RP: 188604 Dead Metal Clubhouse

[Primitive Polygon]

[Between Star Wasp 7 and 8]
Osman City, Northern Quarter, Shipyard Checkpoint
♫The Thrill- Houkou♫

In the time following the departure of the White Lament, the industrial complex surrounding the old store house was having difficulty finding a use. Many of the crates which had once held unusable supplies dragged off the mothership were now being used unofficially by the homeless. Some were saying that the long glass houses belonged to that flying robot giant, too. The offworlder was a bit slow in the head, however, and had only managed to grow some alien sour yellow fruit and some native flowers like Osman Indigo.

The one thing that the metal spiders did seem to care about maintaining was the rows upon rows of blue glass pannels. Alien tech which absorbed the sunlight and gave life back to the goliath space ship, and were now all routed back to a large mysterious warehouse with locked doors and bricked-up windows. Metal salvage went in, and huge, fearsome brown metal spiders came out, bearing strange wheels, and guns like the biggest of the planet's old black powder firearms.

Word was these things were made by a space monster even the ivory white machine woman distrusted. Word was they were almost a tank-machine themselves.

Word was one had best steer clear of the unholy place, lest one's soul is stolen and forged into a part of the evil machines also...

Spoiler

((OOC: Since a few people have been asking for spacers to do industrial stuff, here's y'all chance to make a case! @Perilous Siege @Amaryllis @Legix))

 

[Amaryllis]

What most caught Akemi's attention as he made his way through the area to chat with Spacers other than Arccos were the homeless people and the long glass buildings. He really wanted to meet the kinds Truffleclub had been working with so he could try to employ them and he thought the poor living in the area were potentially a great opportunity to recruit some helpers, earn some goodwill and gain some publicity. He definitely needed to try offering them some discounted Yamataian military rations and Elysian Psomi. Seeing their improvised homes reminded him of past thoughts of providing cheap housing to improve his reputation and gain some loyalty.

"Hey Lycosidaaae, where are youuuu?" Akemi called out mentally as he looked around and neared the spooky warehouse.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

There was a repetitive clunking noise, one street over. The shoeless bearded man waiting in the shadow of a container took one look at Akemi, flicked his cigarette away, and then vacated along to another backstreet. Their belt loops had all sorts of drill bits and grinder saws, worn down by space-people standards, but still superior to anything this planet made historically.

Meanwhile, the noise just got louder. It wasn't Lycosidae in person, it was a death crawler, juddering ponderously through the streets with it's great rectangular track-pods. No sound of a shell being loaded, but that was no guarantee it wasn't holding onto one of those nasty thermite charges already.

"Cat Boy. Akemi, was it?" The voice sounded amusingly nasally and low-tech, no doubt coming from the cheapest speakers possible, due to being an unnecessary frill. Hard to tell what emotion was being conveyed, but that bulky red scope-eye did roll up awfully close. "I appreciate you standing up for me back there, but in this case I locked the doors myself. These planetwalker cavemen have deep pockets and unclean lungs."

"I'll cut to the chase. I'm busy. What do you want?"

 

[Amaryllis]

"I dunno. I was kinda just hoping we'd chat," Akemi answered smoothly without a trace of fear at the looming mechanical menace. Even though he'd already seen the tanks a good bit he still thought they were pretty cool. "Like I'm sure I could think of stuff to ask you to make me but simply talking would be nice. Can I come inside?" The little space kitten liked that Lyco had already started working with the natives. Maybe they could team up to help them and enhance each other's growth of influence in the process.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

"Aren't we chatting now?" The tank's body made a curious tilting motion to one side. Motion-mapping a four foot pudgy spacer girl completely undermined any threat it posed. "Like I said, I'm kinda busy."

In the distance... music? It could have been on Lyco's vox line, but... Well, it sounded distinctly familiar to Akemi's ears for some reason. It wasn't the typical brain-demolishing spacer techno at all. Some kind of... light pop-jazz, energetic female singer... in Yamataigo, of all things?... What exactly were they doing in there?...

To say it was sweltering today was pointless; It was always sweltering on 188604. But the heat coming from inside was even more intense, and upon closer inspection, it seemed that several of the smaller slat windows higher up had been left open to compensate...

