- Location
- USA
Yup. I'll make mention of it.
Yup. I'll make mention of it.
Thors_Alumni
Proud member of Thors Class VII from Liberl
- Location
- Liberl Zemuria.
Nice, Successes all around. Wish I had been more on the ball on one of the advisers but live, learn, and apologize later if asked.
ConfusedCanuck
Where did it all go wrong?
- Location
- Neverland
Well now just saw the rolls for this turn and am happy to see no failures.
Though I'd still like to talk to the GDF.
Though I'd still like to talk to the GDF.
Turn Nine, Year Three Results
- Location
- USA
1500, 4 September, A.D. 2072
Lair Mainframe
First location: eh, kind of a bust. This one was an actual buoy that a marine sciences thingamajig lost awhile ago. Pinged their mainframe on the new location, it may be a bit before they can come grab it.
Second location: weird movements because a whale ate it, and what's left only gives off signals every so often when it comes back into signal range. Not pinging that one for recovery, ew.
Third location: now that one is interesting. Registered buoy signal for deep sea cartography. Mostly based in Pacific Ocean, so that part of the story checks out.
Kinda find it hard to think it can make the jump from Kamchatka to Australia that quickly though. Not that anyone knows it's actually there, but there's no hiding this from me once I've found your signal!
And...uh. Huh. Logging for reference -
"-in something of a predicament, madam."
"What in particular? The fact that we chased that Westphalian all the way here? Or the fact that I'm technically on holiday and not supposed to be working?"
Heeeeey. I know them! It's that Valiant lady and her butler!
"Some of both, madam."
"I'll deal with it when it comes up. Did law enforcement come up with anything?"
"Our man is still lingering about, but there's no real reason for him to hole up here. Not unless he was certain he had an escape plan."
"Like a submarine!"
"Yes, like-" The butler pauses, then glances directly at the screen. Adriana winces slightly, but decides the game is up and reveals her avatar on his screen sheepishly. "I beg your pardon, miss, but who are you and why are you in a protected network?"
"Uh, hi?" Adriana rubbed the back of her head, an awkward smile on her face. "Name's Adriana. I think we're both looking for the same guy or guys, and I figured I'd share what I knew?"
"Go ahead and share. But." The lady - Erika, that was her name - glared at the screen. "What part of 'protected network' did you not get?"
"It wasn't that protected?"
"You're not helping."
"But it wasn't!"
1910, 6 September A.D. 2072
Sergey Gorshkov Conference Room
"How the hell did any of this work?"
Haruko blinked at the somewhat frazzled naval captain. "Ma'am," she said cautiously (they might share the same rank in name, but navy ranks were somewhat different which meant Candle outranked her, and she still found it confusing). "What do you mean?"
"Every little thing I do's becoming a dog and pony show," Candle grumbled. "Any time I do a stress test of the flight systems, it sends everyone in a panic. Then there was the gun battery tests - pretty sure some of the admirals that came by had heart attacks seeing a carrier have alien battleship cannons. Then there's the TMUs, and I know your boss is already planning another frame set that's designed to give me headaches." She held up a hand to forestall any additional input. "Don't get me wrong - I'm happy to have my ship back. But I can't do anything with her because it doesn't fit into doctrine anymore."
"If it makes you feel better, ma'am," Haruko replied, "we have our share of critics who also aren't sure what to make of our Super Robots." The resulting grumbling from the ship's officer revealed that no, it didn't quite make her feel better. "But we didn't exactly have doctrinal...anything to go by either. You may wish to clear it with your superiors, but perhaps reorganization as an independent task force might well settle down some fears." Haruko added a wry smile. "That, and perhaps they are terrified of being responsible for such experimental weaponry."
"...I'll give it a shot," Candle muttered, one hand grasping at her face in frustration. "Wouldn't mind not having some stars breathing down my neck all the time."
0951, 8 September A.D. 2072
Command Center
"That...that's kind of worrying," you comment dryly.
"Our thoughts too, sir," Diana replies grimly. "Who would have thought there was a kaiju with restraint?"
The visual feed didn't lie. The very weary Defense Force presence in the Pacific has already borne the brunt of plenty of kaiju attacks spread around Korea, Japan and China (with some noticeable spillovers into the North American District). They're already readying themselves for what they see as the inevitable landfall of the kaiju...except this one was actively avoiding them. It never comes close enough to the coast to warrant Mercury V's deployment (even though there were more than a few false starts), and any time any visual assets get too close, it immediately dives back into the ocean.
The only image one gets is that of rather large eyes and scaly skin, depending on how good the picture fidelity is.
Troubling.
"Keep us posted," you tell Diana. "At this rate, the Perseus might get an earlier start than we'd like."
1520, 9 September A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay
"So..."
"That didn't quite work as intended."
"Big boom."
"This is generally why you don't mix these generator types together. Or fuel types for that matter."
"Big boom."
"At least we had the armor glass sheets set up before we tried it."
"At least the universal adapter idea has some merit!"
As always, Katarina was trying to put the brighter spin on things, all with a heaping of truth to cut through any pessimism. But as Wilde and Henry removed their eye and ear protection, they both winced at some of the rather large gouges their protective measures had taken. The still smoldering and sparking wreckage of the Shepherd, the Jackal and the Falcon's power sources linked to a central hub all confirmed what they already knew - simply jamming them all together was not going to work.
And as much as Henry abhorred simply putting them all together like that when they were already confident it would happen, he still needed to see what would happen in actuality.
