Burgmond45
Inactive Member
YSS Kaiyo II
Fabrication Bay
The door to the bay opened up, with Walter Hyde coming to view as the door receded. With Chlorate by his side, he briskly walked inside, back straight, shoulders firm, orange eyes hot and cold simeutaneously. In short, it would be hard to tell how the young Hyde felt.
Around him were a variety of machines, resting dormant for the time being. Today, however, they will be put to good use in the creation of a new body for his robot companion, whom had been confined in a FARS drone for longer than either of them had intended to be. "Today is your day, Chlorate. Do you feel excited? Nervous?", Walter asked his companion, turning his head to the hologram by his side.
Chlorate turned to face Walter, tilting her head. "Excited? Nervous? I do not understand." She wasn't expressing very many emotions at the moment, if any at all, but nonetheless she entered the bay and looked at all the machines. As she entered the Fabrication bay she scanned around the area, checking to see if there was already an Emma there, or if the entire body would be fabricated.
"... I suppose that could be a topic for another day.", the techie sighed. The robot is definitely capable of some emotion, she just needs more time and heart put into her. After a couple of minutes, looking about, he thought aloud. "I am pretty sure there is someone here whom is an excellent fabricator... She should be around at these hours."
Sure enough the two of them noticed an orange-paneled Minkan with elven-styled ears standing near the enclosed fabrication unit, her small and thin frame bowing politely. "Oh.. Irasshaimase. I'm Joto Hei Azai Kaede, fabrication team lead. Can I help you?" She took a moment to straighten a pair of half-rim glasses as the kind brown eyes behind them studied the pair a minute, trying to place them amidst all the crew she had struggled to hastily memorize upon arriving recently.
It was worth noting that on some recieving anti-grav skids behind the soldier was indeed what appeared to be parts of Emma and Shujuu android units waiting there, with Emrys logos on the packaging along with a volumetric tag on them that displayed "UPGRADE -- CHLORATE" in block caps.
Chlorate stopped when she saw the android parts, reading the tag. When she saw it said "UPGRADE -- CHLORATE", her hair turned green for just a moment and she seemed... excited, for once. As her hair turned back to white, she collected her thoughts and beeped, then robotically said "Yes, I am Chlorate. I am here for the upgraded Emma body."
The young Hyde nodded. "I am Walter Hyde, Chlorate's ... You can say I'm her guardian for the time being.", he casually introduced himself. "Judging from the load you have behind you, I believe those are the parts we need for her."
"Ah yes, I was indeed expecting you, Hyde-hei, and companion Chlorate," apologized Kaede in her calm tone for not noticing sooner, "I just finished collating the order Taiyou-chusa requested from the parts we had on hand to service our own. It won't take more than a few moments to assemble the android body, though as I understand it you wished to have some customizations done in addition to the standard upgrade modules listed?"
As she awaited a response, the Logistics worker started methodically unpacking the pieces and laying them out one by one on a nearby sturdy pull-out table with some safety straps installed. It was usually reserved for ammunition manufacture temporary holding, but with the battle being far behind them now it was empty and the perfect size to accomodate the five and half foot tall Emma's components.
Chlorate stared at the components, almost in awe. "Yes, that is correct," the robot confirmed. She scanned over the components, searching for the upgrade modules.
Walter glanced at the components, which seem to be right by all accounts. "It is within Chlorate's endowed privaledges that she will explain the details of the customizations in full, Ms. Kaede.", the technician curtly said. "I trust in my robot companion that she knows what she wants to look like from now on, more than I."
Kaede hmm'd softly as Walter explained, pulling out a multi-tool and blue-laser welder from a Star Army Tool Locker nearby before returning to the table. She spared a glance and a smile at the hovering FARS. "Mmm, I bet you are very excited, Chlorate. This will be a very different experience."
The specialist put on a set of protective gloves and goggles over her glasses and started to attach and weld the joints of the basic skeletal structure together, starting at the legs and working her way up into the torso and arms. In the empty nooks and crannies of the metallic bones not taken up by the control system and induction generator, one by one the Internal Organs were placed and wired together, intended to similate life with an osmotic pumping heart, respiring lungs, and a digestive system that could handle and generate energy from food.
Walter and Chlorate could definitely tell that Kaede enjoyed her craft, as she hummed to herself quietly in time to the pulses of light as the basic humanoid qualities of the robot were becoming clearer.
