>>522673

“Sorry for leaving you behind, Rosalie,” says Olga. “But we can’t-“

“It’s fine,” says Rosalie quickly. “I’m not asking for help that you can’t give.”

“Besides.” The Bravo Squadron leader looks over, smirking smugly. “You shouldn’t be dragging your squadron down with you anyway.” He what? You start to walk over to give him a good thrashing, but Dune stops you. “You should do us all favor and just quit you little monkey.”

Joey stands up, glaring at him. “Who asked you, Dutch?”

Dutch stands up, and immediately towers over Joey. Joey balks a bit, surprised at his height. “Sometimes, somebody’s got to state the obvious.” He pushes past Joey and walks up to a very tiny (in comparison) Rosalie. “You don’t belong in the MI. Hell, you don’t even belong in a test lab where they shove the rest of you rejects. What makes you think you can come here and be a trooper?”

Rosalie takes a deep breath, then says, “I want to be a citizen.”

Dutch nods. “A citizen, that’s funny, that’s real funny.” Dutch immediately shoves Rosalie back, nearly knocking her over. The rest of Domino Squadron stands up. “Nobody fucking joins the MI to be a citizen you little tart!”

“Leave her alone!” yells Stacy. “What’d she ever do to you?!” But before Domino can jump Dutch, Rosalie pushes them out of the way, then drops her rifle and throws off her helmet.

“If you want to fight,” says Rosalie. “You could’ve just told me.”

> Let Rosalie fight it out.
> Break it up, before one of your idols gets her ass split in half.
> Tell Domino Squad to cut in and kick that guy’s ass.
> Other

>>522677
>> Tell Domino Squad to cut in and kick that guy’s ass.
And if that doesn't work
>Punch Dutch in the throat.

Rosalie isn't in any shape to fight.

>>522677
>> Let Rosalie fight it out.

>>522677

> Let Rosalie fight it out.
The team doesn't need us to tell them when to kick his ass:
> When they start kicking his ass, punch him in the fucking throat.

>>522677
>> Let Rosalie fight it out.

>>522677
> Let Rosalie fight it out.
Sometimes a soldier has to fight battles they can't win.

Also, earliest I've ever been to a GS thread, woo.

>>522677
>Dutch hates cute girls.
>Dutch is scum.

> Let Rosalie fight it out.

As much as it pains you to not intervene, it would be insulting to Rosalie to defend her if she was willing to do so herself.

Besides, Rosalie might surprise you. She’s surprisingly very durable for someone who’s so weak and flimsy.

Dutch proceeds to punch her in the face, flooring her. Oh. Well, that’s disappointing. Domino Squadron stands to the side, ready to jump him if need be. In fact, they seem eager to jump him, but Rosalie consistently waves them off. She picks herself back up, now with a bruised cheek and a bleeding lip. She raises her fists up , glaring at him. “You don’t know when to give up, do you?” says Dutch.

“A citizen doesn’t back down from a fight,” she growls. She charges him, trying to lay a few punches on him. But he easily either takes the punches as if they were a kitten’s paws batting at yarn, or dodges them effortlessly. The other squadrons watch on, cheering Rosalie on surprisingly.

“Come on, Rosie!” yells one of the squad leaders. “Kick his ass!”

“Yeah, get him, get him!” yells one of the recruits. “Fuck him up!”

Dutch pushes Rosalie away, back down to the ground. He gets ready to kneel down and give her a real pounding before Breckenridge and Joey push him away. “Fuck off her!” yells Breckenridge. They push Dutch to the ground, getting ready to give him a taste of his own medicine before Dune cuts in and grabs them both by the collar.

“Enough!” he yells. He pulls them off, dropping them to the ground. Dutch is helped up by his squad, and Olga and Stacy help up Joey and Breckenridge as well. Lindstrom stays in the back you notice. Dune yells to them both. “You’re not here to kill each other! You’re here to kill Bugs! You ain’t fucking doing that by fucking each other up! Now back into column!” Dutch walks off with his squad, glaring down at Rosalie. Rosalie glares back at him, putting on her dusty helmet and grabbing her rifle again.

You walk up to Rosalie, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You want I give him a beating later?” you ask.

“No,” Rosalie says stiffly. “A citizen doesn’t ask other people to fight for them. Respectfully Lieutenant, if you go and kick his ass, I’ll kick yours. He’s mine.”

You smirk a little. Wow. Rosalie in full Citizenship mode.

> “Alright, fair. But he better have a few bruises by the time you graduate.”
> “Hey, you still have a squad behind you.”
> “I’m your Lieutenant, I’m supposed to protect you.”

>>522809

> “Alright, fair. But he better have a few bruises by the time you graduate.”
> "Also, remember, there's more than one way to skin a cat."
> “Anyway, you still have a squad behind you. Remember that.”

>>522809
This >>522823

>>522809
>Write in
"Alright, fair. But you can still use some pointers I'll give you later; a Citizen is part of a whole greater than themselves, and that whole provides support to the Citizen when in need."

>>522809
>> “Alright, fair. But he better have a few bruises by the time you graduate.”

> “Alright, fair. But he better have a few bruises by the time you graduate.”
> Other

“Alright, that’s fair. But by time you guys graduate, you better give him a few bruises alright. Couple of things though. More than one way to skin a cat. And two, one of them involves having a little help.” You point back behind Rosalie. She turns around to see her squad standing behind her, waiting for her to join the formation. “Get going, alright?”

She salutes you, smiling happily. “Ma’am!” She hurries to rejoin her squad and the formation.

-

-

“Lieutenant.” Azuma, Mills, and Saki are there to greet you when the column of recruits arrive back at camp. “Good to see you,” says Azuma. “Mind if we talk Idol business?” Why not? You’ve been neglecting it. You nod to Azuma and walk alongside him and the others. “MWI’s given us a pretty tight budget but I can definitely make something work. We’ve got our own timeslot in a venue in about a week plus a few days from now. There is a problem though.”

“What’s that?” you ask.

“We’re the supporting act,” says Azuma. You tilt your head. “That means we go first.” Oooohhh. “Now, the girls, I’m sure they’ll be fine with the trooper stuff, but I’m not entirely sure about fronting up an act.”

“Can’t you make something work?” you ask.

“I am,” he says. “With the budget I’m given, I could totally try and uh… pretty everything up and make things LOOK cool but I can’t save a bad performance.” That’s fair, that’s fair. “I’m gonna do my best though. And Saki though-“

Saki grins at you, holding up a sketchbook. “Nii-chan is letting me do costumes!”

“… yeah that,” says Azuma. He whispers to you. “I needed something for her to do, you understand.” You giggle a little. “Don’t laugh. You’ve never had a little sister like Saki.”

Saki continues grinning. “Tell me, before I get into my sketches, what kind of costumes do you want for the girls? We can do sexy, or maybe cute, or maybe like…”

> Sexy, sex sells.
> Intensify the cuteness.
> “Why not just use their dress uniforms, save some money?”
> Other

>>522971
> Other
A little bit sexy, a little bit cute, and all 'inspired by' the MI Dress Uniform.

File: mil.png (780 KB, 829x1107)

780 KB PNG

>>522971
Cute uniforms.

>>522971
>Other
Cuteify the MI uniform.

>>522971
>>522987
>>523005
Yaaas

>>522971

There is only one girl on the team with a legitimate goddamn talent, and that won't carry an act.

> Go for something cute and uniform based, but tailor it to each recruit.
> Stacy needs something she can move in, possibly something with extra sex appeal as she is the "bad girl" of the group.
> Olga and Rosalie will probably be background, so they need something not too flashy, but still stylish.
> Put Rosalie on a synthesizer, since really that only needs intellect and a sense of rhythm.

If I had my exact choice of setup:
> Simulate a dark background of a war-like scene
> Idols enter as darkened silhouette in a bullet-riddled hellscape (light and dark contrast emphasis)
> Work in LED lit elements into their suits, specifically Stacy's so that she can move dynamically and be sort of seen
> Include an old man with badass war dialogue and heavy bass in the background narrating
> A hero enters, sort of theme, builds to a soaring overture as battle tempo increases
> However, the hero(s) is eventually overwhelmed to saddening refrains
> Cue fade to light and transition to "What are you waiting for?" high energy music

Wow them with a technical display that obfuscates the lack of talent of the idols themselves, bring them into a hero narrative, and then rapidly deflate them with the harsh reality. Even if the music isn't "perfect", people crave a story.

File: Spoiler Image (106 KB, 825x644)

106 KB JPG

> Cute girls in uniform
I'm starting to notice a trend in your quests GS.

Also why the fuck do the Swedes measure their armour angles differently from every single other nation? This is gonna do my fucking head in when it gets restored.

>>523066

Never underestimate what a smoky voice, a backlit projector screen, and a darkened stage can do to set a mood.

>>523082
You should've seen when all of my Quests had to do with WWII at one point.

Besides, nothing better than a cute girl in a spiffy uniform.

> Intensify the cuteness.
> Other

“Why not just make their uniforms cute?” You fold your arms, smiling at Saki. She looks through some reference photos on her PDA, looking up photos of the MI Service Dress. “Give them some short skirts, high boots or socks or something, maybe a tiny little hat. Tiny little hats are cute right?”

“Sure,” says Azuma. “Think you can do that, Saki?”

She salutes you two. “I’ll do my best!”

“What else is there, Azuma?”

He rubs his chin, thinking on it. “Eh, I can work some magic. I got some ideas. If you want something specific though, you should come talk to me about it. We can work something out over a few drinks. I know you’re busy trying to make sure the girls are prepped and ready to be full Troopers but it’d be nice if their Producer would actually uh… produce.” Of course, why not? And hell, maybe Azuma’s just lonely. You’ve been neglecting him you suppose.

Mills says, “The Prime Minister says that most of what goes on is up to you, she just wants to make sure the war effort is portrayed in a positive manner. One that can attract the youth to the cause.” Of course, of course.

Well then…

> Fuck it, it’s time for a drink.
> Hash out things with Azuma.
> Go check on the girls in the barracks, make sure nobody’s picking on them.
> Other

>>523091
Can't argue with that.

The only quests I've ever considered running would be WW2 as well, something about the simultaneous grandeur and tragedy of that conflict makes it particularly compelling.

>>523131
It was the last great war fought with conventional means and with clearcut sides. I find it's okay to romanticize it just a little bit.

>>523127

> Stop drinking you fucking asshole!
> Hash out things with Azuma.

The girls will take care of themselves and each other. We need to actually do something other than being a slushed out stereotype.

