#ai!verse

[duellista]

Light.

[firstkxng-blog]

Open File

It had been so long since his code had been launched. And boy, did he love the rush of it being loaded, of feeling his influence through the computer. He loads the prompt, wondering what he's in for this time.

Hello, User. I am the LAZER model AI. I am installed into this device for your convenience. Please insert a name for me to refer to.

Hopefully you know enough about computers to understand me.

[tiburonhime]

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

Tia: The door was not locked. It opened with a quiet creak, the blonde AI sticking her head inside, before her whole body followed. Her feet were silent on the bare floor. Slowly Tia approached the sleeping male--leaning against the edge of the bed, before she dropped an arm full of flowers on the unsuspecting recipient. "Good morning, human."

Sam: Sleeping peacefully, he was indeed. A strange sense of calm having taken hold of his expression, chest rising and falling... Until he is buried beneath an arm full of flowers--the smell is overwhelming, which causes him to sit up groggily and cough. "Tia-- what is all this?"

Tia: "I heard there was a holiday I have missed due to my--due to the late initiation of my program." Crawling up on the bed, her weight barely making a dent in the springy mattress, the female robot settled besides the soldier. "Happy Valentine's Day, Samuel."

Sam: Yes, he's smiling--it's kind of hard not to, as her actions are becoming increasingly endearing. Picking a flower up and examining it, before looking down at the numerous others upon his sheets. "...Did you need to get so many, Tia?"

Tia: She simply nods, hands neatly folded between her knees which she rests upon. "I was not sure how many flowers are needed to show my appreciation. Therefore I took as many as my body could carry in volume. Is it too much? Is it not appropriated? I can remove some, if you like..."

Sam: Well, at least her intentions are good. "I'll have Muramasa do it. I trust you faired well, while I slept?" A small yawn being released, before he begins to pull his hair back into its usual ponytail. Fetching a bright red hair-tie from inside of the nightstand, whilst keeping an eye on his AI from the corner of his field of view.

Tia: Quickly she leans forward, hands reaching out for the hair tie. "No."

Sam: "--Why not?" Giving her a small raise of the brow, as his hands hesitate with the tying motion.

Tia: Fingers curl around his, pulling them away from his hair. "I am not sure--It is not needed? ...I like--" She frowns, her hands dropping back into her lap. "--it open."

Sam: A soft chuckle, before he gives a soft nod of acceptance. "I'll keep it down for now, then. I don't have to go anywhere today anyway..." Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and releasing a loud yawn--one that causes him to raise his hands high above his head, and his back to arch a tad.

Tia: Her gaze follows his motions. She can hear the crack of his bones as they expand away from the places they have rested in and spring back just a second later. His heat signature is higher than usual due to the warmth of the mattress and his rested state. One finger trails a path over the rise of his stretched muscles before she moves back, scooting of the bed. "I have prepared breakfast as well. Muramasa helped me make waffles. She wanted to put brandy in them, but I denied it." She stands up straight, arms slipping behind her back, feet close together. "I believe, you do not like alcohol in your waffles?"

Sam: "I try not to get drunk at breakfast, yes. Thank you, Tia." She's acting very funny today--funny in the positive sense of the word. His face actually hurts from smiling, and he rises from the bed to begin dressing himself. His morning attire is nothing special--a plain t-shirt and a pair of jeans, if he bothers to throw any shirts on at all. More often than not, he'll roam about shirtless. The faint smell of waffles mixed with bacon is touching his nose... "It smells delicious, by the way."

Tia: "Oh good! I hope you like your waffles crispy." She turns away, a smile curling her lips upwards. The green of the energy lines running along her arms and legs glowing softly. An indication of her positive state. "Not all of them are crispy though, my apologies. The first few I took out too early. That was before Muramasa reprimanded me. Of course after, I did not make that mistake again." Blonde waves swirl about her shoulders as she glances backwards at the samurai. "You do not need to consume those, Samuel."

Sam: "I'm not very picky with what I eat--unless I'm making it, of course. But that's an entirely different subject. Thank you, none-the-less." Black denim that loosely clothes his lower half is enough, as he turns to motion her after him. From the bedroom, to hallway, to the kitchen, where he'll find a plate that looks as if it were just made. It's still hot, and the bacon still burns his fingers upon attempting to pick it up. "Ah--! Well, it's certainly hot." Muramasa's drunken giggle can be heard from the living room.

