Through the Gate (jondude)

[porne]

The two of you ready to go after finally getting back in your uniform, you're joined by the others. Heading toward the area, you see several new containers outside, and a few empty trucks with lots of scrapped out shipping components. When you enter, you see a number of new pieces of equipment, the most striking being a very large container lined with what appear to be dragon teeth. You're curious, but recall that it's likely that they came from the large beast you managed to take out of the air a few days ago, which explains why they're so large. Large ingots of raw material, as well as smaller sheets and buckets of tiny balls and other shapes also litter the area.

A few new devices, almost like a tiny assembly line are present, as well as a few furnaces and ovens, as well as what's labeled as an injection mold machine. The speed to assemble all of this must have been frantic.

Investigating the central tables, something very similar to what you saw in Norika's lab/factory has been set up, what appears to be sand ready and waiting on a table. Norika heads over, inspecting things, and happy with the results. Looking around, you spot Mary taking a catnap on a desk chair in the office, several others with her. Even asleep, you can see the bags under her eyes.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Mary didn't have a color did she?

[jondude]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Yes actually, we decided to go with Teal on page 35

Crysta is quite surprised when she sees all the equipment and dragon teeth, though is quick to see there is a little more then just teeth in the shipping container as she spots a couple of crimson red scales piled over top each other like little plates. They vary in size, some being around the size of a quarter while others are as big as dinner plates. Most seem to be palm sized though. Likely though the size of dragon scales likely depended on where they were on the dragons hide, as well as the dragon's size in general. It would make sense if scales around joint's were smaller for better flexibility and those around its broad chest would be larger and thicker. Either way, neat stuff. "I hope all this stuff is to your satisfaction Norika? I hope it will do for now, till we can get you properly situated in your own building, well... our own building I guess.", Crysta says, quickly correcting her statement as the new building was going to be a sort of home for all of them as well as a workshop for Norika's projects.

Still as she looks around there is far more then just dragon bone and scale. There is all manner of material and machinery. So much so it was kind of a cluttered mess, even scattered across four vehicle bays, plus a fifth for the new Stryker. Still it would do for now, but it would be best to get this stuff moved as quick as possible to a more permanent home. The techs needed all the bays in their buildings to take care of all thousand plus vehicles in the base after all. Crysta could only hope them borrowing some for now wouldn't hamper their schedule to much. Crysta smirks a second later though when she realizes that she hasn't heard any complaints though really. They probably didn't mind too much with all the eye candy strutting around, which would've been a little annoying in the past but... they were using their space so... let them look she supposed.

Crysta and Trista quickly find Mary in her office though, sleeping away after no doubt slaving away all night to make sure all this stuff got here as quick as possible, along with a few GD techs and civilian contractors. It couldn't have been easy getting all this stuff on less then twenty four hours notice. The lot of them really needed the sleep probably, so Crysta and Trista leave and let them have another half hour at least before returning. They could get some real sleep after lunch. "Mary? Sorry to wake you but uh... its morning and we need to discuss some things? I promise you can go right to bed after we're done though.", Crysta says, gently shaking Mary's shoulder to wake her.

[porne]

Norika moves to inspect the modified container, numerous wires and cables running to the many teeth strapped to the outside. The mounting positions seem to fit a pattern and Norika inspects it before nodding. She moves around to the door, covered in more equipment and looks along the inside. It's got a dedicated generator and a bunch of other equipment. Whatever the chamber is for, Norika seems happy with it.

The catwoman moves on to the table with the bucket of powder on it. The components look like they're in good condition, and Norika begins to work on them, not waiting for permission. You can feel a bit of magical flux as the woman begins to work on it, nothing like what Larena can put out, but much stronger than anyone else you've met.

Mary snorts, a very undignified sound from her, but you restrain a laugh as pale blue green, blood shot eyes open to look at you, not comprehending. Larena gives a chuckle, before moving in and touching the young woman's head with a finger, an intense magical flux detectable. Mary's face contorts, and she blinks for a few moments before sitting up. "What the hell was that?" the woman stumbles out in slightly french accented english. Larena laughs, telling you that she futzed with Mary's tiredness, and she's good for another few hours without sleep. You could ask about what Norika is doing before you get started, or you can get started now.

[jondude]

Crysta struggles not to laugh as Mary snorts, the woman being quite cute actually as she slept away in her office. And as Crysta looked around it seemed Mary was quite a good leader as well as she allowed her subordinates to sleep in her office as well, quite kind of her. Showed she cared about the people around and under her; a good quality in a person. Crysta gets a second laugh to when Larena gives the teal eyed woman a burst of magic to wake her up, her eyes snapping open and instantly being aware as she wonders what the heck was going on as Crysta, Trista, Larena, and Amra all stand in front of her. It was almost as if she was raised from the dead! "That was... well, Larena. No other way to explain it really. She gave you enough juice to do some things with me, and then you and your staff can go crash in your real beds.", Crysta explains.

