[AW] IC Skyfall: Imperfect Calibrations

[Anarion]

"Hey! Hey 239 and Horse" I shout out from the infirmary. "Can you come in here? And have the rest of the Nemeans wait outside once the last new pilot is loaded up? I want to chat."

I'm specifically asking for a conversation with the rest of the Nemeans gone. Not sure if that's safe or not, but it's safer than telling everyone in a huge group how much the Nemeans are malfunctioning.

[Thanqol]

"Hey! Hey 239 and Horse" I shout out from the infirmary. "Can you come in here? And have the rest of the Nemeans wait outside once the last new pilot is loaded up? I want to chat."

I'm specifically asking for a conversation with the rest of the Nemeans gone. Not sure if that's safe or not, but it's safer than telling everyone in a huge group how much the Nemeans are malfunctioning.

"Compliance," said 239 reflexively. "All units other than this one remain outside." She smoothly moved to enter the Infirmary. Orders. Orders were good. She was told to do a thing by an authority figure and she did it. She needed that, honestly. It smoothed the mind.

[Raz_Fox]

"Hey! Hey 239 and Horse" I shout out from the infirmary. "Can you come in here? And have the rest of the Nemeans wait outside once the last new pilot is loaded up? I want to chat."

I'm specifically asking for a conversation with the rest of the Nemeans gone. Not sure if that's safe or not, but it's safer than telling everyone in a huge group how much the Nemeans are malfunctioning.

Yes! Chatting! Seeing my friend is Sufficient Distraction from offering to fix bugs in Niner’s age-old head. Talking with our little dragon is much safer in the short term. Though perhaps not in the long term...

[Anarion]

I bustle them inside efficiently and then turn to look at both of them. "Okay, so. I have several medical problems. First, I've put three critical condition patients inside Nemeans. I will need to get them back out when I am eventually able to repair this lab and get things in working conditions. However, the...other Nemeans appear to be malfunctioning. I examined PRIME and before I transferred a living individual to it, it was carrying a desiccated corpse. My hypothesis is that it took that corpse into itself by choice, and the, hmm what would the word be, the desperation this evidences suggests that I may face some challenges extracting the pilots in the future for treatment. I'll need your help with that, and I want to prepare you now."

I hesitate a moment, looking them over. I think the whole Nemean idea was a terrible one, honestly, but here we are. "I am also concerned that the Nemeans are broken in some bigger way that's leading them to this behavior in the first place. I understand they ransacked my lab and I would prefer they don't do that again. I also want to address your comment earlier, 239 from the lab. I am somewhat more than just a trauma surgeon and could provide your pilot with effective medical treatment once my lab is restored.

Separate from all that, I need Horse here to help me work on a fresh body of one of the dextro races, if someone in their camp is willing to make that sacrifice, so that we can engineer them a food supply and everyone can stop killing each other. I would assume that's in everyone's short-term interest, so I'm hoping you'll help me make that happen as quickly and peacefully as possible."

I look them both over. What do they have to say to all that?

[Thanqol]

I bustle them inside efficiently and then turn to look at both of them. "Okay, so. I have several medical problems. First, I've put three critical condition patients inside Nemeans. I will need to get them back out when I am eventually able to repair this lab and get things in working conditions. However, the...other Nemeans appear to be malfunctioning. I examined PRIME and before I transferred a living individual to it, it was carrying a desiccated corpse. My hypothesis is that it took that corpse into itself by choice, and the, hmm what would the word be, the desperation this evidences suggests that I may face some challenges extracting the pilots in the future for treatment. I'll need your help with that, and I want to prepare you now."

I hesitate a moment, looking them over. I think the whole Nemean idea was a terrible one, honestly, but here we are. "I am also concerned that the Nemeans are broken in some bigger way that's leading them to this behavior in the first place. I understand they ransacked my lab and I would prefer they don't do that again. I also want to address your comment earlier, 239 from the lab. I am somewhat more than just a trauma surgeon and could provide your pilot with effective medical treatment once my lab is restored.

Separate from all that, I need Horse here to help me work on a fresh body of one of the dextro races, if someone in their camp is willing to make that sacrifice, so that we can engineer them a food supply and everyone can stop killing each other. I would assume that's in everyone's short-term interest, so I'm hoping you'll help me make that happen as quickly and peacefully as possible."

I look them both over. What do they have to say to all that?

"Clarification regarding the Nemean Program," said 239 helpfully. "All Nemeans had a secret Directive to terminate their organic pilots during the War in event of psychic attack indoctrinating their pilots. The 100% fatality rate amongst Nemean Pilots is a feature rather than a bug. My Directive was different and I put my pilot into stasis instead. Subsequent mental degradation is likely due to cyberwarfare and poor maintenance rather than anything systemic."