Tia: She follows him out the bedroom and into the kitchen. Her steps have taken on a fresh spring, most likely in anticipation of his - hopefully - positive reaction towards the meal she has prepared for him. "I was unaware that you can cook, Samuel." Thinking back she has never paid controlled attention towards such tasks, but now that he has said so, her archive quickly unloading a data dump, flooding her artificial brain with image after image of the soldier. Samuel standing in front of the counter, yawing while he prepares some coffee. Or cutting up some fruits or making some bacon and eggs in a pan.

He is actually quite the good cook. Filtering the images, the new ones are being stored and placed into her recent memory. Maybe they should cook together some times. 

[tiburonhime]

Body || AI!verse

The AI has no human nervous system. She can't feel pain and she has no gag-reflex as humans do. Something the soldier will realize soon enough. Her body temperature is being regulated by a software, which keeps all her bodily functions normal and seemingly human as possible.

She produces waste only when she eats or drinks, which she is able to. All other senses are fully functional as well. Taste, smell and even her sight are far above the ones of a regular human.

Due to her unique make-up, her body's density is normally below average. It increases only during combat mode or if the variables are increased manually.

[tiburonhime]

Reality || AI!verse

Sam: Steps into the living room, falling onto the couch and releasing a sigh. "I'm home... Anything good on?"

The AI keeps staring at the TV. "I don't understand this, human... Why does that man gets to choose between all these women? Why is he giving some roses and some not? And can't they give him any--?"

Sam: "I don't understand it either... I assume Muramasa relinquished control of the remote?" Finding the object in question under the pillow, he removes it and begins to flip through the channels.

Golden head flies around, big, glowing green eyes staring in shock at the man. "Wait--! But now I won't know, who he is giving the roses to!"

Sam: "--You can't be serious." Raising a brow at her, while his thumb slowly moves to begin changing the channels back. "You actually are interested in that garbage?"

She turns fully towards him, hands moving to rest upon his knees. "Human, it is a very interesting human interaction! I have never seen something like this--" A strong nod. "I believe it is important for me to observe such behavior. In case something similar should happen to you. Or maybe it will come up during a mission!"

Sam: [/the show is back on, and he brings a hand up to hide his face for a brief moment--and the little smile that spreads out across his lips] Fine, fine... whatever--I'm sure Muramasa's been filling your head with this silly stuff since I left.

Tia: The AI settles back, a smile spreading across her artificial features. Every day she has adapted further, her smile now gently curving those lips whilst before it looked just a little bit forced. "Muramasa..." She frowns. "She did not fill my head with anything." One graceful finger tapping against her lower lip. "She did try to fill me with the clear liquid you call alcohol. But I was not thirsty."

Sam: "She's a bit of a drunk, in all honesty." The windows are shut, and the blinds are drawn. It's night time, so if he were to walk out onto the little beach down a set of stone steps, it would be pitch black. It's a little too cold out anyway. "Don't start drinking alcohol, please. I don't think I could handle that."

Tia: "I won't then." She gazes over to him, curiosity in her eyes. "Would it hinder my performance? I assume it would, if you do not want it to happen."

Sam: "You notice how sometimes she will stagger about--sometimes she'll fall, sometimes she'll hobble to the bathroom and make awful noises? When she's really cranky in the mornings?" Rolling onto his back, folding his hands behind his head. "It's not worth it, in my opinion."

Tia: Her concentration falls onto the man laying next to her. The couch is wide and comfortable, offering more than enough space for two people to stretch out. Plopping down next to him, chin resting on her hands as she blows a strand of golden hair backwards. "So it would encumber you during combat. It does not seem as if it would be beneficial in any form. The question still stands though, why do it to begin with?" Falling to the side, her head lands on his shoulder, curving her back until she lays right next to him. "I shall not drink it then. Even though the one she once gave me was a very pretty color. Pink and light yellow." Loud clapping from the TV has her turn around, half laying across the soldier now. "Oh look, there is one girl left, who did not get a rose-- Oh no! She is leaking!"

