Super Robot Quest

Basarin · May 5, 2019

1620, 27 July A.D. 2072
Vicinity of Brest, European District

Ichiro Banner - SAI-01 - is a young mecha. Or a 'local Kaus' if you believed Patch and Cavalier. By human reckoning, he's incredibly young - barely even a year old. By AI standards, he was adjusted enough to have learned a few things here and there, yet wise enough to know he wasn't all-knowing.

For instance: he didn't know why exactly the Intelligence people around him were growing more and more...confused. Concerned. Something along those lines. They'd been putting together a picture of what exactly had been going on beneath their noses, and they clearly were not liking what they saw. What Ichiro did know was that he was relatively happy he didn't know what they were finding in detail. He had one specific job: subdue any trouble that came their way.

Which was probably going to be pretty soon, knowing his luck.

"So!" Ichiro didn't jump - he was in tank mode, idling beneath an alcove concealed in tarp - but he still had no idea how Anna did that. In a huff, the blonde-haired woman sat herself down on a chair next to the idling tank, looking incredibly annoyed. "People were turned, sure enough. Barely any funding in maintaining an old wreck like the Bismarck, so that's easy enough to understand. But they just disappeared."

"As in, thin-air disappeared?" Ichiro asked skeptically.

"Trust me, it makes no sense for us either." Biting down on a sandwich in hand, she angrily chewed before muttering, "Irnmrycycss uvvgtnthn." Vaguely translating from mouthful - "In any case, I've got nothing." Swallowing her food thankfully, she added, "Barring some bullshit new method of travel they have, there should have been no way for anyone to get away, much less a derelict. It's a peninsula, there were no traces of submarines or aerial transport or underground drilltank or anything."

Hearing all this was giving him all the details he was blissfully unaware of before. Ichiro...wasn't fond of that. But for whatever reason, Anna was venting to him. That, and he was mildly concerned that she even was considering underground drilltanks as a viable method - until he remembered that she was talking to a sentient configuring tank. Anything's possible, he guessed. "What, like teleporting?" he asked warily. "Dumb as that sounds, I know."

"Of course not," she scoffed, "Teleporting is-"

Her next words were interrupted as an alert sounded on her phone. "Oh, what now?" she muttered as she pulled out her phone -

-and her face blanched at what she saw.

"What?" Ichiro asked, but before he could say anything further, she wordlessly sent the message straight towards him. A new window opened at the corner of his vision, displaying what looked like a priority transmission:

NOT SIMULATION - THIS IS A PRIORITY ALERT - NOT SIMULATION

-BRK-

SEPARATIST FORCES DETECTED

-BRK-

HEADING - BREST

-BRK-

ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL - SIXTY-FOUR MINUTES

-BRK-

COMPOSITION - APPROXIMATION OF JACKAL CHASSIS, NUMBERS UNDETERMINED AT THIS TIME

NOT SIMULATION - THIS IS A PRIORITY ALERT - NOT SIMULATION

"...okay, then," Ichiro muttered to himself.

"That's it? 'Okay, then?'" Anna parroted. "This is-"

"-what you brought me here for," the tank responded. The engine abruptly flared to life, and the restraints holding the tarp in place began to become undone one by one. "This part's my job, remember?"

It wasn't exactly how he imagined it would go, but Ichiro was ready to do something other than just sit around and do nothing.

1633, 27 July A.D. 2072
<ERROR: LOCALE UNKNOWN>

"Hydraulics check!" The massive frame groaned as the internal systems began to cycle through once more, the gigantic jury-rigged monster shuddering as any final errors were filtered out. The skeletal frame inside belied the hulking, harshly angled behemoth of armored plating presented the outer world, lights bright as mirrors reflecting onto the dulled steel.

"Hydraulics good to go, Bruce!"

"Engine check!" Immediately a dull roar emanated from within the frame. Adding its tortured voice to the hydraulics, it sounded nothing less like an ogre rudely being awakened from a long nap - and wanting to snap the neck of whoever disturbed its slumber.

"Aye, Bruce! Engines warmed up ready and proper!"

"Targeting check!" The bright, white lights of the room found themselves immediately clashing with the dull red glare of the 'head' of the beast - for that was what this thing was, a Beast. The gunner's targeting HUD immediately flared to life - dummy targets, artifacts from its previous foray in the European District, were ruthlessly extinguished as the system parsed through the many false positives and associated weapons groups were properly linked in. Soon, the screen was blank, save for the updated HUD.

"Targeting's a good 'un, Bruce!"

"Hydraulics, Engine, Targeting all checked out! Standing by for final launch!" The chief of the motley crew paused - the bastard from higher wasn't due for a few more minutes, and they had to wait for the bloody Tank-Mobile things to do the initial work. And since they were just waiting while the last of the ammo was loaded up proper..."eh, why not?" he muttered. "Beer check!"

As one, the sound of three beer cans hissing open echoed inside of the Beast's cockpit. "Cheers to Westphalia, lads!" came back the pre-launch toast.

0144, 27 July A.D. 2072
Command Center

The only warning you received that anything was going on on your return trip home was a hurried, terse message from Anna. That something was bearing down on them, likely Separatists, and Ichiro was already rolling out to intercept them.

Because of course this couldn't have waited until things panned out from what you and Sasaki had planned earlier.* It sounded like some sort of copy of the Jackals...which, in a twisted sort of sense, was bringing this whole affair full circle. Callaghan surprised them with the prototype Jackal, and now they were pushing out their responses to it.

Sasaki was already rushing back and forth with Diana, bringing online (and rousing awake) as much information and support as possible, but there was only so much you could do from a continent and an ocean away. There wasn't any chance of sending the Pegasus across in a timely manner, and you doubt that Anna is going to be appreciative of anything more explicit than Ichiro arriving to blow what's left of their cover.

You just had to trust Anna and Ichiro. But that said, there was at least one thing you could do:

[] You immediately reach for the communications frequency of Mander Security Solutions. You're probably jumping a few chains of communication, but this is frankly an emergency - and they did promise support earlier. Let's see if you can't get their support just a little bit sooner, even if you have to barter a favor or two.

[] Reach out to General Li about sending reinforcements. He's close enough that something along the lines of 'Separatist attack' should be within his jurisdiction. There's no guarantee his forces will make it in time, but at least it's something...

HP:
- 16
Heavy Weapons:
- Can mount the basic Heavy Weapons Pack at no cost. Equipping later models will incur an additional RP Cost during deployment.
Arm Cannon:
- Has an arm cannon as part of his chassis. Can make a Heavy Weapon Strike as a free action at Advantage (3d6, Threshold of 5-6, damage depends on package) every three turns.
Strikes:
- Counts as One Action (Notable Bonus may apply).
- Roll 2d6, Threshold of 5-6, inflicts 1 HP on success.
Relentless:
- If about to take a mortal strike, roll 1d6. A 4-6 will negate that damage.
Upgrade Slots:
- 1 (Unslotted at this time)

SAI-01 Ichiro Banner

Actions per Turn:
- 1
Notable Character:
- Can make two attacks per turn at 2d6 for 1 HP each. Counts as a single Action.
Hot Headed:
- Major Devin's calm nature is normally the personality that's reflected. However, this AI understands rage, and tends to bottle it up until he's had enough. Once every three turns, you may activate "Rage." For one turn, the AI will inflict twice as much damage, but also take twice as much incoming damage.

INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME
CLOSEST APPROXIMATION: JACKAL CHASSIS
MORE FORCES POSSIBLY FOLLOWING UP

Not in Person · May 6, 2019

That... Does match the few stereotypes I'm aware of.

Anyway, while people are anticipating some serious action, let me distract you with with bits of background behind the Ground Pound.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"You wanted to see me, General?"

"Sit down and listen, Jenkins".

The office of the United Earth Ground Defence Force general Sukhman Rasheed invoked the image of brisk warmth. Minimal amount of derocations and personal effects reminded any visitors that this was a general of United Earth Defence Force (like so, no abbreviation), and in this office he was Running Things. The few decorations that did have place here were arranged in such a way as if to show that you, dear visitor, would be most warmly welcome here, in the few moments the General can spare for you.

The face and demeanour of the same UEGDF Gen. Sukhman Kapoor invoked the image of protracted annoyance. It was apparent that this particular visitor was definitely not welcome, and the best part of their meeting would be the inevitable end.

"Is this about the prototype?" Asked Jenkins, taking her place. "The improved version is already..."

"Already a disgrace and a disaster. Not to mention a huge disappointment. THAT project is over".

"But the impro..."

"You are listening, Jenkins, and I am talking".

The general glared at his subordinate, and Lenora Jenkins bit off her last sentence. She was a woman visibly below average height, but not yet "short". Her bob-cut hair was mousy in colour, but not yet "gray". Her front teeth were leaning curiously toward her sharp nose, but not so far that we'd call them "buck teeth". She blinked and fidgeted in her chair. The general held the silence for a dozen seconds and continued, much more calmly, but just as annoyed:

"Do you know what this is?"

