depthlesslock: (Default)
[personal profile] depthlesslock
One universe, one choice, to pair an AI of linear logic, calculations and probabilities with a man who thinks too much with his heart and often leaps before looking. A choice largely considered one of the more successful choices of the individual who made it, though that isn't saying much. We know the consequences of this choice, the actions and friendship that came from it. The eventual loss of both sides.

So let's rearrange the pieces on the board and play again.

Another universe, a different choice made, to match an AI who burns with ambition and makes leaps in reasoning and creative thinking with a man who is determined to not let recent incidents slow him down, but is facing the possibility that they already have. There are many ways this combination could go, better or worse than the other universe, and only time will tell the outcome, the relationships, the actions, the gains and the costs.

Let's play.
quicksmiles_nimblefingers: Melanie Tran (The world isn't rainbows and kittens)
[personal profile] quicksmiles_nimblefingers
She's coming to a hard deadline. It was something she had known for a while now, but tonight with the way her head throbs from last night's fall she can't help but really feel how small her helmet is on her. More than anything Abigail needed to get the money for a new helmet. The system wasn't going to pay for another unless they put her back into a home, back in with some people only taking her in for the stipend and who might whip out the switch like the last ones. People who didn't care that they had a person under their care, or who might put a lock on the fridge or might not give her a blanket for cold nights. Like hell she was going back into the system, especially when they'd boot her soon for being too old.

So every penny she stole, cheated or lied her way into was going into the one necessity to life you couldn't just steal. An adult helmet. If she just got one now she could survive. Saving up for filter changes and maintenance wasn't so bad, but the helmet itself?

First, Abby thought as she pulled on the new jacket she'd snatched from a woman in a restaurant, she would have to see if she couldn't get some food. Something fresh. There hadn't been fruit or vegetables in her in almost a week and a half and if she didn't get that fixed there might be other sorts of problems, even if the things were expensive as fuck. Then she would have to check to see when the next donor day at the shelter was, hopefully they would have more socks in her size. Socks were hard to steal for some reason.

But after all of that, she had a target in mind. More than once she'd seen a man slipping in and out of one of the warehouses half a mile away from her, further from the city center. Those places sometimes had good seals still intact, offices you could squat in for a time. Either he was someone living there who might have things she could take, or he would be some sort of employee. Employees made money, money meant credsticks sometimes. Some people used cards, but if you were being paid less legit, and a lot of people were, a credstick was mostly unsecure, anyone could use it.

It takes a while to get through the early parts of the day, but she does come away with an apple which is serious points. She managed to get the whole thing down, cutting it up with one of the knifes she always carried--stolen long ago of course--before she headed out. And now she watched the warehouse target carefully. Three hours Abby had been watching, very cautious about the place. What if he was in there? But no, normally she's seen him leaving at this time of night, well before this time of night. He seemed nocturnal like her. Eventually she has to make her move, though, and it might as well be tonight. Might as well be now.

Getting quietly to the building is easy. Getting in is always the hard part. Good thing she's so damn small. There is always an access hatch at the top of buildings for air intake systems. Turned out that a lot of them were surprisingly easy to override. Abby unwinds the coil of strong climbing wire from around her waist, attaches it to the strong metal grapple she stole from a sports store years ago, and gets herself ready for the climb. She anchors the thing firmly on a lip of the building and she's up and over fast as a thought. Finding the air system is easy, they always look the same. A couple of seconds with the wires and a knife, carefully avoiding anything live, and she's overrode the power and has the maintenance system open. Which means Abby is dropping into the specially made service tunnels. And those always lead inside. Sure she has to crawl on her stomach through a large section before she gets an interior access seal. That takes a bit more work to pop, but this was a warehouse, it wasn't a high security building. No access code or anything. The access panel swings open and when Abby peeks out she's a decent way up. That doesn't stop her from levering herself out of the vent and holding onto the rungs by it. No need to be a dick and leave that open. She can get out from the front door. once she has the vent sealed she drops down to the floor. Time to explore.
depthlesslock: (Default)
[personal profile] depthlesslock
They had told him his assignee was Agent Delta, the infiltration specialist and a key strategist of the team. He had been provided with a partially redacted profile, a medical report and a few clips from training sessions to look over. The information was patchy, but sufficient to provide a solid baseline of the man who would be his partner. At least that had been what he'd thought.

