Murder Drones: Disassembly Required

Ray finally approached the door to have a proper conversation with V. Though at his opening comment, she calmly waves it off -- with a still clawed hand.

"Aw, we don't kill Humans. You didn't look like any of the Drones, so I just kept an eye on things! You almost had a few run-ins with those zombie drones, though."

She explains, then smiles.

"I took care of them."

And with that exchange having taken place, N then chimes in with a misunderstanding over what it was that J said earlier. V couldn't help but roll her eyes. J's digital eyes close as she face palms.

"... That's not... Never mind, N."

At least one of the members of the crew was expressing some genuine sincerity and gratitude. J smiles approvingly as Cloris lays on the praise. V also perked up a bit.

"Oh, it was easy! I bet you could tear through these things too, honestly."

V replies, and then J interjects.
"With the right weaponry. Regardless... You're welcome. As I explained to the rest of the crew, Copper-9 is on lockdown, so no one is supposed to be here, but given this isn't an intentional intrusion, we'll be assisting you."

Cloris then took the time to properly introduce everyone, including herself, and J seemed to appreciate that gesture as well. And at Cloris's question towards V for assistance, well...

"Eh, why not? I wreck these things because there's not much else to do on this planet. At least now there's something beyond our vaguely outlined corporate goals!"

J then butts in again.

"They're not vaguely outlined! They're need-to-know!"

V retorts with;
"We're on the planet having to fight these things, I think that's need-to-know!"

There's a little bit of a staredown between the two. Then the situation shifts, as Chaos points out something very serious -- the ship had even more holes in it than it did before, and that meant that it was going to be a lot less safe if they didn't patch things up!

Karasu does point out something, however.

"Don't worry. We're not in immediate danger of something like that happening. There's a reason why I sectioned off so many parts of the ship, as well as gave us several rooms to fall back to."
The Captain begins his explanation, and then adds;
"Still, you two are right. We need to get it fixed now that we're getting control of the situation, otherwise our power situation is going to get much worse with the Life Support having such a horrible time of things."

Finally, Ray deploys what appears to be a ball, though the beeps and clicks that soon come from it hint at it being much more than that. N is understandably confused, but V is just going with it.

"Well, follow this thing, and clear out any more of those zombies along the way, right? I can do that!"

That and close the door. Either way, as the ball starts rolling, N and V then take off after it.

For her part in this, V was looking for any more of those intruders, and if she didn't spot any, then she'd start checking the damage done to the door, and whether or not it could still be closed...

"I fear some drones has wondered off around the ship, perhaps to flee from you Dissembly drones. We humans can repair the ship and some of us is fearless but some of us may need an escort" I told the crew "There may be only a few left though but there is no telling if anymore will attack our ship"

"What exactly was those things, and does anyone know why and how they came back to life? Surely our friendly Drones may have an idea." I said as I began to ponder about the nature of these drones

The engineer pales a little when V informs him just how close he came to being up against those zombie drones all on his own. He counts his fortunate that V was there behind the scenes.

"... Right. Thanks I think."

He sighs in annoyance when Cloris mentions just how much of the ship is non-functional right now. That crash did everything but breach the hull.

"Don't remind me. It's going to take a lot of work to get this thing operational again."

Ray sctratched his head, raising an eyebrow at Cloris's delcaration of just how dangerous leaving the ship was. He didn't seem particularly concerned.

"Sure, but we can't just sit here twidling our thumbs waiting for Space Triple A. In any case since we're all awake and gathered together I'll make sure not to leave by myself next time."

With everyone taking the time to thank them, N gave each of them a smile.

"It was my pleasure!"

N seemed to share V's sentiment. With both Chloris and Chaos expressing concern over any stragglers, the disassembly drone gave them a confident salute.

"Don't worry, we'll make short work of them! First the drones, then the branded pens...Right, J?"

With nothing to do but wait, the engineer slumps back against the lab's sterile white walls, sitting on the floor. He looked up at Chaos, shaking his head.

"Hell if I know. Cyberpsychosis shouldn't be doing things like this... This whole thing is what I was trying to find out before we got raided."

Ray looked up at Chloris.

"Still...Now that you're awake, maybe you can go take a look at 'patient zero' back there in the cage."

He jabbed a thumb at the holding cell at the back of the lab where a currently inactive drone was laying lifelessly.

Meanwhile the front of the ship was...Disturbingly quiet. If one noticed the bridge that was next to the airlock, they would see vaguely visible shadows lurking in there. N paused, raising a finger to tell V to be quiet as she snuck over. The Ball droid had stopped inside the airlock and had fallen silent for now...N shined a light into the bridge...And the light fell on a drone that was slumped over one of the navigation consoles. The screen was mostly blocked by the metallic body, but the ominous red glow of the screen revealed words that were just barely visible.

NAVIGATION OFFLINE. PLEASE WAIT FOR ASSISTANCE.

Slowly the drone's head craned upwards...And then lifelessly slammed down against the console.

"Disappointment."

The drone listlessly picked itself up in an unnatural way as it slowly turned towards the source of the light being shined on it. When its face became visible under the spotlight, N and V could see the eyescreen severely glitching out as strange symbols danced across the display.

"New target found."

N's eyes opened wide as she drew her gun arms and began to open fire without warning.

"Uah!! Opening fire!!!"



The drone was turned into complete swiss cheese, but not before the gunfire alerted every other zombie drone inside the bridge. There had to be at least a hundred, they were all slumped lifelessly against the floor, and they were all now rushing at N. The gunfire and yelling echoed down the halls and could be heard from the lab.[/color][/color]

Cloris looked between V and J. She put a hand on her hip, shaking her head. “Even if we had the firepower, I prefer not to directly get into the fray. If I’m forced into a gunfight, then things have gone horribly wrong.”

