[IC] TotMV:G2: Engineering Bay (Travel Phase)

[Chevaleresse]

The "tank" part of the castle, this contains two offices and an extended room housing the majority of the workings that power the immense vehicle's movement. The engines are rusted and badly in need of attention, and it smells of burned grease, metal, and a bit of smoke.

 

Location Sheet

OOC Thread

 

Thread Rules:

Your character may only occupy one IC thread at a time. You must make a post clearly indicating that you are leaving the area this thread governs to move to another.

Post clearly that you are entering this area as well; one of these posts should be made for every active character during the travel phase.

During travel time IC, characters cannot move between areas. When there is a stop, characters may move.

Before posting in ANY IC thread, characters must be approved by the GM. 

[DragonRage]

Alexandria will stay in the engine room for this phase, hoping to make repairs on the badly damaged machinery.

[Sutoratosu]

Tesla remains in the Engineering Bay for the phase...

 

With Edmond having left to go fetch something, the Mechanic hadn't seen much point continuing to search around for something that clearly wasn't there. With a sigh, she'd gone out of the office and into the engine's workings, finally managing to find the generator for it all. Strange, but not exactly thing she'd ever seen, that strange hybrid of old world combustion-based technology and, from what she could tell through the years of rust and corrosion, some sort of steam-driven engine, with a few black boxes- what they did, she didn't know, but like with everything else regarding this thing, that could be figured out later. What she came away with from the examination was a Diagram, as detailed as she could get from mere outward observations alone; it wasn't much, but it was a start. By the time the inner workings of the place had begun flaring to life, the horrible, screeching cacophony of lubricated metal just grinding against itself like a lonely wash-up at a nightclub, doomed to forever stand in the corner and drink his loneliness away, she'd already shut the door of the office, taking a seat at the ruined desk, cursing under her breath as the tenitis set in.

     Soon enough though, the awful grinding stopped... or at least faded so much it simply melded into a barely noticeable background arrangement.

     "Thank the gods..." she looked over the diagram she'd made; it was obvious enough that heat from the combustion component of the engine was used to vaporize the water stored in the Steam components. The only thing not immediately obvious to her though, was where the hell a few of the hook ups leading off of them lead... because their ends definitely didn't lie anywhere in the room. And given it's condition, and the sheer size of the damn engine blocks, she sincerely doubted this old thing was being used for double duty to provide both locomotion and general electricity for the place. Hell, had she even seen a single electrical light fixture? No...no... she would've remembered sensing their fields if so. All there'd been were those strange lanterns and torches lining the walls every few meters...

[Zetaark]

Ritsu

 

Having heard Cid's announcement, Ritsu decided that the roof was not a very good place to stay. With that, she went over and grabbed her chainsaw from where she left it. She never felt very comfortable without it nearby. With that, she tried to remember what she knew of the castle area. After a bit of thought, she decided that the engine areas would be someplace she could stay and make herself busy. With that, she teleports into the Engineering Bay. Rather than being in the main engine room however, she instead ended up into one of the office segments. One that was, apparently, not empty.

 

"O-oh. Hello there," she says to the stranger.

[Empiricist]

So here lies the engine, the heart of the beast. The beast needs to go on a diet. Too much cholesterol. Too much rust.

 

Repairs will be necessary, later, not now. Not while it's running. Well, at least not regular repairs. Magic, he could see that, and there an awful lot of magic here, question simply was, was any of it the right kind? He inspects the exterior, and only the exterior, gaze tracing along each piece, looking for bolts, for mechanisms, for signs that they may be removed. Then he gazes into what lay within, looking for something strange, something out of place, not just blackboxes in general, but rather blackboxes without a discernible purpose. For here, three possibilities occurred to him:

 

The first was that such a machine is from a world that cares little for the fine details, where machines run like miracles caring not for maintenance nor reason. Which would mean, this damage is likely abnormal, caused by something more than just simple disrepair, something like magic. If such were the case, there should be blackboxes, and many of them. There should be arbitrary parts, parts that seem functional, but which serve no purpose. Faults in the illusion, loose threads in the construction. Find them, unravel them, and that, should be proof enough.

