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>>2574827
• Satellite downing freezes communications
The northwestern United States is experiencing a severe communications disruption after a major routing satellite was blasted out of its orbit by a laser pulse originating from near the Arctic Circle. Portions of Western Canada and some of the Pacific Interlink have also been impacted.

• Iquique to remain closed: international evaluators
UN investigators have negotiated with Chile to keep the free port of Iquique closed until further notice, amid concerns that contraband materials are being trafficked through Brazil. Investigators refused to discuss the identity of the traffickers or which parties might be involved, but Maverick Hunters from MHHQ Americas have been dispatched to the city.

• Celion says reasons for optimism as 6th Marine makes gains
Commander Berg Celion spoke today about a string of successful operations by the Maverick Hunters 6th Marine. In the wake of the naval struggle in the Sea of Marmara, Doppler-aligned naval forces have fallen back to concentrate around a few major bases. While Celion refused to discuss the possibility of a move against any of these naval fortresses at this time, he expressed optimism about the broader strategic scenario with the retreat of Maverick forces from Pacific islands, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Panama Canal, and Sri Lanka.

• Maverick gang sparks uproar in Vancouver
High-profile kidnappings and terrorist attacks have spread across the city of Vancouver, believed by Hunter experts to be the work of a gang of production model Mavericks armed with special weaponry who have been traced from California and Washington. Local law enforcement has imposed transport restrictions while awaiting further Hunter support and has released an image of the figure believed to be at the head of the gang, an unknown lizard Reploid.

• "Ultimate Reploid" project nearing completion - but why two?
The team behind Halcyon's ambitious "Ultimate Reploid" project have introduced their prototype, but questions loom about whether the project's cost overruns and controversial WARDEN protocol have produced a runaway success or a questionable boondoggle.

• Halcyon presents prototype "Ultimate Reploid," to join 5th Division
The prototype Ultimate Reploid, a female dubbed Iris, has been slated to join the 5th Communications Division of the Maverick Hunters as a navigator. "Commander Halcyon has positioned Iris to learn from our most experienced Hunters," reads the press release from Hunter Command, "before transitioning to her ultimate combat role as part of the 17th."

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>>2574827
Welcome back! Good to see you.

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>>2574833
• Ankara in chaos as contentious election continues to cause clashes
While a Maverick assault on Turkey was pushed back thanks to the valiant efforts of local peacekeeping forces and Maverick Hunters, the domestic instability within Turkey continues to roil. The late Altan Kangawa has been succeeded by Iskandar Jahani as leader of the political party Al-Magest, and the country's armed forces and bureaucracy wait with bated breath for judicial review of the electoral results.

• Fans continue to hold "living vigil" for Maverick celebrity
Fans of Stellar Atlantica remain encamped in the arena where her last public performance took place, coming from around the globe to pay tribute to the artist-turned-kidnapper with all the trappings and atmosphere of a public funeral. Say fans: "her magic is gone, but her music lives on." Many commentators consider the vigils in poor taste. More at 11.

• Philosopher retired in Sumatra
Sources confirmed early last night that Zero has retired the Philosopher Bisanu, one of Doppler's most trusted operatives and a lynchpin of Maverick activities around the world. The concealed lagoon harbour operated by the Philosopher's forces is being stripped down by local authorities to track recent activities and plots he was involved with.

• Port Harcourt hydropolis destroyed
Evacuation efforts are underway for the citizens of the Nigerian hydropolis of Port Harcourt after an attack by Maverick forces led by the Philosopher Shiva, which has left over 70,000 dead or missing.

• Glaston resists calls to seal borders
British Prime Minister John Glaston continues to face criticism from within his own party as plans for a quarantine of the British Isles stall in Parliament. Glaston has reasserted his concern that Maverick operatives may have already crossed the border and that isolating the British community at this time might result in an opportunistic attack from within. The European community praised the move, promising continued support between their countries should Doppler's forces attack Western Europe in a mirror of the recent strike on Turkey.

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Hot damn, I'm actually around for the start of one of these, for once.
>>2574833
>laser pulse originating from near the Arctic Circle
Welp. Guess we can go ahead and confirm maverick on that one.

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>>2574839
Clicking off the news feed, you tap a button on your datapad and Gopher’s dissemination of the articles you just saw comes up, dotting it here and there. You scroll away from it for now, switching over to the internal news.

• 17th Elite Unit’s Karin promoted to Special A ranking
Major Karin, a longtime fixture as the highest-rated A-rank maverick hunter, has cleared her latest test and has officially been re-appraised and rated at Special A, taking her place among the Blackcoats. Though Command has not yet officially designated the highest ranking A to take her place, speculation is already growing, with 14th as a favorite for the distinction.

• DEN protocols begin on first production of next-generation infantry model
Crystal Labs has announced that it has been awarded a coveted contract for a new line of production infantry. Citing cost efficiency, “focused direction,” and proven field results for the win, Stock in the Massachusetts firm rose 16% overnight with the announcement, on the heels of a brief but intense bidding war.

• Maverick retreat from major coastal offensives
In the wake of the repelled assault on Istanbul, maverick naval forces are concentrating around several strongpoints, indicating a defensive shift. Several contested battlegrounds have now been ceded to local and Maverick Hunter forces, relaxing a deathgrip on several critical international shipping lanes. Unfortunately, those remaining enemy bases are more fiercely defended than ever, and with nearby advantageous staging points in shambles, it will be some time before they can be pried free.

• Footage confirms multiple Maverick abductions in Turkey
Grim news out of embattled Istanbul corroborates testimony from eyewitnesses on the ground, with video documentation of mavericks aiding Reploid evacuation during the race riots in the wake of Al Magest’s surprise victory in the elections. At this time no refugees recorded seeking shelter with the mavericks have yet been found, suggesting they were taken offsite during the maverick retreat. 16th R&D has reviewed the data and their preliminary findings are that these refugees are to be infected and recruited.
>COL. GOPHER: Our old friend Seven took a personal hand in this. After he threw all his officers into the mix, he filled that CF-1 of his with “rescues.” We’re guessing as many as 20 per CF-1 that made it out… and a lot made it out.

Terrific.

You’re just tossing the pad aside on that sour note when it chimes, the signal running through your hand.

I0126//signal trace fail
THE FORTUNATE MAKES HIS OWN LUCK, TRUSTING NOTHING MORE THAN HIS SKILL.

THE CHEATER COUNTS CARDS AND SEES EVERY HAND. DO NOT CALL HIS BLUFF, CHANGE THE GAME.

...Yeah.

You need to go someplace and think.
>The Dodo. Not to get hammered. Maybe one, no more than two.
>Out on the roof. You could stand to sunbathe.
>Go and watch Overland’s original base be torn down.
>Go and take a patrol around your new environs.

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>>2574844
And, late as ever, welcome back, everyone!

So let's get the bad news out of the way first--I'm already indisposed for at least half of tomorrow. Team Jerkass made plans, as is their nature. However, since there's plenty of news to chew on, we figured this would be a good opportunity to ease us all back into things after such a lengthy delay.

Second, are you aware we've got a spinoff? Shooting Star, taking place in the future of MHQ, run by our own Scarab. It stars Meteor Showa, a fire koi, in the wake of the Repliforce war. Give it a read! Shitpost directly at HC as your fellow player and squabble over upgrades with a fickle god!
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Shooting%20Star

So with that, how is everybody doing tonight?

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>>2574844
>Go and take a patrol around your new environs.

A very enthusiastic welcome back. Let's take stock of where we are.

>>2574854
>Second, are you aware we've got a spinoff? Shooting Star, taking place in the future of MHQ, run by our own Scarab. It stars Meteor Showa, a fire koi, in the wake of the Repliforce war. Give it a read! Shitpost directly at HC as your fellow player and squabble over upgrades with a fickle god!
You forgot to mention the timely threads.

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>>2574869
NO BULLY

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>>2574844
>Go and watch Overland’s original base be torn down.
Take a break from all the wanton destruction to watch wanton CONTROLLED destruction!
>>2574833
>• Satellite downing freezes communications
>freezes
ha

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We're BAAAaaack...!

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>>2574869
>>2574874
HC has a more eventful daily life than I. If I had all the stuff they're responsible for, I'd have long-awaited threads too!

