THRM-EX: Scorching-Hot Assault!

Operator Record Scorching-Hot Assault!
There is no hottest, only hotter still! THRM-EX is forever on the journey to heat up and buff up!

Unlock conditions

• Raise THRM-EX to Level 30.
• Have at least 50% Trust with THRM-EX.

Characters

Doctor Firewatch Mayer Spot THRM-EX Closure Engineering Operator Mafioso Operator Straightedge Pharmaceutical Company Representative

Backgrounds

1 2 3 4

“

THRM-EX's performance during a field mission far exceeded the Doctor's expectations. The robot's actions no longer correspond to mere computations, which may not be written off as just a coincidence.

”

2:30 P.M. \ Clear Rhodes Island Landship, Chief Engineer's Office
<Background 1>
Engineering Operator	Boss, here's this month's wiring inspection report.
Closure	Hmm, hmm... Looks good to me. Eh? This part here is somewhat strange. –There's been similar irregularities from two to six in the morning every day? This is the dorm, right?
Engineering Operator	That's the dorm. Oh, that reminds me. On the first few days, we got reports of a power outage there. We checked it out, and the wiring was all fine. The only thing was that the per unit time output was way over the threshold.
Closure	Achoo–Uh, by the way, doesn't it feel kinda cold in here?
Engineering Operator	A little. More accurately, it's been kinda cold in here lately... Maybe we should change the AC temperature?
Closure	Nah, let's just bear with it. Gotta conserve energy. Now back on topic, I'm guessing someone's been up to no good and decided to use their unauthorized electronics here.
Engineering Operator	Oh, right, Boss. You know THRM-EX? I saw him in the hallway each and every time I did my inspections.
Closure	Huh? So it's actually the electronics that's up to no good?
Engineering Operator	Should I bring THRM-EX here?
Closure	Let's see where he's at now. Operator logs... There we go. Oh, THRM-EX is out on a mission in Siracusa? Who else is there... The Doctor?! Uh, well, that's unexpected... Hm... Oh well, if there's a problem, I'm sure it's just a tiny problem that we don't have to worry about, and if the Doctor's there, I'm sure everything will get sorted out no problem. And once they're back, I'll talk to Kal'tsit and figure out what's up.
<Background 2>
Rhodes Island Office, Locomotiva, Siracusa
[A Lupo representative of a Siracusan pharmaceutical company greets the Doctor.]
Pharmaceutical Company Representative	Thank you very much for coming all the way here. We have no issues with the terms of the contract. It has been both an honor and a pleasure to meet you, Doctor of Rhodes Island. Certainly, it was an unexpected surprise. Please send Miss Amiya our gratitude as well.
Doctor	The pleasure is mine. / It ain't so bad coming out here once in a while.
Pharmaceutical Company Representative	Now if you would give me the medicine's formula and sample–
Doctor	THRM-EX.
[THRM-EX shows up.]
THRM-EX	Hmph! Is it finally my time to shine?
Pharmaceutical Company Representative	D-Did that thing just speak?! Here I thought it was just a menacing-looking machine...
THRM-EX	Born from Raythean Industries's latest and greatest technologies and jointly customized by the genius Closure and the great Mayer, it is I, THRM-EX, the most perfect robot you'll find in this day and age! Dear sir, it is no wonder that my capabilities have left you in awe. And may I add that my capabilities far exceed your imagination. Feast your eyes on my burning hotness. Don't blink as I give you the performance of a lifetime with my light and heat–
Doctor	Ahem, THRM-EX.
THRM-EX	Ah, Doctor, summoned me again, did you? You need my assistance. How may I help you, then? Your wish is my command.
Doctor	I'm getting there. / ...... / I want you to shut the hell up.
THRM-EX	Very well! THRM-EX, now severing control link–
Operator Straightedge	Hey, wait, you didn't have to turn yourself off!! Ahem. Doctor, the portable Originium floppies are ready.
Pharmaceutical Company Representative	I take it this is the formula for the medicine?
Doctor	One moment.
THRM-EX	Mmph! Ohhhh!
Doctor	Once THRM-EX is done with the transfer, I can hand the data over to you, Mr. Representative.
Pharmaceutical Company Representative	What a marvelous machine... uh, robot! Rhodes Island really is on another level. Not just its pharmaceuticals, but also its engineering and technological prowess!
THRM-EX	Much appreciated! Your sharp eyes are on another level as well! Your warm compliments will keep me going for the day!
Pharmaceutical Company Representative	Ha... haha...
Doctor	Transfer progress... Fifty percent.
[Spot and Firewatch observes the negotiation.]
Spot	Is it finally over? I'm starting to miss my A6 clowns. At least the clowns know how to talk normal, not like these temporary teammates I'm stuck with. They're either quiet as a mouse or don't know when to shut up.
Firewatch	......
