Under the Sky

Discussion in 'Lorath Matriarchy' started by Eistheid, Jun 16, 2017.

  1. Eistheid

    Eistheid Administrator Staff Member

    Lor System - Lor - Emergency Shelter, 12,316th Year of the Goddess

    It felt like she had blinked.

    Turning her head her gaze drifted among the groupings of lorath scattered across the expanse of the shelter's main room. As her sight progressed the posture and body-language of disoriented lorath around her suggested that something more significant than a blink had occurred as wings flapped and ruffled feathers settled and were folded neatly behind the backs of many throughout the shelter. Completing an arc of vision her eyes settled, then aligned forward, to the the sleeping form of her friend Taela Kaila who sat slumped in a peaceful slumber indicated by the slow rise and fall of her chest a comforting rhythm that held her gaze in place for a few long moments before her eyes drifted downward to the large white sphere resting upon her lap. Then, in that moment, Unit 00000002 was aware that something had changed, but what exactly she could not say. Swivelling her ears she took in snippets of the conversation coming from the thousands of people who shared the rather comfortable emergency shelter with her. There was talk of disorientation, most of it minor, however here and there she could hear bits and pieces of relief, confusion, and awe as the Lorath present began to feel something, something that she could not perceive. Even so she was fairly certain that she knew what had caught their attention, as she remembered making the discovery in her own way.

    Rising to her feet easily, the sphere lifting into the air, Unit 00000002 moved around and took the handles of the wheelchair and gently turned Taela's sleeping form toward the main entrance where a small cluster of individuals clad in LSDF uniforms each bearing a red armband. The five or so Fyunnen standing around the doorway glanced to one of their number with a hand held comm unit, and then conversed in hushed tones as one of their number began to work the manual controls which would cycle the mechanisms that would in turn shortly open the vast vault-like door of the emergency shelter. From this action, it was suggested that the all clear had been given, and that the primary exit from the shelter was free of debris. A fragment of a memory told Unit 00000002 that the planet would be dark beyond the door, in part due to their position on Lor's surface, but also due to a hunch that the light of Lor's star had not yet reached the planet. An event that she guessed would occur in the next minute or two. Something that she would not get to witness.

    Walking slowly forward Unit 00000002's curtain of hair trailed behind her, the pale, near white lavender catching the yellow-gold of the sodium lamps in the shelter and almost turning it gold. She considered that in the light her hair could have been considered a beautiful sight, were she not so self conscious about it. She knew that her standing within the Matriarchy likely warranted a much shorter length of hair, yet she had found herself with little opportunity to attend to her physical features, perhaps in time she would correct the discrepancy but for the moment her task to care for her friend took precedent. As she neared the vault door, Unit 00000002 gave a small wave in acknowledgement to the Fyunnen who met her eyes before she carefully turned her charge and herself aside, settling in next to a structural pillar out of the path of where the greatest concentration of Lorath would walk. With herself, her sleeping charge, and the watchful eye of her floating orb waiting nearby, she found that she was experiencing a moment of anxious anticipation, a feeling that nearly overcame her. She traced this sensation to the knowledge that soon the door to a world would open. These people would eagerly step out into a familiar city, however in many ways it was an entirely new world. She knew that it would do her little good to get between a people and their home. After all they had much more right to stand beneath their own sky, and to view the home that they had only briefly from their perspective departed. As such she would wait, and she would watch, taking in the wonder, the relief, and the hope of the people as they passed her by stepping out into open air once again.

    It was nearly an hour later when the end drew near, Unit 00000002 had watched the remaining stragglers clear the vault door and with none remaining save her small group she finally stepped forward wheeling Taela's sleeping form out from the shelter of the pillar and toward the door. As she passed Unit 00000002 paused a moment and offered her quiet gratitude to the LSDF personnel who had attended to those secured within the shelter, and who had directed the orderly dispersal of the population onto the surface of Lor. Though she did not know them they had earned her thanks, and their nods of acknowledgement kindled a flicker of emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. The reason behind this momentary lapse of composure was one that she would have to examine later as she quelled the event in favor of moving forward with her task.

