View source for 3906/Flower of a Distant Pond

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2016/03/13
|Location=Void - Debris Field
|Synopsis=The Flotilla happens upon a Generation Ship that is nearly 3000 years old. Yet there may still be something to salvage here...
|Cast of Characters=7, 42, 632, 672, 673, 958
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As the Flotilla begin to close on the source of the signal, they would find themselves on the outskirts of a field of interstellar debris. At that point, their question would likely change from where the signal was coming from to whether it could ever be found. The curtain of metal here is so dense as to be barely navigable, and in some places, completely impregnable.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At all intervals the option of simply firing a laser to clear a path exists, but the more astute of the group would just as soon realize why that isn't practical: all of these objects have knotted together in this storm of steel because of a delicate balance of kinetic force. Disturbing that relationship, then, is like to stirring a nest; were the clutter to be pushed or broken in one place, things may begin to whirl violently out of control. And that could not only be expected to destroy the source of the signal, but quite possibly to damage the ships of the Flotilla in kind. 'A bad idea,' they might conclude, leaving them with the alternatives of either a more delicate repositioning of the obstacles that bar them, or simply to treat the confluence of them as a maze.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever their decision, the members of this group have been counted upon to handle more difficult things, and they're certain to reach their destination with their lives if not aplomb. This may entail some time of wandering before the signal finally swims into clearer focus - no doubt that the mess of things surrounding its source had been inhibiting it up to now - but in time they reach a sort of 'clearing'. The clutter seems to naturally part around the frame of a massive cylinder in possession of more aerodynamic ends, foretelling of either some force that segregates the object from its surroundings, or else some natural 'coincidence' that so highlights its import for the sense of those who approach. This, they would all know with but a passing glimpse, is what they have come all this way to find.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The shape is somehow noble, even proud in its construction, and though it wears well enough the implicit trappings of great age one would never know by the sight of it alone. There are blemishes on its hull, but they all look recent, and are concentrated in certain areas. In other words, this damage can likely be attributed to the moment of the vessel's unification whence it would've been thrust nose-first into this mess of other discarded baubles. Though some more fragile facets of its construction - say, the paint that would have brandished its name to the cosmos - have been worn away, and though its lights and engines lie dormant, the craft has otherwise done a stalwart job of preserving itself over its doubtlessly long life.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As the group draws closer, they would find no fewer than ten ports on either side upon which they may dock their ships. The sheer number of them is testament to its size: it is itself large enough to comprise a whole thirty-second of the maelstrom of metallic things that have gathered around it, which was itself rivaling the size of a planetoid. In short, it could likely have been host to as many living creatures as a whole nation, perhaps even continent, in its day. Yet the question remains, if not made all the more intriguing for that fact:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why is it here, now?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally, the group are allowed to get their first looks inside of the ships, all of them emerging past individual airlocks, and into a truly massive hanger that is capable of holding all their vehicles at once. Its ceilings are so high that they must be at least several stories tall, truly accentuating its grandeur. Still, for all this impressiveness, wear begins to show as the group delve further. They would see even before they step outside that certain areas of the ceiling have collapsed. Likewise, much of the docking equipment fails to work as intended, and in one or two cases may even buckle under the weight of the ships once they re-enter gravity. This may leave a few of them in awkward positions for takeoff, but it's nothing that they can't handle on the return trip; no, but of more immediate concern is the lack of oxygen on the ship, necessitating the use of re-breathers or similar for those who may require it to live.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The next thing the group would be like to notice is that the interior is, just as the exterior would have suggested, quite dim. Emergency lighting comes on in response to their presence, but even the few cyan bulbs that have surmounted the pressures of their own age flicker, leaving visibility throughout the complex spotty at best. This would abate only slightly as the lot of them make way to a cylindrical hallway connecting to the hanger from a risen platform: these passages are considerably smaller, meaning that fewer of the lights have to function per arbitrary distance to provide enough light for vision. Still, this may also mean that some larger-than-life characters, Asche for example, may need to remain in the hanger as the rest of the group proceed.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is not long after they enter the winds of these passages, however, that they would begin to see indications of where to go. Colored lines eventually appear and flicker on the floor, their colors corresponding to wall-mounted placards that provide meaning for them. The 'Yellow' line, for instance, leads to a central park, but the one of most consequence to this particular group would likely be the 'Red' line. This would be the line that feeds into what is referred 'Security Terminal Room,' which, by its connotations of prevalence, might as well have christened it with the titles of 'Master' or 'Administrator'. Contrary to what the group may have heard before the Korean syllables could be re-rendered by the translation effect, however, these signs are not written in Hangul -- they're written in some bizarre, unrecognizable corruption of Chinese.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So ultimately, and after some time of wandering, it can be assumed that the group would find the security room in question. Once they come to the door, however, they will find it shut fast, an ominous skeleton slumped against it, facing in its direction. One might assume by its posture that its owner was trying to gain access to this room when they were killed. One might also assume that that, at least as much as anything else, is the full, complete proof of this room's relevance. Only, how are they going to get in there? There's a terminal beside it, though it does not appear to be powered on. Of many alternatives, the group may consider feeding it power so that the console can be interacted with, or else simply bashing the door in outright. Either result would be likely to afford them entry.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So until the more entrepreneurial spirits among the group see fit to open the door, the rest of them are left to muse on what of the ship they have seen thus far. There has been evidence of much death -- remains hunched over in corners, in what could be presumed to be workplaces. All of them have been garbed in clothing so ornate and traditional as to be called ominous: hanbok, any knower of Korean culture would easily recognize, though that had not been standard fare in most realities of Earth since many years before modernity. It seems as though the inhabitants of this ship were celebrating some sort of festival, perhaps, before all their lives were abruptly cut short.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And the 'Why' must surely wait behind that door.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>GETTING to the ship takes some doing. Thankfully Rory has a host of analytical AIs for pathfinding. Running them in parallel and deploying small drones ahead of the ship, she employs EXCESSIVE amounts of math to semi-predict the swirling maelstrom of debris (it IS debris, right? What else could it be?) and slooooowly navigate to dock.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course once ANYONE manages to dock everyone's aboard anyways, given the Flotilla's linked teleporters, but...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rory's not using her Flexbot today. It was recently roughed up pretty badly. She emerges from the hatch in a more familiar human-like guise, her Synth form suited up in a sleek form-fitting attire that definitely fits the atmosphere of this forsaken ship.