NationStates Jolt Archive

Archimedes Institute of Research and Technology
Tauron, United Colonies of Kobol.

Six Months ago:

The rain was pouring down hard, as it tapped harshly against the window within the office of Dr. Lang. She stood there, her long white lab coat, peering out at the black and gloomy out doors. Normally she loved this view, her office was on the third floor. When the sun rose she could see it rise gently over the mountains to the east. It was quite breath taking, as it’s rays glimmered off the snowy tops, causing them to sparkle like diamonds.

In the afternoon, the sun began to set over the Green Sea. She loved this time of day more, as the sun caught the rays of the top of the waves. From her vantage point, it looked like tens of thousands of little fairies and sprites were dancing over the water, in euphoric glee. However today, there was nothing but black, and the awful fury of the rain as it hit hard against her window. She could barely see out in the parking lot the trees, as they stood defiant against the howling madness of the wind.

Dr. Lang watched out the window, as she held her hand up to her chin. Moving her index and middle fingers up and down against her thumbs, she lowered her head. “Damn monsoon season.” she cursed the weather outdoors.

Just then, the phone began to ring. Reluctantly, Dr. Lang walked over to the phone.

“Yes, this is Doctor Lang.” she spoke into the phone, as she turned back around to stare out the window.

“You have to be kidding me?” she said as she placed her hand up to her forehead. “They just got the new DITA system. Do you know how long it took our scientist to decipher the equations from the Ta’Nar and the Ascendancy. I am sorry, sir...” then she paused.

The Military always annoyed her. When she started out, as a theoretical physicist, she had dreams of making the world a better place. Making new technologies that would perhaps save lives, or make jumping much easier for the fleets of civilian transports. But since the Third Civil war, and the rule of Cain, she like many others deemed “Useful skill sets” was pressed into the service. She didn’t hold it against the military per say, but their dead lines were always unreasonable.

“Look.” she spoke into the phone. “We are trying our best down here. You just got the Dimensional Intertwined Temporal Armor, for the fleet. Yes sir I understand but I need more money and people. There is no way in hell the new flak will be ready in six months under the circumstances.” she said defiantly into the phone.

“No sir. I do not give a frak if Cain is watching this or not. Let her know if she wants this to be a reality, then she needs to get the brass into action and send me what I need. Yes you heard me, and you can tell her I said it.”

“Have a pleasant evening.” Dr. Lang said as she hung up the phone. “Frakkin Brass.” she cursed as she reached into her drawer and pulled out a bottle of pills. Unscrewing the top, she took two white pills out and a glass of water.

Knock, Knock.

Dr. Lang placed her hands to her temples. “Always something.” she murmered to herself. Looking at the door to her office, she yelled, “Come in.”

The door opened and a man wearing the blue naval uniform of the Colonial Fleet walked in. He was dark skinned, and his head was shaved. His boots were polished, and there was not a single wrinkle in his uniform.

“Here we go.” she thought to herself as the man crisply saluted the Doctor. “Ma’am.”

“A real by the book player.” she thought to herself, as she took in a deep breath. “Yes, what may I do for the fleet today.”

The man walked over and placed a rather large brown leather briefcase down on her desk. Opening up the case, he then pulled out a rather large stack of papers. “Ma’am.” he said again, in a deep voice. “My orders are to present you with these new projects.”

“You have to be kidding me.” she protested. “Every week you send something our way, what is Kobol’s Aeronautical Institute doing these days playing pac-man or donkey kong?” she asked, obviously frustrated.

“Ma’am, what they are doing is classified.” he responded unhumored, nor affected by her protests.

“Of course it is. Tell me Major, what are these new ideas that you want us to do?”

Admiral Cain has just met with Admiral De Bruyn, and with Earth’s cooperation and support, has allied ourselves with a nation known as the Huntarian Alliance.” he began.

Dr. Lang placed her left hand under her chin as she rolled her eyes. “Ok Major, cut to the chase please, I have a lot of important matters to attend to.”

“Well Ma’am, upon looking at the designs for the new Huntarian projects slated for Leonis, Picon’s Admiralty board has decided that the Colonial fleet develop several new technologies.

The Major then reached into the stack and pulled out a folder. It was a standard folder for the Colonies, entitled, “Personal Jump System.”

Reaching across the desk the Doctor took it out and opened the file. Slowly she read the purposal before her. “Are you kidding me?” she asked in protest. “If you want a teleport why not just buy them from the Dornies, or this Alliance of yours?” she asked.

“Because ma’am.” the Major contended, “Picon has deemed such systems as problematic and inefficient.” “To be honest ma’am, Picon wants a personal and weapons deployment system, not a simple transporter. The matter energy equations of currently existing teleporters is quite limited in such instances, as the beams are generally interrupted by the electromagnetic armor of most ships.”

“In short Ma’am, we want you to modify the space fold drive for individual usage.”

