E
Edto Xar'Sivaree
Osman City Outskirts, 188604
The clunking of steel could be heard as both young and old men from the planet's populace helped one of the outsiders more out of curiosity and intrigue than any sort of willingness. Unlike the others who had come from the stars, the one they were helping move a large weapon magazine for had some resemblance to their western-like society. Cigarette in the corner of his mouth and with a trio of men behind him with their hands up, Ronin was doing what he did best to the rather untouched mecha. The man was wearing a pair of glasses and running a powerful maintenance welder over one of the Tengu's ankles.
"Tch... damn minuscule debris," he said just loud enough to be heard over the hissing of flame and steel, "I must have been hit by some shit flying at sub-light to have nicked the Tengu without any sensors going off..."
An out of breath Vekimen female was behind, having been going on a run around the settlement. "Any speed under the speed of light it sub-light speed. It means less than light speed" She commented, standing up and looking at the Mech. "I take it this is yours?" She asked, looking to the man with the smoke hanging from his mouth.
"Just because it's a classification doesn't remove the truth behind it the statement."
Though he kept working at the mecha for the slightest of moments, the man allowed the heat and the flame to simmer and shorten until he released the ignition key and it flickered out entirely. He'd look her way, not yet raising the glasses, with his mohawk and a quick vent of the death stick's product through his nostrils.
"It is mine, though... you're one of those new lizards that joined up with Yamatai. Part of the bunch we hired, I'm guessing?"
The Lizard crossed her arms over her generous chest and nodded. "Yes, I am on of those Vekimen that was hired, but we are merely under Yamatai protection right now as we restore ourselves. I'm going off the idea that there will be a large discussion regarding if we join Yamatai formally in the future" She commented.
She looked more or less like the other Vekimen. White black and grey scales, mane of spines, and teeth. However, more individual features were interesting. She was short, a solid 5 feet tall with a large chest, and a moderate waist which smoothly curved out into her hips and legs. She looked well kept, strong, and nothing like her gangly brother Uram which had been doing most of the back and forth with the surface.
"More specifically, I am Zahen Lak'Sivaro. You may know my brother Uram" She commented, looking over the Tengu. "It seems a bit large, but I take it the humanoid appearance allows for better optimization in combat? Similar to the benefits of Power Armour?" She asked, tapping one of her claws against the armour plating.
"I know a lot of people... but I've not learned much of you Vekimen beyond first glances. I've been working on this machine, Zahen. As for the benefits... you could say that. You'd be one of the few to see the potential a machine like this has in military efforts."
Turning his attention fully away, the human would remove the glasses and stash them by one of the arms of the sight-inhibiting lenses stuck between his tank-top and body. Unlike the native populace, he was certainly living up his own luxuries as a space-faring man with a mohawk dyed down the center.
"Don't fret over that comment about Yamatai. I hope you guys don't join them. I might have been born, raised, and fought within that country, but I left it for a reason. They're more likely to frown on a piece of technology because they think others are better beyond even investigating properly. This piece of junk isn't even at its best and I took out plenty of craft. Hell, the last time I flew it I took down an NMX gunship..."
Zahen nodded. "Well, of course, Mechs have a use. Larger size means there isn't as much complex machinery. Easier to manufacture, armour, arm, etc etc than power armour. I feel whether power armour is better or not depends on who makes the power armour. It's certainly cheaper to develop a good Mech than a Good set of Power Armour" She explained, scratching the surface a little and licking the claw.
"Hmm... Multi mix composition. I recognize the metals but I do not know the trade term for them. Not exactly the toughest you could get, but certainly no slouch in a gunfight I take it" She asked, looking at the human. "For that matter, you know my name, I don't know yours. I may be smart, but I cannot read minds."
Ronin raised a brow at the strange act of touching it and then licking her claw. Ultimately, he knew very little about this race of aliens besides having been the one to help promote Uso into seeking them out. The Vekimen had only been spoken of to him, after all, from the few friends he still had within Yamatai.
