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The small machine easily navigated around the console stands and storage boxes that lay in heaps in the vestibule. Noel tried to follow it, wondering just where it may lead. Figuring, if it was going to lead her to others for repair or even its charging station, she’d take it. Hell, some spare parts could be very useful.
Her helmet picked up a strangely excited chatter. Like she had crossed wires with another transmission. The scrapper paused as her screen showed flowing vocal sound patterns for a moment. Glancing up and around the various tubing and even decaying wall segments. She spotted other droids skittering along the inner skeleton, just visible. One was even on the ceiling repairing a camera node, it had a red eye like the earlier robot.
Noel took a picture with her helmet bot that doubled as a flashlight. The woman paused long enough to capture shots of the various structures she passed. She did have a buyer who would use images for historical reference from time to time. So even if she couldn’t haul off much, it would be something. Not nearly enough for the trouble, but something.
As she turned away, the little robot doing repairs above simply skittered away from its location. The camera focused it’s eye on and off as it pointed towards the newcomer wandering the ship’s halls.
Noel lost track of the friendly bot she had found as it scrambled around the corner of a nearby doorway. “We’re picking up on Dina Terms’ communications, I think.” She felt a chill run down her spine, but as long as they just worked on the old systems, who cared?
Passing through a no longer functioning scanner to get into the hallway, Noel is hot on the trail of her robotic guide. She kept track of a little blue dot on her display, which represented her excitable little friend.
“I guess a lot of the ship is still functioning on some level; the repair drones must still be restoring it.” She said, glancing around, the further in they went, the more active systems seemed to be.
“It seems, Noel, you have activated some form of guest protocol. I would assume that the systems were reserving power, but upon your arrival began repairing structures a biological entity would need. I urge you to move with care regardless of this.”
Noel nodded, glad to know Jeram could pick up on her. “That’s impressive, I’ll say at least. Not often you get a hello and welcome from an active system.” She chuckled at that, remembering the last semi-functional ship she boarded as she checked the dot on her screen again.
The last one, an actual motion-activated hologram, had burst out at her, causing her to be bedridden for a few days due to the shock.
As her robotic buddy led her further into the bowels of the old ship, Noel spotted old flickering lights and even the occasional glow of a working console. Rooms had their doors partially open or fully sealed, depending on the door. Noel made a mark for all of them, giving each its own symbol. Green for the console rooms and an orange or yellow check later for the ones clearly still dark or not functioning as yet.
The walls were falling apart; reflective white paint chipped away, revealing a thick gray foam underneath, from which fleshy protrusions had begun to spread. In some areas, the very wall had split open, revealing a purple growth with thick, pulsing blue veins.
Gently, she reached out, tracing a gloved hand over the surface. “Oh, I’m so sorry, old girl; fuck, that has to hurt. I can’t imagine trying to grow through your own metal plating like this,” she whispered, hearing the sorrow in her voice.
“It is tragic, isn’t it? To see such a vessel in disrepair. Clearly it had damage to areas it couldn’t fix. I’d suggest it grew out of its shell to keep some systems functioning…” Jeram says quietly, taking a few pictures automatically and letting Noel see them in the corner of her screen as thumbnails before dismissing them.
Catching a glimpse of the little bot skittering along, Noel smirks, “I wonder where he intends to lead me.” Glancing around, another large scar in the vessel’s side wall made her shudder. “If it’s started punching through the netting over its metal frame...that’s not good; she could collapse in on herself.” The alien glanced around, glancing at her tracker once more.
“It is likely that the drone would wish the black box to be recovered safely, but it is also likely it is leading you to a fault in need of repair. As the only living being on board, it only makes sense it sought you out.”
Noel hesitates a moment, glancing back to make sure her way out was clear. It was never stupid to double-check your exit route in case of an emergency. “Why wouldn’t it just repair the fault itself?”
The scrapper asked, biting her lip as she checked her map. The woman blinked and mentally marked a couple spots that were hopefully a lift deeper into the interior.
