(RFC) Untitled SI (Nanoha)

[Black Aeronaut]

Oh, so its more like eidetic memory in how you recal it? In that case I'd have the system put a simple lock on the file - kinda like the mental equivilant of a captcha puzzle. Nothing too tough but just enough that you would have to devote effort into solving. This, I think, would prevent casual recall.

And then I would weaponize that sucker, because nothing screws with an opposing force better than something that is irrevocably in their heads and giving them migranes.

Granted this would probably only work on cyborgs, but it might be ridiculously effective against certain Belkan-made constructs. Ah, but then that is just the little hell-raiser of a chaos bringer in me. ;-)

At any rate, glad to see that we aren't dealing with eldritch horrors here. That'd only be tolerable if Cthuga and Nyaruko were coming to the party. :-D

[robkelk]

You can simulate a Marilyin Monroe sidewalk vent anywhere at all for starters... though it's doubtful your sisters would appreciate that, and depending on the effect of biology vs. mind you might not have all that much interest yourself again for a few years.

Consider how few of the Numbers wear skirts in StrikerS... there has to be a reason for that.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bluemage]

CD:  That's an outrageous idea!  I'd never do such a thing!
...besides, none of them wear skirts anyway.  Canonically, Uno was the only one permitted to wear something other than that blue bodysuit.
BA:  You're thinking of the memory augmentation system as a computer in its own right.  Think of it more like a hard drive- or, more accurately, like the physical storage in a hard drive.  It can only do what its drivers and file system let it do, and both of those are my own mind.  To have more control over my memories than 'remember more/remember less/forget', I'd have to restructure my own mind.  That's not something I'd let the doctor do, assuming he could do it without just replacing me with somebody else.  That's not something I'd trust myself to do- I'd end up a vegetable, or worse.
Incidentally, that's part of why I can't just skillsoft everything.  The other Numbers' minds were created to his specifications, more or less.  They were designed to interface with their bodies (and the Doc's other systems) in a way mine wasn't, on account of growing up a normal human.  The 'softs I did get only worked because he applied them when I was running on his computer system.  Even then, they didn't work as designed.
Now, having Malleus broadcast images of it (unidirectionally, so I don't see it) would be possible, and neatly prevent me from ever remembering what the thing looked like.  It just wouldn't be all that effective, on account of the effects of Al-Hazardian WTFtech being slower and more cumulative than that (consider that the doctor spent who knows how long working on it before he broke with the TSAB).  One of their more complex creations might do the trick, but good luck finding one and verifying that without looking at it.
**********
Entry 36 (Day 441)
I am SO VERY GLAD I took all of those scans.
A bit over a week ago, I went to see the Doctor.  Turns out my IS is a reverse-engineered copy of an anti-gravity device from ancient (and highly forbidden, and highly DANGEROUS) Al-Hazard.
The good news is that it seems to be stable, at least partially functional, and not particularly likely to explode, implode, grow into a squamous, eldritch horror, fracture dimensional space, decide to imitate a microwave, fill my room with burning marshmallow, and/or drive me insane.
The bad news is that it's only partially functional.  Somehow, its power system tied itself into my linker core instead of into the actual grav engine.  Without power, the actual engine died (and from how Scaglietti talks about it, I think he means that literally), so now my IS just gives me random bursts of gravity-elemental mana.  It can't be repaired, either.
From what I gather, the IS I was supposed to have would've been utterly broken.  Instinctive control over gravity, without having to crunch numbers or use a Device?  Screw magic- I'd just use that for everything!
[TRULY?]
[It was an exaggeration, Malleus.  You'd still be useful, even then.]
As it is, the doctor is working on fixing what I've got.  We figure it should be possible to smooth out the mana flow, increase its max output, and give me control over how much I get and when I get it.  We do that, and I've got a whole category of personal magic I can work with.
While I wait, I've been back at spell creation.  Using the mana signature I found, I've mathed out the equivalent of 'if this mana tests as grav-elemental, then use it to fuel this aspect of the spell', and added it to a version of Magic Missile for testing... along with a new bit of flash.  If all goes as planned, I'll have a spell that does what I tell it to, if not how much. 
I've also got some testing cantrips developed- things I'll try out once I have a stable grav-mana supply.  The relationship between gravity and space-time manipulation is, as proven by my DT spell, strong enough to investigate.  If I can develop the effects I'm thinking of, well...
Let's just say it might be enough to put me on Ace level.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[classicdrogn]

You know, a spell that filled a volume with marshmallow fluff would be kind of like those foam dispenser restraints, only funnier. Once you get your G-mana under control eough for superfast apportation you should totally set up a big tank of it and a spell to grab some and dump it on the target for a hilarious nonlethal takedown.

The same spell would be a really useful utility effect if you could set the apportation target on the fly, too - you'd never need to tote stuff around again, just make sure to have it in a known location before you leave, and if someone is hassling you, just viip them over to the pond in a park on the other side of the city. With that sound effect, too.

In that topic, you need either a comedic nonlethal or a super-blast that goes "fooWEEET!" so you can have a shirt that reads "Warning: Haters will be fooweeted." The one you can demonstrate to relieve stress, the other you can make people wonder until the Big Bad shows up, and then they'll be like "Whoooa, is that a fooweeting? Yeah, I'll just be... over here... reflecting on my deeds..."

