[Center][H2]Raven HQ: Garage Workspace Collab between Xander and Samanatha that happens the following morning[/H2] [h1][color=ec008c]Samantha Dalton "Chaos"[/color][/h1] [hr] [h1][color=b0021d]Xander Clarke[/color][/h1] [H3][I][color=b0021d]"Glitch"[/color][/I][/H3] [hr][/center] [color=ec008c]Samantha[/color] woke up the following day her body in pain as her body reminded her of all she had put it through on the last op and all she had drunk the night before. She felt sick to her stomach and her head was pounding. She was dizzy and felt like the room was spinning. “Please tell the world to stop so I can get off!” She futilely told the ceiling. Some kind soul had left a glass of water by her bed. She sipped at it and her stomach rebelled at first. She sucked in a deep breath as she fought her rebellious stomach. Slowly the queasiness eased, and she managed to drink some more water. She moved stiffly and awkwardly but managed to get up and take one of the painkillers and the anti-inflammatories Sophie had given her with strict dosing instructions. She made it into shower and let the hot water loosen tight muscles. She almost felt human after her shower. She pulled on a pair of soft lightweight sweatpants in a heather gray color. She pulled on another graphic t-shirt. This one had the Wonder Woman symbol on it. She pushed her feet into her slides before putting her arm back in the sling. She needed to wear it a few more days according to Sophie. She was moving better today now that her muscles had warmed up. She wasn’t feeling as stiff after the shower, but her stomach was still not a happy camper. She left her room and made her way to the kitchen. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table to eat it. That was about as energetic and capable as she felt. When she was done, she rinsed her bowl and spoon and put them in the dishwasher. She had told Xander last night to meet her in the garage this morning. She had asked him to meet her before she had gotten drunk with the team leader after dinner. She would push through though. She wanted his help to design some new gear. She needed to rebuild her hacking rig. His help and experience would be invaluable. Together they had a working set of hands. They could at least plan and then begin to build as they got better. She figured she would be able to start building stuff in a week. She should be able to ditch the sling by then. She headed for the garage. She couldn’t help but smile as she entered the area of the garage that Tahlia had told her she could use as a workshop. The smell of concrete, axle grease, and gasoline would forever remind her of her father. She grew up chasing her father around his automotive shop. Her smile turned sad as she was reminded of his death. She missed him. She sighed but headed to the workbench in the corner. Tahlia had managed to source what she had asked for. She pulled up the work stool and sat down facing the bench. She began to open boxes as best as she could as she waited for Xander. The parts for her new laptop were all here. Now she would customize it and put it all together in a cohesive package that could withstand most anything. The next day, [color=b0012d]Xander[/color] found himself face down in his bed still wearing the clothes from the day before. He must have been so tired after last night that he passed out as soon as he made it back to his room. Every part of him was still tired and sore, but it was getting better. He begrudgingly took the prescribed medications, even if that did mean no alcohol today, then managed to undress and hit the shower. He was rather happy at that, as it was a task he previously struggled to do. Though the real challenge once again was getting dressed again afterwards. As for his outfit, he had promised Sam they would meet in the garage to work on some designs and gadgets today, so something casual and comfortable would do. By the time he left, he was sporting a pair of old washed out jeans and a loose fit gray t-shirt. He was already running late, so he decided to pass on a normal breakfast and settled for a protein bar and a mug of coffee. It was a delicate balancing act to eat and drink on the move with one hand, but Xander was trained for this. Well, maybe not this situation specifically, but the same basic principles of swapping and using different equipment applied here. When he reached the garage, all that remained was the bar’s wrapper, and about a third of the coffee. He had his usual big smile painted on his face as he walked up to Sam. [color=b0021d]“G’day, Sammy! Looks like you’re feeling much better. Want me to grab you a mug?”[/color] He cheerily greeted her and lifted his mug indicating he was asking if she wanted any coffee. [color=b0021d]“Hold on now. What's in those boxes? Don’t tell me those parts already came in! Now [i]that's[/i] express shipping!”