2015-10-17 (PostU) Drones and Tamales and Robots, oh my!

From TwistedMUCK
Revision as of 14:52, 18 October 2015 by Rayne (Talk | contribs) (noticed a spelling error right as I hit save page)

Jump to: navigation, search


Drone and Tamales and Robots, oh my!

Summary: A random chat between Rayne and Ren turns into a minor strategy meeting with Kotal



Who: Rayne, Serenity, Kotal_Kahn
When: October 17th, 2015.
Where: TASK Building - Habitation


Kotal Kahn-icon.gifRayne-icon.gifSerenity-icon.gif

The information contained within this log is to be considered information gained Out of Character (OOC).
This information may not be used as In Character (IC) knowledge or in roleplay unless it has been learned in-game or permission has been granted by the parties involved.

Questions should be directed to staff.


At the end of the main hallway of the Habitation floor is a massive window overlooking Twisted. At the edge of this window stands Rayne, leaning on the nearby wall via an outstretched arm. She seems lost in her thoughts, whatever they may be.

Serenity wanders from the elevator in a flow of aquamarine fins and current-waved gill feathers, the black disc of the field generator hovering just over the carpet. Ren ripples out into the hallway of the rather underused facility with the rhinophore-cuff computer very faintly playing some kind of chant backed with a deep drum. Ren isn't dancing along to the music, but does seem to be swimming somewhat in time to it. Ren glances both ways down the hall before spotting Rayne. Ren doesn't speak up right away, but slips over to join her at the window.

Rayne remains lost in thought for a few seconds before she realizes that she's been joined by another with a bit of a start. "Oh! Ren, hey. What's up? I've not seen you around here much." She laughs a bit nervously as she scratches the side of her head with the hand that was just a moment ago propping her against the wall.

Serenity leans one side lightly against the window, reshaping the volume of water to accommodate the flat side and reshaping the mottled fluorescent skin likewise. "Hello," Ren hisses amiably. "Possibly that's on account of the enormous building," Ren explains, motioning an extended 'wing' down the hall. "Possibly it's because I haven't spent much free time here- I'm not enthusiastic about trying this 'teleporter' that's been separated from the civilization, not to mention universe, that designed it."

Rayne looks agast at Ren. "Might I point out to you that the teleporter is in the same situation that we all are? Are you going to deny it's purpose in exsistance just because it's a machine and not a feeling being?" Is she serious? Wait, no, she can't keep the straight face for that long. "Seriously, though, it's fine. Don't worry about the thing... It's more advanced than what I'm used to in my own universe, mind you, but I've learned to just roll with things here in Twisted. Also, it's incredibly convenient."

Serenity gives Rayne a puzzled look until her expression breaks, then grins. "You actually make a fair comparison, up to the point where you compare it to a person." Ren frowns thoughtfully, "It isn't, is it?" Ren then continues, "For the time being, I think that I'll save that particular bit of 'rolling with it' for another day." Ren extrudes and squeaks a damp 'digit' on the window, briefly flattening face against it before turning to look to Rayne. "This building does have an excellent view here. Were you looking at anything in particular?"

Rayne admits, "No, not really. I suppose I don't have a good sense of where things are from this higher vantage point. I'm much more used to the view from the ground." She frowns at something, then shakes her head to clear it from her mind. "And forget trying to make out people out there! There's just no way without a solid telescope of some sort."

Serenity'stands' against the window (the suspended water flattening against it) and next to Rayne. "Perhaps you should gain a sense of it?" Ren suggests with a note of amusement and a nudge to her arm. "I mean, of course, that we should put in a request for a remote aerial vehicle, which you would likely be more qualified than I to operate."

Rayne seems to actually think about this. "Well, I suppose I might. I've done some hobby flying, of course. I'm not sure how that would benefit TASK enough for us to get that funded, but we can always give it a shot. If it's like a traditional 'Air plane' I'm not sure I'd know what I'm doing with it, but something that I don't have to worry about constant forward thrust than I think I could handle it."

"In fact, I was referring to your ability to fly in a more direct way," Ren observes. "Still, I don't see any harm in getting a few for security purposes. I would like to keep us all out of harm's way wherever possible, and aerial surveillance might help with this."

Rayne says, "There's a lot of truth to that... though I'd say there's less translation of skills between flying a craft and flying under the power of your own wings."

