>>30939875
>"... we're taking those Rafales out before they become a problem."

Nice, Alternative V. Also,
>Hunter
Wasn't that Walken's battalion?

Rolled 9, 10 = 19

>>30939875
"... we're taking those Rafales out before they become a problem. Formation Wedge 1."

There's not much formation between a Wedge and an Arrowhead formation when you've only got four TSFs, but it's the principle that counts.

"Yes, sir!"

You take point and lead your subordinates on an intercept course towards the Rafales. They're at quite a distance, but you're in a Raptor. Catching up isn't going to be a problem and they won't spot you until you're in visual range. Unfortunately, there isn't any cover, so they will spot you eventually if they're paying the slightest attention.

However, it'll be too late by then.

You're in a hurry, so you could just keep charging and crush them. On the other hand, you're a commanding officer, so you could put some effort into your tactics and attack them from above or send an element to circle around the Rafales and flank them.

>Keep charging. No need to get fancy.
>Attack from above. High ground is your best advantage.
>Flank them. You'll distract them and create an opening for the rest of your flight.

>(roll 4d20)

Rolled 1, 4, 14, 10 = 29

>>30940530
>>Flank them. You'll distract them and create an opening for the rest of your flight.

Rolled 7, 1, 8, 3 = 19

>>30940530
>Flank them. You'll distract them and create an opening for the rest of your flight.

Where's the rest of the guys? I'll start dumping some Meiya or posting Alternative OST if they don't come.

Rolled 16, 12, 19, 7 = 54

>>30940530
>>Attack from above. High ground is your best advantage.

>>30940530
"Hunter 7 and 8, take a detour and flank them. Hunter 6, follow me. We're going in."

Your flight splits. Half the Raptors take a go off in a wide circular course so they can stay hidden from the Rafales until it's too late. Meanwhile, you maintain your intercept course along with your wingman.

There are no new contacts on your radar. It looks like the Rafales are, like you, scouting the area as a flight. You increase your speed to close in on them faster and hopefully startle them, but they keep going until they're right outside the range of your assault cannons. Close enough for them to get a visual on you.

You'd hoped they would lose their nerves and fall apart the moment they spotted you, but the pilots must be good. They bunker down and cover their blind spots, a good counter for your flanking manoeuvre. You and your wingman both open fire, circling around the Rafale formation to dodge their return fire.

Thirty seconds after you open fire, the rest of your flight charges in at the Rafales. The French TSFs take some significant damage, but they hold together. This fight doesn't look like it's going to end soon.

>You've made your point. Disengage.
>You started this fight. You need to finish it.

>>30941192
>>You started this fight. You need to finish it.
LET'S DO THIS

>>30941192
>You started this fight. You need to finish it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3VBpIddtHQ

>>30941192
>>You started this fight. You need to finish it.

Rolled 8, 2, 15, 18 = 43

>>30941192
>>You started this fight. You need to finish it.

Rolled 2, 4 = 6

>>30941192
You started this fight, you might as well end it. The Major's going to be pissed if you're late to the meeting, so you should at least make sure you've got something to show on your flight recorder.

As things are, the fight is a stalemate. The Rafales can't hit your Raptors as long as you keep moving, but you can't line up a good shot while you're circling at full speed. However, there will be at least one opening. Eventually, one of the Rafales is going to need to reload its cannons or move into melee and break the formation.

"Switch to short bursts," you say over your comms. "Just pin them down until they reload or break."

>(roll 4d20)

Rolled 16, 2, 20, 10 = 48

>>30941604

Left my dice on by accident last vote, let's see them pay off this time.

Rolled 7, 9, 20, 2 = 38

>>30941604

Rolled 17, 12, 19, 20 = 68

>>30941604

>>30941733
good show!

File: 1395275432200.jpg-(135 KB, 684x1000, 1387111451981.jpg)

135 KB JPG

>>30941733
Nice.

>>30941604
On your next pass, the opening shows itself. One of the Rafales ejects its magazine to reload. In that instant, you land your TSF and get a clean lock on it. You open fire and spread 36mm bullet in its cockpit. The French TSF falls backwards. It doesn't explode, but it's enough to send throw off the whole formation. Your Raptors quickly finish the job and you leave behind a pile of four mangled Rafales.

"Think they'll explode?" Hunter 7 asks.

"Not likely," you say. "Unless one of you feels like getting chewed out for wasting explosive rounds."

"That's a negative, boss."

"Yeah, that's what I figured." You set a course for the meeting point. "Let's just meet up with the battalion and get back to Seattle."

"Yes, sir."

