Tag Archives: Rubin’s Trail Labs

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #034

Rubin’s Trail, Science Facility, Research Labs:

Tosca Shi’s joy of potential research and discovery was short lived.  It was only a question of time before news of her actions reached her supervisor.  It didn’t take long at all.

She already knew how the assistant director would respond to her request to test the droid with AD7.  However, going behind her supervisor’s back for the director’s permission was a risky boundary to cross.  Now in the assistant director’s office, she was feeling the full brunt of Dr. Cheari Wu’s wrath.  Tosca could do nothing but listen as she was scolded.

Dr. Wu was not the one who saw wisdom in pointless yelling.  However, it became evident how strongly she felt about this issue.  After a few minutes of loud scolding, it seemed as though Chaeri was only getting started, “What were you thinking?!  We have no way to know how the droids would react to her!  We keep Aa Dee Seven separate from her droids for a reason!”

The assistant director continued along those lines, sternly reminding Tosca of the great risks posed by each of the projects.  Boundaries were set to eliminate those risks.  Though she avoided insulting Tosca’s intelligence, she wanted to make it painfully clear the danger she may have caused with her impatience.

Tosca spent the time finding interest in her shoes as she listened.  After taking ownership of the ball droid project, she did all she could to see something come of it.  Perhaps she had let the presumed power get the best of her.

Tosca had figured that AD7 was able to interact with all the facility’s machines already.  Granted, many of the devices they used were considered Rubin’s Trail technology now.  Still, almost all of the technology developed in the last twenty years had been modified from the Mech Fortress’ devices.  To AD7, the programming would only be slightly different from her machines.

Tosca knew the risk was possible.  There were always risks with innovative research.  Doctor Yu was even testing AD7 with the weapons she used in the war!  If AD7 was to act in violence, she would have done so by now.

However, it would do little good to explain this to the facility’s assistant director.  Doctor Wu didn’t seem to agree with her reasoning, “Let me remind you who we are dealing with,” the assistant facility director paced as she spoke, “Aa Dee Seven, the one that held our greatest warriors back with a simple tower defense wall. Aa Dee Seven, the one that could have covered our entire valley with her mechanized landscape when she took the offensive.

“She became a machine herself and defeated us time and time again with her creations.  So, the most brilliant, horrifying, mechanized, military mind is here, awake, in this facility.  Unless we can convince her that the war is over and we are not her enemy, she will escape and destroy us.  Do you understand?”

The clear, cold tone the assistant director used as she finished told Tosca that there was much more she wanted to say but chose not to.  The war was horrible enough when it was on the other side of the valley.  If it started again in the castle, Rubin’s Trail was doomed.

Tosca took the cue to be much more respectful of their situation, “Yes ma’am.”

Sitting back down at her desk, Dr. Wu added, “Never do anything like that again or your work in this field is over.”

Taking that as a signal of the conversation’s end, Tosca bowed and left the room.

#1 – Awakening #33 – Awakening #35

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #28

Tosca walked off disappointed.  She grabbed a hand truck from the storage room just as Doctor Yu suggested.  She had to think of something that would get the sphere droid to open.  That is, if it opened. Wait.  That would change everything!  With this new idea in her head, she rushed back to her work station.  There was a possibility that she was going in the wrong direction with this project.  She had to get back to test her theory.

Adrianne watched as Tosca rushed off.  Who knows what she was thinking about now?  It was only good that she didn’t stay disappointed for long.  She must admit having AD7 react to a working droid had come to mind, but the risk was too high.  For all they knew it could be a bomb or a mind control device.  Better not take that risk.

Doctor Adrianne Yu turned back to the other side of the thick protected window just in time to see their test subject turning back to the targets.  AD7 regained her fighting stance and began attacking the shattered remains of the targets with renewed vigor.  Adrianne just realized that during her brief conversation with Tosca, she had heard no thunderous smashing from AD7 in the testing room.

Was she just watching us?  Adrianne could help but play with the thought.  AD7 had been helpful.  Thanks to her, they had enough information to engineer many weapons and helpful devices.  Still, she could be learning about them as well.  What would she use that information for?