(Or both, like how Lina throws around Dragon SLaves that leave things blackened and scattered but don't hurt anyone. Admittedly, that's more often a fireball, and she might well just be SAYING "Dragon Slave" without the chaos words and silently casting a low-level fireball... but you get the point.)

The apportation would also be useful for sudden anvils from the sky, for that matter. You've got to respect a guy who has a close ppersonal relationship with the Anvil Fairy.

(yes, I am feeling a bit silly today. It happes sometimes! Haters will be fooweeted.)
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

I wish I could do teleportation.  That'd be a weapon worth having.  Unfortunately, the sort of translocation I'll be able to do is more like Macross spacefolding than Nightcrawler's bamfing or even Star Trek transporters.  It's not something even I could casually do, even by StrikerS- the calculations required make it impractical for combat.
You did give me an idea, though, and it'll be rather amusing.
**********
Entry 38 (Day 547)
By Thor, it feels good to move again!  It's been too long!
So asking the doctor if I could remain conscious in the jar was another stroke of brilliant idiocy.  On the one hand, I got about fourteen weeks more of mental uptime than I otherwise would've- plenty of time to digest a couple dozen more texts, mentally math out a handful of additional spells, and come up with a massive pile of new ideas to work on.
The bad news is that I had to lock myself out of voluntary muscle control for most of it, so that I didn't disturb the operations the doctor was doing.  Yes, 'operations'.  Being the sensible madman he (sometimes) is, Scaglietti took the opportunity to do a bit of additional work on my chassis.  I've looked over the change log, and it's pretty good stuff.
The night I got into the jar, the doctor amputated the dead grav engine.  The next morning, he inserted the mana regulator I needed, along with a framework similar to the ones used to grow replacement organs.  According to the procedure notes I've been reviewing, the framework was there to give the mana converter the resources and structure it needed to expand... and also to make sure it didn't just grow to fit my entire torso.
It's happened before.  I've seen the video.  Subject 18 took weeks to die... and then the bastard did the same thing to Subject 19, apparently to 'ensure the accuracy of his results'.
Within three weeks, the converter had grown to fit the available space.  The next three months in the jar were just to keep me from trying to use it early.  Apparently, if I'd tried to activate it before the internals had matured enough, it would fry itself from the inside.
(Subjects 27-31, by the way.  Four perforated digestive systems and one spontaneous cyborg combustion.  He never did figure out why the rest of her caught on fire, either.)
Anyway, since I was already in the tube, Scaglietti took the time to update me to a nine-year-old form.  I've gained a couple of inches in height, and a bit more muscle mass.  That took a good bit of my jar time to get done, apparently, so the other big change was more of a firmware thing than a gross physical alteration.
So my original design was basically taken wholesale from Jail's 'Numbers XIII-XXIV' plan folder.  The Number that might've happened would've been a dangerous melee combatant, able to fly in fast with her gravity manipulation IS, add about four gees to everything in the area, and then just deliver a few coups de grace while her hypothetical opponents were unable to move.  Since she might not be able to exclude herself from the high-G field, this future Number was designed to be able to stand and move normally in five times normal Mid gravity.
The downside to that (and this, I gather, is why she wasn't one of the original twelve) is that muscles designed to lift and hold heavy loads aren't muscles meant for quick bursts of movement.  Simulations showed that any design that could stand in 5G would have the reflexes, speed, and punching power of an decently-trained human- leagues less than the sort of performance the other cyborgs could produce.
I can personally attest to the accuracy of those sims.
Anyway, the last modification Scaglietti made while I was in the tube was to convert a few extra percentage points of my muscles to a fast-twitch model.  I've lost about .2G of maximum grav tolerance, but the gains in speed were well worth it, I think.
More later.  For now, I need to shake the rust off my CQB skills, and get Malleus some of my new spells to sim over.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[classicdrogn]

I've lost about .2G of maximum grav tolerance, but the gains in speed were well worth it, I think.

You say this now, but just wait until you land in a harder sci-fi setting where the ships have minimal or no inertial compensation... Although, the fact you'll probably be able to magic something up to handle that on your own with g-mana would probably more than make up for that. I'm picturing you in Honorverse now, adding a couple dozen Gs max accel to one of the ships at a critical juncture, and it's a pretty kickass vision. You could help quite a bit in the second half of the prison planet sequence without actually stealing the show from Honor herself, given this and what's already been discussed with your gravity powers. Of course, gravity detection is a standard sensor technology there, so they'd be readily able to track any time you used it, and I kind of doubt even Mr. A-or-nuthin' would be able to shield against starship-grade weaponry that moves at lightspeed or a significant fraction thereof.

Sustained, relatively normal performance at 4.8g is nothing to sneeze at though, and you probably could still pull off the intended tricks via relatively simple g-mana spellwork, given that the "sit, boy" effect happens automatically when a targeted spell hits.

Also, entire months of no physical concerns, to read and advance your projects via wetware sims and thinkin'? I'm so jealous.

On previous numbers, well, Juunana-go was always kind of an ass but you killed Jinzouningen Juuhachi-go too! Grrr. IOW, I see what you did there.

