Signing up for the U-ARM Wing.

EDIT: Also some suggestions on where to put our agents.

Abimael: Shadow Zone Wing: Being from the shadow zone himself, he can potentially clue us into typical tactics used by the mutants. Also can avoid being absorbed by mutants, which is always a plus.

Colonel Marie Black: U-ARM Wing: Ballistics Shield that can stop tank rounds? Guess who's probably going to be using tanks this mission!

Specialist Carolyn Antoinette: Retrieval Team: Ditzy should be able to help scan the position of Eve fairly easily, and if she has any weird thermal effects, the dog will know. The mech itself will help take down anybody that gets through the blockade somehow and/or any minions Eve might have.

Sergeant Morai Lee: Either Wing (not Retrieval Team): Not sure which wing he should go into, but given that his skillset includes pre-set explosives, I don't see him being that useful for the Retrieval Team. Not only will Eve likely be moving all over the place, but explosives carry the risk of injuring her too much (though they might not, I could see him setting up an explosive trap for Eve, but I don't want to be the one to explain to the Council why we brought back a crispy charred corpse).

Captain "Daring" Derek: Retrieval Team (Initially): The fact that he's in the air will be a big benefit towards finding Eve quickly. However, once Eve is found, the only real use I see is dropping a firebomb to block her way, so after he does that I feel like he should help the wing that's struggling the worst. Probably the one that doesn't have an extra man unless contact with Eve goes especially sour.

Bruce chooses to run Shadow Zone, requests Colonel Black as NPC assist.

Blockades? Signing up for that one. Junko would prefer fighting people rather than mutants who don't always have everything in the right place.

Abimael should be on the retrieval team. It's mentioned that he's immune to the burning/absorption effect from other shapeshifters. It would make sense then that other shapeshifters would have the same trait. With a simple touch from Abimael you'd be able to tell whether Person X is Annie or not.

Roman Cassidy signs on to be part of the Retrieval Team.

Brovo said Retrieval Team: ... Negotiate with her

TIME FOR NATHANIEL'S RIDICULOUS STACKING OF DIPLOMACY BUFFS TO SHINE

Nathaniel will be on the Retrieval Team.

Eira for U-Arm.

But damn, I'm feeling guilty for Adam. I'll need to mull over whether this reinforces Eira's obedience or undermines it.

EDIT: Oops, have a relevant PM to read. May reconsider mission designation.

For the NPCs, here's where I think they should go.

Abimael - Shadow Zone Wing. I don't think his shapeshifter burning grope immunity thing will be all that necessary to find Eve, and his combat capabilities and knowledge of mutants seem like a great fit for that side. Could work for either other team though.

Colonel Marie Black - U-ARM Wing. Her equipment and tactical know-how seem best suited to fight the dudes who'll be rolling in with heavy weapons. Could work for Shadow Zone, don't think she's a good fit for Retrieval Team.

Specialist Carolyn Antoinette - Shadow Zone Wing. Her laser and missile mech could work wherever, but infrared dog seems like a vital asset for finding mutants trying to sneak past the blockade. Could also be okay for Retrieval Team, if we're worried about Eve being too stealthy for us, but I feel like that sensor dog would be best used in the place where we -know- there will be issues with stealth enemies. Would be wasted against U-ARM, imo.

Sergeant Morai Lee - U-ARM Wing. This guy uses explosives. Y'know what gets fucked up real bad by explosives? Human bodies. Y'know what might not really give a fuck about explosives? Crazy mutant bodies. Could be okay on the Shadow Zone Wing anyway, though U-ARM seems the clear best fit to me. I don't think he'd be a good fit for the retrieval team at all, because explosions are kind of iffy in the "bring them back alive" department, and because I'm hoping to go for the non-violent solution there.

Captain "Daring" Derek - Retrieval Team. He can help look for Eve from the air, then move to whichever battlefield he's most needed at once she's found. However, honestly the only reason I think he should start here is just because the other two would be full already if I had my way, and he can get around the movement restriction just fine. If we do stick someone else on the Retrieval Team (ideally Carolyn, if there must be someone), then may as well have this dude start out near the fighting instead of wasting some rounds of posts with him just flying over us doing fuck all.

Basically I think the Retrieval Team can handle itself without needing heavy NPC support. I'm hoping to go with the negotiation route, and none of the NPCs seem particularly suited for diplomacy. Also, I think we'll be able to find Eve without much trouble just with the two currently on that team. Nathaniel has the mutant angle covered (meaning he can sense nearby powerful mutants) and has an achievement that raises his chances of randomly finding what he's looking for, and Roman has an infrared scope on his gun in case Eve goes stealthy. Send the NPCs where they're most needed, imo. Send them to the fights.

