>>31456069
>Obtain more intelligence on the worm before designing a new weapon against it.
>Get to work on this immediately (Select explosives and delivery)

>Explosives:
>>Missile warheads
>>SD-11 bombs

>Delivery:
>>Missiles
>>Mines

>>31456082
>>SD-11 bombs
>>Missiles

>>31456082
SD-11 charges are the most powerful explosive available to you right, so they're your best bet when it comes to the weapon's warhead. Besides, there's no way you can possibly miss a target that big and there's only so much ammo you can carry anyway. Converting a large number of missiles won't do you much good.

The next step is the delivery system. Mines would be easy to deploy, but there's no guarantee they'll work; there's a chance they'll get triggered by Destroyers or Tanks before the giant worm gets anywhere near them. That leaves missiles. You'll need to mount launchers to your TSF, but you can figure that part out latter. If push comes to shove, you can just physically haul a missile battery into one of the tunnels.

You quickly write down a list of everything you need and give it to the nearest noncom. The mechanics will ferry the equipment to one of the nearby islands. That way, even if you blow yourself up, you won't take anyone down with you. Until the equipment is ready, the only thing you can do is wait.

However, that doesn't mean you have time to laze around. There's still work to be done while you're waiting.

>Help out with TSF maintenance.
>See if the command post has any new intel on the worm's location.
>On second time, you do have time to laze around.

>>31456534
>>See if the command post has any new intel on the worm's location.

>>31456534
TSF Maintenance we've been told repeatedly how important getting rid of all those little bugs is before we fight.

>>31456534
>Help out with TSF maintenance.

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>>31456534
You head down to the hangar to check up on the TSFs. The Tornadoes are supposed to be properly navalized, but that doesn't mean the water never causes problems. Your Typhoon, while more advanced, hasn't been has extensively tested in maritime environments as it should have been. It gets a little prickly sometimes and you're the only one around who can tune it up.

Predictably, you find about a half-dozen members of Arthur squadron arguing with the mechanics. It doesn't help that this place isn't well-nearly as organized as it should be. Then again, that's just the reality of life on a carrier.

You find Elaine grumbling next to her Tornado.

"Looks like you're having a hard time," you say.

"I wish." Her eyes flicker down to your pants. Then she shakes her head and sighs. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I need to take things more seriously."

"There's always time for a mediocre joke." You look up at her Tornado. "You didn't take any damage, so it shouldn't be too hard to tune it."

"It's not, but the command structure is a mess," Elaine says. "We don't even know if we're borrowing our carrier or if they're borrowing our TSFs and the crews here have their own way of doing things. You know how mechanics get."

Mechanics and engineers really don't like it when people try to play around with their equipment. On the other hand, the work needs to get done.

>Let it go.
>You can handle the important parts.
>Fetch Vivian. It's time for a hostile takeover.

>>31457055
Fetch Vivian, petty bullshit getting in the way of us not dying? Nein, nyet, nope.

>>31457055
>>Fetch Vivian. It's time for a hostile takeover.

>>31457055
>Fetch Vivian. It's time for a hostile takeover.

By the way, I'm quite surprised no named character has died yet.

>>31457055
>>Fetch Vivian. It's time for a hostile takeover.

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>>31457055
>Fetch Vivian. It's time for a hostile takeover.

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>>31457055
You look around the hangar bay. Yeah, you're going to need a bigger stick to get this in order.

"I'll go get some help," you say.

"Thanks," Elaine says. "I guess I'll find a good spot to watch the show."

You rush through the carrier at a good pace, not fast enough to run into anyone, but fast enough to make it clear to everyone that you're in a hurry and you don't have time for delays or interruptions. You find Vivian in her office, pouring over the latest battle report.

"Julian, hello." She yawns. "What do you need?"

"The mechanics are being prickly," you say. "I was hoping you could sort them out."

Vivian winces.

"They haven't made any trouble so far, but the Group captain has been busy with briefings, so he can't take care of it himself." Vivian cleans up her desk. "Could you give me a list of what you need?"

You don't know the full details, but you know the amount of damage the squadron took during the last operation. It's not hard to eyeball the work that needs to be done to get the Tornadoes back up again. You write down a list of the most important work and pass it over to Vivian. She reads it over several times and then repeats it to herself.

"That should be okay, thank you."

You follow Vivian back down to the hangars and maintain a short distance from her. You don't need to intervene more than you already have.

