Participants : Narai, Riata, Iso, Ladek
Amphitheater of Light - Opodian Colony – Irinnar
As night sets on Irinnar, a rare occasion in the heavens above allows for the stars to be seen, as well as both moons of the planet. Shining down on the Amphitheater, adding extra light to the center area of the great structure. A crew of scientists work carefully in the center of the Amphitheatre, as they are unearthing some sort of vessel or device. Since it's discovery, the exploratory crew on Irinnar has sent a request for the leadership to come before the planned tour to see what has been uncovered.
A Lotorian starship rests where the stage of the theatre would usually be. As with many Lotorian ships, it looks to have been made of mostly salvaged parts, engines from different starships welded clumsily to its hull. Even so, it retains an elegance of its own. Given the need for extraction, it's obvious this ship hasn't flown in a good many years.
Having only been here once before, the Explorer Narai, soon to be Viceroy of Malencheer, is escourted through the maze of corridors along with Riata by a number of security guards and scientists. After what seems like walking for miles, they emerge at the base of Amphitheatre at the stage level. They are shown over to the excavation area, and Narai seems to be very interested. "Is it functional?" He asks the scientist leading the removal of the ship.
Riata immediately moves forward to the ship with no regard to anything else that might be going on or who might follow, "Oh my, now this does look interesting," with that she whips out her PDA and begins looking for historical data on the ship and the surrounding area. Any and all attempts to divert her attention are waved off with a distracted, "Later dear, busy now go play somewhere else."
The Opodian scientists might be able to read small levels of power throughout the ship. It's not dead, if it were alive, it might be described as sleeping. The engine running on minimal to conserve fuel. As for its history, well there are trace levels of radiation in the hull. Perfectly safe now, but in its distant past it travelled a radiation storm strong enough to kill anyone unprotected. There are large sections of the hull that are torn open, or missing entirely.
Perhaps the Universe has a cosmic sense of humour. Perhaps what some call chance and timing are working at play. A flash of Blue Light appears before the group, and a human in grey prisoner clothing appears, tumbling down some of the salvage and in front of the Scientists, Narai, and Riata, groaning loudly as his face hits the Ampitheatre ground.
Before Narai can react to the new, unexpected, arrival, a hand full of security guards surround the rifter. Narai simply looks down at the being, tilting his head. "Secure him, search him for weapons. If he does anything you deem as hostile, shoot him." He says, the coldness in his voice. Perhaps if this was elsewhere, then he would be more open to the arrival - but no, an unexpected visitor in a heavily secured area, which Narai had hoped to keep secret for abit longer has now irritated him - a new side to the Explorer.
Riata finishes looking at the ship before looking at the new arrival, "Narai dear, we really should move him away from anything that could be damaged, the last thing we need is yet more broken bits of history." she sounds more than mildly irritated.
Riata finishes looking at the ship before looking at the new arrival, "Narai dear, we really should move him away from anything that could be damaged, the last thing we need is yet more broken bits of history." she sounds more than mildly irritated.
Anyone looking at their instruments might see a slight surge in power. One or two lights start blinking in the very depths of the Lotorian starship. In its brain.
The new rifter if being searched, likely yields no weapons or threats on him, besides his clothing being unarmed. As he gathers himself a bit while the security messes with him, he groans out a few words, "D-did Earth gone," he says, before speaking clearer, "Did the shuttle make it?" he asks, groaning as he moves to hold his side should his hand be free from the Security's grip, "W-where?" he adds as another question.
Narai looks at the man, shaking his head, not knowing what he is speaking of. He orders his guards to move the man away from the ship. "Keep working on it, Riata. See if you can power it up." He turns to the man, "Who are you? Why are you here? Where did you come from?"
Riata gives a sharp nod to Narai and returns to the ship doing scans and looking at panels to see if she can locate a power source that might open it or turn it on
Yet more lights slowly flicker on. But not too many! And not too fast. There's so little fuel left, one could starve. On that note, a meek little computerised voice calls out from the ship. "I require fuel."
Yet more lights slowly flicker on. But not too many! And not too fast. There's so little fuel left, one could starve. On that note, a meek little computerised voice calls out from the ship. "I require fuel."
