L
Legix
188604, Osman Airfield
Zahen stood out near the Mech owned by Alex, taking notes and consept pictures for her Mech design. Things were cluttered, people doing his and that in the area. The four gold bands wrapped around her horn being the only identifier. She had Anatomy diagrams for Vekimen, as well as consept designs she drew up for the Mech. She knew what she wanted, she just needed to get it built.
"Ayyy, it's the lizard- no wait, the Vekimen!"
A familiar but somewhat off-put voice would fill the air of the airfield, near where many of the various other forms of craft had been gathered. With his coat on and closed up, someone might actually have assumed Ronin was still part of Yamatai's Star Army. Of course, barring the fact he was smoking and carrying a rather large bottle of alcohol in his left hand. It was very clear, despite it being the middle of the day, that the mercenary had likely found some friendly drunks among the town population.
"Shushshush... no worries! I didn't forget your deal! I was going to drop by and pay Usobuso a visit, but saw you on the way to the Queen's Laveh!"
Zahen took a deep breath before turning around. Oh look, The puppet of glory greatest empi- I mean Ronin. I'm surprised you remember anything right now" She commented, having seen similar effects on Vekimen afer they had eaten too much processed sugar. "I hope you aren't breaking ay laws right now"
"Pft! Laws! This planet's only law is don't be a dick! I mean, I think I got one... but that doesn't count, right?"
While initially confident and certain, the man's words had slowed and become confused toward the end. For such a large bottle, it seemed that he could at least hold his liquor somewhat well if it was almost completely empty and he was still walking!
"I heard some annoyin' voice though! Like some fly or Neko buzzin' in my ear the whole way here!"
As if on cue, Rubi rounded the corner with a glare less of hate but more of plain dissapointment. While she hasn't been doing much since the battle, she'd rather not be chasing after drunkard pilots for not paying up at the bar. She let out a quick "Oi!" before lunging forward at Ronin, taser rattling in her hand.
"After the beer bust with Ace a few week ago, Arccos' told me to make sure you assholes we're paying up at the bars!" She ordered, jamming the contact points into the soft part of the large mans lower back. "So pay up!"
Seeing Ronin get tased on the spot was too much for the Lizard, dropping her datapad and falling to the floor in a fit of laughter. The Vekimen chittering squeal of humour filling the air as Rubi stood over the Convulsing Mech pilot. She clutched at her sides, rolling around in the dirt.
With one laughing at him, it was all a blur for the drunk. Face-down on the ground after the initial shock wore out, he rolled over as if nothing had happened. It seemed being drunk had allowed him to take the fall and pain exceptionally well.
"Gruhahiuhah~.... fuckin'... drink... prishhhhhhhhhhh~..."
Trying to pull himself up and to properly sit up, the man failed at it not once, not twice, but three times before finally being able to pull himself up and off his back to sit-up, only adding to the laughter of the alien. Finally up, however, he looked at Rubi through blurry eyes for a moment before the glassy gaze looked away and he chuckled.
"Pft~... shorty got me. I has to admit... didn't see you coming! Must be slippin' in my age! Or... or maybe it's the alc-... aky... alcwho... alcohol?"
Rubi didn't seem laugh or smile for that matter. She knelt and took the bottle of alcohol out of his hand with some force.
"You won't be needing this for another day or two... Or at least when start learning that you need to pay the bartenders even after you invade the place."
Just as Rubi said that, the Bartender caught up, huffing and heaving as he tried to catch his breath. "Rubi... He... Paid..." He gasped, the elder man not used to such physical exertion.
"Ru... ruuuuu... booby? Her name is Booby?" His laughter cut loudly, even as she had pried his bottle free and almost immediately forgot that he'd just been hit with a tazer and laughed at by the Vekimen who had wanted his expertise with mecha to help make new ones.
Zahen finally managed to compose herself enough to get off the ground, pickig up her datapad and rubbing at her eye. "Oh by the earth that protects... You are my new favorite person. What I would pay to have that immortalized in video so I could watch it again and again" She huffed, still chuckling.
Rubi look over at the bartender with certian amount of disgust before tossing the bottle over to him and waving him off. "He doesn't need it. Now run along back to the bar while I handle some other issues.
With that she turned to the giant lizard thing and hestitated for a moment as she looked it over. Normally something with scales out here would mean free provider of cheap novelty boots and maybe a free meal but this wasn't exactly from here. Still, something had to be done with Ronin.
"I'm going to be temporarily postponing your meeting for a few moments." She said as she reached down to grab Ronin by the collar of his jacket before dragging him behind a corner.
"Feel free. Sober him up while you're at it too" The alien responded, huffing and puffing a bit. "My, I haven't laughed like that in ages. I need to get me one of those. Seems more fun than shooting trouble makers" She added, going to ask someone about the fastest way to sober someone up.
"Pshhhh~... where we goin', Booby?"
Being dragged along, the man cursed under his breath as he half-crawled, half-fell as they moved. It was quite the sight, of course, to see an ex-member of one of the finest militaries stumbling and eating dirt between the length he was dragged. As they finally rounded it, he pushed at her wrist rather pitifully but just enough to break free and fall over against the corner with a grumble.
"Booby, you're too bossy... I swear, Booby ish such'a dumb name..."
As Ronin fell back against the wall, Rubi knelt down next him.
"You really are a mess right now." She mumbled before grabbing him by the collar and slamming a fist against his face. "Don't fucking call me Booby again, you hear?" Her voice jumped up from a mumble to demand. "Especially not infront of town folks or whatever that thing was back there."
To his credit, Ronin in his drunken state took the punch like a champ. It was like the man's chin was an ID-SOL's abs with how hard it was and how well he'd endured the blow. Either way, that didn't stop it from leaving the start of what would likely be a bruise beneath his right eye. Cursing under his breath, however, it was clear the blow was all it took to drive the soldier into some sense of sobriety.
"I'll call you whatever I fuckin' want, Booby!"
Pushing her back with one hand, the other swung across and into her forearm with enough force to dislodge the hand holding his coat collar. Rushing up to his feet, it seemed Rubi's mistake was bringing him to a wall... which he immediately used to support himself as he got to his feet. It seemed that as long as he had the alcohol, he could somehow handle himself better... because without that bottle and a new drink, he seemingly was losing out to that drunken stupor!
This wasn't the first time she'd found herself in this postion. Being a bounty hunter for years found her being pushed over quite a bit, this wasn't much different. As she felt her grip on the collar break and herself toppling back, she shifted foot back to keep her balance as other hand reached back to grab the tazer. In on swift motion, she lunged back at the soldier, bringing the shocking tazer striaght into his stomache.
