"Professor Ozpin is on his way down the elevator now, presumably in response to your summons, Operator. MAKE READY," Ordis's helpful and then angry voice pipes into the Operator's ear.
The Operator makes a noise of acknowledgement from the top of the orbiter, where she's using the Ivara's deft fingers to carefully remove the ruined internals from a destroyed steering thruster, thinking back on the past few days.
Arrival at the hangar was fast, and with Ordis having nearly a hardline connection to the CCT, Ordis could access nearly anything transmitted over the CCT. Encryption seemed to be a dirty word to the average denizen of Remnant; Ordis had explained that he had located several minor smuggling enterprises within minutes of connection. Most of these, the Operator instructed to be left alone - what harm could come from small-time dust smugglers?
Some of them weren't smuggling objects though. A few well-placed anonymous tips to local law enforcement resulted in the start of investigations, and presumably the eventual arrest of everyone involved.
There was encrypted traffic as well - mostly governments, massive corporations, and "Unknown, probably CRIMINAL SCUM organized crime." The Operator had instructed Ordis not to break the encryption, even if it was laughably simple compared to what he was used to breaking in the Origin System. As the Operator had patiently explained to Ordis, "I trust that you don't believe you'll get caught, but it still does increase our risk. All it takes is one hotshot hacker to notice your activity and wonder what it is."
The elevator door opens, and the Operator springs into motion, affecting surprise as she pulls the Vectis Prime off her back and aims it at the figure exiting elevator. "Tyl Regor," she supplies.
"Tubemen," comes the challenge reply from Ozpin, completely unworried by the massive sniper rifle aimed directly between his eyes. "Why did you ask for me?"
Sliding the sniper rifle back onto her back as she slides off the top of the orbiter, the Operator replies "I have two requests that would make repairs go faster."
Striding forward and checking on the nook that holds the machine keeping Amber alive - Ordis had said he was lucky to find the name, and had yet to find any information on what befell her, or why she was a VIP - Ozpin responds "I'll fulfill them if I can."
"The first one is simple. I need cranes. Four of them, at least, and preferably six. Ordis can fab them, and that was the original plan, but if I can acquire them pre-made that would shave at least two weeks off of the repair estimate. Heavy duty ladders would be appreciated as well."
Nodding sharply, Ozpin responds "I'll get them for you. How much weight do you need to support?"
Shrugging, the Operator states "Ordis will send the model of the cranes we're looking at. And the ladders should be able to support at least two tons."
Blanching a bit, Ozpin says "Unfortunately, we do not make ladders that can support that weight - at least, not that I can requisition without question."
"That's understandable. I'll have Ordis fab them up," the Operator says, shrugging. "The second request is more of a question, at least at first."
Ozpin gestures to continue, turning to look at the fused scrap from the Operator's earlier activities.
"Does anyone already in the know have welding experience?"
Looking off into the distance as he thinks for a moment, Ozpin responds "I don't know for sure, but I'm reasonably certain that Ruby Rose has at least basic knowledge of welding."
Nodding sharply, the Operator says "I would greatly appreciate being able to have her services. I can weld one-handed while holding panels in place with the other, but it's much messier with the big panels especially."
"I'll ask, but the VIP must remain secret to her. And she may request her own payment, as well."
"I'll just throw a cloth over the machine. It's hidden far back as it is," the Operator says, shrugging. "And as for payment, Ordis and I will come up with something."
"I'm assuming you'll want a challenge and response for her?" Ozpin asks, eyebrow raising.
"Yes. One moment." The Operator turns and heads inside of the orbiter, and Ozpin patiently waits for the Operator to return.
A minute later, the Operator steps out again, sealed envelope in hand, handing it over to Ozpin. It's very plain, with the only writing on the front being a neatly handwritten "Ruby Rose." "Give that to her," the Operator says. "It has her unique challenge and response. Don't open it yourself."
Nodding, Ozpin turns and leaves.
Late at night, a scroll beeps in a unique code. Cinder Fall ensures the door to the dorm she, Emerald, Neo, and Mercury are currently occupying at Beacon is locked before answering it.
