>>18587497
You are Anode, maverick hunter, living battery, and recent victim of a little light trauma.

You are speaking to Crankshaft, an ancient Gomeister-model reploid of equal parts fame and infamy, and India, a hot-shot pilot who landed in with the ground-pounders after her spaceship was decomissioned.

Between them is Yuzuki, a 16-year-old human girl in a labcoat, telling her adoptive 'grandfather' why she's allowed to have some of the beer you brought.

Together, you're going to talk about making a jet fighter.

You think.

"So how's it going?" You ask India, who wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Still hashing it out. Got a pretty good idea what we're going for here, though."

"Yeah? Sell me."

"I've got all the dosh I need," she replies immediately, before pulling up that holographic blueprint again. "Engines are basically like on a chaser, times a thousand. A lot of oomph. Which is good, 'cause it'll need it."

Cont.

>>18587516
"India wants a solid airframe," Crankshaft explains. "Out of a heavy-grade litanium alloy."

"Less stress points mean it'll do more safely, and you know I'm right," Indy fires back. "Durability pays better dividends these days."

"She's got a point," you add. "I'm starting to notice I win by not dying first. And aren't you the foremost expert on 'ramming speed?'"

Crankshaft rubs his chin. "I suppose. The biggest problem it makes is acceleration."

"So the pilot burns his Emergency Thrusters if he needs to get up to speed in a hurry. If he's worth his wings he'll be there by the time he reaches the battle anyway."

"Yeah, but can he keep it?"

India grins. "That's the game, old man. Speed is life."

>Tell me more! Specify?
>So, about your blasphemous repli-human spawn, Cranky...
>Other?

Whoops forgot my crawl:
Prior Thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/18543990/
Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Maverick%20Hunter%20Quest
Music: http://youtu.be/RHR-_-VB_c8

>Tell me more! Specify?
Basing this model off a previous design or going for something new?

>So, about your blasphemous repli-human spawn, Cranky...
There has to be a better way of saying this, but I can't for the life of me think of it.

>>18587524

>Are you basing this thing on a A-10 Thunderbolt II?

>>18587632
"So is this based on anything in particular?"

"You mean aside from over two hundred years of developments in aviation?" India replies wryly. "No, this is gonna be its own beast. Might be a few nods here and there, but we're designing this from the ground up."

"You were mentioning emergency thrust earlier, what's that about?"

"EAS systems. They work like microthrusters, afterburners, retro-rockets, whatever. Gimbals would ruin the aerodynamics, so there'll be a bunch of thrusters flush to the hull. I'm thinking a row of little ones on front and back, and big ones either side of the engine." She waves vaguely along the length of the design.

Cont.

>>18587823
>>18587632
"So," you turn your attention to Crankshaft, who is almost sulking while Yuzuki enjoys a sip of hard-won stout. "Mazel tov?" Aaaand she chokes on it. Excellent.

The old Gomeister pats her on the back lightly. "Ha-ha, I get it, son. Anode, this is Shimomura Yuzuki. Yuzu, Anode."

She coughs one last time and nods, face slightly pink from clearing her windpipe. "Nice to meet you."

"You were saying you met when you were seven? I don't mean to bring you down if it's personal--kinda doing that today."

"It's no trouble," she says. "I lost my parents, but I've come to terms with that."

"There was an attack," Crankshaft adds. "I was on patrol on my old Cheval when I heard her crying and saw the building starting to give."

She smiles. "He pulls up like a bolt of lightning, scoops me up, puts me on the bike, and we're outrunning a wall of dust before I know what's happening. He's kept an eye out for me ever since."

"Scared the hell out of you, don't forget," he adds, amused.

"Oh, grandpa, don't make me tell it again..."

India leans on a crate, arms folded under her chin, smiling sweetly (which you just know is an evil lie). "Oh, no, go on!"

>Well now I'm curious. If you don't mind...
>Change topic! MOAR JET
>Other

>>18587986
Character exposition is always good exposition.
Also, I never thought for India to take to the "give a brick enough thrust" school of aerodynamics. Despite her brash nature, I figured she'd be more, well, elegant about it.

>>18587986
Might as well hear the story!

>Well now I'm curious. If you don't mind...
please, continue

>>18587986

Definitely continue.

>>18587986
>>18588108
>>18588124
>>18588147
"If it's all the same to you, now I'm interested."

Yuzuki grins sheepishly. Crankshaft says something to her--in perfect Japanese. Huh. You caught "Yuzu-chan," which is double huh. She replies and Cranky guffaws, before he turns to you.

"Well, she was a little girl, her house just fell down, and some big galoot on a ride chaser picks her up and plops her down on his lap. And Gomeisters ain't got the friendliest of faces..."

"Grandpa!"

"What? It's true. So she gathers up her nerve and asks me who I am, and meanwhile I'm tryin' to steer, keep her balanced, and calm her down."

Cont.

>>18588289
"About three less things than you usually do at a time," India interjects with a smirk.

"Hah! Anyway, so she plucked up her courage, like I said, and so I just say 'I'm just a Gomeister.'"

"Here it comes..." India says theatrically.

"And so Yuzu looks me up in my one eye, and says..."

Yuzuki's fairly red now, but still smiling. "Go-San."

...Oh. Oh!

"So THAT'S how 'Famous 53s' got started?" Crankshaft laughs again.

"Ayup. I was right in the middle of comms when I scooped her up. Practically half the world heard her."

"That's ADORABLE," India says, voice dripping with rich, syrupy sarcasm. Yuzuki mutters something unflattering in Japanese.

"Aw, she's just sore because she's heard this one a couple times," Crankshaft assures her, patting Yuzu on the arm.

"I also like to watch her squirm!" India replies cheerfully. "Don't forget that. But really, Yuzuki's a great tech, the Fourth's lucky to have her."

"The Fourth?" you ask.

Crankshaft nods. "That's the one. Signed up as soon as she could and asked after me. Noncombat crew, thank heaven." Which explains why you don't usually see her, you guess.

>>18588306
Wait, she's not part of the R&D division? She's the Fourth's exclusive techhead? Wow, that's pretty baller.
Ask her how she managed to become the technical brains of the Fourth at sixteen.

>>18588341
This is a good idea. Best to confirm prodigy status before we have the idea to say anything that might make her do terrible things to us.

>>18588306
"So what do you work on?" You ask the girl.

"Still in training, technically," she says. "But really, care and maintenance on almost every piece of equipment we have. Research liaison when we corroborate data with the 16th. But for some strange reason, I have to put the most effort into studying vehicles."

Crankshaft puts his hands up at her pointed look. "I know, I know. She can't stand my driving."

"What I can't stand your crashing!" The two of them start going at it again as India polishes off her first glass and pours up another.

"Ah, family. So, want to talk about missiles?"
>As a matter of fact...
>Actually...

>>18588371
We DID promise India a copy of our Blackout Rocket tech, if not the weapons data itself. I'd tease India about making a family herself, but then she'd just cold-cock us. (She will then go on to marry Anode and have a loving family, happily ever after, etc.).

Comment on how she's basically developing a flying cinder block, what with all that weight and those thrusters.

>As a matter of fact...
sure, what the hell

>>18588371
Yes...
YES! This day couldn't get any better.
Let's see if we can't finagle our way into getting an upgrade or a fine-tuning on our systems out of the girl.

>>18588414
She's in-training, as in still figuring out the ropes. I'm not sure she's got the ins and outs of Reploid tech yet. Plus, I'm pretty sure reploids don't count as "piece[s] of equipment." She's no Toolcircuit yet, is what I'm saying. Let's take it easy on her.
>>18588402
Wait, does India (or anyone in the Fourth, for that matter) know about Cathode?

>>18588371
Missiles are good. Our rockets did an awful lot of saving-our-ass in that last mission, and turning them into missiles and loading them onto her horrific abomination? That's bound to be good.

>>18588434
Em knows, he had a chat with her during the Vienna battle. ...Which he neglected to tell us about. The next time we see Em with all his parts attached, we need to give him the Anode-version of a joy buzzer.

>>18588461
But did he know she was our sister at the time?

>>18588371
why does that reploid have camel toe?

WHY?

Also, talk about missiles

>>18588434
In that case, having her do the fine tuning on our rockets should be safe enough for us.

She seems enthusiastic enough about those.

>>18588474
Oh he knew all right. He was telling her all about our near-death escapades! Making our sister worry is worth at least a little electrocution I think.

Hmm. Quick break, my friends want to do a quick bit of multiplayer and then Team Jerkass demands my attendance.
Will resume in 30-40 minutes and try not to get terribly bogged down by shenanigans when I'm over there.

Got a lot to write about with all this, too. I love you guys.

>>18588626
We love this quest, and we love Mega Man (or at least the X series). Thanks for doing this.

>>18588638
We love both series.

X may have had better gameplay, and smoother screen transistions and a better story. But the original had personality, and midi music. Personality counts for a lot.

>>18588791
This reminds me.
Know what we need more than anything?
A Megaman Legends quest.

>>18588921
We need a Brazzers quest. Not porn, just dealing with the daily business of running a porn website.

"Gianna Micheals got herpes again, someone call Jesse Jane."

>>18588522
Because, and I hate to be gauche but, someplace, sometime, someone decided they were going to be the one to make Palette look attractive, and unfortunately that means mostly hiding her creepy hair-satellites.

>>18588371
"So, missiles, you say?"

"Missiles," India beams. "I thought this was a stroke of friggin' genius, myself--the reason we can fit so much in this thing is because of templated missiles."

"Templated...?"

"Picture a vee-wess system adapted for weapon payloads. Sort of like what you did with those rockets you were talking about, only you can draw them up on demand. It reads the system, adapts the missile to the specifications, and launches. Instead of packing four different kinds of gun, you only need the one system. Weighs less, requires less space, does more jobs."

"Not that it stopped her from having four different kinds of gun," Crankshaft adds wryly.

"AND," India says with a grin, "it lets me roll defenses into the weapon system, with those rockets of yours."

"Yeah?"

"Dude, think about it. It blocks practically every kind of sensor, works as chaff AND flak, and can leave a wide area cloud. It's the perfect countermeasure."

Cont.

>>18589288
Weapons-grade VWES? Does a system like that even exist?
Still, at least she likes the rockets.

>>18589332
I think you mean anti-vehicle grade VWES

>>18589332
As long as a pilot somehow doesn't get caught in his own blackout cloud, it should make things interesting. Spread out enough charges, and it's basically a sensor-deadening minefield of flak.

>>18589454
Missiles generally aren't fired directly in front of yourself. that's what gattling guns are for.

>>18589288
"Just gave them a live fire test," you reply. "Gotta admit they saved my ass." Now that you have time to think about it, the defensive capabilities are pretty strong.
"They just need a guidance system," India says, returning to the schematic. "I'm thinking we could try to adapt the weapons data on an old Mav--the name Launch Octopus mean anything to you?"

"I'm going to guess he was an octopus, and he launched things."

"Sharp one, aren't you? It'll need some major updating, but I think we could make it work. And on top of that, the template means we can load it up with any other doomsday toy in our collection, depending on the job that needs doin'."

"Sounds good. What kind of more gun were you thinking?"

