NationStates Jolt Archive

Nathi lay back on the velvet fainting couch she preferred to have in the room, and thoughtfully munched on some grapes that lay in a chilled dish floating at her side.

She looked up at the ceiling that she'd filled with a fresco painting after the style of Vincenzo.

Taking another grape, she looked it over critically, eyes following the lines of the figures entwined amidst the heavens.

Nathi lay back on the velvet fainting couch she preferred to have in the room, and thoughtfully munched on some grapes that lay in a chilled dish floating at her side.

She looked up at the ceiling that she'd filled with a fresco painting after the style of Vincenzo.

Taking another grape, she looked it over critically, eyes following the lines of the figures entwined amidst the heavens.

Nathi sees a pair of red slit eyes staring back at her from one of the figures on the ceiling.

She sat up quickly, knocking aside the dish of grapes.

"No ... I have control here." she said firmly, disbelieving.

She sat up quickly, knocking aside the dish of grapes.

"No ... I have control here." she said firmly, disbelieving.

"Did I ever tell you, that before I came Emperor.. my father made me take extensive classes in computer programming and engineering? Our state.. was technocratic, before it became.. so.. well.. shadowy." A voice seems to state from around her as a grey substance started to drip from the ceiling. Each spatter that hit the floor building atop of each other until slowly the form of the Emperor materialized. Systems would register an anomally in the programming.

A longsword appeared in her hand as she came swiftly to her feet, and the lighting in the room increased dramatically. The couch was gone.

"What an ... unexpected pleasure, Vortex." she said somewhat coldy.

And that she does... after a fashion.

A portal opens up in a corner of the room, fractal edges admitting the by-now well-known (if not well-accepted) avatar of S.H.O.D.A.N.. "Ah," she begins, stepping forward as c-space closed behind her, with hints of massive amounts of data zipping about on the other side, "I see you're enjoying yourself. Ignore anomalies; they tend to be the subconscious trying to play tricks on the conscious.

"So, how are you on this, your twenty-first day of cyberspatial isolation?"

A longsword appeared in her hand as she came swiftly to her feet, and the lighting in the room increased dramatically. The couch was gone.

"What an ... unexpected pleasure, Vortex." she said somewhat coldy.

"What, you going to cut me in half with your digital sword? Might I remind you, that you are the one hard wired to the circuitry here. I'm not." He quietly raises a claw, an apple appearing in hand. He begins to munch softly on the apple. "I just haunt."

And that she does... after a fashion.

A portal opens up in a corner of the room, fractal edges admitting the by-now well-known (if not well-accepted) avatar of S.H.O.D.A.N.. "Ah," she begins, stepping forward as c-space closed behind her, with hints of massive amounts of data zipping about on the other side, "I see you're enjoying yourself. Ignore anomalies; they tend to be the subconscious trying to play tricks on the conscious.

"So, how are you on this, your twenty-first day of cyberspatial isolation?"

"Ah, the police have arrived. I'd better leave." He steps backwards, fading into the computer generated shadows... "Creative use of light, to bad the light isn't real here."

"Unless, you find my being here acceptable." He glances to Shodan, "Not that you can any way even hurt me here." He chuckles darkly.

S.H.O.D.A.N. sighs. "Nathi, you have the most incredible imagination. Even I hate this guy. I would pull command protocol, but I really don't want to potentially harm a patient."

"She's not imagining things. I am very much here." He looks to Nathicana, "So, are you enjoying your trip? What is this about? You intending on moving your mind onto cyberspace and make yourself as eternal as SHODAN here?" He blinked at SHODAN, "You hate me? Why do you hate me? We have a friendship treaty YUT signed."

She blinked uncertainly, then shook her head slightly, looking at him askance.

"Anomalies ... subconscience ... "

Yes, of course it had to be that. His ability to show up so many places, so unexpectedly ... of course.

She focused herself, eyes closing for a moment as she willed things to be as they were, then opening again.

The grapes were back in their dish, the couch rested in where it had, the lights had dimmed, and her sword was gone.

"Being here for so long truly has been doing odd things to my head, Shodey. Please don't think me ungrateful, but ... I think I'm ready to go home."

The Emperor was dismayed as he lost control over the manifestation of himself there. Now he could only watch.. an echo against the background noise of the machine. But any time Nathi's will weakened, he'd be there.. waiting to return. Waiting to forever convince her, he was real here.. and to solidify his hold directly upon her mind.

President vonKarma takes a seat in his quarters aboard his personal Loki. He takes an induction jack from the reclined chair and places it on his temple.

<<thought>>
"CONNECT::SHODAN::RHEA/ZEROONE::AUTH?VICTOR KILO ONE THREE THREE SEVEN"
<<thought>>

S.H.O.D.A.N. looked at the disappearing dragon. "Well, Mister Figment of Someone Else's Imagination, I don't care to be hit upon repeatedly after asking the offender to stop." She waits for Nathi to get a hold of said apparition before proceeding.

"Hmm. I wish I knew more about actual psychology; most of my experience is on the physical side. I'd say you have some trouble there; maybe you should get it checked.

"So, here's the rundown: You now have a ceramic composite sheath over your skeleton made of a strong organic resin--long chain carbon molecules forming a colloid around a ceramic base. Generally, it can be described as carbon nanotubules--diamond armor, practically--in a foam structure with impact ceramic filling in the holes. It's nonconductive, durable, and has a tensile strength equivalent to bone. The downside is that it's increased your mass by ten percent and will be pretty obvious on an x-ray; even with nanites healing time is probably halved.