Cloris stared as J mentioned Copper 9. The IT officer sounded surprised. “Copper 9?!” She frowned, stroking her chin. “My calculations have never been this off before. I could have sworn I installed the auto-navigation program correctly.”

It was hard to tell with how her face was covered, but she seemed to be disturbed by the possibility that she had really screwed up. She then looked at J, lowering her hand down.

“I think possible litigation is the least of our concerns. Still, the fact that you’re going to overlook that and help is appreciated. Are there names I can call you three?”

The edges of Cloris’s mask turned up. The androids would be able to tell that she was smiling under there. “I suppose everyone needs ways to pass the time. Still, I’m surprised: I didn’t think traveling to another world on a disassembly mission could get boring.”

The situation turned more serious when her Captain briefed them all on the situation. Cloris let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair. “Not to mention our power situation isn’t all that great. Copper 9 isn’t habitable for human life, so once our life support systems go down this ship will become a tomb. We don’t have much time on our hands.”

Cloris looked over at Ray. Putting a hand on her hip. “I don’t disagree, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. Venturing out alone when you didn’t know where we crashlanded was dangerous given the circumstances.”

Cloris looked at Ray, then looked over at the cage. She adjusted her glasses, then rubbed her hands together. ”A chance to examine a Copper 9 drone. I heard rumors that they’ve developed full sentience. We are in desperate need of more knowledge right now. I’ll make this as quick as possible.”

Cloris walked briskly towards the cell. She raised a hand to her forehead, leaned forward, and peered through the window. The Zombie Drone was still tied to the chair, staring at the door.

”The restraints look secure. Okay, I’m going in.”

Cloris quickly unlocked the door, stepped in, and closed it. The drone didn’t move at first. She tentatively took a couple of steps forward, bending her upper body forward. She jumped back as it tried lunging at her against the restraints, snarling at her. Cloris let out a chuckle.

“You sure are a lively one. I know how you feel: I’ve been on the operating table before. It wasn’t fun, being unable to move knowing that I was going to be cut into.”


Cloris reached up, her fingers reaching up towards the bands of her glasses. “But a little anesthetsia made the whole process painless. Luckily for you, I have my own version just for you.”

Cloris then pulled down her goggles.

On the other side, anyone looking at the door would see a brief flash of green light flaring up from within the cell.

Cloris adjusted her goggles back to normal with both hands. Meanwhile, the zombie drone was slumped back in the chair, lying completely motionless. Clovis pulled out a small, portable laptop from her coat pocket. It was about three times the size of a cell phone, but still considerably more compact than an actual laptop.



” Alright, let's run a diagnostic and play back your memory. I just need this cable here… there!”


Cloris directly connected a cable that she used for drone maintenance to the zombie drone, and then to her laptop. She sat down Indian style on the floor, quickly booting up her CPU. She set it on her lap, wriggled her fingers, then began typing away. The screen blazed to life, and lines of code appeared on it.

“Let's see what type of affliction you’re suffering from…”[/color][/color]

V nods at Ray's thanks.

"Don't worry about it. And if you want to go out of the ship again, I'll come with you! You're really good at finding those things."
she replies.

Chaos then raises a fair point -- the chances were very high that there were other zombie drones that wandered off into other parts of the ship. Which meant that they would need to do a clean sweep to make sure everything was fully secured at some point. But first and foremost was plugging everything up so that the overall situation wouldn't get worse.

"You're right. Be careful while moving around the ship you two."
Karasu then says to V and N before they take off.

J places her hands on her hips at Cloris's assessment.
"Well, your ship crash landed on an extremely dangerous planet with deep freezing temperatures and a horde of zombified killer robots banging down the doors."

With that, she then gently pats Cloris's shoulder.
"Situation's pretty horribly wrong. I recommend a rifle, a sidearm, and at least a knife."

After having said that, Karasu then interjects.
"She's right. Once we've gotten the ship secured, we're also going to have to see about setting up some weapons. At least the Disassembly Drones can handle things for us right now, but we shouldn't be going around defenseless either."

With that, the twin-tailed Disassembly Drone then nods at Cloris's surprised statement.
"That's right. Copper 9! Used to be a fully functioning JCJensen Colony. As you can see, much less the case now."

Cloris and Ray also had their disagreements about anyone going outside before they knew more, but Karasu simply points out;

"The world seemed dead. We didn't detect anything unusual and we had a lot of repairs to make. That's why I signed off on his trip out there. Not like we were expecting to run into killer robots."
As Karasu says that, J then clears her throat, prompting him to clarify;
"... Of the undead variety."

J then gives an appreciative nod. And as the conversation turns to the captured drone in the holding cell...

"I'll watch, just to help in case it escapes somehow."
She remarks.

And just before she starts making her way over to the holding cell, Chaos makes another comment wondering aloud about the nature of these strange drones. Normally she'd remain tightlipped about this, but they were all in this together, so...

"It's a long story, and we don't have too much time for those right now. For now, assume Cyberpsychosis and act accordingly, it'll keep you safe."

J responds -- they would need to know the whole story soon. But right now, time was at a premium. She peeks into the holding cell to see how Cloris is doing, and is just in time to see her putting those goggles on.

J crosses her arms while watching -- and then there's a flash of green light. She wasn't directly within the flash of that light, so she was fine, but... She recognized it.

That was like the bootlooping function in Sentinels... And it raised questions about this girl. But for now, J held her tongue.

As for things that immediately stood out within the Drone in question... Two things. First, there was a code pinging something. Just like Ray had found earlier. Secondly, there was a recording back from when the Drone was operational in a normal sense that had several replays on it. Though it looked like it had stopped ticking up -- thanks to Chaos's earlier investigation.

There might be more, but a cursory glance revealed that much.

---

Meanwhile, towards the front of the ship... Things had gotten extremely quiet, which was usually a sign that something was going to go wrong very soon. About at that point, N would gesture towards the bridge, and motion for V to be quiet.