"Plasma casters on the sides, forward-faced laser cannons. Plasma doubles as point defense for shit the missiles can't block."

"This is starting to sound like a cross between my sister and a flying tank."

"Nothing wrong with a flying brick," Indy says with a grin. "It's plenty fast, and it's got the thrusters for evasives or an Oh Shit button. All you have to do is keep her going, and speed'll be her best defense. Only real limit is the cooldown on the thrusters--takes a lot of power to push this crate around."

Cont. the Continuing

>>18589596
In other words, the best place to kill it is on the runway. Got it.

>>18589596

Hold up there may be something better than launch.

Bring up the list of currently active Mavericks in Vienna. Is Lockon Bloodhound still on the list?

>>18589633
Oh, I like the way you think. We gotta bring this up.

>>18589633
Bloodhound might be a sniper, not a heavy weapons specialist. We'll make do with the weapons data we have for now, and if we find anything in the field, we'll show it to India.
Not like we'll be deployed immediately. We're on short leave since Jagwire and reploid bodies and all.

>>18589658

>)
A solid B-rank and not to be taken lightly, Lockon Bloodhound is an expert tracker and threat profiler with an elaborate guidance weaponry system. Noted for his ability to 'get the scent' of opponents, he is thus able to fight with disproportionate effectiveness relative to his threat class. Lockon was implicated in a coordinated attack against three human cities, and sources put him at a decommissioned missile base.

>>18589680

That is the description that HC gave us before our last deployment.

>>18589680
Well, all right then. Assuming there aren't other missions that may require higher priority, we can scrap Bloodhound and donate the weapons data to India. Then again, India is only recently getting outfitted with extra ground combat capabilities on top of all her piloting perks, so we could take her along on a tandem op to help her get her feet wet.

It'd make for answering a good question. Who has the stronger sense of awareness: a tracker or a pilot?

>>18589680
Reading that again, I feel like we would have been better suited to taking on that guy, with what we have now at least

>>18589751
It's not like the rockets won't work on him. With India around, we can appreciate its more defensive capabilities, especially after our encounter with Spin Jagwire.
If Bloodhound is still active and India gets her countless upgrades and some training, I say we bring her along. Our rockets + her pilot senses = Old Yeller.

>>18589735
>>Then again, India is only recently getting outfitted with extra ground combat capabilities on top of all her piloting perks, so we could take her along on a tandem op to help her get her feet wet.

SECONDING THIS IDEA. SECONDING IT HARD.

>>18589802
She'll learn to be a dirty godless groundpounder like the rest of us.

>>18589802
I dunno, we tend to come back pretty close to dead, and the last time we had a team most of them only survived because our opponent was aiming to wound and not kill.

>>18589802
Fuck, I'll throw up a third.

I'm not necessarily opposed to sending you guys out on an op with India, but I do want to clarify that she's been at this for a while. She transferred to the Fourth two years ago, and she hasn't been sitting on her ass the whole time.

>>18589824
We're new, and we've been thrown against disproportionately powerful opponents and come out better for it. We've scrapped three Mavericks, all of which rated at no less than A-rank (Guns was ranked A but according to Schwarz was actually SA, while Spin was B but may as well have been A [again, according to Schwarz]).
Anode is an A-rank. He's a big boy.

>>18589858
Is Cathode also A-rank, come to think of it? I should imagine she is.

>>18589856
We should at least mention the guy and see if India would be up to a combined OP if the guy hasn't been taken down yet.

>>18589918
We're on leave, so we can't go out for an op just yet. We don't know if Bloodhound will be retired by the time we're cleared to go.

>>18589940
Is it possible for hunters to "call dibs" on a maverick.

>>18589940
Well, maybe we can ask the dispatcher to hold it for us if no one requests it, or at least let us know if someone wants it.

>>18589990
>>18589997
They're Mavericks. Entities that put lives at risk by their existence. I'm not sure it's in good taste to "reserve" a Maverick.

If Bloodhound has already been finished off, we'll just tell India to look into his data and if it's available or whatever. If he's still kicking, then we've got our post R&R target, and they can spend that time hashing out the rest of the details on this thing they've created.

>>18590008
Also, are we getting a bit ahead of ourselves here? We still have this scene, and we need to get our upgrade from Jagwire still. I don't want to rush through shit.

Besides, if we do take down Lockon, we can upgrade this weapon system with that info later. We're putting the cart before the horse here.

>>18590060
Thats more logical

>18589596
India folds her arms and leans against the wall. "Way I see it, dogfights will come down to making the other guy bleed speed. In a mirror match, that is. Don't foresee that being an issue, but you never know."

"Mm."

India seems to notice your silence. "So hey, you said sister, right?"

"Yeah."

"...Is she hot?"

"Dream on, pilot. Besides, I thought we had something special."

Indy snorts at that. "Sorry baby, I'm too much 'roid for one man. But I have to say, your lance was..."

Crankshaft coughs behind you. Both of you turn to see him covering Yuzuki's ears. She mostly looks bemused.

"I can guarantee you I've seen worse in the dirty magazines passed around the barracks," she says flatly.

"Gahhhhh!"

You and India share a laugh while the old man looks flummoxed and grumpy.

"Hoo...but seriously, I need to get payback on Em. He met her at Vienna."

"And told her how you get your ass kicked for a living?"

"Something like that, yeah. Made her worry."

India shrugs. "I think his brother was there too. I doubt he meant anything by it."

"I need a legit reason to fuck with people?" you ask with a smirk.

She folds her arms again, impressed. "...Good point. We'll make a proper flyboy out of you yet, Anode."

You grin wider. "Not before we make a groundpounder out of you."

>wat now?

>>18590289
Mention the dossier on Bloodhound and check to see if he's had someone sent after him yet.

>>18590289
Then go fuck with Em, some. Plan something....fitting.

>>18590289
Mention that there's a target we heard about recently that might be better for her weapons project than Launch Octopus, and give her the name. If he's not already gone, we'll get to that whenever we're back to it.
Then we go find Em, and talk about this whole upgrade situation. Save the lightning handshake for when we're done with that- we don't want him singed or angry while he's potentially going to be working on us.

BREAKING NEWS: IAN SUCKS AT X2

I'M TRYING TO REF HIM

WE MAY BE HERE ALL NIGHT

>>18590651
At least X2 is the easiest game of the series. Take as much time as you need to.
Just remember to come back sometime.

>>18590289
"Well," you decide, "I dunno what to get him back with, but it should probably wait until I iron out some things."

"Yeah? Like what?" India asks.

"Before I forget," you change the subject, "Lockon Bloodhound. Schwarz lined him up for me. If he's still there later, I'll go push his shit in and get you a guidance system."

"You know, some guys just send flowers. You might be sending the wrong message."

You open your mouth to respond, but Crankshaft cuts you off. "Easy there, India. You wouldn't want to start any undue rumors about..."

"Don't you dare," she seethes, whole body tensing, eyes aflame with murder.

"...Fraternization," Crankshaft practically drips, syllable after syllable.

"HRKJHRLFBL" is the best approximation you can make for the choked rage-sound India makes, shortly before she hops her crate and dives for Crankshaft, hands outstretched, clawing at his neck as he takes off with a whoop and a whirl.

"YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN, KID!" he shouts over his shoulder.

...huh. You're not sure how you should feel about this exchange. You share a glance with Yuzuki, who shrugs.

"Welcome to the Fourth," you both say in unison.

Cont.

>>18591519
If nothing else, having India gone gives you a bit of time to think about your newest conundrum. Just thinking about Jagwire sends chills up your back and makes you clench and unclench your hands. Using his weapon somehow feels...dirty. On the other hand, the clinical part of you can divorce yourself from that enough to know it's not the weapon, but the use, that really matters. And you could always try to modify the weapons data. If you still didn't think you could bring yourself to use it, maybe you could trade your salvage rights to it for something from someone else's data.

You're still puzzling it out as you walk into the labs, and there's Em, head down on the workbench.

"Bluh," he says.

>?

>>18591530
Hit the sauce a bit hard, huh Em?

>>18591530
Is Em in something of a rough situation himself? Mention the weapons data, he can probably tinker with it while he tells us about whatever's on his back.

>>18591530
Is he drunk, or sick?

Can Reps get sick?

>>18591530

>Not a good time?

>>18591530
"Hit the Pond while I wasn't looking?" you ask, dangling the bottle of porter, nearly emptied (mostly by India) from between your thumb and forefinger.

"I wish," he grumbles. "I slept like ass."

"...Firmly nestled between--"

"I slept POORLY," he corrects, "Smartass." You set the bottle down in front of him and hand him one of the tumblers. It's not clean, but he doesn't seem to mind particularly as he pours himself the last of it. "Thanks."

"Any time."

"So what brings you down here? Need some more work done?"

"I dunno, maybe. I'm sort of conflicted."

"Yeah?"

>Tell him about it
>Ask about him

And, re: the Weapons Data:
>This is the weapon of the enemy. We will not use it.
>We have to show him that our way works!

If neither of the above:
>At least find out what you can do with it.

>>18591769
>Tell him about it
and
>Ask what the we can do with the weapon

[spoiler]electrified grappling hook[/spoiler]

>>18591769
>Ask about him
then
>Tell him about it

As for the upgrade from the psycho, I say we sell it. It would be like wearing BTKs shirt. We can use the money to get another upgrade from Guns, at least that guy was respectable.

>>18591799
this was going to be my answer.

ALSO:
If someone already took the Bloodhound job, maybe we could ask for a switchoff of weapons data?

>>18591816
A gun in the hands of a police vs those of a criminal. A weapon is a weapon, just cause he was crazy, don't mean we can't be better at our job with a fucking electric whip.

>>18591799

Thirding this.

>>18591799
This, pretty much. He can give us his opinion on the mess while he figures out what he can do with the data, but we shouldn't just ignore his situation either.

>>18591861
We could also do our job better by getting a weapon that doesn't feel dirty when we use it. Those chaff missiles were awesome, maybe we can get something else like that from Weasel.

>ask about him
>We have to show him that our way works!

Let's use it. But let's also not lay our problems on him. Let's see what's up.

>>18591883
>>18591861
>>18591816
The simple fact is that, as a Maverick Hunter, Anode is going to be after some really nasty customers. While I agree that Jagwire was goddamn crazy, and I want nothing to do with him, we should at least see what R&D can do with this thing. The rockets we got from Chaff are going to be put to use in helping design a new generation fighter craft- maybe we can make something similarly useful to the world with Jagwire's data.
Besides, just finding out what he can do with it doesn't mean we have to take it. Let's see what we could trade this data in for... some old X1~X2 maverick data or something like that? Who knows?!
>thrusta Rondo
Captcha seems to have some ideas of its own about the upgrades. I'm not sure what it's saying, but I like the sound of it.

"Well, first of all," you say, "You all right? I feel like I spent all day dumping my problems on other people and I don't want to make it a repeat performance."

"Nah, I'm good," he replies. "It was just shitty sleep and weird dreams."

"Weird like what?"

"Mostly just remembering the fighting. Vienna, I mean. You get that now and then. It wasn't, like, war flashbacks."

"That's sort of exactly what it was," you observe.

