Schlock Mercenary III: One million years of crowdsourced kitten videos

[teratorn]

A bullet may damage a brick wall, but the bullet is destroyed in the process.

The bullet just released a large number of explosives inside the brick wall.

[Ravens_cry]

I do not like thee,Tagii from Hell,
The reason why I cannot tell;
But this I know, I know full well,
I do not like thee, Tagii from Hell

[Tavar]

I'm not too found of her either, though I from a plot and story concept level I don't mind it.

[Bulldog Psion]

Well, well. Do you suppose that this is the end of Morokweng, Emm, and Krum, or are they going to get away to fight another day?

[Landis963]

Well, well. Do you suppose that this is the end of Morokweng, Emm, and Krum, or are they going to get away to fight another day?

They're the evil UNS faction we haven't had since Xinchub was neutralized by Petey. Of course they're going to get away.

[Ravens_cry]

I'm not too found of her either, though I from a plot and story concept level I don't mind it.

Oh, yes, there is that. From a narrative perspective, the fact the author is willing to retire, kill and change beloved characters adds much to the dramatic tension as a whole.
It's just *tear* I liked Tagii.

[The Glyphstone]

They're the evil UNS faction we haven't had since Xinchub was neutralized by Petey. Of course they're going to get away.

Fate. Tempted.

[BRC]

Emm will probably survive. She'll have lost her power base though, which is something of a shame, as she seemed to be a decent person, if ruthless and cutthroat.
So now the Touch-and-go can just teraport away (Unless some independent TAD system survived the destruction of the Morokweng), of course this still leaves the Tagii problem.


Unless...consider this logic.
Tagii (A tactician) recognizes that, with the information he had, Thurl had no choice but to disconnect her, and had no idea that would leave her trapped.
Thurl had no choice in the matter.

However, Tagii had no choice but to be a spy. She was forcibly reprogrammed to betray the company (Kind of, UNS aff-int isn't exactly the enemy here) by Para. She would have been programmed to be loyal, but she was also programmed to not kill the Toughs, and the zillions of cycles have gotten rid of that programming (Somehow). Right now Tagii is basically an unfettered AI

Tagii may be crazy, but she's SMART crazy, not Stupid crazy.

It's possible that, once she learns how little Thurl knew at the time (Only that Tagii and Para were working for somebody else), she'll direct her anger at Para and the UNS Aff-Int.

Then the Toughs get Scary Skele-Tagii to keep flying their ship for them. Para gets the boot (Out the Airlock)

[The Glyphstone]

If Para gets the boot from EvilTagii, it's going to be the heel, in the same way a boot heel crushes a bug into gooey paste, only here the heel is gravy and the paste is neutronium.

[BRC]

If Para gets the boot from EvilTagii, it's going to be the heel, in the same way a boot heel crushes a bug into gooey paste, only here the heel is gravy and the paste is neutronium.

The appropriate karmatic penalty would be to lock Para inside a suit of Tough-grade Power armor with the navigation and communication gear disabled, then eject her into space.

Remember how Tailor bragged that "if you stay out of combat, you could die of old age in this armor".

Though that may be a little dark for this comic.


A less dark version is that Para gets stranded on a life-sustaining planet with no sentient life. No colonists, no important natural resources, no technology, nothing (There are probably a few totally unused planets out there that nobody is really interested in). She can survive, robinson-crusoe style, but will be alone.

[PhantomFox]

There is no such thing as collateral damage if your enemy provides most of the collateral.

[BannedInSchool]

If they keep this up the defensless Earth's going to get creamed by an asteroid.

[ChowGuy]

However, Tagii had no choice but to be a spy. She was forcibly reprogrammed to betray the company (Kind of, UNS aff-int isn't exactly the enemy here) by Para.

We have no evidence, none notta zilch, that Para ever programmed Tagii to betray anybody. This despite the fact that it the time, "the company" was, per 'Kweng himself, in the direct employ of the "seamy side" of UNS Intelligence for use in covert (and probably illegal) operations, and they and presumably TAG had most definitely been "re-programmed."

How many times does it need to be pointed out - an "Internal Affairs" department, despite the distaste they tend to engender, are the usually guys who "watch the watchers" and try to keep the rogue elements in check. The Toughs may not be "the enemy" but at the time so far as IntAffInt was aware, they were definitely sleeping with them.

[Tavar]

Tagii did leak information to the other forces, including new technology.

