Initium Novum: Episode 1

[JextheShadow]

Maintenance Sector: Level 2

Standing before this cool metal door, Tobius once again cursed the world darkly under his breath. He hated mornings, always have, especially on jump days. Tobius always enjoyed the few extra minutes of peace that he allowed himself before jumping out of bead to get ready for work, But like every time the ship jumped he would be denied his peace. The sudden movement of the ship tossing him out of bed and ripping him from his dreams every time. He would always find himself on the ground, cursing at nothing in particular.

Unfortunately today he couldn't revel in his dark mood in the sanctuary that was the inner workings of the ship, today he was assigned to a kitchen android That had some sort of failure. Now rclean and dressed for work, he found himself standing in front of the door of the aindroids room his mind, like always, somewhere else. He shook his head vigorously, both to bring him back to the now and here and shake away the brooding mood. A smile on his face, he swept his Id card across the panel beside the door and entered the room, the door sliding shut behind him.

If it wasnt for the tools neatly placed on wheeled tables it would seam that Tobius just entered a operating room. White walls a bright single light radiating throughout the room, making it appear to be a sterile area. The moment Tobius entered a smile was brought to his lips as he beamed pleasantly toward the AI, moving to shake its hand.

"Hello, my names Tobius Tetrial, but you can call me Tetrial."
"Morning Tetrial, I am Giovanni."
"Nice to meet you Giovani, now let me see here."

As Tobius spoke he reached for the chart at the foot of Giovanni's bed, inspecting it closely. What he read was quite frankly.. strange. Looking from the chart to the AI several times before setting the chart back down a real smile finally on his face. At least this is interesting, Tobius thought again before adressing the AI once more. "It seems Giovanni that there was an accident in the kitchens. IM going to need to acess your inner workings. If you could sit at the edge of the bed and relax, I can get started."

The android complied without complaint. AS Tobius stood waiting for Giovanni to get into place he couldn't help but groan inwardly. He hated working on android, though this particular case could easily be the exception. He had no problem with AI, in fact the few co-workers he actually respected are all AI, but to take them apart and look into the actual code that made up thier minds felt wrong. As if he was poking around were he didst belong, i felt disrespectful. Finally Giovanni was in place and Tobius went to work.

Taking his pick of the tools arrayed around the room he came behind the AI and began accessing the maintenance hatch on the back of the older Androids skull. A soft click and the hatch creaked open. Plugging his tablet into several ports within the hardware. His attention there after was glued to the data on his tablet, running a couple quick diagnostic scans, it came back within moments that the hard drive and memory of the AI seemed to be fine. With older models though that didn't tell him much.

So he delved deeper into his core programming. The data scrolled down his tablet but Tobius just stared at it blankly. He quickly opened another program to identify the model of the AI to confirm his suspicion. This wasn't Giovanni or at least it wasn't anymore. The core programming was... altered. Someone hacked this AI for whatever reason and fundamentally changed his core programming. Tobius Withdrew the ports and slowly backed away, his mind racing at what this could possibly mean and why this particular AI. He needed to call in someone else to figure this out, the particulars of AI are beyond his skill. With that in mind Tobius forced a smile back on his face and politly spoke to the android. "Giovanni, if you could stay here I need to call in a specialist." With that Tobius left the room without waiting for the AI's response. He quickly ran down the hall to the locker rooms, where he had changed earlier into his uniform. He pulled out his Communicater and dialed a person who would be able to figure this out, a very old friend that still owed him a favor.

After several moments, Tobius had almost hung up and dialed again when he connected. "Kallen... this is Tetrial. I could use your help down here."

 

[Rainjay]

Celyn:HQ

Celyn's was racing across the HQ, heart racing, hair flying. Of course, the VRT building had to be across the entire HQ. A newbie got a tour just by walking to friggen training. There was nobody out here to watch her progress- everybody was already inside at VRT, probably laughing at her absence. She wouldn't be surprised if they were making bets on if she'd arrive on time or not. They had last time.

She slammed into the double door entrance to the whitewashed building, the impact sending the doors flying open in her wake. Her shoes skidded against the floor as she darted through the hallways, eyes watching the small digital watch on her wrist. She was almost there... almost there...

A chorus of cheers and boos erupted from the men and women inside of the dark room as she hurled herself inside, seconds remaining. Seconds hardly counted as on-time, but arguably, she did make it. She bent over, palms on her knees for support, and struggled to catch her breath, chest heaving as a few people slapped her on the back. She couldn't sum up enough emotion to feel irritated- she was only relieved. She would keep her job. Maybe.

A large man in full uniform waded his way through the crowd, shoving off the boisterous trainee's and veterans alike. He had a full face of stubble and a flap of brown hair over his head, lips that were built for pouting and probably should have had a cigar perched between them, and eyes grayer than steel. He held himself proudly, as if he had led the Initium Novum to victory against the alien armada, landed the ship personally on an Earth-replica, and rebuilt society single handedly. That said, he had never once been in a battle in his entire lifetime, and the middle-aged man certainly wouldn't know what to do if he was suddenly thrust into one. He was all ego, all stupidity and no brawn, nor brains, although he had a voice that might as well have been produced with cybernetics, it was so loud and gruffy.

"Officer! Do you understand what the words, "on-time" mean? Be "on-time"? Did you listen a' me when I told everyone here that "on-time" meant," the man sucked in a decent sized breath, "GET YOUR ASSES HERE BEFORE THE VERY LAST MINUTE POSSIBLE?!"

The director of the Virtual Reality Training program was, to say the least, very into his job.

Barnes always had been very into his job. Some soldiers, both Security and Defense alike, said that it was his way of compensating. Celyn was pretty sure that was the same thing as calling Councilwoman Aya senile, which really wasn't close to being true, but had a similar effect. She never would say it herself, but Barnes was an ass in every way possible, and it probably was only to their benefit. Nothing would ever get done in VRT without it- when you've got Virtual Reality, who gives a damn about practice when you can spend the time dicking around? At least, that's what Levias would have said. Barnes kept them on track, but sometimes 'on track' was a little bit too 'on track' for Celyn's liking.

