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Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (121/?)
🕑 Added 2025-03-16 16:54:33 +0000 UTCNexus. The Crown Herald Town of Elaseer. Ambassadorial District. Adventurer’s Guild Hall of Elaseer. Guild Master’s Office. Local Time: 1935 Hours.
Emma
Five plans had been drafted up.
Each one more ludicrous than the next.
However, all of them held a consistent theme all throughout.
A theme which more or less invalidated their use from the onset.
At least when it came to me using them.
“So… magic, huh?” I muttered out under my breath, prompting Sym to both raise a brow, and nod slowly.
“Yes my lady.” He reaffirmed, as we both now looked up at the blackboard the bat-like Thulvahn had so eagerly rolled out from some side closet. “Or at the very least, the first two plans explicitly require the use of magic.”
His bardic sensibilities were very much on display, as each plan was illustrated with toony intent.
Everything, from the dragon and its lair, down to my armor — and in particular my helmet — was drawn with these sketchy, super-shaky lines. Which made for really dynamic motions, all of which were very much fitting for the sorts of stunts they had drawn up.
From the first plan which required a massive distraction and the introduction of another hostile beast, to the last plan which required some Cirque Du Venus level acrobatics, there was definitely a lot of thought being put into these propositions.
Though admittedly, not a lot of practical gains could be extracted from them.
“Right, let’s take it from the top.” I began, letting out a slight exhale as I stepped up, standing next to — and towering a good few heads — above Thulvahn.
“Plan number one — calling upon a familiar, or a hoard of loaned familiars?” I asked frankly, trying my best to hold back my disbelief.
“Yes, my lady! You see, I believe that the best plan of attack is one where you needn’t even be on the offensive!” The man beamed, taking on this car salesman-like persona as he grinned as wide as his little maw could manage. “Why risk your own life when you can instead risk the life of your own thralls!” He began, though just as quickly shifted inwardly, immediately turning timid upon hearing the words that just came out of his own mouth. The glares from everyone present definitely hammered home the awkwardness of that unfortunate phrasing. “Er, what I mean to say is, given the wildly dangerous nature of the dragon, it might be best to allow nature to take its course. Call upon beasts to fight the dragon, and in the process, a few crystals should be ripped out as collateral!”
Thalmin was the first to raise his hand at this plan, turning towards me just for a moment as if to ask to speak on my behalf.
“With all due respect, adventurer, this plan lacks both guarantee and agency.” He began, listing those two points by raising one finger after another. “We lack any assurance that a crystal would even be knocked off the dragon for the former, and we are reduced to mere observers when it comes to the latter.”
“I apologize, mercenary prince.” The bat-man bowed deeply in a show of apologetics. “I should have prefaced this by saying that this plan hedges on a magic user’s abilities to call upon familiars or familiars-on-loan.”
The pocket monster plan… I thought amusingly to myself.
“Well we can immediately disregard it.” Thalmin rebutted. “We are neither tamers nor beast masters.”
“Such a thing is far beneath our station.” Ilunor quickly added, as if to save face.
This merely elicited some neutral blinks and several nods, as I began pointing at the second… very questionable plan.
“Ah, yes! Plan two!” The bard proclaimed brightly. “Illusions! Simply have a grand illusionist conjure up an attractive dragon to distract or potentially even—”
“STOP!” All four of us shouted in unison, putting the idea down in its tracks.
“I cannot believe you would even dare entertain such a debased idea in front of us.” Ilunor seethed, the man clearly more offended than others given his mastery over illusion magic.
“Very well, my lord.” Thulvahn bowed deeply, simply moving his clawed hand down to point number three.
“Plan three! We bait the dragon with food! Now, as we all know, amethyst dragons, like most other gem-based dragons, hunger not merely for meat but for minerals.” He grinned, once more turning to Ilunor. “I believe you may know this best, my lord.”
The Vunerian didn’t reply, merely glaring deep into the man’s soul, causing him to flinch.
“The idea is simple. We bait the dragon, and then, while it’s distracted, we—”
“I will not sacrifice my precious jewels for such a flight of fantasy.” Ilunor cut the man off, before turning towards me. “I must make this clear, Cadet Emma Booker. You will not be using my precious jewels as if they were worms on a hook!”
“Yeah, there’s no need to waste your breath there, Ilunor. The bait idea is just… too risky, I think.” I offered, prompting the bat-man to move on to the fourth point on the list.
“Plan four it is.” He spoke brightly, before pointing at the convoluted set-up that would’ve made even the looniest of toons seem tame by comparison. “We attack from below. With some clever mathematics and subterranean expertise, we dig a hole directly underneath the dragon where it sleeps.” My eyes followed the diagram behind the man, as it detailed what was clearly Sym, tunneling through to the cave, and then chiseling out a small hole beneath a sleeping dragon. “Following which, we quickly procure ourselves one of its gems, and then escape down the small tunnel we came from!”
“At which point we might as well be running head-first into the dragon.” Thalmin growled out. “Do you honestly believe the dragon wouldn’t simply rise upon feeling one of its gems being chiseled out?”
“I was hoping someone could potentially utilize a spell with which to knock the dragon out—”
“I am afraid you overestimate our current capabilities, adventurer.” Thacea interjected this time around. “Such a task requires… a mage far beyond even that of graduates from the Academy. A dragon’s mind despite its bestial nature is, after all, quite difficult to influence.”
“Right.” Thulvahn acknowledged, before moving on to what was probably the most ‘practical’ idea.