The fight was a detour, but the Rafales were heading in Seattle's general direction, so you're not too far off-course. You reach the rest of the Hunter battalion in less than an hour, and you're not even the last ones there.

"Hunter 2 to Hunter 1," you say. "We encountered a flight of Rafales on our way back. They've been dealt with."

Your commanding officer, Major Walken, nods in your HUD.

"Understood, Hunter 2," he says. "I'm surprised you're still in one piece."

You smirk.

"I've seen worse, boss. What about the rest of the Battalion?"

"One of the other flights was late," Walken says. "I sent some scouts to find them. It seems they were also attacked by the French, but that problem has also been dealt with. They should return soon."

"Roger, boss. We'll set up a perimeter in the meantime."

>(cont.)

>>30942094
You set your TSF down at the edge of the battalion's formation and the rest of your flight follows suit. You wait, but nothing happens. After an hour, the rest of the battalion shows up. Everyone's here; there are no casualties from the skirmishes.

Walken takes point and you take position as his wingman. Its mission accomplished, the Hunter battalion returns to Seattle.

From your TSF's cameras, the city looks normal. It's not really an illusion. While America was swimming in luxury for most of the BETA war, it's adapted surprisingly well to losing everything it had. Maybe the people new it was coming, deep down inside. Maybe they know this is their penance for what they've done.

You settle your Raptor down in its hangar and change into your US Army uniform. You're the flight commander now, so all the debriefing paperwork is your problem. At least Walken handles all the battalion-level paperwork.

Went out on patrol.
Found Rafale.
Killed Rafale.
Came back.

It's half-assed, but nobody ever complained about it.

>Get some food.
>Get some sleep.
>Walk around Seattle.

>>30942120
>>Walk around Seattle.

See the remaining sights.
Gain insight as to this grim alternate.

>>30942120
> Walk around Seattle.

>>30942120
>Walk around Seattle.

>>30942120
Processed synthetic sludge is no way to celebrate killing some frogs and sleep... Yeah, you'll pass on sleep.

You change into civilian clothes and head out into the city. You thought it'd be a waste of money to get clothes other than your Army uniform, but it's worth it to avoid the attention. Civilians get clingy when they see one of their elite protectors, and you're in no mood to deal with them.

You check out of the base and wander about the city. No cars, no stores, no restaurants, nothing but pedestrians getting from their work to their home as the sun sets over the horizon. Aside from that, there are armed infantry posted every few blocks to maintain the peace of the police state. Nobody seems to mind. They're all used to it by now. They had no choice but to get used to it.

The upside is that there are no homeless people. Everybody has to work whether they can or not.

You wander aimlessly in circles until it's night time and you're as good as alone. You can forget you're a soldier. You can forget the civilians and the soldiers patrolling the streets. There are no street lights to guide you back to base, but you remember the way well enough to walk it under the starlight.

You get back to the room you share with the rest of your flight and crash on the bed. The exercise keeps you energized and awake for a while, but it doesn't last. It never lasts. Soon enough, you're asleep again and you dream...

>... about the day after Operation Lucifer.
>... about shortly after the Day.
>... about the day before the Army found you.

>>30942682
>>... about the day after Operation Lucifer.

>>30942682
> ... about the day after Operation Lucifer.

>>30942682
>... about shortly after the Day.

I want to hear about this!

>>30942682
>... about the day after Operation Lucifer.

Is this where things started going downhill? We better learn from it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-NmGrsW2aQ

>>30942682
You dream about the day after Operation Lucifer for the first time in a while. For years, you saw it every night, until Operation Babylon gave you something worse to think about.

You slowly, carefully walk through the hangar, but the echo of your footsteps drowns out the shouting matches of the engineers below. The lights dim as you approach her room, but you can clearly see every crack and imperfection in the hallway, right down to the missing paint chips. Years later, you remember it all perfectly.

The door is ajar. You push it open further and step in. Again, there is only darkness, but you *know* the colour of the walls and the floor and all the furniture. You dig your fingers into your legs to stop yourself from moving forward any farther, but it doesn't work. It never works.

You see the legs first. Then the rest of the body. Then the blood and bone and brains splattered against the wall. Only the stain isn't exactly as it was then. Every time you see it, it gets bigger.

You stand there and watch for minutes or hours or however long it takes for you to fully wake up.

You used to wake up crying. Now, you just wake up and yawn. You don't know if your roommates are asleep or if they're pretending for your sake, but it doesn't matter. They don't ask about you, and you don't ask about them. You're all in the same position anyway.

You take a shower and grab some breakfast before meeting with your CO. The food is disgusting, but you've already gotten used to it.

Walken's door is open when you get there.

"Good morning, Major," you say. "What have we got on the roster?"

