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[PyroDesu]

((Oh, and just so you're aware, I plan to outdate the Mk series just as soon as design is something Simus can focus on (right now, the emergency kinda has her full attention). Not just a small modification like Saint's, it'll be a completely new design. Having suits that don't decompress unless you get shot in the helmet (in which case, you have other issues to worry about than decompression) would be a nice thing, neh?

Just mentioning, since I see Saint's seventh through ninth actions.))

((It seems we're all going to be doing this sort of thing then. The MACS has levels all the way down to a simple starting "plugsuit".

It might be best if we all meet in-character once we're done with the crises and consolidate our plans. ))

((Well, thankfully what you guys are working on and my idea for complete replacement are compatible, or at least they are so far. Mine solves heat fin need to some degree, and as said, should eliminate decompression as a major cause of death unless one is shot in the helmet.))

[Parisbre56]

((May I suggest actually producing something, even if it's not as good as the ides you currently have? For example, just start creating a hundered fleshpits for the production of robosods. Or have the orbital ships salvaged and rebuilt. It's been 2 months and you currently don't have much to show in terms of military or defensive forces, as shown by your current situation. The production facilities are just idling.

I'm saying that because time is your only constraint here. The sooner you put a production order in, the sooner it will finish. Even if the things produced turn out to be less capable than the things you design in the future, it will not cost you anything, since your resources are infinite. So just producing as much as you can is the logical thing to do. Start creating warships. Missiles. A Titan. Anything that could be useful. If you had been producing stuff from the beginning, if you had any sort of military capacity, it might have been much easier to take care of the fleshhorror.

Unless piecewise has stated it doesn't work like that, in which case I'm wrong.

Anyway, just a suggestion. Might be wrong. You're ultimately in charge. I just ask you to consider it.))

[Toaster]

((Clearly the best thing to expand is the production facilities so you can make more stuff.))

[piecewise]

Charles prepares to run if necessary. If the flesh-horror bursts out and attacks, he will cast Summon Sheep and use Speech to convince everything in the area not to harm him.

The lights go out as something else shakes through the complex. The suspended floor sways to compensate for the movement of the ground, and you feel only a strange wiggling sensation.

((Haha, by my original intention, Saint would never have mentioned manips, because he hadn't gotten to that part yet.  For the sake of keeping everything though, I'll just say that he explained his plan while getting the QECs.))

Actually, going by what you've said before, at the time of that turn we would actually have had a hundred robosods.  Of course, I suppose it's always possible I misinterpreted things.

3.How long does it take for the modified fleshpit to produce a batch of sod brains?

3. Well, once you have it properly modified, not terribly long. 2-3 days per fully formed brain.

6.If the answer to 4 isn't extremely difficult, and the answer to 5 is that they're normal, then order the conversion of a single flesh pit to produce only sod brains

7.Get a completion date for 6

6.Alright.
7.Lets see...not next turn, the turn after that.

1.Ah, so since we actually only have one fleshpit, and I asked for a single fleshpit to be converted to produce sod brains, did the entire thing get converted?  If not, make it do so now.

2.Before I asked for a batch of thirty sods to be made, and you said they'd take thirty days.  Does that mean thirty tubes were producing at once, and they'd each take thirty days?

3.If so, I guess that means a sod brain takes a fifteenth or a tenth of the time to produce as a full body sod?  You said one would take two or three days.

1. one week tilll the first brains are ready.
2. It takes thirty days to produce one sod, so you'd get 30 at once, not one a day.
3. About that.

I've been keeping track.  The first batch was ready on July 11th, and the second popped on the 14th.  I've just been assuming they only pop ever third day, instead of 'two or three'.

"Fine, Simus.  I still disagree with you, but I won't disobey orders.  Although, I would recommend you not use the Hammer without making sure it won't miss.  I'm sure you remember our artillery's performance during the defense, and they were designed to be used as artillery.  I'd be afraid to see what would happen if we fired an anti-orbital weapon as artillery, and it's probably one of the few things which really can hurt us while down here."

After saying that, Saint personally heads up to the VR machines, and plugs in.  Once inside, he opens a few 'windows' with camera feeds inside, to keep him aware of the situation on the surface.

