Noctis is learning an awful lot about Centcomm, and Centcomm gets to intimidate New Rome, once Noctis delivers her report.
And she doesn't even have to lie!
I don't think that Cella is putting Noctis more at ease though, if anything her own terror may be more effective at alarming Noctis, than anything else she could say.
Now, I wonder if there is a White Angel that is a Malati equivalent, for Noctis to play around with. 😁
If I'm right and the drones are pre-apocalypse tech, someone outside of CentComm's control could have acquired drones from a facility in the wastes and used them on Ophelia's squad.
I somewhat doubt that the drones would look like a Protoss with that blue-on-gold color scheme. I wouldn't write it off, but I personally think we're probably dealing with something else. Right now, my money is on Aliens. No evidence to back that up other than "It looks vaguely like a protoss!".
Nice (pair of) discussion(s) there. I note that even Cella understands Noctis' reaction to Dr. Silver. I hope Noctis now understands she isn't/wasn't a threat. Meanwhile, Acantha and Lynn have at least a couple of weeks worth of Lost in Translation to catch up on. :D
I don't think CentComm miscalculated with Ceci. There were a few goals.
Primary Goals:
Protect Dolly: accomplished.
Recover Lynn: accomplished.
Remind New Roman military what it is to go against new Troy: accomplished.
Secondary goals:
Infiltrate AI complex: accomplished.
Attempt to overwrite FAILED AI: Failed.
Fortunately that AI spike was able to be shunted through Rose's full technopathy skills into the system that housed the contingencies. That system had a limited connection, otherwise the contingencies would not have been able to execute other systems' processes.
However the AI kernel loaded into the spike would not have been able to execute repairs due to the nature of the damage at the AI complex. It would have been in the same deteriorating state that Aeneas was.
or is it that Noctis is being 'given' some Intel...?
Intel ops work on several levels and alluding to things you don't have or inflating their capabilities in order to dissuade an enemy or persuade a potential ally is certainly nothing new, just read the papers and all the gobbledegook about russia's supposed 'mach 8 or 9 missiles' spelling the end of the US's carrier forces...things like that, written for the great unwashed who mostly only have a knowledge of such things from reruns of tv shows, is the objective, make the poeple want or fear something that they don't even know what it is... and from their public statements, refers as well to 'elected' representatives who are also worried about ludicrous things like islands tipping over if you put too many troops there...
That's an interesting take on it. My thought at the time, was that they were after CentComm herself by way of Lynn's DNA. It had been described that it was the key. Biometric authentication perhaps?
Only the Taylor family know that’s how it works. That one would definitely be a secret.
It was a simple plan - they knew that CentComm obeys Calliope and they wanted Calliope to give herself up (or CentComm to enslave herself to New Rome for Lynn’s safety).
That's right, and in so doing, they wanted to ultimately control CentComm. That makes me think that they likely might have known these weapons existed, even if they were supposed to be secret. Someone believed the legend.
@HiFranc: Top secret. no.. 'my opinion', CentComm wants you to know bout the "mythical army".. that's her trump card, when all else fails.!
but the how , where , or what.. that's classified as : 'Need to Know'. an you don't need to...
I'm not sure if you noticed but once the discussion started going into black angels and other security-related things both of the Androids started using blip speech so their conversation likely took much less time then the simultaneously running one from the young ladies.
That thought is what brought me back to comment again.
If Bolo was damaged and inactivated and then somebody found it and started fixing it and turned it on not knowing what it was it would still come up with its old programming. If it were truly a last ditch effort, the fact that its C&C infrastructure is missing would trip operations cases in its program. Based on the history as we know it would act just like Dec's contingencies.
I foresee it needing multiple airstrikes to subdue. And possibly even stacked High Velocity rounds paired with multiple electronic weapons to get through the shield it carries. It probably runs on some sort of nuclear pile to still have energy currently.
Who's willing to bet that Centcomm arranged matters so that an old drone would be activated "accidentally" or "deniably" as part of a clear "error", simply in order to remind the world what they're like.
Can't keep relying on that trump card if nobody still believes how effective it would be if played.
