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As previously stated, major projects at work are making writing progress slow! Sorry for the wait guys, this will be slow until at least March! I'm already halfway through the next and what should be final or second to final chapter of the Arc but damn it's fighting me while im this tired!
Chapter 9
Saturday 2nd January 2011.
I wake up in a very irritated mood for a Saturday. Faultline had to cancel my meeting yesterday and rebook it for tonight. So, I decided to spend a day tinkering. What a mistake that was.
My current project is working to implement proper energy shielding in my Armour. Shielding the outer armour is a prelude to shielding the inner armour which is a further prelude to implementing shielding into my own body.
It isn't going well.
GUNNM has shield generators. But I can't access the schematic directly as the good ones aren't part of the Cybernetic speciality I have unlocked. I could probably develop towards them. But not in any reasonable stretch of time without more perks.
The bad ones are designed more for sport and duelling. They are worse than the Draenei ones in almost every way.
The Draenei ones however suffer a different problem.
The shield generators use an insanely rare crystal. One I cannot find on earth, and up to now only in small quantities in the resource dimension.
That's fine. I have enough small crystals to make a near full body energy shield. I'm only really after it for the environmental benefits anyway. It will help protect me against the energy attacks I am so weak to at the minute in addition.
However, I can only power those shields with Magic. And while my magic pool is much bigger now, it solely powers my enchanting and teleportation. Two abilities that can turn a fight on its head. I do not want to be squandering this resource mid battle.
I haven't found a single sign of the Argunite I would need to make the electricity interface I can see in my head that would allow me to power shields from a generator instead of magic. Worse, I spent the entirety of yesterday, all New Year's Day trying to manually design an interface that work!
I have leant on existing blueprints within my perks for too long. I haven't exercised my design powers enough. Because while I know this barrier can be broken, it's just not coming to me at the minute.
I even try to use my far advanced knowledge of conventional physics to make a completely custom energy shielding system.
I ended up needing to get a clone to rebuild one of the wing projectors in my left wing when my prototype violently exploded into some sort of gravitic explosion.
I'm really glad I had the foresight to test it in the resource dimension.
Sherrel found it hilarious.
A bit of good news though, I found a previously unnoticed setting in my pedestal that lets me access security logs for my dimension, a perk I gained previously but missed the implications of in post combat fugue. Additionally, today I woke up to a seriously large expansion to my workshop. I now have a full tailoring workshop including workbenches, looms, sewing machines, and even a basic nanoscale loom. It's part of the same perk that gave me my initial blacksmith forge, so anything I make on it is self-repairing in 48 hours and fiat backed. The dream that came with this perk shaded an already shaded island on the reality planet with a partial slightly different colour. Probably due to the repeatable nature of the perk. It will be nice to have an easier place to make my various weaves and weaved polymers.
The extra room is nice too.
I'm certainly not going to complain.
I have my meeting with MIT booked as well! Getting accredited won't be easy, but they're willing to host an initial meeting regarding my computer science, physics, and engineering qualifications. I'm also going to get my mechanical skills accredited if I can. They seemed interested in my transcripts. Apparently the only way to get Biology, Chemistry, Medicine and Surgery accredited is to contact Harvard. And their waiting list is long. The receptionist I spoke to estimated they wouldn't get back to me till at least April.
I'll write up some transcripts and doctoral thesis papers later. My writing perk makes them a cinch to postulate in writing, and I should be able to get a head start on my accreditation. I can actually rewrite three of Mercy's PHD thesis papers that she wrote younger than me to accredit Biology, Chemistry and Medicine. Surgery is an elective not covered by a simple Thesis; I will actually need to attend multiple exams for that.
I have until the 8th to write out my dissertation, thesis and pre-exam transcripts for MIT so I decide to put my personal clone on it while the second works with Sherrel.
Sherrel is a lot more talkative with my clones now, I explained to her that I literally get all the memories back and it is for all intents and purposes me. She now just treats them as extensions of me and we have some nice banter going in clone time. I feel like a cheat, cheating socialisation this way while spending my own time developing myself, but I'm on some pretty strict timers. I push the guilt to the side. I'm getting the memories eventually!
Once I can get my qualifications accredited; I can get started on my project.
Hale Industries.
HI is going to become a beacon of technological development, focusing on technology to uplift humanity, and to level the playing field in counter parahuman and counter Endbringer actions. I can't really go anywhere with the company until I have the qualifications in place and solidified.
