Richard didn't think himself exceptional. Not even great. Just 'good enough.' Which apparently already put him leagues ahead of most. "Guess that makes me the 'old timer' by default," he said to himself.
Yeah though, civilians are not a significant target for everyone but Westphalia, the risk to our recon is low.
OPFOR's strategy seemed to be to bait the primary response to the dam, as that's the standard target for the Kausen. The Base appears to be the actual primary target, possibly they found something big. A major power source... maybe even a defector that they're trying to execute?
Either way, we need to get in their grill immediately.
OPFOR's strategy seemed to be to bait the primary response to the dam, as that's the standard target for the Kausen. The Base appears to be the actual primary target, possibly they found something big. A major power source... maybe even a defector that they're trying to execute?
Adhoc vote count started by Thors_Alumni on May 22, 2018 at 7:16 PM, finished with 15 posts and 8 votes.
[X] Plan Charge!
-[X] Third Reconnaissance
--[X] Continue reaching out for survivors and bringing them in. There's very little they can do against the Kausen, but they can still save lives.
-[X] First Experimental Support Wing (Either action will take time)
--[X] Immediately depart for Fort Brenner...or what is left of it. Callaghan is running in blind, and would benefit from having some air cover.
-[X] 1LT Callaghan
--[X] Full speed ahead. If you don't rush in now,there might not be anyone left to save. You have to hurry!
[X]Plan Roll the Calvary
-[X] Third Reconnaissance
-- [X] Continue reaching out for survivors and bringing them in. There's very little they can do against the Kausen, but they can still save lives.
-[X] First Experimental Support Wing (Either action will take time)
-- [X] Immediately depart for Fort Brenner...or what is left of it. Callaghan is running in blind, and would benefit from having some air cover.
Item Description:
A transparent cuboid made of Space Plastic that has dregs of something that emits the same Purple Energy readings as the Kausen. It smells faintly of grape juice.
I'd also avoid pulling out any pictures of family/loved ones. At least when the camera's on you.
I'll leave voting up for a couple of hours.
Adhoc vote count started by Basarin on May 22, 2018 at 8:20 PM, finished with 18 posts and 9 votes.
[X] Plan Charge!
-[X] Third Reconnaissance
--[X] Continue reaching out for survivors and bringing them in. There's very little they can do against the Kausen, but they can still save lives.
-[X] First Experimental Support Wing (Either action will take time)
--[X] Immediately depart for Fort Brenner...or what is left of it. Callaghan is running in blind, and would benefit from having some air cover.
-[X] 1LT Callaghan
--[X] Full speed ahead. If you don't rush in now,there might not be anyone left to save. You have to hurry!
[X]Plan Roll the Calvary
-[X] Third Reconnaissance
-- [X] Continue reaching out for survivors and bringing them in. There's very little they can do against the Kausen, but they can still save lives.
-[X] First Experimental Support Wing (Either action will take time)
-- [X] Immediately depart for Fort Brenner...or what is left of it. Callaghan is running in blind, and would benefit from having some air cover.
[X] Plan Charge!
We need a melee weapon for our mechas, everyone knows that guns are almost worthless in mechas unless they are the speshial weapuns that annihilate everything.
[X] Plan Charge!
We need a melee weapon for our mechas, everyone knows that guns are almost worthless in mechas unless they are the speshial weapuns that annihilate everything.
Adhoc vote count started by Basarin on May 22, 2018 at 8:44 PM, finished with 19 posts and 9 votes.
[X] Plan Charge!
-[X] Third Reconnaissance
--[X] Continue reaching out for survivors and bringing them in. There's very little they can do against the Kausen, but they can still save lives.
-[X] First Experimental Support Wing (Either action will take time)
--[X] Immediately depart for Fort Brenner...or what is left of it. Callaghan is running in blind, and would benefit from having some air cover.
-[X] 1LT Callaghan
--[X] Full speed ahead. If you don't rush in now,there might not be anyone left to save. You have to hurry!
