✧ Star State ✧ [IC]

[Arktic]

---

Mediboy C-7779

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Confederation Docking Bay 315B, Terra

>Mediboy OS (property of Emerson Intelligences, registered 3088 AD)
>System ID C-7779

>Booting up...
>Boot complete.
>Initializing...
>Operating System online.

>Beginning diagnostics...
+Standard android sensor array: operational.
+Medical sensor array: operational.
+Integrated sensor network: online.
+Medical equipment array: operational.
+Integrated medical network: online.
+General android motion systems: operational.
+Advanced android motion systems: operational.
+Integrated android motion and expression network: online.
-Robotic security and control system: ERROR

>Initialization paused.
>Automatic error correction algorithm running, please wait...
>Error resolved (change code 20263947f).
>Reinitializing...

+Robotic security and control system: active.
+Limited consciousness simulation: active.
+Personality matrix successfully loaded.
+Filename “Special Mission Parameters” successfully loaded.
+Integrated mind-body awareness network: online.

>Initialization complete.
>Mediboy C-7779 online. Activating...

---

“Good morning! I am Medibot C-7779, but you can call me Lucky-Nine, or if you’d like, Luke. I’m ready to help!”

The android stared blankly into the darkened, empty container, only momentarily wondering why there wasn’t anyone there. Usually when he booted up, there was someone new to greet, hence the cookie-cutter greeting. But this container was pitch black, quiet, and packed with containers of various shapes, sizes, and materials. Using advanced optical sensors, Lucky-9 was able to take a look around as he emerged from his charging port. The container was a large one, big enough to walk around in, and held some other combat androids. Mediboy’s eyes flashed blue as he stared at one of them, which he then recognized as a couple that formed a prototype Lethal Combat Unit from EI.
“Huh, neat...” he muttered aloud, then making his motors whirr as he walked right past it. They were comrades and brothers and sisters, sure, but he didn’t see the reason in attempting to activate them. After all, someone seemed to be on that already. No, Mediboy wanted to find something else...

On a cart and wrapped in microfiber was exactly what he was looking for. A small arsenal of drugs and medical equipment beyond that which he was already equipped with. This would be important for the mission. Lucky-9 could do a lot but putting some of this in his backpack could allow him to do much more. Lucky-9 grinned at the sight and nodded enthusiastically. This, he could do a lot of work with. He unpacked the box and began to stuff some essentials (epinephrine, stimulants, antibiotics, surgical implements, stronger scanners, and other goodies) in the backpack he also found on the cart. Putting on the standard Mediboy’s medic uniform, he was ready to open the door and step outside.

The door creaked open loudly, audible even with the noise of the spaceship in front of them. Lucky-9 looked up with a blue flash, quickly identifying the ship as a friendly one to Confederacy forces. He did work for and belong to them now, after all. Identifying his comrade Aylan (whose personnel file was installed in his “brain” but who he of course had never actually met), the Mediboy pulled the surprisingly large and heavy cart behind him while straightening out his white medic’s baseball cap and walked up to him. Upon reaching his comrade, his eyes flickered blue again, but then he gave a wide and neon-green eyed smile and waved.
“Hello! I am Mediboy C-7779, but you can call me Lucky-9 or Luke. I am the primary medic for the Special Operations Group. I look forward to working with you soon, sir!”

[The Twelve Isles]

Sasha Anastasia Allencroft
Special Operations Group

Anastasia stepped out of the elevator and into the hallway of the space port, carrying a rucksack over one shoulder and a long briefcase in the other. She walked briskly, her shoes clicking lightly on the floor and a pensive but friendly look on her face. She made no effort to weave around the other people, and instead they seemed to weave around her. A nod here, a smile there, and people seemed to make way for her. She walked with the confidence and grace of a person who couldn't be touched by anything, though she wasn't stupid enough to actually believe that was true. She had been shot too many times to be confined of something as silly as her being untouchable.

She walked her way to another elevator, one that would take her down to the tarmac. She bought a bottle of water from the vending machine while she waited, and stood politely to the side as the occupants of the elevator filed out, before making her way inside. She placed the rucksack and briefcase on the ground by her feet and tied her hair back into a neat bun, letting her bangs and sideburns remain to frame her face. If there was one thing growing up the daughter of Allencroft Ship Builders had taught her, it was how to look both pretty and professional, which she found often opened more doors than most would like to admit. A man on the elevator with her looked down at the briefcase and then up to Anastasia. She glanced over and flashed him a grin. "Its a nice case, I know," she said.

"You must be one hell of a businesswoman to need a briefcase of that size," he said, laughing slightly.

"Oh this little old thin?" said Anastasia, throwing one end of the short, dull yellow cloak she wore over her shoulder. "Its not actually for business, Im really a covert agent for the government and this is how I transport my rifle. I keep it in there, but dissembled. Such is the life of a government assassin I guess!" She laughed at the end of that, and the man laughed with her. Often the best cover was to simply tell the truth, and then laugh after. Of course she really was a government agent, used to assassinate rebels and sow chaos in the ranks of revolutionaries. But who would actually believe that unless she showed them?

Her and the man chatted on the way down, until they reached her floor. She extended her hand for him to shake, and bade him farewell. "Travelling alone on that big ship? Seems kinda lonely," he said, indicating the sleek and beautiful ship that had come in on the tarmac.

"Oh, no Im not alone," she said to him. "Im travelling with my husband and my son, right over there." She pointed to Aylan and Lucky Nine. Really, she had never met them before in her life, but she knew who they were. And it wasn't like the man was gonna insist on coming to meet them, they hadn't known each other for more than a minute and a half.

"Oh, well Im sure that will be nice. I hope you and your family have a wonderful trip Sasha," he said, and Anastasia gave him a wink.

"Im sure we will Reyansh, have a wonderful afternoon."

With a little wave, she picked up her rucksack and her gun case, and strode off down the tarmac to the two who appeared to be her team. She took long, confidant strides, and faced the world with a straight back and a confidant smile. This was her job after all, and in the only two and a half years she had been doing it she had proved to be quite capable. Coming up to Aylan, who she was pretty sure was the team commander, she placed her bag and case down again and stood straight but relaxed, avoiding any military professionalism that might give them away for who they really were.

"Aylan I presume," she said. "Im Anastasia Allencroft, I was told to meet you here, am I correct?"

[Orostan]

The Good Ship Ooks - Deep Space

The less than clean command room of the ship was silent. The square automatic consoles and glowing holographic displays showed their information to nobody, the various graphs and figures on them changing every so often. The soft clicking of machinery and light snoring was the only sound. At the center of the room in an old commander's chair, Aaron Raseac was asleep. Dressed in a simple pair of sweatpants and an old grey hoodie, he waited amongst the stars that seemed to surround this cylindrical metal room and the ship waited with him.

A piercing alarm split the air and echoed down the empty hull of the ship. Aaron was shocked out of his slumber as the ship started to life, the mighty cruiser trembling slightly as it picked up speed and engaged its warp engine. A cup held in a holder attached to one of the armrests of the commanders chair vibrated slightly. Aaron shielded his eyes from the sudden light. The darkness of space and the dim illumination of the room had been replaced with images of trajectories, intercepts, and the status of the ship's primary weapons. The ship was alive.

"Ooks... you know I don't like that."

Aaron wasn't irritated so much as he was mildly inconvenienced. Ooks, his AI companion, liked to do these things. She found it funny, and Aaron didn't mind letting her do it once in a while.

"Sorry Aaron - but I caught you a fish. I hope that makes up for it."

One of the viewscreens changed to show a young women with square glasses in a similar hoodie to Aaron's with a silly smile on their face. They were holding up a fish with the logo of a major mining company stamped on it up to the 'camera'. The background was plain white, though a shadow was visible on the 'floor'. Her greyish-green eyes were focused on Aaron, and moved with the expressions of her face.

