If it was a finger gun the thumb wouldn't be curled. It's calling us out. Not sure what response to give, but it's only 3 units away from a face full of thermite.
Waltz's faceplate splits open, eyes peeling away to reveal a mouth.

In perfect english, the monster speaks.

"Tacit Ronin, I call shenanigans."
 
Waltz's faceplate splits open, eyes peeling away to reveal a mouth.

In perfect english, the monster speaks.

"Tacit Ronin, I call shenanigans."
Yea, after a few fights they learn the effective range of our weapon systems. He's probably perfectly happy to sit at 21 units and play charades all day.
 
Waltz's faceplate splits open, eyes peeling away to reveal a mouth.

In perfect english, the monster speaks.

"Tacit Ronin, I call shenanigans."
"Yer the one who showed outta nowhere all menacing 'an Kaiju-Jaeger hybrid-like! If anythin' we should be the ones calling shenanigans here!"
 
Last edited:
[X] Mirror Waltz' pointing, but then attempt to give a thumbs up.
-[X] Try to use Tacit's horns and/or lights to repeat a message in Morse Code.
--[X] "Ally?"
-[X] Keep alert and remain prepared for combat in case it attacks.
[X] Tanks and Artillery continue to hold Overwatch it in case it gets hostile and moves in range.
Tacit's own arm shoots out, pointing a finger right back at Waltz. The being stares, eyelets flickering on the visor.

The index finger of the jaeger curls up, replaced by the extending thumb. Waltz's head tilts in curiosity, as its own arm sinks down to its side. And then Tacit's lights start.

'.- .-.. .-.. -.-- ..--..'

Waltz stares. Or, at least, appears to stare. It's hard to tell with the bio-signature.

Never one to give up, Tacit repeats the Morse signal.

'.- .-.. .-.. -.-- ..--..'

No real effect. Waltz shifts, weight moving to its back foot. A gout of steam hisses from the semi-exposed internals of its neck.


A noise that's somewhere between a crack and a squelch splits the pitter patter of the rain. One of the spires on Waltz's back falls backwards, before swivelling straight to the surf. There's a pneumatic thump, as water sprays up around the tube.

Waltz shrugs a shoulder, and the cannon swivels back upright with another crack.

Distances:
Waltz is 23 Units from the DP, 21 from Tacit/Tanks, and 13 from the shoreline. Waltz hasn't moved any units, and you've got no idea what it just did.

What do you do?
 
That's a weird ass Kaiju. Why the hell did it fire it's goddamn cannon at the goddamned sea?

Was it trying to intimidate us? Say we aren't his target?

[X] Try again, this time say Hello using the loudspeakers.
[X] Conventionals are on Overwatch once more.
 
[X] Try again, this time say Hello using the loudspeakers.
[X] Conventionals are on Overwatch once more.
 
for some reason this reminds me of two dragons showing off at the border of their territories trying to out-do the other.
 
[X] Try again, this time say Hello using the loudspeakers.
[X] Conventionals are on Overwatch once more.
"What a surprise," Noah says drily. "The 80-meter-tall biomechanical alien can't speak Morse."

"Oh, come on Williams, don't be such a stick," replies Alec, bumping his comrade with an elbow. The older pilot just rolls his eyes, but grabs the loudspeaker mic nonetheless.

"Alright then, fine. You want social? How's this?" The man brings the mic to his mouth. "Oi, you! Friend, foe, or neither?"

[---]

Noah's voice is a little cracled by the older speakers, but perfectly audible.

Waltz does not reply, except for another hiss of steam.

[---]

"See?" Noah raises an eyebrow. "I told you. English is even less likely than-"

[---]

The conversation is cut off, as Waltz takes a single step back. Instantly, Tacit's head perks up, the Jaeger's stance shifting. Waltz's 'eyes' dart back, before the bio-signature takes another step.
And another.
And another.

The... Not-kaiju passes the Miracle Mile, heading slowly westward with each step.
Ahahahahahaha
Distances:
Waltz is 27 Units from the DP, 25 from Tacit/Tanks, and 17 from the shoreline.