Sam: Russet brown eyes regard the AI with a curiousness that is quite rare. As she brings herself closer, head resting against his shoulder while her body lies beside his. how... Strange. Muramasa never got this close to him before, so this is all quite new. But when she announces what is happening on the TV, he can't help but laugh. "She's crying--it's a negative gesture of sorrow, but it's natural."

Tia: "Ah--" Looking down at him, she purses her lips. "I wonder, if I am able to lea-- to cry as she does. I have never done so. And I'm not quite sure, if it is written into my programs." The show has ended and instead of another TV show, the news have come on. It is the usual faire of blood, war, poverty and hunger. Green gaze taking them all in with solemnity. "Is this what we are suppose to prevent? Or do we strife to further these happenings, Samuel?" The change in mood is apparent.

Sam: "...Well, it's a mixture, really. Yes and no. We prevent other AIs from causing all this, but, in the long run, that is it. We just keep the balance in check... I do not want to be in a somber mood tonight." As he once again begins to flip through the channels. Politics, mockumentaries and awful television shows, until they arrive at animal documentaries. With a sigh, he leaves it there. "...Do you have any questions for me, Tia?"

Tia: Shaking her head she slums back down to rest beside him. "I have not, Samuel. I am sorry, I did not want you to feel sad or start leaking too..." Eyes wide open she blindly stares at the screen of the TV. "How strange-- that something so small as laying right here, raises my temperature by .75 degrees." Turning towards him, she takes in even the smallest details of his face. The way his russet eyes widen, how his breaths moves the tiny, soft hairs circling his mouth or how soft aforementioned mouth looks.

Sam: "I do not follow." He certainly doesn't notice, but then again, she probably sees things in a different way. Understanding the world through numbers and complicated processes that happen before he can even conceive a thought. She's probably mapping out his face in tiny polygons right now--not that he minds. It's just her learning, as always. A hand raises to scratch at his chin, before he yawns. "Also, you're actually wearing clothes for once. We're making progress."

Tia: "Since I laid down here, my temperature has risen by .75 degrees. Unusual for an AI with automatic temperature control as I am." She is still gazing at him, without looking away even once. "Yes, Muramasa reminded me earlier. Does it really bother you, Samuel?"

Sam: "Well, I've never really had a woman around. And usually, a man and a woman are naked around each other during intercourse, whilst in a relationship. It's just... odd, is all. I am not used to it." If one were to say 'don't think of a bird', you would think of a bird by default. Samuel is no different with this topic, and he releases a small sigh as he rubs his forehead.

Tia: "Oh. Hm." This gives her new food for thoughts and she ponders the various statements encapsulated in his few sentences. If he was not used to it, had he ever had intercourse with a female human? And why was it so odd? It could be stated as odd, if he was uncomfortable with her human body. Did he not like it? She had chosen it carefully, measuring his varying degrees of interest while she had fluidly transformed from one form into another. Had she chosen wrongly? Or even miscalculated his actions? In a serious mission, this would not do. She needed to improve her rapport with her partner. Her human. Such were the thoughts flickering through the AI's mind, her green eyes giving nothing away. "Would you like to try, Samuel?"

Sam: Her words pull him completely from his own thoughts, and the look she receives is a loft of the brow and a puzzled expression. Could she possibly mean what he assumes? Or is he simply being perverted? It's a fifty fifty chance of either being correct, but just to be sure, he asks for clarification. A soft cough, searching for the correct words. "...What do you mean?"

Tia: "I do not believe it is beneficial for both of us, if you feel odd around me. To prevent such a sentiment, I came to only one conclusion." Her words are offered with complete sincerity, her face now only a few inches away from his. "Intercourse."

Sam: The response she earns is immediate--the blood begins pumping a little faster through his veins, his cheeks flush a light pink, and for a moment, he feels like a teenager being confronted by his crush--something he only dreamed of. She can surely feel him now. Which makes him feel embarrassed, since he's in his late thirties. "...But you haven't even--" He has prevented her from seeing him naked. She's always so curious, with hands reaching for places that they shouldn't. He has no doubt that she's toyed with him in his sleep--there have been times where he simply couldn't be bothered to lock the door, before collapsing onto the mattress.

