Chapter 88 - Preparations

"I don't need this for assassinating someone. If I wanted something like that, I would have been given those combat suits directly by Winston. I don't need to make a custom one from you," said Balthazar. "I need something for everyday use under my uniform. Mostly on my hands and probably voice activated or something along with them being able to slide down by flexing by wrist."

"Oh boy! You are regressing to ancient ages. Do you have a bunch of assassins' after you or what? Why do you need such crazy..," started Ellie, but then realized halfway that it was probably why he was asking for such equipment.

At a military base, it would have thorough scrutiny of the people and any blasters or very long range weapons would be easily caught be the personnel there. So, the best option for an assassin would be to come in silently and kill his target at close range. So, he needed a few hidden cards to counter such attempts.

"Fine, I understand. I will start on in it. I believe you would be going back to join the force a couple of months later, right? By that time, I will have created a standard bunch of arsenal for the purpose you require," she shouted energetically looking up at the ceiling with a face full of passion.

"The crazy one is also a daydreamer? I hope she is worth the trouble," thought Balthazar as she looked at the woman whose mind was stuck in her own personal world. He coughed loudly to get her attention back to the real. "I am going to be returning a couple of months later to the border, but I need these in a couple of days," he said.

"A couple of days?"

"Yes, I have a few things to do in the Elysium region. So, it is best that I have something ready to use by that time. I hope you would impress me, by that time."

"In a couple of days?"

"I am going out for something the day after tomorrow and would like to have at least something up my sleeve," answered Balthazar.

"I have an idea for the material for a light thin blade for your use. To hide a weapon, we need the material to be quite tough at least half the cut-resistance as one I just showed you. It can be used to craft a full sleeved top in a day, but it wouldn't be able to be used for a long time. If it is a short trip, it would be fine. I can make something for your requirements by the next week," suggested Ellie.

"I can do with it. I am not expecting much at that time and I would be wearing a combat suit during the excursion. Just provide me with something that could be worn on my arms. Don't need to cover the entire torso. It won't affect me as I will be using it only when I am out of the combat suit. Make it something that would be reaching from my wrist to my elbow like to sweat bands sportsman wear."

"That can be done. Easy. I can install a few poison needles that would be coming out of it. They will definitely hinder someone attacking you. They can be made to activate by a keyword you can set on your wrist band. Choose a swear word you rarely use. It would quite effective," said Ellie.

Balthazar's requirements were quite small, it wouldn't be a hard task for Ellie to do something like that. These tricks were used for centuries before them, but they became obsolete as many people began using combat suits and other protective equipment, if they were in genuine danger. Because of this, the assassins also had to develop similar weapons that have a bit more penetrative effect than needles. Such tricks were only valid when the target has no idea that he is being preyed by someone. The element of surprise is quite important in using these tricks.

"That sounds like a good idea, but I was hoping that you could get a blade or something into it. I would prefer to have a blade that I could use continuously," suggested Balthazar. It is never an option to just have a surprise attack. A surprise attack almost never manages to completely solve a problem. One must always follow through and finish the task.

"A blade? That could also be done, but it would naturally be heavier than a needle and need some support which would be visible. We can use your wrist band to support it on one hand. That is the most, I can do in such a short time. The fabric I made was to be cut-resistant and insulating against heat. It doesn't have enough elastic modulus to be bearing a blade for long duration, the blade silhouette would become visible on your wrist without use of a support."

"OK. A blade on one hand is enough, but could you make sure that I can take it into my hand with ease and use it like a knife," asked Balthazar. If it would be something that would be another projectile or just a blade that would be stuck on the wrist band, it would be quite useless for his purposes.

"Yeah that would be how I would design it. You can take it by tomorrow night," she agreed. "I understood your requirement and have a few ideas in mind. Give me a week and I am sure you would be satisfied by my designs."

"Impress me."

"Put that one aside. You have not yet viewed any weapons, I have. Last time you just view the combat suits and not any of the other arsenal that we have available. Let me introduce a few to you," sad Ellie as she led them to a crate in the room.

She began with a show of a variety of guns and grenades. Being a military man, he saw or heard most of the ones which she began to show, but a few still surprised him. There was a grenade that was even marked truth gas.

"What the hell does one need a truth gas grenade for?" asked Balthazar confused.

"It is an antiquity. I bet it the gas doesn't even work. The picobots in our blood prevents such old stuff from being effective. It was apparently used a couple of centuries ago in a political party and it led to a bunch of bureaucrats spill their secrets. It was before Winston's time, no one knows about it," answered Ellie.

"These are all nice, but I am used to standard weapons. Would probably need some practice with a few before I change up to them, but I hope I can take a few of the standard ones that have their serial numbers filed off," requested Balthazar.