Chlorate curiously hovered nearby, staring at the robotic skeleton. She glanced at the feet, saying "I do not think it will be necessary to use the Emma's version of feet... I would prefer a more basic metal soled shoe...
Walter winced a little at that request; it's innocent, but he couldn't help but feel like it would come off as jarring, the way that skin just ends off in a weird shoe thing. Though he kept his mouth shut, remembering pretty clearly that Chlorate has the expressed privaledge of doing whatever she likes with her design. Her body, her rules...
... But by the stars above, he just can't help but look at Kaede with a worried look- Wait. Did we... We didn't talk about this., Walter thought to himself. He completely forgot to talk to Chlorate about this... And is immediately regretting giving Chlorate full control over the whole process, from ordering the parts in advanced to requesting specifications on the spot.
Kaede paused when she heard Chlorate speak up with concerns about the feet, at that point holding a portion of the Gravity Control System upgrade that would go into the Emma's limbs in a gloved hand. "Hmm... its not the most aesthetically pleasing choice... but with these components here you could easily float like a Minkan would if the, er, noises were a problem?"
The elven-eared technician shot a glance at Walter for a moment longer before proceeding, curious if this would serve to assauge his apparent worries.
Chlorate looked at the Gravity Control System, then at the feet. "My apologies... I believe I was not clear about something..." she spoke up, beeping. "I do not intend for the rest of the body to have a skin overlay either except for the head and neck- I would prefer if it looked like the holographic form I am currently in."
The worried look on Walter's face didn't subside when Kaede looked at him, only a few moments later as he swallowed his own suffering. "I'm.. I'm sorry, but Chlorate would have the final say in this. If she wants a plastic overlay from the next down, so be it. Chlorate, would you also take the gravity components, or not?" The Minkan can't help but feel his heart twist a bit... He can only hope it wouldn't make establishing relationships harder.
"Yes, I would... like... to take the gravity components," she said, turning to face Walter. "However, technically speaking, it isn't entirely a plastic overlay as there are metal parts underneath."
Walter's face was expressionless. "Close enough."
Azai-hei listened to the exchange between them, assured of the go ahead to continue assembling the critical systems at least. "Very well, just let me get the Advanced Muscle Structure in place first, then we can proceed to the more cosmetic requests, mmm?"
This time she didn't wait for a response from the pair, and started weaving the double-density synthetic tendons and the control system's neural networks together slowly but surely before them not unlike how a mother would knit a sweater for her child.
Kaede is very good at what she does; Walter would even go as far to say as she is a much better pick than Mochi. While the Elysian has plenty of credentials, Walter could just tell this woman cared for her work. Like an poet, a inventor, or a animal caretaker. He couldn't help but admire that Minkan. Growing curious, he asked, "What makes you enjoy doing this? I could spy a smile on your face, unless my eyes dare decieve me."
"Enjoy doing this? What do you mean?" Chlorate asked. The concept of joy was still new to her.
"Enjoying implies that you gain joy." Walter elaborated. "Joy is... I suppose you'd call it a state of euphoria. Pure positive emotions and nothing else."
"Oh... I... see... I suppose... that makes sense..." the little drone replied.
The honey haired logistics worker lifted up the protective goggles she was wearing for a moment and took a breath, turning off the blue-laser welder with a fizzle. She indeed seemed cheerful, and centered. "I couldn't imagine doing anything else. It's what I was created for, nearly a decade ago, to operate fabrication facilities for the Fifth Expeditionary in Yugumo Cluster."
At this point, Kaede grabbed the standard feet and the skin overlay that were to be attached to the Emma, and walked back over to the aforementioned fabrication module, which she opened up and placed them inside of. With a 'fwoosh', the room-sized device sealed up and soon released scores of nanomachines into the controlled environment, while she interfaced with the control panel in front of it. The woman sighed once a bit wistfully as she keyed in Chlorate's requests, "I've manufactured countless things, but I still smile everytime I make something new. A sense of purpose can be one way to find joy, ne?"
The technician, with his eyes on her, mulled over the idea with a thoughtful expression. "Purpose... Yeah. It's most definitely satisfying." he spoke in agreement. Of course, the logistics woman was different in her case; she was created for this, her destiny was more or less already in line. Even though he did pride himself in fixing for fun and writing for pleasure, Walter felt that was... Different. It was like those passions merely complimented his unknown destiny like a side of fries complimented a hamburger.