I also want to have at least two counters in place for every Slaughterhouse member before I try too hard to improve things. The last thing I need is to end up in one of Jacks demented games unprepared.
I'm receiving a phone call.
Hmm it's Armsmaster. Not like him to ring me unannounced.
"Archon here, What's up Armsmaster?"
"Archon, would you be willing to meet up with me at my Lab in the PRT building. I have some questions about the energy field you imbued into my halberd head and my new one too. Dragon will also be present and has wanted to speak with you for a while."
Hmm. Likely an olive branch to work on improving relations after the debacle in the week.
"No strings? Just a friendly meeting yes?" I reply flatly.
"No strings at all, just tinker collaboration." He is quick to respond.
"Ok no problem Armsmaster, when do you want me there?"
"Any time is fine; I am currently working in the Lab and the front desk will let you know where to go in the sub-basement."
I hang up.
I'm hoping I can swing a meeting with Piggot while I am in to clear up my issues. Plus, what tinker doesn't want to meet Dragon?
Hell, what Worm fan doesn't want to meet Dragon?
I suit up and head over to the PRT building. I step out a little further away and spend a bit of time flying there recreationally. The exposure will be good for my image, and I need to keep practicing my flight. I make a few lazy loops of downtown, scanning for trouble and waving at people who notice me.
I finally loop into the plaza in front of the PRT building and make my way inside on foot.
I meet up with the receptionist, who tells me that as a flyer who is registered, I could have rang ahead to ask permission to use the helipad.
I'll remember that for future.
She directs me to the nearby elevator and tells me to head for subbasement 2.
This is where I was when I met with Armsmaster last time.
Instead of heading right this time however, Armsmaster is wating for me. He's out of armour in a simple blue body suit including a headcover, and a domino mask.
"Hello Archon, please follow me."
He walks off to the left and passes through various security doors. The security down here is immense. Fingerprint scanners, Retina, Voice.
I suppose if my main workshop was in this dimension I would be just as careful.
We head into a well-equipped lab and combined workshop. Lathes, mills, workbenches, scanners, tech everywhere.
Im not drooling honest.
My workshop is pretty decent now, but this place is top of the range in every aspect. Of course, he doesn't have my passive effects or regenerating basic resources. So, I think I still have the edge. And my rustics are much better than his.
But damn I really do need to finish up getting my mills and lathe up and running. I really lean on backyard handywork too much when I could do a lot of work so much faster with the correct tools.
"Your lab is impressive Armsmaster."
He rubs the back of his head and smiles.
"My main lab on the Rig is better, but I maintain this one to stay closer to the city on my on-call days."
Damn, I really need to see that lab some time.
He's currently stood at some sort of laser scanning machine. As I approach a voice comes out of a nearby speaker.
"Hello Archon, nice to meet you, so to speak."
Damn, her voice synthesizer is top notch, if I didn't already know she was AI I would be 100% taken in.
"Hi, and I'm guessing that you are Dragon?"
"Yes! I've been helping Armsmaster with scanning your enhancement field, and it is quite extraordinary! I hope you don't mind?"
"No of course not, I told Armsmaster as much, as long as any insights are shared with me,"
Armsmaster turns and joins the conversation.
"We have some great insight currently. I have used the original halberd that you enhanced for me, it has been used in combat, or combat like activity a total of 39 times. The damage resistance of the halberd from non-destructive testing is around three times higher than the materials suggest it should be. No increase in density nor any sort of change in the covalent bonds has been observed. However, the effect on gravity, friction and interference with waveforms is more adverse than it should be given the materials used. No energy field can be detected on any scanner I can gain use of and yet the physical effect on the world is observable. It is quite unique and I thank you for allowing me to study such an atypical parahuman power effect."
About what I expected.
"What about the new halberd head?" I enquire.
"The materials used are high quality, though they resist scanning so observing the effect is more difficult on those. I am restricting it's deployment to anti-brute or equivalent fights as its weight and sharpness make it unpalatable for regular combat."
I protect all of my crafts from reverse engineering by default, and I don't want to reveal that I can fully unprotect my gear at will. But I think I'll throw a bone here as I've already move on to better materials than the initial NPSteel I made and will likely moving on to even better materials very soon.