"So!" Wilde walked over, keeping a safe distance as he knelt down and examined some of the wreckage. "Pretty sure this was what did it. Katarina?"
"One moment." A holographic screen superimposed itself over the wreckage, showing a three-dimensional replay of the moment. "It's around here that we see it," she helpfully added.
"I see it." Wilde held up a hand, waiting as the various power surges pouring into the central battery fed into the system - all before promptly causing a spark, shortly followed by the battery exploding. "Stop here." Wilde looked over to Henry as he points at the one spot showing on the battery's readout before it began to spark and catch fire.
"Same. Taking in the power from all three isn't the problem. It's regulating the flow." Henry just huffed in annoyance, sharing a glance with Wilde. "Reminds you of something?"
"When we were doing surgery on Cavalier? Yeah. Only reason it worked was because we had Katarina there."
"The battery would also take up even more space even if it fully worked," Katarina offered. "As it is, this isn't something that would be safe to use in a combat situation..."
"It's a start," Henry conceded. "Battery lacks capacity and loses stability from trying to manage the separate power sources at the same time. So how do we fix it?"
Wilde paused, and then glanced out the window. Various flickering lights from the Xeno Technology department wasn't anything new, but it made him pause, and scratch his chin. "...don't suppose we already have a solution we haven't tried yet?" he muttered to himself.
"Wonder if Jiro's having a better time of it than we are?"
1720, 9 September A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay
Yukimura Jiro had seen quite a few things in his life.
He'd seen the very early developments of Mercury V. Hell, he'd been there when Uncle Rin was just beginning to plan it all and had watched Hiroki's early successes. He'd seen giant monsters rising from the depths, and seeing them defeated by the Union's own metal answers.
Not once did he imagine he'd see the actions the Marines were putting the Steed's capture software through.
"...you guys do realize the motion capture harnesses weren't exactly designed for...this, right?" he pointed out.
The officer standing next to him - he was pretty sure it was a captain, but he was still having problems figuring out ranks even after all this time - simply shrugged. "We're going to be using this a lot," he answered back. "And if we can't do everything with it like we're expected to outside of the suit, what's the point?"
Jiro shrugged - and then watched again as he saw the Marines testing the machines break out into a full sprint. Without pause, the Marine then lunged forward, landing with a heavy thud onto the treadmill before he began to crawl forwards, before kneeling and pantomiming holding a rifle.
"Any complaints so far?" Jiro ventured to ask.
"Nah." The officer shook his head. "Aside from the early hiccups, it looks like it's been working pretty well for us so far. Looking forward to seeing how well this works with the actual tests."
It was very, very strange to watch the one to one translation of the test frame copy him in real time. Just as readily, he watched one skeletal arm raise upwards, holding a fist before making various hand signals. Jiro winced at some of the earlier instances where that had broken some of the joints - if nothing else, it was teaching him a lot about the stress tolerances of the Steed.
On a separate screen, Jiro paid close attention to another set of inputs. The Steed had to be flexible enough, tough enough, and compact enough to serve as a cockpit unit in its own right - so as he watched a simulated Seeker frame moving, he nodded with satisfaction as the software was already auto correcting the errors that the Marines' motions might have caused. Like the officer said, nothing would give better feedback than the live tests - but this would prevent a lot of grief and false starts ahead of time.
As always, more testing was going to be required.
1753, 9 September A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay
"It's just a giant knife!"
Greg blinked, then stared back up at Anthony. The Steed he was wearing pantomimed a shrug as he gestured with a free hand - the industrial torch in the other remained firmly in place and not pointed at anyone's face. "Yeah, so?"
"I mean, I kinda figured our first job would be something a bit flashier." Anthony's own Steed shrugged as he applied a final layer of paint along the massive hilt. "Guns, one of those laser beams they're throwing around - something like that."
"You realize," Kelly added from the console, "that we're making a giant knife for use by a Super Robot to possibly fight alien robots or kaiju."
"She's got you there." Greg grinned as he applied a final touch to the heating unit. "Just about done here! Everyone good?"
"Good here!"
"Good here too! Get the test slab!"
Minutes later, Anthony was dismounting from his Steed last, joining the others at the console in the isolated protective room. "Alright," Kelly grinned as she manipulated some final inputs on the screen. "Testing our very first equipment for the Super Robots - the Heat Knife!" She paused. "That sounded more impressive in my head. Anthony's got a point…oh well. Three! Two! One-!"
The room immediately grew MUCH warmer, even past the protective screens as the heat flared to life around the edge. As the cranes lowered the slab of steel, they all shouted with glee as the knife carved through it, parting the hardened alloy like butter. Sparks and melted steel flew in various directions, until Kelly hit the kill switch, the weapon having proved its point.
"…I take it back," Anthony said once the heat had finally died down. "That was pretty cool."
"Toldja."
2329, 9 September A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay Database
I've gotten pretty good at fixing mechs these days. Especially with a certain sentient tank that's prowling the Proving Grounds, but I won't beat him up too much about that. Point stands - after the Seeker business with the Clown and fixing up said tank, I think I've got a much better grasp on how to make new designs.
So, the Sledder. Not exactly a combat design, more of a support. I'm seeing this as another shoe-in for the First Response Corps - rugged off road vehicle, tow cables, and the ability to share power with all sorts of things. Only problem is, it's very much an iteration of the Jackal. Almost like an updated variant. Is it possible for an AI to have writer's block? Because I totally felt like I had writer's block on this one - spent a good amount of time having my subroutines go back to the Jackal before I was able to get that out of the way.
