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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
Slayn82
Well, since we saw that enough kinectic/gravity can kill Schlock, he probably is out of any plan to retake the AI room. My bet is:
Spoiler
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Ennesby will dupe Tagii with a simulation of the interior of the ship, while alowing Tagii to act against external menaces. His background, beyond hacking and frauding expertise, includes his past as an entertainer, and his usual extensive library of media. Yes, Tagii was smarter, but as a tactical AI. Not even Petey who has near infinite processing capability is impervious to being surprised, as Kevin has demonstrated a lot of times. And if Ennesby was in Tagii position, he probably wouldn't go crazy.
Also, we have to take in consideration the brand new Teraport Cages, a kind of tech developed by Kevin that the Toughs possibly have almost monopoly, and whose effects are still untested in the Pa'anury. Maybe it can act as some kind of extruder?
Kinetic/Gravy can scatter and blind Schlock.
Schlock splattered out over a very cold surface for how ever long it takes to find a bomb tech and make sure none of Schlock's arsenal is going to explode while you scoop him up will kill Schlock.
Which is to say, Tagii probably can't "Kill" schlock with gravy alone, but she could take him out for an indefinite period of time. You just need to splatter him into pieces that are small enough to have no sense of self, then separate those pieces. once you've got Schlock spread out over a bunch of jars, you can just let them sit there. Or throw them into a convenient star.
Schlock's fall didn't kill him so much as the cold at the bottom did.
Of course, if Schlock dies, Petey can just make a new one.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
Also, anything that would kill an amorph would kill anything else, a lot faster.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
Gnoman
Also, anything that would kill an amorph would kill anything else, a lot faster.
But an Amorph can be scattered by something like a fire hose, which would be nonlethal to most sophonts.
From what I recall about Amorph physiology, with the exception of their eyes (which are technically not part of them) they are just made of "Amorph", which is combined brain, stomach, skin, tongue, nose, ear, and muscle. They tend to stay around the same size (Though they can get bigger right after eating). A smaller chunk of Amorph can remain sentient, but will have lost memories and mental capability. Once you get below a certain critical mass the chunks are non-sentient, but will instinctively attempt to re-combine. Extreme Heat (like plasma) and extreme cold (like the surface of Osiri) can kill them, as can certain chemical cocktails. Otherwise the best you can do is scatter them into non-sentient chunks.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
From what we've seen, the amorph organism is at least as strong as human skin, so it's a stretch to say that you could easily scatter one with a fire hose. In any case, the weapons that can be brought to bear here are certainly more lethal to anyone else than they are to Schlock.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
Gnoman
From what we've seen, the amorph organism is at least as strong as human skin, so it's a stretch to say that you could easily scatter one with a fire hose. In any case, the weapons that can be brought to bear here are certainly more lethal to anyone else than they are to Schlock.
Actually, we do know that you can scatter one with a fire hose, because that's exactly what Katheryn did during the Haven Hive arc. I would cite my sources but It's finals week and I don't have time.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
Forgive my shoddy memory, then.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
Part of it also likely depends on how much the amorph is expecting it. Apparently amorphs can be pretty sturdy if they mean to be, considering that Schlock was surprised that Binnie was able to tear chunks out of him during their fight.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
BRC
But an Amorph can be scattered by something like a fire hose, which would be nonlethal to most sophonts.
Non-Lethal but extremely painful. There's a reasons watercanons are/were used to fight riots.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
Well, it's all moot if Kweng destroys them. And at this point, he has no reason not to.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
Bulldog Psion
Well, it's all moot if Kweng destroys them. And at this point, he has no reason not to.
Not really, he can't flee nor fight unless Tagii removes her TAD (he needs teraports to beat the dark matter entity). He will be forced to let them go and hope Tagii will do her part of the deal.
They are basically free from Kweng, the problem is surviving the AI.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
teratorn
Not really, he can't flee nor fight unless Tagii removes her TAD (he needs teraports to beat the dark matter entity). He will be forced to let them go and hope Tagii will do her part of the deal.