So has Sette been decanted while you were in for maintenance, or are you in time for the second little sister's birthday? (Unless Quattro was finished first this time around.)
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

Helping a ship do inertial compensation?  I might be able to add single-digit gees, depending on the size of the ship, and the length of the trip.  On anything even approaching ship-of-the-wall size, I'd burn myself out before you saw a change.
I'd actually fare better as a weapon.  Hayate's canonically capable of nuclear-level destructive power, and I'm not far behind her.  Either of us could probably focus it enough to match an X-ray missile or light starship beam weapon in power- nothing world-shattering, but if done in the right place at the right time...
Defense is a bit more varied.  Any beam weapon above pinnace or MAYBE light frigate could LOLno any shield I put up through sheer power alone.  Missiles would be useless, though- I could just grav them off trajectory before they went off, and let their own thrust carry them away.  I could probably make a ship's grav signature less visible, or mess with enemy sensors.
Where I'd really be deadly would be missile signatures.  Imagine creeping into missile range of a fleet on inertia, firing a spread of missiles (with me blunting their wedges so the enemy sensors won't pick them up), then raising the wedge and running to hyper after the fleet got torn apart.
...I called them Subjects, not Artificial Humans.  Subject 17 was Desmond.
Also, on the subject of numbers, Sein came after Cinque.  Sette was one of the last set- a year before StrikerS, if memory serves.
**********

[Magic Missile.  Six missiles, single salvo.]
[CASTING.]
The missiles flashed out across the containment room towards the target at the other end.  Two of them flew past it; the remaining four exploded, taking chunks out of the man-sized block of rock.
I flicked that familiar 'mental switch', feeling my body kick it up a notch.  [Again!]
Malleus responded, as expected.  [CASTING.]
This time, I was getting the full benefit of having cameras for eyes.  Five of the six missiles hit solidly- the sixth just clipped the side of the target.  What was left of the stone block wasn't looking too good.
I lifted my left arm- having been casting with my right before- and gave my first verbal command of the session.  "Malleus- Double Cannon, Second Form."
"DOPPELARMKANONE, ZWEITENFORM!"
In a flash of blue light, a second arm cannon appeared on my left arm.  It was already in Mal's second form (the elongated, armored form meant for basic shooting and CQB), so all I had to do was hold both arms out, give the command, and start doing math.
[Malleus, Double Magic Missile.  Variant Test-01 on Mal-1, and Variant Test-02 on Mal-02, delayed 0.5 seconds.]
[ORDERS PROCESSED.  CASTING.]
At that point, casting one spell with Device assistance was basically automatic.  All I had to do was remember the equations for it, and my mathematical subprocessor would do the rest.
Casting two spells at once was an entirely different experience.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[classicdrogn]

I believe I mentioned practicing your multi-tasking a while back. Have you been doing your homework, young man?

Huh, long batch time on even Numbers, I guess - I thought it was just Quattro who popped out late.

Hmm... how about magicking up a Warshawski sail for a ship stranded in one of those hyperspace currents with busted up Alpha nodes? Even if it was only at 1% of a normal ship's drive, that's 100% more chance of not being stranded until the air runs out. From what I understand of Honorverse physics, the issue there is balancing the energy drawn out of the gravity wave with how much the sail uses to pull the ship, so it would most certainly be an experience like drinking from a fire hose but with your core's level of durability it could be a possibility.

Or just providing single digits of inertial compensation on a ship that's lost its mechanical one - though admittedly I'm thinking of a pinnace or dispatch boat here, a light cruiser at most, not a ship of the line.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

Teacher, Teacher, I didn't have time!  I had all sorts of other homework to do! ^^
Nope.  The order is hella screwy.  1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 4, 10, 9, 11, 7/8/12 (all at once, a year before StrikerS).  I was after Tre, but well before Cinque- 3.14th?
Not sure.  Sails are hundreds of km^2 in area- not sure I could manage that much gravity strength over that large an area, for long enough to make a trip.  I might be capable of force-harmonizing nodes that were knocked out of tune, but not acting in place of one.
Compensation for a light craft?  Not easy, but doable.
**********
The subprocessor couldn't quite manage my portions of both of them at once.  I could feel it alternating threads, trying to handle two tasks with one core... only for both of them to suffer for it.  If a properly cast spell sounds like a jet engine spinning up, the result I was getting sounded like two jet engines, only one of them was winding down at any given time, the other was spinning up too slowly, and which was which alternated a few times a second.
I finally had to step in, mentally speaking, and consciously start solving some of the calculations.  Once I did that, the spells spun up as normal, six missiles formed in front of each of my arms, and I smiled.  [Fire!]
[BEGINNING FIRING SEQUENCE], Malleus responded.  Six missiles were let loose, followed a tenth of a second later by the other six.  Now that I wasn't busy calculating, I zoomed in on the target to watch the results.
Five of the first six shots hit the rather beat-up chunk of rock, energetically blasting it to bits.  The next volley came in, hitting the chunks of rock in midair.  Like before, the mana they carried splashed out, spreading across the rubble in mid-air, before forcing it to the ground at high speed.  The larger chunks pulverized themselves against the ground, leaving nothing but a pile of gravel.
I couldn't help but grin at the sight.  It worked.  The mana regulator really worked!

