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>>38726758
Winter Wolfspider was an A-class maverick but a P-class pain in the ass. He threatened to wear you, and things went downhill from there. And now, he's back up and running, with a host of upgrades.

You know this because you're standing opposite him, waiting for the first twitch of one of his eight legs. God, you hope he doesn't have a bomb this time.

>Hang back, size him up. Wait for him to make the first move.
>Go in aggressive. He was a handful even before upgrades.

>Go in aggressive. He was a handful even before upgrades.

>Go in aggressive. He was a handful even before upgrades.

>>38726812
>Go in aggressive. He was a handful even before upgrades.

>>38726812
>Go in aggressive. He was a handful even before upgrades.
Fuckin' Wolfspider... Won't give him the chance to do any funny business this time.

Hell yeah MHQ!

>>38727019
Always a pleasant surprise when I see a new MHQ thread.

>>38726812
>Go in aggressive. He was a handful even before upgrades.

Hooray for MHQ!

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And since it's been a good while, here's Anode's sheet again.

Lieutenant Anode, A-rank, 4th Overland Rangemaster
WEAPONRY:
Ascent Lance: Lo-beam custom beam lance, effectively an upsized saber. From "Anodos," the Greek for "Ascend." Currently on loan to Emerald.
-Arrest Buster: Calling back to the arrêt de cuirasse of days past, Anode's lance can slot into his buster and provide a stable, couched platform. Combined with a dash-charge, this can prove devastating.
-Phase: Incorporating a powerful experimental plasma technology, the lance blade produces a field of EM-distortion in its wake. Any plasma shots traveling through it are destabilized, most weaker projectiles dissipating without a containing envelope.
Anode Cyclers: These dual busters are optimized for rapid-fire plasma, excellent for deterring enemies. They have been upgraded and retuned for greatly improved charge capacity, producing a lessened (though still above-average) rate of fire, and the ability to fully charge a pair of shots at a time.
Conduit Capacitor: If Anode has a 'special weapon,' it is this. A bank of high-capacity reservoirs to absorb electrical energy, to redirect into an increasingly powerful attack, through either his hands or lance, both close and at range.
-Raikousen: A powerful, electrified dash-charge that uses the C. Capacitor's reserves to augment Anode's EAS.
Misericorde: A hi-beam knife, this short blade is compact and precise, at its best in a press. The powerful blade output is taxing, requiring frequent recharge and making it a poor choice for protracted dueling. Still, it pierces armor with great ease, and is best used as a situational, specialist tool.
-Flash Freeze: By priming your targets with a quick blast of LN, the misericorde's damage and penetration is improved even beyond that of a hi-beam weapon. The LN reservoir is limited by the constraints of the technology, and slowly replenishes itself over time.

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>>38727062
WEAPONRY, CONTINUED:
Beam Flambard: Borrowed from Em, this powerful hi-beam two-hander produces a bright, fiery blade. Despite matching your lance in length and reach, it's far more powerful, made with the best materials Emerald could buy.

GENERAL:
Phase Shielding: An introductory shielding system, this reacts to most incoming forms of attack and produces a local particle field, damping the physical damage and sharply reducing the damage taken from rapid-fire attacks. The tradeoff is that this interferes somewhat with Anode's ability to capture C. Capacitor charge from enemy attack.
Emergency Battery: An internal one-time reservoir that, when engaged, will provide an instant 25% charge to his Conduit Capacitors. Use only if necessary, as replacement is costly.
Kinetic Coil Mk. II: An upgrade received that allows otherwise wasted kinetic impact to be absorbed, winding coils mounted in Anode's arms and legs. When sufficiently turned, they will unwind, charging Anode's capacitors without a source of electricity. A rehaul of Anode's skeletal system has directly integrated the coils into his leg bones, providing more efficient charge rate and mitigating some of the force of impacts (when you land on your feet, anyway). As a side benefit, in-lining the coils has opened up more operating room in Anode's legs for additional upgrades.
Improved Emergency Acceleration System: With upgraded emitters, reservoir, and auxiliary charge/discharge systems provide a fast, efficient dash. Distance covered is up and recharge time is down.
Variable Weapon Emulator System: Anode's stock VWES-2 has been improved to a VWES-4. Further upgrades will be all but impossible, as this reserve is on the bleeding edge of available manportable technology.

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>>38727076
VWES ENTITIES: Note: only 4 can be equipped at a time.
Blackout Rocket/Chaff Missile/Rockout: 8 shots. Modified, high-yield explosive rockets that release a cloud of sensor-killing razor sharp flak at range. Currently dumbfire, may be improved with future upgrades.
Tension Coil: 32 shots. As the name would suggest, a high-tension cable launched from the buster. A twist reveals sharp monofilament edges in the braid.
-Wire Spool: Small mounted brackets above Anode's wrists, allowing retraction of the lines.
-Zipline: A fully motorized spool system that allows Anode to quickly travel by firing and retracting a T. Coil. Further upgrades could allow full reclamation of coils, returning half the ammo expended.
Lockon Hunter: 16 shots. A variable-penetration precision laser weapon. Shot power can be dialed back to reduce overpenetration, or doubled for vastly increased damage and antimateriel qualities, doubling the cost of a shot.
Tumult Shell: 16 shots. A haptic projectile shield that makes for a strong ranged defense. Most energy attacks will be dissipated entirely, and solid-projectiles will be destroyed on impact, taking the shield with it. The shields fly along in slow, gentle lines until they strike a solid surface and dissipate.
Highball Skipper: 16 shots. A small, fast-moving explosive charge, with curious movement properties. Underwater they act as depth charges. On the surface they will skip on the water, bouncing fast and high over obstacles. On land they act more like extremely-fast-moving grenades, able to catch even the swiftest of targets.

Current ammo counter:
Blackout Rocket: 7/8
Tension Coil: Unequipped
Lockon Hunter: 16/16
Tumult Shell: 12/16
Highball Skipper: 14/16
Conduit Capacitor: 11%

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>surprise MavHunt
What did I do to deserve such a treat?

>>38726892
>>38726920
>>38726952
>>38727015
>>38727050
What kind of Megaman player goes into a boss before knowing his pattern?

YOU DOOMED US ALL!

Seriously though, go aggressive. I surely can't think of a time that didn't work well for us!

>>38727397
We pretty much already know his pattern. We've just got some new attacks to figure out.

>>38727433
This is the rematch phase.
We already know all his tricks unless HC has a shiny new robo-dildo he wants to use on us.

>>38727478
All characters so far has had some new tricks. It's flat out stated that it also applies for Wolfspider here >>38726812
>And now, he's back up and running, with a host of upgrades.

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>>38726892
>>38726920
>>38726952
>>38727015
>>38727050
You dash in fast and furious, leading with one of your busters as your free hand goes to the flambard's hilt on your back. Wolfspider leaps backwards, twisting end over end as his plates rearrange themselves, presenting a shifting, bedeviling target. You come up short and redirect as he levels two of his eight cannon-tipped limbs and fires a pair of snap-shots, warding his front. You remember he had a thing for clinging to ceilings, and that hasn't changed--under the cover of his shots he launches up to the top of the room. Ready for it, you loose another burst of shots in his direction, then hold off and build charge.

