thebastion | Day 215

[It's easy enough to follow along, behind; the Meta may not move quickly enough to keep pace, but it's a bit hard to lose sight of a giant dragon.]

[He's still not certain what to expect, however, and so his posture is somewhat tensed, ready to spring to action if need be. The promise of ammunition, however, is more than enough to keep him civil for the moment.]

[Colin looks up as he hears Paar, and he smiles.]

Related to the explosions, I assume?

Still, it's been a while since anyone's actually wanted to be in my company.

[Colin sets down his tools and holsters his pistol before heading to the doors of the workshop.]

So who have we got here?

[He gives Meta a curious once-over.]

I was merely testing my own defenses. I thought it would be wise to do so after so long being here.

[Explosives are just how one does that. He gives a nod to his new companion.]

A warrior of some sort. I have not been able to learn a name as of yet.

[Meeting new people is still not his strong suit, judging by the low rattle in the back of his throat.]

[At the mention of names and pleasantries, the noise shifts to something slightly annoyed, though none the less bestial and incomprehensible. Communication has been the crux of many of his problems since reaching the Bastion, and he's grown a bit testy about it.]

[Instead of an answer, he merely motions with a hand, a sort of 'continue' gesture.]

[Colin gives Meta a more critical gaze as he detects the vocalization in his throat.]

Can't talk, huh? That's a problem that can be worked around. Nice armor, looks like it's got plenty of spots where a communication suite could be installed, if you're interested. If not, we can still work around this.

[His eye has also long since alerted him about the explosives present in the Brute Shot, and he gives the weapon a glance.]

Paar, you tested that on yourself? Don't do that again. It's a potent weapon, and with the right ammunition, it could likely dig right through your scales like they were butter.

Should I ever wish to test such things on myself again, I shall be certain to consult with you first, Wahliikjun.

[There's so many different kinds of weapons he hasn't tried on himself yet, after all. It'll likely come up again.]

Yet it is the subject of ammunition which we wished to discuss with you. From what I understand, he only has so much.

[The sheer casualness given to his non-response is more than enough to completely stymy the Meta, and if it weren’t for the visor obscuring his face, it would be more than apparent that he’s quite taken aback. No one has ever been so blunt about his condition, nor have they ever expressed such nonchalance about finding a way to compensate for it.

The last time it had been addressed, someone had put a highly unstable artificial intelligence program directly into his neural system, and that had worked out just swimmingly]

[His gaze flickers from Paarthurnax to Colin, and back again. Ammunition, yes, that was what he was here for, and that was the problem at hand. He gives a small grunt of agreement, because there’s only so much four rounds can do, and he’s eager to solve that particular problem.]

Mind if I take a look at the belt?

[Colin gives a nod to the ammo belt.]

I can scan it from here, but I'll be able to work better if I can have a round to work off of. From the looks of it... High explosive, major concussion, moderate fragmentation? It's definitely more than a standard grenade launcher, quite an impressive little beast.

Given the lack of panic, I'm guessing you were out by the dragonfield, near the river. Sound travels well out here, I've got a decent idea of what you've got there. Just gotta get down into the dirty details.

[The Meta has only just begun to discover the bizarre nature of Colin. He's not the least bit put off by conditions like this, nor does he feel any need to linger on it. If people want to bring it up, that's up to them.]

Once I get an idea of the exact nature of the weapon, I can probably give you some variety to your ammo if you want it. Incendiary is easy, as are chem rounds. I can probably even do MIRV if you've got the hang of indirect fire, but those will take longer and they're NOT easy to aim. And I can't make everything in bulk, but I can definitely give you probably ten rounds a week. More if I can automate the process and get the raw materials.

[He glances at Paar, and he grins.]

I'll gladly tell you more about various ammo loadouts in the future, if you're curious. Needless to say, big explosions are just one thing a beauty like this can do.

[Judging by the patient way Paarthurnax listens to all of this, it's obviously he's sat through this kind of ramble before. He gives a nod when he's finally addressed.]

I would find it enlightening as always.