"You know what I mean. It wasn't traumatic, it was just...kind of high-tension. Like dreaming you're up early getting ready for your rank appeal and tests."

You shrug. "I wouldn't know, but the eggheads that built me were always talking about school dreams."

"Kinda like that, I guess. I dunno. Anyway, I'm charged up, I just don't feel particularly rested, y'know?"

"Fair enough."

"Anyway, enough about my beauty sleep, what's going on with you?"

>Give him the bum's rush.
>May as well be out with all of it, maybe talking it over will help.

>May as well be out with all of it, maybe talking it over will help.
Anode needs it out and done with.

>>18591953
Give him the short version. Crazier than average Maverick, sadistic, we're not sure we want a weapon made from someone that messed up. Still, have him look at it, see what it could do at least, but we're still open to trading it out.

>>18591968
second

>>18591953
>May as well be out with all of it, maybe talking it over will help.

Also, you're art has a sorta Mega Man Z style with the helmets. The flared up ear things mostly. Just saiyan

>>18592044
Those are from one of his friends. He was posting sketches all through last thread. There's a few more of Spin Jagwire, plus one of Cathode.

>>18591953
Talk it all out with Em, and get his opinion on whether or not the upgrade id "Dirty."

>>18592093
I know, I was there, heh. It just didn't occur to me until now. it's the extensions behind the ears. They bring to mind (picture) rather than: >>18587986 these guys for example. Just a stylistic thing.

>>18592160
Considering Ems preferred weapon, it's actually sort of appropriate,

>>18592044
Not my art, a good friend's. We stayed up all night and he just put out piece after piece. It was amazing. For example, pic.
>>18591968
>>18592005
>>18592044
You sigh. You've been dodging addressing it as long as you really can.

"So I guess I just got my crash course in how nasty maverick hunting is."

Em sits up, pushing the bottle aside. "Go on."

"Room full of bodies. Mostly reploid, a few human. He had the 'roids strung up and feeding power straight from their cores into some kind of generator. He was running part of this abandoned factory on it. His men, his victims, whoever. It didn't matter. He thought it was art."

You sigh. "Didn't even flinch when he knew he was dead. Just grinned like the Cheshire fucking Cat from Hell and said he understood it all now. That he was the last piece of his work."

"Was he?" Em asks.

"Hell, no. I fucking put him into the wall, one and done."

"Good," Em nods, satisfied.

"Maybe. I still feel dirty. Shit, I stopped his healing by draining that factory dry. That was juice from dozens of reploids. I didn't have a choice, but..."

"At that point, it was just energy, 'Node. You didn't have a choice."

"Where do you draw the line for 'just energy?' When I'm a fucking power vampire sucking your life right out of you?"

"You've got a point--though honestly that sounds kinda fucking cool--but you need to relax. You took care of him, it's over."

Cont.

>>18592195
>Power Vampire
thatisagreatnameforamaverick.jpg

>>18592459
But would he be a bat, or some swarthy douche n a cape?

>>18592459
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standby_power

Also Jesus Christ, captcha, stop giving me weirdass symbols. Pi? Seriously?

Just popped in to say I hope people enjoyed the limited Q&A at the end of the last thread. I know there was a bit of dialogue about the X2 Mavericks but autosage seems to have eaten the conversation.

>>18592195
"Yeah. He's gone. But I've got his data coming in any time now."

"...And you're not sure you want to use it," Em finishes.

"Bad memories."

"Everybody gets one. I can't make the decision for you, but if you want my opinion? Show him you're better. Beat him at his own game and turn his own toys back on him. As soon as it clears scans, take it, run with it, turn it into God's own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine, shove it up his ass. Save some lives. Do some good."

"Maybe. For now, why don't we figure out what we can do with it?"

"It's a start. Let's see here..." Em sidles over to that terminal. "Tension Coil. Ouch. Okay, it's got a few useful traits... Hey, here's a thing." He wheels around and looks up at you. "Do you know what a kusari-gama is?" You shake your head, and he continues. "It's basically a sickle on a rope."

You try to conceal your discomfort with a joke. "Is that anything like soap on--"

"No. Anyway, how do you like the idea of wrapping the hilt of your lance in the cable and using it at range?"

That's... huh. "Could probably socket it into my buster or just use it in my hands."

He nods. "That's the ticket. Oh, and here's an idea, you could work the wire into those missiles you made. Use them as a guidance system."

Cont. for the cont god

>>18592533
"How would that work?" you ask.

"Simple, you tag some schlub with the cable--'oh fuck,'" he pantomimes excitedly, "And then he sees the missile speeding along it--'oh fuck!' And then he could always try and cut the cable, but then he'd have a high-tension wire flying at his face. 'OH FUCK!'"

You have to chuckle at that. "You make a good sell. What else you got?"

"Maybe you could uncouple the other end of the wire. Make something like a monofilament web trap. String it up in hallways or choke points, or something.

"What else, what else... he had some kind of spin attack?"

"A nasty one."

"Take the same idea, make a flail of wires from your buster that rotate at high speed, make a shielding spin thing."

"That's not bad," you agree. "I was also thinking, he seemed pretty adjusted to electricity, maybe I could adapt these wires into my system and deliver jolts at range."

"Not bad, not bad." Em nods enthusiastically. "Then there's just his plain old weapon. Might be good for utility, let you zip around on things."

Any of these catch your eye?
>Tension Coil: High-tension spool of razor wire, diverse utility options
>Kusari-Gama: Further upgrade to Ascent Lance, wrapping the hilt in the cable and unslinging it to attack at range
>Live Wire: Tap into your electrical systems and deliver punishing jolts at range.
>Torsion Shock: High-speed rotary death, now in defensive move form
>Razor Web: Monofilament means never having to say you're sorry
>Fuck that, I got my own idea...
>...No, I just can't do this.
>Other/decide later

>Kusari-Gama: Further upgrade to Ascent Lance, wrapping the hilt in the cable and unslinging it to attack at range
>Live Wire: Tap into your electrical systems and deliver punishing jolts at range.


Is their any reason we couldn't combined these two. Harpoon a guy with the lance, then pump electricity into him?

Can we launch our lance like a harpoon? And use it as a grappling hook?

Cause that sounds super boss.

>Fuck that
As much as a grapling wire would be cool, how do you like the sound of this?

Screw attack. and electrified screw attack.
Technichaly, this would still be the Rotary Shield.(and lets face it, we could do with a shield)
But this would be equal parts offense and defense.
And if we could combine it with a dash...

>>18592544
Okay, two ideas relating to the ideas mentioned there.

If we could take the kusari-gama upgrade and make it fire-able instead of just throw-able, that would be great, like firing a massive, electrified spike.

Also, on the tension coil idea, take it and turn it into an electrified grappling hook/zipline kind of thing, it would be incredibly useful.

Ideal, though, would be wrapping the two together with a touch of the live wire. Fire the lance, sink it into a ranged spot and zip down; sink it into an enemy and apply voltage until said enemy isn't a problem anymore.

Basically, seconding >>18592593 at this point.

Huh. Can we get a list of our current weapons and summary of effective ranges? We should probably pick something to strengthen what range we're weak at or we should hyperfocus in one area then work on using terrain to our advantage.

>>18592544
Live Wire is the no-brainer answer, though there's no reason we can't use it as a normal zipline either.
Also, where's that .gif of one of the heavy units in Fire Emblem shooting his lance-on-a-chain out before forcibly retracting it on the chain? That's one of the images that came to mind towards the end of >>18592533.

>>18592618
Well, technically, Anode already fires his electricity from range via his hands in a concentrated burst. The Live Wire seems pretty superfluous, unless others see the need to tie an enemy down with the wire and THEN blast him. If we had this weapons data much earlier, the fight with Guns Wallaby may have gone very differently.

>>18592544
>My own idea
Can we reverse the polarity on the live wire? Rather then sending electricity out, drawing it in?

If not:
Live-wire: even without electricity, it's still a whip.

Is there any limit to the hardware we can pile on or to how much we can modify our existing weapons?

>>18592544

I guess It would be okay if we made some sort of protective/ defensive out of it. That way everyone who wants to keep it win, and without the bad memories since were not flaying the limbs off of people.
Plus, it's not like we COULDNT use something to lessen the damage we inevitably seem to take.

>>18592655
I actually kinda like this. Taking that power vampire comment and turning it into something awesome.

Consider this a second.

>>18592655
>>18592682
That's the power vampire idea itself. I'm pretty sure Anode wants to avoid that, since it's pretty much was Jagwire was already doing. We're looking for an alternate application.

Dont we still have that Old Beam Saber we looted too? maybe we could use somethign to upgrade that into something more our style.

>>18592525
I am be lovin the rankings. I'm pretty sure that between this thread and someone else I know, I've reignited my want for the X series. I recently picked it back up, and I don't know what the records and whatnot are, but I've beaten X2 at 0% on one continue (Violen wrecks your shit if you don't have health and/or armor, G class indeed).

>>18592611
You certainly can. I'll post it after this, because Error: Field Too Long.
Also, there's no reason you can't do multiple things within reason, like channeling electricity through the already-conductive wire into your already-channeling lance. But it will never be as effective as it would if you had designed the weapon to incorporate that particular element. You could go back and spend resources to improve functionality on your weapons, however.

And speaking of resources, you got about 37,000 zenny from this op, much of it from a hefty "search and rescue" bonus. A side note is that the human named Rob is in the hospital under intensive care, as infection had begun to set in. No word on his odds yet, but he's currently alive.

>>18592656
Toolcircuit said in an earlier thread, when we were getting our upgrades, that the only thing restricting us is the space in our chassis and our bank account.
>>18592701
The beam saber we looted was a civilian-grade saber looted by a Maverick. Civilian-grade sabers are specifically weaker than anything we have access to at no cost. Emerald likely has twenty sabers in storage more powerful than what is basically a throwing knife to us. That's all I can see us using it as.

>>18592700
Not direct healing energy from their core, but just electrical energy to charge capacitors. It's what we do with electrical systems, and it could be useful against any robo, not just reploids.

If not the Kusari-gami is prolly best, we can already charge our lance, if we can spear people without losing it, fire a missile are them and then shield slam the, that's just good tactics.

>>18592715
In that case, the Tension Coil itself seems the most straightforward response. I'm a sucker for versatility and utility, and Occam's Razor says the simplest answer is the best answer.

>>18592725
So we keep the civ saber as a throwaway distraction. We won't be out anything by it's loss and chances are we can pick up another in the field.

>>18592656
The biggest limit is simply space. Your legs are going to be very hard to upgrade further after installing the Kinetic Coils and the Raikousen dash assembly. Fortunately, you can (and probably will eventually have to) store some upgrades and choose a loadout as you go, but right now as a comparatively new model, you have more options.

Another reminder, your VWES currently only has slots for 2 sets of weapons data.

>>18592701
It wasn't old, it was just a civilian model. Civilian models are lower-output for lower needs--cutting a lock or warding off a mugger, instead of biting through industrial walls or taking down an armored maverick. You COULD hand off the hilt to Em and see if he could work any magic on it--the Blackbeard style of weaponry works with sabers, since the blade is weightless and the hilt is compact. Em's been known to wade in with a half dozen weapons strapped to him.

