Are these the stats for a single Steed, or for a Steed Support Unit, which is, unless I'm mistaken, a group of Steeds? And therefore a multi-hit attack (and some other stats too, probably) is because it's actually multiple Steeds.
I'm going by the Legacy Upgrade Tab bookmark's stats, which list it as a core unit (which, I'm assuming, means it's a single Steed). The Seeker also says that it ejects a Steed with its default stats when the Seeker itself is destroyed, and that's presumably a solo Steed as well since the entire reason Jiro put a Steed in there is due to there not being enough room for anything more than that.
Granted, said bookmark is designated as Legacy, so I don't know how accurate or up-to-date it is, or even if my assumptions are correct; I'm just going with the only stat block I can conveniently find.
Intelligence Operative Subcontract
+ Experienced Steed pilot
+ Trained covert operative, should one be required
- No reason to work for us
- Super robots are kind of the opposite of covert in most cases
Civilian Recruitment
+ Should be fairly easy to access
+ Almost completely malleable; should be possible to get someone for any given role
- Completely untrained; will have to start completely from scratch
- Severe security risk; high potential for getting an enemy spy instead
Military Recruitment
+ Reasonably predictable results
+ Pre-trained combatant, just needing a crash course in whatever they wind up piloting
- Pretty tapped out already
- Other branches might take offense to us poaching their guys, especially if we do it a lot
AI Pilots
+ Excellent control of personality traits
+ Can be done on-site without advertising
- Takes time off of other Engineering jobs
- Will need to find a template suitable for the desired machine
1. No, they have more important things to be do.
2. Hell No, way too risky and would get Devlin fired for endangering the program like that.
3. The Military is our only recruiting option that we can reasonably trust and we have only taken the option once. We might get lucky next time we take the option or we might not.
4. We already have AI pilots like Ichiro Banner and the triplets. Not to mention the Kausen as well. I created the triplets to both be in combat but to also have non combatant rolls like a medic or engineer
1. No, they have more important things to be do.
2. Hell No, way too risky and would get Devlin fired for endangering the program like that.
3. The Military is our only recruiting option that we can reasonably trust and we have only taken the option once. We might get lucky next time we take the option or we might not.
4. We already have AI pilots like Ichiro Banner and the triplets. Not to mention the Kausen as well. I created the triplets to both be in combat but to also have non combatant rolls like a medic or engineer
Yeah, like I said, I was listing options with little to no concern for whether they'd be a good idea to actually do, or even if they were practical to attempt. My actual opinions on them, though?
Intelligence Operative: Not happening. If they didn't refuse outright, they'd put some sort of condition on it which would, for all practical purposes, put them outside our chain of command (thus making them not "our" pilot, which is something we can probably agree on being a bad thing).
Civilians: Yeah, as I already mentioned, there's a significant risk of getting an infiltrator, and even if we managed to get a "safe" pilot we'd still have to start them from literally nothing. Too much work, not enough payoff.
Military: Probably a pretty good option overall, so long as we don't hyperfocus on one branch to recruit from or do it too frequently.
AI: As I already said, this is probably my favorite, since it's more customizable. At worst, we'd just need to find someone who'd be good with a specific machine as a template for their personality.
I'm assuming that all our current staff (minus the brass) have already been checked for piloting potential, so I don't really see that as an option.
Mmm, the best combination would be human pilot with an AI support. Might be able to use Psychic Concert and whatnot to link them to get the best of both worlds.
Beowulf I think should be up to scratch after we get the Triple Combination online and do the necessary refits. Perseus still needs combine units but has a niche as our 'Mass Combat Super Robot Team', so they should be great against Westphalian forces.
Jessica's hard to pin because her Core Unit isn't fully optimized and we also don't fully understand how the Crystal modifies things. I think she's probably going to be our best "Giant Killer" though if it scales up enough.
Mmm, the best combination would be human pilot with an AI support. Might be able to use Psychic Concert and whatnot to link them to get the best of both worlds.