With the new touch from the taser, it was almost immediate what happened next. Only seconds after the clack of the electric tool went to work, Rubi was outright DRENCHED and soiled by... vomit. More accurately, by an absurd amount of the recently consumed beverage. And, of course, she got to bear witness once more to a spasming Ronin as he toppled to the ground properly.
Rubi stopped for a moment as she took a processed what the hell just happen. A mixture of emotions ran across from anger to horor to confusion. After a few a second, it seemed to settle on enraged as unslung the IAW from her back and with a roar, bringing the butt of the gun on to Ronin repeatidly.
After the first two or three hits, Rubi would feel a rather thick, scaly mass wrapp around her wrist, stopping her strikes dead in their tracks. "As fun as it is to watch, I think you should stop" The Vekimen commented, her voice a cool warning. The tailed tightened it's grip and it would feet rather uncomfortable, but that wasn't that part that would persuade the girl to stop fully.
The fact Zahen was slightly baring her teeth, and her mane was slightly expanded giving her a mildly wild look, coupled with the way she flexed her claws and talons likely would. "I like you, but I don't need him losing more braincells. The ones he has are lonely enough as it is" She simply stated.
The sudden apperance of Zahen put a halt to the beatdown Rubi was giving. Rubi looked at the alien flustered before standing up and uncoiling herself from the tail.
"Fine." She grunted, trying to calm down from everything. She turned her attention to the man on the gorund. "I fucking catch you do anything, you won't be lucky enough to have your friend bail you out." And with that, she turned on her heel and left.
"Pleasant speech, but he's uncosious..." She called out to the retreating girl. Once she was gone, she chuckled to herself.
"Spunky... I might ask her to help i the tests for my mech..." She said, turning to the unconsious man "Now then... What to do with you..."
Kneeling down, Zahen propped him up against a wall, and proceeded to ask one of the workers for something to sober the pilot up. She was given a bucket and loaf of bread, the worker more or less pushing it on her and telling her to go away, muttering something about a devil.
She looked at the bucket, then walked to a water spout. Ronin was warm blooded, so it made sense cold water would shock him. After filling it, she stepped over to Ronin, and dumped it on his head. "Wake up you moron, let's go" She ordered, crouching and lightly smacking his face. "I need you consious and sober"
After being struck for a good bit, the alcohol in his system at least seeming to save him from any terrible damage, the cold water was more than enough of a shock to finally snap him back to reality. His eyes opened and hazily looked around, a hand moving to where the strikes from Rubi had landed multiple times.
"Foooo... who... hit me?"
Groaning, for all but a moment, her slaps had been enough to stir him the rest of the way as his eyes opened and set on the Vekimen. Beyond that, though, he was far from mobile or ready to get up.
"Am... what happened?"
"Well, that girl you kept calling booby, whom I assume is named Rubi did, after you threw up on her... After she tazed you... Twice. It was quite the fiasco, and while hilarious at first, you can't afford to lose any more braincells" She explained, standing up. "Here, eat this. Apperently it will help you feel better" She stated, holding the bread for him to tak
Ronin took it, but was still far from getting up yet. Gnawing on the bread while his now soaked mohawk looked rather pitiful, the man groaned and rose to sit up. Munching noisily for a few moments to ensure he got a good chunk of the bread stowed away, he finally lowered it into his lap and leaned back against the wall behind him.
"Braincells... shut up. Just plenty 'nuff of them. I feel like I got hit by a truck or something, though. All she did was tase me?"
"Well, she did perform quite the display of police brutality on you with the butt of her rifle as well, but that was when I stepped in. I think I scared the poor girl a little. She seemed flustered byt the whole ordeal afterward" She said, sitting down across from him and propping herself up with her tail.
"Anyway, need a drink? You got most of the alcohol out of your system, but I feel you could use something to drink" She said, looking around. "Maybe something to improve your cognative functions a bit more"
Taking a lengthy moment to dwell on the situation, he finally grumbled and took another bite out of the bread. It had just occurred to him, in his foggy mind, that he had met a person named Rubi very briefly.
"Yeah," he stopped to finish off a few mouthfuls of bread, "Let's just... go get some water. No more day drinking for a bit. And uh... we can go ahead and talk about what the Vekimen will offer if I help your people with those mecha you want to make."
Zahen arched an eyebrow at the comment about what she would offer, before standing up and holding out a hand. "Why don't we take this one step at a time, shall we?" She asked. "I think it would be better if you had a drink first, and were a little more... Coherent if we are going to talk about this" She explained. "I'll help you over to the spout if you need the help"
"Right... one step at a time."
Getting up, he knew full well at this point that after getting beaten while drunk and then helped by a Vekimen at least meant he could trust them somewhat. Even if she was the type to try and use the pilot, he could feed them wrong information once he saw their true character. But as they got to their feet and began to start down that path, he fell right back and against the wall with a groan.
"One terrible... horribly small step at a time, please."
Zahen rolled her eyes. "Oh for the love of..." She said, kneeling down and grabbing the man. Keeping her back straight, she flexed her powerful legs and locked her arms, lifting the man off the ground. "I don't have time to literally see you crawl there" She said, leaving that as the only explination to her carrying him. She was shockingly strong, but that could be accredited to her rather thick lower body.
It took her barely a moment to get the man over to the water sout and prop him up against the wall there. "There, get your fill and try to wake yourself up, alright?" She asked, standing over him.
Once they'd arrived, he'd carefully move to try and drink as he could. It'd look goofy, but after getting carried he didn't exactly have the room to complain about goofy.
"Thanks..."
Seconds went by, then a minute, but by the time he finally had stopped drinking he at least seemed somewhat better off. The man had emptied out his stomach earlier, replacing the alcohol with bread and water fairly quick enough to solve one problem. As he finally righted himself, albeit shakily, the man finally turned to partially look back at Zahen.
"I meant what I said earlier, though... sober or drunk, it doesn't matter. You were right... I won't be able to make Yamatai learn anytime soon if I alone pilot mecha..."
Zahen nodded. "I hoped you would come to your senses, because I've already started my work" She said, handing Ronin her Datapad. On it, was what looked to be a giant, robotic Vekimen. "Making it for my kind, I figured it should have the appearance of my kind. Plus, it will have a larger range of motions, plus more agility than a base Mech without Thrusters. Plus, it doesn't need to carry swords or other such Melee weapons" She explained.