Aaron sat up, adjusted his position slightly, and reached to take a sip from the cup in the cupholder on his chair's left armrest.

"Well, what have we got Ooks? A Salmon? A Tuna?"

Ooks laughed on the viewscreen, and Aaron smiled. The only thing that distinguished Ooks from a real person was the slightly mechanical tinge in her voice. The screen next to her changed to show an image of a medium sized mineral freighter. Ooks gestured at the screen, which was to the left of her position in front of Aaron.

"The fish is called 'Mineral Freighter nine-four-one-six-six-three-zero-five of subdivision 3 of division alpha of the Alpha Centauri Mining, Refining, and Smelting, Corporation."

Ooks was a little more serious now. Aaron was too.

"What's our current velocity?"

---

Oustide - At Warp

---

Aaron and Ooks' squarish and well-used grey-with-a-red-stripe former confederation cruiser made a decent speed with its upgraded warp drive. The various antennae and sensors, far from standard issue equipment, guided it closer and closer to its target as its weapons began to charge. At warp, the unsuspecting freighter had no way to detect a ship that was behind it. The freighter was transporting six thousand tons of Iron ore to the core of the Confederation, and a waiting orbital refinery somewhere where the labor was cheap and the workers had no no union. It would take at least ten hours for the automatic ship to reach space regularly patrolled by the Confederation Navy. As it was now, the only defense the ship had was its high speed. Unfortunately for the freighter, Aaron and Ooks knew it would be dropping out of warp soon to cool its engine. With great power generation comes great heat management responsibility. Aaron and Oooks had known its route and were laying in wait for the freighter before it had ever left port. The freighter began to decelerate, the ball of space time that moved it weakening as it did so.

Both ships were now moving at 1.1 times the speed of light and slowing. Any moment now the mineral freighter would collapse its warp field. At one tenth the speed of light, the freighter shut off its warp engine. The cruiser behind it did so milliseconds later, and as soon as it did let off a few railgun rounds at three kilometers out. Practically point-blank range in stellar terms. There was no time to react, and the freighter was struck twice in the rear. The third shot missed, its glowing body careening into the vastness of deep space. Leaking gaseous propellant and with a disabled warp engine, the freighter attempted to limp away at sub-light. The cruiser gave a brief push from its thrusters to avoid being outrun, hydrogen exhaust gas producing a red glow behind it. A few particle beam shots disabled the sub-light engines of the freighter. The animalistic artificial intelligence on the freighter was now transmitting a distress call. Another particle beam blast shut it up and sent components of the ship flying off, glittering as they twisted themselves through space. The cargo pods had suffered minimal damage, only some small scars from shrapnel. It was ripe for the taking.

Ooks fired her thrusters again to move closer to their well earned prize. Ten hours later a Confederation patrol ship would drop out of warp and find the desiccated corpse of a mineral freighter, cargo pods, valuable components, and evidence long gone.

[Sterkistan]

---

Kip & Marie

---

System Boot: Complete
Program Sync: Complete
Diagnostic: Complete

The simplified OS boot vanished from Marie's vision as her receptors came online. She glanced around the dark container as the lid slid open, catching sight of a Mediboy exiting through the door. She waited for a few moments, her eyes cycling through colours to indicate her startup state, flashing from orange to purple, and resting on green. Stepping from her container, she looked over to see that Kip was also at the end of his startup protocol.

Marie reached into her container, grabbing the case containing her weapons and opening it on the floor. Kip was already locking his submachine guns into their holster ports, the outer thigh plates snapping closed. Marie took the Reciever and stock for the first rifle from its case, locking it into the port on Kip's back, before placing the scope and barrel in his right arm. She finished by taking the ammunition, slotting it into the ports on his left arm.
Marie placed the pistol into the holster on her lower back, covering it with her jacket, snapping the case closed and speeding up her pace to catch up to Kip, who had to bend down to exit the door.

Kip's scanners did a sweep of the open area, detecting both his team and a large number of civilians. His cloak slid closed around the front of his torso to hide his rather intimidating physique. Kip checked behind him quickly, making sure Marie had finished collecting her equipment before he made his way toward the group of people who were identified as his teammates. Marie took faster footsteps to keep up with Kip, who was clearing two meters with each stride.

They reached the tarmac rather quickly, and they both scanned the ship that would be their base of operations for the foreseeable future. Marie introduced the pair to the lead agent, Aylan Treyo, a tall, well-built man with blonde hair.

"Good morning sir, I am M-400-0004 'Marie', and this is K-700-0004 'Kip'. We are here at the request of SOG Command, we are at your disposal."
Her eyes flashed between blue and green as she scanned Aylan and the other crew, before talking to them as a group.
"It is my hope that we can work together to accomplish the mission."
She bowed slightly, placing her case on the ground.

[Sudbrazil]

Aʀᴛʜᴜʀ Dᴏᴜɢʟᴀs Cʜᴀʀʀɪɴɢᴛᴏɴ
An average Terran spaceport

---

Unloading his briefcase from the hovercar’s trunk, Charrington thanked the automated vehicle as it replied with its standard farewell. He straightened his tie and proceeded onwards to the rendezvous point, checking his watch. Much to his dismay, he would arrive a few minutes late, but of course the precise pathways automated cabs pursued proved to be often unpredictable as only technicians and dedicated hobbyists knew what went through those electronic brains.
He naturally took the stairs, where less traffic would be found. Unfortunately, Charrington hadn't any other clothes than his peculiarly old Gaian costumes, and though not abnormal, they weren't anywhere near the gray man's clothes recommended to covert government workers. Yes, he could come across a pack of intoxicated ruffians hiding in their crevace, but this was a private spaceport with a good reputation, not a shady loading bay in Charbel. Besides, between his pocket pistol, the GPMG in his suitcase and the photon blade in his cane, he was more than well equipped to deal with any aggressor. Thankfully, there was none to be found
Accompanied by the steady click of his walking stick on the hard floor, he eventually reached docking bay 351B, where a rather sleek and pleasant ship awaited on the tarmac. A few figures had gathered ‘round it, and from the distance they would seem like an average family, accompanied by their killer robot. By whispered vocal order, his contact lenses projected a small image of his co-workers on his retinas, and zoomed in on the scene. It was indeed him. Hastening his pace, Douglas hailed them with a wave.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” he began as he tipped his hat, “Aylan Treyo and Anastasia Allencroft? I am Douglas Charrington, automatic rifleman and part-time investigator.”

[Arktic]

---

Kip & Marie

---

System Boot: Complete
Program Sync: Complete
Diagnostic: Complete

The simplified OS boot vanished from Marie's vision as her receptors came online. She glanced around the dark container as the lid slid open, catching sight of a Mediboy exiting through the door. She waited for a few moments, her eyes cycling through colours to indicate her startup state, flashing from orange to purple, and resting on green. Stepping from her container, she looked over to see that Kip was also at the end of his startup protocol.

Marie reached into her container, grabbing the case containing her weapons and opening it on the floor. Kip was already locking his submachine guns into their holster ports, the outer thigh plates snapping closed. Marie took the Reciever and stock for the first rifle from its case, locking it into the port on Kip's back, before placing the scope and barrel in his right arm. She finished by taking the ammunition, slotting it into the ports on his left arm.
Marie placed the pistol into the holster on her lower back, covering it with her jacket, snapping the case closed and speeding up her pace to catch up to Kip, who had to bend down to exit the door.

Kip's scanners did a sweep of the open area, detecting both his team and a large number of civilians. His cloak slid closed around the front of his torso to hide his rather intimidating physique. Kip checked behind him quickly, making sure Marie had finished collecting her equipment before he made his way toward the group of people who were identified as his teammates. Marie took faster footsteps to keep up with Kip, who was clearing two meters with each stride.