"That material isn't actually tinker tech, it's likely being protected by the nature of me crafting the halberd head. I'm willing to trade knowledge of how to create the material however if you have anything to offer in recompense?"
He's definitely interested, and I know Dragon will be.
Dragon is the first to talk.
"I have to say given the observable effects I am definitely interested in trading for knowledge of the material, what would be adequate compensation however as the material is novel, light and more importantly quite damage resistant and therefore likely carries a value higher than the budget the PRT will sustain."
Hmm, leverage. Quite naïve of Dragon to reveal that, but she's probably got a long game of her own.
"I need access to rarer tinker materials, elements all across the periodic table. Cash is always good of course. And as I'd like to be considered for guild affiliation too as I know it is not a full-time commitment and we share many of the same values, I'm willing to be a lot more up front and altruistic on those grounds."
She pauses to think.
"EFA, as stealthily as you can, see what you can glean from Dragon, ideally I'm looking for a trackback to the Dragonslayers or Ascalon."
"On it boss."
"Ok Archon, your honesty is refreshing. I can email you a list of suppliers that I use that I'm willing to vouch for you with. I can authorise a significant cash outlay over time but not in bulk. The number will be in your inbox now. Think about it after you leave here and once we come to agreement I will send you the supplier list."
I pretend to think about it, but honestly I would let the formula go just for the suppliers.
"Noted, thanks Dragon. Was there anything else you needed while I am here?"
"Yes actually, I was wondering if you would be willing to imbue some more weapons with your enhancement field. Some of them will go on my suits and some are for testing? I have some moderately rare tinker materials, and some personal armour insights to share with you in exchange." She replies.
Damn, actual Dragon tech. She has me. Even I'm not immune to the tinker lure that collaboration with Dragon is.
After imbuing the fields and receiving some novel compound ideas along with some unique actuator designs that I can look at reverse engineering, I spend the next few hours with Dragon and Armsmaster bouncing about ideas for armoured suits and melee weapon enhancements.
Finally, we are coming to the end of our collaboration time. And I've actually gotten a lot more out of this playdate than I expected. Armsmaster and Dragon are both a wealth of knowledge on power systems and armour, as both use different forms. And given that I will eventually be scaling up thanks to Anaheim Degree, Dragons insights are a big help in this area. Not only that but I've improved my relations drastically with Armsmaster and gained a new friend in Dragon.
As I go to leave, Dragon asks one more question.
"Archon regarding your wings, I was wondering if you had any insights into thrustless flight, I know you cant share your tech but I've been working on some new suits for Endbringer fights and any help would be appreciated."
Hmm, ill give them some insights but nothing more.
"I cant break down my tech to tell you exactly how I do it, but my wings work on two principles, the first is a form of fine gravity manipulation and the second is an unusual form of telekinesis. Gravity manipulation allows for vertical flight and the telekinesis controls my horizontal vector. Unfortunately, it's one of my most black boxed pieces of tech so I cant really give you any more than that. Check out Kid Wins stuff though, from what my power observes with his hoverboard, he uses similar principles to gravity manipulation."
I'm lying through my teeth of course but handing over that tech also hands over the counter. They wont be able to achieve the telekinetic force projection that allows me to move with standard tech.
We say our goodbyes and Armsmaster leads me out. As I go to get on the elevator he puts his hand on my arm.
"Two things Archon. First. I want to apologise. While I was of the mind to protect Arcadia rather than back you up, none of us wanted to leave you alone in that fight. An investigation is ongoing as to why exactly pressure was put on high for other areas in the city while Lung and Oni Lee also escaped. But I wanted you to know not to hold it against any of us. And that includes the director."
I nod, and cant quite hold back a grimace.
"I'm not happy with the Director Armsmaster, but your apology is accepted."
He nods in acceptance and continues.
"Further, Miss Militia wanted me to pass on a message." He hands me a folded note. I open it and read it in front of him. It reads, 'Archon, you saved the life of my oldest friend, as long as it isn't criminal contact me if you need anything and ill be there'.
It's nice to get the appreciation after how sour my interactions have been lately with the Protectorate.
Armsmaster continues to speak after I have finished reading.
"On a personal note, Archon, while myself and Mouse Protector haven't seen eye to eye at times with us both having a different idea of positive reputation, you have my thanks for saving a former member of the protectorate. The Director also wanted me to pass on that if you have any other pearls of wisdom from your precog, that we are always open to info now it has proven reliable."
