[X] "Sounds good to me."
[X] Ask Kreis some questions.
-[X] "So...hows it like on the other side?"
-[X] "Any idea how to deal with the Turn A without killing everything?"
[X] Be on your way.
--[X] Go looking for the nearest USX forces and offer to help.
Adhoc vote count started by Thors_Alumni on Jul 8, 2018 at 11:05 AM, finished with 1881 posts and 3 votes.
[X] "Sounds good to me."
[X] Ask Kreis some questions. -[X] "So...hows it like on the other side?" -[X] "Any idea how to deal with the Turn A without killing everything?"
[X] Be on your way. --[X] Go looking for the nearest USX forces and offer to help.
[X] "Sounds good to me." [X] Ask Kreis some questions. -[X] "So...hows it like on the other side?" -[X] "Any idea how to deal with the Turn A without killing everything?" [X] Be on your way. --[X] Go looking for the nearest USX forces and offer to help.
"Sounds good to me, Gym Ghingham." You say as you watch the retreating Ghingham Fleet force. "Until next time."
"This isn't over." He grits out as he flies. The Turn A does not turn around, but you can feel Ghingham's Pressure shift towards you for a split-second before it fades.
True to his word, every Ghingham Fleet asset is withdrawing from the area. In addition, you can feel the ships in orbit change their positions to join those above the other drop zones, and those who were busy descending is doing what they can to change their trajectories.
You are well and truly alone out here. Any future small-scale battles with Ghingham and the Turn A will carry a little more weight from now on…
*
[X] Ask Kreis some questions.
--[X] "So...how's it like on the other side?"
--[X] "Any idea how to deal with the Turn A without killing everything?"
Since you have the opportunity to talk to him, you decide to ask Kreis some questions. The most pressing one has to be what the afterlife is like. "So…"
Kreis perks up.
Yes?
"How's it like on the other side?"
He shrugs.
Pretty nice, actually. Most earthly worries fade away, leaving you with this pervasive sense of peace and contentment. Of course, I knew all this intellectually from contacting some old friends back before Satang had me make the Turn Units, but it is something else to experience it for myself.
Wait. "You have known what the afterlife was like all this time?"
Yep. It had been common knowledge for millennia before I was born. One of the reasons First Humans had no real fear of death, in fact. Hell, at the battle of Arcturus the passing sentiments of the enemy warriors after we DERBed them to death were mostly embarrassment over being taken out like that rather than anything overtly negative.
But back to the peace and junk, it is also a great way to connect or reconnect with everyone else who is dead. Like, Kamille and Paptimus made up after a few centuries, and they hated each other in life.
His face falls.
…Laura's here too, but she's still a little out of it. Please don't bother her with Channeling or the like.
Oh…
"Will do."
Kreis smiles.
Thank you, Loran. Was there anything else?
"One thing:" You answer after thinking about it for a few seconds. "Any idea how to deal with the Turn A without killing everything?"
He cocks his ethereal head in thought. Difficult as long as you are inside the Earth Sphere, and outright impossible while on the planet's surface. Your best bet is to fight it in space, ideally a billion kilometers away from anything you want to keep intact.
So your best bet is to somehow force Ghingham into interstellar space. Great.
You have no more questions, and so you pass the time until Kreis fades away listening to him tell you more about the people he met during the Dark History. You think you recognize some of them from the dreams you had months and months ago…
*
[X] Be on your way.
--[X] Go looking for the nearest USX forces and offer to help.
Once Kreis returns to the afterlife you waste only a moment to sigh wistfully before you turn the White Doll towards the nearest group of stressed non-Psychics that are in the direction where you sensed Ghingham on your arrival to the USX. They almost start to shoot at you when they see the White Doll, but someone recognizes your Mobile Suit from a newspaper article and gets the others to hold their fire.
Their Dark History weapons take the form of bulky, green Mobile Suits of a kind that the White Doll designates as 'Tieren Ground Type'.
They seem solidly built, but also intended for ground warfare against non-psychics, which puts them at a disadvantage against the Ghingham Fleet even before you add things like Hashmals into the equation. Still, there are a lot of Tierens here, at least four or five dozen. The Mountain Cycle they found must have been immense.
You are given a phone to the USX high command after you explain to them why you are here and that you forced Ghingham and the local Ghingham Fleet forces into retreat, and from them you learn that secret negotiations between the USX parliament and the Congress of the Amerias are underway. Nothing substantial have come of them yet, the Congress intends to bring the unification talks to an end before they fully commit, so helping the USX with their nascent Psychic Program is out of the question.
