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TickTock
“I know already.” She grouches, teeth grinding down on the end of the cigarette. She turns and stamps across the floor, boots striking up an echoing clang on the metal as she grabs the unlit roll of tobacco from between her lips and points it at the clock hanging on the wall. The source of the first sound in the empty Zeiss Central Factory’s 4th floor. “Just let me fret a little more.” Papers are swept up by pale hands, and dark eyes sweep over the words again though the mind has already memorized each and every one.
Research Proposal | LZ - 01
The current state of the tactical orbment leaves much to be improved upon. To use an Orbal Art (hence force, Arts) a combatant must first take their hands off their weapon, pull the combat orbment out, align the energy sequence to contain the correct quartz they need, then set and aim the art itself while the orbment generates the necessary energy reaction to produce it. In every step of the way, inefficiencies are clear. The First -
Thus, I propose to undertake the development and testing of a new style of tactical orbment. One capable of firing arts off with the flick of the wrist. To prove with empirical results my models efficiency and power compared to the current model of tactical orbments.
Researcher: Laruiel of Zeiss
Supervisor: Professor Albert Russell
Her first research proposal, and Professor Russell had chuckled when he signed off on it. Her first theoretically functional model sitting on the table next to her, the model Professor Russell had approved for live testing with that smug smile of his. The model he’d told her that she’d have to wait a few days to test while they worked out how to integrate the newest set of engines into the new airship. The model that’s had her pacing long after closing hours, when the only ones left in the building were the night shift security and researcher’s like her… too obsessed with their work to leave the building even with the clocks sounding the eighteenth hour.
“A few days, fah. Might take the old man a week and a half to focus long enough to get back to me.” Grouses Lauriel, picking up the ornament as she absentmindedly places her cigarette back in her mouth. “What Russell doesn't know won’t hurt him? Right?” She asks of her invention, a question any teacher would hate to hear from their prize apprentice,
TickTock responds the clock, reminding her of the time, reminding her that she's all alone in the lab, talking to herself. She's being silly, it implies as the second hand ticks forward again, she's not acting like a responsible researcher but an impatient student. She should be better than this, a full six months out of school and into the real world.
Lauriel ignores the judgmental clock, what does it know anyways, choosing instead to run her fingers over the three time quartz slotted into the triangular array of the orbment. Action, Cast, and Luck all linked to each other. A design decision that left other researchers scratching their heads when she announced that departure from the traditional spiral arrangements, but she knows what she's doing, the energy flowing between the three quartz instead of needing to be powered in turn will create a cascading reaction that will ensure the orbment only needs to shape the energy to cast the arts, cutting out half the process.
“In theory…” she muses, tossing the orbment in the air and catching it, “But it needs to be tested.”TickTock goes the clock, the half hour mark.
A guilty glance over her shoulder, before she grabs a pencil and some paper and begins setting up the recording equipment. Muttering softly, “I'm just going to power it on, cast one weak spell. Then I can leave it alone okay Professor, you'd understand.” Photo-Quartz in the cameras, sensors aligned on her, secondary equipment slotted on her wrists and orbment hung around her neck. The moment of truth sees her drawing in a deep breath, then flicking her wrist twice to the left and sending the activation signal. The quartz begins to glow as time expands.
Tick … Tock goes the clock, the sound stretched out in a groan of grinding gears.
The time element builds up, the orbment channeling energy from one to the other and empowering her just like normal. The looping energy reaction from each quartz passing to the next, gathering and growing stronger with each cycle. A brilliant grin of victory on her face as she bounces in place, a subtle blur of motion around her as she moves through a set of exercises for the camera. Not moving any faster than usual, but her motions taking less time to complete making it seem as though she's moving at ridiculous speeds.
“Phase one testing complete, Orbment model LZ-1-B producing the expected passive effects. Energy output exceeding expected values by two point three percent but containment holding stable.” She narrates for the camera, eyes glued to the screens as she passes her cigarette between her fingers. “Commencing phase two testing.”
She holds her cigarette like the world's tiniest wand, directing it up, then down, then pointing at herself. The motions needed to release the energy in her orbment as the orbal art “Clock up”. The quartz glows as expected, then -
Time -
-tockTicktock -
Stops?
The world goes black as alarms begin to sound, echoing off the metal floors such that the echos reach her before the sound. The cold metal against her back…
Against her back?
She moves to rise and the world goes black again, everything blurry.
“Woops” says Lauriel, as the clock echos tickTockTock, the second hand vibrating in place, back and forth.
She faints.
-End Scene