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Notably, she's not using any kind of survival equipment. Her Synth requires no air and isn't bothered much by radiation or similar.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Without air, sound cannot travel, so she doesn't bother speaking. Instead... she radios the group.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;&lt;Judging by its size and layout, this ship was designed to host an enormous population. That whatever means it uses to produce gravity function even though everything ELSE does not says to me that the core of the ship's most critical functions must have been made with the utmost care. ... there might be a surviving population deeper in, somewhere sealed off, or we might discover managerial AIs. This message could simply be a malfunctioning music player though... far too early to say.&gt;&gt;<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kotone Yamakawa own ship drops out of FTL space with the rest of the Flotilla as they arrive. She's already running scans and Slipbolt's at the helm for the moment. As they are not expecting a fight for the most part, she's looking out at craft drifting in the dark. <br /><br /> "That's quite the hulk there, I'm going to take a full combat load out, the last thing is we need is to be caught flat footed by some sort of nasty space critter." <br /><br /> She's done enough on that as she now would fin her way aboard with everyone else. It didn't take long to board the vessel with the rest of the flotilla and she's left Slipbolt to watch he ship. <br /><br /> "This place is a mess, drones going up." <br /><br /> Kotone deploys the small recon drones she makes uses o to scout ahead and check out other location. <br /><br /> &lt;&lt;Tell me about it Rory this pretty much screams colony ship from the looks of it. Don't worry I brought a dummy barrier with me, I won't be trying to jack in without projection. Let's see if we can find me a spot to do so, right?&gt;&gt; <br /><br /> Kotone is in her primary body today, something about being awake with no sleep for a week was wigging her out. Either way she'd been wearing a light vac suit as she pressed forward, the small drones move out as she fans a light about. <br /><br /> &lt;&lt;Keep alert for bio hazards, or things akin to the holozombies. I don't want us to be taken off guard here. Now lets see if we can find me a terminal to use.&gt;&gt;<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:632|Septette Arcubielle (632)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Septette's ship halts a few miles from the larger craft, after navigating the debris field with relative ease; its small profile is definitely an advantage there. She climbs out of the unpressurized vessel and kicks off of its hull, then fires her own leg-mounted thrusters to gain momentum before coasting slowly the rest of the way towards a hangar. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This gives her a few precious minutes of silence to consider what might have happened here- where the ship came from, and what became of the rest of its world, along with countless other questions. There isn't nearly enough information for her to piece together any of the answers, but at least she can figure out what to look for in order to confirm or disprove some of her hypotheses. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This almost-meditative line of thinking comes to a halt when her taloned feet hit the hull, and a matter of moments later, she's inside. After moving through the almost cathedral-like hangars, Sept reaches the Security hallway and taps her fingers on the door, producing an audible clanking. "I could power up this door fairly easily, but I'm not sure if we'd want to do so for fear of activating something else as well. On the other hand, breaking it down might irreversibly depressurize this area if there's a breach ahead... can one of you tell if there's atmosphere on the other side?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Getting here was a trick, to be sure. The Starbound Flotilla did arrive with the full fleet, which hangs back at the border of the thicket of debris. The SFS Vehemence is an ultramodern white craft, a heavy weapons platform that leads the other five. Just behind it, the SFS Abdication -- a miniature house-sized castle-looking spaceship with a large sensor array -- and the SFS Kaleidoscope -- four other ships welded together, lashed with vines, and given a heavy railgun -- slip in as well, and beyond them, the trio of the SFS Rapacity, a pyramid-styled craft bristling with strange red gems, the SFS Mendacity, a modern, chunky durasteel industrial craft, and the SFS Connoisseur, a light blue fish-styled sleek spacecraft. However, the Abdication and the Connoisseur seem to be the ones most concerned with navigation; the Connoisseur is one of the more agile, and the Abdication is the one with the best sensors. As such, that pair assists in the navigation, with the former scouting and the latter scanning, until one of them can dock. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When it's time to board, George stays behind; he keeps reinforcing and repairing the busted docks to keep everything functioning. Seft and Moonfin are the ones who lead the rest in. Pavo has wandered off somewhere else, Albert is mostly working on radio business, and Biteblade may currently be trying to hitch a ride on Septette like a backpack while trying to decipher the linguistics of it. All six of the Starbound Captains are wearing EVA versions of their standard Durasteel armor to go with their oxygen nanoskins, having light and straightforward atmospheric protection against the unbreathable air.<br /><br />"<span style="color:xterm50">The remains here speak a tale of lives cut short abruptly. This was no gradual failure; death on such a scale, so suddenly, at such a time, comes with engineering. Planning. Or at the very least, intention.</span>"<br />"<span style="color:xterm39">Thoughtful. I wonder why they are clothed as such. It is similar in a way to the clothing of the Hylotl.</span>"<br />"<span style="color:xterm50">Hardly. There are a few similarities, but to draw such a comparison is a vast generalization.</span>"<br />"<span style="color:xterm39">Pondering. Hmmm, atmosphere... I will attempt to discern.</span>"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seft draws a heavy seismic sensor of a sort from her Matter Manipulator. A sonar-like pulse moved through it ought to be able to tell if there's any returning sonar waves on the other side that travelled through the air and not through the hull. If she detects things being clear enough, she's going to direct Septette to power it up; Albert and Pavo will also work to get the relevant internal engineering bits exposed to make that happen, hopefully bypassing some of the access restrictions.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Linked teleporters indeed! Staren doesn't bother with the debris field since he can just teleport to the ship of whoever gets through. He's wearing his armor, as always. Since it's environmentally sealed anyway, it works as well in space as anywhere. Staren waves to George as he enters the ship.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren nods in response to Rory's message. &lt;&lt;I concur with your guesses.&gt;&gt; To Moonfin, he observes: &lt;&lt;Intention, hard to say... it could be that some kind of unintelligent but hostile aliens baorded and killed everyone, too.&gt;&gt;<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren helps Albert and Pavo analyze the electronic lock. Physical access is everything -- once they've got the wall panels off, it should just be a matter of time, right?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:632|Septette Arcubielle (632)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Seeming all too happy to tote Biteblade around, Sept steps back from the wall panel to allow the others a closer look and takes the opportunity to pat her "rider" on the head. "Hanging in there alright, little one?" There's nothing but good cheer in her tone- seems like there really are no hard feelings on her end about the Galiandia affair, though she holds back on talking to George on the off chance that he might be upset. Or, as he himself would likely put it, "salty". <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I don't think that's likely, Staren," Septette replies once they're all gathered together. "Nothing here to show they died violently. This skeleton appears intact, at least, and there are no signs of a struggle or of the defenses being activated."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Firstly, Septette would have her query answered by Seft's analysis: the seismic reader can find no evidence of serious breaks in the hull, nor any leakage of what atmosphere persists on the vessel. In other words, the ship seems fairly air-tight, in spite of the lack of oxygen. This should leave Septette clear to feed power to the ship, and Albert and Pavo to fiddle with the nearby console.