SIV Endgame: An Opco Boone Adventure: Difference between revisions

SIV Endgame: An Opco Boone Adventure (view source)

Revision as of 16:53, 14 December 2022

365 bytes added , 14 December 2022

no edit summary

Amwelladmin

Bureaucrats, Interface administrators, Administrators

82,891

edits

@@ Line 154: / Line 154: @@
 But the unit kept advancing.
-=== Learning droid ===
 Only the Lance-Corporal even heard him. The boy stayed close. He mussed the lad’s hair. “Stay frosty, son — this is going to get sticky. But be prepared to move fast. You may have to make some calls. I’ve your back, lad.”
@@ Line 164: / Line 164: @@
 The boy nodded.
 At that moment the [[SICAV]]’s massive conduit tracks started ''rolling''.
@@ Line 173: / Line 174: @@
 Bundie shook his head. “Let’s hit the trees, boys.”
-What happened next would be with the boy for the rest of his life — a period which turned out to be far longer than, as he watched the disaster unfold, he held any hope of expecting to see.
+What happened next would be with the boy for the rest of his life — a period which turned out to be far longer than, as he watched the disaster unfold, he held any hope of expecting to see.  The caterpillars ate up the sand.
+A SICAV should be no match for an experienced unit of seasoned killers like the Irregulars. [[SICAV]]s had mucho grunt on the flat and toted decent firepower — you couldn’t be casual with them at close quarters — but against anyone who knew what they was doing, they were easy pickings. They were unwieldy, slow, generally only adept at passive and retail conflict: ''limited'' downside protection against liquidity drains, underpowered in choppy markets — basically under-gunned. As such, they tended to be detailed with greenhorn sappers a fighting force could afford to lose.
+But ''this'' SICAV was odd. Bundie watched it from his foxhole: it was nimble, [[agile]], quick. The crew was more capable than your average UCITS infrantry unit: less predictable in their defensive manoeuvres. And the vehicle had a dramatically truncated reporting and compliance harness. The depo — there ''was'' no goddamn depo.
+And Bundie realised as it thundered across the sand, this thing was ''fast''. Way too fast for an ordinary UCITS unit.
+=== That’s no moon ===
+The SICAV reoriented and rolled at Bundies’ exact position. It came steaming straight at him.
-[[SIV]]s had mucho grunt on the flat. The SICAV caterpillars ate up the sand. SICAVs toted decent firepower — you couldn’t be casual with them — but they were unwieldy bastards, slow, generally adept for passive retail conflict. They had ''limited'' downside protection against liquidity drains, were underpowered in choppy markets, and basically under-gunned. Against and anyone who knew what it was doing they were easy pickings. They should be no match for an experienced unit of seasoned killers like the Irregulars.
+The RO comlink crackled. ''Heads up boss, you got company.''
-As such, tended to be staffed with greenhorn sappers an army could afford to lose. The industry slang for the poor suckers aboard a SIV were “expendables”.
+“I copy, Cassie”.
-But ''this'' SIV was odd. Bundie surveyed it from his foxhole. It was more manoeuvrable: more agile, quicker; more professional, ''volatile'', less predictable in their defensive manoeuvres. The usual  reporting and compliance harness was dramatically cut down. There was no depo. And it was ''fast''.
+“Shorts are starting to gett crowded, Bundie. Your team got the safeties off?”
 Bundie hiffed in a percussive [[QIB]]. It blapped spectacular. It threw up dirt and sand and left a decent ditch. The SIV stopped on a dime. It backed up. Its front turret swivelled round and regarded the crater. A fire hose extended. and filled it with water. The SIV rolled over it.
@@ Line 185: / Line 195: @@
 “Holy hell,” muttered Tucker. “Self-sourcing liquidity. That's pretty cool.”
-Bundie thought, ''that's more than “cool”. That's unbelievable. Where the hell is it sourcing that cash?'' Then Bundie knew it: ''this was no ordinary [[SICAV]]''.
+Bundie thought, ''that's more than “cool”. That’s ''unbelievable''. Where the hell is it sourcing that cash?'' Then Bundie knew it: ''this was no ordinary [[SICAV]]''.
 “Throw in another. They have limited reserves. They can’t do that indefinitely.”