Art of Domination - Thread 02

[BigBurkhart]

On an unrelated note,

Can we recruit human spec-ops with the Training Center?
How much does it cost to upgrade a Human Militia?
Can we get reinforcements from the Human Federation or any other militaries?
Can we build any sort of land-based artillery?
I'm still really worried about that apparent Brainbeast sighting weeks ago on the Enderfist. We still don't know whether there's a Brainbeast hiding on the ship, screwing with everyone's heads.

EDIT: Oh, you're right, we could just take the clones to R1 instead of bringing the eggs to R3. That'd be a lot safer than what I was imagining.

To answer (at least some of) your questions:

No.
Free. It only costs time.
Probably not.
Isn't that what the tanks are for?
Everyone would be dead if there was.

[Mayu_Zane]

What's Lagantis's real first name?
How big is this planet? All the scales seem really small.
It was a pretty sure thing that we weren't going to read the AoD, but what would have happened if we did?
Holy crap Solarian armor is fast. 200 kph tanks! Artillery with jet engines! How's their maneuverability?
Why did the Improved Generators only reduce the 1000 Nightmares' cost by 1%?

- Lagantis' real first name is Lagantis. His full name is Lagantis Primevex. Saramis do not use surnames for their titles, so it's General Lagantis, not General Primevex.

- The planet is about 70% the size of Earth with a higher-density core, resulting in gravity that is similar to Earth and the Saramis Homeworld.

- Solarian vehicles are basically the masters of the hairpin turn. Their motto is not an exaggeration: They CAN just draw circles around almost any land vehicle.

- Math error. Will fix next time the buy list comes up.

I don't even know if the saramis urinate actually - for all we know they sweat it all out ... XD

Saramis urinate using means similar to most other mammals. They sweat too, through the exposed joints.

it still gets in your system if you breathe it - I'm also assuming the Saramis breathe and have lungs though I guess...

Smelling ethanol doesn't kill them, but if it gets into the digestive system it ruins all sorts of chemical reactions that eventually causes livers to explode.

Unfortunately, since Saramis breathe through the same orifice that they use to eat, there's still the risk of liver-exploding, especially if they're in an ethanol-dense environment.

On the other side of the grass: Worm juice, a favorite Saramis beverage, has a lethal effect on humans. While drinking it causes brief bouts of euphoria to Saramis, even small doses of it cause severe and permanent brain damage in humans with effects ranging from blindness to loss of motor functions to death.

==================================================

Ghulls: Vora? We're getting an urgent message from our planetside HQ.

You: What is it?

Ghulls: It's about Region 5. There's a massive horde of refugees trying to cross the border into Region 3.

You: What?

Ghulls: There are about 30,000 people trying to enter Region 3. Our human personnel on border patrol are waiting for an order from you.

You: Are any of the refugees armed?

Ghulls: None, Vora. They're all unarmed, and they're all saying they've left because of the weather.

Rainhar: What, Region 5 too hot for them?

Ghulls: No, Commander Rainhar. It's because of thunderstorms. According to them, between six to eight thousand people have been killed by lightning in the space of a week.

You: Eight thousand?!

Ghulls: Region 5 is now almost completely covered by dense clouds, and according to reports from eyewitnesses across the border, lightning bolts are striking the ground non-stop. HQ got in touch with the Freedom Group, they say that their comrades in the Region are safe underground but are reporting endless lightning strikes on random locations. They say it's become so frequent that several factions have stopped fighting.

You: Has Region 5's weather ever behaved this way?

Ghulls: According to Dr. Ushah and local meteorologists, no. This planet never had thunderstorms this frequent anywhere. Whatever this is, it's unnatural, and the refugees claim to know the source. They have pictures of... you know what, I'll just put it on screen.



You: What the hell is that? A brain attached to a tree with a mass of eyeballs?

Rainhar: Fuck you Smith and your fucking nightmare factory.

Ghulls: I don't know what it is, but according to the refugees, these things have been slowly spreading across the landscape. At first, a small cluster of these 'Braintrees', as the locals call them, started showing up on the northwestern coast facing Region 1-

Rainhar: Fucking knew it.

Ghulls: The locals were apparently too distracted by the fighting to care about these Braintrees, but they quickly spread across the Region despite the poor soil. Many clouds started forming when the Braintrees covered half of the Region, and endless thunderstorms followed.

