[NEXUS] MagCave VI: What Is a Mag? A Miserable Little Pile of Circuits!

[happyturtle]

Front Door

Jyarl drops Magtok and shakes his head, ruefully conceding the point. "Okay, fine. Point taken. Mutually Assured Destruction, and all that. But whatever you did, a bunch of people who just wanted a drink after work are dead. And it's all for nothing. Yadda yadda, save the city - it didn't work did it? Enshadu is still alive, and he's got one of your clones - possibly still a live one. So what are you going to do now to keep your tech out of his hands? And how can we help?"

[Lord Magtok]

Front Door

Magtok rubs his neck, still a little sore from being grabbed like that. The sniper teleports away, because he's got better stuff to be doing now that Jyarl's stopped threatening his fellow clone.

"Far as I can tell, there's not a damn thing either of us can do for now, but feel free to prove me wrong. They're bouncing around all over the Nexus, clad in a telewarp-blocking field that they themselves can magically teleport themselves right through. Haven't plugged that thing back into my head yet, but only because other-me's found a way to be a pest and delay them from doing so. If they had the sense to plug and bounce at the same time, we already have lost, but since they don't, the best I could do is offer you a map of their jump points, and hope they're stupid enough to revisit one and walk into a trap."

[happyturtle]

Front Door

"So he's still alive. Which means the people in Trog's died for nothing." Jyarl sighs and passes his hand over his face. Almost as if he's taking this personally.

"Can other-you erase everything he knows from his head?"

[Lord Magtok]

Front Door

The cyborg paces away, shaking his head as he peers at his wrist.

"Yes. Not all of it, though, and not quickly enough that we can depend on that to-"

Magtok stops abruptly, turning around to glare daggers at Jyarl.

"**** you, okay? **** you. I didn't know they had a shield capable of stopping an entire satellite sneaking up on them from ****ing space. Nobody could've known that. If you want to kick me in the throat over the assassination attempt, over Riverside, AMEN, or over pretty much anything else I've done, be my guest. If you're going to keep chewing me out about something I couldn't have stopped, then just **** right off. At least Riv is dead, and Trog's has that auto-repair button. That's something."

Looks like guy in power armor isn't the only one who's been taking this whole situation a bit personally, though in an entirely different way.

[happyturtle]

Front Door

"Yeah? Well **** you too." Jyarl pulls out his phone and clicks through it for a moment, before pulling up a picture of Jefferies and Lottie and her entire ballet class: 8 girls and 1 boy in tutus, trying to post artfully and failing about as terribly as a group of kids who've been training for a few months can do. "See this little girl here? The redhead in the back?" Probably Magtok will make out that, yes, there is a redhead in the back, and that's about it. It's a group shot on a phone size screen. "That's Haley. She doesn't have a dad anymore."

Before Magtok can respond in any way, he goes on, "Let me tell you how it's going to be. You are not going to put anything else in orbit, now or ever. Space is closed to you."

[Lord Magtok]

Front Door

"Agreed," Magtok says, not looking Jyarl's way as he says so. I don't know what he's so worked up about, Haley's mom could always demand Magtok pay for a resurrection or something.

"There's a good chance I'm going to die in this storm anyways, and even if I don't, I'll probably still lose enough to make a thing like that impossible, so sure. No more outer space."

[happyturtle]

Front Door

"There may be other restrictions too. But that can wait until after this immediate crisis is dealt with. If Enshadu knocks you back too far, they'll be unnecessary, and we might have our hands full dealing with him if he turns his eye towards the city." Jyarl says. He sighs, wishing he had a cigarette. "Listen, Magtok. You should evacuate your wife and kids and a clone to GLoG or something. Don't throw it all away in some desperate last stand, alright?"

[Lord Magtok]

Front Door

"Won't work. Not for any period of time lasting more than a few days, I mean. GLoG is a defenseless campground with a unrepentant rapist, a reality-bender who's not too fond of me, and Reinholdt. All it would take is Renee wandering off for two minutes, and I don't have eyes in the back of my head anymore. What worked the last time this place was invaded won't do this time around. After the satellite incident, there's not a place I can send them that won't have either hostile natives or woefully lacking security, or both."

Magtok shakes his head.

"Once the attack hits, there'll be anti-teleport fields, and evacuation would be impossible. At the same time, though, if I evacuate anyone too early, I'm just making an obvious target out of them. Just giving Excelsior someone to take aim at, in the hopes I'll slip up and expend vital resources to save them that would've gone into the Cave defense.