>(roll 1d20)

>>31457055
>>Fetch Vivian. It's time for a hostile takeover.
LET'S GET IT ON

Rolled 3

>>31457594

Rolled 4

>>31457594
Rolling.

Rolled 8

>>31457594
go go gadget VIVIAN

Rolled 20

>>31457594

>>31457679
YOUUUUUUUUUUU

Rolled 1

>>31457679
oh godamnit...

>>31457679
so close.

Rolled 18

>>31457679
>>31457719
wat

>>31457679
Damn, so close.

>>31457710
honestly? blame >>31457674
and also captcha for being a dick but mainly >>31457674

>>31457594
Vivian strides into the hangar while you lean on a wall just outside the entrance. Her tirade at the crew chief starts with a resounding "Hey, you!" and the chief mechanic, caught completely flat-footed, immediately loses his momentum. You can't clearly hear what Vivian is saying over all the noise, but you can get the gist of it.

The poor chief mechanic tries to tower over her, but it doesn't really work. Once you've stared down a Fort-class BETA, normal people just aren't as intimidating anymore. The other mechanics are starting to look very uncomfortable.

Then she threatens to duct tape the crews to the TSFs so they can finish the maintenance during flight. Elaine twirls a roll of tape around her fingers in the background for effect.

Vivian tops it off by pulling rank and very loudly reminding all the warrant officers that they are, in fact, warrant officers, and are thus subordinate to proper commissioned officers and that it's in their best interest to stop wasting our time more than they already have before the Group captain gets back from his briefings and has to call the carrier's captain to ask why the TSFs aren't ready for their next mission yet.

Vivian then turns around and casually strides right back out of the hangar, only to crash against the wall in front of you.

"My throat is parched," she says. "I think I might have overdone it."

"No, it was just impressive enough," you say. "They can go back to doing whatever it is the Royal Navy does once we leave. For now, they need to do their jobs properly."

You look at your watch. The weapon components you needed should be ready by now.

>Work on the weapon alone. There's no point in endangering someone else.
>Ask someone to come with you:
>>Elaine
>>Vivian
>>Both

>>31457989
>>>Both

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>>31457989
>>Both

>>31457989
> Work on the weapon alone. There's no point in endangering someone else.
Nobody else has any experience making bombs. Then again, these are mini-nukes, so even if we screw things up, everyone's going to die.

>>31457989
>>Both

>>31457989
>>>Both

Apparently we draw strength from the mere proximity of our harem.

>>31458296
love is the greatest weapon.

>>31457989
"If you'd like a break after that, I'm about to build an experimental missile on some deserted island with a box of scraps," you say. "Would you like to join me?"

"Is it going to be dangerous?"

"Incredibly dangerous," you say. "We'll all die if I screw up."

"Sounds fun." Vivian brushes herself off. "I'll go get some things."

"Good, I'll go ask Elaine if she's up to it as well."

Elaine is smugly looking at the mechanics performing maintenance on her Tornado.

"Vivian did a really good job," she says. "It's been a while since I've seen a warrant officer that scared."

"I know." You sit next to her. "It took me all the way back to the college. But since that problem has been solved, how about we go out on a date?"

Elaine stares at you flatly.

"Are you serious," she asks.

"Of course." You pause. "Assembling a deadly explosive counts as a date, right?"

"I suppose it does by our standards. Let's go."

The two of you meet up with Vivian, who's carrying a few bags, just next to the helicopter that will be taking you to your improvised engineering lab. The exploding parts, you're told, have already been delivered.

"Just so we're clear," Elaine says, "you do know what you're doing right?"

>"Oh, I'm improvising everything."
>"It can't be more complicated than the BETA technology we looted."
>"I assure you, I know exactly what I'm doing."

>>31458492
>>"Oh, I'm improvising everything."
"But on the bright side, I have a lot of duct tape."

>>31458492
> "Oh, I'm improvising everything."
> "It can't be more complicated than the BETA technology we looted."

>>31458492
>>"Oh, I'm improvising everything."
>>"It can't be more complicated than the BETA technology we looted."

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>>31458492
>"Oh, I'm improvising everything."

>>31458541
This.

>>31458492
>"Oh, I'm improvising everything."

>>31458492
"Oh, I'm improvising everything," you say. "But on the bright side, I have a lot of duct tape."

The two women both stare at you.

"Think we'll make it back to the carrier if we jump out now," Elaine asks.

