Vaermina
Well worn.
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2015
- Messages
- 7,885
- Likes received
- 302,072
If that was the case there would have been no problem with Queenie keeping it for herself.
And yet it's very obvious there is.
-
The regular administrative staff are taking a vacation, and in the meantime, Biigoh is taking over. See here for more information.
-
A notice about Rule 3 regarding sites hosting pirated/unauthorized content has been made. Please see here for details.
-
Staff is working to deal with the problem of synonymous tags. See here for more information and to suggest tag mergers.
-
Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
-
- Tags
- self-insert young justice
And yet it's very obvious there is.
Meetings Squared (part 16)
New
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2016
- Messages
- 19,283
- Likes received
- 1,027,772
18th May 2284
15:44 GMT -6
Governor Rusk nods when he sees me. "I don't know shit. You?"
I shake my head as we follow the crowd into the main hall. The people around me are some of the most senior politicians and military officers in our alliance, and-.
I check to make sure that my people are maintaining vigilance.
**Yes, Chief Krono.**
Good. Because it would be very bad if anything happened to this room.
"High-altitude nuclear detonation is my best guess."
"Weel shyt. Any idea who?"
I didn't ask anyone in Britain if they still had Polaris or Trident, but I'd have thought that if they did they'd have fired it when the European countries fought each other. And I don't know if Trident's missiles have the fuel capacity for a high-altitude detonation.
"Most likely a pre-War facility. American, Chinese or Russian would be my guess, but that doesn't narrow it down much."
"Weren't us, I'll tell yah that fer nothin'. Weren't those Alamo kooks, neither. Tlaloc?"
"Contrary to his core programming. And I don't want to assume this was deliberate. There were times during the Cold War where the Russians nearly fired their arsenal because their launch detection system mistook a normal cloud or a flock of birds for an American nuclear launch. If some Emperor-class A.I. got its knickers in a twist…"
Rusk nods. "Or some fool broke inta some facility they had no business being inside and pressed the wrong button. I'll try an' keep a cool-"
"Chief Krono?"
"-head."
We look up as a N.C.R. Ranger corporal hustles up to us.
"Yes?"
"General wants you, sir."
"Ah-."
Rusk nods. "Oh, you get on, son. With alla this panicking and carrying-on, I reckon the bar's probably free."
"Right. See you when I see you. Lead on, Corporal."
"Sir."
We pick our way through the not-quite panicking crowd, confirming with one another that they're all equally ignorant. Douglas and his mother are getting a few odd looks; former Enclave and person who blew up the Enclave not being a natural pair in most people's minds. And one of my brother-in-laws is talking to a priestess from Heaven's Gate.
"…er teams in the Oregon, but they're mostly keeping tabs on the Washington Brotherhood."
Ranger General Mossman is standing in front of a world map which has been affixed to an easel. Mossman is in overall command of the N.C.R. Rangers, as well as effectively being in command of N.C.R. Intelligence. He's also the reason why Chief Hanlon got to retire honourably rather than being put in front of a firing squad, so I'm tentatively willing to assume that he's a good man as well. Grant's standing next to him, nodding twitchily and occasionally glancing around the room. One nice thing about Vegas is that House got all of his anti-missile systems up and running again, so we're in just about the safest place we could be if missiles are in the air.
Another ranger dashes in and writes a time on the map before heading out again, Mossman staring at it before turning to his boss.
"I think that about-." He catches sight of me. "Mister Krono."
"General. Governor. Do you know something?"
Mossman nods. "I've been having my people contact our outposts across California and record the time when their electronics stopped working. Not everyone's reported in yet, but as far as we can tell so far, the effect hit the north first. I don't suppose you've got eyes on the Immortal, have you?"
I shake my head. "I'm afraid not. I don't have that many operatives, and he hasn't been a priority."
Another nod. "It could have been a Russian missile fired over the pole, or something someone left up there for two hundred years. As far as we can tell, all the satellites in that area have either been destroyed or disabled."
Hayes sighs. "We don't even know for certain that there haven't been other attacks all across America. Can you do something about that?"