    Stepping out from the broad mouth of the shelter's doorway, Unit 00000002's eyes turned skyward, wide eyes blinking up at the dark grey haze of what would have been a silvery sky. Here Unit 00000002 paused only a second before continuing forward. Ahead down one of the streets she could see a spill of rubble likely from a building whose core beams had been made of something that the transition hadn't liked. Visible near and amid the rubble, she could make out the active forms of both lorath and helashio working to clear away the debris, a task that she'd likely join in as soon as her charge had been delivered safely. Putting out a querying radio ping, Unit 00000002 waited only a couple of seconds before a relay responded and a moment later she was connected to a wireless node of the lorath information network. A brief query yielded a string of information detailing the location of the prefabricated housing unit that both Taela and herself had been assigned to. With the location of her goal obtained she turned northward, Unit 00000002 slowly weaving her way past milling, revelling, or curious lorath who had come to check on their storefronts or offices. As she progressed further from the shelter and the outpouring of Matriarchy citizens she passed and invisible boundary which put her beyond the outer edge of the slowly dispersing lorath population and found herself in the vacant streets of the city.

    Ten minutes passed in the near silence of her walking at a leisurely pace in wonder of the serene grace of the empty buildings that surrounded her, the symbols of the Matriarchy's civilization and dedication to artistry apparent in the carefully worked stonework of the structures, the inlaid carvings of the doorways, the weave and flow of the city's many beautiful gardens, and even in the patterns laid or stained into the streets and walkways. At the end of her journey Unit 00000002 came upon a structure that was out of place in a lot at the edge of the urbanized section of the city. The repeating industrial cube pattern of a prefabricated modular residential building. Its white aluminum siding was broken only in a couple of locations in which a secured double door was visible. Working her way up to the door with the wheelchair carefully stopped, Unit 00000002 made a further inquiry to the network's ARIA after which a moment of queries allowed her to coax open with a digital key. Stepping inside and closing the door behind her Unit 00000002 shared a momentary glance with her Companion Unit before making her way carefully down a hall before stopping before a door labelled 16. Using a second digital key, Unit 00000002 was provided access to the spartan quarters into which she moved the wheelchair.

    A quick check determined that the pillow present was foam and thus unsuitable for fluffing, Unit 00000002 then peeled back the thin blanket suitable for the weather, and after a moment of consideration gently wormed her hands, then arms, under Taela's sleeping form and with gentle care transferred her into the bed. Once Taela's sleeping form was satisfactorily arranged, Unit 00000002 gently tucked her in and took a careful step back. Moving the wheelchair out of the way, Unit 00000002 glanced back toward the bed before taking hold of her Companion Unit and gently set them on the wheelchair. This act earned a query from her Companion Unit the cheerful voice sounding within her head, "So I take it I'm staying here?"

    "Yes," There was a pause of consideration before Unit 00000002 elaborated, "I do not think she would find it pleasant to wake up in a strange place on her own. Beyond this while I appreciate your company I do not think we need to be together while I move debris."

    "I suppose your assessment is fair... As you wish. I will look after our friend while you try and help our mutual benefactors."

    ***

    The first night and day spent on Lor had seen Unit 00000002 mixed in among clean up crews contributing what she could to the efforts to clear away debris from structures that had not survived the transition, or were deemed too structurally unsound to recover and repair. With the arrival of construction and industrial equipment the task of clearing picked up in pace and soon most of those who had volunteered to help out had retired to be with their families or to make preparations to resume their work. In the end professional crews with proper equipment proved more than capable of handling the task, and after a while Unit 00000002 was politely informed that her continued assistance was appreciated but no longer needed. Assenting to this with only a token refusal, Unit 00000002 had made her way back to the pre-fabricated structure and had found it much more lively than when she had visited it the previous night. The LSDF personnel assigned to the local post had moved in, and changes had begun to be made. Most immediately apparent was the common area which had taken on pieces of art, scripture, plants, and the presence of a few Lmanel lounging in their down time with their partners, animals which Unit 00000002 noted she was unfamiliar with.

    Covered in dust as she was Unit 00000002 fell into a queue with some of the lorath and listened in on the conversations as she waited in line.

    "Just looking around, it really doesn't feel like anything has changed." The comment earned a circle of nods and sounds of agreement from the lorath present.

    "Yeah, but can you remember the last time people looked this happy? No one can remember why, though everyone agrees that things haven't been this good for a while." With these words spoken a thoughtful silence settled upon many of those present, however, one woman, an Occhestian spoke up.

    "You're both forgetting that the reclamation crews have been in action almost non-stop in orbit. Word is that the majority of the fleet is no longer space worthy, older vessels like first generation Harvesters and old Paa pods have been taken out of retirement to try and meet the needs."

