RP: YSS Miharu Mission 5, Aftermath (4th day)

[Fred]

GSS Mokuren, Yuumi-class Battleship
Four days after the "Battle of the Blue Rift"

Nyton roused himself. Groggily, still not quite at the top of his form, he went about his morning ablutions. Once showered and feeling a little fresher, the kimono-garbed man helped himself to the breakfast left for him: a surprisingly delicious granola crumbcake with an helping of sliced fruits and a serving of juice.

Then he checked up on Melisson, and Mokuren's KAMI supplied him a view of Hoshi's medlab, in which Melisson was shown still imprisoned in the HS Tank. The Interpreter was busying herself with a bit of white twine playing cat's cradle.

Aside from adversarial quips between Melisson and Hoshi's AI, Melisson sitting and patiently remaining idle, or Melisson's conversations with Yukari or Tom... the captive alien did not seem to be up to anykind of foul play - though there was something suspicious about her taking her imprisonment in stride.

Somehow, Nyton couldn't shake off the feeling that things were going exactly as planned from where she was concerned. It probably had to do with what she had hinted to Tom: that in letting them get in striking range of her, she had planned for avenues in which she would be victorious and avenues where she would be defeated. That kind of acceptance of things turning south was not a common behavioral trait for most Nepleslians.

Another bit of oddness was Melisson's sincere-looking helpfulness. Tom had gone to see her, to speak to her, and she had returned possibly valuable insights to the Raltean. The other bit was her willingnss to serve as Yukari's trophy even though she likely had very little to perosnally gain from it. It was disconcertingly 'friendly' of her.

 

[Nyton]

Nyton watched, studied and prepared. There were things he wanted to ask the Interpreter and he wanted to be ready to confront her. Her conversations with Yukari and Tom gave him insight on how he wanted to approach her. The knowledge that Melisson could pick up the surface thoughts of Yukari was invaluable.

The traumas of a few days ago were able to be regulated off site in his mind after a deep internal review of all that had transpired via the memory recorder. With things put aside he could now focus on the task at hand.

"KAMI, I require a fresh Star Army uniform, a folding chair, a notebook, a pen and a camera." Nyton then asked while he finished his breakfast.

After several moments a soldier arrived to deliver the simple articles. With a quick nod of thanks the former Nepleslian began to dress in the older male uniform. It felt odd to wear something akin to a relic but he carefully donned it. A quick check of the camera ensured that it took pictures and recorded properly.

Nyton picked up the objects and carried them in his hands with him towards the Hoshi. He was unarmed and in no means capable of being any danger to their prisoner. He did not expect any interference or challenge of his advance towards the center where Melisson was being held. When he finally arrived there he looked upon her casually as though addressing an acquaintance rather than a prisoner.

"Good morning, Mel."

 

[Fred]

Melisson looked up from the growing pattern of string arrayed between her fingers at give Nyton a queer look.

"Actually, my name has three syllables in Nepleslian. Me-lis-son," she informed him, her voice sounding out with an hollow echo from the hemosynth tank confining her.

 

[Nyton]

Nyton absently set the folding chair while Melisson explained the proper pronunciation of her name. "Is that so? While you are on that subject could you perhaps tell me the proper spelling of your name as well? Are there two L's or just one?" he then asked before he sat down and set the notebook and camera on his lap. Nyton flipped open the notebook and appeared as though he were about to take notes.

 

[Fred]

"Melisson is spelled M-E-L-I-S-S-O-N using the Nepleslian alphabet," Melisson gamely answered. "Only one L; I wanted it to sound like 'Meli' not 'Melli'. Two Ss so that after the L is sounds a little bit like an hiss, without the 'zon' effect it would have with a single S."

"Putting 'on' at the end prevents Yamataians from pronouncing the name and putting an U sound when they pronounce it. They seem to tacks Us at the end of things named using the Nepleslian language."

 

[Nyton]

Nyton nodded as he wrote down the spelling and noted reasons why Melisson chose her name's structure. "I see. You wished to keep the name free of both the Nepleslian and Yamataian language nuances. Very well thought out." he replied as he wrote without looking down.

As Nyton finished writing he then asked Melisson another question. "How were you named? Was this name given to you by Mefpralphra or did you choose it yourself?"

 

[Fred]

"I did. Well, if you qualify my existence as the assumed identity of Mefpralphra's interpreter spawn hive-minds, I named myself," Melisson replied offhand.

"I researched, asked slaves and experimented. It's amazing how many of you actually have the same names despite the combination of syllables and the varying language roots you had. I went for a name that would be rare to your culture, distinctive, and pleasing to the ear."

 

[Nyton]

While Melisson spoke Nyton continued to record points of interest. He made marks next to items he wanted to inquire further into. "Imagine that, a hive mind conducting market research and focus groups." he said aloud, allowing the absurd image of a suit wearing Melisson holding such meetings to surface.

"Could you clarify what you just mentioned? The piece about Mefpralphra's interpreter spawn hive minds. I understand the hive mind notion but you classified yourself as part of the interpreter spawn. Is this a sub-division of the hive minds? Like different hive minds have different areas of responsibility or duties?" Nyton asked.

 

[Fred]

"Mm," the alien interpreter pursed her lips in thought and then tried to explain: "Compare Mefpralphra to the single will of a larger entity such as the Star Army of Yamatai. Then take a part of the Star Army which is subordinate to that will: the Miharu's crew."