If there isn't any opposition, I'd like to move Eira over to the Retrieval team for in character reasons. Though she may not be the ideal diplomat, her experience with Adam means that she does have a little bit of experience dealing with them. Also, couldn't hurt to have at least one tank protecting the group in case of a breach.

I mostly agree with Jorick's placement of NPCs, though Abimael seems a bit iffy. On our side or not, making him fight other mutants seems risky territory, because he could just as easily be dissuaded by our own brutality against his kind. He could be useful for Retrieval to show that Adam's treatment was—well, not a fluke. I dunno. An exception? I just don't think it's good to start him off fighting his own kind until he bonds more with the team.

If he does get placed there, we'd better also have some of the PCs directly involved with saving him.

Putting my support behind Jorick's plans, though I can relate to Holmshire's concerns. I'd say that if not enough PCs related to him go to the shadow zone mission, then put him in retrieval. That said I don't know if it makes that much of a difference, I think Eve's also been stacking diplomacy buffs which means she could potentially convince/brainwash Abimael into attacking the Retrieval Team if things go sour.

-

Raen Elvarasi said
ripping her mech's arm off

Bringing back old wounds. *sniffle*

it was a good arm

-

Raen Elvarasi said
*Pat* *Pat* It's okay. Kiku lost an arm too. I bet we will all lose one at some point, as it seems to be Brovo's humor that propels our enemies.

And some internal organs. Don't belittle Kiku's propensity for getting owned.

As for Jorick's ideals on NPC placement, I do not agree with them all. Not that they are terrible, but here are my thoughts.

Abimael-Retrieval Squad: As has been stated, Abimael is not exactly a perfectly loyal being yet, as far as we know. We have managed to get him on our side, but what is to stop his loyalties shifting? It is dangerous to send him against mutants so early, when instead we could reinforce trust in the Bunker by having him help recover Eve. It should also be noted that Eve might also take well to the sight of another mutant.

Col Maria Black-Shadow Zone: The fact is, Col Marie is going to be an asset wherever we send her. She has a powerful Electricity rifle, which will probably be one of the best weapons we have against Mutants with tough skin, and truthfully, she might be the only being that possesses the firepower to down one of the Homonculi from last round, which will almost certainly be involved in a mission to recover Eve.

Sergeant Morai Lee - U-ARM Wing: I agree with Jorick here: Explosions are good vs organised, easy to predict targets.

Specialist Carolyn Antoinette - Recovery Squad: If anything, I want that little Ditzy for this mission, as she is most likely going to be able to track Eve the best. Also, having considerable fire power is going to be useful, since there is no doubt going to be at least a few enemies who bleed through to Eve.

Captain "Daring" Derek: Mobile- He should focus on helping out the recovery squad and the Shadow Zone the most, since U-ARM is more likely to have Anti-Aircraft weapons than anyone else.

As far as concerns about Abimael potentially defecting, I'm not really sure. I could be totally wrong on this, but I get the feeling Eve has very good persuasion traits like Nathaniel, so I personally think the chances of him defecting are about equal on either side. Personally, I'd prefer Shadow Zone simply because I theorize that he won't defect so long as we don't start desecrating bodies or generally acting like madmen. Only place where he wouldn't stand much chance of defecting is at U-ARM wing, but I have doubts that he'd be terribly effective there as U-ARM is probably well trained to handle mutants.

Maria Black seems to be one of the more contested options here. She could do well against either side, though I really think she'd be best for U-ARM. My reasoning here is that her shield is explicitly resistant to tank shells, while it seems to be unproven against mutants. Not to mention that rifle would be amazing against those power suit units the Central Apartment guys had the pleasure of seeing. If you want something against the stronger mutants, I think Carolyn's mech should be up to the challenge.

Morai Lee seems to be mostly unanimous, so I won't go into too much detail. Suffice it to say I don't think one NPC's gonna be enough support for the U-ARM, as they're far tougher than I think we're making them out to be.

Antoinette...I've mostly changed my opinion of her for the Shadow Zone team, if only for the extra mech and the anti-stealth capabilities the doggie can provide. Even then, there's nothing saying she can't send the doggie down the Retrieval Team if they're having issues.

Derek should be pretty mobile, I agree. That said, I think that even with the threat of anti air he might be able to lob a shot or two at those mortars before they realize they actually need anti-air. Could just be dreaming there.

On an unrelated note: OOC post coming when I'm less swamped by schoolwork.

