She does have power concerns to consider when creating her weapons. Anna used her onium batteries and dynamos originally to power her HPPs, but that was replaced by her triple fusion generators. These allowed her to put out ~20 terawatts at emergency power. This means she can fire her HPPs all day long with no regard to power consumption, but this isn't the case for Cadet Hebert. QA could provide the needed energy for the HPPs through shard fuckery, but the UN does not know about that capacity at the moment, rather they just know about the reactor that was requested before the impeller field for Symbie came online. As such, the energy that swarm of mini-HPPs would eat through is a major limiting factor, but this could be augmented through the judicious use of drones. QA is a Royal Shard of Administration originally meant to coordinate and control the untold billions of Shards composing Zion, so it would be well within her ability. the heavy use of disposable drones, or Friends, to act as a giant object lesson in the idea of death by a thousand cuts to any she engages. This is not factoring in the inherent ability of the HPPs to combine to increase their fire power multiplicatively, which means a swarm of mini-HPPs can combine into some truly deadly projectiles, which combines well with how the HPPs have tunable emissions allowing Anna to shoot over the horizon (via going through the Earth using special exotic particle fuckery).
I am unsure as to if the Friends created need to have their personalities stored, as that was a modification Taylor insisted upon iirc, but if Cadet Hebert can create both then her stored Friends would act as a honor guard of highly advanced discouragements while the non-stored would act as screens. Also, how much of a personality is actually needed within a Friend is unknown because QA could, presumably, control them directly similar to how she did so with the bugs of Taylor's Host's original power, and the Shards when not crippled by Zion. Say hello to giant swarms of perfectly in sync drones working together to kill you.
Your presence speeds up the startup sequence substantially, firstly as your triad of modified generators at their emergency maximum output allowed you to push nearly twenty terawatts of power by yourself, more than two hundred times the specified power of the standard fusion generator included in most Valkyrie frames.
Not quite true. The batteries got wrecked against Sekhmet when she used them as ablative armor. She finished repairing those in the time skip in canon which should be a couple months away here. When repaired they allow her to dump their entire charge into her HPP's(other weapons too but those are the only ones that will survive it) for an Alpha Strike way above what she can produce even from her reactors.
The Dynamos meanwhile is fully functioning but yes, their power production role has been replaced. She can still use it to just straight up negate most laser weaponry though.
I am unsure as to if the Friends created need to have their personalities stored, as that was a modification Taylor insisted upon iirc, but if Cadet Hebert can create both then her stored Friends would act as a honor guard of highly advanced discouragements while the non-stored would act as screens. Also, how much of a personality is actually needed within a Friend is unknown because QA could, presumably, control them directly similar to how she did so with the bugs of Taylor's Host's original power, and the Shards when not crippled by Zion. Say hello to giant swarms of perfectly in sync drones working together to kill you.
Due to how shards do things, QA (or, rather, Sanctioned players) had to choose a specialization and get locked into it. So, most likely, she can't do most other things she is capable of. Unless Taylor pulls something off, QA won't be able to naturally assume direct control of a ridiculous number of Friends. Right now her main advantage over any regular parahuman is that she knows a lot.
QA likes Anna too much, so if she decides to split resources Anna definitely getting one of buds. Probably biggest and strongest of them too, because she is full of promise.
Dreamer: "Good grief. Don't tell me Queen Administrator's planning on making Anna my sister? ... Even though she'd make the best sister!"
Or QA going "rogue" in wanting to 'archive/analyse' Anna even after death. In which case, she's totally playing a long term game in 'blessings' on her end (in spite of what Flower Girl would wish otherwise.)
If anything, only mercy if 'budding' intentionally/with force, on Anna. Would be it'd be more of a complete "Blank", whose purpose/desire, is to be more like Anna... But then you'd have Anna, face a Shard-doppelganger version of her, with the most conflicting...
But by that point, it'd be ironic therapy to Anna? Or her own personal Hellhound, wanting to go "Conflict Buddies" with her.
Not quite true. The batteries got wrecked against Sekhmet when she used them as ablative armor. She finished repairing those in the time skip in canon which should be a couple months away here. When repaired they allow her to dump their entire charge into her HPP's(other weapons too but those are the only ones that will survive it) for an Alpha Strike way above what she can produce even from her reactors.
