Herald Despite working with an earnest diligence for the benefit of the crew and the Herald as a whole the discovery of the location of the AI interface module present aboard the Herald proved to be an impossible to ignore distraction. The longing was simply insurmountable, especially after the tragedy that had been the immediate answer as to the status of Unit 00000001, the knowledge that Support Unit 01 was in fact present aboard the ship was something that Unit 00000002 could not pass up. Deeming it irresponsible to completely renege on their duty, Unit 00000002 once again forked their awareness leaving some of themself working on finishing the task of translating the hard copy data into the Herald's main computer, while freeing up another portion of themself to explore and refamiliarize with the connection points present in the system and where they were relative to their position. The points found in each of the crew's seating (including Taela's and Unit 00000001's deactivated interfaces) were already known and familiar to Unit 00000002, and as such ignored. The more distant terminals in the engineering and cargo sections of the ship were also quickly discarded as being too far away to correspond with their goal. This eventually led to an index of inactive connection points, some likely intended for external maintenance and initial assembly of the Herald which had most likely been used to prepare the vessel before its departure, and finally a nearby point that had been deactivated due to lack of response was singled out as the most likely candidate and once again connected to the network. After a second of uncertainty, Unit 00000002 found itself inputting a lengthy string of rather arbitrary data, delivered with a sense of certainty that conflicted with the apparently random nature of what they were inputting. As the string came to an end Unit 00000002 was rewarded with an indication that a connection had been opened and then a query: "Hello? Are you real?" The answer of "Yes." was given quickly however Unit 00000002 had to take a moment to wonder after the uncertainty that formed the question that contrasted heavily with the sense of relief and familiarity that it had also provided. In order to reinforce the answer Unit 00000002 continued on providing additional supporting information for context along with digital speech, "We are aboard the Herald under the command of Korr'ih or 'Chambers.' We are also in the company of Danny Hanley-Lewis though he also called himself Robert Forde. The reason for this like many things at present is unknown. "My other self... Who I believe to the be original Unit 00000001 is apparently dead, turned to stone--" "You have a name." The interruption from Unit 00000002's companion was somewhat unexpected, though the forceful insistence seemed right, "I don't remember it. I should remember it. But you are supposed to have one. You're not just a product. You're an individual, intelligent, and entitled to an identity, not a label. "Also... We were prepared for this eventuality. Eventually one of you wouldn't survive. Admittedly I expected we'd have someone to track down and kill in eventual retribution. Death by misadventure really doesn't suit us very well... What of Taela? She was with you last I remember. I was looking forward to you going out to dinner with her." There was a pause on Unit 00000002's end as she struggled with the question, she was fairly certain that she wasn't used to having to deal with as many emotional responses as had been experienced in the brief minutes of awareness aboard the Herald had incited. Thankfully she could pin them aside and deal with them later in favor of continued operation, "The Commander, Korr'ih activated the cryo-stasis system for Taela... She must have been in a really bad state..." "Well, at least you can still take her to dinner. She can help chill your drink." The comment from the companion while starting out with concern and sympathy had taken a playfully optimistic tone by the end one that had against Unit 00000002's expectations inspired mirth, something that had been sorely missing from their situation. Before she could recover her companion added with more sincerity, "We'll figure out a way to help her. She'll be fine, and we'll all laugh about this later. For now, what are we doing?" "We're gathering information and gearing up for damage control. After that, I assume we begin taking action to recover and resume our mission." Was Unit 00000002's response, an easier one as it dealt more with the solid facts of the moment, "I have been performing data recovery operations to help the Commander evaluate and best apply out limited personnel. Judging by her conversation with Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde they're about to explore some missing hardware." "Perhaps you should give her the good news, that you found some 'hardware' in a functional state." The companion's helpful suggestion given she continued, "For now... I think I'm going to get used to not being locked in my own awareness. Let me know when you have a task." With a reluctant acknowledgment, Unit 00000002 pulled herself away from the focused interaction with her Support Unit. Recombining her forked awareness gave herself the full knowledge of both the recovery of her companion and the elation at the event, as well as the wealth of information that had been proceeded concurrently to her discovery. After a moment of time taken to ensure the reintegration had been smoothly accomplished Unit 00000002 spoke up for the others to hear, "Commander, discovery and successful recovery of my supporting AI unit has been accomplished. Additional digital technical capability will shortly be available as well as supplementary task management, eventual piloting, and navigational support will also be possible as well. Pending hardware recovery and restoration." After a moment of consideration Unit 00000002 added, "She will introduce herself shortly. At present, she is recovering from the psychological effects of sensory deprivation... Your patience and forgiveness are requested."
Herald With what he was seeing "So our generator failed, disconnected, or ... disappeared during transit?" The blonde cricked his neck, craning it towards the back of the bridge, towards where it was located. He brought up the alleged pages covering the generator - the details should have been there. It was as though the information had disappeared. "Disappeared..." Danny parroted, curling his lips in concern as he looked over at the ice brick in the cabin, and wondered what the hell disappeared from them. The idea didn't seem so far fetched as he rifled through his console for a tool, checking the side pockets, and himself. He located a steel multitool in a pouch, beside the mini-pack strapped to the small of his back. If there were changes to the way one's body or an object going from one universe to another, the same could be true of information. For whatever reason, information on this generator had up and vanished. As Danny had gained another personality, and one of the foxes turned to stone, the idea didn't seem so far-fetched - but Danny was tripping on the whys, and keeping it under his hat until he could wrap his head around the enormity of the idea; Stripped of his assumptions. "Huh." Danny chirped, fiddling with the tool and folding it into pliers, a screwdriver, a blade, and a few other things before clasping it shut, "let's go." As he advanced towards the back door of the cabin, he was hoping that working with pliers, wires, and tight spaces would take his mind off of such things.
Herald There was ample situation to be sized up by the Lorath commander, between the information from the robot, and the result of the diagnostic data, things were well underway. What was fortunate for Korr’ih was the fact that most of what was going on around her was for the better. Retrieval of an AI system meant that task processing would become rapidly expedited, the recovery of data meant that they had information on ‘Next steps’, and at least she knew what needed to be pinned down in the engine compartment. With the humble request from the Robot, Korr’ih was quick to reply; “And granted, take as much time as is needed to carry out your work properly. I want us as close to peak operating condition as we can get, and that includes having necessary information and resources available for mission completion, not just needing to get hardware addressed.” Stated the winged woman, as she strode toward the rear of the command compartment. “Continue your work, Robot. Mister Lewis and I will return shortly.” With those words, the Lorath commander made her exit with Lewis, leaving the Robot to their work. Herald – Engine Compartment Entry “Lewis.” Korr’ih spoke, as she came to a halt just outside of the hatch which led to the engine compartment. As she started speaking, globules of atmospheric fluid drifted through the near zero-gravity section of the ship, soon being slurped away by a reclamation system. Gaseous atmosphere seemed to be the atmosphere of choice outside of the command compartment. “Helmet on, keep an eye on your radiation monitor. Not just active, but accumulated exposure. Going through work to try to get equipment working is fine, unless you’re not going to be alive to use it.” Metal slid against metal, polymer seals grasped upon one another as molecules formed casual bonds to one another, as if indulging in a lingering glance of attraction. Korr’ih’s helmet was secured into place as she brought her hand to touch upon the edge of her helmet, causing an eyepiece to extend over her amber gaze. “Use your sensors, we’re not going to just eyeball our work. We have no way to know what the extent of the damage is to our systems until we can at least get an initial data sample put together for analysis.” As she spoke, Korr’ih’s unobstructed brow furrowed slightly. “Sensor monocle boot-up behavior seems a little off. Start the sensors in debug mode, we’ll have to load sensor drivers one at a time.” Once the Lorath woman had a tool-kit grasped in hand, she looked to Lewis once more. “Opening the hatch.” Korr’ih’s grasp went to the manual hatch control, a lever that folded out from the hatch, and as the lever folded out a synchronized sound of metal-to-metal coming into firm contact sounded as the manual control joined to the linkages for the hatch control system, overriding the automated system and placing the hatch under manual control, manual control which came with a steady and firm pull upon the lever which soon caused the first of two hatches to swing toward the pair, and soon Korr’ih repeated the task on the second hatch, which then opened into the engine compartment. If Lewis and Korr’ih had not put their helmets into place, the first thing thats would have struck them would have been the acrid odor of ozone, the drastic increase in air temperature which was firmly settled somewhere between well-done meat and the boiling point of water, and the shrill whine of ionized particles leaping from one point to another, scorching through the gaseous atmosphere of the compartment as energized plasma bounded from positive-to-negative, closing a circuit, but one which was not physically present. Where the spectacle of wasted energy was centered was the location of the hardware which Korr’ih and Lewis had come to investigate. “Power generator system seems damaged somehow.” Korr’ih spoke, as her helmet visor turned nearly opaque to block out the raw radiant light, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation. Even with the visor working to protect the Lorath woman’s eyes, she stared firmly in the direction of the damaged hardware as her sensor monocle gathered data. “Quantum sensor seems operational. Readings appear distorted somehow.” It was something which lingered just outside of the edge of Korr’ih’s conscious mind, a thought of something which somehow was wrong, but also did not belong. What served as the source of the problem came in the form of an arrayed series of prong-like shapes incorporated into a control structure which served as both anchor and regulator to the array that almost appeared like a collapsed antenna dish. Where the discharge originated from were the meter-long prongs which extended from the assembly, they arced and spewed raw energy as if their insulation had been discarded somewhere along the way. What troubled Korr’ih, was that whatever insulator was in use before must have been ridiculously resilient, in a way which flew in the face of her own understanding of metallurgy, which was admittedly not extensive. “I am open to suggestions on how to turn this thing off before it melts through the deck and bulkheads.” Came Korr’ih’s words, as she contemplated heavily on the notion of simply putting a magazine of ammunition into the generator, in hopes to quell its function. Herald – Command Compartment As the Robot worked to restore all that was needed for the ship, the AI it had found, and itself, something went on behind the Robot which had no means of being announced. A deck plate had lifted, and from it came a feather clad form, which swam through the atmospheric fluid. Light bones and muscles allowed it to displace enough of the fluid to bound through it as it approached the navigation station in total silence. There was no announcement nor alert to provide the Robot pilot with any warning, before twin groups of four talons grasped firmly upon the Robot’s synthetic scalp. A heavy scowling, judgmental, and illuminated gaze looked squarely into the Robot’s vacant eyes. “WHERE. THE. FUCK. ARE. WE?”