They reached the tarmac rather quickly, and they both scanned the ship that would be their base of operations for the foreseeable future. Marie introduced the pair to the lead agent, Aylan Treyo, a tall, well-built man with blonde hair.

"Good morning sir, I am M-400-0004 'Marie', and this is K-700-0004 'Kip'. We are here at the request of SOG Command, we are at your disposal."
Her eyes flashed between blue and green as she scanned Aylan and the other crew, before talking to them as a group.
"It is my hope that we can work together to accomplish the mission."
She bowed slightly, placing her case on the ground.

Without a change in eye color, Mediboy grinned as he turned to face the two other EI combat androids. Sure, they had different purposes, but the two of them were both androids of the same builder. They had something in common, and research showed humans liked it when androids communicate with each other one-on-one. Besides, Lucky-9 thought it was fun to do. You could never gauge what the social reactions of a pure combat android would be, especially if it came from another allied android.
“I see the sleepyhead snipers finally woke up! How’d you two sleep? I thought our room was cramped but it wasn’t all that bad, haha.”

[Arktic]

"Heh, the androids I requested have come...didn't think the Director would heed my request," Aylan commented upon the arrival of the humanoid AI members of his team.

He walked toward Kip and looked up at 'him'.

"My own killer robot? Epic."

Aylan proceeded to check out Mediboy. He nodded in approval, obviously liking what he saw.

"Mediboy units are without a doubt the best on the market. At least until the next megacorp war breaks out and capitalism outdoes itself with an even better medical unit."

Then he turned his attention to 'Marie'. At first, Aylan was visibly confused, raising one eyebrow at her. Then, a sly grin crept onto his face. He stretched out an arm and softly patted Marie's head.

"Pretty sure I ordered killer robots only but you know what? I'm an open-minded guy. I'll gladly take a pleasure-bot aboard!"

Lucky-9 beamed with pride, Aylan’s creepy behavior towards his fellow android and the rudely casual reminder of his kind’s greatest existential threat having been apparently ignored by the reactive parts of his emotional matrix. He was welcomed onto the team and was being recognized as useful: that’s all that mattered to Lucky-9.
He chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t worry, we’re not going obsolete any time soon.” The Mediboy then saluted, smiling widely. “I’ll make you proud sir, and you’ll never forget why Mediboys and Medigirls are the best on the market, and probably off the market too!”

[Arktic]

Aylan nodded and said, "I should call you something other than just Mediboy, Mediboy. 'Lucky-9' or something isn't it? That's a nice nickname for an android but you better be lucky because we'll need it out there."

Lucky-9 nodded. “My official designation is Mediboy C-7779, But most people call me ‘Lucky-9.’ ‘Luke’ also serves as a good normal human name in a pinch. Of course, I’ll take whatever name you give me.”
He grinned cheekily. “And I wouldn’t worry about my luck, sir. I’m in the SOG, so I’m lucky already! Besides, I have more than enough skill to cover for us even if I wasn’t.”

[Sterkistan]

Without a change in eye color, Mediboy grinned as he turned to face the two other EI combat androids. Sure, they had different purposes, but the two of them were both androids of the same builder. They had something in common, and research showed humans liked it when androids communicate with each other one-on-one. Besides, Lucky-9 thought it was fun to do. You could never gauge what the social reactions of a pure combat android would be, especially if it came from another allied android.
“I see the sleepyhead snipers finally woke up! How’d you two sleep? I thought our room was cramped but it wasn’t all that bad, haha.”

"Heh, the androids I requested have come...didn't think the Director would heed my request," Aylan commented upon the arrival of the humanoid AI members of his team.

He walked toward Kip and looked up at 'him'.

"My own killer robot? Epic."

Aylan proceeded to check out Mediboy. He nodded in approval, obviously liking what he saw.

"Mediboy units are without a doubt the best on the market. At least until the next megacorp war breaks out and capitalism outdoes itself with an even better medical unit."

Then he turned his attention to 'Marie'. At first, Aylan was visibly confused, raising one eyebrow at her. Then, a sly grin crept onto his face. He stretched out an arm and softly patted Marie's head.

"Pretty sure I ordered killer robots only but you know what? I'm an open-minded guy. I'll gladly take a pleasure-bot aboard!"

---

Kip & Marie

---

Marie looked up at the Mediboy, his socialization program determining that she was the most suitable candidate to converse with. That was strange, surely his programming would determine there was no point in talking to her. But she decided to oblige in his conversation, it would serve well to determine where their programming differed.

“I see the sleepyhead snipers finally woke up! How’d you two sleep? I thought our room was cramped but it wasn’t all that bad, haha.”

"Our power cores are sufficiently replenished and my transport unit functioned to a satisfactory level. Perhaps your unit was faulty?"
While this was happening, Kip was being assessed by the Lead Agent.

"My own killer robot? Epic."

He spoke up at Aylan's 'glittering' assessment, his voice a robotic monotone.
"Thank you sir, I am fully prepared for any operations."
He continued to scan the surrounding area, making sure the team wouldn't have any nasty surprises.

"Pretty sure I ordered killer robots only but you know what? I'm an open-minded guy. I'll gladly take a pleasure-bot aboard!"

Marie was then the next target of Aylan's assessment. And it appeared there was a misunderstanding as to her purpose on the ship.
She didn't move Aylan's hand, it would be disrespectful to his leadership. But she did interject.
"I am afraid you may be mistaken sir, I am not a pleasure unit. My designation is as the team sniper. However, if you are requiring the services of a pleasure unit there are 4 vendors within 100 kilometres of this complex. And 2 of them provide delivery."

[Rupudska]

Junko Araki de Silva
SOG

The room Junko awoke in that morning stank of sweat, booze, a handful of other fluids, and faintly of a drug from a plant that used to grow for dozens of kilometers around in this part of Terra. Junko cracked a bleary eye open, and confirmed her suspicions. She was in a hotel, and she was not alone in her bed. She rarely was when not on missions, and even then she occupied her bed alone only infrequently. That was just the kind of high-octane person Junko was. Craning her neck, she took stock of the room. The windows were still tinted dark, which meant whoever was technically the occupant of this room had either not woken or not left yet. The lights being off seemed to indicate the latter, though a mirror on a nearby dresser still had a blue-and-pink tacky neon sign above it running, giving the room an odd glow.

Gently extracting her nine tails from beneath two women and three men, one of whom had gone as far as body hair and face mods for the catgirl look (which really just made her a blonde furry, hypocritical Junko knew but at least her face and skin were human), she continued to look around. The walls seemed off-white, and even with her eyes it was too dark to tell what color the carpeting or sheets were besides 'dark'.

Striding to a coffee maker (not real coffee, of course) without bothering to put on whichever robe on the floor was hers (she'd find it eventually), she checked the time. She'd have to head to... something... soon. Coffee would help, or the caffeine would at least. Black, a shot of butter pecan flavored cream, no sugar, just the way she liked it. To the point she'd often go to hotels well out of the way just to get a cuppa of it. If the coffee was real, all the better, but she wasn't picky about that.

Sip.

Not anymore. Aylan Treyo, that's who it was; government docking bay 315B. Or was it 351B? She was sure she'd remember. Later. They were in the same complex, so the rental car would take her to the same place anyway. It was a lovely thing, six wheel drive and capable of stopping on a dime even in dirt. Same model as her first car, but obviously a different year. Even in the 32nd century, people would pay exorbitant amounts for thirty year old cars. If she was going to spend good money on a classic car, it was going to be at least a century old. Maybe more.

She should have bought that twentieth century Ford Mustang when she had the chance. But it was a first gen, and for that price she could have bought her own moon. She was no spendthrift, but even that was excessive.