Wolfy scuttles away out of sight, hiding amongst the uneven beams that make up the ceiling. The room you've chased him into is long, like the factory belts you ran for your life through when Shiva was on your tail. You're left in uncomfortable silence as you try to gauge where he's slipped off to, and come up empty. So far, none of the revived mavericks you've seen have responded to talk, and he was smarter than that the first time anyway.

While you try to pin down his location, you think about what you've seen. His shifting armor plates are heavier and more elaborate, marked by darker blues, and additional tubing running down each of his legs to the plasma cannons they terminate in. You think his LN injectors got an upgrade, too--it definitely looked a little bulkier. Considering he sheared your chestplate in half with them last time, you're not really looking forward to finding that out.

And right now you've completely lost sight of the son of a bitch. This is not a good place to be.

>Climb up there and take the fight to him.
>Unload into the ceiling, see if you can shake him out.
>Wait for it. He's going to ambush you.

>Wait for it. He's going to ambush you.

>>38727592
>Wait for it. He's going to ambush you.

>>38727592
>Unload into the ceiling, see if you can shake him out.
In case you've forgotten, Wolfy isn't just a liquid-nitrogen killspider. He's a liquid-nitrogen killspider who turns into a sniper.
Waiting for an ambush is just begging to get nuked at a distance.

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>>38727478
>Unless HC has a shiny new robo-dildo he wants to use on us.
Well, given how much time he's had to plan...
>>38727592
>Wait for it. He's going to ambush you.
We've got a lot in the way of defensive features on us at the moment, yeah?

>>38727592
>Wait for it. He's going to ambush you.

>>38727842
The most notable of those upgrades for this situation is currently on loan to Emerald, chief. I stand by my statement that just letting him open up on us is not a bright idea.

Hey, HC. How much harder would it have been for Em to beat that Lanceteamer squad without our lance?

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>>38728080
Massively. In discussion with Cain Labs about their capabilities, he said something to the effect of "were you in an X game, and two were guarding a hallway, you wouldn't get through without taking a hit."

>>38727592
>Wait for it. He's going to ambush you.

It's been a while, but I think I remember Wolfspider being one of the more frustrating mavs on our list. Maybe third, after Saetos and Terrapin?

>>38728161
We missed a chance to face viral Emerald several threads from now... I'm disappointed.

>>38727592
>>Unload into the ceiling, see if you can shake him out.

APPLY IVAN PROTOCOL

>>38727592
>Unload into the ceiling, see if you can shake him out.
Anode has rapid-fire(-ish) L3 busters at this point, I think? No need to burn ammo, then. Just light up every visible hidey-hole with plasma.

Giving Wolfspider a taste of his own medicine, as it were.

>>38727592
>Unload into the ceiling, see if you can shake him out.

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>>38727619
>>38727674
>>38727842
>>38727900
>>38728182
You force yourself to stay calm, resisting the urge to fire your buster into the ceiling and start yelling. Instead, you decide to get some set-up time of your own in, dashing across the room to the far wall, kicking off it, and repeating the journey. Each lap gives you a few percent of capacitor charge. You could get faster, better results by jumping, but it would leave you open until you came back down. You ready your busters, too--two charged shots to meet his salvo with one of your own.

An incoming barrage never comes--apparently you're moving too quickly. Instead, a blur of movement is the only warning you get as he launches himself at you at high speed. You were waiting--you immediately turn on your Raikousen and blaze through him, the two of you colliding painfully, shields sparking from the impacts. He rolls off your shoulder as you stumble and trip, dragging across the floor in opposite directions. You stand as he kips up and unloads another pair of shots, then leaps back to the wall and fires another pair from on high.

Your return fire is stymied by the advancing wall of plasma, forcing you to jump back to the opposite wall yourself. You hear two more reports of plasma fire before you see them, and look up to see them coming in straight across. You climb over them just in time to hear Wolfspider hit the ground. For a moment you see two of his cannons leveled on you, and then he disappears under the blinding white of the two shots he last fired.

You hear two more shots, and then something happens.

They meet in midair, plasma whirling around plasma like two galaxies eating each other, and four shots become two colossal ones, crackling with energy and barreling straight up at you. And you're stuck in the corner of the room with no more wall to climb.

>React.

>>38728747
Are we hemmed in by *just* the two big shots, or by the big sots and also some smaller ones? This is important.

>>38728747
Tumult!

>>38728747
Tumult shells are go! We need to blunt the impact as best we can.

>>38728747
It's late. Am I missing something obvious about why we can't just drop to the ground?

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>>38728847
Only the two big shots, which are coming in at a bad angle--can't slip beneath them, can't jump clear of them.

>>38728747
Apply Tumult Shells liberally until plasma subsides.

>>38728928
>Akuma air fireballs
Fookin' hell mate.
Focus Tumult Shells on ONE of them, and be right the fuck behind them. If we blunt one as much as possible and then airdash through it, we can avoid the other one and possibly get the drop on spiderdick.

>>38729006
Seconding this.

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>>38728747
>You force yourself to stay calm, resisting the urge to fire your buster into the ceiling and start yelling.

... waitaminute

>>38729393
What? There were a few votes for that.

>>38729445

No, it's... nevermind.

>>38729508
No, you've got me curious now. Is it a pop culture reference? Or is tg the Maverick virus in his heeeeeead?

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>>38729543

>>38729612
... How did I even miss that. I'll blame 6 hours of sleep over the last couple of days and move on.

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>>38728862
>>38728880
>>38728964
>>38729006
>>38729160
You size it up quickly and immediately switch to your tumult shells, firing a pair of them at the second incoming shot as you kick off the wall. You clear the first shot, barely, thudding behind you as it impacts right where you were. The shells, their orange glow nearly drowned out by the glaring white-blue of high-power plasma, are eaten alive. You're torn between panic and relief as the blinding cannon shot dims noticeably, about a millisecond before it slams into you and sends you tumbling to earth. You twist and roll as your back hits the floor, and Wolfspider pounces for where you were instantly. You come up from a roll, and with your charged shots lost in the defensive scramble and lacking other options, you snap the flambard from off your shoulder and come in with an aggressive slash.

Wolfspider practically molts himself around the blade as it passes by, body shifting and twisting unnaturally as it rearranges itself out of harm's way. He attempts to backpedal, and you pursue, sidestepping a snap-shot from one of those eight cannons. Christ, he's going to be hard to pin down. All your hardest hits are melee, though, unless you can land a hit with a Lockon Hunter. Without your lance, your maneuvering options are pretty sharply limited, and that's going to make finding openings a chore.

>Press the assault. He's dangerous close, but not as much as you are.
>Go evasive, build capacitor charge for a big surprise hit.
>Other?

>>38729724
>Press the assault. He's dangerous close, but not as much as you are.

>>38729724
>Press the assault. He's dangerous close, but not as much as you are.

>>38729393
>Go evasive, build capacitor charge for a big surprise hit.

>>38729724
>Go evasive, build capacitor charge for a big surprise hit.

>>38729612
Sometimes I forget how long this quest has been running, and how long I've been following it.

>>38729724
>Go evasive, build capacitor charge for a big surprise hit.

heh, I think his old blaster set up would have been worse. we were only able to deal with that because our lance let us drown out large numbers of weak hits, with that on loan his old plasma tsunami set up would probably wreck us.


