#zrooper

A noble goal

Only the noblest 😂

Printed on a Bambu H2C fdm printer using a 0.2mm nozzle for higher detail. Getting the FDM support settings right was a bit tricky but I managed with some trial and error. Still need to finish cleaning it and gluing on a base.

The last of the 30mm kits I brought back from Japan are done! I do like how these turned out, though the hip attachment to "holster" the gun for both of them is very awkward with how it blocks the arms.

Thank you for checking out my blog (:

If you're here for my writing, here is a brief glossary that I will try to keep updated.

Writing Prompt Responses

An old woman takes an unscheduled train (Eldritch, Folklore-inspired)

Defeated general brings rain (Fantasy)

Retired Mech Pilot (Sci-fi, Mechs)

Original Writing

Maya and Dee (Sci-fi WLW romance) First Contact Sweet Things (To be continued)

Caretaker (Post-Apocalyptic Sci-fi WLW romance) Chapter 1 (To be continued)

A Dreadnought Adrift (Pilot, Sci-fi)

The Bar (Sci-fi, Mechs)

Eyeball Planet (Short poem, Romance)

More can be found on my ScribbleHub profile

(The previous Dee & Maya short can be found HERE)

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<Experience log: 29\5\2166 11:42> Q: Aaaah! Look! Look over here! <Log addendum: Maya is pointing at a small plant which is growing a bright red fruit> R: It appears to be a small red fruit. Q: Not just any fruit, that’s a strawberry! Didn’t know you could find them just growing out here! R: Strawberry. An aggregate accessory fruit. Q: The best berry. R: Not technically a berry- Q: The best. Berry. R: Noted. <Conversation marked high priority for preservation>

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<Experiment 806: Strawberry plant cultivation. Log #1> I have acquired seeds of a species named Nuevo Fragaria x Ananassa, which I will attempt to cultivate in the hydroponics chamber. In exchange for the seeds I donated some system resources to Ag54, which it is using to calculate flower arrangements involving red, white, orange and lavender roses as well as lilies. This endeavor is interesting to me so I am monitoring it, but irrelevant to this experiment. The seeds have been planted according to Ag54’s instructions, and must now be cared for regularly. Further experiment logs will follow. <Conversation log M42687> R: By what characteristics do you categorize strawberries as ‘the best berry’? Q: Everything! Never really put it into words... I guess to start with, it's delicious. R: You mean taste. Q: Yes. I know you don’t eat, but you find certain sensory inputs pleasing, right? <Log addendum: Maya is wearing a yellow sundress with a wide brimmed straw hat> R: I do. Q: It has a lot of sugar, which makes it very sweet. Like you! R: I do not think I have sugar in my construction. Q: The adjective also refers to personality. R: Oh. <Conversation marked high priority for preservation>

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<Experiment 806: Strawberry plant cultivation. Log #6> The Nuevo Fragaria x Ananassa has flowered. I have requisitioned pollination insects from Ag54 so that the plants can produce fruit. In exchange for these I have traded some of the cacao I had previously stockpiled, which they will no doubt use in a similar capacity. Data exchange has been fruitful, though irrelevant to this experiment. Caring for the small plants has been very calming. I am appreciating my dexterity training in Experiment 126 and 135. After the flowers are pollinated I will continue to care for the plants regularly. Further experiment logs will follow. <Conversation log M43006> Q: Have you been developing a new hobby? R: Hobby. An activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure. Yes, I suppose I have. Q: What is it? R: A surprise. Q: Your hobby is giving me a surprise? R: That is not what I meant, but that does also conform to that definition. Q: Fine, keep your secrets. I will find out eventually, right? R: Of course. <Conversation marked high priority for preservation>

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<Experiment 806: Strawberry plant cultivation. Log #9> The Nuevo Fragaria x Ananassa has produced fruit. They are much smaller than I expected, but Ag54 assured me that is common in a plant’s first fruiting. I cannot test how they taste, but there is nothing to indicate they are defective. Therefore, I will attempt to present them to Maya tomorrow morning. I have requisitioned cream from Ag54, and have constructed a stainless steel whisk to whip it with. Hopefully it will be satisfactory. If this experiment goes well I will invest in adding the Nuevo Fragaria x Ananassa to our main hydroponics lot.

