Friday, February 18th.
Colin Wallis strode through the PRT HQ with purpose, going specifically towards the engineering workshop. The workshop itself was not unlike an engineering lab one would see in a well funded university or government research facility. It was a large open, concrete room filled with power tools, machinery, and half finished projects. While there were no actual walls separating work stations in this level, there were implied work areas as certain projects and workers took over corners of the lab and didn't let go. Colin himself had a lab here in addition to the one he had on the Rig, where he worked primarily on his motorcycle and some larger scale inventions.
Colin made his way to Kid Win's corner. Hopefully today's collaborative Tinkering session would go better than the last one they had together. Both Colin and Chris were getting frustrated at the latter's lack of progress, but there could only be so much done until Chris discovered his own speciality. The best Colin could do was try and walk Chris through his own process to see if it struck any chords with the Ward. So far, it hadn't.
Entering Kid-Win's workshop, he saw Chris out of costume, wearing his street clothes and a domino mask, looking at several disassembled laser guns on his workbench. Chris seemed frustrated as he stared at all of the pieces, and Colin could understand why. Colin counted no less than four different barrels, three receivers, and two power sources, but not one complete gun.
When Colin walked in, Chris looked at him with slight horror before he was able to compose himself. "Hey Armsmaster." He said softly.
"Kid." Colin nodded. "I see you have laid out some of your tech. Having issues?"
Chris sighed. "Yeah. Just… frustrated. I have all these projects and it's killing me. I make one thing then just jump to the next without finishing. I don't get it."
Colin nodded. He didn't understand why Chris couldn't just finish a project. Was it just a lack of discipline or was his ADD was that bad? While it wasn't Colin's place to give Chris medical advice, he thought it wouldn't be a bad idea if the boy were to get on medication. Perhaps then he'd actually finish a project besides his hoverboard and Spark Pistols.
"Well, why don't you walk me through some of these designs, and we can see if we can make some progress." Colin said. While he was internally frustrated with Chris, he couldn't let it show. He knew he was being hard enough on Chris already, and he didn't want to break the boy.
Chris picked up one of the longer barrels. "Well this one here, I know my Spark Pistols are good against most people, but against anyone with a Brute rating or even regular armor? I might as well be hitting them with a squirt gun. So I decided to try and make a kind of laser rifle so I could hit them with a more powerful blast, but only got as far as the barrel and focusing lens before I lost the idea."
He then picked up a second barrel, which was shorter and had 3 lenses instead of one. "This one was pretty much the opposite idea. It would take the laser and split it into 3 weaker beams, acting kinda like a laser-shotgun." He put it back down as well. "Again, lost the idea after building the barrel."
"Hm, well what would it take to finish either of these projects?" Colin asked.
"A lot. Every barrel needs a body and power source. And even if I did finish all of them, I'd have 9 different guns on me." Chris complained. "PR would not look kindly on me going on patrol looking like Rambo."
Colin snorted. "No they wouldn't. Perhaps you could make use of the teleportation technology I developed from scanning Miss Militia? Teleporting weapons to and from the base as needed."
"Huh. That's a pretty good idea." Chris nodded. "I could get in larger weapons that I can't normally carry as well."
Colin smiled. They were making progress. Good. "Well that's off in the future anyway. Let's focus on-" A call in Armsmaster's helmet cut him off. Tech-Priest was calling him. "A moment please."
Colin stepped off to the side. He had given Taylor his contact information after she left the HQ during her registration, and the two had been in sporadic email communication since. She even sent him some CAD files of some prosthetics she wished to get his opinion on and to see if the PRT was interested in buying them. The designs were simple and elegant, but rugged and durable. They had impressed Colin enough that he sent it to the PRT's science teams and the Director, as well as sending Taylor his own feedback and modifications to it.
"This is Armsmaster." Colin answered.
"Armsmaster." Tech-Priest's synthesized voice came in over his communicator. "This is Tech-Priest. Are you currently available?"
"I am currently in the process of Tinkering with Kid Win, so I would prefer if we keep this brief." Armsmaster answered honestly. Colin was interested in working with Taylor, but she needed to give him heads up and respect his schedule and previous obligations. Kid looked up at Armsmaster, now interested in his conversation.
"Hmm. Is he with you? Good, then I can extend my invitation to the two of you. I would like to invite you both over to my workshop. I have a new project which I wish to run by you, and I think this may be a good chance for some collaborative Tinkering."
Colin paused for a moment. "I will admit I am interested. Let me run it by Kid and get back to you."
"Understood. I'll send you the address of my Manufactorum. Good day, Armsmaster." Tech-Priest then abruptly hung up.
"Hm." Armsmaster grunted as he then looked at Kid Win.
"Who was that?" Kid asked.
"That was Tech-Priest. You are familiar with her, correct?"