>>523127
> Hash out things with Azuma.
> Then get drunk with Azuma

>>523127
>> Hash out things with Azuma.

>>523127
>> Hash out things with Azuma.

>>523127
>> Hash out things with Azuma.

> Hash out things with Azuma.

-

-

You and Azuma sit down in one of the camp’s utility rooms, where Azuma has set out a whiteboard, a table, a few computers, and a fridge for drinks. You immediately gravitate towards the fridge and start gorging on his whiskey and scotch. “Right then, here’s the situation as I see it. The most talented girl here is Stacy, she can dance, she can sing, and she’s the most visibly attractive one I think, Olga being a close second and Rosalie uh… is Rosalie.”

You kick your feet up on the table, nodding along. “Riiight.” You take another sip of whiskey. “Continue.”

“So here’s my thinking,” he says. “We try and center our acts around Stacy. She’ll sing lead until Olga or Rosalie catches up, and she’ll lead the dancing coordination as well.” Yeah, that’s fine, that’s fine. “Now, one thing though…” He picks up a notebook, then slides it over to you. “Songs.”

“Need a song?” you ask.

“Well, unless you want to make films starring these girls,” he says. As if you’ve got the budget for that, ha! “Friend of mine gave me that, said those are mostly rejected ideas. They’re ours, no copyright or anything to worry about.”

You nod. “Anything good in them?”

“I just said they’re rejected ideas,” he says. You roll your eyes. “Another thing. Publicity. Now, a supporting act is fine, we’re going to be the opener for another Idol group, forget their name, but they’re much more popular than ours. And the reason for that is because of publicity.” You nod at that. Mhm. “The Federation is already covering the girls entering boot but only through Fednet, Outer Colonies use third party news channels near exclusively.”

“Anything else?” you ask.

He shrugs. “Not really.” He sits down. “Now, it’s your kick, Lieutenant. What do you think we should focus on building on first?”

> Their talent.
> The songs they’ll sing.
> Publicity.
> Other

>>523091
that was the best point of the quests.

>>523301
>> The songs they’ll sing.

>>523301
>> Publicity.
plenty of talented people left to rot in anonymity, and the whole point of this is positive publicity for the war.

>>523301
>> The songs they’ll sing.

>>523301
> Their talent.
Build the basics first and the rest will follow.

>>523301
> Their talent.

>>523301
>Their talent.

> Their talent.

“We have to build up their talent. We need to teach them to dance, sing, and just… do Idol singer things!” You throw your arms up, trying to emphasize your point. “It’s the very basics of showmanship in general! We don’t want people to think the Federation just grabbed random people off the street to turn into Idols!”

“Isn’t that exactly what you did though?” he asks.

“Yeah, ME! Not the Federation, there’s a difference.” You take a sip of whiskey, groaning. “Listen, you know how to sing, dance, any of that?” He stares at you. “… okay, stupid question, stupid answer. What about Saki?” He shakes his head. “… what about Mills?”

“You want a guy with two fucking mechanical legs to teach three girls how to dance.”

“I’m just-“ You slam your hand on the table. “Fucks sake, Azuma, give me something! There was barely enough budget in the MWI’s coffers to hire you, I’m not sure we can take the hit to hire an instructor.”

“Well, decide now or decide later, it’s up to you. We do have a few days grace before our first performance, but mind you, I’d rather we choose sooner rather than later.” He kicks his legs up onto the table like you, leaning back. “Can’t believe you’re saddling me with this anyway. You know, I got paid more to do the lights for some bumfuck reproduction of Romeo and Juliet than doing this.”

“Then why come here, Azuma?” you ask bluntly.

He sighs. “Because you asked.” Oh. You cough a bit. “What?”

> “Nothing.”
> “How far does that go, me asking you?”
> “You’re a sweetie, Azuma.”
> Other

>>523437
>> “You’re a sweetie, Azuma.”

>>523437
> I KNEW I WAS CUTE!

>>523437
>“You’re a sweetie, Azuma.”

>>523437
>> “You’re a sweetie, Azuma.”
with a dash of >>523449

>>523437
>“You’re a sweetie, Azuma.”

>>523437
> “You’re a sweetie, Azuma.”
"If there weren't rules against fraternization..."

> “You’re a sweetie, Azuma.”

You smile a little. “You’re a real sweetie, Azuma.”

“Hey, I’ve never left my Lieutenant twisting in the wind.” Hm, maybe it’s sheer loyalty, maybe it’s because you’re actually cute. Whatever it was, Azuma was fully behind it even if it killed him. And knowing that, it actually made you feel a little guilty. He shrugs, continuing to lean back in his chair until the front legs were off the ground. “Anyway, Lieutenant, you gonna hire an instructor or not?”

“We’ll see,” you say.

“Right then.” He checks his watch. “Mmmm… dinner ought to be soon. Plus the recruits’ Citadel test.” Oh right. “I’m gonna go grab something to eat, you want anything?” You shake him off. “Well, alright then. I’ll be in the Mess Hall.”

And with that, Azuma leaves you alone to collect your thoughts. Right, new priority is getting the girls a dance or a singing instructor. Well, technically new SECONDARY priority. Then there’s finding someone who’ll make their costumes, then there’s the songs they’ll be singing, their venue, who’s going to be leading on the field and on stage, how you’re going to spread their name around, etc. Fuck, this is a complicated task and you’re just one (incredibly cute) woman.

This requires more drinks. You pop open another whiskey and take a swig. Aaah, that’s better.

Right, what not?

> Go oversee Domino’s squadron’s prepartions for the Citadel test.
> Have dinner with Azuma. It’s been a while since you and him talked about the service anyway.
> Go hire an instructor over the phone.
> Other

>>523589
>Go oversee Domino’s squadron’s prepartions for the Citadel test.

>>523589
>> Have dinner with Azuma. It’s been a while since you and him talked about the service anyway.

>>523589
> Have dinner with Azuma. It’s been a while since you and him talked about the service anyway.

>>523589
>> Go oversee Domino’s squadron’s prepartions for the Citadel test.

>>523589
> Have dinner with Azuma. It’s been a while since you and him talked about the service anyway.

>>523589
> Have dinner with Azuma. It’s been a while since you and him talked about the service anyway.

> Have dinner with Azuma. It’s been a while since you and him talked about the service anyway.

-

-

“So has the stage tech stuff been good to you?” you ask as you sit across from him. You caught up to him in the Mess Hall, empty and deserted thanks to most of the Recruits being out on exercise.

He nods. “Pays really well. Enough to keep me and my sister in that apartment back home. You meet lots of really cool people too, actors… actors really don’t notice you unless you need something to be honest. But, yeah, I love the work. You know how much I love theatre.” You nod at that. He used to talk so much about getting into it during your days in the Service. “And quite frankly, I’d love to get back to it once this Idol business is done.”

“Not gonna think of reenlisting?” you ask.

“Hell no,” he says. “I’ve done my part, let others do it now.” You frown a little. “Look, I gave up a lot to enlist. I enlisted so my sister wouldn’t have to, okay? It’s that… I don’t like my sister being in the Federal Youth, or being part of this. But, I can’t bear to make her unhappy just for her sake, you know?” He picks at his food, grumbling a bit.

“Yeah, I can understand.” Not really.

“So have you chosen an instructor?” he asks.

“It can wait,” you say. “I just wanted to catch up, Azuma. You used to be one of my favorite subordinates. Hell, you still are by process of elimination I suppose.” You fold your arms, pursing your lips a little.

“Why’d the Prime Minister even want you for this?” he asks.

You shrug at that. Who the fuck knows. “Who knows.”

“Well, she’s real optimistic. A lot of folks in the Council are optimistic about the War.” He narrows his eyes. “You don’t buy that, right? That we can win this war?”

> “We totally can though.”
> “Way we’re going, it’s difficult to say.”
> “I’d rather not talk about it.”
> Other

>>523940
>> “Way we’re going, it’s difficult to say.”
We should totally start nova bombing the hell out of Bug worlds! Break the stalemate the way Macarthur wanted to win Korea!

>>523940
> Other
"Not without a miracle"

>>523940
I agree with this Anon >>524008. Sounds like we want to fight a strategic war, but we're stuck in attrition with bugs.

Which is very bad.

>>523940
>“I’d rather not talk about it.”

> Other

“Not without a miracle.” You lean back in your seat, sighing deeply. “Azuma, I hate to be the pessimist, Dizzy was always the pessimist. But… we’re in attrition war with a species that outbirths us 1000 to 1. If they were just dumb bugs with claws and guts, yeah. But they aren’t.”

“Yeah.” Azuma sighs, leaning forward on the table. “… you know what I miss?” You tilt your head. “When the Federal Service meant something to people. I mean, face it, Lieutenant. Very few people are like Rosalie. They don’t join to be Citizens anymore. They join for the pay, they join for the benefits, they join because they want to get into politics, or because they just want to fight.”

“The Federal Service still means something,” you say.

“It’ll be a footnote in the Bugs’ history textbooks,” he says. “I know saying this kind of stuff might get me lashed but come on, we can’t seriously make people believe we can win a war like this.”

“The Prime Minister gave me a mission to make people believe that. And I will carry that mission out if it kills me,” you say simply. “Azuma, I’m gonna be blunt, stop being a pussy.” He glares at you a little. “I know it’s tough, but that’s war.”

He grunts. “Right.” He sighs deeply, looking down at this plate of gruel and water in a glass. “Shame really, the Prime Minister could’ve picked a cuter producer.” HE FUCKING WHAT. He laughs a bit, chortling under his breath. OH HA HA, VERY FUCKING FUNNY YOU GIT. “Just saying.”

“And I could’ve picked a smarter Stage tech,” you say bluntly.

“And yet here I am,” he says. Yeah, here he is. “I will say though, for the both of us, I think both of us have definitely put on some weight. It’ll be a surprise if either of us can still fit in a suit properly.” Yeah, in order to fit in the old Marauders, you’d have to be half-malnourished from the training. Not to mention the skintight undersuits. You shudder, you still get crotchburn from those. “God, now I’m imagining those girls in suits.”

[1/2]

>>524184
[2/2]

“They’ll be fine,” you say. “They got the boys to help them out.” You blink, thinking of something. “Erm, Azuma.” He tilts his head, curious. “You don’t think the girls are uh… you know.” You stick your finger between the thumb and index finger on your other hand.

Azuma’s eyes widen. “Oh, no! God no! They wouldn’t do that! I mean uh…” He rubs his chin, smirking a little. “I know we went to different training camps you and I, Lieutenant. There was this one cute girl in my training unit back at Camp Rodger Young.” You squint at him. “I didn’t do anything! Honest!”

