— Christine Hepner —
Christine just let herself drift solward, back towards Theia and the rest of the group.
((PASS))
Fear the Gothilolions! | Anime listRoland grimaced as he listened to the radio chatter. It seemed like the sapper drones were managing to kick their ass despite the fact they were Aces! Luckily, however, it seemed that most of the trouble was inside the factory complex - here, at the exterior, it was more of a mop-up situation than anything.
Now he just had to go help pull the rest of the team out of the fine little mess they had gotten themselves into.
Reload [1], accelerate left 2 [2] and down 2[3]
edited 2nd Jun '14 12:37:16 PM by Flanker66
Locking you up on radar since '09I assume I am close enough to the computer interface to start programming that, given Hydrall's lack of answer in the discussion thread and the somewhat ambiguous map...
Though there was no outward evidence of it Charlotte was tense as a watchspring as she set the programming arm to extend for the second time in less than a minute with all the care of a midair boom operator ten centuries ago; automated thrusters hissed to compensate for the momentum of extending the arm until she could successfully link into the factory array's computer system and lock herself in place. The quiet beep in her headset was louder to her than the comm chatter of a battle in progress, and she exhaled visibly.
A few twitches brought up the program screen on factory interface commands.
> PROTOCOL 610 / OLIPHANT
Luckily the settings appeared rather intuitive. Charlotte set the drones with new commands...
New protocols for mining drones.
Engage all DRONE targets not identified as a mining drone/not broadcasting friendly IFF code. Do not haul the wreckage back, but proceed to next-closest target.
Pair-engage targets as possible. Share targeting information over network; no target should be engaged by more than three drones at a time.
Engage no FRAME targets, regardless of IFF settings. All FRAME targets to be treated as friendly.
Do not pursue targets beyond the cavern and the interior of the asteroid.
Allow FRAME Shark B-4 (that was herself) remote access to the factory datalink with ability to designate targets for drones if required. Password-protect this wireless link: CIRCUS.
Upload and execute.
One last thing to do. "Warning, warning, friendly drones entering the battlespace," she called over the radio. "Mining drones are friendly, say again, friendly. Targeting them onto the sappers."
She disengaged from the factory node, scanning the battlefield.
Turn engaged in activating factory node and sending out commands to the drones.
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.Asteroid Array
- Theia fires at SD 5 with her Deluge! (Bonuses: | Penalties: Distance -2) [8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10,] She deals a total of 40 damage. SD 5 is destroyed!
- Baldur fires at SD 7 with his KRAG! (Bonuses: | Penalties: ) [8] He deals 38 damage. SD 7 is destroyed!
The last drone fell, blown to pieces by Baldur's AP grenade. The Comm Array, though badly damaged both from the drones' digging and the battle, appeared salvageable at the very least - although communications were still offline.
OBJECTIVE COMPLETE!
Factory Array
The mining drone bore several tell-tale scorch marks of the Sappers' weaponry, its thrusters melted into slag to leave it floating uselessly through space, emitting its pitiful emergency signal.
The pilot of Quicksilver 1 swore, barely avoiding slamming on the thrusters as Tachyon went hurtling past at extremely high speeds. She bumped lightly against the rock wall, twisting in place as she spotted another drone near the corner of the crevasse. "They're nearly gone, aren't they?"
At the same time the mining drones began to ponderously return to life, their thrusters beginning to warm up as the left sleep mode. It seemed, though, that things might be over by the time they awoke fully... But at least they'd be prepared should the Centauri try the same trick twice.
- Magellan 1 reloads and fires at SD 9 with his MFR-M. (Bonuses: | Penalties: Distance -2) [7] He deals 24 damage. (68% remaining)
- Remora 1 fires at SD 9 with his FAS-X. (Bonuses: | Penalties: Distance -2) [10] He deals 36 damage! (20% remaining)
- Quicksilver 1 swaps out her Chanzhang for her FAS-W and fires a quick three shots at SD 12! (Bonuses: | Penalties: ) [12, 12] She deals 78 damage in total. SD 12 is destroyed!
- Drake 1 reloads her Hunter and fires twice at SD 13. (Bonuses: | Penalties: ) [9, 9] She deals 56 damage in total! (25% remaining)
- Quicksilver 2 attacks SD 5 two times with his Chanzhang. (Bonuses: | Penalties: ) [12] He deals 50 damage. SD 5 is destroyed!
