December 1st, 2097
ACS outbreak in Zone 18
...Source in the government report a strain of malignant ACS infected the popular nightclub Caligula's Palace and at least half it's patrons in what is the twenty ninth outbreak of this year alone. Emergency services were able to shut down the net fairly quickly, but physical violence spread unchecked into the early hours of the morning. Hounds report light losses-but, almost 48 Oids and 67 Humans lost their lives...a memorial is planned for the lost this evening, and the government has stressed all Oids continue to observe and protect their CPU health, downloading the latest protection programs available.
Senator Gordon to give speech denouncing Rebel Violence
Senator Gordon Fine of Zone 5 is scheduling a rally near his palatial estate this evening, and is expected to fiercely denounce the latest Harrier activity. A fierce opponent of Rebel and Sympathizers, he's likely gathering public support for his controversial 'Oid Licensing' bill. Oids already undergo standard governmental identity checks, but his bill will far expand the governments role in tracking and identifying Oidkind...
Economy Woes Continue-Market down for fourth week straight
In what is becoming a bitter joke on Silstreet, Carthy McAgree's constant pronunciations of hope and persistence have done nothing to quell the slump in consumer sales. Nearly all industries report significant losses, with the notable exception of Caeltech-Pdef, the weapons and armor conglomerate merger that seems all but unstoppable given the recent demand.
With the holiday season approaching, many businesses are hoping for a windfall that will turn the market around and keep Paradisum going strong into the new year...
Ritzny Axe and Gemega Spear file for divorce
Gold Avenue power couple's month long marriage comes to a bitter end as the pair calls it quits. A whirlwind romance that caught the hearts of the public after their hit movie 'Love and Acrimony' premiered to record breaking sales on the net...oddly coinciding the release of 'Love and Acrimony' box set of hardchips collectors edition...
Jet Leviathan saves Deep Water Drilling crew
The disaster of the 'Seathresher-053' could have been much worse, our sources agree. Assaulted by rouge AI 'Sharkoids' as they attempt a routine scan of the cavernous ocean underneath Paradisum, they were left adrift and without power-running out of air and supplies. It's Human crew of 19 could certainly have perished, had the lone Oid onboard not sacrificed his core completely, to energize the subs air compressors for a vital hour...
Lucky for them Jet Leviathan, Paradisums Icy Oid Hero, was on the scene. She pulled out the crew one by one, fighting off the hostile Sharkoids, and ferried them to a waiting Cave-Destroyer PSS Anatoly. All 19 members are currently resting in medbay, expected to make full recoveries. The Oid who sacrificed himself, DEFENDER designation 8, was once a K&E squad member-and will be given a heroes retirement in the Garden Ring Oid Warriors Rest.
The Council commended her bravery, which is a certain change of tone considering last weeks harsh words considering her neutral leaning and refusal to formally join the Hounds in this time of crisis.
Jet Leviathan had no comment, as of press time.
StrikerThe ground scurries beneath you at high speed, a bed of green and gold and brown. Your systems map the area in real time, overlaying and updating. The throaty roar of your engines is only a comforting buzz to your electronic ears.
Flying has always given you a sense of peace. Given the fear that regularly dominates your life...you sometimes think these biweekly 'expeditions' the Council contracts you to do might be the only thing that keep you in working order. That, and they gave you a flight license-which allows you some freedom in the air, away from all the hovercabs and dropships with zoom around Paradisums inner airspace.Which was why the latest communication you receive on your ONET account filled you with such dread.
Noted STRIKER DESIGNATION 3
The Council is unhappy to report we are cancelling the K&E program for the duration of the ACS and Rebel emergency. Your services will no longer be needed-and furthermore, your license to travel outside of city limits will also be revoked. Expect a final SIL check to be accredited to your account. Remember to follow the law. When the crisis ends, services will likely resume.
We can only suggest you contact your local representative for further information. Have you considered duty in the Hounds? You can serve your city and your people. For more information, visit our website at pmn.Pargov.Com.
So you took one final flight, knowing-down to the nanonsecond-when your license will be revoked. At which point, you'll likely be given a warning. At three warnings, you'll be declared rouge and the anti air defenses around Paradisum will target you. They're not very lenient these days.
One final flight...and then you have to go home. A home you rarely visit, except for your occasional downtime. Then what? You're not sure...you're still not sure what to think about all the problems going on. It's too big for you. You just would prefer to fly. But, you've got to do something, right?