"This," Jenkins blinked again, studying the offered photo with her dark, intelligent eyes, "This is a giant robot with UEDF insignia cutting off a kaiju's horn with a lightning-charged sword. Over some sort of a fleet facility, I think".

"Absolutely correct. This happened just today. Or yesterday, in whatever time zone".

"Is this the reason you're closing the?.."

"No. No, no, no. The reason I am closing down this project of yours is because all your previous projects brought no result, one way or another. And this one shows all signs of going the same way".

Jenkins fidgeted again, clearly eager to speak out, but held her voice. The general continued, pointing at the photo again.

"And this is the reason why I am not waiting for the disappointing conclusion, but instead giving you a new project. You want a super-weapon? Build me a robot. Any resources you still have, leftover funds, facilities, connections, personnel, everything - switch all of them to this. There should be enough overlap. But Jenkins!" The general lifted his finger menacingly. "If you fail again - and this time in something that was proven to be possible - I will consider your obsession a detriment, and will personally question your competency as anything above Ensign. Dismissed".

The general held out a rather thin folder, which Jenkins immediately snatched, and ignored her parting salute in favour of his paperwork. Out in the hall, Major (for now) Lenora Jenkins took a quick peek at the folder's contents. For a short moment, a victorious smile brightened her eyes, and she walked away, already dialing a number.

Basarin · May 10, 2019

Apologies in advance for this being somewhat short. This is just setup for now. I have guests coming in tonight, so I'll be busy with that till Sunday. That should be enough time to discuss a course of action and vote on it.

1730, 27 July A.D. 2072
Outskirts of Arsenal de Brest

Ichiro was having a strange sense of deja vu.

Here he was, the representative of the DFRI, at a pretty major center of Defense Force power. Alone, he noted as his tank form trundled along the eerily empty thoroughfares not far from a once-bustling Naval Defense Force port, against an enemy of unknown capabilities. Only this time, it was a Separatist threat, not a giant scaly kaiju.

At least the authorities here listened and evacuated everything and everyone to a safe distance. No one wanted to be 'that guy' to recreate the incident at San Diego. It also helped that Anna made some not-so-subtle threats by reminding people about said guy's career path being discussed in a disciplinary tribunal. They became very cooperative after that, even if Ichiro thought it wasn't really needed.

Speaking of the devil, her voice chimed in. "We're clear," she said in an innocent, cheerful voice that certainly couldn't have been involved in mafia-style threats. "Non-essential personnel evacuated, and we have additional security assets mobilizing. But they're going to take a bit. Initial show's all yours, Ichiro."

"Fantastic," he muttered. Any additional mirth was cut off as his HUD alerted him to incoming contacts. The lens on the tank's rangefinder zoomed in, to see multiple dust clouds interspersed with flying chips of gravel growing ever-so-closer. "Confirmed contacts. Multiple, grouped in squads, and..." He paused, as the outlines looked really off. "...yeah, those look like Jackals," he confirmed. "If you gave a Jackal to a a gun and chopshop enthusiast."

None of the Jackal ripoffs looked alike. There was no uniformity with them all - Lieutenant Wilde probably would have compared it to an old post-apocalyptic movie he saw back in the day when everyone - for some strange reason that possibly made sense - did battle in cobbled together cars with highly unlikely weaponry. Sure, these 'cars' looked a bit more modern, but they still felt utterly cobbled together compared to the engineers' work.

Not that it let him doubt their efficiency yet. Before the Beowulf was a thing, the Tank-Mobiles were dangerous after all. "What is this, a mark two?" he muttered.

"Moving Shade teams into the area," Anna confirmed. "I'm also going to try and talk with home station about getting something in here, but you're gonna have to hold them off."

"Right." The roar of a growling engine roused to life echoed all around. "No pressure." Yet Ichiro's subroutines couldn't fight off the grin that was forming on his face. The Westphalians were clearly trying to one-up the constant arms race that was now developing between them and the Institute, especially when their cobbled together black market machines were utterly smashed by the Beowulf.

They wanted to try something new? As the new machines began to close into firing distance, Ichiro knew that he would be more than happy to smack them down.

You half expected to hear a call waiting menu. Seventy plus years after the turn of the century, and automated call menus were still a plague on the world. They were 'sophisticated' nowadays, sure, but you shudder at what the early systems must have been like. Probably fit somewhere in Dante's descriptions of the lower hells, you're sure.

Thankfully, you don't get that. Anna had been thoughtful enough to get you a direct line to Mander himself...not that you would discount that the man would put a call waiting menu on his personal phone anyway. The man was apparently about as eccentric as anyone in the Institute, so you wouldn't-

"If this is another telemarketing scheme, I will accidentally-on-purpose fry your bloody holo," an annoyed voice growled. The wizened old face of a man in his sixties appeared on the screen, a scowl marring the otherwise stern look of someone who subconsciously held himself with military bearing. "...hang on. Unless you lot have been getting remarkably clever, you don't look like a telemarketer."

"What gave it away?" you ask dryly.

"The look of murderous intent on your face when I mentioned 'telemarketer,' for one," came the response.

"Fair." Shaking your head, you introduce yourself. "John Devin, Defense Force. Short notice, Mr. Mander, but we have a situation in France, and we're going to need the Valiant."

"Lots of things happening across the Channel that needs the Valiant's attention," Mander pointed out mildly. "I've got Drake sorting out another issue in France already, and unless I'm off the mark, you know these bloody things damned well need maintenance after you use them. I'm going to need a damned good reason beyond 'bloke in fancy uniform told me so.'" Before you can say anything else, he cuts in, "And it's not funding, we've actually been having a good year - damned shame, really - so I'm going to need a really good reason, and something worthwhile. Hate to haggle while you're dangling over the plank, but I have to be careful with how I commit things, you understand."

You can't even throw any of that back at him. In his shoes, you'd absolutely be doing the same. "Separatist attack notwithstanding," you say slowly, mainly to keep a lid on your patience, "what would it take to get the Valiant on station within the next hour or so?"

"And not at full capacity," Mander adds, "Not without post-battle maintenance, but yes I can rush the lot over. I'm going to want, in writing, a favor from the Research Institute. Because if it's this damned important to make me even consider risking the Valiant to further damage, I want some kind of guarantee from you that I can make good on it. Otherwise I'm afraid we don't have much else to discuss. I'm not risking any nonsense with overloading Dinym Currents, and that's my final word on it."

Well. Worse than you were hoping for, but better than you were worrying about as well.

What's your decision?

[] Accept his offer. You owe one favor to Mander Security Solutions, to be cashed in at a later date. Valiant will arrive anywhere between Turns #6 and #9, to be subject to 1d6 test, and will lend support to Ichiro.

[] Turn down his offer. Ichiro will have to make do without the Valiant's support rushed ahead of time. Valiant unlikely to arrive before the end of battle.

[] Write-In (Subject to QM approval)

Additionally, how will you proceed?

HP:
- 16
Heavy Weapons:
- Can mount the basic Heavy Weapons Pack at no cost. Equipping later models will incur an additional RP Cost during deployment.
Arm Cannon:
- Has an arm cannon as part of his chassis. Can make a Heavy Weapon Strike as a free action at Advantage (3d6, Threshold of 5-6, damage depends on package) every three turns.
Strikes:
- Counts as One Action (Notable Bonus may apply).
- Roll 2d6, Threshold of 5-6, inflicts 1 HP on success.
Relentless:
- If about to take a mortal strike, roll 1d6. A 4-6 will negate that damage.
Upgrade Slots:
- 1 (Unslotted at this time)

SAI-01 Ichiro Banner

Actions per Turn:
- 1
Notable Character:
- Can make two attacks per turn at 2d6 for 1 HP each. Counts as a single Action.
Hot Headed:
- Major Devin's calm nature is normally the personality that's reflected. However, this AI understands rage, and tends to bottle it up until he's had enough. Once every three turns, you may activate "Rage." For one turn, the AI will inflict twice as much damage, but also take twice as much incoming damage.

CLOSEST APPROXIMATION: JACKAL CHASSIS, PENDING EUDF TARGET DESIGNATION
TARGETS: 4, SQUAD SIZE ELEMENTS
HP: UNKNOWN
CAPABILITIES: UNKNOWN
MORE FORCES POSSIBLY FOLLOWING UP

Basarin · Sep 19, 2020

So this idea cropped up as I re-read my own quest. In addition to bringing returning players and potential new ones back up to speed, a primer of sorts would be required. Yet there's more than a few characters whose viewpoint we haven't really seen anything from, let alone explored. This could be a fun way to bring everyone back up to speed on the state of the world as it exists in A.D. 2072.

Let's see if I still remember how to write appropriate to the world we've built together.

????, 30 June, A.D. 2072
<ERROR; LOCALE INVALID>

"I am running out of patience."

Those words, coming from this particular man, would have been enough to send anyone in the movement into a nervous breakdown, and likely fearful for their lives. Such was the mystique of this particular man, that even were you to work for him directly, the states of your well being and your life were not at all guaranteed to be safeguarded. This particular man, who was rumored to have built the movement from the ground up almost by himself. You would serve - or you would simply be ground into dust.

