>>18209618
It didn't look good.

Hammer cleared the pad first, striding out into the moonscape that was Vienna. Behind him, his Berets fanned out, rifles pointing in every direction as they quickly established a perimeter. Not that the danger was here--distant explosions from deeper into the city told him the front line was ahead, and pushing deeper.

"Bad news," he said, turning to the growing 4th force at his back. "Our objective is the airport, to secure civilian evac and establish a strongpoint to bring in artillery and supply.

"And," Frog turned back, waving vaguely at the wrecked city before them, "It's on the other side of that. Form up. We're punching through."

...Nah.

...Hmmm. Bump, see if we can get some late-night crowd running.
Worst case I've got something to do tomorrow, I guess.

Others.
Have them give us a minute, we want to try calling our sister. Only call the 1st headquarters and ask if Cathode's available. Don't call her directly if she's been deployed, it might lead to a mishap.

ah well, theres always tomorrow night

>>18210662
I'm still here. I could respond work off of >>18210534, or we can just wait a couple hours and I'll try to spend most of tomorrow running.

Definitely call Cathode if possible, by next mission we may not be recognizable.

I say lets get the RnD guys on.

"Hold on," you decide. "I want to check in with my sister in the First."

"Good luck with that, kid," Tanker snorts. "She's probably out there."

"Just wanna make sure. I'll head to the comm room, and then take the call."

You double-time it to the command room and grab a terminal, quickly setting up a query with the 1st.

OPERATIVE CATHODE: CURRENTLY DEPLOYED

Well, shit. Tanker was right. Probably. It's hard not to worry.

You sigh. Nothing for it now. Time to take that R&D call.

Abruptly, the screen in front of you winks on as you accept the link, giving you a look at a relatively simple reploid design, clearly on a mass-produced frame, with wide eyes and a maverick hunters uniform--actual cloth fabric--over its chassis.

"Toolcircuit model engineer, R&D, this is Anode, I presume." It--he, sounds like--doesn't ask but answer, speaking with a slightly buzzy, matter-of-fact tone.

"Yeah, that's me. I have a few upgrades planned and I'd like some input on at least one."

"I see. Is now an optimal time?" It almost sounds chagrined--you realize you put this call in almost twelve hours ago.

"Yeah, you may as well come over."

"Affirmative. In transit. Recommend informing your fellows of inbound beamin."

You go to do that, letting Dodo and Tanker know to expect a little company--and sure enough, as he arrives, 'little' sums it up well. He has a small, compact frame, poorly equipped for combat duty.

He adjusts his uniformed coat, looks up at you, and says "Splendid. Shall we?"

Which upgrade do you start with?
>Lance-couching assembly
>Phase integration into lance
>Capacitor-dash linkup
>Discuss Chaff Weasel's weapons data

>>18211030
"Sir! Word from Advance."

"They're still here? Good. What's the story?" Frog slung his hammer as the Beret reported.

"They beamed in a little deeper, before that section of the city lost power. Smart money says it was a trap."

Frog paused. "They must have seen that coming."

"Yessir. Told me it was a calculated risk."

He paused again, thinking. "Did it work?"

"The risk, or the trap? Either way, yes. They've got casualties and civs. They're holed up in a building, laying low."

"All right, it's decided. We're linking up. Everyone move out and watch for ambushes."

>>18211030
Go with the chaff

>>18211038
Frog? I thought we were with Tanker and Dodo?

>>18211030
Cutaways to the Battle of Vienna. Going to try to lace them in every-other post.

>>18211048
"Toolcircuit, huh? Is that your name or your model?" You ask on your way down the hall to the labs.

"Model. I have a name. It's just superfluous to this mission. My form is my function, function is my form. 'Toolcircuit' will suffice. It's what I am."

He enters the labs, taking a quick look around. "Quaint. No offense. Our entire building is dedicated to the purpose, so our faculties are... better. Multiple labs, all better staffed than this one."

"Is that a problem?" You're not sure what you think of this little Toolcircuit. He's a bit blunt, but he seems to have enough presence of mind to be awkward about it.

"No, it will suffice. Please direct me to your database." You point to Em's terminal in the back, leading him by the small terminal with a schedule for mental checkups on the earlier-model infantry. He quickly takes a seat and types at... a blindingly fast speed.

"Signing in with R&D-access. Giving credentials. Ah, this file is flagged for me. Tidy. Blackout Flare? Notes include conjecture. Sensor-jammer knife, handheld fletchette weapon, using weapon 'stock.'" He alternates between stiffly formal and clipped, hasty phrasing.

He spins around in his chair and looks up at you, businesslike. "Several ideas. Add heating element, produce a thermal weapon, compromise IR sensors. Or, load payload into rocket, deliver at a distance. Would be especially effective against air threats, immediately sensor-blinding them midflight, to say nothing of sustained damage. Metal cloud would likely be excellent conductive material. Could attempt to focus on that."

Do any jump out at you? Do any beg more questions?

Figured out my problem. Gotta point the stories at the right posts, keep them separate.

>>18211038

"Shwarz," Frog called, knowing he was listening despite his silence. "10th says those buildings aren't going to stay standing long."

"Charges?" the dog asked softly.

"Charges. Sabotage any targets I forward and drop them on any enemy HVTs you see."

Once again, the night-fighter didn't answer, already slinking off over the rubble towards the first marked skyscraper. The CO turned to Conda as he lowered himself back off his legs. "You're with him. Slow up any armored columns you see and drag anyone who chases you back to the traps."

"Copy that, I'll hit the lead tanks, they should be single-file."

>Metal cloud would likely be excellent conductive material.

This could work well with our electric abilities. Fire a shot off and chain lightning a bunch of dudes.

>>18211679
"Conductive? Tell me more."

"About what it says on the tin. The chaff produces a field which would transmit an electrical charge very well. Only limits would be the distance between pieces the current could arc to. Adding more chaff into a single flare would shorten weapon life, but allow wider coverage." He taps his chin. "Really, any combination of the cloud and electricity should produce stunning results. Could attempt to electrify weapon discharge, mooring chaff pieces together with energy. Allow longer range on fire."

"Podracing?" You ask.

"No. What?"

"Never mind..." You're wasted on these people, you swear. But at least the Toolcircuit has some good ideas. You've got options for days, here.

Options such as:
>Basic Blackout Flares (spray of chaff, close-range. Will be the most abundant in terms of ammunition count.)
>Blackout knife/variable mode for lance (Sensor-disabling blade)
>Fletchette Weapon (Shotgun!)
>Thermal Foil Blackout Flare (specialist antisensor variant; blocks all forms of IR in addition to basic effects; requires buster modification)
>Blackout Rocket (long-ranged chaff bursts; excellent AA)
>Arc Chaff (longer-range, electrically charged variant)
>Hold off, again.
>Other?

>>18211384
All things considered, the link-up had gone fairly well. The First was in good spirits, with a few dozen humans, a healthy mix. At least one had a civilian-grade buster pistol--apparently a police officer. He had planned to head back to his station for the riot gear, but only ran into the bulk of the enemy army on his way. The rest...were keeping together, at least.

Scattered amongst them were the taller forms of the hunters, most injured, but ready and able. Cobra, Ox, their new operative...

"Where's Shieldspin?" Frog asked. Cobra pulled a face.

"I don't know. We lost him when we were clearing a mall. Assumed KIA until we hear from him again."

Hammer parsed the information and continued. Sympathy would have to wait. "Your comms working?"

Striker nodded. "We patched into a radio tower. Command has got a plan."

Damn, this quest always happens when I'm not looking for it. Nice to see it wasn't totally dead like I'd assumed, though.
>>18211907
For the Arc Chaff weapon, I assume we'll be firing that off from our stored electricity? We already drain that stuff out pretty fast, so unless we get a capacity upgrade we might want to stick with something else. I like the blackout rocket, personally.

Since we had a thread earlier I gotta ask.

Where's the Megaman homebrew system at /tg/? Why haven't you made one?

>>18212919
Correct. It won't take a huge amount per shot, but it will drain your capacitors.

You still need to correct the problem of a slow charge to top them off. The K-Coils are a good start, but there's more upgrading to be done.

And on that note, I need to go run some errands.

Shit gets real in Vienna when I get back.

>>18211907
Blackout knife/variable mode for lance
Or
Arc Chaff

Maybe we should hold off on picking a new weapon for now and get something everyone can agree on- we need our electric dash and spiffy new phasing lance.

>>18213334
So far not a lot of input, no. I can wheedle around it and have Anode opt for the other upgrades first, if you guys want.

That said, argue amongst yourselves! Work out the shiny new toy you want.

>>18213707
I am all for the blackout rockets, because it covers a lot of weaknesses in our current weapons. That said, pretty much any of those would be useful.

>>18213884
This, we could always improvise an arc on the fly, but a jammer rocket is too good to pass up right now.

It takes some thinking. Soul searching, even. If the Toolcircuit is perturbed by your grappling to the last with this greatest of decisions, he doesn't show it.

"...Gimme the rockets," you finally decide. Solid anti-air with some versatile applications will do you a lot of good.

"Excellent. I will begin work immediately." True to his word, he types up another blistering salvo of commands. "Transmission is underway. You can download the weapons data. It will interface with your VWES and produce the materials needed to manufacture each rocket. Standard protocol is two range hours of test-fire before you combat use." He pauses. "I can count on one hand the number of times this has happened."

"Right, I'll keep it in mind." He gives you a look that says he very much doubts that. "The other upgrades...well, the big ones will be my lance." You produce the weapon, removing the pommel-cap again to show the lathe-work already done.

"The idea was--"

"Mount the lance within your buster-arm, connecting your electrical capacitors directly and providing a stable platform from which to strike."

"...Yeah, that." Em must have left notes.

"Acknowledged." He raises an arm, and with a snap, a small tool springs out where his hand ought be. "Please remove your arm."

"...Come again?"

"This work will require your buster. ...Is your armplate sleeved or integrated?"

>...Sleeved.
>...Integrated.

>>18211917
"India..." said Frog hesitantly. "What am I looking at?"

"That," she replied, "Is an F-14 Tomcat." India had never really accepted her lot when her bird was decommissioned right out from under her. Though she had become an excellent field agent on the ground, the pilot in her never died. Probably a truism for all of them, Frog thought wearily.

She approached the ancient jet, gently stepping over the velvet rope. "This particular model was Iranian, mothballed after only a few flights because of the lockdown on exporting replacement parts. It eventually got sold on the black market to a private collector, who donated it to this museum when he kicked it."

"How do you know all that?" He asked.

"I read the plaque."

"...Oh."

She circled the podium almost reverently, gently running a hand across the 21st-century fighter. "Almost no metal fatigue on the fuselage. All the electronics are intact. They refurbished it, reproduced the parts to authentic specifications. Flew it in air shows for the tourists."