You: Are these Braintrees able to defend themselves?

Ghulls: Uh, according to the refugees, shooting or cutting down the Braintrees is counter-productive. Any form of kinetic weapons, from the humble axe to a standard assault rifle makes the pods on the trunks and branches explode and spread spores. Attacking the brain part only makes it grow extra brains. The only three effective ways to destroy them are apparently using generous amounts of acid, using weed killer and setting them on fire. Unfortunately, most people in Region 5 are unable to get rid of any large number of Braintrees, as it seems the more of these things are gathered in one area, the more likely a lightning strike is going to hit you.

You: How the hell did we not know about this before?

Ghulls: Well, from up here we don't see anything but rainclouds covering the western parts of the Region, and the Freedom group there didn't think these Braintrees would become so dangerous. Before the lightning storms began, they just behaved like ordinary trees despite their disturbing appearance. Nobody was harmed, and people figured they would destroy the trees after they were done fighting. Right now, however, every time someone moves outdoors rainclouds appear and start shooting down lightning. It's become so bad most people have decided to stay indoors. The group of refugees at the border? They used to be a group of about 50,000 before they managed to reach Region 3.

You: Now I'm feeling better about my decision to not invade Region 5.

Ghulls: Do we let the refugees in? I personally believe we should just let them set up camp at the border for now. I am getting word that the refugees apparently have friends and relatives in Region 3.

Rainhar: I say we let the refugees into the cities. After checks, obviously. We're not imbeciles here.

Hawkeyes, who has been eavesdropping on the conversation, chimes in:

Hawkeyes: Let them camp at the border while the R&D checks them. I know what these things are.

You: Do you?

Hawkeyes: Yeah. Those weird trees got spores that'll stick to your skin and clothes. That's how it spreads. Get 'em all checked out.

Ghulls: Could take a whole week.

Hawkeyes: Letting them in now would be stupid. If I wake up next morning and I find a Braintree growing here I'm going to go up to the Enderfist just to slap all of you.

Let the 30,000 refugees stay at the border for checks?

- If you let them stay at the border, the large encampment could attract even more refugees, prolonging their stay as more checks will have to be done, and risking Braintree spores taking root at the border.

- If you let them in right now, it could lead to an unseen Braintree spore finding a new home in a city.

- It is worth mentioning that a majority of these people are against the Saramis Alliance occupation, but they are desperate enough to flee into Region 3. However, once they get in, there's no way to know whether they'll be peaceful or start trouble. Remnants of The Resistance could try to start more terror attacks with more potential recruits.

- Sending them back into Region 5 will cause a drop in Region 3's local approval ratings (from 97% to 90%), as the refugees have friends and relatives in Region 3.

>_

[gloomyMoron]

Can we get reinforcements from the Human Federation or any other militaries?
Can we build any sort of land-based artillery?

To answer (at least some of) your questions:

Probably not.
Isn't that what the tanks are for?

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I'm going to offer an alternate opinion here.

Not directly. Your use of "reinforcements" is what is what makes Burkhart says "Probably not." This is also an Alliance led military mission. If an appeal is make to High Command or whoever the leading political figure/body is in Saramis's Government, perhaps we can petition support from the Human Federation, as this is their problem. The thing of it is, they'd not be directly controllable by us. They'd be yet another NPC (but probably with their own RP incomes and military goals/styles). The problem becomes, despite it technically being a joint-operation, the Federation might have different goals and could be susceptible to corruption from within by Smith's Forces. So, it is still possible for 'help' to arrive but they may end up being just another obstacle to deal with. But... yeah. Probably not. What the Federation is doing is akin to what countries like Jordan, Yemen, Pakistan, and other traditionally Western-antagonistic Middle East countries are doing and do for the US. The Government gives permission, but doesn't directly address or announce, to the US to preform strikes from or into their countries to deal with terrorist threats and the like. That's kind of what's happening here. The Alliance has permission to operate and seize Planet 117, which is a part of the Federation. The fact the Federation isn't doing it themselves is most likely political maneuvering. It also has strategic value (leaves the Federation forces strong and fresh). So...