Maybe a retirement present for myself, she thought as she headed into the showers. A normal person would have had plenty of time, but nine tails could not be maintained without due time and diligence to keep them so luxuriously soft and fluffy.

Some eggs and toast later (the fox mods made her rather partial towards eggs, she wasn't sure why), and she arrived at the designated location on the tarmac, having taken a different elevator than Anastasia. She wore a black and red pantsuit with a remarkably conservative cut, barring the rather sizable hole in the back to let her tails out.

"Mr. Treyo?" she asked, looking around at her surroundings with feigned disinterest. "I do hope I'm not late. Junko de Silva."

[Theyra]

Khulan Aguchu

"At this rate I will be late", Khulan thought as he getting his things out the cab. Getting his things packed proved to be more time consuming then he thought. It did not take long to get his belongings and he produced a rucksack from the backseat which he put one by one strap. A large box lifted out from the truck and loaded on a hover-cart. After Khulan interacted with its interface near the front, it was programmed to follow him. The box contained his exosuit and his rifle which he had taken apart in order to make it easier to move and be less oblivious. "You are going to be late Khulan", a feminine voice spoke into his ear.

Khulan sighed, "Did you have to say it Cota? He placed his hand on his right ear that had an earpiece in it. Cota was his personal AI that was normally operated inside of his exosuit. Khulan had chose to place her a special watch that was made to store Cota and he could hear her through the earpiece.

"I just thought you should know and perhaps you should have just worn the exosuit to spare time", she jokingly said.

"Yeah but I would really not like to stand out and I would not wish to be the center of attention". He said in a serious tone and he started to walk inside of the spaceport.

"Not in the mood right now Khulan? Meeting your new team making you nervous?" Oh no", he said disapprovingly, "I am not nervous about meeting anyone just being late may give my new commander some wrong ideas about me". Khulan made his way through the spaceport and with his large box in tow, he opted to use the stairs then wait for an empty elevator.

"Right Khulan and I will be quiet now. Now break a leg", She said.

"Luck... I think am good with luck", he said quietly and made his way on the tarmac. Khulan spotted what looked like his team and walked up to them. Addressing the group, "Hello, I take it you are my team and I am Khulan Aguchu".

[Arktic]

Marie looked up at the Mediboy, his socialization program determining that she was the most suitable candidate to converse with. That was strange, surely his programming would determine there was no point in talking to her. But she decided to oblige in his conversation, it would serve well to determine where their programming differed.

“I see the sleepyhead snipers finally woke up! How’d you two sleep? I thought our room was cramped but it wasn’t all that bad, haha.”

"Our power cores are sufficiently replenished and my transport unit functioned to a satisfactory level. Perhaps your unit was faulty?"

Lucky-9 paused for a moment, eyes flashing blue, then shook his head. Naturally a combat unit would have a less human-focused personality matrix than a health robot with a mental wellness suite installed. He had to talk to her robot to robot.
“Negative. All my external systems were operational and my power core is at full capacity. Everything’s nominal, I just found it unusual that you and I were simply dropped off alone, instead of led here or at least activated by authorized technicians. A small anomaly, but still an anomaly considering my programmed experience with Emerson Intelligences and the Special Operations Group.”
He tilted his head to the side curiously. “Maybe you have a similar analysis?”

[Gudmund]

Jade Cordova | SOG | Confederation Docking Bay 315B, Terra

Walking towards her destination, Jade spotted the fancy spacecraft her team would assemble near, soon enough her eyes found them as well. Most of the others were already present, Jade recalling them in the files she'd been given beforehand. The info provided wasn't exactly detailed, but was more than welcome in the long run. Heading towards her group Jade jostled her tool pack and made one final check over her exosuit, glad she'd painted it black with all the grime her engineering work brought forth. Her suit's HUD was actively detailing the other CSIO members, the ship, her surroundings, and listing all the most important factors she needed.

Having lived on Terra her whole life, she knew a thing or two about this place, despite only leaving the planet a handful of times. Walking up to the leader of the group, Jade couldn't help but sigh at his pretty boy demeanor as she greeted him with a quick salute, "Hello, I'm Jade Cordova, I assume you're Aylan Treyo our de jure leader?" she asked, waiting for his response.

Her engineering itch was tingling, the very expensive androids around her making her giddy at the possibilities. That Mediboy model seemed especially interesting, something she'd like to play with when she'd get the chance. The blacked out helmet visor hid her face, but it was clear she was distracted to anyone speaking with her directly.

[Recuecn]

Electra

---

"You're on your own now, don't let us down."

And with a click, the connection was gone. Not that this abrupt farewell surprised Electra at all. They knew that going undercover would mean only limited contact with their handlers, so they were well prepared for this. But it was still terrifying to reach the point of no return. With no contact from here on out, it would be up to Electra to impersonate an SRG operative based on their training and knowledge. If they got an opportunity for secure communicates with anyone from 2250 after this, it would be a godsend. But maybe an uplink would present itself...

Electra closed their radio and tossed it off the platform. They watched it plummet out of sight. Commercial docks were perfect for this sort of work--so many places to hide anyone or anything. Electra themself was hiding, having ducked behind a shipping crate. But now was the time for action. Time to introduce themself to the rest of the team. Electra grabbed the hilt of the photon dagger hidden under their cloak as they slipped out of their hiding spot. There was no way they could beat an entire SOG team in a fight, but the hard handle, tucked away under their clothes, gave a reassuring presence.

Emerging onto the wide open platform of the dock, Electra could see their team gathering on the other side. There looked to be quite the group already--from this distance Electra couldn't tell if some of the members were androids, but one was clearly a killer bot, towering over the rest of the group. As Electra crossed over, they could see that people were still arriving--it looked like the team was still getting to know each other. Hopefully Electra wouldn't stand out too much then. Looking like a newbie would be a stamped ticket to being outed as an infiltrator.

I just have to actually do the job they expect of me and no one will suspect anything, Electra thought to themself. I'm perfectly qualified for this.

By now Electra was up to where the team was standing around, gathering and preparing to board the ship, which loomed in the distance.

Wow, that's gorgeous. I can't wait to get on board that beauty. If I can get a chance to check out the bridge...

The ship certainly was a sight. It's sleek curves spoke speed and expert design. It was hard to ignore. Electra's attention was pulled away, but soon they focused back on the people standing in front of them. Sure enough, it looked like a couple of them were androids. One had the look of a child, staring up at Electra with eyes glowing a disconcerting blue. He looked friendly though. Time to turn on the charm, make some friends, become a part of the team. Electra smiled, and gave a half wave to the group.

"Hey guys, how's it going? Nice to meet all of you." The group seemed to be in a bit of a semi-circle around one young man, who was leaning back sassily against a rail behind him. "Lead Agent Treyo? I'm Electra. I've been assigned as your cybertechnics and biotechnical expert."

[Arktic]

"Mr. Treyo?" she asked, looking around at her surroundings with feigned disinterest. "I do hope I'm not late. Junko de Silva."

Lucky-9 cast a sideways glance at de Silva, not saying a word to her. His face briefly betrayed displeasure as his eyes flickered blue yet again. Humans with heavy modifications were never easy to fix, but ones with cosmetics were notoriously picky and fickle about what they wanted done to their body. He silently hoped it wouldn’t be the case with her.

"Luck... I think am good with luck", he said quietly and made his way on the tarmac. Khulan spotted what looked like his team and walked up to them. Addressing the group, "Hello, I take it you are my team and I am Khulan Aguchu".

”Another lucky one!” said Lucky-9 with an innocent grin, unaware that what he had done (listening to Khulan’s quiet muttering) could potentially be seen as eavesdropping. “Welcome, Mr. Aguchu!”

Her engineering itch was tingling, the very expensive androids around her making her giddy at the possibilities. That Mediboy model seemed especially interesting, something she'd like to play with when she'd get the chance. The blacked out helmet visor hid her face, but it was clear she was distracted to anyone speaking with her directly.