Honestly, I don't really know what a human pilot even offers that an AI doesn't. Like, I could understand if it was just an availability thing, but if you're gonna put an AI in a robot anyway why not just give it full control instead of forcing it to cooperate with a human?
As to the Psychic Theater's ability to link to an AI... I kinda doubt it, but if you really want it maybe you should ask the science division to test if it's possible.
As to the Psychic Theater's ability to link to an AI... I kinda doubt it, but if you really want it maybe you should ask the science division to test if it's possible.
"C'mon! Put your backs into it!" Charlie skids to a halt, his Jackal alt form already revving its engines for another. "Gotta get it done perfect like this time!"
"Perfect, or good enough?" Iris quietly asks back.
"Is perfect even a thing?" Frankie chimes in. "I mean-"
The tangent-led conversation is disrupted as all three scatter, a high explosive round impacting the dirt only a scant few hundred meters away from them. The training line of Bulwarks creeping in on their location were beginning to zero in on their targeting - deliberately throttled back, or they would have been taking rounds much, much sooner than this.
"Okay, uh, Charlie?" Frankie Configures into his mecha form - his visor-covered eyes reveal a few dents and cracks, leaving the whole assembly to take on a fragmented look. "Maybe let's not split up this time?"
"We could lure them into a choke point," Iris points out.
"Yeah, well-"
Haruko switches off the audio feed, and turns to you. "This has been their dynamic since I started," she admits. "They work well together, but their personalities are taking time to...work well together without the lengthy discussions."
"So basically they're being siblings trying to figure this out," you snort. Haruko just shrugs, but she doesn't deny it either. "Alright. Keep me posted on it."
One Turn Remaining.
The kaiju that has been lurking near Japan has begun to lash out. Yet almost always, it is avoiding Defense Force assets like the plague. Not once has it made landfall, not even towards port assets - yet a patrol boat fleet here, the odd destroyer there, are apparently fair game. No one has died yet, thankfully, but the drydocks in and around the Pacific District are starting to show vessels with plenty of wear and tear with them.
Diana is of the opinion that the kaiju is sizing up...something in Japan. Charitably, the attacks on the patrols could be attributed to wanting to bleed out the local defenses, but that also doesn't seem to make a lot of sense either - Sheol has to know that even with an alien warship wandering around in high orbit somewhere, you still have access to satellite footage.
But what is worrying Diana - and by extension, yourself - are two things.
One: You've gotten additional visuals on the kaiju. Something about it seems...off. Not even in the normal way in which the damned things look somewhat similar to earth reptiles or dinosaurs. There's something oddly humanoid about it, yet it still navigates the ocean waters as gracefully as any seaborne kaiju would. Combined with its restraint, that's already enough to worry about.
Two: Diana's pinpointed enough of its recent locations, and she grimly shows you where its recent sightings have taken it. No longer is it poking and prodding at all of Japan's coasts. It's probing at a wide, but shrinking, area along one particular part of the central-north coast.
Kyoto.
You have every reason to believe now that the Yukimura Institute may be directly receiving uninvited guests. The only good thing about this is that you have this warning at all.
New type of kaiju spotted. Potential attack on the Yukimura Institute suspected. New Liaison Action, new Deployment Action Unlocked.
1200, 9 October A.D. 2072
Command Center
You just stare at Adriana's avatar.
Adriana just gives a sheepish grin.
You then turn your stare towards Erika Drake. The young woman is dressed in something that looks like a throwback to early twentieth century pilot's gear. Brown leather jacket and pants, a brightly colored scarf, and a cap with goggles hanging from her neck. That, and a holster still holding a freshly used firearm.
Her butler, Patrick, starts things off. "Apologies for the nature of this call, sir," he opens smoothly. This sounds like it has way too much use to be an off the cuff thing - you wonder if he's had to do this with Mander. I'd lose that bet. Especially when his suit was boasting bullet grazes and burn marks. "We attempted to reach our own organization, but our quarry is proving to be a tad more bothersome than we anticipated. Luckily, Adriana still retains a direct line to you."