"India, we need to keep moving..."

"I called you in here for a reason, chief. Think you can lift this?"

"Drag, if the wheels were free. What exactly are you up to?"

She looked back at him, eyes filled with that same fire they got whenever she was about to impress him. "I've got an idea."

>>18214029
Is it fair to tell him we're not entirely sure? I mean, we've replaced an awful lot of parts... lord knows what the Lifesavers did to us while we were out of it.
Just give him free reign to do whatever needs to be done with that arm, and we're totally going to get attacked while our arm is off, aren't we?

>>18214029
Sleeved?
I'm guessing that means the armor slides off?

(Also yay India!)

>>18214068
You certainly could, if you wanted. This is also an opportunity to decide for yourself how you were built.
>>18214097
Correct. Most military models are built so what you see is what you get--it's not just worn armor, the plates make up their bodies. Most, but not all.

>>18214147
In that case, Sleeved it is!

MAH NIGGA

So glad to see this back. Tell Cain Labs (I assume it's Cain Labs you speak of) that we wish all the best. That said, are we going to have to remove both of our arms since we've got integrated dual arm cannons (according to the first thread)?

>>18214209
After a moment's pause, you mentally release the moorings on your armor. Gently sliding it off, baring the mechanical components underneath, you turn your armplate over to the engineer. After a moment's thought, you remove the other side's too. He takes them both without much ceremony and quickly opens the exterior to get to the interior workings. He bustles from the workstation, to you, to the computer, with your schematics looking back down at you. You look at your own skeleton on the terminal screen, reflecting a little on the design.

Toolcircuit works quickly and efficiently, a half-dozen or more different tools coming out of his "buster" as he works on your weapon system. The sooner the better--you feel a bit uncomfortable without your arms on your arms. Without the familiar weight, you have to make a point of meting your strength and controlling your movements.

"Part one, done." he finally announces. You examine your lance--he's run leads through the grooves already cut into the pommel, designed to link up to your capacitor channels inside your arm--either, you note. The pattern of lines is symmetrical.
"Added element similar to hand/barrel transition to replace buster gem with hilt. Effectively, third hand setting. Should feel natural after a few tries." He hands your armor back, letting you slip the plates back on and get a feel for them.

"Is Guns'--I mean, is the phase data applied yet?"

"No. Could do that next. Child's play. Also have dash system/conduit integration to perform. After analysis of busters and lance, should be simple."
>Em might want to take a look at that phase data. Do the dash upgrade.
>Might as well round out the weapons first.

>>18214379
Will do, and thanks. I'm sure he appreciates the well-wishing. And yeah, on the arms. I actually almost forgot myself as I was writing.

>>18214038
It was easy to forget when they massed for attacks with almost no warning (see: now), but mavericks needed supplies too.

The convoy was a victim of its own success. With so much destruction in the city streets, there was no way the supply trucks could go any way but this. The lead vehicle slowly ground to a halt, as Conda gently tugged its strings.

Though the local cyberspace infrastructure was decimated, a city this big, with this much military presence on both sides was like a shining sea of data, and Overclock rode the waves. With one eye on either world, he pounced.

The maverick driver was only just turning around as he was snared. Anacondas don't bite, but Conda's touch was venemous just the same. A quick constriction, and then he was gone again in a flash.

"What was that? What was that?!" One yelled.

"I--I dunno, I don't feel right, I--" a shaky step forward suddenly turned into a dash, and Conda's victim slammed into the side of his own truck.

"Movement! Right side!" Another driver called, steadying his rifle on the hood of his transport. His stricken comrade fired a shot from his buster, howling in pain as it gave a burst of charged plasma.

Conda darted back behind the ridge of debris, his work done. With the lead truck hacked and its driver shaking himself to pieces, there was nothing left to do except bring the house down.

As the building overlooking the convoy shuddered, Schwarzhund did exactly that.

Dash! We gots to get our hands on that dash so we can go at the speed of fast. Save the Guns data for Em to tinker with.

>>18214432
Can't argue with more weapons. Knowing we have rockets is NICE. Let's find out what else we can get.

Let's ask exactly what the limit is for reploid improvement as far as the Maverick Hunters goes.

Also, I'm really digging the asides, here.

>>18214587
"Okay, here's a question. Is there a limit?"

"Limit," Toolcircuit repeats blankly, clearly not understanding.

"To upgrade capacity."

"Oh. ... No. Well, yes. Limits will be funds available and amount of space within or on your chassis to support upgrades. But technology keeps moving. Smaller versions of old devices that work just as well, or better. Constant forward march. Take out old parts. Work in new ones. Even establish multiple configurations, modular parts and equipment depending on circumstances." He taps your schematic around the feet. "Legs, not a lot of room to work. EAS assembly, kinetic coil. Crowded. Upgrades will involve rehauling existing structure. Example: This ... electro-dash. Will likely have to groove and inlay conduits into your legs to tap into capacitors. Will be difficult to do without compromising structural integrity."

"Is that a problem?" You ask. You know, aside from carving furrows into your metal femurs and all.

He fixes you with a look and, for the first time, gives you a wry smile. "Difficult. Not impossible."

"So," he says again. "Dash or lance first?"

>>18214464
The museum connected to the airport--it had taken some work, but they'd made it. Refugees hustled by, coordinated by a few Berets, while the mechaniloids quickly swept the perimeter.

"So, what now? Evac?" Striker asked.

"Negative," Frog replied. "Air is still locked down and there aren't nearly enough transports. They'd be easy prey anyway. We're setting up a static defense."

"Damn it. All right, I'm turning command of the First over to you. We're not built for digging in."

Frog nods. "Current goal is to make sure we're secure enough to bring in the Artillery. Seventh is on standby just as soon as we knock out that jammer. Let's hope HQ's plan works..."

He began giving orders as the hunters quickly moved into action. "Seven, I want you overseeing the evacuation. Get the civvies to the airfield ASAP..."

Hmm... Dash first. The lance couch might be a little tricky to use without the dash, so let's get that out of the way.

>>18214706
Dash first is definitely the way to go on this one. Even without the Lance done, we'll be a lot better off with more mobility.

>>18214731
>>18214757
"All right, then. Challenge accepted. You gonna need to take my legs off or something?"

"Unwise. Still on duty." The Toolcircuit frowns. "Will make do with isolation from powerplant. May require two visits, depending on nature of work. Won't know until I get a look." You hop up on a station obligingly, and for the second time watch your legs opened up in the lab. It's just as bizarre as it was the first time, feeling nothing even as TC scratches around your leg, carefully examining the metal "bone" the rest is built on. Finally, after great deliberation, he nods.

"Can work with this. Dash power source separate from EAS turbine. Will run leads to there, feed through converter." He looks back up at you, slipping out of the terse techspeak mode. "Do you know how EAS works?" You shake your head, giving him the chance to explain. "The same mechanics as a buster. The biggest difference is that the output isn't contained or focused through a gem. You propel yourself along with bursts of unfiltered plasma." He smiles again. "Keep that in mind next time you get tangled up close. A solid kick to the face followed by triggering EAS..." Oh. Oh, that's a good one. You're going to have to remember that.

"So how much work does it look like?"

"Minimal. Will reinforce groove to be cut into fibula. ...Fibula analogue," he corrects. "Just to be certain." He hops back onto the terminal and starts tapping away. "Materials requested."

Cont.

>>18214942
"So, what, we need to go get them?" TC reactivates your legs and nods. Gingerly you slide back off the table.

"Should arrive via beam-in. Just need to accept the transfer."

On your way over there, your comms crackle to life. It's Dodo.

"You bastard," he says flatly.

>?

"Drop tanks," she yelled, as Em scrounged the museum basement below. "She's going to need all the fuel she can get. Those doors free?"

"Can't," Seven called from his portable workstation, "Got another wave of civs coming in."

"On it." A Beret leapt to work, directing a squad of three Assails to help him clear the way.

"Okay, so good news is they have a catapult. Bad news is that the other side of the runway is fucking fucked," India muttered, mostly to herself. "Takeoff is dicey."

"Takeoff?" Frog asked, bewildered, stepping back into the improvised field command center. "Worry about landing. If they had a cable to hook, I can't find it, and you've seen the tarmac."

India didn't answer as she began climbing. "Are you listening? We have no way of getting you back down."

She turned, mid-way up the ladder, and gave him a single, emphatic shrug.

>>18214953
Mental checklist- what did we do wrong?! Also, ask him what we did wrong.

>>18215006
"What? What did I do?" You call back.

"You left me alone with Tanker, is what you did. He harassed me into sparring with him again. Ever see a dodo try to fight a shark?"

You pause for a long, quiet moment, before radioing again. "You do realize how absolutely hilarious that mental image is, right?"

"Yeah? How do you think it went for me?"

Oof. Okay, yeah. "Well, uh... ouch?" You offer.

"Yeah, -thanks.-"

"I'll find something to make it up to you later. Right now I'm about to have my legs popped open and my jimmies rustled."

"Yeah, yeah. Keep me in the loop. ... Ugh, speaking of loops, I'm about to get knocked for another one. Best five out of seven my feathered ass..." He grumbles into fading static.

"Welp." TC looks at you. You shrug. "Let's just get on with this."

-----

Aaaaaand I haven't slept since like a day ago. I should probably go do that. BREAK TIME. Feel free to discuss or plot or plan or debate or conjecture or any of that good stuff.

We're definitely going to need to fight Tanker after we get all our upgrades. Or maybe X again, see how much better we fare with all our new toys.

>>18215300
We should fight Tanker first. If we fight Virtua-X, then the shark sees how all our new gear works during the fight, and then he uses our lance as a toothpick when he's done with us.

>>18215382
True. We should also figure out how to use our upgrades, though. Maybe put them through their paces a bit around the base, make a patrol with the mechaniloids.

>>18215661
Putting in a little time patrolling with the mechaniloids couldn't hurt, I agree. There's also the off-chance that we spot something they haven't, and if the base explodes because we left everything to them, I have a feeling the boss won't take it so well.

Bumping with Soviet Era monument for lack of any conjecture, except that India is about to do something awesome.

>>18216996
That is a pretty sweet monument. And as far as conjecture goes, it makes me wonder if the Humans have gotten around to building anything else of interest, or if they gave up once all the Reploids started blowing the planet to hell.
>abandoned Serials
Captcha has a point, too. What are Movies and Television like in a world where you can have an actor built for your movie oversees? And in that vein, have a giant monster built for the same movie...

>>18217048
Yeah, but what's the actor and the giant monster gonna do when the movie is over? I suppose the actor could have modular facial parts, malleable structure, be trained in adopting any number of mannerisms...

Which would make for a pretty goddamned good spy as well, really.

