Yet another plan comes to you, so you respond to Tendou's question.

Before we leave, we should talk to the other pilots. I think we should trade in the Bogatyr for a custom part, but I still haven't figured out what custom parts would be best to pair with the Firebird parts we have on hand. Though we'll at least need a torso to replace the Firebird's.

We should talk to Mouse and Takashi, I think they'll have the most relevant information.

“Mm, sure, but... why trade in the Bogatyr?” he asks.

Since they're mass produced for cheap, none of the parts are worth taking. Even the armor is low-grade, so that's not worth stripping off either. We'd need to sell it, but with the most valuable components destroyed, I wouldn't expect a high price. And that would necessitate transporting it all the way back to Shado, which would cut into the profits further.

I believe that a single, high quality custom part would be more valuable to us right now.

Tendou follows your train of thought this time, nodding along while reading. “Yeah, that works,” he agrees. “Let's go.” He eases the controls forward, and you begin walking, looking around for the two pilots.

Checking around inside the factory, you find Mouse first. She's in her Arctic Fox, standing beside the wall near the material storage room. Her cockpit is open, the woman lounging all the way back in her pilot seat with her hands resting behind her head. Eyes closed, taking a nap.

“Hey?” Tendou says experimentally, just loud enough that she should hear him, unless she's asleep.

One eye peeks open. “Yeah?”

“Just had some questions. Is now a bad time?”

Sitting up, she says, “It's fine. What did you want to-” and her words are interrupted by a long yawn. “...ask?” She finishes with a big stretch, leaning side to side.

“I wanted to ask about custom parts. I was looking over the list from Tachibana and everything I recovered from the battle, and I think I'll be using most of the Firebird parts. But I don't know what would work well with it.”

“Ahh, that makes sense.” She tilts her up and to the side, looking off at the ceiling while tapping one finger against her chin.

“So, with the stuff I'm trading in, I'll be able to get two custom parts made. The Firebird's lower torso is pretty wrecked, so I planned to use the cockpit from this one. And I'll... probably have to check the engine,” he says slowly, like he's just thinking of it now, as he looks over the frame's spec sheet off to the side of one monitor. “I might need to pull the engine out of this one too.”

“Mm,” she makes a sound, showing no particular response yet. “Can you send over the Firebird data?” she requests.

“Sure, sure...” he delays briefly, looking about the cockpit. With her watching, he can't speak to you freely. And you can't do the whole thing for him.

Over here.

You display some small text to catch his eye where it won't be visible to her, and point over to the keyboard and controls on the side of his seat. His fingers trace over the control buttons, and he taps, popping up the basic system menu, which you move to the side for him.

You point arrows at the selections he needs, and unexpectedly, he picks up on the control scheme immediately. He flashes through the options one after another to open up a secure data connection to the Arctic Fox and send over the Firebird's info.

“Alright, let's see...” Mouse says when she receives the info. She turns to the side to look at her own cockpit readouts. It takes her a minute to scan over everything for herself, giving a couple little nods as she does. “Ok. Yeah, I see your point, there's a lot of good stuff here. I didn't realize you took it down so cleanly.”

After a little more thought, she goes on, “There is a lot of damage to the internals within the torso, so yeah, it would be a good idea to make sure the components themselves are still operational. You'll probably need to replace a lot of the wiring either way.”

“Well, I was thinking of using a different torso entirely,” Tendou says. “That could be one of my custom parts, right? The structural components of a new torso? Or, would it be better to repair it?”

Still deep in thought, Mouse considers that for some time. “Besides the cockpit, the structural integrity doesn't seem that bad. I'd say it still looks usable.”

“Oh,” your own pilot perks up when her advice contradicts yours. Looking at it her way, the structural integrity of the lower torso would be much higher if you didn't account for the destroyed cockpit. “So, if I don't need to replace that, what kind of parts would work well with it?”

