RP Chapter 2: Of Land and Fire

[Ametheliana]

Kyopelinvuori
Sudran in System Azorea
Muna 30, 942
10:00, Commonwealth Standard Time

Aaki looked over to Mahsa, who had just entered the room, and began to ask over the sound of rain hitting the grand windows of the office, "Tell me, what do you think of—"

The light of the elevator flashed and the chiming sound alerted the two of them to an arrival and Aaki cut herself short.

"We'll talk later," Aaki said and tilted her head to look at the elevator doors.

She had asked for a Freespacer of unknown occupation and background to join them, as well as Alistair and Huey to do so, as well.

She was particularly happy to retain the good relations Freespacers and Iromakuanhe had, but she had never met a Fresspacer. She wondered if it would be all that she had heard it would be as far as experiences went. She also knew not to expect anything out of a person and let them show you who they were, instead, so her mind was a relative clean slate.

She stood from her desk as the doors opened to greet them properly.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Aaki's Office

As the elevator doors opened, observers were met with the sight of a rather odd figure hunched in the corner. A short humanoid, with white hair in twin braids cascading over a rustic oversized backpack. Rasping noises of labored breath, and a distinct smell of disinfectant. When they sluggishly turned around, it revealed only a face closed off behind a grey plastic gas mask, yet also the startling detail of four functioning arms clad in rubber sheathing...

"Conclave Member Aaki Loleth?" It questioned in a peaky, electronic voice. Rounded, buggy eyes gazed at the attractive Iromakuanhe woman from behind thick orange goggles. "My designation is Fleshassembler Mitochondrion Four Three. Freespacer, and humble representative of both the Wire guided and the Viridian Array..."

"Through it went underutilized due to my species' distaste of planets, we have not forgotten your efforts made with the first aid treaty between our races.... As times are now changing for both our peoples, it seems like an admirable occasion to build on such a pleasant foundation, wouldn't you say?"

 

[Ametheliana]

Aaki's Office

The rain began pounding even harder than it had before as Aaki's body sat back down and she nodded, looking at first concerned as she said, "I am worried that being on this planet will not be suitable to your way of life... The lack of radiation is no problem to you? We can move some pieces of the puzzle that is Kyope and set something up for yourself, if that pleases you and is necessitated."

While the rain let up again to just a soft patter on the windows, she went on to say, "After you answer that, tell me, Fleshassembler Mitochondrion Four Three, what are these Wire Guided and Viridian Array offshoots of the Freespacer, in your own words? I read reports and hear others speak for these groups, but never have I met one within their ranks."

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Aaki's Office

"Kyopelinvuori is a wonderfully attractive city, however it feels a little inside out to a spacer's sensibilities." The oddly rustic thing spoke frankly, seeming to smirk with their eyes. "Generally the water goes through the pipes, not the people."

With the mood hopefully lightened, they just paced towards the window a little, observing the wind-strewn rain belting against the glass. "My traveller has enough radioactive material for a month or two. It is no problem..."

"The newer factions, on the other hand... Well, it is a sad truth that the Free State is now a shadow of it's former self. It bore us, so I cannot look at it with malice, but it truth, such a hard-line ideology cannot exist without cruelty. Not when my people have since met more reasonable ways of life within the Nepleslian and Yamatai empires." The tone had turned blank, as Freespacers often seemed to these days when talking about the dream. The things that their ancestors wanted for them, but the real world no longer seemed happy to comply with in practice. "The Viridian Array simply operates a voucher system for up gunning the existing Deoradh fleets, mostly using Nepleslian technology, organizing themselves in an armed mercenary fashion... The Wire Guided seeks to break our bonds with our old ways completely, and pursue independence through a new wave of genetic engineering... Both seek integration and exploitation of pre-existing empires. I personally think that is the best way forward."

The end part was spoken with a small turn of the waist, suggesting the genetic engineering part was their reason for turning up at all. They were a 'flesh assembler', whatever that meant...

 

[Ametheliana]

Aaki's Office

Aaki pressed her forearms into the table as she leaned forward, immersed in thought as the Freespacer spoke. She wanted to help and she was enlivened by the prospect of truly being able to. So, when Fleshassembler was finished, Aaki pushed the subject the Freespacer seemed most intent on getting across to her.

In a low but excited voice, she said, "This is one of the only places outside of the Iruotl where you can buy Iromakuanhe biotech, Fleshassembler Mitochondrion Four Three. This being the city we are in, Kyope, of course. Were you looking to buy some of the tech being sold here or perhaps have something like a symbiote added to yourself? All of which can be managed. Or is there some other way you would like to push forward this 'new wave of genetic engineering' with the Commonwealth's assistance?"

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Aaki's Office

"Ah yes, the symbionts..." Mito brushed a hand along the top of her head, looking into the air. "I remember reading a Monoceros book about that lad with arm blades. Quite interesting..."

