Wrist-Com
Functional AND stylish...
In the past the Ronin have relied on the link between their Armors to alert each other to danger, but a deep spiritual bond cannot relay specific information on a whim such as the type of enemy faced, location, and associated hazards. Freshly returned home after the chaos that followed Dais and Danae's pairing, Rowen puts his impressive intellect to use devising a new way for the Ronin to maintain contact in the thick of battle or while out of town. Drawing inspiration from Thangien technology and sourcing parts from the best tech manufacturers in Japan, he devised the first incarnation of these devices which would provide a crucial way for the Ronin to stay in touch in their future battles.
Utility
Coms can be used either for casual conversation during downtime or to keep the Ronin informed in situations where they are forced to separate over a large area. They are small and innocuous enough that they can pass for an ordinairy sports watch and be used to eavesdrop if needed. The coms were originally only intended to link to each other by piggybacking on a military telecom satellite, but with the construction of the comm. room, they link to the central network within the console. To date, no civilian has access to a com, but any Ronin can be reached at any time from the comm. Room.
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Wrist Coms in Action
by
Mardrena
Made in BlackInk
"What is going on here?” Anubis asked softly. Tanya glanced at him and bunched her shoulders slightly, grinning mischievously and squinting briefly. “It’s their first fight!” she replied in a whisper and giggled. Anubis glanced at the screen. “I don’t get why you’re being so difficult about this!” Mia shouted angrily. “Because I got better things to do with my time! Like, oh, I dunno, protecting the Mortal Realm?!,” Ryo shot back from where he stood in the city out on patrol that night. “You are being so immature!” “I’m being immature?! You’re the one trying to twist my arm into attending some stupid dinner party!” Ryo scowled and jerked his head back slightly. “It is not a ‘stupid dinner party’, it is a faculty gathering!” Mia held her hands close together and moved them from one side then to the other. Miz sat hunched in his seat glancing from Mia to Ryo and back and forth again uneasily. “Same thing! It’s a bunch of stuffy old professors standing around eating cheese and crackers and sipping champagne!” The observers caught a glimpse of a Dynasty Droid coming up from behind Ryo. Ryo noticed and whirled around, and the screen view jolted as he rammed his fist into the soldier’s face. “Hey! Don’t interrupt me while I’m talking to my wife!!”
Manufacturing
The first series were cobbled together from scratch using parts manufactured locally. Bak's crew provided parts for the second series, enhancing their durability and effective range. The first versions had a "one-size-fits-all" band but later were swapped out with elastic material provided by the Thunthen.
They do seem to have weakness to EMP or magical interference. Even though the Thunthen had provided additional shielding measures, energy unleashed during the onset of the Cataclysm overwhelmed Ryo's com, delaying his warning to the others. They can detect each other via Armor signature, but if the com itself is damaged or removed, the wearer cannot respond.
“Man…Kayura was right: Talpa is keeping tabs on us…better warn the others trouble’s headed their way…” Ryo raised his wrist-com. “That’s weird…the open channel’s not working…you figure we’re getting interference being this close to the summit?” Ryo muttered and glanced at the crater. Anubis remained quiet while Ryo tried to signal the other Ronin teams. Anubis’ brow furrowed and he stared off into the horizon. “Ryo…what the Thunthen always say about there being no distinction between magic and technology…” Ryo blinked, slightly confused. Anubis glanced at him, frowning. “That goes both ways,” he said simply. Ryo looked down with dismay at his wrist-com and the static-filled screen.
Spoiler Warning: Upcoming Content!
Spacequake Ch. 10"Hey, where'd Cye go off to? It's not like him to run off without saying anything..." Ryo asked and looked around. He raised his wrist and toggled Armor signature mode. A light blue dot blinked not too far away from their current position. "It says he's nearby...oh, look, he's coming." Ryo looked up to the side. "Cye! Hey, there you are! We were wondering about-CYE!!?" Ryo exclaimed when he saw the Warrior of Water staggering towards them, leaning on his trident like a crutch and walking erratically. Cye had barely taken another step before slumping forward and onto his side. The others rushed over and knelt down beside him. His breathing looked labored and some sort of translucent green residue clung to the corner of his lip.
"There's something on his mouth. I think he's been poisoned. Sehk, do your thing!" Rowen urged.
"I can't!"
"Whadya mean 'you can't?'?!" Kento growled, clenching a fist.
