Owner	Pose
Michael Erickson	The range is always busy, some aisles more than others - but since he arrived, Erickson gives the special-weapons booths far more regular mileage than anywhere else. Like a strobe going off at the end of the range, he stands with a sleek and compact weapon lifted to his shoulder, something like an ultramodern submachine gun of the sort out of South Africa or Austria. From its short, blunt muzzle a stream of searing blue-white bolts are spat, which race down his chosen aisle to smash into the target dummies. Sparks fly, droplets of molten metal splash. He fires the weapon with all the solid stance and intent of a practiced marksman, albeit one from another galaxy.     Science fiction made true in our time. That's the world they live in.
Jessica Drew	The dark-haired agent rocks almost imperceptibly in place to music only she can hear, though the ear protectors she just put on aren't playing music. She has succumbed to an ear worm and is humming, "He blinded me by science." A faint smile curves her lips at Erickson's accuracy. At the same time, she waits her turn at the latest in high-tech other-worldly weapons that Erickson has graced SHIELD with. She watches Dottie out of the corner of her eye as she nods in time to her music, thinking about the sheer number of ways of killing people the four of them know.
Dottie Underwood	Oh, Dottie does love that gun. Her grin sharpens as she admires its sleek lines. She remembers the power of the the blast and the thrill of the recoil. It's a beautiful weapon.
Jessica Drew	"Hmm-Hmm-Hmmmmm-Hm," Jess breaks off drumming the song out on her thigh. With a hand flourish, she invites Dottie to take the gun next. "I like watching people who know what they are doing. Go ahead."
Dottie Underwood	Taking the pulse rifle from Michael, Dottie lets the weight of the weapon become part of her body. She brings it to her shoulder. The the flash of energy dazzles against her gleaming teeth. As always she fires several rounds, timed to her even, steady heartbeat. With a small amount of reluctance, she hands the weapon to Jess. "Your turn. I think you'll find it's not too different from any other fire arm of its type."
Jessica Drew	"Except it slags its targets," Jess replies, hefting the gun when Dottie hands it to her. After slipping a pair of sunglasses out of the pocket of her one piece coverall, she walks up to the mark and lifts the weapon, snugging it experimentally to her shoulder several times until she has a feel for its weight. The dark glasses mirror the actinic blue of the bolts, rendering her impassive face robotic.
Michael Erickson	"Well, that would be the reason for it, yes." Michael chuckles as he squints against the blue flashes of impact. "That's a proton rifle. Another particle-acceleration type weapon, only instead of the negatively-charged electrons that my old heavy rifle fired - you remember that one, the one we used at the mansion? - it's made to pierce armor. The particle bolts strike with kinetic impact and the resulting radiation superheats materials, albeit very locally. Great against troops wearing heavy armor and vehicles from less technologically advanced worlds." Because he used to help conquer those, don't forget. "It has a magnetospheric recharge cell, making it great use in the field. Never really runs out of ammunition."     He leans forward a bit. "Note the near lack of recoil. How does it feel?"
Jessica Drew	"Efficient and deadly. Are there larger versions built on the same principles? Like bunker punchers?" Jessica lowers the gun and turns in place to ask the question, lowering her sunglasses below the bridge of her nose to look at him. "Is it the magnetospheric recharge cell that gives it weight in the stock?"
Michael Erickson	"Yes, but usually in the hands of auxiliaries," Michael advises Jessica, arms folded over his chest. "We tend to use more destructive types of energy for that. Antimatter munitions, that sort of thing. Antimatter munitions are used to crack planets, come to that."     He looks downrange, frowning. "Of course. Just because you /can/ wield an energy, doesn't mean you should. The equivalence is your nuclear age, I suppose, since we also use antimatter reactions as a source of power. Just..." He trails off, and sighs. "We've been using them for millenia." Then he blinks, realizing he hadn't answered her question. "Oh. Yes. The cell assembly is in the stock, as you say."
Jessica Drew	"There is no cure for fools." She examines the weapon in her hands, careful to keep it pointing downward away from any potential target. "But I understand that anti-matter weapons are more destructive than nuclear. Is that true?"
Dottie Underwood	Dottie cares less about *how* the weapon works. Only that it works. She has little use for information beyond its basic maintenance and use. After all she's no Whitney Frost. She caresses the barrel lightly. The alien rifle is beautiful and powerful and deadly. What more does a girl need?