“Plan five. We simply walk around the forests until we find ourselves a crystal. Considering how many engagements the dragon has had with men-at-arms and local beasts, I assume that at least one crystal fragment can be found somewhere.” The man as if he was about ready to give up.
“Time-consuming… but probably the most reasonable plan out of all of them.” Thalmin concurred, nodding with closed eyes, miming the movements of both the guild master and Sym.
“Why does it always have to be the least exciting one…” Thulvahn mumbled to himself before sitting back down. “I must warn you, considering the size of the forest, this particular plan may take quite a while to accomplish.”
“Moreover, it still relies on chance rather than any form of assuredness.” Thalmin quickly added.
“Exactly!” The man beamed back with a sudden burst of confidence, though he just as quickly reeled himself back in upon locking eyes with the lupinor. “Er, my lord.” He promptly added.
“In any case, I believe this should conclude our consultation.” I offered, turning to the time, as Sorecar’s cautious warnings were still fresh on my mind. “I appreciate the… creativity on display here, Adventurer Thulvahn.” I offered politely, causing the bard to puff up his chest in response.
“Thank you, my lady!”
“Though considering everything you’ve been through, I believe all of you deserve a well earned rest. So I won’t be taking much more of your time.” I concluded diplomatically, gesturing for Ilunor to hand over the sack of gold. “As promised, your payment.”
I spared no time, whilst savoring the moment, to untie the top of the sack then allowing it to drop with a satisfying, clinky THUD onto the table in front of us.
Gold coins practically spilled from the top following that stunt, forming a respectable pile, which caught the full and undivided attention of both kobolds present — deluxe and otherwise — along with Thulvahn.
“I’ve always wanted to do that…” I muttered to myself under a muted microphone.
What happened next was a brief tallying of the gold coins in front of Piamon. Followed shortly by the arrival of the receptionist who began sorting the coins through what I could only describe was an old-timey coin-sorter.
“Genuine and up-to-date, Master Piamon.” The elf announced politely, before nodding and leaving the room just as abruptly as she’d arrived.
“Right then.” The slime began, as he turned towards both me— “Quest giver.” —and Sym. “Adventurers. Are there any points of contention either party would wish to raise?”
My eyes locked with Sym’s, as we both nodded and spoke in unison. “No, guild master.”
“Quest giver.” Piamon focused on me this time around. “Have all the terms of the contract been fulfilled to your satisfaction?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Adventurers.” Piamon quickly turned towards Sym. “Do you wish to raise any issues with the compensation of your labor?”
“No, guild master.” The dwarf bowed.
“Well then, considering all parties are satisfied, I hereby proclaim this quest…” The slime paused, as he jumped up towards one of the cabinets, grabbing a stamp, before careening back down onto his desk at significant speeds — slamming the quest contract with a satisfying THUD. “... complete!” He announced vibrantly, holding up the contract with a single slime tendril, pointing at a stamp with what appeared to be a family crest in the style of his own slime form now wax-sealed onto it. “This particular quest will be filed into my personal vault. So following your departure, none of us shall talk of this quest unless all are present in front of this contract.”
We all bowed at that, and began shuffling out of the room wordlessly.
With one party now primed with information, and the other now loaded with the fruits of Ilunor’s impromptu sports betting ventures.
However, I couldn’t stay entirely silent as we made our way down the stairs, as I turned towards Sym with a smile beneath my helmet. “Y’know, I was wondering if there would be a way to contact you guys just in case I needed some help in the future?”
The man turned towards me with not necessarily a smile, but a warm expression, grabbing what appeared to be a business card in the process. “Aye, unlike other adventurers we don’t necessarily have a base of operations—”
“Our previous base was repossessed… along with our wagon. But all that might just change because of your—!” Thulvahn muttered out, only to be shot down with a stern glare from Sym. “Sorry…” He apologized meekly.
“Our company is based out of this guild hall currently. However, if things do change—” The dwarf paused, turning to shoot the bat-man another glare. “—I will leave a note with the receptionist as to our new lodgings.”
“Thank you, Sym.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Cadet Emma Booker.”
We parted ways on about the second floor, with Sym and his gang entering a door marked as ADVENTURERS ONLY.
A few barely contained cheers and the distinctive clinking of gold coins quickly arrived shortly thereafter, very much audible even behind closed doors, marking the end of Sym’s adventure, but ushering in the start of my own.
Our departure from the guild hall was… certainly a bit different this time around however.
As there were more than a couple of eyes watching our every move as we made our way through the lobby.
Garna, Loris, and a whole host of unnamed adventurer trainees kept their eyes on us through the main dining hall, prompting me to give them a passing wave.
I was rewarded with distant ‘thank yous’ and a few cheers as a result.
Which prompted Ilunor to eventually ask me something unexpected, just as we left the guild hall proper.
“While I understand your bonus to Sym and his sorry troupe, I do not understand your proclivities for charity when it comes to these trainee adventurers, Cadet Emma Booker.” Ilunor announced, as I began grabbing hold of what was left of his shopping bags from the trolley. “Charity for the sake of building connections, forging a face, and investing in future alliances is a smart long-term strategy. However, I doubt you’ll be making the Nexus your next home, let alone Elaseer. So I do not see the purpose in your charitable investments.”
“That’s precisely the issue, Ilunor.” I sighed out. “I don’t see it as an ‘investment’. I’m not doing it in order to create nor save face. Heck, it’s not even a public outreach thing.” I shrugged. Though I’d be lying if it wasn't something that fell under the hearts and minds handbook of SIOP soft power pointers. “I just… felt like I wanted to offer those kids something they probably don’t get too much of.”
