Pilot Information:

Shelling: 5
Maneuver: 3
CRC: 2
Affinity: 3

Sandwise
Bandit Hater

>You have leveled up!

Your battles have earned you an ability point. You may use it to raise any stat by one.

Current Zoid:
Molga

Current Assets:
900 Credits (9,000 pending from winning the Battle Royal)
One side arm
One heavy Anti-Zoid Rifle.
1,000 credits worth of ammo.

Team Assets:
One Damaged Demantis
One Heavily Damaged Hound Soldier(under service)
One Cannon Tortoise, undamadged
40,000 credits incoming from succefully completing a contract from ZOITEC Inc.

You're group stopped to drop Rob off at the ZBF Terminal, after which you continued on to the base.

Audrey is riding with you, still clutching you arm. The poor girl must have been through a lot. Vince is silently following in a jeep.
There is still some time before you reach the base.

>Talk
>Stay quiet till you return

(Testing for autosage. apologies)

>>18702964
We have a Cannon Tortoise, where'd that come from?

Shelling as we use it an awful lot and we don't need CRC and we can cover for a slightly low Maneuver by being a sneaky git. Next point we get should go into Maneuver though, and we should get Affinity up sometime.

Give Audrey a comforting hug, talk some. Tell her that we won't force her to do anything she doesn't want to, that we don't know them all that well yet but Vince and Eri are good people. Offer to make pancakes when you get back to the hanger.

>>18702964
Go with Manouver for the ability point. We need to sneak up on people and that should help.

Talk to Vince. Ask him about the performance and wanna buy some booze for a party once the money comes in

>>18702964
Stay quiet for now and wait until we've gotten back and are settled down at most some comforting talk, also shelling so we can eventually just set up with a big gun and snipe people.

>>18702964

Shelling.

Also do the pancakes thing.

>>18703059
The Cannon Tortoise belongs to Eri. It can be rigged with a heavy crane for salvage and towing. And while she isn't licensed for battle, she can still use it to fend off attackers.

>>18703066

>>18703083
That's two for shelling.
Your skill has gone from Above Average, to Good. Increasing this skill further will require 2 ability points.

You talk to Aubrey, holding off on the hug, what with there being a whole seat between you. You tell her about Vince and Eri, more about the later, since you know her a bit better.
She seems happy, and gladly excepts your offer to the Pancakes, some rare delicacy she has not heard of.

It takes a few attempts to raise Vince on the radio. He finaly replies, asking what you want. Seems he isn't i the best mood. His tone lightens a bit when you bring up alcohol.

"If its booze, we got it on hand already. Old man Lowe has some good stuff." He goes over a few points of the battle you fought. He tell's you your strategies were all around good, but that you shouldn't rely on burrowing quite so much in the future. He stresses that you leave yourself vulnerable for a brief moment when you attempt to submerge, and skilled opponents will be able to capitalize on this if they already spotted you. You thank him for his advice.

You all reach the hanger at dusk, the sunlight barely illuminating the horizon. After the doors open, you make your way inside and stow both zoids in servicing platforms.

You exit the Molga, and help Audrey down, who takes in her new surroundings with wide, eager eyes.

>Actions

>>18703259
Give her a hug, Audrey, welcome to your new home, no one here is going to force you to do anything, except maybe the dishes when it's your turn.

The kitchen is this way, I'm going to make a giant stack of pancakes, bacon and maybe some eggs and we're going to celebrate my win in the battle royale, and more importantly our new team mate, you. We're going to eat breakfast food at night and get drunk, sound like a plan?

>>18703326
She squeaks in surprise when you hug her, but lightly hugs you back after you reassure her she'll be safe here. You think she's holding herself back from crying, and quickly remind her of her promised pancakes. She lights up, eager to try these cake pans you speak of.

You lead her out of the hanger, and down the hall, searching for the kitchen from memory. You walk in, and find Eri is there, preparing some dinner. She notices you and starts to greet, only to do a double take when she notices Aubrey, still holding onto your hand.

You tell Eri that Aubrey is a guest, and possible new teammate. You explain to Audrey that she's the one you mentioned earlier.

"H-hello." the dark haired girl says nervously. "I'm Audrey."
Eri takes her hand and greets her.
"Hello Audrey, I'm Eri. You need anything, just come and ask me, ok?"
The younger girl smiles and thanks her. Eri eyes you, smiling a smile a sweet, sweet falsehood.
"Aren't you popular, Gerald~!" you swallow a bit.

After sorting through some ingredients, you get to work while Audrey sits at a table, waiting eagerly. Eri brings her some milk and jam. "We don't have any syrup, but you can put this on them if you like." Aubrey thanks her again. You finish up, only managing 5 cakes from the ingredients available. You'll need to do some shopping later, if you want anything better than field rations.

Aubrey takes her first bite, and a ear to ear smile washes over her face, and quickly finishes her plate. She seems really happy right now.

>Actions

>>18703501
Well, given that she's remarkably happy right now I'd hold off on asking about her history, sounds like a downer.

Finish eating, make light conversation. Afterwards suggest that she take a bath and if she needs any help to call Eri, oh and to watch out for the grumpy old man.

Once she's off talk to Eri and give her the rundown on Audrey situation, the enemy we just made and break out the alcohol.

>>18703562
You ask Eri if she could show her to the bath, and maybe get her a change of clothes. Eri thinks she might have some older ones that fit, and has Audrey fallow her.

You clean up the kitchen, and momentarily Vince comes in, holding a couple bottles of spirits. "Got some brandy and whiskey, hope you don't mind the low variety."
You thank him as he sets them down, and pours himself a drink. He sit down to join him, and do the same.

You about finish your first drink when he speaks up.
"Gerald." he states seriously. "Let me tell Eri about what happened today."
You cock you eye, asking why. He sighs.
"There's a few details, that will upset her."

You ask him if its anything to do with the Red Sand Audrey spoke of. His grip on his glass tightens.
"It's an old story. And a painful one." he rests his head on his hand. "It's not like I don't trust you. I'll tell you about it someday. " He takes one of the bottles. "But not right now. I'm just not ready to tell anyone about it." He eyes you sternly.
"And don't go asking Eri. That girls more delicate than you may realize."

>Actions

>>18703708
Gotcha, I'm not planning on pressing either of you on that, and I'll leave the explaining to you, though could you try to make me sound heroic in your retelling?

So what do you think of the new kid? Probably has more issues than the rest of us put together but seems like a nice girl, I've never seen someone quite that excited about about pancakes before.

Also damn good in a Zoid, if I wasn't a tricky bastard of the field she probably would've taken me out.

On a side note Vince, what sort of missions is our team going to be focusing on, or are we just going to take them as they come?

>>18703708
Well if it's that sore of a subject...

Maybe we ought to ask him when when that hound soldier will be fixed?

We should remember to go pick up those zoid parts we stashed sometime soon.

>>18703784
>>18703808
"Thanks." Vince says, relieved.
He thinks for a moments. "That girl's precision was uncanny. Maybe she's a natural at this, despite how timid she is. I can see why'd they use her for a face."

"Face for what?" you hear Eri say as she peeks through the doorway. Vince chokes on his drink a little. Eri gets a look at the table and pouts. "V! You know I hate that stuff!"