"She does," you agree. You sigh, pinching your nose. "Alright, spill it. What is it this time? Kaiju? Westphalian?"
"Both."
"What?"
"Yup, boss. Both. Had to parse that one out, but they're both here."
"Compliments where it's due," Erika adds, somewhat begrudgingly. "Your girl here is incredibly persistent."
"Putting it lightly, but go on." You reach for the coffee carafe again - you already feel tired and it's only just hitting lunchtime.
"So, it's like this - at first, we didn't find anyone. Then we did! We totally did! Found someone super sketchy, but then he was just passing on a message to someone else - and then we found someone super scaly they were communicating with locally! 's why you shouldn't use '12345' for a password, don'tcha know, 's how I found the digital trail, and then-!"
You hold up a hand, and Adriana pulls herself back. She does look like she's pouting a bit at being cut off, but you just need the summarized version. You turn to Patrick. "You all found Westphalian and kaiju agents. How did this result in a fight?"
"One of them panicked," he replies. "Simple as that, I'm afraid. This is not uncommon in our work, I might add."
"I'd wager the next round that they're trading for something," Erika says. "They're being unusually cagey about it, even for the Westphalian blokes. Fairly sure something's going to go pearshaped soon enough. They're going to regroup and try again, but I will crash that party."
"Time estimate?"
"They'll lay low, maybe about a month or so. At least, the Westphalians will. No clue what the lizard blokes are going to do."
Great. You've had a period of not having to deal with kaiju, and now you have two instances of it.
Some sort of technology or material exchange is going on between Westphalia and Dr. Sheol. Youmay have a month or two before the deal wraps up, but there's a level of unpredictability here. New Liaison Action, new Deployment Action Unlocked.
0250, 10 October A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay
"Just once," Lana grumbled. "Just once, I want a design that doesn't fight me the whole way!"
"'s called inspiration, shorty," a tired mumble replied back.
"Shut it, clown. Why are you even awake right now anyway?"
"Because I had a brainwave. Kinda surfed it. Wasn't sure where it was going."
"Anything halfway decent?"
"Something like that. Got the data I needed." Jiro yawned - and Lana spotted a pile of coffee cans piled up behind him. For a moment, she wondered if this was just Major Devin in disguise, then she discarded the ridiculous notion immediately. He certainly looked like he wasn't getting much sleep - his hair was even more disheveled, and his eyes were somewhat bloodshot.
"What's it involve?"
"Enough for me to figure out that maybe...uh, maybe..." Jiro yawned again. "...maybe the whole Steed probably is wasting a little space. Something..." He rustled through his notes. "...something about combining the K-Suit and the Steed armor idea and going with that instead. Or something. I dunno. I'll look at it in the morning."
"Wish I had it that easy," Lana grumbled. "The Sledder idea is supposed to be designed as a combining support unit from the ground up. Do you have any idea how long it's going to take to make sure at least 75% of potential combinations could be feasible before even seeing wat the combinations are!?"
Five seconds passed without a response. Lana looked up, and Jiro was already slumped over his desk, already drooling absentmindedly as snores rivaling a sawmill began to fill the room. "Oh, good grief," she grumbled to herself again. "How do humans deal with having to sleep all the time?"
There was at least a note about the Marine Expeditionary Force that was left on digits. The Seekers had become a smash hit, and the very first unit was to be on loan to the Institute for the foreseeable future. At least there was one of Lana's designs that seemed to have ironed all of the issues out - if only this one cooperated!
Jiro has managed to complete the standardization! New Practical Applications Actions Unlocked. New Support Unit, 25th Marine Air Wing, added to roster!
Lana is brute forcing it, but she's making some progress. One Turn Remaining!