“So selfishness then.” Ilunor surmised, sucker-punching me with that out-of-left-field response. “You said it yourself, Emma Booker. You merely felt like doing it. Perhaps to assuage some deep-seeded desire to be seen as a savior, or perhaps, a benefactor.”
“The fact you’d immediately jump to that conclusion, says more about you than me, Ilunor. And that’s where I’m going to leave it.” I stated plainly, prompting the Vunerian to simply shrug as we made our way towards the Academy.
=====
Nexus. The Crown Herald Town of Elaseer en route to The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. Gondola Express. Local Time: 2000 Hours.
Emma
Something had compelled us to take a brief change of scenery.
Perhaps it was a desire to simply sit down after an entire evening’s worth of shopping around town.
Or perhaps, it was a pressing urgency to immediately dig into the logistical issues that came with what I was quickly dubbing the Dragon Quest.
“I think we’re all in agreement here when I say we definitely need a plan that’s more solid than just… roaming around the forests until we find an errant crystal.” I began, gesticulating wildly the moment the gondola began moving upwards, and right as Thacea had established the privacy screen.
“That consultation left a lot to be desired, so I can most certainly concur, Emma.” Thalmin growled back in acknowledgement.
“I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to do a whole sweep of the forest, that much I can agree with.” I continued. “So that’s probably the first thing we’ll do. But honestly, that falls under standard protocol anyways.”
“Mapping out the terrain utilizing your… ‘drones’, Emma?” Thalmin shot back.
“Correct. So spotting an errant crystal probably won’t be too hard, especially if I get my infildrones to supplement my standard recon drones' operational capacity.” I shrugged. “But in any case, we should think of a fallback plan in case we come up with nothing.”
Thalmin paused, cradling his snout as he looked out of the gondola, deep in thought.
The darkness here truly was… dark, with only the town illuminating the world around it. Though, if I were to squint a bit, I could actually make out a few of the main roads leading out of town, snaking through the idyllic countryside like orange and yellow fluorescent veins, pulsating with whatever magical fire was inside of those lanterns.
“We could slay it.” The wolf prince spoke abruptly, garnering everyone’s attention. A brief ‘lock’ of our eyes however prompted the man to simply sigh and shrug. “Though, it is understandable that you wouldn’t wish to go that far.” He conceded.
“I won’t say it’s completely out of the question, Thalmin.” I acknowledged begrudgingly. “The mission… is vital. However, I’d rather we not antagonize a creature that’s already gone through literal hell. I can only imagine the sorts of things it’s been through down in the life archives.” I visibly shuddered.
“An honorable notion.” Thalmin spoke firmly with a single dip of his head. “Though I must stress something, Emma.” He quickly added, his tone growing more severe and urgent. “If it comes to the point where slaying it is the only assured path towards accomplishing your mission, then we must be decisive.” His eyes narrowed, something burning hot behind those amber pupils. “There can be no hesitation.” He emphasized sternly, pressing me on my admittedly timid concession.
“If we reach a point where all non-lethal options are exhausted, then of course, Thalmin.” I conceded, finally drawing out a firm nod from the wolf.
“Very well. Then let us discuss our options.”
We prattled on for a solid five minutes, throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the proverbial idea-wall to see what actually stuck.
By the end of it however, we’d managed to come up with something that was at least somewhat respectable. A plan that was both simple and straightforward, yet fraught with just as many unknowns as one of Thulvahn’s harebrained schemes.
“You’re certain your weapon will be able to sheer through one of its crystals?” Thalmin inquired skeptically.
“Yeah. The science team back home has had experience with cutting one of its crystals in half, remember? That means I can guesstimate just how much force will be needed to crack it.”
The lupinor prince’s eyes quickly shifted to my hip, or more accurately, the weapon holstered within its magnetic holster.
“I admit, your… bullets are quite formidable. But I highly doubt that they will be sufficient to inflict the necessary damage, Emma.”
“Oh, you’re definitely right on the money there, Thalmin.” I confessed through a barely restrained grin. “Though thankfully, I’m packing much more heat than that old thing.” I continued cryptically, moving my eyeballs to authorize the next few motions.
My heart filled with an untamable giddiness as soon as I heard the EVI replying with three ear-piercing chimes. I raised my right arm up in a vertical motion, balling my hand into a fist as panels on my forearm separated and receded with sounds like swift blades. The weapon’s deployment came with the soft whirring of motors and the thrums of surging energy, before finally settling in place with a sharp, locking KA-CHUNK!
Thalmin’s eyes widened with both curiosity and excitement, followed closely by Thacea’s wary yet piercing gaze, and the Vunerian’s suspicious amber-yellow orbs.
The subject of their newfound interest was what at first appeared to be a simple, almost underwhelmingly bland-looking solid chunk of hefty metal; coated in a dull-white coat of heat-dispersing ‘paint’.
This geometrically simple monstrosity was chunky at its rear, barely tapering as it continued ‘down’ my forearm, before finally ending at what appeared to be two blunt ‘pincers’ that extended just five inches in front of my clenched ‘fist’.
“This is what’ll do the job.” I grinned wildly. “The Mark VII Type XXII variant, Model 2777. The Expeditionary version with the upgraded capacitors if I might add. A rather rare model to pair with the power armor but…” I trailed off, cutting myself off before I began geeking out about this fine piece of military hardware. “But yes, while the moon gun is definitely out of its league when it comes to its piercing power, this bad boy definitely won’t have the same problem going straight through the dragon’s crystals.” I gestured towards the unprimed weapon pridefully, all the while making sure it wasn’t pointed at anything I didn’t want at the end of the barrel as per basic safety protocol.