She nods at her fellow Disassembly Drone, and then V watches as N begins to tentatively explore the bridge. Making a rather startling discovery -- one of those things was trying to operate the console... And then promptly set it's sights on them!

N, naturally, freaked out and opened fire. V raised a finger as if to try and object, but between the rapid hail of bullets, and the ensuing growls and sounds of movements... V simply shrugs.

"Okay. Full combat it is!"

V then deploys her clawed hands, her wings spread out to their full length, and the digital screen now only displays an "X" where her eyes should be, meanwhile she smiles wide; clearly she was looking forward to this part.

[center]

V dives right into the fray! First she slices through one with her hands, and then she stabs her tail into the head of another one right behind it. She redeploys her hand weaponry, shifting them into assault rifles, and then opening fire on the crowd that was steadily advancing.

For her credit, she was pretty damn accurate, scoring headshots. But there was a lot of those things, too. And as the distance started closing again, she shifts her stance and rears up, and suddenly she's diving through the air and spinning wildly!

Those bladed wings proceed to tear even further into the zombie drones, and all the while? Well, V was laughing.

"HEEHEEHAHAHA!!"

Yeah, there was going to be a lot of clean-up... N was probably used to seeing it by now, at least.

Sort of.

I get the feeling J is hiding something from us, but even so knowing full well what was going on wont help us one bit.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you... for protecting me." I said with a slight blush, which then I shyly turn my head. I dont want anyone to know that I might have feelings for a robot or anyone for that matter.

"Well uhh... if anyone has ideas what to do next, then lets do it. Im more than willing to help now that J will protect me I mean us. Yes us..."

Cloris looked at J as the android pst her shoulder. It was rare for her to be fairly taller than anyone. She let out a sigh.

"Yes, I suppose things have gotten out of hand. My pocket knife and plasma cutter aren't going to help me in a fight. I don't suppose you know where we can acquire some weapons?"

Cloris's head tilted downwards. Her voice took on a strange tone. It had a soft melancholy to it,

"Yes, it was once a beautiful place to live. I've seen pictures of Copper 9 before it froze."

Her head was down for a few more seconds. Then she turned and looked at her captain. The green-haired woman crossed her arms under her chest.

"Even if there is an obvious threat, it's still dangerous to let someone go out alone in an unfamiliar environment. There a million things that can go wrong and get them cut off from help.

She then turned and looked at Ray. "I don't disagree, but you ventured too far on your own. If something happens to you, then repairing the ship becomes a fantasy."

Cloris looked over at J as she mentioned the situation with the drones. Or rather, what she didn't mention.

"When we aren't in immediate danger, I'd like a briefing on the situation. We need as much accurate data as possible."

She nodded at Ray as he told her the names of the drones. She then turned and looked at J, stroking her own chin in comptemplatoion.

"Those are very simple names. A little too simple."

She paused, looking at J. "Is it alright if I call you Jen? I'm not trying to change your name: it's just easier for me if I call you by a name. "

Cloris had a habit of naming all drones and AI she interacted with. It helped her distinguish similar models she was working on. She was an organizer through and through.

Cloris interlocked her fingers, extending both arms and stretching. "I appreciate the warning Ray. But this isn't my first time interacting with an unstable Droid. I've got measures to ensure my safety."

Cloris stared over at Chaos. She rubbed her temples with both hands, letting out a sigh.

"Chaos, they’re helping us even though they don't have to. Don't make things awkward for them."

The first thing Cloris saw was something pinging the Droid. It didn't seem to be affecting the system scan though.

"I'll see if I can track back the source of the signal in a minute. For now, let's take a look at your memories. Sorry Bert, but I'm going to have to intrude on your thoughts."

Bert being taken from "cyber". J mentioned that condition, so her mind went there when looking for a name. Cloris looked through the memories, trying to find out what happened to this worker drone.

First things first, Cloris asked if J knew where they could find some weapons, and that prompts the twin-tailed Disassembly Drone to cross her arms, but instead of chewing her out -- as anyone might have expected -- J does answer the question.

"Yeah, there's a few different places we can search. If nothing else we can find things you can refurbish and use for materials. Especially since your Captain mentioned that you had machinery to work with for that."

As she points at Karasu, he gives an affirmative nod.

Still... She did notice something odd; a melancholic tone as Cloris talked about the beauty of Copper 9. Still, perhaps she really was just the sentimental type of person, and so the Disassembly Drone wouldn't pry any further about it, at least for now.

With that said, Cloris then pointed out once more that even with the situation being the way it was, it was still too dangerous to send someone out alone. In response, the Captain shakes his head.

"Look, we followed all the standard procedures, and I trust each of you to look after yourselves. If we spend every second on this planet looking over our shoulders, we won't get anything done -- Ray got results, and he's fine."

Karasu responds, but then follows with;
"Now that we know there is a genuine danger, we'll act more cautiously. But sometimes we're going to have to take risks. That's what V and N are doing right now. J is too, honestly."

That aside, Cloris then asked for a full debriefing of the situation once things were less hectic -- and the Captain gives another nod at that request.

"Will do. For now, let's each focus on what we can do."

Finally, Ray explains their names, and Cloris then makes an unusual request, asking if she can refer to J as "Jen". The digital brow is raised as J looks at Cloris a bit apprehensively, but with further elaboration...[/i]

"Well. I'm quite proud of my name as-is. But if it's that much easier for you, I suppose that's fine."

J then turns her attention to Ray. "Also, she's called "N". Though as you'll find out, the name I gave her is rather fitting."

Chaos then ended up thanking J for the protection... And also seemed a fair bit shy and flustered about it. J can't help but smirk at it.

"Oh? Are you perhaps imagining something a little more intimate?"

She teased. Sure, could be a chance that she was way off, but considering the clues she was picking up so far, she was pretty sure that he was attracted to her. Which... Was interesting, to say the least!