The Doctor leaned back in her chair. Gently it creaked as she did. “Do you know the problems with such a request. Space folds are complicated enough, but in order to bring something back to the original point of origin... well that would take a whole new understanding of space fold, one that currently we do not possess. Tell me Major, how many personnel are going to be assigned to this task?”

“Picon has deemed this a top priority ma’am. In two weeks, a class of Colonial exchange students will be graduating from schools across earth. We also have promises from the Huntarian Alliance to send people in to help with the equations , and development of such a system.

Dr. Lang shook her head in disguist. “So I ask for scientist and funding, and Caprica and Picon want to send in a bunch of aliens and under grads. Just great.”

The Major stood up, “You have your assignments ma’am. Have a good day.”

Personal Log of Chief Scientist Amelia Lang, P.H.D
Three months ago.

It was another day of abysmal failure today in the lab. These new under grads, the best and the brightest that Earth had trained, seem to be stuck in the conventional thinking of the matter-energy stream theory of Earth’s technology. Needless to be said it is quite frustrating. You would have thought that the Dornies of all people would train their students to think outside the box.

One of the undergrads seemed to even think that a line of sight space fold would be ideal for re-entry. Idiots, space folds have no line of sight, don’t they understand the basics of point to point without a ray or line. This has been quite a frustrating project, especially with the Admiralty board breathing down my neck. Do they not understand they want something that has never been explored? Then again this is the military we are talking about. Instant gratification is all they seem to desire.

So far the only system we have that seems to be showing any promise is the hybrid system. Space folds to a location is well known, but in order to get it back safely, we have thought to use the Dornie system for retrieval. It is a compromise I know, and one that Picon may not be happy with, but it would allow for the delivery system that they desire, yet when it is all said and done the safe Transport back to the battlestar. I am going to submit my purposal to Fleet Head Quarters tomorrow. If they do not outright reject the idea, then we should begin testing.

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Personal Log of Chief Scientist Amelia Lang, P.H.D
Two Days later.

As expected Picon has rejected the idea. I am not sure if it is due to xenophobia, or a mistrust of their fellow colony, but the purposal was rejected faster than one could airlock a cylon. According to the military analysis, the purposal’s dependance on the energy matter stream even for retrieval was too problematic for any troops that may be stuck behind the lines. However they showed their token praise when it came to the initial delivery.

Sometimes this job is exceptionally frustrating. After the rejection, I contacted a fellow scientist here on the base. He purposed a miniaturized jump drive to be installed in the back packs of the troops, for immediate retrieval. I think that this idea will not pass the board however. The drive would be encumbering to troop movements, and the on board computer that would be needed to jump back would be too fragile, and expensive. That does not include the problem of carrying around a fuel supply for an actual engine.

However there is some merit to it, we might be able to better understand how the effects of such a system would affect a subject in live conditions.

Tomorrow I will submit a request to Tauron’s Civil Guard to begin recruitment for volunteers for the new system when the prototype is ready.

Personal Log of Chief Scientist Amelia Lang, P.H.D
Four Weeks Ago

We have been doing extensive studies recently with the new jump pack. As expected this system is not able to be fielded. The weight of the pack, limits not only the physical endurance of the subject, but also the amount of ammunition and supplies that can be carried.

Using the telium fuel cells that all of our jump drives operate on, the subject’s have complained that their mobility is severely limited. Many object to the fact that they are walking around with a highly explosive container on their backs. One shot, and the explosion could wipe out an brigade of our troops.

However this new field prototype has not been in vain. We have discovered during the course of testing several challenges that need to be over come. Many natural symptoms seem to be deriving from the subjects, most of which can be readily treated.

A) Disorientation. Suddenly being thrusted into a new location, by a double flash of blinding light, seems to cause sudden cornea flashes, along with disorientation, and in some cases nausea. Dr. Robinson, Chief Medical Doctor at the test sight believes that most of these can be overcome with a pressure suit, like that viper and raptor pilots wear, to keep disorientation and nausea from becoming over bearing, as well as the low risk chance of black out.

To solve the problem of temporary blindness, Doctor Henry Robinson, believes that a pressurized helmet like that of our pilots again, with a sun screen, or polarized glass that is retractable would be ideal to prevent this side effect.

Our main construction facility is working on an armored variation of the flight suit. Expected ETA is in two weeks. The suit will be embedded with medical scanners to see the exact toll the P.J.S. takes on the human body, from heart rate and blood pressure to Pressure do to internal organs.

B) We have noticed in the double flash field generated by the P.J.S-01, that when it activates, it carries with it an area effect of two inches over the body. This has been very vexing for the repair crews attempting to repair the holes in the wall and floor. Due to this effect, jumping seems to always be followed by a sonic boom, of air rushing into the area that was previously occupied by space. A few of our under grads have had to receive medical treatment for broken ear drums, and sudden nose bleeds, due to the instant pressure change.

