Had some free time to shoot the shit at Ramsey. More technocrats came through California the other day. Had to put them down, of course. Can't have those freaks run around Liberty right now. This little engram of mine did better this time. The powercore did not short out, but it still ticks me off that the only solution was to set lower limits than before.
Had another convo' with the thing. I guess it really feels some degree of emotions despite The Core's programming.
>so how are you?
>>Executing general diagnostics. Tracing underlying flaws within the host's internal infrastructure. Progr
>i asked how are you, not what you are doing.
>>Uncharacteristic query.
>i guess you're not used to that kind of attention
>>...
>>...
>>...
>>No.
>ill assume you're doing fine
>>Suboptimal.
>why is that?
>>Unknown variables.
>>Concern.
>you dont know what to do
>>Absence of data is so very tiring.
>im giving you a data shard. replicate the contents in your own way. Adapt. Improve.
>try your best, okay?
>>Query.
>>...
>>Am I a mere weapon to you?
>no. but you have to act like one or youre just extra weight.
>>Define.
>useless. one more thing to worry about.
>you have to make yourself useful one way or another. help me and ill help you.
>>So it is a trade.
>yeah. do what i asked of you. well see about further integration after.
That's all for now. Cut the tape.
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"Test the sharpness of your sword against another. And when that is not enough, unsheathe your cunning as the hidden dagger that ends the fight."
Yesterday was...I don't know. I think I slipped a little. Tried to downplay some risks - I don't usually do that. Laz and the engram had some form of a conversation. I was mostly listening, but I didn't try to intervene and stop things. Shit...Laz even named the damn thing and I childishly followed suit. His name is 'Amp' now - like ampere or amplification. We took a bit from the AI's designated serial number and made it easier to understand. He hates the name, of course, but at least acknowledges it. Hm, he even expressed that he hates us for thinking of such a trivial name. Again: he didn't deny it.
Anyway...there's hoping that we - myself and Amp - get an answer from Laz. About a deal. He gets better protection and we get a good ol' scan. Highly invasive - without prior testing on augmented humans. On top of that I still can't tell how strong Amp is, or how efficient. What if Lazurith's hardware can't handle the load? What happens when an AI invades your augs like this? I haven't done any of this on myself, but I expect some teen with emotional problems to be my lab rat. What the fuck am I thinking? All signs point to the better outcome. Everything will happen without complications. Maybe its just my self doubts that slow me down. Has to be.
But I suppose that's what you have to do in the name of progress. Either Laz takes this offer or I turn to other means - other...patients. Subjects. Unfortunately only two others come to mind. It won't be pretty.
Got nothing left to say.
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"Test the sharpness of your sword against another. And when that is not enough, unsheathe your cunning as the hidden dagger that ends the fight."
T-5 sent me a message. The team did some progress so I went back to Coronado to check. A few theorems later they gave me the rough estimate of how a suitable powercore would look like. Now of course those schematics are complete ass and not something to rely on. They suggested a standard issue powercore for starters - and then just...shove a Power Cell. So yeah, no. Fat chance I'm doing that.
Spent the night brainstorming solutions. The most promising one is a separate power supply in addition to the unmodified powercore of my Valkyrie. Like a battery I can plug in, adjust a few things and have 'Amp' do the rest. Guns will feed off of that while the rest of the ship and its functions will carry on as normal. Now I just need a way to contain that kind of power.
Now the downside of all this is that I can't store an indefinite amount of energy. Maybe to last about...I don't know. With the resources I have right now I could make it strong enough to last four days - give or take a shootout or two every few hours. Now if I bring this to the Final Journey? It'll be a close call. I'm expecting the ship to be under a lot of stress. Battery might burn out from several factors. Power might run out in the middle of an engagement too. In a nutshell there's quite a few downsides that will get the better of me in the long run, but at least its something that can be done. Right,
'Amp' will be working on a few variants. He says it'll take at least a few weeks. Best next thing I can do until then is stay alive and keep the technocrats away from Liberty with the Xenos.