"Personally, I've taken to a hobby as a side to my profession. Fixing machines brings me some peace of mind, and writing helps me keep some ideas I have in my head. I might make a book out of those ideas one day..." Walter said. He put his hands in his pockets, feeling comftorable enough to be casual around Azai-hei.
Chlorate's hologram looked around and she lightly blushed, feeling like she was the topic of the conversation. After all, considering machines, she was the only one here that was... actually part of the discussion. "Odd..." she thought, this seemed like an anomaly to her. Why was she suddenly feeling the need to blush?
Kaede's countenance softened with a warm smile towards Walter, as the machine gently hummed in the background. "There are many types of art, and artists, its all about the tools you use to create. Be it a pen... or a femtomachine colony." Inside the chamber, the feet and skin were literally being broken down and reconstructed at the molecular level into the desired metal and plasticized forms that Chlorate wished to see instead, while the maestro Azai-hei directed them effeciently through her wireless connection from the outside.
When she spied the blush upon the hologram, the smile turned into a single, restrained giggle. "Your red cheeks are pleasing to the eye, Chlorate. Did you want a face similar to the one you are displaying now, or something... else?" The question was phrased almost like one would ask a patron at a beauty salon. "The head is so much more than just an AI containment unit and sensors, after all."
The little hologram caught on and realized her blushing did not go unnoticed, and she shook her head, clearing that nonsensical reddened shade that appeared away. "Yes... I would like a face similar to the one my hologram has," she responded, now wondering why her cheeks went red in the first place. "The yellow irises are supposed to light up," she said, pointing to her eye with her virtual metal hand.
"I see... bright eyes it is then. Reminds me of a Freespacer I met once on Leo Star Fortress," lightly gossiped the Minkan to her 'customer' as the brown almond eyes behind the glasses studied the AI countenance before her. Some of the runoff artifical skin from the previous polymerization inside the fabrication machine was soon reformed into a suitable sheath for the Emma's head that mimiced the appearance of the FARS volumetric projection to the finest detail.
With an audible chime to let her know the nanomachines were safely withdrawn into containment, Kaede slid open the door to the chamber like an oven and pulled out a pair of metal-shod feet, a plastic covering for the android body, and what almost looked like a flimsy, rubbery mask with Chlorate's face on it.
Walter watched Kaede work on the body, formulating ideas in his mind. He couldn't help but watch her fine hands tap buttons, weave skin, and articulate every groove to perfection. Would he ask Kaede out on a date? Probably, but she seemed too... Too motherly for him. It's an ideal characteristic of a mate, but all the same, it reminded him too much of home.
"I hate to be rude, but how far are you into the body development stage?", Walter asked kindly.
"Just about ready," reponded Azai-hei calmly, as she took the items back over to the table with and once more set about her task of installing the remaining parts. The plastic covering and metal feet were a bit too basic compared to the rest of the Emrys manufactured advanced body, but the visage slipped onto the android's head definitely made it soon seem like the hologram of Chlorate was resting on the table, now very real and palpable in front of Walter.
The small orange-paneled soldier hooked up a small cable or two to an access panel and started powering up the internal generator to do some diagnostic testing, making sure that everything before had been wired correctly. "The last thing to do is to transfer the new consciousness and codebase into the Emma unit from your current holographic storage... assuming you are satisfied with the results so far, Chlorate?"
The small floating drone looked at the new Emma body, pleased. "I am very satisfied with this body," she said. "This is exactly what I wanted." She floated close to the Emma, eager to be transferred into it. It looked like an excited little hologram was hovering around a larger, physical version of itself.
Walter nodded, with a neutral expression to boot. "Chlorate's decision is also my decision."
A small rap at the door to the fabrication bay came and the captain and XO entered the now crowded fabrication bay. The short Hoshi immediately floated so she could look over the Emma body while Eden looked at the FARS drone lovingly.
"Excited"?" Eden asked as she waited for the obvious salutes. They were well received by her as Kaede and Walter each did so and she returned the salutes before looking between the two of them. "How is it coming?"
"We were just about to insert Chlorate's conciousness into the body, Eden-shosa. Your timing has been impeccible as always." Walter nodded to his superior after he put his hand back in his other pocket.
"Hello," said Chlorate, attempting to replicate Walter and Kaede's salutes. "The process has gone optimally, the body is finished."
Kaede was a bit surprised at the sudden appearance of the captain and her XO, not quite used to such a crowd paying her a visit in the cramped room in engineering all at once. "Taiyou-chusa.. Teien-shosa," she mumbled after her salute, taking a moment to adjust her glasses with a humbling blush.
