05 -- Supplemental Files, Infantry Tactics
Synopsis of Evolving Infantry Tactics for the Equestrian Armed Forces
By Lt. Tower Shield
Before I begin my summation, I feel that I must elaborate on the breadth of my own career. I do this not out of pride or egoism, but to establish my credentials in giving this analysis. I’m a career Guardspony with over a decade’s worth of experience across Equestria. I’ve served as a guard in several embassies, and I’ve had the rare privilege of seeing some of the most talented weapon masters of any race you could name. I am also well versed in current and past forms of warfare for every race on our world.
At the time of writing it has been over three months since military aid was first offered to and accepted by the humans against our mutual enemies, and the fighting is unlike anything I have ever experienced. The humans (and now us) fight an enemy that can strike nearly anywhere around the world with little or no warning, and they do so with a callous brutality that scars the soul. The humans’ form of warfare is agile and lightning fast as a necessity to counter them. If we are to survive, we will need to take their lessons to heart. Below I will list the most major lessons that the Equestrian Volunteers have learned during their time on Earth, as well as my recommendations for assimilating them into our armed services as a whole.
1: Armor
Based on the reports by Twilight Sparkle and the information given by the humans after official contact, it was determined that the primary means of attack by the invaders was a heat-based projectile called ‘plasma’. An area struck by a plasma bolt feels like it is heated to temperatures above dragonfire in less than a second which is catastrophic to unarmored beings and it’s enough to sear my coat from a near miss. Current Guard armor is designed to defend against conventional types of damage (crushing, slashing, and piercing) and is completely ineffectual against plasma fire.
Once this information was confirmed by Captain Steel first hand, the princesses saw fit to have the entire Volunteer division outfitted in suits forged from dragon scales and enhanced with as many heat shielding spells as could be managed in the field. The armor isn’t as comprehensive in its protection against conventional damage as it lacks the hardened plate necessary for such protection. This deficiency is more than made up for with heat resistance and reduced weight. I’ll go into the benefits of the reduced weight in a later section.
The humans have also provided their own contribution to the Volunteer armor packages. After the first deployments, their chief engineer created a series of supplemental armor pieces that could be affixed around the pony and over the dragonscale suits to provide further protection. I can personally attest to the quality of the human forged armor as it stopped a blow that would have pierced or at least crushed the regular Guard armor I wore during my years of service. I do not know how the human armor smiths were able to craft such sturdy and lightweight plates, but I am thankful for their contributions.
If we can somehow recreate their smithing processes then I am quite certain the current style of armor will be obsolete within a year.
2: Headwear
Prior to our involvement with the humans, Sky Bolt had created a special interface for the Crystal Armor Suits used by the Dusk Guard to enhance their senses. An enchanted visor allows the wearer to see in low light or no light conditions as well as marking allies and enemies. It worked splendidly for Sky Bolt’s compatriots, but were largely ignored by the larger Guard organizations.
The humans we’ve worked with, however, used similar devices in every encounter I’ve taken part in and with an added perk: Their visors and helmets allow them to speak to each other somehow, such that they are able to share information instantly, and from distant locations. A week after her first deployment, Sky Bolt was able to modify and upgrade all the helmets of the Volunteers to share that same functionality. Staunch traditionalists might not understand the significance of such a development, especially when compared to other things the humans will no doubt share in the coming days, but I feel I must fully explain the potential impact of this development.
It’s been centuries since the last major deployment of the Guard but they still train in the traditional battlefield communication methods of horns and magical lights if a unicorn is available. Gryphon organizations have complex flag signals to relay messages to and from the front. Rumor also has it that the Minotaurs created a way to send their voice to distant places, but as with all things they are not keen on sharing their inventions. Best case scenario: It can take several minutes for a squad officer’s report to reach a field commander and several more minutes for orders to be relayed. All along the way signals can be mixed up and disaster might strike.
In contrast, the humans are able to use their helmets to speak to each other on the battlefield as though they were standing next to each other, and their squad officers can relay messages up the command structure or to other squads in the immediate area instantly. Such communication need not even be verbal, as I survived an ambush set by our enemies when one squad sighted and marked enemies with their helmets which warned of their approach. The value of such communication cannot be overstated, given the nature of our enemy.