- Quicksilver 2 switches out for his LAM-2 Storm and fires at SD 13. (Bonuses: | Penalties: ) [10] He deals 8 damage. (15% remaining)
As expected, Sapper Drone 6 maneuvered to attack Dr. Snipes, the Centauri drone's engines flaring as it twists in space, diving at the Remora! Fortunately, it seemed his evasive maneuvers were more than enough, the drone's weapon melting a hole in the asteroid nearby but otherwise not harming him at all.
- SD 2 attacks Dr. Snipes with its Plasma Cutter! (Bonuses: | Penalties: Dodge -2) It misses.
- SD 9 fires at Magellan 1 three times with its laser weapon! (Bonuses: | Penalties: ) [4] It deals 5 damage. (36% remaining)
- SD 13 attacks Quicksilver 2 with its Plasma Cutter! (Bonuses: | Penalties: Dodge Boost) It misses.
This battle was nearly over.
- Ally Momentum / Health / Status
- Crim: v2<4 / 200
- Dr. Snipes: Null / 188
- Tachyon: v3<4 / 120
- Circus: Null / 150
- Rodeo: Null / 179
- Rocketgirl: ^1 / 150
- Monkey Squadron
- Peacemaker 1: v3<3 / 250
- Magellan 1: <6 / 72
- Magellan 2: <2 / 200
- Magellan 3: <2 / 200
- Magellan 4: ^3<1 / 200
- Remora 1: <6 / 119
- Drake 1: v2 / 123
- Quicksilver 1: Null / 118
- Quicksilver 2: <2 / 77
- Enemy Momentum / Health / Status
edited 2nd Jun '14 9:48:33 PM by Hydrall
"Alright, you're mine, sucker!" Angus said with a confidant grin as turned his dodge into forward momentum. Bringing his foam gun to bear, he lined up the shot, targeting the probe's moving parts, and fired.
Accelerate 2 left, aim at SD 2, entrap with repair foam gun.
edited 2nd Jun '14 9:31:01 PM by Wryte
"Sorry you didn't get your Nick there, Dark," Isra said to James refering to the Droid, "Don't know what you saw in it though, it's an ancient model. There's probably some files if you want to look them up. For now though, let's hurry to base. I suspect this was largely a distraction."
With that she began to accelerate counter-clockwise towards the base.
"If we're under attack though, it's all the more imperative we keep to formation. It may be a pain waiting for the Heavies but I want the rest of you within range. You're not going to save any lives by charging ahead solo. As Federation Aces, your survival is first priority."
edited 2nd Jun '14 9:49:20 PM by Fauxlosophe
"Spoiler alert; the broken drone is broke," Becky relayed to Arath. There obviously wasn't anything more to see here and she was missing out on the chance for more action. Maybe Angus could add it to his collection if he wanted, she had other fish to fry. And by fish she meant drones, but the frying part was super accurate.
Lightning Bug blazed toward the last targets in range, moving recklessly fast with it's thermal weapon pointing forward. Two drones, two shots, it was that easy! She focused the laser's beam on the one next to a Monkey first, hopefully not frying the rookie pilot, then shifted the beam to the further target.
2 AP Accelerating Down 4, Dodge Booster Accelerate Down/Left 2, 1 AP Fire on Sapper Drone 13, 1 AP Fire on Sapper Drone 9!
"Don't relax yet Aces! We're not done here. Clean house and return to base immediately. Comms are still down, we have no idea what could be going on. Our priority now is to check Yaksha station. We can look at broken drones after the situation is stabalized. I will head back first."
Arath switched to the open Federation channel. "Monkey Squadron, exemplary work. Our Aces will clean up the last of the drones and would appreciate assistance. If there are any pilots injured or frames substantially damaged, I suggest returning to base as quickly as possible. Captain Malmsbury, If I could borrow Peacemaker 1, I would like to go ahead and check the situation at Yaksha station together. If not, then I will await your return there."
Arath maximized the thrusters. This whole mission had been far too simple. The Centauri would not set up a trap and bother cutting transmissions unless the plan relied on a lack of comms. Assuming there had been an attack on the other flight as well, that meant that Yaksha station would be vulnurable while a good chunk of its frames were occupied. The Aces would have no way of knowing if it had been attacked.