"Yes, but not quickly. I'll need to contact the choir in Area Fifty-One, and they'll need to reach out-."
"Do it. With the satellites down, we don't have anything better. And it's not like someone can just fly up and replaced the satellites' vacuum tubes, so I think we're going to have to accelerate-."
"No, we can."
Hayes frowns at me. "You told me your saucers weren't designed for space walks."
"They're not, but the Mothership can handle that, no prob-. Ah, assuming that they've got the trained personnel, but we can send someone up if they haven't."
That prompts an eyebrow-raise. "Where did you find trained astronauts?"
"Houston, hopefully. If they've got a few pre-War ghouls around, they should remember the skills required. If not, my people have telekinesis. It should make spacewalks a lot easier than trying to manage it with a thruster pack."
"Okay, that's a start. And I've got to get soldiers mobilised. Do you think your Canadian friends will help out?"
"They might, but you'd be better off talking to-" I turn and nod at the nun. "-our steam-loving friends."
Hayes nods. "Alright. You make your calls, I'll talk to her. Mossman, keep up the good work and holla if you learn anything new."
"Right." / "Mister-. Governor."
I could reach out while standing here, but it's easier if I'm somewhere quiet, if only because people won't try talking to me. This is a little further than a casual chat, so…
**[Picture the site]**
In my mind's eye I see the focus station, and the projective and receptive telepaths currently on duty. Several look around, and I can **[feel them looking back]**.
**Krono to Station.**
**We hear you, Chief.**
**Someone just used a weapon which destroys vacuum tubes. Contact our embedded agents and get reports on what's happening where they are, how far the effect has spread and if there have been any other attacks. Report back to me when ready.**
**At once, Chief.**
**And send a message to Albert, on the Mothership. Ask him to radio me in New Vegas as soon as possible.**
**That could take a while. I don't think he's in range.**
Can't blame a man for having fun in a spaceship.
**Whenever you can. Krono out.**
I withdraw my awareness, blinking as I refocus on my physical location. I'd best head to the market and purchase some warm clothing, because I expect that a trip to Washington State is in my future.
15:44 GMT -6
Governor Rusk nods when he sees me. "I don't know shit. You?"
I shake my head as we follow the crowd into the main hall. The people around me are some of the most senior politicians and military officers in our alliance, and-.
I check to make sure that my people are maintaining vigilance.
**Yes, Chief Krono.**
Good. Because it would be very bad if anything happened to this room.
"High-altitude nuclear detonation is my best guess."
"Weel shyt. Any idea who?"
I didn't ask anyone in Britain if they still had Polaris or Trident, but I'd have thought that if they did they'd have fired it when the European countries fought each other. And I don't know if Trident's missiles have the fuel capacity for a high-altitude detonation.
"Most likely a pre-War facility. American, Chinese or Russian would be my guess, but that doesn't narrow it down much."
"Weren't us, I'll tell yah that fer nothin'. Weren't those Alamo kooks, neither. Tlaloc?"
"Contrary to his core programming. And I don't want to assume this was deliberate. There were times during the Cold War where the Russians nearly fired their arsenal because their launch detection system mistook a normal cloud or a flock of birds for an American nuclear launch. If some Emperor-class A.I. got its knickers in a twist…"
Rusk nods. "Or some fool broke inta some facility they had no business being inside and pressed the wrong button. I'll try an' keep a cool-"
"Chief Krono?"
"-head."
We look up as a N.C.R. Ranger corporal hustles up to us.
"Yes?"
"General wants you, sir."
"Ah-."
Rusk nods. "Oh, you get on, son. With alla this panicking and carrying-on, I reckon the bar's probably free."
"Right. See you when I see you. Lead on, Corporal."
"Sir."
We pick our way through the not-quite panicking crowd, confirming with one another that they're all equally ignorant. Douglas and his mother are getting a few odd looks; former Enclave and person who blew up the Enclave not being a natural pair in most people's minds. And one of my brother-in-laws is talking to a priestess from Heaven's Gate.
