M
Malefic
In the barracks, after the First Kuvexian Raid
Yinsar Kine strolled down the hallway, humming to a small device he cradled in his hands, flipping switches and turning various knobs on it's spherical surface. He occaisionally used the ragedy cloak draped across his shoulders to try and polish the machine in places where too many fingerprints had been laid.
Yin was on his way to a nearby garage - where he planned to stare at the various vehicles and machinery that was being maintained within. And so, Yin was in a rather pleasant mood, enjoying the clicking and clacking sounds that the device he fiddled with made while he manipulated it deftly. He turned a corner, and stumbled on the hem of his overly large cloak. He managed to catch himself before he fell, but his little device was not so lucky. It fell onto the floor, making a loud snapping noise as something within it broke, and skidded to a halt.
Yinsar froze in shock. Some small amount of panic rising within him.
Jay appeared down the hall, with a slight quizzical look on his face.
"And what would that have been?" He asked, motioning to the device on the floor.
Yin almost didn't even notice Jay standing there. Yinsar simply ignored Jay for now, dashing over towards the small mechanism and sitting down next to it - right in the middle of the hallway. Without hesitation, Yin drew a series of specialized tools from one of his raggedy cloak's pockets, and picked one of them up. In a few moments, the spherical chassis of the device split in two, revealing the insides.
The device contained a vast array of micro-sized gears, wires, and various other mechanical components. It was surprisingly complex, perhaps even unnecessarily so. While there had to have been a large amount of effort and skill involved in creating it, it seemed to have no decipherable purpose or function. Yin bit his cheek and squinted, trying to make out which part had been broken.
As a few others passed in the hallway, they gave Yin strange looks, forced to walk around him while he worked right in the hallway. Yin didn't seem to notice or care.
"Well, this is awkward. Guess now I know what it's like to talk to a wall." Jay remarked.
Yinsar absently mumbled while he poked and prodded at various mechanisms. "It's a M.F.! Damn, I made this so long ago, what did I...?" Yin was getting visibly more frustrated. Though it seemed that the device had no real importance, Yin seemed to be rather stressed over it.
"I have some equipment back at my bunk..." Jay said as he tapped the side of his head twice.
"Seems you got yourself a stress fracture in there. How long have you been messing with this thing?"
Yinsar glanced up sharply at Jay. "You know... of machines?" He was distracted a moment, interested to find that Jay was at least somewhat knowledgeable about intricate machinery.
"Erm... I've had Clikker for... um... a year or two, I think...?" He blinked a few times.
"You have equipment? What equipment? I don't have what I need on me." Yinsar stood, picking the device up with him, making sure to keep all the various parts within his palms, ready to move.
"To answer your questions; Yes, wow, and you're not the only mechanic here." He responded quickly, motioning for Yinsar to follow him to the barracks.
Yinsar nodded, twitched irritably, and then followed Jay. "...perhaps the only true mechanic..." he mumbled under his breath. Yin fussed over the Mind Flex device like a worried mother over a sick child all the way.
"Actually, screw it. I'm more of a techie than anything else." He said, without so much as glance towards the mechanic.
Yin paused for a small amount of time. Then, he began to quiz Jay out of curiosity, to see just how much Jay knew. Yin made sure to keep pace with him until they arrived at his bunk.
After easily answering the Mouse's questions, and having arrived in the barracks, he turned around and sat down on the edge of his bunk, pulling out a smooth, metallic case.
"So, where'd you come from?" He queried while he activated a retinal scanner on the front of the case.
Yinsar was quite impressed by Jay's knowledge, having approached him with apprehensive doubt. Now, Yin had a mild respect towards his colleague.
"What? Oh... uh..." Yin frowned and looked away, impatiently waiting for Jay. "I'm from... err... far away."
He paused for a small amount of time before deciding to place a small amount of trust in Jay.
"Nepleslia. The slums."
"Huh. Well, makes sense - you're prepared, savage in a fight. Reminds me of just about every person I encountered there."
The case beeped as it finished the scan, and there was a soft click as it unlocked. Jay opened it up, revealing several trays of various micro-construction tools, as well as a few standard tools.
Yinsar frowned more. "I...I don't consider myself to be... from Nepleslia. It's not a home for me. I will never return there, if I can avoid it." He stared at the floor for a small while, unsure of what to say next.
"Neither will I. No quality in their stuff, just raw materials and people to be exploited."
He grabbed a precision welder from the toolbox, and handed it to Yin.
"There's a stress fracture in..."
He squinted at the Mind Flex, then tapped his temple again.
"There we go. Titanium gear, 0.35 inch diameter. You know which one I'm talking about?"
Yin nodded curtly, bringing his attention back to the device. "I've memorized this device, but it's changed a bit over time. I think... I can find it."
