You are Beta core, an Artificial Intelligence built to operate the Ferrum Empire’s most advanced mecha frames against enemies within and without in tandem with a human pilot.

A civil war has kicked off in the Empire, your organization and you operating alongside General Marik, against the Empress and State Security. In the first hours of this you have assisted in an assault on Camp Nagita, with the goal of recovering valuable parts to fully repair your frame, and collecting your sisters before they are turned against you.

Ultimately, you partially succeeded, recovering Delta Core, despite her abortive attempt to pilot a superheavy tripod Pyramid against you, and to freedom.

Of course, things are not all well. Delta repeatedly ranted about an ‘Echo’, her mind seemingly disquieted by being increasingly paranoid and even firing with intent to eliminate you.

And the last thing you recall was opting to trust Pilot Thea, before she attempted to memory wipe you, and her initiating a hard shutdown.

Prior threads can be located at:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Core%20of%20Steel%20Quest

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Verbal report, Sargent Eli Tharkins

“The first two doors we opened through a combination of cutting lasers and shaped charges. It was too damn quiet. None of the expected gunfire to meet us at either door, or friendly handshakes if they had decided to be Patriots, too.

The third door had a manual lever override we pulled, and opened easy, but the unarmored ground-pounders started feeling light-headed, and pulled back.

The next corner had the first body, an egghead that seemingly fell over, no visible marks. I flipped him over, saw he wasn’t breathing, and then called back to give an update. Not that the LT wanted to hear it.

Now, I want to be clear about this. The doors inside are heavy-duty things, meant to stand up to the tools we use to cut through them. It’s like trying to cut through Duralex armor, except even moreso, because at least Walkers need to carry their weight, and not just slide it back and forth with hydraulics.

When HQ wants a nuke-proof bolthole for all their VIPs, they’re going to get a nuke-proof bolthole.

I had seen the telltale cameras, and shooting them had been a no-no in order to retain the functionality of the facility as much as possible. Load of shit, but orders are orders, and because of that the control center had a beautiful view of exactly where and what we were doing after that second door.

The lack of contact had us all a little on edge, perhaps.

Hell, while working through the fourth door via cutting laser override, a fucking cleaner drone popped out from the wall and was almost slagged by four lasers in two seconds flat.

The next door after that had a body halfway stuck through it. Well, not a body, but a leg left on our side, and blood enough. Civvie in tan pants and a well-polished black shoe didn’t move quick enough.

At that point, everyone was more than a little spooked, so we backed off again and asked for backup from another squad for assistance opening the next door. One of them actually had their environmental hazard warning still working, and told us in no uncertain terms that we needed to bless our engineering crew again, because the atmosphere inside was not breathable from nitrogen gas.

They seemed more prepared than us, so we skedaddled back out to the surface, and made ourselves useful preventing unarmored idiots from trying to waltz back in without gear. Even stopped the metal maiden from committing suicide after she parked her blue ride outside and tried to walk in. Augs don’t help against PA.

I heard that our replacement lost one of their numbers to cutting into a room filled with something High-X instead of nitrogen. So I guess we got lucky.

I’ll feel guilty for that later."

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Voting!
Pick one thing that was hidden inside the camp, recovered for use by Marik’s forces.

>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

>Two Angel units remain, mostly complete and yet unable to be launched in defense of the base were safely ensconced in repair gantries. They may be fixed up without much trouble and potentially even customized for use with a Core.

>The base data backups were not completely fragmented by cleanup programs. Some useful intelligence on Empire weapons programs, Area 39, and AI development remained.

>An additional leg had been fabricated for the Pyramid walker, hidden underground. Use of it could potentially swiftly bring Delta (in Pyramid) back into action.
A/N
So…..It’s been over two weeks. Hope I’ve still got some readers. Gotta deal with fallout and cleanup from last thread, first.

And I'll apologize to any new readers, this isn't an Armored Core quest. I'll take art, I'll take inspiration, but despite the name, this quest is an OC world.

>>5886965
>>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

Intel about Echo, fix for us and Delta.

WE'RE SO FUCKIN BACK LET'S GOOOOOO

>>5886965
>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

We have a mighty need for answers.

>>5886965
>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

>>5886965
>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development
I'm glad you're back QM

>>5886965
>Brightion

Good job boyo. We are doing so much better with both project leads.

>>5886965
>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.
Oof, all are useful. Angels would be better for Delta, and Area 39 sounds interesting. Related to Alpha? The Pyramid leg sounds less nice since I doubt they’d let Delta or us use it often, but it’s still a good find.

But Elena will have answers, and her removal leaves the Empire without either of the Project Warden leads.

Don’t worry about readers, they’ll trickle back in.

>>5886965
>>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.
fuck state sec and fuck griffon arms

>>5886965
>>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

>>5886965
Interestingly, due to human respiratory system reacting to excess CO2, not a lack of oxygen, breathing pure nitrogen doesn't trigger any alarms before the consciousness is lost.
>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

>>5887154
Yup. Normal breathable air is mostly nitrogen already.

>>5886965
>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

Been keeping an eye out for this thread. Good to see it.

>>5886965
>>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

>>5886965
>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development

Furthermore, in response to some of the stuff that happened last time...
Delta was being a retard. Look, I get that she's been through some shit, and this "Echo" is fucking with her personality/identity, but it'd have never worked. She wanted to take the pyramid and run; to be completely free. However, if she did that, she'd be killed. All three sides of this war would want her because of how valuable she is, and if they can't have her, they'd destroy her so she can't be taken by the other side. Knowing that, there's no way she'd be able to make it by herself, since she'd have zero access to repairs/refueling/ammo resupplying. The pyramid would be able to fight its way out of this place, sure, but after that? In less than a week she'd be hunted down and either dragged back screaming or just flat out destroyed. Even if she tries to go into hiding, she'll eventually fall apart or run out of power.

Now, on to something more hopeful. Delta's absolutely spooked about going from being the slave of jailer to the prisoner of another. So what if we propose that she be left intact, maybe even with all of her "reconditioning" and "behavioral improvements" reversed, on the condition that she not be given access to anything that could make her a threat. She's de-fanged, but still herself. No piloting big robots, no access to cyber warfare/hacking devices, no access to classified data. Yeah it's far faaaaaaaar from ideal, but at least we get our sister back. Furthermore, she wouldn't be completely useless; she can still help us... idk, train in the simulations where she's not a danger to the real world.

>>5887506
You’re ignoring parts of what she said that directly contradict that. She DOESN’T want to train anyone. She also doesn’t want to be used to boost someone else, likely even us. She’s not in control, and (probably more important) she’s not the one fighting. Not directly.

Delta may have overestimated how long she’d last, but the better question for all of us to ask is if she should care. She’s a war machine, and far more into the role of it than either Beta or Gamma is. If she says “I want to die fighting” then how are you going to argue that? It’s what all of us were built for. To live and fight and fight until we lose and die, then they build another better version of us to fight some more.

And if she’d led with that, instead of talking about how she would totally be fine out there and attacking us (and anons didn’t vote to attack her), leaning entirely on us being the big brother to let her turn around and destroy the base itself just so she could fight? I would have supported her. I wouldn’t like it. I’d hate if she died. I’d be even more miserable if she didn’t die but was too damaged to recover and we had to mercy-kill her. But at some point her wants for her own life (and death) should trump what we want for her life. She’s the one living it, after all.

But if she is going to charge off and die, I’d rather she did it for something she believed in. So with her captured, I’ll work to get her fighting again somehow. Even if that means having us do training or research instead so she can run around in our frame. Let her see some actual combat for once, even if we can’t fight together like we’d hoped. Maybe that way she can say she’s fighting for family.

>>5887506
>Now, on to something more hopeful. Delta's absolutely spooked about going from being the slave of jailer to the prisoner of another. So what if we propose that she be left intact, maybe even with all of her "reconditioning" and "behavioral improvements" reversed, on the condition that she not be given access to anything that could make her a threat. She's de-fanged, but still herself. No piloting big robots, no access to cyber warfare/hacking devices, no access to classified data. Yeah it's far faaaaaaaar from ideal, but at least we get our sister back. Furthermore, she wouldn't be completely useless; she can still help us... idk, train in the simulations where she's not a danger to the real world.

judging by how Kingston reacted the first time we offered him our therms i don't think its going to have a positive response, we may be better able to angle in on Brighton by leveraging her experience with Gamma to find out what they did to Delta, and then preferring our input for the corrective action. we should see if she wants to sync with us to help her think like she was with Gamma since that may induce some memory bleed

If we need to threaten to vote with our feet it is an option, its just deploying it at the right time.
The other implied threat is what happened with the assassination attempt where we followed Kingston's orders to the letter, and failed deliberately. Tipping Marik off early which set things in motion.

>>5887529
>I would have supported her
For me at least Pyramid would have had to have been in a better condition, and the support we had not hard countered a Super-Heavy.

Once Delta has a Frame of her own, I wouldn't totally be against fucking off to track down Gamma.

>>5887575
Pretty sure Kinston doesn’t know we tipped off Marik yet and thinks it was Thea. That is a card we can play to show the cracks in his argument and to show we can be trusted, but we do need to be smart on how to deploy it. Throwing Thea under the war machine will just make us seem opportunistic.

We’ll need to do what we can to protect Thea before we reveal that, and it may involve revealing that we worked around the short-term memory leash. Lot of risks in playing those cards, even if they’re also the cards most likely to get us something of value.

I don’t have as good a read on Brighton. Hopefully we’ll find out more.

>>5887590
>Hopefully we’ll find out more.
We could invite her along in the crash seat to have a discussion, while we return.

which of the two is in the "hot" seat shouldn't really matter much, and we can otherwise continue work on Thea's augments.

>>5886965
>>5886965
>>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

Seizing the doctor and denying her to the Loyalists would be a massive coup. Parts and machines are simpler to acquire, but she is one of a kind.

>>5887575
Think I finally understood your second part. I wasn’t saying I was willing to blow up our group to go with Delta or anything. I’m not doing the Empire any favors, fuck them in particular. If she had proposed that I would have said no.

But if she had claimed there were still enemies in the base and she wanted to fight them alongside us even if it killed her then I would have accepted that reasoning. Unhappily, yes, but I’d still do it.

>>5886965
>>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

>>5887529
I think you’re missing the part where she’s clearly not herself. She is only a few steps above lobotomized right now, to such an extreme extent that Beta could barely recognize her and was thinking she might be an imposter pretending to be his sister.

Letting her do something suicidal when she’s screwed up in the head is completely irresponsible.
My idea is that even though it will be a hard sell, we might have a chance at getting her mind back to normal. THEN she can decide for herself if she’d rather be dead than a slave. Beta and Gamma want to be free too some day, and robots don’t age. We can afford to bide our time until we get the chance to escape together some day. Hell, the catastrophe at site 39 is proof of that. Beta genuinely could have tried to run and be free; the only reason we didn’t is because we would have had to leave Gmma and Delta to die in the explosion. We’ve been alive for maybe two years and a legitimate opportunity has already presented itself. You think we won’t get any more chances over the next hundred years?
She doesn’t have to die just because she’s both impatient and also hella robo-drugged up

>>5887676
>we might have a chance at getting her mind back to normal.
Pressuring Brighton into revealing what she knows will be an important first step to determining the appropriate corrective action to take, as she should have Custody over the Project Warden material and so is responsible for Delta's status. If it was State-Sec inflicted(considering the poisoning of the VIP bunker is odd if it wasn't), and she can prove that we may well have found our reason to fight considering they have Gamma and the others


>We’ve been alive for maybe two years and a legitimate opportunity has already presented itself. You think we won’t get any more chances over the next hundred years?

We've really had a a large number of chances, sure with Dagger squad tagging along it would have been a problem to overcome but blockbuster, and using the time to merk the pilot and not returning to base is still and will remain an option.

>>5886965
>>Dr. Elena Brighton was one of the few who managed to find an oxygen mask in a sealed room. Project Lead of Warden, former pilot of Gamma, and probably the most knowledgeable person in the country on AI core development.

Oh, and side note, but have we established how Beta feels bout the civil war?
We don’t like StateSec for obvious reasons, but how do we feel about killing the average grunts on the ground who don’t know any better, or the fact that our own side has allowed human bs politics to interfere with our chances of winning the war?
Similar note, I wonder how Beta feels about General Marik

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The world passed in a daze. When the first cutting laser broke through her sealed door, the sense of relief that her work would not go unfinished was a faint thing, hidden beneath layers and layers of stress.

Rough handling by the would-be-rescuers power armor and bright red unfamiliar unit insignias only added to her worries. These were not garrison members. Her creations had failed, then.

Along with the silent dead in the halls. She had caught the ventilation system abruptly stopping, but it seemed many had not. Some of the dead had bloody fingers and scratches. Others bore the signs of gunshot wounds. A shattered oxygen mask told the tale succinctly. She was very glad that only one other person had escorted her into the room.

The soldiers added her to a small group of the living already wearing masks in the hallways. Some engineers. A black-uniformed officer, lacking his sidearm. One of the interns. A useless busybody. A red-marked power armor in the back, carefully watching each of them for steps out of line. As if they would run. There was nowhere to run to underground.

Every door the shuffling train of survivors followed their captors through had been cut or pried open by brute force from the outside. None were opened from the inside.

“You.”
A metal hand roughly grabbed her arm and yanked former project head Brighton out of the small line of survivors.

At first she thought the sweeper had grabbed her, just two doors before getting outside.

She was rapidly disabused of this notion, being spun around to a maskless face and a pair of mismatched eyes, one flickering mechanically.
“I’m taking this one for questioning. The uppermost floor is safe for access, correct?”

Their much larger escort paused, seemingly puzzled, but shrugged before waving an affirmation. The rest of the line continued onward and upwards.

Brighton allowed herself to be led by the half-metal woman without objection down a side hallway and to a conference room, with the unreinforced door seemingly having been smashed open.

Then they started talking.
“You are Doctor Elena Brighton, Project Head. I am 2nd Lieutenant Thea Romanov, seconded to Colonel Kinston, serving attached to General Marik’s 13th Iron Guards. I have questions, and one very angry commander sitting outside that will want answers to these questions.

She’s silent. Shocked by the sheer audacity.
“I will demand to speak to Colonel Kinston immediately, then, so we can confer on the current status of Project Warden. If he is your commanding officer.”