It might be an old drone, but i don't think Cent would have activated it. Such an item would be a hazard for Dolly, Ceci, and the Strike Team. The political ramifications are extreme. She certainly wouldn't have given it to Gutters.
This was a found item, one of the many dangerous things lying around left over from the war. Think of it like a mobile landmine. We're still digging landmines up both of the world wars which took place 100 and 70 years ago respectively. And they're still killing or maiming several hundred people a year.
I suspect some gutter warlord wannabe discovered a forgotten pre-apocalypse facility some leftover drones from the war and sees the Nova Roma's current difficulties as an opportunity to set themselves up as a new player.
Possibly a gutter gang that had been operating under Nova Roma's unofficial sponsorship that has a bone to pick about the recent policy changes.
Considering the volume and complexity of the data involved in hacking the Nova Roma defensive systems, does bridging the 'air gap' really constitute 'dumb' systems? I would have thought, given advanced IFF and EW capability, that such systems qualified as 'smart' or 'expert'. All how you look at it, I suppose.
Noctis is learning an awful lot about Centcomm, and Centcomm gets to intimidate New Rome, once Noctis delivers her report.
And she doesn't even have to lie!
I don't think that Cella is putting Noctis more at ease though, if anything her own terror may be more effective at alarming Noctis, than anything else she could say.
Now, I wonder if there is a White Angel that is a Malati equivalent, for Noctis to play around with. 😁
@Sheela, I think Noctis has already found a playmate! XD
So if you get shot at with lasers, a shiny gold surface would do quite well, actually. 😃
Great page, Ladies! :)
...and I like the two parallel conversions...
well, Noctis learned something new =)
@alt text: indeed ;-)
...hope you are better, Cent... *hugs*
Primary Goals:
Protect Dolly: accomplished.
Recover Lynn: accomplished.
Remind New Roman military what it is to go against new Troy: accomplished.
Secondary goals:
Infiltrate AI complex: accomplished.
Attempt to overwrite FAILED AI: Failed.
Fortunately that AI spike was able to be shunted through Rose's full technopathy skills into the system that housed the contingencies. That system had a limited connection, otherwise the contingencies would not have been able to execute other systems' processes.
However the AI kernel loaded into the spike would not have been able to execute repairs due to the nature of the damage at the AI complex. It would have been in the same deteriorating state that Aeneas was.
Intel ops work on several levels and alluding to things you don't have or inflating their capabilities in order to dissuade an enemy or persuade a potential ally is certainly nothing new, just read the papers and all the gobbledegook about russia's supposed 'mach 8 or 9 missiles' spelling the end of the US's carrier forces...things like that, written for the great unwashed who mostly only have a knowledge of such things from reruns of tv shows, is the objective, make the poeple want or fear something that they don't even know what it is... and from their public statements, refers as well to 'elected' representatives who are also worried about ludicrous things like islands tipping over if you put too many troops there...
datachasers.thecomicseries.com/comics/983
It was a simple plan - they knew that CentComm obeys Calliope and they wanted Calliope to give herself up (or CentComm to enslave herself to New Rome for Lynn’s safety).
Of course, Centcomm has probably upgraded them since then - they may be worse now!
but the how , where , or what.. that's classified as : 'Need to Know'. an you don't need to...
If Bolo was damaged and inactivated and then somebody found it and started fixing it and turned it on not knowing what it was it would still come up with its old programming. If it were truly a last ditch effort, the fact that its C&C infrastructure is missing would trip operations cases in its program. Based on the history as we know it would act just like Dec's contingencies.
I foresee it needing multiple airstrikes to subdue. And possibly even stacked High Velocity rounds paired with multiple electronic weapons to get through the shield it carries. It probably runs on some sort of nuclear pile to still have energy currently.
Can't keep relying on that trump card if nobody still believes how effective it would be if played.
This was a found item, one of the many dangerous things lying around left over from the war. Think of it like a mobile landmine. We're still digging landmines up both of the world wars which took place 100 and 70 years ago respectively. And they're still killing or maiming several hundred people a year.
Possibly a gutter gang that had been operating under Nova Roma's unofficial sponsorship that has a bone to pick about the recent policy changes.