Looking at the dimentions of mech, as well as the sleek, natural silloutte of it, there was obviously no space for a cockpit. "I am working on Servo's and other such devices that will give a full, natural range on motions while remaining cheap to maufacture, plus an advanced sensor suit that will give the suit all the same senses a Vekime has" She added.
Ronin didn't even wait but a single second before taking the datapad and looking it over. It being in the design of their people was expected, but he had to admit the glaring flaw of no space for a pilot was... concerning.
"Where's the spot for the person to pilot this thing? You're not going to try some sort of... auto-piloted or AI-guided machine, are you?"
Zahen scoffed. "AI? Pilot this thing? Lord no. I may give them a basic Sentry program, but it is fully intended to be piloted by a actual pilot. Just the pilot doesn't do so from the machine. The hope is to temporarily transfer the consiousness of the pilot into the machine, making the machine the Pilots body. Remember how I pinched you? How I mentioned your Mechs cockpit was flawed? Well I took what I learned from that short flight, and sought out a way to fix that. Now, the pilot can fight, and if the machine is destroyed, the pilot can just be transfered to a new machine. If anything, the AI of the Mech would be progrmmed to assist in the defense of the Machine being activly piloted, so that the pilot can transfer to a new machine already in the fight instantaniously" She explained.
"Tch... trying to go the route of the Freespacers by putting people into machines..."
It wasn't exactly how the Freespacer Automata worked, of course, but the man was a bit disgusted by the idea of becoming one with the machine. It was clear that the Vekimen wanted to turn these things into a sort of prison for someone's mind and identity if they were only able to be transfered to a new machine. If the machine was destroyed, he also knew as a fact they would lose their pilots unless they had some multiple back-up theory that somehow compacted into this machine.
"This sort of technology has a lot of problems. How many places will store this consciousness? If it's only one and that place gets destroyed, you not only lose the machine but the pilot... and once that happens you'd just replace them? Even Nepleslia doesn't put their pilots in a situation where they have no way of coming back from a catastrophic event. If these pilots were to watch their comrades die, they'd simply be put into a new machine to either avenge them or live out a life knowing they failed. The short-term makes that mentality good... but what happens down the road when you have pilots who want to return to normal lives but can't?"
Zahen tilted her head. "You make this seem like it's a permanent transfer. The Pilot's body maintains it's role as the main back-up" She said, starting to draw into the dirt.
"Say this is a fleet of ships going into battle. This ship" She said, circling one of the simple diagrams "Is your carrier. This is where all the pilots are housed. They enter a Vat of perfluorocarbon, and their flesh and blood body is put into a Coma. Their brain is still active though, being sent to the Mech" She explained.
"Once the battle is over, if the Carrier isn't destroyed, then the Pilots are brought out of the Vats, and can go back to roaming around in their flesh and blood bodies. I believe this is how the Yamatai PA systems work, from the limited knowledge the Vekimen have based on one of our officers notes regarding Yamatai. Only the soldier with the PA is in the suit, where ours are not" She finished.
"And what happens if these systems somehow get jammed? You effectively lose the mecha... and what of the pilot? Are they still alright within these pods? The difference between this and Power Armor is that this is a much further distance potentially... the power armor generally contains the pilot and has a more or less direct connection to their machine."
"Run the system through several channels. A hard programmed AI to have the ship continue battle after a connection is lost, flash reboot, alternative transmitting types, and piloted ships that can find track Jamming hardware. As for the pilots, if they aren't pulled out of the Vat, then they are just left Comatose until they are removed. They may as well be sleeping. These mechs are not designed to be the primary force, and jamming is only ever used by fools or clever professionals. Jamming is not a perfect defence, and can only be used in very specific ways" She stated.
"Say I was running a connection through three Channels. All three Channels are sending information to the Mech, but only one channel is actually used at any given point. A Jammer makes the current signal useless, it switches to a new signal. The Jammer has to identify the new channel, then go to jam that channel. When it does, it switches to a new channel instantly. If it blocks all three channels, you won't lose full control unless the Jammer is three times more powerful than your transmitters. See how that works?" She asked.
"Assuming, of course, that you're fighting someone who doesn't have a ship specialized in electronic warfare."
Grumbling, he couldn't help but feel that removing the human element in such a way was a disaster waiting to happen, but this lizard continued saying she was certain of the technology. There was a reason that power armor hadn't worked in the manner they're employing and he could only imagine it was due to the glaring weakness that most modern fleets employ ships specialized in stopping signals of any kind from reaching out of a conflict, even attacking ships directly over the various spectrum and channels available for such a thing.
"I assume this thing is being designed for space combat, too... right?"
Zahen shrugged. "E-Warfare effects everyone. To jam every signal would jam their own sigals. But of course, counter E-Warfare is also a thing. There will always be a weakness, but there will always be a way around it. No defense is perfect, and neither is any offense. It's just who's better that decides a fight" She explained.
"As for space combat, Yes. There will be a variant built for space combat. This is just the basic design for combat inatmo. A prototype if you will. I expect it to be combat capabe so that I can test it out personally once all the pieces fall into place, and have my research teams working around the clock to develop the schematics which I get updated on" She continued.
Ronin rolled his eyes at the response that counter-warfare would be their response. If they were responding, it could already cost them the battle and become a clear focus of their enemies. Cutting these things out in space or even in hostile territory could mean they get converted into enemy machines. The idea of projecting them into the machine from afar meant that once someone tuned in, they might start seeing pirates and conversions made with the tech from various other mecha projects.
"Yeah, well... I just hope you reconsider a pilot. It seems foolish to put them on a carrier from afar. Putting them inside the machine and using the same tech would make it just like power armor. But it's up to you, I suppose. All I know is that this idea isn't the first time someone has tried to use the mind... but it is the first time someone was daring to project it outward in the potential ranges this will have."
"The freespacers would like to argue that. I got the idea from Arccos, who told me that they would have one person controlling hundreds of thousands of these mechs wirelessly. Then again, the tech could easily be put into the suit, but I won't take that risk immediately. I may need some of these destroyed with a pilot operating it if a Vekimen Pilot goes feral. Easier to cut the signal, than to destroy the dest pilot"
"The Freespacers are not exactly a good basis, considering some of them are absurd in the degrees of their technology's ability. Some are further behind Yamatai, but the number of those equal or passing it to make something like controlling tons of these things is far less."
Considering what his old nation had done to the Freespacers, he knew full well that their species was suffering.
"But it's ultimately up to you. The loss of a life to further a man-made craft is never a bad one. But if you insist on this path, then all the power to your people. I'm just here to make sure it works right..."
