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TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
Can we change our itinerary in a way that we can control the time and location of their assassination attempt? They don't have a clue of our abilities so I wouldn't be worried about dying, just the exposure of said abilities. But if we can control that, then no reason to not go 2A.
 

Rex Feral

Prophet
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
1,300
If it looks like a set-up, if we appear to be too well prepared, we will lose credibility as a Shadow Broker. CA.

I want the update already :D.
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
But who says it looks like a set-up, if no-one survives to tell about it?;)
 

Zwist

Learned
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
236
We are acquiring power to fast. Way to fast. And I'd rather have the emperor as an ace for later. Also, he might notice that we have changed.
As things are looking however, we have a train.
As for the information: Just knowing that they plan something is an information. And we are not imortal, we just have the ability to save scum. Dying is still bad.
 

aleam iacis

Liturgist
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
115
Codex USB, 2014 BattleTech
CA. But can we still call Qin and let her know we have a plan that will work best with her as an ally going by another path or something. Some way that we don't burn bridges with her and she thinks we trust and rely on her even though we aren't using her backers?

Also, can we build some sort of battle-gear or suit for ourselves under our clothing or get some custom implants? We are a semi-maniacal super-genius. Something to make up for not having tentacles that we can abuse our super-reaction time with. I mean, not for tomorrow night probably, but for pretty soon.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Well, at the end of the fight with Shulgi we seemed to gain the ability to shatterpoint things without having to touch them... treave, can you confirm this?

edit:
I cannot do anything but bring ruin. Rei can create. She brings life. I see lines of death. I kill.

I can kill anything.

Broken lines of sapphire criss-cross the world in front of me, though I had not willed their presence yet. In the next moment, the hatch of my cockpit is torn away, and I see Shulgi standing over me.
Ah, I see, Shulgi was the one who tore our cockpit open...
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
You'll still need to touch things. I may give the option to wipe people from existence from time to time, but that's a serious option that is only rolled out when the alternatives could be much worse. At any rate, sorry, have been a bit busy with real world events lately. The update should be out either today or tomorrow.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
A Winning Proposition

"Now, Mr. Hoshikawa, it would be problematic for us if you continued down this path." smiles the governor thinly. Governor Raheed Camna, patriarch of the minor noble house of Camna. A sandy-haired, tanned man of about fifty, he is very fit for his age and possesses a dominating physical presence.

"I am unsure of your meaning, Governor Camna," I say, wiping my mouth with the napkin. The reception had been grand - certainly the governor has no problem laying his hands on luxuries despite the scarcity on the streets. "The refugees want only to be left in peace."

"That is dangerous talk, Mr. Hoshikawa." His smile widens, showing his teeth. "We have taken in the refugees on our land, and as such we expect them to respect and abide by our rules. They can be left in peace if they do not squat on Ankidan territory."

"Are you proposing eviction?"

"Of course not," says the governor smoothly. "I would like to take care of them as best as they can. But you must realize, in these difficult times we must all make compromises. We allow them to reside on Ankidan land. They aid us with their labour. It is the nature of the social contract that we have agreed upon. I must say, the Federation and the Star League will not look too kindly upon those who question this state of affairs."

I look down at the lavish feast spread in front of me.

"Truly, we live in difficult times," I murmur.

"Isn't that so?" grins Governor Camna broadly. "I can, however, make things a bit less difficult, both for you and the refugees. I am willing to make more sacrifices to come to a deal between us. You don't need to live in poverty - you're a talented man. What say you?"

I look him in the eye and smile. "That would be quite interesting. I say..."

The timing is perfect. There is a swift knock on the door and it opens. The former Emperor of the Shinar, Iannes Sargone, stands in the doorway. His hair has thinned and there are many more wrinkles around his eyes, but he remains distinguished and commanding.

"Your Majesty," I incline my head respectfully. The governor gives him a cordial greeting, but says nothing else.

"I'm an ex-Majesty, Senya." smiles Iannes. "It's been far too long. Governor, if I may borrow this young man for a while?"

"Sure, Iannes," he shrugs. "I think we were just about finished. Please do keep in consideration my offer, Mr. Hoshikawa. I think the alternatives are much worse."

"Of course. You will be hearing my answer soon enough." I bow politely, thanking him for his reception, and leave with Iannes.

***
"We won't be overheard here, in my private quarters," says Iannes, pouring out a shot of whiskey for me. "By the way, I believe you are of age to drink now, right?"

I accept the glass, nodding.

"It's been too long. I was surprised when I saw that you had returned to Ankida... alone." he sighs, repeating himself. "I always wished that the two of you together would have made this world a better place..." All of a sudden, he looks fragile and old, as if the full weight of his years is bearing down on him. For an instant I see Kyrie standing by his side, but she vanishes when I blink.

"I'm sorry, sir," I say quietly. He turns to me, slightly surprised. "Don't be. It's not your fault. If Julia had not been so eager for power, the two of you would not have been parted. Of course, I heard Kyrie escaped after that, but then she went looking for you. Right after that the world went to hell... " He gives a heavy sigh. "I have little hope that she survived, but I can only hope she met with you. Did she?"