1.Have production orders based on RL time froze while the fleshorror is out?  If so, we only have fifty sods.  If not, we have a hundred more than that.

2.If production orders have not been frozen, I would like to request that ARESTEVE begin building the infrastructure required for producing custom brains, for use in wetware.  Preferably, good enough to produce any brains we might have need for- including human brains.

3.Get the completion date for 2.

4.The below spoiler contains the FULL information (seriously, took awhile to sift through and compile.  I can provide links to the design posts if needed) for the Testament LSW.  The shard rifle.

Spoiler: Testament Light Shard Weapon: (click to show/hide)

Fires a small crystalline shard, about two inches long, and probably about a quarter inch thick in the middle, tapering to sharp points.
Damage: Penetration and electricity do most damage, detonation does local damage but isn't as spread as larger rounds.  Still probably fatal or at least really damaging if you manage to hit someone in the chest.

Can penetrate milnoplate with concentrated fire or a good hit.  Can hit a synthbody's braincase with less fire.  Can damage battlesuit plate about as well as Milnoplate.  Against unarmored targets, sometimes penetrates through without detonating.  Recommend using volley fire on them.

Power draw: 4 TPU, transmitted from a Power suit through the grip.  A small half-TPU capacitor is embedded in the hilt, which discharges if the power supply momentarily drops below 4 TPU.  It recharges when there's surplus power.

Rifle sized.

Has a fire selector with five settings:  Auto at 480 RPM - Semiauto - Safe - 4 shard fluid volley - 16 shard fluid volley

'Assault' magazines, presumably a little larger than real magazines, 1728 (12³) shots.
'Gunner' magazines, back mounted, a third the size of a propane tank, 17280 shots.  Assault magazines can refill from this, without interrupting fire of a weapon attached to the gunner magazine.)

All sections of the gun that are sensitive to a high-voltage shock are lightly insulated.

5.I want to know how many tokens it would cost, were we to put it into mass production and have it be included in the sword's new armory.  I do not want the cost of the suit that is needed to use it- only the rifle alone.

6.Cosmetic modifications that I'd like, but don't want if they would increase the price: Write 'This end towards tyranny.  Not allies.' on the barrel.  Write 'This end towards you.' on the stock.  Write 'Steve Saint's TESTAMENT Light Shard Weapon' on... whatever passes for the receiver.  Add accessory rails to the obvious places on the gun, for attaching accessories.  Use whatever is closest to standard.

7.Take a look at the MK.I prototype I modified for use with the gun (Spoiler below), and compare it with the MK.II and the UWM MK.I.  How do the latter two items get rid of the heat fins of the normal MK.I?  I'd like to integrate it into this prototype.

Spoiler: Power Suit: (click to show/hide)

A basic MK.I, with a 4 TPU generator between the shoulders.  A cable runs down each arm from this generator, to each hand.  If a cable is damaged, power to it is immediately turned off.  Power to either arm can be turned off, or set to a lower power level for stunning human targets, with voice commands.

Each hand has two conductive surfaces connected to the cable: on the palm, and a tougher version on the knuckles.  Under these surfaces are further insulating material.  If the integrity of either surface is damaged, power is shut off to that surface.

It has been proven to reliably supply four TPU to anything gripped or punched- including people.  As four TPU is reliably quite lethal, it makes for an effective melee weapon.

Integrity is measured by electrical flow, which is remarkably accurate.

8.If I can, try and put transparent 'windows' on the suit, over the spots where a robotic body's more important extra eyes are located.  On the chest, and on the index fingers, IIRC.  If this would interfere with the perfect insulation that the suit has, put removable caps of the material over them.

9.If we started mass producing this suit, would it be possible to start issuing it for free, rather than the old MK.I?

1. We'll give you your robosods.
2.Wanna start that again when we're not in emergency mode? Wanna order some tea on the titanic?
3. Why I outta.
4 and 5. I'm making a face at you. Through the computer. There isn't an emoticon for it.
6. No sticker reading "This Machine Kills Fascists"?
7-onward: My cat is staring at me. He's making a plaintive face. Through the computer.

((I believe it was 3 ingame days, not 3 RL days. Our fleshhorror situation kind of has us on a clock.))

