Author Topic: Blood and Scrap  (Read 7603 times)

EAGLE 7

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #30 on: 30 October 2019, 18:42:44 »
ShiraUso,
    Do what is best for you, at your pace, how you want.

   Greedy S*B like me, enjoy your creativity. You owe us nothing, we owe you for sharing your story and coming here to share it.
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Esskatze

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Re: Blood and scrap
« Reply #31 on: 01 November 2019, 02:13:56 »
Artemis Kurian is actually 23-24, so young but yes I agree the eye-rolling might be a little excessive, so I’ll look to reducing it.

You can have her suppress a sigh or close her eyes for a second. Whatever works in that scene. Also, the way you described her, she is tough as nails, so she definitely won't display any teenie traits.

Second: did I get that right that she herself founded that merc unit? Then all the more reason that she'd stay above petty emotions, with her background and all.

And third, I have a hard time understanding the dressing-down after that bar fight. Why exactly was she in trouble when in reality, she was the one being attacked?

Intermittent_Coherence

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #32 on: 01 November 2019, 07:34:39 »
So.... How do their mech assignments work out?

Artemis Kurian has her WVR obviously.
The previous PHX pilot died, but the mech itself is intact barring extensive work on the head/cockpit.
Does Anders have his own mech?

ShiraUso

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Re: Blood and scrap
« Reply #33 on: 02 November 2019, 05:39:37 »
You can have her suppress a sigh or close her eyes for a second. Whatever works in that scene. Also, the way you described her, she is tough as nails, so she definitely won't display any teenie traits.

Second: did I get that right that she herself founded that merc unit? Then all the more reason that she'd stay above petty emotions, with her background and all.

And third, I have a hard time understanding the dressing-down after that bar fight. Why exactly was she in trouble when in reality, she was the one being attacked?

As someone that young I think she’ll have petty emotions regardless of her background. In my opinion and this is not a particularly informed opinion, I don’t think she’d need to be at an extra high maturity level; especially considering that the merc unit was basically a collection of experience but disgruntled DCMS soldiers.

I concede that the logic behind the dressing down might not have been entirely well-thought out — it made sense in my mind but I’ve had to revisit the relationship between Roy and Artemis so I think I might have to review the dressing down if it doesn’t make sense. Their mercenary unit is already going through a plethora of woes; so the last thing they need is their leader beating someone up and risking a PR disaster with potential clients that could pull them out of their mess, even if she’s not the aggressor she did beat the shit out of him... I could be wrong though, so feel free to discuss
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ShiraUso

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #34 on: 02 November 2019, 05:41:33 »
So.... How do their mech assignments work out?

Artemis Kurian has her WVR obviously.
The previous PHX pilot died, but the mech itself is intact barring extensive work on the head/cockpit.
Does Anders have his own mech?

It was kinda hinted to and would have been made clear before the next combat scene — Anders is taking over the PXH, since he doesn’t have a mech and Artemis happens to have one without a pilot. I think I might not have been clear enough in the dialogue so I might take a look at that
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Daryk

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #35 on: 02 November 2019, 05:58:47 »
OCS does beat some of the petty emotions out of people... More importantly, the selection process screens out the ones with the worst behavior.

ShiraUso

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #36 on: 02 November 2019, 08:45:39 »
OCS does beat some of the petty emotions out of people... More importantly, the selection process screens out the ones with the worst behavior.

Mmm yeah but people do change once they’ve gotten freedom. Artemis already was quietly dissatisfied with the training she received from the DCMS, and resigning from the army only enabled the rebellious and defiant attitude
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Sir Chaos

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #37 on: 02 November 2019, 10:10:28 »
OCS does beat some of the petty emotions out of people... More importantly, the selection process screens out the ones with the worst behavior.

Frustration with a hostile work environment puts those petty emotions right back where they came from, though - and then some.

And the DCMS is a hostile work environment for women at the best of times.
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mikecj

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #38 on: 08 November 2019, 10:44:43 »
Pretty good so far, thanks for sharing
There are no fish in my pond.
"First, one brief announcement. I just want to mention, for those who have asked, that absolutely nothing what so ever happened today in sector 83x9x12. I repeat, nothing happened. Please remain calm." Susan Ivanova
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Romo Lampkin could have gotten Stefan Amaris off with a warning.