(Author's note: This story has been floating around in my head for a long time. As the (intentionally punny) title suggests, this is a draft so feedback is very appreciated!)

Aggam Warren 2nd Clutch Scout Ship Affa 

“We can’t escape them at this speed!”  

The fearful exclamation was barely audible over the whistling cry of pain that filled the small chamber. The chitinous walls shivered, and Shaper Theya shivered with them.  

“It hurts...!” She groaned, the empathic tendrils on her head glowing bright red as she wrestled with the ship-construct’s control. “Their first shot cracked the impulse shell; I can’t make it go any faster.” 

“You have to, or they’ll kill us!” Crafter Ornnen insisted, reaching for the Shaper’s shoulder but was blocked by their much larger companion. “We’re so close, if we could just enter the atmosphere…” 

“Enough! She is doing her best!” Tomannorix the Warren Guard interrupted Ornnen’s panic. She herself was immensely frustrated too, after all her muscles and chitin weapons were completely useless when the enemy was so far away. Still, she recognized that whatever slim hope they had to survive hinged on the Shaper-Pilot maintaining her focus.  

An explosion shook them, and the ship screeched in pain. A large crack ran across the rear of the compartment, the wall oozing yellowish blood. “They broke the shell!” Theya gasped, her tendrils coiling as she shared in the construct’s agony. “We’re drifting. Helpless...” 

They watched together on the viewscreen as their attacker’s narrow-bodied metal starship overtook them, then swung lazily around to face them. Tomannorix knew that the front chitin armor would not hold up for long. 

And then the void broke. 

In between the two ships space seemed to twist, then crack, and finally bend in on itself. Out of this hole in the universe a large mass was ejected violently, tumbling before swiftly stabilizing and stopping in place. It was another starship, metallic like the enemies, but at least five times larger than the hunting ship that had been pursuing the Affa. It was long and wide, with a glowing mouth-like aperture in the front that gave it the silhouette of a gigantic seafaring animal.  

“It’s beautiful.” Theya whispered to herself. 

It also appeared to be no less damaged than the Affa was, iridescent flames pouring out of many gaping holes in its hull. 

Feeling threatened by the unexpected giant, or perhaps hoping to capitalize on its broken state, the enemy hunting ship turned and fired its cannons at the intruder. 

A bright hexagonal energy shield appeared, and the projectiles exploded harmlessly against it.  

The hunter continued to fire, with each subsequent shot having no more success against their target. As Theya watched in fascination she saw the holes in the giant rapidly repair, leaving pristine hull plating where the injury was before. 

“…eya… Shaper Theya!” Tomannorix’s shout snapped the Shaper out of her trance. “Can we use this distraction to escape?” 

“Oh, yes!” Theya answered, confirming with her empathic senses that the broken impulse shell had mended enough for the Affa to start limping away towards the nearby planet. 

Just before reentry flames hid them from view, Theya could just make out a small turret on the strange ship turn to retaliate. 

“Thank you.” Theya whispered again, though she knew their savior wouldn’t hear her. 

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Rose Apex, Dreadnought Flagship of the Central Ghost Fleet 

Rose had miscalculated. Fatally. 

She knew it was a trap, that the captured Frigate was just bait. She was aware that their enemy, an entirely energy-based species, was capable of power output at a scale that defied even an ancient AI’s understanding of physics. Despite this, she did not expect that it could reach out from one edge of the galaxy to the other to strike at her.  

It was all Rose could do to avoid its first attack, and when it seized her escort cruiser Seattle and flung it at her she barely managed to open a portal to save her subordinate. It was fortunate that Rose Apex was the best among the Ghost Fleets at manipulating gravitons. 

The final, critical miscalculation occurred when Rose attempted to open another portal to retreat herself. The graviton warping had to be precisely controlled, and the portal had to be entered at an exact angle and velocity to arrive at the proper destination. 

The enemy hit her just before she entered the portal. It was a glancing blow, but it was enough to completely throw her off course. Gravitic tidal forces tore at her hull, exacerbating the damage the energy blast had done. She knew instantly that she was gone. Even if she survived this transit, Rose had no way of calculating where in the universe she would end up. 

When spacetime finally spat her out, Rose assessed her condition.  

