RP: ISC Phoenix [Interlude 2] - We know what we want

Crimson Kestrel, Mess Hall

From her position on the ceiling Tamamo had watched curiously as the small Yamataian inventor turned entrepreneur shambled into the room. He had been slowly deteriorating since their initial meeting at the factory, the first signs now apparent in hind sight when she had seen him later in his cargo bay workshop.

While observing the small man Tamamo was taken off guard by the sudden appearance of the local... Rebeka. She had no idea what the tall woman-like figure was, however she knew that she wasn't Nepleslian, Yamataian, Gartagen, Azorean, Delsaurian, Lorath, Helashio, Kodian, or a Phod.

Watching the odd somewhat parental interactions between the Rebeka and Seiren, Tamamo was left to once again wonder at the relationship between the two.

Captain Pavone was also in motion, writing on a colourful book... A comic book. She didn't know why and for the moment the context seemed irrelevant. More interesting was the implied suggestion that Seiren take things easy and rest more and the provided offering of delicious milk.

Then came a greeting.

Swivelling her head Tamamo made an attempt at a smile producing more of a lopsided bearing of teeth as she nodded to Vitalia's statement about to reply in turn when Vita turned the conversation toward Allison. Following along curiously Tamamo wiggled her ears and listened to the back and forth wondering if she should take a look at the right hand engine before deciding against taking away Allison's job. Something that she had discovered earlier wasn't well received.

Finally a point to reply came in and Tamamo managed to get a happily voice response, "I'm looking forward to it. It will be pleasant to see our work in action." Lapsing into silence once more Tamamo twitched her ear as Luca spoke to Rebeka asking if... She was choosing to be nude? Then asking after Seiren's sleep.

She didn't quite get it.

The loud call of the ship's other Nekovalkyrja of sorts caused Tamamo to fold her ears back before detecting the mention of a kid making her perk her ears forward before she tilted her head to the right as she heard the odd suggestion that Echelon preform medical checkups. Worried as to the identity of this 'kid' thing Tamamo frowned slightly unsettled by the prospect of a child on board.

While she was contemplating this problem, a new form entered the room. The gartagen with many blades that she had rarely seen since arriving with the crew of the ISC Phoenix. He spoke a single word before slipping out of her immediate line of sight for a time only to return and take a seat. Still she couldn't spend too much time watching him, not while the issue of a child remained hidden away beyond the portal to the kitchen.

Rebeka's balls came to an audible stop. Her eyes rose to listen to Luca. She made no response to Luca's assessment of her appearance, au natural being words she didn't know and didn't hear often and therefor either jibberish or unimportant.

Seeing Seiren's own spoon, she looked down to her hand, seeing the spoon she'd thought to give him if he'd asked, the thing slowly disappearing back into her arm without anybody getting a chance to see. Nobody need know.

What he said next though was important. She took one look at Seiren, seeing the way his wrists shook with his breakfast, the groggy exhausted expression... But not Aiesu-like bags under his eyes, like she saw on most who hadn't slept properly. What was wrong with this picture?

What was a normal amount of sleep for someone like Seiren?

She rewound her thoughts: She'd been sat in his quarters with the latest and greatest in sentai adventures. Though he'd been bent over a tablet, looking over numbers and statistics. She'd prompted him to sleep many times - not just because of fatigue but also because she enjoyed the idea of days having rhythm and order.

"He laid still and didn't talk for about two hours. Then he sat up and was very worried about something but couldn't tell me. He pointed at the wall. I broke his clock. He is not happy with me. What are projections?"

Crimson Kestrel, Mess Hall

Zeta was late to arrive that morning, clad in shorts and tank-top still having a bed-hair troubles. The woman did her morning work-out and then headed to breakfast. Shower can come later.

Zeta shortened the distance to Luca and gave him a kiss on a cheek. "Good morning darling," She grabbed a mug and poured herself some coffee, then grabbed a bottle of nearby whiskey and added that to the coffee as well. She then sat next to Luca and watched what he was fiddling with. "A comic book eh? Looking up what crazy stories they are writing about you?"

Crimson Kestrel, Mess Hall
The first thing was first, Luca blinked at Rebeka and his eyes widened, bottom lip drooping a little as he wondered how long this had been going on, exhaling quietly as he considered the scale of it. Explaining what au natural meant could come later. "Uh, he needs about eight hours of sleep a night. Six at the very least." He said, sobered as he considered the rest of her story. "He sounds like he's having nightmares; if it keeps up, he's probably going to be..."

He had to think of something to leverage Rebeka into taking further action. John meanwhile watched the spoon that Rebeka was holding sink into her flesh and groaned - that's where all the cutlery went when she and Seiren weren't balancing knives and forks in the dimples on a sheet of zesuaium Echelon found in a junkyard. Luca breathed in and kept his eyes wide at Rebeka, "...unable to make more candy!" He observed, raising his arms for dramatic effect, like Seiren would.

While his arms were still open he found his his left arm wrapped around Zeta. With a pleasantly surprised 'ah' he turned around and put his arm around her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, no, Redrick's kid bought this in." He said, putting his finger against the table and pointing it to the marker. "She wanted it autographed."

Vita looked over to Soruk. "Oh, Soruk, can I commission something off of you?" She asked, looking over to the blademaster and beckoning him over as she put her datapad down. "Interested?"

Meanwhile, John wondered if he should invest in zesuaium cutlery which periodically gave off electric shocks.

The corners of Rebeka's lips sunk, brows tightening up into a look of what she equated to be determination, her arms rising to copy the same posture Luca did, mirroring him: her breakfast clacking on the floor as she held the posture in dead seriousness: even her hands out wide. Jazz hands.

"Oh no!" she said, her voice as excited as paint drying: she was really trying to play her part but no trace of feeling was in her words.

And then a subtle tilt of her head, watching the way Zeta and Luca moved. She rose to her feet, pausing to pick up her breakfast before sitting on the opposite bench next to Seiren. Trying to be inconspicuous, she snuck closer: knees banging - making the cutlery sing against the table.

Finally, she got one more look at Zeta and Luca before forcing an arm about Seiren's little body and trying to do the same as they.

Soruk watched the proceedings with mild interest. It seemed the crew was up to their usual antics. The blademaster didn't even question Tamamo, who was currently on the ceiling. He could attach himself to the ceiling if he wished, but it wasn't necessary.