"Come on," he counters. "We're celebrating are teams first victory here."

"Technically," she corrects, sitting down, "we haven't even formed a team officialy. That win wont affect our ranking."
"Details." Vince dismisses. "We got a win, and a lot of funds coming in. We'll be able to hit the circuit with the ground running at this rate."
"Speaking of which, we still haven't decided on a name." Eri brings up a good point.

Vince rubs his head. "Damn, forgot about that. Without a name, we can't register properly."
"Any ideas?"
He thinks for a bit. "Sand Strikers?"
"I think that one's taken already." Eri informs him. Vince drops his head on the table.
"Damn it, that's the only good one I had."

>What do you suggest?

>>18703993
>>18702855
Sidewinders, like the snakes that shuffle sideways along the sand dunes.
At least I think they're called Sidewinders.

>>18703993
The Desert Runners

Wastelanders

Sand Hunters

Dune Walkers

>>18704026
That's the word for them.
They named an Air-to-Air missile after the bastards after all.

I'll leave you all to vote on it

If that doesn't turn up anything, we can have a roll off

Fedaykin.
What better name to strike fear in the hearts of our foes than that of the warrior-fanatics of the Kwisatz Haderach?

>>18704114
I'm gonna vote Dune Walkers as long as our motto is "Walk without rhythm" or some derivative of

Team Mo' Betta.

Also vaguely surprised and quite happy someone else is running a Giant Robot quest.

Be rooting for you bro.

>>18704026
I dig Sidewinders

2 for Dune Walker
2 for Sidewinder
next vote gets it

>>18704356
apreciate it. which one are you doing?

rolled 1 = 1

Sidewinders please

>>18704463
>AC-Guy
>AC
>Armored Core
Gee, I wonder.

>>18704478
Team Sidewinder it is.
From the look on their faces, they both seemed satisfied.
"Got a nice ring to it." Vince comments. "I'll take care of the official bits in the morning."
"Well, in that case, you don't need anymore of this." Eri states as she swipes the bottles from the table.
"Hey!"

You chuckle while you watch them play tug of war with the bottles. You polish off you second glass, feeling rather relaxed.

>What do?

>>18704549
Find where Audrey got settled. Check in on her.

>>18704488
Indeed, how foolish of me, for not realizing such an obvious thing.
Certainly it couldn't possibly refer to anything else

>>18704599
To his credit, Zeon Quest came and went a year or two ago.

>>18704549
Get an idea of the types of jobs the two of them prefer, we can't afford to be that picky but awareness of their preferences is a good idea.

Check the time, check on Audrey, make sure she's ok. Set up a room for her, if it's getting late tuck her into bed. If it's not late take her with you to the rest of the people and talk mechs.

>>18704614
>Mobile Armor quest
>>18704574
You ask Eri where the bath is, and she obliges to lead you, after wresting the bottle from Vince's grasp. You both go out into the hall, leaving him to despair.

You pass a few rooms, before Eri comes to a halt and knocks on a door.
"Audrey, are you all done?" Eri calls.
"Yes." You hear a muffled response from inside. After a moment the door swings open, and the dark skinned girl steps out, wearing a white sundress. She's still drying her hair.
"Would you like to go see your room now?"

Audrey beams and nods happily. Eri glances at you. "I'll get her situated, you can go ahead to something else around here."

It is roughly 4 hours till midnight.
>What do?

>>18704627

This, but awkwardly stumble into the bathroom while she's changing

>>18704726
Check the damage to our molga. The stealth was knocked out and the armor's banged up, we should be sure we know how it is before we think of taking any other side jobs or heading out to pick up those zoid parts we buried.

>>18704726
Take a bath, we've had a long day of Mecha Fightan in the desert, we smell like Satan's armpit.

After that check in with Eri about how banged up the Molga is, how long it'll take to fix the Molga and ETA of fixing on the Demantis and Hound. Base our job search in the near future off of that.

>>18704783
that'll do

>>18704737
Veto from me. Eri comes first, I'd imagine. If at all possible we should be supportive and friendly to Audrey, but it should stop there. Flirting or making any sort of move on some possibly psychologically damaged female is not something we should plan on doing. At least for a while.

(Also, OP, look forward to waifu arguments some point in the future)

>>18704887
This.
Plus she's like what, 14?

>>18704887
>>18704737
Then hell guys? Pretty sure Audry's a bit young for us.

>>18704887
I agree, she's far too young, we have acquired a little sister with a less than pleasant past. Which means we'll give her hugs, take care of her and tuck her into bed. And fight giant robots at her side.

>>18704934
Exactly.
We are not /a/, we are not a siscon.

>>18704910
Welcome to a /tg/ quest thread. We havent even gotten to people howling for a harem yet.

>>18704975
Soon.

>>18704764
>>18704783
You thank Eri and after seeing them off, head into the bath. You don't have a change of clothes handy, but that'll have to be. You relax in the warm water, and go over the past 2 days in your head.
You've made some friends, and a few enemies on top. You greatly increased your personal stock, and with some luck, that'll continue on for a while. You wander if you should call your dad sometime and let him know how you're doing. Although that'll have to wait, since there isn't any long distance communications in the base.
After you dry off and dust off you clothes as best you can, you head to the hanger. Eri isn't there yet, so you go over your Molga. Front armor is fairly heavily gouged , and you find some internal damage as well. One of the front 20mm;s took a hit, might have to be replaced.
The rear fared better, only suffering some minor gouges and scratches. You aren't sure about the Stealth shield, but you estimate that it just had some circuits come loose.
"How's it looks?" you hear Eri call from the back. You wave her over and discuss the damage. "Eh," she shrugs, "it's just a little worse than when you brought it back yesterday. I can probably fix it by myself by morning."
You ask about the Hound, which earns you a frown. "I've done about all I can for the time being, we'll have to order some replacement armor, and parts for a missile tube. I couldn't fix one internal component, so we'll have to get that replaced too. Honestly we'll be doing good if its up and running in another 3 days."
You then direct her to the Demantis. She cracks a smile. "This will be even easier to fix then the wormy, just got to patch up where it got shot. The internals aren't serious, its self repair should fix that over night."

>>18705095
You still have some time. You could help with repairs, strategize, or simply hit the sack.

>Have a meeting for jobs and team strategies.
>Focus on repairs
>Visit Audrey
>Hit the sack

>>18705131
Have a meeting for jobs and team strategies, we want a solid plan in place.

After that we can tuck Audrey in and hit the sack like a pile of bricks.

>>18705095
We are buzzed, yes? If so- "How's an attractive gal like you get so damn good at that? It doesn't seem fair."

Something of the sort. In a bit go check on Audrey.

>>18705169
This.
In Vino Veritas and all that.

>>18705169
Lets ask something less creepy and disgusting of the girl we've only known for like two days.

Why dont we ask her to give us some pointers about repair and modification, and offer her some Zoid piloting advice in exchange? I bet we can have her with a license by the time the next qualifier comes around.

>>18705169
>>18704887
I anticipated that from the beginning
(Audrey's 17 btw, she's just short. still 10 years younger than you are though.)

>>18705211
>>18705225
You jokingly slur some lame pickup lines. She slugs you in the shoulder. "I can, and will ban all alcohol from the base, if I choose." she threatens. You both get a good laugh.