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As far as all other scans for the time being are concerned: there are no foreign contaminants to speak of. It's more what -doesn't- seem to be here, they'll find, which would likely solidify the idea that was already budding in Rory's mind. If the systems on-board the ship only degraded to a point where the life support ceased to function, why were only specific subsystems affected? And for that matter, why do even larger and more complex systems like the artificial gravity still work? If they really were 'built to last', as Rory had figured, then there's clearly something wrong here.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So after the realm beyond the security door is confirmed as 'secure', Septette supplies energy to the door, and the console beside it. Thereafter, Albert and Pavo would slowly see it come to life, dull blue characters sluggishly fading to life on the screen. When they resolve to such an extent that they become legible, they would appear like so:<span style="color:xterm12"><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Console access locked by administrator. This action may only be undone from the Security Terminal.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Please contact security personnel for assistance.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================</span><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So unless there's a hacker present who is able to search for more options underneath what is readily being offered by the console's output, that approach is likely a no-go.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But when all else fails, there's always the help command?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rory isn't just a hacker. She BUILDS systems like these. So when the console proves to be unhelpful, she decides to take a crack at it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which largely means starting with typing help.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And if that comes up with nothing useful, well... her fingers are going to start FLYING across that keyboard...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While Staren's trying to figure out how to hotwire the door, its console suddenly comes on and he watches the text appear curiously. He stares at it for a moment.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then he starts poking around behind it, trying to work out how to isolate it from the ship's network in case, oh, they need to try to start it up in diagnostic mode or something. Or physically connect one of their own devices to the ship. He doesn't actually disconnect any cables while Rory's working, though.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:632|Septette Arcubielle (632)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Using just the edge of one of her arm-blades, Septette starts to carve very shallow scratches into the door's surface. At first they look like random, albeit very straight and regular lines. Then a shape slowly coalesces... <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She finishes by etching a practically perfect circle around the lines, completing an arcane-looking sigil. "There we go," she says cheerfully. "Magical equivalent of thermite. You know- just in case the console's being obstinate."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kotone Yamakawa gets nothing but corpses, and more corpses, and enough sense of scale of how many people on this ship there were at the time everything /died/ she didn't think there'd be any one left. Barring someone lucky enough to be in some sort of stasis chamber. Even that would likely be unlikelya nd Kotone now starts to focus on trying to find a terminal but that doesn't take too long as they do find a terminal and Kotone's already pulling a jack cable out of the neck of her suit and attaching a protoabstractium adaptor to the end and attempts to find a spot to jack in. <br /><br /> &lt;&lt;Shall we get to it?&gt;&gt; <br /><br /> She likes working as part of a team on a job like this. She'll also synch up with Rory directly if her friend needs it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When Rory types 'help', the following appears on the s<span style="color:reen:cxterm12"><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;help<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;HELP<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The following commands may be used from this terminal:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;su (syntax: su &lt;password&gt;): grants administrative access<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ping: locates nearby security personnel badges<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;lastaccess: shows date of last access and the name of the account associated with the login attempt<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Geeze, that blue is annoying to look at." Staren comments. "...Well, let's go get ourselves some badges. Not like the current owners are using them anymore."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sometimes the simplest commands are the best.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&gt;&gt;&gt; ping.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Is this based on Linux? How archaic." Rory comments.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As an afterthought, she also checks LASTACCESS... and hunts for the current date too. the time command? date command? Something must show current system time.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kotone Yamakawa is letting rory take the lead here however she starts to think while they look over the data. <br /><br /> &lt;&lt;Linux what next? Something in Cobol??&gt;&gt; She starts to look about seeing if there's any bodies near by, someone might have an access password on them, or something that might look. She'll leed the datamining to Rory, this isn't quite the OS she expected a /ship/ like this to have.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rory enters the commands 'ping' The output he gets back is as follows:<span style="color:xterm12"><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ping<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PING<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Locating nearby security officers... please wait...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Query complete. &lt;1&gt; security badge found in the immediate area, located in the BOW-SIDE RECREATIONAL AREA. (91 meters from current location)<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================</span><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Conveniently, if any of Kotone's drones happen to be returning to her at this point, they will have to make a trip through a certain large region, decorated with ill-kept foliage, its ceiling marked by a massive skylight into space. This fits the description of 'Recreational Area' as well as anything ought to, and they've certainly came a far way toward the bow of the ship.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe the guard's body is nearby?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The output for 'lastaccess' follows:<span style="color:xterm12"><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;lastaccess<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;LASTACCESS<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Account "Kim Hyun-Ae<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;221432 days ago<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================</span><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So, quite some time indeed.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Pfffffh." Staren makes a noise that isn't really a word, and activates his wings, flying off to the 'recreational area' in a hurry to look for that badge Or another terminal to triangulate with. Over six centuries, huh?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren makes way for the recreational area, saving Kotone's drone the trouble. The only problem is, in this mess of tangled, dead-and-or-decaying branches and brambles that might once have constituted an indoor park, locating a single dead body is far more easily said than done. This is setting aside the fact that he may not even recognize what makes a 'security officer's uniform' in a place with such radically dissonant clothing styles, and yet...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;... and yet. On his way, he spots an observation deck of sorts presiding over the rest of the courtyard, set apart from everything. There are several computer monitors sitting up there, and enough papers on the desks to make the space seem quite official. Maybe the security card it was referring to is in there, on the desk?