She resisted the urge to shrink back, instead propping her hands up on her hips and straightening her back. "Sir, at least I'm here. I apologize. The jump set me back a minute or two."

"The jump my ass. If the jump was going to be a problem soldier, you'd have better gotten your ass here ten minutes before. You were probably still in bed ten minutes before the jump. Is this what we've got? An entire force of lazy, good-for-nothing, useless-"

"Sir, don't you believe we should begin the training now?" Somebody spoke up from the back of the group. Barnes narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the crowd, but apparently couldn't find whomever spoke. He opened his mouth to continue his tirade but relented, turning his back on Celyn.

He cleared his throat before releasing another resounding injunction. "Fine. Alright. You know what to do. Charleson! You've got the newbies this time. And don't let them destroy the VR systems like last time, or you'll be getting it. Celyn, get your ass into training. Next time, don't let me find you late, or I swear to God-"

"If there was a God out here, Sir, I believe we would have already landed this forsaken ship. If you don't mind my saying." The words spilled from her lips before she could stop them. His beady eyes landed on her form again just as her comm link began to hum.

"You have been selected by Security and Military Councilman Davis for a special assignment. You are ordered to report immediately to Security Headquarters on level 3. Once there, head to room 137 on floor 17. Participation is mandatory."

She frowned in confusion. "What...?" Automated message- she couldn't reply, even if she wanted to.

"What on Earth does Davis wan' with you? This is your lucky day, Carrington. Get your ass going." The Director said with a chuckle. "Oh, and let me know what they wanted with ya. Maybe I could get a good laugh out of it."

She sighed and paced back through the doors she had just come through. They couldn't have sent the message through, say, five minutes prior? Then she could have avoided this whole mess. She started up to the seventeenth level, taking her time. They said immediately, but surely not everybody they called up was going to already have been in HQ. Plus, it wouldn't do if she arrived huffing and out of breath. Special assignment sounded like something exclusive.

"Pff. Can't possibly be aliens already. We just got here," she mumbled to herself, pausing outside room 137. She'd never been up here before, and had no idea what she'd find inside. She pushed open the door and walked into the room.

A few people sat in chairs, sitting there calmly like they'd been there for ages. Many of the chairs still sat empty. She chose one at random, seating herself next to a woman with a short-cropped military style hair cut, only her hair was dyed a blazing purple. Never seen her before. A few of the other men and women in the room came across as familiar, although they weren't anybody she had worked personally with. It was rather hard to 'work personally' with somebody else when your area of expertise was alien fighting in a ship with no aliens.

I wonder if everyone here is military? She pondered. Maybe they're gonna transfer us all into Security or something. Hope not. She leaned back in her seat, hands folded together on her lap with another sigh. She was probably going to be waiting for a bit.

 

[Detective Zero]

Kallen Kurenai - Level 3, #ff3333

[spacer]It seemed like an ordinary day for her so far, getting out of the house, and even her 'official' workshop back in level 4 just going around and visiting clients and friends alike. No wonder she still had a good shape to her, she was always on the move. Hell, if she wanted to she could probably stay on par or surpass one of the military or security personnel if they ran like they were on track. Stopping by one of the fast-food places, she grabs herself a drink and a small bag consisting of a cheeseburger and fries, her load from earlier seeming quite light now that she had most of her work done for the day.[/spacer]
[spacer]It was then that Flint starting giving off a musical tune, his middle section holding his optic spinning around once with his usual beep, "A call? Huh, wonder who that could be.. Alright Flint, put it to speaker." and as she says, a click familiar to a phone would sound off as the call proceeds. "Kallen... this is Tetrial. I could use your help down here." Huh, Tobi huh? She hadn't heard from him in some time, "Ah, Tobi nice to hear from you. What do you need? You caught me at a good time.." While she spoke, a holographic screen emitted from Flint's optic which showed her the details of location of the call, as well as the caller. "Ah well, I'll make my way over to you anyways. Keep on giving me details through Flint if you'd like, it's going to take me a good half-hour to get there from foot off level 3 and then to a railway. Plenty of time to tell me what's up. Though if you suspect I need any of my bigger tools, expect another half hour since I'll need to drop by my workshop then." While that was going, she was enjoying her drink as she also had Flint carry the bag of her food, devouring her cheeseburger in her other hand. With whatever Tetrial had to tell her, he'd have plenty time to while she made her way over.[/spacer]

 

[JextheShadow]

Maintenance HQ , yellow

Despite the mood this situation had brought to him, Tobius couldn't help but smile at the nickname his friend always called him by. It brought him back to earth, already he could feel himself calm down as he listened to her babble on about how long it would take her to get here. Slowly he leaned back against his personal locker, slipping down till he was sitting against it.

"You wont need your big tools Kallen, I was assigned a case today and well... its strange. An older AI by the name Giovanni had a melt down in the kitchens last night. His hardware is fine, memory fine, but his core processes. Kal their not his anymore. I had to make sure i had the right robot, but core processes were fundamentally changed. I don't know how this could happen. No one had enough time with the robot to mess with his brain in the kitchen. His memory wasn't damaged so it couldn't of happened earlier without him knowing. The caziest thing is why. Why Giovanni? Who would want to hack into a kitchen AI? I think something bigger is happening Kallen, so the faster the better if you dont mind."

 

[LVL1337N00B]

Rowan Ward - Level 3, #C8B9A6

"Late? Shit, you should'a said somethin' sooner, ya big hunk'a junk!", Rowan scolded in jest, jumping up and reaching over to punch her partner in the shoulder. Her shiny reddish fist made a clunking noise against the android's very much solid frame, a sound that usually cued a lopsided grin to creep across her face. This time though, it seemed to waver a bit. Of all the people she'd ever spoken to, Keloran was one of the few she'd ever had even the slightest trouble reading. She'd trust him with her life, no doubting that, but something about his way just now was a little off. Again though, she trusted the man, so she wouldn't question him.