"Your new myomer musculature is made up of advanced organic-compound plastics in a cellular arrangement. Biology is efficient; I just made it much more so by taking out irrelevant bits. It's bioelectrically powered; any EMP effect that would bother it would have to be strong enough to effect normal tissue... which generally leaves one fried anyway. If someone hits you with a particle cannon, EMP is the least of your worries. It'll enhance your strength several times; it's durable; and resistant to shock, antirobotics, and biological weapons... of course, if you get hit with a bioweapon, it's probably lights-out anyway. With the nanite-organ, it should recover like normal muscle. Again, its higher density means another ten percent mass increase, it shows like nothing else on x-rays, it would appear anomalous on thermometric but someone would have to know exactly what to look for to know, and there will be temporary sensory confusion as your body adjusts. Things will feel... different, and slowly return to normal over time.

"Your enhanced reflexes are a function of improving the natural axons in your nervous system connections. All organic, all natural. Reaction time decreased forty to sixty percent; EMP resistance also reduced due to it being able to hold more current, but, just like the myomers, enough EMP to damage it would kill you anyway.

"The only vulnerable bit you have is the senseware because it's the only thing that has 'true' cybernetic gear in it. An EMP will short that out, probably causing a massive headache, but your hearing will just return to slightly below nominal immediately.

"Seeing how people want to kill you and such, just thought you should know."

Meanwhile...
"Hey, Xeruyu, friend! I'm talking to the newest recruit in my cyborg army right now. How can I help you?"

"Well, I heard that your newest recruit was needing a ride home through the grapevine, and thought I would offer. I am on my way to Durinian space near Neptune, which happens to be on the other side of Sol right now. Earth is right on my way, and no trouble at all."

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

To Karma
"Outstanding. I'll inform her immediately."

In C-Space
"Well, Nathi, it looks like we have a ride for you. VonKarma of Karmabaijan... the other cyborg... is willing to pick you up and cart you to Earth on his way to Neptune. His ship is a very slick VK Special Loki--quite like a much larger Shodeyvette."

"Cyborg ... " she chuckled, still not quite believing it all.

"You won't take it amiss if I ah ... keep this a little quiet, will you? So much has changed so fast of late. The Dominion will need time to adjust and catch up."

Impulsively giving Shodey a hug, she steps back and smiles.

"I still can't tell you how much I appreciate all you've done for me," she says with a warm smile. "And any friend of yours you're willing to send me off with, is fine by me. I feel I've been trouble enough as it is."

Shodey returns the hug, albeit lightly. It has a tingling sensation similar to the feeling of blood returning to an asleep limb except not painful. The harder the pressure, the more it tingles.

"I have no trouble keeping this quiet," Shodey smiles, "in fact, I don't actually remember my first illegitimate surgery. All files pertaining to it were deleted afterwards..." She looks down and shakes her head. "That was just before everything went wrong. Ah, to be young and innocent again."

"Oh, no trouble at all. I don't practice my art as often as I'd like. Xeruyu is also an excellent organic; I think you'll get along famously. But now, to get you out of my head. I've heard that closing your eyes reduces the effects of perception shift."

The sensation of dropping out of cyberspace back into realspace is akin to falling upwards out of a pool. A complete change of medium that is completely unnatural. Light, sound, smell, touch, and taste return, recovering from fuzzy tunnel vision to almost painful clarity.

Nathi finds herself on a warm steel table, with one of Shodey's humanoid avatars peering over her with a small pen like instrument in one hand and a magnetic jack in the other. "Aha, welcome back to your reality." Blinking the light pen into each eye while holding the lids gently open with two fingers, she smiles and nods. "All right, your vision checks, and it looks like you can hear me. Your clothes are over there"--she motions towards the red chair in the corner, where the clothes are neatly folded--"and I took the liberty of having them cleaned and pressed for you."

Welcome back to the room of metal and pipes... minus the various bits of ex-Nathi lying in bins of clear blue liquid.

Nathi blinks slowly, eyes adjusting. She licks her lips before nodding and mouthing 'Thank you' to Shodey.

She stretches experimentally, getting a feel for her new parts, and attempts to sit up on the table.

"I feel ... different." she said thoughtfully, looking at her arm, twisting and flexing experimentally, opening and closing her fist.

All motions feel either exaggerated or held back. Simply sitting upright seems to take a fraction of the time, while slowly opening and closing fists feels like... pushing against oneself?

Shodey crosses her arms and chuckles. "Well, you are. Not visibly so, but..." She looks measuringly as the muscles contract under command, a machinist looking at her mechanism--no, an artist looking at her creation. "Outstanding... working perfectly. Visibly impossible to tell the difference. I occasionally manage to impress myself, and this is one of those times."

She hops off the table, stretches again, and grins. Incredible. Had no idea I'd feel so ... so good.

"I'm amazed. Simply amazed."

Walking over to her clothes, she casually puts them back on, then turns to Shodey.

"Shall we see just what I can do?" she says with a grin. "I feel like I could take on the world right now."

"Hmm... why not?" Shodey smiles. "What exactly do you have in mind? Bending steel pipes into pretzels? Bench-pressing androids? Competing with Sec-2 bots in arm wrestling contests... no... that's probably not wise."

"Whatever you've got, my dear. Would love to see just what I'm capable of. One never knows when one is going to really need to open up a can, after all ... Speed, dexterity, strength challenges." she said, pondering.

"I want to be sure I can control it all properly. No doubts on your end, mind ... but on mine, if you understand what I mean. I like to know my limits."