More of a point of clarification. The Volcano sort of operates like an Artillery piece because of its range and force. Tanks are a "Direct" 'Artillery' piece. It is a combat vehicle designed for neutralization of (depending on design and function) A) Infantry B) Support Vehicles C) Enemy Armor D) Buildings. It does so, well, directly as it is a LOS (Line-Of-Sight) weapon. It is Front-Line combat vehicle and not a traditional artillery piece. So Burkhart is just being silly with this answer (Note: I am assuming he knew all this already but probably thinks the Volcano Tank and Sonic Swatter are 'artillery-like enough' to not warrant another piece of equipment for us to 'waste' RP on... plus we have the Enderfist). Currently, their is no direct analog for a Land-Based Artillery piece for us to build. Any such vehicle/equipment is likely to be rocket/missile based anyway. We have the Enderfist, which is a far better but admittedly limited Artillery Solution. The Needlefish (particularly a variant there of I'd like to research or get access to eventually that eliminates it's Anti-submersible capabilities and torpedoes for increased missile yield and/or ammo... which would still work well on any Surface Vessels we might encounter) offers a useful Naval Artillery platform. Submersibles are generally faster than surface vessels, so reload time (if we construct Naval bases/reloading facilities regularly/strategically) shouldn't be a major issue in most engagements. I'm not entirely happy with our current Artillery Platforms, but they are sufficient enough considering we are an offensive, forward pushing force and artillery is usually slow and takes time to deploy (and requires direct supply lines). Artillery is a better Defensive weapon than an Offensive one. Using an Artillery offensively allows for hitting the back end of an enemy position (and/or supply lines), softening an entrenched position, and destroying large clumps of military 'assests' (troops, equipment, military hardware, armor formations, and so on). Those are good things to be capable of, but they don't fit the current situation in Region 4 (they won't be helpful in Region 2 either) and we can already do these things with the Enderfist far more effectively without direct risk of losing expensive hardware. There is a psychological advantage to having Artillery Platforms that can rain hell down on enemies more consistently than the Enderfist can, but this advantage is kind of mitigate by Smith's troops basically being brainwashed. >.>
---------------
Mayu: Some questions on things I've forgotten/I'm curious about (and suggest retcons).

- This post says Ghulls calls Vora commander because he likes it. Later this is contradicted, presumably as you fleshed out the world more you opted for the more interesting 'because it's a Class/Caste/Family thing', by both Vora and Ghulls. Just a minor nitpick I was curious about. (It also kinda shows how the story has developed from the perspective of someone who has been reading from the beginning. I didn't even notice the contradiction until I went back and reread that bit. You're story is so well-crafted that there was no real disconnect. Yes, it's a minor thing that doesn't deserve as many words as I've given it, but it is still neat to see.)

- I'm curious. I've not seen an [Bonus +Value] modifiers from our commanders/troops lately. Back when the Adventure was starting we got [Loyalty +3] for helping out Selev's strike on Region 2. Are we still getting these bonuses and you've decided to hide them? Do they no longer have a use? Or have we just not been doing anything to warrant such things? Maybe I'm just remembering wrong and it's been happening all along and I'm being a derp. But I'm still kind of curious what those values actually mean.

- Would it be possible to deplete all of Enderfist's Artillery strikes to 'tunnel' into the surface of Region 1? I'm going to assume most of Smith's Research labs are under mountains and the like, but I'm just curious as to how deep the Enderfist's craters are? Could it be feasible to say fire shot after shot on a single fixed point to penetrate the surface? Let's say that the Enderfist's shot leaves an initial crater of about 5 feet. Let's also say that's Smith's research facility is about 70 feet down. The result would be something sorta like this (if fired in quick succession and not letting the molten rock cool):


It wouldn't be the most stealthy or secure way to gain access to the facility but it would be a way that would allow either a small team or a cloaked drone to get access to the internals of the facility. I made a few assumptions, but... how feasible would something like this be? (It's not practical and may never be used... just, again, curious. >.>)

Edit: I was ninja'd by Update... I'm spoilering the above to not detract from the update itself.

[Superstar]

This IS an invasion, not a slaughterfest. While it's not the best option, until we can get better equipment for killing some braintrees, it's better just to run the R&D checks for spores. It'd also help us in developing better methods for killing the suckers if we studied how they grew etc. Oh and hey, public relations are awesome.