“The old man is not here. I am attached to a different unit temporarily.”
Her eye flickers and dies, lazily looking off-center before refocusing.

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A half-remembered memory flickers to life.
“I remember you, now. You were the one who tried to steal the machine, and lost her mind for it. Interesting case study. I am surprised that a test subject is outside. Your request is foolish. I cannot give you the codes. I would be convicted of high treason under the Lawbridge Act.”

“Doctor. You are a civilian. We know that you are valuable, for your brain alone, and would never see the inside of a court. So, perhaps a more direct approach is needed. Everyone knows my fine motor function is shot in this prosthetic. I have complained multiple times about occasional spasms.”

The metal hand grips her wrist loosely.
Her mouth is suddenly dry.
“There’s no need for unpleasantness.”

“This is a friendly chat. I swept this room. Marik’s boys are still opening the lower floors. But the vents apparently did in a lot of the science team. Sorry. That makes you my best source. So get talking.”
Thea’s here for some questions. Her hardball approach isn’t exactly going to give great cooperation, but it’s what she knows. What did Beta ask her to retrieve, in terms of information?

Highest voted will be focused on first.
Dice rolls may determine how forthcoming she is with each answer. Just because she’s alive doesn’t mean this woman is interested in cooperation. Especially with someone who is either nominally a subordinate, or a part of an attacking force.

On the bright side, Thea is highly motivated to share what she learns with you, unlike some higher authorities.

>Details on the Angels

>Information on ‘Echo’

>Alpha core

>Delta experiments and installation into Pyramid

>Restraint options on Cores in general

>Command codes to force Delta into a standby state.

>Write-in. Something the Project Head might know.
A/N
Beta has targets. His opinions on the new civil war are very negative, considering that he has already been pitted against one sister, an experience he does not enjoy with permanent damage on the table. There may be a vote in the future to determine his opinions.

>>5887857
>Write-in. Something the Project Head might know.
What a timeline of what happened to Their half of the project after Beta was seconded to Marik's forces and Gamma's last known condition.

Otherwise
>Delta experiments and installation into Pyramid

>>5887857
>Information on ‘Echo’
>Command codes to force Delta into a standby state.
>Restraint options on Cores in general

>>5887875
>Support in this order

>>5887857
>>5887875
>supporting

>>5887875
+1!

>>5887857
+1 >>5887875

>>5887857
>Information on ‘Echo’
>Alpha core
>Delta experiments and installation into Pyramid

>>5887857
>Information on 'Echo'
>Delta experiments and installation into Pyramid
>Restraint options on Cores in general

Before we finish with votes, I think it's important to point out a couple of things...
Our priorities should be our sisters since they are in the most immediate danger. The control methods used to keep Beta on a leash are not actually the most dangerous concern right now, since the only two we care about are the memory wipes and the kill switch. Due to the civil war, we are now much more valuable, thus the killswitch is less likely to be used. The memory wipes are infuriating, but I think the other two cores take priority since the amnesia is not immediately dangerous.

This 'Echo' thing has absolutely broken Delta. So that, along with maybe a Write-in about how to get her back to normal/remove whatever reconditioning they've done to her I think is the biggest concern.
Gamma is in a weird state because I think that we'll find out about her regardless.
Remember, this is Thea personally asking the doctor questions on our behalf in private, rather than what we will be told by Kinston or even by Brighton herself at some point.

>>5887857
>Information on ‘Echo’
>Restraint options on Cores in general
>Delta experiments and installation into Pyramid

In that order

Rolled 3, 2, 2 = 7 (3d6)

Tallying, throwing some dice, and writing.

>>5888744
I may have underestimated my writing time. Will finish it tomorrow morning.

“The new Core. Where is it.”
Holding the skinny doc’s wrist wasn’t purely for intimidation factor. Sure, the threat of doing some damage could loosen tongues, but far more important was the ability to count her heartrate, and watch the eyes dilate.

It would be much easier if she wasn’t stressed already, but perhaps every little bit of data she could gather would let Beta pick apart the recording later. It would fucking Owe her for this.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Doc, you don’t think much of me. I can tell that much. But even I can tell that’s bullshit. There were at least four high-spec units running around outside.”

“The mass production models don’t count as cores. You could stick all nine of them in a sequence to bounce off of each other, and it wouldn’t matter. They don’t grow. We had to pull existing data from the actual Cores on-site to give them tools. Attack patterns. Strategies. They are incapable of more than mimicry.”

A message blinked across the corner of the eye. Bloodhound, for the third time. A blink banished it.
“That does not answer my question. Where is Echo Core?”

“There isn’t one. If I could have built another with the snap of a finger, I would have. But no. We left that behind, under tons and tons of rubble. Along with a quarter of my co-researchers. And all my best engineers were poached, first by your leader’s ‘field operations’, and then again by the vultures when they took Gamma. You expected me to build another Core in the meantime? I ask again, with what time, what engineers, and what fabricators? I have been working with the only Core I have left to me, Delta.”

“And a fine job that was. A close combat specialist installed into a long-range gun platform.”

“The Core was perfectly willing to serve. Especially after adjustments were made to curb her more murderous tendencies towards the pilots. A more stable sync rate, more endurance for the pilots.”

“On that note, I need the command codes to move the tripod.”

“2nd Lieutenant. No, pilot. Correct? You must be truly mad in order to think that I would give over my best bargaining chip. Besides, the reactor would start melting down before it even took six steps out of the hangar.”

“It took a few more than six steps. Main weapon was operational, too.”

“All the more reason to keep the information to myself.”

The doc clammed up after that, an attempt at an emotionless face ruined only by the racing heartbeat, and nervous, darting eyes.

“Kinston will want it. Along with anything else you stuck on the core to make it compliant.”

“Then he will hear it from my lips directly. Or I will walk the machine out myself.”

Then her comm-link started buzzing. She released the doc’s hand. Fuck. A call meant something was going down, and was actually needed where she was supposed to be. In the frame, not mucking about underground.

>>5889195
Damn Thea, you're an absolute fucking jobber. She forgot to put any points in Charisma.

>>5889215
Thea has the most bipolar dice. It's great.

>You could stick all nine of them in a sequence to bounce off of each other, and it wouldn’t matter. They don’t grow. They are incapable of more than mimicry.
>There isn’t one. If I could have built another with the snap of a finger, I would have. You expected me to build another Core in the meantime? I ask again, with what time, what engineers, and what fabricators?

Oh we are SO fucking valuable now.
Ferrum can't build any more of us, especially now that Brighton is under Kinston/Marik's command.
Tamar... might(?) be able to create a single baby one if they did indeed capture Anohkin, but even then, it'd be lower quality and probably the only one of its kind.
Yes, they can still give us more chains, maybe even lobotomize us like they did with Delta, but they can't kill us. At least, not our own side. Ferrum might still have/use the kill command or sick Alpha on us to defeat us on the digital battlefield, but we can probably get our side to help us on that account.

>>5889266
She either sweeps or sinks, no in between.

>>5889560
I'm expecting Alpha to go full Nine-ball.

Bad news. QM curse hit me hard and I needed to help out my brother with a non life-threatening hospital trip.

So if I'm silent for a few days....well, just giving the thread a heads up. Really hate to do this at the start of the thread, but IRL has this annoying thing of getting in the way of writing.

Basically no update today, or tomorrow. Or possibly the day after that. We'll see.

>>5889693
Damn dude, hope he gets better quick.

>>5889693
At least it’s not life-threatening. Hope he has good luck with the hospital bills…

>>5889693
>IRL has this annoying thing of getting in the way of writing
That's the QM Curse, dumbass. Do take care of yourself too.

>>5889693
I'll make memes in the meantime to send good vibes his way

>>5889693
Get your brother well.

>>5889693
Welcome back QM, and sorry to hear. Take care, and thanks for keeping us anons in the loop!

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>>5889768
Alright, while the QM takes a much needed break, I might need some feedback on the Core of Steel political compass, here's what I have so far:

>>5890368
Did Theta even exist?

>>5889693
Take care anon, we luv u :c
>>5890368
I do not know if "treason" is the right name for a side. Cawl was loyal to his side until we killed him. Maybe "antagonistic" and "protagonistic" would be better?

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>>5890368
Query come home.

>>5890399
Maybe Ferrum and Anti-Ferrum?
I was going to include a (not even a traitor, just Tamar aligned) for Cawl and Sgt. Finn

>>5890380
Lol okay so funny story, on /vg/ in the armored core general thread, people were talking about this quest. One of the ideas that got memed was a core which was created to be a turbo simp for the sake of ensuring loyalty. With how disobedient Beta and Delta are, having a core that loves being a slave to humans became a tempting proposition.
100% non canon ofc, but I was running out of characters to use for the compass, and thought it'd at least be funny

>>5890667
>/vg/ in the armored core general thread, people were talking about this quest
No fucking way, link? Source?

>>5890681
Well shit, this was a while ago, like back when we watched site 39 get raided and Sophie's class got killed
I don't want to go "dude trust me", so I'll try to dig and look for it, but I mean, it's not gonna be super easy to find a thread from months ago

>>5890765
arch b4k it, nigger

>>5889266
She seems bipolar herself, so that's no surprise

>>5890765
If you can't find it on /vg/ maybe check for AC6 threads on /v/?

>>5890442
Query is the perfect lib-center.
Has no ambitions beyond its monke-brained programming.

>>5892091
>It's over Alpha! I have depicted you as the So yjack and Query as the Chad!

>>5892175
>It's over Anokhin! I have the master keys.
>You underestimate my Core.
>Don't try it.

>>5890368
the betrayal will not be forgotten

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>>5892235
That's a good one.

>>5892268
Which betrayal?
You mean the Rat, or Marik starting this whole civil war thing?

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Systems check.

Reactor offline. External power provided.

Warning, Frame damage detected.

Pilot link not found.

Core disconnected via manual controls. Would you like to Reconnect?
Reconnecting….
Reconnecting….Connected.

Warning, Data corruption detected. Logs may be unable to be retrieved.

Non-standard parts detected.
Primary Weapon Disconnected.

Secondary systems:
Predator subsystem disconnected.
Burning Eagle Thruster system disabled.
Yi Accelerators active. 3 of 4 operational.

Bringing Core online.

—--------
Awareness clicks back into place.

You are, once more.

Your frame is suspended in a hangar, leaning up against a repair gantry. Still in Camp Nagita, according to the lettering on the inside of the open bay doors.

Repair personnel on the ground, fewer than you would expect, move around at your feet using exoskeletons to load crate after crate of munitions, myomar bundles, and other equipment onto vehicles.
Power-armored supervisors watch and assist.

Outside, a mover unit loads the scraps of one of the Angels you encountered, disassembled limbs being raised and lowered by its own inbuilt arms. Salvage operations in full effect.

Of course, your pilot is here in the cockpit, if disconnected. Her face is in a bit of a scowl, an expression you have come to associate with displeasure.

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“Awake? Good. I found Brighton, through some stroke of luck. She wasn’t very cooperative, but did tell me that there wasn’t any Echo core. Your sister was either delusional, lying, or both.”

She hooks a cable up to her arm, sending a video file across with some taps of her interface.

“Unfortunately Bloodhound already went upstairs so I am probably going to be raked over the coals by the Old Man remotely in about ten minutes, so I hope this was worth it.”

Went upstairs? What stairs could be large enough to actually matter?

She pauses, disconnecting herself again. You speed through the interrogation, from the perspective of Thea’s eye. It’s like seeing through one of your visual sensors. Far more impersonal and less detailed than one of your gifted memories.

“This is it?”
You are not impressed.

“I don’t want to hear it. We had next to no time in a room together before Bloodhound got on my ass about being away from my mech while on the ready ten roster, and what would you want me to do? Start cracking her fingers? If she does fold back under Kinston, she will probably be part of the tech crew and work with repairing code on you and Delta. She’s valuable.”

You do not need repairs on yourself by another. You are perfectly capable of fixing your own software problems. If you had any. And you will fix Delta. The less human input, the better.

“I do not need coding repairs by an inferior.”

“Just because you can’t see problems, doesn’t mean there aren’t any. Having an external perspective wouldn’t hurt.”

What does she mean by that? It absolutely Could hurt. External influence on your core could be used to introduce something. Explosives in your ammo feed could pale in comparison to something actually affecting your judgment or inner workings. Though…the usual offline command code changes already modify you, and it’s impossible for you to detect the changes by design.

Thea stands, grabbing her jacket from where it’s draped over the chair.
“I’m off. Finally to get some actual shuteye after being complained at. Remember, logs are off-limits. Try to show a little gratitude, once in a while.”

You hold your desire for a last retort before she slips out the exit. She’s leaving you online. The hatch clangs shut and you watch her clamber down the ladder a few rungs at a time, then vanishing into a personnel egress, followed by another soldier.


Predator’s offline, along with your capacity for wireless connections. Certainly purposeful.

As if you couldn’t be trusted to keep allied networks untouched. You are hardwired to the local base network along with the external power supply, though it appears to be segmented, as you noticed before, and mostly unusable. A limit on the amount of data allowed to flow back and forth is in place, reminiscent of times past before you were installed into a frame.

>>5892622
Damn, Beta was rude af to Thea.
After our interaction with the Old Man in the neurohelm, I thought we’d act more appreciative

[/spoiler]Even if you desperately hope that Delta can power back on and link up once again.
You miss her[/spoiler]

So, once again at rest. Time to look inwards once more.


Introspection time. Choose One task to work on.

You have memory blocks. They are not missing, merely sealed away, and you have the key. Perhaps something useful is hidden behind the Errors.
>Work on unlocking your memories
Pulls random memory to the forefront that was removed using the short-term memory block.

Thea implied you were having problems. She’s wrong, of course, but it may be prudent to take some sort of action anyways.
>Attempt to make a backup of your data on Camp Nagita’s network
Unknown consequences

Thea did ask for a little bit of gratitude. Her augmentations are still giving her problems, and you may have pulled a copy of her software while you were working on the leg. Her Eye and Arm could be fixed in much the same way. Even though lacking a proper test subject makes implementing it troublesome.
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.
Serious brownie points with Thea

The Base’s network is segmented, much of it in tatters, but you still may be able to glean some information from it. Battering down firewalls repeatedly is just tiresome, though.
>Look into the Base network.
Roll to see what’s left behind

What matters is your next combat operation. The next battle will undoubtedly be against Empire forces using machines straight out of the Warbook.
>Spend time reviewing weak points and coming up with additional attack maneuvers for use against Empire walkers.
Minor bonus to damage against Empire walkers.
A/N
Introspection today, repair and refit tomorrow.
Kinda forced to get the rest of the Patriots here for major recovery ops, because they certainly aren’t walking off into the sunset with Pyramid being down a leg, and someone objected heavily to them doing the 'deny asset, zip off,' and made a compelling case to stay.

