes for Dispersion Fields. Even the neglected sample of the Pilum gunship the Warlord left behind, along with Bandit's knife and the Beast's 'mega gun' which Jiro is still piecing together. K-Class - she doesn't even have the facilities or the understanding for it, and that would be disruptive to introduce, you imagine.
...but there is one technology. So incredibly mundane to you now, but still incredibly useful.
"You said that you wanted a big, armored brawler," you say to Jenkins. You do recall this conversation you had early in your association with her. "You said that you had problems with getting enough power to make it walk."
"Power's not the issue anymore," Jenkins replies. "But weight still is. Schemming compares it to the 'spirit is willing, body is failing' problem."
"Well, your Fulgur particles fix the power problem, sure," you agree. "But." You offer her a grin. "What if your brawler was also lighter?"
You definitely have her attention. "Tell me more."
"Blast." Erika growled something unintelligible and highly uncomplimentary about these louts' extended family trees she stared at the submarine pen that had been crudely carved into the warehouse. The empty submarine pen. A few battered and old computer terminals, knocked over tables, and what looked oddly like scales here and there littered the area. The bay had even been enlarged enough to take in what looked oddly like vehicle off ramps.
"They can't keep bloody getting away like this." Whatever cargo had been here had been moved - and in a hurry. Various debris and splinters from broken open wooden crates, bits of broken glass from some type of containment unit - and a rather unseemly slurry of sludge. "Adrianna, you find anything?"
"They used active transponders!" If anything, the digital girl sounded even more annoyed than Erika did. The augmented reality glasses she wore showed Adrianna's avatar at the corner of her vision, where she was pulling at her hair in frustration and looked piping mad enough to boil a kettle on her lonesome. "Uuuurrrgh, this is annoying! They took enough active transponders and rigged enough of them to make it look like a shipping vessel was still here! Do they know how expensive that is!?" Her avatar momentarily disappeared, only to reappear in the warehouse terminals. "Give me a second, lemme see if they didn't wipe everything."
"Keep an eye out for any manifests or whatnot," Erika advised, keeping her own annoyance a little more in check. "Anything at all. They might have already done a runner, but we have to just scrounge what we can." Kneeling down, Erika withdrew a forensics kit and donned some gloves as she collected a sample, sealing it into a glass vessel. It bubbled, almost as if it were acidic, but it had clearly lost its potency some time ago. She held it up to the few remaining lights, a puzzled look on her face. "What in God's name-?"
"Kaiju blood."
"Say what?" Erika was startled out of her focus, both by what it was, and Adrianna's tone.
"That's kaiju blood. All of them have acid in them." All of the exuberance and whimsy she normally associated with the girl was gone, replaced with a deathly serious focus. "Can't say much more about it without the boss's say so. Dr. Carlson might be able to analyze it later."
"That's something, I suppose." Carefully putting it away, Erika then took off her gloves and threw it into a disposal bag. "It seems Sheol was providing something kaiju related to the Westphalians."
"Found...something. File's corrupted though - they tried to do a wipe and run." A garbled image of what looked oddly like a receipt appeared on Erika's vision. "Looks kinda like a contract." Various bits of text were cleaned and emphasized as much as possible, but there just wasn't enough to go off of, not at that moment. "I think you were right about the trade, Erika."
"But what pound of flesh did Sheol get?" Unaware that this was more or less what Jiro's question was regarding the Free Brothers not long ago, Erika sighed. "We'll do a few more sweeps, but they've scarpered off." She brightened up slightly. "At least I can claim the-"
"Does the giant robot fight outside count for that?"
Erika paused...then shrugged. "They didn't see us, so I'm bloody well claiming it." She tilted her head. "Wait. Did the Westphalians just leave their backup behind?"
It doesn't take you very long to sell Jenkins on the Anti-Gravity solution. To you, it was so vital as to become mundane, something that you simply didn't go without anymore. To Jenkins, on the other hand, it was like you had just given her the map to El Dorado and a down payment of the platinum that the Spanish expeditions had just chucked overboard for not being gold. All the while, Peters looks very, very satisfied to the point of appearing smug.
There's still some questions on how it would actually work in practice, given that nanomachines are practically weightless already until they're not, but just reducing the weight on the internal skeletal structure is already leaps ahead for her. Before long, she's already using a nearby communications terminal - and you have to admit, their team's metaphorical drooling over the possibilities was more or less how your team reacted when you negotiated this from Galbinus all that time ago. Understandable, really.