You can, however, help in other ways…
[] The United States of Xiping is a huge country, they could use some help with finding and excavating Mountain Cycles.
[] There is still a huge Ghingham Fleet presence in the USX, and it is relentlessly forcing their military back. You'll help them hold the line.
[X] The United States of Xiping is a huge country, they could use some help with finding and excavating Mountain Cycles.
The third week passes by as you help the Xiping military unearth more Dark History technology, using the White Doll's ground-penetrating sensors to locate shallowly buried Mountain Cycles and the like. You find three during your quick circuit of the massive country, and with your help (and a lot of local manpower) the USX military excavate the top layers of all three in record time.
31
The first Mountain Cycle contains more Tierens, Ground Types to be exact, and vast stockpiles of ammunition and spare parts for them. Nothing exciting, but the USX soldiers you assist are thankful nonetheless.
66
The second Mountain Cycles features much the same, but the Tierens underneath the foggy mountain are an eclectic mix of artillery, high mobility, and flight variants on the base design. There are even some units that are designed for space operations.
The find delights many among the soldiers you have with you. Apparently the variants on the base Tieren have been rare finds up until now, and the USX High Command hopes that being able to use the veried Dark History weapons to cover more combat roles will even the odds against the Ghingham Fleet.
75
It is with the third Mountain Cycle that things get odd. You receive a call from the USX High Command where they provide you with a location while claiming that they have found a Gundam. The location turns out to be a cave behind a waterfall, the cliff face having caved in after an earthquake that struck back in November, and true to their word there is a Gundam in there.
The Gundam looks similar to every other Gundam you have seen in its general shape, but where it differs from every other Gundam is in the harsh, red UNKOWN that pops up the moment the White Doll's sensors scan it. That…that has only happened once before, back when you first encountered the Zssan Mobile Dolls while fighting with the Coradans.
Just what is this thing?
Deeper scans of the Mobile Suit reveal Universal Century iconography and design tells, but the closest thing to a name inside the unit's database is 'G-SAVIOUR'. The database also tells you that the unit was made in the year 224 of the Universal Century calendar, which means that its creation happened decades after Kreis gave up on the Universal Century cycle.
Interestingly, the cave also contains several sets of modular frame sections for the G-SAVIOUR. Given appropriate equipment, it should be possible to convert it from a space superiority Mobile Suit to a terrestrial flier.
The only 'problem' is what to call it. According to the White Doll, there is already a unit that bears the name 'Saviour Gundam'. And calling it something without Gundam in it will be weird, so it needs a new name.
After some thought, you decide to-
[] Use a name from the G-Saviour's database
--[] G-SAVIOUR Nimbus Gundam.
--[] G-SAVIOUR Consent Gundam.
--[] G-SAVIOUR Illuminati Gundam.
--[] G-SAVIOUR Reed Gundam.
[] Pick something a bit on the nose and call it the-
--[] G-SAVIOUR Nameless Gundam.
--[] G-SAVIOUR Forgotten Gundam.
[] G-SAVIOUR Unknown Gundam, because that was what the White Doll's sensors said.
[] Throw the USX a bone and-
--[] Call it the G-SAVIOUR Xiping Gundam.
--[] Just let them name it.
[X] Throw the USX a bone and-
--[X] Call it the G-SAVIOUR Xiping Gundam.
The unveiling of the newly christened Xiping Gundam is as grand an affair as the USX government can throw together at a short notice. On their request you carried the unearthed Mobile Suit back behind the USX front line where it could be displayed and presented to the many peoples of the USX through the efforts of high-ranking politicians and officers, as well as the crowd of reporters in attendance (some of them international war correspondents reporting on the USX-Ghingham Fleet conflict).
You are even asked to say some words on the naming of the Gundam, an opportunity you take simply to make the facts clear.
"-and as an unregistered Gundam, it fell to me as the pilot of a Turn Gundam to name it. A 'Saviour Gundam' already existed in the White Doll's records, and as such I decided to name it after the country it was discovered in."
It isn't quite the passionate oratory the crowd wants to hear, but you earn some light applause. You give them a shallow bow before returning to your seat at the back of the stage, ceding the podium to a general who announces that the USX military has already picked a candidate to pilot the Xiping Gundam against the Gingham Fleet. He declines to name names, however, probably because he is lying.
Well, lie in the sense that they have list of candidates, mostly pilots who earned the right to pilot the rare Flight Type Tierens, but haven't decided yet. You half expected them to ask you for insights, but you suppose that would be a bit much to reveal to a foreign military officer, even one who has helped them like you have.