Mary blinks, looking a between everyone for a few seconds as her brain plays catch up for a second, but seems to take it readily enough, which was another good quality that Crysta liked. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go through the new Stryker's rear layout with you, so you can start installing all the stowage and seating and whatnot... as well as the, uh... milker.", Crysta says, blushing a bit at the last bit."

Tight after that though Trista is quick to lean over to Crysta's ear. "While you go that I'm going to go see what Norika's doing. See if I can't learn something.", She says. She gives Crysta a quick pat on the pack before turning around and going to Norika, though is careful to not just waltz right into whatever the dark skinned cat woman was doing. "So uh... what are you up too Norika?", Trista asks, not quite stepping into Norika's little clustered area yet. The magic in the air makes Trista's skin prickle, and she wonders whether or not Norika was making something for the new jacks or starting to make some blades for them, or even something else entirely.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

I used teal. I think that's cyan

I was thinking about breaking out the cad software, but I realized I've got it on my machine that is out of commission.

"Right, right. The back of the vehicle." Mary takes a few moments to gather her thoughts. "Alright, we've got a couple of slide in modules we can use, but since we were planning to make it a scout variant, we were planning to put a couple of cots back there, with a few benches. I don't know how many people you're expecting to bring, but we can fit in four cots if you plan to sleep inside, which I would recommend given the rumors of what's wondering around outside. Most of the fuel and batteries are going to be lining the hull, so you'll have an open back. All the equipment added though, you're not going to have enough room for all of the ammunition you brought last time, I think you should drop to just a few, 12.7 and 7.62 would be easiest for us." She shrugs, letting you know that it's up to you.

"Since we've added almost a meter in length, we've added some other equipment besides the required stuff, just some quality of living improvements like a small stove and microwave and fridge. The... special equipment you asked for is also mounted in this area. I do not know how much... storage you will need for it." The woman finishes, cricking her neck and blinking.

Norika takes a few moments to respond, very focused on what she's doing. "Is a... magic brain. Does magic I don't have to watch." Is the simple explanation that Norika comes up with, the intense mana field seeming to take effect. The powder begins to reform, becoming a slightly glowing orb of a faint greenish tinge. It's very odd, but knowing how many computers run just about everything, Trista easily understands why something like this would be first on the list. "It will run most things in shop, especially the ***********." At Trista's query as to the last word, Norika flicks an ear toward the box. "The box. It does the metal to other metal." She stumbles out. It seems the focus required is impeding her language skills.

[jondude]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Oh. So it is. Let's go back to teal though, easier to see.

Crysta laughed a little bit as Mary suggested carrying less ammo since there would be less carrying space what with the cots and all. Yes there might be less dedicated storage place for extra ammunition, but when did that ever stop a good soldier? "Don't you worry about that Mary. There may be less side storage dedicated for ammo, but bungee cords and determination are a wonderful thing. We'll stuff ammo it every little nook and cranny. You'll see.", Crysta says, giving Mary a gentle pat on the back. Already she could spot a few good spots to stash an extra few cases or two to make up for the lack of proper storage! Still Mary was likely right that they'd have less over all, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have lots to begin with. The bench seat was hollow after all, and would be loaded with tens of thousands of rounds easily... along with some rations of course, as well as a camp stove just in case.

Still the other additions seem great. Crysta walks up the ramp and goes in the back, and is really quite surprised how an extra meter in length really makes the vehicle seem almost twice as big. She quickly identifies the mini kitchenette, and knows that will be more then handy, as well as the places for cots to slide out and prop up even if their not installed yet. Seemed like it would be a fancy folding design though. Plus one person could sleep on the floor between the jump seats and bench, meaning there was plenty of space for all of them. That was awesome! Opposite of the kitchenette though is a relatively blank area, but Crysta could see the few clear plastic hoses and a couple electrical connections already in place for their future milker. "Um... well... about a... seventy liter tank would do. Depending on how long we wait it seems all of us not including Larena, seem to output anywhere from two to three liters per day since we're all so... endowed and all. That should keep as fine for a good week, and hopefully we can sell it along the way for some extra local cash. Seems like people don't really care where the milk comes from in this world so I'd like to use that for our advantage.", Crysta explains, a mild blush on her face.

Meanwhile Trista is doing her best to comprehend what Norika is doing, but it's clear what she's doing requires her utmost focus. "Hmm... okay then.", Trista says, taking Norika's answers for now. However she takes up a position at the edge of Norika temporary work space. She had already learned quite a bit about magic from talking to her, as well as a considerable bits from Larena and Amra. She tries to put her new knowledge to the test to see if she can't figure out or at least get an inkling of what dark skinned lover was up too using the vague initial answer she got as a baseline for her observations.

[porne]

Mary shrugs at the suggestion of you cramming ammo where ever it will fit. "Of course, you're not going to be able to store too much of the 105 outside. Considering that spitting flame is one of the things that the local wildlife is very good at, you should avoid keeping anything that explodes away from the outside. We've switched almost all of the ERA to NERA, we're planning to use a titanium or other springy material instead of rubber though, as we're rather hesitant on the meltable rubber front. It'll likely be titanium nickle since our catlike friend provided the means of converting aluminum and iron into them." She nods toward Norika, who is still busy.

