Gods and Monsters: New Model No. 15

[Gav Mortis]

Gav Mortis, or as he was known here on this secret Imperial research facility, Commander Feyer found his whole surroundings rather claustraphobic and certainly didn't look forward to having to spend the next six weeks stuck in the company of Imperial hotheads. Nevertheless, his presence was needed to personally oversee the project he had convinced Diktat Viscera to fund, suffice to say, his enthusiasm towards the project was more personal than professional.

For six months, Imperial scientists have been working hand-in-hand with a research team from the Corporate Sector Authority Institute of Technology. Ever since the technological wonder that was Star's End penal facility, or moreso the molecularly-bonded armor sheath in which it was coated, the Empire has invested a greater deal of funding into this division. The facility, a station in orbit of one of the moons of Duroon has been experimenting with different materials, breaking down the components of metals and by reconfiguring the molecular structure of the metals, scientists hope to produce exciting new alloys to replace the existing ones used by the Empire.

Two weeks ago, Gav had recieved a HoloNet transmission from Viscera informing him that the facility had stumbled upon a promising discovery and suggested the Sith should spend at least a month there considering the proposition he had presented to the Imperial Diktat a month earlier. The two had established an unholy business deal, the Sith Master utilizing his subtle influences to basically hand over the planet Aargau into the hands of the Empire and in return, Viscera would increase funding into particular areas of research in which Gav was interested. Naturally, Gav has his own agenda and even to his investor, his aspirations are unknown but his request seems harmless enough.

Sliding out of his bed, Gav took his time to get changed into his Imperial attire; part of the deal with Viscera was that he be granted some sort of rank under an alternate alias so that he was allowed free passage throughout systems controlled by the Galactic Empire. Now that this "Contract of Thoroughfare" was in effect, things ran much more smoothly for the Sith Master, even if he did have to dress up and act like an Imperial commander for the duration of the passage. His time at the facility would be easy going as he had no real responsibility other than that of proceedure, it was his duty to be the executive inspector as it were.

"Professor, what is it we will be looking at today?" He asked over the comm-link, the doors to his room opened with a sigh and he entered the excessively illuminated corridoor. A moment later the head scientist had found his comm-link under some random assortment of papers and junk, no doubt, and the shrill of a voice too eager to impress, too eager to speak, replied: "Oh yes, commander! Well, today we will be continuing to look into the intricate bonding process between Laminanium and Trimantium. Of course, there's always the problem of the Molytex and Quantum fiber particles destablising before we can reach the appropriate reaction temperature. And as you know..."

"Yes, yes professor, thank you!" Gav interrupted irritably, "I'll be down in a minute."

[Professor Gordon Freeman]

"Oh, yes. Of course Commander. Report to Lab 12-B on Level 3 when you're ready!"

The tall, lanky man went to ent the transmission but was beaten to it by the Commander. He really did have a strong disliking for Imperial's, especially officers. They were very patronising when around him and his fellow scientists. At least he didn't have to constantly put up with it, as visits were rare and short. But this was six weeks. Nevertheless, he had work to do. Standing up from the computer console, the Professor doned his traditional white coat and headed for Level 3. On the way, he ran into several of his co-workers. One of particular notice was Professor Igonsvar, who was taking a sample of Corbonitium to the test lab on Level 2. He'd been ill recently, and Gordon was happy to see him out and about again...

"Good to have you back with us, J'ohan! I'll pop in later and have a look at your report on the results of last months Corbonitium Pressurisation experiment."

J'ohan gave a simple nod in acknowledgement before moving on. Gordon also pressed on. He arrived at Lab 12-B three minutes after his conversation with J'ohan. Adam, the guard on duty, was seated at the right hand of the door, and smiled at Gordon. Gordon winked at the young recruit. Thankfully, Adam was not an Imperial, but belonged to a Private security company which the research institute had close relations with. Gordons daughter, Clarice, worked there, and was friends with Adam. The Commander was not yet inside, though seven of his colleagues were. He stepped up to the retinal scanners on the wall to the left of the security door. Removing his spectacles, he leaned forwards to allow the retinal scanners to read his retinal patterns. A buzz-ping signaled confirmation of his identification, and the security door opened.

"Good morning Professor" was the greeting from the co-workers inside the lab. Fpur females, and three males. One of the men went to the same University as Gordon and the women, whom he met during his studies there. They'd been typical students; studied well but knew how to have fun. Some of the more recent institutions might say they knew too well how to have fun, but fun was good for the soul and the chuckle muscles.

"Good morning everyone. I trust you all had a good night's sleep after that rather frustrating incident with the alkali sample last week! Before we start, Anne. I wonder if you wouldn't mind popping down to the canteen and getting us all a warm drink. And get an extra one for the Commander, I'm sure he hasn't had time for a proper breakfast yet. We'll all have lunch later on."

Anne removed her lab coat and put on a blue jacket. She grabbed her keycard ID from the workbench and headed towards the doors.

"Thank you Anne. See you in a minute or two."

Professor Freeman tepped up to the laboratory bench to inspect the apparatus. All seemed to be in order. All that was needed now were those drinks and the Commander...