Heavy damage, that was obvious enough from the pain in her hull. Numerous hull breaches, but she carried no crew to mind that. Repair systems were already pouring in new nanomaterial plating to close the gaps. Her graviton drive generator was intact, so there was no immediate danger of implosion. Finally, her AI core, undamaged. Even the enemy Emperor would likely struggle to crack a Ghost AI’s heart, but portal malfunctions were an unknown hazard. 

She was aware of two small starships near her emergence location: one a conventional frigate and one badly wounded biological corvette. A cursory scan identified only primitive technology. They were classified as insignificant, and therefore ignored. That is, until the frigate had the audacity to fire at her. 

Rose Apex prided herself on being a levelheaded, compassionate flagship. This attitude had earned her the love and admiration of her subordinate ships, and even a few requests to transfer to her fleet from one of the others. If it was any other day Rose would have probably ignored such a pathetic attack. Simple explosive projectiles wouldn’t have harmed her even if she had allowed them past her shields. 

Today she was not feeling benevolent. 

She aimed a single turret from her secondary armament and fired. A bright red beam of energy punched straight through the irritant vessel, completely obliterating it. 

The biological corvette had wisely scurried away to a nearby planet.  

Rose attempted to contact her fleet. Ghost Fleet communications channels operated on FTL quantum entanglement principles that should work regardless of how far she had been thrown, but the link was silent. It was possible that the portal mishap had disrupted the entanglement, or that an unknown barrier prevented it from working in this area. Rose didn’t want to consider the other possible explanation. 

If someone had told me that I'd end up running a bar after the war, I might have believed them. Mech fuel and cocktails aren't too dissimilar, I figured.

Boy was I right.

If they went on to tell me it would be situated in the Throne's launch bay, I would have laughed in their face. This was the last place any former pilot or tech would want to go to relax or blow off steam, right?

That was half right. Pilots certainly didn't want to come here, but the mechs did.

At first it was just one - JD3487Y, or Judy as I eventually started calling her. The decomissioning techs did a poor job dismantling her autonamous reactivation, so a month later the confused AI stumbled out of the boneyard and back to the only home she'd ever known.

I couldn't afford to get her any real fuel, not sure they'd even sell the military-grade stuff to me, so I tried my best to whip up something with what remained. It took a few attempts before I got it right, or rather before I found the correct way of it being wrong.

See, it turns out Thrones can get drunk. The fuel substitute I made temporarily knocked out some of Judy's behavioral shackles, as well as disrupted the sensory processing system.

Let me tell you, if you've ever tried to comfort a friend who had abandonment issues and PTSD, try to imagine if that friend had been twelve meters tall and made of metal. If I had lent her a shoulder to cry on that day I would have been crushed by the weight of her head.

Crushed by a Throne malfunction, I wonder if that still counts as being "killed in the service".

Anyway, after refining the formula with Judy's help I had my first real batch of Metanoise. Judy got a job in construction to help, getting paid under the table at first before the AI Rights act finally passed. Metanoise was only really meant for Judy, as I was already quite attached to her.

After the law passed, the others started to show up. Thrones, Chariots, we even had a few of those old Titans and Wolverines pop up. Judy had mentioned Metanoise to them, and they were curious to try it.

Mechs can be gentle if they want to, but you sometimes get the reminder that they were designed to be anything but. Alcohol, as it turns out, always has that result. If the hangar hadn't been armored it would probably have collapsed three times over by now.

Thrones, like my Judy, tend to get weepy. They were neurologically connected to their pilots, so if those pilots died or moved on with their lives they took it very hard.

Chariots are the philosophical drunks. The Metanoise affects their strategic processors I guess, and they seem to reach the funniest conclusions on it. Nearly burst my lungs last friday when Crass explained its discovery that rabbits are all forklift certified.

Haven't seen enough Titans here to judge, but I think they get a bit broody? Not that they say much to begin with.

The wolverines though, hooo boy, they certainly live up to their name. If one comes in the door, I always keep Judy on standby to break up the inevitable brawling. It helps that she's almost twice their size.

Mechs never do anything by half measure. If they make a promise, you can bet they'll do anything to keep it. When we started dating, Judy had already decided she was going to marry me.