"The ship existed, and was then destroyed, but its identity presently subsists in the form of the survivors. Even on the Mokuren, you do not actually consider yourselves part of their social grouping even though you are all encompassed in a larger entity. If the same crew leaves the Mokuren and acquires another vessel, their identity as a group will still remain."

"It works much like that with our hive-minds too," Melisson smiled in good humor. "I'm not the first interpreter spawn Mefpralphra created, but I still retain the identity of being Mefpralphra's interpreter spawn. Not exactly the exact same grouping of creatures within the hive-colony that makes up my body... but the identity, the formed persona and the memories shared through all our collective conscious makes me equivalent to that."

"Humans, like you, seem to draw a line between identity and individuality," she amended. "This may be why the concept is harder to grasp."

 

[Nyton]

Nyton nodded as he took in Melisson's explanation. "I think I can grasp this. I had suspected you not to be the first Melisson body. Since your identity was shared among the hive mind it would not be lost if your body was destroyed and you could then reform into a new body. To take an example from history then such as that time during the peace negotiations when your body ceased to exist aboard the Star Fortress you reformed elsewhere. The body 'died' but the identity of Melisson continued to exist. I imagine it was as if one would close their eyes and then open them to find they are in another location as though one had teleported instantly."

Nyton's free hand then went over to the camera as he spoke and primed it for operation. "Now this form you take, your Interpreter body here. How did you determine to assume this appearance? I can understand the need to create a form that would not be so alien that we may be better able to relate. I am curious more about why you took the form of a female; the red hair, the sharp teeth, the dress, all of it. Another result from your research?"

 

[Fred]

"The female shape is valued in Nepleslia and dominant in Yamatai," Melisson told Nyton, while her eyes went to his tinkering on the camera. "The teeth are because I am a carnivore whom may be faced with prey or competitor whom boast up to chitinous hides as protection. The overall red pigmentation is generally for convenience' sake in regard to what you call hemosynthetic processes... though the 'synthetic' part does not really apply to me."

 

[Nyton]

Nyton caught Melisson eying the camera and set it to take single snapshots. "I see. That explains the physical parameters but what about the dress? Why do you wear such and nothing else? Not even a pair of matching shoes?"

 

[Fred]

"In my interpreter beginnings, not all clothes settled well on my flesh," Melisson drolly explained, still paying close scrutiny to the camera. If Nyton took a shot, she wanted to flash a toothy grin in time. "I was more used to an integrated exoskeleton, then an endoskeleton and all its implied complications."

"My followers supplied me with samples to aid in my quest to adopt a yamataian guise. One of their offerings was a captured freighter with lingerie for cargo, amongst other things. There was a set of dresses that settled more comfortably over my dermal layer, and since there was a full rack of them I chose them. After awhile, it became an habit and part of my recognizable identity."

"Shoes, by contrast, never seemed useful in the environments I dwelled in. They were kind of clunky to move around in the first place - especially the high heels - and the slime and moisture made my footing more slippery. With barefeet, I've a better sense of my own balance and a more familiar sense of traction."

"You did see me wear something different that time at Pisces - elven clothing. Ample mantle, with a hood, and these soft shoes you call 'moccasins'. Heavier and stiffling, but they're more useful to avoid sunburn, and move about more discreetly."

 

[Nyton]

It was apparent to Nyton that Melisson was interested in the camera. "Hm, I see." he replied simply as he continued jotting down notes. When he finished writing he then held up the camera. He decided to cease keeping her in suspense. "I would like to take a few pictures of you as a matter of record. This is simply to go along with the notes I am taking."

Nyton then held up the camera at an angle to capture Melisson in her entirety.

 

[Fred]

Melisson perked up. "Do I pose? Grin? Run my hands in my hair like in those shampoo commercials?"

After a pause, she then asked: "Why take pictures with a camera, when your digital mind can just get snapshots of its own? The ship's surveillance system could also produce visual footage as well."

 

[Nyton]

Nyton expected such reasoning. "I want pictures aside from security footage or mental imprints. Feel free to pose if you want." he replied before he took a successive round of five snapshots.

 

[Fred]

Melisson's enthusiasm for picture-posing seemed to have abated. While he took his pictures, she talked: "With your memory chip, digital brain and ship monitoring... you want another media on top of that?"

She seemed like she wasn't understanding him for a moment, and finally just uttered a "Hmm" and gathered her knees up to her, waiting.

 

[Nyton]

Nyton noted the sudden shift in Melisson's demeanor and finished taking the pictures. He then shut off the camera and set it back down on his lap before picking up the pen and writing a few notes. After a brief moment of silence he looked up from his notebook andstarted his questioning again.

"Back on your ship we had discussed your kind the Umbral. What sort of planet type is your homeworld, where is it located and has your kind migrated or expanded to other worlds?" Nyton asked.

 

[Fred]

"A marshy greenhouse world. It is not located in your region of space. Yes, we've expanded," Melisson answered him. Her demeanor no longer felt very cooperative.

 

[Nyton]

"Marshy greenhouse? Sounds like my kind of place temperature wise." Nyton remarked. He noted that Melisson had been more vague about these answers and grown uncomfortable around him.

"How diverse are your kind? Is there a standard 'type' like Mefpralphra's form? Do you have a general shape with slight variations like humans? Are there certain factors that influence this?" Nyton then continued asking. With subtle curiosity he wondered how much further Melisson would humor him.