>>2574901

We all know the real reason you have time to post so much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKTtUpDfj4Q

>>2574844
>Out on the roof. You could stand to sunbathe.
Did we get paid?

I wonder if well need to spec a little more into killing CF-1s faster if so many are still out there.

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>>2574975
No, but Candemir Group's CEO, Rafael Candemir, paid each hunter officer on the mission Z100,000 out of pocket. You spent it on...

Bilgelik 919 “Kuşatma” Tracker: Reads buster shot impacts to detect shield frequencies, weaknesses, and resonance; calculates with repeat fire to output optimized charged shots for bigger damage.
Ejderha ZA6 “Pullu” Shield Supplement: 2-cell variant. Ablates minor hits but needs a small refractory period to do it again. Partially ablates larger hits. Comes with 2-cell, 3-cell, and 4-cell versions. Can be burnt out by serious hits and major damage. Not priced as a consumable, but not so costly that it’s too onerous to replace - sweet spot where it’s worth having if you fight like someone who tanks too many minor hits or really needs to escape by the skin of the teeth on a big one. Note that upgrading this component requires replacing it, but the existnig system could be reapplied to a Bravely Broken squadmate. Z24,000-Z72,000 for initial system and cells for 2/3/4 capacity, replacement cells are offered at Z5,000.
Candemir Robertson Anti-Laser Frit: An industrial product, this patterned coating diffuses lasers, reducing their damage. Wears down with impacts and won’t last forever (or for more than a mission or two given how Anode tends to use up his HP) but a worthwhile defense and economical way to approach laser weapons. Does leave vulnerable areas that can’t be fritted. Reproof treatments cost Z10,000.
Rüzgar U6 Ailieron: Improves turning and control with jetpack-based flight.
Birdal I05 “Köpekbalığı” Targeting Pointer: Compensates for water when targeting aim, both within and above the waves.
Ejderha A9 “Pençe” Throwing Knives: Two held. Simple spherical design offers no hint of this tool’s true function. On interacting with a shield frequency, projects a hi-beam through its own surface to stab perpendicular to the discharge. One-use apiece but a terrible surprise for the unaware. Standard issue for Turkish military forces. Z1,600 apiece.
Ejderha A17 “Yıldız” Anti-Robot Flare: One held. Throwable one-use flare emits pattern of high- and low-frequency light that interferes with optics but does not harm humans at low exposures. Can hover during activation. Z800 apiece.

>>2574844
>Go and take a patrol around your new environs.

>Go and watch Overland’s original base be torn down.

Just to be cynical for a moment, statistically speaking at least one member of the demolition crew is going to go maverick, and if they are capable of destroying hardened architecture they'll be strong enough to show up on anode's list in season 3.

>>2575041
Noooonsense.

*takes notes*

Hey demolition crew, are any of you a bird? Asking for a fiend.

>>2574844
>>Go and watch Overland’s original base be torn down.

>>2574844
>Out on the roof. You could stand to sunbathe.

>>2574844
>Go and take a patrol around your new environs.

>>2574844
>Go and watch Overland’s original base be torn down.

>Go and watch Overland’s original base be torn down.

>>2574844
>>Go and take a patrol around your new environs.
For once, we should look on the brightside. Find some fellow hunters, make friends, and hope they all don't go maverick at once.

>>2575265
>awww hey anode! Us 4 have been talking about joining that military thing. Repliforce, cool name huh?

>>2575288
>I'm thinking of changing my name once I upgrade my chassis. What do you think of Dynamo?

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>>2574854
Pretty good! Glad you're running right now.

I actually started working on this thing right about three days ago. Still learning how to use Blender though.

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>>2575323
Daaaaang!

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>>2575314

>>2574844
>Go and watch Overland’s original base be torn down.
Good evening Hunter Command

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>>2575412

>>2575417
I dont think this is what they meant when they said marvel vs capcom infinite

>>2575417
Kill half the humans and half the reploids! Balance!

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>>2575417
>Zero, I don't feel so good...

>>2574844
>Go and watch Overland’s original base be torn down.

We need as many depressing images of the brief time we felt like part of something coming to an end as possible for our dark emo album to be a success.

>>2574844
>THE FORTUNATE MAKES HIS OWN LUCK, TRUSTING NOTHING MORE THAN HIS SKILL.
Is this going to be some sick joke, and Em is actually "the Fortunate"?

>>2575935
Luck of the irish

Cheater is probably Seven. Not sure how to change the game, though. Do background missions?

>>2575958
Possibly.

...How do we do them again?

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>>2575417
I rather liked that MvC Infinite squarely placed X at the top of the "bullshit OP" scales of both combined universes.

Probably not going to get a morning post out, it'll be a spell. I'll try to keep an eye on the thread via phone to answer questions/shitpost, however.

>Go watch the old 4th HQ be torn down

Crystal Labs is Em's home. Wonder how he feels about a production series being designed?

I'm sure none of that news is consequential in any way.

Also I am hovering this morning to take questions as well.

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>>2576114
Is the wiki presentable enough to advertise? I don't know how many viewers know it exists, since it seemed to be a surprise when somebody mentioned it in the recent spinoff quest thread.

Also, everybody: the recap has been brought up to the present.

>>2576118
It doesn't have a proper UI actually linking the pages together. But noone can be assed to do it, and I neither have the time or the knowhow to do it myself.

I just repeatedly check Recent Changes for stuff Cain Labs adds Every. few days, I'm not THAT crazy

>>2576126
It will at some point. It DOES technically have a front page now. Ish.

>>2576114
So does Collide have the equivalent of like, 8-cell Pullu supplement?

.....shit, I need to update the upgrades piratepad. SO MANY of those can still be bought, even considering the 1.6 multiplier.

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>>2576136
Nah, he's just built like a ceratanium shithouse.

>>2576142
damn. So his shields just looked at the giant overpenetrating laser and said
>eh. He can take'em.

I don't really think Collide's defensive systems are analogous to the way the Pullu functions.

Any other questions for me at this time?

>>2576232
Has anyone built a woodchuck-based reploid for woodchucking, and if so, how much wood could it chuck?

>>2576297
I mean, I feel like someone has to have. Ligneous projectile capacity has no recorded upper bound at this time.

>>2576232
Who funds all this Maverick nonsense, and how can we steal all their zennies?

>>2576329
Obviously, things which were not built by Mavericks are funded accordingly. For things built by Mavericks, stolen assets, criminal activity, shadowy front groups, the usual kind of shady back channels one would expect.

>>2576527
So many alcoholic bribes.

Speaking of the wiki, if anyone has any requests for pages to be added to the queue, throw them in now.

Is there a list of major hunter bases besides geneva?

>>2576632
I'm interested in where the US is at this point in history.

>>2576632
>>2576971
And Weisshund.

what's the current list of seven wonders of the 21xx world

>>2576770
The other major ones are in Mexico (where Scarab's quest takes place), Japan, and the US. US's base is physically larger than Japan's but is lower on the hierarchy due to its proximity to Veracruz.

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Okay, back home. Give me a little bit to recover. Deadpool 2 was basically Movies I'd Write (Again), good times.

>>2576632
cyberwood
drone systems
regenerating armor(like the beehive thing in ZX, how close to that are we?)

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>>2576992
He dead. Schwarz put him down long ago.

>>2576770
>>2577269
That is my understanding, yes.

In terms of provenance, they go Geneva > Tokyo > Veracruz > Somewhere-in-the-United-States. In terms of physical size, however, Tokyo's is the smallest and the US's is the largest. I imagine Geneva and Veracruz at parity in land area, but differently tasked; Geneva's largest represented unit is the 4th, whereas Veracruz's is the 6th.

The number and location of smaller outposts is, to the best of my knowledge, "Wherever the narrative needs one."

>>2576632
How about a link?

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>>2574875
>>2575041
>>2575104
>>2575204
>>2575259
>>2575412
>>2575746
>>2576103
Putting down the tablet once again, you stand up with a sigh. The engineer nods to you, your installs and upgrades done, and that strange slightly-too-full upgrade feeling to work through, you’re cleared to leave the slab.


Right now? With Schwarz, with your friends, with yourself, with everything that’s gone on, you need to watch something end.