You ask her if she'll show you some advance repair techniques in exchange for piloting lessons. Her mouth gapes for an instant, and she clears her throat.
"I guess...I guess we could do that..." she stammers. You start on the Molga's Stealth shield, her going over the finer points of its delicate circuitry.
"It doesn't take a lot of shock to knock the inner works out enough to shut it down. Don't take it for granted. How'd the Laser mg's do, btw?"
You tell her they worked like a charm, though the situation didn't allow for much trial fire.

"Do you still want that beam cannon mounted on the head?" she inquires as you hand her another tool. "Cause I got an idea for working it in."
>Do you?

>>18705342
What's your idea?

>>18705342
We're 27? Goddamn, there goes hitting on nubile young flesh. And not feeling bad.

>>18705355
Seconding.

>>18705342
I'm always on board for attaching beam cannons to various places. Tell me your plans.

>>18705342
I'm thinking that maybe instead we might want to put it on our back end for some decent cover. I've noticed that quite a few zoids have missiles on their tails, so I'm thinking that a beam cannon back there might not be a bad idea.

>>18705355
>>18705379
>>18705385
How many guns do we really want to pile on this little zoid? We can only use one at a time after all, not like we can alpha strike like Leena's Gun Sniper.

>>18705355
>>18705379
(blame the guy who made the original bio)

"Ok, so I set the cannon in a crevice on the front armor plate." she explains. "Then is set a shielding case on top of it, like a antenna crown. When you want to fire it, the casing while slide up on an autorail, and the barrel will extend out. I'd have to modify the beam cannon a lot, it will loose a lot of range, but I think I could actualy increase the power a bit. It'd be like a gut punch for when your up close."

You nod, and ask if it would interfere with burrowing.
"Nope!" she answers with a grin. "All completely streamlined, and you would loose out on any protection in the armor plate."

>Go ahead(will take 1 day to modify the gun)
>Maybe later

>>18705490
Go ahead.
What can I say, I'm a sucker for hidden weapons on my giant robots.

>>18705489
You CAN alpha strike. That's what your front guns are designed for.
You have 2 rear missiles, as well as a turret of laser mg's that can be point behind you. your back has plenty of coverage.

>>18705490
So long as it doesn't take away our maneuverability it couldn't hurt. More options to choose from while fighting. And I don't think we need to worry about being slowed down. Why not?

>>18705490
Go ahead, nobody expects SURPRISE beam cannon.

We are going to become a crawling pile of dirty tricks. Burrowing, shooting while burrowed, invisibility, surprise cannon, dropping walls on unsuspecting people.

>>18705490
>>18705516
Well, in that case
>[x] Go for it.

You give her the ok. She has a smug look of satisfaction.
"I'll work on modifying all the components before i go cutting into you wormy's head. You don't mind paying for the parts I'll need, do you?"
You shrug, you freeloaded enough as it is, so you can spare the dosh, especially now that you have a nice chunk coming your way.

"How was the Battle Royal, anyhow? I heard from Audrey she was in it, but how did it all go?"

You go over how the battle from the first conflict with Sarah's Viper, to toppling a building onto Cody's Godos.

"...Vlad has a niece?"

[-300 credits deducted from personal funds]

>What do?

>>18705529
Fund It

>>18705649
What did Eri pilot before relegating herself to mechanic?

>>18705649
Yeah, honestly he's nowhere near as much of an ass as he puts on, and he genuinely cares for her. He wanted me to teach her a lesson, he's worried that her rash hot-blooded self will get herself hurt. He asked me to teach her caution which I did, I also taught her that fighting by your preconceived notion of fairness just doesn't work.

We'll I'm going to bed Eri, see you in the morning, we'll check out jobs then.

Tuck Audrey in, hit the sack like a pile of bricks.

>>18705649
Compliment her on all the work she's done modding our Zoid.
"I cant see Why you wouldnt have more buisness here with work like that. Maybe we should start advertising more."

>>18705671
>>18705649
Already have, from the sound of it.

"Cute, angry little kid. Might have taunted her a bit too mercilessly. During the battle, I mean."

Not sure what else is on the agenda. Wish good lucks with the modifications and repairs. Maybe check if she could use an extra pair of hands, or if it shouldn't be a problem.

>>18705691
Cannon Tortoise
its listed in the team assets, and it can be equipped with a crane

>>18704737 here

I did not realize she was 14. Apologies.

>>18705739
Seventeen. Still bad.

>>18705752

I did not realize she was less than half of our age, plus seven.

>>18705696
>>18705697
>>18705699
She frowns a bit, at which part of your explanation your not certain.
"You're giving him a little too much credit." she scoffs. "That guy leads the Gaters team. They pick off new, low ranking teams for easy money. And rumor has it they purposely forfeit matches on occasion to lower their own rank. He's not much better than a common bandit."
The conversation's taken a bit of a sour turn. You suggest that taking rumors to heart isn't a good idea. She shrugs and continues working.
"If you say so, he just rubs me the wrong way. I don't like being around him, and Vince doesn't care much for him either."

You finish up the repairs, and both of you stretch out the built up stiffness.
"I think I'll call it a night for a change. I need a break from all this maintenance.

You're feeling a bit tired as well.
>What do?

>>18705706

Hey, I have a question. The one Zoids series with the judges (Never got into Zoids as much as a kid, more of a Gundam/Armored Core guy), there was that one kid working for the 'Not Mob'/Team Rocket of that series that had a velociraptor looking thing with the two cannons. What the hell was that thing called again?

Sorry if I'm being vague, but I literally haven't seen Zoids since that series was airing. And only a couple episodes.

>>18705785
I think this guy- >>18705696
had the right idea.

>>18705785

Are we artistic at all? If so, maybe sketch out a quick logo design for our new team name before going to sleep.

If zero arts have we, take a shower and then sleep for glorious shower sleep time.

>>18705817
Is it that hard to draw a snake?

>>18705796
that would be this:
http://zoids.wikia.com/wiki/Berserk_Fury
things pretty beast. Some Class-S shit, you thankfully dont have to worry about anything like it.

for now...

>>18705823

I cannot into arts. But, I was thinking more like, writing the team name in a desert/snake style font than just drawing a wiggly line.

Also: has Audrey not gone to bed/have we not checked up on her yet? She's 17, so I don't think we should be tucking her in, but we should definitely make sure she's comfy before we nod off.

>>18705838

>Zoids Wiki

You bastard, giant robot shows/games are like heroin to me.

I will now get nothing accomplished for the rest of the day.

>>18705843
A squiggly line has a certain charm to it you must admit.

The demantis is capable of low flight. Is there anyway to convert it into a better flyer? We are probably a big target for any fast fliers out there. Also in the show, couldnt the molga spray out silk attack?

>>18705843
I'm still having trouble believing it. Just going by how she acts and her how she was described makes her seem like a kid.

>>18705843
You wish Eri goodnight, and head out of the hangar. You check the rooms you remember being empty yesterday, until you knocking gets a response.
"Yes?" you hear Audrey's quiet voice. You ask if you can come in. The nob turns and she cracks the door open.

