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Post by zer0gravitea on Oct 2, 2019 16:43:54 GMT -8
Lately, Tap had been branching out of her usual job description in a rather big way- her web of influence was steadily working to entangle departments beyond her own quite steadily. The eventual goal of this was to put herself in an optimal position to take over the entirety of Capsule Corporation when her father decided it was time to hand over the reins… however far into the future that happened to be. That and, well, Tap’s voracity decided that simply heading the Wellness Division’s marketing branch was no longer enough. Contributing to this pseudo-restlessness was likely the fact that her modeling career had slowly slid to something of a halt-- she had already endorsed all the products that she needed to endorse, and nothing seemed to be coming up from other organizations that she felt confident attaching her name to. The culmination of all this was Tap’s sudden interest in the reports that several of Capsule Corporation’s land delivery convoys had been subject to heckling from local bandits and raiders on their way to Central City. She was dubious of the claims at first, but investigation into the Provincial Defense Production department indicated that their profits were, in fact, hurting. Not only had the product been going missing en-route, but the failure to deliver the aforementioned product to distribution centers within Central City’s police and militia network resulted in a steady decline in incoming contracts. To make matters even worse, the department’s heads had refused several offers by Wheelo Enterprises to provide automated defense solutions to the convoys. To them, it reflected poorly on their own department to rely on another company(subsidiary or otherwise) to provide defense support for a department whose whole point was to provide armaments for dealing with precisely that sort of problem. To make matters worse, it was difficult for them to find fresh and qualified personnel to escort the convoys given how they were now being lead through regions wherein the bandits were actually armed with Capsule Corporation equipment. Tap’s interest in that particular issue first lead her to insisting that she be allowed to ride along for one of the convoys to witness the raids first-hand, but she had been quickly dismissed. Not only was it a matter of departmental pride to not have someone else get involved, but it was deemed too much of a risk to have someone of her import involved in something so prospectively dangerous. Despite her insistances as she had with Malina previously, the PDP department’s security heads would not fire their side arms at her to demonstrate that she was, in fact, bulletproof. Those combined annoyances were what led her to her current location- namely, barging into Malina’s workshop. “ Malina, Malina! Please tell me that you’re done with that bike that we discussed- and that it’s bulletproof. We’ve got a TOP SECRET mission to tend to, and it’s entirely possible that my baby could get shot to hell!” wc: 499 collective wc: 499 / 6000 SadistSquirrel
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Post by SadistSquirrel on Oct 2, 2019 17:22:45 GMT -8
Malina quickly snapped up to look as Tap rushed into her workshop with all the energy of a tornado, she was wearing protective goggles and a facemask to keep sparks from touching (most) of her skin… as well as a large welder’s smock. It seemed Malina was just about putting the finishing welds on Tap’s bike… and a good thing too, as the bulletproofing had been a rather last minute demand from the heiress. “ Funny you should say that Miss Brief…” She pulled the mask down and grinned, before popping a quick thumbs up and jumping up to her feet, slapping her hand down on the bike’s seat. “ O-Ow... I’d say she’s ready!” She seemed proud of herself, the various pockets of her apron filled with tools, the odd wrench here and there. She was still wearing the coat underneath and all in all she was an odd mix of ‘nerdy scientist’ and ‘eager engineer’... Malina had some surprises at least apparently. She also seemed rather excited at the prospect of a ‘top secret mission’, although her excitement noticeably turned to suspicion as she set the welder she was using aside carefully, crossing her arms under her bust with a quirk of her brow and a tilt of her head. “ ... What exactly are we going to be doing that could lead to the bike being shot at, Miss Brief… ? And why do I get the feeling this isn’t exactly aboveboard.” While she may complain, and seek to clarify exactly what it is she would be doing… at the end of the day, Malina was in no position to actually argue. If Tap wanted her to do something, or tag along for something… she’d inevitably have to just do it.
