Scene #4972: Conversations and Armor Repairs

Owner	Pose
Taro	Neo Arcadia-00001 had been the one bright spot of civilization in a vast uninhabitable wasteland that stretched for tens of thousands of kilometers. This is obviously no longer the case. The city is now very obviously underground, the cavern ceiling scant meters above its tallest spires. The near-total darkness has forced the outdoor lights to be lit on a more or less permanent basis, though one small consolation is that the protective dome is now far less necessary. Even if Alexis and Choi have never set foot here before, it'll become pretty obvious that its still adjusting to this New Normal. Taro does in fact meet his guests at the warpgate, with a robotic drone in tow to handle the carrying of the suit, if needed. The walk to the tower with his workshop is not far, and while he's not exactly the best at small talk, he will point out some of the more interesting sights along the way if asked. The workshop's windows are much less useful in terms of light, but they still offer a very nice view. He'll usher them in the direction of one of the work alcoves once there, the lights and vidscreens flickering to life as they enter. "I've reviewed the schematics that you forwarded," he says with a nod to Dr. Choi, "and I admit I find the design intriguing..."
Alexis Maaka	Neo-Arcadia was /not/ what Maaka was expecting. She cursed herself for not thinking that way, everything about Taro was a mix of science and religion. It was weird knowing she and her companion would be considered 'low-tech' by any world's standards, yet here they are as walking fossils. Choi's lack of outward implants even more so. The physician cuts an unassuming figure, middle-aged, with gray, receding hair and thick spectacles covering his dark eyes, and a trimmed beard gracing his chin. He has a rather grandfatherly charm to him, and Maaka clearly towers over her personal doctor. With a lab coat worn over a simple set of clothing, Choi's not nearly as intimidating as his most well-known client. Maaka herself has the STALKER suit in hand, kept in a hardened case, and her coat trails behind her. Her surprise at Neo-Arcadia isn't as visible as Choi's, but she's definitely feeling like a lot of judgmental stares are thrown hers and Choi's way. Thankfully Taro isn't one of the people regarding them as such, hopefully. "Yeah, it's a specops design by the Izunagi. Same people who made me, I've had it for years now since I skipped town." She says, doffing her head to Taro. "I take it this city isn't in its natural surroundings? I'm surprised the caverns fit it after all." Choi muses, scratching his chin before he approaches Taro. "Doctor Howard Choi, M.D. We spoke before, once. Alexis figured I could tag along, see the sights." He offers a half-smile, mentally dismissing any sort of documents he has going on in his optical HUD, before offering a hand for Taro to shake. Maaka lays out the case along Taro's workbench, opening it up to reveal the suit proper. It's mostly black and red, with a gray highlight along the helmet and chest, and sports incredibly high-tech materials. Sadly, the chest plate has seen better days, as it looks like something tore through the armor AND the fabric padding underneath.
Taro	Taro is accustomed to being towered over. He also keeps odd company, this is well known. And really, while there are those like his close associate Nine making the city their home, most of the humans still look human and the reploids typically are human-form as well. Alexis and Choi do stick out, but not as extremely as some from other worlds. "A pleasure of course, Doctor Choi. Thank you for coming along." He clasps the man's hand in his own and offers a firm handshake. "And no, this latest Event has moved us even further away from the city's original surroundings. It presents an interesting challenge, suddenly being underground instead of in the center of an otherwise uninhabitable wasteland." While Alexis lays out the armor on the table, the android waves a hand in front of one of the wall vidscreens to call up the schematics. "Have you already run a diagnostic on it, or is it too far damaged for even that?"