The Dynamos meanwhile is fully functioning but yes, their power production role has been replaced. She can still use it to just straight up negate most laser weaponry though.
Huh. I thought she used them to store energy and power her weapons pre-Sekhmet, then used them as ablative armor during the fight with said Type-0, and finally the batteries were repaired and could be used to power her weapons, but this wasn't needed due to the reactors. Tbh I 'd have to reread, but I do not remember where this was mentioned and I'm not slogging through 210k words with like 3 projects due tomorrow that I haven't started. None the less, thank you for the info.
Due to how shards do things, QA (or, rather, Sanctioned players) had to choose a specialization and get locked into it. So, most likely, she can't do most other things she is capable of. Unless Taylor pulls something off, QA won't be able to naturally assume direct control of a ridiculous number of Friends. Right now her main advantage over any regular parahuman is that she knows a lot.
Hmm. I haven't read Sanctioned, so if it's mentioned there I wouldn't know. I was under the impression that while Shards are crippled it was less locking them into only being able to give one power to their hosts, but rather preventing them from giving their full power, thus threating the Cycle. Like, in Worm canon QA was crippled to no longer be able to modify Shards for deployment, and subsequently the powers given by the Shards, but still able to assume direct control over vast multitudes of things and control them all at the same time using QA's effectively infinite multitasking. QA herself still has the ability to do multiple parahuman powers, such as Taylor and Aiden controlling different things, but not her full, unrestricted control over Shards. Also, I meant QA doing those things directly herself, rather than through Best Host parahuman power. Like, the Shard could still do those things, but won't give them out as a parahuman power. The power given to the parahuman is limited (and through this the players locked into a specialization), but the Shard itself would not be limited. The players were limited because they play QA who is puppeting Best Host's body and power, but if Best Host Taylor were to have control returned then Taylor would only have the power of Friends.
(Hope this is understandable and not just a giant word soup.)
So I've been speculating a bit on a Worst Case Scenario, if Queen Administrator/"Taylor" Decided to adopt/convert Anna. And well... These notes were written/abridged, in response;
-
*If QAylor 'adopted' Anna more... Bluntly/now, scenario.
(Tentacles swallow Anna, scenario...)
Instructor: "HEBERT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ANNA?"
QAbert: "Integrating..." (As Anna's literally, pulled... Inside Hebert. But no "bulges" are shown)
(Cue odds of QAbert going 'stone cold'? Or smirking/giggling, over the 'mental' screams/analysis of Anna in her Shardspace/etc. As she's converted/"translated" into a Shard...)
(And this is before there's an odds/chance of Anna's Core being stuck/panicking, over Shard shenanigans at hand...)
From this...
Best scenario?
QAylor: "Disengaging..."
(Tentacle 'bulges' out, and a "Friend body" version of Anna is spitted out.)
Anna: *Hollowed Eyes. Weird senses, and trauma over a Cosmic Horror adoption/assimilation scene...*
Anna: "Don't even say a word. I don't want to imagine what's inside your... your fucked up brain..."
Or some scenario like that. Which no doubt will lead to a UN Sanction/s at hand, investigate/enquire on WTF? Happened to Anna. And QAylor whistling a tune, as she's got data transferred, and an eternity of Shardling, conflicting friendship in hand... Eventually.
And with a free, "mostly human" Friend upgrade on top. And granting "Nameless Girl" a new Sister on top!
Worst case scenario...
QAylor: "Integrating..." (Smirks, over absorbing everything Anna about Anna...)
*Cell's Magical Valkyrie Transformation theme*
(Que by 'instinct/desire' of Nameless Girl to not be Taylor. QA becomes... QAnna?)
Instructor: "What the fuck did you do...?!"
QAnna: "... I integrated Anna/Taylor. Full synthesis is reached. Anna is now an indistinguishable part of me..."
End result: "Wanted for Ace Valkyrie Absorption Murder", in a nutshell. Assuming, the creepy horror show doesn't end up with "Anna" being more herself... But stuck/complaining with how Queen/Taylor is now stuck as an irreversible part of herself. Memories, knowledge and bullshit (even 'if' crippled) abilities be damned.
Or worse; having sudden psychological breaks as a "loophole" for "QAylor" to make her the Best Host! With Mind Control powers at the horizon. Desires for Mind Control powers? Riiight after having a 'chat' with Best Friend Taylor "Nameless Girl/Dreamer", and Master Queen Administrator.
