Remnant - XII

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Requested By : Gib

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Over the next day and evening, he spent his time laboring on the towers and his idle processes poring over the files he had retained from his lengthy time on Earth. Most of it was utterly useless to him, treaties and treatises between nations had no use here and now for obvious reasons, but he had plenty of cultural insights as well. On Earth, there were two constants to weddings regardless of time, period or the society one looked at.

The first was dress - one was expected to dress smartly and present themselves well, to honor those getting married.

To that admittedly somewhat vain end he policed some of the best steel he had recovered from the ocean's depths and received from Khan's supply shipments. He spent hours refining the metal and then cyber-forming it intensively and carefully, strengthening it to his higher standards. Then he cannibalised the surface plates of his temporary limbs, as well as most of the internal structures, and used his drones to construct his true, proper replacements at last. He started with his other arm and then, when he had his own hand to use, he set to work on his legs.

Finally, a little under a week after the preparations for the wedding had begun, he stood on his own proper legs once more, and looked at the blocky fingers of his restored hand.

It had been a waste of time to conduct such intensive, mostly aesthetic, upgrades, but…

He could not deny how pleasant it felt to be himself once more.

For the second part, though, he required… Assistance.

"You want my advice?" Sienna grumbled, sitting in his workshop and looking up at him with her arms crossed and an entirely unamused look on her face. "For…?"

"A present for Ghira and Khali." He explained simply, kneeling in front of her with his hand resting on his knee. "And to ensure I am properly attired."

"Properly attired?"

"I have conducted repairs." He explained simply, gesturing to himself with a hand. "I hope that it is sufficient."

"I mean, you're a giant robot, so…"

"I am a regular sized mechanical life-form." He corrected hotly. Sienna's brows rose and he sighed and shrugged the matter off, "But… Your overall point taken. I shall improvise based on what I know, then. As for the gift…"

"Well…" Sienna paused to chew her lip and think, for a while, before she said, "Kali and Ghira are both Mistrali raised. How much do you know about southern, Faunus culture?"

"Little." He had interest, of course, as he always did. Knowledge was power, after all, and for all he had changed he did still have a strong desire for both knowledge and power.

"Southern Mistral has a deep tie to the sea, it's where their food comes from along with most of what they trade." Sienna explained, "Pearls, sea-shells, coral, the like. Tradition would say that using any of this stuff and making something would be the best kind of gift."

"I sense a 'but' here."

"But tradition also dictates that you should make things people will need." Sienna rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall behind her. "Ghira and Kali are both shaping up to be governors, one day, but right now? Right now they're fighters, like me. That kinda fits Ghira more than Kali but still."

"You suggest I forge them a weapon?"

"I suggest you think about what I said and decide for yourself, Shockwave." She grunted as she stood and cocked a hip, "If I tell you what to make, it would be a present from me. Not you. You follow?"

"I do." Unfortunately - if Sienna had simply had something to instruct him to make all would have gone better and faster. Regardless, he stood and rumbled a quiet, "Thank you for your insights, Khan. They will assuredly be valuable."

"Of course they will be." She scoffed, "They're my insights, after all."

Shockwave only hummed in amused thought.

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Ironwood sighed as he entered what had been Watts' lab, now shared between the two - like Polendina's was - as their projects advanced in tandem.

Gone now were the armor stands and the detritus covered desks down the middle, replaced by several more spaced out armor stands that divided the room and were surrounded by tools and terminals. The armor they had tested a week prior was on one of them, but the others had more of the same. Copies and renditions on the armor from the test, strewn out piece-meal on rolling carts around them and attached by wires to four different, boxy power units.

Both men stood up from one of those power units and turned as he approached and asked, "You called, Doctors?"

"Yes, I-"

"We-"

"-believe that we've happened upon a break-through, General." Watts went on without missing a beat, grinning manically. He was so excited he had even neglected to be his usual less than charming self, which put a little excitement in Ironwood's blood as well.

"Show me."

They lead him to the back of the room, where a long desk had been set up, lined with batteries, Dust cores, Dust crystals and wiring. Laying in the mess was a grey box with sockets on either end that had wires spilling out of them which ended in rough metal staple-brackets. He wasn't an engineer, but he was more than educated enough to recognize basic power couplings, where a power system would be installed into a larger mechanism.

Doctor Polendina picked it up gently and turned to him to explain, "We downsized the unit, like you requested, but-"

"That means that the protection it offers is greatly lessened, of course." Watts stepped in, grinning widely while the other man glared at him. Ironwood's brow rose at that, and for obvious reason - worsening your system was not a good way to get your project approved - but Watts was quick to explain, "But it allows the armor to be slimmed down, as you requested."

"But it doesn't do its job as well?"

"Actually, it does its job just as well." Doctor Polendina stepped in to say, "Only… The power unit can sustain regulated protection for up to one hour. At least on an armor rig the size of a man."

"Only an hour…" Ironwood hummed and clasped his hands behind his waist, "That isn't long."