Before she can even say a word, a flat "Fall. It's Taurus. We're back from our little expedition. It wasn't a meteor. I'm uploading pictures of the spot as we speak. Entire area is tracked up, at least nine different footprints, and there's signs of combat - there's bullet holes in trees, and Grimm tracks all over the south side. We also found some scraps of metal that don't seem to be a familiar one," comes out of the scroll.
Raising an eyebrow, Cinder says "Did you take the scrap with you?"
"Yes. Don't know what we'll do with it, though. Like I said, don't know what it is. I'm no smith."
"I'll alert one of our more… scientifically inclined allies to go by the safe house soon and see if he can't identify it - a Doctor Watts." The nearby computer terminal lights up, alerting Cinder that the images that were taken of the site have finished uploading, and she strides over, pulling them up and looking at them. "This is… interesting. That spot looks like the nose of a ship, and certainly not like a bullhead. Did we stumble across some secret weapons testing?" Cinder asks, leaning back.
"That's what my men were saying," Adam growls over the scroll, "but it doesn't feel right to me. Weapons development isn't as secretive in Vale as it is in Atlas. Hell, weapons development isn't as funded in Vale as it is in Atlas. What little there is is focused on modifying existing designs to work better in Vale, not making new ones out of whole cloth. And if it was Atlas doing the testing, General Ironwood is in town and would've been involved in the recovery."
"So then what do you think it is?" Cinder asks, annoyed.
An exasperated voice answers "I. Don't. Know. My gut says testing of some sort, but it doesn't fit the evidence. Maybe your labcoat will be able to figure it out."
"Operator, Ruby Rose is on her way down the elevator. May I suggest not pointing your weapon directly at her like you do with Ozpin during the challenge?"
From her Atlas, the Operator chuckles. "That's probably a good idea, Ordis. I'll take it under advisement." Finishing removal of a heavily damaged panel on the bottom of the orbiter, she turns as she hears the elevator ding. Hand on the grip of one of the Lex Primes, she barks the challenge "Alad V!" as soon as Ruby takes a step out of the elevator in full welding gear, mask dangling loosely from her right hand as she gawps at the cavernous room.
"Oh! Uh, Za-nuck-a?" Ruby says questioningly, horrifically mangling the pronunciation.
Inside the orbiter, the Operator's lips twitch up into a smile. A chuckle escapes as the hand is removed from the pistol. "Close enough," she says. "For future visits though, it's pronounced 'Zah-New-Kah.' My fault for not including a pronunciation guide."
"Zanuka, Zanuka, Zanuka," Ruby repeats under her breath a few times, memorizing the correct pronunciation. At a more normal volume, she says "Ozpin told me you needed someone who could weld?"
"Yes," the Operator says, nodding. "How much experience do you have?"
"Mostly small scale stuff - I did all the construction and maintenance on my weapon, and regularly help classmates maintain theirs. It's mostly arc welding, but I've dabbled in gas welding too." Ruby's response is quick, excited to get to work.
Ordis's voice springs from a speaker that has been moved to the outside of the orbiter. "Arc welding should be good for the job, but you will need to practice on some supplied materials before you DAMAGE ME FURTHER… My apologies. Attempt repairs."
Ruby pouts. "I wouldn't damage you, Ordis!" Questioningly, she says "That... is Ordis, right?"
Unseen, the Operator smiles. "Yes, it was. And I have no doubt that you wouldn't intentionally damage the Orbiter, and by extension Ordis, but I also very much doubt you've welded this particular alloy before. It's very difficult to work with."
Ruby nods. "So, it's not steel then? It didn't feel like it."
"It's a very difficult to make alloy of aluminum, titanium, and cryotic. Remnant literally does not have the resources to create it, nor the manufacturing capabilities."
Smiling at the prospect of a challenge, Ruby asks "So where do I start practice?"
"Ordis will finish fabbing up some small sheets in a few minutes, and I'll get them out of the foundry when I get the arc welder. Ordis will guide you; I'm not the best teacher," the Operator says, shrugging at the last bit. "If you're interested, after these sessions I have more weapo-"
"YES YES YES I WANT TO SEE MORE OF THOSE WEAPONS!"
"So, Ruby told me that you wish my help with learning meditation?" Ren asks, face an unreadable mask as usual.