Nemeans tell the truth. Directive achieved! Good job!

"Your services will be insufficient for my Pilot for this reason. My Pilot has suffered psychic damage and requires research specialists in the Indoctrination process, not ordinary medical care. Securing food supply and maintaining the peace are not my Directives, please refer your request to the Logistics branch."

[Anarion]

"Clarification regarding the Nemean Program," said 239 helpfully. "All Nemeans had a secret Directive to terminate their organic pilots during the War in event of psychic attack indoctrinating their pilots. The 100% fatality rate amongst Nemean Pilots is a feature rather than a bug. My Directive was different and I put my pilot into stasis instead. Subsequent mental degradation is likely due to cyberwarfare and poor maintenance rather than anything systemic."

Nemeans tell the truth. Directive achieved! Good job!

"Your services will be insufficient for my Pilot for this reason. My Pilot has suffered psychic damage and requires research specialists in the Indoctrination process, not ordinary medical care. Securing food supply and maintaining the peace are not my Directives, please refer your request to the Logistics branch."

"That's rather interesting. A mass psychic attack on all Nemean pilots? Everywhere? Hmm, that's really quite fascinating" I walk over to inspect the status of 239's pilot. "If that's the case, we might still be able to provide some treatment here, with myself and Dave working together, or perhaps with a device from the Horse. Worth consideration down the road I think. It's quite fascinating."

[Thanqol]

"That's rather interesting. A mass psychic attack on all Nemean pilots? Everywhere? Hmm, that's really quite fascinating" I walk over to inspect the status of 239's pilot. "If that's the case, we might still be able to provide some treatment here, with myself and Dave working together, or perhaps with a device from the Horse. Worth consideration down the road I think. It's quite fascinating."

239 caught Kal'Kolak's hand sharply. "My pilot is not a test subject. I must protect the safety of my Pilot at all costs. I require evidence that you are competent in this field before I will comply. However, if you require alternate test subjects to experiment on I can procure them."

[stveje]

I dunno what I'd expected, but it wasn't this. I don't remember Ahab ever not knowin' anything. I don't like it.

I point at the bot. "That thing has some fings livin' in it. Not human. I ate one, an' it said it didn't have no more. But it does. So, that's a walkin' coffin what lies. That's a kinda human thing to do, innit?"

I know it is. I've studied.

"Anyways, it brung me here. If you dunno why, you better ask it. An' maybe we outta talk about the person who come into the Infirmary in a ghost suit, stole a Quarian, an' bloody shot me."

Yep. I think this is me startin' to get Angry.

"If I had to guess, Lt Raen'Nos." Kal'Zorah says seriously. "You'd call him her right hand."



"You ate fish." Dex accuses, twisting its head to look at Dave, like an owl, for a moment before once more facing Ahab.

"My pilot wishes to report." Dex speaks up, facing Ahab.

The mirror-yellow visor on the Nemean helmet clears and reveals Tenshi's face. He's bruised, battered and very groggy but alive.

"Captain..." he slurs, "the... f'ck is... going on?"

What do you do?

"You were shot in the Infirmary. The doctor determined it was necessary to put you in a Nemean suit to save your life," Ahab said to Tenshi. Plain talk.

She looked at the Nemean suit, in its conspicuous t-shirt, then at Dave. "I was talking to Kal'Zorah here about that just now, so ... clearly Tenshi brought you here because here is where you should be. All three of you." Very logic, much sense. "And now you are, so ... report. You were all three at the infirmary during the attack. I want to know everything about this 'ghost' who stole from me, and then I want the quarian back. Alive."

[Elanorin]

I bustle them inside efficiently and then turn to look at both of them. "Okay, so. I have several medical problems. First, I've put three critical condition patients inside Nemeans. I will need to get them back out when I am eventually able to repair this lab and get things in working conditions. However, the...other Nemeans appear to be malfunctioning. I examined PRIME and before I transferred a living individual to it, it was carrying a desiccated corpse. My hypothesis is that it took that corpse into itself by choice, and the, hmm what would the word be, the desperation this evidences suggests that I may face some challenges extracting the pilots in the future for treatment. I'll need your help with that, and I want to prepare you now."

I hesitate a moment, looking them over. I think the whole Nemean idea was a terrible one, honestly, but here we are. "I am also concerned that the Nemeans are broken in some bigger way that's leading them to this behavior in the first place. I understand they ransacked my lab and I would prefer they don't do that again. I also want to address your comment earlier, 239 from the lab. I am somewhat more than just a trauma surgeon and could provide your pilot with effective medical treatment once my lab is restored.

