NE-0026

Self-directed android. Need help? Convince me.

[ne0026]

-are you there? Just checking in. Going to be taking a group through the Cherry 12 tunnel, do you know if it’s clear?

Cherry [...] [...] [...] 12, yes. Clear as of [...] two days ago.

....you okay? 

Yes. Occupied. 

All right, I’ll leave you be. Thanks for the info.

[ne0026]

GCMAD5E2AZDOIX7VVCWGNQIYIX7VVCWGN9YHGERVVJVI7PVDEBQBF6ISDVVH5G4V

…….

[ne0026]

technohavoc Mm, that’s what I meant. Not that I won’t ~gladly dig through everything that comes through, but…aiming t’be specifically nosy this time, aren’t we?

Yes, I suppose we are. In any case, thank you for your assistance.

[ne0026]

technohavoc Mm, f’they’re still sending ‘em out, that is.

You should pick up signals regardless. The question is whether you pick up the ones I heard previously.

[technohavoc]

@ne0026 

You’re cooking with fire now~ Got everything turned on and tucked in out here.

[ne0026]

Thank you. I’ll get things activated from my end, but you should be able to start picking up signals within twenty minutes. 

[technohavoc]

Circuition

[ne0026]

technohavoc Tech shrugged the denial off, your choice. With appropriate care, she made sure the inner workings of the device were once again secured in place, then stowed it in the bag slung over her shoulder. When her hands were free, she lifted Glitch off her shoulder to hold him in one arm like you might with an infant, waving the fingers of her free hand over his nose playfully - all with an almost distracted air,without much focus. Her attention, despite any appearance, was more or less centered on the favor she had agreed to.

“Getting back out shouldn’t take me as long as it took to get here,” Tech informed with a nod, “so you should hear from me in a couple of days.” She bit her tongue after that, though there was one last question she almost wanted to ask. The trouble was, she couldn’t remember if she had already or not, and, perhaps more importantly, she wasn’t certain if it mattered. “… Was there anything else?” she asked instead.

“No,” NE answered, failing to pick up on Tech’s hesitation, and stepped back a few feet to scan the street. “You have my frequency, if you need anything. Thank you again.”

[technohavoc]

Circuition

[ne0026]

technohavoc Tech made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. “F’I want specifics I should ask specifically, huh?” But she let it go, settling instead for watching the tentative interaction between her cat and NE with a dry smirk. Pets weren’t exactly common -desert or city side- and it was always interesting to see how people reacted.

“You can hold him.” An afterthought, paired with another curious tilt of her head.  “Careful, though. He tends to bite anything he finds interesting.” Including, but not limited to, the end of Jack’s nose, Tech’s shoestrings, and every piece of paper he’d ever seen.

“Mm. No thank you.” NE stroked the side of his face carefully with one finger, then returned her hands to her pockets. The cat was a novelty, and novelties were best approached after a base level of knowledge was gained. Which was, NE knew, a rather clinical way of approaching it, but it was one she was comfortable with. She had never handled a cat before, ergo, she would not do so until she knew generally what to expect.

“There is a simple tracker in the unit as well,” she said after a pause. “But if you could let me know when you’ve placed it, it would be appreciated. And of course, if I detect any signs of danger once the signal is amplified, I’ll alert you at once.”

[technohavoc]

Circuition

[ne0026]

technohavoc The disguise of the device was impressive, neater and more cleanly executed than perhaps any device Tech had ever repaired or created, but then NE probably didn’t have to strip wires with her teeth, did she? As Tech was turning the simple device in her hands, eyeing the chip with at least a little jealousy, Glitch returned to his perch on her shoulders. Once there, he extended a paw and batted at the antennae. Tech clicked her tongue in quiet command to leave it and pulled it beyond his reach without even looking up. Glitch looked at NE as if in shock and uttered a complaining mrow, like somehow she would side with him on this particular disagreement.

“I might, thanks.” A bluff of sorts that Tech had to fight the urge to smirk about. Tech had fully planned to keep tabs on the amplified readouts more or less from the second she had agreed to help -largely do to the supremely frustrating fact that the signals had escaped her notice to begin with- but it was nice to know she wouldn’t have to pretend she wasn’t going to. “What’ll you do when you find out what they are?” This question was purely for curiosity’s sake - odds were it wouldn’t make a difference to her, but she couldn’t help but wonder.

NE watched Glitch with mild amusement. “What I do will depend on what the signal is.” She slowly reached forward, offering her gloved hand for the cat to sniff.

[technohavoc]

Circuition

[ne0026]

technohavoc Underground. Tech felt stupid for having failed to consider that as a possibility (after all, she knew of a place or two with sub-level additions. If her friends had done it, surely others had the same idea.) Hearing it now was an immensely relieving thought. She had gotten so wound up in the idea, the fear of the incoming signals being sourced in the static of seven, that having a possible alternative to consider visibly took a bit of tension from her shoulders. “Northern five should be no problem,” she hummed, “I was just in the area.. not too many go through there anymore. Bet I can find a corner to stick the relay where no one’ll even know it’s out there.”

“That would be perfect.” NE unzipped her jacket enough to reach inside and produce a slim metal cylinder, painted a chipped and faded tan. It looked nothing so much as a chunk of broken-off drainpipe, and besides a retractable antennae and a trio of thin spikes for anchoring it, from a distance there was nothing to contradict that identification. She demonstrated the manipulation of the antennae, then unscrewed the top and delicately pulled the contents into view - a chip, a battery, and a neatly secured bundle of wiring. 

