Max still couldn't find the source of that feeling of being watched, and it was beginning to annoy him. There clearly should be a good scientific explanation for the phenomenon, but he didn't have the requisite knowledge to determine what it was.
At least it didn't feel hostile, which was a good start.
Max got the armour plate hung up, and the backstop shields engaged so that the test firing process could begin. All of the researchers got into the augmentic armour and activated their defensive shields in case of backlash from the test, and Nico went to the armoury to find some weapons for them to test the plate with.
It was sized for use on a Line Mecha for practical reasons, so Nico returned with a dozen Plasma Cannons on a trolley.
"We will fire on my mark. Everyone, please choose a Cannon and aim it at the armour. Even if it shows signs of damage, continue firing until it is destroyed or you run out of ammunition. The Cannons only hold ten charges each." She instructed.
It was the most basic form of destructive testing, and they would analyze the data afterward, checking it shot by shot to see the effects that the Plasma Cannons were having on the surface and the internal structure of the plating.
It was also everyone's favourite part of the testing for obvious reasons. No other part of the testing involved going wild with a Plasma Cannon in your workspace. As much as you might want to, the use of Plasma Cannons was frowned upon during basically every other part of the development process.
"On the count of three. 1, 2, 3," Nico instructed, and the researchers began to unleash Plasma rounds at the armour plate as fast as they could.
Max placed all his shots at different spots on the plate to see how it reacted with the varying depths of the composite layers and the constantly impacted energy field.
They were nearly halfway through the test when the plate started to show visible signs of breaking down, and only a few shots remained when Nico called a halt to the test. The plating had slowly cracked through and crumbled, with some layers going noticeably faster than others.
They weren't all intended to deal with energy weapons. Some were for dispersing Kinetic and radiation weapons, so the result was predictable, but the plating had lasted much longer than expected.
"One hundred and seven shots out of one hundred and twenty were fired before the test was halted due to the destruction of the target," Nico commented for the records.
"A hundred Plasma Cannon rounds to the chest plate? That's just insane. Maybe it's just strong against Plasma?" One of the researchers asked.
Nico nodded. "We will find out in a second. The next test is the Autocannons, which are standard equipment on many Line Mecha that are deployed on the surface. They can't compare to the Mass Drivers, but they are the next test that is usually performed, and the Mass Drivers aren't suitable for use indoors."
They weren't human-portable weapons for most people, so the one that Nico brought out was equipped with a tripod to be operated from a firing bench.
Max created another plate, but he already knew how this test was going to end. The plating was designed to take a Mass Driver round when it was Crusader Class sized or larger, so the Autocannon wouldn't likely do anything at all to it.
Nico got the Autocannon set up, and the Innu started playing rock paper scissors to see who would get to actually operate it. None of the college students had ever touched an Autocannon before, and even the Plasma Cannons had been a brand-new experience for them.
They finished the game, and one of the girls came to stand next to Max with a scanner and a camera in her hands.
"I feel like I understand humans so much better today than I did yesterday. The thought of wanting to just fire weapons of war at something sounded insane, but now that I've gotten to test fire a Plasma Cannon, I totally see the appeal to destructive testing with real weapons and not a hydraulic press or focused laser array." She whispered so that she didn't distract the others.
"If you work with Lead Researcher Nico for long enough, you will get to test fire all sorts of new weapons. We might be doing Mecha development now, but just wait, there will likely be a reason to help someone with infantry development again later, and that involves all sorts of small weapons testing, both for the new weapons and armour.
You should have seen how much testing we did for the augmentic armour you're wearing."
Her laugh was cut short as the Autocannon began to fire, sending a hail of slugs toward the new armour plate. Most of them flattened against the plate, but some were deflected away as they hit a curved edge. The safety barrier absorbed the energy of the stray rounds, and the researchers cheered happily as the rapid thumping of the weapon and the sparks of the rounds against metallic alloy continued for a solid minute.
"I think I'm out of ammunition." The tester complained as the Autocannon gave a series of clicks and stopped firing.
"Yes, that's what that sound means. Clear the range, step away from the weapon, and we will check the armour plate." Nico agreed.
Max moved forward once the Autocannon was safely stowed away and checked the plate with the hand scanner to verify what the sensors in the room told him. That there was no damage to the plate at all.
"Alright, that's a perfect score on the light arms resistance test. In fact, it's so good that I think we might want to adapt it to other purposes as well. But that's only part of the day's work. How did you all do on the chassis work?" Max asked.
"We're ninety percent done. We're just working on the final weapon, and we should be able to start the construction. The design is close enough to a previous construction that we can skip a lot of the design steps and reuse old, previously tested portions of the design." The enthusiastic researcher beside Max replied.
Nergal, her nametag said. With that level of enthusiasm, she was going to fit in quite well here, so Max took the time to remember her name right away instead of his usual policy of waiting until he was sure they were going to be working together for an extended period of time.
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