So now we have an AA scrambler rocket and a new mount for our lance. Also, that EAS Kick is a pretty neat combat trick. Considering we get stuck in a lot, that'll come in handy. We should keep an ear our for more combat tricks.

So that rocket will work at any range, even though it excels at anti-air, right? I doubt we can route a charge through the flak at the range the rocket will likely fly, but it's something to think about.

Anode is relatively fresh off the assembly line, but does he still possess what amounts to bleeding-edge tech? Maybe there are more efficient capacitors somewhere out there we could use.

Okay, back. I could use a bit more beauty-sleep, but duty calls. You guys with me?

>>18218303
We're still here.

>>18215170
It's not long before the supplies arrive, in a relatively small toolbox-esque pack. Your engineer pops the lid and examines it carefully, before nodding once, snapping it shut, and immediately starting his way back to the lab. He mumbles something or other about what he's planning to do, but it's all Greek to you. All you feel is vague discomfort knowing you're about to have lines dug into your skeleton, and right now, your entire unit could be dead for all you know.

A few minutes go by, and you sit and watch from a screen as a bright line slowly cuts down your exposed legs, carving a shallow trail down the backs and terminating just over your heels. You can't move your legs, held in place so you don't, quote, "squirm." Hell of a beside manner there, TC.

Finally, the bright light subsides and he tells you the difficult part is over with, holding some bundles of wires that will soon make up your new capacitor link. He gets on with it, running the leads and wiring them in with God knows what kind of tech-sorcery. This is definitely way above simple patch jobs in the field.

"Next come their cases," he says cheerfully, holding a thermal lance and a bar of sturdy metal with a low initial melting point. Oh boy. "Stay still." Oh, BOY.

>Smalltalk? DON'T distract the man with a miniature sun in his hand?

>>18214969
"You're surrounded," said the maverick.

"I saw," Schwarzhund replied evenly. Even with a half dozen enemy combatants ringing around him, he was unshakeable.

"Neat trick with the demo, but you got repetitive. Three buildings, charges around the bottom, waiting for armored columns. Detonators were short-range, meaning you had to be close."

Schwarz's expression didn't change, even as the maverick's expression changed from smug to building fury.

"You cost me friends, hunter."

"You, too. That's war." He didn't flinch when the enemy snarled and seized him by a lapel, a buster tucked under his chin.

"Ditch the FUCKING attitude!" he roared. "We've got you dead to rights and in a few minutes there won't be enough left of you to bury! WHY ARE YOU STILL FUCKING SMILING?!" The maverick backhanded him, hard. The hunter tumbled across the roof, landing at the very edge. "We cracked your signal, we traced your hardware, we followed you up here! You got overconfident! You were stupid! You just kept rigging the bases to collapse! WHAT IS THERE TO BE SO GODDAMNED SMUG ABOUT?"

Schwarzhund pulled himself to his feet as his firing squad readied their weapons. As he began to lean backwards, he quietly explained.

"Not this one."

They were only just realizing as he hit the palmed detonator and started freefall. The building shuddered as two sets of explosions rocked it--one on the ground floor, one on the roof. He shot his grapnel into the side as the skyscraper began to lean. Bracing against it, he prepared for the ride. "This is Scwharz," he messaged as his wall became a floor, "Counter-force dealt with."

>>18218676
If ever there was a time to shut the fuck up and let the man work, it's now. Last thing we want to hear is him saying, "Oh drat. That shouldn't have been cut."

Hey folks; back online and all systems go.

>>18218841
Good to see you around, Cain.

>>18218841
Feeling any better, fellar?

>>18218753
A little small talk couldn't hurt. I say we talk unless he tells us not to disrupt his concentration. He's clearly a professional. Don't know what we'd talk about though.

>>18218753
Part of you wants to ask if this is anything like solder, but the rest of you tells that part to shut the fuck up, you enjoy working legs. You sit in silence as he works.

"...Have connection confirmed, so now it's just a matter of sealing," he mutters, "Should contain EM and reduce impact on systems..."

Slowly he leads the metal down your leg, melting it over the channel and producing a neat, smooth case to isolate the new conduit channel. "Done." Oh good. ...wait. Damn it. "Now the other one."

The process goes a little faster the second time, at least. Finally, he finishes, powering up your legs again and resealing the wee booties. "Give that a try," he says. You slide off the table again, pleased to see that your legs still work. You hop a few times, and note the light charge increase. You could probably build up a quick zap and then test your systems. ... Outside.

"So, you have a name for this new trick?" You ask. He shakes his head.
>Test it out?
>Name electrodash technique? (Default: Raikousen)

>>18218703
Hammer crouched again as another line of plasma streaked through the air over his head. The cover was holding, and Schwarz was in there somewhere, punishing their grenadiers and snipers. He raised a hand, and his own line, bristling with guns, rose up and launched another counter-volley. The First's detachment quickly folded into his own command, acknowledging his superior long-term engagement experience, and he'd quickly gone about establishing a comphrehensive defense. The line was holding, but every unanswered strafe from an enemy craft, mysteriously shielded from the Skyjammer's effects, left another hole to fill.

He was started out of his thoughts by the roar of an engine from behind him, and a shadow screamed overhead as a century-old war machine sprang alive. The world rattled in the Tomcat's passing. India was away. He strained to follow the jet's trajectory out.

It passed over the next offensive to dare the lines. Damn it. This time, they brought armor. Smaller units milled around the trunklike legs of a colossal mechaniloid, and from further behind he heard the familiar drumline of Ride Armor steps. His hunters murmured and exchanged nervous glances.

"Emerald," Frog finally said. "My spot in the line. Nobody gets past you." With that, he stepped across his cover, laying his massive sledge over one shoulder. "The rest of you--" he turned back, sweeping an unshakeable, confident, lying gaze across his soldiers. "What are you waiting for?"

>>18218952
Let's go for a jog. Also default Japanese technique names are fine by me, although we are perfectly within our right to shout "GOTTA SPEED, KEED" when we do it.

>>18218952
Test it out. As for a name, I think... We should have Bolt in the name, somewhere. Cause puns are awesome.

>>18219014
Also, part of me wants to try that EAS Kick combat trick and see if we can't get an electrical variant.

Question: is our Raikousen now our default dash, or are the EAS and electro-dash two distinct things?

>gislyq army

>>18219031
I'm nominating the name Lightning Bolt.

>>18219037
Separate things. You can opt to dump energy to your dash, but you don't have to. There will be times when you won't want to, or can't. It does work off capacitor charge, but EAS systems are a bit easier to turn on and off, so you can throttle the output somewhat.

>>18219037
electro dash uses our charge, so it1s different

Running a patrol with some troops and then some training with our new toys would be a good idea.

>>18219448
We still need to get the lance itself looked at. We can mount it inside our armor now. Outside of Guns' phasing tech, is there anything Toolcircuit has in mind for it as far as ideas go?

Team Jerkass strikes again! Expect updates slowing to a crawl for an hour or four.
>>18218975
You decide to give it a test-run. TC tells you he'll update the casefile on your upgrades and catch up. On your way outside you build a healthy charge of a few percent or so--enough for a test.
You can feel the new systems interfaced properly--not quite like they were always there, but routing the electricity to your dash thrusters comes to you naturally. Carefully you find a wide area and--

Whoa!

You look behind you, a good thirty feet away, a pair of scorched trails on the ground marking your path.

That...that was on like four percent charge. Your heels smoke. Experiment successful, you guess. Damn.

Well, as long as you're testing things, you may as well try your lance. You take it in your hand and form a buster, then put the pommel to the barrel and j-j-jam it in.

Well, except that it fits in securely and smoothly with a slight click, and you feel a thrum as the conduits in the pommel contact and align with your internals. You test the weight and swing your literal sword-arm experimentally. Okay. If you square yourself, tuck your arm in, and dash...

Okay. This feels good. This will work. You could ruin some maverick day with this setup. Of course, now you have more options about spending your capacitor charge...

>Where now?

>>18218975
'Suicide' was putting it mildly.

Any missiles this beast had were 1: decommissioned, and 2: long past obsolete. No, the tanks were the way to go--India was going to need every ounce of fuel she could get for the maneuvers she was about to pull. Not four seconds into the air, and her plane began to wail at her as two hundred designators lit her up en masse.

She felt the old, steady calm wash over her anyway, even as a visual confirmation told her that the aged sensors on her bird were only able to pick up a fraction of the actual ordnance speeding her way. The sky was alight with pinpricks of fire, a wall of missiles all jockeying to be the one to blow her stupid ass to hell. But the engines were singing behind her, the familiar rumble of flight coursed through her, and the instruments spoke only truths.

And as always, the view was spectacular.

>>18219855
Now we feel a little more up to speed, pun unintended. Getting such powerful results on minimal charge is exactly what we need.
As for anything else, we can ask Toolcircuit about the lance itself, including adding Guns' phasing tech and any other ideas he might have. We'll also want to try out our new Chaff Missiles (C. Missile?). It's basically, what, personal artillery that scrambles sensors of anything in the area, right?

>>18219855
Test out the rockets. How many do have at a given time? What kind of damage can they cause? Then we can head back to the lab and ask the good doctor about any other upgrades we, or he, has in mind.
Outside of that we should probably check in on Dodo and Tanker, to make sure we've still got three working hunters on base. Then... hell, patrol?

>>18219923
>>18220005
You decide you may as well test out all your gear before you get any further along, heading back down to the range area where you left Tiger and--

CRASH

...Dodo. Who just tumbled to a halt right at your feet. Battered, he pulls himself upright, glaring at you.

"Hate you so much," he says cheerfully.

"THERE you are," you hear Tanker boom as he strides into view. "Oh. Hey. We're at 7 of 9."

...No. No, too easy.

>?

Emerald had his orders. Man the line, don't let them through. Easier said than done when you bring blades to a buster duel.

Easier said than done when the enemy brought rides. Hammer was up in front working his magic on their tank, but he couldn't tie up all of them. The first armor cleared the broken ground, its operator scanning the line for a weak spot. It settled on him, of course.

It was an old RA--the unnamed original. He recognized a few details in a flash--the vents along the front, the heavy, spherical pauldrons, the strangely detailed hands. It surged forward, cocking back a fist the size of his body and bringing it down, crashing through the barricades like an unstoppable freight train.

Em landed adroitly on top of its forearm, wheeled his sabers once, and scissored the driver's head off between them. Resting one on his thumb, he grasped the lip of the cockpit and flipped into the seat, shoving the former occupant back out--over the enemy's side of the line, he thought with grim satisfaction.

Stowing his weapons, he took the controls and wheeled the engine around, spreading its arms wide as he turned back. Luckily, the ride would work just as well as the barricade it had just smashed for cover. "So who's next?"