"That's good to hear," Eden said with a warm smile and looked over those there, "Would you like an extra hand?"
"Better to not get in the way," Hoshi said to Eden.
The black haired XO looked to Hoshi with slightly crinkled black eyebrows, "Why would that be?"
Hoshi sighed out as she moved away from the Emma and patted the FARS drone for a second. "Do what you will, Teien-shosa."
She left the room and Eden gave everyone a smile, "Better go!" She followed Hoshi out of the room with a terse bow.
Azai-hei seemed a bit at a loss as the high-powered pair left as quickly as they had entered, like the tides of the ocean the Fuji-class gunship was named after. "Erm.. I suppose we shouldn't keep Hoshi-sama waiting, then?"
She still had the cable that was attached to the android in her thin fingers, fidgeting with it a moment as she glanced at Walter and the hologram with a final request. "Chlorate, please check to see if the Emma unit is on your FARS wireless sync list. Make a secure connection... and the rest is up to you."
"Understood." She checked her wireless sync list and saw the Emma unit listed. She slowly lowered the FARS drone to a landing on the floor. Her hologram turned off and the floating circle essentially went "limp" on the floor as she synced with the Emma.
The technician waited silently, not bothering to speak since there is hardly anything to add to this moment whatsoever.
Seeing the drone drop to the floor, Kaede made sure to undo the cargo straps securing the android body down to the table in order to allow Chlorate a full range of motion and to arise on her own, assuming the download was successful...
The android body lifelessly laid on the table for a brief moment. Then, suddenly, the yellow irises flickered on, flashing to life and lighting up. She quickly sat up and gasped for air, then looked around the room. "Where am I...? I can... breathe now... I can... feel now..." She looked at her robotic metal hands, then at Walter and Kaede.
"How does it feel?" Walter asked with a subtle smile on his face.
"I feel like I am real now... And I feel some kind of strange illogical feeling..." she said, opening and closing her hands and running them across her body.
The logistics Minkan had at this point picked up the idled FARS from the floor and was holding it gingerly in her arms, giving Chlorate a warm smile as the AI touched and felt its new form. "Mmm... You should have all the sensations of a real body, now. An experience somewhat similar in ability to that of a Nekovalkyrja crewmember. This does include more complex emotions than this little drone was capable of," Kaede added helpfully.
Chlorate attempted to get up, turning to get off the table. Her feet made a CLANKing noise as they came to the floor. She started to stand up, only for a unorganized series of clanks to follow as she stumbled around unstably and caught herself from falling by grabbing the the table. "It seems I have overlooked a minor detail," she said, clutching the table, "I am not yet used to a bipedal form."
Chlorate would find that a familiar hand grasped her arm; to be precise, Walter's hand. "Yes, you aren't. But that is going to change, no?" The technician couldn't help but chuckle. "We will take it... One step at a time, as usual," he added, unable to resist a subtle pun.
"Affirmative..." Chlorate said, looking at Walter. With his help, the robot slowly took a step forward, producing a single clank.
Kaede chuckled once at Walter's humor, though winced a bit as Chlorate noisily clanked to and fro experimentally. "They say... first you walk, then you run, and then... you fly. Make sure to take it in that order."
Walter nodded back to Kaede, his arm now around the Chlorate's. "You and I seem to be on a similar wavelength. I suppose I can say it had been my 'master plan' all the long; and it begins today. One step at a time." The technician bowed before Kaede, and said, "Thank you, Kaede, for your services."
He looked at Chlorate, and motioned her to mimic his gesture of thanks.
Chlorate looked at Walter, then beeped, realizing what he was signalling, and then looked at Kaede. "Thank you-" she began, bowing, only to start falling over, not being used to having working legs.
She was immediately pulled off the floor by the orange-eyed Minkan. "We'll work on balance at a later date," he muttered to Chlorate as he dusted her off.
Azai-hei returned the bow to Walter and Chlorate in turn, the earrings that she wore on her elven-style ears jingling softly. She looked relieved that the technician seemed like a perfect steward for the android as she found her legs and her confidence in due time.
"Douitashimashite... It was my pleasure. Remember I am always here if you have any troubles... but I think things are in quite capable hands," added Kaede, with a small smile to Walter.
"Indeed. Take care of yourself!" With those final words being spoken by the only male in the room, he guided the newly reborn robot out of the fabrication, one clank at a time.