[/color] Samantha had been struggling with some plastic wrap on a particularly stubborn box when she heard Xander’s voice. She turned on the stool and looked him over with a smile. He was moving better too. She was glad to see it. She didn’t know what Sophie had done but she did know that she was healing faster here at Raven HQ than she would have under civilian medical care. No one would hear her complain. She was not a good patient. She hated being a forced invalid. She nodded her head at Xander. [color=ec008c]“I would love a cup. I believe there is supposed to be a coffeemaker in here somewhere. I’m not fussy about my coffee. Black and fully loaded makes me happy. If you serve me decaf, I will hunt you down and hurt you.”[/color] She gave him a mock fierce glare with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Xander let out a loud singular [color=b0021d]“HA!”[/color] at the decaf remark. [color=b0021d]“Oh please. I might pull my share of pranks around here, but I’d never do something that cruel!”[/color] [color=ec008c] “It is good to know that something is sacred with you. Duly noted coffee is exempt from pranks.”[/color] She gave a big sigh and tried to look disappointed [color=ec008c]“I guess this means I need to give your beer the same respect. Which is hard for me. I don't like beer. It's disgusting!”[/color] She gave a repulsive shudder about the taste of beer. She watched him to see if he was buying her act. He set his mug down on the workbench and began the quest to find the coffee maker. Despite the organization of the garage, things still managed to get lost if you didn’t nail them down; especially appliances. The Aussie started opening every drawer, container, or locker that might hold the coffee maker, while still maintaining the conversation with Sam. Sure he could go back up to the kitchen where he knew a fresh pot was, might have even been faster, but he wasn’t about to leave now that he just got here. And quite frankly, he had been looking forward to this morning. He really enjoyed Sam’s company and their banter. He’d rather take longer down here than go back up. She watched as he began to open every locker and cabinet looking for the coffeemaker. He continued to talk to her as explored explaining his own rig to her. [color=ec008c]“You look like you're feeling better too.”[/color] She couldn’t help but grin as Xander commented on her current project. Not that she was getting too far with one hand. At least she still had her dominant hand to work with. She waved her hand across the boxes on her workbench. [color=ec008c]“Talhia was told that I lost my laptop on the mission before we made it back to base. She had some parts on hand as backup. She wasted no time in getting the rest for me. I prefer my own computer set up as I work to analyze the data found on the mission. I am sure you are more comfortable with yours as well.”[/color] She raised an eyebrow in response to him, as if daring him to reply. [color=ec008c]“You can help me build the new rig. I would appreciate your assistance and insight. Then we can brainstorm up some gear for the mission. I don’t think we have done anything quite like this before. Maybe we can build some cool gear to help out our teammates. What do you think?” [/color] [color=b0021d]“I know what you mean.”[/color] He replied in reference to Sam’s comment about preferring her own computer. [color=b0021d]“I’ve me own rig in my room. It’s where I do most if not all of my programming. She’s pretty similar to what you were carrying in the field, except mines a full bloody tower weighing about 18 kilos. No way would I be able to bring that on a mission.”[/color] He explained getting a bit louder as his search had brought him to the far side of the room. [color=b0021d]“That’s why I made me tablet. A real thing of beauty. Weighs practically nothing. The UI is basically like a video game; Press a button it does a thing. And the universal cabling lets me plug it into pretty much any interface assuming I can get close enough. I’ve got plenty of spare parts to make a new one, but uploading all the software is going to take god knows how long.”[/color] Samantha managed to hide her nerves. She normally preferred to work alone. She knew she was limited with what she could do physically at the moment. After working with Xander in the field, she trusted him. She liked his sense of humor. She found she enjoyed his company. She felt working with him would take her mind off what she couldn’t do at the moment. Plus he was fun to be around. She knew she wouldn’t be bored. [color=ec008c]“Just think of all the mischief, chaos, and mayhem we can cook up together.”