Separate from all that, I need Horse here to help me work on a fresh body of one of the dextro races, if someone in their camp is willing to make that sacrifice, so that we can engineer them a food supply and everyone can stop killing each other. I would assume that's in everyone's short-term interest, so I'm hoping you'll help me make that happen as quickly and peacefully as possible."

I look them both over. What do they have to say to all that?

239 and White Horse will find the infirmary in likely the greatest chaos they have ever seen it. It looks like the whole place just tumbled down a hill and purely by chance happened to fall here right way up. If this is what a temporary Nemean infestation does to a place, White Horse may wish to consider their newfound fascination with her Workshop.

White Horse may also be interested to notice the body lying hunched over on the floor. They have slumped in to a heap, laying at the feet of a wide open (and rather sparkly) Nemean who has a multitude of synthetic tendrils hooked in to Grime Eater at one of the operating tables and is calmly and quietly cutting away at him with little dainty cuts that looks like it may be contentedly working on a patchwork quilt instead of carving a conjoined twin from his dead brother.

But back to the body, little can be seen of it save for long gangly legs, a hunched back and incredibly long streaky hair in electric blue cascading all around. It looks almost as long as they are tall. The face is hidden down towards the floor. They are not moving. To White Horse, who would recognise her own kind and more easily see individual differences, it is a female.

How long has it been since you saw one of your own, White Horse? Has there been any herd since you killed Cru? And what do you call your own kind?

"You were shot in the Infirmary. The doctor determined it was necessary to put you in a Nemean suit to save your life," Ahab said to Tenshi. Plain talk.

"Temporarily though, right?" Tenshi asks, the concern obvious in both his blurry eyes and in his voice.

Dex remains conspicuously quiet.

She looked at the Nemean suit, in its conspicuous t-shirt, then at Dave. "I was talking to Kal'Zorah here about that just now, so ... clearly Tenshi brought you here because here is where you should be. All three of you." Very logic, much sense. "And now you are, so ... report. You were all three at the infirmary during the attack. I want to know everything about this 'ghost' who stole from me, and then I want the quarian back. Alive."

"I saw no ghost, Captain," Tenshi reports with effort. "The Nemeans f'cking ransacked the place and-"

"Assessed a supply source for parts and resources for essential maintenance and upgrades," Dex corrected, helpfully.

"You shot them!" Tenshi snapped, trying, and failing, to face down the thing that he was encapsulated inside.

"That was... a miscalculation, now rectified," Dex said. "And it was also not this unit," it added quietly, as if to itself.

"She was there when Dave and I got there.” Tenshi tried to get his focus back and clearly struggled. “I found Maria... and Grime, holed up in the doctor's office. She shot me... I guess she thought I was one of these things." Tenshi/Dex gestured at themselves. "There was more shooting... K-9 and her b'tches showed up at one point. I'm... missing some time...” he was losing the focus in his eyes.

“So this all started with the Nemeans,” Tessa piped up from behind the others. What if they took the prisoner, huh? She could be in any one of them, right in front of us, and we wouldn't even know.” She nodded sagely at her own reasoning. “We should open them. All of them. Just to be sure."

"Nemean Prime Directive: Protect your pilot. At any and all cost.” Dex stated in its cold artificial voice.

“Was that a threat?” Tessa gasped.

“Helpful distribution of fact,” Dex clarified.

"Captain," Tenshi turned back to Ahab, stepping a step closer and lowering his voice a little, "I take it your original order regarding these deranged tin cans stands?”

"Nemean Units," Dex corrects helpfully, now equally close. Obviously.

Kal'Zorah makes an odd sound, almost as if he's got something in his throat, but he says nothing.

[Anarion]

239 caught Kal'Kolak's hand sharply. "My pilot is not a test subject. I must protect the safety of my Pilot at all costs. I require evidence that you are competent in this field before I will comply. However, if you require alternate test subjects to experiment on I can procure them."

"Right, yes of course. There is, a different patient, one that is dangerous and the cause of whose attack I do not know. But his condition is related to some sort of psychic attack, his mind is damaged and dangerous, and we'll need Dave's help to work on him. But a successful treatment there could be just what we need to properly treat Nemean pilots."

[Thanqol]

"Right, yes of course. There is, a different patient, one that is dangerous and the cause of whose attack I do not know. But his condition is related to some sort of psychic attack, his mind is damaged and dangerous, and we'll need Dave's help to work on him. But a successful treatment there could be just what we need to properly treat Nemean pilots."

"Compliance," said Nemean 239. Her voice was flat but there was an unmistakable edge of hunger there. "If you are working to establish a cure I can procure any assistance or resources you require."