Full recommendation

Quarantine the border, completely, let's not have a braintree epidemic here please. It might be a little too late (as in the spores are already planted), but maybe it requires a GROUP of braintrees before the lightning comes down. I doubt weather manipulation is a one brain skill "yes it is" *shut up storm*. Have fun R&D have fun.

Rainhar: Fuck you Smith and your fucking nightmare factory.

Rainhar

[Mayu_Zane]

GloomyMoron:

Yes, originally Ghulls didn't have a reason to call Vora 'Commander' all the time until I thought about it some more. However, I think it's still correct to say that he DID like calling her 'Commander' because he was comfortable with that due to his upbringing.

As for Loyalty, that was originally going to be a stat that would be tracked as the game progressed, but I realized it's kind of weird to attach loyalty to a number (as if you could read your soldiers' minds!), and it may have caused a lot of unnecessary paranoia and arguing because they wouldn't want to send anyone with low loyalty to do anything. In the case of Loyalty, it was just a bad idea that sounded good at first, but had to be thrown away.

Using Darangium for tunneling is too risky, especially with regards to Region 1. It could end up unleashing experiments in progress, or worse, cause them to react by approving projects originally considered too dangerous. Sending a drone or a Spec Ops team at this point is also too risky, as Smith's forces have shown that they can jam drone signals and could have creatures that can spot cloaked units.

[JRCrusher]

Border checks, definitely.

Pros and cons of the three outlined options:

-Allowing them in immediately
Will lower the chance of braintrees growing at the border and increase the chance of them growing in the cities. Absolutely not worth it. We do not have teams capable of dealing with these things in place and if they were to crop up, we would need time to organize a response. Better at the border than in the cities. Also, with 30,000 of them, it would be extremely foolish to assume that they are clean enough to let in.

-Sending them back
The most conservative option, will guarantee a postponement of the braintree problem, however both Region 3 and Region 5 would resent us. Region 3's approval rating is low enough that it would probably not make a difference, but Region 5's is abysmal and sending these people back would practically guarantee that we will not be able to set up a stable base because everyone there will hate our guts.

-Performing border checks
This would occupy some troops, but we could task our human battalions with the job. This would also probably make the refugees more comfortable with our rule by improving our first direct contact with them. As for the increased threat of Resistance activity, sending these people away will lower the approval rating which will have a comparable effect. Unless 7% of Region 3's population is significantly less than 30,000 (I don't remember the pop counts) there will be a roughly equivalent increase in anti-Saramis activity, especially considering that the affected 7% would have a personal reason to dislike us now.

So unless the risk from braintrees is deemed great enough that we cannot have them near our border (unlikely as they will have to be dealt with eventually anyway) there is no good reason to send the people away and since we don't want to let Smith bioweapons into our cities we have to use border checks.

[lazyLawyer]

On the other side of the grass: Worm juice, a favorite Saramis beverage, has a lethal effect on humans. While drinking it causes brief bouts of euphoria to Saramis, even small doses of it cause severe and permanent brain damage in humans with effects ranging from blindness to loss of motor functions to death.

-Sounds like a pain in the ass to set a multispecies party. Are they alcohol-free parties or the host make all the guests sign non-liability clauses?

- Would those hypotethical saramis/human hybrids be poisoned by both worm juice and alcohol or be immune to the painful death effects of both?

[gloomyMoron]

Well. I was going to suggest checks anyway... so.. something more detailed.

Setup a full refugee camp (on Region 3's side of the border as a show of good will) with 5-6 main areas. Also set quota to prevent instant overcrowding.

- The Check-In Point. Basically our border. Refugees who want to enter have to go through a security check point to check for weapons and possible security risks.

- The Waiting Station. A 24-48 Hour quarantine zone that is used to further monitor people. From here the sick (and their families) can be moved to the proper facilities and everyone else can be moved to the main camp.

- Medi-Center. Basically a place where we can provide care for sick, injured, and/or disabled refugees. A care center where we can make sure no strange diseases are coming through and make sure that people are going to be okay. First Aid stations can handle scrapes, cuts, bruises, and minor injuries though. Just people who are sick please.