The chamber he sat in was poorly illuminated, only the faint red light of a holographic display highlighting any details of the man at all. The outline of a male in a business suit, hands placed palms-down on a desk, was all that anyone might have glimpsed at - were they to have ever set foot into his sanctum at all. From any other perspective, he might have simply appeared as a man-shaped void in a faint cloud of red light. One would wonder why someone would go to such lengths if he only ever interacted with his subordinates through proxies and wireless communications.

But then one would be questioning the motives of the Red King.

"So you want to blame someone else, hmm?" The grating voice of PJH replied glibly through the holographic display. "We have made quite a few gains as of late, even if very little of it is newsworthy. Yet you want to complain about there nothing to be newsworthy."

"It is not a matter of glory. It is one of optics. Perception." The impromptu 'council of war' reflected back at the man in the display. Still portraits of his various councilors, some valued, and some quite insufferable, stared back at him. "The lack of action leads the public to believe we are losing strength. That we are being defeated - however roundabout the Union wishes to interpret it."

PJH - the war profiteer, and the most insufferable of his advisors, he was regardless one of the men he simply could not dismiss out of hand. As much as he wished it were so - yet everything to the man seemed to be a game, a science experiment. His workshops were too valuable to simply dismiss out of hand - Pak was not his only manufacturer, not in the slightest, but none were quite so prolific as his - and there were fewer bright minds than his, no matter how unhinged his designs proved to be. He doubted that Pak was even his name, likely a nom de guerre - like everyone else's. "No need to be hasty, Koenig," the man replied cheerfully. "You'll be happy to be informed, I'm sure, that I have recently come across some new...stock, shall we say."

"Who did you fleece, Pak?" A harsher voice, one closer in accent to the North American District, chimed in. Burr - another of his representatives - sounded less than impressed. Responsible for operations in the North American District, he was still stinging from the failed attack on New York City - and only stinging, after the lengths he'd gone through to redeem himself in Koenig's eyes. "And how soon can we actually get our hands on these things, whatever they are? Your Tank-Mobiles are being horribly outclassed."

"You're referring to the new hardware the Union is fielding," another voice spoke. Wallace - the commander of the European District - spoke out. Though marginally more successful than Burr's recent efforts as of late, he, like any other in his District, had to contend with Manders' damned infernal machine. "They have started to make their way here, but MSS is still accounting for the bulk of opposition here."

"You'd both be right." A holographic overlay of the piece in question appeared, and Burr's earlier questions were neatly sidestepped. Appearing every bit like a standardized truck fielded by the Union dogs, the video soon played to show it changing before everyone's eyes. "We've recently gotten a hold of one of these remarkable things. The Union has been working on this as early as two years ago, if not even earlier than that."

"The damned Jackals." Burr's tone spoke volumes of what he felt about this recent obstacle. "If any of you run into these things, do not underestimate them. They look comical, but they are far deadlier than you'd expect." Additional videos of the Jackals attacking Tank-Mobile formations uploaded to the conference. The Red King watched impassively as a trio of the new machines simply rushed alongside the formation, configuring and conducting slashing attacks while whittling down the formation's numbers. "They're fast, and they can navigate terrain like nothing else. But if you can hurt them, they will not last long."

"So they are," PJH agreed. "Aside from...unique designs, there is no wonder technology in these models that I was able to find. If the Union has something so utterly revolutionary, they are playing it quite close to the chest." Another image, this one of a giant brute of a robot fighting a kaiju in the ruined harbors of San Diego, uploaded as well. Koenig's hand tightened into a frustrated grip - it was an investment that sadly fell short of what was promised, even if some secondary goals had been met. "If they're in anything, it would be in that." There were murmurs between the various commanders, those of concern and consternation - no one had believed the Union capable of making anything like that.

"What of the new battle tank designs?" Wallace demanded. What looked to be simple main battle tanks were slowly shifting into robotic forms just like the Jackals. "It used to be that the Walkers could deal with armored formations. This is not something so easily dealt with-" Footage of anti-armor teams firing rockets from windows in enclosed spaces were shown. The lead robot staggered as rockets collided with its back, with more than a few explosions rocketing along the head unit. Yet in reply, the one behind it slammed its arm mounted cannon into the apartment, not even bothering to fire the weapon - the building's face simply collapsed from the kinetic force. "-and there's few options for dealing with them effectively."

"As it turns out, I am working on those as we speak," PJH replied - sounding more than a little smug. The images of various blueprints began to display onscreen, displacing all previous footage or images thus far. "The Tank-Mobiles have served their purpose, but I agree that they will no longer be enough by themselves. And the walkers having proven their worth, I feel it is time to escalate. Standardize what we have across the world."

"Pak speaks the truth." As much as it pained Koenig to admit it, from a logical standpoint he was right. "What existed before served us well early in our struggle against the usurpers. What was produced was not only sufficient, but effective, against the Union's hardware, even if it was a result of the ad hoc circumstances surrounding it." He chose to ignore Pak's sniff of annoyance at that remark. "But it is now clear that the Union is determined to crush the world beneath its grip. New designs will be ready for fielding soon. But until then."

The image of Valiant appeared. This damned thing - Mander's little pet project from so long ago. "Wallace, renew your efforts," he said quietly. "This pest must be defeated once and for all."

"I have something coming for that," the commander assured him. "Worry not, lord."

"Burr - " The image once again of the Union...'Super Robot' appeared. He grimaced - the term alone left a bad taste in his mouth. " - we must discover where this is coming from. Will you be ready to renew your investigation of Morrison?"

"I'm not confident after what happened to Warlord." The air around Koenig practically chilled from mention of that name alone. But before he could dig himself any further, Burr added, "But I will look into it. I have very few operatives who could hold a candle to him, though."

"You will have someone," Koenig 'assured' him. "And he will make sure you are on track for this task." Dismissing him, he continued to give orders. "Long, you will..."

The meeting soon cleared out, the holographic display quietened - even PJH eventually finished and left. But a moment later, a faint shadow materialized before the Red King. "The Super Robot." It was not a question - it was a statement of fact.

"Yes. You will make sure that Burr does not become...distracted again."

"As you will." The shadow passed - as if it were never there at all.

The lights dimmed, their purpose served...at least until the next strike. Their enemies would feel the blow, their ultimate prize from the next great operation attained.

Westphalia would not be denied.

Basarin · Sep 20, 2020

Here is another one. This one should serve as a decent recap and overview for the Free Brothers. With one in particular.

"I always did appreciate this ship." His off-handed comment was met with cool silence. "Oh, don't give me that," he chuckled. "I know it and you are effectively one and the same, anyhow." He leaned back against the throne of the repurposed bridge. "I also enjoyed the redecoration process. After the malcontents simply left as ungraciously as they did...well." Solaris - or rather, the Sun as the humans insisted on calling it - shone brightly, a single bright fixture in a sea of smaller pinprick stars. The light broke apart and reasserted itself constantly in the sea of asteroids that continuously flowed past the bridge.

This was all quite lovely, at least if his optics were online. He would just have to take the systems' word for it, at least until that particular functionality was reinstalled, within a few moments. The occasional thud of the odd meteor that bounced along the hull, combined with the thrum and subtle energy of the shard generators beneath, and the occasional digitized scream of the most recent defective - all calming, soothing music to his ears.

Just as well. It wasn't as if he could simply stand up at the moment anyhow. Before his eyes, manipulator arms from around the throne were busy reassembling the skeletal fragments of what had once been his arm. Sharp pricks and stabs of energy emerged from each spark, his skeletal fingers twitching involuntarily even as zirvitium plating encased them. More and more plates were slowly creeping up with the manipulators' efforts, along with more components that most Kaus simply never had the need to apply. Yet this quaint little planet has been full of surprises. And all the riches of a sector, he added mentally, all for me.

"...you're normally not this quiet, Chimaira," he commented. "What are you processing?"

A great many things, Tyrannous.

The Kaus in question chuckled. "Such as?" he prodded, even as his shoulder pauldron was removed. The surgery was not exactly delicate, but it wasn't anything that Bandit or the others haven't been through already. They of course either had far more screaming, or were simply offline for it - the criminal mastermind gave no such reaction even as parts were forcefully removed.

The prior two rotations around the primary. The Oracle's voice both was overwhelming to most Kaus at times, yet incredibly soft spoken. Yet it never lost the sense of menace to most, especially when the intelligence behind it could simply render any uppity voice silent. The law enforcement mechs, Chimaira continued. Despite the flat, monotone delivery of her voice, it somehow conveyed the sensation of irritation. And the indigenous life forms on this backwards world.

"Not particularly backwards for long, I notice," Tyrannous pointed out. He paused, only long enough for his optics to flare to life upon reinstallation. The rest of the face would follow soon enough. "I would not be sitting here if it weren't for their advancements," he added as the optical cameras flared a dull, icy blue, even as the faceplate soon covered the scarred internal mechanisms that once was his mouth. The camera rendered through its diagnostics as he took in the sight of the bridge. Cold and dark and quiet, just as he wished it to be.

