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Taylor Scott The sun is moving down in the distance, but the heat still rises from the blue sand of Waterland Desert. A place that has been given out to respected guests and people who have asked to see the Armored Cores in action would find themselves in the middle of this Desert not far from a Warpgate, but with civilization not in sight; Well, beyond the enclave that is here thanks to PCI (Progtech Chrome Industries) for these very guests.

These people would find themselves with refreshments, food, and a place to sit with some outdoor cooling units, keeping the air temperature at a comfortable level while under the shade provided to them. There was also a high reinforced invisible wall raised up to protect the guests also from any sand, stray bullets, or explosives that could come their way and even monitor screens to see the action no matter how far out it may go.

Out in front of this enclave was three Armored Cores that PCI was offering the Multiverse. The three machines standing around thirty-two feet and all with humanoid designs. The PCI-N720-LIGHT with its reverse leg joints, with a thin armor frame and the thrusters huffing out air from time to time as the on board computer keeps them at ready. The PCI-N549-DEADEYE looks more humanoid than the LIGHT with medium armor plating, but a cyclops squared head, instead of the LIGHT's more visor style head unit. The final unit here was the PCI-N701-STANDARD which also had medium armor plating, but a bit more boxey, then some of the curves of the DEADEYE. (See +info Scott/Rent-Buy_PCI for the details)

There are a few crews working around the area, with the man himself, Taylor Scott, standing up looking at the three units with his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing an under-armor shirt, a pair of cargo pants, military boots, and a pair of aviator shades. Honestly, he could be confused for a pilot easily instead of the very man in charge of a Corporation.
Xiaomu Technically, Xiaomu doesn't really have any business being at a giant robot demonstration; she doesn't have the personal budget for an Armored Core, and given that Shinra tends to operate in the shadows, it's not like she's evaluating them for the agency on any kind of official basis.

But then, there's more to life than business ... especially for an otaku. Real live giant robots! Of COURSE she's not going to pass up a chance to see them, as close to 'up close and personal' as the situation permits. She's giving the demo ACs a moderately critical eye nonetheless as she approaches, studying their respective designs and loadouts - possibly considering them as though she WERE going to pick one for her very own.

She may not be able to afford an Armored Core, but she can still dream, right?
Taro     Why would Taro be here? That's an understandable question. No doubt he could design an independently-piloted mecha and send it off for assembly somewhere in one of Neo Arcadia's factories, if he had a mind to to do so. (And it's entirely possible that he has.) Also no doubt that someone in his own faction could supply him with something of this nature should he actually have an interest in piloting one himself.
    Very simply, it's always nice to see what any potential competition is up to. Or a potential associate. He's not quite sure into which of these categories Taylor Scott and the company he represents fit. The android is keeping an open mind.
    The android is also keeping a folding fan at the ready. Normally he uses it to cheer on his fellow Confederates during the WMAT, but right now it's being pressed (occasionally) into its more mundane purpose in this heat. A cold drink is welcomed with a polite thank you, though the rest of the refreshments are overlooked. He'll find a place to sit in the shade and cool they've provided. His eyes are on the Armored Cores being prepped for demonstration. Mr. Scott himself is noted as well, but the machines and not the man have more of his attention.
Valentha Summers     Valentha's been here setting up some things herself! Although she hasn't been able to acquire any mecha, personally, she HAS set up some rather solid-looking targets covered in armor plating. There's a dozen different targets setup. Probably not enough, but she's also been setting up cameras and other recording equipment from the Union and some of Staren's mass-produceable technoloy. SHould be PLENTY of data capturing so that tons of targets aren't needed!

    "Whew. I'd say that's about enough."

    She's been eying the armored cores ever since arriving. Grinning at them, too!
Staren     Staren flies in from the warpgate (seriously, one of the best magic items ever), hovering for awhile in the sky over the complex before buzzing Valentha to check on her progress, frowning as he spots Taro, then landing over by Scott. "Heya." The wings disappear, and Staren reaches up and pulls off his helmet in case it wasn't clear who he was. "The specs look decent. I might rent a Standard sometime if the Star Hawk is out of commission." He strokes his chin as he looks over at the machines. "I can think of some improvements to make, though..." then back at Scott. "Honestly, though... I've had a lot fewer missions where I can /use/ a mecha since the Wings of Nemesis disbanded. So I don't know if I'll actually be able to make much use of it myself. /However/..." he smiles and jerks a thumb in Valentha's direction, "We can show the data we record today to some people who might be interested. One of the largest manufacturers of giant robots in our area has allied with our enemies, so there's a void you might be able to fill."
O'Mont're Tyr O'Mont're Tyr -- Commander Deathgaze to anyone he's spoken to outside the Union, and most of the ones in it -- is in attendance. He made his interest in seeing these units clear, in part because he's got a personal interest in Multiversal combat mecha, and also because of a more practical thought: if they can supplement their ground forces with them...