"Flying with your own wings is like the 'constant forward thrust' that you were referring to, no?" Ren asks. "I know a few things myself about propulsion by flapping," Ren mentions, demonstrating a smooth backward and then forward propulsion with slow ripples of the fins. Of course, the lack of lift and the near-cancellation of turbulence bear only the barest resemblance to bird flight. "And about the advantages of seeing city buildings from above their ground floors. But ballistics- not so much."

Rayne says, "Again, you've got a point, but the controls are more the issue, I'd say. And I CAN hover for a bit when I'm a bird... it's just a bit more tiring than flying while moving." She raises an eyebrow. "But what do you mean by ballistics in this case?"

"Hovering by fighting gravity?" Ren remarks thoughtfully, apparently trying to recall seeing this in action. Ren then traces an upside-down parabola on the window with a 'finger' of fin. "The behavior of thrown or falling objects."

Rayne says, "Oh, you just aren't familiar with it in general, you mean? You pretty much just summed it up with the parabola there, really." She looks out the window again, pointing at a nearby random building. "But it can be complicated to find the right angle and power, if that's more where you're going from. I've learned to figure those kinds of things out through archery." She brings the finger she's using to point into a line of sight with her eyes, then angles upwards from there. "I think I could hit that building at full draw from this angle. Not factoring wind, of course."

Serenity nods in reply, looking from Rayne to the buildings. "For most of my adult life - which is thus far not very long, mind you - gravity tended to have one sort of effect in 'real life', and a very different sort in videos of humans," Ren explains. "And childhood experiences with building kits, mud, or playing tag may have left me without some of the intuitions gained by practicing archery or soccer." Ren grins and adds, "The latter are not popular sports where I'm from, you see." Ren adds curiously, "Was archery something that you practiced as a team or competitive sport?"

Rayne says, "Yeah, water's viscosity compared to air really would make ballistic trajectories pretty much non existent, wouldn't it? I went to a few meets for archery a for a few years before I went to Cevernal. It's actually a relatively recent hobby of mine." She then turns to Ren. "But what's soccer?"

"I see. I thought might've been something you were taught along with dancing. But I suppose that sort of hobby could earn more respect in a rough sort of culture than designing decorative indoor garden arrangements," Ren surmises. "Soccer?" Ren then answers, "I suppose it's the closest thing to a planet-wide sport on the human homeworld I was travelling to. It's a ball game played on a rectangular grass field, where two teams kick a ball along or just above the ground, each aiming to get it into a net on the opposition's end of the field while keeping it out of the net on their end of the field."

Rayne listens to the explanation of the sport. "Huh. Well, it sounds a lot like a number of sports I've run into, in a really basic form. It might be popular among the Terrans, I don't know. I've not actually been in Terran space much. Uh, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it, but Tyrian culture kinda split apart from the rest of humanity kinda before the rest of humanity really had much culture. So we've got a lot of differences. And as far as a martial form we're taught, that would be Shan Vel, a kind of swordplay. That's not what my current style is, thought. Shan Vel would be more using just one sword, usually longer but just as light as mine are."

"I am vaguely familiar with human fencing," Ren offers. "Something similar, with stylized representations of knives, is also found in other countries on my world, but it's not a popular where I am from." Ren makes an inquisitive cant of the rhinophores as Rayne mentions history. "Before it had much culture?" Ren remarks afterward. "I take it that a non-human culture was responsible for the split?"

Rayne says, "No, actually." Rayne seems to have a little bit of pride in this history. "Tyrians developed entirely on their own, though the legends all put a lot of emphasis on early emperors being dragons. A lot of the very early history is muddled, but I get the feeling that early on there was more a focus on magic arts that really kicked off the higher learning. From what I know of other cultures in the galaxy, a lot of the others started colonizing new worlds at the same time we did, like the sidrans, veluvians, and draygons." She's clearly pronouncing 'draygon' differently than she does 'dragon.' "So maybe there's something more to it that makes it more than a coincidence, but..." She shrugs.

Serenity nods thoughtfully. "I would have expected that two groups of the same species on the same planet would not long remain separate, absent some extreme geography that the technology could not overcome. Love and war, and of course commerce, seem to make short work of barriers on the historical scale." Ren motions off to the side, "However, hypothetical guiding intelligences, mysterious galaxy-wide galactic magic events, or meddlesome gods... those I won't even try to guess at."