The Sledder is not a combat unit. It's a support unit that can fight if it has to, but that's not the point. I'm seeing this as a way to help bridge the power gap that we've been having with combining units. Really surprised that Wilde and Henry were able to make the Timberwolf work, but when the Beowulf's wearing the Shepherd like a suit of armor, the power sources are a heck of a lot less of a problem. So I'm paying attention to what they're doing with that, even if our timelines aren't compatible to be a 100% match. The central battery idea could be a thing - gotta see what I can do with a pack of Sledders for that idea.
Even the Clown's onto something. I'm getting caught up with designing this thing to move in ways the humanoid form really isn't meant to, and there's parts of the body that are just getting too inflexible. Some of that - can't help it, the Steed's an entirely different thing that can afford to be more human-like. The Sledder's going to be a bit chunkier than the Jackal, but when you're a walking toolbox and power generator, there's no real getting around it. But that's no reason to have its range of motion be worse than a bomb suit's.
Eh, I'll figure it out. I've got some time with it.
0245, 14 September A.D. 2072
The Lair
"I am not a human medical practitioner by any means, Boris, but I understand that even you require periodic rest maintenance. Why are you still awake?"
"Hm?" Boris looked up to see Patch's bemused form looking at him through the comms link. "Oh, I'm absolutely fine, Patch," he tried to assure him. "It's-" He paused, then looked at the clock again. "...good heavens, I barely got started on this."
"So you said nearly a cycle ago," Patch shot back, a knowing smirk on his face. "I've seen Architect slip into such trances, but I suppose humans are capable of it as well. What are you examining?"
"It's-" He paused to yawn, before continuing, "-it's the Drone wreckage. The processors that we were able to recover. I've been examining them."
"Do tell. My own observations are somewhat biased, admittedly."
"The Drones' processors are actually quite efficient for what they are. Granted, I suppose that is due to the limited scope the Drones are constructed for. But from a human perspective, there is quite a lot in it. Basic functions, skills, even some self preservation protocols."
"You will find that the last revelation is not particularly astounding," Patch cautioned. "The Free Brothers tend to set those values quite low. If you observed the recent altercation Cavalier and Lieutenant Callaghan were involved in-"
"I did, I did," Boris agreed. "But what I find interesting is that while these are printed almost en masse, there is potential for growth and development." At a raised eyebrow from Patch, Boris insisted, "I am looking at the coding in front of me, Patch. And we have the observations from Zulu to prove that nonstandard development of personalities and quirks are entirely possible. Just, the attrition rate is so high as to make said cases somewhat rare."
"You're thinking of incorporating this?"
"Perhaps. I need to look more into it." Boris yawned. "Or I will when I catch some sleep."
"Can't...humans subsist on that strange black liquid your superior is so fond of drinking?"
"I am not that desperate, Patch. Not at this time, anyhow."
1136, 16 September A.D. 2072
Carlson Laboratories
"Sam here. I want to get it on record that incidents like today are why we follow safety protocols. There's no point in doing Science unless we're safe enough to keep doing more."
"Suitably solemn, boys and girls, thank you. Now - a special thank you to Ivanna for checking the math, and for containing the interesting feedback loop shockwave our experiment produced."
"You are welcome, Doctor Carlson."
"Right, with that out of the way - we tested to see if the pilots in a Psychic Theater could alter the K-Class Materials embedded in the Super Robot. Short answer - yes. Long answer - yes, but right now it's unpredictable. One test we had K-Scale Mesh turn tougher than diamonds. The next test under damn near the exact same circumstances turned it softer than taffy. Only reason I can chalk it up to right now was due to pilots' fatigue - or someone was getting really hungry for candy taffy. Can't prove it one way or another. I just know that the lapse in concentration nearly fried the MMI circuits and the lab circuits. Just glad that the emergency kill switch works, not happy we had to find out under these circumstances.
"We'll keep testing, but while you can alter K-Class and make some minute changes, we're going to need some more data.
"Sam Carlson, we're done here."
0001, 17 September A.D. 2072
Xeno Technology Laboratories
You're not entirely sure what Zulu is doing with the handheld blasters that were recovered from the Drones. But he's doing something with them.
Whenever you ask, words revolving around 'ergonomics' and 'efficiency' with a dash of 'outdated chemical propellants' get floated around a lot. With enough poking, however, you eventually learn that the main push behind the analysis is not for his benefit - he knows damned well how the weapons work. He's trying to translate it into a way that makes sense for the human war forms, as he puts it.
Beyond that, you've got nothing, and Max is too busy cackling about her own project. Which scares you as much as it exasperates you. So for now, you leave Zulu to his work, and trust that he'll have some form of heavier weapons for the support teams eventually.
0001, 17 September A.D. 2072
Xeno Technology Laboratories
The report you're getting from Max, on the other hand, is borderline gibberish. And given that this is Max, this is really saying something.
She was charged with examining the Empathic Booster the Regent had given you practically a year ago, and you're somewhat concerned with all of the transcribed laughing in the report. But you've also long since learned to parse through the mad parts of 'mad science' so after a little bit of digging, you discover:
- So far, the Empathic Booster seems to latch onto a particular emotion and amplifies it.
- The emotions it boosts seem to be relatively mundane and benign ones taken to certain extremes. In Max's case, there is joy in conducting her research, and the resulting boost seems to have had the same effect of injecting coffee straight into her blood stream. With resulting productivity leading to mountains of (somewhat incoherent) notes.