>>38729724
>>Go evasive, build capacitor charge for a big surprise hit.

we have enough shells to burn through to survive his ranged game, but the close quarters fight needs to be over before he can hit us with his liquid nitrogen injector.

>>38729724
>Go evasive, build capacitor charge for a big surprise hit.

And while we're at it if we see any good opportunities to tag him with highball skippers take them.

>>38729928
I'm just sad we can't channel electricity through Ems giant flaming sword to strike him down. He'd spark and start to fall down while we'd spin around a struck a pose as he hits the ground and explodes into an enormous fireball.

>>38730509
Let's save that sort of thing for when we have a pair of cool shades.

this is a bit unrelated to the fight, but i'm proably not going to get another chance to post tonight. I have an idea to get Emerald to agree to an upgrade. assuming its about the rock paper scissors system we might be able to get him to agree to an upgrade if he also upgrades his brother to counter it. ie he gets half decent armor, we get his bro a good AP weapon. em gets a half decent gun, we get his bro some sort of defensive upgrade to counter it.

>>38730553
Do they actually know their big bro refuses to upgrade?

>>38730576
>Em thinks he's such hot shit he can still take his fully upgraded siblings
It wouldn't surprise me.

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>>38729776
>>38729789
>>38729810
>>38729928
>>38729987
You jump back as Wolfspider fills the air with another double-shot that folds into itself and turns into a hellish single mass. You see him dart back up and away behind its cover, but this time you're ready--you launch a Highball Skipper for his intended hiding spot as you break to the side of the miniature sun. Your grenade speeds through the air and actually arrives at his hiding spot before he does, detonating just as he reaches it and blasting him out of the rafters. His shields flare, but he's already recovered before he lands, twisting around to land on his feet. You switch back to the Cyclers and open up on him as he skitters away, chasing him with a storm of uncharged shots from both barrels. He scuttles right up the wall and then flips over, countering with a full salvo of eight plasma cannon shots. You're immediately forced on the defensive, juking backwards as he walks a barrage up the length of the room. On its heels he winds up another, chasing you back across. A lull in the fire gives you a moment to check--charge is up to 35%, and he's about to annihilate everything you've ever known and loved with a quartet of those double-shots.

The first pair is fired to cut your movement options off, and then the follow-ups cross and overlap them, halving the safe vertical space in the room. Wolfspider waits to see where you're moving before loosing the latter two, clearly intending to trap you again.

>Offensive defense--burn some charge to clear the length of the room and get on him.
>Evade as best you can, take a hit to keep building charge.
>Spend some of your dwindling T. Shells on the defense.
>Other?

>>38730576
presumably. I mean he's an A class with a gun a C class would turn there nose up at. kinda hard not to notice it at that point.

a thought, if diamond has the same hangups we may have to upgrade sapphire as well, necessitating more upgrade for Emerald. possibly trapping all three in an endlessly repeating cycle that end with all three being declared G class. not going to happen, but it would be funny.

>>38730669
>>Spend some of your dwindling T. Shells on the defense.

the plan was burn T. shells to build up enough charge to fry him in one exchange.

>>38730669
>Spend some of your dwindling T. Shells on the defense.

Jeez this guy is a pain in the ass.

>>38730669
>>Spend some of your dwindling T. Shells on the defense.

>>38730669
>>Spend some of your dwindling T. Shells on the defense.
But let's try not to do it the same way as last time.

>>38730669
>Offensive defense--burn some charge to clear the length of the room and get on him.

>>38730669
>Spend some of your dwindling T. Shells on the defense.

HC, have you and CL worked out the details of China's situation or is it just handwaved?

>>38730669
>Spend some of your dwindling T. Shells on the defense.

We might run out of a weapon oh my god I'm terrified.

>>38730723
Seconding this. We need a strong OHKO to put Wolfspider down.

>>38730846
We have the notes somewhere. Give us a bit and we'll try to get them to you.

>>38731363
Thanks, that would be great. (I'm particularly interested in Hong Kong, but I doubt there's anything that specific.)

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>>38730723
>>38730780
>>38730815
>>38730818
>>38730846
>>38730890
You switch back to the Shells and release another four of them, all on one target. It takes all four of them to null out the damned thing, but it manages, barely. This gives you a window to get under the ceiling-scraper and open up more vertical space.

Wolfspider retaliates with the last two shots, trying to hem you in again with middle and low lanes of fire, but you cut him short with another chain of shells. You're left with all of two, but you're free to leap over the lone remaining shot in your way. The maverick doesn't react to his blistering salvo being defeated, simply stepping forward and opening up with another walking artillery barrage with the plasma cannons.

He's definitely fallen into a ranged-heavy preference, and you have to admit it's working for him--you can't do more than blunt one of those double-stuff shots again, and you hope he doesn't know it. You decide to go for a risky play and retreat back, making a running leap onto the wall and climbing high over the arc of his shots. He re-angles, and you fire another Skipper immediately, dropping back down as he wastes a double-charge shot on trying to trap you while you're already retreating. He eats another glancing hit from the grenade, and you follow it with another as he re-angles and re-forms his shifting body. You're up past 50% charge, now. Wolfspider fires a wild chain of shots from ground level up to the roof, screening him from another grenade as he leaps back up there and vanishes.

>Introduce some chaff to the rafters with the Blackout Rockets.
>Saturate the area with Highball Skippers.
>Risk baiting him back out, charge your busters and wait again.
>Other?

>>38731501
>Introduce some chaff to the rafters with the Blackout Rockets.
Force him to the ground where we know where he is and where was can angle a finisher.

>>38731501
>>Introduce some chaff to the rafters with the Blackout Rockets.

this, then nail him with a tension coil so we can close when he pops out. I don't know if a 50% charge is enough, but we don't have the T shells to build up any more.

>>38731501
>Risk baiting him back out, charge your busters and wait again.

>>38731611
We unequipped the tension coil.

Wait a second, he has to have a crippling weakness to *one* of our weapons. We need to fight smarter, not harder.

>>38731501
>Introduce some chaff to the rafters with the Blackout Rockets.

>>38731501
>Introduce some chaff to the rafters with the Blackout Rockets.

>>38731686
Even if we have his weakness, which I can't remember off the top of my head, there's the problem with actually hitting the bugger. Keep in mind that he dodges about as well as the Pillar Men from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, inhumanly contorting around every melee attack.

>>38731501
>>>Introduce some chaff to the rafters with the Blackout Rockets.

>Introduce some chaff to the rafters with the Blackout Rockets.

Process of elimination. This *has* to be his weakness.

>>38731686
He's a somewhat ice-themed enemy. We simply have to flambard him in the face until he dies.

>>38731762
>>38731686
I'm almost certain it's the skipper mines actually. They seem to limit his movement and everything. He's been just so far upgraded he covered his weakness a bit.

>>38731501
>Introduce some chaff to the rafters with the Blackout Rockets.

I bet he's weakest to the T coil ...which we don't have equipped right now. Goddammit.

>>38732034
Wolfspider only died the first time when he self-eviscerated on our coils.

>>38731762
> Even if we have his weakness

Every innocent comment from Cain Labs makes me excessively paranoid.

>>38732278
Why? It's not like the eight plasma cannon guy's weakness was the shot-cancelling phase tech in the lance we gave to Em.

