Monster Wrangler

"Execute Physics.Rigidbody.Stay(&here)," Carl Heinrich instructed the war wolf, before turning to walk into the NamTech Shack. He was here to buy some engineering tools, but the gleam of electronics irresistibly drew the young engineer to look at them.

Meanwhile, Killbot Rex lay his head on his forepaws and attempted to wait patiently. The war wolf looked up in startlement as the mall's merry-go-round started up and animatronic horse-bots bearing screaming children began revolving around a central axis. The glittery lights reflected in the lenses of Rex's targeting scopes for a few seconds before the Construct's IFF routines classified the electronic horses as "Noncombatant - Confidence Level 95%"

Satisfied, Rex lowered his head back down and continued to wait.

-
Carl Heinrich buys an engineering kit.
D4 EM Mischief check: Rex left unattended at the Multiplex Mall, Difficulty 1 Wrangle (Energy) —Unengaging: 5d10o10h9 1 succeeds

Calico had crawled out of bed with less of a hangover than she'd probably deserved, but she still needed to take a walk to clear her head.

Orlok, as usual, rode along on her back, the psychic insect picking up on some of her mild distress and less-mild... well. It was basically guilt.

Mara, Felix, and now Rayfe. Had she made a mess of things like her mother had always said she would?

Damn it.

So she was a bit distracted as she walked along, a 1-onz glass of mixed fruit juice in her hand.

I've definitely felt worse, but...

Orlok's wings snapped wide behind her, the sound causing her to start.

"What?! What... oh. Oh come on, that's just Rex, you're not still mad about that are you? It was a fair fight..."

Chitter.

Killbot Rex, having gone through a full system reboot since the fight with the Saturnadus, did not seem alarmed at Orlok's approach, though his red diode eyes did glimmer with recognition. His robotic tail wagged slightly, making a sound like a metallic brush being scraped against the mall floor.

Shortly thereafter, Carl Heinrich emerged from the store carrying a newly purchased engineering kit, new-in-box and labeled "Now with 20% more military grade rivets!"

"Oh, hello, Miss Carter," the blond boy said, looking between Orlok and Killbot Rex. "I-is there a problem?"

"No, no, just Orlok being a jerk."

She glared over her shoulder.

"As usual."

Chitter.

"Anyway! You seem to be keeping busy... whatcha got there?"

"It's THIS year's version of the NamTech engineering kit, build 22H2!" Carl Heinrich replied, fairly bursting with pride. "I've been saving up my onze to buy one; it's got ALL the tools and materials I need to make UPGRADES to Killbot Rex!" The war wolf heard its name and began wagging its tail faster.

She found herself smiling.

"He's alreadya pretty tough customer. What did you have in mind? In layman's terms, please, I'm... barely able to work my phone most days."

"Well, to be honest, Killbot Rex's encounter with Orlok revealed some VULNERABILITIES," Carl Heinrich confided. "I'm hoping that reinforcing his chassis with protective baffles will help INSULATE him against PSYCHIC and other energy-based attacks. Plus, upgrading to NamTech's newest cybernetic actuators should improve Rex's RUNNING and JUMPING capabilities."

"That's in THEORY, anyway," the boy engineer admitted. "But the development approach seems promising, so I'm going to give it a try."

"Hm. Could be worth a look, I mean... some kind of shielding against psychic attacks has to be possible, right? ANd if there's nothing in the instruction manual to cover it, maybe you can try your hand at writing a new chapter..."

"I never even realized before that psychic attacks could HARM a Construct," Carl Heinrich admitted. "But I'm hoping I can design something similar to a FARADAY CAGE, only blocking MENTAL energy rather than electromagnetism. You're more familiar with Orlok's abilities - do you think something like that could work?"

She glanced at her saturnadus, and bit her lip.

"Hard to say. Lucy gave us fits because of intrinsic willpower, which is why we had to adapt our strategy on the fly. No gear involved, just a stubborn will. So sheer force of will is one part of it. Not sure if you can replicate that technologically, but you might be able to put a bit more... stubbornness, I guess, into his mental processes?"

"STUBBORNNESS? Hmmmmm," Carl Heinrich said thoughtfully. "YES, I think that could be possible. I could add REDUNDANCY to his LOGIC CIRCUITS, which would have an effect of REINFORCING the Construct's algorithms. I think that could work!" He nodded, excited at the idea.

"Well, the details of what you're talking about are a bit over my head, but happy to have been of help..."

She trailed off.

"How have you been, Carl? I don't mean in terms of projects, but just a sort of general thing. How are you?"

"Who, m-me?" Carl Heinrich sounded surprised at this question. He shuffled nervously as he thought about how to answer.

"I guess I'm okay? I'm a little disappointed at not getting further in the tournament, but I can LEARN from that, maybe do better in the next one."

"You have anyone you can... y'know. Talk to? About the frustration or plans for trying again, or any of that?"

"Talk to? Um... I mean.... OF COURSE," Carl Heinrich stammered. "I have REX! He's a good listener... though he doesn't say much." He patted the war wolf's metallic cranium.

Calico half-smiled.

"Yeah, Orlok might be a bit of a jerk sometimes, but he's a sympathetic ear, anyway."

A thought seemed to strike her.

"Oh, and if anyone gives you guff about when you exited the tournament? Like, say, when you sign up at another one down the road? Remind them you lost to one of the finalists. Might as well use it for what it's worth."

Carl Heinrich nodded solemnly. "That should certainly help," he agreed. "If you could win the WHOLE tournament, that would be even better! I hope you and Orlok keep doing well!"

"You and me both."

To say nothing of my wallet.

"So. Rex gets some upgrades, you get to upgrade Rex... what's next? Some kind of field test?"

"Probably some self tests and calibration first," Carl Heinrich judged. "A field test would come later, once we're certain the upgrade has succeeded."

"What do you do for your Monster upgrades?" he asked curiously. "Umm, that is ... Monster evolutions? Monster progression? What's the right word?"

"Well. Orlok will go through a growth spurt, and mature. As far as learning new abilities, a lot of that's down to what he picks up or focuses on. His hypnosis trick has become kind of a crutch here at this tournament, but he has other options. I'll have to see what he picks up. We don't really have word for it- training's the closest, I suppose."