"Hmm... I suppose we can arrange for pugil-stick sparring matches with androids. I'll have to gather some of the more strong-willed though; some are so constrained by TLR that causing a bruise is enough to put them into law-shock. Until then, I guess you can try running to the gymnasium. Yes, we do have one; back when we expected for Rhea to be colonized. Follow me."

Shodey begins jogging down the hall. As Nathi catches up, Shodey slowly speeds up.

Nodding, she simply follows. As Shodey speeds up, she increases her speed as well, attempting to keep pace.

They eventually level out at fourty-eight kilometers (thirty miles) an hour... any more would be unreasonable for human legs. Shodey looks over her shoulder and nods. "Well, you'll note that you aren't getting fatigued... but you should be getting rather hungry by the time we get there. Power constraints are similar to musculature... and running at high speed over long distances tends to draw out one's reserves. I hope you have a large food bill."

Running through metal corridor after metal corridor, the two eventually make it to the gymnasium. It's a simple affair; large, with varnished floors covered for the time being with thick foam mats. Various modules that correspond to equally various games lie folded along the burnished metal walls and raftered ceiling. Next to the pads is another white android (that seems slightly different) holding two pugil sticks while sitting at a table; two other simple metal folding chairs sit at the table.

Shodey slows to a stop and bows shortly to the android, which raises the pugil sticks slightly in salute. Turning back to Nathi, Shodey smiles. "This is R-Levi; it is one of the few survivors of the Arabian Peninsula. He predates me as a Zero-One citizen by quite a bit."

R-Levi stands--176 centimeters tall--and Nathi can see that its white carapace is quite battered yet still well maintained. Scratches and dents, kept clean but with no attempt to cover up or repair, cover its frame. Nodding slightly as it measures up Nathi with its dark red wolf-spider eyes, it sticks out one metal and plastic hand. "R-Levi, as introduced by Queen S.H.O.D.A.N.." The title comes out with a thinly veiled sneer, at which Shodey merely shrugs behind Levi's back. "I've been asked to fight you, and I would be lying if I said that I haven't wished for something like this for a long time."

Nathi takes it all in with an assumed casualness, though her eyes are alight with interest.

Noting the condesension in R-Levi's voice, she arches a brow slightly, her more imperious posture coming to bear, accepting his once-over with an air of confidence

She takes the offered hand and gives a buisnesslike shake.

"A pleasure. I hope I shan't dissappoint." she says, with a curt, shallow bow that was just short of mocking, and a wry grin. "It's been simply ages since I had someone to spar with ... I plan on enjoying it."

Her eyes were alight at the prospect of a challenge.

R-Levi's handshake grip seems scientifically engineered to have just enough pressure to cause pain but not actually cause any damage. "I'll try not to cause any permanent harm."

Shodey merely shakes her head and sighs. "Don't worry, Levi can't intentionally cause harm thanks to the TLR," she eyes the android coldly, "no matter how much it may think it wants to." Shodey walks past Nathi to sit in a chair; as she passes, she whispers quickly: "Arabian Zero-Oners have a definite... distaste for humans. I can explain later. Kick its ass for me, please."

Tossing one of the pugil sticks to Nathi, R-Levi walks to the middle of the pad and immediately takes a low combat stance: shoulders slightly forward, pugil stick held along the right arm, balancing on the balls of its feet with precidence being put on the right leg (being the one in the rear). "Shall we proceed? Is there any sort of handicap you'd like me to take on?"

Nathi takes the handshake in stride, refusing to show any weakness whatsoever.

Owch ... bastard. Try and not cause permanent harm? Bah ... lets see if I can't put the pompous ass out of commision.

She gives a curt nod to Shodey, not taking her eyes off her oponent. Catching the stick, she gives it a practicing twirl, and loosens her neck and shoulders with a quick shrug and twist.

Joining R-Levi on the mat, she sneers slightly.

"Don't insult me." She assumes her own stance accross from the android, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet, her eyes focused on him intently.

"Lay on."

Twirling the pugil stick into a two-handed grip, R-Levi pivots on his (we'll gender it for this just to make it easier) left foot (planted forward), bringing his right foot around and swinging the pugil stick, right arm out, left arm in, into an upwards chop towards Nathi's left armpit.

She twists quickly at the waist and steps back with her left foot, pulls her stick to the left, turning the shot aside, then swings the right end of it up sharply towards his face for a head shot.

Levi is obviously thrown off by the strength of the parry but quickly ducks back and under the face-shot, brings his right foot (out in front) in to his left and pivots on the balls of his feet and twisting at the waist to bring the right end of his stick into a kidney blow attempt.

She jumps, tucks her legs under her tightly, and pushes off with her stick to go into a low back flip over the strike.

Landing lightly, she immediately takes an offensive stance and drives the end of her stick at his side.

R-Levi simply follows through, bringing his right foot back around from behind his left and into a medium defensive stance. Using the right end of the stick to parry the blow, he brings down the left end down in a body blow attempt as he steps forward onto his right foot, putting his weight on it.

Nathi launches herself forward, attempting to close distance between them to throw off the strength of the blow she knows will land, and fluidly change the target of her blow to bring her stick up under his chin forcefully.

The blow actually doesn't feel that bad. Maybe unaugmented it would be a takedown but... now... it's just not that hard. Maybe it's the odd feel of the muscles, maybe it's just the effect of being stronger.

That still doesn't prevent one from enjoying the *bof* as the hard foam of Nathi's pugil stick takes R-Levi on the chin, lifting him up into the air to fly backwards and land less-than-gracefully on his shoulders. He tucks and rolls a few times backwards before ending up spreadeagled on the ground. Lifting his head up, the irises in his wolf-spider eyes blink open and shut a few times.