[X]Plan Roll the Calvary
-[X] Third Reconnaissance
-- [X] Continue reaching out for survivors and bringing them in. There's very little they can do against the Kausen, but they can still save lives.
-[X] First Experimental Support Wing (Either action will take time)
-- [X] Immediately depart for Fort Brenner...or what is left of it. Callaghan is running in blind, and would benefit from having some air cover.
0810, 1 November, A.D. 2070 Yuri Gagarin Command Bridge
Haruko closed her eyes, taking a few moments to breathe in deeply. Do not be so hasty to make a decision. Voices from her days in the academy came back to her. But also do not be timid in the face of danger or uncertainties. Though we may never come close to their caliber, the great leaders of old knew when to be cautious...and when to throw caution to the wind. It may have won them or lost them the day, but they at least committed.
Haruko thought rapidly.
Grand Coulee Dam. No longer a tactical consideration. The image of the Dam in her mind faded away, to be replaced with the image of the refugee camp near Coulee City. First Response Corps en route. Possibility of people requiring assistance remains.
It was joined in her head by the images of the trail of death towards Fort Brenner. Battle damage consistent with past Kausen raid sites. Loss of contact with Fort Brenner. All local and national communication lines rendered non-mission capable. Means remain unknown.
Enemy actions are inconsistent. But something is at Fort Brenner. DFRI represents the only combat capable forces in theater.
Action is required. We must commit.
Haruko sharply exhaled. May fate prove me correct, she asked silently.
She opened her eyes. No one else could see her with her doubts. She couldn't afford to let anyone else see. "Lieutenant Wilde. Continue search and rescue operations with the First Response Corps. Cover ground between Coulee City and the flood zones."
"Ma'am." Wilde's link disconnected.
"Sergeant Henry. Order the First Support Wing to make way to Fort Brenner. Make all due haste."
"Full speed, Ma'am."
"Lieutenant Callaghan. You will have your air cover, but we cannot afford to delay. Make all speed towards Fort Brenner."
"On it, Captain." Within moments, all comms links cut out, leaving Haruko alone with her thoughts. Her face was faintly illuminated by the tactical display showing the specks on the map moving to enact her orders.
May fate prove me correct.
0820, 1 November, A.D. 2070 Coulee City, Refugee Gathering
"Found a few more, Sir. Had to use the tow cables on this one; they were just floating on a piece of roof."
"Good copy, bring 'em in," Wilde said before he cut the link. Turning to his counterpart from the FRC, he sighed. "Man, you guys get the fun jobs, don't you?" he grumbled.
"Fun. Heh." The FRC officer gave a mirthless laugh. "We volunteered for this crap, man. We drill for it everyday. But you never think it could happen to your home." The officer scowled at the flood zones. "Until you guys came in, we couldn't talk to anyone on the ground. Our bosses were about to call us off until your dropship set up local comms."
"Part of the service," Wilde said wearily.
A fresh cheer rose from the gathered police and Soldiers as another convoy arrived, all laden with soaked, shivering, but unharmed refugees. The rescue officer's gaze softened. "I complain...but then you at least save people," he said. "Thanks for the assist."
"Don't thank us yet," Wilde warned. "There's still that crap going on everywhere else to worry about."
0821, 1 November, A.D. 2070
Entrance to Fort Brenner
"Oh, geez," Richard muttered as he pushed the accelerator as fast as he dared. Lumbering behind him and leaving a billowing trail of dust and grass in its wake was the Shepherd. The closer he got to Fort Brenner, the more he was forced to weave around additional ruins. Both out of wanting to preserve his speed, and to allow the dead their dignity, Richard drove around the overturned wreckage of an armored carrier. "I've seen horror holos that start out like this."
"Bad taste in movies, Sir," Henry replied from his end. At the corner of his eye, Richard could see the slowly approaching forms of the TMUs on the map, all pushing as fast as they could in jet form. "It'll give you the jitters in situations like these."
"Yeah? And how do you figure you'll ever end up in situations like these?" he fired back. Less out of outrage, and more to keep his mind off of the carnage he was seeing.
He wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel. Fear. Revulsion. Maybe disgust.
Richard found it interesting how easy anger was starting to come about. "These poor bastards never had a chance."
"So let's make sure any survivors get one," Henry said grimly.
0825, 1 November, A.D. 2070 Yuri Gagarin, Command Bridge
"...and that is the situation so far, Sir," Haruko said, finishing her report.
"Good work so far," Major Devin said from the other side of the sat-link. He was hiding it well, but Haruko had the feeling, after nearly a year of working with the man, that he was just as stressed and anxious as she was. For one thing, his hair was still askew, and there was a small stack of coffee cups behind him. "General Armistead is finally rallying his forces...about three hours too late. I've got General Peters asking for answers as well, but I told her to back off." Answering the raised eyebrow from Haruko, he explained grumpily, "I don't rush my people, Sasaki. You're doing fine. You just have to trust the guys on ground will get it done."
"Just as you must trust that I will get it done?" she asked, a rough approximation of a smile on her face.
"Hah!" Major Devin was not so reserved with his smile, though that might have been the exhaustion. "Just see this through, Captain. Then-"
"Ma'am, Sir, apologies," one of the pilots cut in. "But you both might want to see this..."
0827, 1 November, A.D. 2070
Ruins of Fort Brenner
"Sir, careful," Henry warned. "Even from here I'm picking up - "
" - weird signals, I know," Richard said. The scanners normally could pick up and roughly identify most sounds. The single staccato of an assault rifle firing could be picked up, but the scanners essentially threw their hands up in the air and gave up at the other signals. No known sounds could be compared, and the uncomfortable signs of the scanner logging new entries was hanging over his HUD. At this point, he was still pushing full speed towards the sounds of what sounded like weapons fire and explosions, though he'd never heard anything like the former.
Richard was counting himself lucky he was still some distance away from the source of the disturbances.
"Any idea what - ?" Henry was about to ask before the situation decided to take over.
The distant wall of what looked like a motor pool burst open in a cloud of debris and dust, and -
"Is-is that a Mecha?"
Whatever it was, the figure flew a fair distance, tumbling over and over until it slowly came to a stop, leaving gouges along the concrete along the way. It looked as if it were cradling something.
Another Mecha-sized figure - this one clad in yellow, and uncomfortably standing a full head above the roof of the motor pool - strode through the wreckage, brandishing what looked to be a unsettlingly large weapon. Richard's scanners were picking something up, something that might be text, but he couldn't be sure. And in any case, he realized he was still accelerating. Should he-?
Before he could get his thoughts together, the chain of events decided to throw another wrench at him. From the cradled hands of the downed Mecha-sized figure, the scanner positively picked up the sound of assault rifle fire. Assault rifle fire, and recognizable speech.
"Stay away, you big bastard!" the scanner picked up. "Stay away from him!" The scanner was still loading in the corner of his eye, but he didn't need a positive identification. All he needed was that there was an EUDF rank badge broadcasting a signal to any friendly IFF in range. That, and what looked to be an EUDF personnel firing a personal weapon against a Mecha ineffectually.
"Well, shit."
Richard seemed to be saying that a lot. But he had a decision to make, and not a whole lot of time to make it.
The enemy is still unknown, the situation just unfolded, and 1LT Callaghan is still on an accelerated course straight into the fray.
There is what looks to be a downed Kausen, with an EUDF personnel (identity unknown) attempting to defy an opposing Kausen with an operational weapon. Very little is known about the enemy Kausen; you surmise that it is about to try and finish off its disabled opposite.
The First Experimental Support Wing is en route, but they will take one turn of combat to arrive. The Shepherd remains on standby should you require it.
You are about to commit to battle. Outline Callaghan's battle plan. How does he commit to battle?
Here is where we begin entering combat.
I will be rolling for both Callaghan and the enemy. However, I will do so in sections of two-to-three turns (depending on situation).
Outline what you want (in plan format, if you please) to be Callaghan's approach. Below I have posted the options that are available. Keep them in mind as you outline your plan.
