MERC XVIII: Affordable Misdeeds and Friendly Canines

[Gullara]

[Mountain Ritual]

Natharia is unresponsive to the hug for a moment. She's quite stunned by that display. It only takes her a moment to collect herself enough to hug her mom back. "What was all that?" She asks, a tremor in her voice.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Occult Consultations]

"Mhmm..." Astrana nods, trying to act as if nothing had happened. It was just water under the bridge and she was a professional.
Once she's finished, Astrana leans back into a more comfortable sitting position. "Help you how exactly? I mean, what would be the ideal outcome be here for each one of you? Have you reached any agreement on that? Since simple separating you again is likely going to be dangerous and difficult."

[Occult Consultations]

"Separating us will be far beyond your power, magician." Says Rahvi, with a heavy dose of condescension. "The spirit that bound us was quite powerful."

"But... I'd still like to know more about the bond itself. If it'll have any... effects." Says Cass, clearly nervous. "Sorry, that's not very specific, I just... I don't want to be... a danger. To anyone."

[Shadowcaller]

[Occult Consultations]

Astrana nods to Rahvi. "I figured it would be. There is always a bigger fish in the ocean but threading that path is pointlessly dangerous when there are far more simple and productive solutions."

She then turns to Cassandra. Looking slightly hesitant at looking directly at her. "Alright, that sounds like a good starting point." She quickly turns to Rahvi. "So why don't you both tell me what you yourself know about this bond and we can try to go from there? Have you tried reading one another's thoughts, emotions or memories? I realize that you probably don't want one another to access memories so we'll only do that with the others permission. Furthermore, are there any advantages either of you seem to have over the other through this bond? Like, only one being able to feel the others emotions for one."

[Mountain Ritual]

"What was nessecary I'm afraid. I'm so sorry you had to experience all this on your own, sweetie." She can feel her mom shudder as she says these words hug her even tighter. "But... you're protected now. Those monsters won't ever be able to hurt you." Shanti promises as she slowly but surely starts pulling away to look her daughter in the eyes. "How do you feel? We should go inside so you can get something to eat."

[Gullara]

[Mountain Ritual]

Natharia nods and will let her mom guide her out of the moonwell. "I'm okay... But what did he do? Nothing seems different?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Mountain Ritual]

Her mom smiles. "Know better than to always trust your eyes, sweetie. Things are different. You just need the right perspective to see it. I'll show you when we are somewhere more comfortable, 'kay? Since it's only going to get darker now and we don't want to be out here in the middle of the night now do we?"

[Gullara]

[Mountain Ritual]

"Okay, let's go then." Natharia says, stifling her impatience. It can't be that long of a walk before she gets the answers she wants, right? "Where's this place we're going?"

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

There seems to be a bit of an altercation in the corridors of the main MERC base. Two goblins are pushing something through it, on a wheeled cart. This something appears to be an unholy fusion of flesh and metal, which was ugly before someone blew several holes in it, among other damage. They're heading to the lab, though there seems to actually be some dissension between them on this particular point. It would probably be best if someone stepped in to resolve things.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

Electra hears the commotion from the front desk, looking up, and around the empty lobby, before sighing and heading down into the corridors, towards the source of the disturbance. When she comes upon the group of goblins arguing, she watches for a moment, before she puts two fingers in her mouth and issues an ear-splittingly loud whistle, as much to get their attention as it is to get them to quiet down. She's not wearing her armor, but it's hard to miss the domes where her ears should be, marking her as definitely not just another human.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! Now, who's mess is this, and where is it going?"

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

"Gyaaaaah!"

"Ow!"

Electra will find that her method of calming the goblins down is perhaps more effective than it needs to be on a species with notoriously sensitive hearing. The two stagger, their long ears pressed almost flat to their heads, before looking up at the woman. One of them is a woman herself, with a rather generous figure and on the taller side for a goblin. She wears her hair in a bun. The other is a broad-shouldered and strong-looking man... for a goblin, anyway, which isn't saying that much. Both of them have very dark grey skin, light brown hair and yellow eyes; depending on how used Electra is to seeing goblins around (quite a few of them work for MERC), it won't be hard to tell they're siblings.

"Those are spoils from our recent job."

"It was the target of our recent job, she's the one who insists we should take it and fiddle with it instead of letting Mrs. Rilla cut it up for spare parts."

"I don't think she'd appreciate this pile of biohazard in her lab at the best of times, Kuvesh."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

Electra raises an eyebrow as they explain, crossing her arms over her chest. She can definitely see the family resemblance; having spent quite a bit of time in the base over the past few months has gotten her more familiar with the particular indicators since the company has so many goblins working for it.

"And just what are you hoping to do with it? Where'd it come from, anyways?"

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

The goblins start talking again, quickly and in a weird sort of sync, like it's a single rambling monologue from two sources.

"It's an engineering project gone wrong. Or right. For all we know this was a desirable result for someone."

"Either way, it was causing trouble and someone paid MERC to take it down."