>>18592715
>>18592611
Anode: A-rank
Current equipment:
Ascent Lance (Custom Beam Lance): Lo-phase, effectively an upsized saber. From "Anodos," the Greek for "Ascend."
Arrest Buster: Calling back to the arrêt de cuirasse of days past, Anode's lance can slot into his buster and provide a stable, couched platform. Combined with a dash-charge, this can prove devastating.
Phase: Incorporating a powerful experimental plasma technology, the lance blade produces a field of EM-distortion in its wake. Any plasma shots traveling through it are destablized, most weaker projectiles dissipating without a containing envelope.
Anode Cyclers (Dual RF Busters): Though lacking charge capacity, these busters are optimized for rapid-fire plasma, excellent for deterring enemies.
Conduit Capacitor: If Anode has a 'special weapon,' it is this. A bank of high-capacity resevoirs to absorb electrical energy, to redirect into an increasingly powerful attack, through either his hands or lance, both close and at range.
Raikousen: A powerful, electrified dash-charge that uses the C. Capacitor's reserves to augment Anode's EAS.
Kinetic Coil: An upgrade received that allows otherwise wasted kinetic impact to be absorbed, winding coils mounted in Anode's arms and legs. When sufficiently turned, they will unwind, charging Anode's capacitors without a source of electricity.
Blackout Rocket/Chaff Missile/Rockout: Modified, high-yield explosive rockets that release a cloud of sensor-killing razor sharp flak at range. Currently dumbfire, may be improved with future upgrades.

>>18592760
Why not modify the blade to be shorter, and more concentrated, like those stabby knives knights would carry with them.
It could still be used as a throwing weapon or emergency parry, with the added bonus of giving us something to use in ultratight quarters, particularly when our electrical powers arent available/effective

>>18592593
>>18592604
Our beam lance is pretty honkin' huge, so it might be a little unwieldy to go for the Kusari-gama idea. We have a glaive, not a sickle.

>>18592764
We should have an open VWES slot right? Just using Chaff Missiles, Gunner's went into the Lance. In fact if we go for kusuri-gaka is that a lance upgrade as well?

>>18592797
>Convert the civ saber into a misericorde

This...

...This is brilliant. I wish I'd thought of it.

>>18592797
In other words, you want a beam shiv/dagger/gladius.
The Hilde image is coming together much more closely.

One more vote for T. Coil.

>>18592826
Kusari-gama would be a lance upgrade, yeah. You've got a VWES slot free for Jagwire's data, if you use it in.

Can't make it a hard and fast rule, but generally if you fire it from your buster and it has an ammo count, it uses VWES.

>>18592751
I don't see any reason we could not combined the Kusari-gami and the electricity leech ability. Harpoon a robot, suck it dry.

>>18592777
We're good at all ranges.
Which begs the question... what do we focus on, /tg/?
I feel that the biggest issue we have is that in extremely close range, we're useless against anyone that is immune to our capacitor-based attacks - the exact reason that Jagwire wrecked us in his melee range, in fact. The lance is great and likely the best possible weapon for mid-range melee fighting, but it's unusable against anyone who's going to try grappling us or fighting us with a beam saber plus crowd controlling weaponry.

>>18592882
So, a combine range extension/grappling hook/electricity sucker?

That seem pretty boss.

>>18592890
I say we focus on nothing in particular. There is no shame in being a jack-of-all-trades.

>>18592890
I would point out that your choices will shape your fighting style, and vice versa. You might try to go melee, focus on range, stay versatile, and so on, but if you want to shine in something you'll need to work out what that something is.

Most people are saying T.com coil or Gama. I'm gonna throw another option out: The Torsion Shock. Or, more accurately, monofiliment wires in a pack on our back which lash out in a hemisphere around us.

Anode has a blaster, he has his missiles for long range assault. He has his Lance and Dash for hard melee damage. He has the phase as anti-blaster fire. What he doesn't have is a quick GET THE FUCK OFF ME in melee range except spending a bunch of charge.

A quick elecrified burst of monfiliment whips lashing around him seems like it fills lash roll to me.

>>18592890
Is their any way we could get the option to "Compact" the lance into a more traditional beam saber for close range fights?

>>18592928
You mean make our lance telescoping for various ranges?
Is that even possible? Having a lance, saber and dagger in a single weapon?

>>18592920
So, basically one of the devastators from Prototype where Alex shoots out all those tentacles?

I like it. Going with the "Get the fuck away from me" power.

>>18592928
Then you're wielding a very sharp knife on the end of a meter or so long stick. And not much of it very lethal. I say no.

>>18592920
Alternately, we could get the normal T. Coil (or monofilament variant) and swing it over our head like those wu-shu demonstrations with the chained knife.

>>18592920
>>18592949
Spinning Jump = >>18592603
I think we have a winner.

>>18592950
No, I mean make the stick smaller, and wielding a bigger that normal beam saber.

>>18592949
Stop giving me all these glorious fucking mental images, it makes this even harder.

Hell, you could use it like a giga attack, and since it'd be back mounted and on its own tally, you'd keep a slot in your VWES free.

>>18592916
We say that, but most of the options we choose in an actual fight revolve around: Stab him with a fucking spear.

The problem with being jack-of-all-trades is you aren't awesome at anything. Being really dangerous in melee but keeping a little versatility (missiles for example) seems like the road for our boy here.

>>18592989
But do we want to be carrying a backpack everywhere for a contingency that may not even be necessary? I like things compact.

>>18592989
I guess something like that would be a single use a mission thing, and no way could we use it around comrades or hostages.

>>18592995
I'll admit, that was the idea I had in mind for a while. Versatile with a minor emphasis on melee. Remember, the original idea for Team Diode was that Anode rides the lightning while Cathode calls the thunder.

>>18592920
I will throw my vote behind this. That's the kind of ability that just screams "I don't care how good you are in melee, you're NOT TOUCHING ME," which is exactly what we need.
>>18592995
Our missiles are awesome and our spear+buster combo gives us really great mid-range capabilities. So long as we don't fight an enemy that has a strong midrange weapon that overpowers our busters and has hypermobility which allows them to keep out of spear's range - like X - we should do fine.

>>18593002
Or it would be the torsion coil bu instead of on our buster it's on our back and it quickly unwinds and then winds back up by spinning in opposite directions.

>>18593026
This reminds me, we should really have a VR rematch against Guns Wallaby. I want to see how we do against him now.

>>18592920
>>18592962
One of Toolcircuit's concerns about us getting a shield earlier was that it'd be too bulky and slow us down. The way we're built, our mobility is one of our primary defenses, to say nothing of our built-in armor. A backpack filled with this bundle of wiring will make it harder to get around and permit freedom of movement.
As stellar as the idea is, I want to veto it. I don't want to make things bulky or niche, and the Torsion Shock, while nice, sounds like both. We can dispel our electricity in a burst for a reason. I still say we use the normal Tension Coil for the moment.

>>18593080
I agree with this, except I think the Kusari-Gama works better thematically and I love the thought of harpooning Mavericks.

>>18593121
See I would go with Live Wire, because our spear is fine how it is. And it allows us to deliver shock at longer range. Not as versatile as T. Coil but we have air dashes and shit.
Picture this:
Anode whips at an opponent, wrapping then up like omega red. As they struggle, and maybe break free he is dashing at them with the arrest buster or firing a missile at them.

My two cents are taking Tension coil straight, and see if we cant get Em's opinion on making our civ model saber into something thats going to put out someone's eye. Also, T Coil straight up means grappling hook. Who's up for Batman stealth shenanagins that end in pointy death for mavricks?

It'd be nice if we could channel electricity through our misericorde if we get through a Maverick's armor plating or something for a short sharp burst of Fuck You.

>>18593157
We can use the normal Tension Coil and do the same thing. We can already release our electricity at range, so all we would need is something to tie up the enemy (literally) while we either ride the lightning or pop them full of plasma holes.

>>18593160
Fuck, alright, you said the B word.

Changing my vote to straight T.Coil.

The thought of grappling delights me, so I'm changing my old vote from Live Wire to Tension Coil.

>>18593160
Well, can't argue with Anode going all predator mode on dudes. I'm backing this.

The Misericorde will be a separate project from sorting out the weapons data, and also highly doable because holy shit it's a fucking beam misericorde god damn. That'll come out of money, but it'll be affordable.

For a while there I was sure I'd have to leave the thread overnight while you guys talked amongst yourselves, but it looks like you're willing to go with the basic Tension Coil.

Are we agreed? If not, would you guys like to determine the front runners and make them fight to the death?

>>18593215
I'm okay with it. Seems you could do a whole lot of stuff with the basic cord.

>>18593180
Exactly what I'm sayin. Live Wire can do basically anything T. Coil can, maybe with shorter range (I dunno what the draw backis, but HC said T. Coil while it could act like Live wire would not be as good at it because it wasn't made for it >>18592715

Live Wire improves our melee, can be very versitle and adds a powerful stun. If we don't want the shield, immobilizing our opponent is the next best thing in my opinion.

>>18593215
That seems to be the final consensus. Normal Tension Coil, and something for knife fights. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if Em looks at the saber we found and goes, "Well, shit, if you wanted to do that, why not just mod one of mine? It'd be more powerful anyway."

>>18593242
Now that I've had time to think about it more, I actually do have to change my vote to Live Wire. We're lacking on crowd control and this covers our melee weakness and our weakness to being kited like a bitch at the same time.

>>18593270
>>18593242
We could combined them. Just have thew Live wire function something that we can turn on.

>>18593270
>beam lance
>beam misericorde in the works
>electricity
WHAT melee weakness? If anything, we were built to have an EMPHASIS on melee. We can do the same thing with the normal T. Coil, regardless of how well the wire facilitates an electrical charge running through it. It's not like the cord is the only way we release our charge.

I'm for T. Coil. I see us using it more often for movement tricks than I see us using Live Wire for combat.

>>18593215
>not taking that screenshot from an emulator
I just cannot stop arguing.

T. Coil, most versitile, grappling, etc. Just to get a consensus.

>>18593190
Lol, I whent T Coil because my brother woulndt shut up about how fun batman's grappling hook was in the arkham games. But in all seriusness, Tension Coil as a grapling hook alone increases just how manuverable we are. Think of the ways we can control the battlefeild when we can cross it in so many differant ways. And think of all the lame pranks we can pull. Gentlehunters, i submit to you the Tension Coil, our own little utillity rope. I rest my case and serve it a cold one.

T. Coil and Beam Misericorde, definitely.

We're ending up very knightish, for some reason.

>>18593306
Grabbed it THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO in haste. I've actually yet to set up emulators on this box, I really should.

Also, I think I might try to get some sleep before much longer. Continue to discuss, though it looks like we have our consensus, and I'll resume tomorrow. Also, we're not archived yet, so either keep this thread alive or do me a great kindness and throw it up there if you're in the neighborhood.

Thank you, and goodnight!

>>18593289
You know how Spin Jagwire - who was immune to electricity - closed the gap on us with speed and got in our face where we couldn't spear him to death? That melee weakness. Think of it in D&D 3.5 terms - we've got a 10' reach weapon in our hands that gives us dominance over other melee weapons, but we can't hit things that can get past its zone of effectiveness.