>>18220328
Poor bastard. Let's tag in for Dodo. Now that we've got a fresh round of upgrades with more down the pipe, let's see what we can do against Tanker Tigershark. What are the rules to sparring?

rolled 17 = 17

>>18220328
Rolling to resist the urge to make terrible/great joke that noone will get.
And as much as I want some action, and to test out our new toys, I really do not want us and Tanker half-dead if a sneak attack happens. So make a promise- when everyone gets back to base, not only are we going to fight, he can have an audience while we thrash each other.

>>18220444
There's likely rules of engagement for sparring against other Hunters. Although, I'd agree that we're currently on duty and should avoid any excessive injuries. On the other hand, we've got a mostly untested suite of upgrades, and the last place you'd want to find out how things work is when you're fighting for your life.

Hmm. Could use a tiebreaker.

Fight amongst yourselves! Fight for my amusement!

>>18220641
IF -- and that's all that is right now, an if -- we sub in for Dodo against Tanker, what are his rules? First to submission, first to bruises, what?

>>18220707
You probably wouldn't get to do a lot of live-fire training with your new stuff, honestly. You could set up a stronger fight, but like people have said, you want to stay fresh in case there's an attack.

>>18220791
So nothing too serious. Let's go for it once. We won't use all our tricks (likely only the Raikousen/"Lightning Bolt" will get used), but at least Tanker will see we're no pushover. Remind Tanker not to overdo it, since we're in a delicate situation right now.

>>18220839
Then again, assuming Toolcircuit is still on-site, we can see if he has anything else waiting for us. We were in the middle of one of his consultations, after all, and it'll likely be a while before we get our hands on an R&D guy again. Let's use it for what it's worth.

>>18220854
Maybe we can bring him in to watch the proceedings, get a diagnosis of what we have going for ourselves. Is that even his department? Does Hunter R&D even HAVE departments?

>>18220896
I support this idea. We fight Tanker, try not to hurt each other too badly, and Toolcircuit can watch his handiwork in action, make sure everything is working as expected.
Not that we'd want to imply his work wouldn't be perfect, of course.

>>18221056
That settles it. A supervised spar against Tanker, with Dodo and Toolcircuit presiding.

Also Supporting this.
I wanted to ask, Could we still see about getting that chaff Shotgun, maybe later?

Also, for sparring, the obvious solution to not get either of us wrecked is to have a point match of some kind, like, first to 4 points through some solid hits takes a match?

>>18221280
Probably. You'd just have to order a duplicate of the weapons data by paying for more.
Speaking of, you dumped about 60,000 zenny on these upgrades, automatically deducted. It just about cleaned you out.

Also, I am writing, but things are distracting.

You mull it over. "Okay, give him a break, Tanker." You give Dodo a pat on the back. "I'm still paranoid about this attack shit."

"I know," Tanker huffs. "I'd rather be out there. This waiting is driving me insane."

You frown. "Okay. As long as it's mostly just a scuff, I guess we can throw down. Contact?"

Tiger shrugs. "Better'n nothing."

"How about four hits?" Tanker laughs. "Five?"

"How about until one of us doesn't get up?"

"Little too far. Solid hits?"

"We'll wing it."

Well, here you are. Tanker is... big and mean-looking. Definitely strong.

>Strategy here, chief?

>>18220411
Tilting at windmills... no, that wasn't it.

India banked hard as another trio of missiles screamed past her. She was half-worried about the Gs she was pulling and what they might do to her frame, but so far the old aluminum soldier was holding together. And she was rapidly approaching the moment where her evasive options didn't give her much say in the matter. No sense babying the jet now only to take a rocket later, she decided.

Playing with fire? No, technically true, but without shooting back it just didn't feel right. She swerved and turned, banking around for another pass. That one was a little close. Too many missiles in the air, now. At this rate, they'd catch her between two volleys, and that would be the end of that.

Dancing, she decided, snapping her fingers as she leveled out, facing down a thousand advanced airships with as many missiles chasing in her wake. This was dancing. She throttled up. Carefully choreographed, with a big fiasco if she missed a step. She began to streak by the vanguard ships, entering into the thick of the enemy formation as she pulled back on the stick gently. Several fighters broke their formations to engage her. She slowed further, reaching for the last, as-yet untouched control.

"You and me, baby," she crooned to her Tomcat, sweeping the wings forward. "Just a couple of swingers." She gave it an affectionate little pat on the dash as she weaved expertly by an oncoming vessel, and the first of the friendly fire began behind her.

>>18221569
Whoops forgot my pic~

>>18221550
Let's feel him out, find out how quick on the draw -- if not quick in general -- he actually is. Pepper him with dual busters from a distance, see how he reacts.

>>18221550
Alright, we're fighting a giant robot shark. I've had nightmares like this... I am going to take a wild guess and say priority 1 is stay the hell away from his jaws. And his arms... but since we won't get anything done that way I vote for going on the offensive. I'll bet we can catch him off guard with a good charge- and since this is a spar, we don't really need to worry about him ripping us in half. He'll need to be as careful as we are about it.

>>18221608
You might get away with busters since most damage would be superficial, but this is mostly barehand. Lance would almost definitely be out.

>>18221682
>>18221608
Okay, so we have two totally different strategies for taking him on. I support both of them, so I leave it up to either Hunter Command or someone else to figure out what we do.
If I had to choose, however, I say keep our distance. Sharks have enough teeth when they aren't also giant robots.

Bare handed, huh? Electro-dash up and give him one in the gut when we start, then jet back. Let's play matador

>>18221829
Then forget it. Bumrush him and hit and run. Try our Eas Kick and keep him off balance. If we can end it with a Raikousen punch, do so.

Your brain briefly fights with itself over a course of action!

Okay, get in close, he won't expect that--

He's a giant robot shark.

But without lethal weapons it'll be your best bet to--

Giant robot shark.

But with a solid opener, you could take him off--

Shark.

Ahhhh, fffffuckit. You resign yourself and dash in--

Aaaand he does the same thing. Only between the two of you, he has about twice as much mass, sending you sprawling as you impact like hammer and anvil. He's back on you in a second, before you've full righted yourself.

So you jump and drop kick him, triggering your EAS as your feet catch him in the chest. With a throaty whoomph of thrust, you go flying and topple him over, with no small amount of surprise in his voice. That gives you time to dig your heels in and land. And he's charging you again.

>?

>>18221974
I should hope, as a fightan' reploid, we know some martial arts or at least basic CQC. Toss Tanker on his ass, keep him stumbling. All that mass coming at us is a lot of energy. We have to keep that energy moving around and disorienting him.

>>18222013
Look at it this way: with no lance and minimal buster usage, we are forced to be more innovative and creative. The less we rely on our hallmarks, the better we'll be. We have to prove we're the better reploid, not necessarily the stronger.

>>18221974
Feint a charge, then go low, and take out his legs with slightly charge-assisted kick.

>>Artoom Appears
I dont know who Artoom is Captcha, but he can get in line.

>>18222013
>>18222053
You crouch low and await his charge, then step to one side and throw your EAS into your movement.

It doesn't work so hot, as he thunders ahead anyway, only now he's got a grip on you. He hip-turns and throws, sending you headfirst against a wall.

A second later, he slams you headfirst INTO the wall. There's a momentary pause. You hear a hiss, followed by a blast of released compression, and then Tanker power-drives you along the wall. With your head in it, carving a long, painful furrow in a line before he tugs you right back out and flings you aside. Ugh...that's--ow. You dizzily haul yourself to your feet, head stinging. Tanker's stomping steadily toward you again.

Actions?

>>18221608
I don't think busters and weapons are allowed, though our lighting dash might be.

>>18222101
Wow. That's pretty impressive. We have to have gotten a lot of charge from that...attack.

Raikousen Double Palm to the chest?

>>18222101
We're still against the wall right? And we should built up some more charge from that...

Jump up when he gets close, and boot off of the wall, kick him in the head, but do so expecting him to shrug it off. when he grabs or goes for us, bring down both arms along with everything we've got on him.

>>18222155
Or just do a heavy Raikousen off the wall, that might work too.

Juke and jive! JUKE AND JIVE!

>>18222101
This!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=JAs8Lz35K1I#t=18s
We should be able to do this now.

I had a bad feeling that's what all that steam was for. We're fighting the lovechild of The Big O and a Street Shark.
He knows we can hit him hard now, so it looks like our only chance is to lay into him. I like the off-the-wall ideas.

>>18222216
A Choureppudan? I'm not sure our new systems allows us to move exactly like that. Although if we push off well enough with our hands, we might get a good distance and use our electrified legs for extra damage.

If we're gonna get forward propulsion from our legs, I suggest we move like Kim Kaphwan ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetSNFrUwlU )
or
the Sakazaki family ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWgjJ2ncGSI )
or
Terry Bogard ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGsjCLuTSy8 ).

Ha! Look at me, offering suggestions from an SNK game for a Capcom-based character. I'm so naughty.

You blearily take stock while Tanker is taking his time. ...Wow. Damn. You're almost at a full 60% charge just from that. It certainly felt like it was worth it.

He's getting close, picking up speed. Not this time, damn it. You lean forward, your heels feeling hot as you offload the energy.

And then, all in an instant, the slam of wrenching metal, a shock running through your whole body, a loud crackle, before your eyes can catch up. Motion, a sudden lurch of dizziness, a loud crash. By the time you process what's happening, you realize you're palm-to-palm with Tanker, having pushed him sheer through the wall he had just weakened. He's holding his footing, but the long furrows he stands in tell you he literally dug in his heels the whole way.

And he's grinning. Not smirking, not smiling, but a wide, hungry, eager grin.

And then your shoulders both make faint pops, and your grip slackens.

He hurls you clear again, right back through the hole you made. He's advancing on you, crunching over the debris, when Dodo jumps out, arms extended.

"Whoa, whoa! Spar over, Anode caught some damage in his arms."

After a long, intense moment, Tigershark literally towering over Dash, his posture droops.

"Okay, okay." He throws you another sharp-fanged grin. "That surprised me, kid. Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Excuse me," comes a small, tinny voice. You all turn to regard the Toolcircuit--a giant shark, a little bird, and a man with two buzzing shoulders. "That does not look like testfiring your weapon."

>?

>>18222320
the irony was not lost on me

>>18221569
Em had logged a lot of hours in the seat of a ride armor. Until it got shipped away to restock the destroyed Eighth, he'd had a little number all his own, used to haul the crates and crates of supplies to and fro when he was on the job. He had fondly named it "Punchy."

Punchy II was slightly modified, he noted as he worked the sticks. The hydraulics were probably higher-pressure, improving its response time. It needed it, because the aging armor on the mark one suit had been replaced piecemeal here and there, with newer, heavier alloys. A patchy job, he noted--the pieces fit flush, but it would only take a little shock to dislodge the new plates.

