testrun_box | More SRWU! Yes, she says all those things with this face

1. [Hetepheres encounters some sign of human culture as she passes by. It might be music, a movie, art, a game, even an unusual building - doesn't matter. It also doesn't matter if it's something very snobby and high-brow, or low-brow and plebian - her reaction is the same! As for you, either you're passing by as well, or are actively engaged with the thing in question.]

Ah, how interesting. I see that the advancements of Earthling culture continue to amaze.

2. [Now she's watching some people at work. Construction workers building something, engineers working on mecha in the hangar, something else - your pick. And now she turns to you.]

If I may ask - are those free laborers? Did Earth abolish the institution of slavery yet?

3. [Late evening kitchen raid! The huge bug-alien is consuming a pile of biscuits with... sugar and mayo. What. Only now she noticed you. Staring, probably.]

Hmm? May I help you...?

4. [A mecha fight! Or rather, the aftermath of one. It was a flawless victory, not one of those Generic Bad Ends!]

An amazing victory! Everyone, engrave this battle in your minds and cherish it, for it is something to be proud of. As for now...

[Well, mostly flawless. Hetepheres' machine is lying on its back, struggling to get up. Have you ever seen a beetle in the same situation? It's kinda like that, only with desperate attempts to keep her dignity added.]

...A little help, if you don't mind?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Good heavens, but this brings back some memories. [The air stirs as the draconic kaiju-like shape of Victoria, Erik's massive biotitan, lands near Scaraber]

This is why the Decaliash biotitans have been going out of fashion, you realize. Such power, but their frame had too many flaws that could be exploited by one with the tactical acumen!

Thankfully, this uncanny contraption of yours is far smaller and lighter, so your conundrum is, indeed, easily solved.

[And with that, the enormous claws grab Scaraber and lift it like a doll, before putting it back on the ground on its feet and patting it]

I apologize for any scratching. My dear Victoria was not quite designed for manual labor. Her frame is rather more suited for, what is the word, unfeasibly bloody mutilation.

Don't think Scaraber is also an outdated machine. This is its only flaw, and one that's not exploited easily.

[Unamused by patting.]

I suppose I should offer my thanks. Don't worry about scratches, they're meaningless. Scaraber's armor is tough; from all Gebian mecha, it is among the strongest.

Oh, you misunderstand me. They are not outdated as such. Why, I know of several countries that still run smaller breeds as line units. Merely... out of fashion.

If a scion of a House must go out, it is unseemly to do so while struggling to get back up, you understand. Rather undignified and all that. One must project the proper image in death as in life, after all.

A soldier has to suffer all kinds of horrible situations and conditions. Dignity is not about circumstances you find yourself in, but how you take them.

[Pause.]

...Breeds. You are talking about breeds.

A gentleman of the Crown faces his death standing or not at all, milady Hetepheres. To do otherwise is to be ashamed. That is, I'm afraid, rather difficult when your titan suffers the ignominy of findig its form reversed and trapped shell-down on the base ground.

And of course I talk about breeds in plural. The Decaliash species has borne well over a dozen different strains historically! Tenfold if you count minor physical mutations as variant strains, of course.

Do me a favour and don't face death, then. This was a good battle where everyone not only won, but also survived. I want to see much such fights in the future.

So, you breed gigantic living creatures to serve as beasts of war. But your species is robotic at the same time; wouldn't it be easier to just construct mecha like everyone else? Or would that be too unnerving for your people, like an Earthling creating and controlling a giant, skinless human?

[Erik laughs. It's probably not meant to sound patronizing, but that total self-assuredness he has doesn't help]

That would just be plain ridiculous, dear. Biological creatures are plentiful, stronger for their weight, self-repairing, and self-multiplying, and much less delicate. Have you ever gone on a hunt? Even small game will take several hits that would incapacitate a person to even slow down.

I will have to take a look at the wild animals on your planet, then. They sound very different from the ones I'm used to seeing.

How did biological and mechanical life both evolve on the same world, anyway?

More SRWU! Yes, she says all those things with this face

4

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject