Wednesday, March 2nd…
Taylor stood at the open entrance of her Manufactorum, still as a statue as she waited for her guest. She knew she felt stress, anxiety, and worry as she waited, but was able to shut those emotions down, sealing them inside the emotional vaults within her brain. Despite everything she had been through, the suffering and violence she's had to endure over the past few months, she couldn't help but feel some apprehension from directly inviting a villain into her workshop.
Glancing around, Taylor made sure for the third time tonight that her defenses were in place. In the rafters above her, Skitarii Rangers of Kill Team Ryza stood silent vigil, hidden in the shadows with their galvanic rifles ready to fire should the worst occur. One pair, Ryza-04 and Ryza-05, manned the Guardsmen's Lascannon in case of a larger scale threat.
None of the Guardsmen were here in attendance tonight. Despite the trust that Taylor placed in them, she knew that even they would not be immune to the more than human vice of gossip. No, Taylor could not risk any word of this getting out, and so she only kept her Skitarii here tonight.
On the ground level, Skitarii Ranger Kill Team Metallica provided direct protection for Taylor and Enginseer. Tempestus and Artisan, formerly Uber and Leet, hid in Taylor's workshop beneath the Manufactorum main floor. Taylor did not want to show too much of her hand to Coil and reveal that the formerly villainous duo were now working for her. Should Coil betray the trust she was giving him by inviting him in and attack, they would strike from below.
With a final flex of her fully repaired dragon-scale power armor and Servo-arm, Taylor knew she was ready. Checking her internal cogitator's clock, she looked at the time. 12:55 am. Five minutes until show time. When the clock ticked agonizingly slowly to the allotted hour, Taylor saw them.
Three black SUVs, which Enginseer telepathically pointed out were armored against most small arms fire and small scale IEDs, drove to the entrance of the Manufactorum. The three cars parked in a row in front of the Manufactorum's doorway, idling for a few seconds. Through her MIUs, Taylor could sense the apprehension and nervous excitement in some of the Skitarii at the prospect of potential combat. With a mental flick, she squashed those emotions immediately. While such feelings were useful, Taylor didn't need one of the more excitable Skitarii breaking rank and attacking first. No, she needed complete and utter obedience.
After a few moments, the SUVs turned off their engines, and out of the first, a squad of five tall, athletic looking men dressed in all black tactical gear and full face balaclavas exited. They all had M4 carbines slung in front of them but not raised, and the guns looked to have a definite Tinkertech attachment to the underbarrel. No doubt they were Coil's mercenaries whom Taylor had heard much about.
Out of the second SUV another squad of mercenaries dismounted, all armed with the same weaponry and black masks. And out of the third SUV, came her guest of honor. He was tall, and bone thin, which was accentuated by his skin tight black bodysuit that gave no openings to show what he looked like underneath. Circling down his body, starting from his head and ending at his ankle, was a coiling snake.
Coil paused, staring at Tech-Priest for a moment, his head glancing over the various Skitarii around her. He had no obvious reaction to Taylor's cybernetic soldiers that she could tell. He nodded. As a unit, Coil and his mercenaries moved towards Taylor, stopping a few paces away.
"Tech-Priest," Coil greeted with a slight bow. "Thank you for inviting me to your abode."
Taylor gave a small bow back. Not deep enough to be subservient, but not shallow enough to be insulting. "Coil. I am pleased that you encountered no trouble in coming here."
"I would not be the successful villain I am if I did not know how to travel discreetly." Taylor could hear the smirk in Coil's voice. "But us talking in the open is not what I would categorize as discretion. May I come in?"
Seeing the logic of his words, Taylor nodded, and the Skitarii retreated to allow the group of black-clad mercenaries and their boss into the factory.
"Your offer of business has come at a good time, Coil," Taylor said as she and her entourage fell in line to Coil's left, while Coil's mercenaries shifted to his right. "I have a series of new designs and prototypes which I think you will find quite useful for you and your men."
"I am glad to hear it, Tech-Priest," Coil said smoothly. "I am looking forward to this product demonstration of yours. While I am already a purveyor of Toybox's technology, I am very interested in working with local talent, rather than a far off group of Rogues."