Alexis Maaka	"Sounds awkward." Maaka says, it's really all she has to comment as she eyes the cityscape. This place was clearly more than just a refuge from the wasteland it was built for, it was rebuilt as a monument to whatever this SHODAN is. Some kind of machine goddess, sounding awfully like the Adeptus Mechanicus to a degree. Gears would probably love this place. Or hate it. The Priestess was always a little capricious like that. Maaka looks over the armor as she lays it across the bench proper. "Thankfully you need a lot more than a crazy tiger-shark man to keep this suit from working. The cloak's fucked up, and really any protection this armor can provide is pretty compromised so there's no EVA or combat in its future for now, but it still hooks into my neural-ware fine." She says. "I need the chest plating and under layer to be patched, if not replaced entirely. Patching should be fine, if you have the materials."
Taro	"It is," Taro agrees. "There are times I must wonder if the Multiverse has a twisted sense of humor. Still, we will manage." He pulls off his leather gloves and tucks them into his belt, then leans over the table to run his fingertips over the damaged chestplate. "Is the lack of cloaking due to this damage, or has that been a more long-standing issue?"
Alexis Maaka	"Only happened when Xix almost tore my chest open." Maaka says. Sounds like she doesn't have any ill will to the strange shark-tigerman. "I wouldn't take anything he did personally, I was trying to save someone from getting worse is all." She shrugs, folding her arms. Choi watches intently, curious as he observes both Taro at work and also the screens displaying data both pertaining to the STALKER and unrelated. "Tell me, Bishop, I'm still curious about this SHODAN figure. Did she build this place, or come upon it?" A little curiosity won't hurt, especially if it helps get a better understanding for this world.
Taro	Taro gives a nod at Alexis' words. "Repairing the chestplate itself should be little trouble, though I suspect repairing the camoflauging will take more time and effort. If you need the armor back immediately, then we can put off those repairs if you'd prefer." Once he finishes his personal inspection, he carefully lifts and turns the chestplate over before setting it down again. Then, he steps back and turns to begin opening drawers and setting out tools. If Choi is watching him closely, then the man will notice the precision with which he moves. Gentle motions, but little extraneous. It's the little details that reveal his machine nature. "The CyberGoddess SHODAN is orginally from another universe that Unified," he begins to explain. If he took any umbrage at how Choi referred to her, he's not showing it in expression or voice. He's not showing much expression at all, now that you mention it...but his voice reflects some of his distate at the events in the history lesson. "Neo Arcadia existed for at least a century before it Unified, though its exact history has been unfortunately lost due to a combination of war and willful ignorance. Its leadership at the time was...horrific may sound an exaggeration, but accurate all the same."
Alexis Maaka	"Won't be a problem. I need my suit back to spec before I go back into the field, that's for sure. My priority is just making sure I can wear it without lucky shots piercing the plates." Maaka nods, before she lets Taro work. Choi certainly can appreciate a fellow professional at work, but if he's critiquing anything Taro does it's hard to show on the old man's features. It is easy to tell Taro's an android, Choi has met and worked with people similarly augmented, who don't feel the same way about holding onto their humanity like Maaka does. "I see. Can't say I've seen anything like her before, short of the odd AI in development back home, or like Ms. White in nature." He muses, scratching his chin again. "Somehow, I imagine her leadership is something of a massive improvement over the previous establishment. I noticed a great number of the locals along the way sported some manner of cyberware, I take it this is something of a refuge from less sympathetic locales for the augmented?" Makes sense. Back when augs were still new, there was the odd ghettoed sector here and there, back home. The attitude that cybernetics were something to be shamed was swiftly grown out, after a decade however, as they became more commonplace.
Taro	"Dr. Weil was a sadistic, megalomatic despot who cared little for the lives of his people." His brow furrows as he continues, his tone darker. "He sent untold numbers of innocent reploids to their death, in the name of protecting the humans. Yet he sent thousands of them to their deaths as well. The situation was intolerable. Thus, with the aid and blessing of the Confederacy and the CyberGoddess, I led the attack that liberated Neo Arcadia." He takes a breath, and with some effort the scowl recedes. "Since then, I would like to believe that we have moved closer to its founder's original vision. The CyberGoddess protects and guides the city now, which is far better than what came before." Taro remembers what he was doing, and moves to bring the tools he selected over to the table. "The cyberware is in part medical, in part voluntary. As you can imagine, living with background levels of contamination leads to illness and injuries better treated with augmentation. Since the city's liberation, we've taken in any who wish to live here and is willing to abide by our rules. Also, the Chuch of SHODAN believes that augmentation is a blessing, and so her organic followers are quite happy to receive implants." As he talks, he works on carefully trimming out the gouges into something more easily patchable.