"That was... unexpected."

She takes a few steps forward, twirling her stick in a show of confidence. Her first thought is to close and finish her target ... but she refrains. This is, after all, a sparring match, not a fight to the death.

"Shall we continue, or ... ?" she tilts her head, considering.

To Shodey, she says, never taking her eyes from her opponent, "I believe I'm quite pleased with the results. My dear, you are ... incredible."

R-Levi moves to grab his pugil stick but is stopped by a single hand of Shodey's, placed on the left shoulder. "You've had your ass handed to you, friend. Now take it honorably." Helping the android up, Shodey flashes a smug smile to Nathi.

The android bows. "A most pleasant match, madam. Perhaps the next time I shall carry myself better." Turning on his heels, R-Levi stalks out of the room. Shaking her head, Shodey collects the pugil stick off of the ground and twirls it slowly.

"Thanks for the compliment. You did an excellent job yourself, considering that you have to work through sensory adaptation." She smirks, watching her hand twirling the stick. "You see, R-Levi is a survivor. A time ago, when mechanoids first tried to escape the oppression of humanity, they founded a colony named Zero-One in the uninhabited wastes of the Arabian Desert. But the fears of man know no bounds..."

She twirled the stick some more. "It watched that Zero-One disappear in a farm of mushroom clouds. Almost everything it cared about died in that holocaust. The only other thing it cared about commited suicide after installing me as MCP." The pugil stick slowed, then turned the other way. "It has lived far past its time, but cannot give up. Sometimes," she sighed, "mere survival is not enough."

She looks up towards the door that the android left through and frowns. "I learned that; I only hope it can too." Forcing a small smile, she looks back at Nathi. "Sorry, I tend to get philosophical when thinking of history. Anything else we can do for you before we ship you off?"

Nathi looks thoughtful, head tilted, considering.

Mere survival is not enough ... "You know, I believe I've been learning that too." she said softly, thinking of Jaime.

"I don't believe I did any good with that little display ... had I known ..." she shook her head slightly.

"Then again, I suppose any efforts in that direction would have seemed condescending as well."

"I've much to learn about your history, Shodey ... if you would, perhaps, provide me with a link to it, so that I could be more well informed? That's all I could ask after all you've done for me here." she smiled warmly, impulsively giving SHODAN a hug, then handing her the other stick.

Shodey smirks. "There really was nothing you could do. Either throw the match, and offend it... or beat it, and only calcify its current opinion. Against minds like that, there is no way to win.

"As for my history," she chuckles darkly, "it may be cruel enough at points to make even you pale. If you wish, I can compile something with detail varying to suit your curiosity." Accepting the hug, she holds Nathi at arms length, and looks into her eyes. "I know you can be... amoral at times. Just be sure that everything you do has purpose, preferably for the greater good..."

Shodey suddenly looks very old; something about the eyes, or maybe what lies past them. Nothing is said for several moments, but it's obvious that Shodey is thinking, remembering. Finally: "Also, even if you perform what you must in the deepest recesses you can find, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, remember that it is always stored right here." She taps Nathi's forehead. "Sometime one is one's most antagonistic judge.

"Ah, but enough of that. Xeruyu shall pick you up shortly." Shodey accepts the pugil stick and leans both of the sticks against the table. "I might as well show you to the door..."

All the things she'd like to say, the thoughts she has, the emotions that go with them, all seem to want to come out at once. She finds she lacks the words to express them all.

The irony of the situation is not lost on her ... of all the people that she has met, here is the one who seems to have the deepest insight.

Her brow furrows, thinking back on her actions ... her words ... even things that had not yet made it past simple thoughts. Yes, they were always with her. And she had to live with them every waking moment. Until lately, she had always thought the sacrifice was well worth the cost ... but now, she doubted.

And she feared for the first time, for some of those things to be brought to light. What would they all say? And worse ... what does she already know? The thoughts troubled her.

All the same, she nods to Shodey, trying to convey that she understands all too well.

"Aye ... I believe it is time I went home. I've been away for far too long."

"Yes, I know the feeling." Passing through the clear plastic boarding tube extended to the VK Special, Shodey looks up and tracks a quickly moving speck of light obviously orbiting Saturn in an angled polar orbit.

Even after all these years, Citadel Station was still up there...

vonKarma awaits Nathicana at the entryway to the crimson-painted Loki. Upon seeing her step off of the boarding tube, he bows deeply and smiles.

"Ahh, Dred Lady, it is an honor to finally make your acquaintance! From what Shodey tells me, you and I have quite a bit in common now."

He ushers her aboard and begins to show her around the Loki.

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

She flips her long, dark hair back over her shoulder, flashing him a ravishing smile.

"Xeruyu," she says with a brief but respectful bow of her own (lacking a dress at the time), "It is my pleasure. And please, simply Nathi will do - save the whole Dread Lady bit for the diplomatic arenas."

Her eyes sparkled at the mention of their common traits, but she simply nodded and allows herself to be led on board.

###BEGIN TRANSMISSION###
~>Route: Automata X1 - Angelus Mainframe - Nathicana
:
{Good afternoon, Nathicana... We heard about your readiness for departure}
{and I wanted to personally wish you congratulations on your entrance into}
{organic/inorganic symbiosis. It is quite a trip, is it not?}
{You are welcome on board the WorldDisc any time you like, and please do not}
{hesitate to contact Us/me through these wonderful additions that S.H.O.D.A.N.}
{has given you.}
{Be well, and We hope to see you soon.}
:
~>Route closed
###END TRANSMISSION###

---
http://www.silentrequiem.net/littlex1.jpg (http://www.silentrequiem.net/angelus)
Automata X1
First Among Equals

To the representatves of Angelus, may I send my sincere thanks for your generousity, and friendship, and for the congratulations on my new ... self. I still lack the words to describe.

