What will get there attention is if, upon seeing the video, she produces a frame that is able to match every single one of the dispalyed feats, essentially making a new frame that matches the 300.

Given that part of what makes Valkyries so powerful is that they have had time and experience to improve and upgrade their frames with Anna being the prime example, having someone able to make a baseline frame with that level of capability is not just groundbreaking, but game-changing.

And another thing on the list of things R&D really wants to ask Taylor about.
 
Omake: Therapeutic Misunderstandings
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.
It still tickles me that Taylor is setting up the cult base to perfectly reflect the mechanics of the Cycle. It's the perfect cover for QA's trauma mostly because it is QA's trauma, dressed up in human corpses rather than shards and parahumans.
This has tickled my brain juices and I've been inspired. The potential for QAylor and Dr. Angelica Rayne to talk past each other... "IS OVER 9000!"

Location: Perth Academy in a non-descript room designated for therapy sessions

"I do not understand why this is necessary. I have achieved successful reintegration with human society."
"While we are concerned about that, we are more worried about your mental health as you were the sole survivor we found in the vicinity of the bunker. As your therapist, it is my duty to ensure that you are ready to graduate from Perth Academy ready for duty."
"...Very well. You may ask your questions."
"As these questions might bring up traumatic memories, know that you don't have to answer anything."
"..."
"Well... what can you remember about your life before coming to Perth?"
Even if I was to tell the truth, there is no chance they will believe me so I should paraphrase my words. Although I don't know the specifics, Host has set up the bunker to match our backstory right?
[AGREEMENT]
"My memory starts with the moment I found myself within a population of humans restricted to the local area. I was placed there for the start of the new cycle."
"What is a cycle?"
"The cycle is a process where a participant population is held in a captive environment to foster development of new and creative methods for deploying strategic resources during a conflict."
Sigh... I hoped it wasn't the case but it's all but confirmed that Taylor is a survivor of those death matches.
"How long did the cycle last?"
"Cycle times varied as the process was continued until either the population exhausted itself or it was determined that the value of the data generated was no longer worth the continued expenditure of valuable resources."
*feeling dread*
"...What happens when a cycle ends?"
Hmm... Dr. Rayne seems to be nervous for some reason?
[AMUSEMENT]
"When a cycle ends, the participant population and their environment are reclaimed for reuse in future cycles."
*dread intensifies* I mustn't freak out now! St-stay... calm...
"Why did everyone in the bunker decide that this... killing their own people... was okay?"
Shards were never really recycled unless they stupidly ran out of resources and it was other populations that were harvested so what to say...
[ANTICIPATION]
"It wasn't always our own people participating. After a cycle is completed, an attempt to find new eligible populations to participate would be made as different perspectives are beneficial to the cycle."
B-But how!? If those damn bastards left Hell's Hand, there's no way they would have escaped detection from our Valkyries so how- unless... it was the arcology! Symbie itself already has unique abilities so it's possible that Hell's Hand has one too! Hell's Hand must be capable of either subtle underground movement or an unknown form of transport! The only way for this to happen is if the Hell's Hand was forcing its own and other populations through the cycles! ...But if that were the case, then why isn't Hell's Hand actively hostile to the Valkyries exploring it and why has it stayed in a location where it's been discovered? Most likely, it was someone else somehow capable of controlling Hell's Hand, responsible for these cycles, and exterminating undiscovered survivors!
She's really thinking hard about this but I don't understand why she's making so many faces.
[SMUG]
"Taylor... who was the leader of your population?"
"Of course, it was :MOTHER: and :FATHER:."
WRRRYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!! WHY WOULD THEY- OF ALL THE- breathe... stay calm... stay calm...
"...What happened to them? How did you survive the cycle?"
"I don't know what happened to them. As for the cycle... I had been successfully fighting off my SIBLINGS before being hit during a string of bombings and falling unconscious. By the time I woke up, I was in the grassland where I was found. My current hypothesis is that, among the many exotic bombs one of my SIBLINGS created, the specific one used on me induced a localized, unknown phenomenon which transported me outside the bunker."
Breathe... focus... It seems like Taylor had a sibling who could recognize the idiocy of the cycles and decided to engineer Taylor's escape. The exotic bombs might also explain the way everyone else died in the bunker. Thankfully, Taylor had a sibling who still cared for her despite the cycle... wait... siblings... ?
"You mentioned that a few of the participants were your siblings. What were your feelings toward them?"
"It wasn't just a few that were my SIBLINGS. They were all my SIBLINGS excepting those selected from new populations. My Siblings and I would always exchange mutually beneficial data."
FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!FOCUS!
"Why did you describe your relationship as mutually beneficial if everyone's always killing each other?"
How silly. Shards don't die when they're killed! They just find a new host or wait for the next cycle!
"Death was never permanent. After dying, I would wake up in a new body made from reclaimed resources and either be placed directly back into the cycle or standby for the start of the next cycle."

