2022.06.17:Warwagon Testing, Phase 1

Warwagon Testing, Phase 1
A Hummer EV is put through some harsh testing.
IC Date	June 17, 2022
IC Time	Afternoon
Players	Jackie, Branton, MiraFaith
Location	A desert testing site.

6/17/2022 22:21:24 Branton lead the group out to the dry flat wilderness, along an abandoned rural road. The facility has a couple of rounded topped hanger buildings and some square metal sheds. There are also an assortment of concrete traffic barriers and derelict vehicles scattered about. All of it looks like its been shot, electrocuted, blown to hell and back, or even (in one case) struck by lightning so bad its like it got smote by an angry god. A fairly ornate wrought iron bird fountain (done in a corvid theme) stands untouched near the picnic tables and a small fire pit. Branton climbs out of his van "Welcome to my testing facility."

6/17/2022 22:23:42 Jackie pulls her car in behind his and hops out, looking around with wide eyes. "Wow, this place looks like it's seen more crazy action than the set on Mythbusters."

6/17/2022 22:25:05 Mira stares about the place in amazement, "Wow.. what happened here? Looks like something blew up. Well, lots of somethings." She tilts her head and frowns at the fountain, "Well, at least the fountain was spared." She laughs at Jackie's reaction. "It does!"

6/17/2022 22:28:21 Branton grins broadly at Jackie's reaction "Pretty much. Some of my inventions are a tad...explosive. Sometimes they're even supposed to be." Then to Mira "I did a deal with a sun spirit to rehome some elementals that had gotten caught up in some shenanigans the local mages got up to. Building the fountain was what the spirit wanted in trade, Helios favors the Corax."

6/17/2022 22:32:22 Jackie grins at the statue. "Ok, so that's one of the things that's not supposed to explode, got it. So, what's on the agenda? I wasn't exactly clear on what you needed tested out for this."

6/17/2022 22:33:18 Mira ahs and nods at Branton, "It's a beautiful fountain, I can tell a lot of work was put into it." She smiles, "The only Corax I've met was strange but I liked him well enough." She nods at Jackie, "Right, what are we building today? Something awesome I hope."

6/17/2022 22:36:39 Branton grins at Jackie and tosses over a set of keys "The truck is over in the hanger on the end. The terrain around here isn't too rough but you should have plenty of obstacles to try manuvering around. One of my ideas for how we can improve the vehicle is to awaken the object's spirit. Then you could fuel it with Gnosis and the spirit could help reinforce the truck's structure. But that requires we get to know the truck, for your part especially that means driving it. I have magic tools that I can use to repair anything you might do to it in the process, resetting it back to how it is now. So no need to be gentle."

6/17/2022 22:41:04 Jackie's grin damn near reaches her ears. "Holy shit, that may be the single greatest thing I've ever heard in my life. Who wants shotgun?!" She starts off towards the hangar, not exactly running but not showing a lot of restraint in her pace either.

6/17/2022 22:42:40 Mira beams at Jackie's expression before nodding and following behind her. "Sure, I'll ride with you. This is going to be great, I can already tell." Jackie's excitement is infectious and there is a bounce to Mira's step as she follows her.

6/17/2022 22:48:09 Branton gets out a laptop and sets up some links to cameras he'd placed around the facility. When the ladies reach the truck there's a short range radio sitting loose on the dash and it gives a bzzt-hiss and Branton's voice comes out "So we can stay in touch during the test. I have surveillance set up to capture test footage and healing magic standing by. Just don't actually die, I can fix anything else."

6/17/2022 22:52:22 Jackie whistles at the sight of the big machine, then does a lap around it to see it from all the angles. She climbs into the drivers seat and buckles in while looking over the controls. Then she looks up to Mira before powering the beast on. "Oh yeah, we didn't really explain much of this, did we? It turns out GM makes an electric Hummer, and we're gonna make it better and meaner. Don't forget to buckle up. And you can manage the radio. Both of them, if you want."

