The powerful whine of the system coming online rose in volume until the sudden, but brief moment of highly pressurized silence as the sonic boom rended through the air with the Mach 8 speed of the projectile that the railgun just fired out to sea.
"Remind me again why we didn't think of these in the first place?" Valentine commented to the man he'd assigned to handle the Nightfall's weapons systems as the distant plume of water from the impact rose up just before the horizon line. "What amuses me the most about them is the fact that they're cheaper than the 315mm cannons we originally used."
"We were also able to transport them by air too." He added as his ears stopped ringing from the railgun's shockwave.
"I know." Valentine glanced at the man sternly. "Koko was the one that delivered them."
"So what are they firing?" The man asked, and Valentine shrugged.
"That was just a test fire round. The proper ammunition's going to be the 315mm rounds without their shell casings. Just the projectiles themselves."
"Shouldn't we make them smaller than that?" He asked curiously.
"Since your tasks are nearly complete, I'll let you handle the revamping of the 315mm rounds into a size more suited to the new railgun turrets. I expect an official report at the next meeting." Valentine turned to leave as he added. "Disassemble this turret and have it readied for installation aboard the Nightfall with the rest of the turrets."
"Yes, sir. I will alert the crews immediately."
"Alright, Mr. Darkwood, it's all finished. You want to do some test shots?" The gunsmith that Tobias hired for Valentine and Sheva's guns presented him with Sheva's new sidearm, an exact copy of the Colt's he gave Valentine and the twins, but Sheva's didn't have the spring loaded magwell. He knew it would be more of an inconvenience to her than a benefit.
"It's alright. I trust your workmanship." Tobias smiled, since this was the man that did a large portion of the work for Lucky Lady, Ping and Dakka. "And of course, your payment is in cash, as always." Tobias handed over the sheaf of bills he was holding.
"Take care." The man smiled and traded the gun for the money, and promptly put it into the register - he trusted Tobias, so he didn't feel the need to count the money. It was always there in full - as Tobias put the gun into the case and closed it before nodding goodbye and returning to his truck outside.
"Are you serious?!" Sheva was examining her gun, excited by the gift from Tobias, who was smiling at her.
"You are part of our family, after all." Tobias nodded. "A movie from back when I was your age said it best, 'I've got family that ain't blood... and blood that ain't family.' You are one of us now... Just not... y'know, a carnivore." Tobias' smile widened as she put the gun back into the carrying case and closed the lid. "Now, question..."
"He's working on some new toy, looks like a weird skateboard." Sheva smirked, somehow knowing that he was about to ask where Valentine was.
"A skateboard... Hmmm..." Tobias' eyes narrowed, but then he smirked in realization. "Of course he'd make one." He turned his gaze back to Sheva. "I think I know where he is, I'll be back. Call if anything happens."
Breezing his way through the pedestrian traffic, Valentine took the corner sharply, much to the annoyance of an old man that was startled by his sudden turn, shouting after the girl in white that shot past him and vanished into the crowds.
Valentine was best described as being reckless right now; sharp turns, coupled with his high speed, made for an amusing experience with his prototype hoverboard. It used a modified version of the Boost Pack's magnetic core from the T-15's to generate both the lift and the forward propulsion it needed. A few tweaks later and it was running like a charm. Fast, lightweight and durable, plus it was easy to control.
So, of course, his destination was the skate park, to really try and put the hoverboard through it's paces in a civilian environment. Should the need arise, a military one would be taken if the use of the board was the only option at the time.
Gliding around a corner, the last person he expected to see was his father levitating right at the side of the building, and even more so by him keeping pace with him, a huge smirk on his face.
"Skate park is closed right now, two cars crashed at the intersection, there's debris all over the place." Tobias reported as he fashioned his own flat board out of ice, imitating his son's movements as they glided two feet off the ground, weaving in and out of the trees and light posts on the street.
"Got any alternatives in mind? Preferably without any flying bullets?" Valentine asked as they were forced to come to a halt in mid-air at a traffic light, the vehicles already moving, thus preventing a bold fly-over.
"Honestly, you should give it a break for today, whatever testing you have in mind can wait a day. Your gun's finally done, I was looking for you to let you know to come home."
"My gun?" Valentine raised an eyebrow. He had his Colt on him right now, and his P90 was locked in his own gun safe in his and Sheva's room.
"I got you a new one." Tobias replied as the light changed, allowing them to glide forward with the foot traffic. "So you can come willingly, or I'll MAKE you come back home, Valentine." His normal eye - his right - hardened into a glare as he said his son's name, daring him to try anything.
"I have a perfect internal compass, y'know. I'm well aware you've turned us around to go back home." Valentine winked at his father's subtle trick, but there was no fooling a magnetic sense of direction like that.
Loud banging at the front door drew the attention of Kuro, Shiro, Sheva and the twins to the foyer. All of them knew, more or less, that Tobias went to retrieve Valentine, and Rize was meeting with her publishing company for the afternoon. So, as the acting oldest, Yuuki approached the door and pulled it open to reveal a man and a woman in sharp suits, both of whom had glasses.