Configuration. A still image of the first piece of human machinery Bandit had secured imposed itself over the HUD still going through diagnostics. The liquid-splattered remains of the lifeform piloting it was still apparent, even as Drones were pressure washing it clean. The indigenous refer to this process as Configuration-

"Yes, yes, I know," Tyrannous said, a slight edge of irritation creeping into his own voice.

-and they have continued to refine it, Chimaira continued. She knew when to get on with it, at least, though being the controlling intelligence of the Belligerent gave her far more leeway than any other Free Brother intelligence. Additional images of human Aeros configuring into vaguely humanoid shapes as they soared through the skies, only to land heavily onto building roofs whilst firing weapons at their opposite numbers in the streets below. Strange two-wheeled contraptions abruptly configuring into humanoid shapes whilst their wheels continued to provide momentum and movement, darting around much larger foes while larger gun platform configurations blithely marched forward, arm cannons firing relentlessly. I have reason to calculate that the Legion has begun accelerating their acquisition of this technology as well.

"I noticed," Tyrannous responded dryly even as the rest of his head was finally slammed back into place. He took the time to stretch his neck, heedless of the fact that his chest remained mostly exposed to the vacuum of the bridge. "Not a single one of us held even the alternate forms from back in Mekaen." A holographic display - a proper one this time as his optics rendered it in front of his head - recollected the rather spectacular duel he and Galbinus had held over the human-built dam. Their continued encounters at the human-built refineries. Those were good times, and he quite looked forward to more of those.

Especially when he next met the law mech and crushed his processor into component scrap parts before his optics. Preferably without some human warform interfering, but one thing at a time, of course. He'd happily crush the sloshing little sacks of flesh along with Galbinus's processor.

"Have you located the Legion's new hole in the dirt?" he asked.

I have not. For the first time, what felt like a spark of anger rippled slightly in Tyrannous's processors. His optics dimmed slightly in curiosity - there were very few times when he felt such strong sympathetic reactions from the ship's Oracle. The indigenous Oracle Matrix is quite resistant to my efforts.

Both arms' plating were slammed into place - Tyrannous's hands clasped together beneath his chin as the manipulators finalized the chest compartment and the rotor blades. "Resisting you? Clearly the humans' knowledge of electronics is more advanced than we gave credit for," he mused. There was no sense in taking his anger out on her - it served no purpose. He could just as readily do that with a batch of drones, or even whoever was supposed to come ask him for some favor next. "What would you need to overcome this?"

Physical. Access.

"Bandit was on a search job for Galbinus's new location," Tyrannous pondered. "The Metatrine's Shield should be simpler to locate. Why has he failed?"

Interference. Countermeasures along great distances confound sensors. A topographical scan of one of the larger continents - 'Northern Merica' or some such nonsense - followed by a color coded highlight of the western coast. Indigenous security substantial. Would require conventional assault to allow a team to operate efficiently.

"Hmph." The chest plate finally slapped into place, and all restraints holding Tyrannous in place released its hold on him. He stood to his full height, the strange new additions to his shoulders and his chest taking some adjustment to. "I require courses of action, Chimaira," he demanded as he strode to the central portion of the bridge. Various pieces of wreckage - the former luckless Drones that had the misfortune to displease him in some way, surely deservedly if he could be bothered to load the memories - were kicked aside, if they were not already impaled or hanging from the ceiling. Each footstep of the master of the Belligerent echoed loudly, a sure signal to Rangefinder that he was ready to receive audiences crawling for his attention.

Committing Kaus for frontal assault...not advised. The Oracle then paused, a clear sign of it processing something. ...perhaps other indigenous...

If anyone could see beneath the faceplate, a cruel smile formed along what remained of Tyrannous's mouth. "Make it so then. Send in my next victim."

Basarin · Sep 27, 2020

For this one, have a more generalized lore dump. A bit more on the Day of Starfall, the academic disgrace of both Yukimura and Sheol (with how controversial even that was), and the germ of the idea that started Mander Security Solutions.

Also, I think I have enough to go off of that I can likely start on or around next weekend. My job's been merciless lately, so don't hold me to that. But also do expect a somewhat slower update schedule.

Editorial: Terrorist Attacks on Military Installations - Death Tolls Incalculable

...in a shockingly callous disregard of human life, and towards aims that are inscrutable to observers, five military orbital installations were forcibly taken over earlier this morning. These installations belonging to the permanent member states of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, the United Kingdom, the French Republic, the People's Republic of China, and the Russian Federation - all held orbital reentry capable shuttles, equipment that is strictly controlled for fear of disastrous terrestrial collision.

That is precisely what took place, as the resulting destruction was deliberately wrought by the as of yet unidentified terrorist operatives. It was like the sky was literally falling on our heads, in the form of disintegrating military grade shuttles that did not have the grace to break apart harmlessly before slamming into the earth like a giant had slammed his foot down.

It is difficult to maintain journalistic objectivity in the face of what took place. Undoubtedly those reading this have witnessed this first hand, and have felt the pain or know someone who is suffering. Seattle, Sydney, Macao, St. Petersburg, Marseilles. Each and every city has an ugly, charcoal-like gouge that plowed straight through commercial and residential buildings alike. Millions are at least dead. Millions more are likely not far behind them.

My editor is urging me even as I type this to take some time to collect my thoughts. I cannot. I know this is being badly typed. I know that my words are likely not being conveyed with the force that they should. I am just asking:

Why?

Why was this allowed to happen? Why were strategic military assets allowed to fall into these monsters' hands? Why were millions - if not billions - of people allowed to pay for our leaders' hubris?

And why are they not already falling over themselves to prevent this from happening again? What is stopping the rest of the orbital fleets from destroying what was missed?

...<there is a tear in the newspaper clipping, only followed by the ending statement hastily taped onto the original article>...unless there is a union of the greats to truly live up to the promise of collective security from the twentieth century, I fear we are not long for this world.

[Brian Peters, writing from Sydney, Australia]

[Editorial] Academic Board of 2056 Ridicules Candidates - A Worrying Trend

...The academic review board unanimously turned down two candidates for funding and project expansion earlier this week. Doctors Rin Yukimura and George Sheol both presented their project outlines to the Union Academic Review Board of the North American District, both with wildly differing ends. To the average person, both seem wildly fantastical - a perception that clearly was matched with the academic worthies of the board.

It is the stuff of near future and science fiction novellas, to be sure. Dr. Yukimura's thesis presented the idea of the 'Aeon Particle Theorem.' To put it plainly, lingering minute concentrations of a previously unidentified energy source dating back to the meteor that rendered the dinosaurs extinct are still present today. Supposedly leaking from a parallel universe in incredibly small amounts, Dr. Yukimura posits that strategically placed energy facilities could serve as an alternative power source.

Dr. Sheol's presentation, on the other hand, was drastically different - he proposed a trial run on genetic alteration. It was nothing short of attempting to map - then completely rewrite - an individual's genetic code, all in the name of adapting them to a given profession in life. Yet he went one step further, proposing that the more 'unsavory and criminal elements of society' could have their more aggressive impulses removed. Failing that, he argued that their bodies post lobotomization could be put to better use 'for the rest of productive society.'

The merits of each argument aside, what was unprecedented was the reaction of the review board - they openly laughed at, then mocked each presenter. Now, I grant you, I would have a hard time believing them too - but keep in mind, each presentation had to be vetted by other verified academics of their field prior to even making it to the board. To simply ridicule and deride an academic theory like this openly strikes me more like a milder version of the Pope demanding Copernicus retracting his idea that the world was round, just with slightly less burning at the stake.

Yet at the same time, it is that same vetting process that worries me about Dr. Sheol's arguments. If he forged his prerequisites, then fine. But did no one at least question the language of his proposal? That someone of his character...<the rest of the article is torn away, missing from the scrapbook>

Missed Opportunity? Retired Officer Speaks Out Against Lack of Action

"We could have done more," said Captain (Retired) Charles Mander. With separatist attacks increasing in the European District in recent years, there has been a clamor for a dedicated task force of some description to fight the growing anti-Union forces. Those suspected of harboring old-world nationalist loyalties have launched increasing numbers of attacks on political and military targets, but have also shown themselves to be indiscriminate with their attacks against citizens and noncombatant targets. These targets include schools, police and firefighting departments, and in one instance a hospital. (It should be noted that a separatist propaganda video blamed the hospital attack on Defense Force actions, a claim that has been promptly denied by EUDF spokespersons)

When asked why no further action has likely been taken, Captain Mander replied that bureaucratic delays have effectively killed the idea before any action could be taken on it. "The longer they dither, the more likely two courses of action are going to occur," he claimed. "One: there will be such a big attack by the separatists that the task force is going to happen on someone else's terms, not the Defense Force's. Two: a task force dedicated for fighting the separatists is going to come about as a privately funded and operated affair operating under Official Charter rules."

When asked if this was a statement, Captain Mander declined to comment. "Just don't be surprised if it happens one way or another," he opted to repeat instead.

