arcreact | ( savrou ) ic contact

[ All right, so, texting with glass fingers is not the easiest thing, although the MID's keyboard is more holographic than physical, so it could be worse.

It seems like the easier option at the moment, given his eye, and right now Snake's just feeling things out anyway. It may be he's barking up the wrong tree. ]

So, I seem to remember you said you can make just about anything. What about armor?

[ Oh, if only he knew. ]

[ LAUGHTRACK.WAV ]

i think i can manage, yeah

My left arm is glass from shoulder to fingertips. I need something to keep it protected while I fight. Preferably something lightweight that isn't going to hinder my movement too much.

Sound doable?

you're basically asking for an impact-absorbing exoskeleton
the engineering is easy enough

[ It's really, really not, but he's Tony Stark, so. ]

but around here, the hard part is materials

[ It doesn't sound easy at all, but Snake's best friend has designed and constructed a bipedal robot and can hack through just about anything, so...

He's used to this brand of confidence, at least. ]

It doesn't help when half the ship is also glass.

Maybe we'll get lucky and stop off at a resource-rich planet next. Until then, I'm guessing I just have to put up with this, right?

not necessarily
you'd be surprised how much junk scrap is around, from abandoned Caducan weapons alone

but failing that
putting in a mail request for aluminum-steel alloy probably wouldn't turn TOO many heads
i'm sure people have asked for weirder shit

I picked up a few of those myself. If you think they'll work, I can drop them off to you.

And I've asked the mail drop for weapons before, so definitely more suspicious than some alloy.
How much would you need?

it's a start, at any rate

i won't know an exact amount until i've gotten to thoroughly fondle your glass appendage

[ Christ. Is this just how he is? It wasn't the alcohol talking during their first conversation?

Snake doesn't have much of a choice, so he rolls with it. ]

When are you free?

shift's over at 7
which means i'll be done working by 11

[ Or, you know, never. Just literally never done working. ]

[ Why is it that all scientific types are workaholics? Not that Snake can judge. He doesn't really have much of a life beyond his work.

It takes a matter of seconds to look up Stark's job assignment. Engineer. Well, he's not sure what he expected. ]

Where do they have you, the engine room? I can swing by there, unless you don't like to be bothered while you're working.

[ The world should be thanking the scientific types for being workaholics tyvm. ]

wouldn't make a difference honestly
do you know how many clowns are already down here on a daily basis?

Clowns? Really?

[ What kind of insult is that? ]

I'll come by after hours, bring the weapons I salvaged.

perfect
i love presents

[ Snake doesn't reply to that, but he does appear in the engine room a little after 10 o' clock. Not that time means much here, when the suns or moons they're traveling past change from week to week, but it helps to keep track all the same.

He's wearing the standard uniform, and he's also got gloves covering both hands for now. The part he didn't tell Tony about over text is that his right eye has also been turned to glass. That's a little hard to armor or do much of anything about, he figures.

Over his shoulder is slung a backpack, which he's filled with the three Caducan blasters he chose to bring. (One he's keeping for himself.) He steps over to where Stark is working, lets the pack gingerly hit the floor, and lifts a hand in greeting. His eyes, one normal and one glass, flick to what Tony's working on.

Whatever that is. ] What are you doing? [ He may not know much about this stuff, but he's curious all the same. ]

[ Snake will find Tony halfway inside the innards of a machine that towers at least a dozen feet high, motor oil and soot streaked across his face, tool belt stuffed to the point that it barely manages to hold off gravity's onslaught. He looks up sharply when Snake arrives, almost like he's surprised to see him there. Chances that he entirely forgot about this arrangement are good.

But, as with anything, he rolls with it immediately. ]

I'm adjusting the weight distribution within the east engine's A3 turbine, so that we don't all die in a fiery explosion. [ This is said in the same tone someone might use to say "I'm making pancakes" or "I'm watering the daffodils". He steps out of the open panel, shoving his work goggles up onto his forehead. ] I'm guessing those are the goods?

[ Snake doesn't particularly care if Tony forgot until this moment, seeing how he jumps right to it. His explanation, and the casual way in which he delivers it, earns a nod and a reply that's equally casual. ] Generally a good thing. [ What kind of shape would the ship be in if there weren't some engineers among the crew, he wonders.

When asked about the pack he brought, Snake slides it off his shoulder and unzips it, pulling out one of the blasters to hand over. It's not quite like a gun, but it's similar enough that it's made out of some kind of metal. ]

There's two more in there just like it. [ He lets the pack fall to the ground for Tony to take if he wants it, then goes about yanking off his uniform top. He's wearing a tank top undershirt beneath it, but the lack of sleeves means his glass arm is exposed. He pulls off his left glove too, letting both that and his shirt fall to the floor.

