THE INFINITE BROOD (Starcraft/Supreme Commander Crossover Quest!)

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THE SWARM SHEET
  • Informational
    • The Brood of Blades
    ​
    Cerebrate Prime: Samantha Clarke
    LEVEL: 5
    XP: 205/210
    TRAITS
    Strategic Genius: Once per structured encounter, Sam can create a piece of the environment that is in her favor as a sticky spark. Roll a d3 for its value.
    Empathetic: upon meeting an NPC, learn their motivation!
    Legendary Commander: Gain 4 Command sparks at the beginning of each mission/combat. Command sparks may be spent to give NPCs orders, which they may either obey or refuse to obey (doing nothing instead.) Command sparks may not be regained via skills or powers.
    Hunted: Something wants her - but for what? +1 Danger to all scenes​
    SKILLS
    CLOSE COMBAT (2): Brawling, Edged Weapons
    PERSONAL (2): Awareness, Resilience
    SOCIAL (4): Charm, Empathy, Leadership, Taunt​
    MASTERY
    ACU Pilot (2): Nanofabrication [Mass], ObSat Operations [Range]
    The Hilt (4): Biomorphic Spawning (People), Regeneration (Durability), Physical Perfection (Speed), Telepathic Dominion (Range)​

    POWERS
    The Living Swarm
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Gain 1 Living Swarm spark, +1 per vent reduction.​
    The Living Swarm: While this swarm exists, move in three dimensions and through anything smaller than a keyhole, reforming at will. You may expend these sparks to cause 3 Hit Sparks in a Area 2 radius.​
    Area Upgrade: +1 to Area Characteristic​

    Biomorphic Reinforcement
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Create 1 Biomorphic Reinforcement spark, +1 per vent reduction, which can be given out to anyone within Range 2, or to yourself
    Biomorphic Reinforcement: +1 to Damage or Mass characteristic for the purpose of raw physical strength/feats.

    Back to Back
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Choose 1 ally (+1 per vent reduction), within Range 1. Each can take one action using one of your skills, any of them that you wish. Once they have done so, you may make a free attack with your melee weapon, getting +1 to your skill per ally that acted.​

    Adaptation
    Vent: 4-0
    Effect: Create a number of sparks equal to the enemy's difficulty, narratively based on turning their abilities against them. Works on enemies of Diff 2>, +2 per vent reduction.​

    Just as Planned…
    Vent: 6-0
    Effect: Vent 6 heat and create 1 Planning Spark for her or an ally, +1 Spark per vent reduction.​
    Planning: The person holding this Spark can expend this to get +1 to a skill check as a free action. Using this Stack counts as you are helping for the purpose of relationships.​

    GEAR
    Zeratul's Psi-Blades
    Adds: +0 (Edged Weapons) | Characteristics: Damage [Speed] (4)[1]​
    Shadowstep (3): Can expend as a free action to move without crossing intervening space.
    Guarded Space (3): Can expend to use Damage as a secondary characteristic for Durability, reducing incoming Damage characteristics.​

    GALACTIC WAR
    Victory Points: 5    ​
    RESOURCES​
    TERRAN DOMINION [Background] (1)​
    The men and material of the Dominion - limited, but they're mustering as we speak. ​
    ALLIANCE EXPEDITIONARY FORCES [Mastery] (1)​
    While you have access to several ACUs of every faction, they lack economic and technological support to be fully effective. ​
    ZERG HIVE [Mastery] (1)​
    The scant few Zerg you control that are free of Amon's influence. Mostly Zerglings. ​
    AEON FLEET [Background] (1)​
    While half a dozen CZARs seem impressive, they're not actually well made for ship to ship combat. ​
    ALLIED COHESION [Motivation] (1)​
    The alliance is fragile and weak.​

    FRONTS​
    Trade Sector-34-51 [Pirate Activity]
    Pirates Raiding 6 (Supply Lines in Disarray 1)
    COMMAND: Jim Raynor | ARMY: Raynor's Raiders
    RESULTS: Pending