Your efforts do, however, win you a meeting with a man who introduces himself as the superior of the USX ambassador you met back in Luzipurch. A man who is most interested in securing assistance in getting the USX' nascent Psychic Program off the ground.
You try to let him down gently. "It is not that I am unwilling, sir, but such help will require me to get approval from the Congress of the Amerias." You pause to think before amending your statement. "Or the approval of whatever state or organization that succeeds it." It has been a while since you were back in Luzipurch, so what the Congress is discussing at the moment is a big question mark to you.
Still, his request did get you thinking…
[] Petition the Congress for a Psychic Co-Operation Agreement with the USX.
--[] Write in reasoning.
[X] Petition the Congress for a Psychic Co-Operation Agreement with the USX.
-[X] In doing so, we ensure that they are brought under the influence of our program, and their psychics kept from being a danger to themselves or the public. It is unlikely that they would give up on psychic development regardless of our answer, so if our allies can be brought under one common standard, we reduce the risks of a powerful but unstable psychic given power beyond their ability to control.
[X] Petition the Congress for a Psychic Co-Operation Agreement with the USX.
-[X] In doing so, we ensure that they are brought under the influence of our program, and their psychics kept from being a danger to themselves or the public. It is unlikely that they would give up on psychic development regardless of our answer, so if our allies can be brought under one common standard, we reduce the risks of a powerful but unstable psychic given power beyond their ability to control
[X] Petition the Congress for a Psychic Co-Operation Agreement with the USX.
-[X] In doing so, we ensure that they are brought under the influence of our program, and their psychics kept from being a danger to themselves or the public. It is unlikely that they would give up on psychic development regardless of our answer, so if our allies can be brought under one common standard, we reduce the risks of a powerful but unstable psychic given power beyond their ability to control
[X] Petition the Congress for a Psychic Co-Operation Agreement with the USX.
-[X] In doing so, we ensure that they are brought under the influence of our program, and their psychics kept from being a danger to themselves or the public. It is unlikely that they would give up on psychic development regardless of our answer, so if our allies can be brought under one common standard, we reduce the risks of a powerful but unstable psychic given power beyond their ability to control.
You try to make it as clear as possible to the senior official that you can promise nothing regarding the Psychic issue, and he understands with some disappointment. The temptation to let the matter lie then and there is strong, but after dwelling on it long into the night you decide to actually petition the Congress for an agreement with the USX to let the AIPA help kickstart their own Psychic Program. Personally you think it will help stall the Ghingham Fleet efforts, if only a little at first, but the decision is ultimately up to the congress.
Roll 1d100 = 39
And their decision is to reject the proposal. Not for any single reason, but for a whole host of them: Lord Guin and Lady Lily do not trust the USX and do not want to risk offending the Dianna Counter by entering such an agreement with another polity before them. California is already wary of USX naval power and doesn't want it to become too strong lest they endanger California's own position in the Pacific Ocean. Several of the Amerian monarchies are suspicious of the strong republican state (and a foreign one to boot) and wish to curtail its strength. And the rest of the Amerian states are more concerned with issues closer to home and even those in favor do not care enough to make enemies over it.
Whatever their reasons, any Psychic Co-Operation Agreement with the USX is dead in the water. Such a shame.
*
And then the ten Turn A free days are up, and the Ghingham Fleet celebrates by launching new drop zones all over East-Ezia. One of them is in the northwestern reaches of the USX, but the other two are in two of the countries to the south of the huge federation: One of the recently established beachheads is in the Sultanate of Bengal while the other is in the People's Democratic Republic of Bangkok (odd name for a repressive military oligarchy, but what do you know).
In addition, there is also a large-scale ground offensive headed towards Beijing. The USX government has prepared for this eventuality, so the capital of the United States of Xiping and its environs are one of the most fortified areas on the continent. It is going to be bloody.
Most troubling is the fact that you cannot sense Gym Ghingham among any of the Ghingham Fleet operations. According to your senses he is alone at the moment, resting near the Turn A on standby, but he could near-instantly join any of the Gingham Fleet offensives at any time.
You could challenge him, either by teleporting to his location, or call him to you by activating Combat Mode. Perhaps he will show up without your prompting if you simply cause enough problems at one of the Ghingham Fleet operations.
[] Help the USX repel the offensive towards Beijing.
--[] Challenge Ghingham.
--[] Do not Challenge Ghingham.
[] Teleport to the Central USX drop zone.
--[] Challenge Ghingham.
--[] Do not Challenge Ghingham.