(Tyr might just miss having a bunch of battlesuits at his beck and call.)

Tyr is wearing a dark brown greatcoat, open at the front, apparently his only concession to the heat. The blue-skinned Tau doesn't seem terribly bothered by the temperature. He's armed, carrying a pistol and chainsword, but has assured the PCI personnel that they're merely a part of the uniform, and that he has no intention of using either. He does seek to avail himself of the refreshments, heading towards them without apparent difficulty despite hooves and sand. This leaves his guest and his entourage to themselves for a moment.

Baron Errol Ordensi is a man built like a house, large in all dimensions, bald but with a waxed moustache and full beard of dark red. He stands tall and proud, with a finely-made shirt and breeches in sable and an embroidered surcoat in red and tenne. A hooded and robed woman stands next to him wearing the same red and tenne and holding a dataslate; opposite her, a young man (also garbed in the same colors, but more plainly) holds a finely-made chainsword and a shield, the latter of which bears a coat of arms. It's horizontally-divided, the upper half red and the lower the orange-brown tenne they all wear. The line itself looks like battlements leaning to the left, with an eagle's wing and head facing left and a cogwheel of some sort facing right from the center. A crossed axe and lightning bolt is set above it.

Less prominently, and not mirrored anywhere else on the Baron of his attendants, the upper-left corner of the coat of arms bears a smaller square of black and a symbol in gold: the Imperial aquila, with a wreath below the two-headed eagle ringing a human skull. It's probably important, but it's hard to say why, unless heraldry is one of your hobbies.

"They certainly make ugly /statues/," the Baron remarks, his voice as large as everything else about him.

"I am sure you will be able to see one in motion shortly, Baron," Tyr calls over his shoulder. He's gotten something cold and sweet, and is looking thoughtfully at both the units on display and the people who have come to see them.
Taylor Scott Taylor glances over to some of the guests as they arrive. He places up his hand in a wave to Taro, observing the Android as he goes to take cover in the shade; Which Scott can not blame him for. The dirty blonde also gives a nod of welcoming to Commander Deathgaze and his men, but also to Val when she arrived as this was, after all, by her request that this demonstration be done. Not that Taylor didn't mind doing so for a potential shot to get a taste of what was out there.

When Xiaomu approaches to eye the tall machines, Taylor gives her a warm smile. "Liking what you see, huh?" He asks her as keeps that smile on his face while giving her a quick once move. Then the young man extends out his fingerless gloved hand to her, "The name is Taylor, what about yours?" That smile soon turns into a grin, "Maybe we could even get into one of the pilot seats, if you like."

This is about the time Staren goes buzzing over and Taylor pulls down his shades to watch him, before he pushes them back up as the cat-man takes a landing nearby. The corporate owner of PCI crosses his arms over his chest as he listens to Staren and gives a nod. "Any suggestions would be fine, Staren. I can look them over later or let Carol crunch on them." Taylor gives a few more nods as he listens and then smirks faintly, "Yeah, Val said something about that to me and I'll be glad to work something out with you guys if this goes well." The dirty blonde shrugs about then, "After all, these machines have yet to see the powers of the Multiverse, so who knows what will happen."

"But, that is why we are here right?" Taylor says with a big smile on his face before he looks toward Val's set up, "Everything ready over there Val?" As Baron though comments about the 'ugly statues', the dirty blonde only glances over with a mild smirk on his face, as he looks away adjusting his gloves.
Xiaomu Xiaomu grins, "Well, they're not Virtuaroids or anything, but they're pretty impressive for real-world mecha anyway. I'm Xiaomu," she shakes hands with Taylor. "And I don't sit in anyone's lap on the first date," she jokes, "even if he *is* showing off his giant robot!"

She gives the nearest AC an undisguisedly hungry look - not in the 'I need food' sense, of course; that's what the refreshments table is for, but 'I would love to get a look inside this thing'. "How complicated are the controls?" she wionders at Taylor, even as she glances further over her shoulder to see who else is here.
Valentha Summers     "I'd like to make it clear that I have nothing but respect for Northern Gun's skill or reliability. They just made a decision that's really inconvenient. One I hope they might reconsider eventually. Not that I'm saying I'd jump ship if they did!" Valentha winks over at Taylor, then offers Deathgaze and the Baron a wave - as if not at all put off by the Baron's intimidating presence.