You find it in demolition. It’s almost impressive, really--waste not, want not, barracks that were laid down maybe a decade ago broken back down into prefabricated parts, still salvageable, still of use to something somewhere. Maybe they’ll be funneled right back into the next hunter base, you wonder.

You mull over the mysterious signal trace fail again--why two lines, this time? The same person? Two different ones?

Massive rivets are bared to the world--sized just about perfectly for Scrivers, the businesslike part of your brain adds as a fun little tidbit. Each is extracted by a purpose-made tool, held by a Deploy enlisted. An electro-mechanical whine, a hiss, and then a sharp upturned zip!, and out each rivet comes, bolts the size of a human hand clanking to the ground in a metal rain as the outer sheets are drawn back. There’s a steady rhythm to 3rd’s work, and even from a distance, you can imagine the chatter. You fill in little stories as you people-watch, imagining them having the same sort of conversations you’re having now. Or talking about what sandwich they packed. Heh.

That’s when you get the ping--a message from home.

>Cathode injured in Ankara op. Incapacitated--she’s okay, we’re consulting on her repairs with 1st. Wanted you to hear it from us first. Don’t panic, no permanent damage, but it was close. Love you. --Allie

FUCK.

Your hand moves before your brain acts, whipping the datapad straight into the ground at full force, actually engaging Shriver to smash it down with all your might. It doesn’t so much shatter as evaporate, the tiny little rectangle of silicates turning into a fountain of glittering dust around your feet.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck this, fuck you, fuck everything, FUCK.

For a moment the anger pulses through you like overcharge in your conduits, and you feel like you could burst, heat blooming in your throat as you barely resist screaming your rage out loud. You feel it backing up and burning there, popping the seams on your last gasket and the last, tiny little fuck you have to give about this godforsaken job…

...And then, you have a Moment.

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>>2577980
In a moment, Em’s impenetrable snarl of psychoses and rage is laid bare--you always understood it, broadly, but you never really got it--it was never your sister there. With his guilt and baggage, whatever it is, the end result’s the same, tearing himself apart, mad with worry over his little brother and sister. And, worse, he let one go. You’re sure he’s still blaming himself for it, whatever he tells Sapphire, chasing himself around and around his own head.

In that same moment, you realize what path that’s sent him down--the rage, the regret, the drinking to numb, pride and honor and fear and love all turning into a chaotic green slurry.

And, just like that, you know--you can’t go down that path.

So you don’t.

It’s… almost ridiculous, how far up your own ass you’ve let yourself get. You actually feel that scream in your throat bubble into a laugh--you laugh at yourself.

Cathode could have died--but she didn’t.

You almost died--but you didn’t.

You were nearly decommissioned--but you weren’t.

Your paranoia was justified--but the principal agents have gone.

It all falls like dominoes, clattering around you like an extended metaphor stretched too thin. Someone’s out there sending you cryptic messages--so either someone likes you enough to do this cloak and dagger shit, or you’re a big enough scare to them that they need to try to juke you. Frog’s gone, but he’s doing his own thing. You survived Doppler and you’ve put four of his agents on ice, one way or the other--and twice, you didn’t have to kill them to do it. You’ve found valuable intel on a clandestine maverick cell, and walked away to carry off the warning to Command.

You lost Schwarz, but you have a Blackcoat looking out for you.

Your best friend’s slipping--but he hasn’t slipped yet.

That’s it. That’s all. Tension you didn’t realize you were holding slips away, your shoulders fall, your fists unclench. You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.

God damn it all, you can do this.

You remember Rhodes’s words, somewhere or other--”there will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead.” He was right, of course, and you know without knowing that you’re going to be at this crossroads again, feel the way you felt a minute ago, the world pressing in and pinning you down. You might not make the same decision twice.

But right now, clear as day, you know exactly what will happen if you follow Em--follow Schwarz--where they’re going, and how much good that won’t do.

>Go to the range--you’ve got some kit to test.
>Go see a friend. You need to spread the love.
>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.
>Other?

>>2578005
>Go see a friend. You need to spread the love.
Friendship!

>>2578005
>Go see a friend. You need to spread the love.

>>2578005
>Go see a friend. You need to spread the love.

>>2578005
>Try the Schwarz sim.
Yeah, this goes completely against what you just resolved to do, but we know pretty much jacksquat about how the guy actually looks in a fight. Hell, how much do we know about him in general? Assuming we can't trust a thing he's said, what is there that didn't come from him directly?

Otherwise,
>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.

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>>2577980
>They hurt Cathode

>>2578005
>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.

Think Gopher deserves a fair shake.

>>2577963
http://mhq.wikidot.com

>>2578052
Actually, you know what? Changing my vote to
>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.

>>2578005
>>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.
And someone that can smooth over his bluntness.

>>2578005
>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.
With Em off being an edgelord, Gopher could probably use a cool head at the moment

>>2578005
>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second

>>2578005
>>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.
Guy has gone to bat for us and dealt with our shit. He deserves a shoulder himself.

>>2578005
Did......did we just pass a morale DC not to go Mav?

>commander time
Hey, i feel better now.

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>>2578205
>Did......did we just pass a morale DC not to go Mav?

>>2578205
Nonsense.

*packs away dice*

>>2578205
We seemed to have Crit it so hard we seemed to have washed away our angst. Its a good feeling. Maybe we can go back to how things were. Us, Em, Seven, two mechanoids, and a shit ton of lubricant.

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>>2578205

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>>2578205
>>2578211
>>2578221
I did say you guys were due for a change in the winds.

>Clean up that mess first, nobody loves a litterbug.

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>>2578005

>>2578231
This is true. Things have been on the downtrend for a while, and Anode has had no real opportunity to feel good about himself for a long while.

>>2578285
Many fall in the face of chaos, but not this one!... not today.

>>2578260
This too.

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> DEN protocols begin on first production of next-generation infantry model

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>>2578005
>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.

Maybe we should let him know about these mysterious messages? Or at least try to follow up on some of them. Although we did sort of just annihilate our datapad...

>>2578005
>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.

>>2578005
>Go see the Commander
>Put in order for new datapad
>Mentally design 'Congratulations for Not Dying' card for Cathode
We bipolar now.

>>2578770
There's a pun in here, I know it.

Theory: if we had beaten stellar early enough, we would have had the option to equip the laser parts that got sent to gibbon as a hardpoint. With Lockon DNA mixed in, we would have something like the lasers in storm owls stage

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>>2579152
If we beat them both, maybe we still can.

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>>2578054
>>2578166
>>2578173
>>2578179
>>2578182
>>2578189
>>2578200
>>2578205
>>2578260
>>2578643
>>2578648
>>2578770
You decide there’s at least one guy who could use your new, Mister Blue Sky outlook on life right now--one who you know for a fact is conscious, at least.

Gopher doesn’t look up as you enter his office, glancing instead between a desk ringed in monitors in a 270-degree arc and a datapad in his hand (you cleaned up the...uh, powder, left from your destroyed one, and have put in for a cheap replacement through acquisitions). Tapping away at something or other, he turns in his chair to hand the pad to a Beret, who salutes and takes off at a brisk pace.

“Captain,” he says.

“Sir.” While you immediately realize Gopher is more organized tired than Frog was on his best day, his office is nonetheless a testimony to chaos, with neat stacks of reports and tiled windows on some monitors, and a sprawl of loose-leaf sheets and runaway processes on others. You imagine most of that can be chalked up to being mid-transition of command.

“You look better,” he observes.

“Yessir, I am,” you reply.

“At ease. And good. I need you sharp.”

“That’s actually why I’m here,” you reply, relaxing the formality a hair.

He pauses mid-swivel, casting a glance over to you over a shoulder.

You fold your arms, taking a half-step back to rest comfortably against the wall. “Well, I was thinking. Ursa’s your only Major, then it’s me and Em, and--well, Ursa’s a good field guy, and enough said on Em.”

Gopher’s face doesn’t so much as twitch in response, but you swear you can register the amusement in his eyes.

“What I’m getting at here is that you need more officer staff, as much as you need shooters, right?” He turns to give you his full attention, nodding. “So, I guess this is me volunteering.”

“You’ve already got rangemaster duties, don’t you?”