 

[Amaryllis]

"Well sure we are but I was kinda hoping to do it face to face. Are you so busy you'd rather not chat?" Naturally Akemi decided to follow the sound of the music after floating up to give the Deathcrawler a brief head rubbing. Upon seeing the windows he decided he'd try peek inside figuring it'd be amusing if the tank tried to stop him and that maybe Lycosidae was simply too preoccupied to get to the door and wouldn't mind being seen doing whatever she was doing.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

The heavy doors were padlocked from the inside, Akemi could see, so Lyco had been serious about locking themselves in. There were two more shells of incomplete spider tanks, a single surviving industrial-junker, and stacks upon stacks of heavy machine components. Most looked like proper spacer bits, but there were some of those Yamatai car parts mixed in, too.

"This parts order is huge, yeah. Maybe it's better we do this later."

What was slightly less predictable was the strange light sources resonating from the horde of old computer consoles piled up in the corner, before which Lyco themselves was sat leaning forwards upon a vast pile of stray cushions. Their tracks were in bits, apparently undergoing an overhaul, but it didn't look like they were in any rush to reassemble them, either...

Nope, the great majority of her attention was focused on the anime currently playing off of the monitors. Something oldish with stylish animation, set in space. A giant grey mecha was holding two moons apart, whilst their copilot despaired over the fact space-time dilation would prevent them from seeing her beloved coach again. Then the cute hero girly chopped both moons in half. It was all very hot blooded, and the singer really wanted you to know it.

 

[Amaryllis]

"Well gosh if you're watching Yamataian cartoons how about inviting me in so I can watch too?" Akemi wasn't mad but he did think it was kinda rude to blow him off when he could so easily verify the true extent of her busyness. If she had the mental processing power to enjoy a video surely she had enough to speak with him and appreciate his presence. It wasn't like he intended to talk about anything super complex or at a super fast speed. The way the little blob sat in a nest of cushions was very charming. He could totally see why she wouldn't want to get up even if her treads were still on. "I could mentally trade shows with you. If you can't be bothered to open up somehow I can figure out some way to get in like this window."

 

[Primitive Polygon]

"Not so loud!" The short one's head darted back to the monitor displaying the deathcrawler's POV, and immediately realized her mistake. Ironically, the squeak itself was loud enough that Akemi could hear it double. "Do you want the whole planet to hear?"

On a remote command, the old industrial junk-tank rolled towards the doorway and produced a key, unlocking the large doors and swinging them open. Lyco rolled over and embedded herself even further in the pillows, as if that would protect against all of the nasty bacteria in the wind. Soon enough, there was nothing but a round-cheeked angry head sticking out, jellybean-shaped eyebrows furrowing.

"You know, I really don't understand you, Cat Boy..." A remote poked out of the side of the pile in order to pause the show, right as some giant impossible space insect was exploding. "You're too damn cheerful! This planet sucks, and even the locals know it!"

Upon closer examination, there were print-outs of bootlegged manga and 3D printed action figures mixed within the stray computer parts. Keeping up their regular hygine standards, her clothes were basically in one big rumpled pile on top of the cooling unit. Nothing but tank tops with weird slogans and technicolor panties. There also a small fridge with a biohazard symbol on it, which may or may not have been a joke given spacer diets.

"You can come in, but tell anybody about this and I will end you, understand?"

 

[Amaryllis]

"Oh of course," Akemi replied purposely lowering his voice. "I don't want to ruin your Spacer street cred with Arccos." As he stepped inside he looked around the place. Once he saw one piece of replicated Yamataian media merchandise he started scanning the area for more. At the same time his attention was further pulled toward Lycos after she made herself even more enchanting by cocooning herself into a little baby burrito. "Man, you've got a lot of stuff. That's really cool. I love the way you're set up in there." While the Neko spoke he moved to find a place to sit as close as possible to the woman without disturbing the nest she had made for herself. "I should really get you a Tempri-sama blanket. They're super soft. I'm just happy to be here because this place is like a feudal fantasy land or a post apocalyptic wasteland and I've got an oasis of cuties like you always on hand."

 

[Primitive Polygon]

"Well I guess it's home now." Lyco replied simply. She was clearly trying to think of a way to say 'I just want to be left alone' again, but still giving him the benefit of the doubt. "Also, Tempura-Sama sounds like those battered prawns."

A pause. They really weren't used to having people in their room, never mind somebody that was being nice to them for no reason. It was disconcerting because at least with an enemy, she knew where they stood. Being out of the loop for so long could only really make somebody paranoid. Three years with nothing but robots she had programmed herself would do that.