"Kinda?" Kid Win shrugged. "I know she's a new Tinker who registered here, but that's about it."
"That's about it because she hasn't been doing much. She's decided to work as a Rogue rather than a hero or villain. She is a cybernetics Tinker who Triggered to repair injuries to her body. She has invited us to come see her lab for some collaborative Tinkering, if you are interested."
Kid Win's eyes went wide. "Hell- I mean Heck yes I'm interested! Are we leaving now?"
Colin smiled at his protege's excited attitude. Seeing another Tinker's workshop and process was always interesting, especially since the only two local heroic Tinkers in the Bay were in this room already. "Yes. Get your tech and anything you'd be willing to share with Tech-Priest. You can fly alongside my bike."
Kid smiled excitedly as he began gathering up his pieces into a backpack alongside a folder full of looseleaf papers and sketches. After a few minutes he was ready and the two Tinkers mounted their vehicles and made their way to the address on the Docks that Tech-Priest indicated.
The trip didn't take too long for Armsmaster and Kid Win, though Colin had to admit that traveling so far into the Docks while not on patrol was rather concerning. Soon enough, the two heroes stopped in front of an old, closed down factory. Although lights and sound of industry within told him that the building was in fact alive and well.
As they approached the face of the factory, the large steel loading door opened up revealing the interior. Inside, Colin saw several workers operating a variety of metal working machines, alongside grey dressed soldiers carrying Tinkertech weaponry. Armsmaster took careful note of their equipment, positioning, and numbers in case they ever became a threat. Standing in the middle of the door to greet them was Tech-Priest.
Tech-Priest was still recognizable to Colin given her blood-red robes, gas-mask like respirator, glowing red eye, and long, curly black hair, but that was about all that remained the same about her.
First, Tech-Priest had brand new prosthetics on her left arm and legs. Where before her cybernetics were skeletal and crude, these were armor plated, and seemed to contain a far more robust servo-system. Not only that, Taylor wore some kind of power armor underneath her robes. Smart. Almost every Tinker, so long as their speciality allowed it, created armor early on. After all, despite their ability to create many wondrous things, they were still physically human.
Tech-Priest's armor was pseudo-medieval, similar to Gallant's, though more based on scale mail rather than plate armor like the Ward's. But most interestingly, Tech-Priest seemed to have some kind of backpack sticking out of her power armor, from which a large mechanical pincer, not unlike the robotic arms seen in car factories, extended out.
Tech-Priest walked towards Colin and Kid Win. Even Colin could see Kid becoming somewhat unnerved by the scene in front of them. Colin resisted the urge to shake his head. It wouldn't do to insult Tech-Priest in her own workshop.
"Tech-Priest, it is good to see you." Armsmaster politely said as he dismounted his bike and met her half way. He extended out his hand and Tech-Priest shook it. "I see you've been quite busy developing new equipment."
"Pleasure to see you as well Armsmaster." Tech-Priest responded. "And yes, I have been very busy." She then looked at Kid. "And Kid Win. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Tech-Priest walked up to Kid and shook his hand. Kid gave an awkward smile in response. "Uh nice to meet you I guess."
Nodding, Tech-Priest let go of his hand and began walking back into her factory. "Yes well, no reason to stay outside in the cold. Please come in. Armsmaster, you may bring your bike in as well."
Colin did so as he examined the interior of the factory. While it wasn't to the level of the Rig or PRT HQ, Tech-Priest had set up quite the workshop in an exceedingly short period of time. He would've been impressed by her enhanced prosthetics alone, but those combined with her other inventions, and this factory? Marvelous. It wouldn't surprise him if Tech-Priest rated at a Tinker 7.
"I have to say I am very impressed with everything you've done." Colin said, voicing his inner monolog. "I see you took some of my feedback about your prosthetics as well."
Tech-Priest nodded, and Colin could see a crinkling of the corners of her eyes that indicated she was smiling. "Indeed I did. Your feedback on the servos allowed me to reduce the size while maintaining strength and dexterity." She then raised her left arm up and flicked her wrist. From it a small port opened up and a plasma cutter extended out of her forearm. "With the space saved I was even able to install a socket for tools and weapons, as per your suggestion."
Colin grinned. "Very good. I'm glad my advice helped. Though how were you able to overcome the power supply issue?"
Tech-Priest flicked her wrist again and the tool retracted. "Ah, that Armsmaster, is something I won't tell you yet. Perhaps when we finish we could discuss a trade. Schematics for schematics."
The smile fell slightly from Colin's face, but he relented. Tech-Priest wasn't obligated to tell him everything, and as a rogue it only made sense she would want something in return for her designs. "Fair enough. So you mentioned over the phone that you had a project you wished to pitch. What is it?"