Speaking of which, I quickly collapsed the whole thing back into the right forearm compartment, causing all three present to merely glance at one another in varying levels of… concern.
“I will not mention Academy regulations when it comes to non-ceremonial weapons, Emma…” Thacea muttered out.
“Hey, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. Besides, between you and me? This is merely a… tool. A heavy demolition tool, or a particularly heavy-duty deconstruction tool for my equipment.” I winked, garnering an uninterrupted two-second sigh from Thacea.
“Go on.” She gestured dismissively towards both me and Thalmin.
“Right, so, we definitely have the firepower needed to shear its crystals off. So you can strike that off of the problem-list, Thalmin.” I reiterated, prompting the lupinor to continue onto the next point.
There was a twinge of hesitation before he continued however, as his eyes were clearly locked onto the now-hidden railgun.
“The next problem I foresee is how we proceed after we… ‘extract’ said crystal.” He offered. “Because as it stands right now, we’re treating the dragon as if it were a null actor. Our current plans fail to take into account exactly how we should contend with the dragon following a successful long-range extraction.”
“Yeah… you do raise a very good point there. I mean, sniping the dragon from afar, before sending one of the drones in to retrieve the crystal is still the most solid and minimally invasive way of going about it I think.”
“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to sacrifice more of your ‘drones’ as bait to distract the dragon while we retrieve the crystal?”
“I’d rather we not be too frivolous with mission-pertinent resources, Thalmin. But, we can definitely try the distraction plan with something else. I’m actually liking that now, actually.”
I could feel the cogs in our collective heads turning now, as the minor kinks in the plan were ironed out… or at least, as ironed out as they could be on this gondola ride trip.
There were definitely still a lot of variables that needed to be accounted for.
Variables, which Thacea would eventually be more than happy to indulge in as we continued the conversation through the halls within a privacy screen, up until we finally reached our room.
=====
Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30, Living Room. Local Time: 2030 Hours.
Emma
“I’m happy to see the both of you so enthusiastic about this endeavor.” The princess began, just as the door closed behind us. “And while I hate to be the tether to pull a pair of soarers back down to ground, I am afraid there are matters of logistics which must be discussed.”
That one word managed to capture both of our attentions, as we sat down, while Ilunor began opening up bags upon bags of still-piping hot snacks.
“Tell me, you don’t happen to believe this mission will be completed in a mere weekend, now do you?” Thacea questioned.
A collective silence rang out as that question’s only response, prompting the princess to continue unabated.
“I need not remind you of our current place within the Nexus, and what responsibilities we are beholden to as students of one of its most prestigious academies. Moreover, I think both of you understand the degree of scrutiny we will all be put under, should any of us fail to attend a single class for reasons other than sickness or mere academic dishonesty.”
“We are already in deep and murky waters as is.” Ilunor quickly chimed in, taking a bite out of a piece of pastry. “Moreover, I’m sure you’re about to broach a second but easily just as vital a topic, aren’t you, princess?”
Thacea nodded, before relaying Ilunor’s second concern to us. “Secondly, we must discuss the distances involved in your journey to the North Rythian forests. For there are… functional limitations when it comes to the use of the transportium network.”
I blinked at that second point, turning to Ilunor expectantly. “I… assumed you’d be the one taking us there, Ilunor?”
“And there we go with your presumptuousness, Cadet Emma Booker.” The man sighed out. “Putting my personal reservations about this whole… debacle aside, I simply cannot take you there by virtue of it being a practical impossibility.”
I cocked my head at this.
“And why not? I thought Sym made it pretty clear that Nexian nobles are—”
“Nexian nobles are allowed this privilege, yes.” The deluxe kobold interjected, waiting for me to grasp his meaning.
It took me only a second to get it.
“So you’re saying only you are able to go through, no questions asked?”
“Precisely, Cadet Emma Booker.”
“But… I assume nobles don’t just go on strolls through the transportium alone. Like, there’s obviously going to be attendants, servants, security, and so on and so forth. What about—”
“Your ability to grasp, yet fumble such simple logical assertions never fails to amuse me, earthrealmer.” Ilunor chided with his signature smug and puntable grin. “You see, you are correct. Nobles more often than not will have some form of retinue. However, it is the nature of these retainers that allows them access through the transportium.”
I paused, my eyes growing wide as I thought back to Rila.
“They’re… officially part of your party, legally, and bound by contract then. That’s what allows them to go through with you.”
“Precisely, Cadet Emma Booker.” The Vunerian nodded politely. “Moreover, there is a long and frankly frustrating process of obtaining approval for such a warrant. Which is typically fine for most situations…” Ilunor paused, before looking both of us up and down. “But not for our particular circumstances.”
“We’re also adjacent realmers, Emma.” Thacea added with a sigh. “And with how much scrutiny you’re under, it is unlikely that we will be able to proceed in that particular direction.”
I grimaced at that, letting out a deep sigh, only to cling onto Thacea’s final few words. “Wait, you said this particular direction. Are you saying there’s another way?”
This piqued Thalmin’s interest, though not necessarily Ilunor’s.
Instead, the man quietly started grinning, a small cackle forming as he gestured for the princess to continue.
“The course syllabus might not have fully expanded on this, for reasons of Academy intrigue. However, it is widely known that there are a series of… quests the Academy issues students, which grants them temporary access to the wider Nexus; including access to its transportium network.”
“These quests are infrequently frequent.” Ilunor quickly chimed in. “With the first of which coincidentally poised to be announced tomorrow, in Professor Belnor’s class.”