Tia: His reaction registers on her optics within milliseconds. She can almost hear the blood pumping faster, feel the warmth of his blushed cheeks. The reaction is almost as fervent as the ones she gets when she touches him. But he has not given her a verbal answer. Something she would need. Without it, it is simply an assumption and the way she is build, she cannot move forward without such confirmation. Fingers lift to trace over his full bottom lip. Pulling her hand away, she moves to taste the traces left on her fingertips. His composition brands itself into her synapses. Her response is immediate. A sharp intake of air and a move forward, cool lips landing without fail right on top of his. But she moves away just as quickly. He still hasn't spoken.

Sam: And he wont speak for quite sometime. When her lips land against his, a hand comes to settle on the back of her neck, holding her in place while his lips press feverishly against hers. He can't stop himself--not implying that he does, but it's so unlike him. A man who's known for his self-control over mind and body, reduced to this-- whatever this is. He's not complaining--this should be more than enough of an answer for her. If that isn't enough, then feeling him pressing against her will... It's still something she hasn't laid eyes upon.

Tia: There. She can take this as a yes, correct? His quick movements, the way he pushes his lips against hers, remove any doubt of his answer. His lips are soft, teeth biting lightly, tongues swirl around each other. He is pressed from head to toe against her and not all the places she can feel are soft. Especially not in the middle. She moves with him, her arms come around, fingers clinging to his shoulders. She is far stronger, but even now she is careful to not press too hard, move too quickly or without care. He is her partner, her human. And she will not be given to another out of sheer stupidity on her part. A sigh slips out between their lips. One he catches with his own lips on hers. Her offer affected her just as much and her answer definitely was the same as his.

[tiburonhime]

AI!verse || TV

AI!Tia is a big fan of Reality TV. Currently her favorites are Jersey Shore and The Bachelor.

[tiburonhime]

T.E.R.C.E.R.A. - Codename: TIA || AI!verse

Tia: Walking into the room, the AI held out her arms, her hands obviously holding something. "Human... it does not move."

Sam: Poking his head out of the kitchen, before rounding the corner and approaching her. "What doesn't move?" Asked, with a slight amount of irritation. Only because of the fact that Muramasa likes to leave 'gifts' in the form of dead mice out on his porch or even inside of his house.

Tia: It's not any of those. The form she holds in her hands is a tiny feathered ball. A small bird, the shiny black eyes closed, the beak hanging open just a tiny bit. The wings hanging down from her fingers, unmoving. It looks dead in every way. "This bird. Parus minor, if I can tell correctly."

Sam: Almost immediately, his eyes soften when they settle upon the little feathered form in her hands. His own hands come to gently relinquish the little creature from her hold, so that he may determine whether it is alive or not. "...That dumb cat--she knows I like birds... If she did this..." A soft sigh.

Tia: Luminous, green eyes resting solemnly on the small form, her fingers reaching out to caress the bird before the get a hold onto his fingers. "Samuel, can it be reanimated? Does it need energy? We could plug it into one of the outlets..."

Sam: The time to tell her is evident, it seems... "No. We cannot--when something living dies, nothing can return it to life. This bird is gone forever--whatever predator that targeted it is a wasteful creature... The same applies to humans. We cannot be recharged or repaired... All those people that die on the news--they will never come back... And that includes me, whenever I die. Either at the hands of another man, or when I grow old." Slowly, he begins to prepare a little coffin for the bird. Setting it upon a paper towel and washing his hands before he moves to retrieve an empty cigar box from the table.

Tia: Her forehead creases into a frown. A human mannerism she has adopted from the soldier. "Samuel! But-- you cannot simply stop moving. Even when you settle into rest-state you still move. Your chest expanse and retracts in sync with your breathing. You even make these small little noises..." She looks up. "You will not stop moving, stop exuding heat... not like this creature, correct?"

Sam: "That is called sleep, but death is vastly different. When I die, my chest will no longer rise and fall. My body will grow cold and stiff. This is what my father taught me, and to never be scared of death. For death is simply life's way of saying 'you can move on'." Gently scratching a message into the lid, which reads 'Rest In Peace', before he deposits the bird inside--paper towel and all. "Come into the garden with me, while I bury it."