After a slight pause of hesitation, Snake extends his arm toward Tony. ] Fondle away.

[ Tony sets his tools aside so that he can drag the bag over and scrutinize the guns inside. He takes a moment to lift one out and turn it over in his hands. From his expression and the way he touches the thing, it's clear he's familiar with the construction and has probably already identified almost every material it's made out of. ]

These'll do. [ He sniffs, the former weapons designer in him judging whoever's responsible for these. He's already thought of five improvements. ] Good for melting down, anyway.

[ He drops the gun back into the bag with its companions and moves it aside, eyes immediately going to Snake's now-visible arm. ]

I thought you'd never ask.

[ Tony has a flashlight in his right hand almost faster than mortal men can see him move, the left circling Snake's wrist so that he can beckon him to shift his arm this way or that while he examines the damage. Well - damage in a manner of speaking, anyway. ]

[ Snake would definitely define it as damage, given that it's essentially turns it into a bum arm for him. That would be an serious inconvenience for a civilian, but it's even worse for a soldier.

Surprisingly compliant, he turns the arm around with Tony's nudging, twisting and turning it to show off as much as he can. The flashlight's beam pierces through the glass, projecting prisms of light onto the floor. ]

Have a lot of people been coming to you with requests like this?

[ Snake would like to get an idea of just how many people have been affected. He doubts most people are going to be sharing this kind of thing on the MID, though. ]

Not exactly like this, unless you count fixing some giant robot people and building dog-armor. The giant robot people aren't as sturdy as you might expect, incidentally.

[ Tony makes a non-committal 'huh' sound once he's done examining the arm himself - it is morbidly fascinating to see technology like this turned to perfectly crystalline glass - and sets the flashlight aside. ]

Your turn, J.

[ He says this to seemingly no one, but turns his wrist around so that the MID is facing Snake's arm, and starts recording on a video feed. ]

I can have him produce a schematic to run simulations on. Shock-absorption is obviously the most important thing, but we don't want it putting any additional pressure on these components, either. I don't know if you got the 'diamond-strong destroyer of drill-bits' glass or the 'sneeze and it turns to fairy dust' glass, and I don't feel like finding out.

[ Not as sturdy as they'd expect, huh? ] I'll have to keep that in mind. [ Snake says it half under his breath as his mind shifts in an entirely different direction. If things come to a head with a Tarn, he should really make sure he's got some heavy-duty weaponry on hand. Maybe he should ask Niko to lend him a few RPGs after all...

The mention of some unseen "J" jerks Snake out of his robot-destroying thoughts and he raises an eyebrow, tilting his head to one side as he watches Stark's MID record.

Fine, he'll just ask. ] Him?

—And yeah, I don't have any plans to find out either. [ Hence why he'd gone to Tony in the first place, but shock absorption seems like a good place to start. ]

[ A prim British voice floats up from the MID, answering that question. ]

JARVIS, Mr. Snake.

[ Tony rolls his eyes at "Mr. Snake", what the fuck, but doesn't actually offer anything about reptile fetishes right now. Novel. ]

Homegrown AI. He does the heavy lifting so I can do the delicate, tediously intricate lifting.

[ While Tony rolls his eyes at that, Snake pulls a face as if someone just stepped on his toes. He's never in his thirty-seven years been called Mr. Snake before and it just sounds wrong. Code names don't work that way.

On the other hand, he isn't that comfortable with the idea of communicating directly with an AI, so he doesn't correct JARVIS. ]

Mhm. [ It's little more than a grunt, but there's a hint of disapproval there. ] Homegrown means it's contained, right? None of this footage is going to get leaked? [ He's about two seconds away from jerking his arm back. He'd figured that discretion had been implicit in his request, but maybe he should have been more clear from the start. ]

[ Tony just gives him a look that's nothing short of offended. ]

This guy knows more of my secrets and proprietary tech than any person living or dead, in any universe. You really think I'd have him in an uninsulated environment?

[ Don't worry, man, he's just as paranoid as you. ]

[ The way that Tony speaks about his AI like it's an actual person is a little disconcerting, but Snake ultimately leaves his arm hanging in place. ]

Fine.

[ There's a pause, and then: ]

I've seen what can happen to an AI if it's infected with a virus. It's not pretty.

[ Raiden had told Snake enough about GW's strange behavior to give him the creeps, and he'd seen firsthand how the RAYs had gone haywire. Unfortunately, he's in a beggars-can't-be-choosers situation right now. ]

( savrou ) ic contact

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