"But, unfortunately, most likely very incompatible with an organic spacer's form." An odd, almost forlorn tone. "You see, the trade-off for our resistance to toxins and cyborgisation is an intense immunological weakness. There is no telling what kind of effect that kind of foreign body could have... At least not without further research. Your Prajna substance certainly strikes my interest, but..."

"Anyway, a complete change in physiology, from the ground up, is what the other Wireheads are naturally more interested in. Making our physiologies even more complex goes against the ethos... In fact, it seems the Organoid systems that you use might be the most helpful to us, right now. Unless that is a protected technology, of course."

A pause, silence still disturbed by rain droplets thrashing against the surrounding windows. The spacer's eyes were having some distinctly confused thoughts about the richly dressed, pink-skinned alien woman before them.

"The question is, what would the Iromakuanhe want out of this kind of arrangement? Is there any of our AI or cybernetics technology that would interest you in turn? Perhaps our extremely efficient solar powered systems?" Upper hands rubbed together, lower hands braced behind her back. "After dealing with the capitalist Nepleslian and Yamatai empires for so long, I suppose that we naively assumed your goals would be similarly... well, militaristic."

 

[Ametheliana]

Aaki's Office

It took a great deal of thought.

A great deal of thought.

But after a few long moments' pause, Aaki had her answer.

"We would like to understand your people's capacity to find us Veyrinite. It is of utmost importance to the Iromakuanhe to have access to this material and it seeps out like moss on a dampened rock in the Blue Rift Expanse, where the Freespacers are capable of finding and containing it."

Aaki leaned back in her chair and added, "We can provide you with the ability to not only have organoid technology, but to make it, too. For the exchange of the access to Veyrinite. That is our only stipulation."

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Aaki's Office

A tense few seconds seemed to float by as Mitochondrion stared into the floor for a rather long period, possibly doing research into the subject over the polysentience. Their expression subtly changed several times, before a rattling cough overtook them and the ungainly thing was forced to pause and modify some settings on their rebreather inlet.

"...It's not a name which I readily recognize, but under closer examination, it would appear that this 'Veyrinite', and what the Astral Locksmiths call Sinkstone, may well be one and the same..." There was a lower, raspy tone to their voice now, likely the result of additional gases being pumped into their system. Even then, their demeanor when talking about these 'locksmiths' turned particularly bitter. "They've been... Quite uncooperative in the past. Best explained as a cult that wants the 'spacers to remain culturally isolated and pure beyond all common sense."

"Yes, they currently hold all of the space within the Blue Rift, and seized all the technology that allows them to navigate it from the rest of us... Sinkstone is supposedly useless, but so specifically discredited despite clear experimental interest, that the rest of the polysentience has long believed it to be a key material in fabricating leyline gates."

Another pause, more adjusting. Their voice went back to normal.

"I'm sorry for dumping my nation's internal struggles on your doorstep, but that is simply the way of things right now. The Rifters do, at least, have a single unified leader for you to contact. The massive AI Cinereal..." They looked both concerned and genuinely apologetic. This seemed like a problem that they'd been trying to sort out for a long time, themselves. "Dangerous, selfish sort. They say it is unmatched in hacking skill and interpersonal manipulation."

 

[Ametheliana]

Aaki's Office

"We can do that," Aaki said after a bit of introspective thought. She didn't know how they could pull this off, but she knew they could. And, so, she worked her body to face away from the 'Spacer and showed her profile to Mitochondrion. The Iromakuanhe woman had to really distance herself from the 'Spacer, the room, her assistant, everything and everyone in order to think it through.

"We will secure you the tech to make organoids yourself only, and and I mean only, when we have supply to a useful amount of Veyrinite." She turned to Fleshassembler Mitochondrion Four Three and said, "Now, will you set up a meeting?"

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Aaki's Office

"Well, you would only need a decent transceiver and a computer to talk to them. Going there in person is not strictly necessary, especially not to an AI without a physical body... However..."

Mito took pause for another moment, clearly thinking about the long-term ramifications of this kind of deal. If she didn't personally handle this situation very carefully indeed, Aaki and Cinereal could well strike a deal over her head, leaving her own parent organisation high and dry. She had left out the part were 'nep friendly' spacers like herself were basically banned from the Rift, just as stringently as any other outsider... Not out of malice, but it was an unwelcome fact of how bitter things have become since the IWL days.

"Yes, I will need to ask some neutral contacts to feed us a round-about connection. The polycast presenter of Debug Funk, perhaps."

"I trust one day is not too long a duration for you to wait?"

 

[Ametheliana]

Aaki's Office

The Iromakuanhe woman sat sternly for a moment before nodding her head a moment too long and then held her breath. Finally, she spoke.

"That is more than fine," Aaki said. "One day is more than enough."