Taylor nodded. "Indeed. I have researched Toybox. The sheer fact that they must illegally ship and smuggle their technology across America no doubt adds to their exorbitant prices, not to mention I assume their technology is limited use? I have my doubts that any Toybox Tinker has gotten around the limitation of equipment maintenance."
"You are correct in your assumption. Weaponry I purchase from them has a limited use count, as well as a set shelf life. Once expended, I have to then purchase more. A good business practice for Toybox, and while I have more than enough funds to continue this practice, I see no reason to spend such money when alternatives are available."
"Such are the wonders of capitalism," Taylor said dryly. "Well then, tell me Coil. What specifically are you looking to buy, and what is your budget? While I can construct other devices, I myself specialize in cybernetics, and Enginseer here specializes in armored fighting vehicles such as tanks or APCs."
"I am primarily interested in Tinkertech weapons and armor to arm my security with," Coil flatly said, gesturing to a mercenary next to him. "I do not have the strength in Capes that the Empire or Protectorate can field, and thus would like my men to be able to at least hold off any Capes they come across before retreating. I am also interested in structural defenses for my own bases. And money is no object."
Taylor couldn't help but smile. Although a small part of Coil's words niggled at the back of Taylor's brain. Taylor didn't know if Coil's comment about his strength in Capes was a lie. If it wasn't then that would be a very useful piece of intelligence. She wondered if she could build a lie detector, but no ideas immediately came to her. Perhaps it was out of her speciality. Maybe Artisan or Armsmaster already had one that she could study.
Regardless, Taylor focused back on the conversation. "Very good. I have much to show you then." She then turned to her Skitarii. "Metallica-06 and Metallica-05, get me a set of the Guardsmen issue Flak armor, and the prototype Kasrkin-pattern Carapace Armor from downstairs."
The two Skitarii nodded and moved to complete their set task.
Coil seemed to not be content with the silence as they waited for the Skitarii as he said, "You know, I must say I am quite impressed by how rapidly you established yourself in the Bay. It is not a small feat considering the amount of dangers that a single cape would face."
Taylor's face itched as she recalled the 3rd degree burns she sustained when she detonated her plasma cutter to kill Mush. "Yes, I am quite fortunate that I had the funds to rapidly set my operations up. As I'm sure you're aware, most Tinkers are rather vulnerable when they first start out."
"Yes, the tragic catch-22 of Tinkers. They are the most versatile and adaptable of Capes, but are also the most vulnerable without time and resources." Coil nodded his head. "You handled yourself well so early on however. I must admit, even I am surprised with how quickly you've acquired so many… henchmen."
Taylor could hear the smile in Coil's words again.
"Indeed, I would be in a far worse position were it not for my Guardsmen and my Skitarii. They are good protectors. Loyal."
"Extremely loyal," Coil dryly said. Before Taylor could comment on that, Coil continued. "But that is the advantage of hiring former military, is it not? They have discipline and combat training instilled into them already. Far superior to your average gangbanger."
Taylor glanced sidelong at Coil, before she said, "Exactly. But, it seems that 05 and 06 have returned. Let us get back to the demonstration."
"Please, go ahead." Coil politely said as he stepped back.
Taylor had Metallica-05 and 06 set up a pair of training dummies in the middle of the Manufactorum floor. The dummies were shaped like a standard human torso and head atop a round, cylindrical base, and made of a combination of rubber and hardened polymers to try and simulate human flesh and bone. On one dummy was a set of the blocky, green flak armor Taylor produced for her Guardsmen. On the second, was the prototype armor she was designing for Tempestus, the carapace armor.
The carapace armor looked similar to the flak armor, but far more encompassing. The armor was thicker, and unlike the flak armor which only covered the torso and shoulders, the carapace armor had overlapping, interlocking plates that extended down the back and stomach, providing better flexion and protection, going down all the way to the groin and butt. Taylor also made additional armor for the forearms, thighs, and shins, but those weren't brought out.