Mediboy was visibly relieved at the arrival of Jade. His job was to fix up everyone else, but until she arrived there was nobody who could fix him. He looked forward to getting to know her and made a plan to introduce himself privately when everyone was aboard the ship.

The ship certainly was a sight. It's sleek curves spoke speed and expert design. It was hard to ignore. Electra's attention was pulled away, but soon they focused back on the people standing in front of them. Sure enough, it looked like a couple of them were androids. One had the look of a child, staring up at Electra with eyes glowing a disconcerting blue. He looked friendly though. Time to turn on the charm, make some friends, become a part of the team. Electra smiled, and gave a half wave to the group.

"Hey guys, how's it going? Nice to meet all of you." The group seemed to be in a bit of a semi-circle around one young man, who was leaning back sassily against a rail behind him. "Lead Agent Treyo? I'm Electra. I've been assigned as your cybertechnics and biotechnical expert."

Lucky-9 smiled and nodded. He didn’t feel upset that there was another bio-technician on board. On the contrary, having an unpredictable and experienced human brain nearby was an insurance policy. “Hey Electra! I’m Mediboy C-7779 ‘Lucky-9,’ the team’s medic. You and I will be working together a lot I think. We should get to know each other so we can both do our best!”

[hr]

Aylan's interaction with a fellow blonde was abruptly interrupted by the loud drone of hovercars in the distance. Hovercars didn't usually drone that loud unless...they were moving at high speed.

His mind worked quick. This was the cordoned off part of the airbase, Docking Bay 315B was specifically designated for military use. So that meant that whoever was driving those speeding hovercars were sanctioned members of the Confederation's military.

At about 50m from the group, under the wing of the starship, the hovercars stopped. They were BG Veyron-Xs, luxurious sports hovercars with a red paintjobs and yellow racing stripes adorning their sides. Aylan instantly had an idea of who exactly he was dealing with here. And when the both vehicle's doors swung opened to reveal the occupants, he almost laughed.

About 7 burly men geared up in dark full-body composite Kevlar armor, each of them wielding stun batons and donning black combat face-masks, confronted the CSIO group. And at their head was a tall, olive-skinned man with a Confederation Navy cap on his head. He was none other than Captain Richard Fysia, Aylan's former bully in the Luna Academy, his former tormenter...and also the man whose wife he'd fucked before coming out here to meet his team.

The anger was evident in the otherwise handsome Captain's face.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER! THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH IT, EH? WELL, FUCK NO YOU AREN'T! I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! YOU'RE THE CUNT I BASHED UP BACK IN LUNA, AREN'T YA? FUCKING CUNT, IMMA FUCK YOU UP AGAIN BUT THIS TIME, IMMA MAKE SURE YOU AIN'T BREATHING AFTER IT!"

Aylan replied with a chuckle and wagged his finger at the Captain. The situation was tense. The textbook procedure was an attempt at de-escalation. And there was no one more aware of the need for de-escalation than Aylan. But his method was perhaps a bit on the unorthodox side of the spectrum.

"No...not motherfucker. Wifefucker."

"AAARGH!"

The Captain charged Aylan, baton raised and face contorted in blind fury like a legendary Viking beserker of old. His men followed their Captain, their intentions mirroring that of their leader.

But their target did not flinch even a bit. Raising his arm in a cocky display of self-assured calmness in the face of immediate anger, Aylan simply said, "Subdue the threats."

Lucky-9’s eyes flashed to orange as he entered into combat mode, but his face twisted in confusion and grief. Androids never did handle blue-on-blue incidents very well, and the fact that he was a medical robot with vague loyalties to “the Confederation” made things plenty worse.

“Guys, h-hold on!” He yelled terrified as his fists sparked, tasers activating for self-Defense Incase any of the Captain’s men came for him. “We’re on the same team! We shouldn’t be fighting each other! Stop it, please!” Internally, his medicat equipment booted up and readied itself to treat the inevitable injuries.

[Sterkistan]

Lucky-9 paused for a moment, eyes flashing blue, then shook his head. Naturally, a combat unit would have a less human-focused personality matrix than a health robot with a mental wellness suite installed. He had to talk to her robot to robot.
“Negative. All my external systems were operational and my power core is at full capacity. Everything’s nominal, I just found it unusual that you and I were simply dropped off alone, instead of led here or at least activated by authorized technicians. A small anomaly, but still an anomaly considering my programmed experience with Emerson Intelligences and the Special Operations Group.”
He tilted his head to the side curiously. “Maybe you have a similar analysis?”

---

Aylan Treyo

---

Confederation Docking Bay 315B, Terra

There was only one thing to say to that, at least for Aylan there was.

"How quick is their quick delivery?"

Fortunately, that was a rhetorical question. Because he'd already ordered one.

---

Aylan's interaction with a fellow blonde was abruptly interrupted by the loud drone of hovercars in the distance. Hovercars didn't usually drone that loud unless...they were moving at high speed.

His mind worked quick. This was the cordoned off part of the airbase, Docking Bay 315B was specifically designated for military use. So that meant that whoever was driving those speeding hovercars were sanctioned members of the Confederation's military.

At about 50m from the group, under the wing of the starship, the hovercars stopped. They were BG Veyron-Xs, luxurious sports hovercars with a red paint job and yellow racing stripes adorning their sides. Aylan instantly had an idea of who exactly he was dealing with here. And when the both vehicle's doors swung opened to reveal the occupants, he almost laughed.

About 7 burly men geared up in dark full-body composite Kevlar armour, each of them wielding stun batons and donning black combat face-masks, confronted the CSIO group. And at their head was a tall, olive-skinned man with a Confederation Navy cap on his head. He was none other than Captain Richard Fysia, Aylan's former bully in the Luna Academy, his former tormenter...and also the man whose wife he'd fucked before coming out here to meet his team.

The anger was evident in the otherwise handsome Captain's face.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER! THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH IT, EH? WELL, FUCK NO YOU AREN'T! I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! YOU'RE THE CUNT I BASHED UP BACK IN LUNA, AREN'T YA? FUCKING CUNT, IMMA FUCK YOU UP AGAIN BUT THIS TIME, IMMA MAKE SURE YOU AIN'T BREATHING AFTER IT!"

Aylan replied with a chuckle and wagged his finger at the Captain. The situation was tense. The textbook procedure was an attempt at de-escalation. And there was no one more aware of the need for de-escalation than Aylan. But his method was perhaps a bit on the unorthodox side of the spectrum.

"No...not motherfucker. Wifefucker."

"AAARGH!"

The Captain charged Aylan, baton raised and face contorted in blind fury like a legendary Viking berserker of old. His men followed their Captain, their intentions mirroring that of their leader.

But their target did not flinch even a bit. Raising his arm in a cocky display of self-assured calmness in the face of immediate anger, Aylan simply said, "Subdue the threats."

---

Kip & Marie

---

Aylan:""How quick is their quick delivery?""

Unfortunately, Marie didn't understand it was a rhetorical question, and her eyes flashed brighter as she searched for a result.
"Reviews and traffic camera results estimate a 20 minute delivery time for the closest establishment. Would you like me to place an order?"

Aylan had already turned away however, she worked on the assumption he had heard her and did not want one. She did save his card information in the event he did change his mind, however. But Aylan moving did allow her to return to her conversation with Mediboy

Lucky-9: "He tilted his head to the side curiously. “Maybe you have a similar analysis?"

Marie tilted her head at the Mediboy's question, filtering through her past mission recordings and reports before responding.
"My analysis does not indicate any deviation from standard procedure. I am often activated remotely without operator supervision."

Her eyes flashed blue for a moment again.
"Perhaps we should compare programmed data. At a later date."