[ ] The kaiju never bothered us anyways (just let it go).
[ ] Chase it down!
[ ] Be paranoid.
 
[X] The kaiju never bothered us anyways (just let it go).

I assume we aren't going to demobilize until it leaves sensor range?

Though if Waltz just walks to 30 units away and starts shooting I'm gonna be a sad.
 
[X] The kaiju never bothered us anyways (just let it go).
-[X] Keep track of it with the sensors, stay mobilized until we can confirm this isn't just a trick.

If the not-Kaiju doesn't want to fight, I'm not going to insist on picking a fight.
 
[X] The kaiju never bothered us anyways (just let it go).
-[X] Keep track of it with thesensors, stay mobilized until wecan confirm this isn't just a trick.

Right. Let's review what it did. It pointed at us, fired it's cannon at the water and when we asked whether it was friend or foe it took a few steps back.

The most likely translation is "you aren't my target, I'm backing away", but we aren't one of the few cities to have survived the goddamned Apocalypse because we aren't Paranoid.

Keep those scanners rolling, and we're going to start upgrading it until we can track this motherfucker reliably. Comms too, in case he starts hitting other human towns.
 
Your geek scientists are coming up with a name for classifying it as we speak.

"Titan", maybe?

Right. Let's review what it did. It pointed at us, fired it's cannon at the water and when we asked whether it was friend or foe it took a few steps back.

Personally, I think it might not be the worst idea to try to dedicate an action to reviewing what just happened and see if we can't get at least some idea WTF the deal is here.
 
Week 8: Combat End
[X] The kaiju never bothered us anyways (just let it go).
-[X] Keep track of it with the sensors, stay mobilized until we can confirm this isn't just a trick.
Waltz meets no resistance to its retreat from the NPPDC. The not-kaiju continues, turning northward once it's fully out of range of the guns.

The forces still stay alert, waiting for the okay signal. In the rebuilt Space Needle, crews watch the scanners, tracking Waltz's movement.

Thirty... forty... fifty... Eventually, Watlz passes the edge of Peugeot Sound, and the scanners devolve into static.

The order is relayed out; all forces may return to base at their discretion.

With surprising ease, it's over.

Not-Kaiju SE-26-009-X... Negotiated With?

Downtime post incoming in a few (read; about 7-8) hours. Feel free to speculate.

Also, downtime will probably be easy. There's nothing to clean up or repair, and no resources gained from the ('Category I') kaiju. You'll have 2050 Resources to play with, so planning is fine.
 
Omake: W(altz)TF?!
"Titan", maybe?



Personally, I think it might not be the worst idea to try to dedicate an action to reviewing what just happened and see if we can't get at least some idea WTF the deal is here.

This inspired me to write another Omake. Apologies for the horrible writing and the terrible attempts at humor.

General Highwind stared at the feed from Tacit Ronin's Cameras, trying to guess the new... Can it even be called a Kaiju? Screw it, work on a cool name for it later, need to pay attention to the damn thing and guess what aces it has up its sleeves.

No that they were exceptionally hard to guess, the Steel and Sinew monstrosity's main armaments were obviously the spires on its back. Now, were they just big guns, acid throwers, spikes for when it charged enemies or something really exotic?

"Oh goddammit," He hears General Aledeth curse from his seat. "It's Kaiote Tanju."

Worried whispers spread throught the room as those present take a second look at the creature and finally recognize it's original form. The silhouette of a Jaeger is distinctive enough to be recognized at a glance.

General Highwind takes another look at the defiled Jaeger's spires and bites back a curse of his own. So it's a really big gun with probably exotic ammunition. Lovely.

"What now?" He asks. "Nothing much has changed, it's a big, ugly menace to our city and we need to get rid of it. Any ideas?"

Admiral Jawa rises from his chair and clears his throat to call for attention. "Sorry Cid, but this situation is unusual enough that we can't even be sure if that thing is a threat or just threatening."

General Highwind frowned, but nodded. "Very well, but what should we do then? Attempt to communicate?"

Admiral Jawa smiled. "Precisely."

General Aledeth raised one eyebrow and spoke. "Alright, but order the tanks to fire if the thing tries anything funny."