>>18593335
Archive it anyway just to be safe.

>>18593336
That was Spin Jagwire being built to be faster than us and being fucking psycho. Both of those can't be helped. As is, we're doing fine. Two of the three Mavericks that fought us were faster than us. The third, Chaff Weasel, only tried to be clever about it and ended up gutted on a spit for his efforts. With this new Tension Coil, we can slow the enemy down and force them to fight at our (already respectable) speed.

>>18593310
Here's the thing about maneuverability. We have a Dash, an Air Dash, and an Electric Dash. We are already very fast an maneuverable. What does a grappling hook allow us to do that we cannot already do?

>>18593354
Lay a tripline in front of the foot of a door for Seven to flop onto his face.

I'd say that's reason enough.

>>18593354
Air breaks?
And I don't remember us having an air dash anyway.

>>18593336
Wait, Im trying to picture us in a fight using our misericorde, would we be dual weilding or what? Aside from obvious grapple stabbing and any Solid Snake impressions.

>>18593352
>That was Spin Jagwire being built to be faster than us and being fucking psycho.
Right, but it points out how helpless we'd be against something like an electric resistant grappler. We wouldn't be able to do anything against him.

Was about to archive it and I got scooped.

But then the archiver made the description a Weapon of Choice reference, and that is entirely acceptable.

>>18593354
....since when do we have an air dash?

>>18593456
this is after X2 right? Air Dash is an armor upgrade from X2.

>>18593494
Yeah, but we are kind of not X.

I jus thought of a few other things we can bug Em about. The combat sims, and if there are any visual recordings of Hunters like Schwarz and our giant shark freind doing the sims, and if so, do we have clearance to watch the tapes of those fights. Seeing how the vets fight will give us ideas how to use all our toys and/ir avoid the parts of fighting where we get "befreinded", if you catch my drift.

Now, what I'm wondering is how reploid sexuality works. I mean, do they do the gay-bi-straight bit or what? Humanoid/Animalistic? How do they think about these things?'

And a more important questions; is Em gay?

>>18593996
In one of Cain Labs's infodump Q&As, it was revealed that reploid sexuality is indeed a thing. Many reploids are "properly equipped" and are permitted to bump uglies. Many times, it's for observational purposes, to see how reploids act about this sort of thing.

>>18593996
>>18594012
/tg/ quests always devolve in to this direction it seems. You can almost set your watch to it.

>>18594044
Hey, the dude asked. That line was crossed several threads ago. Someone just wanted to walk back to it.

>>18594012
Well, yeah, but how do they view same gender and such? I mean, would a humanoid model get uncomfortable with doing the wiretango with say, Hammer Frog?

>>18594044
>>18594051
Dark places must be tread, for there may be great treasures there.

Oh wait, no I'm just bored late at night.

>>18594051
True, but I was almost hoping that would be an end to it.

Not that it will stop me from being here in this quest: I am a regular on Commander Quest, afterall, and half of that for a while was about how we were going to sex up our 5 waifus AND seduce the goddess of life.

>>18594074
Hey man, forcing Hunter Command to write up awkward gay wire-sex with Em should be one of our major goals here.

(Personally I'd prefer it if whatever romantic nonsense goes on goes no further than amusing flirting and perhaps a fade to black)

>>18594074
While here, it's just India, plus beating up anyone having eyes for Cathode because we're a good twin brother.

>>18594097
This works for me. I'm not /d/ enough for gay robo-sex.

>>18594162
Wh/y/ wouldn't you be?

But it would be nice if this didn't devolve into MY WAIFU.

>>18594176
And it hasn't. India is that crazy-cool hotshot we bro it up with. Although woe be to anyone who suffers the combined snark of the Diode Twins when together. I'm not sure even India could deal with that.

>>18594176
We all know who'd win if it came to blows.

We need our own personal Prometheus and Pandora. That duo is one of the few things I felt that the ZX series did right plotwise.

>>18594217
I never played ZX, so I don't follow you.

>>18594256
They were a duo of threatening schemers that were in the know about everything you didn't know yet. They were reasonably sympathetic by the end of everything but still very, very threatening and them showing up was an instant "Shit just got REAL" button.

The series is worth playing because it's a cool take on the MMZ formula, but ZXA has the worst plot ever.

Good day Hunters! Until Command restores contact, I'm here to field questions and just generally shoot the shit about MHQ.

I see people were very fond of Spin Jagwire.

>>18593534
I went to sleep, but re:Airdash
The dash itself is the leg armor upgrade from X1 and air dash is the leg armor from X2, Hunter Command has said that X has submitted his upgrades for research/examination.

Since we had the normal dash, and it's after X2, I assukmed we had Air Dash, because I mean, what is the dash anyway? A short energy burst from the feet right? Well if you can do that on the ground why can't you do that in the air?

But if we don't have an Air Dash, fine.

>>18595652

That rematch is going to be interesting. So will the Guns Wallaby one as well.

>>18595665
If it were my guess, in order for the current dash (read: EAS) to work properly, you need a surface to kick off of for the EAS's plasma burst to propel you forward. It isn't until the Air Dash that people figure out how the EAS can generate enough force to propel the user in any direction.

>>18595665
The way Toolcircuit described it, the EAS is a loose blast of unfiltered plasma from the feet. It's not quite unlike our buster, but the plasma that shoots from the buster is more controlled and contained in little envelopes. Go back to the upgrade/Battle of Vienna thread for TC's actual description.

>>18595665
Air Dash isn't an easy design. It's extremely nonstandard. Very useful though.

>>18595781
In other words, if you want to sink the credits into it, it's not an impossibility, but it's a long ways off?

>>18596372
Probably they're still doing the research on it and figuring out the finer points of the system.

Hey guys what's goin' on in this--

>>18594089

>>18596468
But seriously, I laughed so fucking hard.

Okay, let me see here, got a few questions. Some are serious, some are just plain ... hard.

>>18593635
The spars between Tanker and Schwarz are in fact recorded, and you probably could go watch them.

>>18593996
Reploid sexuality is a little more open, both from having a wider field of what encompasses the 'species,' a different mindset and way of thinking, and another century of progressive development.

"Simple" gay/bisexual/straight is still around, if only for ease of familiarity, and there are in fact some reploid/human relationships. As for anthropomorphs... well, let's not go full /d/ here, but yeah, it probably happens, but keep in mind most of the animal models are mostly humanoid.

Em is... probably not gay? I wouldn't be sitting here stewing in rage if you guys wanted to push that way. It'd be WEIRD, certainly, but hey, whatever. But as for now, Em is just a little loud-mouthed guy who really likes innuendo.

On that note, though, don't expect any porn, like >>18594089 says it'd likely be fade to black romance. (You bastard.)

A reminder regarding >>18594012, many but not most reploids have anatomical correctness. Fortunately the option remains for endoconstruction, the process of building a body beneath their natural, armored frame. Yo dawg, we heard you like bodies...

Anyway, last topic on sexuality (I THINK) is India: Right now, it's just a bit of friendly banter. You COULD test the waters to see if it's just mock-flirting or if there's actual interest there, but it'd probably be something to do over threads, not "hey I like you shall we away to the clang clang?"

...Probably. India's snuck up on me before, personality-wise.

IN CONCLUSION: /tg/ - Reploid Sexuality Theses

>>18596475
>>18595665
>>18595699
>>18595722
>>18595781
>>18596372
>>18596418

Air-dashing is something very useful, but very finicky to make. A big part is simply energy demand; X gets around this by having some ridiculously high-efficiency energy use. Zero just uses (or rather, will later use) the absurd amount of power generation his frame is capable of for the same process.

As of right now, however, you don't have a formal airdash.

>>18596418
It's very expensive and may not be compatible with your systems. It's largely seen as inferior to flight tech in terms of usability. As demonstrated in X2/X3, it's also hugely valuable when used properly.

The logical alternative to air dash, and one they've had far more luck with (though still expensive and tricky to integrate) is the air boost, aka double jump. Both rely on weights, densities and propellant composition, but the air boost has been far more consistent in testing.

>>18596520
Building on my counterpart's comment, I'll point out that Zero doesn't have a native, on-board air dash. He can acquire one via DNA data, but the first one he acquires takes all of that (not weaponized in any way).

All right, so I'm going to go get myself something to eat, grab a cup of delicious lifesaving coffee, and then start writing again.
It looks like it was a close call, but Torsion Coil won out over Live Wire. Fortunately you can use the former like the latter, just not as effectively. Upside? WE BATMAN NOW

>>18596787
Tension. Tension Coil. Argh. Need that coffee.

>>18596787
Just checking, but is the tension coil as sharp as the one Jagwire had?

So if you treat the series as a story, what are the orders for taking down Mavericks?
Highway->Storm Eagle->Spark Mandrill->?
Chill Penguin is before Flame Mammoth (or not?)
Launch Octopus before Sting Chameleon?

tl;dr: What order did X do it for the sake of the thread?

Okay, sandwich status: wolfed. Let's get to goin'.

>>18596861
Yup. I see it as having a twisting action that presents or hides the sharp element, depending on what you're trying to do. And firing it from your buster and ziplining around on it should be at no risk to yourself, unless you enblade the wire and grab the damn thing.

>>18596885
Looks like another one for Cain Labs and myself to put our heads together for, but I imagine it largely doesn't matter. We'll see what bubbles up.

>>18597263
Thought so. Alright, Tension Coil it is.

>>18592544
You puzzle it over for a while. "I think I'll take it."

Em claps you on the shoulder. "Good to hear. What's your pleasure?"

"I think I'll just take the stock data, actually. There's a lot of fun stuff there, but the thing's too useful in too many ways to futz with, for now."

"Versatility never hurts," he agrees. "Data's still being tested as safe for use, but as soon as it's ready you can swing by and download it."

"All right, thanks. Now, I had one other idea..." You fish that civilian saber out and toss it to Em.

"Captured hardware? Ah, a Method T70. Good run."

"That mean anything?"

"Not really," he shrugs. "But it's a pretty dependable piece. What were you thinkin'?"

Cont.

>>18597413
"Could you adjust that thing's shape? Same output, smaller blade..."

"Higher concentration of ouch," Em notes. "I might, at that. I did something kinda similar, actually. A kris-style knife, hi-beam. Hell, I mount it over my elbow and I reinforced the hilt. I've hit dudes in the optic with the thing like a spike."

You wince. "Sounds pretty damn effective. Hey, could we change the output a bit?"

"Like how?" Em looks more awake and alert now that you've turned to his favorite topic.

"I wouldn't exactly be fencing with the thing," you note. "I wouldn't need it on all the time."

"So make it hi-beam?" Em rubs his chin. "I think I could do that. I'd have to mess with it, maybe replace some of the parts, but I've got 'em to spare."

"How much do you think it'd run?" you ask.

"Call it five thou," he says. "Hell, I'll see about a mounting for it so you don't have to fish it out of storage in a grapple."

>Pay 5k monies for Misericorde?
>Talk about saber tech with the expert some more
>Leave?

>>18597420
I say we ask him a little bit more about sabers. Maybe see if he has any particular ideas about this one, and how we could best put it to use?

>>18597420
Em is the expert on these matters. We're lucky he's offering a consult for free.

