[Herald] Opus Insert

The Herald, Command Compartment
"Well, my less discerning self did write some graffiti in the lunch room reading 'ROBERT WOZ ERE' during the 'cleanup'," Danny admitted - though the lunch room was being used for corpse collection for the jettisoning, "so I wouldn't call what I did cleaning; However," he had Kit to thank for creating a custom 'big red button' on his display for Danny to push. There was always something appealing about pushing huge red buttons, even if they were merely digital. The idea came about as he was placing a smattering of detonation packs throughout the mining station, and he floated the proposal to the artificial assistant during the task.

"They will have to find my tag amongst the huge ball of debris which was a mining station."

Thankfully, creating the red button was just a matter of creating a new button, based off the parent object. All the same functionality was there, but its appearance had been morphed into something fist-slammingly appealing. Danny's cursor hovered over it, and he made the button's rollover state occur a couple of times before clicking down on it. It sent a signal out to dozens of independently placed satchel charges - a signal to make their contents expand rapidly.

The first explosions occurred within the core of the cathedral station, stone façade rattling and rocking with some loose stones already being transferred into space, drifting listlessly into the darkness. The next row of detonations was in the middle of the station, causing more of the stonework to come loose, sheets of rock now falling off the station in clumps as the understructure was rattled - rays of light and debris escaping from the burst seams of the structure.

However, something didn't quite seem right with this level of detonation, and Danny looked up with a frown, expecting more. He hit the button a few more times, watching the feed of the station. When the expected results happened a moment later, the blonde shook in his seat - the whole station's foundation was rendered asunder in a silent, expanding ball of orange, pushing whatever was left of the mining station in all directions. The few discrete chunks which could be identified as the station were already tumbling into space in all directions.

Realising that everything had functioned as expected, even with a delay, the blonde sat up. "There we go," Robert said, smiling, "all clean, aye."

 

Herald – Command Compartment

When the Commander's grave order to dispose of the station was given, Kit had remained quiet. This was a quiet that were she a less controlled individual would have resulted in a blurted response or at the very least in the event that had she a corporeal form, would have given rise to an unfortunate rash of fidgeting and squirming as a secret was kept. Instead Kit kept her peace as Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde made his preceding banter and arranged for the dramatic unveiling of his ordinance arrangement and after a moment of playful delay pressed the simulated 'big red shiny button' that she had prepared, fulfilling a ritual which was likely a cultural artifact that Kit in her present state lacked the context to understand. In the moment's that followed a sequenced chain of signals were sent keyed to individual bombs which began their work of breaking up the cathedral station and erasing their presence.

In these moments, however, Kit played her own little joke delaying and minorly altering the timing of the detonations which were to mark the finale of the man's explosive presentation. This pause she held just long enough to incite a moment of insistent button pressing from the man before allowing the modified chain of explosions to continue in a manner that given the observed psychology of Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde would likely go dismissed as technology being finicky. Instead of merely delaying the climax of his light show, Kit had modified the exact order of detonations to change the final effect of the blast. Instead of merely exploding outward in all directions in a glorious blossom of destruction, the debris of the station had been largely directed toward the gas giant which the station had orbited. As Kit observed the sensors she was pleased to note that at their present trajectory 90% of the debris would fall into the atmosphere of the planet within a few hours.

When the Commander gave her orders Kit was quick with a cheery response, "Acknowledged Commander. The repository probe is being prepared and should be ready within five minutes. The deployment will be carried out at your discretion." There was a pause as Kit allowed the Commander some time to absorb the response and consider her options before Kit continued using the data collected by the Herald from the time that they had reactivated the sensor array up until the request was made, "Collected stellar data suggests the presence of five possible candidates within a three-thousand light year radius of our present location. Cross-referencing with the stellar cartographical data collected from the station suggests that there is a suitable black hole located 1968.54 light years from our present location with minimal x-ray emissions suggesting either a small amount of accreting matter or none at all. Coordinates are being forwarded to your console, along with the data of the other four candidates for your review."