[Though there’s a moment of suspicion, he eventually nods, reaching back to shrug the weapon off his back. It doesn’t take long to remove the belt, and he holds it out; worst case scenario, the blade of the brute shot should be able to suffice in the absence of the ammunition’s return. There’s only four rounds left, and even those are of subpar quality, having been scavenged from the remains of raided military complexes long before the Calamity brought him here.]

[Still, the compliment to the weapon brings a grin to his lips, and a low noise of amusement rumbles up from his chest. Were it possible, he would make a comment about the effect of four rounds versus a human body because that is something impressive, but he settles for an appreciative nod instead.]

[At the mention of other options for ammo, however, the pleased noise increases in volume, a low, raspy rattle that signals his approval. There had been no chances for anything flashy back in the day, but the idea of anything that increases his ability to completely annihilate whatever he wishes is more than enough to gain his approval. Learning how to use them would give him something to do as well, because the Bastion has been a bit slow for someone used to running around in live fire fights for a living.]

[Cocking his head back to Paarthurnax, he flashes another ‘okay’ sign before mimicking firing another shot. Talking about the effects of the ammo is all well and good, but the Meta still feels like practical application and hands on experience is more useful. Or maybe he’s just having fun shooting things. That could be it too.]

Edited 2014-08-07 14:16 (UTC)

[Colin takes the belt of ammo, and he grins warmly. He studies it for just a moment, holding it up to the light, before he starts to remove a segment of the belt containing one round with mechanical precision and efficiency.]

This will do. I'll need to keep it as a reference, if you don't mind. I can probably bang out two dummy rounds this afternoon to make sure I made them right, after which we can get into the live ammo and the exotic rounds.

[He holds the rest of the ammo back to the Meta, he knows how important weaponry and ammo is to a soldier or a warrior. Anyone back on his ship would give him the same hesitation when it came to handling limited ammo, and they know him back there.]

Paar's seen my Incendiary grenades in action, I imagine they won't be too much different with this thing, except bigger. Likewise, I wouldn't want to use chem rounds on an ally. They are NASTY pieces of work if you get 'em right. MIRV... Would be interesting, actually. Paar, have you ever had death rain down from above you? MIRVs are basically groups of explosives packed into one shot. Air burst one of those above someone's head and it's like nailing them with five grenades at once.

[He gives Meta a smile then, still handling the lone round while he talks.]

Basically, if you need something made? Come to me. If I've got the materials, I can build anything, and I like to keep busy.

Also, Paar, I'm going to need to talk to you a little later. Got a couple of issues I need to hash out with you, and I'm going to want to go back out to the observatory a little later.

Well, I have fought against my brother... But I do not believe it is quite the same as your MIRV.

[It's a joke, ha ha. Because his brother is the end of the world.]

I shall be available whenever you need me. Whne you are done talking with this one, perhaps.

[Ah yes, all good things come to those who wait, or something similar. He isn't a patient man, but there's little else to do in the Bastion, and the promise of things given is enough to tide him over. Not to mention the timespan is actually impressively short.]

[As almost an afterthought, he touches his fingers to his throat, tapping for a moment before motioning at Colin. He's willing to at least entertain the idea of obtaining a means of communication, but he needs to know more first.]

[Colin follows Meta's gesture, and he nods.]

I get you. One of my two specialties is computer programming, and in that vein, computer hacking. That means communications software is necessary knowledge for me as well. There are several different things I can make for you, depending on how complex that armor is. Everything from type-to-speak, to a HUD arrangement that can read your sight line and form sentences that way. ... It's easier than it sounds, but it takes a bit of training.

If you're open to it, and if your armor is capable of such a link, I can also set up a neural link with your armor to make thought-to-speech a possibility, but... That's not guaranteed depending on your tech level, and many people I know are against having technology interact with their brains.

It's safe, though. I've got one of my own.

[He turns slightly, then turns his head to expose the back of his neck. With a practiced motion, he removes a synthetic covering, revealing a small I/O port installed in his neck.]

