Heart of Steel

Chapter 6: Power Source

----

After spending some time with Maiden, Vulca made his way back to his hangar. Maiden was rather tame today, the two of them just going shopping for some gaming stuff she wanted. Was pretty relaxing all things considered but Vulca had one thing on his mind most of the time there. What is he going to use to power it? He shook his head to get the thoughts out of his head and turned back to Maiden. 

"So ya want this one?" 

"Yeah, I heard it's pretty ergonomic and rather comfortable to hold." Maiden explained. 

"Sure, I can get it for you." 

"!" Maiden's eyes widened.

"Comman- I mean, Vulca that isn't necessary you know. I can pay." 

"Nah, I wanna spoil ya." Vulca winked. Way to go ladykiller. After purchasing it and heading out of the store, Maiden was practically swooning, head in the clouds. Afterwards, the two parted ways Vulca headed back to Mighty Tools. He bid Centi hello as he headed to his hangar. There's not much left to work on and it should be finished in the next two weeks.

"Not much left to work on, Hana. It'll all be worth it soon." He said thinking back to the first Nikke he ever commanded and the one he was closest to in his original squad. A sigh left his lips as he put on his working gloves, goggles, and mask. As he worked on the remaining parts of the project, one thing became abundantly clear. He was going to need a better power source for this sooner rather than later. Thinking back to when I visited Frima a while ago, I remembered when she put someone's BlaBla ID on. Feeling like he'd run out of options and not wanting Liter to yell at him for causing another blackout, Vulca shot them a text. They replied a lot sooner than expected.

Vulca: Yo is this Elegg? Frima told me about ya

Elegg: How did you get my ID? Ooop, nvm.

IllVulca: From Frima. She said you knew your way around a power source.

Elegg: Well . . . I'd be happy to help with your electricity problems!

Ellegg: Can I ask a question though?

Vulca: Shoot for it

Elegg: Can I run BOOM on this project of yours? 

Vulca: what

Following that weird Interaction, Vulca waited for the Nikke in question to show up outside the hangar. After some waiting, Vulca noticed that some of the screens in the distance changed their displays to be running some sort of game with an armored, angry dude in it. What that forbode, was beyond Vulca's imagination. Around the corner up skipped a Nikke with blonde hair covering her hair. 

"Are you, Vulca?" 

"That's me. Elegg I take it? Frima told me when it came to power sources that you were responsible for the Arc's generator." 

"That's me, haha! Wasn't expecting Frima to talk highly of us like that!" Elegg said, beaming with pride. 

"Us?" 

"Anyways, did you see my handiwork in the distance?" Elegg asked, pointing to the numerous screens in the distance. Vulca didn't know what to think of them so he just shrugged. Elegg called him a killjoy as the two went inside the hangar. Explaining the gist of his power problems, to which Elegg listened enthusiastically. 

"Well, I think we can work out something. I brought a few prototypes for us to try out." Elegg said setting them on a workbench. 

"Wow, ya didn't need ta-" 

"Well, from one engineer to another, I'd be glad to help you out. Plus Frima vetted you so you must be pre-tty cool." Elegg smiled toothily at Vulca.  Vulca's initial reservations about Elegg vanished in an instant, him smiling back at her as the two got to work. Vulca recreated the mainframe of the project minus the important parts to test the various prototypes Elegg brought and the two worked together. Eventually, they settled on the fifth prototype, with the two of them tweaking it to specifically have an overclock setting. 

"So what's it for if I can ask." Elegg asked whilst munching on the sandwiches he prepared (with Liter's help, he isn't allowed in the kitchen). "Something with that power consumption has to be pretty important." 

"Guess you could say that. Just know it's gonna turn the tide against our war against the rapture. I guess you could say I dream that my creations will help commanders and Nikke alike." Vulca said taking a bite. Elegg stared for a bit. That enthusiasm reminded her of her friend's dream . . . before her friend became a recluse for reasons still unknown to her. Seeing that Vulca was a commander who wanted to make things better for everyone and was doing everything in his power to do so with unfettered determination . . . She felt the drive to support him with as much energy as she could. After all, she wanted to at least try and help his friend. 

"That's pretty cool. Kinda reminds me of BOOM Guy." 

"Who?" 

"He's just the protagonist of the greatest game ever created! You kinda remind me of him . . . minus all the anger and tragic backstory." 

"Ehhh. . ." 

"But . . . what makes you two alike is that determination and drive. So I wanna do my best to help you stay powered up to keep fueling your dream and your project!" 

Vulca stared for a bit, mid-chew before he chuckled to himself. 

"I got a lot of support, I'd say. But I'd say the one ya offered just now is quite a fair bit different, electrifying even, pun intended. Thanks a million, Elegg." Vulca said, offering his fist to which Elegg bumped it in return. 

. . . 

After getting the basics on how to integrate it down to a tea, Vulca was seeing off Elegg. Elegg promised to call him later and then she could stream her BOOM speedruns for him to watch. Agreeing to it due to all the progress he was able to make thanks to her, Vulca somewhat looked forward to spending more time with her. 

"And remember to read the comics too! They flesh out BOOM Guy's backstory a lot! You'll love them." 

"Yeah, yeah I hear ya." 

After saying goodbye, Vulca's phone buzzed and he looked down at it expecting Maiden. Instead, his face paled as a sense of dread, annoyance, and irritation at the contact. He had hoped she'd leave him alone for longer considering a lot of the freelance commandeering he did was mostly for Missilis. He had to take a few breaths to calm down psyche himself up and open the BlaBla chat properly.

Syuen: Hey there, Vulcy. 

Syuen: Did you miss me?

Syuen: I know you did. 

Syuen: Anyways, you know the drill by now. I have a little favor to ask of you.

----