Murder Drones: Disassembly Required

Ray started grinning, and then he addressed J -- rather effectively calling her out for actually caring about them despite her outward behavior. The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone crosses her arms.

"Oh, whatever. I have my completely neutral, corporate-approved reasons!"

After that, Cloris began to inquire about the relationship between Disassembly Drone squads, trying to figure out if they were like rivals, or something else. V shrugs in response -- mostly due to the answer she gave before. That left J to pick up the slack;

"Technically speaking, we all work for the same company and we have the same overall goal. But to put it more realistically, individuals may not get along with each other. It's a case-by-case basis, but you at least don't have to worry about us being enemies."

With that addressed, then came the subject of Klein being powered by Coral, something that apparently Cloris decided to keep from Ray, but it seems he wasn't bothered by that fact in the slightest. Instead he was more curious about what it could eventually mean, as he asks Aegis if he'll be capable of the things she can do.

The hologram gives a nod.

"Given enough time, yes. You'll be able to guide him into performing feats such as that. He'll also learn slowly by himself -- you might even see him pick up a few tricks as-is. It's also probably why he's so different from what you're used to."

With that answer given, it seemed that Ray's curiosity had been sated for now, and he wanted to start working on a project -- so he and V left. That meant that Aegis was having to carefully navigate this conversation with Cloris and J. Fortunately, J seemed to be mostly taking her side here -- even if unintentionally.

But Aegis had this feeling that Cloris would be nearly impossible to convince of this lie... In any case, as Cloris stands up, she thanks J for the meal. The twin-tailed Drone gives a nod.

"No problem. Glad you enjoyed it."

With that, the Disassembly Drone stands up and gathers the dishes to be cleaned. So now it was time for the checkup... Aegis and Cloris would be having a one-on-one conversation, and the Coral AI already knew that the green-haired woman was not buying the story.

The only question was... Why? She could understand if it had been more than a day, but there was so much skepticism that she couldn't help but be curious. Aegis tries to set that aside for the moment in order to get through Cloris's checkup.

Only for the woman to ask a simple, straightforward question.

Aegis came to a conclusion: Cloris must already know that Karasu is missing. But how?

"I must admit, your line of questioning is unusual."

Aegis admits, and soon continues;

"Do you have reason to believe that I am being untruthful, or that something has happened to the Captain? I could see no other reason for your continued skepticism."

She wasn't going to give up the lie quite so easily. By her calculations she needed to give the crew time to recover after the battle, as well as to balance out the bad news with good news. Fortunately she had acquired some, thanks to Doll...

But this was still a tricky situation to navigate, especially as she firmly believed that they would be able to get the Captain back.

---

"Well, they're good instincts, then."

Lizzy complimented Doll, and glanced over to the door as well. She knew that Doll had her reasons to be on edge around Ray, but she hoped that once Aegis had that talk with the crew, all of this would be cleared up. It would certainly be nice...

Doll also admitted that she wanted to stay close to Lizzy this time, and hey, she wasn't going to complain about that! The blonde gives her an appreciative nod, and then they meet Ray at the door together. He started off bubbly and energetic as he greeted Lizzy. But as soon as he spotted Doll, his entire mood changed and it was cold as ice.

Lizzy blinks, and then her brows furrowed a little.

"Wow. Subtle. Do you wanna try adding some mean words into the icy reception you gave my girlfriend?"

And then Doll went and gave him a similar greeting. And slowly Lizzy realized that uh... This was going to take a lot more effort than she thought, as she glanced between them.

Then she throws an arm around Ray and pulls him over -- she already had an arm around Doll, and she makes them face each other as she continues to glance between them.

"You two keep this up and I'm gonna start joking about how you need to just kiss it out already."

After Lizzy said that, V interjects:

"Excuse me?!"

Lizzy peeks over at V.

"Easy, murderbot. I'd give you kisses too. Also, it's a joke. I kinda don't want them to be at each other's throats."

The Disassembly Drone crosses her arms, a little annoyed -- but she at least concedes that Lizzy has a reason to want to try and make them get along...

After THAT whole mess, Ray leads the group to the workshop. V had her arms crossed while she walked along, although at this point she was a little less annoyed, and a little more impressed with Lizzy. She wouldn't let that show very much, but she could kind of respect that Lizzy had a spine about things.

After Ray gives an explanation about the workshop, he calls out for Aegis, who activates her hologram in that room, and gives a nod at his commands.

"Of course."

She begins to run the fabricator unit to his specifications. Doll caught onto his project pretty quick, and asked Lizzy to work her magic here to get her an outfit like that. The blonde Worker Drone gives her a thumbs up in response, and turns her attention to Ray as he asks for her input.