Rayne says, "I think the Tyrians just thought themselves that much superior to the rest of the humans, to be honest." She shrugs. "But records are really muddled that far back with every race, I think. So who knows what really happened? Maybe the early emperor dragons were some outside manipulator. I think by now we'll never really know."

Serenity frowns thoughtfully. "An odd situation. I suppose I can understand some difference of opinion, though, in what constitutes a person. And as you said, it was so long ago that there is no longer any existing organization to blame for the mistake. Or is there?"

Rayne leans against the window and puts a hand to her chin in thought. "That's debatable. It's kind of... Legends, really. We're talking over thirteen millenia. The current line of emperors of course claims to be descended from the original dragon emperor, but it's no secret that this isn't the only dynasty that's been around." She raises a finger to her forehead, then points forward with it. "Besides... When I say they thought themselves that much superior, I'm saying the Tyrians were well into industry when noone else had figured out how to raise crops yet. I don't think they really had anyone worth trading with."

Wait a minute.

This is the TASK building isn't it? So it's strange that the director wouldn't be around. Kotal Kahn made no notice that he was taking to the field this evening-- and he purposely avoids doing patrols at night for obvious reasons, so where is he?

Do you really need to ask?

"IT IS DONE!!!"

Comes the booming voice of Kotal Kahn as he's heard from, you guessed it, the kitchen. The massive turquoise skinned giant emerges from the room carrying a large steaming tray of food. He's been, apparently, cooking non-stop whenever he has free time, the war god pretty much acting like a kid with a new toy ever since he was given access to that kitchen.

He wanders over to the spacious table and slides over the tray glancing at Rayne and Serenity. "Does anyone want tamales?"

"You did point out the technology difference," Ren agrees, motioning toward her. No longer 'leaning' on the window, Ren leaves behind a spot that will likely need some wiping. "I was just thinking that the lack of cultural exchange, including technology, suggests some social..." Ren 'blinks' eyes inward at the shout. "That sounded," Ren remarks quietly, glancing back to Rayne, "like someone who just finished a ritual sacrifice to curse an enemy's city-state." Ren lifts a 'wing' to wave in reply to Kotal.

Rayne says, "It may SOUND like that, but it SMELLS like tamales. And I, for one, am hungry." She smirks and kicks off the wall lightly to stand up straight from her prior leaning position. "Do you really need to ask, boss?" she shouts back towards the kitchen as she starts walking in that direction. Still, she doesn't completely abandon the prior conversation. "I'm not saying that they didn't think the rest of humanity wasn't, well, human. They just didn't see a point to communicating with someone that less advanced then them. Or perhaps they didn't want to completely culturally dominate their homeworld? I mean, Tyria didn't attempt to exert any control over Earth until some fifty years after the terrans made contact with an outside culture." By now having entered the kitchen, she takes a deep breath, smelling the freshly cooked food."

"Oh, please." Kotal Kahn hears Serenity's remark enough, and he glances at her with tired eyes whilst he wipes his hands with the apron he's wearing. "Cursing an enemy city through ritual sacrificing is so passe. A true Konqueror such as I would storm the gates and sacrifice the populace to the sun as it is proper!" Uh.. Kotal Kahn is supposed to be one of the good guys, right?

Anyways, maybe he's joking! Who knows? Always hard to tell with the Aztec since he rarely changes expression, but at least he amicably invites Rayne to come over and try some of those delicious tamales he just made. He points out the various kinds of tamales he made for them to pick and watches silently as Rayne and Serenity continue their conversation. It sounded important!

Serenity does look a little uncertain at first when Kotal responds, though does eventually seem to that as a joke replied to with a joke and ends with a smile. Ren ripples along after Rayne. "Respecting the right to self-determination?" Ren remarks, flowing around the corner and into the kitchen for a look at the spread. "I can't say that I much care for the moral reasoning there. It's not the same when lives are at stake as when one is letting a child experience an instructive failure," Ren observes to Rayne. "That said, it does make a kind of sense." Ren offers Kotal a smile and a nod. "Hello," Ren hisses cheerily. "You certainly seem to be in good spirits."