***​

Herald – Engine Bay

Unit 00000002 had spent a lot of time in her own world and in a way her own time. To complete the task ahead of her as efficiently as possible Unit 00000002 had overclocked her awareness taking her sense of time beyond that typically experienced and had approached something nearing a sustainable 3:1 ratio. While not a drastic change to her perception of the world around her, from her perspective sudden arrival of an unmodulated message from the Commander was somewhat startling making Unit 00000002 wonder if she had lost track of time. Slowing herself down, Unit 00000002 took a deep breath largely to help cool her core components before responding to the Commander.

"The Herald's system diagnostic has reported an all green and the preliminary tests have confirmed the results. The VESPA and Gammatron systems should be fully operational within the hour. While the primary power system was irreplaceable due to the corruption of the technical files, the engineers of the Herald foresaw a situation in which we might have to rely on secondary systems and the power output available exceeds the level required for our return trip." After a brief query with Kit, Unit 00000002 added, "All systems necessary will be operating at specified levels before we reach the transfer point."

Beginning the process of stowing the tools which she had scattered about her project Unit 00000002 took a final look at the engineering section of the Herald noting with some pride that the Herald was in near pristine condition. It was an achievement in spite of the difficult start of their mission and the adverse conditions which they had found themselves faced with, and while she acknowledged that given the nature of their task that their fortunes had been exceedingly kind to them she still felt that their success was well earned.

Remaining behind in the engineering section just long enough to ensure that no unforseen complications would occur Unit 00000002 stashed the repair equipment and made her return to the Herald's command compartment where she would remain for the final duration of their mission.

 

The Herald, Command Compartment
A thirty day trip under suspended animation, then a detour back into the universe he'd come from. The mission really was over. "You're welcome," Danny replied to his captain, "Robert says if he doesn't survive the return trip for whatever reason," he continued, tapping the side of his head to indicate the other half of his personality. "He says it was great to meet you all and good luck on the whole relocation thing. If he survives though, that's fine too."

The last time Danny had been put under suspended animation, he likened the experience to being immersed in a warm bath, stretching for miles in all directions, and having that sensation preserved for as long as possible, all while being pickled. The time on the outside of this 'bath' could be hours, days, weeks, months, years - maybe even longer, but stepping out of it always felt the same - chilly, moist, and a little confused once you were brought up to speed, but the unpleasant sensations passed quickly provided the nearby staff were cooperative and breakfast was provided.

The blonde rendered a thumbs up to signal his okay, settling into an optimal position to be suspended in. "See you on the other side," were his parting words. Curiously, he left a deck of cards beside his chair, not to be preserved with him. It wasn't as though he'd be able to use them, so if the robot ever felt like playing a game with their companion - the means were available. With that, Danny and Robert gazed absently into the ceiling, closing their eyes and waiting for the world to freeze.

 

Herald - Command Compartment

"Acknowledged Commander." Familiar words spoken many times were once again said this time with a vague sense of finality. While Unit 00000002 fully expected that they would return safely, a shadow of thought, or perhaps intuition suggested that upon the completion of their mission that the Commander would no longer be her direct superior. It seemed almost a precursor to a parting of ways. Though she could remember little of who she was and had no context with which to ground the period of their relationship together, Unit 00000002 had grown fond of the crew of the Herald and the knowledge that their time together might be coming to a close was a sobering one.

With the acknowledgment made Unit 00000002 made her way over to the side of the Commander's seat and made the preparations to initiate cryonic stasis, checking over the state of the equipment and ensuring that nothing would interfere with the seal before engaging the system. In a moment an opaque pico-jelly shell sheathed the commander, solidifying in place as the stasis unit engaged lulling the Commander into the timeless sleep of stasis which would only be broken once they had returned to the Commander's people.

Turning to Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde, Unit 00000002 offered a comforting smile and replied softly, "It was a pleasure to work with you both." A moment's pause was taken before she echoed, "See you on the other side." Repeating the process Unit 00000002 repeated the integrity checks on the stasis unit ensuring that the operations officer would have as pleasant a rest as the Commander before engaging the stasis systems an opaque shell concealing the man from view as he too was caressed by the cold deep sleep of the stasis system.