Taylor extended her robotic hand to the armor sets, showing them off. "These are the two sets of armor which I am currently willing to sell, my flak armor and carapace armor." She stepped over to the flak armor first, calling Coil closer so he could inspect it. "The flak armor is what I armor my own Guardsmen with. Simple but effective, I would honestly even question calling the flak armor Tinkertech. It is made from multiple layers of shock absorbent fibers reinforced by ablative aluminum-oxide coated ceramic plates, with a final coating of thermal-absorbant materials. In terms of defensive capabilities, it is essentially the equivalent of a modern Type IV NIJ ballistic vest, with additional resistance to low level energy weapons and Blaster attacks. Maintenance requirements are minimal, as the only thing that is Tinkertech here is the creation of some of the materials, which I have worked into a stable metallurgical formula. At most, replacement of plates following sustained combat, due to denting from ballistics and ablation from energy attacks, but that's it."
Taylor patted the flak armor on the chest. While she originally created the flak armor using her Tinkering abilities, her intelligence allowed her to create a non-Tinkertech process of manufacturing the fibers and ceramic plates, making it simple to build on a larger scale.
"As for the carapace armor, that's where things get more complicated. The carapace armor is made of overlapping plates of a Tinkertech alloy Enginseer and I created called Ceramite. While this makes the armor far more resistant to damage than the flak armor, this also greatly increases the need for maintenance." Taylor then stepped away from the armor. "But don't take my word for it. Why don't we have a live fire demonstration?"
Taylor could see the slight quirking of a smile behind Coil's mask.
"Yes, I find that agreeable." He spoke with some genuine excitement.
"Very good. Now, let's all step back, I'd rather we not take the chance of getting hit by any ricochettes." As she spoke, Taylor directed the Skitarii to move some premade sandbags and crates into a line, creating a makeshift barricade for everyone to stand behind. Once everyone was moved, Taylor turned to Coil and said, "Now then, I assume your men use standard 5.56x45 NATO rounds in their weapons?"
Coil nodded his head. "That is correct."
"Hmm. Now, I would like you to have one of your men fire at both sets of armor, to display its protective quality."
Coil looked down at Tech-Priest for a brief moment, before he turned his head to his closest mercenary and nodded.
The mercenary in question stepped forward and raised his M4. To save their ears, he pulled out a silencer and screwed it on the end of the barrel. Flicking the safety off, he fired a three round burst at the flak armor first. The bullets slammed into flak armor, denting the metal plate slightly, but didn't come close to piercing it as the lead tips fell to the ground.
With a highly trained efficiency, the mercenary then pivoted and aimed at the carapace armor. He fired another three round burst, and this time the armor didn't bend at all. The bullets just pinged off the convex shape of the breast plate, at most just scratching the paint.
"Most impressive," Coil said neutrally.
"Thank you." Taylor stood a little bit taller. "The flak armor can protect against up to armor piercing 7.62 rounds, while you will have to go into anti-material cartridges if you want to have a chance of piercing the carapace armor." She then stepped towards the mercenary who was firing. "Now then, I would like to see how the armor stands up to your Tinkertech equipment as well"
The mercenary glanced at Coil, silently asking for permission, and the supervillain nodded. Given the green light, the mercenary shouldered his carbine once again, and flicked a switch on the underbarrel attachment on his gun. The barrel began to color, heating up to from a dull red, to a brighter orange-yellow. He depressed a button on its side and it fired off a beam of thermal energy which slammed right into the flak armor.
The flak armor held for a few moments, material burning off it, until it eventually gave way and collapsed as the beam melted through it, setting the target dummy underneath it on fire.
Taylor mentally commanded her Skitarii to put out the flames as she nodded her head. "As I anticipated. The flak armor could withstand a glancing hit from a powerful energy weapon, but fails to sustained fire. Now, the carapace armor if you please."
Nodding, the mercenary then adjusted his aim and charged the laser attachment again. He fired once more, the bream slamming into the front of the carapace armor with precise accuracy. The carapace armor heated up, glowing and slightly warping, but unlike the flak armor, it held. After a few seconds, the thermal beam petered out, revealing a scorched, but mostly intact set of carapace armor.