The part-plated woman grabbed the napkins that'd yet been untouched, dropping the couple sausages remaining of her meal and wrapping them up before shoving them into a pocket. No wonder her pants sometimes smelled greasy. She next shoved the one she'd forked into her mouth and hurried over to the counter to get her wrist scanned, then waved off the little old man behind the counter and headed outside.

Back to the streets she thought, but before she and Keloran could really get back to it she recieved a message over her comm.

"..report immediately to Security Headquarters on level 3. Once there, head to room 137 on floor 17."

She glanced over at Kel. Looked like he got the same message, which was expected. There was no denying the two worked well as a team, even if their dynamic was less good cop bad cop, more bad cop bad cop. You'd have to admit though, of the two a criminal would probably be happier to just get knocked around by Rowan for a while than have to deal with Keloran. The way he worked thugs over was something beautiful to behold, Ro always thought.

"Damn, sounds like you called it", she groaned as she shifted on her heel, turning toward the direction of the HQ, "Guess having a social life will have to wait, huh?"

--

A short walk later, back at Security HQ..

--

From just inside the door, Rowan craned her neck in either direction in a quick search for a couple of seats. As soon as she found a pair of empties, she headed over and motioned for her partner to follow. Once settled in comfortably, leaning back in her seat some, she looked around the room.

Good few people around, human and android alike. More than a couple of the fleshies sporting metal bits like Rowan, one rigged up with a silvery visor she thought was particularly nice. Probably cost a pretty cred. Didn't look like the guy in charge was here yet, probably waiting for everyone else so as to make some sort of dramatic entrance. Maybe he'd show up soon.

 

[Akashi]

Diana Scarlette - Highwind Manor - Level 4, #4d4dff

Assigned as a bodyguard to one of the most important people in their society and Government, Diana was standing there, by the exit, like she's suppose to. The representative, Melina Highwind was the one she had to protect. However, it was not difficult for her to know that she despised the Androids and Cybernetic itself. Minutes later, her attention diverted towards the screen on the wall regarding an Android and her possible future as a Council member. 'So thats the reason...' Diana thought to herself. Judging by how Melina's mood was after the meeting earlier, that must've been the cause of it.

Seconds later, her deductions were spot on. The reaction by the one she is bound to protect was enough. Indirectly lashing out and cussing at the Android who was shown on the screen really heated things up. Diana was used to this type of behaviour from her, but she kept her own thoughts to herself. It wasn't her place to give her any suggestions or opinions of her own, and judging by their relationship, she knew that the Councilwoman was not so thrilled by having a bodyguard.

With her influence and reputation, and being one of the most important family in the ship itself, Diana could understand the reason for why Melina's father would assign a bodyguard to his daughter. She lived a dangerous life, but at the same time, because of her personality and attitude, she did not care.

Diana did not have a proper reason to answer her back because of her remark, somehow, her mind was also in doubt. Getting an enhancement against her will was quite perplexing, but she had to live with it. Emotions could not cloud her judgment or the way she worked, so she bottled them all inside her. "Are you asking for my opinion regarding the news?, Miss Highwind?.." Ignoring what she said earlier, she posed a simple question herself, incase the one she was assigned to, wanted an answer out of her.

In all honesty, Diana did not care about an Android getting a position in the Council, but it would definetly change things up. However, in the end, it was not her decision to make alone, it was the society, the people.

 

[Eternalfire61]

The Conversation

Daiyu's home was a quaint one, full of plush cushions, plastic flowers in plastic vases, recycled furniture that once belonged to the wealthy Level Fours, and it was all accented in pink. Not the neon kind of pink, but the pink one sees during a sunrise, or a sun set. It was a woman's home, filled with elegance and serenity.

After the Council meeting, Daiyu began making dinner, which consisted of a microwavable chicken dinner that didn't look like chicken, and walked into her bedroom to get undressed as it cooked. Thoughts of the meeting filled her mind, and she turned over the events with a frown.

"An android captain. Will the people even accept this?"

The meeting was like many before. There were too many with their own agendas that were either going make them rich, or powerful. Mark had thought about this android captain since he had left, but the only other thing on his mind was Daiyu. After the metting he had walked through the back alleys to get to the back of her house. Mark knocked on the door with anticipation for what they were going to talk about. Their relationship wasn't like many others. Mark appreciated that Daiyu took her time with him, and he took her time with her. Daiyu answered the door and let Mark in. They both sat at a glass table that was in her living room, and they began to talk.

"I can't say I'm happy with what happened at the meeting."

She speared the supposed chicken with her fork.

"I'm not happy so much as I'm wondering if the masses will like it."

She popped another dinner in the microwave for Mark, although that didn't stop her from digging into her own food. Daiyu was far too hungry for manners.

"Rose and Melina will kill each other at some point. It has to happen." She swallowed, paused. "What do you think of Lydia?"

Mark sighed. "She's an android." Mark shook off the sentence, but continued. "It does it's job well. There is no need to complicate things by having an android in our midst. Rose and Melina are already at war with each other, so what will this do for us?" Mark contemplated what would happen if Lydia became Captain. The rich would rally their forces as the androids slowly asked for rights. A civil war was one of the highest concerns.

"I'm only afraid that this will effect us in a vital stage of our expedition. One hundred and fifty years is going to be the least of our concerns now."

"We've missed our trajectory by twenty years."

Her words were soft, hushed. The thought of a civil war sent her heart hammering in her chest, and a great dizziness overtook her. A deep sigh, followed by the rubbing of her temples. It was time to change the subject.

"Sofia says you filed an urgent request for crystals. When will you be leaving?"