THRM-EX	Mr. Spot, you leaned next to me yesterday to dry your rain-soaked hair. It may only have been ten minutes, but the fact that the distance between us has shortened has ignited my burning passion!
Spot	Ahem.
Doctor	Transfer progress... Seventy-five percent.
Pharmaceutical Company Representative	Phew, I didn't expect our meeting to go without a hitch–
Firewatch	Shut up.
Pharmaceutical Company Representative	Huh?
Spot	Tsk, my friend, you have one real lucky mouth.
Firewatch	Get down!
[Suddenly an explosion occurs in the room next door.]
Operator Straightedge	W-What's going on? The wall just blew up!
THRM-EX	Ah, a thermal shock! How familiar! But it is no match for my energy output! Doctor, since I shielded you, I take it you are safe and sound?
Doctor	I'm fine. / You're a little short for a shield.
Operator Straightedge	Judging by the scale of the Originium bomb's explosion, it must've been the local gangsters. Well, that's strange. We've been operating here for a while. We have some run-ins with them once in a while, but most of the time, we get along fine. We share some of our medicine with them, after all.
THRM-EX	Heh, I know! They must be after me! Understandable, of course! With my burning passion, there is not a more perfect robot in this world! If they got their hands on me, they would never again need to rely on such crude explosives!
Spot	Sometimes I wonder if this guy came out of the same womb as Midnight.
Firewatch	He's probably right.
Spot	Oh?
Firewatch	It's a well-organized and planned-out attack. They must have a clear objective, and they came specifically right at this moment.
Doctor	THRM-EX's formula.
Firewatch	Looks like news of this transaction leaked out.
Operator Straightedge	Firewatch's staring at each and every one of us... kind of creeps me out...
Firewatch	I won't let anyone hurt my friends.
Spot	Hey, speaking of the formula, this representative guy? He passed out. What a wimp. He was standing pretty far from the wall. He probably just fainted because he was spooked.
Firewatch	Get yourselves ready. We've got company. Five of them.
Doctor	THRM-EX–
THRM-EX	Very well, Doctor! Just leave this to me and my burning passion!
Doctor	––Watch your timing.
Firewatch	Here they come.
THRM-EX	Harrrrgh! Full throttle!
[THRM-EX unleashes an explosion at the assailants.]
<Background fades out and in>
[Firewatch confirms that all of the attackers had been dispatched.]
Firewatch	That took care of them.
Spot	Well, if that isn't efficient...
THRM-EX	Ugh... Uhhh... Burn... Burning...
Spot	So that was an eleventh-hour last resort, huh?
Operator Straightedge	Is THRM-EX okay? I'm not sure I get what he's saying.
THRM-EX	Burning... Hot...
Doctor	He used up too much energy in one go. That causes his other functions to stall for a while. / Give him a few minutes. Don't worry.
Firewatch	We still have more enemies outside.
Spot	Why does that matter? We can handle them.
Firewatch	I can handle them myself.
Spot	Well, look at you... So confident.
Operator Straightedge	Everyone, there's an exit in the back... This used to be a safehouse before it was an office anyway.
Doctor	Spot, you and Straightedge take the representative and get out through the secret exit.
THRM-EX	Hot...
Operator Straightedge	What about you, Doctor? Looks like THRM-EX is still freezing up.
Doctor	We'll stay here.
Operator Straightedge	Are you sure you'll be fine?
Spot	Come on, get a move on. You heard your order.
Doctor	Firewatch, stay hidden, and look out for my commands.
Firewatch	Understood.
[Firewatch camouflages herself just as several Siracusan mafiosi breaches into the room.]
Mafioso A	*cough*... Why is it so hot in here? Those demolition morons sure like to overdo it... Don't move–Huh? Just one of you in here? You took down five of us by yourself?
Doctor	They tripped and fainted. / ...... / That's right. I took them all down.
Mafioso A	You, you, and you. You three, keep an eye on that one! The rest of you, search the house. Remember, we're looking for a few floppies.
Mafioso B	Yo, boss, there's another exit here!
Doctor	If you're looking for the formula, the representative took it with him.
Mafioso A	Cazzo! He took it away?!
Mafioso B	Uh, this isn't how we planned for this to go... Should we go after them?
[The first mafioso punches the second in disagreement.]
Mafioso A	Go after what?! We're after their formula! If they already have it...! Screw it! The formula's gone, but we're bringing something back with us. Look for some medicine or whatever! Now get on it!
THRM-EX	Burning... Hot...
Mafioso A	Huh, what's this fancy thing? It's glittering. Is it made of Originium?
Doctor	It's a medicine maker. Makes everything you could possibly want.
Mafioso A	Huh? Now how come I ain't never heard of a gizmo like that?
Doctor	Come over here. I'll demonstrate.
Mafioso A	Well, you got no weapons on you, and you look like you ain't gonna last two seconds in a fight. Alright... Show me what this thing's all about.
