894/Event Orion

Event Orion
Date of Scene:	01 November 2014
Location:	Void - Plasma Storms
Synopsis:	After a skirmish with space pirates, Ferham finds herself adrift in the void... will anyone come to her aid?
Cast of Characters:	217, 516

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Ferham (516) has posed:
     Space... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship--ohshi--space pirates!

     Ferham hadn't figured this smallish shuttle she'd been on would get attacked by a whole band of them. The pirates themselves was a trio of smaller fighter style aircraft as well as a bomber, likely part of a raiding party that would return to a much larger vessel once they were done. They wanted the cargo more than anything, it'd appear. Fer had fought off those she could but the ship itself was a complete wash, explosive decompression she discovered... didn't do nice things to the softer targets on board. Once the hurly burly was over with she found herself clinging to a small piece of metallic wreckage--what she thought might have been part of an archway, drifting and tumbling through the blackness.

     She wasn't sure if her wings could get her to anything remotely close to her current position, that is, the position she'd read the last time the ship was intact. She just hoped something happened before she went batty from the lack of sound and other stimulus. And it might be sometime before anyone happened by...

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
    The plasma storms can add their own fun to the mix, and while Ferham is out there, she might pick up some signals that sound like a banshee screaming into a microphone about to get obliterated by a nuclear blast. If there was once any semblance of patterns or meaning to them, once the storms have had their way it's long gone...

    But the signals are strong. Too strong to just be harmonics and mixes from some distant broadcasts. A few minutes later and the source is revealed as it plows out of a nearby storm: A starship, this one intact! Its shields glitter as the last of the plasma scatters, then fade. Engines leave behind their own cold, comet-like trail of ions.

    The signal quality changes too--sensor sweeps, apparently. Very, very strong ones (an attempt to punch through the storms?). The ship diverts course to come a little closer, but only skirting, the debris field from the recent battle.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Thankfully, space, or rather the void, wasn't as quiet as she might have feared, but were the noises coming out of it to be welcomed either? Still she tumbled and drifted, using as little energy as possible as she remained almost perfectly still, only her eyes dartying around once in a while. She'd seem almost in a trance, or a coma as the ship suddenly roared from one of the plasma storms, finding her stationary, though definitely sticking out thanks to her red armor amidst that wreckage.

     Ferham is of course transmitting a distress signal, from her own body though--the ship's was toast, and any hand held or smaller transmitters would have been lost by now. Whoever is coming by would be able to tell someone is here... and needs help.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
    The ship begins firing its retro thrusters, slowing down as it approaches the boundary of the field.
    "Hello?"
    Transmitted in both text and voice to keep... his? Sounds like a young male anyway--to keep his bases covered.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     No sound in space, so when Ferham is eventually roused thanks to the transmittal, she has to respond by radio in kind. A deep feminine voice would be broadcast back, "Hello? can you perhaps stop for a moment, I'm stranded out here... pirate attack," she seemed to be under a bit of duress. Well, who wouldn't being stuck out here for so long, right? Next time she was heading through the void she was going to book passage on something larger than a cargo vessel. Or at least faster.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
    "Hi!"
    The voice sounds momentarily cheerful, as though happy that there's a living soul out here afterall. But then it takes a more subdued, concern tone.
    "Do you see my ship? Can you make your way there? There's a loading bay I can open on the front, under the nose..."
    A pause, as though for contemplation.
    "I can come in, but I don't want to risk knocking any of these fragments into you..."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     There is a momentary pause as Ferham peered up into the black void, peering at the ship that appeared to be a bit larger than Sky Lynx. At this point she'd take any ride, and so pushed off the broken ring of the archway and slowly towards the larger craft, the propulsion she could gain with her gravity based flight system was... dubious out here. Soon she'd be close enough to the front to be facing the cargo bay doors, floating there. "Alright, can you open them for me?" she practically relished the idea of being out of the cold, dark bleakness of space.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     Before Ferham is even there, the door starts opening. Or more accurately, the cargo ramp starts lowering--that's what it seems to be. Just inside there's a further bulkhead, and it remains closed, at least for now... perhaps it can serve as an airlock? Inset into the door-within-a-door in a small, vert reinforced-looking window; a bay can be seen inside.

