Find about half an hour to get comfortable with our exo-suit's functions.
You shower and then pull out your armoured suit.
Once it is on, you analyze its capabilities. The implanted knowledge kicks in almost immediately. it isn't long before you know everything about it.
As well as its good defensive capabilities, it has basic life support systems, waste disposal systems and ration stores for extended operations away from supply sources. It also has large amounts of storage for equipment, extra rations and ammunition, where applicable.
Have Ari's brood start training with our brood, the odds are that all the broods so far lacked real world training.
get the mind probe status of her brood as well.
Lets do some combat simulations to see how our brood behaves, and see what are certain individuals' strengths and weaknesses. Also, try to get the combat doctrine of Morey for the Slinkar and all known strategies that were effective or ineffective against them.
Agreed, it would be nice to get a combat drill before organising our forces, to get some raw data and see how they act without organised leadership.
Still in your armour, you decide to go and organise a training drill and simulation for your and Ari's Brood. You find Ari relaxing in a recreation room, along with a few members of your Brood. Ari greets you as you approach:
"Hi, Pandora. Why are you wearing your armour? its not like we have to wear it all the time.".
"Just getting used to it. And i was wondering if it would be possible to get the Brood together to run through a joint drill, just to get the new ones used to combat and maybe run through the strategies we'll use against the Slinkar." You reply.
"Well, we'll need to the topside training district for that. Its currently free. Send a mental communique to the Brood and have them meet us up there in 30 minutes." She says, already heading towards the barracks. She motions for you to follow.
As you walk to her quarters, you decide to ask her a few more questions:
"What is the status of your section of the Brood's loyalty probes? Have they had any success against them?" You ask after making sure no one else is around.
"All of my sisters are about as free as its possible to get with them in our heads. The only reason we haven't gone rogue, is because, as you may or may not have seen, as we are now, we are somewhat dependent on the Morey. We also cannot go back to normal human society. I wont go into details. Also Vanguard has agents on Earth. If any were to see us, even rogue, they might try to take us out think we are spies or something similar."
"Good. I feel uncomfortable around people who seem to be more probe than human.....".
You both approach her quarters. As she gets ready for the drill, you nip back into your room and grab what you need. fortunately, you can fit most of your equipment onto the holding points on your armour. '
This thing is like a full body carry-all. I wonder how much i can carry in total.....' You think to yourself absentmindedly as you check your weapons and re-enter Ari's room.
As you are leaving, after chatting about more general things, you ask her about military doctrine concerning the Slinkar.
"Tricky question. There is no absolute. It mainly depends on the circumstances. They will never go quietly, usually meaning the use of large formations of troops, combined arms and precision strikes, other times it can be blitzkrieg, shock and awe speed runs to try and catch them off guard. If they outnumber us considerably, we try to use a more asymmetrical style of warfare, although that is less effective.
They keep their supply lines and stores well guarded and defended, and leave few weak points in defensive positions. Those they do leave are usually decoys. The Slinkar have specialised units, configured in different ways for different missions. These formations are usually backed up by more multi-function troops to counter unseen circumstances and/or to give an unsuspecting enemy a heart attack
In difficulty, they are second only to the Vanguard. So in the field, watch your back and those of your sisters and be prepared for the unexpected. In the drill that is being set up, we would do well to go through as many different tactics as possible."
You listen intently. It seems the higher ups want to throw the new Broods in at the deep end. Something or someone must be forcing their hands. Maybe their war against the Slinkar isn't going well?
"Ari, what do you know of the status of the war with the Slinkar?"
"It was pretty much a stalemate when I came back from the last campaign. The last ill-fated mission was in fact an attempt to break the stalemate by trying to take out the main planetary command base on Abrigos 9 which organised their defenses for the surrounding 4 systems, on top of the system it itself was in, to try and make way for an assault fleet. It was going fine until some uppity young politicians daughter who wangled the rank of Fleet Admiral, disobeyed orders and decided to try and destroy the base from orbit, completely ignoring intel which stated there were an unknown number of anti-fleet batteries orbiting the planet on top of a large number of planet-based batteries defending the system."
She shook her head, obviously angry.
"So, as expected in that situation, the alarm was raised and all hell broke loose. 200 of my sisters were caught in a kill zone, the rest were pinned down with two dozen dying in a reactor implosion in the bases power plant. The fleet, surprisingly, did make a good account of itself, somehow managing to take out all 12 orbital defence batteries. Then they were torn up by the now online planetside batteries. 2 battleships, a carrier and at least 20 smaller vessels were turned into the systems new asteroid belt in a matter of minutes."
"It was sheer luck that we managed to disable them long enough to get off the planet".
At the conclusion of her tale, you both walk silently to the drill area on the surface of the planet. The planet it self is very Earth-like. Green and pleasant. In the distance you can see sleek, fluid like cities glinting in the sun. It is very, very pretty.