She might be enjoying the attention a little too much, really... Especially as Ray chimed in with his own observations about it. Cloris seemed to take a bit of a different meaning from it, but J? Well...

"Oh he's not making anything awkward. Not for me, anyway. And yes. I think he should come with me."

J declares, and then uses her index finger to beckon Chaos to follow her.

J ponders the implications of just how much fun she's having with him, and what that says about her while she watches Cloris do her thing. For the moment, she wasn't going to step in and confront her about that bootlooping either -- sure, she might be able to press for details. But Cloris could do the same, and the crew was more likely to side with her instead of J.

There would be a time and a place for talking about all of these things, it would be more advantageous for herself to also have a good reputation with everyone first.

Chaos then asks what they should do next, and at that point, Karasu speaks up again.

"For the moment? I think we have to let them do their thing. We aren't in a situation to fight back. Cloris is looking into that captured Drone, and Ray is going to be handling the repairs."

Still, the Captain then falls silent as he thinks about things they might be able to do... Which is uh, a bit of a challenge, considering the noise going on at the front of the ship... Good lord, there was going to be a huge mess to clean up later, wasn't there...?

"Why don't you spend some time with J? She seems to like you as much as you like her. Maybe you can learn some things from her."

That was the best that the Captain could come up with in the circumstances -- he had a lot to figure out right now... Planning several things out in advance.

---

Some of those zombie drones were a little more creative compared to what V was used to. Though with N backing her up, she didn't have to worry too much. A surprisingly precise volley of missiles was clearing things up.

Just as V is about to praise N for that, a suddenly screeching, irritated ball is then thrown at a zombie drone.

V can't help but look at N with a "really?" type of expression -- As N apologized profusely, mainly to the ball. Still, the distraction did work, and the cleanup of what was left was easy... Er, metaphorical cleanup.

Yeah, the bridge was a complete mess. Oil was dripping everywhere.

"It'll be fine. Probably."

Was what V had to say about the mess, and then shrugs as N suggests that she'd just help with the clean-up anyway.

"Sure. I'm gonna go take care of that door. I guess you can get started on cleaning all this up, if you want."

V remarks as she makes her way over to the airlock... Which was in a pretty sorry state, but at least not as definitively as messy as the bridge was right now. First, she had to bend those halves back into place, which wasn't the EASIEST thing, but being a Disassembly Drone did have advantages.

She was able to get that done with enough time put into the task. And with that, she can finally push the door closed, and hold it that way. Since it seems like the locks might not engage at the moment -- and even if they did, well, there was sure to be damage that had to be patched up before it would close properly.

Unfortunately, V is getting a little bored now. She glances around, waiting until she gets the "okay" that the job is done. Hmm. Maybe they missed a zombie drone, and she could lure it over? Something to play with while she's waiting for this to be over with...

"Something in-intimate!? I uhh..." I said with a heavy blush. "I mean... Perhaps" I said in a quiet tone.

"Well, alright! I'll follow you J. Lead the way!" I said in my best scientist tone. I then begin to follow J where ever she is taking me

----

There is perhaps a few remaining zombie drones left on the ship. Although the virus is spreading slowly, its also corrupting and evolving slowly. Two zombie drones is heading towards the airlock, but one snaps and begun attacking its zombie drone friend. The remaining zombie drone then begins to devour its now dead comrade and is unaware of V and N's presents

Cloris nodded at the murder drone. She noticed that the android seemed a little annoyed at her. But she couldn't not ask for any advantage she and the others could take.

"We could use anything we can get our hands on right now. We'd like a list of any locations suitable for salvaging."

Cloris looked over at the captain. Her shoulders slumped slightly. "I'm sorry captain. I don't mean to question your decisions or judgment. It's just that I know firsthand that things can go wrong quickly in space."

She turned and looked at the Engineer. "And I'm sorry to you too Ray. We'd probably be in a worse situation if you hadn't gone out there."

Cloris scratched at her hair with a finger, her brow furrowing. "Hmmm… how about we compromise J? I'll call you by the name you're proud of, and I'll spell it J-A-Y in my head. Is that acceptable?"

Cloris looked over at Chaos, putting her hands on her hips. "Keep those thoughts in your head Chaos."

Cloris turned and looked over at Ray. "Certainly. I've had to make software to both prevent hacks from happening and purge harmful systems from drones. Then there's always malfunctions. And in the case of more sentient drones, they can be mentally stressed just like a human. Technicians need to prepare for all of those. I even have a degree in psychology."

When she started watching the footage, she was struck by how human-like the drones were. Sure, sentient AI was nothing new. But there were no examples of a drone-run society on record. She frowned at the conversation she saw.

"It's going to turn into a night of horrors for you. My condolences Bert."

If this was a horror movie and not someone's memories, then the whole situation would have been entertaining. As it was, she watched as he approached the sealed door. She frowned at the static, tapping her screen with her index finger a couple of times.

"What's that interference? He isn't responding to it in the memory. My equipment is top notch and I have a direct connection.

Cloris let out a sigh as he opened the door and stepped outside. "Why did you do that Bert? You should have been more suspicious."

Cloris's eyes widened behind the goggles as she saw the shadow dart across the screen. She froze the footage and tapped the keys back. But she couldn't make it out even as she froze the image.

"If I had more time I could enhance this image. I'll just have to keep on going."

She resumed the play. What followed could only be described as a found footage snub film. She couldn't be helped but be reminded of "Spectrecam" horror series she used to watch growing up. As someone who watched many types of footage, those movies really had an impact on her.

Unfortunately for the drones, this was anything but a movie. She stared in shock as something tore through the bulkhead.

"What the hell is that?!" Aa she watched the film and heard the screen, she couldn't help but voice a thought.

