Mecha Mercs Skirmish (Hanger Thread)

One of the Peace Keepers steps forwards, his cool air of superiority combined with the fact he wasn’t decked out in a tactical vest with an assault rifle marked him has a spook of some kind.
“We do, which is one of the reasons why we haven’t stormed the base and arrested the lot of you.”

“What’s the other reason?”

“Well Mr. Kerry up until now the 3C have been very good boys, playing by the rules, helping the unfortunate, doing us special favours. Which is why I’m very disappointed in you. But don’t worry: I have a proposition for Commander Meirin. If he accepts then all is forgiven.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“We really don’t have time for due process right now. If he refuses then let’s just say: justice will be… swift.”

The Spook and the rest of the entourage turned to leave.
“You will receive your instructions shortly, give my regards to Commander Meirin.”

--------------------

Irving: “Hey hey boys and girls! With all the shit going down I’ve managed to snatch some Peace Keeper gear including one of their exclusive drones. You have no idea how hard it is to capture one of these without it self-destructing.”

Nukes!
And now IF dogs without the leashes of their councilman masters...
I never thought I'd live see EVERYTHING...
Kerry, who's running the IF with the council dead?

"Hah Hah! I haven't felt like this shhsince Drump got elected and ssshut down the worker units, yeah! Fackin' Presidential Arsehole, bashtards, and fackin' IF facists too!" Said Chuck, ripping the cork of a bottle and chugging heavily from it.

"Three cheersh to the god damn apocalypse, hurray!" *CHUG*, "And now we've been ssshanghaied into government service because someone dedcided that warcrimes were for /other/ one, good, fackin' job Izzy, well done." *CHUG*

Chuck slumps forward on his bench. "Gonna, gonna just, lie here until I feel like the world isn't spinning. Or maybe I just drink some more."

"Wheresh, where is where, where is the /bar/ here, we should have one in this dump surely right? Yeah and like, lot's of alcohol that shhounds like a great idea and then I can pretend thish didn't happen, and then when I remember that is actusshally has I can drink some more! Hurray!~" And very slowly, Chuck falls of his seat and hits the floor like a sack of potatoes.

68 Monies
Mech Cost: 40

=The Regulator=
Batman
-Composite Armour-
HP: 24/24
Def: 8
EDef: 8
Sensor: 6
Move: 4
RA: Electro Bat, Melee Sub-Processor
LA: Blast Shield, Harpoon
Torso: Guidance Disruptor
Legs: Juggernaut Mods
Extra: Redundant Sub-system
Skills: Combat Tech, System Restore, Deflection Angles

Message from the Peace Keepers:
We know of your dealings with the arms dealer Richard Irving, this only compounds your crimes, but we are willing to overlook them on the following conditions:
-You will undertake a mission to capture Irving and deliver him to us.
-After Irving is delivered into our custody you will work for us exclusively, you will prioritize the jobs we assign you and you will not engage in any further illegal activities.

Message from Mysterious Contractors:
We know of your predicament and can offer you sanctuary from the Peace Keepers. We can relocate you beyond the IF’s reach. In return we ask that you complete a job for us within a specific time frame and prioritize future contracts from us. We await your response.

oh god i dont play in this game but it sounds hella serious good luck players!
One one hand work for peace keepers but no more black market. One another hand work for mysterious people but trouble againts them possible forever....
Decisions :3

welcome back!
holy shit. what.

Cable Guy: "Saint preserve us, now that we've pissed off the Peace Keepers Noblesse refuses to give us access to the facilities required for any combat aircraft or cruise missiles. What we can do is hire sub-contractors to provide us with air support. There are some colourful characters out there willing to fly for us if the price is right."

"Oh and we might want to start beefing up the defences in our little hide away if we decide to blow off the Peace Keepers. I've added some new options for the command staff's consideration."

Company Cred Balance: 101

>Kerry, who's running the IF with the council dead?

Cable Guy: "Overall? I don't know. The Desert Task Force had it's own flag officers in the region so the chain of command there is relatively intact. Right now we have to wait and see just how the line of succession plays out before we know who commands the Peace Keepers in general."

((Enjoy spending your payout guys. Ima sleep now, but later on I'll give you the mission choices for this campaign turn plus I have an announcement to make.))

So if we side with the IF, does that mean we can use Peacekeeper weapons without repercussions?
And if we turn Irviing in... then.. does the IF give us another supplier?

Losing out on the black market and turning a guy in who's been working hard to get us goodies doesn't sound all that appealing, and with the IF command blown up, I find it hard to believe they're very organized.

Forgot my trip of course, but..
>The Desert Task Force had it's own flag officers in the region so the chain of command there is relatively intact.
.. I guess this means we're in for a world of hurt, IF council or not, if we decide to blow them off.

Cognis when will new players be able to play? Just wondering if you can put me on a queue or something when a spot opens up i can join.

If you side with the Peace Keepers, the black market will be replaced with the Peace Keeper Armoury. You will be sanctioned to use Peace Keeper gear and have consistent access to it. However you will never be able to buy illegal weapons such as the gamma emitter or terror drone again.

New players will be able to play when an old player bows out for whatever reason. Right now I can only handle so many people, sorry.

As for a waiting list: just keep an eye on the twitter. When a Hanger thread goes up and there's room jump in.

"good god. why. why is this happening?"
(kestrel sat under the leg of the predator.)
"all is lost. The IF blew up, and the entire company is at risk of being dragged away to prison. why? why did it have to be now? this isn't right. this isn't right. this isn't right..."

>Apex Predator left arm hard points reduced to 1.
any particular reason for this change? If it's a logical one I can agree, but the picture of the predator on the sheet shows it holding a gun, which should be the gauss rifle. which is, you know, 2 hardpoints.

With spirits high from victory, Bob Doe returned to base mentally calculating the money he has received, thoughts of buying a better mech swirling in his mind. Unfortunately for the man from Odros, the news of Monus Island being nuked put a damper on his mood, worry bubbling up deep inside for he is unsure what this means for his home country. Will it stay isolated or power-hungry warlords will gaze in its direction, desiring the vast resources it has?

"Oh man, I just wanted recognition for my country but not like this!"

>Did I calculate the maintenance costs and payout right?

