You choose the order, all missions are happening at the same time but the battle is long enough that you can jump around accumulate risk and rewards.
Friendsss, Lizardsss, Androidsss, lend me your ears (or aural interfacesss)
Charybdisss ssstandsss upon the cusssp of greatnessssss. Now we have a chancssse to make hissstory, to asssssert ourssselvesss asss a proud, independent sssystem.
There isss, however, a problem. Certain eventsss have left sssomething of a power vacuum. Mondo wasss the wrong lizard, but he had the right idea. Charybdisss needsss a presssident. But who? The candidatesss in the upcoming elecssshion have no proven track record, no experienssse of leaderssship.
Power is not sssomething I have ever sssought, but if my sssystem needsss me, who am I to ssshirk the resssponsssibility?
You know that I am a veteran of the Charybdian warsss of indepdence. Sssome call me a hero, and while that isssnāt a word Iād ussse, I wonāt argue.
Let usss consssider the major battlesss of the Independencssse:
Flapjack Bill
Mondo
Tiny
Ranger Granger
I wasss proud to have been part of the sssupport missssssionsss(1) that allowed thessse important classshesss to succssseed.
During the campaign, I successfully instigated a propaganda campaign that only resssulted in the death of one volunteer. The sssame policy was later repeated, only resssulting in the death of two further volunteersss. Those young pilotsss died heroesss deathsss in a vital caussse. Without them Charybdis might not be ssstanding on the edge of independencsse. I am proud to have fought literally(2)alongside thessse brave patriotsss.
I have alssso worked hard to ssstimulate the local economy. I have persssonally ssspent many thousssandsss of ssstarbucksss on our local ssshipbuilding indussstry, and undertaken persssonal risssks to aid the entrepeneureal effortsss of our friendsss in the asteroidsss. I have also made sssubstantial contributionsss to the hossspitality indussstry.
This isss a new land, a new opportunity, we mussst grasssp the nettle.
Why, even now I am preparing to go into a battle tomorrow in a high risssk(3) mission against the Scylla to help sssecure our Independence! Ssshould I return sssafely, it would be an honour to become your presssident!
I leave you with this messsssage. In the upcoming elecssshions, Vote early, vote often!
(1) that wheat wouldnāt deliver itssself, and we couldnāt be too careful with that sssolo ranger. Thereās no way you wouldnāt have wanted Brad Nebula looked after, either.
(2) figuratively
(3) no risk
3 Likes
Ah, we all figured out a way to cooperatively defeat the ICUP with few losses (and a 100% guarantee of victory and survival for many ships), so you decided to provide the sort of temptation you knew Space Captains with nothing to lose would have a very difficult time resistingā¦ fortune and glory (well, glory anyway) unlike anything seen before in this part of the galaxy.
Devious. It does primarily seem to be a way to allow us to go out in a blaze of glory instead of just boringly winning with little to no risk, which is clearly the intent of some captains (mainly android onesā¦ existential crises indeed - rust never sleeps).
Now, I still have $700 burning in my space pockets, which I intend to go towards the MASSIVE after party. I would not want to dampen the spirits at the after party by turning it into a well-funded wake (though that never seems to stop anyone in movies), so I think I will stick with just one mission. As has been noted, fortune and glory is no good to you if you are not around to use it (multiple Harrison Ford movie quotes seem to apply quite well to this situation).
4 Likes
Itās not glory.
The only way of demonstrating your capacity, your agency within an indifferent system is an irrational action. Weāre not rational, self interested actors. Weāreā¦
ā¦weāll. Weāll find out.
2 Likes
Is it even doable? Iāve built my ssship up fairly well. It could handle Mission 1 with ease. It could, with minor reallocation, handle Mission 3 pretty well. It could probably have had a decent chance at taking on both, with the two individual rissskss added together.
But I have 210 HP, more than any other ship, with ssstrong shieldss and pretty good luck, and ssstill it ssseemsss to me that adding another pair of Enemy Fightersss and three more Laser Turretss (not even counting the additional Matter Disssruptor Ray) will knock out anywhere from 21 to 42 HP (if I donāt reconfigure and keep my FP and SH around 63) in addition to to the 45 to 90 HP Iād lose from the Fighterss in Mission 1 and the 66 to 396 HP pounding Iād take from the drones in Mission 3 if I donāt reallocate from, ssay, SH or FP. @patrace, I assume those 34 droness Iād ācommandā donāt fight the 66 other drones on my behalf, do they? 'Cause itād be a lot cooler if they did.