"Okay. Here's what I'm thinking..."

She steps over to him, in order to get a better look at the fabric he as working with.

"The cloaks that you made before were a good improvisation. But now that we've got resources and we're in a place that can handle more complex projects, we should go all out."

She gives a smirk as she then turns her attention to him.

"Make outfits and cloaks. Make several layers, too. And if you can weave in anything for like... Ballistics, cuts and tears? Do that too. That way if they get into a fight, they'll have several layers of protection."

She trails off momentarily to let him consider the input thus far, and then she adds;

"And you should make some extra outfits. If one of them gets damaged then they'll have spares they can work with, and it gives you time to repair the damaged ones. All the layers will make it so that even if a tear DOES happen, it won't be immediately dangerous."

After that, she would help him with these cloaks, truth be told they didn't need a lot of work, they were going to look pretty good for the Disassembly Drones -- they wore a lot of black as it was, so anything they add to it should be a more subdued touch. Eventually she and Ray settled on the yellow-and-black hazard lines for the trim.

But as she looked it over, she came to the conclusion that it was missing a certain something... For usability, it was perfectly fine. But it was lacking some flair, and it seems that Ray agreed.

"Yeah... It needs a little something more."

She voiced her thoughts on the matter, and eventually Ray rushes over to collect a sketchbook and a pen, and then he began to scribble on it at impressive speeds. Lizzy and V both watched as he then took the finished drawing over to a machine where it was scanned. Then he brings each of the cloaks under to receive the newly finished emblem.

Ray inspected one of the cloaks, and by this point everyone was really curious what he'd managed to make. Finally he holds it up for everyone to see.

"Huh... You know, that does round it out nicely."
V commented.

Not long after, Lizzy did the same;

"Not bad. You might have a talent for designing clothes too."

She praised, and then she collects the sketchbook and pen that he used earlier, in order to put her own thoughts into a handy visualization on an empty page.

"If we're going to make some outfits for them... Then I think it should be something like this."

It took her a little bit to finish the example drawing, but she wanted to show off plenty of angles for it. Eventually she shows it.

"Just a rough draft to give you an idea of what I'm thinking."


Of course, there was one other advantage to working with Ray on this... She was getting a pretty good handle on how to use all of this to make an outfit. She'd be able to make one for Doll, easy. One a little more personalized for her, too...

---

E got another headpat! This really was the most generous boss she'd ever had! She needed to make sure to be extra helpful for him, so that she gets even more!

"Hehe, anytime boss!"

And after that, he invited her to come along to get some coffee. She gives an excited nod in agreement, and just like that they're on a trip to the cafeteria! Chaos got himself a cup of coffee, and it seemed like he was wondering if he should do the same for E or not...

Fortunately, even if he was overly conflicted on the matter, E had already found herself an oil can, so she had a drink of her own to enjoy -- as a result, she eagerly takes a seat next to him whilst already partaking in the fresh oil.

Eventually Chaos ended up thanking her for spending some time with him, since the others were busy at the moment. She hadn't met Uzi or J yet -- but she imagined that she would soon! She gives a nod in response to his gratitude.

"Well of course, boss! You're really nice, so I like spending time with you!"

She replies, and at some point the two of them finished their respective drinks. Chaos believed it was time to get back to the lab, and he shared some details on what he was working on with E. She didn't entirely know what his projects were, but that was okay.

It sounded like he needed to go outside and find some materials though! She had a feeling she could really help with that! There was just one problem...

"That sounds real fun, boss! But uh, I can't go outside right now. Sunlight is bad for Disassembly Drones."
E explains -- but she's also quick to add:
"But I can help with anything inside the ship!"

So with that said, the pair would head back to the lab. Either once the sun was down, or E had some protection from the sunlight, they could go searching for materials later. Along the way, they might just run into Uzi and the new arrival...

"...Oh right I forgot, Disassembly Drones cant be in direct sunlight for some reason." Admittedly, I've been treating the drones like they are humans, at least mentally. I know they cant eat human foods and its not like Im going to force Uzi to eat popcorn. Only Klein can eat pudding.

"Well, we can always have fun in our lab at least."

We headed back to my lab and stepped inside. I removed my helmet and sat down. I planned on going outside today, so I didnt bothered on taking off the suit. The second reason is I didnt want Cloris to see my face today, but now that I am in my lab I can easily avoid her for the rest of the day.

I set the plasma cutter on the table and I sat down on my chair. "Y'know what? If I turn on some music, some thoughts might easily come out." I thought about my usual metal music and techno which'd I dubbed 'Calming music to test by' but I dont think E would like that kind of stuff, especially if I turn it up to 200%. Instead, I chose something more light.