He focused hard, locking out everything besides the components of the M.F. His eyes drifted fractionally over the small pieces until he located what was most likely where the fracture was.
"Do you have a microscope?"
Yin wielded the precision welder, preparing himself. He could do this blindly if he wished, but it'd be better to actually see what he was doing.
"So, which gangs were you involved with?" Jay asked, though he had a feeling he already knew who this was.
Yin stopped. He simply looked up at Jay, his expression blank.
"You..." He was bewildered and now wary of Jay. "None."
"Oh right. Of course you weren't. You killed a bunch of them a while back, didn't you Mouse?"
Jay looked at him with a slight smile.
"Thanks, by the way. Those guys were really starting to become a pain in the ass."
Yinsar turned away, and scratched the back of his neck, silent. It took effort to stop himself from chuckling. "I've... uh... no idea what you're talking about."
He got back to working on the fracture, welding carefully and blindly. He had a good estimation of what angle the fracture would be at, given the various other conditions involved in the break.
It took only a few moments, and then he was finished.
Jay sighed, and looked down.
"I guess I'll give it to you straight then. Born on Nepleslia. Raised by an arms dealer. Killed a few people on business. Got the hell out."
He looked back at Yin.
"Look, I hid my identity for a while when I first came here. Then I realized this could be my best chance at survival. Do yourself a favor, find someone to trust. Your past doesn't matter here."
Yin scratched the back of his neck again. "That's... that's not it. I just... don't want to remember it myself."
He frowned deeply. "It was... unpleasant." He shrugged. 'Well... it seems that you... uh... it seems that you know who I am. You're probably the one I trust most, as of now. It's difficult for me to... erm... trust others. Machines never lie, as people do."
"Which is why you find one.
Yin thought for a few moments. "Well then, I guess that'll have to be you. You already know, and... I can trust someone like you more than anyone else. You understand... understand machines, that is."
It took some effort for Yin to dismiss his nervous habit of pausing and stuttering.
"It's good to meet you, Jay Nagato. I'm certain we will get along well."
He smiled once more, and held out a hand, holding the M.F device out to Jay. "He is yours now. I've spent a few years trying to solve him, I think I'm around half way done. Probably."
Yinsar looked nervous. Nervous, but determined.
"Finally, someone that gets me." Jay said, relieved.
"So," Yinsar said, "what sort of projects are you thinking about?
Yinsar Kine strolled down the hallway, humming to a small device he cradled in his hands, flipping switches and turning various knobs on it's spherical surface. He occaisionally used the ragedy cloak draped across his shoulders to try and polish the machine in places where too many fingerprints had been laid.
Yin was on his way to a nearby garage - where he planned to stare at the various vehicles and machinery that was being maintained within. And so, Yin was in a rather pleasant mood, enjoying the clicking and clacking sounds that the device he fiddled with made while he manipulated it deftly. He turned a corner, and stumbled on the hem of his overly large cloak. He managed to catch himself before he fell, but his little device was not so lucky. It fell onto the floor, making a loud snapping noise as something within it broke, and skidded to a halt.
Yinsar froze in shock. Some small amount of panic rising within him.
Jay appeared down the hall, with a slight quizzical look on his face.
"And what would that have been?" He asked, motioning to the device on the floor.
Yin almost didn't even notice Jay standing there. Yinsar simply ignored Jay for now, dashing over towards the small mechanism and sitting down next to it - right in the middle of the hallway. Without hesitation, Yin drew a series of specialized tools from one of his raggedy cloak's pockets, and picked one of them up. In a few moments, the spherical chassis of the device split in two, revealing the insides.
The device contained a vast array of micro-sized gears, wires, and various other mechanical components. It was surprisingly complex, perhaps even unnecessarily so. While there had to have been a large amount of effort and skill involved in creating it, it seemed to have no decipherable purpose or function. Yin bit his cheek and squinted, trying to make out which part had been broken.
As a few others passed in the hallway, they gave Yin strange looks, forced to walk around him while he worked right in the hallway. Yin didn't seem to notice or care.
"Well, this is awkward. Guess now I know what it's like to talk to a wall." Jay remarked.
Yinsar absently mumbled while he poked and prodded at various mechanisms. "It's a M.F.! Damn, I made this so long ago, what did I...?" Yin was getting visibly more frustrated. Though it seemed that the device had no real importance, Yin seemed to be rather stressed over it.
"I have some equipment back at my bunk..." Jay said as he tapped the side of his head twice.
"Seems you got yourself a stress fracture in there. How long have you been messing with this thing?"
Yinsar glanced up sharply at Jay. "You know... of machines?" He was distracted a moment, interested to find that Jay was at least somewhat knowledgeable about intricate machinery.