A moment was taken to ensure that both members of the Herald's crew had been safely inducted into a stasis state and that no emergency medical action would need to be taken before Unit 00000002 sprung into sudden motion. She moved with a speed that none of the crew had seen during their outing, a speed which would have made Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde seem as if he had stopped and even the Commander's decades-honed gunslinger reflexes would have seemed a lazy motion beside the matte black streak of Unit 00000002's Wind. Her movements were precise, efficient, and without hesitation scooping the plump feathered form of the lorthet into her arms, relocating the avian before it could squawk, react, or deliver one of its condescending lectures. In a period of just under a second, the lorthet was transposed from it's observing position to rest alongside its catatonic peers on the wall mounted medical bed, the shell snapping closed and the emergency cryostasis system coming online flash freezing the lorthet and it's peers before it could act.

A moment of trepidation was held, Unit 00000002 watching the lorthet's cryonic prison the same way she might have regarded an antimatter containment field that was failing seconds stretched into minutes, and finally an hour. Despite her worries no unexplained phenomena occurred, no angry ball of feathers wielding strange unnatural powers burst from the stasis unit. It seemed that she had managed to act swiftly enough to remove the possibility that the wildcard could take any action. With a final anxious glance toward the lorthet's resting place, Unit 00000002 moved to her seat the Herald full of silent crew members all of them locked into various forms of stasis, all but one likely to recover. All but her.

For some time Unit 00000002 and Kit traveled in non-communicative silence, not for a lack of things to be said, but rather to give themselves time to think, time in which the demands of their mission did not call their attention to the forefront. Instead, they could contemplate what had happened, accept the irregularities not merely as fact but as things that had greater meaning than simply existing, being a boon, or a threat. First of these was the way their mission had progressed, their ship had arrived in a damaged, yet manageable state, as if on the cusp of being a lost cause. Beyond this when faced with a wholly alien universe they had managed to find not only a potential candidate for their purposes but one which fully suited their needs. Ordinarily, Unit 00000002 would have discarded these as simply the outcome of their circumstances, but the bearing and nature of the Commander during their mission suggested at something more, something that escaped Unit 00000002's capability to process on her own. There was a sense of comfort, one that could only be considered ambient in nature, yet it was omnipresent during the complete duration of her memories in this place.

This line of thought led into other oddities, the lorthet's behavior and apparent capabilities defying physics as Unit 00000002 understood them, as well as the strange manner in which the Herald had been attacked in her flight. Silent fiery explosions blossoming in the space where the Herald had just been, slipping deftly out of the way of an unseen, near undetectable assailant. Considering these problems, what she had encountered, and the success of their mission Unit 00000002 came to a simple conclusion; the Herald had been guided. More than just guided she decided, protected, and perhaps even empowered. Perhaps in this place, the desires, the will, and hopes of the people whom they represented held a much greater meaning than what Unit 00000002's fragmented memories suggested, perhaps they had been guided by the Goddess and God of the Commander's people? Was this a possibility in the reality in which they inhabited?

In order to try to find answers to these questions Unit 00000002 and Kit began the task of reviewing and cataloging the captured information from the cathedral station.

***​

The first week of travel was spent largely in silence with Unit 00000002 and Kit sorting through the information dump retrieved from the cathedral station's databanks. This research was broken up by periods of discussion in which they explored a myriad of semi-random variations based on what they had learned as well as discussed the reasoning for why or why not certain things were or were not. The task of being able to explain a phenomenon or discredit it formed the metric of their discussions, in any event in which neither party could provide a plausible explanation for what they were discussing they returned to the archives reviewing the information and attempting to reassemble it in a manner that provided new insights. During the latter half of this first week, Unit 00000002 took to idly assembling houses of cards out of the deck provided by Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde. These she constructed upon the surface of his stasis pod finding some amusement in the structures being constructed upon the one who had loved the cards most. Eventually, these houses of cards became a semi-permanent fixture of the command compartment.