Entry 39 (Day 550)
The mana regulator works, and I've proven it.
The test I set up had me casting two spells, both variants of Magic Missile, with only a slight time offset.  I'd designed these variants to conclusively test my ability to control how much grav-element mana I was using at any given time.
MM Test-01 was designed to test the presence of grav-elemental mana in my system.  It was designed to use unaligned mana to propel the spell if and only if it couldn't detect any grav-aligned mana to use instead.  If the spell acted like a normal Magic Missile, then I'd managed to pull pure unaligned mana.  If it fell straight down and exploded, I hadn't.
...now that I think about it, I really should've used flash as proof.  Would've been safer.
MM Test-02, on the other hand, was designed to abort if it didn't get a sufficiently high proportion of grav-element mana, and to fall to the ground if it went over the proper percentage.  The golden range for the spell was 40%-42% gravity-elemental mana, 60%-58% unaligned.
Casting them both nearly simultaneously required me to start with pure unaligned mana, link one spell, and then adjust the ratio, accurately and on the fly, before linking the second.  It worked perfectly.  Somewhere, there's a pile of gravel that, if it were able to speak, would testify to that- possibly in between moaning in pain and threatening my life.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some ideas to test out.  Today's a good day for SCIENCE!

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[classicdrogn]

(mad laughter, which continues for some time)

So you made a neat gun, now there's SCIENCE! to be done?

Name suggestion for the spell variant used second: Setter Missile. If you can alter the plain orbs to look like a dog or dog's head (specifically, an Irish Setter, of course) even better.

If you can do tactile illusions with neutral mana, consider a spell that leverages The Menace of Doggie-Tongue for the trololo spellbook - a big, squishy sheet of (preferably pink) force that sweeps over the target from foot to head, pushing them back if not off balance entirely and covering them in thin, runny, faintly sticky, warm goop for a few seconds before the effect dissipates, possibly to be called Setter Kissile.

Maybe I just have names mixed up? I thought Sette was 6 and Sein, 7, which matches the order you list above. It would honestly be a bigger surprise if I didn't, though. I am absolutely useless at remembering names.

Late thoughts: I'm kinda sad that there was no cute/scary Cinque scene after pulling her, the combat specialist, out first on that Relic retrieval mission. Also, it wasn't until I read the posts on SB that I remembered the drones involved in the battle that led to Ford being found also used golden, phaser-like energy bolts.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Proginoskes]

"Sette" is Italian for "seven". The Italian for "six" is "sei", no 'n', but the relationship is obvious.

[Bluemage]

Sorry about the lack of post yesterday.  I took Monday off work for an M$ certification.  I write on days I work, and post on days I write.
...I actually had to retcon in the description of that, but the two events are related.
Also, I'm going to have to re-number things in the SB edit.  This double numbering is getting nuts.
Also, this entry goes between thread post #209 and #211.  You're welcome, CD.
**********
"Imma.  May I have a moment?"
I suppose I should've seen this coming.  I turned around to see Cinque standing there, regarding me levelly.  "Sure."
After an awkwardly quiet moment, she finally caught the hint.  "Alone, please."
We relocated to an empty room in silence.  As soon as the door closed, Cinque was in front of me, giving me a rather odd look- half glare and half calculating evaluation.
"I believe you owe me an explanation, brother."
Well, she doesn't look furious.  I can probably get out of this without too much violence.  "I assume you're talking about the mission?"
Cinque nodded.  "I am.  Why did you have me removed from the combat area?"
I'd best explain everything in one go.  Cinque'd probably accept a complete argument easiest.  "Well, to understand why I did what I did, you should first understand the situation as I saw it.  I went into the mission with three objectives-"
Cinque cut me off.  "Three?  We only had one objective."
I snorted at that.  "We were only given one objective.  I already had two more of my own- keep you and Tre safe, and try to avoid killing any other humans.  Now, let me explain.
Because of my objectives, I had four entities to worry about protecting- the Relic, myself, and the two of you.  Between my own transfer magic and the lab's transport system, we had two forms of extraction available to us- but I was the only one aware of that, so I had to make a decision.
The simplest approach would be for the two of us to go to Tre, break her out, retreat to the extraction point, and have Uno beam us all back.  Having you along would've made this safer-" -Cinque nodded at this, feeling vindicated- "-but it would've left the Relic, and the rest of us, in a combat zone for maybe twice as long."
She thought about this for a bit, rubbing her chin with one hand.  "I see your point.  Why not send the Relic back on its own, though?"
I smiled.  Exactly as planned.  "Because that wouldn't have worked.  If I had the Relic beamed out, that would've left me trying to transfer three of us back on my own.  I've got the power to do that, but I don't have the experience- and the difficulty of the spell goes up fairly steeply every time you add another person.  One is easy.  Two is doable.  Three?  I can't manage it yet."
...why is she looking so confused?  "Couldn't you have sent the Relic back yourself, and had Uno bring the rest of us back together?"WHAT.  I didn't think of that.  Why didn't I think of that?!
My poker face must've failed me, because Cinque smiled and patted my shoulder.  "This is why you have a family, Imma.  You can't take care of everything yourself."  She poked me in the forehead -stupid Blue, not paying attention outside combat!- before pulling me into a hug.  "Next time, talk with your sisters.  We can take care of ourselves, you know- and we might be able to help take care of you."  I just nodded, hugging her back- too busy enjoying the affection to say anything else.
So this is what it's like to have siblings.  It's better than I'd expected.On her way out the door, Cinque stopped.  "Oh, and Imma?"
When I'd looked up at her, she smirked.  "Report to containment room B at 0800 every day.  I believe you could use some additional combat practice."I take it back.  It's worse than I'd expected.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[Proginoskes]

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

... something is brainjacking him from its lair in Angles Estrangelos. (...)