[CRC-LZ/G]Bob Doe

60 Cred payout

Mech cost: 27 Cred
=Bob Doe=
Gunner: Vigilance

=Young Snapper=
Chassis: [Crocodile]
Armour: Ablative Armour (+4 HP)
HP: 18/18
DEF: 10 (2 reduction front arc)
E.DEF: 8
SENSOR: 10
MOV: 4
Torso (3/3): Redundant Systems, Stiletto Targeting Suite, Chaff Launcher
LA (2/2): Tactical Shield
RA (2/2): Laser Rifle
Legs (0/1): N/A

Well i guess thats a bit of a shame, i guess i will have to wait. And check every hanger thread whenever one pops up, I am gonna guess its gonna be a while. Well i guess the only thing i can do is occasionally just some spectator commentary in here, whenever a battle crops. And you know wait for the next hanger thread :3

"okay. shit. first things first, organizing."
>return ablative armor
"Now. Guys. what do we do now? Do we just assault Irving and make this pass? let me be straight, I don't want to be a criminal. I was always against the idea of using illegal stuff but contended with the members buying it. but it looks like things just went pear shaped real fast. I don't know if this is going to be a new world order situation or not, but one thing I'm certain. IF is big. well, was. but you get the point, the forces on the desert side is a big power in itself. I don't know if Irving is connected to any stronger guys, but unless if he knows the guys that blew up IF and/or the mysterious contractors offering safe haven, I'm voting for the peacekeepers."

"...god, I want to go home..."

=Bird of Prey=
[Predator]

>HP:12/12
>DEF: 12
>E-Def: 10(8+2)
>Sensor range: 10
>Mobility: 5 (4+1)

>Torso: (2/2)
- Enhanced Autoloder (Removes slow reload attribute)
- Stiletto Targeting Suite (+1 Crit, -2 Pen to weapons)
>Right Arm: (4/4)
- Railgun (Slow Reload, Armor Penetration, High tech, Mag-rail)
>Left Arm: (1/1)
- Recon drone controller
>Legs: (1/1)
- Thruster array (+1 Mob. Jump)
>Armor: -

-Miscellaneous
>Redundant Subsystems (1/1)

Recon drone
>HP:4/4
>DEF: 16(14+2)
>E-Def: 12(10+2)
>Sensor range: 10
>Mobility: 5
>Stealth Rating: 14
>mech pistol(-)
>high tech, jump, scan

Credits: 30
Storage:
Combat drone (1)
Defective missiles (1)

your total reward for last mission was 30 credits. divide your mech's total cost by 5 and round it down. subtract that number from 30 credits and that's your total payout.

Bloody hell, I leave for one week...
Will try and get online properly tomorrow to give a commanders view on this massive fuck up.

your post just reminded me of something.
>Recieve T' net-Hub and A. sensor from Malek

Ah so it is, alright I was paid 30 cred, 27/5 equals to about 5 cred so a total of 25 cred for me

"You are home."

Creds 30+7-6=31

Horst watches the display in amusement before slipping a unique flask from a hidden pocket before raising it, speaking as he walks off to secure paperwork, his face a shadow.
"Three cheers to the apocalypse."

"... Well then. Dibs not dragging his ass to the toilet."

"I have to agree, the IF has a lot more sway around here even with the... recent news. (She stays silent for a moment)
...But I think this is our moment to shine. People are regrouping and rebuilding, there's a power vacuum waiting to be filled, and we're just the group to fill that gap. The IF is at it's most vulnerable, and while I'm hesitant to throw Mister Irving to the wolves, we need to take advantage of our situation before it slips us by.

... And to be honest, we're damned either way. Either the IF stomps us out, or we risk whatever allies Irving has turning against us in the long run. At the very least, being in the IF's pocket means we could rely on their resources and protection more, and who knows, maybe they'll throw us a bone or two?"

"Come to think of it, how /does/ Irving get his stuff anyways?"

"... So, the IF demands we subjugate ourselves or be destroyed, changing our operational structure and turning us into small bit players in the Peace Keeper Forces. They're rude, abrasive and prone to throwing their weight around.

Meanwhile, this mysterious other group reaches out and offers a nearly-no-strings attached offer with generous terms and promises of work in the future.

So bugger that for a lark; anyone who shows up at just the right time with just the right offer is the sort of asshole who is trying to flip your misfortune into their extravagent paycheck. C'mon, that's patently ridicolous. "offer sanctuary". "We 'ask'. 'Prioritize'. There's never any damn question in situations like that. They say they ask but what they mean is 'accept or we'll throw you to the dogs because we're the ones protecting you". The IF have all the soft fuzzy kindness of knapped flint stones but they stick to their promises and pay the money they owe.

The IF isn't Monus Island. The IF is an organization, fed by invisible logistic chains from multiple countries, with bases and outposts and chains of command. They're rude, smug and condenscending but they're not assholes. And I can work with that. If there's even a ghost of a sliver of a fragment of a chance that we end up working with the kind of stone-cold psychopaths with delusions of competence that think nuking a thousand bored adminstrative clerks trying to sort out tax paperwork for a Nation Assembly on Monus Island will accomplish any darn thing, then they can take their offer and
shove
it
up
THEIR
A---

Ahem.

Excuse me. These are emotional times."

Hey guys-
>Monus Island has been nuked
youtube.com/watch?v=WFKUoHhS2aw
Oh. Well. Nevermind.

>IF or mystery box
Hooboy.

Look, I'm gonna lay this out right now, we CANNOT accept the IF's terms.

>After Irving is delivered into our custody you will work for us exclusively,

They're basically trying to use legal leverage to turn us into an expendable penal legion to do their deniable dirty work, and if they want to they can dispose of us at any time.

I always thought the IF was kind of corrupt, so I would have been hesitant to side with them under normal circumstances, but now all the cooler heads in charge are dead and there's only warhawks left, with plenty of reason to be thirsty for blood. There are no rules anymore.

HOWEVER;

The cabal responsible for this who are doubtless our mysterious contractors, and its their fault we're even in this situation. They've killed the security council and ensured that only those of choleric temper are left in control, ensuring the means for the IF to tear itself apart under its own heavy handed reprisal, leaving the way clear for them to move in and set up show. They're twisted bastards to go this far and they can't be trusted in the slightest. We cannot allow them to seize power.

But if we go down this rabbit hole we may be able to find out more about their plans, we may become trusted, and when the time comes we may be able to put ourselves in the right place to tear their schemes apart.

And as for what happens after that? I don't know, but it can't be any worse than either alternative.

>TLDR
>Side with Cabal and pursue our own leads, then take them down from within

On an unrelated note, I strongly recommend the LHI license, that last mission made clear how badly we need artillery.