"It's strong enough to tear through a bulkhead door, but it had to use a ruse to sneak inside the first set of doors." Whatever it was, it had a limit to its strength. But it was strong, that was for sure.

Bert then made the stunning decision to get up out of his hiding spot. Something moved closer. And then a monster showed up on screen. Again the footage started glitching out. Cloris's mouth opened as she realized what was going on.

"The footage was modified?! Bit that would mean whatever this thing is anticipated the possibility of the footage being played back! Wait…

Cloris's blood ran cold as she saw the yellow eye staring at her. It seemed to be peering into her soul. She let out a cry as the drones started convulsing. She quickly unplugged the cord and scrambled backwards on the ground, slamming against the door.

She desperately pushed herself to her feet, quickly running out of the room and slamming the door shut behind her. Her computer fell to the floor as she turned around, closing shut as she latched the door again. She panted, looking back at everyone in the room.

"I don't know what we're dealing with, but it's definitely notCyberpsychosis! There's something controlling these drones!"

Cloris panted, her back resting against the door. She looked over at J. "J, How long have you and your team been stationed on Copper 9?

Cloris and Ray were both pretty insistent about finding some weaponry. J found it hard to argue with the logic. Technically the assets were supposed to be left as-is, or reclaimed for the Company as necessary, but... Well, the situations were pretty special.

"Yeah. I'll put together a list -- but let's get your ship secure first. They won't help much if you don't have a safe place to operate from and rest at."

For the Disassembly Drones, it wasn't really a concern. They could just resupply on oil, which was readily abundant on Copper 9. Everything beyond that wasn't really necessary. It was a bit different from Humans. Fortunately, J had an idea of what to do because she's worked with them before.

As Cloris then apologizes for questioning the decisions that they made, the Captain then replies with;

"Don't worry about it. You're not in the wrong to make your concerns known. And now that you're awake, you'll be able to pitch in on the plans from here on out."

With that addressed, Ray then brings up that he'll be more careful too, and also remarks on how those things aren't really like Drones at all... J can only nod in agreement with that assessment.

"Hence our presence here on Copper 9. Those things need to be dealt with. Among other things the Company is interested in accomplishing here."

Finally, the resident IT specialist then offers a compromise to still call J by her preferred name, but work with a different spelling in her head. To that, the Drone then shrugs.

"If that makes it easier for you, sure."

It was kind of interesting to think about, actually. What names would Cloris assign to each of them/ Would "N" become "Anne"? V would be even more difficult, come to think of it.

As J muses on that, Ray then questions Cloris about her skills in regards to the Drones, and that prompts the girl to explain in greater detail. Suffice to say, the Disassembly Drone hadn't expected to run into so many people that were familiar with JCJensen Drones... Or their inner workings, to be more precise.

But speaking of things that J was thinking about; Chaos's reaction to her teasing advances were DEFINITELY being noted in her databanks. As Cloris insists that he keeps those thoughts in his head, J can't help but give an amused chuckle.

"Oh, it's fine. He simply has good tastes. I put quite a lot of work into my appearance, after all."

J certainly had more of an exaggerated strut now. As if accentuating the curves and contours that made up herself and her outfit. And she knew that Chaos was probably checking her out, and she was absolutely counting on that. The fact that he was trying to put on a more "professional, scientist" type of tone of voice only made it clearer to her that it was working.

Still... While she was enjoying that, the situation does rapidly change as Cloris accesses a video recording on the captured Drone. And what follows is... Certainly very unsettling. Even for a Disassembly Drone.

Although it was unsettling for her because it called up old memories. That glowing yellow eye... J shivered lightly, remembering it all too well. So Cyn was still around after all... As much as she wanted to keep things held back for now, Cloris was absolutely going to be asking questions after this.

All of them would be. J takes the time to compose herself, and she keeps an eye on that Drone as Cloris is quickly exiting the room and latching the door shut again -- and there it was. The official story's cover had been fully blown.

As Cloris makes the declaration that it wasn't Cyberpsychosis, and something was instead controlling the Drones... J looks over.

"I was hoping to get into detail about all of this later, but she's right. That's the official story to keep people from poking around. The truth is a lot more complicated."

She begins her explanation, and walks over to the rest of the group, along the way, Cloris asks how long the Disassembly Drones were here.

"Awhile now. We've been hunting those corrupted Drones for a long time. The truth is, we're trying to keep this rogue AI from spreading. It can jump across technology -- though we've been modified to be resistant to that."

She pauses for a moment, wondering how to explain this in the most straightforward, understandable way.

"... Basically. It wants to spread to everything, everywhere. But it can't jump across planets anymore, with the precautionary measures taken... That's why it wants this ship."

She lets that hang in the air. Finally, the Captain speaks up again.

"And thus, that is probably the cause for our crashlanding... Our ship must have drifted just close enough that it was able to take action. That would also explain why it sounded like there was a lot of fighting in the direction of the bridge."

The pieces were coming together now. J then anticipated that someone was going to ask the question, so she decided to head it off and tend to it now.

"I was hoping to tell you all this when your ship was fixed and you weren't working on strict time limits... But, that recording just confirmed a lot of things. For all of us."

What a mess this was... But at least their mission was on point now -- which brought her to something else that she needed to talk about.

"Listen. V and N don't know this. As far as they know, we're just here to deal with corrupted Drones."

---

And speaking of V and N... Well, N was certainly excited to get started on cleaning up. Which was vocalized through an odd statement, to say the very least. V continued on her way to the airlock, though unseen to N, she was smiling lightly.

Speaking of the airlock though, already the atmosphere inside of the ship was starting to get a lot better as the hissing of pressurization filled the halls. Even as banged up as this thing was, it was still trying it's best to keep the crew safe.

That was what V was musing on, since she was still stuck there holding the door until the repair was fully finished -- thankfully, the ball droid was on top of the task, and soon enough she doesn't have to do that.

