9229/And what a holiday this will be

And what a holiday this will be
Date of Scene:	22 December 2021
Location:	Weapons Testing: Triskelion
Synopsis:	Phil shows off with the first real test of the prosthetic arm, a mix of Stark tech and SHIELD at its finest.
Cast of Characters:	Phil Coulson, Bobbi Morse

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Phil Coulson has posed:
When all the world is celebrating in some fashion or other, regardless of race, religion or creed, those of SHIELD never take a break.

Okay, okay.. it had to be said, but really? SHIELD operatives and agents need time off too to breathe, to celebrate life, and the passing of another successful year of //not dying//.

Phil Coulson, however, isn't on break. He's been //away//, doing who knows what for who knows whom, gaining valuable intel on 'God only knows'. 'God', of course is 'the Old Man'. He is back, however, and in 'rare' form, as if he's received a newer lease on life. He's settling back into the hallways of the Tris, nodding to the Agents as they pass him in the hall, and trying to get to know a few of the newer recruits, because one day? His life may depend upon them.

Currently, the be-suited Agent turned Commander is in the Weapons Testing Lab, though he appears completely unarmed. A request was put out for Commander Morse so she could witness at least one of the tests; a showing off, as it were, of the results of a collusion with R&D and Stark Industries.

How can that be resisted?!

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi Morse made her way down to the testing wing as soon as she got the invite message. She had been in her office reviewing field reports and working on this or that briefing. These things that feel far more regular these days than she would really prefer but it goes with the territory. With great power - and increased rank..

Making her way into the weapons lab, the blonde wears her iconic hightech glasses-slash-hightech-HUD but otherwise she, too, is dressed in a SHIELD regulation pantsuit complete with a little SHIELD pin on the left lapel. "Phil. How have you been! It's good to see you around! Happy holidays!" she offers enthusiastically.

"I got your message but you're playing coy with the details... what's up?" she wonders.

Phil Coulson has posed:
Phil twists around at the entrance of Bobbi, and he offers a hint of a smile, though it does reach his eyes. "Commander Morse," he begins, "Happy holidays, and I hope you're not getting worked too hard. I've been hearing about how you've actually gotten a life outside of work. Congratulations."

He has his hands down, his right hand holding and supporting the left. It's a posture he's grown accustomed to since receiving the first prosthetic, and it's simply become habit. For anyone not in the know, however, it still looks a natural pose.

"I've been talking with Mr Stark about upgrades, and of course, talking to the labs regarding," a lift of the 'not real' arm is given in gesture, all without giving it a name, "And I think you might be interested. I did give assurances that some of the tech within wouldn't be for general consumption, however." A promise is a promise.

"But, I thought you might want a quick demonstration so you potentially know what's available in the field." There's a slightly more visible smile; Phil does like his toys, and he gets to play with some of the biggest and most expensive toys in the world. For all of that?

He's still very down to earth.

"You'll need 'ears'." Safety earplugs, that is.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi Morse holds up her hands in caution, "Careful now. That's crazy talk. Keep your voice down. Once they hear you have free time, they find ways to fill it!" she admonishes with a laugh.

She offers a sincere smile, "But you look good. It's nice to have you around." Then it is on to shop talk. She focuses her attention on his explanation, her interest piqued as he talks about field toys.

"Oh, I DO love new toys. It's probably one of the best parts of the job!" she gushes playfully. A nod to the ear protection warning and she crosses over to the table where rows of ear protectors are laid out like a unit waiting for inspection. She picks up a pair, and then glances over, "You?" checking if he already had a pair or not.

Phil Coulson has posed:
"Tempting the Fates. Once, I used to think that was just a phrase, but then?" Phil's shoulders lift in a shrug. "Too many gods around." He offers that in such a deadpan delivery, it's hard to know if he's joking or not. Of course it has a ring of truth to it, and he's personally invested in it. Perhaps maybe too much.

The happy reaction garnered from Bobbi is infectious, though he does try to play it down a little. He lifts a hand at the offrance of hearing protection as he puts his own earplugs in. Again, straight from the labs of SHIELD. Noise reduction without losing the ability to hear and retaining that situational awareness. Glasses, too.

"Straight from the labs of both Stark Industries and SHIELD.."

Downrange, there are man-shaped targets, target drones, and electronic burst robots on four legs.

"Experiment one, on my mark.." Lifting up that prosthetic arm, he nods both to himself and as a brief warning to Bobbi,

"Mark."

In the next second, the target drones take to the air, performing a pirouette as they take up a defensive posture for the now-lumbering four-legged beasties. Red 'eyes' show the machines on-line, and their targeting sounds a *tickticktick* before the first salvo is fired.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi Morse has learned to take such comments within - and without - the walls of SHIELD as both. Even the jokes tend to have a hard earned life lesson within them. She nods knowingly. "No disagreement /here/" she affirms about the seemingly endless number of pantheons these days.