1900, 13 October A.D. 2072
The Lair
More taskings. Not nearly enough qualified personnel - flesh or code - to do them all. Having already acknowledged that this starting to become a bottleneck, you tap into Ignatov's team to try and bring another AI up and running. What surprises you - and what surprises Ignatov as well - was that you don't need to scan to incubate new AI personalities.
Beneath everyone's notice, a small community of AI personalities has started to develop in one of the servers.
The new AIs are still somewhat blank slates - but they're already starting to develop quirks and character. Naturally, they started with observing the Novgorod team, but soon their curiosity started to expand to other parts of the network - and by now, you're pretty sure there's not a single part of the Institute that hasn't been observed by the AIs. Even the siblings are surprised by this - and the one sibling that might have caught onto it was streaming off-network helping out Drake.
Ignatov wants to do some more vetting of the personalities, but so far, it all seems to be a relatively benign development. In fact, he's already seeing some code inside that might just fit the tasks you're looking for. The only question is, which one?
You've got AIs starting to develop on their own inside of the base. Intriguing. The only question is: which one looks like a good fit for helping out?
[] One AI personality is already proving to be somewhat brash and headstrong, but eager to learn. (Unknown; chance for potential added d6 on rolls)
[] Another AI personality is proving to be incredibly fussy and precise about just about everything. (Unknown; chance for reducing challenge thresholds)
[] Finally, there's one AI personality that's just...slightly off. Granted, by the Institute's mad science standards it's fairly standard. (Unknown; chances for random benefits)
Three Turns Remaining.
The Build Team are much more ecstatic about this project, even if Anthony fully admits that the Heat Knife was a much more engaging use of their time than he initially expected. The Kausen Energy Blaster package for the Heavy Weapons System is about as classic as it gets for the Institute's armory, dating back to the initial fight against Bandit and the Beowulf's trial by fire.
The mechanism - a giant man portable launcher sized up to a Super Robot's scale - stays the same. The internals are simply ripped out, and the heavy artillery-like method of delivery is replaced with circuitry and slots that can accept low-grade Energy Shards or pre-packaged 'cartridges' instead.
Admittedly, this is going to take a tiny bit longer to make than a Heat Knife. One, because it does take awhile to make sure it won't pull a Bandit and explode in the user's face.
Second, because Greg swears they need to do extensive testing and quality control. They're not just goofing off and firing it constantly at the range to test the melting point of certain metal targets.
Clearly.
One Turn Remaining.
They're professionals, they're just testing, they swear.
2210, 14 October A.D. 2072
Engineering Bay
"...huh." Wilde removed his eye protection as the bright lights finally dissipated. "That was intense."
"Just a little," Henry agreed. "Think it started to go slightly wrong at that first hair fracture."
"The data is promising, though!" Katarina chimes in. "This one didn't work, but I think we don't have to worry about an analogue power adapter anymore!"
The floor was littered with crystal fragments, all sharing that strange dark purple and pink color that Mary's samples seemed to share. Stepping carefully around the broken Faedium fragments, Henry kneels next to the wreckage of the crystal chamber. "Katarina, high speed replay, please."
Wilde joined Henry as Katarina's avatar brought up a replay sequence of the test. The Faedium surged with power as all three engines poured electricity into the crystal. A bright purple light, almost blinding in intensity, glares the whole display out until -
"Ah-ah-ah, there it is," Wilde pointed. "Stop." The recording halted - and Katarina obligingly pointed towards the hairline fracture that was forming at the edge. "That's it."
"It's taking in energy no problem - but it's not discharging energy fast enough," Katarina noted. "No wonder it broke like that."
"Pretty sure Mary'll be happy with the data," Henry commented. "We just need to find a better way to distribute the power more efficiently."
"Think we could dust off the universal adapter some?" Wilde asked.
"Combined with whatever else Mary can produce?" Henry replied. "I don't see why not."
Faedium is a strong candidate for combined formations. Two Turns Remaining. One Turn removed from Faedium requirement!
"Sam here! Happy to report that psychic augmentation of K-Class Materials is kind of - sort of - maybe - back on track!"