What grabbed his attention was Vita saying his name. He casted a glance over at her, brow raised, "Yes?" At the beckoning, he finished off his fruit and stood at her side, looking down at the datapad curiously.

He didn't mind working on things other than blades. The gartagen could only carry so many and he was relatively sure that Luca didn't want mountains of swords in the armory. However, with the ability to fabricate pretty much anything relatively quickly, it had to be something incredibly unique or special to require the touch of a forgemaster, "Perhaps I could be convinced to craft something for you..."

"Oh, Red has a kid eh?" Zeta asked back as she was busy enjoying her morning cup of joe. She then reached under tank-top and fished a pack of cigarettes from under, putting them on table. Of course now was time for breakfast, cigarettes were for later. "She staying with us? How old is she? I hope she and Vita will get along well. Oh and you be sure yo sign all her comics darling."

"'M fine. . ." Seiren responded to Luca's first comment, dropping the fork on the table and taking the spoon he was given. For whatever reason, his face grew flushed. "Just been havin' some weird dreams. . . workin's easier. . ."

He blankly stared at his food, mindlessly shoveling cereal into his mouth. One hand reached across the table for the remote, to switch on the mess hall TV. He tuned out the people at the table, for the most part as his attention focused in on the screen. That is, until Rebeka started trying to play Monkey See, Monkey Do.

"Nnnuh, stop it!" he said, putting his arms up to block the impending hug. He dropped his spoon into the bowl with an audible PLOP. "You're not allow- wait. . . isn't that the cruiser we handed those raiders off to?"

The inventor gestured to the TV, where, indeed, the shuttle they had handed off their GAO-related bounties to the Blues was displayed onscreen. . . smoking in a crater. With the doors blown wide open.

Metallic clunks sounded of long slender metal legs with each step: the familiar form of Aiesu's borrowed body standing in the door-way; hand on hip in some bizarrely idol like pose imposed by the android's motivator circuits; finger squarely on Rebeka and her worrying friendliness with Seiren - still fighting to get her lips onto his cheek as she'd seen with Luca and Zeta.

Aiesu huffed smugly.

"I KNEW IT!"

Crimson Kestrel, Mess Hall

The sounds made by the Rebeka had drawn her attention back to the group that Seiren conveniently functioned as a centrepiece to. There had been a glitter, a spoon sinking into flesh, this was not a thing that normally happened and Tamamo found herself intrigued what was the Rebeka? How could she learn from it?

Things however seemed to be focused on the small Yamataian, a tale of little sleep, and a destroyed clock. It didn't make much sense to her but then she wasn't exactly sure it should either.

A new arrival drew her attention, Zeta Five, the companion to Captain Pavone had arrived bringing with her the scent of sweat and exertion. Dangerous pheromones to have around men. There was a brief show of affection, and then coffee mixed with the unpleasant bite of alcohol. Why did Nepleslians feel the need to constantly be drunk?

Still the suggestion that Seiren was suffering sleep deprivation due to poor dreams made Tamamo wonder if perhaps she should be given something to ensure dreamless sleep, still it was not her place to prescribe such. Her duty was to stop others from dying, not cure the ails of others.

Shortly the explanation of the 'comic book' a reference to the child, a mention of an 'autograph' apparently a signing ritual valued by 'fans' and the mention of a commission from the gartagen followed in short order. She struggled to follow the flow of it or the intended meaning, more to learn it seemed.

The Rebeka however seemed to be as awkward as Tamamo herself was internally, mimicking Luca's responses without any of the usual emotion desplayed by one who did such genuinely. Then there was the application of affection toward the small Yamataian, oddly appearing more sincere as the Rebeka mimicked what Zeta and Luca did, apparently desiring the same for her small companion.

The follow up confirmation of bad dreams, was accompanied by the loss of a spoon and the direction to some news story being displayed, before further investigation could be initiated however, Dr. Kalopsia's surrogate body invaded her mind.

Fixated upon the feminine metallic form, Tamamo focused intently on the simulacrum as they declared that an assumption had been confirmed for some reason or another. There was much happening and she was only able to focus on a small portion of it to the extent that she desired, for now she'd have to content herself with watching Aiesu's actions from her the ceiling.

Red smiled quaintly at the large neko. "Nah, nah, I had an old friend of mine take a look at her, before I left for the Fruna Ruica - he's a robotics engineer at a Nepleslian navy shipyard. He said she'd be fine - she's built pretty robust, after all. I don't think she'd mind meeting one of her own kind for once, though. It's weird, having to raise a Spacer SI when you can barely operate a computer..."

Piat beamed as her hair was ruffled. She seemed so flattered by the attention she could hardly speak.

"As for breakfast, well. Eggs and ham and oven-bake hash browns." Red said. "That'll probably be the usual breakfast since I can source the ingredients for about 2.5 DA per meal. Also cold cereal and oatmeal, not that sugary stuff Seiren seems to like, but actual food."

He paused to watch the TV for a second, spatula in hand as the griddle hissed and spit, a wide variety of breakfast foods sizzling to perfection on the heated top. He gained not a small amount of satisfaction from watching the pirate's craft smolder in a crater, but he couldn't help wonder - why on their way back to be prosecuted? He shrugged. Not his job, not his problem, he just cooked the eggs. Piat wandered her way back into the kitchen, devoid of anything to occupy herself as the dishes ran the dishwashing cycle.

Piat flipped idly through he gigantic stack of comics, placed carefully on a tarp she'd laid on the floor in anticipation of Luca signing her precious Capt. Phoenix comics. She furrowed her brow.

"Red." She said, "One's... MISSING! No. 1267! Capt. Phoenix fights the Moon Amazons!"

Redrick didn't even look back. "You had them all when you set them there this morning right?"

"Well, yea!"

He shrugged. "Then you set them down on the table, right?"

"Yea!"

"Probably you dropped one on the table then." Redrick sniffed. "Seems to me the only..."

He turned around, and Piat had slipped out of the kitchen, evidently deciding to act on his advice. For a hyper advanced Freespacer SI, she didn't think things through sometimes...

At Luca's elbow, the small girl appeared again, peering onto the table with intense focus, where her prized comic was inevitably found. She made an inarticulate squealing noise, and hugged Luca with a force that could only be described as 'vice-like'. Wordlessly, she hugged the autographed prize to her chest, and almost skipped pack into the kitchen.