-
Honestly, I did a lot more speculative notes. But woe befall the potential mental imagery. If we get to the point of Queen Administrator being so obsessed with Anna, she might try and pull a Worm version of Noelle? ...
... But honestly, it'd more likely be if going 'extra safe', integrating Biomass and memories. Alongside "other" Hosts, before possibly doing the 'main course/conversion' with Anna. And it'd probably lead to a string of horror episodes, and accidental revelations that might end up going...
UN: "... Fuuck. So, she's like... A sentient brain cancer, tumor. Thing. That got implanted into other 'hosts', after expiring/being killed. Or cloned bodies. Crippled, to maintain some sort of 'cycle'. And encouraged to promote conflict, for the sake of Data. And was so obsessed with the host named 'Taylor Hebert', that she believes she is, Taylor Hebert..."
*Cue UN, having another Good Grief. On horror on what it takes, for a Brain Tumor/parasyte, to make a Valkyrie just like itself, a brain tumor?*
They don't have to have their personalities stored, but they do because QA and Taylor don't want them to die.
Their control methods are normally being programmed to be loyal, there is no direct control, but Taylor mentioned in Is it wrong that she is capable of looking through their eyes, and anyway, Queen can set them to be controlled by her using technology in a similar way and added multitasking through a hat or something.
Huh. I thought she used them to store energy and power her weapons pre-Sekhmet, then used them as ablative armor during the fight with said Type-0, and finally the batteries were repaired and could be used to power her weapons, but this wasn't needed due to the reactors. Tbh I 'd have to reread, but I do not remember where this was mentioned and I'm not slogging through 210k words with like 3 projects due tomorrow that I haven't started. None the less, thank you for the info.
Onium batteries: No external components.
Allows for the additional storage of energy. Can serve as projectiles when charged. Can serve as reactive armour.- Alpha Strike: Allows for an incredibly powerful attack from an energy weapon at the start of a battle against an appropriate target. Currently, only your Heavy Particle Projectors can channel an Alpha Strike without taking component damage. Solar dynamos: Either layered over armour plates or extrudes from surface of frame as a mist.
Absorbs EM radiation and converts it to energy. Can be used to mitigate a moderate amount of damage from laser weaponry. Energy dynamos: Layered over armour plates.
Absorb kinetic energy for storage. Can be used to mitigate moderate amounts of damage from projectile weaponry.
Hmm. I haven't read Sanctioned, so if it's mentioned there I wouldn't know. I was under the impression that while Shards are crippled it was less locking them into only being able to give one power to their hosts, but rather preventing them from giving their full power, thus threating the Cycle. Like, in Worm canon QA was crippled to no longer be able to modify Shards for deployment, and subsequently the powers given by the Shards, but still able to assume direct control over vast multitudes of things and control them all at the same time using QA's effectively infinite multitasking. QA herself still has the ability to do multiple parahuman powers, such as Taylor and Aiden controlling different things, but not her full, unrestricted control over Shards. Also, I meant QA doing those things directly herself, rather than through Best Host parahuman power. Like, the Shard could still do those things, but won't give them out as a parahuman power. The power given to the parahuman is limited (and through this the players locked into a specialization), but the Shard itself would not be limited. The players were limited because they play QA who is puppeting Best Host's body and power, but if Best Host Taylor were to have control returned then Taylor would only have the power of Friends.
Since it doesn't look like Host is able to ask for a given set, it looks like you'll just have to pick your own. Too bad; you had been planning to give her countless happy little insect friends, but it's not like she could appreciate them like this. At least messing upmodifying the connection process gave you more capacity to work with.
Dreamer: "Good grief. Don't tell me Queen Administrator's planning on making Anna my sister? ... Even though she'd make the best sister!"
Or QA going "rogue" in wanting to 'archive/analyse' Anna even after death. In which case, she's totally playing a long term game in 'blessings' on her end (in spite of what Flower Girl would wish otherwise.)
If anything, only mercy if 'budding' intentionally/with force, on Anna. Would be it'd be more of a complete "Blank", whose purpose/desire, is to be more like Anna... But then you'd have Anna, face a Shard-doppelganger version of her, with the most conflicting...