Alexis Maaka	Choi and Maaka exchange a look. "Well that'd do it." She says, shrugging. "Definitely an improvement, then." Choi furrows his brow slightly. "Figures. I've no arguments with that; I have the odd immunobooster and neural augs myself, but nothing as thorough as Maaka's setup, or yours for that matter. I imagine if I return, it might be prudent to bring some protective equipment, unless you don't mind hooking an old man up with some minor upgrades." He smiles faintly, shrugging a shoulder. He does have some pride in the steadiness of his hands, but there's pride and then there's just being foolish when better options are around. His hands raise, and it's clear to Taro they're the same hands Choi was born with, steady as a rock judging by that firm grip he shook with before. Maaka makes a faint noise, "Hnn. How often is this SHODAN interacting with her followers, or does she have you handle the day-to-day business?" She asks idly.
Taro	The nanoblade knife That Taro's been using to cut out the damaged parts is set aside once he's finished with it, and the slivers dropped in a neat pile off to one side. Somewhere beneath then, a fabrictor machine is busily humming away, mixing up a batch of thermo-composite resin and extuding it into replacement patches. Taro looks away from his work and towards Choi as the man raises his hands. He tilts head slightly at his fellow cyberneticist, then doesn't so much smile as frown less at him. The amusement that doesn't touch his face is in his voice instead. "Ah. I am entirely a machine intelligence, Doctor, housed within the shell you see before you. Though I am of a lower order and degree of complexity compared to SHODAN." He glances over at Alexis for a moment, then proceeds to ask a question instead of answering hers. "Is cybernic augmentation a common thing in your world, then, or are you on the cutting edge of what your world has to offer, or...?"
Alexis Maaka	"You're looking at the most complex cyborg my world can offer." Alexis says, nodding. "Me and six others were made by the Izunagi as black ops agents. I was one of the few that bailed and got away with it." She says distantly. Choi confirms that with a nod. "I'm the one who made them. I took a personal hand in Alexis' conversion, before I went into hiding. The Izunagi grew too corrupt and paranoid for my tastes, and I was forced to leave Japan entirely," Shrugging, Choi goes from what must be a dark part of both their lives. "Now I work in Hong Kong, when Alexis isn't getting herself hurt and requiring me to fix her up, of course." He smiles faintly, gently teasing his favorite patient with a wink. "I myself don't have that luxury, beyond some neural modifications and metabolism enhancements, I've opted to keep myself low-maintainence. It's with no small amount of pride that I've trained to keep my hands steady as a rock."
Taro	"Ah, I see. Congratulations on your escape and reaching safer harbors." A deep and respectful nod, not quite a bow. "Are the Izunagi still actively looking for you two, or have they turned their attention to other priorities?" "Low maitenance is understandable, perhaps preferable given your current circumstances," Taro continues, turning his attention back to Choi. "And your pride not misplaced. A keen mind and steady hand are no small thing, especially in our profession."
Alexis Maaka	Maaka shrugs. "Kind of. To be honest, I mostly hang around with Choi to make sure they don't try and get him to get to me. In return, he fixes me." "Not to mention the kids. They adore her." Maaka just grunts, "Yeah. That. They like me, I suppose." Choi nudges Maaka's side gently, "Now now, don't be modest. They're always happy to have you around, especially Hana." He can't help but laugh, even as the cyborg just tries her best to keep stoic. "Don't mind her, she's mostly moody over not being able to work. Trust me, you should've seen her during the holiday." All Maaka can do is sigh. She is definitely a restless woman, that's for sure.