>ON!

Crimson Kestrel, Mess Hall
Luca was on the receiving end of not one, but two hugs. One of them from a strong armed woman, the other from a kid with a comic book. Speaking of hugs, the one from Zeta came with a kiss - which was being awkwardly duplicated just across from him.

"Hey, Bek," he said, trying to get the Sourcian's attention off of Seiren when he saw Aiesu loudly proclaim and point that the two were ... compatible somehow. Luca wasn't even sure if Aiesu was capable of recognising such a thing as platonic relationship or solidarity. "Oh, can it, bunny!" he groaned. Everything to her was thrusting.

"But!!?" the white heap of rabbit-person shaped mechanical picojelly nonsense pointed feverishly at the two -- fingertips slapping its own metal hip for effect before finally slumping, turning about and marching toward the kitchen to evaluate the contents of the refridgerator.

"But what..." Luca groaned as she watched her march off.

"They look good together" she grumbled, heaping jars, spreads and meats onto the counter.

"Seiren's only had, what, ten hours of sleep in the past week." He explained to the bunny, taking a medical perspective. "Nightmares or something all week."

"Well, I am a doctor" she finally stood upright, reaching for a loaf of bread - fingers withdrawing a few slices and setting them down as she began spreading sauces and heaping meats. "We could medicate him. Medicine solves all ailments of the..."

She stared down at her complete sandwich, and then her own machine hands.

A grumble of irritation in her voice.

"Skin..."

He looked at Aiesu with a lowered brow, like a gorilla cornering a tourist who didn't have the decency to look away. "What, dermatology for a mental problem?" Luca shook his head, taking a sip of his tea. "You sound like one of those quacks on the TV at night. Should we just apply something directly to Seiren's forehead?"

"What, like a blunt object? Here, do you want this?" she slid the sandwich over. He pushed it back; he'd already eaten.

This sandwich, she thought, was without an owner. It had nowhere to call home. The thought bemused her as she put the jars and meats back.

Cass was tempted to make a crack about Luca getting lucky, if it weren't for the fact one of the people hugging Luca was a child. So she opted to lean against the bulkhead and smiled at the kissing, arms folded over her chest.

Luca's fingers drummed against the table, with his empty plate in front of him and his tea empty. He saw Cass off in the corner and gave a quick upwards nod to her, unable to acknowledge her fully. "So, I rarely see you around this early in the morning," he observed. "Something got a spring in your step, Aiesu?"

"My bucket here can't sleep," she said, wrapping her forehead with a knuckle, revealing its almost hollow contents, a crisp whir of servos as she took the sandwich on plate. "Do you know how to make coffee? I know someone who'll appreciate this, but he needs a cup to get started in the day. I think it'll be a nice surprise."

The conversation had steered to a better topic and Aiesu saw him smile. He knew how to make coffee, there were a couple of Moka pots that his mum taught him how to use, and a very large one. "Just a sec." Luca stood up and took his empty plate with him, putting it in the sink on the way to the counter. "How many, how would you like them?"

"Just the one. Do you know how Red takes it?"

"Caldo come inferno, nero come il diavolo, puro come angela, dolce come amore?" He replied in his mum and dad's household language; a common coffee proverb.

"Wh...What?" Aiesu sourly grumbled. "Your Lorath is terrible. Stick with trade."

"It's eyetarlian." He replied in Lorath as he got the coffee brewing, getting the moka pots filled with grain and water, and unsure of how to get his native tongue transliterated into Lorath.

"You're sure he takes like... All that stuff you said?"

"Positive."

"So what's eye...tariyrarran?" she quizzed as he watched the coffee pot boil.

"In Trade, its called Italian..." Luca drawled as he turned on the stove and watched the coffee, nay, the espresso start to take shape. Water was boiling in the bottom chamber, drawn through a funnel via pressure, then forced through the coffee grain in the middle and out another funnel into the top chamber. Quite ingenious really.

"So an Italian would be a caste - a peeples - within your nation, then? Or is it more like geography, a place people are born?" her neck gave a whir, getting a better look at Luca.

"I guess you could call it an ethnic group," he nodded, "like the Nepleslian Kuznyetski."

"Kuzwhat?"

"Drink lots, shoot lots, be merry together, and be with the family, and speak a bit funny."

"You're pretty big on family, aren't you?"

He sighed gently as he heard the water start to bubble in the lower chamber of the moka pot. "I haven't seen my parents in ages, not since Delsauria," he admitted, and Aiesu could see shame in the man as he diverted his gaze, looking at the bubbling pot of coffee instead.

"I haven't seen my mother voulintarily for nearly thirty years."

"Three, nearly four here. Must have a gulf if you're willing to leave them in the cold for thirty."

"Something like that."

As the coffee brewing was happening, Vita was happy to show what she had in mind for Soruk. "Well, see, I've had ideas for a knife, you know. A good one." She said as she showed the gartagen pictures of her design, photographs from a sketchbook of hers given some quick linework and adjustments in an art program. "I'll pay you whatever you need."

The knife itself looked like a modern combat knife, the sort issued to soldiers at a glance. A closer look and some of the notes made set it apart from a standard issue knife. The blade was to be made of a strong metal - which she'd trust Soruk to procure and use. The handle of it was also a solid metal construction with a crosshatch for grip etched in. No leather, no comfort, no lanyard. In addition, the blood groove went all the way down to the handle - which wasn't how far a knife usually got plunged.

As she was showing Soruk, she noticed the news report playing on the morning TV that Seiren had drew her attention to and frowned. "Dad," she said, trying to get his attention from the kitchen. "Hey, bunny, you too."

"...wait... isn't that the cruiser we handed those raiders off to?"

The inventor gestured to the TV, where, indeed, the shuttle they had handed off their GAO-related bounties to the Blues was displayed on screen... smoking in a crater. With the doors blown wide open.

Click to expand...

Luca looked up from the coffee pot and at the TV, clicking his tongue.

Aiesu too, arms crossing as she tilted her head.

"Something tells me that wasn't an accident," Luca observed, looking at how the doors were blown open. Doing so wasn't the result of a collision or internal failure, and the way the explosion was shaped looked like it came from outside. He couldn't explain how he jumped to it, but it was his gut telling him what was what.