"No, but so far, this is the best we have." Watts offered with a shrug, tossing his hands up to either side in a sort of 'what can you do?' gesture. Hands on his hips, he said, "But the armor will make your soldiers the sturdiest in Human history, General. More important, I believe, is what we can do to your, ahem, larger items."

"Armor, you mean?"

"Actually…" Watts turned to Polendina and raised a brow.

"We believe that the Hard Light shield generators would be best if placed strategically around a larger vessel with open space around it." Polendina explained, "To provide a static bubble of regulated protection surrounding the outer skin, so to say, of the vessel."

"That," Ironwood smiled, "sounds perfect. Tell me more."

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"Shockwave!" He heard Sienna call as she came into his tower once more, days after her last visit. "What do you want now? The wedding is in half an hour. I'll probably be late for the reception party already as it is!"

"Is that so bad?"

"It's insulting to show up to a wedding late."

"I wished to show you my gift." He rumbled as he descended the ramp, one of the Atlesian drones trundling along behind him with a head-sized box in its metal hands.

"Oh yeah, what did you- Snrk!" He paused and cocked his head to regard her when he stepped into the light and she snorted, but she only waved him off and stammer, "S-Sorry. Just… Is that a metal bow-tie?"

"It is." He had made it that morning, out of fine cable and cyber-formed steel. "It is somewhat crude, but… I thought such would be expected. Was I incorrect? I can remove it."

"N-No!" She almost squawked, earning a surprised hum from him. She coughed into a fist to clear her throat and waved him off, "Don't get rid of it, it looks good. Anyway, uh, your present?"

At an unspoken signal, the machine trundled past him and offered the metal box to the woman. She took it with a raised brow and opened it to look inside.

"Oh… Those look nice." She hummed, flicking him a look and raising her eyebrow, "Are those real pearls?"

"I retrieved them personally." He nodded, "Please, feel free to take them out and look at them. You cannot possibly do them any harm."

"No." She shook her head and closed the box, offering it back to his droid until he signalled for it to take the item. When it did, she explained quietly, "Gifts should be touched by their makes and their receivers. It's bad luck for anyone else to lay a hand on them."

"It is?"

"So the stories go, yeah." She shrugged and turned, "Now come on, we need to go. We don't all have street-long legs to get us there on time, you know."

"Indeed we do not." It only took one step to reach her and stoop down to scoop her up in a hand. She squawked as he lifted her up into the air, but caught herself on his shoulder plates when he opened his hand without so much as stumbling. As he rose, then, the droid latched onto his leg mechanically and he took a long step towards the door. When she scowled at him, he rumbled, "We had best not be late. Such would be insulting, would it not?"

"I despise you…"

"Acknowledged." He rumbled amusedly as he stepped out into the warm Menagerie sun. "Now hold on, please. It would be a shame if you were to fall and die."

"I have an Aura…"

"Even so." He said, "It would be rather embarrassing to smack into the ground in the middle of the settlement. Or so I presume."

Sienna didn't say anything but, really, she didn't need to. He could feel the glare she shot him almost as readily as he could feel the sun on his fresh, new plating. It was a warm day, and he looked up to find a sky bluer than it had been for some time. An ideal day for a wedding, he supposed. Quite fortunate, given his systems had been registering a slow build-up in moisture in the air, and a slow increase in pressure as well.

All tell-tale of a coming storm… Tomorrow, maybe? Or the day after?

He needed better instruments to tell exactly. A potential project, he supposed. Certainly those living on the island would appreciate a proper weather detection station if he could offer one. Why would they not?

Regardless, for now, he was content to stalk through Menagerie's streets and enjoy the peace and quiet of it all.

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Doctor Watts watched the tall half-a-man leave after nearly two hours of grilling him. 'How long until it would be deployable'? It already was, if not for his asinine demands. What soldier worth the title truly cared how bulky his armor was if it did the job? Surely they should only be happy to come back alive. They should be grateful for it! They should thank him!

But no…

No of course there was always more to be demanded of him. More to be extracted from him. Ironwood was just the same as his predecessor in that way, unfortunately. And even worse, to force him to work with this incompetent, crippled excuse for a scientist…

He spared him a glance and the man, working on a power-capacitor unit a few tables down, paused in his incredibly important task to wave.

Imbecile…

His Scroll buzzed just then and he almost flinched before he caught himself, straightened, forced a smile, and called over to the man, "Ah, Doctor, I'm afraid I lost track of time. I'm due for a meeting with a colleague of mine. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course, of course! A good rest is all part of the process, hm?" The man smiled, limping slightly as he came towards him and clapped him on the shoulder. "And have a good night, too, Doctor! I'll be wrapping up myself soon. Shall I lock up?"

"Do as you like." He shrugged off the man's hand and slipped by him towards the door, fishing his Scroll out as he went.

Imbecile…

His Scroll buzzed again and he flicked it open and snarled, "What do you want?"

"To make some Lien."

