2234/A fox in the lab

A fox in the lab
Date of Scene:	13 May 2015
Location:	Neo Arcadia-00001
Synopsis:	Fer decides on a surprise visit to Taro's lab, gets a demo of what the new mecha he's working on looks like.
Cast of Characters:	399, 516

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Taro (399) has posed:
    The last rays of evening sunlight spill through the windows on the west side of the lab, and on the east side it's already darkening. The interior lights have already flicked on to keep the rooms in use bright, while those not occupied remain dark. While the city no longer suffers from an energy crisis, every watt is spent as wisely as possible.
    Though many of the workers have gone home - and Ferham may have passed some of them on her way in - there are still a few techs hard at work at their stations. Taro has remained as well, holopen in hand, his full attention on the latest schematic that the holotable is rendering for him. Some sort of military vehicle, from the looks of it. Not a Ride Armor per se, but something that looks to be intended to be a multi-legged one-person attack craft of some kind.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     There seems to be stillness all in all, not much sign of anyone having come to visit except for the sound of the lift activating and rising to Taro's laboratory. However, if he checks on camera feeds or visually inspects the area it appears the lift was sent up without an occupant? Was it malfunctioning? Odd.

     Of course, the reploid scientist might be just a bit surprised when something brushes against his sides and stomach as what look like black clad arms and hands resembling a cross between a fox's and a human's suddenly curl around from behind him, sort of giving him a 'hug' out of nowhere.

     "Oh hey, you're looking better," it's Ferham's voice, though she sounds like she's being a bit playful, clearly playing a bit of a prank on Taro in her fox-like trance armor.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Had Taro been paying greater attention, he may have noticed the lack of occupants in the lift. However, right now he is entirely caught up in his work and paying scant attention to the security feeds. How much armor mass will the frame hold, would it be better to use the lighter but more expensive ceramipolymer laminate, or the denser ceramiplast plating? Calculations are made...
    ...and then arms out of seemingly nowhere move to embrace him. He tenses at the unexpected touch, regardless of the friendly intent, his lips curling back in a half-snarl as he moves to break free.
    A moment and her spoken sentence later, and he realizes who it is. The angry glare he was about to deliver lessens to one of irritation. "Ferham. I see the armor is working as expected."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     There is what sounds like a muted giggle from somewhere behind Taro, though it doesn't exactly sound like Fer's voice, either. "Sorry, Trance just likes to play tricks like that," Ferham shrugged a little, and had half-broken the embrace when Taro seemed to get startled, or aggrivated--but returns to a bit of a close snugness between them after. "It's got a built-in instinct to do things like that, disguise itself, play tricks, you know, I think Wily followed the 'kitsune' thing a bit too well, or maybe he just gets obsessed with certain concepts?" she shrugged, the fur ruff around her chest soft as she sort of snuggled up behind him.

     "Now that you're back at peak efficiency, what have you been working on? is it classified?" she said the last word as if it was super secret or the like, her voice drawing to a whisper as her lips hovered about one of his ears.

Taro (399) has posed:
    "I see." Startled, annoyed, though his face returns to is usual slightly dour mask. "I'd suggest not sneaking up on me like that again."
    He begins to pull away again, ostensibly so that he can reach forward and flick his hand just above the holotable's surface. This pivots the incomplete image so that it's facing them in profile. "Yes, and no. Certainly I would not want our enemies to see this before I send one out for field testing. That would ruin the surprise and skew the results."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Shouldn't be so afraid, it's not like I'd ever hurt you," Ferham uttered, sounding sincere as if the idea made her a bit emotional. She let him pull away from her, stepping alongside him, her three tails however remained entangled around his waist and legs, nevertheless. "You don't need to worry about that, foxes are secretive creatures, remember?" she gestured to the white fur ruff around her front, one of the ears of her mask twitching ever so slightly.

     "I promise not to try and sneak up on you again, though... I am rather glad you're back in one piece," and she smiled because clearly she didn't mean it simply figuratively, Taro had literally been in two at one point before. "Oh, and I've recovered fine, as you can see."

Taro (399) has posed:
    "It's not necessarily you that I'm afraid of." Taro cannot seem to fully elude Ferham, and so (for now) accepts being snared by her/Trance's tritails. "It's nice to see that you've recovered as well, and that you and your support unit are so compatible."
    He'll turn a bit, if so allowed, and sweep a hand at his work in progress. "Working with Zarenna on developing a new line of shinki has given me some other ideas...the ride armors could benefit from some of the same miniturazation techniques I've learned, to offer greater firepower and protection. What do you think?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "It's kind of a symbiotic relationship, really. Trance is limited to what form she's in physically without her holograms, and she likes being able to explore while coupled with me," Ferham smiled a little. "Obviously they also like to play tricks when they can, that's a given," thankfully, those long fluffy tri-tails aren't grasping Taro that snugly, so he's able to move more or less freely. Well, mostly.

     "Ooh, new line of our adorable and miniaturized shinki friends?" Fer seems curious about this, blinking. "So... ride armor for shinki? going to make them little attack platforms?" she seems to be glowing with the grin she has.