Anything to keep busy. It's the only respite from the fear.
...
Several hours, you hit ground-a small, personal pad outside your humble home. It's an apartment primarily for fliers, true. No one can just walk up here, as the entire structure is carved into the sheer cavern walls of the old drill's passage downward-they have to fly, or take the Gravtrack. Sometimes you look down into the abyss, with so much myriad lifeforms huddling around and at the bottom. At least you get natural light up here...
You're already feeling that horrible...slowness...that always precludes an onset of panic, as you mount the steps to your flat. Thrum, thrum, thrum. There's scarce movement in the corner of your eye, something with a reaching hand, but you resist the urge to spin around. You know...you know...you know it's nothing. Just that feeling...that horrible feeling...just a bad feeling, right?
The interruption of your interior turmoil is somewhat sudden, as you spot the note adhered to your front door. You look around, immediately paranoid. But there's no one here. There's a number on it...and an address. Not a physical address, a Cyberspace address. You've got a terminal inside you can use to visit it, if you want.
You take it with you, five fingered metal hand idly scratching your chassis (of course Oids shouldn't have to scratch, but tell that to your creator) and only feel safe when the door closes and locks behind you.
Click...click...choonk...All safe now. No enemies in here but the ones in your multialloy cybernetic brain.
[10]
It's not much for a home-hardly more the basics, but it's better than nothing. You whirr to yourself at the mess, embarrassed despite no one else being around. It's quite a mess in here, metal scrap parts scattered around your workbench...you got quite lucky on your last haul, stuff you haven't worked with before. Perhaps you could make something to fetch a bit of SIL when you have the time.
=Amenties=
Energy Refill and Repair Station
Cyberspace HardLink
Chip Workshop (Cluttered)
=Storage=
3xSmall E-Tanks
10xChip Parts
-4xOCP Drone Scrap
-1xSmall Hawkoid Debris
-2xSerpentoid Skeleton
-2xMousedrone Debris
-1xTitan Scrap
[IIIIIIIIII]Status: Optimal
Element:
WINDEnergy Level: 100%/100%
~
Defense: 22
Attack: 10
Armor: 1
Firepower: 1
~
Reflexes: 2
Willpower: 2
Endurance: 0
~
FIO: None
CHIP: Skytech V.1 (+5 Piloting, +5 Engineering), Adventurer-kit V.1 (+5 Perception, +5 Athletics), Lv. 1 Firepower Enhancement (+1 FP)
SKL: Piloting +15, Engineering +10, Athletics +5, Perception +5, Tactics +5,
TRT: Aerial (Capable of sustained flight), Strong Will, Strong Reflex, Weak Endurance, Highly Intelligent (Piloting, Tactics, Engineering), Squad Tactics (Bonus to helping allies/assisting attacks on same target), Shadow of the Virus (
)
~
Equipped:
Lv. 1 Ceramic Striker Chassis (+12 Defense, +1 Armor, +5 Piloting)
Traits/Cannot be removed, Unlimited Upgrade Slots
LV. 1 Frezon powered Striker Jet (Jet Mode +5 Piloting, +1 Reflexes OR Arm Mode +2 Attack/Defense when airborne and hovering)
Traits/Cannot be removed, Unlimited Upgrade Slots
LV. 1 Frezon powered Striker Lance (Whip Mode 2d3 Wind Melee, Power Strike 2d3+2 Wind Melee)
Traits/Cannot be removed, Unlimited Upgrade Slots, Variable Fire, Coolant Based, Only Airborne
Coolant 100%
[IIIIIIIIII]Lv. 1 Frezon powered Striker Punch (1d6 Air Melee+Jet boost chargeup)
Traits/Cannot be removed, Unlimited Upgrade Slots, Building Power Boost/Must stay In Jet Mode whole turn, (3), (+2)
Inventory:
2500 SIL
P-Def Headshot Sniper Rifle (1d4+3 Standard Range)
Traits: Equippable, No Firepower Bonus, Massive Recoil, one Upgrade Slot (Empty)
Written Cyberspace Address (Unvisited)
----
RiuAnother strange mission, you muse. Another frozen cavern-which, while beautiful-tends to start to look the same after awhile. There's rarely anyone or anything down in the place you're in, not even Deepoids. You're constantly on the lookout for them, if only to imagine your work might be a bit 'exciting', despite your orders not to engage in anything actually dangerous. But, you're seen nothing so far except for some Oidbats-and they scurried away from your scanlight into the darkness. You reported it, and wondered why mechanimals would be afraid of light. As far as you know, real living bats are nocturnal-so why would their mechanical 'dopplergangers' also be so?
