Story [Issue 4] Background Stories: Smoky XT

[chriswu 25]

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It was a busy day at the Zhukov Research Institute. Scientists in the research building hastily bustled through the high ceilinged halls carrying data pads, while in the Engineering department Ivan and his team were getting ready to execute the final tests for a new modification of the Smoky Gun. Dubbed “Smoky XT,” the prototype was highly classified, secret material, and possessed the damage of a Thunder and the reload speed of its fully upgraded predecessor.

Ivan stroked Kiwi, his pet bird which he received from Buran when he had visited his hometown. An unusually long self-run diagnostic allowed Ivan to reminisce on past events.

A month earlier, chief chemist at ZRI Peter Petrov had submitted an exciting finding. By combining specific amounts of phosphorus, hydrogen and fluorine, a new and extremely explosive, corrosive and volatile compound could be generated. A mere kilogram of the combustible substance had succeeded in blowing up half of Petrov’s laboratory in a freak accident in which one of the containment tubes had fractured. Immediately following a press conference was held in which the applications of the finding were discussed. There were many suggestions - some wild and impossible, others intriguing, and some completely pathetic. The prestigious board of scholars, scientists and engineers had just finished a Skype call to an unseeming kid who had enthusiastically suggested a “Turtle-Controlled Miniature Artillery Enhancement” (TuCoMArtEn). On the other end of the spectrum, a retired Russian Cosmonaut with alzheimer's proposed to harness the substance’s combustive nature to create a more effective rocket propellant, which would bear a probe on a 4.243 light year voyage to the nearest star: Proxima Centauri. Frustrated with fruitless proposals, the conference resorted to their own element, concluding that the “Super Substance” should be used in weapons technology. “After all,” ZRI’s council mused, remembering the latest success of freeze, “We’ve had lots of luck with weapons development in the past. Why try to reinvent the wheel when we already know how to use it?”

Following the conference’s conclusion, a truckload of Petrov’s “Super Substance” was shipped to ZRI’s Engineering department, whereupon Ivan and his team of engineers would work the substance’s potent nature into the most advanced weapons of the day: Thunder, Freeze and Ricochet. However, because of Petrov’s accident, it was decided that before the substance was to be integrated into any of the powerful weapons, it must successfully enhance a weaker, more easily modified weapon - smoky, of course! The reasoning behind this was obvious: Petrov’s “Super Substance” was too volatile to risk a malfunction in any weapon of mass destruction. Thus began project “Smoky XT.” Burdened with pressure from the science committee and board, yet driven by excitement, Ivan and his engineers worked relentlessly on Smoky XT. The engineers were now finally running the last diagnostic before proclaiming success.

An electronic “beep” from a terminal brought Ivan back to reality. The results were positive! Ivan and his team had finally created a compatible composite of Smoky’s previous gunpowder with Petrov’s compound. With a few modifications to the turret itself, Smoky XT was ready for service, and Ivan’s team was ready to use their experience with smoky on more powerful weapons. An article on Ivan and his team’s work would be published within the week, and project “Thunder XT” would commence.
Ivan slept well that night. Progress had been slow, but now that Smoky XT was a success, his work was finally cut out for him. After enhancing all of the weapons, the XT series could be released to public knowledge. Recent intelligence had reported that the public, strongly influenced by a famous (yet demented) cosmonaut, was enthralled with the idea of meeting aliens at Proxima Centauri, so ZRI’s secret was safe...or so it was thought. Ivan dreamed of fishing...

Two dark figures lurked in the shadows of Ivan’s lab. One cautiously snatched a diagram of the Smoky XT from a nearby table. The other chuckled with quiet glee.
“Smoky XT...finally a new weapon to devastate the battlefield. I like it!!”
“Peep” It was Kiwi.
“SSSHHH!! QUIET!!! Stop making that noise Vlad!!” The other said. “Let’s leave now. Grab the schematic over there and we’ll have everything we need to make our own Smoky XT.”
Vlad approached the entrance of the lab and clumsily banged into a desk, strewing papers and writing utensils across the floor with a painfully loud clatter. Suddenly self-conscious in the midst of his partner, yet desperately trying to buy a wicked impression, Vlad uttered a weak “muhaha.”