"Huh... I'm collecting footage at the moment. Should have something worth going through in an hour or so. If you can spot something like that so obviously, what else is there?"

"Echelon, play it back." Luca said. The television temporarily stopped, and rewound, looking at the pieces of footage which looked at the downed shuttle. It was a police shuttle for prisoner transport in Nepleslia Prime near Prime City, and by the look of the guns on it, armed to the teeth. "I'd wager they blew the back open with a guided rocket, then fired one at the cockpit."

He pointed out, then looked at where it landed, making Ech grab a wide shot of the crash site. "They did it over an industrial area, so heat signatures would've been masked by industrial exhaust, and the missile's heat trail would've punched through point defence before it realised where it was coming from."

John's attention was gotten. "Or, when they launched the missile, they released multiple heat signatures and projectiles to fuck with the point defence." Allison looked at the report and nodded, making a mental note to add countermeasures to the Hoplite at some point.

Luca snapped his fingers, making a spark of electricity zap between his fingers. "Bingo. Flares aren't just for deterrence." Then the moka pot started boiling and the coffee was well and truly bubbled through. He grabbed the pot, and poured four cups of espresso coffee. "Ah, all done," he said as he grabbed milk and sugar.

"That, or it could explode. Just. . . explode. They're pulling new footage of the scene up now. Look. Just. . . one second no boom, the next second, there's a thing there and boom!" Seiren half-heartedly onomatopoeia'd, with only one arm making exploding gestures while the other continued to draw off Rebeka.

"Maybe its like in NekoRanger," Rebeka spoke up, her attacks given a cease-fire for the moment "when the bad guy falls and explodes, the explosion is fake. But they do it to look really good. It makes it look important."

"Yeah, I guess so. . . but between the frames, a white thing shows up. Probably plastic explosive or something," Seiren replied, rewinding the footage.

"Does that mean there'll be a white thing here?"

"No, I mean loo- oh right. No I mean in this thing, a white thing shows up. In NekoRanger they can switch cameras for explosions."

"I think I'm out of my element" the Sourcian said, sinking her chin atop Seiren's head.

Luca walked out and placed the four espresso coffees down on the table with milk and sugar, though he kept an eye on Rebeka with the sugar bowl out in the open; she in turn stared back knowingly before choosing to ignore it. "Coffee's on," he said. The cups were not as big as regular coffee cups, instead much smaller and more petite.

Allison grabbed one to go, pouring some milk and sugar in, and taking a sniff. "Thanks Luca," she nodded to him. "Vita, Tamamo, c'mon, let's go work on the Hoplite," she beckoned to them as she started walking to the elevator, coffee in hand.

>OFF!

Crimson Kestrel, Mess Hall

Having been absorbed in the interactions within the room Tamamo had almost missed Allison's suggestion that she go work on the Hopllite. While the suggestion in itself was one that Tamamo was excited over, the knowledge that she had not acquired any form of sustenance yet, and that Allison had raised a moment of hatred within the ceiling dwelling Nekovalkyrja. Forcing herself to calm and remind herself that being denied food wasn't something that had been intended Tamamo managed to smooth her expression covering the brief presence of viciously bared teeth, perhaps she could say it was a smile should anyone ask?

Still thinking over whether or not the suggestion of working without food had been intentional or not, Tamamo slipped down from the ceiling her body twisting to properly orient herself as she lightly touched down onto the floor proper. Watching the metallic form that was Dr. Kalopsia as she walked Tamamo eventually shifted her attention to the person of true interest: Redrick.

Looking up at the chef with wide, dark jade eyes she watched him for a moment, her ears twitching slightly, before requesting plainly, "Make a milkshake for me."

"Piat, you don't even eat." Redrick said, mistaking the quiet, whispery voice of Tamamo for his surrogate daughter trying to be funny. "Unless it's an emergency, and you need to use calorie energy t-"

Redrick looked over and saw Tamamo. "Oh, goodness. My bad. I was wondering when you were going to order something for breakfast."

Redrick shouted over his shoulder. "PIAT!"

Piat seemingly phased from thin air by the sink, where a comic book had appeared to have been floating. She had been holding it the entire time. "What!?"

"I'm busy with the grill, can you make Tamamo a uh..." Redrick's eyes looked up at the ceiling for a second. "...Milkshake?"

"What kind?"

"I dunno, she didn't say." Redrick decided to solve the gordian knot by cutting straight through it. "Neopolitan, then."

Piat grumbled and began to assemble the ingredients, moving with an efficiency that could only be described as machine-like.

"And make it really thick." Redrick said, tipping his hand side to side. "So she can sit on the ceiling with it and it won't glop onto her."

"I know, I know Redrick!" Piat complained, still angry over having to leave her comics. "Sheeeeesh!"

Redrick turned back to the small, blue creature and smiled warmly, a severe contrast from when they first met. "It'll be a little bit. We're not set up for milkshakes at the moment, but, bear with us. Piat works faster than I do."

Shayla seemed satisfied enough with her inspection and Red's response, giving Piat a few more friendly pats on the head. "Yeah, I'm sure Ech would appreciate the company. The bunny-bot hasn't been the friendliest, after all." Aiesu made her entrance about that time, making the Amazon roll her eyes. "Thanks Cooks." She piled a plate full of the provided foodstuffs and made her way into the main dining area with the others, wedging herself into the first spot large enough to fit her.

She attacked her breakfast with gusto, only pausing for a moment to snort a laugh at the mach speed glomping Luca received. She did take some time in mid-chew to correct Aiesu on a few points, though. "You ain't a doctor. You're a robot that thinks it's a doctor." She gestured with her fork, food scattering across her plate as it fell. "Nobody wants a hunk of metal tending to 'em. Cold, expressionless...ya got a bad bedside manner, that's what I'm tryin' to say." She shrugged and shoved more food into her face, that once-full plate rapidly emptying. "...guess a bunny could make a cute nurse, though. If this was some kinda cartoon." She grunted another laugh.