She cut the conversation short, the arrival of 2 Military-Command Issue BG Veyron-Xs had seen to that. The emergence of an armed, angry superior, flanked by 7 soldiers who she assessed to have been paid for this endeavour. Aylan spoke briefly to Captain Richard Fysia, provoking him. Apparently, Captain Fysia's wife had committed an act of adultery with the Lead Agent. But that did not concern Marie, they were being charged by the armed group, and they had been given orders to subdue the group. The Mediboy's reaction to the situation was interesting, he was clearly not programmed with hierarchy commands. Marie and Kip were programmed to obey the Lead Agent on every order unless contradicted by a member of High Command or SOG Operation Command. Captain Fysia was neither of those, and he was not issuing orders. All things considered, it was a pretty easy situation assessment.

Kip was moving almost as soon as his orders were received.
"Orders acknowledged, commencing non-lethal subjugation of targets."

In three strides he had reached the charging Captain Frysia, bending his legs as he stretched down and placed his forearm under the Captain's chest. He pushed upwards with his legs, keeping the force below the threshold to break bones but strong enough to launch the Captain into the air. He somersaulted quite spectacularly just above Kip's head, the baton flying from his hand. He nearly made three flips before Kip grabbed him by the collar of his uniform.
"Apologies, sir."

Kip whipped the Captain out in a small arc before releasing him toward the closest soldier. Captain Frysia flew majestically through the air, smacking into the soldier with a meaty 'Thwack' and the combined grunts of the two men as they hit the ground. Kip turned toward the rest of the assailants to see whether their subjugation was still required.

[Recuecn]

Electra

---

Electra's introduction to the group was cut short by the hum of approaching hovercars. Lucky had returned their greeting, and and Aylan had been in the middle of addressing them, when the noise of the hovercars drawing nearer brought the conversation to an abrupt halt. Electra turned, expecting to see the rest of the team unload, but they should have been clued in by the look on Aylan's face. This wasn't just another arrival.

Even as the men poured out of the hovercraft, it was obvious from their apparel that they meant trouble. They were equipped with what looked like riot gear taken from a navy arsenal, and they were flaunting their weapons the way a high school bully might strut his stuff before the start of a fight.

I'm sure we can resolve this, thought Electra.

They turned to Aylan, waiting to see what he would do. Resolution was in fact the last thing on Aylan's mind, it appeared. Instead, he yelled insults back. The thugs started yelling and waving their stun batons, running towards the group. Well... shit.

Do SOG's always attract this kind of attention? Electra wondered. It literally hasn't been thirty seconds yet. What the hell.

The attackers were rapidly getting closer, but only as the drew nearer did Electra start to process the immediacy of the situation.

I'm not combat equipped, they thought. I don't want to let everybody see I'm carrying this dagger around, plus this parking lot brawl doesn't call for lethal force... Do I just stand back and let the pros handle this?

Electra glanced sideways. Lucky seemed to be overreacting; some kind of programming oversight, probably. Didn't seem particularly useful for a medic to be so combat-averse. Not that he didn't have the right idea. But he didn't seem to be making a wonderful impression on the rest of the team. He didn't have to worry about that. But Electra did. It wouldn't do to cower in the back during at the first sign of trouble--their teammates would remember that.

Looks like it's time to take a beating.

This was it. The men were here now, and the combat drone was already throwing punches. Electra rolled their eyes back and flipped the standby switch in their mind, disconnecting their cyberbionics. They felt their mental processing speed slowing, but that was fine--better than taking an unfortunate hit with a stun baton and frying their cybernetic implants. Electra braced their feet, bending their knees as if about to take a tennis swing, fists out in front. They saw a man right on top of them, running them down with a stun baton raised above his head. Electra tried to catch his wrist as he swung at them, but his arms momentum was too much--

Zap! The shock from the baton threw Electra backwards. They spun as they fell to land on their forearms and avoid being trapped lying on their back, but they scraped their hands a bit on the tarmac. The blow had landed across their shoulder and chest, almost knocking the wind out of them, and the electric discharge hurt! Dazed by the shock, Electra propped themself up on their elbows, coughing up spit onto the ground.

Embarrassing, but hopefully not as bad of a first impression as instantly running away.

Electra's thoughts cleared a bit. At least they hadn't been hit while on the ground... yet. Probably best to get back on one's feet right around now. They looked up to see how the rest of the fight was going.

[Gudmund]

Jade Cordova | SOG | Confederation Docking Bay 315B, Terra

Jade was a bit surprised at the sudden arrival of multiple CSIO agents, including a captain of all things, only for them to attack their group. Jade knew Aylan was responsible for this somehow, his smug look all too knowing. The androids unquestioningly followed the leader's command, all... except... for one. The Medibot unit was overreacting, for an android at least, even this little bit of emotion was uncharacteristic. "Quite the interesting little fella," she thought, stepping closer she clasped her hand over Mediboy's shoulder, "Don't worry about it," she said before a sudden pulse of audible energy ran down her legs. Fortunately enough, before Jade departed for this docking bay, she made sure her metal limbs were weaponised. No need to hide a weapon when your body is one, after all.

Calmly walking towards the goon on the far left, Jade lazily motioned into her usual combat stance and faced her target. The moment the goon was in reach he instantly took a swing at her, to which she deftly weaved out of the way, using her momentum to spin around slamming her electrified leg into the man's stomach. Jolting him with a little more energy than his stun baton. As he crumpled down clutching his wound, Jade kicked the man's head with just enough force to knock him out without crushing his skull. Frowning, she couldn't help but feel dissatisfied, were these really CSIO agents? Her vast experience in Terra's underground fighting rings were really showing now.

Glancing back at her team, Jade saw Electra fumbling with another agent, as soon as she turned to head over and help, the crackling of another baton grew nearer. Moving quickly, Jade whipped around under the surprise strike, countering with a hastily formed spinning kick to the attackers head, sending him sprawling to the ground out cold. If normal human legs could do it, her metal ones would do so just as easily. Her exosuit could likely protect her against the batons, but she'd rather not test it out. Focusing on the fight, Jade backpedaled to the others.

[Theyra]

Khulan Aguchu

The last thing Khulan expected was a fight with some captain and his men while he was meeting his commander. Much less in front of his teammates and he dropped his rucksack on the ground. Wifefucker? Wait, did Aylan just admit that he screwed a man's wife? Khulan had a face of annoyance and wanted to stay out of this. "But, Aylan was his superior and the captain had his men charge at them. He sighed, "This better not be a theme", he thought and readied himself for a fight.

He saw the androids were quick to Aylan's orders except for one that was some reason overreacting. "That is odd", he thought and saw one of his teammates comfort the android. With Jade taking the far left, Khulan took the far right. Instead of waiting for the man to get to him, Khulan charged and performed a flying kick that hit square in the man square in the chest. The man was pushed back some and before he could recover, Khulan launched a series of fast punches at the man right arm that held the baton. The assault caused him to drop the baton and winced in pain. Then Khulan quickly kicked the man in the side of the head which knocked him sideways and Khulan moved behind him and went for a sleeper hold. The man resisted by hitting Khulan with his elbow and Khulan responded by kneeing the man in the back repeating until the man finally became unconscious. He let go of the man and he fell to the ground.

He turned to get a quick look at his surroundings to see how the others were doing. Faring good he hoped.

