-Why I always have to get lost?-Martin asked himself entering for the third time to the same room.
The Pilgrim's ships looked well from outside, but their internal design was a nightmare to ex-officer of United Empire Navy. He was used to walking through straight corridors, while on a ,,Saviour'' every way seemed to be curved. Martin felt completely disorientated.
-OK, think-he told himself-You are an IT specialist. What should you do when you get lost on a strange ship? Hmm, I can enter to monitoring system to find out where everybody are, and where I am-
Then he saw a small camera under the ceiling.
-Ah, that's what I need-he told to himself
Martin clicked on a small button on the belt and took an ampoule with the Dust. He never travelled without at least two of them. He opened it and touched the grains of Dust, waking them up.
-To the camera-he ordered in mind, folding his hands. Soon, thin orange lines shined between the camera and him. He could feel the system and communicate with it as easily as with a keyboard or datapad. After a few minutes, he found a technical sketches with placing of cameras. That was all he needed to orientate in the ship.
-OK, everything is fine. Now I just have to hide my research-he muttered, delicately maneuvering the Dust.
-Back-he ordered again, making a gesture with an index finger. The Dust returned to the ampule.
Martin hid it again in belt and turned into a corridor.
-Now, all I need to do is.. Auch!-he shouted, feeling that he collided with something small, but heavy and hard. He looked down. In front of him there was an Automaton.
(As always, correct me if I wrote something badly)
"Aye, alright." The ancient robot said and slowed down. He then approached a terminal and accessed the information within.
"Now, I don't need nourishment from food in order to stay alive nor do I need to charge myself like most appliances. I rely on custom-made batteries that will last possibly a decade or a century depending on how I use them. It should be noted that if something goes horribly wrong, I can replace them with other alternative power sources until I can make more of them; the batteries of course."
"Oh, and although they last a very long time, a disadvantage of them would be that I need to be inactive for a period of time or I slowly become lethargic. Because of this, it would seem as if I need to regularly sleep just like most other multi-cellular organisms."
Now, Laudmas has been remembering more and more memories. Curiously, he had only been remembering memories regarding his profession, abilities, and knowledge of the universe. One could have suggested that he himself decided to wipe all recollection he had with his past. But for what reasons? It was a rather ominous and interesting question. For now, Laudmas decided to forget about it. He would enjoy the journey and perhaps the answer would be revealed later on.
The ancient robot recorded the location of the parts of the ship. He noted a small storeroom located adjacent to the main laboratory. Although it seem to be insignificant, the storeroom drew the attention of Laudmas. Seeing it prompted a buried memory of the ancient robot to resurface. He then took his attention away from the terminal and faced Dhanyl.
"Dhanyl, if you would follow me, I believe I may find something very interesting that is likely related to my amnesia." The robot smiled and then rushed towards the storeroom.
(( @Mithrill. As Alien said, try not to control other people's character. Besides from that, it's perfectly alright. Welcome aboard the RP. ))
The Automaton was getting near sick of the canteen. Scrolling through different scenarios on it's N.A.V.I. (Nano-robotic Artificial Virtual Interface) wasn't enough to stem Zerosadventurous inclinations. And the Ranked Officers hadn't communicated with it for awhile. The Frame stifled a yawn, cutting short the next scenario it had been compiling. Zeros activated; standing up and stretching, extending to its full, but frail, 6'6" then rolling down rapidly to a more standard 5'4". Than fully compacting into its Mobile Travel Form. A 3' diameter globe of compacted clockwork (With continents inscribed.) , Rapidly spinning around an orb of glowing Dust that occasionally shone through the mesmerizing clockwork dance. As the planet rotated, it kept the north-pole orbit-locked forwards. The Guide sped forwards, moving toward the lock near the gunnery bay. Passing Decius pacing at the door to the bridge on the way {Unused to not serving, it seems.}, The Automaton thought to itself, before plugging into a nearby console, blocking out the world around it unless the door opened behind It. After a time the Craver barged into the room, than two New Entities walked out of the Bridge engaged in vocal conversation, approaching a terminal across the room from The Automaton. [Our Head Science Officer, and Anomaly Expert it seems.] {It is customary to introduce oneself after all.} <Greeting Protocols Accessed.>Zeros disconnected from the console, the executive program of this section having assured It that the lock was recovering well, and was partway through a binary greeting message to alert It's New Robot Siblings of It's Presence nearby. When an unobservant Biotic-Lifeform turned an odd corner out of a nearby tunnel and collided with It. Exclaiming in pain, and corrupting the last part of the greeting.