The cogs in my brain started spinning into overdrive now, as I turned to both Ilunor and Thacea with an expectant gaze.
“And since this is an Academy-issued quest, this’ll address both of our logistical issues. Both the absence thing, and access to the transportium network.”
“Precisely, Emma.” Thacea acknowledged, though she was quickly overtaken by an overeager Ilunor.
“Moreover, this will inevitably cause us to fall into the path for Class Sovereign. As such a quest is poised to garner points and accolades for all those seeking to participate.” The man beamed out, making it clear exactly why he was so invested in this thing.
“Right.” I sighed in acknowledgement. “Okay, well, I guess that’s sorted.”
My eyes shifted sharply towards the window, narrowing onto the lit-up roads over in the distance.
Thacea, rather coincidentally, decided to bring up the next point currently brewing in my head.
“Though even with the transportium, there is still the matter of your own means of conveyance, Emma.” She began. “It took Sym an entire day’s travel to reach the forests on both enchanted steeds and monotreaders. Considering your… predispositions, and your inability to utilize enchanted artifices, I don’t suppose the speeds you’ve demonstrated in physical education can be sustained for the entire journey to the forests?”
This question… elicited a smile to form at the edges of my face, as my eyes quickly shifted upwards into one of the many projects I’d been lining up for the dragon quest.
“While I think I could hoof it, I think I have other options I can consider.” I began with a slight chuckle.
“EVI?”
“Yes, Cadet Booker?”
“Getting the EMMV printed out might be a bit too ambitious given our time crunch. So how about we print out the Martian Opportunity.”
"Acknowledged."
[New Project Designated: Printing and Assembly of the Adaptive Terrain Two-Wheeled Vehicle (AT2WV) Model: Martian Opportunity V4c.]
Comments
Daniel McLain
Once she realizes it's to literally slay a dragon, she'll probably be drooling to see it in use.
Michael Halpern
.... Chiska is going to insist that Emma enter into some kind of race with the bike I bet.
Allen Mainville
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst”, as they say.
Michael Halpern
to be clear, there are most certainly facilities available for the purpose of storing conveyances, just that first years much less new realmers are not expected to make use of them. hopefully Emma drops by the workshop early, Sorecar did invite her after all. The simplest way to go about would be for the Mothership drone to deliver parts to the workshop by carrying them through the window
Michael Dale Vereen
i did a little messing around in 'Children of a Dead Earth' and using the near future materiels pack i found that with a decent capacitor and a graphene wrap to hold the rails together i could get a railgun that spits a tiny 10mg fleck of osmium at nearly 8km/s, and in a package that is only 40x40x165mm in dimension. if fed 1kw it has a 1 second recharge time. while this is slightly less total KE than your average 9mm, the velocity and density of the projectile should give it a lot of penetration.
Michael Halpern
Two consequences of the bike, first is Emma will need somewhere to assemble and store it. second, people will start wondering how exactly she brought it in the first place. i assume at least a few can figure out spacial geometry and know how much luggage they were permitted. Assembly and storage of the bike can probably be helped by Sorecar, though other arrangements will likely be necessary for storage for future conveyances
Michael Halpern
you know it will be kinda funny once people see Emma's bike and copy it to find the advantages of that configuration over the monotreaders like easier control, better visibility less air resistance
Michael Halpern
My bet is the improved capacitors was just a later upgrade to the model, this happens all the time with weapons, and when it does, the original versions become exceptionally rare, because most of the inventory usually gets upgraded at the earliest opportunity, gas trap Garand, M1919 without the reinforcing plate, and so on.
Skrzynek
Emma has both a laser cutter AND a railgun in the official art. Both were also mentioned on Royal Road descriptio and in the story itself (chapter 2). Not to mention Galvanized Composalite chapter mentioned the security drones having railguns similar to Emma's. There really is a lot of confirmation that Emma has a railgun, and I don't see why we should doubt this.
Skrzynek
We all know it's gonna be the rocket vespa :v
Skrzynek
And yet is has improved capacitors, suggesting that while some aspects may have been impacted, the power probably wasn't... Or the power actually increased. Or perhaps more likely, they made so the capacitors could last Emma an entire year without replacement.
Michael Halpern
The important thing to note is for them the class sovereign sword is a shackle, given their dispositions, they could even use the Dean's own words to reject it, out of concern over their academic progress.
DragonHeart53
Fine then. Jet tubrine, rocket fueled, electric motor, scout bike. LOL
Michael Halpern
i should also point out that being quiet is generally desirable for a scout bike
DragonHeart53
Rocket fuel scout bike. HELL YEAH!!!
Michael Halpern
1000yrs in the future, also likely has to work without atmosphere.
DragonHeart53
I hope it is at least a hybrid of some sort. Nothing beat a good "VROOOM!!!" of an engine. Though I understand if the wheels are electric. Generally, electric motors have more torque and energy efficiency than traditional transmissions
Michael Halpern
the rarity of this particular railgun model is worth noting. i suspect it's because it's designed to conceal itself inside the PA when not in use. This feature speaks to a rather specific set of use cases and undoubtedly comes with compromises that make it less optimal in situations where concealed firepower doesn't matter, features like magazine capacity and feed selection are probably reduced, muzzle velocity is probably reduced, greater cost and complexity and so on. All of which would make it less ideal for most operations compared to models that don't have to conceal themselves, thus reducing the production run,
Michael Halpern
probably electric, either with own generator or charged from the Power Armor, probably a fat wheeler given it has to be useable with power armor, I imagine it's hubless to save on material, given it was previously described as a "scout bike" i suspect that it has at least semi active camouflage/ smart "paint" to optimize its pattern for the environment (or for customization) all this would be fairly easy to do given what we've seen the drones do. heck it probably can have a drone bay. I fully expect it to have features to integrate with any other vehicle Emma has the files for.