"You could say that," he paused, taking a moment to shoo off the rest of the crowd before turning to her, "But what it's made of isn't as important so long as it works. You can call me Ronin."
His eyes looked back and up to the Tengu, grumbling beneath his breath. A mecha wasn't so much easier in the aspect of comparing it to Power Armor, but it ultimately served a role that vehicles might have a harder time doing in clustered spaces. The human form was an agile and mobile one, allowing it to traverse terrain where hovercraft or aerial machinery was needed while having the ability to crouch or even crawl. It filled a niche as a sophisticated infantry support vehicle and an urban-combat dynamo compared to tanks that might be restricted to streets or be forced to roll through a building!
Zahen stared at the grumbling human and shook her head. "You know, mumbling is impolite. Especially when you are doing it incoherently. We Vekimen have good hearing, but it's useless if you're not actually speaking" She commented, looking the mech over. "But I guess you're right. So long as it works yeah?" She asked, walking over and jumping up to climb up it. Her vertical leap was easily two meters from ground to foot and she didn't even strain. "Care to show me around?" She asked, continuing to climb up to the cockpit of the metal man
Thankful he didn't leave the ignition boot-up for anyone save his own prints and input, the human began following the Vekimen up. If he had transferred into some artificial body, maybe he could have made his way up quickly. However, there was some pride in at least being fit enough to follow her all the way up to the opened cockpit.
She'd beat him there and see the mess for all of ten to twenty seconds, Ronin finally climbing up and swinging himself into the cockpit, moving to flop back and into his chair. Wrappers of food, emptied cans, whatever one could think of could be spotted littering various parts of the cockpit's flooring. As messy as it was, the box of ammunition beneath the chair made it clear it didn't stop the trained soldier from operating the machine. The clean consoles was almost a mockery, but ultimately ensured everything was easy to read in the early model of Origin's mecha.
"Not much to see in this beat up thing. The Tengu isn't even as glorious as the Garuda could be. It used to have two shoulder cannons, but I ended up selling one just to buy it. Can't be a mercenary only operating a rental..."
Zahen nodded slowly, looking around the cockpit. The computer was what she was interested in, and she had a talent for weapons, unlike her brother. "Excuse me" She stated calmly, stepping further into the cockpit. She would sit down in the chair, regardless if the human moved or not to get a good idea of the control surfaces. She looked at everything, then smiled toothily. "Turn it on for me? I'm already sorta getting an idea with this thing" She said, leaning forward a bit to grab the physical controls. She took a moment to think about what she was holding and then leaned back. "Uhm... This seems way to simple for everything that would have to go into operating a machine this complex. Where are the rest of the controls?" She asked, looking around.
With a Vekimen in his lap and trying to work his machine, it was far from an ideal situation. Female or not, Ronin was quite agitated in how she was leaning back.
"Firstly... out of my chair. There's room to stand just behind the chair, just don't knock into anything." He ordered, prompting the lizard to move.
Reaching out to acquire a nice grasp on the controls on either side of him, the man ensured his grip on the smoke was nice and secured in his lips before taking a firm grasp of both arm controls. Lights began to flicker as it recognized the man's mixed to both arms, many consoles powering on properly. A quick release on the right control allowed him to pull his harness into place, but ultimately both hands moved back as the Pawn AI chimed and began booting systems up. A single display projected before them, the cockpit starting to slide closed both above and below to at least secure the area. On the display was a blinking lock icon, requiring the voice of the pilot to unlock... but it was quite clear the mind interface likely had a part in the light security.
"Alright, let's get you up and moving Tengu... nice and slow."
Zahen watched the systems boot up. "This seems... Odd. You don't have enough interfaces to provide full body manipulation unless you use vocal commands, but in the fast pace of combat I don't believe humans have the vocal skills required to keep up. Micro controls in the yokes would be something, but even then that would not cater to a natural motion" She mused aloud, examining anything that was turned on. "Reports stated that Yamatai could control things with their brains, but those she witnessed it in were Neko's or Minkans, not humans as you call yourself. How do you get an optimal performance rating?" She asked, leaning over the shoulder of the command chair.