Louis Peters exhaled sharply as she glanced over the scrapbook once again. It was a practice she'd adopted since her sorry career had begun at all - nevermind the fact that these were available in the digital archives. Those could be altered, if one was dastardly enough to consider such a course of action. But old newspaper clippings - a rarer and rare thing these days - what was printed could not be so easily altered. Yellow and faded with age, yet their messages were still as clear as day.

The Earth Union wasn't perfect. Not by a long shot - these articles, among many, many others still hidden in the book thicker than old photo albums, had plenty of others. Yet more...positive ones were beginning to make their way inside. Even tinged with a bittersweet note, the image of the Timberwolf fighting against the Dragon in the ruined harbor was a cautiously optimistic one.

Defense Force Super Robot Revealed - Triumphs Against Kaiju

She closed the book, before tucking it away in the safe she stored it in. Just before she slammed the safe shut, her eyes fell upon another display inside. An old badge, from an allegiance she never wanted. Still staring at her mockingly, as if asking if she would return to that cause.

"Certainly not," she responded, to no one in particular as she slammed the safe shut.

Basarin · Sep 29, 2020

huhYeahGoodPoint said:
That's who our endgame antagonist pretty much has to be.

Can't confirm or deny just yet. All I'll say is that I have some twists yet to come - please stay tuned.

HeavyBane said:
Or it would, if the setting wasn't less optimistic and chill.

Yeah, I pretty much always wanted to set about this quest with the tone of the more optimistic Super Robot anime and old Saturday morning cartoons.

Speaking of which, this next post is going to be slightly different in tone. I'm...not too sure what possessed me to write this, but here we are.

Studio Velocity

Though Studio Velocity is known for a fair few works across varying genres, it has carved a small niche for itself in the mecha genre. This has happened almost entirely by accident - a few series have appeared as homages of other genre greats as cameos in other series they produced, only for fan feedback towards those shout outs to be more positive than anticipated. It would be some years after the fact, however, before Studio Velocity was then allowed to produce an original video adaptation (OVA) of some of the more popular of the tribute series. Studio Velocity is also known for having some of their works share an overarching world, with more than a few nods to their other works, and their mecha OVAs have shared this trait as well - though the following series may have emerged originally as amusing background material, they too are simply shown as a part of the wider world on the other end.

The following series proved popular enough with the Studio's fans to warrant their own breakout productions.

The Mighty Mercury V

Most fans will fully admit this is a loving tribute to Go Nagai's Mazinger Z and its spinoffs. The setup is incredibly similar as well - the disgraced scientist Dr. George Sheol wages war with biologically constructed kaiju monsters (themselves a tribute to works such as Godzilla and Pacific Rim) to conquer the world. In response, Dr. Yukimura Rin unveils his life's work and his greatest weapon in defense of humanity, piloted by the delinquent university student Matsumoto Hiroki - Mercury V. Launching their counter attacks from their research base at Kyoto, Mercury V is depicted as a large, black mechanical giant that is incredibly durable, often suffering plenty of crippling attacks from the kaiju of the given episode yet able to power through and defeat the monsters in the end.

Mercury's appearance and presentation are also deliberate shout outs to Mazinger Z. A black clad giant with silver limbs and joints, the face and cockpit unit are also a fighter jet, the Falcon Mobile, which Hiroki pilots onto after the main unit's emergence from an artificial lake. With the ability to fire rocket-powered fists connected by chains, Mercury furthers its nod to Mazinger as its primary abilities are based off of ice and cryogenic powers as opposed to the Photon Engine.

Where Mercury V differs slightly from Mazinger is an almost slice of life approach to the consequences of Hiroki's and Rin's actions. Much of the series focuses on the character dynamics between the two, and the various support cast that naturally fall into their orbit - from the military liaison (and vaguely hinted at romantic interest to Hiroki) Hamakawa Keiko, to the strange government agent who refers to himself as Wallflower (and who is shown as knowing far more than he lets on), one of the core dynamics is that of Hiroki and Rin as their different styles clash and mesh together throughout the course of the OVA. Of particular note, however, is how Studio Velocity does not shy away from depicting the horrifying results of Sheol's madness. From the raw damage caused by his attacks in urban cities, to the victims of his 'experimentation,' Hiroki and Rin (a former colleague of Sheol's) are often shown coping differently with the results of Sheol's labors - whereas Hiroki throws himself even further into his role as guardian and pilot, risking pushing himself too far, Rin broods, isolates himself and risks losing his connection with his close friends and loved ones as he manically focuses on improving Mercury for the final confrontation.

Mercury V is fondly remembered by its fans, and though no follow up production has come in recent years, many remain hopeful.

Thunder Knight Valiant

Whereas Mercury V's influence is easily identifiable, Valiant takes inspiration from other sources. In the future of A.D. 2070, a world government reigns, but is violently contested by the sinister Westphalian Independence Movement. In response to the bloodthirsty methods and attacks on innocent lives, Charles Mander, a retired military officer, gathers together the brightest - and most eccentric - minds to create the Valiant. Erika Arthur Drake, a wealthy heiress, investor in the Valiant and victim of Westphalian aggression, becomes the face of Mander Security Solution as she pilots the small and nimble Valiant with aplomb. Assisted by her faithful servant Patrick, and backed by the brilliant (if odd) minds of MSS, the Valiant fights against the increasingly indiscriminate forces of Westphalia.

Something of a departure from Studio Velocity's style, Valiant is often portrayed as much of a police story as it is of giant robots fighting one another. Though Westphalia are depicted as the villains, more than a few of their agents in Erika's investigations are shown a human side with good (if not completely justifiable) reasons for taking on the flag of rebellion. Even as Erika and the Valiant break up outright military assaults on cities, there is a recurring theme of duty and sacrifice to a cause or dream. As much as Erika and MSS are devoted to maintaining the peace of the world government, just as many from the Westphalians - particularly the enigmatic Red King and his cohorts - are fully prepared to sacrifice their lives and livelihoods to topple the government they see as the obstacle to their hearts' desires, some with more noble goals than others. Mander is shown to have lost more than a few friends and much of his fortune in his quest to create the Valiant, and Erika is repeatedly shown what she stands to lose before she realizes what she truly has beyond her wealth and her desire for revenge.

The mecha itself is not particularly tall - in fact, the majority of its opposition dwarfs Erika's steed, with each battlefield taking on a David and Goliath tone. Most of the episodes are depicted in continental Europe, with quite a few episodes shown in London in particular. The combat scenes are well drawn and animated, with urban combat - and aggressive urban renovation - shown in all its horrible glory, but also allowing the Valiant's nimble combat style to truly shine. Speaking of Valiant's combat style, it very much pays homage to Steel Jeeg, where the entire mecha is held together by Dinym Currents, granting Valiant an incredibly light amount of mass and a unique ability to absorb damage and readjust its combat style on the fly. Standout moments of this in action includes losing all of Valiant's limbs, only for Erika to deactivate all of Valiant - and then reassemble midflight from parts launched by Patrick's support vehicle, all whilst using its old limbs as improvised projectiles and restraints.

Though Valiant was somewhat more niche, it still holds a respectable place in fans' memories to this day.

Legio Galbinus

Perhaps the most 'out there' of Studio Velocity's mecha productions, Legio Galbinus is a shout out to the Transformers (particularly Generation One). The show depicts two warring factions of the Kausen, a mechanical race of humanoid mecha from Mekaen whose struggles have brought them to Earth after a mysterious collision midflight. Between the titular Legio Galbinus and the criminal Free Brothers syndicate, the technologically advanced Kausen wage war whilst humanity desperately attempts to adapt to their new neighbors. Hinted to be in the same universe as Mercury V and Valiant, the Earth Union world government is shown attempting to liaise with the law enforcement faction of the Legion whilst criminal (and hinted to have Westphalian ties) groups try to cut a deal with the Free Brothers.

The show is slightly unique in that despite being tributes to Cybertronians, none of the characters from either faction actually transform. In fact, the show takes on a more science fiction angle, showing both the Free Brothers and the Legion attempting to adapt to the world they crashlanded on whilst continuing their struggle - bartering or outright stealing energy to serve as food and currency, attempting diplomacy to prevent antagonizing the local governments, and overall showing humanity primarily through their own eyes. Memorable moments include Kaus on both sides attempting to interface with the internet (and being horrified by it), trying to understand human customs (only to realize one custom was no good elsewhere), attempting to order oil or processed energy at a drive-thru, and more. A few human recurring characters appear - from the young Jessica Satsuma of the Defense Force, to the mysterious agent Anna Smith, and the scheming and villainous PJH who wishes to reverse engineer Kausen technology and make a profit out of it. The humans are also depicted as, if technologically behind the Kausen, actively working to level the playing field through the efforts of the hinted-at 'Research Institute,' lending another desperate layer for both sides to achieve some form of victory before the locals begin to outgun them.

The stars of the show, however, are the Kaus themselves. And none more so than Galbinus-R and Tyrannous. Though the show depicts a memorable cast of characters - the brash and idealistic Cavalier, the cheerful yet scheming Bandit, among others - the majority of the show revolves around the shared history and conflict of the respective leaders as they plan and plot against each other in the strange backwards world known as Earth. Each leader has their own nuances as well - Galbinus is dedicated to his duties of bringing Tyrannous to justice and bringing his soldiers home, but is absolutely weary after decades of service. Tyrannous appears to be a straightforward crime leader who wishes to simply plunder the primitives, but the viewers are never entirely shown what he is thinking or what his ultimate aims are.