"Erm... I've had Clikker for... um... a year or two, I think...?" He blinked a few times.
"You have equipment? What equipment? I don't have what I need on me." Yinsar stood, picking the device up with him, making sure to keep all the various parts within his palms, ready to move.
"To answer your questions; Yes, wow, and you're not the only mechanic here." He responded quickly, motioning for Yinsar to follow him to the barracks.
Yinsar nodded, twitched irritably, and then followed Jay. "...perhaps the only true mechanic..." he mumbled under his breath. Yin fussed over the Mind Flex device like a worried mother over a sick child all the way.
"Actually, screw it. I'm more of a techie than anything else." He said, without so much as glance towards the mechanic.
Yin paused for a small amount of time. Then, he began to quiz Jay out of curiosity, to see just how much Jay knew. Yin made sure to keep pace with him until they arrived at his bunk.
After easily answering the Mouse's questions, and having arrived in the barracks, he turned around and sat down on the edge of his bunk, pulling out a smooth, metallic case.
"So, where'd you come from?" He queried while he activated a retinal scanner on the front of the case.
Yinsar was quite impressed by Jay's knowledge, having approached him with apprehensive doubt. Now, Yin had a mild respect towards his colleague.
"What? Oh... uh..." Yin frowned and looked away, impatiently waiting for Jay. "I'm from... err... far away."
He paused for a small amount of time before deciding to place a small amount of trust in Jay.
"Nepleslia. The slums."
"Huh. Well, makes sense - you're prepared, savage in a fight. Reminds me of just about every person I encountered there."
The case beeped as it finished the scan, and there was a soft click as it unlocked. Jay opened it up, revealing several trays of various micro-construction tools, as well as a few standard tools.
Yinsar frowned more. "I...I don't consider myself to be... from Nepleslia. It's not a home for me. I will never return there, if I can avoid it." He stared at the floor for a small while, unsure of what to say next.
"Neither will I. No quality in their stuff, just raw materials and people to be exploited."
He grabbed a precision welder from the toolbox, and handed it to Yin.
"There's a stress fracture in..."
He squinted at the Mind Flex, then tapped his temple again.
"There we go. Titanium gear, 0.35 inch diameter. You know which one I'm talking about?"
Yin nodded curtly, bringing his attention back to the device. "I've memorized this device, but it's changed a bit over time. I think... I can find it."
He focused hard, locking out everything besides the components of the M.F. His eyes drifted fractionally over the small pieces until he located what was most likely where the fracture was.
"Do you have a microscope?"
Yin wielded the precision welder, preparing himself. He could do this blindly if he wished, but it'd be better to actually see what he was doing.
"So, which gangs were you involved with?" Jay asked, though he had a feeling he already knew who this was.
Yin stopped. He simply looked up at Jay, his expression blank.
"You..." He was bewildered and now wary of Jay. "None."
"Oh right. Of course you weren't. You killed a bunch of them a while back, didn't you Mouse?"
Jay looked at him with a slight smile.
"Thanks, by the way. Those guys were really starting to become a pain in the ass."
Yinsar turned away, and scratched the back of his neck, silent. It took effort to stop himself from chuckling. "I've... uh... no idea what you're talking about."
He got back to working on the fracture, welding carefully and blindly. He had a good estimation of what angle the fracture would be at, given the various other conditions involved in the break.
It took only a few moments, and then he was finished.
Jay sighed, and looked down.
"I guess I'll give it to you straight then. Born on Nepleslia. Raised by an arms dealer. Killed a few people on business. Got the hell out."
He looked back at Yin.
"Look, I hid my identity for a while when I first came here. Then I realized this could be my best chance at survival. Do yourself a favor, find someone to trust. Your past doesn't matter here."
Yin scratched the back of his neck again. "That's... that's not it. I just... don't want to remember it myself."
He frowned deeply. "It was... unpleasant." He shrugged. 'Well... it seems that you... uh... it seems that you know who I am. You're probably the one I trust most, as of now. It's difficult for me to... erm... trust others. Machines never lie, as people do."
"Which is why you find one.
Yin thought for a few moments. "Well then, I guess that'll have to be you. You already know, and... I can trust someone like you more than anyone else. You understand... understand machines, that is."
It took some effort for Yin to dismiss his nervous habit of pausing and stuttering.
"It's good to meet you, Jay Nagato. I'm certain we will get along well."
He smiled once more, and held out a hand, holding the M.F device out to Jay. "He is yours now. I've spent a few years trying to solve him, I think I'm around half way done. Probably."
Yinsar looked nervous. Nervous, but determined.
"Finally, someone that gets me." Jay said, relieved.
"So," Yinsar said, "what sort of projects are you thinking about?