Michael Erickson	"A pound-equivalent of antimatter has the destructive potential of nineteen megatons," Michael replies flatly before looking to Dottie. "Dottie, have you had a chance to try out the new coil weapons we have for SCAR?"
Dottie Underwood	Dottie arches an eyebrow. "If it's your acquisition and you yourself haven't showed it to me, how could I have done that?" She asks, all innocence. That's not a no.
Jessica Drew	"Do the Galactics think they have reached the zenith of weapons of war, Michael? Or do they still commit a lot of money to research?" Coil weapons spurs an interested look from Jessica. "The weapons good for zero-G?"
Michael Erickson	"Ne umnichay, Dasya." Dottie's words get a smirk - and, apparently, a smattering of Russian! Michael winks at his friend though, just to be clear he isn't /seriously/ giving her smack, and nods to Jessica. "There's always something bigger. That's the thing we've learned. Planets, star systems, galaxies. Everything can be destroyed. There's always someone who can do it better. So. We must learn to do it, too. Or at least counter it."     Then he reaches into his coat - and, instead of his usual long-nosed toyetic blaster, he produces one of the chunky pistols liberated from the Tannhauser stockpile. No rayguns, no ICER. The pistol looks like it might have been taken off a sci-fi set, perhaps, but one set in the very near future. "SCAR-02 electromagnetic pistol," he explains, holding the matte-black weapon to the light. "Semi-automatic, fires finned tungsten flechettes at either subsonic or hypersonic velocities. Twenty-five round magazine, penetration and stopping power equivalent to a forty-five caliber pistol." It's not /delicate/, but it looks /mean/. "Battery lasts for three hundred shots. And yes, very good for zero-gravity and low-gravity environments; there's very little recoil so you can fire without getting flung off into space. The projectiles otherwise follow the laws of gravity like any other. But they can be fired in all sorts of environments that chemical firearms cannot easily do."
Jessica Drew	"Always new and better toys of destruction." Jess nods wryly to them both, "A universal principle." Then laser focusing on Michael, "So when do we get to test our skills in space, Agent Erickson?"
Dottie Underwood	Dottie takes the new weapon. And after calling up a new target, she tests the pistol with her usual calm. But a smile creeps at the corner of her lips as she fires. She nods her approval, refraining from stroking the gun.
Michael Erickson	The pistol lets out a sharp 'spang' as the projectile whistles downrange - embedding itself in the target dummy, the dense, inch-long metal dart almost entirely inside. Not bad at all, but interesting in that the dart is as long as a pistol cartridge. "Good shot," Michael says, smirking still as Dottie nods. "That one's yours, I think. I'll check in the serial number. You'll all need to be instructed in care and feeding, but that won't take terribly long."     Then he looks to Jessica and grins. "So eager," he notes. "Well, I need a ship, or a method of transporting us. So in the meantime I need to get permission to take you all to various extreme climates for survival training. Which will suck. But it will be better than not having it."
Jessica Drew	Jess takes a long breath through her nose, lips compressed into a frown, shaking her head at all things bureaucratic, slowing her ascension into space. "Of course, I'm eager. We won't have to go through all the hoops that NASA puts its people through /and/ we will be trained for combat. Can you talk about how getting a ship will come about? Who do we need to be putting pressure on?" She gives him her best impression of a mafiosa leer.
Dottie Underwood	The light that gleams in Dottie's eyes as Michael gifts her a lethal weapon should terrify a sensible person. "Thanks," she says softly, lips curling with satisfaction.
Michael Erickson	"I'll either have to have one built by someone," Michael replies, "Which will be extremely expensive and require all sort of favors. Or procure one in the field. There are multiple settled systems near this one, so it won't be so terribly difficult to find one. /Paying/ for one, of course, might be different. So I will need to compile additional information for that, but since I have a good idea of what I want, that will narrow things down."     He considers a moment. "Mmmm. There's also the zeta-beam technology that Nadia Pym-Van Dyne recently unveiled. Teleportation beams could be an excellent mediating technology until such time as a physical vessel can be procured, and of course excellent to base from that vessel for extended transport. As you saw, Jessica, Shi'ar infantry and special forces alike make use of teleportation to dispatch forces."     Dottie's eyes light up, of course, but he has different sensibilities than a human does. "Keep it for duty, killer," Michael says with a grin. "And welcome aboard." Truly, now, she is inducted into his merry pirate club.