"The needless loss of life to test a machine is a failure with larger losses then I would appreciate having. Even for the sake of training this system would benefit. I won't have new trainee Vekimen killing each other by accident. Just breaking an easily replacable machine" She snapped. "I heard about Yamatai soldiers. Their ability to come back to life after dying. Vekimen don't have this. If someone dies because of my machine, there is no redo. There is only failure, and that is something I won't have" She stated coolly.
"Yeah... it's... not as simple as them just coming back to life. It involves bodies and a very intricate piece of tech. But you're not wrong. The loss of life can be tragic... but how do you plan to test something like a senses link without putting strain on someone's body? Do your people have the sort of technology to support one of your kind while their mind is controlling this?"
It was a simple thing, Ronin pulling free one of his cigarettes half expecting a quick reply, but the man began to more properly indicate points that could be reinforced.
"Quite simply," he paused just long enough to recover his lighter and flick it on to ignite the smoke, "You need to make sure your people can handle the trauma of removing their consciousness. Not only that, but ensure the calibration of these sensory aids. It has potential, this idea, but... it will not be possible to push ahead on this technology without sacrifices and costs."
Zahen nodded. "That's why I'm going to be the first" She reponded rather plainly. "I have my more base self in check, unlike most others of my kind. I can keep a rational point of view under extreme stress, and I don't plan to start anyone off on these mechs" She continued.
"Arccos said she would allow me to take over one of her droids. I already have the safety perameters in place, as well as the regiment I will have to go through to learn to control the droid and become accustome to whatever new feelings and emotions may stem from being in the body of a robot. I would never put my kind into a position I would not step into first" She finished.
With smoke rising from his deathstick, the mecha pilot was analyzing the datapad while she spoke. However, that didn't stop him from finally lowering it and grumbling as he lowered to sit on the ground. Part of his head was still swimming, it seemed.
"I admire that... but if you get killed or worse during this, then the project will definitely die and we'll have wasted our time and your life. We'd be better off conditioning someone else... or hell, maybe letting me do it. Even if the body is different, we can use partial sensory information. I'm used to that sort of reading from the Tengu... which means my body might respond more properly under the right conditions."
"Then I will make you a deal Ronin" She offered.
"A deal?"
"I will find a Volunteer to go through the initial software testing. I will make sure they are willing, and will not use any form of threat or blackmail to get them to agree either. You have my word on that. But..." She said, grinning a little. "When we go into combat testing for the Mobile Suit, you fight me... My mech verse yours. Deal?" She asked, holding out her hand.
"It'd not exactly be fair. My Tengu is an old model, even among Origin's standards... but if you insist, then I suppose we can pit them against one another."
"What happened to showing Yamatai that Mechs were viable, and should be fielded? If you win, then one of two things will happen. You will be glorified for piloting a Mech in such a fashion to beat a state of the art Mech in a one on one fight, or your win will be chalked up to the Vekimen not knowing what we are doing" She explained.
"The latter isn't exactly a goal for me. If I lose, I also have my machine utterly trashed."
The man took a lengthy drag, looking to the datapad for a few more moments. The machine would lack melee weaponry, which meant it would rely likely on claws naturally on the mecha... but if it kept at range then he had his Tengu's cannon. Not to mention, of course, the fact he had a Chain Straight to buzzsaw through that tail or even through one of the hands.
"Tch... yeah, fine. If you find someone else to test it, then I'll face it with my Tengu."
Zahen nodded. "Good. I'll try not to break your Mech in the process. If you want, I could try making some modifications too the design if I do. Dont worry though... You'll still have your nice, roomy cockpit" She stated, sitting down.
"Anyway, would you like to discuss weapon options?" She asked.
"For this thing or the duel?" He paused, taking a moment to look back to the datapad. The design would need low-profile weaponry to make full use of its more accurate body-frame.
"If it's for it overall... then I suggest wrist weaponry. Especially if your goal is to outpace or outmaneuver the foe. Mecha can fix weaponry and aim them more properly than fighters in some instances, so using that to your advantage would be wise."
"Alright. So we have placement" She said, more to herself as she took the pad and started scribbling on it. "What kind of weapons though? Rockets seem to... Cliche... But I am concerned bullets are too primitive and take up too much space. I played with the idea of magnetic rails, but that takes power to be effective. I'm already setting up for the Claws and Talons of the device be fitted with emmitters to assist with cutting should it be needed. Hyper dense metal alloys will be used for those to help tear away tougher armours. Will also help with digging should it ever need to be done" She said, holding a pen and tapping her muzzle.
Watching from his place on the ground, the man grumbled at the idea of bullets being too primitive. Kinetic weaponry had its place and always would. Instead, however, he very quickly came to an alternative.
"Plasma. If they're meant to be up-close, then a plasma shotgun would be effective on light targets and possibly larger ones based on how much of it hits. Aside from that, then I recommend going for a large and bulky wrist-weapon. It might defeat the purpose, but kinetic weaponry has exceptional use in atmosphere and space alike..."
Zahen thought about it. "Well, that would involve storing ionizing gasses somewhere on the mech unless it was powered by a Fusion reactor. Those are big as well though. Unless we were to somehow make a very... very tiny reactor. Imagine that... A Sun that could fit in your pocket" She laughed to herself. "Would be quite the feat for my kind. Heating the gasses wouldn't be an issue though. The Powerplant for this machine is going to generate a lot of heat regardless. Utilizing it as a weapon would be nothing more than efficiency" She thought to herself, before doodling what looking to be an accessory.
"Of course, that doesn't mean we could just make a device that could be put on the machine and taken off with ease. Something discardable. Tell me Ronin, what would a 30mm round do to your mech?" She asked.
"It would depend on where and how it hits. In most situations, I imagine the Tengu could take that sort of shot using its shielding or armoring."
"Hmm... What is the smalest round I could utilize to be enough to damage a standard mech? Not instantly of course. I don't expect this device to be a mech super weapon, but I am thinking akin to a pistol in power against your standard person" She asked.
"Well, if you want to go after it and its shielding... a lot of those at once could force a mecha or machine to back off. Origin fields some automatic weaponry around the 30mm... but if you want to punch through that shielding or stagger it outright? Fifty. Anything near there should be knocking something like the Tengu around and dealing significant damage. So a pistol might be fitting around the original range... depending on how large your idea of a sidearm generally is."
"Well we tend to use the same rounds in our pistols as we do in our carbines. Coupled with added box magazines. Our rounds are all rather large... I'm fairly confident we could operate with 50mm rounds. Or 40mm. That is good enough." She sighed, tapping her muzzle.