    Braxis [Zerg Invasion]
    Borealis Siege 6 (Zerg Rampage1)
    COMMAND: General Samantha Clarke | ARMY: Brood Clarke
    RESULTS: Pending

    Typhan II [Active Xel'Naga ACU]
    Typhan II Occupied 6 (Xel'Naga ACU Spotted 1)
    COMMAND: Lt. Colonel Mathew Horner | ARMY: UEF Armored Command Unit
    RESULTS: Pending

    Deep Space Sector 981 [Hive Fleet Identified]
    Zerg Hive Fleet Spotted 6 (Kerrigan? 1)
    COMMAND: Citizen-Commander Dostya | ARMY: CN Armored Command Unit
    RESULTS: Pending
    ​
    ENEMY ASSETS (Currently Known)
    ​
    THE GOLDEN ARMADA
    ACTIVITY: Unknown | Threat Level: 6​
     
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  • Informational
    • [X] "I'm just a General, General. I lack the proper authority to carry out diplomacy with the Emperor himself. Preliminary talks with Crown Prince Valerian however... that I could do."
    [X] Operation: Opening the Way

    beleester said:
    (Well, there's that whole Seraphim invasion thing, but we don't know about that yet. Also I just realized that the Seraphim are probably working for Amon in this quest.)
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    Well in this quest it won't be the Seraphim as the Aeon had first contact with the Xel'naga instead before Trent Smith wiped them out as stated by these quotes:
    DragonCobolt said:
    The last time humanity had made contact with an alien species, it had spawned the Aeon Illumination - the only faction of humanity that had given the Cybran insurgency a run for their money on the galactic stage when it came to being deadly threats to Earth's supremacy. According to the propaganda, the Aeon were brainwashed maniacs, worshiping an alien species they called the Xel'Naga, proclaiming that they had foreseen some 'purity of form and purity of essence' that they would bring to the rest of the human race.

    According to the…infosec you'd have access too…

    You weren't sure.

    Some of the Aeon had abilities that were hard to parse as just fancy pieces of technology derived from studying Xel'Naga ruins. And there had been enough Xel'Naga artifacts found throughout the galaxy to make it clear that they were a big deal, before they had gone extinct. But really, you didn't give a shit about the metaphysics. What mattered was that the Aeon had a goddamn monarchy. Founded by a fucking botanist. You were not going to cede any duly elected authority of the United Earth Federation to some fucking botanist's granddaughter. The very idea was insulting.
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    DragonCobolt said:
    You turned your ACU and frowned. This was following a pattern...and it wasn't one you particularly liked. Modern Aeon were fanatics. Maniacs who'd murder anyone in their way to spread their xenophilic ideology - and you were sure that it had just as much distortion and disruption to its original fabric as any religion or ideological system would have after a thousand years of history and war. But it didn't take much thought and introspection to see that the Aeon's modern fanaticism was born in the actions of one old Earth Empire asshole: Commander Trent Smith. He had reacted to the discover of an alien species known as the Xel'Naga with violent horror. His journals were still kept in double lockup for PR purposes - no one wanted the general public to read unhinged rants about a dark god that might incite completely unfounded Aeon sympathies in modern UED citizenry.
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    DragonCobolt said:
    "We're not going to glass anyone," you said, firmly. "The UEF's got one genocide to live down from one...maniac. I don't want to be the next Trent Smith."

    "Who..."

    "He killed the Xel'naga," you said. At her quizzical expression, you continued. "They were an alien race that one of our science teams met. The contact went poorly - the civilians got brainwashed and the military responded with disproportionate force. The end result is the Xel'naga were wiped out and their human survivors, the Aeon, became a persistent miliary threat for the old Empire and, now, us." You sighed.
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    [X] "I'm just a General, General. I lack the proper authority to carry out diplomacy with the Emperor himself. Preliminary talks with Crown Prince Valerian however... that I could do."
     
    [X] "I'm just a General, General. I lack the proper authority to carry out diplomacy with the Emperor himself. Preliminary talks with Crown Prince Valerian however... that I could do."
    [X] Operation: Opening the Way - make sure your factories are online, then begin building up artillery in the mountains and start bombarding the Zerg defensive line. It worked before, and you are confident that Fenix can smash the hive.
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    I'm thinking of making Jim trans.