Fabrication Bay
The door to the bay opened up, with Walter Hyde coming to view as the door receded. With Chlorate by his side, he briskly walked inside, back straight, shoulders firm, orange eyes hot and cold simeutaneously. In short, it would be hard to tell how the young Hyde felt.
Around him were a variety of machines, resting dormant for the time being. Today, however, they will be put to good use in the creation of a new body for his robot companion, whom had been confined in a FARS drone for longer than either of them had intended to be. "Today is your day, Chlorate. Do you feel excited? Nervous?", Walter asked his companion, turning his head to the hologram by his side.
Chlorate turned to face Walter, tilting her head. "Excited? Nervous? I do not understand." She wasn't expressing very many emotions at the moment, if any at all, but nonetheless she entered the bay and looked at all the machines. As she entered the Fabrication bay she scanned around the area, checking to see if there was already an Emma there, or if the entire body would be fabricated.
"... I suppose that could be a topic for another day.", the techie sighed. The robot is definitely capable of some emotion, she just needs more time and heart put into her. After a couple of minutes, looking about, he thought aloud. "I am pretty sure there is someone here whom is an excellent fabricator... She should be around at these hours."
Sure enough the two of them noticed an orange-paneled Minkan with elven-styled ears standing near the enclosed fabrication unit, her small and thin frame bowing politely. "Oh.. Irasshaimase. I'm Joto Hei Azai Kaede, fabrication team lead. Can I help you?" She took a moment to straighten a pair of half-rim glasses as the kind brown eyes behind them studied the pair a minute, trying to place them amidst all the crew she had struggled to hastily memorize upon arriving recently.
It was worth noting that on some recieving anti-grav skids behind the soldier was indeed what appeared to be parts of Emma and Shujuu android units waiting there, with Emrys logos on the packaging along with a volumetric tag on them that displayed "UPGRADE -- CHLORATE" in block caps.
Chlorate stopped when she saw the android parts, reading the tag. When she saw it said "UPGRADE -- CHLORATE", her hair turned green for just a moment and she seemed... excited, for once. As her hair turned back to white, she collected her thoughts and beeped, then robotically said "Yes, I am Chlorate. I am here for the upgraded Emma body."
The young Hyde nodded. "I am Walter Hyde, Chlorate's ... You can say I'm her guardian for the time being.", he casually introduced himself. "Judging from the load you have behind you, I believe those are the parts we need for her."
"Ah yes, I was indeed expecting you, Hyde-hei, and companion Chlorate," apologized Kaede in her calm tone for not noticing sooner, "I just finished collating the order Taiyou-chusa requested from the parts we had on hand to service our own. It won't take more than a few moments to assemble the android body, though as I understand it you wished to have some customizations done in addition to the standard upgrade modules listed?"
As she awaited a response, the Logistics worker started methodically unpacking the pieces and laying them out one by one on a nearby sturdy pull-out table with some safety straps installed. It was usually reserved for ammunition manufacture temporary holding, but with the battle being far behind them now it was empty and the perfect size to accomodate the five and half foot tall Emma's components.
Chlorate stared at the components, almost in awe. "Yes, that is correct," the robot confirmed. She scanned over the components, searching for the upgrade modules.
Walter glanced at the components, which seem to be right by all accounts. "It is within Chlorate's endowed privaledges that she will explain the details of the customizations in full, Ms. Kaede.", the technician curtly said. "I trust in my robot companion that she knows what she wants to look like from now on, more than I."
Kaede hmm'd softly as Walter explained, pulling out a multi-tool and blue-laser welder from a Star Army Tool Locker nearby before returning to the table. She spared a glance and a smile at the hovering FARS. "Mmm, I bet you are very excited, Chlorate. This will be a very different experience."
The specialist put on a set of protective gloves and goggles over her glasses and started to attach and weld the joints of the basic skeletal structure together, starting at the legs and working her way up into the torso and arms. In the empty nooks and crannies of the metallic bones not taken up by the control system and induction generator, one by one the Internal Organs were placed and wired together, intended to similate life with an osmotic pumping heart, respiring lungs, and a digestive system that could handle and generate energy from food.
Walter and Chlorate could definitely tell that Kaede enjoyed her craft, as she hummed to herself quietly in time to the pulses of light as the basic humanoid qualities of the robot were becoming clearer.
