KYRA FORTE
Word Count: 2241
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Word Count: 2241
Total Word Count: -
Thread Word Count: -
Tagged: -
Job Information: -
Notes: -
Kyra leaned with her left palm against her workbench, staring down at the blueprint she had laid out in front of her. In her right hand was a pencil which was currently being tapped against her chin as the aspiring engineer was very clearly deep in thought. She'd been working on this blueprint for some time - since her first day after enlisting with the Rune Knights in fact - trying to work out the best method of achieving what she needed from it. The project was relatively simple to explain; she wanted to improve the cuffs that were currently being used by the Officers of the Rune Knights. She already knew that the cuffs were fairly insufficient against some criminals, especially those who were particularly powerful with their magic. After visiting the Neutral Grounds, she'd become inspired to create an entirely new design that neutralised a convicts magical energy. This wouldn't drain them or make them any less of a threat in the grand scheme of things, but it would, at the very least, allow for easier and safer transfer of convicts around the prisons and, where necessary, around the country. It would also make it safer to bring powerful convicts to justice.
And so, that very afternoon, she had begun her design. The cuffs would need to be slightly thicker so as to fit the device needed to neutralise one's magical energy, which would make it considerably heavier if she were to use the same materials of the current designs. But she couldn't just use a lighter alloy to make up for it as that would make the cuffs more susceptible to physical breakage. No, the alloy would need to be light, durable enough to withstand both physical and magical punishment and, most importantly,strong enough to house the neutralising lacrima that Kyra intended to use. A few metals that she'd trialed had corroded, as the lacrima neutralised not just magic energy, but also certain properties of the metals she used (and most likely other potential materials she could have considered). It was a frustrating conundrum...and that made it exciting. She'd considered various different approaches of course; for example, the Neutralising Lacrima she was using had arrived in a box made of pure lead, with a steel outer casing. It was a definite possibility, but using too much lead could result in poisoning the convict or potentially even the Rune Knights who used them. Both of these would have devastating results.
Kyra sighed and placed the pencil down on the workbench before stretching. How long had she already spent in here today? She glanced at her watch; 13:52. So nearly five hours already. She hadn't even had lunch yet. Or breakfast. She needed to stop doing this. But she was so damn close to working it out, she could feel it. But then her stomach growled loudly and she relented; the project would have to wait an hour. If she didn't eat soon, she was probably going to resort to eating V-1, and that wouldn't be pretty for anyone involved. She patted the drone that was sat on the stool next to her as if to apologise for the thought. "V-1, can you save this to The Database please? And blackout the blueprint." she asked the drone. It beeped twice in response before its rotors started to hum to life. "I need full details. And look up potential alloys that could be used please." she added, before she began to walk away, her stomach growling loudly once more. "Yes Mistress. Enjoy your lunch."
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Due to it being shortly after the usual lunchtime rush, Kyra sat alone in the food hall. She didn't mind this of course, and it was probably best anyway as she was lost in thought over her project and that meant she was the least social person going right now. She nudged a piece of carrot around her plate absentmindedly. She couldn't help but feel that the answer to her dilemma was just within her reach. Had she overlooked something? There definitely wasn't an alloy that she could think of that wouldn't have some kind of a reaction to the lacrima. The only clue to be had was in the lead-lined box.
She sighed and pierced the piece of carrot with her fork almost angrily. Coating the lacrima in lead would be easy and protect whatever metal , but then that defeated the whole idea of using the damn lacrima in the first place. Unless...unless she siphoned the energy out of the lacrima through tubing, similar to how her own bodysuit worked. She had begun raising the carrot to her mouth at this point, but her eyes were still staring dead ahead. So her suit worked because the lacrima had been infused into it as opposed to using the lacrima as a core, but the design of it allowed the lacrima to flow through it. For the cuffs, she would need to have something like wires or tubes to flow the power out of the lacrima and to where it was needed, without corroding the metal that housed it. The power only needed to touch the convict...so that meant the power had to ideally go around their wrists. This would also resolve the other issue of how to neutralise a convicts energy without neutralising the Officer who used them, as the energy would flow very specifically. She could line the actual cuffs with leather, a material that seemed not to be too affected and was easily replaceable. The leather could then have the power flowing behind it, and lead around that so as to concentrate the energy through the leather and not allow it to flow through the metal. So that meant it was just the connections from the lacrima to the cuffs that she had to work out. It didn't have to fill the whole housing now that she was siphoning the power so that meant she could use the lead afterall, as she'd need less of it. So the perfect design would be...lead piping!
Kyra dropped her fork; she'd done it! She'd worked it out! She pushed her chair out with a quick, sharp screech and almost ran out of the food hall as she rushed back to the workshop. She had to get this new design down and the prototype made right now!