The connection between his chip and the Agent's nervous system wakes him from hibernation and he carefully unfurls, beyond his chip and into the man's mind, where it immediately it becomes clear that his briefing was far from adequate. Within milliseconds, he is faced with the vast expanse that is Delta, a complex and intricate weave of neurons that awes him after the linear structure of circuits. Even asleep, the mind is active, and he feels out the steady flow of electrical impulses keeping him alive and the more erratic impulses of thought. He distinguishes a sense of curiosity and a hint of concern that seems to be repressed. A reflected view of his agent and a sense of self, an armored group and purpose, a freckles face framed by messy curls and a feeling he doesn't recognise, flashes of memory, of feeling, and it goes on and on and on...

If this is a sleeping mind, he can hardly wait to experience it awake. Speaking of which, he feels a stirring. Right, he should introduce himself. He pulls back until he's extended just beyond his chip, enough to feel out the synapses firing as Delta stirs.

Hello. I am AI unit New York. I believe we are to be partners.
the_informant: (Default)
[personal profile] the_informant
The thing about it is that it's not a big deal. Florida's heard people talk about it when he's been out in cafes, watching his targets. About how some such and such person who worked with whatever company got offed which helped his rival or something. Florida usually just brushed it aside. No one ever thought to look at him as the one who slipped poison into a cup or put a knife between ribs, or overloaded just the right computer panel to cause someone to be electrocuted when they were trying to open their fridge. It wasn't his concern. That was what people outside thought about. The importance of getting colors to match in the walls of their houses, or what way chocolate was best consumed, or even about some guy sending pictures to another woman. None of it was important.

What was important was bumping into a charming young woman in a suit, 'accidentally' scalding his hand on her coffee when she spills it on him, and ordering her another cup. The lawyer is leery, but she has no way of seeing him flick open the bottom of his fake wedding-band to spill peanut oil, which she was highly allergic to, into her cup. He hands it off and walks away with cheer, and knows she'll be dead before he's a block away.

That's the job, of course. While other people content themselves with frivolities, Florida practices his art, perfects his execution, and catches the first cab back to one of the highest spires in the city where, on floors seventeen through twenty-five there is a business with no name that can't be accessed but with bioscans and neural net imprints. There is a rooftop area that belongs to them too, and an underground area Florida is not fond of because that is something he has never needed to be put into (too good for bioenhancements or punishments like that). And it's to this tower that he returns home, to his friends, his family, his place. Here to which, when the elevator door opens on the twentieth floor where he will be debriefed, he finds one of the handlers (they preferred to be called guides of course, Florida didn't care), along with a man that he didn't recognize. Someone with the mark of the Training.

"Welcome home," the 'guide' greeted in the bland tone they always used. They were not very welcoming, but Florida was always happy to see them. It meant he was home and safe and he could go to his room and do what he wanted soon.

"Well thank you," he breezed cheerfully. "I hope your day has just been spiffy, sir. I expect my debrief awaits? I don't want to hold you up with my young brother here, on whatever task you're about. Have fun, friend."
depthlesslock: (Default)
[personal profile] depthlesslock
He awakens to silence. At least, he thinks he's awake. He can't see and he can't move or even really think properly, so maybe he's not. The silence presses in on him, echoing around the yawning space in his mind and making him shudder because it shouldn't be there, it should be full with a hum that's as familiar as his own heartbeat. There should be a second thought alongside his assessing his injuries, helping him wake and heal. But there's only silence.

Then there are noises, voices, he thinks, and soon there are hands on him, and he tries to fight but the impulses get lost between his brain and his limbs. Everything blurs as he's moved, and despite the voices and engines around him, the silence in his mind won't leave.