I read this phrase, and I can't help but think of Hexadecimal and her lair in the twisted ruin known as Lost Angles...

[classicdrogn]

Whee! Scary cute Cinque is cute but scary. I have nothing to complain about here. Cinque letting her usual aloofness lapse to be the first of the Numbers to definitively show familial affection is also a nice touch - she's not the type for big casual emotional displays (and the Doctor doesn't care as long as you perform to specifications so it's quite unlikely any further orders along those lines have been issued) so you know she really means it.

Proginokes: ...and that would be bad. Very bad.

(Having looked things up later, "Etrangier" is probably closer, but is French. At least it's actually a word for "strange;" "estrangelo" is some other thing I've already forgotten. It doesn't sound as much like a twisted "Los Angeles" though.)
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

Eh.  Cinque's always been the sort to care about her family.  Right now, I'm on the list, and remember- I started it.  Her introduction to me was a hug, after all.
Tre remembers me as Ford.  Cinque has always known me as Imma.  She might intellectually know I wasn't born a Number, but she's never seen it, and that can make a difference.
Spot on, as far as the doctor's reasoning is concerned... with one exception.  If I see myself as part of the family, wouldn't my rightful place be by his side?  Remember how he reacted to Fate, after all.
**********

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice."Did we really have a choice, Uno?  Less pleasantry more explainy, please.
I'd been in the middle of a rather tricky bit of spellcraft when the call came in- Uno, requiring my presence in the 'briefing room' immediately.  As I ran down the halls, I came across Tre and Cinque, both of which had gotten the same message, and compared notes.
"Approximately ten minutes ago, we received a distress call from our agent on P3J-992.  Her presence was detected, and she requires an immediate extraction."
We have agents?
Uno called up a holographic model of a fairly mean-looking base compound.  It was of a fairly standard bastion style; a round outer wall, covered in turrets and guard posts, around a rather drab set of industrial-looking buildings.  A fortified bastion, encased in its own armed wall, had been placed in the center of the base.  The overall effect reminded me of the castles of old, with a dash of Skull Fortress for flavor.
Uno pointed at a spot in the central fortress.  The model obliged her, magnifying the fortress, splitting the model into individual floors, and putting a blinking red dot at the spot in question.  "Her last known location, as of communications being lost, was here."  We all took a few seconds to look over all the floors, locking the general (predicted) layout into memory for the op.
Once that was done, Uno let the model go back to normal.  "Though this is a fairly large Syndicate base, earlier reports suggest that mage presence will be limited.  M-Drones will make up the majority of the defending force."  As she said this, images of the drones in question appeared.  One type looked like little more than a red crystal (not unlike a Relic, actually) with a machine wrapped around one end of it, and a band of futuristic RCS packs around the middle.  The other looked like a cross between a battledroid from Star Wars (humanoid, but inhumanly thin and spindly) and a Battlemech (flat armored surfaces, a visor reminiscent of a 'mech cocokpit, cannons instead of arms).
So this 'Syndicate' is responsible for those machines I saw the Enforcer fighting.  Huh.  That makes sense.  Wonder if we're opposed to them, or if they have dealings with the doctor?"One of the purposes of the facility is production of the Type I, so expect to see it in large numbers.  Type II numbers are unconfirmed, though our agent has confirmed their presence."  The drone images shrank, reemphasizing the model.  "You have two objectives; meet up with the infiltrator, and escort her back to the extraction point."
She paused; I took this opportunity to interject.  "Are there any restrictions on how we accomplish the mission?"
Uno blinked.  "Restrictions?  Such as?"
I coughed a bit, and held up Malleus.  "Massive property damage, for one."
She thought about that for a second.  "The Doctor isn't particularly fond of the Syndicate... I doubt he'd mind.  As for other restrictions... let me check."  She opened a comm window; as it rezzed in, I saw a haze appear in the air around her face and the window.  From that point on, I couldn't make out a bit of what was being said on either end.  Never seen that before.  Must be a secure call.  Wonder why she had to hide that from the three of us?
The window and the haze vanished, and Uno turned her attention back to the three of us.  "So long as the objective is returned undamaged, the Doctor does not care how much damage is done.  You can flatten the entire facility, if you so choose.
As far as other restrictions, you are not to perform dimensional transfers directly between the target area and this facility.  I've been instructed to give you a set of coordinates for known empty worlds; if you perform your own dimensional transfer, use at least two of these worlds as intermediary stops.
Is that understood?"  I nodded, smiling.
Uno smiled back, just a little.  "Then get to the transfer room.  Good luck."

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[classicdrogn]

Always good to have a few extra waypoints for obfuscation purposes, and with Imma's ability to do extra-fast transfers using g-mana he has an edge in leaving again before an opponent can follow to track the next leg of the trip.

It'll be interesting to see your OC opponents at last - and for that matter, just what Jail has for "agents" aside from the Numbers. Obviously, he had to have some kind of support structure to have gotten set up with a huge secret base and the equipment/supplies to fill it and do his work, but as far as I know it was entirely ignored in canon.

