Fanda's superior tactics are demoralizing the enemy forces. Maybe, he should sacrifice a few pawns to give them hope. Volunteers?.....
I've actually considered this. =(
The alternative is favoring stuns over kills even when it puts people in danger, since I think stuns are the only way to reduce their numbers without reducing their morale.
I think giving some time between killing sprees reduces the odds of a panic spiral. It's only a little morale regen, but every bit helps, right?
Fanda's superior tactics are demoralizing the enemy forces. Maybe, he should sacrifice a few pawns to give them hope. Volunteers?.....
I've actually considered this. =(
The alternative is favoring stuns over kills even when it puts people in danger, since I think stuns are the only way to reduce their numbers without reducing their morale.
I think giving some time between killing sprees reduces the odds of a panic spiral. It's only a little morale regen, but every bit helps, right?
Yeah I'm almost certain it works this way. That said, the Floaters didn't really give our fearless commander a chance. They were basically Zerg rushing the lift, so it was kill or be killed.
FandaHang a shining starupon the highest boughRegistered Userregular
OPERATION TORA, TORA, TORA (second wave)
X-Com Order of Battle East: Absence of Evidence, Elvenshae, JusticeforPluto, scherbchen, schuss West: El Skid, Frozenzen, Iolo, NotoriusBEN, QuestionablySane, wilting
For the second time in twenty-four hours, X-Com forces plunge into the depths. With the officers and rocket tank grouped together in the east, QuestionablySane volunteers to lead out our western strike team.
Vacant corridors run north and west from the deployment zone, no doubt meeting in an unseen junction behind the grav lift. That junction represents the northwestern extent of our area of operations.
A long, shadowy hall leading east represents the best hope of linking up with our command squad.
To the south lies a chamber with a weirdly lustrous floor and walls that churn with swirling phosphorescent patterns. It's still too dim to see the far side of the room or what might lie beyond.
This is a much colder welcome than we were expecting.
QuestionablySane knows how to remedy that. His incendiary rounds don't reveal the enemy, but they do cast light on what looks like another food storage vault in the distance.
First things first, though: we have to secure our backfield.
NotoriusBEN and Frozenzen lay the proxies that will cover their team's eastward advance.
It's not going to be an easy march. Absence of Evidence is barely off the grav lift when its sensors identify the unique architecture of the alien command center ahead. That singular structure lies directly between the two halves of our strike force, cutting them off from each other.
It's a grim situation that virtually ensures we'll be taking swift contact on multiple fronts.
Or will we? More empty halls greet schuss, silent and foreboding.
Rather than rush the front door of the command center without thinning out the opposition first, it might make more sense to take the long way around to the south, using the tank as rolling cover. That should give our team in the west enough time to make their way over as well.
Captain schuss lays a proxy at the intersection to guard the command squad's right flank.
Meanwhile, El Skid finally runs into one of the Floaters' advance guards.
It's a little early yet for suicidal stun rod charges.
But it's always time for superlative marksmanship from NotoriusBEN. Nice shot!
There's another one, of course. There's always another one.
Fortunately Frozenzen has us covered.
It's shaping up to be a perilous dash through that crossroads ahead, so Iolo peeks around the corner and tosses out a smoke bomb.
He's shocked when the soft pop of the smoke is immediately answered by a much louder explosion.
The proxy schuss threw out moments ago just saved her life.
She's in the middle of a shaky, relieved exhalation when her breath catches in her throat.
There's always another one.
The wall beside her is burned to slag, but Captain schuss remains intact - for now.
FandaHang a shining starupon the highest boughRegistered Userregular
With QuestionablySane's fires guttering out behind them and plasma sizzling through the air ahead, our strike team has no choice but to make a move.
A quick proxy is tossed out to guard the psychedelic room. Only one avenue out of our deployment zone is left open: the hall leading to the command center. Into that smoke-filled passage, Iolo and Frozenzen advance.
Hold on, schuss, we're coming.
Damn. They've got this intersection on lockdown.
