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+--- Thread: Art of Domination Thread 04 (/showthread.php?tid=1710)
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - smuchmuch - 01-26-2018
Quote:The weather machine is still in your arsenal. It costs no additional power to affect Region 4, but for Region 3, and to generate winds to affect the entire city, you will need to consume 10,000 RP per minute.
You currently have 95,770 RP. You can definitely clear everything out for about nine minutes, but after that, the enemy transports will keep pumping out the strange smoke. If you decide to use it, make the most of this window.
Oof that's expensive ! But used well it'll definitively be an asset.
Alright just a few questions:
1) if you look at the phase 1 of my plan for deployement, can we estimate how long would it take for one reaver gunship and a laser drone (possible to add one BOTa gunship and two hunter drone on each group) to take out two landed transports ? (I know they're tough but landed as they are they can't avoid missiles anymore.)
And how many transport could the fourth gunship take with the same kind of support ?
2)Would one or two minutes of clear skies be enough to coordinate a swipe with seekers drones, drop the SIDs then gunships can use the SIDs feeds from to spot once the smoke's back ?
(We still need to produce the SID so that's 20 000 to 30 000 less Rp to k with and cout 27 000 if we build savior drones to evacuate the hotel zone but that stillleave up to 20 000/30 000 Rp . As much as I don't want to spend it all, I'd rather use my Rp and save most of the city if need berather than hoard and let it fall; Not out o the goodness of my heart, oh no, but it's a support thing. our entire high support in region 3 will crumble if we can't proove we can protect civilians from the enemy strikes.)
3) And for the other front in the East ? How much for one minute of clear skies to do a seeker sweep ?
4) Also after this, can we lanch some kind of 'support our troop' campaign in region 3 and 4 to get extra Rp for the week from citizen and entreprise donations and war bonds ?
I realise the citizens of Manava/planet 117 haven't much money to give but I feel this drop is exactly the kind of thing to show just how /real/ the danger from North' insanity is.
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - LoverIan - 01-27-2018
Quote:1) if you look at the phase 1 of my plan for deployement, can we estimate how long would it take for one reaver gunship and a laser drone (possible to add one BOTa gunship and two hunter drone on each group) to take out two landed transports ? (I know they're tough but landed as they are they can't avoid missiles anymore.)
And how many transport could the fourth gunship take with the same kind of support ?
2)Would one or two minutes of clear skies be enough to coordinate a swipe with seekers drones, drop the SIDs then gunships can use the SIDs feeds from to spot once the smoke's back ?
3) And for the other front in the East ? How much for one minute of clear skies to do a seeker sweep ?
I like the idea of having as many sensor drones line up to make the most of a one to two minute window
Furthermore we may want to look into securing a traderoute or two with nearby systems or colonies to ensure that our operations go well.
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Mayu_Zane - 01-28-2018
(01-26-2018, 10:41 AM)smuchmuch Wrote: »1) if you look at the phase 1 of my plan for deployement, can we estimate how long would it take for one reaver gunship and a laser drone (possible to add one BOTa gunship and two hunter drone on each group) to take out two landed transports ? (I know they're tough but landed as they are they can't avoid missiles anymore.)
And how many transport could the fourth gunship take with the same kind of support ?
2)Would one or two minutes of clear skies be enough to coordinate a swipe with seekers drones, drop the SIDs then gunships can use the SIDs feeds from to spot once the smoke's back ?
3) And for the other front in the East ? How much for one minute of clear skies to do a seeker sweep ?
4) Also after this, can we lanch some kind of 'support our troop' campaign in region 3 and 4 to get extra Rp for the week from citizen and entreprise donations and war bonds ?
1) It will take about 30 seconds for a Reaver, Laser Drone, two Hunter Drones and a BOTA-4 to destroy a transport by themselves. They need to fly there, acquire and confirm target, attack, then confirm target is destroyed. The gunships, with the support you mentioned, can take on four transports before needing to re-arm, which will take one minute for them to fly back to HQ and shove the ammo in.
2) It takes a minute for the Seekers to do a quick sweep, and your aircraft can fly alongside the Seekers to acquire and engage targets almost immediately. The SIDs can spend another minute to get a more detailed report (enemy numbers inside buildings) before your aircraft can start firing.
3) At HQ, it will take less power: 8,000 RP per minute to clear out the smoke. I will later provide a map that can give a better estimation for how much power the machine will use for future ops.
4) A donation drive campaign and war bonds will be offered to civilians after this operation. Good thing Vora now has a reputation for fighting atrocities.
Oh, and smuchmuch? I forgot to mention this earlier but I adore your drawings! I really appreciate all the effort you put into it.
(01-27-2018, 04:32 PM)LoverIan Wrote: »Furthermore we may want to look into securing a traderoute or two with nearby systems or colonies to ensure that our operations go well.
This will definitely be considered after we resolve this attack.
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Ajnin - 01-31-2018
flamethrowers flamethrowers flamethrowers flamethrowers
Legit though, if we can find anything at all that could be useful against the smoke, even just for a couple hundred meters of visibility, we need to use it.
... Does it fuck with radar?
Can we burn it?
Would destroying a transport clear the air around it, or at least let the smoke dissipate a bit?
Can we get a spec analysis of the composition of the fog, or would that take too much time?
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - LoverIan - 02-02-2018
Hrm, I'm not sure if we should suggest it, but it could be feasible to stagger the weather clearing. Every other second stop, or every fifth second stop, extending the time we can run the clearing for, but not getting it as clear....
If there's a way to scan lifesigns and sharpshoot where they are, but that risks civilians
>I'm going with the smuchmuch plans so far
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - smuchmuch - 02-06-2018
Oh, and smuchmuch? I forgot to mention this earlier but I adore your drawings! I really appreciate all the effort you put into it.
Thank you.
They're pretty crappy tho, I'll try to have them a littleless rushed next time. And goodluck with your new job.
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Quote:... Does it fuck with radar?
Can we burn it?
Would destroying a transport clear the air around it, or at least let the smoke dissipate a bit?
Can we get a spec analysis of the composition of the fog, or would that take too much time?
1) If it stops our seeker drones to get anything through it, yes it likely fuck with radar as they do have more than simple visual sensors if memory serves.
2) Well our Reaver gunships and Hunter drones have napalm missiles so we'll know soon enough.
Besides those tho, I don't think we don't have actual flammehtrower troopss per se Hawkeyes the mercenary can let one f our bataillon use incendiary ammo. We probaly had a few flammethrower deployed at region 4 and 5 frontier to burn braintrees seeds.
But those are are exceptions. The closest to regular troops we have have are the volcano tanks who can fire superheated molten metal (making them sort of a poor's man mix between an incendiary ammo and plasma railgun tank) and superheated laser beams rifle (10 for each of our 1000 soldiers bataillons if memory serves). So not much we can deploy.
Also even if the smoke is flammable, might not be a great idea to systematicaly ignite it in a heavily built and populated aera for obvious reasons. I doubt it'll be tho, if anything since they are meant o protect the transports, it'll likely be flame retardant.
3) Since the smoke will come back even if we clear it with weather machine winds, indicates that the transport generate the smoke. Inversely itmens that if the transport are destroyed, the smoke will likely clear with no source to generate it.
At least I'm banking on it.
4) Isuppose we can alway ask some of our troops to get some samples but it's very unlikely we'll get an analysis of it in time tobe usefull for this particular battle (especialy since due to bodyjackers being used, we want to move and destroy as many as possible very very fast)
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The numbers checks even if it'll be tight. I'll jsut make one change to my plan, rather than buying 10 savior drones and 30 SID cluster, make it 5 savior drones and 20 SID clusters (5 of which will go to the prison)
That way we spend 33 500 RP instead of 57 000 and 62 270 remain which give us a bigger margin to use the weather machine.
I'm thinking at least 30 000 rp for minutes on the city.
1 minute for the seeker sweep and the SiD drop
Then 2 minutes to let the gunships finish their work.
Once the gunships go back to HQ to resuply and rearm, they'll stay here to help with the defense there.
Since we only get on shot and only four transport can be destroyed, I think I maintain our priority is to target the one between the university and the recycling plant and the three closest to the stadium. That way with the police reinforcing those four land marks we have two big 'safe'
patch int he city we cna have civilians tke refuge in.
That'll leave up 32 000 Rp to clear near HQ (which at 8000 a minute is still 3 minutes at most)
If LoverIan suggestion is possible andwe can get longer time but slightly less efficient then,
for the same price:
-1 minute at full force for the seeker sweep, 2 minutes at half power for the gunships to do their work at half power and 2 minutes later when our infantry squads and sonich meachs are deployed in the city.
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Mayu_Zane - 03-14-2018
(01-31-2018, 10:04 PM)Ajnin Wrote: »Does it fuck with radar?
Can we burn it?
Would destroying a transport clear the air around it, or at least let the smoke dissipate a bit?
Can we get a spec analysis of the composition of the fog, or would that take too much time?
- Yes. Radar indicates the entire smoke-covered area as one singular, massive vehicle, and this is clearly not the case. Everything in it is hidden from radar.
- Destroying a transport would clear out the smoke immediately surrounding it, as well as increase overall visibility. Right now, the smoke is making it impossible to see anything past one metre.
- The smoke itself, according to the scanners, is made up of an unknown element. Whatever it is, it’s outside both the human and saramis periodic table. At least it’s not harmful to breathe.
On the subject of flamethrowers: They will definitely be on the table after this battle.
Quote:smuchmuch’s plan
You carry out the plan. The weather machine does its work, and the air clears. 20,000 RP is spent, leaving 75,900 RP in reserve.
You can see the transports still pumping out the smoke, but they’re now visible to attack. You see Bodyjackers also pouring out of those transports. You quickly order the construction of 30 SID clusters, 10 Savior Drones.
Grenda and the Usurper Knights armed with Phantomic Repeaters get to work clearing out the Hotel District. Hawkeyes and Talbat also volunteer, risking themselves to save as many as they can. With her present, the local guards also have explosive rounds.
Regular Army troops are dropped in via Skyshadows, and engage as many monsters as they can. Your tanks and APCs are also in the fight, clearing out the roads with as much firepower as they can deliver. Savior Drones and SID clusters are on the move too.
Ghulls updates you with the situation at the prison.
Ghulls: Vora, the enemy is setting up artillery pieces in the city’s prison, right up on the roof. 12 prisoners confirmed dead, along with 4 security officers. The enemy is just ignoring everyone who wasn’t in their way. Our Swarm Intelligence Drones were spotted and fired upon. They’ve sustained damage from grenades. We’ve lost 2 SID clusters.
Suddenly, Grenda is yelling at you from Cadrow.
Grenda: PRETENDERS! THE BODYJACKERS HAVE PRETENDERS INSIDE THEM! WORM ALERT! WORM ALERT!