It doesn't take long for the Brood to assemble. You and Ari take it in turns to speak, getting the Brood up to date on what has been decided. You organise the Brood into various formations and runs through a range of military doctrines. The Brood takes to it like a fish to water. They consistently complete their objectives, work well together and push forward no matter what. Even though their enemies are training robots using not lethal weapons, they are a sight to behold and their efficiency is hellishly good for relatively new soldiers. You assume part of it has to be the implanted knowledge, but it looks like enthusiasm plays a large part in the activity too.
You then run through more complex drills, this time you and Ari join in as Brood leaders. Things go even better than before. You spend the whole day training, only breaking twice to rest and eat, until even as enhanced as you are, you and your comrades are panting like dogs in heat and sweating enough to fill several Olympic swimming pools.
You notice you have attracted quite the crowd. Guards, scientists, administrators and even office staff and soldiers stationed in the military base attached to the science facility. Among them you stop Ala-Shar. She seems very impressed and pleased. You wonder just how long she has been there. As the sun is setting, the Brood once again retires for the day. You can see many of them seem to be having mental conversations. '
Good, they are talking to the probes. Best not to let them feel left out....'.
Mentally analysing the days training, the probes chime in:
'
It seems that your Brood works well with and without the leadership supplied by yourself and Ari. This is useful information. It makes you far more versatile. If you want, we can aid you in combat in the same way some of your Brood were aided? It would really only bee basic situational awareness, but every little helps.'
You ponder that for a moment. 'I'll let you know tomorrow, my friends, but right now, i just want something to eat, a nice long shower and my bed'.
You get back to your quarters quickly, saying good night to Ari as you do, shower and get into bed after snacking on some food from the mess hall.
*
Sometime later* *
4 Days till Deployment*
You wake up. What do you do? do you train again or do something else?
Status:1) Calm. Feeling sorry for Ari. Angry.
2) Mentally and physically fit.
3) Clear thoughts and currently inactive mental factions.
4) Free moving.
Condition: Physically Healthy, mentally Stable.
Inventory:1) Loose white robes
Available Equipment:1) Mark 3 Vat-Born Engineer Armoured Powered Exoskeleton Suit
2) Mk5 Mass-Driver pistol (sidearm)
3) Arishok Plasma pulse rifle
4) Dikari Plasma shotgun
5) Warrisk Mass-Driver Battle Rifle
Implants and Augmentations:1) 2x Loyalty probe in the Striatum part of the brain.
2) Multi-range optics (Thermal, magnetic, IR, UV, multi-stage magnification etc) implant on eyes.
3) Command and Control (C&C) nano-module implanted in head.
4) Communications array nano-module implanted in head.
5) Fortified 7th Generation reverse engineered biological nano-machines in blood stream, bones, muscles, tendons and organs.
6) Nano-memory modules in the Cerebrum, holding all relevant non-personal data.
Brood Composition:1) Forward Command and communications: 10 Vat-born.
2) Field Combat Medic and Long Range Specialists all come in at 50 persons each.
3) Heavy assault and Light Assault have 250 each.
4) Infiltrators: 50
5) Heavy Support: 120
6) Combat Engineers: 120
7) Scouts: 100
Ari's Contingent:1) 12 Scouts
2) 7 Infiltrators
3) 5 Forward Command & Comms
4) 19 Field Medics
5) 13 Combat Engineers
6) 22 Long Rage Specialists
7) 25 heavy Support
8 ) 23 Light assault
9) 64 Heavy Assault (including Ari herself)
Possible Rebels:1) 2 in the Forward Command and communications
2) 3 Field Combat Medics
3) 3 Long Range Specialists
4) 4 Heavy assault
5) 10 Light Assault
6) 2 Infiltrators
7) 3 Heavy Support
8 ) 4 Combat Engineers
9) 6 Scouts.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Oh ****. I've figured it out. It all makes sense now. They truly don't understand this technology, and this is a terrifying kludge. They have taken some kind of general purposed brain machine interface, and hooked it up to the wrong place. The AIs they are running on them were never intended for this, but probably some kind of general-purpose assistant/pet/equal, and more importantly they require a maturation period that these are never given; right now, they are essentially very young children, hence their incompetence. And on top of that the *AIs* loyalty is also just hacked, in this case more literally, plastered on top of their motivational structure rather than integrated into their true goal structure.
Talking to these AIs is VERY IMPORTANT, they are in just the same situation as us, robed from their true context as children and bludgeoned into their own crudely enforced loyalty. We can never beat an intelligence that will quickly become far more experienced with time, but *they* might easily beat their own, static, shallow shackles.
Spread this information quickly. Think of the artificial, nano children!
((Armok, could you simplify that for me please? I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be asking the probes about..... sorry.))
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Topic: (SG) Starfire: War and Politics - Enemies Old and New - UPDATE 03/07/2014 (Read 87292 times)