[Raz_Fox]

Whatever dear Kal’kolak and Niner are talking about is just so much noise blending into the Signal. You can hear it too, right? It’s pounding so loud my sense is dripping one by one out my nostrils, flared and gasping. The whinehowl is my thoughts and I am it.

Questions bleed in, answers out. It’s been too long since I saw another of my kind. Enough that I stopped putting numbers to the time, seeing as it pinned the ache right in place. Before I met Ahab, easy.

As for herd... think I haven’t sent out my own probes down through our Signal? Hoping to find folk like me, who know my need? Whoever this is, she’s more precious to me than breathing.

Last. A name, offered: we are Van Dō.

I am all over her in a moment. My fingers at her throat, lips, hoping for breath. Helping her into a more comfortable position, legs stretched out, neck supported, too freaked to beg our friend the doctor for help. I’m a hop and a skip away from just tearing open my brain and hammering my need for her to be alive into her.

[Anarion]

Was that body always there? I thought I had treated all the patients that were treatable, so this is a bad sign. I signal to 239 with a nod, need to finish that up before I start ignoring her. "I am here to provide medical services. The two priorities that I have now are securing a source of dextro food to prevent further fighting and dying, which for you means that will also distract from my other work. When that is finished, treating the apparent psychic disease is the next priority. I'll need my lab rebuilt and time with Dave working together to do it safely on the known patient, and then depending on how that goes, we'll have information that might assist your pilot. Now, if you'll pardon me."

I join White Horse with inspecting the body. Is there any amount of life left? I am afraid that there isn't.

[Severan]

"Temporarily though, right?" Tenshi asks, the concern obvious in both his blurry eyes and in his voice.

Dex remains conspicuously quiet.

"I saw no ghost, Captain," Tenshi reports with effort. "The Nemeans f'cking ransacked the place and-"

"Assessed a supply source for parts and resources for essential maintenance and upgrades," Dex corrected, helpfully.

"You shot them!" Tenshi snapped, trying, and failing, to face down the thing that he was encapsulated inside.

"That was... a miscalculation, now rectified," Dex said. "And it was also not this unit," it added quietly, as if to itself.

"She was there when Dave and I got there.” Tenshi tried to get his focus back and clearly struggled. “I found Maria... and Grime, holed up in the doctor's office. She shot me... I guess she thought I was one of these things." Tenshi/Dex gestured at themselves. "There was more shooting... K-9 and her b'tches showed up at one point. I'm... missing some time...” he was losing the focus in his eyes.

“So this all started with the Nemeans,” Tessa piped up from behind the others. What if they took the prisoner, huh? She could be in any one of them, right in front of us, and we wouldn't even know.” She nodded sagely at her own reasoning. “We should open them. All of them. Just to be sure."

"Nemean Prime Directive: Protect your pilot. At any and all cost.” Dex stated in its cold artificial voice.

“Was that a threat?” Tessa gasped.

“Helpful distribution of fact,” Dex clarified.

"Captain," Tenshi turned back to Ahab, stepping a step closer and lowering his voice a little, "I take it your original order regarding these deranged tin cans stands?”

"Nemean Units," Dex corrects helpfully, now equally close. Obviously.

Kal'Zorah makes an odd sound, almost as if he's got something in his throat, but he says nothing.

I grab hold of Tessa's arm and pull her back to my side. I didn't expect to see Tenshi stuck inside one of them coffins. I don't give much of a sh*t about Tenshi, but I don't like this. I've been curious about openin' Nemeans up too- but I don't wanna understand them anymore. I jus' want to get away.

But right now, what Tessa's sayin' about Nemeans startin' all of this, is fillin' up my headspace. My eyes slide to the Nice Suit, watchin' it close as I cut into Ahab and Tenshi's conversation.

"Nemeans didn't start the battle- Dextros did. A Quarian in a ghost suit took the other one away. Mebbe Quarians got on the Coffins' wavelength, told 'em to distract us from the rescue. But who's worth that kinda risk? A spy?"

[Elanorin]

Whatever dear Kal’kolak and Niner are talking about is just so much noise blending into the Signal. You can hear it too, right? It’s pounding so loud my sense is dripping one by one out my nostrils, flared and gasping. The whinehowl is my thoughts and I am it.

Questions bleed in, answers out. It’s been too long since I saw another of my kind. Enough that I stopped putting numbers to the time, seeing as it pinned the ache right in place. Before I met Ahab, easy.

As for herd... think I haven’t sent out my own probes down through our Signal? Hoping to find folk like me, who know my need? Whoever this is, she’s more precious to me than breathing.

Last. A name, offered: we are Van Dō.