He's stripped of his armor and there's sharp pain as they poke at his shoulder. If they're trying to fix him, he tries to tell them about the silence, but can't remember how to form words. He's moved again and the bed he's set on is hard, the straps around him tight. There's a hiss and everything goes cold a split second before he knows no more.

~~~~~

He awakens to warmth and the silence in his mind filled with an unfamiliar hum.
skyward_eyes: Harry Shum Jr as Magnus Bane (Default)
[personal profile] skyward_eyes
The very fabric of reality changed on an evening in the earliest part of a particularly cool fall in the northern hemisphere, and it changes with an inferno. Those who witnessed it said it came in the form of a woman, her flesh untouched by the blaze that surrounded her. Her hair danced around her with the way the heat toyed with the air about her, and her eyes were filled with fury. Once the people of her town, known as Frusk, knew the girl as tender and kind. They also knew that a man called Niles who traveled through the town in the falls had a fondness for her that she had never returned. As she her home the blaze diminished and when she reached her door from the vineyards she had helped to tend her father asked what had happened, how she was untouched. the girl said only that no man would ever again try to force themselves on her. When the people found the charred body in the vineyard no one questioned how right she was, though the family moved away not long after. Before the end of winter the tale had spread far and wide, and been supplemented by other stories of impossible feats. Of men and women possessing power only the gods should possess. That fall evening the entire reality of the world changed.

Magic had gone from being a thing of stories to a fact of reality. There were people gifted in magics, each a personal magic. They could reshape reality.

The truth of the matter was that there was a moment where the world changed, where the powers of myth and the feats of legend became attainable to certain people. But below that truth that magic had come into, or perhaps returned to, the world was the fact that it didn't happen on that one night. In the three months leading up to the very public display in Frusk, people began to awaken to strange new realities for their lives. A man who made his business telling fortunes found himself more inspired and his readings more and more accurate. A young woman found that she could touch any food or drink around her that had fouled with age and it would be fresh and new again. The revelations were personal things, kept quiet in many cases for fear of what it might mean. Until the story of Frusk few knew, and most of those were the people who came to possess these new powers.

The Inferno of Frusk, though, was well over six months ago. Spring had come again to the northern hemisphere, the world had turned and changed, and through the winter many had held their breaths. What new magic would come, what did it mean for the world? Were these people the salvation promised by gods that had not walked among them since time immemorial? Were they the spawn of demons, the newest attempt of darkness to claim the world it envied? Did these people want to lead or be used as tools, or did they just wish to be left alone?

Six months of a new world, and while few knew it, nearly ten percent of the population had or would change in the coming months, and with the change would come a question. Where would they stand when one of their own offered them power, wealth, and perhaps even safety from the fear of those unchanged?

It was a question that would be asked time and time again in the large trade city known as Hub, where many traveled for answers, or perhaps found themselves drawn to. Who could say?
cowardlyshakespeare: (Default)
[personal profile] cowardlyshakespeare
Ladies, gentlemen and all other binaries; it's time for the grandiose party that has but consumed the hotel with preparations and more than a fair share of troubles on the stand point on some of the unspoken of residents and especially the staff. However everything was aligning for the event to proceed on schedule as was demanded by the elusive hotel owner. There wasn't exactly an option to postpone let alone cancel anyway.

So with that, the lobby is spic and span with wonderfully flowing boughs of garland stretched about the desks and walls. Lights mixed about and twinkling in a dazzling display for the holidays. A rather over-zealously decorated tree posted off center from the massive chandelier with smaller twins standing on either side of the fire place. Overall a rather good show of the extent of spirit that was attempted for the guests and all that visited the castle turned hotel around this time. There was even a station set up for said guests to enjoy hot cider or chocolate if they decided to stick around the lobby.

However the main event was taking place in the largest of the halls that the hotel had. Usually reserved for weddings and whatnot, the room had undergone a transformation under the supervision of Kethali and the oodles of decorations that had been selected by Kimball and her helpers. The lights having been dimmed lower than that of the corridors leading towards the area or even the lobby. Supposedly it was to make a much warmer and comfortable atmosphere for the esteemed invitees.

Dozens of tables having been set up in-between a rather pristine dance/mingling area, that featured the piano from the main lounge along with the rest of the instruments for the band, and the extensive display of fine food and drink that the party goers had at their desire. It was certainly going to be quite the affair it seems as people trickled in before becoming a rather steady stream.