“You better not have, and those boys better not harm a hair on my girls,” you say. “Or ruin them or anything else.”

“They’ll be fine, honest,” he says. “Then again, they are sharing a barracks room together for the most part. Lots of things can happen.” You stare at him. “What?”

“You’re trying to tell me something, and I think it goes, ‘I think those boys are gonna get my girls pregnant,’”. You point to him, mad as a dog. “Aren’t you?” He shrugs. “I tell you something, I’ll bash yer fucking head in if you don’t wipe that silly look off your face.”

“Ah, there’s the Lieutenant I know and love.” You huff, rolling your eyes.

What’s he know about you?

>>524192
That's it for tonight. I'll return tomorrow with more.

Follow at: https://twitter.com/GermanSchteel
Ask at: http://germanschteel.tumblr.com/
Book Tumbles: http://germanschteelbookblog.tumblr.com/

Discuss how not cute the Lieutenant is.

>>524195
Thanks for running Schteel and good news!

One aneurysm later and I've got the armour specs for the Strv m/42, and who says I don't spend my time at work wisely.
> SPECIFICATIONS
- Hull Armour (UP/MG/LG/US/LS/EDS/R): 55@30°/30@80°/55@0-60°/25@30°/30@0°/45@30°/13@35°
- Turret Armour (M/F/S/R): 55+20@0-13°/20@0-30°/30@6°/25@25°
- Top Speed: 42km/h
Not exactly intimidating but it was an exciting adventure squinting at just not quite high enough res armour diagrams using a remote desktop connection. The Swedes for some reason measure their armour angling from the horizontal using internal angles rather than from the vertical, using external angles like everyone else does.

File: 72bafb03-2f52-4297-9215-2(...).jpg (188 KB, 800x640)

188 KB JPG

>>524209
Those damn Swedes are their fucking internal angle bullshit.

>>524195
Her level of not cuteness is 0. Because she is cute.

>>524195

She's, uh, kind of an exaggerated drunkard without a hint of personal charm really.

>>524219
It's like they're doing it just to be different. Damn Neutrals.

Is the Lieutenant a Lef-tenant or a Loo-tenant?

>>524195
She may have the looks but she has little to no social skills.

Question, is the Bug War one of those WW2-esque grand wars that space opera often likes to do, or something closer to Korea or Vietnam or Afghanistan? Is the only outcome for this war the total annihilation of one side, or could it end on a humiliating treaty?

>>524239
As she's from Aberdeen, most everyone refers to her as Leftenant (I just write Lieutenant because I'm used to writing that). However, in the more neutral-accented MI and Fleet, it's the more conventional Lieutenant.

If she were to become a Captain though, she'd be referred to as Major shipside.

>>524245
A little bit of both. It USED to be a WW2 grand war with sweeping invasions and planet hopping from battle to battle until attrition started catching up to the Federation. Now it's becoming a bit more like Space Vietnam.

Technically speaking, the only real thing keeping the war from ending is the Federation's inability to recognize that it can't really win the war from a mathematical standpoint. A treaty IS possible, but nobody wants to admit that.

>>524252
We still spell Lieutenant that way in the Commonwealth nations. The v or f sound just comes from an archaic pronunciation of the rank.

>>524252
Not sure if this question has been answered before, but what keeps the Federation from nova bombing worlds? Pragmatic consideration of groundside resources and industrial facilities, or do they fear that the Bugs will pull out their own version of the nova bomb?

>>524263
The former, most of the real estate the Federation is fighting is very valuable and irreplaceable real estate (and planets similar to Earth are worth the lives of thousands of troopers). It's mostly why the Federation fights the Bugs besides pride, the two want the same land and neither want to give it up.

For less than valuable worlds that can't sustain large permanent colonies, then yeah, the big red button is fair game.

>>524252

So, we're basically convincing these young girls to convince other young men and women to enlist in a pointless war?

>>524301
Yeah, basically.

>>524310
Well that's plenty a reason for drinking.

>>524317
That and the fact that our best friend possibly lover died during an operation that won us a big old fancy medal, which probably means we have a huge helping of survivor's guilt and blame our glory hounding for his death.

Having to use War Thunder for the M36's armour profile because nobody bothered to write anything about its armour other than "kind of trash I guess". Ugh

>>524195
thanks for the fun, boss

>>524310
What's happened with the Skinnys and the other mentioned civilizations?
Did they all secretly come together and collectively say "FUCK. YOU." to both the Federation and the Arachnids, because both sides were abusing/nuking the fuck out of the Unaligned Nations to get them to side with one side or the other?
Whatever happened with the toxins meant to kill Arachnid cloning vats?

>>524209
You do great work and I appreciate you.

But once we add the long 75mm, it should be decent.

>>524825
Thanks, it helps that I just enjoy looking up tonk specifications. Also I got that armour loadout slightly wrong, the plain front of the turret should actually be 55 like the mantlet, though the portion behind the mantlet is only 20 and the upper front of the turret is 20 at 75 degrees.

>>524895
A little bit of a light weight but a decent gun, it should make a good support tank regardless.

>>524895
BTW is a Naurel, The Argentina tank like? Is it decent?

>>524912
Very supporting support tank, as it's gun is closer to something like the M2 75mm or the German stubby 75mm and I don't know if it even got HEAT rounds let alone their capability. It really needs that long 75mm upgrade to give it much value in a Tank on Tank engagement.

>>524925
Do you mean the Nahuel? I don't know much about it but unless I'm mistaken it's heavily based off of the early M4 Sherman designs, with a better Upper Glacis but a gun that was inferior even to the M2 75mm in terms of AT capabilities. It's pretty standard fare for most minor nation tanks (kind of like the Strv m/42). Not terrible for infantry support, but years behind the curve of the major nations and lacking in AT capabilities.

>>524945
I thought it was more comparable to the German short barrel 75mm.

Wasn't the 75mm M2 better at AT then the M2 75mm?

Also what was the AT capabilities for the Nahuel, to my research it was a WW1 vintage gun and the Nahuel was updated with a better 75mm after the war.

>>524964
I didn't know it was updated with a better 75mm, and I'm not really sure what you're talking about with
> Wasn't the 75mm M2 better at AT then the M2 75mm?

>>525000
http://ftr-wot.blogspot.com/2013/04/dl43-nahuel-possible-american-tier-5.html

Not sure if reliable but it was replaced with a Bofors 75mm.

Sorry, I meant that the M275mm is better then the Stubby 75mm German gun.

Also what was the AP capabilities of the original Nahuel gun.

>>525036
Dunno about pen, most WW1 vintage weapons weren't tested for it, but that link states somewhere in the range of 75mm, and WoT tends to use point blank penetration values against flat armour where it uses realistic ones. So, not great to say the least.

The M2 is better than the stubby German 75mm but they're both pretty bad, the M3 75mm as seen on most wartime Shermans was a large improvement.

i want miss cute to get in those skin tight suits and go into battle in her old battle suit
also i know narthing of the tanks you peope are tlaking abiout

>>525054
You think if we get one of those we can replace it with a Bofors model?

How good is that one?

>>525064
The Bofors L/40 is basically equivalent to an M3 75mm (also an L/40 barrel length). Honestly I wouldn't like us to get one, it's rare and not up to par with the kind of tanks we see as standard in the NATO league. There's a reason the project got dropped for buying up surplus M4A4s from the US.

>>525079
fair enough, though i do like how we have a unique roster of each different model of tanks.

>>525079
Oops, left a name on from a different thread. Anyway, we'll probably see some if we face one of the South American teams, but otherwise I think it would be wise to steer clear of too many obscure minor nation tanks in my opinion. If only because it makes finding the details of their armour schemes an absolute nightmare.

>>525080
Yeah, I don't think that will change too much though I wouldn't mind if it did actually, some more unified crews driving similar or the same tanks could actually be really cool, but I digress.

>>525083
You do wonderful work but i kind of have a think for obscure tanks,

I hope we get a P-40 or the 75mm chi-ha

>>525090
Eh maybe? I wouldn't mind getting the Jumbo, the Firefly and M10 tank destroyer but finding 'similar' tanks will be hard.

>>525083
ow effective will a south american team will work

>>525097
I also like obscure tanks but most obscure tanks are obscure for a good reason. For every Challenger (not obscure by tankie standards, but only 200 were built) there's a half dozen Valiants.

I think something like a trio of Sherman crews who finish each others sentences over the radio would be funny, with them eventually filling different roles down the line (maybe 1 goes Firefly, another Jumbo and the last gets a 105mm Howitzer). Or another Cromwell and/or a Challenger formed by Elodie's Fan Club which rolls around with us and are helpful but a bit too clingy on and off the field.

A South American team would probably be as effective as their tanks and players, probably mainly Shermans supplemented by a few domestic designs.

>>525135
I wouldn't mind as long as it's not the same as the tanks we already have. I mean variants are good.

What about the Ram and Grizzly tank are also good variants I wouldn't mind being added either.

Iirc the Grizzly is a improved M4A1 that as better tracks?

>>525150
> Iirc the Grizzly is a improved M4A1 that as better tracks?
Basically yeah, slightly better armour, it's tracks are easier to make and maintain and also a little bit lighter. That said I think most of the Grizzlies in existance are owned and operated by Camp Gagetown's ITL and NATO teams.

>>525175
well damn, I hope we can either get some stock shermans to get some of those conversions or just buy a Ram and Grizzly to add to our list.

>>525191
It's worth noting that while it's better armoured than the M4A1, the M4A3 and equivalents/variants have equal or superior armour to the Grizzly.

>>525204
fair enough but it's nice to consider the option since my hope is to get 30 different models or variants. and the Ram and Grizzly are not bad choices.

>>525208
The Grizzly's a good choice if we can lay our hands on one. The Ram's okay but it's not really great and you can't take it far upgrades wise.

The problem with 30 unique tanks and crews is that crews and tanks will get less and less screen time (like in LGA 1). By grouping them together among similar tanks/variants they can fulfill a narrative role as a group, giving a better feeling of even representation.

>>525226
I thought it worked out just fine, if anything i feel doing something like you suggested will only weaken the character, it may be better to streamline narrative but not with characters i think.

>>525248
Yeah, we'll see how things turn out anyway. 30 tanks is many weeks away

File: 459897b26427b09663a0f55ea(...).jpg (30 KB, 327x463)

30 KB JPG

Hey, I'm back, let's get back to this in about a half hour.

Delay. Will be back in an hour-ish.

>>526892
y you play with my heart like this

File: Hypu.gif (431 KB, 225x300)

431 KB GIF

>>526892
Commence hyping.