Vivian shakes her head.

"I don't think they would notice us," she says. "Besides, it's not like this will be the most dangerous thing we've done together."

"Vivian's right," you say. "This can't possibly more complicated than the BETA technology we looted."

"That's... fair enough, I suppose," Elaine says. "Just don't do anything stupid."

"Relax, I take my work seriously," you say.

"No, you don't."
"Not really."

It's hard to tell which of them has the least faith in you. At least you're extra-motivated to get the job done.

The helicopter drops the three of you off without cutting its engines and departs as soon as you're off. The missiles, S-11 bombs and all the tools you need are in front of you, organized just as you requested. You throw your jacket and tie on a cheap plastic chair, loosen your collar and pull up your sleeves.

Time for science!

>(roll 1d20)

Rolled 19

>>31459008
Rolling for science

Rolled 13

>>31459008
Here we go.

Rolled 20

>>31459008

SCIENCE!

>>31459060
It's true, our harem gives us superpowers.

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>>31459060
SUCCESS

>>31459086
Rather, proving our Harem wrong!

Rolled 15

>>31459008
things go boom now

>>31459008
You crack your knuckles and open the missile's casing. You remove the warhead and disassemble it just to be safe. Then you open up an S-11 device and remove the explosives. Fitting everything inside a missile is going to be difficult. The S-11 charges were designed to fit inside a TSF, so they can afford to be bigger.

Still, you quickly figure out which parts need to be in the missile and which can be left out. The lack of space actually works to your advantage. Normally, S-11 charges detonate in all directions, but by reducing the power of the explosion, it becomes easier to contain. You turn the missile into a directional charge. That'll make it easier to penetrate the new BETA's skin.

You also find enough space for a radio guidance system. It takes a little work to get the programming right, but if you can put radio transmitters in your TSF's 120mm bullets, maybe even the 36mm bullets, it'll be easier for the missile to keep a lock and navigate tunnels.

The last part is the missile pod. You dig up a few old designs from your memory and sketch them out. You don't have the equipment to build them now, but the carrier should have everything you need.

After a few hours, you have a working prototype missile and a notebook full of schematics in case you need to make more. For now, your priority is to test your current missile.

Well, that and lunch. It seems Vivian and Elaine pulled out a camping kit while you were working and started boiling synthetic soup. At least the water is real. Probably.

"Since we're still alive, we thought we'd reward you with dinner," Elaine says.

"Thanks," you say.

You sit across from them and pour yourself a bowl.

"What do you want to do now," Vivian asks.

>"Let's just call the carrier for pickup. I want to test this thing right away."
>"We might as well spend the night here. I can use the time to make another missile or two before we get back."

Rolled 19

>>31459450
>>"We might as well spend the night here. I can use the time to make another missile or two before we get back."
wink wink

>>31459450
> "Let's just call the carrier for pickup. I want to test this thing right away."

>>31459450
>"We might as well spend the night here. I can use the time to make another missile or two before we get back."

Also, I don't know much about missiles, but can they actually hurt a 176 meters tall, 1800 meters long and 176 meters wide worm?

Carriers are fucking HUGE, man.

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>>31459450

>"We might as well spend the night here. I can use the time to make another missile or two before we get back."
Ah yes, "missile testing".

>>31459557
Shaped charge nuclear warheads will probably make a dent.

>>31459450
>>"We might as well spend the night here. I can use the time to make another missile or two before we get back."

>>31459557
We'll probably need more than one, but those will leave a mark.
The charges were meant to blow entire hive complexes up, and are second place to a nuclear device at the moment. Now imagine all that power, instead of spreading in all directions, being focused in one direction.

>>31459450
"We might as well spend the night here," you say. "I can use the time to make another missile or two before we get back."

"Vivian and I will clean up and set up a proper camp then," Elaine says. "Are you sure those missiles are going to work?"

"Not entirely," you say. "The missiles should be enough to immobilize the worm."

"That should be fine," Vivian says. "If it can't move, then it'll just obstruct the tunnels. We can use that to our advantage."

"Or we can do the sane thing and finish it off," Elaine says.

"If we're going to need enough explosions to kill that thing, then I better get back to work." You stretch your arms and stand up.

The second missile is easier. You know where all the pieces go already, so you just need to take them apart and reassemble them. Altogether, your S-11 device and the missiles you requested should be enough for three missiles total. You could probably finish the third one right now, but the sun is setting and you've been up for a while. You're still riding the engineering rush, but it's best not to take chances with things that make very big explosions.