DragonHeart53
I. Do. Muahahahahhahahaha!
DragonHeart53
Hope the bike is one of those chunky four cylinder fat wheelers
Michael Halpern
actually, she could probably get away with classifying rocket based weapons as toys...
Raz
It seems to be either a rail gun, or an energy weapon of some variety
Brandon N.
One possible solution permitted by space industry would be monocrystalline superalloys. They feature extreme mechanical strength, thermal creep deformation resistance, surface stability, and corrosion and oxidation resistance.On earth the main limitations for their large scale production is the difficulty of growing large defect free crystals, materials and the difficulty in machining them. Space industry gets rid of most of these issues. The main limitation for growing defect free crystals has mostly been gravity as the crystal grows in a slowly cooled vat of molten metal it needs to slowly pulled out of that, if the crystal is too big and wide you risk breaking it losing the batch. Space eliminates this problem gravity presents. Space mining solves the scarcity of rare materials used in superalloys and advances in technology by Emma's time will bring down machining costs and difficulty
CTsquad501st
"So guys, this right here is an rpg. This is our lethal option. And I will affectionately call it, the boom stick 👍"and also, VERY curious as to how drippy this whip finna be
Skrzynek
I have asked JCB about it on discord voice chat, and his response was more or less that EVI helps to translate Emma's bullshit to something more understandable, making it "Luna Gun" as she has called it before. Though I am creatively paraphrasing here :v
Michael Halpern
the reason why railguns have a tube is structural, if it's a plasma rail and/or the materials are strong enough (probably some of the same stuff they use for warp hulls) there's no need for the full tube
Michael Halpern
that's actually not true nearly all animals and many plants are sentient, that has to do with the ability to react to their environment, sapience is when something is a person- admittedly the defining line there is blurry, the smartest bear is more clever than the dumbest human after all at least when it comes to trash cans.
Marshel Helsper
Remember too that the "sapient", "sentient animal" thing is a Nexian distinction, not one that Emma is actually considering. If the dragon talks to Emma that may be enough, in Emma's mind, to confer rights to the dragon.
Michael Halpern
they are in the tent.
Marshel Helsper
An opportunity presents itself and he has the ambition to attempt it. I didn't get the sense that he was really onboard until they were back at the dorm.
Marshel Helsper
I think the printers are set up in Emma's tent. Thacea is going to notice both the dwindling of the metals from the "Wealth Cube" and the new things Emma makes showing up. At first she'll probably be upset about Emma staying up all night again, and then realize the implications that Emma can just make any manaless thing she can think of.
Michael Halpern
they have to prepare either way
PEBZ101
I have a feeling after all that scheming, politely asking the dragon would work. There is a good chance it's very old and smart. Trapped in a cell for I'm assuming at least 100 years or many more. Dragons i would assume would have quite the relationship with both fire and mana, it knows if that explosion was from a mana source it would have failed, it's probably tired many times. Something that powerful without mana... I'm sure it would have been very interesting especially as it the sole reason for its freedom. That and the single thing it saw, untouched by mana not even a presence in the ebb and flow as if it wasn't witnessed with its own eyes, he wouldn't believe its existence. She, (my guess anyway) Probably still thinks that that manaless thing wasn't real, what nexian would sacrifice it self to save another, or try and tend to a lessers wound. Isolation could have gotten to it. But with the manaless explosion and the manaless thing there, maybe that was its liberator. So I'm sure it would be very interested in building further relationship with its unintentional "saviour/invisible guardian angel". Also I have feeling, when meeting this dragon with be the surprise return form the grave a mal'toy (on mobile, forgot how to spell his name)
Michael Halpern
it burned down several structures in its escape there were almost certainly civilian casualties
Michael Halpern
having at least half a dozen different ways to do that would be more interesting. ultrasound, portable magnetic resonance, x-ray, contrast (maybe), and so on.
I Dare Korval
Don't be so quick to assume that. Considering they attacked it first, it's their own fault. Also, you shouldn't project human sensitivities onto a totally different culture/races. Secondly, if the dragon is in fact a "person" and not an animal they could try getting it to move deep into the outlands where it would be extreemly difficult to find or track unless the Nexus did the equilivant of micro-chipping it so they can track it.
Michael Halpern
the not being able to use the wrist already makes it distinct.
Gabu
The description to me sounded like it was entirely contained in the forearm portion of her suit (I.E. it stops at or before her elbow). Something more like a gauntlet mounted gun. I was suggesting her arm should lock straight during deployment so the entire length of her arm from shoulder to hand can be used for the rails. It would also help distinguish this weapon as more of an artillery/sniping weapon meant to be fired from a fixed location rather than something more tactical like her handgun.
Gabu
People are calling it a railgun because when she put it away it said it was a railgun. As for the appearance the rails could certainly stick out the front although I wouldn't necessarily call them "spikes", bars are generally a more apt description. I think some confusion could have been avoided if it had railgun in the name somewhere or maybe EVI called it a railgun when deploying it. Not calling them "pincers" also probably would help. As for looking like a regular gun, they can if the rails are covered in a shroud but generally there's going to be a noticeable difference in the "barrel" due to the complexity of insulating the rails from each other and possibly cooling requirements. At least he doesn't seem to have done the thing a lot of people do which is confuse a coilgun for a railgun.
Michael Halpern
or work with Sorecar to make a replica M2HB for the weapons fair.
