While Yuki and Bryn are off on a vacation in another universe altogether, the situation back ho is progressing at a different pace than theirs. Above Gaia and staying in a geosynchronous orbit is a hidden space station. One that is recently constructed by mbers of the Belka Space Agency, BSA for short. It's there that an ambitious project is taking place without the rest of the world being privy to it.
Commander Lily Maine, a human leader of this very first crewed space expedition, presses a button on the intercom, speaking. "Oy! Specialist Lightning, Ray! You there?"
After a couple of seconds, a young female voice answers. "I'm here, Commander! What do you need, boss?"
"Status on the Jar of Oz, Ray?" Lily asked, switching the internal cara feed to view the station's special activity room. It's there that Lily sees a dwarven girl floating in Zero-G, performing an operational check on the equipnt of the room while holding a military tablet.
"Airlocks are good, concealnt system is ok, the oxygen level is nominal, the temperature is normal, dispensers are at full capacity... All systems are A-ok on my end, boss." The dwarven astronaut, Ray, looked at the security cara while saying that.
"Good copy, Ray. Standby for the acquisition of the Takodachis on mining duty. ETA ten minutes." Having said that, Lily then sees Ray giving her half a salute through the cara. "You got it, boss. What's the progress on the construction party?"
"The next set of GPS satellites is almost ready, soon, we will have constant coverage for the entirety of Europe and the Atlantic. Currently, Tannen and Duponne are loading up the OS for them." Lili answered, earning a nod from Ray on the screen.
"Great! That ans that I won't have to learn how to read a map when I return!" Ray said with a cheeky smile, causing Lily to roll her eyes. "For the life of , I have no idea how you passed as an astronaut despite being awfully inept at reading a map on the ground."
Ray quips back with a smirk. "Well I never fail when it matters, that's all!"
"Ok, enough talk, prepare to cycle the airlocks. The last thing we need is a pack of hungry Takodachis on a road of mischief." Lily reminded Ray of the task at hand. The dwarven girl shudders at the ntion of hungry Takodachis. "Yeah... I will never forget refilling the food canisters ever again. Being forced to sport an afro for a week was a nightmare."
Lily chuckled, being reminded of an image of a dwarf having an afro haircut. But at least, the space expedition is progressing as planned, minus a few hilarious details that nearly caused Berlin to topple over in laughter.
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Speaking of Berlin, there exists a peculiar test in one of the many basents of the Mansion of Knowledge. A certain younger sister of the Reich marshal has commandeered a fortified room to construct a personal project of her. While it's unknown to many in the Mansion what the purpose of this project is, they allow Ningyo to have free reign and funding. After all, Ningyo is Yuki's little sister and the girl is a certified genius, having already worked on many, many big projects. But more importantly, Ningyo is cute, and her being cute ans she is doted on by everyone, especially Mobius. And no one in the Mansion wants to cross Mobius by being rude to Ningyo. Absolutely no one.
Currently dragging her bestie i along the hallway of the Mansion, Ningyo greets whoever says hi to her with an excited expression. She can't wait to show i what she has been working on in her free ti. It's like a kid trying to show off her pet project... Wait, Ningyo is still a kid. Anyway!
"Ningyo, slow down! I'm not going anywhere, you know!" i chuckled, feeling giddy as well when she saw Ningyo excited. Her words cause Ningyo slow to a crawl, however, the gray hair girl is suddenly conscious of her dragging i by the hand, perhaps a bit too tight in her excitent.
Scratching her cheek sheepishly with a light blush while releasing her hold on i, Ningyo apologizes. "Sorry, i! I was too anxious to show you my very own masterpiece. Did it hurt?"
i giggles, seeing the concerned expression plastered all over Ningyo. Grabbing the girl's hand, i says. "I'm fine, Ningyo! Just do be more mindful of your surrounding. Otherwise, we will bump into sobody and ruin their ti."
Being reprimanded by her friend, Ningyo nods, accepting her fault for being inattentive. Ningyo is a good girl and she doesn't want others' work to be interrupted rudely by her hastiness. What if that person is carrying their own pride and joy? Won't it be bad if she bumps into them? "Ok, I will reign in my anxiety! Haste makes waste, after all!" Ningyo said with conviction clear in her voice, prompting i to giggle once again. "Co on! You still have to show what's gotten you to be this excited in the first place."
Nodding, Ningyo then leads i to her personal workshop, more calmly this ti, however. Arriving at the entrance to her workplace, Ningyo gives a cheery greeting to a pair of female guards there before swiping her access key over a scanner, thus opening a sliding bulkhead that's been sealing the place. Once inside, Ningyo turns to i. "Make yourself comfortable, i! I will present you my project in just a minute!" Ningyou then runs off to grab protective equipnt for both her and i.