[] Teleport to the Southern drop zone.
--[] Challenge Ghingham.
--[] Do not Challenge Ghingham.
[] Teleport to the Far Western drop zone.
--[] Challenge Ghingham.
--[] Do not Challenge Ghingham.
[] Teleport to the Bengali drop zone.
--[] Challenge Ghingham.
--[] Do not Challenge Ghingham.
[] Teleport to the Siamese drop zone.
--[] Challenge Ghingham.
--[] Do not Challenge Ghingham.
[] Focus on removing the Turn A from the equation.
--[] Go to Ghingham.
--[] Let Ghingham come to you.
1 = Central USX Drop Zone.
2 = Southern Drop Zone.
3 = Far Western Drop Zone.
4 = Siamese Drop Zone.
5 = Bengali Drop Zone.
6 = Beijing Offensive
[X] Help the USX repel the offensive towards Beijing.
--[X] Challenge Ghingham.
You stay in Beijing to help the defenders repel the coming Ghingham Fleet onslaught. Enemy Psychics have prevented USX scouts from getting close enough for an accurate assessment of the incoming army's numbers and composition, but just from what you can sense the presence of several teams of Psychics in the Ghingham Fleet's distinctive Mahiroo. Their presences let you track their location and provide a target for your Remote Viewing, which reveals the presence of various Mobile Dolls, Hashmals, Sids, and a Destroy Gundam.
And then there is Ghingham, who is flying above the throng in the Turn A.
Compared to that force, the massed Tieren setting up trenchworks and other defenses in preparation of the Ghingham Fleet's arrival doesn't seem quite as formidable as it otherwise would. But you are not too worried. The USX forces here are numerous and motivated, and you have not let the White Doll's Repair Systems lie idle the past three weeks.
All Systems gain +30 Condition!
The efforts of the Priority Repair System have been focused on-
Write in Systems in the order you want them fully repaired. Priority Repair amount is 9d100
Max 5
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
Weapons
Type-TX Beam Pistol 102/500 (Heavily Damaged. Ranged)
Attacks Per Turn: 1d2
Damage: 2
Critical Hit: On Critical Success.
Special: -Penetration 1: +1 to target's Armor Save DC. -Unreliable: Unusable for one Turn on Major Failure. Unusable for all following Turns in a Scene(Update) upon Critical Failure.
Fleche Lumiere Point Defense Lasers. (Sleep Mode)
Attacks: 8d1
Damage: 1
Base AP: 1
Critical Hit: On Critical Success.
Special: -Point Defense: Automatically Attacks missiles, rockets, Remote Weapons, and targets with the Mobile Pod Special Rule. -Laser: -40 to Hit DC. -Integrated Weapon: Does not count towards the carried weapon cap.
Wire Launchers. 81/500 (Heavily Damaged)
Attacks: 1d1
Damage: 0
Base AP: 0
Critical Hit: No.
Special: -Wires: Inflicts Hindered, Burdened, Trapped, or Immobile depending on how many Wires hit. -Short Range Weapon: Unusable beyond Medium Range. -Integrated Weapon: Does not count towards the carried weapon cap.
Defensive Systems.
Turn-Type Armor (Non-Combat Mode).
Armor Grade: 6
Armor Save: 1+
Special: -Beam Resistant 1: Beams that hit this unit lose one level of Penetration vs Armor. -Nano Lamination 2: Damage from non-Penetrating Kinetic and Explosive attacks is reduced by 2 (to a minimum of 1). Nullifies damage from Point Defense Weapons.
Left Arm Lightwave Shield (Non-Combat)
Shield Grade: 4
Shield Size: Medium.
Shield Save: 3+
Shield Integrity: 6
Special: -Lightwave Shield: Does not block lasers. -Regenerate 2: Regains 2 Integrity at the end of each Turn.
I-Field. (Sleep Mode)
Field Density: 4
Dissipation Save: 3+
Field Integrity: 12
Special: -I-Field: Barrier against Ranged Beam Attacks only. Immune to Beam Penetration. -Dampening: Whichever Ranged Beam Attack breaks through the I-Field has its Damage reduced by remaining Field Integrity. -Wide Guard: Expands the I-Field to cover a large area, cutting its Integrity in half in exchange for shielding everyone within close range of the White Doll. -Regenerate 4: Regains 4 Integrity at the end of each Turn.
Mobility Systems.
Landskimmers. (Sleep Mode) -Speed+: -20 modifier to speed DC while on the ground. -Gale: Melee Attacks while on the ground gain -20 Charge Modifier to Hit Rolls.