Rayne pauses a moment at Kotal's joke(if it even is one) as well. "Uhhh... yeah." She soon does take a seat with a slightly weaker smile than before. "I'm not going to say it wasn't just pure arrogance, either. I know Tyrian nobles. Arrogance runs in their blood." Looking down to inspect the tamales, her smile returns in more full force. "I must say, yours always seems to beat out the Mexican restaurants I'd been to before, Boss."

The war god nods to Serenity first. Its true, Kotal Kahn seems surprisingly happy today, even though he still has that stoic, stone faced expression on his face that he always does. It's the mannerism that speak differently though, perhaps being a bit more jubilant than his usual no-nonsense personality. Guess one could say he's just sunny today even. "We've through many trials lately. Though we have not been left unscathed, we have surpassed all challenges thrown at us. I suppose that I have the right to be happy about that."

He chuckles softly when Rayne compares his cooking to Mexican cuisine and explains. "That is because those are naught but poor imitations of the true art that was Aztec cooking. After I left, the people of Aztlan lost their ways and many of the traditions that made us strong have been no doubt lost. It is why I still hold them close to my heart and make sure they are not forgotten." He munches on one of his tamales thoughtfully whilst still peering at the two curiously. "What are you two talking about anyway?"

Serenity nods to Rayne's initial remark, but apparently defers to her on the quality of the cooking. For that, Ren only flows over to the table for an inquisitive look at the presentation without touching anything. "A good point," Ren agrees to Kotal's assessment of the present situation. As he explains their history, Ren 'kneels' down for a closer look, poking rhinophores from the water. Ren then looks up. "Rayne was telling me something of the history of humans where she is from," Ren relates.

Rayne says, "Minor details, really." She takes a bite of her tamale and properly chews and swallows before continuing. "Basically, there's two main branches of humanity. The Tyrians, like my mother, and the terrans, like my father. Ehhh... not that either are really human, but that's beside the point. Tyrians developed space flight about thirteen millenia before everyone else on Earth did and kinda... left. That's pretty much the short version of it."

Kotal Kahn had always been curious to know more about Rayne's enigmatic past. So, when the opportunity finally presents itself to learn just where does the girl come from, the war god makes sure that he's listening. "I see." Interesting, so she's some kind of half-breed? That always comes with its fair share of baggage, no matter in what dimension one may be.

"Ah, no matter if they are humans or not, as long as there are two groups of people there will always be conflict." He chews on his tamal some more while he considers the ramifications of an entire group of people forsaking their kin to take to the stars. "I should know." Being the god of war and all, Kotal sort of exists only because conflict exists.

"I certainly can't say anything to disagree with that rather cynical comment on people in general," Ren remarks, 'standing' again. Apparently the tamales are a little too fresh for some people. "But I hope that this town can reach a point where the feuding parties are ones who think the others have poor taste in art, and who meet together for dinner now and then."

Rayne says, "Eh, I'd really go as far as to say that you really don't even need two groups of people for conflict. Or really even two people. I think if there was only one person left, they'd probably go insane and have a conflict with themself. Where were we?" She munches on another bite as she recalls the track of the conversation. Upon swallowing, she says, "Ah, I think we were on the Tyrians basically leaving the rest of humanity alone. I do know that they kept a few ships posted in the Sol system to keep other races out. And before the terrans really got going, they actually did leave an outpost. Alaton, or something like that. But they blew that place up when the terrans started to get good sailing vessels."

"Possibly." Agrees the Kahn with Rayne whilst she continues to sample his cuisine. "But then we're reaching the dominion of another type of god. Internal conflict is not really my forte." He listens quietly and seems to enjoy the tale given by the rainbow haired girl, at least until she reaches the part of these Tyrians blowing up Terran ports to keep them from discovering better technology. He shakes his head in disapproval. "Knowledge should be shared." Apparently, Kotal Kahn is not a leader that is fond of keeping the masses ignorant so maybe he's at least a fraction of the leader Serenity hopes this town can get. Speaking of Serenity, Kotal glances at how she's just staring at the food and gives her an inquisitive look. "Truly, Serenity, you must give me a list of foods that you enjoy. I can have a rather extensive list of fermented dishes in my repertoire." He's using all the French words today too.

Serenity glances around the kitchen while Rayne relates the story, eventually returning eyes to her and Kotal. "Hh?" Ren responds curiously to his offer. "I believe I saved a partial list of possibilities at some point, but finding foods I do enjoy might require a bit of experimentation." Motioning the edge of a 'wing' to Rayne, Ren adds, "What do you think the lesson is to be learned from this? I certainly wouldn't want to divide this town into 'safe' and 'unsafe' people."