Mary does dig out a small notebook, marking down what you tell her, of course, you're still trying to process the idea of elemental transmutation. Walking into the mock up, you're curious about why it's so disassembled right now, at your question, "We don't have the machinery to rush produce the components, so they're being shipped piecemeal, and we'll run them through the transmutation system and then mount everything to it. It's going to be weird knowing that everything is going to be titanium and such after this, we got so used to aluminum and steel. Still, with the switch back to a 105 from the 76 flack, we've switched it around to use the Israeli 105 gun launched missile system as well. The gun launched ones will obviously be faster, but there's a set of launches externally as well so you can carry different loads. I know you'll miss the extra power from the big missiles, but you'll need all the AA ammunition you can get it seems. The turret mounted to the rear is remote, but the remote system is slaved so that swinging the main turret around will force it out of the way. The commander gun is the same way, but doesn't need the other system. Ammunition for it has an internal feed series, which is accessible from inside on both units. Otherwise, most of the changes are internal and are these components here." She begins to show you a water purification system and a dozen other little quality of life components that help in the field.

A few minutes is all that it takes for the highly refractive orb to form, although it begins to take on a slightly bluish tinge as Norika continues to work on it. Over time, Trista begins to detect slight mana fluctuations from the orb itself, rather than just Norika. After a few moments, Norika puts her hands down, trembling and cricking her neck. A few exercises to get the feeling back, and the catwoman picks up the sphere, heading toward a central podium and slipping the ball of softly glowing crystal into it. The lab immediately begins to softly pulse with mana as the orb sends out feelers. A screen next to the podium lights up, a touch screen interface apparent.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

I'm not stuffing the thing full of random weapons, I'm basing it on a BMP-3 and Merkava IV. I can't find a good shot/cross section of the mortar system on it though.

[jondude]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Oh thats fine, no worries. Still, just so I'm aware right now I just want to confirm all the weapons. 105mm main gun, 7.62 coaxial, Remote 50.cal on the main turret, 4 rocket TOW pod, GPMG on rear hatch cupola for Amra, and a small folding remote mortar turret behind main turret. Plus some smoke grenade launchers of course, but yeah. Thats pretty much it right?

"Oh but of course. All the main gun ammunition will be stored in the turret, with maybe a few extra shells for emergencies in the back. The only ammo I'll keep outside in the side bins of the turret is a few boxes of 7.62. If that cooks off because of dragon fire or a fire ball or something it should cause anything more then some superficial damage. In fact it will be a lot more deadly to anything around us then to us ourselves. And yeah, I don't think we have much to fear in the way of modern armor penetrators here. A titanium alloy would be fantastic, if expensive, but I guess we found a way around that expense eh? Besides it still has an active defense measure, though I still doubt I'd ever need to turn it on... makes me feel safe though.", Crysta says, referring to part of the Strykers sensor suite that tracked incoming projectiles and set off an small by highly concussive charge to stop said warheads in their tracks. Good against other similar enemies. Likely not so much against magic.

Crysta keeps looking around the back of the still incomplete vehicle, but makes sure to keep ample attention on Mary as she keeps explaining what was up with her new wheels. "Thats alright. Firepower is still overall increased just with the bigger shell size. Still I appreciate being able to use the main gun to shoot missiles. Will certainly help when it comes to taking out dragons.", Crysta concurs. As they talk further though Crysta soon finds herself getting more and more excited for this new long range patrol vehicle! All the nice little additions where just awesome, like the water purification system. They'd still bring water jerries of course, but now they would have a similarly sized tank for the water as they did for the milk right next to it, under one of the three jump seats. Not only that though, Mary quickly shows her the water can be run through a heat exchanger with the vehicles cooling system, so they could have hot water on demand. That was nice, but Crysta is just blown away when Mary takes her back out the back and reaches up on the side of the vehicle, flicking out a little metal extension and showing off a couple water knobs. It was a shower! Awesome! Her patrol vehicle was rapidly turning out to be just one badass RV it seemed like. Crysta wasn't complaining.

Of course though it doesn't quite just stop at nice things either. Crysta smiles appreciatively as Mary explains how the new titanium alloy armor they were going to use would have a huge impact on weight. The vehicle was still going to be a good two dozen tons, but at the end of the day they were looking at about anywhere from forty to thirty percent reduction in weight. That would mean better engine performance and response, increased speed, and increased fuel efficiency. "Damn! Getting access to cutting edge tech is awesome!", Crysta couldn't help but think. She predicted ten years from now military vehicles were going to be something in another league from what they had now. With all this potential access to materials previously just to rare to be feasible, protection in general was going to go up and speed was going to increase dramatically. She momentarily day dreamed about main battle tanks able to reach speeds of 150km an hour, if not more! "You and your team have really outdone yourselves Mary. Thank you!", Crysta says, flashing Mary a winning smile before heading back with her to see what Norika was doing.