 

The second was that the world, while it plays fast and loose with the rules, lacks a specific little convenience. The convenience that does away with the need for maintenance. Then, barring some sheer technical incompetence, one unbefitting of a castle, a seat of power, and therefore unlikely, there should be access to the internals. There should be ways to dismantle it, to replace the parts, to remove the the exterior even. And were the machine not corroded to hell, they should be obvious.

 

The third was that the machine comes from a world of magic, where rust and wear and all the oh so troublesome little problems can be washed away with the right use of the arcane. It may have been kept running by some kind of engineer-mage, with repair spells and the like, or it could have been enchanted, bewitched. The former, is a "none of the above" for there would be little to show for its existence, little that he could determine himself at least. But if it were the latter, than there could very well be components that betray it. Parts that seem, unusual, inefficient to an engineer of the mundane, but a bed of potential for an artificer. For enchantments often have their own laws to follow, and those laws influence the design. And those aspects most strongly influenced, should be missing, or broken. Else it would not be in such a state.

 

As he paces around the engine's perimeter, to each of his newfound comrades, the ones who are not unfazed by that cacophony at least, he drops a pair of ear plugs.

[Sutoratosu]

"not like any work can be done while they're running anyway...but if the lines aren't carrying energy away, they have to be carrying it in. There was something I felt, a while again... damn it, I was too distracted to even see what it was..." Distracted. Yes, yes, that was the understatement of the year. This whole charade was nothing but a distraction to what she knew had happened back home. There was no use pretending it wasn't, with nothing more to do in it other than sit here and keep making surface level observations or read brief reports that would tell her precious little of the engine's function itself

     "He wasn't supposed to show up... but of course he did anyway. What the hell do I even tell The Old Man about... all of this crap though? What, that I didn't save them because I got sucked up and spat out somewhere else? Yeah, that'll be a fun conversation to have. And even better when the others inevitably hear about it... and I mean, just look at some of the weirdos around here..."

 

Quote

"O-oh. Hello there,"

She jumped involuntarily at the sudden interruption, turning to face the source. No sooner than she had did she also note the door still as firmly shut as when she closed it.

 

"How...did you get in here?" She asked, looking the bot up and down. "Couldn't have been that deep in thought. The background gets louder the instant ya open that door, and the things already noisy enough on it's own..."

[Zetaark]

Ritsu

 

"Teleportation," Ritsu stated as if it were obvious. "Though I half expected to wind up in the actual area with the engines instead of an office. I suppose that's what I get for not focusing on the end destination as much," Ritsu sighed before looking at some of the diagrams present.

 

"Are those diagrams of the engines here?"

[DragonRage]

Alexandria strides into the room, carrying the broken off cannon barrel easily over one shoulder.  She sets the huge piece of metal in a corner and starts examining the castle-tank's engines, hoping to determine how they feed power from themselves into the mechanisms that move the vehicle, and to determine what any intact pieces of machinery or magical black boxes do.

 

[OOC:  What does she discover?  Alexandria is looking for salvageable components and the engines' power transference system, with the intent of converting the castle-tank to run off a 6013 zero-point, antimatter, or tokamak fusion power source before the clearly badly damaged engines fail altogether.]

Edited January 27, 2017 by Zoe_Walker

[Twinwolf]

Victoria wanders into the engine bay. She'd heard this castle was also a tank, but was more than a little skeptical. Who's ever heard of a castle moving at all, let alone between worlds? But then, on the other hand... who's ever heard of reality eating monstrosities, or a real life magical girl, or eldritch abomination that takes the shape of a swarm of tiny dolls with knives... God that had been a weird Witch. Victoria shuddered at the memory.