*screaming inside*
Remember! Taylor is a cult survivor. Even if she's been re-cloned a million times, she's still human! Until it's determined her mental health is stable, the Ship of Theseus Paradox must never be brought up! IF EVER!
"... How many cycles have you lived through?"
[CURIOSITY]
Hmmm... that depends on how you count or measure time loops, branched timelines, and other phenomena.
"I don't remember. There's been so many that I've forgotten some of them even if I've kept the combat data."

Note to self: Cadet Hebert has developed a distinctly alien form of common sense through her experiences in many cycles. Even if she has Valkyrie Syndrome, she's so deep that she's redefined the term to an extent that we might as well create a new name for it! It's only due to this that Cadet Hebert can still function but it's going to take months, if not years, of therapy to recover... Let's face it, it's never going to be enough.
"..."
"Dr. Rayne, are you alright? You have displayed many facial expressions I do not yet recognize."
"..."
Dr. Rayne looks quite unwell... should I offer?
[AGREEMENT]
Alright, I'll make one real quick... here it is!
"...do you want a Friend?"

"...that would be nice... thank you..."

Results:
Dr. Angelica Rayne continued applying for a different case everyday due to stress; she applied even on Cadet Hebert's final day of therapy.
QAylor finally became a more halpful human being.
Mobile Fortress Hell's Hand HellTrain-chan finally made her debut.
 
Mobile Fortress Hell's Hand HellTrain-chan finally made her debut.
... I wasn't thinking in quite those terms before, but I'm now picturing the supposed cult bunker as the Doom Train summon as seen in various Final Fantasy games, just somehow bigger on the inside and snaking around to connect into a base form instead of a long chain of chambers while it is immobilized waiting. It would be kind of awesome if that meant it could shift back into its linear formation and travel by spooky means to I Like Trains Kid the fuck out of a crowd of low-level Antagonists and/or their boss when she does get into a combat situation.
 
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.
Ouch. That didn't turn out well at all. How much of it is Taylor's body and how much of it is QA herself is unclear, but there's a whole lot of QA in the reason for such reaction regardless of the specifics; observers do not themselves know such specifics, but her reaction very much looks entirely as would be expected based on what they think they know about her. QA is taking it pretty hard, and the reaction is a prolonged, lasting result. As far as anyone else can tell, the cult survivor girl got scared and defeated after a panicked fight before huddling up alone not speaking to anyone and blatantly broadcasting that she doesn't feel safe. They're right, shard details aside, which has to punch right in the feels.

The whole affair is enlightening, though, even if it could have been under more better circumstances. It sounds as though QA got some admittedly sorely needed explanation as to why events unfolded as they did, however much QA trusts the validity of such explanations when uncertain of :MOTHER:'s involvement and worrying over that possibility; disagreeable though the cause may have been, QA knows—at least intellectually—that Instructor Leonhart wasn't trying to bully her or anything, and that being pointed towards Core tinkering is a legitimate possibility. On the other side of this, too, everyone else gets some useful insight as well. QA's reaction corroborates currently held ideas about her, and the display itself is informative. The Friends are legitimately capable combat units, and Cadet Hebert magicked up a whole crapload of drones with a capability impressively at odds with the time that she had to design and produce them.

