"Umm, well, you're kinda touching it," Renkden points out as Grunt helps heave up the orb onto a rolling cart.  "This baby's going into the new power suit.  Buuuuuut there's a problem.  You know how all our power sources are Essence-Wyld Motonic Fusion, right?  Well, almost all of them, Reactor's a unique case.  This baby,"

He slaps the orb and then winces at the action- he probably shouldn't have done that-

"--- thisss baby works on Elemental essence.  Old-style Aristotlian five-element system, Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Aether.  So you know what that means."

Which is, well, in all ways, totally wrong.  Namely because it cuts out Wood and uses Aether instead of Essence.  Either this core won't work or it'll explode spectacularly.

But more importantly, it's not the EWMF-model espoused by the School of Infinite Space, meaning Shun Xiao may be at play.  Meaning he's doing all of this under the radar, hoping they don't notice.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:53, Mon 07 Nov 2016.

"Peter," Grunt said in the tone only long suffering friendship could provide as he settled the orb onto the cart, "I won't yell at you over the politics of it all but please tell me you at least have a properly shielded room for this test. We both know that you can't exactly cover up a hole in the bulkheads without Core at the very least finding out. To say nothing of Our Lady of Research."

"Wellllllllllllllllllll, yes, of course I do.  I managed to get the skunkworks lab for ten minutes, probably because someone fell asleep before they could put in the request ten months ago.  I knew that'd come in handy."  He sighs as they settle it onto the cart, "It helps that my power loader prototype is stilllllll in storage nearby,  I paid a few Marottes to move it.  Come on now, time's a-wasting!    You'll be happy to know that this core is aligned towards Water.  I mean Air!"

Renkden stretches as they start to maneuver the cart into the hall.  The fact that he managed to wrest ten minutes from the School of Infinite Space makes him visibly happy.

"Soooooooo yes!  It doesn't fit the normal framework but that's why it works!  I talked to the God of Autism a year ago, know what he told me?  For a few years he had to give it to babies with a syringe, a vaccination syringe for Sol's sake.  Belief- sparks- results!"

"Flawed premise," Grunt said as he helped push the damned thing, "You've got everything set to record when it kicks off? Even if it works you know they'll be at the door the instant those six hundred seconds are up."

He raised an eyebrow at Renkden.

"Please tell me it is at least calibrated along the right element derivation before asking me to run essence through it."

"Flawed premise my asssss.  Look, Sol Invictus himself was a gestalt of everyone's soul.  Same with the rest of the Incarnae.  Enough people believed in the old Aristotlian elemental theory it has to have some kind of juice left.  If I play that against standard physics, throw in a bit of the right real essence, you end up with two diametrically opposed forces rotating.  And whaaaaaaat do you get when you have rotating energy sources?  Power!"

The cart is heavy and Grunt does most of the work to get it rolling again.

"Yes yes, I have fifteen cameras set up.  And if it works right, then Skunkworks Rules come in- you don't terminate the experiment until it terminates itself or it goes through the right battery of tests, which I've already registered.  In theory if this thing works right, I could own the Skunkworks for days."

He looks at the globe critically, "I'm... preeeeeeeetty sure it's Air?  I mean, it's a good thing you're not Wood, or else you'd definitely be fucked."
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:03, Tue 08 Nov 2016.

"Okay, what the shit did you use to 'calibrate' this thing?" Grunt asked mildly, too strained physically moving the mess to spare energy for sarcasm. For the moment. "And is the input going to require attunement and contact throughout?"

"Ummm, I blew a fan over it for ten days, might've... kind've... called in a favor from an Air Dragon, and then subjected it to vacuum for a day and a half."  Renkden admits, "There was also reading it Aristotle for a few hours every night.  But using it should be a breeze!  Once it's put into the power loader, you'll only need to step into the loader, plug in the tubes, and attunement should be quick and snappy."

...

......

"Which Air Dragon?" Grunt asked in resignation, "And you owe me big if this fizzles, bigger if it explodes, and I get full credit if it actually works."

"His name's Ingradosa, he fought in the Scandinavian campaign, and his breath is minty fresh, okay?"

Indragosa- Renkden's mispronounced his name- is very famous for being quite pompous about his supposed Pre-Exodite status.  He's willing to do just about anything if someone sucks up to him well enough.  It probably didn't take too much flattery to get him to give Renkden a 'favor'.

"Well, what would you like?  I mean, I don't know about you maaaan.  I've got enough pull in the Underdecks for most sorts of things."

"The death trap shuttle they've decided to transport boarding forces in needs drastic repairs and warding," Grunt told him.