 

Victoria was... somewhat shocked when she saw that yes, the castle had engines. It was a tank. As impressive as that was... Victoria had to wonder why somebody needed a castle sized tank. That just seemed unnecessarily opulent and a drain on resources. But then, if they had the resources to build this, Victoria guessed they had money to waste. 

[Sutoratosu]

"Teleporting without any terminals or codes, eh?... just like Watcher..." "Yeah... they are." She answered, still eyeing the stranger closely- hadn't felt like there'd been any actual involvement of favor when she'd shown up... It had to have been something else that enabled her then, some force from another world... "what I could find at least, or sketch out myself without dismantling it. Actually, there was supposed to be another guy helping me down here too, Edmond. He said he was going to get some stuff from town and never bothered  to come back though..."

 

"Yeah, some help he was, up and ditching me in the end..."

[Zetaark]

Ritsu

 

"I see. If it could help, I could scan the engines for its structure and produce a working schematic. Though given the conditions of the cannons on the roof, I fear that the engines may also be in similar disrepair. Nevertheless, if you need any assistance, feel free to ask," Ritsu replied. Leaving in the middle of a job wasn't something she condoned, though given the strange nature of this place and their inhabitants, perhaps he got caught up in something else.

[Sutoratosu]

"Uh... yeah. Why don't you go do that then. Thanks..." Whatever the bot was, she couldn't truly deduce. Not even the most advanced Sentry Droids Everford and his men had managed to produce ran completely off of Favor- er... well, non-technological power sources, at least. And while she may have resembled a human, there was still clearly something artificial. Yet Tesla detected nothing.

     "Would it be weird if I asked to study her?" "No, really, it would help a lot. Especially if it means we can figure out exactly whats wrong, without going in and risking breaking even more stuff..."

[Zetaark]

Ritsu

 

"Very well. Hopefully these engines aren't as bad as the cannons were," Ritsu remarks before teleporting into the inner area of the engineering bay, where the engines and a few others were. She waved at the other occupants in the bay before doing a scan of the engine structure. With it she could hopefully see how the engines are currently structured, along with how its power is obtained and used. It would also let her know of the quality of the engine parts, since if they were in such disrepair as the earlier cannons, full replacement may be a better option than trying to fix it.

[DragonRage]

Alexandria begins using the heat generated by her plasma cannon and the large core of dirt that the huge gun barrel picked up when it hit the ground to create a set of ceramic crucibles and tools.  It is somewhat loud.

[Zetaark]

Ritsu

 

Having finished up a scan, Ritsu's attention is grabbed by the noise from another. Ritsu looks towards the individual in question and sees that they are working on something from what looks to be the cannon barrel that fell earlier.

 

"All things considered, I'm glad that cannon barrel ended up being useful for something. Incidentally, what are you working on if I may ask," Ritsu inquired.

[DragonRage]

"I have deduced that this over-complicated and decaying machine's primary function is to produce electricity and feed it to the rest of the castle's systems," Alexandria shares, as she begins melting down the first batch of cannon steel in her new crucible.  "I intend to construct a more easily maintained and new zero point power source to replace this archaic mess of magitech."

Edited January 28, 2017 by Zoe_Walker

[Zetaark]

Ritsu

 

"That sounds fine. Really, anything that works optimally would be an improvement over this mess. Most of the internal mechanisms are basically worthless, and there are surely better magic-based engines than this. To be honest, I have several questions about the prior owners and people who did maintenance on this place. Something like this would not do in my profession," Ritsu sighs, thinking of the work that she will likely come back to when she finally gets back home.

[Chevaleresse]

The ship rumbled, with the engines groaning audibly but not deafeningly as they had previously, announcing the hodgepodge craft's arrival at their first destination. A familiar voice crackled to life over an unseen intercom. "Cid here. Once this piece of shit stops moving you should be good to walk around. Mostly. None of the nasty stuff from between worlds likes to hang around. Just remember to get back into one of the safe zones before you launch again." It was now time for those going to explore - and possibly save - this world to leave while the rest moved on; the group would be back once their missions were complete.