The last challenge we have learned, is that the grunts in the field are not jump experts. They seem to go randomly if at all, as if they do not know the basics of space fold mechanics. Unfortunately one of the marines ended up half inside the wall. A letter of accommodation has been written to his family, concerning his brave sacrifice during a training operation.
The Result being, that we need skilled operators of jump technology in the field or in control of the situation. This will put a further hindrance on the project.

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Flak Screen Breakthrough:

Finally I got some good news today, before I leave for my two week vacation down to the islands.

Dr. Stephen Frankford, P.H.D. has finally had a break through in the new Flak shell. The main problem with that project was not the D.I.T.A mechanism installed, but a problem of power operations. The shell when applied with a small battery was far to weak to be effective in mass.

The other problem came when trying to hook up a generator. Unfortunately getting enough power for the minimum 1% deduction that Picon has called for, needed a power supply bigger than the cannon barrel to fire.

Dr. Stephen Frankford has told me that he got the idea from watching the history channel, of all places. There was a special on some crazy Dornie from way back when, who decided to fly a kite in a thunder storm, and got shocked. Anyway, after he called it electricity and got lightning to hit a key, he was some sort of local hero.

In any event, Dr. Frankford has the hypothesis that we do not need power generators in the shell itself. That if we can create a conduit between the shell itself, and the energy barrage, that can withstand the energy weapons intensity for a few milliseconds that we can use the energy from the beam itself to harness the power of the D.I.T.A. In computer scenarios, it has shown that the shell will only last half a second before being vaporized, but each individual shell decreased the output of the energy beam by 1-1.5%. We will begin testing materials shortly to decipher which would be the best against such blasts.

I have submitted a full review to the board of research on Picon, Caprica and Leonis.

Dr. Vijay Roy
Personal log

I swear....working with these Colonials gives me a sense of thankfulness for the materials I've got back in the Indian Institutes of Technology. Even Tennenbaum wasn't this picky, and she could be a hellion. I've had to work miracles with less here, and the requirements from Picon are astounding given what the Colonials, with their hodgepodge backengineered techbase, have to use.

Doctor Lang seems rather pessimistic about the project. I say it's because her bloody sensibilities don't permit her to realize she's gone about this all wrong. To begin, why the bloody hell would you use Tylium fuel cells!? It's a fucking fire hazard, too heavy to use and not energy efficent. We've perfectly good power cells in Dornalia she can use, if only the bureaucracy in San Diego will release them. We get them those, half our problems will be solved with half the cost.

Also, her pilots are complaining about nausea, and blindness and an inability to use it easily. To begin, this is why our Marines have computers on their jump packs to calculate the distance, direction, and timing and all the fine physics, so your average G.I. doesn't have to. Lang expects your average G.I. to do so, and its astonishing. As for the other two side effects...this has frankly never happened with PN teleporter instruments. Picon can say what it will about our teleporters, but they've never given anyone adverse physical illness. I will have to speak to Lang about what settings she's using.

To my credit, the People's Navy has allowed me to send some Marine Commandos to assist in the usage of jump packs and they've allowed me to bring in materials from back in Kolkata--decent equipment, namely. But my prognosis for the pack experiment is not good, unless Lang is willing to listen to me.

The sun was beginning to set, as it cast it’s reddish orange glow into the room through the large windows that covered Amelia’s office. The frames in the room sparkled as the light hit it, while several statues began to cast their long shadows against the wall.

Amelia could not help but to feel relieved today. It was her last day in the office for two weeks. She would finally have time to do all the things with her son that she had promised him. She was looking forward to laying out on the beach, with the icy cold feeling that came when drinking a pina colida.

A smile gently formed as she thought of it, the warm rays of the sun hitting her, while she got to lay out, worrying about nothing but her son and a good time.

Her son wanted to go fishing. She hated the thought, but luckily now he was old enough to bait his own hooks. She squirmed at the notion of touching those iky worms. The way they feel when the move, inevitably sent a shiver down her spine.

This time though, she had been so busy she eventually consented. She knew it was only a matter of time before he grew up, and would want nothing to do with his mother. Amelia knew she had to make the most of this moment with him. Reaching into her drawer, she pulled out a picture of the two of them and her ex husband. She reached up, and touched her child’s face.

Knock... Knock,

Amelia quickly put the picture back in the drawer, as the sound of someone wanting to speak with her interrupted her self introspection. Closing the drawer, the Doctor, got up from her chair and walked over to the door.

“Oh hello Dr. Roy.” Amelia greeted her colleague, she extended her hand to the doctor. “It is good to see you, please come in.” she said amiably, in unusual high spirits. Recently this project had been a drain on her spirit. The constant pressure from the brass, and the apparent failures of several of the designs had taken it’s toll. She knew that many on the project came to think of her as a cold bitch. But tomorrow she would be away from it all, for two whole weeks.