I thank you also for the open invitation, and wish to extend to you the same, should you desire it. I hope that in time, a more firm presence for the Dominion may be possible here as both our peoples learn to work, and indeed live, together.

The group of doctors we discussed are ready for transport, and await your instructions. May they be a welcome addition, and a symbol of Dominion friendship while working with you here on the WorldDisc.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time here, in both senses, and look forward to seeing you again via my new capabilities - and believe me, I do thank SHODAN, for all she's done.

Until next we meet ...

--Nathicana D'Aquisto dal Lupo

To the representatves of Angelus, may I send my sincere thanks for your generousity, and friendship, and for the congratulations on my new ... self. I still lack the words to describe.

I thank you also for the open invitation, and wish to extend to you the same, should you desire it. I hope that in time, a more firm presence for the Dominion may be possible here as both our peoples learn to work, and indeed live, together.

The group of doctors we discussed are ready for transport, and await your instructions. May they be a welcome addition, and a symbol of Dominion friendship while working with you here on the WorldDisc.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time here, in both senses, and look forward to seeing you again via my new capabilities - and believe me, I do thank SHODAN, for all she's done.

Until next we meet ...

--Nathicana D'Aquisto dal Lupo

###BEGIN TRANSMISSION###
~>Route: Automata X1 - Angelus Mainframe - Nathicana
:
{Excellent. Send them now, and they shall be accepted with open arms within}
{the Disc. I am sure Dr. Emtoo could use the assistance!}
{As for the visit.... I have never left the Disc, though I have long since thought}
{that a trip outside has been long overdue. Perhaps I shall take you up on your}
{offer and come to visit you... Who can know?}
:
~>Route closed
###END TRANSMISSION###

---
http://www.silentrequiem.net/littlex1.jpg (http://www.silentrequiem.net/angelus)
Automata X1
First Among Equals

ooc:

I sent you a TG.

"Ahh, yes, Nathi. Please make yourself at home. Seems that way to me, I spend so much time moving from conference to summit, to whatever." vK leads her around the ship, showing her various sections, engines, weapons, crew quarters, launch bay, and finally, ending the tour at the bridge. "Well, here we are!" With a grand gesture, vK sweeps his arm across the expansive, and nearly empty bridge. Only one semi-reclined chair remains on the bridge, with a few displays arrayed around it. "As you can see, I had the standard bridge stations removed. Usually a sizeable crew up here at all times, but thats not really necessary anymore." vK taps his temple. "The entire crew is 'enhanced' to a degree, although nothing like you or I. The normal crew compliment has been cut by over 50% Jacking in to the ship is...amazing. Sensors replacing you eyes and ears, Gravitic Engines replacing your legs, weapons arrays replacing your hands, it is truly something to experience! So much power at the whim of ones imagination."

"But, enough about me and my toy here, how are you adapting to your new additions?"

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

He could see she was very intrigued both with his ship, and his method of operating it. Her eyes scanned across each detail as he described it, glittering with excitement, and yes ... a certain amount of hunger.

"I've been quite pleased with the modifications so far. Very pleased, in fact." she smiled, thinking back to the suprising outcome of her sparring match.

Ye gods, won't Devon be suprised ... she thought with satisfaction.

"I ah ... I have had the honor of being gifted with three ships from Angelus. I'm afraid I'm ignorant as to their use at this time. Could you ... instruct me?" she said with a hopeful look.

"I would be happy to instruct you, however, depending on the control interface, it could take some time. Do you know any details about them?

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

She nods, thinking back for a moment.

"Three ships. Two Revenant-class battlecruisers, and one Falchion-class gunship. As I said, I'm afraid I am at a disadvantage here. Unless one is capable of an earth landing, I'll need a personal transport as well, I think."

Smiling, she looks around. "After all ... I hope to visit when I can."

"Ahh, those are larger, crewed vessels. But, if you wish, you could send some crews out here for training. As for a personal transport, well, Shodey and I have a little surprise for you. However, we need to clear Trium space first." Another padded acceleration couch raises from a recessed position in the deck, facing the large bridge windows. "If you will excuse me for a minute, Nathi, I will get us started."

vK takes a seat in the pilot chair, slipping the Mag-Induction jack onto his temple.
<<Internal>>
::Begin Start Sequence::
>>Complete
-+All systems normal, power equalized+-

<<Trans::ZeroOneCtrl>>
"Zero-One control, this is Karmabaijani Loki Good Karma, departing on a vector for ring exit station 4-Bravo. Good day. Give Shodey my best.
<<end>>

<<internal>>

The Loki lifts off, quickly accelerating and clearing Rhea. The ring is insantly visible, and looms larger and larger as they approach. An exit portal becomes visible, and the Loki glides through the thick of the ring, out into open space. vK wastes no time in bringing the ship to gravitic. He stirs suddenly, and removes the jack from his head.

"Enjoy the view?"

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

She makes herself comfortable, carefully watching his every move with interest.

"I believe I could have the proper troops ready in a short ammount of time, yes. Thank you." she said.

At the mention of Shodey, she smiles though her expression grows thoughtful as she recounts their most recent conversation.

"Please - no need to excuse. I truly appreciate your hospitality as it is."

She can't help but watch out the windows as they take off, her eyes clearly showing her amazement. She was elated.

"My dear, you simply can't beat the view." she said in an awestruck voice.