[/color] She gave him a sassy look and a wink. Sam tried to hide her amusement as he continued searching on the far side of the room. Her lips curved up of their own accord. She watched as he pulled the coffeemaker from underneath what looked like a workbench but was the kitchenette counter in the workshop. She could tell because it had a kitchen sink and faucet on one end. The deep utility sink was next to it along the wall with the CNC machine, laser lathe, and parts wash station. Some enterprising soul had commandeered it for additional space. Her smile got larger as she watched him struggling to hold a conversation and make her coffee. [color=b0021d][i]Success![/i][/color] In one of the bottom cupboards of a nearby workbench was the illusive coffee maker! Though there was some assembly still required. Which obviously would take a bit longer due to his limited mobility. Though that did give him a good idea where to start for suggestions. [color=b0021d]“I suppose the main thing to focus on would be mobility. You’re a lightweight. Er, as a soldier I mean. You need to be able to move quickly while still being able to carry all your equipment. So ask yourself: Is there anything you can do to lighten that load? And if not, how can you more effectively carry it? Oh where the bloody hell are the cups?”[/color] She couldn’t help but laugh at that. She rose to her feet and made her way over to him. She cleared a spot on the counter for the coffeemaker. She patted the empty space. [color=ec008c]“Put the coffeemaker here.”[/color] She then opened the cabinet above the sink and pointed to the cups. [color=ec008c]“This is the kitchenette not a worktable.”[/color] Xander took a step back and looked the kitchenette up and down. [color=b0021d]“Huh. I guess. Maybe if I had taken a moment to survey the area, I could have saved a bit of time…”[/color] He stated, slowly getting quieter with each word. He was normally a very observant person. How did he miss the fact this wasn’t a workbench? In fact there was a lot of food and snacks down here, meaning he didn’t have to rush breakfast. Oh well, now he knew for later. He quickly shook off his embarrassment and placed the coffee maker down where Sam had indicated. She talked to him as she explored cabinets this time. She opened the cabinet door next to the cups and found coffee, filters, sugar, powdered coffee creamer, granola bars, gummy worms, M&Ms, protein bars, and beef jerky. There were probably more things in the cupboard than she could see. She was impressed with the selection available. [color=ec008c]“I guess we don’t rate a k-cup coffeemaker in the garage workshop. It makes sense. They probably wouldn’t stand up to the debris in here. Oh looks! Snacks to keep hangry mechanics from breaking more than they fix. Sweet! Someone knows how to keep mechanics happy.” [/color] She winked at him before stepping up next to him. She helped him get the coffee started by grabbing the measuring pitcher for the water and setting up the coffeemaker for brewing. She found that spending time with Xander was easy. She didn’t feel that awkwardness that she felt sometimes with others. She didn’t find it necessary to fill the silence between them as they made coffee. It was comfortable. The coffee didn’t take long to brew. She poured a cup and only added a little sugar, just enough to cut the bitterness a little. Together they had two hands. The two worked together to get the coffee machine all set up and filled. It was almost eerie just how well they worked. Only one mission together and now they were functioning as one, Sam’s good arm taking the place of Xan’s broken and vice versa. In no time Sam had her own cup of coffee, and Xan was freshening his up. [color=b0021d][i]Was two cups of coffee this early too much caffeine? Probably. Did Xan care? Nah![/i][/color] She grabbed the plastic containers of M&Ms and tucked it into her sling to carry it back to the workstation. She grabbed her cup of coffee with her good hand. She grinned at Xander and waved to the snacks. [color=ec008c]“Did you want anything?” [/color] He thought for a moment before replying [color=b0021d]“Yeah I’ll take some of them gummy worms.”[/color] She waited for Xander to make his choices known before returning to where she left computer parts and boxes, some opened and some unopened. [color=ec008c]“I appreciate your set up with your tablet. I have found that sometimes hackers and security specialists are good, and I need to improvise. They are always copying my best viruses and code breaking programs. So I am constantly having to upgrade. That means I need computer power on the go.”[/color] She explained her thought process to him. She of course had a set of computer viruses and code breaking programs that would work on most equipment. It was that other 20 percent that she worried about like what was needed against Artemis on their last op. Xander nodded along the whole time. He understood completely the reason why, and that in most cases her system outpaced his. The main difference was simply where they were usually placed in the field. [color=b0021d]“For sure. If I worked more covertly like you I’d have the time to crack most security systems; like what you did in Kazakhstan with that defense system you fucked up! But mine needs to be more quick and in the moment. I don’t have time to take down a whole system, I just need to bugger whichever lousy prick thinks he has the drop on me and turn the table. Hehe. It’s the difference between causing Chaos, and experiencing a Glitch.”[/color] [color=ec008c]“My idea is to create a powerful portable rig that can go anywhere with me. My last rig was sweet but even with a reinforced case it didn’t survive that ground zero blast on the last op.”[/color] She frowned knowing none of them had expected their last op to go so sideways. She gave him a wicked happy grin as she continued. [color=ec008c]“Tahlia managed to get me a prototype miniaturized quantum dynamic cpu chip and motherboard. The developers have not managed to create a portable cooling system good enough to handle it. I believe I can use a liquid gel cooling matrix that is environmentally friendly. It should keep it cool enough without freezing up the moving parts.” She went on to explain. “You know those reusable cooling packs for first aid that you can buy. One time use right? Well they activate with a low voltage static charge. I can rig a sealed system to apply that low voltage to make it reusable. It will also act as sound proofing and kinetic shock control. What do you think?”[/color] [color=b0021d] “Well that’s bloody genius!”[/color] Xan exclaimed as she described her new cooling system. [color=b0021d] Just need to make sure that low static charge is contained in the gel. If it has any sort of energy leak it could put the sensitive parts at risk. But you can manage that with pretty much any sort of non-conductive shielding.”[/color] Xander paused for a moment before continuing. [color=b0021d]“Which brings me back to my point; we need to lighten your load.”[/color] Xan continued his ‘lecture’ but all the while started helping Sam unpack the rest of her new parts. [color=b0021d]“The reinforced case was good and all, but everything has a limit. Take my Exo for example. It has armor sure, but only for standard rounds that I expect most blokes to have and hit me with. I could add more protection for 50 cal or higher, but then I’m getting close to heavy territory, and while there’s nothing wrong with our heavy mates, it would be pretty daft for me to sacrifice mobility for armor when I’m supposed to be compensating for their slowness. Basically, protection from EMPs and low caliber bullets should be fine, but beyond that you’re just making yourself a slower and easier target.”[/color] Samantha nodded as she sipped her coffee and began to nibble on M&Ms as she listened to what Xander had to say. The chocolate, sugar, and fat from the candy helping her stomach feel less queasy. Her head tilted from side to side as she took in his advice. [color=ec008c]"Keep it simple. Make it durable and powerful without sacrificing weight and space."[/color] She nodded as her brain kicked into high gear. [color=ec008c]"I can do that. I will customize the pieces as I work to get them all to fit together."[/color] Samantha looked rueful as she held up her own messed up arm. [color=ec008c]"I am still in the planning stages since I need my other hand before I go wild on building." [/color] Samantha pulled out a large sheet of blank newsprint from a tray under the workbench counter and grabbed a mechanical pencil. She began writing notes that included her ideas and Xanders. She noted the list of parts that Tahlia had provided. She wrote a label above that column that read Chaos' Laptop. She drew a line and then labeled the next section Xander's Tablet. She moved over to another column and wrote team gear. [color=ec008c]"I wanted your help to brainstorm some ideas for gear for the team. I would love your help to build it. I should get my other hand back at the end of the week. Also I wanted to know how I could help you rebuild your tablet and what your ideas were for it."[/color] She gave Xander a bright smile. Talking tech was something she loved to do as a total gear head.[color=ec008c]"Come on I want your most creative ideas. Anything you can dream up! Anything you thought about and didn't write down on a napkin. Let's hear it!" [/color] Xander paused and thought for a moment. His most creative ideas, eh? Well he certainly had a few of those, and with Sam’s help they may actually be possible now. There was one idea he had actually been tossing around in his head. [color=b0021d]“Well, one downfall with my tablet is that it still takes up both me hands to use. If I want to execute any hacks, I have to do so from cover which isn’t always readily available. However, I’ve been working on a way to wire up the ol’ exo, specifically in me left arm, so that I could interact with it by simple hand movements.”[/color] Xander explained while also demonstrating with his functioning right arm. His fingers began pressing points in his palm and even twisting his wrist a few times. [color=b0021d]“Wiring up the gloves and programming the interface is one thing, but the real trick is to find a way to make sure it knows the difference between when I’m trying to talk to it, and when I’m in the heat of things. Some sort of unique gesture that’s easy to do, but not something I’d accidentally activate holdin’ a gun or something.”[/color] Samantha nodded and as she jotted down his challenges for use in the field. She started jotting down her own ideas to overcome his issues. She was thinking about upgrades she wanted to make since she had experienced some of the same issues in the last op. She stopped and stared at the wall in deep thought for a minute. Her pencil tapping against the paper. [color=ec008c]"I had some of the same issues on this last op. I was thinking of developing a proprietary encryption communication chip that would allow my laptop to interface with the AI in my suit helmet. That way I can gun, run, and do basic hacks while running."[/color] She paused as she gathered her thoughts [color=ec008c]"My equipment was compromised when Raven's communication got hacked. My thought was paired proprietary encrypted communication that will allow my two devices to support and direct the other and if the communication source gets hacked then they will not be able to take over my system or get any data from it. They may no longer be able to send data out over that source, but they will still be able to communicate with each other. I was going to investigate early cellular devices and protocols and see if there is something in the early military applications that might be able to be improved that was abandoned. This way I can give voice commands to my helmet AI and the heavy lifting is happening to my paired laptop nearby."[/color] Samantha jotted helmet AI and tablet pairing with haptic input gloves in Xander's column. [color=ec008c]"I am thinking we develop a similar system for you. I am rebuilding my helmet AI. I can create one for you that works off the same principles so you can give it voice commands. I can also develop haptic input gloves so that work with your HUD so you can use eye gestures to launch commands in your HUD or turn on your gloves to be used on a tablet overlay so you can input manual commands to your tablet without touching it. We could build an armored compartment that your tablet could slide into and integrate with your suit. What do you think?" [/color] [color=b0021d]“I think you’re bloody brilliant!”[/color] Xan said with a chuckle. He could tell why Sam was brought on to Raven, no that he ever doubted that call. With their minds together, they could fix the world’s problems. Though for now they’d just have to settle on taking care of bad guys. [color=b0021d]“Now, let’s move to the more immediate objective: our next mission.”[/color] Xan stood back up and sipped at his coffee as he began to pace the room. [color=b0021d]“We can’t take in most of our current equipment without immediately setting off every alarm. We need gear that’s functional, but also concealable. Shoe knives, exploding pens, laser watches, the kinda shit you’d see Bond use.”[/color] Samantha chuckled at Xander's praise and preened a little under his gaze. She replied in a fake snooty tone, [color=ec008c]"Why thank you, kind sir!"[/color] Samantha watched as Xander began to pace the room with his coffee cup. Samantha went back to writing in the column team gear and began to write as Xander talked. Samantha talked as she wrote down their ideas. She began to write [color=ec008c]“ceramic knives, embedded into shoes, such as stiletto heels, or hidden so they can pop out for the guys, hidden in belt buckles for the guys is also an option. Weaponize purses for the gals, chain straps with a handle that could transform into a garrote or whip. A heavy shiny designer looking bauble that could hide a collapsible asp for Freya. Make up that could be combined into a two-shot carbon composite gun, with bullets hidden inside a designer zipper pull. Keychains that looked like push button flashlights but doubled as a taser. Jewelry and cuff links that doubled as communications gear and mini drones. The ladies would have small perfume bottles that could carry acid, sleeping agents, or a liquid pepper spray. The guys could have metal cigarette cases that combined with money clips to form a carbon composite gun that could hold 2 bullets. The bullets could be hidden inside a metal keychain bauble. Cuff link cameras and scanners. Pens could be modified to be a taser, planted as a spy device with hidden camera, microphone, and transmitter. Pens could hide a ceramic stiletto blade, twist and out pops a blade, or pens could hide a camera and scanner. Watches could also host communications gear.”