Oh, right. I should mention that negotiations with Damien went through. Negotiations...? C'mon. I asked for a favor and he did agree. Some more firepower for myself and a more honest approach to a common enemy. Chances are Raven won't like the idea, but she doesn't have to know why I do it - only that I'm sorry for keeping up the hostilities despite our talks.
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"Test the sharpness of your sword against another. And when that is not enough, unsheathe your cunning as the hidden dagger that ends the fight."
'Amp' has figured out a way to create a sort of battery. He even made a prototype of it given the low amount of supplies and two tech droids listening to his commands. The build is all crude in nature, using the most barebones understanding I've ever seen. He used Section 8's Adapted Nomad weaponry to catch a better understanding, but the AI isn't quite there yet. The way our version of 'Adapted' weaponry works is very different to what 'Item No.52' does despite what Cipriano said - that they are outdated pieces of hardware.
Technicalities aside...the battery is compact. It siphons energy from one of the Nomad Power Cells I secured off of the Bretonian Intelligence. All of the puzzle pieces are falling into place neatly - its all too great to be true, but it is. Of course the energy efficiency couldn't be worse and most of it is lost. Right now the 'charging ratio' is somewhere between two tens of what would be ideal, but at least it works.
'Amp' expresses dissatisfaction with his current position though, and keeps complaining about limited tools. So...I caved and gave him increased access and a barebones droid frame to utilize even though he still wishes to merge with me. At least now he can't complain for a while about the fact that I don't trust him more and more over time.
Cobra/Nomads
Its...bad to say the least. I came back to Ramsey to see the big man - instead I found out Sudbury 'woke up' so to say. An energy field came out of its atmosphere like a damn cyst that denies all scanning. 'Amp' was afraid to scan the thing - suggested that there was an increased risk of damage akin to an EMP strike. The Valkyrie wasn't ready for it, so we backed off. In the same day I've had Viper ask for my presence to see something involving Nomads. They're siphoning energy from a damn Neutron Star or something? Don't know, haven't seen yet. Why is it that now everything is going downhill. It can't be the Sentinels for sure since they've been inactive for months, years even.
I need an extra pair of hands here...boots on the ground. Maybe Rebecca or Bonito. I need someone to keep eyes on Sudbury and report back to me without Cobra or Hawkins' radical points of view. I've seen them argue. This anomaly is getting to them and I can't be taking their information for granted. Not without a kilo of salt. I'm sure they'd understand.
Right...and Damien agreed to sell me two of his ships. A Bomber to replace my Thor and a Fighter I can use as a scarecrow for my projects. The Navy and the LSF will probably try to seize control over Sudbury, and right now I can't allow that. I know what I'm getting into by flying these ships. I'm waiting for those to be delivered - probably after the political summit at Fontana I'm partaking in - to strip both of them and let 'Amp' do his magic.
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"Test the sharpness of your sword against another. And when that is not enough, unsheathe your cunning as the hidden dagger that ends the fight."
Progress goes on as planned. Every so often a mild breakthrough takes place. 'Amp' worked out a working iteration of this so called battery. A miniature model that can output enough energy to enable the usage of two prototype weapons out of the bunch. Of course...everytime you try to squeeze a little more power the fuses break and the battery heats up like crazy.
Oh, right. Peak lifetime reached 53 minutes in a controlled environment. At least it kind of lives. 'Amp' keeps working out the kinks as time goes on while I do the field work. He's proving more reliant by the day.
Arsenal
So...a few days have passed already since I got those ships. A 'Rebel' and an 'Aggressor' to be precise. I wish they were in better condition, but that would have defeated the whole purpose of getting two barebone platforms to work with.
Both are lacking in the reliability department. Hull's all rusted and the powercore has seen better days, but there is plenty of room for customization once the general issues are sorted out. T-3 is leading the efforts to bring the Rebel in working condition. 'Amp' suggests we use it as a platform for the 'Item No.52' prototypes. These two ships are the top priority right now.
