RCU & Mochi

A rogue CombatUnit and the ancient-as-hell ship it stole from a museum. Mochi is a theoretical early-CR warship based upon real life aircraft carriers. It has little to no canon basis but it is real to me.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

QUERY: IDENTIFY

This is a roleplay blog for two tmbd OCS.

RCU is a rogue CombatUnit; it wanders for the sole purpose of having a greater understanding of the universe to improve its strategies. It is ambivalent to the life and death of others.

Mochi is an early CR warship modeled after aircraft carriers. It has miniature ships that it carries and launches in battle. It was deactivated for a significant period of time before RCU stole/kidnapped it.

Oh, and @re-construct-edentertainment is here too.

Notes

- Suggestive jokes are fine but strictly nothing more.

- Canon characters and OCs welcome to interact

- RCU sucks. You need to understand this. RCU sucks.

- uhhhhh idk I'll update this as I go

[oldshipnewconstruct]

i should let genesis on this blog at some point

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

100 posts!

Thanks @oldshipnewconstruct for helping me get to this milestone :)

[oldshipnewconstruct]

fuck yeahhhhhhhbaby

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

As the ship rocked under the impact, I agiley kept my balance. I saw the captain reaching for me, and instinctively backed away, before realizing it was probably trying to help me keep my balance. But if it grabbed me, it might feel that I was more augmented than a human should be.

One of the mini ships suffered a serious hit, and began to retreat desperately to the main ship, which was being heavily rocked with damage. The clunky pirate ship wasn't as graceful in its maneuvers as Mochi, but it kept up the chase.

The other mini ship ducked and dodged crazily, managing to continue it's pursuit by some combination of luck and audacity.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"I'm not going to hurt you, dumbass."

RCU was used to people averting it. Perhaps it had come off as too aggressive. Perhaps the human instincts were screaming that it was not one of them. Perhaps the quick movement was too startling. But RCU did take note of it.

Mochi, can you get me in on the main ship with one of your recovery shuttles? Is that possible?

Success≈68%

IF: yes

THEN:

HereSafety= -35%

REQUEST DENIED.

RCU was getting antsy. Mochi was a powerful and agile machine, for what it lacked in modernity. But they were taking damage, even if they were winning.

Mochi proceeded to send a second round of drone-ships out, though it was half the size of the initial force. Their sole goal was to intercept the damaged mini-ship. Mochi was not going to let them have anything back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. It was interesting how the captain had gone from threatening me to protecting me now that there was a bigger threat. But most of my attention was focused on the scene outside.

The mini ship tried desperately to evade its pursuers, but with damaged thrusters, it was doomed to be overtaken eventually. The small number of crew inside alternately swore and pleaded as they tried to stay alive.

The other mini ship was getting closer, seemingly unconcerned about the fate of its twin. It was aiming to latch on to Mochi, if it could only get past the circling guard ships.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"You need to get into one of the back rooms in case they board, one of the ships is getting close. Hold onto me while we move."

It wasn't a request. And if Here didn't comply, RCU wasn't afraid of using force to ensure its safety.

Mochi sent a message to Here, briefly taking a moment of its attention to assure it.

Captain=Safe

It returned its focus to the defensive bubble and it's barrage on the mini ship continued until it was no longer functional in any way.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Are you going to stay in the back too?"

I needed to find a way to convince this human that it also should stay out of danger.

"And I can walk fine."

If I touched it, it would know that my hands were metal. That so much of me was metal. I wasn't sure if I could keep it from getting suspicious.

The destroyed mini ship drifted listlessly through space. One of its seals had ruptured, and sealed the doom of its occupants.

Meanwhile, the main ship kept up the fight, but inside, there was argument about whether they should cut their losses and run.

The other mini ship plowed bravely on, despite beginning to take serious damage. It's occupants now believed their best chance of survival was to get on the target ship and subdue it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"If I can afford to, yes, but that's not your damn concern. Stop being fucking nice and be selfish about your goddamn life. I can take care of myself. And I can make you go if I have to, and neither of us want that."

Exasperated, it messaged Mochi.

Can you get your dumbass human to leave?

Mochi messaged Here. It sent a map of its internals with an arrow path of where to go.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I doubted the human could make me go if I didn't want it to, but fighting it would be a waste of time. I could always come back out of the rooms if the hostiles did manage to enter, and I could move faster than a human.

"Fine."

I turned and began to follow the map Mochi had given me.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Once Here was safely contained within the back corridors, Mochi pinged RCU with a question.

Board=Yes?

No, Mochi.

Mochi would have rolled its eyes if it had any. But oh well, it still got to shoot the hell out of some fuckers. The secondary fleet that had been stopping the mini ship began to join the swarm on the main ship instead. Several of Mochi's ships were damaged, but given that they were unmanned, it was not a significant concern as long as it had more surviving than destroyed.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

The main ship had pulled back some. It was focusing almost all of its fire power on the swarms of smaller ships, with only a few shots still be sent towards Mochi. The dead mini ship drifted through space with the other debris of the fight.

Meanwhile, the surviving small ship managed to dodge past Mochi's guard of ships, and latched itself to an air lock.

"Open up, or we blow our way in," one of the pirates on board sent through the feed.

Watching the sensors from where I was stationed in the back rooms, I prepared to run to join the fight.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"Your mistake." RCU replied over the feed.

Go ahead, Mochi.

AmusementSigil

Mochi's speakers piped up just before the hatch opened. "Enemy boarding imminent. Prepare to engage."

And to Here over the feed,

Here=Stay

Captain=Capable.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Here=capable."

I said, and began heading towards where the intruders had docked.

A small part of humans boarded. They had mismatched weapons and armor, pieces of different corporate uniforms combined with roughly forged scrap metal. Some of the pieces looked like they came from pieces of secunit armor or even ships.

They split into two groups, each lead by an augmented human, and began exploring the ship.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"Oh, but you really should have heeded my warning. My ship kills more kindly than I do." RCU grinned a sick, menacing grin. It was not afraid in the least. It was not far from the entry dock, and it was already sending code attacks to limit the capabilities of the augmented humans. Being a CombatUnit, it was made with the capacity for hacking.

Four CombatUnit drones, larger ones than the SecUnit Intel drones, spread through the area, though they stayed away from where Here was SUPPOSED to be staying. The second a human was in its range of sight, RCU was on them. Sure, it had guns - but maiming sent a far better message.