As Arath approached the station, he continually reset the long-range comms and listened into the short-range comms, hoping to pick up a response from the signal. "Yaksha station, this is Crim. Come in."
AP 1-3: Accelerate Left
— Christine Hepner —
"Understood," Christine replied, moving back into formation, "I've got the best acceleration. Theia, do you want me to see if I can't break out of whatever is causing this jamming field?"
Fear the Gothilolions! | Anime list"No," Isra replied, "I believe the jamming was caused by a long range comm disruption on the drones. If we can't reach the base, it might be because they are under attack; I don't want to risk anyone getting picked off as a stray."
I'm just going to let Hydrall time skip us back to base before the other Flight
edited 4th Jun '14 6:37:23 PM by Fauxlosophe
The threat of the Sapper Drone were all but neutralized, and it seems like Rocketgirl is going after them with a vengeance. As far as Oliver was concerned, his work was done.
"Well, the route back is cleared. Time to bugger on out of here."
Accelerate down 1, left 1
"Why does everything have to loop back to YGO?" -Guy who ruined YGOYaksha Station
Factory Array
The battle was to end quickly. The final drones were brought down in a hail of lasers and liquid concrete, ending their attempts to spy on Federation communications - hopefully permanently.
- Rocketgirl fires her Boiler at SD 9! (Bonuses: | Penalties: ) [12] She deals 12 damage! SD 9 is disabled. Her Boiler has 2 shots remaining. (4% remaining)
- Dr. Snipes attempts to ensnare SD 2! (Bonuses: Out-Of-The-Box Thinking | Penalties: GM annoyance) [9] His attempt is successful! SD 2 is immobilized. It's only because of its small size that this could possibly work, though. Keep that in mind.
"Can do, sir." The Peacemaker sluggishly turned, beginning the short (in cosmic terms) trek back to the base alongside the Aces who were already free. The rest began to pick themselves back up, carefully maneuvering their way out of the cramped asteroid as the mining drones happily got back to work on... Well, mining.
"But what was the point?" one of the rookies asked aloud, a little confused. "Why would they waste so much hardware on something that's just an inconvenience? We can replace those arrays pretty easily, right? So what's the deal?"
Malmsbury grimaced. "Quiet back there. We need to get back to base ASAP. There's no use overthinking it beyond that."
OBJECTIVE COMPLETE!
Yaksha Station.
A distraction.
That's what it had been, that's all it had been.
The Mole Hole burned.
It had not, fortunately, been destroyed. But in the end it didn't need to be - the place had been blown full of holes and left nearly in ruins, and while the structure remained sound its ability to actually support the pilots might be questionable.
More importantly, though, it had been found. Its secrecy had always been the outpost's greatest defense, and now that was useless.
The turrets built into the asteroid had been blown to pieces, blasted out of the crags and into slags. Its defensive corvette, too, was destroyed - in two pieces, in fact, its hull snapped in half and the two pieces drifting aimlessly, unpowered and seemingly unmanned. Another ship, too, had been destroyed in the fighting; it must have been the maintenance cruiser that the admiral had promised. It jumped in... Straight into the attack.
A glittering orange shield hung suspended in front of the remainder of the station, barely visible behind it a pair of heavy Frames, with two severely damaged mediums drifting near the hanger - all that remained, evidently, of the rookies left behind at the base.
The opposition, meanwhile, had obviously not gotten off unscathed. There were ten or so Centauri frames in the area, clustered around a golden frigate-sized Carrier. Of them, only a few were lightly damaged or unscathed - most had suffered severe damage in the combat. Presumably the rookies had put up a fight, or at least the defenses had. Many of them were heavy Frames - a group of four hives in total, with no drones in sight; perhaps the source of those ambushes? The carrier itself hadn't been touched, no doubt jumping back in to pick up its Frames now that the job seemed to be done to a reasonable extent.
Unexpectedly enough, though a short-range hail would be received almost immediately - from the enemy; specifically, a white-and-gold-plated Invoke that stood atop the stricken Frigate's hull, its feet magnetically attached to the ship. There was something off about it - its armor not entirely standard, nor were its weapons, carrying some variety of long rifle in one hand and an unusual device that vaguely called to mind a tonfa mixed with a small shield in the other. On its shoulder was the symbol of a stylized ember. Unlike the other frames, it showed not a single sign of battle damage.