ShiraUso

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #39 on: 11 February 2020, 19:24:17 »
Hi guys! Sorry for the long as crap silence, been on a rather long hiatus after my exams ended (oops)

Finished the next chapter, so it’s just waiting on a second draft

Speaking of which, looking for a beta reader, partially because Daryk is a little bit more busy now, and partially because I think it’s good to get a second opinion. Do drop me a pm if you’re interested in offering your help :D

Someone who’s particular over English is preferable, but not essential
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Daryk

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #40 on: 11 February 2020, 20:54:47 »
I'll try to get to it this weekend, but if anyone is less busy than me, please feel free!

ShiraUso

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #41 on: 13 February 2020, 01:23:15 »
Looked through the kinds of Infantry weaponry available in sarna.net, and was quite disappointed by the lack of variance, so I’m gonna exercise some creative freedom and make some variance for Blood and Scrap.

I’m no weapons expert though, and I can barely understand half of what I read online without entering another rabbit hole (did so for planets to come up with some realistic planetary situations).

So I’m hoping you guys could help me out on this. Feel free to throw any gun designs for infantry weapons. The more detailed the better (but please explain it to me in a simplified manner :$ )

Specifically, need ideas for a weapon that would meet these specifications:
‘A reliable main battle rifle that has great accuracy. It’s equipped with many aim assisting features, and has a bullpup design.’
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ShiraUso

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #42 on: 16 February 2020, 22:15:19 »
Chapter 4

Ashon Zenith Point
Deep Worlds’ Collective
Outworlds Verge
30th January 3041

“AC/20 huh… when I was evaluating the cockpit damage, I did theorise it was caused by a high caliber impact…” Bryan stared blankly at the ground, his right hand stroking his chin thoughtfully.

The two were standing in the mech bay, in front of the docked Phoenix Hawk, its cockpit’s repairs mostly completed. Bryan had inquired about the cause of death of the mech’s late pilot, and Artemis had recounted the main details of the battle that ended Norman.

Her fingers were lightly grasping the pockets of her cargo pants — suppressing any emotions from spilling out from the recollection of Norman’s tragic death turned out to be more difficult than she had first anticipated when agreeing to their little deal.

“Moving on. It’s your turn, how much battle has Anders seen, exactly?” She bit her lower lip gently, her right hand slowly rising up to wipe away a growing tear with one subtle motion.

“Plenty. From what I understand he might have fought for and against each of the Successor States at some point in time, and he’s piloted a wide range of mechs. He’s usually rocking a heavier mech than his enemies though, so I’m not exactly sure how good he is.” Bryan’s gaze was wandering about the wall behind Artemis, his eyes twitching and tensing ever so gently.

“From what you understand? How long have you two been working together? You’re brothers, right?” Artemis raised an eyebrow, studying Bryan’s face carefully.

Bryan loosened his shoulder muscles and made eye contact. “Yeah. We were separated at a young age when our parents got divorced; I was raised in the Federated Suns with our father while he was with our mother in the Lyran Commonwealth. Our father was a mechtech while our mother was a mechwarrior, so you can imagine the difference in upbringings we received.”

“Mmm… I can imagine. Must have a huge ego disparity too…” Artemis’ hand fiddled with the flap of her right pocket thoughtfully, her eyes still focused on his face.

“Oh tell me about it. With your skillset though, I imagine you’ll be able to tone back his ego.” Bryan offered a smile.

“My… skillset? What do you mean? You’ve never seen me in combat before.” Artemis twitched, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but I looked you up before we left Comstar’s HPG reach, and you did beat Anders up.” Bryan pulled up his datapad to chest level, his eyes scanning through its contents. “Your combat reports are… interesting. Did you really manage to destroy a full medium lance all by yourself?”

Artemis was taken aback. She didn’t think she was leaving a trail that easy to follow. “I… uhh… you’ll be surprised how bad the pilots are in the outer periphery; you can pull off nearly anything if they’re stupid enough. H-how much did you manage to find?” Her voice faltered for a moment; she felt exposed. I don’t remember posting those combat reports anywhere, how does he have them? What else does he know?