Wow does this rifter look confused. Along with his questions, more are asked of him, and by instinct of his Military training he answers, "Ladek Dall, Earth Military, I," he begins to look around, "I don't know why I'm here, all I remember is the experiments," he says, then the ship voice catches his attention, and he looks to it, the human blinking with curiousity and his reaction giving a sense that perhaps he thinks this is all a dream for the moment.
The Viceroy signals for medics to come down to check out the man. "Earth? Experiments? Perhaps you should start from the beginning." He says, his focus away frmo the ship, for now.
Riata speaks to the ship, "Well dear, I will give you fuel if you will tell me how. It is very rude to be starving when I am attempting to assist, very rude. Now let us begin with what kind of fuel you require and how I am to give it to you."
"Starship fuel, enough to power my reactor." There's a small pause. "Fuel line is intact.." The ship replies. No more lights blink on for the time being. After another pause comes, "Thank you."
Ladek looks to Narai as the medics check over him. If they are only checking him physically, he perhaps has a few cuts and bruises from the fall, but otherwise is okay, then he speaks to Narai, "Ah, yes, manners, where are they?" he asks more of himself, "I was convicted of treason by the Earth Military for trying to stop them from getting everyone of our people killed and," he blinks a bit, "Instead of executing me as per court martial, they used me for experimentation to fight the Psionics," he growls slightly as he says this, "Yes but, the last thing I remember is the Earth covered in destruction as it was likely destroyed, but maybe it was a dream and," he sighs, almost in a panic now, "We were on a shuttle off-world, but we were caught in the blast and then I'm here," the realization of what has happened is getting to him, and for the first time he begins to panic frantically as he looks at his surroundings, the Starship only serving to further his confusion.
Nodding, Narai listens to the mans story. "Interesting. We will have you properly checked out on the ship." He looks back at the voice from the ship. "What the hell is that?" He asks, almost shocked at what has just happened.
Riata looks over at Narai and says, "It is a ship dear. By the way, it says it is a mite peckish and would like some starship fuel." she turns to a nearby extra body and gives the order to fetch some and to be quick about it before turning back to the ship and ignoring the one she gave the order to. It appears she expects to be obeyed. "Now then dear, what is your name and how did you come to be here, I am afraid I tend to keep biscuits in my pocket rather than starship fuel so you will need to wait a bit longer."
"It is Iso." The starship replies, though whether to Narai or Riata is uncertain. Certainly, it goes on to reply to her. "It is dreaming again. It often dreams of seeing others again. Seeing its crew. It hasn't dreamed of Opodians before. It thinks you look very fluffy. Standby for holographic avatar display."
Ladek blinks a bit now as his panicing begins to settle, and looks to the Starship, and disregarding anyone else's orders for the moment, he moves just a bit closer to it, but not touching it, "A ship that," he sighs and gives some thought to it, "What is this?" he asks, and then sits on the ground of the Ampitheatre, "Iso?" he asks simply having heard it say that.
Narai pauses, "Iso?" He ponders. "Holographic avatar?" He looks to Raita, "Do you have an explanation?"
Riata sighs gustily and mutters about men! "Dear, it is a ship, it is sentient and it's name is Iso. My goodness, now stop being rude and come meet the poor dear." she points to some security, "Get that human away from this ship immediately." with no hesitation they pick the human up and pull him back several yards away from the ship. They then release him but stay ready incase they need to restrain him.
An image of a Lotorian male flickers into existence a foot above the rubble that surrounds the starship. He flickers away just as quickly as he came. A low, grumbling sound bubbles up from deep in the starship as the systems try to squeeze as much output from as little power as possible. "Perception matrix indicates a new form to be generated for optimal comfort to..." It trails of and an Opodian male flickers into existence above the rubble. He wears a pair of Lotorian like cargo pants and nothing else. "Hello."
Narai orders the guards to hold the human back, then turns his attention to the ship. He takes a few steps foward, looking at it. He looks at the hologram that now appears. "Hello..." He says, clearing his throat. "I am Viceroy Narai, of the Malencheer Solidarity. We recently located this planet and have colonized it as our own."
Ladek blinks a bit as he is pulled back, but at the moment that's hardly his focus, and he looks to the now Opodian image, curiously studying it for the moment, "What is going on," then a thought occurs to him as he stands up, growling, "You aren't Psionics spies sent to capture us and look into the experimentation are you?" he asks of practically anyone other than himself that's around.