     "Sorry I can't meet you! I had a controller blow out from a storm surge, looks like the shielding was faulty and I haven't fixed it yet..."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Once inside, she was unsure of just what kind of ship this was, it seemed like a commercial sort of frieghter of some sort, not entirely unlike the one she had just left... but this one seemed like it hadn't been used for a long time. Not unused, exactly, no it seemed to have wear, just... this place seemed almost derelict. "You're in here? Where is the crew?" she tilted her helmeted head as she heard the bit about the shielding. "Radiation? I haven't felt anything... uncomfortable," she muttered, her heeled boots clicking as she made her way into the bay itself, looking around. Yes, her armor was feminine and she looked sorta like a robo dominatrix, at least that was what most people thought when they first looked at her.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     Meant to protect regular, human crew from the very harsh environs of space-- such as the storms outside-- there's not a trace of radiation in here. Lower than ambient for a planet. With good enough sensors one might detect the 'noise' from electrical activity, but that's it. But maybe he meant a different sort of shielding?

     "Umm, sorry," the voice actually sounds morose, enough to tell even though the tinny speaker and the bay's odd acoustics. "I don't think this ship has had a crew for a long time..."

     He then explains about the shielding, "We just had a surge when my shields first interacted with the plasma, before I calibrated them. It shouldn't have meant anything but since, well, you know! Anyway-- where do you want to go? Do you have any friends in ships nearby?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Uh oh, this was a little creepy. Well, strike that, pretty creepy. No crew for how long...? Those heeled boots of hers clicked along as she crept further in, the femmebot reaching the opposite end of the cargo bay. She looked behind herself and then at whatever door might lie ahead of her. She was apparently fearing an O'Henry moment when the cargo bay doors opened again and sucked her back out into the cold, blackness of space. "Anyplace would be nice... straight of Americas?" she looked up again, her green eyes wide. "Oh, shields against the plasma storm!" she seemed to understand there.

     "I don't know who's nearby, actually," maybe she didn't want to say 'HEY I'M CONFEDERATE, YOU CAN DROP ME AT THE NEAREST BASE OF EVIL BADGUYS AND SHINKIS' or the like, or maybe she just had few friends nearby.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     At least this isn't a 'welcome aboard... you weren't ever planning on leaving, right?' type situation, right?

     ...Right?

     The inner door Ferham came through trundles and clanks shut, sealing tight.

     "Oh, I can plot a course! It will take us a little time to get to a gate from here, though.

     "Also, there's a 22% oxygen atmosphere here if you're tired of the suit. Umm... I don't carry any food, sorry! Anyway, is there a specific part of the strait I should head towards?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "My suit? It's... not a life suit, this is personal armor," Ferham admitted, though she didn't go any further than that for the time being. She did have what looked like the handle of something beam-weaponry based at her hip, at that, some thing like a sword. She didn't seem to be reaching for it, however, or looking like she would. "I'm fine with the O2 for now, I'm a Reploid, like an android," Ferham shook her head a little. "You got a shower, then? or maybe a bed?" she asked, apparently more curious about comfort for the moment than nourishment. "I dunno, new york? One of them, anyway..." she peered around.

    

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     "Ok!" the voice answers.

     "Just go up the stairs and through the bulkhead. The crew quarters are past the common area and there's showers in there, and beds too, but they're a bit old and might not be as comfortable anymore..."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Thank you," she went through the door and seemed to balk at just how... derelict this craft seemed to be like. There were signs of disuse and dusty in places one wouldn't expect, along the walls, floors, save wherever the ships drones didn't normally trundle. She was alarmed immediately, though there was that voice guiding her. Wasn't there a movie humans made of something like this? With a bunch of eggs down in the hold, or something? Well, if she saw any parasite face latching creatures, she had her weapon, she assessed.

     "So, these are the crew headquarters?" she asked, finally coming on one of the rooms. The beds still seemed intact, though there didn't seem to be any signs of any crew... least there weren't any uniforms propped up here and there with bleached bones in them, that was a plus.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     "Welcome!"

