Ha, wait. The thing's location is in this suit's computer, so I can just abscond with it myself and access that information, and decide if I can get the thing myself without backup. Let's go with that for now.
Which really means leave this place quickly, and find a quiet place where I can read the computer in peace. Planning something complicated in this exact position probably isn't a great idea.
You agree with the man's plan so that he'll let you go and then back away, careful to keep your weapon ready. He makes no motion to shoot at you or follow you. In fact he even raises his hand to motion to his comrades to stop and not engage. You reach the end of the hallway, turn around and start running away. You can't sense anybody following you until that place is out of your range.
...
Some time later, you find yourself panting in a dark alleyway in the abandoned section down in the 20th, sitting behind a metal bin, leaning against the rough wall. A quick check of the surrounding area showed you no detectable intent, so you're either alone or all the squatters around are sleeping (or maybe in a drug induced haze). That allows you to feel reasonably safe, which doesn't mean you're going to let your guard down. You still check your surroundings from time to time.
You start removing the suit's helmet, eager to both be relieved from its weight and to be able to breathe freely. The feeling of numbness you got after inhaling that gas has started receding but it's not fully gone yet. Even if you hadn't inhaled it, running all that way while wearing a suit wasn't pleasant. Your entire body is aching, your muscles are shaking and you feel dehydrated. You're pretty sure you would also be hungry if it didn't feel like your stomach is burning. All in all, that makes working the straps and seals that hold the helmet in place difficult.
You finally manage to remove the damn thing and let it dangle on your side from the oxygen hose. You lie your head back on the wall for a few moments and take a few deep breaths, trying to slow your breathing. It feels good to be able to breathe freely, the filtered air is making your throat burn.
Once you feel good enough, you turn your attention to the tablet. It has a rotary interface that allows one to use it with the suit's gloves. You wiggle the interface a bit, waking the screen. It's a simple monochrome cyan display, cyan lines forming 4 boxes and 10 digits below them, arranged into two neat rows in ascending order.
...
FUUUU-
Ok, ok, there's no reason to panic. This just makes this plan a bit more complicated but not failed in any way. Maybe there's another way to get what you want.
You could just start trying combinations. Most of those things simply have a timer after a certain number of failed attempts. At worst it should be about... 20 hours of uninterrupted work... assuming he is not one of those people that mess with electronics to trap them... which judging by this suit's design and all the traps he had he most definitely is... yeah, should probably keep it as a plan of last resort.
Well, OK, but you can definitely go back to that residential area, find the Newcomer and convince him to give you the passcode... assuming he hasn't already left to find whatever it is he's looking for. But no, he acted like this thing was important to him, why would he do that if it wasn't true? And even if he did leave to maybe find some other place to stay, you could probably track him, right? How hard could it be?
Of course you could just go back to the psychic maggot. It must have someone able to get the info off this thing. Then it gets what it wants and hopefully just lets you go. I mean, it has all the power in this deal, it can decide to do whatever it wants. But if you want to keep your sister alive and out of slavery, you've got to keep the maggot pleased, right? You're pretty sure you couldn't move her to one of the outer towns without the slug noticing and even if you did you'd still be a danger to her. That maggot said that thing in your head lets it know where you are, so unless you find a way to remove it it can use it to track you.
But all this time you've just been running, trying to keep up with things, trying to survive. Maybe it's about time you had more control over the situation. Maybe if you knew what was in that thing, you could somehow use it to your advantage. You have this drug-dealer friend (or maybe acquaintance would be a better description), he might know someone who can unlock that thing. But he made it very clear that he didn't want to get involved in this, so you'd need some way to convince him... Maybe by offering some of the stuff you took from the Newcomer? Or maybe by offering a share of whatever it is the Newcomer is looking for?
Campaign: Rebel Assault
<It's split into three parts, not sure what its next plan is.>
Spread my flames and grow them. luckily I still have a significant amount and their growth is exponential - more fire makes it easier to make even more fire. But this is about the lowest I want to let myself get unless it's an emergency. Its fine to make way more fire than I can comfortably control, I'll just let it burn naturally in the environment to be collected later as necessary.