"So! Here's the issue - volume. Is K-Class malleable enough that psychic energies can change some properties? ABSOLUTELY. We were - with some finagling - able to induce some added properties to a K-Fang prototype. For about two seconds, we were able to set it on fire with our brains."
"Problem: one person does not have nearly enough psychic power to make that happen by his or herself. You need lots of people for this. At least, with our current understanding of the psychic phenomena, we need at least a literal theater troop to make this work. And you can expect everyone to have a raging hangover by the time they're done, only this time they actually want the alcoholic beverages rather than suffering from them."
"Is it possible? Physically, yes. Can we make use of it right this second? Not really. But I have ideas for this!"
"Sam Carlson, we're done here."
Nothing you can use yet, but it's possible to affect changes onto K-Class Materials. New ESP Actions Unlocked.
According to Max, the Empathic Booster is not exactly reliable. It's hard to get standardized tests on fleeting things like emotions apparently - either you're calm and fine, or you're panicking or angry but possibly putting up a very good poker face. Either way, she's concluded that the Booster, while it latches onto positive or productive emotions, tends to only really have a tangible effect at extreme ranges. Irritatingly, that can either be consistent with one personality, or quite rare in others.
She's looking into setting up a 'net' of sorts, to catch those moments of intensity. And given that the Steeds are becoming the standard fixture of all super robots - at least for now - she's making plans to work with Jiro to make that a reality.
One Turn Remaining.
Ivanna, on the other hand, is somewhat miserable. The Anti-Gravity solution is just not cooperating with her. In attempting to free up more space aboard the Pegasus, she tried to conduct a layered 'shelving' system to include more and more room for frames. What ended up happening, well, you're still not sure. She deleted the footage and adamantly refused to answer any questions about why tools were floating off into the ceiling beyond 'I don't want to talk about it.'
She still has some time to give it another try, but it seems you're stuck with the one Super Robot core unit and some change with the support units for now.
Not great results. One Turn Remaining.
0633, 19 October A.D. 2072 Xenotechnology Labs
Zulu presents to you something that looks, for lack of a better word, 'blocky.' It very much looks like a gun, but in attempting to meld Kausen and human design aspects, it comes across looking like a blunt instrument. "Kaus energy weapon. Self defense mostly," Zulu explains. "Not military grade by Mekaen standards."
He takes another block, and slams it into the end of the weapon - and abruptly the whole thing flares to life, a soft, red glow emanating along the edges and from the barrel. "Current model - modest firepower, by Mekaen standards."
Zulu then hefts the weapon, which latches onto his forearm, and he fires down the improvised range. The solid block of titanium he'd set aside as the target shudders as the energy round impacts, sending it tumbling down against the wall. Some parts of the block have clearly melted, while others are just showing blackened singes.
"Not fit for the Super Robot," he concludes. "However: more than sufficient for supporting units."
You nod - he'd already explained that all it really needed were some of the Energy Shard 'shavings' that weren't fit for consumption or use. The likes of the Beowulf probably was already stronger than what this provided, but that wasn't the point. The likes of the Jackals, the Centurions, or the Phalanxes?
Well, the added help just became that much more deadly. And Zulu's convinced there's even more he could do with this given the time and resources.
You don't even mind that he decided that he wanted to keep the prototype. "This weapon: mine," indeed. You figure he's earned it.
A new firearm type has been developed for the Support Units! Will require minimal effort from Engineering to fit the support units. New Practical Applications Action Unlocked. New Xenotechnology Action Unlocked.
Mary is positively ecstatic.
Or at least you think she is. She's always so monotone, it's honestly hard to tell.
But from what you can tell, she's gotten a lot of good data from the attempted use of the Faedium crystals in the Beowulf's theoretical triple combination. "Stress tolerances can be a tricky thing to gauge," she tells you. "Or at least, if I was being cautious about resources or damaging equipment. Clearly, the Engineers have very little regard for their own well being, so I am getting plenty of data on how far I can push the crystals before they explode violently."