Tech-Priest nodded to Colin. "Yes of course. Tell me Armsmaster, do you know of the state of the Bay's ferry?"
"The ferry?" Colin parroted. "I know that the city had shut down the ferry due to high operating costs and low returns, but what about it?"
"Yes well, I have been doing some calculations, and I would like to request approval for repairing the ferry. I know I can get it operational at a rather cheap cost for the city." Tech-Priest said confidently.
Colin frowned, already knowing the answer. He shook his head and said, "Sorry, but there's no way the city would approve of a Tinkertech modification to the ferry. It would put it at your mercy since you'd be the only one who could maintain it."
"Ah but that's where you're wrong, Armsmaster." Taylor said, raising a mechanical finger into the air. "Because I won't be using Tinkertech to repair the ferry."
Both Colin and Kid Win scowled at her, confused.
Taylor continued as she tapped the side of her head with her mechanical finger. "You see Armsmaster, I have a full equivalent understanding of a Bachelor's Degree in both Mechanical Engineering and Naval Engineering. Give me a few more weeks, and I'll have Master's in both as well. With this, I can repair the ferry through conventional means and material at the fraction of the cost of hiring a firm to do so." Taylor proudly said.
Colin stared at her blankly, not knowing what to say. When he looked in the corner of his HUD, he saw that his lie detector was taking a significantly longer time figuring out if what Taylor said was true. Eventually, it came up with a 90% truth rating. Well… that was surprising.
"How?" Was all Kid Win could ask, shocked at the young girl's level of education.
Colin however, understood what happened. "Neural Implants." He flatly said.
Tech-Priest nodded, pleased that Colin had guessed correctly. "You are correct, Armsmaster. Thanks to a little help from Panacea, the cranial circuitry installed into my head has greatly expanded my learning capabilities. Within only a few days, I have downloaded terabytes of science, engineering, and technology concepts, classes, and lessons directly into my brain, and I have the utmost confidence I can repair the ferry."
Colin nodded in return. That was a lot to take in. But also very good to know. That level of cognitive augmentation for rapid learning could probably qualify as a mid level Thinker rank. Colin then wondered how such an augmentation would help him. While his Tinker ability gave him a strong understanding of science and technology innately, a deeper understanding of fields not provided by his speciality, such as chemistry or biology, would be very useful.
"What the fuck?" He heard Kid Win mutter under his breath.
Colin frowned imperceptibly at the boy. He should both know better than to curse while in costume, and to show such outward distaste towards another Tinker.
Hoping Tech-Priest didn't notice the Ward, Colin said, "That is extraordinarily impressive. The only Tinker I could think of who could create anything of that level is Dragon." Colin then mentally bumped Tech-Priest up to a Tinker 8 in his head. Higher than himself, which somewhat grated on his pride. But Colin could accept it for the sake of cordiality. "I can pass your request on to both Director Piggot and the Mayor. Do you have some kind of engineering proposal document that I can give to them?"
Tech-Priest nodded. "Yes, I do. I'll have it sent to your email once we are done here. It also contains the total projected cost of two million dollars, and a cost analysis report explaining how much the city will save by paying me rather than contracting out the repair or building a new ferry, in addition to forecasted profits from the ferry itself."
"Very good. All of those will go far in helping your pitch to the city." Colin truthfully said. After all, money did make the world go round. "If that was the project you wished to pitch to me, do you wish to get to Tinkering now? I would very much like to see some of what you've created."
"As I would like to examine both of your technologies." Tech-Priest said. "Although, since you two probably don't want to change out your limbs yet."
"Yet?" Kid Win muttered under his breath.
Tech-Priest continued on, not noticing Kid Win's quip. "I'll show you some of my TinkerTech that doesn't require augmentation."
Approaching a steel and wood work table in the center of the factory, Tech-Priest reached for her side and pulled out a pistol. It was an obviously Tinkertech pistol, although blockier than anything Colin would've made. She also had some workers cart over a pincered robotic factory arm similar to the one that was on her back. Tech-Priest then used her robotic claw to pick up the arm on the cart and place it onto the table.
"These are two of my first inventions, the Laspistol and the Servo-Arm." Taylor proudly said as she displayed her inventions.
"Ohh!" Was all Kid Win said as he immediately set upon the Laspistol. "Heavier than it looks. What do you use to power it?" Kid Win then looked down the barrel and he studied the focal lens of the gun.
He was interrupted when Tech-Priest then ripped the pistol out of his hands. Kid was momentarily stunned at how aggressively Taylor took back her gun as she scowled at him. Tech-Priest then pressed a button and ejected what looked like the power pack out of the grip, where a normal pistol would house its magazine. Once it was removed, she handed the Laspistol back to Kid.
"Don't look down the barrel of any weapon." She hissed at him.