“Couldn’t find detailed reports of the campaign in Sadachbia, but I know the medals you earned during it. Your kill count must be pretty high…” Bryan’s right hand casually stroked its index finger across the datapad at irregular intervals, his eyes occasionally looking to her to watch her reaction.

“Oookayyy. Point taken. Let’s not go further.” Artemis resisted the urge to lunge forward and yank the datapad out of his hands. Last thing she needed was everyone knowing her past; she always wanted to keep a low profile.

Bryan nodded slowly and returned the datapad to his side. “‘Mmm alright… in any case, I’m glad you’re on our side. You’re the sort of pilot I have nightmares of watching Anders getting his sorry ass killed by.”

Artemis offered a nervous smile. “Yeah thanks… just don’t mention any of this to anybody else, please?” Artemis took a quick look at her wrist watch to glance at the time. “Anyways, I need to get to the bridge right about now to discuss the planetside plans, you can join me if you want.”

Bryan nodded, and the two made their way out of the mech bay, through the hallways and into the bridge. Anders and Roy were already present, both standing around a holodisplay of Ashon III.

Both looked to Artemis as the duo entered the room. Artemis nodded to them both, and approached the holotable. Captain Samson, who was standing by his command chair, followed suit.

“Alright, what’s our available intel?” Artemis’ eyes looked to the holotable, which was currently displaying a frozen imagine of Ashon III.

Captain Samson pulled out a datapad, giving it a quick read before speaking. “The friendly planetside forces sent us a data dump on the planet. It has a thick atmosphere thanks to stronger magnetic fields present. It has 3 moons too. As a result of these factors, it has some extreme weather, with storms constantly raging across it. Ashon is a F class star, its mass 1.5 times that of Earth’s sun, and Ashon III sits on the edge of the hot end of the goldilocks zone. The equator is too hot for habitation, and the temperate regions have weather that literally tears things apart, so the inhabitants have colonised the north pole. Gravity is 1.2 times that of Earth.”

“Alright, what about the OPFOR? Any intel on them?” Artemis’ eyes studied the planet’s features. The frozen image showed a hurricane over one of the temperate region’s landmasses, a team of tsunamis converging on another landmass closer to the equator.

Roy piped up. “The OPFOR, a small pirate band known as the Shogun Trinity, has two Wasps and a Vindicator, run by three brothers hailing from the Capellean Confederation. Shogun Trinity made planetfall on the other side of the colony’s landmass, probably to avoid any AA guns or a storm at the time. Water is scarce on this planet; however they’ve got plenty of suitable compounds for water production, so most of their water supply is synthesised in factories. As a result, they’ve been pushing for the main industrial sector to get enough water to produce hydrogen fuel for an escape, plus the usual plundering and pillaging along the way. The militia’s lost two open plain battles with them, so their armour has sustained heavy losses.”

Artemis raised an eyebrow. “They have three mechs, and the militia threw armour at them twice?”

Roy nodded. “Thankfully, their colonel died in the second battle, and a major has taken over and engaged Shogun Trinity in guerrilla warfare. It seems a lot of the OPFOR’s armour has been wiped out, and their infantry has taken heavy losses. We should be able to get a straightforward mech battle out of them. I’m sure they’d be happy to have a standard mech fight at this point too.”

“Normally, I’d suggest doing a few sweeps over their position to scout them and get a few cheap shots in, but with the storms around the planet I’m not so sure.” Captain Samson pursed his lips, his eyes studying the north pole’s terrain.

“A scout sweep?” Artemis raised an eyebrow.

Anders turned to her, his eyes narrowing as he studied her facial expressions. “Yes… you know what that is… right?”

Artemis bit her lip. Oops. That might have been a good thing to have learned a little earlier… “Yeah yeah I do, just checking that we’re on the same page. M-moving on, I agree. Last thing we need is a wrecked dropship. I think we should probably plant ourselves right outside their camp, issue a challenge and give them hell.”

Anders immediately objected. “I disagree. The militia still has some force to speak of, so we should link up with them first, then knock on their front door and spook them. If a straight up mech showdown is what you want, you should at least first give them a reason to give it to you.”