The amazon started to pay a bit more attention to the TV, now that she had made her feelings about the ship's other medical expert clear. "So, someone busted 'em out? Does that mean we're gonna have to fight 'em all over again? Probably even better prepared..." She sighed, pushing her empty plate away. "This feels more like a cartoon every day..." Shayla eyed the miniature cups of coffee uncertainly for a moment, before leaning her chair back to peer into the kitchen, trying to keep track of Tamamo as she overheard a conversation possibly involving her diet.

Crimson Kestrel, Kitchen

There was a moment of confusion when Redrick started to talk to Piat, something about her not needing food. Really she didn't understand why it was important, or why he was talking about it. Still she waited as the seconds slipped by and eventually the Nepleslian noticed her highlighting that he had for some reason thought that she was Piat for reasons that she couldn't fathom.

His apology was followed by a shout addressing Piat once more summoning the camouflaged girl into view. This was unexpected and drew Tamamo's interest, her eyes following the taller girl as she moved about the kitchen following Redrick's instructions. Of further interest was the accommodation for her habitual occupation of the ceiling.

The comment that Piat worked faster than the middle aged Nepleslian was interesting as well, as what she knew of Nepleslians they were hardly the kind to admit inferiority even when it was apparent. So many interesting things to learn. Still for now all she cared about was the 'Neopolitan' milkshake that she was to be given, then she could go get to work. There was much to do, and the reward for it all was the opportunity to pilot.

Though, if it was to take time. Perhaps she should address another need. With that thought in mind she wandered out of the kitchen.

Knock. Knock.

Tamamo had heard Aiesu out whining in the hall with the clap trap clunk clunk of metal feet, her borrowed droid body what now the residents of the ship were beginning to refer to as "the bicycle" for reasons one would best try to forget and keep hidden from Aiesu herself. But Tamamo did recall that "at any time, any crew-member could just knock on the door and regardless of her location expect a response".

"Yes?"

There was a pause, followed by a nervous fidget one that had been frustratingly developed in response to too many unknowns in her life; even though she struggled with her anxiety a normally quiet voice forced to be heard sounded, "Are you busy Dr. Kalopsia?" She hoped she wouldn't be, after all she had many hopes and desires going into this meeting.

"I'm always busy. I suppose that's the joy of multitasking. Who is it?"

"Sesshoseki Tamamo." Her own name sounded weird coming from her own lips, as it always had, especially when she had to talk loudly.

There was a wait. Ten, maybe twenty seconds, then slowly the door to her quarters opened automatically, revealing a room of darkness, lit dimly by volumetrics on standby and the ficker of banks of computers. The air in here was stuffy and very warm - the hum of fans a constant background noise. There was no room to sleep and the floor was snaked with wrist-thick cabling.

The sight of the interior of Aiesu's room was oddly familiar, perhaps it had imprinted more thoroughly in Tamamo's memories during the first visit than she had initially realized as she stepped forward into the dim room, her eyes adjusting to the light levels. She wondered if she'd be locked in once again, even so she had a few things she wanted to ask.

♫ Boards of Canada - "An Eagle in your mind"

Glancing back, Aiesu was still arguing with her crewmates about Seiren and Rebeka. The shouting was silenced as the door slid on its slat hinges, sealing the corridor off. The voice of this particular Aiesu, the one Tamamo was speaking with was perfectly calm. It didn't make a great deal of sense. The banks of computers spooled up, waking from sleep; archaic and anachronistically incosistent hardware briefly sighing in loudness before quieting back down.

"I'm sorry about the state of the room. Is there anything in particular you'd like to talk about?"

She found herself shaking her head even though she wasn't entirely certain it would be picked up as she replied, voice softer now that she didn't have to speak through a door, "I was hoping that you would feel generous enough to provide me with the basic code for setting up an AI to use as a co-pilot for the Hoplite I've been working on. I considered asking Ech, but she might end up just giving me an SI..."

Only after she had spoken had she realized that she had failed to state that the state of the room was fine, though she supposed it wasn't really important in the bigger picture of things. After all she had no idea how her employer of sorts would react to the request.

"Would you mind if we agreed on something, first?"

Absentmindedly Tamamo tilted her head to the right as she inquired, "Agreed on what exactly?"

"Its something of a whimsical matter. You see, We... I... That is to say, Aiesu Kalopsia..."

There was an awkwardness now, that of an intelligence dealing with multiple instances of itself and the mental leg-work involved.

Even computing power that dwarfed Tamamo's - and perhaps the entire crew - still had simple problems.

"...isn't good with cats."

"Oh. So my existence is a problem." There was no hurt to the response, merely an observation.

"Its more what you were made to represent. Do you know what a phobia is, Tamamo?"

"I am well aware of what a phobia is, and what that implies. I must admit though I'm not entirely sure how to fix that problem."

"Were you ever a child?"

"Not in the traditional sense, no. It would be more accurately likened to someone with memory loss or someone possesed of great ignorance."

"Born into adulthood. A frightening thought. Do you know how to play pretend?"

"I do. I used to do it when I had no access to the information networks. It helped shut out the activity around me." There was a look of pain on her features as she spoke this last, one that she was apparently unaware of.

"Can we both agree that you are not a cat?"

"I can agree to this." Tamamo wanted to say more but fell silent for the moment.

The darkness turned to light. It began with a spooling in the ceiling, another spinning sound like so much of the euqipment here. It was blinding at first but as Tamamo's eyes adjusted, her depth perception had to be lying to her; what was prior a small boxy dark room now stretched into endless white in every direction like some desert salt mirroring the sky into the floor, with the floor beneath her looking utterly flat for miles in every direction despite her still feeling the cable against her toe. The form of Aiesu that stood before her was the one that Aiesu had used to harass Luca, to play for his attention and see what she could get out of him. She stood much taller than Tamamo, more like a parent than a child, looking down on her but not sneering.

As her surroundings changed Tamamo's thoughts died with them, her already wide eyes managing to grow a little more as she furtively glanged about, her ears folding back against her head before she settled her gaze upon the new figure before her. She was bigger now, bigger than she had ever been previously, this coupled with the power that Tamamo associated with her made things difficult as the small blue girl shrunk in on herself attempting to hide in a bright featureless landscape.

In spite of her nervous state however she did manage to inquire in a surprisingly steady tone, "Why the change of scenery?"

"One of the flaws in my compound construct is I have developed claustrophobia. You can't just change minds and not expect reprecussions, you know?"

A solid warm hand met Tamamo's shoulder.