"Mr. Gerald? What is it?"
Asking her how she's feeling, and if she'll be able to sleep. "I'm fine," she says, "but..." her face reddens a bit.
""Would you....tuck me in?" she ask in embarrassment. You are a little confused, but she clarifies thing before you ask the reason.

"Kai would always tuck me in..." she says softly. You sigh mentally. However awkward their relationship had been, it seems the two had been close.
You go in, and after she gets in bed, you tuck her covers in.
"I-I won't need you to do this again," she tries to assure you, "just this once, so I can get used to this room."
You smile and brush her hair once, and wish her a good night.
"Good night." she smiles, as you turn off the light and leave the room.

Finding your way to your bed, you flop down and quickly doze off. You still have a lot to do, but it can all wait till morning.

(does everyone want to keep going? I can spare another 3 hours or so)

>>18705970
To be fair, most of the characters so far seem quite a bit younger then their listed ages. 'Cept Eri, since that's still an unknown.

>>18705997
Keep on going, I'm having fun with it.

>>18705970
Im guessing shes sheltered.

>>18705997
Forward!

>>18705997
This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. It's hard to believe this tiny innocent thing 17.

I guess we could keep going. When we are up and about I want to see if they have anything here that would make picking up those helcat parts easier. Free parts are always a bonus.

rolled 2 = 2

>>18705997


Rolling to see if we have terrible nightmares

>>18706029
Personally Im picturing her as Rapunzel from Tangeled. And what his as the passive aggressive abusing mother.

>>18705940
Those werent molga but human sized zoids. I believe the...bad team used them.

>>18705970
being smacked around by a crimeboss for years will do that
and speaking of,

>elsewhere
"YOU IMBECILE!" a man yells as he buried his fist into Kai's face, knocking him back a few feet. "What do you mean, you lost her!? I sent you there specifically to keep an eye on her."

Kai wiped his mouth. "There wasn't anything I could do sir, some other group took her away before I got there." He was lying to his bosses face. He knew well enough what would happen if the portly man in front of him found out.
"So find them." Kai's boss growled. "We spent to much money on that brat, if they figure out what she is, it'll be a disaster. Better to kill them all then-"
A blade found its way just milometers from the man's throat. Kai leaned his head down to the man's ear.

"No harm will come to that girl." he stated firmly. "I made a promise long ago that that would be the case, and I intend to uphold that."
The man looked up to him, sweat forming on his brow. "Kai...what do you think-"
Kai glared. "You're a devil, boss, but you still bleed. You'd do well to keep that in mind."

Kai released the man and started walking out the door.
"KAI!" his boss roared. "If you were anyone else!"
"Then it's a good thing I'm not anyone else." he shot back with smirk. As the door shut behind him, he grinned in amusement at the sound of the other man kicking over a table in frustration.

His smiled faded, and he kept walking. "Or is it?" he asked himself. He looked up to the ceiling. "What do you think, Dan?"

(will be right back after a brief word from our sponsors)

>>18706062
Looks like it.

>>18705853

>AC-Guy getting sucked into Zoids

Yeeeesssssss
Spinosapper beam chainsaws on ACs here we come.

Morning comes, the same way it always. Waking up at six o'clock sharp. However, feeling a touch fatigued, you remain lying in bed for another hour. After you do get up, you make your way to the bathroom, washing your face and brushing your teeth. You note you could stand to shave, though you don't have a razor handy. Have to fix that later.

You find Audrey in the kitchen, making something at the stove. You give her a good morning.
"Good morning!" she beams. The night rest must have done wonders for her. You ask her what she's making.
"Pancakes!" she says proudly, showing you a plateful. Your impressed she figured out how to make them so quickly. They're a touch small from lacking ingredients. Need to really do some shopping. She gladly shares some with you, and you quickly polish off what was on your plate. You make a piece of toast and start munching on it while you ponder your next course of action.

>What do?

>>18706322
I think we should see if they have anything here that would make picking up those helcat parts we buried easier. Kind of a waste to just leave them.

Once we picked up the parts there were a couple of jobs we were keeping in mind.

>>18706357
And let's not forget to do some shopping for the bare necessities while we're out.

>>18706322
Decide a shopping list.

Battle plans, since we go-

Oh wait. Does she even want to battle with us? We should confirm this. Yknow when you assume...

Also,.I say we convert the Demantis from low altitude flight to high altitude flight.. but we should go over it with her.

>>18706322
Pancakes indeed.

Talk to Audrey a bit, see what her opinions are on fighting with us.

Check in on the Molga, see the state of repairs.


After that go out with Eri and the Tortoise with crane attached and retrieve the parts we buried, we might need the Molga to help dig it out. After that head to town, pick up our winnings, get groceries and check the job listings.

Give Audrey her space and don't press her on her past, give her a chance to acclimate and if she wants to talk she will, though we will want info on it sometime soon given that Kai and co are going to be gunning after us and they want our head.

>>18706357
>>18706384
You say good bye to Audrey and make your way to the hanger. Now where was it? You remember seeing it earlyer when you first- ah, there it is. The Cannon Tortoise looks like it could do for a spit shine, but it seems functional. You open the cockpit and hop inside, seeing if it will come on. The zoid squeals to life, and you lead it out into the middle of the hanger. It has a large scale crane instead of the heavy particle cannon mounted on its backside

You suppose it belongs to Eri, since no one else was around, save her father, but you doubt he was the pilot. You hop out and look it over. Collecting that salvage you left in the desert would be fairly easy with this, especially if you got some tow barges. You don't feel comfortable having just this go out there on its own though. Best if you went along with your Molga as an escort.

>What do?

>>18706464
Molga escort, take no chances, when grabbing the zoids and bringing them back it'll be pretty much a sitting duck, and given that we just pissed a good number of people off and we'll be transporting reasonably valuable cargo an escort is a really good idea to protect against enemies and enterprising bandits who notice us.

>>18706464
See if Eri can help us. We can also pick up food.

I say we go to McLiger Zeroes and pick up some panzer burgers.

(learn2refresh,me)

You call for Eri, who's just finished her own morning routine. You tell her about the salvage from the bandits that's buried about 50 miles westward.
"Sure, I can give you a hand. And I could do for some shopping myself. Want to see if Aubry wants to come along? I just need a little bit to finish patching her zoid up."
You nod and go ask her. She agrees, wanting to help in whatever way she can.

You all leave an hour later, all of you keeping pace with each other. The Tortoise lives to its name, and is a bit slow, but you're not in a hurry today.
(cont)

So who else is expecting a fight?

>>18706526
While you are making your way to the sight, you ask Audrey how she feels about battling.
"I don't mind it if its a competition. I don't like fighting for real though." she says over the com. You don't have a problem with that, honestly you'd rather she didn't, either.

A few hours pass, and the sun is now high. Its hot, but you luckily have ac in the cockpits. Coming up to the area you fought the bandits, you start to pull ahead. You engage your stealth shield as you round a major plateau just to be sure. You make your way around and spot...nothing. Huh.

Eri moves the Tortoise over to where you buried the parts. The Demantis clears the dirt covering up the Helcat remains, and you and Eri pull them up. Loading them on the wheeled tray attached behind her, you all make you way back towards the base. Halfway there, you reach the spot on the map that's between the base and the ZBF Terminal. There are shops there that you could sell the salvage at. Or you could simply take it back to the base for now.

