The Ballad of Echo Company - Episode 2 - Toujours En Avant

[JbeJ275]

A small devilish part of Salamir is briefly tempted, the same part that makes him sing when flying into combat and feel the most alive when he’s falling through an active combat zone. Whispers of how he could maybe manage to hold it stable to deflect a couple of rounds and start a few fires then still shut it off before anyone loses more than a finger. Then he shuts that down in favour of doing what actually helps people. Storming in he starts explaining the lack of capacity increases in the exhaust valves, the regulators vulnerable to deforming under combined temperature and pressure, the excluders with low melting points and the shielding with low boiling points. He almost shows the other engineers away from their own project when reading in, and falteringly tries to explain why this would have killed the brass before just stating that it would of and he’ll explain it to any other artificer in the army, but they chose not to have one in the room. Once the potential bomb has been defused, he returns to Gloria’s side, needing that feeling of unshakable ness that came so naturally to her, and always manages to fill a room when she entered it.

[Novabomb]

Pvt Ginger

Inquires about the projects he has worked on. Inquiries about favorites.
He also asks about the leadership of the factions.
At the end of his chat he says:
I'll try to visit again Oli.

(On his way back he thinks to himself)
Our biggest advantage is our diverse talents. I need to talk to Sal about that SPE (Spell propelled explosive) idea I had

[MrAbdiel]

Salamir

Your speedy arrival and swift action prevents a more dramatic intervention; but Colonel Tatterfield recognizes you immediately and is receptive to your objections. Landigger and Phelps both object - the former because he is too young and hotheaded to consider he could be wrong, and the latter because the project is already in motion and he has done the work needed to suppress his concerns. But the gnomish colonel isn’t having it, and the machine is never spooled up.

“Well, Gond-dammit. I knew it was too good to be true, and I should have followed that instinct. My father artifice’d the first rocket battering back in the War of Princes. He’d round my ears, Gond rest his soul.”

Tatterfield is irritated. The idea of being able to mass produce infantry shields was too good of a pitch to discard out of hand; and with you in the infirmary and the handful of other artificers elsewhere deployed, he allowed Phelps and Landigger to talk him into the test. Ultimately it was his call, and he decides not to punish them - but they have lost face before the brass, which is punishment in itself. The disastrous possible outcome remains an unmanifested theory - may all disasters remain so theoretical.

After the hasty debrief, and the colonel’s thanks, you sit outside in the jeep with Gloria. The engine smokes from its hasty repair. Gloria produces her cigarettes, and smokes too.

“Well, that could have been much worse. If they try to stick us with the repair of that boomgate, I’m referring them to Private Dim-Bulb working the radio at the motorpool.” She cross her heels up on the dashboard and blows a plume of smoke into the air, savouring this brief interval before you’ll both have to get back to work. The war, after all, hasn’t stopped. The Aasimar gives Sparky an affectionate scratch with her fingertips, as if the machine were a cat. Of course, it is not; the gesture is more for her benefit, than its own. “Practical shielding at wide deployment levels might have to wait for the next war. But you’re still saving lives, Sal. The corps is lucky to have you.”

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Side quest complete! You’ve already got your Canned Inspiration, but there’s the bow on it. Good work not failing any rolls and succeeding with a comfortable margin of error.

Ginger

Talking shop is helpful to soothe Oli’s nerves. He is, after all, betraying his country and kinsmen by speaking at all. He has mostly worked in draconautics, and considers it a great honor to have done so.

“Ze blue dragons have been great allies of der Königlichster - a major part of his rise to power. In antiquity, zere are many heroes in our legends who fought with ze dragons and struck accords with zem. But zey are left behind by modern warfare - it has been a long time since a lone dragon has been able to terrorize a village, you see.”

It’s true. There are stories of dragons tormenting kingdoms and great conflicts of heroes with such beasts back in the Old Kingdoms; though there have never been any Amcaran dragon conflicts. But those legends dried up largely with the invention of the rifled breech loading cannon barrel. Even the large ancient beasts were not equipped to resist the artillery revolution. They are notoriously uncooperative with each other, and so unable to form long term alliances to overcome the strength of armies; and thus their kind vanished into the high mountains, and deep deserts, and the strange and lonely places of the world. But a fiery, electric memory of your own encounter with one such creature leaves you with no illusions to how active they are in this conflict.