"Simple. The chair."
Tapping the object and its form-fitting design, he'd take little grace as the lock seemed to disengage after a brief moment of calculation. The display lit up with a nice view of the outskirts of the city and its almost rural-like setting. Sand and buildings and the gathered crowds as a hum from the machine's engines stirred. Power began spreading as checks indicated performance ratings were all optimal. It seemed his tune-ups had proven effective in restoring it to a full one-hundred percent.
"Might uh... want to hold on to something." Without any further warning, hopefully enough for her to grab hold, he'd give the slightest thought as the display and small space between the cockpit and the outside seemed to shift. Upward ever so slightly and the great and distant weight of its body shifting being felt in the smallest of vibrations within the cockpit.
"The chair?!" Zahen exclaimed, obviously feeling ripped off. "This whole system is so backwards! You use the chair for what? A bodily link? Does it detect motion or nerve pulses and make the Mech react accordingly? You aren't using any controls for the current flight maneuver you are performing! If you have a neural connection with it, why aren't you using that for the actual motions given you have the same body type, and using the surface control for flight controls! That way you could still use the device as a glorified plane should the neural connections be damaged!" She snapped, obviously upset with what she saw as flaws in the system.
She held onto the chair though, scanning the control surfaces, looking around at the optical systems. Her breath hitched a little as they rose further into the air, but she pushed it back. She wasn't going to succumb to her kinds weakness. "This would be a more efficient system with a total neural link. The cockpit could also be smaller. Operate as fast as the brain could, reduce lag as best we could through physical inputs as well. The only useful thing about this is it can double as a living space" She commented, coughing a little. "And what is that thing you are sucking on?" She added.
"A cigarette. As for a full neural link... believe it or not, but they've invented crap like that last I heard. Origin didn't get to push heavily into the field of machines like this, though, so this old junker gets the next best thing. As for the extra room... it helps when you're waiting out and can at least relax.
Gently working the machine's controls, the arms and shoulders of the Tengu lightly rolled. It wasn't a motion that was very useful beyond range experimentation, but it showed just how the mental link and translation of Ronin's piloting skills was in terms of accuracy. The man released the right control and reached up to grab his smoke, tossing it through the virtual display and through the gap between the cockpit's still-parted exit.
"Plus, it's comfy in here like this. It wasn't designed for two, but Origin understood that the working man and mercenary needs a bit of room to store some food and crud like that."
Zahen huffed out in frustration. "This isn't a long range device. You should be accompanying a ship. Other than survival rations, there are better options in a survival situation. Enforced Cryostasis. Reduce the torment of dying of potential suffocation or starvation by freezing the occupant until a rescue team appears based on an encrypted beacon. How is this not common knowledge?" She asked. "I could build a substantially better system with the right equipment" She added. "Make it so anyone could use any form of Mech, regardless of special counterpart. For the black's sake, I could make you operate a mech in the shape of a horse!" She explained.
Once again, he found himself understanding why he enjoyed other humans. At least they didn't get so carried away in perfecting or changing technology without thoroughly testing and seeing it beyond a few moments of watching.
"It's not about being long range or freezing yourself. A pilot at their most comfortable will perform better than one in a crammed suit with no sort of comfort to it. Piloting a horse-shaped mecha is also a dumb idea... why would I want to run around like a horse when I already want to take advantage of an enlarged humanoid form?"
Moving the controls ever so slightly, the mecha reached back and took hold of the sheathed Chain Straight, pulling the almost katana-like blade out and holding it in front of the mecha so that the weapon was visible from the display and ever so slightly from the gap leading out of the cockpit. The weapon had been re-chained after running one of the few he had brought, made from some of the more recent medals they had been able to acquire. He had spares of more standard quality, but the weapon wasn't about lasting.