Well, that's a turn up for the books. I can use this.
"You are welcome. I do have other things to share but not now. The timing is important and if I share the wrong thing at the wrong time, very bad things happen."
He nods.
"The Nostra dilemma. We know of it. Share what you can, when you can. We will pay attention."
I pause and have a great idea.
"There is one thing I can share with you but it will require a great show of trust. If you or another Protectorate member make your way to Winslow High School on the first day of class, before classes start. And wait in the hallway where the lockers are kept. And keep a very careful eye on the situation. You will catch a crime in progress by a parahuman known to you in their civilian identity that will turn the protectorate on it's head. No coverups. Own the mistakes that led up to the incident and you will gain a great ally."
There. The seeds are laid for the possible recruitment and if not, at least friendly relationship between the now Parahuman Danny and the Protectorate. Because I have no doubt that Danny will be there to protect his daughter.
Armsmaster looks at me for a long time. Then nods.
"I will take it up with the Director. Thank you for your trust."
I was going to tell them on the 3rd anonymously anyway, but this gives me a way to tie it to my identity. With Blank and Inertia of Self protecting me, I'm not worried about anyone coming after me for this. And if Cauldron try I'll bait Contessa and take her hostage.
I'm not dancing to their tune.
"Any luck EFA?"
"Nothing Boss, sorry. I can track various servers in Vancouver and Toronto but theyre all Dragon registered. I'll keep on it as much as possible but her security is beyond anything I've ever seen so I'm not pushing it."
"No problem, I think they'll likely be in Canada anyway so if you have time please do some sweeps, they'll need regular resource runs so there will be a pattern somewhere."
After I leave the PRT I decide to drop into my civvies. I dress up for a cold northern day and head out to my apartment on my motorbike.
I've decided to bring Danny into my confidence after speaking with Armsmaster. Danny knows I know his civilian ID so I'm going to let him know mine.
I call the house number I gained previously and it doesn't take him long to answer.
"Hello, Danny Hebert speaking."
"Mr Hebert, It's Archon. Do you want to meet up? In civvy gear. I owe you some explanations and I've seen your face so it's only fair."
He takes a while to answer.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, if you can get out to downtown, there's a few places I can book a private room and we can chat."
Another long pause.
"Ok Archon, where do you want to meet? I can be downtown in 25 minutes."
"I'll book a private table at Ricardos. Under Hale."
"I'll be there."
I have a funny thought. Am I Danny's Tattletale? Fight with Lung at the docks, He saves my life so I offer him help? Then I manipulate him for his own good?
Damn.
Enough contemplation! I need to get moving.
The drive to the restaurant is short and before long I have a small table booked under my name and decide to have a nice glass of wine while waiting for Danny. They have some nice whites here!
While waiting for Danny I am hit with a double ping.
200CP gained, 400cp are available.
Skills Magic… Success!
Aura Surgeon – World Seed – 400CP
0CP remain.
What in the actual everliving fuck has the forge given me now.
This is a literal godlike ability. It's an ability that needs to be developed, one of research and careful observation. Limited by Mana and time. But it synergises with everything.
I can now copy, manipulate and change auras at will, mine, and other peoples.
Masters of this technique can install implants in themselves, copy their new aura, then apply that aura back to themselves when unaugmented. It's the ability to create superpowers, in myself and others, as long as I have an example of it to copy that is working in context.
Magic Style: Enchantment touches on these concepts, but not to this level. I could literally copy my own enchantments and apply them permanently with this. I can apply the abilities of my implants to my own body. I could literally regenerate myself back to baseline human If I wanted to after copying my Aura and retain the abilities. Hell, I could become a pseudo Animagus/Druid with this. You can use this ability to borrow the forms and abilities of other creatures. It's also a healing ability. If someone say has cancer, you can overwrite the part of their Aura that has the cancer with a healthy equivalent copied from another person. I'm genuinely losing track of the number of different ways I have to heal people. Hell you could likely change someones race or gender with this.
While powerful, the restrictor of this ability is maximum magic pool, and time. You have to have examples of the auras you want, and you have to spend a lot of time studying them. Over time as I study more and more auras I will gradually be able to mix and match them.