If this was the same group as were running the camp you nabbed that Relic from earlier (which the golden phaser-bolts does suggest, unless they tried to raid it at the same time) there may be more goodies to appropriate if you don't get too smash-happy. Worth checking before pulling the pin on the Imma-grenade, at least...
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

Incidentally, I'm not answering OOC in the SB thread.  I'd prefer this thread not be discussed directly over there, please.
CD:  I think you'll like what I've got written this week, then.  There's discussion of how Sadistic Science, Inc. stays afloat, in a character-building way.
As for who's doing what, the other camp was an independent expedition, which we raided.  They raided it shortly after, and ran into Tre and Cinque.  That worked out REAL WELL for them.
There's probably some useful data in there, yes.  Probably nothing really irreplacable- this is a mook factory with added base of operations, more than anything else.  That said, I'm the team member least suited to going in and getting it.  Grenade is my lowest setting.  I usually start at tank, and go up to airstrike.
**********
The outer wall was more imposing than I'd expected.  It was at least five times Tre's height if it was an inch, the top of it lined with turrets of various sizes.  None of them were active at the moment, judging by the lack of active fire control, patrolling guards in the area, and lack of weapons tracking towards us.
[Malleus, Argus Eyes.  Sixteen eyes, in grid formation around the outer ring.]
[ARGUS EYES]
With the standard double chime, sixteen balls of blue energy appeared around me at head level.  All of them silently flew off into the compound, spreading out at a rapid pace.
Cinque gave me a look.  "What are you doing?
[ARGUS NETWORK ESTABLISHED]
I grinned.  "New spell I cooked up.  Should give us an idea where everybody is before we go in."
[Passive search for linker cores in the outer ring.  Establish positions.]
[SEARCHING...]
Each Eye, a modified Area Search construct, began to 'listen' for the background emanations put out by linker cores.
[COLLATING...]
Cinque nodded.  "We should hurry.  Our target could be in immediate danger."
Once each Eye had collected a list of contacts and directions, those lists were sent to Malleus, which sorted through them, creating a unified list.  Whenever it looked like two or more Eyes had detected the same core, he used their combined data to triangulate a more exact position, and passed the revised data on to me.
[ARGUS EYE MAGE IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE.  FIFTEEN PROBABLE CONTACTS FOUND.  SWITCHING NETWORK TO TRACKING MODE.]
I saw her start to move towards the wall, and held up a hand to stop her.  "Just give me a few more seconds, please.  It's almost ready."
[Initialize AR overlay.  Display locations and distances for all living beings.  Allies purple, enemies red.]
[DONE]
Dots appeared in my vision, superimposed over the (fairly scenic) view of the fortress I had from the extraction point.  Most of the dots were in the inner fortress; there were two on the far side of the outer wall, and a third off in the inner ring to the right, but that was it.  The outer ring was essentially depopulated.
...of course, the dots were all gray.  Took me a second to realize why.  When I did, I smacked myself upside my head.  Mal doesn't know which dots are enemies, and which one's our objective!  Why didn't I catch that sooner?!
[Can we set Tre and Cinque up with this information?]

[Then do it.  I want them kept informed.]
Cinque blinked, then began scanning back over the compound, a small grin tugging at one side of her face.  "I'm impressed.  This is actually quite useful.  Does it update in real time?"
I smirked, shifting the Malleus on my right arm to second form.  "Sure does.  IFF isn't automatic, though, so let me know when you ID contacts.  I'll add them to the overlay."  As I talked, I was thinking my way through a second spell.
[Record audio profile for the following spell, and link to Project Mosquito.]
"For now, I'm going to clear you a path.  Arcane Bolt."
In front of Mal's outstretched barrel, a large blue circle spun into place with the usual double chime.  A blue ball of mana swirled into coherence in front of it, whirling rapidly as it charged up, the jet-engine noise making my intent fairly clear.
[Malleus, target the base of the outer wall.  Sustained blast, traversing upward to target the base of the inner wall by the end.]
[FIRING SOLUTION CALCULATED.  READY.]
"Wizard Shoot."
"ABFEUERN."
With the sound of a single, drawn-out explosion, a torrent of blue light burst from the ball of mana.  The outer wall held up initially, cracking and crumpling slowly, but eventually collapsed under the force of the spell, letting the remainder past into the compound.  The buildings there weren't nearly so tough; they just sort of exploded as the blasts touched them.  When the mana I'd collected ran out, I lowered my arm slowly, zooming in on the area downrange.[i]Hole in the wall... check.  Trench gouged all the way to the fortress... check.  Hole in the second wall... no check.  It's damaged, but not broken.  Maybe I can play that off?
I bowed to Tre and Cinque, sweeping one arm (with Mal retracted, so I didn't hit anybody) in a dramatic gesture towards the hole in the wall below.  "Your path awaits, my ladies.  Would you like me to get the door?"
Cinque snorted, while Tre just shook her head slightly.  Both of them kept a straight face the whole time.  Bah.  Everybody's a critic.  I did see Cinque zoom in, staring through the hole; after a good look, she nodded.  "I can finish what Imma started.  We should go."
Tre considered this for a few seconds.  "Imma, distract the defenders.  Draw as much attention as you can.  We'll go in and retrieve the spy."
A chance to try out those new spells I mathed out?  This couldn't have worked out any better.  "Gladly."  All three of us slid down the side of the hill, towards the hole in the wall.  Tre and Cinque ran through, continuing on towards the inner wall.  I strolled through the hole, stretching nonchalantly.  Pity I never learned to whistle- it'd be perfect for the occasion.[/i]

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[Tennie]

While reading this, a rather bizarre idea struck my mind:

I think that you ought to ask Jail to equip you with a sound-based ability/weapon so that you can blast opponents with soundwaves.  Imagine if you had something akin to things like, say, the Dubstep Gun from the Saint's Row games, and what you could do with it...