This time it was harder for Dhanyl to catch up. He even had to use the Cybernetic enhancements that were integrated into his suit, wich was unfortunate because it took a really long time for them to reload.
"Hey! Could you please slow down!? Whatever you found, I'm sure it won't run away from us! Also, I think..."
Suddenly down the corridor, someone screamed. Distracted by that Dhanyl looked over his shoulder and nearly stumbled over his own Legs.
The Craver's frame visibly softens, if that can be said of a great hunk of metal and muscle. His four great trunks lower to his sides; his head bows in an acceptance of higher authority. He turns once again to Ylona.
"Yes, quartermaster," Decius replies curtly. "I thank you for your input. I will clean the bunk room, but I neglect to see the possible reparations made by the act of cleaning it. Nevertheless, thank you for your council. I take my leave."
As he exits the bridge, Decius moves on. Striding down the hall, he catches up to Rolak.
"Sir," Decius adopts a tone of cautious deference. "I shall accompany you on your assessment. It is necessary that I become acquainted with the weapon systems of the ship. It's my first term as a ship's gunner."
Carefuly measuring his pace and the reactions of the security chief, the Craver walks beside him. Remembering his locker in the bunk room, Decius smiles to himself internally.
As the gargantuan alien leaves the bridge, Ylona exhales and visibly deflates. "Thankfully he didn't pull my head off", she mutters relieved to herself, then sits down again. Unnoticed even to herself, her hand, clutched around the knife grip, relaxes.
"You cemented your authority; Cravers think like soldiers naturally and you showed him who his superior was. You also explained his wrongdoing clearly and remained authoritative. Still, an offer to help wouldn't have gone amiss."
Valorum cut through the silence after Ylona sat down as he hadn't moved since Decius left, not even changing his posture after the menacing Craver responded so cordially. Years of diplomatic experience had taught him to control his body language, which he knew was the only way Vodyani could convey their mood without facial features. As surprised as he had been, Valorum continued scrolling through the ship's crew roster, eventually pulling up Decius' file when the Craver left and speaking aloud to Ylona. He continues:
"You need to remember, Ylona, Decius is in unfamiliar territory. He's among people he doesn't know and he's unsure of what exactly to do to be accepted. The road ahead is long and hard, but it's going to be especially hard for him if he doesn't feel like one of us. It's our responsibility as officers and his fellow crew to not just point out his transgressions, but to offer aid to him; to make him feel welcome. Treating him like a sinner among the pious before the ship has even lifted off won't help him feel connected to the crew."
"Holographic controls would be preferable, I know that," Alice frowned as she called up her own holoscreen, "But as I said, we are somewhat limited in resources...though I can probably re-purpose a couple projectors from my drones. I'll put the order in to my team to get the necessary parts readied. In the meantime, I'll make sure the nest is no danger. It shouldn't be; our life support was built by your people Ylona and the Vaulters tend to build sturdier than most."
The Automaton was stunned for a second by the sudden appearance of this new humanoid {Who?..} +Martin Ladderman-Corvus, IT Specialist+ The Guide provideded an answer to the unspoken question. [This one must have come aboard while we were resting.] The Frame morphed into it's 5' 4" configuration, and stood silent.
"Ah. I suppose one can never have too many surprises." The ancient robot stopped for a second. "Hmm, I suppose I can ignore my current intent and instead opt for one with greater urgency. Let us see what has happened." He perked up, and rushed towards where the sound was heard with great speed.
Zeros was about to speak when it noticed the large robot approaching from the side. "Pardon me for a moment Mr.Ladderman. I believe someone is coming. Greetings my robotic sibling! How fare you?"
Laudmas was extended above two metre, bipedal, and most importantly, a metal robot. While there wouldn't be such noise if he was slowly and cautiously walking, Laudmas was rushing forwards with full pace intent on finding out who (perhaps reluctantly) decided to scream. The loud thumping noise he made would have awaken the poor sod who was awoken by the scream and had just been able to doze off.
While Laudmas was rushing towards where the scream was located. He noticed that in his haste he had left Dhanyl behind. Oh dear.
Laudmas approached the room. He gripped a wall to prevent him from sliding across the corridor and possibly colliding with a unassuming and unfortunate crew member.
Instead of seeing a grisly scene, the ancient robot saw a poor human who seemed as if he had unwittingly crashed into the Automaton Zeros (which he discovered out from previously looking at a terminal). None of them looked severely wounded, Laudmas assumed that the scream came from the human instead of Automaton. Can a Automaton scream? He wondered.