“Well, some faults are programmed to need interface permissions before adjustment. Some ships like this often require user permission, so things can be done. Though today that’s rare, and in our current ship experience, this is our first time possibly encountering it.”
Well, if what Jeram said was true, that held a whole new possibility for salvage quality. Though as Noel passed an open doorway. After a quick peek into a chamber clearly meant as a med bay, complete with a coffin-like healing bed. The woman kept going as a small blue meter perked up on her screen. Showing rising oxygen mix and atmospheric temperatures.”
“Ahh, I see Jeram was right about that greeting; the poor thing is even trying to regulate the atmosphere. If I can, maybe I can get hold of the AI unit and save it. I bet I could get a retrofitted version set up for The Keeper eventually.”
Jeram pulled up some data showing various housing units for Ai. “If you intend to do that, you’d need a more advanced housing unit…” Once finished, it drops the tiny corner pics and listings
.
“Huh, alright, well, if anything, once we determine if the little guy can lead us to Navigation or a data storage. Well, figure out the rest from there; even star charts are worth a good chunk of credit these d-.”
The woman froze as suit readings abruptly pulled up on her screen. Noel witnessed temperature, radiation, and a few other background readings spike. ” The scrapper gripped the wall and tried to wave them away after a quick read. ” What’s going on? Did we walk into a cloud of death?!” The woman grunts, trying to filter out the ungodly noises and overload.
Jeram’s soothing voice filtered in, replacing the alarms as Noel tried to catch up on the screen readings, taking several steps back for good measure.
“Are you comfortable? Is your suit insufficient in any way? Have you felt any unexpected pain from temperature fluctuations, Noel? Any itching or sudden chills to report?”
The Nindarian shook her head, surprised at the readings but seeing no signs of damage to her own suit. Usually something like this would cause a burn coloration. It wouldn’t harm the protective layers, but a thin layer of membrane was meant as a warning system. “No, I’m fine, Jeram. What’s going on? My readings are getting a little scrambled.”
“ In this area of the ship, I am reading a light power core leakage. This could prove dangerous to the user. However, it doesn’t match the readings you are receiving at the moment. Perhaps another system malfunction?”
The woman paused, tilting her head as the stagnant sterile air of her suit was replaced by something more familiar. It was pleasantly sweet. Warm. Cinnamon.
Her mouth watered a bit as she remembered the warm, tactile tingle of the hard candies on her tongue. The warmth of a stew made from whatever could be scavenged from the land and market. “Mother…” She could almost see her face, her sweet smile, caramel skin, and darker hair that wasn’t so…alien, or maybe it was alien compared to hers.
The alien woman breathes in slowly and evenly, regulating her intake when she shakes off the memory. She realized a hand had balled into a fist, gripping the front of her suit.
“Ok. Jeram ran a check for an unregistered suit breach or some kind of mess-up in my oxygen recycler,” she said, waiting for a ping back and trying to breathe slowly and evenly to lessen intake. The girl shivers, hearing her suit hiss a little as the air filter picks up some extra work.
“Scanners reveal no issues, Noel; scans of self suggest high levels of stress. I believe it is possible you are producing this scent mentally for self-comfort. However, you did also recently uplink and experience a similar brain map pattern…”
Noel shudders and nods. “I’m not crazy; she’s been gone for years, malfunctioning brain trash, I can believe.” She admits and prays maybe it is just a self-induced delusion; they were out by a few days from the closest jump station.
The Nindrian lifted a finger as if to say something; in fact, a question had been on her lips. The sound of boots scuffing on the floor nearby stole the words. Frozen, the scrapper stared, having just caught a glimpse of dark brown hair and a tan-skinned hand slip past the door frame of an open room just ahead.
( Authors Note)
Welp one to go guys! So What do you thinks happening? and what do you think about Jeram? Please comment and subscribe become part of the conversation! also yes Noel still has her helmet in story bonus image hiccup)