Chlorate curiously hovered nearby, staring at the robotic skeleton. She glanced at the feet, saying "I do not think it will be necessary to use the Emma's version of feet... I would prefer a more basic metal soled shoe...
Walter winced a little at that request; it's innocent, but he couldn't help but feel like it would come off as jarring, the way that skin just ends off in a weird shoe thing. Though he kept his mouth shut, remembering pretty clearly that Chlorate has the expressed privaledge of doing whatever she likes with her design. Her body, her rules...
... But by the stars above, he just can't help but look at Kaede with a worried look- Wait. Did we... We didn't talk about this., Walter thought to himself. He completely forgot to talk to Chlorate about this... And is immediately regretting giving Chlorate full control over the whole process, from ordering the parts in advanced to requesting specifications on the spot.
Kaede paused when she heard Chlorate speak up with concerns about the feet, at that point holding a portion of the Gravity Control System upgrade that would go into the Emma's limbs in a gloved hand. "Hmm... its not the most aesthetically pleasing choice... but with these components here you could easily float like a Minkan would if the, er, noises were a problem?"
The elven-eared technician shot a glance at Walter for a moment longer before proceeding, curious if this would serve to assauge his apparent worries.
Chlorate looked at the Gravity Control System, then at the feet. "My apologies... I believe I was not clear about something..." she spoke up, beeping. "I do not intend for the rest of the body to have a skin overlay either except for the head and neck- I would prefer if it looked like the holographic form I am currently in."
The worried look on Walter's face didn't subside when Kaede looked at him, only a few moments later as he swallowed his own suffering. "I'm.. I'm sorry, but Chlorate would have the final say in this. If she wants a plastic overlay from the next down, so be it. Chlorate, would you also take the gravity components, or not?" The Minkan can't help but feel his heart twist a bit... He can only hope it wouldn't make establishing relationships harder.
"Yes, I would... like... to take the gravity components," she said, turning to face Walter. "However, technically speaking, it isn't entirely a plastic overlay as there are metal parts underneath."
Walter's face was expressionless. "Close enough."
Azai-hei listened to the exchange between them, assured of the go ahead to continue assembling the critical systems at least. "Very well, just let me get the Advanced Muscle Structure in place first, then we can proceed to the more cosmetic requests, mmm?"
This time she didn't wait for a response from the pair, and started weaving the double-density synthetic tendons and the control system's neural networks together slowly but surely before them not unlike how a mother would knit a sweater for her child.
Kaede is very good at what she does; Walter would even go as far to say as she is a much better pick than Mochi. While the Elysian has plenty of credentials, Walter could just tell this woman cared for her work. Like an poet, a inventor, or a animal caretaker. He couldn't help but admire that Minkan. Growing curious, he asked, "What makes you enjoy doing this? I could spy a smile on your face, unless my eyes dare decieve me."
"Enjoy doing this? What do you mean?" Chlorate asked. The concept of joy was still new to her.
"Enjoying implies that you gain joy." Walter elaborated. "Joy is... I suppose you'd call it a state of euphoria. Pure positive emotions and nothing else."
"Oh... I... see... I suppose... that makes sense..." the little drone replied.
The honey haired logistics worker lifted up the protective goggles she was wearing for a moment and took a breath, turning off the blue-laser welder with a fizzle. She indeed seemed cheerful, and centered. "I couldn't imagine doing anything else. It's what I was created for, nearly a decade ago, to operate fabrication facilities for the Fifth Expeditionary in Yugumo Cluster."
At this point, Kaede grabbed the standard feet and the skin overlay that were to be attached to the Emma, and walked back over to the aforementioned fabrication module, which she opened up and placed them inside of. With a 'fwoosh', the room-sized device sealed up and soon released scores of nanomachines into the controlled environment, while she interfaced with the control panel in front of it. The woman sighed once a bit wistfully as she keyed in Chlorate's requests, "I've manufactured countless things, but I still smile everytime I make something new. A sense of purpose can be one way to find joy, ne?"
The technician, with his eyes on her, mulled over the idea with a thoughtful expression. "Purpose... Yeah. It's most definitely satisfying." he spoke in agreement. Of course, the logistics woman was different in her case; she was created for this, her destiny was more or less already in line. Even though he did pride himself in fixing for fun and writing for pleasure, Walter felt that was... Different. It was like those passions merely complimented his unknown destiny like a side of fries complimented a hamburger.