Kid Win embarrassedly looked away, a little ashamed. And Colin thought rightly so. Kid had gone through a firearms safety course, and should know better. He'll be sure to bring this up on Kid's next review.
"Sorry." Kid Win muttered as he grabbed the Laspistol.
Taylor nodded when she believed he was sufficiently chastised. "And to answer your question, I have a high-density power cell made primarily from zinc I designed. They can be recharged through standard electrical plugs, but also have built-in solar chargers."
"Huh, solar as well. I didn't think about that. I haven't run out of juice in the middle of a patrol yet, but having something like that would be useful for an extended operation." Kid Win mumbled out, no doubt experiencing some flashes of ideas. "Also what's the power output on this thing? I only see two modes, standard and overcharged."
"At its default setting, both my Laspistols and Lasguns fire a bolt of highly energetic, condensed photons equal in power to a .50 caliber anti-material around. On overcharge they fire at roughly double the strength for double the power consumption." Taylor flatly said.
Both Colin and Kid Win blinked at her.
"Wow…" Kid said after a few seconds of silence. "You uhh… don't really mess around, do you?"
"Of course not. When the threats to my family and I include the likes of Lung and Hookwolf, I will not settle for anything less than the best." Tech-Priest said.
"A respectable approach." Colin admitted, to the surprise of Kid. Colin then looked at Kid and said, "Many of my weapons are similarly lethal, such as the plasma halberd or my Nanothorn project. It is less the tool and more how you use it." Colin then shifted his gaze at Tech-Priest. "That being said, it would behoove you to look into developing some non-lethal countermeasures as well. You wouldn't want a murder charge because you used a Lasgun on a regular gangster or a non-Brute Cape."
Tech-Priest nodded. "I have been experimenting with some but have yet to come up with a design. Things like stun batons and web guns that would fire a material similar to containment foam."
Kid relaxed a bit at that. "That's good. At the very least, I could trade the designs of my Spark Pistols for your Laspistol designs. My Spark Pistols use hardlight electrical blasts that carry kinetic energy rather than thermal or photonic. Good for nonlethal attacks against gangsters and non-Brutes, but not so much against someone like Hookwolf. You could use my pistols to scale down yours, and I can use yours to scale up mine."
"Director Piggot wouldn't appreciate you carrying around a fully lethal armor piercing weapon rated to fight Brutes." Colin warned. "Although I could see the benefits of having such a weapon should the need arise."
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Tech-Priest quoted.
Colin nodded. "Agreed. I will speak to the Director. It will have to be approved of course, and probably only used in A-Class emergencies and higher." He then looked to Tech-Priest. "That is of course, if you're willing to trade."
"Hmm, perhaps. That is, after all, why I invited the two of you here. Though it's interesting you say I should scale my las-weaponry down, as I have actually been trying to scale up weapons to cannon and turret size, but haven't been able to." Tech-Priest said.
Behind his visor, Kid Win's eyes went a little wide. "Oh! That's actually something else I have!" Kid Win then reached into his bag and pulled out his notebook and flipped it open. On it was a some kind of oversized turret, easily 15 feet long with a barrel that was 3 or 4 feet in diameter. "This is a design I've been messing with called the Alternator Cannon. It's another idea I've been looking into for Anti-Brute purposes. It's pretty much a massively scaled up version of my Spark Pistols, capable of alternating between different types of projectiles, like hard light or electrical spark blasts."
Taylor bent down and looked over the designs. "Intriguing. How did you get around the issue of heat build up in such a large weapon?"
"A combination of specialized Tinkertech alloy heatsinks, and the helixed electro-magnetic rail helps keep energy from pooling in one spot for too long, preventing overheating." Kid proudly said.
"Impressive." Taylor admitted as she read over more of the design.
"It is." Colin added on. "Although I am concerned as to why this is the first time I've heard of this."
Kid's proud expression suddenly turned sheepish. "I uh… I meant to show it to you and the science team, but I wanted to have something finished first. I wouldn't want to waste everyone's time getting approvals and reviews for a project that I'd never finish."
"An understandable concern." Colin conceded. "Although a weapon of this size and power should be discussed and tested even in only the planning phase. You have my support in such a project, but we will be having a lengthy review of it once we return to HQ."
Kid looked down, a little sullen after getting chastised twice today. "Understood." he said softly.
"Regardless of your regulations and approvals." Tech-Priest interrupted. "I am thoroughly impressed by your weapon, Kid Win. I am willing to trade you the designs for both my Laspistol and Lasgun in exchange for your Spark Pistol and Alternator Cannon."
Kid seemed taken aback by Tech-Priest's offer and moved to say something, but when he opened his mouth no words came out. He paused to think it over, his face visibly conflicted, and Colin could understand why. His Spark Pistols were one thing, but to also trade the designs to his Alternator Cannon when he hadn't even built a prototype yet? That was asking for a lot.