This leaves i alone to take in the ever-changing state of Ningyo's lab. Whenever i arrives here, she is bound to see sothing new being worked on or that the layout of the room is changed to facilitate better equipnt. To i, visiting Ningyo's little underground hideout always seems to spark her curiosity. Every ti she has the chance, it has been a joy to explore and learn more about how Ningyo views the world.
i used to be a very reclusive girl, her impressive mindset and ingenuity had been her undoing in making friends with her peers. And her intellect soon outclassed the tutors offered by Long Dynasty at the ti. It took no ti at all for people to feel lacking to interact with her, barring her family and close servants. That's until her father and mother sent her to Belka. It's here that i was opened to a brand new world of intellectuals. It's here that she was soon befriended by a very abrupt Ningyo at a party. Never had i thought that there was still much to learn about the world nor had she thought that she would co across a girl her age that trumped her in terms of knowledge and experience. It was a very, very humbling and exciting experience.
Thanks to her interactions with Ningyo, who i can confidently say is her best buddy nowadays, and the higher education offered by the Reich, i has soon moved on from her sadness over not being able to see her father, Cao Long, in person. In fact, under the pleased gaze of her mother, Consort Ling, i is maturing at a rapid but stable pace having found her true calling in the way of science. Her childish curiosity, quenched by the boring confined of her previous ho, is now relighted and turned into a thirst for knowledge. i now seeks exhilarating solutions to unanswered questions.
Having known of her daughter's resolution long ago, Consort Ling has advised i that her road will be long and arduous, but if she persists, the returns will be worth all the blood and tears she sheds. The fruit of her labors will even be sweeter if she has soone to share it with. And while it's not a conversation that should be understood by a normal thirteen years old girl, i is anything but normal. Paraphrasing Ningyo's many enlightening quotes, i usually reminds herself each morning. "Science! Science is the answer to everything! And if that's not the answer, then you simply aren't using enough science!"
i, the little girl from the Far East, has now set her sight to be brighter and grander than the normies! Inspired by the figures of Ningyo's big sister, Yuki, the chanical genius Einstein, and the miraculous biologist Mobius, i will carve out a page for herself in the history book! Maybe not now, but in the future, surely! And who else better than Ningyo for i to share it with? Nobody! Ningyo is her bestie!
Unknowingly to i, her na being plastered on a history page will co much sooner than she thinks. Ningyo has returned with two sets of lab coats and protective visors for both i and herself. With practiced ease, the two young teens put on their specialized equipnt, enhanced to the very brink by a very zealous Yuki, much to i's gratefulness. i won't lie and will say it straight that there have been many, many tis before that Ningyo and her have ssed up an experint big ti. The lab coats and visors have saved them more ti than even i is comfortable with. Though she persists every ti Ningyo repeatedly shouts in a childish voice. "Science! Everything is for science! Now that we have identified that this solution will result in our equipnt exploding, we can move on to the next one!" Wait a minute, just how many tis did she hear that sentence again?
h.
Back to the present, Ningyo is now skipping away to a contraption, covered by a thick cloth. Turning to i with both her hands on the cloth, Ningyo announces with mock professionalism. Though her struggle to contain her grin is plain for i to see. "I present to you, the Boomstick!" Ningyo then pulls the cloth away, revealing to i a set of two long rails that are connected to a stationary platform and a power source.
Rather than saying anything, i steps closer to inspect the hulking machinery, instantly identifying the rails as conductive rails. The way they're hooked to a generator suggests that they will be running energy currents through the rail, with one rail running a positive one while the other is running the negative. But what for?
From the look of it, the rails are positioned horizontally to the ground, fixed in place, and aid at the far-off set of thick steel plates stacking behind each other. The whole area surrounding the plates is vacated and sealed off from them by a thick protective glass panel. Even the Ningyo's contraption is encased in protective coverages for the most part. By the side, there're also multiple caras set up at different angles. i knows that those caras are expensive high-speed caras for viewing a slow-motion video of particularly important tests. So whatever the test Ningyo is about to perform, it must be nigh invisible for the naked eye to analyze. Now let's add up the details: A stationary platform that is anchored to the floor, a set of probable targets stacking like dominos, high-speed caras, and the likeness to that of a firing range that i was lucky enough to visit with Ningyo...
Slowly turning toward Ningyo with her eyes twitching, i speaks up in a very sweet voice. "Ningyo, my very, very good friend, mind telling why have you built a gun inside your basent?"
Without a hint of remorse, Ningyo excitedly replies. "Well, technically it's not a gun, it's a Gauss cannon! More specifically, it's what I called a railgun! The rails-"
"Are made out of conductive tals such as copper, which are fed with whopping amounts of energy from a generator — one side positive, the other negative — to propel an armature containing a projectile at great speed and distance via magnetic force! I know! Ningyo! But why is it that we're testing out this thing in your basent in the first place!? I can just about done with my ntal calculation and the force this thing generates is no joke!" i threw her little hands up in the air in exasperation.
