First fic. I don't own Megaman/Rockman X, or any of its characters. That's Capcom's business, even if they don't seem to care much about it lately unless it involves a crossover.
"Wait until it opens its mouth! It's only vulnerable while it's attacking!" Alia shouted over the transmission. "Got it!" X shouted as he dodged out of the way of the large dragon mechaniloid's energy spheres. It stood at least 10 meters high on a pair of fairly stubby legs, and sported a green color scheme on its round body, and pair of very large claws on both arms. X had battled one this model's predecessor units at the beginning of the Repliforce incident, and aside from some upgrades to its armor's aesthetics and durability in some select places, it was essentially the same as before. The mechaniloid had gone haywire, and escaped the military installation where it was housed before the installation's personnel could effectively retaliate, and it had started to raise havoc at a public park several miles away. The Maverick Hunters were called in to help control the situation before the mechaniloid could cause too much damage. Most of the civilians had managed to evacuate the area once the Hunters arrived and gained its attention.
The mechaniloid opened its maw again to fire another volley, but this time, X fired three quick shots from his buster into its mouth before it could fire. The shots dazed the metal dragon for a few seconds, just long enough for Zero to charge in close. The dragon screeched, and tried to swipe the red-armored Hunter away with one of its its claws, but Zero simply jumped upward out of its path and thrust his saber right into the mechaniloid's still roaring maw in mid air, vaporizing its primary weapon's core before he deactivated his his sword's blade and fell. Zero dashed backward the second he touched the ground to avoid the impending explosion, coming to a stop beside X. The dragon roared one last screech before it's armor started to bend and bulge up across its body from many small internal explosions, before the outer armor finally gave way, and was sent flying everywhere as shrapnel in one final, powerful explosion as X and Zero shielded their faces with their forearms.
"Great work X, Zero. Come back to base." Alia said. "Roger!" X replied. Before they could teleport back, though, another transmission came through. "X?" another, more masculine voice said. "Commander?" X replied. "I would like to speak with you about something when you return." Signas said. "Roger that, sir!" X said before the transmission ended. "What was that about?" Zero asked. "I don't know, but I know I'll find out once we get back." "True." Zero responded, as they both teleported back to the Hunter base.
Back at Hunter Base
"I would like to speak with you as well, Alia." Signas said from behind the blonde navigator. "Sir?" Alia responded. "This could involve the both of you, and we would be saving some time if I spoke to the two of you together." Signas said "Yes, of course sir." she responded, and got up from her seat to leave to greet the two Hunters with her commanding officer.
X and Zero arrived at base's teleporter station, and were greeted by Signas and Alia a few moments after they stepped out. "X, Alia will be joining us. I hope you don't mind." Signas said "No, not at all, sir." X responded. "Good. We'll speak in my office." Signas said, and turned to lead the way. X and Alia followed, side by side. "Do you now what this is about?" X whispered to his colleague. "I'm just as much in the dark as you are. I think it could have something to do with the recent rumors going around about a new equipment ID locks. I don't know why he would need just the two of us though, if that was the case." Alia replied. "Well, no use speculating if we're gonna find out in a few minutes." X said. Alia nodded in agreement as they continued walking for two minutes until they reached Signas's office.
"Please, take a seat." Signas said to the two as they entered his office. As soon as everyone was seated, Signas began: "I overheard what you were saying on the way here, and yes, the rumors about the new equipment lock systems are true, and this discussion is related. I would like to propose a few ideas, and I would appreciate your cooperation and feedback. You are permitted to speak freely." Alia spoke first. "Sir, what exactly are these locks? What makes them different from the locks we already have?" "The old locks were designed to be used with heavy construction equipment that we modified to be used with our equipment. We always input the names and employee codes into our databases, and the equipment would lock out anyone if they were listed as a Maverick, retired, or are listed as MIA or KIA. This method is rather archaic, and could easily be taken advantage of by an experienced hacker, and it does not work with internalized weapons like busters." All three looked at X's arms, taking note of the weapons within that could be used in a moment's notice if he wished it.
Signas continued: "It was rather disgraceful at how poor the security was on the equipment. It's amazing that we've managed to last as long as we have with them in place. Based on recent studies on Reploid thought processes, new technological advancements, and what we managed to salvage from the remains of defeated Mavericks within the last five years, we have found an anomaly in many of the Mavericks' processors, that none of the other "clean" reploids involved in the study possessed. We believe this anomaly could be a new type of trigger that can allow reploids to become Mavericks. Our new locks are specially made with the very latest technology, and they are specifically designed to automatically detect the anomaly, as well as many other other previously known factors, and lock out the equipment immediately, while simultaneously alerting our databases with the new information. There are a number of bugs to work out, but we believe that these new locks are already very promising, and we are scheduled to roll out the new locks within the next two months."