Best thing to do, near as I can tell, is to build a hovertank, shove them all in it, and send it rocketing out a back door. Maybe a panic room designed to fly up to the surface when the rest of the place has self-destructed."

When, Magtok? Don't you mean 'if', and isn't it a little soon to be predicting the end of the world? You don't necessarily need to recycle the same battle strategy you used on Reinholdt, you know.

[happyturtle]

Front Door

Jyarl considers it, realizes Magtok is right, and nods. "Give Cassius my regards, and remind him that he can have his commission reactivated. See you, Godlark."

[Terumitsu]

[The Lime Room]

Well, one would certainly hope so given that Mainframe was the one who picked it out in the first place. Unless they were going through a phase where they wore things that they didn't like 'ironically' then things should be quite alright although what the other residents of the MagCave would think about having a hipster A.I. would likely be.. Well, varied to say the least.

Either way, it wouldn't be asked to stay any longer than it needed to if it had things that it decided it needed to attend to. Or it could possibly go introduce itself to Imp and see how the hellhound reacted to the decidedly nonhuman form.

[MagNet]

There would be a mild notice, likely ignored as usual, of a certain file being updated with new information. Hopefully this time it wasn't a crazy idea of replacing a dog's teeth with buzz-saws or something equally ludicrous. Those kinds of things did crop up from time to time but none of them appeared to be all that serious.. One would hope at least.

[Lord Magtok]

MagNet

This file is promptly examined. So long as it's not another wolf-bot or Man's Best Friend 2.0 or something, I mean. Magtok has had it with those awful canines. If he ever sees another one of NO's mangy, rabid demon-mutts again, it'll be too soon.

MagCave General

The intercom kicks in all across the base. That's not a thing that usually happens, given how many more efficient ways there are to communicate with various groups and individuals here.

"Now hear this! Before the week has ended, the MagCave will be invaded by enemy forces. This is not, I repeat, not a drill, nor is it a prank. They will have superior weapons, superior armor, and superior numbers. A successfully mounted defense is highly improbable, even moreso with noncombatants present, which is why evacuation is to begin now, before teleport-blocking fields and such nonsense are draped over us.

Noncombatant personnel, including but not limited to Riss, Renee, Linette, Kale, Warwick, and Linette are asked to pack everything they might need for a month away from the Cave, and proceed to the MagGarage if they do not already have an alternative residence available to them. From there, a number of APC swill be waiting, to be driven by one of your own to anywhere other than here. It is absolutely essential that I do not know where you are going. Keep an eye on your local news stations until word of the MagCave's ultimate fate has been delivered.

Remaining personnel, including but not limited to MagClones, Magbots, Pat, and anyone else I can't convince to get the hell out, prepare for war. Be prepared for a surprise attack at all times, show no mercy, hold nothing back, and for gods' sake, leave a back-up copy of yourself somewhere if you can, would you? The last line of defense is a big red self-destruct switch, and I'd rather not have to permanently kill anyone here if it become necessary to use that button, alright? Even I'm leaving a spare out of this fight, and that's knowing full well it wouldn't last more than two years without the MagCave's systems before dying off anyways."

[Terumitsu]

[MagNet]

Of the numerous documents and other items in the file, the most recently added one seems to already be on it's third revision although the past iterations would be visible to Magtok if he were to look for them. What had first been an attempt to replicate what appeared to be a gravetically accelerated railgun using the portal generated by the cyborg's telewarping portal technology had turned into a way to vent the superheated solar plasma at a target with what appeared to be an alarming level of accuracy provided by an electromagnetic focusing corridor. At the very least, the only noted foreseeable problems were the need to have access to said telewarping technology as well as potential energy concerns. Well, that and a scribble in a corner about needing to check to see if kickback would be a factor. The rest on that particular document were calculations although they simply were taking into account what forces would be involved.

Other items that might catch his eye, though, involved a more pure mixture of hallucinogens for the spider-sphere thing as well as a potential addition of what appeared to be a sharp metal rod designed to be inserted forcibly into either the spine or the cranium of a body. From there, it appeared that it would override the subject's nervous system or even temporarily animate a mostly complete, freshly deceased corpse. ...Although the victim's nerves would cook in roughly half an hour of constant use because of the power involved. Either way, it seemed that the rods could then be made to carry out simple commands although they simply defaulted to attacking whatever didn't return as friendly on an IFF.