    "I heard about that, weren't they making a big push to grab all the ships that were in decaying orbits?"

    "I guess we really were fortunate to be assigned to a ground assignment."

    Murmurs of assent rotated around the group before the conversation split into smaller individual considerations ranging from the status of friends and family, to wondering after whether or not the High Priest would make an appearance and address the Lorath people. Slowly Unit 00000002 shuffled ahead in line and eventually she made her way into one of the shower units able to finally wash away the layer of cement, stone, and wood fragments that had accumulated on her person during the clean up efforts. Once clean, her attention turned toward one of the few mirrors made available, and with a bit of effort and consideration Unit 00000002 reclaimed some of the pico-jelly which made up her hair, shortening the near ankle length curtain that she was used to and rendering a length that sat around her shoulders, perhaps still too long, though she would have to observe the interactions of other lorath more closely to settle on a finalized length.

    Dressing herself in a fresh LSDF uniform, settling the black band around her left arm Unit 00000002 exited the shower block and made her way back toward the sixth room on on the first level simply marked '16' where she would reunite with Taela and Koa for a time.

    ***

    Only a couple of days later Unit 0000002 overcame her trepidation and with an effort of will joined the local lorath as she filtered her way into the local church intermingling with those who had come for regular worship joining in with them to both listen to the advice and guidance given to the people of the Matriarchy in this uncertain time, and to give her thanks to the Goddess. As the minutes passed she slowly relaxed forgetting that she was largely out of place and slowly she forgot herself entirely instead devoting her full attention and being to the moment and taking comfort in the mutual sharing and faith.

    Walking out of the Church later in the day filled with a mixture of comfort and an odd warm fluffy feeling Unit 00000002 had started wandering through one of the gardens lost in thought when she was intercepted by an LSDF clerk and was unexpectedly informed of a situation where in a fleet of mining vessels belonging to her, the existence of which had clicked in her mind unlocking a previously unknown set of memories, had taken up a defensive posture at the L4 point of one of Lor's moons and had been attempting to hedge out LSDF reclamation vehicles working to clear the orbital space of derelict vessels. Immediately following the unexpected explanation she found herself escorted away, resulting in Unit 00000002's eventual arrival at an LSDF communications outpost where she was physically wired into the LSDF network and routed by the native ARIA management system to a communications satellite which allowed her to establish an up-link with the cluster of two-thousand-five-hundred-sixty non-sentient ARIA units in her ownership. Engaging in the process of verifying her identity and negotiating the circuitous security measures put in place to deter identity spoofing and theft due to pirates, nearly twenty minutes later she had managed to navigate her maze of half-remembered validation and control systems which she ostensibly had set up according to her personal preferences. Once through the tangle of security protocols she issued an order for the skeletal, decayed mining vessels to stand down and with a bit more effort deactivated them wholly. A moment of quiet thanks was given to her past choices and that they had not been sentient ARIA units as she did not wish to think what the network might have done had they been altered in some way.

    After her deactivation and turn-over of her assets to the LSDF reclamation wing for evaluation Unit 00000002 remained on site at the communications outpost for a few hours before assessments filtered in from orbit indicating that the mining vessels were largely in a similar state, their outer hull had likely degraded into a powder composed of carbon and aluminum which then clung to the the main supporting frame composed of titanium-carbide. Many of the component systems were in varying states of functionality, with the non-sentient ARIA units and distributed computing systems in the best condition followed by power generation and management systems. Due to the questionable state of the mining vessels Unit 00000002 ceded that it would be best to scrap the vessels, however she requested the retrieval of the non-SI ARIA units for future reapplication.

    Prior to leaving the communications outpost inspired by the restored memory of her mining fleet and the knowledge that the Matriarchy would require an influx of raw materials, Unit 00000002 submitted an official request for the independent operators licences, and a privateer licence which would allow her to potentially resume her previous occupation of resource collection. Along with the request for the licence forms and future consideration, Unit 00000002 made a request for Paa and Paa-zem construction pods as they became available as well as transportation to the [furthest removed system of the seven familiar systems.] With her requests made Unit 00000002 bid farewell to the staff of the outpost and returned toward the housing block in which she resided contemplating the possibilities that would arise if her request was approved. She hoped to begin resource acquisition operations once again, a task that she hoped would aid in the refit and reconstruction efforts that the Matriarchy would soon be engaging in.