This is a power, much like my mana pool that I will be developing over time. Auras are generated magically, and therefore my ability to interact with them is also limited by my magic pool, through not in a strictly "cost" sense. It doesn't cost anything to generate an aura, but there is a "minimum" size of pool required based on the power of the Aura. If I wanted for example to copy Alexandrias invincibility from her Aura, I would likely need a magic pool many hundreds, possibly thousands of times larger than I currently have to even attempt it.
But simply having the potential ability is enough. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
I wonder if Endbringers generate Aura… on second thought… maybe a bit too ambitious even for me.
Danny arrives without much fanfare. I cringe a little internally however as he is acting like a secret agent from a bad 60s spy film. He joins me in my private room and I have EFA scan for eavesdroppers and monitoring. Finding none I start the conversation strong.
"Hi Danny, Thomas Hale, how are you?" I shake his hand vigorously.
He looks at me with a bemused expression.
"Danny Hebert, apologies I expected someone a bit older."
I laugh, not at all insulted.
"Well, I can't say I didn't expect that."
He laughs in response, the ice broken we sit down to eat.
"Feel free to order whatever you want, it's on me today." I say.
He looks at the menu contemplatively. I know what I'm having so im content to observe him. He isn't really what I expected when I read worm. He looks older than I imagined in my head, and he is a lot less built than I expected.
In no time at all we have placed our orders and we get down to business.
"Thomas I'm not sure how to word this so I'll just say it outright, why did you invite me out today, and why reveal yourself to me?"
"Do you know of the unwritten rules?" I reply.
He nods.
"They say unwritten, but you can find them online easily enough. I did a lot of searching and research when I got my powers. I haven't slept since I got them so I have nothing but time on my hands."
Hmm, a noctis cape. Interesting. I wonder if he remembers his trigger vision,
I nod in return.
"Well that's why. I saw your identity. In the interest of fair play I wanted to reveal mine. Plus I needed to make a confession to you."
His expression turns guarded.
"A confession?"
I put on my best sympathetic face, im genuinely wary of this revelation.
"You got my warning about Taylors return to school right?"
He stands up quickly and bellows.
"THAT WAS YOU?"
I quickly look around, this booth is sectioned off and distant from other tables but it's still open.
"Can you not? I understand this is shocking to you but we need to keep a low profile"
His expression turns sheepish.
"Sorry about that, but that warning was you?"
I nod empathetically.
"Yes, and apologies for doing it out of the blue, but I had a set of precognitive info passed to me and your daughters horror was a key aspect of it. I wanted to avoid it at all costs."
He sits back in his chair, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes.
He puts his glasses back on and looks me dead in the eye.
"Did you know that giving me that info would make me a parahuman?"
Fuck. I was his trigger.
"You have my word I didn't. The event your daughter was going to go through was her trigger. I was trying to avoid any triggering happening at all."
He sits back and looks at me for a long time. Without breaking eye contact.
He finds what he is looking for however as he relaxes.
"Hell of a coincidence us meeting that day then at the docks?"
I laugh.
"You have no idea. Thank you for that again by the way. You probably saved my life."
"Well I was just glad to help. Didn't expect to hit him that hard, I knew I was strong but didn't realise I was THAT strong. I seem to get a lot stronger when im angry and a lot cleverer when im calm."
Heh, interesting and fitting power he got. QA being cheeky it seems.
"The second reason I invited you out was to see if you were interesting in joining a loose cape team. Nothing like new wave, more of a union of capes and cape affected than anything else. Mutual support, equipment etc. Problem solvers mostly for the local area but eventually a countrywide cape union."
He looks at me with that look again.
"What would I be required to give?"
I don't get his point.
"Uh, nothing? Im pretty well off already and once I get my qualifications accredited will be opening a company based around novel medical and other helpful technologies at affordable cost. I'll pay you a base wage simply to stay registered with us as a member, but we aren't a team like the corporate teams etc. The closest equivalent would be like a guild in olden times. The names taken but I have another tinker and a thinker working with me directly and two shakers/tinkers working loosely with us already. Your affiliation with us can be as casual or formal as you like."
He nods and sits in silence for a while thinking about it.
"What would my commitments be, because my daughter comes first. I was considering going to the Protectorate, but you said in your warning one of the bitches attacking Taylor is connected to the PRT. So im not enthusiastic about the idea."
I nod.