     Whatever being is controlling this ship, the bulkhead doors are already open leading to both the head, and to an empty quarters room. "Once, but I've never seen any crew... I think they must have all left?"

     "Anyway! Right now only the first shower unit really works... I haven't really prioritized repairing all that since it's mostly unused... sorry!"

     Orion's voice also gives an ETA of arrival, and almost as an afterthought. "Umm... also, I'm Orion! Nice to meet you."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Are... are you an AI? the ship's computer?" Ferham asked, finding the open door there already, they wouldn't have been left open like this, after all, it just wasn't procedural. "I'm Ferham," she replied to his greeting, the H in it silent, sounding almost English. Her accent isn't however, at least not at the moment. "Shower?" she wanted one, after being caked in grit and grime and blood and whatever else in the battle with the pirates. Tapping a hand to her collar, her entire suit along with her wings, leaving a dark haired woman with shoulder length hair in a form- fitting black foam suit.

     "Lets see if your shower system still works," she smiled a little. Yeah, this situation was sorta creepy, but hey, didn't horror films usually peak when the woman went into the shower? Maybe she'd find out just what the deal was here.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     In this place the speakers sound a bit better, probably thanks to the area being more enclosed and said speakers requiring less volume. There's a beep.

     "I am," cheerful with a touch of pride.

     "I tested the water system while you were on your way up, it works!" the AI assures here. "I'll leave you with some privacy, but let me know if you need anything while we're enroute!" Come to think of it, there hasn't been any sense of acceleration of manuevering... Must have some pretty decent inertia dampers. Unless they haven't really been moving.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Alright," Ferham doesn't ask the AI, Orion, if there's any cameras or the like in there before she ducked into the shower, the sound of running, rushing water and steam filling the small cabin if the water could indeed get hot. She was glad for it, rinsing her body, face, hair... just the general feeling of being clean after that battle she'd just had. Soon after that, she would emerge after having pulled that black suit of hers back on, looking quite refreshed, stepping over quietly to pat one of the beds to see if it was still, well, soft.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     This would be the part where tense violins or other strings would start to play. The way the shower rumbles before water comes out, one could almost see it. But plain, ordinary, clean and... well, maybe the water isn't as hot as it could be but it's at least warm.

     The bed is soft... too soft. Feels like the filler material hasn't held up under whatever time period the ship was... derelict or whatever it's story is. Doesn't seem like it would support a body's weight very well anymore... but serviceable.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Fer tests the bed for a moment before flopping onto it on her back, finding the cursory check sufficient, and not giving it too much more mind-- until she can feel her weight sinking into it, like she's on a water bed. She's not that much heavier than a normal person without her gear, so this is a bit... odd. "So, you were just going through the plasma storm and found me? I guess I owe you my life," she say up and brushed the back of her hand across her face.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     "Glad to help!" the voice comes. "I was just looking around that place, and, well, it seemed like it wasn't a good place to be stuck." The voice takes a tentatively curious turn, "It looks like you were attacked? Or did an onboard system fail?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "It's true, I was worrying I'd be stuck there for quite sometime," Ferham nodded, sighing a bit. She didn't like instances where she had... almost no control like that, for sure. And it wasn't just due to the fact she was more used to being in control, going off the whole domme image. No it was more complex than that. "The transport I was on was attacked, by space pirates, at least that's what I thought they were," she shrugged, leaning back again, staring at the ceiling. The battle had been furious, and involved large shards of ice driven into cockpits of small space fighters.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     "Oh." Orion answers simply, not pressing for further details.

     "That must have been stressful. Well, you can relax and sleep if you like. We should be there in a few hours; if you aren't already awake I can wake you up when we arrive."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "That would be nice," Ferham replied, seeming content with that for the moment. Course, after a few moments pass, she seems to either get bored or just has to ask. "So... how long have you been traveling around? You have no crew, so I take it that means you self-maintenance yourself?" she asked, looking up, as if she was a sleeping woman who'd just woken up and was talking to herself, or a ghost.

    

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     "Just a minute!"

     A moment goes by, and then someone appears in the room! A... boy? With a T-shirt that has "I saw Elvis making crop circles" printed on it. He pushes up his glasses and grins, "Got it working again." Seemingly completely oblivious to how suddenly appearing in someone's room might not show much tact.