[classicdrogn]

Eh, he could probably do something like that himself - magic, y'know? Though there's plenty of horrible puns to be had along the lines of combining "Drop the bass!" with his "Sit, boy" effect.

The spell you did use here... I'm reminded of Bahamut's super in FFX, with the traverse from Valefor's more powerful alternate one. Of course, there's lots of instances of someone using a super-beam like a fire hose, but the turbine thing made it spring to mind, with how Bahamut's wheely-thing goesnuts with the spinning as it charges.

And no auto-IFF? how slack of you, Imma! Obviously you need to put more effort into your divination studies. It's the most powerful school of magic, after all... though even you might have trouble with generating enough power to make a warp across time to poke a magical sensor through and observe the past or the future the brute force way (since subtlety is right out) there's all of the present to explore.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

If I had any dubstep to work off of, I could conceivably play said dubstep at loud volumes.  Not only am I all out of dubstep, but I have no desire to listen to it, no ability to make it deal damage, and no desire or ability to beg for new and different abilities.  Also, that's the sort of thing best done as a oneshot troll move, and the benefit isn't worth the cost.
You may have noticed that the only time I've gone back to JS is for fixing my broken IS?  There's a good reason for that, and that is that the man's a creepy sadistic psychopath mad scientist.  Not touching that more than I have to.
CD:  If I know the person, it'll auto-IFF them.  If I don't, how can I know them from anybody else?  Divination is a Rare Skill in this 'verse, and I don't have it.
As for the attack spell, Arcane Bolt is a literal beam attack, built to use raw magical force to disintegrate matter.  I'm being fairly specific about that for a reason, which has always bugged me when watching the anime.
Incidentally, I'm putting some effort into making both my spells and my combat style plausibly barely functional.  I'm very much new to spellcrafting and combat, and I want that to show.  Too much?  Not enough?  Wrong approach?
**********
By the time I'd made it through the hole, my allies were almost to the inner wall.  From where I was, I could see specks of light- M-Drones, taking off from their hangars across the facility.  Now, now, now.  Nonna that.
[Double Shooting Form.]
[DEPLOYING]
Both the Mallei on my wrists elongated to their second forms.  [Mark the drone launch sites with red dots.]  The dots appeared, and I stretched my arms out, pointing them as directly at the launch sites as possible.  [Double Magic Missile, Full Fire!  Shot Blast at D minus 10 meters!]
Two identical chimes, so synchronized they sounded like a single sound, rang out.  In front of each arm appeared a circle; in front of those came 32 balls each of blue magic.  At my cry of "Fire!", the two volleys shot out, blowing holes in the buildings closest to me... and more balls of magic came into being in front of my two magic circles, shooting off along the same path as soon as they were completed.
As this went on and on, the neat, synchronized volleys I started with gave way to a gradual flow of magic missiles.  They're not all being expended at the same time?  Not enough right angles in this compound, I guess- that, or I'm cutting though the walls at the wrong diagonal.
Eventually, I got the notification I'd hoped for.  [SHOT BLAST 01 ENGAGED]  The results weren't visible from where I was, but I could picture it in my mind's eye- the torrent of shots, chewing through wall after wall, only to fan out and pepper their targets with explosions.
A few seconds later, I got another update from Malleus.  [SHOT BLAST 02 ENGAGED].  That took way too long.  Should've started with beams.  Gotta go to Phase 2 now.
[Resynchronize volleys, and divert grav-mana to payload.]  With a thought, I started to pull from my secondary mana source.  [Resume fire.]
[FIRING]
The next volleys went out as one.  Seconds later, I heard the distinctive sounds of building crumbling, pulled down by multiples of their own weight.
...only one volley?!  That was almost too easy.  Time to make of myself a target, then.
"...Double Arcane Bolt."
As the buildings in the area were blown apart, the bit of my mind that wasn't busy calculating was free to wander.  The instant after I let fly, I had a thought that I couldn't help but chuckle about.  All this time, I've wondered why the Divine Buster sounded like it exploded about six times when it fired, and the answer was so simple!  It's a series of pulses, not a continuous beam! 
That, of course, led to a number of ideas about pulsed beam attacks, which led to roughing out a number of formulae for said attacks, which led to me getting shot in the face.
As I flew back through the hole in the wall, bouncing every so often, three thoughts went through my head.  In no particular order;
I really need to stop thinking so much during combat.
That really hurt!
Barrier Jacket FTW.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[Tennie]

Also, that's the sort of thing best done as a oneshot troll move, and the benefit isn't worth the cost.

Now that I think about it, yeah, I'd have to agree.  It'd likely be better off being used in some kind of Nanoha/Saint's Row crack-crossover (which itself would be a Crossover That Should Not Be.  I mean, imagine what Nanoha would do if she had access to the various weapons in that game series...).

the man's a creepy sadistic psychopath mad scientist.

The guy needs to mellow out some, somehow.  Too bad you don't have any marijuana or the like with you; that might do the trick!  Or, depending on how it affects him, it could actually make things even worse.  We may never know, and it might (or might not) be a good thing, too.

Barrier Jacket FTW.

I think that having a Barrier Jacket would be very useful indeed.  Imagine, say, being able to survive getting hit by a speeding car with minor injuries.