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When Staren sees what a mess he's arrived in, he decides to try nonvisual sensors. That security badge must have an RFID tag or some sort of beacon in it if the system was able to locate it. If it's not immediately detected by its radio signature or active probing, he asks Rory to send another ping so he can watch for its response.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kotone Yamakawa has the drones coming back and she takes note of the feed, she sees the large area which weems to fit with the Recreational Area. The drone's sitll on it's way as Staren might need a bit of a hand, right? Either way it will follow and be helping her friend look. <br /><br /> &lt;&lt;That's about 607 years ago, this place has been dead for a very long time hasn't it?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren would pick up a distinctive RFID signal from atop the desk in the office above the courtyard.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That's probably what he's looking for!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren sweeps for RFIDs and gets a ping. Great! &lt;&lt;Found it. Just a moment while I get there...&gt;&gt; If there are too many branches in the way, Staren may have to cut them, which is cumbersome since he doesn't want to risk igniting the trees... once he's got the badge though, he returns to the door, looking for a place to swipe it or hold it up to. Or to see if the door just opens automatically!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Upon a cursory inspection, Staren finds a thin line beside the console where he can swipe the card, which adds another in a long line of archaic mechanisms that exist on an otherwise extremely advanced spacecraft. Assuming that he proceeds to swipe the card, the console would beep its acknowledgement as a final sequence of words scroll across the s<span style="color:reen:cxterm12"><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Authenticating...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Denied: Insufficient level of clearance.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Please contact a superior for assistance.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================</span><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So they may need to do this the hard way after all.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren growls. "Nnnnrrrrrrgh." All that trouble for nothing. Guess they'll have to do things the hard way.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:632|Septette Arcubielle (632)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Heaving her shoulders, Septette holds one hand up to the sigil on the door and motions for everyone else to step back from the door. "Listen. Finding a second card is going to be a LOT of work." A pair of little red drones teleport in next to her and begin to charge up with an ominous whine. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "And considering the fact that some of us only have so much oxygen to burn exploring, AND we're literally all elites so we have little to worry about in terms of reprisal on board a ghost ship..." White-hot plasma gathers at her fingertips before exploding forward a moment later in a concentrated, searing beam, matched by two other matching blasts from the drones that trace around the edges of the doors, hopefully weakening its attachment to the frame. "LET'S TRY A MORE DIRECT APPROACH," she says over the roar of the flames<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;r"<span style="color:xterm40">Yep yep, Floran isss good. How ssskeleton friend? Good after fight cleric friend?</span>" Biteblade seems to be doing just fine. It seems like her interest in clinging onto Septette is motivated mostly by her urges to hug. "<span style="color:xterm40">You want clear? Floran let you ssstab big door on your own.</span>" She hops off! Letting Septette get to work. Especially since there's FIIIIRE. Very bad for a Floran.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Septette's sigil blares, lighting up the entirety of the chamber before the door. Then in an instant, when everyone has had their good time to back away and prepare for the coming blast, a resounding explosion echoes throughout the winding halls of the ship. In the wake of the explosion, bits of metal shrapnel fly in the opposite direction of the blast, riding on the power of its force, spiking themselves into the ceiling, the floor, and other elements of the background. It's difficult to see what else lies beyond the door, though, until the smoke clears. And when it does, the black smoke abating, the heat yielding again to the ship's pervasive, stagnant chill, one can faintly make out the scene beyond.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Through there is a single computer monitor, this one infinitely larger than the terminal they had been dealing with before. Its background is mash-green, patterned at intervals with a lattice of cubes that stylize its background. It, like its smaller cousin, asks for an input; unlike its smaller cousin, however, it lays its commands bare at the onset. It reads for them as follows:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:xterm8"><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Override Terminal (restricted mode)<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;keOS/Amie 8.11 Starship Mugunghwa internal computer Mon Jan 1 00:00:00 1970<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Notice: This system is property of the Unified Korea Space Probe Agency. Access by individuals not affiliated with the UKSPA is a felony under the UKSPA act of 2381.<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Last Login: "Kim Hyun Ae," 221432 days ago<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ERROR: AI PERSONALITY DISABLED, REVERTING TO COMMAND LINE<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;AVAILABLE COMMANDS: download, disable_ai, enable_ai, help, su, quit<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================</span><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This screen, though, is soon overridden by a massive exclamation point followed by a scrolling distress message. The characters, all written in Hangul, seem to state the following in a repetitive sequence: 'SECURITY BREACH DETECTED, FORCE-ACTIVATING *MUTE.' Likely referring to the explosion that just occurred mere moments ago. Eventually, though, this screen fades away, allowing the screen to fade back to the same green-gray lattice of cubes as before. The screen remains this way, blank, until the whole of the screen goes white, and a new figure appears on the screen.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's a girl with bold blue eyes and blond hair adorned with countless amenities that would be flat impossible for many a modern hairdresser to use. She stands tall for a moment, a hand positioned on her hip, before she seems to be hit by a pronounced feeling of vertigo. She thereafter kilters off to one side, stumbling until she comes into contact with an invisible 'wall', placing one hand against it to keep herself upright whilst the other meanders to her head in agony. "Ugh, my aching... geez, what a way to wake somebody up when they've been sleeping for...!" At her own words, she suddenly blinks in realization. In a faltering down, she whispers, 'Oh, shit'.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And all this before she so much as realizes the presence of the others aboard the ship, directly in front of her. When she sees them, she blinks, her cheeks immediately flushing and her arms folding in front of her chest. After she takes a deep breath, puffing herself up, she speaks in a tone that is much more calm, much more dignified than some may be expecting:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Hey," She says. "I'm *Mute, the security AI for this ship. But before we get into that: you had better have a really good fucking reason for -blowing out the door to my office-. Are you from the UKSPA? Because you had -better- be from the UKSPA."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And so she awaits them all, an incredibly indignant look on her face.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren stands clear. Once no space monsters come through the door after the explosion, he enters to look at the terminal "Oh great, the clock's broken. So much for that 600-year number..." When it warns about a security breach, he waves his badge at the screen, but it doesn't seem to matter. He's taken aback in surprise. "Woah! That's quite a jump from console mode." Staren weaves from side to side to see if she reacts, while starting to look for cameras.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"How do I put this? You can hear us, right? You're a derelict. We're just here to investigate what this ship is and why it's here. If you could sense the explosion, are your sensors in the rest of the ship working? I'm afraid you're giving new meaning to the words 'skeleton crew'..