"Let's go back to what you were saying about the equipment that Zero and I use." X said. "We aren't exactly like other Reploids. Are we even sure that the locks would work for us?" "I do not think that we would need to worry about you, X, but that is a valid question." Signas replied. "We would like you to help us by testing the reliability and versatility of some of the locks yourself with different sets of equipment, including some of your own. The next topic of our discussion will depend on whether or not they will work as anticipated." "The next topic?" X asked. "Yes. As we are all aware, you have a growing collection of armor and equipment left to you by your creator, the good Doctor Thomas Light." X nodded in confirmation. "The armors in your possession greatly enhance your abilities, and, like yourself, have an exceptional security system built into them that even we are unable to fully analyze. Your ability to utilize them has been instrumental in the completion of many operations. We have always wanted to manufacture our own streamlined versions of your armors for our fellow Hunters to improve their odds of survivability in the field. However, though we do believe we have the budget to allow for it, we have purposely avoided pursuing that option due to the unreliable security of our equipment locks. We have lost many of our Hunters in the field over the years due to our equipment's obsolete security, and the ever increasing prevalence and effectiveness of hacking as a stealth combat tactic. The Hunters' equipment is often taken, repurposed, and then either used or sold by the ones that defeated them. We have tried to upgrade our equipment's security many times over the years to prevent this from happening, but no matter how many times we have upgraded the locks' software, it was always a matter of time before the enemy knew how to trump it. We have tried replacing the locks with other types, but none of the planned replacements would ever function with the same versatility and effectiveness as our current system."
"With certain new technological developments, however, we feel that we are finally able to pursue more options. If the new locks are a success, we would like to study your armors further, and if at all possible, pursue the possibility of mass producing them. Before we do that though, as the good Doctor Light is no longer among us, has no living heirs, and to the best of our knowledge, has never officially entrusted his research to another party, the legal rights to his research could well be used without anyone's consent, however, you are his last known creation, and nobody else has as close of an understanding of him and his wishes than you, X. Knowing that, I cannot, in good conscience, permit the project to commence without at least letting you know, and I would like to ask you for your permission to go ahead with development." "I… May have to think about it. I can a see how it would be helpful, but I can also think of several large cons to the idea. Like you said, the last thing we would want is for the equipment to fall into the wrong hands, but I can think of a few of our Hunters off the top of my head that I wouldn't really classify as "the right hands". If they got access to something like that, they'd probably think they'd be invincible. No matter which side has the equipment, that type of thinking is never a good thing. Also, despite how well they may appear now, the possibility exists that these new locks might not work out as planned once they're implemented. I would like to save my decision on the matter until after the tests are done, and I have a better understanding of how they work " "That is acceptable. Honestly, I was expecting that kind of answer, and I agree with you on those points, but it was a request worth asking." Signas said, leaning back in his chair.
"And, what about me? Why was it that you asked me to be here as well?" Alia asked. "Your presence here ties into our discussion about the production of streamlined versions of X's armors. As you have experience in completing and modifying a number of them, I would also like to request that you also be involved in designing and manufacturing processes of the production versions. Of course, that will depend on X's decision after the tests are concluded, and the possibility exists that it could cut into your duties as a spotter, but the position would be temporary, and we would have someone fill in for your spotter duties while you are busy. I see no harm in asking for your cooperation now." Alia thought for a few moments before speaking up. "Our field teams are made up of less than 400 Reploids, with between 20 and 30 assigned to each of the 18 units, and each unit includes specific types of mass-produced reploids in their ranks that specialize in their units areas of expertise. I would have to help redesign most of X's 14 currently available armors to conform to at least 24 different body types to account for all of the mass-produced models. Then there's another 20 of our active Hunters with unique body types that could also benefit, and any armor for them would have to be made to order." Alia briefly paused for a moment and looked to X before continuing. "And for the sake of testing, I think it would be wise to have X test all of the prototypes himself to gauge their performance and reliability in comparison to his originals." "If the tests go well, I could agree to that." X said with a nod. Alia nodded, and continued: "To do all of that, and look over the whole manufacturing process, it would easily take up to a few months' time, three to four at the least, and that's if everything goes with only minor hitches. I would need a lot of help. Who else would be involved?" "Aside from the two of you, we have also asked Douglas, Professor Gaudile of Giga City, and Professor Jacques Erwin from the Robotics Institute of Paris to contribute to the development of the locks as well, and they have all agreed to return if necessary to continue work on them, and anything associated with them, including special equipment like the proposed mass-produced armors." Alia froze at the last name.
"What's wrong, Alia? You look shaken up." X said, noticing her behaviour. "Oh, sorry, it's just… I didn't expect to hear that last name." "Why, do you think there's something wrong with him?" X asked. "A-actually..." "Professor Erwin is Alia's creator. He managed the same laboratory where Alia worked alongside Gate." Signas stated. "Y-yes, but you see, when I left his laboratory, we... Didn't exactly part on good terms. I'm sure you know some of the reasons why, but he still has me kinda nervous. I mean, if it's supposed to work the way you say it does, he would definitely be an invaluable member of the team, but I just don't know how well I would work with him." "Well, he explained some of that to us, and you may have a chance to sort that out." Signas said. "He and Professor Gaudile are due to arrive sometime tomorrow."