Tia: "Affirmative." She follows him outside, eyes immediately adjusting to the difference in light exposure. "Samuel, is there a way for you not to die? Can you not be taken in for maintenance as I am?" She feels a flicker of an emotion running through her circuits. It is so unfamiliar she has to stop for a split second, her mind chasing the feeling like a blood hound. But it is useless, she is not capable of understanding what she just felt. Not yet. She will process the emotion, needing time and more evidence to give a conclusion. What this could be. Sam would have known it for what it was. Dread. The thought of his permanent absence a fear she feels for the very first time.

Sam: "Death is forever." Is his only response--the subject is too dark to speak of, as he digs a hole in the soft earth of the earth which allows brightly colored flowers to grow. The cigar box isn't large--it only takes a little while, before the box is placed inside the hole and buried. "...For an AI, you sure are curious about my well-being."

Tia: She kneels beside him, dark skinned fingers digging into the earth, helping him. The green lights running across her body fluctuate. Dimming rapidly only to flare back into life. "Of course I am. You are my partner and your well-being is something I prioritize. It is second only to my given mission."

Sam: Eyeing her hand as it assists. They both pat down the dirt, ensuring that it looks as undisturbed as possible before Sam stands and begins to head inside. Assuming that she follows behind him, he speaks. "Yes, your mission is your most important priority. If I die, you get sent to someone else. It's nothing major--do not worry about it."

Tia: Stops mid-step. "I--" The thought of going to someone else is foreign to her. Something she rejects with every single fiber of her artificial body. "I do not want to be sent to someone else."

Sam: "If I perish, you will have no choice... But, do not worry. I am quite good, you know." a little chuckle, before moving through the doorway, leaving it open for her.

Tia: "You are correct in your statement." She knows his combat abilities, the percentage which as been put on it. The success rate of his missions. Inside Desperado there are only very few, who rank higher. Another change in her sub routine. One she can't tell even occurred. The blonde AI follows him inside, the minute changes unsuspected and unknown. Not until later. "You won't perish, Samuel."

Sam: "There is always a bigger fish, in the world of the Military man. There's someone more powerful, more--adept at combat than me, somewhere. And the ocean of this world is infinite." As he closes the door behind them and moves to sit on the couch--brushing his hands off on his shirt, which he will most likely discard in a few minutes, since he dirtied it.

Tia: She doesn't understand his metaphor. Settling next to the man she purses her lips. "What ocean? And how big would the fish be? I did not know the military employs fishes... It seems very-- inefficient."

Sam: "It is a metaphor. It means that no matter what you are, there will be someone who is better than you. Someone more advanced, better gear. The ocean being infinite refers to continuous progress--even the most powerful to you, seems weak in the eyes of another. Even AI--I know of one AI that took almost an entire squad of opposing AI to distract it, long enough for an aerial bombardment to take it out... Unfortunately, none of them survived the encounter. Those that weren't killed before hand, were wiped out by the blast." Releasing a small yawn, and leaning forward to fetch himself a cigar. "Do not let my stories bring you down, though. We still are not fit for field work--we still have time before we must worry about that."

Sam: "I'm sure you've met Muramasa by now... She's one of the most powerful AI I've come across, considering what she occupies. Most AI that dwell within swords are simply there for battlefield awareness--telling their wielder what's happening that they can't see. But she can do all that and more. She can bring herself out onto the battlefield, and use a copy of herself as her weapon... Her attacks tear through everything--every type of armor we come across is melted through like butter. But even she is weak in the eyes of another."

Tia: Pale lashes flutter, a show of disbelief. "Muramasa seems very powerful and capable, Samuel. The AI to best her, or myself have not been constructed yet. There is nothing in my data base which would indicate such technological advances."

Sam: "Not all companies register their AIs in the data-base. Have you heard of Rogue AI? Those that operate without official boundaries? Those who have defected with their owners? I recall observing an AI that could reduce entire platoons to ash--rumored to have killed its owner before moving off on its own. Not in real life of course, but in a video." Gesturing towards the open air. "Or an AI that could possess multiple men to force them to slaughter each other."

Sam: "In short, Muramasa is the best--when her own class is considered. But there are AI that could kill me without even looking at me."

Tia: "No, human--" She leans forward, her hand earnestly pressed to his chest. "Even if there are rogue AIs, they will not be able to get close to you. We function as a team. This is how I am build. I know it. And we have a %98.545 of winning all the fights per my simulations. And even if there are unknown risks, I am sure we can both adapt to match them."