I do probably nine-tenths of my computing by thought. I designed the port myself, so I know EXACTLY how to do it. I can't do invasive surgery to install something like this... but like I said, IF your armor has the capability to do it, I can rig something up.

[He smiles up at Paar, then, replacing the covering on his neck.]

Yeah, once we finish here, I'd appreciate it if you stuck around.

[Just a nod, and Paarthurnax settles down. Go ahead, kids, grampa will just lay here and rest his old bones while you talk about your newfangled yahoos and huddy doos and whatever the heck.]

[He shoots a glance over to Paarthurnax, studying the dragon for a long moment. There’s been no hostility thusfar, but the Meta is a soldier through and through and there’s trepidation with putting himself in any sort of defenseless position. Colin is an entirely different worry as well, because while the promises of ammunition and perhaps a means of communication is incredibly tempting, they also bring about suspicion.

It takes a minute or two before he acts, an irritated hiss escaping from behind his clenched teeth in order to cover his hesitation. Fingers push the back of his helmet a bit higher up his skull; removing it would be easier, but it’s been years since he’s willingly taken it off in the presence of any company. Instead, he runs the pads of his fingers down the spinal seal of his under armor, disengaging a few of the clasps and revealing the empty implantation port at the base of his neck.

Though there are no AI chips currently installed, despite his best efforts, it’s still connected to his armor, mainlining power to the small holo-projectors and speakers installed near the shoulder; there’s also been no tampering to the wiring fused to his spinal cord or the nodes connected inside his skull.

Though his glare is hidden by his visor, his impatient grunt is still audible.]

I'll study quick, then.

[The irritation does NOT escape Colin, and he does not have any illusions that Meta wants him to waste time on pleasantries. No, he's fairly certain that the Meta just wants him to finish what he needs to do and shut up so he can don the armor and get out of there.]

Paar, if it looks like I'm screwing with this guy's gear improperly in the next minute or two? Turn me into a greasy smear on the wall. He doesn't want me to mess around with it any more than necessary. I trust you can make that judgment call.

[He knows what his wife would want, and he's fairly certain that the Meta thinks along similar lines. He also knows that Paar can't make any kind of judgment beyond if it looks like he's hurting the guy, but it's an important offer to make just the same.]

[No, he's just going to move behind the Meta to study the implant port curiously, and scan the armor to get as much information as he needs to do the job.]

I know you don't want my hands anywhere near you. I'm not your tech, you don't know what I can do, and this is closer than you want anyone. But... if nothing else, I can assure you that I will do nothing beside providing you with the kind of service you need.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but your gear is yours, and I won't do anything besides what you want me to do.

Let us hope it does not quite come to such extremes.

[But Paar will keep an eye out on things just the same, although he's fairly confident that Colin won't need any intervention for something like this.]

[There’s still tension wound in his stance, his fingers tightening their grip along the edge of his helmet. It takes a tremendous amount of willpower, but he forces his hand away from the seal, making sure the clasps don’t automatically relock. It’s a very vulnerable feeling, he spends most of his time both waking and asleep in armor, and to willingly allow anyone access to any part of it provokes a feeling of incredible intrusion. Still, he takes a knee, letting his head drop forward to expose the port more freely.

The consequences do not outweigh the benefits, even as much as he’d like to think they do. The Calamity took his partner, his medic, and any hope of finding the proper artificial intelligence programs to help mitigate any damage done to his supplies, and though it is with reluctance, he lowers his hand, tapping at the various cobbled-on units littered across the torso piece.

Power unit (still sparking every time it’s activated), shields, temporal distortion, cloaking, strength- each one is messily rigged to the implantation port alongside the projectors and speakers. The craftsmanship is functional at best, the pieces all made for other suits but haphazardly mashed into his own, but it makes it difficult to differentiate between what wiring goes where.]

Ah, battlefield mods... A constant source of engineering pride and shame.

[If only he actually knew the stories behind their acquisition, he might be a little less charitable. But still...]

Just give me another minute or so, and I'll have this mapped. Then, coming up with a program for language will be easy. The speakers, the neural link, all of it seems functional and useable.

