EliteCommander

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen was not familiar with this disease, nor many others specifically, but if it was affecting Light’s breathing, then it sounded serious. At the very least, it sounded like something that was not going to go away on its own. “Oh, I had no idea. I mean, I could see that you were sick, but I didn’t know it was that bad. The Utaysi don’t really have much in the way of medicine, for obvious reasons. There’s some alien-run hospitals in the cities now that we have tourists and other visitors, but I don’t guess they would be any cheaper than here.”

Thinking about it, Senjen supposed it made sense why Light was not taking charge as much as he had expected, despite it being Light’s ship and his job. Senjen did not have the appearance of being nearly as vulnerable. He took a moment to double check their surroundings and make sure they were still heading in the right direction towards the Concourse, despite the relative chaos of the parade. “How much money do you still need for your treatment?” He asked.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Honestly...I don’t think she was that bad.” Senjen answered calmly, seemingly having moved quickly past the anxiety he had been showing moments ago. Granted, he also seemed to be ignoring the woman shooting down the pair of Tekeri without a second thought, but she had merely stunned them, he supposed. “I mean, she didn’t have to tell me about the scan. If she just wanted me to agree, she didn’t have to tell me the truth. A scan of my frame OS would have been no big deal. The fact that she was honest with me...well, like I said, maybe she wasn’t that bad? That alone almost made me agree. It was a lot of money, but, uh...how much money would it take for you to agree to brain surgery from a random stranger?”

Senjen was exaggerating somewhat on the severity of the scan, but it was close enough that he had been unwilling to go through with it, even at that price. At the moment, he was glad to put it behind him so he could try to forget about how much money he was walking away from. What they were walking into might have been even stranger. There was evidently a parade of some sort, and Senjen hadn’t the faintest idea of what it was about. Part of him worried about accidentally doing something offensive at some alien cultural event, but the people around them looked to be having a good time, and there were stalls selling things. Given where they were holding it, they were probably expecting tourists. He doubted he had to worry.

On the subject of worrying, though, Senjen’s focus did move more towards his client. The way Light had been acting, his appearance, the coughing, it did not point to him being in perfect health. He had not said anything during the flight to Korit, but Senjen was wondering if it was something to be worried about. “Say, Light, are you...alright? My people don’t get sick, obviously, but I had a pet once. This weird, cute little alien thing, and I had to learn what to look for to take care of it.” There was a short pause from Senjen. “Not, uh, saying you’re a weird alien thing. Or little. Just, um, you know, wondering if everything is alright?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“That’s…wait how much is...” Senjen briefly froze up. That was a lot of money, more than enough to tempt nearly anyone. It wasn’t as impressive as it sounded once he checked it against the exchange rate to his homeworld’s currency, but it was still quite a lot. He had an idea of how he could hide the data he was transporting, and he nearly jumped on the offer right then and there, but going through her offer a few times in his head, he realized something unsettling. The reason she said an OS image would not work was because the scan needed his personality matrix...because it used the personality matrix to function. The inner functioning of the personality matrix was not completely understood, even by the Utaysi themselves. It was very difficult to modify non-destructively, much like an organic brain. Even if the scan was just reading data and not modifying it, the idea of a program breaching through and interacting with it directly was frankly terrifying.

“Sorry, this is a lot...that is a lot...it’s just...scanning my frame’s OS is one thing. That’s like doing a scan of one of your neural implants. Invasive, but safe. But you said the scan touches the personality matrix? Uses it, even? That’s more like brain surgery. Well, not quite, but...you get the idea. You’re offering a lot, but I don’t know if you understand how terrifying that is. Or...maybe you do, and that’s why the number is so high.” This time, Senjen forgot to inhibit his body’s reactions. Even as a mechanical being, Utaysi frames had plenty of parts on their outer shell that could actuate purely for non-verbal expression, similarly to their organic progenitors. He was nervous, indecisive, and it showed.

Senjen lowered his head somewhat. “I...I can’t do it. If it were just my frame, I’d agree in a metaphorical heartbeat, but having a scan poking around in my ‘brain’ is just too much. I’m sorry, I wish you luck, but I have to decline.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen felt like it was quite a secret for the Human to share, provided it was even true, of course. He knew Light wanted to leave; he had said as much before, and honestly, Senjen agreed. He was getting that same, uncomfortable feeling from the Human as he had from the Utaysi. There was no way he could agree to this scan, not when he was carrying this data. Or at least...he could not agree to this specific scan. He understood software well enough to understand what she was asking for. Whether not what she was asking for was actually what she wanted was still up in the air, but he knew how to satisfy the letter of her request without risking anything himself. At the very least, she would not have any excuses to refuse without giving away any other motives.

“Look, I know you said you’re not too familiar with Utaysi. and I know we look like machines...I mean, we are, but out minds aren’t like the AI you’re accustomed to. We’re basically like a lightly-modified version of an organic mind, so like pretty much any organic, I still care about my privacy.” Senjen began. It was perfectly reasonable for a person not to want a stranger going through their personal files, even without anything to hide, and he made it clear that he was just like any other person. Now, he just had to offer that perfectly-reasonable alternative he had thought of.