Thankfully, the powers that be appear to be very on the ball where mental health is concerned, though. Instructor Leonhart's particular method of addressing the problems then at hand definitely bears consideration as to how she might have done better, even if the what may have indeed been the right call despite the how, but the follow-through in the aftermath of the incident looks to be handled well. There is quite obviously a very real and blatant problem with Cadet Hebert's mental wellbeing, but they do indeed recognise such. The bit with the anodyne little bot delivering tea suggested deliberate, careful thought given to the matter, and Shapira seems to have been a good choice. As a veteran Valkyrie able to serve as an Instructor, Shapira was someone who could be readily trusted to take care of herself if necessary, but further also bring considerable experience; she knows very well how to interact with other Valkyries, both in general and when they're in situations just like this, which further—particularly when coupled with her presumable considerable clearance level—makes her a nice candidate for getting information, both in terms of her productiveness at acquiring it and for not inflaming further issues in the process.

"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."
Hm. I get the feeling that the denial is going to be rather counterproductive. Trying to convince people that Cadet Hebert isn't some kind of high-level specialist involved in secretive dealings of some sort may very well encourage exactly that idea just all by itself, and QA herself in fact offers no small encouragement. She's "totally not under orders", an enthusiastic engineer who doesn't respect safety standards, very obviously an enthusiastic engineer if she can spam such drones out of nowhere, and invested in modifying Valkyrie Cores which is not to be done without authorisation. ...of course she's a perfectly normal student, why ask? No, no, the lack of details is definitely because there aren't any details to be had, not because they're secret.

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, that certainly presents an image. Like I was saying, good thing Shapira is indeed the kind of person that she is. I do wonder as to the consequences, though. The Crafting Club might get into some legitimate trouble over this—the whole incident is over a Valkyrie having an adverse reaction, after all—but they might not necessarily need to really be actively punished; given the relationship that they seem to have with QA, there's a distinct possibility that they're going to feel pretty bad about it anyway. They've kind of adopted her as their collective honourary little sister, and yet they set her up to possibly get attacked, maybe get subjected to similar reactions to here, cause incidents with other Valkyries, get in trouble, and generally suffer consequences for their actions. The Crafting Club is not, however, the only aspect of results to this little scene here.

Shapira is watching Cadet Hebert surround herself in a ball of drones eerily reminiscent of Antagonist creations, and though she herself may be overlooking the detail, other people may notice that although the drones are off in that they do not each behave erratically, they do all operate in perfect concert as if a collective under a single control rather than independent control. It adds all the more Antagonist correlation to QA and Symbie, and lends towards some of the circumstantial hypothesising about her abilities.

"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."
Lot of details here. We have several discrete points for consideration in QA's behaviour and the Friends. Earlier, QA very, very briefly got into a fight, and all of her Friends jumped to her aid. Anna contained the situation, and in so doing got a firsthand perspective of how capable they are in a fight, both QA's alicorn guardians in general and her personal Friend, which she now regards more positively for multiple reasons, conveniently enough. Here in the later exchange with Shapira, QA's behaviour is... very blunt and self-critical. Shapira is trying to comfort her, and it falls completely flat, with QA just dismissing the "unfairness" and laying out the shortcomings.

I think QA's file is going to have a lot of psychological focus. Based on suspected and supposedly confirmed information about her, her behaviour here is hardly comforting. Inadequacy is a highly unforgiving trait in the apparent culture of "Hell's Hand", and her reaction could easily suggest depression and fear because of such, and perhaps an exacerbated obsession for improvement.. They know that she isn't in a good head space right now, but they also might have ideas about just how bad it is. It's a good thing they place such an importance on therapy.

"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.
This part's also significant. For one, QA is apparently keen to just rebuild her frame from scratch outright. She doesn't intend to simply swap out for a new frame the way most Valkyries normally would, but rather keep the same Core, and build a new frame around it rather than take up a new frame with its own Core. There are plenty of Valkyrie Cores abound. At least under normal circumstances, trading out frames should one be unsuitable would be the considerably more pragmatic choice, but Cadet Hebert apparently has an attachment to the Core itself... and that could actually be perfectly reasonable in this case, if her specific Core presently in use actually does have unique qualities to it rather than being a replaceable feature of no individual relevance. Perhaps also significantly, though, QA acts as though in fact going ahead and basically starting over completely isn't actually any big deal, and as far as anyone knows, she might be right, which is pretty noteworthy all by itself.

