Tuning the beat! [private Cayn]

Things break, they ware down, parts get old, and newer better stuff comes out that puts the old stuff to shame. This is just a fact of life. Unfortunately sometimes even brand new things will break down. Even if they’ve only been in use for a few weeks they can break down. Malachite knew this, but that didn’t stop it from pissing him off. His Beat⁶, Vermilion's last gift to him, a weapon he had only had for less than a month, was now starting to act up. Something with the auto retract system was failing and the cords didn’t pull back into the base with enough force to pull Mal along as it once did. He wasn’t sure exactly why it was doing this, but he knew that it needed to be fixed.

Mal had been asking around, well as much as he could when he wasn’t being swarmed by fans. It seemed that even for a small place like Bellmuse he was surprisingly popular. Though after sighing more than a few items, some including the fans themselves, he was able to find out about a weapon smith who could possibly give him a hand. In the back of his mind he wondered if this person would also be a fan. It wouldn’t bother him if they were, but it would still be nice to talk to someone who didn’t know who he was, or at least wasn’t going to freak out when he showed up.

His fans were nice, and he loved interacting with them, but it got tiring after a while. Even walking down a block could turn into an hour long impromptu signing. With everything that had happened in the last few days Mal really needed a break, to just sit down and try to relax. Well relax as best he could with the swarm of thoughts and emotions that plagued him when he wasn’t actively doing something. I any case he had tracked down the person he was after and if the directions he was given were any good then he should be there in any minute.

Cayn was focused, his darkened eyes upon something unblinkingly. His hands jumped between tools, screwdriver one moment, wrench the next. It was the certainty that his project was almost finished that he had stood here for the last four hours doing nothing besides giving the creation his utmost attention. Bolts and oddly shaped metal pieces were fitted together with utmost certainty. In part due to the scroll that lay open besides his current work space displaying the blueprints that he had needed. A month of planning, twelve sleepless nights in that time frame, had all been for this one final day.

With a laugh the Tinkerer set down his tools. "Finally." He whispered with anticipation as his hands help tight upon a small box. It was an exact one and a quarter foot cube with a smooth surface upon five of its faces. The sixth and upwards facing was only broken by a small switch. Cayn gave an sound as air escaped his lungs, a marker used to write a small phrase just under the switch. This side up. It read.

With quiet excitement the Faunus set the box on the floor, shoving things out of the way, uncaring of where they would land. And with a tense moment of disbelief, flipped the switch. It took a moment for anything to happen, but you could hear gears spinning inside the box. Something unfurled from one side, a spindling and weak looking object twirled upwards as the box split open to reveal its contents. A small motor pushed everything as best as it could manage. And the process itself took minutes before its final shape began to take hold. Multiple thin straps of metal wound and clicked as hinges fell into place.

And with a last and loudest click the transformation had finished. In front of Cayn, standing upon four legs in magnificent glory, was a chair. All that effort would be for naught if it failed to withstand his weight though, and enthusiastically, the wolf Faunus sat his rear upon his creation. He was worried at first to put his whole weight upon it, but that fear went unneeded as he settled in. A full sized and comfortable chair, albeit with no cushion, in a small cube for easy travel. Certainly a waste in the eyes of the others who had glanced at his blueprints, but those judging eyes were not noticed. With a content sigh of satisfaction, Cayn leaned his head back in his seat and let his eyes rest.

The halls of Syne were almost like a maze to Malachite. He had never been anywhere this large before, as far as buildings and facilities went. Most of his time had been spent out between the kingdoms traveling. Of course he liked it here, it was a nice change of pace that and the architecture of the buildings was impressive. Being from Mistral he had an appreciation for all the arts from music to sculpting and this campus was nothing if not a work of art. The wing he was in was dedicated to the Tech major, which he was so it would be good to get to know this place at some point. But for now he was looking for someone. Despite being good with technology he was horrid at the mechanical works of his weapon. If it had been a simple electronic issue he could have fixed it, but this was outside his realm of knowledge.