- The City. Basically the Refugee Camp, where everyone winds up before they officially enter Region 3. A large area should be set aside and as many civilian and military contractors should be called in to help clear an area/make the area "as comfortable as possible considering the circumstances". 30,000 People is the size of a medium-sized town. That is a lot of people. They will need a lot of space. Tents and hovels should be temporary as engineers and construction crews come to build shelters (think improvised apartment complexes made of wood and concrete [mostly concrete... it's faster]), though that will take a few weeks (at least).

- The Hold. Basically, jail. Rabblerousers, miscreants, and people who cause trouble go here. Not people who disagree with/are against our invasion, though. Just people who cause trouble.

- The Last Stop. Our temporary R&D headquarters that looks for spores and is a front-line research station. People from the any of the other areas can be sent here if they are suspected of having some sort of new illness that is being carried or if they have spores on them. After a short observational period and treatment, they are free to return to the area from which they were sent. Once people have been checked (presumably with emphasis on keeping families together and checking entire families at once), they are free to enter Region 3 and take transportation to the city of their choosing.

WE SHOULD USE THE LAST OF OUR COMBINED RP AND REQUEST AVAILABLE AID (don't let city stretch themselves too thin) FROM ALL MAJOR CITY HOSPITALS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES AND CIVIC ENGINEER CORPS FOR THIS ENDEAVOR. The MORE humans we have helping the better the integration process will be and the less trouble that will be caused.

What is our Weakest Standard Battalion? We should redirect them from the front and have them help the Human Militia/Battalion in security detail. In fact, they should probably relieve the Human Battalion that's in the city so that they can go to the border. They can also provide extra security, experience, and help should the need arise. We should cycle this battalion every couple of weeks to keep our troops fresh. We should also assign ONE of our SpecOps Teams to oversee the protection of VIPs (our scientists and other important officials). Meaning, that they are to serve as a sort of administrative role in which they make sure our facilities are secure. They can be recalled and redeployed for missions at any time if needed, though.

Edit: Attempting a Summary of my wall this post:

> Refugee camp. Ask Rainhar if he'll give you/use his remaining RP to fund the construction and maintaining of the camp. Divert our weakest battalion to Region 3 so our Human Battalion can increase security at our border. Get aid from Major Cities in the region.

[BigBurkhart]

Rainhar: Fuck you Smith and your fucking nightmare factory.

This is why I have Rainhar as my avatar. I fucking love this guy.

That said, I agree with Hawkeyes. However, we should set up the refugee camps in Region 3, just across the border. Our human militia should keep an eye out for any sprouts that appear, and be armed with either flamethrowers or generous amounts of weed-killer. Or both. If we can afford it, I suggest having all the refugees surrender all their belongings (including clothes) at the border and have it all burned, then supply the refugees with new clothing, etc., if possible.

Also, contact R&D and have them research a portable lightning rod. killing these things is going to be a bitch and a half.

Oh! While I'm thinking about it, ask Hawkeyes if she knows if the trees can DIRECT the lightning shots, or if they just summon hyper-kinetic storms that blanket the area with electricity. If the trees can AIM, then we'll have a bigger problem.

[gloomyMoron]

Also, just had a thought. Just how much is Hawkeyes keeping from us? I'd like a full debriefing from here sometime. If not to us, than to R&D... that way we don't have to keep findingout about this stuff from her last minute. (The R&D approach gives Mayu enough flexibility in story telling without having the jarring issue of "WHY DOES HAWKEYES KEEP KEEPING THESE THINGS FROM US?!" pop up. She can still chime in when stuff pops up that she's seen before, but all this information is stuff she should have already told us. :-/)

Edit: Attempting a Summary of my wall post:

> Refugee camp. Ask Rainhar if he'll give you/use his remaining RP to fund the construction and maintaining of the camp. Divert our weakest battalion to Region 3 so our Human Battalion can increase security at our border. Get aid from Major Cities in the region.

[BigBurkhart]

Also, just had a thought. Just how much is Hawkeyes keeping from us? I'd like a full debriefing from here sometime. If not to us, than to R&D... that way we don't have to keep findingout about this stuff from her last minute. (The R&D approach gives Mayu enough flexibility in story telling without having the jarring issue of "WHY DOES HAWKEYES KEEP KEEPING THESE THINGS FROM US?!" pop up. She can still chime in when stuff pops up that she's seen before, but all this information is stuff she should have already told us. :-/)

Edit: Attempting a Summary of my wall post:

> Refugee camp. Ask Rainhar if he'll give you/use his remaining RP to fund the construction and maintaining of the camp. Divert our weakest battalion to Region 3 so our Human Battalion can increase security at our border. Get aid from Major Cities in the region.