Gently putting her left hand on Dr. Roy’s shoulder, she then with her right hand directed the good Doctor in. “Would you like something to drink? Tea, Coffee, Soda, water?” she asked.

Then walking over to her desk, she leaned against the oak table. ‘So Vijay, what can I do for you?”

“Oh hello Dr. Roy.” Amelia greeted her colleague, she extended her hand to the doctor. “It is good to see you, please come in.” she said amiably, in unusual high spirits. Recently this project had been a drain on her spirit. The constant pressure from the brass, and the apparent failures of several of the designs had taken it’s toll. She knew that many on the project came to think of her as a cold bitch. But tomorrow she would be away from it all, for two whole weeks.

Gently putting her left hand on Dr. Roy’s shoulder, she then with her right hand directed the good Doctor in. “Would you like something to drink? Tea, Coffee, Soda, water?” she asked.

Then walking over to her desk, she leaned against the oak table. ‘So Vijay, what can I do for you?”

"Just a glass of water, please."

The Indian then sat down and spoke with concern, albeit polite concern. He had learned to keep his cool and his tongue around people like Tennenbaum, but also learned to say enough to get his point across and make his displeasure known. His erudite Anglo-India--er, Caprican accent, as the locals would call it, would only add to that image.

"I was reading the reports from the project. Quite frankly, I hate to say this, but I think we're going about this rather incorrectly. I've got many ideas, but I'll start with this one."

Poking at his PDA, which showed a schematic of the Marine Commando Teleporter Pack, he said, "Now, I appreciate Picon's desire to develop something original, and I appreciate that you're none too keen on Picon's needs either and wish to try your own solutions. But I find that the Tylium fuel cells you propose to use are rather weighty. Too big, and as has been noted, the mother of all fire hazards. In contrast, the Dornalian Packs had a specialized power cell of their own sort that used fusion cells, along with more efficent electronics to more easily use the power generated. I'm proposing that on a practical level, we speak to our colleagues in San Diego and acquire some of these for our uses, so that we can solve the power issue and do so at minimal cost to us and Picon."

Dr. Lang, walked over to a rather large looking bar, in the corner of her office. Unlike her predecessor, she didn’t believe in drinking on the job, and that was easily reflected by her choices in beverages stored in her office. On top of the bar, was a rather large pitcher filled with ice water.

As she poured, she took out a pair of tongs, and grabbed a fresh lemon. Dropping it in the glass, she walked over to the Indian man and handed it to him.

Then she listened to his purposely, of using Dornie power sources. The idea mused her as she listened. What he said was true, the telium took up way too much room, was heavy as hell and could be in the field, the worse idea since the Hindenburg.

She looked at him, as he mentioned being able to avoid the messy bureaucracy of the Dornies, by making a call to some contacts. That idea in itself was worth it’s weight in gold. Since the unification, Earth SSR had been stalling in sharing it’s wealth of knowledge. It caused resentment in many, but here was a chance to get her hands on something of value.

“Dr. Roy.” she said as she leaned back against her desk. “What you say is correct. There are many set backs, and personally I believe the Jump pack idea to be a dead end. The weight alone of the fuel supply, the bulk of the engine, and the hardships of using such a device on the battlefield make it a poor choice for actual field conditions. If you want to try to reconfigure a jump pack with one of your power supplies, I do hope that you feel free to do so.” she said in a pleasant tone.

“Personally, while I am not a supporter of the jump pack, I do believe we have gleamed several key elements from it, especially given the human condition in conjecture with space fold. Especially given the training needed to operate it, assuming the power supply and the engine itself could be minutized for battlefield conditions, the preset rules set up by the Fleet has caused this to be a failure before it began. Really it would not be an issue, if we had a Gracie with our troops, but the puritan laws against Artificial Intelligence seems to prevent such a gift from becoming a reality.

“What other ideas do you have Doctor Roy concerning the project?”

“Personally, while I am not a supporter of the jump pack, I do believe we have gleamed several key elements from it, especially given the human condition in conjecture with space fold. Especially given the training needed to operate it, assuming the power supply and the engine itself could be minutized for battlefield conditions, the preset rules set up by the Fleet has caused this to be a failure before it began. Really it would not be an issue, if we had a Gracie with our troops, but the puritan laws against Artificial Intelligence seems to prevent such a gift from becoming a reality.

“What other ideas do you have Doctor Roy concerning the project?”

Dr. Roy nodded. He looked somewhat surprised that the Colonial was going to propose such a thing--that was going to be his next point and he was expecting an uphill battle. Well, apparently, that wasn't to be.

Thankfully, he sipped his water and said, "I must agree. The only reason that miniaturized teleportation systems are used so much in our Colony is because we aren't limited by those things. The Teleportation Computers in the pack systems themselves are not Artificially Intelligent, but are sophisticated enough to calculate direction, distance, and account for all kinds of phenomena your average soldier would have to spend a lifetime in university learning. There are those who can figure it out themselves, but those personnel are usually geniuses who somehow chose a military career instead of clean, honest laboratory work."