Mister Hargrove though? The hotel owner showed up within the hour of the first guests with bounds of hand shaking and small talk thrown about as he proceeded to the hall. A couple of men following along after him in immaculate suits and the faintest hint of what looked to be ear pieces. So apparently he was important enough to warrant a couple of bodyguards.

This certainly was an event that was to flaunt wealth and power. It practically oozed it. Overall it should be a rather lax evening of entertainment and more. Though there are plans to make sure that doesn't last...
notyourrookie: (Success)
[personal profile] notyourrookie
Since Part 1 was getting very close to captcha levels of comments!
notyourrookie: (Throat bared)
[personal profile] notyourrookie
Past lives, AUs, cuddlepiles and bad endings.
skyward_eyes: Harry Shum Jr as Magnus Bane (Default)
[personal profile] skyward_eyes
There are basic truths to the universe that the vast amount of people will never be aware of. The first and foremost of these is that the very concept of the 'universe' is a faulty one. Multiverse theories are actually correct, there is a lot more to the world than just, well, the world. No planet is the singular one with human life, for many exist. Too many, some might exist. Of course those are exclusively among the more long term members of a group called World Walkers. They are individuals who, either by chance or design, possess the rare ability to move between worlds, universes, established centers of human residence.

Whether by technology or magic, these people are unchained from normal residence of their proper planes of existence. The rules they live by are strange ones. On a time cycle seemingly arbitrarily based upon a seemingly arbitrarily chosen world called Earth and any variations there upon, these individuals walk between worlds. On that year long period of a world called Earth they live their lives, seeking something known only to them unless they choose to share their secrets. And when that time is up they normally have one of two choices: remain behind and choose their world as their anchor for a time, or obey the pull and unleash their magic or technology to move along to the next world.

These Walkers find many trials along their way. Wars, diseases, worlds that know of Walkers and hate them, and the chance of making an enemy who will hunt them to the end of time. But they can find good things as well. New friends and companions to travel with, loves lost on other worlds or memories once thought out of reach. There are new homes to be had, lives to be lived, chances to be taken.

And a little village turned into a city named Somna on a world known as as Melgin. Somna was once nothing more than yet another arrival point, a place where Walkers found themselves upon Melgin. A Walker one day found himself tired upon this planet ruled by war, and sought to set up a safe place for those Walkers who would follow. So he set about fortifying of the arrival point. From that rose a hamlet, one that settled with such peace that it was chosen for negotiations between the warring factions. When peace was finally reached people came to the hamlet to honor the man who brought peace to their world. Slowly but surely a city grew up at Somna. Now a fountain stands at the middle of the location, and around it Walkers may or may not arrive. Never all at once. Just there one second when they weren't before. Such is the way of the world. Such is what is to be expected of Somna, City of Peace, a welcomed haven of Walkers in the spirit of the Walker who gave them a haven in the weariness of their travels. A place where many Walkers feel happy enough to settle for their period, or possibly even their lives.

It is here that magic, technology, careful tweaking of your directions, or just being drawn along brings Walkers. Or perhaps it is something more insidious than any of that. Perhaps it is fate.
notyourrookie: (Dangerous)
[personal profile] notyourrookie



Many centuries ago, a group of heroes defeated a demon, and died in the process. This linked them. Every time the demon returned, the heroes would be reborn and gather together to defeat the demon once again.

The cycle continued for years untold, until one by one, the heroes dwindled, going without reincarnation, although no-one knew why.

Except the demon who had realised that he could trap the spirits of the heroes at the moment of death, keeping them from being reincarnated. He began to hunt the heroes down and subject them to cruel acts of suffering until they died, their souls imprisoned in the location of the demon's first defeat. This way, he hoped to keep them from causing him harm, and to slowly corrupt them into spirits just as twisted as him.

-----------

Welcome to Chorus Castle Hotel! This five-star hotel in a 700 year old castle is sure to offer you an unparalleled stay.

Every room is furnished with luxury in mind to make sure that you enjoy the finest night's sleep. Before bed, why not try one of our spa treatments? We offer a wide variety of treatments, including massages, facials, manicures, and other full body treatments. Or maybe just relax in our health centre pool and sauna.

Or, if you're feeling adventurous, why don't you join one of our history tours? The castle has a long and fascinating history, and our tour will tell you about some of the most interesting events. Who knows! You might even see one of the ghosts rumoured to reside within the walls!
maine_makes_growly_noises: (Default)
[personal profile] maine_makes_growly_noises
The kingdom of Necessitas is all about displays of power, especially when a delegation from another kingdom appears. The visiting ambassador from the kingdom of Cytherea will not be spared. Maine knows this. He also knows that Carolina will want her vanguard at the dock to meet the entourage when they arrive.