“Mmm… alright then. We’ll do that.” Artemis kept her voice firm and unwavering, though her right hand clenched tightly at her cargo pants.

“So… what’s our landing site ma’am?” Captain Samson pulled up his datapad again, looking to Artemis.

Artemis looked to Anders. “Outskirts of the city nearest to their camp. They have a functioning rail road system, right?”

“Correct. I’ll punch the coordinates in, will that be all for me, ma’am?” Samson began tapping on his datapad, his gaze lifted from the commanding officer.

“Yes Captain, thank you.” Artemis nodded, and Samson took his leave.

Captain, how much experience in planetary strategy do you have?” Anders leaned in, his eyes staring at hers.

“I… I’ll leave the strategies up to you, I believe you’ve got more expertise in that. My forte is in mech combat and battle tactics.” Artemis bit her lip. Her eyes avoided eye contact and instead fixed themselves on the holo-display. Anders smiled, and turned to Bryan and exchanged looks with him.

“I don’t doubt that. As long as you can keep your pretty mouth restrained while I work my magic, we’ll get along just fine, captain.” He straightened up and made for the bridge’s door, his right hand reaching out and patting her on her right shoulder as he passed. She flinched.

A hand grabbed his arm. Artemis turned to see Roy grasping Anders’ upper forearm firmly. Roy stared him down intently. “She’s our CO. I strongly advise you respect her as such. Are we clear?”

Artemis looked away from the two of them, and closed her eyes. The feeling of her elevated heart rate, every nervous breath, and the tensed up muscles along her body pounded into her consciousness.

“... Yes sir.” Anders withdrew from Artemis’ shoulder, and Roy in turn released him. Anders looked to Bryan, then to Roy, then to Artemis, before silently leaving the room.

Artemis remained frozen in place, her head staring at the holo-table and her mind completely blank. The room remained silent for what felt like an eternity to her, before Roy and Bryan finally quietly took their leave.

As soon as the two had left the room, Artemis’ head drooped low, her high ponytail flipping over to dangle over her head, flowing down to rest on the holotable before her. Her fists clenched up tightly, and she took a deep breath. She sighed. She felt incompetent, unable to lead or even plan out strategies properly.

Do I even deserve my position? Where did I screw up… Her mind drifted back to her training under in the Combine Officer Cadet School, all those times she elected not to pay attention and argue with her superiors…

Well…

Shit.


<^>

A short nap and a lunch later, Artemis made her way over to the Infantry’s barracks. Her black combat boots clacked against the cold metal floor of the dropship, her gaze fixed on the large double door of the barracks ahead.

She laid her right hand flat against the cold steel door, and pushed it open slowly. The dim illumination of the corridor was quickly blasted aside by the dazzlingly bright lights of the barracks. The room was large and rectangular, with two long lines of bunk beds positioned perpendicular to the door.

Soldiers are sitting in groups near the bunk beds, the room filled with their chatter. Several look up to see the new arrival by the door, and eyes widened.

“Commander on deck!” The room freezes, every man in the room rising up from their place and standing at attention towards Artemis.

“As you were.” Artemis nods. She looks to Roy, who approaches her after placing his auto-rifle aside. Roy is dressed in olive green fatigues, his short jet black hair combed neatly to the right.

“Captain?” Roy raises an eyebrow — Artemis rarely dropped by to see the infantry.

Have all my failures been of my own doing? “Just… want to see how the boys are doing… I figure some change in what I do is appropriate. Have they been briefed? ” Artemis crosses her arms, trying her best to project a strong front.

“Yes Captain. I’ll introduce the platoons to you.” Roy took a step back, and his right arm gestured for her to step further into the barracks.

Artemis nodded silently. The two walked side by side deeper into the room. “What’s our numbers looking like after the last battle?” Artemis’ gaze wandered amongst the lounging men; some were cleaning their rifles and preparing assault packs, others were chatting, sleeping or even just boredly taking in the sight of her.

“I’ve had to fold the company into 2 platoons; one’s our Jump Trooper platoon consisting of 2 squads, and the other is an extra large foot platoon of 5 squads. Lieutenant Leon is in charge of the jump platoon, while I’m taking the foot soldier platoon.” Roy comes to a halt beside the jump platoon section.