"I can't! It's-it's not a poison! I-I have no idea what this is, I've never seen anything like this before!" Sehkmet fretted, genuinely at a loss. "We need to get him to the infirmary right away!" Cye said nothing, remaining completely unresponsive to their cries. His skin looked unnervingly pale and sweat rolled down his face.
"Group up so we can port to the Roost pronto," Rowen stated and they linked arms, placing hands on Cye's shoulders.
Social Impact
During the Dynasty Wars there were plenty of situations where the team got separated and the guys had to fend for themselves. Adopting use of the coms has helped reduce such hazards, but they are not a end-all be-all solution. Ryo and Kento were unable to use their coms when trapped underground and Sehkmet lost contact with Ryo and Anubis when his com got pulled off his wrist by accident. Nether Spirits were able to disrupt the connection until ArmSig went live. The heavy saturation of Dark Power suffising the device Patrov used to set the Cataclysm in motion prevented Ryo from warning the evacuation teams about the damaged timer that resulted in a premature detonation.
“Miz, Ita, how long will it take to get the Armor Signature network online?” Bak asked and walked over to the chairs. “We haven’t tested it yet,” Miz argued. “It doesn’t have to be. Can you do it?” Bak reiterated. Miz and Ita exchanged glances. “It should be up within the hour,” Ita replied uneasily. “Do better,” Bak ordered and turned around. “Pardon me for asking, but…what is this ‘Armor Signature’ you refer to?” Kayura asked. “During our studies of the Ronin’s armors, we’ve found that each armor produces energy of a particular wavelength that can be tracked and monitored. The wrist-coms require a satellite link, and for all of Rowen’s ingenuity, it is subject to interference of the kind we’re experiencing now. “The Armor Signature network is designed to use the energy the Ronin Armors use as itself a frequency by which to transmit and receive communications. It’s the,” Bak paused briefly and made a grumbling snort, pursing his lips and rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. “‘Deep spiritual link’ they incessantly refer to,” he huffed, hanging his shoulders. “…Wow…” Kayura raised both eyebrows and smirked in mock surprise. Danae looked similarly amused. “That must’ve taken a lot of effort,” Kayura grinned. Danae chuckled softly.
“Are these really necessary? The Armors have a deep spiritual bond that’s served us well in the past,” Sage argued and eyed his “wrist-com” warily. “Oh c’mon Sage, don’t be such a spoilsport! I’d totally dig a cool wrist communicator!” Kento complained and elbowed Sage in the ribs. “Do these things pick up TV signals?”
"Visual link will only work on Earth, so if we do any off-Realm fighting, we’ll have to rely on Armor signature. You can switch between contacts using the upper-right hand button and the color indicator at the corner of the screen.” “Heh-eh-ey! Will you look at that! Hey Tanya, can you see me?” Kento asked. “I dunno. Can you?” Kento frowned when he got a screen-sized view of Tanya’s middle finger.
Access & Availability
Rowen only had enough parts to make coms for the younger Ronin at first. The Elders were later provided with their own bands. The Neo Ronin were issued their own coms but have a bad habit of not using them.
Complexity
Wrist-coms are fairly compact and operate like a smart-watch, using a touch screen. They are magically attuned to the wearer's Armor so they will stay on their wrist even when they change Armor modes. They have a tiny camera in the upper left-hand corner and the contact wheel is located in the upper right-hand corner.
Discovery
When the Ronin had to convene at the Traedeskaton to plan their response to the outbreak of Weeping Death, Rowen took note of the advanced devices used to monitor patient conditions and wondered if similar equipment could serve to keep the team connected when separated.
“ROWEN! These piece of shit wrist-coms of yours won’t stay put!” “Well, maybe you wouldn’t be having problems if you ate more and had wrists with a circumference greater than that of a stick!” “Tanya, we’re supposed to use these to relay information…” “I am relaying information! I’m informing him that his gadgets suck!” “You’re just gonna have to wait until the Thunthen manufacture more of that elastic material.” “C’mon guys, keep channels clean, okay?” “Tell that to your sister. She’s the one cussing loud enough to wilt flowers!”
“Tar?! What is it? I’m kinda busy at the moment!” Ryo grunted and Tar had an interesting view of the battle through Ryo’s wrist-com as the Ronin Leader fended off attacks. “I take it the battle goes poorly…” Tar drawled. “No kidding! Talpa decided to throw us a-” Tar watched Ryo’s wrist move as he plunged his swords into the chest of a Dynasty Droid all the way up to the hilt then pull it out quickly. “‘Curve ball’?” Tar provided and raised a snowy eyebrow. “Yeah, one of those."
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