"Yes?" answers Yang, unusually uncertain as she looks around the small, plain room the size of a walk-in closet that Ren invited her to, spotting only two mats on the floor. The door into the room closes behind her, muting the sound of the bustling hallway.
"All right. Sit down, in some way that you'll be comfortable for a while," Ren says, suiting action to words as he folds himself into a half-lotus position on one of the mats.
Self-consciously, Yang kneels down on the other mat.
"Are you comfortable?" Ren asks.
Yang nods.
"Good. Now, before we begin, I must tell you. Meditation is not a science, it is a practice. That being said, I practice several different types for several different reasons. Why are you interested in learning meditation?" Ren's face remains placid and calm.
Yang's does not, screwing into a frown as her shoulders slump. "My lack of awareness nearly got Blake killed. I didn't see that what I was going to do would put her into a bad situation, and didn't even realize that I'd screwed up until after the fight, when it was pointed out to me. Ruby brought up meditation, thinking that might help."
"It may," Ren says placidly, barely nodding. "I think that your goals would be most helped by mindfulness meditation. Some basic instructions, then. Once we begin, start by focusing on your breathing. Pay attention to the physical processes. Mentally tell yourself when to breathe in and when to breathe out.
"Your attention will eventually wander. This is fine. When you realize your attention is wandering, which it will, gently return it to your breathing. If you're uncomfortable and need to adjust your stance, that's fine, but pause and think about how you will move, then move. Our goal here is for you to observe, but not instantly react.
"You may find it easier at least to begin with your eyes closed. I know I did when I began meditating." Ren silences himself, as Yang takes his advice and closes her eyes.
'Breathe in,' Yang thinks, 'and out. In… out… in… out… in... out… in… out…' The ceiling above them creaks. 'I wonder what that noise was? What room is above us, anyways? Wait, I'm supposed to be focusing on my breathing. In… out… in… out… in… out… in… out… in… out… Ugh, my nose itches. Should I scratch it? Would that be a failure? Screw it, from how he was talking about it as long as I think my actions through before I do it it'll be fine - wait, my nose doesn't itch anymore, nevermind. Wait, I'm off topic. Breathing. In… out… in… out…'
A tall thin tanned man with a large bushy mustache, clad in a bespoke suit that looks very out of place in the scrubwood approaches a well hidden hideout, guarded by several Grimm-masked faunus. "I heard you needed a scientist."
The gate guard looks at him suspiciously. Keying his scroll, he says "Hey boss, we've got a human claiming to be a scientist."
Some voice that the well-dressed man cannot quite make out comes out of the scroll. "All right boss, I'll let him in. Right this way." The contempt in his voice for the human isn't hidden at all.
Leading him into the run down cabin and then down a hidden stairway, the hidden area is much larger and better kept than the cabin above. Adam Taurus steps out of a side room, half-mask staring directly at the well dressed man. "So you're Cinder's labcoat?" he sneers.
"Hardly Cinder's, but we share a common goal. Where are the samples?" Doctor Watts asks, not caring about what the faunus thinks of him.
"Back in here. No clue what they are other than 'not steel.' Hopefully you'll be able to figure it out."
The shards of metal are arrayed across a plain wooden table. Watts walks over and selects a medium sized one. "Hmm. Very light for its size. Is it aluminum?" He attempts to bend it, finding it very resilient. "Doesn't bend or twist with normal pressure. With it being this thin, not solely aluminum. Titanium alloy, maybe? No, no, no. It'd have to be very heavy on the titanium to be this stable, which would mean it would be much heavier than this. Steel?" He pulls a magnet out of his pocket, but it doesn't stick on the metal. "Not alloyed steel."
He steps over to the table, looking carefully over all sides of the scraps. "What are you doing?" Adam asks.
"I'm looking for any makers marks. If I can find any, then that would narrow down the manufacturer, or possibly even give me what's in it. Unfortunately, it's unlikely given the state of the scrap," Watts answers distractedly. "Do you have a stationary grinder?" he asks, looking up.
"Why?"
"A spark test may help narrow down the possibilities of what metals the alloy contains." Watts says, coming up empty on his search for markings on the scrap.
"Back in weapon maintenance. Hopefully it's up to your standards," Adam sneers.
Raising an eyebrow and choosing a medium sized piece of scrap, Watts says "There aren't exactly any signs. Would you care to point me there?"