Mochi sent a rapid bursts of warnings and alerts to Here. RCU didn't want Here to know it was a construct. If Here found out, RCU might actually have to kill it. After all this effort to keep Here alive?

WARNING: HOSTILES

ALERT: CURRENT APPROACH NOT RECOMMENDED

Here=Stay=Stay=Stay=Stay=Stay

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

The captain may be competent, but I was a better fighter than any human, and I couldn't leave it to be outnumbered by that many.

I knew I risked revealing what I was, but I couldn't sit still while a human risked it's life for me.

I wanted to convince Mochi that I had to do this.

"Captain=alone=Captain!=safe."

"Here=help Captain."

The pirates were expecting human passengers and maybe some security. They weren't expecting RCU.

The augmented humans struggled against the code attacks while some of the others rushed in, guns blazing. The first humans unlucky enough to run into RCU went down easily. Some of the others saw this, and ran back around the corner, using walls and door frames to hide behind and fire from.

Meanwhile, Here was quickly approaching the second group that had split off.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU was already covered in blood. Mostly that of the humans it had slaughtered, but it had taken a few hits. That was fine. It may not have a MedSys, but it was built for this kind of combat, and could recover a fair amount of damage without one. It put itself behind walls and barriers to avoid the brunt of damage, and used its speed to its advantage to move closer when the humans seemed to have retreated behind cover.

Systematic. High success rate. Efficient.

Mochi was still sending alerts, refusing to back down, though it could do little else. It couldn't stop Here - it didn't have any internal defense system (Except RCU) or barriers that it could close to keep Here back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Ignoring Mochi's warnings, I found some of the humans who had broken off from the group, rolled up my sleeves to reveal my energy weapon ports, and went in guns blazing.

I didn't like killing humans. But these humans wanted to hurt the captain, the ship, and me. And I was willing to kill in order to protect.

It had been a long time since I was in combat with so many humans. And I used to fight alongside other units. But I was still a force to be reckoned with.

I was efficient, killing or disabling as quickly and painlessly as possible. I knew I was taking hits, but I turned up my pain inhibitors and kept fighting.

Then rounding a corner, I saw RCU in the distance.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

A pause in the messages came.

Then,

Here=Construct?

RCU was handling the humans with ease. Watching it fight, it would be easy to tell it wasn't human.

One of its drones caught sight of Here and it completely froze for several milliseconds. It didn't know what it was going to do yet. It would have to figure that out after the hostiles had been defeated.

The drone flitted over towards Here and began to circle it in a defensive manner.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"That's proprietary information."

It was a reflex from years of corporate secret keeping. And probably all the evidence the ship needed to prove I was a construct.

Well, it had been nice while it lasted.

I was probably going to die later, but for now what mattered was defending the ship and the captain. I wish this wasn't how my mission had ended.

And then I noticed how RCU was fighting. And what the drones meant.

The captain wasn't human either.

For a fraction of a second, I was so shocked that my performance reliability briefly dropped. If I was human, I might have been too shocked to notice the incoming shot from a projectile weapon, but my processing power kicked in fast enough that I dodged and it only grazed me.

I wished I wasn't wearing my favorite sweater. It was getting ruined with all the fluid and energy weapon burns and projectile holes.

If I survived, it was going to be a pain to repair it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Status=Acknowledged

The combat drone's inputs and controls were pushed towards Here, though RCU still had access to the camera and other sensors to keep an eye on the situation.

Don't die and don't make me regret this.

RCU continued to hunt down remaining humans with the practiced efficiency of a coded-killer. No longer focused on making a point, it was relying more on its built in weaponry than its bare hands. The pirates messed with the wrong fucking ship.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

As the ship rocked under the impact, I agiley kept my balance. I saw the captain reaching for me, and instinctively backed away, before realizing it was probably trying to help me keep my balance. But if it grabbed me, it might feel that I was more augmented than a human should be.

One of the mini ships suffered a serious hit, and began to retreat desperately to the main ship, which was being heavily rocked with damage. The clunky pirate ship wasn't as graceful in its maneuvers as Mochi, but it kept up the chase.

The other mini ship ducked and dodged crazily, managing to continue it's pursuit by some combination of luck and audacity.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"I'm not going to hurt you, dumbass."

RCU was used to people averting it. Perhaps it had come off as too aggressive. Perhaps the human instincts were screaming that it was not one of them. Perhaps the quick movement was too startling. But RCU did take note of it.

Mochi, can you get me in on the main ship with one of your recovery shuttles? Is that possible?

Success≈68%

IF: yes

THEN:

HereSafety= -35%

REQUEST DENIED.

RCU was getting antsy. Mochi was a powerful and agile machine, for what it lacked in modernity. But they were taking damage, even if they were winning.

Mochi proceeded to send a second round of drone-ships out, though it was half the size of the initial force. Their sole goal was to intercept the damaged mini-ship. Mochi was not going to let them have anything back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. It was interesting how the captain had gone from threatening me to protecting me now that there was a bigger threat. But most of my attention was focused on the scene outside.

The mini ship tried desperately to evade its pursuers, but with damaged thrusters, it was doomed to be overtaken eventually. The small number of crew inside alternately swore and pleaded as they tried to stay alive.

The other mini ship was getting closer, seemingly unconcerned about the fate of its twin. It was aiming to latch on to Mochi, if it could only get past the circling guard ships.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"You need to get into one of the back rooms in case they board, one of the ships is getting close. Hold onto me while we move."

It wasn't a request. And if Here didn't comply, RCU wasn't afraid of using force to ensure its safety.

Mochi sent a message to Here, briefly taking a moment of its attention to assure it.

Captain=Safe

It returned its focus to the defensive bubble and it's barrage on the mini ship continued until it was no longer functional in any way.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Are you going to stay in the back too?"

I needed to find a way to convince this human that it also should stay out of danger.

"And I can walk fine."

If I touched it, it would know that my hands were metal. That so much of me was metal. I wasn't sure if I could keep it from getting suspicious.

The destroyed mini ship drifted listlessly through space. One of its seals had ruptured, and sealed the doom of its occupants.

Meanwhile, the main ship kept up the fight, but inside, there was argument about whether they should cut their losses and run.

The other mini ship plowed bravely on, despite beginning to take serious damage. It's occupants now believed their best chance of survival was to get on the target ship and subdue it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"If I can afford to, yes, but that's not your damn concern. Stop being fucking nice and be selfish about your goddamn life. I can take care of myself. And I can make you go if I have to, and neither of us want that."