Laudmas then noticed Zeros's greeting. While he had great resolve in reaching the storeroom, he supposed a bit of chit chat wouldn't matter much.
"Ah, a fellow mechanical being. Great to see one another. Oh, and I am perfectly well. Thank you for asking." The ancient robot might have lied about the second last part.
"I suppose the scream came from the poor human?" He asked the Automaton, and hoped that the answer would be what he assumed.
{You're forgetting something} <Superior Officer detected, Initiate protocol procedure> The Frame stood to attention and quickly gave a sharp salute to the science officer. "Yes sir, I was in travel form and he didn't notice my presence. My apologies for distracting you from your work." The Automaton took a moment to observe Laudmas closer ((Thanks go to Zennock for helping me describe Laudmas accurately.)) , Laudmas stood at over two meters in height. Vaguely humanoid, but with a wedge shaped triangular head and an extra set of small arms underneath its primary set. +Much like a Craver+ Its outer plating showed signs of once being covered in ornate inscriptions, but most had been successfully removed. With careful examination the Automaton noticed a few wires connecting the exterior modules to the interior of the robot’s body. The entire being was made of brightly polished metal, surgical in it's cleanliness. "I assume from your presence here that whatever meeting the officers were called to has concluded. If it is not too impertinent to ask, may I inquire after what transpired? Did it have something to do with our delay lifting off? And are the other officers still occupied, or can we expect to receive further orders from our superiors soon?"Zeros paused in it's tirade for a brief moment, looking around. Frame relaxing unconsciously as the Automaton became distracted by a stray thought. "Also, weren't there two of you?"
“There was no harm done, there is no need to be worried.” Laudmas said.
Now, as the Automaton said “Sir”, the ancient robot was suddenly reminded of his position on board the ship. Being the Chief Scientist of a ship was no small task and he had to keep up with the position.
Fortunately, after the ancient robot noticed the store-room adjacent to the laboratory, more and more memories were flooding in. More importantly, memories regarding his expertise were being uncovered. Laudmas noticed what was happening. Hopefully, with enough time, his skills which were related with his position on board the ship will all soon come back and he will be able to use them wholly to his advantage.The huge amount of new knowledge would have been mind-numbing if not for the fact that he was a robot.
The ancient robot then took notice of his surroundings and examined Zeros. As with all other Automatons, Zeros was a combination of cogs and gears with a sphere just located at the top of its body. None of them seemed to stop working. One would spin around here and there. Another will rotate backwards and forwards. The ingenuity of how they retained themselves delighted the ancient robot. Unlike most Automatons however, the Dust that animated it was slightly unruly. It would occasionally slip out from between the shifting metal, and every now and then a small spark would arc from one point to another. Also, although Laudmas couldn't make out the exact patterns, many of Zeros metal plates had odd shapes on them that resembled coastlines or mountains.
“Ah, yes. The meeting has dissolved for now. It had gone much better than I had expected. I assume that the ship is preparing to lift off although it might be more advisable to ask Ylona instead or perhaps, the new captain.” Laudmas said with a flicker in his eye resembling a wink. He hoped that the Automaton would soon understand what he meant by “the new captain”.
"Further orders?" The robot said with a chuckle. "I suppose it would be nice of you to give a better introduction of yourself. As for your question of "Weren't there two of us?", I believe that in my haste I seemed to have outpaced my fellow co-worker."
Laudmas took further notice of the poor fellow that was knocked down. "Excuse me, I would like to examine the poor person that collided with you."
(( The description for the appearance of Zeros was edited more in depth by Tlaloc. However, it should me noted that while we both allowed one another to desribe our appearances and then allow the other to edit it, he wrote much more compared with me. ))
The Automaton felt chagrined, if it were biotic it would have been red-faced, however there was still a brief flicker of embarrassed sparks across the Frame as it stepped to the side. Zeros had been so caught up in gathering information it had neglected to consider the humanoid that had collided with it earlier."Of course sir. I shall remain nearby should I be required."The Automaton moved the Frame further out of the way, keeping one part of its sensors on the events that were occurring around it. And the another part alert for any other entities that were incoming.
Martin stared at two robots for some time, unable to say anything. He felt a bit afflicted that he was called ,,the poor human'', but he tried not to show it. But the mention about a captain interested him.
-A new captain? I'm sorry, but I wasn't informed about it. Can you tell me about it, please?-Martin asked, trying to be gentle.