    It's not justified in the slightest by his characterization in the games, at all, but fuck it, I can change what I want!

    Also, great line then about Sarah going, "You know, our old relationship now makes a lot more sense..."
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    There is a bit of background lore that might complicate going in that direction, which is that Jim had a wife and son before the events of Starcraft. Sufficiently advanced medical technology does let you get around that though or alternatively Jim could have been the one to have given birth.

    The lore isn't that important, save as a means of establishing that Jim Raynor is the universe's punching bag. Naturally they're both dead. His son was discovered to be psionic and sent to Tarsonis to develop his gift, only to allegedly be killed at the tender age of three in a shuttle accident. Jim's wife blamed herself for the boy's death, as she was the one to convince Jim to let their son go to the world, and died shortly thereafter.
     
    Spart117MC said:
    There is a bit of background lore that might complicate going in that direction, which is that Jim had a wife and son before the events of Starcraft. Sufficiently advanced medical technology does let you get around that though or alternatively Jim could have been the one to have given birth.
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    Oh, no, I mean a trans woman, lol. Her egg cracked with the Protoss!
     
    [X] "I'm just a General, General. I lack the proper authority to carry out diplomacy with the Emperor himself. Preliminary talks with Crown Prince Valerian however... that I could do."

    [X] Operation: Opening the Way - make sure your factories are online, then begin building up artillery in the mountains and start bombarding the Zerg defensive line. It worked before, and you are confident that Fenix can smash the hive.


    There's a bit of a diplomatic tug and pull here, naturally the Protoss, pragmatically speaking, would probably benefit from a net introduction of aid from both parties, but the issue is that the Dominion stinks like hell. The UEF are definitely offering more, but whether it's worth dealing with someone willing to just declare outright hostilities in front of them is another question. For Sam's case, it's probably best if the UEF brings forth its list of grievances when they're not in front of someone else.

    No comments on the military strategy though, probably should work, outswarming the swarmers always works!
     
    [X] "We are willing to meet with your Emperor."
    [X] Operation: Opening the Way - make sure your factories are online, then begin building up artillery in the mountains and start bombarding the Zerg defensive line. It worked before, and you are confident that Fenix can smash the hive.
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    Fenix actually thumped the side of your ACU's leg with one of his dragoon limbs, like a comrade slapping your shoulder.

    Come, Samantha! We have more blood to spill before we reach those peaks.

    "You are...quite a character, Fenix," you said, smiling despite yourself.
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    Hah! Gotta love the ol' tosser XD


    [X] "I'm just a General, General. I lack the proper authority to carry out diplomacy with the Emperor himself. Preliminary talks with Crown Prince Valerian however... that I could do."
    [X] Operation: Opening the Way - make sure your factories are online, then begin building up artillery in the mountains and start bombarding the Zerg defensive line. It worked before, and you are confident that Fenix can smash the hive.


    DragonCobolt said:
    I'm thinking of making Jim trans.

    It's not justified in the slightest by his characterization in the games, at all, but fuck it, I can change what I want!

    Also, great line then about Sarah going, "You know, our old relationship now makes a lot more sense..."
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    Wheee~
    Like, MTF? I assume so based on the line from Sarah XD
    DragonCobolt said:
    Oh, no, I mean a trans woman, lol. Her egg cracked with the Protoss!
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    Ah, got it XDDD

    Ooh that could be worked into Fenix having a bit of an "Oh, er-" moment when they were talking about Raynor sjdnfx

    I think it'd be funsies lmao, personal bias for it aside
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    I'm thinking of making Jim trans.

    It's not justified in the slightest by his characterization in the games, at all, but fuck it, I can change what I want!

    Also, great line then about Sarah going, "You know, our old relationship now makes a lot more sense..."
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    Well… I wouldn't like it, but it's your quest, so do what ever you want.
     
    [X] "We are willing to meet with your Emperor."
    [X] Operation: Opening the Way - make sure your factories are online, then begin building up artillery in the mountains and start bombarding the Zerg defensive line. It worked before, and you are confident that Fenix can smash the hive.
     