Weighing the unloaded laspistol in his hand, Kid looked at Tech-Priest and said, "Okay, I'm down for a trade."
Tech-Priest nodded and began taking scans of Kid Win's designs, and exchanging contact information to trade CAD files and other documents.
While Kid and Tech-Priest talked about that, Colin took to examining the Servo-Arm. It was a solid piece of equipment, heavily armored, and the demonstration Taylor provided by picking it up with her own Servo-Arm showed it was capable of lifting several hundred pounds at the minimum.
"A good design. Simple but powerful." Colin said, complimenting the Servo-Arm. "Although I don't see a control interface."
Taylor turned to him, extending her own Servo-Arm. "Ah, that is because the Servo-Arm connects directly to my brain through the cyber-mantle attached to my spine. I can move the mechadendrite as easily as I can move my own arm." Taylor appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Although if such a modification is unappealing to you, I'm sure it could be modified to accept voice or hand controls, as well as mounting directly to your armor."
"Very good." Colin nodded. "Although you should think about installing a secondary control mechanism into your Servo-Arm as well. If the neural transmitters get damaged, you'll need another way of controlling it so you don't just have a hundred pounds of scrap metal bolted onto your back."
Tech-Priest hummed as she considered Colin's advice. Good, she was listening and open to criticism. Some Tinkers became very defensive when people made comments on their work, leading to difficulty in collaboration.
"Furthermore," Colin continued. "While this pincer is useful for heavy lifting, and perhaps close quarters combat, its functionality is limited. I would suggest perhaps making a new head that has a variety of tools that could be used depending on the situation, not unlike my own halberd."
Tech-Priest seemed to take the suggestion in stride as she stared at the Servo-Arm. "A fair point. Although I lack the capability to miniaturize technology as you can. I am concerned about loss of effectiveness in creating such a multitool. I would be turning the Servo-Arm from a tool that is very good at one task, into a tool that is mediocre at several. A Swiss army knife rather than a switchblade."
"Well why not just make the heads swap-able then?" Kid Win cut in. He almost jumped when both Colin and Tech-Priest snapped their heads toward him, but he continued. "You know, rather than making a head that has a mini pincer, drill, and laser gun, why not make separate heads for each. Then you could swap out the head before or during missions depending on what you need."
"Hmm, a modular design." Taylor nodded. "Both very good suggestions, and ones that I will indeed experiment with. But regardless, we are getting off topic. Are either of you interested in trading anything for the designs of the Servo-Arm?"
"I am." Colin stepped forward. If he could modify the Servo-Arm to have a multi-tool similar to his halberd, then he would have far more functionality in the field.
"And what do you wish to exchange for it?" Taylor bluntly asked.
Colin held up his halberd. "My plasma halberd." When Kid Win's gasped at that, Colin said, "Not this exact one, nor will I give you all of the miniaturized Tinkertech within, only the plasma emitter and base halberd itself."
Tech-Priest frowned behind her respirator, but nodded. "That is fair."
"Very good." Colin nodded. "We can exchange designs through our regular channels."
"Understood." Taylor said. "Well, unless either of you are in the market for cybernetic limbs or organs, I do not have much left to share with you tonight. But if you wish, I could give you a tour of my Manufactorum."
"I think we could spare the time." Colin said, looking at Kid. Kid checked with console and when there were no immediate fires, nodded. "But before that, there is something I have to give you."
A slot opened up on Colin's power armor and he pulled out an envelope and handed it to Tech-Priest. Tech-Priest took it and gingerly opened up the letter, revealing a check inside.
"It's your monthly stipend as a PRT-affiliated rogue." Armsmaster explained. "$10,000 for the month of February."
Tech-Priest looked over the check and nodded, pocketing it within her robe as she said, "Thank you, Armsmaster. Though while I don't wish to sound crass, is this all the PRT will provide me?"
"Yes. I was actually able to negotiate a higher than standard rogue rate for you, but I understand that in the grand scheme of Tinkers, it is not much money." Colin shrugged. "Best I could say is continue to develop new technology that the PRT may purchase, and they'll be willing to give you more funding."
"What of the combat prosthetics I sent you?" Taylor asked, a little annoyance in her tone.
"Still going through reviews. It's not exactly something we can just test out on our troopers like most Tinkertech sent in. Not to mention there have been multiple concerned parties over the long term safety and ethical implications of your technology."
"Ethical implications?" Taylor practically spit out the words. "What ethical implications are there in building better troopers? Save for maintenance there are literally no downsides to my technology."
"I agree." Colin said, ignoring Kid's surprised look at him. "But unfortunately others do not share our viewpoints. They see progress as something of a slippery slope. One that should be approached slowly and with caution. It is an understandable position, and the reason why review boards are a thing." Colin made sure to leave out that Dragon was a particular detractor of Taylor's ideas to cyberize PRT Troopers.