"I trust you can have everything arranged on your own from here, Major?" Peters asks.
"Oh yes," you nod. "We'll take care of it. But I did have one other thing to clear with you." At her questioning look, you bring up Dr. Yukimura. "He did get a look at the K-Class the Perseus was built around," you explain. "We know it's safe and effective. But given his own bias against the kaiju, I can understand where he's coming from."
"You want to give him a closer look?"
"If just to put his mind at ease about it," you admit. "Otherwise, working with him might get a bit more difficult."
Peters hums at this. "I'll allow it," she says slowly. "In fact...well." She looks as if she's about to bring something up, but thinks better of it. "Let's get Major Jenkins' project off the ground first, before I tell you exactly who else has been submitting Super Robot proposals. Funny how they all plan for it without knowing what's involved or where they're going to get the technology for it."
"The Westphalians?" you say rhetorically. "They've been improving their equipment."
The Westphalian armored vehicles were not at all what Charlie was expecting. Every time he'd ever heard about them, they were always described as cobbled together, but packing enough firepower that also piled on the element of surprise.
These were something else entirely.
"Charlie. On your right."
He was barely able to acknowledge Iris's warning before he slammed his fist directly into the grill of the armored truck that had tried to slam into him. His other hand slammed against the side, giving him enough leverage to reposition himself slightly as various gunports opened up and tried to fire directly into him. His audio receptors automatically tuned out the racket of gunfire, as everything from what looked like light machine gun rounds to 0.50 caliber - a little more concerning, admittedly - roared in defiance.
It would work against standard EUDF.
But he was Charlie. And even as the odd round connected against his hide, his K-Scale augmented armor plating absorbed or deflected the impacts, cheerful-looking tracer rounds bouncing off into the still-dark sky. "That's not gonna work!" he growled, as he braced his feet. "Go away!" Rearing his fist back, Charlie's fist slammed into the driver's side, right as he abruptly let go of the rest of the truck's front. Metal and glass exploded into a shower as the truck unsteadily shot forward, nearly tipping over towards its passenger side -
- before what looked like a retro rocket shot it right back into an upright position, enabling it to begin making a wide turn. Another of its fellows shot past him, but this one wasn't intent on charging directly at him - a gun turret opened up above the driver's cabin, revealing what looked to be a short barreled cannon. "Oh, come on-!"
The shield snapped up into place just in time as the round impacted against it, sending a jarring shudder up his left arm. Charlie was forced to reposition himself to avoid taking direct fire from the armor piercing rounds, but that left him exposed to the mixed machine gun rounds from its partner, the pattering of automatic fire digging small holes into his side. "Frankie, Iris," he growled, "anyday now-!"
The cannon-mounted truck was flipped over in a bright red and pink explosion as Frankie's blaster made itself known, a near miss sending an eruption of concrete and earth that had enough force to give the truck a bad day. Even as Charlie was able to pivot back towards the other truck, Iris's bike form was already screeching around it, smoke and chaff rounds exploding around her while targeting beacons were slapped onto it. Another energy blast slammed into the ground right in front of the truck - Frankie was clearly thinking about bagging one of these for the engineers to look over, good. Then-
"What."
The same damned rockets fired from below the truck, letting it rise above the impromptu pothole the blaster made. But it kept going - and Charlie was treated to the incredulous sight of a Westphalian truck configuring. The cabin tilted forward, and the rear of the truck extended outwards to form what were clearly legs, while the rear of the cabin unfolded from behind to form arms, with vicious looking industrial claws extending out where there would be hands. As the thing landed, a head unit extended upwards from the top of the cabin - a square, boxy thing with one brightly lit mono camera that turned to face him.
Charlie glanced to the side, seeing the other truck - and the third one that had stayed out of the fight initially - rolling up to do likewise. He could see some small differences, but they all mostly looked similar to each other, the boxy cyclops heads being the one common bit to them. And their various weapons ports, mounted along their shoulders and their forearms, were all pointed at him.
"That's messed up," Charlie groused. He could sense Frankie taking position behind him, and Iris reconfigured into mecha mode, skidding along the ground as she took Charlie's side. "Think that was enough?"
"Give it up." They even had loud speakers on them! The mono cameras glared ominously at them. "Give it up and we'll make your dissection quick."
"Tempting, but!" He held a finger up. "We have something you don't."
"What-?"
That was as far as they managed to say before a tornado screamed into life, forcing the mecha to stagger backwards as the hammer came down.