You nod. “Yeah, but the enlisted more or less have the place handled. Don’t even get me started on Looie. Even then, there’s not much actual time demand to it, as far as my base time goes. And I don’t want to bite off too much at once, here, but I’ve also been thinking off and on about what else I could do in the field.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Such as?”

>I’ve seen a few rough hunts that made me wish I were better trained for live capture.
>Part of being an officer is the actual command thing--you could probably use a guy who can lead a battle as well as fight it.
>Other: Specify on-base duties or off-base combat roles you’re interested in training for.

And:
>There’s something else. I’ve been getting these messages...
>Keep it under wraps, for now.

>>2579286
>Part of being an officer is the actual command thing--you could probably use a guy who can lead a battle as well as fight it.

>Keep it under wraps, for now.

>>2579286
Oh shit, this is our moment to Change the Game.
>Other: We're one of the most mobile hunters, and it's wasted every time teleport and lose Charge.
>Give me secondary targets that are far from beam-in pads, whether to keep things off-radar or from sheer logistical problems. Outposts, large swaths of mechaniloids, I can bleed a good chunk and be on my way.

>Keep it under wraps, for now.
we need a more clandestine way to talk about it

>>2579286
>>Part of being an officer is the actual command thing--you could probably use a guy who can lead a battle as well as fight it.
It also would help in terms of organizing relief, support, and civvies. Live capture is going to be tricky with our load out, but talking them down work for the non mavs.

>>2579286
>Part of being an officer is the actual command thing--you could probably use a guy who can lead a battle as well as fight it.

>>2579286
>Part of being an officer is the actual command thing--you could probably use a guy who can lead a battle as well as fight it.
>Keep it under wraps, for now.

>>2579371
Shit, forgot the second vote
>>2579286
>Keep it under wraps, for now.

>>2579286
>Part of being an officer is the actual command thing--you could probably use a guy who can lead a battle as well as fight it.
>Keep it under wraps, for now

>>2578005
>Go see the Commander. He needs a steady second.
Rise from a pawn, become Knight or Bishop. Gain the access and the experience to turn this game around and maybe we can improve our lot.

As a master of the 4chins, I replied without refreshing the thread.

>>2579286
I'm with >>2579326 on changing the game. Gotta go fast.

>Keep it under wraps, for now.

>>2579326
Backing this

>>2579326
>>2579443
>>2579446

While we have the speed to get to secondary objectives we don't have the endurance and we wouldn't really be changing the game.

>>2579286
>Actual command stuff
PLUS
>>2579326
Mobile sounds good although maybe too much work for HC to come up with new side-missions.

>There's something else... etc

>>2579456
I would say get a sort of power pack or cheap electric power for one or two of the barrets. Have him be the stun buddy/Medic.

>>2579469
The lack of endurance that I was referring to is not really a problem power packs/recharges would solve.

After each mission we pretty much always need downtime for repairs. Other hunters complete multiple missions in the time we take to complete one.

The more stuff we fight the more damage we end up taking. More objectives just means more damage taken.

>>2579286
>Part of being an officer is the actual command thing - you could probably use a guy who can lead a battle as well as fight it.

>There's something else. I've been getting these messages...
If we don't tell him about that, we should AT LEAST let him know about what we saw on Conda's monitor.

>>2579286

>Actual command.
Climb that ladder.

>Somebody's being cryptic at me and I can't tell who.
Lest it turns out bad and they think you kept it secret.

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>>2579556
We don't lack endurance, the shit we've facetanked would straight up kill a lot of folk. What we lack is the skill to not have to facetank everything, but we're steadily improving on that.

>>2579556
Thats why I said going for the command stuff and that power pack thing. Have the squad provide support and make some of the issues less. Having them handle lower priority situations, such as maintaining a point or getting civvies out of death makes it so we don't need to limit ourselves to options that require us to sacrifice.
My one concern when we eventually face Seven is that he holds people hostage. If we can remove the hostages with ally support, or have Foxfire provide a means to deal with his bullshit luck, we negate a lot of risk and can possibly force Seven to play a game he's not use to. Same applies to Tanker and Schwarz.

>>2579286
>>Part of being an officer is the actual command thing--you could probably use a guy who can lead a battle as well as fight it.
>Keep it under wraps, for now.

>>2579556
I think if we're just rushing in, wiping out a load of 'loids and C-rankers and then teleporting out, we won't really take too much damage. At the very least it should probably downgrade a mission from B to C, freeing up more higher-ranked officers.

>>2579606
That can still cost us a bit depending on the loids, and teleporting decharges us. There is also the case like Yamatoad, mortarphant and Stella where their forces are either fortified or has incredible support. Making too much noise can have them fire some shots or bunker down.

>Other: Specify on-base duties or off-base combat roles you’re interested in training for.
For the record, when we took the rangemaster job there were a few other noncombat positions that were open for us to take...but I can't imagine Anode doing any of them.
>suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/18882708/#18885936

Also, next time we see Cathode we should learn how many datapads she's broken since we became Hunters

>>2579586
My perspective is that if the average A rank hunter has 100 hp and 20 shields then Anode has 110 hp and 25 shields. He isn't a 200 hp 50 shield soloist that can do 2 missions that deal 100 damage and still be ready for a 3rd.

>>2579589
Gotcha and I'm of the same mind.

>>2579606
That's not really taking out secondary objectives, that would be a change in mission type. We would be changing our role from assault to fast attack. Not really changing the game there.

Anode was built to be a team player. Vanguard of a duo to be specific. His best performances have been when he has been leading a team. Heck, when working with Cathode, they mulched a G rank (which HC retconned into an S rank because of how easy we beat him) and were only really stopped by a P rank ambushing them.

A big problem has been that most of the Officers are solo acts. Anode needs a team to lead to really change the game.

>>2579771
>Heck, when working with Cathode, they mulched a G rank (which HC retconned into an S rank because of how easy we beat him) and were only really stopped by a P rank ambushing them.
That makes me wonder what our original design goal was when we were commissioned/designed, and why we were separated upon going into active service. Were we designed as a hunter/killer team for S+ mavericks? How differently would the fight with the BIRD gone if we'd had our other half?


I do find it amusing we've pretty solidly kept to our original design ethos as we've upgraded: Ranged defense/tank. It does explain why our offense is so weak; we unconsciously expect Cathode to handle it.

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>>2579820
>>2579300
>>2579326
>>2579348
>>2579371
>>2579374
>>2579387
>>2579408
>>2579443
>>2579457
>>2579571
>>2579574
>>2579590
“Command,” you tell him. “Plain and simple. They’re not all small-squad bug hunts.”

He nods again, leaning forward and resting his hands on a sheaf of paperwork. “Pretty sure Jaguar and Giraffe are going to come over here and shoot me if I outsource to them one more time.”

“Who usually handled things over here, Seven?”

“Seven and Dodo,” Gopher nods. “Worked with both on warm handoffs a few times. Schwarzhund had the know-how, but he was usually better served putting people in the ground. Tigershark...”

“Enough said,” you say darkly. “Either way, I get the picture.”

“I’ll schedule you for some advanced courses, there’s usually one every few months,” Gopher says, turning back to his nearest monitor and punching something in. “Anything further, Captain?”

You frown, considering letting him know about your mysterious messenger… but no, not yet. “Not for nothing, but if you’ve got any ops that are far from the pad, send them to me. I can’t beam in with charge, but I can make quick work of things if I bring my own.”

“Noted. And speaking of your additional duties...”

“Em, right,” you nod. “He’s taking a nap, Frog probably dragged him over to the Lifesavers by now.”

Gopher makes a vaguely annoyed noise in the back of his throat.

>Talk about Em with Gopher. He’s about as willing to listen as he gets.
>Table it for now. Your bestie is probably Gopher’s leastie.
>Other?

>>2579836
>Talk about Em with Gopher. He’s about as willing to listen as he gets.
The jumping bean has an honest-to-God death wish, and we're still not sure how to break him of it.

>>2579836
>Talk about Em with Gopher. He’s about as willing to listen as he gets.
We need this hot hamster on our side as much as we can get.

>>2579836
>Talk about Em with Gopher. He’s about as willing to listen as he gets.

>>2579836
>Talk about Em with Gopher. He’s about as willing to listen as he gets.

>>2579836
>Talk about Em
Mandatory therapy sessions a go!

>>2579836
>Talk about Em.