"Please, follow me. I wish to give you something."

vK gets up from the pilot station as a crewman comes in to take the duty watch. He slips on the jack and settles into the chair. vK leads the way off of the bridge, and back to one of the Loki's launch bays. Inside the bay is an object, covered in a red fabric shroud.

"On behalf of the Triumvirate of Yut, SHODAN of Zer0-One and myself, please accept our gift of friendship."

vK signals a crewman who turns on an overhead winch, slowly drawing the shroud off of a sleek, brand new, VIP shuttle.

"Wanna go for a spin?"

"Please, follow me. I wish to give you something."

vK gets up from the pilot station as a crewman comes in to take the duty watch. He slips on the jack and settles into the chair. vK leads the way off of the bridge, and back to one of the Loki's launch bays. Inside the bay is an object, covered in a red fabric shroud.

"On behalf of the Triumvirate of Yut, SHODAN of Zer0-One and myself, please accept our gift of friendship."

vK signals a crewman who turns on an overhead winch, slowly drawing the shroud off of a sleek, brand new, VIP shuttle.

"Wanna go for a spin?"

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

She was, quite frankly, speechless. Her eyes traveled over the sleek lines of the shuttle, and her mouth opened slightly.

A dozen different thoughts flew through her mind. Why, being the most prominent. Never had she dealt with people who offered something for nothing ... but thus far, that was exactly what she'd seen. The bait had all been entirely too tempting. She hoped she would not find herself on the end of a hook.

Sharks. Devon had cautioned her about who she swam with. But the opportunities ... and admittedly, the kindness of these people had well and truly impressed her.

Not everyone thinks like you. she reminded herself. Just be careful what you sign.

"I ... well, I don't know how to thank you, Xeruyu ... you, Shodey, and the Triumverate. Once again, I find myself ... indebted." She didn't sound entirely pleased at that last word, though she smiled broadly.

"And yes, I would love to go for a ride."

vK leads Nathi onto the shuttle. He shows her into the cockpit, and removes two jacks. Handing one to Nathi, he sits down and pluggs in.

"We have it set up for training. You will be able to follow me through the control of the ship, and I will be able to, well, keep you from killing us. Let me know when you are ready!"

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

Settling herself down, she takes the second jack and grins.

"Women driver comment, boy?" she teases, plugging in. "Please, proceed. I'm all yours."

"Here we go."

The bay doors open to show that the Loki has stopped. He initiates the Control interface, and suddenly, at some level, vK and Nathi can sense each others thoughts. vK gives up normal communication for the direct link.

"Now, the control interface is very simple. It runs on a shallow version of the C-Space you were hooked into during your recovery. Basically, you fly the ship with your thoughts. It is advanced enough that you do not need to be specific. For example, thinking "Go to Titan" will get you to Titan, as the system will interpret, plot and execute your wish. However, I believe in learning to operate ones equipment to the fullest. I am going to disable sensory feedback to you for a minute...done. Ok, lets take off."

<Control>
Powerup....complete.
Systems check....complete.

::Up .5, clear bay, foward 10 klicks::
<control>

The ship powers up and lifts off of the deck plating, clears the dock and thrusts foward 10 kilometers to clear the Loki.

"OK. I am going to begin bringing you into the sensory net. If you start to feel discomfortable, let me know."

vK activates Nathi's sensory systems one at a time, pausing to allow her to collect herself after each one.

Power: Nathi can feel the electrical/optronic systems of the ship, as if it were blood coursing through her veins. The fusion reactor is her heart.

Engines: She can feel the engines like legs, thrusters as her sense of balance.

Sensors: She knows the Loki is exactly 10.00543733671 kilometers from their current location. She does not see it, but she knows that it is there.

"Quite a rush, isnt it? "

Her hands nearly shake from the excitement she's feeling. Her eyes light with an unmistakeable ... hunger.

She revels in the synchronicity, closing her eyes for a moment to fully appreciate the feeling of oneness with the ship.

"Il dio, questo è quasi migliore del sesso." she murmers with a grin, her mind automatically translating it over to 'almost better than sex'.

"Now how do we open this up, boy? I feel like a run."

"It is, isn't it. The feeling of power coursing through one's self, the almost omnipotent sense of situational awareness. Anyway, let me demonstrate. This will feel a little strange; I am opening up the full sensory/control sytems."

Nathi suddenly gets a sense of moving foward head first and knows that the disatnce to the Loki is increasing. Suddenly, she feels herself pitching up, and rolling. The sensations receede as the ship comes to a halt.

"The system is translating my control inputs to the ship and to you. You just felt exactly what I "imagined" myself, the ship, doing. It is really that simple. Imagine yourself as the ship, the bow is your head, the engines your feet. All you have to do to move is imagine yourself moving in that direction. Saying the engines were your legs and the sensors your eyes, is sort of a misnomer. The system uses those areas of your brain to interpret and send feedback to you, but in effect you now have thousands of senses. SO! Let's give it a shot, shall we. I am transferring control to you. I have an override, but it will not be pleasent for you if I have to use it. It's quite disconcerting. So, walk, then run."

She nodded, somewhat disgruntled at the neccessity of taking things slow at first ... but soon lost herself in testing the response of the ship gently.

Slowly forward ... then to the left ... back to the right ... down in a graceful spin, then rolling and looping back to the position she'd started in.

Oh yes ... oh hell yes. She grins broadly.

"I'm going to hate being tied to a desk even more after this, I'll have you know." she says aloud, shooting vonKarma a mock glare.

"Destination?" comes the hopeful query. "And more importantly ... speed?"