"This sword, for example. I could have a single and cutting blade... but it's chained to allow a brief but powerful cut. Just the same as stashing food and rations allows me to wait in hiding for days while ambushing someone on a planet or with an oxygen tank for extended void encounters. A machine like this isn't one about overall effectiveness... it's one that fights in proper situations where it has the advantage over more mobile infantry and more heavily armed fighters and ground-craft."
"It was a metaphor..." She grumbled. He didn't get it. So she would make him understand.
She reached down and pinched his arm!
The pinch had taken all but a moment before his right hand released the control. The mecha didn't drop the blade, no doubt due to some sort of security setting, but the man did reach back and turn his body just slightly in the harness to aim a flick at her forehead in retaliation.
The alien flinched a little, but the hard scales on her forehead took a vast brunt of the force. "That right there. Your reaction. It was faster than any reaction you could make in this suit. It was a direct response with nothing between the input and output" She commented
"Minutely. It might not seem like much... but I'm a skillful pilot. I flew and operated things that had faster reaction times, so it's not terribly hard to just be more skillful and read my opponents."
Turning back to view the display with the slightest waggle of his hand, the man took the control and returned the blade to the Tengu's waist. With a push of a button on the right control, the machine seemed to return to a default stance. A quick doubling of the controls allowed him to reign it in somewhat and prepare the proper shutdown and lock sequence once more.
"Truth be told... I'm flying it exactly because the technology exists out there to make these things cutting edge and part of militaries within their own roles. Yamatai is full of people who scoff at it, but the NMX were one of the few nations to trouble it and they operated these things. I figure maybe piloting a junker like this and taking them on and succeeding? Building reputation in this clunker? That might just be enough to get Yamatai to take this sort of machine seriously and invest it into proper fighting roles."
Zahen smiled at Rohnin's comment. "Or... Instead of letting Yamatai beat us to the punch... What if we were to make an even better one? I have an entire research team of the brightest minds the Sivaro clan can offer and a... Practical Consultant so to speak" She said, clapping her hands on the man's shoulders. "Why not show Yamatai what they missed... Not what they are missing?" She asked curiously.
After a moment of her hands on his shoulders, she'd feel Ronin shrug them off. With the mecha powering down and the cockpit opening once more, the man rose to his feet and partially climbed out of the cockpit before looking back.
"Because I'm not the type to sit in an office or watching someone make a machine. I might not look it... but that jacket under my chair? That's from back when I fought for Yamatai. I don't wear it much here, but what you're saying is almost disrespecting the nation that saw to me. While I'm not a racist... I don't know what your kind is doing. I don't know much beyond the fact you're scaly. Why not ask Yamatai to let you have their old research on these sorts of things?"
Zahen frowned, and then scowled as Ronin spoke. "I don't know what you think I am implying, but you are wrong" She stated coolly. "You make it sound like I am telling you to attack Yamatai, I am telling you to beat them to the punch of making the greatest Mech to fly space. Your practical experience and physical knowledge of the construction, with my and my kinds knowledge of computer languages, biology, and neuroscience? Uso offered us a suit, this is one I would like to build. Compared to what I saw when the crew of the Heartbreaker stormed the Station and learning they were all holding back tremendously to not damage the station tells me that Yamatai would sooner improve what they have then make these" She stated coolly.
"You can sit here and claim glory greatest empire under the Yamatai Flag for your reasons to deny a simple request to help our research team get what we came here to get and are entitled to by your employer for even being here and stuffing those fabricators with dirt. If you were half as smart as you were skilled at piloting this machine, and your passion, even dreams regarding the advancement of this technology was worth so much to you, then you would want to be on the spearhead, blazing the trail your "Nation" refuses to even look at" She bit, climbing out of the cockpit herself. "Your choice matters little to me" She slipped in the end, jumping from the machine and landing at its feet.
With the Vekimen hopping down, Ronin could only watch for a few moments. Rather than hop down, he pulled free one of his smokes and carefully lit the death stick. A slight waggle of his lighter with the release of the gas was all it took to remove the flame and leave him standing there. It was food for thought, that was certainly true.
"Yeah, yeah... I'll consider it, but don't go thinking you're the first race of aliens who've come to me for help..."
