2010-04-27 - Das Gift

THE EXELION

AFTER A FRIENDLY GAME OF RACQUETBALL

NOW

Revive Revival plays aggressively, just in a different way than Jung. He's not about the whole Top Squadron 'run screaming at everything until it crumples in your wake' way of doing things -- he handles his racquet like he does his gun, waiting for the opportune moments and then letting loose all hell. Still, today he was even sharper than before -- just short of sociopathic, if racquetball can ever /be/ sociopathic. Which is possible.

Afterward, customary rituals observed. Showers -- as usual, Revive took the one at the far end, as if to give himself a comfortable buffer from the rest of the room, and changed back into his uniform in the stall rather than out in the locker room itself. Perhaps he values his privacy; perhaps Cyber Newtypes are gross to look at. Who knows. In any event -- there was food after, and it was then that Revive Revival said: "Come on with me to the hangar. I wanna show you something."

And that's what brought Revive Revival and Jung Freud to the hangar, walk-floating through silver space corridors to the expansive, cavernous area. "You know, Jung, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you've been impressing the right people -- myself included."

Jung appreciates losing. (In moderation, anyway.) It was a hard fight, and so she is content; the fact that Revive showers some distance off to himself -- well, hey, that's his business. She lathered up vigorously and got back into "uniform," ate the familiar low-sodium high protein soup pod, and then produced this deathless comment midway through working on the mandatory 4 slices of beet in the bottom:

"mmpfh?"

Now they're drifting down the hallways towards the hangar. Jung has thus far refrained from making any suggestive remarks, although when she hears that lead in, she says, eyebrows raised, "Oh yes? Well," a hand going up to toss back that retro-ponytail, which drifts in the microgravity as she continues forwards, "it's always good to be recognized..."

"I wouldn't know about that," Revive Revival says. His voice is warm and smooth -- he sounds like what the automated feminine computer voices are trying to achieve but never quite reach. He sounds maternal, or close to it, but in a non-threatening way -- but then, most things about Revive Revival aren't very threatening, right? Look at him, he's a bizarre little man-woman with a girl's voice and gorgeous lavender hair.

"But in your case, it's paid off. But we're nearly there, and rather than /tell/ you, I'd like to /show/ you what I mean." Revive boops some buttons to open the doors, and drifts into the hangar. He chose what entrance to use deliberately -- it deposits the pair right in front of his target.

A few technicians are milling around gawking at a mobile armor that's been parked on one of the landing pads. Revive Revival arrived at the Exelion in his Gadessa, so who knows who brought this thing over -- possibly the mysterious Devine Nova, or the yet more mysterious Cameo Convenience. The armor has the shape of a monstrous, geometrically threatening butterfly -- its white wings launch out sharply to either side, and a pair of pylons jab out of the front like enormous fangs. It is, to make a long story short, totally bitching.

"Jung Freud, meet the GNMA-Y0001 Empruss."

It's a soothing voice. Any countervailing points Jung has heard dimly, like flipping out in battle a little bit, seem to boil down, ultimately, to 'aw, well, everyone gets a little worked up'. She has a small smile on her lips during the final approach, grasping a handrail and putting her other hand on her hip. She even closes her eyes, attempting to do so with a flourish.

This doesn't really work; you can't close your eyes with a flourish.

Then the door opens, and she drifts forwards, eyes still closed, as she hears the dim ring of the massive open space and slowly opens her eyes to see --

The look of surprise on her face is at least authentic. "My God," she says, one hand going on reflex to her lips as she looks down at the titanic predatory butterfly. "It's... wow."

Dimly, she is reminded of the Grand Zam. "It looks like a mobile armor -- and my god, the size of it! Could it even fit in a carrier...?"

"It is a mobile armor," Revive says. "And to be honest -- it's got a particle cannon, two beam cannons, forward-mounted grappling arms, beam guns, and this thing called the 'egner whip' that you should probably find out about for yourself. All powered by twin GN Tau drives. So it can /make/ room wherever you want to take it." Revive puts his hands in his uniform pockets -- the hangar suffers under the oppression of gravity, for the most part, so he doesn't magically fly away and complete the illusion that he is, indeed, GN Mary Poppins.

Revive looks over at Jung, watching her appreciate the armor, and smiles. "That is -- assuming you want to take it anywhere. I think you can guess where I'm going with this, Jung."

Revive turns to gaze at the Empruss himself, nodding with a small, wry smile, as if in approval of the motionless giant craft. "Like I said, you impressed the right people."

"An Egner Whip?" Jung says, curiously; the name sounds like some kind of physicist, and as she looks at the vast white bulk of the thing, she has a distinctly if subtly pleased look on her face. "What a nasty piece of work..."