>>18597420
I'm alright with a bit of saber talk. I kinda want to know what sabers Em is using.

>>18597420
Definatly consult with the swashbuckler of the Fourth more about sabers. Getting info from someone as experianced as Em is only gonna be surpased by advice from guys like Zero and the Shinobi unit. And only because those psychos are generally people ofmass destruction. Speaking of advice, maybe we should see if Schwarz is up for a sparring match sometime. Nothing like a freindly asskicking from a coworker to see where we can sharpen our skills and practice our tricks.

Fork it over, sounds worth it.

Also, we totally forgot to buy Dodo a drink to make up for leaving him to the shark.

>>18596885
After the debacle at the Highway, X made a few attempts against the renegade air forces at Airport 1000, the seized factories producing war Mechaniloids for Maverick forces, and the naval armada that was striking against coastal cities. Though doing some minor damage, X was forced back in each case, regrouping with Lifesaver support.

His small-scale attacks on Maverick forces were discarded quickly, however, when word came that Chill Penguin was planning a missile launch from a captured South Pole base. X felt a personal responsibility to challenge his former unit mate before the destruction could get out of hand. Penguin dispatched his allies to provide air coverage, inadvertently clearing the missile base itself of most serious resistance and leaving X with only Mechaniloids and a few Maverick perimeter guards to deal with.

Inside the old South Pole facility, X was confronted with the legacy of his creator, and gained a vital increase to his abilities: the dash system, one of the few gifts from his creator that X would choose to internalize. Hunter air support managed to break through with a Ride Armor drop for X, allowing him to contest Penguin's heavy attackers, and tracked the Maverick himself to the missile command site.

Penguin gave X a vicious challenge, forcing him to fall back for Lifesaver aid, but having secured a beam-in targeter near Penguin's hideout, X charged back into battle and was able to turn the tables on the Maverick by exploiting Penguin's key source of battlefield control, a trigger in the ceiling that suppressed the room with blowing snow. X used his wall jump to catch Penguin as he leapt up for the trigger and knock him out of the air with a fully-charged shot.

>>18597664
Schwarzhund is as high-quality an SA as they come. We'd get annihilated right now.

>>18597469
>>18597512
>>18597549
Working with this. Go ahead and buy the saber? And a quick dice roll tells me you're sitting on Z37,288 after the last mission.

Em starts pulling some bits and bobs from a few storage units as you talk.

"So I know the basic differences between a hi-phase and a lo-phase, but what are your takes on them, Em?"

"Different tools for different jobs. I was built with a pair of short dueling sabers. Low damage, relatively, but great endurance."

"Typical los, then?"

"Yeah. They do me just fine and they're great on the defensive, but I decided eventually I needed something with a bit more power." He points his thumb at a case against the back wall. "Got most of them in there right now. The first one I made was a big-ass beam flambard."

"Yeah?"

"Actually, I was stupid proud of that one. I got the blade to waver by using a sonic weapon. Eventually I put that into a smaller weapon and put a more appropriate upgrade in for some elemental coverage."

"Fire?" You venture.

"Damn straight. After that I realized it was a lot of fun, so I started looking out for cheapo sabers to play around with and disassemble. Started trying to make blades based on old swords, adapted them to my use."

"Like what?"

"That sonic upgrade I mentioned? Became my Hertzbalger." You groan. "Oh come on that's great. Anyway, that one's kinda situational, but it works a bit like your chaff. I can disable surveillance equipment and whatnot with it. You can give 'em a look if you want."

You shrug and head over to the case, as Em bustles around the lab collecting parts. There are a variety of hilts in here. You recognize the flambard he mentioned by the size of its hilt, and one of the blades has a distinctive handguard.

Cont.

X went after a mine flagged as having been captured by Maverick forces and put to use supplying materials for top-level Maverick projects. A number of Degravers were coordinating mining efforts, using strong Mechaniloid support to guard the mines and create new tunnels. X managed to capture a valuable Sub Tank, and using the track system to course through the mines was able to eliminate the Degravers and severely impede the development of several Maverick machines, including a rather large project being worked on at Sigma's Fortress...

Breaking through to the shipping canal, X located the Maverick leading the mining effort and charged in to engage him: Armored Armadillo. The Maverick, unprepared for battle, nonetheless chose to engage X, believing his armor to be more than sufficient protection. Fortunately, in the closed quarters, X's newfound mobility gave him an advantage, one Armadillo could not mitigate. Despite dealing severe damage to X and forcing him to tap into his new Sub Tank, Armadillo left himself open once too often and took a fatal shot.

>>18597701
Heh. Even the story goes for the dash first.

The next mission for X was back at the major Maverick launch site at Airport 1000. The Death Rogumer had been tracked back to the site, where it was docked for resupply and repairs. With most of the renegade air force away, X was able to ransack the Mechaniloid defenses, capturing another Sub Tank.

Deep within the older infrastructure of the airport, X discovered another message from his creator and acquired another armor enhancement. Reaching the docks, X made it onto the Death Rogumer, took out its engines and much of its body in the explosion, and provoked Storm Eagle into challenging him. A tough opponent, Eagle's suppressive offense would have been nearly insurmountable had X not acquired the dash enhancement from Dr. Light's capsule; instead, although Storm Eagle's speed still exceeded that of X, the Hunter managed to keep the Maverick in his sights and wear him down.

>>18597819
Three of the hilts are smaller, enough that a human could comfortably use them as intended, even with their weird, tiny hands. Those must be his knives. You recognize the tapered handle of the kris he mentioned, and wince again when you note the back of the hilt is sharpened down to a point.

"I see stabby, and two little ones next to it?" you call over your shoulder.

"One's sort of a showpiece," Em admits. "I mean, it works, but I was trying to get it to look like a specific shape. Works pretty damn well as a utility piece, based off an old army knife. The other one is a dirk. Actually a bit like the one I got tagged with in Vienna, come to think of it."

You continue looking. Another hilt is almost as short as the knives, and a longer one of similar make rests over it. Both, interestingly, are wrapped in cloth in a neat crisscross sort of pattern.

Cont.

>>18598015
"What's with the big and little spoons?" you ask.

"Ah, those'd be a katana and wakizashi. Sort of. They're a set, natch. Heh, I don't get a ton of mileage out of them, but I made this bitchin' sheathe-box thing that rides on my hip when I use them. I dunno, I think it looks cool as hell."

"Sounds good to me. Cath once told me 'in a pinch, style can slide.'" Speaking of your comics-loving sister, that reminds you that you owe Em some kind of mild vengeance still. One thing at a time.

"Sounds good to me. Anyway, none of those are showpieces, it's just that by the time I made that set I had other stuff that did the job just as well. Sometimes I take them along if I need a bit more elemental variety."

You resume looking through the case. "Right. Oh, hey, this one reminds me of Cathode's saber."

"That'd be my beam rapier. Awesome for dueling. It's hi-phase, but there's a secondary generator. See that ring?"

You do, in fact. "Yeah. I was gonna say it actually looked a bit like a structural weakness."

Em grins as he sits down at his bench and sets to work. "When the blade's off, there's a lo-phase emitter that makes the bellguard. Saved my hand a couple times. You can punch fuckers with it, too."

>More discussion?
>Watch Em work?
>Other?

The Death Rogumer collided with the main Maverick-controlled power station, breaching its perimeter, shutting down or weakening many of its systems and giving X his next target. Another former member of the 17th Unit, Spark Mandrill, had occupied this site, and X went to challenge him.

Despite heavy Mechaniloid presence, the power plant was guarded by only one Maverick Reploid: Mandrill himself. Once X got through the defenses, Mandrill arrived to prevent the Hunters from securing and disabling the core generator. Though his speed and aggression forced X to resort to Lifesaver aid, the DNA data recovered from Chill Penguin proved to expose a systemic weakness within Mandrill, one which X exploited to fullest advantage.

>>18598031
Does he have any like Henry's here, what wit the beam cross-guard?

>>18598031
You do not know how hard i am trying not to squee at that pic. Also, watch em work. Being able to fiddle with sabers in general might give us the freedom to eventually fiddle with our own.

>>18598049
With the fall of Chill Penguin's facility, Hunter support forces were able to steal high-efficiency coolant and use it on preliminary strikes against certain Maverick sites. With coastal cities the hardest-hit by Maverick forces, the factory producing parts for Utuboros was targeted for shock freeze.

X raided the facility to shut it down and take out the Maverick presence. While production was largely unsupervised and left to Mechaniloids, several Degravers and Hoganmers were on site to guard the factory and forced X into confrontations. X eventually reached the quality control room, where Flame Mammoth waited, eager for a fight with any Hunter who would come to call. Mammoth severely underestimated X, and between the dash and the Storm Tornado saw the tables completely turned on him.

>>18598031
Let Em do his thing.

>>18598031
We can always watch him work AND bother him with questions.

>>18598031
You sit down beside Em, interested in seeing how this works. It's not hard to look down over his shoulder, with the height difference between you.

"Ever thought about a beam crossguard?" You ask.

"Yeah, but none of the ones I use would really benefit from it. Maybe your lance would, though, you don't typically grab it up near the emitter. Maybe we can try putting that together sometime."

"Maybe. You mentioned your dueling sabers? That them there?"

"Yep," he says, dipping his shoulders to show one slung over it--a simple design with a small red (surprisingly) synthetic stone in the pommel. "Green blades, go fucking figure."

"Thought about adding phasing? Turned my lance a lovely shade of pink."

"Hah! I don't know, maybe. I guess I don't mind it that much, but that phase tech sounded pretty sexy. The rapier'd probably benefit from it, too...Damn it, now you've got me thinking."

"Focus. Still got this thing to work with."

"Yeah, I'm tuning the magnetic envelope size down now." He holds the blade up and ignites it, slowly turning a small device buried in the weapon's internals. The blade output flickers unstably, slowly diminishing down to an almost triangular spike like a wicking flame. The blade is almost white as the same power is focused in about a third of the area. Em frowns, thinking.

"Gonna cap the top in something, just in case the blade starts heating the emitter. Especially since we're going to hi-beam this sonofabitch."

Coooooont.

>>18598154
With the factory destroyed, the supply of new naval Mechaniloids to the Maverick armada was cut off, and X found an opportunity to strike against Launch Octopus as the enemy attacked a major underwater city. The well-armed underwater force posed several challenges to X, but none so great as Octopus himself.

In his element and well aware of the Maverick Hunter's arrival, Octopus wasted no time playing around, opening with a full salvo of missiles as he leaped into battle and proceeding with total force from there. X was forced to resort to tapping his Sub Tanks while trying to find the undersea Maverick's weakness. Even after determining that Armadillo's DNA data would prove damaging to Octopus, X's battle remained difficult, as Octopus was capable of countering the Rolling Shield with steady bombardment. In a long battle of attrition during which X took several hits and was nearly captured by Octopus' drain attack, the Hunter eventually emerged victorious.

>>18598271
"What do you prefer?" you ask. He seems like the guy to know.
"Both, it really depends. Lo-beams are safe and reliable, hi-beams are a bit tricky to work around, but you can still duel with 'em. There's whole styles built around igniting and disengaging the blade. It's tricky, because you have to go in for quick exchanges and then break off so you can let the battery rest before the next round. Mistakes are costly."