- The prototype emitter that she'd built burnt out almost immediately, suggesting that it needs to be in use alongside the C-Crystal.
You get reassurances...of a sort...from Ivanna. She's fine, she's still working and she's still coherent, but the initial shock is like being exposed to laughing gas for the first time. She still has two months left to go, so you leave her to it...but you also remind Ivanna to throw cold water onto her if this gets out of hand.
You have no idea what's going to come about from this.
1508, 17 September A.D. 2072
Xeno Technology Laboratories
Your last report from the month comes from Mary - and it's relatively normal compared to everything else.
Her lab is now well and truly established, and she and her team have wasted no time in beginning to put practical application to the papers they theorycrafted so many years ago.
There's not much else to say - cultivating crystalline growths takes time, and Faedium is evidently no different in that regard, even with the state of the art equipment your facilities have granted her.
"The crystals should be able to hold quite a bit of power," she tells you when you press her for early predictions. "How much? We don't know - we are still missing numbers that the first month will give us to do the math. How tough? Again, see the first answer. I can only guess right now in broad strokes: a lot, and maybe a little fragile. Yes, I know this is singularly unhelpful, but so is asking me for these answers when the first month requires us to figure out what we do and don't know."
Fair enough. You suppose you're just used to mad science types who are less cranky about being asked questions like this.
One last communique did reach your desk. Your old friends in the logistics world have come through for you, and they have something for you.
Well, two things for you. You're still not sure where they found a burnt out rocket engine, and you're not sure you want the answer to it.
No, what catches your attention is the heavy duty cargo helicopter.
The old Saddle class of helicopters is a relic by today's standards - two rotary engines set on opposing wings, room for a crew of two pilots and a cargo team, a healthy amount of cargo space (allowing for several pallets of supplies, or one or two wheeled vehicles) and a claw apparatus that could latch onto containers and other designated cargo for limited jumps. The advent of the modern day drop ship rendered this frame obsolete by the EUDF a decade ago (one large ship that can do the work of a fleet of smaller ones), but you were just getting your career started when these things were still being used.
The frame you receive has seen better days. The engines are missing, and there's rust and other signs of wear and tear both in and out of the helicopter. But given some care, it could be refurbished.
Only question is - what the heck are you going to use it for specifically?
Lair Mainframe
First location: eh, kind of a bust. This one was an actual buoy that a marine sciences thingamajig lost awhile ago. Pinged their mainframe on the new location, it may be a bit before they can come grab it.
Second location: weird movements because a whale ate it, and what's left only gives off signals every so often when it comes back into signal range. Not pinging that one for recovery, ew.
Third location: now that one is interesting. Registered buoy signal for deep sea cartography. Mostly based in Pacific Ocean, so that part of the story checks out.
Kinda find it hard to think it can make the jump from Kamchatka to Australia that quickly though. Not that anyone knows it's actually there, but there's no hiding this from me once I've found your signal!
And...uh. Huh. Logging for reference -
"-in something of a predicament, madam."
"What in particular? The fact that we chased that Westphalian all the way here? Or the fact that I'm technically on holiday and not supposed to be working?"
Heeeeey. I know them! It's that Valiant lady and her butler!
"Some of both, madam."
"I'll deal with it when it comes up. Did law enforcement come up with anything?"
"Our man is still lingering about, but there's no real reason for him to hole up here. Not unless he was certain he had an escape plan."
"Like a submarine!"
"Yes, like-" The butler pauses, then glances directly at the screen. Adriana winces slightly, but decides the game is up and reveals her avatar on his screen sheepishly. "I beg your pardon, miss, but who are you and why are you in a protected network?"
"Uh, hi?" Adriana rubbed the back of her head, an awkward smile on her face. "Name's Adriana. I think we're both looking for the same guy or guys, and I figured I'd share what I knew?"
"Go ahead and share. But." The lady - Erika, that was her name - glared at the screen. "What part of 'protected network' did you not get?"
"It wasn't that protected?"
"You're not helping."
"But it wasn't!"
Adriana has stumbled across one of the signal's destinations. And coincidentally, MSS is unofficially investigating a Westphalian who they chased all the way down to said destination.
1910, 6 September A.D. 2072
Sergey Gorshkov Conference Room
"How the hell did any of this work?"
Haruko blinked at the somewhat frazzled naval captain. "Ma'am," she said cautiously (they might share the same rank in name, but navy ranks were somewhat different which meant Candle outranked her, and she still found it confusing). "What do you mean?"
"Every little thing I do's becoming a dog and pony show," Candle grumbled. "Any time I do a stress test of the flight systems, it sends everyone in a panic. Then there was the gun battery tests - pretty sure some of the admirals that came by had heart attacks seeing a carrier have alien battleship cannons. Then there's the TMUs, and I know your boss is already planning another frame set that's designed to give me headaches." She held up a hand to forestall any additional input. "Don't get me wrong - I'm happy to have my ship back. But I can't do anything with her because it doesn't fit into doctrine anymore."
"If it makes you feel better, ma'am," Haruko replied, "we have our share of critics who also aren't sure what to make of our Super Robots." The resulting grumbling from the ship's officer revealed that no, it didn't quite make her feel better. "But we didn't exactly have doctrinal...anything to go by either. You may wish to clear it with your superiors, but perhaps reorganization as an independent task force might well settle down some fears." Haruko added a wry smile. "That, and perhaps they are terrified of being responsible for such experimental weaponry."