At the other Commanders' murmur of approval, Highwind leaned back on his chair. "Groovy. Full Diplomacy Ahead. Do the honors, Jawa."

The Admiral nodded and pressed the button to open Comms with Tacit. "Rangers, do not engage yet. Try to communicate with the thing-"

"Waltz."

All present looked at the member of the Seattle City Council who had interrupted. He paled at the attention and started to fidget nervously.

"Well it's Coyote Tango, but not quite, yeah?" He tried to explain. When no one told him to shut up he continued. "So Waltz, because he's not quite Tango you see?"

The silence stretched for a moment and the Councilor began to sweat. Jawa sighed, scribbled on a paper in front of him and continued.

"Right, as I was saying... Alec, Noah, try to communicate with the creature, now officially designated "Waltz".

The Rangers quickly replied the affirmative and then Aledeth went on to order the tanks to stay on Overwatch.

A couple minutes later, High Command was staring incredulous at the screen. Air Force General Devlin was the first to break the stunned silence.

"It's pointing a finger gun at us." He said. "A goddamned finger gun."

Admiral Jawa mimicked the same movement. "Bang."

"What's next, it's going to break dance at us?" Highwind exclaimed in bewilderment.

"If it were a finger gun the thumb wouldn't be curled." General Aledeth said. "It's pointing at Tacit. Calling him out. I don't know if it's calling us out to a fight or something else, but right now it is just three hundred meters away from a face full of Thermite."

"Well, at least it hasn't shot us yet." Jawa said. "Let's keep trying diplomacy for now and if it doesn't play nice we lure it in and fill it full of lead."

After receiving a few more positive nods, he opens Comms with the Rangers again.

"Rangers, let's try communication again. Mimic his motion then give it a thumbs up and... say hello in morse or something. Ask it if it is an ally."

The Rangers' affirmative is far more hesitant this time.

The message is delivered as ordered, with Tacit using his floodlights to deliver the message in morse.

In response, Waltz looked at them curiously and seemed to fire its cannon at the sea behind it.

Devlin was the first to react. "...Did it fire it's cannon or load it with seawater?"

"It seems to have fired its cannon at the sea." One of the scientists said. "The sea behind it, that is."

General Devlin looked at the scientist then at the screen and finally leaned back on his chair. "...Okaaaay."

"The fuck is up with thay thing?" Said General Highwind. "Why the fuck did it fire its goddammed cannon at the goddamned sea? Was it trying to intimidate us? Say Tacit isn't its target?" He threw his hands in the air and spun around in his chair. "What the fuck?"

One of the High Councillors, named Jaiveer, spoke up. "Maybe it missed its shot?"

"Missing so badly it shot backwards??" Another scientist said. "Unless it had a seizure of some sort, I don't think so."

Highwind hid his face behind his palm and gave a long, deep sigh. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

When no one protested, he called the Alec and Noah once more.

"Rangers, try again. This time, use your speakers, maybe Waltz will understand if we try to speak english."

Muffled groans and an annoyed sounding "Roger, sir" are the response.

At first, Waltz seems to understand just as much as he did the Morse code, his only reply being a hiss of escaped steam. Then he slowly stsrted to walk away.

The Command Room is silent once more as they watch the strange creature walk away from their Defensive Perimeter.

"... I got nothing." Said General Highwind. "Okay, it's walking away. Now what?"

Aledeth was the first to answer. "If the weird hybrid abomination doesn't want to fight us, fine by me. I say we..." He smirked. "Let it go."

"That reference was bad and you should feel bad for even considering making it." Highwind said. "But that sounds like the best idea."

"We could track it with our sensors," Admiral Jawa suggested. "And considering the lack of cover for Tacit a firefight isn't in our best interests."

"Let's let it- I mean, let's allow it to leave," Highwind said. "Track it until the atmospherical interference doesn't allow us to see it anymore and then keep medium alert throught the week."

"We'll need to analyze every bit of info we obtained here to identify what exactly that was and if there's a better way to fight or communicate with them" The Admiral said, and then smiled. "I imagine the Science team hasn't been idle these past few minutes. Any insights to share?"