With an unoffended nod and shrug, she sets the second pair down and walks over, moving to put her protectors in place. That regular conversation was possible while filtering out the harmful decibels of weapons fire was a huge leap forward, particularly taking the amount of testing SHIELD teams perform into consideration.

Falling in beside and two steps behind Phil, she lightly taps his off shoulder to acknowledge she's ready to observe. She taps the frame of her glasses just as Phil utters "Mark" to capture some data for later analysis of her own. The lenses take on a soft yellow glow as the HUD begins offer her a constant stream of data points and situational intel.

Phil Coulson has posed:
With the tap that marks Bobbi 'in place' and in a perfect spot for protection, the first shot from the quadrapedal robot is 'taken'. Phil immediately throws up that left arm, and there is a slight disturbance in the atmosphere in front of the pair as an invisible shield takes the hit. The hit is silent, absorbed as it is from the electronic blast. It's a little bit of conceit, then, when the vague, faint outlines of SHIELD's emblem can be discerned as it recovers from the blast.

In the following seconds, perhaps note can be made that Phil is still as quick as he's always been, the shield drops, and he pushes that hand forward with a blast, very reminscent of Iron Man's push. Not //quite// the same, but it has the same effect, plus a little EMP on the side. One, two of the flying drones explode in air, sending shrapnel 'everywhere', which again, has Phil raising that shield for 'physical damage mitigation' before he's firing actual energy bolts at the little four-legged robots.

They don't stand a chance.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi Morse is comfortable with live fire testing and doesn't flinch even as the drones seek to attack Phil and, by default, herself. She trusts him completely and has no reason to overreact. She focuses on what he is doing. With the arm coming up and, interestingly, the apparent energy field is projected to neutralize the oncoming blast.

Then the offensive counter blast is fired. This does evoke strong associations to Stark's repulsor energy blasts and that is absolutely intriguing to her. Already her mind is beginning to tick off uses for this tech in her own dealings. There are many, of course.

With the second energy field coming up to prevent stray drone bits from getting in her hair, she is silently appreciative of Phil's thoughtfulness. Trying to get scrapped electronics and jagged bits of armor from her hair after a mission is the /worst/!

Phil Coulson has posed:
It's only meant to be a short demonstration, and as the dust settles (as it were), the bits and pieces fall and settle to the ground. Once convinced there aren't any secondary explosions, the shield is reduced, and once again, it is a prosthetic arm. (Never //only// an arm.)

Phil turns a little to the side to half-face Bobbi, and brows are raised. "See what I mean about proprietary?" There's a way of getting around that, slightly, and that's by showing it off. "Even Agent May hasn't seen a field test of this. It has been a little while in the making, but I think it's ready for operational use." Which, translated, means that Phil is going out in the field once more, and not just as a supervisor. "I'm actually assigned to a project, and this will help a lot."

The hearing protection is taken out, set in a small 'cigarette case' looking case, and settled into his inside jacket pocket. Same with his glasses. Once divested of the safety gear, brows rise, "What'cha think?"

Bobbi Morse has posed:
Bobbi Morse takes a step back and to the side to make for more comfortable conversation. A nod as the details are hinted at. A grin flashes across her features at learning she's gotten one-up on Commander May. That'll be a good natured feather in her cap to be pulled out in some future moment and that sits well!

A brow arches, "I might have known this was just a drive-by, finding you in the building" she jokes. "It certainly seems to be well balanced for offense and defense. Good considering the implementation. What kind of power draw? Is there a limit to consecutive uses of the field... shield?" she ponders momentarily, "or the blast before the system needs to cycle or recharge?"

She removes her own ear protection, then, and laughs, "Well, apart from wishing I'd had something like this seven months ago, let alone last week whe AIM hit the GIRL Expo on the Pym Tech Campus...? I think it is justifiably impressive. I look forward to hearing how the field tests go - and when I can get a version for myself!" she says cheerfully.

Phil Coulson has posed:
This is one of the first times that Phil doesn't have to clean his weapon and put it back into the case for transporting back to the office, and for a moment that muscle memory kicks in, only to be quashed. He gives a quick side smile in the belief that he'd been 'caught', and instead sets the hand into his suit pants pocket. "I've got the specs for it," and he taps the side of his head before continuing, "Power draw is negligeable. It's got a power supply that Stark's got on private market." His 'green tech'. "As for rinse and repeat? The battle will be long over before it needs a rest, At least, that's what I'm told." Thus, field testing.

"I want to take Barton with me out in the field." That way he's got someone that he //knows// and trusts, and won't jeopardize any existing missions. "He'll serve double duty; backup and a forward eye."

A chuckle escapes Phil, and he turns around with both a sweeping gesture towards the exit, and a first step to exit. "No, you don't want one. If I had my way?" There's a shake to his head, his expression turning a little wistful, "I'd rather it in a gun than a hand." There's a shift in conversation, then, and he finishes with, "I'll buy you a coffee while I'm still here." Yup, definitely a 'drive by'!