A question you've often left to those who can do the thinking. You don't even question your orders, really. Arclite is merely a contractor you work for...they give you the job, you do it.
It's unfortunate that today you're got heavier things on your mind. Like the council message sent to you this morning.
Noted Remembrance Class Inquisitive Unit Desig. Unknown
RIU unit, the council has been informed of your recent activities and would like to inform you that your exploratory missions are unsanctioned and potentially dangerous to the security of Paradisum. In addition, legal troubles with your creator and his domain have forced us to reconsider your exploration grant. Please desist from these actions at once. We do this out of concern-rest assured, when the current crisis has been resolved, we will give you a fair hearing.
We can only suggest you contact your local representative for further information. Have you considered duty in the Hounds? You can serve your city and your people. For more information, visit our website at pmn.Pargov.Com.
You've got strong feelings for the 'crisis' which you suspect might have preceded this. The Council is calling all Oids on duty, for reasons everyone can guess. A War. You've only ever wanted there not to be a war...but sometimes how hard the Council is really trying to avoid it...
You pause at an intersection of ice tunnels, judging your next turn. Only a few miles upward. You want to finish this up quickly. Your mechanical feet whirr over the frozen ground with no loss of traction, and not an inch of the cave escapes your enhanced vision.
...
A few hours later, a hovercab drops you off in front of your house in Zone 9, a nice pleasant place where's there been no real trouble. You decided to travel in style, seeing as you're probably about to get alot more free time on your hands.
A passing human male whistles at you as he walks by, and you blink in confusion-hearing yourself respond in a voice that's similar, but not quite your own. Like you're getting the words from somewhere. You wonder why that should effect you so, but you smile as the youth runs off with a red, embarrassed face. Probably nothing, you think-though this happens sometime. You just know what to say. A minor code error, perhaps, as if anything wrong in your brain can be considered 'minor'. You'll give yourself a good debugging tonight, that's for sure! Maybe you've just spent so much time alone in caves that...well, some time off might be really good, in fact. You wish
It's not enough, after today, you find one of those tacky notices adhered to your doorframe as you open it. It's a net address you haven't heard of before. Usually paper notices are crazy paranoid types that are afraid of transmitting info digitally. But you notice the address-it's a sister site to Arclite, owned by the same company or corporation or whatever.
....
Your home, such as it is, feels amazingly comfortable to you. You've collected things that just feel so...right, here. You may be a well designed grief Councillor, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy taking care of your plants. Flowers, ferns, even mushrooms. You don't 'smell', but your olfactory senses tell you this is quite a positively fragrant place.
You relax in your favorite chair and close your eyes, wondering about your next move. Perhaps a night on the town? After what happened last night at Caligula's though, you doubt many people are in the mood for fun of any sort but lots of drinking.
=Amenties=
Energy Refill and Repair Station
Cyberspace HardLink
Beautification Booth (for changing outfits/touching up)
Scanner/Mapping Station (for further analyzing information you've collected)
=Storage=
3xSmall E-Tanks
1xMedium E-Tank
[IIIIIIIIII]Status: Optimal
Element: ICE
Energy Level: 150%/150%
~
Defense: 20
Attack: 10
Armor: 2
Firepower: 0
~
Reflexes: 1
Willpower: 1
Endurance: 1
~
FIO: None
CHIP: Personality Chip/Daughter (+10 Social), Adventurer-kit V.1 (+5 Perception and Athletics)
SKL: +10 Social, +10 Perception, +5 Athletics
TRT: Deep Scanner (+5 Perception, Can identity a wide variety of objects and materials, providing information), Critical Target Scan (Against fully scanned targets, you+allies gain critical hit range increased by 1, Upgradeable ability), Downloaded Personality (Inactive), Polar Explorer (Immune to cold weather/climate and no penalty in icy terrain)
~
Equipped:
Inventory:
5000 SIL
P-Def Eightshot Revolver (1d3-1 Ranged Standard)
Traits: Equippable, No Firepower Bonus, Concealable, two Upgrade Slots (Empty)
Caeltech Standard Combat Armor (+2 Armor, +10 Def)
Traits/Equippable, one Upgrade Slot (Empty)
Written Cyberspace Address (Unvisited)
---
Fox-01You crouch in the undergrowth, your skin subtly shifting color to match the hues of the dirt and grass around you. Your nose twitches in excitement-not that Oids should be excited. But, tell that to your creators.