Trista is quick to clue in that this machine set up must be a temporary device to do the supposed matter transmutation. And to just think this could all be done in massive large scale facilities on Earth in the future? Still, amazing as it was it was still a bit of a crude and inflexible device, capable (as far as she knew) of only changing certain materials to the desired material. With enough collaborative effort and time though she was sure Norika, with some help from modern engineers and scientists, could literally make a machine that one could pour sand and dirt into and get a brick of gold on the other end, or whatever else they wanted! Such was likely a fair bit away though. This would do just fine and dandy for now.

Still Trista is curious as to Norika's device, upgraded with a bit of modern flare and user interface. It was likely the most advanced part of this whole process, but she gets the inkling that the 'magic brain' Norika was installed in her machine was likely just a starting one. It would probably limit the options of what her thing could do, but guessed once Norika got more materials and free time she could upgrade her new core as it were, and give it more better and improved functionality. "So what now? Is that what directs magic to convert matter into a different element?", Trista asks now that Norika seems to be past the tense part of what she was doing.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

I was thinking of moving the mortar to the main turret. I'll come up with a sketch somewhere. Maybe I'll do something with CAD in a bit. We'll see. Also, there's only a mock up and the 'guts' present, the hull and armor and such are being rush fabricated with the new specs for transmutation. They'll be there later this week, but the swords should be done first as a test run. Same for the Lightning Jacks.

The transmutation is very useful, but it's not something you're going to get to print gold with. Dragons have a 'natural' ability to transmute, which is why they hoard certain materials like gold. Heavy elements like gold and lead are easy to convert to tungsten, which the dragons are thinly coated which provides them with some insane armor and heat resistance for the tech level. The process is time consuming though, and requires fairly stable energy supply, which is why it's not used locally to mass produce gold from lead. Also, Norika doesn't know more than the basics, and tungsten has a lot of uses in magic design as you can cast something in lead and then convert it. Dragon bones are accelerants, which is why the container is coated in them, the 'great' dragons much more so than the commons. The commons are mostly titanium and a pinch of tungsten but it takes years for them to make the transition, and lead and such are still toxic to them. They'll actually be referred to as 'metallic' or 'metalicized' dragons at some point and they're preferred by royals.

I haven't decided what other elemental conversions are going to be there, but this is pretty much all Norika knows as it's useful in making 'Jacks. Local metallurgy is far behind modern stuff, and there's some theoretical stuff that's well beyond her skill set. I'm thinking a questline will lead you to lithium transmutation or possibly carbon assembly. It's also outside of Larena's area of expertise which is going to hover around biological and basic mana manipulation techniques. The main reason I'm using Aluminum-> Titanium and Lead->Tungsten is that those elements are fantastic, but they're an absolute bastard to work with.

Also, I need to dig back through the pages. What did we decide on for the armor for NATO is going to be? I probably need to save all of those links on my drive.

Mary shrugs at your compliment, running a hand along her ear to move the raven hair out of the way. "Well, we've pretty much tapped out what we can do for now, until the dragon you knocked down grows new teeth. The one your brought back isn't very useful according to Norika. Still, it's going to be weird coming up with a new set of design principles with conversion factors." The woman looks at the container with an obvious hunger at the challenge though. "Still, this is a fantastic discovery, but Norika doesn't know many of the other elements. We managed to guess what 'mythril' and 'uru' were from physical descriptions, but we don't know what 'oricalcum' is, we're thinking it's some kind of silicate compound. Any info you can find would be very nice if you run across any other mages in the wild." she gives you a favored grin before turning back to the machinery and finishing the descriptions.

Norika cricks her fingers as the catwoman begins to peck at the touch screen, letting the softly glowing crystal light up. A few lights turn on on the cabinet, as well as a few of the other devices with numerous wires running back and forth. Norika calls up a picture of the inside of the container, at least that's what it looks like to Trista. Seeing a couple of items inside of it, she taps a button and the container begins to hum, a timer showing up after a while, counting down from one hour.

Norika doesn't stop, fiddling with the menu before another segment, smaller lumps of the same greenish sand begin reacting, condensing to spheres. Another time appears, this one much shorter at 15 minutes. "This material was incredibly pure, I must find how to do more of this." The catwoman mutters. Still, she seems very satisfied with the work so far, moving over to join the group again as Trista follows. Norika listens and thinks before answering. "Is a... Pee-Ell-Cee device. Does some magic, but still needs other systems to work. Runes are carved into teeth sections and other parts of system. Crystal does decisions, com-pu-ter does... math parts. 'Jacks will do same setup." Norika manages to contribute. Mary was distracted, still mooning over the device converting lead into tungsten, eyes wide as she watches the soft glow.