Iolo takes a step forward, but he can't quite see the Floater around the corner. Ordinarily, we'd deal with this situation by throwing out some explosives while falling back. This isn't an ordinary situation, though. Our isolated command squad doesn't have time for us to play it safe, and we can't afford to kill Floaters who move into easy capture range.
The only option remaining is to brute force the intersection. Frozenzen's our scout. He knows the risks. This is, after all, his job.
Oh god. Frozenzen?
Pfft, you're fine. Walk it off.
Before the Floater can pull the trigger again, Iolo darts out and puts it down. Following up with a quick squildo inspection yields disappointing results: this one is only a common Soldier. The leadership caste must still be inside the command center.
Unfortunately, they're not within striking range of our stun rods just yet.
The hole in the wall scuppers our plan to encircle the command center. The Floaters would be able to hit us in the rear as we moved south. On the other hand, it also opens a direct route into their inner sanctum - if Elvenshae and Sergeant scherbchen can get themselves in position to exploit it.
Meanwhile, Absence of Evidence reaches the southeastern corner of the command center. Its job is no longer to push forward, but to hold the line.
Vanguard or rear guard, as long as it involves firing rockets, AoE is happy. Having given the remaining Floater much to think about, our tank withdraws just out of sight.
The turn ends with JusticeforPluto and schuss sprinting forward to make contact with Frozenzen. Everyone is still in a perilous position, but at least now we can support each other.
As she steps over what's left of the Floater that triggered her proximity grenade, schuss is astonished to feel it clutch feebly at her boot.
Not dead ...?
Not what we're looking for, either.
Maybe the one that shot at schuss is the Commander. If it charges us now, we're going to find out. Stun rods at the ready!
They're cagier than that, though. There's no attack from the command center, but Corporal Proxy brings down a Reaper that was stalking us from behind.
We can keep this up all day, suckers.
Apparently, so can they. The Floater Leader rises again beside JusticeforPluto, and the massive frame of another Reaper completely blocks the hallway in front of Frozenzen.
Its snout wrinkles at the sight of him. The Reaper can smell the blood from his wound.
It's about to catch a whiff of something else.
And now comes the fated moment: with a white-knuckled grip on her stun rod, scherbchen creeps up to the hole in the command center wall.
The Floater is preoccupied with the targeting array on its blaster launcher. It doesn't see her.
She ensures it never will.
When Elvenshae moves in to check the squildo, he finds another Floater just a step behind the first.
There's nothing for it now. We're already committed.
RIP Elvenshae.
It wasn't even worth it. They were just a pair of Engineers.
Goddamnit, I don't want to lose Elvenshae like this, but what can we do? JusticeforPluto and schuss are the only ones nearby, and there's no way they can reach that last Floater to stun it.
I suppose JusticeforPluto might be able to get a firing angle on it from outside...
If she misses, though, she'll have put herself in the line of fire right beside Elvenshae. And if she succeeds, it could mean killing the very Floater we're desperately trying to capture. How much can we really risk to save one soldier's life?
At this stage of the campaign, after everything we've sacrificed to reach this point, I think the answer is clear.
It's not an easy decision, but it has to be this way.
BIG. DAMN. HERO.
After that, the Reaper's annihilation is just the cherry on the sundae.
She's long been a fine officer, but her work in Operation Tora, Tora, Tora has secured for Captain JusticeforPluto a place in X-Com's annals as a figure of legend.
Her skill and courage today have earned her the deeply-felt gratitude of the Council of Funding Nations.
On a personal note, I'm proud to bestow upon her the project's highest military honors.
I only wish they weren't being awarded posthumously.
Honestly, I was wondering when we were going to see the first alien grenade, I don't think we've given them the time in the previous missions to even arm one. They were a huge pain in my side as a kid, ruining whole squads in one quite little sound effect.
Honestly, I was wondering when we were going to see the first alien grenade, I don't think we've given them the time in the previous missions to even arm one. They were a huge pain in my side as a kid, ruining whole squads in one quite little sound effect.
We did lose HyphyKezzy to one way back at the Muton Supply Ship, but yeah - the time it takes to prime a grenade makes it difficult for the aliens to bring them to bear on us. If they knew how to do a grenade relay, our death toll would probably be much higher.