    Finally she gives the all-clear wave to Taylor. "Ready! The idea is, use different weapons on the armor plating and see what works... and how well. If you can puncture this stuff as well as our weapons... and if the armored core can keep a targeting lock on Staren's Star Hawk, we're good to go!"
Taro     Taro returns Taylor's wave with a deep respectful nod....but then Staren makes his presence known when he removes his helmet, and what had been his usual relatively mild frown becomes a withering glare. That is as far as he takes it, however, and then he pointedly turns his attention elsewhere.
    No surpise that others have come to see the demonstration, and as they wander in to his view they're given cool, appraising glances. Certainly less hostile, not quite curious but not uncurious either. Hm. Quite a diverse group assembled here...
    Mindful of anyone else sitting nearby, the android priest smoothly drops into one of the provided seats, setting his fan in his lap for now but keeping iced drink in hand. Others are talking and asking questions, and so he listens rather than asking any of his own.
Staren     Staren catches Taro's glare, frowns, and looks away. They can just stay out of eachothers' way and it'll be fine, right? "Well, the first thing that comes to mind is more capable computer systems... Beyond that, I'd have to see more to really know what can be done." he shrugs. "Man. It's what I studied, but I've barely actually /done/ any weapon design."

    Staren looks from Xiaomu to Talyor. "Ooh, yeah, we're gonna get to try driving these, aren't they? Although..." he looks at Xiaomu, rubbing the back of his head. "Piloting /is/ kind of a difficult skill that normally takes years of training..." Then he gasps and snaps his fingers, turning back to Taylor. "Hey, that's right, you have the neural interface thing! These might be really easy to pilot actually!" He grins and looks from Taylor to Xiaomu, then to Valentha and waves dismissively. "Well sure. Even the Coalition makes some good stuff, but... hey, no reason a rival business can't take advantage of their bad decision, right? Umm... I didn't bring the Star Hawk. I figured, we're here to see these, I didn't want to show up mass-produced units with my personal customized machine..." He rubs the back of his head a bit nervously.
O'Mont're Tyr The Baron watches Taylor like a hawk, nodding fractionally at the greeting. Tyr is more apparently friendly, inclining his head more deeply to both their host and to Valenta, who he is quite aware of.

The woman in the robe approaches Taylor instead. She's dark-skinned (what there is to see, given the concealing robes and hood) and wearing goggles, apparently examining him, the machines, and the dataslate in her hands in equal measure. "Excuse me. I would like to know more about these interfaces, if I may." She's polite and inquisitive. "I believe the Baron and the Commander would both appreciate more details regarding the method of operation."

Tyr himself settles down in the provided seats -- coincidentally near Taro, who he doesn't know. The Tau turns his head to look at him. He looks a lot like a tech-priest, he thinks. "Are you a technician of some kind, then?" he asks. "I presume you are not in the employ of this corporation, or you would be scurrying across the sand as well."
Taylor Scott Taylor looks to Valentha and gives a nod of his head to her, "Sounds like a plan and hey... If, you know, ever /do/ decide to jump ship..." He places out his hands as nothing more needs to be said on it, but his attention does turn back to Xiaomu and he gives her a smirk, "Not that hard really, but it does take a bit of training to get use to the controls if you never piloted a mech before." He looks to the robed woman as she walks over and addresses him, "Greetings ma'am, I was just getting ready to show Xiaomu here, along with those present, the control scheme."

The dirty blonde then pulls out an android-like device, before he turns it sideways as he scrolls through some information and pulls up the image. The monitors also come to life with this data as he taps an icon on his phone. With his index finger and thumb, he draws the image up to a holographic display of the cockpit before those on the ground with him.

He uses his index finger to rotate it around to the points of interest, "So, what you have here is the two foot pedals," He moves the image to those, "One controls the motion, the other controls the jump, along with thrusters." He then moves the image a bit more, "Then you have the main monitor in the center, which gives you the full view of what the Armored Core sees. Then there are the sub monitors with data, radar, and mapping to name the most important parts."

Taylor turns it again to display the joysticks, one looks normal on the right, but the left is odd. "These are your two piloting sticks. The right one is for the right arm and weaponry, along with the right shoulder. The left is for the left arm, designed more for the blade in mind, but with Left shoulder firing as well." Taylor then looks at Xiaomu first in the eyes, before the others, "And most of the articulation, along with several other functions is picked up by the Muscle Tracer device, also known as the MT."