    ***

    Being taken aside by an LSDF clerk, an Occhestian, Unit 00000002 had been rather confused however it became clear as from a folder a series of familiar forms were produced covering the paperwork which would be required for her to begin work as a private operator, mining operator, and privateer for the Matriarchy. Looking into the golden eyes of the woman seated before her, an individual introduced as "Meridian," Unit 00000002 saw what she interpreted as a mixture of compassion tinged perhaps with pity.

    "The reason I have taken you aside is partially to get you to complete the paperwork to pursue your proposed course of action, however that is not the extent of our meeting. It is felt that you should be advised to give yourself a proper identity, your claimed serial number, and the common title of 'Robot' is insufficient for purposes of a citizen of the Matriarchy." There was a pause in which Unit 00000002 observed a mixture of emotion likely displayed for her benefit which seemed to cover curiosity, uncertainty, thanks, and perhaps respect, "Ordinarily your personal identity would have been left to you, however you have done the Matriarchy a service and among your group you have proven the most willing to integrate socially. To this end it has been seen fit to advise you on taking a course of action which would better help you integrate on a social level."

    A moment of thoughtful consideration was shown transforming Unit 00000002's features. She held the expression longer than it had taken for her to make her conclusion however with the need for greater social interaction apparent she determined it would be better to make the effort of meeting the expectations of body language. After the moment had passed Unit 00000002 spoke up quietly, "I see the wisdom in your words, and I apologize for being negligent of my social duties to require this advisory action to have been taken." There was a moment's pause as Unit 00000002 considered her options, "As for a name, I suppose I can provide one. Would Isthmau Taa'uotl Paar'enil be sufficient?"

    The choice had been one that left Unit 00000002 uncertain. It was blended composite of fragments of both ly'thir and ci'kesa words some attributing to thoughtfulness, others the role of a healer, there was a section of the ci'kesa word for a caitiff, and a section that she had read in a piece of scripture speaking of entities which loosely could be considered fairies. Altogether however the name itself while not sounding terrible was ultimately nonsense thus avoiding using words from common or old language for her name directly. Serving to heighten Unit 00000002's sense of self-consciousness was the studying look which Meridian fixed her with, seconds stretching into a minute before a sheet that Unit 00000002 recognized as a citizenry application form was slid across the table and the words, "If you would please fill this out," were spoken.

    ***

    With the paperwork filled out Isthmau, no longer simply Unit 00000002 bid farewell to Meridian and decided that she would check in on Taela and give some time toward reflection. Walking past the off duty LSDF assigned to the housing unit Isthmau once again returned to the door labelled '16' within she found Taela sitting on her bed, and her Companion Unit's familiar snow white sphere sitting across from her on the floor. Taking a moment to study the scene Isthmau was appreciative of being able to see the two individuals who meant most to her present in the same place. She reflected that only recently she had been gripped by the fear that she might lose one of them, or perhaps at worst both, as they had all been amid uncertain circumstances. These however by the Goddess' will and grace had passed, and Isthmau had been reunited with those that she could call friends. A comfort that she had not taken for granted.

    Now however, she was faced with the knowledge that she would be leaving, departing for another of the Matriarchy's star systems where she would do all that she could to support and repay the kindness that the Lorath people had shown her. The thought of leaving Taela behind on her own was not a pleasant one, yet she knew that Taela was capable of looking out for herself. After all they had only recently become friends, and Isthmau knew that her protectiveness was largely due to her own lack, rather than any deficiency on Taela's part. Dismissing the worry she proceeded into the room and greeted her companion and Taela and gleefully informed them of her new identity and the progress of her project. As she delivered this information, Isthmau tilted her head mirroring Taela's confusion as her friend spoke the words,

    "What do you mean new? That's always been your name."

    ***

    In spite of Isthmau's initial acceptance of her imminent departure she worried. As the days had passed Taela was observed to be growing increasingly restless with her recovery long completed. She had spoken at length of places that Isthmau half remembered, particularly of the time they had met each other predating the Herald's mission; an anomaly which Isthamau had casually opted to ignore. Even without focusing on the strangest portions of their shared history, as they days passed the desire to go out and return to familiar places was plainly growing in Taela's mind, as well as a voiced desire to 'get back' her ship. This restlessness observed restlessness had planted a seed within Isthmau, one which was watered and cultivated by the curiosity inherent within her. Growing more certain that she wanted to see and experience that which Taela spoke of led to a firm decision and the construction and proposal. The proposal described a mission out of the system with the purpose of covertly acquiring knowledge and potentially objects of interest from the native inhabitants of the galaxy for the Matriarchy's eventual evaluation and study.