Specifically that he was training us to off him.

>>2579836
>Talk about Em with Gopher. He’s about as willing to listen as he gets.

>>2579836
>Talk about Em with Gopher. He’s about as willing to listen as he gets

>>2579469

Instead of a powerpack, how about we just ask them to set the beam in point up 100 feet in the air? It's just like that time anode jumped out of a helicopter - great way to build charge, and more importantly, a cool-as-fuck first impression.

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>>2580353
See, now you're talking. Gotta bury at least one guy when we land.

>>2580353
>>2580389
I can just imagine it now
>You want us to what now?
>Fuck you

>>2579836
>Talk about Em with Gopher. He’s about as willing to listen as he gets.

>>2579836
>Talk about Em with Gopher. He’s about as willing to listen as he gets.

Runner is Dodo
Serpent is Conda

Sledge is....Frog? Is the message a guarantee that he won't go Mav? He transferred to the Eighth, and he's certainly had our back.

I still think Fortunate is Em, but Cheater could be Seven OR Collide.

So Iris was just transferred in...

We Xtreme 2 now?

Think we'll get a shot at convincing Colonel not to join up with Repliforce? I mean, it seemed like we basically averted Blizzard Wolfang taking the fall for his team being wiped out, so who knows?

>>2580717
changing canon is piss easy. Just KILL IRIS NOW DOITDOITDOITDOIT

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never 4get

>>2580717
Alternately, we could convince Iris to join Repliforce
They'd almost certainly give her the same rank as Colonel, and once Sky Lagoon happens, she'd give orders that contradicted his and cooperate with the Hunters. At best, this keeps General from going through with his independence plans, at worst, their war effort is hampered by infighting.

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>>2580760
Never forget indeed.

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>>2579848
>>2579908
>>2579931
>>2579990
>>2579991
>>2580201
>>2580280
>>2580300
>>2580550
>>2580590
“He’s in a bad way,” you start carefully. Letting your shoulders fall a bit, you glance ceilingward, examining soundproofing and signal-hardening layers in a dense honeycomb weave.

“By rights, I should be having this conversation with him,” Gopher says. “I’ve seen how he hunts. His showing in Istanbul was…” He gestures vaguely at a small stack of missives to his right. “These are all addressed to him.”

“Are they ticking?” You ask helpfully. He equally helpfully ignores you.

“At any rate, his performance as a hunter officer completely belies his conduct.” Or the other way around, you suppose. “Two As, two CF1s and a CF0--good call on the cables, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“And Amphitrite. To tell you the truth, Captain, I didn’t think he was coming back from that one.”

“I don’t think he did, either,” you say.

THAT gets his attention. “Suicidal?”

“Something like that. Remember that sim session you came in on?” He inclines his head by way of a nod, stone silent. “It started as showing me some pointers. After a few rounds, I realized he was training me on how to deal with him. Personally.”

Gopher is silent and contemplative for a moment, before turning to close a priority window on one of his screens. “So what’s the story on that?”

“He’s scared of going mav,” you tell him honestly. “More than anything. He’s scared of himself.”

“And why’s that?”

You let your annoyance with Em’s behavior show through. “Because he’s a fucking idiot, sir. His brother--Diamond, the KIA? Built to handle him in just such an occasion.”

“So he tried to get you to do it.” He looks back up at you again. “You say yes?”

“...Yeah,” you reply. “Yeah, I did. I think it’ll keep him grounded.”

Gopher nods, stamping his approval on something and pushing it aside. “That can’t have felt good.” From him, that’s practically a brotherly hug.

“Can’t say it did,” you say with a nod. “But he’s my friend.”

“Rough, isn’t it?” He doesn’t elaborate. “What about this thing with Schwarzhund?”

“That... “ you sigh. “That’s gonna be tougher. Schwarz hit me like a truck, and I barely knew him, next to Em. He taught Em pretty much everything he knows. When he saw him, he just lost his shit.”

“And, my Lifesavers tell me,” Gopher flicks a thumb at yet another screen, “he went right for the bar with ‘all but fatal damage.’”

Shit. “It was that close?”

“You’re lucky no one sneezed on him.”

“Terrific.”

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>>2580834
Gopher turns in his chair to fire off a message of some sort, and then turns back to you. “So what do I do with this, Anode?”

You sigh again. “Leave him to me. I don’t know if I can pull his head out of his ass, but I can at least make sure he flails in the right direction.”

“It’s not his performance on the field I’m concerned about, Captain,” Gopher says. “It’s his attitude here.”

“Which, being honest, is probably about to get a lot worse,” you admit.

“Mm. So?”

>You need to play softball. Turn a blind eye for as long as you can. I’ll handle giving him consequences--trust me.
>Honestly, he needs a kick in the ass, and I’m too close for him to get it from me. Do what you have to do.
>Other?

>>2580836
>You need to play softball. Turn a blind eye for as long as you can. I’ll handle giving him consequences--trust me.
Em is just too delicate to properly handing a dressing-down by command right now. Hell, I'm not sure he's actually listening to anyone at this point.

>>2580836
>You need to play softball. Turn a blind eye for as long as you can. I’ll handle giving him consequences--trust me.

He's definitely on a thin line, so I agree with >>2580846 here.

>>2580836
>You need to play softball.
A kick in the ass would land deeper coming from us anyway.

>Other: Lock him into some sort of elaborate alternate reality where he's dating his swords.

>>2580836
>You need to play softball. Turn a blind eye for as long as you can. I’ll handle giving him consequences--trust me.

>>2580898
>>2580971

"I'll handle giving him consequences--*trust me.*"

We'll do it, too.

>How about you give me some pointers, sir? I've gotten a lot amount of experience in the field, but there's still a good few years of just living as a Hunter between me and everyone higher up. What do YOU do about being afraid of going mav?
>He won't get upgrades, it's a landmine. Things could get dicey if you ordered him to.

I'm still angling for equipping him with stuff that would actively make it harder for him to fight us.

>>2580836
>>You need to play softball. Turn a blind eye for as long as you can. I’ll handle giving him consequences--trust me.
Take him to the sims and just.. give him the smack down with some good ol' punches. Less 'prepping to kill' and more duking it out and letting it all come to bear.

>>2580836
>You need to play softball. Turn a blind eye for as long as you can. I’ll handle giving him consequences--trust me.
>Other?
"That being said, I am open to some ideas on how to do that. I'm afraid I might be too lenient when he actually does something that gets him in trouble, but I don't want to go too far in the other direction and have it all blow up in my face."

>>2580836
I don't know.

We're Em's fuck-up buddy, and his junior at that. So how are we going to come across, suddenly doling out the harshness? And what consequences, exactly, would we be able to enforce on him?

On the other hand, I can't see Gopher's approach as yielding anything but Em withdrawing further into Psycho Mantis Time Bomb Land.

So with that in mind, I think we're going to have to take on the responsibility. Look more into the Crystal Labs news about the new production model, try to head that off. We'll have a talk with Em. We'll get firm with him if we have to. But Gopher's gone to bat for us in a big way, with that UN thing, and even if it was more for the Hunters than for us personally, we owe it to him to try and rein Em in.

>>2579820
>That makes me wonder what our original design goal was when we were commissioned/designed, and why we were separated upon going into active service. Were we designed as a hunter/killer team for S+ mavericks?

Original design goal was Diode. Something about Diode's theoretic capabilities spooked people enough that they split the original's energy generation and energy storage and projection capabilities between 2 models and still ended up with a pair of A ranks. Frog brought up the fact that higher up were a bit worried about a Repliod with self-repair capabilities after the Jagwire op and Doppler's shield regen comes from him using Anode's capacitors to convert attacks in life energy. Its looking like the Diode project might have inadvertently found a way to make an infinitely regenerating life cell system using Cathode's generators and Anode capacitors.

Anode and Cathode were split up because a change in design requirements between when the twins were commissioned and assigned. The Hunters added a hard Rock/Paper/Scissors counter requirement to "siblings" with the Diode twins being a preexisting project grandfathered in. Anode and Cathode are a weird harmonious family while most others are discordant.

If Emerald (A+), Diamond (A+) and Sapphire (B) were sent out on an op together they would only really be as effective as 3 neutral B/B+ hunters. Send Anode (A) and Cathode (A) on the same op and you end up sending 2 S/S+ electric hunters.