The corporate owner gives the fox lady a wink over the brim of his shades, "That is where the /real/ magic happens." He then shuts down the hologram, along with the monitors also powering down as he puts his cell phone away. His attention goes over to Staren. "Capable computer systems?" There was almost a held back chuckle. "We have some pretty advance A.I. that can go into these things, but these three have the basic systems, given you got to the money to have the programming to go with it, but I'm sure you'll see what I mean here shortly."

"Also, don't worry about the Starhawk, we can do the target testing another day or something." Taylor then looks at everyone, "So... Are we ready to see some bullets fly on these lovely targets put up by Summers?"

Taylor looks back over to the robed woman, Xiaomu, and Staren, "... And don't worry, the MT requires no drilling. Just an simple device that sits at the temples," He then looks over to the new woman, "I also didn't catch your name yet, I'm Taylor." He places out his hand to her. "You are?"
Staren     "No she means, jumping ship on helping /you/. She doesn't work for Northern Gun." Staren clarifies. And then: Holographic exposition! "Oh, hey." He watches curiously, nodding. "Hmmm. Interesting." Staren ahs, "I see, so you have better targeting systems but they cost more. That's fair. If I bought one I'd probably wanna do my own work on it though, you know?"

    Staren scratches his head. "So... the Muscle Tracer reads /some/ stuff, but we can't use it for large movement and aiming?"
Taro     They can, and they have before. Besides, the Armored Cores are of far greater interest to the android right now. though he's temporarily distracted from that interest when he's joined by a person whose race he doesn't immediately recognize but has all the bearings and markings of an officer. A small nod, both in greeting and confirmation. "A Bishop Engineer of the Church of SHODAN, to be exact. I am here as a guest and spectator only." A pause, then he lowers his head in a substitute for a bow. "Taro Daisho. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
    Further pleasantries are put on hold as Taylor begins the demonstration, and his full attention understandably turns there. His expression changes little, but his eyes are intent on the holograms. An eyebrow is raised slightly as AIs are brought up, then lowers with the other into a mildly pensive expression.
Xiaomu "So it's a combination of manual and neuro-link controls?" Xiaomu raises her eyebrows (and ears) a bit. "The neuro-link is read-only, right? It doesn't output anything back into the pilot's brain to indicate damage to the Core or error messages or anything like that?"

She considers what she's seen thus far. "Seems a little more complicated than an arcade game, but not as bad as Steel Battalion ... How's their overland speed, and can they fly or is it just a matter of jumping?" she wonders, wandering around behind one of the ACs to see what kind of thrusters are evident.
Valentha Summers     "Haven't! Done really need to, but love them. They're so fun to figure out! .... Errr... provided someone's around who can put them back together again..." That's a pretty obvious case of 'do not let Valentha disassemble an Armored Core, she won't know how to reassemble it.'

    Yeeeeaaaah.

    But she hops over to follow along with Taylor's introduction. "What he says!~" She chimes mid-way through, answering Staren.

    "Muscle tracing, huh?"

    She finally faces Taro and purses her lips. "Ah... I wondered who else was showing up. Not just a tourist, then!"
O'Mont're Tyr The woman nods slowly, observing the display. She takes notes, punching runes on the surface of the dataslate. She purses her lips, and nods again, more sharply. "I see. Thank you." She still seems to be taking notes, letting the others ask relevant questions for the most part. "What is their operational time per sortie?"

"Primitive and inadequate," the Baron rumbles, mostly to himself. He and the young man with him have begun moving towards the seating. "Perhaps suitable for armored cavalry, however, if they were properly consecrated." His other aide bobs his head with a murmured, "As you say, my lord," but adds nothing of particular import.

"I see." O'Mont're Tyr inclines his head in a mirror of Taro's motion. "I am Commander Deathgaze, first mate aboard the Callidus Amicae under Captain Hexam, Rogue Trader in service to the Imperium of Man. This is Baron Ordensi, the ship's Arch-Militant." The Baron turns to regard Taro. It's hard to tell what he thinks of him, but he does incline his head with some degree of respect.

Tyr examines the Armored Cores for a moment, and then asks Taro a simple question: "What do you think of them?"
Taylor Scott Taylor hand wobbles to Staren, "It can be and can't be. It takes my eggheads to really explain all the nooks and crannies of the tech. As an example, so pilots cannot really use the MT well... But someone like me?" Taylor motions to himself. "I have a one to one ratio, only really seen in mostly Pluses." Taylor hrms softly. "Genetic enhanced humans. It's a long story that goes back to World War Two." He gives a mild hand wave to all that.