Also, if there is a particular catchphrase or any other bit of fluff you want me to write in, now's the time to outline that. A name for the combined Jackal/Shepherd combination wouldn't be amiss, or Callaghan will make one up in the heat of the moment.
Enjoy! I will call the vote tomorrow morning sometime.
1LT Richard Callaghan - Intuitive Piloting (You may Re-Roll One failed Strike or Agile Roll per Turn)
Jackal 'Callaghan Custom'
8 Hit Points (HP)
Notable Character (Can Strike at Enemy Target twice per turn)
Conventional Weaponry (Can conduct Test Roll to Strike at Enemy Target at 2d6)
Heavy Weapons (Disposable Heavy Weapons specifically for use with the Jackal. Can make Heavy Weapon Strike against Enemy at Advantage (3d6) for 2 HP. If not utilizing Shepherd Armor Pack, can only be used Twice per Combat) (Costs 1 RP)
Agile (Can negate One successful Enemy Strike against Jackal. Conduct Test Roll at 2d6)
'RAMMING SPEED!' (Can configure into patrol truck form to make a ramming attack. Conduct Test Roll at 2d6. If successful, can attempt a free Strike at Disadvantage (1d6))
'Combine!' (May spend one Turn summoning Support Unit to conduct Combinable Configuration with SV-10 Shepherd. Any attempted Enemy Strike is made at Disadvantage (1d6))
'Combine!' (Will add 10 HP to Jackal 'Callaghan Custom')
Extra Tough (Can ignore one Enemy Strike at Disadvantage (1d6))
Conventional Weaponry (Can conduct Test Roll to Strike at Enemy Target at 2d6)
Demolisher (Can freely make Heavy Weapon Strike at Advantage (3d6) every other turn, deals 2 HP. Does not incur extra RP cost
V-33 TMU 'Longship Configuration' Flight
They will attempt a Heavy Weapons Strike Once every Three Turns at Advantage (3d6) for 2 HP. Once expended, they must return to the Gagarin for rearming)
[X] Hit and Run
-[X]RAMMING SPEED, then retreat long enough to COMBINE into the Timberwolf(tentative name)
--[X]"Hey Bastard, hope you like the taste of rubber!"
As a reminder, voting will remain up until tomorrow morning. I'll be turning in to bed now, but any questions, ping me and let me know.
Also, my day was made today when Super Robot Quest made it to the Quest Recommendations thread. We've been running for almost a month now. Thanks for making it so fun so far!
Hrrm...
The Heavy Weapon shouldn't be used until we're combined, but I bet doing so loses us Agile in exchange for Extra Tough.
But that's not necessarily a bad idea- Agile seems to require rolling to make it work, but Extra Tough is straight-up. It won't be useful if the enemy hits harder than that though, which is the tricky bit.
Here's what I'm thinking-If I recall correctly we've two turns before the TMU arrive.
And I believe they mostly offer damage, so what we want is to tank until it arrives.
So here's my general idea-
"Callaghan!' Air support is on it's way, hold the line until then!"
What that translates to mechanically is holding his Intuitive Piloting re-roll for any Agile rerolls needed.
I'm not sure how much damage that Kausen can do...But I'd say at about 4HP remaining on the Jackal is when we combine into the Shepard, at which case we start using the Demolisher free Heavy Weapons attacks, and give those strikes the Intuitive Piloting re-roll.
Ramming Speed! I figure we should do maybe as our second attack in the first turn-Callaghan gets two attacks per turn as far as I can tell.
Okay so we have a friendly alien and an unfriendly alien duking it out.
[X] Plan: Keep Charging
-[X] Ramming Speed into the BadGuy
-[X] Call in Air support while combining with Sheperd
-[X] Duke it out while targeting the weapon in an attempt to disarm the Kausen and try to lead the fight away from the downed mech and the human.
-[X] If winning, try to disable the mech without killing the pilot.
-[X] If losing, stall for time and hope that the downed mech gets up quickly and comes to help.
-[X] Keep an eye out for other enemies that may try to gank.