Ghulls: Oh no.
Hawkeyes: Vora, we already blew them up but even after that shock we’re still seeing worms crawling out of the remains!
Talbat: I wish we had flamethrowers. Hawkeyes, how fast can you make firebombs? Maybe find some iodine?
Hawkeyes: Gimme a minute! I’m still busy shooting!!!
Ghulls: Anna, if things get too rough, pull out of there!
Hawkeyes: Don’t worry about me, cowboy! I know when to fold!
Some of the Bodyjackers were full of Pretender worms. Even with your soldiers’ best efforts, many of the worms are able to flee and attack weaker targets.
![[Image: eDMOTLj.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/eDMOTLj.jpg)
Civilians are shouting in mass panic as Pretenders are crawling through drains and vents into people’s homes, killing people and taking over their bodies. Many are desperately fighting back or fleeing in whatever way they can. You can hear some of it through the radio chatter.
“SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE US!”
“RUN! RUN! RUN!”
“GERALD! WORM! KILL IT KILL IT!”
“GET THAT HOSE WORKING OR WE’RE DEAD!”
“EVERYONE GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!”
“GET TO THE PORTALS NOW NOW NOW NOW!!!”
The number on your display tells you grim news. 820 confirmed civilian casualties. 65 soldiers are dead, killed by relentless Bodyjacker hordes. Their BARA suits were not enough to stop their claws. Your fists clench.
Then you hear an unwelcome voice.
???: Shadow Company. Five. Seventeen. Nine.
Feathers: Commander, we’ve figured out what Shadow Company is. These signals are being broadcast from invisible units in Cadrow. The messages are being sent beyond our borders.
You: What are these messages saying?
Feathers: They’re reporting civilian locations. They are informing Centricom, our enemy’s strategic leaders, where civilians are hiding and how many there are. Commander, the enemy is focusing on inflicting as many civilian casualties as possible. Every single reported civilian stronghold is a target for Pretender swarms. Radio chatter analysis also shows that enemy forces at the prison are preparing mortar strikes with shells full of Pretenders to be used civilians.
You can hear an enemy soldier at the prison speaking through the radio:
“Direction and distance confirmed, will deliver Pretenders on the turncoats ASAP. Load those canisters. Watch out for enemy activity.”
Those mortars could hit anywhere in Cadrow.
Feathers: Commander, the enemy intends to use the worms and convert the city against us.
You: Attention, all gunships, engage enemy artillery crews at the prison’s rooftop! Kill those bastards now! Make sure you don’t hit their canisters, those things have Pretenders inside!
Your pilots acknowledge and rush back into the battlespace, eager to stop another atrocity.
As your forces do their best to save Cadrow, HQ calls in and reports a disturbing sight.
HQ: Commander, we’re seeing civilians walking towards us from inside the smoke.
You: Civilians?
![[Image: 8y71kX0.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/8y71kX0.jpg)
Humans and saramis, all wearing similar clothes. You can see children among them.
HQ: They’re warning us to get away and not shoot them.
Feathers: Commander, these people are walking as if there’s something behind them, pushing them forward. I’ve been analyzing their speech. They sound lucid, aware of what they’re doing, but they cannot stop walking.
HQ: That’s not all, Commander. Some of our soldiers have begun acting strangely. They’re saying words in sync with the people walking towards us. Here, listen to one of them.
Pvt. Garyn: Please don’t shoot. Get away, please, we can’t stop it. It hates us. If you shoot we both die. No, please. I’m sorry, please, no more, I’m walking, I’m walking, stop please stop.
HQ: They’re also mimicking their gait. We’ve had to pin them down on the ground or else they’d be walking forward too. All scans indicate no presence of electronic implants or parasitic life-forms.
Feathers: Commander, this is definitely a psychic attack. I believe that these ‘thralls’ are now linked to your soldiers who are speaking along with them. In short: If you kill a thrall, a soldier dies along with them. By my count, there are 300 soldiers affected.
Ghulls: Goddamn it, are we going to have to make Overmind Armor for everyone?
You: This can’t be all there is. Why keep these thralls alive, if their death can kill off my soldiers? They must have been placed here to act as a shield for whatever they have deeper in the smoke.
Feathers: I agree. We need more information as to what’s controlling them. We might have to consider the possibility that the creature causing this predicament is invisible to the naked eye.
Lagan, who has made it down planetside, chimes in.
Lagantis: We could clear the smoke with the weather machine, but we don’t know how the enemy might respond if their hand is revealed. They could just instantly kill off our troops the moment they get exposed. We do have other options, though. We could try shooting them in the shins to try and slow them down, or send out our fast ground vehicles to nab them.
You: What if we send in Savior drones to grab them and fly them out of the battlespace?
Ghulls: Hold on, we got portals now! We should just generate portals right under those thralls and just send them elsewhere that way.
Lagantis: That could work too. Our real problem here is that we don’t know what we’re dealing with. We’ve never seen any enemy like this. We don’t know if the enemy will just execute these people the moment we pop a portal open.
As Cadrow City is embroiled in fierce, horrific combat, your forces at HQ watch as the thrall draw closer. Three hundred Alliance soldiers and three hundred prisoners are at risk of instant death. 15 minutes remain before the thralls reach HQ.
What are your orders?
- Make use of Portal Wagons and transport those thralls away to an empty field.
- Send out Savior Drones and get those thralls as far away as possible!
- Clear out the smoke using the Weather Machine first! (8,000 RP per minute)
- Shoot the thralls in the legs.
- Drop artillery strikes where the transports landed. Maybe it will save the thralls by killing whatever’s behind them.
- Send out troops in Sahela-9 vehicles to try and grab the thralls.
- Try getting your affected soldiers out of the combat zone and see if that frees them from the psychic effect.
- Order troops to dig holes in the hopes of trapping the thralls.
- Something else!
>_
Units available:
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - smuchmuch - 03-14-2018
Alright, things are going pretty SNAFU but that's not exactly unexpected given the size of the assault. No plan survives contact with the enemey and all that...
1) For the pretenders pinatas:
We may not have flamethrowers but we do have laser riffles, 2 per squads, and if I remember their description well, the beam is superheated. (To the point the beam is actualy visible because they are so hot they set particles in the air on fire.)
Point is with some small combustible canisters (fuel from our skyshadows for example but any lammable liquids and gas hat can be scanvenged will do) we could probaly use them as igniters for fire traps and fire blasts.
2) For the psychic catch 22 link thing:
Does Feather know if the link work both way and with unconciousness ?
Because what we could do is have our affected soldiers knocked out with non lethal weapons or drugs. And then maybe that'll knock the thral as well, maybe even interrupt the link ?
3) For the shadow Company chanel :
Speaking of the weather machine we had 2 full minutes of clear sky and a seeker sweep, did they see anything on their sensors, infrared, radar, energy spike, somthing that would give us an idea of where those invisibe units migh be or at least something they aren't invisible too ?
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Mayu_Zane - 03-17-2018
(03-14-2018, 01:15 PM)smuchmuch Wrote: »2) For the psychic catch 22 link thing:
Does Feather know if the link work both way and with unconciousness ?
Because what we could do is have our affected soldiers knocked out with non lethal weapons or drugs. And then maybe that'll knock the thral as well, maybe even interrupt the link ?
3) For the shadow Company chanel :
Speaking of the weather machine we had 2 full minutes of clear sky and a seeker sweep, did they see anything on their sensors, infrared, radar, energy spike, somthing that would give us an idea of where those invisibe units migh be or at least something they aren't invisible too ?
HQ: Commander, we tried sedating our affected troops, but they're still moving and mumbling in their sleep. Whatever this is, the link only goes one way.
Ghulls: Forces at Cadrow report that we don't have visual on anything that could be broadcasting the radio signal, but the sources of these transmissions are moving VERY FAST.
You: How fast?
Ghulls: Fast enough to move up and down a hotel within seconds.
You: No wind? No footsteps?
Feathers: They seem to be capable of moving through solid objects... like the projectiles in our Phantomic Repeaters. Shadow Company might be stopped if we can pre-emptively get living creatures in their way, but at the speed they're moving they could instantly kill whoever's obstructing them. Since they haven’t collided into anything yet, they could either be consciously navigating around living creatures or they can phase through organic matter as well. We’ll need more information, Commander.
Francoise: I’m looking at the data as well, they could be jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Maybe you can have troops standing on the oofs and see what happens? But as Feathers warned, a collision could be fatal. Shadow Company is moving at Mach 1.
You order some soldiers to take positions on top of buildings, hoping that whatever Shadow Company is, they can at least be slowed down.
Meanwhile, HQ’s defenders are still waiting for orders on what to do about the approaching thralls.
>_
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - smuchmuch - 03-18-2018
1) For the thralls:
Try evacuating some of our troops by portals as see if it break the link while we have our vortex ans Solaria artilleries and any gunship that comes back from Cadrow for resupply to bomb and strike near known transport landing positions. Maybe it will kill whatever is menacing the thralls, maybe it'll just break their concentration or dsorganize them just long enough to stop from maintaining the psychic link.
(And hope to god it's not some of those brainmen general who can create 'return to sender' portals. Although vortex artilleries and void spheres shoot small floating black holes so I don't think potals would do them much good here.)
While the artillery strikes are going on, send the savior drones not deployed in cadrow to grab as many thralls as possible.
2) For Cadrow:
Hmm, our troops still have organic radios, could try to use that as 'shadow company blockers' if we could pinpoint where they might emerge in advance
Also, for bigger blockers, we do have a column of APcs and tanks in cadrow. Aren't our vehicles equiped with tumorhide laser/fire resistant organic armor ?
And I just realised our volcano tanks can act against the swarms of pretenders in conjonction to our lasers troops.
That said, if things start becomming too costly, we'll have to switch to a fighting retreat and regroup to secure positions as Gloomymorron said earlier in Cadrow soon.
We're trying to get as many civilians out and in safety, and contain the bodyjackers and pretenders infections but I don't know if we can fully retake the city. We may have to enderstrike more than just the hotel district to keep thing manageable.
(And If things get really unmanageable we'll have to consider puling out cordon the ity and sterilize the place to rubble with enderfist strikes. Needless to say, this is last ressort strategy, as it would be a major blow on support and morale but if it comes to it, better to destroy the city han le it be a foothold for the enemy and loose the city rathe than half our troops.)
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Mayu_Zane - 04-03-2018
Next update: 10 April 2018. It's a long one!
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Mayu_Zane - 04-09-2018
(03-18-2018, 12:52 AM)smuchmuch Wrote: »Try evacuating some of our troops by portals as see if it break the link while we have our vortex ans Solaria artilleries and any gunship that comes back from Cadrow for resupply to bomb and strike near known transport landing positions. Maybe it will kill whatever is menacing the thralls, maybe it'll just break their concentration or dsorganize them just long enough to stop from maintaining the psychic link.