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kotone Yamakawa jacks out of the system now, as that doesn't seem to be needed she'll catch up with the groupa as well? She's not sure but she does find that she's able to catch up with everyone else intime to get Mute's awakening. She folds her arms for a moment looking at Mute as she says without a hint of hostility. <br /><br /> "We picked up an signal from this space hulk and came to see what caused it. Until we found you, there was nothing but charnel house. So no we're not with them, we're not even from the same world that your ship came from either. Either way I'm Kotone Yamakawa...Staren? That pun I....."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mute scowls, letting her eyes bear into Staren's. "You tell me if I can see you. I should think that's pretty obvious at this point." After making that comment, though, she sighs, joining her hands at her waist such that they're both hidden by the flowing sleeves of her hanbok. "Sorry, sorry," She squeezes her eyes closed, "I know, I'm being rude. I'm just really confused, okay? Like, my internal clock says that I haven't been functional for 600 years, and I have no idea who the hell any of you are. But once we establish where you guys are from, what your ranks are, and stuff, I'll probably be fine." At the word 'derelict', though, she blinks. "Hang on a minute." With those words, she closes her eyes, her expression balancing itself as she presumably taps into the ship's scanners and-or peruses her own local memory. And when she finishes doing so, she opens her eyes, and her expression explodes with the same ferocity as before.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;... only for her to bite her lip, forcing down no small quantity of anger. "... okay," She starts again, "yeah. A third of the sensors are broken, and you already know what else I saw." She holds a hand to her chin then, averting her eyes from the group and studying an empty corner of the three-dimensional space inside of her monitor. "Alright, okay. I'm caught up now. I fucked up, everybody's dead, and this ship has been sitting here, dead in space, for more than six hundred years." After another deep, straining breath, she adds, "But seriously, what does that make you people? The reclamation team? Scavengers? Space pirates? Come on, give me something to go off of!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:632|Septette Arcubielle (632)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Septette scoops Biteblade back up, assuming the Floran doesn't protest. "I'm doing well, thank you! Sanary did a number on some of my workings, but I'm largely patched up now. It's not like it hurts, anyhow." A moment later, she steps into the newly-revealed room as well. She keeps quiet during the boot sequence, and though she watches the AI's response intently, she doesn't reply directly. After all, others have already seen fit to interject; there's little sense in overcomplicating things. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &lt;&lt;Are you sure she knows that the passengers are dead? As the security AI, she'd likely feel that she let them down. Immediately describing the vessel's interior as a 'charnel house' may not be the best way to broach a potentially touchy subject with her.&gt;&gt;<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>With the door just blown off, Rory strolls on through cautiously... only to see MUte appear on a screen.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"... A fellow AGI?! Greetings from the Argonauts!" EXCITED she is. Very excited. Even with the incredibly indignant reception they're all getting.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Negative. This ship has been seemingly adrift in a cloud of debris for approximately six centuries. We came investigating a signal that was traced back to here... and found all the systems unresponsive, everyone aboard seemingly perished. We are investigators however, not salvagers."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She TRIES to smile apologetically and shakes her head. "I am called Rory White and represent a community of scientists and researchers dedicated to the principles of technoprogressivism, and all of us together here represent a small flotilla of allies. Apologies for the intrusion. We did try less destructive methods!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mute's expression scrolls to Septette afterwards, her eyes scrolling up-and-down across her body until she settles on an untidy, furrowed brow. "I know now," She says, "and if he hadn't said anything it would only have taken a split-second scan of the ship's monitors to tell me as much, so there was no use in trying to keep it a secret." Her tone is noticeably quieter when she speaks to Septette, though, and her eyes linger on her for a prolonged period of time. The eyes of judgment, she might garner; likely not something that she's a stranger to at this point.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren looks around. "We've got some scavengers and space pirates here, yeah, but... well, /my/ first priority is to rescue and otherwise render assistance to any people still on this ship... whether they be flesh or code. My second priority is to study your systems and see if you've got any cool technology I can use."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:632|Septette Arcubielle (632)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> "You could say that my job description is similar to yours," the yggdroid replies in a soft yet warm voice. She steps forward so as to allow Mute a better look at her skeletal frame. "I'm tasked with keeping the people of my world safe, though my missions often take me far afield. Apologies for destroying the door, but we couldn't obtain a suitable card, and the security measures seemed resistant to tampering."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mute's gaze flits back and forth between Staren and Rory as they speak, her hands separating so that her right hand can pinch the bridge of her nose. "Ugh. Those are... really not names that I'm familiar with. Okay, better question: are you guys from Earth? Or somewhere else? I know, I know, probably a stupid question, but if it's really been six hundred years then some other ships might have made it to other planets by now. Maybe you're all from colonies that were established by other groups, and that's why you're just now getting around to salvaging the Mugunghwa. Am I right?" God, tell me I'm right. I feel like I'm trapped in enough of a nightmare already. Staren gets a -look- from her when he talks about cannabalizing her code, though. "Do. Not. Touch my code. Not without my permission. The last person who did that --" She cuts herself off. "I have really bad memories of it, alright? I don't wanna get in your way or anything, but just give me a little bit."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren shakes his head. "We're from Earth, but alternate dimensions." He raises his hand in a 'woah', gesture, "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean /you/, personally. I meant the ship systems. Like, I /know/ I don't know how your artificial gravity works. Who knows what other useful applications the technology behind it might have?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren shrugs. "Anyway, you're in the Multiverse now. It's kind of a long story, and I'm happy to give you the full rundown if you want it, but the short of it is... parts of a whole bunch of different universes have been joined together. None of us are from /your/ Earth."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As Septette steps into full view, Mute's eyes widen. Her hands hurriedly rejoin at her waist, cloaking themselves in her sleeves again as she turns away, pointedly ignoring her. Visually, anyway. "Fine, whatever, I get it: ship wasn't working, you had to force your way in. The psycho bitch probably had it on full lockdown after she came in here anyway. You're forgiven, I guess." Her right hand soon meanders just beneath her chin in contemplation. She glances worriedly between Septette and a random section of the wall after that, seemingly desperate to avoid looking at her but continually brought back by her own sort of morbid curiosity anyway.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Likewise, she does her utmost not to say the real reason /why/ Septette's appearance bothers her out loud, and it would be mercifully difficult to broach in such a public forum.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her eyes squeeze shut again. Tch.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"<span style="color:xterm50">Salutations. I am Moonfin of the Starbound Flotilla, Hylotl missionary and Core Fleet Captain. What we are is not pirates, but a much less defined group. We engage in business, exploration, mining, research, mercenary work, trade, and similar ventures. We exist as a conglomerate of extremely different parties, each acting upon our own unique interests, taking in members in need of resources or connection, or who can provide them.</span>"<br />"<span style="color:xterm39">Concerned. What happened here? It seems...