"As you can see, the Ceramite plating can hold up to both conventional ballistics, as well as most projected energy weapons, and by extension, many Blaster effects. It would not surprise me if that attachment of yours was the equivalent of a Blaster 4, perhaps even Blaster 5 attack, much like my own las-weaponry. But! That is not all!"
Taylor then directed one of her Skitarii to walk towards the group and reveal his prosthetic hands to Coil and his mercenaries. "These are the latest iteration of my combat prosthetics. Extremely durable, in terms of raw physical power, I would rate users of this model at a tentative Brute 2." Taylor turned her head at the Skitarii and nodded. It was an unnecessary action as Taylor could simply command the Skitarii to do it, but she wanted to make a show of it.
The Skitarii stepped towards the carapace armor, pausing once he was in hand's reach. Adopting a martial arts back stance, where the majority of his weight was on his rear leg, the Skitarii cocked his hand back by his waist. Twisting, the Skitarii shifted his body forward and threw a straight punch right into the middle of the carapace armor. The sound of the metal fist clanging against the breastplate was as loud as any gunshot, almost like someone smacked a gong.
To Taylor's satisfaction, the impact of the hit was only a minor dent in the armor, and that was it. "As you can see, low level Brutes as well would have issues hitting their way through this armor! When combined with a variety of other base-level functionalities, vacuum sealing, interactive, augmented reality HUDs, thermal and NVG functions, the carapace armor is truly the greatest possible armor you can buy short of powered armor." Taylor had the Skitarii slap the back of the armor, and give Coil a thumbs up.
Coil stared blankly at the Skitarii for a few moments, before he chuckled softly. "How charming. I will say, I am most impressed by this armor. But you say it is unpowered? Will a powered variant be available for purchase?"
Taylor shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. Making a powered version of the carapace armor will increase the price of an individual suit to millions of dollars. Not to mention such intricate equipment would take up far too much of my time maintaining."
"A shame, but understandable." Coil nodded his head. "But even so, how do you plan on maintaining any orders of armor and weapons that I purchase from you?"
"There are a variety of maintenance plans which we can do, but the easiest would be for you to either send equipment back to me when it no longer works, with payment of course, or to send in your equipment in batches for bi-weekly maintenance. Both Enginseer and I are available for maintenance, but unfortunately we alone do not make up the number required to maintain your equipment, the equipment of my own forces, as well as the production of new Tinkertech. However! I have a solution for that problem."
Taylor mentally directed Skitarii Kill Team Metallica to a series of workbenches on the side of the Manufactorum. She had them take their shouldered galvanic rifles and placed them on said tables. With uncanny synchronicity, the Skitarii all began tinkering with their rifles, adjusting internals and performing all needed maintenance rites.
"As part of my own enhancements, I can control all of my Skitarii as if they were my own body. I can see through them, process their data, and control their actions all while talking to you. And as such, I can have them, and any other cyborg under my compulsion, perform any Tinkertech-specific maintenance required, drastically reducing the workload on us, and increasing the amount of Tinkertech we can provide to you."
For the first time tonight, Taylor seemed to catch Coil off guard with her statement. While Coil was able to maintain a rather cool, unflappable demeanor throughout the night, now he seemed to look at Taylor with genuine shock. Taylor mentally took a recording of the nonplussed Coil at 12 different angles before the supervillain composed himself and nodded.
"That… is extraordinarily good to know," he said slowly. "You truly are one of the most extraordinary capes in the Bay."
"Yes, I am quite aware of how important I am," Taylor flatly commented.
Coil actually snorted at that. "You know, such arrogance is rather unbecoming."
Taylor raised an eyebrow at him. "And so is hypocrisy, Mr. Pot. But regardless, how about we move onto weapons?"
"Very well. I am very excited to see the capabilities of your armory."
"As I am excited to show them off." Taylor then commanded her Skitarii to bring out the demonstration weapons she had prepared.
There were three weapons arranged on a table in front of Taylor. First was the blocky, almost retro-futuristic looking Lasgun which Taylor had armed her Guardsmen with. The second was the flintlock-inspired Galvanic Rifle which her Skitarii were armed with. The last weapon however, was a prototype that Taylor created today based on some reverse engineered Leet tech.