But by that point, it'd be ironic therapy to Anna? Or her own personal Hellhound, wanting to go "Conflict Buddies" with her.
I think less subsuming/integrating Anna and more just creating usual Shard-Host connection, to study what the hell Anna will do with power. And then Shard starts liking its host too much, dedicating more and more resources, removing restrictions and generally going "My host is so awesome! She is so efficient and deadly, despite my subpar capabilities!" while disregarding whatever rules it is still supposed to follow.
She does have power concerns to consider when creating her weapons. Anna used her onium batteries and dynamos originally to power her HPPs, but that was replaced by her triple fusion generators. These allowed her to put out ~20 terawatts at emergency power. This means she can fire her HPPs all day long with no regard to power consumption, but this isn't the case for Cadet Hebert. QA could provide the needed energy for the HPPs through shard fuckery, but the UN does not know about that capacity at the moment, rather they just know about the reactor that was requested before the impeller field for Symbie came online.
Yeah, power concerns are likely to be a major limitation that prevents QA from going completely crazy with arming her Valkyrie frame. Even Anna has to pay heed to that.
That said, I think it's fairly safe to assume QA was either given a fusion reactor, or that she constructed/upgraded an equivalent with provided materials. The lack of explicit mention strikes me more as a minor authorial oversight instead of anything deliberate; it's easy to forget about power generation when the original quest barely mentions fusion reactors for the first dozen chapters. The fabber raid seemed like it was partly intended to prevent issues like this from cropping up, by basically giving QA a blank check for what she has stored in her inventory.
The Dynamos meanwhile is fully functioning but yes, their power production role has been replaced. She can still use it to just straight up negate most laser weaponry though.
Minor correction: Anna's dynamos don't get fully repaired until midway through the month-long time skip.
When she has her "battle" against Koujirou & company, most of her energy dynamos are still out of commission. In peak form, Anna is more than a little terrifying.
Queen Administrator did not enjoy the emotional aftereffects of Leonhart's ambush. Even ten minutes after the fact, with soft Pegacorn-Friends pressed against her, and in a cozy, empty lounge, Host's body still felt as though it was being violently compressed. The sensation only partially abated once she fully expressed Symbie and released fifty beetle-Friends to form a protective sphere surrounding Host. Distracting herself with analysis also failed to cure her.
It was hard to determine the exact reason behind Leonhart's ambush: was it an entirely human motivation, or had :MOTHER: used local humans as pawns? It was hard to say, and :MOTHER: wasn't replying to QA's requests for clarification. Humans seemed to have a plausible motivation: not to allow what they perceived as dubious modifications to a potential atmosphere-killer. :MOTHER:also had a plausible motivation: not to let QA remove preset restrictions on the items being used as shard substitutes in the current universe.
Instructor Leonhart had been ordered to prevent QA from modifying additional Valkyrie Cores without prior authorization. All Valkyries were advised to avoid startling those known or suspected to have entered live combat, a comparably dangerous environment, or an environment perceived as similarly dangerous. Would-be instructors received repeated reminders of this and other behavioral advisories.
A message from UNOMI-33181, Yana Smirnov. No immediately useful information; marked for later review.
Instructor Leonhart's orders regarding core modification should not have outweighed the emphasis placed on the avoidance of problematic behavior. However, humans seldom had coherent behavioral weight rankings. Miscalculations did not necessarily require :MOTHER:'s intervention.
An unarmed, non-volatile robot arrived outside QA's protective Friend cocoon with a mug of heated plant-based liquid. No unacceptably dangerous toxins. Friend paths were modified to allow retrieval and delivery of the beverage without leaving any paths for high-speed projectiles to travel.
The UN now knew that QA believed she could modify the software of preexisting Valkyrie (Cores/Frames). There had been discussions regarding the utility of getting her to do so, and it was likely that they would make the request in the future. Interrupting QA's earlier offer only delayed the inevitable.
Intervention by :MOTHER: tentatively deemed unlikely. More evidence required.
The tea tasted acceptable.
~ ~ ~
"Cadet Taylor Hebert will not be joining us until the afternoon classes," Cereza Leonhart began.
Immediately, a wave of whispering swept through the room. Leonhart silenced them with a glare and a few pointed alerts to personal devices.