3: Reorganization
Due to the previous two points, a near total reorganization from the ground up will need to be done to best take advantage of these developments. The impromptu squad level changes that were implemented while on Earth will provide a good base for us to build upon.
(Artist depiction of Heater Shield in heavy armor created in cooperation with XCOM, which is capable of withstanding significant punishment. The visor built into the helmet communicates seamlessly with other headwear and with the humans as well.)
3a. Earth Ponies
The majority of Earth Pony training for the Guard is centered around several key traits: Strength, stability and stamina. They are taught to overpower their enemies with heavy hoof strikes while learning to rely on their armor to deflect incoming blows, and because of this the emphasis on balance and momentum is especially crucial. In large scale battles, they are trained to form phalanxes to hold an enemy ground force in place to allow supporting ponies to handle them. It has been hundreds of years since we’ve felt the need for a large scale deployment and I strongly suspect that there will never be such a deployment again.
The humans employed such formations with their infantry hundreds of years ago, but now that form of warfare is completely extinct. With the development and prevalence of ranged weaponry on their world, melee combat as a primary means of engagement is unheard of except in dire circumstances. Combining that with their communicators allows a smaller squad of humans to cover and defend a wider area. Defense on the individual level places far more emphasis on evading an enemy’s attack or avoiding their line of sight to prevent an attack from being launched at them entirely. To compare, the current army-scale Earth Pony detachment is much like a turtle to weather enemy attacks. Human infantry detachments are more like a swarm of hornets that relies on speed and precision and just as much attack as defense.
The training emphasis for the volunteers assisting the humans has thus shifted to other key traits. Stability remains a strong point but speed and agility are far more important. The aliens’ emphasis on ranged weaponry demands that any Earth Pony in combat needs to be both fast and alert to evade an incoming attack as well as advance to striking range. Once they are in range the aliens often face two choices: Stay and defend themselves in close quarters or break cover and flee. One of the younger volunteers (Heater Shield, no relation) performed this maneuver several times in quick succession while coordinating with human forces to uproot an alien force with almost no friendly casualties; though he was tragically slain near the battle’s conclusion. The surviving Earth Ponies took his example to heart and have taken to tailoring a patch in the likeness of Heater's cutie mark (a golden shield) for their uniforms to mark themselves as veterans.
The humans I have spoken to have also expressed some rather smug satisfaction upon seeing this in action though that does require a little bit of explanation. As mentioned previously the vast majority of their warfare is done at long range and melee is only used as a last resort. As such, when the aliens field monsters that are not only capable of getting into close range but also able to inflict terrible bloodshed, the humans struggled to find a countermeasure. The first is the specialists in their Mente Materia division, who are capable of dispatching the aliens with their magic though the effort is very tiring for them. The second is [REDACTED], but those are in short supply and only appear on the battlefield in dire situations.
Now, with Equestrian intervention, they are capable of turning the tides and using the aliens tactics against them. The humans have taken to calling us ‘Flankers’, and it’s a label most of my fellow Earth Ponies wear proudly.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that Earth Ponies who fill this role face an extreme amount of danger. Even the most agile of ponies faces a significant chance of getting hit by enemy fire, and the dragonscale armor with the human 'carapace' enhancements only goes so far to mitigate the damage. In the new squad-based formations, an Earth Pony will volunteer to take the 'Flanker' role while others will provide covering fire with plasma pistols (provided by the humans, though crossbows with sufficient modifications could also apply) and act as a melee deterrent.
It is also worth noting that the Earth Pony contingent of the volunteers had almost no access to their magical talents due to the condition of the magical field on Earth, beyond their natural gifts of speed and strength, so those abilities were not factored into this evaluation.
(Artist depiction of Firecracker and two TK blades. Lighter armor allows for greater mobility and the goggles provide the same information interface that the helmets while not interfering with spellcasting)
3b. Unicorns
Unicorns have always filled a crucial role in the Guard by fulfilling many roles both offensive and defensive, and this hasn't changed much over the past few centuries. Current unicorn training usually revolves around a 'jack of all trades' training style where they are trained in basic offensive and defensive spells as well as healing to fill most of the roles that might be needed in their given units. This theoretically allows unicorns to go where they're needed and fill any of the roles they were trained for. Even Shining Armor (who is better known for his shield spells) is trained in the basics of other spell schools so he can step in if needed.
