voidtreckernet | Video, 15 Fiddlesticks

[Cassie inhales deeply.]

Right. So I'm not on the council, and I'm not exactly privy to what they discuss. But I am a soldier. In a way we're all soldiers now, but I was one before I got here. So if there's a plan in acquiring or producing firearms for this train I want in on it.

I think we've got at least 90% of what we need, if not more. We've got people like Piccolo who can use magic to conjure parts like metal tubes, and I know at least one person here who can conjure fire. There are at least a few designs where that's just about all you need. A sten gun, for one. The tricky thing would be the bullets. The rest would be a matter of setting aside space for the manufacturing process and organizing testing and logistics.

I've been told that there are apparently some geniuses on this train. Any one of these geniuses care to fill me in on what, if anything, we've got planned?

[Pause.]

Oh, and, uh, in case you haven't met me, my name's Cassie Cage. Sergeant Cassie Cage. I'm in the Special Forces back home. I know enough to know that I'm asking a lot, but I've seen some impressive things from the people here. And if we're expected to fight without having guns provided for us, we're going to need to up our game even further than that.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm not an engineer. But I've field-stripped a lot of different kinds of weapons, and I know the basics of how they're put together.

There are some types where you can do almost all the work in a space the size of a train car with minimal welding. And we've got magic that I think can cover the parts where you can't. Like I said, I've met one person here who can use magic to create simple pieces we need like tubes and springs.

But if we're going to do it, we're going to need to make an organized effort, and I'm offering to be involved.

Good. Then your expertise would be more than welcome. I'll remember to include you in the tests as soon as we have anything close to a working prototype.

[The real limiting factor is time and skilled labour but that's not something Fëanor would think about. Even genius as he is, he does hail from a preindustrial age of his people, and elves are immortal so time was rarely an issue for him. Here things are a bit different.]

Would do you mean by organized effort?

Edited ((i swear i can spell)) 2020-05-31 06:55 (UTC)

It's going to come down to more than just building something that works. We'll need a system to make enough for everyone who needs them, to test them to make sure they're ready, and to supply them to the passengers.

We'll also need to make sure we have space set aside for all those things. Especially the testing. We don't want anybody wandering into whichever car we're testing in.

You mean ... mass produce?!

[The last two words he spits out as if they were toxic, slimy frogs. Cassie, you just mortally offended an artist. While he never saw the nearly industrial forges of both Mordor and Orthank, there's something utterly vile in the very concept of the process for him.

When he thinks of weapons, be it swords, spears, dagger, or hell even guns, he things of objects closely connected and fitted for the person that's supposed to use them. Deeply personal items with names and history.]

I wouldn't call anything we can manage in a train car for a...I dunno, platoon-sized unit to be "mass production." But you'd be surprised at how many bullets a couple dozen soldiers can go through.

I think I can imagine.

[No, he doesn't. Granted he saw how conservative 47 is with his gun, he has not even a shred of an idea. Yet, that is all beside the point. Getting to produce ammunition for said guns would be a true deal-breaker for him. This is tedious, repeatable work. Something he viscerally hates.

However, if Tony got involved in this, the situation might shift dramatically. They could build a machine that would do the tedious part for them. Like, you know, a proper industrial process should. Just don't let anyone call it that way lest you want to offend his artistic sensibilities.]

No matter how high you're imagining it, imagine it higher.

[Especially if they expect to actually kill something. In the Second World War it was a six-figure number for every enemy killed.]

No matter what, we're going to need to make sure we can get by without them. We're not exactly going to be able to build General Dynamics headquarters in here.

Considering the place we get sent to vary dramatically? Yes, getting a wider range of weapons would be useful.

[Fëanor will always prefer a bladed weapon; if only for its elegance. He won't hesitate before using anything and everything in a dangerous situation. It matters of life and death he's far less picky. He's been dead once already and that's enough.]

That's also the value of the fight club. Not everyone here knows how to get up close and personal.

Not everyone here is a warrior.

[Not everyone should need to know. He's still deeply uncomfortable with the fact they are taking children with them on dangerous missions.]

Even the ones who don't should learn self-defense. The practical principles of going for weak points and extracting yourself from bad situations as quickly as possible.

Most of the most practical civilian self-defense forms on my world will tell you to run away from a fight if you can and fight your way to an escape if you can't.

[Now you really got his attention.]

That's [Fëanor blinks.] very sensible. This is something we could teach to everyone.

[And it would make him less worried if he knew they are not sending them completely helpless out there. If he can't stop them from going, he'd feel better knowing they at least have the skills to come back alive.]

I think it's also a good way to just keep people occupied. Good for exercise, morale, and confidence. But I might not be the most impartial judge on that one.

[Fëanor smiles. Now, doesn't that sounds familiar?]

I have enough projects to occupy myself for another century or two but there is truth in that some of the more restless types could use exercise to expend their energy before they break something. Especially, the teenagers.

[Younger kids could honestly use an outlet too.]

I'm...not that far removed from that phase of my life myself. But I still don't take to sitting around with my thumb up my ass.

[Fëanor shakes his head slightly at the word choice. Definitely someone's forte lies rather far from artful eloquence.]

I wouldn't have guessed. [Must be the military thing.] Either way, don't break anything. At least not in a way that can't be fixed.

I never wreck anything or anybody who isn't authorized to get rekt, sir.

[The spelling is audible, somehow.]

I like your attitude.

[Fëanor can't help but smile. Once a soldier...]

I will keep that in mind. You'd be the first to know if we ever acquire any means to produce firearms here.

[A dangerous thing to promise.]

[Cassie nods and smiles back.]

Thanks. It's good to have someone you can trust with these things.

Video, 15 Fiddlesticks

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wrap?

Definitely. Thanks for the thread.