"This is not a punishment for her; the earlier incident with Cadet Hebert was almost exclusively my fault," Leonhart continued. "'Do not startle Valkyries' is a safety advisory for some very good reasons. I prioritized emphasizing prior orders over heeding that advisory, and the results were fairly obvious."
Leonhart really, truly should've known better. She was almost a century old and had—like everyone else alive—accidentally hurt others on numerous occasions. A possible cult survivor should've been at the top of her priority list for avoiding a repeat of such mistakes. She'd need to find some way to make it up to Hebert later.
Cadet Barlow raised her hand and waited. Leonhart considered ignoring the gesture; however, knowing teenagers, that might encourage them to follow in Hebert's footsteps. The last thing they needed was for people to start imitating her oblivious misbehavior.
"Yes, Cadet?" Leonhart snapped.
"Will we be permitted to discuss this with people outside class?" Cadet Barlow asked eagerly.
Leonhart forced a shrug. "Hebert's weapons are not actually classified. They're just unusual."
Or at least, weren't classified yet. Leonhart gave it a month at the most.
Barlow's hand returned to the air. The cadet didn't wait to be called upon before continuing. Since it was a follow-up, Leonhart decided to let it go. She could return to being Worst Cop another day.
"I meant to reference the fact that Hebert is apparently under orders," Cadet Barlow elaborated.
Leonhart looked out at a squadron of eager faces and knew she'd made a mistake. She wanted to get back to lessons as quickly as possible, but that wouldn't be fair to Taylor. A little extra personal information would be needed just to stop people from thinking Taylor was some sort of UNOMI spook.
"It's nothing so extreme as that," Leonhart dryly replied. "Cadet Hebert's enthusiasm for engineering often outweighs her respect for conventional safety standards. She has yet to actually hurt anyone, but there are several topics that she's not to pursue without prior authorization."
Leonhart broadcasted the motions for a clap and shaped her Impeller Field to amplify its sound. A good third of the class jumped in place. This time, though, the people whom she needed to avoid surprising were not among their number.
"Unusual or not, you aren't here to gossip. We've wasted enough time as it is; take your seats."
~~~
Instructor Shapira watched the ball of writhing, crackling chrome carapaces and fought the urge to open fire. No wonder the other Instructors had demanded she handle this. Unlike Hebert's cute little pegacorns, the shield-beetles were eerily similar to Antagonist non-combat models. Someone would need to have Words with the Crafting Elective Class. She could understand being distracted by shiny new technology, but someone should've realized what they'd look like as a cohesive swarm. At least their movement patterns merely followed overlapping, predesignated arcs. True Antagonist drones would move far more erratically.
Well, best to just get this over with.
Shapira waved to the chrome ball of insectile horror and waited for the movement pattern to change. That it changed to maximize the amount of armor facing the instructor was not particularly encouraging, but it still meant Hebert had noticed the visitor.
"Dare I ask what you're doing?"
Hebert's response was immediate. It was a definite improvement over her earlier non-responsiveness.
"I do not have a detailed understanding of your risk-assessment strategies."
Instructor Shapira honestly couldn't tell if Hebert was being a smartass or if she truly had taken the question literally. Valkyrie Syndrome often sacrificed important communication skills in its attempts to maximize combat effectiveness.
Best to assume she meant what she said.
"Right, let's start over. What are you doing?"
Inside the protective shell, Taylor's lips twitched. Shapira added the display to the cadet's folder. Technically, it was only supposed to be a file, but Shapira felt as though the related discussions had long since catapulted it past that rank. Of course, more than half of those posts amounted to little more than shitposting, making up new nicknames, and bickering about different uses and variants of the word 'pure.' Shapira checked the nickname listing again to see what had been added within the last few seconds. Even half the world away, Valkyries were still getting involved and invested in Hebert's life.
>> Name: Taylor Hebert
>> Aliases: Pure-chan, Jun-chan, Junko-chan, Eldritch-chan, Chaos-chan, Witch-chan, Witch of Chaos, 273.15 Valkyrie Cores in a Trenchcoat
Oooh, that's a good one. Shapira set a reminder to use the trenchcoat alias in future discussions; UNOMI wasn't supposed to purge aliases if they actually saw frequent use. UNOMI purged them anyway, but it did delay the inevitable.
"Redesigning Symbie's combat tentacles. They did not accomplish their intended purpose."
