8045/HowStuffWorks: Shi'ar Edition

HowStuffWorks: Shi'ar Edition
Date of Scene:	29 September 2021
Location:	R and D Labs: Triskelion
Synopsis:	Michael brings Darcy some gadgets to poke at, escorted by Jessica Drew, his SHIELD handler. There is science, and just a litttttle bit of space politics. And no one gets blown up!
Cast of Characters:	Darcy Lewis, Michael Erickson, Jessica Drew

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Darcy Lewis has posed:
It is a normal day at the Triskelion, for local parameters of 'normal.' Which is to say that at various locations in the building, rather mindblowing and bizarre things are going on, at least by the reckoning of the rest of the world. Agents plot against invisible conspiracies in conference rooms, debrief operatives on world-shaking secrets, and so on. They have aliens on the premises, and maybe some kind of cthulhu baby. And in all of that, the R&D section is, no doubt, the epicenter of the unusual.

Presently, in one of the large experimental bays in the middle of the research hub, Agent Darcy Lewis of S.W.O.R.D. is at work preparing for one such undertaking. Well, calling it a single experiment might be underselling it a bit. She has used the time, space, and particularly the fabrication equipment available here to set up a range of equipment and gear, although a great deal of it is fairly mundane: support structures, trestles and locking frames connected to a variety of modular power supplies. Some kind of sealed chamber with a glass panel for observation. A big chunk of... wall. Just really a mess of things.

The woman herself is buzzing between them, dressed in her lab coat with a fall-appropriate sweater on beneath it. She bustles between stations, taking readings, checking connectors. And... waiting!

Michael Erickson has posed:
    Descending into the guts of the Triskelion, escorted by Agent Drew, Michael enters the research wing in his everpresent dove-gray suit, carrying in his hand a large duffel bearing the SHIELD logo. Obviously full, the bag nonetheless is carried with little trouble by the man as he and the dark-haired woman he came in with approach the checkpoint for their IDs and the bays beyond.

    "Well," he says, "Here goes nothing. My hope is that she'll be satisfied with what I provide." Which...well. He probably doesn't have that hope, but he's going to make his best effort to do so.

Jessica Drew has posed:
The R&D labs have become a home away from home since the terrigen incident played havoc with the agent causing her to join the ranks of the Inhumans. She badges her asset, Michael Erickson and herself through without a single change in heartrate or skin chemistry, all the while pushing the parameters of security because of the cargo he carries in the duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Hard one to please, is she?" the green-eyed agent replies, rolling them eloquently.

Darcy Lewis has posed:
Whatever rumors the two share over Darcy's disposition, their arrival is met with... well, it would be fair to call it a good measure of enthusiasm.

"Hold on, just one sec!" comes the agent's voice over the intercom from the inside of her lab unit to the hallway just beyond, as she appears on the other side of the entrance to her particular bay as the pair circle through the larger hub hallway. Everything here is rather compartmentalized and modular, no doubt to do everything that is possible to prevent accidents from spreading. And there's even a bit of a procedure for opening her door, after all the others. But locks click, and there's a slight hiss as the hallway normalizes with the slightly negative pressure of the room, another one of those safety features.

"You're right on time, come in, come in. Oh, and you brought a friend along, hello!" Truly, Darcy doesn't know most of the field agents very well. After they're ushered in, the door seals shut, and her eyes dart quickly to the bag. "So, is that it? Let's see what you brought me. Here, we can use this table."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "I don't know if I'd go that far," Michael says with a chuckle as they go through the checkpoint and approach the research bay where Darcy's waiting. "More that we didn't have a good interaction last time, as I told you. I'm hoping we have a better one this time around."

