Mallside VIII: OrksOrksOrks!

[Shadowcaller]

[Small Wonders -> Mallside Walk]

Frederick nods

Ok, and you're welcome. Tavlii works for a research company in Skyside... they do all sorts of things.

[Small Wonders -> Mallside Walk]

"The entity in the shop mentioned skyside as well, what sort of place is that? Do you think people there could help me?" The scholar asks.

[Fenric]

[Small Wonders -> Mallside Walk]

Frederick hmms

It's a city, not always the nicest: their rules tend to be a bit... relaxed. Tavlii works in one of the nicer areas, though. I'm sure there's someone there who could help, the trouble is always finding them.

---

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

Linda nods

Take 'em down!

And she leaps around the "s" bend, ending up against the far wall and aiming for the lead marine's head. She misses, unfortunately: causing a glancing shot off one of the marines facing the other way.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mallside Walk]

"Sounds like I'd need more Intel about this city then. Think he'd help me? If he's one of the locals I mean. Or do you perhaps know any local information brokers?" Ambrosia asks.

[Fenric]

[Mallside Walk]

Frederick smiles

"She", and she's always been nice enough. Not sure what her company would want in return, though. And there's a priestess at the Temple who's family owns a business there, too - they don't do anything resembling cloning that I know of, but they might have leads to other places.

His ears flick down in brief embarrassment as his thoughts swiftly follow up on what exactly it is that Merisanne Life Sciences is best known for.

Well... their main product could probably help, too, but ... hm ... cloning, yes...

[Cyber Punk]

Linda nods

Take 'em down!

And she leaps around the "s" bend, ending up against the far wall and aiming for the lead marine's head. She misses, unfortunately: causing a glancing shot off one of the marines facing the other way.

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

The time it takes for the lead marine to be distracted is enough time for Holly to cap it in the head. She ends up on the wall opposite from Linda, then lays down some covering fire while Linda does her thing.

[Fenric]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

The distraction in general is fairly devastating for the marines: Linda shoots one, and the other defenders shoot the other. Linda blinks

Now hold on! You aren't supposed to shoot the targets for us!

The three look really confused

What are you talking about?
She's been hit: look at her arm.
Isn't that Iolanda from the Forward station?

Five down, three remain: perhaps best to not lose track of that.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mallside Walk]

Frederick smiles

"She", and she's always been nice enough. Not sure what her company would want in return, though. And there's a priestess at the Temple who's family owns a business there, too - they don't do anything resembling cloning that I know of, but they might have leads to other places.

His ears flick down in brief embarrassment as his thoughts swiftly follow up on what exactly it is that Merisanne Life Sciences is best known for.

Well... their main product could probably help, too, but ... hm ... cloning, yes...

[Mallside Walk]

"Oh, my mistake. Names aren't my thing. But what do they produce exactly considering they decided to be in such a unscrupulous place?" Ambrosia asks.

[Fenric]

[Mallside Walk]

Frederick looks thoughtful. He'd only met the winged person like... twice, maybe. And not at any particular length of time.

Well... There's a very large business district, and that's where these companies are... From what I understand, Businesses seems to prefer places that aren't overly regulated. I've never actually been there, myself.
I'm really not the best authority for such things, though: I'm an Arcane Historian, and both business and modern politics tend to be a bit lost on me.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mallside Walk]

"Makes sense, but you mentioned their main product? Also, is there a way you could contact her? Perhaps set up a meeting? I would be willing to pay." She replies.

[Fenric]

[Mallside Walk]

Oh, look: Frederick's ears just folded down in embarrassment again!

Um... two different companies... I don't know what Tavlii's is called, honestly, but Priestess Felina's aunt runs the Nexus division of Merisanne Life Sciences, and their main product... well, it's called "NexGen": a cute marketing name meaning "next generation". It um... allows people who normally shouldn't be able to have children together to um... do so.

[Cyber Punk]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

Holly blinks as well, then turns to face Linda. "Three remain, chummer, but first, why are their shots deadly? Something to do with this range apparently reading your mind?"

She sighs. It'd have been nice to have Dicer take a look at the mechanics of the shooting range. Perhaps there's a decking port of some sort...

[Fenric]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

Reading my mind...

Linda's eyes go wide

Reading my mind?!

She turns back the way they came and runs flat out, sprinting back toward the forward Millicut control center as fast as she can go.

Different gun... but still target practice! This was so not a good idea.