Rayne points a fork at Serenity. "I'd say the lesson is don't set yourself above the people that might not be as good as you. Because, you know, when the Tyrians later DID try to exert control over the terrans, the result didn't actually go so well for the Tyrians. The terrans had gone and made allies with one of the two sidran nations, and a race that always had bad relations with Tyria joined in on that war. If the Tyrians had taught the other humans instead of setting themselves apart, then who knows what would have happened?" She shrugs.

Kotal gives a knowing scoff at Rayne's explanation. "That's exactly what happened in Outworld too." He said with much disdain before sitting down looking quite pensive all of the sudden. "And in many -many- nations in Earthrealm as well. It's always the same."

"Men kill and lie and die for greed. Always the same, here, there, everywhere." Kotal glances Serenity then at Rayne. "But it is our duty to ensure that such a thing does not happen here in Twisted. The problems of the past have always occurred because the powers that be always alienated their citizens and oppressed them until the point they took up arms. We shall make no such mistake." Then he reclines on his seat pondering Serenity's concern about having to divide the people into categories. "It is not so much separating the good from the bad, but rather, setting the good aside and then fixing those that are bad." Unfortunately, as most people know, Kotal's idea of 'fixing' a bad guy sometimes involves the business end of his macauhuitl.

Serenity nods to Rayne. "I imagine that had the Tyrians taught the other humans, the other humans would have been subsumed to form one group. Perhaps not quite the same as the original, but stronger. And, I imagine, it would have done no harm to genetic diversity." Ren looks mildly surprised at Kotal's latter remark. "I'm certainly all for rehabilitation of criminals. But I'm not sure that TASK can rightly be described as 'powers that be' on account of some quite powerful other individuals- not to mention the lack of written definition for 'criminal' here."

Rayne says, "Whatever would have happened, I'd be willing to bet that the Tyrians would have control of their original homeworld. Instead, they have every predominantly human system except their original homeworld." After another bite of tamale, she adds, "Do we even have the proper facilities for rehabilitation at the moment?" She's choosing to pretend that Serenity's definition of fixing is the only one being discussed here. "Or even the manpower? I don't think we have many psychologists on staff."

"I did not mean TASK, Serenity. I meant the old council and Diablo." Kotal Kahn answers the colorful slug first. "Although the old TASK may have been used as their personal army, I intend to follow no such path. We are here to protect the people, and our first and foremost duty is therefore to the citizens, not the government." Kotal grunts and drums his fingers on the table. "Besides, Diablo already has means of finding warriors that will do only his bidding, yet another reason to see him dethroned."

Thing is that Rayne does bring a good point and it makes Kotal sigh. "No, we do not." He admits. "I'm still working on other things we can do to criminals here other than incarceration or execution. The Joker and Christabella certainly deserve no better than life imprisonment for what they've done. But if there is a chance that Harley Quinn and perhaps even Mileena can be saved, we should find the means to do so."

Serenity nods at Rayne's assessment of the personnel situation, but frowns at Kotal's bit of new information. "Diablo is doing what now?" Ren remarks uncertainly. "I'm not sure that a military dictatorship is much better than a near-anarchy. That might put a dent in any plans for outpatient treatment or community service, among other things."

Rayne says, "He's a god that retained his full power, essentially, correct? I can't say I'm surprised he has that kind of ability." She sighs. "A dictatorship... A benevolent one might be good temporarily to set up a better system, right? You kind of have to have... someone there to set up a proper government. You can't set up elections without there already being a system."

"...Did I not inform everyone?" Kotal blinks -almost- looking helpless for a moment before memory strikes. "Blast it all, I forgot to write that accursed report." He's the god of war, not the god of archiving things, give him a break. "This happened quite a while ago and the fog may have distracted me from pressing matters."

"Suffice to say that shortly before Dante's disappearance, I was attacked by a vampire by the name of Alucard. He claimed to be employed exclusively to Diablo, a body guard of sorts. I have no doubt that the wretch acquired Alucard to specifically protect him from TASK if he ever feels that we are stepping out of line."

He grabs one tamal out of annoyance and eats it in one go. "Bah, it is no matter. I can best them both in Kombat if it comes down to it.. provided I can tap into my full power." Rayne is right in her assumptions, Diablo doesn't seem to be restricted by Twisted's boundaries like Kotal Kahn which could be a problem.