Lightwave Maneuvering Thrusters (Flight Mode). -Flight+: Unit can fly. Terrain modifiers ignored. Hidden -20 Modifier to Speed rolls while flying. -Lightwave Propulsion: This system requires no fuel, only energy.
Lightwave Main Propulsion (Voiture Lumiere). 106/500 (Heavily Damaged, Unstable) -Extreme Speed: Hidden -45 modifier to speed DC while in the air or in space. -Unstable: +1d45 modifier to speed DC while in use. -Demanding: +30 to Condition DC after three Turns or one Engagement of usage with Pilot Skill below 4. -Lightwave Propulsion: This system requires no fuel, only energy.
PSI Systems.
Psycommu System. -Psyco-Control: Pilot Level may not go below 1. May control the White Doll while outside the cockpit at NT-Level 3. -Requirement: Requires NT Level 2 to use.
Psychoframe. -NT-Amp: Allows the usage of MS scale NT powers. -Requires NT Level 2 to use.
NT-D Mode. -NT+: Allows the usage of NT power one level above that of the user's Level. -Demanding: +100 to Condition DC after three Turns or end of Engagement if the user is not NT Level 4 or above. -Exclusive: Cannot be used at the same time as Bloody Siege Mode.
Bloody Siege Mode. -Mode Change: Splits the mobile suit into pieces, nine in total (ten with backpack). Each piece (except backpack) has its own I-Field. Can be used within gravity. -Requirement: Requires Pilot Level 4 and NT Level 4. -Excusive: Cannot be used as the same time as NT-D Mode.
Stealth Systems.
Invisible Umbrella (Sleep Mode) -Cloaking: May hide in plain sight at the end of any Turn where you are not restrained in some fashion. Automatic Ambush on the first turn if initiating combat. Does nothing against Mind Targeting.
Holo-Decoy 60/200 (Damaged) -Holo Decoy 2: Enemies of a lower Piloting Level than yourself suffer from additional base DC increase per Level. Has no effect against pilots with NT Level 2 or above and Mind Targeted Attacks.
Misc Systems.
LUNA Energy Transference Module (Sleep Mode) -Universal Compatibility: The White Doll can use most types of equipment by wirelessly transferring power to them. -Energy Assist: Allies within range gain a 2x damage to all weapons with the Reactor-Fed Special Rule. Allied Energy Weapons with Recharge Cooldowns can fire every turn as long as they are powered only by the Mobile Weapon carrying them. -Fire Bringer: Normal Energy Weapons carried by Allies within range double their number of Attacks for the first Turn of Combat every update. -Extreme Range: Targets anything within sensor range.
Power Drainer. 106/500 (Heavily Damaged) -Weak Power Drain: Can prevent a single Mobile Suit from using Remote Weapons.
Carapace Backpack. -Armory Backpack 5: Can store 5 weapons for later use. -Adaptive workings: Will alter itself to carry MS weapons no matter their shape. Within limits. -Flight Mode: Can fly. -Armory Drone: Can be assigned to detach from the White Doll and act as a remote weapon carrying a designated Ranged Weapon. The White Doll may not retrieve or return weapon from a detached Armory Drone. This function is automatically activated during Bloody Siege Mode.
-Carapace I-Field 96/500 (Heavily Damaged)
*
You bring the White Doll out of the defense line once the first sign of the enemy appears on its sensors, leaving the USX forces where they are as you speed towards the halfway point between then while telepathically broadcasting your presence to every Psychic in the region. Within seconds the Ghingham Fleet army has stopped in its tracks thanks to Ghingham's telepathic response to your challenge.
"We meet again, Cehack!" He bellows excitedly, exuberant sadism and honest joy melting together to radiate in his bloodthirsty aura. "Same rules as before?"
You exhale, letting your Pressure seep into every molecule of the White Doll to center yourself before you inhale and take your spirit with you. And repeat. If you lose here, he will be free to wreak havoc among the USX defenders, not to mention the city of millions behind you.
"Yes."
[] Write in Battleplan.
[] Engagement range.
--[] Stay at Long Range.
--[] Keep normal distance.
--[] Close in.
[] Mobility.
--[] Stick with the Lightwave Maneuvering Thrusters (Flight Mode).
--[] Risk using the Voiture Lumiere.
[] Initial Left Hand Weapon.
--[] Dober Gun.
--[] Leo Beam Rifle.
--[] Type-TX Beam Pistol.
--[] Dainsleif Spear.
--[] Type-TX Bazooka.
--[] None.