The scientists in the room looked at each other, then huddled together, struggled amongst themsleves briefly and finally pushed the loser to stand before them.

"So, what do you eggheads have to say?" Highwind asked.

The impromptu representative of the science team cursed his fellow researchers under his breath and smoothed out the crinkles on his labcoat.

"Well, for starters the hybrid's behavior suggests a startling amount of intelligence and at least basic competence at communication." He explained. "Unfortunately, we know too little to understsnd what it wanted to say with its gestures."

"Not even a guess?" Aledeth asked.

"Sir, it could mean any number of things." He held up a hand and started counting. "It could be 'You're not my target', based on where it was shooting, 'watch out, I'm a dangerous guy, look at how powerful my guns are', hell he could have meant to say 'I'm hunting another Kaiju, stay out of this', since he fired at the ocean which is where most of them come from."

General Devlin gave him a flat stare. "So you have absolutely no idea. At all."

"It's been two minutes!" The scinetist snapped. "We can still see Waltz in the sensor network and all we can say for sure is that what ever it is, it's an abomination made using Coyote Tango as a base, it isn't immediately hostile and that the sensors still classify it as a Cat 1."

The scientist ran his hand through his hair and started pacing around the room.

"Actually, the density of the reactor shielding and the reactor itself are the only reason the damn thing isn't classified below Cat 1, but from its construction it's overall capabilities should be at least those of a Cat 2!"

The Science Division's representative was getting increasingly agitated and pacing faster.

"And those goddamned cannons make no sense! The original Coyote Tango couldn't aim them backwards like that, suggesting heavy modifications to the mechanism on the shoulders or worse, that it was entirely replaced with some sort of biological joint!"

"Doctor."

"And what of the gesture itself?" He rambled on. "It aimed right at the sea from the beggining! If it's capabilities are anything close to CT's then there's no way it was a miss!"

"Doctor, listen to me."

"Was it a show of strength? To show it was top dog and not Tacit? But its intellect was obviously greater than that of a common animal! Maybe it was a more complex message? Shooting at the place where Kaiju come from could indicate it isn't an ally of theirs, but then what of its origin?!"

"DOCTOR!"

The scientist froze on the spot. His left foot was still halfway to taking another step.

General Highwind narrowed his eyes as if daring the egghead to take that step.

Jawa sighed. Crazy, the lot of them. Then again, you kind of had to be crazy join the Jaeger program on any level.

"Doctor, I want you and your team to pour over all the data collected so far and give us a detailed report on Waltz." He said, then he noticed one of the junior scientists in the back whisper to another one beside him and then both tried to hold back giggles.

"The creature, not the dance." He added, causing the joking pair to choke.

"Now!" Said General Aledeth, catching the attention of the room. "With this matter temporarily dealt with, the strategy meetin is on hold until Waltz comes back or some other apocalyptic threat appears."

With that, the room started to empty, the scientists first, then the military advisors and regular councillors, leaving only the members of the High Council of Seattle.

"Now, gentlemen," General Highwind said, resting his elbows on the table. "We can start our real meeting."

Steepling his fingers in front of his face, he asked perhaps the most important question of the meeting.

"Who brought the booze?"
 
[X]Plan Armaments
-[X]Upgrade the rest of our tanks/Artillery to Type C (Free action, -225 resources)
-[X]Build 3 Attack Helicopters (-1500)
-[X]Continue research on Cauterizing Fangblades
-[X]Scan for local Kaiju
-[X] Research Titan 'Waltz' incident - Review the non-fight surrounding the non-Kaiju classified as 'Waltz' to try to determine just WTF happened, including investigating the area of the ocean that it fired its cannon into for hints about what it may have been trying to do.

Moar gunz. This is the plan for using our windfall of a turn to build military stuff. Upgrades all our tanks & arty so we no longer lose them to 1s, and gets three Attack Choppers to massively increase our rapid response capability, and gives us more forces we can send on long ranged missions. Fills in the rest with a Kaiju Scan and continues work on the Heat Blades to save that money.

Leaving it to other people to suggest a more development-minded list.
 
Last edited:
eeeh, not really feeling the heatblades. might think of something when I get back from lunch.
 
Back
Top