Anton Chernozorov

Calculations of maximal effective detonation pattern complete. Warning: predictive degeneration of effect over time, will recalculate on 3 second loop to keep it as maximized as possible.

Sounding general alarm.

The lights in the room wink out for an instant and are then replaced with red emergency lights and the sound of sirens in the distance.

Beginning ship prep and refit. Use of human crew required to refit, blind spot in automated systems detected and stored for rectification. Authorize human crew?

"Yes, but keep surveillance and track the IDs of whoever enters and leaves, we'll dish out commendations and reprimands as appropriate later.

Beginning preventive bombing of target."

Use Aresteve's data and guide my remaining fleet of radioactive death-drones to inflict maximum damage on the creature. Make sure to keep aware of where the drones are in relation to each other, so that they are not knocked out by any EM effects or penetrating radiation prematurely.

"Saint, the Party Wagon dropship is being refitted into a bomber over in Dock Three. If you need a mobile base over the target site for anything, feel free to go there and assist the workers."

Your camera feeds wink out in rapid succession, coinciding with a distant rumble.

>Bombardment effective. The mass appears to have been reduced and slowed, judging by seismic readings.

Thank you, Saint.

Aresteve, what would you estimate is the chance that a shell from the Hammer falls off-target, and the consequences of such? And how long will it take for the ships to arrive in orbit?

Yeah.

((You know, I can't help but find some of the extreme multitasking a bit off-putting. Stuff like Sain'ts doing this turn - we're in the middle of an emergency (which he is responding to), he was acting fairly panicked just a moment ago in game time, and now he's... finishing off a design? And doing work (well, requesting information, but still) in the Tinker thread?

I dunno, it just feels weird.))

>Computer guided. I estimate my accuracy to within a few meters, with the divergence due to crosswind and minor imperfections in the shell. Baring something utterly unpredictable- shifts in understood laws of physics, various unlikely but non-zero chance quantum effects, acts of unknown gods-I'd say no chance of catastrophic miss.

>They have commenced rotating. Once they have reached the right angle, they may fire at any time, but reaching orbit will take a while.

[syvarris]

Spoiler: OOC stuff (click to show/hide)

((Oh, and just so you're aware, I plan to outdate the Mk series just as soon as design is something Simus can focus on (right now, the emergency kinda has her full attention). Not just a small modification like Saint's, it'll be a completely new design. Having suits that don't decompress unless you get shot in the helmet (in which case, you have other issues to worry about than decompression) would be a nice thing, neh?

((Yeah, I agree, I'm just mostly trying to keep stuff to a minimum, because the whole idea of a suit-based generator hinges on the suits being free, like current MK.Is.  I'm worried that if I add too much stuff to the basic model, it won't be free.))

((May I suggest actually producing something, even if it's not as good as the ides you currently have? For example, just start creating a hundered fleshpits for the production of robosods. Or have the orbital ships salvaged and rebuilt. It's been 2 months and you currently don't have much to show in terms of military or defensive forces, as shown by your current situation. The production facilities are just idling.

I'm saying that because time is your only constraint here. The sooner you put a production order in, the sooner it will finish. Even if the things produced turn out to be less capable than the things you design in the future, it will not cost you anything, since your resources are infinite. So just producing as much as you can is the logical thing to do. Start creating warships. Missiles. A Titan. Anything that could be useful. If you had been producing stuff from the beginning, if you had any sort of military capacity, it might have been much easier to take care of the fleshhorror.

Unless piecewise has stated it doesn't work like that, in which case I'm wrong.

Anyway, just a suggestion. Might be wrong. You're ultimately in charge. I just ask you to consider it.))

((I agree completely, as long as we make sure we don't lower our capacities in other areas.  Especially if we're actually able to do as Toaster suggested, and grow our facilities exponentially.))

>Computer guided. I estimate my accuracy to within a few meters, with the divergence due to crosswind and minor imperfections in the shell. Baring something utterly unpredictable- shifts in understood laws of physics, various unlikely but non-zero chance quantum effects, acts of unknown gods-I'd say no chance of catastrophic miss.

((Humor?  I didn't think ARESTEVE was capable of it.))