It's a short walking distance back to your camp. The sunlight is running out, but the sky is clear, so the starlight should be enough to guide you in case you need to walk about at night.

Elaine and Vivian set up a tent while you were gone.

"According to standard operating procedure, we need someone to keep watch," Vivian says. "I can take first shift."

>"Forget standard operating procedure, let's just get some sleep."
>"I can take the first shift. You two should get some rest."
>"That's fine with me."

>>31460019
> "I can take the first shift. You two should get some rest."

>>31460019
>>"I can take the first shift. You two should get some rest."
Third missile needs to be finished, anyway

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>>31460019
>"Forget standard operating procedure, let's just get some sleep."

>>31460019
>>That's fine with me.
Don't want to fall asleep on watch.

>>31460019
>>"I can take the first shift. You two should get some rest."

Rolled 17

>>31460019
"I can take the first shift," you say. "You two should get some rest."

"Are you sure," Elaine asks. "You did most of the work."

"Yeah, it's fine," you say. "The middle shift is just brutal and I want to be well-rested when I finish the third missile."

"I suppose that makes sense," Elaine says. "I can take the middle shift then. Is that all right, Vivian?"

"It's fine," Vivian says. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep well knowing there are explosives right next to me anyway."

"It shouldn't make a difference," you say. "We've been sleeping on a carrier for weeks and they're loaded with explosives."

"... why did I only realize that now?"

>(roll 1d20)

Rolled 12

>>31460435
Here we go.

Rolled 13

>>31460435

Rolled 4

>>31460435
we're rolling spot to notice they packed bikinis, right?

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>>31460483
No, that was just a random roll to see if they were going to have sex together. The dice gods have spoken and there shall be no lewd.

Rolled 17

>>31460567
Your joking right?

>>31460567
My dice always fail me at critical junctures.

>>31460567
Well, at least it wasn't a roll to see if someone dies.

>>31460435
"Did you really have to bring that up, Julian?" Elaine glares at you.

"It seemed relevant," you say. "Besides, it's best to get used to these things."

"Yeah, you're right," Vivian says. "It's just part of being a soldier. I'll be fine."

Vivian stands up and pulls Elaine into the tent. You absentmindedly wave at them and pour over your notes one more time.

Right now, you have what you need to slapdash missiles together, but that's not going to do you any good in the long run. If you want to make the design useful, you'll need to mass-produce it, so you spend your shift refining your notes. You find ways to make the missile lighter and cut down on the propulsion system since it won't have to cross the distances it would if it was launched from a ship. You remodel the warhead for unshaped charges and remove the homing system in case someone wants to use them for dumbfire.

You don't think the missile would be of any use on the surface - not with Lasers and the massive numbers the BETA can march into battle - but the missile should be extremely useful for Hive infiltrations.

At the end of your shift, Elaine comes to relieve you.

"Looks like you were busy." She nods at your scattered notes.

"Oh, yes," you say. "Hundreds of Soldier-class BETA arrived and I had to kill them with my bare hands. It was brutal."

Elaine snorts and waves you towards the tent.

"Just go to bed," she says. "Vivian loves to cuddle. You have no idea what I had to do to get out of there."

>"Sure. Good night, Elaine."
>"Actually, would you mind if I slept outside next to you?"

>>31460897
But..but...I want both.

Fine.
>"Sure. Good night, Elaine."

Rolled 5

>>31460897
>>"Sure. Good night, Elaine."

>Other

Ask her, what she did

>>31461077
This works

>>31461077
Thirding.

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>>31460897
"What'd you do?"

For a moment, you wonder if Elaine is going to tell you off again, but then she smiles mischievously.

"How about a bet," she says. "If you ever manage to take a Hive out on your own, without backup, I'll tell you and let you do it to me every morning for a month. Deal?"

"Deal," you say. "Good night, Elaine."

The tent, as it turns out, only has the one sleeping bag. You walk carefully to avoid waking Vivian up and slip in. The minute you're lying down, she turns over and latches on top of you. For a moment, you think she's awake, but her eyes are closed and her breathing is calm. She really is asleep. You move your arms a bit so that her head rests on your shoulder and gently stroke her hair until you finally fall asleep.