"I'll leave when I can, most likely once the voting happens. If I'm lucky, I'll get out before this storm gets out of hand."

Mark set his hand on the table inviting Daiyu to set hers with his. His mind raced as he tried to think of what he was going to do. This extraction mission was one of the last things on his mind.

"I'm only afraid that we are going destroy ourselves."

She ignore his hand, too wound up in her own thoughts and professionalism to return the gesture.

She ignore his hand, too wound up in her own thoughts and professionalism to return the gesture.

"Why would we destroy ourselves? We've lasted this long on this god forsaken ship and I think things have gotten better. I read some of the medical files on those who lived on the ship and Vitae. Some of them went nuts. At least most of us don't know what a planet feels like under our feet."

She chewed on her lower lip. "Leave when the party is over. At the very least."

Mark pulled his hand back, and he continued. "The planets that I have felt under my feet are too foreign. The only true home I feel is here. Vitae was the land of our ancestors, it's almost like it doesn't exist."

For a moment, Mark looked at his feet unsure what to say. This ship had been sailing for the longest time. There had only been stories of Vitae, the planet of blue. Even the stories that had been told were now only faint memories clouded by the everyday thought. Mark wished he had a true home, but for now it was this metal case.

"I don't want to leave without saying goodbye."

"But we aren't meant to live on a ship Mark. We never were. We were meant for Vitae." She paused and sighed. "And even then we ruined that home."

She stood, retrieved the microwavable dinner and set it on the table for him to eat. Daiyu sat back down, hands in her lap.

"So about us..." Her words trailed off.

Mark looked up at Daiyu from his feet, accepting the meal. He took his fork about to fork some chicken into his mouth, but he paused for her question.

"Daiyu, you know how I feel about you." Mark set his fork down and continued.

"If the captain can announce that he wants an android as a replacement, our relationship isn't all that strange. I know it's hard with the position we are in, but we will work through it."

Mark gave her a kind smile trying to alleviate the awkwardness.

"It's being professional Mark. What message would it send to the other Council members and to the people if two leaders were seeing each other? The Captain kept his hands off of Lydia. I've seen the way he looks at her."

"I know that, but things are changing too. Maybe for the better, but I don't know."

Mark folded his hands, staring at her from across the table. He enjoyed her, and sometimes he had wished they weren't on the council. Maybe this vote would change how things were.

"Even if this change is hard, I know in my heart that I still want to be here."

She shook her head, appetite gone. "I don't want to be here, not on this ship. I want to be planetside. I want to taste air produced by trees, run through a field of flowers, lay down on a bed of grass with the sun on my face."

Daiyu stood, gathering up her dinner and fork. "Perhaps we're just too different."

Mark didn't know what to say to her, but he still had feelings for her. He stood up, about to try to prove a point.

"We aren't too different, and you know this. Right now it's hard to think with this vote hanging over our head. We will work though this, and we will do it as we have done before."

Mark walked over to her, hoping to be able to break the tension.

"Daiyu, I want us to be somewhere better to and maybe in time we will, but for now there has been no word for us to go back. All of these planets I have seen are barren, desolate, and it kills me to see such darkness. The hardest part for all of us has been starting over."

She didn't want to hear this, not now. Daiyu wrapped her arms around herself, body turned towards her bedroom.

"Perhaps it's the vote... I'm going to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. You can let yourself out through the front door."

Mark nodded and began to walk out the door, but he didn't want to leave on a harsh note.

"We don't need to bring ourselves down based on what others have done. It'll only keep us from moving forward."

Mark left through the back door as he did before. This time he wasn't thinking about Daiyu, but instead he thought about what his future had in store for him.

 

[Potatocat]

Average Day

Mark sat at a dimly lit desk, the majority of his left arm disassembled and spread across the surface. The room in which the desk was situated was no larger than a broom closet. It was all the room the administration had given him as his workshop, but he was contempt with the space. The walls were littered with pictures of sprawling landscapes and wide open fields. They were photographs he had taken on his first, and last, day on Vitae. His last day on his birth planet. The condition of the photos even 150 years later gave harsh evidence that he treasured these things. They were pristine. The soft sound of a classical music piece of a long dead composer filled the air of the small room. The subtle tones followed by sweeping crescendos made it Mark's favorite.

He worked on the bits of the arm, cleaning them and adding lubricant. The arm had been feeling rather stiff lately and was giving him issues before he started working on it. Many pieces needed to be cleaned and put back together to form the arm, and many of them did not match one another. Some of the parts where new, others old, and several of them re-purposed, now serving a new need than their original.

After cleaning the pieces, Mark began the tedious process of slowly putting the arm back together. Piece by piece his nimble fingers placed the parts back together and he occasionally squirted a bit of lubricant to make sure they all slid together smoothly, and hopefully relieved the stiffness. Several hours after beginning his task, he had finished and the arm was back together again. He moved it about and flexed the servos in the arm. Everything seemed to be working smoothly again and he let a small sigh of relief. He leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head and kicked his feet onto the desk. He simply sat there and listened to the music play for a while. Allowing himself to drift off through his internal processes.

He had sat there listening to the music loop for nearly an hour when a pounding at the door disrupted his relaxation. He stood up and opened the door. There he saw the face of his supervisor. A small fat man with eyes like the devil.

The man squinted at Mark and he began to berate him, "You where supposed to be back to work nearly 30 minutes ago! What the hell are you doing? Listening to music? Get back to work you lazy android ass!"

Mark turned off the music and told the man, "Of course sir. My apologies." Despite the rugged and inhuman look of his chassis, Mark's voice was exceptionally well synthesized.

He grabbed his pack which contained his tools and through it over his shoulder. He walked out of his small workshop and locked the door behind him. He walked through the hallways of the security force's headquarters, heading to the piece of equipment he had been working on. One of the elevators had gotten stuck. It was easy and boring work. Mark wished for something a little more interested, but knew he would have to speak to his weasel of a supervisor to learn of anything else he might need to look at, so he took his time with the elevator. Working slowly on the dreary machinery that left little to innovation. Mark was bored out of his mind.