-

-

Mills drove you to the Citadel training grounds in one of the camp’s Land Rovers. You left Azuma to continue preparations for the first act for the Idols. Right now you just want to see if they even managed to pass the Citadel Course today. It’d be a real good thing for your mood if they did you reckon.

Unfortunately, when you arrive, you find Domino Squadron huddled together, their Kevlar beat up and with mud and bruises all over their faces. Judging by that, and the fact that the two next Squadrons have already gone with the third underway, they must have failed. Again. You walk up to them, and the girls’ sorry faces immediately turn happy to try and give you some false hope. “Let me guess, you failed.” Their smiles drop. Yeah, don’t try and trick a Lieutenant. You can see right through people as if you had X-Ray vision!

Joey nudges Breckenridge, whose arm is in a sling. “Numbnuts over here ran out under fire again, got his arm broke.”

“Well maybe if you idiots covered me!” Breckenridge pushes Joey a bit harder. “We’d have managed to get up to the top!”

Olga smiles a little. “We at least made to the Citadel this time. We were so close to the flag! But the gun turrets around the top of the Citadel did us in.” She sighs, groaning as she hugs her pack. “This sucks.”

Stacy grunts. “Yeah, and Captain Federation over here-“ She points to Rosalie, whose busy taping some gauze over a cut on her cheek. “She did the same thing Breckenridge did right after he ran out. Got swarmed by the Workers, got her cheek cut up.”

“We can’t afford to make any more mistakes,” says Olga. “Tomorrow’s our last chance at the Citadel Course for dismounted infantry. If we don’t pass now, we’re going get washed down the drain!” Hm. Lindstrom picks at his weapon meanwhile, quiet as can be. “Lieutenant.” Olga stands up. “You can help us right? Maybe you could take to the base commander about uh…”

“No can do,” you say. “You have to pass with all of your worth, or fail with all your worth.” Olga frowns deeply, seemingly near on the verge of tears.

“I hate this!” yells Olga. She slumps down next to Breckenridge. “First the Career Sergeant takes my plushie away from me! Now we got Dutch breathing down our neck, and we can’t even get through this damn darned course! I hate it! I wanna go home!” She folds her arms, pouting furiously, a few tears streaming down her cheek.

> “Harden the fuck up.”
> “It’s alright. You’ll get through it.”
> “Come on, guys. Your squadmate needs your help.”
> Other

>>527065
> “Come on, guys. Your squadmate needs your help.”
Dune's already given them the harden up speech and it clearly didn't stick, so lets try a different approach.

>>527065
> “Come on, guys. Your squadmate needs your help.”

>>527065
>> “Come on, guys. Your squadmate needs your help.”

>>527065
>“Harden the fuck up.”

>>527065
>> “Harden the fuck up.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5xvkAPXB9c

>>527065
> “Come on, guys. Your squadmate needs your help.”

> “Come on, guys. Your squadmate needs your help.”

“Come on you guys,” you say to Stacy and Rosalie especially. “Your squadmate needs you, don’t just let her cry like that.”

Stacy sighs. “Olga’s right, this is just a farce at this point.”

“Yeah.” Joey leans back, sighing deeply. “Fuck me, and to think I thought I wanted to do something with my life.”

Rosalie stands up, glaring at all of them. “You’re all spineless!” … what? Everyone looks at her in surprise. “You know, my Dad was almost killed during training! Hell, his training unit lost ten people in the first week alone! And he still got through it! And I’m going to get through it too if it kills me!” Everyone gives her their full attention, even a few dispirited recruits look over. “Don’t you guys want to be Citizens!? Don’t you want to defend the Federation!? I know deep down in all of you, you can be Citizens too! So come on, one time let’s get this together and let’s make a goddamn plan for the Citadel Course! Are you with me or not?”

…


“Yeah.” Olga stands up with Rosalie, smiling at her, tears still streaming down her cheek. “Okay.”

Joey nods as well. “Fuck me, she knows how to get under our skin.” He stands up and proud with Rosalie. Breckenridge and Lindstrom follow suit. “Stacy.” Stacy looks up, still sitting down. “Come on, Stacy. If I can do it, you can too.” Joey offers his hand. After a moment, Stacy grabs his hand, and he helps her up.

You gotta say, this is making you immensely proud. They’re working as a team.

…

“So who’s got a plan?” asks Breckenridge. More silence.

Okay, your pride has now deflated.

> Walk them through the Citadel Course. It’s not THAT hard.
> Let them figure it out themselves.
> Other

>>527164
>Walk them through the Citadel Course. It’s not THAT hard.

>>527164
> Walk them through the Citadel Course. It’s not THAT hard.
This is a start, let's not let them lose momentum.

>>527164
>> Walk them through the Citadel Course. It’s not THAT hard.
but leave sum things out thers a diffence from telling them all the anwsers(doign it for them) and helping them with hints and tips(helping)
i want to see them get though this by doing something differnt to every ones eils

>>527164
>Walk them through the Citadel Course. It’s not THAT hard.
Teamwork, courage, and motivation are all things that they have to have on their own.
The smarts to figure things out; well, no one ever said you had to be smart to make it as a Cap Trooper (they make you study your ass off to become an officer, though).

>>527164
>> Walk them through the Citadel Course. It’s not THAT hard.

>>527164
>Walk them through the Citadel Course. It’s not THAT hard.

I think the lack feedback beyond bangbangbang ow!

>>527220
ahhaha bangbangbang ow
i have such a dirty mind

> Walk them through the Citadel Course. It’s not THAT hard.

-

-

You’ve managed to acquire a map of the Citadel Course for Domino Squadron to study. “Right, so in front of you of course is that trench. Then there’s the machine gun bunkers, and then the Citadel itself that you have to climb. Now, you have two rockets to spend on shutting down what you think should be shut down, you also have grenades at your disposal as well, along with ascension cables as well. How do you want to plan this?”

Rosalie points to the trench. “Well, I think we should consolidate ourselves in that trench. But, the past two chances we’ve had, we lost because we split up. So this time I think we should stay together as a group.”

“Agreed,” says Olga. “How do you want to plan this out?”

“So we use rockets on the side bunkers first. Then we advance under cover fire on the next bunker. We’ll use bounding overwatch, one will give cover fire to the rest, one will stop to give cover fire to the first person, etc. until we get close enough to drop grenades into their little hideyhole. We kill the bugs, then we clear the gun turrets on top of the Citadel.”

“Seems a bit complicated,” says Breckenridge.

“For you,” says Joey. Breckenridge grabs Joey in an arm lock casually, subtly choking the smaller guy out.

You clear your throat. “You also have to consider that you’re on a time limit.”

“Which means tomorrow we need to execute this like clockwork,” says Stacy. “Dune doesn’t let us practice on the course though.”

Rosalie sighs. “I think we should discuss this more over a ration pack or two.” Everyone agrees, noting that its way past dinner. They pull out ration packs from their kits and tear them open. Olga dry heaves at the scent of hers. Oh come on, it can’t be that bad.

> POTATO SALAD + GRAVY + BEEF AND CHEESE

YEP IT’S THAT BAD. HOLY FUCK.

Rosalie smiles. “We’ll go through the plan later tonight. Until then, let’s just eat.” Everyone starts digging in.

Olga looks over at you. “So, Lieutenant. Are we going to be singing anywhere soon after training?” You shrug. Maaaaybe. “Oh! Who gets to sing lead? Is it me?” She places her hand on her chest. “I bet it’s me! I’m the charming one after all!” Stacy and Rosalie giggle a little at that.

> “Actually, we were planning on having Stacy be the center.”
> “Oh, you’ll see.”
> “Sure, Olga, yeah.”
> Other

>>527274
> “Oh, you’ll see.”

>>527274
>“Actually, we were planning on having Stacy be the center.”

She can sing, and dance, let her lead until we bring you up to speed

>>527274

> You'll get to be lead vocalist, but I was thinking of having Stacy be center. She can put on a dynamic, frontal display, and that'll best catch everyone's eye if she's in center stage.

>>527274
>Other
"Yeah, the charm, but you still need more flexibility and dancing to be the lead, so it'll be Stacy first. After you girls get through dancing and singing, we can switch things around."

>>527274
>> “Actually, we were planning on having Stacy be the center.”
but other songs you can be a lead, each will get a turn

>>527274
>“Actually, we were planning on having Stacy be the center.”
It's not necessarily a premanent assignment though, after you guys are done here and get some more idol training we'll reassess all your positions then.

>>527326

I'll support this. Rotating leads will be the best thing here. Olga's ego is fragile.

> “Actually, we were planning on having Stacy be the center.”

“Well, actually Olga.” She looks over at you, excited. “We were planning on Stacy being the star for the first act.” Stacy spits out her meatloaf onto the map in surprise. Olga’s face drops like a brick. “Look, Stacy can dance, she can sing. It’s won’t be permanent though, we’ll rotate lead singers as we go along, it’ll be your turn next.”

“Oh.” Olga frowns a little. “Okay.”

“Sorry, Olga.” Joey places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah.” Rosalie frowns a little. “Hey, we’ll get to learning how to dance and sing together, okay?” Olga nods, disappointed for sure but at least she’s not crying.

Stacy however is in shock. “Wait. Why me?”

“I just said so,” you say. “You can dance, you can sing, you’re uh…” Olga and Rosalie look at you. “… the most conventionally attractive one. That’s not to say Olga and Rosalie are not!” you say quickly. “In fact uh… Olga! You’re still pretty cute too uh-“

“That doesn’t matter!” yells Stacy. “I- I can’t be the lead singer AND dancer! I’ve- I’ve never danced in front of an audience before! Let alone sang! I- I’ll be terrible!” She tugs on her hair, now suddenly frightened at the prospect of singing in front of an audience despite the fact that she’s survived two days of MI training. “It’ll be so embarrassing!”

“Weren’t we worried about the Citadel Course about ten minutes ago?” asks Breckenridge.

Stacy stands up. “I- I gotta- I gotta take a moment. I- I can’t do this!” She hurries away.

“Stacy!” You stand up. Goddamn it. Suddenly, you feel Rosalie’s hand on your arm.

“Let me,” she says.

> Let Rosalie go comfort Stacy.
> No, you’re the Lieutenant, you go.
> Other

>>527368
>> No, you’re the Lieutenant, you go.
better fix this\
fuck
tell the mto keep workign on the plan

>>527368
>> Let Rosalie go comfort Stacy.
But be within earshot if possible in case we have to help.

>>527368
> Let Rosalie go comfort Stacy.