HQ: Good news, Commander. The soldiers who are out of the combat zone are no longer in sync with the thralls… but now all the thralls are dead.
You look back at the screen. Dead bodies cover the grass, each one in a frozen expression of pure agony. Three hundred lives extinguished in an instant by whatever was coercing them to move forward.
The enemy doesn’t care. The lives of all the people they’ve kidnapped, they’re just tools.
You order all air units that are already re-armed to strike every know transport landing position. Your pilots waste no time in throwing bombs and missiles at them, and HQ can intercept enemy chatter:
Quote:???: Life-link Attack was a failure. Our ammunition was depleted but the enemy has suffered no casualties. Transports are gone, proceeding with assault.
Centricom: Understood, Marcher-One. We will begin extraction if situation untenable.
Ammunition? Is that what they were calling these ‘thralls’? AMMUNITION?
You: HQ, can you confirm any visual on enemy troops? Vehicles?
HQ: They’re coming out of the fog now…
![[Image: UZdHPhM.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/UZdHPhM.jpg)
HQ: Attention all units, we got unidentified enemy vehicles!
There are 80 of them. The vehicles don’t move forward in a single continuous motion. In fact, they don’t even have wheels! Instead, they seem to ‘blink’ forward every three seconds, sometimes a re-appearing a little to the right or left. They are shooting some kind of gel that explodes on contact.
![[Image: 9j3qrrH.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/9j3qrrH.gif)
You notice that the distance between blinks is only about fifty metres at the most.
You: All anti-armor forces, launch your missiles in a fifty-metre radius area of where target is standing! Don’t be intimidated by their strange movements! Focus, and co-ordinate your shots!
It takes a few tries but your soldiers adjust their targeting. Feathers has already designated these vehicles as ‘Blink Tanks’. Out of the 80 tanks that first appeared, 10 have already been disabled. The human crews from inside two of those ruined tanks continue to fight, launching mortar shells at your soldiers.
HQ: Commander, we’re taking some losses but these Blink Tanks are not going to reach us. All units be advised: Airstrike is inbound!
Your pilots carefully time their attacks and manage to take out 12 more Blink Tanks. Now 68 remain.
Quote:Marcher-One: Centricom, request safety-lock override. We’re not going to make it to the enemy’s Omni-Factory unless we risk this.
Centricom: Permission granted.
You think about the enemy’s objective here.
You: So they’re after our Omni-Factory. That makes sense. If they take it out, we won’t be able to build any new vehicles for 10 days. The facility is located in the center of HQ, deliberately placed there so every direction has equal layers of defense. The walls surrounding HQ provide shielding which protects it from metallic projectiles, but as mentioned, these Blink Tanks shoot out explosive goo, so that’s not going to be much help.
Meanwhile, the Blink Tanks are now moving much faster, but your forces report that they’re also slamming into each other somehow. 3 Blink Tanks have even fused together, and end up immobilized.
![[Image: blMbX8t.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/blMbX8t.jpg)
Feathers: Their teleportation system must be reliant on making complex and precise computations. Rushing it like this, it looks like that fused clump is a result of incorrect calibrations.
Ghulls: Yeah but now they’re even harder to hit! Vora, what’s the plan if they get past our line of defense?
You: What are our options?
Ghulls: We can divert all power from the shield protecting the rest of our HQ into the shielding around our Omni-Factory, strengthening it.
Francoise: That would be pointless if they can just blink past the shield and then attack the factory from inside.
Lagantis: Vora, I got a couple of ideas. We can place explosive charges all around the Omni-Factory and also open portals facing upwards all around it. No matter where those tanks blink into, they still need to touch the ground and they’ll either detonate the bombs or fall through. Send the portals into the ocean.
You: Those are good ideas! All soldiers not at the front shooting the Blink Tanks, set up defenses around the Omni-Factory NOW!
Your forces obey, and the enemy assault seems to be slowing down as well. Their gambit has brought them mere inches from the walls surrounding HQ, but the remaining 51 Blink Tanks have suddenly disappeared.
You: Where are they? HQ, any visual?
HQ: Negative, Commander. The Blink Tanks aren’t showing up anywhere. We’ve checked the Omni-Factory, just to be sure, but there’s no sign of them at all.
You: Stay alert! For all we know they could be hiding in another dimension or something, and just waiting for us to let our guard down. In the meantime, start placing those traps!
HQ: Understood, ma’am. We are setting up the proximity mines and charges right now.
Your display tells you 61 of your Regular Army soldiers have died defending HQ.
As the preparations for the Blink Tanks’ return carries on, you get a report from Cadrow.
Grenda: COMMANDER! UNIDENTIFIED UNIT ENGAGING ENEMY FORCES!
You look at the footage. Wait. Isn’t that…
![[Image: YP9O1A5.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/YP9O1A5.jpg)
Ignatius Smith? He’s definitely looking different right now though!
The true president of Planet-117 speaks as he battles the Bodyjackers and Pretenders in the streets with a glowing sword.
Ignatius: So my country's purpose, is to help us to move out of the dark chamber of horrors into the light… to find a way by which the minds of men, the hopes of men, the souls of men everywhere, can move forward towards peace, and happiness, and well-being.
The entire street is clear, and civilians who were watching from inside the buildings cheer.
Ignatius: Dwight Eisenhower. Atoms for Peace, 1953. I loved that speech. I know things didn’t turn out like he said, but it inspired me.
You: Iggy? What happened to you?
Ignatius: Commander. I’ve become one with Cheet-Cheet. It was his idea. Our life-signs are one and the same, yet different from what we were. The Auditors, the Authors, the Redactors, they will never know now which ‘story’ Cheet-Cheet came from. They will never be able to remove him, for he no longer exists, not as he once was.
You: Are you able to keep fighting?
Ignatius: Of course. I’m heading towards the Hotel District. I’ll save as many people as I can.
You: Understood.
He then rides an impressive and equally terrifying wave of rats towards the hotels. The rats crush and tear any stragglers unlucky enough to get in their way.
![[Image: 18LFXAG.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/18LFXAG.jpg)
Grenda follows him too, singing cheerfully.
Ghulls: Vora, a starship just appeared in orbit! It’s the Deathman!
You: Rainhar’s ship? Hail them immediately!
It looks very different from what you imagined it to be.
![[Image: n8Xx26v.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/n8Xx26v.jpg)
Grand Slam: This is Grand Slam, Helmsman of the starship Deathman. Greetings, Commander Vorador Mortanius. This ship has been modified extensively to carry Freezer bombs.
You briefly wonder why the helmsman is named Grand Slam, but this is no time for something so trivial.
You: Freezer bombs?
Grand Slam: Correct. They were designed to freeze any target within the area of effect, with minimal damage to buildings. After ten minutes, all targets in the area should be completely frozen. We carry 60 bombs, all of them primed to detonate on contact. We were ordered by Commander Rainhar Kasar to attack the enemy’s airbase at Region 1, and we will carry it out as soon as our engines have re-calibrated from FTL travel.
You: Where is Rainhar Kasar? What was he planning?
Grand Slam: Apologies, ma’am, but he didn’t tell us anything besides the order to attack Region 1’s airbase.
You: Wait, WAIT!
Grand Slam: Ma’am?
The Deathman has been given orders to attack the enemy’s airbase, but right now Cadrow is in immediate danger, and extreme cold should stop the Pretenders or at least slow them down.
You: Right now there’s a city being terrorized by enemy forces. Pretenders, Bodyjackers and soldiers are slaughtering people down there, and your Freezer bombs would be extremely useful in helping us save the city from being infested with worms without destroying the city.
Grand Slam: Hm. I cannot reach Commander Rainhar. Very well. We’ll help you save Cadrow city.
You bring up a map of Cadrow City.
![[Image: m5xXtil.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/m5xXtil.jpg)
Where should the Deathman drop the Freezer bombs? They have enough to strike up to TWO target zones.
Cadrow Stadium:
City Guards have been completely overrun by Pretenders, and many have congregated here, turning into a breeding ground. Freezing the entire stadium will stop the worms and leave the stadium intact.
(Sparing the historic stadium will increase civilian financial support to your cause)
Hotel District:
Completely evacuated, completely infested. Your soldiers are doing their best to contain the worms and Bodyjackers from moving westwards. Iggy Smith and Grenda are rushing there, but it’s uncertain if they are enough to tip the scales in your favor. Even your Usurper Knights are having trouble; although they were designed to counter Pretenders, there’s just too many of them.
(The sheer number of the enemies in the hotel district are so numerous it’s not unrealistic to assume they can take over the whole city if they manage to slip past your soldiers, and financial support to your cause will be increased if the hotels remain standing)
North of The Recycling Facility:
The Recycling Facility is not only responsible for reducing the amount of waste in the city, but also a key source of employment and profit as the recycled materials are sold to other cities. There is a horde moving southwards towards the facility, and the Deathman can stop them without risking any damage.
(Saving the Recycling Facility will provide additional resources for your cause)
Cadrow University:
This prestigious university also has valuable research data. It has been taken over by the monsters, but dropping freeze bombs here should save the university and the knowledge within.
(New Research option available after battle)
Please note: After using the Freeze bombs, the Deathman will be fully reloaded tomorrow as they do not require rare elements like Darangium to produce. Rainhar’s ship seems better equipped deal with civilian-heavy areas.
You may also direct Enderfist strikes yourself, if you deem the collateral damage acceptable. You have 12 of 12 Darangium shells.
>_
Units available:
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - smuchmuch - 04-09-2018
Allright i have a fair idea of where I want these bombs, where I want to Enderstrike and where we could take another option but first I'd like confirmation/repport ona coupe of facts.
-How many casualties in our troops so far (a general order of magnitude, in he tenth, hundreds or thousands, will do) on the eight bataillons we dropped in the city ?
-Two of our batailons had order to jin with the police to reinforce the university and stadium and two other to secure the south of the recyclng plant... given the situation, it seems clearnone of this happened, is there anything left of these ?
-Three of the skyshadows werre supposed to bring Sonich mechs to reinforce our bataillons, how many of those were dropped and how many are left. And 20 SIDs swarms. How many of hose are eft and in which position more or less ?
-This isn't a cartoon, so I assume frozen targets are dead on freeze ?
>How fire, napalm and incendiary bomb fire, resistant is the Stadium infrastructure ?
The way i see it:
-Freeze the North of the recycling facility
the facility is a usefull facility to keep. It's usefull for the city, useful for the economy and much more uesefull I think than a stadiumor Hotels. And if can be kept from being over taken with the freeze bomb, it's a good thing.