The door obligingly opens onto an ugly scene: the technicians have already been shot by the three remaining marines, who had circled around. Linda dispatches the first without a moment's pause, but the other two take cover behind the consoles and return fire.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mallside Walk]

Ambrosia can't help but to giggle at that. "While I'm sure that could help a lot of people, I need 'pure' dragons for this to work. That would eventually end up being very little dragon and a lot else. The same problem as two dragons would have." She tells Fredrick with a smile. "I wouldn't be afraid doing 'my part' to ensure my species survival, but I doubt it would work out that way. Still it sounds like they have interesting ideas, could I get in touch with them somehow?"

[Fenric]

[Mallside Walk]

Frederick nods

Uh... yeah.

Anyway, Felina could certainly get you in touch with them easily enough. And I'm sure Aunt Caroline has Tavlii's phone number so if you want to follow up on either of those, you'd need to go to the Temple.

[Cyber Punk]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

Holly follows Linda, laughing the whole way, obviously having fun with this. The door revealing the gruesome scene is opened, forcing her to keep quiet for a bit, then remaining silent as she dispatches another with ease via bullet curving goodness. The one beside him would be crippled if not for their armor.

She's still silent, her eyes appearing focused, giving her an appearance of being dead as she takes cover, waiting for the precise moment to finally cap the last one. Her body language is completely changed, she's more like a skilled special-ops agent and less like a girl having fun.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mallside Walk]

Frederick nods

Uh... yeah.

Anyway, Felina could certainly get you in touch with them easily enough. And I'm sure Aunt Caroline has Tavlii's phone number so if you want to follow up on either of those, you'd need to go to the Temple.

[Mallside Walk]

"Great, thanks for all the help. I should head to the temple shortly then. If you need anything from me in the future, I owe you one Fredrick." The scholar replies with a curt bow.

[Fenric]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

Linda sidles around, finally getting a clear shot at the marine's legs. Her blaster-bolts are insufficient to really cause harm, but they do sting and the marine jumps, bringing his head clear of the console.

The result of that being a foregone conclusion, Linda quickly moves to the nearest console and pulls the body aside - stifling a strangled gasp as she briefly meets her own dead eyes.

Ok, shooting range computer: not funny.

Shoving herself out of her chair, she takes a seat and engages the computer.

Phase two: take a seat. You are now in for the shortest orientation in the history of naval weaponry.

---

[Mallside Walk]

Frederick smiles and nods politely

Ok, sounds good. See ya.

[Cyber Punk]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

Holly remains in the stance for a while after headshotting the last marine, then sweeps the room with her eyes. After making sure it's all clear, for now, she holsters her weapon and sits next to Linda.

The coldness from her eyes fade a bit, and she turns to Linda after taking a few deep breaths. "Didn't see that coming. My mistake. So, now we're gonna frag their ship, as well?"

[Zefir]

[Arkant Cooperation Shop]

Now, after the production went on in Skyside,the first Arkant Cooperation Shop opens it's doors for the customers.
The shop fokus on electronics, but there are several office for other services as it was mention on de Wall advertise.
On the first day, signs offering discounts from 10-50%, fill the shop and even the services offer a discount.

[Fenric]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

Linda snorts

We're got to save our own tails, first, before we can go fry theirs.

She affects a somewhat comic "training movie" tone of voice

Welcome, Ensign!

You are seated at the fire control console of the Millicut AT-2990 countermeasure system. The display in front of you shows incoming threats. Those outlined in red have yet to be engaged. Orange targets have been hit, but still pose an active threat. When a target fades to yellow, it is still active but no longer directly dangerous. Green targets have been neutralized but still show radar signatures. Blinking green targets with a circle are capable of being detonated: any additional targets within the circle will be destroyed as well. The size of the target on the screen indicates proximity of the target to your location.
In the upper-left corner is your current load display. The AT-2990 has sixty four deploy tubes. These take ten seconds each to reload, so be sure to conserver your rate of fire to avoid running out completely!
On your console, you have a targeting stick which you use to aim the system. The white crosshair on your display shows the current center of your cone of fire. Countermeasures are fired in a conical pattern, and you control the spread with the dial to your left: up for larger, down for smaller. The white circle around your target crosshair indicates the current level of spread. To your right is your fire control. The top button fires a single tube. The bottom button fires an entire row of eight tubes. Holding both together will fire all remaining ordinance. Again, remember that it takes ten seconds for a tube to be reloaded.

Oh: and if any of the torpedoes hit us, we die horribly.

[Cyber Punk]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

Holly Dawson salutes at Linda, cracks her knuckles and faces the console. "Roger. Let's start, then. You're the much better one, you lead and I'll follow."

She takes a look at the screen to ascertain how many targets they're facing.