Riata looks over as the crew member returns with the fuel, "There you go dear," she indicates that the ship should be fueled and as he crew members are too afraid she sighs and does it herself, "My name is Riata, it is lovely to meet you Iso dear." she says as she finishes and takes a look at the hologram. At the handsome image she begins to preen a bit, "Now was there anything else you needed?" she asks in a rather solicitous voice.
The hologram blinks. "It is well to meet you, Riata His programming never prepared him for his. His opodian feet hit the rubble. "There is one thing..." Iso says, a frown curling his once neutral face. He holds his arms out. "Will you hug it? It has lost count of the years it spent waiting."
And with that, for the moment at least, Ladek simply tilts his head and stares at the holographic image confusedly.
Riata smiles widely at the image, "Of course dear." she moves forward and gives the image a hug even giving the spot behind the ear a bit of a rub in a comforting kind of way, if Opodians could blush then she would be but as they can't there is no real sign of her feeling anything odd as she hugs the faux Opodian.
Iso returns the hug, perhaps a bit clumsily. Can he be blamed? Likely he's never hugged or been hugged in his life. Even so, thick Opodian arms wrap around Riata. "Thank you." Iso says, not pulling back. "It has been lonely. Are you its captain? Are you its crew?" It doesn't notice the human, or doesn't comment.
Ladek sighs and stands up, mostly observing where he's at, and looks between Narai, Riata, and Iso, then waves towards Riata and Iso, "Would either of you happen to know where I am?" he asks.
Riata finds herself quite well contained in holographic fuzzy arms and pats Iso, "I am sorry dear but I do not think your Captain and crew survived. You have likely been here for a very long time. If you would like me to be your Captain, whatever that involves, then I would be happy to help you." she pats again, "You needn't be alone any longer Iso dear." she glances over her shoulder at the human as well as she can in her current hugged predicament, "You are not on Earth dear. That is all I can tell you." she then turns back to Iso
The Viceroy listens to Riata communicate with Iso, he seems to be intrigued by the technology. "You are sentient, hmm?" He asks. "Do you know how long you have been down here? Did you crash after the Opodian colony left?"
Ladek begins to think, then looks over to Narai, before speaking again, "Where am I and how do I get back to wherever I was, Earth or the ship, and did you take me out after the ship crashed or some such so you could find out about the Anti-Psionic experiment?" he asks.
Riata pats Iso gently again and steps away a bit, "May I board you dear? I have some medical knowledge and might be able to assist your crew if they are indeed sleeping. I do not want to enter without your permission however." she peeks at the opening as well, "I am sure we can assist in your repairs, perhaps we can makes some upgrades as well.
Turning to the human, Narai shrugs. "In all honesty, I don't know where you came from, nor do I know how you got here. There is much you will need to learn, in time." He says, "We shall bring you to Comorro station, new arrivals typically can find answers there, and often times their own people." Turning back to Iso, "We shall get your repairs. Are you able to leave the ship in some fashion or are you stuck in it?"
Riata looks sadly at the skeletons, "Iso dear, I am sorry to tell you this but your crew have expired. We shall give them all a proper burial of course. I am so sorry dear."
Silence greets Narai's suggestion. Blinking lights in the ship itself might indicate thought. "Another body? It suggests a mobile holographic relay point, wired into its starship's communication array. It can name parts easily salvaged." Riata's comment gives it yet more pause for thought. "What do you mean... expired? It does not understand."
Ladek tilts his head slightly at the mention of Hiverspace, and simply thinks to himself for the moment, listening to the conversation.
"I don't understand." Narai replies. "Are you saying we are able to create a bod using parts from your ship?" He asks.
Riata sighs and says to Iso, "Dear, the crew is dead. They are no longer alive." she turns to Narai, "Dear, do you see the body still, it disappeared. It is likely he uses technology we do not currently understand, keep an open mind Narai dear, we might learn something useful to our people." she looks back at Iso, "Is there anything I can do for you Iso dear?" she asks kindly "It does not think the parts can be salvaged for its body. It's sorry for any confusion it may have caused." The computerised voice tells Narai, with a tone of reproach. It falls silent as Riata addresses it, the lights in its hull shutting down one at a time. "They are dead? They're not... dreaming? Iso... miscalculated?"