Zahen stood out near the Mech owned by Alex, taking notes and consept pictures for her Mech design. Things were cluttered, people doing his and that in the area. The four gold bands wrapped around her horn being the only identifier. She had Anatomy diagrams for Vekimen, as well as consept designs she drew up for the Mech. She knew what she wanted, she just needed to get it built.
"Ayyy, it's the lizard- no wait, the Vekimen!"
A familiar but somewhat off-put voice would fill the air of the airfield, near where many of the various other forms of craft had been gathered. With his coat on and closed up, someone might actually have assumed Ronin was still part of Yamatai's Star Army. Of course, barring the fact he was smoking and carrying a rather large bottle of alcohol in his left hand. It was very clear, despite it being the middle of the day, that the mercenary had likely found some friendly drunks among the town population.
"Shushshush... no worries! I didn't forget your deal! I was going to drop by and pay Usobuso a visit, but saw you on the way to the Queen's Laveh!"
Zahen took a deep breath before turning around. Oh look, The puppet of glory greatest empi- I mean Ronin. I'm surprised you remember anything right now" She commented, having seen similar effects on Vekimen afer they had eaten too much processed sugar. "I hope you aren't breaking ay laws right now"
"Pft! Laws! This planet's only law is don't be a dick! I mean, I think I got one... but that doesn't count, right?"
While initially confident and certain, the man's words had slowed and become confused toward the end. For such a large bottle, it seemed that he could at least hold his liquor somewhat well if it was almost completely empty and he was still walking!
"I heard some annoyin' voice though! Like some fly or Neko buzzin' in my ear the whole way here!"
As if on cue, Rubi rounded the corner with a glare less of hate but more of plain dissapointment. While she hasn't been doing much since the battle, she'd rather not be chasing after drunkard pilots for not paying up at the bar. She let out a quick "Oi!" before lunging forward at Ronin, taser rattling in her hand.
"After the beer bust with Ace a few week ago, Arccos' told me to make sure you assholes we're paying up at the bars!" She ordered, jamming the contact points into the soft part of the large mans lower back. "So pay up!"
Seeing Ronin get tased on the spot was too much for the Lizard, dropping her datapad and falling to the floor in a fit of laughter. The Vekimen chittering squeal of humour filling the air as Rubi stood over the Convulsing Mech pilot. She clutched at her sides, rolling around in the dirt.
With one laughing at him, it was all a blur for the drunk. Face-down on the ground after the initial shock wore out, he rolled over as if nothing had happened. It seemed being drunk had allowed him to take the fall and pain exceptionally well.
"Gruhahiuhah~.... fuckin'... drink... prishhhhhhhhhhh~..."
Trying to pull himself up and to properly sit up, the man failed at it not once, not twice, but three times before finally being able to pull himself up and off his back to sit-up, only adding to the laughter of the alien. Finally up, however, he looked at Rubi through blurry eyes for a moment before the glassy gaze looked away and he chuckled.
"Pft~... shorty got me. I has to admit... didn't see you coming! Must be slippin' in my age! Or... or maybe it's the alc-... aky... alcwho... alcohol?"
Rubi didn't seem laugh or smile for that matter. She knelt and took the bottle of alcohol out of his hand with some force.
"You won't be needing this for another day or two... Or at least when start learning that you need to pay the bartenders even after you invade the place."
Just as Rubi said that, the Bartender caught up, huffing and heaving as he tried to catch his breath. "Rubi... He... Paid..." He gasped, the elder man not used to such physical exertion.
"Ru... ruuuuu... booby? Her name is Booby?" His laughter cut loudly, even as she had pried his bottle free and almost immediately forgot that he'd just been hit with a tazer and laughed at by the Vekimen who had wanted his expertise with mecha to help make new ones.
Zahen finally managed to compose herself enough to get off the ground, pickig up her datapad and rubbing at her eye. "Oh by the earth that protects... You are my new favorite person. What I would pay to have that immortalized in video so I could watch it again and again" She huffed, still chuckling.
Rubi look over at the bartender with certian amount of disgust before tossing the bottle over to him and waving him off. "He doesn't need it. Now run along back to the bar while I handle some other issues.
With that she turned to the giant lizard thing and hestitated for a moment as she looked it over. Normally something with scales out here would mean free provider of cheap novelty boots and maybe a free meal but this wasn't exactly from here. Still, something had to be done with Ronin.
"I'm going to be temporarily postponing your meeting for a few moments." She said as she reached down to grab Ronin by the collar of his jacket before dragging him behind a corner.
"Feel free. Sober him up while you're at it too" The alien responded, huffing and puffing a bit. "My, I haven't laughed like that in ages. I need to get me one of those. Seems more fun than shooting trouble makers" She added, going to ask someone about the fastest way to sober someone up.
"Pshhhh~... where we goin', Booby?"
Being dragged along, the man cursed under his breath as he half-crawled, half-fell as they moved. It was quite the sight, of course, to see an ex-member of one of the finest militaries stumbling and eating dirt between the length he was dragged. As they finally rounded it, he pushed at her wrist rather pitifully but just enough to break free and fall over against the corner with a grumble.
"Booby, you're too bossy... I swear, Booby ish such'a dumb name..."
As Ronin fell back against the wall, Rubi knelt down next him.
"You really are a mess right now." She mumbled before grabbing him by the collar and slamming a fist against his face. "Don't fucking call me Booby again, you hear?" Her voice jumped up from a mumble to demand. "Especially not infront of town folks or whatever that thing was back there."
To his credit, Ronin in his drunken state took the punch like a champ. It was like the man's chin was an ID-SOL's abs with how hard it was and how well he'd endured the blow. Either way, that didn't stop it from leaving the start of what would likely be a bruise beneath his right eye. Cursing under his breath, however, it was clear the blow was all it took to drive the soldier into some sense of sobriety.
"I'll call you whatever I fuckin' want, Booby!"
Pushing her back with one hand, the other swung across and into her forearm with enough force to dislodge the hand holding his coat collar. Rushing up to his feet, it seemed Rubi's mistake was bringing him to a wall... which he immediately used to support himself as he got to his feet. It seemed that as long as he had the alcohol, he could somehow handle himself better... because without that bottle and a new drink, he seemingly was losing out to that drunken stupor!
This wasn't the first time she'd found herself in this postion. Being a bounty hunter for years found her being pushed over quite a bit, this wasn't much different. As she felt her grip on the collar break and herself toppling back, she shifted foot back to keep her balance as other hand reached back to grab the tazer. In on swift motion, she lunged back at the soldier, bringing the shocking tazer striaght into his stomache.