Saint stumbled slightly as the wiggling of the base threw off his balance. Like hell we're safe... I'm not gonna sit down here and just wait.

1.Over a private channel, ask ARESTEVE if being on the surface will expose me to anything dangerous from our own munitions.

2.If being up top is safe, go sit on top of the base and look in the direction of the fleshorror's hole.  If I see any hint that it's coming through the aurora, flee in the opposite direction with my MK.III on full burn.  Also do so if it something else comes up that would make running a good idea, like Simus deciding to deorbit a ship.

3.Over a private channel, ask ARESTEVE where the nearest stockpiles of manipulators and handheld nukes are, if any exist.

4.Try and piece together a view of the fleshorror using whatever cameras haven't been destroyed.

5.Ask ARESTEVE exactly what the Hammer of Hephaestus is.  I know it launched the massive shrapnel blast that killed a bunch of spaceships during the defense, but did it launch the boarding pods too?

[Sean Mirrsen]

Anton Chernozorov

"XO, I've done all I can from here. Aresteve will continue sending you what data we can still get on the creature. It should be a little angrier, and a little less massive than it was recently. I'm going to Dock Three to personally oversee the refit of the Party Wagon. It should suffice to suppress the creature if it emerges before whichever multimegaton countermeasures you're undoubtedly cooking up right now have the time to take effect. Chernozorov out."

"Aresteve, continue informing me of the creature's progress to the surface. The Party Wagon's standing orders, should its refit complete before I get to it, are to take position two kilometers above the predicted surfacing point of the creature, and maintain that position until further orders."

Make what camera and sensor feeds we still have on the creature available to everyone else if they aren't already. Then leave for the Party Wagon's dock and see that the ship is sent off in full working order. Do not board the ship. (I don't trust our artillery not to work as AA emplacements in a pinch) Once the Party Wagon is sent off, with standing orders to hover 2km above the creature's surfacing point, make way to the control center.

Contemplate installing some form of rapid intra-facility transportation once the crisis is over.

If the creature surfaces while I am en route to either the docks or the control center, switch the standing orders via Aresteve to "strafe creature with lasers from a safe distance, observe its reaction and try to steer it away from base structures".

[PyroDesu]

A few meters of terminal inaccuracy can mean a lot, Aresteve. That cannon is the biggest example of its kind I have ever seen. However, if what we already have preparing is not enough, we may have little choice. Get your aim in, but hold your fire until we see if we need it.

Understood, Anton. Let's hope kinetic impact is effective, if not as much as more of those bombs would probably be.

Yayy command is so fun when I have fairly competent subcommanders.

[Empiricist]

Charles prepares to run if necessary. If the flesh-horror bursts out and attacks, he will cast Summon Sheep and use Speech to convince everything in the area not to harm him.

The lights go out as something else shakes through the complex. The suspended floor sways to compensate for the movement of the ground, and you feel only a strange wiggling sensation.

Charles attempts to discern the source of the sensation.
((Seeing as sods are kinda similar to expert systems, I have a feeling that a medic sod may actually be feasible and more practical. Well, until someone decides to train them in Mesk's style of medicine that is.))

[Radio Controlled]

((Seeing as sods are kinda similar to expert systems, I have a feeling that a medic sod may actually be feasible and more practical. Well, until someone decides to train them in Mesk's style of medicine that is.))

((Medic sods are possible, we had them during Hep defense. And they also had good AUX and handiwork (they were the 'support' sods).))

[piecewise]

Spoiler: OOC stuff (click to show/hide)

((Oh, and just so you're aware, I plan to outdate the Mk series just as soon as design is something Simus can focus on (right now, the emergency kinda has her full attention). Not just a small modification like Saint's, it'll be a completely new design. Having suits that don't decompress unless you get shot in the helmet (in which case, you have other issues to worry about than decompression) would be a nice thing, neh?

((Yeah, I agree, I'm just mostly trying to keep stuff to a minimum, because the whole idea of a suit-based generator hinges on the suits being free, like current MK.Is.  I'm worried that if I add too much stuff to the basic model, it won't be free.))