"So you are some kinda rich bachelor who just travels anywhere, is that it?" They piped up, but was in fact retreating further into the pile. "Winning at capitalism doesn't win you everything, I guess... I'd offer you a drink, but I'm not sure about the heavy metals content."

 

[Amaryllis]

"I guess you could say that," Akemi answered with a smile as he watched Lyco continue to burrow. "I just like looking for fun and this place seems like it could be entertaining or made so. We can make our own world here after all. I'm looking to set up my own kingdom since Uso gave me permission. We could have fun working together if you want. I could supply you with all the drinks you'd ever want." He hadn't really wanted to necessarily talk business so soon but he figured the way he was doing it was just as much an offer of friendship. Hopefully she wouldn't think he was only literally and figuratively cozying up to her for assistance. He genuinely wanted to make her his first Spacer pal on the planet. How could he not want to befriend a moeblob who watched shows she could fit right into?

 

[Primitive Polygon]

"Well, you already know I need immuno-boosters. What do you want in return?" Having Arccos thoroughly put Lyco's limited skills in their place made her eager to make at least some friends. It was perhaps strange that she was so eager to ally with a Nekovalkyrja of all things, but the fact that Akemi was a slight bit of an outcast here probably helped. It wasn't like she had any friends left in the free state. Hell, it wasn't like she wanted any friends in that walking dead organisation. "My skills as a solid-material roboticist are probably the most useful to you. Maybe I can design you a cheaper waiter droid than those crazy expensive Yammie androids."

A loud clacking sound. A pair of solid green algae loaf slices had popped out of the toaster. Rusty thing was such a weird shaped blob of metal that it just looked like part of the computers a second ago.

Lyco grunted and re-emerged from the pile, facing Akemi with a sheepish glance... A couple of seconds later, and the huge industrial junker was remotely putting peanut spread on that toast, and retrieving a bag of candy bars too. Who needs to leave a comfy pile of pillows, and let some weirdo see your pyjama shorts, when you have like a million drones at your beck and call?

 

[Amaryllis]

Akemi was really digging Lyco's whole setup. Everything seemed awful comfy. It sure was nice to see how well settled in she appeared to be. He figured all that was left for her to do was to meet people, make connections and find something to set her mind to. "Well I wish you wouldn't put it like that. We can just do stuff for each other like buddies," he explained. "You can have your medication for free plus lots of nice food. Just place an order via your head or send a junker over. I don't want you only eating algae. As for what I want, maybe we could survey and mine the planet together and your robots could do construction on my tavern."

 

[Primitive Polygon]

"Don't get me wrong, I prefer to give something back." The tone was stubborn, and she faced back towards the glimmering screens as she said it. It was a point of principle. "A charity case should be saved for those poor sods outside, who have never even been off this ball of dirt before. They treat even my trash like it's treasure."

The one-eyed metal crab returned once more during this, bumping lightly into the back of Akemi. It was carrying a stack of newer red cushions, apparently ushering him to sit down as well. Was it semi-sentient, or was she controlling it by remote?...

"Do you want one?" A protruding steel hand offered him what was presumably a candy bar, with plain white plastic packaging and only the words NUTRITION INGOT as a description. The one she was unwrapping with her teeth looked like chocolate, but smelt disturbingly more like charcoal. "You know I wouldn't have had you pegged as a miner, too. Heck, I could give Osman city a subway system if you really wanted, but something tells me that Uso wanted us spacers to start building things on the other planets in this system instead. It's probably the fallout..."

"Not really sure what I see the big deal is? I mean, we Deoradh aren't immune to radiation, you know. We just deal with it more diligently."

 

[Amaryllis]

"Oh, thanks buddy," Akemi said to the Junker after turning around to graciously take the cushions. He placed them down neatly and petted the top of the casing of its eye a few times. Even if it was possibly entirely remotely controlled or was a very simple intelligence incapable of forming bonds he still wanted to show respect to it because he never knew for certain until he asked. Besides, he wasn't guaranteed to get an honest answer. Another consideration was what if how he treated such a thing was a test of his character. Whether such a test was intentional or not he didn't want to risk failing it. Maybe there was another machine watching him with a body of an appliance that would appreciate his display of care.