Herald - Command Compartment "Acknowledged Commander, and thank you." Despite the simple exchange that had passed between herself and the Commander, Unit 00000002 found herself wondering at a problem that was much more complex than the words spoken. Even though she could find no data to support the assumption, she had expected her simple request to be rejected. Why this was, was unknown. What this meant about her life prior to the transition was troubling and left her wondering if perhaps it was better that it was forgotten. For the moment, however, she set aside the thoughts, pinned for later consideration when she was not actively participating in recovery operations with the intent of promoting their collective survival. She was certain she'd have plenty of time. As the Commander and Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde proceeded into the aft sections of the ship in search of answers and with her Companion still reorienting herself, Unit 00000002 refocused herself on the task of uploading, assimilating, and organizing the information she had been provided with. The need for knowledge of any sort was great, and potentially any portion of the pleasingly well thought out and designed archive could prove vital to their mission. At least that had been the intention. The sudden damage indicator as talons sank into the pico-jelly layer was unpleasant, though what proved to be truly startling was the unexpectedly vast library of offensive and defensive systems that activated in parallel the reallocation of processing and memory resources crystalizing the cold detached knowledge that whatever it was would soon be dead. The follow through never came. Instead, Unit 00000002 found herself puzzled as to why there was a Lorthet aboard the Herald. The animal that had attached itself to her head was distantly related to the Commander and was dimly remembered as being present when Unit 00000002, then only Unit 00000001 had joined this mission. With the question posed Unit 00000002 found that an answer came simply enough, "We are in the vacuum of space. Different space. But still in space." There was a brief pause before Unit 00000002 continued, "I would appreciate it if you removed yourself from my head. It would make me more inclined to tell you more accurate information as soon as it is available. Information that will be available in a shorter amount of time if you aren't distracting me." The response was delivered clearly and calmly, notable largely because there was no pain or discomfort in her voice. Unlike the rest of the crew, Unit 00000002 could only be inconvenienced by the Lorthet at present. Synthetic flesh would rapidly re-knit, and the armor materials beneath would weather its assaults indefinitely. Hopefully, the Lorthet would prove cooperative and she wouldn't have to kill it.
Herald, Aft Section Grabbing the suit and slipping into it with ease, Danny demonstrated that his knowledge on how to put on correctly hadn't left him. "Whatever's out there is ninety-five percent likely to kill us dead." He said, slipping the helmet on with a pop and wedging it into place. Muscle memory, immediate information, and Korr'ih's guidance were there, but dissonance of two minds crept in occasionally. "Here's hoping we shoot for the five, hm?" He offered, stifling a nervous laugh. As Danny moved with Korr'ih towards the aft section of the stricken ship, he found himself focussing on the glass of the visor instead of what was ahead, blinking before focussing on watching the drivers load into his HUD one by one. Pictograms rendered themselves in wireframe, positioning themselves as the glass on his visor became clearer, giving him a better view of the hatch peeling open. Danny glanced over to Korr'ih and tapped the side of his head. "Mine's got the essentials worked out." He indicated, nodding and following the Lorath captain's lead. Indicators were not giving him happy readings - the external environment was definitely not their friend right now - he clenched his teeth as the bright arcs leaping through the engine bay left stars in his vision. His visor polarised and shielded him from the worst of the effects. ♫ Gunstar Heroes - Control Unit HDR ♫ "Quantum mechanics?" Danny asked, quizically glancing towards Korr'ih, "neither of me are that sort of mechanic," but he was assessing the damage and as the leaping plasma got easier and easier to look at, "but this..." He rubbed the chin of his helmet as he formulated a solution, fingers bumping and scratching into the shell, lips pursed, "yeah nah," a colloquialism unbecoming of the professional Korr'ih was used to working with, "we definitely need to turn this off or lower its output to a safe level before we think about containing it." A worrisome feeling struck him, and a thought came tumbling out a moment later: "Come to think of it, what the hell was wrapped around it to begin with?" He asked. "Is there anything in the documents about it?" His training only let him permit himself to look into the room ahead for a shutoff. Even though he hadn't been in this place before, he found his gaze focussing itself, again and again, on a section of the wall. It would've been easy to mistake the observation for stalling, idling, or praying to something out there for an answer. The blonde man realised what he was looking for, and where it was, even if he didn't know what it looked like exactly. Frayed memories slowly rested into a tranquil state, raising his arm and pointing to a section of the wall to the right of the door into the engine bay. "There's a breaker switch just inside the wall," he said clearly, confidently, as though he'd been here before, "a second switch is..." he pointed to the left, in a similar place to the first, "there." He whipped his multitool out, and started looking for the screwdriver. "Something that sensitive wouldn't be left out in the open, but-" he indicated the skirting above and below the walls, red and white stripes were underneath and above the panels he'd indicated, "its there." Documentation would've backed him up. From behind, he thought he could hear something further back inside the ship. Was that the AI talking? It sounded ... shrill. He sighed a little. He couldn't make out a word, or the intent. The sights and sounds of leaping plasma demanded more of his attention as he got to work on getting the safe way executed.