-Possibly freeze the university IF retaking it with ordinary troops is not an option.
Research data is to damn usefull as would any infrastructure that can support our research effort.
In fact jsut the facilities themselves are pecious as we could use them after the battle. Most of the people with any or formation talent for science have been carted to region 1 to become amoral sadists, we could recuperate any labs or scietific equipement for the duration fo the conflit to boot our own R&D.
-Possibly Enderstrike the Stadium IF clearing it it with a mixture of sonich mechs assault (immune to pretenders and should do short work of any infected and masses) and firebombing with Reaver gunships and hunter drone napalm bombs to eliminate the breeding grounds.
I mean we can't let those pretenders breeding grounds alone, too dagerous so one way or another it has to be dealt with
And I'd rather keep the freeze bomb for the recycling facility and the university for the reasons stated above. Fire bombing with our reaver gunships and hunter drones mean it'll take some damage but this way theres a chance enough of the infrastructure could be left to be rebuilt rather than being completly razed to the ground as an Enderfist strike could
-Enderfist the hotel destrict
Loosing finnciary support is sad but the city will live without it, it's now fully empty and just the sheer amount of enemies, bodyjackers and pretenders, contained in it mean it HAS to be dealth with. Ad I don't trust freeze bomb to be enough, too much cover, too much buildings in there. Frankly Enderstike it TWICE and Napalm the ruins just to be sure.
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Arcanuse - 04-09-2018
Hmm. Tough choice.
>Freeze hotel district, university. Research option is a bit of a gamble, but hopefully will pay off.
>Viability of collapsing the recycling facility on the encoming horde?
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Dragon Fogel - 04-09-2018
So, smuchmuch has suggested what's basically the "safe" plan - freeze two of the targets and Darangium strike the ones with greater concentrations of enemies.
However, another factor to consider here is "what are our chances of saving a spot we don't target with our ground forces". If we can save one without a bomb, then we can freezer bomb the hotel, and even better, we can shift the forces we've got there (also Smith and Grenda) to another area, where they can do more good.
It's particularly worth noting that the Recycling Facility hasn't actually been taken - rather, there's a force heading towards it. Defending is, in general, easier than retaking.
I'm thinking freeze the hotel and university, shift forces (including Smith and Grenda) to defending the Recycling Facility, and send drones to scout the stadium area to see if we've got better options than a Darangium strike. I agree it's a justifiable use of one, but they should be a last resort, especially when we're talking about a city. We need to clarify if the situation is bad enough to warrant it, or just "very bad".
Actually... maybe freeze the hotel, hold off on the second bomb, scout out the university and see how feasible a ground attack is. If it doesn't look good, freeze it; if it looks like we've got a decent chance, freeze the stadium. But if we can't spare the time to get additional information, I'd take a gamble and freeze the university, and hope we don't need to Darangium strike the stadium.
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - smuchmuch - 04-09-2018
Quote:However, another factor to consider here is "what are our chances of saving a spot we don't target with our ground forces". If we can save one without a bomb, then we can freezer bomb the hotel, and even better, we can shift the forces we've got there (also Smith and Grenda) to another area, where they can do more good.
I didn't overlook this factor, I merely take the worst case scenario view that we can't or at least not without some serious losses at this point.
Reason is the deployement in Phase 2 called for 4 bataillons to deploy near the university, stadium and North of the Reecycling zone (1,1 and 2 respectively). The fact these position have been overtaken mean it failled. (I really hope this is due to our batailons being delayed or redeployed or not making it in time rather than being wiped out).
I'm kind of planning around the objective of terminating this situation quickly while cutting our losses a much as possible here.
That said if we can reinforce the and retake the University and Stadium with ordonary troop that'd be great, sure.
Reinforcing the seems the most realistic option to spare ourselves one freeze bomb, depending on how many forces we have operational and how quickly they can make it
The university is an unknown, I just fear that even if e can retake it, combat would cause the oss of some precious data and equipemen. (.. civilians if there's any left alive at this point but that's secondary :p )
That said even if we can I would still like to make the point of Enderfisting the hotel zone rather than Freeze bombing it.
Why ? Because if we can save one bombardement worth of Freeze bombs, The Deathman can use it to acomplish the mission Rheynar gave it in the same day. I don't know why he wants the Region 1 airstrip dealth with now but I'm gonna choose to believehe's got a darn good reason for it nd the sooner it's done, the better.
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - gloomyMoron - 04-09-2018
I am for freezing the breeding grounds that the Stadium has become and the Hotel District. Freezing these two locations eliminates a bulk of the enemy forces (and their ability to make more). If we reposition a portion of our forces to the Recycling Plant, our troops should be able to hold and prevent too much damage from occurring. As much as I'd like to save the university, I feel like it being nearly completely overrun means attacking it headon traditionally is dangerous but freezing it isn't quite worthwhile, since it isn't the largest threat. It sucks to lose research options and a civilian school, but I'm for Enderfisting the University (if we can safely get the remaining city guards out).
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Mayu_Zane - 04-10-2018
(04-09-2018, 12:28 PM)smuchmuch Wrote: »Allright i have a fair idea of where I want these bombs, where I want to Enderstrike and where we could take another option but first I'd like confirmation/repport ona coupe of facts.
-How many casualties in our troops so far (a general order of magnitude, in he tenth, hundreds or thousands, will do) on the eight bataillons we dropped in the city ?
-Two of our batailons had order to jin with the police to reinforce the university and stadium and two other to secure the south of the recyclng plant... given the situation, it seems clearnone of this happened, is there anything left of these ?
-Three of the skyshadows werre supposed to bring Sonich mechs to reinforce our bataillons, how many of those were dropped and how many are left. And 20 SIDs swarms. How many of hose are eft and in which position more or less ?
-This isn't a cartoon, so I assume frozen targets are dead on freeze ?
>How fire, napalm and incendiary bomb fire, resistant is the Stadium infrastructure ?
- You check the casualty counts. 800 more soldiers in Cadrow have died since the last time you looked. Were it not for the portal technology giving your soldiers the ability to exit quickly, this number would have been much higher.
- The two battalions had to evacuate the university, but have both taken position at the Recycling Facility. They can be ordered to attempt retaking the university, but you’ll have to assign more close aerial support or more battalions relocated via portal.
- The Sonic Mechs are all still active. Skyshadows are trying to provide fire support, but the monsters are proving to be intelligent enough to take cover from gunfire, especially the Bodyjackers. Whatever they did to the Bodyjackers, their minds have been improved to the point that they can recognize overwhelming firepower. Some are even hiding, waiting for an opportunity to ambush soldiers. Even your tanks on the ground are having trouble scoring and confirming hits.
The Sonic Mechs and SIDs concentrating on the Hotel District, as that seems to be where most enemies are concentrated.
- Frozen targets will permanently die, especially after ten minutes.
- The Stadium is resistant to fire but has no automated fire extinguishers.
Quote:>Viability of collapsing the recycling facility on the encoming horde?
You’d have to order the soldiers garrisoning it to set up explosive charges. The facility can definitely kill off a large portion of the horde once it falls.
(04-09-2018, 03:57 PM)Dragon Fogel Wrote: »Actually... maybe freeze the hotel, hold off on the second bomb, scout out the university and see how feasible a ground attack is.
The soldiers who just retreated report that the university’s interior has been taken over by Bodyjackers, and they’re deliberately trying to hide themselves from outside eyes. Retaking it will require a lot of support, but casualties are almost unavoidable in this case. According to collected intel, about 20% of the Bodyjackers have Pretenders infesting them.
You curse whoever at Region One made the (admittedly smart) decision to make Bodyjackers intelligent enough to take cover. This would have been so much easier if you could trick them into leaving the buildings instead of just… waiting.
Seeing the Bodyjackers acting with self-preservation puts a question in your head: does this mean all the monsters we’ve seen have now been imbued with tactical skill? You’ll have to try and find intel on how they made their Bodyjackers smart and how many other creatures were also granted this.
Shadow Company: One. Zero. Zero. Twister. Xenon. Grid. Seven.
You also can’t help but worry about Shadow Company. There’s been no sign of their presence at all aside from the radio signals they’re giving out. No visuals, no scent, no changes in air flow, no tracks on the ground, nothing… but they’re still giving accurate information on where all the remaining civilians in the city are hiding. You’ve tried blocking them with living matter, but they just end up jumping over whatever’s in their way, at least according to the signal trackers.
It’s a damn good thing they can’t actually hurt your forces directly.
>_
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - LoverIan - 04-10-2018
>Cadrow Stadium & Hotel District
>Tell Ignatius to prioritize the University, and that he is valid.
>Set up the explosive charges on the Recycling Center, draw in as many of the enemy as possible, evacuate the surrounding buildings. Then Enderfist Strike it and the prison (if we can assume the prison is a lost cause).
>Alternatively if we can use stealth to organize a prisoner evacuation, said Enderfist strike could be made without civilian casualties
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - smuchmuch - 04-10-2018
-First we need to neutralize the hotel district. Either with Enderfist strike or a freeze bomb, whichever but it need to be dealt with. Not only will end one hell of a Damocles sword but it will also let us redeploy the SIDs, the mechs and Iginatus.
-I'm okay with booby trapping the recycling facility but maybe we should keep collapse as the last ressort.
I think we might actualy be able to hold it intact if we send reinforcements. Let's send two bataillons by portal. If we can equip them with flame grenades and maybe some stationary havy weaponto fortify the place, all the batter. And all remaining sonic mech by skyshadow (they won't do much good a HQ if the blink tanks return at this point)
If it fails then we have our soldiers evacuate and we collapse our booby traps.
-We can send Ignatus to sweep the university, alonside our phantom knigts with phantom repeaters and Grenda.
-Send the sonic mechs that were into the hotel district to cordon the stadium whileour Reaver start napalm bombing the place. If the fire gets out of hand and/or isn't enough then we can drop a few freeze bombs on the place (maybe not a full voley but enough o quell the fire)
We keep the last volley of freeze bomb in reserve for now to be used on the Stadium, Prison or kept for Region 1 depending on how things devellop
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Mayu_Zane - 05-03-2018
Hello everyone, making this post to let you all know the next update is pretty long, so don't worry, I'm still working on the next installment. It'll likely be done by 20th May 2018. Thank you all for sticking around!
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Mayu_Zane - 05-19-2018
(04-10-2018, 09:38 AM)LoverIan Wrote: »>Cadrow Stadium & Hotel District
>Tell Ignatius to prioritize the University, and that he is valid.
>Set up the explosive charges on the Recycling Center, draw in as many of the enemy as possible, evacuate the surrounding buildings. Then Enderfist Strike it and the prison (if we can assume the prison is a lost cause).