[classicdrogn]

"Nonna that." I realize this is an intentional colloquialism, but my mind goes to "for'n for Nine" first and makes it read a little awkwardly. Maybe "None o'" or "Non'a?"

So, how long until Imma unveils the Wave Motion Cannon attack?

As for combat effectiveness, do recall that he has considerable study time as well as direct lessons in both theory and practice from the girls - perhaps not with full power spells against each other, but for that there's the mental simulations like what Nanoha had Raising Heart constantly running. So, while newbie mistakes should still be a thing here and there, Ford should be able to handle himself to some degree. As far as we've seen, I think you're hitting the balance fairly well.

While some more focus would be a good idea, the fact that you aren't too high on adrenaline and fight/flight response to think at all in battle is, if anything, the least believable part of your "rookie" portrayal - no matter how much training you have, what weapons or protections, getting in a serious fight is SCARY, even without, or without having internalized, the risk of death. I'm not sure how to work that in without diverting a large part of your story, though.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bluemage]

Hmm.  I'll probably drop the colloquialism from the SB version, then.  That's sort of the spelling I first saw a friend of mine use, and the one I'd think in if I thought that thought.
If I knew what Wave Motion actually was well enough to implement it, about five minutes after I finished the spell.  Since I mostly know it as a plot device/handwave, not so much.  Wasn't the giant beam-o'-doom enough?
Who said I was doing constant mental sims?  Some mental sims, yes, but not nearly as much as Nanoha.  I'm doing a lot more spell creation, simulating the results of the mathcode behind developed spells, hands-on testing, and sparring.  I'm going to end up with a lot more tricks up my sleeve this way, and I have a chance to build up combat XP later on, but for now, I'm mostly worried about getting a solid move pool.
What JS really needs, Tennie, is a guy with a time machine to go back and cut down on the psychogenetic conditioning the High Council would've had to have given him, and keep him from staring at Devices Post-Belkan Man Was Engineered To Not Know for too long.  Remove Infinite Desire and should've-stayed-Lost Logia from the picture, and you'd probably have one of those science teachers all the students want to take classes from.
**********
Eventually, I came to a halt... sprawled out on the ground, flat on my back.  Once I was back on my feet, I reached up to my face, feeling for any damage.  ...that must be one beaut of a bruise.  Right on my forehead, too!  I get the feeling whatever did that really doesn't like me.
"Heh.  You're going to have to try harder than that."
Of course, being both unable to speak and on the other side of the wall, the drone didn't respond.  "What, no response?  Guess I'll just have to beat it out of you."
[Air Cutter.]
"LUFTMESSER"
With a slight ripping sound, the air in front of me distorted.  The sound grew louder as the effect spread, growing tall enough and wide enough for me to stand behind easily... and then with a rumbling crack of rapidly displaced air, the effect doubled in strength; I was on the move.  Forward... now up!  UP!  Phew... now just redirect movement power to flash... done.
The end result of all this was to leave me standing, in midair, surrounded by a vortex of swirling winds.  Above me, the air writhed and rippled, looking someplace between a heat mirage and a halo.  It was a bloody stupid way to do things, but it got me to where I could see my opponent.
...opponents, actually.  Three of the Type I drones were floating in midair in front of me, the tips of their central crystals pointed down towards the hole I'd gone through.  Even as I powered up my next spell, the Argus system dropped red dots on each of them- and on the dots rising into the air in the distance.  Crap.  One thing at a time, I guess.
"ZAUBERRAKETE-"
"-Fire."
Thirty-two bolts of power went flying.  Halfway to their target, sixteen of them made a sharp turn, straight toward one of the other drones.  One drone, my second target, failed to react in time; for its inattentiveness, it took nine missiles to its crystal, and promptly turned into a ball of crimson fire.  The other target did react in time, and dropped out of the firing line, letting my missiles fly right past it.
The third drone took the opportunity to reorient on my current position, target me, and fire.
"FECHTERSCHILD."
A blue plane of force, Mid-style circle swirling right under it, appeared over the reinforced side of Malleus, and I batted its shot out of the air.  'Peeeeeew'?!  REALLY?  You couldn't have made it sound more badass, Mr. Drone Designer?  It's like your asking for these things to die!  Just to confuse the drones a bit, I let the hover effect of my flight spell weaken while I charged up more Magic Missiles.
They tracked down, as predicted; the moment before they would've been pointing at me again, I upped the power again, and shot past my previous height.  Another Magic Missile barrage, this time aimed at the open air between the two drones, went out, splitting after it passed them, and looping back around.  One of them dodged entirely, the other went up after only eight of the sixteen shots hit... and this time, I didn't have anything distracting me.
The first drone- the one that dodged- was just about to reacquire me when eight Magic Missiles hit it squarely in the back.  Right, now that that's over, let's see about dealing with the rest of them.

---

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[Tennie]

you'd probably have one of those science teachers all the students want to take classes from.

All that's missing now is to have that version of Jail hook up with a certain Ms. Frizzle...

In any case, I can't wait to see what happens to you once the final confrontation between the Numbers and RF6 gets underway!

[robkelk]

you'd probably have one of those science teachers all the students want to take classes from.

All that's missing now is to have that version of Jail hook up with a certain Ms. Frizzle...

In any case, I can't wait to see what happens to you once the final confrontation between the Numbers and RF6 gets underway!

Hey, Hayate needed a sparring partner for most of StrikerS...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012