The clunking of steel could be heard as both young and old men from the planet's populace helped one of the outsiders more out of curiosity and intrigue than any sort of willingness. Unlike the others who had come from the stars, the one they were helping move a large weapon magazine for had some resemblance to their western-like society. Cigarette in the corner of his mouth and with a trio of men behind him with their hands up, Ronin was doing what he did best to the rather untouched mecha. The man was wearing a pair of glasses and running a powerful maintenance welder over one of the Tengu's ankles.
"Tch... damn minuscule debris," he said just loud enough to be heard over the hissing of flame and steel, "I must have been hit by some shit flying at sub-light to have nicked the Tengu without any sensors going off..."
An out of breath Vekimen female was behind, having been going on a run around the settlement. "Any speed under the speed of light it sub-light speed. It means less than light speed" She commented, standing up and looking at the Mech. "I take it this is yours?" She asked, looking to the man with the smoke hanging from his mouth.
"Just because it's a classification doesn't remove the truth behind it the statement."
Though he kept working at the mecha for the slightest of moments, the man allowed the heat and the flame to simmer and shorten until he released the ignition key and it flickered out entirely. He'd look her way, not yet raising the glasses, with his mohawk and a quick vent of the death stick's product through his nostrils.
"It is mine, though... you're one of those new lizards that joined up with Yamatai. Part of the bunch we hired, I'm guessing?"
The Lizard crossed her arms over her generous chest and nodded. "Yes, I am on of those Vekimen that was hired, but we are merely under Yamatai protection right now as we restore ourselves. I'm going off the idea that there will be a large discussion regarding if we join Yamatai formally in the future" She commented.
She looked more or less like the other Vekimen. White black and grey scales, mane of spines, and teeth. However, more individual features were interesting. She was short, a solid 5 feet tall with a large chest, and a moderate waist which smoothly curved out into her hips and legs. She looked well kept, strong, and nothing like her gangly brother Uram which had been doing most of the back and forth with the surface.
"More specifically, I am Zahen Lak'Sivaro. You may know my brother Uram" She commented, looking over the Tengu. "It seems a bit large, but I take it the humanoid appearance allows for better optimization in combat? Similar to the benefits of Power Armour?" She asked, tapping one of her claws against the armour plating.
"I know a lot of people... but I've not learned much of you Vekimen beyond first glances. I've been working on this machine, Zahen. As for the benefits... you could say that. You'd be one of the few to see the potential a machine like this has in military efforts."
Turning his attention fully away, the human would remove the glasses and stash them by one of the arms of the sight-inhibiting lenses stuck between his tank-top and body. Unlike the native populace, he was certainly living up his own luxuries as a space-faring man with a mohawk dyed down the center.
"Don't fret over that comment about Yamatai. I hope you guys don't join them. I might have been born, raised, and fought within that country, but I left it for a reason. They're more likely to frown on a piece of technology because they think others are better beyond even investigating properly. This piece of junk isn't even at its best and I took out plenty of craft. Hell, the last time I flew it I took down an NMX gunship..."
Zahen nodded. "Well, of course, Mechs have a use. Larger size means there isn't as much complex machinery. Easier to manufacture, armour, arm, etc etc than power armour. I feel whether power armour is better or not depends on who makes the power armour. It's certainly cheaper to develop a good Mech than a Good set of Power Armour" She explained, scratching the surface a little and licking the claw.
"Hmm... Multi mix composition. I recognize the metals but I do not know the trade term for them. Not exactly the toughest you could get, but certainly no slouch in a gunfight I take it" She asked, looking at the human. "For that matter, you know my name, I don't know yours. I may be smart, but I cannot read minds."
Ronin raised a brow at the strange act of touching it and then licking her claw. Ultimately, he knew very little about this race of aliens besides having been the one to help promote Uso into seeking them out. The Vekimen had only been spoken of to him, after all, from the few friends he still had within Yamatai.