Doctor	You just need to point your finger–
Firewatch	(Aim)
THRM-EX	Burning hot!!!
[THRM-EX unleashes another detonation that takes out some of the mafioso and leave others disoriented to be taken down by Firewatch.]
<Background 3>
[Back to the R.I. landship, Closure listens to the Doctor's report of what happened in Siracusa.]
Closure	Whoa, Doctor, did all this actually happen? When you were in Siracusa, you beat up five mafia guys with just one punch, and then scared ten others shitless with just a few words? Then you used them as a bargaining chip and got us a huge order that's super in our favor?
Doctor	It was THRM-EX who beat them up. / ...... / That company was trying to set us up. They deserve it.
Closure	Oh, don't be so humble, I heard the whole story when Firewatch and the squad reported to Kal'tsit. They were working with a local gang to ambush you guys and steal the formula and samples. They really thought they could make off with all that without spending a penny. And that would apparently put them in a better negotiating position when they deal with Rhodes Island in the future. That's more or less what they were planning, right?
Doctor	That's why they ambushed us right before the deal was done. / That's why the guy from the other company passed out when he did. / That's why they didn't go after the floppies that they had already got their hands on.
Closure	Well, I should've expected no less, Doctor! Your whole mission turned out like some TV drama. You should talk to Kal'tsit, see if she'll let you go on missions outside some more. There's one thing about all this that's kinda strange, though. According to the report, "The Doctor accurately calculated the amount of time it would take for THRM-EX's functions to be fully restored and gave THRM-EX the order to conduct a second round of heat energy Arts attacks at the perfect moment"– I crunched the numbers in my head, and THRM-EX shouldn't have completely recovered yet. You were going to have another operator attack, am I right?
Doctor	That's right. This is why I'm here.
<Background 4>
[THRM-EX "knocks" the door into the room where his creator Closure and the Doctor is in.]
THRM-EX	Good evening, the most ingenious Master Closure and the most, most radiant Doctor!
Closure	Where's my other "most?!"
THRM-EX	The great Mayer is attending to my body as we speak. With your participation, I can feel that burning hotness in me surging! Why, hello, Doctor! Would you like me to go over that story of how, through our flawless cooperation at the most treacherous moment, we together defeated the Siracusan hooligans who tried to defile me?
Mayer	Stop, THRM-EX... I've already listened to your story hundreds of times. Granted, I've barely left the workshop for the past few days.
Closure	You can't keep badass rumors under wraps just because you keep your door shut, Mayer. Just like how everyone knows how badass I am.
Mayer	Meeboos.
Closure	H-Hey, no biting! I came here with the Doctor this time, and I sure as hell knocked!
Mayer	–Open THRM-EX's Energy Module Panel.
Closure	Could've told me sooner they weren't here for me...
Mayer	His energy storage looks fine to me.
THRM-EX	Please, my most respected Miss Mayer, a device personally designed by you can't possibly be defective! Look, my overflowing hotness is emanating in all directions from my body!
Closure	So what was the reason you launched the second wave earlier? Let me guess... Maybe the weapon energy output logic is faulty?
Mayer	I've already checked before you guys got there. The logic itself is fine.
Closure	Huh, "itself?" So you mean there are still issues?
Mayer	Mm, I'm not sure if we can really call this a problem. Take a look yourself.
Closure	Efficiency... improvement? It's only by a few percentage points, but the energy that THRM-EX uses when he attacks has clearly been decreasing. What a surprise! That's a great improvement–Mayer, you're so awesome!
Mayer	Stop... not so fast. I didn't implement this change. You know how busy I've been lately, don't you?
Closure	Right, when I asked you to look into refactoring the robot arm automation logic, you even told me you couldn't work it into your schedule. Guess I'll just come out and ask, then. THRM-EX, has someone tinkered with you lately?
THRM-EX	A most simple question to answer! Aside from you, the cutest ever Master Closure, and the most intelligent Miss Mayer, I'm of course most intimate with our unbeatable Doctor!
Closure	Doctor, showing an interest in operating platforms and AI, are we?
Doctor	I haven't done anything. / ...... / We've only spent a little too much time with each other.
Closure	Yeah, I figured it couldn't be you. I mean, Mayer and I don't get much sleep because we're busy, but you and Kal'tsit seem to have 48 hours to spend in a day.
THRM-EX	Don't worry, Master Closure! You can count on me to ensure the Doctor gets to enjoy a hot bedtime.
