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Let it be a point of universal agreement that from now on...

K-CHUNK is by far the best girl.

Walkers! Time for earthling bacteria/viruses to win the day! Three different walker configurations, interesting.

For real, though - glad to see a new page. Last year was pretty rough, make sure you take care of yourself Arioch. I certainly appreciate the entertainment. (I made it through with help of family, friends, and also helping others. That last one is surprisingly effective.)

Those are some real bad-a$$ Terminators! No wonder Fireblade has nightmares if she had to fight something like that!

Hasta la vista, baby!

And my nightmares take shape.

Well now.. that's going to test his survival limits..


Or, he could go all caveman 'Protec woman.. ' and quite literally go ape on them... and get stomped.

Or some how realises he can lucid dream and go Matrix on them..

I don't understand why a utilitarian race like the umiak would have a seemingly cosmetic wrist-blade of all things.
Is it like a terror-weapon? The whole arm being used as a sort of scythe?
I suppose this is a dream of a suppression force rather than an extermination team, or they would all be getting fried at the moment anyway.

Edit: I'm assuming the whole arm is cybernetic, here. The more I look at those things, the less clear it is to me of how much umiak is actually left in those suits.

Finally registered instead of lurking, hah! Hey Alex, it is 2 against 1. You can take 'em!

I'm glad to see the cliffhanger resolved and see what the heavies look like. Well worth the wait! Seeing Arioch still posting to Patreon kept me from thinking it was abandoned.

DCR wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:46 pm

Walkers! Time for earthling bacteria/viruses to win the day! Three different walker configurations, interesting.

I suspect Alex will simply wake screaming from the nightmare and the other Loroi might look at him, astonished. And then notice that Alex can actually feel something of their telepathy.

Alternatively, the dream might change when other Loroi calm Fireblade (I suspect it's her dream) down and Alex might enter the memories of Beryl or Spiral.

Ah bug bots, stuff of nightmares. Reminds me of Eclipse Phase. At least they aren't flying bush bots.

So are these serial numbers and am I reading them correctly?
TitiKiTit
Kitititit
titiKik
Kitititit
Kititik
Tikititit
Kitititit
Kititik
Kikik
Titikitit
Kititik
Kititik
Titikitit

**tititit
Kitititik
Titikitit
Kitititit
Titititit
Kititik
Tikititit
Titikik
Kitititit
Titikitit
Kititik

If they are just representations of a single number then these two seem to be prisoner numbers
114 and 102/86
But in that case, I'm not sure why'd the umiak would put the titititit (0) in the middle of one of the tatoos.
In which case they could be
4,16,3,16,9,8,16,9,7,4,9,9,4
and
16/0,17,4,16,0,9,8,3,16,4,9

Unless these aren't supposed to be representations of numbers, but they seem too different to be some kind of text-code, since you'd assume these were prisoners from the same complex.

boldilocks wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:16 pm

I don't understand why a utilitarian race like the umiak would have a seemingly cosmetic wrist-blade of all things.
Is it like a terror-weapon? The whole arm being used as a sort of scythe?
I suppose this is a dream of a suppression force rather than an extermination team, or they would all be getting fried at the moment anyway.

Edit: I'm assuming the whole arm is cybernetic, here. The more I look at those things, the less clear it is to me of how much umiak is actually left in those suits.

Umiak seem to have a melee and overwhelming firepower bias in their military tactics, which makes sense since they are armored quadrupeds and their are psychologically geared for such tactics.

There is also the fact that this is certainly a counter insurgency/hunter killer squad. We see at least two long range specialist, one close range specialist and one who we cannot make out clearly. A quadrupedal cyborg can move extremely fast in all terrain and as such it makes sense to have such a specialist in such an environment. This, along with their monomaniacal specialization bias does make sense, for them.

dragoongfa wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 02, 2021 11:02 pm

boldilocks wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:16 pm

I don't understand why a utilitarian race like the umiak would have a seemingly cosmetic wrist-blade of all things.
Is it like a terror-weapon? The whole arm being used as a sort of scythe?
I suppose this is a dream of a suppression force rather than an extermination team, or they would all be getting fried at the moment anyway.

Edit: I'm assuming the whole arm is cybernetic, here. The more I look at those things, the less clear it is to me of how much umiak is actually left in those suits.

Umiak seem to have a melee and overwhelming firepower bias in their military tactics, which makes sense since they are armored quadrupeds and their are psychologically geared for such tactics.

There is also the fact that this is certainly a counter insurgency/hunter killer squad. We see at least two long range specialist, one close range specialist and one who we cannot make out clearly. A quadrupedal cyborg can move extremely fast in all terrain and as such it makes sense to have such a specialist in such an environment. This, along with their monomaniacal specialization bias does make sense, for them.

