hadriel_logs | and i feel like i've got a gun

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and i feel like i've got a gun

Who: Hux and Maketh Tua
What: Adventures in snark and bomb making.
Where: Guard post.
When: Late evening.
Warnings: Swearing, two people who hate each other stuck in the same room.

Maketh rubs her forehead, staring down at the notebook on her desk. She's been stuck on the same design for the last hour or so, coffee long since gone along with her creativity, and now she's left with a page and a half full of scribbled notes and the design for a bomb that she can't manage to finish. Oh, she can come up with patrol routines and schedule everything down to the smallest detail, but explosives - oh, explosives vex her. If she had an explosives technician or at least a bloody engineer, she could have delegated. Left the actual construction to an expert and just figured out the optimum placement for such a device.

Sadly, Hadriel has not provided her with a team of engineers or the means to hire them.

So when she hears a noise at the door, she takes the opportunity as a break and goes to see what's going on.

She isn't amused when she sees who it is. "What are you doing here?"

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Sheer morbid curiosity had Hux meandering his way past the Guard Post. He'd been avoiding Maketh and her merry band of misfit community watch idiots ever since his confrontation with her over the network.

And truth, he would have stayed away completely save for the fact that he was steadily going insane with boredom thanks to his complete lack of duties and means to occupy his time. He'd done some cursory exploration of the caverns but hadn't ventured too far into them because he had no map or means of navigating the cave system.

He was a man used to the strictly regimented lifestyle of a military officer and he found comfort in that routine. This place was so far from his normal routine that he feared he might lose all hope of getting out of here if he didn't do something to keep his morale up.

That had been his entire reason for stopping by the guard post tonight in hopes that they might have a map he could copy down. Instead, he found himself faced with his least favorite person in all of Hadriel instead. If he'd been a lesser man, he might have retreated but sheer stubborn contrariness had him stepping inside instead with that vaguely imperious expression which was swiftly becoming familiar to her.

"I was looking to see if anyone has a survey map of the caverns. See which caves had been explored and which hasn't." Hux's eyes automatically fell to the pad Maketh had laid out on top of the desk because for all of his many faults, curiosity was perhaps his worst fault of all. But it was also the key to his brilliance and had secured his placement in the First Order.

Though she's loath to admit it, Hux and Maketh have a few things in common. An appreciation - perhaps even a need - for structure and tasks to complete is one of them. She's a perfectionist to the core and though there are no storm troopers to yell at in Hadriel, there are plenty of things that must be done - that must be done correctly - and no one else to do them. Hence the late hours she keeps.

Sleep is for the weak.

Maketh stands up straighter, glaring. "You could have set a message over the network. Anyone would have given it to you. We've had a map for months now. Of course it must be updated daily, but we see to that."

That was another reason for his midnight wanderings. He wasn't so rash as to go explore the caves after dark and all he had to look forward two in the place he'd laid claim to was staring at the walls and fiddling with the parts he's scavenged in his time here. Thus far he hadn't had any luck extending the range of his communications device unfortunately.

"I could have but one of your lackeys could have easily lied to my face out of sheer spite." He pointed out blandly before reminding himself of some adage his mother used about attracting more insects with sweet than sour. "I did not come here seeking to quarrel with you, Ms. Tua. I simply wish to escape this infernal place and return back to my ship. I am sure you can understand my motivations. So simply let me copy down the map and I will get out your hair."

He found his gaze wandering somewhat rather than looking directly at Maketh who would no doubt view it as him challenging her or something equally preposterous. The general's eyes trailed along the notepad but it was hard to make out exactly what it said though from what he could gleam from his side-ways look at it, it looked like a formula inter-spaced with notes.

"You're working on a chemical compound of some kind?" Oh but his curiosity was one day going to be the death of him!

Somehow it's worse that he manages to make it all sound so reasonable. Maketh resists the urge to curl her lip and pulls out her phone. If it makes him go away, then fine. She taps a few keys. "There. Now you have the map. And I'm making explosives, if you must know. Now go away."

She's been experimenting with gasoline and fat from the bodies of dead monsters. They don't have much in the way of explosives.

He was just that good at getting under her skin even without trying apparently. Hux strongly suspected she was a Resistance fighter of some kind but she didn't recognize the Order insignia but instead lumped it in with the Empire which was laughable to him.