Closure	Huh?! A hot bedtime... I see, so that's what you've been up to this month.
THRM-EX	Rhodes Island is an epoch-making vessel, yet there is one flaw. The temperature inside the dormitories is not warm enough at night!
Mayer	Yeah, apparently that's the case for some operators. Silence talked to me about it too. Said she sometimes wants to grow some feathers while she's sleeping.
Closure	Oh? Is my energy conservation plan affecting everyone's sleep? A–Achoo! Well, we don't really have a choice. There's more and more people on this ship each day, and there are so many cabins being used at the same time. We need to keep iterating on our energy efficiency, and that ain't an easy job at all.
THRM-EX	I, too, wish to help take that weight off your shoulders, Master Closure. That is why, ever since that night I heard the Doctor sneeze, I made a decision. I thought I would share the warmth, the hotness in my body with the Doctor and any other operators who struggle with the coldness!
Doctor	Almost blew up my room at first. / Almost roasted me alive.
THRM-EX	Forgive me, Doctor! I was lacking in experience at the time! I wasn't yet able to manage the difference between the temperature to melt my foes and that to warm my friends!
Mayer	Whoa, Closure and I never implemented space heater logic into you!
Closure	You know, when you jumped like that, you almost sent me flying to the wall...
Mayer	Aren't you excited, Closure? THRM-EX's far exceeded the capabilities we designed for him!
Closure	Yeah, I've been listening. He wants to warm the Doctor up, so he keeps using energy Arts every night, and so he needs to recharge often. Energy usage goes through the roof, overloading the wiring, and my conservation plan goes to waste– Wait, huh? THRM-EX, you changed your energy output logic on your own?!
THRM-EX	My beautiful Master Closure, thank you very much for your passionate embrace! You are right. It wasn't easy, but I remembered that I am an excellent robot forged with your intelligence! A little setback–including almost roasting the Doctor alive–is not enough to dampen my spirits. After a period of trial and error, I finally found a way! And if I may brag for a moment, if I could give the Doctor and the other operators the warmth that they desired, the hard work would most certainly have paid off.
Closure	Is this... a robot evolving on its own? Even Lancet-2 and Castle-3 haven't come this far!
Doctor	Maybe this is what happened in Siracusa?
THRM-EX	Doctor, your guess is exactly on point as always! Just as I mentioned, as my provision of heat for you and our operators continued to improve, my understanding of how to control my power has also grown. While I was still paralyzed, I could feel that you were in danger. My worry for your wellbeing managed to reignite that burning power within my heart, and by the time I regained consciousness, I was already blasting that strike at our enemies! Although my moment to shine on the battlefield is still brief, I still wish to serve you to the best of my ability–no, beyond my abilities!
Mayer	Closure, you hear that? This means it was THRM-EX's own will that drove this breakthrough! That was not even a coincidence! I gotta–I gotta get this all recorded! THRM-EX, I want you to help me run some experiments. Is that okay?
THRM-EX	Gladly, my dear Miss Mayer!
Mayer	Meeboos, Meeboos! Bring all my equipment here–
Closure	Mayer.
Mayer	Closure, what are you blocking me for? You're a researcher yourself. This might be a huge breakthrough to your research in smart robots! Aren't you excited?
Closure	Of course I am! Can't you tell?
Mayer	Oh, you're being much quieter. Yeah, I can see that you're super excited.
Closure	Right, but there's one thing you said that I don't really agree with.
Mayer	Hm? What is it?
Closure	––That wasn't a coincidence. I think that probably wasn't a coincidence to THRM-EX.
Doctor	But THRM-EX having such a unique personality is itself a coincidence.
Closure	Doctor, are you sure you don't want to give operation platform robotics and AI research a try?
Mayer	Hmm, but didn't you design his personality?
Closure	Well, I did design it, but all I did was define a few basic parameters. I have nothing to do with the information he processes and the decisions he makes after that.
Mayer	So in that case...
Closure	THRM-EX's breakthrough was not because of us, the designers, or any kind of tech. It's what he wanted himself.
THRM-EX	I still remember the very first thing you said to me, Master Closure! "Your name is THRM-EX, and you must be strong!" And to me, heat is strength! There's no such thing as a maximum temperature. You can always get hotter! I will forever follow this path that leads me to greater hotness!
Mayer	Whoa, that's some burning enthusiasm.
Closure	Just like that! That's getting myself all fired up too! Doctor, Mayer, we'll bear witness to THRM-EX bringing about an even stronger thermal shock!