[LP CYOA] Epic

[treave]

Yep.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Well, I tried.

A and C seem to be the least likely to TKO us. Although, D has me wondering if the fortress isn't there and firing the weapon wouldn't accidentally destroy the immortal(s) in a particularly lulz way: "They are oblivious to our presence! Mwahaha! O_O Oh..."

 

[TOME]

D is starting to tempt me more and more. Don't they know about our BHC? Couldn't they block it just as well as our new and improved cannon? And if we have spy in our midst, wouldn't they have told about our mech too?

 

[Baltika9]

I'll be pissed if Epsilon suddenly drops out of nowhere and starts carving up our heavy ships in the rear with CFs. Superheavies, if I remember correctly, aren't good at defending from light CFs. And we have the Jupiter bomb with them.

Fuck it. Full speed ahead!

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Treating the most consequence filled LP in history like it's a larpy power fantasy and gambling everything on a greedy division of our forces that would make Sun Tzu spin in his grave...

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

treave or anyone who knows: So who was cyber jack, anyway? Was this revealed?

Was it Anna? Cuz if it was, I have a few questions for h--

Oh...right...

 

[treave]

Deciding to run to the temple and then attack Shulgi meant that I had to dump the whole cyberpunk plotline and AI Goddess Yua. Oh well.

 

[Azira]

I wonder. Waaaay back when we had to choose which of the original three we had to play, if we hadn't chosen Ean, would our choice still have been considered saddled with "damaged voices"? I mean, if we to some extent symbolise the voices, I cannot imagine us having been any more coherent than we already are..

In other words, I feel sorry for Senya.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Deciding to run to the temple and then attack Shulgi meant that I had to dump the whole cyberpunk plotline and AI Goddess Yua. Oh well.

So it was Yua after all. I suppose Shulgi must have salvaged her and used her to suit his purposes or some such? Aw, crap. Well, codex gonna codex, I suppose. Where's the reload button?

That reminds me though, if our other self was really trying to preserve his friends why did he chop up poor Anna instead of "freeing her information"? (Other than the fact that it's great fun to chop up Anna's. See, you can arrange them in so many ways: anan, naan, nnaa, nana - the possibilities are endless...sort of.)

 

[Baltika9]

Yeah, poor Naram would be even more insane if we picked him.

"Kill the tentacle!"
"Love the tentacle!"
"Purge the tentacle!"
"Embrace the tentacle!"
Ad infinium.

 

[Esquilax]

In our encounter with Adrahasis, he managed to hide 10,000 ships while we were talking and surround us. I don't know what sort of tech the League has, but being backed by the Masters definitely presents a wild card, and could really throw a wrench in the works:

You don't know if they can hide all 20, but you find it unlikely unless they have tech you don't know about.

Now, we have one Master who is intrigued by Senya as he's never seen a being like him, but I'm betting that most of them are backing the League. Providing them with knowledge via the voices could be a sign of their divine favour, as well as an example of them "bending" the rules of the game. But then again, I see more Master fuckery occuring once we encounter the Council.

As for any counterarguments to this, I don't have any. If they have somehow managed to hide 20 fortresses via cloaking tech that we don't possess, our guys are dead meat if they charge in. According to treave, some jamming is in play to cover the retreat, which makes me uneasy. They could be well fortified there with all of their fortresses for all we know.

Treating the most consequence filled LP in history like it's a larpy power fantasy and gambling everything on a greedy division of our forces that would make Sun Tzu spin in his grave...

I don't think anyone is playing this like a power fantasy here. We all know the risks that come with A/B, it's just that sometimes you don't have all the information at hand and you need to make a risky decision if you want to achieve victory.

For example, you voted for the safest option, C. This is perfectly fine. But C also nets us nothing and allows our enemies to consolidate quite comfortably on their own turf and prepare for us - that's indisputable. So yes, with A we are taking a big gamble, but I suspect that winning this war will involve getting it right on a few gambles. If we play it safe here and for example, we link with Ean's group, then that simply postpones a hard decision like this for another day. And that decision might be even harder later.

Is A the right decision? I think so, but I could be horribly wrong. All I can do is really extrapolate from what we know, and this is it:

• When we arrived at Gelmark, we saw the stars and gas giants of the system, but the fortresses were nowhere to be seen. The fortresses are mobile, so they could simply have been moved and cloaked through advanced tech or immortal power. This is a point against A, to be sure, but doing something like that would require immense power and tech that we aren't familiar with. Adrahasis cloaked 10,000 ships, but this is a much greater feat.
• Armada Delta is heading toward a jump point that leads closer to the core.
• They sped up and made no attempt to fire on us after they saw us. Some jamming is in play to cover their retreat, or apparent retreat.
• Our intel tells us that Alpha is heading closer towards the core as well, to lie in wait for us. They possibly want to choose the site of the last battle at Carneus Beta. However, Gelmark provides the closest rout to Carneus Beta, allowing a fleet to reach it in just four jumps.
• We know the location of their forces except Epsilon, it's safe to assume they know the location of ours.

 

[treave]

Dunamis are inbred. The other lines were weak and diluted themselves out. Psycho-Senya had the rather irritating habit of setting scenarios up where it was do or die. Basically, it's hard to pin him down, and when you did, you couldn't hold back too much lest he nails you with his powers.

Also he's a psycho. He'll cut down anyone who gets in his way, friend or not. See: Erika.