Honestly, Senjen was getting more and more nervous for every moment that passed talking to this Human. Whether or not she was really Naval Intelligence for...some navy, she still had armed guards nearby with an expensive ship and pricey gear. That was enough to know that he should be taking this seriously. He was more and more thankful every moment that he had the overrides to force his body to stay calm. He continued, deliberately keeping up this friendly attitude the woman was projecting. “But...I can still help you, actually. All I’d have to do is make an image of my OS and load it up on a virtual machine on a removable drive. You could run that and scan it. A perfect copy of my software architecture on Utaysi hardware that you can use to calibrate, so you can get everything you’re wanting. It would just take a few minutes for me to make the copy.” Senjen offered. It was a plan that would satisfy all of the Human’s stated goals, and he could not think of a way she could refuse without admitting they were just excuses.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Well it’s not like I was trying to carry on a conversation with them. I got a random message out of nowhere, asked who they were, and they answered back with a sob story and an offer. Then I refused. I didn’t do anything to start trouble. That’s really the long and short of it.” Senjen answered to Light. He honestly felt he had handled it about as well as he could have, even once the Human approached. It made sense that they had been monitoring the Utaysi’s communications; he thought he had noticed some attention from her during their short exchange, and he supposed it made sense she would follow through.

Light was acting frightened, but Senjen didn’t yet think there was any reason to panic. He had given the right answer, so he doubted he needed to worry. He turned back towards the Human and lightly shrugged his shoulders. “Probably just looking for sympathy, I imagine. The reason you haven’t met many Utaysi is because there’s not too many of us out here. I guess he expected...solidarity, or something, but his attitude was suspicious. Didn’t trust it. And I really wasn’t looking to interfere with your business.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Easy there, just a joke.” Senjen replied simply to Light, though it was the response from this captive that had the most of his attention. His attention...and now his skepticism. Perhaps he was just being paranoid, or maybe it was just because of how much trouble they had already been dealing with, but something about this did not sit right with him. Lelund’s attitude had shifted quick from the first message that had grabbed his attention, which did not do much for their credibility.

“I would expect you would care a lot more about your supposed impending ‘torture’ than a few files. No offense, but I’ve already been the target of two attempted scams since I got here, and I haven’t even left the hangar yet. Going to have to decline. I smell a lie somewhere here, and I don’t aim to fall for it.” Senjen answered.

Light had hardly taken any more time than Senjen had in getting back from the food merchant, evidently empty-handed. He did feel some fascination in the dietary habits of organics. One thing that was common across a wide variety of alien cultures was how much of a focus they put on cuisine. It made sense with their instincts, and how much their nutrition was tied to their overall health and well-being. Yet, there was usually so much passion and enjoyment tied up in it as well. For Utaysi, energy was energy, and there wasn’t much difference to them on how they obtained it. Their progenitors would have had those same instincts as other organics, but that was one of the few changes Marae Ano made to their minds when she created them. She had aimed to make as few alterations as possible to their minds from the original organic template, but bio-fueled machines would not have been possible considering the apocalypse they had to survive through. Leaving them with the instinct for hungers they could not sate for millennia would have simply been cruel.

Senjen acknowledged Light with a small wave. “Yeah, we should probably get going. That Utaysi over there tried to convince me to take on a data delivery on their behalf. Something felt off about it, so I refused. Still...you think maybe I should pass on their information to the Utaysi embassy about it, or something? In case something is going on there that’s not above board?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen probably should not have expected Light to know the answer, though his guess was not actually unreasonable. Granted, he also did not seem too concerned about them. With the way he was acting at the moment, he seemed more concerned with his stomach, really. Tilting his head towards Light, he quickly looked him over. With how translucent his species was, he could see what he was fairly certain was his stomach, in fact. He wondered, for a moment, if one could tell at a glance how long it had been since he had eaten?

It was at that point that Senjen received a private message, and given its content, he did not even need to look to guess by whom. In fact, he made a point not to look, nor give any other visible signs of acknowledgment towards the captives. He had seen enough spy movies; he was pretty sure he could be discreet about this.

Firstly, Senjen messaged back in response to Light. “Well I am, in fact, still a robot, so eating is not something I do. Battery is fully charged, though. You can feel free to have as much as you want. I don’t mind waiting around a minute.”

Next, Senjen gave a reply to the anonymous sender of the private message, who he guessed was the Utaysi. “Whoever is messaging me, who are you, and what actually is it that is going on?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Getting the mob to back off was exactly what Senjen had been trying to do. It was the point of intimidating them: to protect the ship and avoid unnecessary trouble. Still, he had to make an effort to avoid acting surprised about the fact it actually worked. He was clever, in his own humble opinion, but he couldn’t let anyone else know he had been anything less than confident about it. He was supposed to be a professional, after all. This was his job; obviously the mob left without trouble, because that was what his client was paying him for.

Senjen had everything he needed on him, mostly secured in storage compartments in his frame. Dropping down and moving on all-fours, he walked right alongside Light at what was, for him, a leisurely pace. Part of him wondered how fast a QV could actually move out of water, in their gel suits. In truth, he still was not entirely sure he understood how they worked. Those suits alone were probably what made the QV feel the most “alien” to him, out of any of the sapient species out there.