You could stand to have some maintenance done on this suit to have it a little less hodge-podge, but... Yeah, I can work with this.

[He's also cheating a bit, probing with long range communication with the suit. Once he's got the languages, both the native spoken languages and the programming languages, the rest will be a breeze to work with.]

[It's amazing technology for the tech level, really. But from the looks of it, it was designed to turn the tide of a war. Not all the surprising, really.]

Just a little more...

Okay, I've got what I need. I can DEFINITELY give you a thoughtspeech program with this. I've got a few shell programs already that should work with just some minor tweaking. Give me... eighteen hours to program and work out the bugs. Then I can have you speaking. We'll probably need to iron out the kinks once it's loaded, but that's easy compared to what comes first.

You can seal up again if you like, I'm done with the innards.

~~Got permission to post!~~

[There’s a grunt of agreement, because he’s well aware that his handiwork isn’t terribly good in any sense of the word. There’s no surprise to that, though; everything was obtained through less-than ideal means, and most of it shouldn’t even really work with his current loadout. It’s functional, yes, but without any AI interface installed, its effectiveness is terribly limited.]

[At the mention, he stands again, a bit of the previous tension bleeding out of his movements. Re-sealing his underarmor brings a sense of relief, and fitting his helmet back properly chases away any lingering concern; just being properly outfitted again after those few seconds is nearly cathartic.]

[A quick, cursory glance at his HUD indicates that nothing’s been tampered with, and so he instead glances back at Paarthurnax again, making a vague gesture of thanks. It’s been an interesting afternoon, and he’s grateful for the opportunity to finally replenish some of his supplies, not to mention the unexpected bonus of perhaps solving his communication problems. A similar nod is given to Colin, even if he’s still not certain how to feel about someone poking around in his effects.

It’s a waiting game now, though, and he acknowledges that there are other things to be done. With another gesture and a low rumble in his chest, he’ll make his way back and let the other two have their discussions.]

Stay well.

[He waits until Meta has fully left before shifting his gaze back to Colin.]

What is it you wish to speak with me about, then?

[Colin nods, and gives the Meta a parting wave.]

Take care, and come back tomorrow afternoon. I should be ready for you then.

[He too watches the Meta depart. It's only after he's gone that he finally turns his attention to Paarthurnax, and he smiles faintly.]

A couple things. My morale's taken something of a hit. Can't really avoid it, I know I'm off-putting to people. But still.

At the radio tower, after I reached for a flashbang, Nathan threatened to have me thrown out of the Bastion if I did it again. Imagine that, would you? Throwing someone out for not wanting to be exposed to a lethal disease, and being ready to use a non-lethal means to prevent it from happening.

It was meant to happen eventually. Even you only have so much energy to spare, my friend.

[The tale of the radio tower is listened to carefully, and Paarthurnax makes a low rumble in his throat.]

He is still young... Not used to the position of a leader or seeing things from other perspectives. The discovery was also stressful, I imagine. Such emotions can make fools out of even those who should know better.

What do you wish to do?

Nothing except what I've been doing. Try to keep this place up and running with some ounce of sanity and intellect.

SOMETHING will eventually get my personal life expectancy projections back up to a reasonable percentage.

[Colin shakes his head. Random statement? Maybe, maybe not, if Paar wants to ask, it's there. If not, Colin doesn't seem in any hurry to explain.]

Nathan's way too young, and he's not gotten enough lumps yet. But I'm not gonna go against him. He's got the right to think what he wants.

I am, however, going to undertake my next major project. Which is why I need to go back to the observatory. We need a fallback position. If this place had been contaminated... Too many people would have given up, had no place to go.

The observatory has shelter, water, functional buildings and tools... It's not got a monument, but for a backup, it's got everything we could ask for. I need to start preparing it for that possibility of retreating to it. We've too much of our operation centralized, and one of these days, it is going to bite us on the ass.

And hey, if I ever do get kicked out, I'll have someplace I can head to in order to keep right on living.

[There's that familiar Colin smirk.]

Day 215

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