"Nothing at all. Other than a commitment not to join another team without giving us a heads up, I would pay you to patrol, and to back me up, paid from my civilian account too, pay you as a "labourer" so you don't have to tie it to your cape identity. I would gear you up, depending on how close you choose to align with us. I'll definitely help you with costume as you'll need it as a brute. I can help you with transportation too if needed."
He looks around.
"I should be ok with transport, I can fly."
Damn he really won the power jackpot. With a brute/thinker combo that flies, Cauldron will probably think he's Scions Alexandria equivalent.
Our meals arrive and we eat in companiable silence. He seems to be deep in thought and I'm thinking about the formation of the powered arm of my new team. I have a lot of plans.
All too quickly the meals are finished and dessert is ordered.
"Ok Archon. I'll join your team. Loosely for now, but I have all the time in the world to patrol. But I have a few conditions."
"Ok name them and I will see what I can do."
"One. Taylor comes first. The team has to drop everything to protect her if anything happens to her."
"I would do that for any teammates family anyway."
He nods approvingly.
"Two. You know what connection Taylors bullies have to the PRT im quite sure. I want to know what it is."
I visibly cringe.
"Danny, I want to tell you, and if you really push on it I will, but if I tell you I will be breaking some serious laws. I will almost certainly go to prison for a long time if it comes out I told you. I have a loose set of morals when it comes to protecting people but im no villain."
He looks at me long and hard.
"Tell me. Ill keep your name out of it. You have my word."
I sigh deeply.
"One of them is a Ward."
Honestly, his calm demeanour is impressing me at the minute.
"That's why none of Taylors complaints went anywhere?"
I nod.
He makes good inroads to turning his fork into a straw.
"Thank you for telling me" he spits out between gritted teeth. "I'll keep this one close to my chest until needed."
"If it's any consolation to you, I've also warned the Protectorate to be there on the first day. Not mentioned anything about Taylor just a vague warning to Armsmaster that a key event needs to be stopped."
He nods at me approvingly.
"Oh good, that means they'll be there when I stop them from going after Taylor."
I hand him my personal number, and the address to my apartment.
"I've got a few meetings coming up, if you track your patrols in the meantime and send me a message ill make sure you get paid. I'm going to be making us some communication gear soon so when I'm done I will send let you know when to make your way to my apartment for fitting."
He smiles and agrees.
"What cape name are you going with Danny, so I can work on a first draft of your costume and gear."
"Atlas"
Strangely fitting. The man who holds the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"What's the name of our team?"
I've been thinking about this for while. I still don't have a set answer to this question.
"I don't currently have a name for the team, I'm toying with "The Warforge" or something along those lines, but in all honesty I'll probably recruit a few members before we officially name the team then we can all decide on it together.
He looks me in the eyes.
"Is there something you aren't telling me?"
"Yes, but nothing relevant to right now. I will go through it with you and the rest of the team in future."
He nods.
"I'll hold you to that. I need to get back to Taylor. See you around Thomas."
"Likewise Danny, and if you need any help on Monday, let me know."
"Thanks for the offer but I think I'll deal with this one myself."
I walk back to my bike and then head off back to my apartment.
The team is growing. Myself, EFA, Impulse and Atlas now. Hypatia and Smythe arent *official* members but still do work for the team.
That reminds me.
"EFA, have you decided on a cape name for yourself?"
"Yes boss, I'm going to go by Overwatch."
"Any relation to the Mercy memories?"
"Nah I like the name and it feels fitting given I'm the one who looks people up and watches your back."
"I like it."
And that makes four. I'm going to really need to accelerate my plans to make her a body of her own. Still not there yet tech and resource wise, but it won't be far off.
I really do need to come up with a team name.
Arriving back at the workshop I prepare for my meeting with Faultline. I run some of my now standard maintenance on my gear, I don't need to make any repairs of course having only recently done that, but small incremental enchantments to everything allows me to grow my magic pool and increasing my defence is never a wasted effort. The enchantments are tiny, talking +.05% increases to defence and tinier decreases in weight, but they add up over time. Additively, not multiplicatively but I think it would be a little overpowered the other way.
