Lords of Creation: In Character #2

[Lagren]

Westin, The Bird of Hermes, Teppelin

"Hmm. A good definition? As good as any. What it is is a practical definition. Rather cold, but very smart - reasonable, you might say. Very sane. Something to ponder though - what if the reason is simply 'just because', hmm?" The old man gave a dry chuckle, shaking his head.

"But enough philosophy. I came to hear wonders. And see wonders too, since one can hardly simply trust word-of-mouth, can they? I've seen many things so far. I might call some of them wonders, but not the sort that need my funding, hmm?" Westin rose from his seat, producing a sturdy cane from seemingly nowhere. He didn't need it of course, but it looked rather stylish.

"Hmm, yes. First thing I see is this fine ship. Very nice. Very... large. Destroyer-Class. Hmm, but with some oddities - no destroyers were ever built in our shipyards matching the exact specifications of this one. Checked myself. Very strange, very fishy. Where did you get one of Teppelin's destroyers, if not from us? That smacks of friends in high places - high enough to build it somewhere else, or high enough to make it seem like it was never built at all. Very nice - friends like that, speaks wonders for your credibility. Alternatively, speaks wonders for you ability to dupe people into supporting you. Both possible."

"Very much, very informative. You, even more informative. Very smart, very sane, very rational. Also, very ambitious - you do not convert a fishy destroyer to make soup and sandwiches. Unless the soup is amazing. Perhaps. But no, irrelevant. The real question is - how ambitious are you? You can be too ambitious, hmm, yes, but it is far too much more common to be not ambitious enough."

He turned to Cecile, giving her an appraising look, like an employer about to hire a mercenary. "And I see this. Very nice girl. Clever girl. Also, very pretty girl. That first one is pleasant, the second one excellent, the last one meaningless, if you'll beg my pardon. Clever thing, science. Always a trade-off. Meaningless things don't last long, certainly. Better to put something better in their place." The man looked back to Lloyd, nodding sagely.

"Consider that my request. Take this girl, and improve her to the best of your ability. Better. Best. Proof-of-concept. Also, proof-of-dedication. Leaving improvement undefined - by design. Want to see what you do. Bigger? Tougher? Broodmother? Warrior? All? Nothing at all is nothing done. More done is better, but not without purpose, hmm?"

"Wheels turning in your head, Dr. Lloyd? Show me what you can do. If what you can do is impressive, hmm, yes, then you shall have all the funds you could ask for and then some - and all the respectability Galia can give your fishy destroyer. Hardly mad, by your definition. Reasons, good reasons. You'd be mad not to."

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OOC: To everyone not replied to, I'm going to bed because it's late. Sorry. Will reply tomorrow. Battle scenes take time to write.

"What I can do?"
Lloyd is smiling, though it doesn't touch his eyes.
"What I have done, you mean. I sincerely doubt that a man who sought the records of this ship before setting foot on it didn't notice, though I have made every effort to maintain Cecile's outward appearance. If you really didn't notice, then I suppose I'll thank you for the compliment."
Lloyd turns to his assistant, still smiling that flat, cold smile. It softens somewhat, when he considers her; but then it's gone again, as if it never existed. Lloyd's tone is business.
"Cecile. Please show Dr. Westin."
The girl pauses.
"Can we trust him?"
"You can trust him with everything."
Cecile nods.
"Alright then, I'll give you the full rundown."
She steps over to the nearby flat-screen TV and touches a small patch of lighter-looking crysteel in one corner. Immediately, it brings up what looks like technical specifications for her body, complete with a graphic detailing where and what every mechanical or bioengineered part within her is.

"I am one-half of the Hermes program; The perfect Knightmare pilot. I don't get fatigued. I don't need to eat or sleep. I can withstand up to 20 gravities in acceleration - in any direction - without blacking out or experiencing any ill effects, without any other safeguards in place. My right eye and arm are mechanically based, but are seamlessly integrated with the rest of my body. The eye allows the miniaturized magical reactor and onboard computer in my chest to display data directly on my vision, while my right arm's carbon-steel 'bone' composition allows it to exert pressure and force far in excess of any normal Tiefling's - though this is merely a side-effect of its necessary replacement. Should my reactor be for some reason non-functional, these mechanical portions of my body may be run from ATP, allowing them to continue to function, though I will then require food and rest as a normal Tiefling does."

She takes a breath. Apparently that's still necessary.

"I can communicate with properly configured computer equipment either wirelessly or through simple skin contact, allowing me to control my Knightmare as if it were part of my body, even at a distance. I can regenerate any organic part of my body in under five minutes, surviving even if every one of my major organs is damaged, provided my "Core" of the reactor and computer remains intact and there is sufficient biomass nearby. This is, of course, without mentioning any of my more generalized upgrades such as improved reaction times or increased hardiness. Lloyd can give you a dossier on the rest of it if you desire a more in-detail overview."

She smiles.

"As for the other half, the machine I'm built to pilot... That's down in the lab. Do you have any more questions before we show you Bella?"

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Create Artifact: "Bella", Mortal Artifact. (3 AP)

Raise Hero: Cecile Ikari (Free from "Bella")
Cecile lost her right arm and eye to a Spiral Knight in the fall of Bastion 6.
Lloyd found her in a hospital and offered her a chance to be herself again as his test subject and assistant. She took it.

Her fighting spirit and capabilities are immense, and she believes wholeheartedly in Lloyd's cause. He trusts her and she trusts him.

Create Prestige Class: Neuro-Pilot (Free because I didn't create a Prestige Class back when I made the Special Bioengineering Corps, now the Hermes Program because that was hilariously inaccurate.)

3-3=0.
15 GP - 15 GP = 0 GP, +1 DR.
Ozoi is now DR 3! Huzzah! Now I can make another +3 Bane artifact and not lose AP from Impulsive for it!