Chapter Text
* March 5, 2008 *
* Stuttgart, Germany *
"We should strike them down hard for this insult!"
"Putting out a video with Paul McCartney's 'Live and Let Die' showing a suit of power armor that is more than a match for three of our more competent capes and taking them out like yesterday's garbage? Exactly how would you suggest doing that? Throwing a nuclear weapon at them, perhaps?"
"Nothing should be off the table."
"Why is it that so many of my peers in our glorious organization seem to have grasped the - what do you call it again? Oh yes, the idiot ball."
"Isn't that the name of a hero in Australia?"
Messer checked and it was indeed. Whose power was charging a bouncy ball of energy that siphoned off intelligence in those it struck. Truly a terrifying power to face.
"Still ve haff ways of getting our revenge," said Gazebo. Whose own ability, to create wooden barricades, was much less of a nightmare. Useful in the right circumstances though.
It wasn't like the three they were planning to send to Brockton Bay. Luftschiff, Unangenehm, and Fröhlicher. One who could float, one with superhuman strength and durability but was clumsy as a drunken goose, and an anemic jester.
"Why are we sending those three? Shouldn't we send a stronger group?" asked Gazebo.
"We are sending spares that we won't miss," said Messer. "They are simply to test things out and die in glorious cause."
"But Fröhlicher's power - Vicious Mockery, it is useful," stated Gazebo.
"They are the obvious distraction, besides it will piss off that new-money Kaiser and that's worth something by itself."
"So you are sending the other two of their group as well?"
"No," said Messer. "At least not yet. White Feather is still dealing with whatever he ate Sunday. Nobody wants to share a plane with him like that. As for the idiot girl, she nearly drowned last week. Someone used the English phrase that it was raining 'cats and dogs'."
"And she stood outside trying to catch one?"
"You've met her."
* March 9, 2008 *
"Okay," said Doctor Curlyhair, pacing in front of the assorted technicians and military personnel and politicians that had been gathered. "This is something I had a few moments of inspiration in coming up with. If you agree to it, I'll have it installed in the Thermopylae and it'll speed up construction enormously."
"All I know is this is some sort of Artificial Intelligence?" asked Doctor Daystrom.
"Right, but you're used to hearing that phrase for what is basically just a smart interface or something simple like that," said Doctor Curlyhair as she activated the tube she was standing next to. A hologram flickered into existence to show a young woman in her teens, wearing a Navy Ensign uniform. Apparently asleep. "If approved, this is Thermopylae. She is the ship's AI and a person in her own right, and not only sentient but sapient. She will consider herself part of the crew as well as the ship, and can maintain thousands of operations per second to give you a steady ride and react to perceived dangers."
"How would we keep her from going rogue?" asked General Calhoun, who then made a face as he considered that he had just assigned a machine a gender.
"Treat her as a member of the crew, as if she were a human born of humanity," said Doctor Curlyhair. "If permitted to awaken, she will also assist in the further construction of her 'body' - the Thermopylae itself. Treat her as a new recruit but also a very capable crewmember and she will develop accordingly. Treat her with hate and fear, and it would be pretty much what would happen if you did that to a human child. I'm keeping her asleep and just feeding her information on military endeavors and philosophies for now."
"Why do this anyway?" asked General Calhoun.
"First, because keeping a helicarrier in the air requires constant shifting of a number of components to deal with weather and the actions of the crew and vehicles stationed onboard," answered Doctor Curlyhair. "Second, eventually we're going to have space and or starships and having some form of smart system will become necessary."
"We're still arguing about whether a helicarrier should be Navy or Air Force," pointed out a Naval officer.
"That is definitely something I'm leaving to you guys," said Doctor Curlyhair. "I just wanted to get this out of the way long before it becomes necessary to decide which path to take. Synthetic General Intelligence or shipgirl, or to go with extra personnel and a sort of smart-assist."
* Captain Nelson, USAF *
He had flown the X-301 and then the more complete X-302 for seven flights now.