"There are talks to bring back a new council, so that not all power is resting on a single individual. Much less one as self-serving as Diablo."

"However, the process has been quite low, as most things are in Twisted."

"Diablo is responsible for Alucard?" Ren remarks with a note of surprise. "Hh... but I can't say whether I'd prefer a 'benevolent' dictator or a slow-moving council of self-serving people in opposition to one another. I'm inclined to believe the latter is a more realistic goal to aim for." Ren motions out to the sides. "But don't quote me on that, should we actually end up with such a council. Politics is hardly my strength."

Rayne says, "Ugh... More vampires. I'd say any goverment that doesn't usually run slowly is probably not trustworthy for the long term." She leans forward and puts her hands on her temples. "Urrrg. Can we leave me out of political talk?"

"Yes, he is." Kotal Kahn answers and leave it that, having no doubt that Alucard has been making a name of himself in Twisted already. "I agree on the latter being far better. Long have I suffered emperors, and though I was one myself in Outworld, I cannot say it was the most efficient of governments. Certainly for a place as chaotic as Twisted, it is nearly impossible to have simply one ruling figure. There are simply too many different parties involved." Literally everyone in the multiverse at that.

The Aztec warlord gives a chuckle when he sees Rayne rubbing her temples and he gives her a comforting pat. "As you wish. How are the tamales by the way? I am trying a new recipe using Cayenne pepper."

"I have yet to meet any photosynthetic residents," Ren remarks with a note of amusement, "so I think it fair to say that food is generally a safe topic for all." Ren frowns an adds, "Well, almost all." Then Ren adds thoughtfully, "I wonder if would be possible to create alternate targets for the monsters outside the city."

Rayne says, "They are lovely, sir. Maybe it's because I'm a phoenix, but I've always liked the spicy stuff." She finally looks up again, an akward smile on her face, but then that smile is removed as she thinks on Ren's thoughts. "Robots? I dunno, they're undead demony things, right? Do they just sense life force or something? Half of them don't seem to have eyes. How can we make a target for them?"

Kotal nods approvingly, always been a fan of spicy stuff himself too. It reminds him of the SUN!!! "You have good taste." He acknowledges.

However, he can't help but make a face when Serenity suggest to put up targets for the fog monsters and Rayne considers making such things robots.

"That is merely a placebo. A far more permanent solution would be to simply kill all of those loathsome beasts. Better yet, eliminate their leader Christabella and finally be rid of her accursed existence." Naturally, being a war god, he's going to prefer that involves the most amount of kombat possibly.

"Besides, I know the nature of these demons. They feast on the fear and suffering of others. Robots and creatures that feel no emotions such as golems will not draw their attention at all." Kotal pauses to think and rubs his chin. "Mayhap what we need is automated defenses."

"Actually, I was thinking less of robots and more of food," Ren explains, motioning to the table. "Luring them out of the city to be disposed of might entail less risk, particularly if it concentrates large numbers in one place. And unless they were specifically designed to attack people only, it seems that animals would work just as well as targets." At Kotal's latter comment, Ren gestures to Rayne. "We were actually just speaking about remotely operated aerial vehicles before you called for us, though in the context of reconaissance."

Rayne says, "So.... robots. How is Twisted's manufacturing? I can't say I've really noticed any major factories... though I can't say I'd necissarily know what to look for." She then nods to Ren. "I've some experience pilotting already, though admittedly more as a hobbyist than as a professional. I can likely do a lot of the maintenance on them, too. But..." She tilts her head to the side. "I'm not so confident on animals working. At least not enough to actually drag the monsters away from people."

Kotal hmms in thought at the suggestions. "If they were naught but mindless beasts, I would consider using cattle to lure them out into the wasteland and then blast them into oblivion. However, these creatures are being controlled by Christabella and it is unlikely she will fall for such obvious ploys."

Twisted's manufacturing is a sore topic for Kotal Kahn, and it shows when he makes a face of displeasure at the question. "That is handled by Gegoshi, much to my unending chagrin. The AI is in charge of most of Twisted's technological affairs, but because she is bound to Diablo I can't get her to do anything for me!!!!" Suddenly Kotal is yelling at the ceiling, knowing perfectly well that even now they are listening. He makes a rude hand gesture to said ceiling, though because its the Aztec equivalent of flipping someone the bird, Ren and Serenity might think that Kotal hand is just trying to hit the ceiling with the heel of his palm or something.