Human magical training emphasizes the opposite for two reasons. One, they lack a teacher that is capable of breaking down the basic concepts and formulae needed to understand and try new spells. It is true that Twilight Sparkle taught some of the first humans about magic but by her own admission they simply covered the absolute basics of spellcasting before she was returned home. Because of this, when a human develops magical talent, he or she is often encouraged to train extensively with that ability. If it is similar to an ability that another soldier possesses, they are tutored to increase their effectiveness.
The second is more guesswork and conjecture based on my own observations in the field combined with several discussions I’ve had with Shining Armor and some other unicorns. When outside their armor the humans almost always wear devices to block their connection to the power of the Field much like the horn locks we use on criminals who refuse to repent. In addition the magic they are able to cast without their armor is dramatically weaker than when they are in the field of combat.
My colleagues and I have come to the conclusion that the humans lack the ability to control their magic as easily as we do, which is perfectly understandable given that they are just learning how to use it again. They wear their magic suppressors to prevent wild magic while not practicing or in combat, though this doesn’t explain how their magic gains power and precision while they wear their armor, but I’m getting off topic.
After analyzing the tactics of the humans, the emphasis began to shift to unicorns with highly specialized talents. Much like the Rangers in Equestria, unicorns were given the freedom to pursue more intensive training in the magic they were best at. Telekinetic practice with TK blades is required for self defense at the minimum, but we are now seeing a significant increase in the individual effectiveness of each Unicorn in their chosen role that justifies this shift in training.
Shining Armor has become an absolute master in shield techniques to the point where he has begun to experiment with the basic traits of the shields themselves to either slow incoming projectiles, dissipate plasma fire as opposed to blocking it, or reflect incoming fire back at its source instead of simply blocking the damage. Nova Beam of the Dusk Guard continues to practice the basics of defensive and healing spells, but with his added practice with offensive magic, he has made his most destructive beam spells far more precise and efficient. With the aid of a Pegasus spotter he’s also now capable of indirect fire over obstacles to targets he himself cannot see. Dawn Triage, formerly from the Rangers and now part of the Dusk Guard, is an excellent example of this training method already in practice, as the Rangers encouraged such specialization in their healers. After saving so many lives in the field, one of the humans went so far as to call Dawn a 'thaumaturgist', which roughly translates to 'miracle worker' in one of the human languages.' She’s still terrifying with those ropes, though.
This specialization shouldn’t be applied to the entirety of the Arcanists in the Guard, however. The majority of the rank and file should still continue their comprehensive training for all schools but specialists should be chosen to fill specific roles where appropriate.
It is also worth mentioning that it is now required that unicorns become proficient in mental shielding spells, as we became aware of the horrifying abilities the aliens have. While rare, some have encountered aliens capable of mind magic that has been illegal in Equestria for as long as Equestria has existed. They abuse their gifts to subvert the free will or simply shatter the minds of their victims. The aliens do this without restraint or concern for their safety or their victims, and while the humans are making amazing strides to try and develop a countermeasure to it, it often falls to the Unicorn to deal the killing blow against the alien that’s using such atrocities.
(Artist depiction of Headwind. The light armor provides enough defense to survive at least one shot without impeding mobility and the visor display provides the same information as the other headgear without interfering with the pegasus's vision.)
3c. Pegasi
It should be first noted that Pegasi weather control magic was just as stunted as Earth Pony magic on the human world, and the following tactics were developed accordingly. This was probably for the best in the long run, though. Interestingly enough, one of the few rules that humans impose on their chosen forms of warfare is that manipulation of the weather is strictly forbidden, but I digress.
Pegasi in the traditional role of the Guard fulfill the roles of air superiority, recon and fast attack, as well as weather manipulation for both defense and offense. Aside from the loss of weather control, the Volunteers fulfill a similar role when deployed alongside the humans and by extension their future will likely change the least in the Guard.
Prior to our joining the war, the humans sorely lacked an infantry-level air superiority option, as they often had to make do with their not inconsiderable airships plus ground fire to swat the alien fliers out of the air. They also required the air ships to provide overwatch on the area of operations by acting as an 'eye in the sky' to keep the humans informed of enemy movements. If these airships are destroyed, such as in the Dusk Guard's first deployment, the ground team loses a significant advantage of both overwatch and deterrence from enemy infantry-level fliers.