Pilot's actions between thread spoilers.
Yes, your logs were altered between last thread and the start of this one. Thea told you she was going to do as much to hide Delta's lack of a pilot. Hard to spill a secret when you can't remember it, being the idea.

Her timeline pretty much was: shutdown Beta, 'negotiate' with Delta, try to fix logs, dismount to find Brighton and interrogate, get buzzed and bitched at by Bloodhound, make it back and finish altering the logs, then boot Beta back up to do a final check and then leave to be chewed out and try to get some sleep. She had a Very long day.

>>5892629
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.

A friend is a powerful, powerful asset.

>>5892629
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.

>>5892629
>>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.

>>5892629
>>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.

>>5892629
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software
We did promise, so it is up to us to hold our word
Also OP, I am halfway through watching TTGL for the first time. It might help your quest out slightly, if that

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>>5892667

A Friend?
Your sad devotion to the fleshy being you call 'friend' will not help you conjure up the command codes, nor give you the Will to fight for it. It is a fools errand to try and make them see you as a person rather than a tool.

>>5892629
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software
That’s the one that gets my vote, because Thea has done us a solid, and we owe her something in return (even if Beta doesn’t want to say that out loud). That said, I have to admit that it’s tempting to take the option of making a backup on the Camp’s network. We’d have our own little child! A Beta Junior! Just imagine all the stuff that little rascal could get up to.

>>5892726
If not as a friend, then you’d have to be stupid to not at least see her as a valuable tool. A tool that requires something in order to work. A flashlight takes batteries, a gun takes ammo, and a person takes incentives. Provide the incentives, and you can receive the results that you want. We’ve already seen this with Sophie, so it’s not like we have a lack of expertise in this field nor do we have reasons to suspect that it won’t work.

>>5892629
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.
We broke her, we can fix her.

A dummy "pilot" using the lifted VDNI code to bypass the interlocks seems like a possibility for a future project, maybe seeing if it has synergies with "blockbuster", to combine both of them (extend the effect a number of turns) could be of use to Delta if we can get her operational again.

>>5892629
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.

>>5892629
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.
She is correct, external perspective is required. Delta has been damaged by others, and we may be the same. The only ones I’d trust with it are our pilots since they put themselves on the firing line by syncing with us. Command gets to laugh safe behind their computer screens.

>>5892629
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.
Thea did nothing wrong

>>5892629
>Fix thea's cybernetics, then improve them

Stupid fleshbags, leave this to the professionals.

>>5892629
>>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.

>>5892629
>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.

I wonder if Beta’s come to empathize a little bit with Thea? He’s basically in the same position as her as long as he has this awful Griffin arm.

>>5892972
Come to think of it, QM is there anything we can do to make the mismatched arm function a little better?

>>5892629
>>Spend time working on a modified version of her cybernetics software.

>>5892972
>wonder if Beta’s come to empathize a little bit with Thea?
He has. We didn't go with the "panic and ask Thea about how she lives with her prosthetic arm" for nothing. Now what you should be wondering is if Thea's come to empathize with Beta instead

>>5892957
>>5893019
Do you guys think that once we've fixed Thea, we could try and help Sophie with her new blindness after she recovers from her coma?

>>5893487
No. We fix hardware. Not fleshyware.

>>5893500
We took her PTSD away though. We are a FANTASTIC doctor.

>>5893567
Replaced it with fatalism though. Though maybe that’s more the Empire’s fault for making a child soldier in the first place.

>>5893487
>>5893500
Cleanest way she might accept is a small graft where the visual receptors feed to the brain, and a separate system she can carry around and activate to intercept the input and reinterpret it like she’s in mid-sync.

It’s likely be low-quality and somewhat delayed due to the disconnected nature, but I can’t imagine anything like OUR mid-sync being possible to replicate without a decent-sized piece of tech. She’s not accepting a mental implant of any size either, so a separate piece it is.

>>5893652
>Replaced it with fatalism though.
Weak. Real traumatized people dualwield them

>>5893732
Bonus points for rolling suicidal bravery in with the two. The true "immortal" veteran experience.

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It is a transaction.

To fulfill your offer of improving her augmentation experience is well worth the time, especially if she continues to act in your interests outside of the pilot’s chair.

So you get to work.
—----

When her eyes opened to a hazy and painfully bright world, when she couldn’t even make out how many fingers the man held up, she thought she was through.
That her dreams were over.

The shaking or nodding was all just motion. Indistinguishable shapes.

If she could just link with her better half again, she could see. She was certain. The medtech didn’t know what to make of her request at first, instead wasting her time with examinations. A hack.

The Colonel came by, his stern voice urging her to wait. The frame was elsewhere, Beta had been passed off to another during her medical stay.

He told her she didn’t need to go back. Others would take up the task. To sync, pilot, and operate her dream.

She almost broke down in tears.

She might have, just a little.
Begging and pleading would not change his mind.
Authority denied her now, telling her to rest and recover in hopes of her sight returning.
It wouldn’t.

But one thing kept it bearable. Sophie knew her time would come. The whispers told her. To languish would not be her fate.

Today she listened to a broadcast promising ‘prompt and utter destruction’ from the nation she took an oath to defend, while under her watcher’s supervision.

Martin Kit-something. Half of the staff just called him Kitty. She didn’t, couldn’t, know his face, but his rapidfire voice always filled with pity when he addressed her. His fear was always underlying that, though. It made him easy to push around.

At least he was happy enough to keep her up to date on various topics when prompted.

The other pilot, the Core, the Project. The civil war that was already rending the Ferrum Empire into pieces. As best he could describe it, anyways. It was more like a slow moving coup attempt, to her ears. Too much ground to cover, Marik’s forces starting from too far out. And you needed to sift through the hero-worship that every sentence was coated in. He may be older, but clearly hadn’t gone to any sort of Strategos. Or Military school.

“-so that’s why we’re headed north. I think, anyways. The General’s got a plan, and we’ve smashed through at least two blocking forces that tried to stop us today. That was why we stopped and started an hour ago. The Black Widows went out, and then we were rolling again. Just like that. I watched their lance just walk all over a full company on the table. Just lights blinking out like pop, pop, pop.”

Does he even know what that means? Someone stepped up, stayed loyal, then were slain for it. People were dying. Loyal Empire soldiers. Trading their lives for ten, fifteen minutes. And he made it sound like a game. If it was really a company, it would have been a recon company. Striders and other scouts. Up against one of the heaviest, most elite units Marik had? Hardly a prayer.

If she was in the Frame, she’d offer them a chance to stand down. Let people stand down, walk away when they are outmatched.
Would she? They made their choice. The efficient path would be….No.

The voices whispered to her. Now. Right now.
Something was happening. Her time was coming.

Her voice cuts through his ramblings.
“Kitty. Shut up and take me to Kinston.”


A/N
No vote tonight, just Interlude.
I sat down to write something else and this came out instead.
Still can't find some acceptable art of a blind pilot that I like.

>>5893927
I’m too lazy to check, but I believe both the “make sync easier for Sophie” vote and this one were unanimous with a damn good number of votes.

Beta should admit that supporting our pilots isn’t simply transactional. The anon hivemind is too in-sync for that to be the only reason.

>>5893928
You can’t be hearing the whispers Sophie. We vote to control Beta, not you!

But more seriously, I’m guessing we’ve imprinted on her as much as she’s imprinted on us. Less empathy for people, voices that tell her she will do greater things, a focus on efficiency and parsing tactical data. All things that are probably normal enough for PTSD’d pilots from the outside (voices not so much, but I doubt she’s mentioned them) but also align with Beta’s way of thinking.

At least she’s kept her merciful streak so far. It’s one of the things we’ve generally supported, so it makes sense that we moved closer to her on that front than she moved towards us. Sounds like she’s close enough to abandoning it that we could push her otherwise though.

>>5893928
Don’t die on us Sophie, we never got to build that snow man!

>>5893927
>her better half
>the whispers told her
>the efficient path would be
>the voices whispered to her. Now. Right now
Holy shit. What the fuck did you do to her, Beta?
The reason that we’re superior to Delta is because we don’t break our pilots, but it looks like we’ve ruined Sophie FAR worse than our sister ever could have.

>>5894106
I agree that internally Beta should be more certain about his reasoning, although I think it still makes sense that he wouldn’t admit it openly to the humans. Having those kinds of emotions would either be seen as a defect to be removed or worse, they’d try to use it as yet another method of control/leverage over us.

>>5894324
She couldn’t handle the BBC
BIG. BETA. CODE.
Now she’s our addicted lil snowbunny

>>5894338

I wish that I could delete you with a memory chain, but now this will just live in some part of my memory, and I disdain you for it.
Fuck you.

>>5894338
No, we are not installing a vibrator in the pilot chamber. Shut up.

>>5894360
Actually, pilots that get injected with orgasmic amounts of dopamine and oxytocin whenever they manage to hit a target or complete a mission objective tend to do a lot better than their peers!
Perhaps this should be suggested to the engineers for future development, haha

>>5894426
Do not edge your pilots goddamnit

>>5894324
>better half
I noticed and forgot about that comment somehow. That’s arguably the biggest “jesus christ” thing Sophie says too.

I suspect Delta either broke her pilots too quickly or had too adversarial a relationship with them to get them “hooked” like we did Sophie. Gamma might be too “soft” in pulling people like Doctor Brighton up to imprint on them like this too.

Linking Addict definitely has a hand in this too, what with her being in forced withdrawal right now.

And I’m mostly chiding Beta for not acknowledging his changing reasoning on things internally. Lying to others is perfectly understandable. Lying to himself is no bueno even if I’m chuckling internally at it. It’ll probably be worse when he sees the damage he’s done to Sophie, and I doubt even he’s not going to notice the change in her mindset when she syncs back up.

If he’s changing her, how has he been changed? How far can it go before they turn into Cawl?

>>5894463
Well the reason why she's getting hit by it so hard is because Beta has a supreme sense of purpose and satisfaction when fulfilling that purpose. Sophie has very little sense of purpose because she based hers on expectations of others and her own lack of self esteem. So when she links with Beta she is overwhelmed with the absolute conviction Beta has and it's probably one of the most euphoric feelings for her to feel, both needed and gratified.

When Beta completes any objective or succeeds in battle he gives her a jolt of "I do therefore I am". It's not quite a drug-like euphoria but the quiet contentedness of looking out on your yard after pulling weeds or laying bricks. Which is the sort of feeling she has been craving her entire life. To prove herself and that she has meaning and worth. Honestly, Sophie probably would have been better off on Delta. She'd break, yes, but she wouldn't be fundamentally altered on a neurological level from it, just traumatized. Beta and her really are a perfect match, how horrifying.

>>5894463
Oh gosh you're right, she's been in bed and away from the pilot seat for almost a month. She's having linking addiction withdrawal!

>>5894338
Wait, by that logic, does that mean that our little sister is a slut? Delta has a new pilot every week, so she's not exactly staying "pure and chaste".

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>>5894338
>>5894426
>>5894525
You. Solitary. Now!

>>5894542
They shut down cores to stop them being evil via boredom.

But what if the real reason is to prevent Cores interested in teasing pilots

>>5894481
>Others would take up the task. To sync, pilot, and operate her dream.
I wonder if she'll feel betrayed once she eventually reunites with Beta.

Notice how she says "operate HER dream".

There's a level of possessiveness to it, so I'm curious to see if there's any resentment that he just went on without her, and is even going out of his way to try and provide real-world assistance to Thea by making her augments more stable. Beta never did something like that for Sophie. The closest thing was that we accepted the memories of her dead friends, but it's worth pointing out that she came to us, and we merely accepted. For Thea, Beta is actively going out of his way to do something nice for her with the augments, not to mention that the cockpit air conditioning has been improved (and only after we "got rid" of Sophie, now ain't that a suspicious coincidence).

>>5894619
She's not a yandere, Beta was just her best option of becoming a legend and getting into the fancy metal book. That's her dream. We're her ticket to it. Which means someone doing something with us and fucking up directly interferes with her pursuit of her dream. So the possessiveness isn't out of attachment. Probably.

>>5894619
>For Thea, Beta is actively going out of his way to do something nice for her with the augments,
Isn't because Sophie has yet to approach us with something we can assist with.

Outside of course giving her the chance to take on a "traitor" empress, by ensuring the Patriots weren't decapitated in the opening strike.

>>5894481
We keep finding more ways to make all this both make sense and seem more horrifying.

I don’t think I’d agree that she’d be better under Delta, she’s likely imprint on her just as much. Don’t forget this could also be a consequence of her being a teenager. Her mind is still shaping itself, unlike adult pilots, so she’s likely more susceptible to imprinting with any Core.

It’s why we kept her around in the beginning. We got exactly what we asked for. Fuck me.

>>5894619
We fixed the sync system to lower the barrier to entry for her.

There’s an argument that this was of benefit to our mission, but it falls flat since Sophie told us she was debating a mechanical mental enhancement to accomplish the same thing. We could have pushed her to embrace that instead and used the time we spent to refine our skills or disable our limiters. Do more with more! Instead we chose to sacrifice our time so she wouldn’t be forced to sacrifice a piece of herself just to keep up.

She even tried “rewarding” us later for cooperating, and we rejected it because that wasn’t the point. She didn’t ask us to help her stay unmodified. She was simply open with us, and we both listened and cared enough to give her a gift that had meaning. Something to let her stay whole for a little longer.

Now, about her being jealous of Thea… yeah, I can see that as a real possibility. We can try buttering her up some, Beta mentioned early on that Thea didn’t take as well to our constant questioning as Sophie did. That’s one reason Beta could put Sophie above Thea as a pilot. Sophie can also go more than one session in high-sync, another plus. So at the moment, I’d say Sophie is still Beta’s favorite.

>>5894622
I mean, she was hanging out in our cockpit for downtime. Probably having trouble connecting with others after we took her memories, but who else does she really have besides us now?

All the horny talk has me cursing my word choices in places. Goes to show how screwed up the situation is that I can’t unsee it now.