"You mean the Odysseus?  I WISH I could touch that,"  Renkden mutters as they heave the cart down the way, "That thing was as top secret as it could get until that raid.  It's not a boarding shuttle, it's the smallest jump-capable ship in existence.  And it's got stealth capabilities."

"Which would be great if I could handle hard vacuum," Grunt replied, "But someone has to finish the non-theoretical systems. Fine, I'll call the marker in later."

"Wait, you can't?  Ohhhhh... thaaaaaaaaaat might be a problem,"  Renkden comments grimly, "Welllllllllll, I suppose I could give you access to a power loader early.  If it works you may be the only person who can attune for a long while!"

"Briefly but anima flux can only be sustained so long," Grunt conceded, "I think your reward to me is that I keep being the test subject. Fine. You get the living quarters situation settled?"

"Well, eventually tests become reality, right?  So it'd be like Red Queen getting the first Artemis-class interceptor.  I mean, that can be awesome.  Grunt, the Power Man."

They finally reach an elevator.  The people inside take one look at Renkden and the cart and wisely decide to vacate.

"Not really.  I found a new place but was kicked out in three days.  Appaaaaaarently I bring down the tone.  Of the slum."

"You don't get to decide on any new monikers for me," Grunt said as he leaned against the shudder elevator's wall when it began to descend, "What happened at this one?"

"I wasn't even there for it.  Best I can tell?  Guesssssss who figured out where I was staying.  I sleep in the lab now.  It's not so bad,"  He remarks.

Ding.  Ding.  Ding. DINGDINGDING- there, Renkden turns a key and they rocket up towards the skin.

"I do miss having my own bathroom, though.  Dragging the pail to the reclaimer shoots is pretty harrowing."

"You know she'd leave you alone if you just went back and were a good lab monkey for a year or two," Grunt pointed out as he braced the device to make sure it didn't shift off the cart when they accelerated, "Not saying you're wrong or that uniformity is a virtue but on a personal level you've let this get out of hand."

"Yeah, but I perform a vital function!  VIIIIIIIITAL." He grins manically at Grunt, "Look, we all know she needs a target, right?  It gives her students someone to fight against.  And, believe it or not, it has its rewards.  Thiisssss baby wouldn't have happened if I wasn't dealing with her."

He resist the urge to slap the core again.

"See, she's made some enemies too.  And sometimes, with the right words, you get access to some crazy grant resources that you can't get anywhere else.  Some people are just itching for her to get hers.  I just reap the benefits."

"Man, being a professional punching bag for the reigning pugilist champion is vital but one of those careers with a short span," Grunt retorted, "Eventually she'll need a scapegoat for real and you've not got many bridges to retreat across."

"Well, there's always-"

Renkden's voice fades out as Grunt's vision wavers.  He recovers just as the doors open open to a hallway of fire, Renkden's corpse sprawled out on the elevator floor next to him.  At the end of the hallway Grunt sees three men dressed in what he recognizes as Gunzosha armor of bone and soulsteel, raising Giger-esque firearms in his direction.  The rifles buck and huge spikes made from human thighbones rocket down the hallway at him!

((Attack:
9, 6, 5, 5, 3, 3 & 3
*33 + Strike 10 + AB 10 = 53))
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:06, Thu 17 Nov 2016.

"Fucking-" Grunt yelled as he dropped down and tumbled forward out of the elevator at the thing. No gun, his knife was tucked in a boot. That'd have to do, dammit.

9, 5, 3, 3, 3, 2 & 2
Float: 2-2
Defense: 53 - 33 - 15 - 10 = miss

His vision swims and then he finds himself in the middle of the perfectly fine hallway, knife out, a terrified young scientist pressing herself against a wall.  "Hey, Grunt!  Grunt!  Are you okay?!"  Renkden asks.

It'd be more touching if he hadn't bothered to push the core out of the elevator first.  Priorities, after all.

Grunt's anima began to flux, not enough to cause the tears and wounds of a Terrestrial drawing on all their reserves but certainly enough to dishevel his already tired appearance. To say nothing of the female researcher's composure. Even before the fact that he had a knife a third of the way towards killing her.

He snapped his knife hand away from her, clipping it in the sheathe as he stepped back, bringing the winds further under control with an effort of will. The scientist got a nod as he stepped around her and moved down the hall.

The scientist drops her clipboard at the nod and takes off for the elevator, banging on the buttons to get it to close as quickly as possible.

"She an ex or something of yours?" Renkden asks, looking back at the panicked girl as the doors shut. "Cute but not your type, I think.  Why the knife, man?"