Exasperated, it messaged Mochi.

Can you get your dumbass human to leave?

Mochi messaged Here. It sent a map of its internals with an arrow path of where to go.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I doubted the human could make me go if I didn't want it to, but fighting it would be a waste of time. I could always come back out of the rooms if the hostiles did manage to enter, and I could move faster than a human.

"Fine."

I turned and began to follow the map Mochi had given me.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Once Here was safely contained within the back corridors, Mochi pinged RCU with a question.

Board=Yes?

No, Mochi.

Mochi would have rolled its eyes if it had any. But oh well, it still got to shoot the hell out of some fuckers. The secondary fleet that had been stopping the mini ship began to join the swarm on the main ship instead. Several of Mochi's ships were damaged, but given that they were unmanned, it was not a significant concern as long as it had more surviving than destroyed.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

The main ship had pulled back some. It was focusing almost all of its fire power on the swarms of smaller ships, with only a few shots still be sent towards Mochi. The dead mini ship drifted through space with the other debris of the fight.

Meanwhile, the surviving small ship managed to dodge past Mochi's guard of ships, and latched itself to an air lock.

"Open up, or we blow our way in," one of the pirates on board sent through the feed.

Watching the sensors from where I was stationed in the back rooms, I prepared to run to join the fight.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"Your mistake." RCU replied over the feed.

Go ahead, Mochi.

AmusementSigil

Mochi's speakers piped up just before the hatch opened. "Enemy boarding imminent. Prepare to engage."

And to Here over the feed,

Here=Stay

Captain=Capable.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Here=capable."

I said, and began heading towards where the intruders had docked.

A small part of humans boarded. They had mismatched weapons and armor, pieces of different corporate uniforms combined with roughly forged scrap metal. Some of the pieces looked like they came from pieces of secunit armor or even ships.

They split into two groups, each lead by an augmented human, and began exploring the ship.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"Oh, but you really should have heeded my warning. My ship kills more kindly than I do." RCU grinned a sick, menacing grin. It was not afraid in the least. It was not far from the entry dock, and it was already sending code attacks to limit the capabilities of the augmented humans. Being a CombatUnit, it was made with the capacity for hacking.

Four CombatUnit drones, larger ones than the SecUnit Intel drones, spread through the area, though they stayed away from where Here was SUPPOSED to be staying. The second a human was in its range of sight, RCU was on them. Sure, it had guns - but maiming sent a far better message.

Mochi sent a rapid bursts of warnings and alerts to Here. RCU didn't want Here to know it was a construct. If Here found out, RCU might actually have to kill it. After all this effort to keep Here alive?

WARNING: HOSTILES

ALERT: CURRENT APPROACH NOT RECOMMENDED

Here=Stay=Stay=Stay=Stay=Stay

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

The captain may be competent, but I was a better fighter than any human, and I couldn't leave it to be outnumbered by that many.

I knew I risked revealing what I was, but I couldn't sit still while a human risked it's life for me.

I wanted to convince Mochi that I had to do this.

"Captain=alone=Captain!=safe."

"Here=help Captain."

The pirates were expecting human passengers and maybe some security. They weren't expecting RCU.

The augmented humans struggled against the code attacks while some of the others rushed in, guns blazing. The first humans unlucky enough to run into RCU went down easily. Some of the others saw this, and ran back around the corner, using walls and door frames to hide behind and fire from.

Meanwhile, Here was quickly approaching the second group that had split off.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU was already covered in blood. Mostly that of the humans it had slaughtered, but it had taken a few hits. That was fine. It may not have a MedSys, but it was built for this kind of combat, and could recover a fair amount of damage without one. It put itself behind walls and barriers to avoid the brunt of damage, and used its speed to its advantage to move closer when the humans seemed to have retreated behind cover.

Systematic. High success rate. Efficient.

Mochi was still sending alerts, refusing to back down, though it could do little else. It couldn't stop Here - it didn't have any internal defense system (Except RCU) or barriers that it could close to keep Here back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Ignoring Mochi's warnings, I found some of the humans who had broken off from the group, rolled up my sleeves to reveal my energy weapon ports, and went in guns blazing.

I didn't like killing humans. But these humans wanted to hurt the captain, the ship, and me. And I was willing to kill in order to protect.

It had been a long time since I was in combat with so many humans. And I used to fight alongside other units. But I was still a force to be reckoned with.

I was efficient, killing or disabling as quickly and painlessly as possible. I knew I was taking hits, but I turned up my pain inhibitors and kept fighting.

Then rounding a corner, I saw RCU in the distance.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

A pause in the messages came.

Then,

Here=Construct?

RCU was handling the humans with ease. Watching it fight, it would be easy to tell it wasn't human.

One of its drones caught sight of Here and it completely froze for several milliseconds. It didn't know what it was going to do yet. It would have to figure that out after the hostiles had been defeated.

The drone flitted over towards Here and began to circle it in a defensive manner.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

As the ship rocked under the impact, I agiley kept my balance. I saw the captain reaching for me, and instinctively backed away, before realizing it was probably trying to help me keep my balance. But if it grabbed me, it might feel that I was more augmented than a human should be.

One of the mini ships suffered a serious hit, and began to retreat desperately to the main ship, which was being heavily rocked with damage. The clunky pirate ship wasn't as graceful in its maneuvers as Mochi, but it kept up the chase.

The other mini ship ducked and dodged crazily, managing to continue it's pursuit by some combination of luck and audacity.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"I'm not going to hurt you, dumbass."

RCU was used to people averting it. Perhaps it had come off as too aggressive. Perhaps the human instincts were screaming that it was not one of them. Perhaps the quick movement was too startling. But RCU did take note of it.

Mochi, can you get me in on the main ship with one of your recovery shuttles? Is that possible?

Success≈68%

IF: yes

THEN:

HereSafety= -35%

REQUEST DENIED.

RCU was getting antsy. Mochi was a powerful and agile machine, for what it lacked in modernity. But they were taking damage, even if they were winning.

Mochi proceeded to send a second round of drone-ships out, though it was half the size of the initial force. Their sole goal was to intercept the damaged mini-ship. Mochi was not going to let them have anything back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. It was interesting how the captain had gone from threatening me to protecting me now that there was a bigger threat. But most of my attention was focused on the scene outside.