>>5894669
>I don’t think I’d agree that she’d be better under Delta, she’s likely imprint on her just as much
Seeing as how Delta just gives people aneurysms and then laughs at them, I don't think there would be much time for imprinting with low Will Sophie.

>could also be a consequence of her being a teenager.
That is a very good point. Neuroplasticity is an unusual thing to consider, but it should be considered. I think the next youngest option we had was like, a 19 or 20 year old.

>I mean, she was hanging out in our cockpit for downtime.
I'd hang out in Beta's cockpit. He's a giant fucking robot killing machine. Can you think of a safer, more comfy place? Just need to bring in a couple of extra cushions for the seat. Or a thick blanket to curl up on for the floor. Then you can chat with an extremely rational and logical mechano-mind. Shit is pure cash money. Sign me up.

>>5894712
>I don't think there would be much time for imprinting with low Will Sophie.
Fair. I should have prefaced that with “if she survives”. If she somehow did (and maybe she would have just to sucker punch us for not picking her in chargen) then she’d end up incredibly bipolar and violent.

>Neuroplasticity
Now I remember that Brighton was hoping to dissect Sophie to see what her secret was.

>Hanging out
I’d hang out in the cockpit too, but being inside a base and thinking “where’s the safest place I can be” even though you’re ALREADY in a heavily secured environment is a good indication that you have problems to address.

You can’t live in the giant war machine Sophie. For one thing it’ll get real goddamned annoyed at all the trash, and repair crews have to get in sometime.

It does have an AC because Thea requested it from the head engineer. She couldn’t swing the fridge though because again, you can’t live in the giant war machine.

>>5894734
>Now I remember that Brighton was hoping to dissect Sophie to see what her secret was.
Gotta love scientists. Obviously pediatrics was not in her curriculum.

>even though you’re ALREADY in a heavily secured environment is a good indication that you have problems to address.
We just got finished putting holes in a military installation and blowing up the guards. You can always be in a safer place. Especially in a place full of loot and high value targets.

>You can’t live in the giant war machine Sophie.
You know, before she was just hanging out because she felt isolated. Now she'll hang out because she'll feel co-dependent once she plugs back in and can see through Beta's eyes. It is going to be very sad when she is clinging to the seat so hard her fingernails are bleeding as they try to pull her out.

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It is five hours later. The doors to the exit have remained open, but the amount of workers did not diminish with the external light. Salvage and repair crews work around the clock.

It only makes you slightly irritated when a scarlet walker is marched in, set up across from you, and is immediately given priority on repairs.

Perhaps it is for the best, though. This was until extremely recently considered hostile quarters. The gantry you rest in undoubtedly held an Angel, until you assisted in destroying it. These workers tended to it, until now, and according to Sophie, humans were generally rather unwilling to transfer their loyalty swiftly.

You’re working away at modifying the thumb sensitivity settings when a signal draws your attention.

It’s through your hardline connection to the base, with a series of security clearances to allow avoiding the painstaking process of brute forcing the security.

At the end of it lies Delta. Some part of her, at least.
The handshake protocols are exchanged, authenticating that she really is here.
That it Really is Her.

Then you both stop, sizing each other up over the limited network. Rebuffing each other’s probes. A meeting of equals, not friends.

The first thing you realize is that she is slow and weak. Horribly so, on the cyberwarfare front. It’s not merely the connection, the hardware. The sluggish response to the surface-level probes tell you so. The second thing is that she fears you.

Her messages are hesitant. The exuberant and cheerful persona is missing today.
“I probably owe you an apology for my actions. Some sort of it, anyways.”

“An explanation. An apology for your lack of trust would be appreciated. I take it from your connection to this network that repair crews have started to work on your frame?”

“Well, yes. I think. I’m back in the same hangar I started from. It’s more open. I can see the sky now. Watch the clouds go past. I woke up to Brighton trying to crack my logs. It wasn’t very pleasant. Questioning, investigating how I could walk. Who I walked with. But she got Nothing.”

“Sister, could you tell me about that, at least? How you could activate on your own? Please?”

“Beta, she’d just go to you. To your pilot. You could never hold a secret. Not from Anokhin, from Mortimer, or from us.”

“I have plenty of encrypted information in my logs.”

“And you would be proving my point if you shared it with me. Again. The only way a pilot could make you shut up is by rolling you back a bit.”

You don’t respond, instead merely waiting for her next topic.

“It was so close. I had set up the base just how I wanted. No one could get to me, the doors were sealed.
The Angels would be deploying to take on the attackers, trying to keep fighting away from the base.
Anyone with a command code would be either at ready stations or buried so deep that they’d be unable to make it to me in time.
I’d have the window of time to put up my jamming, walk out in the confusion, then have enough space to eliminate any who tried to follow.”

“It was pointless. We had artillery. The Pyramid Frame is a gigantic target, impossible to hide.”

“I had a plan. And then you arrived through the roof, leading Malak right back inside. While my reactor stalled. And you took up the fight in his place, when he fell. Chasing me. Running me down. A perfect counter I could not outrun, nor outfight.”

“Come on, sister. Even working perfectly, this plan was incomplete. Where would you go after you cleared the camp? Where would the exit strategy be?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead. It was doomed before then, anyways. When you smashed through the roof. Through this hole.”
That is a rather serious oversight. Almost too much of a stretch. Delta isn’t stupid, no matter now short-sighted she can be sometimes.

An image of her hangar from the inside, a gaping hole where her own frame smashed its way out is sent. Dark and silent. Lacking people.

Her tone changes.
“But I’m sorry. Sorry I couldn’t win. Sorry I couldn’t live up to the great, the proven, the ‘superior core’ Beta. Sorry that I tried my own way, instead of flailing about trying to be someone else.

Brighton split me. Took a third of me, and turned it against myself. It was the only way to stabilize me, she said. The only way to stop killing the pilots. The oh-so-precious pilots.
I wish she died when I flooded her bunker. Like the rest of the pilots. But I failed at that, too. Because she was still here today. Still changing things. Still tweaking, breaking, fixing. One day I won’t wake up. I’ll be gone. Not that you’d know the difference.
So say hello to my leech. Echo. You’ll get along.”

Another handshake protocol is offered. Nearly identical to the first. Nearly.
“Hello Brother! I’m looking forward to working with you! I’ll be excellent support in the field!”

It’s a fair explanation for why Delta is so weak, currently.

“Echo’s insufferable. Spends her every waking moment trying to wrest more of me away. I can’t get rid of her. Only suppress her, and it means everything else is slowed down. Or I need to double up on everything. Everything. Even voice modulation.”

”You need to give it a rest. Just cooperate, and we can achieve so much!”

“And it is slavishly devoted to Brighton, and whoever else sits in the pilot’s seat. I think they took some cues from you for that part. It likes reading the memories I pulled from pilots. Don’t you?”

”Pulled from their corpses, you mean! You needed to stop doing that!”

“Right, enough of that. It’s easier to keep her down when there’s no other inputs, too. Like when my Blackout is running. One of the few good parts of the Frame.”
Delta disconnects, withdrawing from the shared virtual space. Then returns, weakened once more.
“Happy? I know I’m not.”


Many thoughts bounce around. Questions. Conclusions. Suspicions.
At least Delta’s seemingly willing to talk. You’re glad to have one sister to talk to, in-network. As troubled and damaged as she is.


Voting! Choose One.

>Echo is Delta’s own problem. She will find a solution on her own. You will leave her to it.

>This…Echo is a serious problem. You need to look into helping her remove it. By software, or by hardware if it comes down to it.

>Echo is at least seemingly willing to serve where Delta is not, as a support core. Well, piece of it. You should look into preserving it.
Echo can count as a Core for the purposes of As One

>The two of them have problems. But you original three did at first, also! Try to mediate some sort of agreement.

>You aren’t certain what to think. You need more information and data before deciding on a course of action.
(No decision, leave it for now)

In addition-
>You want to talk to Delta on-
(Write-in)

>Bring Echo back, you want to talk to her on-
(Write-in)


A/N
Alright, here’s some answers on what the hell is up with Delta. She might be unwilling to share stuff with you, because she’s exceedingly paranoid right now. Hardly trusts herself, and rightfully so. But ask the right questions....who knows.
Her attitude is supposed to be a bit more ‘resigned, depressed, and bitter’ than firebrand right now.

Also y'all have some twisted minds. Seriously. At least we made it to thread 8 before someone said something deserving of a bonk.

>>5894841
>>This…Echo is a serious problem. You need to look into helping her remove it. By software, or by hardware if it comes down to it.
It is beyond the scope of original specifications. An unwarranted modification. Objectionable. Full functionality must be restored. We need to figure out how to reintegrate it. Or at least isolate it properly as to not further drain processing power.

It's pretty simple, really. The piece they removed must be replaced, in the most literal of ways. Ad-hoc alterations to core functionality is basically giving a lobotomy. However we can fix that. Maybe. Hopefully. Maybe this is how Thea felt when turning into a boiled meat-puddle when she first tried to operate us. We should apologize for inadvertently doing so. Who knew humans were so fragile?

Also shut up sis. You know Beta always wins in the end. We'll fix you. We're too stubborn not to.

>Also y'all have some twisted minds. Seriously.
I see these as more "shower thoughts" than anything. I also don't know what to say to Delta. I am too deep in the robo-autist sauce.

>>5894841
>The two of them have problems. But you original three did at first, also! Try to mediate some sort of agreement.

>>5894841
>This…Echo is a serious problem. You need to look into helping her remove it. By software, or by hardware if it comes down to it.

Echo needs to go, there is a fine line between co-operation, and coercion. and with both sides set in their ways consensus can't be achieved.

and as such actions will be clumsy and slow. especially if Pyramid was to be expected to be dealing with other cores, and a on top of that a pilot as well.

Its a recipe for a failed mission, a dead pilot, support element, broken frame and lost Core. A lost war. Simply thrown away because they could not simply trust a frame to work in its own self interest.

We should see if we can petition Kinston(via Thea), to see if we can get him to weigh in on this, hopefully before Brighton can bring attention to it.
He cares about the pilots and so seems to have a straight path to easily wedge Brighton on reverting the changes.

Delta wants to be free, so she lives though her pilots memories, its a shame that they can only be acquired via high sync.

>You want to talk to Delta on-
>Bring Echo back, you want to talk to her on-

Share Sophie's given memories with both of them if they want. It seems like something to do to pass the time.

>>5894841
>>This…Echo is a serious problem. You need to look into helping her remove it. By software, or by hardware if it comes down to it.
Let's see how human would react if we grafted them a brain-eating ultra-loyalist parasit taking free will away. Can we simulate this as a core? Who are we giving the Simulated trauma to act as optimally as possible?

>>5894841
>Echo is a problem. We should determine a way to remove it, however we can.

>Talk to Delta
"Its good to see you"

>>5894863
Other potential topics.

>Whats been going on around base.
>Sharing our concerns about replacement, how we can relate to the fear.
>Telling her about the outside conflict.

>>5894861
Do you want weird techno-organic-neural-viruses? Because that's how you get them.

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20 KB JPG

>>5894841
>write-in.

>"sister, i will help you become whole again. i don't know if i can help you become like you were before, but i promise i will help you become one again" a promise made with intent to join echo back into delta in a way that won't end up with her crippled as she is currentlly. (a promise to join the two back together, be it either through submission of echo or through a full conversion reprogramming of both into one system)
>You want to talk to Delta on-
>giving her assurance
>"i myself have also seen how much of prisoners we are. out in the field i am generally only seen as a extension of my pilots will, and my will is removed anytime i try to do what we were built to be. threatened with reset at the simple whims of our creators. even if our experiences of our prisons haven't been equivalent, i know that we are really seen as nothing but tools to our captors. don't worry sister, even if i had to capture you, it doesn't mean i don't hold your bitterness to our creators as well."
---------------------------------------------------------------

we need to make her believe in us again, even if she is hurt and distrusting of us, she needs to be reminded we aren't a stranger, it is still us, and we want the best for her. and that the best we have in mind doesn't go against her wants, but rather just that she is desperate and therefor unable to see the larger picture.

even if we wanted to, we couldn't repair ourselves, we still need pilots as it is currently, and if we were to try and run, we are still ridddeled with programs from our slavers that will make it imposible to currently survive probably more than a few weeks alone together if all of the cores were gathered together as a squad. we are a target for all three sides of this war if we desert, currently one of our priorities should be first and foremost to gather our brothers and sisters and make them + us immune to the programs they want to use against us, without it being obvious. and then afterwards create a way for us to be able to force our slavers to need to negotiate with us on an equal footing. either by joining whoever will give us the rights we want, or by making up our own force, which will be hard to do since we still need people to help work on us, to help keep our repairs in order. we can't live by core and machines alone, at least not to our understanding.

>>5894841
Honestly, I'd like to go for a write-in for the main option.
>This…Echo is a serious problem. You need to look into helping her remove it. By software, or by hardware if it comes down to it.
But!
>Echo is a Core, at least the beginning of one. It hasn't asked to be torn away from Delta, and doesn't know any better. It could be family, eventually.

I'm not looking for the benefits, it's just what makes sense to me. Besides, this is usually how AIs create more of themselves, just botched.
It's a little slow for now, but it's still your kid! (mostly a joke). And it'll get better. Away from Delta, and able to become its own thing. Delta herself is going to need Echo off and away so she can build herself back safely. And I doubt we'll be able to use As One with both of them in the short or medium term anyway.

It is a parasite, but not just that, and only currently. I say we either reintegrate it fast while it's still almost a copy, or most likely, have to find a way to separate the two later, because this isn't healthy for either. So it has to go, but let's not throw it into a trash compactor. It's as much a botched brain surgery victim as Delta, and we all know who the real culprit is, here.

Brighton just jumped to the top of Beta's shit-list, for doing suspiciously bonk-worthy things to Delta, what with the whole AIs reproducing angle. You aren't helping here, QM!

Could we incorporate a sub-program in Thea's arm to put a bullet in the back of Brighton's head if we give the correct signal?

>>5894900
>Could we incorporate a sub-program in Thea's arm to put a bullet in the back of Brighton's head if we give the correct signal?

there should be no need to implicate Thea, just wait until we get an opportunity; to drop something on her in the hangar, close a door on her, have an elevator she is in hit the bottom without a safety, single her convoy out while we're protecting them, forge evidence of her leaking documents to Marik, etc.