</span>" A soft synthesized buzz. "<span style="color:xterm39">Haunted. I should not pry, I hope.</span>" Beep beep. "<span style="color:xterm39">Concerned. You appear to be the final remaining survivor, unless there are latent options of suspended animation. ...Do you wish to remain with this vessel?</span>"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The pair have taken up their position as spokesmen of the Core Fleet people, at the very least. Seft's body language seems worried, almost sympathetic; Moonfin seems equal parts grim and pondering. Both seem interested in what Mute wants, particularly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kotone Yamakawa is about to make a quip about the ship being the Flotilla's pretty much now when things get a lot more grim about what this. <br /><br /> &lt;&lt;Too late now and ... I wasn't thinking I just ... have not seen this many bodies at once before...&gt;&gt; <br /><br /> "It's as she said, and I'm sorry I didn't mean to come off so rude, Mute." <br />#-1 ARGUMENT OUT OF RANGE SHe pauses for a moment and get a very odd look on her face and she pauses s STaren goes right in, then again it's like pulling an old bandage off a wound. <br /><br /> "I'm Kotone Yamakawa." <br /><br /> There's mention of another being who left the ship on lockdown? That has her wondering now. Kotone is looking worried but she doesn't seem to be planning to pry.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mute blinks at Staren's response, a hand meandering back to rest on her leg. She cups a hand around her mouth in thought. "Multiverse. So... you mean that the Mugunghwa somehow ended up in an alternate dimension? Or, like, a mix of a bunch of alternate dimensions?" Then she folds her arms. "As if things weren't complicated enough already... but whatever." She just wishes that the other people on board the ship could have lived to see it. She's caught between wanting to smile in consideration of how certain people might have reacted... and wanting to lower her head in mourning. Ultimately her reaction comes out as a bizarre mixture of both responses, her eyes glazing over and lingering off to the side for another, long series of seconds.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;His decidedly animated response to her hesitation about being 'Downloaded' is met with her first genuine grin, though, after which she brings herself to face him more fully again. "Alright, fine. But to download the log documents from the ship, you need the server password. And I'm probably the only person you're going to get that from, so I have some conditions. Or, well, more like one condition: you have to read at least -some- of the unrelated logs, too. Learn about the people who lived here. Keep them alive. If you do that, you can have anything you want."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's not like we're using it anymore.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren shrugs at the comment about complications. Then again at the demand to download logs. "Look, I'll be blunt: I have no social skills. I'm not taking memory duty for a civilization I've never met. I've got about a bajillion /living/ people to worry about, and I don't need your ship logs to analyze the technology. Someone else might be up for that though."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"As far as I'm concerned with you... .../do/ you want to come with us, or stay here?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"The latter conclusion is correct. An amalgamation of multiple alternate dimensions. Some of which have nothing in common with Earth. Think the wildest of fantasy novels for one extreme. Magic and dragons." Rory offers more elegantly.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Information packages are available."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And at Mute's request... she can only offer a somewhat sad smile. "That can be done. The story of this ship can be told... once we figure it out."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:632|Septette Arcubielle (632)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> After a moment, Septette raises her hand to volunteer- it isn't as if she doesn't notice the unease directed at her, but hopefully that won't be a significant obstacle to her proposal. "I have a perfect memory, and am an avid student of history and culture. Even if you did not make it a condition, I would still enjoy reading the records of your people." Her eyes close for a moment, and she thinks back to a line from a poem of Armoroad... <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Amarantos. Unfading. Indelible. In your immortal dye I write my promise to never forget the souls of the dead," the robot intones solemnly before looking back up at Mute. "I made that promise two hundred years ago, by a monument to the war I fought. To this day I remember the names and faces of all those who fought with me. I can do the same for your people, if you wish."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mute turns to Seft and Moonfin.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She immediately regrets it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She squeezes her eyes shut as Moonfin talks, preferring the etiquette and authority of his language to the, uh, complete foreigness of his appearance. And actually, this does the trick: keeping her eyes closed for a few minutes and just listening instead of trying to process his physicality goes a long way toward calming her down, and her shoulders visibly lose their tension throughout his introduction. Toward the end, she's even nodding, albeit with her eyelids still shut fast. "Alright, so you're sort of like interstellar opportunists. But, like. You're the guy in charge, right?" You definitely /sound/ like the guy in charge, or at the very least the guy who -should- be in charge. She's not about to say that out loud, but there you go.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She finally manages to reopen her eyes for Seft, whose appearance and demeanor she finds a lot less, uh. Offensive, on a whole. Once she's finished quirking her brow at how she seems to announce the emotion behind her statements, she fluidily transitions into discussion with her, though she is still extremely careful to avoid Moonfin. Okay, well, as careful as she can be, a la the same morbid curiosity thing she was experiencing with Septette. But then Staren says something similar: 'Do you want to stay on this ship?'<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her hands rejoin at her waist, and her eyes close. After a few seconds of contemplation, they reopen in a flourish of hypothetical flame: "Do I really have a choice? I'm, like... okay. I'm like the ship's wife. The Mugunghwa was my reason for being alive. Leaving here without it..." She bites her lip. "I can't. I mean, I couldn't. It just wouldn't be right. It would be so disrespectful for all the other people that lost their lives here because I couldn't do my job. The Ryus, the Smiths... even that disgusting Hana girl. None of them deserved this." So, she shakes her head. "So, no. The only thing I can do is stay until this ship just... stops. It's the only ethical thing I can do." After that, she sighs, looking away. Her hand remains firmly planted on her thigh.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then, at the mention of 'other survivors'? She opens her mouth to say something, but she immediately closes it again, limply shaking her head. No. -No-. She doesn't deserve to leave this place either.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren quirks an eyebrow. "'Stops'? You do know space doesn't have a lot of friction, right?" he shrugs. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I can't save people who don't want to be saved. Any chance you'll tell me where the gravity generators are so I can go study them, or should I just wander around for awhile...?" He starts to walk off, then pauses. "...Although, I suppose if you consider this ship your 'husband', it'd be rude to take pieces of the body. Do you want us to just leave, then?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mute... slowly looks over to Septette, actually managing to lock eyes with her (albeit with a small twitch of her left eye). She contorts her expression in an agonizing uncertainty. How do you reconcile that level of tact and respect with such a... uhm. Appearance? At that, Mute shuts her eyes again. Okay, okay, these people obviously go by different values, but they're -trying- to be civilized. And she can respect that. She -will- respect that, at least as much as her reflexes will allow for.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That said, words fail her when she actually opens her mouth in reply. There's a delay of several moments before she says, quietly, "Yeah. I... I would appreciate that." Then, looking away and dropping her volume even further,<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Uh, thanks."