The original invention Leet made was something called a Tesla Cannon, which Leet had taken from some video game no doubt, which created an almost flamethrower-like effect of short range electrical sparks that would search for nearby targets to create an arc with. Taylor had taken the Tesla Cannon, and reconfigured the coils to an internal charging system to create her first arc rifle. The general shape of the rifle was that of a regular gun, but instead of a barrel, there was a large, box-like main body. In the middle of the main body was the main capacitor, which contained several glowing battery blocks contained in a transparent casing that glew with blue light.
As the guns were brought out, Taylor's other Skitarii moved the suits of armor out of the factory floor and instead replaced them with three new training dummies. Taylor grabbed the Lasgun and hefted it to her shoulder. The way Coil's mercenaries tensed slightly wasn't lost on Taylor, but they didn't make any sudden moves besides that.
"This is my standard Guardsman-pattern Lasgun. Charged by solar cells, it fires a highly concentrated bolt of photons that deals damage equivalent to a .50 caliber anti-material round." Taylor aimed her Lasgun at the left most dummy and fired.
The bolt of crimson energy flew across the Manufactorum floor, slamming into it and immediately punching through the dummy's rubber stomach. A hole the size of a melon immediately burned itself into existence on the dummy, scorching all the way through its abdomen to the polymer spine, and out the back. The edges of the impact zone burned and melted at the sheer heat emanated.
"On its standard setting, the power cell carries enough charge for 24 shots before it must be replaced. It also comes in both non-lethal and overcharged settings, the latter of which costs twice as much energy per shot. It is a perfect weapon for use against both normal, and low-rated Brute opponents." Her speech finished, Taylor laid the Lasgun down on the table in front of her. "Unfortunately, this weapon pattern is not for sale."
Coil shifted, and Taylor could tell her words upset him. "Oh? Would you like to explain why? I would pay quite a bit to get these weapons in the hands of my men." His voice markedly was now colder.
"I'm sure you would," Taylor said flatly. "But unfortunately, the Lasgun is the primary weapon of my Guardsmen. It is as much a symbol of them as their uniform. If any of your mercenaries are seen using the Lasgun, then the entire PRT and Protectorate will know I am selling to your organization. And while I have been rather cordial with Armsmaster thus far, I would prefer he didn't kick down my door with an active plasma halberd."
Coil stared at Taylor, no doubt trying to suss out any deception in her voice, until he sighed. "I suppose that is… reasonable, if not disappointing. I hope the following weapons are actually for sale."
"It is my understanding that if someone disappoints you, it is in fact your fault for expecting too much," Taylor said as she hefted the Galvanic Rifle.
"How depressingly cynical," Coil muttered.
"How very Brockton Bay," Taylor retorted. "But to answer your question, yes, the Galvanic Rifle here is for sale. Unlike the Lasgun, the Galvanic Rifle fires projectiles. Tinkertech bullets to be exact."
Taylor then pulled the trigger. With a sound that was a mix of a gunshot and a lightning bolt, the round exited the galvanic rifle and punched center mass into the second target. This time, instead of simply burning a hole like the Lasgun, the target instead exploded in a small burst of electricity.
Ozone filled the immediate area and the lights of the Manufactorum dimmed for a second before returning to normal. Coil glanced up, before looking back down at Taylor.
"After making contact with the intended target, the bullets fired by the Galvanic Rifle convert the potential energy of all of the nearby molecules into electrical energy, creating the explosion that you saw. Very few things can resist a lightning bolt forming inside of them."
Coil seemed to mull over Taylor's words for a bit, before saying, "That doesn't seem scientifically possible."
"So? It's Tinkertech, and therefore bullshit. Besides, anything is possible through the Machine God's will." Taylor waved off Coil's words as she put the Galvanic Rifle down. She then picked up the Arc Rifle. "Now this is my latest weapon design, the Arc Rifle. The zinc-plated energy blocks here can store enough energy to unleash a deadly burst of lightning when fired."