Ladek sighs thoughtfully and looks to the ship curiously, then to Riata, "Do you umm, need any help?" he asks curiously, not quite sure what to make of everything.
Narai nods to Riata, taking a step back and let the master to her work. He simply wants to understand, and hopefully use this.. being. Turning to Ladek, he shakes his head. "I suspect they have it under control."
Riata turns her full attention to Ladek for the first time and points one clawed finger at the human, "You may help most by staying put and listening to the security officers who will contain you should you attempt to move. You are not where you began and that is the only information you are likely to get at this point. We will deposit you at Comorro, now settle down." she then turns back to Iso with a much kinder tone, "Iso dear, they are not dreaming, and they are not sleeping. They will not wake because they have died dear. That does not mean you need be alone." her tone by this point is very sympathetic as she pats the ships wall, not sure if Iso would feel this or not but she felt it would be appropriate
Iso remains silent for a moment before his holographic projector kicks back in. The Opodian that flickers to life is standing, rather anxiously beside Riata. He has no words that he can offer. He can emulate dozens of Lotorian emotions with gestures, but for Opodians he knows only one. Iso hugs Riata again, tightly.
Ladek sighs a bit and nods, thinking to himself mostly again, and tries not to antagonize anyone with his movements, looking about the Ampitheatre and taking in the surroundings.
Riata eeps a bit in surprised as Iso appears and hugs her again but she returns the hug non the less." There dear, it is okay. We will not abandon you and should anyone try they shall have to deal with me." she says more than a little fiercely as she continues to pat Iso as well as she can.
"Then Iso will remain with you. It is made to serve." The starship informs Riata. Its computerised voice carries just a hint of emotion. If anything, it's grateful not to be left back there in the dark. "Of course, it must inform you, Captain," The Opodian says as he steps back, looking at Riata. "If it is to serve, it must be repaired." He glances then towards Narai. "It can provide schematics for an optical relay drone to use as a body, if you would like."
Ladek continues to observe for the moment, and looks to the security and medics for the moment, then to Narai, Riata, and Iso, still thinking, giving a slight wave to Iso as he does so.
Riata looks surprised at the title but rolls with it, "Don't worry dear, we will do whatever we need to to give you the needed repairs and if you would like a body then we shall make that for you as well. Now dear," she pulls out her PDA, "Is your data transmission compatible with this device? If so, please send me all of the repairs required as well as those schematics and anything else you would like done. If you have logs from the crew that would also be most helpful dear." she absently gives Iso a friendly pat on his fuzzy arm as she rattles on and holds the PDA out to him.
Iso reaches out to take hold of the PDA, examining it for a moment. He probably doesn't need to hold it for the data flow to start, but it certainly looks better. Schematics, logs, very nearly the whole starship's data-banks start downloading into the PDA. "It is made to serve." Iso replies as he hands the PDA back, smiling. "Does the Captain require anything else?" The reassuring pat on the arm seems to be a bit of a surprise to Iso, but then, most things are. Including Ladek's wav
Riata smiles widely at Iso, "You are fine dear. Thank you, this will help us to understand how best to get you all nice and fixed up. Now dear, tell me a bit about yourself. Where did you come from, how did you end up here?"
"It was made by Hekayti scientists, it understands. It was a prototype. They were trying to create a positronic brain. They created Iso instead. When Iso was disposed of, Lotorian salvages installed it into their ship, thinking it was a ship's computer. It has travelled with the Lotorians. There was a radiation storm and they slept. Correction. Died. Logs amended." The Opodian flickers and leans against Iso's hull. "It has a question. Is its name Dear?"
Riata nods until Iso asks his question then blinks rapidly in surprise, "No dear, er sorry Iso. I was under the impression your name is Iso, I tend to call most people I like dear. I feel it might well be a rather bad habit of mine. Now then, that means that if need be we can place you into a new ship then? That might be easier and perhaps cheaper if that is something you would prefer."
"There is no need for apologies. It was merely clarifying. Your speech pattern could be described as... soothing." This word is pulled up from its memory after some time. Iso is still smiling. Talk of removing his positronic brain draws a blink from him, but no signs of distrust. "As you wish, Captain. It believes it's able to fully integrate with even the most complex systems. Any starship or space station or toaster you require."