Well, joke's on them, because judging by his stance and apparel Alex is about to go Super Mario Sunshine on their collective ball bearings.

Yay, new page! Thank you Arioch! It’s been a hell of a year, so thank you for getting this one over the line and published.
——

Welp, I think someone is about to have a Very Bad Day. Also: scary.

Setting aside the whole dream/memory (or whatever) bit, you might take down one with a handy anti-tank weapon (I’ve got no idea what’s current), but their colleagues will shortly thereafter make you 100% dead. Possibly 110%.

To apply an unjust amount of tactical thinking and interpretation, this squad might be out to capture or at least investigate. Why do I say that? Because otherwise a smart approach is for Guns-For-Arms on the left there to peek around a rubbish pile and nail the targets from range.

boldilocks wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:16 pm

I don't understand why a utilitarian race like the umiak would have a seemingly cosmetic wrist-blade of all things.
Is it like a terror-weapon? The whole arm being used as a sort of scythe?
I suppose this is a dream of a suppression force rather than an extermination team, or they would all be getting fried at the moment anyway.

Edit: I'm assuming the whole arm is cybernetic, here. The more I look at those things, the less clear it is to me of how much umiak is actually left in those suits.

Actually it's a genetic thing, from the Umiak biology page https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/forum_umiak.html

Although described as “insectoid” in appearance, the Umiak are not insects or arthropods. They do have an exoskeleton, but are energetic, warm-blooded creatures with complex vascular systems. In their unmodified state, Umiak have six limbs, four of which are used as legs, the other two as conventional humanoid arms (giving them a centaur-like stance). The two arms are asymmetrical in most individuals; the left arm is "normal" and terminates in a clawed double-opposable four-fingered hand, and the right arm is slightly longer and more robust, and one of the fingers has been replaced by a backward-curving serrated spike that can reach 30 cm in length. Not all individuals have this asymmetry; the spike adaptation is sometimes missing (presumably having been removed through gene manipulation). The spike is articulated like the dactyl of a crab's pincer, and can be pressed against the forearm to crush, or used for slashing or stabbing attacks when extended. The "normal" digits have pointed fingertips that can be dangerous to soft-bodied creatures, and the forward pair of legs can also be used to strike (in the manner of a rearing horse). Larger specimens stand two meters tall, three meters long and can weigh 230 kg (500 lbs.) or more. While they are quite agile in their native environment (believed to be about one-third Earth's gravity), they are heavy and plodding in normal gravity.

boldilocks wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:16 pm

I don't understand why a utilitarian race like the umiak would have a seemingly cosmetic wrist-blade of all things.
Is it like a terror-weapon? The whole arm being used as a sort of scythe?
I suppose this is a dream of a suppression force rather than an extermination team, or they would all be getting fried at the moment anyway.

As mentioned above, the wrist blade is a normal part of the Umiak biological weaponry, and so it is a traditional weapon. A more common version would be more like the biological weapon, which can either slash against soft targets or crush hard targets. I think in warfare involved swift and heavily armored cyborgs, close combat may be more common than in our modern warfare. But in the theater in which this individual is operating, its targets are all soft. Genocide is a messy business, and you run out of ammunition quickly when slaughtering unarmed civilians.

Of course, it's true that occasionally one of the unarmed civilians makes your head explode, but that's an exceedingly rare occurrence. Acceptable losses, in the Umiak frame of mind.

boldilocks wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:16 pm

The more I look at those things, the less clear it is to me of how much umiak is actually left in those suits.

Very little. Essentially the brain and organs, the core of the nervous, circulatory and endocrine systems, and just enough meat to keep it contained and running. Since the Umiak are exoskeletal anyway, it's a lot easier to take the guts out and put them in an artificial shell than it would be for a vertebrate with all that pesky bone in the middle of everything.

These hardtroops are the extreme end of the spectrum of enhanced infantry. Some are genetically modified to improve G-tolerance, and others have an armored exoskeleton grafted onto their existing bodies.

Scary! I have to wonder if Dream-Alex is about to lose an eye

A... a new page?

And quite a scary one too. I'm glad winter is about over. Wouldn't want to meet one of those guys in the dark.

** K-CHUNK **
** K-CHUNK **
** K-CHUNK **
** K-CHUNK **
** K-CHUNK **
** K-CHUNK **

JARDIN: ... this is why you are wanted me to be quiet, right?
LOROI PRISONER: <<<stupid mon-keigh>>>

Arioch wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:12 am

it's a lot easier to take the guts out and put them in an artificial shell than it would be for a vertebrate with all that pesky bone in the middle of everything.

Just take some bone with you.