    Needless to say, Darcy's cheerful reception of the man and his escort causes him to quirk a brow as he enters - but enter he does, carrying in the bag. "This is Agent Drew. She's my handler, as it happens, and has been faciliating relations with SHIELD since I came out, as it were." He chuckles as he moves to the table, where he places the bag, opens it, and begins to remove items. Two handguns of witheringly insectile nature are placed on the table, constructed of a material that emulates black chrome, plus a blocky weapon that looks more like a beveled block of matte black material with a pistol grip, are placed on the table. A pair of matte black egg shapes follow, placed upon the table, thumb-sized arming plungers at the top of each marking them as some kind of grenade. Following that are several straight knives, each made from a silvery metal with a faint rainbow sheen, and a long, curved knife whose substance is made up of a material that looks for all the world like moonstone.

    "Right," he says, looking down at the weapons lying on the table. "Where shall we begin?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Holding up her badge, emblazoned with her name and photo, Jessica waits for the scientist to open the door, then gives her a quick polite smile. "Oh, glad to hear that. Call me Jessica, please," she says and steps through the familiar suck of negative air pressure into the lab. "You know the procedures, Agent Lewis, I shadow him wherever he goes much to his chagrin."

She watches with more than polite interest as Michael unpacks the bag, stifling a whistle of admiration for the odd guns, then raises her eyebrows in a silent question to Lewis.

Darcy Lewis has posed:
"Nice to meetcha. Darcy. That must be an interesting assigment, babysitting the alien. He's a handful." Even if it hints at the difficulty of their first run-in, Darcy says this with a grin. Evidently she's not held any particular grudge. Or she's just far too focused on the task at hand to care about anything else. Because... space toys.

The haul is deposited on the table, and she looks it all over with interest. Glee. Predatory hunger. Some mix. This is the good stuff!

"Are the hand-to-hand weapons powered in any way? The design isn't really my department, but I'd like to do some molecular analysis on those. I assume, if they're made to cut... I don't know, space armor? That your people have probably put some serious materials science into them." She gestures at the chamber with the small window, and then steps over to tap a key and open its front bay. "It uses a kind of advanced spectrometry, so there'll be some ionization done to the sample but- well, we're talking about shaving off a handful of molecules, nothing you'd notice, or can't part with, I assume? Uh, I had it fabricated with special clamping brackets so you can just set it on those and they'll lock in."

And that's the LEAST interesting of what he's brought her. "I got readings on the bug-gun before, so let's try blocky one." Again, she gestures to a test platform, although this one is the large trestle set up facing the slab of... whatever it is. "Is the output anything that we need extra shielding for?"

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "The blades don't need to be powered," Michael says, gesturing to the knives. "The small ones are made of synthetic diamond, basically a form of nanocrystal. Grown into shape. They're very sharp - we can produce monomolecular edges, but we do not use then in combat knives due to the fact that what you call Van der Waals force simply causes the wound to seal again, which of course is not what you want in a knife. Monomolecular edges /are/ useful in sabotage, however. Disruption of function often still takes place where the original molecular bonds have been severed and reformed."

    Michael gestures to the long knife, then. "That is a family heirloom, taken by my great-great-great-great-great..." He pauses to ensure the count is correct. "...grandmother during her prosecution of the conquest of Melityan. The sword was presented to her by the local kings as tribute when she took over as governor. It's made of crystal as well, though the Melityani utilize latent telekinetic abilities to form the matrix into shapes by 'sculpting' it. The sword is laser-sharp, but it constantly reforms. Does not need sharpening, and any physical damage - to a point, anyway - will heal naturally through the guided matrix. I thought you might find that interesting." He gives the smaller woman a faint smile before continuing along.

    "The blocky pistol I found here on Earth, in the hands of a collector. It's a sunburn gun, of Spartax origin. It was used as a riot control device up until a few centuries ago - I was rather surprised to find a Spartax weapon on this planet - and functions in a very similar way to the Active Denial Systems the American military have implemented in the last decade. Just...in a potent, handheld form. Doesn't require a truck to haul around, you understand."

    This said, Michael looks over at the test platform. "It's a microwave projector, so you'll just need some medium to emulate tissue. It's nonlethal, just extremely painful. Produces first- and sometimes second-degree burns on living tissue wherever the cone of effect lands."

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Oh, he would like to think he is a handful," Jess quips with a brief grin. "He's not so bad. I could think of worse to alien sit." She retreats into silence, letting Michael describe his deadly toys and heirlooms.