Right now, though, Em was doing a little precision demolition. The giant fists crashed through concrete and asphalt. ...Okay, maybe not particularly precise, but demolition it was. Hauling the massive slabs up, he trundled to and fro across the line, ducking down as enemies tried to pick him out of the cockpit. "Special delivery," he called, setting down the hunk of material against the battered cover, shoring it up for another couple of hits. Turning back, he admired his handiwork--a bulwark of rebar and stone, and a treacherous crater-strewn approach that would ruin any attempts at a charge.

It'd do. Unfortunately, a few more ride armors were clearing the field now, shots pinging off their heavy frames. He wheeled 'round, side-arming another ball of rock at the first offender, wishing things weren't so dicey. Capturing more rides would do the Hunters some good...

>>18222334
That dash is a hell of a thing. Emptying our reserves with it seem awfully reckless, since we couldn't really control that. Something to remember in the future.
Tell Toolcircuit that we were going to be test firing our new rockets, but got distracted having a fistfight with a shark. Then take a moment to reflect on that sentence, and how being a Maverick Hunter is awesome.

>>18222334
In attacking with our Raikousen, we busted our arms. I'd suggest using elbows if we charge like that again. Then again, we have a lance arm now, so that would've been fatal against anyone else. I'd say we did pretty well for ourselves.
>>18222393
We cleared thirty feet in a flash using only 4% charge. That's some explosive power on very little juice, which is what we need. Outside of anything we find in the field, our Kinetic Coils are the only thing getting us a charge, so the more we can get from less juice, the better.

"So, uh. Wha'djya think, TC? It's working, right?"

We wanted to put our dash through the paces first, since its the thing we'd use most, and Tanker wanted to spar. That's all!

Now that we have extra electric propulsion in our legs, we should be able to super jump.

I just realized this.

"Well, I was gonna," you say, "But then I got into a fistfight with the lovechild of the Big O and a Street Shark."

"...What?" all three say in unison.

You give a shrug, your shoulders popping loudly for effect. "Maverick Hunters. Anyway, the dash needed a test-drive anyway. Looks like I need a bit of practice. Messed my arms up a bit."

"That...may've been me," says Shark, sounding almost contrite. Almost. "I get a bit... eager. I haven't had a decent partner for ages."

"Bite me," Dodo says, feathers literally ruffled from his beatings.

"Keep asking for it, you might get it," Tanker replies with a dark chuckle.

"Well, it is what it is. I should probably get fixed up before much longer. Just in case."

You look expectantly at Toolcircuit. "...What, really?"

>Yeah, really.
>Oh fine, baby. Medbay.

3rd option:
Medbay, but TC comes with and advises.

>>18222527
>Yeah, really.
The longer we have Toolcircuit's ear, the more stuff we can get out of him while he's still here, like improving our lance and other stuff. Just pass it off as him wanting to look at the repercussions of our new systems after a "rigorous work-out." Anything to send back to the eggheads at R&D.

>>18222567
>>18222570
Combine these.

>>18222576
This is a sound plan... but I have a feeling the Lifesaver is going to be giving us another stern glare or two while he patches us up.

>>18222612
If anything, the Lifesaver will give Toolcircuit the stinkeye in a "What did you give this retard NOW?" manner.

Something I'd like to bring up.
Though not immediatly, we might want to invest in a shield somewhere down the line.
It would help keep us out of an endless repair cycle

>>18222650
That's...not a bad idea. Considering we get stuck in all the time, we rely on a heavy offense and our electrical power to overwhelm enemies.

Then again, Zero doesn't use a shield, and look at him.

>>18222650
I always assumed that might be something we could get from Guns' data, what with all the deflecting he did during our fight. It'd also just be a cool thing to have, thematically.
>>18222673
Zero spends an awful lot of time being dead between games, though. Looking to him for inspiration will make us the bane of the medbay.

>>18222710
Phaser tech in our lance AND a repulsor shield? I can dig it.

>>18222710
That was him using his jump repulsers. They kinda got vaporized along with the rest of him.

>>18222576
"All right, fine. I'll go bug Lightsaver again."

"Great. What do you say, Dodo? Eight out of ten?"

"Oh come ON, man, give it a rest," Dodo says wearily. Tanker's gaze turns to Toolcircuit.

"E-rank," he says flatly.

Tanker's face immediately falls, like he just stepped on a bug. "Oh."

"Come on, TC. As long as you're here I might as well talk to you about the upgrades some more. It's that or..." You motion to Tanker, who indulges you with a snap of his teeth.

"Very well," the R&D engineer resigns.

Lifesaver, mercifully, does not give you a lot of sass--apparently Tigershark-related injuries run the full gamut from crushed hands to severed limbs.

"So TC--"

"Toolcircuit."

"Yeah, that--I seem to be having a bit of trouble regulating the charged dash."

"Need practice. You can attempt to define the amount of energy before committing."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Missile testing aside, what's left? Phase data, right?"

"Correct."

Anything else to ask about?

>>18222747
Ask R&D to keep an eye out for improved capacitors (read: more energy and less intrusive) and any way to improve our K. Coil. The more efficiently we can build charge and the more charge we can carry, the better.

Maybe ask about a repulsor shield or any sort of ablative armor we can use.

>>18222744
Well... damn. Still, I'm interested in what we might be able to get out of having his gun reverse engineered.
>>18222747
We're in pretty good shape now, I think. >>18222778 has the right idea.

Went ahead and archived the thread

>>18222778
>>18222859
"If I'm gonna draw more on my capacitors, I need to improve them," you muse.

He looks at you. "You are a relatively new model and your capacitor system is one of the newest parts of you." Or was, before you hugged the Enigma...

"What, really?"

"Yes. If you are finding charge times inadequate, that is because they simply store too much."

"Well, okay, is there anything I can do about the efficiency of building a charge?"

"Some. Will require time, effort. Research. Powerful electrical sources are your best option."

You rub your chin. "Okay...and what about shielding? I feel like I should reserve a bed down here."

"Your superstructure is designed to withstand the damage you take. In effect, you are your armor."

"I'd heard about as much at home. I just don't want to wear out my welcome down here." You glance sheepishly at the Lifesaver on duty.

"You are sturdy. You could look into a shield, though any effective ones would slow you. If you are particularly worried, there are several combat styles based around minimal damage."

>Welp

Also god damn I'm getting tired, I only got three or so hours of sleep in. I might pack it in, unfortunately.

>>18222955
Thanks.

>>18223020
Don't burn yourself out. Get sleepin'.

>>18223020
So outside of any upgrades Toolcircuit has planned and anything for our K. Coil in the extended future, we're as good as we're going to get at this point. May as well ride the wave.

On the topic of shields, one that is integrated into our lance would be helpful, and it could generate a ring-shape of energy/electricity/whatever if we're in a fray or trying to use our electro dash in conjuction with lance in gun arm to charge through enemy fire and bust through to our opponent.

>>18223107
Sounds like you're about to pioneer the pole weapons Steel Massimo will go on to use.

Pretty sure I'm okay with this. I'll keep it in mind.

>>18223107
TC already pretty much declared that we are our best armor, and any real shielding is only going to slow us down, which we don't want at this point. We're a shock trooper (pun unintended), not a heavy weapons specialist.

>>18223120

Not the way I mean it, the shielding itself would be attached to shield emitters on side of the circular bit that holds the emitter for generating our lance itself as to not be big and bulky. It could be turned on and off at our leisure if Hunter Command could finagle it somehow.

Technique Ideas:

Shoot Chaff Missile into the ground, Electrodash circle strafe with minimum charge per dash(Maybe 1%). Electro Bushins?

Use electricity to jump up to ceiling or high walls, that boost of those down onto enemy and impale them.

Rider Kick.

>>18223224
>Use electricity to jump up to ceiling or high walls, that boost of those down onto enemy and impale them.

>Rider Kick.
The thought crossed my mind as well. Jumping onto any hard surface and using the Raikousen to bound off at ludicrous speeds especially straight down.

>>18223224
See
>>18222495

>>18223306
By Rider Kick, I mean just a standing power kick.

Could we carry something like a riot shield? I remember there being enemies with riot shields that could take a few hits. Combine with Wallaby's disruptor thing and that could be pretty handy.

>>18223964
See
>>18223120

Right. Gonna give this a boostie and do some more advance writing, see if I can wrap up writing Vienna and then resume the thread.

>>18222354
MEANWHILE, THE LAST PIECE OF VIENNA WRITTEN IN ADVANCE. How are you guys liking the battle-aside, by the way?

Another powerful smash shattered armor and sent the mechaniloid reeling. Only its massive legs and weight kept it from being simply battered aside. It counterbalanced and swung, but Frog was already moving, the hammer spinning around and back up underneath its jaw for another crunching blow.

Hammer was his name was his function. Unsubtle, slow to move, but once he was there it all came down to a simple display of force. He dug in his heel, threw his entire body into it, and a third strike literally gave the massive enemy tank air as it tumbled backwards. He ignored the stray fire coming his way as he squared himself for the next round, letting the worst of it ping off his heavy armor.

As it pulled itself upright, the mechaniloid opted instead to open the ports for the missile banks.

"No," Frog replied flatly as a high-powered launcher fired his "tongue"--a powerful wrecking ball assembly, and his true namesake. The missiles went wide before they could acquire, and Frog slowly marched across the increasingly shattered terrain to close with the vehicle again.

"Sir!" His comms rang in his ears. "15th is setting up, and the strike team Command put up is mobile."

"Finally," he said, winding up for yet another punishing blow, "Some good news."

>>18227488
I am enjoying finding out what's happening with our unit over in Vienna. Seems like they're mopping up this Maverick incursion pretty handily, which is nice, because I was beginning to worry things were going to go all kinds of bad while we were hanging out back home. Like, entire-unit-wiped-out-in-the-field bad.

God, I've been meaning to catch up on this quest for 2 weeks already.

>>18227619
Yeah, the hunters have a lot of command snafus and they can be draconian, but they're both important and necessary. And very good at what they do. Unfortunately, Vienna took a lot of damage.

This also helps showcase what some of your team can do that you'd otherwise only hear about in expository dialogue.

>>18227730
Best to show, not say. I like it.

>>18223020
The damage is minimal and quickly corrected, and Lifesaver sends you on your way. You head back towards the range, passing through the front of the building on your way. Your antics with pranking Seven are still on proud display. Toolcircuit doesn't say a damn thing.

But then you notice the little reploid in front of the screens. He turns to regard you, an old model, his armor dinged and dented. His eyes--one normal, one a large red lens--fix on you and size you up.

"Son," he finally says, "Is that you?"

>?