Just as she's about to make her way back to the bridge while calling out to N, she stops. Faintly, she could hear something unusual... And no, it wasn't N licking the oil up, either. V lowers her stance, and begins to carefully step through the hall, trying to track down the source of the noise while keeping herself hidden.

In a sense, she was like a beast on the hunt at the moment...

Jeez J sure does has a nice...

After reviewing the footage Chloris managed to recover, I was shocked.

"Knowing exactly what we are up against can help us against these things" I chimed in "But... If its against company policy I'd understand. Whatever information that you can give us will help us J."

------

The remaining zombie drone was busy eating its friend but due to its slightly evolved state, it can hear the faintest of noises. It stopped what it was doing and begun to to walk where V was. While it can hear very well, it cant see that well due to an injury V inflicted to its head. Oil drops from its mouth open as it walks towards V, making a hissing noise as it begins to form clawed hands

Cloris nodded. “Getting it secured and locked up is our number one priority. We also need a list of available shelters in the area. There’s always a chance we could get ambushed or cut off from the ship while we’re out salvaging. Knowing as much about the terrain as possible will be life saving.

Cloris looked at her teammates, smiling at the both of them. At least it looked like she was smiling: it was hard to tell under that cloth mask on her face. ”Well now that I’m await, we’re going to put those parts together in no time. Especially as part of a capable crew.

Cloris let out a sigh as she talked about Chaos’s tastes. ”He can appreciate your appearance without acting on it. She said simply.

Cloris nodded, cracking her knuckles. ”I take all my work very seriously. I learned what I’ve had to be the best hacker possible.

After she made it out of the room, Cloris stared as J began to give them the loadown on what was going on. Slowly the realization of what she was saying was sinking in. ”Resistant isn’t reassuring though. That drone in there was infected a year ago. Who knows what else that program has been doing in that time period? And that doesn’t explain the monstrosity in that footage. I don’t think the ship can hold if that thing shows up.”

And then its objectives became clear, and the captain further elaborated on it. Cloris frowned, then raised her hand. ”I hate to suggest this, but if its hellbent on getting off the planet, we should be prepared for the worst case scenario. Detonate the ship if this rouge program gets close to escaping.”

Cloris reached down and picked up her computer, closing it and sticking it back into her coatpocket. She looked at J in confusion. ”You’ve been fighting this thing for a long time, and your teammates don’t know what it is? Why the secrecy with them?”

Then Ray went and unwelded the doors. Cloris’s eyes widened behind her googles.

Wait, you don’t have a weapon on you! RAY!”

She ran up to him, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him back into the room. Ray would find Cloris’s strength to be surprisingly strong: practically irontight to get out of.

”Let them handle it! They’ve been fighting this thing longer than we have!”

If she managed to get him back into the room, she would look him in the eyes close. "For the record, that was almost the worst throw I've ever seen. If you had hit Nora, that would have been the worst throw ever."

Yes, that was the name she chose to call N. Or at the very least, the name she'd think of N as in her head.

It looked like Chloris was in agreement with J about the urgency of fixing their ship first -- and also further requested a location of hideouts. The Disassembly Drone gives a nod in agreement to that.

"You're not wrong. I'll be sure to include information like that as well. Not much on Copper 9 is in great shape anymore, but there are plenty where it can be easily fixed up as a shelter."

You never really did know if things would go smoothly out on the field or not, and knowing the easiest places to set up for a shelter would be better than no plan at all. That aside, Chloris then mentioned that he could simply appreciate J's appearance without acting on it... Well, the Disassembly Drone had a different take.

"I suppose. You're a real prude, aren't you?"

Yes, yes she did say that with a roll of the eyes. She glances over at Chaos.
"I don't mind."

Well, that cleared up J's own stance on the subject, at least. As Ray then mentioned that he had found some parts but couldn't bring them back yet...

"We should be able to go and grab them for you -- the sooner we can get those repairs done, the better."

Then came the much more serious part of all of this... Discussing the AI that was trying to spread itself. Chaos asked her to share what she could, but also understood if Company policy prevented her from doing so.

"Well... I think I have to make an exception here. But thank you."

As J psyched herself up for this, Chloris made the first step by pointing out that 'resistant' isn't very reassuring. But J elaborates soon thereafter;

"By "resistant" I mean that we would have to be captured and actively worked on by the AI. As long as we're operational and can fight back, we're effectively immune to it."

J then expands on that explanation:
"And even if we get damaged, we can repair ourselves -- even if the damage is catastrophic, well... Superior drones like us have back-ups."

Still, Chloris then suggests that the ship wouldn't hold if that thing showed up, and if it came down to it, it was probably better to detonate the ship than risk it spreading. Before the members of the crew get the chance to chip in their thoughts, J once more speaks up.

"Relax. In case you forgot, we're here to take care of that thing. We know for sure that it will be interested in the ship. But as we've just proven, this is also our home advantage. Drawing it out and dismantling everything it has is a really good plan."

She pauses for a moment, glancing between each of them.
"That, and you guys need this ship. You go getting rid of it, and I'm not sure we can get a shelter set up for you in time."

As that hangs in the air for a moment, the Captain then offers his own insight on this.

"Well, I think our plan is clear then. The ship is our best bet in a lot of ways, and with the Disassembly Drones here, we've got a lot of advantages that our enemy will have to deal with."

Karasu declares, and then adds;

"So let's not worry about the last resorts just yet. We're a hell of a long way from being counted out of this fight."

With that said, J smiles and nods.

Then the atmosphere changes again as Ray realizes that their enemy could already be more than V and N were prepared for -- he quickly undoes the welding on the door and rushes out. Chloris goes after him, and Karasu does the same, though he wasn't intending to stop the Engineer.

J also takes off with the group, though first she grabs Chaos's hand. Something felt like she needed to keep an eye on him, after all...

