riverviewlogs | [open] try to tell the difference

[ Most of Cisco's work is a fairly solitary process. Sure, there is some consultation, with the emergency services and the Guard, figuring out what's needed, getting feedback on how his tech has actually functioned in the field. But most of the designing and testing happens with just him, in his workshop. It's rare that he actually needs any assistance.

Normally, if he was in need of another set of hands, he would text Rey and ask her to come in, but Cisco hadn't had the heart to ask her to drop everything and come help out, when she told him she'd planned an entire day of sledding and snowfights and such shenanigans with Poe and Finn.

So, instead, he hauls himself and his prototype over to the Barracks, hoping that he'll be able to snag somebody who isn't too busy and ask them for help. Sif is the first person he spots. He thinks about waiting until he runs into somebody he actually knows, but there aren't a lot of people around, and he decides he'd better not risk it. ]

'Scuse me, ma'am? You're with the guard, right? You busy right now?

I am with the guard, yes. But I am not busy.

[ She doesn't know who Cisco is, but part of the job is (she assumes) to aid citisens in need of help so she sort of feels as if she has a duty to hear him out here. ]

Awesome! Mind lending me a hand for a few minutes? For science?

[ He realizes a moment later that phrasing the request that way might not inspire a great deal of confidence, and that he would perhaps do well to explain further. So, before she can respond, he quickly adds: ]

I've got this gadget I've been developing and it's at the testing stage but it's not really something I can do solo.

[ No, nope, somehow he's just making it worse. Cisco shakes his head, face heating a little with embarrassment at how badly he is managing to mess up this whole first impression he's making on this random woman. ]

It's a forcefield. A portable forcefield. So basically I just need somebody to wail on it while I look for weak spots and see how much it can withstand.

[ That was some improvement, at least. He holds out a hand for her to shake, still feeling a little awkward. ]

I'm Cisco by the way. Uh, probably should've lead with that, huh?

Shielding technology. I am familiar with it.

[ It is used on Asgard to some extent, and of course in other places both within and without the Nine Realms.

She approaches Cisco to take his hand, seemingly not having much of a reaction to the fact that he is rambling ever so slightly. ]

I am Sif.

For real? Awesome!

[ Not that Cisco would've minded spending some time explaining the tech, if he'd come across someone who wasn't familiar with the basic principles. It does save time, though, that this woman gets it. ]

This should only take a few minutes, I really appreciate the help. We can go in the training room?

[ He turns to head in that direction, asking as he does: ]

So you been in the Guard a long time?

Very well.

[ She starts to walk toward the training room, a place she is more than familiar with already because she has spent a lot of time in there. Combat training is just about the only method that really works for her to keep her currently rather volatile emotional state a bit under control. ]

I have not been here for long. A little over a month now, I think.

Gotcha. So not quite a newbie, but still probably thinking about home a lot, right?

[ Once they're in the training room, Cisco wastes no time getting himself set up. The generator for the forcefield is small - that's the whole point, to miniaturize the technology so it is portable. It looks like a simple, wide silver band around Cisco's wrist. He taps a quick sequence into the metal and then a glowing, silvery-blue dome flickers into place, leaving a radius of 6 or so feet in each direction around him.

Turning to Sif, he grins, and gestures: ]

Alright, come at me. Let's see if you can get this bad boy to break.

Very well.

[ She unsheathes her sword and takes a swing at it, using all of her considerale force since there isn't any risk of her hitting Cisco even if the shield were to fail. ]

[ Cisco, despite knowing that barrier is up, and that it ought to work, can't help flinching visibly as the sword stroke falls. It is deflected by the barrier, though, and he laughs, part amusement at his own reaction, part relief. Then he's grinning, beckoning her to keep trying. ]

Come on. Give it all you've got. I wanna make sure it holds up to repeated attacks, that there's no flickering or weak spots or anything.

[ How many movies had he seen, after all, that relied on there being a one-second lull of some shields between attacks, or forcefields that were just weak enough to be breached at particular points. Cisco would like to avoid all of those options, and Sif is strong and clearly up to the challenge of putting this tech through its paces. ]

[ Sif nods, and rains down a series of fast strikes that will hopefully give Cisco an idea of what his shield can take, though further testing will of course still be necessary if he wishes it to be able to withstand projectiles fired from long range weaponry. ]

[ Cisco watches as the blows rain down, still flinching at first, but then growing more and more comfortable as the shield continues to hold. Which means that he is caught off guard when, finally, there is a flicker, and for a split second he is left unprotected. He tries to throw up his arms instinctively, to blow the oncoming blow, sucking in a sharp, frightened breath as he yelps: ]

Shit!

[ He really, really didn't think this through. It flashes through his mind for a second that he could defend himself, could fire a quick vibe blast at Sif and knock her away. But he doesn't - he doesn't know his powers well enough yet, doesn't know if he would hurt her. It's a split-second decision, but one that he does not question. ]

[ Sif's eyes widen in terror when she realises what is about to happen, and with a grunt she tries to redirect the blow, the effort twisting her entire body and making her lose her balance so that she crashes into Cisco, her sword clattering to the floor as she lets go of it.

Sorry buddy, you are about to end up on the floor with a heavy asgardian in armour on top of you.

Still better than being hacked in two?? ]

[ For a few seconds after he falls, Cisco can't breathe. He clenched his eyes shut at the last second, didn't see the blade veer away, or Sif overbalancing with the momentum of it. All he knows is he's been knocked to the ground, and the adrenaline and fear and expectation of pain are too great at first for him to understand what's happened. It hurts, but he can't figure out where he's bleeding, how badly he's been cut...

He rolls away from Sif instinctively, curling forward around his own chest, hand pressing against his ribs which are seriously complaining about having a heavy alien in armor dropped on them. But he doesn't feel any wetness of blood, doesn't see a wound. Slowly, his brain catches up, though his breath remains knocked out of him for a few more moments. There's pain in the back of his head, too - he must've knocked it on the ground as he fell.

When he sucks in enough air to speak, he croaks: ]

Am I dead?

[ He's joking, of course. He'd been killed, once, and this definitely does not feel like that. It doesn't feel pleasant, either. Cisco tries to get an elbow under him, sit up, but he gives up and drops down to the floor again with a groan. ]

That was... way too close...

I am sorry...

[ Sif is quite shaken, even though Cisco did bring this upon himself by asking her to go to town on his shield.

She sits up and looks at him with concern, not wanting to touch him unbidden though the impulse is there to check if he's gotten hurt. ]

Are you injured?

Don't be. You totally saved my ass.

[ It was just that, in doing so, she'd fallen on him, and boy, she is heavy. Conspicuously so. He's not going to say that, of course. At least not directly. ]

You Asgardian?

[ He'd designed a jet pack for Angela, back in the day. Cisco had learned a little about Agardian physiology, including the fact that, biologically speaking, they were much denser than humans. It's the only explanation he can think of, as he rolls over onto his side and then gets onto his hands and knees, standing up closely with a loud wince. ]

Nope. Not injured. Just bumped my head a bit. Nothin an ibuprofen won't handle. Thanks.

[open] try to tell the difference

⚡️ sif

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