”Not conflicting with other squads is the most important thing. Although given how unique the situation is, I propose we try and align ourselves with as many squads as possible. I doubt those creatures will be the last threats we face.”

"Well considering it worked out in the end, I think you could have kept way worse secrets from me. Don't worry about it."

When Ray said that, Cloris had paused. Nothing on her face changed, but for a moment there was a flash of sadness in her eyes. But in a flash it was gone. She gave him a smile.

”I’m afraid I can’t follow that request Ray. I always worry. It’s who I am.”

---

As Aegis worked on the physical, Cloris closed her eyes, folding her hands together.

”I’m suspicious because I knew something would happen. Something I’ve been waiting decades for.”

Cloris opened her eyes, looking at the A.I. solemnly. ”I’ll quit beating around the bush. Aegis, does the word “Anubis” mean anything to you?”

---

Oh, Doll did not like like that nickname one bit. And she let Ray know that. Even though he wasn't able to understand her, her icy tone made her intent quite clear.

”Lizzy daleko ne glupa. Ty grubyy khodyachiy meshok s zheltoy mochoy.”

[“Lizzy is the furthest from being dumb. You are a rude walking bag of yellow piss.]


Doll looked surprised as Lizzy used her strength to make Doll and Ray face each other. As a worker drone she had strength that far surpassed the average human (even if they didn’t look like it). Doll stared at the human.

”Vozmozhno, ya byl by s nim boleye obshchitel'nym, yesli by on perestal byt' takim vrazhdebnym. Sudya po vsemu, vykhod na kryshu dvizhushchegosya korablya i bitva za nikh s kakim-to sushchestvom delayet menya nenadezhnym.”

[“Maybe I'd be more sociable with him if he stopped being  so hostile. Apparently going onto to the roof of a moving ship and fighting a creature for them makes me untrustworthy.”]

Doll put an arm around Lizzy protectively, staring over at V. Even though Lizzy was joking, she didn’t even remotely like the suggestion she brought up. And she didn't like the idea of Ray's thoughts going towards her girlfriend and V making out.


Fortunately they managed to get to talking and doing something more productive. Lizzy even managed to convince Ray to make more outfits. Doll beamed as Ray called her girlfriend a savant.



”Vy ne smozhete pobedit' Lizzi, kogda delo kasayetsya odezhdy. Ona khudozhnitsa”

[“You can’t beat Lizzy when it comes to clothing. She's an artist.”]

---

Uzi stared at the core incredulously. ”Cause you don't have a mouth or speaker that I can see. How the robo-hell are you even talking right now?”

Uzi shouted back at the creature as it insulted her. ”HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT IT BEFORE I KICK YOU INTO THE SUN!”

Uzi's eyes rolled in annoyance.  ”Chill out spider. E sliced through a hoard of Zombie drones like butter. Just because she's a little weird doesn't mean she's bad at murdering things.”

Uzi threw her hands up in the air, letting out a groan. ”Ugh, fine! You better not be lying about any of this!”

Uzi sighed, pressing her hand against her forehead as he tried hurrying her along.

”Don't make me regret bringing you in.”

M and her she met with E and Chaos. She took offense when he started insulting Chaos, snapping at the core.



"Hey! The humans here have been nothing but civil to us! Your precious E would probably be dead if it weren't for them!”

Then M told a tale of his body getting up and just walking away. And collecting material for repairing itself in some way. Uzi turned her head up and let out a long groan.


”UGGGGGGGH! We’re going to have to fight a third monstrosity, aren't we? I hate this fricking planet!”

"Hmm. Fair point. Finding the squads may prove to be difficult, though."

J replied to Cloris's assessment. Fortunately it seemed like no one really caught onto her hangup there either, so Cloris went without anyone calling her on that.

---

For Aegis and Cloris, their private conversation had ended up taking an interesting turn. The woman was expecting this to happen? The Coral AI found that hard to believe, and yet, that would certainly explain her continued skepticism over Aegis's story... That left the question of WHY she was expecting this.

Cloris ends up revealing a little bit more -- "Anubis".

"ANUBIS... Okay, I guess it's time that we have a serious discussion, then."

Aegis concedes, and after a moment to compose herself, she begins to reveal the truth.

"The earlier story was true. Right up until what I said about bringing Karasu back. That monster used some kind of attack I'd never seen before, it was like a black hole -- and it was willing to let itself and the zombie drones it had called in to simply be pulled into it."

