Billy was likely to be eaten. Far too much of his attention was devoted to the assortment of parts before him for him to recognize the approaching menace behind him.
This horror-film moment was going to end quite disastrously, and the poor sucker didn't even know it.
Actually she was mostly there to snoop snoop and see what Billy was up too. As the (non-existent) horror music drew to a close, she placed her arms behind the meat-couch and leaned over.
Lash, he knew, was fairly excitable. Should he explain it to her? Was lying worth the risk? She had to be quite smart to work in their department, after all. Bracing himself for impact, he explained.
"Do you remember the uniform and weapons I use in combat? I've found some blueprints and tools that will let me build five more sets of those, and I'm considering getting permission to build and distribute them."
[[I am gone for the entire day soon, so if I stop tagging it means I had to leave, but I will tag when I come back tonight around 9pm.]]
Fairly excitable was an understatement. Yet she seemed remarkably calm when she spoke. Subdued, almost. She still had the meeting with that...woman etched into her mind. As she did the fact she had grabbed Lash's hair and slammed her face into the wall. Sure, Stacy had stepped in soon afterward but somehow it had made it worse. Like she couldn't take care of the situation by herself
( ... )
((That's cool! I was kept away yesterday, I know how it is.))
With Billy lacking any form of empathic ability, Lash's worries flew under his radar for the moment. Instead, he sank back into the couch and settled in for an explanation.
"Not quite---I should have phrased that more accurately. The morphers itself store everything. Our supply of extra adrenaline, our uniforms, our weapons, and the links to our Zords are all dormant in there. I have a power core from the items salvaged from my world, and a blueprint, but I need to finish 'programming' the suit template, weapons, and Zord link."
He ran his fingers over the work in progress. "When we activate the morphers with their key phrase, the adrenaline kicks in and the uniforms replace our clothes. After that, the weapons and Zords can be called at will. The weapons are drawn from a dimensional subspace, and the Zords are stored in a nearby bay but respond to our calls."
"Oh so it's like a huge window into subspace," she parrotted. "When you use your...uhh...morpher right? When you use that, you go into some sort of overdrive, and get fitted with the outfits..."
That sounded really, really neat.
"Wow!" She very rarely said wow. Congratulations, Billy. "I can't even imagine if those things had been used during the Macroland Wars. Then again..." the image of Olaf in a blue suit suddenly hit her and she winced a bit. "Oh that would have been pretty gross in some instances. Ewww. Anyway, is the adrenaline kick why you can fight better in your costume? Or is it powered by tiny little robotic filaments that help movement be much easier?" So many questions. At the very least, they helped chance her mind from things.
"Affirmative." She was understanding it easily. He loved talking to geniuses!
He quirked an eyebrow. "Let me guess: you know someone who wouldn't be aesthetically pleasing in spandex-like material? The robotic filaments do exist, but they're intended to diffuse the impact of blows. Our fighting ability comes from a chemically induced temporary adjustment to the cerebellum."
"Yeah I know a few..." she replied. Thanks Billy, now Drake popped in her head and he already didn't fit in his clothes. But it was her turn to raise an eyebrow.
"So..acting as some sort of super-enhanced fighting drug?" She paused. "That sounds pretty dangerous! I approve, teehee."
Billy shook his head, suppressing a laugh. "Yeah, that's a fairly accurate analogy. I just have to see if I can find a way for Command to approve of the danger."
"Maybe if you omit that part..." no wait hiding things would make it worse. "...or wording it so that they can't say no?" Well, it was Billy's argument, not hers. He probably had a much better standing than her anyway, as much as Lash hated to admit it.
She gave him a tiny nod, before finally falling into a nearby chair. "War never had a time of day," she explained. "I've been trained to sleep a few hours to lower the chance of surprise attacks. I guess even being here, it's a hard habit to let go." She frowned a little. "Then, there is..." She trailed off, and sighed. Telling someone else about this, that HER! of all people! Caught off guard. "You promise you won't tell anyone okay? It's embarrassing..."
"I know a few older people with similar powers. I'll ask for their assistance with formulating an argument." No, he's definitely not going to phrase it as a 'yup we're gonna blow stuff up and be dangerous!' type of club.
He shifted toward her in his seat, clear concern on his face. "I won't, don't worry. Trust me, I've had my share of embarrassing moments here. What happened?"
"Well uhh...there is a really annoying and rude woman. I wish I knew her name so I could maybe warn the rest of the ship. Blond hair, blue eyes, pretty tall...she kept swearing and called me a few things...things banned for after-school specials." For emphasis she repeated the words, frowning, clearly not understanding what they meant. "I don't get half of what was spewing out of her mouth, but whatever. She's lame. And rude! And..." Lash twirled her index fingers together, pouting. The next part came in a much lower voice and an almost-whisper. "She somehow caught me off guard as I was leaving, grabbed my hair and slammed my face to the wall. Stacy took care of it afterward but...I can't believe she managed to do that at all..."
"I'll be on the lookout," he said after the first sentence or two. When she repeated the words, his jaw dropped.
"That's horrible, Lash! Just from your description I can gather that she's one of the nastiest crew members we've ever encountered. Those words are vile."
He shifted a little closer. "Were you all right? You're probably kicking yourself, I know. I've done it too. But there has to be something we can do about her."