 

[BoxBob³]

Eugine - Level 3 - Eugine's Laboratory, orange

Eugine blinks a few times, the garage style door opening just as Kallen starts to pass by looking to the machine he just finished prototyping, then to her, starting to smile a little bit, deciding on his own that the best way to test the machine was likely to have someone he knew test it. He starts towards her rather quickly, FLI picking up with a worried beep, following around a meter behind him as he approaches.

He doesn't really give her much of a choice in the manner of stopping as he says "Kallen!" He then steps in front of her, kind of standing in front of her for a moment, hair in it's usual messy style, a smidge of oil on one cheek still, before turning her by one shoulder and starting to lead her by it for a moment, before letting go, turning around to talk and walk at the same time, not much of a distance between them and the bike as he begins his pitch.

"You've come at a perfect time, I just finished this up and it hasn't exploded yet, which is good, it means it's ready for testing. Now I know last time didn't go so well, but that shrapnel missed you by a mile, and the seat survived, didn't it? Anyway, I need this one tested now, and it's a real monster. Now, it can accelerate to Mach one-thousand in about a second or so, with a top speed of Mach nine-thousand." At this point, FLI beeps a couple of times at him, "And two, yes, nine-thousand and two, thank you FLI."

He finally takes a breath, before continuing on with "So I'm going to dial back the max speed and acceleration for this run, and I'll also be riding along to collect data-" He stops for the briefest of moments to grab his tablet and power it up (Mana cost: 2), and starting to tap away on it, "-and also for extra calculations involving if seatbelts are a necessity for this or if the magnetic hold points will be enough."

He's apparently already decided on his own Kallen is the perferct test pilot, and ignored the track record for her having tested his most recent vehicle, introducing the bike now as he says "This is the 'Vehicular Roaming Over Obstinately Malformed Terrain Machine'. Or my name for it, the 'VROOM-MT'. It's streamlined design and ability to hold in place despite forces equaling that of five-hundred tons of PSI, will make it the perfect planet exploration vehicle... Assuming that it doesn't self-implode once hitting Mach three-thousand as stress test graphs show a slight weakness in weld seven-hundred and three, that would be exploitable at that speed."

He then goes to the machine, tuning something on the speedometer, capping the max speed to Mach 2, and acceleration to it taking about three seconds at full throttle, before saying "However, due to the speeds it will be operating at today, it should be perfectly fine so long as you don't crash into anything. Which I'm sure you won't." The buzz has been reduced to a low hum as Eugine sits on the back of the bike, at the second half of the seating, allowing more than enough room as he continues tapping away at his tablet and the magnets lock to his suit to hold him in place.

"...And with these calculations I think we could make it across the ship in around... Half the time the public transit system takes to move, stopping for any stop lights along the way." He doesn't even seem to consider the possibility that Kallen might not be too hot for testing out a invention of his afte how the last one went, instead starting to just tap away at the tablet, before magnetizing it to his arm, causing him to have his normal wristband, with what looks like a oversized one on the other arm as he continues tapping away, reaching up to move his glasses back on his face for a moment.

"Well? What are you waiting for? SCIENCE waits for no man, or woman." FLI beeps a few times, worriedly, flying about and looking between Kallen and Eugine for a few moments, before deciding to land on the charching station, folding up, and one could swear it was quaking in fear.

 

[MrBriWolf]

Florian's Home- Level 4

Normalcy, Florian liked that word, it was matter-of-fact. Simple. Though today was not normal. Getting out of bed at his usual time Florian sluggishly grabbed his satchel and dawned a crisp black suit, brushing his hair back to at least be presentable to the public. He lived in luxury, however spartan. "So..." Chewing on a piece of sausage, Florian looked at the news from the kitchen, where he had opened his laptop. "You gotta be kidding me... They chose an android.." Florian could only sigh.

"I can't believe this... Heh.. Might as well be writing a speech. It obviously won't be read aloud- but the android does deserve some credit.." Florian took a sip of his tea- sweet, yet naturally so. A fine green herbal. "And to think on such a wonderful day they chose that which can be contrived as a death sentence, yet a blessing all the same."

Obviously tired, Florian stretched his limbs out and began to take a walk outside. His destination was hopefully to see the allegedly most powerful family in the ship- and to get their side of the story. "Hello, operator? I'd like to be connected to the Highwind Manor- as soon as possible, please." While waiting for the call to go through, Florian would be heading on foot to the building.


This day, and the next, would not be normal. Florian was visibly tense, as his job depended on investigation- and right now that's the last thing he wanted to be doing considering the animosity in the air. Normalcy might be dead.

 

[Detective Zero]