Introduction of Pegasi into the squad structure takes some of the pressure off these air ships by filling one or both roles. As these airships are used not only for the previously mentioned roles but also acts as a potential quick exit for ground forces if necessary, their preservation is considered a top priority.
[The next section is hastily penciled into the margins]
The Wonderbolt’s defense of Cloudsdale has provided us with a solution to a problem I always feared would crush us. The humans possess airships capable of both terrifying speed and destruction which they use to counter the alien airships when and where they appear. As we have absolutely nothing comparable to rely on, I was struggling to come up with a solution should the worst case scenario occur. While the princesses did an unparalleled job in their defense of innocent lives, I fear we may not be able to rely on them to deal with a large number of these attackers, especially if they hit several places at once.
At this time, I’ve spoken with Shining Armor and a draft is going to be issued to all Pegasi weather teams in Equestria to be trained in precision lightning strikes on alien ships. We cannot surrender the skies to the invaders, as human records show just how badly defenders on the ground fare when the attackers have air superiority. Every ship we destroy costs the aliens and saves ponies lives on the ground.
I just hope it will be enough.
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
986 users online
418,293 hits today, 1,872,792 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Afternoon and evening folks!
To everyone who sees this chapter title and groans, fear not! I've got the next chapter about halfway done and it'll have some plot progression to it. I am however preparing to move to a better apartment so it may be about a week before I get the next chapter ready to go.
Anywho, I hope folks enjoy!
Oh also, Destiny beta! Anyone else playing that? I find it strikes the perfect balance for me and I'm addicted. : |
Let it begin.
4725322 Nice, and yeah folding the supplemental in here is probably the best solution to that little 'problem.' Really looking forward to the next chapter.
information interface that the helmets while - information interface as the helmets while
Congrats on new apartment.
I saw this and thought, "Oh hell yes!"
And then I realized I'd already read it in your blog.
Question: Has psionic mind control not been discovered in humans yet?
4725335
I want to but the XB1 version isn't out until the 23rd
What is this about?
[edit: Oh, is it this? 4710643 Seems to me that a lot of pegasus abilities are small scale enough that they would not necessarily violate this.]
4725393 I doesn't seem like the "normal" XCOM psi abilities are really showing up as much. There are more unique, single abilities instead. Rather than having soldiers who ahve some 3-power combination of 6-7 abilities, we're seeing troops with one unique power.
4725322
No problem, I like these files, gives some background and situational info that you wouldnt get from the story itself and it breaks up the narration a bit.
By the way, Humble Bundle has X-Com in their bundle. It's only open for another 2 days, but for around $8 you can get all of the older X-Com games (and a lot more from 2k studios), and for $20 you can get all that along with X-Com Enemy Unknown and Bioshock Infinite.
I thought that you may want that out there seeing as you were advertizing the game when there was a steam sale.
I thought this was going to be dry and boring, but it wasn't. It was very interesting actually. I like the 'researcher / historian' perspective you got going on here.
Good recomendations there.
I like that you are putting these files into here. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Also, if I can make a suggestion, we seen in-show many pony guards carrying spears right?
I have only three words to that.
"Jaffa staff weapon"
Might aswell use those.
4725393 They probably have but the info isnt shared because, 1. Its still in its infancy, 2. Its top secret, human eyes only.
4725335 If it only was for PC aswell.
Fuck you....
Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
I always like chapters and/or stories written with a report or file format. It's always interesting.
4725393
I suppose it isn't spoilery if I explain this little bit, since it's been like eight months since I laid the groundwork for this explanation back in Stardust. I'll mark things with spoilers though just to be sure.
Remember the alien implants that Vahlen showed Twilight? Among other things, one of the implants was for mind control. If Twilight had never been involved in the story, they would likely have tested which implants do what with a live Sectoid Commander, then tried to reproduce the implants and insert them in their own Gifted soldiers. This (IMHO) explains why human Psi soldiers mimic their alien counterparts in the powers they can reproduce. I admit, head canon, but it makes sense to me.
So, because of Twilight, the human PSI program developed into Mente Materia and the handful of motley specialists therein.