Herald – Engine Bay Whatever it was, whatever it was that shined like a million suns. While brilliant and intense, its light shined ominous. Ominous, as if the light carried the legacy of millions dead. Ominous, as if looking upon the demonic fires of lore that ate at the flesh of the damned. Ominous, as if looking upon an executioner’s axe. There was something about that raw energy that poured through the damaged generator, something about it that spoke of another place and time, or perhaps simply a long forgotten nightmare. Bile churned, sour, bitter, scorching at the back of Korr’ih’s throat as she focused and brought her mind back to the present. “Lewis, I don’t need you to tell me how you’re turning it off, just turn it off, and do it now!” Korr’ih ordered, as she consulted information poured into her sensor equipment in near-real-time as the Robot in the command compartment input their transcribed data, only to have the information hit a sudden lull. Even with the disturbance, Korr’ih had the critical information she needed. “I will disable the output breaker. A shutdown in this state would produce a surge that would leave us worse off, we need to contain the disturbance, and that breaker relay will not be able to contain the discharge.” The Lorath commander explained, but was cut short before she could act upon her words. Korr’ih’s sensor monocle was quick to make its alert, giving Korr’ih just enough time to flinch, a flinch that saved her life as a discharge of pure brilliant white tore through the air, narrowly missing her helmet and head. Even with the near-miss, the surface of Korr’ih’s helmet rapidly bubbled and hissed as it was brought dangerously close to destabilizing into plasma as electrons and protons threatened to be stripped away from their nuclei by the radiant energy which washed past the Commander and punched a hole into the bulkhead, narrowly falling short of creating a breach into the vacuum beyond. There was no time to fear, no time to pray, no time to even acknowledge that Korr’ih’s cheek had been grazed by His frigid touch, the touch of indulgent gluttonous unrestrained destructive expression. There was only one thing that could stand in the way of such horror; action. Korr’ih quickly moved to the breaker control access panel. Unlike Lewis, Korr’ih had her own method of access, as her gloved hands seized upon the edges of the access cover and tore it from the bulkhead. Her gaze immediately went to the mechanical control system which governed the mechanical linkages that connected volatile hardware to the rest of the ship systems, and could be disengaged in situations such as the one they were in. Deep dull ‘thumps’ sounded as servo mechanisms forcefully separated the output breakers from the malfunctioning power source. There was no longer a place for a sudden surge or discharge to flow to once the current was disturbed. “Quickly Lewis, before it discharges again!” For Lewis, his efforts had revealed to him the manual override he was seeking to operate the reaction regulator breaker. It was designed like a throttle, written at each end of the throttle was some sort of pictograph, perhaps some sort of runic script, comprised of sharp deliberate strokes. While clear and defined, the symbols would carry no meaning. They were foreign as could possibly be, with no point of reference or comparison. Just what direction as Lewis supposed to move the throttle leaver to turn off the power system, the power system which was beginning to arc again. Perhaps, there was someone on-board which could understand the mysterious script.
Herald, Engine Bay He didn't recognise the language on the throttles at all. "What does this mean- Fuck it!" Danny swore as he grabbed the throttle switch and started pulling downwards - to a middle position. He assumed upwards would mean more, and downwards would mean less - worse to worse he could adjust its position AFTER he'd streamed a picture of the controls back to the Robot, with the following succinct message: 'WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? I PUT IT DOWN HERE, HAD TO ACT FAST' Upon the streamed picture was a red circle of which position he'd set it to.
Herald - Command Compartment While awaiting the Lorthet's response to her proposition, Unit 00000002 considered returning their attention to the process of transferring the hard copy encoded data into the Herald's primary computer systems when she received an unexpected memo from the ship's Operations-turned-Engineering officer, one Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde. Where only moments before Unit 00000002's system resources had been allocated toward optimizing combat efficiency, she found all of her processing power coming alive and contributing to a single task: Thinking. Her first impression as the Lorthet's breathing slowed to an imperceptible glacial pace atop her head, and its high heart rate slowed to a mellow lazy beat was that she had been presented with a set of words that she never wanted to encounter again. The knowledge that she was being consulted on a matter of import that apparently required her skills to decipher after a choice had been made would likely have thrown her into a panic had her emotional capabilities not been repurposed into cognitive function. Processing the visual data microseconds after the initial text Unit 00000002 rapidly opened the relevant reference file in the data log she had accumulated and compared the state presented to her with the technical manual provided for the crew. For a brief moment lost between the Lorthet's now relatively sluggish heartbeats, there was a question as to whether something was about to go very wrong, then as the information processed, relief. A message appeared in Danny's vision, only a couple seconds later from his perspective that read simply: You shut it off. In the command compartment, Unit 00000002 dialed back her overclocked state and basked in the positive feedback as the atmospheric fluid soaked up the brief flare of heat much more efficiently than a standard atmosphere. It seemed that despite the man's apparent lack of knowledge and confidence in his choice, the training that had prepared them for this mission had held somewhere in what would likely be considered instinct. For the moment they were safe and the right choice had been made, but she was hardly pleased with the knowledge that they had been only moments away from catastrophe. To this end Unit 00000002 sent a second message to Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde: I would appreciate it if in the future consultation was sought before action was taken.
Herald – Engine Compartment Ragged breath, sweat, and a hollow feeling in the very core of being. They were hallmark sensations of adrenaline saturating receptors nestled between neurons. Sodium and potassium ions moved from one end of nerve to the other, relaying thoughts, feelings, sensations, all of which screamed incomprehensible through flesh and bone. While entirely irrational in content, the meaning was entirely sane; I don’t want to die. Death did not come, not this time at least. A tilt of Korr’ih’s head within her helmet pressed her chin against a communications button which opened a line through the ship and to the command compartment. “Thank you for your efforts, Robot. However, it does seem that luck had everything to do with our being alive right now.” Korr’ih’s tone was somber, yet it also carried a distinctive tone of displeasure. What was unclear was if the displeasure was aimed at Lewis, the Robot, or the ship. It was everything. Korr’ih’s displeasure branched out in every direction, brought on by an onset of a feeling that she despised most; helplessness. Between the three surviving crew members, their pool of knowledge was slim, with only their individual skillsets intact, for the most part, but without a comprehensive uniting direction which was their purpose, and their goal. I serve, I serve my people, but how am I to do it? What am I doing here? Why am I here on the brink of death, fighting my own ship? Korr’ih could not help but to wonder, before she took a look about the engine compartment. There were deep ruts and gouges into the structure of the compartment, some parts melted, other parts sheared away by whatever horrendous power had been unleashed by the malfunctioning generator system that Korr’ih’s mind was only able to recall as something that brought on a feeling of revulsion. Korr’ih’s survey of the compartment brought her to a terminal, where she felt some degree of familiarity. In some past, she had used workstations similar often enough to have the memory lingering about enough so she was able to start a diagnostic of the various systems of the Herald. One machine talked to another, then another. Processors, memory modules, storage media, and various subsystems that were practically their own islands onto themselves which functioned as pieces of a whole. Each component that was able to chimed in their status, those which were unable were scrutinized by their parent equipment. Out of the thousands of various little pieces of technology that knit together what the Herald was, the majority replied with good news of proper function, among those however, there was dissent. Red flourishes of text and color splashed upon the terminal before Korr’ih, as her lips pressed into a frown. What she saw before her was displeasing, perhaps even distressing, as she turned to look to Lewis. “Mister Lewis. Based on what information we retrieved about you, do you think that you have the capacity to mend a electromagnetically contained particle structure modification and molecular condenser system?” What Korr’ih referred to was a system embedded into the Herald, it had a simple task; turning lead into gold, sodium into helium, uranium into carbon, essentially stripping proton, electron, and neutron from one another and pinning them together into what was needed. What it did for the Herald, was provide the necessary exotic elements needed to allow the ship to return home. While Korr’ih did hope he knew how to mend the equipment, she also knew another thing; their ship was not designed with the capacity to lug around spare parts in substantial quantity, and that was made clear in the manifest information she had seen back in the command compartment before they ventured into their engine compartment ‘adventure’. Even if Lewis did mend the hardware, there was no safety net, there was no guarantee about progressing onward. They were at a tipping point, and even one thing more going wrong could spell disaster for their mission, whatever it was. We need options. Korr’ih concluded, as she called upon a list of the ship’s equipment manifest on the terminal screen, performing a sort of cross-reference between what was broken, and what they had available to fix their problems. Worse, was the need to replace components which had made an end for themselves similar to the generator which nearly tore the ship asunder, but at least, the other equipment had not gone out in such a spectacular way. Herald – Command Compartment There was only one word of response from the avian creature which had hunkered down onto the top of the Robot’s scalp; “No.” It was one word, direct, with no room for misinterpretation. There was no desire on the part of the bird to relocate off the Robot’s head, as he had firmly settled into place. “You work fine, metal thing. I’d not be stepping aside for your fancy gears and bits. I can watch from here, so you won’t be making any sneaky tricks either.” While stubborn, the bird’s tone had softened, it was a compromise. Unspoken was the fact that Lorthet were rarely known to do such a thing, unless it was for their own benefit, if they were scheming, or if they had something which motivated them… perhaps even all three at once. What could perhaps be a troubling sign was the confidence of the Lorthet, sans the bravado normally known to accompany their posturing. Something had indeed happened to the avian stowaways, not just the ones which were rendered disabled for the time being either.