The sad thing is, you're pretty sure Wilde would agree. Henry would probably just smack the other upside the head.
Still, strange tangents aside, it has given her enough data to form the basic Faedium crystal. A fist sized jewel that, at present time, can hold enough power to fuel a Beowulf-class Jackal, its Shepherd and the Falcon unit for at least two hours...albeit, if they were being powered separately. Combined is still a tricky proposition.
But even so, it seems that Mary's set her sights on the Beowulf for future testing. Wilde and Henry have given her ideas...
Complete! Thanks to Wilde and Henry's use of the prototype and their own disregard for personal safety (apparently), Mary was able to complete her Faedium experiments ahead of schedule!
New Faedium Actions Unlocked! New Action in support of Triple Combination Unlocked!
Ah, do you smell that? That's the smell of Science being done... and of digital frustration at a classic Sci-Fi element not cooperating. Science!
Oh well.
Well, we've had hints before, but I didn't quite catch on that Japan's apparently dealing with an intelligent kaiju until it was basically spelled out for me. Quite worrisome. Should probably warn Yukimura that it might be hunting for him, specifically.
Enemy factions cooperating is unsurprising, but unpleasant. Though given their incompatible long-term goals, it's probably a good bet that they're gonna start fighting each other at some point; hopefully we're still around to take advantage of it (though admittedly we might be threatening enough for them to band together anyway).
The AI choices look interesting, though I'm guessing that the upcoming turns will determine whether they fit our expectations. That said, we've got a lot of extra dice already, so maybe the lowered thresholds one would be more interesting?
Faedium certainly seems like it'll be a good power source for a super robot, if a fist-sized chunk can power an uncombined Beowulf for hours. Gotta say, I was woefully underestimating it.
Well for the AI I want to go with the first option!
Now for the rest of the update next turn we have a lot of other factions to talk to about stuff since we will need to coordinate with them all. Also we'll need to get the build team on those new weapons for our support units to give them a boost.
Before I forget: We probably shouldn't talk to Yukimura in person if that kaiju is looking for him, because that'd just be leading it straight to him. Or, if we absolutely MUST speak to him in person, make sure to bring a robot along for when the kaiju inevitably shows up in the middle of things so we can back Mercury up.
As for the submarine... how waterproof are our designs? And would it be a better idea to send Ichiro that way than a human-piloted robot since he probably doesn't need to breathe? Kinda too bad we don't have anything appropriate for underwater missions, and no convenient access to water to incentivize making a submarine that turns into a robot...
Before I forget: We probably shouldn't talk to Yukimura in person if that kaiju is looking for him, because that'd just be leading it straight to him. Or, if we absolutely MUST speak to him in person, make sure to bring a robot along for when the kaiju inevitably shows up in the middle of things so we can back Mercury up.
[X] Another AI personality is proving to be incredibly fussy and precise about just about everything. (Unknown; chance for reducing challenge thresholds)
Not really a fan of the first one, The third option is more interesting and if possible I will vote for it next chance we get. But for now I want the second one due to the chance to reduce challenge threshold bonus. Our tech is only going to get more advanced and more challenging options will come with that. So again I want the second one for that exact reason.
[X] Another AI personality is proving to be incredibly fussy and precise about just about everything. (Unknown; chance for reducing challenge thresholds)
[X] Another AI personality is proving to be incredibly fussy and precise about just about everything. (Unknown; chance for reducing challenge thresholds)
Sam won't tolerate a lack of safety standards. With as many mad science mishaps as his team has, they'd all be dead if they weren't careful about mitigating the damage.
[X] Another AI personality is proving to be incredibly fussy and precise about just about everything. (Unknown; chance for reducing challenge thresholds)
[X] Another AI personality is proving to be incredibly fussy and precise about just about everything. (Unknown; chance for reducing challenge thresholds)
[X] Another AI personality is proving to be incredibly fussy and precise about just about everything. (Unknown; chance for reducing challenge thresholds)