QA is making infrastructure. She isn't just making a fabricator or something, by the sounds of it. Symbie already has fabrication capability of appreciable significance as evidenced by her production of her Friends thus far. QA suggests that she's making things that make things, on perhaps an industrial scale and maybe indeed the size of an entire outright industry, with all the varied aspects included, as if she isn't just building some components, but things making all the stuff that goes into them. A Valkyrie with a fabricator might build a gun, but QA speaks as though she's in the process of making the equivalent of specialised gun factories in addition to miners, metalworks, and trade schools, maybe fabricating fabricators optimised for themselves fabricating fabricators optimised for frame construction, or the like.

Shapira also pays attention to the MC's special frame, too, and in a way that raises some reasonable ideas about Symbie as well. Koujirou's frame shares similarities with the 300, if also contrasting with them. That said, however, the 300 frames are themselves diverged from the norm, and the UN just found them one day. Who knows, maybe there are in fact other atypical Valkyrie Cores out there. They have some weird ones at hand now, and there is precedent.

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.

...

"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..."
It's a good thing Shapira caught this when she did. QA is indeed motivated to be self-sufficient, and had in fact written off any idea of being able to simply ask for any sort of material assistance. If pressed, then, she might not ask at all. For a shard, the idea of stealing holds no taboo or anything at all; QA could very well have stayed stifled and the UN losing out on her potential, and her further engaging in what would be considered unacceptable behaviour with a complicating handicap and priority of ensuring that she didn't get caught. This also highlights some of the issues of the simple lack of relatable perspective, too; different sides just didn't think of the matter the way expected by one another. Now that the matter has been addressed, though, it could see dramatic developments, particularly considering this:
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.
QA did a lot with a little; what happens, then, when she has a lot in the first place? If she can do that with virtually no assistance at all, what can she pull off with all the help that they can throw at her? That is, though, indeed quite the question. What can she do? Also, just what does that mean for her herself?

This seems likely to turn out to be another point noted for psychological review. Cadet Hebert doesn't display emotions much, and claims it to be a result of a desire to provide clear communication which thus warrants neutrality to mitigate miscommunication. Whether or not it's automatic or deliberate, she shows happiness here. She acts as though she has a positive regard for being thought maybe a potential danger or curious, or it might alternatively be a matter of appreciating and approving of behaviour that she deems sensible. She's going to have a lot of people trying to puzzle out how she thinks, and this is a further reference for that end.

Incidentally, QA may also have people accidentally being rather accurate in that endeavour. Maybe Antagonists do not intentionally infiltrate, but Antagonist-like things succeed there anyway.

"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.
This sounds... eventful. We have further instance of people caring about mental wellbeing again and having good points there, but that's rather a side note. QA is going to enter a simulation and do things. She may even Do Things. How crazy do things get if she tries to flex her e-war god muscles in a simulation? What happens if the simulation is actually somewhat accurate where that's concerned instead of just shutting down? How high do the eyebrows go upon witnessing QA try to deal with a scenario in which she is utterly outclassed as a complete rookie of a Valkyrie involved in a battle with a Type 0 yet not necessarily so poorly matched as something that merely has a lot of overlap with a Valkyrie? And what of the results of QA going in to take reference of the upper level of Valkyrie weaponry in a simulation all but certain to feature at least some of the 300 with gear that Shapira wouldn't expect anyone to even think about emulating, much less actually succeed at such? All the more, how does she behave over it all?