Shapira sighed. She didn't know what she expected from someone so blatantly in the grips of Valkyrie Syndrome. Still, she had to at least do a holding action until someone more qualified could take over.
"You were in a room with multiple Aces. There's no shame in being subdued by that kind of force."
Of course, only Leonhart had actually gotten involved. Sanchez had been more focused on guarding Hebert's Friends and keeping them from treating it like a full-fledged combat situation. The coil-guns comprising their horns apparently packed an impressive punch for their size.
Sanchez's new Friend hadn't participated in the scuffle, which she'd reportedly been quite pleased by. It seemed Hebert truly had given the Friend as a gift.
"Symbie's tentacles were severed before even being fully extended. This proves that they are in need of upgrades."
Shapira switched tactics. That approach clearly wasn't going to work.
"You know, there's a reason combat tentacles aren't exactly a standard weapon among UN Valkyries. Are you aware of the average and median engagement ranges against Antagonist forces?"
Hebert looked up suspiciously despite the writhing wall of metal blocking her view of Shapira.
"Is this a genuine attempt to assist me, or are you trying to gather additional information on my combat capabilities?"
"Both," Shapira said honestly.
That seemed to be the right answer.
"I am aware that the curvature of the Earth is the primary restriction for engagement ranges. The tentacles are no longer primarily intended for use in melee combat; I have been advised that Symbie's relatively small surface area does not permit–"
Shapira found and reviewed the incident in question. Sanchez. Of course. Shapira honestly couldn't decide if putting the two disaster children on the same plane had been worth all the resulting trouble. Only time would tell, she supposed.
"–an optimal amount of equipment."
Not entirely accurate. Once one grew skilled enough, Impeller Field size and control were greater constraints than the crutch that was Frame surface area. Elite Valkyries could, and frequently would, extend weapons from anywhere within their Impeller Field. Shapira set a reminder to inform Hebert of that fact once the current crisis was dealt with.
"Symbie is currently constructing the infrastructure necessary for a superior Frame, but that will take time. Until her new Frame is completed, the tentacles are intended to provide flexible surfaces for supplementary weapon deployment."
Shapira frowned and flagged the mention of infrastructure. That was definitely unusual; Valkyrie Frames usually upgraded equipment based on necessity and usage. The exceptions were the Three Hundred, which slowly improved all their armaments regardless of use at the cost of having a preset loadout.
The Instructor flagged Rokusabe Koujirou's current Frame while she was at it. Its location of origin and refusal to bond with most Valkyries disqualified it from being an overlooked member of the Three Hundred, but that didn't mean there wasn't something else weird going on. It was probably just a technician being too overzealous with the safeties, but everyone was on the lookout for more possible AVCs now that Symbie had shown up.
Either way, it sounded like Taylor Cadet Hebert thought she was on her own for upgrades. That was a mentality the UN needed to nip in the bud.
"Did you actually look at any of the requisition paperwork you were pointed toward?"
Hebert shifted her skull in something closer to a pair of twitches than an actual shake of the head.
"I was under the impression those were a thin pretense for people to deny project requests while gathering information on my capabilities."
Heavens save me from people incapable of communicating!
"No. The second page of the packet would've explained what kinds of equipment you could request for personal use with minimal justification, including a fusion reactor. I'm amazed you've apparently been working with a fission reactor this whole time."
Shapira sighed and rubbed her face with both hands.
"I suspect some people probably expected you to struggle and ask for help well before now, leading to a lesson on how paperwork is a necessary evil. However, you proved to be more self-sufficient than they expected, so..."
She didn't need her eyes to see Taylor's expression shift to the excitement of a child given twice their body weight in sweets. Partly because her eyes would be useless, given the still-active wall of shield-drones separating them. She hoped Hebert felt safe enough to store the drones soon; continued exposure had only made them a little less freaky.
"How many reactors am I allowed to request, exactly?"
Shapira snorted. She should've seen that coming.
"Let's just go with one for now," said Shapira. "I've heard Symbie's integration time is all kinds of weird, but you should remember that she'll still need time to integrate each piece of equipment."
She felt a little bad about claiming something she no longer believed. It was more than 50% phishing, honestly.
"It will likely take longer for the generators to be prepared than it will for Symbie to integrate them."