Peter will be deploying in the West to both handle the U-ARM Sector and setup a defensive perimeter ...

I think I'll be able to help out the U-ARM wing the most. And worst case scenario... well. A suitcase bomb can help out if we need to fallback/retreat.

Edit:

NPC Placement looks good to me so far, but since the Col. seems to be the hot topic I will provide my input as well. Yes, she appears to be a useful asset anywhere, but at the same time we should consider which area will be the largest threat to her. If she dies... then I don't think good things will happen.

-

@Everyone: General announcement, repeating it to ensure it gets through. If you want to do a collaborative post in the future, or otherwise need me for any reason, start a PM conversation.

Oh, and for those who keep emphasizing the Shadow Zone as the greater threat... Please. Keep doing so. Colonel Richard Miller will appreciate it. So will his men. It means less ammo wasted on you and more can be expended on the hated mutants.

The IC will go up likely next weekend. I may be able to squeeze it in this weekend, we'll see.

---

GreenGoat

Quality Make: Replaces the parts of the weapon with precise, custom made parts, improving its machination. Improves on the weapon's structure's strength and integrity, while giving a slight boost to accuracy due to the barrel and sight's quality.

Approved.

GECKO
--Baited and Outsmarted (Rank 2): An amusing catchphrase screamed out by some of the more juvenile, though completely appropriate to describe this duel edged upgrade to the Grunt's arsenal and tactical thinking. First: Their flashbangs now double as smoke grenades, and they now start with four per mission instead of just two. It is also presumed that they know how to properly cover their eyes and have grown accustomed to it, no longer being blinded even if dropped at point blank so long as they cover their eyes, with the ringing in their ears reduced in intensity. The smoke within the grenades expands nearly instantly into a small space, though out in the open its effects are limited. Second: When escaping from harm, they have a good chance of predicting where it is the enemy will search, and thus, whatever path they take is the least likely path by which the enemy will follow. (Improved flashbangs/smoke grenades and a greater chance that enemies will take the wrong path to pursue them once they've lost eyesight.)

XCELL Visor Mk.I: One of the newfangled device, overlaying on the user's vision a HUD, with custom renameable markers, new ability to take HD pictures and videos, sillhouette ID matching for convenience when tagging with the markers, MP3 player, customizable tint color on the go, and several choices of frame colors, and last but not least, a fashionable bag to keep it in when not in use.

Also comes with a brand new motion detector integrated.



Approved, though keep in mind the motion sensor will be limited in range and sensitivity in comparison to a full blown sensor suite package in a mech.

---

GourmetItalia

Weapon Mod Upgrade: Bigger is Better

Error:


No upgrades to weapon mods.

Heat Sink: A Washington Bunker original design, this attachment virtually reduces overheating chances to near zero while maintaining optimum performance at accelerated firing ratios. The possibility of barrel bending, warping, and distortion become non-existent as does the requirement for interchanging muzzle barrels.

Approved.

Switch out from Assault Rifle to LMG approved.

Full American Unload
--Break Their Will (Rank 2): Individual bullets now have a small chance to pierce cover before destroying it, and spraying an area down generally causes mass hysteria and panic attacks in those caught under fire, even after the barrage has stopped, until they snap out of it by random chance or someone snaps them out of it. There is also a greater chance of simply obliterating whatever cover the enemy is hiding behind. (Suppressed targets panic, can pierce cover, greater chance of destroying cover.)

Power Suit

Need more info. What kind of power suit?

---

Heyitsjiwon

Custom Weapon Mod: Computer Integrated 40mm grenade launcher attachment - A grenade launcher that is integrated with the Target-Tracker Scope. The Scope provides target information such as distance, trajectory, and etc. to the launcher and the shooter. This then enables the grenade to be timed and allow it to explode at a certain desired point of its flight. Pretty much, it's a computer assisted grenade launcher.

Approved.

HE Training
--Class 3 Explosives License (Rank 2): As per the training manual, there are three levels of explosives licensing detailed. The third level grants access to "suitcase explosives", while not always contained in a suitcase they often are as it's a simple, effective method of storing the components. The case is often bulletproof. Armed with a digital timer and a remote detonator, the suitcase explosive is fully capable of devastating a small city block. It's most often used inside apartment buildings to knock the entire building down with one carefully placed explosive. Their vast knowledge of explosives by this point also makes it possible, though difficult, for a Grunt to aim and fire at enemy explosives, causing detonation instead of simply damaging them. A grunt may carry one suitcase explosive, or, give up his six charges of C4/rocket launcher with two shots for a second suitcase explosive. Lesser, improvised suitcase explosives can also be "jerryrigged" on the battlefield if given a sufficient amount of supplies and time. (Self explanatory.)