After addressing the crab Akemi took the treat being proffered. "Thanks." Wanting to further make a good impression he took a little bite to start before sitting down. Regardless of how it smelled and tasted he wasn't going to make a stink. Even if he disliked it the metal crustacean had at least got him some royal red cushions. "Well I don't care where you build as long as you guys get a livable place. I'd love to hang out with you Spacers and make or secure a place for you. I'll totally stock foods you're specifically used to at my place if you want. Part of why I'm interested in mining is I recently made billions selling Rhenium to the Grand Bazaar."

 

[Primitive Polygon]

The candy bar was indeed chocolate flavoured, but the filling was a weird sugar thing somewhere in-between wafer and wood chips. Lyco looked genuinely surprised he ate it. The crab drone might have a little, too.

"Grand Bizarre, huh? Those guys were still building the Greasy Palms Springwell last I heard..." It was an amused glance. Their brief stint back in the Free State around about year thirty four was an awkward one, but they were still a Freespacer. "They must be doing well for themselves."

Such reminiscence, however, did bring herself back to the even more awkward situation of their present day abode. The video was reactivated and the cartoon mega-bug finally allowed to explode, but it didn't cover up the fact that hiding away in here wasn't really accomplishing anything.

"Tell me... Akemi..." Paced words. "What do you actually think of the people here? Like, actually actually? Do you think that Uso just really just wants to imitate Yui and invade places on the cheap? Do you think Arccos is just as tired of the Free State as I am, but trying to make up for that by building her own personal copy?..."

Provocative questions, for sure. But for a supposedly peaceful faction full of enterprise and mirth, Lyco couldn't help but be distrustful of an empire that invaded her personal base and took her back to another, similarly conquered planet.

 

[Amaryllis]

"I dunno about either of them," Akemi answered, hoping his honesty would be appreciated. He would have liked to have some special insight so he could be like a guide to the little Spacer and look cool by showing her how things really were but he wasn't going to make stuff up.

"I haven't spoken to them much to be honest. Sorry we invaded your place bud. I didn't want your people or machines to get hurt. All I know is I'd like to get into their pants just for the heck of it and because Arccos has that big, adorable schnoz and she's awful tall and firm. Plus all that disgust really gets me going. They don't speak to me much because Arccos hates me and Uso is all busy and above everything. I mostly chat with Jason and Aashi and my two native friends at the tavern Olena and Smithee."

 

[Primitive Polygon]

"Oh genetic sibling... Well, that explains why you follow them so much, even through you don't trust them..." Lyco took a moment to sigh. "But... Well, thank you for the apology."

Somewhere along the line, probably due to all the discussion about hot bods, the rotund spacer sunk so deep into the pile of cushions that their trackless wheels began to stick out of the bottom. Funny to note that they were attached in threes to little articulated leg pods, meaning their boxy shell of a lower half was actually more like a extremely reinforced pair of hips. Lyco did not enjoy Akemi observing this and sent him a now familiar agitated scowl, then began attaching an extremely thick pair of marigold gloves. The rubber digits had the grip that metal fingers lacked, apparently, and it was the only way to grasp the pliers used to reattach her track links.

"Don't look at me like that. I just need a minute." It was a fast process once they got started at least. Difficult to say if they still had the freespacer mindset of being stuck in confined spaces or not, but there must have been some kind of motivation for her not to ask Akemi to leave. "... Arccos' body is getting close to a type four, you know... She might not even biologically look like that... How do you know this isn't all a ploy to lead you on, Cat Boy? I mean, you're a gy... Android too. So you see what choosing your appearance means about somebody psychologically..."

Another pause, and another supressed shrug. Implying that Arccos might secretly like Akemi wasn't quite the kind of relationship she was hoping to build.

"Aashi is that horned alien, isn't she?" A brisk change of subject, now whirring her freshly cleaned tracks in the air a little. "O0lee-na and Smit-hee? Taven? Are the locals really that comfortable with you space folks already?"

 

[Amaryllis]

"Yeah, she is," Akemi said as he watched his new spacer pal attend to herself. "She's a really nice and carefree lady. She doesn't mind me telling her how attractive she is. Smithee is this noble guy who was a knight of this planet's deceased queen. He owned the tavern, bar, hostess club, brothel, whatever you want to call it before I bought it. Olena is like his super life partner even though he's married to some woman he won't talk about. She's a really cool champion sword fighter and bare knuckle brawler. They were naturally nice to me since they wanted to get a Starman, what Smithee calls us space people, on their side. We would have gotten along great anyway since they're very casual and friendly. You're real nice too. Being a little plump doesn't mean you aren't plenty charming. It only enhances your cuteness."