 

(You are now free to move between zones, or leave on a subplot. However, please only make ONE move.)

[DragonRage]

Alexandria is going to Jak and Daxter.

[Zetaark]

Ritsu is going to Jack and Daxter.

[Strider]

Edmond entered the engineering bay, passing two unfamiliar faces. He waved hesitantly, and made his way over to one of the offices. He poked his head in, and saw Tesla at the desk.

"Sorry about disappearing for a while...I was stuck in the servant's quarters when the jump began. Have you discovered anything?"

[Sutoratosu]

Tesla will remain in the Engineering Bay until TTG is ready to begin

Tesla had watched through the office's single window as the two bots had worked on trying to diagnose and repair the engines. In all honesty though, the juxtaposition made the cat maid stand out even more and made her function all the stranger, given she could easily sense at least some form of electric field from the other android. She may not have been able to hear their conversation, but the makeshift forge and crucible that had been constructed spoke volumes by itself.

      Before long though, the engines shuddered to halt. The two seemed to walk off in the same direction- leaving... and Tesla only then realized that the maid bot had never actually given her the results of the scan...typical. Just typical. She sighed, taking a seat at the desk again. There was little reason to bother leaving the wing, even with all the efforts to decipher and fix the damn things held up in one way or another- it was probably a better workspace than anywhere else in the castle, despite the noise from the engines.

 

With little to do, her mind couldn't help but begin to wander. And that's when she recalled... the blueprints she'd given Sully. The blueprints she'd intended to use herself, but honestly, the kid would've benefitted more from them, and giving him at least something to hang onto had made calming him down a lot easier in the end... it still hadn't been easy, in the end. But like T.O.M. had told them, it was beginning to get too dangerous for those of em with families to stick around them any longer, with their enemies beginning to dig for any and every bit of personal information there was to be had for them... best to cut ties early, keep themselves from being associated.

      But the plans were still there. Even if they were only half-finished. And that half was a relatively simple schematic if one knew enough about what they were doing- like a single missing peice of much larger puzzle. Withdrawing both her tools and the scraps she'd gathered earlier, she'd set to work, molding the metal and electrical components with Favor and physical tools until they'd slowly but surely begin to come together, one by one...

 

Tesla combines the Regents [Sentry Droid Scrap x3] Into the following Bauble specs:

Spoiler

Name: Tesla Spheres
Description: A series (at least several dozens) of several small, spherical constructs which buzz with a constant hum, utilizing a bit of Favor, advanced knowledge of electromagnetism, and the salvaged components from some broken droids. They each transmit specialized EMFs which are designed to amplify one another through manipulation via Favor, and under the right configurations can create powerful electrical currents that can be used to directly power a vast myriad of devices, without the need for wires or complex hookups… in other words, these things are the equivalent to wireless energy. 
Type: [Machine Item] Bauble
Mods:
-Sentry Droid Scrap x1
-Sentry Droid Scrap x1
-Sentry Droid Scrap x1
Minimum Stats: 1 Str
Weight: 4
SYN Threshold/Bonus: [None]
Qualities:
-5 Int Bonus: Grants the action “Tesla Pulse” [User is able to target up to three Mechanical Enemies to perform a check of Syn vs Con on. If the targets fail, they suffer an Init penalty equal to the User’s Syn. This action cannot be leveled with AP, and is removed if the user unequips this item.] 
-10 Int bonus: adds Electrocution status to Tesla Pulse, in addition to the init penalty 
-Wireless Energy: These devices, by virtue of their function, are a source of infinite, wirelessly distributed Electrical Energy. It’s uses however, are not simply limited to providing power, as with enough creativity, one could likely adapt their EMFs towards other applications as well…[+1 Syn per 2 levels]

until finally, they were done. Dozens of them, the first prototypes... well, first assuming Sully hadn't already managed to complete the blueprints himself and build it first... but regardless. She removed the goggles from her head, their burning, violet lenses dying down as the Favor they'd been channeling receded. They were invaluable devices, like a virtual overlay ontop of reality that assisted with a number of tasks, from helping access one's dreamspace, to holding schematics and plans in the onboard memory for easy reference... just about the only thing they couldn't do was scan things remotely to download their structures... 