>>18227488
"Now entering Skyjammer airspace." Putting a period on his sentence, the transport lurched, sputtered, and gave out, beginning to coast almost lazily down. Thunder Bull, switched the controls to manual and began fighting them as the transport became a falling box. A guided falling box, but a falling box just the same.

"And you're sure we have enough altitude for this," his passenger said without asking.

"Come on, Mac," Bull grinned as the clouds broke and revealed a thick blanket of enemy ships waiting to graciously break their fall. "I thought 17th unit was supposed to be fearless."

Mac snorted. "Fearless in the face of the enemy. Gravity doesn't count...for..."

He looked out the viewport, pressing a hand against the glass. "Is that a fucking jet?"

>>18228616
How the heck does that work?

>>18228616
Is he talking about ragtime-prankster!Anode, this guy with heterochromatic eyes?

Throw a salute. "Anode, 4th Overland. What can I do for you, sir?" Anode may have more old-time references than anything else, but he still respects protocol, being a greenhorn and all.

>>18228660
This. Dude seems to be our senior, so let's show him some respect.

>>18228699
We were built pretty recently. There's a good bet that everything we've seen so far has been our senior.

>>18228659
Kinda like this. Except less evil.

>>18228660
>>18228616
>>18228699

"That'd be me, sir," you reply. "Anode, 4th Overland."

He looks you up and down, then grins and claps you on the shoulder. "Good man. Nice to see someone on this base still knows how to have fun." He offers a hand, which you shake. "Crankshaft." Oh. Oh, it's this guy! "I see ya recognize me. Frog ain't workin' ya too hard, is he?"

"Three days, two missions, and that's after a full-body rehaul." You grin. "And Frog's out right now. Half the base is."

"I was wonderin' why it was so quiet. Who's your friend, there?"

"Toolcircuit engineer, R&D," the tech answers. "Here on consultation."

"We're on our way back to the range," you agree.

"Great." Crankshaft falls into step with you. "You can fill me in while we head down there."

>?

>>18229217
I feel like I should know who Crankshaft is from previous discussions, but it slips my mind. If he's part of the 4th, ask him what he does around here. Assuming he's asking what R&D is doing here, fill him in on some of our newest upgrades and stuff. It'll be nice having a cool old guy in our corner.

>>18229217
Against my better judgment, this guy seems alright. Tell him what Frog told us- some kind of major attack, air support down, and we're staying on-base in case of a sneak attack while the other units are mostly occupied.

>>18229263
Crankshaft is, in Em's words, India's arch-rival, albeit more friendly. He's a first-generation Gomeister transport specialist with a reputation for using vehicles as improvised weapons.

I keep the archived threads handy, I could grab the relevant posts if you want.

>>18229290
Oh yeah. Him. Well, in that case, we can say we have India to thank for our little showcase at the entrance. Other than that, fill him in on current events and why the base is so empty. Then head down to the firing range and get some practice with our Chaff Missiles.

Sorry for the delay, I may have gotten caught reading Cracked articles and bitching about housing.
>>18229327
"I've got India to thank for the footage," you say, waving at the ragtime shenanigans. "Apparently the two of you have a history?"

"Hah!" Crankshaft laughs. "I like the kid. She's got fire. Hell, your little trick with the 'loids reminds me of her."

You grin. "I heard about that. She chased you with a roader?"

"Must have been the funniest damn thing," Crank replies with a nostalgic tone. Toolcircuit is slowly looking between you with something like horror on his face.

"Welcome to the Fourth," you say in unison. Oh, yeah. You're gonna like this guy. The three of you head towards the range again, and you fill Crankshaft in.

"G-class, eh?" He rubs his chin. "And Tanker missed it? The boy must be pissed."

"In as many words. Last I saw he was abusing poor Dodo."

"Bad sport, bad sport. 'Course, I told him I won't spar him unless he lets me bring a truck..."

"I guess he's got a history of this?"

"Somethin' like that. Kid's restless, kinda antsy. Only guy I've known to beat him is Schwarz, but that's because he fights Smart. Shark can't stand it."

"Can't stand what?" asks Tigershark as he steps into view. Sounds like he heard.

>?

>>18229793
Tanker Tigershark is YOUNG compared to Crankshaft. Man, that's some dynamic.

Let Crank and Tiger banter for a while. Ask where Dodo went. Check if any news has come in about the operation along the way. How long has it been since Frog and the others shipped out?

"He's saying your ego is as big as your snout, Tanker. 'Course, that's just hearsay, so what do I know?"

>>18229793
Keep going to the firing range! Tanker and the old man can fight it out behind us if they want, or they can tag along. We have rockets to fire.

Talk to Dodo some. Ask how he's 3rd ranked in the base despite being a B class.

>>18228625
What was it about mavericks and drop fleets?

It made sense well enough, Albatross supposed. They had to be able to launch attacks fast and get out of Dodge before they got pinned down and killed. The things you think about during combat.

Abruptly his new partner announced his presence with a thunderous crash, jumping into view and advancing on the Skyjammer carrier. He was some kind of antelope build, massive and sturdy, lashing out with surprising quickness as he cut down a wave of attackers in a flurry of motion.

Albatross joined in, breaking cover with a cascade of missiles, moving beside the giant hunter, who didn't turn at the intrusion. Instead, in a surprisingly low voice, he greeted him. "You must be Commander Albatross." He strode forward, slamming a foot down on the Skyjammer's deployment platform. "Sumo Serow, 14th. I look forward to working with you."

Albatross quickly boarded the platform, and Serow stepped aboard fully, letting it rise and bring them both into the bowels of the ship. Inside, they would link up with the 17th and 3rd operatives inserting from above, and disable the Skyjammer.

>>18229865
>>18229883
"Can't stand Schwarz, you loveable palooka." Crankshaft speaks up. "How you doin', Shark?"

Shark grunts, ignoring the greeting. "Doesn't fight fair."

"Can you blame him?" You ask.

"What he said," Crankshaft claps a hand on your shoulder again. "We all know you'd win if you could catch him. If." Ooh, Tanker did not like that. "So he plays dirty. That's just tactics."

Tigershark glowers. Crank's almost as small as Toolcircuit, but he just looks up at him. "I could take you, too, without your cars."

Crankshaft hmmphs. "I know you could, that's why I use 'em."

There's a long moment of quiet tension until, with a scoff, Tanker blinks first, stalking away.

"So!" says Crankshaft, as if it never happened. "Test-firing, was it? What kinda toy you got?"

>?

>>18230208
Down they went. Well, down was an inevitability. Lasers and cannon shells thudded off the transport's hull, shaking Bull through the control. He nosed down, then up, for what little good maneuvering an unpowered crate would do.

"Missiles," Mac announced from the viewport.

"I see them. Get ready, we'll probably be falling from--"

That fucking jet screamed by underneath them, and all at once the swarm of anti-air fire turned on it, missiles reacquiring and turning into its wake.

"Transport, you are clear," came a voice, British accent, over his shortwave comms, already crackling into distant static. "Kick them once for me." Her human fighter turned on its side and wove around, a thicket of death hot on her tail. The anti-air fire chasing her cut into their own ordnance, foiling half of the missiles.

But Bull didn't need to be told twice, pushing the stick forward again and accelerating their plummet. The target was just pulling off the ground, having deposited another wave of ground forces. "Hey, Mac?" Bull called casually, digging his massive hands into overhead grips. "Grab something."

>>18230221
"Sensor-scrambling missiles. Got the weapons data off my first Maverick. They say it's built best for anti-air, but I like to think there's other ways to go about it."

>>18230221
Souvenir from our first Maverick. He stabbed us with a knife and our eyes exploded. We made some rockets with his data, and while we aren't expecting results quite that good we can screw up sensors pretty well.
Also, I almost called our Blackout Rockets Rockouts.

>>18230371
I've been calling them Chaff Missiles (C. Missile).

>>18230371
>Also, I almost called our Blackout Rockets Rockouts.

Seconding Rockouts

>>18230393
I'd gone with Blackout Rockets, since the original weapons data was called Blackout Flare. Chaff Missile is an acceptable substitute, if you prefer.

>>18230295
>>18230371
"Weapons data from my first op. Guy named Chaff Weasel. Nasty bugger. Cut off my comms and exploded my optics. Stabbed me, but that sort of comes with the territory."

"Don't it just," he says. "'s why I put a windshield between me and them."

"Anyway, it's modified as the payload of a rocket. Fires a load of chaff shrapnel. Plays hell with sensors, too. Should make for nasty anti-air."

"Sounds pretty fun. And if I hear it right, your target might even take a dive if they can't see and their instruments are out." Ooh, you hadn't considered that.

"I might requisition some of that data," he muses. "Maybe direct it to Air Cav's attention, too."

You arrive at the range ("At long last," says TC), where Dodo still sits, rather dinged up from the repeated spars.

"Hoo boy, poor fella," says Crankshaft. "I'll go catch up with him, he'll have a better idea of what's goin' on than Shark."

You nod and examine the range structure--walled, with targets at all ranges. "Start with 100 meters," TC suggests.

Switching to the weapon feels natural--your arms change colors, becoming a mottled gray, similar to Chaff's camouflage. Or what little you saw of it, anyway. You note both your busters seem more than able to fire your acquired data. But, unfortunately, it looks like the rocket assembly consumes 'ammo,' and you're given an indicator telling you that you only have eight shots.

>What think

>>18230280
Though they'd folded into the Fourth for this, Advance had claimed a little spot on the side of the line and kept close to one-another. Striker took the middle. Cathode was on the right. Striker came up again, drawing their fire, and gave her the cue. She leveled her arms on the enemy again, and opened up with a pair of beams, sweeping them across their formation, cutting down the ones that didn't move, raking across the sides and backs of the ones who did. She dived back beneath the chunk of cover that Ride Armor dropped off.

"How's your juice?" Cobra called over the return-fire.

"Been better," she admitted. She could keep going, but the recharge time between beams was growing. "Supply's setting up behind us, right?"

"Yeah. And so's--"

WHOOMPH

"--Artillery," he finished with a grin, as the first laser batteries opened up.

>>18230831
What kinds of targets? If we can get them moving, it might be a good idea to have some practice with that... but later. For now take a few shots just to get the hang of firing something besides the usual plasma.
Also, we now have camouflage. I can only imagine that will come in handy sometime, even if we happen to run out of ammo... I assume we can still use our lance while we're in rocket mode? I almost feel sorry for the next Maverick we go after.

>>18230942
You can still lance. Sadly, the camouflage only extends to your arms, but if you ditched the blue trim on your armor, it's already gray.

...Frankly, the idea of a stealthy Anode is kind of terrifying. It'd be like an ambush tesla coil.