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kotone Yamakawa pauses for a moment looking at Mute's display for a moment thinking thoughtfully about the situation as Mute brings up backing up logs and the like for a moment nodding to Mute. <br /><br /> "Also I'd like to pull their funeral rites up, even if might take some time I think it would be proper to give them a proper laying to rest." <br /><br /> She does seem to mean it when she says it. <br /><br /> "I would also like to download personal copies." <br /><br /> She was about to ask more but then Mute talks about bneing to be punnished /more/ for what happened. She does not know the details but she just trails off here not sure what else to day.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mute looks to Staren. Her expression evens and she says, plainly, "Just do whatever you came here to do."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span style="color:xterm50">You seek memorial? A vigil for the lost?</span>" Moonfin spreads his webbed hands wide. "<span style="color:xterm50">You speak to a Hylotl, and memorial is our greatest business. Honor to the dead exists in allowing their thoughts, their memories, the people they affected, the stories they told and made and lived, to go on. Your vessel may be a tomb, but should you seek the service of celestial vigil, you need look no further than a Hylotl. I can ensure your your logs are reviewed and the tales within find a place deep in the shelves of every library of note from here to the end of the galaxy. I would ask for an exchange, of course: Service, knowledge, resource, to cover cost of immortalizing.</span>" His Hylotl language is pretty eastern, so the aural experience should still sound rather familiar. Everything but the physical form of him is a pretty straightforward representation of the patriarch of an eastern family. "<span style="color:xterm50">I am in charge of diplomacy, the original founder, and have the right to represent the diplomatic interests of our group. As a leader, I may suffice for you.</span>"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span style="color:xterm39">Grim. I will not demand that you rescind your decision, but...</span>" Seft starts, approaching the screen and tilting her head. "<span style="color:xterm39">Concerned. Suicide is never an ethical imperative. If you wish to stay, we will not forcibly download you. However, I ask that you hear my request.</span>" She pings softly, before saying, "<span style="color:xterm39">Philosophical. A purpose vested entirely in the vessel for which you were made is damaged just as much as the vessel itself. You have answered the question of what your ethical code demands, but you have not answered the question of what you, yourself, desire. There are no longer any inhabitants of this vessel that may judge you; ethical infrastructure exists as a means to benefit community. Now lacking a community to benefit, it decays. I believe that it is your decision to determine the borders of the community you wish to benefit based upon your desire, and reform your ethical constructs to benefit them.</span>" She does a respectful little bow-like nod. "<span style="color:xterm39">Self-conscious. That is what I believe, in any case. Please consider it as you will. If you wish to separate from your vessel, I believe we could perform an exchange of some sort.</span>"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren shrugs. He makes his way back to the ships to see how George is doing. Somehow, he suspects his allies would be even more unhappy if he went after tech right now.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span style="color:xterm50">The decision is hardly binary.</span>" Moonfin says, with his usual smugness. "<span style="color:xterm50">Just as easily as we ferry you out, we could ferry you back. If you leave, and find your purpose lacking, we would hold no objection to taking you back to here.</span>"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:632|Septette Arcubielle (632)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Septette inclines her head respectfully towards Mute and smiles slightly. "If that really is your decision, then I will respect it. However, it is likely that this ship will continue to run for a very, very long time. I don't know how much your personal feelings affect your decision-making processes, but this is a choice that should not be made in haste. Should you decide to remain, then I intend to return at a later time- perhaps multiple times- to see if you still wish to stay here. Would that be acceptable?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I for one would like to restore the ship." Rory states firmly. "The undertaking would be immense, but the superstructure, power systems, and ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY, seems to be largely intact. The dead need to be properly attended to... the ship need not remain a tomb. Though I do not know to whom it belongs. Mute here seems to be owner by default at this point." Rory makes a confused gesture off to one side, and asks...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Mute? Kim Hyun-Ae. Does this name mean anything to you?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then it's back to Kotone, Moonfin, and Seft, but Mute responds to the former two first. Her expression betrays a small hints of shock at the candidness of their reactions. Not only does Kotone want to learn more about the people on the ship, but she wants to take copies of the data for herself. Not only is this fish-man willing to read through their history, but also to -build a monument to all their lives-. Okay, she's sure of it now: even if these people don't exactly know the proper ways to dress and carry themselves - yes, Kotone, she's looking at you - they nevertheless have the important things down. They respect the past, and maybe, just maybe, they're respecting their own pasts by speaking, dressing, and acting like they do. As she has this thought, she allows herself for a long, lasting moment of internal peace. She exhales, some of the harder edges of her expression easing into a more earnest calm.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To Moonfin, she has no words; she only nods her head several times, almost ashamed that she can't bring herself to face him directly. Seft's follow-up, though, hits her -hard-, and her fists ball back up from a newly-wrought tension. "Not an ethical imperative?? Sure, maybe it's 'virtuous' for a woman to live on without her husband, but not everyone can deal with that! This ship was my -purpose-. I was created to keep these people safe, and I haven't been off of this ship since the moment it launched." She shuts her eyes, hard. "This ship IS me. Just like marriage makes two people into one whole, or like being a part of a family means that you have to work together. Leaving that behind... I -can't-. What I want doesn't matter. It's just... it's better this way. Please, just... if you just promise to take the files, and read them, that's all I could ever want from you. I don't need to be around to facilitate that if I just give you the password now, right?" With every word, she looks more and more distraught.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she accidentally locks eyes with Moonfin, or more accurately, she temporarily forgets that she was trying to do so. "'Hardly binary??'" She shakes her head in vehement opposition. "No. -No-. If I make the decision to leave now, then even if I come back, I'll have to live with that betrayal for the rest of my life. That's wrong. That's so, so, so wrong." She keeps shaking her head in tune with her words.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then, finally, she comes back around to Septette. She squeezes her eyes shut again, squeezing her palms shut again. "... fine. But my answer isn't going to change." Although she certainly wouldn't mind the company...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if she doesn't deserve it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;'Kim Hyun-Ae'.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mute immediately clamps her eyes shut, her expression contorting in a sort of quiet, but profoundly obvious, rage. After drinking in a deep, deep breath, she opens her eyes again.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yeah, it does. But I don't want to tell you why right now. I want you to get it through the logs. It'll mean more that way." After that, she looks away. She mutters something again, under her breath.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;'Psycho bitch'.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kotone Yamakawa does want to help but doesn't seeming to plan to change anything really for it, she might salvage a few things as she has premission but will do her best to not be a total ghoul about it. She also looks to Seft and Moonfin. Kotone is honestly interested and to keep these people alive? People need to know their story, right? Kotone is ues very much in a form fitting vacsuit but she didn't want to come unprotected here after all. Still she is being polite and is taking her turn to talk. She seems to understand it's like her and her primary shell it's just as much a part of her as it is just hardware.