wc: 289 collective wc: 788/3,000
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Post by zer0gravitea on Oct 2, 2019 17:38:11 GMT -8
So it -was- done! Tap’s expression morphed into one of true delight, further brightening when she all but dashed over to the completed bike and straddled its seat. Last time, she had been riding secondhand- but this time… this time she would be able to feel the engine humming beneath her fingertips, to relish in the responsiveness of the improved device that Malina had dreamed up. She leaned forward and pressed herself against the bike, hugging it as though she were zooming through some dark street at high speeds in the theater of her mind. After a moment of some-such child-like enjoyment, Tap straightened herself and shifted on the seat to sit as though it were little more than a rather expensive chair. Legs crossed, of course- she was a lady after all. “ Well, you could say that nothing I do is precisely above board. The objective is to become above the board, then it doesn’t matter what I do, because the only person I’d be answering to is myself! Now, to the point…” she trailed off momentarily, seemingly distracted by her own reflection upon the bike, “ ... we’re going to be doing something of a recon mission! Those idiots down at the Provincial Defense Production Department have been experiencing some issues with… a failure to deliver the agreed upon product. They claim it’s because of some bandits or some other nonsense, but refuse to let me ride along with one of their convoys to see for myself. That’s where you, and my lovely new bike, come in! We’re going to follow the next convoy and monitor from afar to see if our own workers are lifting the product, or if it is indeed some tomfoolery with raiders. Either way, we’re dealing with people who have weapons… so better safe than sorry,” she nodded to herself. “ Oh, uh, we should probably get you outfitted with something that’d hold up in a firefight too. Some kind of battle armor should do the trick- and maybe a gun or two. Unless… maybe a tank in a dynocap? More safe for you that way.” wc: 367 cwc: 1155/6000 SadistSquirrel
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Post by SadistSquirrel on Oct 2, 2019 17:55:26 GMT -8
Malina balked for a moment as Tap talked about getting her involved in a potential combat situation. Combat!? She wasn’t exactly built for combat… with a long sigh she moved over to the rough and tumble desk area, a little messy to most perhaps but to her it was perfectly serene and tranquil. She quickly shuffled some papers out of the way, picking up a key that was haphazardly lying under a blueprint or twelve… only to duck down and pull out a large case. “ If bandits have been raiding CapCorp… heh, TapCorp… uhhh… right right! Means they’ve got Capsule Tech. Hopefully none of those aforementioned dynocapped tanks, right?” She gave a pointed stare as she began pulling out a bunch of weird contraptions from the case, only to start swiftly assembling them. She wasn’t even precisely looking at what she was doing, flicking between inspecting it and watching Tap lounge about on her new bike. “Fit for two, although it might be a touch snug. Could give it a sidecar if you’d like but not before we leave, obviously.” It took awhile for her device to take shape, but the potential of it seemed pretty clear as she rolled up her sleeves and continued to assemble it entirely around her arm… a brace of some kind no doubt, and seemingly both useful enough for her to consider using it for a potentially dangerous situation… and dangerous enough that she kept it locked up. “ Hope you don’t mind me using my own work on this uhhh… ‘mission’? Branding and such.” She sounded entirely serious, although she had a little smirk on her lips that betrayed that she was mostly making conversation for a laugh. Inevitably, the brace was constructed around her left arm and she seemed happy with it… a little flick of her wrist and… /ZZZT/… Malina immediately yelped, a little twitch across her body as she grumbled… before pulling out a small assortment of tools and getting right back to work on the brace. A little anticlimactic, to say the least. “Let’s just get going, I’ll uhh… fix it on the way.” wc: 355 collective wc: 1,510
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Post by zer0gravitea on Oct 2, 2019 18:50:58 GMT -8
“ Nah, probably no tanks- unless they’ve been getting more heavy duty equipment from somewhere else, but I highly doubt that. They’ve primarily been raiding convoys delivering arms meant to equip police divisions and local militia. I’d wager that their most potent weapons are submachine guns… maybe a few grenades. Oh, and riot control gear, so tear gas at least,” Tap shook her head while explaining her assumptions about what the raiders might have at their disposal. All of it was relatively unworrying for the heiress herself, though she slowly began to realize that someone like Malina might be a little more than amused by a grenade being tossed their way. Still, the girl was smart enough to know what sort of danger she could feasibly put herself into, and Tap assumed that most of the bandits would be too preoccupied with Tap herself to notice the nerd she carted along with her. When Malina completed her-- correction- mostly completed her combat brace, Tap quirked a brow but ultimately shrugged nonchalantly. She trusted the engineer’s work enough to use as a means of high-speed transportation, so it stood to reason that she probably knew what she was doing when it came to… whatever that device was. The heiress quickly plucked a capsule from her pocket and clicked down upon its activation mechanism; she tossed the pill at her bike and smiled when a plume of smoke consequently engulfed the vehicle. When the smoke cleared, the bike was gone and only the sealed capsule remained, resting neatly on the ground. Tap bent down to collect it and turned to Malina, whereupon she gestured casually at a nearby window. “ We’ll get to the ground floor faster that way. Want to hop on my back like last time, or should I flatter you by carrying you bride-style~?”” wc: 316 cwc: 1826 SadistSquirrel
