1st [action] - Hangar Bay

[plotblackhole]

Shu was in the one place that was easiest to find him. That is to say, he wass not treating his life here any differently than he would anywhere else. He was in the hangar bay, attending to his own machine, the Granzon.

In terms of giant robots, it's not exactly massive. If only compared by size, it's about the average size of a real robot. But from the way Shu treats it and the way he keeps others from messing with his machine, one would think it was something special. Frankly, it was. The engine in itself could possibly be considered a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. The name "Anti-Matter Annihilation Engine" would have been enough to set plenty of people on edge. Shu, however, was proud of it as it was an invention of his own. It was perfectly efficient and didn't require refueling, like other mechs did.

He held a pad in his hand and it was was hooked up to his machine. The lowered gravity in the area made it simple for him to traverse to the various parts of his machine, hooking up his datapad to each section and running diagnostics. A ladder also helped but he didn't need to move it since he could jump across various pieces of armor plating.

Finally, he settled down on the floor, by the legs. A computer was located there and Shu was uploading all the information into it for a final check. If the fleet obtained and researched the information about his machine, that was their business. He'd find out eventually and do something about it. For now, he simply pressed the buttons on the console.

"Everything seems to check out. All that remains is a test flight but, hm. I wonder if the commander here would approve it."

A few more button presses and he started to leave. Of course, anyone was free to interrupt him in the meantime. Shu isn't exactly pressed for time or in a rush to get this done. As a matter of fact, anyone with (gasp) intelligent questions will get intelligent answers. As for everything else, who knows.

Comments

[plotblackhole]

"If broken down into the most basic terms, it functions as artillery. While extremely powerful, in single combat, much of its uses are limited. In raw terms, it is better off fighting one or multiple extremely large targets or extremely numerous smaller targets. The battle computer that I programmed is capable of targeting up to 65,536 enemies at once."

He tapped a few more buttons, his explanation going while he continued his work. "However, don't make a mistake and think it is helpless in single combat. That said, your own machines are interesting. Once I've gone through the required courses, I would like to see what upgrades could be implemented on them."

[mookwarrior]

"Wow, that's really impressive. We've got maybe a 500-unit capacity on our knowbots, depending on what else the machine is processing at the time, and how detailed we want the info to be. We can vary the granularity of how the system analyses each target depending on the size of engagement. In the really big fights, we more or less just have holographic points of light telling us where stuff is. Good to know about the artillery classification, I'll make sure our shift officers know that when you deploy so they can properly figure out deployment if you choose to launch."

Jim smiles a bit, looking up at Granzon and says, "We'll definitely have you talk to Urist McEngineer, then. The reason the model Ts work the way they do is because they're efficient in terms of resource expenditure to results. We've had more powerful mobile armors in the past but they were too expensive to replicate on the massive scale. They were called Tyrs, and were the prototype of the Model Ts after we stopped refitting mining machines as combat robots."

[plotblackhole]

"Of course it's impressive. I made it myself." Let no one ever say he lacked confidence.

"So you went from mining machines to Tyrs to Model Ts? Let me ask, do you model Ts come in different types to assume different roles?"

[mookwarrior]

"Uh, whoa, cool." He shakes his head, "No, the model Ts are basically all rounders. They're built for any engagements heavier than our fighters can handle, ad of course ground fighting like infantry support and heavy assault. We can give them optional weapons to fulfill particular roles but there generally isn't a lot of specialization amongst them, unless you count commanders painting theirs different colors."

[plotblackhole]

"The color red, I presume?" Just a guess. "Are ground assault missions frequent or do most of your mission profiles involve fighting in zero-g?"

[mookwarrior]

"Some guys do. I just gave mine a red shoulder and left it at that when I was an active commander."

He shrugs his large shoulders. "Depends on what we encounter, really. The bigger fights, the ones that get you drummed out for statistical reasons, are in space, just due to scale. You can't deploy capital ships effectively in ground assault, except for the smaller ones."

[plotblackhole]

"If you're assaulting the ground, I would hope you have space superiority to begin with." Otherwise, any invasion could be turned to nothing by an orbital bombardment. "But that's useful information. Is there anything else I should be aware of?"

[mookwarrior]

"Well yeah, that's the general idea." He thinks, then shakes his head, "Nah, nothing comes to mind. Have you talked to Captain McEngineer yet?"

[plotblackhole]

"I haven't but I would like to meet him." Shu wanted to pick up everything he needed to know about these machines. He'd even suck up his pride and adapt what technology he could, if it was available.

[mookwarrior]

"I'll make sure he knows, then, and set you up with an appointment with him."

Jim smiles slightly.

[plotblackhole]

"That would be the smart thing to do. In the meantime, is your technology advanced enough for simulators?" Practice flight was always prudent.

[mookwarrior]

"Uh, yeah, we're not exactly apes, you know. We've built AIs and friggin holo-systems, a simulator is well within our capacities."

Looks like Jim's a little annoyed, now.

[plotblackhole]

"It was a simple question with no offense intended. There are a lot of factors here that are different from my own universe so I must be sure." Take a chill pill, brah.

[mookwarrior]

"Of course, I understand." He says, a trifle stiffly.

[plotblackhole]

"I suppose no one will mind if I program in a few machines from my own universe? They may server as useful and unpredictable foes for your training purposes." Let's start with the carrot.

[mookwarrior]

That brightens jim up considerably, "Yeah, that'd be really useful data to have."

[plotblackhole]

"I'll pull the information off the Granzon's computer now. Would you like it or would you prefer me to upload it myself?"

[mookwarrior]

" think uploading it yourself would probably be best, a lot of people are going to be curious about it."

He nods, taking out his omnicorder and pointing it at the Granzon.

"Huh."

[plotblackhole]

"Good enough. We'll see how well you can handle yourself against the Einst and the Inspectors." Shu's eyes go from the device to Jim. "What is it?"

[mookwarrior]

"Your machine has a lot fo unknown alloys. I find that interesting, is all."

Jim gestures with the omnicorder once more.

[plotblackhole]

"Of course you wouldn't know what they are. This machine is the product of technology from three different civilizations, all brought together and improved by myself. I wouldn't hesitate to say that I am the only person who knows everything about the Granzon." Which meant that there were questions he wouldn't answer. Mostly that it was difficult to explain how alchemy and magic could be incorporated into technology.