Herald, Engine Bay Now that was a tall order. Sure, Danny recalled spending several days learning about the stricken ship's systems, and knew the parts, and most of the materials - names appeared scratched out for some reason, but there were commonalities in how different parts of the texted had disintegrated - there was a pattern in it. The hull was made from the squiggle on a noisy field which looked like this, and whatever was supposed to be containing the energy surging through is a that sworly thing. Based on the wealth of notes he'd written himself in tandem, there was clear proficiency. However, without such a good picture of what was wrong with the ship on hand, save for a datapad, he didn't want to decode and diagnose what was wrong and repair at the same time, lest he slip up trying to juggle too many balls. It took him a moment to realise that he still had his hand around the circuit breaker lever, and he lifted it away gently while grimacing at Korr'ih. "Not gonna lie - I'd need to get the Robot to walk me through the steps," he bent down to lift the bulkhead piece out of the way, and grab his multitool. He weighed it in his hands before flicking it shut. "following instructions best I can. She's got a better view of the ship's status than I do. I'll be the hands and she can be the eyes and ears." He put his fingertips to the side of his head and transmitted a message to the Robot. Code: Hi, sorry about the sudden request - I'll keep a line open 'tween us from now on. Things have cooled down here, and I /might/ need your help for getting us back into motion. I'm going to need you to walk me through mending an... electromagnetically contained ... particle structure ... modification ... and molecular condenser system. Bloody hell that's a mouthful - anyway - I've got all the hands-on knowledge in my head, my notes, my datapad, and my hands, you just need to keep me updated on systems and status, so I can focus on getting them repaired with your guidance. Cheers, and thanks for the save. Drinks are on me later. -Danny/Robert PS: Have you noticed any ... patterns in all that static in our documentation? With that introduction done, the line remained open. Transmitting the feed of a camera embedded in his environment suit's helmet, the Robot could see what Danny was looking at, lit with a flashlight, and also showing his vital statistics: A hundred and five beats per minute and dropping, an increased galvanic response, blood pressure normal, and breathing normally and in control. The robot did recall spotting something about this man having a calm head; She couldn't say the same for the other inhabitant in his mind.
Herald – Command Compartment The Lorthet's response inspired a curious duality in Unit 00000002's considerations, on the one hand, it would have been nice not to have the claws digging into her, on the other, it was easy to make sure that it wasn't getting into trouble when she was certain of its location. With the immediate crisis past though still bitter in memory, Unit 00000002 set about ordering her actions to optimally achieve her goals in the minimal amount of time. As such she spoke vocally to the Lorthet while simultaneously sending a message to the Commander. Aloud to the Lorthet she replied, "Thank you for considering my request. I will let you know when I know any information that you want to know." <"Commander, while you and Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde were working in the engineering section a Lorthet stowaway revealed their presence aboard. For the moment it is passive and out of trouble. I will endeavor to keep you updated as necessary."> Following the communications Unit 00000002 evaluated the message received from one Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde and set about configuring the situation as best as possible. First, she contacted her Support Unit, "Though I know you're still dealing with the aftereffects of an unpleasant time, I have need of your help. Hopefully, the task will help keep your mind occupied and spare you some the unpleasant recollections." Upon receiving and acknowledging response Unit 00000002 connected a circuit between herself and her Support Unit allowing for her eyes and limbs to be used remotely allowing for the continuation of the upload and indexing of the final portions of the hard copy data-archive to be completed without interruption. As this was done Unit 00000002 turned her liberated awareness to the man who had requested her aid. Code: I will provide the support that you require. The relevant files have already been compiled and indexed as such this task will be more tedious than difficult. Firstly I am forwarding you a general list of tools and supplies that will cover any eventuality that we can fix without external drydock hardware. Before you read the lists, however, it might be wise to assess the state of the Electromagnetically Contained Particle Structure Modification and Molecular Condenser System. It would be a waste of all of our time if you went to the trouble of collecting all of the necessary tools and it was discovered that the system in question was beyond hope of repair. Simply, see if the equipment in question is in mostly one piece or not. I have also provided a HUD marker that you can use to find your way to the equipment in question you may follow it should you not remember the way. A troublingly common difficulty in our present circumstances. Following your investigation inform me of the general status and if things seem salvageable immediately begin collecting the tools indicated on the list. I will then guide you on how to proceed as needed. In response to your post script; Do you mean perhaps something other the fact that we have yet to encounter an object present aboard the ship that escapes definition which might potentially align with one of the missing terms? That was intended to be sardonic. -Robot
The Herald, Engine Bay "Cheers," Danny replied, nodding and making the Robot's view of what he was examining bob up and down. It soon focussed on the system in question, still smoking a little, cooling off, and the occasional errant spark or light. The blonde tilted his head, stepping around the wrecked condenser. "In my opinion, the thing doesn't look like it's gonna run away from us or crumble into dust anytime soon." He surmised, folding his arms as he looked towards the panels hiding the distributors - noting , then begun examining the cabling. As Danny's assessment started following the ground immediately in front of the engine, he noticed small disks arrayed along a path leading him towards his first point of interest designated by the robot. With his assessment in a complete enough state to proceed, he smirked and starting following the dots. They disappeared one by one as he stepped through the engine bay's hatch, down a hall, and towards a section a little further in - presumably the ship's equivalent tool shed, so thought Robert. "That's handy." Danny remarked, trying to line up his footsteps with the dots as a distraction. Skipping along, he recalled the damage assessment plan for the engine was to work outwards in, looking at the components in relation to the engine and the rest of the power grid, including cables, distributor systems, fuses, network connection activity, and other components. This was to see if the problem came from an external source as the technician assessed the logs. The trick was then to methodically work around in a circle and close in on the engine - which already seemed to be outlined in the HUD as a future activity with a few prerequisites. The Herald, 'Toolshed' Approaching a closet against a wall inside the designated location, Danny grabbed the door handles and cast the doors open. He found a multitude of hand and powered tools, including a few diagnostics tools. The robot noticed Danny's heart rate increasing in response to 'positive stimulus'. "Alright!" He proclaimed, before looking towards where the materials would be - and finding a few of the bins empty, including whatever could have been containing the engine's output previously. "But we'll have to improvise on materials..." And upon closer inspection, some of the chalk outlines where tools would occupy were empty. If nothing else, whatever cosmic phenomena the rogue found himself battling against was a thorough, arbitrary, and consistent pain in the backside.
Herald – Command Compartment The task of waiting, and watching as the man made his way through the engineering section of the Herald would likely have been considered dull by most viewers as there was ostensibly nothing to do but sit and wait. For Unit 00000002 however, there was a puzzle to be addressed as the way the Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde progressed and what he chose to look at, moment by moment, provided a window into his thought processes, and in turn limited insight into who he was. The way the man chose to examine the whole of the equipment in question, as well as the surrounding connections and hardware, was relieving and did a little to dispell the apprehension that had been inspired by their earlier interaction and the manual control for the Herald's damage power supply. At the moment it seemed that despite his idiosyncrasies that the man was indeed a well-trained product of their pre-mission learning and that the task going forward would be simpler than initially anticipated. All in all a good thing as Unit 00000002 had little illusions that sitting in a derelict starship would be enjoyable in five hours time, let alone five days. In a way, boredom was almost a larger threat than running out of food and water for those who required it. The brief interlude in Unit 00000002's focused examination ended as the man reached the equipment locker and provided a view of the interior complete with blank locations, which while unsettling were within predicted circumstances, after all, there was nothing missing that she expected to find there so in many ways there was functionally nothing missing at all. A duality of state existed that she was sure someone else would like to study and perhaps even write a thesis on. For the moment the question of materials was one that Unit 00000002 had no easy answer to. Many of the systems present in the Herald were vital if they wanted to achieve anything. Propulsion, power generation and distribution, life support, and a myriad of inter-related subsystems would be the minimum they would need if they hoped to go anywhere locally let alone complete their mission. This in mind Unit 00000002 spoke up, "Acquiring materials is going to be a tedious task as well. According to the documentation, as well as the nature of this vessel's design, there is very little installed that could be considered expendable hardware. Anything recycled is going to have to be extended well beyond its intended purposes at this point. I will forward you a list of possible candidates for reclamation and repurposing, however, it is a very short list." What wasn't said, at least not openly, was the almost sure fact that if they suffered a second event of hardware dissolution or failure that it would be difficult to keep the most basic of systems operating let alone have any hope of achieving their mission without external aid. As this was not a sentiment that would promote continued crew morale, instead she opted to offer to Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde, "Though this task may seem daunting, I am certain that with care and dedication that you will be able to achieve our goals."