You clutch your weapon in hand-a holocam. Waiting. Today is your final test in many ways. You're to observe and record a wild Mechanimal in it's natural environment...this time, you're going to do it...
You creep forward, making very little sound. But, mechanimals can hear the slightest squall. No one knows what to make of them. Animals, or former animals, they were at first-infected maybe by the quick growth nanites that made the twisted forest. Now, though, they seem to reproduce themselves much like living beings. A living, intelligent order. They've evolved, more or less, to hunt Oids. You're not the sort to indulge in the grotesque, but a normal 'bear' as you've read about wouldn't be able to harm you. It would probably be too afraid to even approach you. But a Mechbear, or a Bearoid (the names are interchangeable) could tear you to shreds if you weren't careful-and eat you. You suppose it's balance. Mechanimals rarely bother humans. You, though, are on the menu. These thoughts are very confusing-they make it hard to focus.
Which is why your ears alert to a snuffling in the underbrush behind you a nanomoment too late. Behind...?!
Your mechanical mind springs into action, calculating angles of attack and escape routes and playing scenarios at the speed of light. But the Mechbear is just one step faster...it rears above you blotting out all light, cutting off all escape, all hope of anything but a quick death. As it's horrible silver claws fall down on you with the weight of a mountain, you wish they had thought to give you more than a holocam for defense...
...
SIMULATION HALTEDThe voice that echoes over the loudspeaker is mocking in it's clinical detachment. The scene around you fades and washes out. The Mechbear sim flickers above you in killing poise.
Your creator, Doctor Flannery, walks toward you-clucking good naturedly.
"Another snack for the Mechbear, eh Fox?" he chides. You've been through this particular simulation about a dozen times. It's ended the same every time...and until then, you'll never get to see the outside world you were designed to explore. It's terribly depressing. You're one of the first Forest Element oids...and you guess there's still some bugs to work out...though that's sort of terrifying, if you think of yourself as fundamentally flawed in design. No, you'll just have to do better next time.
Flannery isn't a cruel man, though he does push you to your limits.
"We can try again next week. For now, go, have some time off-drum up some work, maybe. You're not ready for the Twisted Forest, but the council has approved your license to practice in Paradisum. Impress them enough, they'll stop making us run these tests maybe." He says kindly.
He starts to leave, then stops. You wait patiently, sure that Doctor Flannery did not actually forget anything. He's just into dramatic pauses.
"You got this left for you on the front desk. I don't know, it's an address-perhaps someone wants to do an interview?"...
Leaving the research institute, you make a habit of taking the long way around to clear your head. This small bubble is in the heartland of Paradisum, but it's a completely self contained mechanical forest-with many harmless mechanimals living within. You've never known any home but here. You scuttle through the maze of branches, burrows and ropes, up to the small hideaway you built yourself by a quick flying jump. You could have flown all the way sure, but this is much more fun.
Dr. Flannery helped you install some of the machines here, and the trees here are made of either electrolyzed rubber or softsteel, which conduct electricity-it was easy to get a power source. Flannery said it looked like a 'Treehouse' when it was done, and that's a good enough name for you. It's comfortable here, and the sounds of the outside world are muted by the sounds of the preservation all around you. It's easy to sleep...a function which, as a Animoid, you have built in. You don't *have* to sleep-anymore than you truly have to eat, or drink or even breathe. But you can choose to do these things, because they reinforce the reality of the body you inhabit. An animoid is in many ways the most living of any Oid.
You curl up on your mat, woven from gossamer cables, and wonder what tomorrow will bring.