"Hmph. Fools." Tech-Priest shook her head. "Regardless, thank you for giving this to me. I do mean to sound ungrateful, I am merely… frustrated."
Colin raised a hand to stop her. "It is understandable." He then believed it would be a good idea to shift topics. "Why don't we go on that tour then?"
Tech-Priest nodded her head, taking a deep breath before she began explaining the various nooks and crannies of her workshop.
Taylor was actually a little sad to Armsmaster and Kid Win leave. The collaborative Tinkering session was very productive, even more so than she thought it would be. Their advice on her technology was sound, although she had a feeling she would have trouble implementing some of it.
The Servo-Arm's functionality was integrated all across the mechanical limb, not just the head, so a fully modular design probably wasn't possible. But making different types of servo-arms that could then be socketed into her cyber-mantle could work.
Now back in her private workshop beneath the manufactorum, Taylor opened her laptop and loaded in the designs for the plasma halberd, Spark Pistol, and Alternator Cannon on her CAD software.
The Spark Pistols were relatively easy to understand. Thanks to her cranial circuitry, Taylor was already downloading textbooks on both electrical engineering and physics, which would speed up the process of her reverse engineering the weapons. She'd probably try to use them to create a non-lethal setting on her las weapons, or perhaps just try and build standalone Spark weapons. She could already see parts of the pistols she could simplify and modify to make it easier for her to recreate. It was interesting food for thought.
The Alternator Cannon is what she was more excited for however. The way Kid Win scaled up his technology was rather ingenious, and better yet, it looked like it could be applicable to her own las weapons. While she couldn't build the anti-grav technology that Kid Win seemed to be fond of, she could easily throw the scaled up "Lascannons" onto a tripod or on top of a vehicle like a Humvee.
All she would need then is some kind of targeting system with enough logic and spirit and she could set them around her home and base as automated defense turrets. Or at the very least, have them be used by a Guardsman weapons team. Taylor smiled as the image of a lascannon melting Hookwolf came to her mind. Taylor then shook the image out of her head as she went back to work.
Last up was Armsmaster's plasma halberd. Taylor found the use of plasma as the weapon intriguing. She'd only considered using the plasma as a ranged weapon due to how unstable it could be as an energy source. Armsmaster had some kind of emitter that coated the blade of his halberd with a plasma.
It was an interesting design, but it wasn't perfect. The emitter could be damaged, leaving only the blade, which in and of itself was still extremely dangerous. It appeared to be made of Tinkertech alloys as the blade alone could cut through steel. Taylor would have to get the formula for it from Armsmaster at a later date, or attempt to reverse engineer it from the design he gave her.
Regardless, Taylor was still hesitant to use plasma for such a weapon. She wasn't confident in her ability to contain the plasma in such a way that it would be stable enough where she wouldn't have to worry about it exploding in her face. Rather than plasma, what if she used some kind of force field generator?
Taylor had been toying around with ideas for creating force fields to protect herself and her father. She hadn't gotten beyond the concept stage for them, but the ideas were there. If she could create a field around a sword or halberd or axe that could break apart matter, she could create a kind of Force Weapon that could cut through the toughest materials with ease. Hell, it wouldn't surprise her if it could hurt an Endbringer. Maybe even kill one.
Taylor chuckled at that. Killing an Endbringer. That was a lofty, and hubristic goal. Certainly the idea appealed to her, but she felt like she should stick to more realistic goals for now. Like saving an entire city.
She shook her head and created a new 3D file to work in. This meeting alone had given her ideas for half a dozen new projects in addition to the ones she was already working on. Thankfully, her cranial circuitry allowed her to work with limited sleep, although she still required food and produced waste, something she found to be an inefficient use of her time.
Idly, she wondered if she could create artificial organs which would eliminate the need for her digestive system. A few minutes later she realized she was already drawing up schematics for such a thing. Taylor sighed as she had another project now. Maybe she'd text Amy for advice on removing her digestive tract. The healer had an intuitive understanding of biology that Taylor could barely comprehend, even with her enhanced intelligence, and could give good advice when they bounced ideas back and forth.
Chris slowly trudged his way into the Ward's room, tired after all of today's events. He moved to sit down on the couch, not even bothering to take off his costume yet as he rested his head on the back of the sofa.
"Long day?" A girl's voice asked beside him.
Lifting his head up, Chris saw Dennis and Missy approaching him, Clockblocker and Vista in costume respectively. It looked like they just got back from patrol.
"Hey guys." Chris greeted with a small wave. "And yeah, you could say that." He then rested his head back again.