The mini ship tried desperately to evade its pursuers, but with damaged thrusters, it was doomed to be overtaken eventually. The small number of crew inside alternately swore and pleaded as they tried to stay alive.

The other mini ship was getting closer, seemingly unconcerned about the fate of its twin. It was aiming to latch on to Mochi, if it could only get past the circling guard ships.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"You need to get into one of the back rooms in case they board, one of the ships is getting close. Hold onto me while we move."

It wasn't a request. And if Here didn't comply, RCU wasn't afraid of using force to ensure its safety.

Mochi sent a message to Here, briefly taking a moment of its attention to assure it.

Captain=Safe

It returned its focus to the defensive bubble and it's barrage on the mini ship continued until it was no longer functional in any way.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Are you going to stay in the back too?"

I needed to find a way to convince this human that it also should stay out of danger.

"And I can walk fine."

If I touched it, it would know that my hands were metal. That so much of me was metal. I wasn't sure if I could keep it from getting suspicious.

The destroyed mini ship drifted listlessly through space. One of its seals had ruptured, and sealed the doom of its occupants.

Meanwhile, the main ship kept up the fight, but inside, there was argument about whether they should cut their losses and run.

The other mini ship plowed bravely on, despite beginning to take serious damage. It's occupants now believed their best chance of survival was to get on the target ship and subdue it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"If I can afford to, yes, but that's not your damn concern. Stop being fucking nice and be selfish about your goddamn life. I can take care of myself. And I can make you go if I have to, and neither of us want that."

Exasperated, it messaged Mochi.

Can you get your dumbass human to leave?

Mochi messaged Here. It sent a map of its internals with an arrow path of where to go.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I doubted the human could make me go if I didn't want it to, but fighting it would be a waste of time. I could always come back out of the rooms if the hostiles did manage to enter, and I could move faster than a human.

"Fine."

I turned and began to follow the map Mochi had given me.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Once Here was safely contained within the back corridors, Mochi pinged RCU with a question.

Board=Yes?

No, Mochi.

Mochi would have rolled its eyes if it had any. But oh well, it still got to shoot the hell out of some fuckers. The secondary fleet that had been stopping the mini ship began to join the swarm on the main ship instead. Several of Mochi's ships were damaged, but given that they were unmanned, it was not a significant concern as long as it had more surviving than destroyed.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

The main ship had pulled back some. It was focusing almost all of its fire power on the swarms of smaller ships, with only a few shots still be sent towards Mochi. The dead mini ship drifted through space with the other debris of the fight.

Meanwhile, the surviving small ship managed to dodge past Mochi's guard of ships, and latched itself to an air lock.

"Open up, or we blow our way in," one of the pirates on board sent through the feed.

Watching the sensors from where I was stationed in the back rooms, I prepared to run to join the fight.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"Your mistake." RCU replied over the feed.

Go ahead, Mochi.

AmusementSigil

Mochi's speakers piped up just before the hatch opened. "Enemy boarding imminent. Prepare to engage."

And to Here over the feed,

Here=Stay

Captain=Capable.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Here=capable."

I said, and began heading towards where the intruders had docked.

A small part of humans boarded. They had mismatched weapons and armor, pieces of different corporate uniforms combined with roughly forged scrap metal. Some of the pieces looked like they came from pieces of secunit armor or even ships.

They split into two groups, each lead by an augmented human, and began exploring the ship.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"Oh, but you really should have heeded my warning. My ship kills more kindly than I do." RCU grinned a sick, menacing grin. It was not afraid in the least. It was not far from the entry dock, and it was already sending code attacks to limit the capabilities of the augmented humans. Being a CombatUnit, it was made with the capacity for hacking.

Four CombatUnit drones, larger ones than the SecUnit Intel drones, spread through the area, though they stayed away from where Here was SUPPOSED to be staying. The second a human was in its range of sight, RCU was on them. Sure, it had guns - but maiming sent a far better message.

Mochi sent a rapid bursts of warnings and alerts to Here. RCU didn't want Here to know it was a construct. If Here found out, RCU might actually have to kill it. After all this effort to keep Here alive?

WARNING: HOSTILES

ALERT: CURRENT APPROACH NOT RECOMMENDED

Here=Stay=Stay=Stay=Stay=Stay

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

The captain may be competent, but I was a better fighter than any human, and I couldn't leave it to be outnumbered by that many.

I knew I risked revealing what I was, but I couldn't sit still while a human risked it's life for me.

I wanted to convince Mochi that I had to do this.

"Captain=alone=Captain!=safe."

"Here=help Captain."

The pirates were expecting human passengers and maybe some security. They weren't expecting RCU.

The augmented humans struggled against the code attacks while some of the others rushed in, guns blazing. The first humans unlucky enough to run into RCU went down easily. Some of the others saw this, and ran back around the corner, using walls and door frames to hide behind and fire from.

Meanwhile, Here was quickly approaching the second group that had split off.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU was already covered in blood. Mostly that of the humans it had slaughtered, but it had taken a few hits. That was fine. It may not have a MedSys, but it was built for this kind of combat, and could recover a fair amount of damage without one. It put itself behind walls and barriers to avoid the brunt of damage, and used its speed to its advantage to move closer when the humans seemed to have retreated behind cover.

Systematic. High success rate. Efficient.

Mochi was still sending alerts, refusing to back down, though it could do little else. It couldn't stop Here - it didn't have any internal defense system (Except RCU) or barriers that it could close to keep Here back.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

As the ship rocked under the impact, I agiley kept my balance. I saw the captain reaching for me, and instinctively backed away, before realizing it was probably trying to help me keep my balance. But if it grabbed me, it might feel that I was more augmented than a human should be.

One of the mini ships suffered a serious hit, and began to retreat desperately to the main ship, which was being heavily rocked with damage. The clunky pirate ship wasn't as graceful in its maneuvers as Mochi, but it kept up the chase.

The other mini ship ducked and dodged crazily, managing to continue it's pursuit by some combination of luck and audacity.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"I'm not going to hurt you, dumbass."

RCU was used to people averting it. Perhaps it had come off as too aggressive. Perhaps the human instincts were screaming that it was not one of them. Perhaps the quick movement was too startling. But RCU did take note of it.

Mochi, can you get me in on the main ship with one of your recovery shuttles? Is that possible?

Success≈68%

IF: yes

THEN:

HereSafety= -35%

REQUEST DENIED.