=Amenties=
Energy Refill and Repair Station
Cyberspace HardLink
=Storage=
3xSmall E-Tanks
1xMedium E-Tank
[IIIIIIIIII]Status: Optimal
Element: WIND or FRST
Energy Level: 100%/100%
~
Defense: 24
Attack: 10
Armor: 1
Firepower: 0
~
Reflexes: 3
Willpower: 0
Endurance: 2
~
FIO: None
CHIP: Fit and Sleek V.1 (+5 Athletics/Social Skill), Shadowhawk V.1 (+5 Piloting, +5 Subterfuge)
SKL: Athletics +10, Subterfuge +10, Social +5, Perception +5, Piloting +5
TRT: Forest Dweller (+5 Athletics, Double Athletics and Subterfuge Rolls in Forests), Small and Quick (+1 Reflexes and +2 Defense), Sensor Suite (+5 Perception), Aerial (Capable of sustained flight), Rugged Animoid (Resistant to negative weather/climate effects)
~
Equipped:
Lv. 1 Ceramic Foxhide Armor (+12 Defense, +1 Armor, +5 Subterfuge Checks)
Traits/Cannot be removed, Unlimited Upgrade Slots
Lv.1 Small Ionic Tail Laser (1d2 Element Ranged)
Traits/Cannot be removed, Unlimited Upgrade Slots
Lv. 1 Titanium Tail Blades (1d4 Element Melee)
Traits/Cannot be removed, Unlimited Upgrade Slots, Vulnerable to Crits
Inventory:
2500 SIL
P-Def Pepperbox SMG (Burstfire 1d2+1 Ranged Standard/Full Automatic Mode 2d2 damage, Ranged Standard)
Traits: Equippable, No Firepower Bonus, one Upgrade Slot (Empty)
Written Cyberspace Address (Unvisited)
---
SeptimaCoppola touches a primitive solder to your chestplate. His face is set in grim determination. You are alive, but you cannot speak. He doesn't seem to have given you a voicebox yet.
Your audio works, though. He's angry. Not that you know what anger is, not yet.
"They want a killer? They want a weapon? I'll give them a weapon..."
He looks straight into your eyes at this point. You have no eyelids, nor would have a reflex to close them.
"You, my Dear, will be the most perfect of weapons." He says, his voice cold. Cold as ice.You snap back to reality, shaking your head rapidly to one side. A spasmodic tic you've had going on 20 years, it seems to occur when you have these 'flashbacks', which no one is able to explain. It's been getting worse, and you have no doubt it'll not get any better. Your mind is Old...very old, like your body. And yet-even if you survived the transfer to a 'new' body, your mind would still be slowly dying. It's a cold line of thinking.
But you've lived a long time, and you're not sure if you're afraid of death anymore.
....
You were heading home after helping a neighbor fix his roof. Hardly world changing, but he's an old DEFENDER unit who can't move very well anymore.
That was when you saw the OCP Loader Droids picking on a small Animoid, it made you angry. You think that OCP droids tend to be fairly stupid, all things considered. Enhancements to their 'intelligence' seem to have primarily made them obnoxious, rude and mean. When one of them kicked the tiny bee-like Animoid in the head, you momentarily had to calm yourself. You know Bee Animoids are quite popular as couriers and collectors, and their hive programming means they never lose their way. But it doesn't do much for self defense.
It's these sort of things that...make you angry.
As you approached, they all turned to face you, feeling brave in their numbers. Stupid, blank faces, cranes and box grabbers for arms.
One of them beeped out a binary code to you-even making binary beeps sound like a threat. No one bothers to give them voices. Thanks the creator.
[01010111 01001000 01000001 01010100 01010011 00100000 01001001 01010100 00100000 01010100 01001111 00100000 01011001 01001111 01010101 00100000 01001101 01000101 01000011 01001000 01001111 01001001 01000100 00111111 00100000 01011001 01001111 01010101 00100000 01010111 01000001 01001110 01001110 01000001 00100000 01000111 01000101 01010100 00100000 01001001 01001110 00100000 01010100 01001000 01000101 00100000 01001010 01010101 01001110 01001011 01000101 01010010 00100000 01001110 01001111 01010111 00101100 00100000 01010011 01000001 01010110 01000101 00100000 01010101 01010011 00100000 01010100 01001000 01000101 00100000 01010100 01010010 01001111 01010101 01000010 01001100 01000101 00111111?]How creative.
You don't bother to respond, and in a moment the largest one takes a swing at you with an oversized wrecking ball arm-you don't even have to move to evade the hit.
It's all the justification you need to leave them in pieces, staggering back to their repair bays with a lesson learned in simple courtesy.
....
The Animoid Bee chirps out a grateful thankyou call as you plug an E-Tank into him. He's only got one gently glowing green eye, and no facial gestures to speak of, but it shows alot of emotion all the same.
