<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/NXdPODS.jpg?1)   </div><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: courier;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 16pt;"><strong>ERN-251</strong></span><br/>Android Huntress (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=1127704)<br/>AC: 16|Teamwork Feat: Spirit of the Corps|Aspect: Strength +2<br/>. . . . .</span><br/><br/>It came down to maintenance costs.  Years ago, a dozen old men in a room, part of a government think tank, worked to identify mission priorities for a theoretical project.  "Resilient" and "Agile" were both scrawled across an illuminated plastic board in barely-legible script, neither at the top of the list.  One scientist, short and balding, fond of prostitutes and garlic, had just noted the two were opposed.  "Stronger structures require bulk.  Bulk means a loss of agility and speed.  Obviously there's an issue of diminishing returns, but we can't have both."  It was understood they should excel in one; the government wasn't as likely to invest in economical mediocrity.<br/><br/>There was some debate after that.  Eventually, a second researcher spoke broke the impasse.  He was embezzling funds and would cost the company millions before being killed in a back alley shooting over a minor gambling debt.  "It comes down to maintenance costs.  Additional mass requires more logistics; and there are repair costs to consider.  A damaged unit is a liability; better to focus on avoiding an impact at all, and accept that a direct hit will be terminal."  A few heads nodded.  It was past time for lunch, and they were ready to accept a decision.  "Besides," he noted blandly, "we've already decided they should be female for modular replication upgrades.  Skinny chicks will look better on the marketing material."<br/><br/>Marketing aside, ERN-251 would have agreed with the logic.  At the moment of impact, however, it didn't feel like such a simple choice.  She felt the blunt trauma move through her abdomen, the superstructure barely keeping intact.  She'd had worse injuries, but this one was a decidedly unpleasant experience.<br/><br/>She felt a moment of panic as her survival subroutines flared to life, conflicting instructions threatening to override her active control until she pressed them down.  Struggling was a poor strategic decision; it might help her, but it would impede her comrades' ability to help.  It could even result in friendly fire.  Better to stay still and let the others engage safely.  That didn't mean she couldn't do anything, however, even with her blade stuck in place.  She pulled the small hand axe from her hip, shifted it in her grip as she charged it with arcane energy, and brought the weapon down on the creature.  With the awkward angle it didn't sink in as well as she'd hoped, but at least she'd weakened it slightly.  Releasing the weapon, she began fumbling for her next.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Action</div><div class="spoiler_body">Arcane strike, normal attack, rolled a 17 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=74626) (forgot to add the bonus for her aspect on dicebot), rolled 6 damage (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=74627), rolled 12 reflex (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=74628) save v. the axe getting stuck.</div></div>