"Captain Reber." Walken greets you with a nod. "We're currently planning a crucial operations, but I'm not at liberty to discuss the details. Consider yourself off-duty until I tell you otherwise, but don't go too far."

>"Understood, sir. I'll stay on-base."
>"Understood, sir. I'll be at the usual place."

>>30943376
>"Understood, sir. I'll be at the usual place."

>>30943376
>"Understood, sir. I'll be at the usual place."

>>30943376
> "Understood, sir. I'll be at the usual place."

>>30943376
>>"Understood, sir. I'll be at the usual place."

>>30943376
"Understood, sir. I'll be at the usual place."

Walken frowns slightly.

"Captain- No, Julian," he says. "It's not my habit to get involved in the personal affairs of my soldiers, but..."

"It's fine, sir," you say. "People like me only belong on the battlefield. Anywhere else, it's better if I just stay out of the way."

"Even so, that kind of attitude can't last forever."

"Nothing lasts forever, sir. I'll come back to base every now and then to sleep." You salute and leave before Walken can delay you any further.

There's a basement somewhere between the American and Japanese outposts. You're told it used to be a proper dive, but without alcohol, all it can offer is purified water. No one goes there anymore, aside from burnt-out soldiers waiting for their orders. It's a clean, quiet place where people can be in solitude together and everyone ignores everyone else. Nobody ever makes a fuss.

You quietly push the door open and close it behind you. It'd close on its own, but it would be rude to make a noise and attract attention. You take a seat at the bar next to a dead-eyed Japanese soldier in the black Imperial Royal Guard uniform. Just your kind of company.

The bartender gives you a glass of water. You take a sip and choke on it.

>... tastes like saltwater.
>... tastes like blood.

>>30943845
>>... tastes like saltwater.

jesus what the hell happened

>>30943845
>... tastes like blood.

>>30943845
> ... tastes like blood.

>>30943896
I guess the G-Bombs went off.
That, or someone colony dropped Earth.

File: 1395280912059.jpg-(346 KB, 1958x1382, Takeru_TDA.jpg)

346 KB JPG

>>30943845
>... tastes like blood.

>a dead-eyed Japanese soldier in the black Imperial Royal Guard uniform
Holy shit, it's the bratty savior himself!

>>30943937
Yes, Alternative V.

>>30943845
>>... tastes like saltwater.
Blood's too easy; drownings are where it's at.

File: 1395281841614.jpg-(116 KB, 640x922, 1390427750591.jpg)

116 KB JPG

>>30943845
The water tastes like blood, but you swallow it all the same. You glare at the bartender; he broke the rules, he knows he broke the rules, and you both know it wasn't his fault, but it's the principle of the thing that matters. In the place reserved for people who only want to forget, he made you remember.

It wasn't a rare story, back right after the Day. TSF pilot gets isolated from his base or carrier. TSF pilot tries to make it to America, since it's the only place to go. TSF runs out of fuel and the pilot is stuck on a salt desert with nothing but emergency rations. Pilot dies.

Unless there are two people in the TSF. The emergency rations don't last any longer, but the human body is mostly water. Blood is good enough to keep someone hydrated for a while. You'd thought of it as well, but you were more tired than she was. You fell asleep first, so you're the one who got to wake up in the morning and get rescued by the army a few days later.

You don't blame yourself, but that doesn't make it any easier.

You finish your water. Then you wait and stare at the wall in front of you.

That's how you spend the next few days, until Walken lets you know the mission's details have been sorted out. The briefing will be in a few hours.

>Wait for the briefing.
>See what the rumours say.

>>30944344
> See what the rumours say.

>>30944344
>>See what the rumours say.
Business will get done eventually anyway; might as well hear some speculation first.

...Can't imagine Elaine was the only one who got off easy, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

>>30944344
>>See what the rumours say.

>>30944344
If you're going to be asked to do something stupid, you might as well prepare yourself now and figure out what's going on. Which, at this time of day, means the mess and whatever passes for lunch. You grab a tray and look for someone who might be more informed. That means finding someone who's in charge, but not so in charge that they don't have time to hang out with the peons. Your best option is one of the marines, which is a terrible option for an army grunt.

"Kjellberg." You greet the marine with a nod.

"Reber." Her greeting is slightly more energetic than yours. "I don't see you here often."

"What can I say? I hate people." You sit down in front of her and start forcing yourself to eat. "But I do like knowing what kind of hellhole I'm being sent into, and since you're usually so well-informed..."

Kjellberg looks away from you and her meal.

"I don't want to talk about it," she says.