He sighed and muttered, "It's a shame High Command's bureaucratic nature won't even consider the difference."

She nodded as Dr. Roy finished up. “Yes, it seems like everyone is pressed into the service these days, or influenced into a certain career. She said with disdain in her voice. “In any event, those personal computers would be a valuable asset. Do you know of anyway we can either acquire some for testing, or create one here, assuming Earth is going to continue it’s policy of segregation of technologies?” she asked Dr. Roy.

Then she away from him and walked over to her desk. “I have my own idea on how to make it work, but much like the personal jump pack, it has it’s flaws, mostly due to the sheer amount of calculations involved.”

She opened a drawer and pulled out a folder. “Now the way I see it, you Dornies have thought of an excellent idea. No need for packs, just take a person in a location, and disassemble them and reassemble them in another location. Now I would like to take a similar principle, except with the space fold drive. The problem being, that sending something somewhere is easy, but bringing it back without an engine is much more problematic. Even with the equations to reverse the process, it would only appear at the point of initial entry. Meaning if the subject moves more than two inches, some nasty effects can occur, like a missing limb.

My new idea, is to somehow be able to form a miniature space fold, and multiple ones, and be able to send and receive. However at the moment the Quantum physics equations needed, seems to be proving disheartening. It is my hope, that we will have made some progress on such a front before I come back from the islands. Perhaps such a device can aid us in finding the error in the math.

My new idea, is to somehow be able to form a miniature space fold, and multiple ones, and be able to send and receive. However at the moment the Quantum physics equations needed, seems to be proving disheartening. It is my hope, that we will have made some progress on such a front before I come back from the islands. Perhaps such a device can aid us in finding the error in the math.

Figuring out the words, Roy said, "Well, to be honest, we'd still have some kind of instrument on the user to facilitate jumping back and forth. Some kind of pack--if not a backpack, then a fannypack--with the jump mechanism and power cell, attached by a hard line to the battle computer. The present Marine Commando system uses a pack that fits on the small of one's back along with the rest of their gear to facilitate site-site jumps."

Roy nodded and said, "Very well, then. In fact, I had ordered some equipment from my home base in Kolkata on Earth, which includes a computer which has the processing power to calculate such things. It's not one of the portable Battle Computers I mentioned, but it will be a start. And, they're not AI-based whatsoever, which should please the higher-ups."

He then smiled and said, "And, I can put in the order ASAP. If they know it's someone like me who's worked with Dr. Tennenbaum--and her name has lots of clout in the community of New Dornalian Science--they'll get it here quick, those Battle Computers. They definetly have the dedicated prowess to do the numbercrunching we need."

“Hmm...” Amelia said as she reached down and took a sip of your drink. “If that is able to help this project out, I will be very grateful in any assistance you may have to get San Diego to loosen it’s red tape.”

She then gently put the glass down. “Well Dr. Roy, thank you so much for all of your ideas and help but I am beginning to run behind schedule. If you have any more ideas, please write them down for review, or come see me in a couple weeks when I get back.” she said to him.

Standing up, she walked over towards the Doctor, to shake his hand.

“Hmm...” Amelia said as she reached down and took a sip of your drink. “If that is able to help this project out, I will be very grateful in any assistance you may have to get San Diego to loosen it’s red tape.”

She then gently put the glass down. “Well Dr. Roy, thank you so much for all of your ideas and help but I am beginning to run behind schedule. If you have any more ideas, please write them down for review, or come see me in a couple weeks when I get back.” she said to him.

Standing up, she walked over towards the Doctor, to shake his hand.

And sure enough, San Diego was wired for the materials, after Roy shook her hand and left. And within several hours, a small courier shuttle arrived, bearing the markings of the Arsenal Of Freedom Company, requesting permission to land at the facility. When permission was given, the packages were rushed inside, sealed under a tarp.

When presented to Roy, they would be uncovered to reveal two green crates, with yellow lettering.

"Battle Implement, Specialized
XM2.
Restricted to research or Level Six Personnel Only
Warning--Extremely Sensitive. Handle Like Eggs"

Opening the crate, Roy smiled as he witnessed two complete Marine Commando Teleporter Packs and their attached Battle Computers. Roy then said to an assistant, "Get Doctor Lang down here, now."

The rain drizzled down the window of the cab as Amelia and her son, sat in the middle of traffic. The cars were stopped, as the small gray exhaust pipes from the hundreds of cars stuck on the freeway gave the illusion of a fog, on this cold winters night.

Amelia turned to her son, who was just staring out of the window, looking out at the small grove of trees on the side. “Well look on the bright side, this time tomorrow, we will be on the islands, having a great time.” Amelia spoke up, trying to cheer her sixteen year old up.

