1520/The Art of War Needs Instruments ft C6 and Eiko

The Art of War Needs Instruments ft C6 and Eiko
Date of Scene:	07 February 2015
Location:	Mojave Wasteland (NewVegas)
Synopsis:	Johnny gives Eiko a deal on some plasma tech
Cast of Characters:	32, 650

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Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Not all of the Mojave outside of New Vegas is a festering, baked dirt-smudge on the Southwest. There's another bright, glimmering spot nestled into the hills and cliffs of the Mojave.

    And that's where John Tallbranch waits for his fellow Unaligned Operative to show up tonight. - Primm! The other Vegas! The lights of the Bison Steve and the Vicki and Vance sparkle in the night, and what once might have been a small town there to support the workers of the casinos is now a larger town to support more gamblers, the ones on their way back to the West towards the NCR, hoping for one last score on the way, or a spot to cool their heels after losing it all.
    In either case, the other important structure here is the headquarters of the Mojave Express. What once might have been a sleepy outfit with only a few runners is now also sparking with a bit more life. Tonight, John waits outside the building, sipping from a bottle of water as a cool breeze pushes past the hills. Next to him floats a metal basketball with grating and antennas and a little lasergun. On his other side stands someone in a heavy, intimidating set of bulky powered armor, a massive sledgehammer on their back and a hydraulic mounted power fist on their arm.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Coming in from wherever multiversal visitors usually have to to make their way toward New Vegas, is one skinny young woman in a strikingly blue trench coat. While not quite new, it doesn't look dusty enough to have been worn through a real desert trek. The backpack, though, should be a pretty typical sign of a traveler.

    "Hey!" The very moment she's close enough to make out anyone's face, she raises an arm and gives a wave. "You the guy, guy?" That's clearly addressed to John, since neither the basketball nor the armored hulk look like shopkeeps of any stripe. "If you are, let's get straight to it!" From tone and expression, her energy seems boundless, though she's not actually hurrying with her feet.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Well he's hardly a shopkeep, and that basketball beedlebeeps a bit, hovering closer to Eiko with an inquisitive scan from one of those antenna...
    It's the person in the armor who speaks up first, a... rather feminine voice crackling through the speaker "Hah! Where do you keep finding all these kids, John? Seriously, this is crazy."

    The cowboy sighs a bit, and steps out to shake Eiko's hand as she steps over. "Nice to meet you, Miss Eiko. Jonathan Tallbranch, you can call me Johnny. This here's ED-E, and the lady in the armor is Veronica."
    The armor waves a bit.

    He then waves the girl towards the back of the Express, around towards a little firing range in the back. "So I know you're interested in some sort of weapons, but I wasn't sure what kinds... so I got a whole mess out of storage. I'm assuming you're not here to buy in bulk though."

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Good to meet ya, Johnny." Eiko gives his hand a shake, then a short wave to the other two. Any kind of scan, or even a close look, can probably make out that magnum in her coat, but she doesn't expect anyone'd begrudge that in this area. "Yeah, you got it right. I might be after a few different types, but I can only carry so much at once. I figure I'd see if you had anything that fit well, first off. Short guns, long guns, whichever. I'll find a way to make anything work for me, if I can."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Johnny snorts a bit at that, and then kicks at a crate he's got planted next to the fireing range. Inside there's a bunch of different sorts of conventional small arms. A collection of handguns, some assault rifle looking things, and even what looks like a souped up M1 Garand. Another crate nearby, with a notable heavy lock on the front, lies in wait.
    "Alright, I figure you're more than capale of finding some of this stuff in most other places, so I figured we'd start off with the fancy stuff from the Old World."

    He pulls out... a rather hefty looking revolver. 5 shots. Looks like it's chambered for... rifle rounds. Really? "This here's the venerable Colt T2A 5.56 revolver. Chambered for NATO rounds of all makes, she'll handle like a champ. Got a hell of a kick though." He flips it around handle first to her, and kicks over a ammo crate with All of The Rounds She'll Need For This Demonstration.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Heavy pistol type, eh." Eiko doesn't know models, but she knows types. "Yeah, might have a use for that." She picks up the revolver and sights down the barrel. "Funny-looking thing, ain't it."

    She takes a few moments to look over the weapon, open and load it, and then pick a target on the range. Fortunately for her, part of her magic is the always-on type. She's pretty fit, but she clearly doesn't have the build to--as that first shot goes off--take the recoil with as little fuss as she is. She takes a second to adjust, then empties the remaining chambers in quickening succession.

    The effect on the range won't be too impressive, at this. It's clear that, while she can handle a gun, point at a target and hit it if it's close enough, she's no marksman. Inexperience and the fact that she's purely self-taught are there to see for anyone with some real, dedicated skill.