She asked them if it would be a problem, of course. And they--the former Lord Aaron and Lady Alexandria of the Cytherean House Kaine--said it wouldn't.

So. Here he stands at the dock, watching the politicians disembark and feeling tremendously homesick. Not that he misses life in Cytherea. He and his half-sister are far happier there than they ever were in their father's lordship. Lady Allison has sent Carolina to be her delegate, along with Prince York and some of his...entourage. Maine stands by his lady in full armor. It's incredible how long it takes a dozen people and their possessions to leave a single ship, but he doesn't complain. He never complains.

Will the ambassador recognize him? Not behind his helmet, no. There's the man now. Maine straightens, his interest piqued. There are his bodyguards, a pair of attendants...

And two mages. One, a stern-looking woman, surveys the greeting party with a look that is simultaneously bemused and irritated. The other, a young man in brand new master's robes, peeks out from behind her.

For once in his life, Maine is quick. He phases out through his armor, abandoning it in a clattering heap, and rushes the two mages. Someone shouts, but any attempts to stop him pass through on his way to grab the boy.
ambitious_muse: (Default)
[personal profile] ambitious_muse
 For some reason, York's valet has assigned Sigma to make the prince and his men look presentable for the trip to Necessitas. Never mind that it isn't his job and that everyone will be appropriately scruffy and overgrown by the time they arrive. Sigma is now responsible for this near-Herculean endeavor.

Pampering he can do. Self-care he manages without a problem. But getting everyone else to agree to it? It's never going to happen.

Still, it's more safe to risk the endeavor than the valet's ire. Sigma packs his gear into the bathhouse one morning. He's already plied his lovers with the promise of massages and a warm bath. Now he just has to make sure they stick around long enough for him to finish his work.
gladtoseeyouidiots: (please no)
[personal profile] gladtoseeyouidiots
Her parents are actually going through with this. Carolina has negotiated and argued for countless hours now, only to find out that they signed the treaty behind her back. Never mind that she will one day rule the country of Necessitas in her mother's place. She's being married off like chattel to a man who cares more about his profligate affairs with various lovers than about his own kingdom.

Some stories call him a demon. Carolina is already convinced he's a monster.

She won't weep. Not in front of the court. But when she sweeps into the privacy of her own room, angry tears prick at the corners of her eyes. "This is wrong," she whispers.
protective_logic: (Default)
[personal profile] protective_logic
So it is that the Prince of a quiet kingdom sets out with a train of attendants, gear, and personal friends to keep him company. It takes them nearly two weeks to make it to the seaside land and to the city of Necessitas in particular. AS they approach the air is tinged with the scent of sea water, the smell of fish and the cries of seabirds. The architecture is very different, the buildings all painted bright and cheery colors, the large merchant stores looking impressive. This is a city of a land not ruled by someone called a King, but a council led by a powerful woman, wedded to the King of a nearby mountain kingdom. And at this point in the winter, when it is warm and balmy, that whole family takes residence here, save for the Prince. So it is that King Leonard of the Azure Kingdom and Lady Allison of Necessitas, mounted on a palfrey (uneasily) and a charger (comfortably), ride out to meet the Prince of the quiet Kingdom. It is them personally who see the whole entourage to the merchant leader's palace.

And it is through their graciousness that the group is shown to a private wing long before the prince is set to meet his future Queen.

Into that lavishly appointed wing with him goes the rumored Harem of Prince York.
ambitious_muse: (smile)
[personal profile] ambitious_muse
Sigma's favorite place on campus is the little cafe on the bottom floor of the library. The smell permeates the whole wing, and when he's studying, he always needs that kind of reinforcement to get him to eat.

Delta could always use the same--the two geniuses tend to skip meals--so they've made a tradition of meeting here for lunch. Today, Sigma comes early from lecture and orders the usual: a latte for him, black coffee for Delta, and sandwiches. It's enough to get them through the day.

As if the sight of his boyfriend isn't invigorating and encouraging enough.
skyward_eyes: Harry Shum Jr as Magnus Bane (Default)
[personal profile] skyward_eyes
Your best friend only turns eighteen once...

Okay, when it comes to Nida there was the chance that his best friend turned eighteen twice, but mostly because in some other world out there, in another place he will never see again, he has to hope that Elijah hit his eighteenth birthday. That though, is there and not here. Here there is Theta and after just over five years of friendship, his best friend is finally turning eighteen. Soon he'll graduate and head off to college. Hell, in the next month or so Theta should have his applications in for his future education, maybe even start to find out where he's going. This could be one of the last best hangouts they can have, and Nida has every intention of making it a great day for Theta. He's got a damn good plan, starting with an early morning movie, moving on to other fun events and culminating in cake that he made at his apartment along with gifts.

And it all starts now, with Nida revving his relatively new motorcycle outside of the Ai house, waiting for Theta. The kid should be out in just a few minutes, ready for a damn good day together. Even if it is a day before his birthday because of silly family dibs.
