[X] Plan XYZ
-[X] Clean up the Blue! (-403 R)
-[X] Send a team to Oblivion bay to search for usable Jaeger frames, parts, and other intel. (Free Comm Action)
-[X] Research Breach Gate Technology. (Safe research mode!) (Free Breach Research)
-[X] Research Helios Heavy Fusion Stellarator refinement, including ironing out the weaknesses (shielding especially), making it compatible with lower-MK Jaegers in addition to MK IV Jaegers, and improved design efficiency to reduce its overall cost. (Free Jaeger Research 1)
-[X] Research Tacit Ronin Agility*20 (Free Jaeger Research 2)
-[X] Recycle 9*Steel Body Plating (Free Recycling Action)
-[X] Build 5*Banshee Helicopter Squadrons (Free Construction Action)
-[X] Research Magic. As in real, genuine, frakkin' reality-warping Magic.
-[X] Research Fragmentation Slicers to downscale their effective operational size and increase energy efficiency.
-[X] Research ANGEL-Net Transmitter (Safe Research Mode as a precaution against accidentally damaging Jagdhund in the process of acquiring the design)
-[X] Research the means to produce an explosive device with the destructive capacity of a nuclear weapon; if necessary, consider use of the Jaeger power cores as a starting point and the potential of creating a derivative design intended only to explode without ever actually having to power anything. (SAFE RESEARCH MODE!)
-[X] Research 'Breach Buster' Anti-Breach device
-[X] Build 1*Jaeger Sheath (-400 R)
-[X] Build 4*60mm Laser Vulcans (-1000 R)
-[X] Research Energy Shield Technology w/Crank Token
-[X] Research ARGES datalink capability for Heimdall and similar weapon designs
-[X] Repair Tacit Ronin & Jagdhund (-200 R) and Install Upgrades as follows:
--[X] Install Jaeger Sheath on Jagdhund's thigh, use to equip Ascalon Blade
--[X] Install Laser Vulcans on Tacit Ronin's Chest and Torso
(1803 R Spent, 35965 R Remain+Resources from Recycling)
News comes from the medical facilities. Noah
will eventually recover, but it's not going to be perfect. He'll
technically be able to pilot, but doing so could put his health in serious danger. Medical strongly recommends against having him pilot during this time period-- but it's ultimately up to the council.
Noah can resume piloting duties in 6 weeks. However, he will be more likely to take harsher damage for an additional 4 weeks afterwards.
The J-Recycler plant keeps up its work, taking apart more of Tacit's original steel armour into a more usable form.
9 Steel Body Plating recycled!
+563 Resources!
A bunch of pilots finally get assignments, as fifteen brand-new helicopters are spat out of the factories. The "Banshees", as they're called, are practically as fresh as their pilots are-- something that the Hellhound old-timers don't hesitate to point out. Even so, the 77ers let command know that they'll keep the new pilots from doing anything
particularly stupid. These new rides are pretty fancy tech.
5 A-KA-78-L "Banshee" Attack Helicopter Squadrons constructed!
On the jaeger front, attempts to correct the weaknesses of both mechs are underway. A large sheath capable of holding the devastating Ascalon Blade is fabricated, and bolted to Jagdhund's hip on a swiveling hinge, while the electronics and four emitters for the Laser Vulcans are built and installed in Tacit Ronin's torso. Additionally, the nearly-finished upgrades to Tacit's reflexes are finally completed, allowing it a maximum speed of 288 kilometres per hour
without the use of any supplemental boosters! However, at this rate, the upgrades are going to exceed the jaeger's reactor's maximum sustainable output soon.
4 60mm Laser Vulcans constructed! Jaeger Sheath constructed!
Tacit to Agility 5! 19/20 points! 1 stat point before reactor limit is reached!
Both jaegers are fully operational! Equipment installed!
Work on the wormhole project continues, with the main concern still being duration. However, an additional concern has popped up-- the Breach itself is highly energetic and radioactive, so a wormhole would either have to shield the occupants, or the occupants would have to bring shielding with them. Other than that, stuff is coming along-- though it's not as easy as the council would like it.