Also
I take it the base in question is the one Noblesse issued us, and not the hidden one we occupied on the sly.

If we side with the cabal the IF will come, we need base defenses until then.

..and who's to say it was the cabal who did this?
What if it was a power play from a faction in the IF?
What if it was some country prepping to make a move?

>..and who's to say it was the cabal who did this?
I guess it's not a certainty, but if it isn't them then I will happily consume a whole bottle of that muckmaw stuff of yours and will everything I own to you if I die from it.

Looking back, everything that has transpired thus far has had a strange kind of orderliness to it. The situation in the desert, the way the aggressors involved seemed to all be moving in concert according to some plan, the way they made a challenge to the IF they couldn't hope to back up that drew away much of the Peacekeeper's fighting strength away. There's also the way they tried to hire you guys to defend what in retrospect was almost certainly the Proxy so Zanvra could keep underming the IF satellite network with it and the way they've been talking when they contacted us

Oh, and I neglected to make this point, but:
The IF knows we are acquainted with Irving. Irving sent us the request to steal the nuke that was almost certainly used in this attack, so he was responsible, and by association with him we are, in the IF's eyes, collaborators with those responsible already. Make no mistake, the kid gloves are off. They are not just going to let us off with a "Don't do it again" and a pinkie promise to help them out. To them we're criminals already, and the people that might have honoured a promise to criminals made under the table are so much radioactive dust swirling around Monus Island.

I know everyone is rightfully leery of openly defying the world police, but I strongly feel that they cannot be trusted to keep up their end the way things are now. Make no mistake.The Cabal is extremely dangerous to side with, but in no way is the IF any safer. Not now.

Think about it, is hiring known international criminls to do your wetwork something a benign government does? Not that they ARE a government, much as they think they are.

"T-the problem is that we have a lot of questions, and n-no time to find the answers. I-if we had just a few more pieces of information, maybe we could make a better decision

"I warned you guys but it took them threatening us for you to finally see.

I will refuse any sort of IF global government. It is removing people's freedoms in the name of 'peace'."

Well, Kerry did say he had one other announcement. Till then we can weigh in on it with what we have now.

Oh, and Borealis? Don't beat yourself up for what happened on your last mission. On my own op, Chuck did pretty much the same thing, it's just that he made it out intact because he had a much better robot that could take the blows. Now that you have some more cash under your belt you can replace that Komodo.

I never thought I'd see the day when I was backing up Alice, but here I am. She's right, any hope of the IF not overstepping its bounds and becoming jackbooted thugs went up with the security council.

Fuck, for all we know they want us to kill off Irving because he can testify he sold nukes to THEM.
An army without a leash, moving to make a power grab...
Fuck, if nothing else the cabal moving to stop orbital lasers is reason enough...

>Horst withholds his vote

This isn't about sides. This isn't about safer, or better, or wiser, or nicer, or smarter. This is about standards.

Don't work with the kind of people who nuke towns. No how, no when. Don't negotiate, compromise or try to change their policy. You bury them six feet under in an unmarked grave. They bring out the WMDs, they can get bent. If there's even a chance that's the people we work with, then the answer is no. A million times no. A giant flaming ball of no. A no-culear no.

We get hired to solve jobs. That's personal. Them, us, guns, violence. That's the rules. No indiscriminate extra collateral damage. No vaporizing city centers. No leaving places uninhabitable for years. People with guns, killing each other, in a civilized, dignified manner that gets resolved and everyone goes on with their lives or attends a funeral. Effective, clean, the job.

If you bring out the mass murder, you get hunted down and put down like the mad barkng dog you are. Working with the IF just means I get to the point where I put a bullet in their skulls faster. That doesn't mean I expect to like working with them or want to do it. But it's not about that. This is about having Standards.

"Gotta agree with the bossh there boys." *Hic*

"If we join the myshtery buggers, and they turn out to be a bunch a wannackers and leave ush out to dry, we're pretty fucked on that score."

"We join the IF, well they could leave us out to dry too, but they might alsho decide to offer an amneshty, and we'd have the big boy guns on our side for once, hah!"

"Or to put it shortly, I'd rather take a gamble where we might be sold out, then one where we might all get hung as war criminalsh inshtead."

"Rather be a, patsy, then a bloody terrorisht"

You do realized the IF has it's own WMD in the form of a satellite weapon system. So there are no standards as you say in this. It does come down to sides. One where we subjugate ourselves and possibly see the entire world living in fear of stepping out of line. Or we can resist.

The IF don't have standards anymore Spare, that's what I'm trying to say. Their headquarters were nuked, their authority was severely compromised and they will go to any lengths to rectify that. We'll probably see exactly how far in due time, but I have a very, very strong hunch that they've begun to tumble down a very long, dark, downward road and that before too long there isn't going to be much difference between them and the people they hunt. Mark my words, there will be atrocities perpetrated by the IF. They'll just either try to justify it in the name of security or sweep it under the table.

Look, every time I've doubted you so far you've turned out to be right and I trust your experience and instinct, so whatever decision the Corps eventually makes I'll go along with it. I'm just warning you right now that if the IF wins this struggle and regains control, the new world order is going to be very, very grim.

>I'd rather take a gamble where we might be sold out, then one where we might all get hung as war criminalsh inshtead
But don't you see? Siding with the IF is both. They can easily get rid of us once they're done. Why wouldn't they? We'd be an incriminating loose end.

Oh don't give me that shlippery shlope garbage Cryptic. We've seen some of the worsht of the IF, we might see some of the besht if we work with em, we can /be/ some of the besht. Something that might make us a few worthwhile alliesh in the process and work us towardsh some bloody amnesty

Whereash if we join the Myshtery buggers then we're internatshional terroristsh, and we're gonna be stuck like that for the resht of our career you're willing to gamble with all our livelihoodsh on an inkling of a chanshe of a hunch that the hyenash are better then the wolvesh, and quite frankly, I'd rather not be associated with that.

I ain't getting put on a watchlist Cryptic, nuh-uh, I'll drop ship and leave before I go along with that bollocksh

>I ain't getting put on a watchlist Cryptic
Chuck, you are on a wachlist. You're an associate of a war criminal and a nuclear arms dealer who blew up the HQ of the world police. There will be no amnesty. There'll just be a bullet in the back of our heads and a shallow grave to rot in. For all their pretense the IF are not good people. They might have been once, ages ago, but they've come to believe that any means are acceptable to ensure their continued authority and recent events have only fanned the flames. Even before this they hired deniable mercenaries to do their dirty work to protect their image.