He had been quiet in the last few weeks since the divorce was finalized. His grades had diminished, and he had been suspended from school, over several fights. Like any good mother she was worried about her son. The beautiful boy, the one that used to sleep on her shoulder as a baby, was seemingly turning into a stranger. It didn’t help that she worked all the time, and she knew it.

“Whatever.” the teenager said as he didn’t even look at his mother.

“You know I am trying here.” she told her son. “I know it has been hard on you.” she said with a hint of sadness and sympathy in her voice. “Can you promise me that you can at least try to have a good time?”

Her son said nothing, as he looked out towards the road. Gently the car began to lurch forward, about an inch, before coming to a stop again. Amelia shook her head. She looked at the other side of the road, how clear it was, how there was absolutely no traffic. “Isn’t this always the case?” she said turning to her son. “When you want to go somewhere you are stuck in traffic, yet turning around and going back is always clear.”

“Mom.” the teenager said as he turned to her. “Look alright. I get it, you are trying to be mom of the year. Well I do not wanna talk about my feelings, or my thoughts. Just leave me alone.”

“Alright.” she told him as she leaned back. Just then her phone began to ring. She looked at it, seeing it was the lab. “Might as well take it, since you aren’t going to talk.”

“Whatever.”

Amelia opened her cell, ‘This is Dr. Lang. Already?” She then paused for a moment as she looked to her son. “Alright I will be right there.”

Her son looked over at her, “Let me guess back to work huh. Guess we aren’t going.”

She shook her head, “You wanna be alone, fine. Cabbie, can you take me to Archimedes Institute of Research and Technology. She looked at her son, you just stay in the cab and go to the air port. I will meet you there when I can. Go and have fun.

The teenager looked at her, as his eyes light up. “No way, you are not serious.”

“Yes I am. Here is some money, I will be there when I can.”

“Mom, you are the coolest.”

As she handed him a few hundred cubits, the cab pulled over and began to drive on the other side of the road, towards the lab.

Fourty five minutes later, Dr. Lang walked in the R&D of the research facility. She was dressed in a brown tank top, with low cut shorts. By her dress it was obvious she was not planning on coming back to the office. “Alright.” she said as she walked in. “Where are they at, and have they helped out at all?” she asked one of the techs.

“Ma’am, they are quite good.” one of the unnamed under grads, who would be on this publication as “Et all” answered. "We have in the last couple of hours been able to correct several forms of the math, and the communication link of the Standard packs have given us a wealth of data as to how they link up with the main computer systems. With this data, we may have a new model within three to five days.”

Dr. Lang nodded. “Sounds good to me. Have the necessary data that we acquire sent to my office as it comes in.”

“Yes. Doctor. Soon we may be able to figure out how to actually project the space fold.” Dr. Lang smiled as she put her hand on the under grads shoulder. “That is good news. Hopefully then we can all take a long deserved vacation.”

Dr. Roy was finding progress moving relatively smoothly. The techs working under him were competent, and the combination of his personal K-23 Research Computer and one of the Battle Computers cannibalized from the Teleporter Packs were quickly working out a sophisticated, coherent series of easily comprehended corrections to the equations Lang's staff had previously made. Spitting out the results on both paper and on screen, the techs were bustling about trying to recover the results and compile them into a coherent, presentable format.

Additionally, Roy himself was busy hashing out plans for a revised Jump Pack/Mechanism with a couple more Colonial techs, and he noticed Lang coming in. Roy greeted Lang with a simple, "Ah, good to see you, Doctor. You came in just in time to see us overcome some obstacles. We were just working on a feasible method that should fall within requirements."

Amelia gently took her hand off the under grad’s shoulder, as she turned to Dr. Roy. “Hello Doctor.” she greeted her Dornie counter part.

“Ah, good to see you, Doctor. You came in just in time to see us overcome some obstacles. We were just working on a feasible method that should fall within requirements.”

Dr. Lang’s face light up with excitement, as she heard the news. Finally after months of trial, and error, months of hardship, and pressure from on high, finally they were nearing the finish line. With a quick nod, she followed Roy to one of the main battle computers.

It didn’t take as long as she thought, as she watched the computer plugging away at the final mathematical calculations. Some of the errors were subtle, good for the space fold of the ships, but with this project, much finer adjustments had to be calculated.

Dr. Lang sat down at one of the desks as she watched the holy grail, that they were long seeking to be uncovered. “That is it.” she said with excitement as she stood up in her chair. That is it.” she yelled out, as she hugged Doctor Roy. As she looked on, she could see, the solution was finally discovered. Reaching down to the console, she hit print. As the printer began to shoot out enough paper to cut down a forest, she knew that finally, it was done.

Taking the papers, she turned to one of the techs. Get this down to the techies, in the lab.