"So then, how was everybody's weekend?"

[Gav Mortis]

"Good morning. Let's get right to it shall we?" Gav asked as soon as the doors to room 12-B had opened, he was just slipping an arm inside a knee-length white coat in accordance to the regulations for science laboratories. The science facilities were always immaculate and white, however the sterile air made the commander look pale sometimes; Gav hated all things unnatural. Ironic that he is overseeing this project.

Upon the sight of the officer all jumped to work, and someone beat Professor Freeman to him with a list of schematics for the recent testing and that was when the professor began to run off his opinions of the projects progress.

"Well sir, we are getting marginally nearer each time we test the bonding process and therefore I estimate that we have no more than ten days left before a new alloy is discovered. We're all very excited!" He followed this up with a genuinly enthusiastic smile that turned Gav's stomach. The sooner he got the hell out of here the better.

"Professor, as you are aware, the Empire does not want estimations, it wants results. You are to be congratulated on your progress but the Diktat has personally sent me here to oversee the completion of the new superarmor and his patience is not as admirable as my own." He grinned inwardly, feeling a little like Darth Vader and also that he too was eager to see the fruits of his labour and tolerance of mundane Imperial procedure rewarded.

"Now, tell me - what exactly is taking so long for this new alloy to be finished?" He asked, clasping his hands behind his back he walked alongside the professor to where he was to be shown a simulated preview of the alloy's capabilities.

"Well, the formulation of a whole new alloy isn't exactly something that can be done overnight sir, you must appreciate--" He began in formal protest.

"Yes, yes, yes - the problems?" The commander interrupted arrogantly, relishing in the petty enjoyment of walking all over those beneath him.

"Yes...well..." The professor recomposed himself, then continued, "Ok - due to the regeneritive properties of the Laminanium which requires both a supply of energy and a supply of replacement Laminanium we are having difficulties keeping the metal's molecular structure stable for the bonding to properly take place. I'll explain; the intense heat naturally brings about increadible kinetic energy in the metal particles, therefore we have to have a replacement supply of Laminanium at the ready to compensate for damage caused to it's structure by the heat. The trick is to make sure the Laminanium restoration is neither overcompensated for or undercompensated in order to keep a controlled molecular breakdown. "

The commander nodded, taking all this in but not without some confusion as he wasn't fully understanding why this was causing so much difficulty as it has become a common process in droid manufacturing. "What about the YVH 1 series combat droids, they use laminanium armor and in order to mould the metal it has to be heated, so why the problems?"

"Ah yes, well all would be fine but throw in the complications caused by the constant shift of layering of molytex and quantum fiber which needs to be regulated in accordance with the bonding with the increadibly dense Trimantium. The molecular structure of Trimantium is complex enough to have it bond with any other metal, let alone one which constantly shfts structure under high temperatures--"

"-Ah! Well therein lies your problam and your answer!" Gav interrupted triumphantly. "High temperatures cause damage to the laminanium and thus provokes the constant alterations in molecular structures, so substitute the high temperatures for higher pressure. And if you can use a less potent catalyst, the reaction is ferocious enough without having to control a catalyst."

"Oh my!" Gasped the scientist, somewhat wide-eyed. "The Diktat certainly chose well in sending you here commander. We'll get to that right away." He turned quickly, stopped then looked back to him with a smirk, "But, before then, let's have a look at that preview--"

They dissapeared into the discussion quarters for the heads of military and science in which there was a large screen and sat about a large table were many uniformed men and women and the various executives of the scientific research institutions dotted throughout the Corporate Sector; Gav knew only some of them. He took a seat and the room went dark, all eager to witness the pre-rendered characteristics of this new alloy.

[Professor Gordon Freeman]

Gordon took a seat near the front of the table, near to the large screen. As the overhead light went down, he stood up and stepped into a spotlight coming from the back of the room.

"Good day to you gentlemen. I'm Professor Freeman, the leader of this project. I won't bore you with my knowledge of chemistry or physics. But instead, I thought you all might like to see a short demonstration of our progress..."

Gordn took a seat once again, and pressed a button on a remote control on the table in front of him. All eyes were glued to the large screen as the video began.

What followed were several simulations of the new alloy's capabilities; testing the 25mm thick sheet of alloy against various weapons. Firstly, a large plate of the alloy was fired upon by a rapid-fire slugthrower. Each bullet simply ricocheted off the metal sheet, leaving no marks at all. Next up, a marine bombarded the alloy with an intense stream of heat equal to 8000 degrees centigrade, with the only effect being slight visible blackening of the alloy. Lasers did not fair any better either, as all laser shots were refracted off the alloy at various angles. And finally, the only weapon to have much of an affect on the alloy was a blast from one of the NRSF's railgun's - which merely dented the alloy. The simulation was them zoomed in to the dent in the alloy and time sped up ten minutes. As the time zoome don the video, the dent gradual disappeared until the alloy sheet was completely regenerated.

A round of applause suddenly appeared in the room; the representatives of various military and scientific divisions were clearly impressed.