In any case, even just looking around the hangar bay gave a sense of just how much was probably going on in this station. That mob hadn’t even been the only bit of trouble in this room, which might have explained why they thought they might get away with what they had been trying. There was a proper QV ship on one of the other landing pads, which was even stranger than he had imagined to look at up close. Then there was a crowd around another, very expensive-looking ship just across the way. They looked to have prisoners for some reason, even a Utaysi, much to his surprise. Korit had a huge population of locals and visitors alike, so seeing some of his own people was not unusual, but he had not expected to see one in the same hangar bay. Especially not in that kind of a predicament.

“What do you think all that is about, with that expensive ship over there?” Senjen asked Light on a private channel. “Looks to be a crowd, and I’m a bit curious why they have those people locked up. Is that something weird about Korit I should know about?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

’Okay, so being nice didn’t dissuade them, and now there’s more of them.’ Senjen’s thoughts raced as he quickly glanced around the area. He was pretty sure he knew how he could get himself away if the situation went too far sideways, so...he could at least try. ’Yeah, okay, I can try. Intimidate. I prepared for this, just...thought it would be against some thugs or something. Not some random, desperate-looking people. Don’t want to just open up threatening them…’

Senjen stood up much closer to his full height. A Utaysi’s normal posture had them rather hunched over, so while up on his hind legs, he towered over the crowd, which helped for getting a good sight on who might be dangerous. His mind may not have been much like what the organics thought of as a normal AI, but his body was very much still a machine. Even if it wasn’t a combat model, he still had strength and durability. A normal Human had little to no ways to actually harm him unarmed, so the Humans he saw were probably not much of a threat. The Tindrel...maybe. Still, he just had to make them feel that the risk wasn’t worth it. Probably.

He broadcast on an open channel to each of them. “I’ll, uh, have to turn down that offer, sorry. If you look hard enough on this massive station, you’ll probably find a captain poor or bored enough to transport you all for whatever you can pay or trade for. Without trouble, without risk.” Okay, good start. He wasn’t instigating or escalating. He was being reasonable. But now he needed to make them feel they were taking a big risk right now.

“Look, I don’t have anything against any of you, but it’s my job to keep this ship safe. And I will, if I have to. It’s my client’s property, and we have the right to protect it.” He wasn’t being firm enough, he felt; he needed to put something in there to make them worry. That feeling of nothingness on his frame did give him one idea, now that he thought about it. “You all really don’t want to fight over this, trust me. Especially not right here. I mean, I would think you organics would put a bit more respect to how hostile it is out here to you.” This was good, he was onto something here. “Those pressure suits are nice and form-fitting, but I mean, I don’t see any of you wearing anything especially...durable.” If they were just refugees or something, then they probably weren’t wearing combat gear, or suits rated well-enough for hazardous mining or industrial work. Those were expensive, and would probably sell for enough to just buy passage off-world. “Do you know what happens when you all get an open wound exposed to space? Your bodies, they’re naturally pressurized to...whatever one atmosphere is on your homeworld. If you get a cut in your skin or a break in your shell out here, then all those organs and entrails inside, they just get pushed out the hole into space. It’s...horrifying even just to think about. One cut, one little cut, that’s all it would take, for nearly each and every one of you.”

Senjen gave an exaggerated motion of shrugging. “Nothing I have to worry about, of course, but I think you all should at least consider it before doing anything, uh...aggressive, out here.”

’Yeah, that was good.’ Senjen thought to himself, proudly.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

The more this Tekeri spoke, the less Senjen was willing to trust any answer he gave. A Utaysi personality matrix was essentially their “mind”: a programming construct that contained all of their thought processes. Most Utaysi frames contained a secondary computer with expanded functions they could use, similar to how organics would sometimes install neural implants, but the personality matrix could not be modified by any normal means. This Tekeri did not seem to understand that, and that called into question the reliability of anything else he claimed. Senjen was genuinely interested in the possibility of finding some alien upgrades, but he felt he needed to find someone more reputable for that conversation.

Senjen was in the midst of trying to find some excuse to get away when Light came to his rescue, albeit unintentionally. Whatever it was the Tindrel were doing seemed to have his client upset, but he would rather deal with that at the moment. “Ah, hold on, I need to handle this.” He remarked to the Tekeri.

Carrying around some crates would have been easy enough for Senjen, but before he could even walk away, there was yet another bit of commotion that found its way onto their landing pad. There was a small group of people that seemed to be taking an interest in them, or their ship. There were different species among them, and there was little else that really stood out about them, except that they looked a bit...rough from his perspective. What they all had in common was the fact that they all seemed to want to leave Korit.

Senjen did not take any sort of aggressive posture towards them. They seemed to be troubled, so he lowered his head a bit and tried to be calm, disarming, especially with how on-edge the customs officials looked to be. He figured it would be better for everyone to try to avoid escalation. “I’m sorry, we’re not heading off-world anytime soon. But hey, this is a really big station. If you can pay like you say, then I’m sure you’ll be able to find a pilot willing to make a bit of extra money.”