I run a quick inventory of my gear. I've made and disassembled quite a few things now and it's always good to take inventory. After cannibalising most of my old gear im left with the Archangel undersuit that acts as my 'peacetime' costume, the Archangel Armoured suit MK1, the Jabberwock claw, my bow, which I haven't even used yet, my energy pistol, Draenei arm shield, staff and inbuilt energy blade, and halo. I also have the Tesla Baton though I desperately need to make some upgrades to that now my power system is more robust and my kidneys wont explode from overexerting the reactors. I also have the beginnings of a frame for the bigger THOR MK1 suit. I also of course have the matter manipulator and omni tool inside me.
All in all, I feel like I've come a long way from that scared boy that almost got taken out by Skidmark.
I have a little time before I need to make my way to the Palanquin so I quickly throw together a wrist mounted communicator/scanners. This will be the framework for the basic equipment for the team, I even manage to throw in a really cobbled together omni tool interface, it doesn't have even 5% of the ability of an actual omni tool but it'll look cool! Shortwave scanners and advanced radio communicators from the same perk my cybernetics came from wrapped up in a subtle silver band. I can add more functionality to this as I develop the tech.
I spend the rest of the late afternoon working on my Aura reading. Reading my own clone is a real mindfuck, the aura itself reflects the nature of the clones impermanence and it's the first thing you see, so strongly it smacks you in the face. I also take initial looks at the aura of all my gear but barring the baton, which is so dense it's like reading a dictionary, the rest of my gear is far beyond my meagre abilities at the minute. My inherent knowledge of the aura reading tells me the complexity and density will reduce as I practice and as my magic pool increases. I need to make sure to aura scan everything and everyone I touch. It may even help me with insights while im interacting with people. I have to be touching to use it however at my current level of ability which is obviously a downside.
Enchanting and Alchemy practice takes up the rest of my free time before the meeting. The Forge makes another roll attempt as I get ready for my meeting.
100CP gained, 100cp are available.
Attempting Expansion.
Failed.
100CP banked
No dice this time!
I quickly don my costume and armour up. I'm going in formal for this one. I need to decide what to tell Faultline in advance. I need any info she has on independents acting in the area and any info she has on the Lung situation.
Now i just need to find out what i'll need to give in return. She's a merc, money should be enough.
Shouldnt it?
Notes:
Perks gained this chapter
25.014 - Aura Surgeon - 400CP - World Seed - Skills Magic
One thing that all beings and objects in Neolife possess, and soon those in the real world as well, considering that exposure to mana leads to its manifestation, is an Aura. You could consider it a magical blueprint of how something works. And it truly shows everything: skills, abilities, physical makeup, personality, memory, and much more. Animals and plants have flowing auras, full of twists and turns, whereas processed items like machines have jagged auras, full of hard lines like a 3D circuit diagram. One peculiarity of Aura is that any of its changes are reflected in the being or object possessing the Aura. Xeno-shifters, an advanced Druid class, make use of that to mimic the aura of lifeforms they have studied in order to gain both their forms and abilities, for example.
It is also how Technomancers are able to replicate the effects of implants within themselves, by simply copying their Auras into their bodies. But for all of its potential advantages, tampering with your own Aura can also go incredibly wrong if you mess it up, especially when it involves your brain, such as causing brain damage, death of personality, or just the normal kind of death. It's good, then, that with your skill at manipulating and changing Auras, yours and those of others, mistakes like that won't ever happen. It wouldn't be wrong to call you an Aura Artisan.
So long as you have an example to study, you'll be able to safely and successfully apply any of its abilities or peculiarities either to yourself or somebody else, and even combine parts of the Auras of many beings to create truly powerful forms. After studying a massive amount of different Auras to get a feel for how they work, you'll even be able to go so far as to create original Auras and beings, or change parts of your Aura to give yourself entirely new abilities.
+100PRCP
300 PRCP available, rolling…
Success! Computer Hub – 50CP
A top-of-the-line mainframe / supercomputer with basic additional equipment, like scanners (2D and 3D, standard- and poster-sized) and printers (color, black and white, bulk printer, 3D printer, blueprint-printer), and binding equipment. Perfectly assimilates any upgrades done to it. Comes with the operating system of your choice, be it Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, etc. You and each Companion receive their own personal desktop computer, laptop, and tablet. If you have Central Control and Robots, they're linked into an internal Intranet. With the Extranet, all the computers in the Personal Reality are linked to the Internet as well. All printing supplies (filament, paper, ink) must be supplied by the Jumper, but if you have the Mall, you can always find a print supply shop within without having to assign one of your slots to it. This is not an extension. You'll have to make space in your PR for it.