---

V's prowl seemed to be going well enough. But the Disassembly Drone did note something very unusual as she was drawing closer to the source of those sounds. Suddenly they stopped... It was almost as if whatever it was knew that she was coming.

V's already slow approach was made even slower, now preparing herself to pounce and attack. Just before their encounter, Ray shows up -- shouting, making a ton of noise, and he throws his wrench spectacularly.

It soars overhead, and narrowly misses N. V, to her credit, kept her focus and finally spotted the zombie drone that made the Engineer freak out in the first place.

First, she stands up and deploys her chainsaw arms. Then her tail stabs into the back of the zombie drone's head; it's attention had just been drawn by the MUCH louder approach of Ray, after all. V wasn't satisfied with just this much though, as she soon follows up with sawing the arms off of the zombie drone by swinging the blades down.

Then she brings one of the saws back up, and begins to cut through the neck of the zombie drone. If successful, she'd keep the thing from struggling and harming her in the process, while making sure that it wouldn't be able to put itself back together -- those nanites in the tail were something else, after all. So potent that the Disassembly Drones were programmed with a means of disabling them.

Still, it wasn't lost on her that this thing was deploying weaponry that no Worker Drone should have... What the hell was going on here?

The normally gleeful expression she had was replaced with one of doubt and skepticism.

"First time I've seen one of them do that..."

She'd nudge the body with her foot. Evidently not too worried about it getting back up again. Though she was prepared to strike it further if it did, somehow.

"Thanks for the distraction, by the way."

Now a little more sure that things were fine, V says that with a smile.

Meanwhile... The Captain is looking this over as well.

"Alright. We're going to have to make sure these things can't get back up. Otherwise we're going to have to deal with them every little bit."

While I had no idea what J is planning at first, now I really dont know what she is planning with me! Thus this heavy blush, but I cant assume anything dirty. We're even holding hands, and thats completely unscientific! How lewd...

The zombie drone stood no chance against V, being slaughtered into bits. While it did tried to flee in a metal and fleshy form, V's nanite solution completely killed off before it can crawl away and regain its strength. Nothing remains, but everyone on the ship should have a feeling that they will see another stronger zombie drone in the future. But for now, they are relatively safe.

"Wow, that was close! ...Really close! Im not even sure if V could withstand that thing. Or she could and things efforts wouldve been in vain. Oh well, glad you are safe." I stated after witnessing all of these events.

J wouldn’t have been able to see it due to the googles, but given her tone of voice, Cloris had probably rolled her eyes at the android. ”I just don’t want any of our crew to die with their pants down, that’s all.”

J made it clear that they couldn’t just be infected easily. Of course this begged a particular question. Cloris pointed at the laptop. ”Can you defeat the thing I saw on that screen? Even if you have backups, if that thing gets its hands on you any of you, then it’s curtains for the rest of us.”

Cloris paused, folding her arms under her chest. ”Do you have a background plan in case it outmanuvers us? We might have to cut our losses if worse comes to worse. That’s why I inquired about possible shelters in the area.”

She looked over at Ray, lowering her hands to her sides as she nodded at him. ”Ray’s analysis is sound. We need to be as prepared as possible.

It looked as though all them were on the same page. Right up until Ray threw his wrench anyway. She tried not to hurt him as he struggled against her. ”Hey, cut that out! That Plasma cutter won’t last long as a weapon!”

Cloris stared between N and Ray. Then she let go of him, turning around and facing away. ”You got lucky. Try not to do something that stupid again. You have too good of a head on your shoulders to throw it away like that wrench.”

J nods at Ray's question.

"Yeah, we can. We don't really get tired, and we can handle heavier lifting than Humans can."

A satellite array... Yeah, that would be a pretty big advantage. Being able to track enemy movements -- if the Disassembly Drones were equipped for such a task, she probably would have implemented methods like that too. But, at least J could work with that now.

"Good thinking. Yeah, we should make that a priority too. Knowing when the enemy is lurking around the ship or any other important areas would make a big difference."

Having said that, Chloris then pulls up the laptop, and points at the screen before asking if they could defeat that thing -- then going on to describe one of the obvious worst case scenarios. J thinks it over for a moment, and lets out a small sigh.

"Just the three of us? I don't know. We've dealt with something like it before, but... It looks pretty different too."
She answered truthfully, but is then quick to add;
"But that's all the more reason why we need to take every advantage we can get. The ship is the most defensible place on the planet right now."

And J then points out the other obvious factor here.

"AND, we know that it will want this ship. But it will have to come out in the open, or keep throwing those zombie drones at us. As much as it freaked you out on that recording, it's a risk for it to give up the element of surprise, and to go up against an entrenched position."

Still... Chloris definitely wanted possible shelters even more now. J gives another sigh as she crosses her arms, her digital eyes closing.

"... There is a bunker that might work. The only problem is it's not under our control -- but it also doesn't have those things inside of it, either. It has Worker Drones."

She begins to explain to the crew.

"But it's secured by several heavily fortified doors. It's going to be difficult to open it up and get inside. But that would be the best option out of any of them. Anywhere else has... Complications, or extensive damage."

Finally, the group seemed to be coming to a consensus. It was fine to plan to take out the ship -- but it should very obviously be a last resort. There was still some concerns about it outmaneuvering everyone too, but... The Captain then offers his two cents on the subject.

"I think we can trust J on this. It sounds like she has the most experience fighting whatever this is. We'll secure the ship first. Once things look better here, then we can try to investigate that bunker."

---

And when it came to Ray and Chloris arguing about his timely intervention with a thrown wrench, and his insistence that he can use a plasma cutter as a weapon... J can't help but grin.

"Hey, he's got guts. That counts for a lot in a fight."

V shrugs as both Chloris and N refer to it as a 'horrible throw', too.

"Didn't seem very horrible from my perspective. That thing somehow heard me coming up on it. That could have gone a lot worse."