[Fenric]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

Six tiny red dots are on the screen at various locations. Linda smoothly sends several volleys at them, with a fairly broad spread: two turn yellow, two turn orange, one turns green, one stays red.

The most important thing is to not fixate on any one target for too long: the reload is slow, but it's not that slow - spray 'em when they're far away, then tighten up as they get closer. Better to leave a yellow linger if there's a red catching up, better to ignore even a blinking green if an orange is getting close.

She spins the dial, tightening up the spread, and sends two attacks at the red: turning it to blinking green. She keeps her own advice, hitting the orange next.

Hop on your console and get to work!

[Cyber Punk]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

"Right. Short version: green is dead, yellow is hurt, orange's health is almost full, blinking means frag-time and red hasn't been engaged yet. Drekkk, this is a shooting range, not a naval training range, Linda!"

Holly, having studied Linda's movements, looks at the console, then sends a few volleys towards the red, and the blinking green once any ship gets in range of it.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mallside Parking Lot]

After talking to Fredrick Ambrosia is leaving the mall, walking through the parking lot on her way back to the city proper.

[Gullara]

[Mallside Parking Lot]

As Ambrosia steps outside, she sees a certain dryad riding her bike up to the mall entrance. Sakura stops right near Ambrosia and pulls off the seat holding baby Lucy, and her cascade of flowery hair, off the bike. She proceeds to transform the bike into a stroller, and replaces Lucy's sedat on it. It won't be long at all before she's headed inside.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mallside Parking Lot]

Ambrosia has to stop and double check as Sakura was passing by. What in the void was that? It couldn't possibly be a kami yet it registered just like one. This had to be investigated, could this being be possessed?
She turns and moves after Sakura, gesturing for her to wait with her raised hand. "Excuse me miss, may I have a word?" This couldn't be some lesser kami if it could talk.

[Terumitsu]

[Erin's Emporium]

The golem is silent for a while. The white fire in his eyes dims for a moment, which is the closest approximation of blinking for the construct.

"I Am An Entirely Autonomous Being, Despite Being Artificially Created," he rumbles. His voice is monotonous and very precise, as if slotting every word into its place very carefully. However, there is some emotion there. At this moment, slight surprise. "Most Golems Are Simple Automatons, But My Creators Endowed Me With Free Will And Named Me Sizewell. As For Your Other Question, The Store Is Well-Stocked In Alchemical Ingredients And Products. I May Know How To Find What You Are Looking For, And If I Do Not, My Creator Certainly Does."

A nod of understanding. "Thak you, Sizewell. In that case, I think it would be best if I were to compare different varieties of the same advertised effect.. Let's say physical potency for this specific instance to have something to go on. I think perhaps a second set dedicated to affecting the capability of motor nerves would also be prudent as well." she began. "Both the finished products and their components if possible. Or at least as best as can be reached considering how I expect some brands to have proprietary formulas.

"And.. Concerning the substances in question, I am aware that while a liquid that is to be consumed is the typical method of activation, would you also perhaps have product that has alternate vectors of which it operates on? Perhaps as a kind of oil or ointment or inhalant for instance?" she asked. It would hardly hurt to be thorough in just how disparate something called a 'potion' could be.

[Gullara]

[Mallside Parking Lot]

"Oh, Sure?" Sakura stops and turns toward this woman. Sakura's definitely sure they've never met. "Can I help you with something?" She ventures, as friendly sounding as ever.

[Fenric]

[Blast It! Shooting Range]

"Right. Short version: green is dead, yellow is hurt, orange's health is almost full, blinking means frag-time and red hasn't been engaged yet. Drekkk, this is a shooting range, not a naval training range, Linda!"

Holly, having studied Linda's movements, looks at the console, then sends a few volleys towards the red, and the blinking green once any ship gets in range of it.

Linda just smirks, and lets the situation demonstrate to Holly just how wrong she is. It doesn't take long: the third torpedo she shoots at blinks ten meters to the left and dodges Holly's shot entirely.

If it was easy, they'd not have gotten to me. A lot of 'em are dumb, yeah. But not all of 'em. Once you get a blinker on screen... well, let's just say it gets more interesting.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mallside Parking Lot]

"Oh, Sure?" Sakura stops and turns toward this woman. Sakura's definitely sure they've never met. "Can I help you with something?" She ventures, as friendly sounding as ever.

[Mallside Parking Lot]

She makes a curt bow to Sakura. "I am Ambrosia Ithil, a scholar studying spirits and I couldn't help but to notice that you appear to be what is classified as a 'kami'. A type of conceptual spirit." Ambrosia gestures towards the dryad. "I don't suppose you know why that would be? Kami don't usually take humanoid shape."