//------------------------------// // Antigravity // Story: My Little Cyborg // by Ignimbrite //------------------------------// This is not good. Everyone was huddled in the center of the castle as the faint sound of impacts against the shield dome echoed in. Shadowpiercer had, of course, wanted to get a closer look at the new machines, but his escorts wouldn't even permit blinking without their permission. Besides that, he was chained to a column. Apparently, the castle's only internal passage to the dungeons was being renovated. This was quite likely the only time he would ever appreciate a lack of redundancy in design. Unfortunately, this appreciation was offset by his recognition of the lack of redundancy in another design... "So, how long does the shield last?" "Long enough." "Long enough for what?" The guards were getting annoyed. "Long enough to stop these things from getting in." Shadowpiercer was, for the record, equally annoyed. "In other words, you're waiting for their batteries to run out, or for their fuel to run out... or until you can find a plan. I take it there's no protocol for enemies that can outfly everyone?" The guards rolled their eyes. "We have protocols. The catapults are being prepared as we speak." Shadowpiercer rolled his eyes. "Please tell me that these catapults include ballistae and that they're loaded with anti-armor shaped explosive charges, because that's the only thing I can think of that will bring down those machines." The guards scowled, although Shadowpiercer was certain he heard one of them behind him whispering about getting notes from some "Builders and Busters." He really hoped that that was an ordinance team. Another voice came up behind him in rather short order. "So, you do work with explosives then." He turned around to see Twilight approaching. The guards were, of course, hesitant to allow her to approach the one who had supposedly tried to kill her, but she stopped at a range where the advantage belonged solely to her. As long as they were both unarmed, she could beat the snot out of Shadowpiercer with her magic, and they both knew it. "I... may have been programmed to recognize weapons that would work against particular defenses... and I may have had to use it enough that figuring those things without my processor became instinctive." She raised an eyebrow. "Spy thing?" "Spy thing." Thunder rolled overhead from a series of repeated impacts. "How much longer will the shield last?" Twilight didn't answer, but she was worried. She hid it, of course, but the look on her face was one he himself used countless times in his own realm. Some things, it seemed, were constant across universes. The look was not troubling because she had doubts. The troubling matter was that she had none. He could see it in her eyes. She knew roughly how long the shield would last, and she knew what would happen if it fell. There had to be a way to get out of the cuffs and sneak past these guards. Suspected criminal or not, Shadowpiercer was not inclined to sit back while everyone was at risk. Yet, he couldn't help it. They were all armed, some with ranged weapons, and he wasn't. Besides, as long as the trial remained unresolved, he would have to be under their watch. He fidgeted. The guards glared. This was not going well. He looked out a window to see several large projectiles bounce off a flying machine. Looking out another one, he saw a machine get taken down by a concentrated burst of magic. At least something works. A burst of magic... An idea came to him. He turned to the guards. "Those burst resonators, what effect do they have exactly? At they concussive? Thermal? Electromagnetic? Can the area of effect be directed towards a specific target?" The guards, of course, demanded that he remain silent and not bring up that topic again. Twilight, however, questioned why he would want to know these things. "Because," he explained, "we may be able to make anti-armor artillery shells from whatever happens to be on hand." Twilight had to process the idea. On the one hoof, somepony who stood accused of, among other things, building a bomb was suggesting doing so again. On the other hoof, he was at least suggesting using it against their enemies. She wasn't exactly an expert on weapons, but the military officers had to be. She pulled a notebook out of her bags and tossed it to him. "Wait here and draw up some diagrams. I need to get somepony." A few minutes later, Twilight was back, along with a few unicorn soldiers. They had all been sliding the notebook back and forth across the floor, making comments, adding details, and otherwise trying to improve the design. "This might work," their highest ranking of them finally said. He gestured to the others. "Pick up the components and meet me at the roof. I don't care what you have to take apart, just do it." The finished device was, without a doubt, ugly. Fortunately, its job was not to look nice. Unfortunately, they had no time to test it properly. They would have to skip straight to field testing instead. The bomb was loaded into one of the ballistae and a string was tied between the frame of the ballista and a pin on the bomb. Several aircraft were flying overhead, but they couldn't just shoot whichever one they wanted. The bomb, much heavier then the usual bolts and stones, would not fly nearly as far from the catapult. They would have to wait until the fighters came within range. Shadowpiercer was getting agitated. He should have been relieved at having been able to at least help in some way, but he wasn't. Perhaps it was the helplessness. After all, he was more accustomed to being in the fight than on the sidelines. Like it or not, it was the purpose for which he was designed, and he would much rather use his mods for good than not use them at all. He looked up. Watching the battle didn't exactly help the feeling of helplessness, but there wasn't much else to do.