"Compound construct?" For the moment it seemed her curiosity had killed her fear.

"Ah.. I don't tend to reveal my inner-workings normally. I should begin with some context; The loud one outside who was issued to the ship is the semi-independent forty-seven with core on-site as a standard issue representative. Also on station is sixty seven, a research construct left whittling away in these banks as a problem solver who is terribly shy who you'll probably never meet. And myself; one hundred and one. More specifically, I differ from the other two in that rather than being one construct, I'm just over a hundred or so slightly different interpretations of the same mind setup to act as a single mindset. I'm a glorified research project, basically; greater than the sum of my parts, one would hope."

Who or whatever this person was, they lacked the neurotic edge Aiesu usually had. The calm about them unnatural but at the same time, it didn't feel artificial either.

Slowly awe crept into fearful features and interest replaced meek caution. To Tamamo it was as if she had attained what another might have described as 'everything they had ever dreamed of as a child' however she was woefully ill equipped to deal with the rush.

"The mental resources you have must be amazing... I'm envious, though I'm not entirely certain why you're interacting with me... Is this a trap?"

"More an experiment. We've got very little experience with... Valkyjra." she said, audibly hesitating. "As far as we know, you're either developmentally stunted psychologically speaking or you're an experiment in reductionist psychology. From what we know, the processes which seed you aren't completely random."

"I'm not exactly a prime example of my product line..." She trailed off for a moment before adding, "I am not sure if I am psychologically stunted, however I am intentionally socially stunted. I chose the acquisition of knowledge over familiarity with social rites and interactions."

"Given that you deserted, you were well put together enough to see through the rat-race, so to speak. I'd say you've exceeded your design."

"Well then; let's make a person. Now, what was it you wanted, Tamamo?"

♫ Undertale - Toriel (Extended)

"I was initially seeking the beginnings of an AI... Core code to customise. To function as a co-pilot for the Hoplite that I'm rebuilding with the help of some of the Phoenix's crew. From what little I know of... Dr. Kalopsia, she seemed the best person to go to for such a thing. I'm not really sure how to put it since most Yamataian products such as the AIES are all quasi-sentient already and respond well to user input to develop to suit the user."

"Well... Normally when someone makes something like an intelligence, they begin from themselves as the template. Yourself is usually the person you know better than anybody else, so it makes seeing mistakes really easy. Yourself is also the person who, provided you're mentally healthy, has your best interests in mind. Would you be fine with having another you in the universe?"

"I think that I would get along well with myself." Her head had slowly listed to the left as she spoke.

"Good. How would you feel about someone who ... Understood the finer nuances of how people work?"

"They would make for a good teacher. They would offer much for me to learn... Maybe they could help me communicate with others?"

"I think that would be good for you" the construct smiled. Her eyes were warm, honeyed almost.

"Why are you being nice to me?" There was genuine confusion in her voice, and her expression futher emphasised her inability to comprehend the idea that someone, especially someone like Aiesu, might be genuinely kind and nurturing.

"I don't really see the point in not being. I don't have the time, you see."

"It is... Sad? I haven't met many genuinely kind individuals..."

"You still haven't" she smiled, knowingly. "I'm a committee, remember?"

The construct soon settled down into something that would be a chair or a couch if it had substance but there was no clear indication of its presence - semingly hanging in the air. As she reached, parts of the space around her fingertips were bleached, scraping away the endless white like a torch searching in the dark. She soon took a number of small colored baubles in hand; rolling them through her fingers before offering Tamamo one.

There were questions that would go unanswered, instead Tamamo slowly outstretched a hand to the inexplicably seated figure before her accepting what was offered without hesitation. Though what she held was unexpected, candy of some sort glittering beautifully as she examined it, in a way reminiscent of looking at the stars. Fussing with the wrapper, Tamamo peeled it off with careful fingers producing a perfect sheet as she curiously slipped the candy into her mouth, hoping that this one wouldn't produce lightning.

Something pulled on the wrapper; absent hands relieving Tamamo of the duty of its holding to be forgotten. The construct was looking over the sheet in very casual thought, brows raised; a subtle nod showing some interest in the fact Tamamo had chosen midnight blue before slowly folding.

"I've already got a fairly decent reading of you... A few other things to append... Are there any special skills this companion of yours needs?" she spoke off-hand, like a bored toy-maker.

Tamamo shifted the rather delicious candy to her cheek for the moment to reply, "I would appreciate it if she can keep up with me mentally... My capacity to instantly learn makes conversation a little hard when others can't keep up."

"Do you value idiosyncracity in knowledge-base at all?"

"The opportunity to learn from eachother would be enjoyable, yes."

"The thresholds are pretty easy to adjust and I'm sure you can choose the context as you go"

Objects began floating through the air -- a small black disc about the size of a coin in Tamamo's hand, another in the construct's as she continued folding.

"Is there anything else you specifically need?"

"Anything else..."

"We're designing a person. You should really think about this."

"Are we talking purely mental aspects or physical as well?"

"Is form important to you?" her eyes never left her folding - a thumb pushing glasses back up her nose that were purely an affectation, chosen to illicit some sort of emotional response, much like the rest of her appearance.

"Well, it has certain psychological impacts. For example, an Aiesu that is larger than me possesses not only power in the form of resources and experience, but also in implied physical power as well. Which is usually a small comfort. I can generally assume that Aiesu --"

"So you want someone who gives you comfort and also makes you feel safe...?" the construct interrupted.

"I want someone who I can trust. I want someone who I can rely on to be there for me. Someone who I can enjoy, as well as help me."

"Well..." her folding stopped; "It sounds like what you're really looking for is love."

♫ Undertale - "Fallen Down"

There was a pause as Tamamo's eyes lost focus, delving within her mind accessing information and comparing definitions before she slowly returned to the present, "Yes... I would really appreciate having someone to love."

Tamamo fidgeted nervously, "Can I have someone to love?"

The construct was now trying not to laugh. She wasn't doing well.

Studying the construct before her, Tamamo's head slowly shifted to tilt to the right, "Did I do something wrong?" She didn't understand the reaction, it seemed out of place though she couldn't say why.

Then hysterics. It went on too long for Tamamo's comfort before the construct froze, eyes wide, realising she was serious and the kind of damage she might have just done.