"Thunderbolt!" The trio of siblings looked up and grinned as they saw a familiar looking dropship dive down to earth, with an almost imperceptible beam of red light flowing towards it. "Come here!"
By the time the storm cleared, the trio of Westphalian mechs were treated to the unfolding mecha. The cockpit and the forward engines folded forward, allowing the rear and wings of the ship to shift and allow the legs to extend. Red light flared from beneath the Thunderbolt's visor as its head unit extended upward-
-and Jessica Satsuma landed heavily onto the ground, the Thunderbolt already in a fighting position as the faint image of the C-Crystal glowed from the glass frame of the cockpit.
"Another one!?"
"Good effort, honestly." Charlie didn't need to see Jessica's face to see the grin that was undoubtedly on her face. "Ours are better, though." Her head turned slightly towards him and his siblings. "C'mon! Let's clean them up!"
The real issue is that they're basically wizards who intuitively just know when they've been made and just automatically loot anything that gets mass produced.
Which suggests either they've got a way of seeing the future, or they've got total penetration of every organization that matters, to the point where the only reason they haven't already won is that they only control the higher ups, and not the people who actually do the work.
Honestly the latter I think vaguely suits them and their overall motive.
They want the return of Kingdoms, with themselves as the Kings.
Not an M.O that appeals to the common man, really. Not unless you think you're awesome enough to claw your way to the top.
This is exactly why we shouldn't proliferate technology too fast without knowing how they work to a large enough degree besides the standard military secret need to know basis.
Half of the reason why people can't catch up to our branch besides the most common denominator tech that makes it to the somewhat better than average grunts is we take vetting extremely seriously.
Secrecy is a weapon that we need to perpetually sharpen since fog of war works both ways which is really refreshing in this game.
It's not often that the player faction gets to have the mysterious shadowy figures that shows up to wreck the currently most known threat's day out of nowhere so thank you for spoiling us so on that front, Basarin.
Which suggests either they've got a way of seeing the future, or they've got total penetration of every organization that matters, to the point where the only reason they haven't already won is that they only control the higher ups, and not the people who actually do the work.
I meant to type this in earlier in the post - but there is one final wrapup to the operation before we move on to the start of the turn proper.
In their defense as well, they have been doing this for longer than most people think. This has its ups for sure (such as logistics networks that makes Devin green with envy) but it does have significant drawbacks too, which we'll explore moving forwards.
The real issue is that they're basically wizards who intuitively just know when they've been made and just automatically loot anything that gets mass produced.
Which suggests either they've got a way of seeing the future, or they've got total penetration of every organization that matters, to the point where the only reason they haven't already won is that they only control the higher ups, and not the people who actually do the work.
Given that they managed to pull off the theft of an entire battleship - and a decidedly nonfunctional example at that - I think part of the problem is that we are dealing with actual, in-universe Villain Teleportation here. Teleporter tech was one of the starter options, so we know it's possible, and it would certainly explain how they manage to slip armored units around undetected.
It has to have some sort of limitation, or they would have taken over by now, but even just being able to move equipment from point A to point C without having to interact with point B would go a long way to explaining how they pull off their shenanigans.
Well, if anything, I'd say Jenkins is even more enthusiastic about the anti-gravity than I expected. Can't blame her, though; she had a problem that her team just couldn't solve without compromising on their core goal, and here we are showing up and offering them exactly the solution they need.
Guess there's something to be said for tailoring the "welcome to the business" gifts to the recipient.
There's already new tech in the docket that just needs proliferation to our forces. The main problem be the tech the enemy has and enemy infiltration in the EUDF.
The airfleet already reeks of Westphalian infiltration with the amount of blue bloods in there. Honestly, Im thinking that the Air Defense force admiral is purposefully collecting them, doing it so that when the intelligence services finally have evidence they can focus on just killing the turncoats of the AFD.
There's already new tech in the docket that just needs proliferation to our forces. The main problem be the tech the enemy has and enemy infiltration in the EUDF.
The airfleet already reeks of Westphalian infiltration with the amount of blue bloods in there. Honestly, Im thinking that the Air Defense force admiral is purposefully collecting them, doing it so that when the intelligence services finally have evidence they can focus on just killing the turncoats of the AFD.
General Armistead all but outright stated that he's been gathering and concentrating suspected Westphalian infiltrators/sympathizers into his unit, which is why he can't openly do anything.