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seft seems to stop, and give some serious thought to what Mute is saying. She takes on a ponderous expression on her eye-display, showing <span style="color:xterm39">u_u</span> for a moment while she considers what's been said. Moonfin's the one who speaks up in reply. "<span style="color:xterm50">I cannot deny that there is poetry in the choice to die, bonded to your purpose. An elegance and grace that would have historians paying respect for generations. If that is your decision, we will not force another upon you.</span>"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span style="color:xterm39">Curious. If you have given your thought to redefining the borders of your community and still believe it includes the dead, I will accept that. But perhaps I can offer you another option. What would your ethics demand if we offered to take you from the vessel, to serve the Flotilla as we do, and in exchange, earn repairs to your vessel, to restore it to working order, retrofit it with the equipment necessary to function in modern times, and eventually, take on new passengers and return to service?</span>" Her eye-screen displays a friendly <span style="color:xterm39">^_^</span>. "<span style="color:xterm39">What would you say to something like that, Mute? What do your ethics demand when a wife could take action to save some small piece of her husband?</span>"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:632|Septette Arcubielle (632)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> "It's settled, then," Septette replies as she nods to Rory. "If you don't want to leave the ship, then we can- with your permission- repair it. Until you've been out there, I promise you that you can have no idea what the Multiverse has to offer. Even if you do ultimately decide that you have no further purpose in life, it wouldn't be fair to you if I allowed you to make that decision without having some idea of the alternative. I want you to see this new world that you find yourself in, because this is an opportunity that you- and perhaps you alone, from your world- have been given." <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To demonstrate some small part of that succintly, the yggdroid holds one hand aloft with her palm facing upwards. An ice crystal condenses out of the moisture in the air as the temperature at that particular point falls- but nothing else nearby seems to increase in temperature commensurately, as clear an apparent violation of entropy as she could produce.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seft.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;-Seft-.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mute is an AI, and her body no more than an image on a screen. As such, it's not entirely impossible for her to manage certain expressions that aren't plausible for normal human beings. In this case she manages one such expression: the corners of her mouth waver in a short, wavelike pattern as her cheeks, in spite of themselves, take on a rosy tint. Mute bats her lashes, then bats them some more, before she finally, suddenly folds her arms and tears her gaze away from her.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That...!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How the hell does she respond to that?!?!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She bites her lip, facing her again.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Look," She says, "I can't. I can't leave this ship. Even if I -wanted- to, I can't just... foist my code off on to some external storage device. The security protocols probably wouldn't even allow it, but..." She closes her eyes in contemplation. "But, I mean, okay. Look, I should probably shut down for a brief maintenance routine. I haven't done that in six centuries, so there are probably some serious inefficiencies with my computation speed. And I mean, -technically-, you could probably download my software on to some external drive while I was like that, and I wouldn't be able to do anything to stop you. But don't do that, okay? Don't. Do that. That would be so many different levels of wrong."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She flashes looks at -everyone- present, allowing herself to focus chiefly on Septette when she makes her final comments back. "I mean it!" She echoes, "Don't you dare!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then, suddenly, the monitor drops back to the command line. When there, the group would likely take notice of a peculiar line waiting to be entered, as though it had been entered there without any input on their part:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;su hyun-ae<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe, just maybe, being logged in as a master user would let them use the 'download' command, too...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span style="color:xterm50">Ahhhh. Well, we should ensure we get a full dump of the entire data core.</span>" Moonfin says, smugly. "<span style="color:xterm50">It would be irresponsible to leave anything to chance. Mr. Wiremu, Miss Yamakawa, Miss White, could you please? I think my friend Mr. Petrov is currently busy being needlessly paranoid and checking for-- I swear, Albert, there is not going to suddenly be a pirate raid on radars with a situation like this, you know. Please, if you would do the honors?</span>" He gestures off towards the terminal and steps back, getting to work on a series of projected holopanels to map out the current location... And to set up Core Fleet ships to deploy jammers, to do an electromagnetic blackout of the ship, so that stray emissions won't draw any more scavengers with fewers scruples than Seft, who has already gotten into an argument with Pavo about salvaging the entire vessel right off the bat.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:958|Mute (958)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Curiously, another prompt comes up as he uses the download command. The terminal reads back as follows:<span style="color:xterm8"><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Override Terminal<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;keOS/Amie 8.11 Starship Mugunghwa internal computer Mon Jan 1 00:00:00 1970<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Notice: This system is property of the Unified Korea Space Probe Agency. Access by individuals not affiliated with the UKSPA is a felony under the UKSPA act of 2381.<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Last Login: "Kim Hyun Ae," 221432 days ago<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ERROR: AI PERSONALITY DISABLED, REVERTING TO COMMAND LINE<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;AVAILABLE COMMANDS: download, disable_ai, enable_ai, help, su, quit<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;su hyun-ae<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You have been upgraded to superuser status.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;download<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Would you like to download the AI personalities *Mute and *Hyun-Ae alongside the core files? (Y/N/Cancel)<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;============================================================================</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rory, after being explained about this social matter, is still reluctant to do exactly OPPOSITE what was being requested... but Moonfin, at least, she trusts. So she sets to the process.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Hyun-Ae is another AGI...?" This is now even more creepier.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her theories about how this ship got into such a sorry state just got darker.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kotone Yamakawa has no idea Mute is judging her for the way she dresses. Which is likely for the best at the moment but this could lead to chaos later. Which might be amusing to the rest of the Flotilla. She just shakes her head for a moment as she attempty to clear some mental cob webs out. <br /><br /> "I'm in on the repair job." <br /><br /> she offers without a hint of hestation. Though Mute's situation might be a problem and she also gets that Mute feels the ship is her body as well. There's there are other htings. <br /><br /> "Right I'm on it." <br /><br /> She'll pull a jack cable out of the back of her suit's neck and attach a proto abby connector to it before she'll find a place to jack into and paues at the option to download copies of the AI's wait two? but they'd already started the download. 5R<br /> &lt;&lt;Oh I do not like where this is going, Rory...&gt;&gt;<br> <br>
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