It was styled to be an atmospheric flier, but he also knew the F-302s being built now that the X-series had proven viable would NOT be restricted to in-atmosphere flight.
No, with the Simurgh gone and now a way to get to the moon without the usual expenses of rocket launches? NASA had some big plans and he was certainly going to do everything in his power to ride this particular train to whatever destination they could manage.
The main reason that NASA had stuck to probes and robots they could field through the portal was reliance on that portal. Once there was a second method of reaching extra-atmospheric sites, they had plans.
Glorious, glorious, plans.
If the sky was no longer the limit he wanted to be a part of that. He was hardly alone. See also the reference to glorious plans. Practically everyone in the upper echelons, and more than a few below that level, had dream projects that they'd scribble out pages of notes on.
Then he ran across footage of Doctor Curlyhair's Veritech fighter. Okay, now he wanted THAT.
* March 12, 2008 *
There was a small park near the Docks, just one of those 1/4 block areas where kids could gather and play on the monkey bars or similar exercise/games.
People in trenchcoats used to be a matter of concern when spotted there because it would likely mean they had some tendencies generally frowned on.
On the other hand, now if one saw someone wearing a trenchcoat and fedora or similar clothing it was generally assumed they were a spy or otherwise trying to get a glimpse of whatever new technology was being worked on. If nothing else because their attention was never on something IN that park.
"Two chili dogs, beef."
"Right away, sir."
Naturally, someone noticed the increased traffic there and would frequently put their little food cart to draw on extra business.
Such was the case with Aretha's Hot Dogs (Since 1995!).
"Business good?"
Aretha smiled. "Real good. I set up here in the afternoons, set up near one of the gates earlier in the day, set up over on Pieman and Oceanfront after 3pm. Get some of the computer people who want a quick snack before heading home. More money coming into the city, people have a little extra cash, means more cash coming my way. All good."
"Noticed things being a bit more lively," said the trenchcoat-and-fedora man.
"PRT?" asked Aretha.
"No. What makes you think so?" asked fedora-wearer.
"Alphabet agencies come by here on the regular," said Aretha with a little half-shrug. "Ain't none of my business, but everyone's waiting for the next big thing to come out of the Docks."
"What do you think will be the next 'big thing' then?" asked fedora-wearer before taking a bite of one of his chili dogs.
"Me? I'm hoping for spaceships," said Aretha. "Or maybe habitats on the sea floor. Wouldn't that be something?"
"That it would," admitted the fedora-wearer, nodding to the proprietor before walking off with his meal.
Aretha watched him go thoughtfully, placing the man's accent as West Coast. Maybe not PRT but he could be Elite or something else. Whatever, the policy over at ForgeTech was "don't start nothing, won't be nothing" or something along those lines.
Aretha happened to glance up and saw Eidolon flying overhead, heading in the direction of ForgeTech. She wondered what that was about but she had to get ready to move to her evening location. Being self-employed meant you had to keep up with everything.
* Celestial Warehouse Hangar *
(CLONG!) "Ow!"
Rubbing her head where it had come into contact with one of the panels of her space fighter (currently an S-Class Exotic named "the Bubble Tea") Taylor grumbled a bit as the Technology Knowledge constellation drew near. And...
A new Perk was nice. More from whatever 'Gunnm' was.
Biotechnology expert, even more than she had been earlier in the day. Genetics, biophysics, toxicology, neuropharmacology, biochemistry, and further knowledge into exactly how to tweak and build systems to augment to transhuman levels and uplift species.
That said, there wasn't much she could do about it at present. It wasn't like she didn't have alternative treatments.
Well, now she could schedule some additional tests for when she finally was allowed to graduate from the public school system. Honestly, it was like they didn't want some young super-genius to fill a wall with monuments to her academic accomplishments.
"Doctor?" came Jarvis' voice from one of the desktop speakers. "The deal with Medhall on trying to duplicate one of your potions has been finalized."