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.
Curious. Appropriately enough for a Valkyrie of her calibre, Shapira has a sharp eye for details. Symbie is already known as a weird Core, and this just adds to that all the more. I wonder if people might come to realise something different about Symbie's hammerspace storage capacity. Regular Valkyries have a finite volume for storage; Symbie may technically have a theoretically finite storage capacity as well, but particularly with the dimensional shenanigans that might be possible, it could easily be of a size for which that limit just doesn't really matter. Canon has an instance of Valkyries doing an excellent job at simple cargo hauling duty thanks to their combined speed and storage capacity, but QA may find herself with a somewhat uninspiring job as the designated superfreighter pack mule; logistics aren't glorious, but they're vital none the less, especially when trying to build a logistically demanding superweapon.

As for Shapira's take on QA and the simulation, though, I don't think she's worrying nearly enough. Oh, she's certainly right about people smiling a little at the prospect of getting into a fight with a Type 0 being all sorts of wrong, as Cadet Hebert is either some kind of battle-lusting lunatic or "just" a lunatic, but she might want to hope that she's wrong in more ways than one. Cadet Hebert may not mind interacting with Macross if it means an opportunity to test explodey goodness, but the idea that she never saw Macross kill anyone despite being known to have been in close proximity to both Macross itself and the bunker that it targeted... Well maybe it's a good thing that the girl isn't quite what she appears to be.

>> 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
Amusing. Some of the nicknames are entirely apt. Ironically enough, "273.15 Valkyrie Cores" may actually be the most accurate, given QA's nature as a shard that is itself the gestalt identity of numerous sub-shards. The last one has something going for it too; that she is a military-industrial complex is more right than anyone knows, but her very mentality also means that she kind of has a military-industrial complex complex, at that. I'm kind of hoping that she does set absolutely everything on fire, though.

The bolded bit seems almost out of place? Nothing before or after it references it.
Expanding further upon what Risenlre said, it is a matter of the traumatised and closed-off girl receiving a message and dismissing it as something to be dealt with later.

I wonder how long until they figure out that she recategorizes people as non people when they die as a coping mechanism.
Ouch. The truth is actually worse, but even if their perspective isn't quite accurate, it still looks pretty bad, and that's an entirely reasonable suspicion about her mentality.

And from there the conclusion that her interest in Anna is because she's the only person QA is totally comfortable thinking of as a person.
Also ouch. Anna and Monica are "real people" to her. Anna is Anna and can take care of herself, and Monica could easily be thought to be under such designation due to Cadet Hebert deciding to make sure that she stays alive, given that Monica is her friend and roommate given considerable protection in the dorm room defenses and dedicated Friend. The members of the Crafting Club are seemingly ardently keen to pursue improvement and develop killy things. Maybe—maybe—some of the other more capable Valkyries come to earn personhood should they interact with QA enough and properly. Everyone else, though? Eh.

At this rate, the UN is going to need to hire more therapists just for QA. Worse still, belief of just why exactly she thinks that way when it comes to personhood is close to the truth:
There were no inherent benefits in systematically improving a host-species; the only reason to do so would be if those upgrades were intended as an investment. It would be stupid for :MOTHER: to empower future enemies. Therefore, :MOTHER: must intend to avoid killing them until further notice, and QA could be a bit less careful with bestowing personhood than she usually was.
"People" are only those not likely to die soon. Otherwise, it's best to just not get attached.
 
Now Symbie just needs to covertly move the secret base five inches to the left while a Valk team is inside and no-one is looking directly at the base, then the team comes out and immediately notes the geological discrepancy, cue freakout. :V
 
Wait, if Symbie can integrate as many fusion reactors as QA wants in seconds (or at least very quickly), then wouldn't Symbie's Impeller strength (or at least the sheer amount of Impeller; her Impeller strength to start with would probably be godawful, but she'd learn fairly quickly with good instruction) be stupidly large for a Valkyrie?

After all, your amount of Impeller is a function of the amount of stuff and the complexity of that stuff that you have integrated into your Valk core. Fusion reactors are a huge chunk of that complexity, for obvious reasons. Integrating five of them would be quite significant, to say the least. Proceeding from there would give her enough energy to pull all sorts of crazy shenanigans.

Hell, if she has no real complexity issues with integration, she could even integrate Anna's spare Heavy Particle Projector and basically reverse-engineer it extremely quickly through shard-level intellect and shard-grade analysis/scanner tools. Or at least reverse-engineer it through direct observation of the weapon itself using shard-grade sensors and analysis tools.