And it looks like this is the room. Based on what he had been told this room would be where the person he needed to talk to was. Of course no one had told him the name of the person he was supposed to find so he just had to hope that whoever was inside was the right person. Raising up a hand he gave the door three solid knocks.

Cayn had just started to enjoy his new contraption. Eyelids were heavy and it would not have been much longer until he drifted off to a much needed rest. At least that is what almost happened. Moments before he would have not been able to notice anything other than his dreams, there was a knocking.

The Faunus had to wrench open his eyes and look towards the door, expecting someone else in the workshop to answer it. However he was alone. When did that happen? Cayn wondered. He had been sure that there were other students working on various projects when he began this morning. With a small groan of annoyance he got up and clicked the switch with his foot. A sound that could only be measured to that of nails upon a chalkboard screeched as the chair began to fold itself away. Then the divice stopped, the dust motor within died and the entire thing halted halfway between shapes.

"Damn it." Cayn muttered. Well, he could finish it another time. First, the door. With a jerk the tinkerer pulled the door open. And he saw a girl. Not one that he had ever met before. No surprises there, Cayn kept mostly to himself. "Yes?" He asked bluntly.

After knocking on the door Malachite clasped both his hands behind his back and began to rock back and forth from the balls of his feet to his heels. For a few seconds nothing happened and then what could only be described as the most unholy sound came from the inside of the room. Stopping mid swing Mal just stared wondering what form of horror could have made that sound, and even better if whatever it was would open the door.

Waiting in in tense anticipation for the door to open Mal almost jumped when it finally did. Of course what opened the door wasn’t a death machine of some kind, but a normal old Faunus. And based on his answer he was either in a really bad mood or just didn’t like people. In either case Mal had business here and wasn’t going to leave without some kind of answers. “Hello~♫ Sorry to bother you, but I was told I could find someone here who was good with weapons mechanics~♫ You see I’ve been having some trouble with mine recently and I need someone to look at it~♫” Malachite said in his feminine and melodic voice.

Blue grey ears twitched upon the site of the lass on the other side of the door. Cayn had not known who exactly he was expecting, but she had not been it. He felt some shame in the way he had snapped, but his irritation in how he failed to account for something was the stronger at this moment and bled into his tone.

However now, she was asking him something that brought his attention a smidgen more into focus. Interesting. Cayn knew that he had helped a couple people already with their weapons, but if they were willing to send others his way then there was a swell of accomplishment in his chest. That swell rose from his chest into the Faunus's throat and then out in the form of a massive yawn.

"Don't mind that." Cayn said as he pushed the door open as far is it would go. It is not like anyone would care how little sleep he has had in the last couple days anyways. Inside the room proper is a small workshop, one of the few in this wing of the academy. Most of the counterspace was wooden countertops, vices mounted and sets of simple tools organized except on the one space Cayn had been using. With a swift kick, Cayn sent his device sliding into the wall with a crash. That failure needed to be out of the way.

"I've helped a couple people." Cayn admitted. "Could you tell me about what's wrong?" He asked while taking in what he could from the lass. Camo jacket and, okay Cayn is bad at that and could not actually garner anything from appearances alone. Her demeanor was kindly though.

Getting a better look at the person before him it became pretty obvious pretty fast that he was tired. The yawn that escaped his mouth was a sure sign of that. For a moment Malachite considered turning back and just leaving him be, but it would seem he was at least open to looking at the problem. Walking into the room it was obvious that this was more of a shop for the mechanically inclined. The only other shop he had been in was more of a computer lab where people were programming away.

Mal jumped a little as the Faunus kicked away what looked to be a strange mechanical contraption. His eyes followed it all the way to it’s final resting point before he was once again brought back to the task at hand. “Right~♫” Malachite said in his characteristically musical voice. He reached back to Beat⁶’s main hub at the pouch on his belt. In one swift motion he pulled out two of the chords from it’s main body, at least that part worked well enough. “The cords here are supposed to retract pretty fast, but….” letting go of the two lines they dropped to the floor ad began to sluggishly retreat back into the main box, “they don’t really do that~♫”

Cayn had to stifle another yawn as he watched the small demonstration and explanation. It was hard to keep his jaw clenched, but he could feel his tail stiffen for the duration and give him away. This did not hinder his mind much though, and possible problems streamed to the forefront of thought. That small bit of information was not enough to troubleshoot anything without opening up whatever it was. Something Cayn wanted to avoid so he could not be held liable for any accidents.