"Oh?" He rolled his eyes at the muted woman's voice. "And what could you possibly offer me now? If I plant one more false lead-"

"The lead wasn't false." She cut him off quietly, if as muted as she always spoke, but he was used to her. He could hear the tiny bit of heat that slipped into her voice before she could collect herself. He smirked as she went on, "Kali, Ghira and Sienna were all gone. That was the perfect moment."

"Until the weapon ruined everything."

"It isn't just some weapon, Electrician." She said, "It's… A thing. A thing that moves and talks."

"Under whose control?"

"Its own, Electrician." She said, "I just watched it walk off to a wedding. With a bow-tie on. No one would take their robot to a wedding."

"Oh. Oh my…" Now that was interesting indeed. He'd heard the rumours, of course, leaked up and down by those box-headed, ignorant meat-shields Atlas sent out to do its dirty work. But to have it confirmed? "That's valuable information, Songbird. I'll arrange a payment for you in Mistral."

"Safehouse three." She snapped, "I'll be in the area on business."

"Oh, is Khan headed out on a raid?"

"That isn't for sale, Electrician." She murmured before the call ended suddenly. It was possible that the simplistic relay he'd sent her way had simply dropped the line, of course. It was one of three, stringing along to Mantle's coast and then to Argus before bouncing into Mistral's network and back out to Mistral's southern coast. Distance, traffic, weather - so many variables for why the line had died.

But more likely she'd hung up on him…

A victory for him, then.

How, how to use what she'd learned…

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The wedding was a shockingly simple affair, all told.

Under the thick white cover that had been raised over the wooden platform he had helped install, a banquet had been set up. Fish, fruit, dried meats and all manner of baked goods lined a long set of tables at the back end, looking out on the sea. Most of the rest of the space was simple seating, arranged in long rows like what he had seen in Earth military canteens more than once on Earth. Even he had something waiting for him. A Dust generator had been set up and fueled at the end of the banquet table. It was unnecessary, but…

But it was kind, and he knelt there to take in the power as he surveyed the event.

Faunus in combat uniforms, work clothes, and for a great number of them, a seemingly traditional garb of thick, layered grey linen robes not unlike the ancient toga of the great Roman empire he had been so fascinated with once.

Kali and Ghira both wore the same, but in a dark, pitch black. A black not unlike the Grimm's fur, in fact. The cultural implications of that were…

Intriguing.

Finally, after an one hour, twenty three minutes and fifteen seconds, Ghira slammed his hand down on the table and rose, dragging a laughing Kali up with him. Ludly, he declared, "I want this woman as my wife!"

All the Faunus cheered and slammed their fists down, and then turned to her.

"And I want him as my husband!" Kali laughed brightly and squealed as the faunus cheered and her towering husband hefted her up into his arms and spun with her, pressing a deep kiss against her lips.

"Gifts, you eager rabbits!" A Faunus laughed when the two started to try and slip away. Ghira bellowed a laugh while kali flushed and returned to her seat.

"Right, right." Ghira laughed and fell into his seat with a huff but a happy smile. Kali leaned into his side and the man raised his voice and asked, "Alright, who first then?"

"The big guy!" A woman at the back called out, pointing at him leaning down to watch from the end of the platform. "Assuming he brought anything!"

"That sounded dangerously close to you insulting my guest, Aleric." Ghira called back, smiling but somehow putting no less heat into his gaze for it.

In the silence that followed, he raised his hand and held the box out, "Sienna, if you would be so kind."

"Why should I?" The woman asked from her seat at the end of the bar, just beside his Dust generator. She paused to sip at her drink and added, "I'm a bit busy, you know."

"Because I am incapable of stepping onto the platform without breaking it." He rumbled, reaching in under the canopy to drop the box into her lap. She grunted but caught it, glaring at him, and he added quietly, "And I asked you."

"And?"

"You are also closest."

She groaned, but stood up to carry his box over to the smirking couple. They took it with murmured thanks and Ghira let Kali open it.

"Oh my…" She murmured, drawing out the shorter of the two knives inside. Seeing it, Ghira did the same, holding the weapon in his hand with a surprised sort of aw.

Like the other, it was sheathed in a sleek black metal sheath forged out of pure cyber-matter. The grip and guard were forged out of a simpler steel-alloy, wrapped in a fine linen he had traded some of his cyber-matter steel for. Each was capped at the ends of their grips in pristine pearls, the best he and his droids had managed to find in the shallows around Menagerie. Each blade was a simple, straight and double-edged blade, silver and edged in the purest white, tailored in cyber-matter by his own careful ministrations.

"They're beautiful…" Kali murmured, running an Aura-guarded finger along the edge once she'd drawn it. Aura sparked off vibrantly as she did, before she turned to look over to him and smiled, "Thank you."

"You are welcome." He rumbled simply. "It is nothing."

Before anyone could say anything the next gift came, offered up by one of the robed Faunus. His gift was a simpler one, a small, new Scroll in shining white plastic. Straight from Atlas, the giver bragged. Shockwave wasn't sure about that - how could he have gotten it, then? - but he kept his peace and watched it all quietly.

It was fascinating, to observe a new culture so closely…

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