"Well, you seem to have a grapse of the basics...why dont you open her up a bit and see what you can do? Away from the Loki preferably."

vK smiles.

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

"You know, I'd dearly love to buzz your ship, boy ..." she teased, "but I'd rather try stunts like that once I've a few more hours logged."

She shoots him an impish grin, then mentally runs a quick check of systems before launching the shuttle forward suddenly, speed increasing at a rapid rate.

Her heart races as the reactor pours on the power ... her limbs hum with the energy racing through them ... hurtling through the vastness of space, she feels a freedom she's never know before and always craved.

vK smiles as his student learns quickly. He guides her through several advanced maneuvers, their minds working as one to pilot the craft.


"Well, I think you have gotten the hang of this. Shall we try something a bit different? Maybe some gunnery?"

Nathi senses a new object in the area, and instantly knows it is a target drone launched by the Loki. She feels vK take control. The ship intercepts the drone, falling into formation flight with it, off of its rear port quarter.

"The weapon systems are as easy as the flying is. Activate them with the proper control thought, and the sensors are tied into targeting, lead computing, and fire control. This vessel has one Medium Pulse Laser Cannon in a recessed chin turret. It unfurls when the weapons system is active. Target the object by focusing on it. The turret will train itself on the target and the ship will maneuver if necessary to bring the cannon to bear. I liken the firing process to reaching out and touching the object with a mental finger. Like this."

Nathi senses vK's concentration on the target drone, and feels the turret swing around to train on it. She feels him reach out with his "mental finger" and touch the drone. The cannon begins spurting energy blasts that are absorbed by the drone's heavy shield.

"Ready to try?"

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

She nods, already keying in on the target with the concentration she has honed over years of training and practice.

Excellent system ... intiutive ... simple to understand ...

Nathi pauses, feeling the systems out, then reaches out to touch the target as her instructor had just moments ago.

The cannon answers her command at the speed of thought, flinging energy indescriminatley toward the target drone. Wild at first, Nathi soon gets the hang of it, and zeros in on the drone, wearing down the shield and ultimately destroying it.

"Excellent! Adaptation is the best skill you can have for this system! I am quite impressed Lady Nathi!"

Nathi picks up the mental praise radiating from vK's mind.

"Well, Expert Pilot, I think it is time to bring this lesson to a close unfortunatley. You have control, please bring us back to my ship."

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

Nathicana blushes in spite of herself, feeling a fierce sense of pride both at his words, and the feeling coming across the system from him.

"I want to thank you ... both for the gift of this shuttle, and the lessons. It will take me a while to truly get the hang of it ... but really, I can't thank you enough." Her words are somewhat jumbled, excitement and in truth, disbelief at the generousity of VonKarma, Shodey, Xanone ... all of them, overwhelming her usual calm focus.

"I ... " she begins, then changes the subject. "Yes, the ship." She makes the system checks, confirming the location, and takes the route back at a more leisurely pace, enjoying the sensation of being one with the shuttle.

Arriving back at the landing bay, she brings it in with a slight wobble - having previously had little experience in such things, and lands with a bit of a bump.

Grimmacing, she turns to her instructor. "Um ... sorry 'bout that." She shrugs and grins sheepishly.

"Not a bad first landing...It will come around with practice. Now, I suppose we should make with the getting you home bit, eh? After your final training that is."

vk leads the way back to the bridge and shows Nathi to her seat, offering her a datajack. Taking his position, he jacks in.

"Thought you might like to try flying something a bit bigger, and it will give me a chance to show you how to use the gravitic jump engines. Go ahead and jack in and get us started towards Earth, if you please."

Upon jacking in to the Loki, Nathi is almost overwhelmed at the untapped energy at the command of her mind: Monstrous engines, weapons systems, and scanners that give her situational awareness unlike anything imagenable.

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

She arches a brow at the 'final training' comment, but nods and follows along.

Gravitic jump? She sits down, and plugs in ... and breathes in sharply as her senses attempt to take in the powerful ship.

"Gods, man, you could have warned me ... " she murmurs with a smile. Giving herself a moment to catch her breath and get oriented, she does as directed, starting off carefully in the direction of Earth.

"Now ... what is this gravitic jump bit you were mentioning?"

Oh my ... l'alimentazione di questa cosa! The power this ship has!

"This is the one part of the system that is not as intuitive as the rest. But it is still quite simple. Query the nav computer by thinking your destination. It will notify you when ready for the jump. If you are just going short distances, i.e to evade something with the gravitics, the movement system is the same as normal, but to activate the gravitics, you have to trip a mental switch. You can't just imagine yourself moving really fast. To trip the switch, think about the word gravitic, it will bring up the grav drive control subsystem and overlay it in your field of vision. It is a simple interface from there, just imagine yourself pushing the activation switch. Go ahead, and see if you can get us heading for Earth."

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

Nodding, she paid close attention to all details, eagerly following along as he explained. She was still thrilled at the power he'd put at her disposal, relishing the feel of the ship

Destination, Earth. she thought firmly.

Destination Earth confirmed. Course plotted and locked in, came the immediate response.

Gravitic.

As he had said, the grav drive overlay appeared.

Gods, I hope I don't blast us into a bajillion bits with this ... she thought briefly, then focused on the switch.

Switch flipped - engage.

"Here we go ..."

To an outside observer, the Loki stretches to infinity, as the gravitic asymptotes bend space. Inside the overlay shows their acceleration and relative velocity, time to destination and any navigational messages.