Attempts to compress the new Helios reactor in complexity and cost have minimal efforts, only lowering the overall expenditure needed to construct one slightly.
Helios Heavy Fusion Stellarator costs 52 000 Resources!
More work is put into the Fragmentation Slicer project, aiming at creating something a little less... nonsensically massive, and preferably more power-efficient. The result is pretty good.
The BRFS-03 Fragmentation Falchion (the second version was simulation-only) is significantly
less giant than the Buster Slicer was-- though at 42 metres long, it's still a whole lot of weapon, and a little poorly balanced for it. The overall design is somewhat like that of a
Lange Messer, with a single-"edged" straight blade and a slight curve at the metal tip, though it's far thicker in both width and girth than most, more akin to a cleaver.
In order to maintain some of its damaging potential, the pommel has been expanded to contain the extra tech, and attached to a jointed sub-arm that links it to the jaeger's arm. Like the 01y, the Falchion draws its power straight from the jaeger's reactor through a hardline connection in the arm, and can be folded up against the arm when not in use, thanks to the sub-arm. Power consumption still demands the output of a Mark III reactor or stronger, however.
Due to its smaller size, certain properties have been changed. The compression rate of the artificial Breach is lower than that of the Buster Slicer, limiting its overall output and damage-- while the smaller size allows it greater dexterity, and less impact on a jaeger's ability to grapple. Overall, it's a decently satisfactory weapon, even if it lacks.
New Jaeger Weapon available to purchase: BRFS-03 Fragmentation Falchion!
BRFS-03 Fragmentation Falchion
2300 Resources
Built-in/Carried One-Handed Melee Weapon
Attack Dice: 1d10
Parry Dice: 1d5+1
Block Dice: 2d5
Armour Penetration: Ignores Armour
Grappling Bonus: -4
Durability: 8
Damage Type: Burst
Damage Bonus: 1d5
Special:
May be activated or sheathed as a Free Action.
The Falchion takes up an Arm when sheathed, and the Hand when active. It is always treated as built-in for the purpose of attacks, and as carried for the purpose of grappling.
The Falchion may only be used by Mark III+ Jaegers.
Yeah, frag weapons are tough stuff.
Reverse-engineering the ANGEL-Net transmitter is easier than expected, even if it's slowed by the care taken to remove Jagdhund's and re-insert it without accidentally damaging anything. The recreated blueprints will result in a larger, more complex transmitter; a modification made in order to work around the lack of a second Supercell reactor to power it.
New Communications Augment Available: ANGEL-Net Transmitter!
ANGEL-Net Transmitter (Communications)
2000 Resources
One per city. Allows the equipped city to communicate instantaneously with any other functional Transmitter, via the Advanced Next-Generation Electron Link Network.
Designing a substitute for a nuke is a bit confusing for your engineers-- after all, they recently were invested in working on fissile weapons, only for the council to point them away from them. Still, they try their best. Nuclear weapons aren't exactly rocket science, but jaeger power cores might as well be. Stripping out the safeties on such an expensive chunk of material won't work-- as the weapon has to be able to detonate
safely, not whenever it darn well feels like it. The easiest thing would be to replicate the Mark III's self-destruct program, and rig up a Vortex Turbine into a big, bulky nuke. It won't be cheap, but it's strong, and it can be done.
Nuclear Vortex Turbines may be modified into Nuclear Vortex Bombs (6x 1d10 Burst for 5 units, EMP for 15, 6 AP, Breach Collapse) as a dedicated action. This may be reversed by the same.
Currently, an NVB can only be carried by another jaeger (under the arm and such), and costs an entire Vortex Turbine. However, it is both stronger and nastier than any normal nuke, and contaminates far less. You can't intentionally make supercells into bombs yet.
Ultimately, though, it's up to the council to decide; go with the jury-rigged option, or try to build a proper fissile weapon.
Attempting to work on the concept of a 'breach buster' fails, due to a software crash. Recovering the data takes a lot longer than expected, and eats up far too much time to actually accomplish anything.