I was sad to see Justice go. She had a seat reserved for her on the Avenger.
That said, I couldn't help but chuckle at the timing:
Elvenshae pulls the prod from the still-twitching body of the ... whatever bugfuck officer that was, and dives forward against the bulkhead, clearing Pluto's line of fire. The guttural roar of a heavy cannon going off, once only, combines with the metallic spang of his impact on the alien metal to form a wondrous chord as a Rorschach pattern of alien brain matter speeds its way across the hallway.
Turning, he calls back to his savior. "Helluva shot, Pluto; I owe you ..."
And he pauses, as from out of sight a spinning, nodulous mass describes a graceful arc across his field of vision, bouncing once in counterpoint, and into the hallway.
Elvenshae pulls the prod from the still-twitching body of the ... whatever bugfuck officer that was, and dives forward against the bulkhead, clearing Pluto's line of fire. The guttural roar of a heavy cannon going off, once only, combines with the metallic spang of his impact on the alien metal to form a wondrous chord as a Rorschach pattern of alien brain matter speeds its way across the hallway.
Turning, he calls back to his savior. "Helluva shot, Pluto; I owe you ..."
And he pauses, as from out of sight a spinning, nodulous mass describes a graceful arc across his field of vision, bouncing once in counterpoint, and into the hallway.
WhiteZinfandelYour insidesLet me show you themRegistered Userregular
I was about to go make myself some food but nooooo, now I have to listen to these songs. I'm probably going to end up going through the entire soundtrack before bed now.
Elvenshae pulls the prod from the still-twitching body of the ... whatever bugfuck officer that was, and dives forward against the bulkhead, clearing Pluto's line of fire. The guttural roar of a heavy cannon going off, once only, combines with the metallic spang of his impact on the alien metal to form a wondrous chord as a Rorschach pattern of alien brain matter speeds its way across the hallway.
Turning, he calls back to his savior. "Helluva shot, Pluto; I owe you ..."
And he pauses, as from out of sight a spinning, nodulous mass describes a graceful arc across his field of vision, bouncing once in counterpoint, and into the hallway.
FandaHang a shining starupon the highest boughRegistered Userregular
Elvenshae was fully shielded from the blast by the command center's outer wall. But what about scherbchen? She was only three tiles away from ground zero. How, you may be wondering, did she survive?
Well, the answer is simple.
She didn't. Not really. There's no way we can conclude our business here in the four turns she has left.
Tottering on her ruined right leg, dragging herself forward with her left, scherbchen rounds the corner. She knows her time is short. What happens to her doesn't matter anymore. She just has to put herself between the enemy and her friends for as long as she has left.
It's oddly liberating, being here at the end of everything. All her worries are over. Only the simple physics of the thing remain - how many of them can she reach, how many can she subdue, before her final collapse.
She barely glances down at the twitching Floater as she lurches over it.
Somewhere behind her, someone has started screaming. She wants to turn back to tell them that it's all right, that there's nothing to worry about anymore, don't they understand? But her mouth can't seem to make the words - and besides, there's no turning back now.
This would have terrified her only a few minutes ago. All she feels now is irritation that the goddamned thing is so far away. Hobbling back around the corner could buy her another chance to use the stun rod.
Soon she'll be able to rest. Just not quite yet.
On the other side of the command center, Frozenzen's long, bad day isn't getting any better. Reapers are rushing in from the south like a rising tide, and our stock of explosives is dwindling.
While the rest of the team makes a break for the command center, wilting and Frozenzen proxy both of the southern passages. They just need to buy us a little more time...
The Reaper was in range for an easy charge, but the proximity grenade proves just enough to take it down. Frozenzen's luck is holding.
Not so for wilting. His proxy doesn't survive the turn, but whatever triggered it does.
With that, our local supply of grenades is just about exhausted. The tank will have to swing 'round to take over rear guard duties from Corporal Proxy.
It's going to have its work cut out for it.
Looks like a lone Floater was responsible for setting off wilting's proxy.
On the list of things I will not be doing, sending someone into the middle of that godforsaken intersection for a stun attempt ranks pretty high. Besides, at this point I'm less worried about the Floaters' panic spiral than I am about ours.