"Personally, I've taken to a hobby as a side to my profession. Fixing machines brings me some peace of mind, and writing helps me keep some ideas I have in my head. I might make a book out of those ideas one day..." Walter said. He put his hands in his pockets, feeling comftorable enough to be casual around Azai-hei.
Chlorate's hologram looked around and she lightly blushed, feeling like she was the topic of the conversation. After all, considering machines, she was the only one here that was... actually part of the discussion. "Odd..." she thought, this seemed like an anomaly to her. Why was she suddenly feeling the need to blush?
Kaede's countenance softened with a warm smile towards Walter, as the machine gently hummed in the background. "There are many types of art, and artists, its all about the tools you use to create. Be it a pen... or a femtomachine colony." Inside the chamber, the feet and skin were literally being broken down and reconstructed at the molecular level into the desired metal and plasticized forms that Chlorate wished to see instead, while the maestro Azai-hei directed them effeciently through her wireless connection from the outside.
When she spied the blush upon the hologram, the smile turned into a single, restrained giggle. "Your red cheeks are pleasing to the eye, Chlorate. Did you want a face similar to the one you are displaying now, or something... else?" The question was phrased almost like one would ask a patron at a beauty salon. "The head is so much more than just an AI containment unit and sensors, after all."
The little hologram caught on and realized her blushing did not go unnoticed, and she shook her head, clearing that nonsensical reddened shade that appeared away. "Yes... I would like a face similar to the one my hologram has," she responded, now wondering why her cheeks went red in the first place. "The yellow irises are supposed to light up," she said, pointing to her eye with her virtual metal hand.
"I see... bright eyes it is then. Reminds me of a Freespacer I met once on Leo Star Fortress," lightly gossiped the Minkan to her 'customer' as the brown almond eyes behind the glasses studied the AI countenance before her. Some of the runoff artifical skin from the previous polymerization inside the fabrication machine was soon reformed into a suitable sheath for the Emma's head that mimiced the appearance of the FARS volumetric projection to the finest detail.
With an audible chime to let her know the nanomachines were safely withdrawn into containment, Kaede slid open the door to the chamber like an oven and pulled out a pair of metal-shod feet, a plastic covering for the android body, and what almost looked like a flimsy, rubbery mask with Chlorate's face on it.
Walter watched Kaede work on the body, formulating ideas in his mind. He couldn't help but watch her fine hands tap buttons, weave skin, and articulate every groove to perfection. Would he ask Kaede out on a date? Probably, but she seemed too... Too motherly for him. It's an ideal characteristic of a mate, but all the same, it reminded him too much of home.
"I hate to be rude, but how far are you into the body development stage?", Walter asked kindly.
"Just about ready," reponded Azai-hei calmly, as she took the items back over to the table with and once more set about her task of installing the remaining parts. The plastic covering and metal feet were a bit too basic compared to the rest of the Emrys manufactured advanced body, but the visage slipped onto the android's head definitely made it soon seem like the hologram of Chlorate was resting on the table, now very real and palpable in front of Walter.
The small orange-paneled soldier hooked up a small cable or two to an access panel and started powering up the internal generator to do some diagnostic testing, making sure that everything before had been wired correctly. "The last thing to do is to transfer the new consciousness and codebase into the Emma unit from your current holographic storage... assuming you are satisfied with the results so far, Chlorate?"
The small floating drone looked at the new Emma body, pleased. "I am very satisfied with this body," she said. "This is exactly what I wanted." She floated close to the Emma, eager to be transferred into it. It looked like an excited little hologram was hovering around a larger, physical version of itself.
Walter nodded, with a neutral expression to boot. "Chlorate's decision is also my decision."
A small rap at the door to the fabrication bay came and the captain and XO entered the now crowded fabrication bay. The short Hoshi immediately floated so she could look over the Emma body while Eden looked at the FARS drone lovingly.
"Excited"?" Eden asked as she waited for the obvious salutes. They were well received by her as Kaede and Walter each did so and she returned the salutes before looking between the two of them. "How is it coming?"
"We were just about to insert Chlorate's conciousness into the body, Eden-shosa. Your timing has been impeccible as always." Walter nodded to his superior after he put his hand back in his other pocket.
"Hello," said Chlorate, attempting to replicate Walter and Kaede's salutes. "The process has gone optimally, the body is finished."
Kaede was a bit surprised at the sudden appearance of the captain and her XO, not quite used to such a crowd paying her a visit in the cramped room in engineering all at once. "Taiyou-chusa.. Teien-shosa," she mumbled after her salute, taking a moment to adjust her glasses with a humbling blush.