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Post by SadistSquirrel on Oct 2, 2019 19:02:20 GMT -8
Malina merely nodded along as Tap continued with her assessment of the likely scenario involving the bandits… while it was obviously a concern for her, more so than Tap anyhow, she’d be substantially safer if she got her brace functioning entirely correctly! With a few last minute corrections and alterations, she rolled her sleeve back up and clapped her hands together firmly. “ There! Hopefully shouldn’t be necessary but a quick zap or two should at least keep any bandits away who aren’t entirely distracted by your own uhh… combat prowess.” She gave a small frown as she looked to Tap. “ Are you /sure/ this is a good idea, Miss Brief? The last thing we want to do is give them a ransom… although I doubt such a thing is likely, but still!” With a sigh of resignation, she pulled off her goggles, mask and apron setting them all aside with a carefree attitude that explained why her workshop was such a mess as the short Tuffle came out from behind her desk, moved right up to Tap and frowned as her gaze followed her gesture. “I don’t suppose ‘using the stairs’ is an option, is it.. ? Fine, fine! Carry me.” The Tuffle seemed torn for a moment, before she moved around behind Tap… set her hands to the heiress’ shoulders (or at least lower back, with some assistance…) and hoisted herself up. It wasn’t like the model would just let her fall! Right?
wc: 243 collective wc: 2,069
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Post by zer0gravitea on Oct 3, 2019 10:57:51 GMT -8
“ Combat prowess or my incredible good looks. Let’s be honest, they’ll probably be trying too hard to catch a peak at my ass to even think about shooting at anyone else,” Tap replied happily, arms crossing smugly over her chest. When the subject of a ransom came up, however, the heiress’s brows furrowed. She huffed out a loud, exasperated, sigh and shook her head from side to side. The very idea of being captured was preposterous-- someone in the bandits’ group would have to be seriously powerful to pull off a successful capture of Tap, and she doubted that anyone that strong would result to crime to make ends meet. Or, at least, not simple banditry like that. “ Impossible, my dear Malina. It’s entirely incomprehensible that they would somehow manage to subdue me long enough to get a ransom from me or my family. If they capture you, don’t worry-- I’ll save you without breaking a sweat!” that part was probably a lie, given how hot the area between West and Central Cities tended to be at this time of the year, but… don’t sweat the small details. When Tap at last felt Malina take her place on the heiress’s back, she looped one hand back to support her weight from beneath while the other was left free to open the same window that she had gestured toward. Sure, the stairs were an option- but they were too slow. The convoy could have left by now! So it was that Tap opened that window and flung herself, and Malina, into the open air. Wind ripped past their bodies as they descended some seven stories in total, ending with Tap landing quite capably on the street below. She released the engineer from her likely death-grip on Tap’s back and flung the encapsulated bike onto the ground nearby. Another plume of smoke served as momentary prelude to her custom vehicle again reaching its full size. “ Ever been to Central City before, Malina?” Tap inquired as she tucked her hair into the back of her jacket and took up her position in the driver’s seat-section of the bike. wc: 372 cwc: 2441/6000 SadistSquirrel
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Post by SadistSquirrel on Oct 4, 2019 6:11:33 GMT -8
Malina merely rolled her eyes as Tap continued… but it was clear she was at least taking her seriously. She knew Tap would be able to hold her own, of course… but she wasn’t entirely sure whether she’d be able to keep *her* safe. “ If you say so, Miss Brief…” She couldn’t help but crack a small smile as Tap mentioned she’d actually try and save her… although she’d rather never get captured by bandits at all. Definitely not in her contract. She was expected Tap to step out onto the window sill… so her breath was very much taken from her as the heiress lept out into the void, the poor Tuffle unable to even scream as she clung extremely tightly and buried her head into the woman’s shoulder. She was probably never going to get used to this and she found herself hoping more and more that she’d never have to go through it again. By the time she got her bearings again with her feet on the ground, she was grumbling and hopping up to sit behind the model… a reversal of positions so to speak as the shorter girl nestled herself against the heiress comfortably. It was definitely more comfortable for two… but there was only so much Malina could’ve done in so little a period of time. “ Ahh… how about we just go with ‘no’ so you can say what you’re planning to say? With my uhh… preference for technology, moving to West City just seemed like the best option.” She gave an idle shrug as got comfy on the bike… while it wasn’t entirely her own creation, she couldn’t help but smile at a small sense of pride from somebody so esteemed actually wanting to drive something she’d worked on! It was almost enough to forget they were going to be actively driving towards danger.