>>18230966
Ah, that's too bad about the camo... I suppose it would be a little unsporting to have, though. I mean, Camouflage, couched lance, and a nigh instantaneous electric dash, plus the optional screwing of their sensors beforehand? We'd be one of the most annoying boss fights in history.
Nice to see Cathode kicking ass, too! Too bad we couldn't get out there and see it, but we'll just have to make a good impression the next time we do see her. Shouldn't be too hard now that we can ride the lightning and all.

>>18230966
We are already gray with blue trim. Now our arm is just a flat gray, right?

Fire a few test rockets, two for each target further down the range. Note projectile speed, its pathing, and any secondary effects (how the chaff shrapnel spreads, size of the payload, etc.). Let's get as much on record as we can. With only eight shots, we can't afford to waste them.

Also, I'll go with Blackout Rockets (Blackout R. or B. Rocket, not sure which).

>>18231097
In other words, we're acting out the Weapon Get demo at the end of every level. We need an action pose for the requisite background image and "YOU GOT _______" blurb.

>peace. ffendues

I wonder if it could be possible to fire a special weapon out of one buster and another special weapon out of our other, if our lance wasn't stuck into it.

>>18231158
I wouldn't be surprised if we get to pal around with combo shots in the near future.

>>18231177
Maybe it'd be something out of Kirby 64 where two different powers turn into one brand new, ridiculous power.

>>18231097
Yup re: Armor.
>>18230942
You sight downrange at a simple target built out of a thick reinforced plate. The bullseye painted on it is scratched and faded. 100 meters.

You fire, and a missile streaks from either of your arms, accelerating in a straight line directly at the target. They impact at almost exactly the same time, producing a chorus of ringing sounds following the initial burst of the explosion. Metal pings off the targets, cutting lines into the beaten metal. Two thick clouds of obscuring black chaff, about ten feet in diameter, fill the air, razor sharp and lingering.

Toolcircuit speaks up, examining a small computer. "Reading data from sensors in the target, and... no information transmitted. I would say that the 'blackout' aspect of the name holds true."

The rockets were fast and flew straight, though you noticed they took time to build up to full speed from initial shot. They leave a wispy smoke contrail through the air, though it isn't heavy. Actual recorded measurements will apparently prove somewhat difficult to get.

>What think

>>18230844
Serow brought his fists down. He was surprised when two more burst from under his target's coat and caught them. Before his eyes had widened, the other two palms were placed on his chest and twin, powerful plasma blasts sent him reeling.

"Serow!" Albatross shouted as the Grappler staggered backwards.

"Go," he answered, squaring his stance again. "You need to get Bull to the jammer and get them off this thing."

Damn it. Albatross knew he was right. "... Good luck."

Brama waited for his enemy to ready himself, his four arms folded behind his back. He readied his scythes, calmly analyzing the maverick hunter. The last thing Albatross saw as he left was Serow thunder forward again, and those four arms whirling out to answer his attack.

>>18231280
Interesting. Did that count as two shots?

Try a further target, then try moving and shooting at the same time. And then try shooting off two rockets in different directions. Also, try and find a moving target, if they have any.

>>18231280
Minor start-up time, but the rockets fly fast and true. They might make for easy targets to get picked off if an enemy leads his shots well enough, but I doubt it'll come to that. Check how long the chaff remains behind. If we get into combat scenarios, fire them the same way you fire any rocket-type weapon: direct hits are mighty keen, but generally aim for the feet and let the splash damage and chaff take care of the rest.

Move onto another target downrange. Let's see if these puppies have a max range. I should hope they don't.

>>18231500
>fire them the same way you fire any rocket-type weapon in an FPS
Fixed.

>University. toromog
The University of Toromog is a very prestigious academy, I'm sure, Captcha.

>>18231399
>>18231500
A quick check tells you that did count as two separate shots--you can fire them singly well enough, though. The clouds still hover where they landed, scoring the bullseye with cuts.

Your next test is a max-range. Obviously you can't just shoot into the air and watch, so you opt for the furthest target away--sadly, only 500 meters--near a raised bank at the back wall designed to catch any misses.

You aim carefully, single-shot this time, and fire. The missile speeds along, showing no signs of stopping, and sure enough, detonates and produces a third cloud of flak. The weapon itself is propelled, so you'd guess the amount of fuel in the missile is the final decider on its maximum range. As for what that is, Toolcircuit might be able to ballpark based on weight and speed...

You try another shot on the move. The rocket's trajectory seems not to be based on your movement, simply going in a straight line from wherever it was fired. That'd let you fire two in opposite directions, both simply going where you'd pointed.

>Continue?

>>18231707
Shots are not affected by our momentum, at least overtly, and their range is as good as their fuel, which is enough for at least 500m range. I'd like to think they'll be plenty good for our purposes. They are listed as an anti-air asset, as well.

Can we do skeet-shooting of a sort? I know we should be good enough to lead our shots with our original busters and get a good few shots off, but let's practice with the missiles. We have to learn to compensate for the start-up time and the speed of the target. If we had to fight someone like Guns Wallaby again, let's make sure we can hit a target that quick with our new toy.

>tCives remedying
That's exactly what I was thinking, Captcha.

>>18231808
That almost sounds like a job for the simulator again. I assume it'd pick up and allow us to use our new gear? On a related note, I hope they finish up this battle in Vienna soon... or call for reinforcements... or someone attacks us. We're running out of things to do at the base, and the last thing the world needs is a bored version of us.
>cold. uranical
...Captcha, you are weird, Robots do not have to use the restroom.

>>18231879
We're plenty busy getting our necessary upgrades sorted out. We honestly needed the downtime. All that's missing is the lance-integrated phasing, and we'll be in top shape.

>Gar Slowish
No, Captcha. Anode is anything but "slowish."

>>18231879
It would. And Vienna's almost done, or at least the major part of the battle.
>>18231808
"There anything like moving targets?" You turn and ask. Dodo nods. Crankshaft futzes with something on the wall, and--

That is a training ball. Much like the one Guns shot you in the back with. A closer look tells you it's not as armored and has no actual weapons on it. It bobs off downrange.

Welp. Let's get some frustration out.

"You want it movin' fast or slow?" Crank asks.

>Fast/Slow
>Aim directly/Aim at a surface

>>18231291
Mac chainfired again, phasing back in on top of the next maverick through the door. "Come on, Bull..."

"Working," he replied through his teeth. They'd held the room for three minutes, fighting their way inside with Albatross. The attacks since had been constant, crossfire ringing in his ears as he tried to disable the Skyjammer without dropping the entire carrier on an already-battered city. They knew they didn't have long.

And then, suddenly, breaking the pressure, the console blinked green and the room-sized machine powered down.

"...I got it," he managed, dazed. "It's off. I just need to dismantle it." He shook himself out of it and began doing just that.

"Make it fast," Albatross warned. Maybe there was still time, maybe they could reinforce Serow...

>>18231995
Slow at first, see if we can land a hit on the thing. If we do, move it up to fast and go for a direct shot or two- if that fails, go to splash damage.

>>18231995
3/4 fast, make it faster with each shot and try to aim directly at it. If we're good at leading our shots, even if we miss the target itself, the blackout chaff should still hit and affect it. If it's in the open air, then try a missile by itself, and if that doesn't hit, aim for the nearest surface. If an enemy seeing a missile flying straight for his head knows how to sidestep, we should compensate and go for the next best thing by hitting a surface.

>>18232062
Either way, the key to the Blackout Rockets is not so much scoring a direct hit as it is getting an enemy caught in the razor-sharp chaff and ruining his sensors. If we get the chance to prime an arena, we can make a hell of a minefield with those clouds of chaff.

>asspatt son
"GOOD GAME SON" *slap*

>>18232055
>>18232062
"Midspeed. Gonna try and peg the thing." Crankshaft types in a few commands, and it begins to bob around in a circle. You sight, aim, and lead the ball.

You score a hit! The rocket impacts directly, destroying the ball, and leaving another sphere of flak floating where it was.

"Not bad, kid. Try it again a bit faster."

This time the ball moves at a decent pace, much closer to full combat speed.

...Right into the cloud of flak. It's quickly cut to pieces and explodes where its brother died. You have a chuckle at that.

"Okay, THIS one I'm moving directly," Crank says, and the third training ball moves and jinks much more erratically.

Aiming is much harder. He doesn't throw any curveballs, but it's up and moving like a real enemy target. You sight ahead of it, and then at the last second correct a bit further and fire.

...And, amazingly, you nail it. "Damn, son, you always shoot like that?"

"No, no I don't. I should practice, though, that felt great. What do you think, enough data?" You direct to Toolcircuit.

"Sufficient for our purposes. Telemetry data will require analysis of range cameras not caught in the flak." You notice the first clouds are only just dispersing. That must have been a solid couple of minutes. "Gauging from here, it appears there are some electronic countermeasures and a contained EM burst sustained within the cloud as part of the sensor-baffling."

Well. That's a thing. But what now?

>Last upgrade on the block. Phase blade!
>Other

>>18232000
There was an explosion of activity from the hunter base.

"...It's down. It's down! Air is clear!"

"And we're up, Seventh. Air Cav, form up!"

"Get the first evac taxiing! As soon as local airspace is safe get them out of here!"

"Get some flak on their fighters, they're all bunched up!"

"Boarding actions, get a transport ready. We're taking that carrier."

"Someone tell India get her stupid ass back down here."

"Sir, sir, do you read? Mission success..."

The Seventh spread their wings as shells and plasma fire soared overhead, thudding downrange and tearing great swaths out of the maverick airfleet. The First broke away, moving to assist the Deploy corps with setting up a beamout site, as the Fourth, as one, roared and vaulted their long-held line, charging down the startled mavericks, guns blazing and sabers spinning in a full counter-charge.

>>18232294
We are a better shot than I thought.

Let's get our saber modded. We're getting our phase blade, but let's see if Toolcircuit has any other thoughts come to mind. Granted, we're fresh out of the factory, so our lance should already be top notch, but a second, professional opinion always helps.

Phase blade time, and lets bring up the lance shield emitters as well.

Awww yeah, fukken MHQ

We gettin some phase blade in this house

>>18232368
You're a better shot than I thought, too.
>>18232374
"So, based off the data, did you have any other ideas?"

TC looks pensive. "The phase technology is somewhat unique and not proper weapons data. We can and will replicate it, but it is not as versatile. That said... could stick with phase-blade for plasma disruption. Could work the data into your busters, slowing rate of fire but negating fire. Or take opposite approach, and use phase to improve cycling and produce faster, more accurate fire and reducing recoil. ...Could attempt to synthesize phase shot and make projectile beams from your lance, but that would disengage the beam until the hilt recharged. Last, could attempt to add properties to blade wholesale, rather than replicating disruption. Would result in stronger beam with improved armor and shield bypass."

>Shot eraser phase-blade
>Slower-firing negation shots
>Faster fire that maintains accuracy
>Ranged disrupting lance-blade throw (requires blade recharge)
>Improved blade (+damage and penetration, no disruption)

>>18232303
They found Serow.