I realize that I am breathing heavily and gripping the glass so tightly that it could crack. With an effort of will, I force myself to relax. I think she did find me, in the end.

"I think she didn't, sir. I never met her after that day," I say with a straight face. "I was searching for her too, until I got caught up with the cult. They captured me and I only managed to escape recently. The past five years have been a blur."

"You knew she wasn't dead?" asks Iannes suddenly, his voice sharp and inquisitive.

"Who do you think I am?" I reply without missing a beat. "I found out for myself by sneaking into the palace."

He laughs. "Of course you would! Hah! I always thought that she had chosen wisely. The two of you would have accomplished great things. Great things."

I see Kyrie's visage again, fading into view behind her father, and I close my eyes, willing the spectre to vanish. There is no need to hesitate. I will build the world she envisaged - one that would birth a united, equal humanity - and I do not mind if I have to dirty my hands to do it, or to use her father for my own ends.

"That is partially why I came here. We cannot let the President ruin this Federation anymore."

Iannes stares at me, interested in what I have to say.

"She built this Federation on the back of Kyrie's sacrifice. This is her child. Not Julia's. I will not stand by and allow her to do as she pleases with the power she has stolen," I say with supposedly heartfelt disgust. "If Kyrie wanted for anything, it was not this. Her... mother... did not understand her."

"How do I play into this, Senya?" asks Iannes, his voice grave.

"You understand Kyrie better than Julia does."

"You want me to..."

"Yes. You will be the next President of the Federation, and together we will build the world that Kyrie dreams of. If she is still alive this is the first step for us to find her again, with the resources of the Federation at our disposal. If she is not..." I let my voice trail away for a moment, and finish quietly. "I can think of no better way to honour her memory."

Iannes leans back, a twinkle coming back into his eyes.

"Interesting."

"The first step, however, is to make you Governor. With the support of the people, as the head of state of a new nation, you will negotiate full partnership for the Allied Cities of Terra as an equal partner in the Federation. Then... we will declare our bid for the Presidency."

Iannes grins wickedly, and I match it with my own. I think I got him.

"Allied Cities of Terra? You think big."

"Hanging around with your daughter for the better part of a year tends to do that to people."

"What do you need me to do, then? Be your figurehead? I believe I am a bit rusty, but I can do that."

"You won't just be a figurehead. You will be a symbol of resistance against President Julia. You command more respect than I do - you will play a crucial role in the throng of negotiations to come, Your Excellency."

"Hm. Your Excellency, eh?"

"I live only to serve," I give him a mock smile. He laughs.

"Well then, let us see what we can accomplish. I am with you, Senya. For Kyrie's sake and this world's."

"Thank you." I bow my head, expressing my gratitude. "I will make the necessary arrangements. In three days time you shall have your first public speech in years..."

***

Leaving the palace, Yua passes me the information that the syndicates promised me, letting me know that the syndicates have been provided with my schedule. It is probably not going to do them any good unless they plan to launch a straight-forward attack. What I find out about the Federation's plan, however, comes as a bit of a surprise.

They plan to assassinate the candidate Qin is backing, the autonomy advocate Michael Frommen, during a talk he is giving, on the same day that I had planned Iannes's speech.

***

A. I contact Qin about the assassination, and let her deal with it. I don't owe her anything more than that - if the assassination succeeds, I am less one rival. If it fails, Qin will be grateful for the information.

B. I let Qin know about the assassination and offer my help. If we succeed, she and Frommen will definitely be indebted to me, and I can use that as political leverage.

C. I do not let Qin know about the assassination but stake out the place myself. I will decide which side to aid, or whether to aid either side at all, for myself on that day.

D. I do not bother doing anything about this news. I have other things to focus on, and we will let the dice fall where they will.

***

A. I have Iannes's speech go on as planned. It can serve as a distraction, drawing people away from Frommen's talk.

B. I delay Iannes's speech until the Frommen issue is resolved. Who knows what new issues may crop up that I can capitalize on?
 

Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
hmm we can try to CA. Look like we can use assassination to hit federation in our speech when before heads can cool down and another side will bleed. That looks like only short term gain and can be hard to pin it with proof to feds. A in first is nice to. We don't give any reason for federation to increase our surveillance and Qin will be grateful, judging from this info their side is nice distraction for us so mby keeping them around can be profitable. D dont make sense for me other than not getting federation on our neck. If played right BA could lead to some sort of alliance or illusion of cooperation with Qin side. I dont know how to get 2B to play well... mby by A/C/D? (still hazy)

I will vote AA for now looks balanced possible flop after others posts
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
BA - Bring Qin and Fronmen into the fold. Iannes's speech gives Senya more room to operate and hunt the assassins down. On the downside, federation may start to pay more attention to us.
 

Anabanana

Augur
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
1,061
CB. Since the syndicates know our schedule they might try to sabotage the Emperor's speech, so there shouldn't be any harm in shifting it to another day. We should stake out Qin's candidate's speech and the assassination ourselves because I think gathering as much information as possible is the best way to proceed here. Who knows if we'll find anything to exploit, eh?
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Choice 1:
A seems like it could REALLY backfire, long-term. In letting them know beofrehand we could be setting Frommen up to look like a real hero and completely steal Iannes's thunder.

