Page 200: Golden 200!!!

[dragoongfa]

SpoilerShow

Spoilered for size.

Page 200, long time coming but it's finally here!

[LineNoise]

Do none of loroi pack cosmetics? No blue foundation?
I suppose they could claim some of their males where unusually pale.

Or perhaps any plan they have for evading capture would guaranty his death if it fails.

Good job on the face expressions by the way.

[ESP]

So Jardin's taking his dream at face value ("cyborg bug-monsters"). Interesting.

[DCR]

Not one to fall into melancholy philosophical ruminations usually but seeing the young 'un, Cloud, prepare for war is seriously depressing. Excellent expressions throughout, but that one got me.

[boldilocks]

Not one to fall into melancholy philosophical ruminations usually but seeing the young 'un, Cloud, prepare for war is seriously depressing. Excellent expressions throughout, but that one got me.

Hairbrush girl loading up that gun like she's annoyed because she hadn't planned on dying today.

[Werra]

https://youtu.be/kgkh8S5cg1M
If only Alex knew that Fireblade can be amazingly handy on the battlefield as well as in the kitchen.

@boldilocks
Cloud's had around three years of military exercises by now and has spent months on the frontlines.

[raistlin34]

Are they preparing for direct combat?I thought the Loroi crew would rather blow up the vessel to deny the enemy any potential intel, not just Jardin.

[asaenvolk]

and now we get to see if the Umiak ships are invisible to farsensing due to human pilots (I really hope not, it kind of would be the worst reason)

[boldilocks]

@Werra
months on the front line in a ship, though. Not exactly close range ship-boarding combat.

@raistlin34
Maybe that's why they're packing him in a suit. Lure the bugs in, push him off, then scuttle.

[gaerzi]

Are they preparing for direct combat?I thought the Loroi crew would rather blow up the vessel to deny the enemy any potential intel, not just Jardin.

Sneak out of the shuttle to hide on the other side of it, wait for the bugs to finish their inspection and conclude it's just a derelict ship before leaving, then go back in the shuttle and continue waiting.

Either that or sneak aboard the Umiak ship, kill all opposition, and commandeer it. That's what I'd do, if this were a video game.

[kyosanim]

Maybe they plan to pull a Millennium Falcon hiding thing and vent the atmosphere to make it look like the shuttle is really abandoned.

[boldilocks]

I don't know that they can vent the atmosphere without it being discovered. Maybe they could pretend everyone inside were killed in the shockwave, or they can pretend that Tempo was the important cargo bringing heretofore unknown technology (alex' gadgets) back to Loroi space, while hiding Alex in a depressurized area or outside. That way she's the one carted off the be tortured, the other loroi are executed, while he's left behind to be picked up hopefully.

[Krulle]

I don't think they'll try to make Alex survive beyond their own survival.

And if this Umiak ship is Human steered, I don't think boarders would also be Hunam...
There should be Umiak on board.

But if I remember correctly, Tempo and her farseers weren't able to detect the Stray and the other Umiak in the Naam system, so the Umiak themselves are invisible to farsensing. (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider068.html)

[chanman]

https://youtu.be/kgkh8S5cg1M
If only Alex knew that Fireblade can be amazingly handy on the battlefield as well as in the kitchen.

@boldilocks
Cloud's had around three years of military exercises by now and has spent months on the frontlines.

That is some World War 1 Western Front levels of pilot attrition

Not quite up there with U-boat crew, but I don't think anything comes close to U-boat crews in terms of likelihood to get you killed.

[icekatze]

hi hi

I hope that their suiting up Alex less to put his mind at ease before offing him, and more as a precaution. I would also accept plan "a free floating 'corpse' isn't worth looking into."

Also, Talon's foreshortened pose in the first panel is great.

If shoegirl Cloud dies, I might cry...

[CrimsonFALKE]

What if they hide on the outside of the ship while the bugs search the insides? Wait can the bugs even fit in there?

[Arioch]

If you think you're about to be boarded, regardless of what your plan is, you'd better put pressure suits on... it's very unlikely that the enemy boarders are going to carefully operate the airlock (if they even have the capability to do so, which is also unlikely).

[Overkill Engine]

Especially if even dead bodies and equipment could provide them enough of any intel they wanted. Venting the atmosphere would then nearly always be a better option to help reduce or hamstring any resistance as the boarder. And in the event of the boarded ship personnel attempting to use incendiaries to destroy sensitive equipment, it can help increase the capture rate of such for the boarders.

Though this is all also making the gracious assumption that all parties involved breathe the same atmospheric mix. Not sure if that topic has been covered so far in the comic.

*Blinks*

Also, could it also be that the Umiak are so chromed up that a short term lack of atmosphere is not even an issue for them?

[Arioch]

Any marines attempting a boarding action will have to be prepared to deal with a loss of atmospheric pressure, same as the defenders.

[Dan Wyatt]

Any marines attempting a boarding action will have to be prepared to deal with a loss of atmospheric pressure, same as the defenders.

What if they are in hardsuits? They are almost cyborgs. Consider the Terminator armors from WH40K, it won't be hard for them.