"...I'll give it a shot," Candle muttered, one hand grasping at her face in frustration. "Wouldn't mind not having some stars breathing down my neck all the time."
Relations w/Dana Candle (and by extension some parts of the NDF) are leaning towards Friendly.
0951, 8 September A.D. 2072
Command Center
"That...that's kind of worrying," you comment dryly.
"Our thoughts too, sir," Diana replies grimly. "Who would have thought there was a kaiju with restraint?"
The visual feed didn't lie. The very weary Defense Force presence in the Pacific has already borne the brunt of plenty of kaiju attacks spread around Korea, Japan and China (with some noticeable spillovers into the North American District). They're already readying themselves for what they see as the inevitable landfall of the kaiju...except this one was actively avoiding them. It never comes close enough to the coast to warrant Mercury V's deployment (even though there were more than a few false starts), and any time any visual assets get too close, it immediately dives back into the ocean.
The only image one gets is that of rather large eyes and scaly skin, depending on how good the picture fidelity is.
Troubling.
"Keep us posted," you tell Diana. "At this rate, the Perseus might get an earlier start than we'd like."
Recent kaiju spotted. Seemingly biding its time for...something.
One Turn Remaining.
One Turn Remaining.
1520, 9 September A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay
"So..."
"That didn't quite work as intended."
"Big boom."
"This is generally why you don't mix these generator types together. Or fuel types for that matter."
"Big boom."
"At least we had the armor glass sheets set up before we tried it."
"At least the universal adapter idea has some merit!"
As always, Katarina was trying to put the brighter spin on things, all with a heaping of truth to cut through any pessimism. But as Wilde and Henry removed their eye and ear protection, they both winced at some of the rather large gouges their protective measures had taken. The still smoldering and sparking wreckage of the Shepherd, the Jackal and the Falcon's power sources linked to a central hub all confirmed what they already knew - simply jamming them all together was not going to work.
And as much as Henry abhorred simply putting them all together like that when they were already confident it would happen, he still needed to see what would happen in actuality.
"So!" Wilde walked over, keeping a safe distance as he knelt down and examined some of the wreckage. "Pretty sure this was what did it. Katarina?"
"One moment." A holographic screen superimposed itself over the wreckage, showing a three-dimensional replay of the moment. "It's around here that we see it," she helpfully added.
"I see it." Wilde held up a hand, waiting as the various power surges pouring into the central battery fed into the system - all before promptly causing a spark, shortly followed by the battery exploding. "Stop here." Wilde looked over to Henry as he points at the one spot showing on the battery's readout before it began to spark and catch fire.
"Same. Taking in the power from all three isn't the problem. It's regulating the flow." Henry just huffed in annoyance, sharing a glance with Wilde. "Reminds you of something?"
"When we were doing surgery on Cavalier? Yeah. Only reason it worked was because we had Katarina there."
"The battery would also take up even more space even if it fully worked," Katarina offered. "As it is, this isn't something that would be safe to use in a combat situation..."
"It's a start," Henry conceded. "Battery lacks capacity and loses stability from trying to manage the separate power sources at the same time. So how do we fix it?"
Wilde paused, and then glanced out the window. Various flickering lights from the Xeno Technology department wasn't anything new, but it made him pause, and scratch his chin. "...don't suppose we already have a solution we haven't tried yet?" he muttered to himself.
Well there's your problem! The problem's been identified - and there are a few options that WIlde, Henry and Katarina have begun to brainstorm. New Options for Triple Combination unlocked - Three Turns Remaining.
"Wonder if Jiro's having a better time of it than we are?"
1720, 9 September A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay
Yukimura Jiro had seen quite a few things in his life.
He'd seen the very early developments of Mercury V. Hell, he'd been there when Uncle Rin was just beginning to plan it all and had watched Hiroki's early successes. He'd seen giant monsters rising from the depths, and seeing them defeated by the Union's own metal answers.
Not once did he imagine he'd see the actions the Marines were putting the Steed's capture software through.
"...you guys do realize the motion capture harnesses weren't exactly designed for...this, right?" he pointed out.
The officer standing next to him - he was pretty sure it was a captain, but he was still having problems figuring out ranks even after all this time - simply shrugged. "We're going to be using this a lot," he answered back. "And if we can't do everything with it like we're expected to outside of the suit, what's the point?"
Jiro shrugged - and then watched again as he saw the Marines testing the machines break out into a full sprint. Without pause, the Marine then lunged forward, landing with a heavy thud onto the treadmill before he began to crawl forwards, before kneeling and pantomiming holding a rifle.
"Any complaints so far?" Jiro ventured to ask.
"Nah." The officer shook his head. "Aside from the early hiccups, it looks like it's been working pretty well for us so far. Looking forward to seeing how well this works with the actual tests."
It was very, very strange to watch the one to one translation of the test frame copy him in real time. Just as readily, he watched one skeletal arm raise upwards, holding a fist before making various hand signals. Jiro winced at some of the earlier instances where that had broken some of the joints - if nothing else, it was teaching him a lot about the stress tolerances of the Steed.
On a separate screen, Jiro paid close attention to another set of inputs. The Steed had to be flexible enough, tough enough, and compact enough to serve as a cockpit unit in its own right - so as he watched a simulated Seeker frame moving, he nodded with satisfaction as the software was already auto correcting the errors that the Marines' motions might have caused. Like the officer said, nothing would give better feedback than the live tests - but this would prevent a lot of grief and false starts ahead of time.