"Yuuki Darkwood?" The woman asked right away, making Yuuki narrow all six of her eyes suspiciously.
"Yes." She replied, scanning them for weapon bulges, but found none.
"My name is Gizelle, this is Francois, we're with Teen Vogue, would you be interested in giving an interview with yor sister Rachael for next month's issue?"
"Under what context?" Yuuki's gun holster under her left arm was hidden by the door, and she had subtly unbuttoned the small strap that kept the gun in place with her hidden arm.
"We're conducting numerous interviews with teen celebrities across the country, we're just visiting today to confirm your interest. With parental permission, if relevant, of course." Francois explained in an obvious French accent. "Our cards, should you wish to contact us directly with your decision." He handed over a business card, which she accepted with a brief glance at the number on it.
"I'll call you when we make up our minds." Yuuki replied and they both nodded in understanding before turning to leave.
Yuuki watched them leave for several seconds until they were back in their car and drove away. She closed the door and looked up at her twin.
"Teen Vogue, huh? Compared to the Syndicate's bullshit, that sounded legitimate. Gimme the card, I'm gonna check to see if it's actually a real thing." Rachael accepted the card and went to their computers, the sound of her typing reached their ears until she came back a minute later with the card in hand. "It's legit, Gizelle's an interviewer, Francois' a photographer for the magazine."
"Guess we should tell Mom and Dad when they get back, huh?" Yuuki reclasped her gun's strap with a sigh as she accepted the card from Rachael. "Aside from Dad's stuff with H&K, and Mom's books, nobody's really asked us for interviews of any kind."
"Shall I send them a message?" Shiro asked, but Yuuki shook her head.
"Nah, this can wait until they get home. Not a big deal." Yuuki replied, tucking the card into her cleavage. "Anyway, I'm hungry, gonna order a pizza. Ray, Sheva, want something on it? I was just gonna get pepperoni and extra cheese."
"Pineapple?" Rachael didn't often ask for specific ingredients on their pizza, usually various meats or specific specialty pizza's, but the one thing that Yuuki didn't like on pizza... was that.
"No." Yuuki scowled. "Pineapple does not belong on my pizza. Buy your own if you want that shit!"
"I was kidding!" Rachael laughed. "Nah, I'm really in the mood for some garlic bread. Think you could add that?"
"Sure. Sheva?" Yuuki was already sliding her phone out to make the order.
"Garlic bread sounds good, sure." Sheva didn't have a problem with pineapple on pizza, nor the garlic bread suggestion, so she didn't mind at all.
Tobias and Valentine returned to the sharp scent of the pizza and garlic, both sharing an amused glance, smirking as they went inside.
"Yo, dad, we got something to tell you." Yuuki's voice came from the living room, so the two of them appeared in her field of few, curious.
"And what would that be?" Tobias rested his forearm on the wall as he spoke.
"We got a legit interview request for Teen Vogue. They're doing a special on teen celebrities, and wanted us as part of it." Yuuki explained, shoving her mouthful of food into her cheek to speak.
"Have you told your mother this?" Tobias tilted his head to the side very slightly as he smirked.
"She's still not home yet." Yuuki shrugged, recalling that Rize informed them both that her meeting was for her new series of books, so it'd be several hours.
"You think so?" Rize called as she opened the front door, carrying her bag over her shoulder. "So what am I to be told?"
"We got a magazine interview request from Teen Vogue." Rachael lowered her pizza to speak. "And it's not a Syndicate trick either. We checked their information."
"So when is it?" Rize lowered her bag from over her shoulder and pulled off her heels.
"We have to call them back before we get a date, but they did say it was for next month's issue." Yuuki explained, her cheek still full of pizza. "I have their card, right here." She slid two fingers into her cleavage and retrieved the card. "We were gonna call them after we eat."
"That's all up to you, and if anything goes wrong, it's your problem. Bring your guns to the meeting, make it very clear that it's not negotiable." Tobias smirked. "By the way, Valentine... Yours is on your bed."
Valentine had long since lost interest in the conversation, so he left to retrieve his gift weapon. He came back with the large case over his shoulder and put it down on the floor, opening it with a curiously suspicious stare.
Inside was a weapon that resembled a shotgun, but clearly wasn't one. The barrel was too wide for buckshot.
"An MMS... I thought this never left prototype testing?" Valentine scrutinized the heavy looking weapon with a careful eye. "Micro Missile System." He added with a glance at his sisters confused expressions.
"Looks like a shotgun." Sheva commented, and Valentine smirked.
"It is. It shoots mini rockets, like this big." He held his thumb and index apart to show the size of the projectiles. "Not much power by themselves, that's why there's eight of them per round." With his other hand he extracted the grenade-launcher-sized round and held it up to them. "Sadly, they're dumb-fire rockets. The intended guidance system couldn't be shrunk down."
"You say otherwise?" Tobias knew his weapon choice for his son was a good one.
"Lasers are fun." Valentine winked cheekily before packing the weapon back into the case. "I have a guidance system in mind already, but it'll take me at least the rest of the summer to get it operational."
"So in other words...?" Sheva knew by his tone the words he wasn't saying.
"Challenge accepted."