Sorting through a dozen more half finished or otherwise discarded ideas would turn up something resembling a fist-sized capsule that would appear to have the potential to create a mass of foam that would quickly harden into the consistency of concrete but only for an hour at the maximum before it broke down. It appeared to be intended for capturing a particularly fidgety target but there were a few remarks where it would be possible to make a temporary barrier with some mild alterations.

In addition, there was what seemed to be a vaguely Tesla-like contraption in design. This one was rather straightforward in that it seemed to be designed to forcibly polarize everything that came within it's field within a few minutes, something that would be quite harmful to living things, but the limitations appeared to be a heavy power draw as well as a lot of heat generated meaning it could only be used in short bursts. That and it didn't have much effect to speak of beyond ten meters.

There would also be an ultrasonic device that was designed to greatly affect a person's inner ear function and render them largely ineffective as their sense of balance was completely obliterated. A note was added that augmented individuals may be have some defenses against this particular method, however, though it wouldn't be hampered by the usual countermeasures involved in blocking flash-bangs which aimed for a similar effect.

Skipping past a few things that seemed to have been designed with an almost sadistic pleasure in their aims to inflict psychological trauma would be a little gem. Specifically, upgrades to the focusing systems and capacitors of the recently commissioned laser weapons, allowing the capability to be used on an 'overload' setting for short periods of time. Mundane but useful. The same capacitor design was in the process of being integrated in an improved version of the protective cloak that had been made for the cyborg as well. However, that project appeared to require testing even though it appeared to have a theoretically sound design.

There was much more than these things, of course, and Magtok could look through the file for something more specific but these were things that were most likely to catch his eye on a casual glance.

Of course, if that wasn't all, there would be a slight 'Ding' or whatever sound the cyborg's messaging system made when someone wanted to talk to him. It appeared that a certain, paper-crafts obsessed A.I wished to speak with him.

[happyturtle]

Intern Lab

"Oh for cripes sake! I just got set up."

Willow packs up her lab and returns to Warwick Works.

Elsewhere

Nora is still with the posse, waiting.

Also Elsewhere

Mainframe speaks up. "You should invent an invulnerable forcefield to protect the Mount Enn from the incoming attacks."

Thanks, Mainframe. Really helpful, you are.

[Ashen Lilies]

Pow! At Magtok's front door, a bunch of large cardboard boxes, ripe for the taking! They're even filled with those plastic packing beans too, how considerate!

In the smallest box, Magtok will find a pair of glossy black plastic cylinders. On one end of each of them is a small LED which blinks green, probably signifying some sort of active state or whatever, on one side a slim pressable button type area, outlined in white for easy location. On the opposite end to the LED, a micro-USB port. A note comes taped to one of the devices.

Shield nullifiers. Press the button, and in three seconds it'll throw out an energy pulse that'll pop any shields or forcefields within 10 meters. I don't know what kind of shield frequencies you or Excelsior or Enshadu use, so I made these ones strong enough to just pop everything. Hopefully they need their shields more than you need yours. The pulse also leaves behind enough static to stop any shields from being reactivated in the area for about 30 minutes. One use each, rechargeable.

In the larger box, Magtok will find some nifty power armor! It's a modified version of the armor that KR wore on her Enshadu beatdown.
Modified how?
Well, it's made to fit a average-ish-ft tall Magtok, not a 5-ft tall KR. Also it's black and purple and may or may not have spikes on the shoulders. Second, it's made to interface with ordinary cybernetics, not the gross biogoop that KR uses to avoid having to implant a control device on the back of her neck or something. Other than that, it's pretty standard power armor. There are repulsors along the back surface that let him fly. The helmet can retract, allowing him to reveal his face to make awesome speeches, and yet still have something protecting his face when he's in combat. The fists are powerful, so he can punch things. Assuming he knows how. Has Magtok ever punched something? He's kinda too weak and noodly to be doing that stuff. Whatever. Another note is taped to the power armor, which is basically instructions on how to use it, and stuff. Nothing interesting.

A third box has a pyramid shaped plastic device inside, with a button on the top.

Teleport beacon. Press the button, and it'll give me a lock on it that will let me teleport in past any anti-teleport defences you'll likely set up during the invasion. Use when you want reinforcements.