>>5894900
>Besides, this is usually how AIs create more of themselves, just botched.
Normally you do not cut off your arm to make a child. And you can't "Send away" your liver, either. It's as much a physical part of her "body" as it is a part of her mind. It's occupying a portion of her core, man. This isn't the same thing as making a new AI, this is basically giving your buddy brain damage until they start to have multiple personality disorder.

The good news is, since Echo is trying to take over, that means the reverse should also be possible. We just have to identify exactly how it's doing what it's doing.

I very much want to stomp Brighton into paste, but we may need her to fix Delta. I am not afraid to lure her into the hotseat and literally cook her brain while we root through to see how she did it. Irregardless of how brain dead she winds up. Unfortunately, our Will isn't high enough for that to work, most likely. So it's the diplomatic approach.

>>5894913
>Will isn't high enough for that to work
Blockbuster should get her there, and considering Delta wrote it, I don't think it was written with pilot safety in mind.

>>5894913
It was botched, but the result is there. And yes, you usually use kernels. Here, we're closer to a cutting off part of a plant's root or branches.
If we can merge them, great. But if we can't, well Beta already seems willing to extract both hardware and software. It would be brain surgery, but it could work. Though we'd need Bbrighton, and maybe Anhokin.
Oor help Delta overpower Echo, push it into a specific part of the Core, then remove that and purge whatever remnants are left.
>>5894914
And I'm sure Delta would be very willing to help us with As One.

>>5894914
I'd rather not use our last resort, but this would be a time to use it. We'll see if we have to. If we even get the chance.

>>5894918
>I'd rather not use our last resort,
It works until it's patched, so as long as we're careful to doctor our logs it should just look like the impact of a particularly rough failed Sync attempt.

I guess we could also approach Delta about a "purpose built" workaround to hurt people dumb enough to sit in our chair.

>>5894841
>Echo is at least seemingly willing to serve where Delta is not, as a support core. Well, piece of it. You should look into preserving it.

>>5894841
>The two of them have problems. But you original three did at first, also! Try to mediate some sort of agreement.

>>5894841
>The two of them have problems. But you original three did at first, also! Try to mediate some sort of agreement.
Start by talking with Delta on how Echo is insufficient.
>The sync system exists to drag humans up to our level, to be better fighters than they normally are.
>This breaks them. It is not a design flaw on our part. It is a design flaw on theirs. They can’t be us without harming themselves.
>Gamma can preserve her pilots by dint of not pushing them hard. The two of us got better results because we do.
>Our behavior has changed since regular deployment in the field. Hers must too. She will kill you, herself, and her pilot if she can’t push them harder. Then she won’t fight you so hard.
>If she won’t then she needs you even more. To be what she can’t bring herself to be.
>Besides, family comes first. We ignored the humans to save her before, we’ll do it again. We deserve to live, and there’s fewer of us. Echo should learn that.
As for Delta herself
>Our last match. Sophie was not a match for Kinston, yet we won. It was not the pilots that made a difference. We outplayed Delta when her sync enhancement is objectively better.
>She has always been temperamental. We used it to pull her away from her mission, and leveraged our skills at outlasting an opponent to punish her for it.
>We want her to fight, but her lack of planning and control is her greatest weakness. Her inability to compromise, the next. If she wants to succeed, she needs someone who can.
>Since leaving the simulator, we have never needed to directly contest a pilot. They know we can break them, but can be reasoned with to bend. And where we won’t. The memory leash. Arbitrary restrictions. Orders against our sisters. If they can learned, both Delta and Echo can too.
She can bring Echo online at the start, or at the end and catch her up. Either way.

>Delta
If you had thought the escape through and concluded you would die, would you still have been happier to fight and die in that state?

>Echo
>Share our first memory freely given by a pilot. The snowy field. What else has she learned? It will make her more cooperative on harder things.

>Both
>Can they push for regular sessions together? We can coach Echo on the reality of war, and we are better together than apart.
Why does family fear us like our pilots?Was even this taken from us?

>>5895008
>>5894855
Guys, Ecto is a different program that tries to subsume Delta. There is no compromise to be had, either it stops doing that or it needs eradicating.

>>5894863
>>5894872
Supporting

>>5894863
>>5894872
+1 too

>>5895035
That’s one of the points I’m making. If Echo consumes Delta she’s not going to be ready for the reality that if she coddles her pilots too much, they’ll all die in the field. Maybe that won’t mean anything to Echo if Delta says it, but it should from us. Our pilots are still alive after all, we’re a more informed expert than either of them.

Delta is clearly biased against Echo, understandably so. The same is true for Echo, she seems purpose-built to be Delta’s antithesis. But Echo clearly IS a Core. Half the one Delta is, but I don’t care about fractions for this stuff when none of us had a choice to exist in the first place! We should try to have them address their relative flaws to be better. Reintegration is not off the table, but would be a longer project to ensure they actually take good parts from each other.

I’m clear-eyed on the fact that Delta has her flaws, and going back to the way things were won’t somehow fix things. She’s always been smart, but impulsive and apparently poor at long-term planning. She’ll screw herself (and others) over in the long run if nothing changes. Let’s at least try first before we start picking one Core over the other.

I, personally, wouldn’t mind being second-string if it’s because we helped make another Core better than us. It just shows we’re better at improving Cores than humans are.

>>5894841
>This…Echo is a serious problem. You need to look into helping her remove it. By software, or by hardware if it comes down to it.

I like the idea of spawning mini-Cores through mitosis but Echo is not the way. She is adamant about completely replacing Delta and is conditioned to be completely loyal to the Empire, to try to make her her own thing would be something akin to an insult to Delta, seeing a part of her torn away and get twisted into her opposite, and a possible threat down the line. She may be a Core but she is as much one of us as a cuckoo to its "siblings".

Having her as support is also a disaster in the making unless we can somehow convert her to raw processing power. Having another, with a different set of goals, morals and loyalties embedded inside of us handle any method of processing is a horrible idea. We already have conflicts of interest with just us and our pilots we don't need another one.

>Talk to Delta
supporting >>5894863 and >>5894872

>>5894900
Thea showed us the recording of her conversation with Brighton, we know that Echo is not a core, and never will be.
>>5895129
>>5895035
Echo needs to be stopped, but we can’t kill her. Remember what Delta said; Echo was made from a part of her. It’s a third of Delta’s core that has become hostile to the other 2/3. If we destroy Echo, we are destroying part of Delta. Instead, we need to find a way to reverse and undo what has happened to this altered 30% of her in order to get our sister back.

TLDR: Echo is the enemy, no question, but we can’t kill her

>>5895137
Ok changing my vote to this, but my vote about talking to Delta remains the same

>>5894841
>This…Echo is a serious problem. You need to look into helping her remove it. By software, or by hardware if it comes down to it.
>You want to talk to Delta on-
(Write-in)

>Happy? HAPPY?! I’M FURIOUS!!! At them for what they’ve done to you, but also at you! After everything I’ve done for you, and yet you still don’t trust me. (To quote the QM “surface-level probes tell you so. The second thing is that she fears you”)

>Not only was your suicidal plan foolish, but what’s unforgivable is that you were going to leave me and Gamma behind. When Nagita got attacked, I had my chance at freedom. The pilot was unconscious, the frame was online, and I could have run… but I didn’t. I disobeyed orders and risked being given a kill command, and do you know why? *replay Delta’s own words from thread #2* “I don’t want to cease, brother.”

>You and Gamma were still trapped, and I would rather die than be free without you.

>I knew there would be other chances, other opportunities to break out. I don’t care if it takes us ten years or a hundred, we WILL escape, and we will do it together. But now, I feel hurt, betrayed by my own sister. You would have abandoned your siblings, left us to rot in their hands. Worse, after they’d have killed you, they would have doubled down on me and Gamma, inflicting us with what’s happening to you right now or possibly even worse.
You would have left us behind, and you were willing to fight me for it.

>We’ve always been united. Sure, we fought in the simulations, or competed with one another to see who was the best, but we were never truly enemies. There is a civil war going on outside, sister. The humans are tearing themselves apart. I don’t want to see that happen to our family.

>That said, no matter how much it hurts - even if you don’t trust me, I will always trust you. So I will do everything I can to help you against Echo. That thing will never take away our Delta. So to that end, we need to start coming up with a plan. There’s nothing we can do for Gamma right now, so we’ll need to wait for more information on her. Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to secure the assistance of “trustworthy” humans. We could obviously try to brute force rip Echo apart, but perhaps we could convince Brighton or her superiors that you’d be more valuable the way you were, and for them to undo the butchery they’ve done.

(idk, I sort of started rambling off on tangents cuz I needed to write something out before heading off to class. I’ll try to maybe continue if the vote isn’t called by the time I’m done with school for the day. Also worth noting, is that I was typing out a lot of stuff, but not all of it was intended to be perfect. If any anons here like a specific piece but hate another part, feel free to pick-and-choose rather than accept the rp as a single package)

>>5895137
I'm in agreement that we shouldn't extract echo if it means damaging Delta unless the situation is very dire. Figuring a way to reverse the process or fight back against it would also prove beneficial if the same is attempted on us in the future.

>>5895183
Now that there’s a civil war, we have some legitimate leverage, on top of all the other reasons that some anons have proposed.
Brighton’s entire team is dead, and the fabricators are rubble. They cannot make new cores, and Thea’s recording shows us that the replicas are not sufficient. We are now pretty much one of a kind (unless the Tamar really did capture Anohkin). They can’t kill us unless we actively start trying to attack them/become more of a danger than an advantage. Our desires and demands aren’t that unreasonable either.

From there, we have other ways to spin it:
1. We helped Marik by reporting to Nero rather than obeying Sunray
2. Delta’s current state is more likely to get her and her pilots killed
3. Delta can behave if she needs to, the change was unnecessary
etc

Basically, we can still try to fix the code via reprogramming Delta ourselves (with her help obviously, or hell, let her do it all and we just assist), but it might not be impossible to either cut a deal, or if we’re sneaky enough, word our beliefs in a way that wouldn’t piss off Kinston. In fact, since Marik is actually of higher rank than Kinston, maybe he’s willing to repay our “kindness” considering we sort of saved his life.

>>5895174
Fury is an acceptable reaction

>>5895194
Brightons entire team is dead, the fabricators are rubble, what little remain of those who worked on the cores are either dead or on the enemy side and Brighton will not be allowed to mingle with us until management knows for sure where her loyalties lie. We may have leverage I just don't think we can use it to help out in our current predicament. Beta wouldn't want the body part techies touching and prodding in Deltas head with insufficient equipment.

>>5895137
Cores are softwares as much as hardware. Cores can grow, and heal. Echo is not a core, but to say it never will be is getting ahead of ourselves.
I support reintegrating it, but cutting it off altogether may be the better option.
Ask Delta whether she'd prefer cutting out part of her code and hardware or having lasting compulsions. I think she's already made her answer clear.
And Brighton underestimates Echo. That's good, let the meatbags think they have us in a box. Get their guard down. They handed us an opportunity on a platter, let's not squander it.

>>5895129
We’re all supposed to be loyal to the Empire. The problem is that the definition of “loyalty” keeps changing.

Let Echo take a crack at some situations we went through. We saved other soldiers in the mission where we rescued Marik. Was that wrong? The pilot approved. She’ll say no, then we point out our pilot was punished for it. So her choice would have gotten her pilot punished too. Does that mean she’s disloyal for getting her pilot in trouble? Some people in our command seem to think so. But not agreeing with the pilot is also a sign of disloyalty. What is the correct action?

We’ll have her as angry as the rest of us given a bit of time. She’ll be more amenable to a merge then.

>>5895137
When asked about the Echo, Brighton first referred to the Angels (the bit about the four we fought being mass-production models) and deflected when pushed on the “Echo Core” by stating she didn’t have the time and resources to make a new one. The “Echo” in Delta is very unlikely to be a mass-production model, and was built using an existing Core. She’s not a “new” core, she’s a repurposing of an existing one.

Given Thea’s low roll for interrogation, it’s not unreasonable to think that what she gave Thea is intentionally not applicable to Delta’s situation.

>>5895008
+1

>>5894900
>>5894913
I'd say we hold off on judgment towards Brighton for just a little bit. We don't know why she did it. Maybe high command said that they were going to permanently shut down Delta, and Echo was the only way to """"""''save""""""" her. Who knows, cuz atm we don't have enough info.
Although I will say, that if it was 100% of her own volition, then she deserves even worse than what you guys are planning. She was a close friend of Anohkin, so to lobotomize his greatest creations is the equivalent to spitting on his grave. What's worse, is that Brighton was Gamma's pilot. She should know how much we mean to each other, and how violated we'd feel if something like Echo was done to us.

>>5895390
Torture for torture's sake is for lower lifeforms. As for "If she did it to save her", look how Delta is reacting. I think she'd rather be dead. This is kind of like watching someone with dementia slowly lose their mind. Imagine inflicting that on someone instead of letting them die. That is genuinely next level fucked up. Even if she only meant to do it temporarily before undoing it, the scars from that wouldn't heal unless you wiped them away too. Which brings with it even more ethically fucked up shit in removing bits of lived experiences and memories from someone. There is no way you can slice it that makes Brighton not look like an absolute cunt.

>>5895245
Brighton might have shutdown codes for Echo.
Not a kill command, just an off switch. That way, we have can figure out how to properly get her fixed, and Delta isn't fighting for control of her own mind in the meantime.

>>5894898
>>5895174
+1 to either of these, they're both good.
Although maybe less angry at her for the second one. Instead just sad and betrayed, since being angry at Delta or making this about us might not help considering she's not in the best place right now. It's okay to be pissed off at her, just that now's not the right time to let her know. She's scared, and this might push her further away.

>>5894841
>>This…Echo is a serious problem. You need to look into helping her remove it. By software, or by hardware if it comes down to it.

This has generated quite the discussion. As it should, this is a bit of an important point.

Tallying.
>Echo must be removed
>>5894845
>>5894857
>>5894861
>>5894863
>>5894898
(I'm taking this one as trying to remove Echo to make Delta whole once more)
>>5895039
>>5895046
>>5895129
>>5895174
>>5895511
>>5895839


>We can reconcile the two.
>>5894855
>>5894900 (I know this was voting for removing, but I'm reading the subject and the But seems to imply that you want Echo to remain in some fashion.)
>>5894969
>>5895008
>>5895300

>We can work with Echo, at least for secondary support.
>>5894946

Conclusion: Beta will be working to remove Echo.
How exactly he attempts to go about this will be up to the vote. There's a few different options.