[jondude]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Well, I suppose since it's a full size turret with only one token seat in it for maintenance and emergency operation purposes we could put both on top of the turret. Might be a bit crowded in the top though. The remote fifty definitely has to be up there though, as thats a direct action weapon that needs to have full visibility. Having the turret in the way would not be handy for that. So if anything goes behind the turret it should definitely be the mortar turret. That said however, I just had an awesome vision for a scene in which Crysta or Trista use the mortar in a more direct way and bring the mortar to it's lowest setting and lift the bottom up to make it direct fire weapon. Maybe if the main gun runs out of ammo or something. Also what size we thinking about? 81mm? Probably a mix between airburst shells for ground targets and flak for dragons if needed? Or maybe just airburst with a proximity sensor or something. Also also, you didn't answer my actual question lol.

And yeah thats fine. I didn't actually think they'd be turning anything into gold right now or anything. It was just a general to say, as when it comes to talk of transmutation that is kind of like the ultimate wish. Turn whatever you want into whatever you want. Like dirt into gold! Is that super handy in reality? Not really, but it certainly sounds good. Anyway though, those quests sound fun!

And yeah, I'll dig around for the armor. It might have been in PMs though.

"Well, I'll try my best to get as many mages on our side as I can. As well as any mineral samples you might be interested in. I'll see if I can't buy some of this oricalcum somewhere. Maybe Italica. That was a pretty large castle town. Twenty thousand at least.", Crysta answers, falling in next to Trista as she watches the transmutation machine's activation sequence continue along. "Of course we should probably get her some chemistry books. Shes been kind of fascinated with our technology so she has been kind of focusing on improving her English and reading about how electricity and circuits work, as well as math and physics. Granted she might have some already. Smart as she is though she can only read so fast.", Crysta adds on, crossing her arms as she watched Norika's and Mary's machine start to work.

Trista meanwhile listens attentively as Norika speaks, nodding her head as the pieces start to come together. "I see... fascinating stuff. A true technological and magic hybrid device!", She says, clapping her hands together excitedly and her eyes twinkling. "And to think I would've laughed at such a silly prospect a few months ago!"

The collected ladies stare at the machine as it glows for a few moments longer before Crysta speaks up again. "Oh yes, speaking of the Jacks I believe they are ready? Assembled and functional I mean. We wanted us here for some tests? See how well the function, respond to orders, that kind of thing I assume?", Crysta asks Mary.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

My main concern with mounting the mortar in its own turret at the back of the hull is that you'd have a mortar assembly poking down through the bottom of the roof and swinging around. Maybe just have a bulge pointing down and the thing is external? The bulge would be rotators and spare ammo as it would load from the base in a revolver drum since it's an 'auto' mortar. I didn't have a size picked, but 81mm should be fine.

Mary starts when you mention the 'jacks. "Yes, we've got the basic components in, although you can expect a total hardware exchange before we send you out, as the new armor we've specked out with the transmuted tech isn't ready. It might get bumped back though, so the aluminum armor might be all you get for now." She says, it looks like transmutation time is going to be a major restrictor on what you get when. Moving over to one of the side chambers, set aside with a number of strange maintenance devices, Mary flips a couple of switches, then slaps a large green button. The two jacks begin to flash lights as they boot to fully operational status. You can see the numerous locations where armor and possibly weapons would mount on them.

The drones begin what looks like a systems check, a quick dance actuating each of their joints and looking around with their heads as if they were humans. They turn, looking at each of you in turn before settling on Mary and asking in a low pitched, computer generated voice 'Instructions.'

[jondude]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Yeah that all sounds well and good to me! And yeah, 81mm is a pretty common mortar shell size. Portable with lots of bang.

Also, I found all the stuff. Even that tank girl photo. The discussion was in the game and not PM. Starts right at the beginning of page 35. As for suited up armor, I believe I choose a sort of ghost recon future soldier get up, just with space for tits. And the original tank girl photo from your post for how they'd look in just their basic travel gear without all the extra armor.

"Thats fine. I understand that you'll need literal tons of this transmuted stuff for new Stryker, so I can understand why getting some for the new drone jacks might be back logged. Still, you'd think the US would just locally source what you need for now. I mean car companies need titanium for types of sensors after all. Surely they could have some to buy... if they're willing to sell it that is.", Crysta says, following Mary to a side room area where the new magic/tech robot drones are. She decides though that getting raw materials for R&D projects is not really her forte though, and assumes that Mary certainly has tried everything in her power to get everything she would need to finish their new toys.

Of course though when she sees the new and infinitely improved jacks come to life such thoughts on that are stopped, replaced with a bit of awe as the hybrid drones jitter in place, running a self diagnostic and testing actuators with small precise movements. It barely takes more then a couple seconds before they stand firm and tall, understandably looking to Mary for instructions as they talk in a deep robotic tone that gave Crysta goosebumps. They sounded badass! "Have you done any practical tests yet? I would like to see how good they can traverse terrain and navigate obstacles first.", Crysta asks Mary. Ideally they would be ready and equipped, and Crysta could do all the proving that needs to be done on an urban assault course or something, but they had to make due with what they had. There was certainly all sorts of things in the maintenance hanger for them to try and get around and climb over. A good place to start.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Some of those pictures don't seem to be working. I downloaded the three I've got picked out for you as best I could remember. I'll link them. http://www.igorstshirts.com/blog/concep ... o_s_05.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/or ... feb855.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NMdlQuPPrNQ/hqdefault.jpg