Taro (399) has posed:
    The corners of Taro's lips twitch upward ever so slightly. A hint of a smile is about the closest he comes to that expression. "I've already built a shinki-sized ride armor. Fuki has one for field testing." He turns to face Ferham, and with another negligent flick of his hand, the image shifts. This time, a reference scale is included, marking it abot three and a half meters in height. "No, this is meant for androids and reploids of about our sizes. Perhaps another model for organics, later on. Once I've learned all I can from this design and improve upon it."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Aww, you have to show it to me! ...Well, sometime, if you'd like," Ferham could hardly contain her girlish glee as Taro confirmed the shinki-sized ride armors. "Ahh, Fuki. I hope the test goes well," she's still grinning when Taro turns to face her. "Ohh, I see... hmm, it looks interesting, sort of like some kind of invertebrate--shellfish?" she studies the diagram of his.

     "I take it's for all-terrain or underwater transportation?" it perhaps reminds her of some of the amphibious mecha vehicles the maverick hunters had used.

Taro (399) has posed:
    There is an echo of 21XX design in it, in fact. It's one of the many worlds and times from which he's studied and drawn from when designing his own machines, incorporating nearly seamlessly a number of ideas into one creation.
    "Does it?" Taro turns back to the work in progress, and as he regards it, his hand tucks under his chin in thought. "Perhaps it does at that." Then, to answer her last question, "All-terrain in harsh environments. CyberGoddess knows how many parts of the multiverse qualify as that, outside the city walls included."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "It reminds me of an amphibious APC, more or less, but the way the cockpit is positioned it seems more like an overland combat vehicle?" Ferham rubbed her chin just a tad, peering at it. "Ahh, I see, well, one could say my overall design is sort of that, really, except I also fly," she shrugged, Trance's hologram system making a pair of angel wings appear phantasmically behind her for a brief instant, at least until Ferham noticed. The fembot gave an amused frown, and soon they were disappearing. "Well, not in this form, anyway," she nodded.

     "Oh right, there is a lot of arid desert and scrubland around here, forgot about that. Something like this would probably handle the sand well," she'd find something to lean on, disentangling her tails from the manbot.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro makes a quiet amused sound at Trance's antics. "I've seen your other armor." Which while winged, isn't quite that angelic. "Flight is useful, yes, for those of us who are designed for it. But there are others who are not, and a full on sandstorm is no place to fly."
    Free at last. He does not move far, though perhaps just out of the reach of those tails as he walks around the table. "Incidentally, I'd recommend asking Fuki for a demonstration of the shinki ride armor, rather than my showing you images. It is one thing to see, another to experience."
    Another thought comes to him, and he turns to look back at her. "Is Trance compatible with your other armor set, or can she only accompany you as a companion?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "True, though I could go above it, if I needed to," Fer shrugged, peering back up at the other reploid. "I see, I'll do that, and no, well, it's more of a merging and reconfiguring of my base armor when Trance is with me, otherwise she stays in subspace or can move about alongside me--but I don't like to take her into combat situations like that," she shook ehr head.

     "The trade off I cannot fly freely when I'm like this, because the mass for my wings is removed, but I can still use my gravity system as a sling-shot to move around," she doesn't seem too intent on snaring the poor Taro with her tails again, yet. "I tend to rely on her holographic systems and my weapons like this."

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro arches a brow at the explanation. "Hm. I would think..." He catches himself, and shakes his head. "No, that would be an unfair comparison. Orbit was designed with combat in mind, and Trance is not. Her considerable talents lie elsewhere." Another vague hint of a smile. "The two of you do seem to get on very well. It's a good match."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Not combat, but she has several useful applications, such as stealth, deception... and well, I handle the combat aspect of operation," Ferham winked to Taro, giving him a wry smile. "She has her own mind, but so far we've been able to make it a... fulfilling work relationship, more or less," she folded her arms over her chest.

     "Well then, it is getting a bit late, shall we perhaps go out for coffee or tea or the like one of these afternoons? I can't help but think you want to get back to your work."

Taro (399) has posed:
    "You did catch me in the middle of an idea," Taro acknowledges, sounding not quite apologetic while also not sounding too irritated by her interruption. Aside from the stolen hug. "I know of an excellent teahouse elsewhere in the tower. Perhaps next week, if your schedule allows?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Ah, that would probably be why you seemed so ticked off with me interrupting you, I'm sorry," Ferham nodded, placing a hand against her mask and making sure the visor was in place. "Well then, I'll see myself out, and we can speak later, stay safe," Ferham bent her knees--the black boots that ran from shin-downward from her reddish furred legs bent as she bowed her knees and took off with a bit of a leap, the tri-tails following along behind her as she managed a fairly quick pace back to the elevator. Much more agile in that form, it seemed.

Taro (399) has posed:
    It was perhaps not the full reason, but it was in part. Reardless, he accepts the apology with a nod. "You as well, Ferham, Trance." he says as the joined pair make their way out. They'll settle on a time for tea later, of course.
    But for now...where was he? Ah, yes. He picks up his holopen again and resumes drawing...