"…er teams in the Oregon, but they're mostly keeping tabs on the Washington Brotherhood."
Ranger General Mossman is standing in front of a world map which has been affixed to an easel. Mossman is in overall command of the N.C.R. Rangers, as well as effectively being in command of N.C.R. Intelligence. He's also the reason why Chief Hanlon got to retire honourably rather than being put in front of a firing squad, so I'm tentatively willing to assume that he's a good man as well. Grant's standing next to him, nodding twitchily and occasionally glancing around the room. One nice thing about Vegas is that House got all of his anti-missile systems up and running again, so we're in just about the safest place we could be if missiles are in the air.
Another ranger dashes in and writes a time on the map before heading out again, Mossman staring at it before turning to his boss.
"I think that about-." He catches sight of me. "Mister Krono."
"General. Governor. Do you know something?"
Mossman nods. "I've been having my people contact our outposts across California and record the time when their electronics stopped working. Not everyone's reported in yet, but as far as we can tell so far, the effect hit the north first. I don't suppose you've got eyes on the Immortal, have you?"
I shake my head. "I'm afraid not. I don't have that many operatives, and he hasn't been a priority."
Another nod. "It could have been a Russian missile fired over the pole, or something someone left up there for two hundred years. As far as we can tell, all the satellites in that area have either been destroyed or disabled."
Hayes sighs. "We don't even know for certain that there haven't been other attacks all across America. Can you do something about that?"
"Yes, but not quickly. I'll need to contact the choir in Area Fifty-One, and they'll need to reach out-."
"Do it. With the satellites down, we don't have anything better. And it's not like someone can just fly up and replaced the satellites' vacuum tubes, so I think we're going to have to accelerate-."
"No, we can."
Hayes frowns at me. "You told me your saucers weren't designed for space walks."
"They're not, but the Mothership can handle that, no prob-. Ah, assuming that they've got the trained personnel, but we can send someone up if they haven't."
That prompts an eyebrow-raise. "Where did you find trained astronauts?"
"Houston, hopefully. If they've got a few pre-War ghouls around, they should remember the skills required. If not, my people have telekinesis. It should make spacewalks a lot easier than trying to manage it with a thruster pack."
"Okay, that's a start. And I've got to get soldiers mobilised. Do you think your Canadian friends will help out?"
"They might, but you'd be better off talking to-" I turn and nod at the nun. "-our steam-loving friends."
Hayes nods. "Alright. You make your calls, I'll talk to her. Mossman, keep up the good work and holla if you learn anything new."
"Right." / "Mister-. Governor."
I could reach out while standing here, but it's easier if I'm somewhere quiet, if only because people won't try talking to me. This is a little further than a casual chat, so…
**[Picture the site]**
In my mind's eye I see the focus station, and the projective and receptive telepaths currently on duty. Several look around, and I can **[feel them looking back]**.
**Krono to Station.**
**We hear you, Chief.**
**Someone just used a weapon which destroys vacuum tubes. Contact our embedded agents and get reports on what's happening where they are, how far the effect has spread and if there have been any other attacks. Report back to me when ready.**
**At once, Chief.**
**And send a message to Albert, on the Mothership. Ask him to radio me in New Vegas as soon as possible.**
**That could take a while. I don't think he's in range.**
Can't blame a man for having fun in a spaceship.
**Whenever you can. Krono out.**
I withdraw my awareness, blinking as I refocus on my physical location. I'd best head to the market and purchase some warm clothing, because I expect that a trip to Washington State is in my future.
Last edited:
joha4270
Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2018
- Messages
- 3
- Likes received
- 14
Huh, the EMP destroyed vacuum tubes?