In the morning Ivan and his team entered the laboratory ready to continue work. He and his colleagues were in high spirits...Kiwi was going berserk.
“Funny,” said Ivan. “Kiwi only does that when she sees someone she doesn’t like.”
Slightly annoyed by Kiwi’s howling, but completely ignorant of the two missing schematics, Ivan and his colleagues began documenting their work on the Smoky XT. By the end of the day they had nearly completed writing their article, and by the end of the week they had received approval by the board of ZRI to begin “Thunder XT”.

It was one day a couple weeks later when Ivan and his team were busily working on Thunder XT that an intelligence agent burst into the room.
“Smoky XT is being sold in the black market! Someone has managed to steal our schematics! Project Thunder XT is now on hold until further notice. Agents were sent to confiscate the goods last night, but reports reveal that Smoky XT has been on the market for almost a week as of February 18th! Our secret has been exposed!”
Horror filled the room. The engineers had been so consumed in Thunder XT that it felt odd to file out of the room at midday. With a sigh Ivan realized why Kiwi was so berserk that day when project Thunder XT began. Everyone crossed their fingers, hoping that the agents would successfully retrieve the thieves and confiscate the goods. If people could manufacture Smoky XT’s, it wouldn’t be long before they discovered the formula to Petrov’s compound and forged weapons of mass destruction on their own.

Days passed. Days of idle, boring, inaction for Ivan and his team. Morale was at rock bottom when finally agents had returned with the two thieves who had infiltrated Ivan’s lab that one night several weeks before. At last there was some action. Ivan was invited to hear the interrogation of the two criminals.

The thieves responded to each question with lackadaisical, despondent answers. Not surprisingly, they weren't as gullible as the general public appeared to be. An illustrious cosmonaut with a mental illness, no matter how famed and credited, was still mentally ill. There was no reasonable way in which one could expect the masses to believe in travelling light years to meet green aliens. Faulty intelligence agents were to blame for this confounded information, and this was becoming more and more believable by the second, as the thieves easily outwitted and squirmed past each question posed by the interrogators, agents themselves.

The rest of the interrogation ensued, in which the Agent became thoroughly frustrated with his subjects, though in the end, some progress was made. It became apparent that Vlad and Andrei had figured out the formula for Petrov’s “Super Substance”, which meant that there was a threat that they might further develop these weapons and sell them to wreak havoc upon the civilized world. However, Ivan and his team were further ahead than Vlad and Andrei, since they had access to Thunder, Freeze, and Ricochet. Since both sides were mutually threatened, a treaty was signed not to further develop weapons based on Petrov’s compound, and all such weapons were confiscated and destroyed, leaving no evidence of them ever existing save for the wasted money of buyers. All was well, and while Ivan had to return to his mundane world of “regular” work, he was relieved all the same to be rid of wrangling with colleagues and board members, and witnessing the agents go about their “work”. Ivan decided it was time for another vacation.

Ivan sighed. “I guess it’s never too early to go on vacation. I’m looking forward to visiting home again. It will finally rid me of all this trouble...

Edited September 26, 2017 by Hexed

[ALEXBOOT 0]

smoky XT the biggest rip off of tanki

[chriswu 25]

lol true dat :P

[FederalBureauFBI 2,881]

Nice work!

[jvpski3 0]

"Smoky" is already that annoying... please... no... don't get me sucked into this darkness... why...

 

Whatever, good work, just like fbFBI said.

[chriswu 25]

lol I can +1 to that :P

[jlsluvva123 0]

Every one of your sentences start with lol in the above two posts.

[chriswu 25]

lol this is a very lolish topic

[XxSdarknessSxX 2]

Talk about Smokey and the Bandit.

[Gospel_666 0]

i wasnt on tanki when they had smoky xt :angry:wish i was i bet it was awsome :lol:

[Gospel_666 0]

IM AMAZING. i would be more amazing if i had smoky xt hope they bring it back some day :lol: 

[jazz20 1,181]

Curious if they ever made a railgun XT version of this story..

 

Very nicely written  ^_^

[rami_911 0]

IM AMAZING. i would be more amazing if i had smoky xt hope they bring it back some day :lol: 

they never will i used to have it but it was quite a rip off :/