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Phyx:
It was getting on to evening as the shift change started at Al’s, the staff chatting as they passed each other, remarking on the day’s events and passing along the evening’s appointments for the other side of the business. The convenience store/lunch counter was clean and well lit, with everything from diapers and baby formula to energy drinks and obscure snack offerings.
When Olivia has contacted the Armory she had been put in touch with an individual called Augur, who had given her an appointment time, while a small card with the company’s logo was placed into her post box a short time later. Showing the card as directed to the staff at the store would lead Olivia to the garage, currently empty with its bay doors closed, and from there to a wall panel next to an immense furnace. Getting close enough to the wall would cause a panel door to slide away, revealing an elevator that led downward.
Olivia:
Liv shrugs, figuring she's already far enough in as it is, walks into the elevator and heads down, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waits for it to reach its destination.
Phyx:
The elevator dinged about thirty seconds later, opening out into a fairly large, comfortable underground space. Bags of various workshop types lined the sides of the big room, extremely high end equipment outfitted into each for its specific purpose. There were racks of weapons and armor as well, clearly meant to showcase the work available, and spaces set aside for computer and scientific equipment, and a small lounge space at the back.
Standing amidst it all to greet his 4:30 was Phyx, goggles slid up on his head and a heavy leather apron around his torso, the pockets full of various measuring and notational equipment. As Olivia stepped out of the elevator he offered a light bow and a smile. “Welcome to the Ars Armory. I understand you’re Olivia? Augur gave me some notes on your request, but why don’t you come in and tell me what you’re looking for?” He offered out a hand in greeting, gesturing with the other one towards the lounge.
Olivia:
The Lost nods and shakes his hand. "I was hoping to get my hands on some more effective armor than the stuff I have now. All I have right now is some Kevlar. I figure with what I've heard of your work you can do better." She flashes a quick smile to Phyx and surveys the room slowly.
Phyx:
Phyx nodded at that, his handshake quick and even without any tricks. "Kevlar isn't admittedly up to my standards of quality no, though it can be an ok starting point. I tend to prefer a more layered, full spectrum approach." He gestured with his hand and walked over to the lounge. "Here at the Ars Armory we make everything bespoke and custom for the individual, and we don't tend to require explanations on why you might need a very specific condition fulfilled. In almost all cases certainly."
"I'll have to ask you to stand on the plinth when you're ready, so I can take all the measurements I need. If you could remove your shoes before doing so, that would be much appreciated. In the meantime, what sort of protection are you most concerned about? Kevlar is pretty good against small fire arms for instance, but is usually just a vest. Are you concerned with getting shot at? Or having to deal with things like melee weapons and blades and so forth? Mix of both?" A tape measurer appeared in his hands as he waited for Olivia to get comfortable. "Anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Soda? Water?"
Olivia:
Olivia thinks for a moment as she removes her shoes and steps onto the plinth. “Well, for the most part I’m going to be getting up close, so I will need something that works against melee weapons, though that doesn’t mean that potential assailants won’t try to shoot at me before I can get within arm’s reach, so I think a hybrid might be the way to go.” She stands still for a moment before adding, “oh, and while I realize they probably won’t be included, if there’s gloves they need to be fingerless.”
Phyx:
Phyx nodded, making a notation. “That makes sense, and I can totally work with that. But melee favored.” He took another few notes and waited as Olivia got up on the plinth. “It’s hands, arms, torso, legs and feet. Helmet if you need one. Fingerless gloves I can do for sure.” He got the tape measurer out and unspooled it.
“Ok so first I’ll just do all the regular stuff, and then we’ll get into the more minute measurements.” He started at the neck, carefully getting each number before moving on to the next. The directions and measuring were extremely clinical and precise, going through a set of instructions over time.
“Ok, breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Arm up. Arm to the side. Arm out straight. Arm bent. Make a muscle…” and so on and so on, taking an increasing list of measurements for how Olivia’s body moved and bent and straightened from one posture to the next, recording as many ways the body might change in stress or combat as possible.
Phyx:
“Also, design wise. I’m not exactly a Bo Brumel or anything, but what are your thoughts on what you want it to look like? Close to clothes as possible? Outright armor? More concealed?”
Olivia:
"If it's possible to leave it concealed overall I'd like that. I'd prefer something I can wear out and about, so if something unexpected happens I'm not a sitting duck."
Phyx:
“I can well dig it.” Phyx nodded as he kept taking measurements, finally ending with the legs and feet. It took a while and he chatted on a bit while he worked. “So concealed, something that doesn’t really look too much like armor. Fingerless gloves, close quarters favoring with enough protection to close the distance in a running fire fight. Thermal neutrality is standard, NBC rating as well.” He stepped back to give Olivia space. “Do me a favor. Show me how you punch or kick or fight or whatever. Just some basic, in place attacks. And if you could also jump straight up. Give it some welly.”
Olivia:
Olivia's posture changes dramatically and she lashes out at the air in front of her with an open air sweep that almost looks like she's slashing at the air with a knife she isn't holding. She follows it up with a low kick and another slash. As she returns to a neutral posture, she nods at Phyx's second request and jumps straight up, her feet clearing the ground by a considerable margin before she lands back down on the ground with a quiet thud.
Phyx:
Phyx just watched, making a note once or twice before finally nodding. “Souper. That probably about does it for now. I’ll start putting the material together and getting things ready. Now for the boring bit.” He sighed and shrugged. “How much can you put towards the armor? (In resources that is) “I can manage a substantial chunk of it, and depending on urgency and direness of need I might wave it all together, but generally it helps if a client can put in a bit.”
Olivia:
“I think I could do (reasonable resources 3 budget), if that works.”
Phyx:
Phyx nodded and gave a thumbs up. “That’s fantabulous. Yeah we can totally do that. The rest is covered by our wholesale guarantee.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Uh… what else? Depending on what we’re looking at I can try to insulate it as well to protect from electrical discharge. As you want it to look like clothing it’ll probably look a bit like motorcycle gear, but jacket aside the rest will be fairly unnoticeable as anything other than just stuff what you’ve got on.” He grinned. “Should have it done within a week if that works. Might take a bit of time to get it all sorted, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.
Olivia:
“Any kind of environmental protection you can get in there would be appreciated, so electrical insulation works. Motorcycle gear kinda goes with my aesthetic already so I can deal with that.”
Phyx:
Phyx nodded. “Sue Perb. Yeah I can do that. It’ll be fairly light and won’t slow you down, should work out pretty well.”
Olivia:
Olivia smiled. “That’s perfect.” She put her shoes back on and extended a hand to Phyx. “Thanks so much, I’ll see you in a week.”
Phyx:
Again Phyx shook Olivia’s hand, giving her a firm nod. “Absolutely. Glad to be able to help.” He put out a hand. “The card you used to get in is a one use. I can take it back and wipe it so it can be used again. When you come down to pick up you’re gear, or if you need to come down again beforehand for some reason, you’ll get another one.”
Olivia:
Liv nodded and handed over the card. "Alright, very straightforward. Be seeing you, then." She started to head for the elevator to leave.
Phyx:
“We do try. And helps with security and all.” He gave a wave to Olivia as she headed out, the elevator sliding open to bring her back up above ground. Staff gave her a nod as she left, before moving back to their general tasks.
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