aesopwarped

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-Entry 39-

Picked up some brat off the local park. Probably a stray or something with how roughed up she looked. Parents probably got fucked over. Took her back with me. Figured she could grab me and the boys some extra handouts if they saw we were taking care of a kid too - Helps with the whole hero image. Women love that shit.

-Entry 41-

Stray’s really taken to calling me dad – its good for the act but it’s getting annoying. Been keeping her away from Rigger and Finch though. Fuckers have been giving her the eyes past few days. Need her good and healthy with her brains unfucked so we can keep getting freebies. Bastards can make do with some of the local bitches. It’s not like they’re paying them anyway.

-Entry 42-

Left town without Rigger and Finch. The assholes were screaming at me to hand the dumb brat over or they’d kill me. Tried to get it through their shit heads that their idea would screw us all over. Didn’t listen. Bailed first chance I got. Took the shrimp with me. Figured I should at least get the last fucking laugh. Figured can’t keep calling her ‘kid’ or ‘you’ anymore. If she keeps calling me Dad she’s gonna need a name or some fucks would get antsy. Named her Madeleine after that one girl I met on shore leave before we hightailed it from the Feds. She loved men in uniform like all hell.

-Entry 44-

Found a good place with plenty of suckers. They all bought it and life looks good. Brat’s been getting me a lot of sympathy points with the local families and women. Still have to earn my keeps though. Fucking bullshit. Guess I didn’t lie hard enough.

-Entry 46-

Stupid bitch’s been having trouble sleeping. Nightmares. Wakes up in the middle of the fucking night screaming and crying. Can’t hit her cause it’ll bring the wrong damn attention on me and she looks like she can’t take a damn punch. Her parents must’ve been glass statues or something. Fed her the same bullshit I usually do with the suckers. Works like a charm.

-Entry 57-

Kid’s caught a fever. Got some medicine from the local quack. She’s a lot quieter, but still cries at night sometimes. Stayed with her last night cause she wouldn’t let the fuck go of me. Said that the ‘monster’ wouldn’t come close to her if I was around. Told her more stories. Swear to god these always work somehow. Stayed the rest of the night. Needed to make sure she didn’t die in her sleep or some shit. Wouldn’t look good.

-Entry 179-

Mad’s been getting a couple of friends. Keeps me from having to keep an eye on her all the time. Heard she’s been telling them a lot about the stories I told her. Been getting me a lot of attention and a lot of free eats. Life’s good. Guess pulling her off that bench all that time ago really paid off.

-Entry 389-

Lied too fucking hard. Mad’s been poking around and pulling crap. Says she wants to be a hero like her ‘dear old dad’. Can’t tell her it’s all bullshit or she’ll blow the whistle. Been trying to get her head off of the idea because she’d get fucked up with all the crap that’s out there. She’d die in a heartbeat.

-Entry 474-

It’s been a while. Mad’s stubborn. Wouldn’t let go of the idea at all. Fuck. I’ve gone too fucking soft. I’m scared. I’m scared as all goddamn fucking hell that she’d do something to hurt herself. Spent too much time taking care of her and its gotten me this shit. Need to break it to her that I fucking lied to her. Maybe at least she’ll stay alive.

-Entry 475-

Couldn’t do it. Chickened out at the last fucking second. Fuck.

-Entry 534-

Been getting a lot of chest pains recently. Went to the Doc’s place to see what it was. Said my heart wasn’t doing well at all. I had a couple of months left at most. Gave me his condolences.

Fuck his shit. Fuck my life.

Snapped at Mad when she came back. Argued. Stuff got trashed. Need to get her to fucking fix that shit she broke.

-Entry 535-

I never told her. Went back to the doc’s to ask him to never tell her I visited. I didn’t want her to know. Didn’t have the fucking heart to tell Mad I was dying. Broke out the scotch and had a drink. Mad came home late. Knuckles were pretty roughed up. She had an argument. Had another with me.

Wish she’d stop this shit. Wish I didn’t lie so fucking much to her. Wish whatever dumbfuck that got her on that bench all those years ago was here so I can put my boot up their ass.

-Entry 547-

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop lying. People, Mad, Myself. Fuck. It’s all been one fucking mess after another. Loved it when things were simple and I could just milk suckers for all they were worth.

Don’t think I have much time left. Been getting hard to breath. Spent the last few days making a fake journal for Mad. Give her the basics on how to use the Ares Gear and filled with more bullshit like the stories I told her. She’s been doing good with those scrap heaps the town has running around so using the Gear should be easy for her.

Couldn’t look her in the eyes during dinner.

So many damn years of taking care of her. She was a pain in the ass and I lost who knows how many fucking hours of sleep. Maybe her parents are out there somewhere, wondering where the hell their kid is. Maybe she’ll figure out I’m a fake.

But I don’t want it to stop. I don’t want to stop being her father. As much shit as I’ve had to wade through all my life, I actually had the time to smile when I was taking care of her in this town.

I wish I really was her father. I wish I could work the guts to say I loved her. Mad’s put her heart into this hero stuff. Its everything she ever wants. She’s a better person than I ever fucking was.