wc: 311 cwc: 2752/6000
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Post by zer0gravitea on Oct 4, 2019 13:59:56 GMT -8
“ I wasn’t going to necessarily say anything, Malina. I was just curious if you’d ever been there before. The King lives there-- the good one, anyways. Haven’t met him, heard he’s a friendly enough guy though,” Tap chattered on, making the closest thing to small talk she had probably made in the entirety of the time that Malina had known her. During that time, she tapped a few digits into the bike’s onboard navigator and turned the key fully, causing it to roar into life. For a moment, the heiress considered putting on a helmet- if for no other reason than to obscure her identity from their would-be assailants… but her vanity ultimately got the better of her and she decided against it with finality. Tap kicked the bike’s stand up and playfully revved its engines a few times, giggling to herself as she felt the vibrations resulting from its power resonating through her body. She estimated that she could probably reach near the bike’s legal speeds on foot, provided shoes that could withstand the impact of her movements for long periods of time, but was excited to be atop the machine anyways. There was something liberating about it-- the device wasn’t necessarily any more powerful than she was, but it filled her chest with adrenal surges of invincibility- or the feeling of such, anyways. It felt as though the world’s eyes were on her, waiting for her to show them that she was just as great as they thought. It was… not unlike how she felt at live modeling sessions, atop those brightly lit walkways. She did understand then why others seemed to so adore ‘dangerous’ vehicles like that one. “ Hold on tight-- we’ll probably be going pretty fast to catch up!” were the last words that left Tap’s mouth before she released the bike’s break and shot out of the Capsule Corporation parking lot. She turned sharply upon hitting the road, causing the back end of her bike to fishtail wildly for a single second before righting and flinging the pair of them down the highway in hot pursuit of their distant target.
The pair rode with exceptional speed for the better part of half an hour- a speed that undoubtedly caused Malina no small amount of distress when Tap weaved recklessly through ground traffic to bypass any cumbersome waits. Once they were finally free of West City proper, the highway seemed to even out and its traffic diminished, making Tap’s driving far less tumultuous. “ How good is the shock absorption on this thing? Is it still capable of off-road or rough riding?” Tap shouted over the howling winds, glancing back over her shoulder only briefly to acknowledge Malina while addressing her. She seemed more preoccupied with her navigator otherwise, ensuring that they maintained a healthy distance between themselves and their charge- not wanting to overtake them or reveal their presence too suddenly. wc: 504 cwc: 3256 SadistSquirrel
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Post by SadistSquirrel on Oct 6, 2019 11:53:33 GMT -8
Malina would’ve certainly usually been in some distress at the high speed but as Tap took off through the streets and out towards the highway, it became increasingly clear that Malina was not remotely bothered! She leant against Tap somewhat, clinging to the bike with her legs as they hurtled through the streets… this was, to an extent, her own creation and she had at least enough faith in herself to recognise that Tap could do what she was trying to do on it! “ Maybe you should’ve been driving back then, Miss Brief. Given you’re so good at it and all!” She laughed, before squeezing in a little closer as they whipped past traffic… a little too close to comfort even to her. It at least had the effect of shutting her up until they were out on the highway proper. She raised her voice in turn with Tap to answer her question. “Ah! It should be fine, Miss Brief! I tried to ensure the extra weight didn’t affect it too much but uhh… try to avoid being too fancy? I didn’t really get to give it much more than theoretical test drives!” Somewhat tellingly, the Tuffle squeezed tighter around the bike. It’d be… fine, probably. Probably fine. “So… we’re going to just wait and see what happens? Surely being up there would be better, to protect the caravan? I’m not sure I understand, Miss Brief.” Somewhat unsurprisingly, Malina’s good nature seemed to get in the way of the inherent trickery that Tap was displaying… even if she understood the heiress’ intent, she still wasn’t entirely sure why it was a better idea than providing real security.