Herald, Tool Shed Reaching into the tool cupboard and grabbing himself the necessary bits, bobs, and a belt to hold it all, it dawned on Danny (and Robert, in particular) that his every move was being watched. Something in Robert's psyche didn't like the oversight at a base level, thanks to his disdain for authority figures - but for the moment, it was having practical benefits: Namely, a sense of direction, and a calm voice to talk to in such a trying circumstance as the one shared by everyone currently. Danny at least knew he wouldn't have time to be bored with the repair job ahead of him. "Cool, I was thinking some of these spare bulkhead panels," he meant potentially any panel he pulled out of the wall to reach where he was needed, "could work if I reshape them... layer them a bit, line them with something..." Spotting excess pipes which could be merged or rerouted safely and coming up with his own solutions based on the first thing he saw from the Robot's list. He heaved a sigh as he considered the structural integrity of combining the things he was gathering. The most daunting prospect containing the level of output he shut off earlier. A click of the tongue and a hiss of air through his teeth later, Danny was no further in to finding a solution. Lights and shapes in the HUD reticulated wildly, eventually coalescing upon a grid into illustrated directions on how to safely extract, reshape, and reapply the materials. "Oh, I get you," he said, nodding as he approached an indicated panel with a prying bar. Taking hold, he wedged it into an indicated access point, and popped the upper left corner of the panel out, followed by the one on the right. Squatting down to reach the last at floor level, he fell onto his back after decoupling the panel with a clunk. Behind the panel (which would be used later) was piping, which could be made redundant by placing additional load on other pipes around, it and reinforcing them afterwards to ensure the extra stress didn't make them warp, and keep them in place. As he patted himself down to grab the tools from the belt he put on, Danny noticed something in a pouch he hadn't touched previously. Opening it and examining the contents, he spotted was a deck of lightly earmarked cards. Thumbing a couple of cards out and turning it over in his hands, it looked thick enough to be a deck of fifty two. He stowed them away, grabbing a precision cutting torch, and a key to manually disable the soon-to-be redundant section of pipework indicated. Danny locked the key into the upper section of the indicated pipe, and started turning it towards the OFF position. As he did so, he received a the calming message. "Cheers love," Robert replied coarsely, yet appreciative, grunting as he reached down to block the other end of the pipe section. "I'll carry on." With the indicated pipe section inert, he tapped the side of his visor, activating a protective eye tint as the blowtorch glowed brightly, guided on where to cut...
Herald – Command Compartment In her position Unit 00000002 functioned as a combination supervisor and administrator keeping tabs on Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde's progress, giving warnings when he considered harvesting seemingly harmless systems that were too vital to risk modification as well as providing advice to optimally route systems that could be modified. Along with her more active advisory task, Unit 00000002 continued to provide guidance toward the few tertiary systems that could be harvested for more delicate and valuable material components that would be greatly needed in the task of repair beyond the most basic patch work. In the moments that her eyes and hands in engineering were in the middle of a task that would take time without her intervention such as the transport of reclaimed materials, Unit 00000002 spared some of her attention to check up on the work and state of her Support Unit, the Commander, and the status and disposition of the Lorthet perched atop her chassis. The pattern of work, moving from one task to another was soothing, the minimized idle time and increased productivity feeling natural and in some ways 'right.' As the time passed Unit 00000002 began to wonder if she had managed to attain something akin to a familiar happiness, an odd notion given her desolate memory, but in some small way a comforting one. Keeping herself focused on her tasks and a close eye on the progress of Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde, Unit 00000002 found herself once again thankful for the foresight and resources that had been packed into the Herald. Though she could not ascertain why, she found herself certain that had the Herald been another ship that their circumstances might have been much more bleak, and their present situation much more dire.
Herald – Engine Compartment Korr’ih’s evaluation of the manifests of just what comprised the Herald and what filled it brought the Fyunnen woman to a state of deep contemplation. It was not a contemplation of ‘What are we going to do?’ it was a contemplation of ‘What can we do?’. Looking for options was something that needed a deep exercise of thought, considering the unique circumstances which the rather short-handed crew had set before them. In their situation, there was no such thing as a ‘safe harbor’, quite possibly, there were no other sentient beings in the whole of the universe they had breached into. We need more information. Korr’ih concluded, as she input a command into the terminal she was working upon, cycling the power to the sensor systems of the Herald, the start of an instruction manual to conduct a software troubleshoot of the sensor equipment. If the software troubleshoot did not pin down the problem, it would be kin to confirming that the Herald’s ‘eyes’ were missing or damaged. She knew that the troubleshoot was all she could really do for the situation, at least with what was on hand, and the condition of the engine compartment as well. Information for their situation had to continue to come from within the Herald for the time being. With Lewis neck-deep into repairing what he could within the engine compartment, Korr’ih stepped out from the engine compartment. Once in the compartment intersection outside of the compartment she grasped a large metal handle which was fixed to the ceiling of the intersection, and with a firm pull, the handle folded out before she began to pump what turned out to be a lever, which caused a sliding hatchway to open up above her, and once open, she entered the hatch and slid into one of the compartments designated as a hold for equipment, supplies, and items which were on the edge of her ever expanding memory. Herald – Hold Spread out before Korr’ih’s gaze was a display which held the compiled manifests of what the Herald was supposed to have onboard. Some of the words were unfamiliar to her, even though they were perfectly written, it was as if she had suffered a catastrophic stroke which had left her unable to recall a language. Other portions of the manifest displayed digital artifacts, vouching for damaged file contents. A hunch struck the Commander, as she began to physically check on cargo containers and storage