That's not what he's saying in today's strip. He says he has a way of hiding from the Pa'anuri, and if that's true, the Touch-and-Go is in deep trouble since it's carrying the only other major annie-plants in the area.
Can't help but wonder if this is Howard building up to the Toughs getting yet another new ship...maybe Bristlecone will volunteer for the job?
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
factotum
That's not what he's saying in today's strip. He says he has a way of hiding from the Pa'anuri, and if that's true, the Touch-and-Go is in deep trouble since it's carrying the only other major annie-plants in the area.
Or 'kweng can be bluffing to get Tagii to drop her TAD...
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
Quote:
Originally Posted by
teratorn
Not really, he can't flee nor fight unless Tagii removes her TAD (he needs teraports to beat the dark matter entity). He will be forced to let them go and hope Tagii will do her part of the deal.
They are basically free from Kweng, the problem is surviving the AI.
Actually, he can fight and explicitly states that he might as well kill Tagii and her ship both out of spite and because he's ordered to do so. At the moment, he has no real reason not to slaughter them.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
Bulldog Psion
Actually, he can fight and explicitly states that he might as well kill Tagii and her ship both out of spite and because he's ordered to do so. At the moment, he has no real reason not to slaughter them.
I was talking about fighting the dark matter entities, it requires teraports.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
teratorn
I was talking about fighting the dark matter entities, it requires teraports.
Or high-density TAD fields.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
So apparently the answer is 'Ramming Speed'?
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
The Glyphstone
So apparently the answer is 'Ramming Speed'?
Looks like it. Wonder how well those shields do at plowing through things, since Kweng doesn't have his up at the moment because of the DM beastie.
And now I wonder what's going to happen when that beastie moves through the battleplate.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
I don't think ramming something with shields up is terribly effective against a more massive object. One line springs up: "You're trying to deflect the planet, and it's NOT WORKING." Sure, it'll make a dent, but it'd turn out worse for the Touch-and-Go.
I think Tagii's playing matador with TAG as the cape.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
TaRix
I don't think ramming something with shields up is terribly effective against a more massive object. One line springs up: "You're trying to deflect the planet, and it's NOT WORKING." Sure, it'll make a dent, but it'd turn out worse for the Touch-and-Go.
Speed is a factor too, though. A bullet is considerably less massive than a human being, but it's still capable of punching a hole through one because it's travelling so fast. Thus, they could do some real damage if they go fast enough!
The other possibility that occurs is that the impact might knock the 'Kweng out of orbit, thus forcing them to fire up their annie plants in order to avoid impact with the ground--and then the Pa'anuri will get them.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
factotum
Speed is a factor too, though. A bullet is considerably less massive than a human being, but it's still capable of punching a hole through one because it's travelling so fast. Thus, they could do some real damage if they go fast enough!
The other possibility that occurs is that the impact might knock the 'Kweng out of orbit, thus forcing them to fire up their annie plants in order to avoid impact with the ground--and then the Pa'anuri will get them.
At a guess, your first suggestion is more accurate. Touch And Go, with its shields up, gets to play the bullet to 'kwengs soft-and-yielding-human (Or soft and unshielded warship, as it may be.)
At least that's what I'd guess.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
Kane
At a guess, your first suggestion is more accurate. Touch And Go, with its shields up, gets to play the bullet to 'kwengs soft-and-yielding-human (Or soft and unshielded warship, as it may be.)
At least that's what I'd guess.
But that does not really help either as the Pa'anuri will destroy the TaG even if they survive the impact. The might be destroyed even before the TaG hits the battleplate.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
HandofShadows
But that does not really help either as the Pa'anuri will destroy the TaG even if they survive the impact. The might be destroyed even before the TaG hits the battleplate.
My guess:
Tagii will power down her Annies after impact and hide inside 'Kweng. She'd be inviting everyone to a boarding party by doing so, but with the Pa'anuri around using power armor or heavy weapons might turn out to be a very bad idea.