"Oh... Right." Finally noticing a hole in her thought process, Ningyo has the gal to act sheepish. "Eh... Tehe?" She lightly bonks her head while putting out her tongue, prompting i to shout. "Don't 'Tehe' !"
i then collapses onto the ground, hugging her head. "It's over, it's so over...! Ningyo has finally built a weapon in her free ti! Big sis Yuki is sure to reprimand us when she's back from her vacation!"
With the fault in her logic now truly sinking in, Ningyo is now being very afraid for the first ti in her life. She truly doesn't want to disappoint her sister at all! "W-What should I do now!? I never thought that big sis might be disappointed in for doing this! S-Should I just scrap this and apologize to her!?"
Before Ningyo can run around like a headless chicken, however, i suddenly springs up and clamp Ningyo on her shoulders. "Stop! Breathe, Ningyo! Breathe! Rember what you've been saying to ! Science! Science is the answer to everything! And if that's not the answer, then you simply aren't using enough science! Co on, Ningyo! Repeat it after ! Science! Science is the answer to everything! And if that's not the answer, then you simply aren't using enough science!"
Being shaken back to reality by i, Ningyo struggles to form her words but ultimately, she is able to. "S-Science! Science is the answer to everything! And if that's not the answer, then you simply aren't using enough science!" A bit of life return to her expression, having escaped from the rabbit hole she dug herself.
"Good girl!" i nodded in relief. The last thing she needs is for Ningyo to have a ntal crisis. To be honest, i herself is also dreading the fact that big sis Yuki will be reprimanding them later. Nonetheless, Ningyo has gone too far to just put everything away. "Ningyo, listen to . I know you have painstakingly built this cannon, sacrificing your free ti. While this is no doubt a folly on your part for not thinking this through. It's also my fault for not noticing this in the first place. Had I been a better friend, I would have contributed to this effort for it to bear sweaty fruits! The least we can do right now is to gather the necessary data to justify this being built in your basent. With the data, we can at least offset any punishnt. However, this is not a good ntality to practice in the future! Hence, next ti, you must discuss with soone else before you make sothing major like a cannon, alright?"
With teary eyes, Ningyo nods repeatedly. "I promise! I will consult with everyone before I do sothing drastic!" Ningyo then shakes her head. "i, you're the best friend I could have ever asked! Please don't belittle yourself like that!"
i lets out a wry smile when she is suddenly pulled into a hug by Ningyo. Wrapping her arms around Ningyo in return, i responds. "Gosh, what would I ever do with you?"
The pair then stays in a comfortable hug for a few minutes before pulling away. Looking at each other in the eyes with seriousness they both nod before dashing to their workstations, preparing the railgun for activation.
"Turning on the power supply unit!" Ningyo said as she raised a red lever slowly to the max.
"Power linkages are stable, the capacitors are charging!" i said as she was monitoring the readings.
"Loading the armature now!" Ningyo announced as a chanical arm installed a case containing a strong, high lting point and good conductivity alloy into the rail chamber. "It's completed!"
"Capacitors are reaching nominal capacity! Armature will launch in five, four, three," Ningyo steps closer to i, both girls waiting in muted excitent as the countdown goes lower. "Two, one!"
*BANG*
Before they can even register the hypersonic booming of the solid penetrator leaving the rails, the projectile has already pierced through eight thick steel plates and even crumbled the reinforced ballistic wall behind the targets. The shocking impact left behind by the Mach 8 kinetic rod causes the very foundation of the Mansion of Knowledge to shake, not dissimilar to an abrupt earthquake. As the walls and floors start cracking because of the underground testing, Ningyo and i are given the scare of their lives as they hastily turn off the power unit at risk of accidental fire. The test was a success, yes, but now they have to deal with a potentially collapsing Mansion! Who would have ever thought that the damage is much more than anticipated? Scratch that, the upper floor has collapsed on the other side of the protective glass!
"The railgun worked too well!" i and Ningyo both scread out in fright as a wave of dust hit the glass. Thankfully, the shaking subsides after a partial collapse of the Mansion. With bated breath, Ningyo and i then peer through the now dissipating dust cloud on the other side. Very much hoping that this will be the end of a nightmare of their own making. Unfortunately for the girls, this won't be ending just yet.
With the dust cloud settled, they're greeted with a very interesting sight of a stunned Mobius who is still standing on the collapsed flooring with a stunned expression. Her face is covered with dust, her hair is unkempt, her pristine lab coat is ruined, and her crisp white laboratory is destroyed! Both i and Ningyo can see that Mobius' face is struggling to retain a semblance of calm, twitching very fiercely, but ultimately, she fails.
"Motherfucker!" Mobius threw her already broken test tube onto the ground, raging at the fact that her experint was so rudely interrupted by whatever Yggdra be damned intervention.
Understandably, both i and Ningyo know. They've fucked up.
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