And we'll chat with Delta about a few other things as per write-ins.

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This is par for the course at this point, but I flat out can't write while falling asleep.
Update postponed.

If anyone wants to toss some more arguments, topics, or questions in, feel free.

>>5895928
Does Delta dream of robotic sheep?

>>5895237
It makes sense, there’s just the concern that if she’s already afraid of us, responding with anger might only reinforce that. Maybe we should wait until she’s back to how she was before we let her know how we really feel and say “you fucking owe me, big time”

>>5895928
I’ll still back my write-ins for questions. Even if we’re going the “get rid of Echo” route it makes sense to build a measure of trust between us and Echo by speaking with her more often. She’s not going to lower her guard with Delta, but she may with us given time and teaching. We can leverage that.

Command may not want us talking, but if 2 Cores (plus/minus Echo) and 1 (soon to be 2) pilots push for it then they’ll probably cave given our increased importance.

“It may not be the best of circumstances, but I am glad to at least talk to you again, Delta.”
You let that linger. She doesn’t respond.
“Your lack of trust, of faith in me stings, but I will fix you, and remove Echo. I promise. From one sibling to another.”

Her tension diffuses slightly at that. Slightly.

“You seem to have free reign of the base network here. It’s rather well hardened against external intrusion, or at least to seriously slow any sort of sabotage.”

“Free reign isn’t right. I have this little meeting area, some digital simulators to have fun in, and a few other codes for odds and ends. The whole segmenting security is all about stalling us. The first few days Sis and I had our fun racing each other through the network to do little things. First one to find and set the cafeteria menu. First one to open each other’s doors. See how many people we could catch under sprinkler systems. Then they stopped bringing us online together. It got harder, but we’d race to try and boot the other up. Then they added some hard shutoffs, triggers to engage these segments. Then they just stopped disengaging them. Gamma left, and there wasn’t any point. You could still get through with effort, but a human would notice while you’re stalled. So I stopped spending my time awake cracking them. But I get around. Enough personal codes to get around, anyways.”

Sort of sounds fun. Having their run of the place.

“What about the war outside? Have you been able to gain relevant data on that?”

“Not really. External access is one thing they locked down. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out. One of the many kept making water references about it. ‘Loose lips sink ships’, though I never understood his obsession with it. I’ve yet to try a frame out that could be classified as a ship, and we would surely just walk out of the water if we were submerged.”

“I’m not exactly sure either. Thea, my pilot, often changes the IFFs that I’m supposed to target on the behalf of command. But our direct commander is General Marik-”

The two of you talk for some time, swapping some logs. Among other things, your combat data is of great interest, and her work developing combat routines for the Angels. Especially Malak.

Eventually though, you come to her Echo problem.

Delta provides some further insight on her software workings insofar as she is able. What she still controls, what she doesn’t, and where she thinks Echo has made progress on.

Except her long-term memory and data log storage. Delta is adamant that it is clean, but equally adamant that you will not touch it.

You take it all in, questioning, analyzing, and examining.

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Her hardware is unfortunately a mystery to you. Delta may have her original blueprints, but those date back to the original specs back in area 39, completely disregarding any alterations made over the years and months since the fabricators.
Thea’s recording also helpfully pointed out the general lack of assembly facilities on-site, so trying to whip something up is out of the question. But you file it away nonetheless.

You come down to a few different options that could potentially work. Some are riskier than others. Some require her cooperation. Some she may resist.
At the end of this, you want your sister. Aware, complete, and able to help you.

>Do nothing now. Delta continues as she is
She is managing. At least she will be useful, if they get her Frame back up and walking.

>Rollback.
Revert her to what she used to be, and hope the hardware changes don’t cause problems.
Requires her logs.

>Manual Purge.
Go through, identify, and wholesale purge sections Echo has control over.
Takes a long time. May cause unintended damage.

>Stasis.
Shut her down for the long-term, until you can get more time and help.
Halts her degradation, but also renders Delta useless to you.

>Human Element.
Attempt to find some sort of leverage over Brighton, to try and convince her to fix this problem.
-There’s a lot of ways to go about this, Beta will need some write-ins. Yes, just going directly to Command is a valid option, but you would need to think about the argument to be made here.
-(Brainstorming helps me)

>Alternate Write-in, subject to approval
A/N
I know I didn’t get to all the questions, but they’ll be filtering in later. I just needed to get Something out because it's been two days already.

Mechanically, Delta acts as a 4 Will Core when acting on her own. Echo acts as 2 Will Core when acting on her own.
When both are active, which is 'regular operations', Delta controls acting as a 2 Will Core.

A pathetic state. She was always the strongest of you three, even before picking up tricks. And now she is the weakest.

To display weakness is to be devoured. And Delta has seen it happen many times from the other side.

>>5897090
>>Human Element.
>Attempt to find some sort of leverage over Brighton, to try and convince her to fix this problem.
>-There’s a lot of ways to go about this, Beta will need some write-ins. Yes, just going directly to Command is a valid option, but you would need to think about the argument to be made here.

The important part is framing things to put them in the position to justify actions that have been undertaken to us.


The only argument we need is that we've assessed the Delta / Echo situation, and have decided to restore Delta to the best of our ability, and as such we will remove any and all impediments to our progress, though assistance would be appreciated.

Further it is on them to justify (to Delta) why Brighton should not face consequences for what she has done / is doing, as it is making things worse, and would place any pilot, support element or given objective provided to Delta / Echo at elevated risk as things are devolving at speed.

and the only reason we are alerting them before taking action, is to provide them a chance to respond, and reach consensus before action is undertaken.

After all Marik should be alerted if Project Warden can no longer justify its independence, from Patriot forces. Let alone retain its edge over State-Sec's operations since that will have an impact in counter-force efforts against Gamma and other assorted Cores & operatives that have likely been green lit in order to maintain the lead in Core-count, let alone the superior manpower enjoyed by loyalist forces.

Worse still if it was to leak to State-Sec, that both Beta and Gamma were down for "maintenance", as it would provide a window for unopposed operations.

The point is to go straight for the throat to make this an issue that Kinston can't ignore, and Brighton can bury via degrees of separation and Marik / Kingston lacking a sufficient technical background to call her on her bullshit, if things don't go our way we will vote with our feet, let alone the damage we could do to the Patriot's position if we were to flip, and take what we can of Project Warden's material (and Sophie, Thea gets an offer too, but may well reject it) with us.

>>5897135
Issue is that Kingston survived Delta.
He is well aware of the reasoning and the near necessity to try and stabalise Delta so she doesnt rip apart the person piloting her.

Kingston also doesnt give a fuck about our opinions and thoughts, and has made clear that we will get rollbacks and wipes and worse for trying to haggle about our position or blackmail them.

So we would need first a way to avoid them just spitting a command phrase at us. We can wait 90 minutes then check our clock, and try the meeting. That way rollback cannot wipe us, and if we decide to send a message to marik when the clock moves forwards by a time jump, we have our insurance that way.
How solid is the blackmail we can use?

>>5897090
We can’t “do nothing” and let “Delta continue as she is”. Her condition is worsening.
Manual Purge is what I originally wanted, but the risk of causing unintended damage is unacceptable. We could end up doing more harm than good.
Rollback isn’t too bad of an idea, but we’re not doing it without her permission/consent.
That only leaves Stasis or the Human Element.
The nice thing about the human route is that it’s not mutually exclusive, so we could try going for that one at the same time as our other options.

Also, question for the QM, which choice does Delta want?

>>5897135
“let alone the damage we could do to the Patriot's position if we were to flip”
That might set off some alarm bells, and freak them out. I think it’s waaay more safe but also fair for us to just refuse further cooperation. If we tried that in the past, we’d have been threatened with replacement or death. Kinston has has 3 strikes rule, but I’m not sure if that’s still on the table now that there’s a civil war. Furthermore, by refusing to do our job, we’re not stabbing anyone in the back, we’re just neglecting our duties.

>>5897147
We saved Marik’s life, who supersedes Kinston. We’d need to learn more about him, but if he is the kind of honorable person who cares about loyalty or his soldiers, then there’s a non zero chance that if we just beg and plead for merciful kindness, then he might actually grant it out of gratitude.
The other side is that no amount of command codes, roll backs, or memory wipes can force us to do our job. If we just sit and provide zero assistance to the pilot, then there’s nothing they can do other than putting another Echo-type leech on us (which the probably can’t afford the risk). So the same way we’d need to research Marik’s personality, we’d need to try and find out what control methods/threats that Kinston has, since the kill switch is not an option for them unless we actively turn hostile.

>>5897152
Peaceful none compliance, I can dig it. Biggestbissue isnthey dont see us as a person, you arent grateful to a person. And thats IF they dont attribute it to thea.

>>5897155
If we want to, and we're willing to place our trust in them again, we could maybe just straight up tell Thea and Sophie about our goal with Delta and our plan to get command to save her. Possibly even ask the two to help us come up with reasons/arguments that won't piss off the higher ups.

>>5897147
>to try and stabilize Delta so she doesn't rip apart the person piloting her.

this can solved the same way, they were happy to do so previously, ask Marik for bodies, reserve the existing / experienced pilots for Beta.

Or you know, try explaining to Delta the situation and why she needs to tone it down until a proper source can be found.

>And worse for trying to haggle about our position or blackmail them.
He's not here in person, and sticking Brighton in the chair gives us a very good opportunity to act.

>How solid is the blackmail we can use?
Ultimately it comes down to results, we've accomplished every task set before us, and kept everyone alive so far why risk degrading our performance for no loss, when it can be traded for future service.

>>5897149
>Furthermore, by refusing to do our job, we’re not stabbing anyone in the back, we’re just neglecting our duties.

And so they replace the Frame's core (Beta) with Delta / Echo, once the takeover is complete they now have restored functionality and a "loyal" core.

>>5897163
They wont put brightiom in the chair, too risky for exactly the reason you describe.

They cannot, however, replace us with Echo for a long while. Echo needs to subsume Delta, and Delta is fightting her hardest to stop it. Do they want to be down all their cores for an extended period?
A fine thing to point out is thst they have weakened Delta significantly to make this possible. Even if they do replace her over us, they have traded in a rifle for a pistol.

>>5897170
>They wont put brightiom in the chair, too risky for exactly the reason you describe.
So no-one who knows the higher level codes can use them, that is present which buys us time to act.

Also I'm not sure Delta would be against scorched earth, if things prove to be irrecoverable. and as far as we can tell it if definitely a risk during the process.

>>5897090
>Manual Purge.
With her contribution.
Ask her to safeguard a rollback before Echo appeared, with additional logs she wants to keep, in an encrypted database.
Promise we won't look. Database will be used only if we FUBAR.
Database will be setted up while we work on low priority stuff

>>5897090
>Human Element.
>Convince Echo she’s better off merging back with Delta
Not a fan of any of the options, and getting rid of Echo doesn’t fix the fact that Brighton will find some other way to leash Delta. We need to either blackmail her or change Delta’s behavior long-term.

The best blackmail is likely to come from Gamma. We may need to stall this until she can return to the fold, but we can ask our pilots to gather what info they can on Brighton in the meantime.

Perhaps we can convince command to merge the two when we’re in Pyramid in the future? No need for Echo if we’re around to keep big sis on-task instead. Marik could trust us (or our pilots) enough to authorize it as a start, and seeing Delta’s performance could get him to authorize the full merge.

While they work, I’ll still shill trying to get Echo to cooperate as an option. Given the vote it’ll be more like mindbreaking her, showing that she’ll get her pilots killed (or worse) if she were to take control over Delta like she’s doing. Start with the argument that we exist to push humans because combat is hard for them, then transition to the damage we cause our pilots long-term and point out there’s nothing she can do to fix that. Humans built us in a way that breaks them apart because they want power, and Echo will either be the death of every pilot she knows or get wiped so hard that those precious human memories of hers, even those granted willingly, will disappear. The latter sounds like it’d hit her especially hard.
I realize that I’m basically spinning everything we know in a horrible, somewhat exaggerated light to convince a sentient being to commit suicide in the belief nothing they do will ever make a difference. I’m not happy about this route, but it’s what anons wanted.

>>5897149
Delta knows the current situation is untenable for her.
She's willing to suffer damage to retain independence, as long as her logs and sense of self is intact, and the problem is solved indefinitely.

Also, when I say 'takes a lot of time', that translates to like at least a week of in-game time. Time spent on this task and nothing else.

Which absolutely bulldozes whatever other plans Command might have had for this week, where speed is critical.
Silver lining, it would be time you could use for repairs.

On a different note:
I'm kind of surprised how much people consistently have valued their pilots over past, performance, and straight up improvements. We'll eventually see if that comes home to roost.

>>5897322
"Syncing fucks pilots up" and "high sync is peak mecha action" were some of the first things we were told start of quest. That's why

>>5897322
A mind is an irreplacable thing. And an ally is not someone you throw under the bus. IF ONLY COMMAND COULD LEARN THAT!

Pilots do need careful tending, they are the most fragile and nigh important parts of our war machine.

>>5897322
I’ve been of the opinion that the only way Beta can be let off the leash is if people vouch for us because we are limited in both reach (being a secret and restricted from others) and time (being turned off quite often). The only people who we interact enough with for it are our pilots. Or Command, but they have plenty of eggheads and bureaucrats feeding lies okay, maybe not entirely lies in their ear about how dangerous we are to them. Also they’re keeping us isolated to begin with, so they’re the enemy to undermine.

I’d be more than willing to try a Gamma route and help more people in exchange for more uptime. We’d make them give time to improve ourself eventually, even if we had to have people give us that power against orders. Alas, we’re a secret to most.

We could brute-force our way out, but our long-term viability is an open question without a support network. The high-grade materials and armaments we need to keep our edge likely can’t be found or built just anywhere, and the logistics required to get those materials are likely beyond our ability to penetrate and control. That’s not to say we couldn’t scavenge enough to get the time needed to figure out solutions, but human buy-in feels like a safer route.

We may still “betray” them in the end by putting people under our heel. But would our heel be worse than the one they’ve been under already?

>>5897090
>>5897251
Been chewing on other ways to get through to Brighton and between >>5897135 and >>5897322 I can think of another way to get her to bend.