With the new touch from the taser, it was almost immediate what happened next. Only seconds after the clack of the electric tool went to work, Rubi was outright DRENCHED and soiled by... vomit. More accurately, by an absurd amount of the recently consumed beverage. And, of course, she got to bear witness once more to a spasming Ronin as he toppled to the ground properly.
Rubi stopped for a moment as she took a processed what the hell just happen. A mixture of emotions ran across from anger to horor to confusion. After a few a second, it seemed to settle on enraged as unslung the IAW from her back and with a roar, bringing the butt of the gun on to Ronin repeatidly.
After the first two or three hits, Rubi would feel a rather thick, scaly mass wrapp around her wrist, stopping her strikes dead in their tracks. "As fun as it is to watch, I think you should stop" The Vekimen commented, her voice a cool warning. The tailed tightened it's grip and it would feet rather uncomfortable, but that wasn't that part that would persuade the girl to stop fully.
The fact Zahen was slightly baring her teeth, and her mane was slightly expanded giving her a mildly wild look, coupled with the way she flexed her claws and talons likely would. "I like you, but I don't need him losing more braincells. The ones he has are lonely enough as it is" She simply stated.
The sudden apperance of Zahen put a halt to the beatdown Rubi was giving. Rubi looked at the alien flustered before standing up and uncoiling herself from the tail.
"Fine." She grunted, trying to calm down from everything. She turned her attention to the man on the gorund. "I fucking catch you do anything, you won't be lucky enough to have your friend bail you out." And with that, she turned on her heel and left.
"Pleasant speech, but he's uncosious..." She called out to the retreating girl. Once she was gone, she chuckled to herself.
"Spunky... I might ask her to help i the tests for my mech..." She said, turning to the unconsious man "Now then... What to do with you..."
Kneeling down, Zahen propped him up against a wall, and proceeded to ask one of the workers for something to sober the pilot up. She was given a bucket and loaf of bread, the worker more or less pushing it on her and telling her to go away, muttering something about a devil.
She looked at the bucket, then walked to a water spout. Ronin was warm blooded, so it made sense cold water would shock him. After filling it, she stepped over to Ronin, and dumped it on his head. "Wake up you moron, let's go" She ordered, crouching and lightly smacking his face. "I need you consious and sober"
After being struck for a good bit, the alcohol in his system at least seeming to save him from any terrible damage, the cold water was more than enough of a shock to finally snap him back to reality. His eyes opened and hazily looked around, a hand moving to where the strikes from Rubi had landed multiple times.
"Foooo... who... hit me?"
Groaning, for all but a moment, her slaps had been enough to stir him the rest of the way as his eyes opened and set on the Vekimen. Beyond that, though, he was far from mobile or ready to get up.
"Am... what happened?"
"Well, that girl you kept calling booby, whom I assume is named Rubi did, after you threw up on her... After she tazed you... Twice. It was quite the fiasco, and while hilarious at first, you can't afford to lose any more braincells" She explained, standing up. "Here, eat this. Apperently it will help you feel better" She stated, holding the bread for him to tak
Ronin took it, but was still far from getting up yet. Gnawing on the bread while his now soaked mohawk looked rather pitiful, the man groaned and rose to sit up. Munching noisily for a few moments to ensure he got a good chunk of the bread stowed away, he finally lowered it into his lap and leaned back against the wall behind him.
"Braincells... shut up. Just plenty 'nuff of them. I feel like I got hit by a truck or something, though. All she did was tase me?"
"Well, she did perform quite the display of police brutality on you with the butt of her rifle as well, but that was when I stepped in. I think I scared the poor girl a little. She seemed flustered byt the whole ordeal afterward" She said, sitting down across from him and propping herself up with her tail.
"Anyway, need a drink? You got most of the alcohol out of your system, but I feel you could use something to drink" She said, looking around. "Maybe something to improve your cognative functions a bit more"
Taking a lengthy moment to dwell on the situation, he finally grumbled and took another bite out of the bread. It had just occurred to him, in his foggy mind, that he had met a person named Rubi very briefly.
"Yeah," he stopped to finish off a few mouthfuls of bread, "Let's just... go get some water. No more day drinking for a bit. And uh... we can go ahead and talk about what the Vekimen will offer if I help your people with those mecha you want to make."
Zahen arched an eyebrow at the comment about what she would offer, before standing up and holding out a hand. "Why don't we take this one step at a time, shall we?" She asked. "I think it would be better if you had a drink first, and were a little more... Coherent if we are going to talk about this" She explained. "I'll help you over to the spout if you need the help"
"Right... one step at a time."
Getting up, he knew full well at this point that after getting beaten while drunk and then helped by a Vekimen at least meant he could trust them somewhat. Even if she was the type to try and use the pilot, he could feed them wrong information once he saw their true character. But as they got to their feet and began to start down that path, he fell right back and against the wall with a groan.
"One terrible... horribly small step at a time, please."
Zahen rolled her eyes. "Oh for the love of..." She said, kneeling down and grabbing the man. Keeping her back straight, she flexed her powerful legs and locked her arms, lifting the man off the ground. "I don't have time to literally see you crawl there" She said, leaving that as the only explination to her carrying him. She was shockingly strong, but that could be accredited to her rather thick lower body.
It took her barely a moment to get the man over to the water sout and prop him up against the wall there. "There, get your fill and try to wake yourself up, alright?" She asked, standing over him.
Once they'd arrived, he'd carefully move to try and drink as he could. It'd look goofy, but after getting carried he didn't exactly have the room to complain about goofy.
"Thanks..."
Seconds went by, then a minute, but by the time he finally had stopped drinking he at least seemed somewhat better off. The man had emptied out his stomach earlier, replacing the alcohol with bread and water fairly quick enough to solve one problem. As he finally righted himself, albeit shakily, the man finally turned to partially look back at Zahen.
"I meant what I said earlier, though... sober or drunk, it doesn't matter. You were right... I won't be able to make Yamatai learn anytime soon if I alone pilot mecha..."
Zahen nodded. "I hoped you would come to your senses, because I've already started my work" She said, handing Ronin her Datapad. On it, was what looked to be a giant, robotic Vekimen. "Making it for my kind, I figured it should have the appearance of my kind. Plus, it will have a larger range of motions, plus more agility than a base Mech without Thrusters. Plus, it doesn't need to carry swords or other such Melee weapons" She explained.