Ok, Gloomy? She's been thoroughly traumatized by her stay in Region 1. I'm just happy she has information to give.

However, that does remind me, Hawkeyes and our R&D got together after Book Smart, Bullet Dumb and should have made at least a little progress in the way of specialized ammo. Acid rounds would be really useful here, even if they were acid rockets fired from the Shatterking.

[gloomyMoron]

I know, Burkhart, but at the same time it is frustrating, from a story-flow standpoint and as a contributor. She could tell us at least the important bits regularly. Set it up like a therapy session. Once a week or every other week she talks to our R&D guys or whoever about the stuff she's experienced. If she can't finish talking about something we won't push her for information. But anythnig she can tell us would do us WORLDS of good.

[DWeird]

Not only is Hawkeyes keeping things from us, Vora is, for a commander, woefully underinformed about the situation in other wars her nation is part of. I'd like some in-fiction justification for these things ("Hawkeyes: A girl's gotta have secrets!", Vora knowing/remember something without being told by someone else), but I doubt making Mayu give us a huge block of information that is not immediatelly relevant for the situation at hand would be fun for either us or him.

Anyway.

Agree with the reinforcement of the home guard proposition (what would a battallion and militia do for a whole region if it was attacked, anyway?), but I'd propose somewhat different logistics.

> Two Sarami Battalions to defense and patrol, One Human Batallion to main offensive.

As for the refugees... Keep them at the border. Provide them with plentiful gasoline and matches weedkiller, so they can put down any braintree sprouts they see early... Losing 2/5ths of their people to the things should give them plenty of motivation to be thorough.

That complete lack of trust thing bugs me, though. It would probably take weeks to raise it to a managable level by regular means such as good deeds and being reasonable while they act naughty... So we need shortcuts!

> Have someone ask the refugees in a blunt and direct way: "Why do you hate us?"

[Moronis]

Ahhhhh, Lighting bolt casting brain-trees. So completely ridiculous sounding, so horrifying in practice.

Now then, I fully agree that we need to set up a refugee camp being patrolled by at least one full battalion armed with acidic and incendiary weaponry. However, I would also like to suggest that we start installing lightning rods or looking into armor that would better protect our troops from electrical shocks just to be on the safe side.

[BigBurkhart]

> Have someone ask the refugees in a blunt and direct way: "Why do you hate us?"

Errrr... probably a bad idea. That would work with small talk between a soldier and a waiting civilian, but just announcing it is probably not a good idea.

Hawkeyes not telling us everything she knows can be most likely attributed to two factors. First, mental trauma, like I said before. Second, it's unlikely that everything that Hawkeyes has seen from Region 1 was a successful experiment. Hawkeyes could spend hours telling us about the terrifying things she's seen, and it's more than possible that two-thirds of everything she's seen was a failed experiment. Granted, that last one third is some terrifying shit, but I'd rather have Hawkeyes give us info about current threats instead of something really fucking scary that was scrapped by Smith months ago.

As for the refugees, I doubt that they'll be troublemakers. They just want to get someplace safe, and like Freedom told us a while ago, Region 3 is a paradise compared to the hellhole that Region 5 is.

Side thought: We may have to look out for Triple Cores in Region 4. If the Brain Trees are indiscriminately zapping everything with lightning, Smith would have redirected his elite Shock troops to a safer location.

[Hype]

Set up a pyro on the border with everyone to burn any new brain trees that pop up.

[DWeird]

Seriously, guys. What is up with you (us?) and fire? Stuff's dangerous. Weedkiller kills it good enough and it's not like there'll be an epidemic any time soon. Lets keep safe.

As for the reffugees... They are from the proverbial ass of the world, knowing nothing but crime and violence as means of survival. Even if they had the best of intentions towards us, which is just not the case, they don't really have a skillset that would allow them to integrate into society well.

I'm very much up for giving them all the tools they need to fix up their own broken home... Just letting them in just assuming that they'll be super grateful would not be the best of ideas.