To demonstrate, Taylor shouldered the Arc Rifle and fired. And true to her word, a literal lightning bolt burst out of the gun, crashing into the last dummy. The entire target exploded, the lightning destroying the target from the inside out. The stench of ozone and burning plastic and rubber was now overwhelming, as electrons disintegrated the dummy.
Coil took a moment to appreciate the destruction. "Very impressive."
"Yes, it is. Unfortunately the Arc Rifle is best for short to mid-range engagements, as the maximum distance the lightning can travel is far less than a physical bullet fired from the Galvanic Rifles."
"Hmm, it is indeed unfortunate, but can be worked around." Coil nodded. "You have me sold on both the Galvanic Rifles and Arc Rifles. We can discuss the amount I will purchase after we go over base defenses."
"That is agreeable," Taylor said, shutting down her emotions of excitement at securing a verbal deal of purchase. Fuck you PRT, people did want to buy her tech! "However, as I did not know you were looking specifically for defensive emplacements, I do not have any prototypes built. But I can show you designs and simulations."
"I suppose that will have to do," Coil replied. "My apologies for the lack of communication on my end. Next time I shall have a more comprehensive list of what I'm looking for sent to you beforehand."
Taylor nodded. "Yes, some forewarning would be nice." She then retrieved her laptop from the Skitarii she sent to retrieve it while speaking with Coil. Opening it up, she pulled up her CAD software and opened her latest project, the Tarantula Sentry Gun.
The base shape of the Tarantula was pretty much just a large, heavily armored, man sized cube. The cube stood on four, retractable legs, while the left and right faces of the turret were two large lascannons. The design was the first collaborative work between Taylor herself, Enginseer, and Artisan.
The base design was actually centered around an egg-shaped sentry turret that Artisan made as Leet, apparently copied from a game called Portal. Enginseer then redesigned the mechanized legs and body to something more suitable for extended combat, while Taylor then armed it and created the Machine Spirit which would drive its automated functions.
"The Tarantula Sentry Gun is something I've designed for the defense of both the Manufactorum and my own home, so you know I'm selling you something that I trust with my own life. While rather heavy, the Tarantula is a mobile, heavy weapons emplacement capable of taking on a variety of mission parameters thanks to its modular design."
Taylor clicked some keys, and the twin lascannons on the side of the sentry gun were replaced by .50 caliber heavy machine guns. Another click, and they were replaced by rocket pods. Taylor then gestured grandly to the screen.
"Lascannons for anti-vehicle and anti-Brute combat. HMGs for infantry. Missiles for anti-air. And all with the added benefit of being automated. You could leave these turrets in place 24/7, and never have to worry about a human falling asleep or getting caught off guard."
"Never is a strong word," Coil retorted. "You act as though these guns are infallible. Are they?"
Taylor clicked her tongue at Coil. "Please, you know that is not the case. Strangers or Tinkers with electronic warfare countermeasures may be able to get past them, Armsmaster would likely be able to find a workaround, as would Dragon, but against most foes you will face in the Bay, they should be sufficient."
"That is true. What about protective energy shielding? Or cyber warfare countermeasures?"
Taylor brought her hand to her chin to think. "Hmm, I have nothing I can show you at the moment, but I have been thinking about both. Give me some time and I can have plans drawn up for both of them."
Coil nodded. "I suppose the sentry guns will have to suffice. Now then, shall we talk numbers?"
Taylor guffawed. "Wait a moment, Coil. We have yet to speak of my greatest product!" Mentally Taylor commanded a Skitarii to move next to them and raised both of her hands. "Augmetics!"
Coil stood unmoving as he watched Tech-Priest direct her cybernetic soldier to the middle of the factory floor. At least, in his A Timeline he was. In his B Timeline, he was sitting back in his base while his body double performed the meeting. A necessary precaution, even if the meeting was going smoothly in both timelines, making it slightly redundant. But regardless, Coil would maintain both until after the meeting, just in case something went awry.
And in both Timelines, Tech-Priest said the same thing.
"Metallica-01, disrobe," she commanded, and in front of everyone, the cyborg soldier removed his robe and mask.