Looking at the dimentions of mech, as well as the sleek, natural silloutte of it, there was obviously no space for a cockpit. "I am working on Servo's and other such devices that will give a full, natural range on motions while remaining cheap to maufacture, plus an advanced sensor suit that will give the suit all the same senses a Vekime has" She added.
Ronin didn't even wait but a single second before taking the datapad and looking it over. It being in the design of their people was expected, but he had to admit the glaring flaw of no space for a pilot was... concerning.
"Where's the spot for the person to pilot this thing? You're not going to try some sort of... auto-piloted or AI-guided machine, are you?"
Zahen scoffed. "AI? Pilot this thing? Lord no. I may give them a basic Sentry program, but it is fully intended to be piloted by a actual pilot. Just the pilot doesn't do so from the machine. The hope is to temporarily transfer the consiousness of the pilot into the machine, making the machine the Pilots body. Remember how I pinched you? How I mentioned your Mechs cockpit was flawed? Well I took what I learned from that short flight, and sought out a way to fix that. Now, the pilot can fight, and if the machine is destroyed, the pilot can just be transfered to a new machine. If anything, the AI of the Mech would be progrmmed to assist in the defense of the Machine being activly piloted, so that the pilot can transfer to a new machine already in the fight instantaniously" She explained.
"Tch... trying to go the route of the Freespacers by putting people into machines..."
It wasn't exactly how the Freespacer Automata worked, of course, but the man was a bit disgusted by the idea of becoming one with the machine. It was clear that the Vekimen wanted to turn these things into a sort of prison for someone's mind and identity if they were only able to be transfered to a new machine. If the machine was destroyed, he also knew as a fact they would lose their pilots unless they had some multiple back-up theory that somehow compacted into this machine.
"This sort of technology has a lot of problems. How many places will store this consciousness? If it's only one and that place gets destroyed, you not only lose the machine but the pilot... and once that happens you'd just replace them? Even Nepleslia doesn't put their pilots in a situation where they have no way of coming back from a catastrophic event. If these pilots were to watch their comrades die, they'd simply be put into a new machine to either avenge them or live out a life knowing they failed. The short-term makes that mentality good... but what happens down the road when you have pilots who want to return to normal lives but can't?"
Zahen tilted her head. "You make this seem like it's a permanent transfer. The Pilot's body maintains it's role as the main back-up" She said, starting to draw into the dirt.
"Say this is a fleet of ships going into battle. This ship" She said, circling one of the simple diagrams "Is your carrier. This is where all the pilots are housed. They enter a Vat of perfluorocarbon, and their flesh and blood body is put into a Coma. Their brain is still active though, being sent to the Mech" She explained.
"Once the battle is over, if the Carrier isn't destroyed, then the Pilots are brought out of the Vats, and can go back to roaming around in their flesh and blood bodies. I believe this is how the Yamatai PA systems work, from the limited knowledge the Vekimen have based on one of our officers notes regarding Yamatai. Only the soldier with the PA is in the suit, where ours are not" She finished.
"And what happens if these systems somehow get jammed? You effectively lose the mecha... and what of the pilot? Are they still alright within these pods? The difference between this and Power Armor is that this is a much further distance potentially... the power armor generally contains the pilot and has a more or less direct connection to their machine."
"Run the system through several channels. A hard programmed AI to have the ship continue battle after a connection is lost, flash reboot, alternative transmitting types, and piloted ships that can find track Jamming hardware. As for the pilots, if they aren't pulled out of the Vat, then they are just left Comatose until they are removed. They may as well be sleeping. These mechs are not designed to be the primary force, and jamming is only ever used by fools or clever professionals. Jamming is not a perfect defence, and can only be used in very specific ways" She stated.
"Say I was running a connection through three Channels. All three Channels are sending information to the Mech, but only one channel is actually used at any given point. A Jammer makes the current signal useless, it switches to a new signal. The Jammer has to identify the new channel, then go to jam that channel. When it does, it switches to a new channel instantly. If it blocks all three channels, you won't lose full control unless the Jammer is three times more powerful than your transmitters. See how that works?" She asked.
"Assuming, of course, that you're fighting someone who doesn't have a ship specialized in electronic warfare."
Grumbling, he couldn't help but feel that removing the human element in such a way was a disaster waiting to happen, but this lizard continued saying she was certain of the technology. There was a reason that power armor hadn't worked in the manner they're employing and he could only imagine it was due to the glaring weakness that most modern fleets employ ships specialized in stopping signals of any kind from reaching out of a conflict, even attacking ships directly over the various spectrum and channels available for such a thing.
"I assume this thing is being designed for space combat, too... right?"
Zahen shrugged. "E-Warfare effects everyone. To jam every signal would jam their own sigals. But of course, counter E-Warfare is also a thing. There will always be a weakness, but there will always be a way around it. No defense is perfect, and neither is any offense. It's just who's better that decides a fight" She explained.
"As for space combat, Yes. There will be a variant built for space combat. This is just the basic design for combat inatmo. A prototype if you will. I expect it to be combat capabe so that I can test it out personally once all the pieces fall into place, and have my research teams working around the clock to develop the schematics which I get updated on" She continued.
Ronin rolled his eyes at the response that counter-warfare would be their response. If they were responding, it could already cost them the battle and become a clear focus of their enemies. Cutting these things out in space or even in hostile territory could mean they get converted into enemy machines. The idea of projecting them into the machine from afar meant that once someone tuned in, they might start seeing pirates and conversions made with the tech from various other mecha projects.
"Yeah, well... I just hope you reconsider a pilot. It seems foolish to put them on a carrier from afar. Putting them inside the machine and using the same tech would make it just like power armor. But it's up to you, I suppose. All I know is that this idea isn't the first time someone has tried to use the mind... but it is the first time someone was daring to project it outward in the potential ranges this will have."
"The freespacers would like to argue that. I got the idea from Arccos, who told me that they would have one person controlling hundreds of thousands of these mechs wirelessly. Then again, the tech could easily be put into the suit, but I won't take that risk immediately. I may need some of these destroyed with a pilot operating it if a Vekimen Pilot goes feral. Easier to cut the signal, than to destroy the dest pilot"
"The Freespacers are not exactly a good basis, considering some of them are absurd in the degrees of their technology's ability. Some are further behind Yamatai, but the number of those equal or passing it to make something like controlling tons of these things is far less."
Considering what his old nation had done to the Freespacers, he knew full well that their species was suffering.
"But it's ultimately up to you. The loss of a life to further a man-made craft is never a bad one. But if you insist on this path, then all the power to your people. I'm just here to make sure it works right..."