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The other possibility that occurs is that the impact might knock the 'Kweng out of orbit, thus forcing them to fire up their annie plants in order to avoid impact with the ground--and then the Pa'anuri will get them.
Ooh, I like this. Not sure if the TaG has enough oomph to move 'Kweng that much considering the battleplate's mass but it'd be very cool.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
Put me down in the "punching through like a bullet through flesh" camp. She's going to plow right through -- there's no way she can move that much mass -- and draw the Paanuri right in after her.
Interesting question -- since the Paanuri seem to be sentient, why do they always immediately attack annie plants? :smallconfused: Sure, they're annoying, but is there any reason why they never, say, just leave the area?
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
Well, they are at war. Killing the enemy is kinds what you do in that case.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
Acutalysince that one seems to have been traped in Oisiri for some time (at least that seems logical seeing as Oisiri itself is really old) he probaly doesn't even know there's open war between this galaxy and Andromeda
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Originally Posted by
Bulldog Psion
Interesting question -- since the Paanuri seem to be sentient, why do they always immediately attack annie plants? :smallconfused: Sure, they're annoying, but is there any reason why they never, say, just leave the area?
If you're being annoyed by a fly what would you do ? Leave the house and complelty interupt whatever you were doing or just swat the annoying insect ?
It has been said way earlier that Paanuris barely recognize barionic matter being as alive, and even so are pretty much on par with the psycho koalas on the 'respect other species right to exist' thing. You may remember they tried to trick the gatekeeper into blowing the WHOLE galaxy just because terraport annoyed them.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
smuchmuch
Acutalysince that one seems to have been traped in Oisiri for some time (at least that seems logical seeing as Oisiri itself is really old) he probaly doesn't even know there's open war between this galaxy and Andromeda
If you're being annoyed by a fly what would you do ? Leave the house and complelty interupt whatever you were doing or just swat the annoying insect ?
It has been said way earlier that Paanuris barely recognize barionic matter being as alive, and even so are pretty much on par with the psycho koalas on the 'respect other species right to exist' thing. You may remember they tried to trick the gatekeeper into blowing the WHOLE galaxy just because terraport annoyed them.
Woah there. Teraport was a threat to their very existence, if I remember right. We weren't a mere nuisance, but a real threat.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
smuchmuch
If you're being annoyed by a fly what would you do ? Leave the house and complelty interupt whatever you were doing or just swat the annoying insect ?
A better analogy would be a mosquito you know is infected with malaria. It's both annoying and deadly, and best killed as quickly as possible.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
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Originally Posted by
The Glyphstone
A better analogy would be a mosquito you know is infected with malaria. It's both annoying and deadly, and best killed as quickly as possible.
And that analogy forms a neat looped reference because of this. :smallbiggrin:
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
Quote:
Originally Posted by
HandofShadows
But that does not really help either as the Pa'anuri will destroy the TaG even if they survive the impact. The might be destroyed even before the TaG hits the battleplate.
Morokweng is providing the UNS TAD, so if the battleplate is destroyed by either the Touch-and-Go ramming or the Pa'anuri following her in, that leaves Tagii in control of the only TAD in effect in-system. That means she can just 'port out. She doesn't need to be able to resist the Pa'anuri indefinitely; she just needs to outlive Kweng.
Unfortunately for Kweng, the situation is not symmetrical; destroying the Touch-and-Go isn't sufficient to take down the VDA, which is providing the Toughs' TAD, so Kweng can't just kill the Touch-and-Go and 'port out. He'd need to hunt down however many thousand missiles were deployed in the VDA and kill at least the large majority of them, and he doesn't have time to do that before the Pa'anuri gets him.
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Re: Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos
The TaG still has to be able to take out Morokweng TAD when it hits. Would not be a surprise if there are redundant systems. It also has to survive impact with the Morokweng. A bullet may damage a brick wall, but the bullet is destroyed in the process.