Bit of a thought on how anti-gravity would improve the Polymorph Nanites: It's stated that the weight of the nanites themselves is negligible, but the materials they make/imitate/whatever are significantly heavier. A bit of chemical analysis would let their engineers program them for materials that have already been anti-gravity treated.
Probably seems kind of obvious, if you think about it, but... that's huge.
Which suggests either they've got a way of seeing the future, or they've got total penetration of every organization that matters, to the point where the only reason they haven't already won is that they only control the higher ups, and not the people who actually do the work.
Been rereading the original thread from when we first got the anti-gravity, and noticed that we've got a potentially-useful byproduct that was never explored: The anti-gravity emitter. Not sure how that'd compare to the "proper" method we've got, but it sounds like it could be ridiculously useful if properly applied.
Granted, I've got no idea what we'd use it for off the top of my head, but that doesn't mean someone else couldn't come up with something.
I'm pretty sure the Westphalian forces are bleeding money too; that alliance would only last so long with their tempo (Pak for instance would leave the moment they stop being able to pay him for instance). Also, while they are mostly an alliance of incredibly wealthy and connected people angry that they aren't quite as wealthy or connected as before, they can only burn money for so long before someone notices that suddenly some people aren't as rich as they used to be.
Also, what did Sheol sell the Westphalians? The infiltrators?
Okay, jotting down some of my to-do list so I don't forget and can just copy-paste it into a potential plan later...
[] Experimentation - Practical Applications
-[] Variable Configuration + K-Class + Charged Cannon
--[] "Lungfish" Submersible Aircraft
---[] Submarine/bomber jet/mecha triple changer.
---[] Drill on the nose for ramming; drill becomes an arm in mecha mode. If too awkward, two thinner drills on the nose that each become an arm.
---[] Charged Cannon is an acceptable amphibious weapon, since sonic warfare is currently not in our toolkit.
---[] Depth charges (assumed to be generally available) for the bomber mode.
---[] DFRI version incorporates K-Class as appropriate- K-Wing as wings/hydrofoils, K-Fang for the drill(s), etc.
---[] Combination potential: Ideal as an arm, less so as a leg; unknown potential as a core unit.
[] Experimentation - Practical Applications
-[] Charged Cannon
--[] Since this has fallen to the wayside in favor of flashier, more potent weapons, might as well repurpose it as a mass-production weapon for usage by our lesser machines.
[] Experimentation - Practical Applications
-[] MMI/ESP Theory + Olympic-class Brain
--[] If adapted to record memories as images/video instead of relaying commands, the MMI could potentially be used as an interrogation device. Note to all concerned: This is NOT to be distributed ANYWHERE, lest we provoke human rights violations or accusations thereof.
--[] Immediate goal for this test subject: Locating Dr. Sheol's base of operations. Acceptable information: Identities of Commander-class sentient kaiju.
[] Experimentation - Practical Applications
-[] Arc Weaponry + K-Class
--[] Old Arc weapons were designed before we had K-Fang. The addition of a form of K-Class specialized in offense warrants a full redesign of this technology.
--[] If possible, incorporate Thunder Lung for the electrical components.
[] Xeno Technology
-[] Anti-Gravity Solutions
--[] Belated follow-up project: Max accidentally discovered an anti-gravity emitter during initial trials of the solution. Find out what we can do with this.
[] Experimentation - Practical Applications
-[] Kausen Energy Blasters
--[] Follow-up project: Laser shotguns and sniper weapons.
Note to all concerned: Make sure Ignatov takes care of this one, due to a combination of his prior experience (Axiom) and... well, his prior experience (catching the issues Axiom was having before it could result in brain damage).
[] Refit and/or Repair
-[] The Argonauts
--[] First off: Combination, as an emergency last resort. Charlie's probably too big to serve any role other than the core, but a team of semi-Super Robots that can combine into a full Super Robot isn't too bad.
--[] (Further technologies pending)
If we decide we've got room for one more Super Robot in our upgrade rotation...
[] Construct Super Robot/Support Units
-[] Seeker, elevated to the level of a full Core Super Robot.
--[] Technologies to install during construction: K-Scale Mesh, K-Circuits, Zirvitium Alloy, Dispersion Combat Shield, Anti-Gravity Solution, Faedium Block Engine, maybe Arc Cannon?
--[] Named Icarus? (unless AI pilots override this)
--[] (Further details pending)
...and my pet project AI (Stark) to use it; assuming that we can base an AI on unnamed extras, so grabbing someone from the role I'm intending it for.