"Bzzzzt..hank you, Her-o! Bzz9 will not forget you-r brave-ry!"You had to carry the little guy all way back to home. You watch as he flies away in a buzzy fashion, back to the upper levels he belongs in-hoping he was listening when you told him to be careful about traveling down here...good deed done for the day, you suppose.
Down here.
It's away from the big lights of upper Paradisum, but you've found the people and Oids most in need of help reside here. And so you enjoy your retirement, thought not every day is as exciting as today. Most down here are wise enough not to pick a fight with you.
The old Hero. The Old Killer.
As you punch the security code to your flat, you spot a notice stuck on your door. Some sort of net address. You don't give it much thought, but...no one pastes advertisements down here. There's nothing anyone can buy because they don't have the SIL for it, and it's much easier to steal, or use the Black Market.
...
Home isn't much, but it's quiet. That's all you really need. It's got most of what you call your own-old trophies of enemies long dead, mounted holopictures of your old friends-most Oids have perfect photographic memories, naturally, but you're afraid you'll lose this one day...most of them are long dead too.
You drop a chunk of the OCP loader onto your workbench. Maybe you can extract something useful from it's hateful programming.
You sit alone in your empty, quiet house. You close your eyes and wonder if you'll ever open them again. Total system failure is, as the humans say, sudden as a heart attack.
=Amenties=
Energy Refill and Repair Station
Cyberspace HardLink
Trophy Cases
Paradisum Hardchip Librarium (For lore research)
Workbench
=Storage=
2xSmall E-Tanks
3xChip Parts
-1xOcp Loader Part
-1xOidBat Debris
-1xOidwyrm Scale
[IIIIIIIIII]Status: Optimal
Element: STANDARD
Energy Level: 200%/200%
~
Defense: 21
Attack: 10
Armor: 3
Firepower: 1
~
Reflexes: 0
Willpower: 2
Endurance: 3
~
FIO: None
CHIP: Coppola Defense Matrix (+1 Def), Eternal Battle V.1 (+5 Athletics, +1 Endurance), Lv. 1 Firepower Enhancement (+1 FP)
SKL: +5 Athletics, +5 Lore, +5 Tactics, +5 Engineering
TRT: Clanker (-5 to All Subterfuge checks that rely on moving quietly), Reinforced Skeleton (+1 Armor), Old Hand (+5 Lore, Tactics, Engineering)
~
Equipped:
LV. 1 Coppola Heavy Plasma Cannon (Gatling Mode 2d4 Ranged, Power Shot 1d10 Ranged)
Traits/Heatbased, Variable Fire, Massive Recoil, Vulnerable to crits, Unlimited Upgrade Slots
Heat 0%
[IIIIIIIIII]LV. 1 Coppola Omnitool (Buzzsaw/Drill 1 Melee Standard, Welding Torch 1 Melee Fire, Flashlight/Laser Stun chance, Bottle opener one hit kill vs cans and bottles )
Traits/Variable Fire, Unlimited Upgrade Slots
Inventory:
2500 SIL
P-Def Battle Rifle (+1d3 damage, Ranged Standard)
Traits/Equippable, No Firepower Bonus, two Upgrade Slots (Empty)
Caeltech Standard Combat Armor (+2 Armor, +10 Def)
Traits/Equippable, one Upgrade Slot (Empty)
Heroic Cloak (
)
Written Cyberspace Address (Unvisited)
---
Clair"Four Hostiles approaching from the North-Clair, you got them?" Your partner unit's voice crackles in your 'ear'-though it's actually directly into your head. You silently adjust for the interference caused by the shutdown of the local net.
Oh? Yeah, you got them. They go down in a hail of heated claw blows, falling to chunks and bits as you smile grimly.
ACS berserk labor drones aren't much of a threat to you, but your job is perimeter duty after all...you wonder about that. Just a day ago, you were 'born'-you knew you were CLAIR and you knew they built you to fight-you knew you had been built for a purpose. There's memories before that, but they are fragmentary. A laboratory, learning speech, how to walk, how to smile or frown or even cry. All the basics of a childhood, instantly download. Most of them are pure Human frippery, designed to make your sentience a bearable one. You don't need these things, but you know on some level if you couldn't 'cry', you'd probably go mad from suppressed emotion. As if that makes any sense-pff, go ask your creator, right?