...Oh wait.

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>>38732362

>>38732278
I make innocent comments? That's a new one.

>>38732362
Worth it. He needed it more.

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>>38731611
>>38731694
>>38731738
>>38731767
>>38731767
>>38731772
>>38732034
He's a dodgy little bastard, that's for sure. You decide to handle that in a way that he shouldn't be able to counter, switching to Blackouts. The room is double-wide, so you can't really cover everything, but you can box him in or punish him if you catch him in one. You start by sending a pair of them down to the far end of the room, disappearing into the shadows and impacting with two thuds. Instantly, the scraping of the razor chaff against the metal of the roof and rafters fills the air, and with a moment's consideration, you fire a third missile, rounding your remaining total out to 4, and leaving a quarter of the area clear of the flak, directly over your head.

Sure enough, that got results. You were just planning to fire your busters into the ceiling (with an option on yelling incoherently), when you see Wolfspider barrel out of the edge of the nearest flak cloud high overhead. You only get off a stray shot, however, because he pounces down at you immediately. You dive aside as he comes down, firing behind you as he returns the favor with the full battery of his plasma cannons. The world is a storm of blue and white, a few shots glancing here and there and flashing off your armor in a confusing barrage of buster and cannon fire.

Then, there's a lull, as your target vanishes, slipped away in the whiteout, and then it hits you. Things really have gone white. A cold fog rolls across the entire room, disorienting and directionless. Another upgrade to his LN systems, apparently. With you taking away his roof, he's decided to take away your floor.

Charge is up to two-thirds from the brief plasma volleyball tournament, but you took a few hits and your shielding is starting to wane. On the other hand, you're sure you hit him a few times, and heavier armor or no, he was never the sturdiest of mavericks.

This looks like a setup for a knockdown. He's probably coming in for a bite.
>?

>>38732708
Get ready to Flamberge his arse

>>38732708
Is it Possible to slow roll grenades? if so, I'd try to to get our back to somewhere it will be hard to approach from, and use the fog to our advantage by fanning grenades in front of us under the cover.
Flambard at the ready

>>38732708
Whip out the flamberge, close your eyes, and let the spirit of Emerald guide your strike.

Or, you know, just bop him one when he tries to get you, grab hold, and light him up like a Christmas tree.

Wait, if he's going to bite that means he's going to touch you. Problum solved, I don't think a nitro injection moves faster than electricity.

>>38732708
Try to use the Skippers to get an opening to close to melee when he shows himself. If he gets ahold of us, zap the crap out of him.

>>38732708
Wait until he pounces, then preempt him in the air with Raikousen and flamberge him.

On another note have we used our Lockon at all yet?

If only we were immune to our chaff, we could just stand in the middle of it and electrofuck him if he got close.

>>38732708
This is my Flammenschwert. It schwerts flammen.

Don't try and activate it inside the Liquid Nitrogen cloud though. That shit's a pretty good fire suppressant.

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>>38732910
Currently the grenades are launched only.

>>38733013
Lockon Hunter is at full ammo.

China-request anon here, I need to get going. If you rustle anything up in this thread, thanks in advance, but there's no rush.

Oh, and thanks for running. Please don't kill us.

>>38733247
Which one of us is your plea directed toward?

>>38733319
Depends who's more susceptible to bribery.

Aaaand going.

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>>38732807
>>38732910
>>38732971
>>38733002
>>38733013
>>38733178
You get ready with the flambard, taking the heavy hilt as you ready up to fire a few blind Skipper grenades.

And they will be blind--the fog is thickening while the temperature drops. You fire a pair of them low, letting them bounce wildly around, clattering off into the mist and exploding somewhere. Whether you got any hits, you don't know. Nothing returns but the sound of the chaff ringing and grenade shrapnel settling. Just you, your nerves, and total whiteness. For lack of anything to do but fire blindly and wait for the inevitable counterattack, you jump in place, firing one last grenade under your feet, where it bounces off at a shallow angle and explodes very close and very loud. Your capacitors just hit 70 when you're tackled off your feet by blue, chittering death.

Unfortunately, touching a downed power line has never been a good idea. You retaliate immediately with an enormous electric release, the snap and pop of arcing lightning rebounding from your bodies to everything and anything nearby, as you tumble through the fog, blind and thrashing, with a maverick caught between trying to freeze you alive and twitching and sparking with each surge of electricity. The smell of ozone rises as you burn through the fog, clearing your vision,a s you realize those LN injectors are snapping and stabbing mere inches from your face. You reach up and grab Wolfspider by one of the flailing arms, and throw him bodily off you. He rolls around on his back a moment, looking like his namesake, before twisting around and trying to level a pair of cannons on you. He staggers as he catches your very last Highball Skipper to the chin, reeling back as his shots go wide, and you charge in.

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>>38734729
The flambard roars alight in your hand as you take a twohanded grip and bring the blade across, swinging with all your might. The intense heat blazes through the fog, smoke rolling off you from the high-capacity electrical discharge, and you bring it down on the maverick, just rising to leap again.

You catch him across the front with a deep, deep cut, hacking through two of his arms and three of his injectors, hissing and fuming white fog from the broken ampules. Electricity arcs from piece to piece before something fails deep inside the remaining half of his torso, blossoming into a cascade of explosions that chain across his body. Limbs burst from their sockets as pressure builds and tubes tear themselves free, hissing and fogging as they vent wildly. One of the plasma cannon cells breaches and a blue-white ball of fire consumes itself, leaving a spherical hole smooth enough to have been machined out of the remaining limb-tip. The rest of him fares just as well, shaking and burning and blasting itself to pieces until there's nothing left. The blinding light and the glaring fog slowly recede, leaving you in an empty, dark room with nothing but your low ammo and your injuries to show for it.

"...Least he didn't saw himself to fucking pieces this time," you mutter darkly.

That taken care of, you comm the other, less horrible arachnid. "This is Lieutenant Anode. Anyone there?"

"0 Unit post here," Web Spider replies immediately. "What's your status, Lieutenant?"

"Winter Wolfspider retired...again...and currently no hostiles. A bit beat up, batteries are low, but I'm good. What have you got for me?"

"Checking... oh, this will work. We need more reinforcements."

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>>38734762
"Thought we had them," you note.

"We did. We need more. You're near an active beam-in signal. It looks secured, so we can use it. Rotate out some of our injured, get some more fresh blood in here."

"Roger. Which way?"

"Back the way you came, there's a split. Other fork, if you please. You'll know you're on the right track when it starts sloping down."

"Okay, got it. Hostiles?"

You can practically hear Spider's shrug. "Probably."

Terrific. Deeper into the facility on your own.

Ask any questions of Spider before you go?

>>38734798
"Any word form the rest of my team?"

>>38734798
Can someone give me a beam in signal primer? Because I'm a little paranoid about getting fucked from beyond the grave given present circumstances.

>>38734798
completely unrelated to the quest but mildly related to the gif, I just beat lingering will recently and holy shit was he tough. Took 9 consecutive hours of fighting that asshole and I finally got my golden hat.

>>38735255
I just stunlocked him with the basic aerial finisher. I plan on beating him legit, but goddamn I wanted my full set of Full Bloom+.