The IF jumped down that slope years ago when they planned the Bitfrost network. S'just now the slope is a little steeper than it was before is all.

>We've seen some of the worsht of the IF
....No. We haven't. Not yet. But we're about to.

And you think our new 'friends' won't do the same thing when they're done with us hoss?

>And you think our new 'friends' won't do the same thing when they're done with us hoss?

he has a point.

He certainly does, but I'm not advocating actually siding with the mystery box. As bad as the Peacekeeprs are these clowns certainly won't be any better. I just want to stick around long enough to know what's really going on, then we can decide to topple them, topple the peacekeepers or both. We don't really have that kind of operational latitude with the Peacekeepers breathing down our necks and sending us into battle with a gun at our backs.

Like Haze said earlier, what we really need is time to make a more informed call. And if we don't have that time then we should buy it.

That being said, we could potentially side with the Peacekeepers for now, and ditch them if we ever find them going to far. I think the Cabal might just be willing to accept a defection if the IF starts to go off the reservation.

All this arguing about siding with the PieceTakers or the blackhats and I gotta ask, why not both?
No, hear me out before you jump in. There are a number of us that want nothing to do with being PK lapdogs, but Spare and Chuck have good points about not getting hanged and not working for the kind of idiots that use nukes. So, my proposition is this: Two full squads join the IF in hunting Irving and play nice, all above board and by the rules. One squad (that I think Alice will be wellnsuited to lead) goes off the radar, sticks to the Midas site, and runs black book ops. We wouldn't ever show ourselves to the IF go-betweens, and would act as the shaved knuckle in the hole for if (when) they try to burn us.

...and claim to the IF that the third squad deserted when we made our decision to 'join' them. It's certainly an interesting notion, but it's a risky one for the black books squad, since they'd have to run every operation with five people and whatever equipment they can get out there undetected. Besides Alice and Izzy, who'd even volunteer for a mission like that?

While I appreciate the sentiment, I think Borealis said that, not me.

....You could hire a supply of air/artillery support and remote used or automnous drones?

No, I wouldn't say deserted, I say retired or vanished.
After me? Not sure, but I'm holding hope the at least two others would be on board.

... I don't know if I'm suited for that mission. It'd reeeally be rough hanging around War Crimes and War Crimes Jnr, and I've really come to like all you guys. If Spare okays it, and if there's at least one slot left then I'll take the hit for the team and suffer the Psycho Squad.

>No, I wouldn't say deserted, I say retired or vanished.
If we do this how it's phrased is important. We're all wanted, the IF is not going to just accept that we misplaced five pilots.They'll be extremely irate and demand to know why we let them get away. In all likelihood we'll be suspected. If they're going to 'go rogue' it has to convince whatever spooks have their eye on us.

>But don't you see? Siding with the IF is both. They can easily get rid of us once they're done. Why wouldn't they? We'd be an incriminating loose end.

Because that's the rules? It's illegal to kill people, even if you don't like them. The reason they won't kill us is because it's... illegal. I mean, not everyone likes killing people. Sometimes people actually follow the rules. Actually when I say that out loud it does sound really flimsy, doesn't it? Hm. Unfortunate.

Same thing about the BiFrost Network. Not a fan, never was. But I can deal with one step at a time, and I'll focus on the ones that actually murder people. Then I can always singlehandedly dismantle the IF Satelite Network after that. I've gotta have something to do after breakfast, anyway.

--
Mech value : 52
Repair costs : 11
Gain 40, lose 11, have 15 banked : 44 credits.
--

>Consider selling entire set-up and changing to cluster rocket assault drone regressive knife zenith...

"Well uh, oops. Honestly I think our best bet is to go with the mysterious guys. We know the IF is probably full of crap, so better the option that might be on the level. Really, we're thinking of joining up with the IF, who's leadership just got nuked, and are about to have control over a network of kill satellites? For all we know someone in the IF themselves did the deed just to take control."

>Return x2 EMP missiles to company inventory. Will likely borrow one again next mission.
>Spend 20 credits to learn [Ta]rget Acquisition. 10 credits remain.

"Ohhhh Irviiiing," Izzy calls up the black market dealer with a smile, her new platinum and onyx gem nosering glittering under the lights of the base. "That fancy knife you're offering looks wonderful, but I'm a tad bit hard on cash. I recall you offering a little bonus to one of our pilots a while back, would the offer still stand with me for a teeny tiny discount?"

[Crocodile] =Killer Kau=
HP: 18/18 DR: 1 Defense: 12
ECM: 8 Sensor: 14 Move: 5
Armor: Composite Armor
Torso: Advanced Sensor, Stiletto Targeting Suite, Threat Assessment Module
LA: (GE) Gamma Emitter
RA: (GE) Gamma Emitter
Legs: Thruster Array
Skills: [E]hanced Electronics, [Ta]rget Acquisition, Redline

Also I've written a terrible thing after some of that discussion a few threads ago. Warning, terrible smut ahead: pastebin.com/8tjegw1f

A different story for every pilot would be ideal. They'd be left looking for individuals rather than a group. For myself, saying I retired or was simply a subcontractor would both work, as I've only been on one mission with the 3C.

>Company Asset votes
>Reaper OS: Selfish vote, I just want it. That said, the skills are generally good.
>LHI License: good gear, more mech versatility
>LRADN: Earliest warning system
>Waffle Hut or Bird Man: WH can scan for us. 'Nuff said. BM's Interception sou ds really useful for enemy reinforcement denial
>Pioneer upgrades: Never a bad choice.
>MoeDrones: Memento Mori, right? Also, things are quite grim, some levity would be nice.

Hey, Izzy-

>LA: (GE) Gamma Emitter
>RA: (GE) Gamma Emitter

...you know what, I don't even care anymore.

How do you feel about Ithaqua's proposal to run with him and Alice (and two others) as an off the books black team working for the mystery contractors?

Izzy?

Hm. Don't see her. Guess I'll leave a message.

Woops. Sorry.

>not everyone likes killing people
Hey, these types don't usually like killing people, but they do it anyway because it 'serves the greater good', then sleep like a baby. Honestly, that kind of person is even scarier than Alice, at least she makes no bones about who she is.

Well, Izzy is easy enough to explain away considering she's the one that drew their attention in the first place. She fled IF reprisal.