Now, I've been holding off, waiting for more material (loved xcom) but maybe I'll start reading now
I think folding these supplemental stories into the main tale is a good call.
Oh, and again, LURV the art.
You know, I wonder if it would be possible if the Pope called for a Crusade against the Aliens, as a way to protect humanity and call the faithful to defend God's Earth. Would be intresting to see a Catholic Priest blessing XCOM's Armor with holy water.
DEUS VULT! DEUS VULT!
[[Don't worry I'm actually an Atheist, but I think that would be an interesting idea.]]
I personally love these supplemental chapters. They add depth to the story and flesh them out, and I think it falls in line with the themes of X-COM. Tactics are important to strategy games, after all.
4725549
[youtube=NjlCVW_ouL8]
4725549 He's right about real shooters, though.
TF2 doesn't count and Planetside is going to be a PS4 title soon.
I'm willing to bet these are the MEC's, considering just how hard they hit and how much damage they can take. Of course with how I play EW, I always have two specialized systems in a squad.
Hehe, Psi armour. Though the Iron Will upgrade makes it not that worthwhile if you train some people from Recruit, and is available from Sergeant rank.
So, beam attacks from beyond alien LoS? Sounds like this guy's now an Equestrian Sectopod, minus the armour.
—as well as acting as Squadsight snipers, and spotters, and excellent Shotgun Assaults, and—
Pegasi are incredibly versatile.
Nice work, as usual.
One little nitpick though: "airship" and "air ship" are both used here.
(I wouldn't mind nearly as much if it were different POV or dialog, but it's a single-person POV and ought to be consistent.)
>the goggles provide the same information interface that the helmets while not interfering with spellcasting
Change 'that' to 'as' or add 'do'
>As these airships are used not only for the previously mentioned roles but also acts as a potential quick exit
*act
Love the art, that is just awesome. Nice analysis of the pony combat roles, too.
4725766
Keep in mind, we are talking about ponies who would be unable to effectively wield any human firearm. A staff-like weapon would be the likeliest to be effective in pony hooves, but at this point in time manufacturing enough energy weapons to equip the earth ponies is simply impractical. In any case, it seems their current tactics are just fine.
Nice, and insightful.
One thing, maybe keep the supplemental files chapters unnumbered, as they only halfway stand as a part of the main story?
4726039
I'm afraid I need the numbers. TBH I find folks referencing 'chapter 32' or 'chapter 23' in Stardust and i have no idea which chapter that is. >_> This will help things stay straight.
4725637
Now that is a neat explanation that fits well within your story and XCOM's in-game narrative. Vahlen and Shen's developments, although impressive, are based solely around the aliens' technology and abilities. It's all part of mankind's test during the invasion. The aliens provide new enemies and powers and XCOM adapts them for their own use, effectively granting the Ethereals control over how humanity progresses and evolves.
Looking back at the chapter "Viking" in Stardust I can see clues to this. XCOM's exotic weapons and burgeoning magic upsets their controlled experiment (or, as the sectoid commander called it, the Design) the invasion is intended for. Twilight's introduction has enabled man to advance along a path not dictated by the Ethereals.
With this in mind, the line separating the Ethereals from Queen Solaria starts to blur even more. Both seem consumed by this need for absolute control over their ideal world and aren't above dooming entire races to achieve it. Though the means may differ, the end result is still extinction.
Oh sweet, all of those armors look absolutely wicked! My fav is Firecracker, just looks like somepony is about to get happy happy with the stabby stabby.
Looking forward to more of these supplemental files, quite a good read.
Great chapter, really enjoyed reading the thoughts of an outside observer to the human's and the Pony's tactics.
I would like to point out a typo for you though: Pegasus's - Pegasus'
Moving this comment to the new location!
Is the dragon nation willingly supplying these scales, or is Spike feeling very chilly today?
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Sukhoi_Su-27UB_Belyakov.jpg
Flanker is best pony.
4725772 Real shooters? You mean like Battlefield (No autoaim), ARMA and Op:Flashpoint (way to many controls for consoles). The only one that doesnt count is CoD. The main reason why people use console controls these days because of the fat kiddies who are to lazy to use a mouse to properly headshot someone.
Also, its still no excuse to not bring Destiny to PC....