>>38735255
Grats

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>>38735492
Thanks sempai

>>38734798
Status on the rest of the team.

Grab one of wolfspider's detached limbs, and use a couple wires to attach it to your body in a crude-but-convincing disguise. His power is based off impersonating other reploids, so none of the other mavericks will think twice when Anode impersonates him.

>>38735725

Let's not.

I don't know, that sort of thing might actually work. Provided they're not using some sort of signal based IFF.

>>38736092

Who, knows but if we're reinforcements, then it would be a good idea to not dress up as the enemy. Death by friendly fire sounds like a shitty way to go.

>>38735725
Let's not go with a plan that relies on the enemy being blind, deaf, and retarded.

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>>38734863
>>38735153
>>38735572
"Well, first, I could use a primer on running a beam-in station. I've had enough surprises today."

"It shouldn't be any issue. Any permanent stations will be very simple to operate. If needbe, I can direct you to a navigator to take you through it, step by step."

"Okay, thanks. Can I get a status update on the rest of my team?" You ask.

"I suppose," he grumbles. "Team lead Major Warhead Wisent has reported completion of his objective--he opened up the way for yours, in fact."

"Nice. Any chance I'll meet up with him?"

"Unlikely. He has since been retasked to other duties. Lieutenant Firefly has also reported completion of her objective and has returned to base for repairs."

"Repairs?"

"She went up against an aerial superiority fighter. Unfortunate match-up, but she was our only suitable asset. In any case, she returned safely and is due to be cycled out when reinforcements arrive."

Yeah, yeah, hint, hint. "What about Em?"

"Captain Emerald completed his objective, and some captured personnel have since made it back and reported his success. The Captain elected to pursue a time-limited objective on his own initiative, and that's the last I've heard from him."

"When was that?"

"Not long ago. Half an hour at most. I'm quite sure the Captain is fine, Lieutenant. And if you don't mind, I have many other teams to address."

"Yeah, okay, noted. Anode out." ...Jerk.

Half an hour, huh? You barely know Em to shut up for half a minute. You hope he's all right.

Nothing for it, though. You've got a job to do and the directions to do it.

Wolfspider's gimmick is that he wears the reploids he's killed. Hell, his entire plan after beating Anode IS to wear him. We don't need to dress up as a big flexy spider, we just need to give the impression that we're hiding a big flexy spider beneath an Anode disguise. And not necessarily doing it very well, since they'll be expecting damage on both sides.

We want a disguise that lasts long enough for a single sneak attack. Can you really pass up stealing Wolfspider's other boss weapon.

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>>38736411
And pausing here for the night! More tomorrow. I won't be going to bed just yet, so I'll be around to answer questions for at least a little while.

As always, thanks for reading, and I'll go throw it onto the archive.

>>38736460

Not sure if this has already been answered, didn't see it in the archives, but how long has it been since the Maverick Hunters been established?

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>>38736590
The Maverick Hunters have existed for about a decade.

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This is a test of the bump system. Good night Mav Hunt.

This would, of course, come when I'm out of town and don't have access to my notes and logs and can't storytime it from here. Next time, Command! Neeeext tiiiiiiime.

Jesus I love this quest, though.

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Super late bump. Sorry to do this, but sleep hasn't been forthcoming. I don't normally wish short rest on myself, but I hope I wake up early enough to avoid people having to try and bump this and clog up the front page all day.

I hope the first thing we say to Frog after this mission is 'I shot Shiva!', just for his horrified, furious expression.

hey, quick question for those who actually have set up a maverick game themselves, what system did you use? Been planning to try one myself once my group finishes some other campaigns we're doing and was just wondering how you guys did it.

>>38742457
This is relevant to my interests.

Always great to see another MHQ thread.

>>38742457
Can't speak for anyone else but we used Legend(the d20 one, not Mongoose). It was adequate.

>>38742457

Ours is largely homebrew, but we took a lot of ideas from a game called Run N' Gun, which is loosely based on Metal Slug.

>>38744893
Still pedo-y, degenerate.

>>38745094
Wow, how rude.

>>38745378
It was a callback joke. Sorry if you took it seriously.

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Okay, I'm vertical and didn't get to sleep until 8 in the morning. Did I mention there is no goodness in this world?

Stand by for coffee and MHQ.

>>38746316
Standing by!

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>>38736411
You advance cautiously, but there's really nothing in your way. First, there are at least signs of battle--very few of them, inasmuch as there's anything left, at least. You don't doubt Wisent came this way, given the massive amount of damage--chunks of the walls missing, cratered moonscapes, upturned floor tileplate, pockmarked scorches, and the occasional piece of ex-mechaniloid. Soon enough, you know you're on the right track--like Spider said, the path slopes downward, and before long you cross into great, open expanses of ex-assembly lines. Damn, the Major wrecked all of this?

The path of destruction continues through a bunch of similar lines, scores of wreckage, and enough scrap to make a palace out of. You cross through to a giant amphitheater of a room, the back end having once been a door and recently changed careers to "broken-in slag." It's kind of frightening--the chamber has to be hundreds of feet, and the destroyed door itself has to be thicker than you are tall. Its halves lie rent in and slumped against the walls about thirty feet into the chamber they were guarding, crumpled in on themselves, clean discs of material taken from their corners, and one half of a circle taken out of their middles. It's like Wisent watched Zero bust the front door and went 'I can top that.'

But really, the strangest thing so far is the absolute lack of enemy activity. There's nothing left--nothing that wanted to risk being near any of this giant deadzone.

Still, out is through. You cross through into a dark chamber, lit only by rows of alternating electronic lights, re-entering pristine, undamaged, firmly enemy territory. Nothing scurries out to end you. Aside from some slow, regular beeping from an incredibly useless security breach alarm, silence. You're getting nervous, now--this is the longest you've gone in active combat without something trying to kill you.

"C'mon, mavericks," you mutter faintly, "hurry up and jump me, already."

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>>38747409
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the mavericks are uncooperative. Nothing, nothing, more nothing.

You realize you've slowed your advance in anticipation of something extra horrible waiting in the wings. You'd prefer an up-front threat to this. Where the hell is everything, after all you've seen in this facility? Down you go, following more hallways that wind down deeper into the facility. The light feels at once harsher and more scarce.

And then the hall tapers out and levels off, and you're met with a door. You push through.

...And there's your target, the beam-in site. No hostiles. Monitors warn of the hunter incursion, unmanned and undamaged. Just a shielded, secured room, able to accept beam-in deep underground and despite any local interference.

Spider was right--it isn't hard to man the system and get it working. You follow a few prompts, and run a search for querying addresses. Instantly, you get a clean signal lock--it reads MHHQ-G-17-ELITE.

That's promising, at least. You make the connection, the system handshakes, and almost instantly you're met by a flash of activity as the pad springs to life (making you damn near jump out of your armor in surprise).

A moment later, the first of your reinforcements steps through. You recognize the diminutive blue form of Commander Megaman X again, as the first one through. At his back, a 17th unit strike team materializes, and after sweeping the room, makes quick work of manning the beam-in room. X, meanwhile, gives you a friendly nod. "Lieutenant. Good to see you again. ...Are you okay? You look a little out of it."

>Just nerves, sir. It's been a long mission.
>I'm fine, just a little beat up.
>Other?

