[X][Frame] Aeris Fii (AIS-09-FII)
[X][Tweak] Solid Spell Shield - Arm the Frame with a thicker shield made plated with Spell Armor, allowing it to bear the brunt of damage without weighting down the Frame very much. In an emergency it's possible to enspell the edge of the shield to serve as an improvised cutting weapon. [Note: The normal shields issued are non-Spell Armor variants. Those are heavier and make for poor spell conductors.]
[X][Tweak] Maneuver Array - By adjusting the structure slightly, it's possible to integrate more thrusters here and there across the Frame as to allow for greater mobility and overall speed. This tends to complicate maintenance and repairs, especially if a Frame uses better than normal types of armoring and tends to reduce armor effectiveness around these tweaked sections. [Note: Requires prep time before deployment.]
[X][Past] A Ruined Future - You had a bright future, even if it was a bit prearranged in parts by your parents through their connections across many a places. It wasn't exactly clear as to what had happened, but between a broken engagement and the abrupt decline of your family, it was obvious there was something afoot. It was a freedom you didn't quite ask for, it was one whose price was too much for you to accept. Thus, you had resolved to change it for the better. [+Nobility]
You opt to make do with an Aeris Fii while placing in a request to have it tweaked to incorporate a Maneuver Array. It was a common configuration that originally started out as an improvise "upgrade" to the first of the Aeris series, persisting across the
years decades as a go-to measure for local forces to mitigate performance gaps. Though that was only a thing thanks to the adopted mass production Frames sharing around 90% of the same overall structure from generation to generation.
In a sense it's contributed to the slowed adoption of the Faia as the 'local' alternative due to it sharing just a staggering 70% structural similarity to the base "Fia", the Aeris Fii's direct Fourth Generation predecessor. Which is rather a moot point thanks to the differences being in places that specifically don't impair common modifications. Even so, it made replacing parts a far worse logistical concern as they couldn't
just slap on parts from other Aeris models and call it a day.
Therefore it would serve you well enough, with margin for other tweaks later on if you don't wind up wrecking it too frequently. From what you recall... yeah, you didn't have that much luck during the campaign. But it's an experience that you draw upon to make your decision, picking out a Solid Spell Shield from the inventory as well.
It was rather fortunate they had any on hand, as they made for a good fall back defense against heavy weapons. With enough juice and a well timed spell to bolster it, it was a better way of blunting bazooka happy harassers. Unfortunately the part of the front you were previously on wasn't considered as 'priority' enough to get their hands on any consistent stock of these shields. Although whether or not you can pull it off
that well remains to be seen.
With your pick of it, only
one Solid Spell Shield remains in inventory. Which from the faint red glow ebbing from it, is probably already taken. There wasn't a hint of red earlier, much less any other color in particular...? No, that might not be true. You have a color of your own too right?
What's your Color?
[ ][Color]
Magenta
[ ][Color]
Abyssal
[ ][Color]
Snow White
[ ][Color]
Fiery Blue
[ ][Color] (Write In)
As the realization 'clicks', you notice a faint glow ebbing off the shield you claimed for yourself. A strange yet familiar sensation rolling off it as though it was perfectly natural. While on the inventory checklist the item fades out into black, as its stock drops to zero. With it the glow of your color ebbs away, fading
into the backdrop away.
Huh, so it works like that?
Small changes to accommodate multiple Operators poking at the same thing, or maybe a sort of manifestation when dealing with 'priority' disputes? You move along as you discard that idea, as it doesn't
feel like you had to expend any bit of influence over it. If anything, it feels as though it's 'settled' a little bit instead of 'flowing' on a casual whim.
"Huh, where di- who took the shields?!" echoes a voice from
somewhere, a tinge of brownish silver to it.
"
That is your concern?" retorts a second colored voice, this time a yellow hue. "Wait, that color... oh, uhm," We have a fourth person now? Wow."
You note the choice of words, 'a fourth person' and not 'a full Lance'. It was a strange feeling of hearing... colored voices? Glancing about you notice an ethereal shading to the surroundings as well as time seeming to return to normality, as the 'glossed time' fades away...
... leaving you standing in the Ready Room?
No, it's an almost illusionary feeling with a nonsensical color and feel to the environment around you. Your color trails off you as you glance about at your surroundings seeing three others present. They look over you in fleeting silence, their colors ones you recognize from earlier.