The show ended on a cliffhanger, and the series has yet to be resolved. But the creators hinted that a continuation - possibly by another animation series, but potentially through an original video game title - is in the works...

Basarin · Oct 13, 2020

This last weekend had additional work at the job to get through. But I'm still set on getting things started, so for now, have this. I'm not too sure on this one, but I will need a bit more time to get the proper start set up. Hope you enjoy.

Also, @Absoloot, welcome aboard. Hope you enjoy!

Super Robot Defense Corps
Initial Impressions on a Love Letter to Studio Velocity and the Super Robot Genre

For full disclosure, I do not regularly watch anime. At least, not nowadays - I have fond memories of some of the older shows. The Slayers (and the protagonist's cheerful disregard for collateral damage), Patlabor, Macross (at least through the Robotech lens) and Mobile Suit Gundam (if you ask which one, the answer is yes). Most of this list is indeed of the giant robot genre, but I never really gave much thought about some of the more bombastic series. And by bombastic, I mean everything from the shonen-style hotblooded fight sequences, to dialogue worthy of a Silver Age comic book. I've never seen the likes of Mazinger Z or Transformers (I already see a bunch of you furiously typing your comments now for my heresy).

I suppose this helps me come at this without any particular biases aside from a vague sense of bemusement. Because this is not at all what I was expecting.

In the same fashion as Super Robot Taisen, here comes along Super Robot Defense Corps, a game set in the shared universe of some of Studio Velocity's own giant robot anime. Particularly, the homage series of Mercury V, Valiant and Legio Galbinus are brought together in what has been confirmed by the developers to be officially a canon storyline continuation, with each series' events intermingling with one another while connected with original viewpoint characters. Fans of each series will already have identified that the 'originals' have technically already existed in-universe and are being expanded on.

To its credit, the game does recognize that while it's aimed at fans of the series, not everyone will have seen all of them or any of them at all. So there is a prologue campaign of sorts that doubles as a tutorial. Having played a few different versions as the developers were figuring out what exactly they wanted the game to be, it's a little too soon to tell how the rest of the campaign proper will play out. But the prologue's writing does a decent job of bringing people up to speed on the goings on of the other series involved. The players assume the role of the Defense Force Research Institute (DFRI), a group that was hinted at in Legio Galbinus, and while they're introduced to the protagonists of the Legion, Mercury V and Valiant, they don't dominate center stage (even if they're a large presence in the background early on). This does give some of the side characters of the other series a bit more spotlight time, though admittedly the characters of Legio loom larger due to their closer connection in canon.

Either that, or the writers have an unstated favorite series of the lot of them. The mech designs for the original cast, starting with the Beowulf and its upgraded forms to the hinted at Perseus and Seeker, all hew closely to the Legion's Kausen characters. What I find interesting is that the developers - presumably with Studio Velocity's blessings - took the long-bandied fan comparison to the Transformers franchise to its logical conclusion, and the original mech designs have begun to bleed into the Legion and Free Brother ranks. Given that the studio's stance on the game is that it is fully canon, that could be interesting for future installments.

The prologue alone also comes with plenty of original animation, with quite a bit serving as almost original episodes for Legio. The cliffhanger from that series was resolved with the rather explosive introduction of the original characters for the game, while also serving as a mission to introduce the players to higher level opponent (with some rather memorable moments if the players hit the right triggers). I think the balance was a bit skewed, but I understand the devs are still toying with balance even now.

All in all, the game seems relatively promising. The full release is coming soon.

Comments

- he's skipping out on a lot of details

- Yeah, like how about how the original cast are all nuts?

- You have two mad geniuses who make the robot frames, you have not!Aperture Science reverse engineering the kaiju from Mercury V, another mad scientist studying an alien crystal that may turn someone into a magical girl with a giant robot, another engineer who accidentally-on-purpose made sentient AI and one commander who drinks himself to death with coffee instead of booze. Yeah, tone of this is definitely more lighthearted than the others

- u forgot the otaku tactical officer

- wat no science?

- I think you mean SCIENCE

- i like how they don't actually describe the gameplay

- It's kinda hard to define and the devs keep changing the system

- Disappointed that they left out the helicopter that can parry missiles or the main mech doing a backbreaker on a dragon kaiju

- wait wat

- Yeah, Warlord has a chance to simply parry any attack. That includes missiles from the support. It looks really silly but by the game logic he parried all of it

- kinda want to see that animated

- the dock fight was bs, i had no idea kaiju was going to just ignore me. lost points for that, grr

- For anyone who gets to the first boss fight in the prologue, drop a save before you finish off bandit. at low hp the melee attack has a chance to do wrestling moves on him, and he has unique dialogue for it happening

- not really dialogue, just variations of 'oh crap!' but it does look amazing

- SUPLEX

- if bandit doesn't try repaying that in future i will be sad

- I just wanna see Tyrannous on display. he'd be a wicked boss fight

Basarin · Oct 16, 2020

@codeRR, @Absoloot, you're both fairly spot on. I agree that the definitions kept changing - not a good thing. My only explanation is that I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with SRQ. I had a very vague idea of it going in, mostly because I wanted to jump right into the deep end and write about super robots. That mentality probably didn't help the stability of the quest, and having re-read it myself a few times there are still parts of the quest I feel I could have definitely done better in.

The hiatus has done some good for me in that I have a much firmer idea of what I want to do, and I've taken some time committing thought to paper on how to make this work. Is it going to work?

Well, I have no idea. I hope you'll all keep providing feedback if I'm doing something really silly (or on the off chance I'm doing alright).

0950, 24 May A.D. 2072
Vicinity of Brest, European District

"...and in sum, we'll treat this as a standard investigation," Anna finished. Inside of the requisitioned Shade modified as an impromptu command vehicle, the agent stood hunched over a mobile holographic display propped onto a few stools, the three-dimensional image canted at a slight angle as a result. A few of the other agents' portraits - mostly grayed out for security purposes - were on display, each portrait attached with a red line to specific areas. "Fan out, find out anything we can get our hands on. Schedules, record logs and timestamps, even rumors or strange sightings would help."

"And the wreckage?" one of them asked, the voice filtered through modulating static.

"I somehow doubt they were able to smuggle an entire shipwreck out of the ocean's depths without drawing some kind of attention," Anna said with a dry tone. "But since everyone's been cagey with us about it, it's probably something good. If you find something, let me know." She glanced at her watch, before nodding to herself. "Next check in is same time tomorrow morning, audio only. Good hunting everyone!"

With that, Anna slapped down on the console, disconnecting the call - and sending the entire console flipping head over teakettle onto the floor, the three dimensional rendering of the area sent flying in all sorts of interesting angles. By the time Anna was able to turn that off, her face red with embarrassment, it seemed as if someone had decided they were tired of the Continent and had just tableflipped it in one whole go.

"Really glad no one saw that," she muttered to herself.

"I did-"

"Shut up, you don't count." She glared at the tarp covered mass just outside the doors - she could swear that the smug bastard underneath was smirking at her. Shaking away the odd lock of blonde hair covering her face, she pointed an accusing finger at the mass hidden beneath. "And you don't share video of that anywhere - I know where you and your dad live."

"Not deleting it, though," Ichiro replied, the same tone of amusement filtering through his voice. Despite her annoyance, Anna couldn't help but smirk, the idea that the very first Super Artificial Intelligence battle platform was developing a mischievous streak. Devin's going to hate this, she thought. Said thought did absolutely nothing to dissuade her from encouraging this behavior outright. "Still, was it really necessary to bring me out here? I don't have muscle tissue or anything, but-" The engine block gave out a small huff, a simple revving up before calming back down to idling, "-even I'm starting to feel a little cramped in here."

"You're here in case it's a Separatist plot," Anna pointed out. Putting the holographic display back onto its charge port along the Shade's wall, she pulled out a keyboard from the wall beneath the charge port, the tablet shifting to a conventional - and slightly oldschool - display monitor. "Once we start narrowing things down and tighten the noose, we'll eventually kick open a hornet's nest. Then you can put all that firepower to good use."

"Won't they be expecting something like me, though?" With the display up and running, Ichiro was able to simply tap into the local - and isolated - network, his portrait showing on the corner of the screen. His face very much reminded Anna of the Kausen from the Legion - metallic, yet clearly a face that could produce expressions despite their metallic natures. Granted, the fact that his eyes were a glowing purple was a little offputting, but she knew that like the other AI personalities in the Institute, his was based on an individual - Major Johnathan Devin's, to be specific. That meant that he was a fairly decent sort, who had a deep well of patience despite wishing that he didn't - the only difference she could notice so far was that he usually vented his frustrations through means that weren't caffeinated. So far, anyway.