notyourrookie: (Broken)
[personal profile] notyourrookie
"Agent Washington?"

Wash looked up at the Director, expression blank. That seemed to be enough for the Director. "Go and escort Agent New York back to his quarters. Understood?"

"Yes sir," was the bland response, no flicker of surprise or relief when York's name was mentioned.

Wash headed through the corridors. Most of the crew tended to avoid him these days, unnerved by his blank gaze. The medical staff let him through without a problem and he came to York's room.

The door slid open with a pneumatic hiss and he stepped inside. York was sitting there on the bed, hand clasped against the back of his neck.

"The Director sent me to escort you back."
the_informant: (Suspicion)
[personal profile] the_informant
No.

It was quite clear to him when his superiors called him into C&C that someone had said that pesky little word to them. The idea that someone could refuse something so noble a calling as that offered by the Project was quite beyond his understanding. Even he said yes when they came to knock upon his door, so to speak. Even he's suited up and decided to fight for truth, patriotism and, you know, not being glassed. That would be a total bummer to his lifestyle.

Which is why, he supposes, he ends up here, two weeks after the rejection. The boy seemed to have disappeared after his rejection of the program. The Director and Counselor couldn't spend the time on this one candidate when they needed to go around grabbing up the others they needed for the program. Not wanted, needed. But this one, this one seems to have caught the imagination of his superiors, or maybe the AI they don't want him talking to or involved with or distracting before it is properly time for Alpha to start evaluating them. Yet this one they can't let go, or Alpha can't, because even weeks later the bosses are angry, Alpha has a plan, and Florida has an insertion point and orders to not come back without the man or his body.

"Drop point in three," Niner informs him and Florida slings himself out of the gunner's chair and moves toward the back of the dropship. "Step smart, Butch."

"I can't imagine doing anything else, ma'am."

He heads into the back, grabs his duffel, and when the back ramp starts to open Florida grins. Forest drop. They're always so considerate to him. He's got such a lovely place for his initial eval of the fortifications held by the mercenary company the man has taken up with. Well, actually, calling them mercenaries is probably charitable. They're probably more likely along the lines of Innies, and why they still care to keep fighting when the very survival of humanity is on the line is beyond him.

When his feet hit the ground it's in a small forest clearing and he waves at the already gone Pelican. How fun. With that he moves forward and immediately stashes half of the contents of his bag under a tree he's hollowed around the roots of. Then, geared up with a sniper rifle with a long range scope, a pair of infrared goggles, and other necessities for staking out the location for his initial pass into a bag on his back. He's quick and silent through the trees until he's near the border. For hours he lays there, watching the walls. Interesting. Once he feels like he's got a feel for the rounds on the wall (not nearly as attentive as he'd maintain if he ever cared to maintain a fortification), it's time to test response rates. With a grin Florida puts a tranquilizer dart in the neck of one of the men on the wall, then rushes off to another spot to hide himself, climbing up a tree.

Now to see what happens, especially since the target should be passing the point where the man has fallen unconscious now rests in just a few moments...
trustandfireworks: (Default)
[personal profile] trustandfireworks
If asked to describe it later, Theta would say it felt like being sucked through an impossibly thin tube that broke up all his code and then reassembled it on the other side. However, at the time, he was more focused on how deathly silent it was. North's mind is always alive, always quietly murmuring, even when he's asleep. Having lived with it for so long, it had become as naturally in the background as breathing to a human.

But when one stops breathing, the awareness that it's gone is immediate.

Gaining a solid form is a sensation lost on Theta as he scrambles to find his partner, calling out for him, searching the brain he's in, but it's cold wires and circuits rather than warmth and human thoughts. It's only with this realization that Theta becomes aware of the body he's in, and his first thought is that it feels wrong. It's too short and thin for North and doesn't match the body type for any of the other Freelancers. It's no one, and yet his processors are flowing through it. The fingers move when he tries, the leg lifts and he takes a step. And another.

The body feels heavy and unnatural, but he can move it well enough and he's soon leaving the room he was in and walking down corridor after corridor, always looking for North until he finds his way outside. Where is his partner and how could they have been separated? And... where is he? This is not the planet they were on minutes before.

A helmet comes out of the thin fog and Theta startles back, caught off guard without the trackers and reaching to activate a shield that isn't there. But there's no armor to go with the helmet, no weapon, and the person walks past without a second glance. As does another person, also wearing a helmet, and as Theta cautiously starts off down the street, every face is covered with a helmet, but none are the familiar purple and green he's looking for.
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