The remaining boxes, for the most part, contain items with no notes attached, as their use is probably quite clear. A half dozen plasma rifles. Four sniper rifle looking things. Two big shoulder mounted anti-air anti-vehicle ion cannons. The final item is the oddity. One tiny pistol the size and rough shape of Magtok's palm. The side of it has a decal labeling it 'The Hatchet'. Note?

The Hatchet. One shot only. I didn't actually test this one, so you'll have to tell me how it works.

[Reinholdt]

Main Lobby

Margret's here and preparing for war!
By which I mean she's sipping tea with some dollies while she waits for armies to arrive.

[Lord Magtok]

Stomping around the Foyer

"Oh, sure. Yeah, you let me know when invulnerable becomes possible, Mainframe, and I'll get right on it."

Looks like someone's not in a very good mood. Of course, that's to be expected, isn't it? Most people find an imminent home invasion a little stressful, and even the great, notorious cyborg is no exception. Still, he could probably do without the sarcasm. Magtok taps the side of his head, and Archimedes is briefly allowed to communicate with him, as he digs about in his robe, trying to find the remote control for Margret.

"Hi, Magtok here."

MURDER-DEATH-KILL-BOT mode might be of use in the coming conflict, though of course she'd have to be one of his weapons of last resort. Can't just throw her into the front lines, what kind of father would he be if he did that?!

[Terumitsu]

[MagNet]

Given that this was their first real interaction of each other, Magtok would likely be spared the dissonance between the A.I.'s jovial and perhaps slightly off-beat persona that it normally wore and the calm but perfectly serious face it seemed to have adopted for the moment. Mostly because the divide might be rather amusing but likely quite hampering to the service it was about to offer.

"Sir. Given that multiple vectors may be used in this expected offensive, I would like to volonteer for the position of electronic countermeasures as well aid in area contol and denial. Given the traps and bulkheads scattered about, it would be a shame to not use them to their fullest." It would be less that the cyborg would have to directly deal with, at least. At the very least, it knew what would be doing rather than flailing about. Competence was useful like that.

[Reinholdt]

Stomping around the Foyer

The Sith variety perhaps?

MURDER-DEATH-KILL-BOT mode is certainly one of the most useful, if you don't mind collateral damage. Hopefully Magtok still actually has the remote and didn't lose it behind the couch cushions again.

"Want some tea daddy?" Margret asks. "It's calming." Doctor recommended!
Considering my doctors are Stroffelnburg and Decibel, I don't know if that's actually a positive thing...

[happyturtle]

Stomping around the Foyer

The Buckyball version of Mainframe, henceforth denominated Bucky, unfolds in front of Magtok into a Magtok shape made of interconnected rods and spheres. "Other me was only trying to help," it says petulantly.

Gasp! Bucky Mainframe has voice tone!

[Lord Magtok]

MagNet

"You're certain you can handle it? Not so simple as simply smashing a door on some thug's foot. You'll have to follow my lead on things, we'll probably be out of touch at times so you'd have to do things all on your own initiative and take your best guess at what's optimal."


Stomping around the Foyer

Magtok politely declines the offer of what is probably just another empty tea cup, and instead turns towards New Mainframe.

"Other You will find that I'm much more likely to humor this sort of frivolous nonsense when the MagCave isn't being faced with potential annihilation. Gods, I don't know why I ever thought I was some master diplomat or some ****. An army is on its way, and all of how many people from outside the Cave have offered to help? Two. Two, and one is a ****ing ghost!"

The cyborg throws his hands into the air as he continues to hurry through all the last-minute defenses and armaments. He supervises, among other things, a weapons check on every tenth Magbot, the relocation of boxes of KR-tech, holograms examined intently for any graphical flaws that would make it obvious that they aren't what they appear to be, the installation of radio system on auxiliary power to keep communication lines open, and a brief discussion of attack plans with Roosevelt and that one clone with the eldritch parasite thingy. Everything seems to be in order, but Magtok would really prefer to have much more than this. He's not comfortable with fights on roughly equal terms, which is what he estimates this will be. Overwhelming firepower via wild and unexpected improvisation is his usual way to go.

[Terumitsu]

[MagNet]

"You may as well ask if water flows downhill." was the reply. "I was made with the intent to run a city from sewers to spires. I should think this task would be much less complex than the chaos that two million souls can make by simply existing in their daily lives." the A.I. said. There was no hint of a gloat in its words. Just projection based on observation and fact.