[Background Check (Nobility) = Pass]
[Charisma =/= 0 = Yes]
[Contribution Check = Fully Repaired]
One a faded yet brilliant shade of archaic red as you felt from before, the familiar/unfamiliar feeling behind
their her as though you've
potentially met her at some point or another. A few white carbon strands extend out from the back of her head, winding around her earpieces as though it were hair, and in all her most distinct feature alongside her color. She nods at your presence in tacit approval as though expecting you.
"Repairs. In time. Thank you." Her voice is faint, soft as though it were barely there. From the inflection in her voice, it is a formal polite tone, one spoken between equal. Yet it is one that would elude you if it were not for the color to her words.
"No, I only did what was necessary." Your words are dyed in your color, seemingly drowning out the faint color of her words. It was the truth, as your decision would serve to improve your odds.
"Huh, waitasec," speaks another, a hue of yellow flickering with anticipation, "did she just speak-"
"Ha?" scoffs the last figure, her voice carrying with it a brownish silver hue. Her visor shines a foul shade of brown. "You're the arse that claimed the shields? Shouldn't juniors let the seniors have their pick of things first?"
"Oi, you woke up only a little bit before him, like a hour ago." The yellow speaker, male from
his dress uniform the tone of his voice Stepping slightly over as to interpose himself between you and her. "I mean, other than Crimson here, the rest of us might as well be recruits."
"Tch, fine." The woman-girl clicks her tongue, a slight screeching sound being its mechanical inflection. "But that doesn't give him the right to it without contributing like us."
"Ah well, that's... a better reason," acknowledges the yellow speaker with some reluctance. He looks to you with a slight shrug. "Sorry about this, but she has a point there. The three of us were raking the transferees in the sims to try and push them along so...."
Strange. It'd seem they didn't hear the one he called 'Crimson' thank you for your part. Then again, this whole sensation itself was downright bizarre. "And I was helping get our Frames in order. A ten, twenty percent performance gap here or there isn't nothing is it?"
That number was a slight exaggeration, but if you were to consider the need to push your Frame to its limits at times or while under prolonged combat conditions, it was entirely true. With the way the repairs were prioritized less critical areas were of secondary concern, which itself meant that depending on the circumstances it could very well wind up leading to someone's
death. The most straight forward consequence was quite literally the Frame's ability to hold up under prolonged, heavy combat.
"Hmph, it's just a patrol, what could possibly happen?"
"Oi. You the
same thing about our Operator complement."
The brownish silver figure turns away slightly, her visor crackling for a moment as though wincing at the memory. "Th-that... fine! Hmph! It's not like we didn't wrangle out a few good finds. No thanks to her."
She glares at the other other
woman wait she's not? lady oi what the hell. girl. "She's not even paying us any attention!"
"Changes. Frame numbers," interjects said girl, 'Crimson' as the other guy had called her. "Four more."
"Huh, just wait just a sec-"
The three of you, well the two others gesture across their surroundings as though conjuring up a screen. A screen readily appearing as though on cue, each manifesting in their respective colors. No, rather they were already there
and you simply didn't see them. It was simply a lack of synchronization?
"Seriously? They
weren't there during the sims. were there? Huh? Huh?!" The brownish silver figure sputters indulgently as she glances between you and the information shown to her. "How is this even fair?!"
The yellow guy shakes his head as he strides back to his original position. "Very? I mean it doesn't cost any influence now for a tweak, so he's clearly contributed enough."
"
Fine, but it's not like there's much to choose from," grumbles the brownish silver figure, her armored gauntlet nursing her forehead. "Well whatever, as long as he pulls his weight. I'm out then, see you lot on deployment."
"Wait just a sec-" as the words leave the yellow Operator's mouth, the room is suddenly short one person. "Argh, seriously? What a pain...."
He sighs a dull whining sound, shaking his head as he stumbles over his choice of words. "So, this... it's just a Pre-Op Meeting Room of sorts? I mean, it's arranged by party so... yeah, I dunno how you'd managed to enter without someone introducing you here in person."