She pauses only briefly;

"It called them in through a simple phrase. "Callback Ping" -- which is also how ANUBIS seems to have found Karasu. I tried to get him out of there, but the pull was too strong. Despite that, I am certain he survived. It wasn't the void that claimed him, but ANUBIS."

With that, Aegis revealed everything she knows, aside from why she lied that is... But she would cover that as well.

"The crew got broken down pretty hard after the fight. I believed that if they found out that Karasu vanished, even if only temporarily, it would be a grievous blow to their morale. I know I'll have to reveal the truth to them soon... But I wanted to give them time, and some good news first."

For now, Aegis would withhold what that good news is precisely, but it must be something big if Aegis believed that it could keep their morale from going under. Now, she had revealed everything else, and she figured it was about time for Cloris to do the same.

"So... Why were you expecting this to happen? And what are you planning now?"

Aegis questions Cloris.

---

Jeez, these two were seriously handful. Lizzy rolls her eyes. Ray had his reasons to be suspicious of Doll, and Doll was taking great offense to it. For Lizzy's part in this? She was just about fed up with it. But it seems like her joke and facing them together like this was making an impact... Albeit Doll was still in a foul mood, and Ray seemed to be lost in thought.

Okay, one step at a time.

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?"

She teases Ray with half-lidded eyes, and boy did THAT get quite the reaction.

She couldn't help but break into a fit of giggles over it. V blushed, looking between the three of them. Then she quickly pulls Ray free of the huddle and holds him close.

"That's enough of that!"
She keeps glancing between Lizzy and Doll.

Lizzy just waves her hand in a manner as if to say 'calm down', and then she turns her attention to Doll.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it just skipped his mind, Doll. He was pretty out of it last night."

With that, Lizzy turns to Ray in order to say something more directly in Doll's defense.

"Look, I'm sure you have your reasons to be suspicious. But Doll IS on your side. She fought that monster last night, the one on the deck of the ship. Aegis will vouch for her."

She remarks, and that should smooth things over for the time being. Hopefully now they could do something more productive...

Once they got to the workshop, that was precisely the case! Ray ended up showing off his own skills, coming up with a way to make these outfits more protective from all kinds of dangers, and even allowing them to help with the heat that Drones would be putting off.

"Dang. Having someone to bounce ideas off of really helps these things along, doesn't it?"

She remarks, and along the way also provides some translations for Doll's sake. And then before Lizzy even realized it, she was receiving compliments by both parties. Huh. Maybe playing peacekeeper wasn't so bad, if it got her some praise like this...

No time to focus on that though, they had some more outfits to make! As to be expected, there were some design changes as they went. The other nice thing is that if they ever decided to add onto these to add some individual flair, it would be easy to do so.

"Nice. I've never had such an easy time making clothes. This workshop is pretty amazing."

For V's part in this, she curiously peeked at the outfits as they were made. She mostly kept her distance and just watched, not wanting to get in the way -- she wasn't really familiar with making clothes nor handling these kinds of machines. But it was kind of fascinating to watch.

---

E gives a smile to Chaos as he remembers Disassembly Drones and sunlight don't mix.

"It's okay! It can be kind of easy to forget!"

... Should E really be saying something like that when it's so dangerous for her? In any case, Chaos then admits that they should be able to have fun in the lab regardless! Once they arrived, Chaos began to sort out his work area for his latest project, and he also turned on some music.

E's hyperactive energy seemed to drop to a normal level as she listened to the relaxing music. She ends up taking a seat and calmly tilting her head from side to side and lightly kicking her leg with the beat of the song.

Once she got a better feel for the song, she began to softly hum along to it. She had gotten so lost in the music that she didn't even notice the new arrival -- or Uzi coming along with him. At least not until he started tapping on her leg, and then E peers down at the core.

"Oh wow! It's you! You lost weight! And I think you changed you hair! I don't even recognize you anymore!"

E fell silent as she continued to stare at him. That silence continued by both parties a little while.

"... No seriously, I don't recognize you."

After having said that, the core groans loudly and pokes her leg harder before explaining it in much less uncertain terms who he is. She nods slowly as she considers his words, then the realization hits her all at once.

"-Oooooh, M! Wow, you survived! This is great! Niney will be happy to find out!"

E remarks, and then the mood shifts a little bit as M looks over at Chaos and expresses his distaste for Humans. Although no one was likely expecting Uzi of all people to stand up for the Humans... E herself wasn't all that surprised but it was because she didn't know Uzi yet. Plus more of her attention was on M at the moment...

"Heeey. You be nice to boss! He gives me lots of headpats because he's generous and kind!"

E lightly pokes M's core in response. This ended up providing him the perfect way to climb up to her shoulder and get her focus back on track with something important he had to tell her. Apparently there was a big problem, and he also insisted it was a bigger problem than 99's social awkwardness.