Perhaps that said something.
edited 5th Jun '14 11:48:19 PM by Hydrall
Isra was silent for a moment, she thought about a lot of points. She'd kept her group alive but a lot of people had died. She didn't know what she could have done but she knew there were better ways; perhaps if she had hurried fastered and left the drones? Or if she hadn't opened fire on the stray?
It was too late now.
She turned on the Flight radio,
"We're too late. They outnumber us two to one and have heavier armour," Isra said, "We don't have the ressources to assault their armour if they are planning a retreat, so do not pursue. We're going to move to support the remaining pilots. Careful for the forward frame and maintain tight formation, be ready to retreat as needed."
She moved to the General channel,
"Theia to Yaksha, this is Infidel Flight. We are on our way to roost, how do you advise on the hostiles?"
- AP 1: Accerate2 >
- AP 2: Accerate 2^
edited 6th Jun '14 12:16:29 AM by Fauxlosophe
The voice that responded to Theia sounded panicked, exhausted, and entirely too young to be in the cockpit. "This is Windmill- the Titanius! We, uh, we're barely alive over here. Just m-me and Rhinestone left. Base is venting atmo and all grav systems are offline. Most of the personnel got into the holdout rooms as soon as it happened, but... Thank heaven you're here!" Apparently realizing he was ranting, the rookie swallowed and pulled himself somewhat together. "The, um, the enemy, they're... We shot 'em up real good but there wasn't much we could do. That gold one, though - he was in the thick of it and we couldn't hit him. He has some kind of... sword? Or shield? Or both, maybe. He stabbed it into the generator of the corvette and a few seconds later the whole thing lost power.
Roland grumbled away to himself quietly - as far as he was concerned, he had barely managed a warm-up before the party had already wound down. It was a thought that rankled with him - his place was in the thick of things, not traipsing around on the edge of battle occasionally prodding the enemy!
Every battle is a learning experience, he consoled himself. If nothing else, he knew that he had to stop playing around and go straight for the jugular the next time he got involved in a fight. Maybe then he wouldn't get shown up by the rest of the Aces.
Locking you up on radar since '09— Christine Hepner —
"Wolf Pup to Theia," Christine asked over her flight's channel, "what about the hail from the white one?"
Christine kept partial pace with Theia, carefully gauging the distance between herself and the two enemy groups, and really wishing she had brought the rifle and not a machine gun for the heavier enemies. She chose to move in a way that would still provide an opportunity for a strafing run.
((1AP : East 2))
Fear the Gothilolions! | Anime listIsra looked over at the comm. She had been so panicked about the state and condition of the base, that she'd neglected the light signalling the hailing.
"Thank you Wolf," Isra responding, "Patching though now. Putting them on to the Flight channel so you may hear them directly. Please do not respond directly without cause; we do not want unnecessary hostility."
With that, she set overlaid the hail to the Flight's channel.
"What the flying fuck-?!" Malmsbury shouted into his headset, leaning forward in his piloting seat in horror. "The Mole Hole's wrecked to hell!" Similar cries of shock and fury were rising from the other recruits as they approached the station, the two flights of Federation pilots battered and looking slightly worse for the wear than Theia's group had been. "They must have hit us while our comms were down... Dammit, they lured us out!"
The Invoke turned to consider the newcomers, its featureless head tilting as it did. "Ah. I see you all have arrived now." The voice that issued forth was deep, the kind of deep that goes through life knowing that everyone who hears it is intimidated. He sounded vaguely Slavic, although given how metropolitan many areas were that hardly said anything as to his origins. "I am the Trio Knight Commander Azhi Dahaka, and this battle is over." He said it completely flatly, without a trace of a gloat or pleasure at his success. If anything, he sounded disappointed. "My forces are injured from your... Unexpectedly dogged defenses. And I see yours have not come off unscathed as well." The white frame detached from the wrecked frigate, rising slowly from its hull until it hovered in space between the two flights. "Let it end here. We will withdraw, and leave you to inter your dead and lick your wounds in peace. If you were to attack, perhaps you would succeed..." The voice paused. "But I can guarantee it would not be without cost."