[/color] Samantha looked up at Xander [color=ec008c]“Watches are too small for a laser powerful enough to do much. We could pack them with a high explosive. Plant them and use them as a small charge for breaching a door lock.”[/color] Samantha waited to see if he would add to their idea list. [color=b0021d]“Damn. All that just off the top of your head? You’re giving me a run for me money.”[/color] Xander said and shot Sam a quick wink. [color=b0021d]” Well knowing Pavel, he’ll be up on his tech and have all the good stuff locked tight. We need to be prepared for security that can’t be hacked normally or even quickly. I’m thinking contacts that can mimic eyes and fool retina scanners, even false finger tips that can copy fingerprints. That should let you lot snag anything you need without having to resort to explosives, even if they are micro. Then we just whip up some smart glasses to give some of us on screen HUDs and video feeds, and I think we’ll be golden!”[/color] Samantha laughed as she considered his points. [color=ec008c]"You can lift fingerprints with a makeup brush and some clear tape. I am not sure how hard it would be to build gloves with nanite finger tips that change fingerprint patterns. It’s possible. Not sure I could get that done in time. We will add it as a maybe."[/color] She wrote the idea down in the gear column. She pondered how to get around a retina scanner. [color=ec008c]"The retina scanners are harder. We could hack the scanner and send it a file withe information it is expecting. The challenge with that is we would have to collect that data at the party which comes with some risk. If we can hack into his system or find his retina and fingerprints prior to the op, then we can print contacts with the information and create fake fingerprints on a set of gloves to mimic his fingers. The reality of us being able to find his biometrics on file somewhere will be difficult. I doubt someone who is so aware of cyber security would leave his information in a system he was not sure was well protected."[/color] Samantha made some notes to look for Pavel's biometric information in the recovered data and search other possible sources for that information such as government databases. He might be on file with some of the government contractor work he has done. Samantha turned her attention back to Xander after taking another sip of her coffee. Her eyes followed his movements as she nibbled on chocolate goodness. Xander paused his pacing for a moment as he considered Sam’s concerns. All of them were valid, especially with their time constraints. However, when she mentioned getting access to those things prior to the op, Xan got a wicked smirk. [color=b0021d]“Leave that to me. If things go according to plan, I should have access to the venue beforehand. Knowing Pavel, his prints and DNA will be all over the place. I can get what we need. Hell, I might even be able to confirm what kind of security he’s got and save us the time wasted in guessing.”[/color] With that thought, Xander turned to Sam and walked over to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, then leaned in a bit to look at the list she had written down. After he skimmed their ideas he began to bob his head in a small nod. [color=b0021d]“Yeah. I think we’ve got a lot to work with. We’ll want to get right on those if we want to make them in time. But first, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about.”[/color] Xander turned from the list to face Sam as he grew a sly grin on his face. [color=b0021d]“A while ago you mentioned something about my beer launcher being ineffective. Curious what tips you had for me to improve that. I [i]really[/i] wanna get that girl working perfectly.”[/color] Samantha felt the warmth from Xander’s body and the weight of his hand as he leaned over her to review their list. She nodded, agreeing with him. [color=ec008c] “It is a lot of gear, but we can do it! Most of it will be printing or cutting pieces and then assembly. Planning and setting up the technical schematics and measurements is what will take the most time. I have to decide on the right materials as well. We should have what I need in stock. It is pretty basic stuff. The only parts that might be difficult will be the proprietary communication chips but since I plan to build them not purchase them. We should have what I need for that.” [/color] She met his grin with one of her own. [color=ec008c] “I like your thoughts about what you can find out about Pavel before the op. We will have to compare notes after we do some hacking.” [/color] Samantha gave Xander a mischievous smile as she leaned closer to him. [color=ec008c] “Well I have not had an opportunity to really examine your masterpiece. Why don’t we go take a look and you can explain how it works. Then I will be in a better position to help you improve it.”[/color] She winked at him as she set the pencil down as she slid off the stool with a raised eyebrow in challenge.