"I'm not sure either, all I did was just feel about a little bit when the surroundings were acting up." It's not a lie, but it doesn't feel quite right to you. A feeling you don't think you should share with them/those two. After all, unlike 'Crimson' they don't seem to have a good grasp on
how to best apply their influence. Furthermore, it doesn't seem as though 'Crimson' has bothered explaining much to either of the other two.
"Ah well... that's fine? In any case, it's generally accessed through a simple exchange, handshake, so such and tacit agreement between the inviter and the invitee. So I suppose it might've been a subconscious action at some earlier point."
You simply nod, going along with his interpretation. It was rather sound if you thought about it a little bit more. From the faint glow when you picked out the solid spell shield... that was probably when you were invited in. At least that was the only prior interaction you recall having. "So, about those screens?"
"Oh, this is just a menu window, er... right that's not the question. Just focus on a sort of display that's convenient for you," he answers as he waves his hand about, shifting it from a screen to a board, a tablet, to a monitor and back to a screen again. "We're still figuring out the heads or tails of it but... it's a hassle to experiment when we haven't had much of a chance to build up extra influence. It's honestly a pain having to nudge the Lost to their senses, their Spirit."
You 'roll' your eyes, your visor glowing similarly. "Isn't it easier to say they're asleep and we're awakened?"
"If they were acting on stock behaviors sure. But that's not the case," elaborates the yellow Operator with a slight sigh to his voice. He glances off the side of his screen as though checking something. "As for ourselves, well, 'Spirit' is just what I'm call it for now. Anyhow, I'd just get ready to deploy since we have limited time to prep before the next operation. Just look over the 'Key Objectives' and pick out between one of the
three two- god damnit. The hell is going on out there."
"Alright, I'll do that." You call to mind the terminal from earlier and one
pops into is in your hands. Seriously? That's how it works? "So what will you go with...?"
"Gold, please," the man insists, his visor beaming a bright shade of yellow as though it'd help. "I mean, it's not like attempts at naming yourself beyond a certain point will stick. We've
tried, plentifully. Sure you'll hear/see yourself say/write the words, but that's all. It won't
stick."
"Well it's either that or our Lance, Company, whichever designation, you get the idea right? So just pick something you won't quite regret...." His words trail off as he notices your visor's flicker. "No, it's not yellow okay. Really. It's just a shade of gold."
You nod as you roll with his plea. "Sure. So then I'll see you later?"
"Yeah, just... don't die out there. Mission success or failure be damned." With that Totally-Not-Yellow fades out, his presence dispersing from the room.
With that it leaves just 'Crimson' across from you...?
She strides over to you, her hand gesturing for your terminal. "A moment, please."
"Ah sure." You do so without much fanfare.
"Thank you." 'Crimson's' free hand shifts between a navigating your terminal and her own display projected in parallel next to it. Her fingers tapping and dragging a few things here and there, the latter mostly from hers to yours. After a few moments she hands your terminal back to you. "Done. Please, don't die."
Accepting it back, you simply reply. "You too."
With that she fades away, the room shimmering and fading thereafter. But not before a single faint word finds its way to you. "Alpha."
And you find yourself back in your cockpit in Manual Operation. You blink as you examine your surroundings to be sure. Indeed you're back in your Frame... with the three frames assigned to you having reported in as well? No wait, when the hell did you get a command of your own?
You glance at the terminal
floating before you, aglow in your colors. A few parts glow a faint red, a sign of 'Crimson's' handiwork. It could be summarized rather simply as:
The Valiance Class Cruiser 'Endeavor' is hereby appointed as the flagship of the newly formed 4th Border Hound Taskforce assigned to reinforce the border to the rear of the current advance. Two Guardian Class Frigates and their respective Lances will be assigned to reinforce the Endeavor's
two Lances Frame Company. Due to conflicts in procurement and supply priorities, the Taskforce is authorized to call upon reinforcement from the local/nearby systems should the situation deem it necessary.
In light of the unusual situation at the front and suspect circumstances along the borders, Operator numbers are being bolstered in preparation of unexpected developments and further security of the homeland. As to provide them guidance, when possible senior Operators will be granted provisional Lance Leader status for the time being. Depending on the senior Operator's merits and achievements it may be deemed a formal promotion.
