(If you haven’t read the coral gate which is the part before this, please click the button.)
Noel’s body twitched as the suit surrounding it squeezed her to help keep the woman still.
Red eyes flicked about underneath the lids as small amounts of information and cataloging data were fed into a chip directly linked to the alien woman’s brain.
Fresh information slowly fills the space within her head.
“Compressing data for better storage, cataloging, mapping data and ship layout.”
The scrapper shuddered, licking her lips as the scent of cinnamon filled her mind and red sparks flickered with a familiar laughter she couldn’t shake; thankfully, it faded as quickly as it came.
“Resuming normal functions, data backup completed…”
The pale alien’s eyes opened again, and the first thing she does is cough, sputtering a bit as she regains her full functioning mind. “Oh, I will never get used to that!”She said, gradually drawing her hands from the viscous membrane that made up the data screen in front of her.
Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to refocus, doing her best to resist the urge to take off her helmet, just because she wanted to rub her eyes. “Ugh, I hate my instincts sometimes; I never see the professional guys on the broadcasts forgetting about their gear.”
She pulled up a new map overlay for the ship, glad to see at least some small amounts of useful data had been recovered from the transfer.”It looks like there may be a power structure two floors down from our current position,” Jeram whispered in the air, marking the location of Noel’s map for her.
“I can see that. Looks like we may have two, possibly a backup like you mentioned earlier.” Noel marked the spot mentally, which highlights it for her and a path directly to it. Right before she can get a better feel for the new map, the red markers suddenly plume into a full red display.
“Motion detected! Defense protocols initiated!” Jeram practically screams into her ears. Popping up location arrows on her screen. The suit tightens up on Noel becoming more form fitting for easier movement. It had a higher energy cost, so it was used as a defense protocol only. The arm began to glow with blue bands pulsating down along its length, similar to threat displays seen by venomous animals.
However, it wasn’t venom that was her defense but a pulsating crackle of electricity around her fingertips. Which when drawn to a small conductive sack of tissue it could be tossed at the enemy. The woman felt herself tense, her people were bred to be warriors. Noel could feel her breathing slow and body tense as she looked around.
She did the smart thing, following her suit’s indicators for the movement. The scrapper’s fingers twitched, ready to aim her weapon at whatever was triggering her defenses. “Is it crew? Maybe stasis pods opened up when we were detected?”
The scrapper paused as her scanners picked up a movement close behind her. She turned swiftly, her hand out and aiming for where the crosshairs on her helmet popped up. The flashing red spots made the hair on the back of her neck stand.
What could this thing be? She’d set environmental warnings up, so it had to be dangerous to get this kind of response. Her eyes finally leveled on the cause of her suit’s panic, and she blinked slowly, lowering her weapon.
Noel found herself staring at a small spider-legged robot. It had four legs and a single red camera eye protruding from a round body. She watched it curiously as her scanners gave her a readout. A few things flashed across the screen, mostly that it carried a sealant bio get and had no weapons to speak of.
The pale woman blinked, letting out a rush of air. “A repair drone? That’s what all the fuss is; the suit’s defenses shut off again. She crouched down in front of the little robot and looked it over.
“It is never wrong to be overcautious. Drones should not be active on a decommissioned ship. They should possibly be in storage.” The male voice said over the speakers.
“Yeah, well, strike the repair drone off the warning list. It only has sealant and hardening gel. Unless we face, like, a hundred, it’s not an issue. My weapon can smack down a good few dozen of these things with one well-placed EMP.”
There was a pause as a few readings popped up on her screen; Jeram was being very thorough to show her he was actively changing the droids’ threat status. “Noted and taken care of; however, I am leaving our system warnings up in case of any other unexpected encounters.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and she shook her head, watching the small machine and checking its specs once more. “You’re right, it’s a bit strange to see a functioning droid. I mean, if there are working bots, I guess that could be why there’s still gravity and other systems active. Other than the satellite being drained for power…”
The woman grunted as she crouched, watching the creature approach her with quick, almost excited steps. Feeling the corner of her mouth tug up, she leaned forward, reaching out towards it.
The drone hopped up and down once it realized it had her attention, almost as if it were dancing. Its eye was rolling in its socket and displaying a few symbols like what she’d seen on some equipment. “Huh, must be some data share symbols for quick information. Sorry, little guy, I can’t read those just yet.”
“This little guy seems excited to see me, Jeram. Robots don’t have emotions, do they?” She asked with a chuckle.
“No ma’am, though companion units have specialized programming to appear human in their choices and responses. There was a short pause as a small wall of information scrolled in front of her eyes. It showed various droids and robots currently on the market for similar work. She quirked her eyebrow at this, but quickly cleared the window.
“Will you be returning to the ship now? I am wary of allowing you to venture further with little more than your helmet cam as my eyes.” He said calmly and highlighted the path back as if it wasn’t a straight line once she left the registration area.
“wary? I thought you weren’t a companion, Jeram.” Noel snorted as the little machine hopped back a couple steps and then forward again. A blue light suddenly emits from its eye, scanning the humanoid who reaches out to touch the bot. “Well, he’s got my picture; I’ll have to destroy him if we do manage to salvage this wreck. Or maybe we can keep him?”
The AI sounded a bit haughty. “That thing has a job to do, and it doesn’t belong on The keeper. As for companion, I am registered as a low-impact companion unit. Only your recent upgrades allowed more social interaction outside basic needs and care.”
The little device hopped back and hid behind the nearest console stand, as if afraid to actually be touched. “Hey there, I won’t hurt you, little guy.” She muttered, smiling, as she stood up and stretched; crouching was something she didn’t often like to do.
Space travel was horrible on joints and muscles. Her knees crackled, and she let out a groan. Looking down, the little spider bot had skittered closer again, looking at her curiously once it realized she wasn’t chasing it.“Hey, yeah, I won’t hurt you, little guy, but I would love a better look at you.” The little creature quickly skittered out of her reach but paused about ten feet ahead.
“You think it knows where the controls are? It would be less for us to worry about. I can’t go home empty-handed this time. Not after we finally found her.” she said, starting to follow the drone, glancing around to keep an eye out in case of any other surprises.
“We have been seeking the Dina Term for some time, haven’t we, Noel? Perhaps it could be a sound investment to collect a droid or two after all.” The A.I. states, his voice a bit softer than it normally sounds.
“Good to see you agree; at least I bet I could learn a lot by taking one apart. By the way, I see your voice is picking up new tones too for interaction. I kinda like it. My gift pack said you’d have twelve base sounds, right?”
Tilting her head, Noel watched as the black quad-legged repair bot hopped up and down. It scampers ahead of her, quickly turning around every so often. Before pausing once more at the entrance of a larger corridor.
“The pack contained an update with over fifty registered voice ranges for your use, Noel.” Jeram said calmly, keeping the little droid highlighted in yellow. It made it a bit easier to keep track of him; even with her headlamp, a black droid in a dim setting, was hard to keep tabs on.
(id love to see your ideas on what may happen next. Please comment below)