As always, more testing was going to be required.
Very good data on the Seeker and the Steed with the Marine Expeditionary Force. One Turn Remaining.
1753, 9 September A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay
"It's just a giant knife!"
Greg blinked, then stared back up at Anthony. The Steed he was wearing pantomimed a shrug as he gestured with a free hand - the industrial torch in the other remained firmly in place and not pointed at anyone's face. "Yeah, so?"
"I mean, I kinda figured our first job would be something a bit flashier." Anthony's own Steed shrugged as he applied a final layer of paint along the massive hilt. "Guns, one of those laser beams they're throwing around - something like that."
"You realize," Kelly added from the console, "that we're making a giant knife for use by a Super Robot to possibly fight alien robots or kaiju."
"She's got you there." Greg grinned as he applied a final touch to the heating unit. "Just about done here! Everyone good?"
"Good here!"
"Good here too! Get the test slab!"
Minutes later, Anthony was dismounting from his Steed last, joining the others at the console in the isolated protective room. "Alright," Kelly grinned as she manipulated some final inputs on the screen. "Testing our very first equipment for the Super Robots - the Heat Knife!" She paused. "That sounded more impressive in my head. Anthony's got a point…oh well. Three! Two! One-!"
The room immediately grew MUCH warmer, even past the protective screens as the heat flared to life around the edge. As the cranes lowered the slab of steel, they all shouted with glee as the knife carved through it, parting the hardened alloy like butter. Sparks and melted steel flew in various directions, until Kelly hit the kill switch, the weapon having proved its point.
"…I take it back," Anthony said once the heat had finally died down. "That was pretty cool."
"Toldja."
Heat Knife constructed.
Heat Knife
- Duration to Fabricate: One Turn
- Duration: Six Combat Rounds
- Grants +1d6 to Strike
- On Critical success, dice explode
QM note - I will not go so in depth on descriptions of constructed items if you do repeats in the future. The first time like this though? It will be like so.
Heat Knife
- Duration to Fabricate: One Turn
- Duration: Six Combat Rounds
- Grants +1d6 to Strike
- On Critical success, dice explode
QM note - I will not go so in depth on descriptions of constructed items if you do repeats in the future. The first time like this though? It will be like so.
2329, 9 September A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay Database
I've gotten pretty good at fixing mechs these days. Especially with a certain sentient tank that's prowling the Proving Grounds, but I won't beat him up too much about that. Point stands - after the Seeker business with the Clown and fixing up said tank, I think I've got a much better grasp on how to make new designs.
So, the Sledder. Not exactly a combat design, more of a support. I'm seeing this as another shoe-in for the First Response Corps - rugged off road vehicle, tow cables, and the ability to share power with all sorts of things. Only problem is, it's very much an iteration of the Jackal. Almost like an updated variant. Is it possible for an AI to have writer's block? Because I totally felt like I had writer's block on this one - spent a good amount of time having my subroutines go back to the Jackal before I was able to get that out of the way.
The Sledder is not a combat unit. It's a support unit that can fight if it has to, but that's not the point. I'm seeing this as a way to help bridge the power gap that we've been having with combining units. Really surprised that Wilde and Henry were able to make the Timberwolf work, but when the Beowulf's wearing the Shepherd like a suit of armor, the power sources are a heck of a lot less of a problem. So I'm paying attention to what they're doing with that, even if our timelines aren't compatible to be a 100% match. The central battery idea could be a thing - gotta see what I can do with a pack of Sledders for that idea.
Even the Clown's onto something. I'm getting caught up with designing this thing to move in ways the humanoid form really isn't meant to, and there's parts of the body that are just getting too inflexible. Some of that - can't help it, the Steed's an entirely different thing that can afford to be more human-like. The Sledder's going to be a bit chunkier than the Jackal, but when you're a walking toolbox and power generator, there's no real getting around it. But that's no reason to have its range of motion be worse than a bomb suit's.
Eh, I'll figure it out. I've got some time with it.
Lana is making steady progress, though she's had to bash her head against the idea initially.
Two Turns Remaining.
Two Turns Remaining.
0245, 14 September A.D. 2072
The Lair
"I am not a human medical practitioner by any means, Boris, but I understand that even you require periodic rest maintenance. Why are you still awake?"
"Hm?" Boris looked up to see Patch's bemused form looking at him through the comms link. "Oh, I'm absolutely fine, Patch," he tried to assure him. "It's-" He paused, then looked at the clock again. "...good heavens, I barely got started on this."
"So you said nearly a cycle ago," Patch shot back, a knowing smirk on his face. "I've seen Architect slip into such trances, but I suppose humans are capable of it as well. What are you examining?"
"It's-" He paused to yawn, before continuing, "-it's the Drone wreckage. The processors that we were able to recover. I've been examining them."
"Do tell. My own observations are somewhat biased, admittedly."
"The Drones' processors are actually quite efficient for what they are. Granted, I suppose that is due to the limited scope the Drones are constructed for. But from a human perspective, there is quite a lot in it. Basic functions, skills, even some self preservation protocols."
"You will find that the last revelation is not particularly astounding," Patch cautioned. "The Free Brothers tend to set those values quite low. If you observed the recent altercation Cavalier and Lieutenant Callaghan were involved in-"
"I did, I did," Boris agreed. "But what I find interesting is that while these are printed almost en masse, there is potential for growth and development." At a raised eyebrow from Patch, Boris insisted, "I am looking at the coding in front of me, Patch. And we have the observations from Zulu to prove that nonstandard development of personalities and quirks are entirely possible. Just, the attrition rate is so high as to make said cases somewhat rare."