>>2581209
Honestly I suspect moving from paired units to RPS is part of a deep-cover infiltrator.

With paired units, if you spend the time to flip a paired S rank you just get an A rank asset instead. With RPS you flip a S-rank, you get a S rank who can easily kill at least one other S-rank hunter.

And hunters generally have more depth of reserves, so they can arbitarily assign a suitable hunter to a target and replace a missing paired units more effectively than mavericks can.

The wiki, in all of its rough "glory," can be found at mhq wikidot com.

>>2581414
>MHQ has a fucking wiki now

What a time to be alive

>>2581424
I mean, I don't consider it anywhere near where I'd like it to be... but it's still something.

>>2581414
when the fuck did this become a thing?

>>2581512
Maybe so, but I'm loving the articles that are already there at least.

>>2581513
I believe I kicked it off roughly a year ago with the first few articles.

>>2581515
Good to hear.

>>2581414
Honestly, I can understand why Wily was salty about WEAPON not getting the nobel prize. Fucker literally did mc^2=e

Maybe we should wait on how to handle Em. We don't know if Frog will beat a little sense into him, and talking to Sapphire might give a few ideas.

>>2581779
Em's big thing is that he need to know that someone can and will take him down if he goes Mav. He is absolutely terrified of being to good a what he does. He overperformed during his tryout and this led to a prototype grunt becoming 3 officers.

What he needs is someone (or someones) around his level that can completely stomp him into the ground.

What I want to do once Cathode recovers is to invite Em and Sapphire with the state reason to help with some sims to make certain that Cathode is back up to snuff. After a few sims are done, the twins would challenge EM and Sapphire to a 2v2 match.

>>2581885

Similar to that, I'd also like to do anode vs emerald matches with the BB as team training for them. It'll be especially useful for them since emerald has similar base stats so they can pick up technique.

The number of minions Anode needs to even things up is also a good way of measuring how effective Anode is at countering emerald (and every time that handicap goes down, it's an obvious bit of progress towards beating Emerald - and making visible progress towards that goal will help Emerald's mental state).

>>2581919
This sounds good, plus it might help Em see infantry as worth taking on missions and not just as a responsibility he has to protect.

As an aside, we should really talk to Sabomole soon, as the only guy more fucked up than Em.

>>2581927
>As an aside, we should really talk to Sabomole soon, as the only guy more fucked up than Em.

Agreed. Poor guy...

>>2581927
Not really sure if Anode in particular can be the one to talk to him...

>>2581939
We can talk AT him! While he's curled up in a ball and screaming, but still!

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Howdy folks. Going to try to get another post in tonight, but I literally just got back from work/errands/lawn mowing shenanigans. Might not have the time.

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>>2583550
We'll be here regardless.

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>>2583550
Okay, yeah, no go. I'll see if I can sneak a post out tomorrow during the day, but no promises.

Bright side I took a little time off each week of June, so I ought to be able to be more present.

>Send Cruxifer a message telling him that you've either had an epiphany and broken out of your depressive funk, or have been infected with the virus and just experienced the start of a noticeable personality shift, either way he should probably know, KTHXBYE

>>2583820
Now that's paranoia I can get behind

Don't be worried about everyone else being out to get you, be worried about YOU being out to get you.

>>2583820
Can we actually do this? We should actually do this.

>>2584203
I don't think we're actually losing our ability to give a shit, but with IC knowledge of personality changes, that might actually be sensible. Of course, seeing as we didn't bother to hand important information about weird, secret messages over to our commanding officer, sensible doesn't seem to matter.

>>2584278
Maybe, but we DID trust that information to Crucifer already. In fact, his reaction scanned like he was sending them or had an idea who was. The Madhouse is the only bastion of sanity. Trust the Madhouse.

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>>2578005

Hey guys! It's another inevitable work delay!

This one's a good one, at least.

>>2584445
Oh hey, you did a thing.
Nice thing

>>2585138
Update from dinner: new furniture acquired via moving truck, food bribery, and a busted shin.

Going to try for a late night update tonight, bedtime be damned. I make no promises as far as tonight goes, but we'll definitely be running for a good while to cover some ground, that I do promise.

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>>2586014
Aaaand once again, nope. I am wrecked.

Sorry, folks, but like I said, we're going to run for a hot minute. Let's all get comfy.

And everyone tell Neo to stop bullying. He knows who he is.

In the meantime, I will tackle as many questions as I can. And ruthlessly blame HC for anything I can't or won't address.

>>2586278
>>2577360

>>2586278
We're closing in on the Xtreme 2 timeframe now, right? Will it be possible for us to change events significantly enough, like we did with Blizzard Wolfang? Iris is around now, so does that also mean Colonel is kicking, or at least on the way? Since this is prior to the Repliforce's formation, will it be possible to convince Colonel not to join the Repliforce long before the call for Repliforce to disarm goes out?

>>2586368
Considering we got Yeoujiu safe and sound, we've either averted a major portion of it or made it happen exactly according to canon.

>>2586397
We also messed with the X3 game intro, killing a mav and saving a now S rank officer.

>>2586293
That's not actually "questions," that's "article topics," which... I really should begin moving toward.

Oh, and regenerating armor. I never actually played ZX so I'll have to go see what's being described first.

>>2586368
Yes, the 3.5 timeframe is ahead. We have allocated room for your involvement in events. I have no comment about how very definitely Colonel is en route.

>>2586397
Muahahaha? Muahahaha.

>>2586408
Muahahaha? Muahahaha.

>>2586433
>I never actually played ZX so I'll have to go see what's being described first.
One of the bosses in ZXA is a queen bee. She flies around hefting a beehive more than 4 times as big as her body, generating bee drones and firing attacks.

Attacking the beehive itself will not do damage to her, but if you destroy it she takes damage and tries to fly offscreen to get a new one. Still not sure if she could generate those, or if she literally had like, 6 spare beehives out in the back.

>>2586449
>or if she literally had like, 6 spare beehives out in the back.

...doesn't everyone?

>>2586433
Neat, so Colonel is coming SOON™, then.

With Berkana's DNA Soul fuckery about to go down, what are the odds we'll see a menagerie of our most dangerous kills come back to haunt us? Will we have to endure Saetos 2: the Fuckening? Or Hurricane Wren Returns: Wren Harder? With Soul Foxfire nominally on the side of the Hunters for the time being, will her hacking expertise impact the severity of Cyber Peacock's eventual cyber assault provided she's still under Hunter custody by then, or will it not matter?

>>2586501
I don't discuss your future.

Whether that's because my job is to try to cheat you out of having one, who can say?

>>2586514
Fair enough. What about hypothetical futures of others?

If we somehow blunder our way to averting the death of Iris, would you say Zero might retain his sense of humor, or is he doomed to get a stick up his nonexistent sphincter after X4: MHQ edition, as in canon? Would Zero and Iris' relationship even work in the long run?

>>2586526
We get our foot tangled in some power cords as the shuttle takes off and get towed through space all the way to Final Weapon.

"Well, as long as you're here..."

>>2586278
If we prevent Axl from being born, and thus the next-gen reploid catastrophe, is that a good or evil act?

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>>2586531
>>2586533
>We somehow end up taking Axl's place in the trio.

>>2586526
>Fair enough. What about hypothetical futures of others?

Wait and see.

>>2586533
I mean if you prevent Axl from being born, I will be very happy. Judge accordingly.

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>Cain seems to have at least partially used my suggestion for how to describe cyberspace

Feels good to be useful, even if it is helping robot satan

>>2586533
I mean, if it results in the next-gen Copy Reploids and the related tech never existing, given his status as their prototype, then that means no Lumine, and no Redips. That's a pretty big shift from canon, for sure.

>>2586531
>Iris shreds herself on the tension coil wolfspider style
>Zero is 2x traumatized and pissed at anode

>>2586564
If Anode didn't have his little epiphany, and went Maverick as a result, would we start playing as mav Anode for a while? Or would we automatically shift to character creation for the new POV character, or would we just start playing as one of the pre-existing cast members?

>>2586548
Or Zero still goes into hibernation after X5 and we take Zero's place as the melee guy. I joked about that possibility in the April Fools thread.