"If you so desire for me to prove my words with actions, then send out your strongest - I will fight them as a duelist, and my word promised that my men will not intervene. Whatever your choice, honored opposition, I will stand as bulwark for my pilots."
"There's no gain in it," Isra sighed looking.
She paused for a second and took a deep breath as she took in the destruction that had taken place. A duel would just damage one of their already banged up frames for a shot at Trio. An all out assault would be the best bet; but odds are they'd only retreat to the ship and they were barely able to resist the sapping units; A corvette would be beyond them; even if it was damaged. Even if they won; they wouldn't be protecting anything or taking anything vital from the Cents, just loosing a few Aces to kill a handful of Knights.
"...Just go."
There was nothing to do. Nothing wise, anyway.
She turned off the transmitter and starred at what had become of Yaksha station.
She pounded the controls and laid her head in her hands.
It had been a rough day.
edited 10th Jun '14 12:08:38 AM by Fauxlosophe
"Rocket Girl, you will shut the fuck up while I assess the best course of action. That's an order."
As Michael Arath spoke, he sent a quick message to Commander binte Junayd as well, seeing as she was now in comm range. "Do not be so quick to let the Cents loose Commander. We have skilled pilots among us and a Trio Knight would be an excellent hostage, if defeating her were a possibility. Otherwise, our casualties would have been in vain."
That said, their own frames, were in fact, noticeably damaged from the fight with the drones. It looked as though Commander binte Junayd's had also encountered resistance. Risking the rookie monkey squadron in another dangerous all-out firefight was out of the question. The duel was tempting, but there was no way he would trust the other fucking Cents to stay silent if she lost. If they COULD take the Knight hostage in the middle of the duel, there was a good chance they could force the fucking Centauri to retreat.
Arath weighed his options. Rodeo was still relatively inexperienced. Circus was an option but was ill-equipped for a duel. Tachyon was noticeably damaged and Snipes was encumbered with the Drone and poorly equipped for a duel anyway. Rocket Girl... Dear lord. Rocket Girl could be their best option for this fight but Arath went over binte Junayd's flight in his head first.
Valkyrie and her sword were out of the question for a frame-on-frame duel and Arath didn't trust Dark Angel as far as he could throw him. Considering the plan was to take the Knight hostage, Wolf Pup would not be the best option here. Apollo was damaged, and Arath sure as fucking hell wasn't going to let Baldur take this responsibility. Lastly, Theia seemed rather emotionally rocked at the moment so she was not an option.
If it came down to it, it would have to be him or fucking Rocket Girl. Unfortunately, his own frame was fitted for long-range and would do poorly if trying to take a hostage. With Rocket Girl's skill, it wouldn't be impossible to merely disable the frame and then threaten the rest of the Centauri back. He went over the plan on the Federation channel. "If we do accept the Knight's duel challenge, I want the goal of the mission to be capturing the fucker alive and taking him hostage to force the rest of their forces out."
"At this point, I believe - And I can't believe the words are coming out of my mouth - I believe Rocket Girl is best equipped for the task. I am respecting your opnions as aces. If you have another idea or option, speak now."
— Christine Hepner —
If I can disable that rifle..., no, what would be the point? Petty revenge, one captured Trio? It's not like the rest would just surrender if we brought down the leader anyway. They already said they plan to retreat as well.
edited 10th Jun '14 6:55:52 AM by zzzdragon
Fear the Gothilolions! | Anime list"Sir, are we sure these are Cents at all?" Angus said. "I mean, they're piloting Cent frames, but that doesn't mean they're knights. Back home, there used to be a pirate group running all stolen Cent machines to try and cow us out of a fight for fear of starting the war up again. They got away with it for a couple weeks before ZC Hobbes could get solid IDs and fragged 'em, and we haven't heard anything about the fighting starting again from higher up."

"Whoa!" Oliver let out a small exclamation as he felt the force from the impact. Not wanting to be a stain on the face of an asteroid, he piloted his frame to make a hard left.
Accelerate down 6
edited 1st Jun '14 1:47:53 PM by TehStanman
"Why does everything have to loop back to YGO?" -Guy who ruined YGO