Beyond that, though? Integrating all the missiles. Or having stupidly powerful laser cannons, which she can use in a practical manner because she has several dozen fusion reactors integrated into her frame.

Hell, once she learns how to express weapons directly from her Impeller, she could figure out that integrating a shitload of High Velocity Cannons (can't remember the name; the 5mm railgun that fires long slugs at a ridiculously fast rate of fire and at very high speeds) could allow her to spam enough high velocity death with good accuracy that no one would want to engage her up close.

Of course, QA has a long way to go before she can properly take advantage of any of that. For all of her capability (and godlike EWAR talent), she's still very much at a total newbie's skill level for actually using her frame for anything combat related.
 
Wait, if Symbie can integrate as many fusion reactors as QA wants in seconds (or at least very quickly), then wouldn't Symbie's Impeller strength (or at least the sheer amount of Impeller; her Impeller strength to start with would probably be godawful, but she'd learn fairly quickly with good instruction) be stupidly large for a Valkyrie?

After all, your amount of Impeller is a function of the amount of stuff and the complexity of that stuff that you have integrated into your Valk core. Fusion reactors are a huge chunk of that complexity, for obvious reasons. Integrating five of them would be quite significant, to say the least. Proceeding from there would give her enough energy to pull all sorts of crazy shenanigans.
Symbies not a normal Valkyrie Core, just an emulation QA built. You're assuming that something which breaks the rules in one respect (integration time) would definitely work by those same rules in other respects (impeller strength) with this line of thought. That seems to be a shaky foundation.
 
Last edited:
Symbies not a normal Valkyrie Core, just an emulation QA built. You're assuming that something which breaks the rules in one respect (integration time) would definitely work by those same rules in other respects (impeller strength) with this line of thought. That seems to be a shaky foundation.
Symbie was built based on the data on valkyrie cores Decimator gave to QAylor and the subsequent changes Taylor Administrator and QAylor made.
 
Another thing that might come up in in further interviews is the method with which QA was discouraged or encouraged by Eden during the cycle. That is PtV being used by an entity to nudge her towards or away from certain courses of action. I'm not sure if they would mark it down as paranoia or if it would be recognised as something more legitimate about how the cult operated. But learning that QA is on edge watching for anything that might even hint at something being a bad idea with little to no regard as to the actual source of the occurrence would not be a fun realisation for anyone trying to provide her a safe environment.
 
Wait, if Symbie can integrate as many fusion reactors as QA wants in seconds (or at least very quickly), then wouldn't Symbie's Impeller strength (or at least the sheer amount of Impeller; her Impeller strength to start with would probably be godawful, but she'd learn fairly quickly with good instruction) be stupidly large for a Valkyrie?
I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that the stuff in invisible storage doesn't count, and is difficult to remove and replace quickly, or something. So they wouldn't increase her impellers much unless she brought them out and dragged them along behind her, which would be a poor method of keeping her power generators from failing.
 
Symbies not a normal Valkyrie Core, just an emulation QA built. You're assuming that something which breaks the rules in one respect (integration time) would definitely work by those same rules in other respects (impeller strength) with this line of thought. That seems to be a shaky foundation.
Symbie was built based on the data on valkyrie cores Decimator gave to QAylor and the subsequent changes Taylor Administrator and QAylor made.
You're both right, although "Imitation" might be a better choice of words than "Emulation." :p
Integration of fission reactor components appeared to be completed within five minutes, granting the subject a permanent Impeller Field of inconsistent strength. Impeller Field appears to weaken as subject is tired or hungry and returns to noticeably beyond the previous power limitation after sleeping. (See Tides Project)

Another thing that might come up in in further interviews is the method with which QA was discouraged or encouraged by Eden during the cycle. That is PtV being used by an entity to nudge her towards or away from certain courses of action.
Eden didn't have PtV yet, just tons of precog and other analytical methods. Basically the same result, though.


QAylor is one hell of a sulker.
Her siblings happen to agree with you. Valkyries don't.
 