I am all over her in a moment. My fingers at her throat, lips, hoping for breath. Helping her into a more comfortable position, legs stretched out, neck supported, too freaked to beg our friend the doctor for help. I’m a hop and a skip away from just tearing open my brain and hammering my need for her to be alive into her.

She is warm, there is no rigidity in her body and you easily move her to a more comfortable position. Her eyes are closed but there is no pain on her face, she looks asleep. With your full focus on nothing but her you even notice little shallow breaths.

Her face have tattooed markings that trace down her long slender neck. Have you met a member of the Van Dō Elder Families before? Do you know of them?

I join White Horse with inspecting the body. Is there any amount of life left? I am afraid that there isn't.

She's alive, but she is weak and unconscious. A quick look over her though and you're fairly sure she's not in immediate danger. She is weak, but from years kept sedated and inside Sparkles rather than an illness or injury. Her muscles need time and a lot of work to be strong again, she can probably walk, albeit slowly and unsteadily. Now that she is disconnected from intravenous sustenance she'll need to get reacquainted with food again too.

Waking her up won't be difficult, either wait for the sedatives to wear off - a few hours, or a shot of adrenaline and she'll be up immediately.

[Anarion]

"Want her up immediately?" I look at White Horse. It's their call.

[Raz_Fox]

Her face have tattooed markings that trace down her long slender neck. Have you met a member of the Van Dō Elder Families before? Do you know of them?

Right now? No. But that is going to change. It will. I run a long finger along those tattoos, entranced, seeing something inside them. The wind, maybe. Or the sea, before it got in our lungs. She is her tattoos, and both are beauty. Both are worth protecting no matter what.

"Want her up immediately?" I look at White Horse. It's their call.

Yes. Yes, I do. So much. And yet I shake my head, violent. Surprised?

See, I’m terrible scared now. More scared than if Ahab were here with a gun gainst my boneskull and a shaking finger. Worst that could do is send me off to the place the dead go. But if my sleeping royal falls forever asleep, I lose everything. Cruel. Too cruel. Don’t you do it to me.

The thought of saying yes- of something going wrong- knowing it was my fault for wanting her too soon- losing her like a child squeezing their toy too hard-

I’d straight-up take a walk off the tip-top of the workshop, and that’s the straight of it.

[Thanqol]

Was that body always there? I thought I had treated all the patients that were treatable, so this is a bad sign. I signal to 239 with a nod, need to finish that up before I start ignoring her. "I am here to provide medical services. The two priorities that I have now are securing a source of dextro food to prevent further fighting and dying, which for you means that will also distract from my other work. When that is finished, treating the apparent psychic disease is the next priority. I'll need my lab rebuilt and time with Dave working together to do it safely on the known patient, and then depending on how that goes, we'll have information that might assist your pilot. Now, if you'll pardon me."

I join White Horse with inspecting the body. Is there any amount of life left? I am afraid that there isn't.

Nemean 239 stood blankly for a little while as she processed all this. Taking in tactical information and putting little markers on a map is a core function and she enjoys doing it. She even has a little graphics design component she hasn't had the heart to delete which lets her mark her digital map with cute little figures symbolizing her various targets and objectives. She feels a murmur of guilt about shifting her settings like this - her Pilot had just set her to military defaults when this was clearly the superior interface, but she couldn't just Change The Settings. Pilots hated it when you Changed The Settings. She let herself look at her cute map and then buried it under the default map with a reluctant sigh.

She appreciated the doctor. The doctor knew how to speak to Nemeans. She gave a clear list of objectives to accomplish and didn't waste any time. Priority one: Clarify food supplies. Secondary objective: Minimize injuries, as that adds to the doctor's workload. Fatalities are fine. Other priorities are logged and will be assessed after initial waypoint is met. Execute.

Nemean 239 immediately left the Infirmary and headed towards the dextro camp. She didn't think to explain her reasoning to the other Nemeans. She wasn't a command unit, that wasn't her job - she just left them drift along behind her because she was the only one who clearly knew where she was going.

[stveje]

"Temporarily though, right?" Tenshi asks, the concern obvious in both his blurry eyes and in his voice.

Dex remains conspicuously quiet.

"I haven't had the chance to speak with the doctor yet." She can only be in one place, which is really annoying her right now.

"I saw no ghost, Captain," Tenshi reports with effort. "The Nemeans f'cking ransacked the place and-"

"Assessed a supply source for parts and resources for essential maintenance and upgrades," Dex corrected, helpfully.

"You shot them!" Tenshi snapped, trying, and failing, to face down the thing that he was encapsulated inside.

"That was... a miscalculation, now rectified," Dex said. "And it was also not this unit," it added quietly, as if to itself.