>>2586579
Well Spider/Redips could still end up being the test unit for the DNA copy technology. We may just end up with a different prototype if we story Axl's birth.

>>2586595
Oh, one of those, I'm sure.

>>2586610
>fast forward to MHQ circa X7
>Anode returns to HQ with Axl in tow
>deargodthere'stwoofthem.jpg
>X seriously considers going Maverick over the possibility of having to deal with two Anodes
>tfw we inadvertently cause the Zero series as it was conceived; with a maverick X as the big bad

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>>2586278
I'm not sure if you've answered this before, but what exactly are the Yellow Devil-type enemies?

>>2586665
Tremendously obnoxious?

Though that does remind me, I was going to include that in Wily's wiki entry. Perhaps tomorrow...

>>2586658
the question is what shenanigans would Anode/Axl/ and Em get into by that point if shit went that way,

>>2586665
Presumably a master class on the oft-overlooked field (in the Mega Man universe, at least) of nanotechnology.

They're just a bunch of silly putty with iron filings in it.

The core at the center is a big magnet with a gun

Nanotech is overkill when all they do is stand in one place and occasionally slosh from one end of the room to the other.

>>2587006
Black devil couldn't keep up with advancing tech. It couldn't handle the power of DUCKING.

Posting from work again--morning folks! Thank you for all the forbearance.

Like CL said, we don't want to tip the hand too hard on your future.

I will say that MHQ Axl, if he exists, will act almost nothing like X7 Axl. I have some ideas for the character that should make him less... you know, Poochie the Dog.

>>2587252
That is good to hear.

>>2587252
Looking forward to an Axl with the personality of a bastard child of Cain Labs and Saetos!

>>2587252
Convinced to follow X's pacifist ethos, Axl soon became known for his proficiency in live capture of even the most dangerous mavericks. His early partnership with Anode allowed for a combat style that revolved around devastating thunderbolts.

Soon everyone know him by name: Axl Ketchum

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>>2580836
“You’re not going to like my suggestion.”

Gopher scoffs. “Leave him alone, right?”

“As much as he lets you. You already deputized me to keep him on an even keel, let me handle whatever sticks he needs to go with the carrots.”

He raises an eyebrow, but says nothing.

“...Oh, c’mon,” you say, snickering despite yourself.

“All right, granted. But he’s bad, and getting worse. I won’t sacrifice unit discipline for one prima donna.”

You nod. “Wouldn’t expect you to.”

“Then we have an understanding. Play babysitter--and keep me posted on his behavior. This is already closer to an under-the-table deal than I like.”

You raise an eyebrow, but say nothing.

He allows himself a small smirk as he goes back to organizing a mountain of papers. “Yeah, yeah. Not that this solves our biggest problem.”

“Rezador,” you say.

Gopher nods. “I can’t argue with his results--and since he’s started hanging around Em, the Captain’s combat performance has jumped noticeably.”

“That’s a shit trade, sir.” You state flatly.

He inclines his head. “Agreed. But to be brutally honest, right now I need the edge. We’re at war, and Fourth needs them both to keep our heads above water. Shit trades are the best we’re going to get.”

You fold your arms. “Still--That road only has one end, and I’m here trying to stop that from happening.”

“I understand, Captain, but I can’t touch him. Halcyon ordered me--personally--twice--not to meddle or interfere with his work. I could, hypothetically, transfer him--”

“Really?” You ask, immediately sensing it’s too good to be true.

“...But we have a reformed maverick in Columbus, and Los Mortales don’t believe there’s any such thing.”

“Natch.”

“So that’s America out.” He ticks it off on his fingers. “Tokyo is a very delicate environment right in the heart of the city, and still transitioning away from my command to boot. Commander Jaguar has told me that if Rezador ever sets foot in Overland Veracruz he will personally kill him on sight.”

“Boo hoo?” You offer.

“I’m not about to sacrifice the life and career of a seasoned Commander and a friend to solve a personnel problem,” Gopher says bluntly.

“What about Em?” You ask.

“Transfer him?” Gopher asks, looking up at you. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but that sounds like a Bad Idea.”

“No, definitely not,” you agree quickly. “He already sees you as an intruder on ‘his’ unit. Geneva’s home base, as far as he’s concerned.”

Gopher makes a faintly annoyed growl in the back of his throat, but accedes the point. “I’m already regretting this ‘hands off, let you handle it’ agreement, Anode.”

You chuckle darkly. “I don’t blame you. No, not transfer, but--can’t you order him not to deploy with Rezador?”

“Like his mission performance, it’s not away I’m worried about, it’s home.”

>>2587252
Maybe nobody should act like X7 anything.

Except X himself I guess. From a Doylist gameplay standpoint I was pissed I couldn't play as him, but from a Watsonian storyline point of view it makes sense knowing everything he's been through, especially everything in X6, and I honestly feel for the guy.

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>>2588144
Damn. “Then can you order him to stay away from Rezador while he’s here? Fill his time with unit work?”

“He’s already quartermaster,” Gopher observes. “And I feel like he’ll take that as a challenge, dig in his heels.”

“He would. So, make it stuff he’d be amenable to--maybe melee training program, shit like that.”

“I could threaten to demote him,” Gopher offers.

“I don’t think he’d care. But--actually, hang on.” You tap one of Gopher’s newsfeeds, scrolling the crawl back up to the announcement about Karin. “There’s a two-rank bound for combat rank assessment, right?”

Gopher nods. “Informal, but it may as well be clad in stone. I’ve never heard of a promotion out of step with that.”

You nod again--you might have something here, though it’s a primo dick move, even by your standards. “Right, Seven was a Major because he did a lot of unit work, but Tanker was a Captain because all he did was hunt.”

“What’s your point, Captain?”

You look back up at Gopher. “You may have noticed Em’s got a real chip on his shoulder about being short-sold or underestimated.”

He rolls his wrist. “Yeah, and...”

“And Lieutenants don’t get rank-assessed for Special A,” you finish, tapping the screen. “If he’s going to let his pride rule him, you may as well have a hand on the leash.”

Gopher leans back, impressed. “Brutal, Captain. I like it. I can’t account for all his free time, but I can strongly encourage him to pick up a few more secondary roles to keep him busy.”

“Every little bit helps,” you say. “Thanks, Commander.”

“Mm. Is there anything further?”

>No, sir.
>Yes, sir. (Specify)

>>2588147
>No sir.

Seems like all the high points are covered.

>>2588147
>Back to the topic of shit trades, any thoughts on which mission I should take next?

>>2588147
heh, I can go with >>2588175

It's Yamatoad or Gibbon, and whether we could actually take on Yamatoad as we are.

>>2588147
>No, sir.

>>2588212
Some chatter has made Moloch a possibility as well. Gibbon fired a shot in western Canada and now there is trouble in Vancouver with some reptile mav raising up gangs.

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>>2588212
And leave Moloch continued free reign?

>>2588235
He's collecting DNA and becoming a right monster, but he's still one guy compared to Yamatoad building an army and Gibbon shooting down satellites.

I also wonder if his DNA gets better for us as he upgrades

>>2588243
Perhaps, but for once he is out in the open. Before, the issues with facing him was that he was either hidden or hard to find, but now we have a sort of open zone that seems to be him planning something big. This would be our best chance, and as is Yamatoad is heavily fortified. More so than usual.

What about Stellar Atlantica? Did we take her on yet? Aren't things getting more dicey with her or something?

>>2588304
We don't know if she's planning MORE things, but she's already completed her first plan and armed Gibbon with a satellite destroyer.

>>2588147
>No, sir.

>>2588304
Stellar has the issues of Yamatoad and being a water level with lasers. If all the enemy ships are in ports, they would likely be in Stella's fort as well.

The way I see it, we have 3 Passive mavs, and one Active.
Yamatoad is resupplying at his base
Stellar is in hers.
Gibbon is at his after doing the attack.

Meanwhile, Moloch is being active and is getting support to block intel on his location. We know where he is, we have signs of it, and it could be another massive strike. Its probably our best bet to stop him in the act.

>>2588147
>>2588175
Supporting.