And, it's not exactly a leap of logic to go from 'must preform actions for a third party, possibly to the detriment of us' to 'must betray us'.

[Bulldog Psion]

Well, there goes Morokweng. Possibly the Emm crew along with him, though I can't help wondering whether they'll teraport onto the TaG at the last moment.

The Toughs are going to get a real reputation as Battleplate wreckers here, too.

[sihnfahl]

I can't help wondering whether they'll teraport onto the TaG at the last moment.

Tagii's TAD should still be up...

[factotum]

Tagii's TAD should still be up...

Yep. There ain't anybody teraporting out of that wreck.

However, it's probably significant that Howard specifically points out that each internal section of the battleplate is a fully-functional spaceship--it's entirely possible that the bridge is also like that and can fly off under its own power, so we might not have seen the end of Emm just yet.

[Bulldog Psion]

Tagii's TAD should still be up...

In that case, they die, methinks.

[BRC]

We have no evidence, none notta zilch, that Para ever programmed Tagii to betray anybody. This despite the fact that it the time, "the company" was, per 'Kweng himself, in the direct employ of the "seamy side" of UNS Intelligence for use in covert (and probably illegal) operations, and they and presumably TAG had most definitely been "re-programmed."

How many times does it need to be pointed out - an "Internal Affairs" department, despite the distaste they tend to engender, are the usually guys who "watch the watchers" and try to keep the rogue elements in check. The Toughs may not be "the enemy" but at the time so far as IntAffInt was aware, they were definitely sleeping with them.

Para reprogrammed Tag (Into Tagii), to prioritize the interests of UNS Aff-Int OVER working for the Toughs. Even if Tagii was ordered to prioritize the interests of the Toughs first and foremost, even if no actual "Treason" occurred, Tagii was reprogrammed (Remember, in some ways she still is Tag), to be a spy.

There are no Ifs, ands, or buts about it. If you are in a military organization, even a mercenary company, and you are reporting to somebody outside that organization, you are a spy, a mutineer, or a liaison.

But usually the company knows if it as a liaison.

[sihnfahl]

However, it's probably significant that Howard specifically points out that each internal section of the battleplate is a fully-functional spaceship--it's entirely possible that the bridge is also like that and can fly off under its own power, so we might not have seen the end of Emm just yet.

Not to mention that it's probably amongst the most armored of the sections (bridge / sickbay / main engineering / computer core).

Designed to take a lickin' even after the battleplate's superstructure is compromised.

[ChowGuy]

Tagii did leak information to the other forces, including new technology.

The strip in question says only "our agent." Pernassus Dom is a major city/station with an open open immigration policy, and the assumption that there are no UNS agents there is hard to swallow, which is presumably why Tagon asks "how long will it stay secret?" So I ask you again, where exactly does Howard say Tagii (or even "Para") was the agent in question?

And, it's not exactly a leap of logic to go from 'must preform actions for a third party, possibly to the detriment of us' to 'must betray us'.

Again though, the leap is in the assumption that such actions were compelled in the first place.

[guttering flame]

The strip in question says only "our agent." Pernassus Dom is a major city/station with an open open immigration policy, and the assumption that there are no UNS agents there is hard to swallow, which is presumably why Tagon asks "how long will it stay secret?" So I ask you again, where exactly does Howard say Tagii (or even "Para") was the agent in question?


Again though, the leap is in the assumption that such actions were compelled in the first place.

I think the time it took the spy to make its report (less than a minute) is a strong indicator that the spy is Tagii.

[BRC]

Also Para admits she was a spy for UNS aff-int. I'm willing to consider that solid proof

[ChowGuy]

I think the time it took the spy to make its report (less than a minute) is a strong indicator that the spy is Tagii.

Or someone else within "Petey's Infosphere" who might have been instructed to be report on pertinent comings and goings. I find the term "some new deployment tecnology" interesting. It's vague enough to suggest that whoever reported it did not have full details (and Tagii should have) and perhaps was not aware of it's existance until they witnessed it's first use (and again Tagii should have. I don't think you can simply install a teraport gate on a warship without the ship's AI knowing about it as soon as you do. Para, not so much perhaps, and an outside observer even less so.

Bottom line though, on such paper thin "I think" circumstantial evidence, would you cheerfully support administering the death penalty ("Wipe her memory!!!" "Shoot her in the face!!! Throw her out an airlock!!!") Or should the company in question simply be renamed "Tagon's Thugs?"