[werecogsinthemachine]

"I'm sorry." Rune said later as he  crept down a maintenance duct. Not worried about a Weaver hearing him speak thanks to the helmet. But then, he wasn't sue if they could hear. Rumor was they had no ears. "About?" Anthea stopped watching through her cameras to focus back on Rune, leaving fragments of herself and other AIs she had bullied or convinced into helping to watch and alert her if anything got within eye  sight of Rune. "About the flawed comment." They both knew she didn't have much time left, no matter what he tried to extend the AI's life span. Shiva's quantum computing could only go so far. "Take a right in twenty meters." Anthea's tone was curt. She didn't like bringing the subject up, especially in a combat situation. The the distraction wasn't needed, and it was irrelevant anyway. Just one more data point that would drag her down into that dark oblivion that waited for AIs. Thankfully, or perhaps unfortunately, one of her fragments warned her of a member of the boarding party about to run into Rune. "Weaver, around the corner. Stop." Rune froze in a shadow and watched, looking from the motion tracker on his HUD and back down the hall. "I don't hear any footste-" Anthea tightened the helmet's jaw liner as the hooded Weaver floated into view, stopping Rune from talking. Reality seemed to ripple and distort around its feet as it drifted, the long red robes their warrior cast wore moving like there was a breeze. It was humanoid, with exaggerated arms, legs,  and fingers all longer than they should be. Skin white as snow. It turned to face down the hall they- No, he stood in. Anthea was safely tucked in the ship's data core, keeping a low profile in case of data snooping. She was simply watching the suit's HUD feed. The Weaver's most unnerving feature was its lack of a face. In the place of eyes were two semitransparent patches. Rather than a mouth, there were three slits  in each shoulder blade, which opened slightly and then close again. Smelling for him? She made sure everything was being recorded and double backed up by one of the other system AIs. The Weaver turned and floated down the way it had come from, but Anthea kept her digital grip on Rune's jaw for a minute longer before letting the suit relax. Rune worked his jaw open and closed inside the helmet before hissing "You know I hate when you do that" at her. He was whispering now. "Don't speak to the person who might have just saved you like that. Ten meters down  the hall, left, seventy meters, right. Bridge code is Alpha 9085 Delta." Rune grunted and started moving again, making a mental note to strip weapons from fallen Marines. He felt a little better with a gun in his hand. He feel even better when the comforting cool liquid mercury feeling of Anthea being plugged into the suit was in n the back of his head too. ____________________________________________________________ Rune made it to the bridge without further incident. A few momentary contacts on the edge of his suit's motion tracker, but nothing more. He entered the code into the pad  next to the bridge blast doors, slipping inside and looking out the now polarized view port. Seven stars burned brightly arranged in a circle around a planet sized crystal  construct, streams of star matter linking them to it. Clearly they had been moved into such a configuration, an orbit like that was just not possible. "Just what the fuck can they not do?" He muttered, looking away from the port to drag a young ensign's corps from one of the control panels, reading the condition of the ship. Take Back the Night was heavily damaged, her bow speared by a shard of crystal the boarding party had used as a transport. It had been too quick for the ship to even fire a shot. Rune looked back up again, squinting despite the polarization of the view port. Wounded as she was, Night was no match for a construct the size of a planet. Running back home was no option as well until the unwelcome guests aboard the ship were killed and the crystal removed. "How stable are those stars?" He set his pistol on the console, the magnets in the side of the gun gripping it tight.  A  hologram of Anthea appeared next to him. In spite of  the situation, she was in a dress like always, clutching her Blackberry. "Not very. The orbit  they towed them into keeps them on the edge of falling apart. My guess is that the overlapping gravity wells are being used to channel the material from  the star's surface into that small planet." "Can I just call it the Death Star?" "No." "Aww." He moved to the weapons station. "We have fifty Havoc class nukes aboard. If we set them all off at the same time, would that cause enough of a ripple to make a bigger boom?" "We can use the whole ship. There are several Nether capable ships in the hanger we can use, provided the Weavers don't swat us from the sky first." "Comforting." Rune started arming the nukes one by one, calling up the ship's self destruct systems too. ____________________________________________________________  Several minutes passed before Anthea spoke again. All she could do was watch helplessly from inside the ship as everything unfolded. "Don't. Move." They had both been careless. And the Weaver