RCU was getting antsy. Mochi was a powerful and agile machine, for what it lacked in modernity. But they were taking damage, even if they were winning.

Mochi proceeded to send a second round of drone-ships out, though it was half the size of the initial force. Their sole goal was to intercept the damaged mini-ship. Mochi was not going to let them have anything back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. It was interesting how the captain had gone from threatening me to protecting me now that there was a bigger threat. But most of my attention was focused on the scene outside.

The mini ship tried desperately to evade its pursuers, but with damaged thrusters, it was doomed to be overtaken eventually. The small number of crew inside alternately swore and pleaded as they tried to stay alive.

The other mini ship was getting closer, seemingly unconcerned about the fate of its twin. It was aiming to latch on to Mochi, if it could only get past the circling guard ships.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"You need to get into one of the back rooms in case they board, one of the ships is getting close. Hold onto me while we move."

It wasn't a request. And if Here didn't comply, RCU wasn't afraid of using force to ensure its safety.

Mochi sent a message to Here, briefly taking a moment of its attention to assure it.

Captain=Safe

It returned its focus to the defensive bubble and it's barrage on the mini ship continued until it was no longer functional in any way.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Are you going to stay in the back too?"

I needed to find a way to convince this human that it also should stay out of danger.

"And I can walk fine."

If I touched it, it would know that my hands were metal. That so much of me was metal. I wasn't sure if I could keep it from getting suspicious.

The destroyed mini ship drifted listlessly through space. One of its seals had ruptured, and sealed the doom of its occupants.

Meanwhile, the main ship kept up the fight, but inside, there was argument about whether they should cut their losses and run.

The other mini ship plowed bravely on, despite beginning to take serious damage. It's occupants now believed their best chance of survival was to get on the target ship and subdue it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"If I can afford to, yes, but that's not your damn concern. Stop being fucking nice and be selfish about your goddamn life. I can take care of myself. And I can make you go if I have to, and neither of us want that."

Exasperated, it messaged Mochi.

Can you get your dumbass human to leave?

Mochi messaged Here. It sent a map of its internals with an arrow path of where to go.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I doubted the human could make me go if I didn't want it to, but fighting it would be a waste of time. I could always come back out of the rooms if the hostiles did manage to enter, and I could move faster than a human.

"Fine."

I turned and began to follow the map Mochi had given me.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Once Here was safely contained within the back corridors, Mochi pinged RCU with a question.

Board=Yes?

No, Mochi.

Mochi would have rolled its eyes if it had any. But oh well, it still got to shoot the hell out of some fuckers. The secondary fleet that had been stopping the mini ship began to join the swarm on the main ship instead. Several of Mochi's ships were damaged, but given that they were unmanned, it was not a significant concern as long as it had more surviving than destroyed.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

The main ship had pulled back some. It was focusing almost all of its fire power on the swarms of smaller ships, with only a few shots still be sent towards Mochi. The dead mini ship drifted through space with the other debris of the fight.

Meanwhile, the surviving small ship managed to dodge past Mochi's guard of ships, and latched itself to an air lock.

"Open up, or we blow our way in," one of the pirates on board sent through the feed.

Watching the sensors from where I was stationed in the back rooms, I prepared to run to join the fight.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"Your mistake." RCU replied over the feed.

Go ahead, Mochi.

AmusementSigil

Mochi's speakers piped up just before the hatch opened. "Enemy boarding imminent. Prepare to engage."

And to Here over the feed,

Here=Stay

Captain=Capable.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Here=capable."

I said, and began heading towards where the intruders had docked.

A small part of humans boarded. They had mismatched weapons and armor, pieces of different corporate uniforms combined with roughly forged scrap metal. Some of the pieces looked like they came from pieces of secunit armor or even ships.

They split into two groups, each lead by an augmented human, and began exploring the ship.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"Oh, but you really should have heeded my warning. My ship kills more kindly than I do." RCU grinned a sick, menacing grin. It was not afraid in the least. It was not far from the entry dock, and it was already sending code attacks to limit the capabilities of the augmented humans. Being a CombatUnit, it was made with the capacity for hacking.

Four CombatUnit drones, larger ones than the SecUnit Intel drones, spread through the area, though they stayed away from where Here was SUPPOSED to be staying. The second a human was in its range of sight, RCU was on them. Sure, it had guns - but maiming sent a far better message.

Mochi sent a rapid bursts of warnings and alerts to Here. RCU didn't want Here to know it was a construct. If Here found out, RCU might actually have to kill it. After all this effort to keep Here alive?

WARNING: HOSTILES

ALERT: CURRENT APPROACH NOT RECOMMENDED

Here=Stay=Stay=Stay=Stay=Stay

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

As the ship rocked under the impact, I agiley kept my balance. I saw the captain reaching for me, and instinctively backed away, before realizing it was probably trying to help me keep my balance. But if it grabbed me, it might feel that I was more augmented than a human should be.

One of the mini ships suffered a serious hit, and began to retreat desperately to the main ship, which was being heavily rocked with damage. The clunky pirate ship wasn't as graceful in its maneuvers as Mochi, but it kept up the chase.

The other mini ship ducked and dodged crazily, managing to continue it's pursuit by some combination of luck and audacity.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"I'm not going to hurt you, dumbass."

RCU was used to people averting it. Perhaps it had come off as too aggressive. Perhaps the human instincts were screaming that it was not one of them. Perhaps the quick movement was too startling. But RCU did take note of it.

Mochi, can you get me in on the main ship with one of your recovery shuttles? Is that possible?

Success≈68%

IF: yes

THEN:

HereSafety= -35%

REQUEST DENIED.

RCU was getting antsy. Mochi was a powerful and agile machine, for what it lacked in modernity. But they were taking damage, even if they were winning.

Mochi proceeded to send a second round of drone-ships out, though it was half the size of the initial force. Their sole goal was to intercept the damaged mini-ship. Mochi was not going to let them have anything back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. It was interesting how the captain had gone from threatening me to protecting me now that there was a bigger threat. But most of my attention was focused on the scene outside.

The mini ship tried desperately to evade its pursuers, but with damaged thrusters, it was doomed to be overtaken eventually. The small number of crew inside alternately swore and pleaded as they tried to stay alive.

The other mini ship was getting closer, seemingly unconcerned about the fate of its twin. It was aiming to latch on to Mochi, if it could only get past the circling guard ships.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"You need to get into one of the back rooms in case they board, one of the ships is getting close. Hold onto me while we move."