Thanks to the samples from Kraken and Crank, Kaiju Science and Jaeger Tech are able to reverse engineer a working replica of the barrier generators which
should work on the jaegers. The new shield is a bit of a power hog, and-- much like as seen with Kraken-- can backfire dramatically if it's overloaded, but otherwise should provide a useful defense. Additionally, it's capable of expanding its area of effect, though this weakens its effectiveness by more than 20%.
New Jaeger Equipment Available: EXB-02 Variable Barrier Shield!
EXB-02 Variable Barrier Shield
2125 Resources
Power: 5 (4)
Dispersal: 4 (2)
Integrity: 13
Affects all clustered units by default. Defends against Ranged Attacks only. May be activated or deactivated as a free action, as long as it has not collapsed.
Power is the amount that incoming damage is reduced by. Dispersal is the amount of damage that bleeds off each round. Integrity is how much damage the shield can absorb before collapsing.
As long as the shield is active, take a -1 penalty to physical stats. If the shield collapses, suffer a Minor Chest Wound. A collapsed shield cannot be reactivated until it is repaired.
As a free action on its turn, the jaeger may expand the shield, covering everything within 3 units. When expanded, all attacks against those within the barrier resolve against the shield first, using the values in parentheses.
Developing a link to allow the Heimdal to cooperate with the Arges system is as simple as writing a software patch and installing some extra photosensors on the vehicle.
RX-11 Railguns may benefit from Arges!
The last major project is a revisit to an old topic of much debate; Magic.
Not stage magic, not the Breach technology originally offered up as magic-- actual, capital-m, fireballs and transmuting
Magic.
After a brief argument across most of the major scientists, a team is put together, headed by the ever-eccentric Dr. Sturm. Team Magic (reluctantly) sets to work, which consists mainly of thinking just
how to actually go about researching magic. Eventually, it's decided that their best bet of getting remotely close to succeeding is to examine whatever anomalous occurrences are abounding in the city, and ask for assistance from those who may... well, believe in it a little more than the team does.
To say it's an endeavor is an understatement. The team isn't heard from for the whole week, and only shows back up to store some of their data, and offer a report up to the council.
Team Magic's report said:
Results inconclusive; need more time and better lab.
Decided to focus on small stuff first. Fire something.
- Sturm
At last, the reports come back from the scouting party sent to Oblivion Bay. It's... a bit less than what command was hoping for.
The place was crawling with kaiju, ranging from Category 0 to Category IV. Because of this, they weren't able to stay as long as they'd wanted to, and so have less than they'd want. However, they
did see
some relatively intact-seeming jaegers that could be of use-- either rebuild, or taken apart and used as a frame.
List of potentially recoverable jaegers:
-
Lucky Seven: A Mark I jaeger with a reputation for surviving very dangerous encounters, pulled from the roster in 2021 due to the threat of Category IV kaiju. Seven was mostly intact, though the kaiju have inflicted some damage, leaving the jaeger missing its legs below the knee, and much of its torso. Seven's integrated armament consisted of a rocket-driven anchor spike in its left arm. Combat style: reckless wrestler.
-
Midsummer Night: The younger sibling to Coyote Tango, this Mark II was far less famous than its elder counterpart, and fell after killing three kaiju. Currently, Night's arms and shoulders are mostly gone, with more severe damage to the left side. Night's integrated armament consisted of two short-range M68 Railguns, and a pair of retractable daggers near its elbows. Combat style: stalwart bruiser.
-
Gipsy Danger: One of the more famous Mark IIIs, mission-killed in 2020 by its mutual-kill, the Category III "Knifehead". Gipsy lacks an arm, half its connpod, and a good chunk of its chest and reactor area. Most of the kaiju seem to avoid it. Gipsy's integrated armament consisted of a pair of gauntlet-mounted I-19 Plasmacasters, and an "Elbow Rocket" melee enhancer in each forearm. Combat style: street brawler.
And that concludes the week.
Kaiju will be coming soon.