"She was there when Dave and I got there.” Tenshi tried to get his focus back and clearly struggled. “I found Maria... and Grime, holed up in the doctor's office. She shot me... I guess she thought I was one of these things." Tenshi/Dex gestured at themselves. "There was more shooting... K-9 and her b'tches showed up at one point. I'm... missing some time...” he was losing the focus in his eyes.

“So this all started with the Nemeans,” Tessa piped up from behind the others. What if they took the prisoner, huh? She could be in any one of them, right in front of us, and we wouldn't even know.” She nodded sagely at her own reasoning. “We should open them. All of them. Just to be sure."

"Nemean Prime Directive: Protect your pilot. At any and all cost.” Dex stated in its cold artificial voice.

“Was that a threat?” Tessa gasped.

“Helpful distribution of fact,” Dex clarified.

"Captain," Tenshi turned back to Ahab, stepping a step closer and lowering his voice a little, "I take it your original order regarding these deranged tin cans stands?”

"Nemean Units," Dex corrects helpfully, now equally close. Obviously.

Kal'Zorah makes an odd sound, almost as if he's got something in his throat, but he says nothing.

I grab hold of Tessa's arm and pull her back to my side. I didn't expect to see Tenshi stuck inside one of them coffins. I don't give much of a sh*t about Tenshi, but I don't like this. I've been curious about openin' Nemeans up too- but I don't wanna understand them anymore. I jus' want to get away.

But right now, what Tessa's sayin' about Nemeans startin' all of this, is fillin' up my headspace. My eyes slide to the Nice Suit, watchin' it close as I cut into Ahab and Tenshi's conversation.

"Nemeans didn't start the battle- Dextros did. A Quarian in a ghost suit took the other one away. Mebbe Quarians got on the Coffins' wavelength, told 'em to distract us from the rescue. But who's worth that kinda risk? A spy?"

"And the Dextros have surrendered." For now. "If they have her, they will of course let us know." Ahab didn't count on it, but it was important to continue as if. "As to who she is, suffice to say that I need her. Alive and unharmed." She wasn't going to say more in the presence of the Nemean.

She turned to Tenshi/Dex. "It is obviously important that we protect the pilots, of which you are now one, need I remind you." No mention of protecting the suits, of course. Also no mention of for how long. She didn't like that she'd been outmaneuvered by these junk suits, but she recognized that she had ... for the moment, at least.

She studied the suit. "Inform me, is it possible for a Nemean to support a Quarian's unique physiology?" It would make for the most convenient place to put a critically wounded quarian in the situation, she had to admit.

[Elanorin]

"Want her up immediately?" I look at White Horse. It's their call.

Yes. Yes, I do. So much. And yet I shake my head, violent. Surprised?

See, I’m terrible scared now. More scared than if Ahab were here with a gun gainst my boneskull and a shaking finger. Worst that could do is send me off to the place the dead go. But if my sleeping royal falls forever asleep, I lose everything. Cruel. Too cruel. Don’t you do it to me.

The thought of saying yes- of something going wrong- knowing it was my fault for wanting her too soon- losing her like a child squeezing their toy too hard-

I’d straight-up take a walk off the tip-top of the workshop, and that’s the straight of it.

As 239 leaves another Nemean enters, it ejects a dead salarian on to the floor and then takes the naked and unconscious mystery patient for its new pilot and seals up. Just like the other three did, it stands almost frozen to the spot for a while as the process finalises.

"Species: Van Dō. Non-human but compatible. Nemean required?" PRIME booms from behind Kal'kolak, staring down at the unconscious alien in White Horse's arms. Outside all Nemeans snap to.

"Uhm…. Kal?" comes the croaky but familiar voice of Drar. "I'm in a robot." He sounds both drunk and hungover at the same time.

Nemean 239 stood blankly for a little while as she processed all this. Taking in tactical information and putting little markers on a map is a core function and she enjoys doing it. She even has a little graphics design component she hasn't had the heart to delete which lets her mark her digital map with cute little figures symbolizing her various targets and objectives. She feels a murmur of guilt about shifting her settings like this - her Pilot had just set her to military defaults when this was clearly the superior interface, but she couldn't just Change The Settings. Pilots hated it when you Changed The Settings. She let herself look at her cute map and then buried it under the default map with a reluctant sigh.

She appreciated the doctor. The doctor knew how to speak to Nemeans. She gave a clear list of objectives to accomplish and didn't waste any time. Priority one: Clarify food supplies. Secondary objective: Minimize injuries, as that adds to the doctor's workload. Fatalities are fine. Other priorities are logged and will be assessed after initial waypoint is met. Execute.