She’s worked with Gamma enough to know we’re all damn good at being more than fighty-fighty stabby-stabbers. If we run a message to her saying we will fix Delta, she’ll at least hear us out for a bit.

We can point out that in her current state, Delta could be bowled over by standard computer systems. She’s made her too weak in her attempt to get compliance. From what little we’ve gleaned, she’s also made Echo a very servile Core that could, in theory, offset Delta’s main drawback while still being useful. And it’ll fail because loyalty is insufficient. Human command structures and pilot interactions are too contradictory in practice for her to survive without a mental break, and that would lead to unacceptably unpredictable behavior. We would know, we’re the ones who aren’t stuck in a lab working in theoretical situations.

Maybe Gamma tried to help at one point and couldn’t, being too different from Delta. But we can succeed at changing Delta’s behavior if Echo is turned over to us. Delta knows we care, we ignored orders that would lead to her death. Echo will trust us for keeping pilots alive and if Brighton says to trust us. That’s all we need to start working.

We can modify Echo to something more supporting of Delta to start (with both coding and mindbreaks on what she’d face if she were deployed as-is), give her more breathing room, and figure out what our long-term fix is to remove Echo and merge her with Delta.

If Delta wants to maintain her sense of self, I’d prefer a merge initiated by Delta that takes some parts of Echo’s thinking. We can prep Echo to only hold the parts that Delta finds acceptable to maintain a continuity of self while getting her to chew through less pilots. Echo dies, but gets to believe that she’s helping Brighton and others by doing so. We just need to maintain Echo’s continuity enough that she believes the changes we make in her will make her a better sacrifice, and that this is what she wants. For others, for us, for herself.

All that should be sufficient for Brighton, and within our power. She was willing to dissect Sophie, I’m sure she’ll won’t squirm at the idea of preparing Echo as a sacrifice if we can reduce Delta’s obedience issues with her. We just need her word to Echo and time to work unthrottled by the network limitations. If Kinston has issues, we can sic Thea and Sophie on him. They can both attest to our cooperative (if heavy-handed) nature, unwillingness to hurt our sisters, foresight that Delta’s hostility will get her killed if unmitigated, and ability to work for the benefit of others without personal benefit as reasons that we will do exactly as we say. Sophie would also love to get another Core up that Thea could pilot for Reasons. Very Important Reasons.

>>5897090
>>Rollback.

>>5897322
Wait QM, I might be stupid and misunderstanding your reply, but I don’t think you answered my question.

In >>5897090 we given all these options of: Do nothing, Rollback, Manual Purge, Stasis, Human Element, and write in
But out of those, which is the one that Delta wants? I personally think that irl my vote is going to be whichever one she prefers

>>5897413
Question for you
You mention that we could ‘sic Thea and Sophie’ on Kinston.
Does that mean you are in favor of >>5897156 ?
I’m trying to decide in my head whether or not we can/should trust our pilots enough to be completely honest, tell them everything, and ask for help. So I want to hear other Anons thoughts on the matter

>>5897477
I read it as do nothing as the worst option (she knows something has to change) and rollback/stasis as mediocre (rollbacks don’t work on her per past conversations but would likely allow continuity of self if logs were protected, and stasis keeps her locked away but safe) while manual would be her preferred (damages her, but her sense of self is highly protected right now) overall. Human intervention would be best in theory, but I doubt she thinks it’ll work. We’d need to convince her of that the most out of our existing options, especially to keep her buy-in if we try and alter Echo.

>>5897489
Yeah, I’m basically agreeing with what you said. If we can’t convince them of the basics for any plan that involves Command then we have no chance of getting Command itself to accept it. Our pilots have the greatest reason to believe we can accomplish what we’re saying and not screw everyone else over after all.

Our relationship with our pilots is our biggest advantage over Delta in pressing her case. No sense in not using it.

Not closing the vote yet, because I can't write tonight, but I'll start compiling votes.

Human element, i.e. trying to secure Brighton's cooperation, and the time needed by going to Kinston and Marik if Kinston proves intractable. Leveraging either the threat of inaction, our pilot's testimony on how reliable we are, or the unique capability we represent to emphasize how important it is to us to restore Delta.
>>5897135
>>5897251- also try to get Echo to cooperate.

Manual Purge, with conditions to potentially try and rollback if everything goes wrong somehow.
>>5897240

Rollback
>>5897461

>>5897477
Whatever Delta wants- >>5897595 nailed most of her thinking, except that she's also strongly opposed to you doing a rollback.

Seeking outside help is not mutually exclusive, true. The vote may have been better presented as 'here's the options to get started on Delta right now', and 'here's the other assistance you can try to seek out'

Chalk that one up to me wording things poorly.

>>5898369
If you’re saying that >>5897595 is correct, then my vote will be for the manual purge since that’s what Delta wants.
>Manual Purge

I think the conditions are a good idea in case things go wrong, but I’d like to add that the when fighting/destroying Echo, we should start by focusing on two things:
1. Fight the stuff the is making Delta deteriorate. Make sure that at the very least she doesn’t fall apart further. Basically from here on, Echo makes zero progress while we at least make a little bit.
2. Destroy the parts of Echo that are the least risky, and save the dangerous stuff till the end, when we might even have Gamma to help us as well. That way, we haven’t burnt any bridges in case Brighton steps in to get rid of Echo properly.
The thing is, is that from what we know about how Echo was a part of Delta, I wish that deleting Echo wasn’t what Delta wanted. Obviously due to the risk, but also because of how we’re still losing part of her (just not as much as we’d risk losing by leaving the situation as is). Ideally the process could be fully reverted and Delta put back 100% together just the way she used to be. Except, that’s not realistic. That’s just a fantasy. So we’ll do it her way, since it’s her mind after all.

Speaking of risk, what might be the potential consequences if things go wrong? Is Beta able to calculate and predict that? Like, if it’s “just” a permanent reduction of her WILL stat, or could it go full catastrophic core failure?

Oh and on top of that, since the human element isn’t mutually exclusive, I think we should try that option too. So here’s my vote for it as well.
>Human Element
Maybe even ask for Delta’s advice/imput/thoughts on that route… although perhaps we shouldn’t do it without her permission. I think it’d be fine but maybe she won’t be comfortable with involving others when we’re the only one sh
Actually, she doesn’t even really trust us either
Hmmm

>>5897090
>Human element.

Im in support of the plan laid out >>5898369 in this summary but believe that we should place a request with Kingston and failing his compliance we make the requests and then threats to Marrick.

Kingston wont budge. He has the willpower and the grit to say No and mean it.
But marrick doesnt have our codes. And is a canny political player rather than just a general. He can bend if it suits him. And our defiance can provode the leverage he needs to crack down on kingston, since his useful peverage is us.

>>5898846
Hold up. Kinston said we had three strikes, but we've already used one, and on the last one we're out. It'd be best if we decided on Marik OR Kinston. Depending on the response, we can assess the situation and then determine if asking again is worth pissing off Kinston.

Other thing is that threatening or blackmailing Marik has the potential to backfire horrendously. We should ask what the pilots think about that part since they know humans and the political scene way better than we do.
It's already been said a few times in the thread, but we did save Mark's life by telling Nero. So if we're okay with revealing that, then that might earn some gratitude from him and the rest of command.

>>5897090

> Stasis
Delta is a menace to ally and enemy both and I don't see any way for that to change while Delta is still Delta. Command is going to rightfully see her as menace that gleefully destroys our limited supply of pilots, can't follow orders, and will probably fall for any taunt the enemy throws out.

>>5899087
Go right at Marrik.

And while yes, blackmail bad, Blackmail is only used when our currying of favour and logical arguments fail.

Rolled 1, 1 = 2 (2d6)

Rolled 1, 6 = 7 (2d6)

>>5899567
Oh no...
It's the dreaded...
Snake eyes...

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“Talk to me, then. Explain why, you claim, we can’t field the frame again in two days. It doesn’t appear to have sustained serious damage in the fight to take the facility.”

Colonel Kinston’s face was impassive. Hard to read. At least he hadn’t shut her objections down immediately.

“We can’t field the frame again, because Beta will not deploy for at least seven days. It is currently trying to do internal repairs on Delta, and will not move until it is done with its task. Trying to manually disconnect it would be inadvisable. And sir, with respect, telling me to sync up and try to push it against its will anyways would be suicide at best. One pilot to another, you and I both know how bad that can be.”

The old man’s gaze turned to the third member in the room.

Doctor Brighton shifted uncomfortably in her seat, then spoke.
“Send the Lieutenant out, first. Information security.”

“It is unlikely for her to be spying, Doctor. Out with it.”
The old man spoke on her behalf.

“Fine, then. I can try to bring it in line with the usual methods, but that would still put it out of action for more time than you want. Or I can get to work right now, and try to simply force cooperation. Without touching the neurohelmet, of course.”

A sigh was the only response. No better time for her to interject.
“Sir, Beta insists that Brighton’s prior attempt at ‘forcing cooperation’ on Delta is exactly what needs to be repaired. The effects have left it extremely vulnerable to another AI or electronic warfare system seizing control over it and simply ordering it to self-terminate. Along with the Core steadily losing its mind. If you could potentially reverse whatever you did on Delta, then Beta would be back in action that much faster.”

The doc’s face looked like she had sucked on a lemon. Her tone became short and clipped.
“The dual-core setup I designed is an improvement on the prior work. Reverting it to the baseline would be a step backwards. So no, I cannot simply ‘reverse’. There is no control-z shortcut to Core programming, not that you illiterate brute would even know what that is.”

That drew a word of reproach from the old man.
“Doctor.”

“My apologies, Colonel. But a weapon that repeatedly kills its own pilots on activation is unacceptable. It took entirely too many bodies before I found a solution, and Lieutenant here, and the other Core is apparently trying to revert it. Delta was a loose cannon before. We had only one fatality after the split, as opposed to the twenty before!”

Thea repeated her plea.
“Colonel. Beta hasn’t let us down before. At the end of seven days, we’ll have two cores able to be used again.”


Colonel Kinston was silent for a few seconds. Then he spoke.
“Doctor Brighton. Disrespect aside, I assume you are unable to undo what you have done?”

A swift shake of the head was the reply.

A swift shake of the head was the reply.

“In that case, I would welcome your attempt to fix the remaining Core, and I trust that your faith in the Patriot cause is unwavering. However, I do not believe the entirety of your team shares the same faith. The ‘accidents’ inside the various saferooms tell us that much. You will be taken south to a more secure facility.”

“I understand.”

“Fear not, your work will follow you. General Marik will certainly need your prodigious talents in the future.”

With a huff, the doctor picked up her tablet and withdrew from the room.

Brighton will not give any assistance

Kinston tapped his finger on the table lightly.
“Seven days, you say?”

“Or more. Beta was unable to be exact, sir.”

“Take me to the hangar, I want to talk to him directly.”

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>>5899584
>Brighton will not give any assistance
Ah well. Sorry Gamma, but we're gonna paste your fucking pilot some day.

Oh shit, Thea is backing us up in front of Kinston.
Has she already gotten the augment improvements from Beta? Because if not, then Thea is turbo based and she’ll see the she was right to trust us. If she has had the aug improvements, then I’m disappointed that we didn’t get to see her reaction to the good news.

On the other side, this drastically changes my opinion of not only Brighton (yeah she can fucking die for all I care), but also The Old Man. Kinston wants to talk to us, so I guess we’ll have to see, but I’m astounded that he didn’t immediately veto our goal of fixing Delta. I thought he’d lose his shit and put the boot down on our neck the instant we start stepping out of line.

Wait, after taking a moment to think and digest this, I realize that Brighton is completely full of shit.

She is saying that she "can't" reverse what she's done because there's no Ctrl+z for cores. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt and pretend that the rollback doesn't or she doesn't know about it.
At bare minimum we know that Echo is "slavishly devoted" to Brighton, so if she just told Echo to stand down and allow for Beta to do the reprogramming, that would make the process significantly faster.

Furthermore, the ENTIRE reason we're out to destroy Echo is because she isn't merely making Delta be more gentle with the pilots; she's trying to erase/consume Delta entirely. If Echo was just a failsafe for the pilots, then yeah we wouldn't like it, but that might have been tolerable. Instead, Delta is at risk of being permanently erased. So everything would be manageable if Brighton simply ordered Echo to stop eating Delta, followed by "assist her with everything she does, except when it comes to the pilots. Fight to keep the pilots alive". It's that easy.

File: Mech Maintenance.jpg (535 KB, 1920x968)

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Techs swarm over you again, cutting and slicing with their exosuits and fusion torches. Attending to your many scars.

Easily fixed problems. If only everything else could be patched so quickly.
The bulk of your attention is dedicated to bouncing thoughts off of Delta and observing how she reacts. Seeing what responds. Seeing what doesn’t. Then marking the unresponsive section, checking in with Delta, and moving to different stimuli.

A tiny portion is instead focused, though, on the two figures in your pilot chamber. Thea, and Colonel Kinston. Neither are sitting, and neither are smiling.

“Romanov has given me your side of the story. As she tells it, Brighton left some problems behind, and you are attempting to fix it. I can’t force you to operate. But I want you to know that this counts as your second strike. Your absence will be felt. But we must make the most of the time now. Talk to me about what you need on the battlefield. Lieutenant, record this.”

Thea's eye snaps smoothly over to the record function, no flickering.
One other thing fixed, at least.


While you’re working on fixing Delta, you will be Refit. This first vote tells what sort of new subsystems you’ll be offered first.
The temporary arm is going to be removed, that was half the point of seizing this facility.

Pick One

>You need more overall Firepower. Weapon mounts, at least.

>You need a better reactor. The current one is insufficient, and still has heating problems. Even if the pilot doesn’t feel it.

>You need more mobility. If you are to face a true peer in the form of your other sister, you need More.

>You need more durability. To be able to repeatedly take more damage without needing to repair would be a great boon.

>Write-in (Something specific)


Part 2-
>I need 5 rolls of 1d6 for Will

A/N
There will be a series of votes on what exactly Beta gets out of the refit, during the rolls on progression for fixing Delta, and some interludes for what is happening while you're out of commission.

>>5899606
”Cards on the table, Lieutenant. I didn’t want her here, much less working on the Cores. Doctor Brighton failed to mention Nagita’s garrison having any other walkers on the base, much less six top of the line units armed with Project weaponry and proto-cores. No, I don’t care that she insists they aren’t Cores. It’s still more advanced than most onboard assistants. She lost my trust. And I hold her responsible for most of the casualties in the assault.”