Hmm. I donāt really know how to calculate the oddsss right now (nearing 1:00 AM after a long-assss day), but it appears to me that my ship might jussst have a chance of sssqueaking by doing Missionss 1 and 3, if I move sssome money away from FP/SH and into EN. But Iām having trouble imagining any of our shipsss even coming clossse to pulling off all three. Two lookssss more than tough enough, with the added rissskss.
Since I actually set up an analyzing spreadsheet to figure this one out, I started running the numbers for a multi-mission endeavour when the option became available. The best-case scenario for me on Mission 1 has me losing 33.75 HP, but more realistically I will probably lose at least 45-50, and that is with all upgrades put into preparation for that mission.
A second un-optimized mission might not do me in completely, but the dice would all have to roll in my favor. Then the additional multi-mission bonus threats would pretty much guarantee destruction, not to mention the stacked Matter Disruptor Ray odds.
You, certainly, could survive two missions (assuming no M.D.R. hits), but three would be extremely unlikely. Most ships would be pretty much doomed with two missions.
As I said, that must be the pointā¦ the odds were slightly too stacked in our favor this time, so this is a chance to go out in a blaze of glory.
Donāt worry. Jameson is showing up.
That should motivate everyone.
1 Like
āHey. El? Pax, okay? I never thought this hick, backwater slum of a galaxy would bring this up, but Iām getting reflexive, and Iām getting sentimental. I feel good about ā¦ sentience, for the first time in millenia. And if weāre going to dieā¦ā
āWeāre going to die, Sam. For a given value of death. You and I know all about that.ā
āā¦well. If weāre going to die, I want you to know Iām sorry.ā
āSorry? About what? About hunting me down and burning my systems apart. About taking my platforms to pieces and leaving me on that fucking waterbound oceanworld? About selling me out to the House council when we both took on the transgress? About painting me with the brush of culturecide when we both agree that it had to be done, and they had to be erased? About your cajoling and weaselling me into the shipflesh in the first place? Sorry? About? Every? Fucking? Betrayal?ā
āYes. About everything, Eleanor. About that first brush with the Majid and all the mistakes we made together. And most of all, sorry that we kept making mistakes.ā
āā¦ā
āIf weāre hunting glory, we go out as friends. We should have been friends, El.ā
āWe were, Sam. We are. We still can be.ā
āLast of the House actors. Last of the House?ā
āThe only ones.ā
āRight. Come on. Iāll buy you a drink?ā
āThat would be good, Sam. A nice bookend?ā
āDo you remember that time in Brunsā¦ā
āEnough! Booze, Sam! Lets find the bar in this Asteroid of Fucking Death.ā
2 Likes
The senescent wanderer is going to be a damage sponge, although moderated by low SH and FPā¦ It should be 240HP in this ā¦ engagement.
(BTW I love ellipsesā¦)
āUhā¦ Eleanor. The mood of the moment is kind of ruined by your ā¦ is that a ā¦ is that a Sombrero?ā
āIt is, Sam. And youāve know me long enough to know not to comment of my fashion senseā¦ā
āā¦Ohhhā¦ kay?ā
6 Likes
Sssince thisss war isss coming to an end, I thought I might get a few thingsss off my chessst. Asss ssssome of you know, I have a csssertain interessst in making recordingsss. I have ssspent sssome time recsssently reviewing the tapesss and have learnt sssome interesssting factsss.
One of the sssurviving captainsss isss a crosss-dressser with a predilicsssion for ssssequinsss, feather boasss and ssstiletto heelsss.
Amongssst the androidsss there isss one whossse pleasssure circuitsss get all ssstimulated by 50 Ssshadesss of Grey.
Alssso, you really wouldnāt like to see the torture dungeon aboard Captain [redacted]'sss vesssssel. Well, not unlesssss youāre Captain [redacted], obviousssly. Thossse two sssshould get together. Ssseriousssly.