"Speaking of cost, wiring over the money now," you say, quickly authorizing a transfer to Em.

"Thanks. Pass me the generator by your hand." You do so, and he quickly takes the saber apart and begins replacing the lo-beam power assembly with the stronger one. "Anyway, the upshot with this is you can parry and defend in short bursts, but most of the time you're just going to be stabbing a dude with this on short notice. It can stay ignited for a little while, but less is more."

"How does it stack up to the lance?"

"Well, you'll plain be able to put more force behind the lance on a charge," he replies as he grabs a small plasma cutter and a disc of some kind of metal. "But up close, this thing will just hurt. I can't see much in the way of armor standing up to a good stab from this thing, particularly if you aim for the joints or weak spots."

Kick 'im in the cont.

>>18598277
Sting Chameleon, a B-Class target, had been assigned to X early on, but difficulties tracking the ex-Special Forces Reploid and the more immediate threats of missiles, air assaults and the Maverick armada had put him on the backburner. New intel finally placed Chameleon's location, and X rushed in to take him down.

Chameleon's forces had established a perimeter and solidified their hideyhole. X was forced to investigate around the jungle until he found the caverns, through which Chameleon's energy signature could be traced. Somehow, X was drawn to investigate the mountain above the caverns, and discovered a third message from his creator after defeating a powerful Mechaniloid placed to ambush Hunters who had breached the perimeter. With a new upgrade to his defensive systems, X was able to break through the Reploids in the caverns, emerging out the other side into Chameleon's hidden base.

In a move apparently designed to mock the Hunters, Chameleon had established his forces in one of Dr. Cain's earliest cyberforests. X was forced to fend off twisted versions of his mentor's own devices before engaging Chameleon's unit in the deep jungle. After passing through a swamp and fighting off Ride Armor guards, X entered the command tree to find that Chameleon had established himself well, increasing his threat level well above B-Class. With his new armor upgrade and Sub Tanks, X was able to endure Chameleon's relentless attacks and take the lizard down.

>>18598378
Finally, the challenge that X had perhaps dreaded most: engaging one of the most dangerous A-Class threats ever recorded, the former elite Hunter who had specialized in Reploid retirement: Boomer Kuwanger. And Kuwanger was entrenched in a fortress tower.

With air support rendered utterly impossible, X was forced to assault the fortress via access from the utility basements below, ascending to challenge Kuwanger's Hoganmer guards, passing through the Sine Droppers and security beams and navigating the trapped elevator shaft before being cut off by a newly installed ceiling. X moved to the outside of the tower to continue his ascent balcony by balcony, blowing through static defenses to reach the top.

Within the tower's crown was a massive computer core, entirely devoted to shielding Sigma's hidden fortress from efforts to locate it. X proceeded to the control room to shut down the computer, only to have Kuwanger drop in on him and engage.

Had this been a battle on Kuwanger's terms, had X not managed to acquire his Sub Tanks, had Light not left vital upgrades to protect his legacy, this fight would have gone very differently. Instead, in a spartan control chamber and armed with Homing Torpedoes, X was able to change the terms of battle with the former Hunter. Kuwanger managed to score a few hits and keep X on his toes, but ultimately could not evade the barrage of seeking missiles.

With the computer shut down, Sigma's fortress became exposed to Hunter Command.

>>18598369
"You know who'd like this thing?" he notes. "Zero."

"Yeah?"

"Dude practically wrote the book on using a hi-phase. Of course, he's got that power-tap backpack thing. Lets him use his own systems to quick-charge his saber. He fights much more aggressively as a result. It's pretty fucking wicked to see."

"Yeah? You ever gone on-mission with him?"

Em snorts. "I should be so lucky. I did meet him once, for like five seconds, though."

"No shit? You didn't just talk to him about swords for three hours?"

He laughs. "I wish. No, I didn't want to be that one rookie, you know? I just sort of nodded and said hey. Guy seemed friendly enough."

"Just meeting all kinds of people," you say. "...Like my sister."

"Oh yeah, that's right. ...What?" He asks.

>You fucked up, Em. You fucked up, and I am going to get you.
>Oh, nothing, nothing...
>Other?

Oh Em, you may be our bro, but you have fucked up.

I've had a new idea about how to deal with Em. We've got some time off before our next mission, and we both seem to be in good condition, so I say we take the honorable route and challenge him to a duel... with an electrified open-hand slap to the face. He hasn't seen everything our new upgrades can do, after all, and I kinda want to Raikousen-toss him through a window.

What did Em do, again?

>>18598485

>Nothing. Nothing important....

>>18598485
>Be Prepared, Em....

>>18598558
You get back into your thread right this instant!

>>18598555
He met Cathode during the battle at Vienna. He happened to let slip Anode's tendency to get himself half-killed on mission, and made her worry.

/tg/ demands retribution.

>>18598555
He talked to Cathode during the Battle of Vienna without us knowing. Who knows what he may have in store for our beloved twin sister? As her brother, we are obligated to kick the shit out of anyone even looking in her general direction.

>>18598485
Lean reeeeeal close behind him and whisper in his ear.
"The next time you scare my sister, I will know.
I will know, and I will find you.
I will find you, and I will end you.
I will end you and all you have ever known."
Best creepy face.
"Ever. Known."

>>18598643
Then apply noogie if its safe and we arent going to have an eye poppedout or something. We dont wanna come across as maverick to our partener in crime over a minor offence (fuck i cant type fast on this phone)

>>18598611
Do we even have a write-up on Cathode's powers? I wasn't even aware she had a saber until the concept art was posted. I know her specialty is heavy weapons, even though she has dual busters like us now. Is she A-rank like us? Any particular reason she got kicked to the First while we got shuttled to the Fourth? The first thread declared it was a mystery why Command chose to split the Diode Twins when they specifically had chemistry with each other.

We should drop in on Cathode in person, later. She probably wouldn't worry if she saw more of us!

>>18598546

I vote for this!

>>18598762
That's a thought I've had myself. Unfortunately, we don't quite know where the First is posted in Hunter HQ, which is a city unto itself like the Vatican.

>>18598782
Oh man, wait. We have at least a day or two for ourselves before our next mission, right? Let's get lost in HQ and see what happens.
>untexte the
It's too late for that, Captcha, the idea is already out there.

>>18598747
A big reason we got split up is command does not like the thought of us as a team going Mavrick at the same time. Most Hunters being built nowadays are RPS system based so it wont be an absolute bitch of a job to hunt them down, if i recall correctly

>>18598805
India did give us a bike tour around the HQ our first couple days here, in hindsight, so we might be able to find the First again.

>>18598747
Cathode! A-rank, currently equipped with:
Cathode Ray: Her trademark weapon, the C. Rays are a pair of directed energy weapons mounted on her forearms. The barrels extend forward over her hands when in use, and, for lack of better word, are beamy deffguns. They're electrical in nature, meaning she can just shoot you with them and fill up your capacitors--this was a big part of your team strategy.
Those busters give her even more directed firepower, something she fully intends on maximizing.
Her other primary weapon is a beam rapier. Basically, Cathode is inverse-Anode on weapons--where you have dual rapidfire busters that don't charge, she fires powerful beam spam. Where you have a big fucking lance, she has a light, precise weapon. She leans toward range, just as you lean toward melee, with some overlap for both. Your fighting style together is typically warding enemies off her and setting up for a big finish.

...Also, should I be worried that people keep choosing to use the word "chemistry" to describe Anode and Cathode's relationship?

>>18598831
Would you rather "siblingness?" We're pretty sure Anode is not a siscon.

Preeeeeeety sure.

>>18598842
Definitely sure, and I'll fight anyone who tries to play it that way.

But seriously, it's the same sort of chemistry we have with Em and we don't want to jump his beam saber.

>>18598895
Cathode was built and activated the same time as us, we developed together, and we were inherently built to relate to each other and play off each other on a deeply intrinsic level.

We're siblings, not lovers. Lovers come and go, but (synthetic) blood is thicker than water.

>>18598831
That pic! And i personally wouldnt. We have the brother instinct going full force here, with the understanding that she can take care of herself via beamy dakka spam. Wich also gives us a charge to go Zero on someones face. I wonder if shes gotten any weapons tech from missions yet. Tell her about Tesion Coil next time we see her, electric beams plus tripwires equals toasty Mavricks

>>18598895

>>18593996
>>18594089
4chan is a frightening, confusing beast.

>>18598939
She wouldn't need the Tension Coil. She's not the one trying to tie things up in melee. Occam's Razor says the simplest answer is the best answer. And Cathode's answer to most anything are her deffguns. We will have to update our schematics of her in our head next time we meet.

>>18598974
Speaking of said Tension coil, I'm kind of disappointed I didn't think of it earlier, but some kind of razor-edged Bola would have been fun to use. Still, I have plenty of ideas for things we could do with the weapon we already have.

>>18598831
Does Cathode have internal capacitors like us, or does she just have the turbines for her C. Ray?

>>18599050
Capacitor Conduit is basically your special gimmick--it's yours and yours alone. Cath's weapons draw on her internal power source like most busters.

>>18598485
"Oh, nothing, don't you worry about it," you say, smiling broadly.

"...Um," he says.

"Nothing to worry about at a-ll~" you trill. He leans back a bit.

"After all," you continue blithely. "You didn't do anything to make my sister worry her pretty little head about me."

"I--"

"AND," you continue, your tone almost dreamy, "You certainly didn't go and meet my sister, and I just know my good friend wouldn't think of anything untoward about her..."

"Whoa, where are you getting this--"

You laugh in the most casual, gentle 'oh, you' fashion you can muster. You can -feel- the horror rolling off Em. "Oh, Em. You fucked up. You fucked up bad."

He backs away slowly.

"And I guess it's a good thing you had a bit of rest trouble, because you'll want to sleep with your optics wiiiiiiide open~"

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," he whispers.

"Because someplace, somewhere, I will GET you. And you won't make my beloved sister worry eeeever again~"

Em runs.

>SUDDEN MOVEMENT PURSUE
>No...he knows.

I guess. I just cannot stop thinking of ways we can use it. With our new hi phase, we could prolly take someone down commondo style after rappling down behind them. Hell, i just thought of what a team of Steel Berrets with stealth gear, Tension Coils and some hi-phases could do to enemy morale, altho it seems more like a Shinobi unit thing. Half of what i spout is well thought out and the other stuff is pure random, and i get hooked on brainstorming uses for really versitile stuff. Oh, and HC, does Cathode have heavier armor than us, or does depend on mobility as much as we do?

>>18599111
Our point has been made. Let him go.
MISSHUN COMPRETE

>>18599111

We got him. No need to chase him.

>>18599128
If her concept art is anything to go by, she's built about the same as we are. So yeah, she'd put some stock in mobility while shooting white hot spurts of electric juice wait that came out weird.

Now I feel bad.

>>18599128
Cathode currently wears lighter-duty armor, as she's designed to be in the back while you take the hits for her. It's part of why you keep coming home despite getting royally fucked up--you're built incredibly sturdy.

>>18599111
I think he gets it. We do need to smile and stare pointedly from a distance the next few times we pass him, though. Now... we have way too much time for R and R. Let's find out what people are up to! And just checking, but did we ever do anything with the one gun that was left over from the Wallaby fight?