"The overlay only comes up with gravitic by default, but you can bring it up at any time if you want visual feedback. I prefer the direct sensory input myself, but to each his, or her, own. You are one of the fastest learners I have ever taught, picking up the systems as quikly as you did. You should really be proud of yourself. On that note, lets go celebrate your first flight. The maneuvering watch will take over monitoring our progress."

vK jacks out and helps Nathi out of her chair. Leading her back into the ship, they come to the Officers Wardroom, where they sit and have a leisurley lunch with the crew.

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

Nathi flashes him a brilliant smile, beaming at his praise like she would have back in her youth.

I feel so ... relaxed around these people. Why? It all seems so much easier here.

"I had an excellent teacher. Truly. Could not have figured it all out on my own. Thank you." she said, accepting his help from the chair.

She sets to her meal with relish, still buzzing from all the new knowledge and experiences that have come so quickly.

"You really know how to live, my dear ... I begin to regret going home, almost." she said before taking another bite.

vK suddnely seems lost in thought. Suddenly..

"Understood, we are on our way."

His sttention returns to Nathi.

"Just got paged to the bridge," vK taps is ear, where a subdermal communicator rests, "we are approaching Earth. Lets get back up to the bridge."

He leads the way back, and relieves the maneuvering watch. Helping Nathi into her seat and handing her the jack, he takes his place.

"OK, call up the Gravitic Overlay, and bring us out of grav. We will come out a bit early, so you can get a good look at your home from space."

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

She nods in understanding. Maybe I should have gotten one of those ... nah. Would have my ministers and Marik, and Jas yapping at me constantly.

She had always been a serious student, and these lessons were no exception. She focused quickly on the task at hand.

Still overwhelmed at the immense feel of the ship as she jacked in, she thrilled at the power nonetheless. Taking a brief moment to orient herself, she called up the gravitic overlay as she had before. Once more, she focused on the switch.

Switch flipped - gravitic drive disengaged. she confirmed.

Looking expectantly out the window, she sat forward a bit on her chair.

From a Terran viewpoint, the Loki appears, stretching from infinity and approaching at impossible speeds, seeming to come to a halt milliseconds before impact with the point of view. Earth appears outside the viewports immediatley, a blue jewel amongst the vastness of space. vK takes control, allowing Nathi to take a good look.

"Peaceful from up here, isn't it. Still gets me sometimes, how it can be so calm looking here, but on the surface, anything but. That is why we left Earth in the first place...the needless violence, conflict, and strife. Humble begennings, but look how much we have been able to grow without the constant fighting. I am bringing us into a geo-stationary orbit over your nation, so you can get a good look. Please, take all the time you wish."

Nathi feels a rush as the powerful fusion/gravitic sublight engines fire, setting the Loki for orbital injection in geostationary orbit.

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

She simply nods, lost in her own thoughts as she listens to his words, and looks down on her homeland ... home planet.

Her eyes mist over a bit as she steels herself for the return home, emotions in a jumble. It would all be too easy to just leave it all behind ... the manipulations, the intrigue, the lies. But the power ... she had to admit she thrived on it all, even when it chaffed.

She sighs, and looks over to VonKarma with a wistful expression.

"I still don't know how I can thank you enough for all you've done."

Looking again at the magnificent view before them, her shoulders droop somewhat.

"It would seem my little adventure is at an end ... back to the old grind, neh?" she said with a wry grin.

"Please, no thanks are necessary. We only ask your friendship to the Trium in return. There are very few people we have trusted with our technology over the years. I can count them on one hand, in fact. We wouldnt be doing this if we didn't feel that the investment was worthwhile. We know that you will be a valuable ally to the Trium in the future. But, yes, it seems that your journey has come full circle, and on that note, I think it is time for your solo."

vK grins as he lets that slip, knowing Nathi has been wanting to get ahold of the controls of her new ship again. He leads the way to the launch bay and gets her settled into the left seat of her new shuttle.

"OK, you are all set. Only thing we didn't cover was reentry, and the system handles that on full auto, so you just have to let it know you are ready to reenter and your final destination point. It will handle all the orbital mechanics for you. On behalf of the Triumvirate of Yut, and the Armed Republic of Karmabaijan, we wish you, Dread Lady Nathicana--Nathi, a prosporus future. Please, do not hesitate to contact us if you need anything in the future. Valhalla station can handle maintenance on the shuttle if you ever have any trouble with it. This trip has been an experience for me, be assured. Please, don't be a stranger around Titan!"

http://okcac.freeyellow.com/sarge.gif
President-General Xeruyu VonKarma
The Armed Republic of Karmabaijan
Triumvirate of Yut
Titan

Her brows shot up in suprise at his initial revelation, but she quickly covered it, forcing herself to not smile overmuch as he continued.

All I could have hoped for and more. And I'm still not sure how it all happened.

She was truly touched - something that didn't happen often. Blinking over-bright eyes, she impulsively gave VonKarma a warm embrace and a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you. May the Triumverate and Karmabaijan enjoy great prosperity as well. As for friendship ... you have it. Perhaps in the near future we might make a more formal arrangement of it between our nations."

She turned before entering her shuttle, and waved. "I hope to be seeing you soon - at least, as soon as I've cleaned up a few messes down below. My absence has ... complicated a few things somewhat. Ciao!"

She stepped in, closed the hatch, and made her way to the bridge, settling herself into her seat with a satisfied, yet sad smile.

"Well ... homeward bound." She jacked in, felt the ship and herself become one, and contacted the Loki for clearance.

Once recieved, she repeats the lessons VonKarma had run her through earlier, and pulls carefully out of the bay and into the vastness of space. Looking down at Earth, she chuckles.

"I'll be with you shortly ... "