wc: 277 cwc: 3,533/6,000
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Post by zer0gravitea on Oct 9, 2019 7:22:04 GMT -8
Tap scoffed at the idea that she would have been the one driving herself for the prior shoot. There was no appeal in being the solitary rider for her business- it was all about socialization, companionship… and besides, it was difficult to pose while simultaneously driving! Sure, they could have emulated the effects of driving with large fans or something… but that felt inauthentic, and Tap did not appreciate her shoots being inauthentic. At least, not entirely so. “ Of course I’m good at it! I’m good at everything!” came her response, glossing over the dismissive train of thoughts he had previously had. There was no use correcting Malina over something that wasn’t really her job to concern herself with anyways-- besides, if Tap refrained from influencing the way she viewed their operation too much, it might allow her to bring fresh ideas from outside the status quo! When the Tuffle’s second question came, the heiress pursed her lips momentarily to consider the implications. Sure, if they were right up with the convoy, they’d be able to respond immediately if it came under attack… but there was an equal possibility that someone would recognize her and force the convoy to stop until she agreed to go back. Further… she glanced back to Malina to respond: “ What I’m worried about is an inside source! Random bandit attacks are one thing, but ones that can get through our security teams and take our product- our weapons? Seems suspect that the bandits would know when, how, and where to strike to accomplish such a thing. If they know that we’re there to oversee the convoy, then we’re adding another variable that could muck up the whole operation! So--” Tap’s words were abruptly cut off. She leaned forward and stared into the distance, attention fixated by what looked to be a small wall of dust moving across the distant plain. It could have very easily just been the wind kicking up a bit of dirt, but it was… curiously static. The wall didn’t shift or contort, fluctuate with the whipping wind- and there were no cyclones spinning up beyond it. It was not entirely unheard of for walls of wind to produce such an effect, but… “ Malina! Do you have any binoculars? Can you check that out?” Tap asked, lifting a hand to point toward the wall of dust, “ Looks like it’s going to intercept the convoy, but I can’t tell if it’s just wind or something else!” wc: 433 cwc: 3966/6000 personal: 2491 SadistSquirrel
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Post by SadistSquirrel on Oct 15, 2019 10:15:32 GMT -8
The Tuffle merely sat and listened to Tap for the time-being… an inside source seemed fairly reasonable to suspect, especially given her own background! Regardless of whether she was open about it, which she most definitely was not. She shook her head out of her own quiet listening as Tap perked up and stared into the distance… only for her to be asked quite the odd question. “ ... Binoculars, Miss Brief? And why would you assume I just kept these things around!” She gave a faint pout… only to reach into a side-pouch on the bike… and pulling out a monocular. She brought it to her eye, only to side-eye Tap with a raised brow. “ ... What? Okay… fine. I like to be prepared.” With a heavy pout, the shorter and rounder girl propped herself up a little on the heiress in front of her. “ Ah, just uhm… one moment…” She huffed, before closing one eye and peering into the distance… small mechanical clicks being heard as she adjusted the monocular. It seemed somewhat shoddy and ramshackle, hardly hi-tech at all! More than that… it looked self-made, yet another strange little gadget Malina had made as a curiosity more than anything else it seemed. “I see… a few people? On bikes it seems… ohhhh! I think they’re causing the dust, Miss Brief! I don’t know how they’re keeping it so tightly packed… but too far and it just looks like a solid wall of dust. I uhhh… doubt they’re intending anything friendly though.” She hummed, turning to look at the convoy proper. “It… doesn’t seem like the convoy has noticed anything out of the ordinary. Maybe we should get going and try to help?”
wc: 282 cwc: 4,248/6,000 personal: 1757
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