>>31461338
MISSION REPORT:
- Richard Hall survived. (1XP)
- Julian Reber survived. (1XP)
- Elaine Robinson survived. (1XP)
- Vivian Knight survived. (1XP)
- Designed new anti-BETA missile. (1XP)
- Reorganized TSF repair crews. (1XP)
- Built new anti-BETA missile. (1XP)
- Built multiple missiles. (1XP)
- Total: 8XP

NOTES:
- Royal Navy mechanics are working on TSF maintenance at peak efficiency. This will reduce downtime between missions.
- The new missile designs should prove an effective counter against the new BETA, and Hives in general.

CHARACTER STATUS:
Julian Reber (Main Character)
Level 7 (49/60XP)
Skills: TSF Piloting, Gunnery, Melee, Engineering, Computers
Resources: Budget 1, Connections 7 (Cerberus Battalion, Swiss Government, RAF, Crusaders, MI5, British nobility, Cherno battalion), Gear 4, Personnel 1, Rank 1

>>31461365
And that's it for today. Next thread will be Wednesday at 7PM EST. We'll be having a Tremors remake!

'Night folks.

>>31461405
G'night

Thanks for running.

>>31461405
Thanks for running man. Great thread as always.

See you next time.

Rolled 18

>>31461405
So that roll was for lewd?

>>31461365
>- The new missile designs should prove an effective counter against the new BETA, and Hives in general.
I'm curious though, what's the rationale here for the missile being more effective in hives than what you've been using?

>>31461506
We used our TSFs as bombs before. Now we have guided missiles that deliver the same payload.

>>31461338
>"How about a bet," she says. "If you ever manage to take a Hive out on your own, without backup, I'll tell you and let you do it to me every morning for a month. Deal?"


Isn't this what our new missiles are for?

>>31461843
They're mostly for killing that giant BETA thing. They probably can be improved into Hive Busters or something similar later on.

>>31462001
We'll we have something to work on then

>>31462029
It's not going to be easy, though. If we make it a nuclear warhead, we'll probably have enough firepower to level a hive. The issue is then how to deliver it.

If we go with an airstrike, a Laser can blow it up. On the other hand, this is the safest delivery method. If we deploy it from inside the Hive, we risk getting everyone inside blown up or buried alive because of the short fuse (basically we'd be detonating a nuke at point-blank). If we throw a timer on it, there's a chance some BETA sets it off before the troops can leave.

The best thing would be if we managed to make a BETA-jamming system (based on those reactor components) so they don't detect it as something active and ignore it, and deliver it with an airstrike.

>>31462243
Never said it was going to be easy.

I wonder what would had happen if we gotten another twenty or high roll

>>31462352
Manually guided missiles?

Actually, that might be something to look into. Throw a couple of sensors and good transmitters, launch one of those into a tunnel and have it scan shit for us. You could also manually navigate it from afar.
Probably won't work on something rocket-propelled, but a mini-drone might work.

>>31462606
That's a thing,

Well I already know what's the goal to do.

Destroy a Hive by ourselves.

Rolled 6

>>31462675
>Destroy a Hive by ourselves.
We shall single-handedly save mankind, all for our harem

>>31462979
Or just to mess with them

>>31462979
Not with those rolls, we won't.

Rolled 1

>>31463018
Oh yes we will, just means it will be a harder journey, with a sweeter reward at the end

Rolled 1

>>31463062
fuck you too dice gods

>>31463062
>>31463085
Oh wow.

Rolled 1

>>31463062
>>31463085
are both me, and I think its a sign I should stop rolling

butt fuck it, and butt fuck the dice gods, I'ma use them all up

>>31463164
Yeah, you should probably stop rolling.

Rolled 8

>>31463191
NEVER

FUCK YOU DICE GODS

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Rolled 2

>>31463062
>>31463085
>>31463164

>>31463200
The Dice Gods have something against Julian saving the world and acquiring booty.

>>31463412
They favor Julian saving the world but is against him getting the girls

Rolled 18

>>31463464
its a good thing the girls are in favor of him getting the girls

>>31463591
Just between the three though.

I'm not risking on getting anymore

>>31463738
We should remain loyal to our one true love.

Engineering.

Rolled 14

>>31463738
those three are all Julian shall ever need, unless they want to involve the Cerberus girls, which I don't think they'd do

>>31463832
That's his mistresses.

>>31463850
Indeed, all he ever needs.

I'm still worried how he'll handle all three