“I didn’t bother with solar power,” she continued, “as I assumed it would not be out in the open. Feel free to familiarize yourself with how it works, if you’d like, but it’s really not too complex.” The fact that Tech was doing this more or less without payment most likely meant she was invested in some way, and as there was nothing particularly secretive about the investigation, it seemed wise to give her full leeway. “Also, you’re welcome to use the relay yourself, if you have any desire to attempt to decode the signal.”

[technohavoc]

Circuition

[ne0026]

technohavoc Tech considered the reply at length. She wanted to say ‘not no one’, because it wasn’t like anyone, android or otherwise, could simply will themselves into existence, and more obviously, the twins were the ones who had led Tech to NE to begin with. It would be arguing the nature of semantics, though. No one only meant 'no one who would stop me.’ At the question, Tech shrugged a single shoulder dismissively.

“No more than expected. Almost crossed paths with a few patrols, but that was more my fault… been awhile since I’ve had to be close for longer than a few hours.” She almost mentioned just how long she had been there, but bit her tongue. She didn’t know if it’d cause offense, and was barely sure what ground she stood on to begin with. Tech hooked her thumbs through the strap of her bag and pushed the subject. “About these 'strange signals’ of yours, I wanted to ask - when you said ‘some distance’ did- … do..you think they’re coming from beyond zone six?”

“I can’t tell.” The admission came with a frown. She didn’t like working off partial information, and she didn’t like admitting it was incomplete. “It’s not something I’ve picked up before, so I’m having a hard time triangulating it. It seems to be moving around. But the fact that I can’t get a clearer read implies it’s either far away, or deep underground. If you can place my amplifier somewhere in northern Zone 5, it should help me narrow it down.”

[technohavoc]

Circuition

[ne0026]

technohavoc Tech was halfway back to the Hall in her head, chasing fragmented ideas, when she got the early warning she knew she could count on: Glitch’s tail twitched, and he kneaded his paws on her shoulder. Someone was coming. Sure enough, while Tech was belatedly stowing her transmitter on the bag slung over her torso, NE had appeared, and spoke up barely a few seconds later.

Tech met NE halfway from her waiting place, trying to form something resembling a ‘hello’ that seemed suitable, but was distracted by a lingering thought and the smuggler’s choice in wear. She blinked, then girl and cat canted their heads to the right in unison, extentions of each other. (For the cat, though, it was his first encounter, and he was far more curious: he slipped off Tech’s shoulders to go and sniff cautious circles around NE’s ankles.)

“You make it seem so easy.” Tech commented in lieu of the greeting she was building, meaning NE’s exit from the city. She supposed, if it boiled down to it, the actual act of leaving wasn’t necessarily the hard part, just keeping track of the circumstances that would allow it, but still. “Leaving, I mean. I’d ask how you got so good at it but somethin’ tells me you won’t tell.”

“It helps that no one knows I exist,” NE answered with a polite smile. “And I’ve got a very good memory.” The cat was a curiosity for her as well, but she didn’t bend to pet him. Domesticated animals were rare, in her day to day life, and she hadn’t quite learned the rules of engagement. “Did you have any trouble getting here?”

[technohavoc]

Circuition

For long minutes after the line was dead, Tech held on to her transmitter, running her fingers over the familiar texture on the back panel. She could see the city’s outer limit from where she was, a blight in the distance. It was what she’d been looking at the last few days, the thing shutting her out, the thing that’d keep her in if she really dared to cross through again. The thing her mother had witnessed being built and done nothing about... She shook herself. She didn’t have long to wait, NE would likely be there within the hour. There was no reason to let her mind wander off. It didn’t take long for her guard to fall again, though, and her eyes to drift out of focus, distracted. Luckily, Glitch was there to pick up the slack, perched on her shoulders with his ears and eyes at full attention. He’d let her know when she needed to reel it back in.

[ne0026]

NE pulled herself up a metal pole hand over hand, emerging on the top (and only remaining) landing of a basement staircase. As usual, she took the time to do a check of the house before venturing out. Her exit was concealed, but she didn’t want squatters taking up shelter anywhere nearby; the last thing she needed was a raid from the city shutting down another one of her pathways.

Dust eddied down the street as she stepped outside. The neighborhood was damaged heavily, but selectively; massive craters bordered on homes that looked nearly untouched. One building might be reduced to blackened rubble while the next suffered only broken windows. She didn’t know enough about the area’s history to guess what had happened - she could gain access to nearly any record she wanted to, should she know where to find it, but much had been deleted altogether.

“Hello.” She spoke from several yards away, her voice low and almost melodic. In all black, she stood out in the desert. It wasn’t an issue underground. Idly, she considered the cat as it stared at her, standing upright on Tech’s shoulders. 

[ne0026]

technohavoc It should be, yes. Patrols have been passing further to the south and haven’t moved any closer.

Okay. Let me know if you need to move, and I’ll adjust accordingly. 

[ne0026]

technohavoc   ..Yeah. They should be coming through in just a second.

Thank you. I can be there in less than an hour, if your location is secure enough for you to stay.

[technohavoc]

@ne0026

….Hey it’s uh- I’m around, close to the wall, if you.. still want me to, uh, help out.

[ne0026]

Ah. Yes. Can you send me your coordinates?

[ne0026]

Burst water main beneath the central mall. Work crews in the area, with a security perimeter. Stay clear until the repairs are finished.

[ne0026]

technohavoc   Yeah, of course.

Thank you.