I don't know if these are special Fallout tubes that are significantly weaker than IRL ones or something strange going on the with the EMP, but normally one of the few advantage tubes have over transistors are that they're much likelier to survive an EMP (the word I see is usually "immune ", but everything croaks if you just put enough juice through it)
My Fallout lore is insufficient to speculation on who/what it could be, so I shall just keep it to complaining
I don't know if these are special Fallout tubes that are significantly weaker than IRL ones or something strange going on the with the EMP, but normally one of the few advantage tubes have over transistors are that they're much likelier to survive an EMP (the word I see is usually "immune ", but everything croaks if you just put enough juice through it)
My Fallout lore is insufficient to speculation on who/what it could be, so I shall just keep it to complaining
Chojin Patriarch
Veteran Lurker
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2019
- Messages
- 2,996
- Likes received
- 43,661
One lucky bomb in the right place would cripple most of the country. But I expect they picked Vegas for more than its plenitude of conference centres. On the other hand, someone sneaking in under stealth technology of some kind...
At least telepathy makes it much easier to check with subordinates, unlike the rest of them stuck with radio and talking.
Anything at a lower altitude would have been quite a bit noisier, I suspect, and have to be closer.
Why would Britain or any European power even bother with the US at this stage anyway? It's got to be something closer to home, surely.
And to be honest, up towards the Arctic Circle, there's a lot of places within reach of conventional ballistic rocketry.
...Oh, that's gonna be what this is, isn't it? Some forgotten AI in a bunker with satellite access woke up and assumed the war was still hot...
Eh, it sounds plausible, but any rocket silo would have fallen into disrepair if not occupied. It turns out rocket fuel doesn't have that long a shelf life, you know...
Calling in their best allied troubleshooter, I see. That's what you get for becoming an Adventurer, Krono.
Hopefully once the confusion settles down, other delegates will have the same thought. Who knows, more business might get sorted out there with some liquid encouragement than would get addressed at the conference table...
Hopefully that'll be sooner rather than later.
Well, if they explain their connection, that might put minds at ease. It'll be interesting to see if anything comes of his BiL and the priestess...
Ah, the folks who do the real work getting it done. Though I imagine it isn't easy, given the impact of the EMP on communications.
Interesting. Mapping out the observed time of detonation from various sites to try and calculate the point of origin?
With a name like that, he's got to be a thorn in someone's side.
Prior to the blast, or by the blast itself? Then again, they'd have a hard time finding out.
From context, telepaths working in concert to expand their range and sensitivity greatly? It'll probably be more effective than mundane technology, but we'll see.
Oh, Krono? You've got people with EVA training?
It'll take a little longer, but they might also be able to scan various space junk for other potential 'goldeneyes'. Bet that name will catch on for that sort of thing too, thanks to Krono.
...Oh, yeah. Psychic powers. Just stuff a bagful of tubes in an airlock, have someone handle them carefully.
Why not both? Hedge your bets, after all.
Some folks still getting used to using that title, eh?
Ah, pinging his people remotely so they can handle the hard part of the call.
And with the long-range contact initiated, he can reach them more easily.
Since Krono's people are probably embedded in places the NCR troops can't easily contact.
Fitting. It was Fallout 3 that had the Mothership DLC, after all.
True. Have Spaceship, Will Travel. Can they reach the Moon or Mars in it, I wonder?
Washington, eh? A few possible leads up there, if the Wiki is anything to go by.
So, bets someone up that way got their hands on either an old ICBM silo or a satellite control station and tried to mess with their foes? And everyone else just got caught in the splash zone because the responsible party didn't care about collateral damage? Whatever it is, someone's in for an ass-kicking once Krono gets there, I bet...
Duke Long
Glomerulus
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2022
- Messages
- 1,099
- Likes received
- 4,143
Neruz
HISSSSSS!
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2019
- Messages
- 3,192
- Likes received
- 65,859
It's actually a state thing; tubes that are currently actively powered and connected to anything that could serve as an antenna for an EMP (such as a large scale power grid) are more vulnerable than transistors, while tubes that are not actively powered and are not connected to an antenna are less vulnerable.
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2016
- Messages
- 19,283
- Likes received
- 1,027,772
Yes. It didn't didn't destroy every single vacuum tube, just enough that stuff stopped working over a large area.
Thank you, corrected.
I don't always succeed but I do always try.
They probably wouldn't, but they might have been trying to E.M.P. someone else and caught America in the blast radius.
Thank me, corrected.