"You're thinking of incorporating this?"
"Perhaps. I need to look more into it." Boris yawned. "Or I will when I catch some sleep."
"Can't...humans subsist on that strange black liquid your superior is so fond of drinking?"
"I am not that desperate, Patch. Not at this time, anyhow."
Naturally, Ignatov is noticing a rather interesting factor about the Drones' minds. He's getting some ideas for AI development. Super AI option unlocked.
1136, 16 September A.D. 2072
Carlson Laboratories
"Sam here. I want to get it on record that incidents like today are why we follow safety protocols. There's no point in doing Science unless we're safe enough to keep doing more."
Science.
"Suitably solemn, boys and girls, thank you. Now - a special thank you to Ivanna for checking the math, and for containing the interesting feedback loop shockwave our experiment produced."
"You are welcome, Doctor Carlson."
"Right, with that out of the way - we tested to see if the pilots in a Psychic Theater could alter the K-Class Materials embedded in the Super Robot. Short answer - yes. Long answer - yes, but right now it's unpredictable. One test we had K-Scale Mesh turn tougher than diamonds. The next test under damn near the exact same circumstances turned it softer than taffy. Only reason I can chalk it up to right now was due to pilots' fatigue - or someone was getting really hungry for candy taffy. Can't prove it one way or another. I just know that the lapse in concentration nearly fried the MMI circuits and the lab circuits. Just glad that the emergency kill switch works, not happy we had to find out under these circumstances.
"We'll keep testing, but while you can alter K-Class and make some minute changes, we're going to need some more data.
"Sam Carlson, we're done here."
As Sam mentioned, momentary changes in K-Class is entirely possible. But initial data is all over the place, and it nearly caused injuries or worse, but for Ivanna's intervention. Sam is confident that there's something to be had here, but he's going to be more careful in the next month.
One Turn Remaining.
One Turn Remaining.
0001, 17 September A.D. 2072
Xeno Technology Laboratories
You're not entirely sure what Zulu is doing with the handheld blasters that were recovered from the Drones. But he's doing something with them.
Whenever you ask, words revolving around 'ergonomics' and 'efficiency' with a dash of 'outdated chemical propellants' get floated around a lot. With enough poking, however, you eventually learn that the main push behind the analysis is not for his benefit - he knows damned well how the weapons work. He's trying to translate it into a way that makes sense for the human war forms, as he puts it.
Beyond that, you've got nothing, and Max is too busy cackling about her own project. Which scares you as much as it exasperates you. So for now, you leave Zulu to his work, and trust that he'll have some form of heavier weapons for the support teams eventually.
Zulu is trying to rework the blasters into a form that makes sense for the super robots and the support team.
One Turn Remaining.
One Turn Remaining.
0001, 17 September A.D. 2072
Xeno Technology Laboratories
The report you're getting from Max, on the other hand, is borderline gibberish. And given that this is Max, this is really saying something.
She was charged with examining the Empathic Booster the Regent had given you practically a year ago, and you're somewhat concerned with all of the transcribed laughing in the report. But you've also long since learned to parse through the mad parts of 'mad science' so after a little bit of digging, you discover:
- So far, the Empathic Booster seems to latch onto a particular emotion and amplifies it.
- The emotions it boosts seem to be relatively mundane and benign ones taken to certain extremes. In Max's case, there is joy in conducting her research, and the resulting boost seems to have had the same effect of injecting coffee straight into her blood stream. With resulting productivity leading to mountains of (somewhat incoherent) notes.
- The prototype emitter that she'd built burnt out almost immediately, suggesting that it needs to be in use alongside the C-Crystal.
You get reassurances...of a sort...from Ivanna. She's fine, she's still working and she's still coherent, but the initial shock is like being exposed to laughing gas for the first time. She still has two months left to go, so you leave her to it...but you also remind Ivanna to throw cold water onto her if this gets out of hand.
You have no idea what's going to come about from this.
Um. Well.
Two Turns Remaining.
Two Turns Remaining.
1508, 17 September A.D. 2072
Xeno Technology Laboratories
Your last report from the month comes from Mary - and it's relatively normal compared to everything else.
Her lab is now well and truly established, and she and her team have wasted no time in beginning to put practical application to the papers they theorycrafted so many years ago.
There's not much else to say - cultivating crystalline growths takes time, and Faedium is evidently no different in that regard, even with the state of the art equipment your facilities have granted her.
"The crystals should be able to hold quite a bit of power," she tells you when you press her for early predictions. "How much? We don't know - we are still missing numbers that the first month will give us to do the math. How tough? Again, see the first answer. I can only guess right now in broad strokes: a lot, and maybe a little fragile. Yes, I know this is singularly unhelpful, but so is asking me for these answers when the first month requires us to figure out what we do and don't know."
Fair enough. You suppose you're just used to mad science types who are less cranky about being asked questions like this.
Mary's getting set up, and the first Faedium samples are being cultivated. There's a lot we don't know on parameters yet.
Two Turns Remaining.
Two Turns Remaining.
One last communique did reach your desk. Your old friends in the logistics world have come through for you, and they have something for you.
Well, two things for you. You're still not sure where they found a burnt out rocket engine, and you're not sure you want the answer to it.