[] Super AI Development
-[] Super Robot AI Personality
--[] Based on the best pilot from the 25th Air Wing; reckless lunatics they may be, but they've more than proven their chops.
--[] Named Stark; call him Tony at your own risk.
--[] Obviously intended for a Seeker-type Super Robot.
Not sure what category this would count as, so tossing it in Engineering for now.
[] Experimentation - Practical Applications
-[] Westphalian "reflex" chemical
--[] While a layman may consider this redundant, it approaches issues differently enough from our technologies that it may be worth replicating anyway. And even if its effectiveness is reduced compared to a purely-mechanical robot, squeezing out an extra quarter-second of reaction time could mean the difference between life and death in battle.
Not 100% convinced this'll go as planned, but it seems like a decent place to start at least.
[] Liaison: Colonel Bernard/MEF
-[] Inquire about discontent aeronautics or naval engineers with Ideas that you could interview for potential transfer to the DFRI.
"Australia." Anna's smiling face through the holo feels no less terrifying than if she were in person. "A birdie told me something was going down with the Westphalians, and I've got a mind to see what it is while I'm in the area!"
"You go off the grid for weeks and this is the first thing you say?"
"Aww, did you miss me?"
"Not really, no." Ignoring her pouting face, you ask, "Any other terrifying insights I should know? We just finished up our end of year discussion. We're going to help out Jenkins' program-" You pause, sighing as you finish, "but chances are you already knew that."
"That and the other programs that want in on the gig." You know the DFRI is Anna's primary responsibility, so it stands to reason that she would know just about everything tangentially related to it. But it's still terrifying. "Don't worry, I'll bring you up to speed when I get back. Ciao!"
You just sigh. For all your annoyance with her, though, you are glad she's on your side. Heaven only knows what she would be like if she was angry with you.
"On your left, madam."
"Cheers." Without even waiting for the vehicle to stop, Erika reached out and grabbed the support railing for the rear passenger side door of the Galahad as it approached. The rear compartments were already starting to open, and she could spy the telltale signs of Valiant being roused from his slumber. "Right." Slamming the door shut, she glanced over to Patrick as she locked the evidence case into a secure rack. "How are we looking out there?"
"Perhaps it best to see yourself!" came the answer. Intrigued, Erika turned from the ladder up to the Valiant's cockpit to see what Patrick was seeing -
- only to see one of the Westphalian mechs thrown like a ragdall halfway across the warehouse, a vertical tornado already fading from existence. "Is that Jessica?"
"Believe so." The fact that the rather young woman who showed up earlier was now piloting a robot of mass destruction didn't seem to phase him - oh, right. He's seen this before. A wry, almost nostalgic grin crossed her face as she saw the flying mecha fly straight after the fallen Westphalian. The other three - having shed their disguises - were already fully engaged. "Scanners indicate at least one might be trying to flank...or get away, perhaps."
"Shame their getaway driver buggered off then." A more savage grin crossed her face as she realized she might be able to salvage something from this. "Adri? Be a dear and scramble his communications, would you?"
"On it~!"
"You've rather warmed up to her." A chunk of caved in armor plate slammed into the road in front of the Galahad, but her butler's response was to sedately turn the wheel and give the wreckage a wide berth. "Rather didn't think I'd see the day."
"Suppose I have." With a shrug, Erika turned around, seeing flickers of Dinym currents already charging between the joints. "Ready the launchers. I've a pressing discussion with this chappy."
"Bash the stuffing out of him, madam."
"Missiles!"
Jessica felt her whole frame shudder as missiles erupted from every port on the Thunderbolt's body, her vision momentarily - and literally - clouded by the dizzying array of contrails. Not even waiting to see if the warheads connected, she was already twisting her frame around, her stomach only slightly lurching from the sudden drop in altitude as she turned her attention to the next one.
Controlling the Thunderbolt, and by extension using the C-Crystal - at least the one the Regency had given her - felt weird. But intuitively weird. She could feel her hands on the controls, and the MMI was synching her inputs and creating the required outputs. Yet all around, it was like she was floating in a void - a void of soothing red light, both amplifying and seemingly originating from the C-Crystal embedded now in her armor's chest plate.
The Westphalian mecha's comrade was turning its frame towards her, its armor piercing cannon mounted over its shoulder as it tried to lock onto her. Yet as the cannon recoiled with a burst of smoke and flash of fire, a huge, armored figure stepped in, his left forearm raised to deflect the strike. "Oh no, you don't!" Charlie roared. "You're not gettin' past me!"