>to the base
>to town

>>18706599
The question is, how useful would the salvage be when it comes to repairing our own zoids?

>>18706599
I say we divide up what we can use and stuff that is uselesd to us to sell. Check with the others if anything catches their eye.

>>18706617
Only slightly. The frame itself doesn't really match any of the zoids you currently have. On the other hand, will a little funding and elbow grease, you could restore whole Helcat from what you have.

>>18706635
Hmm, we don't have any particular plans to use one, Molga is Molga Strong after all and the Hound Soldier and Demantis are nicer and the pilots are used to them.

However if say one of our Zoids is in the shop for a while and we need a replacement for just a bit that could be useful, also with it's speed and maneuverability it could be useful for recon.

Given that we'll probably make more out of a full Helcat than just its parts I'd advocate to keep it for now.

>>18706635
>>18706651

If we fix it up, it would also make for an amazing alternative to our Molga if we end up somewhere where we can't burrow. I'd rather have something like this in a fight in an urban area.

High speed, decent enough weapons, and a stealth system to play shadow-games? Yes please.

Also, oh god I've already absorbed enough Zoids that I have a vague if practical working knowledge of the universe now. Not sure how much I like about it on the whole, but some part of me loves the idea of finding a giant robot in the wild, beating it town and fucking taming it like a 30' tall android Pokemon.

I say we use it to modify our other zoids. I know we took that stealth mode, but can we give the demantis the noise myffler and the weapons to the hound soldier?

>>18706632
>>18706651
You suggest to Eri that you go on into town and sell off the scraps you don't need, and keep the parts that can be made into one whole zoid.
"Ok, I'll bring it around the merchant entrance. You two can go shopping while I'm taking care of that."

When you get within sight of the Terminal's outer wall's, you end Audrey start pulling away from the Tortoise. You keep an eye out for trouble in your rear monitor the whole way, just in case. It's not really necessary, since you'd be in range of the Garrison's assistance, but caution never hurt.

You both park your zoids and make your way into the shopping district. "Where should we go first?" asks your companion.
>Groceries
>Components
>Zoids, totaly just gonna look, really

>>18706677
Well, it's a toss up. You see we actually upgraded our Molga with a helcat stealth system and beam cannon and beam machine gun. And the beam cannon is hidden. Seriously, if we actually get the chance to alpha strike someone with our Molga they are in for one hell of a shock.

>>18706677
the assimilation is complete...yes.

>>18706677
Are you implying that there is ever a reason not to go MOLGA STRONG! Because you do have a point that there are certain situations where it isn't optimal, but I'm still insulted that you don't trust Molga. All Molga needs is a bigger laser so he can make subway tunnels on the fly.

>>18706698
Groceries, before we forget.

By the by, what is the approximate cost of a Zoid, please give a few examples for this to get a range from the cheapo stuff, to the stuff we'll want to upgrade too and the Holy God it's a T-Rex covered in Dakka that Gerald has wet dreams over.

>>18706698

Groceries. We got priorities at the moment.

>>18706709

I currently hold the record for longest concurrent steak for a quest involving Giant Robots.

Zoids is a nice way to kill time while my players decide what to do next and bicker about parts.

>>18706698
Groceries!

Reminds me I need to go shopping tommorow..

Then componants maybe upgrade parts for the demantis.. jerkface probably knows the demantis, inside and out. Best to trick him out...and then zoid window shopping.

>>18706723

Note: After groceries, we should go look at Zoids.

Not saying that Molga ain't fine, but we need to do something and Eri has components covered.

Besides, you never know when you can get a good deal on a Shield Liger.

>>18706716
afraid that the remaining weapons were destroyed when you beat the bandits at their own game, before you could turn invisible. You already piladged the surviving one for the Molga, though the other stealth system may be functioning still.

>>18706694
Glad someone asked. A brand spankin new zoid off the factory is STEEEEP. Even less valuable ones. Your Molga was essentialy military surplus, so it was dirt cheap, but it still cost a wopping 25,000 credits.

For reference, one shot of your 35mm cost 50 creds. A missile for your tail launcher costs around 200 creds. The missiles Sarah had on her Viper, wich you blew up for her, cost 800 creds. A. Piece.

Your winnings in the battle Royal was 9,000 creds, triple the usual D-class prize money. It's no suprise D-class warriors have to take side jobs to get by, this is an expensive battle sport.
(will brb with actual post)

>>18706770
>The missiles Sarah had on her Viper, wich you blew up for her, cost 800 creds. A. Piece.

She seemed to be feeling a little better when we left her, but now I'm thinking the next time we see her she'll be royally pissed at us.

>>18706770
Wow, expensive, yeah I can see upkeep for these guys being prohibitive as hell. About how much is a credit actually worth give or take?

>>18706770
'An army marches on its stomach, so eat your damned vegetable!' Recalling your father's wise(?) words, you both head over to the market. There are a number of stores, outdoors and in buildings, and you both quickly have your arms loaded. You ask Audrey if there's anything in particular she'd like to have.
"Pork chops." she says enthusiastically. "I had some last year, they were really good." You look around the in a butchers and eye one last pork loin, and grab it. As you pull on it, you find it being tugged in the opposite direction. You look to see another hand on it. Tracing it back to its owner, your faced with a familiar shock of red hair.

"Hands off." Sarah demands.

>What do?

>>18706871
>[x] Put it in.

>>18706821
About a dollar, around 1970's
>>18706875
stop that

>>18706871
Commence pork chop tug of war!

>>18706871
I will beat you like the red headed step-child that you are if you do not relinquish my pig meat. I am a happy go lucky guy but do not mess with my dinner. Do not make me demonstrate MOLGA STRONG once more.

Say this somewhat jokingly. But do not let go of the pork.

>>18706871
lick it

>>18706888
>>18706887
"Not a chance, caterpillar dick!"
You both tug on it stubbornly, neither, backing down.
"Um," Audrey tries to interject, but neither of you pay heed. This is a gauntlet, once thrown, cannot be retrieved. This will be a battle for the ages, legends will be born from this day.

Except the butcher pushes past you both and lays an armful more down onto the shelf before going back behind the counter.
"..." Sarah slowly lets go, face reddening as she picks up another slab of meat and hurries to the counter.
Well, now you feel silly.

>What do?

>>18706871
"Sorry, but no." Politely, but firmly, do not relinquish the last porkchop.

>>18706935
>>18706945
>slowpoke.png

Pay for our pork, give a friendly nod/shrug to Sarah, continue shopping?

>>18706935

Relish the awkward victory.

Then continue shopping.

>>18706935
Raise the pork chop to the heavens so the bards may sing our praises and the story of this battle is never forgotten.

Pay for our pork, grin widely at Sarah as if we have something to be proud of.

Continue shopping.

>>18706935
'There is a lesson here Audrey. No matter the field, enemy or stakes its important to stand your ground and be like an umoving stubborn old jackass like me.' We say slightly serious, slightly self parodying. Get our food and take a look at the zoid componants.

'So what do you think will improve your Demantis? You have low flight capability but your armor isnt the greatest. Think theres a way to increase your armor without sacrificing the speed?'