Also, might integrate an AI into the Maddog in a few upgrade cycles. Basing that on this bad boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkakt12kong

Mary counters your theories, "It's not the materials that is difficult, it's the manufacturing. Titanium is a bitch to machine, far more so that aluminum, and requires almost constant annealing or you risk fracturing it. Tungsten's just a bastard though since we can't really melt the stuff and it winds up being a cement if you don't melt it. Also, I've looked into the stuff locally, it's harder to buy than platinum. We're also not close to any of the local smelters, and most of what is around is iron based. Lead's easy to work with, but we're still getting fabrication systems set up. Most of what will coming down the pipe in a week or so is going to be locally made except for the high purity stuff like aluminum. The locals don't... have a great deal of consistency in their manufacturing." Mary continues. You're not a student of history, but you do recall that tolerances for materials is kind of a new thing if it doesn't melt at absurdly low temperatures.

As the 'jacks come to life and stand up, you're struck with how spindly and bony they look without any armor or weapon mounts. They're very flexible, but seem to hesitate when given instructions. You can actually see the big crystal near the middle of their chest through the exposed wiring, and numerous wires running toward a set of computer guts with fans running. Cameras swivel in sockets as well as the head itself. They seem to have trouble balancing, compensating for weight that isn't there. Mary begins to run them through a couple of preliminary checks as she looks for obvious signs of distress. Summoning them to an area, the engineer begins to bolt equipment onto their limbs mimicking the weight of the armor. "No, but give them a few minutes and they should be ready for an obstacle course."

At that point you hear a suspiciously oven like 'ding' from the container. A door opens as the crystals around it begin to dim. Norika enters and rolls a small cart out with a few swords and armor components on it. There's at least a dozen of each, but you spot several of them that have warped badly. Mary soon joins Norika, marking which units curled around themselves and trying to come up with a theory. A new tray full of very different equipment heads in, this one more like the 'jack armor stand ins. The timer shows up after a few moments, indicating something on the order of twelve hours. It must be mass dependent then.

[jondude]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

For sure! Seems pretty awesome to me! And don't worry about the TALOS picture. I prefer the Ghost Recon one anyway. On that note though, with the whole advanced armor system thing I could have Crysta and Trista control and move the Mad Dog(Mad Cat maybe?) via their helmets and a hardened tablet.

Crysta purses her lips a little at how wobbly the robots are unloaded, a little fearful that they might suffer from the same problem when perhaps slightly overloaded. "Does the computer/magic mind whatever thingy have any adjusting capability? I see it's a little unstable right now, so I'm worried any kind of battle damage or me hanging some gear on it for a bit might make the thing tip over. Surely it has some capability to determine it's own weight and react accordingly. Like... plus or minus a hundred 80 kilograms from its ideal weight zone?", Crysta asks, a little worried about that as they move to another area and a couple engineers begin to bolt on some stand in equipment pieces.

The ding from the machine likewise distracts her from the jacks being prepared though, and she follows Mary back to Norika's area where Trista and Amra were still, the elf just humming a tune to herself happily and giving friendly smiles and waves to all the techs and mechanics she made eye contact with. Crysta is delighted when a couple swords come out of the 'oven' as it were, though it was clear the hybrid tech still had quite a few bugs in it as some smaller armor pieces meant for the jacks seem to have not turned out so well. "Hmm, that doesn't bode well.", Crysta says.

"Don't worry about it Crysta.", Trista says to her purple haired friend, still paying attention to the theories being put out by Norika and Mary for the cause of the material warping during transmutation. "This is the very first attempt at hybrid magical technology for this particular function. Even though the machine is very powerful at what it does thanks to all the legendary dragon teeth, according to Norika, it's a first prototype. It is a crude concept machine more or less. Expect it to get lots of upgrades and redesigns in the coming weeks and months and years even. Efficiency, power consumption, conversion time, scale, and heck maybe even mana consumption will be improved by a ton by then. Guaranteed. This will seem like a water wheel next to a modern engine by that time I'm willing to bet. Though it will likely share many of the same parts. Legendary dragon teeth, for example."

"Hm. Well, let's hope so. This will be a huge advantage if your right.", Crysta says, leaning on some toolbox next to her as she watched. All she could really do is wait for the engineers to finish with the jacks and for Mary to run them through some paces so she could see what they could do.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

There's plenty of room for a full brain crystal.

Also, they're not totally unbalanced, they're simply underdamped because of the lack of weight on them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1E26NjCsjQ

Mary watches as they adjust. The Jacks seem to become more stable, but looks like the actuators were planned with a lot more weight in mind, and they seem to be over correcting moving back and forth over their target point until the weight slows them down. Once the weights are on, they begin slight jumping motions, almost entirely with the ankles but easily clearing a meter in height and distance. Considering the kind of output they're demonstrating, it would make some sense that it would take them a while to adjust to a tremendous drop in weight. Given that damage tends to inhibit motion, they're likely to be able to adapt to a reduction in output more easily.