What was left of him. His legs were intact, shorn neatly in half at the midsection. His torso was almost unrecognizable, rent and damaged; pitted, burned, ruined.

Brama was nowhere to be found. The shaking around them grew as the maverick hunter counteroffensive flew in, but their part in it was over.

Albatross was quiet for a long moment, the only sounds impacts and klaxons through the hold. "...Let's go. I'm flying you two home."

I think we ought to go with the phase blade, but that faster, more accurate shooting is tempting. Double machine gun busters? Definitely something to think of when we get more money.

>>18232498
Shot eraser. We need ways to force our enemies into cqc, so snuffing their projectiles suits us fine.

>>18232498
We were initially jonesing for the shot eraser, so let's get that. Our busters serve us well enough.

>>18232596
Interesting as it might be to get the Hadangeki.

>>18232596
Seconding.
We never tried electrifying the chaff though.

>>18232511

so wait... how powerfu;l was Serow?

how powerful was Brama?!

>>18232671
The chaff is delivered in a missile payload, and we never really experimented with how far we can extend our electric powers to electrify something. We can try it later, but let's get our lance upgrade knocked out first. We just need to find out to what degree we can stop shots. We can more than likely stop basic plasma shots or any other light arms fire (pistols, assault rifles). Beyond that will require some testing.

>>18232700
If we can stop a fully-charged X-Buster, I'd say we're doing pretty well for ourselves.

>>18232680
Strong.
REALLY strong.
>>18232545
>>18232596
>>18232671
It doesn't take too much mulling over. The other options would be nice, but given only one... "Let's stick to the phase lance."

"Very well," Toolcircuit says.

You make it back to the lab (after topping off at a weapons recharge tap at the range) and hand over your lance again.

He's about to set to work again, when he pauses. "Would you like to try applying the data yourself?"

Dodo's voice suddenly interjects on your comms.
"Hey, Anode? We're getting an incoming beam-in. Signal's friendly. You're nearer to the command room from the lab." ...And also less beaten-up, he doesn't add. "Can you go give it a look?" You realize that if it's someone back from mission, they might need access to the labs, so you're not really comfortable with just asking Toolcircuit to wait and show you after.

>Okay, check it out.
>No, sorry. Start learning weapon modification.

>>18232824
Have TC come with us to observe the beam-in. It's likely someone from the battle, so they'll need a greeting party. We can learn while we walk.

>Okay, check it out.

>Okay, check it out.
Em probably would be able to show us this much anyway.

Don't forget to top off weapons energy before we go. I imagine a firing range would have ample supplies of that.

>>18233025
>You make it back to the lab (after topping off at a weapons recharge tap at the range) and hand over your lance again.
There's refills all over base. It's when we're out in the field that we have to keep an eye out for ammo stocks.

>>18233039
My mistake, I overlooked that somehow.

CARRY ON THEN

If it's India let's greet her with something like "Welcome home, honey, the kids missed you" for lulz

>>18233073
I like you, especially because of what's coming up.

>>18232857
You could do that, but he wouldn't be able to integrate the data. No reason Em couldn't do it later, but you're basically anticipating the possibility of the lab being busy. Busy medbay is almost a guarantee, too.

Still want to take him with you, or leave him to work?

>>18233097
Ah, screw it. Let TC work, and we'll learn the ins and outs of modding later. We got people coming back from the front, and they're priority right now.

>>18232896
>>18232967
"All right, on it." You send back. Dodo thanks you as you turn back to TC.

"Sorry, got to go meet a new arrival. Might be someone from the mission."

"I will be here," he says simply, and begins his work.

You head out to the command room, and sure enough, stepping off the pad is India, completely unharmed. Grinning, you greet her with "Welcome back, honey, the kimmmph?!"

India just grabs you by the armored collar, pulls you in, and aggressively--AGGRESSIVELY--puts her tongue down your throat. You actually somehow wind up dipped backwards in her arms before she pulls you upright and pushes you back off. "--What."

She smiles cheerfully, licking her lips once. "Fuck you, new guy, I'm a hot shit pilot and I just won all the danger pay forever twice. You don't kiss me, I kiss you."

And then she just saunters right on past you, humming.

"...Gonna buy me that jet..." she says to herself on her way out the door.

That's...

Huh.

>. . . ?

>>18233468

AAAWWWWW YEEEEEAH
I do not hate this

>>18233468
Wait till the footage of India dicking around in a Tomcat comes back to base, and then it'll make a LOT more sense. Let her ride her high.
In the meantime, ask her where the rest of the Fourth is.

Stand still and contemplate.

Go back to TC with a spring in your step.

>>18233555
This

Also, a quiet whistle of surprise may be in order.

Hey HC,
Our Blackout Rockets, can we set them to go off at a certain point(i.e. When it reaches X meters altitude) or are they just hit target, go boom dumb missiles?

>>18234115
I'm pretty sure they're dumbfire missiles.

I am in no way reading Strike Witches Quest as I update this. No, sir.
>>18234115
Dumbfire. Later upgrades to the weapon could improve them.
>>18233493
>>18233527
>>18233555
>>18233577
>>18233584
"...what," you whisper quietly, putting your hand to your mouth.

That was a thing. That happened. Damn.

You eventually pull your jaw off the floor and decide that was pretty great. You stand there a little while longer until another message from Dodo comes in. "Hey, Anode, who was it?"

"Oh. That was just India," you answer.

"Yeah? She hurt?"

"No, she's rich, apparently. And tastes like cherries."

There's a few seconds of silence. "...What?"

"Don't worry about it."

"No, what? You're breaking up."

"I'm hearing your end just fine."

"No, I meant you."

"Ha-ha, whatever. You need anything else?"

"Some context?"

"Not happening. Try again some other time."

"All right, whatever. Out."

You return to the lab. TC hands you your saber. "Done." You give it a quick ignition. The blade is...

Pink.

Very, very pink.

"Um," you say.

"The fuschia coloration is a result of the phase technology," Toolcircuit says by way of explanation."

>...?

>sword.' unnods
I love your timing, Captcha.

"I hate to be a dick, considering all you've done for me, and I really do appreciate it, Toolcircuit..."

"...But this thing wouldn't happen to have any other color options?"

>>18234187
Any chance we could tweak it to a slightly more manly purple?

>>18234187
I think Were secure enough in our masculine-bot-ness to deal with a pink lance.
Ask him him first if there will be any likely performance changes due to the upgrade.
Then ask for him to make a copy of the Chaff Weasel data, or a couple of copies if we can get the money. If we can hold onto more then one, get one for Crankshaft, I want to see what the crazy old dude does with it.

Then barring no other distractions, lets spar with Tanker for real now, because there cant be a mission that ends with us NOT in the medbay, whether we participate or not.

>>18234304
This sounds good to me.

>>18234304
We should probably find out where the rest of the Fourth is, first.

>>18234304
lols and agreed.

>>18234280

>>18234278
Pft. Real men wear pink. And are we not the manliest of men?

>>18234304
"I..." you sigh. "Pink?"

"Fuschia," TC repeats. "The color may shift if you alter the beam generator further."

"All right," you resign yourself. "So how does it work?"

"The blade will leave a disruptive trail in its wake. Any enveloped plasma charges passing through the wake will lose cohesion and simply dissolve. Your blade may be able to directly disperse stronger, charged shots as well."

"Okay. Good. Okay, one more question. How can I get duplicates of existing weapons data?"

"Depending on the cost of reproduction, additional copies of the data can be requisitioned from the main hunter archive."

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind." Unfortunately, between drinking, fines for pranking, and the upgrades you just put in for, you're pretty sure your account is damn near zero.

"So what did you mean by changes to the saber?" He eyes you.

"Your blade is a reduced-output, high-endurance weapon,," he explains. "With a more powerful emitter, it would likely color-shift to more purple coloration." He sniffs. "I believe your base's saber combat specialist could tell you more. If there is nothing further...?"

You realize you have had him here most of a day, for a variety of upgrades. He probably needs to RTB himself.
>Okay, I think we're done.
>One more thing... (?)

>Okay, I think we're done.

>>18232498
>Okay, I think we're done

>>18234742
We're pretty much good to go, so let's let him go. To recap, thanks to Toolcircuit, we have:

- Couched lance in buster arm
- Raikousen
- Blackout Rockets
- Phasing tech in lance

All in all, I'd say today was pretty productive, even if we weren't fighting in the Battle for Vienna. Now to wait for the rest of the Fourth to show up.

>>18234742
"All right. I guess we're done. Thanks, Toolcircuit."

"This is what I'm here for. ... You're welcome."

You follow him out to the pad after he packs up the kit sent after him, seeing him off. He says goodbye one last time, and the clipped, businesslike Toolcircuit beams out.

...And just a moment later, in comes Schwarzhund, looking almost as fresh as India, save for the fatigue in his eyes and the dust on his armored coat. He just nods at you.

>?

>>18235349
"Long day? How'd it go?"

>>18235349
"Hey, Good news I hope. Oh, I got stuck with Tanker. I hear you've met."

>>18235349
"Drinks later?"

>>18235402
>>18235484
>>18235489
"Long day? How'd it go?"

"It went. Tired."

"Drinks later?" You offer.

"Interrupters now," he replies. All right, you can probably do that. If nothing else, he could use the company while you're not on call for anything. You follow him out, on your way to the Pond.

"So I met Tanker. I hear you're acquainted."

Schwarz winces. "Not now. Lot of civ deaths."

Oof. You didn't mean... "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Didn't know. Just..." He pauses for a moment. "...tired.

The Pond is less than half as crowded as it was the night before, with so many soldiers gone, making you feel even more somber. How many of those soldiers aren't coming back?

>Join Schwarz for narcotics.
>Keep clean, but he needs a friend.
>Other

rolled 16 = 16

>>18236062
>Keep clean, but he needs a friend.

I get the feeling that it's going to be a long shift as people start coming back, we'll need to be clearheaded.

>>18236062
We gotta be sober, but no harm in a light drink.

>>18236062
Leave it to Schwarz to kill a buzz. Then again, coming back from the largest battle the Maverick Hunters have dealt with in a while might do that.

>Keep clean, but he needs a friend.

>Keep clean, but he needs a friend

>>18236062
Stick with him and have a mild drink.

>>18236104
Clean. For now anyway.

>>18236102
To be fair, last time he killed your buzz it was by making you laugh so hard it shocked you right out of it.

>>18236418
Point taken. Still, keep an eye on him and wait for the rest of the team.

>>18236062
Keep sober.

Right now it seems like he needs someone to listen. If he wants to talk, you know?

Right, obviously kind of lost my momentum. Quest pause for tonight.

>>18237113
Fair enough.