-Oh, pardon me, but I've forgotten to introduce myself. Martin Ladderman-Corvus, ex-midshipman of United Empire Navy and IT Specialist on this ship-
Why? Why wouldn't he wait?!? Was that so hard to get in one's Head?
SHORT PERSON - SHORT LEGS!
But, he did it. Dhanyl finally managed to reach the spot where Laudmas disappeared behind a wall.
Surprisingly, looking back, the Corridor seemed a lot longer when he was running than when he walked. A strange phenomenon that seemed o break every law of physics Dhanyl knew of....
"Someone should study that." Dhanyl muttered to himself between two gasps.
After he got some Air in his Lungs again, Dhanyl looked at his surrounding. The first thing he saw was Laudmas, kneeling next to a man who was lying on the ground, possibly the origin of the scream, and a little further away... an Automaton! He has just one time seen Automatons in his live, during a deep space mission in wich his ship had to trade resources with a bypassing Automaton corvette. Since then he fell in love which those delicate clockwork mechanisms and the glowing dust between within it. He was fascinated by their culture and their anatomy and wanted to find out everything about their Race. And now he had a perfect studying object to supply him with first-hand information.
"Hello everyone, my name is Dhanyl Abmaha and I am the anomaly expert at this Ship. I would like to know what is going on here?"
"We will all have some culture shock on this trip, although Decius probably has it worst. Also, cleaning up after yourself isn't a bad skill to learn, and the crew seeing a Craver with a broom instead of a gun might also be an ice-breaker. Honestly, it's not much of a punishment, as little time as people had to actually spread dirt about.", Ylona explained her views. Although she did not admit it to him, Valorum was right that she needed to be careful, as even the longest trade runs would be short compared to what was ahead of them. The crew needed more than to trust each other, they had to stand each other, so she had to be on her best behaviour.
The speaker on the podium outside the ship had changed by now, something that caught the first mate's attention. "Is that him?", she asked, referring to the promised appearance of Kamau Savasbat, "It's difficult to tell people apart from behind. If Alice wasn't so busy, I'd maybe ask her to send one of her drones out so we'd get a better view and maybe sound. But she's up to her ears in tasks. Maybe I should go and offer to help out."
Martin looked at a Sophon with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. He met some Sophons in the Imperial Academy and he remembered that their characteristic features are curiosity and creativity, often linked with irresponsibility. Genial children, just like me, Martin thought with a laugh. Just if they weren't so nosy... That reminded him his younger sister, who every day asked him hundreds of questions.
-Nothing that would interest you, mister Abmaha-he replied a moment later-I've had an accident, that's all-he added-As for me, I'm Martin Ladderman-Corvus, IT specialist. I'm pleased to meet somebody from the crew-
+The Sophon!+ The Guide exclaimed inwardly. Sophons were hands-down Zeros favorite race, the curiosity and adventurous spirit they possessed served as a blueprint for the Guide's personality. No-doubt this Dhanyl would have many questions, Zeros hoped it would be able to match the Sophons energy in that regard. "Greetings Mr.Abmaha. It is indeed as Mr.Ladderman says, there was a mild collision but everyone involved is undamaged. Seeing as we are introducing ourselves, and I still haven't. I am The Automaton Unit-0000, but you all may call me "Zeros" for simplicity. I am the resident communications specialist, and assistant engineer. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I am hoping to get to know you all better over the course of this trip." The Automaton looked around at the assembled crew members, giving each of them another quick once over. [This should be interesting.] +An eclectic group.+ <One query remains> "You said you are the anomaly expert. Pardon my ignorance, but this is my first time on a research journey such as this. And I've not much experience with scientific terminology. As I'm curious to learn more about various crew positions, to better know who to find should I need an expert in a specific field, I'll ask. What sort of things merit designation as an anomaly?" The Frame rotated toward the human for the next sentences "Also, on a related note. Mr.Ladderman, I am glad that your exclamation was more in surprise than pain. You mentioned being the IT specialist, I believe that puts us in the same section of the crew roster. We should compare notes. I have already had some interaction with the shipboard computers, and it would be interesting to hear what your opinions of the programs and AI are." Turning back to Dhanyl Zeros passed on a message from the Automaton "These Sophon AI's are truly intriguing to work with. While most other species would refer to them, and your race, as "Childlike" I disagree. No child has such complicated thoughts and radical ideas." Zeros paused for a moment, then emitted a fluctuating hum that sounded reminiscent of laughter or chuckling. Singular eye dimming, then flaring briefly in the best approximation of a wink the Frame could manage. "Except maybe Sophon children of course."
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