>>18706963
>>18706956
You line up behind her(shut up) as you wait to pay for the pork. You ask how she's been.
"I was fine till I ran into your ass." she sneers. "Who's the tag along?"
"Hello." Audrey smiles awkwardly. "I just joined his team, my name is Audrey."
"Sarah." the other girl says, leering at her. "So he's into that type, huh?"
"I'm sorry?"
You choke a bit, which goes unnoticed. Sarah pays the owner for her meat(shut up). "So what are you doing in town. Aside from the obvious."

>What say?

>>18707006

"Thinking about spending the money I won in the battle Royale."

Not like we're bragging. Like we're talking about the weather.

Like it means little to us.

That'll get her HOPPING mad.

>>18707006
"Oh you know, gonna grab some hookers and blow, torture 'em, kill 'em, maybe skullfuck their corpses a couple of times, burn your whole fuckin' town to the ground, go home and masturbate, OK?"
With full bore sarcasm.

>>18707006
"Selling some scrap from a couple of bandit helcats I busted up. I'll probably check the job board while I'm here."

>>18707006
'Browsing really. Want to come along? We're going to check out zoid parts and then stare at zoids beyond our price range.'

>>18707020

That's... that's a bit much there buddy.

>>18707006
Grocery shopping, checking the job listings, picking up the spare change I earned in the battle royale. Also getting into an argument with a 13 year old girl, one that started over pork loin, this is a bit of a low point in my life.

After this want to look at expensive Zoids and drool at them.

>>18707041
Jan.
Valentine.

>>18707016
You think you see her eyebrow twitch, but she keeps a steady expression.
"Is that so, well good for you." she says in a rather light tone. "I was going to check some used zoids myself. You know, in case some bastard decides to trash my Viper, would hate for that to ever happen."

She leaves, and you move to pay at the counter.
"Your friend is a bit grouchy." Audrey comments. You inform her freind isn't the right word.

Your shopping finished, you both return to the hanger you parked the zoids at to drop the groceries off. No sign of Eri yet.

>What do?

>>18707096
Window shop.

>>18707096

Go look at shinnies.

>>18707106
I can get behind this.

Also, question mostly for others participating: If we DID get to choose a new zoid to upgrade to, what do you think we'd prioritize? firepower? agility? armor, etc?

>>18707144
I'd say firepower.
We're pure glass cannon.
And bitches love cannons.

>>18707144
I'd prioritize being a conniving asshole in combat, something that works well for unconventional tactics, "cheating" and mindfuckery.

That or shooting and shelling them as our shooting score is pretty damn good.

>>18707106
(She's 19, and the same height as you)
>>18707042

You both head over to the opposite side of the hangar and look at all the zoids being peddle by the merchants. Your in an Imperial region, so you mostly see Imperial made zoids, but you get a glympse at some Helic zoids as well.

You see a Redhorn, Zaberfang, some Guysacks and Molgas, even an Iron Kong, although its missing any weapons.

>What do?

>>18707159
Plenty that do both.

>>18707174
Check out the Red Horn

>>18707174
Well, we can't afford any of them so get giddy at seeing an Iron Kong, get a closer look at the Redhorn and Zaber Fang. Try not to drool too much on them and consider the options of getting them in the future.

>>18707211
Going for a close look, you check out the Red Horn. It appears to have the standard armaments, and looks in pretty good shape. The seller see's you and calls out to you.
"How about, son, is it to your liking? Top quality, I guaranty." You grin and look at the zoid a little more. It'd suit your current battle style, though you'd give up some speed, and the ability to burrow. Plenty of armor and firepower to spare, though. You ask him what he wants for it.
"90,000." he says with the atypical forced smile a salesman always has. "I'll even thrown in enough ammo to fully load the weapons."
You regrettably inform him that its out of your price range. "Ah, that's a shame. Well, do come back if your interested."
You bid him farewell.
>Look for something specific
>Go back and wait for Eri

>>18707263
Is there anything more suited towards mind games and dirty tricks than the Molga? Check for any sniper zoids, they'd be good to keep an eye on.

>>18707263

That red sniper zoid the chick used.. I think her name was Naomi? Or a Liger. Want that Liger.

>>18707298

On second thought, you know what would really suit us as an end-game Zoid? The Shadow Fox. Stealthy, has good fire power, cloaking, I think it's something to consider for a goal zoid.

>>18707298
And if our molga gets trashed, we will combine it with our Liger to have the first invisible, digging Liger.

>>18707326
We shall make a Badger Liger, or a Wombat Liger, both work.

>>18707298
Gunsipers are a Republican design, and a fairly modern one. You wont see any used ones for sale. No ligers to be found either.

You make you way back up and find that Eri is waiting for you.
"See anything you like?" she asks. You shake your head. "Once we start getting some money in, our options will increase." she assures.

She urges you to follow her. "Come on, we can check for any open challenges in the ZBF office."

You reach the lobby of the Terminal's main building. You all check the large bulletin board, and find a few teams that have issued open challenges. All are for Battle mode 0982.

Team Stone Age
Team Sand Striker(Hey, it really was there)
Team Rapter

Eri looks them over thoughtfully. "I don't really know anything about these teams." she bemuses. She looks over to you. "Which one do you think we should challenge? There's up to a 5 day grace period, so we could have the hound up before then."

>Pick a team
>Look at jobs for now

>>18707408
Look at the jobs.

>>18707408
Jobs for now, pick up some spare cash, then research the teams, maybe? Take on any possible challenges well informed and all.

>>18707408
Unless we know their capabilities and where we're going to have to fight I'd rather not recklessly challenge them. Sure the Hound can probably just eat them alive but I'm a cautious git, blame the former mercenary in me. As my father used to say, Preparation prevents the enemy surprising you and driving an iron spike through your ass, he was very eloquent.

Take note of the names, put researching them on our to do list.

Check out the jobs and pick up our prize for kicking ass at the battle royale.

>>18707408

Jobs. Maybe that construction one?

Meanwhile, have somebody look into the teams, see what they look like.

>>18707315
Dude, we should get a Ice Blazer. All that, plus Laser reflection.

You tell Eri you're not comfortable picking an oponent blind.
"Yeah, we should probably bring Vince in on it before we decide."

You look over the jobs available. Seems the construction work has been removed. You see that the jobs you picked out are all still up from yesterday though.

[Sleeper Clearing: Sleeper Zoids are harassing travelers, 500 Credits to clear the area plus rights to all salvage.]

[Bounty for Bandits hiding in an old military mine. 1000 Credits plus first salvage rights, must return stolen property. Culprits have some Heavy zoids, though reports say they are in poor condition.]

[Underwater Salvage: Recover lost cargo and components in the bay. Pays 500 credits, 750 if you bring your own zoid.]

>Assault the bandits.
>Clear out the Sleepers, train Eri in the process.
>Underwater Salvage. Spend some time bonding with Audrey

Assault the bandits.
They're in an old mine.
We are Molga Strong.
Time to go Alien on their asses.

>>18707465
What exactly does first salvage rights mean?

I however like the Bandits in the mine, we're Molga Strong, and they're surrounded by dirt, we can burrow like a mad man and be an underground version of the Predator.