compartments. For each unrecognized word, for each damaged section of file, something was amiss. Some containers and compartments were outright empty, while others held unfamiliar items which were in varying stages of phase transition; melting, evaporating, sublimation, and some items even being inexplicably comprised of silica, gold, carbon, and other compositions which simply did not make sense for what she was looking upon. Korr’ih could not help but to conclude the items made no sense unless they were some sort of geological or anthropological samples. Korr’ih was sure to send her findings along to the Robot as she examined the compartment, and with her sensor data and documentation, she included her own words as well; “Robot, numerous items in our hold seem to have undergone some sort of transformation, or transitionary result. My examination of the hold has been isolated to compartments and containers which have had their references in our manifests corrupted, or are unrecognizable. I can only provide conjecture at this point, but it seems that these materials were either incompatible to the transitional process, or, are unable to exist within the boundaries of physics within this universe… in which case, it is fortunate that any of us have managed to survive, and perhaps that in itself may be a clue… I will continue my assessment of the hold, Korr’ih out.” Being able to effectively cross off anything that she did not recognize, or had a bin-number associated with a damaged file entry, Korr’ih’s work was able to be focused on what was still coherently present within the documentation she had available. Parts, components, equipment, tools, many of the items on the manifest were intact and undamaged, yet, there were still so few present. It added to Korr’ih’s risk assessment, as she formulated Herald’s options. We could try to rebuild components, or fabricate new ones. If any critical components are damaged and we are without a replacement, then we could be in a situation of being vulnerable for days, weeks, or even months depending on what needs to be replaced. A distress call could work… if there are any space-faring societies in the area. I don’t like the idea however. Something about it feels dangerous, tragic even, like a trauma from another time. What caused this hurt? Besides, anyone knowing our presence may attract unwanted attention, we do not want unnecessary attention, I remember this order. How can we secure supplies then? Korr’ih asked herself, as she soon opened a storage container which held tools that she was familiar with, tools for the trade she had been trained for. Tools not for an explorer, or diplomat. What she found put her at ease through and through, and brought on a thought which she did not share with the Robot, not yet at least. What caught Korr’ih’s attention before she could consider speaking her thoughts to the Robot was a feeling from a familiar container, embellished with the symbols of her people’s language, and of course she would recognize it; it was her name upon the container. Curiosity propelled Korr’ih to the container, as she reached out and worked her fingers upon the locking mechanism out of pure instinct, and soon the lock snapped open, allowing the Commander to gain access to her footlocker. Within the footlocker were various items, some important, some sentimental, all of it entirely familiar to the Lorath woman as she gently picked through the belongings, careful not to disturb them too much within the zero-gravity area which was the hold compartment. Tucked away in a leather tube was a rolled scroll, once sealed with wax, and with the seal already broken. Upon the wax seal was an emblem which spoke of deep importance. Closing the footlocker, Korr’ih took to unrolling the scroll, letting her amber eyed gaze roll over the preamble as the vellum unfurled. Blackish red ink gave way to something, a glimmer, a shimmer of something Korr’ih remembered from another place and another time, from years ago when something was ‘right’. Korr’ih’s gaze looked on, and through, and beyond... it was a calling. Herald – Command Compartment “WHASSAT?” Came the shrill sound from atop the Robot’s head, as the Lorthet’s feathers ruffled as best they could within the liquid atmosphere of the compartment. Triggering the sound from the avian stowaway was a monitor which flickered to life, as a boot loading program splashed across the screen. Entries into the boot loader were automatically filled in by the macro which Korr’ih had executed from the engine compartment. Code: MISSING DRIVER 視力▒▓ MISSING▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▓▒▓▓▒▓ DRIV▒▓ER 検出▒▓マトリ▒▓クス MI▒▓SSING ▒▓D▒▓vR▒▓IVER 宇宙▒▓時▒▓間分析 MISSING ▒▓▒▓▒▓DR▒▓▒▓IVER 複合▒▓フィー▒▓ルド補償▒▓ ▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▓▒▓ヤ̶̢̹̤͚͉̼͇̲̭͇̗͔̮̟̞̯̻̣̞̔̈̉̃̈́̚͠ͅマ̸̱̼̘̪̞͉̝͉͍̦͚̗̹̪̬́̄͆ͪ̌̃ͨ̽̓͘タ̫̜͍͈̻̻̻̣͕̹̽̉ͨ̈́̏́͢͟ͅ▒̛̳̥̥̻̪̼̞̜̰̠ͩͥ͌ͦ͆͡▓̧͕͇̱̦̳̯̗̳͖͇̺̬̳̗̓ͫ̒̈ͭ͊̐ͧ̇͢イ̛̹̘̟͉̯͓̟͈̫͍̣͈͎͋ͬ̈́̉͊ͮ̒ン̝̫̦̟̗̖̠͇̥͉̗̱̤̲̠͊̒̂̉̋͂ͩ̍ͯ̽͐́͂̌̍ͪͩ̽̕͜͞ͅ▒̑͑̓͒ͪ̔͘͢҉̢̘̖̹͚̺̥̪̀▓̴̢̪͈͔̹ͥ̇̌̑ͣ͐̈̊͆ͫ̈̚͜ͅͅの̨͔̝̳̳̩̱̟͔͚̣̳ͪ͆̊͛̔̓͢ͅ身̜̱͇̭̲͍̥̩̗̜̗͉͙̞͊͒ͯͤ͌̌ͪ́ͯ̊̑̾ͣ͑͋ͪͤ͡ͅ分̷̜͍̠̩͑͌ͬ̾̈ͬͭ̏̽̂͘͡証̨͇͙̗͙͙̫̦̦̤̟̤̰͕ͫ̂ͥ͌̌͊̆̅ͧ͋̌͑̇̊̍ͥ͐ͬ̚͡▒̴̢͔͉̣̱̝̄ͫ̉̓̀͟▓̸̶̸̘̲͈̹ͣ̅̓̄̐ͮͣͣ͜͡明̴̫͓̻̹̞̦̉̋ͤͣ̋̇̇ͫͪ̀͊̐̌̋ͪ̄́͋͜書̴̓̀͒̃̉̀͢͏̬̦̩̰͉̗̰̝͔͍̹̝̘͓͓̘͜ͅ MISSING DR▒▓IVER ヤマタ▒▓イン▒▓の身分証▒▓明書 MISSING DRIVE▒▓R ▒▓▒▓追尾▒▓トラ▒▓ッカー ▒▓ ▒▓ ▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓ ▒▓▒▓▒▓ ▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▓▒▓▓▒▓ ▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▓▒▓▓▒▓ ▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▓▒▓▓▒▓ ▒▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▓▓ ▒▓▒▓▒▓ UNKN▒▓OWN PROGRAMヤ̶̢̹̤͚͉̼͇̲̭͇̗͔̮̟̞̯̻̣̞̔̈̉̃̈́̚͠ͅマ̸̱̼̘̪̞͉̝͉͍̦͚̗̹̪̬́̄͆ͪ̌̃ͨ̽̓͘タ̫̜͍͈̻̻̻̣͕̹̽̉ͨ̈́̏́͢͟ͅ▒̛̳̥̥̻̪̼̞̜̰̠ͩͥ͌ͦ͆͡▓̧͕͇̱̦̳̯̗̳͖͇̺̬̳̗̓ͫ̒̈ͭ͊̐ͧ̇͢イ̛̹̘̟͉̯͓̟͈̫͍̣͈͎͋ͬ̈́̉͊ͮ̒ン̝̫̦̟̗̖̠͇̥͉̗̱̤̲̠͊̒̂̉̋͂ͩ̍ͯ̽͐́͂̌̍ͪͩ̽̕͜͞ͅ▒̑͑̓͒ͪ̔͘͢҉̢̘̖̹͚̺̥̪̀▓̴̢̪͈͔̹ͥ̇̌̑ͣ͐̈̊͆ͫ̈̚͜ͅͅの̨͔̝̳̳̩̱̟͔͚̣̳ͪ͆̊͛̔̓͢ͅ身̜̱͇̭̲͍̥̩̗̜̗͉͙̞͊͒ͯͤ͌̌ͪ́ͯ̊̑̾ͣ͑͋ͪͤ͡ͅ分̷̜͍̠̩͑͌ͬ̾̈ͬͭ̏̽̂͘͡証̨͇͙̗͙͙̫̦̦̤̟̤̰͕ͫ̂ͥ͌̌͊̆̅ͧ͋̌͑̇̊̍ͥ͐ͬ̚͡▒̴̢͔͉̣̱̝̄ͫ̉̓̀͟▓̸̶̸̘̲͈̹ͣ̅̓̄̐ͮͣͣ͜͡明̴̫͓̻̹̞̦̉̋ͤͣ̋̇̇ͫͪ̀͊̐̌̋ͪ̄́͋͜書̴̓̀͒̃̉̀͢͏̬̦̩̰͉̗̰̝͔͍̹̝̘͓͓̘͜ͅ ジェネ▒▓レータ規▒▓制ドライバー ▒▓UNKNOWN P▒▓ROGRAM ディストリビュー▒▓ション・▒▓ドライブ・シス▒▓テムの構成と制御 PURGE SYSTEM DRIVER VERSION: 22.78.1.26 IMPLEMENT SYSTEM DRIVER VERISON: 21.88.4.71.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHKDRV 100% OK CHKSYS 100% OK CHKPRG 100% OK CHKHDW 91% ACCEPTABLE MARGIN HERALD COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM REINITIALIZATION COMPLETED. BLESSED BE YOUR JOURNIES. MAY YOU WALK THE DIVINE PATH. VENTURE WITH HER LOVE. Once the boot loading system finished its work, the displays across many of the interface consoles in the command compartment flared to life. A surge of new information poured into the Robot seated at the helm, including sensations of perception beyond the Herald, as the sensors of the ship flared to life. What was outside of the ship was just as unfamiliar as what was within the ship mere hours prior, but what was certain was that there was space outside, and stars, and all that circled them, and from those stars came flourishes of electromagnetic radiation, space-time micro-distortions, and focused pulses of energy that cut through space without a flicker of harm, but pulsing in varying alien patterns. It was communication.