     It was not long before a familiar voice broke the silence though

Quote

"Sorry about disappearing for a while...I was stuck in the servant's quarters when the jump began. Have you discovered anything?"

    Well well, looks who's finally back..."Nope..." she answered, turning to the engineer in the doorway "one of the droids... at least I think she was a droid, was supposed to be scanning the engines for me earlier. She kinda left without ever actually giving me the results though, so... I'm basically right back at square 1, for all intents and purposes. Seems to be a recurring theme around here..."

[Strider]

"I really am sorry about that...I was going back to get some of my personal belongings, and I was locked in."

Edmond looked around, and took notice of the spheres sitting out on the table. There were quite a few of them arrayed across the table, small metal objects, humming on their own.

Interesting...but completely unfamiliar to me...

"So did you find those, or are they something of yours? Do you mind telling me what they do?"

Tesla soon in a strange sort of magical disappearance. She had looked as though she were listening to something far away, but that was of no importance now.

Abandoned once again, Edmond decided to invest the time to make a thorough search of the Engine bay, consolidating what he found. There were a wide selection of basic tools, some strewn across the ground, others in rusting cabinets. He brought those into the office that did not house Tesla's projects, and arranged them by type and function. He hesitated a moment, then placed two screwdrivers of different type and size, a set of small pliers, and a small utility knife.

There are others, and seeing as people seem to be disappearing left and right, I might as well be prepared...He seemed satisfied with this justification, and moved on. After he had brought all of the accumulated records that he could find into the Tesla's office--still no real blueprints, just reports--he sat down and waited.

 

Edmond poofs away to Shadowrun

Edited February 3, 2017 by Strider

[Hal Henderics]

Mar wheels in all the tech and most of the metal from the barracks, hoping that our technologically minded friends can make use of them in engineering aspects.

 

Spoiler

4 Tier 1 Level 10 Broken Cannon Blocks: A Cube of machinery which is basically garbage that has a chance of violently launching something off of one of their faces when handled or just imploding or exploding

 

20 Tier 2 Level 20 Small Moonsilver Shrapnel Shards: Shards of Glowing Silver, Synthesized by intense magical and lumal pressure by concentrating magic and a full moon's light onto silicon, this material seems to completely defy gravity, at least at night, it also glows with an earthly light.

 

4 Tier 1 Level 50 Small Robot Arms, taken from a Heartless Producing Factory.

9 Tier 2 Level 4 Orcish Hexagonal Glass Tiles: A six inch thick tile of glass, 1.5 Meters in radius, it is made from sand found in Val Habar's Sandsea.

 

Unknown Level and Tier Metals from the Smithy.

 

Edited May 4, 2017 by Hal Henderics

[DragonRage]

Alexandria returns to the engine room with her small hoard of crafting materials picked up from her adventures.  Perhaps she can upgrade, repair, or replace some of the castle's badly damaged mechanisms...

 

As she enters the room with her load of raw materials and junk, she crosses paths with Mar and his load of raw materials and junk.  "Hello, Mar, was it?" She calls out, "I believe I have a proposition for you.  I intend to upgrade the castle's systems.  They are currently in poor repair, and frankly, were in many cases obsolete by my standards even when new.  However, the castle also lacks the tools and equipment needed to produce everything I want.  Based on my observations of your magic and techniques, I believe you may be able to work around this deficiency."

Edited May 4, 2017 by DragonRage