"Anyway." Yes, what what were they talking about? Twisted manufacturing? "There is also Medical Mechanica, the only factory I know exists in Twisted. But do not ask me what purpose it serves or what do they even build. That blasted tea pot shaped building doesn't even have a door and I'd rather not go about bashing walls down if it serves no real purpose."

Another grunt and Kotal is leaning sideways, resting his cheek on his knuckles. "I have enough problems as it is convincing people I'm not merely some brainless hooligan."

Serenity glances from Rayne to Kotal as she asks about manufacturing and remarks upon the suggestion. Ren nods in reply to his reasoning on the latter. Ren 'blinks' and shortens in length for a moment as Kotal begins to voice his complaint with those not present. Some moments after he finishes, Ren offers, "While I haven't found Leena or Debbie to be particularly informative on Medical Mechanica, they would be my second choice for setting up an appointment with company officials... the first being Gegoshi."

Rayne glances to the side. "Uhhh... sorry I brought that up..." She then shakes her head to clear that line of thought from her head. "Ren's right. They might not be intended for that kind of thing as a primary usage, but I'm sure they have some sort of function built into them for contacting Medical Mechanica. So unless the whole place is nothing but an automated system, a message passed though them could get us some solid results. I'd be careful relying too much on robots, though. They can always be hacked, even if it's just some kid who should know better doing it just for kicks.

Serenity's reminder that Gegoshi is still the go to figure to get anything done around here that requires technology brings no pleasure to Kotal Kahn. Thankfully, he's remarkably good at keeping his anger in check for a war god, and rather than do something like say, punch the table in half and send tamales flying everywhere, he just gives an exasperated sigh. "I'm truly beginning to hate computers."

Rayne's suggestions are heard and though he looks rather annoyed still, the Aztec warrior nods in agreement nonetheless. "Oh, believe me, my opinion of robots and androids has been steadily decreasing after my continuous pointless attempts to get the technology of Twisted to work for me. I will not be relying on cyborgs to do much of anything." He scoffs again. "Certainly couldn't care less for Sektor's insistence of turning the entirety of the Lin Kuei into cyborgs, but that is another story."

Still, it looks like Kotal Kahn will have to deal with androids at some point if he intends to get anything done around here and agrees. "Very well. When we have the opportunity we should wander over to Integra's Arms and have these androids rely a message for us. And for the record, if I am to go there, I would prefer for someone to accompany me as I am very likely to lose my temper and tear those blasted androids in half for their impudence." At least he's honest.

Suddenly, he's remembering something. "Ah, yes, actually, I do know of an engineer we can contact. Yoiko Hax, she's the one that built the TASK teleporter for me. She does not appear to be affiliated to Medical Mechanica which would benefit us greatly."

Serenity frowns at Kotal's reaction. "Yes, we can ask the apartment robots to request an appointment." Ren looks to Rayne and back to Kotal. "Perhaps even go to this appointment on your behalf." Ren motions to the side and observes, "Even if these aircraft don't prove useful for reconnaissance or for experimenting with baiting the monsters, it would still do us some good to have an electronics engineer who feels like we can provide a good challenge."

Rayne nods "Well, I think we may have a new angle... at least of some sort." Having finished her food, she stands up again. "Thanks, Kotal. It was a good meal. But I think I should be moving on. I'm supposed to be on a patrol tonight, afterall."

"Indeed. Either will these androids be brought to heel or we will continue to make use Yoiko's services. One way or another, we will overcome this challenge, just as we have been doing thus far."

"Neither Diablo, nor Medical Mechanica shall stand in our way!!"

But Kotal deflates before he goes off into another one of his lengthy inspiring speeches. Its true! Time for the nightly patrol. "Very well. Good hunting, Rayne." Then he's also standing. "I'll go see if Minu wants some tamales." He motions for Serenity if she wants to accompany him and moves to leave.

"I'm glad that we could get together for this little chat," Ren says to Rayne, rippling back from the kitchen table. "And to enjoy your cooking, Kotal." Ren gestures toward the exit. "I suppose I should be making my way home before dark."



You are not allowed to post comments.


Personal tools