She can do it! (At least she'd better!)

[actuallyselfish]

[1]

[Dated to a few weeks after "Keep Away"]

Those of the Unity Group who like to creep about the Saikhama base at night may hear faint sounds of grinding and hissing come from the main hanger deck.

Those who investigate this discover two things.

One, all the mechs that fought in the latest battle have been completely repaired. Not just the standard limb reattachment and armor replacement: they've also had new paint jobs and their scratches ground out!

Second, Dido Sybil is at the controls of a huge lathe and machining device, grinding out some kind of component from alloy stock. Sparks fly, and she gazes at her work with eyes shadowed from a grim mood and lack of sleep.

Interrupt?

[2]

The next morning, Dido is still in the hanger, hanging from a work harness like a narcoleptic rock climber, and rocking side to side like a baby in a crib.

She snores as you approach, and has a bit of dribble on her chin.

Wake her up?

[3]

The next next morning, Dido's out at a nearby abandoned airstrip, running some wires from a strange metallic cylinder in the middle of the field to a concrete bunker.

She looks up at you. "What are you doing here? Nevermind, get in the bunker with me!" She grins. "This should be cool!"

Get in the bunker with her? Ask what the heck's going on?

Comments

2

[tiger_ken]

[Considering that's a somewhat precarious position, Ken considers his options before he might dare move...

He climbs up, by hand, to meet her, and then poke her cheek slightly.]

Re: 2

[actuallyselfish]

"Ahhhh!" Dido's eyes snap open, and she flails about in her harness.

"Let me go! Let me–"

She blinks. "Oh. Hi, Ken!" She looks down at herself. "How's it hanging?"

Re: 2

[tiger_ken]

Uh... you tell me?

[Ken shrugs, as best he can with his arms holding on to the nearby mecha so that he doesn't fall.]

How do you even fall asleep this high up?

3

[herodrawing]

Huh?

[Large question marks appear above Izuru's head. He looks around, hoping to discern just what the hell is going on here.]

What's this about?

Are we going to explode something?

Re: 3

[actuallyselfish]

"We're going to try!" Dido says, dragging the cables into the bunker with a rough yank. "And maybe-just maybe, doing so will save people's lives in the future!"

She leans against the door for a moment and swigs from a canteen at her belt. "Wanna help out?"

Re: 3

[herodrawing]

Sure. What are we doing, weapons testing?

1

[empress_without_a_throne]

[So much noise can't go unnoticed by Mizuki. But who would be at work but-]

Dido...? What are you doing up so late?

Re: 1

[actuallyselfish]

"Huh?"

Dido looks down at Mizuki and pushes some goggles up to her forehead.

"Sorry, what? Hold on!"

She powers down the machine and walks over to the railing. "Hey Mizuki. What did you say?"

[empress_without_a_throne]

Dido, it's late. Stupidly late. Staying up can be one thing but working at this kind of hour goes well beyond burning a candle at both ends.

3

[broken_puppet]

[Lamia is wandering in what appears to be a daze before she is called over by Dido. Looking at the setup she follows to the bunker.]

Is this standard practice for the testing of new weaponry and explosives?

Re: 3

[actuallyselfish]

Dido looks up at you and cocks her head to the side in thought.

"Standard practice..." She mutters. "I probably should have looked that up."

She shrugs. "Anyways, this should be safe as long as we stay under cover, Miss...uh, what's you name?"

[broken_puppet]

You did not look up standard practice before you executed the experiment?

[Lamia begins moving toward the bunker at a faster pace and begins to analyze where the most structurally sound part of it is to take cover behind. She takes a moment as she passes Dido to answer her question.]

Loveless, Lamia Loveless.

[gundamx_gonnagiveittoya]

"What should be cool? I just came to see what was even going on out here."

Garrod saw the bunker and simply came to investigate. This better not be dangerous!

[actuallyselfish]

"Uh...well, I'm testing out a new prototype for a hypothetical weapons system." Dido explains as Garrod walks up.

"It's like..." She snaps her fingers in thought. "Well, have you ever tried to plug two nine-volt batteries together at each end?"

[gundamx_gonnagiveittoya]

"No... can't say the thought ever crossed my mind. Sounds like it might just explode though..." he says, trying to imagine fitting the two together... And his imagination says *boom*.

3

[a_louse]

...Is that a bomb?

Re: 3

[actuallyselfish]

"In the future, maybe?" Dido says. "At the moment, I'm seeing what happens when I handle Sol Energy without any regards for safety guidelines."

"Wanna help out?" She asks.

[a_louse]

Depends on what exactly do you expect me to do. Apart from hiding in the bunker for safety, that is.

3

[dolorous_sensei]

I guess you're not here to enjoy the comforting ambience of a silent sunrise?

Re: 3

[actuallyselfish]

"Nope!" Dido says. "I'm here to blow things up! For Justice!"

She does an awkward little fist pump in the air. "Wanna help?"

Re: 3

[dolorous_sensei]

Why does nobody ever simply enjoy a silent sunrise anymore.

So, I assume this is a bomb? What kind of bomb are you making now? An interdimensional bomb that can pierce the wall of dimensions? An air-igniting bomb that can potentially ignite the whole atmosphere of earth?

2

[armowrpiercing]

*A goggled cat is watching Dido swinging left and right.

It appears to shivers a bit, as if it's trying to hold something inside.

Before it finally moves toward Dido and attempts to follow and paw the swinging mechanic.*

Re: 2

[actuallyselfish]

"...higher, mom." You can hear Dido mumble as she swings. "No, I don't wanna swing up with the sweat of my brow, I want you to push me..."

Her eyes flicker open. "Bwha...oh! Kitty."

2)

[sang_av_helten]

[Well... Skald was pondering it as he walked onto her and stared at her face.]

Hmmmmmmm.....

[To that end he proceeded to bat lightly at her nose.]

Deja Vu!

[actuallyselfish]

"...c'mon, mom." You can hear Dido mumble. 'Why can't I have trust fund like all the other rich kids...?"

'Ow..." She adds as she gets scratched by a viking war-cat. She blinks her eyes open.

"...how did you get all the way up here?" She asks, yawning.