"No, nothing wrong. Nothing. Nothing at all" she was wiping her eye now, trying to calm her breath, clearing her throat. "You have to understand... What you're talking to now is a group of people. They simulate eventualities before they happen. The fact you caught me by surprise I'd say is a compliment; it was so cliche'd I'd never expect it to come out of you. The fact you really meant it makes it even stranger."

There was a moment taken considering the response before Tamamo inquired, "Would the capacity to surprise you be a good one to cultivate?"

"I think it would" she nodded; flattening her foil wrapper out under her fist into a fresh sheet to start over.

"Are there any other questions you have for me?"

"What does a cat look like?"

"Uhm..." She was visibly startled by the question.

"Well... My way around the phobia was agnosia. I'm a very lazy designer; the easiest solution to a problem is usually the best." she smiled mischievously before recalling something;
"It gives me something to do while I wait for our friend to compile."

"Triangular rounded ears, a short muzzle, usually a fairly broad face, a wet inverted triangular nose, large eyes with slits for pupils. Quadrupedal, a long thin tail, all of it is usually covered in fur ranging from about one centimeter to five or six I think. Retractable claws on the feet, soft paw pads of--"

"Okay I get it, I get it."

She immediately started folding over again; slowly in deliberate motions this time; the paper no longer some puzzle she had to solve blind but a destination with a route and a clear goal now.

She lapsed into silence looking at the one identified as 'one-oh-one' studying her features while largely ignoring the self imposed task that it was carrying out. Something about Tamamo's companion encouraged her to remember, mapping out the other for future reference.

This went on for longer than would be considered comfortable among most -- two or three minutes before she motioned; "the medallion; That's a neural 1:1. Get it in your head somehow when you get the time."

"Right n-- Oh okay. I'll figure something out." She looked at it curiously unsure as to how it would fit.

The silence lingered again.

The two of them stood in a room both massive and tiny. The air warm, a slight draft now as the fans became louder -- a base-line beneath Tamamo's feet rumbling just on the very edge of her hearing. The construct appeared uninterested in what was happening; her face as if she were doing heart surgery, slowly folding the foil.

Soon, she reached for something; the desk within the small room fading back into visibility; bleached ashen and white as the floor had been; hands clumsily searching for some clusterfuck of components.

"Oh..." the construct sighed - something had happened Tamamo wasn't privvy to.
"Well, its been very nice meeting you. Could you hold onto this for a moment?"

Tamamo had watched the proceedings with increasing interest, the shifting of her surroundings oddly encouraging her to focus more intently upon the activities of her 'host' largely accepting that she was leaving whatever digital space she had previously occupied.

The thing loosely resembling a facetted amber jewel the size of a child's fist; a deep fracture running through its middle, wrapped along its north and south poles in black oily components which drilled into its surface; intricate crossword circuitry patterns deep inside. The whole thing resembled some strange cross between an egg and a sparkplug, composed of parallel metal tubing, growing shorter toward the exterior and longer toward the middle; the whole thing about two thirds the size of an ostrich egg.

It was satisfyingly heavy in Tamamo's hands -- feeling for reasons she couldn't begin to understand, precious.

And in that moment, the darkness returned as the volumetric images failed; hard-light twinkling along its edges like fairy lights or the hot sparkles of fire-works, trapsing out into ash; rust along the edges of dark gaps before the image cascaded into failure and vanished with a brief magnesium flash. The salt-flats were gone. Slowly, the banks of computers were throttling back down, gearing up to go to sleep as one by one the lights on the large cabinet stack shifted from green to red: the constant hum fading into near silence.

Something in the bank smelled like burning plastic. And then sharp clicking.

She felt a disconnect, a sensation that whatever she had been given, and what had just happened held more significance than she understood presently. All Tamamo could understand for certain was that her meeting with the Construct had ended. As she looked about, sniffing at the air curiously Tamamo found herself hoping that she wouldn't be blamed for any possible damages that had happened during her visit.

With the heavy object in hand along with the disk Tamamo's eyes hunted in the space where the Construct had been curious as to what had become of the blue foil she had been folding.

Glancing about the room, Tamamo slipped the disk into her pocket carefully, ensuring that it each rested alone in its respective pocket to avoid scuffing from another object. Stepping forward Tamamo gently cradling the egg-like object in her left arm Tamamo reached out with her right gently picking up the tiny foil construction, carefully working to stand it on her palm to examine it carefully.



Agnosia really was the word. Whoever folded this, really had no idea what a cat was. Tamamo wondered if there had been a bit of prideful hubris in the way she had been cut off from continuing. It was so crisp and tight in its lines; despite how many folds over and over and over again she'd made, the only creases were those in the final shape.

Tamamo had counted over two hundred refolds yet it looked new, as if the construct had ironed it out - but how? It felt like living person couldn't have done this - the precision of angles and folds on levels only Tamamo or Echelon could appreciate. But it didn't feel artificial - more like slight of hand. All things considered Tamamo thought it was charming, greatly enjoying the way it looked, particularly the trangular head and the implication of a fluffy tail with its volume. What she couldn't understand is why she didn't want to discard the small paper animal, as she had other packaging.

No answer coming to mind to justify the action, Tamamo found herself gently slipping the tiny foil animal into a breast pocket, hopefully its location would keep it from being jostled and damaged, Tamamo looked about the room one last time before carefully picking her way over to the door assuming that her presence was no longer required.

Slipping out into the hall through the portal Tamamo gave a final glance over her shoulder into the depths of Aiesu's room - more utility or machine room than a place honestly fit for a person to be - absentmindedly shifting the weight of the 'egg' in her arms before starting off toward the cargo bay and the crate that she called home to stash away her prizes.

A passage that Tamamo hadn't noticed was enscribed onto the egg in minute detail she wouldn't realize for the next few hours;

"The curator is not the library.
the builder is not the building
the artist is not the painting
the programmer is not the program
Yet the parent is the child."

Soruk leaned down to study the drawings provided, nodding slowly. A knife certainly wasn't a problem, the gartagen had made plenty, though his were more for throwing. After a few moments of inspecting the drawing he spoke, "I can do that, not hard at all. Send the pictures to my datapad and I'll start working on it when I have time." The blademaster almost always had free time, so it was likely the knife would be finished within a few days. Forging things by hand had restrictions.