IHasArms
While I was reading this earlier, I somehow came along of the thought of the humble Xray. It's such a useful tool, I wonder what the gangs reaction to knowing about a tool that makes you be able to see through solid objects, just because its easier than opening them. Also, on the idea of radiation too (Xray's use a minute amount of radiation), I wonder how high the background radiation of the nexus is. Depending on if the Nexus is an artificial structure, the background radiation might be a lot higher than it would be otherwise.
trebor
but you can always make fan art
trebor
i doesn't know screens break a bit easy for missions in possibly extreme conditions missions
Jacob
Given Emma showing off the "moon gun" I'd love to see her have a (not currently authorized to disclose) B.F.G.9000 in the wings :-D
Michael Halpern
Even if its actually sapient, the only outcomes for the dragon are eventual recapture or death, considering how it was likely treated, death is the kinder one. if it isn't sapient, they need the shard anyways because establishing communications is absolutely mission critical. the safest way to get it this that doesn't involve luck is to kill it. then there's the politics of it. The absolute best thing she can do to improve standing is something everyone else is afraid to do, and is high profile. and lets not forget all the people it has already killed, that alone would normally condemn it on Earth.
Jacob
Alternative: it's a gun with a *range* of "to luna"
John Vistica
I am shocked by the number of people are after Emma killing the dragon. WTF people? After releasing it from captivity, she is just supposed to kill it on sight and mount its head in the common room? I'd rather Emma ends up bonding with it...maybe by defending it from some hunters trying to capture it. Imagine showing up everyone by getting her first flying lesson on a mystical dragon rather than a dime-a-dozen wyvern.
Thisisanick
I've already assumed from description, that Emma needs to keep her elbow and arm straight to utilize rail gun, and that it even goes a bit more outwards in parallel to her hand... but serioulsy, we are talking about 3rd millenium, 1k continuous development with no noticeable stagnation periods between, she could have a miniaturized, superconducting cyclotron to build up initial speed for the projectile, before rail stage or.. whatever.. also keep in mind it just needs to be better than her pistol
ANTIcarrot
The arm weapon needs more description. Unless it's a surprise there are people thinking it's a rail gun, or a big knife, and I wondered if it might be a jaws of life before she mentioned range. If it is s railgun... In spite of anime's insistence, they don't have tuning fork spikes sticking out the front. They look just like regular guns, only with a few extra wires.
Skrzynek
Powers that be want the dragon for SECRET reasons. Apparently the fact that (superior) Shards of Impart come from dragons is top secret... Meaning that the fang can just claim ignorance and take this as a "harmless trophy for sovereign competition" reasons and the powers that be may not have anything on them they could accuse them of without revealing state secrets to everyone involved.
Skrzynek
Honestly, Ilunor may know that trying to win the race is a bad idea... But he may also not be able to stop himself from presenting himself the best way he could.
Michael Halpern
killing it is likely the safest way to go about and they have a very tight time table. depending on the condition its in, killing it may be a kindness, as for powers that be, recapturing it, she doesn't officially know that. Add to that, demonstration of capability (show of force) is the basically required to get her foot in the door diplomatically right now.
Skrzynek
You can see what JCB meant on the (newer) official armor art... Albeit on the art the railgun is on the left arm (and in Discord JCB already said he gonna change it in th chapter)
Michael Halpern
more likely its Snipe dragon- observed by Chiska, who then helps retrieve trophy head,
I Dare Korval
Except Emma is not looking to kill the dragon unless absolutely necessary. Also, considering the powers-that-be want it alive, killing it could get them in alot of trouble.
Joshua Haylock
Atleast that would be ideal
Joshua Haylock
So snipe the crystal, get a drone to retrieve it, once the drone and crystal are out of blast radius, drop the sun on the dragon. Sell what's left of the carcase for Nexian currency which Emma desperately lacks due to the nature of being a newrealmer, as well as acquiring the rare and respected title of Dragonslayer, which would be a boon to any social endeavours moving forward. On top of completion of an Academy quest, and it's aforementioned benefits.
Michael Halpern
its a gun from Luna,
Dillon
I’m surprised that the “moon gun” comment didn’t get a eyebrow raised
Michael Halpern
He's going to love it even more when GUN authorizes Emma to prepare "industrialization starter packages" as diplomatic gifts probably consisting of a printer, a tablet and a power supply,
Michael Halpern
I dont think she's going to be ticked at all, she has a portable mini manufactorium to resupply herself with, kinda necessary with the rate at which she's going through drones. they will however need to arrange some more space for anything larger.
UC-79
I dont think so. Thacea might be a bit upset about the bike clutter at first, but she's gonna be pretty tickled when emma proves her machines can fabricate just about anything given materials and time.
UC-79
"Dragons aren't gonna be an issue, I've had an exotic weapon in my arm the whole time." Causal G.U.N Flex Thalmin's gonna love this next bit. Sent as the "Nexian sacrifice" for his realm and now he's hunting dragons with his new friends.
Michael Halpern
looking forward to all the reactions to the bike,
Swaren
That description of the railgun struck me as incomplete, I pictured a big white fork on her forarm, like a short mantis blade with two prongs at the tip. I thought the prongs were for a big piercing tazer lol. Maybe add a bit more details there? I'd suggest mentioning it exposing some cooling surfaces, a heat sink would be very important for a railgun meant to fire more than once every few minutes, and it might help picture it a bit better :)
---------
Peak
Michael Halpern
oh wait, do they know about Emma's printers yet?