Mechanized Adaptions

As with the power suit, going to ask more details here.

---

Holmishire

All scrap improvements approved.

"It can self-destruct with a very powerful explosion."

Think more hand grenade sized unless you want that thing to be easily exploded by stray arms fire.

---

Herzinth.

"he began ferreting food"

It's almost like you know that word would catch my attention. Character approved.

Damned Fine Aim
--Eagle Eyes, Eagle Ears (Rank 2): Having spent ages looking down scopes and looking for the finest of details, the Grunts who pursue tactical shooting find themselves learning tactical searching. These Grunts now come with one motion detection camera and two invisible laser tripwires, wirelessly connected to their radios to give them a warning beep if anything triggers them. They can be set up in seconds and are generally hard to spot, allowing for safe sniper nests to be set up. Atop this, they've also become more adept at passively spotting enemies hiding behind cover or who are using stealth technology, even stealth mutations, and doing this faster than the average person can. (Greater stealth detection, simple gadget.)

Mobile Sensor Package

Approved, though keep in mind that yours will never be as flexible as those of pilots, who will keep growing theirs at a faster rate than you can yours.

---

Tempest

Psychic Meld
--Psychic Compulsions (Rank 2):
[Ranged]: Having evolved their capacity for reading the sensory inputs of others, they are now capable of inducing auditory and visual hallucinations in a victim. The less it needs to physically manifest itself in the mind of the target, the easier it is for the Ghost to maintain the connection and torture their victim.
[Touch]: Upon grabbing the victim, the Ghost can now leave compulsions in the mind of the target. Resisting the compulsions may cause brain damage. The more complex or overpowering the compulsion, the more time is necessary to implant it. It should be noted that at this point, they can also read the surface memories of shapeshifters. (Mutation Effect: Hair turns silver in colour, and now projects a small but noticeable and detectable amount of psychic energy at all times.)

Random Mutation–

Mother?: In tandem with the growth of her mental abilities almost exclusively over her physical ones, Georgia suddenly finds herself more and more in sync and in line with the general consensus of the psychic voices she hears whenever near shapeshifters. Especially powerful shapeshifters, such as Adam (deceased) or Eve, tend to elicit natural feelings of a child towards their parent, at times even going so far as to outright mistake them for parents or parental figures and calling them by that name. She has a hard time bringing herself to level any kind of harm against them, but noticeable enough, they feel the same way about her, with friendly powerful shapeshifters even feeling protective of her like a lost child. (Powerful shapeshifters find it hard to harm this character, this character finds it emotionally stressful to even think of harming powerful shapeshifters on an instinctive level.)


Obligatory, pretty sure it's how the shape-shifters will feel noticing this power spike in sheer manipulative mental power.

Also.

"--[Touch] Hi-Jack: Upon contact, Georgia can delicately establish a connection with the circuitry of the technology in question and gain deeper access, overriding and assuming control of it"

Neutral Circuitry is approved, but keep in mind that both Hi-Jack and Haywire can be resisted or altogether negated by mechs by proper defensive techniques, such as firewalls, since they have to defend against unnatural hackers sometimes too. Still. Expect only higher tier quality mechs to have that kind of defense.

---

LimeyPanda said
Plus, two man collabs alone can take a long time. Imagine how mad a 5 man collab would be, if it spanned an entire mission?

---

Chuck Fucking Norris PCSutfin

-My unique mod is a large drum on the shotgun that automatically reloads the shotgun after it is fired. The drum holds 20 rounds.

Approved.

GECKO
--Baited and Outsmarted (Rank 2): An amusing catchphrase screamed out by some of the more juvenile, though completely appropriate to describe this duel edged upgrade to the Grunt's arsenal and tactical thinking. First: Their flashbangs now double as smoke grenades, and they now start with four per mission instead of just two. It is also presumed that they know how to properly cover their eyes and have grown accustomed to it, no longer being blinded even if dropped at point blank so long as they cover their eyes, with the ringing in their ears reduced in intensity. The smoke within the grenades expands nearly instantly into a small space, though out in the open its effects are limited. Second: When escaping from harm, they have a good chance of predicting where it is the enemy will search, and thus, whatever path they take is the least likely path by which the enemy will follow. (Improved flashbangs/smoke grenades and a greater chance that enemies will take the wrong path to pursue them once they've lost eyesight.)

And camo suit, as in technologically camouflaging against the environment, correct?

---

GourmetItalia said
Good stuff, PC. We're gonna need another ridiculously loaded stealth ops for the road ahead given the fact that I have a feeling Battlezone Chicago was merely child's play 8P.