"Oh, good. They're a major employer in the Bay after all. It'll be interesting if they get it going." More money coming into the Bay from multiple sources could be a very good thing.
"Eidolon has arrived at the main office as well," said Jarvis.
"Great, I'm glad he isn't putting this off," said Taylor. "We need to send that shut down signal as soon as possible."
* Medhall *
It was the usual sort of test tube holder, with five test tubes of a thick salve.
"This is what exactly?" asked Max Anders as he inspected one.
"Hair Growth formula from ForgeTech per a trial agreement with them," said Doctor Kriecherin.
"'Hair growth'?" asked Max Anders. "Wait. That is real hair?"
"Yes!" declared Doctor Kriecherin, running a hand through the thin stubble. "You apply it by rubbing it into the scalp, and then waiting a half-hour before rinsing it off. Reapply every six months per the instructions that ForgeTech sent us."
Max Anders loved power. Money, if in large amounts, was power. Just the idea of what this could mean as far as steady revenue caused him to take a deep breath and focus more intently on the test tubes. "They want to see if this is duplicable?"
"Yes, it is apparently some form of chemical Tinkertech or uses very rare supplies they have access to," said the portly little man who kept checking the stubble on his head as if he was afraid it would vanish. "I think the latter actually. If we are successful, it may mean we can get other such things per our agreement."
"It's a bit unprofessional to use an experimental product yourself," pointed out Max, not that he could really blame the man.
"Our primary experimental subject is Otto from the motor pool," said Doctor Kriecherin. "The man's an idiot but keeps his mouth shut."
Max held his tongue, thinking Otto was probably a spy for the police. Or the FDA. Also less of an idiot than overly fond of brownies that contained more than chocolate. Decently fast and precise as a mechanic though so he hadn't had legitimate reason to fire the man.
Doctor Kriecherin was a German, true, but not one who knew about the Empire 88 connection. Not everyone working here was aware of all the details, because what was the point of a secret ID that was openly known?
Well, except for Doctor Curlyhair of course. Nobody wanted to cross her after she put the Simurgh in a cage.
Damn it, now he had business reasons not to try raiding her complex. Did she know or suspect? Was this a bribe to keep the Empire from trying to threaten ForgeTech?
Damn it, the girl was some sort of genius - how could he tell if this was some part of some elaborate plot?
* Pelham residence *
"I don't trust them. They're mercenaries."
"What about Doctor Curlyhair? She's the one who made these. The mercenary was only the courier."
"I don't think I can carry these in my Breaker form," said Brandish, eyeing the bracelet.
"Well, I'm going to use it," said Manpower, taking the Brute-rated communicator-watch and strapping the thickly-built thing into place. "Be nice to have a watch that doesn't break the first fight."
"Look, this thing has an instruction manual that's thicker than some of the cases I've taken," pointed out Brandish. "It's got functions on there I would never need even if my Breaker form could work with it."
"It's a phone, it's a watch, it has radiation and atmospheric sensors," pointed out Sarah Pelham/Lady Photon to her sister. "It monitors your life signs and throws out a 'help required' signal to anyone who has a similar watch. It even looks nice."
"How do we know it isn't sending that information to villains?" asked Brandish.
"We can change the access codes, page 14 in the sections on 'Setting Up Your ForgeTech Hero Edition Watch' - that way only your specified contacts get the information." Manpower looked up from his reading. "It has some nice features."
"This is a bribe," tried Brandish. "To get... something."
"To get what?" asked Manpower. "Money? They've got more than we do. Lots more. Fame? They put the feather-bi..." He glanced over at where Vicky was listening. "-the Simurgh in a cage and are using her to power a restaurant and a matter-transfer portal. Connections? Doctor Curlyhair has DARPA and most of the military ready to defend her. What could she possibly want from us?"
Brandish scowled, sure there was something but not being able to figure out what.
"Maybe friends?" suggested Victoria.
"Fleur and Lightstar are moving out of town, citing the Empire willing to overlook any Rules," pointed out Manpower. "It could just be that ForgeTech wants to keep us around doing heroic things."