You spread a good chunk of your fires and position them above the monster's last known positions while the rest are used to produce more fire, burning whatever shrub you can find in the surrounding area and what's left of the fires Nikolai had the recruits prepare. The streams of fire feeding them make them look like glowing scorpion tails waiting to strike. You've started reaching the edge of the cleared area in your effort to burn stuff, you're going to start getting more resistence from the Dark magic soon.
<Its split into three parts, not sure what its next plan is.>
Spread my flames and grow them. luckily I still have a significant amount and their growth is exponential - more fire makes it easier to make even more fire. But this is about the lowest I want to let myself get unless it's an emergency. Its fine to make way more fire than I can comfortably control, I'll just let it burn naturally in the environment to be collected later as necessary.
"It's trying to waste as much of our damn time as possible!"
Quickly assess situation.
My armour is very good against smoke and fire, but how are the recruits doing?
The ground around the shield-platform probably isn't walkable, since it's all superheated and melty. Unless Irene left an escape route? Can probably cool it down with ice bolts if I have to. Fire + Ice = normal ground. Or steam explosion, or deep mud, who knows.
How far is the trebuchet? If I can get a shot off and destroy the tower, that could potentially end whatever magic is animating the branch monster thing. In this case the farther away the trebuchet is the better since it will take more time for the groots to catch up.
Comm Theri and Zech's team. How are they doing, and are they far enough away to safely trebuchet the tower?
Comm Ike's airfield team. How are they doing, and can we expect any air support soon?
Just hunker down for a few seconds while assessing the factors. Maybe a miniturn?
The monster is actually underground between the shield and the top of the slope you were on. That means you could just run away from it and be safe. It shouldn't be able to move too quickly when underground, so it should still be there.
The trebuchet is down the slope and away from the beast. Not more than a minute's run, not extremely close. You and a few recruits should easily be able to go there and fire it long before the monster catches you (at least if it keeps moving underground). You could even split the recruits up and have one group distract the monster while you and the rest fire.
I assume Theri and Zech will respond and let you know that they have rescued two groups of hostages. The first group was unable to fight and has been sent to the eastern gate to evacuate. The second group has been partially armed and is currently being led east through the norther road. There are enemy reinforcements following them while another group of enemy troops is heading towards the eastern gate. There's also a small number of enemy workmen attempting to salvage the downed airship.
All the enemy pilots are down, so no enemy air support is expected. The Scout Glider and the Combat Gliders are all secure, nobody is getting to them. Enemy troops tried to approach but the group's arrows convinced them to stay away. They're keeping them pinned down while the Water Mage is providing cover. The enemy is currently regrouping and preparing something. Ike is using his ears to make sure they don't catch them by surprise.
If you're talking about friendly air support, then I don't think that is something Ike would do. It wasn't part of the plan so nobody trained for it. Only people capable of flying reliably with a Glider are the Master Alchemist due to her training and Ike due to his skill. You'd probably have to give a good argument to either of them about why it would be a good idea to use a Glider and what they should do with it.
Your miniturn has been granted.
Campaign: Party Crasher
Alayne, Disney Princess From A Certain Perspective
To Alayne, there is no such thing as being suspiciously followed. This just means someone wants to meet her and is willing to walk around with her without her even asking or knowing about it! That's just shy potential friend behaviour right there, easily rectified with a firm handshake and a good greeting.
Walk up to the person following me and introduce myself to them (still in maid persona, of course). New friendquaintance, get!
You spin on your toes and the immediately start walking in the opposite direction. Your pursuer hides behind a corner in an intersection. You keep walking, turn the corner and come face to face with one of the mages that were with Ventis in the Control Room. His face is a mix of surprise, fear and embarrassment. You think it's the most red you've seen someone's face get the past few weeks.
"Hi there!""Uh, hello?""Nice to see you again!""Uh, yeah, I guess?""Fancy meeting you here!""Oh, you know, on break, going on a stroll?""Oh, what a coincidence, me too! I'm going to watch that demonstration thingmagic!""In the wing section?""Sure! Better than with all those boring people upstairs!""I guess?""I know! Let's watch it together!""Uh, sure?""Great! Let's go!You grab the poor mage by the arm and start dragging him with you.
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Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1076924 times)