Shapira added that to the list of anomalies and updated the requisition request. Integration time was not supposed to be a suggestion. Honestly, her personal impulse was to supply Hebert with whatever she wanted and see what happened, but she knew the analysts would probably want enough data points for a proper rate of change. Nobody knew if Symbie was truly a one-off or if she was just the first of her kind to be found. Really, they all expected Symbie to remain unique, but hope yet lived.
Especially since there was a growing faction that believed Hebert's old bunker to be an active pseudo-Arcology. The second squad to arrive had found significantly fewer corpses than the first team had reported and other oddities just kept piling up. It was fortunate that the now-named Hell's Hand did not seem actively hostile to those exploring it.
"Acknowledged. I'll send in a request for five to be prepared; you'll get one at a time, and we'll give you more if you feel that they're necessary after each finishes integrating."
"You are attempting to gather information on Symbie's integration time."
It wasn't treated as an accusation, so Shapira didn't treat it as such. If anything, Hebert sounded ever-so-slightly happy that the UN was trying to determine her exact limitations.
"You and Symbie produced at least fifty conventional military-grade drones and approximately twenty exotic biomechanical organisms within sixteen hours of non-combat conditions. We would be irresponsible to not learn as much about you as possible."
"You would," Hebert agreed, smiling brightly.
Shapira just knew that would provoke another wave of 'Antagonists do not intentionally infiltrate' memes. Her colleagues simply couldn't help themselves.
"You aren't required to return to classes today, although I do think you'd find the current theoretical lessons rather interesting. At the least, I recommend attending the afternoon combat classes."
The instructor paused to allow for a response. None was forthcoming.
"Assuming you do not wish to return immediately," she continued. "Is there anything specific you would like assistance doing prior to afternoon classes?"
Hebert perked up and nodded.
"I require several minutes in an expendable environment, simulated or otherwise, in order to calibrate Symbie's Frame and my control of it. I would also appreciate any available reference footage for the most advanced weaponry currently available to Valkyries."
Sanchez arguably had that, but Shapira suspected such a demonstration wouldn't be good for the long-term mental health of either Valkyrie. The instructor briefly skimmed Hebert's file for probable reasoning and found herself suppressing all outward signs of rage. Hebert's old residence had killed experimental subjects for being too lethal? What was the point of military research if not to find weapons claiming exactly that? It was the height of irrationality to fear other humans when Antagonists were at the gates.
Well. Watching a recording-slash-simulation versus a Type Zero should help quite a bit with whatever misgivings that hellhole had given Hebert. Instructor Shapira submitted a priority request to Perth and received confirmation within milliseconds.
"I've reserved a simulation room for you; that should take care of both requests. Once you've finished calibrating, there are a few scenarios which should provide the weapons' demonstration you want. However, those would involve beings similar to Type Zero Macross; would viewing such entities make you unacceptably uncomfortable again?"
The beetles began flowing into Symbie's expressed frame. Shapira couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the process of storing them looked a bit off. The instructor added her suspicion to Hebert's folder.
"I will be fine," Hebert claimed, smiling slightly.
Not a normal response to the monsters that were Type Zeroes, but perhaps she was just looking forward to the overdue calibrations or a weapons' demonstration in general. It wasn't as though Hebert had seen Macross kill anyone.
"The scenario will involve multiple Valkyrie deaths," Instructor Shapira warned. "I can likely arrange for an alternative demonstration if this is problematic; it will simply take longer."
Hebert's expression returned to neutrality, a downturn in mood that should not have been as reassuring as it was.
"I understand. However, I believe these are simulated entities? They are not people. I will not be affected by their elimination."
They were real, once. I knew some of them.
Instructor Shapira didn't have the heart to correct the younger Valkyrie. That revelation could wait a few months.
~ ~ ~
>> Name: Taylor Hebert
>> Aliases: Pure-chan, Jun-chan, Junko-chan, Eldritch-chan, Chaos-chan, Witch-chan, Witch of Chaos, 273.15 Valkyrie Cores in a Trenchcoat, Military-Industrial Complex
"Stop vandalizing Hebert's file with jokes. Nobody has called her half of those."
"Oh? Check her discussion pages."
>> Group Captain Vishka Nonahali (300 Rank: 6)
You know how some people have Napoleon complexes or messiah complexes? She has a military-industrial complex.
"...Objection reluctantly suspended while I go castigate our superiors."
