((Okay, I think I've got what I want here.))
Lars smiled- it was all coming together now. Armor-piercing (and precision targeting) was likely to be more useful than area effect slaughter, given the stated goal as a materials requisition team instead of a military unit. Hover capability was nice, but cost needed to be kept down somewhere. All that remained was final design, then field testing.
Action: Construct the final design. The base would be the cheapest tracked platform. Two sides of the platform would be armored with a thin (half inch) sheet of metal, about two feet high with a slight slope, to provide cover for the gunner, who would be assumed to be crouching. At the corner of the two pieces of armor is the gun mount. The mount allows the weapon to rotate 90 degrees in any of the directions (though up or down would be limited by the design of the whole.) The gun itself is a standard cutting laser. Below the gun and behind the armor is a generator that provides sufficient energy for a two second burst every five seconds. The platform controls are mounted behind one metal plate, operated from the gunner position.
Run checks to ensure the design is valid, then save it as the Mk I Tracked Mobile Laser Turret.
((Also Irony, nice work.))
Ok, last thing. How protective you want those metal shields to be? Just some straight steel or something a bit more exotic?
Reset the sim again, same as last time except this time I'm just an invisible observer (I can do that, right?). Spawn a General from the Altered War noted for his/her strategic abilities with the same equipment as me. Watch the battle under their command and take notes.
1. Do you want to let the one in the command position reposition your troops or just stick him where you would be?
2. Same overview response?
1. Yep, I want to see what an actual General would do in the same situation, so he can distribute the troops however he wants.
2. Huh? Wait, I think I understand. Yes, with notes about how his strategy differs from mine, and the advantages and disadvantages it provides.
Oh, forgot, should I allow him to change your soldier's armaments within reason too? No 1000 man LESHO rifle squads and no Fission instigators, but a few strategically used higher weapons?
Hmm... sure, as long as it's still conventional weapons only. Let him change his own equipment too, then.
In this simulation the general chooses to stick with his lesho rifle, out fitting a few of the men to stay with him similarly. He gives a few kiloton charges to soldiers for them to lay in the forest, stations a few dozen men in front of the forest and then keeps most of his troops back on a single front, behind the forest. As the altered charge down into the area between the mountains he and lesho wielding men use the blast of their rounds to keep the altered corralled and on track to the forest, the few men in front serving as bait. One the main force of the altered enters the forest he detonates the bombs and wipes out most of them, the rest falling to concentrated fire from the rest of his soldiers as they fan out and sweep forward into the nuclear aftermath.
((Cool beans, that's really cool Irony! I like how you are saying that Bishop might be some kind of emerging kung-fu master despite the fact that he doesn't have shit on the doctor.))
"Once again, technician, not a soldier."
Back off a bit and scope out how the doctor moves. Does it seem like he has any cybernetic limbs that I could use my knowledge to disable?
You take a step back, feigning like you're catching your breath, and look the doctor over.
[aux:5]
A mechanical limb, well made and covered, is practically indistinguishable from a normal limb in most circumstances. You think back to the fight. You couldn't feel anything mechanical under his clothing the few times you grabbed him, and you didn't hear any servos or hydraulics. Hmm unless they're masterfully made to imitate flesh, you're pretty sure he's not mechanically augmented.
Timmy glares at Havel.
"You have interrupted our gentlemanly competition! This I cannot abide! Besides, I don't think that punching Chompers in the head would be a good idea, what with his monster teeth and metal skull and everything. So I'm afraid I'll have to refuse for now."
He turns back to Chompers and says "Alas, our competition has been interrupted by a sordid blackguard, rendering it null and void! However, it does appear that we are almost equally matched. Almost. Keep practicing and you might reach the big leagues someday. But now, I'm afraid I have urgent business to take care of."
Quickly abscond to the armory and obtain arts and crafts supplies. Utilize my TV knowledge to make a decorative placemat with the words "NO HARD FEELINGS" worked into the pattern.
You head to the armory and get yourself all the craft supplies that a 5 year old could want and start building.
[handi:3]
A few handfuls of dry macaroni and white glue later you have what could be charitably called a drink coaster with "nO HErb fELting" spelled out in purple marker on it.
You clap and giggle to yourself.
"... Thanks," Denzen muttered to Jim. He then wandered away to find somewhere to practice with his weapons- he normally wouldn't be this focused, but the recent situation had made him more focused.
Is VR free to use? If so, train with the mono-atomic razor and cutlass, starting with training dummies. Get an idea for the balance of the weapons and their capabilities.
You get in a vr machine and boot up "Duel", loading a humanoid training dummy as your target and a standard cutlass and razor as your weaponry.
>Should targets be active or passive?
>Target cpu level if active? (1-10. Higher=harder)
Well, who would've known that diapers can be used so effectively in combat. You learn some new and horrible things every day.
Time to go practice.....no diapers though
Go to a VR machine and ask for a combat simulation, 1v1, me with my brain microwave and a laser rifle against a random enemy mook
You hop in the VR machine and boot up Duel.
Random human mook? Robot? Altered? Completely random? Active or passive?
Add thrusters and then add 2 wing mounted laser rifle's upgraded for extra range and power 1 per wing and a battery that provides 450 TPU at 15TPU per second and then use VR machine to make a virtual model and begin testing.
Current specs.
Thermal and Long range Camera systems in the eyes.
Thruster's for propulsion and maneuvers.
Input a battery with 450 TPU at 15 TPU per second.
Add a capacitor to store up extra charge.
Add a much more durable armored casing to the drone.
Then input a wireless up link directly to my HUD.
Add 2 wing mounted upgraded laser rifle's.
(( Are we allowed to take 2 bots with us on assignments? The Hawk bot is one but im also planning to take an enhanced Gunner bot with me once ive got the credits for it and have 2 working in tandem. Assuming im still alive by then. ))
The virtual model is roughly the size of a small end table thanks to the combination of batteries and guns, aerodynamic as a brick and flies with all the grace and control of a drunken quadriplegic falling down a flight of stairs.
hmmm
"... Thanks," Denzen muttered to Jim. He then wandered away to find somewhere to practice with his weapons- he normally wouldn't be this focused, but the recent situation had made him more focused.
Is VR free to use? If so, train with the mono-atomic razor and cutlass, starting with training dummies. Get an idea for the balance of the weapons and their capabilities.
"You're welcome. See you later," Jim said as the man departed. Unfortunately, he was sure he was still short of 20 tokens, so he went back into the abandoned airlock and made another cutlass with the five pounds of metal he had left.
(13 token.)
(we'll handle this the same way as before shall we?)
[exo:1]
You heat the air next to the metal. Hmm
[exo:4+1]
You heat the metal up to the perfect temperature.
[exo:5+1+1]
And proceed to pound it into a very sharp, very durable...1/3rd sized cutlass. Hmm.
Shoot it!
[dex:2+1]
[ram dex:5]
[ram str:6]
[end:1+1]
You raise your hand, the internal coilgun warming up to fire as you do, but the Ram is faster. There is nothing but a blur of white as it hisses by, catching your arm just below the elbow and smashing the forearm completely out of place, cracking armor and separating metal bones. Your forearm flops loosely at the end of your arm as you draw it back; a flurry of warning messages floods your peripheral vision.
>armor damage
>elbow disconnected
>Coilgun not responding
>Recommend purge
The mansized altered continue to swarm your feet, their bladed hands finding cracks of exposed synch-flesh and hacking away.