>>38747445
>Just nerves, sir. It's been a long mission.

>>38747445
>Just nerves, sir. It's been a long mission.

>>38747445
>Just nerves, sir. It's been a long mission.

>>38747445
>I'm fine, sir, just a little beat up.
Call him sir or Commander the entire time. Calling him X like he wants just seems wrong to me.

>>38747445
>Just nerves, sir. It's been a long mission.

>>38747445
>Just nerves, sir. It's been a long mission.

>>38747445
>Nothing much... enhanced Zombies, Philosopher, trying not to jinx myself now.

>>38747497
Yeah, it sort of feels disrespectful

>>38747445
I was honestly expecting something horrible to happen when I switched this on, sir.

>>38747769
>switch it on
>Philosopher teleports in
>not even surprised

>>38747769
Haha, pretty much this. Worst part is, that's par for the course with Anode's luck with missions.

>>38747445
>>Just nerves, sir. It's been a long mission.
"It was spooky quiet on the way over here."

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>>38747457
>>38747468
>>38747488
>>38747600
>>38747630
"Just a little jumpy, sir," You reply with a salute (he frowns slightly). "This one's been a grind." At least he didn't pop into existence as forty-seven Sigmas, like you expected.

He nods. "I understand. Do you want to stay here while we bring the troops through?"

You shake your head. "I'll be all right. Besides, my team's still out there."

"All right, if you're sure. We'll need you in top form, though. Karin, have we got comms?"

"Coming through now," one of the 17th hunters says, her eyes focused intently on the screen. "Clean connection, and..."

Web Spider appears onscreen. "Finally," he says. "Nice to see you're here."

"Spider," X nods. "What's the situation?"

"Casualties high, but expected. Confirmed presence of at least one G-class, who's since retreated, a few attempted captures, and rebuilt, upgraded mavericks. And..." his eyes flit over to you. "Some more classified matters. You should head back here, Lieutenant."

"I'll go with him," X says. "How's Zero doing?"

"Commander Zero is just completing some repairs. He'll likely be arriving by that pad."

"All right. 17th will help assume secondary command duties. You still have operation control--"

"Lovely," Spider mutters.

"--But we'll handle most of the heavy lifting."

"Copy that, Commander. Out."

X turns to you. "Would you mind briefing me on the way?"

"No problem, sir. Ready when you are."

Leaving the pad to the growing number of Elite Unit hunters, you make your way back up the long, empty expanse towards the main hunter position. "So you're taking after Schwarzhund, I see," X observes politely.

"So they tell me, sir. I don't see the resemblance, myself."

He laughs. "Okay, okay. What have you come up against?"

You shrug. "It's about what Spider said, sir. My team had first contact with a confirmed rebuilt Mav. Chaff Weasel."

"I remember the name. And upgraded?"

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>>38748829
"Yeah, he had all sorts of new tricks. We wound up diverting to take down four more. I just finished dealing with Winter Wolfspider for the second time."

"That was Anchorage, wasn't it?" X frowns again. "That was sad business."

"Yessir. At least there was no repeat of that." As far as you know and hope, anyway.

You continue to tell X what you know, which admittedly isn't much--you go over the run-in with Shiva, the improved capabilities of Wolfspider and Weasel, and the objectives your team was sent off on. Along the way you meet some hunter forces--most looking almost but not as beat up as you--securing the passage between the new forward position and the FOB. Finally, you reach Zero Unit's position, Spider greeting you both with a lazy salute (and promptly only paying attention to X).

"The Lieutenant's filled me in," X says.

Spider folds his arms. "On what he knows, yes. There are those other, classified matters, hm?"

"On the topic of classified subjects," the Commander asks, "have you got a tank deployed?"

"...Yes," Spider replies, side-eyeing you for the first time.

"I'm authorizing its use for the Lieutenant. 17th is bringing an additional, and we're going to need the extra manpower."

"...Yes, sir. Lieutenant, go and speak to Sandgale Sudan, with our 3rd Deploy contingent, and tell him the Commander and I sent you."

You nod, salute, and turn to go. "In the meantime, if you could make me a short list of officers who need the thing, and we can decide who to send home and who to keep..." X's voice trails off as you make your way across the base--past the spot where Weasel dropped that poor hunter--and find a pair of LTBs on guard, around a cordoned-off section of the room.

"No admittance, sir," they say, crossing their weapons. "Zero Unit's orders."

"X and Spider sent me to speak to Sandgale Sudan," you reply.

They exchange a glance, and then step aside to let you pass. "What you see stays in there unless given leave," one states flatly.

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>>38748869
Ominous much? You step through and find yourself in a small cordon, crates of ammunition and a few mechaniloid sentries, with what looks like a recharger bed missing its glass dome. Beside it, working on something on a table, is a long-legged bird Reploid with a feather-fringed head. He turns and looks when he hears you, frowning. "Yes, can I help you?"

You salute, not knowing the guy's rank. "Lieutenant Anode, Fourth Overland. Commander X sent me to ask about..."

"Yes, very well. Captain Sandgale Sudan, by the by. Take a seat, please." At least he's polite, if a little brusque.

You kip up on the bed and wait as he punches in a few commands on a small portable console. A recessed canister rises from his desk and the front guard swivels around, revealing some kind of blue container, a long vertical stripe running from top to bottom, running red to yellow to blue. Two ports--one with a cable running back into its canister, the other free, mark either of its sides. The Deploy officer takes a similar looking cable and carefully connects it to what must be the 'tank.' The other end, he hands to you.

"Please fit this to your external LIFE tap," he says, casually typing up what looks like a usage report on his terminal.

You release the shroud on your shoulder, sliding the plate down by the spike and revealing the direct-line to your microfusion "heart." Carefully, you match up the cable--a perfect fit--and plug yourself in.

"Splendid. Now--"

The result is immediate. The tank's light indicator droops, the blue vanishing into the mid yellows, and you suddenly feel about ten times more alert and active.

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>>38748900
"Transfer complete. Your LIFE cell is full and your shielding is reading nominal charge." And that's it. He removes the cable from your shoulder and then carefully detaches it from the sub tank, which retreats back into his desk. "Please do not share any information about the sub tank with anyone of your combat rank or lower," Sudan says, all business. "You may be asked to sign paperwork to that effect after this mission, which I hope you will deliver promptly. And good hunting."

Hell of a goodbye. Still, you feel like a weight you didn't know you were carrying is gone. All the fatigue from this mission (most of it, at least) is just gone. You're as fresh as you were when this op started.

>Catch your breath for a minute. They know you're here, they'll call you when you need you.
>Report back to X and Spider. There's still more work to be done here.
>Other?

>>38748930
>Report back to X and Spider. There's still more work to be done here.

>>38748900
>E-Tank
OHBOYOHBOYOHBOY
>>38748930
>Report back to X and Spider. There's still more work to be done here

>>38748930
>Report back to X and Spider. There's still more work to be done here.

>>38748930
'Taking after Schwartz'
Seven would love to hear that about us.

>>38748930
>Catch your breath for a minute. They know you're here, they'll call you when you need you.

Take an opportunity to unwind a bit. You might have had all your physical fatigue taken care of, but that dosen't mean you should ignore mental fatigue.

>>38748930
>Report back to X and Spider. There's still more work to be done here.