Right as Charlie's right outstretched hand dug deep onto the monocamera mount, Jessica could see Iris's motorcycle mode screaming through, and Charlie's frame knelt down enough to let her use him as an impromptu ramp. Configuring midair, Iris's own automatic fire from her shoulders dug into the mecha's seemingly vulnerable back, along with a few tracers that seemed far brighter than the others. "Charlie, Frankie, now-!" Charlie's other arm slammed into the Westphalian mech, and his servos heaved as he first heaved, then threw the mech into midair. Not very far, but enough for a direct impact from Frankie's energy blast.
"Tornado-!" Jessica took that as her cue, as the turbines on her frame revved up to a fever pitch, and what looked like a swirling storm of wind and electricity focused around her forearm. "-Strike!" With a burst of fire from her engines, her fist crushed into the Westphalian mecha's chest just as Frankie's energy blast began to fade, tearing through already weakened armor. She could see the monoeye's camera flicker and dim as shrapnel and sparks erupted into a million pieces around its torso -
- and she landed heavily right next to Frankie, carving a small furrow into the ground as the mecha exploded behind her, two roughly even halves scattering onto the ground around her. She couldn't help but grin, raising a fist towards Frankie in salute. "Nice shot."
"Nice follow up." Frankie reciprocated by pressing his own fist against hers. He - all of them - felt so much like the Legionnaires, yet also so very not. Even Cavalier, as much as he was growing to love Earth, was approaching it from an outsider's view - but Charlie, Frankie and Iris, and Ichiro, were all born here. And anyone who thinks they don't belong gets a punch in the face, she resolved.
Both she and Frankie turned their attention back to the last remaining mecha, who was already taking steps backwards from suddenly being heavily outnumbered. "Stay-stay back!"
"Not so confident now, are ya?" Frankie called out, the barrel of his launcher already starting to warm up.
"I'll detonate my reactor!" the pilot shrieked. "I'll-!"
He never got to finish his statement, as abruptly its mono camera died out. Followed by a rather sharp blade protruding from behind. "Huh. Looks like the reactor was there." As the mecha collapsed, Valiant stood by, somehow looking nonplussed. "You lot didn't do things by halves, did you?"
"Still appreciate the assist there!" Jessica called back. "Did we find anything?"
Jessica could swear she could see the grimace on Erika's face. "Funny story, that..."
It was almost hilarious how quickly the subdued, and only, surviving pilot transitioned from one stance to another. It started with 'I've got nothing to say to you!' to suddenly 'Anything but that!'
For all their talk about disregarding the Earth Union as weak, no one wanted to mess with Intelligence.
And a cheerful Anna Smith had already locked up the pilot into a secure transport unit. One in which she would be supervising personally.
"All in all, I'm rather pleased with how your operation turned out!" she relayed, somewhat unintelligibly as she chewed around a breakfast sandwich. Pausing to finish her food, she added, "We also don't tend to find living Westphalian agents. Sure, he might not be very far up the food chain, but combined with what you all found out, I think we can squeeze something out of him."
"What about whatever they were trading?" Frankie asked. All three of the siblings were sitting down on the round around the Galahad, consuming their own shards as their breakfast and post-battle rejuvenation. "Think we're going to fight something nasty soon?"
"Soon? Probably not." She glanced over at the wrecked remains of the new Westphalian mechs. "Those aside, I mean. I have a feeling they're going to be rolling out something new soon."
"They weren't all that tough," Jessica commented - at least after she polished off her smoothie. She never knew Valiant's pilot had a drinks bar onboard the Galahad! 'Perks of the job, get them where you can,' was the explanation.
"Just a few of them? Sure. But..." Anna frowned slightly. "We're probably going to see them more in number, not just the hodge podge designs we've been seeing up till now. Those were fine before your boss and friends helped roll out new designs. Now the Westphalians have to up their game."
"Whatever happens," Iris vowed quietly. "We'll be ready for them."
"Damned straight," Charlie agreed, each sibling nodding.
Westphalian wreckage brought back home for analysis. New Engineering Option Unlocked next turn.
"...wait." At everyone's questioning glance, Frankie asked, "Has anyone seen Ocular?"
Considering how it reads like the "circling the wagons" thing was nothing but a decoy the whole time, I'm pretty sure we already found everything there was to find.
But hey- at least we confirmed that Westphalia is working with Sheol and uses submarines?