The dirty blond looks over to Xiaomu, "And read, yes. The damage is shown on display, along with the AI addressing it to you. More complex AIs can do work around if the problem gets too bad." Taylor explains as he watches her check out the thrusters in the back of one of them. "And they can move pretty quick, depending on the class. They can hover in the air, have short flight time, and some have the Overboost which are hidden from sight until active. That can kick an Armored Core to double its speed... Sometimes tripple!" This is when the PCI leader frowns a little. "Though for the moment, Millennium Enterprise has us beat when it comes to actual flight, but their machines are like paper."

Taylor raises a brow before he looks back to Xiaomu, "... Steel Batallion?" He seems a little baffled by that before his attention is turned back over to Val, "Yeah, no tourists here. All people who are interested in the Armored Cores and what they can do." He motions up where Taro, Baron, and Tyr are. "Taro I know from meeting him at a museum, the other two... I believe are with her." He motions to the robed woman before them, which she asks him a question, he does frown a little with no name given or the hand accepted, oh well. "Pretty much indefinitely."

The PCI leader explains further on this, "The generators can recharge themselves over time, if their power is completely drained, they will start to renew that energy. They can over-heat, but that comes with the failure of the radiator unable to handle the heat load the Armored Core could come under. If such a case was to happen where the generator becomes critical, the Armored Core will enter emergency shutdown to protect the pilot." Taylor crosses his arms over his chest as he continues explaining, "I'd say probably after a few months of use, the generator has to be taken out, cleaned up, and the cells may need to be replaced. It runs on a similar power to what our cities operate on... Just a smaller scale." He then lowers his arms. "Thank the Germans for figuring it out and we Americans for improving on it!"

Taylor then starts to make his way over to the DEADEYE before he loops his foot on the harness and tugs on the cable, before it starts to lift him up. As he goes up, he tucks away his shades and pulls out a small device, which he rests with one hand on his temple, with a tap of his index finger, a band activates which goes around the front and back of his head. Once he opens the hatch, he unhooks the cable and places on a headset, >>"Like I said, let's get this party started."<< His voice booms out from the Armored Core as the hatch closes behind him.
Taro     Taro inclines his head toward Val, which is the only answer he gives her. No, not a tourist, and as far as he's concerned his title is credentials enough.
    Deathgaze's title is longer but not too difficult to remember. Something of its cadence sounds like something he's heard before...he'll have to look further into it later. "Perhaps primitive by some standards, but I will reserve full judgment until after we see how they perform, rather than judge by their appearances."
Staren     Staren listens. "I guess I'll have to try it and see."

    And then Staren's running after Taylor, towards the Standard. "Ooh, a party! This should be an interesting one!" He pulls his helmet back on.
Xiaomu Xiaomu wastes no time in climbing into the PCI-N720-LIGHT unit, since it seems to be time for the demonstration ... although there's one important question that only really comes to mind while she's getting herself situated in the pilot's seat. "What kind of ammo have you got loaded for the demonstration, Mr. Scott?"

While she waits for the answer, she's acquainting herself anew with the controls, remembering his briefing and working through a few 'test maneuvers' in her head. She'll don the headband for the Muscle Tracer momentarily, but she wants to know a little more about what the demo will involve before she wires herself up. She also has a slight distrust of direct mind interface systems ...

(She's probably watched the wrong kind of anime to trust any machine that takes input straight from your head.)
Valentha Summers     "Genetic manipulation by WORLD WAR 2? ... How histories differ." Valentha boggles a bit at this revelation. But she's quiet for the rest of the explanation... and finally smiles. "All of that sounds pretty standard! Let's see what it can do!"
O'Mont're Tyr The robed woman looks totally absorbed in the technology; it's probably simple absent-mindedness that prevented the niceties rather than anything deliberately calculated. Tyr nods a little to Taro, and then turns back to the demonstration about to occur. "Mother Madrigal is one of the Baron's retinue," he says. "She is very... focused on her work as the primary Sacristan charged with the maintenance of Baron Ordensi's personal fighting machine."

"Ah?" Madrigal looks up. "Oh. Yes. My apologies, sir. Please, do not mind me." She goes back to note-taking and... whatever else she's doing.

Baron Ordensi has taken a seat by this point. He and Tyr and watching them with the keen eye of experienced soldiers and pilots. If they're good enough, PCI may have to deal with Tyr's unique negotiating style soon enough.
Taylor Scott Taylor gets himself comfortable in his own seat as he switches on the controls to make sure everything is working. As he does this, he taps on his comm to the Ground Control team, "Can you guys remote those other two online? Thanks."