Kallen Kurenai - Level 3, #ff3333

[spacer]As she was plucked away from her original path, it takes her a few moments to realize it's her favorite (mad) scientist, Eugene. She was wondering how she didn't even notice his workshop on the path she took, but alas, she listened to him instantly chatter away. Flint, who was still holding a call for Tobi, follows her and gives off a few beeps of concern for him to hear, and likely he heard some background to get the gist of what was going on. "Agh.. Geez, Eugine-.. Eh, Tobi, I'll be delayed for a bit. I'll see you when I get there.. In one piece.. I hope." And Flint cuts the call as it flutters on ahead, approaching and circling around FLI for a bit. It seemed to have a liking towards FLI, mainly for being quite similar atleast in purpose, and that it was another flying droid that communicated in some way.[/spacer]
[spacer]Shaking her head as she glances towards that, she then looks to Eugine, "They're always like that.. It's like bringing a five-year old child to a playdate.. Anyhow.. Eugene.. You know any speed above mach ONE, and even that speed alone is likely to kill someone just from inertia, right? What's so wrong about it going just.. Let's say, eighty miles an hour, more or less?.. Something less likely to cause a liquidated mess just for nudging the thing... And why do you always neglect the smallest detail that may be the difference between life or death, success or failure? Do you really enjoy watching your stuff blow up that much?.. Uhp uhp uhp.. Don't- answer that..." She put her cybernetic hand to her forehead and caressed it as she shut her eyes, sighing out, "Alright.. So.. You want me to test it or you won't allow me to leave.. But if I test it, it will be under a few adjustments. No ridiculous speeds meant for space shuttles, nothing natural can even come close to speeds above two-hundred em-pee-aych, even lower than that.. We're not making one-man shuttles that will liquify someone's shit just for going zero to mach five in a millisecond." Adjusting her toolbelt, she cracks her neck as her crimson red hair flails with her movements.[/spacer]
[spacer]Kallen would already approach the bike and kneels down, twirling a finger around above her head as a signal to Flint, in which he hovers over to Eugene and sounds off a bit. Lowering itself close to his tablet, a small cable extrudes from the bottom of its form, plugging into a slot on his tablet and downloading the currently shown info for the bike as it then disconnects, beeping again as in a form of gratitude, then flies over to Kallen as it shows a holo-screen of the info for her to see, "Not particularly in a fair mood right now to go along with arguing with you about touching your babies, but through this testing, I also need to get somewhere down in level 2, the maintenance sector area mainly. Tobi's expecting me with an interesting.. Hacker case. So, if you want to come along, I suggest you keep that tablet with you.. And no trying to experiment on the android. Don't need a repeat of last year." While she spoke, she had already been adjusting it with her cybernetic arm, a finger or two shifting into different tools, one like a spark welder and the other a calibrator, the orange lights dotted on her arm bright as she works. [glow=white](mana cost: 1)[/glow] [/spacer]

 

[Akashi]

Diana Scarlette - Highwind Manor - Level 4, #4d4dff

The Councilwoman was not in her best mood, and Diana might've just made situation more tense with her question. Melina glared at her for a few seconds. "Your opinion? Thats ridiculous, why would I want a fucking opinion from someone like YOU!?" Her temper was never-changing.

Melina turned around, grabbing a bottle of whisky and pouring herself a glass. Diana stood at the same spot, not moving at all. The Councilwoman picked up the glass and gulped it down in a matter of seconds, before diverting her attention once again towards her bodyguard. "Why are you even here? Really, I dont need protection, I dont need a fucking bodyguard.." She almost exclaimed, before she slammed the glass down on the table.

Diana could hear some rustling outside the room, but first, she gave Melina a respond. "Miss Highwind, that is something you'll have to ask your father, and not me." Facing towards the exit, she approached it, followed by the door being slid open, automatically. Going out in the hallway itself, she gazed around the surroundings, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary. Once she cleared the area, she turned around and walked back inside.

Inside the room, the operator made a call, which came through on her earpiece. Diana raised her left hand and pressed upon the earpiece. "Yes..?" She asked. The voice on the other end of the call asked her about someone who was trying to reach the manor and possibly Miss Highwind.

"Hold on a moment, I'll have to confirm this with Miss Highwind..." She dropped her hand and diverted her attention towards the Councilwoman, who was obviously, looking at her.

"If its anything like an interview or regarding the shitty news about a certain fucking Android, decline. As a matter of fact, I dont have time for anyone today.." You could hear the hostility in her voice. Even if she was a purist, Diana always wondered, how she ended up having such hatred and resentment for people with Cybernetic enhancements and the Androids themselves. However, it was not her place to ask.

"Yes, Miss Highwind, if thats what you want." Diana responded, by nodding towards her, before activating her earpiece again.

"Operator. Miss Highwind is quite busy today. If there is nothing else, re-direct the call to me, I'll personally let the person on the other end know." She finished, though with an ulterior motive. It was her job to know exactly who it was, no matter their status.

Looking at Melina, she decided to let her know. "I'll take this call just outside the room. If there is anything, let me know." She firmly stated, before exiting the room, followed by the door sliding shut.

"Whatever, just get it over with.." Melina waved her hand, gesturing her in a rude manner to get out. It was not surprising for Diana, she was used to that, and did not let that get her down. Some people are just bound to be troublesome, even if you're technically working for them, indirectly.

A click was heard on her earpiece, confirming that the call had been connected. "This is Scarlette, Miss Highwinds secretary. To whom am I speaking with?"

 

[BoxBob³]

Eugine, orange

"I'd like to go on record saying that I was not informed that that model lacked insufficient cooling power to survive such a procedure, or that it would fail so catastrophically. Although it does intrigue me, a android hacker? This would imply that it was able to bypass the androids defenses, which upon noticing the intrusion, it should have diverted all possible resources to such a defense, or shut itself down to prevent irreparable damage to the three laws."

FLI beeps a few times from the shoulder harness, one eye able to turn to Flint, obviously not too comfortable with the way Eugine was going about things, as he continues with saying, "That aside, a human being could survive such speeds, however, the acceleration would cause the brain to... Well, I'd like to say bash itself to death on the inside of the skull, though I dont know that much about anatomy, and there's not quite a way to test this without my insurance rates skyrocketing again. So long as you're easy on the throttle I think the speeds should be fine. It's G-forces that are a problem if I remember pilot lessons correctly."

"Besides, eighty miles per hour is a pitiful pace for what this thing can do. I must recruit a android assistant one day, they would be much more useful for this kind of testing. More durable and less likely to feel apprehensive of these kind of tests. Am I still allowed to run my own diagnostics on the android? I'd love to attempt to trace back whatever went wrong. Oh, maybe my self recompilation theory can find some sort of evidence to a android wishing to 're-imagine' themselves much like a human's mid-life crisis. Such a event would indeed prove though that androids can have every possible emotion as a human, and not quite just as a simulation."