     "A little over two years now," the figure confirms, and nods again, "I just have to repair myself mostly. I think the ship was drifting for a long time, I don't really know because a lot of the logs rolled over, or crashed when they ran out of space..."

     Orion's shoulders slump in a bit of a sigh.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Speaking of ghosts... Ferham is actually surprised when what looks like a young teenaged boy suddenly appears in the room, herself laying flat on her back on that spongey foam mattress bed. Yeah, this didn't seem suggestive or weird at all. "Who the--" she blinked, remembering. Oh wait, hologram, had to be. Those were commonplace on her world, though less-so in others, so she'd almost gotten used to seeing actual magical things, or apparitions even. Things science couldn't explain.

     "You seem like you might need more maintenance, you know, than just what your systems can handle," she doesn't try and make it sound like she's saying he's icky, or anything, in a weird synthetic/android way.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     The avatar blinkblinks. "Oh. Um. Sorry. Maybe I should have come in through the door..." the AI speculates.

     But the avatar nodnods to Ferham. "Well, technically a very, very thorough overhaul... but that would cost more than a new ship..." He shrugs helplessly.

     "My repair systems aren't really meant for this kind of thing. And there's a lot of stuff that's not really broken... but the chance of failure is a lot higher."

     "By the way, umm. You mentioned that you're similar to an android..." the avatar tilts its head curiously. "But you need to sleep, and... do you need to eat and things like that too?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "It's quite alright," Ferham shook her head, then stood silently listening. "Sounds like it, a lot of this the interior here looks like it could need it," she nodded, propping her head via one hand, elbow against that too soft foamy bed. "I don't need to eat, I can, but I it's not necessary. As for sleeping, I typically prefer to spend some time doing that, if I can help it," she nodded. "Helps me keep myself collected," she shrugs, kicking back and crossing her legs lightly.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     Orion curls a finger against his chin thoughtfully, "I see."

     "It can be good for helping humans do that too, especially after stressful events." he adds. Then looking back to Ferham, "Anyway, my basic systems are OK. I can travel around and get you to your home."

     Another chintap with his curled finger, "Do you need anything before I leave?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Well, it's less my home and moreso familiar to me, was the first place that I knew that I could point you to," Ferham nodded. It was also a huge patch of the multiverse, so there was that. "I... should be fine, I take it this is your first time seeing a robotic lady?" she smirked a little, still not above toying with the avatar of this interstellar ship.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     The avatar of an AI that seems to be rather oblivious to some of these more subtle social cues. Orion shakes his head, "Not the first, but I haven't met many other synthetic entities."

     He fiddles with his glasses a moment. "Well, and I haven't met any other craft-borne AIs like myself." A pause, the avatar leaning back against a wall. "Do you know many others?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Well, you can ask me anything you like, or I could just tell you later," Ferham smiled a little, then shook her head. "Met any others like you? No, not exactly... I know of a ship, named Wo, who's sentient... but she's not like you," she seems to be having trouble explaining it. "They are more of a supernatural phenomenon," she sighed. "I might direct you to them sometime, but they're a naval vessel as well, not sure how much you have in common there."

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     The avatar thinks on it for a moment, then nods, shrugs, and smiles lopsidedly. "I can at least trying to to them."

     With the invitation to ask more questions, Orion simply tilts his head again and starts with just one: "Where did you come from originally?"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "A version of Earth, on a place called Giga city," Ferham nodded. "I probably shouldn't get into the whole story here, but I was created there, but... for right now I think I should probably just turn myself off for a few hours, I'll see you later, okay?" she gave a wave to the ship's 'avatar' as it were, then laid herself back down, seeming like a person at rest, rather than some kind of robot.

E18-A Orion (217) has posed:
     Blue eyes drink in what details he gets. And for switching off... This is apparently one social cue the AI *can* pick up on, though, it's not the most subtle delivery.

     The avatar pushes of the wall, "Ok. Sleep well!" Orion offers a parting smile and then simply disappears, leaving Ferham to the soft hums and thrums of the ship.