Taro	Taro doesn't smile, exactly, it's more a crinking around his eyes and a faint upturn of his lips, as he watches the interplay between two who obviously know each other well. "Mm. Well. If you do not mind guard work, Miss Maaka, my people find themselves in literally uncharted territory. We must find out what is in the caverns, and I would prefer to have the survey teams well protected if it turns out that we are not alone in the depths." Then, a woman (reploid, probably?) with bobbed green hair and in a cassock similiar to but lighter than Taro's pokes her head through the open doorway to check that she's not intruding, then steps into the room. In one hand are strips of replacement armor, the other a tube of uncured thermo-composite, presumably for touchups. "Excuse the intrustion. Fresh from the fabber, Your Eminence." Taro glances away from his guests and nods to his assitant. "Thank you, acolyte. If you'd take the scraps with you for recycling, please?" Nothing wasted, after all. The strips are laid out for inspection, and he gestures an offer for Choi and Alexis to have a look as well if they'd like.
Alexis Maaka	"Well, it'd be something to do." Maaka nods. "I'll consider it. Some security contracting's nothing I haven't done before after all. Hell, the League might be willing to help out as a whole." She suggests, watching Taro work just before the Reploid arrives. Maaka whistles, "You guys work fast, nice work. By the time this is done it's gonna look like nothing happened. I mean, I don't mind the odd battle scar here and there, but damn it's gonna be nice having a fresh plate on my chest again." SHe offers a nod to the green haired gynoid, and the faintest hints of a smile as she and Choi inspect the procedure.
Taro	"Thank you. We try." The reploid priestess smiles a bit bashfully at the compliment. She'll sweep the pile of cut-out broken silvers into her hands before slipping back out again. Meanwhile, Taro picks out the best of the strips to use, then reaches for the nanoblade knife again. "This is true. Still, since you are already here and possibly interested, I thought I would make the offer." He's likely going to have swallow his pride and call on the League for several things in the coming weeks. A thought that is for now set aside so that he can concentrate on his work. Deft, neat cuts bring the strips to the proper sizes before they're popped into the holes in the chestplate. "I personally believe it's best to do something well the first time, rather than to have to do it twice."
Alexis Maaka	"Well, I bet I could spare a few days. Me and Choi might need a place to stay around town, if you guys can spare anything." Maaka nods, sparing a glance to Choi. "You can go ahead, but I do have a business to run back home after all." Choi points out. It won't be much longer for Taro to get the suit fixed up, just fuse the gaps together with whatever tool Taro has on hand.
Taro	"If there's no hotel rooms, I'm sure we could spare a few rooms in the Temple. If that wouldn't make you uncomfortable, that is?" He may have taken vows, but he's well aware that religion makes some uncomfortable. Especially religions involving (possibly totally tripped out insane) electronic gods. He swaps the blade for something that resembles a soldering iron with a more ergonomic grip. There's no heat or sizzle as he touches it to the edges where original and replacement strips meet, just a glow and slightly warbling hum. "It would be best to let this set and cure overnight, Miss Maaka. After that, it will be as good as new, save for the camoflauge."
Alexis Maaka	"Fine by me." Maaka shrugs. "Hell, might be an interesting tour going there and seeing the sights, if I'm gonna stick around. I'll have to either way, I'll be busy trying to recalibrate the cloaking tech when you finish fixing it." She says, careful not to touch the armor. Giving Taro a pat on the arm, she grins a little. "Thanks, by the way. Feel like I at least owe you something, whether tech or just creds for your trouble."
Taro	Taro makes a few last seals, then sets the tool down. "You are welcome to visit both city and Temple, of course. All I ask is that you be respectful and courteous, please. Though if you have your own matters to attend to, Doctor Choi, I can have one of my assistants guide you back to the warpgate." Alexis' smile goes unreturned, but he acknowledges it and her thanks with a nod. "These are exciting times we live in, best that we all remain prepared. Helping to guard one of the survey crews would be repayment enough, I think."