"You could say that," he paused, taking a moment to shoo off the rest of the crowd before turning to her, "But what it's made of isn't as important so long as it works. You can call me Ronin."
His eyes looked back and up to the Tengu, grumbling beneath his breath. A mecha wasn't so much easier in the aspect of comparing it to Power Armor, but it ultimately served a role that vehicles might have a harder time doing in clustered spaces. The human form was an agile and mobile one, allowing it to traverse terrain where hovercraft or aerial machinery was needed while having the ability to crouch or even crawl. It filled a niche as a sophisticated infantry support vehicle and an urban-combat dynamo compared to tanks that might be restricted to streets or be forced to roll through a building!
Zahen stared at the grumbling human and shook her head. "You know, mumbling is impolite. Especially when you are doing it incoherently. We Vekimen have good hearing, but it's useless if you're not actually speaking" She commented, looking the mech over. "But I guess you're right. So long as it works yeah?" She asked, walking over and jumping up to climb up it. Her vertical leap was easily two meters from ground to foot and she didn't even strain. "Care to show me around?" She asked, continuing to climb up to the cockpit of the metal man
Thankful he didn't leave the ignition boot-up for anyone save his own prints and input, the human began following the Vekimen up. If he had transferred into some artificial body, maybe he could have made his way up quickly. However, there was some pride in at least being fit enough to follow her all the way up to the opened cockpit.
She'd beat him there and see the mess for all of ten to twenty seconds, Ronin finally climbing up and swinging himself into the cockpit, moving to flop back and into his chair. Wrappers of food, emptied cans, whatever one could think of could be spotted littering various parts of the cockpit's flooring. As messy as it was, the box of ammunition beneath the chair made it clear it didn't stop the trained soldier from operating the machine. The clean consoles was almost a mockery, but ultimately ensured everything was easy to read in the early model of Origin's mecha.
"Not much to see in this beat up thing. The Tengu isn't even as glorious as the Garuda could be. It used to have two shoulder cannons, but I ended up selling one just to buy it. Can't be a mercenary only operating a rental..."
Zahen nodded slowly, looking around the cockpit. The computer was what she was interested in, and she had a talent for weapons, unlike her brother. "Excuse me" She stated calmly, stepping further into the cockpit. She would sit down in the chair, regardless if the human moved or not to get a good idea of the control surfaces. She looked at everything, then smiled toothily. "Turn it on for me? I'm already sorta getting an idea with this thing" She said, leaning forward a bit to grab the physical controls. She took a moment to think about what she was holding and then leaned back. "Uhm... This seems way to simple for everything that would have to go into operating a machine this complex. Where are the rest of the controls?" She asked, looking around.
With a Vekimen in his lap and trying to work his machine, it was far from an ideal situation. Female or not, Ronin was quite agitated in how she was leaning back.
"Firstly... out of my chair. There's room to stand just behind the chair, just don't knock into anything." He ordered, prompting the lizard to move.
Reaching out to acquire a nice grasp on the controls on either side of him, the man ensured his grip on the smoke was nice and secured in his lips before taking a firm grasp of both arm controls. Lights began to flicker as it recognized the man's mixed to both arms, many consoles powering on properly. A quick release on the right control allowed him to pull his harness into place, but ultimately both hands moved back as the Pawn AI chimed and began booting systems up. A single display projected before them, the cockpit starting to slide closed both above and below to at least secure the area. On the display was a blinking lock icon, requiring the voice of the pilot to unlock... but it was quite clear the mind interface likely had a part in the light security.
"Alright, let's get you up and moving Tengu... nice and slow."
Zahen watched the systems boot up. "This seems... Odd. You don't have enough interfaces to provide full body manipulation unless you use vocal commands, but in the fast pace of combat I don't believe humans have the vocal skills required to keep up. Micro controls in the yokes would be something, but even then that would not cater to a natural motion" She mused aloud, examining anything that was turned on. "Reports stated that Yamatai could control things with their brains, but those she witnessed it in were Neko's or Minkans, not humans as you call yourself. How do you get an optimal performance rating?" She asked, leaning over the shoulder of the command chair.