... or basically she forcibly shoved in a whole Lance's worth of Frames in to accommodate your addition to their party. Given the 'issue' with names, it's an understandable solution? Yet it just feels a bit like a waste of Influence. After all, it wasn't as though there weren't enough to go around in the first place-
You are
a member of Bronze-2 Lance the leader of your own provisional Lance, comprising one of the Endeavor's three Lance of Aeris Fii. On second thought, that might be for the best. Given the
other Operator's dislike of you, the last thing you'd want is to give her ample chances to screw you over in favor of her own benefits.
No wait, 'it' just rolled with the numerical tweak? Then what of your prior actions-
"Eight? That's nonsense ya? Though I won't fault ya for not being up to date. It was a last minute call by the folks up above. They were a bit in worse condition than the rest so we'd been putting off on it for a bit more than we're comfortable with. Cause it'd be terrible if the newbies can't fix'em well enough to render the shields usable."
The mechanic shrugged as he shook his head at your concern. "Those were the ones from Alpha Lance's previous assignment, banged up from three five back-to-back operations with almost no chance for any proper repairs to the cockpit block. So we've been putting'em off for now along with the extra requests from Alpha Leader. Since we're about done here now we'll be getting'em done now."
"Ah these tweaks? I don't mind showing ya how to do'em yourself if you want. Problem? Nah, ya see, if you can handle'em yourself then if ya can make off with the right parts from the battlefield, you can simply install'em on your own time. As long as you ain't pilfering from the military's inventory it's all good as long as you can do it right. So, come let me show ya how it's done."
[+Knowledge on Tweaks, +(Knowledge) Mana Core+ Tweak, +(Knowledge) Maneuver Array Tweak]
Your head swirls as the conversation flickers into being, filling up chunks of time here an there in between the repair work from earlier. Well that explained
why she could pull a Lance out of nowhere. Just...
which/what was she thanking you for then?
Shaking your head you note the Frame composition for the Lances.
Alpha Lance - Aeris Fii (All w/ Maneuver Array ; Alpha Leader w/ Mana Core+ & Solid Spell Shield)
Gold Lance - Gallant (Gold Leader w/ Mana Core+)
Bronze-1 Lance - Aeris Fii (Bronze Leader w/ MagiCannon Pack)
Bronze-2 Lance - Gallant
Your Lance - Aeris Fii (Yours with Maneuver Array & Solid Spell Shield)
Your Lance's Callsign?
[ ][Callsign]
Delta
[ ][Callsign]
Silver
[ ][Callsign]
Noble
[ ][Callsign] (Write In)
Going by the distribution it'd be a good idea to either stick with Alpha Lance or Gold Lance. That was the original idea you'd considered, a rather short lived plan as you check the 'Key Objectives' Not-Yellow had spoke of.
[Pirate Hunting][5+ IP Total] - Pirate Base is located within the range of the Taskforce's jurisdiction. Root them out. [Dispatched: Tan-Silver]
[Convoy Rescue][2 IP Total] - A Civilian Registered Convoy will soon be attacked. Intercept/Ignore ? [Dispatched: No One]
[Check On Unknown Signals][3 IP Total] - Strange Signals have been detected in a nearby sector. Check it out and report back. [No, bait.]
[Standing By][0 IP Cost] - Awaiting Further Developments. [Status: 'Crimson']
"Wait a, she's already left?" you nearly curse at the development, your words bleeding a colorful stain into the air.
"Well... she has to find'em first," answers Not-Yellow, his voice a tad bit disembodied, clearly not coming from the speakers or any
real comm unit. "Things shift to facilitate the timing if it's relevant or points people to the general direction. It's just, if we all go in one direction it'll take the fleet with us."
"So it doesn't even need to be the 'same' objective does it?" you muse while glancing over the 'help' tidbit hidden off the side of the information displayed.
'Key Objectives' were a manifestation where parts of reality were fluid enough yet weighted down by certain truths and objectives driven by
others, the people other than Operators. In other words, they were determined to be of value or importance in some way, yet happening to occur nearby Operators like yourself thus being ripe opportunities for you to capitalize upon while changing things in a way that benefits others. With how much it benefits others translating in turn to how much IP- Influence Points, you would gain upon successful completion of the task.
Officially you would be assigned the task
afterwards, thus allowing things to remain coherent. Of course it wasn't always the case as it could happen in reverse. Likewise in those circumstances as well as ongoing 'Key Objectives' things can change for better or worse. Therefore its value could rather drastically change.