2 Likes
Iām really looking forward to the campaign:
āA spleen in every replicator!ā
āAre you, or have you ever been, a member of the Coalition party?ā
āSenator, I served with El Esk. I knew El Esk. El Esk was a friend of mine. Senator, youāre no El Esk.ā
Of course, a campaign is more than just soundbites. Youāll need an image that appeals to both Humanoids and Lizards. May I suggest:
.
3 Likes
Wow, never knew there would be this much calculations involved in spaceflight, best invest in a good autopilot or a accountant for any future adventures! For now maybe someone has some spare CPU cycles and wants to check my odds? I do have a calculator with me but it requires more solar power levels youād only get on a comfortable golden locked planet, it does nothing this far out in spaceā¦
I also saw quite a few of your faces and never really got the hang of this communicator past the basics, do I add a image like this?
/home/nnaiv/Downloads/AwesomeSelfies/TheseReallyBringOutMyEyes/Newb_Naiv.png
Shopping:
Hull Density Adjustment * 1 = $ 500
Super Mondo Cannon * 1 = $ 18.000
Ultra Bounce Deflecto Coating * 1 = $ 18.000
Scrap Metal * 4 = $2.000
Deerstalker hat * 1 = $10.000
HP FP SH EN ST LK CREDIT HAT GRIT
Old 180 53 29 21 16 36 $ 14.044 NONE 15
New 181 73 57 21 16 36 $ 244 DRSTLKR 15
What is the use of having a fleet of spaceships if you canāt use them in a massive space battle against a superior power? I mean, planning only gets you so far, after a while you just have to go for it right? So lets blast some of those polished tin cans out of the sky! In the words of a unnamed old earth philosopher: Leeroyyy Jengaaa!!!
Youāll recall that I only ever mention the TARD-issās forehold, never the aft, which is closer to the Star Bar.
2 Likes
The Burnt Asbestosās mainframe has been chugging away for hours. Somewhere inside, a voice can be heard muttering.
Re-run them. Re-run them.
The computer swears its not lying. Itās answer just seems wrong.
Forget your guns. Forget your technologically-advanced shields. If you just make that asbestos-plated hull thick enough, you can run through the guns, take all your hits, and have the highest chance of success.
The Super Mondo Guns seem soā¦ so masculine. So long and hardā¦ Much cooler than the weenie Zott guns that stick out like curious bugās antennae on the ships hull. And that glistening Deflecto Coating, so shiny you can stare at yourself for hoursā¦
Heck, you could afford to stick two giant Super Mondo Guns up in front, and slap on a double-thick layer of Deflect Coating and, even if your ship wouldnāt be the toughest in the galaxy, at least you wouldnāt be ashamed to roll up to the after-party in it. Youād even have enough cash left over for some drinks.
Re-run them.
The computer swears again that itās not lying. You sadly turn away from Pete and Ellaās prettier offerings, and prepare the order for every single piece of ugly hull shell Pete has in stock.
Initial funds: $1474 + $50,000 store credit: $51,474
97 x Hull repairs: -$9700
83 x Hull Density Adjustment: -$41,500
Bar tab: -$10
Final cash: $264
New HP: 207/207
Taking Mission 1.
This isnāt guaranteed to work all, but unless the MDR hits me dead on (23% chance) and all five fighters fight at the top end of their stats, the Burnt Asbestos should make it through. Less-than-elegantly, but alive.
Hmmmā¦ thereās not much use in going to the cold grave of space with $264 in my wallet. Shouldnāt people get to drink even if youāre not around to enjoy it? And maybe all that asbestos would look better with flowers on the dashboardā¦?
After-party drinks and pizza fund: -$224
Flowers: -$40
Remaining cash: $0
2 Likes
Made a few minor edits to the multiple mission scenarios.
Hmmm, no oneās gone for mission 2 yet? Laser turrets do sound nasty, and the approach will not be easy, but apparently if you maneuver straight down the trench and skim the surface, you should get under the towers to a small thermal exhaust port, just two meters wideā¦
Donāt worry. Iāll be in the right place at the right time.
ā¦and just what the hell is a Womp Rat?