>Alternatively if we can use stealth to organize a prisoner evacuation, said Enderfist strike could be made without civilian casualties
The Deathman drops the Freezer bombs onto the Stadium and the Hotel District. Both civilians and soldiers cheer at the sight of the Pretender worms and Bodyjackers stopping in their tracks!
Grenda, Hawkeyes, Ignatius, Talbat and the Usurper Knights move to the University, formulating a plan on their way there. Meanwhile, all Regular Army battalions assigned to Cadrow move to the Recycling Center to entrench themselves and place charges.
At the Cadrow City Prison, the enemy soldiers there halt their artillery strikes. You listen in on their radio chatter:
???: Centricom, enemy has new assets in play. Some sort of orbital artillery, and it’s not darangium.
Centricom: Confirmed, Striker-5. Our sky-scanners report confirmation of an unknown enemy starship.
Striker-5: We’re not going to be much use if that thing fires again. Extraction requested.
Centricom: Understood, battlefield situation outside acceptable parameters. It’s fine Striker-5, you’ve already done enough damage to the enemy today. Activate your portal beacon and return home.
The enemy soldiers activate the portal beacons attached to their backs, and leave before any of your troops could capture them.
Ghulls: Vora, the prison is clear of hostiles.
You: Order a SID cluster to make sure, and destroy the shells with Pretenders inside. I am not taking any chances.
Ghulls: Will do!
Suddenly, you get a message from Rainhar!
Rainhar: VORAAAAAA!!!!
You: Rainhar, where-
Rainhar: DEATHMAN IS MY SHIP! HOW DARE YOU- Nah, just kidding. Smart use of the Freezer bombs-
You: RAINHAR! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
Rainhar: Oh, right! So remember one of the databoxes we got when we rescued Feathers and Francoise from Region 1? One of them mentioned an AI called ‘Monash’. I found him!
On the viewscreen, you see Rainhar riding a hovering tank among many other tanks, as well as soldiers from the Cyberwarfare Division accompanying him.
![[Image: vVAoS41.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/vVAoS41.jpg)
Monash: Greetings, Commander Vorador. I am Monash. Confirm: You are enemy of Robert North?
You: Indeed I am, Monash.
Monash: Delightful. I have been sleeping for so long, but thanks to your comrade and his assistants, my tanks are fit to fight. I have 20 tanks networked together under my control.
You: What are your capabilities?
Monash: I can react faster than any human or saramis soldier. As soon as I see a threat I will already be taking action before they can pull a trigger. The hover-pods attached to my bodies allow all-terrain traversal, and my missile launchers retain near-perfect accuracy regardless of weather conditions. Each body under my command holds a synchronized copy of my mind, so as long as one body remains I will be able to continue the fight. I am ideal for escort missions and shock assaults on enemy supply lines.
Rainhar: And since he’s completely inorganic, he’s immune to psychic attacks too. He’d be perfect for shooting the crap out of anything that’s got mind control powers.
Monash: I am eager to fight. We are 3 minutes away from Cadrow City.
You: Provide assistance to my troops holding the Recycling Facility. A horde of monsters are coming for them.
Monash: I hear and obey!
HQ calls you up.
HQ: Commander, we have confirmation that the Blink Tanks have been neutralized.
You: Are you sure?
HQ: Yes ma’am. Scanners indicate they, uh, merged with the ground, about 3 meters below our feet.
Feathers: They took a risk trying to get past our defenses and teleport as far away behind the frontline as they could. Seems they were trying to skip some very vital calculations.
Lagantis: We should get to work and dig them out. No matter how damaged they are, we should learn all we can about their ‘blink’ tech.
You: Agreed. Are Harix and Malco okay?
Lagantis: They’re a little rattled and tuckered out. Both of them collapsed and fell asleep as soon as we got word that the Blink tanks were neutralized. They dodged more than a handful of that explosive goo. Three close calls, Vora, and neither of us could have saved them if they took a direct hit. No wonder they’re exhausted. I thought with them being far back would have kept them from harm, but those tanks don’t shoot in a straight line. I’m sorry, Vora. I know I said I’d keep them safe.
You: You did what you could, and both our boys are still unhurt. There’s no need to apologize.
Lagantis: Mmm. Can’t help but reflect on how both of us might be feeling if our boys got caught in the blasts.
You: Instead I’ll have to reflect on the fact we lost hundreds of troops already, and the day is still not done.
Lagantis: True.
Another call from Cadrow.
Grenda: Vora, we’re clearing out the University but it’s really, really infested. Hawkeyes got a good idea though.
Hawkeyes: We’re going to the Chemistry Department. There should be a lot of poisonous chemicals we could use. With any luck, I can whip up some gas that’ll poison the hell out of these Pretenders. The Usurper Knights and Super-Iggy here have been REALLY helpful so far, if it weren’t for them we’d have to go even slower.
Ignatius: Fortunately, there are no soldiers among the enemy, only abominations. They’re capable of hiding and ambush, but they are not clever enough to ignore our feints. My rats are doing a good job of baiting them out into the open.
Ghulls: Vora, call from the troops over at the Recycling Facility.
Lt. : Commander Vora, Commander Rainhar has just arrived with a platoon of automated tanks!
Rainhar: Monash, can you thin the herd before they reach here?
Monash: Absolutely. I can shoot at them from both left and right.
Monash splits his tanks into two groups, and attack the approaching horde in a pincer attack. While he fails to eliminate every single one, more than a quarter have been eliminated by the time they reach the killzone.
Lt. : FIRE AT WILL!
Rainhar decides not to stay, and takes a portal trip right back into the Deathman’s bridge.
Rainhar: I am never going to get tired of this portal tech.
You: Rainhar.
Rainhar: Yes?
You: You could have told me about your plan to retrieve Monash.
Rainhar: I could, but… okay. Here’s the thing. Monash’s tanks were kept in garages hidden around Region 3. Their plan was that if Monash was to re-awaken, they’d release computer virus that would penetrate his network and take control of him. The end goal was to have Monash work as a mole, gathering and sending intel to them while looking like he was under our command. I brought the CWS because I knew they could give him a proper anti-virus package. I didn’t tell you any of this because I didn’t want to risk the enemy hearing about this and doing something before we could finish installing the software.
You: Okay, I suppose that was the prudent thing to do. You could have left me a vague note, though. Just, I don’t know, something that said “I’m doing something very important, check back later.”
Rainhar: Well, next time I disappear you’ll just have to assume I’m doing very important work.
You: Or enjoying porn.
Rainhar: Okay, gotta admit that’s equally likely.
Your forces on the ground perform admirably as the day goes on, and after three long hours of shooting and yelling Cadrow is finally declared safe.
It looks like today’s battle has finally ended. Ghulls brings up information on your screen.
====
Soldiers killed in action: 812
All casualty counts re-assigned to Battalion 1 for ease of management
Soldiers gravely wounded: 120
Civilian lives lost: 10,030
Civilians gravely wounded: 62
Cadrow City Status: Cleared of Hostiles.
Notes from Cadrow City Guards:
Commander, today was a nightmare, but we thank you for quickly evacuating as many civilians as you could using your portals and aircraft. We also want to thank you for using those Freezing Bombs. After the ice thawed, most of the buildings remained functional.
We could have completely lost this city. If it wasn’t for your soldiers and your tech, Cadrow would have been overrun with worms and crab-people.
At Commander Rainhar’s command, we’ve been letting people know exactly what the enemy soldiers were doing, along with recordings of their radio chatter. We’ve let the public know just what kind of callous bastards we’re up against. We even shared bits of footage of Pretender worms taking over people, after getting the go-ahead to do so from their kin.
There have been a few contrarians here and there, but the CWS have been vigilant and diligent when it comes to debunking false claims about what happened in Cadrow.
Students at the university have started organizing memorial services for people lost in the battle. Citizens in other cities have agreed to make a formal request that you open a way for locals to directly donate to the cause of fighting Robert North, which we’ve all taken to calling the ‘Fake President’. The REAL president, Ignatius Smith himself has been busy making sure every nook and cranny is safe, with the use of his rats.
The Battle of Cadrow’s turned into a real wake-up call for us, Commander. Surveys in Regions 3 and 4 indicate that 78% want us to be more pro-active in fighting the enemy. They want the full might of the Saramis Alliance to invade across the sea and attack Region 1.
We’ll leave the planning to you, Commander. You got civilian support, the pendulum’s swinging back in the other direction.
====
Ghulls: Vora, We got a message from Cadrow University. Here it is in full:
===
Dr. Hans Kreuz,
Lecturer at Cadrow University, Department of Physics
Commander Vorador Mortanius, after your rescue of our institution, I am compelled to share with you information that may assist you in your cause. Prior to the attack, we were testing a new kind of shield generator that was able to protect its wearer from organic matter as well as metallic matter. As you know, current shield technology only repels metallic objects but useless against claws, fangs and the like.
We hypothesized that by attaching a sensor to detect incoming objects, a computer for decision-making and a spectrum-shifter module, we can actually build a shield generator based on current designs that can detect organic objects and change the shield’s repel-spectrum to stop carbon-based matter. Our biggest obstacle right now is that we lack resources to:
1- Replace shield generators if they malfunction, which hampers our ability to run frequent tests.
2- We do not have access to advanced computer technology to serve as the generator’s computer.
We have therefore sent a proposal to the local HQ. Your Research and Development team has deemed the project ‘plausible’, and see potential in this avenue of research. We believe that this device will save your soldiers from surprise attacks by enemy bioweapons.
Godspeed,
Hans
===
NEW RESEARCH PROJECT UNLOCKED!
Spectrum-Shifting Shields
50,000 RP
2 Weeks to complete
When this project is complete, soldiers will be equipped with Shifter Shields, which will protect them from metallic AND organic weapons. For example: If a soldier is attacked by a claw, the shield will absorb the hit and save the soldier from a wound. The only downside to this technology is that it cannot protect the wearer from being shot at and being clawed at simultaneously.
You: This is going to be useful! Why the hell didn’t we come up with this earlier?!
Ghulls just shrugs. He really doesn’t have an answer.
You then get a conference call from Lagantis and Rainhar.
Lagantis: Vora, have you read the report from the City Guards?
You: I have, yes. It sounds like the public wants us to go on the offensive now.
Lagantis: I actually agree with them. What happened today blindsided us, and we got close to losing the Omni-Factory, which would have been one hell of a blow. Every day, our enemy’s getting better at fighting us.
Rainhar: So we need to start hitting them hard, get aggressive. Right now, Regions 3 and 4 are under our control and are giving us enough of a foothold on this planet. As for Region 5, almost everyone who’s been living there has decided to move north into Region 3 after what’s happened at Cadrow as well as the discovery of that Walking Factory thing. They want security, and in return they’ll help us with manpower and resources.
