(no subject)

[no99]

Somebody's been thinking deeply, on and off, ever since her last deployment. The one where half her mech got blown up and she didn't land a single hit on her opponent. It's the kind of thing that sticks with you. It doesn't come up again until one of those late nights, when Suma's off duty and drinking heavily. Like she tends to do.

"It's a fine puzzle, isn't it? War God Number 02. What kind of strategy do you use against someone who knows your next move the moment you do?"

Drink. "She may be the worst possible match for me. I've no skill with clouding my thoughts, and unless I can figure out some sort of trick, I'll never get close enough to turn it into a close-range fight, where I'd be at the advantage. Still, I'll certainly see her again, and don't plan on dying when it happens."

Drink, bitter laugh. "And then there's still the Pharaoh beyond her. And beyond him, a hundred new foes emerging in this new age of warfare. Even after coming so far, the mountain I climb continues to rise to unfathomable heights!"

Comments

[actuallyselfish]

"Uh..." Dido takes a break from her own glass of beer to mull Suma's conundrum over.

"How about this? Every time you attack her, come up with two different attack strategies, and focus on both of them in your mind. When the time comes to make the attack, pick one of them on, like, a whim?"

She takes a sip of brew. "There's a 50 percent chance she moves to counter the wrong attack."

[no99]

"It is not an idea without merit. However, would that whim not count as a thought, and also be read?"

Sigh. "Too many unknowns. Perhaps her blindness can be put to use."

[actuallyselfish]

"Aye, her blindess could be exploited" Dido says, frowning. "But couldn't she just use her mind-reading to see with your own eyes?"

She pauses. "Oooooh."

[no99]

"I have an idea of what you're thinking, and it's not as simple as it might sound. Do you think you could close your eyes for a moment and best somebody who's been blind for her entire life?"

[actuallyselfish]

"On foot? No way." Dido admits.

"But the two of you pilot mechs. Well, magic mechs."

She frowns in thought.

"How does that work?" She asks. "Do you guys sit in cockpits with controls made of, I dunno, crystals and bamboo? And how do you perceive things?"

[no99]

"Sefet was a sword, once. When the times changed, it became a gun. Now, it is one of the weapons of the new age. The controls are nothing as fanciful as you may imagine."

[actuallyselfish]

"So you and War God Number 2 both use a standard cockpit for your mechs? Viewscreens, buttons, joysticks, and the like?" Dido asks.

"That brings up the question: how does she see from within her cockpit?"

[no99]

"I doubt she sees at all, within her cockpit. She simply sees what we see within her mind's eye."

[actuallyselfish]

"Um..." Dido says. "Do you mean that she just has a sixth sense that allows her to navigate on her own, or that she literally see the images we see in her minds...with her mind?"

She twiddles her thumbs. "Of course, there's a simple way to test that."

[no99]

"I fought her once, and did poorly. Any insights I have into how her Art works is guesswork."

[actuallyselfish]

"Then next time you fight, try taking out her cronies first." Dido says.

"If she does rely on allied and enemy units to give her sight, then she'll loose her cool once her avenues of vision start diminishing."

She shrugs. "I admit, I'm guessing myself. But if she does use a standard mecha cockpit, she's cut off from the outside world, and won't be able to use her sense of hearing like she would on the ground."

[abugslife]

I would imagine the solution to beating such an enemy is pretty obvious. Easy to come up with, at least; harder to put into practice.

[no99]

I have thought of many solutions difficult to put into practice. Which one do you refer to?

[abugslife]

Overwhelming power. If enough units attack her at once, even if she reads the minds of all the pilots and knows what are they going to do... If the attacks cover all escape angles, she simply will not be able to defend against all of them.

[no99]

Aye, there must be a limit - if not to what she can process, then to what it is possible to dodge all at once, even with full foreknowledge of what is coming.

Last time, she was not alone. Perhaps she tags along with allies to make this strategy harder to pull off.

[abugslife]

It is not the only strategy that can work on her. As a matter of fact, there is something even simpler, though also requiring more preparation.

[no99]

And what simpler strategy is this?

[abugslife]

Combat drones. You cannot read the mind of something that does not possess one.

[no99]

Hmph. I've never cared for such strategies.

[abugslife]

Does it hurt your warrior's pride to rely on things that are not even alive?

[no99]

I feel that if someone plans to kill their enemies, the least they can do is to show up for the occasion.

[abugslife]

In a normal situation, perhaps. But if it is the only way to defeat an opponent?

[no99]

It would depend on the opponent, then, yes?

In facing Lucy, were I forced to choose between dishonor and death, I would easily choose dishonor. I cannot allow myself to die while Kashid still lives.

[abugslife]

Not that you have much choice in the matter, being immortal.

[no99]

Would that that were true, but mine is a conditional mortality. In battle - and only in battle - I can be killed, as can she.

[abugslife]

And not just by each other? So this is the kind of immortality you possess.

Pride is important to most warriors, and I would not say I am different. But victory in an important battle, and the lives of the soldiers under my command - both of those are more important.

[no99]

There are none under my command. Once I am the last of the War Gods, this life serves little purpose.

[abugslife]

You could find one yet. The threats Earth faces are numerous; the War Gods are but one of them. I doubt you will ever run out of enemies to kill.

[no99]

Aye, there is also my oath to Nikostratos to consider. I must find a path to rise above the person I have become.

[streamedastar]

You could always try having several people attack them at once. She can't possibly predict all of them.

[no99]

Aye, that's the most obvious plan. It's also likely why she doesn't fight alone - last time we fought, she retreated as soon as she was outnumbered.

[streamedastar]

So we got to find a way to trap her once we've taken her numbers down, and then just have everyone wail on her at once.

[no99]

Sounds fun, doesn't it? And all the while, she'll know that we plan to trap her.

[streamedastar]

Sounds terrifying. For her.

[no99]

I like the way you think.

[streamedastar]

It's helping me get out of my funk from the last week, so I like the way I think too.

[dolorous_sensei]

I always fight thinking, "what if my enemy can read my mind?" Actually scratch that, I'm always thinking "what if the next person read my mind." That's why I try not to think too much about...

Damnit, I thought about those again. You can't read mind, right?

[no99]

I can do nothing of the sort.

[dolorous_sensei]

Whew, that's good to hear. I met a few people who claimed that they can read mind, but I guess this is the real deal, eh?

I guess overwhelming her mind with scary thought is out of the question?

[no99]

Likely so. She's younger than I, but probably still too wise in the ways of the world to be thwarted by a frightening thought.

[dolorous_sensei]

Well, anyway, I guess this is where an army guy like me would shine. If enough of us attack her at the same time, she won't be able to react on all of our mind.

Or...

We could use explosions. She can read the mind of the launcher, but she won't be able to dodge big enough explosions, right?