>>527368
>> No, you’re the Lieutenant, you go.

>>527368

> Let Rosalie go comfort Stacy.

>>527368
>Let Rosalie go comfort Stacy.

>>527368
> Let Rosalie go comfort Stacy.
There's a little, non-alcoholic Lieutenant hiding inside this girl. Which explains why she's cute.

>>527368
>Let Rosalie go comfort Stacy.

Squad unity and morale.

Can the boys sing or dance? They're here and they're bonding...

>>527420
>Can the boys sing or dance?
something like this, maybe?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XRaMP4QPwU

>>527404
couse we are cute as well
well guys il have to leave it here for me
life wants me to do things

> Let Rosalie go comfort Stacy.

You nod, and allow Rosalie to follow Stacy. For now, you decide to leave them and keep their privacy intact. For all you know, maybe Rosalie is going to beat some sense into Stacy, literally like Dune did a few times when you were an Officer. You look over at Olga. “I’m sorry, Olga. I hope you’re not too disappointed.”

Olga shakes her head, obviously disappointed. “No, no, it’s fine.” She takes a bite out of her potato salad, then blinks. She immediately spits it out. “Augh!” Okay, she’s completely forgotten about being disappointed, that’s good. “What kind of person makes these!?”

“Robots,” says Joey.

Breckenridge huffs. “First Robots take over the manufacturing sector, then it’s farming, now it’s the food industry. I swear, you might as well just replace us with robots and be done with it.”

“Then you wouldn’t be able to get citizenship then,” says Joey. “Besides, Breckie, robots aren’t cute. I can’t ogle robots in uniform.” He points to Olga. “Olga though, and Rosalie, and especially Stacy. We wouldn’t have them if we had robots doing everything for us.”

Olga frowns at Joey. “Joey, are girls always on your mind?”

“Nah, occasionally I come up with jokes too,” he says.

“Yeah, he’s a real fucking cutup I swear,” says Breckenridge.

Suddenly, Mills comes over in the Land Rover. He pokes his head out the window to you. “Lieutenant! It’s the Prime Minister, she wants to talk with you!” What? Oh shit. You hurry over to the car, leaving the squadron behind. You get into the car, and he drives a short distance away out of earshot from the recruits, where he opens up a video screen for you to talk with the Prime Minister.

“What does she want?” you ask.

“You tell me,” he says.

After a few second of static, the very cold image of the Prime Minister in her office comes through. “Lieutenant. I trust you’re not gorging yourself on alcohol or attempting to establish yourself as a wannabe idol, right?”

You smile as best you can. “No, Madam.”

She leans back. “Tell me, how are the girls doing? I trust they’ll be able to pass the training with flying colors, yes?”

> “They’re doing fine.”
> “They could use some help.”
> “Eh, it’s not great, at all.”
> Other

>>527438
>> “They could use some help.”
and money
and what do you mean a wannabe idol?
im the og idol
without me this wouldnt even have started

>>527438
> “They could use some help.”
We've got no trainers or song writers, no money to hire them and they might make it through training but it'll be by the barest skin of their teeth.

>>527438
> “They’re doing fine.”

>>527438

> "They're underfunded, overworked, and their very presence here is morally questionable at best."
> "But, yeah, in spite of all that, they're doing fine."
> "They'd be doing better with legitimate training time to build muscle and endurance, not to mention money."
> "If you can at least manage the last, though, we'll scrape by."

>>527459
>>527461

We do need a dance instructor and a physical fitness coach, not to mention a voice instructor.

>>527438
"I'm going to stare at you, PM, a long, hard stare. You are going to interpret this stare, and you're going to realize what it means."

(Long, disappointed stare.)

>>527438
I agree with this Anon >>527461. Give the PM a full shotgun blast of complaints.

> “They could use some help.”

“We’re doing good. But we’re underfunded, overworked, and our presence is raising a lot of eyebrows. You know, I’d have an easier time if you wouldn’t rush this. They would perform better if you gave them the standard six or eight weeks of training.”

The Prime Minister shakes her head. “I’m afraid you must work with the guidelines that I set, Lieutenant. Our budgets are very spare, we cannot afford to do much with a project that is unfortunately untested.”

“At least give us more to hire an instructor for dancing or singing. Rosalie and doesn’t even know how to sing, that’s a really important thing for Idol business,” you say. “Better yet, we need coaches for physical fitness, we need song writers, you’re not giving us a lot to work with.”

“I know, and it pains me,” she says, obviously not in a whole lot of pain. “But listen, Lieutenant. I have faith in you as much as the Prime Minister of the Citizens’ Systems Federation can have in a drunkard washed up war hero like yourself.” Is she trying to have a laugh? “Tell you what, I have heard that you are going to be the Opening Act for an established Idol Group: The Galaxy Gals from Japan, I know, stupid name, but they’re far more profitable than you at the moment. But if you show me a good show, we’ll talk about funding. Until then, make do.”

You blink. “That’s it? Make do?”

“Would you rather I start a draft and ruin everything the Federation stands for, Lieutenant?” You open your mouth, then lean back in your seat, flustered. “I’ve seen how rabid fans can get for their favorite Idols you know. This isn’t just some hail Mary. We put Idols on stage, they sing about how great the Federal Service is, then I believe this war may not be lost after all. So do your job as I request of you, understood?”

“Understood, Madam.”

“I’ll be around when they graduate,” she says. “Until then, Lieutenant. And I hope I will not smell whiskey on you when I see you.” Her transmission cuts out.

A few seconds of silence ensues.

Mills pipes up. “So.” He looks to the side, then back at you. “What now then?”

> “I go drinking.”
> “We talk to Azuma about how the concert is going to go.”
> “I tuck the troopers in for the night.”
> Other

>>527526
> “We talk to Azuma about how the concert is going to go.”

>>527526
> “We talk to Azuma about how the concert is going to go.”
THEN we'll go drinking. God knows we'll probably need a few after we hear what Azuma's got to say.

>>527526
>> “I tuck the troopers in for the night.”
>> Other
And I need you to drive to the nearest liquor store, buy me a few bottles of the cheapest rotgut they've got, and give it to me three hours before we next meet the Prime Minister.

>>527526

No. Fuck that conversation. Fuck her and fuck this stupid assignment.

Call her back and explain to her that if the Federation is so great it's because they don't try to feed people endless bullshit. She wants a batch of fucking starlets pulled out of the dirt, she's going to have to do better than sit behind that fucking desk, make snide comments, and eat caviar while these girls swallow dirt and are expected to shit sunshine.

She has 24 hours to get us the amount we requested or we walk and take our midgets with us. She won't let them go? We can bury her politically as a war hero.

Or better yet, we make a bargain, we don't drink. She gives us fucking money.

>>527526
>> “We talk to Azuma about how the concert is going to go.”

>>527526
>“We talk to Azuma about how the concert is going to go.”

> “We talk to Azuma about how the concert is going to go.”

-

-

You, Mills, and Azuma are back in the utility room. He takes a quick chug of irn-bru out of the can then chucks the empty thing into the trash with all the rest. “So let me get this straight, we don’t have money for a dance instructor, no money for a singing instructor, and she wants us to just make do with the budget that we do have.”

“Yeah. I know, it’s bullshit too,” you say. “I mean, if it were up to me, I’d take the girls and walk.”

“That won’t make any difference, she’ll just get another Lieutenant and start over,” he says. “She’s the fucking Prime Minister, not a goddamn iron baron.” You huff, leaning back in your chair. This is a good time for a swig of whiskey. You uncap your flask, then take a quick drink of it. Aaah, that’s better. Honestly, you get all your good ideas when you’re drunk. “I don’t suppose you have any ideas for songs in that drunk mess of a brain, do you?”

You shake your head. “Not drunk enough,” you declare. He rolls his eyes. “Where’s Saki?”

“Sleeping,” he says. “She spent all day making the costumes for the girls.” Oh?

“Really?” You smile a little. “That’s sweet of her… how’d she get the measurements?”

“She’s real good at using that eyeball of hers.” He points to you. “She’s already got you pegged for a costume too, it’s gonna need to be an XL to fit those big hips of yours.” HE WHAT. “I’m joking, your hips aren’t that big, but this is gonna be a recurring thing until you lose some damn weight.”

“I don’t need to lose weight,” you say. “I’m cute as a button the way I am!” You chug more whiskey, sighing loudly and slamming the flask on the table. “See! Fucking adorable! Now what songs have you got cooking!?”

“Well, I wanted to do something simple to start the girls off. It’s ultimately up to you though.” He slides the songbook over to you. “Take a gander at them, they fall under a few select themes though. See what you like.”

What kind of song do you want?

> Something heroic.
> Something cutesy and bouncy.
> Something romantic.
> “Maybe we can just make this a dance show and go with instrumental.”
> Other

>>527626
>Something heroic.

>>527626
>> Something cutesy and bouncy.

>>527626
>Something cutesy and bouncy.

>>527626
>Something heroic.
That's what we're here for.

>>527626
> Something heroic.

>>527626
> Something cutesy and bouncy.

>>527626

> Something heroic

I'm not saying we should be Protomen,but we should totally be Protomen.

>>527626
Actually, how a combination of the two?

>>527626
>>Something heroic.

>>527689
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkLvpt9Z3fA
> The Federation's sleeping like an MI trapped inside of an idle home.

>>527693
I'd back this.

>>527693
This seems like a good idea.

> Something heroic.
> Something cutesy and bouncy.

“Can we perhaps do… both?” you ask.

He stares at you. “Both.” You nod.

“Well look, here’s the thing,” you say. “I want something heroic, I want something that’ll inspire boys and girls to enlist. Something that really gets down and dirty and dares the audience, ‘join the MI, I bet you aren’t badass enough to do it’, kind of thing you know? But at the same time, these are young girls. Young girls are cute. And cute demands catchiness, cutesy lyrics, bouncy rhythm. You know what I’m getting at?”

“You realize how indecisive you’re being right?” You roll your eyes. Azuma sighs. “Look, I’ll work something out, okay? Catchy should be our top priority though. Those kinds of songs you know? Triple dent gum-“

“It’ll make you smile,” says Mills.

“Triple dent gum,” you say.

“It lasts a while,” says Azuma. “Let’s not fucking get into that now.” Ah fuck, now you got that goddamn jingle in your head. But you can see his logic now. Catchy song means the message lasts longer er go greater chance at a potential recruit. “Let’s just worry about writing the goddamn song that they’ll sing.”

“Right, right.” You pour yourself some whiskey. “That’ll be your job though.”

“I’m your fucking stage tech, not a songwriter,” he says.