4725766
You will laugh, I had seen that vid just after posting my comment, Carter totally stole the show.
My actual idea was that the spears of the guard in MLP act like some kind of magic ampliiers for unicorns and with some kind of battery can also be used by Earth ponies and Pegasi. They would also use them mainly to disarm and stun an enemy rather then outright kill them, so the reference is pretty accurate.
4728212
ARMA is a sitting around and waiting for air support simulator. I'm a big fan of A2:OA with ACE, but it's hardly a shooter. In fact, the actual fighting portion of ARMA is pretty bad outside of vehicles.
And BF4 1) was way worse than BF3 and 2) is better on next-gen consoles.
4728222
To be honest I was thinking of Battlefield in general and the only reason why BF4 sucks on PC is because of the connection issues caused by EA rushing DICE to publish the game in an unfinished state.
Also, aim assist on the console versions...
There are actually consipracy theories that EA did it on purpose as to discredit the PC version in favor of the bigger console market (afterall, BF3 sell excpetionally well on PC while the console versions lagged behaind)
A personal note, I dont want to cluster up the comment section of the story with this discussion. I suggest we PM each other instead.
4725322 have you studied tactics in war or is all this just from the game and your own imagination? because a lot of the tactics sound well sound.
i always imagined the armour to look more crystalline, a bit like the Stalhrim armour from skyrim. img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130213013837/elderscrolls/images/7/7d/Stalhrim_Armor_-_Both.png
i dont know why, but when i saw "crystal helmet" i just imagined something out of this material
just took a quick look back, its in chapter 3, state, paragraph 22: "light blue and appeared to be made of slightly reflective crystal"
I'm really kinda hoping the Dusk Guard doesn't show up anywhere beyond these supplemental files in this story. The world you're building here with these two stories is much, much better without them.
Anyway, nitpicking aside, good luck with the move, dood.
4728708
They won't show up as more than a passing mention of a name or a background cameo in the main story. In the Supplemental Files they'll play a bit bigger role. :)
I've just completed reading Stardust and what has been written thus far for Mente Materia; the storytelling is so great that I even registered on fimfiction.net because of it!
I really loved Stardust a lot. Beyond a few minor niggles, the story was excellent. For the most part, Mente Materia seems to carry that one quite well (though the terrible Latin makes me cringe a bit).
As far as to particulars I've liked in the story, I gotta admit that I got a huge kick out of Luna vivisecting an Etherial Battleship and Badass Celestia facing down the Etherial Forward Commander. The scenes really sell the idea that the Princesses truly are vastly powerful. The idea of Celestia being hamstrung by Discord and being unable to cause harm to another sapient being is really interesting. I kinda hope the Princesses aren't nerfed because I find the concept of supremely powerful beings that are still restrained by something other than their own morality to be fascinating -- though I suspect that they will be, considering how ill Celestia became after her showdown with the Etherial. I also really love the interpetation of Discord as a Lovecraftian Horror who is mostly just bored and consumed with metaphysical enuui, so he just uses his phenomenial cosmic power to troll people.
I suspect (and hope) that the story will split the action between Equestria and Earth, with aliens will shift the bulk of their military assets to Equestria while EXALT undermines the political situation on Earth in hopes of breaking the alliance.
Speaking of politics, that brings me to the big criticism I have for the story.
The chapter with Senator Goleman was awful; this is a shame because it could've been really something. The main problem I had with it was how much of a gibbering strawman idiot Senator Goleman was and how readily everyone supported Shining Armor. I can't imagine such an outporing of support for an alien -- regardless how much of a cute pony it is or how much of an asshat Senator Goleman was being -- when one the alien's first actions is to commit assault (albeit a relatively benign type) on the main figure of authority in charge of the body he was addressing. Especially in a climate like Earth is at present with constant alien attacks, everyone should've been very skittish of Shining Armor and intensely alarmed when he telekinetically silenced the Senator on national TV. It certainly shouldn't have resulted in people supporting him, even if Senator Goleman was being a douchebag.