"How do you normally use this?" Cayn asked as his first question, certain of how he may operate the weapon, but not how she does. "And has there been any increase in strain upon it? Any sudden bumps in weight, say you pulled something a bit heavier than normal or maybe you yourself, grew a little bit." The Faunus had to pause at the last moment to alter his phrasing. He had mentioned a girl's weight once, and had to get stitches from that encounter.

Even as he spoke Cayn's hands were moving. Twirling a screwdriver between fingers, the smallest one he had on hand. "Last thing. Besides what makes it move is there anything else I need to worry about?" If anyone ever asked Cayn about the flamethrower accident, he would deny everything until the end of his days.

Malachite watched in dissatisfaction as the cable finally made it back into the main case. It really was annoying and if he was going to get any practice in then he would need it fixed as soon as possible. “Usually I just hit things, I mean I pull stuff too but it should be able to handle that. The damned thing is rated for two thousand pounds,” Mal said crossing his arms, “Pulled anything heavy… no not that I know of...” Malachite stopped when Cayn mentioned his weight. “No, I’ve actually lost weight recently,” he said with a long sigh. It was a bit of a sore subject to him, but at least he wasn’t getting fat.

“Besides the mechanical parts there’s some electronics in there and a high voltage capacitor for electric discharge, but if you take out the battery then it’s pretty much inert,” Mal said, “If this were a simple electronic issue I could have fixed it myself, but the diagnostics are showing me nothing on that end so it’s probably mechanical.”

Two thousand pounds. Cayn was dumbfounded when he heard that tidbit of information. He could not help but wonder exactly what the weapon was supposed to do with that much power, even if it was as he assumed, an exaggeration. Well if the weight was not supposed to be an issue, then it must be something within the casing. Which the young woman was still wearing. The tinkerer really hoped that he was not expected to do his work while the weapon was being worn. Not that he doubted his skills or the steadiness of his hands, but that he did doubt that anyone would be willing to stand still for that long of a time. Or want a soldering iron that close to their skin.

With another twirl of his fingers, Cayn tapped the butt end of the screwdriver upon the wooden counter. "If you could place it on the table..." He stopped realizing that he did not know the girl's name. However he also probably would only have to do this once for her and then go on and barely ever talk again. So no minding that any further he kept going. "First thought may be something wrong with the gears, maybe one has started to fall loose. Barring that I'll have to dig further into it and shouldn't take too long. Let's go ahead and take out that battery while we are on the subject." He spoke out loud, his mouth moving in pace with the gears in the Faunus's head. At least this would be interesting to take a look at, nothing quite like it has ever passed in front of him before.

“Oh right!” Malachite responded to the Faunus’ request for her to put Beat⁶ on the table, “probably don’t want to work on it while it’s on my hip.” Reaching down Mal pulled up the front of his jakcet and grabbed at the heavy duty belt buckle there. Undoing the large clasp he followed by reaching around to the several points around the belt that connected it to the rest of his harness under the jacket. Once that was done he went for the main pouch that housed Beat[sup]6[/size] itself and opened the thick canvas flap. A little fidgeting and the battery was out.

With that done he walked over to the work bench and placed down the entire unit. The belt itself was permanently affixed to the main unit with the pouch simply being there for some protection from the elements and cosmetic functionality. Malachite sauntered over to another nearby workbench and hopped up to sit on top of it, his striped kneesock covered legs seining back and forth alternately.