With practiced ease, Coil controlled his confusion at what Tech-Priest was doing. Miss Hebert already got him to break his facade once with her revelation of how powerful her multitasking ability was, so he was devoting far more attention to reining in his emotions.
The cyborg did as he was commanded, starting with his blood red overcoat, before removing his gasmask and the metal armor over his body. Coil couldn't help but wonder how much of his actions were those of the man the cyborg used to be, and how much were just mental commands from Tech-Priest. And when the cyborg finished disrobing, Coil's emotions shifted from confusion to disgust.
Coil was no stranger to the horrors of the world. And more than anyone else outside of her organization, he knew what cybernetic crimes Tech-Priest was capable of. But even with all of that, the sight of the disrobed cyborg caused Coil, and more than one of his hardened mercenaries, to suck in a sharp breath.
The first thing that stuck out to Coil was how much the soldier was cyberized. A torso and a head. That was all that remained of the original organic body of Taylor's cybernetic soldier. From the pelvis down to the soles of his feet, the entire lower half of the man's body was replaced with heavily armored robotic legs. The arms up to the shoulder were also replaced with bulky, Tinkertech cybernetics that looked designed to both deal and take quite a lot of punishment.
With his new limbs, the man was tall. Coil shifted his eyes over the organic parts of the body next. He had pale white skin of his torso hanging loosely over his ribs with obvious surgical scars, as well as what looked like ports and interfaces at random points. His head was shaved bald, and what stuck out the most to how dead the eyes of the cyborg was, looking forward at nothing, unblinking. No… not unblinking. Coil saw it now. Tech-Priest removed his eyelids. Coil thought that he honestly had something to learn from Tech-Priest when it came to unnerving people.
"Metallica-01 is one of the first iterations of my Tech-Guard, my legionnaires, my Skitarii. While I understand the… apprehension most full biologicals have with such a large amount of augmetics, any one of the enhancements I have performed on my soldier can be performed on an individual basis." Tech-Priest picked up what looked like a cattle prod and was using it as a pointer. She tapped the cyborg on his left leg.
"The bionics which you would be most interested in would be my limb augmetics. They have the most direct relation to combat As I mentioned before, the sheer durability and power generated by these bionics would give anyone equipped with them a minimum Brute 2 rating. And there are more benefits than just raw strength. Imagine being able to run for miles on end without suffering from fatigue, or having weapons and tools directly integrated into your arms so you will never be unarmed!" To demonstrate the point, Tech-Priest raised her own left arm and her hand twisted and flipped into her wrist while a blowtorch unfolded from her forearm and replaced it.
After showing off the tool for a few seconds, she retracted it and returned her hand to normal. "But wait, there is more than just limbs that I can offer you!" Taylor gestured grandly to the Skitarii's torso. "Their lungs have been replaced with artificial organs to filter out toxins and other harmful air. Their bodies have been filled with Autosanguination fluid for faster healing, and their neural enhancements engage directly with their goggles, integrating with the targeting arrays within their HUDs for inhuman accuracy!"
Tech-Priest stepped forward, opening her arms as if in exultation, raising them to the ceiling. "There are no limits to the potential of which I can bless your soldiers with, Coil! You say you have no Parahumans under your command? You will not need Parahumans! They are random, volatile, and unfortunately, far too human. Allow me to enhance your men, and you will have an army of supersoldiers that no other criminal organization could stand against!"
Tech-Priest was practically shouting by the time her speech finished, her chest rising up and down as she manically breathed. Coil stared at Tech-Priest and despite himself, was tempted to say yes. He was so tempted he almost considered opening a new timeline to say yes. While it would take much to convince his men to voluntarily put themselves under the knife, the benefits his organization would reap were massive.
But he couldn't say yes. Not when he knew that Tech-Priest could Master anyone she transformed into a cyborg. It would be too easy for her to turn any of his enhanced mercenaries against him should she desire it. He couldn't trust her to not have some sort of failsafe like that. Tech-Priest was far too much like him. She would make them loyal to her first, and him second. It was exactly what he would do. Even the smallest enhancements could carry any amount of trackers, listening devices, or other spyware that could be used against him.