Michael Halpern
yup she'll witness and atest to Emma's kill, and probably have her Wyvern carry the trophy.
owl loverhoot
And ilunor saw it cause he was causing shit in the workshop
owl loverhoot
I hope so!
Dakta
If you're going for a Cirque Du Soleil reference, I'd change this: Cirque Du Venus -> Cirque De Venus Otherwise it's not correct, "du" does not work with Venus.
Michael Halpern
A plasma liner can address some of those issues, as you can vent the liner outward to provide counter force. similar to a recoiless rifle or a compensator, just along the entire length of the "barrel"
Michael Halpern
It isn't in their interest to WIN the race, but it is in their interest to participate, to ensure they don't win, they just have to opt out of the sword trial.
Gabu
Well, material wear is really more a question of lifespan not about functionality. The issue with the rail length is that you need some distance to accelerate the projectile. Sure you can crank the power up to somewhat make up for that, but that introduces a whole host of other problems like spot welding the projectile to the rails or even vaporizing it (also if it gets too hot it stops generating a magnetic field, and therefore won't accelerate). The simplest solution is just to increase the length of the rail. It's essentially the same reason you can get higher muzzle velocities from a rifle than you can from a pistol even with the same ammo, longer barrel means faster bullet. I'm already hand waving away a LOT of details. Like the power requirements of a railgun are no joke, but I'm assuming whatever is powering her power armor is sufficiently beefy that power is effectively unlimited. Likewise I'm ignoring ammo storage, ammo feeding, and general wear and tear (as you say, rail durability IS a significant issue with current rails, although that's less to do with friction and more to do with physical stresses from the power of the magnetic fields and the arcing from the electric discharge). It is important to remember that one of the major issues with a railgun is that the force trying to fling the rails apart is equivalent to the force accelerating the projectile down the rails. If you're going to claim it's accelerating a slug from rest to like mach 2 in the span of a couple feet that's a significant amount of force AND power. By just extending the barrel from 2 feet to 4 feet you've more than halved the amount of acceleration you need to achieve for the same muzzle velocity, and therefore the amount of force and power the rails need to be able to withstand.
TheEagerReader
I thought Illunor didn’t want to get caught up in the Sovereign race after what happened with the faculty. Why is he so excited to jump into the race for their quest?
Duplicitous Michael
Yes, in the earlier chapters when Emma and the gang went to the gardens to see the apprentice, when Emma was subsequently jumped by the Null. Ilunor got to see it in action at Sorecar’s workshop to an even greater degree. Also, I think at this point they are beginning to accept that when Emma talks about her manaless capabilities, they aren’t just brushing it off, and I’m sure they have questions which will be addressed after the Dragon is slain, where her weaponry will no doubt be seen in action. Not a far stretch to assume that 3rd Millenium earth figured out a material both durable and conductive enough to function in a Railgun. Even now in the 21st century our only limit with the railgun is that the rails breakdown even with limited use, so I’d assume material science has definitely gotten to the point where it’s feasible to construct one in Emma’s world, even shorter versions.
Michael Halpern
Chiska is so going to follow her,
The Dark Lord 4416
I knew from the moment I read the wip, that she was gonna snipe a crystal
erickjosemolina
Jajajaja, pensé que te habías olvidado de esa arma en el brazo
Google Google
If Emma showed these special railgun to dwarves. They would be ripping each other apart just to get the hands on one.
Michael Halpern
i suspect it uses a plasma liner, to mitigate the friction problem.
Dood Ataku
I got no soup for this one :(
Gabu
It's a railgun, it was stated as such a couple paragraphs after she put it away. The "blades" are the ends of the rails, and most likely very dull. You'd at a minimum want the inside of each of them to be flat (or maybe concave depending on the shape of your projectile and/or sabot) to maximize conduction through the projectile and minimize electrical resistance (unfortunately also maximizing friction).
Nul Atlas
'Womp Womp Cadet Emma Booker'
Michael Halpern
well a side car wouldn't be hard to add
TheEagerReader
A chapter of them in the car watching shows from Emma’s world would be so worth it. Cars now have screens for TV. In the future that would be default. Especially for a military convoy just for communication.
Michael Halpern
yes they saw it kill the Null, then Sorecar saw it
Michael Halpern
its a rail gun,
Canpinter
If this motorcycle doesn't come with a side car, goggles and bomber jacket for llunor i will be so sad.
Gabu
Have they actually seen her gun in action before? I know she used it briefly at one point previously (I think maybe when visiting the workshop of the guy who's a suit of armor, can't recall his name right now), but I didn't think the full party was there at that time. That aside I'm kind of surprised they all just accepted the railgun with such minimal reaction since to them it wouldn't seem to be much of anything. Without a frame of reference a pair of parallel bars isn't going to seem like a particularly effective weapon, although I must say WITH a frame of reference those rails sound awfully short. Generally the two downsides to a railgun are that it needs to be somewhat long to build up enough velocity, and the power draw, leading it to be both very bulky and have a slow rate of fire. Edit: Suggestion to the author, when she deploys the railgun it should lock her arm at the elbow so the entire length of her arm can be used for the rail. That's still a bit short for a railgun but at least it's starting to get into the ballpark of what a somewhat useful one would entail. Typically your minimum length for a viable weapon is going to be something in the range of four or five feet in length.
Steve
I'm imagining Emma's writs blade is akin to the doom slayer's blade
ArdenW
Motorcycle time!?
Michael Halpern
Named in honor of the rover, (RIP Oppy)
Steve
:(
Ragnar Pendon
riding a hog through the untamed magical wilderness... truly an HFY moment
Michael Halpern
damn
DragonHeart53
Denied