"The needless loss of life to test a machine is a failure with larger losses then I would appreciate having. Even for the sake of training this system would benefit. I won't have new trainee Vekimen killing each other by accident. Just breaking an easily replacable machine" She snapped. "I heard about Yamatai soldiers. Their ability to come back to life after dying. Vekimen don't have this. If someone dies because of my machine, there is no redo. There is only failure, and that is something I won't have" She stated coolly.
"Yeah... it's... not as simple as them just coming back to life. It involves bodies and a very intricate piece of tech. But you're not wrong. The loss of life can be tragic... but how do you plan to test something like a senses link without putting strain on someone's body? Do your people have the sort of technology to support one of your kind while their mind is controlling this?"
It was a simple thing, Ronin pulling free one of his cigarettes half expecting a quick reply, but the man began to more properly indicate points that could be reinforced.
"Quite simply," he paused just long enough to recover his lighter and flick it on to ignite the smoke, "You need to make sure your people can handle the trauma of removing their consciousness. Not only that, but ensure the calibration of these sensory aids. It has potential, this idea, but... it will not be possible to push ahead on this technology without sacrifices and costs."
Zahen nodded. "That's why I'm going to be the first" She reponded rather plainly. "I have my more base self in check, unlike most others of my kind. I can keep a rational point of view under extreme stress, and I don't plan to start anyone off on these mechs" She continued.
"Arccos said she would allow me to take over one of her droids. I already have the safety perameters in place, as well as the regiment I will have to go through to learn to control the droid and become accustome to whatever new feelings and emotions may stem from being in the body of a robot. I would never put my kind into a position I would not step into first" She finished.
With smoke rising from his deathstick, the mecha pilot was analyzing the datapad while she spoke. However, that didn't stop him from finally lowering it and grumbling as he lowered to sit on the ground. Part of his head was still swimming, it seemed.
"I admire that... but if you get killed or worse during this, then the project will definitely die and we'll have wasted our time and your life. We'd be better off conditioning someone else... or hell, maybe letting me do it. Even if the body is different, we can use partial sensory information. I'm used to that sort of reading from the Tengu... which means my body might respond more properly under the right conditions."
"Then I will make you a deal Ronin" She offered.
"A deal?"
"I will find a Volunteer to go through the initial software testing. I will make sure they are willing, and will not use any form of threat or blackmail to get them to agree either. You have my word on that. But..." She said, grinning a little. "When we go into combat testing for the Mobile Suit, you fight me... My mech verse yours. Deal?" She asked, holding out her hand.
"It'd not exactly be fair. My Tengu is an old model, even among Origin's standards... but if you insist, then I suppose we can pit them against one another."
"What happened to showing Yamatai that Mechs were viable, and should be fielded? If you win, then one of two things will happen. You will be glorified for piloting a Mech in such a fashion to beat a state of the art Mech in a one on one fight, or your win will be chalked up to the Vekimen not knowing what we are doing" She explained.
"The latter isn't exactly a goal for me. If I lose, I also have my machine utterly trashed."
The man took a lengthy drag, looking to the datapad for a few more moments. The machine would lack melee weaponry, which meant it would rely likely on claws naturally on the mecha... but if it kept at range then he had his Tengu's cannon. Not to mention, of course, the fact he had a Chain Straight to buzzsaw through that tail or even through one of the hands.
"Tch... yeah, fine. If you find someone else to test it, then I'll face it with my Tengu."
Zahen nodded. "Good. I'll try not to break your Mech in the process. If you want, I could try making some modifications too the design if I do. Dont worry though... You'll still have your nice, roomy cockpit" She stated, sitting down.
"Anyway, would you like to discuss weapon options?" She asked.
"For this thing or the duel?" He paused, taking a moment to look back to the datapad. The design would need low-profile weaponry to make full use of its more accurate body-frame.
"If it's for it overall... then I suggest wrist weaponry. Especially if your goal is to outpace or outmaneuver the foe. Mecha can fix weaponry and aim them more properly than fighters in some instances, so using that to your advantage would be wise."
"Alright. So we have placement" She said, more to herself as she took the pad and started scribbling on it. "What kind of weapons though? Rockets seem to... Cliche... But I am concerned bullets are too primitive and take up too much space. I played with the idea of magnetic rails, but that takes power to be effective. I'm already setting up for the Claws and Talons of the device be fitted with emmitters to assist with cutting should it be needed. Hyper dense metal alloys will be used for those to help tear away tougher armours. Will also help with digging should it ever need to be done" She said, holding a pen and tapping her muzzle.
Watching from his place on the ground, the man grumbled at the idea of bullets being too primitive. Kinetic weaponry had its place and always would. Instead, however, he very quickly came to an alternative.
"Plasma. If they're meant to be up-close, then a plasma shotgun would be effective on light targets and possibly larger ones based on how much of it hits. Aside from that, then I recommend going for a large and bulky wrist-weapon. It might defeat the purpose, but kinetic weaponry has exceptional use in atmosphere and space alike..."
Zahen thought about it. "Well, that would involve storing ionizing gasses somewhere on the mech unless it was powered by a Fusion reactor. Those are big as well though. Unless we were to somehow make a very... very tiny reactor. Imagine that... A Sun that could fit in your pocket" She laughed to herself. "Would be quite the feat for my kind. Heating the gasses wouldn't be an issue though. The Powerplant for this machine is going to generate a lot of heat regardless. Utilizing it as a weapon would be nothing more than efficiency" She thought to herself, before doodling what looking to be an accessory.
"Of course, that doesn't mean we could just make a device that could be put on the machine and taken off with ease. Something discardable. Tell me Ronin, what would a 30mm round do to your mech?" She asked.
"It would depend on where and how it hits. In most situations, I imagine the Tengu could take that sort of shot using its shielding or armoring."
"Hmm... What is the smalest round I could utilize to be enough to damage a standard mech? Not instantly of course. I don't expect this device to be a mech super weapon, but I am thinking akin to a pistol in power against your standard person" She asked.
"Well, if you want to go after it and its shielding... a lot of those at once could force a mecha or machine to back off. Origin fields some automatic weaponry around the 30mm... but if you want to punch through that shielding or stagger it outright? Fifty. Anything near there should be knocking something like the Tengu around and dealing significant damage. So a pistol might be fitting around the original range... depending on how large your idea of a sidearm generally is."
"Well we tend to use the same rounds in our pistols as we do in our carbines. Coupled with added box magazines. Our rounds are all rather large... I'm fairly confident we could operate with 50mm rounds. Or 40mm. That is good enough." She sighed, tapping her muzzle.