Maybe I can try tomorrow. Call her friends. Give her the Ares Gear and send her on her way before she has to see me die.

Goddamn this shit... maybe I'll finally be able to stop lying tomorrow?

No Probably fucking not ... can't tell her the truth. Ever. It'd just tear her apart now.

But you know...if she goes out and does some good because of a lie and walk away a big damn hero... maybe it won't be so bad.

Would it?

... Man. Fuck this pussy philosophical shit.

Robot Name: MS-06F2LT - Zaku II F2 - Lambda Test Type

Robot Description: The Early result of Mad's pet project - the development of her personal machine. Essentially a heavily modified Zaku II-F2 that is slowly undergoing a metamorphosis under its pilot's constant work and adjustments. As mentioned earlier though, this is only the earliest result - fielding it however would bring Mad the actual combat data she needs to further modify it to its final stage.

Outwardly, the Zaku's torso would be slightly bulkier and more well armored with the inclusion of a secondary and tertiary generator, its leg armor would also be bulked out for the inclusion of additional thrusters. The shoulder mounted shield and the shoulder spikes would have been removed for more traditional shoulder plating common among Federation machines and topped with external storage units for equipment. The external cabling was removed and replaced with internal systems with great difficulty, allowing for greater room for modifications.

Mad has specifically given each generator a particular role on the machine rather than having them all function on the same power draw. The Primary Generator - Taken from the few parts remaining from Maria - is purposed towards the Suit's thrusters and general systems, while the secondary generator - Taken from the Ares Gear and made functional with truly immense difficulty, Mad thanks the mechanics, most specifically Lowe for his assistance. - works with the weapons systems. The remaining generator belonging to the Zaku itself will provides a charge for a prototype combat performance boosting system... this system however lasts but a few minutes and has a high chance of causing mechanical failures - Mad's still trying to iron out the flaws.

Adjustments to the thrusters for slightly higher output as well as improved combat software are among the upgrades, but the most important matter was that of the additional weaponry, as well as areas to store them on the Machine.

Built-In Weapons

Head Vulcans - What you would expect. There's two of these.

Missile Launchers mounted on leg armor - The traditional Zaku Leg missiles.

Beam Saber - Stored in forearm storage unit on the left arm similar to a Jegan.

NARC Beacon Launcher - Mounted on Right arm, fires a short ranged missile that attaches a beacon to its target. This beacon allows for easier targeting with missile based weaponry.

Throwing Knives - Stored in shoulder storage units - though it can be replaced with other equipment like grenades and extra ammunition.

Hand-Carried Weapons

x2 Short Beam Guns - Not too different from standard GM fare. Mad included the weapons as ranged hold out equipment should her other weapons be otherwise indisposed.

x1 Twin Pulse Laser Rifle - Modified from Clan-tech Omniweapons. Essentially a rifle made from a pair of Medium Clan-Tech Pulse Lasers. Both lasers however operate on a volley principle one firing for a set amount of time, before it is replaced by the other as it cools. Both lasers utilize their own individual heat sinks. Mad can deactivate the volley system to fire both at once, but it has the potential to render the weapon inoperable for a time.

x1 MMI-M8A3 76mm Heavy Assault Machine Gun - Taken from the GINN unit in the Hangar because of the weapon's versatility in comparison to the standard Zeonic machineguns. Pedestrian compared to some of the more exotic weapons in the Test-Type's arsenal.

x1 Railgun - Designed for extreme range and capable of massive amounts of damage. The railgun in question however suffers from the fact that it is a breech loaded weapon - unable to carry more than one round at a time.

x1 LB-X Autocannon - A modified Clantech Omniweapon. The LB-X is essentially a mech sized shotgun - utilizing either HEAP rounds or specialized anti-mech cluster shot - in which the round split apart midflight to shower the target with sub-munitions. Unfortunately, its unwieldy as a handheld weapon.

x1 PPC - The Particle Projector Cannon, another weapon to thank the Clans for. Essentially the 'big stick' compared to the rest of the Lambda's weapons it operates on the principle of unleashing a concentrated stream of ions (rather than the neutral particles Minovsky Beam Weapons use) at a target - impacting with tremendous bursts of heat and kinetic energy and unleashing havoc on electrical systems. The hand held version modified for the Test Type's usage unfortunately suffers from tremendous recoil and is rather bulky due to the number of heat sinks that were built on to deal with the waste heat from the shots. Additionally, the weapon itself has a built in inhibitor to degrade the weapon's damage potential at ranges within 90 meters in order to prevent electronic feedback on the mecha using it.

Terrain Stats:

Land: A
Air: --
Sea: C
Space: B

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Along with the Proto-Lambda, Mad also hammered together a dual purpose pilot/combat suit from one of the many RioTrooper armors on board.

'Robot' Name: 'Athena'

'Robot' Description: Essentially a modified RioTrooper suit that was designed for usage with humans. The Significant modifications Mad has made include: installation of various life support systems that would allow it to operate as a normal suit and an Exceed Charge system (It's still somewhat bugged, but after the results it shown her she doesn't believe it needs tweaking.).