As previously mentioned, Senator Goleman was a pathethic strawman and that really undermined the whole scene. Sure, he was frustrated after being needled for days from Bradford's precognition, but him losing his cool like that once Shining Armor showed up was just ridiculous. There's no way in hell such a person would be able to get elected to the Senate in the first place; his political opponents would've eaten him alive in local elections long before he could display such a stunning lack of political acumen (seriously? He actually said "I AM THE STATE"?! No one is that stupid!). This is especially true because Senator Goleman actually has a point; the United States signing of the XCOM Treaty was not vetted or discussed by the US Senate and thus a good case can be made that the treaty is illegial, regardless of any other concerns (this is likely the case for most of the other XCOM Treaty signatory nations, something their politicians should bring up). As it stands, the chapter looks like "SENATOR GOLEMAN IS A BAD MAN, THEREFORE EVERYTHING HE SAYS IS BAD AND EVERYONE WILL LIKE THIS BAD MAN HUMILIATED". It reeks of an author tract.
I know that all sounds harsh and I apologize, but that whole chapter was just so poor considering how great Stardust was and how interesting everything else in Mente Materia is shaping up to be.
For an example of the type of oily, self-serving politican that I think you're going for in Senator Goleman, you might want to look at Senator Robert Kinsey from Stargate SG1. He's just as much as a corrupt, cowardly, self-serving asshole as Senator Goleman, but he's slick about it. That's the way to write this type of character! When he's outmaneuvered, he doesn't throw a tantrum. He retreats for the moment and comes at SG1 from a different angle. He was a constant, real danger throughout a majority of seasons on SG1.
Anyway, I hope that all wasn't too harsh and I'm looking forward to reading more.
4728805
I'll admit, Goleman is over the top in his portrayal, but considering we had a member of congress shout, "YOU LIE!" at a sitting US president as he was giving a speech, I don't consider Goleman too far out of the realm of beleivability.
Well, scratch that. I just remind myself that our politics have often come to that. :(
I thank you for your feedback and as I've mentioned, I have further plans for Goleman. He isn't done yet.
4728212
If that's how the author takes it, there needs to be a scene that does the same thing since, no matter how you slice it, a staff is not going to be a stable platform (though it would be better with a quadruped base than the shown bipedal base) from which to engage targets with ranged fire.
Unfortunately, there isn't a good analogue of Jack and a human analogue of Carter in this story, and to really pull off the scene, you need a "loveable sarcastic bastard" (as one of my friends describes Jack O'Neill) and Twilight is the only character that fits as a Carter analogue
4728727
Cool beans. Since this was pulled from an existing work, and I'm pretty sure I remember you mentioning in the interquel thing that they wouldn't be back, but I wanted to check (mostly because I'm massively sleep deprived and I can't remember).
They kinda came off as massive Sues in their story. And since one of the most important parts of any action-based story is for the readers to believe that the characters are seriously in danger (which is something that you've pulled off wonderfully so far in Stardust and Mente Materia) I kinda prefer them on the sidelines. That and they would totally steal the spotlight away from Matt and Twilight being adorable and awkward together (they are totally OTP in my head, whether it happens in the story or not, lol).
4728839
Deploying Goleman 2.0 soon then? The way he is going i believe him to be eventually manipulated into inadvertantly helping out the aliens, what with Vide and all. The current problem is that he does not seem to be a legitimate threat. He crows on about xenophobia, but seems to be there to get curbstomped politically.
4728848 Well, it doesnt need to be a 1:1 adoption. Its enough if people get the reference. Like Senator Goleman beeing like Senator Kinsey (even thou it was unintentional), may his ashes be violated for ever.
And that is the reason why I have fallen in love with your Xcom crossover. You are unafraid of diving into the specifics and really flesh things out when some would consider trivial after the initial introduction. Most people would be like it's newer and better so let's go but you don't. You're like no! You will sit here and listen why this Sweetiebot is way better than the last!
A bit of an exaggeration but you get the point. Please keep the supplemental files coming.
It won't be, but it will help. And what you don't trash, the Masters Of War will for you!
War is to Human tech what a Thunder Stone is to Pikachu: a source of rapid evolution. *Evil grin*
4728839
And of course, look at how some nations' parliaments have come to physical blows when things went bad.
There is a bit of an alien invasion going on...
-'S nami Bog, SR
4726049
Right, gotcha. Though "Supplemental 1", "Supplemental 2", etc. might do well too. But then again, I'm strangely irked by details like that, feel free to ignore me