With the beginning of the second week, the books began to slowly migrate into the command compartment retrieved one by one by Unit 00000002 and read thoroughly before being compared once again with the previous knowledge collected and refined by the pair during their journey. This exploration added a sociological element to their discussions as works of fiction which upon the determination that they were not based strongly in the reality of this universe were then examined for the ways in which the authors had expanded upon what they understood of reality, thereby attempting to fathom what sort of dreams the populace that created and consumed such media desired and feared. Along with possible societal insights an influx of a new variety of information was acquired; instructional manuals. Some of these books, notably more worn and less well cared for explained technical and mundane elements, with some being recognized as educational books for children. Other more prominent books which had been embellished and better cared for discussed topics such as the harnessing and manipulation of power. Whether or not these were metaphorical or practical explanations to harness some unknown aspect of the universe which Unit 00000002 was not familiar with became a matter of debate between Kit and herself with each trying to argue either stance in the hopes of making some progress with which they could determine if they were useful or merely curiosities.

By the beginning of the third week, the command compartment had become cluttered with books many in stacks while many others were left open allowing Unit 00000002 to cross reference different passages in the many volumes all the while inputting a steady stream of information into the Herald's systems in a final effort to consolidate the information before the library probe would be deposited. The conversations became more spirited and frequent as the wealth of information from which to draw contrasting conclusions grew to build a foundation upon which Unit 00000002 and Kit could truly work beginning to puzzle out the solution to the perplexing and seemingly contradictory problem which had been presented to them. This drew to a fever pitch in the hours before the probe was launched eventually resulting in a final entry to the computer's systems and the probe's archives:

The Goddess' Will is strong here.

The final week was spent in quiet thankful contemplation, many hours were spent looking at the inert members of the crew. Unit 00000001 was looked upon with curiosity, and a little sadness wondering if perhaps she held the answers that Unit 00000002 sought within the inert stone of her form one perfect save for the faint mark on the cheek where the lorthet had sharpened its beak. The sensor station was a place of sullen silences and tears, a curious indulgence of the emotional simulation which her body was capable of experiencing. Unit 00000002 had never expected that she would want to feel the choking pain of sorrow yet still she wept, wishing that she had been able to do more for her friend and to ensure that she had been safe. Wishes that she knew were outside of her capability to enact, yet prominent all the same.

Standing near the Commander's unit lent itself to thoughtful moments, self-searching and questioning. Had she done all that she could for the success of the mission? Were her efforts worthy? Would she be scorned for what she had done or not done? In the end Unit 00000002 was left only with the sure answer that she wanted to be able to do good, to be helpful, and be the best that she could be. She had the desire that in the future she would be able to do more and perhaps even one day make the Commander proud.

Operations was a place of uncertainty for Unit 00000002. There had been a quality fo the man who had served as their operations officer, the second in command of the Herald. She didn't know what for sure to call it, perhaps it was an artifact of being alive, to have lived a long life and held memories which shaped and molded who they were with the quirks that came with such a thing. Standing near the opaque pod and the house of cards that stood atop it Unit 00000002 often found herself wondering after her own personhood, and wondered whether or not she could wholly be considered the same as the man. These were things she did not feel she was qualified to answer.

Near the lorthet, all three of them, sealed away as they were Unit 00000002 often contemplated their irregular and unexpected presence while at the same time feeling compelled to push herself. While gazing upon the sealed stasis pod she performed calibration routines, loose analogs to athletic routines that the Commander or the man would have participated in for their physical wellbeing. For her, however, it was both a reassurance of optimal function as well as an attempt to further optimize the motions and control over her physical form pushing herself toward a greater level of personal mastery in an ever continuing journey.

Settling into her seat one final time, Unit 00000002 glanced over her shoulder at the still emptiness of the command compartment as the filled for the last time with atmospheric fluid and the Herald dropped out of FTL in an area of lightless space, far away from the stars and approaching a destination visible only by the way the light of the stars passing near it warped and twisted. In this moment Unit 00000002 gazed into the abyss and felt a strange sense of recollection, of repeating a task that she had never performed and for a moment felt a squirming need to be anywhere but where she was, and to not do what she was about to do. A feeling of comfort originating from Kit was the last thing she felt before her emotional processing hardware was repurposed into additional computational resources and for the second time in its short career, the Herald plunged into the heart of a black hole.