"If this is sufficient, then I will immediately begin hardening the communication lines and installing redundancies first. All orders will then take priority if you should have any. After that, I shall then do what I can to preempt any electronic warfare and create pathing traps that seem most likely to succeed." Archimedes said. And if there were no further orders, it would do just as it said.

[happyturtle]

Front Door

Instead of emailing first and then teleporting into her old lab, like she usually does, Sunny teleports outside the front door. She doesn't knock. He'll know she's here.

Though she doesn't seem to have gotten the message that the MagCave is soon to be under attack.

[Lord Magtok]

MagNet => Front Door

"You're free to make use of anything we have, aside from the cloning labs. Can't very well insist a piece of equipment is too important and secret to use when the entire base's very existence is at stake. Don't leave me out of the loop, though."

Magtok hurries on towards the front door. Dammit Sunny, this isn't the time! This is barbed wire and fire hour, not 'jolly cheer let's enthuse about how safe and fun and happy life is' day! The door opens, with Magtok standing just outside, looking absolutely dreadful. Hasn't gotten much sleep, been too busy checking and double-checking everything. Have to have contingencies for your contingencies, plans for victory, for failure, for everything in between and the buying of funeral plots if someone who isn't expendable falls.

"Hi Sunny. I'm kinda busy right now, what's up?"

[happyturtle]

Front Door

"Why did you do it?" Sunny doesn't look so good herself. Her eyes are puffy and red, her clothes are rumpled, and she's hugging herself protectively.

[Lord Magtok]

Front Door

Oh gods, not this again. Magtok sighs, and bows his head as he tries not to think about the little girl that Jyarl mentioned, the one without a father.

"He was reading my mind, Sunny. Twenty-something soldiers standing by an evil man, poring over every last file, memory, and research project. He wants to make his own clones so he can live forever and enslave the Nexus. There was nothing else I could do."

[happyturtle]

Front Door

"It's not okay! That's the kind of thing Reinholdt would say. Not you."

[Lord Magtok]

Front Door

Magtok's composure weakens. He seems to age ten years in approximately as many seconds. He's not like Reinholdt, never like Reinholdt, he can't be anything like Reinholdt. He's going to pay those families for their losses, he will! He just needs time, and more guns, and Excelsior dead. Then he can give everything to everyone and things can go back to normal and people like DC's goons can stop shooting him like they're supposed to.

"Sunny, I can't do this with you right now. They are gearing up for an invasion of the MagCave as we speak, using what information they got of this place that they drilled from my head. I've had to evacuate everyone without backup bodies, to keep them from murdering my family for the tech. They're bad men, undeniably monstrous people who just want to hurt others. I couldn't think of another way to stop them from taking my secrets, so I went with the only thing I had. People got hurt, MagSat was hurt, and I'm sorry, but I don't know what else I could've done, I don't know how else I could've stopped them from hurting more people. They're stronger than me, their guns are better, their armor is better, and nobody cares if they kill me. I'm sorry, but I don't know what you want me to say, I'm very busy building things and I just want to still be here tomorrow after they come here to get me."

[happyturtle]

Front Door

"You shouldn't know stuff that dangerous." Sunny says, and savagely brushes a few tears away.

You know that thing where robots tend to pick up on Sunny's emotions? Magtok is her father figure, the person who walked her down the aisle at her wedding, the man who gave her a safe place to recover from mind rape. She still loves Magtok. But she's also feeling furious, betrayed, and terrified.

[Lord Magtok]

Front Door

"What if they wanted to upgrade their Elementium armor, and went after you in Trog's for the Remnant designs? We both know stuff that's dangerous, we always have. Even if we didn't, bad men will still always find some excuse to be bad."

Magtok would be tearing his hair out if he had any. Instead, he just holds a hand to his temples. Gods, if someone could just bomb Excelsior to oblivion right now...

"Look, I'm sorry, Sunny. I should've just left or exploded my head when I saw Riv there, but I didn't know Enshadu could plug himself into my brain, or that they could block telewarps, or anything. I still thought they were weak and dumb like when I met them. I didn't know, and people got hurt, and that's my fault. I made a big mistake, and I'm going to try to make up for what I did, but first I need to stop them."

[happyturtle]

Front Door

"Don't stop them by being bad too. It isn't worth it." Sunny says. She takes out her phone and presses a few buttons, preparing to teleport away. Magtok might get a last word in if he tries.