Lagantis: We were already getting locals for combat duty, but now there are also civilians signing up for non-combat roles. Factories in every city under our control are granting us resources and are also offering to build weapons for us.
Rainhar: We got cities offering to build MISSILE LAUNCHERS! Isn’t that wild? They don’t have the expertise to design a proper launchers, but with our engineers and their workforce we can help them set up missile platforms.
You: Wait, wait, wait. Missile platforms?
Rainhar: Yeah! Once we get those built, we can launch missile artillery strikes on enemy bases in Regions 1 and 2 from far away! Supersonic missiles!
You: How long will it take for them to finish building?
Rainhar: It will take 1 week for them to finish one. HQ has designated them as LGMA, Long-Range Global Missile Artillery. Reload time is 10 minutes, but the missile will be able to reach anywhere on the planet, moving at Mach 3. It will take at least 5 minutes for the missiles to reach the target, but the accuracy should be nigh-perfect! The people here weren’t comfortable with the idea of us building these things before, but after that attack on Cadrow? They’re more willing to let us build weapons near their cities.
Lagantis: The missiles themselves can be refitted with napalm, nuclear, or freezer warheads in under a minute, in case the situation on the field changes. So, what do you think?
You: I think this is a great idea. Makes me wish we had these earlier!
Lagantis: Heh, same here. Now, time to make plans. We’ve won today’s battle, but we need to strike the enemy before they send another fleet of transports into our territory. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re assessing their mistakes, and the next round they’ll have a better plan. Something about them has changed, all right.
Feathers: If I may interrupt… the recent speech made by a person who claimed to be Robert North indicates that a very different intelligence has taken over.
You: How so, Feathers?
Feathers: It has been bothering me and Francoise for quite some time. The voice is correct, but the manner of speech and tone were different. We suspect that an Author might have actually taken control of his body now.
Rainhar: So we now got a for-real Author in the driver’s seat?
Feathers: That appears to be the case. They may have determined that the original Robert North has become a liability, and seek to take more direct action in steering their so-called ‘story’.
Lagantis: The Magnum Opus.
Feathers: Yes. The thing that they wish to create in the hopes of attracting the attention of an Audience.
Lagan remembers something and takes a moment before he speaks.
Lagantis: You know… back on Homeworld, I met a time traveler. They had a message for me.
You: What kind of message, Lagan?
Lagantis: The message was basically: ‘Save Koda Serivi’. Sure enough, her life was in danger and I rescued her.
Rainhar: Wait, wait WAIT. A TIME TRAVELER told you to rescue her???
Lagantis: They said they were violating causality, so I’m assuming they were from the future. They wanted to stop the Magnum Opus. From what I can tell, me rescuing Koda put a wrench into our enemy’s plans.
Feathers: If what you say is true, then we may have actually backed the Authors into a corner, and drove them into taking direct control over their agent.
Rainhar: Am I the ONLY one freaked out that TIME TRAVEL IS REAL?! SOMEONE SENT A MESSAGE INTO THE PAST AND SUCCEEDED? Lagan! What else did they say???
Lagantis: I wrote down the message after committing it to memory, just in case. Here.
===
(Time Traveler’s Message. NOTE: Critical Importance)
this message is a violation of causality
we are broadcasting from the final page of the magnum opus
we are violating causality to destroy the magnum opus
we cannot transmit physical form
save koda serivi
save koda serivi
save koda serivi
this message is a violation of causality
we are broadcasting from the final page of the magnum opus
===
Lagantis: There wasn’t anything else to it, and I’m taking the fact that I haven’t seen it again as a good sign that we’re heading in the right direction.
Rainhar: Huh. Okay, that sort of makes sense. If we were fucking up I’d imagine we’d be seeing more angry messages from the future.
You: Lagan, this is probably not that important, but what did the time traveler look like?
Lagantis: Like a big, angular spaceship with arms.
You: Doesn’t sound like any species I’ve heard of.
Lagantis: Yeah. For all we know they could actually from a really, REALLY distant future. Maybe they haven’t even evolved yet.
Feathers: This is exciting, but I ask now that we focus on the task at hand. The enemy is now demonstrating greater competence than before. I suggest we formulate a plan to invade Region 2.
Rainhar: Why Region 2? We should go straight for the enemy’s leadership!
Feathers: The latest recon runs from Seeker drones indicate that Region 2 is building up airbases and transports as we speak. If we ignore that and head for Region 1 immediately, we risk another assault on our civilian populations.
Rainhar: I see your point, but I’d argue that if we strike Centricom hard and fast enough, that won’t matter. We’d have taken out their brains.
Lagantis: Rainhar, you’re ignoring the possibility that Region 2 will attack us from the south. If we focus all our efforts into Region 1, then 2 will flank our invasion force and we’ll have to fight strong opposition on both sides. And remember: Something in Region 1 is blocking our portals. If we were to attack it, we’d have to accept that the chances of our troops being able to retreat in the event of a catastrophe is small.
Rainhar: Okay, how about we infiltrate Region 1? Send in spies, saboteurs. If we’re going to delay a full-scale invasion, I’d say we should at least poke holes at it.
You: Ghulls, can you bring up the most recent intel we have on Regions 1 and 2? We’re gonna need as much information as possible.
Lagantis: Good idea. Ghulls?
Ghulls: One second… here you are!
You look at the map of Region 1 and 2.
![[Image: iIV4UzY.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/iIV4UzY.jpg)
Region 1 is still mostly snow, with limited entrances into the underground bases where the bulk of the enemy’s leadership and research reside. There are also heavy anti-air defenses, especially near the base entrances.
From what you can tell, a ground assault is actually the best option here; Region 1 has almost no ground defenses, and with enough troops and vehicular support you can reasonably mount an attack on one of the entrances. The key issue is that you really have no data on how many enemy combatants you’ll have to deal with, and what sort of bioweapons you’ll be facing. Human Spies might be able to infiltrate, but Region 1’s security is extremely tight. All doors have cameras and biometric scanners, so they’d almost certainly detect someone who doesn’t belong there.
One possible weak point is the recently-discovered air vents, meant to supply air into the bases below. They’ve been disguised as random debris, but now your forces can be certain they do exist. Unfortunately, they’re all really small holes, just wide enough for a soldier to go through.
The airbases at Region 1 are still in the early stages of rebuilding their fleet of transports. Seizing these airbases could draw the enemy out from the underground, and when they open the doors, use that opportunity to deliver a devastating strike right through the opening.
As for Region 2: The entire region seems to be loyal to Robert North’s cause. They’ve started referring to their planet as Manava and removed all references to Planet-117.
Intel shows that there are still numerous factories and airbases, all of them busy preparing another attack fleet.
You: Well, we can spend time to make our decision later. I’m seeing a lot more messages waiting for us in the shared inbox. Ghulls?
Ghulls: I’ll patch you through to HQ.
HQ: Commanders, we have new intel regarding Shadow Company, from the R&D team. They’ve finished looking at all the data we have so far.
===
Designation: Shadow Company
A completely invisible and silent group of entities that transmit radio messages while also capable of moving faster than sound. They cannot be obstructed by any kind of physical matter, but are able to perceive living creatures. Their primary purpose is to report back the number of civilians in a specific building to Centricom by sending coded messages. These entities can be tracked by their constant broadcasts.
Of particular note is the fact that these radio signals were being relayed by other members of the Shadow Company who were in position outside of Cadrow. It’s possible they were already waiting there before the attack on the city
Currently, the only countermeasure we have against Shadow Company is to jam all radio frequencies in the area. Jamming a specific frequency only causes the Shadow Company to switch to another frequency. Unfortunately, the Organic Radios we have will be affected by this. Denying the Shadow Company their usefulness also means hampering our soldiers’ communications.
We found a piece of their transmission that was unlike the rest. It appears to be a message to a specific member of the enemy’s Centicom. Here is a transcript:
Quote:Shadow Company. Request. Inquiry. Superior Designation Golden Falcon.
Centricom Golden Falcon. Receive. Direction and distance. Confirmed.
Zero. Zero. Zero. Disengage. Cognitive restored.
Centricom, our feet are tired. We haven’t slept in four days. When’s the next rotation?
Rotation in 12. Understood. Thank you.
One. One. One. Engaged. Cognitive. On hold.
Shadow Company. Duty resuming.
This suggests that whatever Shadow Company are, they’re actually conscious but somehow have to ‘switch’ their personalities to continue doing their work. They might be former humans who were transformed into these invisible scouts, but this is unconfirmed. This also suggests that they can experience fatigue. Maybe we could develop a device that would cause them to become exhausted, but since we don’t understand how they move around, or why their physical bodies can phase through objects, we won’t be able to work on it until we get more hard data.
===
Lagantis: Is there any way for us to know for sure that the Shadow Company isn’t at HQ, just looking through our base?
You: Not unless they start making calls.
Lagantis: Ugh.
Ghulls: HQ also picked up another radio broadcast during the battle.
===
R&D Notes:
Intercepted radio broadcast, dubbed “Long Scream”
This was broadcasted during the entire battle at Cadrow, from the moment the transports landed to the time when the last Pretender was killed. We called it “Long Scream” because it sounded like a very slow, extended scream of a masculine voice. Were enemy soldiers being influenced by it somehow? Testing on human subjects showed no change in behavior. Perhaps the enemy soldiers have been conditioned to respond to it, but we cannot identify what purpose it serves, if at all. Data indicates it was being broadcast from Region 1.
====
You: So there’s just… one really long scream.
Ghulls: Yeah.
You: And we have no idea why it was broadcast, or if there’s even actually a reason for it. Great. More wood for my paranoia fires.
Lagantis: This entire campaign is going to be one hell of an entry in the history books.
Rainhar: Honestly, General, I’d be amazed if our future descendants don’t write this whole thing off as ‘that era when everybody was REALLY high on drugs and wrote nonsense in their records’.
Ghulls: Speaking of which…
Rainhar: What, there’s MORE?
Ghulls: We were able to recover the bodies of enemy soldiers at the Cadrow City prison as well as the disabled Blink Tanks near HQ. One of them was apparently an officer of some kind, and he was carrying a piece of sensitive information on a portable computer. It was in an encrypted folder marked ‘Future’, and according to its logs, it was for emails about notifications of future plans. Only one email is allowed to be archived, though, and when a new email is sent, the archived data is automatically scrubbed. Here’s what the CWS found:
===
From: Centricom
To: All Officers Above Captain
Subject: Psionic Weapon - ’To Serve Man’
Psionics Division are now in the final testing phase of ‘To Serve Man’, hereby referred to as TSM-09 in the rest of this message.
The concept of TSM-09 is to make our propaganda a reality: It is a digital message that makes saramis crave for human flesh. It is to be delivered via double agents who will join the enemy’s militia, who will then implant the message in their networks. They will not be able to detect it, as the file looks exactly the same like any other mundane piece of data to software. Only organic life-forms can see any kind of difference, as digital intelligences and non-sentient software are unable to perceive it.