Wow, his jaw had dropped. Maybe those words were a lot more powerful to some other people who actually knew what they meant. Mentally, however, she was telling herself to use them against opponents when she could.
"Hey I've seen nasty and ugly before. She's just insane. But not in a good way." When Billy suggested ways of dealing with her, her first thought was back to the conversation she had with the infamous woman herself.
"Maybe if we shot her out her in a missile out of the ship, maybe. Some sort of missile against the Ohm, teehee!" Of course, she was just being mischievous. She'd never do that. Well maybe she would, but Stacy wouldn't let her. Bummer. "At this rate I bet she'll get her 15 infractions in no time anyway. I wasn't hurt, apart from a small bruise on my nose and eye. I've gotten worse in war." she brushed it off. "I just don't get Stacy's logic in podding her at all."
Billy would probably have to agree. Not with the shooting-her-out-the-ship sentiment, but with some form of punishment. It sounded like it would have to be THE Punishment.
"If there's any sense to the pod releases at all, here must be some powerful skill she has or something we're supposed to learn from her, right? I just wonder why Stacy would give us someone hurtful instead of our friends. Do you know if she treated anyone else that way?"
Reply
This horror-film moment was going to end quite disastrously, and the poor sucker didn't even know it.
Reply
"Oh! What are you doing?"
Reply
"Do you remember the uniform and weapons I use in combat? I've found some blueprints and tools that will let me build five more sets of those, and I'm considering getting permission to build and distribute them."
Reply
Fairly excitable was an understatement. Yet she seemed remarkably calm when she spoke. Subdued, almost. She still had the meeting with that...woman etched into her mind. As she did the fact she had grabbed Lash's hair and slammed her face into the wall. Sure, Stacy had stepped in soon afterward but somehow it had made it worse. Like she couldn't take care of the situation by herself ( ... )
Reply
With Billy lacking any form of empathic ability, Lash's worries flew under his radar for the moment. Instead, he sank back into the couch and settled in for an explanation.
"Not quite---I should have phrased that more accurately. The morphers itself store everything. Our supply of extra adrenaline, our uniforms, our weapons, and the links to our Zords are all dormant in there. I have a power core from the items salvaged from my world, and a blueprint, but I need to finish 'programming' the suit template, weapons, and Zord link."
He ran his fingers over the work in progress. "When we activate the morphers with their key phrase, the adrenaline kicks in and the uniforms replace our clothes. After that, the weapons and Zords can be called at will. The weapons are drawn from a dimensional subspace, and the Zords are stored in a nearby bay but respond to our calls."
Reply
That sounded really, really neat.
"Wow!" She very rarely said wow. Congratulations, Billy. "I can't even imagine if those things had been used during the Macroland Wars. Then again..." the image of Olaf in a blue suit suddenly hit her and she winced a bit. "Oh that would have been pretty gross in some instances. Ewww. Anyway, is the adrenaline kick why you can fight better in your costume? Or is it powered by tiny little robotic filaments that help movement be much easier?" So many questions. At the very least, they helped chance her mind from things.
Reply
He quirked an eyebrow. "Let me guess: you know someone who wouldn't be aesthetically pleasing in spandex-like material? The robotic filaments do exist, but they're intended to diffuse the impact of blows. Our fighting ability comes from a chemically induced temporary adjustment to the cerebellum."
Reply
"So..acting as some sort of super-enhanced fighting drug?" She paused. "That sounds pretty dangerous! I approve, teehee."
Reply
He looks up at her. "So you're a night owl too?"
Reply
She gave him a tiny nod, before finally falling into a nearby chair. "War never had a time of day," she explained. "I've been trained to sleep a few hours to lower the chance of surprise attacks. I guess even being here, it's a hard habit to let go." She frowned a little. "Then, there is..." She trailed off, and sighed. Telling someone else about this, that HER! of all people! Caught off guard. "You promise you won't tell anyone okay? It's embarrassing..."
Reply
He shifted toward her in his seat, clear concern on his face. "I won't, don't worry. Trust me, I've had my share of embarrassing moments here. What happened?"
Reply
Reply
"That's horrible, Lash! Just from your description I can gather that she's one of the nastiest crew members we've ever encountered. Those words are vile."
He shifted a little closer. "Were you all right? You're probably kicking yourself, I know. I've done it too. But there has to be something we can do about her."
Reply
"Hey I've seen nasty and ugly before. She's just insane. But not in a good way." When Billy suggested ways of dealing with her, her first thought was back to the conversation she had with the infamous woman herself.
"Maybe if we shot her out her in a missile out of the ship, maybe. Some sort of missile against the Ohm, teehee!" Of course, she was just being mischievous. She'd never do that. Well maybe she would, but Stacy wouldn't let her. Bummer. "At this rate I bet she'll get her 15 infractions in no time anyway. I wasn't hurt, apart from a small bruise on my nose and eye. I've gotten worse in war." she brushed it off. "I just don't get Stacy's logic in podding her at all."
Reply
"If there's any sense to the pod releases at all, here must be some powerful skill she has or something we're supposed to learn from her, right? I just wonder why Stacy would give us someone hurtful instead of our friends. Do you know if she treated anyone else that way?"
Reply
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