>Company assets
Definitely LHI first and foremost. Those mechs are really very good; every one is damn tough, they pack artillery which we sorely lack and reactive armour could be a huge boon going forward on more dangerous missions.
As for the rest I guess we should save. An investment in the Midas base is an investment in the future of the company, and the Reaper OS could potentially be handy further down the line.

Incidentally, I should note that AESR were working with the Cabal. Could be a potential in to that company's inventory.

"W-what if we split down the middle? Half our group goes to the IF to buy time for the other and investigate from within, the other half saves irving and brings him with them to the mystery man to see what they're up to? The outlaw half could investigate outsider plans to nuke the IF or cause war by following up with Irving, while the other side can Work for the IF and look into if it was an inside job, o-or if they h ave any other plans? From there, b-both sides could run interference on their faction if they start getting too close to our people."

Borealis clears his throat.
"A-also, we still have that space in the Midas range that they don't know about yet to fall back to when we've determined who on which sides is at fault."

Having more support is good, but half the combat pilots upping and leaving is simply something we just can't explain to the IF considering our current position, not to mention the difficulty of finding that many pilots who'd be on board with such a scheme. A small squad is less than ideal, but it's also the most you're likely to get away with.

I mean, if you have a really dynamite excuse, I'm all ears, but it seems like a damn tough sell.

Oh, and before I forget again:
>"We really don’t have time for due process right now. If he refuses then let’s just say: justice will be… swift"
These are not exactly the boy scouts you're used to.

Working with the cabal and retaining the black market would potentially mean having access to peacekeeper gear (through illegal channels) and other illegal gear), although:
>turning a guy in who's been working hard to get us goodies
Don't mistake his willingness to sell to us as friendliness. Irving is a dyed in the wool iron monger, he'll sell to anyone who'll buy and he doesn't care too much about what happens to them after their cheques clear. If things go bad for us he just shrugs and keeps selling to his other customers.

We could not split the group and just go fully behind one option or the other.

"If t-the majority rules to follow the IF, would you want to stay?"

(kestrel silently watches chuck until he falls off, and lays him on the couch, head turned sideways just in case he starts throwing up.)

"so far I agree with Spare. everything is a mess, and in the time of crisis people flock to one with power. peacekeepers are no shallow business."

"for gods sake... Izzy. ugh. I can't take this..."

"whatever happens I want to stay on the side of Peacekeepers. I don't want to go any further, and if it does go, I don't know what I'll do...
so whatever happens, we've been marked as do-no-gooders now? in terms of illegal stuffs I mean. does this mean we should just start using Illegal stuff willy nilly?

Yeah, I've also been thinking that attempting to split the difference between two options and being unable to commit to either was what caused the disastrous result on the Sakala op, and doing that when it's our own lives on the line may be highly inadvisable.

That said, it seems more often than not people would prefer to go with the IF's 'suggestion'. Are you going to be alright with that?

Yeah, what he said.

It might not be so bad. We could probably ditch them if we decide we don't like what they're doing. The IF demanding we do illegal missions and warcrimes would certainly convince the diehards that the IF is beyond saving at this point.

(and goddamnit I'm asking this now because I keep forgetting to)

>Apex Predator left arm hard points reduced to 1.
>any particular reason for this change?
I'm with Kestrel in being curious about this. It seems a peculiar rule change and I can't think of a reason for it off the top of my head.

Say, Kestrel, you should maybe see a councillor or something. You've been looking even nervier than usual as of late. I know the situation is bad and all, but whatever way things go we ought to be able to cope.

...Y'know, Hetros was always a diehard supporter of the IF. I wonder what he'd have made of all this.

"Judging from his previous catalog, he has conmections to LHI and APEX gear, as well as some rouge engineers and AESR employees as well. He's somehow really connected."

Means I'll just have to shoot peacekeepers in the back.

"Should you?
Personal opinion: i believe that if you do you may be facing the if/peacekeepers at full force if you do and the enemies may be comprised fully of them.. Or they may be a big part of them, also money will be short after taking a look at the prices of the black market whew!
That stuff is pricey.
Either way In the end this brings up a good question, where do you stop with the regulations? Do you go for nothing but overkill? If you do then i guess a good idea would be to join the benefactors.
But the peacekeepers may be shit, but i am sure that there is still good people in them I have heard some rumours about them, but you know theres probably some good people in them....right?"

"Oh quit complaining. They're the only two weapons I have at the moment, so if I need to head into combat right /now/ I want to be ready. Feel free to hand over 30 credits and I'll be happy to take them off."

"And again, everyone seems to be forgetting about the kill satellites the now leaderless IF has. We have no idea the motives of whoever is in control of them now, but either way those satellites are not only going to put us out of business, they're going to make us redundant if we're working for the IF."

"I'm against splitting up the company, and I'm even more against joining the IF. We should at least contact this mystery guy and find out more before we make a decision."

>Apex Predator left arm hard points reduced to 1
Likely because the railgun alone is already quite powerful.

As for company assets, we can likely hold off on grabbing LHI for another turn. The base stuff is also very nice and we'll want to start thinking about that. I personally would love if we grabbed the Phulton Extraction Aircraft just to make sure our pilots stay alive since we'll absolutely be taking riskier missions from now on.

>Mushroom Clouds… [etc.]

"... What? ... What?!"

Great update, I like all of it and see no problems other than crack shot's wording. It is unclear to me how it functions when firing multiple weapons and since all dice are rolled at the same time, how they are counted.
Also, JDAM is a silly term and is only used in RL because it has been used for a while and everyone got used to it. IMO

>You will undertake a mission to capture Irving and deliver him to us.
>After Irving is delivered into our custody you will work for us exclusively, you will prioritize the jobs we assign you and you will not engage in any further illegal activities.

"This would be a dream come true to me if this wasn't also a day of great tragedy."

>If you side with the Peace Keepers, the black market will be replaced with the Peace Keeper Armoury. You will be sanctioned to use Peace Keeper gear and have consistent access to it.

Why even give us a choice when the answer is so crystal clear.
We get to work for the best employer, fighting for the worthiest cause, are being supplied with the best weapons, and get to finish our buisness with that Scum Irving.

I can't beleive that there is a debate. Does anyone have any argument that isn't based soley on assumptions that suggests that the Peacekeepers are anything but the best working and most efficient and successful group to fight for stability, lasting peace, and justice (aka: the worthiest cause)?

"Trooper Cryptic! The lube oil resorvoir needs scrubing, I have appointed you to the task.
Here is your brush."

Also, I'm very much for acquiring the LHI License.