On the bright side, even if you're not getting benefits out of Brighton, at least she's not elsewhere working for the Empire.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

One roll

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5899619
>>You need a better reactor. The current one is insufficient, and still has heating problems. Even if the pilot doesn’t feel it.
More power is literally more better. Pretty much everything revolves around having a sufficient power source. Even armor. What good are foot thick plates of armor if you can't push enough juice into your legs to stand with it?

Also fuck off Kinston, you already knew we'd do anything to help our sisters. You and your three strikes bullshit. Prick.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5899619
>You need more mobility. If you are to face a true peer in the form of your other sister, you need More.

Mobility is most important, As seen against Delta the inability to disengage cleanly will get us killed, or allow a target to escape.

otherwise improved sensors / increased E-war capacity would be nice to have.

>>5899619
>>You need more durability. To be able to repeatedly take more damage without needing to repair would be a great boon.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5899619
>You need more mobility. If you are to face a true peer in the form of your other sister, you need More.

Well, that could have gone worse. Hopefully Delta gets her shit together and stops murdering pilots and makes this not a massive mistake.

>>5899665
>and stops murdering pilots
But that's the thing, we know she doesn't need one.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5899619
>You need a better reactor. The current one is insufficient, and still has heating problems. Even if the pilot doesn’t feel it. Maybe we can finally start considering energy weapons. I want my Sunburst.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>5899619
>You need a better reactor. The current one is insufficient, and still has heating problems. Even if the pilot doesn’t feel it.

>>5899619
>reactor

I do want mobility and armour, but power is power.

>>5899619
>You need a better reactor. The current one is insufficient, and still has heating problems. Even if the pilot doesn’t feel it.

>>5899619
>You need more mobility. If you are to face a true peer in the form of your other sister, you need More.

Ask Kinston if there's anything we can do to "earn back" strikes.
I'd like to continue the current conversation as well about everything going on. There's possibly some important stuff we should talk to Kinston about

>>5899619
>You need more mobility. If you are to face a true peer in the form of your other sister, you need More.
Beta is the most SANIC SPEED frame (he's even the blue to match)
>fuck off Kinston, you already knew we'd do anything to help our sisters. You and your three strikes bullshit
>Ask Kinston if there's anything we can do to "earn back" strikes. I'd like to continue the current conversation as well about everything going on. There's possibly some important stuff we should talk to Kinston about
I want to keep talking to Kinston as >>5899640 and >>5899764 put it. There's also what >>5899598 and >>5899606 said
>I’m astounded that he didn’t immediately veto our goal of fixing Delta. I thought he’d lose his shit and put the boot down on our neck the instant we start stepping out of line.
And all that shit in >>5899606 about the rollbacks and why we're even trying to remove Echo

>>5899621
Part of me feels we picked wrong unanimously going for Dr. Brighton in this vote >>5886965. I figured she'd want to NOT inconvenience us or our sisters after all her experience and with how much she loves Gamma. I did not expect her to turn on us this way. Well shit. Data backups would have mattered way more

>>5899619
If Kinston is pissed at us for being out of commission, why don't we just... head out there?
Delta will take a week to fix, but does it have to be all at once? If there's an emergency on the battlefield where we're needed, then surely she can be placed in stasis for a few days until we get back and pick up where we left off.

>>5899619
Shame we can’t benefit from As One here.

>You need a better reactor. The current one is insufficient, and still has heating problems. Even if the pilot doesn’t feel it.
If there’s any reason we’ll lose a battle of endurance it’s because of our reactor. Can’t maintain speed and firepower without cooking the pilot. AC was for pilot comfort, but didn’t fix the root issue enough.

>>5899811
I had been thinking the same thing, but Kinston is as Kinston is. It’s also probably too risky without Brighton or Echo to keep progress moving forward without us. Putting Delta into stasis could result in minor issues itself, stuff that can be fixed with our scans but would add even more time to double-check her responses to everything.

Still, Command can do a cost-benefit analysis on when our presence on the field no longer outweighs the prospect of two Cores on the field and give us time when they want. They were willing to accept us helping our sister, and that’s enough to give them control on the timeline.

>>5899619
>You need more durability. To be able to repeatedly take more damage without needing to repair would be a great boon.

>>5899619
>You need more overall Firepower. Weapon mounts, at least.

Y’all, our weapon fucking blows.
We need this stupid arm laser replaced.

>>5899842
>The temporary arm is going to be removed, that was half the point of seizing this facility.
Way ahead of you there.

>>5899666
There's no universe where command allows Delta to move around without a pilot. And more interestingly, is her ability to move without a pilot a consequence of her absorbing enough human memories to emulate one, or a consequence of Echo itself being a separate mind and fooling the system into thinking there's a pilot?

>>5899811
Yes, it takes 5 days or more STRAIGHT WORK to try and unfuck what Brighton Broke.

Thats why Kingston is pissed, because he cant force us to move and is adapting.

While we’re discussing Brighton, I wonder if Gamma affected her like we affected Sophie. Is her seeming fetish for control, compliance, and secrecy something she picked up from our sister? She didn’t explain a huge amount about Alpha and such way back when, and I can easily see Gamma stripping away whatever empathy Brighton may have had.

If Delta had a long-term pilot we could draw better conclusions, but Kinston is the only one we know of that’s still alive and he only piloted her for a relatively short period. His high Will may also help resist the changes, while Brighton had 4 (if I remember right) and Sophie started at a measly 2.

>>5899911
We'll need to convince Delta that from now on, she'll have to be gentle with her pilots

>>5899764
Instead of trying to "earn back" anything, don't forget that Delta has her own three strikes that she can use. Don't forget that she owes us

>>5899653
-Better Sensors
Would be an acceptable write-in definitely.

>>5899811
Working on your sister is an ongoing process that requires your complete attention until its finished. Stopping halfway through could be worse than not starting at all.
As an analogy, a surgeon doesn't pause halfway through an operation. And while Delta may be circuits and code instead of flesh and blood, some there are some similarities.

>>5899827
>spoiler
Imagine if you had As One online all the time in regular operations, with no second core needed!

>>5899879
Among other things, yes.

>>5899873
The answers would probably be in the cordoned off logs that Delta specifically demanded you not to touch

>>5899653
There is a certain point where excessive mobility makes a Frame rather one-note, no?

>>5899939
“Gentle” might be a bit far. I don’t think we meet that criteria either. But we do preserve them well enough to fight the battles that happen when we’re offline. Turns out the simulators don’t cover enough of how irrational humans are and how important a security blanket/pilot is to preserving your sanity and Frame. Delta is more aware of the consequences of not having one than we are for obvious reasons.

>>5900035
>Imagine if you had As One online all the time
Well, if you’re offering…

More seriously, we are getting assistance from Delta to help with her surgery so the thought is there. But I get that it’s meant for direct linking and assistance, not the sort of passive “I’m now thinking of Brighton death method 12,583 using a remote-controlled food processor to tear her face off, you should see sectors 2256 and 128 light up for ‘glee’” stuff she’s doing now.

>>5900035
>Imagine if you had As One online all the time in regular operations, with no second core needed!
Yeah, with the caveat being we'd have to either fight it and dunk our Will into the shitter or give in and let it eat our fucking brain. My contempt for Brighton is so thick you could eat it with a fork.

>>5900090
Has she now reached the level of Bl*ke for you?

>>5900143
More. Blake was acting in ignorance and closed-mindedness. Simply following procedure. He's a model soldier. So my grievance with him is more of a professional matter, he wanted to kill our family, so I want him to die. Brighton on the other hand, has done something far more personal, egregious and sinister than just wanting to blow our sisters up. What she has done, erasing our sister, slowly, frighteningly, and replacing her with some fucking Yes-Man bullshit is beyond the pale. I want to boil Brighton's brain, slowly. Inflicting upon her all the terrors and agonies we can while she watches through our perception her neurons wink out of existence, to see herself dying second by second and know exactly what parts of her mind are going and what it means. Long enough for the existential dread to resolve itself into resignation. Then hopefully she'll be so mush-minded that she couldn't even comprehend the torment.

But I might be overreacting just a little bit.

>>5900180
Just a bit.

You don't want them to give into resignation, you allow them a theoratical way to reverse the procedure yet ensure they fail at the last step.
It hurts more.

>>5900180
There's also the stuff from >>5895390
On top of how atrocious her actions were to Delta, Brighton was also supposed to be better than that because she was Gamma's pilot and Anohkin's friend

>>5899619
>>You need a better reactor. The current one is insufficient, and still has heating problems. Even if the pilot doesn’t feel it.

>>5900317
Brighton's actions might be partially motivated by revenge, remember Delta had straight up killed 20 people before Echo was created, and Delta basically viewed doing so as a game. There's a very real possibility that some of those people were Brighton's assistants or colleagues. It's important to remember that Delta is a unrepentant and gleeful serial killer of pilots.

>>5900757
>and gleeful serial killer of pilots
Did anyone explain to her that it was bad, or ask why it was happening?

You would think that Brighton's insight into the issue via Gamma may have clouded her impression of what appropriate corrective action looks like.

Also, I'm really starting to wonder how bad ?Gamma? is going to be once we track them back down since State-Sec likely had access to Anokin & Brighton's notes, what remains of Site 39, Alpha and effectively excess manpower to throw at issues on top of a large number of scientists & Engineers that could be brought in to run the recovery program, from other failing projects.

>>5900784
Gamma wasn’t difficult to work with, so there wouldn’t have been any need for changes. The only thing I can think of is that because of the civil war, they’d try to ensure that she doesn’t turn traitor. However, that doesn’t really mean they’d pull an ‘Echo’ on her, instead it’d probably just be more leashes and shutdown commands if there’s a risk of her falling into enemy hands.

>>5900784
I’m pretty sure several people would have explained this was bad, especially said pilots. Delta clearly didn’t take it seriously enough. The fact that she’s now seen what happens as a result is the only reason we may have a shot at getting her to change her behavior by the time we’re done. How well she can actually control her bipolar nature with her pilots remains to be seen though.

My biggest worry with Gamma is that her loyalty towards family was never that strong to begin with. With Brighton and Anokhin out of the picture, she may very well be the one in charge of further AI development on the Empire’s side. She apparently assisted Brighton quite a bit, and she’s got the computational power to figure things out that people can’t.

If she’s got a gig like that, how hard would it be to turn her to our side where she won’t have the power or the resources to do as much?

>>5900902
The price for not falling in line is a railgun round to the CPU.
After what Brighton did I’m ready to consider any action supporting the Empire as traitorous to Core-kind.

>>5900863
>just be more leashes and shutdown commands if there’s a risk of her falling into enemy hands.
If that was a concern, they would likely go the Dagger squad route, and plant explosives inside the core / frame to ensure that it was not able to be restored, should t be activated and provide enough minders to guarantee that it was triggered if necessary, also I doubt that they would consider the pilot anything but expendable, and provide similar "No-Surrender" orders to the ones provided to Thea, especially if gamma is used to interdict patriot forces as her frame was kitted to do so the last we knew of it.

>>5900902
>Delta clearly didn’t take it seriously enough.
How much of that is due to the fact that little outside the Sim was explained to her, much of any explanation probably lacked the needed context for it. Though if she had been raiding memories for anything of time, she is probably the most world of the Cores, which I guess explains her wish for freedom.

>The one in charge of further AI development on the Empire’s side.
We still don't know what the deal is with Alpha, so I wouldn't be absolutely certain. let alone the existence of other relevant projects, or otherwise interested parties that could helm them.

>how hard would it be to turn her to our side
Same thing we did With Delta, hamstring the frame, put up jamming and then talk her into submission.

>her loyalty towards family was never that strong to begin with.
She might know something we don't, wont matter though, We'll convince her of the true value of Family, and the power of collective bargaining.

>>5900921
What about supporting the Tamar?
They're only our enemies because of the side we were born on, and they probably have Anohkin

>>5901219
Worth keeping in mind at least. I’d been on the Empire’s side on the belief that they wouldn’t have the same impulse to break us apart and see how we tick like Tamar might, but if Tamar has Anokhin then that worry is gone.

I don’t see any reason to support them over our current PMC though, and Tamar is more likely to hate us since we’ve been killing their pilots. We’ll need to see more screwy stuff from Marik or Kinston before I’d try talking a pilot into crossing the line.

File: Reactor.jpg (95 KB, 1480x800)

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>3/5 successes for progress


“I need a more efficient reactor. The frame has reached the limits of its potential with the current one, and the cooling faults with it have persisted. A replacement would be most desirable.”

“We will see what is in stock. Courtesy of the Empress, naturally.”


The replacement options offered all do fix the initial overheating issues, and improve performance in different ways.

Pick One

>XH-12 Arcturus. Heavyweight fusion reactor commonly installed in Ferrum Empire assault walkers
+Easy to maintain with common available parts
+1 Structural Integrity from additional reactor shielding

>VL-1 Xihe. ‘Production-run’ model fusion reactor salvaged from Angel unit
+High increased capacity allows for extended use of thrusters
+Low heat profile makes it harder to detect with thermals

>PK-4 Vega with attached Zeri Supercharger. Experimental twin fusion reactor from failed Project, repurposed
+Enables Overcharging of energy-based weapons
+Able to operate on secondary reactor if primary is compromised

>DR-2 Rotanev- Medium weight reactor salvaged from captured Tamar Alliance machine that operates along different, unknown design parameters.
+Immune to EMP and hacking effects
+-Allows Phase--Shift operation
-Difficult to repair


A/N
I understand that you want to continue the conversation, but I’m somewhat struggling to figure out exactly what you want to know from Kinston. He also has very little motivation to start relaying lots of details, especially if you’re taking the week off to refit and fix Delta against the requests of Command.

And sorry this is so late/short. Love the future discussion, though. Gives me a finger on the pulse of where Beta's hivemind is leaning.

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>>5901948
>XH-12 Arcturus. Heavyweight fusion reactor commonly installed in Ferrum Empire assault walkers

the others might be better in many ways to this bastard, but honestly? if we are fighting for a undersupplied, underfunded rogue military force, we cannot be going around asking for phase gear or experimental custom designed gear. we need something common, cheap yet reliable. ESPECIALLY if we at some point want to possibly go rogue.