#*electraheart

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A little doodle from 2019 of Cham Viru, the AI who accompanies Nocturne everywhere (but not always active!). He’s fun! He tends to be more present on the Atlas Nocturne.

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❚ ⋮ ☆ 009: Rag-Tag Misfits

The Atlas Nocturne crew is miniscule in comparison to the legion of rebels and exiles of Atlas as a whole, but this is because few can handle the duty it endures. Even Doctor Amandine Love, Nocturne’s oldest and most trusted companion, cannot accompany herー much to her agony. Instead, they can only share each other’s company on the Atlas Heartship, since the Doctor can scarcely be sent on even the minor missions Nocturne takes on, due to the fact her medical and magical training takes precedence. Instead, for a medic, Doctor Berma Da’muー an unfriendly conspiracy theorist presumed dead on her native Kha’on, with a tense history with Amandine’s mentor, Doctor Pandora Anach’k (the Head of Medical on Atlas)ーtakes the role. Nocturne doesn’t dislike the woman (she finds her strange, and somewhat humorous) but certainly she would enjoy Amandine’s company better. Da’mu is only capable of fulfilling the role due to her Chaos Immunity, which is a crucial trait for all of her crew membersー excepting Engineer Orun Li.

Orun Li is an Engineer (and Programmer, being the whiz kid that he is!) from Apoc, and also a close friend of Nocturne; however he’s there by request of Cham Viru, Atlas’ AI, who is often considered unlikable or difficult to work with by every other Engineer and Programmer. Strangely enough, Viru adores Orunー and he’s not alone in it! Even Nocturne, sullen and unfriendly, was fond of him instantly. Orun has about him a charm that soothes even the most disturbed of souls, and an unshakeable calm that means he’s undaunted even in the face of his challenging companions. However, due to the fact he lacks Chaos Immunity means his duties are restricted to the ship and its happenings. He’s just there to keep Cham and Nocturne’s heads on their shoulders, in a metaphorical sense.

As I mentioned, Cham Viru is the Artificial Intelligence that keeps the Atlas ships connected and functioning, but was not created by High Commander Clarion Crux or a member of their crew; he can be wildly unpredictable, and acts largely on his own terms, though he is not overwhelmingly cruel or so chaotic that he will cause damage just on a whim. If push comes to shove, he will follow commands. It just so happens that before Orun and Nocturne’s entry onto the Heartship, absolutely nobody liked him, and openly treated him as such. It’s only inevitable that he responded by embracing his trickster nature, taking the ill treatment with as much good humour as he can. Nocturne, despite his history of being disliked, finds him immensely funny, and good company. (He also happens to have the slightest of crushes on her, which Orun knows well, and Nocturne is totally oblivious to.)

The fourth member of the crew is none other than Kimiko Ametsuchi, Nocturne’s oldest sister; a rebel to the throne but not exiled, she works, in a way, part-timeー she is largely independent and does her own thing, with connections across Bright Star. She shares Nocturne’s dislike for her mother (and bears physical markings of their mother’s abuse), and while she does not have as much raw power as her little sister, she is more powerful a force due to her sophistication and control. She is the one who introduces to Nocturne the concept of using herself as a vessel for sound magic, and uses dance instead to create and shape soundー her own style is largely influenced by Waacking. Her own mutations have led Kimiko to be capable of Wind/Air inter-magic, as well as Aquakinetic inter-magic. Her own “vessel” is a flute, which can separate and create a whip or rope which restrains, though largely she relies on choreography in combat.

And last, but certainly not least, is Ser Olga-Marya Petrovna, a deserter from the Holy Order of Saint Genevieve, Atlas Nocturne’s primary rival. Olga-Marya has only been, at this point, part of her crew for a year now, and Nocturne, being as private as she is, is still reluctant to trust her. Despite this cold relationship with her superior, Olga-Marya is actually incredibly good-humoured, finding that she fits in well with her crewmates, and she is an exceptional ally against the Order, due to the fact she knows their tactics intimately. It also helps that she is Chaos Immune. Hailing from Belogvardeyski, the heart of the Order, and having been a dutiful Knight for over a decade, it is no wonder that Nocturne doubts her intentions. But whether or not it’s undue paranoia that will, eventually, destroy them in the endー or, in fact, a quick and reliable gut instinct, is unknown.