    [X] "I'm just a General, General. I lack the proper authority to carry out diplomacy with the Emperor himself. Preliminary talks with Crown Prince Valerian however... that I could do."
    [X] Operation: Opening the Way - make sure your factories are online, then begin building up artillery in the mountains and start bombarding the Zerg defensive line. It worked before, and you are confident that Fenix can smash the hive
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    Fenix actually thumped the side of your ACU's leg with one of his dragoon limbs, like a comrade slapping your shoulder.

    Come, Samantha! We have more blood to spill before we reach those peaks.

    "You are...quite a character, Fenix," you said, smiling despite yourself.
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    I love this characterization SO MUCH!

    It's how I've always imagined him and it's glorious CB.

    Arcturus is a snake and playing his tune, even partly, seems like a misstep. I've always had the feeling that he'd rather see the whole sector burn out of spite than give up his throne.

    Though we do have to keep in mind that he can make our lives at this point really difficult with battlecruisers having absolute supremacy over our current elements in space/orbit.

    I feel like we should stay and secure Aiur while we have the (potential) help of Fenix's fleet elements if this gets nasty.

    [X] "I'm just a General, General. I lack the proper authority to carry out diplomacy with the Emperor himself. Preliminary talks with Crown Prince Valerian however... that I could do."

    [X] Operation: Opening the Way - make sure your factories are online, then begin building up artillery in the mountains and start bombarding the Zerg defensive line. It worked before, and you are confident that Fenix can smash the hive

    Even if talking to the prince goes poorly (somehow) it still buys us some time to clear Aiur and get the Protoss firmly in our camp.

    And like Spart said, Sarah's well of loathing for Arcturus is more than bottomless in canon, I can only imagine it's deeper here from what we've seen of her characterization so far.
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    "Thirteen battlecruisers, twenty five frigates, enough drop ships to land an army, and they're midway through their efforts," Lt. Stukov said, tapping at his console. "We're out of their scan range, but General, I'd say they sent an entire fleet out here."
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    CB I'm not that familiar with Supreme Commander's tech tree or build times but how long would it take to build up enough nukes to potentially be able to take out this fleet if necessary?

    Or would we be just fish in a barrel when 13 Yamato cannons hit our ACU at the same time?

    Edit: it occurs to me that even if we went with something like a saturation bombardment to even potentially take out the fleet, but since they'll see the launch coming they'll probably warp out. BC hit and run tactics could make our future campaigns heinously unpredictable.
     
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    Nyrn said:
    CB I'm not that familiar with Supreme Commander's tech tree or build times but how long would it take to build up enough nukes to potentially be able to take out this fleet if necessary?

    Or would we be just fish in a barrel when 13 Yamato cannons hit our ACU at the same time?
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    Why am I CB, isn't my name Dragon Cobolt?

    ...oh! CoBolt, CB, I get it now!

    Basically, if you picked a fight with that fleet, it'd probably be a 20 XP fight just like this one - but instead of a planet, it's 13 battlecruisers!
     
    DragonCobolt said:
    Why am I CB, isn't my name Dragon Cobolt?

    ...oh! CoBolt, CB, I get it now!

    Basically, if you picked a fight with that fleet, it'd probably be a 20 XP fight just like this one - but instead of a planet, it's 13 battlecruisers!
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    I'm a ghoul, and I don't know why I kept saying CB, my apologies Dragon <3
     
    [X] "I'm just a General, General. I lack the proper authority to carry out diplomacy with the Emperor himself. Preliminary talks with Crown Prince Valerian however... that I could do."
    [X] Operation: Opening the Way - make sure your factories are online, then begin building up artillery in the mountains and start bombarding the Zerg defensive line. It worked before, and you are confident that Fenix can smash the hive

    Welp, time to hit the siege music
     
    [X] "We are willing to meet with your Emperor."
    [X] Operation: Opening the Way - make sure your factories are online, then begin building up artillery in the mountains and start bombarding the Zerg defensive line. It worked before, and you are confident that Fenix can smash the hive.
     
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