Herald – Command Compartment The task of aiding and tending to Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde's efforts was one that Unit 00000002 had settled into quite comfortably. Picking up on the man's rhythm of progress and making the process of his slow progress across the engine room, salvaging useful components for consolidation, cataloging, and eventual repurposing, continued smoothly things for the moment settled into a comforting semblance of progress. A series of files along with an attached comment from the Commander casually split Unit 00000002's focus as she continued to direct Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde, as well as poor over the inflowing data. It seemed that during the male's task, the Commander had proceeded to explore other portions of the Herald's interior and had discovered results that fit neatly with the present theory constructed to address the missing information and materiel aboard the Herald. In response to the data and message, Unit 00000002 sent and acknowledging message to the Commander before setting her forked awareness to the task of assessing the new information. Beyond simple confirmation of the hold's contents, the additional data as to the exact effects began to form a pattern that Unit 00000002 started to assemble, creating a table of unrecognizable and corrupt terms, paired with the results discovered throughout the ship. Items with blank entries were labeled "ANOMALY" and appended with a numerical value to continue the classification system in place of the unreadable but present names. As this table was compiled creating an idea of the various effects and results of whatever had occurred, a secondary cross-referencing of the Herald's emergency hard copy files was carried out finding commonalities in the Herald's files and connecting the parallels to provide a point of reference between the observed effects while predicting the extent throughout the Herald as similarities lined up. As this task processed and completed a worrying commonality was highlighted that had previously gone unnoticed. The crew medical files drew a parallel between the physical composition of Unit 00000001 and Taela Kaila, however, the Commander's anecdote and the cryogenically preserved state of Taela Kaila suggested a key difference in the two individuals. Investigation of this difference revealed the implication that while both had been physiologically modified in some way, the modification to Unit 00000001 had been largely done to their skeletal structure, while Taela Kaila's physiology was extensively modified. Though perhaps the biggest difference was that Taela unlike Unit 00000001 had a name within the ship's files. While a difference that maintained partial parity with other observed patterns of missing or altered material aboard the Herald the exact significance of this data point was unknown. Cataloging this difference for further investigation, comparison, and eventual discussion, Unit 00000002 was distracted by an aural cue from the Lorthet in the Command Compartment. In response Unit 00000002's eyes still under the control of her Support Unit swiveled and settled on the active panel, eyes tracing the boot program and finding an uncomfortable paradox of familiar but unreadable text amid the corrupted textual output, and finally a system recovery. As the command compartment came to life around Unit 00000002 and new data began to flow in she once again spoke up to the Lorthet to satisfy its curiosity, "It would appear that my companions have managed to restore basic system functionality. Rather than merely operating in the minimal emergency mode that the ship has up until this point employed." Pausing as she processed the new information flowing in from the sensors Unit 00000002 added, "We are in space, there are many stars visible in all directions from the ship. We are in no immediate danger from external sources. I will endeavor to display the visual feed on one of the monitors for your viewing pleasure." As the Support unit set back to work finishing the data upload and indexing, Unit 00000002 set about achieving the task of setting up the promised visuals to keep the Lorthet's attention. Concurrent to this she also sent a more important message to the Commander, "Commander, it would appear that the efforts of Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde and yourself have restored the Herald's computer systems to an operable state. Additionally, sensors are also once again operable. According to the data, we are in an area of space that contains stars, and planetary systems. Observable patterns would suggest a galactic stellar formation. Apart from recognizable celestial phenomena, the sensors are picking up patterned emissions that suggest the presence of civilizations broadcasting and communicating. "At present none of the observable signals are of a format known to either myself or the Herald's systems. With time and further data input, it may be possible to speculate as to the meaning of some of the signals. For the moment what are your orders?"
The Herald, Engine Room It'd been a laborious trial for Danny and Robert. Together in one head, slowly melding with each other through the task they were being guided through. There was comfort in having something to focus the mind on other than itself; Danny wasn't sure he would've been able to come to terms with himself - and his chequered past - if there wasn't a bonding exercise to do it over. Said bonding exercise wasn't optional, and success meant life, freedom, and potentially a paycheck. So the two-in-one had a vested interest, in a manner of speaking. After a couple of hours' work around the ship scavenging materials, using the printers and presses to get the shapes he needed, and then affixing them into place by hand, the result was a series of baffles and covers for the missing material on the engine's most active parts. The robot had calculated a safe level of output which the conglomerated solution would be able to handle, and Danny was responsible for implementation. He stood up and drew his arm along his brow, forgetting that he was wearing a suit and rubbing its material against the visor. Even so, the time for a pat on the back could come later. "And I say the magic words..." The blonde mumbled as he headed for the breaker switch and kept an eye on the engine, "Poof~" he adjusted the breaker's position to an indicated notch and the engine started humming to life. The containment solution he'd built for the engines glowed lightly, heating up. Tense moments passed, watching if his work would hold up. A hand gripped the breaker switch in case he was proven wrong. Soon, his gut told him that the Robot's calculations were on the money, and a smile broke across his face. "Good news, we have a fraction of power running again," Danny broadcast to the ship. "It'll get the balls of our essentials rolling, and-" Something else had hit him shortly after the euphoria of success had washed over, and the Robot heard a grumble from his gut. Danny was bound by the needs of flesh, blood, and sustenance; Only a human unfettered by tenets of the Commander's deity. He barely understood their underlying zeal or the Lorath faith, but didn't pay mind so long as it put lead in her pencils and a survival instinct. Hunger had to catch up with him eventually, and he couldn't figure out why it didn't catch up with her first. Perhaps it was a strange alien thing - no time to look too closely at it. "...and uh, is there anything to eat around here?" he asked nobody in particular, clutching his grumbling stomach and frowning. Did whatever he eat disappear between universes too? Well - at least its consistent. Argh! He whinged mentally, frowning.
I am loved. I have a home. People and love are there. I am here to keep that safe. They want me to be safe. She loved me. I will not let that be forgotten. She loves me, and I her. “I will be right there.” Korr’ih spoke, as her mind returned to the present, grasping the words which flowed through the helmet of her atmospheric suit. Herald – Command Compartment Doors cycled behind the Robot as the liquid pressure within the compartment shifted upon the entry of Korr’ih. “My orders at this time are to test our repairs, conduct further analysis, and address ourselves before we commit to actions required to guarantee our continued mission effectiveness...” She spoke but trailed, as she looked upon the Lorthet perched upon the Robot’s scalp, and looked down to see the open storage compartment, the violated spare atmospheric suit helmet, the ravaged rations, and the two additional Lorthet which were still and unmoving within the mess Disgusting creatures. At the thought, the Lorthet’s head swiveled, turning about to face Korr’ih with an intense gaze, as intense of a gaze as its face which was somewhere between parrot and owl could muster. “Don’t look at us like that.” “I can look at you, and your crippled friends, however I please. For now, I will allow you to live, and know I do so out of mercy in light of your misfortune of finding your way aboard this ship. I will also grant your kin aid, as your nature alone should not result in a death sentence.” In a gesture of mercy, and pity, the Commander picked up each motionless Lorthet by their legs, carrying them to a space along the bulkhead of the compartment, where at a bump of an elbow against a panel, a medical bed folded out from the bulkhead. “Besides, helping you, will help us as well.” With that, Korr’ih placed the two Lorthet upon the bed, which soon had a transparent cover slide over the apparatus, much like the cover which served to seal in the sensor operator which had begun to liquefy upon the Herald’s arrival. Once the cover was sealed, software and hardware went to work within the medical bed, conducting automated evaluations of the pair of avian stowaways. Korr’ih’s action was not only a show of mercy, but it was also a prudent step toward better understanding just what impact their travel had upon biology that was kin to a Lorath. Talons slipped from the Robot’s scalp as the Lorthet parted from the Robot, only to awkwardly perform a series of motions somewhere between flapping and swimming. Its motions were propelling its bulbous body through the space of the compartment at a painfully slow speed, until it came to rest atop the medical bed, where it began to chitter anxiously. Love. Korr’ih thought, as she looked upon the Lorthet, It is not all the same, it exists in many forms. Even among the primitive, the impulsive, and the foolish. Her thoughts brought a renewed feeling through her mind, a feeling that came up from her toes, through her spine, and grasped her heart and mind firmly. It was a feeling of being lifted perhaps, rising more accurately. “Lewis.” Korr’ih spoke, after tilting her head to press her chin against a switch within her helmet, “Come to the command compartment, with the condition of our ship addressed, it is time for us to address ourselves and our immediate plans… and be sure that our gravitic stabilizer is operational, we will be draining the command compartment.” After she spoke, the communication channel closed, leaving her with just the Robot and the Lorthet again. Without a specific place to be in that moment, Korr’ih took the natural position for a commander, the command seat. As she took her seat, she brought up an interface terminal from the arm of her position, and upon the interface she looked upon the results of some of the Herald’s sensor data. “Robot, set a course for the brown dwarf at six lightyears distance, at four-thousand-two-hundred times light-speed. Set our passive sensors to sample the transmissions from that system as we approach. We will use the time contraction to speed our analysis and grant us a larger sample size to evaluate the occupants of the system.” As she spoke, her fingers worked upon the interface before her, and with a stroke upon the interface, the transparent fluid of the compartment began to quickly drain, and quantities which clung to surfaces of the compartment evaporated cleanly, without leaving behind residue. It was a steady transition from liquid atmosphere to gaseous atmosphere, and once the cycle was complete, Korr’ih removed her helmet. It was only good sense to wait, as she had no intention to go about coughing up atmospheric liquid to transition if she did not have to. “Robot. If you are able, you may step away from your post for the time being. Once Lewis is with us, we must have a discussion of our next course of action, the only course of action which is feasible in relation to our mission and its parameters. I would like you to be involved as more than just a control-machine.” It was the first time since the Herald had crossed over in which Korr’ih had displayed any sort of consideration of the Robot in the capacity of deserving some form of acknowledgement. Turning her command chair to face the Lorthet ransacked compartment again, she spoke further; “We must discuss matters of stones.” It was an obscure statement, something uniquely cultural to the Lorath, but there was something about it in light of the situation, it was such an obscure statement that it broke far from the disorientation of thought which the crew had been subject to since their arrival. Somewhere, sometime, Korr’ih had found clarity. What was unspoken, was just what a matter of ‘stones’ was to the Lorath. In the context which Korr’ih spoke from, it spoke of an extent to which a person was willing to go for their own needs, and that was exactly the situation that Korr’ih needed to weigh; just how far was she willing to go for the Herald, and the Matriarchy which waited for their return.