Nemean 239 immediately left the Infirmary and headed towards the dextro camp. She didn't think to explain her reasoning to the other Nemeans. She wasn't a command unit, that wasn't her job - she just left them drift along behind her because she was the only one who clearly knew where she was going.

The moment you step out of the infirmary, the unit you had granted the last pilot to, C-9, zips inside quickly.

The dextro camp is pretty quiet, as in, there are lots of people, but hardly anyone is speaking. There seems to be a bit of a cluster of turians and another cluster of quarians. The turians are progressing with gathering up all weaponry to be handed over. The quarians are... not.

One of the quarians hurries up to intercept you as you approach, before you reach the camp proper. You may recognise them as someone who was with Stars before, Lieutenant Raen'Nos.

"Nemean Unit 239, have you seen Stars?" he asks, voice a little hushed.

"And the Dextros have surrendered." For now. "If they have her, they will of course let us know." Ahab didn't count on it, but it was important to continue as if. "As to who she is, suffice to say that I need her. Alive and unharmed." She wasn't going to say more in the presence of the Nemean.

She turned to Tenshi/Dex. "It is obviously important that we protect the pilots, of which you are now one, need I remind you." No mention of protecting the suits, of course. Also no mention of for how long. She didn't like that she'd been outmaneuvered by these junk suits, but she recognized that she had ... for the moment, at least.

She studied the suit. "Inform me, is it possible for a Nemean to support a Quarian's unique physiology?" It would make for the most convenient place to put a critically wounded quarian in the situation, she had to admit.

"For protection, yes," Dex said efficiently. "For medical assistance dextro-amino compatible medpack upgrade is required."

"Might I suggest," Kal'Zorah said, "that having one who you trust inside one of these units might be a good way of... assisting White Horse in her workshop? To address that other concern of yours, Captain."

"No shooting in the workshop." Dex said, directing its visor at the quarian.

"Yes. I remember." Kal'Zorah said and stepped back a step. "These things seem quite at home there."

[stveje]

"For protection, yes," Dex said efficiently. "For medical assistance dextro-amino compatible medpack upgrade is required."

"Might I suggest," Kal'Zorah said, "that having one who you trust inside one of these units might be a good way of... assisting White Horse in her workshop? To address that other concern of yours, Captain."

"No shooting in the workshop." Dex said, directing its visor at the quarian.

"Yes. I remember." Kal'Zorah said and stepped back a step. "These things seem quite at home there."

Ahab nods at Kal'Zorah's words. "Tenshi, you got that? Until we have this all sorted out, you are to stay close to White Horse and assist her in her workshop. I'll be inspecting each Nemean later, so have them ready, and let them know that no pilot will come to harm as long as they comply."

"Dave, Tessa, and Kal'Zorah, I have a few more things to discuss with you. Kal'Zorah, if you'll see to Stars and get her back on her legs."

[Thanqol]

The moment you step out of the infirmary, the unit you had granted the last pilot to, C-9, zips inside quickly.

The dextro camp is pretty quiet, as in, there are lots of people, but hardly anyone is speaking. There seems to be a bit of a cluster of turians and another cluster of quarians. The turians are progressing with gathering up all weaponry to be handed over. The quarians are... not.

One of the quarians hurries up to intercept you as you approach, before you reach the camp proper. You may recognise them as someone who was with Stars before, Lieutenant Raen'Nos.

"Nemean Unit 239, have you seen Stars?" he asks, voice a little hushed.

"Negative," said Nemean 239 - quietly irritated that she had to waste time answering stupid irrelevant questions when she was working on her Directive. "Notification: Local medical authority #FILE_REF_NOT_FOUND# has a theory on how to engineer food supplies for your local population. This will reduce drivers for conflict, which will reduce the strain on the medical bay. Reducing strain on the medical bay is a critical step towards accomplishing my Directive."

239 hadn't learned Ominous Ambiguity from anything. It was often a side effect of how her reporting process worked. She had grown to appreciate its effects, though - it was like putting a little bit of the wary confusion that defined her life into someone else's head.

"This unit requires your compliance with this process," she said. "Medical samples will be required. Actions that result in injuries must be minimized."

[Anarion]

"No more Nemean units are required" I say, shaking my head. This one needs a bed and some rest, not a new crypt. "She'll come around in a little while on her own, try to relax, White Horse." I put a hand on the horse's shoulder, gently, and turn to face Drar within his new suit.

"Yes Drar, sorry about that. Too many critically wounded patients, not enough lab to go around. You'll have to stay there and rest until we have the facilities to treat you."

[Raz_Fox]

Thank goodness that Kal is here to stop me from getting into a fistfight with a robot who just wants to help me. Oh, whine and reverb! I would dig a moat right through the world to keep her safe.