Oh, note: camp or not, some of the refugees will try (and succeed, that's just the way things go) to get into our controlled area... And get spores in. Best get a good handle on the full gestation cycle on those things quick, get pictures, and issue warnings and proper information ("burn, not hack!") to the population.

[Dragon Fogel]

We should definitely use this chance to find out about our low approval rating in Region 5. Take advantage of the fact that these people have relatives in Region 3; maybe make some arrangements to allow relatives to visit, and persuade some of them to find out what's going on that has everyone in 5 so upset with us?

[Hype]

If hawkeyes has been working on ammunition modification still, we should see if she has anything incendiary up her sleeve - we could have people snipe the trees with a round and keep far enough away to maybe not get struck by lightning repeatedly.

Lightning rods would help too.

[BigBurkhart]

As for the reffugees... They are from the proverbial ass of the world, knowing nothing but crime and violence as means of survival. Even if they had the best of intentions towards us, which is just not the case, they don't really have a skillset that would allow them to integrate into society well.

I'm very much up for giving them all the tools they need to fix up their own broken home... Just letting them in just assuming that they'll be super grateful would not be the best of ideas.

Just assuming the people are criminals will lead to nothing but trouble. Look at Rainhar. He was a criminal back in his home region of Hirad, but when he left that crime and poverty stricken area, he became one of the best (and worst) commanders in the Alliance. Just consider that while some people are criminals because they're naturally inclined to be that way, the great majority of the people couldn't afford to live anywhere else, or had other reasons for staying. Maybe the people were fighting to protect themselves. Maybe they just want to be safe. Maybe their opinion of the Alliance will improve once they see that their lives aren't constantly in danger. So hey, let's not punish the poor for being poor, right?

[Mono99099]

Perhaps we should set up some "anti-brainwashing seminars", to rid them of the false ideas about Saramises (Sarami? Saramis?) given to them by Smith.

[ascendantServitor]

Are the spores vulnerable to any agents we have access too? Can we spray pesticides or the equivalent on the refugees to remove them?

[Not The Author]

I was gonna go with Quarantine as well. Presumably weed killer is relatively easy to mass-produce, it may raise our R5 support, and if we build good rep with the refugees some of them may help us take their rightful home back. Hopefully the place won't become a hotbed of eldritch abominations while our backs are turned.

Baseless conjecture within. Please do not allow it to influence your decisions much.

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I'm sort of worried as to how the spores will react to healthier soil. Region 5 is a radioactive wasteland, so these trees' growth is very likely to have been stunted so far. And they still managed to kill twenty-thousand refugees fleeing for the border. E: Just noticed how absolutely goddamn huge these things already are. I hadn't realized they were already two stories. Who knows? Maybe the radioactive slush is doing them good, and they'll have difficulty growing in fertile soil.

I'm also worried about how these spores actually grow into fleshy, eye-ball laden trees with brains. I mean, there's a very easy way for such spores to get such... building materials. I don't mean to be alarmist, but, well... it is Smith we're dealing with here...

Are they sure it's spores? How do spores work? I seem to recall something about spores being able to survive in a vacuum and other such tales of their durability or some such, but don't quote me on that.

[mechanicalFactory]

Rainhar: Fuck you Smith and your fucking nightmare factory.

Agreed.

My suggestion is to quarantine them all out at the border, at least if there are brain tree spores they will spread to an area we can keep track of, then try and find some sort of weed killer that works on the spores but doesn't hurt the refuges.

[BlastYoBoots]

Quarantine on the border sounds good, but is there any way we can militarize some of them against the braintrees? Perhaps form groups of them in foil-covered / electro-safe suits and vehicles quickly rigged against lightning, led by human troops? (Lightning doesn't do much to vehicles, anyway; it just routes through the metal frame straight into the ground.) Hawkeyes would be good to put in charge of the effort, especially if she knows of some flammables the lightning can't set off.

We could give them weedkiller and acid to do the job, but probably not gasoline/flammables. Lightning could strike the stuff and cause all sorts of havoc.

We may not be able to persuade many of the refugees themselves to join in, but others may assist in the effort from within Region 5, especially if we send them in without our banner behind them. From there, word of mouth will improve our standing in the region.

(Also, the fact that we're combating the problem will make the refugees less pissed that we're quarantining them, less likely to riot.)