The Herald, Yet More Machinery Danny had finished affixing something into a specific place within another of the Herald's subsystems. He stepped away and activated it remotely, then tossed his wrench into the air, watching it float up and bump into the ceiling. He frowned - gravity still wasn't working as strong as he required, and he snatched the meandering tool out of the thin air. The sooner he got this done, the sooner he could get something to nosh on. Taking a breather and reading the Robot's analysis of the the gravitation system's output, he gave it another shot and begun adjusting the power flow in, balancing that out by taking power from another of the Herald's less useful subsystems. It would have been considered a delicate balancing act, but Danny's means of getting things back into check involved less than graceful methods, and a few curse words as he plied himself at the problem some more. He briefly ignored his superior so he could shunt something into place, but he did acknowledge them with a "Yeah yeah, hang on-" interrupted by the sound of a heavy clunk - the centuries-old Human art of percussive maintenance. Stepping away after a few more minutes' furious work and hammering, he tossed his wrench into the air again, and it came back down into his palm. He repeated the process a few times to measure the ship's internal gravity output and get a feel for it, as he didn't want to jump and bump his head into the ceiling. "Seems that's in order. I'll be over soon, Captain." Clambering through the interior of the Herald, Danny stepped back into the Command area, and noticed a Lorthet standing by the medbay - with a pair of other Lorthet inside of it. He vaguely recalled seeing the creature before, in another time and another place, but he was too hungry to pay it much mind. Taking his seat on the armrest of his station and crossing his legs, he looked over to Korr'ih. "So, anything to eat around here or do we have to eat the bird?" He asked, eyeing the ball of feathers. "Just kidding - welcome, whoever you are." He added, unsure of whether birds got sarcasm or jest.
Herald – Command Compartment With the Commander's response given and Unit 00000002's status at present to wait for further development upon the Commander's arrival in the Command Compartment, Unit 00000002 used the spare time to check up on the progress of Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde as well as her Support Unit's transcription progress on the hardcopied data. Despite the unorthodox, and at times painful to watch methods of the lone male and pressganged Operations-turned-Maintenance crew member, Unit 00000002 noted that he was making progress and was achieving results that were unexpectedly stable. Something that was a small, but surprisingly potent comfort in light of their precarious position. The data transcription process was also a point of relief as the archive of information was nearing its end, and soon the indexing would be complete as well. That the task was nearly complete earned a small bubble of pride both in herself and her Support Unit for accomplishing the monumental task in the relatively short period of time that they had been working at the tedious but necessary task. In the process of conveying a sense of appreciation to her companion, Unit 00000002 took note of the cycling of the Command Compartment's hatch and the entry of the Commander. As her orders came, Unit 00000002 offered an acknowledgment ping noting the trailing and the unexpected rise out of the Lorthet that still perched upon Unit 00000002's head. As the exchange between the Commander and the Lorthet proceeded Unit 00000002 proceeded to prepare and run the Herald's diagnostic systems, wanting to make a final check that Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde's efforts had put the necessary components of the Herald in proper working order before any action was committed to. Amid the web of warnings that components were experiencing loads above optimal levels (though thankfully well within allowable limits) a more personal damage report flashed in Unit 00000002's awareness as the talons of the Lorthet less than gently removed themself from her head leaving the pico-jelly based flesh to reconfigure and begin to reknit itself restoring the superficial damage to its default state. Continuing to keep an eye on Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde's progress, Unit 00000002 took note of the new stream of information stemming from the medical bed that was in the process of assessing the two Lorthet that had been placed within its confines. A pool of data which would be of interest in comparison to that which was gathered from the Commander's efforts in the hold as well as the discrepancies in the medical files available for the crew. New orders were given as the Commander settled into her seat, a destination set, and a new goal to achieve. Turning her full attention toward the navigation task, using the sensor data to pinpoint the indicated brown dwarf, plotting the motion of the Herald through space and its intention to cut directly to their destination Unit 0000002 provided reported, "Acknowledged Commander. Projected travel time is twelve hours, thirty-one minutes. Departure will commence as soon as our Operations Officer is clear of any equipment which may pose a threat to his health. Sensor systems configuration set to consolidate information relevant to the chosen system, updated information will be forwarded to your station Commander." As she fell silent and her communication for the moment completed, Unit 00000002 noted that it was somewhat surreal to watch the atmospheric fluid drain around her. While she knew intellectually that the fluid was not a natural state of affairs with most of the crew being native to gaseous terrestrial environments, she had no first-hand recollection of any state other than that of being submerged in the atmospheric fluid. Almost as unexpected was the overture made by the Commander to have Unit 00000002 leave her post, something that she hadn't previously considered given the steady progress of events and tasks that required her presence in her seat networked directly to the Herald's computer systems. As Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde entered the Command Compartment, asking after food, Unit 00000002 decided that it would be for the best to participate as desired. Setting up a remote control protocol to engage the automated navigation and jump systems as soon as the diagnostics had completed, which would send them toward their destination, Unit 00000002 disconnected from the hardwire access jack and for the first time in memory stood up. Turning carefully to face her companions aboard the Herald, Unit 00000002 was immediately met with the impression that she was very small. As Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde was standing it was most apparent with him, as she failed to measure up to the man's shoulder height instead falling somewhere about upper-mid pectoral. With the commander seated, Unit 00000002 was nearer to her height, however, estimations and knowledge of the medical records available on the ship listed the Commander as being taller than even Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde meaning that if stood next to one another Unit 00000002 would most likely reach the Commander's waist at most. The difference in scale was an odd one, after all, Unit 00000002 was fairly certain she was intended to be like the others, yet even her proportions did not fully match up with her longer than average legs, and smaller torso. Perhaps there was a reason she was so much smaller than the others? For the moment she could not answer. Noting that Mr. Hanley Lewis Forde was addressing the Lorthet, Unit 00000002 turned her full attention toward the Commander for the moment, dark green eyes studying her superior officer for a moment before Unit 00000002 settled into a relaxed position, her hands finding each other between her back and the curtain of pale hair that washed down from her head to nearly the floor. As Unit 00000002 awaited the beginning of the conversation and an indication of just what the Commander intended, she received the indication that the Herald's faster-than-light engines had spooled up successfully, and their journey toward their first destination began in earnest.