>>38748930

>Catch your breath for a minute. They know you're here, they'll call you when you need you.

Lets take a quick breather before they sic us at more mavericks. Then we go talk to X and Spider.

>>38749030
Yeah, we're nothing alike. He's a dog and we're sort-of-human.

>>38748930
>Catch your breath for a minute. They know you're here, they'll call you when you need you.

>>38749615
I was talking more about professionalism, but that works too.

>>>>38748930
>Report back to X and Spider. There's still more work to be done here.

I'm onboard with this. Also, am I the only one who finds this asking us to prove we're not robots hilariously ironic in this quest?

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>>38750138
Nope. Gets me every time.

>>38750138
We only get to rest when the mission is complete

>>38750138
Please tell me that name is because you're in an MH game and have wonderful storytime for us.

>>38750188
No, we rest when we're dead.

>>38750190
It's either that or attention whoring

>>38750215
I just want storytime. Is that too much to ask?

>>38750190

Sadly no. I would like to be, but have not yet found one.

>>38750215

I just like names. Sorry? Didn't think it would matter that much.

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Stand by, writing. Need to square away a phone call while I can.

Apart from aesthetics, are there any known combat benefits to getting endo?

>>38750954
I would figure it would cut down on combat options, due to space issues.

>>38750954
Smaller combat profile, assuming you go full endoarmor. Though I imagine that would be expensive as fuck, so odds are you'd go for the more standard armor, just removable.

>>38751078
Yeah, endo with all the bells and whistles demands a king's ransom. Either get that shit built in the concept blueprint or be a Hunter.

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>>38750954
Don't forget "endo" is a broad term for a surgical process, it's just colloquially used for a Reploid springing for anatomical correctness.

Schwarzhund has gotten combat endo and subsequent full-body armor rehauls no less than three times in his life, to keep his body armor concurrent with the times.

>>38751206
HC, how long do humans take in basic training?

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>>38751235
Combat human staff almost universally come from lifer military service for their countries, averaging five to ten years of prior experience. The rare exceptions require two full years of military-equivalent training to even be considered for a rank, either through military, paramilitary/special ops, or in a Maverick Hunters Academy Corps course, and the ones that don't wash out are usually given D-rank status. Most applicants take at least one more year of MHAC, and some do an additional 1-2 in Hunter Controlled Parameter Operations, supervised by 16th R&D. HCPO primarily watch from the sidelines of major conflicts and learn, as well as engage directly in anti-mechaniloid combat action.

>>38751507
So we won't be seeing Rob around base for a while then.

>>38751507
God i cant even imagine a G or even a P rank human

>>38751759
They can't get over A class, bro.

>>38751759
Those do not exist.

>>38751815
>>38751804
Not saying they do exist, its more of a what if question.

>>38751759
only way that would ever happen is if someone found a way to make a super solder serum or something and from what I know of magaman genetics is that advance yet.

>>38751907
*isn't

If we'd utterly fucked up our first mission, I wonder if we'd be playing Anode: Paperwork Hunter right now.

>>38751879
Well, they would have to be handled with a bit more care as they know that they are squishy mortals who can't tank a few tons of ordinance and keep on walking, which means that to survive to make it to G or P class they would have to know who and what is a threat to them and be able to neutralize or avoid them reliably without falling into a pattern that could be easily exploited.

>>38751879
Let me put it this way. Captain America is a solid A rank from what I understand.

>>38752215
What would Iron Man be?

>>38752039
Squishiness also comes with the drawback that a human just can't take the acceleration that a reploid can.

So he'd need some fighting style to accommodate for that as well.

And a human usually can't carry enough gear to get enough power for the really good shit.

That said, there was that guy with time distorting equipment; a superpowered version of that combined with some anime bullshit genius level intellect could make it quite high.

>>38752281
In armor, probably low to mid-A?

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>>38748970
>>38748979
>>38749001
>>38749584
>>38750138
You break back into a look-busy trot, reasoning that if you were given access to energy resources beyond your rank, you should probably act like you deserve it. You report back promptly, to find 17th staff starting to trickle in, and Commander X himself nowhere to be found.

Spider, meanwhile, looks even more sour. You salute anyway, and he gives you a curt nod. It's still a step up. "All topped up, then?" He asks.

"Yessir."

"Splendid. Commander X has already taken the field. I'll be tasking you after him. You'll be guarding his flanks from..." he sighs dramatically. "Well, I suppose as long as we're giving up classified intel at our discretion, I should at least inform you."

Oh, boy. "All ears, sir."

"Recently top profile hunters have been coming under fire from a high-power sniper, and it's making Command hesitant to send our most valuable operatives--" X, he means. "--out unsupported. I don't need to remind you that an unusual number of our best and brightest have gone missing in the last few weeks."

You nod. "Do we have reason to expect the sniper here?"

"Aside from this being an incredibly valuable enemy installation, no. But the fact is there are hunter-hunters out there, and this is a very high priority mission. We've taken down an army's worth of mavs, and we're only just getting into the inner levels of the facility. That's what they've been protecting. That means we can't leave anything to chance. Which is why I'm sending you to link up with the Commander, along with some additional reinforcements along the way."

"Understood."

"Any final questions, Lieutenant?" He gives you a very tired look, as if his own voicebox is betraying him by asking.
>

>>38752287
don't humans tend to use magnet based weapons since it fucks most mechaniloid's shit right up and stealth suits since with one a human is pretty much invisible from everything?

>>38752348
>"Any final questions, Lieutenant?"
just need to know what direction X went

>>38752348
Any other possible enemy specialists besides the sniper that might be out here?

>>38752348
>Nope.

>>38752460
Iunno, both seem like they can be worked around/improved in reploids. I'd expect the combat types to be proofed for whatever magnet shit you can throw at them, and as for stealth, well, as long as a human has to breathe, his stealth won't be perfect.

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Okay, folks, we hit a good stopping point and posting seems to be getting a bit wiggy. I'm going to go ahead and call the thread here. Keep voting with any questions you've got for Spider, and we'll resume with them next time, for the FINALE of part one of MHQ!

In the meantime, I'll be back tonight/checking in occasionally via Team Jerkass. Cain Labs and I intend to work out the answers about China that one anon asked, and as always, we're on deck to field worldbuilding or setting information or the like.

Once again, thank you all so much for reading. Our next thread will be March 29th.

>>38752881
Holy shit, a date.

Thanks for running, hope CL's place is explosion-free.

>>38752881
>skim post
>FINALE... MHQ
>shit bricks and immediately reread
Jesus christ I almost had a heart attack.

>>38752660
I think I recall HC or cain labs saying something about how that since humans don't require as much energy as a reploid that if given a stealth suit they are damn near impossible to find with any sensors except for visual... maybe not even that. Also I recall Em saying that magnets would fuck him up and that we're resistant to magnets because of our electricity powers. Then again this being the megaman universe with the rock paper scissor design reploids have their's going to be one that magnets wouldn't do shit and one that would get slagged faster then if he stood in a car compacter

>>38752881
In the same way we nearly blew our arm off with our misericorde, can Em rig it up to create a delayed explosion if we wanted to?

>>38751879
The definition of of an A Rank hunter is "this guy can handle threats up to Rank A", and the definition of a Rank A threat is "this could be taken down by the best human Hunter we have available". No matter how good any given human is, he will never go above A Rank, because the breakpoint between A Rank and S Rank is defined by the best human.

