Issue Eight Interlude V: Back At The Lab

Meanwhile, back at HQ...

Jericho tinkers in the lab on his pet project as arcs of sparks and the smell of ozone don't go unnoticed by other interested parties...

Taking a brief pause to wipe some sweat from his brow, Jericho is interrupted by Gordon Fields, wearing a white lab coat and a football helmet.

"Need any help?"

" if you know anything about metallurgy, or engineering welcome aboard" Tesla replies. Any help He is given is appreciated, although he would do his best to keep the exact nature of the project secret if posible.

"Metallurgy? Heck, I used to have a merit badge in metallurgy!", Gordon exclaims, hefting something up that appears to be a portable plasma cannon. "What are we building?"

"I'd prefer to keep the project secret, if possible...", Jericho begins to explain...

"OK, then!", Gordon interrupts excitedly, "Let's get started!"

Despite being highly eccentric (his football helmet does have a welding visor), Gordon Fields is a brilliant scientist, both in theoretical work and in execution. His continued involvement will likely save Jericho considerable time on his project...if he can tolerate the man's eccentricities...

Jericho would break up the monotony by talking about working with his father. "To everyone else Nikolai Tesla was a mad scientist, but to me he was my father. He taught me everything about electricity. i remember his experiment in the desert......" eventually the conversation would come around to Guglielmo Marconi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_Marconi "That guy...." after some grumbling and growling "sorry about that Gordon, it's a bit of a sore subject"

Gordon remains silent during Jericho's monologue, to the point where Jericho isn't even sure if the man is paying attention. A few moments after Jericho finishes, Gordon begins to talk about Tesla's patents and the application of bladeless turbines in AC powered systems and the potential model for 'stored' AC power through a device he calls an "AC capacitor". "That's where Tesla and Marconi differed", Gordon suggests, "your father was a true inventor and saw numerous applications for his developments...Marconi was just a glorified hobbyist and tinkerer..."

Of course, times just flies by as the duo have an ongoing conversation while working on 'Secret Project X'...

After a while, Jericho gets the uneasy feeling that he is being watched. Pausing temporarily to scan the room, Jericho realizes Lara, the immortal being who arrived just a few days ago with the purpose of 'observing' the team, stands quietly a short distance away.

"Whatcha doin'?", she asks after being observed.

"Building" jericho pauses for a second. "an advanced automobile"

"What's an...automobile?"

"Comes from the greek auto and latin mobile. meaning "self moving" it's an internal combustion engine powered four wheel vehicle " he then pauses "forgive me for being facetious miss. I was merely jesting. I'm working on.....well.....call it an advanced suit of armor."

"Ah, so you are an armorsmith, then..." Looking at the pieces Jericho has gathered for the suit's outer shell, she adds "plate mail, I assume?"