Darcy Lewis has posed:
Well, then it definitely won't miss a few molecules," Darcy quips of the self-repairing blade, glossing over the first bit with a bit of a roll of her eyes - is he explaining molecular chemical forces to her? "Although that crystal latice sure sounds like something. I'll probably want to do some microscopy on that later."

However, the knives, for all that they sound quite impressive, are clearly not the interesting part in all of this. And once they are secured in the test chamber she simply hits a button and lets the thing run it's scan without any further involvement, interference, or apparent interest. Data is data, and she'll get what she gets. But the energy devices, well- there's a lot more to them. That said, she does look a little surprised when he explains it's not even Shi'ar. "Huh. Well, that's sort of an outlier then and irrelevant to my main report, but I suppose we may as well run it through the tests I have while I've got it here anyhow. I can put in an addendum." Too many aliens. Soon, the gun is mounted in the brackets, facing the chunk o' wall.

"I'm not actually concerned with the military application," she points out, with a certain sense of... well, not offense toward him, but pride nonetheless, when he suggests that they'll need a proper target. "We have people who take apart stuff to build things for agents to use to... well, take targets apart, but I'm in it for the fundamental science." And indeed, once it's set, she steps back, and uses a remote (causing the bracket to trigger the trigger) to fire a long pulse from the weapon toward the backstop. "Can you open the power supply? Same goes for one of your pistols. There is a secondary experiment I want to do with those. As for the grenades, I assume you'd rather not waste them, although if you can remove the outer casing safely, it'd be handy."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Not a good idea," Michael says, gesturing to the grenades. "They contain a picogram of antimatter in a quantum-locked, stable magnetic bottle. Breaching the casement is, as far as I know, only done in armories back home where there are proper equipment to keep the field steady while the casement is open." So much for /that/. "But the explosive yield is equivalent to an infantry grenade, so you won't be having to worry about the annihilation of the building - otherwise I'd never brought them in. The alloy should be probable by sensors, though."

    "The power supply." Michael reaches into his jacket and produces a cylindrical device, metallic silver with a very suspiciously modern set of prongs on the back and a far more exotic set of nubs on the other. "Spartax powercell. Uses a solid-state design with a crystalline wafer system I'm not familiar with - the Spartax aren't a race I've had many dealings with at all. You can see someone's modified it so you can plug it in a standard American AC socket, perversely enough. That's how I charge the sunburn gun." He hands that over, and then looks at the electron pistol lying on the table. "I'm afraid I don't know how to take the thing apart. Field-stripping the weapon doesn't involve the power unit - but if you want to keep it in the lab to try and examine, I'll leave it here. The magneto-charger unit shouldn't actually be a danger to anyone, it's just delicate outside of its armored housing."

    Yes, Michael, famous for grumping about people trying to get their hands on his technology, is going to leave a sidearm here for review. Even /dissection/. "Just be aware that I can't get a new one, unfortunately. My name has been blackballed in the Empire, even if I could get back to it."

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jessica's eyes dance with humor as she watches Lewis tread where few have dared on the Shi'ar's pride. Does she realize how difficult it was for him to come this far, revealing technology that his people and Empire hold dear? Yet another step on the path of leaving his people behind. His seeming calm reinforces the respect she has gradually acquired for the alien.

"He is a big red cape that we are waving in front of the Shi'ar, you realize."

Darcy Lewis has posed:
"No, that wouldn't be a good idea then," Darcy agrees, seriously, somberly, yet with less existential horror at the notion of an antimatter weapon than perhaps some might express. She takes his word on the design issues, just nodding along at the idea of doing some basic analysis later. There will be a long checklist of experiments to go through, no doubt some of them more tedious than either of her guests are likely to want to sit through.

She's looking forward to all of it.