Eugine was off again, rambling about possible theories and the like, something he did while he was nervous, likely due to the way that Kallen was handling the whole bike situation, not enjoying her tampering with the machine, or with many of his machines really. Once it was off to be mass-produced, he could care less, but his initial prototypes were treated better than his children, as some would describe it, likely the reason he kept FLI, who is still not seeming comfortable with the possible startup soon.

 

[MrBriWolf]

Florian smiled, he enjoyed people that got right to the point. "This is Florian Riker, I'm a journalist and as much as I can imagine the woman owning this residence is screaming at the news given the atmosphere, I'd like her two cents on a matter that could mean the.. Shall we say... Finite moment in our history. Whether as a ship we sink or swim. I know the Councilwoman is probably busy, so could I perhaps get your opinion, Madam Scarlette?" He asked this in a cheerful manner, compliant and all around polite.

"Myself personally, I think that androids should be able to peruse anything they desire.. We built them as machines, yet now they have as much sentience as humans. Why not allow them freedom rather than keeping them like dogs on chains? Humans must envy the androids we've created, to find ways to alter our bodies to be like that which we forged with our own hands with cybernetics."

Florian let out a soft chuckle as he found his way to the main gate.

Tempting fate, he calmly asked "may I enter the premises? I happen to be right outside.." Florian sounded exasperated, yet he still had a smile on his face. He had a feeling that the Highwind Fanily wouldn't appreciate a guest, especially not one the likes of Florian- yet tempting fate in this time of abnormality would be grand. "Just the idea that there is this momentous opportunity before us.. A chance to really do something as a ship, instead of in our segregated levels, speaks wonders to me. Imagine- changing the course of history and doing something truly marvelous." He said to Scarlette, obviously happy, yet keeping composure throughout.

 

[Zen]

Nira had always felt secure with humans. A human baby - barring disease and other genetic handicaps - was born with the same thing: eyes that saw the visible spectrum, feet that arched, hands that grabbed, arms that hugged, legs that ran, head to think, and vital organs. It was that true that a baby had a better chance to survive and prosper if their parents were intelligent and wealthy, but all humans were born through a sperm fertilizing an egg, where it develops into a fetus and roughly nine months later is born through the symbolic arch of a woman's pelvis.

Androids however were not similar and this frightened the Councilwoman. An android could be born with eyes that saw not just the visible spectrum, but in infrared, thermal, and ultraviolet; feet that not only walked but rolled, or jumped to extreme heights, hands and arms that were far stronger than any male human, and a head whose memory and processing power greatly outmatched any scientist on the ship. And they were manufactured, not born.

So androids were not only physically stronger, but mentally as well. And if her recent studies continued along its current trajectory, they could also be emotionally and creatively better. All of this research pushed forth a question that Nira did not want to answer: what made humans special now?

In the music room, where various instrument cases littered the floor for students to choose from, a wall had a massive one-way mirror. Human and android students filed in, followed closely by Concordia; no one in the room saw who was behind the mirror. Nira and a team of researchers readied their holographic clipboards to take notes. No one in this room knew how to play an instrument yet and they were keen on finding out how each student responded, especially to an android teacher.

Concordia was not used to teaching, but she did as she was instructed and for an android that's all she needed. A white hand gestured towards the cases.

"Choose your instrument. Once you've done that, sit down and try playing it without my help."

 

[Akashi]

Diana Scarlette - Highwind Manor - Level 4, #4d4dff

She stood there, in the hallway, listening in on the man and his reason for the call. She had access to the files in the Government and decided to verify what he said. Moments later, it popped up in her visual enhancement. The man was telling the truth. The voice was a 100% match. He worked as a Journalist specialized in Politics. His age was 24 and was from the Riker family, known for their political history (Mana Cost: 01). He was somewhat correct when it came to the Councilwoman, she was indeed not thrilled by the news, but it was not something she'd relay to the journalist himself.

By the tone of his voice, it was easily deduced that this man was eager to make a point, yet alone gave Diana his own opinion before she could give him a simple respond, which would be to his dismay. Taking a few steps towards the door leading to Melina herself, she stopped in her tracks. Looking at the floor beneath her, she was focused on the conversation.

Minutes later, what Riker said made her somewhat suspicious. Turning around, she moved to the other side of the hall, by the big windows. Standing there, she gazed out, towards the gates. Using her telescopic vision was not neccessary, he was easily spotted. "My opinion is not neccessary, Mr. Riker, I dont have the luxury to convey my thoughts to a journalist and nor does Miss Highwind, but I'll let her know what you just relayed regarding the matter." Diana indirectly made sure he'd get the point, but then again, journalists can be quite annoying or persuasive.

Right now, in the state Melina is, it would not be wise to invite him over, nor could she, it had to be confirmed by Miss Highwind herself. "And if she wants to have a word with you, you'll know." She denounced, before turning away from the window, making her way towards the room.

"Will that be all, Mr. Riker?" She asked him a simple question, hoping he would let this go.

 

[MrBriWolf]

Florian politely smiled and nodded, though he paused for a minute as though to contemplate something. "You know something though Madam Scarlette.. Your opinion does have that luxury, and the same necessity as it is an android who whose fate will be decided tomorrow evening.. Normally I would not be so.. Persistent- yet I truly would like to know your opinion the matter." Florian said this honestly, with sincerity.

"I can tell you right now that it would not only do Lydia good, I imagine it would help the other androids who feel they don't have a voice when it is one of them who is being voted upon by a mostly human population."

" I don't truly know if something might happen, perhaps androids won't get a vote. Would be a shame... Though even so getting the rare chance to hear what you have to say would truly be outstanding." Florian wove his words like a web, as though he was trying to coax an answer from Diana.

"Perhaps this might ease your woes?" Florian would, after taking out his phone, have sent Diana personally 20,000 Credits (not sure the monetary weight of that amount). "From me, to you." Florian would smile. "I know that you probably detest journalists- yet I am not one of the establishment my dear.. Perhaps also we could go for coffee or a bite to eat before the party?" Florian was no genius- though he could speak himself out of nearly anything. Normally this wouldn't be considered a bribe- just a friendly donation, but given the circumstances of the encounter he wasn't even sure.