Behind the mask, Adam rolls his eyes. "Follow me."
They walk in silence to a room near the entrance. Entering, Watts locates a polarized facemask that he borrows, knowing that sparks have the potential to be blinding. "You should grab one, too. It may throw off very bright sparks, permanently damaging any vision you have behind that mask." Adam growls before doing the same.
Watts starts up the grinder and prepares the longest flat edge for contact. Once the grinder is up to speed, he carefully approaches the flywheel with the scrap. Upon contact, there's an absolutely blinding spray of greenish-white sparks.
Even behind the polarized facemask, Adam still flinches from the unexpected intensity of the spray. Watts betrays no reaction as he calmly removes the scrap from the grinder and shuts it off. Raising the mask, he says "There's definitely titanium in there - nothing else produces such blinding sparks, and in such quantity. But nothing I know of makes green sparks on a grinder."
"Doesn't copper burn green? I might not remember much from what little schooling I got, but I remember that," Adam says.
"Copper doesn't spark on a grinder. As well, the color of the scrap itself is off; If there was copper, it would have a more orangish tint," Watts explains. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably air dust infused titanium, but that would be extremely expensive to make for something of that size. Before I can say for certain, I'd need to make some myself, and my budget is not infinite. If the White Fang is able to cover the few hundred thousand lien I'd need to make that from scratch, I could have a definite answer for you in… oh, three months."
Adam's scowl somehow becomes even more severe. "Even I know that it wouldn't be that expensive."
"I'd have to figure out how to infuse the wind dust into the titanium in the first place. Unless I get extremely lucky, I'll almost certainly end up accidentally destroying the first several attempts. Of course, the other option is that the green sparks are being caused by something completely alien, but that's such a small likelihood that it can be safely discarded."
"It might be extraterrestrial in origin," Adam points out.
"And the likelihood of alien life crashing on Remnant, let alone intelligent alien life, is extremely low. This is an alloy, it could not have happened naturally. No, it was probably someone doing testing on some new hull composition for fliers. Anything this expensive would be secretive."
In the library, Blake's scroll vibrates. Opening it, she spots a message from Pyrrha that says "Sorry, Ozpin just approached us with a mission - something about an outlying CCT relay being down. We'll have to cancel tonight's team spar."
Shrugging, Blake places her bookmark in the book and closes it as she stands up to go find Ruby and Weiss, since they're studying right now and Weiss would insist upon turning off the ringers of their scrolls to prevent distractions.
The freshman dorms are a mere five minutes from the Beacon library. For better or worse, this gives Blake a chance to think again about what had happened a few weeks previously, when Ruby had called her Heritage "cute."
'If it were Weiss or even Yang, I would've already had a discussion with her about how you need to be careful about saying things like that - even when it's meant as a compliment, many faunus will take offense to having their differences pointed out, even in a positive way, because of the history of the unspoken 'but' in there,' Blake thinks. 'Even though I know they wouldn't mean any harm if they said it, I'd still bring it up. So why haven't I talked to Ruby about it?'
Blake continues mulling over this question, even as she unknowingly slows down and eventually stops in the middle of the hallway. 'Is it because I absolutely know that it's meant without malice? Ruby doesn't have a mean bone in her body, at least not that I've seen. But that doesn't make sense, since I'd talk to Yang about it and she hasn't shown anything like that. So what is -' Something thin and yellow waves in front of her face, startling her out of her thoughts. Scowling, she turns to the monkey faunus who interrupted her. "What?" she growls.
"Woah woah woah, take it easy! You were just standing still in the middle of the hallway for the last minute, I was just making sure you were okay!" Sun says, concern bleeding into his normally upbeat voice as he raises his hands in mock surrender.
Blake blinks, realizing that she had been, thinking 'I spaced out that badly? I don't -' Sun's tail flicks her nose, startling her out of her thoughts again.
"You were doing it again," Sun says in response to Blake's unamused look. "So, what's got you all broody?"
Realizing remaining silent and glaring won't help in this case, Blake lets out a miniscule sigh. "Fine. Let's get out of the main hallway, at least."
"I know just the place!" Sun says, grabbing Blake's upper arm and half-dragging her to a currently unused classroom just a bit away from the main hall.