    She's not bothered, though. "Weren't kidding 'bout the kick. What would ya say the effective range is on this?"

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Veronica nudges Johnny in the ribs, which surprisingly does not break him or even wind him all that much. "Okay okay you were right." She produces a $5 bill from somewhere and hands it over to Johnny, who snorts.
    "I'd put the range at under 50 meters at the most. Though, the way you're holding it could reduce that even." He takes back the gun, and starts rummaging around a bit more in the box, and comes out with a good old reliable Colt 1911. This too he flips around handle wise to hand over to Eiko. "This here's the Gun What Won The West, the Colt .45. We get these from Mormon traders from up north where they're still turning them out... at a better quality than the Gun Runners I might add."

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Eiko treats this Colt much the same as the other, looking over it with care, yet with a concentration that lets her move quickly. Again loaded, and again set to fire--this time entirely without using her left arm to support her, for Reasons she likely won't offer.

    "Won The West, huh? Thought that would happened earlier than 1911. Oh well, different worlds." She fires. And then, again, adjusting her aim, but trying to exhaust the weapon in minimum time without getting completely off-target. This is partially successful.

    "Ain't bad, at least. Would need more than a few shots to say much, but how would you say it compares, eh? Oh, lemme put it this way. Big monster of a man comes at me, thirty or forty meters off. I've gotta pull and shoot him down before he gets to me, and I gotta do it while moving. What should I pull? Different story: Guy stays a hundred meters off, keeps taking pot shots. I probably can't get him, but I want him to keep his head down. What would ya give me if ya wanted me to get through that one still breathing?"

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Now we're talking. Johnny grins broadly, and then kicks the latch on the other box, popping it open. Inside... are ray guns. Lots of ray guns. "Well then, little lady, you're looking for one of these."

    He pulls out a hefty looking ray pistol, a chamber inside sparking green energy. "This here... is the REPCONN Model A17 miniaturized plasma caster. Runs on chemical batteries and fires coherent bursts of ionizing radiation. Capable of some nasty things in the right hands. Further more, it's the sort of thing that both punches hard and is flashy enough to get someone to duck and cover." This too he hands over to Eiko with a grin. "Do not ever point this fucker at something you ain't prepared to ruin for all eternity."

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Eiko gives a laugh, and it's with a grin that she takes the offered weapon. "Right on. Alright, let's give this a try. Plasma caster--recoilless? I'm guessing this'll feel a little different."

    She gives this one a slower look-over. She knows how to deal with bullets--they're not especially dangerous on their own, outside of a firearm. Battery-powered plasma guns might have more tricky moments in their handling. She's not about to try to take it apart, in any case. Just has to be sure how to load it, and maybe have an idea of what not to accidentally touch during or after firing.

    Once that's done, she again takes a few steps off, sights down-range, and fires. She's not really sure what /this/ will look like--but again, she won't be satisfied 'till she's either mangled the target or exhausted the thing's power.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    The prongs at the end of the gun all sparkle with collected energy, green sparks flickering between the points each time she pulls the trigger, followed up by a sudden BLAT of green light and noise as little pinches of plasma dash towards the target, surprisingly not at the speed of light.

    That said they impact on the targets once, twice, and then there's a scintillating burst of energy, and the target dummy literally dissolves into a puddle of awful smelling green sludge.

    Johnny seems satified with that outcome. "Either they move, or they burn. Like I said, this thing does not fuck around."

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Woah. Yeah, man. No kidding. That thing /melted/." Eiko holds the gun up, finger carefully off the trigger. "You're right, this is the gun I was looking for. Scary AND lethal. Also, not running off ammo I need for my other bag of tricks. That's a bonus, and the reason I'm gonna try and not mind the whole radiation thing. Try, mind you. Only got so much black magic at my fingertips 'n' all." Eiko finishes with an elaborate shrug. It's not clear how serious she is about the magic bit.

    "So, you take the same creds the Syndicate issues, or do I gotta find a bank? I can throw in some extra if you don't mind Galiandan money."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    "Creds, caps, Murasame bux, whatever you got, I'll take it. I even do Favors if that's your prefered method of business."
    John shuffles around under his duster, and pulls out a hefty looking box of energy cells. "These I made special myself, optimized loads. Ain't nearly as strong as microfusions, but they'll still pack a punch. See how that thing works out for you and we'll get you set up with something stronger next time."

Eiko (650) has posed:
    "Yeah, I'm gonna need a good supply of ammo for this thing. Don't want to wander back over every week just because work's been busy." Eiko puts the gun down, along with her pack, and looks over the box of cells, nodding along. "Galianda-coins it is, then. I got a bag in my pack, won't be a sec."