AI Goddess Yua was a possible result of you hijacking the system Cyber Jack used and allowing her to transcend much in the same way Ean did, backed by millions of souls lost in a nanoplague 'accident' as a sacrifice.

 

[treave]

As for Adrahasis's ambush, he was already setting it up from the start, after he recovered from getting pulled out of slipspace. Between the chaotic nature of that battle and fighting the Dragon, you didn't notice it.

 

[Esquilax]

treave, just to confirm, the route that Delta are heading towards would take them closer to Carneus Beta, correct?

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

For example, you voted for the safest option, C. This is perfectly fine. But C also nets us nothing and allows our enemies to consolidate quite comfortably on their own turf and prepare for us - that's indisputable.

C gets us to the battlefield to help Ean out. If some of the fortresses are there or are on their way, things might be/get rather difficult for him.

I get the A gamble, I really do. The question you need to ask yourself is this: Did they know we were coming here? If so, then this is a trap and we should bug out and help Ean. If not, then we may want to attack now.

Adrahasis cloaked 10,000 ships, but this is a much greater feat.

That also reminds me, about Epsilon: how many ships in that fleet again?

10 super heavy battleships
3000 battleships
10000 cruisers

Huh, 13,010. Gosh, I wonder if they could cloak themselves? And they are a small, fast fleet. Self sustaining. Perfect for rushing in and guarding the fortress move just in case of enemy attack.

My 2 cents. Carry on, gentlemen.

 

[treave]

Yep.

 

[Esquilax]

C gets us to the battlefield to help Ean out. If some of the fortresses are there or are on their way, things might be/get rather difficult for him.

Ean has the best commander on our roster to show him the ropes, a supporting cast of bad motherfuckers, and at least three quarters of our super-heavy battleships. If he needs help at this point, we shouldn't have revived him in the first place.

I get the A gamble, I really do. The question you need to ask yourself is this: Did they know we were coming here? If so, then this is a trap and we should bug out and help Ean. If not, then we may want to attack now.

The question you should ask yourself is not whether this is a trap or not, but rather, assuming it is a trap, what kind of trap is it? I see three alternatives:

1. This is a ploy to get us to rush in and overextend. This is fairly straightforward and makes A disastrous.
2. This is a ploy to get us to follow them into the next system, closer to Carneus Beta, where they are backed up, likely by Alpha, as they are approaching there. This is the theory I subscribe to.
3. It isn't a trap now, but it could become one if we are slow and they prepare for us in the upcoming jump point.

Huh, 13,010. Gosh, I wonder if they could cloak themselves? And they are a small, fast fleet. Self sustaining. Perfect for rushing in and guarding the fortress move just in case of enemy attack.

Good observation. They certainly can cloak themselves, otherwise we'd be able to pin down their movements more easily. I've already explained why I don't believe that Epsilon is here at Gelmark right now, but I certainly can't dispute any of this.

 

[Baltika9]

treave, this is really paranoid, but: can Yua do a quick google-check on how many planets there are in this system?

 

[treave]

"That's no planet, it's a battlestation!"

Three.

No, none of them are a massive Project V superweapon disguised as a planet.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Three.

See, you should have said "omg, twenty!". It'd have freaked us out.

The question you should ask yourself is not whether this is a trap or not, but rather, assuming it is a trap, what kind of trap is it? I see three alternatives:

1. This is a ploy to get us to rush in and overextend. This is fairly straightforward and makes A disastrous.
2. This is a ploy to get us to follow them into the next system, closer to Carneus Beta, where they are backed up, likely by Alpha, as they are approaching there. This is the theory I subscribe to.
3. It isn't a trap now, but it could become one if we are slow and they prepare for us in the upcoming jump point.

And what if it's both 1 & 2? What if they are setting a trap now and also know that back up is waiting in a second trap just in case we don't take the bait at first. Just like when Adrahasis set a trap on the planet AND a trap on the cruiser - both we're traps. Then wouldn't the safest option be to run the opposite direction and back Ean up?

 

[Baltika9]

That's an oddly specific denial. I think A takes it, let's see how correctly we've interpreted the situation.

"Heavy ships, close ranks on the Sword of Ean and advance in formation, laying down suppressive fire!"
"Cruisers, chase down and harass the enemy!"
"Grimrock, warp your ships into a good flanking position!"
"Rei, consolidate the armor! Thrusters on maximum!"

"Ramm them."

Edit:

 

[treave]

Actually, it's the binary star that's the problem. It wasn't binary before.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Hahaha. Ok. I'm done arguing. This should be good. I really hope for Senya's sake that you guys are right. I hope, but gimme a break... :/

A little preview of what's to come:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVnArp9ZE0

 

[Baltika9]

Oh.

 

[Esquilax]

And what if it's both 1 & 2? Then wouldn't the safest option be to run the opposite direction and back Ean up?

Well, you can't do both simultaneously. Either they get us to overextend in this system, or hope that we're reluctant to engage and follow them into the next system. That being said, it's certainly possible that this is an elaborate trap where Plan A is to get us to rush in, while Plan B if we don't take the bait is to hope we follow them into the next system. I'm just finding it hard to envision a scenario where they could do both things at once. They would need some crazy combination of having Epsilon hidden away at Gelmark with Alpha Armada on the other side of the jump in case we don't take the initial bait.

It just seems too "JUST AS PLANNED" for it to be real. Our enemies are very smart and I'm not underestimating them, but it would be downright Tzeentchian for them to have planned things down to this level of detail.