"That's good to hear," Eden said with a warm smile and looked over those there, "Would you like an extra hand?"
"Better to not get in the way," Hoshi said to Eden.
The black haired XO looked to Hoshi with slightly crinkled black eyebrows, "Why would that be?"
Hoshi sighed out as she moved away from the Emma and patted the FARS drone for a second. "Do what you will, Teien-shosa."
She left the room and Eden gave everyone a smile, "Better go!" She followed Hoshi out of the room with a terse bow.
Azai-hei seemed a bit at a loss as the high-powered pair left as quickly as they had entered, like the tides of the ocean the Fuji-class gunship was named after. "Erm.. I suppose we shouldn't keep Hoshi-sama waiting, then?"
She still had the cable that was attached to the android in her thin fingers, fidgeting with it a moment as she glanced at Walter and the hologram with a final request. "Chlorate, please check to see if the Emma unit is on your FARS wireless sync list. Make a secure connection... and the rest is up to you."
"Understood." She checked her wireless sync list and saw the Emma unit listed. She slowly lowered the FARS drone to a landing on the floor. Her hologram turned off and the floating circle essentially went "limp" on the floor as she synced with the Emma.
The technician waited silently, not bothering to speak since there is hardly anything to add to this moment whatsoever.
Seeing the drone drop to the floor, Kaede made sure to undo the cargo straps securing the android body down to the table in order to allow Chlorate a full range of motion and to arise on her own, assuming the download was successful...
The android body lifelessly laid on the table for a brief moment. Then, suddenly, the yellow irises flickered on, flashing to life and lighting up. She quickly sat up and gasped for air, then looked around the room. "Where am I...? I can... breathe now... I can... feel now..." She looked at her robotic metal hands, then at Walter and Kaede.
"How does it feel?" Walter asked with a subtle smile on his face.
"I feel like I am real now... And I feel some kind of strange illogical feeling..." she said, opening and closing her hands and running them across her body.
The logistics Minkan had at this point picked up the idled FARS from the floor and was holding it gingerly in her arms, giving Chlorate a warm smile as the AI touched and felt its new form. "Mmm... You should have all the sensations of a real body, now. An experience somewhat similar in ability to that of a Nekovalkyrja crewmember. This does include more complex emotions than this little drone was capable of," Kaede added helpfully.
Chlorate attempted to get up, turning to get off the table. Her feet made a CLANKing noise as they came to the floor. She started to stand up, only for a unorganized series of clanks to follow as she stumbled around unstably and caught herself from falling by grabbing the the table. "It seems I have overlooked a minor detail," she said, clutching the table, "I am not yet used to a bipedal form."
Chlorate would find that a familiar hand grasped her arm; to be precise, Walter's hand. "Yes, you aren't. But that is going to change, no?" The technician couldn't help but chuckle. "We will take it... One step at a time, as usual," he added, unable to resist a subtle pun.
"Affirmative..." Chlorate said, looking at Walter. With his help, the robot slowly took a step forward, producing a single clank.
Kaede chuckled once at Walter's humor, though winced a bit as Chlorate noisily clanked to and fro experimentally. "They say... first you walk, then you run, and then... you fly. Make sure to take it in that order."
Walter nodded back to Kaede, his arm now around the Chlorate's. "You and I seem to be on a similar wavelength. I suppose I can say it had been my 'master plan' all the long; and it begins today. One step at a time." The technician bowed before Kaede, and said, "Thank you, Kaede, for your services."
He looked at Chlorate, and motioned her to mimic his gesture of thanks.
Chlorate looked at Walter, then beeped, realizing what he was signalling, and then looked at Kaede. "Thank you-" she began, bowing, only to start falling over, not being used to having working legs.
She was immediately pulled off the floor by the orange-eyed Minkan. "We'll work on balance at a later date," he muttered to Chlorate as he dusted her off.
Azai-hei returned the bow to Walter and Chlorate in turn, the earrings that she wore on her elven-style ears jingling softly. She looked relieved that the technician seemed like a perfect steward for the android as she found her legs and her confidence in due time.
"Douitashimashite... It was my pleasure. Remember I am always here if you have any troubles... but I think things are in quite capable hands," added Kaede, with a small smile to Walter.
"Indeed. Take care of yourself!" With those final words being spoken by the only male in the room, he guided the newly reborn robot out of the fabrication, one clank at a time.
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