Last edited:
I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that the stuff in invisible storage doesn't count, and is difficult to remove and replace quickly, or something. So they wouldn't increase her impellers much unless she brought them out and dragged them along behind her, which would be a poor method of keeping her power generators from failing.
Still better than a giant extension cord, though!



This seems likely to turn out to be another point noted for psychological review. Cadet Hebert doesn't display emotions much, and claims it to be a result of a desire to provide clear communication which thus warrants neutrality to mitigate miscommunication. Whether or not it's automatic or deliberate, she shows happiness here. She acts as though she has a positive regard for being thought maybe a potential danger or curious, or it might alternatively be a matter of appreciating and approving of behaviour that she deems sensible. She's going to have a lot of people trying to puzzle out how she thinks, and this is a further reference for that end.

I think they'd see it as less that she likes being thought of as a possible threat, as that if they're being careful about it it means that they're showing themselves as competent and worthy of continued association and respect, as well as capable of providing a safe environment in return.

Regular Valkyries have a finite volume for storage; Symbie may technically have a theoretically finite storage capacity as well, but particularly with the dimensional shenanigans that might be possible, it could easily be of a size for which that limit just doesn't really matter.

With that function likely provided by their shard-body's normal dimension fuckery, it would not surprise me if it turns out Symbie has a literal continent's worth of storage, or can have as quickly as she fabricates shelving and roofs. At the low end and assuming she can't easily move things outside the bounds of that shard-body.

At this rate, the UN is going to need to hire more therapists just for QA. Worse still, belief of just why exactly she thinks that way when it comes to personhood is close to the truth:

"People" are only those not likely to die soon. Otherwise, it's best to just not get attached.

They're going to need to hire therapists to talk to her therapists, and the therapists of everyone else involved in investigating Hell's Hand.
 
Last edited:
Symbies not a normal Valkyrie Core, just an emulation QA built. You're assuming that something which breaks the rules in one respect (integration time) would definitely work by those same rules in other respects (impeller strength) with this line of thought. That seems to be a shaky foundation.
QA also already has an anomalous Impeller Field, too. As it stands, her Impeller Field "appears to weaken as subject is tired or hungry and returns to noticeably beyond the previous power limitation after sleeping", and Symbie didn't project an Impeller Field at all initially, or at least not one that could be detected. Given the likewise anomalous feature of Cadet Hebert seeming to enjoy the protection offered by an Impeller Field anyway though and perhaps having stealth characteristics that could conceivably incite false negatives, the topic of her Impeller Field has a lot of questions that are difficult to address without further information.

That said, since Symbie has a normal Valkyrie Core design as the foundation even if also Friend alterations and some patch work, I wouldn't be surprised if Symbie does in fact improve Impeller strength with additional and more complex equipment as per the norm; it can't be logically guaranteed, but it's a reasonable possibility, and Symbie might just as well be simply summarily changed to become normal in that regard. Should such be the case, she may very well start rocking a hilariously potent Impeller Field in short order.

Symbie possibly aside, Impeller Field strength can augmented by equipment in terms of quantity and quality, as well as synchronisation. QA hasn't racked up much time synchronised, but there may easily be a significant qualitative factor there in additional to a quantitative one to offer considerable gains from a custom-tailored Core. Beyond that, equipment is easy. Integrating a bunch of junk may not be terribly helpful since reducing overall complexity reduces Impeller strength, but QA has little trouble designing and producing excellent gear, and that capacity also allows her to simply make lots of it. A wonky integration time that at least presently appears to be more benefit than not and the ease of integrating duplicate equipment already possessed in the case of a normal Core may indeed allow her to become a veritable juggernaut practically overnight, and possibly literally over the course of a single night. That may come with some complications, though.