The screen then flicked to another scene. This one was of some kind of suit. To be specific, a fibre-suit made of durasilk and a newly manufactured stericloth, worn underneath an additional Hyperbouride suit. The man wearing the suit also wore a pair of goggles and had a breathing filter in his mouth. Then, the suit was put up against intense heat and radiation, and passed with flying colours. The man was unharmed. And the breathing filter was successful against Coma-gas, Cynogen, Dioxis Gas, DX-348, Nagnol and Niobarium

Again, another round of applause. Amongst the clapping, Feyer leaned close to Gordon and placed a hand on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear...

"Impressive............"

On screen, another shot was shown of a large explosion, with a man wearing the suit walking out of the flames unscathered...

".....most impressive!"

The clapping died down as Gordon stood once again.

"Well then, I hope you enjoyed our little demonstration we threw together for this meeting. And now...I believe dinner is ready."

As he spoke, the doors were opened by two men, and light burst into the room.

[Gav Mortis]

A little later, sometime after having to front his cold, yet convincing portrayal of a arrogant, successful Imperial commander to the high ranking visitors of both the Empire and Corporate Sector, Gav decided to visit the arms research and production facility on the other side of the station. They had been working on something rather exciting and although not a a new concept have taken something old and converted it into an innovative weapon of offense.

He had watched them study and work with a handful of notorious bounty hunters whose names were feared and revered throughout the Corporate Sector. He remembered being impressed with how the combined infuence of the Empire and Corporate Sector Authority could pull in so many outlaws. then again, everyone has their price.

"Mr. Lo, tell me--" He said laughing a little, sat watching a handful of inspectors test the weapons in their respective controlled environments. "--have you lot decided on the final armament for the 'Wheel O' Fortune' yet?"

They had discussed this many times over, the mechanics behind the "Wheel O' Fortune' were simple enough; a wheel mounted on a man's back which rotated, allowing the individual the choice of four or five weapons to fire over his right or left shoulder. He had seen different prototypes in action, it was very simple but effective and was particularly fond of the suggestion he had made which just happened to suit his needs perfectly.

"Well sir, we have actually, at last!" The uniformed officer chuckled then continued, "There's the light-repeating blaster - which I'll have to show you by the way, we were finally able to make it smaller than before and very lightweight - then there's the ionization blaster - a handy weapon in most situations especially with the appropriate targetting systems - also there's the stealth option with the stun-net launcher and raw power witht he disruptor cannon."

Pausing, the tall, skrawny Imperial leaned over to one side of his chair then lifted a metal cylinder that looked like a piece of the weapon and recognizing it, Gav smiled.

"So you decided to go ahead with my idea then?" The Sith asked.

"Why of course - a secret compartment to accomodate for different devices needed in desperate times - anything form a stun baton to a glowrod can be kept in here. It's spring loaded, albeit a weak spring which raises it's content so that it can be grapsed." He flicked a switch and up from the tube popped a bacta cannister and taking it out passed it onto his superior, Commander Feyer and Sith Master Gav Mortis.

"Excellent!" He said in response to checking it - just the right size for a lightsaber - he handed it back, eager to one day test all of his new toys.

[Professor Gordon Freeman]

The testing area was made up of various corridors and rooms, enclosed by the actual walls of the room. They were prefabricated rooms and walls, easily removable and only temporary. A large one-way window took up most of the front wall, with the security doors directly below it. From inside the room, it was just a normal wall like the other three. But from the other side, the scientists could see everything that went on in the room via x-ray, infra-red and ultra-violet views.

The marine was kitted out with the recently developed prototype multi-vision helmet. This was the first test that incorporated all of the vision modes. Pvt. Dreggs' mission was to "proceed through the building and eliminate all resistance with advice from tactical command". Tactical command was actually just Gordon in the observation control room telling him what mode to use and when. Dreggs proceeded inside. First, he was ordered to search for the target in infra-red mode. After a few seconds, the target was located with no problems and the marine dispatched of the seeker droid. Next, an alien lifeform was dispatched using the electrical discharge vision mode - since it didn't give off any heat, it could be tracked by detecting electrical impulses from its body's nervous system.

"Alrighty Private - switch to Gamma Mode and proceed into the next target area..."

Gordon spoke over the tannoy system since the Private wasn't wearing a comlink headset. Dreggs pressed the control button to switch to Gamma Mode, but as he did so, the viewscreen on the helmet went to static right before the device short-circuited.

"Sir - the helmet visionscreen has malfunctioned..."

"Yes, yes, I thought it might. Never mind Private. Return upstairs and report to the test supervisor. I'll take a look at it later."

The Private exited the prefabricated "building" and exited the testing area. Meanwhile, Gordon made his way to the Construction Lab to drop off a briefcase containing designs for a new ship. After several minutes of walking, he arrived at the main office where the head of construction was situated.

"Hiya John. I thought I'd drop off those prototype designs for you to get started on - since you've been sitting on your backside for the last two weeks since the "Rover" was finished and sent off to the colonists on Arrialas. Enjoy that doughnut - it'll be the last one you eat for a couple of weeks! Heh!"

Before John could respond, Gordon left. He loved annoying John in a friendly way