"These are all illegal and none of them have a serial number and are all untraceable. Stupid thing to ask. Any other specific requirements?" asked Ellie.

"I would like a whip, non-conducting, shouldn't acc.u.mulate static charge, at least 7 meters long," requested Balthazar remembering that it would be better if he also has tool that can provide mid-range combat abilities.

Once, someone sees him with a whip, they might consider it his weapon and the hidden blade would be a lot more surprising. Moreover, a whip provides a degree of control and it swings make it hard for the opponent to evade. He had always been decent at using it in vita-nova and so, he believed that he could use it in real-life with a bit of training.

"You used a whip before?" asked Ellie surprised. Wh.i.p.s were a rare weapon that are usually used by people who are involved in taming of wild animals. It is something which was rarely seen in combat and even explorers of new planets, don't tend to use it. Without a good amount of skill, a whip can easily hurt oneself and teammates rather than their enemies. Ellie had already researched him thoroughly on the net, when he first met him, and nothing suggested that he was proficient with a whip. So, she was obviously concerned when he asked it. She wouldn't have batted her eye if he wanted to put himself in danger for the sake of her experiments, but this sounded crazy to her and if he harmed himself with it, it wouldn't serve any purpose either.

"Yes, I am familiar with a whip. Don't worry, I won't ship my own face or cut myself with it. But I agree that I hadn't used it for a long time. I put it on hold after I entered the force. I might need to practice it for some time," answered Balthazar.

He knew that it would be hard for her to believe that he used a whip before as there would be no record of it and none in the family would have seen him using one. Ellie also was looking at him extremely doubtful of his words. So, he needed to convince them that he is indeed capable.

"Could you do me a small favour and help me in crafting a simulation for somnium technology?" he asked her. It is one of the best ways to convince her.

"I don't know if it is possible. Guns, blades and other things, you are qualified for use. Even warframes are something we could issue for your use, but wh.i.p.s are something I can't just provide you. It would be irresponsible on my part," she said.

"OK. I understand. Can you ask Leon on who would be able to certify me? Do you know who Mr. Edgerton, the one responsible currently working on samsara tech is?"

"I will contact Leon, but the chances of that happening are very low. With the alliance having a ban on the use of wh.i.p.s, we hardly find any proficient in it other than tamers. I will also contact Uncle Elias. He will be able to help you with whatever you want with samsara framework."

"Cool. It is nothing big. I just want to use something I heard he already successfully created," said Balthazar.

"Anything else," asked Ellie continuing to look at him weirdly. Today's meeting with Balthazar was very different from what she expected. She was hoping for a test subject, but instead found the person to be request things that most consider to be extremely outdated. He was supposed to be a military man who would require equipment tailor for chaotic war scenarios or planet clearing expeditions but he gave her the feeling of a person reenacting an ancient drama or something.

"Hmmmm.. Ya. Can I have your number? It would be a lot easier to contact you, if I want something. I could just message you," he asked her. Once, they exchanged their details, he left the armory leaving a very perplexed woman behind.

"Whatever, I will just do what he wants. It is not like, it would take much time," she thought. "If he does manage to effectively use them, I would have the lead in creating a bunch of equipment for a specific type of use. As a matter of fact, I do need to create a fiber that can be worn for longer durations."

She sent the details of their conversation to Leon and Winston and also informed her uncle Elias about Balthazar's request.

Balthazar also decided to send a message to Winston on the way back to his room. It is for the best if he could speed up the process and receives a whip as quickly as possible. "I want to get a whip from the armory. Apparently, I don't have the qualifications. Please find someone who can help me get it and keep it a secret. I worked very hard to use it while keeping it a secret," read the message.

He also sent a mail to D.i.c.k regarding the duplicate identity that he required. He chose the same name that he used in his previous life, Ethan Cutter. D.i.c.k had already prepared a picture of his which was modified slightly by adding a beard and a few other small changes so that photo-recognition techniques wouldn't realize him right away. The software would check a few salient features and lines on one's face which would help differentiate people. Knowing these, he could reduce the match percent to 60% while most people would still be able to recognize the photo to his face.

There would still be a chance of someone realizing his real identity if he gets caught. So, he needed to wear a beard or a mask when, he is traveling using his duplicate identity.

With this done, he needed to get in touch with his old acquaintances. These people don't know him at this time, but they would come to a place in the next week if they follow his previous life's experience. Even if they don't, he could get in touch with other people in similar profession at that place. He booked a ticket to AT-164 planet for the next week under the new identity. He needed to begin his counterattack as soon as possible.

Done with all the things he could prepare for, he decided to make a call to Sophia. He missed her a lot and sadly the intimacy he had with her in his previous life was no longer there as she didn't share the same memories as him. All he could do was to continue maintaining their friendship and maintaining virtual contact.