"While your offer is tempting, I'm afraid I must say no for now." Coil bowed his head in genuine apology. "However, I have the full list of everything else I would like to purchase," he said with a smile, hoping to assuage any negative reactions she may have to his rejection of her prosthetics.
Coil could tell Tech-Priest was frowning behind her mask. She sighed. "I see. Well then, what do you wish to purchase?"
"I need to equip a full squad of mercenaries, so I want to purchase twelve sets of carapace armor, and a split of 6 Arc Rifles and 6 Galvanic rifles. Best to use weapons that you have not publically used to maintain a distance between our organizations."
"A pragmatic choice which I appreciate," Tech-Priest said. "As for the base defenses?"
"For now, half a dozen Tarantula sentry guns with the Las-cannon attachments will suffice."
Tech-Priest made a noise that Coil approximated was halfway between a grunt and the static of an old television. "Hmm. Each gun I shall sell for $25,000. The armor is $50,000 each. Each Tarantula turret is $100,000. That comes down to a total of 1.5 million dollars. Tell me, will that be in cash, or card?"
Coil almost laughed. Not at the joke, but at the sheer deadpan seriousness of how Tech-Priest delivered it. "I can have the funds wired from an offshore account which can then be discreetly moved into any account of your choosing. However, if you are willing to reduce the price to say… 1 million dollars, I have a gift for you which I think you will find more than makes up for the price difference."
Tech-Priest raised an eyebrow, curious, though definitely not amused. "Indeed? What kind of gift do you have for me that would be worth half a million dollars?"
Rather than answer her directly, Coil turned to his captain and said, "Bring them in." He then turned to Tech-Priest. "My men are approaching with an unmarked white van. Believe me when I say, it is of no threat to you, and this is no double cross, so please, do not shoot it."
Tech-Priest stared at Coil with her emotionless countenance, no doubt internally debating on what to do, until she nodded.
Smiling, Coil turned to the entrance of the Manufactorum and watched as the white van pulled in. The van pulled a K-turn, so the rear of the vehicle was facing those within the Manufactorum. When the van parked, two mercenaries moved to the rear and opened the cargo hold.
Out of the back, the mercenaries within the van pushed out Coil's gift. Twenty young men, all handcuffed and stripped of clothes save for their underwear and simple, blood-stained white T-Shirts. They all had bags over their heads, as well as gags and earplugs beneath. The prisoners stumbled out of the van, the blind and bondaged men forced to slowly feel their way out.
The mercenaries pulled the lead prisoner up by the crook of his arm, revealing that each of the prisoners were in turn chained to him one after the other. The prisoners were organized into a single file line. Some curled in on themselves, trying to make themselves as small as they could to avoid being seen. While others tried to thrash in their bonds, trying to take swings at the mercenaries whenever they were touched. They were rewarded with rifle butts to the stomach and back of the heads until they calmed down.
"What is this?" Tech-Priest asked after taking in the scene before her.
"My gift," Coil said matter-of-factly. "Let us not dance around the subject any longer. I am aware of where you procure recruits for your Skitarii. And not only am I okay with this, but I wish to support your endeavors."
Coil then produced a USB drive out of a pocket. "This thumbdrive contains the police records of every man here in front of you. I know that despite everything you have done, you do not act against the innocent. Therefore each person here is a criminal, former members of the E88, ABB, Merchants that my men have captured, in addition to a few other degenerates. They are all wanted for various violent crimes, robbery, assault, murder, even rape, so you can work on them without regret."
Tech-Priest took her time as she looked over the prisoners, her eyes casually dissecting each one. When she finished, she barked out a laugh and said, "You truly are a shrewd businessman, Coil. You not only weaken your enemies, but strengthen relationships between our two organizations in one move." She then took the USB stick from Coil's hand. "You have a deal."
"The first of many, I hope," Coil swiftly added.
Tech-Priest nodded her head. "Indeed. I foresee quite a productive relationship between the two of us."
A/N, 11/22/22: I wrote this whole chapter with the image of Taylor like Billy Mays selling Oxyclean. Anyway, happy Thanksgiving to those in the US!