"Our siblings and us did that, and we have an... interest, I suppose, in organic-machine interface."

"Hang on... we haven't met, but you're Electra, aren't you?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

Electra blinks. She's used to this sort of rapid-fire speech, but it's been quite awhile....and the last time, it was in her head. She looks startled when one of them recognizes her.

"-Er, yes, that's me. Were you looking for me or something?"

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

"Well, no, but we've heard about you. You were made from technology, whole cloth! That's way better than this," the female goblin says, pushing the dead creature with her foot. It appears to have been a moose that someone extensively modified with cybernetics.

"Hey, don't knock it down. This was pretty advanced, whoever did it was just crazy."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

Electra can't help but chuckle a bit.

"Yeah, there's a line between good idea and crazy idea. I'd say that," she says, pointing at the remains of the cyber-moose, "Is on the far side of the crazy idea line."

She considers for a moment.

"But yes, I was built, not modified from something else. If you really want, I could maybe tell you a little about it. But first you should probably get this mess out of here before the Boss sees it."

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

"I mean, is it? Have you seen a moose in the wild? Those things are crazy. Especially when you're goblin-sized. Fitting one up with cybernetics isn't that far-fetched."

"We really should get this thing out of the corridor, though. Let's bring it to the lab so it can be scrapped."

"Probably after putting it through an incinerator. Or acid bath."

As the two goblins start pushing the cart again, the woman says:

"I'm Olvisin, by the day. And this is Kuvesh, my brother. Form the Zullit-Oblek family, not that this tells you anything."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

Electra considers for a moment, moving to follow the pair.

"Nice to meet you. I suppose it isn't as crazy as some of the stuff they built back home, now that I think about it." She probably should hold off on telling them about the crazy-huge stuff people built back in her home dimension. "How did you guys get interested in this sort of thing in the first place?"

[Gullara]

[Mountain Ritual]

Her mom smiles. "Know better than to always trust your eyes, sweetie. Things are different. You just need the right perspective to see it. I'll show you when we are somewhere more comfortable, 'kay? Since it's only going to get darker now and we don't want to be out here in the middle of the night now do we?"

[Mountain Ritual]

"Okay, let's go then." Natharia says, stifling her impatience. It can't be that long of a walk before she gets the answers she wants, right? "Where's this place we're going?"

[Seeking Shelter]

Shanti carefully approaches the base with Natharia in tow and knocks on the door three times before stepping back in the view of the surveillance camera and waits for someone to answer.

“We’re seeking shelter.” She loudly declares I’m case anyone inside can hear them.

[Seeking Shelter]

Natharia looks around curiously. She's since put the toque back on during the walk over. This place is so cold. "What is this place again?"

[Seeking Shelter]

"The base of a group of mercenaries. People that are paid to use force." Shanti explains briefly. "Soldiers for hire, essentially."

[Seeking Shelter]

The door slides open, revealing a tall, gangly Kroot standing behind and looking at the two sceptically.

"We're not really in the business of providing shelter, but you can come in for a moment."

[Seeking Shelter]

What in a the world was that? A demon? Likely not... “A moment? I was intending to stay until the weather improved at least. Or get a ride back into town.” She had honestly not expected it to be this easy to be allowed inside though. With all these cameras she had expected... well, she wasn’t sure. But not just getting invited in.

Not that she was going to say no. She makes her way inside and have Natharia come with her as she takes her hand.

[Seeking Shelter]

Natharia stares at the kroot openly as soon as the door opens. He sure is different looking than anyone she's met before. "Hi, I'm Natharia. What's your name?" She adjusts her sunglasses carefully.

[Seeking Shelter]

The Kroot steps aside. "I'm, uh, Zeerko," she says, taken aback by Natharia's forwardness. Behind the door the two will see MERC's main hall with a variety of mercenaries loitering inside. "I don't think anyone will mind if you step in, but I don't know about staying longer. We are running a business here."

[Seeking Shelter]

"Are you one of the mercenaries?" She follows up, being no less forward. He may note that her eyes wander to really take him in. She has more questions like, 'What are you?' but she hasn't figured out how to ask that one politely yet.

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

The two goblins keep on chattering as they push the cart.

"It's not that uncommon back home. The folks there really like technology."

"Even more than most goblins."

"It's in our religion, too. The Spirit in Gears. It's more important to us than just tools and such."

"But you know how it is with religion. It became stagnant and priests care more about polishing their very shiny and complicated mechanisms than innovating. Carrying out the Spirit's mission."

"Then we came here and saw things we couldn't believe. Union of bodies and machines, even. We knew we had to do something with it ourselves."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

Electra considers for a moment. Religion isn't something that's terribly encouraged where she came from. Mostly just a historical oddity, though there are the few odd Reploids who worship X and Zero or Sigma. She supposes it's like that, though she herself prefers to put her faith in herself rather than some nebulous deity.

"So I guess I'm something of a shock, then, huh?" She says with a bit of an amused smile. "Would it surprise you to learn that I know how to make more of my kind?"