"Sort of, but not really." As Anna continued to type, her fingers rapidly tapping against the keyboard as she sorted incoming reports into respective folders to make sense of them later, she pointed out, "Ever since the Institute's made their big splash, it's public knowledge now that there's basically transforming robots in the Defense Force. The Jackals are kinda old news, the Centurions are making Westphalians come up with new curse words until they make a counter for them, and the Phalanxes are just being rolled out to line units." She shrugged, highlighting a specific report of suspicious activity logs for analysis at a much sooner time - important, but not quite urgent just yet. "They'd treat you as dangerous, but a tank turning into a robot isn't unheard of anymore."

"And all that from Rich taking a prototype kiling a dragon-type kaiju in San Diego," Ichiro commented dryly. "Still wish I was there for it, though."

"Don't let him hear you say that about the Beowulf," Anna chuckled. She knew how defensive the rising star in the DFRI was of his mecha, though he'd admittedly earned the right. "He's a first in a lot of ways, you know? First to fight off a Kausen, took down the Warlord plus crew-" She winced slightly, just relieved that that sneaky bastard was too dead to cause anymore trouble, "-and took down a kaiju and made you all famous."

"Kinda surprised it hasn't gone to his head," Ichiro grumbled, "but then again he's too humble for that sort of thing. Glad for him, I really am. But I wouldn't mind at least some action, if just so Galbinus can stop pestering me about 'getting me ready for a real fight.'"

"Oh yeah, how'd the last spar go-?"

"I'd rather fight five Cavaliers with one arm behind my back and an excavator shovel."

1312, 27 May A.D. 2072
Vicinity of Brest, European District

"What do you mean the Bismarck is gone!?"

Ichiro sighed. Be careful what you wish for, huh?

1641, 27 July A.D. 2072
<ERROR: LOCALE UNKNOWN>

"Gentlemen." The individual known as 'Wallace' stared at each screen, his face concealed by a face mask and a pair of heavily tinted goggles. It was not the ideal choice of disguise, but to remain static in appearance and location was death. His namesake had learnt that lesson the hard way, and plenty of would-be freedom fighters were all too proud to proclaim themselves as symbols. Easily identifiable symbols. Easily identifiable symbols that could be shot, or just have the cities they happened to be in simply saturated with bombardment. Wallace wasn't much for history, but if the Unification Wars taught anything, it was that. "I have received your reports, and I am pleased to see everything is in as good working order under the circumstances. I know these machines are untested - and for those of you in the old reliables, these new weapons are odd. But they will pave the way for even better designs - resistance should be light, but even if the oppressors put up a stiff fight, consider this a test. Give them a bloody nose. Wallace out."

As he disconnected the call, each screen showed what he already knew. Koenig, and by extension PJH, had been good to their word. The strange new contraptions that they were aping the new Jackal frames that Burr so loathed all showed readiness on their displays. PJH had (in his caustic, unhelpful way) reminded him that these were prototypes and concept frames 'not representative of the final product,' but they were all that were available on such short notice. But against what should only be an intelligence surveillance team, it should be more than enough. He was counting on surprise and complacency from their previous efforts to pave the way to cover their tracks.

But if that failed...well.

Wallace sighed as he turned his frequency to them. And before he could even speak-

"'ere, Bruce! We have us a call!"

"Well, why are you pissing about with it and not getting us stuck in, Bruce? Bruce needs to get up close and proper to flush out the Uni bastards!"

"You're the bloody pilot, Bruce! Stop telling weapons how to do their job, Bruce!"

Wallace sighed. He loathed dealing with Bruce. "Are you operational?" he asked through gritted teeth. His aides glanced up, knowing that particular tone.

"Oi, Bruce. The posh git wants to know if we're good to go-"

"I told you already, Bruce! Engines are up! Now can we please get a bloody move on so we can-"

"Stand by for my signal," Wallace cut them off. "You will hear from me soon." He unceremoniously cut the call off before his brain could start questioning which Bruce was which. Just thinking about that particular crew was taxing to the mind.

"Sir?" Glancing up, Wallace noted one of his aides asking with a wary voice. One of the newer ones promoted to the position, clearly. "Why...do we tolerate having them?"

"I ask myself that question every day," Wallace admitted. "But against the likes of Valiant, and any new machines the Defense Force begin to field...who the hell else do I have that's suicidal and stupid enough to pilot what are effectively walking death traps?" One look at the giant metal monster they were ensconced in, even just a simple wireframe diagram, was enough to prove his point. No sane pilot would even want to pilot was effectively a deathride.

But time and time again, Bruce somehow got away with only a few scratches and bruises...Which one? Yes.

1730, 27 July A.D. 2072
Outskirts of Arsenal de Brest

NOT SIMULATION - THIS IS A PRIORITY ALERT - NOT SIMULATION

-BRK-

SEPARATIST FORCES DETECTED

-BRK-

HEADING - BREST

-BRK-

ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL - SIXTY-FOUR MINUTES

-BRK-

COMPOSITION - APPROXIMATION OF JACKAL CHASSIS, NUMBERS UNDETERMINED AT THIS TIME

NOT SIMULATION - THIS IS A PRIORITY ALERT - NOT SIMULATION

That message had come in not too long ago. Anna, for all the frustration at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation (and having been paired with a sentient transforming robot tank, that was saying something), she had already repositioned her Shade to feed in tactical updates - with more teams promised to filter in, though what good they would do was academic at the moment. As it was...

"We're clear," she said over the communications link. "Non-essential personnel evacuated, and we have additional security assets mobilizing. But they're going to take a bit. Initial show's all yours, Ichiro."

"Fantastic," he muttered. Any additional mirth was cut off as his HUD alerted him to incoming contacts. The lens on the tank's rangefinder zoomed in, to see multiple dust clouds interspersed with flying chips of gravel growing ever-so-closer. "Confirmed contacts. Multiple, grouped in squads, and..." He paused, as the outlines looked really off. "...yeah, those look like Jackals," he confirmed. "If you gave a Jackal to a a gun and chopshop enthusiast."

None of the Jackal ripoffs looked alike. There was no uniformity with them all - Lieutenant Wilde probably would have compared it to an old post-apocalyptic movie he saw back in the day when everyone - for some strange reason that possibly made sense - did battle in cobbled together cars with highly unlikely weaponry. Sure, these 'cars' looked a bit more modern, but they still felt utterly cobbled together compared to the engineers' work. He zoomed in further, and if his face could be seen, his eyes would have been narrowing. "And what look like some of the 'Walkers' they've been talking about," he added. The squat machines, with their reverse-jointed legs, were loping along the terrain at a steady gait, their torsos squat boxy things with arms, and what looked like humanoid arms wielding weapons. Some he could recognize - rocket launchers and cannons at a glance - others he couldn't tell...not yet. Either way, they were here to throw down alongside the Tank-Mobile pluses.

"I'm also going to try and talk with home station about getting something more in here, but you're gonna have to hold them off." Anna paused, before asking, "Did Lana's modifications settle in alright? It was a rush job, and it's probably not going to last past this fight-"

"It's fine," Ichiro replied. Though hidden beneath the tank alt-mode, the temporary 'gauntlets' plated with zirvitium had slid on just fine. It was a rush job, a slapdash thing by Lana's standards and had to be practically rushed through whatever channels Anna had available to her - but it would give him an edge for this fight at least.

Despite everything, Ichiro grinned as he revved his engines. No longer bound down to hiding beneath tarp. No more having to listen to others talk about their exploits. It wasn't the way he wanted to cut his nonexistent teeth, but now he would have a sortie that was his to fight, his to recall, and his to find whatever wisdom he could parse from it.

...dammit, he was starting to sound like Tracker now.

As this is the first fight of the 'reboot' under the new system, Ichiro as is could use a bit of a boost. As it stands, Ichiro gains the following:

Zirvitium-Plated Gauntlets: Adds +1HP damage to Strikes. Equipment will last for this battle only.

Tactical

SAI-01 Banner is currently facing against four formations of Westphalian units, bearing down at full speed towards him. From their perspective, he is just a single Centurion tank - possibly more than what they expected to find, but with the assumption that weight of numbers will carry the day for them.

Prove them wrong.

Anna Smith
Intelligence

Call Out: Can reduce an enemy's attack rolls by 1d6. Effect lasts for three rounds of combat. Refreshes after six rounds of combat.
Linked Telemetry: Can allow Banner to completely re-roll one failed roll (players indicate what type of re-roll this would be applied to). Refreshes after nine rounds of combat. Banner must keep the new result.
Tactical Analysis: Will reveal additional details of enemy forces over time. Passive skill.

SAI-01 Ichiro Banner
Centurion-chassis
Assigned to: SAI-01 Ichiro Banner
HP: 16

Heavy Weapons: Can mount the basic Heavy Weapons Pack by default. Equipping later models will incur additional post battle downtime of 1 Turn.
Arm Cannon: Has an arm cannon as part of his chassis. Can make a Heavy Weapon Strike as a free action at Advantage (3d6, Threshold of 5-6, deals 2 HP) every three turns.
Strikes:

Counts as One Action (Notable Bonus may apply).

Roll 2d6, Threshold of 5-6, inflicts 1+1 HP on success.