Additionally - the method of equipping the suit itself has been changed. Rather than flipping the buckle into place that would trigger the Henshin, Mad merely opens a keypad on the side of the belt and taps in a quick passcode to equip the Suit. Other codes include merely just giving her the weapon of the suit or triggering an emergency homing beacon.

In terms of appearance the suit itself is primarily black and orange, while the helmet itself is replaced by a combat visor in environments with breathable air - especially in the Lambda's cockpit - where the Visor itself would allow for better information flow from the mech's systems.

Other modifications include modifications to the Suit's Axel Blaster - giving the weapon a slightly longer blade, with a hooked end - evoking a resemblance of a Crowbar.

The suit performance wise though is STILL several massive steps below what a Rider can do, but given the fact that Mad intended for it to merely be a 'backup plan', she's fine with it.

Upgrades:
Robot Name: Lambda

Robot Description: Out of the raw desire to find her own strength and her own path, Mad spent over three months studying intensively and at the same time developing her own machine, using one of the many Zakus aboard the Chalice. It was hard, painful work – but between the accumulated knowledge, technology and talent aboard the Chalice – Mad was able to develop a machine she could call her own.

The result is an absolute beast of a machine, built for unparalleled aggression in combat. It drastically improves on the prototype and replaces the Zaku's Original generator with something far more potent - a derivative from technology acquired from Fairy Park. This generator - cleverly named the 'Aggression Adapter' is a modified Emotion Generator, rather than drawing on positive emotions it uses Fury, Rage, Anger - of which Mad has in spades. Additionally, she installed a pair of sub arms for use with the smaller weapons on the Lambda – mainly in the ranged mode for suppression fire - essentially giving the machine a total of four combat capable arms.

Full utilization of the Agression Adapter will activate the ARCHIMEDES system which reconfigures the Lambda for a more a melee focused and overall more far more speedier layout - with all its available hand-held weapons relocating across points on its body so that ALL of them can be used. This however does not mean that it is the more powerful form – as it lacks ranged accuracy and capability due to the reconfiguration of its optical sensors and disables the Lambda’s missile launchers. The new problem is now the stress from using the ARCHIMEDES system rather than any massive cascading systems malfunctions - as the Lambda links into Mad's 'Athena' Suit to allow her better control over it.

Built in Armaments:

A pair of shoulder mounted CIWS – Designed for anti-missile tactics and close in fire support. Capable of tracking targets independently.

Missile Launchers – Hip mounted. The Missiles are barbed – designed to penetrate enemy armour before detonating.

Slasher Guns: Close Range weapons that fire off blades. Mad can program the blades to combine into something else such as physical shields, lances, swords, or even makeshift Slash Harkens. Its ammunition is actually the self repairing material from the Ares Gear that was left over from reinforcement to the Lambda's frame.

Hand-Held Weapons:

Strike Pistols: A pair of rapid-fire beam pistols. The Weapon's 'alt-fire' uses charged particles rather than neutral ones for devastating one shot potential at the expense of firing speed and greater recoil. That's right. The alt fire are a pair of PPC pistols.

Blaster: Twin-barreled Pulse Laser rifle. Alt Mode focuses the beams and unleashes a single and undeniably powerful beam.

JetRifle: An Assault Rifle with Jet Propelled Rounds. Shots can be curved and guided to a degree. Barrages would be similar to a missile swarm. Additionally, the Rifle is equipped with an underslung NARC Beacon launcher obtained from Clan Wolf - should any target be hit by the short ranged missile from the launcher, they would find that every opposing missile launcher will have a far easier time locking on and tracking them due to the beacon that is now embedded into their machine - the bullets from the rifle included. Alt Mode has the rounds detonate prior to any impact and shower a target with large amounts of shrapnel.

Railcannon: Essentially the largest weapon in the Lambda's arsenal. Normally the Railgun is a magazine fed, bolt action weapon with varying ammunition types (Inferno, Standard, High Explosive and the 'Scatter' variation of said rounds.) - Essentially the weapon is capable of acting as both a Sniper Rifle AND a Shotgun. Alt Mode reconfigures the weapon to allow for practically anything to be loaded into the weapon and fired.

WEAPONS - CLOSE RANGE MODES

Strike Pistols: The Pistols open up and transform into beam tonfas. With the ARCHIMEDES system Activated, the pistols link up with the Slasher guns and turn into arm mounted blades.

Blaster: A short range and VERY intense cutting blade. Mounted on back of one of the legs when the ARCHIMEDES system is activated

JetRifle: With the assistance of the Slasher gun, the Rifle will reconfigure into a magazine fed gunblade.

Railcannon: Transforms into a massive, mag-powered pile bunker. Mounted on one of the Lambda's primary arms in ARCHIMEDES mode.

Lambda Visual Reference: There are no heroes left among man.

Terrain Stats:
Land: B (A - Archimedes Mode)
Air: A (S - Archimedes Mode)
Sea: B
Space: A (S - Archimedes Mode)