Though the Sleeper Clearing might be nice depending on how much the salvage would be worth. What exactly is a sleeper Zoid and how much is the salvage worth?

>>18707465

Well, beating up on bandits paid off last time. Are the zords in condition to fight?

>>18707465

Are we allowed to take two jobs? Because bandits have priority because best loot and we can Alien them as my dear good anon mentioned in >>18707479, but I'd like some Eri bonding time as well. See if we can't pick up the Sleepers as well while Vince does recon on the teams we might face.

Also, what would the odds be on eventually acquiring a Shadow Fox?

>>18707489
Zoids, zords.

Sheesh. Im going to bed.

>>18707488
First salvage means we get first knock at collecting the knocked out zoids, scrap, that kind of deal.

Doesn't always stop scavengers, but it does mean that through official channels we're first in line.

>>18707465

Bandits won't take long, plus we will be HILARIOUSLY overpowered in that scenario.

See if we can do it fast enough to snag one of the other jobs.

>>18707315
Wasn't that a high-grade prototype zoid of which there was only one in existence? Seriously doubt that there'd be any chance of getting our hands on one of them.

We'd be better off aiming for a Shield/Blade Liger (mostly because I like shields) or something along those lines as an endgame zoid. Not as good with cloaking and burrowing, but equip either with some good long-range weapons and a Helcat cloak and we've got an invisible ninja zoid.

>>18707492
considering it was a prototype, at the end of new century zero, slim to none unless we think we can take a former adventurer. Better chance for a geno saurer or a blade liger

>>18707522

Ah, looking at the Zoids wiki you are indeed correct. Been a long time since i've seen New Century. Okay, Blade Liger seems like a good idea if we can install the cloak and some guns. Tail mounted maybe. But as long as we paint it red, because Red goes Faster.

[Sleeper Clearing: Sleeper Zoids are harassing travelers, 500 Credits to clear the area plus rights to all salvage.]

You know, if Eri is okay heading home on her own couldn't we take Audrey and do this right now? She won't want to do the bandit one, but un-piloted zoids should be fine right?

>>18707492
You can, its just determining what you'll do first.
First salvage rights means you can take what you can cary when you first go in. This is an open job for anyone willing to take it, so if more than one takes it, they get rights to whatever you bring down.
However once you leave, you forfeit any rights to whatever you left behind. Although theres nothing stopping you from coming back for it if no one else takes it.

Looks like bandit busting takes it.

I'm gonna take 5. hours. i need sleep.
If the threads still here when I'm back, we can continue, if not, I'll start a new thread on monday

>>18707532
>implying that we weren't going to paint every zoid we have red with racing stripes for extra speed

>>18707533
Wait, I'm dumb, we should have Eri with us to haul salvage.

>>18707520
The Molga can't burrow through rock. Unless the mine is sandstone or something our advantage won't be that good.

>>18707537

We must keep the thread alive! Also - We should take Sleeper jobs more. Didn't Van find the Shield Liger as a sleeper zoid? Or stuck in sand dunes or something? Should keep an eye on that. Also, any chance to keep up our relations with Eri is always good anon. For Justice.

>>18707540
Fair enough my good anon. I was foolish for thinking otherwise.

>>18707559
The Shield Liger he found was old and busted up. It took that organoid of his (Zeke) to magically repair it by joining with it before he could actually use it in combat.

>>18707532
Add on a booster pack. Gives you more speed.

>>18707537
Damn it, I was too late.

Bandit was a bad idea guys. The flight capabilities and maneuverability of the Demantis won't be as useful in an enclosed space like a mine and Audrey already told us she doesn't like real battles. Also in a military mine I doubt the ground will be soft enough for us to dig through.

>>18707580

It really depends on what materials they were mining for but on the whole, we should be fine in bedrock, we really should only have issues in places with heavy metal deposits and this mine seems to be played out, otherwise the military would be dealing with it. We should be fine if we're careful. At the very least we can lure them out into the path of say, Eri's turtle and nail them there. There's only one way out of a mine.

>>18707593
>>18707479
>>18707488

Arrrg!

You guys need to read the battle royal thread again and take note of the fact that our zoid can't dig through bedrock.

>>18707520
I'd like to point out that Eri failed the ZBF registration test. She's not that great in a zoid.

>>18707603
How much money do we have available, again? Perhaps we could purchase something that would let us dig through bedrock.

>>18707743
I think 9000+ not sure though.

Well how about that, the threads still up.

You decide on the Bandit clearing job, and tell Eri such.
"You sure?" she says, sounding concerned. "It sounds kinda dangerous, and neither of us could really be much help."
You assure her if things look like they're too much, you'll head back. "Ok, just be careful."

You pull a the details. The mine in question was an old coal mine, no military installations. You could probably dig through the ground, but you'd have to make sure you didn't accidentally collapse the whole thing on top of you.

You place an order for some components that you'll be need, and Eri goes ahead and orders some spare parts on top of it.
"Oh yeah, here's most of the money your scraps brought in." She hands you a credit disk.
[Gain 1,000 credits.]
"It was yours to begin with, so its all yours. I used a little bit to cover fee for shipping them out."

You thank her, and look around a bit more. Eri jumps at the chance to buy a satellite phone. This will let you check on jobs from the base, as well as finally enable long distance communications. "Finaly out of the dark ages." she jokes, a huge grin on her face.

>Do something else
>Head for home

Head home

Deciding its time to head home, you all head back to your zoids and begin the ride back. About 20 miles away, you break away, heading North East.
"Please be careful." Audrey says as you part from the group.
"Remember, head back if it gets too hot." Eri reminds you. "And good luck."
You say your goodbyes and make for the job sight. Its a good 200 miles away, quite a trip. By the time you arrive the sun has almost set. You hang back a few miles, observing the mine entrance. It's built into the side of a canyon wall, and wide enough for large scale zoids to walk through. Your schematics tell you there are a few side passages inside, though you don't know what the current state of them is.

Circling around, something catches your eye. Zooming in, you see A Stealth Viper propped behind a slope. The canopy is open, and you don't see any sign of the pilot.

>What do?

>>18710138
We picked up our winnings right? Head home I guess.

>>18710475
Stealth and move closer. Stealth viper is hardly a heavy zoid, I wonder if Sarah is trying to recoup the losses we inflicted on her in the BR. Eh, even if it's not her maybe we can quietly take out an enemy zoid while the pilot's not paying attention.

>>18710475
What's the ground like? Will we be able to dig?

>>18710546
Engaging the Stealth Shield, you bring the Molga around the slope. Further away, behind a small rock, you make out someone lying on the ground, peering over the cover with some optic scopes. You open your speakers up and say hello.
Sarah jumps up, swinging around an AZ Rifle. She looks around and sighs when she can't see anything.
"You again, what are you, following me?"

>What do?

rolled 9 = 9

nope, work point towards the mine

>>18710614
Probably should get out of the zoid keep things quiet. Tell her we're not following her, we just took the job to get some spare cash and perhaps a heavy zoid to fix up for future battles. Things are bloody expensive to buy.

>>18710702
>>18710726
You open the cockpit, a bit distorted by the lack of visible footholds beyond the canopy. You tell her you've taken on the job.
"Figures." she says in irritation. "Whatever, I get paid the same regardless." She rubs her head. "Rules say I gotta help anyone else who takes on the job. So if you got any bright idea's, wiseguy, let's hear it."