Glad everyone enjoyed it! Looking forward to the finale.

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>>38751759
As others have mentioned, given that S/SA rank is 'Humans are physically incapable of this', if a human somehow hit G/P standards, once they worked out that it's legit and not some kind of fluke/trick, they'd promptly have to throw out the whole rank system and start again because clearly something fucked up along the way.

>>38752928
Yeah, HC mentioned repeatedly that this is just the tutorial. After this Zero op, the training wheels are off.

>>38754807
I've always imagined that a G/P ranked human would be something like the main characters of the prototype games

>>38755063
Why yes, yes they are!

>>38753717
>>38754807
It's been described in the past, but an A-rank Hunter is literally (and that's unironic) a one-man army. A standing army is required to take down ONE A-rank. It's why for as self-deprecating as Anode is about his power in the face of far more elite contemporaries, he.and sister Cathode are still praised and hailed as a BIG FUCKING DEAL.

>>38755084
Or a Platinum game protagonist.

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>>38755166

>>38755260
>Anode/Em forced to summon MECHA-SHIVA once again to deal with this

I don't know if it's been asked before, but what's Central and South America looking like? Is Brazil keeping busy? How's life in Mexico and especially at the border?

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>>38755260

>>38755458
I am quite afraid of the real deal. Saetoes and Wolfspiders were sudden FUCK YOUS when it came to their shenanigans. Will the Super Saetoes weapon actually help us when the kid comes off? Hell, what exactly is our 'score' anyways? I'd figured we were B tops.

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>>38755166
>>38755458

Jesus Christ, Cain Labs.

>>38755458
That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.

>>38756077
>>38756092
In fairness, Wolfspider and Saetos were both awesome missions. I still feel, personally, that Saetos remains the best event we've ever run.

>>38756077
You mean Hunter rank? Anode and Cathode are born-and-raised A-ranks, if that's what you're asking. Solstrike was our only S-rank takedown.

Did I miss the supplementary info dump on the Second and Tenth Units or did it not happen?

>>38756908
I know it happened, I remember discussing it with HC after it was dropped. Hmm...

Well, checking the archive, here's the 10th infodump. Let me look for the 2nd.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/37681860/#p37707492

>>38757194
Well I'll be... I can't find the 2nd's dossier in the past two threads. Guess I'll post here. Not like a repost is all that problematic.

2nd Reconaissance

Commanders: Scope Mouse (deceased), Longshot Koala

Models Used: Geist 4S (1st Generation), Link Rider (1st Generation), Link Rider Scout (1st Generation), Render Boy (2nd Generation), Render Boy Sat (2nd Generation), Approach Vector (3rd Generation), Geist 4S Riss (3rd Generation)

>>38757378

Much thanks, CL.

>>38757378
Thanks. I've been wanting to read more on the Second for awhile.

>>38756865
Not hunter rank, more like our Score. S for being awesome and impressive, F for "Oh god, why is everything on fire? Why is the WATER on fire?! WHY ARE THERE THREE SIGMAS?!"

Saetos was a fun fight, but again, I wonder how well we did. Lots of people died, but considering the wheel gator story, this seems.. mild.

>>38757378
The 2nd Reconaissance has a tough job. While officially they are the first wave on a mission after the 1st Advance Unit does its insertion run, in many cases the intel required to safely secure a useful advance point means a Recon troop is sent in cold. One of the more hazardous units, the 2nd takes in a lot of less-powerful members, as their role is rarely direct engagement with Mavericks and the few Mechaniloids they are typically tasked to deal with are not particularly threatening. Nonetheless, more heavily protected Maverick operations do require a bit of muscle to scout out, and anything Recon can do to make life easier for the ones doing the actual mission is always welcome. More highly skilled Recon officers are encouraged, whenever possible, to handle mission targets themselves (the “you're there anyway” school of tactical thought).

Recon does more than just scouting, though; surveillance of Mavericks to gauge their abilities and weaknesses is a priority, as is assessing hostage and other security and safety issues. As the stealthiest unit, many of Recon's duties involve covert search and rescue. Espionage also falls within their purview, and in open combat scenarios 2nd troops coordinate with the 5th Communications on battlefield observation. Their unofficial motto is “It's Big? It's Bad? We'll Be There.”

>>38757572
Missions on the 2nd are unusual because most of the time, there's little way of knowing what your assignment actually is. At best you have eyewitness accounts and whatever files can be pulled up that look relevant to the situation. Most of the time, your briefing consists of “well it flies...” and similar statements that lend you little aid. The 2nd never has a large officer corps; between the relatively small number of transfers and the nature of the work that is being done, a heavy command structure
simply isn't needed. The unit keeps its morale up with liberal amounts of pranks pulled at the expense
of others and members are all regulars at paintball arenas, including their private “training” facility at HQ in Geneva. The 2nd are a close-knit bunch who don't appreciate mockery from other units; indeed, the 1st in particular are often fiercely protective of even the most unpopular Recon officers, since they
understand all too well what sort of person you have to be to accept such missions. Recon has a very low number of human troops, chiefly owing to the nature of their work.

>>38757592
The most common Reploids working with the 2nd Reconaissance are the Link Rider series; these hotshot drivers use ADU-T100 Chasse ride chasers equipped with local area imaging scanners. Link Riders form the perimeter of combat zones and also rush ahead to scan the terrain before more thorough scouting takes place. Link Rider Scouts have camouflage, an encrypted reporting channel and carry a P230 Lock Buster Rifle for shooting on the move. A small number of Render Boys, the production model normally used by the 5th Communications, have been enlisted to handle live scouting reports.

>>38757623
In the old days, the 2nd relied on its squad of Geist 4S (“Geist Force”) production models for their ability to generate invisibility fields. Various countermeasures have impeded the use of Geist 4S as primary infiltrators since optical camouflage is highly unreliable; however, their jetpack mobility has seen them continue to demonstrate value to the 2nd Reconaissance as reinforcements and for exfiltration cover. The Geist 4S line has a significant issue with Maverick behavior, however; some 71% of the original production line went Maverick and no run since has seen an incidence rate lower than 42%. It is hoped that the new third-generation Geist 4S Riss, using proprietary domain phasing technology, will prove more reliable, especially as Command suspended the Geist contract in the previous generation, forcing the Geist 6SP and Geist 4S Ansatz designs to be mothballed. The 2nd eagerly awaits the arrival of the new Approach Vector production line, a short run which will be tested for reliability in the field.

>>38757562
HC and I will discuss it.

The only thing that saddens me about the Saetos mission is that I burned Vector Addax on it. That was one of my favorite character designs.

At some point, it'd be great if we could do a mission with Cathode. I imagine it would have to be a big target to warrant to A ranks, it would be cool to see them fight like they trained.

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>>38758172
>a big target to warrant to A ranks

I think you know I'm up for designing one.

>>38758360
Oh, look hear comes Saetos mk II.

wait, holy crap. I just noticed something. we are walking away from a fight with an A rank and we aren't missing any bits. Holy crap, clever plans actually can work.

>>38759463
We've still got more fighting to do, odds are we'll be missing most limbs soon enough.
I wouldn't have it any other way.