As Staren and Xiaomu get settled in there is a large PCI chrome logo floating on the screen like a screensaver under it is 'Demo Mode'. Shortly a female voice speaks up to them, "This is ground control, these Armored Cores are in demo mode in order to make sure no one tries to run off with them. We do ask that you please place on your MTs but stay within the area displayed on your map. If you go beyond the red border, your Armored Core will power down." there was a pause in her voice, "Have fun!" Once everything powers up the computer chimes in on all three.

:: "Good Evening, all systems are operational. Combat mode engaged."::

>>"The ammo is live."<< Taylor explains to Xiaomu, >>"But we have safeties installed on these Demo Cores to make sure no one suddenly has a case of friendly fire."<<

The DEADEYE rolls its shoulders, before it goes to look left and right, then glances down to the ground as the optical lens flicker with red light. The thirty-two foot machine moves it left arm, then the right arm, before it goes to step forward with ease; Carefully though, given a few people on the ground, though they are ushered up to behind the wall.

>>"Just take it easy you two. The computer will interpret some of your thoughts into the proper movements, but to get down full control that requires a bit of bio-signature matching and training time."<< The Armored Core takes hold of the Sniper rifle in both hands as he goes behind the line. >>"Just have fun blowing stuff up."<< The Armored Core then goes down on its knee as Taylor goes to line up the shot. The target reticle flagging red as the FCS zeroes in and Taylor then adjusts the zoom a bit more. He can hear Val's asking him a question and chuckles softly, >>"I'm starting to get that a lot around here in the Multiverse by a few other Earths."<<

Then Taylor speaks up to the group inside, as he comes up on one of the monitors, >>"Madrigal huh? That is a nice name... And by the way, thank you all for coming out!"<< As soon as he says that the screen goes back to black and a loud 'pop' fires off as the sniper round is released for the target, before he moves to the next one and fires off another round. Then, as the Armored Core stands up, the next rounds are loaded.
Staren     "Steal them? Seriously?" Staren looks around at the controls, then straps himself in and removes his helmet, putting the MT on. "Alright, let's see here..." He messes with the foot pedal, seeing if twisting or leaning it different ways moves in different direction. He moves each arm up and down and in a little circle. If he's got the basic movement down, he aims the assault rifle at one of the targets and pulls the trigger, seeing how well a full-auto spray stays on target. Then he tries moving again. "How do I turn on the boosters on this thing?"

    As an aside, he comments, "yeah, we didn't even get genetic engineering down by the end of the twenty-first century."
Xiaomu "Demo-mode safeties, huh?" Xiaomu shrugs, and puts on the MT headband. "Guess I'll have to trust everything if I'm gonna do anything at all." She takes a moment to put her AC through its paces, making sure the arms and legs and head move as they're supposed to ...

Then she goes for a target lock on the Deadeye that Taylor is piloting, primes the machine gun, and her Light AC erupts into movement - not so much 'jumping' as skimming along the surface, flying JUST above the ground as she attempts to strafe the heck out of the Deadeye.
Valentha Summers     Valentha's not picked up her own Armored Core, because honestly... she has no idea of how to pilot something like this, and would rather direct the testing.

    Although Taylor will 'hear' something peculiar when he starts shooting. It's less a voice, and more an impression, a thought. A thought that's NOT HIS.

    'Let's see what they can do!' Val's voice seems to echo in his head.
Taylor Scott Taylor muses a bit as Staren attempts to figure out how the thruster works, though when he gets a target lock indicator on the screen, he notices the flicker on his radar as Xiaomu moves in on him. Then there is that voice, that voice that causes him a momentary hesitation before he speaks up, >>"Well, looks like someone figured out the thrusters. Why not ask her!"<< He says with a tease in his voice as the DEADEYE kicks on the mag-grav and then skates around the LIGHT. "She is good..." He says softly to himself as he tilts his head to the side gently. "But eager." His eyes glance over to Summers as he stares at her with a puzzled thought. He swears he heard her speak, but... There were no words. He was sure of it, pretty sure of it, but how? It was something he pushed aside as he brought his attention back to the demo.

The Dirty blonde scans the screens once more, before he speaks up to Staren. >>"The jump and thrust are controlled with the left foot pedal. You can activate overboost by pushing the pedal fully down. You know when you hit that point when the pedal doesn't want to give and you then push it beyond that point."<< Taylor raises an eyebrow in thought. "And should I warn him about the sudden G's you think, computer?" He then looks at the side monitor.

:: "Question unknown. Please restate." ::

"Nevermind... I forgot I'm not in Gabriel." Taylor chuckles as reaches up a flips comms to Xiaomu directly coming up on her side screen. >>"Are you going to keep chasing me around or you are going to make work of those targets Val placed up? I know we may be cute together, but I'd rather do the chasing, then being chased by the lady."<< There was a hint of teasing in his voice, of just messing with her really. Which he gets back on track as he pulls away from their 'dance' and the Armored Core pushes off from the ground with its foot. He leaps over and the machine goes to land on the ground before breaking into a run with very little pause in its recovery from the impact.