And... V seriously thought about that for a second. It COULD have gone a lot worse. She would have been caught in a surprise attack -- and while sure, she counts herself as pretty strong and capable, probably could have handled it...

He basically ran onto the scene and rescued her.

V begins to approach Ray slowly, halting every now and then as she thinks these things through. But ultimately, she begins to smile at him.

"You know... It was pretty cool, actually."

She seems to be rather taken with Ray now -- and though it seems like it might end with just praise, suddenly she pounces on him! And she'd go straight for a kiss on his lips, too.

"Mwah!"

That and the sound of a slightly drawn out smooch, and the smacking of lips was what filled the air.

"There. Hero's reward."

V seemed decidedly smug right now, as she just sat on Ray now, satisfied with herself and what she did just now.

... And just when Chloris might be thinking that J is the subtle one here, she can now be seen leaning closer to Chaos in order to whisper to him.
"I bet you'd like me to do that to you, huh?"

Karasu blinks, evidently, it seems like these Disassembly Drones are REALLY starved for attention and affection...

"Right... So, was that the last of them...?"

The Captain then asks N -- seeing as how she was in the thick of the fighting too.

Witnessing V pounced on Ray, I thought she malfunctioned for a sec. But after she... Kissed him suddenly as a reward, mu suspensions was cleared. Then I noticed J getting closer to me and after what she told me... I begin to blush and become flustered.

"W...well I... I..." Then I whispered to her "Yes..."

If Chloris was questioning me about being with J, surely now she'll question all of us. Im beginning to think she's just jealous.

Cloris looked over at Ray, nodding her head. "That's a smart idea. If we get a satellite system set up we'll be able to keep ahead of this AI."

Cloris nodded at J's assessment. " Are there other disassembly drones that we can call on for help? Also any data you have on your previous encounters with this AI would be helpful."

Cloris tapped a gloved finger against her chin, her brow furrowing as she considered everything she knew.

"That thing didn't attack that drone right away. It had to use a ruse to get inside and use the darkness to its advantage. If we can fully restore the power then we can maybe hold it off."

And then the bunker was brought up. Ray suggested that they split up to deal with different things. She turned and looked at the Captain.

"It's your call captain. How do you want to proceed?

Cloris paused, hesitating for a few seconds. She looked as though she was trying to
decide something.

"Thank you for being honest with us J. We'll make our stand here on the ship."

She gave the murder drone a quick thumbs up. That was proper in this situation, right? Unlike the wrench incident. She glanced over at J, then looked over at Ray.

"Ray, I'm glad you aren't a coward. But for God's sake use your head! These things are being controlled by an AI: they could lure you away from the group if you're too reckless."

She looked at V as she complimented Ray. "I didn't expect to have a ship engineer that's willing to go into the fray. All the others I've worked with run away from danger. I prefer that to the alternative.

Cloris watched in stunned silence as V kissed Ray full on the lips. And if his reaction was any indication, he really enjoyed it. And J leaned in and had what was definitely an intimate conversation with Chaos. Cloris lowered her head, rubbing her hands against her forehead.

"I'm getting a headache..."

Cloris groaned lowly. Why were these drones so intent on getting into relations with them? And why did half her crew have to think with their third leg? She only looked up when N talked about getting Oil. She didn't seemed phased by how creepy they were."

"That's right, you need oil to function properly

She turned and looked at J. She rubbed her forehead with one hand, still grimacing a little bit.

"J, we should probably stockpile oil at the ship. Otherwise that AI might try attacking us when you have to go and replenish yourselves."

It looked like everyone was in agreement about setting up the satellite array, so that was one thing decided, and beyond that Chloris asked if there were other Disassembly Drones. J looks a little bothered by the question, and she looks away.

"We haven't heard anything since we arrived, even though there were other Disassembly Drones sent here. We should probably assume they're disabled, or otherwise missing in action."

Soon, Chloris then suggests that they use the knowledge they gained from this recording against that thing too. She also asked if J had any data they could work off of from previous encounters.

"Like I said, it's probably not going to be an exact match. But yes, I'll share what I can."

And on the subject of what we should do next... Ray suggested splitting the forces, to handle carrying the parts and supplies back, and another to check out the bunker. Karasu thinks it over for a moment.

"Hmm... It would be good to cover more ground at once, yeah. Let's see how things look once the ship is secured. From there I think we can make a more informed decision about splitting our forces up like that. But I'm leaning in favor of it now."

Karasu makes his opinion known.

---

And as for V's reaction to Ray blushing and looking away... Well, that prompts quite the smug smirk from her, and she giggles softly.

"That is really cute."

It also seems as though V has made herself quite comfortable on Ray's lap right now... Even as Chloris expressed her exasperation at both V and J's antics.

"Oh, lighten up. You make it sound so horrible.", V remarks.

And on J's end, well... She's rather deeply amused by Chaos's very shy -- but honest -- answer. Enough so that she doesn't really pay Chloris's frustration much mind. Except to build off of it.

"Oh, you're a bad boy, aren't you?"
J teased, circling her finger on his chest.

And as for Karasu, he is a little taken aback at N's misunderstanding of what he asked.

"Huh? Wait, that's-"

Though fortunately, N soon realizes what he actually meant, and after checking the bridge, she seems pretty confident that was the last of them... And then N took on a rather sinister turn of emotion whilst talking about feasting on their corpses and oil.

... And quickly corrected herself. J simply stares at N, unamused.

"... Right, N."
She replies, then turning her gaze to Chloris.
"That was my thought too. It's a good idea to stock supplies for everyone on the ship. And in whatever secondary bases we ultimately decide to make, too."

Karasu then walks over in order to take stock of the bridge, and suffice to say, there's a LOT of oil... Wow. He then turns his attention to the rest of the crew.

"You probably don't want to see the bridge for now."

Was all he said about that.