>What is you strategy?

>>18710832
Ask her if she's seen anything, seeing as she's been her longer

>>18710864
She informs you that she's seen a beat up looking Red Horn go into the mines, as well as a couple of Gordoses.
"I saw some old Malders, too. I think theyr're using em as sentries near the entrance."

>>18710972
Maybe we could use our stealth sneak into the mine and draw the Red Horn out, maybe cripple the Gordoses. We take some shots at the Malders on our way out, and once theyre all in the open , we could try to partially seal the entrance to the mine, and Sarah can start pummeling them with Missiles and such. They have a lot of armor and firepower, even if theyre beat up, so I dont think taking them on head to head in an enclosed space like the mine would be the best idea. out in the open though, we can use the terrain and our greater maneuverability to our advantage.

>>18710972
(not detailed enough?)

>>18710972
>>18711173
I had to look up those zoids.

Well, might be easy to slip inside with the cloak depending on how those malder's are positioned. It's difficult to formulate a plan without exact numbers. Possibly we could go into the mine under stealth and hide in a side passage. Sarah could cause a diversion outside and when the bandits move to deal with her we could hit them from behind. Alternatively we could take her with us in the stealth molga and hope that she could steal one of the bandit zoids while they are in for maintenance or whatever then we blow the other bandit zoids and fight our way out?

Tough call, if there are more bandit zoids than we know of either inside or out raiding this could go badly.

Is the ground around the mine all bedrock?

>>18711230
The ground in the mine can be burrowed, but you'd need to be careful not to cause a cave in.

>>18711252
Or be careful to cause a cave in at EXACTLY the right moment you mean.
It seems we pretty much agree that Sarah should stay outside, and that we should try to get the rest of them OUT thought.

>>18711252
>>18711252
That opens another plan then, we could borrow out here and try and tunnel to one of the side passages in the mine, thus completely bypassing the guard Malders. We surprise attack and disable the unmanned bandit zoids, then tunnel out again and take on the remaining ones in the open with Sarah.

>>18711252
>>18711310
>>18711325
Wait, what's stopping us from getting in either via stealth or tunnel and then threatening to bring the entire mine down on the heads of the bandits if they don't exit their zoids and surrender?

>>18711310
>>18711325
Sarah grins when you bring up cave ins. "I like the way you think. If you can separate their forces, all the better."
She's less enthusiastic about staying outside, but agrees to do so.

"I can start attacking from outside to draw them out, you just need to signal me."

>Proceed with the plan?

>>18711391
>>18711391
So, tunnel in and bypass the Malders? Sure, why not.

I hope the radar array on those Gordos is either non functional or not being watched or this won't be much of an ambush. Or it'll be a really effective ambush, just not ours.

>>18711454
No worries. There radar is for range finding, not ground sensing. They'll loose a lot of effectiveness inside the mines.

And you hopefully will be able to cut them off from even getting in them

>>18711391
Proceed

You both get ready, and you bring your Molga away from the mine entrance and submerge into the ground. You tunnel at a careful pace, as to avoid detection. Your sensors indicate you have gone under the outer wall, and you engage your periscope to push through the ground above and give you a look around.
You're in a corridor, devoid of activity. You detect no seismic activity that a large scale zoid's footsteps would produce. You cloak and emerge, continuing to scan for look outs and cameras. Security seems rather lax, they probably don't realize their hideout was already discovered.

You proceed down the passage, until you come to a fork. Your records show that one passage lead to an aqueduct for removing debris. The other takes you further into the main mining vein.

>Aqueduct
>Vein

>>18711689
Aqueduct

>>18711689
>>18711704
Wouldn't the central mine have more space for parking zoids though? Well, might as well check the aquaduct anyway.

>>18711820
I was thinking aqueduct to see if theres any loot beng stashed there

>>18711842
Have to be careful not to trip an alarm or booby-trap. A doubt bandits trust each other that much.

You carefully head towards the aqueduct, or where it formerly was, at least.

You find the equipment has been converted to store and clean water. You make out some food stores and see several crates stacked on top of one another.

You see a lone sentry, idly lighting a cigarette. Perhaps on intuition, he looks up in your direction, though your still very much invisible. He shrugs and continues about his business.
You don't see any trace of zoids, save some odd components lying about.

>What do

>>18711944
dropped my drip.

>>18711944
?

Is there more to this area we can't see? I'd kinda like to take out that sentry just to be sure he can't escape in the confusion that is sure to reign later.

>>18711944
Unless we want to splatter the man with our Zoid-class weaponry, let's pull back and go the other way,

>>18712042
Well, we could always get out and blackjack the guy.

>>18712042
>>18712014
While you entertain the thought of seeing what sort of affect your weapons would have on the man, you abstain, as it would give away your position. Marking down the coordinate, you head back the way you came.

Your sensor indicates seismic activity. It's coming ahead from the other fork.

>What do?

>>18712133
FLOOD THE BALLAST TANKS! DIVE, DIVE, DIVE!

>>18712133
keep low and quiet

>>18712162
You dive into the ground, attempting to leave as inconspicuous a hole as possible. Once buried, you detect even further siesmic activity down the passage. One zoid nears your location, turning away and heading down the passage to the entrance.
Your com crackles to life. ["Shit!"] he hear Sarah's voice through the static. ["DeFlynn, they spotted me! Some guys came by on a jeep, I didn't see them in time to hide. They know I'm out here."]

Uh oh. It's likely they're sending out their heavies to deal with her.

>What do?

>>18712133
Are these tunnels wide enough for more than one zoid? We could pull over to the side and let whatever's coming pass. Digging will leave a hole. Though if we go into the wall maybe a person in a zoid won't notice?

>>18712248
I stay underground to observe whos leaving the cave. I also tell Sarah to burrow ASAP

>>18712248
How many heavies do they have? How many heavies do we think we can deal with together with Sarah?

My plan is to let out couple of them outside and then facilitate a cave-in which will block the exit making it impossible for more to get out. After that, we will deal with the few stragglers that came outside.

>>18712248
Lead them on a wild goose chase. She has 50km more speed than their fastest zoid (unless they have something faster than a Redhorn). And she may be able to burrow if there's sand around. If she can delay them we can hit whatever's left in here

>>18712299
>>18712295
They have at least 3, however you only detect 2 moving. They're keeping one in reserve.

You instruct Sarah to hide underground for the time being.
["Damnit, I should have done that to start with."] she berates herself. ["I'm such an idiot."]

You prepare yourself for combat.

>To be continued

>>18712299
They have 5 zoids we know of. 1 Redhorn, more than 2 Malders and 2 Gordos. All those are fairly well armed and there may be more we don't know of.

that's it for today, gtg to work

see you guys monday

>>18712248
Have her lead them along on a merry chase. She's faster than the Redhorn by about 50 kph, and it's the fastest they've got that we know of. We'll see about collapsing the entrance to trap as many of them as we can and then we'll have her loop them back around so we can snipe them.
Hopefully we can take the Redhorn intact for our personal use.

Fuck, missed this last night. I just want to say: Fuck yes, Cannon Tortoise.