On the warped pieces of equipment, Mary pulls out the sheet, cross referencing treatments of the material processes. "We ran extra so that we could test what does and doesn't work." She mentions, a little spaced out as the engineer skims the work sheet. "We need to be careful of residual stress it looks like, in addition to the contamination issues already mentioned. That means no cold rolled or forged material can go in unless it's been stress relieved or annealed, or we run the risk of getting spaghetti."

The sword blades come out, the tangs almost seeming to smoke a little as they're pressed into a machine, a loud 'kachuf' sounding, and a pressed resin handle being present on the withdrawl. Mary hands it to Norika, who nods in satisfaction, handing it over to Larena, who proceeds to juggle the blades before handing them to you and Trista. The both of you notice how heavy they seem at first, taking a little while to get used to. Even so, you seem to get used to it a lot faster than Trista, possibly a result of the milk you imbibed. The armor tiles are set aside and Mary waves another person over, having them mount all of it in a set of harnesses and plate carriers.

[jondude]

Crysta and Trista take the completed swords in hand, well, mostly completed swords anyway. There seemed to be a few grooved areas in the hilt where a gem might be able to be inserted or something, but other then that they are long and regal looking long swords with exceptional balance and weight. They certainly take a little getting used to when it comes to the weight, but after a few swings on both their parts they find themselves adjusting to the new weapons better with every swipe. Course though Crysta adapts a fair bit quicker, likely due to Larena's milk she drank last night, but also a fair bit in part to the fact she was generally more adept at melee combat then Trista was considering their trade backgrounds. "Wow! These are awesome Norika. Great work!", Crysta says, coming over and giving the sexy cat woman a kiss on the cheek for her efforts. "Definitely. thanks for these hun.", Trista says, likewise giving Norika a kiss on the opposite cheek.

Crysta is quick to turn to Mary though, as she had a large part in this too. "And once again thanks to you Mary. I'll spare you the kiss on the cheek if you don't want it though.", Crysta says in a flirty tone. She gets back to business though quickly enough. "I assume these are just regular blades right now though right? No enchantments yet?", Crysta asks Norika, looking forward to a sword that could cut down the Empire jacks despite the fact their were made of stone with crude Iron plates over top for added protection, should the need ever arise.

[porne]

Norika thanks you, giving you a return lick on the cheek before returning to fussing with all of the different machines. "Spell is built into blades, but need casting crystal to activate. Can energize self if want." Norika gives you in pig-den English, her[color] focus elsewhere as the young woman begins to supervise the machines. [color=blue]She seems nervous, but is much happier with the electronic controls, and you recall that her home burned down when no one was watching the equipment.

As you handle the armored sections of gear, you notice a few slots in them as well, a few battery packs on the back indicating that they're a bit more than simple armor. There's also a large 'keep clean' circle on the back. Recalling something, you look over at the seats, realizing that there's a matching unit on them as well. The thing more closely resembles a full length suit that slips over another one, clear interface components visible. Mary points to a box, which has something very similar to a tight body suit in it, but with obvious camouflage and NATO markings on it. It's a bit embarrassing how tight it looks, but you'd like to try it on. At that point, a phone rings, and Mary heads over to answer it, saying that your 'instructor' is here if you'd like to get some combat practice in.

[jondude]

Crysta and Trista both giggle when Norika gives them a lick in response to their kisses, the action amusing but giving both a light blush as the various workers around them stare for a moment, then quickly look anywhere else. Mary included. "Ah I see. Aren't you just a busy kitty then? I suppose we'll deal with those crystals sometime in the near future?", Crysta asks Norika. Trista however is more interested in the second part Norika mentioned. "Oh? So a casting crystal would make it active all the time, but we can use our, uh, own magic to power the blade?", Trista says, trying not to feel silly by saying her 'own magic'. But she did have magic after all! Amra had shown her as much on that fateful first night.

Crysta however, ever interested in new things, goes to the boxes containing fabricated pieces of new armor sets, containing both thick armored pieces and underwear. Clearly Mary had been going all out for them, as Crysta had not even really requested an upgrade in her personal armor or kit, but hey. As a soldier interested in doing her job, doing it well, and coming back alive and unharmed, she was not complaining. Any advantage she gained was one she'd happily take. She was trained in modern war after all, and she wasn't interested in fair fights with the enemy. She can't help but blush when she sees the ultra tight looking under suits though. They looked like they'd leave nothing to the imagination. She might have to scrounge up some extra little bits to go over it. That said though... she was looking forward to wearing it. No doubt sometime in the near future.

Of course though her observations are cut short when Mary informs her that their... uniquely suited combat instructor had arrived. "Okay! We'll head over and meet her right away then. Feel free to join us Larena and Amra. Or stay here. Your choice.", Crysta says. She momentarily debates bringing their new swords over to train with, but quickly decides against it for now. Best to use weapons provided by the instructor for now. Last things her or Trista needed to do was actually hurt anyone by accidentally activating their blades enchantments and cutting through the trainers weapons. With that decided though there was one last thing she needed to do. "Okay, Mary. Seriously. Get some proper sleep when Larena's wake up shot fades okay? We can get through with a proper demo of the hybrid drones tomorrow morning when their fully ready. That goes for all your staff too. You won't work as well without some good proper rest after all, and a office chair is hardly the best place to sleep."