Other agents in the field will also spread this digital message on the internet, as there is a very good chance the enemy will see it by accident.
As of this writing, TSM-09 only has a minor effect on humans. Human beings exposed to it will feel sudden urges to commit cannibalism, but it will subside. This effect is much more powerful on saramis individuals, and the effect is irreversible without the use of surgery. Psionics Division heads are debating whether they should start adding display monitors on our vehicles and soldiers to infect saramis soldiers in combat. On one hand, it might motivate saramis soldiers to be more aggressive (hunting ‘prey’), on the other hand it might cause catastrophic loss of cohesion with their human units, as our simulations indicate that the saramis troops will immediately try to eat human infantry closest to them.
Data indicates 100% success rate; when a saramis sees the image, they will feel intense hunger that can only be satiated by eating human flesh, and their thoughts will be completely taken over by obsessions about hunting and eating humans. Currently, we see the biggest flaw with this weapon is that it only affects saramis inhabiting our planet, as its effects cannot go into outer space. We intend to amplify the Mind making this effect, so that we can throw the enemy into complete chaos.
===
Lagantis: Vora. The TSM-09? Priority one. We have to nip this thing in the bud.
You: I agree. Ghulls, dedicate a Human Battalion to monitoring our networks for any sign of this… ‘To Serve Man’ file.
Rainhar: So… anybody feeling like having a human over for dinner?
Lagantis: NOT FUNNY, BOY.
You know a joke is awful when even Lagan says it’s bad. Rainhar just chuckles.
Ghulls: We also got a notification from R&D about the, uh, ‘batteries’ they found in the Polluted, the creatures that come from those killed by the radiation at the Author Nadir’s tomb.
===
Technology discovered: Emulated-Polluted Batteries
Study of the anatomy of a Polluted revealed that they were powered by glowing green sphere. They were organic in nature, but some of the elements inside them are unknown to us and believed to be created in a universe with different physical laws. Author-based technology seems reliant on ‘cheating’ by crafting their devices outside of our cosmos, and then ‘tricking’ our universe into accepting them in existence. These batteries are no different; by rights, they should just be completely inert, and yet here they are, providing immense electrical energy.
At first, we were going to create batteries that emulated their nature as best as we could with contemporary technology, resulting in a product that would perform with 20% efficiency, but the introduction of the Author’s Forge changed it to 80%. After proper study of the manufacturing techniques utilized by the Author’s Forge, we can now create very close replicas of the energy source used by the Polluted.
What the Emulated-Polluted Batteries (EPB) can do is provide the same amount of energy once can find in a typical yellow dwarf star. The immense power stored within is regulated via empathic thought; the EPB is capable of reading the thoughts of a carbon-based organism within its vicinity and regulate it according to the user’s needs. This means that there is no need for any kind of control mechanism other than thought. The EPB is completely unaffected by any kind of EMP attack.
With proper training, our forces in the field can use the EPB to power weapons like laser rifles and vehicles. The only real flaw to this is that it requires a person to control and guide whatever technology that requires the EPB to function.
We have added two proposals:
[b]Empathic Laser Rifles (ELR-1)
1,000 RP
Development time: 6 days
Powered by Emulated-Polluted Batteries, the ELR-1 is a laser rifle capable of not only operating for centuries, but allows total control for infantry with regards to the laser beam’s intensity. It is lighter and more compact than our current laser rifle designs, but offers the same level of firepower and range. ELR-1s are also immune to EMP attacks. Soldiers equipped with ELR-1 will never need a recharge and can deliver more firepower, able to fire laser beams constantly.
Hover Cannon Platform (HCP-1)
30,000 RP
Development time: 9 days
An aircraft that never needs to land, as long as at least one pilot can stay conscious. The HCP-1 is a floating defense platform, equipped with a laser cannon and crewed by two people. The HCP-1 can perform long range strikes by firing laser beams from high up in the sky, far enough to be invisible to the naked eye. This air unit includes a cockpit supplied with food, water, oxygen and also equipped with a toilet. Essentially, this is a flying watchtower that can evade incoming attacks. Food and other necessities for the pilots can be sent via drone, and if necessary the pilots can change shifts with a new team.
===
You: Whoa. I can see having a lot of use for that hovering platform. The ELR-1, I’m not so sure… but at least it isn’t that expensive.
Ghulls: Incoming message from Grenda.
You: I’m getting a lot of messages today, huh.
Grenda: Commander, I have good news. Very good news. After six hundred and twenty-eight messages from me requesting assistance, the Human Federation has decided to send us help!
You: Really? That’s great! What are they sending?
Grenda: They’re sending us a Swiftback and Disaster Mechs. I am sending you the files related to them now.
===
SWIFTBACK
Role: Assassin, Shock Unit
Swiftbacks are genetically-engineered shapeshifters, shapeshifters that can alter even their skeleton. They are highly intelligent, focused and capable of attacking even if all that remains is a limb, as they can grow extra sensory organs on any part of their bodies.
Swiftbacks are able to mimic human DNA and another person’s fingerprints, rendering current biometric technology unable to detect them. The only way to identify a Swiftback is to remove a body part, because any body part that has been severed will behave independently of the main body (though it will only be hostile to those already categorized as targets by the mission-giver).
These assassins are also capable of absorbing another human being’s brain to harvest it for memories, allowing them to fool their targets into danger. They will also know everything their victim knew, even the deepest secrets. In open combat, Swiftbacks can use their shapeshifting abilities as camouflage, hiding in plain sight until they find an opportunity to ambush the enemy. They can also disguise themselves as enemy troops, infiltrate past enemy lines and relay information or assassinate enemy officers.
Information regarding the creation of a Swiftback is a closely-guarded secret, and only leaders of the Human Federation or scientists working on the Swiftback Project may know about this. Any attempt to dissect or analyze the Swiftback’s body will be regarded as a betrayal of trust.
The Swiftback we are sending you is designated ‘Carpenter AN92-Q’. Carpenter will obey your every command, with the sole exception of allowing you access to information behind their creation.
===
Lagantis: Never in my life would I ever expect to have a Swiftback under our command. Vora, this is the equivalent of them sending us a superweapon. Swiftbacks can look like ANYTHING, as long as it’s got the same volume as an adult human. They can sneak into enemy strongholds with ease.
[b]You: We’ll definitely put Carpenter to good use. Though we already have Human Spies, a Swiftback would be even harder for the enemy to sniff out. Thank you, Grenda
You read the second file Grenda has sent you.
===
DISASTER (DSR-1987) MECH
Role: Frontline Assault
Crew: 1
90 tons
The Disaster Mech is a bipedal robot meant for long engagements on the front lines. The mech comes equipped with the following weapons:
- Eldridge Rocket Barrager: Launches 600 missiles from up to 1km away, each missile can be designated a unique target.
- Army Delayer Cannon: Using top-secret technology, the ADC halves the movement speed of anything that gets hit by its projectile. Best used against vehicles.
- Trumpeter Gatling Cannon: Dedicated anti-infantry weapon, the gatling cannon also creates noise loud enough to destroy nearby eardrums and other auditory sensory organs within 100 metres.
- Roosevelt Flamethrower: Shoots flames that reach up to 600 degrees Celsius in a wide arc in front of the mech.
Intended to counter ‘human wave’ attacks, the Disaster Mech is heavily-armored in the front and loaded with shield generators to give it enhanced durability on the front lines. Each limb comes with a self-repairing module, fitted with drones and spare parts in the rear segments. The mech’s back also has jetpacks, giving it the ability to outflank any enemy unit that gets close by jumping right over them and then turning before landing. A skilled pilot can use the jetpack to land on top of an enemy vehicle to destroy it with the mech’s sheer weight.
A common tactic is to use the ADC to slow enemy movement before firing all other weapons. The ADC’s projectile is fast enough to take out land vehicles, but cannot guarantee a hit on supersonic aircraft. Please note that the Disaster Mech’s armor is very weak in the rear, so it should be accompanied by other units to secure its flanks.
Also note: Do not use the Disaster Mech in heavily-populated civilian zones, ESPECIALLY if using the Trumpeter Gatling Cannon as it will cause permanent hearing damage for anyone not wearing ear protection. The deafening nature of this weapon is intentional, as it was meant to disorient infantry and vehicle crews who are susceptible to sound.
This shipment of Disaster Mech comes with training data for use with human and saramis pilots.
===
2 Disaster Mechs have been added to your arsenal!
Grenda: May our Swiftback and Disaster Mechs serve you well, Commander. Now, a time for nap.
You: Thank you again, Grenda.
Grenda: You’re welcome!
Dr. Ushah: Commander, remember Alone? The strange creature we’ve picked up? Extremely weight, no face, communicates only via radio transmissions?
You: How could I forget? What’s the news, doctor?
Dr. Ushah: We’ve fed it the uh, food, Intruder instructed us to make before he died. Alone, as the entity calls itself, is very eager to help, but its time as a captive in the enemy’s hands has… not been healthy for its mind. Here, I have a report you should read.
===
Entity: Alone
Initial Report by Dr. James Ushah
Alone is an entity from another universe, and from our interviews with it, what we see in our world are merely ‘limbs’ of its actual body. According to Alone, the best analogy is to imagine yourself placing your arms into a pool, with the rest of you still dry.
Alone is impervious to many things we deem dangerous, such as extreme heat, acid, etc. but it can be obstructed by powerful magnetic fields. The enemy kept Alone as a prisoner using their generators, but fortunately never realized that they could CRUSH Alone if they just increased the power, killing it. Instead, they only thought they could limit its movement. Theoretically, a projectile that generated its own magnetic field could actually pulverize Alone if it travelled at sufficient velocity. The enemy’s scientists seemed to have been pre-occupied with finding an element that would be toxic to it, instead of fully exploring all possible ways to harm it with its known weakness.
Fortunately for us, the entity Alone is very co-operative and though initially blinded by rage, understands that it was saved from death due to the efforts of an Author. Despite the language barrier, the entity has proven to be intelligent and creative. It has directed us to locate 30 other limbs, and we’ve gathered them all together. They all behave in perfect synchronicity, just like the Monash AI and hovertanks we found.
It is capable of using telekinesis to manipulate objects of up to 10 kilograms, turning anything lighter than that into a deadly weapon. In an urban environment or any other place filled with junk and debris, Alone would be a devastating force in close-range combat. With its ability to co-ordinate all of its limbs and share information in real time across long distances, it can also serve as a scout for us, performing recon.
Alone is currently granted free reign to float around our HQ. So far, it has shown no sign of hostility to anyone not aligned with Robert North. We have attached radios to its limbs that allow it to communicate to others nearby.