B is interesting, but we have to keep in mind that the feds are watching and that the mob wants to kill us. Oh, and the mob knew about the federation's plans how? Maybe the two are allies in this somehow? Even if that's not the case, this is a very risky option, but is far better the A in my book, as Senya would be getting the credit for this, not Frommen. (Plus, we could always "accidentally" let him die...)

C is probably only good if we plan to make sure Frommen dies, and even then it's very risky. By being there we could easily incriminate ourselves and we'd be certain to get even more attention from the feds - who have a satellite watching us, remember? Also, by not telling Quin AND being there, we could end up having her find out that we knew about the attempt and remained silent. Quin points -5...

D may be a good option. Hopefully Frommen would die and no one would know we knew. This would best be paired with 2B as the death of a candidate tends to pull the press away from a political speech and there is no point in a distraction if we aren't there.


As for choice 2:
A's benefit seems to be drawing people away from Frommen's speech. Basically, a distraction, so no one notices that we're there etc. Looks good in BA and CA.

AA would probably suck as the news would switch over to the hero Frommen who just fended off the cowardly federation assassins.

B seems to be the more politically savvy of the two options. No one is going to be watching an old guy - even this old guy - talk when there is live violence on the next channel. It would seem to be especially be good if paired with D as Frommen would be dead and then Iannes could come out with the info on the assassins being from the federation or something.

My vote is BA for now. Failing that, DB - which I may flop to anyway...

Screw it DB.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
The satellite wasn't watching you. It just happened to pick up the speech. Assume, however, that there are eyes on you as long as you don't take measures to deceive them.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Guys, what the hell is it with these votes?

Qin is important to us as an ally, but us going with Iannes already means we're not going to be bosom buddies, so why are we sacrificing our biggest and most important play in the game to save Frommen who is a friend of a friend (2A)? Moreover, why are we letting Iannes talk while we ourselves are not there to control/see what is going on, and instead rushing into a murder scene that the syndicates now expect us to be at (1B, 1C)? I'm assuming we'll just be arrested and framed (again) while Iannes takes the momentum and goes off and benefits, or something.

It's tempting to look like a hero but unless somebody can offer a sound logic that we can expect to come out top in the business, I say DB - or if we must save, CB.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Um, you gave the syndicates your schedule, not that you allowed them to put a tracking device on you. But you're being watched anyway. By mobsters and government agents.
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
Syndicates have our schedule, but they don't know that we are the information broker. If we want to come on top this time, we are going to need more pawns and plays than one. So let's ensure we can steer Frommen in the future to the direction we want, save his life so that we can sacrifice him later.
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

Guest
Guys, what the hell is it with these votes?

Qin is important to us as an ally, but us going with Iannes already means we're not going to be bosom buddies, so why are we sacrificing our biggest and most important play in the game to save Frommen who is a friend of a friend (2A)? Moreover, why are we letting Iannes talk while we ourselves are not there to control/see what is going on, and instead rushing into a murder scene that the syndicates now expect us to be at (1B, 1C)? I'm assuming we'll just be arrested and framed (again) while Iannes takes the momentum and goes off and benefits, or something.

It's tempting to look like a hero but unless somebody can offer a sound logic that we can expect to come out top in the business, I say DB - or if we must save, CB.
You have swayed me, sir. Flopped to DB.

edit: BA is still my second choice in case DB fails.
 

Zwist

Learned
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
236
Hmmm. A is counting on the incompetence of Quin and her lot. If their candidate is out of the picture we might rally them to our course, and our tip would help win favours. The danger is that he might survive a hero.
And we really do not want that.
The problem with delaying the speech is that we look suspicious if we do not do it smart. So that would make sense with A in the first choice more than B.

So I'm voting AB, in the hopes of incompetence, and capitalising on the tragic demise of a leading figure, to raise a revolution.

And remember: The mob could use the our shedule to pin the hit on us. If they are s.m.r.t that is.
 

aleam iacis

Liturgist
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
115
Codex USB, 2014 BattleTech
I think you D voters are looking at this the wrong way, do you really think our planned candidate can lose to Frommen? The combination of the Emperor and Senya, the People's Man? Even if Frommen surviving an assassination makes him look great and sympathetic (which it might not, depending on the events and the spin), we are going to under attempted assassinations all the time, plus we can fake them. Just do one on ourselves or the Emperor and we could have a bloody revolution and be hearing the song of angry men if we really need to.

Instead, helping Qin will give us a sympathetic and possibly puppet opposition leader to our side, and possibly add to our personal fame and following.

Anyway, I say BB. Let's not let our candidate get assassinated while we're away, mmkay? It would be especially ironic if it happened because the syndicate had our schedule and thought we would be there. That said, if Iannes fought off an assassination attempt at the same time and showed off his personal courage and integrity... And how even a crippled old emperor was more of a hale and hearty man than this autonomy figure fellow who needed someone outside his party's protection...
 

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