"Simple. The chair."
Tapping the object and its form-fitting design, he'd take little grace as the lock seemed to disengage after a brief moment of calculation. The display lit up with a nice view of the outskirts of the city and its almost rural-like setting. Sand and buildings and the gathered crowds as a hum from the machine's engines stirred. Power began spreading as checks indicated performance ratings were all optimal. It seemed his tune-ups had proven effective in restoring it to a full one-hundred percent.
"Might uh... want to hold on to something." Without any further warning, hopefully enough for her to grab hold, he'd give the slightest thought as the display and small space between the cockpit and the outside seemed to shift. Upward ever so slightly and the great and distant weight of its body shifting being felt in the smallest of vibrations within the cockpit.
"The chair?!" Zahen exclaimed, obviously feeling ripped off. "This whole system is so backwards! You use the chair for what? A bodily link? Does it detect motion or nerve pulses and make the Mech react accordingly? You aren't using any controls for the current flight maneuver you are performing! If you have a neural connection with it, why aren't you using that for the actual motions given you have the same body type, and using the surface control for flight controls! That way you could still use the device as a glorified plane should the neural connections be damaged!" She snapped, obviously upset with what she saw as flaws in the system.
She held onto the chair though, scanning the control surfaces, looking around at the optical systems. Her breath hitched a little as they rose further into the air, but she pushed it back. She wasn't going to succumb to her kinds weakness. "This would be a more efficient system with a total neural link. The cockpit could also be smaller. Operate as fast as the brain could, reduce lag as best we could through physical inputs as well. The only useful thing about this is it can double as a living space" She commented, coughing a little. "And what is that thing you are sucking on?" She added.
"A cigarette. As for a full neural link... believe it or not, but they've invented crap like that last I heard. Origin didn't get to push heavily into the field of machines like this, though, so this old junker gets the next best thing. As for the extra room... it helps when you're waiting out and can at least relax.
Gently working the machine's controls, the arms and shoulders of the Tengu lightly rolled. It wasn't a motion that was very useful beyond range experimentation, but it showed just how the mental link and translation of Ronin's piloting skills was in terms of accuracy. The man released the right control and reached up to grab his smoke, tossing it through the virtual display and through the gap between the cockpit's still-parted exit.
"Plus, it's comfy in here like this. It wasn't designed for two, but Origin understood that the working man and mercenary needs a bit of room to store some food and crud like that."
Zahen huffed out in frustration. "This isn't a long range device. You should be accompanying a ship. Other than survival rations, there are better options in a survival situation. Enforced Cryostasis. Reduce the torment of dying of potential suffocation or starvation by freezing the occupant until a rescue team appears based on an encrypted beacon. How is this not common knowledge?" She asked. "I could build a substantially better system with the right equipment" She added. "Make it so anyone could use any form of Mech, regardless of special counterpart. For the black's sake, I could make you operate a mech in the shape of a horse!" She explained.
Once again, he found himself understanding why he enjoyed other humans. At least they didn't get so carried away in perfecting or changing technology without thoroughly testing and seeing it beyond a few moments of watching.
"It's not about being long range or freezing yourself. A pilot at their most comfortable will perform better than one in a crammed suit with no sort of comfort to it. Piloting a horse-shaped mecha is also a dumb idea... why would I want to run around like a horse when I already want to take advantage of an enlarged humanoid form?"
Moving the controls ever so slightly, the mecha reached back and took hold of the sheathed Chain Straight, pulling the almost katana-like blade out and holding it in front of the mecha so that the weapon was visible from the display and ever so slightly from the gap leading out of the cockpit. The weapon had been re-chained after running one of the few he had brought, made from some of the more recent medals they had been able to acquire. He had spares of more standard quality, but the weapon wasn't about lasting.
"This sword, for example. I could have a single and cutting blade... but it's chained to allow a brief but powerful cut. Just the same as stashing food and rations allows me to wait in hiding for days while ambushing someone on a planet or with an oxygen tank for extended void encounters. A machine like this isn't one about overall effectiveness... it's one that fights in proper situations where it has the advantage over more mobile infantry and more heavily armed fighters and ground-craft."