It wasn't a request. And if Here didn't comply, RCU wasn't afraid of using force to ensure its safety.

Mochi sent a message to Here, briefly taking a moment of its attention to assure it.

Captain=Safe

It returned its focus to the defensive bubble and it's barrage on the mini ship continued until it was no longer functional in any way.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Are you going to stay in the back too?"

I needed to find a way to convince this human that it also should stay out of danger.

"And I can walk fine."

If I touched it, it would know that my hands were metal. That so much of me was metal. I wasn't sure if I could keep it from getting suspicious.

The destroyed mini ship drifted listlessly through space. One of its seals had ruptured, and sealed the doom of its occupants.

Meanwhile, the main ship kept up the fight, but inside, there was argument about whether they should cut their losses and run.

The other mini ship plowed bravely on, despite beginning to take serious damage. It's occupants now believed their best chance of survival was to get on the target ship and subdue it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"If I can afford to, yes, but that's not your damn concern. Stop being fucking nice and be selfish about your goddamn life. I can take care of myself. And I can make you go if I have to, and neither of us want that."

Exasperated, it messaged Mochi.

Can you get your dumbass human to leave?

Mochi messaged Here. It sent a map of its internals with an arrow path of where to go.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I doubted the human could make me go if I didn't want it to, but fighting it would be a waste of time. I could always come back out of the rooms if the hostiles did manage to enter, and I could move faster than a human.

"Fine."

I turned and began to follow the map Mochi had given me.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Once Here was safely contained within the back corridors, Mochi pinged RCU with a question.

Board=Yes?

No, Mochi.

Mochi would have rolled its eyes if it had any. But oh well, it still got to shoot the hell out of some fuckers. The secondary fleet that had been stopping the mini ship began to join the swarm on the main ship instead. Several of Mochi's ships were damaged, but given that they were unmanned, it was not a significant concern as long as it had more surviving than destroyed.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

The main ship had pulled back some. It was focusing almost all of its fire power on the swarms of smaller ships, with only a few shots still be sent towards Mochi. The dead mini ship drifted through space with the other debris of the fight.

Meanwhile, the surviving small ship managed to dodge past Mochi's guard of ships, and latched itself to an air lock.

"Open up, or we blow our way in," one of the pirates on board sent through the feed.

Watching the sensors from where I was stationed in the back rooms, I prepared to run to join the fight.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"Your mistake." RCU replied over the feed.

Go ahead, Mochi.

AmusementSigil

Mochi's speakers piped up just before the hatch opened. "Enemy boarding imminent. Prepare to engage."

And to Here over the feed,

Here=Stay

Captain=Capable.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

As the ship rocked under the impact, I agiley kept my balance. I saw the captain reaching for me, and instinctively backed away, before realizing it was probably trying to help me keep my balance. But if it grabbed me, it might feel that I was more augmented than a human should be.

One of the mini ships suffered a serious hit, and began to retreat desperately to the main ship, which was being heavily rocked with damage. The clunky pirate ship wasn't as graceful in its maneuvers as Mochi, but it kept up the chase.

The other mini ship ducked and dodged crazily, managing to continue it's pursuit by some combination of luck and audacity.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"I'm not going to hurt you, dumbass."

RCU was used to people averting it. Perhaps it had come off as too aggressive. Perhaps the human instincts were screaming that it was not one of them. Perhaps the quick movement was too startling. But RCU did take note of it.

Mochi, can you get me in on the main ship with one of your recovery shuttles? Is that possible?

Success≈68%

IF: yes

THEN:

HereSafety= -35%

REQUEST DENIED.

RCU was getting antsy. Mochi was a powerful and agile machine, for what it lacked in modernity. But they were taking damage, even if they were winning.

Mochi proceeded to send a second round of drone-ships out, though it was half the size of the initial force. Their sole goal was to intercept the damaged mini-ship. Mochi was not going to let them have anything back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. It was interesting how the captain had gone from threatening me to protecting me now that there was a bigger threat. But most of my attention was focused on the scene outside.

The mini ship tried desperately to evade its pursuers, but with damaged thrusters, it was doomed to be overtaken eventually. The small number of crew inside alternately swore and pleaded as they tried to stay alive.

The other mini ship was getting closer, seemingly unconcerned about the fate of its twin. It was aiming to latch on to Mochi, if it could only get past the circling guard ships.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"You need to get into one of the back rooms in case they board, one of the ships is getting close. Hold onto me while we move."

It wasn't a request. And if Here didn't comply, RCU wasn't afraid of using force to ensure its safety.

Mochi sent a message to Here, briefly taking a moment of its attention to assure it.

Captain=Safe

It returned its focus to the defensive bubble and it's barrage on the mini ship continued until it was no longer functional in any way.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Are you going to stay in the back too?"

I needed to find a way to convince this human that it also should stay out of danger.

"And I can walk fine."

If I touched it, it would know that my hands were metal. That so much of me was metal. I wasn't sure if I could keep it from getting suspicious.

The destroyed mini ship drifted listlessly through space. One of its seals had ruptured, and sealed the doom of its occupants.

Meanwhile, the main ship kept up the fight, but inside, there was argument about whether they should cut their losses and run.

The other mini ship plowed bravely on, despite beginning to take serious damage. It's occupants now believed their best chance of survival was to get on the target ship and subdue it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"If I can afford to, yes, but that's not your damn concern. Stop being fucking nice and be selfish about your goddamn life. I can take care of myself. And I can make you go if I have to, and neither of us want that."

Exasperated, it messaged Mochi.

Can you get your dumbass human to leave?

Mochi messaged Here. It sent a map of its internals with an arrow path of where to go.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I doubted the human could make me go if I didn't want it to, but fighting it would be a waste of time. I could always come back out of the rooms if the hostiles did manage to enter, and I could move faster than a human.

"Fine."

I turned and began to follow the map Mochi had given me.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Once Here was safely contained within the back corridors, Mochi pinged RCU with a question.

Board=Yes?

No, Mochi.

Mochi would have rolled its eyes if it had any. But oh well, it still got to shoot the hell out of some fuckers. The secondary fleet that had been stopping the mini ship began to join the swarm on the main ship instead. Several of Mochi's ships were damaged, but given that they were unmanned, it was not a significant concern as long as it had more surviving than destroyed.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

As the ship rocked under the impact, I agiley kept my balance. I saw the captain reaching for me, and instinctively backed away, before realizing it was probably trying to help me keep my balance. But if it grabbed me, it might feel that I was more augmented than a human should be.