6/17/2022 22:55:57 Mira walks a circle around the truck with an impressed look on her face, grinning excitedly at Jackie as she climbs up into the passenger seat. "Oh yeah? So kind of what you did with your Subaru then?" She nods and picks up the radio to respond, "We'll try not to die, no promises though." She chuckles before saying to Jackie, "I'm ready, let's do this." She buckles up and gets comfortable.

6/17/2022 23:03:00 Branton settles himself in to monitor the laptop and watch Jackie's driving. In to the radio he adds "Okay. Cameras online, commence testing when ready."

6/17/2022 23:08:18 Jackie glides the big truck out of the hangar door carefully enough to avoid damaging the building, as that seems like it would be rude. But as soon as she's clear she starts pushing it faster and faster, weaving it to see how well it grips the rough surface as the speed increases. It's no race car, but she's trying to see how close she can get it to behaving like one, and the faster it gets and the harder the turns the bigger her grin gets. "Are we having fun yet? You don't get motion sickness, do you?"

6/17/2022 23:12:02 Mira sits up in her seat with a wild cheer as the speed picks up and they begin to nearly race around the entirety of the airfield. She keeps one hand on the dash to steady herself while shaking her head at Jackie, "Not at all, go faster!" She laughs before asking over the radio, "Anything specific you need us to do or is just driving enough?"

6/17/2022 23:14:15 Branton grins as things get started and he answers "I'm looking for a stress test. Some of the spells I'll be using to reinforce the truck are to be put on points of likely failure. I know what the schematics say might break but we need to push it, to see where the stress actually accumulates."

6/17/2022 23:19:14 Jackie nods, her knuckles tightening on the wheel as her foot gets heavier on the gas. She starts building speed and throwing it into hard turns over rough ground, really giving it to the suspension. "This might be a good time to grab the oh shit handle, by the way."

6/17/2022 23:22:43 Mira happens to be grabbing said handle as Jackie speaks, looking over to give her an excited giggle, "I love this hummer, it's fast!" She's pushed back into her seat as they hit a rough bump but she doesn't appear worried. "Ooh, see if you can drift with it. And maybe a burnout? That's a good stress test."

6/17/2022 23:25:56 Branton comments "Its rated for a maneuver called crab walking? If you can pull it off it manages to go diagonally?"

6/17/2022 23:42:16 Branton keeps recording data from the cameras and other sensors on the truck (engine temp, rpms, etc) and occasionally calls out for Jackie to do something specific to see how the readouts change. Eventually the it is the power systems that fail, it takes a lot of electricity to move a vehicle that big in the ways Jackie is making it move. So when it becomes too much and the power steering, digital dashboard displays, and running lights all flare and then crash out Branton yells "Cut the engine, I think something just blew."

6/17/2022 23:47:03 Jackie smells smoke and ozone, and kills the power. She turns and giggles to Mira. "Well that went badly in the best possible ways, huh?"

6/17/2022 23:48:09 Mira nod nods at Jackie as the hummer finally gives out, "It lasted waay longer than I thought though, that was impressive."

6/17/2022 23:53:32 Branton nods at Mira and Jackie as he comes over, taking a rune carved claw hammer from his belt "From the way the lights flared I'm guessing it was the wiring that finally gave it up. You two alright?"

6/17/2022 23:55:34 Jackie slides down out of the cab, still grinning. "Yeah, fine! A bit of a fast heart rate, I think, but for good and healthy reasons. Shit, I wouldn't have believed something this big could move like that without trying it myself.

6/17/2022 23:56:49 Mira hops out of the vehicle with a nod, "Just fine. Had my heart pounding and my blood racing, but that's part of the fun." She grins over at Jackie, "I was thinking the same thing! It's huge but moves so well."

6/18/2022 0:06:34 Branton is giving the exterior of the truck a once over, occasionally fiddling with his enchanted hammer and giving something a tap "And that's before we change a thing. This is going to be so much fun." Not every tap but every so often there's a bit of a white flash as magic is being worked.