"Is that so?" Dennis said as he sat down on a nearby chair. "Why don't you tell us how meeting with the Bay's newest Tinker was like?"
Chris just stared blankly at the ceiling. "I don't even know how to explain it."
"Oh?" Missy grinned widely as she sat down on the couch as well. "Looks like it was a crazy night. Any potential for a budding romance between the only two teenage Tinkers in the city?"
Chris snorted loudly. "Fuck no."
When there was no immediate reply to his comment, Chris realized he probably said that with a lot more venom than he had intended. He lifted his head back up and saw both Dennis and Missy looking at him with confusion and a little bit of worry.
Chris sighed. "That was too rude. She's not… bad, per say. Just… completely fucking terrifying. Way too terrifying to even consider anything romantic towards her."
"Sheesh, that bad?" Dennis said as he leaned forward. "How scary are we talking about here? Sophia levels of terrifying? Or like, Nilbog level terrifying?"
"She's her own brand of scary." Chris shook his head. "Sophia was a bitch who took pleasure in hurting others, while Nilbog is Nilbog. It's not really fair to compare her to either of them. It's more like… like talking to a machine more than a person. Things that you and I think are horrible, she doesn't care about. But she's not malicious about it either. More apathetic or ignorant than anything."
"Ah, so more like Terminator 2, T-800 scary." Dennis said, nodding his head. When Missy looked at him weird, Dennis continued. "It's about a time traveling killbot who has to protect the protagonist. He's scary as Hell at first, but gets to learn a bit about being human through the movie."
Missy shook her. "Boys." She muttered under her breath. Then she looked at Chris and asked, "Well did you at least learn anything?"
Chris nodded. "Yeah. First, Tech-Priest is super fucking smart. She modified her brain to make it so she can learn faster, downloading data directly into her head." Both Missy and Dennis gaped at that. "Yeah, that's the kind of scary I'm talking about. But still, her being so smart helps. Her tech is super good, and we came up with a lot of ideas. She has these robot limbs called Servo-Arms which work like a pair of jaws of life, but lack tactical flexibility. We talked about having modular heads which could be swapped out as needed, which actually reminds me of her weapons.
"She created a kind of laser pistol, but unlike my Spark Pistols, they use concentrated photons rather than kinetic hard light. I've been trying to figure out how to integrate the two together, but the two designs are so different that at this point I think it would be easier to try and reverse engineer Tech-Priest's laspistol rather than modifying my own. Although now that I think about it, the primary difference is in the barrels. If I made the barrels swap-able between hardlight and pure laser, similar to the way the Servo-Arms could be modular, then that could work. Although the power supply-"
"CHRIS!" Missy shouted, drawing him out of his rant. "You back with us? You went into Tinker mode for a while there."
Chris blinked at her. "Oh… Sorry about that. You know how Tinkers get."
Dennis grunted in amusement while Missy just shook her head.
"Well I'm glad one of us had fun tonight." Dennis said. "Let me tell you about the bullshit we had to go through during patrol today."
Chris politely listened to Dennis and Missy complain about their patrol, but in the back of his mind kept rolling the Tinker ideas around. If he could make Tech-Priest's laspistol into a barrel, why couldn't he make new barrels for a variety of different uses. His mind then shifted to his incomplete weapons he showed Armsmaster earlier today. He had the barrel for that laser-shotgun, could he modify that to work with his Spark Pistols?
As soon as Dennis finished retelling his story of their patrol that was successful in only stopping literers, Chris said goodbye to both Dennis and Missy and moved straight to his workshop. He was getting too many ideas now, and he needed to start building. Between constructing his Alternator Cannon, building his own laspistol barrel, and his ideas for converting all of his existing barrels into Spark Pistol modifications, Chris had a feeling he wasn't going to be sleeping much over the next few days.
He shook his head, but smiled as he felt inspiration flood into him. Tech-Priest may be terrifying, but damn if she wasn't good to bounce ideas off of. He'd never had this much progress from his collaborative sessions with Armsmaster.
Trainwreck lumbered through the Merchant hideout, an abandoned shopping center that no one besides them wanted. He didn't mind the trash filled complex though. He actually much preferred it to the dank, decrypt apartment buildings that he couldn't fit his armored body through.
He approached two Merchant guards standing in front of the store that their boss was squatting in for today. They stepped out of Trainwreck's way, nervously looking away as he passed them. Fucking pussies.
Trainwreck entered the abandoned Sears auto parts section where he knew Squealer and Skidmark were. Squealer was busy modifying her truck to have some kind of sonic cannon. It was a good invention for the strung out bitch, and Trainwreck was only a little pissed she wouldn't give him one to combine into his armor.