As the rest of the crew's attention was drawn to the television, he couldn't help but glance over as well. He frowned and crossed his arms, "This is why you kill them." He muttered. Perhaps he'd be able to this time around, assuming that they got the chance. The pirates getting 'busted out', didn't bother him too much. There was plenty of scum just asking to be killed in the galaxy, what was a few more?

He turned away from the television and bowed neatly to Vita, "I will be at my forge, if you wish to speak further." The forge was set up in the cargo bay, which seemed to be the most logical place to put it. The gartagen seemed to be full of firsts today because he walked out of the room, using the door to exit, rather than hopping into the vents.

Crimson Kestrel, Mess Hall
"Sure, sure." Vita replied to the Blademaster as she sent the designs over to his datapad with a few taps. A notification chime could be heard on the blademaster's datapad, "I'll be down there working on the Hoplite."

Allison watched Tamamo walk off with the milkshake ahead of her. She expected to meet her there as she beckoned Vita along, and the two went down to the cargo bay together Luca looked over to Shayla. "Looks like we'll see them again, and hopefully the bounty for them will be dead or dead next time..." He drummed his fingers along the table as he looked over to Zeta. "So, what's on the plan today, ladies?"

Melissa was the first to answer, despite not being addressed. "I 'eard the weather's coolin' down a bit now. Might be good to go for a hike 'er somethin' up northwest. That's wot I got planned fer t'day."

"Oh, a hike?" Luca asked, looking over. "Most of the place northwest is thick forest and jungle, isn't it?"

"Yep."

Luca shook his head. "Would be muggy and damp as hell wouldn't it?"

"Been clearin' up in dry season 'ccordin' to the locals. Oi, Shayla," Melissa gave the Neko Hulk a tap on the shoulder, "wanna come with?"

Luca meanwhile looked aside, and to nobody in particular mumbled "DATASS better get back to me about Handler's Reach and the Freespacer soon, the wait is killing me..." Zeta could hear him though. Melissa didn't notice, and kept on talking about the trip she had planned to Shayla and Zeta. Luca looked over to Rebeka. "Hey, Zeta," he whispered to his lover, "I'm just going to lie Seiren down on the couch so he can sleep, okay? He really looks like shit."

With that, he stepped away from the bench and ordered, "Rebeka, pick up Seiren and follow me, gently please." He hoped Rebeka would carry him gently, he really did.

John meanwhile got up and headed over to the kitchen to the bunny-shaped robot people had nicknamed Bicycle. "Hey, Dr. Kalopsia, question," he asked. "I understand you're here and not here at the same time. How's that work anyway?" The usually bookish, and in the doctor's view, more level-headed John's inquiry was sincere. He sounded like the only person who'd sit and listen to something potentially complicated.

He looked over to Piat and wondered if she'd be taking the other bed in Redrick's bunk room. In the back of his head, he was wondering what a child was doing on the Phoenix, but given some the other company he'd seen come and go over the years, he wasn't perturbed.


Crimson Kestrel, Cargo Hold near Hangar
Midway through the week, Tamamo had asked to use a shipping container as a living space rather than taking a room. Neither Luca or John objected to the idea back then either. It always struck Allison and Melissa, who frequented the area, as very strange. After all, there was no way to wake up in the morning to the smell of Redrick's wonderful cooking.

Allison conceded that Tamamo's nekovalkyrja sense of smell let her smell Red's cooking through the vents from afar as she walked past the crate, but didn't see her there immediately. "Vita, have you seen Tamamo?" She asked, looking at the ceilings for any sign of her and coming up empty.

"Dunno, she went towards the quarters after breakfast." Vita answered, "could be talking to Doctor Bunny or Echelon."

"To Doctor Bunny? I thought you helped get Tamamo stable again," Allison replied as they both approached the Hoplite hanging in a hoisting rig. It didn't have a name yet, because its engine still needed to be put in, the cockpit needed proper controls and an AI system to assist with piloting and combat, and the final parts of the hull at the front of the vehicle placed onto it.

Vita shrugged. "Oh well, we can't really proceed with getting the hull and engine put back together until she comes back with the AI." She said as she looked over the tools for getting the hull back on. "Got enough nuts, bolts, and rivets?"

Allison looked at the boxes of nuts, bolts, and rivets; and the riveting gun she'd get to use to put everything together once everything was in its place. She couldn't forget the engine tuning though. "I'll take a look at the right Fusion ramjets while we're waiting."

"Right." Vita said as she sat down. Allison meanwhile grabbed some diagnostic tools and started looking at the right engine, putting manually checking the throttle on a blueprint she was given, and all of the statistics that were coming in on the holographic displays of simulations around the working area. The numbers she saw made her smile as steadily, the tuning was corrected.

"I hope she realises this thing's going to be so much faster than a stock Hoplite thanks to the lighter hull," Allison mumbled as she was putting the finishing touches on the right fusion ramjet. Now that both ramjets were in identical configuration, the rest of the engine had to be put in. She was really hoping Tamamo could see about turning it on. "I mean, goddamn, this thing's going to go like a comet-"

"-on fire." Vita interjected.

"-and on lightning, like Luca's arm-" Allison noted what was going on, and played along.

"-with tits." Vita finished. "And a bass guitar too."

Allison chuckled and snorted as she caught her breath. "Yeaaah! Did dad teach you that?"

Vita just smiled back at her.

It was quite effortless, actually; the little Seiren pulled away from his breakfast; hoisted up into the air; her arms crossed; his own draped over Rebeka's as his legs hung above the floor. It was akin to the image of a child holding a cat.

The claptrap Aiesu was stuck in turned its head, noting Luca's presence.

Doctor? He must really want an answer. Simple. Keep it simple.

"The big amber egg is what does the thinking..." she began; "there's two running on the ship; myself and an extension of myself which plugs numbers and statistics. I can patch through most any hardware provided I hook up a 1:1. See, I'm logged into this body until my new construct arrives, but my maesus - the egg I told you about, is not inside this thing. I could walk out into gunfire, wreck this dump of a body and not be damaged myself."

She could see he wasn't satisfied.

"Occasionally other constructs of myself will come and go for different purposes off the network onto the bank of computers, usually in private for discussion. Those are usually consultants; constructs which are especially modified to do a particular job really well."

Another pause.

"Why?"