The Jump Troopers are distinct from the rest of the infantry; their body language spoke of tougher discipline, much fewer of them were relaxing, with the majority of them making various preparations.

A man wearing an officer’s coat stood up, approaching the duo. “This is Lieutenant Leon, my second-in-command.” Roy gestured to him, who bowed slowly and carefully.

“How can I be of assistance ma’am?” Leon’s voice had a Japanese accent to it. His eyes were sharp and brimming with life, and his stature was tight and serious. Roy must have picked him up recently. He still seems accustomed to life in a Combine unit.

“Tell me about your platoon’s fighting capabilities.” Artemis crossed her arms, resting her weight on her right leg. Her eyes fixed themselves on Leon’s face.

“Our Jump Platoon acts as a support for our main infantry force, providing some skilled mobile firepower when needed. Our sniper squad is particularly effective with their laser rifles. All of our men have tangoed with mechs before too, and are more than ready to help take them on when called to do so.” Leon’s voice is sharp and crisp, his confidence at just the right level.

“Roy, what about your platoon?” Artemis turned to the captain, who straightened up at the mention of his name.

Roy made eye contact with Artemis. “My platoon brings the main firepower of our infantry. We’ve got no small number of veteran Combine ex-soldiers, and I’ve specially trained them to be quick with grenade launchers. We can bring you your boom on the move.”

“Hmm… that’s good to hear. It’s unlikely we’ll be able to find any Draconis Combine exiles out here though, so I’m giving you authorisation to recruit a wider range of men from the systems we stay in. We need our infantry numbers back up, and I doubt we can afford to be picky.” Artemis pursed her lips. Her eyes drifted away from Roy’s, considering her words carefully.

“Understood Captain, I’ll draw up a recruitment plan when we finish up with Shogun Trinity.” Roy nodded while Leon silently observed the exchange.

“Alright then, if you two don’t have anything else for me, that’ll be all from me.” Artemis exchanged bows with the two, before turning on her right heel and making her way out of the barracks.

She silently strode along the dull corridors, her mind pondering the past, in particular her time as a mercenary. Mistake after mistake. I’ve screwed everything up, haven’t I? The proud-ass mechwarrior prodigy who forged her own crappy destiny. Well done me.

Finally, she reached the mech bay. The automatic door slid open as she approached it, and she looked to the beautiful sight of her Wolverine standing alongside the repaired Phoenix Hawk. The two metal titans stood proud and tall behind the various docking clamps and maintenance platforms.

She felt a swell of pride wash over her once again, memories of the countless victories she claimed in that mech drowning out those of the failures. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and clenched her fists by her side. A smile slowly curled into existence on her face.

None of it matters anymore. New unit, fresh chance. I’ll seize victory and drag it kicking and screaming back into my life, no matter what it takes. I’ll prove myself a worthy daughter of Tai-Sa Daiki Kurian.
« Last Edit: 16 February 2020, 22:29:10 by ShiraUso »
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DOC_Agren

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Re: Blood and Scrap
« Reply #43 on: 16 March 2020, 20:05:24 »
S-22
https://www.deviantart.com/peterku/art/S-22-552914684
The S-22 is an older Bullpup design that been Manufactured/cloned across the Inner Sphere by a # of companies at different times.  Most are built from composite parts and high-stress metals and firing 4.5mm rounds at a rate of 600 rounds per minute reaching out 500m. The weapon has three firing modes - single-shot, 3 round burst-fire or full-auto - and has adaptable rail mounts able to accept various accessories, standard outfit is the MARS (Multi-purpose Aiming Reflex Sight) a 1.6× magnified telescopic holographic reflex sight and a reflex sight and a laser sight. The laser may be either visible or infrared and can be activated as need via a pressure switch, notch back-up sight 

A standard 40 mag is .2kg
wgt 3.7kg empty for the rifle
The Ammo is design purpose was to provide a flat ballistic trajectory along with armor-piercing capabilities with low recoil for the user to handle, even when fired fully automatically.
Range 1-7/8-16/17-30
Dam 3d6+3
Cost 150
Reload 15 per reload

"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

 

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