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[center][h1][b][color=tan]Free Workers of La Parranda[/color][/b][/h1][/center]
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[center][i]La Parranda, Engineering Design Laboratory - 7:19 p.m.[/i][/center]

"Stop rotation. Focus: head. Zoom fifty percent."

Doctor Santiago licked her lips as she inspected the design once more. The Tunnel Worm was a beauty to behold, she told herself proudly. The holographic image didn't do it justice, but she was able to see the tunneling mechanism quite clearly. Its head-mounted mining laser could melt through solid rock rapidly, brute force its way through dirt, and suffer no damage from doing so thanks to its durable, almost heat immune exterior. Its overlapping scales made for tough armor that still allowed it to maneuver like a worm should. The mouth was both a weapon - sharp, retractable blades arrayed like teeth made it so - and an alternative exit. A Big Bull could be "vomited" out from the worm, rapidly deployed onto the battlefield.

But the best part? [i]Nobody knew these things existed.[/i]

The thought pleased the Chief Engineer so very much. Her design was one-of-a-kind, and its first appearance on the field would be devastating, terrifying, and mortifying for whoever was on the receiving end. This version especially - the Mark I - would be particularly dangerous if it ever saw combat.

Santiago wanted to get the data from such an encounter soon.

Still, there were improvements that could be made to the machine. Smiling, Santiago moved her hand, rotating the holographic image manually. She thought for a moment, then swiveled around in her desk chair and tapped a few buttons on the keypad beside her, then quickly made a few quick taps on the digital drawing pad on her desk - just a few simple dots. "Connect them," she commanded the computer, and it obeyed. "Three-dimensionalize with these paramaters: real height is six hundred percent greater; width tapers from one centimeter to one meter." Again, the computer obeyed; a long, metal piece like a shark's dorsal fin appeared on the screen. "Sharpen," she added, licking her lips once again, eyes growing excited.

She glanced back at the hologram. Slowly, Santiago rose from her seat, shaking her head of long hair, and tugged at the gloves on her hands. "Copy image," she ordered, then reached out with her left hand and began tapping on the Tunnel Worm before her. Slowly, carefully, she added the fin-like blades to the worm, careful to cover every possible angle before stepping back again.

It was perfect. It was beautiful. It was terrifying.

"Yes," she mused, still working out the details in her head. "We'll need... certain metals. We'll need the best metals. Yes. Yes, we will." She had only just begun pacing around her lab when the device around her ear projected an image in the upper-right corner of her view. She stopped.

"Accept call," she said simply. Then, she grinned away at President de La Parranda's face. "Hey, [i]¡guapo![/i] What brings you to my humble abode?"

"Ai, but it is business this time," the President answered with a large grin. "[i]This[/i] time." The two of them spoke like this often, though the President was married. Santiago certainly didn't mind the prospect of casually romping with the man. "For now," Martin continued, "I want a report on those bullets you told me about. Marshal Asturias expressed some concern about-"

"Forget the bullets! And forget that corporate hound," Santiago rebuffed, waving her hand and turning so the President could see the Tunnel Worm behind her. "You shouldn't trust her, you know; she's been in deep with them for some time. But hey: I did finish those bullet design, [i]and[/i] look at the cute puppy I found!" She grinned over at the holographic machine covered in terribly sharp blades. "I think I'll call her Precious. What do you think?"

The President whistled. "She would keep [i]me[/i] awake for hours if I were to see her in person," he answered honestly. "And I assume that is on your agenda, no?"

"So it is! I need some rare metals, however; only the best will go into the prototype. I want the Mark I prototype outfitted with everything we weren't able to put on the Mark Zero." Santiago smacked a single button on her computer and began transferring a file to Martin. "Think you can get me that, [i]¿mi deseo?[/i]"

Martin's eyebrows rose up. "Those won't be cheap, but... I [i]am[/i] going to contact the Talon corporation."

"TSDC?"

"The very same," he answered, flicking a glance back at Santiago. "They won't have any spies in our midst yet. They don't know about our little secret. I feel confident we can secure a deal with them."

"What about that Eudaimonia colony?" asked the Chief Engineer. "Or New Horizon?"

"New Horizon may not be willing to negotiate," Martin thought aloud. "We are rebels, for one; we just destroyed another corporation. For two, we are a mining colony, and they are a mining company. I doubt they'll be open to any deal that isn't one-sided in their favor.

"As for Eudaimonia... Perhaps." Martin scratched his chin. "But I do not know what sort of resources are available to them. They may not have much in the way of rare metals. If they do have them, they'll be guarding this resources closely, I think, and we can't provide them with weapons."

"But we [i]can[/i] provide ourselves with them!" Santiago answered cheerfully, clicking another button on her computer. The image of the mechanical worm was replaced by one of a bullet and a lot of hovering text surrounding it. "These should do the trick. Meet the Viper Bullet: pumped full of enough radioactive materials that inject themselves into the bloodstream of whatever poor sop's unlucky enough to be on the receiving end! Even a slight dose should be able to kill a soldier so long as it penetrates skin. Should finish them off between a few minutes and several hours depending on where it hits and how deep it goes in."

"So, it will kill the wounded?" Martin asked, losing a bit of his grin.

"Oh, dear me!" Santiago replied with a mocking gasp, putting a hand up to her forehead. "A bullet designed to [i]kill[/i] people! [i]¡Que horrible![/i]"

Martin laughed hard at that, and the mirthful grin returned. "Touché, touché. Alright: I'll have the munitions factory start producing a few. It'll be a day or two since they need to train the personnel for dealing with hazardous materials. And is the new worm ready for production?"

"I'll need to make some finishing touches and have the other engineers give it a look-see," Santiago replied, grabbing a cloth from her desk and wiping her forehead. "But I should have it ready by tomorrow evening."

"You know what to do when it's ready. I'd like to chat, but... Well, the Marshal wishes to talk about the little secret again."

"Ugh. Of course she does." Santiago blew the President a kiss. "Keep sane, yes?"

"I will try!" he laughed. Then, his face vanished from her view, and her HUD collapsed.