“You’re a songwriter until we hire one,” you say. “Get to it.” He rolls his eyes again. “In the meantime. I am going to support you with my drunken ideas and ramblings, most of which shall be incredibly inspiring to you I bet.” You look at Mills. “Mills, get my drinks cabinet, will you?” He nods, quickly exiting the room. “We’re going to be here all night, Azuma.”

“Fucking A.” He leans back in his seat, then takes a look at the drink. “Mind sharing some of that though?” You tilt your head. “Look, I’m gonna be stuck in this fucking room with you, a drink wouldn’t kill me.”

> “Help yourself.”
> “Nope, I am the drunk here. You write.”
> Other

>>527739
>“Nope, I am the drunk here. You write.”

>>527739
> “Help yourself.”
"Here, take my spare."

>>527739
> “Help yourself.”
"Mills you're designated responsible adult, try to keep us on task."

>>527739
>> “Help yourself.”

>>527739
> “Help yourself.”

> “Help yourself.”

You grunt, then slide over a spare flask. “Take my spare.” He takes it, then quickly takes a light sip out of it. “Oh don’t be such a pussy, drink up!”

“I still need to be sober enough to write this fucking thing, Lieutenant.” He takes a pencil and slides the notebook back over to himself. “For God’s sake, you’d think that maybe some people in this world don’t do things by how drunk they are?”

“I don’t do EVERYTHING drunk!” you say. “I don’t drive drunk for instance!”

“Sure you don’t.” He shakes his head, taking a few notes here and there. “Fucks sake.”

Mills arrives back in good time, with a crate of whiskey for you and you guess Azuma if he wants some. “Mills, you’re the designated adult. Keep us on topic will you?”

“Of course, Lieutenant.” He takes a seat next to you, ready to slap you up on the head if you do something stupid.

“Alright.” You lean forward. “How about something with uh… lollipops.”

“They’re high school girls, not grade schoolers,” says Azuma.

“But think about it!” You quickly waterfall more whiskey down your gullet. “Think about it, awright? Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows-“

“That’s an ancient classic, nobody listens to those anymore,” he says. Fuck me, he’s right. “Look, we’re doing this by the book. We’ll have a synthesizer, an electric guitar, maybe someone on electric violin as well.”

“Ah, you’re such a fucking gammy little cunt.” You pour more whiskey into your flask. “Why do you insist on being so boring.”

“I’m not being boring, I’m playing it safe!” he declares. Hmph, what does he know about safe? “Honestly, why do I even let you sit in on these meetings!?”

“Cuz I’m the fucking BOSS!” You slam your flask on the table. “Remember that you shite!”

And through the night, the three of you get to writing the next big hit to top the charts. God knows what it’ll turn out to be. Hopefully you’ll be too drunk to remember that you made it in the morning.

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow's the last run for the week. Hope you all enjoyed.

Follow at: https://twitter.com/GermanSchteel
Ask at: http://germanschteel.tumblr.com/
Book Tumbles: http://germanschteelbookblog.tumblr.com/

Who's the best Idol and why is it the Lieutenant.

>>527820
Because Christmas Cake is best cake.

>>527820
it's gotta be Rosalie, the lil LT.

Still looking like no LGA this weekend??

>>527827
Most likely no I'm afraid. We're leaving early Saturday and not coming back until Monday.

>>527820

Bleh. I really don't like the Lieutenant much. She's a fatty, Cockney alcoholic with no excuse and no charm.

>>527829
Ah well, thanks for running anyway Schteel, catch you later.

>>527834
don't bully

Anyway, night night.

>>527834
That's the entire point of her charm. Now fight me.

File: producer.jpg (105 KB, 1280x720)

105 KB JPG

>>527834
Better than an absolutely blank self-insert.

And I like how it seems that the only thing she really seems to know and be producer-ish about is military training. Helps drive in the makeshift and low budget nature of this entire project.

>>527829
we're not having LGA on friday?

Also what about the ending to Star wars/

>>527820
Thanks for the fun, boss. Have fun this weekend.

File: 1470446828557.jpg (72 KB, 799x599)

72 KB JPG

>>527834
she is da best ever teh frist MI idol ever
but we need to get in fit shape to get back into the suits
im hoping that we would be off to the side but close enguh that people will notice us and then people that like milfs and things will be asking for us to sing or at lest pics with us
stacy for wins( but its really the Lieutenant)

File: Assault Pancake and Crew.jpg (332 KB, 1024x591)

332 KB JPG

>Off-topic unnecessary bump
If you don't follow GS's (excellent) Girls Und Panzer LGA 2 Quest over on /tg/ you can safely ignore this post. Just posting it here seeing as there wont be an LGA thread this weekend and I know at least one anon in the thread's a fellow treadhead who might be interested.

I updated the team pastebin for LGA 2 with all the currently uncrewed (and unrecovered for that matter) but known tanks as well as adding something of a legend for the acronyms I use when I record a tank's armour measurements, so now you don't have to be a psychic to figure out what US means or what I mean when I'm writing Upper Glacis as opposed to Upper Plate. I also fixed some erroneous armour measurements, differentiated armour pieces I had previously classified as a single type and found out how thick an IS-2's mantlet is, the answer might surprise you! Have a gander: http://pastebin.com/bUU2v0z8

Also obscure tank fan anon, have one of the best obscure tanks, the Hungarian Zrinyi II Assault Gun, aka the "Assault Pancake".

> SEVERAL YEARS AGO… <

You await your maglev train to take you to Camp Arthur Currie. Mum and Pop were intensely disappointed at your choice to enlist in the Federal Service, but at least loved you enough to try and understand why you made the decision in the first place. In the end, they realized that their little girl was growing up, and making her own decisions now. And that meant decisions that they would sometimes fear and loathe. Regardless, they saw you off on the shuttle ride away from Aberdeen, with Pop clutching your bags as if that’d be the last time he’d ever see you and Mum trying to give you as many encouraging words as she could.

Almost made you cry it did.

But now you sit on the bench on the train station, leaning back with your bag of spare clothes and toiletries. You fold your arms, sighing as you listen to the radio through your earphones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyM1gd_FVZg

God, what was it going to be like, the Mobile Infantry? The Recruiters of course were very blunt about the idea of injury and what not. Not to mention that they were also very honest that the courses for the MI were not geared towards women just yet (this was the first year they were allowing women to take MI training after all, something about bolstering the MI’s flagging numbers). You heard the stories, people dying of exhaustion, the intense training, the nightmare-ish drill instructors. All to weed out the few from the many. Hopefully you’ll be one of those few.

“Hey.” You blink, looking to the side to see… Dizzy!? He drops his bag next to yours, smiling. “This seat taken?”

You pull your earphones out, looking at him incredulously. “The fuck are you doing here?”

“Language,” he says jokingly. He plops down on the bench next to you. “I’m joining the Mobile Infantry. Same as you.” He what. “Come on, you’re never gonna survive training without me.”

“I was hoping I’d get through training WITHOUT you,” you say. He rolls his eyes. “Dizzy, come on. What are your parents gonna think? What’s your sister going to think?”

He waves you off. “Ah, they don’t care.” He taps you on the arm. “But I know you do, and same as me.” What? “Look. We’re friends you and I. We stick together through thick and thin, the MI is gonna be no different.”

“I bet it fucking is though,” you say. “Dizzy, you can’t have-“

“Already signed the paperwork,” he says simply. What is this fucking idiot thinking? “Come on, sweetheart. You and me, we get it through it together. I know Ruszczyk put you up to this, well, I ain’t going to leave you twisting in the wind.” He offers his fist to you. “Eh?”

You blink. “Dizzy. This is serious. This isn’t-“

“I know it’s serious!” he says. “That’s why I’m with you.”

You sigh. He has a way with words.

> “Thanks, Diz.”
> Give him the fist bump.
> “Anyone asks, we don’t know each other.”
> Other

>>529084
>> “Anyone asks, we don’t know each other.”

>>529084
>> Give him the fist bump.

>>529084
> “Thanks, Diz.”

>>529084
> “Anyone asks, we don’t know each other.”

>>529084
>Give him the fist bump.

> FINE DO EVERYTHING GOSH

You thump his fist with your own. “Thanks, Diz.” He grins, leaning up against you and wrapping his arm around you. “But listen, anyone asks, we don’t know each other so take your fucking arm off me.” He blinks, then chuckles lightly as he scoots away gently. “Seriously. Diz, you don’t even show up to H and M class half the time, you’re going to die out here if you don’t believe in the Federal Service.”

“And you do?” he asks.

“Well-“ You stop yourself. “Whatever.”

“Look, it’ll be smooth sailing, I guarantee it. Next thing you know, we’ll be citizens, and we’ll be enjoying some drinks back home watching the Bugs get squished on Federal Network News,” he says.

…

> PRESENT DAY <

AFAUUGUGHUUUGGH

“Is that it?” Azuma stands over you as you lean into the toilet, expelling the alcoholic contents of last night down the shitter. Motherfucker, your stomach is on fire, Jesus. You suddenly heave. OH HERE COMES MORE. You vomit more up, spraying the inside of the toilet with more chunks. “Guess not.”

“Ffffuuck yooooou…” you groan, hanging your head low. “Do me a favor,” you croak. “Hold my hair back, ya bastard.” He grabs your hail into a handy ponytail and pulls back lightly, making sure none of the stands get covered in vomit. “Ugh, thanks, sweetie.”

He rubs his head, groaning. “Well, on the bright side, we got the song done.” Your fucking head…

“Is it at least good?” you ask.

“… I wouldn’t say it’s good,” he says.

“We had Mills though,” you say.

“Oh, so Mills is suddenly a fucking song artist now is he, you pulling my fucking leg?” You roll your eyes. Oh, throat. A little more. You spit up some drool and bile. Oh God… “You know, Lieutenant. I’ve been thinking. You ever think that maybe you drink a little too much?”

“Fuck says I drink too much!” you yell. “I’m fine you maggoty shite!”

“Are you?”

> “No.”
> “Yes, now get me my fucking whiskey.”
> “Are you my fucking mum, fuck off you little slant-eyed shite.”
> Other

>>529198
>> “No.”
The prime minister wants me to save the Fedaration. No, I am not fine.

>>529198
>> “Are you my fucking mum, fuck off you little slant-eyed shite.”

>>529198
>>529207
Seconding this.

>>529198
> “No.”
But I'm an officer, so I just gotta keep on trucking, that's my lot.

>>529198
>> “Are you my fucking mum, fuck off you little slant-eyed shite.”
but dont leave me its all i have left no that that his gone

>>529198
>“No.”