NotoriusBEN pulls double duty as junior morale officer. The Floater's death cry is just the shot in the arm everyone needed, and like a trench whistle, it's our signal to go over the top.
El Skid can feel her pulse throbbing in her fingertips as she takes hold of her stun rod.
Into the space she's cleared for him, Frozenzen charges.
A glancing blow. Maybe the Floater heard him coming and jerked aside at the last second. Maybe his plasma burns kept him from getting a solid grip on the stun rod.
Maybe Frozenzen's luck just finally ran out.
Thank goodness Iolo was right behind him.
Half a dozen Floaters now lay scattered through these halls, twitching and unconscious, but the Commander continues to elude us. We've reached the nerve center of their operation. The damned thing should be here.
Could it be ...?
Sergeant scherbchen musters the dregs of her strength.
Two hits, center of mass - still not enough to bring it down. Her arm falls slack at her side. With her vision dimming at the edges, all scherbchen can see clearly are the Floater's red eyes: beady, bulging, full of wrath.
We're all together now - all of us who are left. Whatever happens next, at least we'll face it united.
A Reaper spends its life to clear a gap in our minefield. We won't be able to close it. The perimeter is no longer secure.
Of course, the idea that we were ever secure here is a joke.
I thought that with clever positioning and daring melee charges, we could get the better of them.
You've had some amazing luck (your high level of skill and strategic know-how notwithstanding) so I'm not terribly surprised the shit is hitting the fan at last.
Posts
Heeeey.
I think giving some time between killing sprees reduces the odds of a panic spiral. It's only a little morale regen, but every bit helps, right?
Why I fear the ocean.
Yeah I'm almost certain it works this way. That said, the Floaters didn't really give our fearless commander a chance. They were basically Zerg rushing the lift, so it was kill or be killed.
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Captain of the SES Comptroller of the State
X-Com Order of Battle
East: Absence of Evidence, Elvenshae, JusticeforPluto, scherbchen, schuss
West: El Skid, Frozenzen, Iolo, NotoriusBEN, QuestionablySane, wilting
For the second time in twenty-four hours, X-Com forces plunge into the depths. With the officers and rocket tank grouped together in the east, QuestionablySane volunteers to lead out our western strike team.
Vacant corridors run north and west from the deployment zone, no doubt meeting in an unseen junction behind the grav lift. That junction represents the northwestern extent of our area of operations.
A long, shadowy hall leading east represents the best hope of linking up with our command squad.
To the south lies a chamber with a weirdly lustrous floor and walls that churn with swirling phosphorescent patterns. It's still too dim to see the far side of the room or what might lie beyond.
This is a much colder welcome than we were expecting.
QuestionablySane knows how to remedy that. His incendiary rounds don't reveal the enemy, but they do cast light on what looks like another food storage vault in the distance.
First things first, though: we have to secure our backfield.
NotoriusBEN and Frozenzen lay the proxies that will cover their team's eastward advance.
It's not going to be an easy march. Absence of Evidence is barely off the grav lift when its sensors identify the unique architecture of the alien command center ahead. That singular structure lies directly between the two halves of our strike force, cutting them off from each other.
It's a grim situation that virtually ensures we'll be taking swift contact on multiple fronts.
Or will we? More empty halls greet schuss, silent and foreboding.
Rather than rush the front door of the command center without thinning out the opposition first, it might make more sense to take the long way around to the south, using the tank as rolling cover. That should give our team in the west enough time to make their way over as well.
Captain schuss lays a proxy at the intersection to guard the command squad's right flank.
Meanwhile, El Skid finally runs into one of the Floaters' advance guards.
It's a little early yet for suicidal stun rod charges.
But it's always time for superlative marksmanship from NotoriusBEN. Nice shot!
There's another one, of course. There's always another one.
Fortunately Frozenzen has us covered.
It's shaping up to be a perilous dash through that crossroads ahead, so Iolo peeks around the corner and tosses out a smoke bomb.
He's shocked when the soft pop of the smoke is immediately answered by a much louder explosion.
The proxy schuss threw out moments ago just saved her life.