She turned to Doctor Roy, after handing the papers, to the tech to run down to the main lab. “Thank you so much. You made this project go a lot easier.” she said with a warm smile across her face. “I doubt the Admiral’s board will have any complaints about this new model.”

She turned to Doctor Roy, after handing the papers, to the tech to run down to the main lab. “Thank you so much. You made this project go a lot easier.” she said with a warm smile across her face. “I doubt the Admiral’s board will have any complaints about this new model.”

Roy nodded and replied, "I doubt it. This model will meet their expectations handily. If they complain about this now, then I think they'll want a miracle that we scientists can't provide, even with the miracles of the modern age."

He then looked upon the new model with pride. Somewhat less clunky than before, the Portable Jump Suit as Roy was imagining it to be was beginning to take shape in a more managable form, consisting of a powered vest, helmet with visual compensators (consisting of simple things such as polarized lenses and other methods of glare reduction to elaborate electronic correction systems and HUDs), and pads to protect vital areas made of layers of kevlar, ceramics, and Shield Steel as used on the People's Acolytes Nembutsu Suit. Granted, the Marine Commando kit had more flexibility, but this system would use a better method of transport--a portable Jump Drive, like on the Colonial Vessels themselves, which had been praised by Earth's finest as an excellent system.

As this emerged, one of the techs, a Yusuke Hayakawa, looked at the design taking shape and the mech suit that had previously failed. Examining the two, he had an idea. Recalling his previous service in the Hueco Mundo Peacekeeping Effort as a Kurosawa pilot, he knew the value of powered armor. A shame the Colonials, in their technological xenophobia, did not. He decided therefore, to begin sketching ideas for a suit based on his own experiences. He then went to Lang when she finished consulting with Roy and said, "Hello, Doctor Lang. I am Tech Sergeant Hayakawa. May I make a proposal about what to do with one of those prototypes?"

“You Dornies are busy little bees.” Amelia spoke out, as she turned to the Tech Sargent that had approached her. She looked around the room, as the tech’s and the under grads were all patting themselves on the back, and enjoying the sweet taste of success. She turned to the asain man, as he waited for her response.

“Mr...” she paused for a moment as she looked at the name tag on his shirt “Hayakawa.” She put her hand on her hip as she waited to speak. “You know, this is not the military.” she said as she cocked her head slightly to the left. “You are free to make any suggestions you want to. So what is your purposal?” she asked.

Hayakawa giggled nervously, as he handed the good Doctor his rough sketch (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Fallout_3_T-51b_Power_Armor.jpg). Resisting the urge to salute, the Doctor said, "Um, sorry, ma'am. Red Army usually takes better care of its scientists, and I'm used to working with folks that are all in some way military. Anyway.....I was thinking that we can't let those failed prototypes go to waste. After all, those materials have to be good for something, right? And, I noticed that the Colonial Marine Corps is seriously lacking in any highly mobile heavy armor. I mean, who uses tanks?"

He then poked at the armor drawing, and said, "This is my proposal. It's a fusion powered suit that augments the user's strength and speed and protects him with a combination of an energy shield and advanced ballistic protection consisting of ceramics and metal with an electroconductive coating and the occasional tesla coils to protect against energy discharges. It would be electrically or hydraulically powered. It would have an electronic HUD and other systems to monitor system status and assist in targeting. Said strength augmentation would increase a man's ability to lift heavy weapons, providing for better battlefield performance."

Dr. Lang looked down at the purposed set. She stared at the pictures, and although the Sergeant was not the best of artists, especially for concept, his idea was sound. She flipped through the schematics, turning page after page.

As she was done she gently tossed the sketches down on the table, and looked up at the Japanese man. “So let me get this straight.” she started off with, her tone much more businesslike than the happy go lucky woman before. “You want to recycle our failed prototypes, into some sort of cylon style body armor?” she asked him, as she gave him a stern.

Looking down at the purposal though, she could see the merit behind the idea. It would save billions in cubits/credits (depending on the colony) in funds to use the recycled product. The only problem was... there was no order for a power suit. Dr. Lang put her hand to her head, as she looked at the pages again.

“Ok.” she finally said after a long pause. “No one has ordered it yet, but frak it. If we can get this going to, maybe hell they will give us a break, or give us four times the work.” she said with a small wiry smile, hoping it was the first, and not the latter. “Ok.” she said again, as if she was still trying to get herself to agree. “I will contact the Admiral’s board. Lets get the PJ, and a power suit ready for testing. How long do you need to get your purposal going, with the resources we already have, or will you need to order some more?”

Hayakawa then stiffened up, and said, "I would estimate about a week to convert the existing prototype into the model I wish to build. I would require, however, the presence of a team of personnel from the Powered Armor School and parts to bring it up to code. I have a few in mind."