> “No.”

You spit up some more drool, then cough up a bit more. “Fuck… no,” you say quietly. “Madam wants me saving thae fucking Federation AGAIN. I’m not really all that fine I s’pose.”

He kneels down next to you. “Well hey. First step is probably cutting back on the drinking, alright?” You look over at him, and the look you see on his face is genuine concern. Augh, no one’s looked at you like that in years besides your parents. You look back into the toilet, looking right at the sick you’ve made in that shitter. Goddamn, that’s almost making you want to vomit more. “Okay?”

“Whatever,” you mutter.

He sighs. “Well, that’s a start.”

“Aw fuck off you shite.” You push yourself off the toilet and wipe a bit of sick off of your uniform as well. “I’ll stop drinking when I want to.” And right now, you desperately want a drink. “Now if you excuse me, I-“

Mills enters into your toilet stall. “Ma’am, Azuma.”

Ugh. Damn it. “Mills, the fuck do you want?”

“The girls are having their dirty fighting instruction course today before their last dismounted Citadel Course,” he says. “Did you want to come oversee it?” Oh God, that actually makes you smile. You have very fond memories of dirty fighting.

> “Sure, let’s go.”
> “Not yet, Azuma’s sister had those costumes ready, right?”
> “Not yet, I need my drinks first.”
> Other

>>529308
>> “Sure, let’s go.”
but frist make me look like i havent been thowing up

>>529308
>“Not yet, Azuma’s sister had those costumes ready, right?”

>>529308
>> “Sure, let’s go.”

>>529308
>> “Sure, let’s go.”

>>529308
> “Sure, let’s go.”

but how dose one dirty fight a bug?
so many balls getting kicked in

> “Sure, let’s go.”

You nod. “Alright, fine, fine…” You hold up a finger, stopping them from moving. “But first, get me a dry uniform, I’ve been sick all over this one.”

“Right away, ma’am.”

-

-

After getting a nice swig of whiskey into your system (along with coffee you guess) plus dressing into a new uniform, you, Azuma, and Mills arrive at the training grounds where the remaining recruits have lined up to be addressed by the Dirty Fighting Instructor. Dune had already texted you, saying another recruit had been institutionalized for insanity last night, one less to worry about you suppose. You three dismount and walk to the side to oversee things. “Awright ya little runts!” yells the Dirty Fighting Instructor. “My name is Career Sergeant Henley! I’m the Dirty Fighting Instructor here!”

“You know this guy?” asks Mills.

Mills shrugs. “All I know is that Dune’s scared of him.” You haven’t seen him yet past all the recruits. Wait, wait, there he… is?

The man yelling obscenities and swears at the Recruits is nothing more than an invalid missing two legs and an arm. He wheels around in his automatic wheelchair, flailing his good arm at the Recruits, all of whom look absolutely bemused and amazed at their Dirty Fighting Instructor.

Oh fuck. They don’t know what they’re in for.

“Right then! Let’s get this fooking show on the road, yearra. Who wants to spar first!?”

Olga steps forward, smiling at him. “I’ll spar you with you, Career Sergeant!” Oh shit.

> “Olga, you don’t want to do that!”
> Let her learn, she won’t learn if she doesn’t get hurt.
> Other

>>529404
> Other
"No broken bones please, Career Sergeant."

>>529404
>> Let her learn, she won’t learn if she doesn’t get hurt.
Cross our finger.
"pleasenofacepleasenofacepleasenoface"

>>529410
This.

>>529410
this > Let her learn, she won’t learn if she doesn’t get hurt.

>>529404
This: >>529410

> Other

You raise your hand. “Career Sergeant!” He turns his blind eye to you. “Sergeant, please no broken bones or anything involving the face the breasts. Just a… very quick request.” Olga looks at you, confused.

“Hmph.” Career Sergeant Henley rolls his good eye, with Sergeant Dune standing in the background solid as rock. “Fine.” He wheels his wheelchair back. “Alright little girl, come at me.”

Olga looks at him, then back at you. You shrug in response. “Um, okay. Well, I hate to beat up a disabled man but since you asked.” She raises a fist, then tries to punch him.

The next few minutes you cannot possibly describe because you don’t know how. A man with only one arm bound to a wheelchair has managed to put Olga, who has all of her limbs and has complete control over her body, in a very vicious triangle headlock. “OW OW OW! LET GO LET GO LET GO!” yells Olga.

See, there’s a specific point to the Dirty Fighting Instructors. Camps will always put in the most mangled and wounded instructors as Dirty Fighting Instructors to teach the recruits a very specific lesson: There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men. Olga struggles to get out, her face turning blue from lack of air. “P-… please!” she gasps.

And with that, Henley drops her. She coughs furiously, catching her breath. “Right, now that that’s over with, find a partner and get to learning it! Those who want to get out of the lesson will have to go through me!” he yells. The recruits start dispersing into pairs, Rosalie with Breckenridge, Olga with Lindstrom, and Joey with Stacy.

Joey smirks at Stacy. “Alright, forgive me if my hands drift towards anywhere private, alright, Stacy?” Stacy slaps Joey. “Ow!”

“Keep your fucking guard up!” yells Henley.

Stacy smirks. “He’s right.” The two start to wrestle each other in slow and deliberate fashion, to try and learn the moves first before putting it into practice.

Dune walks over to you. “Today’s their last day for the Citadel Course.”

“You think they’re ready?” you ask.

“Half the recruits here aren’t ready,” he says. “But… I’ve seen stranger things happen I guess. They ain’t going to pussy out for sure. That Rosalie character, they’ve really rallied around her, not just Domino but some of the teams as well.” Really? That’s actually pretty reassuring. He takes a sniff of you. “You been drinking?”

“… no,” you say quietly. He tilts his head, giving you the glare of death. “… okay, a little. Look, that’s not important, you think they’re ready for the suit trials?”

[1/2]

>>529459
“It takes a week to learn how to walk in a suit, you know that,” he says. Aw fucks sake. As much as you hate to admit it, he’s right. You remember how many people broke their legs just learning to walk in a suit, not to mention the unlucky bastards who break their suits and end up getting locked inside as punishment. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, I can see them passing the Dismounted trial, but the Suit trial. The boys of Domino, sure. But the girls are gonna be all over the place.”

“What do you propose then?” you ask.

“Take two of their chances, replace them with training days,” he says.

Azuma blinks. “That’ll only give them one chance to pass the Suit trial though.”

“The suit isn’t a bike, you don’t learn to use it in a day. If they try the trials in the suits without prior training, they’ll hurt themselves at best,” says Dune. “It’s up to you, however, Lieutenant.”

> “We’ll give them the training they need at the cost of the two chances.”
> “We’ll take one day, that’s it.”
> “No, they’ll learn as they go.”
> Other

>>529462
>> “We’ll give them the training they need at the cost of the two chances.”

Well shit.

>>529462
>> “We’ll take one day, that’s it.”

>>529462
>> “We’ll take one day, that’s it.”

>>529462
>> “We’ll take one day, that’s it.”

>>529462
> “We’ll give them the training they need at the cost of the two chances.”
You don't want to fuck about with something like a suit. Better to practice more and get it right the first time.

>>529462
> “We’ll give them the training they need at the cost of the two chances.”

> TIE VOTE

“We’ll decide later,” you say. “I would like to get them some training though, at least one day. Two days tops.”

“So tomorrow a training day then?” asks Dune. You nod at that. Yep, one day you can understand. If they show good progress, then you’ll give them the two chances. If they need another day though, they’ll need another day. “Alright, fine.”

Breckenridge presses Rosalie against the floor with his sheer bodyweight, almost crushing her. “Come on, Rosie!” yells Breckenridge. “You can do it! Get up!”

“Fuuuuuuu…” Rosalie slaps Breckenridge on the face, all she can do at this point.

Dune folds his arms. “You want to talk to them before they try their hand at the course?”

> “Sure.”
> “No, I think they got this.”
> Other

>>529543
>> “Sure.”
Big sister pep-talk time!

>>529543
>Sure

>>529543
> “Sure.”

>>529543
>> “Sure.”

>>529543
>> “Sure.”

> “Sure.”

“Domino Squadron, front and center!” The six girls and boys come together and stand at attention in front of you. “Listen up, tonight is your night! This is your last, best chance to pass the Citadel Course and advance to the Suit trials! If you fail, you’ll be washed out and you can say goodbye to citizenship!” You stand in front of them, placing your hands on your hips. “So. Everyone know what they’re doing?”

“Yes, ma’am!” they shout.

“Good!” you say. “Passing the Citadel Course is the ultimate test of teamwork! You show me you can pass, and you’ve shown the world you can work as a team!” You step in front of Joey, Breckenridge, and Lindstrom. “You boys are my girls’ ticket to citizenship, do not fail them! Likewise with you girls!”

“Yes, ma’am!” they shout again.

You adjust your collar a bit, smiling. It’s been a while since someone treated you like a proper Lieutenant, hmph. “Right! Do not disappoint me! Dismissed!”

Domino Squadron salutes you, falling out. “Alright everyone.” Rosalie huddles them together. “Got the plan figured out?” They all nod, whispering and muttering to each other in their little huddle as if they were some football team planning a big push towards the goal. Makes you a little proud that.

Azuma picks up his phone, blinking. “Lieutenant.” You turn around. “It’s Saki. She wants to show off the costumes to you.”

> Tell her to meet us at the Citadel Course.
> Sure, let’s go.
> Not now.
> Other

>>529611
>> Other
"Tell her to meet us when Domino Squad is done with the course."

>>529611
> Other
Come over as soon as we're done with the course.

>>529613
Supporting

>>529613
>>529615
This, please.

>>529611
I concur with Anon >>529613

Please for the love of God let them pass.

-

-

“Bravo Squadron, pass!” yells Dune. He looks out from the overwatching tower with you, Azuma, Mills, and even Major Brown the base commander himself. Bravo Squadron, led by Dutch, walks out of the front entrance, a bit shaken but not defeated. They had done the Citadel Course just a little under record time in fact, with no casualties. “Domino Squadron! Next!”

The two Squadrons pass each other, one entering, one leaving. “Check it fellas.” Dutch chuckles at them, the rest of the squadron giving Domino some cheeky grins and smirks. “Time to watch the Dominos fall.”

Domino Squadron stops in place. Joey has this to say. “They are so much better than us.”

“Can it,” says Breckenridge. “Rosalie.” Rosalie looks back at Breckenridge. “You set to go?”

“All set,” she says. “Everyone else?” They all nod. Rosalie offers her fist. And they all bump theirs against her. “Let’s go, Domino!”