All Florian knew was that he wanted to help a woman, android or not, that he felt deserved more than an angry, somewhat bitchy Councilwoman. "If you would like me to go, Madam, then I shall.. Yet preferably I would like to stay if not continue out interactions here."

 

[JextheShadow]

Tobius, Yellow

One moment Tobius was explaining his case to Kallen the next, Eugine was in the background and Flint was beeping out an apology before cutting of the line.

Great... He thought darkly to himself. It went from worrying about a hacker to worrying about a pychopath destroying the HQ. He spent a few more moments sitting along inside the empty locker room, massaging his temple in a futile attempt to stop the on coming headache. Unfortunately the outside world needed his presence, so with a lengthy sigh, he stood back up and exited the room, his communicater in gear.

Slipping back into the crowded hallways of the HQ he carved a path through the crowd, making his way back to Giovannis room. He once again found himself puasing in front of the AIs room calming his nerves when the thought popped inside his mind. Why am I so nervous.

It bothered him for he had no reasonable answer. Though these where indeed weird circumstances, this was still the simple case of a hacked AI. Why did Tobius find the situation so .... unsettling, why was her nervous to enter the room? Over and over again he reviewed the situation within his head, but like the last 30 times nothing new sprang to the forefront of his mind. Stop worrying so much! Tobius berated himself, Today will be like every other day, nothing ever changes around here. With that sobering thought, he forced another smile on his face and entered the room.

"Giovanni, it will still be several minutes before the specialist gets here, so how about you relax while I ask you a few questions." The Android had retained its seat on the side of the bed since Tobius leave of the room. Upon entering, Giovannis head swiveled around to look at him. For a moment, just a flash, a microsecond, Tobius saw something within the cold eyes of the android. Something darker... nothing like the android who, by all reports, is one of the nicest people in the kitchen. THen it was gone and the android smiled and answered, laying back in a more relaxed position in the bed.

"Of course my lad! Ask away, anything I can do to help this process along and get back to my kitchen."

Tobius took another deep breath before sitting at the foot of the bed and looking the notes provided on the chart.

"Now Giovanni, it says here that...." (time lapse till Kallen and Eugine get there asses over here)

 

[fatalrendezvous]

Lydia 815-165 — Nova's Glow, crimson

As Lydia expected, Xavier did not understand. How could he? Her secrets were so well-hidden, such a deeply embedded part of who she was, that it was likely nobody aboard the ship knew except her employer.

Lydia's eyes affixed to the monitors of Councilwoman Vanessa Richardson addressing the citizens of the Initium Novum. She could almost taste the disdain of the purists aboard the ship as the Councilwoman made her explanations about Lydia, about the vote, about the future of the Initium Novum. Whatever the decision, it would leave lasting ramifications for the entire society and shape the future for androids and AI alike.

A flurry of analyses computed through Lydia's core as she turned back towards Reeth. Thirty years she had worked with him, and for thirty years he had been oblivious, falling in love with an android when he only knew half of her - or less. She wanted to tell him, to explain, to cry in his arms and be reassured with the human hope that everything would be okay.

That, after all, was Lydia's belief on the primary difference between man and AI - humans were capable of holding onto a sometimes irrational amount of hope. Whether it made them stronger or weaker, she was unsure. But as a machine, she saw life in probabilities; everything was a finite chance, a coin toss, or a dice roll, and the vote to have her elected as Ship Captain was no different.

Nonetheless, a simple human encouragement that it would all work out in the end couldn't hurt.

Lydia's internal conflict was apparent on her face, her expression a mixture of worry and uncertainty as her eyes affixed on Xavier's. As much as she wanted to pour her mechanical heart out and explain why she should not be Captain, those words never materialized.

"Do you really think society is ready for an android Captain?"

 

[Potatocat]

Mark caught a glimpse of a couple of police officers on breaking watching the news on one of the screens playing the announcement of the prospect of an android captain. Mark's oral receptors could help but to "perk up" at hearing this. In all of his many many years aboard this ship he had never heard of anything like that, and in reality he had never thought about it himself. None the less it was an interesting and excited prospect and it gave Mark a distinct feeling of hope.

He paused for a while and simply watched the screen as the Councilwoman spoke thinking of all the possibilities this presented. His bliss was sharply interrupted by the chatter between the two officers watching the broadcast.

"Could you believe that? Who the hell nominated one of the oil sacks to captain this ship?" One of them let out with a snarl.

"Yeah, it seems that they are starting to forget who their creators are, eh? I mean, we made 'em right?" The other replied with a distinct tone of condescension.

If Mark would frown, he would be doing so right now. The housing that holds his optical receptors slid to the side with the quite mechanical whir of an electric motor. How these two spoke angered him. He left his work and walked over to the pair. "So, you are my creators? The ones who tirelessly built this body? You are the ones who constructed this frame that I call my body?"

The pair looked back to see Mark standing behind them. They looked back at each other, their faces demonstrating their effort to find a response. They simply started laughing. "Well, I uh, I guess so." One of them started and chuckled as he looked at his friend.

The a light of recognition flickered in the eyes of the other, "Oh, wait! Your the bot that lives in the closet! Aren't you supposed to be fixin' that elevator of somethin'? Ya should get back to work before we have to put ya back to work, ya catch my drift?"

Mark looked over the two and he raised his voice, "You dare to tell me that you made this body? I made this body. I am my own creator, and how dare you tell me that us androids don't deserve to be a major part of this mission. I've been on this fucking ship from the beginning. You where born here, you don't know what I left to come on this god forsaken ship and traveled 15 decades to find a new home." He paused for a moment, thinking if he had anything else to say, and unable to come up with anything he walked back to his work ignoring anything that the two might have to say to him.