Those aqua teal eyes stare at the next target, as he furrows his brows. The DEADEYE goes to move in as the red plasma extends out from the device on the left arm to form a blade. With a stomp of its heel on the ground and then a rotation of the body like a skilled swordsman, the Armored Core goes to swing the laser blade down in a cleaving motion for the dummy.
Xiaomu "Oh right, there are actual targets ..." Xiaomu remarks sheepishly as she 'ceases fire' and her AC comes to a halt again. She pivots the Light AC's upper body, checking for the targets; she saw them earlier ....

Ah, there they are. Rather than strafing *them* with the machine gun, though, she draws the 'holdout pistol' and lines up on each target, trying to score on each of three with single shots in quick succession. Her real marksmanship skills should help a bit with that, thanks to the Muscle Tracer.

Or so she hopes.
Staren     Staren's AC turns to watch Xiaomu and Taylor. What is she doing? Well, the safeties won't allow friendly fire. Staren takes a couple of single shots at the target to check the accuracy, the boosts up to the target, stabbing it with the blade! Then he boosts back, tries boosting around the arena a bit, before crossing it with an overboost!
Valentha Summers     Valentha Summers decides a bird's eye view would be better, and spends several seconds casting a spell. Power flows from her hands as she waves them around.. and swiftly LIFTS OFF THE GROUND upon a gale of bluish wind. The magic hoists her up at incredible speeds, letting her look down at the shots with a pair of binoculars hastily whipped out.

    The targets are made of some rather incredible materials. A handful of bullets will easily dent them. Armor-piercing rouds will struggle, but probably penetrate. It's high quality armor on display, even if Valentha was only able to scrounge up only a few plates! ... From somewhere.

    'Oh, you might want to dodge!' The thought again slams into Taylor, as Valentha gets a wicked and mischevious little idea.

    Another spell is cast, this time in view of some of the ACs!

    ... She gestures, builds up a bit of power... and waves an arm!

    A half dozen orbs with poor homing abilities fly towards Taylor's mech! ... They're not terribly fast, and whatever they strike? ... Will be unharmed, except left glowing rainbow colors.
Taylor Scott Taylor hears the voice again and raises an eyebrow, "Ok... Seriously..." Then his computer chimes in...

:: "Alert. Unknown. Alert." ::

"Yeah, yeah, I got the idea." Taylor remarks back to the computer as he spins his Armored Core around to snipe down the orbs as his tries to focus on them as the Armored Core skims back and around. If others go after them, great! If not-- then he'll try to manage them alone...

With some playing done and targets attacked, it was time to bring the Armored Cores back in, though the two could keep goofing off with them a bit long. Taylor though brings his back into the dock station set up and then goes to climb down before landing in a crouch on the ground before looking up to the Armored Core itself, then over at his crew. "Check the stabilizer, will you guys? It felt like it was leaning on the left leg."

The dirty blond then makes his way inside where Taro and the others are at before he gives them a warm smile. "How is everyone over here in the land of cool air and refreshments?" He says placing his hands then in his pockets. "Enjoyed the demonstration?" Taylor raises a brow a bit about then, "Also, sorry I have not given you guys the proper welcoming as guests of honor. I'd never been really good at the whole tight collar thing."

Taylor then walks up to Tyr and Baron, extending his hand to both. "My name is Taylor Scott, head of PCI. It's a pleasure to meet you both."
Xiaomu If it were possible for your hair to get blown around inside an AC's enclosed cockpit, Xiaomu would probably have a decidedly windblown look as she emerges. As it is, she looks sort of smug about the experience, if a little off-balance. "I'll say good things to my bosses," she tells Taylor, "but I can't promise anything ..."

She goes over to the buffet tables - wobbling just a little bit, it looks like - to ransack some of the available food and drink.
Valentha Summers     The orbs CAN be shot down, and each one that gets hit goes up like the fourth of july. KABLOOEY! Multicolored sparks fly in every direction from each one.

    Valentha of course has already moved out of the line of fire. "Ooooh... they CAN keep up."
O'Mont're Tyr Madrigal has since retreated to the shade, hanging around at the edge of it to observe the demonstrations. She's furiously tapping away at the glyphs on the dataslate, adding to her already-lengthy notes on this whole event. Baron Ordensi and the young man with him are seated, but stand when approached; Tyr is already up by this point, having chosen to get a little closer to see what's happening. Both shake Taylor's hand, with the Baron's grip being strong and assured and Tyr's being firm and measured.

