09-07-2016, 11:35 AM
Quote:http://omniverse-rpg.com/showthread.php?...6#pid82106
Carmelita gave Al3x a look as the call finished.
“Well, that was amusing,” the AI said, a grin on his projected avatar.
“Maybe, but less than promising. I have a feeling I’m going to have to canvas law enforcement multiple times to get anywhere with this.”
Carmelita sighed and got up from her chair.
“Anyway, I need lunch. Do you want to get Chip in from the workshop.”
“Sure, I’ll give her a call.”
The vixen descended the stairs and headed out into the midday head that settled over the compound. Al3x followed her, his avatar appearing to walk on the ground as he did so.
Carmelita had entered the mess hall and was in the process of getting her lunch sorted out when Chip rang her eyepiece. The vixen answered quickly, raising an eyebrow.
“Chip?”
++Carm, I’ve got another device I’d like to show you. I was working on it as a side project, but given how useful it might be for you I thought I could finish it up.++
“I’m on my way.”
---
The desert heat beat down on the depot and on the vixen who strode between the buildings with a slight sheen of sweat on her brow.
The woman followed the directions from the AI that managed the base and found herself by one of the workshops. The door was slightly ajar, a rush of cool air escaping from the air-conditioned rooms inside.
Carmelita passed through the metal door and closed it behind her. The metal door closed with a soft click of the latch and a beep of the electronic lock. She passed through the front room, a small space designed as a break room, and entered into the main workshop.
The space was not cavernous, but it was certainly spacious. According to Al3x’s accounts of the history of the place, the workshops had been accustomed to fixing everything from mining equipment to tank guns, on items ranging in size from small tracking chips to huge mechanical arms, before having it shipped over to the armoury or the garage. That they would be put to that use again seemed to sit right with the AI, even if the goal of the people doing it was a little more ethical than strip mining a land for its resources.
Leaving the closed bay doors to her right, Carmelita walked slowly over to where a familiar purple furred girl was sitting, protective goggles over her three eyes and soldering equipment in hand. Waiting for a moment when Chip had stopped her minor adjustments, Carmelita had a closer look at what was being built.
The device appeared to be a small circle of metal, a flat side with three pads serving to anchor it to the workbench while the upper side curved slightly, allowing space for the insides to fold up. Chip was soldering a few wires under a little flap she had dislodged from the very centre, and after finishing the job she very gently screwed the flap back in place.
“Done?” Carmelita asked.
Chip gave a startled cry which she quickly turned into a greeting before spinning around, offering the device to Carmelita to hold.
“Here. I present to you the Steel-Titanium Anti-Personnel Lockdown Electric Restraint.”
Carmelita blinked.
“How long did it take you to come up with an acronym that spelt ‘stapler’?” she asked, half serious.
Chip gave a nod to a computer screen nearby that displayed Al3x’s avatar giving a cheerful wave.
“Half a minute, with Al3x’s help.”
The three of them shared a chuckle before Chip returned to her demonstration.
“The device is supposed to be deployable without disrupting your cloak, but I may have to make some adjustments after we test it. The STAPLER acts similar to an anti-personnel mine, in that after deployment if the device is depressed from above it will activate, although unlike a mine the STAPLER is significantly less lethal. Don’t use it on the really fragile or those with medical aversion to electricity and I can safely say it is non-lethal.”
Carmelita looked at the disk appreciatively. Chip lifted her goggles from her eyes and continued to talk.
“The STAPLER restrains its target with bands of Steel-Titanium alloy, obviously, and a circular current is applied at regular intervals that will ground itself through the target to the base, hopefully shocking them into submission. I haven’t been able to store a charge that will keep the devices going for twenty seconds, but that should be plenty of time for your needs.”
Carmelita smiled and enveloped the STAPLER in omnilium, letting the substance course through the materials and copy it for future duplication. At the visible sign of approval, Al3x began visibly moving files around on the desktop, selecting a nearby automated construction rig and setting it to construct a couple of similar designs, one labelled ‘SupraPol use’ and the other labelled ‘Defence use’. Chip, meanwhile, leant back in her chair in satisfaction.
Carmelita handed the device back and replicated three more, slotting them into place in one of her belt pouches.
“Okay,” she said as she looked at them. “What happens if they go off accidentally, and what are their limitations?”
Chip turned the original over and pointed at a safety locked toggle on the bottom.
“This is the manual override. As for limitations beyond the time problem, I didn’t design the portable versions to work on anything larger than larger than an eight feet tall, six feet wide cylinder. The bands themselves are strong enough to handle some primes, but the base is vulnerable if they can get at it.”
Carmelita smiled and gestured for Chip to get up and follow her.
“You’ve made my day, Chip. Lunch?”
Chip smiled and put the device away.
“Sounds good.”