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Kyra burst into the workshop, surprising a few of the Engineers for a moment before they realised who it was and simply returned back to work - which was a sign she was here far too often for someone not officially an Engineer, and that they were already used to her. The pearl-haired maiden rushed directly to her workbench where Vanguard-1 was still scanning the blueprints. "V-1, ignore that last command. Clear out the project file." she ordered as she pulled the blueprint off of the workbench and threw it aside, grabbing a new sheet of paper and drawing up her new design. "Core in the middle as originally planned... lead housing... it'll need... probably two, 25mm tubes either side to ensure enough energy transfers through, two at the top and two at the bottom... then the leather would have to be probably... 4mm, just so the lead doesn't cause too much harm... " she muttered to herself as V-1 beeped repeatedly, removing the files he'd just saved whilst also zooming into the new design with his camera and recording the new blueprint.
It took about twenty-five minutes for Kyra to completely finish the blueprint for the design, and had even added a 'floodgate' design that would allow the arresting officer to switch the power on and off as needed, rather than it being permanently active. She lifted the blueprint up slightly and looked it over once more then, once she was certain the design would work at least well enough for a prototype, she then began rushing to gather the materials she would need. The building process would probably take her the remainder of the afternoon, but it would be worth the effort.
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Kyra wiped the sweat from her forehead as she looked down at the completed prototype; she'd opted for standard steel for the outer shell for the time being, which obviously was fairly heavy. But since there was no other strain on the shell than basic wear and tear, she would easily be able to replace the steel with a lighter material once the design was signed off on. Now she just had to find someone to test it; she couldn't use it on herself as she wouldn't be able to get them off, and that would just be embarrassing. There were still a number of engineers around the workshop right now, although most were working or about to leave. As one went to walk past her though, Kyra struck. "Hey, sorry. Could you help me test these out?" she asked. The engineer looked at the cuffs on the side and tilted his head slightly. [color:0563=ffff00]"New cuffs? I didn't know they were being worked on." he replied skeptically. "They weren't. Not officially anyway. But I'm doing this in my spare time between missions and training so it's not eating into official hours." came the reply which left the engineer stunned. "That's some...serious dedication...okay tell me more about these cuffs first." He crossed his arms and leaned against another workbench, clearly intrigued.
"Well, our arresting officers are using very basic cuffs right now that simply restrict the movement of the convicts they bring in. The cuffs work for the most part as magic is naturally expressive, but it doesn't work for the more dangerous convicts. I wanted to help and so I came up with an idea; you know how the Neutral Grounds prevents any magic from being used?"
[color:0563=ffff00]"Mmhmm..."
"Well I wanted to create a similar, more controlled version that could be concentrated on a single person."
"We've looked into that before, but the only source of power that could achieve that is the Neutrality Lacrima. But the power from it is too strong to hold it in anything other than the likes of lead."
"Exactly! The Lacrima is stored in a lead-lined case, so that got me thinking; if we could do the same thing and siphon the power out to a specific point-"
"- then the lacrima could be used, but no metal can touch the stuff so standard tubing wouldn't-"
"-work, no. But by using specially designed lead tubing, it's possible."
"But that would require a significant amount of lead..."
"No more lead than what it comes in when we import it."
"...waitwaitwait...you used the lead from its own casing to create the tubing? But that means the Lacrima was sat in the open?! It would have affected everyone within...about 15 meters at the very least, and I've felt nothing."
"In theory yes, but I was able to store the lacrima temporarily inside of... one of my other projects. Anyway, so, by siphoning the energy directly to where the cuffs wrap around a convicts wrists, the only way the energy can transfer is through those two points. And in case there's an issue or it needs to be quickly removed, I've added a floodgate that requires a fingerprint, so only those registered with the cuffs can lock them, unlock them, release and stop the flow of the lacrima."
The engineer stood in silence for a moment, taking this information in. This girl, a Private, someone who was considered a complete rookie, had actually crafted something that other engineers had given up on many times? Well...this had to be tested.
"...mmk you've got me. Let's see if this really works shall we?"
Kyra grinned from ear to ear and grabbed the cuffs from the workbench. "I will warn you before I open the floodgate, so you can be prepared in case things go a little...wrong." She hesitated a little with the last word but was relaxed when the other engineer chuckled. "I was aware there would be a risk. There always is with new ideas. But this isn't going to kill me. At worst, if things go too wrong, I'm out of commission for a couple of days. Truth be told, a couple of days off might be nice."
Both of them laughed before Kyra placed the cuffs around the engineer's wrists. Once they were secure, she looked up at the man. He nodded and she nodded in reply before placing her index finger on a small panel. "Okay...it should be active...try using some magic."
The engineer looked to visibly strain for a few moments before releasing a somewhat worn sigh. "Damn...it works good. You don't feel anything, but the second you try to use magic it just...drains you." He released another sigh and then chuckled. Kyra smiled back and placed her thumb back on the panel again. The cuffs unlocked and she removed them. The engineer rubbed his wrists for a moment, and then raised his hand up, creating a small pool of magical energy in it, then dissipating it immediately. "Very well done...what was your name?" the engineer asked. "Kyra...s-sorry, I mean, Private Kyra Forte." The engineer smiled a knowing smile. "Ah...that explains it. Very well Miss Forte, I'll pass this design on to the Engineer Corps and put a word in to those higher up. Well done. Really."
Kyra beamed proudly. One project finished. Now onto the next one...
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(Word Count: 2241. Handing in 1500 words as C rank Freeform, the rest as a D rank Freeform.)
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