Which sounds quite approving from her perspective. She looks momentarily at Revive, eyebrows raising. "I'll have to keep it up, if they're doing things like this. From that number, it sounds like this is a test model?"

She gestures at it even while walking forwards, taking a moderately long way around to approach the front. "I'm not sure that pretty white paint job is going to last if I have to operate in atmosphere. With two of those particle drives of course, getting around won't be a huge problem!"

"A nasty piece of work indeed," Revive Revival chuckles, perhaps a bit grimly -- but with no less enjoyment despite this. "But yes, it's a test model. It needs a reliable pilot who won't be afraid to push it hard -- the makers aren't going to get usable data from someone who's intimidated by it."

Revive Revival's hands come out of his pockets, and he folds his arms -- the gesture doesn't look macho at all, probably because nothing Revive does can ever attain any concrete masculinity. He looks at Jung again, smirking like a little bitch. "I notice you haven't said 'yes' yet," he teases, the same needling tone he might use in commenting on her backswing during a match.

"I thought you knew me well enough to say that I would /never/ turn a beast like this down," Jung says, spinning on her heel and putting one hand back on her hip as she grins. This manages to look slightly disgustingly wholesome, mostly since she has a tendency to form dimples in her cheeks.

"But," she continues, letting her upraised hand droop slightly at the wrist, "I /do/ want to know what I'm looking for, and if there's anything I should know. I haven't had a lot of luck with GN powered machines thus far."

A WHILE BACK

A totaled GNX-III floats in space.

Jung mutters to herself about the perfidy of Gundam.

"The main thing to look out for, I suppose, is the GN Field -- you're familiar with that, right?" Revive walks closer toward the Empruss, walking under a wing casually. He looks back over his shoulder and grins at Jung. He doesn't look wholesome, but supermodels never do. "A thick concentration of GN partictles from the twin drives -- dense enough to repel not only ballistics, but beams, as well, if they manifest in time."

Revive looks back at the Empruss, gazing up at the underside of the wing. "So that's a big thing. There's some other experimental stuff going on, too. New control system, for one. Instead of the usual manual joysticks, it taps directly into the nervous system via electrical impulses transmitted to and from the spinal column. The only problem is, the only way to get the transmitter close enough is anal insertion."

Revive Revival isn't looking at Jung Freud as he says this, which is probably how he keeps a straight face. He reaches up, and can't quite touch the underside of the wing.

Jung nods slightly at the news of the /GN Field/. "I think I get it. It's amazing, like all that old science fiction shit's coming true; I thought they could only manage that kind of effect in a really large object..."

But: Science Marches On.

The new control system is nodded at about five times during the description, complete with little uh huhs, and then Jung pauses, mid nod-#6, as if freeze-framed.

"/Hah/," she says, reaching out to gently slap the 'Cyber Newtype's' shoulder. "If they went /that/ far, I hope they made it big enough to be fun."

Revive Revival doesn't respond immediately when his shoulder is slapped. It's not a long pause -- just a second or two. He's still staring up at the ship. He is, in his heart of hearts, forcing himself not to just lunge over and start choking Jung for touching him. But science must march on, and someone would no doubt notice her body being launched out of an airlock.

After that tiny gap, Revive glances back at Jung, and laughs, vivaciously and earnestly. (And dishonestly.) "Sorry if I built up your expectations /too/ high," he trills in his little lady voice. "But I thought I almost had you there for a second." A red eye winks.

Revive then turns back to the Empruss, continuing to walk -- out from under the wing, and around it. "It's set up to automatically transmit the necessary data -- all you need to worry about is the piloting. So -- it's yours, then."

"Just for a moment," Jung says, lowering her germ-laden natural free-birth hand -- and scratching her nose on the way. Revive probably has neo-herpes on his clothing now.

"No formal reports to file?" she says with mild wonder. "If I have any suggestions for improvement, do I just ring you up?"

"No formal reports to file," Revive says, again looking back over his shoulder as he continues to walk. His steps are quiet and gentle -- and he doesn't walk fast, as if savoring being in the mobile armor's presence. "And -- sure, you can do that. I'll make sure it gets to the people who need to see it."

Revive laughs again. "They're a little camera-shy. Sorry to make it sound so ominous, but it lets them get their work done." Revive gestures off-handedly up at the Empruss. "But looking at the results, I can't fault it."

"It's pretty damn impressive," Jung says.

Then a finger goes to her lips again. "And if it's ready - well, I don't know, will taking it once around the block damage anything?"

Because now she's eyeing that cockpit, hungrily.