"I warned you all about using such a terrible weapon as the gamma emitter...Saint have mercy on us all if only we could have known that not stopping that stolen uranium...the IF for all its faults is the legitimate...I just don't know what we are doing anymore we should be striving for better things than this.

This is why I wanted you as an officer a clear voice what needs to get done.

>vote for LHI license as my first preference

The was lewd!

Borealis sighs.
"With both sides looking to control our activities, the only side we know anything about is the IF, and even t-then... With their chain of command thrown into disarray, we have no idea who we'd actually wind up working for. In a sense, they're both mystery employers now. I-if we could buy just a bit more time, figure out something about who was responsible and the plot behind this, it'd be great, but I d-don't think they're willing to give us that time.

Almost nobody is happy with this decision, or the s-situation surrounding it. If only we could come up with a t-third option..."

Borealis taps as his chin as he thinks, before adding "W-we need to get our priorities straight. What is our overall goal? Do we want to break the IF's hold? Do we want to stop a war? Start one? Do we pursue Irving's knowledge of the nuclear transport, or do we leave that alone and f-focus on appeasing one group or the other?
What do we want to do?"

Bludhawk came in from the Hangar, performing the hard work of repairing the shot-up Crocodile, and putting in the purchase orders for his shiny new mech.

He walked in and dropped his wrench when he saw the news. "By the Saint..." It didn't take him long to move to his bar and pour a shot, tapping it on the make-shift bar of transit cases he'd made and drinking to those lost.

"We should be working with the peacekeepers. They lost a lot of good people and we owe it to them to bring those responsible to justice. Not to mention, they're the only organization out there trying to make the world better at the moment. Working with gun-runners who make it a habit to sell WMD's to the highest bidder? No thanks. Saint, it's our fault we got caught. Whose smart idea was it to leak radiation all over a residential area?"

"...screw this. I, I... screw it, If I'm gonna get dragged off to my death then I might as well break rules and kick stuff!"
(kestrel barges into the warlord stash, opens up a particularly dark flask, and chugs it. tears from in kestrel's eyes, and then kestrel starts coughing heavily.)
"ahaauahgh, this burns. how doo people cope with this? god damm my tuung feels burny and stuff..."

"ha ha hah... haaaahhhhhhh. nervy. the word 'nervy' describes me? yes. I agree. is it? no. that's a big understatement. aaand as if some random councelor is wi- *hic* -willing to talk up with people who are ready to- uh... ready for... 'available' to branded as war criminal."

(kestrel looks confused.)
"god, are these the voices that drunk people talk about? If anytheng, we need to be raady to build up firepower. Regardess of whet- *hic* whether we plan to go with peecekeepars or the mystery people, both sides will be packing heet, and eye, do not, believe that stagnating will allow us to survive."

"figurrs. we need to come up with an objective and focus on it. if we dunt have one, we need to force one out. because waiting around like a dingy and hoping for something good to happen is only going to leave us worse. and that wuud be a wast o time. and like you said, the IF will NOT give us that time."
(kestrel sinks downward, now crouching with head buried in the knees and arms.)
"*sniff* For fucks sake. I want to see my family... my ma... dad... sis... they would have no idea what kind of-*hic* of shit I'm in...*sniff* and to think I would show them off the predator to prove that I can NOT- *hic*, -Not be a worthless, bag of shit that can't get a proper job for once!"
*cough*
"I knew, *hic* I knew my life was gonna go to shit, everything weel be going to shit, and I wuld probably end up as'a splattered goop in the inside some kind of car. *sniff* or a mech if I was luuky.. but this is not right. they can't do this to us. this is not right..."

As have I written something involving smut. pastebin.com/B3ZAYkFe

Re: Due Process
Tragedy was nonplussed at the news. "So they want a pound of flesh and they're implying they're willing to use their vast but limited resources to get it. You want to hear my take on it?" She held up a hand before anyone could reply. "That's moot because I'm going fucking to tell you anyway."

"The IF does have better things to do. Sort of. The thing is, they might be looking for easy publicity. They need something to show they haven't been rendered impotent and the fact that Izzy used a radiation gun hits close to home with recent events.

"I think might we stand a fair chance of testing their resolve, how important it is to them. We can lay it out like this at the table: They could overlook the transgression and come up with some bullshit story to satisfy whoever is bitching about about GuyeCo getting punched in the leather donut with questionable devices while keeping us around as a valuable asset to help them keep the wonderful world of lollipops and rainbows they struggled so hard to make from unraveling.

"..or they could waste resources sending people here to make a big show of how naughty children get punished. Maybe they'll succeed or maybe they wont but we can promise that they'll lose a lot in the attempt and if we survive, they'll have have added to their list of problems eating away at their grasp of control --which might be gaining momentum in the disintegration department."

"yah. yah, that makes sense. *sniff* but Trag. trag. get dis. if we- *hic* -we, cross the Eye-Eff, they arr prabably go crash down on us da doors. when that thingy happans, surely you expekt uss to fight. but that'sa problam. *cough* what eff they DO crunch us? don gemme rong, I noo that da threee-see is a good companie. a fighty good companie. but we wuuld be calling in the lee-jit, reel life peacekeepas heer. with theyr shiny fancy supa stuffs. less, fess it, we will get guys killed. probably. and like otha guyz says, the Eye Eff mighta be in da hands of guys who get mad easy. and I don wanna tuch 'em."
*sniff*
(kestrel falls sideways, splayed on the floor.)
"yah kno what eye think? the monos eyeland may bee nooked, but da eye-eff is still da major faktor. *cough* otha people guys agree with dis. doesn' dis meen that they are still relavant? and thiss mesteri spooky guys offering safe haben? what DUU we kno about dem? what makess them the tru savor in' shinin' lith arma, wen we don' kno about dem than da Eye-Eff in da furst pless?
(kestrel chugs another drink from the dark flask, while spilling half of it on the floor.)
"gahauaaa. ma head huts. jelly. ma arms arr jerry. legss are not workin. why is da flor on ma fess? malak? wherr iss malak? halp, malak, ah need repairs."

Re: Due Process
Tragedy was nonplussed at the news. "So they want a pound of flesh and they're implying they're willing to use their vast but limited resources to get it. You want to hear my take on it?" She held up a hand before anyone could reply. "That's moot because I'm going fucking to tell you anyway."

"The IF does have better things to do. Sort of. The thing is, they might be looking for easy publicity. They need something to show they haven't been rendered impotent and the fact that Izzy used a radiation gun hits close to home with recent events.