---

Herzinth said
A bit* late (blame it on me not being here back then) but .*Like just a teensy bit. A little ittle bittle late.

Not with Bigger is Better, whic--

Alphakoka said
The problem is he's also making it a bigger caliber than normal shotgun, even if there is a silencer for shotgun in TLB, I think with bigger caliber it'd be something similar to...putting a silencer on an auto-cannon?

Yeah this.

LimeyPanda said Captain "Daring" Derek: Mobile- He should focus on helping out the recovery squad and the Shadow Zone the most, since U-ARM is more likely to have Anti-Aircraft weapons than anyone else.

Shadow Zone AA is Baller said As Peter Táo parachuted down past the helicopter, he would notice the giant Goleyeith--four times the size of a tank--recovering from the combination of 50 calibre rounds and rockets fired into it. It appeared to be bleeding the orange liquid profusely from the top, trickling down its sides and four legs. Where most creatures would have to turn to engage, it simply looked with the eyes on its legs, and after a few seconds in one sudden motion, threw one of its left legs out towards the helicopter. It stretched out like an elastic band, and splattered across the cockpit's glass. "ACK~ Shit!" Captain Derek shouted in surprise over the radio. The glass cracks as he flips a switch, sending an electrical pulse through the vehicle and down into the Goleyeith. Georgia once again hears it scream in unearthly amounts of pain before its limb drops and slams into the concrete, where it starts recoiling itself back like a wind-up toy.

Achilles Heel, on the other hand, plummeted from the sky as the damage to the base of the main rotary became apparent. It, too, crashes into the ground, the tail snapping off from the force of the impact. "Achilles Heel is down n' I'm feelin' a little loved here!"

Seriously. It's pretty baller. Don't mock it. If it wasn't on par with the other factions, they'd air superiority the shit out of the Shadow Zone and win, seeing as how the Shadow Zone lacks any kind of heavy duty air units that can survive outside of the fog. (No counterpart to the Apache or F-16 out of the fog.)

Raen said So I am iffy about the NPC Carolyn

.50 Calibre Machine Gun, Precision Laser. Puppy acts as a triangulation system for precise shooting in combat. (Basically think of a tactical computer having its sensory net suddenly extended to external outputs as well as internal ones, if you can speak technobabble.) She has been focusing on armour upgrades with her scrap. As well, she was one of the few pilots to walk out alive, and she managed to escape on the back of a tank against a Goleyeith using only an assault rifle to keep blinding it so it couldn't hit the tank properly. Should say a lot about her level of competence at survival. I mean in her back story she straight up gets hospitalized at the age of seven, and from that point onwards basically goes "a'ight, I got my mom killed protecting me, I cannot allow myself to die or her life will have been a waste."

Mission roster updated to current reflections.

Retrieval Team: Your goal is as simple as it gets. We'll be quartering off the South and East sections of the city. The other two teams will be operating defensible against U-ARM and the Shadow Zone each respectively in West and North. This will force the shapeshifter to be trapped in a single, small area. Negotiate with her, or take her in by force. Just ensure you take her in alive.
--Roman Cassidy. (PCSutfin.)
--Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Jorick.)
--Eira Mairwen. (Holmishire.)
--Character Slot 4:
--Character Slot 5:
NPC's
--Agent 1
--Agent 2

U-ARM Wing: You will operate in the Western part of the operation zone. Your goal is to prevent any of U-ARMs agents and vehicles into the central operating zone. Keep in mind however that U-ARM may bring in artillery once they realize they're being blockaded, so this may not be as simple as it seems on the surface. U-ARM is also renowned for having bold, if somewhat foolish, rapid brute force tactics.
--Marvin Walters. (Maxim.)
--Junko Heizen. (GreenGoat.)
--Peter Táo. (GourmetItalia.)
--James Wolff. (Heyitsjiwon.)
--Character Slot 5:
NPC's
--Agent 1
--Agent 2

Shadow Zone Wing: You will operate in the Northern part of the operation zone. You should already be familiar with Shadow Zone mutants, though unlike U-ARM which will bring artillery, the Shadow Zone will focus on blockade breakers to reach Eve. We are certain of it. Expect fast moving and stealthy opponents, as well as large masses of flesh.
--Bruce "Brucey" McFoster. (Kadaeux.)
--Kai "Lupus" Aevephasa. (Raen Elvarasi).
--Character Slot 3:
--Character Slot 4:
--Character Slot 5:
NPC's
--Agent 1
--Agent 2

Paris Rience to the Retrieval Team