"It was a metaphor..." She grumbled. He didn't get it. So she would make him understand.
She reached down and pinched his arm!
The pinch had taken all but a moment before his right hand released the control. The mecha didn't drop the blade, no doubt due to some sort of security setting, but the man did reach back and turn his body just slightly in the harness to aim a flick at her forehead in retaliation.
The alien flinched a little, but the hard scales on her forehead took a vast brunt of the force. "That right there. Your reaction. It was faster than any reaction you could make in this suit. It was a direct response with nothing between the input and output" She commented
"Minutely. It might not seem like much... but I'm a skillful pilot. I flew and operated things that had faster reaction times, so it's not terribly hard to just be more skillful and read my opponents."
Turning back to view the display with the slightest waggle of his hand, the man took the control and returned the blade to the Tengu's waist. With a push of a button on the right control, the machine seemed to return to a default stance. A quick doubling of the controls allowed him to reign it in somewhat and prepare the proper shutdown and lock sequence once more.
"Truth be told... I'm flying it exactly because the technology exists out there to make these things cutting edge and part of militaries within their own roles. Yamatai is full of people who scoff at it, but the NMX were one of the few nations to trouble it and they operated these things. I figure maybe piloting a junker like this and taking them on and succeeding? Building reputation in this clunker? That might just be enough to get Yamatai to take this sort of machine seriously and invest it into proper fighting roles."
Zahen smiled at Rohnin's comment. "Or... Instead of letting Yamatai beat us to the punch... What if we were to make an even better one? I have an entire research team of the brightest minds the Sivaro clan can offer and a... Practical Consultant so to speak" She said, clapping her hands on the man's shoulders. "Why not show Yamatai what they missed... Not what they are missing?" She asked curiously.
After a moment of her hands on his shoulders, she'd feel Ronin shrug them off. With the mecha powering down and the cockpit opening once more, the man rose to his feet and partially climbed out of the cockpit before looking back.
"Because I'm not the type to sit in an office or watching someone make a machine. I might not look it... but that jacket under my chair? That's from back when I fought for Yamatai. I don't wear it much here, but what you're saying is almost disrespecting the nation that saw to me. While I'm not a racist... I don't know what your kind is doing. I don't know much beyond the fact you're scaly. Why not ask Yamatai to let you have their old research on these sorts of things?"
Zahen frowned, and then scowled as Ronin spoke. "I don't know what you think I am implying, but you are wrong" She stated coolly. "You make it sound like I am telling you to attack Yamatai, I am telling you to beat them to the punch of making the greatest Mech to fly space. Your practical experience and physical knowledge of the construction, with my and my kinds knowledge of computer languages, biology, and neuroscience? Uso offered us a suit, this is one I would like to build. Compared to what I saw when the crew of the Heartbreaker stormed the Station and learning they were all holding back tremendously to not damage the station tells me that Yamatai would sooner improve what they have then make these" She stated coolly.
"You can sit here and claim glory greatest empire under the Yamatai Flag for your reasons to deny a simple request to help our research team get what we came here to get and are entitled to by your employer for even being here and stuffing those fabricators with dirt. If you were half as smart as you were skilled at piloting this machine, and your passion, even dreams regarding the advancement of this technology was worth so much to you, then you would want to be on the spearhead, blazing the trail your "Nation" refuses to even look at" She bit, climbing out of the cockpit herself. "Your choice matters little to me" She slipped in the end, jumping from the machine and landing at its feet.
With the Vekimen hopping down, Ronin could only watch for a few moments. Rather than hop down, he pulled free one of his smokes and carefully lit the death stick. A slight waggle of his lighter with the release of the gas was all it took to remove the flame and leave him standing there. It was food for thought, that was certainly true.
"Yeah, yeah... I'll consider it, but don't go thinking you're the first race of aliens who've come to me for help..."