He then began scribbling down a manifest. He could see removing some of the armor and streamlining the shape. Then, he could see the installation of Dornalian power systems and a Dornalian battery. Then, he'd need to put in a Kurosawa battle computer--or more precisely, the Kurosawa OS and the Fire Control Systems on the Kurosawa mated to the Marine Commando computers, which would provide incredible computing power. A Marine Commando they had, but unless Roy was willing to give up his pack, he'd have to express order a new Marine Commando Battle Computer from San Diego. Also, you had the armor plates, the portable shielding.....it was a lot, but then again, nothing a team of gearheads from the Powered Armor School couldn't handle. He created his manifest and said, "Right. I'm gonna order out for these parts. San Diego asks, they can ask me, Tech Sgt. Hayakawa, and General Tenneal. I was one of his best students."

It was a bold purposal, especially given the self imposed time limits on developing such armor, and weapons systems. These Dornies, definitely were busy people, as they seemed to jump to one project to another, instantly, even before the testing of such systems could take place. Were they that confident that the computer models would work? The answer seemed to be yes.

So when Dr. Lang heard all of what the man would need, she nodded in approval. “Alright, it is your ball.” she said as she handed him the project papers. “You got my approval, and I will hold off the review tests for the admiral’s board for two weeks. Take what you need to get it done.” she said effectively giving him a blank check on the idea.

OOC: Quotes from the Wind and the Lion were used.

IC:

Hayakawa promptly wired to San Diego for a request for the equipment. This time, they raised a few eyebrows, but after patching a call through to General Tenneal, the parts were sent. Within 24 hours, a civilian transport, a Toyota K-500 Shuttle, came with a massive load of equipment and the requested team. Hayakawa immediately introduced them to the prototype, leading the leader of the crew, one Lieutenant Pinter, to remark in her Cockney accent, "Bloody hell. You want me to turn this into something good within a week?"

Hayakawa replied to that in a confident voice, "I know we can. We've all worked on Powered Armor before, and we know how to make the a good suit work. After all, Lieutenant, you transformed the ER PPC into a rotary death machine."

Pinter looked at the suit, and said, "But this is different....this is full fuckin' battlesuit. Lemme see your stats." Hayakawa handed him his sketch, and she then said with a sigh, "I can try. But I tell you, this is like building a road in water. And a man once said, 'you can't build a road in the sea,' love."

To that, Hayakawa replied, "And a wise man replied to him, 'We will. We have men that can do anything.' Isn't that what we pride ourselves on?"

The others looked at him with a puzzled look, surprised at his somewhat naive attitude. But, they shrugged and immediately got to work. He began making the necessary computer work with one of the systems techs, and the others began refitting the suit as specified, working all nighters to do so.

Amongst the power armor research team was one Colonial, an older man, who was merely a child back when the cylon was developed. Now in his late Eighties, the old man huffed and puffed as he looked at the damn whipper snappers attempt to build a thing, much like that who destroyed his home, and made his profession much harder.

The man reached up, and took a drag off his smoke. As he breathed in his lungs wheezed with an unearthly sound, as if the toxins was pouring into a wind tunnel. “You know.” Dr. Nero Chess stated as he watched them scurrying about for days on end.

“I see a major problem with your armor.” he spoke up, as he grabbed his cane and hobbled over to the table. “All kinds of fine metals you youngins got here.” the old Aeralonian PHD said to them, “Yup lots of metal. Such a damn fine conductor too. You know, that man, you know the one that shoots lightning out of his ass, what’s his name... Dannie Masaki, that damn man could wipe out a whole contingent of these boys. Yup, our good boys and girls would be fried like chicken in a soul food resturant.”

The man then paused for about three minutes as he over exerted his breath. Catching his breath, he looked at Dr. Roy. “Ya’Know.” he said again, “I might be able to get that Ta’Nar material, they use in the grav platings in the battlestars, that stuff they use to keep the Coredian magic at bay. Might work as a damn good insulator against the Coredian magic for our boys to, with this power pack. Just my reckoning, but it may save some boys ya know.”

Hayakawa and the others looked at the suit. Then they looked at Chess. Then, each other again. The old man had a good proposal. The Force had a tendency to mess with electronic and technologic materials--the average thug on Plasmids who tried to mess with People's Acolytes learned that the hard way. And, Picon might like it better. Still, to edit it now....

Hayakawa immediately said, "Dr. Chess. Get some Ta'Nar Force Inhibition Tech if you can. It might help this win Picon's approval."

The next day.

Lab 24-B

Two men came into the lab, moving a large roll that looked more like a carpet than a metal. It was thin, and hard, but when unrolled it was very light weight. The lab techs began to unroll the metal, and with a pair of scissors began to cut it. It cut nearly as easy as paper, as they interwove the material inside the new power armor. When the suit turned on, the thin and flexible material came to life as well, doing it’s job well. The final stage of the power suit was complete, all that was left was testing, which meant the meeting with Picon, and new Admiral of the Fleet, De Bruyn, for final approval.