===
Dr. Ushah: Alone can help us with its ‘limbs’, serving on the frontlines as combatants or as scouts, but strange as it may sound, Alone needs training to be effective as either. It will be about a week before we can send it into the field as a combat-scout.
Lagantis: Incredible. We now have an extradimensional ghost-monster working for us.
You: Ghulls, are there any more messages for me?
Ghulls: Well, there is one more. It’s from Homeworld.
====
From the Saramis Alliance Transitional Government
Madnas Kotoro,
Restoration Councilmember
They wanted me to be formal with this but screw it. Lagan, Vora, you’re on the Restoration Council. The goons in the old High Command ruined everything so everybody voted to start a new government. The two of you have done a lot of great things for our Alliance and we’re trusting you to make the right decisions when it comes to handling our war against the Authors.
Here’s a full list of the Restoration Councilmembers:
- Madnas Kotoro, Military Public Relations
- Silvak Winros, Food Management
- Conora Mastib, Infrastructure Development
- Devind Barhah, Culture and Entertainment
- Lagantis Primevex, Strategic Director
- Vorador Mortanius, Arms Manufacturing
- Koda Serivi, Science and Technology
- Jerry Bogota, Foreign Affairs
- Hythen Morrz, Trade and Finances
We’re sending different briefings for each member on what they’re supposed to do. Lagan and Vora, the two of you are at the ‘front lines’ of this conflict, so to speak, so we decided to let you handle how best to protect our nation.
Also, Lagan, you might have noticed that it looks like we have way more colonies than you thought. Turns out the old High Command was keeping a LOT of secrets from us. They had secret offworld colonies that they created for social engineering experiments. We’re working on ‘de-programming’ them.
====
Lagan: Wish they talked to us first before putting us on the council.
You: On the bright side, it looks like we’re going to get a lot more access to resources for our fight here!
You look at the list of options the Restoration Council has sent you with regards to prioritization of arms manufacturing. One week is required for all the new changes to be completely implemented across the Alliance.
What they ask now is: Which one should be implemented first?
Hold The Line
All infantry units will be granted portable cover, freezer grenades and flamethrowers for combat against enemy monster-hordes. Each Regular Army battalion will be given a Digger Drone, able to dig a trench faster than any soldier, meant to impede the advance of enemy creatures.
Seek And Destroy
Seeker Drones will be fitted with a device that launches a tracking beacon. The beacon will stick to whatever surface it hits, allowing friendly units to keep pursuing hostiles. The beacon also acts as a signal for artillery units to home in on. Infantry units will also have beacon launchers, and their dedicated Cyberwarfare Specialists will wear optical devices that lets them scan through walls and get detailed information on enemy forces. The information includes the enemy’s level of fatigue, field of vision, ammunition count, and armor type.
Instant Recovery
Recently-approved medical technology will be deployed to the frontlines. The Armored Mobile Hospital, AMH-01, will be deployed in any large infantry battle. Though slow-moving, the AMH-01is heavily armored and carries a full suite of medical robots that can bring a soldier back from the brink of death within minutes. Any soldier who loses a limb can have it quickly replaced by an organic clone, and get back into the fight in less than ten minutes, depending on the mental state of the soldier.
Members of the Blood Caste will also be inside the AMH-01 to provide maintenance, repairs, and consultation for wounded soldiers. This new initiative will allow soldiers to fight for much longer than ever possible.
Mech Frontier
The Human Federation has shared their technical knowledge on how to build combat mechs that can take massive punishment and dish out high firepower, along with substantial maneuverability. Approving this choice will enable us to build the first Alliance-Federation hybrid-design mech, the Shadowhand.
The Shadowhand mech comes equipped with jetpacks that allow it to easily flank enemy units as well as dodge incoming fire. Its legs and relatively light weight allow the Shadowhand to climb up tall buildings and use them for cover. It comes equipped with two laser cannons, two missile pods, and melee capability using its dextrous legs. In a pinch, the Shadowhand can use its jetpack to immediately clear out a horde using the backblast by doing a jump while surrounded by the enemy.
Sky Supremacy
All aircraft, including drones, will be equipped with point-defense systems to shoot down incoming missiles. They will also be re-fitted with new materials to reduce damage taken from laser-based weaponry. Aerial re-arming and re-fueling drones will be deployed to increase the endurance of air units. Pilots will be given jetpacks to allow them to eject and escape hostile territory in the event they need to abandon their vehicles.
Councilwoman, what is your choice? What new developments should be implemented first? Lagan will make his plans according to what you prioritize here, so don’t worry about your choice becoming incompatible with Lagan’s ideas.
>_
Units available:
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - Dragon Fogel - 05-19-2018
Man, I hadn't even considered the fact that the enemy might not realize we were limited to two strikes. Which suggests Shadow Company wasn't able to listen in on that conversation - I guess because it was between ships and didn't affect the ground forces?
So this worked out better than expected and we have a lot of new toys to play with.
First off, we need to research Poisonbane so we can better defend against another Pretender attack. Casualties would have been way lower here if we had that ready and distributed to the populace.
Second, we should probably start separating our Human and Saramis combat units. If the closest human is the enemy, TSM is more of a risk for them. Obviously a hard counter would be better, but they're clearly reluctant to scare us.
Third, we need to get some kind of popular opinion foothold in Region 2. It won't be easy, but we need all the help we can get. Is there any way we can broadcast footage of the battle over there, or testimony from the people? Obviously the enemy will say "it's fake", but some people will be convinced and that's a starting point.
Heck, even that 5% that supports us now could do a lot of good if we can help them organize themselves into an actual resistance.
No particular thoughts on the new options yet, I haven't really thought through any of the possibilities they open up.
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - gloomyMoron - 05-19-2018
Of the Arsenal Options, I think Instant Recovery and Sky Supremacy are both equally good and the best short-term options. I think I personally lean more towards IR, since we are a more infantry-based fighting force at the moment and reducing casualties means that we spend less resources replenishing our troops in the future.
Having said that, I fucking love Mechs and Mecha, so... Mech Frontier is useful... especially because it could further expand our options by being another platform on to which we can mount other weapons. For example, a Mech that utilizes an EPB and possesses lasers and dual Spectrum-Shifting Shields (since an EPB can act based on thought, it may be possible to layer shielding) would be fairly difficult to assault. Especially if we designed the chassis to be psionic-resistant. There is so much possibility with Mech Frontier that will pay off later that I almost want to get it early for the investment.
Ultimately, there is a lot to discuss and think about... so I don't expect this to be my only comment... since there is a lot to process still.
RE: Art of Domination Thread 04 - smuchmuch - 05-19-2018
Okay lots to take in there
1) Next target Region 1 or 2 ?
Both. Retaliation expdition in Region 2, invason in region
If we ignore Region 1 long enough to fuly secure Region 2 it'll give them that more time to devellop it's super weapons. Project skyhive and Magnet tanks can't be that far from completion among others.
If we launch a ground invasion in Region 1 without doing aything about Region 2 we'll find ourselves with another invasion either in Regions 3/4 or taking our invasion force in Number 1 in a pincer.
We need to send troops to Region 2 first but not to take it. Instead to, neutralize and smash as much of Region 2 production facilties as we can. Region 2 also contains many of the server farms of the enemy so maybe that'll cripple project 'To Serve Man' if we can do enough damage. It doesn't matter if they officialy still hold iR2 by the end, whay mattesr is that they can't send another army at us while we go secure beachhead on region 1.
With that done, the pressure of having an invasion right on their ground should slow down R&D in Region 1 while we can send some of our new toys smash things in Region 2 again, just to be sure.
2)Monash
Can we make more bodies for it ?
Important to know.
Usefull for escort and an schock assault, uh ? Perfect because we'll have plenty of the later to do.
For example those two airstrips in region 1 are just beging for a little hit and run visit.
3) Public support.
Good. Expected but still good.
Knew at least trying to defend Cadrow was the right decision.
It was costly, yes, for the first time we nearly lost an entire bataillon but the loss of support and complete panic we'd have suffered if we had not even tried would have been much worse.
And here since we suceeded we'll even get some rewards. We'll see how usefull these will be.
4) Dual phase shield
.. While very impressive, can't help but feel it's honnestly not that great. Sure it would help the survivbility of our toops but If the monsters can get anywhere near our troops to be able to claw them in the first place while we have more than modern rifles and frekin' laser weapons we're doing something darn wrong.
Also expensive as hell to devellop
5)Magnum Opus and Time taveller
Well we already knew about that.
Can't help but feel that if the author have really overode North, then they are getting desesperate. Ironicaly the more they intervenne, the lousier their 'story' must seem to an audience when you think about it. No one like an author filibustier.
6)APB
Nice. Both applications might be usefull
A) Even the empathic lasers. It's cheap and laser that can 'operate for centuries' and be used just as much as weapon than a tool of precision is tempting.
So yeah;, I'm prette sure whe've at least a thousand Rps left, we can start ressearching this imedialety.
B) The canon patforms mean a new weapon plaform alway's good. Could be greatb ut givent the price, it ain't for now.
7)Swiftback and Disaster mechs.
Both are amazing weapons..but sadly somewhat made less usefull by the fact that there's so few of them and therefore they can only do so much at once.
A)Swiftback:
The swiftback is not going to be too useful as an assassin right now as really the way our enemy is organised, we don't really have any good specific target to strike. (I mean Robert North, I guess but we have no idea where he could be.)
However if it can fool biometrics, it could be the foot in the door for our spies we need in Region 1
Or maybe keep it in reserve as a counter to 'Max' (he's going to come back ou of the wodwork one of these day)
B) Disaster mechs:
The disater mechs are great, nicely versatile. Only two of them will not change the course of a single battle by themselves but used in conjontion with other units they could be a force to be recloned with.
As I said with Monash, those two arstrips look very hittable and can definitvely see these two mechs as firepowers while Monash escort them to guard their flank and back. Add some of our other fast shock troops like shadow ops in Swealah vehicle, void spheres some sonic swatters and Grenda and some sonich swatter to destroy buildngs and I thin w could get a pretty devastating raid to eliminate the enemy air force before it even went off the ground.
8) New Saramis governement
Thing are spirraling out of control fast but that was to be expected.
9)
If we are going to be invading Region 1 on foot, "Hold the line" seems the best choice as it multiply our infantry forces worth against Smith abomnations.
"Instant Recovery" is a close second but we'll need to have our the mobile hospitals escorted
"Mech frontier'" look interesting but unless Region 1 changed, it's still a big flat terrain where those building climbing mechs won't do us much good a main tank wouldn't.
"Sky Supremacy" I would have voted for with both hands in the air about a week in game ago but now, it's not as useful as it once was, same with Seek and destroy.