Which means she knows about it and can talk about it, but doesn't want to. That means it's personal and for Kjellberg, personal probably means... the JFK Hive.

It's the only Hive that's not buried under the ocean, which makes it both a prime threat and a prime target. American and Japanese command must be desperate to get rid of it.

"Sorry I asked," you say.

There are some lines that just aren't crossed, no matter how badly you want information.

Besides, you didn't need to know anything else. During the briefing, Walken goes into the details of the Hive. The intelligence isn't that recent or that reliable, but you can clearly see the Hive being built over the carrier.

And the blue waves crashing against the ship's hull...

>You can't forget those waves...
>Focus on the mission. Nothing else matters.

>>30945012
>You can't forget those waves...

>>30945012
>You can't forget those waves...

>>30945012
>>You can't forget those waves...

>>30945012
>Focus on the mission. Nothing else matters.
no mental breakdowns during briefings.

>>30945012
>>You can't forget those waves...

Them waves man... Let me tell you about them.

>>30945012
In the picture, the waves don't move, but that doesn't stop your imagination, or your memory.

Your satellite connection was down and the storm was throwing your avionics off. The megatsumi's wave was the size of a goddamn mountain and you were just taking off from the carrier. You didn't have time to gain proper altitude. You pushed forward as fast and as hard as you could and it paid off. You got splashed by the tip of the wave, but you made it out.

Your element lead didn't. She launched second and couldn't get the proper altitude. She tried to turn back and outrun the wave. She couldn't make it, and jet engines don't work underwater. The tidal wave swallowed everything and dragged it right down to the bottom of the ocean.

You shake your head to ward off the memories. It never works, but you can at least pretend it does.

The rest of Walken's briefing sounds a lot like your first Hive infiltration. Get in, destroy the reactor, get out. Maybe. If you're really lucky and skilled. If you can't get out, at least make sure your suicide causes sufficient collateral damage. The room clears out, but Walken intercepts you before you can leave.

"Reber, are you sure you're going to be fine," he asks. "You looked out of it during the briefing."

"Yes, sir," you say. "I'm perfectly fine."

Walken sighs.

"If you say so. You're not so irresponsible as to endanger your comrades, so I can let this slide once."

"Thank you, sir."

After all, the BETA are the only thing you have left from the old world. You can't leave them behind too.

>>30945425
And that's a good spot to end for the evening. The start was slow, but I think I'll have one of these BAD END threads every now and then to remind people of the price of failure. Plus, they're not all possible bad endings; I also have ideas for TSF Witches and Alfred Walken, Chosen of the Unconquered Sun.

In any case, next thread is Sunday at 7PM EST. Mary gives us the details of her family's involvement with the Alternative Projects and we decide how to proceed from there.

>>30945483
So Knight and Eleaine both died, one from dehydration, the other drowning?

>>30945483
I like how you executed this BAD END. It's smoothly done compared to other quests and doesn't antagonize the players.

>>30945483
>we decide how to proceed from there.
I think its pretty clear how to proceed from there, we end up ruining all the furniture in our quarters and wake up covered in girls still inside Elaine.

Thanks for the thread RC, see ya next time

>>30945483
>I'll have one of these BAD END threads every now and then
I'm okay with that. It was pretty nice.

Thanks for running, see you on Sunday.

>>30945504
Mary shot herself in the head out of guilt for her family's actions after Operation Lucifer. Elaine drowned because of the megatsunami. Knight bled herself dry to keep Reber hydrated after their TSF crashed in the salt desert. Reber had thought of doing the same thing to save Knight, but he fell asleep before she did, so he never got the chance.

>>30945483
Thanks for running, man. See you next time.

>>30945504
All the girls died. Elaine drowned, Mary shot herself, and Knight died from dehydration.

>>30945483
Loved it, and thanks for running. See you next time!

>>30945559
Let's hope they can at least die a more glorious death on the main quest.

>>30945635
or not at all, otherwise how can we get successful harem end?

>>30945559
Shit....., Wat happen if we choose Salt water, and this is the second worse end?

>>30945664
This must happen now, this dark end gave me resolve

>>30945664
>successful Harem end

>Muv Luv
>successful any sort of end at all
Don't get ahead of yourself there, friend. Baby steps.

>>30945483
>TSF Witches
>Alfred Walken, Chosen of the Unconquered Sun
Huh. Those are definitely some omakes, alright.

Take it easy, RC.

>>30945788
Takeru did it.

>>30945808
Getting an alternate reality cobbled together from the broken pieces of everyone you've ever cared about for you to retire in as a reward for saving the world hardly counts.

>>30945892
We're more manly then Takeru though (and smarter to an extent)

We'll scrap something together