Mouse, tilts her head. “That's... hmm...” Eyes narrowed at her readouts, she begins explaining. “It's got reinforced wiring, seven full size heatsinks, fire suppression, and an entire vented armor system. This thing must run hot. But it also means there's not much room left in there to modify it.”

She turns to the side and starts tapping at a terminal. “Assuming the size and internal capacity, from what I'm seeing here you might get... best case scenario, four more systems, if they're small and you really jam them in there.”

“I see...” Tendou hums in thought.

“Here, you've got the part list I sent you, right? Take a look at the subsystems section.”

“Yeah,” he nods, hand returning to the system controls. You point him through what he needs, opening up the necessary information on screen. He scrolls the list, past all of the frames and weapons they can produce here, and just focuses on the internal systems.

Core Systems

Size

Description

Reactor

Variable

Main reactor, provides power

Engine

Variable

Main engine, increases overall motive capability

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Primary Visual Sensors

Medium

Sensors to provide vision for the pilot

Primary Computer System

Medium

Main computer

Basic Communication Unit

Tiny

Enable communication

Maneuvering Gyroscopes

Variable

Manage balance to keep the frame upright.

Heatsink

Variable

Manage heat

Sensors

Size

Description

Secondary Sensors

Small

Increase field of view and eliminate blind spots

Enhanced Visual Sensors

Small

Increase visual acuity, provide added vision modes.

Radio Communications Unit

Small

Radio for communication over long distances.

Long Range Radio Scanner

Small

Radio signal detector for scanning and mapping surroundings.

Sonic Scan Radar

Small

Sonic emitter for scanning and mapping surroundings

Seismic Scanner

Small

Measures vibrations to scan surrounding terrain.

Offensive

Size

Description

Weapon Feed

Tiny

Transports ammunition and power to handheld weapons.

Charger

Tiny

Provides stable power to handheld weapons

Oversized Charger

Small

Provides higher power output for power hungry handheld weapons.

Recoil Suppressor

Small

Reduces recoil from very large weapons for increased aim stability.

Oversized Recoil Suppressor

Medium

Reduces recoil from the largest weapons, which could otherwise push the entire frame off balance.

Defensive

Size

Description

Electronic Defensive Countermeasures

Medium

Generate electrical interference to disable target acquisition and missile locks.

Inertial Dampeners

Large

Reactive system to nullify shockwaves which would push the frame off balance or harm the pilot.

Reinforced Structure

Medium

Reinforcement for frame's internal structure.

Utility

Size

Description

Backup Computer System

Small

Secondary computer for supporting the primary computer, allows the frame to continue functioning if the primary computer is damaged or disabled.

Extra Engine

Small

Small engine aids local motive power where it is installed.

Wireless Charger

Small

Provides slow wireless charging from beneath armor.

Oversized Wireless Charger

Medium

Provides higher power output.

Backup Battery

Small

A dedicated battery to aid in power management, in case of damaged wiring, reactor disruption, or ion damage.

Grapple Line

Small

Allows for towing heavy loads. Attaches to most surfaces.

Combat Grapple Line

Medium

Pulls extremely heavy loads, including ray frames moving at speed. Attaches to virtually any surface.

Direct Data Link

Small

Data communicator, for direct connection with computer systems. Supports all standard connector types.

“Looks like they can make most normal frame parts here,” Mouse says. “I'm not seeing the more specialized electronic warfare systems, but they do have ECM... But no AMS, though I guess you'd need to alter existing armor to make the mount for that...

She shakes her head and refocuses. “Anyway. I haven't looked inside myself, but I'm guessing there should be room for three, maybe four small systems if you're lucky, and you can find some spots to squeeze them in. Are there any parts you had in mind?”

She cocks her head. “Actually, you're new, do you need help understanding what any of them do? Or how you'd use them?”

“Let's see...” With a fist tapping lightly to his mouth in thought, his eyes scan down the lines of text. “Most of these are pretty self explanatory...” he murmurs into his hand. “What do you think?” The words are quiet, a small tilt of his brow saying that they're for you.

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