>>18599242
You incorporated the phase technology into your lance, effectively giving it Shot Eraser.

And turning the blade pink.

>>18599242
We converted the phase tech, but I think the pistol itself is in storage somewhere.

>>18599255
>>18599262
Oh yeah... it's all coming back to me now. Too bad the last Maverick we fought had zero interest in actually shooting us, but maybe it'll see some more use on the next mission.

>>18599111
Send him a message that says we cool now that he knows but make sure to remind him of seven, and how terrible the smiting he suffered for incurring our wrath was, and how diabolical our mustache can be.

I fucking love your sense of comedy, btw. Oldtimey film effects on prank tapes and our scaring the crap out of Em just now, along with practically every occasion with the Pond, gives us much needed laughter. Especially with sick fucks like the source of our new anti-sonoafbitch toy.

We should learn to ride a chaser in case we ever need to joust a motherfucker.

>>18599374
That's not a bad idea regardless. I mean, there's always a token ride armor level in the games so I expect it to be around here somewhere.

>>18599374
Now that our schedule is greatly freed up, let's grab a bike and cruise across Hunter HQ. We could surprise Cathode by showing up in person.

Em beats feet out the door, voice fading into the distance as he yells "I'llgiveyouthesaberwhenit'sdooooooone..."

You sit back and stretch, satisfied that you've put the fear of brother in him.

So, you've got time and options.
>Your quarters are still totally fucking bare, and now you have some money to spend.
>Schwarz said he'd be hitting the Pond later...
>Wonder if India's still chasing Crankshaft.
>We could always try to check in on Cathode.
>You know, there's a whole city outside MHHQ I haven't seen...
>Other

>>18599446
>We could always try to check in on Cathode.
>You know, there's a whole city outside MHHQ I haven't seen...
I'd almost forgotten there's a city outside HQ. Let's grab our sister and go out for dinner, assuming she's free.

>>18599374
....Id say yes, but im a bit leery of ride chasers, if only because we have Crankshaft as a driving influence... He's the one that got dubbed an honarary shinobi becuse he trashed every ride he wen into a fight with right?

>>18599446
Hit the pond, let Schwarz know that we're going to be hitting the town. Maybe he'll have a recommendation on places to visit... and places to avoid (which we will almost assuredly visit anyways). Also, yeah, seeing if Cathode has some free time to hang out on our city trip would be a good idea.

>>18599500
He's caused about as much collateral damage with using vehicles as improvised damage. Considering they compared him to the unit of high-powered superbadasses given a blank check on damage, it's pretty impressive.
You also have India for influence, but she was crazy enough to go joust an armada with a century-old jet, so...

>>18599525
Is there even protocol to follow about leaving base?

>>18599525
Addendum to this: We really need to find something to decorate our quarters while we're in town.
>sign, radday
You're right, Captcha, today is going to be great.

>>18599540
Improvised weapons, even. Damn it, me.

Also haha oh fucking wow. I just rolled for something and got an amazing result. It'll come up in the thread, writing...

>>18599540
Yeah... We totally need to go for a ride with Cathode now, just to tell her about our team of crazy drivers. And let her know we arent going to be as crzy as them, if only because Fourth Overland is fresh out of pyscho driver spots. Seriously, between those two and our freindly neiborhood roboshark oil knight, we are the second or third craziest unit in the hunters. Right behind X and Zero's units.

>>18599446
You decide there's no time like the present. With almost 24 hours off total, you have a bit more laxity than you can reliably expect as a hunter.

First of all, though, you need to see Schwarz. You head back across the grounds and return to the Pond.

He's taken over half the bar with paperwork, be it physical or virtual on two or three small datascreens. Apparently he does take the provisional duties pretty seriously. Max looks on, bemused, as you come back in.

"Surprised Em isn't here," you note.

"He came running into the command room, grabbed a mission," Schwarz replies without looking up.

"...Well," you say cheerfully, "I was going to ask if I'm allowed to leave base."

He looks up. "As long as you keep comms open in case of emergency."

"Not going far, I just wanted to go see the sights," you reassure him. "Maybe see if Cathode's off duty, we haven't seen each other in person since we joined up."

"Good idea," he grunts. "Thanks for checking with me."

"Just wanted to be sure," you say, as you turn to leave.

"Anode."

You turn back. "Hm?"

"Talked to Dodo and Frog. Tomorrow you can patrol Vienna. If you want."

You pause--it's a pretty kind gesture, given how troubled you've been over your fight with Jagwire. From what Dodo said, Vienna duty would be boring--and safe. Almost inevitably less psychological horror involved.

"...I'll think about it," you decide. "Thanks."

He just grunts in response, and goes back to his paperwork.

Cont.

>>18599542
Probably nothing serious, but he did mention he'd be there later and I'd feel rude if we didn't so much as swing by and say hi on our way out.

>>18599726
>Max
Oh god, return the bottle! Quick!

>>18599726

Ask Schwarz what job Em grabbed. If it is the one I am thinking of we may have to buy it off him.

>>18599726
This!!! Above all else this!! Wait, wich part of what he gave us was on the house? Anyway did anyone we shared the bottle with drink straigyt from it? Iseem to remember Max saying he would know in a "we are dead metal" sort of way if it was the case.

>>18599726
A quick check tells you that Schwarz put together lists for most of the roster, and Em went after one of the targets on his. Lockon Bloodhound is "safe."

Max tells you, amused, that you paid for the bottle, and the glasses were on him. He mentions in passing that some people start collections of both.

From there, you jog back to the command room and arrange an outgoing call. Cath picks up quickly.

"Hey," you say. "Are you free?"

"Just got off duty," she says. "Why?"

"Got a couple hours? I was thinking we could explore Geneva a bit."

Her face brightens. "Sure, that sounds great. Grab a couple ride chasers and meet out at the fountains in front of the main building?"

"Sounds good. ...The main building has fountains?"

"Public offices. See you soon."

You double-time it to the garage and sign out a ride chaser (a cute little hand-drawn picture of India warns the renter that if you drive it like Crankshaft, she will airdrop a supply crate on you), and set off at all reasonable speed towards the giant spire of Maverick Hunter Headquarters.

Cont...

>>18599835
Who cares! Return everything, just to be safe.

>>18599874
Damn, this reminds me of Megaman Battle & Chase. That game was damn good for a mario kart ripoff.

>>18599907

>Max tells you, amused, that you paid for the bottle, and the glasses were on him. He mentions in passing that some people start collections of both.

Yeah, we don't need to do that.

Looks like we hit autosage. That's fine by me again, likely won't be a new thread tonight.
>>18599874
You park the bike near a row of others, shutting it down and dismounting. Up ahead is a wide courtyard of sorts, milling with all kinds of activity, human and reploid alike. The center dominated by a large water fountain.

And leaning against it, arms folded, is your sister. She sees you and grins, meeting you halfway up the steps with a big hug.

"Good to see you again," she says. "Can you believe it's been less than a week?"

"I can't," you say, "I really can't. How you been?"

"I'm good," she says. "Can't believe I'm not even the base's newest already."

"No shit?"

"No shit. Still nothing from Shieldspin, so someone new's coming in."

The two of you head back to your chasers as you catch up, setting off at a gentle cruise as you head for Geneva proper.

>See about food
>Go bar-hopping
>Shoppan gaems
>See what Cathode wants to do
>Other?

>>18599874
Welp, at least we have in story motivation to not drive like Crankshaft. This is gonna be nice, relaxing, and will not at all end in shenanegins. *wink wink nudge nudge*

>>18600027
We have money! Ask Cath what we should spend it on. It's time to make terrible purchasing decisions.

>>1860002

Let us shop. We need decorations. "Classic" movie posters would be a good choice, I think.

Who is Shieldspin?

>>18600027
Hemorrhage money. We have a very dangerous job, no sense saving up.

>>18600099
Shieldspin Shroom was a member of the 1st who went missing in Vienna. They're assuming KIA.

Food and shoppin'! Food and shoppin'!

>>18600130
Hmmm...Maybe patrolling Vienna won't be as fruitless as I though it'd be.

So I got distracted torturing people with puns. Cutting it off here, sorry.

NEXT MAVERICK HUNTER QUEST: Shopping trip! Sister hangouts! Wasting money!

Probably gonna take a couple days off, so don't worry too hard looking for the next thread immediately.

>>18600243
Isee where your going, and igrab my pack to join you.

Potential rescue,ho!

>>18600300
Wither that, or he's gone Maverick.

Either way, should be a lot of fun.

So were there any thoughts on the "story order" of X1?

>>18600436
I liked how X struggled against the other Mavericks before finally settling on Chill Penguin first. Happens to a lot of players. I'll assume the Hadouken and Shoryuuken modules are just a one-off joke that don't actually happen.

OR DID THEY?

>>18600436
I liked it, and thought it was interesting that you incorporated X losing a few times and having to retry battles. I figured that sort of thing would be written off as a conceit for the games.

>>18600476
Hey, they might exist... but X never found them. If you'll notice, he didn't get the arm upgrade from Flame Mammoth's stage, either.

>>18600477
Wherever possible I like to blur the line between "story element" and "game conceit."

>>18600648
Had he gotten the upgrade or not, would getting the X2 buster overwrite the accomplishments of the X1 buster? i.e. nothing is lost so long as he got his X2 buster.

>>18600648
Interesting thought... has anyone ELSE ever stumbled across one of X's upgrade capsules? Have the researchers ever attempted to go exploring and find one of those things for themselves, or asked X to find some way to transport/drag the damn things back to base?

>>18601199
X internalized the dash, armor and buster upgrade from his first armor, which is why he outclasses everything in X2. Assume that in X2 everything should be dealing twice as much damage and taking half. The X2 buster, at least in our storyline progression, is the first Light-designed buster upgrade that X receives. When you consider that Sigma cannot be damaged without an upgraded arm part... the implications are quite fun, I think.

>>18601338
Pieces of Light's legacy are top secret and held for research by Hunter Command. A few capsules have made their way back to Command, but by and large what they contain is cryptic and cannot be interpreted. Where it is interpretable, it's usually because Light made it a data file rather than a direct upgrade through the mechanism itself (see X5) and even this information is exceedingly hard to work with. To date, no capsule has been found except by X during a time of need, despite some intense search efforts. The discovery locations of several capsules lend credence to the belief that Light did not place them all prior to his death,

>>18601646
Man, the researchers must be the most frustrated bastards on the planet. All the work they do, and they still can't figure out what was going on in Light's head or how to crack into his projects.

>>18601674
They've been able to work out some things with the upgrades that X hasn't internalized. Some. But yes, frustrated researchers (GATE) have been known (GATE) to go a bit stir-crazy (GATE) from the difficulty of analyzing the work of the old masters.

If you don't get the buster part from Flame Mammoth's stage, Zero bequeaths it to you or something, right?

Makes a much better story than trying to make a bunch of jumps and then bashing your head against blocks.

>>18601919
Yes - he tells you you're stronger, but not yet strong enough to face Sigma. And it's true - even with that upgraded buster, your strongest charge does only 1 damage to Sigma. P-Class Threat indeed.