She's in the middle of a shaky, relieved exhalation when her breath catches in her throat.
There's always another one.
The wall beside her is burned to slag, but Captain schuss remains intact - for now.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
Well, if anyone has to give their life to prevent the leader suiciding, it may as well be me!
The most sacred duty
A quick proxy is tossed out to guard the psychedelic room. Only one avenue out of our deployment zone is left open: the hall leading to the command center. Into that smoke-filled passage, Iolo and Frozenzen advance.
Hold on, schuss, we're coming.
Damn. They've got this intersection on lockdown.
Iolo takes a step forward, but he can't quite see the Floater around the corner. Ordinarily, we'd deal with this situation by throwing out some explosives while falling back. This isn't an ordinary situation, though. Our isolated command squad doesn't have time for us to play it safe, and we can't afford to kill Floaters who move into easy capture range.
The only option remaining is to brute force the intersection. Frozenzen's our scout. He knows the risks. This is, after all, his job.
Oh god. Frozenzen?
Pfft, you're fine. Walk it off.
Before the Floater can pull the trigger again, Iolo darts out and puts it down. Following up with a quick squildo inspection yields disappointing results: this one is only a common Soldier. The leadership caste must still be inside the command center.
Unfortunately, they're not within striking range of our stun rods just yet.
The hole in the wall scuppers our plan to encircle the command center. The Floaters would be able to hit us in the rear as we moved south. On the other hand, it also opens a direct route into their inner sanctum - if Elvenshae and Sergeant scherbchen can get themselves in position to exploit it.
Meanwhile, Absence of Evidence reaches the southeastern corner of the command center. Its job is no longer to push forward, but to hold the line.
Vanguard or rear guard, as long as it involves firing rockets, AoE is happy. Having given the remaining Floater much to think about, our tank withdraws just out of sight.
The turn ends with JusticeforPluto and schuss sprinting forward to make contact with Frozenzen. Everyone is still in a perilous position, but at least now we can support each other.
As she steps over what's left of the Floater that triggered her proximity grenade, schuss is astonished to feel it clutch feebly at her boot.
Not dead ...?
Not what we're looking for, either.
Maybe the one that shot at schuss is the Commander. If it charges us now, we're going to find out. Stun rods at the ready!
They're cagier than that, though. There's no attack from the command center, but Corporal Proxy brings down a Reaper that was stalking us from behind.
We can keep this up all day, suckers.
Apparently, so can they. The Floater Leader rises again beside JusticeforPluto, and the massive frame of another Reaper completely blocks the hallway in front of Frozenzen.
Its snout wrinkles at the sight of him. The Reaper can smell the blood from his wound.
It's about to catch a whiff of something else.
And now comes the fated moment: with a white-knuckled grip on her stun rod, scherbchen creeps up to the hole in the command center wall.
The Floater is preoccupied with the targeting array on its blaster launcher. It doesn't see her.
She ensures it never will.
When Elvenshae moves in to check the squildo, he finds another Floater just a step behind the first.
There's nothing for it now. We're already committed.
RIP Elvenshae.
It wasn't even worth it. They were just a pair of Engineers.
Goddamnit, I don't want to lose Elvenshae like this, but what can we do? JusticeforPluto and schuss are the only ones nearby, and there's no way they can reach that last Floater to stun it.
I suppose JusticeforPluto might be able to get a firing angle on it from outside...
If she misses, though, she'll have put herself in the line of fire right beside Elvenshae. And if she succeeds, it could mean killing the very Floater we're desperately trying to capture. How much can we really risk to save one soldier's life?
At this stage of the campaign, after everything we've sacrificed to reach this point, I think the answer is clear.
It's not an easy decision, but it has to be this way.
BIG. DAMN. HERO.
After that, the Reaper's annihilation is just the cherry on the sundae.
She's long been a fine officer, but her work in Operation Tora, Tora, Tora has secured for Captain JusticeforPluto a place in X-Com's annals as a figure of legend.
Her skill and courage today have earned her the deeply-felt gratitude of the Council of Funding Nations.
On a personal note, I'm proud to bestow upon her the project's highest military honors.