Closing the door as Blake leans against a desk, Sun asks "So, what's got you thinking so hard that you forgot how to walk?"
Bluntly, Blake says "Ruby called my Heritage cute."
Somewhat confused. Sun asks "So if you don't like her saying that, why don't you just tell her?"
"That's what's getting me. If it were Yang or Weiss, I would've already talked to them about it. Probably within the day. I know that Yang in particular wouldn't mean harm, and Weiss is working through everything she was taught by her father about the faunus – which does her credit. But for some reason, I can't bring myself to talk to Ruby about it," Blake says, frustration bleeding through her voice and stance.
"Huh. That's certainly a pickle. Have you thought about just asking her why she said it in the first place?"
"That's not the problem, Sun."
Shrugging, Sun says "It might be related."
Blake shakes her head. "The problem is I don't know why I haven't talked to Ruby about it. I know that she wouldn't say it again if I did, and also wouldn't take any offense to it."
Shrugging, Sun says "Maybe that's why you don't want to talk to her about it."
Blake sends a piercing glare at Sun. "What?" she growls.
Realizing that he may have inadvertently touched on a touchy issue for Blake, Sun raises his hands in surrender. "All I'm saying is that because you know Ruby won't say it again if you ask her not to, you don't want to ask her to stop because you like it when she compliments your Heritage please don't kill me."
Stalking forward and stabbing a pointed finger at Sun, Blake asks "But then why wouldn't I have this same issue with Yang? She also wouldn't bring it up again if I told her about it."
Edging towards the door, Sun says "I don't know? I mean, has this ever come up before for you?"
Throwing her hands up, Blake exclaims "No! I spent most of my life up to the enrollment in Beacon with only other faunus as friends! I don't know why this is an issue because it's never come up before!"
Nearly at the door, Sun says "Well, maybe it's because you like Ruby and want to hear more compliments from her."
Suddenly stupefied, Blake stops and says "What? Of course I like Ruby. She's one of the few friends I have at Beacon. But I'd talk to Yang about that too, and she's my partner."
Hand on the door handle in case this goes badly, Sun says "No, I mean like like Ruby. As in, you're nursing the beginnings of a crush on her."
The audacity of the statement may have saved Sun's life. Blake is struck dumb for a few moments before faintly saying "What?"
"I mean, there's not a lot there and I might be completely off base so tell me if I'm wrong but I mean it kind of fits since you like hearing the compliment from her and don't want her to stop but would get her to stop if you just liked her as a friend and seriously I'm just trying to help here," Sun rambles. "Did anything happen recently that might've caused this?"
Stunned, Blake takes a few steps back and leans on a desk, Blake says "Um. I mean, she kind of saved me from an Ursa the last time we were on a field mission. And then the first thing she did after the fight was make sure I was okay and worry over me."
Rallying, Sun says "Okay, that's a good start. So, what're you gonna do about it?"
Blake doesn't respond, currently reexamining her thoughts about her admittedly cute team leader. Sun lets this run for a few moments before throwing a wadded up piece of paper at her. Blake spots it coming and swats it away before it would hit her. "What?"
"So, what're you gonna do about it?" Sun repeats.
"I don't know. I didn't plan anything about this. I mean, she is cute, but I don't know if I have a crush on her or not, and I certainly don't know if she'd return any feelings I may have."
"Were you about to go talk to her about something else and that's why you were thinking about it?"
"Yeah. Pyrrha just messaged us to cancel the team spar we had scheduled for this evening, but since Ruby's studying right now her scroll will be off. I was going to let her know."
"Perfect! You've got an in!" Sun says, excitedly. "The room will still be reserved, just take it and do a bit of 1 on 1 practice!"
"I really shouldn't-"
"It doesn't have to be a date, Blake. Just get to know her better by, you know, trying to kill each other in a friendly way?"
"But what if you're misreading this and I don't have a crush on her?" Blake frets.
"Then you're still getting to know your team leader better, and that can't be a bad thing."
Blake looks down, chewing on her lip for a few seconds before looking up and saying "Thanks, Sun."
"Yeah, anytime! Just… preferably without the unspoken threat of imminent physical harm next time?" he says jokingly as he opens the door to leave the room
"No promises," Blake says, a ghost of a smile disappearing as fast as it appeared as she follows.