One of the mini ships suffered a serious hit, and began to retreat desperately to the main ship, which was being heavily rocked with damage. The clunky pirate ship wasn't as graceful in its maneuvers as Mochi, but it kept up the chase.

The other mini ship ducked and dodged crazily, managing to continue it's pursuit by some combination of luck and audacity.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"I'm not going to hurt you, dumbass."

RCU was used to people averting it. Perhaps it had come off as too aggressive. Perhaps the human instincts were screaming that it was not one of them. Perhaps the quick movement was too startling. But RCU did take note of it.

Mochi, can you get me in on the main ship with one of your recovery shuttles? Is that possible?

Success≈68%

IF: yes

THEN:

HereSafety= -35%

REQUEST DENIED.

RCU was getting antsy. Mochi was a powerful and agile machine, for what it lacked in modernity. But they were taking damage, even if they were winning.

Mochi proceeded to send a second round of drone-ships out, though it was half the size of the initial force. Their sole goal was to intercept the damaged mini-ship. Mochi was not going to let them have anything back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. It was interesting how the captain had gone from threatening me to protecting me now that there was a bigger threat. But most of my attention was focused on the scene outside.

The mini ship tried desperately to evade its pursuers, but with damaged thrusters, it was doomed to be overtaken eventually. The small number of crew inside alternately swore and pleaded as they tried to stay alive.

The other mini ship was getting closer, seemingly unconcerned about the fate of its twin. It was aiming to latch on to Mochi, if it could only get past the circling guard ships.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"You need to get into one of the back rooms in case they board, one of the ships is getting close. Hold onto me while we move."

It wasn't a request. And if Here didn't comply, RCU wasn't afraid of using force to ensure its safety.

Mochi sent a message to Here, briefly taking a moment of its attention to assure it.

Captain=Safe

It returned its focus to the defensive bubble and it's barrage on the mini ship continued until it was no longer functional in any way.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Are you going to stay in the back too?"

I needed to find a way to convince this human that it also should stay out of danger.

"And I can walk fine."

If I touched it, it would know that my hands were metal. That so much of me was metal. I wasn't sure if I could keep it from getting suspicious.

The destroyed mini ship drifted listlessly through space. One of its seals had ruptured, and sealed the doom of its occupants.

Meanwhile, the main ship kept up the fight, but inside, there was argument about whether they should cut their losses and run.

The other mini ship plowed bravely on, despite beginning to take serious damage. It's occupants now believed their best chance of survival was to get on the target ship and subdue it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"If I can afford to, yes, but that's not your damn concern. Stop being fucking nice and be selfish about your goddamn life. I can take care of myself. And I can make you go if I have to, and neither of us want that."

Exasperated, it messaged Mochi.

Can you get your dumbass human to leave?

Mochi messaged Here. It sent a map of its internals with an arrow path of where to go.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

As the ship rocked under the impact, I agiley kept my balance. I saw the captain reaching for me, and instinctively backed away, before realizing it was probably trying to help me keep my balance. But if it grabbed me, it might feel that I was more augmented than a human should be.

One of the mini ships suffered a serious hit, and began to retreat desperately to the main ship, which was being heavily rocked with damage. The clunky pirate ship wasn't as graceful in its maneuvers as Mochi, but it kept up the chase.

The other mini ship ducked and dodged crazily, managing to continue it's pursuit by some combination of luck and audacity.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"I'm not going to hurt you, dumbass."

RCU was used to people averting it. Perhaps it had come off as too aggressive. Perhaps the human instincts were screaming that it was not one of them. Perhaps the quick movement was too startling. But RCU did take note of it.

Mochi, can you get me in on the main ship with one of your recovery shuttles? Is that possible?

Success≈68%

IF: yes

THEN:

HereSafety= -35%

REQUEST DENIED.

RCU was getting antsy. Mochi was a powerful and agile machine, for what it lacked in modernity. But they were taking damage, even if they were winning.

Mochi proceeded to send a second round of drone-ships out, though it was half the size of the initial force. Their sole goal was to intercept the damaged mini-ship. Mochi was not going to let them have anything back.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to say. It was interesting how the captain had gone from threatening me to protecting me now that there was a bigger threat. But most of my attention was focused on the scene outside.

The mini ship tried desperately to evade its pursuers, but with damaged thrusters, it was doomed to be overtaken eventually. The small number of crew inside alternately swore and pleaded as they tried to stay alive.

The other mini ship was getting closer, seemingly unconcerned about the fate of its twin. It was aiming to latch on to Mochi, if it could only get past the circling guard ships.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"You need to get into one of the back rooms in case they board, one of the ships is getting close. Hold onto me while we move."

It wasn't a request. And if Here didn't comply, RCU wasn't afraid of using force to ensure its safety.

Mochi sent a message to Here, briefly taking a moment of its attention to assure it.

Captain=Safe

It returned its focus to the defensive bubble and it's barrage on the mini ship continued until it was no longer functional in any way.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

As the ship rocked under the impact, I agiley kept my balance. I saw the captain reaching for me, and instinctively backed away, before realizing it was probably trying to help me keep my balance. But if it grabbed me, it might feel that I was more augmented than a human should be.

One of the mini ships suffered a serious hit, and began to retreat desperately to the main ship, which was being heavily rocked with damage. The clunky pirate ship wasn't as graceful in its maneuvers as Mochi, but it kept up the chase.

The other mini ship ducked and dodged crazily, managing to continue it's pursuit by some combination of luck and audacity.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

"I'm not going to hurt you, dumbass."

RCU was used to people averting it. Perhaps it had come off as too aggressive. Perhaps the human instincts were screaming that it was not one of them. Perhaps the quick movement was too startling. But RCU did take note of it.

Mochi, can you get me in on the main ship with one of your recovery shuttles? Is that possible?

Success≈68%

IF: yes

THEN:

HereSafety= -35%

REQUEST DENIED.

RCU was getting antsy. Mochi was a powerful and agile machine, for what it lacked in modernity. But they were taking damage, even if they were winning.

Mochi proceeded to send a second round of drone-ships out, though it was half the size of the initial force. Their sole goal was to intercept the damaged mini-ship. Mochi was not going to let them have anything back.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

Whatever this weird ship was, it wasn't just a passenger vessel. It had a massive amount of weaponry. I wondered how it's total fire power compared to Perihelion's.

