View source for Dire Wolf (Kari Wolf)

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2014/07/15
|Location=The Citadel - Research Facilities
|Synopsis=Kari's master Zarenna Keras builds the shinki's new Dire Wolf armor and deals with her fear of Kari being injured or worse in combat in doing so.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=276
|Tinyplot=
}}
(I must not fear.)

Zarenna looks at her work bench, parts scattered across it, a portion of former Razorback armor finally shaped to specifications, the small but powerful servos provided by Lord Doom, and the miniaturized fuel cell batteries. She also glances at the boxed parts; the parts for a .38 caliber slugthrower, the nodes needed to interface with Kari's slipway, blades, linkages, microgrenade launcher tubes... 

(Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.) 

The Confederate engineer has assembled the internal parts, checking the ability of the servos to lift the considerable mass (given the size) of the arms and legs. The entire design is top-heavy, and she installs one of the small contra-gravity modules used by MMS to allow shinki to get around the human world in the rear area. "Well, so much for the drone controller..." the woman mumbles.

(I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.) 

Zarenna calibrates the interface to Kari's slipway on the new armor after system tests, and then begins carefully painting it. The natural ceramic white color of the armor is augmented with pale greens and charcoal grays. The flexible parts; the tail, the hand and foot pads made of a durable rubber, were left in their natural orange.

(And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path...) 

Kari's face lights up as Zarenna presents the tiny robot with the new armor at the apartment. The shinki and her master smile as Kari summons it to her for the first time. The robot flexes the (relatively) huge arms and new servos, weapon ports opening and closing. She swishes her new and more deadly bladed tail. The little robot gleefully hugs her smiling master.

(Where the fear has gone there will be nothing...) 

Later, with an unarmored Kari curled up in her lab coat pocket 'asleep', Zarenna sits at the computer typing away at the MMS registration page for Kari, logging the modifications to the shinki. The model is changed to 'Howling (ver. Dire Wolf)', and the type reads "MMS Type Dog Custom". The woman yawns and stretches, saving the changes to Kari's registration before gently lifting the shinki out of her pocket and placing her on the charging cradle. "Well, at least you'll be safer in combat now." she says to the shinki.

(... Only I will remain.)