"Oh yeah I've got a bandolier of speedloaders for every revolver already. That all sounds really cool. Uh, hmm... I'm not sure about cyber stuff? Not without thinking about it more anyway? It's kind of a leap is all?"

Her grin softens a bit. "Yeah, it's a big change. I'm taking it slow, installing the pieces I want. It's a big decision. The next big thing I'm designing, though, the big experimental thing, is onboard ballistic calculations and displaying trajectories on your optics. That's a really invasive option, though."

"It's like... Not to be unfair, but are you even a doctor? Are you a tinker? As in someone with special powers relating to technology? I do not have an urgent need for these things. Well, until a close call happens and I'm sure that will recalibrate my gut feelings and maybe I should just do that in advance, but..." She does a gallic shrug.

She smiles sheepishly. "I think you'd call me a tinker, in the terms you're used to? The exact details are a complicated story, but I'm one hundred percent confident in my ability to install any piece of cyberware in my Shop. I can't really explain where the medical knowledge came from, but I have a full surgical suite, and I've already installed a piece in myself successfully."

One hand comes up to tap an ear. "Specialized auditory implants to enhance my hearing range while making me immune to the sounds of gunfire. Can't even tell it's there, can you?"

"...This would be a pretty convenient test. Not a hundred percent but..."

.....She covers her mouth and whispers, "If you can hear this, say 'Lemon'."

She grins sharper. "Lemon~," she sing-songs. "Oh that's giving me a craving for lemon cookies now."

"Ehehehe."

She digs a plastic package out of her messenger bag. Mediocre big box store sugar cookies, lemon flavor. Two left out of six.

"Lemons were actually on my mind for a reason. Have a present!"

"Oooooh!! Cookies! You're my new best friend! Well, after my Shop herself, of course." She cheerfully accepts the package, sets it on the counter, and pops a cookie from it into her mouth, wiggling happily as she enjoys it.

"I'm glad you like them! Hmm, I guess I should go fetch my usual weapons as a starting point?"

"Mhm!" She nods, mouth still full of cookie.

"It'll be a bit. Like ten minutes."

And it is. She's back carrying three handgun cases after that though!

"Hi again!"

"Hi!" By that point the cookies are gone. As is the package. "Thanks for those. Hit the spot. So! Tell me about your guns and which you use when."

Those details definitely exist, yep.

Two near identical save for differences in weathering and repairs, chambered in .32 S&W, a remarkably light round, and one big one in .500 S&W magnum, a remarkably heavy one. All of the guns themselves were made by Smith & Wesson. The two smaller-caliber ones are fairly old. She rarely uses the big magnum, not liking its weight and recoil but very much liking the option of big shots. The big revolver weighs literally half again as much as the other two put together and then some, though.

After examining the three revolvers, Ruby nods. "So our big goal is more stopping power for less weight. Is the magnum big enough, or would even more stopping power be better?"

"Hmmmmm. Honestly against the real big mean nasties - boss monsters, or tank monsters - even a bazooka wouldn't really be enough, but there's diminishing returns, you know? A .500 Magnum is enough to mangle almost every common monster quite effectively. Might be a bit too much, even."

"So the first thing to keep in mind is that the more exotic we go, the more likely it is you'll have to come back here for ammo. I'm not gonna mind that, you seem really cool and I need the business, but I'm not building you anything custom without warning you of that in advance," Ruby cautions. "I think we definitely have some options here, though. I can build you something in between your thirty-twos and your magnum, and cheat the recoil and weight a bit, especially if we get exotic with the metal and the ammo. For the big beasties, I've got ideas in the neighborhood of a solid slugthrower shaped like a shotgun, with a thin cutout down the magazine tube so you can run your finger over everything."

"You're not gonna up and vanish next week, are you? And if you suddenly jack the prices up sky-high, well, I'll go back to my old weapons. But you don't seem corporate enough to pull that shit, and also word would get around if you did so you have another reason not to... That thin cutout idea is neat."

"Definitely not jacking the prices up, and I'm pretty sure whatever brought me and the Shop here will keep us here, or at least keep bringing us back if it takes us away. Just a hunch."

Then she grins. "And I'm glad you like the cutout! Figured that'd be a good way to let you keep the quick finger-brush charge-ups right after loading."

She sits back down and start poking at designs on her computer, material specifications flashing on the screens that Lenora can see. She seems to be looking for two different things, materials with unusual force-dissipation or -redirection properties, and uncommonly lightweight metals.

"Pull up a chair!"

She will sit!

"Oh, I wonder if you could make camera drones with that one?" She says of the light metal.

"Yeah, I bet I could! This could be used for armored drones, probably. They're a bit outside my wheelhouse, but they'd be fun as a stretch project. Why I'm looking at these now though is to find something to lighten the load of a larger revolver for you. The force dissipating ones are to try to mess with the recoil a bit."

After a moment, she settles on a pale, bluish alloy. "Okay, this should save maybe a third the weight over the usual alloys, which'll let us get closer to magnum power while keeping a similar weight to your thirty-twos."

"I know just enough about engineering to know that some folks from Boeing would sell their left arm for lighter alloys, but not enough to really appreciate it. Looks shiny."

"Oh? That... I'm not sure if other people can make my alloys, honestly. Some of them depend on ingredients you might not have here."

"Mm. Sorry if I hit a nerve or something. I'm just kind of yapping."

"No! Not at all, I just wish I could share everything I can do."

While they talk, Ruby's laying out a revolver in her design software. "Oh, could you hold out your dominant hand for a sec?" She pulls a soft tape measure out of a drawer.