"You hope to make explosives here?" Something that might have been read as interest sparked in the general's eyes and he was more obtrusive about reading what she had scribbled on the page. "You're trying to create a stabilized explosive that will adhere to a surface and burn at an accelerated rate once lit?"

Urg. That man.

She is not going to punch him in the face, Maketh tells herself. She is not going to do that. It's unprofessional and counterproductive. And she's not going to snatch the notes away so he can't spy, because that's childish and she is not. She crosses her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

It's okay to be suspicious. He's dangerous.

"We don't have the resources to build anything large enough to hurt the monsters without risking structural damage to the buildings," Maketh informs him. "And I'm not giving flame throwers to civilians."

She had flame troopers on Lothal exactly once. It didn't end well.

She could certainly try and punch him in the face but what would it prove save that yet again, he was the victim and she was the unreasonable crazy person who attacked without any provocation.

"No, that would be a terrible idea. You're trying to recreate the formula the Clone flame troopers from the Clone Wars used? You've got way too much incendiary compound, it's going to blow up the moment you try and ignite it."

Hux deliberately neglected to mention the specialized Flametroopers the First Order used. His father had based them off of the old Clone troopers in point of fact but that was a tidbit he was keeping to himself more out of spite than anything else by now. But still, her idea had merit especially against the monsters that made light so dangerous here.

"May I?" He had the politeness to at least ask before he pulled the notepad away from Maketh at the very least.

Maketh glares at him, but doesn't move to snatch her notes back. Don't be childish. Don't think about punching him in the nose and how satisfying it would be to hear that wet crunch. At this point, she needs the help. She's not an engineer and doesn't have the formula, relying on outdated manuals and what little she remembers from the staff meeting she had to organize after Aresko's disastrous attempt to use flame troopers as crowd control. "I've had to improvise on the materials. All they have is gasoline and whatever animal fat we can scrounge up. We need the gunpowder for bullets."

Because this world is primitive enough that they still use them.

"Do you know how to fix it or not?"

Hux knew the type of fuel they used for the Flametroopers tanks but here in this world with all of it's primitive technology, he was at a serious disadvantage.

"You're unlikely to find the materials necessary to make the propulsion material for bullets and honestly, even then I'm not sure how to go about mixing the correct amount of chemicals to do so. You'd be better off asking me how to recreate the powercells for a blaster." Who the hell e projectile weaponry anymore anyway? Hux had no problem admitting his ignorance when it came to using bullets and gunpowder.

"As for a gasoline based weapon, you have a few options. Obviously you can bottle it up in say a glass jar then stick a fuse in it so that when it is lit and the glass shatters then the liquid will ignite. But that is extremely messy and liable to burn everything down."

As much as he might dislike Maketh, Hux still found himself engaged in this topic because it gave him a challenge, something he'd been desperately craving. "Do you think you can get your hands on a type of polymer called polystyrene? You might be able to soak it in gasoline and create a long-burning compound that might be a little less messy."

"The range is too short," Maketh murmurs, motioning for her notes back so she can show him the schematics she's come up with. "I've considered more traditional explosives, dynamite and such, but the supplies are limited and shrapnel has proven ineffective for even slowing most of these animals down. But they tend to panic when they're on fire. Of course you could fashion a sling and just throw the damn things, but that's ineffective. Easy to miss."

What she really wants to do is come up with a remote activated mine field, something that would give them an actual perimeter to defend, but she hasn't figured out how to manage that without killing everyone in the process.

"Polystyrene." Maketh considers that. "Perhaps. Do you have any skill as a chemist?"

They can always ask the gods, but Maketh is loath to try that.

"Or something that will keep the gasoline from burning up too quickly. I read a report from a remote jungle moon mission where the locals had mixed the two together and created a nearly stable, hot burning substance out of it and the fuel from their farming equipment." He picked up the pen and started to scribble a list of materials on it.

"Not as such, but I do have some experience in weapons development." That was certainly putting his experience and position in the Order a creative way. Something told him Maketh would not appreciate him confiding that he'd had a hand in wiping out billions of sentient lives with is beautiful, perfect weapon on Starkiller Base.

"Why not just make a gas or a powder that will repel them? Something pungent or irritating to their eyes or noses to drive them off?"

So not precisely an engineer, but someone who knew how to design weapons. That's better than nothing. And perhaps for the first time since coming to Hadriel, she's found someone she can fire off ideas with, no need to slow down and explain their meaning. She missed that. And in that familiarity, it's easy - so easy - to slip back into old patterns and forget how much she hates Hux.