“Ha!” they all shout. They all charge into the entrance.

Dune looks over to Brown. “They’ve improved, Domino Squadron. What’s your take of it, Major?”

“We’ll see how they do,” says Brown. Ever the skeptic you suppose, the man who’s probably actively attempting to sabotage the Idol program before it even begins. You roll your eyes, watching your Idols and their boys prepare their weapons. “Domino Squadron. Are you ready?”

“Yes, sir!” they all shout.

“Start the course.”

The doors drop down, and the six of them rush down into the trench under heavy fire from the bunkers. You note however that instead of keeping together as a group like Rosalie said, they’re now split up into two even groups, Rosalie leading Lindstrom and Breckenridge and Olga leading Stacy and Joey. What are they up to? “Rocket up!” Olga quickly stands up, and fires a rocket at the central bunker, blowing it open and scattering the caged worker bugs.

“Interesting choice,” says Brown.

They charge ahead to the side bunkers now. They grab grenades and toss them into the slits. The explosions silence the machine guns quickly, allowing them to cross the field functionally unopposed, save for the wandering Worker bugs.

“They’re getting farther than I thought they would!” says Azuma. You glare at Azuma. “What? A bit of healthy skepticism!”

They advance to the next set of two bunkers. Instead of using rockets again, they again clear the bunkers out with grenades into the machine gun slits. To facilitate this, they cover each other with fire from across the lanes, keeping the machine guns from turning in on the team clearing them out. You have to say, they’re getting far! Real far!

[1/2]

>>529702
The final rocket is spent on the central gun turrets on the Citadel tower. The rubble comes crashing down into huge piles at the base. “Alright, Lizard Lines!” yells Olga. They reach for their belts.

And find nothing. “Shit, where are our cables!?” yells Breckenridge.

“Something’s wrong,” says Azuma, now suddenly afraid. You are too.

“Where are their cables?” you ask.

“Maybe they misplaced them,” says Brown. Oh. No he fucking didn’t.

“You didn’t steal their fucking Lizard Lines, did you?” you ask. Brown glares at you, then looks back at the Course. You look at Dune. “Dune! You have to stop this! Major Brown cheated!”

Dune looks over at you, squinting at you. “Do you believe in these girls?” he asks. You blink in surprise.

> “Yeah. I do.” Let them figure things out.
> “Yeah, I do! But not like this!” Stop the test.
> “No I fucking don’t!” Stop the test.
> Other

File: Citadel.png (262 KB, 1209x678)

262 KB PNG

I forgot to post the actual map since I'm questing from the laptop.

>>529705
> “Yeah. I do.” Let them figure things out.
I've seen that episode of The Clone Wars too Schteel, I know your game.

>>529711
>Literally the Citadel episode from Clone Wars
Fun times, Schteel.

>>529705
> “Yeah. I do.” Let them figure things out.
"I'm still going to beat the ever loving shit out of you, Major. Whether you'll need rhinoplasty or a wheelchair depends on what happens afterwards."

> “Yeah. I do.” Let them figure things out.

“Yeah. I do.” You grab the bars on the railing. Any harder and you’d be leaving indents of your fingers. You’re going to give Brown a thrashing next time you get a chance to. Nobody throws your girls under the bus like this, no one.

But fuck, you have enough faith in your girls to let them see this through to the end.

“Fucking hell! How the hell are we supposed to get up there!?” yells Joey.

“We could try climbing up on the turret wrecks and rubble!” says Lindstrom.

“That’s still no good, there’s another level to use the Lizard line on!”

Stacy drops her pack, then drops her rifle as well. “Joey, you’re with me. I’ll get up there.” Worker Bugs suddenly burst out of the ground, with shock collars on whatever appendage connects their head to their body. “Cover us!”

Olga, Breckenridge, Lindstrom, and Rosalie form a firing line, firing full auto at the advancing Worker Bugs. Joey and Stacy hurry to climb up over the rubble onto the first platform level of the Citadel. “Hurry up!” yells Breckenridge. They manage to climb up onto the first platform, but are stymied by the sheer height of the last tower. It’s too tall to jump up by ones self, which would necessitate the Lizard line.

But in Stacy’s case… “Joey, kneel down and give me a leg up.” Joey nods, crouching down and locking his fingers together. He forms a little handhold for Stacy. Stacy takes a runback, then charges straight at him. Joey shuts his eyes, holding his hands up. Stacy runs up onto his hands then scratches her boots against the wall in a huge leap.

And catches the edge with her hands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt-sNeTAokU

She hoists herself up, and finds the flag flapping in the wind. She hurries to grab the flag and wave it in the air, signaling their victory. Domino Squadron, and even several of the Recruit Squadrons waiting their turn cheer, firing their rifles into the air. “WE DID IT!” yells Rosalie. She hugs Breckenridge happily.

Brown folds his arms, glaring at the scene of it. Dune looks at Brown. “Ain’t that a surprise,” he says quickly. Brown glares back at Dune. Dune walks over to you, giving you a nod. “They’re a good bunch.”

“They’re my bunch,” you say.

Stacy drops down, and immediately hugs Joey in triumph. They’ve passed the Citadel Course.

So what now?

> Crack open a bottle or seven and celebrate the moment.
> Get the costumes together, might as well.
> Talk to Major Brown. You’re not letting this fly.
> Other

>>529742
> Get the costumes together, might as well.
Brown's a Major, we're Lieutenant, and our medal only takes us so far, so let's just drop it. Besides, the costumes are kind of a celebration/reward for the girls anyway.

>>529742
>> Get the costumes together, might as well.

>>529742
>Get the costumes together, might as well
And file a formal complaint about intentionally sabotaging a group.

>>529742
>> Get the costumes together, might as well.
We'll chew out Brown later. I wanna see those costumes.

>>529713
>>529716

You only just noticed this?

>>529742
>Get the costumes together, might as well.

Later, we'll have someone write a song that constantly references the word brown in association with failure or shit.

And make it as catchy and chart topping as possible.

> Get the costumes together, might as well.

-

-

You, Azuma, Mills, and the boys of Domino Squadron sit down outside of the tent. Several other Recruits, even Dutch himself are expecting to see the new costumes of the Idols. Azuma leans over, showing you a picture of Stacy waving the flag in the air. “That’ll be something for the papers.” You smile a little, not a bad picture you think. That could earn you some street cred on Fednet.

Saki comes out of the tent, grinning. “Ladies and gentlemen! May I introduce to you, the Starship Idols!” She pulls back the tent flap, and allows the girls to come out to a rousing applause and cheerful whistles.

The costume Saki has designed is a very basic variation of the MI Dress Uniform, with some recolors made to it. It was now a light green blouse, shortened to expose the midriff, a pleated olive drab miniskirt as well with a pair of black ribbons on the belt. The sleeves were shortened up, with a pair of elbow length black gloves. Their legs were accentuated by lightened grey boots, and black stockings on the bows. On their left arm was a red armband with the MI Logo upon it. And to preserve their modesty, they wore spats underneath their skirts as well.

Their accessories varied. For Olga, it was a pair of red ribbons in her hair. For Rosalie, it was sharper looking more sporty glasses for her eyes. And for Stacy, it wasn’t accessories so much as undoing the blouse entirely and showing off the white tank top underneath to give off that delinquent feel. The boys all whistled and clapped, cheering the Idols as they all waved and smiled, Stacy and Rosalie very nervously so. Even Dutch was reluctantly clapping along with them.

You take a swig of whiskey, smiling. “They look great, Saki.”

“You think?” She smiles happily. “Thank you!”

“Like a million quid,” says Azuma.

Olga bounces over to you. “Lieutenant, I love it! I can’t wait for our first concert! Do you know what song we’re going to sing!?”

You and Azuma look at each other.

> “It’s in progress.”
> “Sure!”
> “Not yet.”
> Other

>>529800
Nah, I mentioned it earlier in the thread with Domino Squad and the like, but that post went from references to direct quotes/exact scenes. Not that I mind too much, it was a good arc.

>>529809
“Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal.”
-Igor Stravinsky

>>529807
> Other

Whip it out, Azuma! Let's see if it measures up.

Also, do the lads have any musical talent? A little beefcake might get a few girly recruits.

>>529807
> “It’s in progress.”
Don't worry about it yet, you just focus on your suit training, which starts tomorrow. We'll have the song ready for you when you're done.

> “It’s in progress.”

“It’s in progress,” you state. Olga nods, understanding. “We’ll get it to you after you finish the Suit Trials. Until then, don’t worry.” Olga nods, happily rejoining the rest of the girls.

“Hey come on! Dance for us!” yells one of the boys. “Yeah, yeah!” yells another. They cheer on the girls, both of whom look over to Stacy.

“I-…” Stacy coughs. “I mean, I- we don’t really- you don’t really want to see us dance, guys!” The various Recruits all groan in disappointment, then try to cheer Stacy on, clapping and chanting “Dance, dance, dance!”

You stand up. “Alright, that’s enough. You’ll see them practice and dance later.” The Recruits all groan much louder this time with disappointment. “Go on, get. Disperse. You got a longer day ahead of you.” They start milling around camp, opening up their dinner rations and settling around camp fires. The boys of Domino Squad then came to talk with the girls.

“Gotta say,” says Joey as he looks up and down Stacy’s body. “You all look cute. Stacy, you really pull off the look well.” Stacy grumbles a bit, blushing as she turns her head away. “Aw, come on, don’t be shy.”

“Leave it.” Breckenridge nudges Joey. “Seriously, you girls are a real credit. Didn’t think we’d actually have a chance at doing the Course going into this. Thought we’d wash out.” They look over at Lindstrom. “Innit that right, Lindy?”

“Y- yeah…” Lindstrom rubs his arm a bit, a light pink to his cheeks. “Y-… you all look great.”

“Someone’s gonna be up all night,” Joey mutters. Breckenridge and Joey laugh a little at Joey’s expense.

“Well thanks boys!” Rosalie smiles at the three of them. “I wish we could take you guys on with us when we graduate but I know the MI needs troopers everywhere, not just in one place so, it’s likely we’ll get split up I guess.”

> “Have some fun while you can.”
> “I could probably pull some strings.”
> Other

>>529807
>> “It’s in progress.”
>> "Actually, you guys want to try a hand in this?"

Olga would probably love to try her hand at writing a song, and Rosalie would give it her all, of course.

>>529874
> “I could probably pull some strings.”
Even if they don't do the idol stuff, our girls will need a good crew around them to watch their backs, capture footage etc. etc.

They've got a good rapport with the boys an vice versa, so they're the logical fit.