6/18/2022 0:13:57 Mira tilts her head as she senses something, peering over Branton's shoulder curiously. "Wait.. what was that? I thought I saw a flash or something.. maybe I need some sleep.." She laughs but doesn't stop watching intently, her curiosity now piqued. "So what are you doing to it if you don't mind me asking?"

6/18/2022 0:16:08 Jackie does her own nonmagical survey of the damage poking around the opposite side from Branton and staying out of his way. "It definitely took a lot of abuse to get it to fail. I'll bet they never pushed it so hard in factory trials."

6/18/2022 0:20:51 Branton grins at Mira and points at where there's some visually obvious wear on one of the tires, and then he gives the tire a tap with the hammer and the wear just...vanishes. The tire reverts to being as if it was brand new as he explains "Cheating outrageously. I've studied a lot of different kinds of magic of different sorts of supernatural beings and if I have enough time to build and prepare? I can fake a lot of it at need. This trick comes from a being called an Annunaki, and their Lore of the Forge."

6/18/2022 0:24:07 Mira blinks and wows in surprise as the damage just vanishes with Branton's hammer tap. "That's so cool! I bet that saves soo much time too." She tilts her head and a flicker of recognition can be seen in her eyes as he mentions Annunaki, "Oh, I've heard of them before. I had no clue they had powers like these though." She hmms and continues to watch him work over the vehicle with interest.

6/18/2022 0:26:32 Jackie just shakes her head. "Wow, that is an impressive cheat code. I guess we'll never see any of your cars in the shop, huh?"

6/18/2022 0:29:07 Branton shrugs at Mira "I don't know where they got the name from, just that's what my source called them. We might not be talking about the same beings. The ones I'm talking about are....well according to Garou cosmology they're like Posessed, but by spirits from the High Umbra. Rather than the Middle." Jackie gets a nod "Truth. And an advanced application of that same tool can improve an object. It doesn't add any features that don't already exist but it enhances and amplifies what it already has."

6/18/2022 0:33:46 Mira frowns at Branton, "Oh, I guess they aren't the same thing I was thinking of. The Annunaki I heard of was Mesopotamian deities." She laughs, "It wouldn't surprise me if they actually existed all things considered." She beams at Jackie, "Your driving was phenomenal. I can't wait until we race each other. Though now I'm less sure of my victory." She laugh softly as she watches the hummer get fixed up.

6/18/2022 0:37:45 Jackie looks at them blankly during their discussion of the esoterica, clearly not following. She catches back up with the thread when Mira moves back to discussing the driving and grins back at her. "Oh, you liked that? I mean, I do like to be able to back up my bragging. I guess you just better have your dress ready once you get your car working."

6/18/2022 0:46:01 Branton finishes up his repairs "They probably do out there in the umbra somewhere. All the old gods do. Just the ones people still worship and remember are going to be easier to find. And if their people call them, like a Fenrir invoking the Norse gods, those spirits are more likely to answer." Then to Jackie "There we are, good as new. Just need to plug it in for a recharge to top off the battery. Apparently that doesn't register to the spell as damage."

6/18/2022 0:49:48 Mira nods as Branton offers his thoughts, "Yeah, I could see that. I've never called on the Norse gods myself. I'm not sure anything would happen if I did." She smiles at Jackie and sticks out her tongue playfully, "I could say the same to you! I'm not throwing in the towel yet. It'll be great watching you make a mess on your dress." She snickers and steps back to look at the vehicle, "Looks good as new already, that was insanely fast."

6/18/2022 0:54:08 Jackie flips the keyring around on her finger and heads for the driver's seat. "Alright, I'll get it pulled back into the bay and plugged in. Assuming there's enough juice left for that. And I don't know, I still like my odds, Mira. But in the interest of fairness, I'll keep mine ready too."