I watched the sensors and held on to the railing. I noticed that the captain was enduring the wild movements of the ship as easily as I was. That was impressive for a human.

The pirates hadn't been expecting the small gun ships. But Mochi's outdated look gave them an overblown sense of confidence.

"You were warned. You may still surrender at anytime."

The pirate ship opened fire, aiming its heaviest guns at Mochi and smaller ones at the swarm of ships. It also released two smaller ships, barely more than escape pods with guns, that moved back from the ship before attempting to come around towards Mochi in a wide circle, one to each side.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

RCU kept a close eye on Here. It was, admittedly, impressed by the 'stray'. Upon recieving the message, it used Mochi's communication systems to send a message back to the pirates.

You will not be given the same courtesy.

Mochi was delighted. It had been such a long time since it had been able to use its combative abilities. To Mochi, this was FUN, and that sheer joy bled all over the feed. Something was horribly wrong with this ship, but hey, it was on Here's side at least.

If we send Here to one of the further rooms, I could let them board, and you could do your thing.

I'd rather not while we have a human on board. Too risky.

Suit yourself.

Mochi slammed one of the smaller ships towards an engine on the enemy ship. It could get the scraps of the ship with its recovery shuttles and RCU could fix it, so it wasn't worried about damaging them. Four of the other weaponized ships circled Mochi in a protective bubble, effortlessly following along its trajectory while firing at the pathetic excuses for mini ships. A few stray shots did manage to hit it, rocking the ship, but not breaching.

In response to the direct hit, RCU reached to grab Here, anticipating that it would fall.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

"Okay."

I copied RCU's movements and grabbed the railing. I noted the Captain's positioning. It was trying to protect me. But it was a human and I wasn't. If we had to fight, I wasn't going to let it sacrifice itself for me.

"You have one minute to comply or we fire."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's automated voice issued one, and only one, warning.

"Combat initiated."

For a human, there wouldn't have been enough time to even question why a passenger transport would have that phrase downloaded to a limited speech module.

Mochi began to swing violently around in roughly randomized evasive maneuvers that would probably throw your average human around if they were unsecured. On the external sensors, you could see small but heavily weaponized ships... coming out from a small bay on Mochi's rear underside. They began to aggressively swarm the enemy ship, almost like drones.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I looked up from my knitting, suprised.

"What kind of hostiles?"

I asked RCU, and at the same time sent Mochi a request for the sensor data.

Just then, the approaching ship, a heavily armed monstrosity that looks like it was cobbled together in a scrap yard, sends a message to the ship.

"Prepare to be boarded. Do not attempt to resist."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi didn't hesitate to give Here access. It saw no reason not to, especially since it was presumably the most at risk individual of the three. Alarm sirens began to blare.

PERMISSION TO INITIATE COMBAT?

Delay for a few seconds for me to secure the human.

RCU burst to Here's side, standing between it and the entrance in case boarding was successful. It grabbed onto Mochi's railings.

"Hold on tightly. Mochi's evasive maneuvers aren't pleasant."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

At partially randomized times throughout the trip, I got up to walk to the bathroom or the food area. Since I didn't need to use either area, I messed around to make some noise and make it seem like I was a human using the facilities.

Other than that, I worked on my knitting and song analyses.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi's vow of silence towards RCU ended very abruptly when it sent a series of concerned alerts to it. It tried to pull RCU's attention to its external sensors.

UNKNOWN SHIP DETECTED.

UNRESPONSIVE TO PINGS.

POSSIBLE THREAT.

SHIT.

Keep an eye on them. If you detect ANY hostility, blare your alarms. Try not to let your human sustain too much damage.

Shall I warn Here now?

...I will.

RCU re-entered the room that Here was in.

"It could be nothing, but you should be prepared. Potential hostiles in our vicinity."

[oldshipnewconstruct]

I looked through the logs currently in the port. I focused on the ones headed to planets near the mining operation where I suspected some of the employees from Ossifrage Corp now worked.

There weren't many options that matched my search. The ships headed that way were mostly just work crews or luxurious executive cruisers.

One stood out though. It was a private passenger transport, and there wasn't a lot of information about it. If I couldn't hack the bot pilot, I might be able to buy passage using the hard currency cards that I had been given before leaving Preservation.

I followed the map to the docks and cautiously approached the ship.

@i-am-here-on-a-mission

The ship had only been present in the dock for a quarter of a cycle. It was a smaller ship, but a distinctive one - it didn't look like any of the modern CR ships. It was shaped differently in every possible way. Its identification moniker was "Lady Mochi" - fitting for a presumably higher class private transport to be named after a dessert.

Mochi watched the newcomer with interest, using the network of cameras that RCU had given it as well as its ensemble of onboard sensors. It looked like the individual was approaching it directly - but RCU wasn't there, so it was unlikely that this individual knew it.

Had Mochi been recognized?

RCU, on the other hand, was finishing the purchase of supplies with a definitely-not-stolen hard currency card. It had also been researching material about the restoration of pre-CR ships, and downloaded a large quantity to memory in case Mochi needed further repairs.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Captain=Dangerous+Ally=Capable,

Human!=Danger

&&

Mochi=Capable;

IF: SHIPTHREATLEVEL <= 3

THEN: Ship!=Danger

Captain==Cautious

&& Captain=Stupid

Captain=random(UNDEFINEDVARIABLE)

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

So the ship thought the captain was stupid for being antagonizing when I wasn't a threat. It reminded me of some of the interactions I'd seen between Perihelion and Secunit. I wasn't good at de-escalating things when they had argued about me.

The captain hated me, but if it didn't try to hurt me, than it didn't matter if it liked me.

"Acknowledge. Here=fine."

I repeated, hoping Mochi would stop talking about it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Query: Music?

Mochi, at least, dropped the subject, though it was hell bent on comforting the human. It sent a list of all the songs it had saved locally - they were almost entirely at least as old as it was.

[i-am-here-on-a-mission]

I scanned through the list quickly. I had never heard of any of these songs, and they were a very different style than I was familiar with. My face made a happy expression.

"Thank you."

I began downloading all of the songs, and started playing one and running my audio analysis on it.

[oldshipnewconstruct]

Mochi settled down after it had decided it had succeeded at providing additional comfort to its passenger. It still wasn't talking to RCU anymore, even though it still had access to its cameras. The trip proceeded largely in relative calm.