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

"Well, yeah, that's a completely new paradigm," Olvisin says. Before she can add more, though, Electra says something that almost stops her and her brother in their tracks.

"You do? I thought this knowledge would be reserved to head engineers or the like. Just what's involved in creating someone like you?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

"Well, where I come from, we've become so common that the basic designs are pretty much open. It still requires quite a bit of knowledge, but the basics aren't super-secret or anything," Electra explains, "I gained the knowledge because my squad back home was regularly assigned to ethics oversight task forces that investigated the major manufacturers to ensure they weren't violating laws that were passed surrounding the manufacturing of our kind. In order to make sure the laws were being followed, I had to learn how we were manufactured."

She pauses for a moment. It's always weird to explain this to someone who doesn't come from her home dimension.

"In general, it just requires the right components and enough knowledge on how to put them together. Of course, if you have a more specialized function in mind, that's where specialist knowledge is needed. Many Reploids are built for specific tasks, like working in high-heat environments, or helping to control weather patterns. Those Reploids often have specialized systems to help them deal with those tasks, but the basic operating principles are pretty much the same. We all have positronic brains, which allow us to think and feel, and most of us are powered by micro-fusion fuel tanks, a form of fusion reactor. Outside of those basics, it really depends on what functions we're designed to fulfill, but the current gen bodies mostly try to be bio-mimetic when they can be, so a lot of us have artificial musculature and tend to be humanoid in pattern. Mine, for example, is meant to enhance my speed and dexterity far above most other Reploids, but it means I'm not as strong as I could be."

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

"Whoa. You make creating people like you sound so... casual." Olvisin can't hide the awe in her voice.

"Such a miracle of technology happening whenever people need it and can afford it? The alchemists back home would pop a gasket."

"How many of you are there, more or less?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

Electra considers for a moment. The numbers back home were a lot different than they are here.

"Well, there's only a few of us here in the Nexus, but back home, there were...hmmm.......counting the non-humanoids....a few hundred million? We're roughly half the total population, and humanity's numbers aren't what they used to be thanks to the wars that happened before we were created. They've basically been producing us to help get the world rebuilt and repopulated. Nuclear war isn't exactly a walk in the park to recover from, you know, and we're better suited for a lot of tasks. Of course, it's taken them awhile to recognize that we're not just normal robots, either, but that perception seemed to have been changing when I was pulled to the Nexus."

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

"Nuclear... meaning the really huge bombs, right?"

"And most of humanity died to them, so they built you to replace them."

"That's pretty wild."

"What would a 'normal robot' be in this context? Like a golem, only obeying commands?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

Electra nods when Olvisin asks about the bombs. She nods again when Kuvesh asks what a normal robot would be.

"That's kind of the most basic version, like simple mechaniloids are like that. More complex robots tend to have more complex AI, but they don't actually think like we do, it's more just programmed reactions, and they don't actually have emotions, either, just simulated responses when socially called for. In contrast, reploids like me actually think and feel, we make our own decisions, just like you do. Sometimes our emotions get the better of us, and we do dumb, crazy things that would never occur to a more normal robot. Sometimes those crazy things even work," she says with a bit of a chuckle. "Like taking on odds that we shouldn't. I'm sure you're familiar with the kinds of things I'm talking about."

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

Olvisin grins toothily.

"Sure. Been there, done that, ran away afterwards."

"Usually because of you."

"Look, mercenary work is a crowded market. We need to stand out to get ahead. And I make sure we do."

"Riiiight. Anyway, that is way more than anyone can do back home. Alchemists can make golems, but it's hard and they're about as smart as a rock on a string."

"Creating true life from technology... feels like a dream, honestly. Like, we came here to learn how to bring technology to the next level, but doing that feels abstract."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Corridors of the Base]

"Your world might get there in an entirely different way than mine did. After all, magic isn't something that's actually present in the world I came from, but it's definitely present and active here," Electra says with a knowing smile. "Some of the stuff you learn here is probably going to be applicable there, in any case."

[Morty]

[Corridors of the Base]

"That's a good thought to have. It feels holy. Maybe the Spirit in Gears wanted us here to eventually accomplish it." Olvisin grins.

"Maybe it's a sign." Kuvesh really sounds reverential and seems to believe it.

"And even if we don't, trying to get there should be fun."

[Shadowcaller]

[Seeking Shelter]

"Are you one of the mercenaries?" She follows up, being no less forward. He may note that her eyes wander to really take him in. She has more questions like, 'What are you?' but she hasn't figured out how to ask that one politely yet.

[Seeking Shelter]

Shanti stays behind just a bit longer to watch her daughter interact with the kroot. Though she does take in the rest of the commonroom meanwhile. She would need a new source of income but mercenary work wasn't exactly her style.

What kind of atmosphere is it in the common room?

[Morty]

[Seeking Shelter]

The lobby is filled mostly with some boredom and anticipation; mercenaries waiting for work. They seem curious about Shanti or Natharia, but less so once it's clear they're not clients.

"Er, yes, I am. But who are you and how did you end up here?"