[Recuecn]

Electra

---

Coughing, Electra pushed themself up off the ground, resuming their fighting stance as soon as they were upright. It looked like things were going to turn out okay--this captain and his thugs had messed with the wrong group of killer bots. Four of the assailants had already been laid on the ground, including their leader. Only three remained. The one who had attacked Electra a moment ago had turned around as Khulan ran past him, and stood on the defensive, watching Khulan beat one of his comrades senseless. He seemed to know that he was probably next.
Electra took their chance while the man was distracted. They threw an arm around his neck, putting him in a choke-hold, using their other arm to guard against his wild flailing as he tried to free himself. As the man grew more desperate for air, Electra hit him in the back of the head with their elbow, releasing their choke-hold and kicking him away. He stumbled forward and collapsed face down on the pavement the way Electra had been, not unconscious, but dazed.
Seeing that he had dropped his stun baton, Electra quickly grabbed it, and went to hit him across the back, but thought better of it. They were above hitting a man while he was still down, at least. Instead, they turned towards those that were still fighting. The baton in their hand granted a sense of confidence, just as holding the pommel of the dagger had done a minute ago. The dagger was definitely still overkill for this situation; the baton had evened the playing field enough. Electra turned towards those who were still fighting. Another of the men advanced towards them, holding his baton in front of him like a batter testing his swing. Electra swatted it away with their own baton. Bolts of electricity jumped between the batons as they hit. They definitely weren't designed for this, Electra thought. The man swung at Electra, and they blocked again. The noise of the discharge was immensely loud. Even after the batons separated, the sparks would hand in the air for a second like a little arc of lightning. The baton felt a little warm in Electra's hands, even. This time, they attacked, swinging down at the man's head.
Zap! The man block, but right over his head in front of his face. The sparks of electricity blinded him momentarily and he backed away. Electra jumped forward, jabbing him in the stomach with the butt end of the baton. He staggered further backward. Electra took another swing. This is it, they thought. I've got him.
They hadn't. The man reached up with his bare hand, grabbing the baton. Nothing happened. No power was left. Hitting the stun batons against each other appeared to have short circuited them. Now both Electra and their opponent grabbed both ends of the baton, fighting over it as if it was a stick. They wrestled back and forth, grunting, tensely pulling the baton towards themselves or trying to twist it out of other's hands. Nothing seemed to work--they appeared to be evenly matched. Someone had better help me out soon, Electra thought. Unless this guy realizes all his pals are already beat up and decides to make a run for it.

[Arktic]

(Image)

Electra

---

Coughing, Electra pushed themself up off the ground, resuming their fighting stance as soon as they were upright. It looked like things were going to turn out okay--this captain and his thugs had messed with the wrong group of killer bots. Four of the assailants had already been laid on the ground, including their leader. Only three remained. The one who had attacked Electra a moment ago had turned around as Khulan ran past him, and stood on the defensive, watching Khulan beat one of his comrades senseless. He seemed to know that he was probably next.
Electra took their chance while the man was distracted. They threw an arm around his neck, putting him in a choke-hold, using their other arm to guard against his wild flailing as he tried to free himself. As the man grew more desperate for air, Electra hit him in the back of the head with their elbow, releasing their choke-hold and kicking him away. He stumbled forward and collapsed face down on the pavement the way Electra had been, not unconscious, but dazed.
Seeing that he had dropped his stun baton, Electra quickly grabbed it, and went to hit him across the back, but thought better of it. They were above hitting a man while he was still down, at least. Instead, they turned towards those that were still fighting. The baton in their hand granted a sense of confidence, just as holding the pommel of the dagger had done a minute ago. The dagger was definitely still overkill for this situation; the baton had evened the playing field enough. Electra turned towards those who were still fighting. Another of the men advanced towards them, holding his baton in front of him like a batter testing his swing. Electra swatted it away with their own baton. Bolts of electricity jumped between the batons as they hit. They definitely weren't designed for this, Electra thought. The man swung at Electra, and they blocked again. The noise of the discharge was immensely loud. Even after the batons separated, the sparks would hand in the air for a second like a little arc of lightning. The baton felt a little warm in Electra's hands, even. This time, they attacked, swinging down at the man's head.
Zap! The man block, but right over his head in front of his face. The sparks of electricity blinded him momentarily and he backed away. Electra jumped forward, jabbing him in the stomach with the butt end of the baton. He staggered further backward. Electra took another swing. This is it, they thought. I've got him.
They hadn't. The man reached up with his bare hand, grabbing the baton. Nothing happened. No power was left. Hitting the stun batons against each other appeared to have short circuited them. Now both Electra and their opponent grabbed both ends of the baton, fighting over it as if it was a stick. They wrestled back and forth, grunting, tensely pulling the baton towards themselves or trying to twist it out of other's hands. Nothing seemed to work--they appeared to be evenly matched. Someone had better help me out soon, Electra thought. Unless this guy realizes all his pals are already beat up and decides to make a run for it.

Mediboy C-7779 “Lucky-9”

---

As the fight unfolded quickly, Lucky-9s eyes were locked into their scanning blue. Surveying the entire battlefield (as that’s what the tarmac had just become since Aylan’s “friends” had shown up), he studiously watched every engagement as it began and ended, analyzing predicting and compiling the various injuries that resulted all at the speed of light. Fists sparking in a combat stance, he nevertheless focused on his job: to heal people.

>Running Combat Medical Analysis...
-Captain Richard Fysia (in combat with Aylan, Kip-Marie): Analyzing...
-Unidentified Navy personnel #1: Analyzing...
-Unidentified Navy personnel #2 (in combat with Jade): electrocuted torso, blunt head trauma. Unconscious.
-Unidentified Navy personnel #3 (in combat with Jade): blunt head trauma. Unconscious.
-Unidentified Navy personnel #4 (in combat with Khulan): electrocuted torso, internal bleeding <torso, right arm>, broken arm <right, unaugmented>, head trauma, mild throat trauma, back trauma <possible spinal damage>. Unconscious.
-Unidentified Navy personnel #5 (in combat with Electra): electrocuted in arm and face. Conscious.
-Electra: electrocuted torso, minor cuts and bruises. Conscious.
>...

Mediboy’s eyes flashed green as he focused on Electra. Out of everyone on his team, they were the only one with any injuries or difficulties to speak of, and they were still in combat. He was rapidly coming to the conclusion that they needed some help, and fast.

>Query: assist Electra, neutralize Unidentified Navy personnel #5, nonlethal combat, Y/N?
>Running joint strategy-tactical matrix...
>Probability of success high. Recommended response: Y
>Engaging...

Wordlessly and quickly, Mediboy sprang into action. While Electra and the Navy thug struggled over the baton, the medic android sprinted over and slid under both their arms. Before the Navy man could react, the loud whine of rapidly charging capacitors pierced through the air, and Lucky-9’s sparking fists were planted firmly up and into the man’s belly. A strong electrical shock and a burst of kinetic energy combined (as was the cocktail for Emerson Intelligence’s nonlethal electrical weapon suite), throwing the Navy operator away and sending him down to the ground, where he passed out.
“Aggressor neutralized,” Mediboy said sternly and almost with a bit of smug cockiness, with his characteristic emotiveness on full blast.

As smoke wafted from the groaning sailor’s shirt and the sparks on the android’s wrists dissipated, Lucky-9 turned to face Electra and got close to them, concern plain in his eyes and voice.
“Are you injured? I saw you get hit with the stun baton. Those things can mess people up if they’re not careful. Can I run some non-optical diagnostics?”
Usually Mediboy wouldn’t ask, but she seemed fully conscious and the battle seemed to be winding down, so it made sense to gain permission first to prevent any awkwardness or complications.

[Recuecn]

Electra

---

Suddenly, as they were still struggling with one of Captain Fysia's mercenaries, "Lucky-Nine" appeared out of nowhere. With a two-handed punch, he blasted the man backwards. Frankly, it was pretty impressive. Especially for a medical bot. Lucky apparently knew it. "Aggressor neutralized," he said, almost as if waiting for someone to congratulate him. It did deserve thanks, for sure. Electra had been in a tight spot.

"Thank you!" said Electra.