For the moment, at least.

Maketh rocks back on her heels, considering her options. Their supplies are limited, but perhaps a test could be conducted...

"That would be most effective," she murmurs. "A stable, long-burning substance. A chemical irritant is possible, of course, but there are too many varieties of animal here to ensure it's effectiveness across the board. Not all of them have eyes in the first place, and the wendigos were functionally blind. Not that it slowed them down much. But so far all of them can hurt."

There's something about fire that makes rational things forget themselves.

Maketh twitches, fighting back the memory of what it had felt like to be dosed in kerosene and put alight. It's not useful here.

"I'm no chemist," she admits. There's no point in hiding that - appeasing her pride will not bring results. "But there are others here with talents, and some with---abilities. Not unlike the Force. One of them might be able to make what we need."

Suddenly there was a we.

Unlike Maketh, he had no issue forgetting his dislike for the woman. But he also had a lot of experience of working with people whom he hated and detested. After all, you did not serve with the likes of Kylo Ren without learning how to put personal differences aside.

And as much of a pain in the ass this woman was, she was nothing in comparison to Ren.

"Alright, I'll start experimenting with options. I believe the reason that other plastic works so well is because of the open cellular structure so if we can find something similar then we should be in good working order. But you also have to account for toxic fumes and whoever is going to be exposed to these weapons."

He continued to scribble down on the pad in neat and precise Aurebesh which was..going to present a bit of a problem when dealing with other people. But that wasn't Hux's problem, that was Maketh's. Let her convey the information to her minions and leave him to what he is good at.

"I still think irritants and perhaps even something to startle these monsters is the way to go. Perhaps a flash bang of some kind? Something with a lot of flash and a lot of noise but minimal damage? If we can create something as a sort of perimeter guard then it will also serve as an early warning system." If he noticed the switch from singular to plural, he was smart enough to not remark upon it.

Maketh didn't like him and the feeling was certainly mutual but compared to the monsters that lived in the caverns, he would still rather throw his lot in with her and the other captives than the monsters or the so-called 'Gods' that ran this place. "A force user? Just what this place needs."

The biting sarcasm in his voice certainly conveyed his opinions on that matter.

"We have some flash-bangs."

Well, they had fireworks stolen from Delight's party that could be used in the same way and a few flares. Almost everything they have in terms of weapons have been cannibalized from something else. Maketh rocks back on her heels. "I'll look into manufacturing some protective gear. My main priority has been establishing and maintaining a perimeter around the occupied areas. That's where monsters have done the most damage, when they break through."

Not that it's been difficult for them to do so. Her patrols are stretched thin and they don't have a shield generator to keep unwanted intruders out. There are holes in the line and she's been able to find precious little to mend them with.

"Do you think you could manage a containment device that could be activated remotely? That would give us wider defensive capabilities if we could gas certain areas without having to deploy agents on the ground."

It's strange to speak with Hux like this - not as an equal, certainly, but as an -- ally. A momentary one, Maketh reminds herself. He has skills that she needs and more importantly, he wants to survive. Aiding her ventures will help him in that. "Similar to the Force, but not precisely the same. We have a healer and someone who can do the equivalent of a Force flash-step. A few others with offensive capabilities. None with weapons comparable to a light saber, though."

The phrasing earned her a considering look because 'some' indicated not a whole lot of anything which was worrisome in it's own right. "So we'll have to figure out how to create some more with whatever is available here. Which I'm sorry to say isn't a whole lot from what I've seen so far."

He'd been scouring the ruins, searching for usable equipment though thus far it had been frustrating and fruitless thanks to the large technological gap between this place and what he was used to working with. Hux hadn't fired his blaster yet for fear of draining he powercell on it because once it was dead, he knew there would be little hope of charging it again.

"With the technology available here? No kriffing way. There's no way I could cobble together a shield generator with the stuff here." He didn't see in point in lying or trying to pretend like he was capable of creating a shield generator with such materials.

"I think we need to go more primitive here. Make use of what we have available. Stars! The damned Ewoks managed to defeat the empire with sticks and rocks. Surely we can do better than that?" The general said with a hefty dose of irony in his tone. "Do you have a map of the city and the weakest points in our defenses?" In truth, Hux was surprised they'd managed to put aside their differences even for a little while. So far, Maketh hadn't tried to take his head off in the last few minutes and surely that had to be some kind of record. He of course had little problem working with someone he disliked it if suited his goals and mission. And right now, the mission was to survive.

