maskormenacelogs | (no subject)

WHO: The Major and YOU!
WHERE: Various cities
WHEN: Any time in October post-the raid on Wayne Enterprises
WHAT: The Major is testing our her spare body. Plus a starter for Mako Mori.
WARNINGS: Mention of human trafficking in one of the prompts, plus violence likely.

A – Shooting range in Maurtia Falls

The various shooting ranges around Maurtia Falls were a good place for both honing your skills with a firearm and picking up some useful intel. Various criminals and corrupt cops frequented the range to practice their shooting as well as discuss their latest illicit activities, thinking they were safe among like-minded individuals.

Today, however, the Major was there just to practice. Getting the fire control software in her new body just right had been a bit of a struggle. The difference in components and construction between her regular body and her new backup meant that she couldn’t simply copy over the code. Instead, she had to fine-tune it and then try it out in the field.

She took aim at the range with a pistol, and the first shot hit the bullseye directly in the center. That was a good sign. Next, she tried a series of rapid shots. The first hit its mark, but the rest scattered wildly. She frowned. Guess it was back to the drawing board again.

B - Crimefighting in Maurtia Falls

The hardest part of combating the human trafficking that went on in Maurtia Falls was finding the base of operations. Most of the more professional criminals had gotten wise to the tactics the Major would normally use--utilizing a series of checkpoints and changing vehicles to prevent tracking and not carrying cell phones, among other strategies. This presented a unique problem with finding them. But one that the Major was uniquely equipped to fight.

A kidnapping was taking place down in one of the seedier parts of town. A woman struggled against several thugs who drug her toward a black van. She bore an uncanny resemblance to the Major herself, if not for her black hair and blue eyes instead of the Major's distinctive purple and red respectively. What she apparently didn't have was the Major's prodigious fighting ability, and any superheroics to save her from her attackers would be welcome.

Or at least it would be, if she was actually in any danger. The Major watched from a nearby rooftop through the scope of a rifle as they kidnapped her spare body. She couldn't reliably track their movements through ordinary means, but she could certainly follow a remote prosthetic body easily enough. And then it would just be a matter of recovering her second body once they reached their destination.

C – Choose your own adventure in the various cities

The Major had come up with her system of using multiple bodies at once to solve the logistical problems of not having a whole team to work multiple threads of an investigation. But it presented certain benefits when it came to more mundane tasks, too.

Maybe you’re out and about and you see Motoko out shopping, but then happen to run into her a short time later in the park, and she’s wearing entirely different clothes. In any case, it almost seems like she’s in two places at once.

Because she is.

Closed to Mako Mori

It was a warm fall day, and the Major was taking a break from putting her new body through its paces and relaxing with a stroll through a small park in De Chima. It wasn’t long before she happened across a somewhat familiar face training in one of the clearings. But what really caught her eye was the woman’s small robot companion. Any other time and place, one might think it was just a toy. But nothing was so simple in a world full of superheroes and superscientists.

She watches from a safe distance until a lull in Mako’s training. And when she speaks, it’s in their native Japanese. “Pretty impressive moves.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Ah, Major, thank you," Mako says, switching effortlessly into Japanese with a smile and a bow. The little jaeger stands and uses the drop from the bag where Mako had put it to fire it's tiny jets so it can come inspect their company. There are a few clearly excited burbles and electronic chatter that accompany it as Mako laughs and follows it. It's really the towel she's after, which she scoops up to use on her way over.

"That one was fun to build and is consistently curious about everyone. How are you?"

"You built this?" she says, squatting down to get a better look at the little machine. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This is probably child's play compared to what you're used to."

"I'm good. Just out stretching my legs." Not that the synthetic muscles really needed it. She tilted her head slightly, her attention still on the pint-sized robot. "Does it have an AI?"

"It's very tiny compared the the ones like Gipsy, but I replicated it nearly exactly, save for the weapons." The Major looked in good form and Mako sat with her legs crossed to watch her little friend. "It does, my own variation of the AI model used in Gipsy aimed at curious and intelligent play rather than fighting kaiju. I've embedded rudimentary AIs with limited function for the mecha line I've been requested to do. They're in pre-production next week."

"Curious and intelligent, huh? Reminds me of some AI we used at my old job." At least with the tiny Jaeger, Mako wouldn't have to deal with some of the downsides of that particular combination. "Sounds like they'll fly off the shelf. Can it talk?"

"It can, go ahead," Mako said as it looked up between them. "Say hello to the Major, please."

<< ʜᴇʟʟᴏ ᴍᴀᴊᴏʀ-sᴀɴ. ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴅᴇsɪɢɴᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏᴇ-ʙɪᴛ-ᴇʀ ʙʏ ᴅᴀʀʏʟ-sᴀɴ. ɪs ᴛʜɪs ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪsʜ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀʟʟ ᴍᴇ ᴀs ᴡᴇʟʟ? >> It answered in Japanese, in a warbling tone that always made Mako smile. It was a audible reminder of Gipsy and the closest she could get to having the jaeger close.

She smiled slightly. Not as human-like as the AI she's used to, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "That depends. Do you bite toes?"

She turned her attention back to Mako. "How long did it take you to program something like this?"

<< ɪᴛ ɪs ɪᴍᴘᴏʟɪᴛᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙɪᴛᴇ ᴛᴏᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴘᴏssᴇss ᴀ ᴍᴏᴜᴛʜ. >> Mako laughed at that and shook her head.

"A little over two months," she said. "Gipsy's code was already up here," Mako tapped her head, "I had that memorized from the moment we began work on her restoration. I wanted to make sure we didn't do anything adverse to her while we fixed her. From that, however, I factored in a wider set of parameters that would allow for more personality and expression. Now, it's up to this one to develop into whatever it wishes. I suppose that I am it's parent and it will take after me in many ways."

"Then what would you like to be called?" It almost seemed silly asking this little toy that question, but she is curious the extent of its AI.

"That's pretty impressive as well." Especially without a cybernetically-augmented brain. "It's odd to think of machines bonding with a human, but I've experienced it firsthand. Our AIs were particularly fond of one of my squad members."

The little jaeger let out a series of unsure burbles and shrugged its shoulders. It apparently hadn't found anything that sounded right yet.

"I hold a degree in robotics," Mako offered, "and mechanical engineering. That definitely helps. I'm pleased this one's doing so well. It certainly is talkative around you. What sort of AIs were they? Their function."

"They were quadruped think-tanks called Tachikomas. They mainly provided fire support for my team. And managed to get into more than a little trouble thanks to their curiosity."

She smiles slightly as she looks at the little robot and remembers the Tachikomas. She'd never had the fondness for them that Batou had, but she had to admit that she almost missed their boundless enthusiasm.

"They sound like they would be more than interesting to converse with," Mako says, absolutely fascinated. "It sounds like the technical advances in your universe have come to surpass my own world's capabilities. I find the technological difference between universes to be beyond fascinating."

"Technology adapts to suit the particular struggles of society. I can't say that we have many thirty-story robots, but we've also never had any kaiju attacks. Our technology was birthed out of multiple world wars and an ever-increasing reliance on the net." It is an interesting subject, and one she thinks about in relation to the particular world they find themselves in. What caused this world to pursue such weird novelty technologies like flying cars?