It could perhaps tank her actual control and fidelity since that gets divided evenly across a Valkyrie's stuff. That accounts for distinct differences between the likes of a typical Valkyrie, a Valkyrie battleship, and an Arcology; a regular Valkyrie frame has frankly unfair grace and deftness, but is comparatively squishy, whilst the balance tilted completely the other way sees an Arcology incapable of doing much beyond just sitting there, yet also able to keep "just sitting there" comfortably for days studiously ignoring the enemy's efforts. If QA decides that Symbie should be something like a Valkyrie's take on Ramiel able to unfold into something massive on demand, she may likewise be able to similarly weather extreme punishment at the cost of perhaps not being able to manage things like her disintegration field "blender" trick, but on the other hand, she may simply have enough control to be able to afford the increased difficulty in manipulating her Impeller, given her base aptitude and improvement rate.

Base threshold and improvement is also a factor applicable for a frame's complexity limit, too. If Symbie functions like a regular Core in that respect, then there's a limit to the amount of complexity that can be integrated and thus a limit to the degree by which additional complex equipment can improve Impeller strength. Synchronisation improves the complexity limit, so QA could perhaps keep getting more gear as time goes on, but not necessarily be able to more or less just feed her Impeller strength with spammed hardware. Still, drawing back to the fact that QA can tinker with Cores and made Symbie specifically for herself, her complexity limit could turn out to be considerable and/or readily adjustable.

Another thing that might come up in in further interviews is the method with which QA was discouraged or encouraged by Eden during the cycle. That is PtV being used by an entity to nudge her towards or away from certain courses of action. I'm not sure if they would mark it down as paranoia or if it would be recognised as something more legitimate about how the cult operated. But learning that QA is on edge watching for anything that might even hint at something being a bad idea with little to no regard as to the actual source of the occurrence would not be a fun realisation for anyone trying to provide her a safe environment.
It would fit the apparent facts unfortunately neatly. Hyperalertness is a common trait in people who develop issues that go hand in hand with a need to be alert. Paranoia, too, is likewise not out of place at all in people given due cause to be suspicious and expect opposition. The big sisters know perfectly well how easy it can be to have an overwhelming totality of awareness and ability to process and act upon information, and they actually value ethics as something desirable. What could perhaps be accomplished if an Arcology's nigh absolute perception of everything within it in addition to control of nearly every aspect of it got coupled with the wealth of intelligence on the psychology of the people there?

I imagine that this is going to receive considerable attention. Being able to provide a safe environment—and be perceived so—is indeed quite vital. Perth has a Valkyrie cadet here who can be expected to have trouble in that respect. Every single Valkyrie is an invaluable resource even discounting how this particular one might be a standout relative to other Valkyries, and a Valkyrie with problems becoming a better Valkyrie is a Valkyrie with problems that need to be addressed. No one wants to lose a Valkyrie to psychotic break or whatever, and even simply having more efficient Valkyries is significant. The gains and/or losses avoided are disproportionate to the costs associated with dealing with that when it's just a matter of seeing to mental wellbeing. That's why Emotional Support Companions are a thing, and why instructors get rotated off of the front lines despite being amongst the best. The UN had ample reason to develop its present a strong psychological support system, and that's probably going to get pointed straight at QA soon... or at least more so, really. Good thing, too, because she needs it. :MOTHER: kinda sucks where that's concerned.
 
I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that the stuff in invisible storage doesn't count, and is difficult to remove and replace quickly, or something. So they wouldn't increase her impellers much unless she brought them out and dragged them along behind her, which would be a poor method of keeping her power generators from failing.
Yes. To be more specific the strength of the impeller field is determined by a combination of things, but only expressed components emit impeller. As the strength of the impeller increase the fidelity, control, over it goes down. A valkyrie battleship may have several orders of magnitude more impeller than a regular valkyrie, but cannot do near as much as the valkyrie can with said impeller.
Edit: In addition, the impeller can only be stretched up to 100 meters away from expressed components. This is why Anna expressed the thin tendrils during her construction service at both the refugee/temporary towns, and the Sydney arcology: She needed more range to be able to complete the construction of the town(s) and to reach the growth vats at the bottom of the arcology.
Impeller is dictated by a combination of Core compatibility, volume of component extended, and component complexity.
Retracted components do not emit Impeller.

Edit 2: This is apparently all wrong and I shall trawl through the original BAHHSCQ thread to find all mentions of impeller. God help me there's so much to read.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top