Log:Robot Aftermath, Immortal Mage Butterfly

Guilt Complex 2013/08/05 	 Liam Regan Yameen Fox

9

Champions Mush - Sunday, August 04, 2013, 11:04 PM

Workout Room

''A superhuman gym. It looks like a traditional gym, just upscaled in all the obvious fashions. Treadmills that can handle hypersonic running speeds, weight sets that go up to a kiloton in weight, and all the other acoutrements of a gym. The floor is padded and comfortable to walk on, strong enough to handle the immense weights being slung about and the occasional droppage due to limits being reached. The computer monitors with force fields, protecting any whom look to have lost control of a piece of equipment to provide a safe and functional place for the supers of colonial bay to get a workout without requiring a villain to be present. ''

Yameen steps up to the panel and begins to enter parameters. It is initially a slow process, but as she becomes more familiar with the layout of the controls, the rate of change increases. First, a background image of the port forms, little more than a matte backdrop. A large, vaguely humanoid mechanical appears in the center, several meters tall. The form is angular and vague, then begins to gain details, textures, and definition as Yameen continues to alter the image.

Regan watches the scene coalesce in silence, loosely clasping her hands in front of her as she assessed the looming bulk of the mech.

Liam opens the door and pokes his head inside. He is dressed down today, but his clothes still look more appropriate to a yacht than a gym. He starts to give a cheery greeting, then notices the scene Yameen is reconstructing and his expression hardens.

Yameen's attention lifts from the panel to the projection, itself. After several moments of study, she makes additional adjustments. Within a few more moments, she is satisfied with the reconstructed automaton that bears a large calibre autocannon, an extended blade from one arm, a saw weapon on the other, and what appears to be an opened launcher with multiple missiles. The mechanoid stands still and inert as she walks towards and begins to circle it. Its purpose is for study, not combat.

Regan's head swivel to the doorway as it glides open and she inclines her head. "Come on in Doctor Reynard, Yameen was just reconstructing a scenario. She considers the mech for several seconds before speaking. "Bipedal anthropomorphic designs are more familiar to troops but they also come with the basic design limitations of the human body in built."

Liam nods and fully steps inside and quips, "Human egos?"

Regan smiles to Liam and shakes her head. "No, joints." She moves to the mech to point at them in turn. "Knees bear an immense amount of stress during bipedal movement and are susceptible to lateral forces that the are not designed to resist because that would restrict mobility. As a side note, applying a sideways force to a lifting leg is a very effective way of tripping an opponent who is bigger and more massive than you."

"The form is more suitable for all terrain than wheels or tracks," Yameen notes, "though they possess limitations. They did not move quickly, yet could rapidly bring weapons to bear. I am curious of their source."

Liam says, "I'll keep that in mind the next time I find myself stupid enough to be that close to such a person. Is this what the robot looked like? I arrived just after it was destroyed."

"While the neck is usually armours the shoulder provides a point of attack that again is difficult to remove while maintaining mobility. When they raise their arm." She illustrate with her own arm, lifting it as though to effect an overhand strike. "In this position the armpit is exposed, just as on a human, the dictates of design require that there is not much protection for the interior of the unit in this position." She lifts her voice. "Web search, unit comparison." Within thirty seconds a rather crisper image appears matching the one Yameen constructed. in the air beside it are factory specifications.

Liam says, "This thing can be purchased retail?"

Yameen arches a brow at Regan's analysis and issued commands to the system. Her attention shifts to the information retrieved. "Yes, this was one of the five which attack the port," she indicates her holographic reconstruction.

Regan looks through the text. "Not exactly, they were developed by the Chinese during the civil war, the design has been pirated by several other states who have their own versions. They are available on the black market for those with contacts in the illegal arms trade."

Liam says, "Does anything about this design point to a specific state or is it a Chinease original?"

Regan looks from the web-recovered version to the original as constructed from Yameen's memory. "I don't think we'd be able to distinguish on the basis of this level of reconstruction, maybe if we had access to the original."

"The representation is accurate," Yameen affirms, "yet I did not view much of the internal structure. All were equipped with a self-destruct mechanism. Little material remained."

Regan's brow furrows. "Self destruct..." She reads through the technical specifications. "Like most military grad equipment these units are not designed to explode themselves. That's a customization of some sort, none of the manufacturers ever made that a part of the standard."

Liam says, "Were the originals autonomous or drones?"

Yameen frowns, though it is only visible at her eyes. "An additional feature for illegal use, to prevent trace of origin. From the information on the new broadcast, I believe that the water tower was an intentional target, as well as the train."

"The originals were capable of limited autonomy but could be modified for drone usage, the drone usage was however prone to signal jamming and other interference that made autonomy the preferred operational standard." Regan reads from the wiki page.

Liam says, "So, if they self destructed, was there enough left to analyze? I only remember seeing pieces, and only of just one."

"There appeared to be little that remained. The detonation was powerful enough to destroy the robot and a significant section of the train's track." Yameen continues to frown. "If their intent was to detonate the train's cargo, for what purpose?"

Regan looks to Yameen. "You haven't heard then? The train was carrying methyl isocyanate, a compound that reacts violently with water to release a gaseous version of itself. It's lethal when in inhaled ingested or brought into contact with the skin in concentrations higher than four parts per million."