Sparks are flying from a workstation that the Operator had set up for welding practice. Behind her welding mask, Ruby is laser focused on her work - the Operator had not been joking when she said that this was extremely difficult material to work with, and she was extremely demanding when it came to the weld quality.
"This needs to be able to withstand a constant one atmosphere of pressure at all times with no leaks," she remembers the Operator saying. "In space, a pinhole leak can very quickly become a rupture, and a rupture can very quickly spell the doom of a ship."
Shutting off the arc welder and reaching for the bottom of her mask, she jumps in surprise as a large gray, leather covered arm reaches past her and picks up her latest practice piece. Ruby wonders once more how it sees anything at all without any eyes before the Operator speaks up and says "Excellent weld. Next time you come down here, we'll start work on attaching replacement panels to the bottom. For now though, I believe I have another weapon to show you.'
Ruby bolts upright, whipping her mask off in haste. "Yes please what space gun are you going to show me today miss Tenno?"
Pulling a weapon with a dark gray barrel shroud off of the small of her back, the Operator proffers it to Ruby - unloaded - and says "This is called the Quatz. It's a four barreled submachinegun, with the option to fire all four barrels at once by pressing this button here if there's something big and tough that needs more precise firepower to take down." Ruby takes a hold of it, carefully pointing it anywhere but at the Orbiter or the Operator, and observing the royal blue wires running from the magazine to the midpoint of the rifle and the more loose wire running from the bottom of the pistol grip to the front of the weapon. There's also green lights on it inside of royal blue housings. It's a lot heavier than it looks - she's noticed that that's a common theme of the Operator's weapons, and she suspects that's part of the design.
Looking up, she says "What's the firerate like in full auto mode and what's the recoil like in burst fire?"
Shrugging, the Operator says "1440 rounds per minute in full auto, recoil is surprisingly light for the burst fire. Don't try to limp wrist it though, that way lies pain and suffering." Pulling out a magazine, the Operator hands it over to Ruby. "This one has only four bullets in it. Get a feel for the recoil on full auto."
Sliding the proffered magazine in, Ruby looks over the Quatz for a few seconds. "Where's the charging handle?" she asks, finally.
"Oh, right. The Quatz is unique. It doesn't charge normally. You have to slam the magazine in hard and the inertia will load the cartridges."
Stupefied, Ruby asks "Why?"
The Operator shrugs. "I don't know. It's a grineer design, most of them have weird magazines. This one actually has four miniature helical magazines."
"Where's the ejection port?"
"Caseless ammo."
"Caseless ammo? How'd they solve the heat issues, especially with something that has that high of a rate of fire?" Ruby removes the magazine, looking at the end. "And what's with the contacts on the end here?"
"Electrical capacitor."
Ruby gives the Operator a flat look. "What?"
"Each bullet that's fired gets an electrical charge through that cord running from the grip to the front of the gun. It's basically a miniature tazer with deadly bullets in its base form. However, it's fairly easy to modify the weapon to gain access to other elements. I like to run it with acidic bullets to break down armor. That magazine doesn't have a charge or anything in the reservoir, although the next ones will. As far as overheating issues, the two cords along the top supply power to cooling elements running through the barrel and receiver that are powered by the capacitor in the magazine. The ports near the front of the weapon are where the waste heat is ejected, so don't put your hand there once you've fired it unless you appreciate second degree burns. It's a very grineer design, honestly."
Quizzically, Ruby says "But it's not ugly like the other grineer weapons. Sure, it's a little unornamented, but what do you mean?"
"I mean it was built to a purpose. The Grineer needed a small in close weapon that was effective at short range suppression and could take down shields quickly. The best way to do this is to overwhelm the projectors with many projectiles coming as fast as possible, using electrically charged bullets to increase the damage done to the shields. To do this, they used already available caseless ammunition that was meant for a semi-automatic pistol. They did initial testing with a more common single barreled design, and found a few problems - take a guess at what they were."
Tapping her chin, Ruby says "They obviously discovered the overheating issue then, but I can't think of anything else off the top of my head."