Trainwreck didn't hide the fact that he ogled her, the busty blonde who normally wore some of the skimpiest clothing he'd ever seen. Damn, she was a hot piece. Or at least she would be, if didn't look all crack-head-like with her bloodshot eyes, cracked lips, and poorly maintained hygiene. Not like Trainwreck could judge though. Right now she was covered in grease and oil while elbow deep in the engine of her truck.
"Hey Squealer, where's the boss?" Trainwreck yelled at her.
Squealer peeked out of the car and was about to say something, when Skidmark's voice shouted out from a nearby room.
"In here bitch." Skidmark shouted back, coming out of his office. "Don't interrupt my baby when she's doing her work. And what the fuck do you want? Ain't you supposed to be looking over our boys by the trainyard with Mush?"
"Yeah, but I got some important info I wanted to tell you. Personally." Trainwreck stressed, hoping he was leaving enough clues to get Skidmark curious.
It worked as Skidmark looked at Trainwreck contemplatively before saying, "Well, you're here anyway. So spill it. What's so important you had to haul your rusted ass over here?"
Trainwreck resisted the urge to deck Skidmark then and there and said, "A couple of my boys were doing some scouting by the docks, looking for potential new hideouts. They told me that a new Cape has set up a base in an old factory. A Tinker at that."
Skidmark's eyes went a little bit wider at that news, while Squealer stopped working on her truck to pay attention to the conversation.
"A Tinker huh?" Skidmark rubbed his chin. "She part of a team or anything?"
Trainwreck shook his head. "Not that I know of. But apparently she's starting up her own gang, and has a few minions working for her. But outside of her, my boys saw no other Capes."
"What does she make?" Squealer asked as she walked away from her truck and to her two comrades.
"Rumor has it, cyborg parts." Trainwreck said, letting some of the info he got from Coil spill. "I had some of the boys do some digging, and apparently she's a new rogue trying to sell upgrades to people. The name is Tech-Priest."
"That's a lame fucking name." Squealer snorted. She leaned forward, giving Trainwreck an ample view of her cleavage. "Is that why you're telling us about her? You want us to go recruit her so she can build you some new limbs? Maybe get yourself a new squeeze that'll make you look less ugly?"
Trainwreck frowned. He really wanted to backhand this dumb bitch into the ground. But he had a job to do. So instead, he took a deep, calming breath and said, "I just thought this would be a good opportunity. If we can get her to join us, we'd have a third Tinker on our team. More than anyone else in the city. Hell together, we'd be able to do some great shit. Like, Toybox level shit." Trainwreck looked Skidmark right in the eyes as he said that.
Contrary to popular belief, Skidmark wasn't an idiot. Sure he was hedonistic, short sighted, and an all around degenerate, but you don't get to be a successful Black, drug-dealing supervillain in a city full of Neo-Nazis and Superheroes without being smart. Trainwreck could see the calculations going on behind Skidmark's eyes. The potential money for making and selling Tinkertech was a fucking gold mine, more than what drugs alone could provide. Not to mention if Tech-Priest turned some of the Merchants into cyborgs, they could be a real power in the city, instead of playing 4th fiddle to the E88, ABB, and Coil.
"Shit Trainwreck, so you do have a brain behind that ass-ugly face of yours." Skidmark grinned, showing off his array of rotted teeth. "You're right, we do have an opportunity here." He then turned to Squealer. "Finish putting your truck back together, baby, we're going to get you an apprentice."
Squealer grinned back at him and went to her car and began working at a rapid pace.
"I'll head back to the Trainyard and tell Mush to get over here." Trainwreck said.
"You do that." Skidmark said, waving him off. "I'll get the rest of the boys together. We're going on a raid."
Trainwreck nodded his head and made his way out of the garage. Once he was outside, he grabbed a nearby Merchant and ordered him to go to the Trainyard and tell Mush what the plan was. The Merchant fervently nodded while in Trainwreck's iron grip before practically sprinting for his car.
With that done, Trainwreck got the Hell out of there and moved to meet back up with Coil. Trainwreck didn't exactly know what game Coil was playing now, ordering him to give this intel about Tech-Priest to the Merchants and then abandoning them. Tinkers as good as Tech-Priest don't do much good as a strung out junkie. Squealer could attest to that. This was one of those chessmaster, 'I am ten steps ahead of you' things that Trainwreck didn't get paid to think about. Regardless, he finished his mission, and honestly was happy that he no longer had to deal with the likes of Skidmark or Mush anymore as he made his way to the rendezvous point.
AN, 12/19/21: Another chapter done. Plot continues to steadily move along as Taylor gets some new inventions and new enemies. I always did enjoy the fact that Imperial Guard Las-weapons were actually very strong by today's standards, but in a universe of Space Marines, Orks, Tyranids, they're just treated like flashlights. Also shout out to the reader who suggested I go through the Dark Heresy Rulebooks for some more research. Found a lot of cool stuff there.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one!