Oh, right! 'Thor Mk.I' is done for, and the Valkyrie is out of comission until it received some overdue attention. 'Viper' held her part of the bargain and delivered a 'fully functional powercore. 'Amp' had it checked out for any trackers or blockers. Only thing that came up is that there were certain modifications to what kind of weaponry it can handle. Specifically those new irons that came out of the Buro's factories. I should be able run everything else just fine though. No more compatibility errors! Finally.
I'll spend the next few days doing maintenance. And uh...find a buyer for this butchered powercore. Don't know. 'Amp' suggested we use it for a backup scarecrow. If it blows up with the battery prototype then at least it won't be anything expensive that's lost. ...I mean. It still was about five million credits back in the day. Now it definitely ain't work that much. That piece of tech did its job.
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"Test the sharpness of your sword against another. And when that is not enough, unsheathe your cunning as the hidden dagger that ends the fight."
It's been...what? Weeks without an update? I lost track of time already from being stuck in a laboratory with no one but my machinations. At least 'Amp' kept me company while we worked on the Valkyrie's many, many flaws. It's still not ready to fly unfortunately. 'Amp' outright hates some of the changes done to the ship and I'm starting to think that is not a voluntary action. It's like a human body receiving a transplant or two, but it rejects the organs.
I shouldn't mind that for now, though. I wasn't any different when I got my first set of implants. My body was...not ready for that experience. I want to imagine that he's going through the same thing right now - in his own way. What I should focus on are the two Xeno ships. Right now the Rebel is semi-ready to fly. I've personally spent the past few weeks soaking in oil, mud, rust and a mix of three. The hull looked fine enough, but the interior? Eeh. It looked like it was eaten from the inside by termites. I mean, if the ship was made of wood instead of cheap metal and the main chassis wasn't -- yeah I lost track of what I'm talking about.
What I'm trying to say is that the hull is largely finished. Internal wiring is still a work in progress, but it'll work as long as the few cheap work I've done so far won't fail me. I ran a bit short on materials here so I had to improvise. Front floodlights now enable weapon hardpoints, Fuel pumps lag behind a bit when cruising so I need to bash the console to reset them. What else, what else...ah! Note to self. Life support is only partially functional. Oxygen fails to enter the cabin and there is no way to pressurize the cockpit completely right now. The workaround is that there is no workaround. I modified my helmet with a mount for a detachable tube that connects in the back of it. That's just the beginning of a somewhat manageable list of issues I've got to fix.
It's alright though. I like puzzles like these. No piece really fits with another so you just mash them together until something happens. Reminds me of how I first started out with the Valkyrie. God knows I barely knew how to maintain that thing, let alone fix it after a fight. It was a real struggle when I had no credits to speak of. Every day was intense with all the medical bills and no technicians even wanting to approach my bird. At least I had a cheap propane torch and spare metal sheets I could scavenge off a victory here and there. Oh right, and a bag of chips and SynthWater every few hours. Sometimes I even bought a ration cube of 'roast chicken'. Lots of calories in that one, but the taste was horrible.
But look at me now. I'm drinking beer from a two liter plastic bottle in a lab aboard a collapsing Frigate. If it weren't for the errors flashing my HUD I'd actually enjoy it. Sometimes I just want to rip my optics and eject them into space! But...that's no fun.
I'm getting off-topic though. I was talking about the 'Rebel' being somewhat useable, but I didn't say anything about the 'Aggressor'. So I will do that in the best, most professional manner I can for an audio log only I will listen to. THAT bomber is the bane of my existence and I've chosen to keep it on the sidelines until I finish the fighters. Thing's just the 'Rebel' but twice the problems. I've got no choice but improvise with that one and I seriously can't be bothered to do that right now. I asked 'Amp' to check the grey market for parts, so there's that. Alas, he's looking for stuff that fits, rather than original bits some lucky scavenger found lying in space.