"I think we might stand a fair chance of testing their resolve, how important it is to them. We can lay it out like this at the table: They could overlook the transgression and come up with some bullshit story to satisfy whoever is bitching about about GuyeCo getting punched in the leather donut with questionable devices while keeping us around as a valuable asset to help them keep the wonderful world of lollipops and rainbows they struggled so hard to make from unraveling.

"..or they could waste resources sending people here to make a big show of how naughty children get punished. Maybe they'll succeed or maybe they wont but we can promise that they'll lose a lot in the attempt and if we survive, they'll have have added to their list of problems eating away at their grasp of control --which might be gaining momentum in the disintegration department.

"We can give them some time to formulate a response while hardening our defenses. In the meantime, we can get in touch with the mystery people and ask them to be ready for our acceptance, let them know we're open and willing to the idea if the IF decides we're easy meat. If it goes the other direction and the IF decides not to try and hang us, we're still game for taking contracts with them."

"As for Irving..."

(sorry, I was adding some stuff to the bottom of my post, so I pulled it for a repost)
"If the Mystery Men make good on their offer, then the IF would have pushed us away. It likely means the IF never really saw us to be very valuable beyond a band aid for their media woes to begin with.
"...you know what I think? You need to rehydrate and get some rest because I understood half of what you said."

Re: Irving:

"Irving, I'm going to cut to the chase because we both know things are pretty crazy and there's shit dancing around in the shadows. The Peacekeepers obviously want to have your balls turned into a fashion accessory. Even more so now that a certain product of yours works as advertised. Is there any chance you could get us in touch with some people that could get us a better picture of what the fuck is going on without compromising our neutrality for the time being?"

Unrelated to the drama note We have two company pieces of company excursive gear in the starter equipment pool. If we get the modernization packages what happens to them?

"mihyteri? pushh? ar don' get wha yoo shay. *sniff* an ah gat nuh taym*hic* tuh resh. da camp... da camp*hic* -campany ish... ish in rishk uh gatt-*hic*-ang ordar lak... lakh... uh..."
(kestrel's eyes closes halfway.)
"anymals... guad dugs. ya. dugs. laik... uh, ordur. ordur? ordur. waith. ordur?
uh. shait. uh,*hic* welkam... welkam tah grizzlishs munch... mhunch bugas. yah. bugas. mah ah take yah urda- urdur. urdur. hurur. hur. hurk."
(kestrel's eyes go blank, and slowly closes, leaving a qurater of the entire way open. the breath gets slower, and the body goes limp. the pitch black bottle, now empty of contents and free from the grasp, rolls away and stops with a clear 'tink'.)
"aish uh futhuh lu hugh luh. muhduh huhglugh. *hurk* ahughlugh. haughluh hughh."

Bludhawk finishes his own shot and pats Kestrel on the back. "Come on, little fellah, let's get you to bed."

Horst moves to toss the drunk man over his shoulder before stopping, with a sniff.
"I think he's dead, or pissed himself"

So we either work exclusively for the IF, who are shady as hell and threatening us, or we just prioritize jobs from this mystery contact, who is also shady as hell but promising us safety.

"Kerry, contact the mystery guy and find out what you can about him. If he wants us to even consider his offer, we need to know a lot more."

Tragedy did a doubletake. "Guys, do me a favor and check his pulse then get him to Medical for IV rehydration." She was already moving to the nearest intercom to let the medical staff so they would be prepared on Kestrel's arrival. "If you two think he's really fucked up, I can have someone meet you on the way." She muttered as she turned her attention to the phone, "He might need a new callsign for this one.."

"Will do, sern't." Bludhawk took one last shot for the road and grabbed one side of Kestrel, waiting for Horst to do the same on the other and shuffle him off toward medical. "One hell of a day...When we get back, I'll open up the good stuff I have stashed. Feel like this is the day for it. You might even like it, Horst."

Hey guys, just got out of bed and finished reading through the thread. Will post mission options soon after I get lunch.

>Apex Predator left arm hard points reduced to 1

The Predator is a sniper mech. I wanted it to be more reliant on on it's main armament so reducing the size of the other arm meant it didn't have as much space for a "back up" weapon. The Cobra didn't get this treatment because it only has one torso hard point and the Lord retains all it's hardpoints because it's a mixed sniper/command and control mech and doesn't have leg hard points anyway.

Plus in the picture the Predator is actually suppose to be using a twin laser, not a gauss rifle.

>It is unclear to me how crack shot functions

If your weapon fires 3 shots, you roll three dice. Basically the weapon fires as normal.

If your weapon has two shots, you roll three dice, assign the two highest to your shots and discard the third.

If your weapon has one shot, you roll three dice, take the highest result and discard the other two.

Wording says minimum of three to account for edge cases like dumb firing a swarmer pod.

I-I just though calling it a JDAM sounded cool

Horst waves bludhawk away before tossing kestrel over his shoulder like a sandbag
"Here, I got em, and I'm interested in summa that booze."
As he starts to walk towards the medical center he stops
"You're gunna have to see he gets the needles though, I can't watch that shit"
Kerry.
Just do your best
we've got everything from ignoring everyone to splitting the 3C into splinter groups, to a 3C civil war, you've got your work cut out

Seeing and hearing the senior members of 3C argue on what side to choose has done nothing to alleviate the worries brewing within him. He doesn't know what will happen in the future but he figures that if he has a better mech, the more likely he will survive this coming storm.

>Take off Stiletto Targeting Suite, Redundant Systems, and Tactical Shield from Young Snapper (the Crocodile)
>Return the Chaff Launcher and Demo Charge to Company Inventory
>Mech cost is now 18 cred
>Sell Young Snapper (Crocodile, Laser Rifle, Ablative Armor) for 13 credits
>Total is now 38 Credits
>Buy the Summit (18), Heavy Laser (7), Enhanced Auto Loader (6), and Composite Armor (6) (37 Total)
>Install Stiletto Targeting Suite, Redundant Systems (Torso), Tactical Shield, Heavy Laser, Enhanced Auto-Loader, and Composite Armor onto the Summit

Seeing his new mech in front of him has given Bob a quiet sense of courage, making him determined to survive the approaching apocalypse.
"Heh, now that I'm a little more experienced, how about I call you The Snapper then?" he said to his mech, the silent visage not answering back.

>Name the Summit The Snapper

"Three cheers to the apocalypse and may we survive long enough to enjoy our profits and celebrate..." he softly said in the hanger.