I only wish they weren't being awarded posthumously.
And justice for Justice.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Captain of the SES Comptroller of the State
Well, it was an honor.
We did lose HyphyKezzy to one way back at the Muton Supply Ship, but yeah - the time it takes to prime a grenade makes it difficult for the aliens to bring them to bear on us. If they knew how to do a grenade relay, our death toll would probably be much higher.
I was sad to see Justice go. She had a seat reserved for her on the Avenger.
That said, I couldn't help but chuckle at the timing:
Turning, he calls back to his savior. "Helluva shot, Pluto; I owe you ..."
And he pauses, as from out of sight a spinning, nodulous mass describes a graceful arc across his field of vision, bouncing once in counterpoint, and into the hallway.
And then, fire.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Break down the door
That one's better for the situation, but for pure tearjerker quotient:
Well, the answer is simple.
She didn't. Not really. There's no way we can conclude our business here in the four turns she has left.
Tottering on her ruined right leg, dragging herself forward with her left, scherbchen rounds the corner. She knows her time is short. What happens to her doesn't matter anymore. She just has to put herself between the enemy and her friends for as long as she has left.
It's oddly liberating, being here at the end of everything. All her worries are over. Only the simple physics of the thing remain - how many of them can she reach, how many can she subdue, before her final collapse.
She barely glances down at the twitching Floater as she lurches over it.
Somewhere behind her, someone has started screaming. She wants to turn back to tell them that it's all right, that there's nothing to worry about anymore, don't they understand? But her mouth can't seem to make the words - and besides, there's no turning back now.
This would have terrified her only a few minutes ago. All she feels now is irritation that the goddamned thing is so far away. Hobbling back around the corner could buy her another chance to use the stun rod.
Soon she'll be able to rest. Just not quite yet.
On the other side of the command center, Frozenzen's long, bad day isn't getting any better. Reapers are rushing in from the south like a rising tide, and our stock of explosives is dwindling.
While the rest of the team makes a break for the command center, wilting and Frozenzen proxy both of the southern passages. They just need to buy us a little more time...
The Reaper was in range for an easy charge, but the proximity grenade proves just enough to take it down. Frozenzen's luck is holding.
Not so for wilting. His proxy doesn't survive the turn, but whatever triggered it does.
With that, our local supply of grenades is just about exhausted. The tank will have to swing 'round to take over rear guard duties from Corporal Proxy.
It's going to have its work cut out for it.
Looks like a lone Floater was responsible for setting off wilting's proxy.
On the list of things I will not be doing, sending someone into the middle of that godforsaken intersection for a stun attempt ranks pretty high. Besides, at this point I'm less worried about the Floaters' panic spiral than I am about ours.
NotoriusBEN pulls double duty as junior morale officer. The Floater's death cry is just the shot in the arm everyone needed, and like a trench whistle, it's our signal to go over the top.
El Skid can feel her pulse throbbing in her fingertips as she takes hold of her stun rod.
Into the space she's cleared for him, Frozenzen charges.
A glancing blow. Maybe the Floater heard him coming and jerked aside at the last second. Maybe his plasma burns kept him from getting a solid grip on the stun rod.
Maybe Frozenzen's luck just finally ran out.
Thank goodness Iolo was right behind him.
Half a dozen Floaters now lay scattered through these halls, twitching and unconscious, but the Commander continues to elude us. We've reached the nerve center of their operation. The damned thing should be here.
Could it be ...?
Sergeant scherbchen musters the dregs of her strength.
Two hits, center of mass - still not enough to bring it down. Her arm falls slack at her side. With her vision dimming at the edges, all scherbchen can see clearly are the Floater's red eyes: beady, bulging, full of wrath.
We're all together now - all of us who are left. Whatever happens next, at least we'll face it united.
A Reaper spends its life to clear a gap in our minefield. We won't be able to close it. The perimeter is no longer secure.
Of course, the idea that we were ever secure here is a joke.
I thought that with clever positioning and daring melee charges, we could get the better of them.
I thought I could keep us safe.
I was wrong.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
edit** also
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
He did say it, check the caption on one of the images.
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Captain of the SES Comptroller of the State