    This proposed mission would satisfy Isthmau's desire to go out and visit the places which Taela spoke of, however it came into conflict with Isthmau's pre-existing plans to provide mining services for the Matriarchy. A task which she was to depart for in a few short days. This had created a conflict of interest which to her surprise was one which she easily resolved. A favor was requested of the Matriarchy, the growth of a new, generic body for her as a second simultaneously occupied corporeal form. Unlike her present weaponized form, this one would be biological in nature taking inspiration from the knowledge that there were others like Mr. Hanley-Lewis-Forde in this universe her new form would mimic their physiology and present an unremarkable phenotype with which to avoid drawing attention. This body would also be provided with injected memories censored to both remove technical information pertaining to LSDF equipment, as well as removing the knowledge of the Matriarchy in whole. This precaution devised as a sure way to prevent the potential of an information leak was one that Isthmau was rather proud of, instead of carrying volatile information, she would instead be sent out with only the knowledge of her goals and a single set of coordinates corresponding to a location outside of Matriarchy space which could be monitored for friendly arrivals for the purposes of reclaiming herself.

    As a final portion of this plan, Isthmau created a proposal for a minimally equipped vessel. This vessel would consist of little more than an out of date FTL system, a power system required to run it, a pair of cryo-stasis pods, a simple digital computer control and a hull to hold it all together and protect from the rigours of space. This vessel would be sent off on an indirect route to mask its origins from the core system of the Matriarchy to these foreign worlds of which Taela spoke. Upon arrival Isthmau would abandon the vessel with Taela, the vessel would be destroyed with a purposeful reactor failure and she would be free to perform her task of learning and resource acquisition. After a time spent in these foreign worlds she would would eventually return to the specified coordinates utilizing locally a locally constructed FTL vehicle which would be provided to the LSDF for reverse engineering and study.

    The potential risk of the mission to the Matriarchy was almost non-existent, and the resource expenditure would be minimal as well meaning that little would be lost if the mission failed. In consideration of what she had come up with Isthmau felt that the raw material costs were something which she felt she could easily repay within a month or two of mining operations while her clone departed. Reviewing the concept a final time Isthmau submitted the proposal to the LSDF and returned to preparing to depart on her mining expedition.

    ***

    She woke up in a dim red-lit chamber, looking at the underside of a freshly opened pod of some sort within which she lay. Blinking she took only a moment before sitting bolt upright as a thought crossed her mind, "Your ship is about to explode, you need to get out." Pushing herself up she became aware of the fact that she was clad in a bulky vacuum suit of a design which she instinctively thought of as primitive, yet she could find no example in her mind of what would be considered modern. An attempt to store this thought for later was met with confusion as no filing system accepted it, instead only her thoughts responded in her head. One of these suggested quite casually that she had a brain and not a filing system. This was a foreign thought, yet one which was easily accepted as she prodded at a crude plastic interface with her gloved hand and watched as a hatch split open before her eyes revealing a star-field, the curve of a planet 'above' her, and a strange object filled the majority of her vision directly ahead.

    A glance over her shoulder saw another bulky glove settle on her shoulder and then push her out of the hatch and into space. Twisting and drifting towards the large orbital object, Isthmau watched as the second figure vacated through the open hatch of the rectangular chunk of iron which had delivered them to their destination. Slowly the pair drifted away from the crude vessel and it dwindled in her vision until suddenly it erupted in a sphere of dim light making Isthmau aware that her vacuum suit possessed a darkly tinted visor. Reaching to her own chest, clumsy fingers found a thick handle as a matter of instinct and she pulled free what was discovered to be a chemical flare, twisting it in her hands, working to trigger the chemical reaction, until one end erupted in a bright yellow light which she flailed about signalling their position in space.

    A minute, then two passed and Isthmau began to wonder if perhaps she would be left to drift in space until her air supply was exhausted, however on her next rotation toward the large object she spotted a pair of small vehicles alter their course toward her and her drifting friend. These would be the first people that Isthmau met belonging to a place which she knew only as Aleph, people which she would later learn belonged to a planet known as Albion one of many sovereign planets in the system, and one which she would not immediately set foot upon.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2017
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