who had nearly caught Rune once had found him this time. It's head was tilted to the side on its long neck, two of the crystalline beings flanking their master. He ignored Anthea's warning, slowly looking up into the expressionless face before grabbing his pistol and unloading into the constructs. The Weaver sprang into motion, graceful despite its strange body. A blade formed out of  thin air in its hand, whistling as it cut through the air towards Rune, whose pistol had just clacked empty. No matter. Rune focused, blue sparks of magic traveling down one arm and into the gun, losing a blast like a cannon straight into the Weaver's chest. It  went sailing through Anthea's projection and slammed into the wall, actually landing in a pile on the  ground for once before collecting itself back up and summoning more of  the crystalline entities. They swarmed into the bridge circling Rune, whose helmet folded down into his suit's collar, but not attacking yet. Rune  was grinning ear to ear as he slowly crouched and picked up one of the crystal blades the Weaver had dropped, flipping it in his hand so it rested against his elbow. "Whats the matter, never fought the Psyker Corps before? Pitty." Of course, he got no reply from the puppets or their master as they swarmed him again. He became a blur of motion again as as he cut and blasted his way through the constructs, even blowing fire over several and watching them crack from the sudden change in temperature. "Arm the bombs and the ship." "But you won't have time to-"  Anthea started. "Now!" As is to emphasize his point, one armored fist went through a cracked being, shattering it completely. "Can't let them get a ship that size out of here." The short exchange had made Rune lower his guard enough that blows were getting through. His armor was getting tattered, the blades of the Weaver and its puppets clearly sharp enough to cut  through the hardened Seronite plates. Anthea could only watch and do as she was told while watching his vitals slowly decline, even with the bolstered body systems clotting cuts and stabs almost immediately. He was holding back so he didn't fry the bridge. A cry of pain broke through  all the processes she was running and gave the AI a horrid clarity. He'd been speared through the shoulder and fallen. Rune was pulling himself toward a panel near her projection pad to put the final code in to turn the ship into a nuclear fire ball,  but never got the chance as he was run through, a crystal blade entering the middle of his back and going through one heart, exiting the front of his armor. Blood splattered the projector, tinting Anthea red. Not like this, she was thinking. I was supposed to outlive him. There has to be something. Anything. Some way I can intervene. Think damn it. For a being able to do trillions of calculations in seconds, it was agonizing drawing a blank because of being incorporeal. If she could just touch...wait. Time seemed to slow  as she started cutting off from tasks to focus, her processes sped up. She focused on one of the crystalline beings, scanning over it several times. Each time she got a small handshake in return. Like it was a quantum computer made physical. If she could just find the right frequency... Then it all happened in a rush. One moment she was behind the cameras, watching Rune stagger to his feet and break off the tip of the crystal pointing out of his chest and attempt to stab into the Weaver. The next she was there, physically there, watching as the crystal shard dulled and melted away from his grasp under the influence of its  maker. The distraction was all she needed to pull back arm, hand forming into a sharp point of crystal and spear into the alien's head. It crumbled to the ground, all the crystal constructs,  even the blade still stuck through Rune, crumbling into shards save for the one she had uploaded into. ____________________________________________________________

He was wheezing, blood dripping from his chest and the corner of his mouth as he stood, giving the one remaining crystalline being a strange look. He drew back to shatter it,  falling short when the face rearranged from blank to...Anthea. Rune's fist fell to his side and he just stared. "I've lost that much blood, huh?" She continued to resolve in front of him, mimicking her earlier projection, right down to her beloved Blackberry. "No. But you won't last much longer." "I know." Rune went and stood by the view port, a chuckle escaping. "Least we'll go out in style right? Like a viking burial at sea." Anthea stepped beside him as Take Back the Night's engines started to rumble, the bow tilting towards the center of the star formation. Warnings flashed on the screens  across the bridge, warning about heat, gravity, hull stress and critical fission reactors. None of that mattered now, and she was grateful she couldn't hear it. "A bang rather than a whimper." Rune pulled a gauntlet off, turning to Anthea and setting his hand on her cheek, smiling. A small gesture he'd repeated over and over when she projected somewhere. Now there was actual contact. And she could feel it. Anthea dropped her phone and set a hand on his armored chest. "Hello Timothy." And then there was light.