No, what catches your attention is the heavy duty cargo helicopter.
The old Saddle class of helicopters is a relic by today's standards - two rotary engines set on opposing wings, room for a crew of two pilots and a cargo team, a healthy amount of cargo space (allowing for several pallets of supplies, or one or two wheeled vehicles) and a claw apparatus that could latch onto containers and other designated cargo for limited jumps. The advent of the modern day drop ship rendered this frame obsolete by the EUDF a decade ago (one large ship that can do the work of a fleet of smaller ones), but you were just getting your career started when these things were still being used.
The frame you receive has seen better days. The engines are missing, and there's rust and other signs of wear and tear both in and out of the helicopter. But given some care, it could be refurbished.
Only question is - what the heck are you going to use it for specifically?
- 1x rocket engine (burnt out, frame still serviceable)
- 1x Saddle cargo helicopter (severely stripped down, but can be refurbished)
- 1x Saddle cargo helicopter (severely stripped down, but can be refurbished)
Work and a general writer's block fought me on this update every step of the way. Now it's done. I'm going to get some sleep.
ConfusedCanuck
Where did it all go wrong?
- Location
- Neverland
Huh didn't know science could be solemn but when it comes to OSHA compliance anything can happen!
Also MSS is really far out from Europe and where there suppose to operate that's generally a big no no but well I'm always up for us teaming up on the bad guys.
Also MSS is really far out from Europe and where there suppose to operate that's generally a big no no but well I'm always up for us teaming up on the bad guys.
- Location
- USA
Erika technically isn't supposed to be where she is, but she's really good at justifying these sorts of things.
ConfusedCanuck
Where did it all go wrong?
- Location
- Neverland
Eh don't really care where she is honestly this is a Super Robot quest not some more serious quest I'm just here to see Robots duke it out and a team up with us would be good fun!
If I wanted to be in a quest where jurisdictions and assorted politics mattered a lot I would go elsewhere. I'm here for the gags and shout outs not that stuff!
Still generally good stuff, nice that even with the central power source stuff being put out by the Duo our Engineering Team are approaching a new standardized loadout for our combination frames.
Also even if Lana's talking smack that kind of iteration provides the foundation the really crazy innovations can launch themselves off from
Also even if Lana's talking smack that kind of iteration provides the foundation the really crazy innovations can launch themselves off from
Thors_Alumni
Proud member of Thors Class VII from Liberl
- Location
- Liberl Zemuria.
we may have the basis of another flyer type Super Robot Core or Super Robot Support unit from this Saddle class helicopter. this description is giving me an idea.
It's giving me salt we started the Sledder. This thing sounds like it would fill ~80% of the same niche, and fly into the bargain!
Well, it looks like it would behoove us to liaison with MSS next turn to prepare for the raid on the (probably) Westphalian forces. Well, either that or liaison with whatever EUDF force that is responsible for the area the signals originate from.
WRT the Saddle I wonder if it's worthwhile to actually use it as a cargo unit to allow us to carry more super robots/support units to a fight, either by itself or by using it as a basis for a temporary flight pack.
WRT the Saddle I wonder if it's worthwhile to actually use it as a cargo unit to allow us to carry more super robots/support units to a fight, either by itself or by using it as a basis for a temporary flight pack.
...And how do you figure that
- Location
- Attempting to cast animate object on a black hole.
A rocket engine, and a cargo helicopter with an interior bay as well as an external claw.
Well, this should make future rapid deployment options interesting, even if it can only carry one robot at a time.
Well, this should make future rapid deployment options interesting, even if it can only carry one robot at a time.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Cargo Helicopter might be a good combine unit with the Perseus? It's a heavier frame to begin with, so this gives it greater mobility and/or firepower opportunities.
Or we can use it as a boost for our Magical Girl Mech, doubling down on the flight traits.
Or we can use it as a boost for our Magical Girl Mech, doubling down on the flight traits.
Theunderbolt
"Prepare for trouble..."
- Location
- USoA
The Propeller configuration may give us some hover capabilities.
JmonsterNEO
Spouter of nonsense
- Location
- The quest forums
You mean megazord.
- Location
- Pennsylvania
And if all else fails use SCIENCE to make the propellers out of k material and then use them like giant buzz saws…of DOOM!
Is it time for a Tank to Fly?
Though on a more serious note, it's time for some Rocket Science.
I'm trying to determine if the Saddle is better being used as the base for a mobility based combiner for The Perseus and Ichiro, or if we're better of using it as a support vehicle to bring along more units on missions. We need more than just one dropship after all. Leaning towards a combination unit myself.
Though on a more serious note, it's time for some Rocket Science.
I'm trying to determine if the Saddle is better being used as the base for a mobility based combiner for The Perseus and Ichiro, or if we're better of using it as a support vehicle to bring along more units on missions. We need more than just one dropship after all. Leaning towards a combination unit myself.
Thors_Alumni
Proud member of Thors Class VII from Liberl
- Location
- Liberl Zemuria.
we're already working on getting stuff together to build another Dropship. More Specifically the engines for it. The rest is DFRI tech.
How convenient then that the Saddle is missing its Engines.
- Location
- Seattle, Washington
Saddle is too small for dropship duty I think. It can only hold like 2 vehicles internally, which wouldn't even be enough for the Argonauts
- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
Pretty sure the major will not care too much. Peters might make it a thing or not.
Both will try for some kind of favor trading I am sure.
Both will try for some kind of favor trading I am sure.