* April 5, 2008 *
Taylor yawned as another rolling noise and the mind's eye picture of constellations rotating came to her.
It was a familiar enough constellation she could see the tether reaching out for, and she'd seen it bounce off with an error message often enough. Knowledge - Abilities and Skills.
It was a tiny mote, the sort of thing she'd started out with when she was just a kid. Instead of her much more mature nearly-thirteen.
It connected and pulled it in.
Bibliophile's Discerning Eyes. She could read anything as long as it wasn't encrypted. French, easy. Minoan script Linear A? A little more difficult, but she could do it. She couldn't write in the language, but reading was fundamental.
Taylor smiled at the thought of how best to use this.
* Warehouse 11 *
"So this is 'Doll'," said Armsmaster.
"She has that 'omega' symbol there just above the base of the spine," said Annette Hebert. "So one of your 'Case 53' types. No memory, nonstandard physiology, but there are differences from what you've given us. Her outer layers mimic ceramic and she has metallic bracing on her bones. There's also indications of neuro-chemicals that were used in her fully biological parts. Full report is on that thumb drive."
Armsmaster looked over the woman who was standing there emotionless with her porcelain-like skin. "We'll see what we can find out about her."
"The PRT have more resources for that sort of thing than we do," said Annette, speaking directly to Doll. "If anyone can find out what happened to you, help you get back on your feet - they can."
Watching the two go away, Annette shook her head. "I hope this isn't going to be a mistake."
Astartes One was nearby and turned his head to look at her. "I take it the Palanquin wasn't available?"
"I left three messages and they still haven't responded after a month," stated Annette.
* Perks This Chapter *
27.47.1-Biotechnology(600CP)(GUNNM)(Biotech):
There's really more to cybernetics than just the metal machine. Care has to be taken that the flesh adapts, and there are many lessons to be learned from biological machinery. You're an expert in the fields of genetics, biophysics, toxicology, neuropharmacology and biochemistry the causes and effects of human mutation are very familiar to you. Designer drugs, experimental surgery, toxins, cures improved soft organs and cutting-edge research into cloned nervous system material, with a laboratory the human body is your masterpiece. You may create a variety of drugs similar to that referenced in the Werewolf perk, or directly induce it and Warped as a permanent mutation. If you also have the Cybernetics perk, then with a little time and the right equipment quite difficult to obtain in the Scrapyard you may also apply the equivalent of the TUNED perk to a subject, and have additional knowledge of weapons engineering to reverse-engineer or independently develop most current weapons systems available in the Scrapyard.
16.3.1-Bibliophile’s Discerning Eyes(100CP)(Touhou Forbidden Hermit)(Knowledge Abilities and Skills):
You can read anything no matter what language it’s written in. This does not come with the ability to write in that language, but you can read it if it’s a language at all. Including dead and forgotten languages – an invaluable skill if you wish to do serious historical research – but not encoded texts.
FREE: Spell Cards - The Spell Card system was invented to ensure that youkai and humans could fight each other in a non-lethal way and on relatively even ground. Under a spell card duel, all attacks are
toned down to non-lethal levels, and the ability to fire an aesthetically pleasing barrage of bullets inall directions is prized over creating unavoidable attacks or invulnerability (which are banned anyway).
Accordingly, you too can tone any of your abilities down as low as simply performing pretty light shows, and as your artistic skills improve so will the beauty of your spell card attacks.
FREE: Flight: You can fly, a power that is nigh-universal in Gensokyo. Flying as fast as you can walk is simple, and you can push yourself to fly faster, up to how fast you can run, which will tire you proportionately.
FREE: Cute Girls - Nobody in these manga are anything but cute, and by taking this perk you share this same trait. For free, all minor traits that would detract from your appearance (including blemishes, bodily hair and especially armpit hair) are cleared up.
Spell cards added: Magic Sign "Stardust Reverie", Love Sign "Master Spark", Comet "Blazing Star", Magic Sign "Milky Way"