That was why 'Standing By' was an option, one of the 'do nothing' options. Those typically would cost you Influence if there were particularly pressing or sensitive Key Objectives occurring. It was the 'price' to pay for reality to bend enough to allow you an 'out' from instances not to your liking.
[Background Check (?) = Fail]
[Relevant Experiences/Luck = Partial]
"Then what's the plan? Help Tan-Sil? Or not?" you question. It was a little suspicious that a 'easy' objective was even a thing originally. Much less the sizable amount for mere pirate hunting.
"Tan-Sil? Huh, well, don't let Bronze hear that." Not-Yellow chokes down a laugh, snickering as he forcibly continues. "Well, if you're taking the Convoy then I'll back her up. Or vice versa. Cause if we both back'er up then we'll be short a Lance to save the convoy. Though we'll have ship support if that's the case."
Except you feel that Alpha is deliberately choosing to hold back for some reason or another.
"Go. It's fine," chimes in 'Crimson' as though she could handle whatever'll come up herself just fine. "Just hurry."
Your visor flickers at her choice of words. "Say Gold, how long does it take to redeploy?"
"That depends on how fast you can wrap up the objective and if anything else comes up. Why?"
"Curiosity." A half lie, for expediency. It would take too long to explain your gut feeling to him. "I take it this line won't hold up if we're too far out?"
"Yeah. Though well, you can forcibly withdraw if there's nothing left or whichever," replies Not-Yellow, elaborating a bit more on redeployment as though he's thought of something. "But it'll be abandoning the objective if it's incomplete. So making sure it finishes without a hitch is important. It's a good idea if you feel things will spiral out of control. Better a loss than death."
Yeah no. He didn't get it. But... it should be fine right?
Something is a bit off with the timing...
[ ][Objective]
Pirate Hunting [5+ IP Total] - Since there's a shot at rooting out a pirate base, it'll nip one potential trouble in the bud.
[ ][Objective]
Convoy Rescue [2 IP Total] - Even so, leaving people to die or worse would leave a bad taste in your mouth. Well it should be a quick task right?
Pondering it for a moment, you glance over your Lance's Operator profiles... drawing a lot of blanks and glossy textures. Your visor almost creaking from the nonsensical 'information' that bombarding it. It wasn't 'fixed' in place just yet, with most of their information being presently nonexistent like yours was up until earlier today.
From their handiwork earlier you at least could look up an aspect of their background prior to them becoming an Operator. Much like how you were a 'Mechanic' as far as your current background was concerned. After all it didn't 'explain' or account for
why a Noble would be a Mechanic. Their circumstances right now was similar in that regard.
With your Influence you could potentially 'impose' a change upon one or two of them. Otherwise you'd be leaving it up to luck if you were to push to make it relevant
now. In either case it would only be worth it if you were to push for a bit more competency as Operators. But it would potentially deny some potential... possibilities down the line if you were to allow them to naturally come to. Of course you could just 'invest' more in one of them to artificially facilitate things along.
Do you invoke their Background? (You have 3 IP)
[ ][Lance]
No, Leave Them Be. It wasn't worth imposing on them for your benefit. Even if it might help with their odds of survival. After all that was dependent on their luck or Influence expenditure from you.
[ ][Lance]
Yes, Leave it to Luck. Hopefully at least one of them have a background that'll improve their Frame operating capabilities in some way. Bounty Hunter, Mercenary, Academy Graduate... Pirate? Bandit? Something?
[ ][Lance]
Yes, Influence Slightly. It'll cost you uh... 1 IP or 2 IP, but at least you won't be leaving it to luck. As long as you do well enough and succeed in your first operation as yourself you'll recoup your expenses. (Specify 1 IP or 2 IP. Basically roll+ 1 or 2 rerolls. Guarantee minimum of 1 success.)
---
QM: Yeah the transitions are a little rough. But it's more in line with how reality is... being well, reality. Rewrote chunks/segments several times plus some other uh... distractions. For IP Cost Context: Tweaks Cost 1+ IP when you can't naturally acquire them. Likewise Sim'ing to acquire Backgrounds for Lancemates is 1 IP per attempt per Operator + Downtime + Personal Action (and
can fail). Discount/Rate Up applies for doing in bulk, you just don't benefit from the
latter because you weren't a contributor.