Zirvitium-Plated Gauntlets: Adds +1HP damage to Strikes. Equipment will last for this battle only.

Relentless: If about to take a mortal strike, roll 1d6. A 4-6 will negate that damage.
Upgrade Slots: 1 (Unslotted at this time)

SAI-01 Ichiro Banner

Actions per Turn:
- 1
Notable Character:
- Can make two attacks per turn at 2d6 for 1 HP each. Counts as a single Action.
Hot Headed:
- Major Devin's calm nature is normally the personality that's reflected. However, this AI understands rage, and tends to bottle it up until he's had enough. Once every three turns, he may activate "Rage." For one turn, the AI will inflict twice as much damage, but also take twice as much incoming damage.

"Walkers": Capabilities Unknown

"Tank Mobiles (?)": Capabilities Unknown

So this is a retooling of combat as discussed in the thread previously.

Combat rounds play out as normal. Each post will cover three rounds of combat. Combat begins with an initiative roll (2d6) between DFRI and Enemy forces - whoever wins the roll starts those three rounds of combat.

Players no longer give specific plans to the Super Robot. The Super Robot's pilot(s) will operate according to their temperament and mindset. They will accept advice and additional insights of the enemy from the players, but they will operate independently (or outright ignore given orders if it goes completely against the grain for them). Individual skills will be triggered at the pilot's discretion.

Players more assume the role of tactical support - in this particular combat, Anna Smith supporting from her Shade command vehicle. She has skills available to her that players can use to support Banner's efforts. Broadly define what you wish the skill to be used for (i.e., reserve re-roll for failed attack or defense). In the event of the players having additional options (i.e., launching support units, combine units, supporting fire, etc) those will be triggered at the players' discretion. Players can still suggest 'called shots' for the pilot to attempt (i.e., destroy enemy's cannon, burn acidic pores, etc.) - those will be an attempted roll as standard.

I chose to use Ichiro's fight as a test case for this new system. Hopefully this works, otherwise I will have some more tweaking to do. I hope you all enjoy - it does feel good to write for this again.

Basarin · Oct 18, 2020

Quick addendum: Linked Telemetry can also apply to forcing an enemy attack roll (still must keep that new result). That's the intention I had for it, but looking back I realize the text doesn't quite reflect that - I'll have that fixed moving forward.

I would normally place that under a QM Note tag, but the board had flagged my response as 'too short.' Hopefully that fixes it.

[X] Use Call Out on whatever seems to be the most dangerous enemy, whenever it is available.
[X] Save Linked Telemetry unless something new shows up, or if an enemy needs to be taken down ASAP, at which point make use of it if needed. Alternatively, if it can be used to prevent Ichiro from taking damage from something that does more than 2 damage, do so.

Banner rolls: 4+1
Enemies roll: 6+2

Westphalian forces win the initiative.

Enemies have been identified. 2x Tank-Mobiles (?), 1x Walker formations.

The first Tank-Mobiles are burning rubber trying to get to Ichiro. They begin firing Conventional Weaponry.
Rolls: 5+4.
They inflict 1 HP.

The second formation attempts to follow up on their compatriots' 'success.' Firing Conventional Weaponry.
Rolls: 2+6.
1 HP inflicted.

The Walkers trundle up behind the cobbled together rovers. Hand-held rotary cannons begin to spool up...
Rolls: 2+2.
The automatic fire tears up a lot of the surrounding landscape, but the only rounds that land ricochet off of Ichiro's armor.

Banner is not amused - the 'tank' accelerates at full throttle, aiming the turret at the nearest Tank-Mobile.
Rolls: 3+5.

Tank-Mobile formation desperately attempts to dodge, showing Lesser Agility.
Rolls: 6+5!

It seems like they shouldn't be able to, but they can dodge quite well!...but Ichiro is a Notable Character, they aren't. Uses Notable to Strike again!
Rolls: 6+6!
Um. Well. Even if Agile applied to successive strikes, a crit hit is a crit hit. Deals double damage (2 base, 2 from Zirvitium Gauntlets), 4 HP!
Ichiro Configures into mecha mode and gives the rip-offs a piece of his mind. The Tank-Mobiles go flying, though as a few come apart at the seams, he notices something unusual...

Tactical Analysis comes into play. Anna realizes these Tank-Mobiles must be prototypes or proofs-of-concept for Westphalian configuration!
And as if to prove her point, the remains of the group that Ichiro had so thoroughly smashed begin configuring!
Rolling: 5!
The configuration process, however...it's not smooth. Malfunction! (Loses d6 on next roll)

First Tank-Mobile group ready Disposable Rocket Tubes. Despite the complications, they attempt to fire at Ichiro!
Rolling: 1+1!
Critical failure! The launchers completely fail to hit Ichiro - one explodes in the user's hands, inflicting 1 HP further to the group.

Second Tank-Mobile group Configures!
Rolls: 1!
No complications! The second group's configuration is much more dignified.

Second tank-Mobile formation readies Disposable Rocket Tubes. Firing!
Rolling: 4+3!
The rockets fail to inflict damage.

The Walkers are already starting to not like the writing on the wall. They ready their Main Cannons.
Rolling: 4+5!
The shots land successfully against the not-so-ordinary Centurion frame. Ichiro suffers 2 HP.

Anna has determined that the Walkers pose the bigger threat to Ichiro. She uses Call Out to reduce future Walker attack rolls by d6! Effect will last until end of Round Five.

Ichiro smashes into the weakened Tank-Mobile group, not wanting to deal with these jokers any longer.
Rolling: 2+1.
He rolls again making use of Notable.
Rolling: 5+3!
The last of the first Tank-Mobile group finally goes down. It's clear these are a step up from the first models (not that it took much...).

The remaining Tank-Mobile group is still fully mission capable. They ready the last of their rockets!
Rolling: 5+1!
Anna uses Linked Telemetry! Forces a re-roll.
Rolling: 2+3!
Anna forces rockets off course!

Walker spools up the rotary guns again.
Rolling at Disavantage (due to Call Out): 1!
Not even close.

Ichiro has decided that the remaining Tank-Mobile has caused enough trouble. He readies the Arm Cannon (free action)!
Rolls: 6+5+5!
Critical Hit! Deals double damage, 4 HP! There aren't many of them left...
Follows up with a strike!
Rolling: 1+6!
The last of the Tank-Mobiles are wiped out, but don't expect that state of affairs to last.

The Walker pilots have frantically called for reinforcements. Expect more company promptly!

Anna's Tactical Analysis: This was a smash and grab operation, they didn't think you would be here or they wouldn't be trying these machines without more QC/QA. I've updated their suspected stats below with what I've actually seen.

SAI-01 Ichiro Banner
Centurion-chassis
Assigned to: SAI-01 Ichiro Banner
HP: 10/16

Arm Cannon: Has an arm cannon as part of his chassis. Can make a Heavy Weapon Strike as a free action at Advantage (3d6, Threshold of 5-6, deals 2 HP) every three rounds.
Strikes:

Counts as One Action (Notable Bonus may apply).

Roll 2d6, Threshold of 5-6, inflicts 1+1 HP on success.

Zirvitium-Plated Gauntlets: Adds +1HP damage to Strikes. Equipment will last for this battle only.

Relentless: If about to take a mortal strike, roll 1d6. A 4-6 will negate that damage.
Upgrade Slots: 1 (Unslotted at this time)

SAI-01 Ichiro Banner

Actions per Turn:
- 1
Notable Character:
- Can make two attacks per turn at 2d6 for 1 HP each. Counts as a single Action.
Hot Headed:
- Major Devin's calm nature is normally the personality that's reflected. However, this AI understands rage, and tends to bottle it up until he's had enough. Once every three turns, he may activate "Rage." For one turn, the AI will inflict twice as much damage, but also take twice as much incoming damage.

Anna Smith
Intelligence

Call Out: Can reduce an enemy's attack rolls by 1d6. Effect lasts for three rounds of combat. Refreshes after six rounds of combat.
Linked Telemetry: Can allow Banner to completely re-roll one failed roll (players indicate what type of re-roll this would be applied to). Refreshes after nine rounds of combat. Banner must keep the new result.
Tactical Analysis: Will reveal additional details of enemy forces over time. Passive skill.

"Walkers"
Formations: 1 remaining
HP: Unknown
Rotary Cannon: Can strike 2d6 for up to 2 HP (exact figure unobserved). Additional traits unobserved.
Main Cannon: Heavy Weapon Strike. Success deals 2 HP.

"Tank Mobiles +"
Formations: None Remaining (more suspected to be inbound)
HP: 5-7 (Exact figure unknown), remaining formation has sustained 4 HP
Conventional Weaponry: Can strike 2d6 to inflict 1 HP.
Lesser Agility: May re-roll a successful enemy attack at 2d6, Threshold of at least 5-6).
Configuration-capable

Malfunction? - The machines are not fully ready, seem to suffer in transition from vehicle to mecha...exact consequences unknown.

Disposable Rocket Tubes - Can strike at advantage (3d6), Inflicts 3 HP.

Super Robot Quest

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Once Known as The Nobody

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