>>2588336
By that logic, Yamatoad is low on supplies and Gibbon is also out of position. Stellar is the only one in a position of strength, which sucks because she's one of the ones I wanted to do early. Like, I've had a really bad feeling about leaving her for as long as we have. But I can't justify going after her on a feeling, and my gut tells me we're too late anyway. Might as well save her for last. *grumble*

>>2588336
>>2588147
I would also like to go after Moloch, and would like to point out that there are already upgraded DNA mavericks out there. He could easily be a supplier for further upgrades, and has been basically acting as a murder machine without the extra buddies. We all saw what Wren could do as an A, and she flew solo. This guy is going with a gang that is getting stronger with him actively. Do we really want to see him with a small army of Customs at his beck and call too?

>>2588420
Likewise. I wanted to do Atlantica second at latest for the growing threat I felt she posed, but while we were busy with Wren the navy increased, which put a lid on that.

I hate devil's choices.

>>2588260
>>2588421
Good point.

>>2588243
You know who else is one guy?
Anode

>>2588228
Wait, does that mean Gibbon can cover Moloch now? I mean, he's got that satellite. But maybe it needs time to recharge? If that's the case we really *do* need to attack right the fuck now.

>>2588433
I know. It means the enemy is doing something right. I hate when that happens.

I mean not from a gameplay perspective or anything because it makes for an entertaining challenge but you know what I mean.

>>2588450
we actually have support for most of these missions, so You're Not Alone.

>>2588450
I mean in taking out the sat giving info. My guess is for it to prevent calls for help as he wrecks up the place. Firing a laser AT us would be a lot more difficult when you consider it won't curve.
As is, all threats are elevating, and Moloch has been constantly moving. He won't stay there for long.

>>2588464
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9GpuGO3xyo

Such a happy song.

>>2588433
I, of course, deeply enjoy them.

We should really, REALLY be getting on top of the background missions. I don't like the idea of letting them hang around. Even if we don't let Gopher in on the spooky part of it, we should be pursuing these.

So with that in mind.

>"One more thing, sir. I'd like clearance to check out these coordinates. They were traced from a message in Conda's old quarters, from someone named Baccarat. (Give Gopher co-ordinates. If he doesn't clear us, he can at least have someone look into it.)

>>2589115
I'll support this

>>2589115
Yeah we should probably get on that.

>>2589115
Not really the best time. If there was a lul or anything big for our remaining targets sure, but right now we have one of the harder to find ones in the open, starting a massive op that required the help of two other Mavs.
Moloch has also been doing constant damage without prep and rather quick. We should not put him off.

>>2589115
Eh, that externally sounds like a trap, and we've no shortage of mavs to retire. We don't have time to be going haring off after vague stuff like that.

>>2589115
>Supporting this

>>2589147
If we end up waiting for the "best time", we're going to run out of roster by the time we get around to any of it.

>>2589158
It was indicated that the very lives and livelihood of our friends and perhaps ourselves may be in the balance. It may not be important globally, but I've got a strong hunch that it's damned important personally. It could be nothing. Or it could very much be something, and something big and lurking and best brought to light.

For want of a nail.

>>2588420

HC mentioned Yamatoad is currently up-defended. I think a bigger in-thread breakdown of how the enemy forces have changed would help.

>>2589115
On second thought, yeah. If background missions are things we have to specifically ask for, then let's get to them.

>>2589115
I agree with these.

I don't want us to end up not doing them and find out us doing all the mavericks before doing these closed them off.

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Home, cleared some adult responsibilities, then writing.


Also, for the most part your background missions aren't going to be crucial, and they're, currently, at least, not going to involve talking to an NPC about to kick off on.

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>>2588147
“Mind if I pick your brain about my roster?” You ask.

He shrugs. “I’ve said my piece on that score.”

“Disposition’s changed,” you observe. “I just want to make sense of the latest intel.”

Gopher leans back in his chair and makes an especially sharp whistle. “All right, shoot.”

“Atlantica, Yamatoad, Gibbon, Moloch,” you count out. “Mortarphant opened up Yamatoad, a little, and I was hoping the navy might be a bit strung out.”

“No such luck. That was where the maverick naval force retreated to--in force.”

“Damaged?”

“Some. A lot that aren’t. And you’ve got three S-classes converged there, at least.”

“Yeah?”

“Amphitrite’s lived this long by knowing how to go to ground. She’s going to lay low with backup for a while. Probably a good, long while.”

“Then there’s Tanker, and Yamatoad himself,” you nod.

“Tough nut to crack.”

“But crackable?”

Gopher shrugs. “Eventually, yes.”

“Won’t it just get stronger, the longer I leave it?”

“More durable, maybe. There’s a certain level of falloff where more ships isn’t going to make a big difference.”

“No, but having the shipyard in our hands would help even that score,” you point out.

“True. But at best, right now they’re brittle. Brittle, but as well-armed and alerted as they’re going to be. And Yamatoad’s kept his fleet disciplined.”

“What about Gibbon and Atlantica? She beamed something to him, and then he lasered a hole in space.”

“Atlantica you might make a play on, but you wouldn’t get any backup going in, and if you got caught out, you’re done, there’s no way you’re slipping past that whole blockade. As for Gibbon… well, you only get a surprise attack like that once. We know he can do it now, so smart money is they hit what they were aiming for. That does give us an idea of their strategy.”

“They hit one of the Lagrange points already, right?”

“They did, but aside from holding it, they haven’t made a push--probably because they know they’d lose the full-court press.”

“Why then?”

“Distraction, I think. Have us afraid they’re trying to pop the cork on Earth orbit.”

“That sounds like it could well be a primary goal, even if that wasn’t Gibbon’s target.”

“Could be. There’s a reason we guard the mining worlds. Imagine mavericks with limitless time, space, and resources.”

“No thanks.”

“Bingo. Right now, that’s Eleventh’s problem. They’re already positioning fast-response assets for a push to escape out of Sol.”

“I’m still not keen on leaving that base free to take another potshot. They will if we let them.”

“Of course,” Gopher nods. “But did you notice what they took out?”

“Comms satellite, right?”

“Over the Pacific Northwest. Where your last customer’s waiting.”

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>>2590108
“He can’t be the only one operating there.”

“No, but he’s the loudest. And it means they’ve picked their theatre to focus their efforts for the back nine.”

“Sounds almost as risky as Yamatoad,” you observe. “At least there we know what to expect. So what are my now-and-laters for each?”

Gopher sits back up. “Yamatoad now means a spearhead. You’ll need a lot of backup and you can expect a pretty nasty fight. Strategically, they’re almost spent after Istanbul. They’re going to fight to the last. That’s not going to go clean.”

You nod. “And if I wait?”

“Sixth clears other targets and has more resources to throw at them with you, nibble them down a bit. Safer approach and were it me, I’d be following their lead.”

“Atlantica?”

“Same kind of punchthrough attack. It could work, but if it goes sour, you’re all kinds of screwed. If you hold off, she probably has more time to send materials and entrench, but you can peel her out with time and backup on your side instead of hers.”

Another unknown variable. “Great. Gibbon?”

“More laser bombardment. Honestly once the heat’s off 15th, we might just shell the shit out of the area. Won’t stop him, but suppressing his aim or reducing the range will do the work.“

“And Moloch…”

“Lots more damage, infrastructure and civilian. Probably his little warband grows, and smart money says more dead hunters and weaponized DNA. Whatever he’s up to, it’s not good.”

He glances over his shoulder at a steady little bi-bi-biii notice on one of his screens, pinging for his attention. “Anything further?”

>

Sounds like it's Gibbon or Moloch.

I reallllllllllllllllly wish we could kill Tanker but that's not in the cards you better not rob us of that HC.

>>2590112
>No, that's enough.

>>2590114
>Sounds like it's Gibbon or Moloch.

If we're picking either, I'm hoping we go after Gibbon.

>>2590112
Nope.
Going for Moloch to reduce the total damage and gains they can do. Vancouver would open up a beach head for the enemy to bring more forces, and we need to stem the flow of weaponized DNA.

>>2590112
>Moloch it is

>>2590112
"Sounds like I'm going graverobbing."

Moloch sounds like the most immediate threat since he's still running around smashing stuff and stealing from the corpses of those he has slain.

>>2590112
huh, so maybe it should be Moloch after all. Not too keen on Tanker, Yamatoad, AND Amphritrite.

>>2590140
...Actually, Moloch does sound like the better choice.