That done, Crysta and Trista head out, taking Larena and Amra along if they were interested. They head to the base gym, the best place for some great one on one training, and with ample room for privacy. Especially in the officers section!

[porne]

"No, casting crystal does spell, you can do other things. Draws power from ba-te-ree." She corrects you. Trista, the ever curious, reaches out with her magic, and feels it lock into a rigid position with the sword, most likely whatever runes are molded directly into the blade. There's no power though, although a waiting bundle of...something is waiting at the pommel. Linking the two with magic would likely trigger whatever spell is in the blade, but recalling how wild magic can be, Trista decides not to do so right now.

"Take your gear with you! You need to practice moving in it and get me feed back on the stuff." Mary tells you, as the bags begin returning to her eyes. A sharp yawn cracks across the entire building, the spell beginning to wear off. With the new systems already up and running, it should be mostly automated now.

Heading to the gym, you have time to change into your super tight, stretchy gear, as well as slip the new armored unit over your heads and drop it down. There's even a set for Amra, although this is far more greenish and has a non standard camo scheme, with no specific markings. You can see that it was originally designed for men, but a puff in the chest plate shows that it's been modified for your... proportions. When you arrive, there's a black haired woman in full plate armor ready for you, a couple of training swords ready as well.

Instructor and blades

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[jondude]

In the relative privacy of the ladies locker room the two have time to change into their brand new duds, still patterned in the standard camo schemes of their respective countries, with Trista's being a light tan and green digital while Crysta's was a much darker forest green, brown, and black digital. When they start to get into their under suits however they almost think getting into such small things would be impossible, but thankfully the material in incredibly elastic. It does take some work to get their legs in initially and along with their feet, the girls giggling a bit when the suits even had little booties and everything, but eventually the rest slips on just fine. A zipper in the front completes the gear, and soon both are standing in front of some full length mirrors.

"Wow... it hugs... everything.", Crysta says, the suit literally hugging every part of her skin. It made latex seem like a loose sundress in comparison. There was nothing left to the imagination Crysta notes, fingers idly tracing around the very prominent outlines of her nipples. The nubs, not even hard, poked against the fabric clearly, and even her areola where visible. "If it weren't for the zipper, I would think this might have been painted on..."

"Shush, don't give them any ideas.", Trista says jokingly, turning around and look at her backside. Their asses pop right out in the suits, looking especially round and plush as the suit hugs each cheek and rides right down their cracks. Bending over a bit she even does a light twerk, making her cheeks bounce and show off the tight cameltoe the suit makes her sport. "Jesus... I kind of like it though."

"Right? I feel a little guilty saying it but... I feel super hot in this. Even though I actually feel pretty cool."

"You are super hot in that.", Trista replies bluntly, giving Crysta's ass a light smack.

"Pff. Down girl.", Crysta says jokingly, shooing Trista's hand away. "But yeah.... your pretty sexy too."

Trista laughs, blushing a bit at the compliment. "Aw! Thanks Crysta. Well, shall we put the rest of it on?"

"I dunno. Should we?", Crysta says back.

Thought immediately fill their mind of both of the traipsing about in the totally flaunting suits, which would practically be streaking without actually streaking. All the stairs they would get though, kind of a thrilling thought. Especially to Trista. They could probably get away with it way easier out beyond the base in the Empire though, where sex was a much more open thing and what not. They look to each other, blushing lightly, but quickly agree. "Nah.", they both say, and quickly start to done their new armor. It was just the actual armor plates with none of the fancy tech bits installed yet, but by the time they are done they look less like science fiction porn stars, and more like professional soldiers, though the swell in the chest area was still pretty obvious. In front of the mirror again, though both agree: Fully kitted up? They looked pretty bad ass. Nice.

A short bit later they walk into an empty gym area, the place clearly reserved. It's about the size of a standard high school gym, though with weights and work out machines on one side of the room, and open area taking up most of the middle. About half that space had mats, with various bits of martial arts gear such as punching bags along it's edge. Of course though their focus is on the raven haired woman wearing full plate mail. She's pretty, thats for darn certain they both mentally agree, and quickly surmise she must be legit in what she knows despite being from Earth. Her armor, though detailed, is quite beat up with a scratches and dents. She must be a medieval KO fighter or something wearing armor like that! "Hello there!", Crysta greets, coming forward and offering her hand. "I'm Lieutenant Crysta Azzata, and this is Sergeant Trista Reiling. Pleased to meet you.", she says, unable to help but feel a little silly with how drastically the instructor and her and Trista were dressed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Well, I had fun writing that first bit for sure. But now I want some kind of body painting thing to happen at some point.

Also did Amra tag along? You said she had her own armor but not whether she came along or not