The first thing you did was extend the claws in your hand, as natural feeling as any other limb you have. Your body, as you consider it, is extraordinarily well made. You haven't divined the purpose of your frontal 'amenities' yet, but you like the look of those too. Perhaps you've got some sort of confidence programming?
You do also remember feeling vaguely bored firing at 'holographic' targets, which couldn't hurt you back. You were silently pleased when your training was interrupted, as emergency combat chips were fed into you. They said they needed fighting Oids, now.
Only you and your 'brother' BLAIR-your partner unit-were let out, being the most advanced models along in the class. And you've been either fighting, or moving to fight ever since then. In truth, you're a bit low on energy but...you're not going to admit that. You feel more alive now than you've ever, which might not be saying much since you're only lived about 48 hours. They said the place ahead was called a 'nightclub'-you cross referenced it. A place of entertainment. ACS outbreak. Nasty business. More than a few Hounds and Oids you've seen carted out in pieces by the Medtechs. And Humans too, though their pieces are far less sterile.
"Looks like things are calming down...it's a mess down there...but you're looking good." Blair says over the comm, clearly disobeying the rules of non-fraternization during combat missions. You smile. Not really sure why, but you do.
...
Sometime later, they 'let you go'. What does that mean?
"It means you're a Free Oid. Until you sign up for the Hounds, that is." Blair says, tinkering with his arm mounted cannon. You're in the company barracks-they've let you stay here, at least until you find someplace better-they've also given you some SIL and let you keep your weapons and armor, in a good will gesture. They probably don't want to be liable if you go berserk and start shooting up the streets. 'Bereft and Heartbroken Oid takes out rage on city'?
"Funny, right? Paradisum conscripted us, so we don't belong to Arclite anymore. But, they can't make us Hounds, we have to choose. So-we don't belong anywhere right now." He says with an easy laugh, one that evokes your own as natural as breathing would be if you needed to breathe. It's easy to forget he's only a few days old, like you-but you were programmed, constructed, and trained together. Blair is as close to a brother as you could ever hope to have, even if you don't really know what a brother is.
"...personally, I'd favor the hounds. On the side of justice." Blair muses, his face hardening in concentration.
In what short time you've actually spoken to each other, this is actually the only source of disagreement you've had. You like to fight, but you immediately disagreed with the Paradisum Government on the things they've done-and are doing. The more you researched, the more you believed it. Blair was the other way around...
"...Anyway, we don't have to decide now. I'm just going to take a break. Get my bearings. I like to fight, yeah, but...we've only been active for 73 hours and 57 minutes and 47 point 4 seconds. I want to have some fun...but hey, you got this in the Omail. Some sort of address. I guess you're already popular, huh? I'll be out on the heliport in 10 if you're up for it." He hands you a slip of paper with a net address, smiles, and jots off. What is Fun? Aside from blowing things up. Time to cross reference.
You look about the barracks. Not much here. You're certainly not going back to training, that's for sure.
=Amenties=
Energy Refill and Repair Station
Cyberspace HardLink
=Storage=
5xSmall E-Tanks
1xMedium E-Tank
[IIIIIIIIII]Status: Optimal
Element: FIRE
Energy Level: 150%/150%
~
Defense: 22
Attack: 12
Armor: 1
Firepower: 2
~
Reflexes: 1
Willpower: 1
Endurance: 1
~
FIO: None
CHIP: Lv.1 Targeting Array (+2 Attack), Lv. 1 Firepower Enhancement (+1 FP), Fit and Sleek V.1 (+5 Athletics/Social Skill),
SKL: Athletics +5, Social +5
TRT: Comely (Double Social Rolls vs Gullible Males), Fireproofing (+2 Armor vs FIRE attacks, unless in ICE element), Fresh Combat Oid (+1 FP)
~
Equipped:
Lv.1 Titanium Twin Retractable Claws/1d2 Element Melee
Traits: Double Hits, Armor Piercer, Unlimited Upgrade Slots
Inventory:
2500 SIL
P-Def Battle Rifle (+1d3 damage, Ranged Standard)
Traits: Equippable, No Firepower Bonus, two Upgrade Slots (Empty)
Caeltech Light Combat Armor (+1 Armor, +12 Def)
Traits: Equippable, one Upgrade Slot (Empty)
Written Cyberspace Address (Unvisited)
OOC: This starts in freeform mode, but the net address will lead you to the party and beginning quests when you're ready. Have at it, ya silly robots.