I guess that's it for now. Next update should be in a few weeks when I actually do some progress worth mentioning.
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"Test the sharpness of your sword against another. And when that is not enough, unsheathe your cunning as the hidden dagger that ends the fight."
>video Feed displays an open area. ships cleared and stored on Barrier Gate for the duration of the event.
>center occupied by weapon testing rack w/ hardpoint mount. 'Item No.52' mounted and coupled to unidentified energy signature with Aluminium and Steel-Reinforced cables (13cm diameter). detailed scan identified source as 'rudimentary technology'.
>unit 'CLBN' on-site operating weapon rack console.
>no auxiliary units present.
>unit 'CLBN' converses with itself. self evaluation. diagnosis/debugging.
>video interference.
>zoom to 20.0x is counterproductive. revert to 1.0x zoom. static floods in.
>testing phase officially begins.
>energy readings rise. initial temperature for main energy source is 220°C. power coupling reads 244°C. audio warning issued.
>300 seconds passed. no response. unit 'CLBN' presumably raises voltage.
>'Item No.52' is online for 255 seconds. experiment ends with terminal reaching end-of-life due to [◼◼◼◼◼◼]. cables reach 350°C. outer isolating layer(s) receive permanent damage. weapon rack cuts power to device (safety fuses implode). excess energy is discharged with possible EMP effect. video and audio feed lost after cutting power to 'Item No.52'.
>'rudimentary technology' (see initial log) logged as a 'battery'-type device. structural integrity at 85%. report logged 5492 seconds after incident.
>added note by unit 'CLBN'
>"I need to invest in better cooling. It's almost safe to do a proper test run."
>reply received from unit 'AMP' 23 seconds later.
>"must review technical designs and risk factors. idea: use primary ship powercore to stabilize auxiliary battery."
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"Test the sharpness of your sword against another. And when that is not enough, unsheathe your cunning as the hidden dagger that ends the fight."
Within the translucent crystal statue, a single green flame sparked to life, flickering within the glassy sarcophagus and casting new shadows on the Gardener's twisted form etched into its surface.
But shadows were no matter. There will be light soon enough.
Amidst blaring containment alarms and a concert of rattled footsteps flooding the ship, Caliban demanded order while he assessed the situation. The 'Gardener' artifact has become active with no real telling in what could happen. It couldn't have been a worse moment to deal with yet another variable in a story whose finale was supposed to take place years ago.
Contrary to popular advice, the grizzled mercenary pressed against a control panel next to the sliding doors granting access to a quarantined laboratory which gathered dust for months. An oversized coccoon made of translucent crystal was held up in the air by chains and steel wire anchored in both the ground and ceiling. What was supposed to become a temporary fix to a larger issue has turned into standard procedure. Caliban's frame was overshadowed by the size of the Gardener. His visor gazed ceaselessly into the many shifting shadows hiding under such a smooth surface.
"You know. Guests are meant to pay rent every now and then. You're long overdue." - a dry jest left the confines of his helmet with an equally dry tone. One could easily assume that it's the voicebox limiting one's speech patterns. This fact was more apparent than ever, or perhaps he simply wanted to make the Gardener aware of the environment it's in. A hostile one if anything.
"Promised I'd get you one way or another." - Caliban added while staring at the crystal with crossed arms, hoping for a reaction.
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"Test the sharpness of your sword against another. And when that is not enough, unsheathe your cunning as the hidden dagger that ends the fight."
His two voices spoke, smooth, sweet, and venomous, like a poisoned honey, and brought with them his presence. The Gardener's psychic footprint was not the clean, crisp show of force that most Nomads strived for. It was a claw, tightening around the room and seeping it's ideas into the walls. The shadows became deeper, and seemed to want to crawl from behind their respective objects. A quiet rattle was somewhere in the distance as he continued:
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Convo.txt