Ewoks? Maketh shakes her head. There are more important concerns. "We've only recently gotten guns. Before that we had knives and a few--," here she sighs, "bows."

Because if they're going to stay primitive, they might as well go back to the dark ages. Maketh rubs her face, then takes out her phone. "Check the map I sent you. I've marked the perimeter line and its weak points."

There are, unfortunately, many. She's also marked down potential sniper posts, locations for bombs, and where defensive positions should be taken in event of a fight, as well as some supply caches.

"Bows...against cave monsters. I cannot imagine they are very effective." Hux blandly commented without any inflection in his tone, yet the judge-y exasperation could be felt in the air. "I don't suppose you attempted to work up some kind of toxin to poison the edges of your blades or arrows? If we're going to be primitive, we might as well be underhanded as well."

He drew out his communicator and pulled up the map Maketh had sent him. For all of his many, and there were many flaws, there was no denying the general's brilliance when it came to military tactics.

"I'm assuming we have not enough man-power to implement some sort of drop trap here and here?" Hux asked while indicating the two point on the map. "If we can find a way of sealing that section of the ruins off behind them then we will have anyone who gets through in a kill box essentially. Snipers or even archers could be positioned here with a clean line of sight."

"It wasn't. And I couldn't find any familiar toxins, aside from a few acid compounds. Without an antidote on hand, it was likely we'd end up injuring ourselves in the process. I deemed it a risk of available resources."

Those were not good days. Maketh supposes she ought to be thankful that Rage deigned to give them firearms not long after she arrived. She leans in close, frowning at the site Hux pointed out. "A trapping pit might be effective there as well. We could fashion stakes or even a small bomb at the bottom. Crude, but it wouldn't require constant watching to be effective."

"Understandable. But it is something to consider in the future. We have people who are medically inclined, perhaps we can ask them to help."

Hux had beaten his head against the frustrating wall of technological deficiency in this place repeatedly. He simply wasn't used to working in these kinds of conditions and it was a source of never-ending frustration.

The general had already planned on incorporating this into the simulations on the Finalizer. It was readily apparent that the First Order had become reliant upon their superior technology.

"I'm assuming we cannot afford to spare the manpower to babysit a pit? Stakes or perhaps flooding it to a certain depth might work. So that the monster impales itself and cannot crawl out before it drowns?"

Edited 2016-06-16 03:30 (UTC)

She'll remember he suggested that, for better or worse.

Maketh shakes her head. "Not unless we baited it. And even then, I can't guarantee an increased effectiveness. The monsters don't always eat the same things. But a drowning pit would be easy enough to fashion."

Less dangerous to their citizens, too. She's fairly certain all of them can swim.

Hux would certainly not apologize for suggesting they utilize whatever weapons they had at their disposal.

"Assuming that the monsters can't swim or climb their way out. I wonder if we are making this too complicated? Considering the man-hours required to construct such a pit."

He frowned down at the map before he started to scribble down a crude sort of over-view of the main part of the city.

"I don't suppose any of the people you know have something akin to the Force-push? If so, if we can move the rubble to our advantage around the city center then we could lay in switchback paths that make the monsters fight us for every centimeter of territory. It won't help with the long-range defenses but if we can at least give ourselves a safe-zone to work with."

"None that I'm aware of." And she knows almost everyone in Hadriel. Maketh rubs her forehead. "There are a few who are stronger than they ought to be, but none who could move debris that heavy."

It wouldn't matter if they had the proper construction equipment - or a proper shield generator - but the gods, in all their magnanimous wisdom, have declined to provide them.

"The threats change," Maketh says abruptly, "but they occur on a schedule. It can be predicted."

Under normal circumstances, she would guard that information jealously. This a siege, however, and Hux has earned his rank. Therefore he'll be useful if he knows what she does. Maketh has never been one to waste the tools in her arsenal.

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and i feel like i've got a gun

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How do I research this without ending up on a government watchlist. XD

the eternal dilemma

Like srsly. I'm assuming she's making homemade napalm?

yep! extreme version of a molotov cocktail

blah blah star wars has real world organic chemistry I guess. XD

XD

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