((May I suggest actually producing something, even if it's not as good as the ides you currently have? For example, just start creating a hundered fleshpits for the production of robosods. Or have the orbital ships salvaged and rebuilt. It's been 2 months and you currently don't have much to show in terms of military or defensive forces, as shown by your current situation. The production facilities are just idling.

I'm saying that because time is your only constraint here. The sooner you put a production order in, the sooner it will finish. Even if the things produced turn out to be less capable than the things you design in the future, it will not cost you anything, since your resources are infinite. So just producing as much as you can is the logical thing to do. Start creating warships. Missiles. A Titan. Anything that could be useful. If you had been producing stuff from the beginning, if you had any sort of military capacity, it might have been much easier to take care of the fleshhorror.

Unless piecewise has stated it doesn't work like that, in which case I'm wrong.

Anyway, just a suggestion. Might be wrong. You're ultimately in charge. I just ask you to consider it.))

((I agree completely, as long as we make sure we don't lower our capacities in other areas.  Especially if we're actually able to do as Toaster suggested, and grow our facilities exponentially.))

>Computer guided. I estimate my accuracy to within a few meters, with the divergence due to crosswind and minor imperfections in the shell. Baring something utterly unpredictable- shifts in understood laws of physics, various unlikely but non-zero chance quantum effects, acts of unknown gods-I'd say no chance of catastrophic miss.

((Humor?  I didn't think ARESTEVE was capable of it.))

Saint stumbled slightly as the wiggling of the base threw off his balance. Like hell we're safe... I'm not gonna sit down here and just wait.

1.Over a private channel, ask ARESTEVE if being on the surface will expose me to anything dangerous from our own munitions.

2.If being up top is safe, go sit on top of the base and look in the direction of the fleshorror's hole.  If I see any hint that it's coming through the aurora, flee in the opposite direction with my MK.III on full burn.  Also do so if it something else comes up that would make running a good idea, like Simus deciding to deorbit a ship.

3.Over a private channel, ask ARESTEVE where the nearest stockpiles of manipulators and handheld nukes are, if any exist.

4.Try and piece together a view of the fleshorror using whatever cameras haven't been destroyed.

5.Ask ARESTEVE exactly what the Hammer of Hephaestus is.  I know it launched the massive shrapnel blast that killed a bunch of spaceships during the defense, but did it launch the boarding pods too?

1. >Depends on distances. If you remain at a safe distance, you should be fine.
2.You head up top and stick your head out of the aurora to watch. The thing hasn't breached yet; those bombs seem to have slowed it down considerably.
3. >There are small stocks in several places on the base, but the majority of them, and other dangerous things, are kept in isolated and armored magazines deep underground.
4. Something like this, but bigger.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

5. >Yes. The Hammer is a gauss cannon. A very large one.

Anton Chernozorov

"XO, I've done all I can from here. Aresteve will continue sending you what data we can still get on the creature. It should be a little angrier, and a little less massive than it was recently. I'm going to Dock Three to personally oversee the refit of the Party Wagon. It should suffice to suppress the creature if it emerges before whichever multimegaton countermeasures you're undoubtedly cooking up right now have the time to take effect. Chernozorov out."

"Aresteve, continue informing me of the creature's progress to the surface. The Party Wagon's standing orders, should its refit complete before I get to it, are to take position two kilometers above the predicted surfacing point of the creature, and maintain that position until further orders."

Make what camera and sensor feeds we still have on the creature available to everyone else if they aren't already. Then leave for the Party Wagon's dock and see that the ship is sent off in full working order. Do not board the ship. (I don't trust our artillery not to work as AA emplacements in a pinch) Once the Party Wagon is sent off, with standing orders to hover 2km above the creature's surfacing point, make way to the control center.

Contemplate installing some form of rapid intra-facility transportation once the crisis is over.

If the creature surfaces while I am en route to either the docks or the control center, switch the standing orders via Aresteve to "strafe creature with lasers from a safe distance, observe its reaction and try to steer it away from base structures".

You have just enough time to head to the docks, watch the ship fly up, and then start heading for the control room before it surfaces.

A few meters of terminal inaccuracy can mean a lot, Aresteve. That cannon is the biggest example of its kind I have ever seen. However, if what we already have preparing is not enough, we may have little choice. Get your aim in, but hold your fire until we see if we need it.