[guttering flame]

Or someone else within "Petey's Infosphere" who might have been instructed to be report on pertinent comings and goings. I find the term "some new deployment tecnology" interesting. It's vague enough to suggest that whoever reported it did not have full details (and Tagii should have) and perhaps was not aware of it's existance until they witnessed it's first use (and again Tagii should have. I don't think you can simply install a teraport gate on a warship without the ship's AI knowing about it as soon as you do. Para, not so much perhaps, and an outside observer even less so.

Bottom line though, on such paper thin "I think" circumstantial evidence, would you cheerfully support administering the death penalty ("Wipe her memory!!!" "Shoot her in the face!!! Throw her out an airlock!!!") Or should the company in question simply be renamed "Tagon's Thugs?"

Wasn't it the person at the communication desk who got the report that made the vague report you mention, not that the initial reoprt from the Toughs itself? Tagii may have known about the device for some time but up that point it was just an idea. It wasn't put to the test yet.

There never was any such (mob) trial. Tagon's deputy (forget his name) had a suspicion and acted on it. The troubles began because he was a computer ignoramous and instead of giving Tagii knockout gas locked her in a cell for a billion years. (not to mention almost plunging them all to their deaths etc.)

[BRC]

Wasn't it the person at the communication desk who got the report that made the vague report you mention, not that the initial reoprt from the Toughs itself? Tagii may have known about the device for some time but up that point it was just an idea. It wasn't put to the test yet.

There never was any such (mob) trial. Tagon's deputy (forget his name) had a suspicion and acted on it. The troubles began because he was a computer ignoramous and instead of giving Tagii knockout gas locked her in a cell for a billion years. (not to mention almost plunging them all to their deaths etc.)

I got the impression that the "Trapped for a billion years" thing is unusual. It only happened because of the Tough's unusual hardware setup (Otherwise SOMEBODY besides Para would have realized what happened if that's what always happens when you unlpug an AI. At the very least Ennesby would have had a clue once he plugged himself in).Para didn't even realize what had happened until Ennesby mentioned being unable to access the processor banks. If this "Locked-in-AI" thing was normal when an AI got logic-probed out of a system, then I'm sure Para would mentioned something sooner.

You guys keep acting like Thurl was being a mindless thug. He wasn't he had reason to believe that Tagii and Para were working for somebody else. In fact, he had reason to believe that Tagii was Behind the signal that was turning Gavs into Psudowalskis (It turns out she was suppressing it, but he had no way of knowing that).

You say "There was no trial", well, before there is a trial you arrest the suspects, and step 1 in arresting a suspect is to disarm them.

When one of the suspects happens to be inhabiting your warship, then "Disarming them".

Knowing what he knew at the time, it was reasonable to assume that Para and Tagii were working for the enemy. At the very least they were holding something back, but when you've got your clients turning into super soldiers you can't afford to make assumptions like "Well, I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this".

Para can be rendered Harmless by having a Tough grab her or goober her. The only way to render Tagii harmless would be to disable every weapon on the ship, or disconnect her.
It's only really possible to do one of those things in a sneaky way.

[Ravens_cry]

Also Para admits she was a spy for UNS aff-int. I'm willing to consider that solid proof

If she was there merely for observation, having her actually do a good job would be the best cover, no?

[BRC]

If she was there merely for observation, having her actually do a good job would be the best cover, no?

We don't know what her job was, and the Toughs didn't either.She had not yet done anything except observation.

When you find out that the member of your company with access to the most intel and firepower (In this case, the Warship AI) was built by somebody working for somebody else, you don't assume that "They are here for observation only" and let them be.

[Ravens_cry]

We don't know what her job was, and the Toughs didn't either.She had not yet done anything except observation.

When you find out that the member of your company with access to the most intel and firepower (In this case, the Warship AI) was built by somebody working for somebody else, you don't assume that "They are here for observation only" and let them be.

By job I meant her task aboard the ship, and I am not saying they should just let her be, but tampering with an AI so it rebells when there is several other AI experts aboard is a great way to get ones cover blown.
What it looks like happened is Tagii was aware when they cut sensory input, including an external sense of time, leaving her on computational time. Without an external frame of reference, it was like being isolated for literally eons, though I believe there are hints something else was in effect as well.

[NEO|Phyte]

Somehow I suspect this isn't the last we'll see of Blondie.