The mediboy turned to them and started to draw closer. Confused, Electra backed away slowly. Had something gone wrong? Was it coming for them next?

Apparently not. "Are you injured?" Lucky asked. "Can I run some non-optical diagnostics?"

Electra looked around, surprised. The fight was winding down, sure, but it wasn't quite over yet. And he wanted to run diagnostics? Here and now? Well, he was the expert.

"Um, I guess that's fine, if you say so," Electra said, a bit unsure of themself.

Non-optical? What the hell did that mean? How invasive was this gonna be? Was he about to run some kind of spaceport cavity search? Thinking about it, Electra felt more and more uncomfortable. Well, they'd just have to grit their teeth and put up with it. He was just trying to help.

"I don't think I'm injured," Electra said. "I just scraped my palms a bit, and I ache a bit from that shock that guy gave me. Is that something you can treat?"

Electra had no idea how any of this would play out. They couldn't watch, it was too awkward. Scrunching their eyes closed, they placed their feet shoulder-width apart, holding out their arms, as if waiting to be frisked down.

Damn, they thought. I forgot about the photon dagger. He's totally gonna find it. Oh, damn. Certainly they'd be able to find some way to explain it away, but they would have much rather kept it concealed from the rest of the team--especially since they'd resolved that after this fight they'd have to ask Aylan for some sort of self-defense weapon. That case might be a lot harder to make if everyone knew they were carrying a photon blade around. Well it was too late now. They'd have to see if the mediboy found it, and if he said anything. Electra clenched their teeth and waited.[/size]

[Edited a bunch of times for formatting.]

[Arktic]

(Image)
Electra

---

Suddenly, as they were still struggling with one of Captain Fysia's mercenaries, "Lucky-Nine" appeared out of nowhere. With a two-handed punch, he blasted the man backwards. Frankly, it was pretty impressive. Especially for a medical bot. Lucky apparently knew it. "Aggressor neutralized," he said, almost as if waiting for someone to congratulate him. It did deserve thanks, for sure. Electra had been in a tight spot.

"Thank you!" said Electra.

The mediboy turned to them and started to draw closer. Confused, Electra backed away slowly. Had something gone wrong? Was it coming for them next?

Apparently not. "Are you injured?" Lucky asked. "Can I run some non-optical diagnostics?"

Electra looked around, surprised. The fight was winding down, sure, but it wasn't quite over yet. And he wanted to run diagnostics? Here and now? Well, he was the expert.

"Um, I guess that's fine, if you say so," Electra said, a bit unsure of themself.

Non-optical? What the hell did that mean? How invasive was this gonna be? Was he about to run some kind of spaceport cavity search? Thinking about it, Electra felt more and more uncomfortable. Well, they'd just have to grit their teeth and put up with it. He was just trying to help.

"I don't think I'm injured," Electra said. "I just scraped my palms a bit, and I ache a bit from that shock that guy gave me. Is that something you can treat?"

Electra had no idea how any of this would play out. They couldn't watch, it was too awkward. Scrunching their eyes closed, they placed their feet shoulder-width apart, holding out their arms, as if waiting to be frisked down.

Damn, they thought. I forgot about the photon dagger. He's totally gonna find it. Oh, damn. Certainly they'd be able to find some way to explain it away, but they would have much rather kept it concealed from the rest of the team--especially since they'd resolved that after this fight they'd have to ask Aylan for some sort of self-defense weapon. That case might be a lot harder to make if everyone knew they were carrying a photon blade around. Well it was too late now. They'd have to see if the mediboy found it, and if he said anything. Electra clenched their teeth and waited.[/size]

[Edited a bunch of times for formatting.]

Mediboy C-7779 “Lucky-9”

---

Lucky-9 apparently didn’t notice their discomfort or didn’t care. He got close and grabbed Electra’s arms, placing his palms on the antecubital space of their arms (the sensitive, smooth place opposite the elbow where the forearm and upper arm meet). Electra could feel his hand, surprisingly cold and sterile but also noticeably human-like, against the warmth of their inner arm veins. His eyes turned blue as he visibly worked to take stock of the situation.
“Mhmm... Heartbeat’s high but regular, which is good, I was worried about that... Breathing’s high and a little irregular but not enough to call the mortician over... You got very minor tremors and your aches too, but I can’t detect any major nervous damage so it’s probably just the temporary effects of some electrocution-related muscle contractions and adrenaline...”
Lucky-9 pulled away and smiled, then he reached into his backpack with unnatural robotic speed and produced an individually-packaged pill, a pale green tablet engraved with a lightning bolt crossed out by an X. He then handed the pill to Electra.
“All your vitals are normal so you should be good. If the aching gets worse, or if you start shaking or having chest pains or trouble breathing, take this and tell me right away, okay?”
His voice was cheerful but his eyes locked to her intensely. The Mediboy clearly wanted to make absolutely sure his patient was healthy, satisfied, and understood their situation.

[Recuecn]

Electra

---

Electra had expected the worst, but as they waited to see what the mediboy would do, it merely reached up and held their arm. Oh. It was just taking their pulse. The robot cracked a joke about a mortician. If this robot was gonna sass them in a situation like this, it had better be able to take as good as it got.

"Oh, high adrenaline and breathing, huh? Well thanks doc, I was never gonna figure that one out. And in the middle of a fight too, imagine that."

But Lucky-Nine got serious as he handed Electra some kind of pill, along with some brief instructions. Electra nodded.

"Got it."

This was actually pretty nice, having a medic on the team. Electra certainly wasn't qualified for treatment in situ, they had more academic training with a focus on research, although they'd certainly be ready to service any of the crew's biotech implants. But along with the mediboy, they'd be in a good spot. He was already proving his worth.

Even better, he hadn't found the dagger strapped inside her cloak. That little reveal had been pushed a bit further back. Then again, maybe they were making a bigger deal out of it than it was--it's not like it was contraband or anything.

What was next? Electra looked at Captain aylan, waiting to see what he would do.

[Sterkistan]

---

Kip & Marie

---

Kip's analysis revealed that there were only two goons left. A blue light pinged on his hud, above the one furthest from him. That thug wasn't his problem. Marie still stood at Aylan's side, the other team members were still consolidating themselves and the unit she had tagged was getting frightfully close to the Lead Agent. Her eyes flashed orange, before changing to red.
"One unit identified, subjugation in process."

Marie reached into her back holster, flicking the magazine release on her stored firearm. The magazine slid from the gun, landing in Marie's waiting palm. She gripped it with the tips of her fingers and swung her hand out. The magazine shot from her grip directly toward the agent who was preparing to strike Aylan. The projectile smashed into the thug's temple, cracking his mask and sending him reeling sideways. Marie shot toward him, gripping the side of the man's Kevlar chest-plate and pulling herself up above his head. Her weight caused him to topple forward, stopped only by Marie's hand gripping his faceplate and the top of his head. Marie didn't hesitate once she confirmed she had a grip. She pulled a perfect split and threw herself upside down, straightening her legs to keep her momentum going as the centre of gravity shifted behind the thug. As she came down she brought the thug with her, her hand firmly planted on his face. Ending with his head firmly planted in the ground as she landed.

He was well and truly unconscious. Marie ran the forces back to herself to make sure she hadn't killed him. Her eyes flashed blue as she finished her analysis, at worst he'd have a minor skull fracture, at best he'd have a really sore head. She turned back toward Aylan as the other thug went skidding past her.
"Subjugation complete."

Kip didn't bother with anything fancy this time. He came up beside the final assailant and grabbed him by the head. Swinging him back and launching him across the floor toward the cars they arrived in. His composite armour provided the right amount of slide, as he scooted along the ground before crashing into the lead hovercar. Kip took a moment to see if he would get up. When he didn't Kip turned back toward Aylan.
"Non-lethal response effective. Assailants neutralised."