Understood, Anton. Let's hope kinetic impact is effective, if not as much as more of those bombs would probably be.

Yayy command is so fun when I have fairly competent subcommanders.

>Understood. Shell loading and coils charging. We will be ready to fire on your command.






The flesh horror pours up through the hole in the desert like a fist of morphing flesh. It lost a good chunk of its biomass on the way up and is still smoldering  as it emerges and immediately starts heading for the distant mountains in the east, slithering forward like a pale, fleshy worm, dragging and walking on thousands of sprouting limbs.

[PyroDesu]

It's emerged! Aresteve, open fire with all available units, but do not fire the Hammer yet. Is there anything critical in its probable path?

[syvarris]

1.Where did you find that image?

2.Look around for flappy bird things of some form.  Small flying creatures.  Try to capture one, and if I can do so, dissect it with a scalpel from my emergency kit.

3.Charge an AUX bonus.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Anton Chernozorov

Anton rushes into the control room, landing into the violently protesting chair in front of the monitors. After a moment of catching his breath, he assesses the situation.

"Ух, ну и здоровый же уродец! Damn. Alright XO, I'm back at the C&C, and the Party Wagon is moving into position. If your artillery's already firing, I'll just try to keep it out of the line of fire, and maybe prevent the creature from changing direction, so that the shells actually have a chance of hitting it. Tell me if you want me to just deal as much damage as possible."

Check the direction where the artillery fire is going to come from, and make sure the Party Wagon is not anywhere near those shells' flight trajectories. Have it follow the creature at a safe distance, providing visual feedback on the artillery's effectiveness. If the creature tries to swerve out of the way or change direction, use cutting lasers to actively discourage it from doing so. Try to corral it into moving straight so that artillery can hit it.

If it changes direction entirely to avoid bombardment, stand in for artillery and drop the blasting charges on the deviating mass, before getting out of the way of the shifting artillery fire.

[piecewise]

It's emerged! Aresteve, open fire with all available units, but do not fire the Hammer yet. Is there anything critical in its probable path?

>The artillery have not yet been crewed. Ships will be in range and aimed momentarily. Should we use lasers or kinetic projectiles?

>Nothing is within the calculated path.

1.Where did you find that image?

2.Look around for flappy bird things of some form.  Small flying creatures.  Try to capture one, and if I can do so, dissect it with a scalpel from my emergency kit.

3.Charge an AUX bonus.

1.Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies.

2.Not a lot of birds around, at least not now. You did see some in the park before, but they flew away when the ground started shaking.

3.Charging.

Anton Chernozorov

Anton rushes into the control room, landing into the violently protesting chair in front of the monitors. After a moment of catching his breath, he assesses the situation.

"Ух, ну и здоровый же уродец! Damn. Alright XO, I'm back at the C&C, and the Party Wagon is moving into position. If your artillery's already firing, I'll just try to keep it out of the line of fire, and maybe prevent the creature from changing direction, so that the shells actually have a chance of hitting it. Tell me if you want me to just deal as much damage as possible."

Check the direction where the artillery fire is going to come from, and make sure the Party Wagon is not anywhere near those shells' flight trajectories. Have it follow the creature at a safe distance, providing visual feedback on the artillery's effectiveness. If the creature tries to swerve out of the way or change direction, use cutting lasers to actively discourage it from doing so. Try to corral it into moving straight so that artillery can hit it.

If it changes direction entirely to avoid bombardment, stand in for artillery and drop the blasting charges on the deviating mass, before getting out of the way of the shifting artillery fire.

You make sure the party wagon isn't going to be hovering ahead or really anywhere near the fleshhorror in a few moments. Instead it follows what looks like a disembodied colon slithering across the foothills, staying at a safe distance.

[Empiricist]

Charles prepares to run if necessary. If the flesh-horror bursts out and attacks, he will cast Summon Sheep and use Speech to convince everything in the area not to harm him.

The lights go out as something else shakes through the complex. The suspended floor sways to compensate for the movement of the ground, and you feel only a strange wiggling sensation.

Charles attempts to discern the source of the sensation.