"I am Commander Deathgaze, first mate of the Callidus Amicae under Captain Hexam, Rogue Trader in service to the Imperium of Man. This is Errol Ordensi, Baron-in-Exile and Arch-Militant of the Callidus Amicae's troop compliment." Tyr's voice is slightly sibilant. Whatever language he's speaking (Gothic, which at least sounds related to English in some distant fashion), it isn't his native tongue.

"The Commander and I are both quite experienced knights," Baron Ordensi says, using a possibly archaic term for 'pilot,' "and thought your armors might be suitable to add to our shipboard stable."

Glancing from the Baron to Taylor, Tyr nods. "Yes. Your control system is primitive, but your machines are obviously effective. I wonder if they may be too large for casual deployment, however."
Staren     Staren ends the overboost by trying to cut a target in half with the laser blade, then backs up a bit and tries the missiles, so he has an idea of the effectiveness of /all/ the weapons. Then he returns it to the docking area. "So, what do you think, Xiaomu? How do you like piloting a giant robot?"
Xiaomu "I think the laser blade is a half-gram heavy on the back end," the sage fox replies to Staren with a perfectly straight face.

She didn't even USE a laser blade. Heck, the model she was running around with didn't even HAVE a laser blade.

"Fun little experience, at any rate," Xiaomu continues. "I'm probably gonna stick to fighting on foot - I'm not sure even that Muscle Tracer would let me suplex another robot from inside one of these things."
Taylor Scott Taylor's own handshake is firm and controlled, and once that over, he places his hands back into his pockets. "Please to meet you both." When Baron speaks of 'knights' and 'armors', it does take the PCI leader a little bit to follow along, before he softly ahh's in realization. "Right, right." The young man says before he hrms softly. "I'm not sure what I can say on the size part. All Armored Cores range around thirty-two feet, unless they are on hovers or treads." He looks at the two older men; At least he assumes they are older. "The old clunkers of World War Two were around fifteen feet all, but they are now museum pieces really."

The dirty blonde looks out toward his Armored Cores, "If you guys are unsure how things may work out," Then looks back at the two. "I'll be more than glad to show up and help you guys with missions. I have military experience and outside the Frighteners, along with a few Ravens, you will not find a better pilot." Taylor grins after he says that and the smirk remains, "And I'm not bragging either and I'd be more than glad too. Besides, if something goes wrong out there, I'd rather know it first and the best way to know that is being the one in the pilot seat."
O'Mont're Tyr The Baron certainly looks older than middle-aged. Tyr is a blue-skinned noseless alien, so it's way harder to guess his age, but he carries himself like a trained and experienced soldier. He couldn't be that young.

"Mm. That is an interesting offer. I would normally not assume someone in your position would be willing to undertake mercenary work," Tyr remarks. "With that in mind, I will be certain to contact you if something comes up that a machine of that size would be necessary for. We are most often engaged in smaller-scale battles."

"Aye," the Baron says, nodding. "There isn't much worth deploying my Armor for. I know yours is smaller..." He shoots a sidelong glance at Tyr, who shrugs very slightly. "...but the chance to fight something worthy is rare indeed."
Taylor Scott Taylor keeps the brow raised a bit as he listens and shrugs his shoulders gently. "I was a soldier for a year and still wish I was. The only reason I'm in charge of PCI is because my father passed away and everything fell into my lap." He shakes his head softly, "But that is a story for another time."

The young man crosses his arms over his chest, "But yeah, if you guys need me for something to help out, let me know. In my world, Armored Cores are used for everything from construction, policing, and even rescue. There uses are limitless really, but that is because of their modular nature."

Those teal blue eyes look over to Baron, "And give it time, something will come up eventually that may need your armor and my Cores. The Black Jacks have been quiet in my world, but I think because they are snooping around to get a feel for the Multiverse. They will eventually make a move and if not them directly, probably some lowlife criminal."

Taylor goes to say something else and his phone buzzes, which causes him to sigh gently, before he looks at the two once more, "But I do hope our paths meet again, enjoy the rest of the refreshments, feel free to walk around the Armored Cores and maybe I'll see you guys in the WMAT." The dirty blond steps back, "... And if you are only watching, well, you'll get a chance to see Gabriel in action, my personal ride."

He places up his hand as he goes to walk away. "Take care guys and I'll be in touch!"
Staren     Staren climbs down from the Standard. "Yeah, thanks for the invite! This was cool. I'll get back to you on that business opportunity thing."