Blue dragons cannot use conventional radios for communication (their natural bioelectric fluctuations make such communication impossible - even being nearby can have disruptive effects on radio communication); and magical communion is too easily spoofed and tapped. Oli worked on the project to develop a series of small devices that emit some kind of unusual sound wave that only dragons are capable of hearing, and from long distances. The small brass spheres do just that. But as far as his favorite project…

“...We had to produce an enchanted prosthesis for a large blue zat lost his leg during ze Naphto invasion. Herr Schiller provided critical insights; he has a similar one. But tuning such a device for use by a creature of zis size, and to make it compatible with its natural voltaics was… very challenging.”

As far as leadership of the factions goes, Oli can only offer the generalized knowledge; but he does know names.

“Doctor Leidenkopf is leader of ze Pakt der Handwerker. Zere are many cells of artificers and technikers in ze laboratories contesting for leadership… but lifting ze entire village of Alonn into ze sky, like zat…”

He shudders, perhaps remembering his brush with death.

“Ve had no idea… Leidenkopf will go unchallenged for a long time - unassailable, in her flying fortress. Remarkable…”

Naturally, he knows less about the factions he is not part of. The Pact of the Forest’s leadership is ‘the Circle of Kings’, but beyond that Oli knows little - an especially secretive inner circle of druids responsible for forcefully organizing and mobilizing hundreds of typically independent circles throughout the Kreigsvolk. The leader of the Pact of the Magi is somewhat more storied among the Kreigers.

“Graf Höllenfeuer is a legend, though I do not know anyone who has seen him. But most of the deadliest and most powerful magi are deployed in the east, against the Vuskan front. Things are… very bad in Tokograd, I hear. For everyone.”

Powerful. Cruel. Monstrous. Legend suggests he became a lich after making a pact with a devil in which he offered nothing; and the fiend involved considered there to be enough wickedness inherent in the deal as to agree. Gods willing, you will never have to deal with him.

You bid Oli farewell. He gives you a weak smile before he is escorted back to his cell. Captain Longsummer has already left for another meeting, and the Clandestine operatives have taken notes; they barely register you with a proper farewell, and you are permitted to leave. You see the same technikers in their cells as you walk out, as well as the strange half elf with his shrine. He is standing, now; up against the wall with the narrow barred window, where a pair of white doves perch and coo to him; and he to them. And then you’re out, walking alone back to the field hospital; burdened with more knowledge of the powerful forces arrayed against the free world that almost anyone in the Alliance.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

And that’s the intermission! Canned Inspiration for all - that should mean everyone will begin the next mission with 1 ‘real’ inspiration point and one ‘canned’ one which doesn’t do away when the scene refreshes.


If you have more stuff you’d like to do in the intermission, blaze your trail. Otherwise, I’ll roll out the new mission brief soonish. It’ll come with presents, based on your wishlists and those rolls.

[Novabomb]

Pvt Ginger
(The next day, or whenever he sees Sal next)
I'v been thinkin. If we run into more autonomous armor, we need a better way to deal with it. I am thinking that maybe a small hollow spike filled with explosives could be propelled by a catapult spell with enough force to penetrate armor at short range. I am not much of a metal worker, I was wondering if you would be willing to help me with this?

[JbeJ275]

Motorpool

Sal seems to find the habit of scratching and stroking Sparky very endearing, he also treats the construct like ti has more will of its own than it does, but for him that mostly involves swearing at it, this by comparison is much sweeter. He's content to take the moemnt in and banter a little with Mayfair.

"Yep, us artificers are brilliant. Don't need to tell me twice, you know you should consider trying it out yourself, yourminds wired up just the right way for it, and some more pleasant company on that front would be very welcome."

Barracks

Sal catches what ginger is saying quickly enough, and presses on with it.

"Hmm... "penetrating armour" is the trick part,once you've made a whole gasoline and evocation will start wrecking the internals, but something to make enough of a dent to contain and channel the blast that could be very welcome indeed. Leave a warped gap in the armour or kill the wiring with spall even if it doesn't go clean through. My speciality is in engines and shielding over munitions technologies but I'm up to date on everything. Might be able to help you look into it."