Still, there's more to do: including making a face when her remote triggering of the weapon doesn't actually DO anything because he's already removed the power cell ahead of time. She actually clicks the remote a couple times, possibly concerned that her rig is malfunctioning, before she realizes he has it. "Ah. Well. Hmm, Let's take a look, then. Converted for AC? Jeez. But I guess that actually makes it one of the more promising options for reproduction." Because it can apparently be plugged in, she takes it, and, well, plugs it in, and just sets it on a table. Presumably the power source itself measures the voltage draw, so she doesn't have to do much else.

As for his actual main weapons, the fact that he can't open them does cause her brows to knit a little in frustration. "Your people are real big on factory-standard, huh? Don't want the soldiers fiddling in the field. Makes sense, I guess, but I imagine there have to be some downsides." She puts her hands on her hips and stares at the inscrutable weapon. "I appreciate it, and I'll be gentle with it. Though I'll have to devise some new tests. For now..." She takes one of the pair of handguns, and goes to put it in a small locker. "That one's Faraday shielded, we'll see if it messes with the ambient charging. Nice to work from a baseline."

Turning back to glance between him and Jessica at the last, and shrugs. "Space politics isn't my department either." She has a long list of things that are not her job! "But from as much of the reports as I could read on my clearance, it sounds like his people won't be bothering us again for at least a while. Probably have internal problems to worry about, yeah?"

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "The Imperial forces have a wide variety of races under their banner," Michael agrees with Darcy's opinion of Shi'ar standardization practices. "Shi'ar, like myself, are all of an advanced intelligence thanks to educational standards and neurological development - I'm not a scientist, but given time I could quickly develop a solid corpus of scientific knowledge. But someone like a Drasheen warrior could not. So, factory-standard it is, I'm afraid. But I'm certain you'll be able to get it out, as it /is/ meant to be removable." A beat. "And you're welcome. I apologize for my...well. I wasn't aiming to be a jerk, but I know I was being difficult on my part."

    He purses his lips, then, and wades into politics. "If you two mean the change of leadership, then yes. The Majestrix is much friendlier to Earth than her predecessor. There's still going to be groups out there that were disenfranchised with his ejection from the Throne, however, and /that's/ the sort of thing I worry about. And there's Deathbird, too - she's the sister of the Majestrix and former Majestor, and has been a murderous rebel to the Empire for many years. She was here, once, actually. Some thirty years ago. Brought a bioform that could have consumed all life on the planet were she not repelled." So there's that.

Darcy Lewis has posed:
"Hmm. Makes sense. Wouldn't want your more primitive conquests - or wait, my bad, is that 'local auxilliaries'? - fiddling with their antimatter bombs." Certainly there is more than just a touch of Darcy's usual sarcasm in that, taking the clearest point of human reference and comparing the Shi'ar (one would suspect not flatteringly) to the Romans. "Pitty that for all your educational achievement you're still so keen on the feudal bullshit, eh? Not that we've exactly perfected things, but all the brother-fights-sister stuff is pretty retro, by Earth standards. You seen Game of Thrones? Should check it out, if you haven't kept up on your Earth TV. Got that vibe. Also boobs."

At least in this fashion, it turns from pointed political criticism to something a little less serious.

"Anyway, no problem, and thanks for bringing this stuff by," she answers the more serious matter of their working relationship, while going over to the cabinet where the knives are being analyzied. She gives a button a push, waits for a few lights to finish flashing, and then opens the front again to retrieve the weapons, although she only brings one to the table with the gear bag. "I still wanna run the crystaline one under the STM, so I'll have to take it over to one of the outer ring labs, and scan the grenades, but that won't take too long. The non-Shi'ar weapon, and one of the pistols, I'll need to take some time with, but the rest you can just swing by and pick up in a couple hours. I figure you two have better things to do otherwise, it's just gonna be scanning and beeping and me staring into an eyepiece from here on out. Wouldn't want to keep you."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Oh, trust me, it's it's ridiculous bullshit," Michael says, chuckling faintly. "That's why I'm on this side of the fence and not leading a fleet to perform an orbital bombardment on the Triskelion." That said, he nods once. "Just let me know when you're ready, and I'll come pick it up. Thank you, Agent. I hope you get what you need."

    He looks to Jessica then. "You want to get something to eat?"