The instructor briefly skimmed Hebert's file for probable reasoning and found herself suppressing all outward signs of rage. Hebert's old residence had killed experimental subjects for being too lethal? What was the point of military research if not to find weapons claiming exactly that? It was the height of irrationality to fear other humans when Antagonists were at the gates.
Creativity, duh. They can make the weapons, but actually deploying them in trials doesn't inform creative uses if they can just steamroll the other test subjects.
Granted, it does seem pretty odd from the outside, doubly so if the initial emotional reaction precludes further logical analysis.
That nickname would've appeared either way, but @Vebyast gets the credit for Vishka's specific joke. The offending discussion post would've been offscreen before.
Oh my, I wonder what would happen if she were to see if the Antagonist responds to her talking to it... Wouldn't that be a treat to the valks looking in on her~?
You know, I really appreciate the candor of both the instructors and the higher ups. They could be going all in on the deniability and absence of communication. Instead, they are treating QA with a measure of respect and caution that will probably pay off better for everyone involved. I really do look forward to seeing the shenanigans that the integration brings, as well as novel applications of weaponry. (Let's have her look at the most hardcore human weaponry and see her make something half a tier below that first try.)
Also Anna's interference at the incident? Seriously deserving that title of best (human) girl.
I wonder if she would be exempt from after action report assignments, given they don't know if she was on the observer or combatant side of things (or both). I would expect QA to produce some sort of report on the sim which will probably contain too much detail for comfort for most people. Especially if she starts critiquing this new "cycle" for it's gross inefficiency in deploying Antagonists that so clearly outgun their opposition thereby stifling innovation by removing the viability of a variety of sufficiently exotic effects and forcing everyone into a race for the biggest gun. She'd probably even share it if she was told or shown that note sharing was common place.
"People don't die, only simulations i that i do mot need to empathise with die and if someone dies then obviously they were a simulation and any emotuonal distress felt is an error"
Edit:"these tears are an artifact of vestigial data slated for deletion."
Instructor Leonhart had been ordered to prevent QA from modifying additional Valkyrie Cores without prior authorization. All Valkyries were advised to avoid startling those known or suspected to have entered live combat, a comparably dangerous environment, or an environment perceived as similarly dangerous. Would-be instructors received repeated reminders of this and other behavioral advisories.
A message from UNOMI-33181, Yana Smirnov. No immediately useful information; marked for later review.
Instructor Leonhart's orders regarding core modification should not have outweighed the emphasis placed on the avoidance of problematic behavior. However, humans seldom had coherent behavioral weight rankings. Miscalculations did not necessarily require :MOTHER:'s intervention.
"I require several minutes in an expendable environment, simulated or otherwise, in order to calibrate Symbie's Frame and my control of it. I would also appreciate any available reference footage for the most advanced weaponry currently available to Valkyries."
This is interesting. QA is displaying a very human reaction that (to my untrained eye) seems inline with the expected overstressed-and-probably-PTSD-inflicted human. I wonder if this is an artifact of her current hardware (wetware) architecture, or a carry-over feature from her previous body. In both this and The Other Story, she has multiple Friends keeping an eye out and does not allow herself to be surprised...
the shield-beetles were eerily similar to Antagonist non-combat models. Someone would need to have Words with the Crafting Elective Class. She could understand being distracted by shiny new technology, but someone should've realized what they'd look like as a cohesive swarm
...did the beetles come up with the Crafting Club? Or is she just assuming? I don't remember them...obviously, this means I must do a complete and detailed re-reading. Woe. Woe and agony. =D
The beetles began flowing into Symbie's expressed frame. Shapira couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the process of storing them looked a bit off. The instructor added her suspicion to Hebert's folder.
The sad thing is that even if QA was aware they were real, that wouldn't yet change her view of them as "not people". Though she may have phrased her answer differently in that case - not out of tact, of course, but to prevent unnecessary hostility from expressing such a viewpoint. I'm pretty sure she's aware that humans think of each other as people and do not appreciate those who think otherwise.
Oh my, I wonder what would happen if she were to see if the Antagonist responds to her talking to it... Wouldn't that be a treat to the valks looking in on her~?
She wouldn't, she knows its a simulation and not a real antagonist and if the humans had enough data to simulate antagonist communication they wouldn't be fucked so badly