"The rate of fire did not meet requirements. It was far too low - it was around 450 rounds per minute. However, the bolt could not be lightened any more than it already was or it would fail to keep the chamber sealed while firing, causing jams and even on a few occasions misfires in the magazine. They also couldn't upcharge the cartridge - then they wouldn't be able to use already in place ammunition manufacture."
"So that's why they added the four barrels then, it's four separate receivers!" Ruby exclaims.
The Operator nods. "Yep. They did add some weight to the bolt after they did that, because an 1800 round per minute fire rate was deemed wasteful. Their initial cooling solution also had a separate power source, but nothing could keep up with the cooling needs through an extended firefight, so eventually they just upsized the capacitor that they were using to charge the bullets and powered it from that instead. However, this had an interesting side effect. Take your shots and pass the gun here?"
Ruby is slightly confused, but shrugs and slams the magazine into the rear of the pistol. Holding it in a standard two handed grip and aiming it at the target about 10 meters away, she slowly squeezes the trigger until it fires with a sudden B-r-r-rp. Looking down at the Quatz, Ruby says "That was… fast," as she removes the magazine and proffers the weapon to the Operator.
"Pretty accurate. Fourth one did climb into the eight-ring, though," the Operator says, actually sounding impressed.
Ruby shrugs. "I don't think the first three shots really had a chance for the recoil to affect them, honestly. Is it even possible to fire just one bullet from that thing?"
"Yes, but it's not easy. It requires a very light trigger finger and an intimate knowledge of the breakpoint," the Operator says, flipping the weapon around. "Now, as for the side effect," the Operator raises the magazine and slams it into the Quatz, triggering an electrical discharge in the area around the gun.
Ruby's eyes bug out, amazed that the shock didn't affect her. "What? How? Why?"
"Short version, the initial version that used the increased capacitor size failed to increase the strength of the systems, so when the capacitor was connected rapidly to a drained system, it would give a rather nasty and occasionally fatal shock to the user. The grineer didn't figure out how to solve this, but they did figure out how to direct it into an area around the user that would taze nearby enemies. And since this was a high rate of fire, short range weapon, it was determined that this was a useful feature and should remain."
Regaining control, Ruby asks "So what about the burst fire? Why was that added?"
"Initial field testing reports came back and were mostly positive. The major complaint that the grineer troops had was that against the more heavily armored Corpus units, it would take down the shields quickly but then lack any substantial power to put down the proxy behind it. So, they added the ability to depress that button there with your thumb and fire all four barrels at once, basically turning it into a miniature shotgun."
Ruby nods. "And that let it crack the armor plate a lot more efficiently, right."
The operator nods in return. "Go ahead and try it out. I've got one more magazine after you finish that one. Just be careful with the recoil on the burst mode; it is surprisingly light but it's still substantial."
Ruby nods, already aiming downrange.
Two magazines later, Ruby has a massive grin on her face, despite shaking her right wrist as she hands the Quatz back to the Operator. "That's a really fun little piece miss Tenno. You have anything else to try out?"
Shaking her head, the Operator says "Not today. One weapon per session; that's the deal."
Ruby pouts. "But I'm not going to be able to be here for the next session. Ozpin's assigned us to support team JNPR on a mission to Forever Fall."
"Oh. Thanks for letting me know. Why is Ozpin sending two student teams on a mission?"
"Oh, Ozpin's being cautious, something about mutated grimm. Anyways, I need to get going, Blake and I are sparring again pretty soon so I need to get changed into my combat gear," Ruby shrugs as she gathers her welding mask. "Thanks for showing me that weapon!"
"You're welcome." The Operator watches as Ruby walks over to the elevator. As soon as the elevator door closes behind her, the Operator says "Any intel about that, Ordis?"
"Collating data. One moment, Operator."
The Operator walks over to the orbiter, stepping inside as Ordis says "Found it, Operator! In the past few weeks, several outlying CCT relays have gone down. A student team was dispatched to bring the towers back online, and discovered something that looked like sabotage. That student team was dispatched on another mission later, and another CCT tower that was down was brought back online, but the details of that mission and the one that team did after that are encrypted. I CAN BREAK IT shall I break it, Operator?"
Shaking her head, the Operator says "No, don't break it. Sabotage, huh? That's… odd. Do what digging you can without breaking any encryption. Anyone willing to sabotage the CCT network is worrying."