It would make sense if AD7 eventually tried to escape.  No matter how nice she was to them, it didn’t change the fact that she was a prisoner.  The mind behind the Mech War had to be quite cleaver.  She could be plotting to take over the facility.

“I’m just thinking crazy,” Adrianne said to herself.  It all made little sense.  There was no way for AD7 to even know where she was.  There were no national symbols in the facility.  The Mech Fortress was utterly destroyed.  Even if she escaped, where would she go?

Still, why was she looking this way just now?  The observation room was cut off from the testing facility.  Adrianne could control everything in the testing room with no immediate danger to herself.

She kept watch with many cameras and a very thick window high enough on the wall that no one could see her torso.  There was no way AD7 could have heard them or seen anything in the observation area.  Still, it was safe to add extra guards and watches to AD7’s apartment.

AD7 had helped them greatly by only looking at the circuitry from destroyed droids.  Adrianne was eventually planning to have her interact with a functioning droid.  It seemed like a risky idea at the time.  Now, it was crazy.  Adrianne took notes to cancel all future experiments between AD7 and working devices.  Hopefully this precaution would be enough to prevent a catastrophe.

#1 – Awakening #27

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #21

The observation apartments were in a separated division of the research labs.  There were many unknowns in research.  It was a precaution on the off chance that conscious subjects would control or react to devices being researched in the lab.  With the valuable items in the lab, it never hurt to be as safe as possible.

Several types of protective barriers blocked the way into the apartments.  With their high rank, Doctors Yu and Wu were able to walk through most of the check points unhindered.  They were stopped only twice.  Even they could be imitated or bugged by a crafty thief or saboteur.

The apartments were relatively nice; filled with soft things and many means of entertainment.  They were quite comfortable and themed in a calming light blue color.  From time to time, the laboratory staff spent time in them reading or resting on their breaks.  Today though, they were off limits.  A guest considered potentially hazardous was staying there.

The doctors approached the apartment door.  It slid to the right, opening the way for them.  Dr. Yu couldn’t help but stare for a while at the embodiment of her inspiration and her warning, AD7.

Their guest was examining a toaster though it seemed as though she had no interest in making toast.  She put her head to it as though she was thinking with it.  Then she put her ear to it and listened to it as though it had said something to say.  Looking confused, she simply set it back down.

She looked almost like a crisho female, though quite a bit taller and thinker all around though still quite fit.  Instead of the lizard-like crisho flesh, metallic patches of different colors, sizes, and shapes covered her.  Each patch held a powerful Hanja of matching size.  Both Adrianne and Chaeri knew what most of them did.  There were a few of them that were old or obscure enough to escape even their memory.

She was found with no clothing but in the interest of modesty, the lab crew dressed her with a simple tunic and slacks.  Even with the tunic, the two ladies could tell that her wings were replaced with sleek jet packs.

Their guest turned to regard them.  Her eyes were solid white dimly-lit lights.  She had a simple slit of a mouth that, dispite the metal face opened and closed as normal.  Inside of the slit, something that resembled a speaker took the place of her throat.  What passed for her hair was instead hair thin bits of wire.  It stayed in place but from time to time a single strand would move on its own.

Adrianne stared for a while awestruck while AD7 looked back at her.  After a time, she decided to speak, “Greetings AD7.  I am Dr. Yu head of this facility.”

Their guest looked back and smiled.  Her logical systems computed her situation in a split second.  Yu says Eight-Seven is Master.  Eight-Seven is not Master.  Yu knows neither Eight-Seven nor Master.  Yu is leader of this facility.  Facility has trapped Eight-Seven thinking she is Master.  Facility has high potential to be enemy of Eight-Seven and Master; reevaluate later.  Eight-Seven must escape facility to fully obey Master’s commands.  If Eight-Seven is to succeed in escape procedure, should gain trust of Yu.  Eight-Seven will impersonate Master and gain Yu’s trust.  “Hello Dr. Yu,” she spoke imitating AD7’s voice perfectly, “Your facility is remarkable.”

#1 – Awakening #20 – Awakening #22