[SUM-HZ/G]Bob Doe

Bank: 1 Cred
Mech cost: 44 Cred

=Bob Doe=
Gunner: Vigilance

=The Snapper=
Chassis: [Summit]
Armour: Composite Armour (+4 HP, 1 DR)
HP: 20/20
DEF: 10 (1 DR and 2 DR front arc)
E.DEF: 8
SENSOR: 8
MOV: 4
Torso (3/3): Redundant Systems, Stiletto Targeting Suite, Enhanced Auto-Loader
LA (2/2): Tactical Shield
RA (2/2): Heavy Laser
Legs (0/1): N/A

"*hurk*"
(with a sudden jerk kestrel awakens. with eyes half closed, kestrel stays still. Barely open eyes searching for something, but failing to focus on one.)
"ahh. ah? haurg?
guh. guuuys. herro. ahny bodi. wharr ah..."
(suddenly, the cloudy gaze searches for figures nearby, but is incoherent. the eyes widen. and kestrel starts squirming.)
"ah? nah. nah. naah. nah jayl. nah jayl. innacent. ayy innacent. nah. plahs. plahs nah. ayy innacent."

it feels a bit unfair though. I mean, the same could be said for an onager, and it can grab stealth in the form of a A.camo. and the total # of hardpoints on the lord is 9(4+3+2+0), while the pred now has 8(4+2+1+1). onager has 11. it's not like the predator can use the leg hardpoint feasibly as well, since all leg items that give mobility boosts have the jump icon as well, which disrupts cloak and is practically useless until the pred goes loud. and i get it, the railgun IS the reason why people use it. but what else do you use the Predator for? if people wanted sneaky support business they would have went knightlite, while ones who want full firepower would go LHI and grab mortar onagers. the pred's railgun, while impressive, can only feasibly pick off a guy a turn(assuming called shot+stiletto), while the lord has the torso do do other stuff WHILE shooting,(and can gain the Penetrator and remove slow reload like the predator by equipping items) as well as doing support stuff. if anything I don't know why an APEX mech, which is supposed to be SUPERIOR to most mechs, should be inferior to a 'relatively' weaker company, when properly customized to it's maximum potential. it was already suffering in utility against the lord due to it's one of the slots being moved to the legs (torso->leg). at this rate I might have to switch over to summit, although it pains me.

*Iron Neromian grip intensifies*
"What's he saying?"
"I think he's having a seizure!"

>we'll need a bargaining chip
...The RB-03 Recursor would be a pretty good one. Thing is, if we were to do this we'd need time to play that angle, which would mean siding with the IF temporarily. Also, Zanvra are a bunch of useless clowns I wouldn't trust to run a lemonade stand. Sergei sided with them because they were the only option he had of impeding the IF satellite project, but I have my reservations about them.

Broadly, that makes our options:
>Become boxed crooks at the mercy of a totalitarian regime
>Sign up with a bunch of shady power hungry bastards willing to employ nukes to get their way
>Ride the short bus and seek haven in the most warmongering country in the world.

Our prospects aren't looking great regardless.

Look, I've already said my piece and made my position clear. If becoming a disposable asset of the IF is the course of action the company decides on then that's what I'll do. This place already feels like more of a home to me than anywhere in my own country ever was. And who knows, maybe you'll even turn out to be right. But the logician in me doubts it, the IF are just as willing to engage in dirt deeds as any national government is (after all, they are one now). And if we end up facing down some IF perpetrated horror, I hope you'll reconsider your position.

War is isn't and has never been a case of good people vs bad people. There are always and only bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.

Bludhawk rushes up to the NCO holding the smaller pilot, putting a much more calm and firm hand on a shoulder. "Hey buddy, glad you're awake. We're just helping you get to the party. Just stay with me and Sergeant Horst and we're going to have a great time, okay?" Blud's lips turn up into a wide smile, practiced from many nights around drunken soldiers.

Okay, I'd like to point out that we know absolutely nothing about the mysterious contact besides them offering us protection from the IF who are currently threatening us. We do not know who dropped the bomb or if the mysterious contact is power hungry or even a group. Everyone needs to stop making things up based on nothing.

"Paartay. Paatay? Ay duh laykh paatays...*hic* -urgh. Press. Harrd ta breath. *wheese* Neck chokey. Nah. Belly push in. Hal. Hal- *wheese* *hic*"

>but what else do you use the Predator for
I was thinking you could make a nasty close assault mech with one. Fit one arm entirely with lasers, give it a shield, a threat assessment module and some decent armour and watch the beamspam fly. Regardless, I don't think the railgun is so good that it merits making the mech incapable of anything else. Like Kestrel says here, the Onager can pack two weapons of that kind of range and power, and unlike the Predator it's very tough as well.

Come on Izzy. I know you hate the IF and all, but use your brain for this one. They're not offering us 'protection' because they're just good Samaritans like that, they're doing it because they think they can use us since we have nowhere else to go. And I've obsessively gone over enough of our archived material on suspicious events and mysterious contractors that I'd stake my life on it.

Why can't we just continue to take contracts out of our little mountain fortress?

That sounds a lot better than joining up with the people activity threatening us, and are soon to make us redundant once they start using those kill satellites. Also you're forgetting the IF wants us to exclusively work for them, while the contact wants us just to prioritize their requests.

If people want to work for the IF, they should have joined the Peacekeepers and not a mercenary group.

This. A lot of us do not want to work exclusively for the IF.

Terms from IF
"you will prioritize the jobs we assign you and you will not engage in any further illegal activities."

"You'll like this one. Now just take a little nap and we'll be there soon."
With some finagling, the other pilot was soon layed in one of the medical cots, and Bludhawk took the needle of saline, flicked the tip and slowly slid it into Kestrel's vein.

>the IF wants us to exclusively work for them, while the contact wants us just to prioritize their requests.
Actually they both said 'prioritise our requests'
>-After Irving is delivered into our custody you will work for us exclusively, you will prioritize the jobs we assign you and you will not engage in any further illegal activities.
>In return we ask that you complete a job for us within a specific time frame and prioritize future contracts from us
The IF just seemed to conflate that with exclusivity.

That aside, you make me sound like an IF advocate when I'm one of maybe three or four people here who even seem willing to doubt them at all.

We don't actually have to KEEP working with the peacekeepers if we concede to them. We could conceivably ditch them at any time, and even if we can't reach the mystery men Zanvra would probably take us.