Liam says, "The armored hero said something to that effect, but we disposed of those canisters."

The metagym is soon beset by a Fox, peering inside prior to entry for concern of explosions or bodies flying toward her location or some other hazard that is all in good fun since no one really gets hurt unless they overclock the safety parameter reductions. She nears Liam, by apparent comfort with him, offering a little wave of greeting to Yameen and a clearly more familiar one toward Regan.

 I found you! Hiding in the gym within a gym. There's something poetic about that.

Yameen shakes her head. "I was warned that the cargo was dangerous, that is all. I was unable to witness the events after the train derailed. It was ...uncomfortable."

 You did. ... Did you hear anyone talking about the derailed train? We were just discussing that.

 It's a pretty frequent subject.

Liam gives Fox a distracted one-armed hug, but holds her there against his side if she doesn't seem in a hurry to go anywhere. "So another terrorist attack on par with the hospital bombing. If the robots were autonomous, can we check the survivor to see if, like the hospital, there was a secondary mission?"

Regan looks to the door as the Fox peers in and greats the young heroine with a wave. "Hello." She looks back to the holographic reconstruction of the mech. "There may be, I have no influence with the authorities whatsoever, to them I am fortunate not to be rotting in a cell, but they certainly do not have to accede to my requests for information or cooperation."

The fox-girl seems happy with the arrangement that Liam has decided upon, leaning in to the magus's side as the discussion revolves around horrible things. Like the replica of the mechanized thing that she stares at, ears turning back and her tail quite still.

Liam says, "If anyone can find out where that last robot is, I can get us in there; although I doubt I will be much help beyond that."

 Apart from coordination, you mean? Getting everyone to where they need to be in a hurry? And that's just the stuff I know about for sure!

Yameen dips her head once at the latest arrival. She recalls the vulpine's presence at the port, if briefly. "I hold no influence with the authorities. This information is a step, but it is only the first."

Regan shakes her head. "I don't have the slightest idea where it might have ended up I'm afraid. I'm assuming some sort of federal impound lot or something I suppose."

 Maybe I can sweet-talk someone who knows into saying stuff. People tend to like me pretty fast. And I like making friends.

Liam smirks and says to Regan, "As competent as you were on my first patrol, I assumed that you were the darling of the police force."

 sweet talk? Um, have there been any linguistic developments I am unaware of?

Regan's brows lift. "The police are rather more indulgent toward incompetent criminals rather than competent ones, even when they turn themselves in." she shrugs. "They know how to bear a grudge."

Fox seems to be looking up at Liam more than being attentive on the rest of the room, that moment of evident disliking gaze having passed in favor of being more animate. "No," she says, directly to Liam. "Just...being." She shows a broad smile, and along with it, a subtle but significant shift in the direction of adorability. Her expression and body language present a kind of innocence and friendliness.

Liam's smirk toward Regan becomes a grin, almost a leer. He totally misses Fox's display. "I didn't know I was in the presence of an honest-to-god 'bad girl'," he says.

"I could locate the remnants through alternate means," Yameen notes, "but access would be brief and limited." She moves away from the hologram but does not end the projection.

Regan head-shakes. "One of the very worst in fact. You need to pay more attention to the media, put the right filters on and there's actually useful information out there for the taking."

Fox just leans on Liam, her cutesey look settling into her more usual one of serene playfulness. "Can...ask," she says with a slight shrug. "Got...name?"

 Does who have a name?

 The one who I would need to ask about the big robot thing.

Liam hmms, "Who would we ask to find the location of the remaining robot?"

Regan's shoulder lift. "I would guess Abigail might have some access and she's friendly." She looks to Yameen. "That sounds sort of promising."

Yameen decides to extend her movement and alter its path for the doors. "Perhaps. First I must determine where the carcass is kept and the security upon it. It is a second option if there is no cooperation." She continues to the exit, apparently to determine the difficulty of this alternate method, should it be necessary.

Yameen leaves Workout Room and enters Steel's Gym.

Liam says to Fox, "While Regan contacts Abigail and Yameen does her investigation, could I get you to swing by Quinn towers and see if Anthony Quinn is back in town? If we do locate the robot, I think we may need his expertise."

Regan watches the mysterious woman depart. "Interesting encounter." She says simply. "Not every day you get to meet with a figure from history."

Liam says, "What do you mean?"

Regan looks to Liam. "So a few days ago a strange heroine shows up, saves the city and dies horribly in a train crash, a few days later Yameen admits she was there and that the experience was 'uncomfortable'." Regan's head tilts. "Not in itself that remarkable. Except, that Yameen was also the name of an obscure, and mysterious, figure from the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. In fact the name recurs several times in the history of resistance movements across Europe, I thought it might be more a title than a name because the individual was often caught and executed. Now I'm not so sure."

Liam says, "Incorrect rumors of death are quite common. So are reoccurring names, but I gather this is more than just a name you have found, isn't it? You should have asked me to scan her while she was here. You would have known for certain."

Regan shrugs. "Frankly, I don't like prying too directly into other peoples' affairs, if there's something they haven't told me I'm going to assume it's because they have a good reason not to. You're correct, it need not fit together in the fashion I have made it, but the possibility is not to be blithely rejected either."

Liam says, "Speaking of which, you forgot about our date."

Regan smirks and says to Liam as she turns to go, "No, I didn't."