I point to my new friend. All the Nemeans are my new friends, I think, even if I want to punch them if they even think of taking her away from me. “I want two of you here to keep her safe. The others should follow me. We’re going to get the Alliance transponders for Nines.”

[Elanorin]

Ahab nods at Kal'Zorah's words. "Tenshi, you got that? Until we have this all sorted out, you are to stay close to White Horse and assist her in her workshop. I'll be inspecting each Nemean later, so have them ready, and let them know that no pilot will come to harm as long as they comply."

"Dave, Tessa, and Kal'Zorah, I have a few more things to discuss with you. Kal'Zorah, if you'll see to Stars and get her back on her legs."

"Uh, yeah, I-" Tenshi starts, a little confused by the order but happy enough to comply, he is cut off by Dex immediately turning them around to head off to the workshop, "wait- hangon!" Tenshi snaps but Dex doesn't stop. As they head off you hear Tenshi growl about figuring out a way to turning this 'damn tin can' off.

"Sure," Kal'Zorah says with a crisp nod and turns the corner to where you left Stars tied up.

"I offer my services, Captain," Tessa says, eagerly stepping forwards, but still clasping Dave's arm. "Es- especially with the Nemean inspection."

"Negative," said Nemean 239 - quietly irritated that she had to waste time answering stupid irrelevant questions when she was working on her Directive. "Notification: Local medical authority #FILE_REF_NOT_FOUND# has a theory on how to engineer food supplies for your local population. This will reduce drivers for conflict, which will reduce the strain on the medical bay. Reducing strain on the medical bay is a critical step towards accomplishing my Directive."

239 hadn't learned Ominous Ambiguity from anything. It was often a side effect of how her reporting process worked. She had grown to appreciate its effects, though - it was like putting a little bit of the wary confusion that defined her life into someone else's head.

"This unit requires your compliance with this process," she said. "Medical samples will be required. Actions that result in injuries must be minimized."

The quarian Lieutenant crossed his arms across his chest and stopped in your path.

"What kind of compliance do you require, exactly, Nemean unit 239?" he asked.

"No more Nemean units are required" I say, shaking my head. This one needs a bed and some rest, not a new crypt. "She'll come around in a little while on her own, try to relax, White Horse." I put a hand on the horse's shoulder, gently, and turn to face Drar within his new suit.

"Yes Drar, sorry about that. Too many critically wounded patients, not enough lab to go around. You'll have to stay there and rest until we have the facilities to treat you."

"Right. Ok," Drar said and looked at his now fully armoured and metal clad arms and hands, flexing the fingers. "Cool."

There comes a slighty drowsy chuckle from inside PRIME. Drar has a new toy.

Thank goodness that Kal is here to stop me from getting into a fistfight with a robot who just wants to help me. Oh, whine and reverb! I would dig a moat right through the world to keep her safe.

I point to my new friend. All the Nemeans are my new friends, I think, even if I want to punch them if they even think of taking her away from me. “I want two of you here to keep her safe. The others should follow me. We’re going to get the Alliance transponders for Nines.”

Drar/PRIME bent down and picked up the unconscious alien, lifting her as if she was light as a feather, and gently placed her on the now vacant bed where the mystery patient had been.

"We'll be here," Drar/PRIME says in unison. "And Maria too," Drar adds. "We'll keep her safe."

Maria is sat collapsed in a chair watching Sparkles operate on Grime, she looks exhausted, but she nods in agreement.

Outside the Nemeans are beginning to scatter, but two are standing dutifully by. H and L-12, two of the three helpful Nemeans from before. Dex, the third, is not around.

[Thanqol]

The quarian Lieutenant crossed his arms across his chest and stopped in your path.

"What kind of compliance do you require, exactly, Nemean unit 239?" he asked.

Nemean 239 helpfully relayed all the technical details she'd acquired from Kal'Kolak.

[stveje]

"Uh, yeah, I-" Tenshi starts, a little confused by the order but happy enough to comply, he is cut off by Dex immediately turning them around to head off to the workshop, "wait- hangon!" Tenshi snaps but Dex doesn't stop. As they head off you hear Tenshi growl about figuring out a way to turning this 'damn tin can' off.

"Keep me informed about her progress on her various projects," Ahab added as he/they left.

"I offer my services, Captain," Tessa says, eagerly stepping forwards, but still clasping Dave's arm. "Es- especially with the Nemean inspection."

"Good. I'm sure I can use your and Dave's expertise on that matter."

[Anarion]

Kal dutifully fell in behind White Horse. But before she started walking out, she gave Drar a tired smile. "I'm glad you're okay, brother."