"I could, but no I would really prefer not too." Cayn replied to the gal's comment, his tone flat and unchanging. There would be no words that would express his inward excitement when the bizarre weapon was finally his for the fixing. The Faunus's canine eyes shone, and hands quivered as he started unscrewing the screws of the protective casing to reveal. Who knew what. Cayn certainly did not. Everything was newer looking, somewhat more advanced that the simple machines most weapons worked with. There was the motor within, as well as a multitude of wires, transistors, and a whole lot of electrical nonsense that was not in the weapon smith's forte. So he would focus on the only thing that he new how to handle, at least not without dragging out some of the heavy manuals from the library.

The motor itself was small, obvious to fit in packaging, and seemed to be powered by the same electricity that charged the dangerous parts of the weapon.  Cayn gave up looking at the wires and everything else of that nature and went back to the motor. He could see no outward signs that could have caused the malfunction. Quickly he disassembled the internal components from the casing, taking a look as he pulled everything apart. While his expertise did not include electrical motors such as this one, the tinkerer's eye could pick apart what was wrong with it fairly quickly.

"Here, take a look at this." Cayn motioned while he looked back and saw the young woman sitting on a table. His eyes turned into a look of disapproval but his mouth kept quiet. "What seems to be the issue most likely rests within the coils here." He said while pointing at a winding of thin copper wires within the motor casing with the point of the screwdriver.v A few strands of the metal coil had been frayed. "Normally they degrade slowly over time as the electrical currents take their toll. However if enough power to electrify a Grimm were to pass over it often enough, then it could worn it much quicker. I can replace it with what I have on hand. But you should really get something a bit more durable in the long run." He would help if asked, knowing that anything of a higher quality might be quite expensive.

Malachite watched as the student deftly began to dismantle Beat⁶. A lot of it was electrical components that powered the thing itself. Unfortunately when it came to the more, basic parts of electricity he had no clue how to handle it. He could repair a broken scroll or a game console with some time the right components and a soldering iron, but this was beyond his realm of skill. Still it was fascinating to watch. Mal’s legs swung back and forth as she intently watched the work being done.

As the Faunus held up the now broken motor he didn’t even have to tell Mal that something had gone wrong with it. It didn’t look really bad, but then if it looked bad the damned thing might have exploded on him. It was a good thing that he came to get it fixed now instead of waiting. “Yeah that’s not good,” Mal said.

“Hmmm. Alright. Well if you can do what you can now, that’d be great,” he said with a nod, “And if you could point me in the direction of something more durable I can probably get one.”

The Faunus nodded, silently turning from where he stood to head towards the furthest back of the room. Cabinets and buckets of supplies were haphazardly tossed together in a mess of materials that only the students who frequented the location often could work through. With little rummaging, and a curse thrown out as a box of small gears fell upon Cayn's foot, he slammed the now collapsing pile of junk in the cabinet back closed with a cacophony of clattering metal. In his hand he tossed a spool of copper thread into the air, and caught it with his other hand. He was smiling, a grin of enjoyment as he placed his new treasure upon the work space.

However skilled Cayn could claim to be, there were some tasks that just had to take some time. First he was required to remove the damaged metal from the coil. The tinkerer would have preferred a tool to do this with, but did not have one. But the unraveling was the quicker of the actions, and it only took a few minutes for there to be a large coil of metal at his feet. The much more time consuming part was winding it back in place. With a shaky start getting the metal to fall into place on the inner part of the motor, Cayn's hands soon flew through the semi-complex pattern needed to make sure that it magnetized correctly when electricity was introduced.

"About what you could do..." The tinkerer spoke as his fingers still went through the motions. "A few easy ways would be to replace the copper with something like silver. This would allow a little more power to flow through before it wore out. Pure silver would work best." He paused as the spool became stuck, needing only a small extra tug to get it back into motion. "Could also use an electrum alloy. Much more durable than copper. Does not let nearly as much power flow through, so there will be a loss of torque." Cayn offered his ideas as he worked, however for something more concrete he would have to send the girl to a true electrical engineer. Or a chemist that specialized in metals. There were none that he knew of on Syne, so he kept this to himself.

All in all, it was maybe half an hour of winding to get the coil back in place. In quick succession  the motor case had been replaced, and then popped back into it's spot within the weapon's housing. "There, try it." Cayn demanded, wanting to see if it worked.