E arches a brow, not really getting what he meant by that. But he keeps the conversation rolling along. He hops onto a nearby table and uses an anime figure to help illustrate his point. It was certainly an effective way to make E visualize the problem!

Although she may still not entirely grasp the severity of the situation, even though Uzi caught onto it straight away, voicing her disdain for the planet in the process... For E, she simply raises her hand excitedly.

"Oh! What if after you got separated from your body, it just got really, really hungry?"

That made sense, right? M got knocked out of his own body, it took a nap for a little bit, then it got up because it was hungry -- had a big ol' pit where M used to be! So now it was trying to fill it back up!

... Still, as he continued explaining the situation, it seems even E could grasp the seriousness of it... Yeah, if it went rogue, then it could go after everyone... Including Niney, who's still out there all alone!

"Okay, so we go find your body, we kick it's butt, and then we shove you back inside of it! Problem solved!"

... Remarkably straightforward, but considering E's combat ability, it might actually work...

The music isnt helping.

Something scurried past me as we entered the lab. Some kind of crab creature. "What the hell is this thing?" I said as I poked it. Normally I'd greet Uzi, being happy to see her. But that thing immediately put me in a sour mood.

I frowned as the crab thing insulted me. "Look, I didnt had a choice when our ship crash landed on this planet. This isnt the greatest place for a human."

I gave Uzi a thumbs up as she defended humans, including me. "Thanks, Uzi..." then, I whispered to her. "But I glad I did crash landed here, or else I'd never met you."

I was insulted further as the crab thing decided to play with my Limited Edition Noire 56 Figure. "Not only does it not like humans, it doesnt like anime either."

I dont like this thing. That crab creature has not only insulted humans, it insulted Uzi and E too. I'd say Im a chill guy, but even I have my standards. I am a person with little hate. Only a few things in this world I hate and I dont even hate my ex despite her being a bitch. I need to get J involve just in case.

After it pointed my Noire figure at me, I took the figure away from it and placed it on a very high shelf. I grabbed an empty jar off a rack, turn around and place it behind my back. "Look." I said towards that thing. "I cant exactly trust you. First thing you did when coming here was to grab E's attention, not J's or V's."

I quickly slam the jar onto M, gently enough to not to shatter the jar. I close it shut using a lid, then poked holes in the lid to allow it to speak to us. "Look, I dont like you and I think you have ulterior motives. So we are going to speak to J about this, immediately."

Although I never got any new thoughts for any projects I had, I did got a new idea entirely: Nanite based weaponry. Nanite Knife, Nanite Gun... Nanite proof armor. If there is any actual rogue Disassembly Drones out there, those kind of things would be useful. I'd need to get J's help with it, but she'd gladly help with me. It'll be very useful, especially if this M character turns out to be a turncoat. I never thought I'd want to kill a living thing until I met Mr. Crabs.

”Callback ping…”] Cloris shuttered as she recalled things she wish she could forget. Those two simple words, that one command created horrors beyond comprehension.

Cloris smiled sadly at Aegis. ”It seems like you’ve picked up quite a bit from me. I’ve been having to hold back information all time. Your intentions were good, and I even agree to it to an extent. But the crew is going to lose some trust in you when they find out. Take it from someone who’s had to live a lie: make sure it’s something that you can sustain.”

Cloris paused, folding her hands together. ”Project ANUBIS was… or rather is, an anti-apocalypse machine. A time travel system designed to prevent extinction events. Right now Karasu is on Copper 9 a month before the core meltdown. I know this because that was the first time I met him.”

Cloris paused, letting all that sink in for the AI. ”It was because Karasu mentioned ANUBIS that I dug deeply into it. Or as deep as I could. Supposedly it shut down completely and was considered a failure. But I have a theory that they made their breakthrough, and pretended that they didn’t. Because they realized something essential.”

Cloris paused, folding her hands into her lap. ”If people knew when and where ANUBIS was created, or even that it existed at all, you risk someone or something finding out about it and destroying it in the past. So it’s likely they lied and abandoned their original facilities to keep it from being discovered.”

Cloris sighed, looking at Aegis solemnly.
”I had to bring Karasu here to make sure history played out the way it was supposed to. Even if I wasn’t told to bring him to Copper 9, I know how time travel works. Karasu had to be on Copper 9.”

---

If V and Lizzy weren’t there, an fight between Ray and Doll probably would have broken out. Fortunately the power of robot girlfriends prevailed. When Lizzy said that Ray was probably out of it, she backed down. She seemed a little less weary then before with her girlfriend defending her.

Doll rolled her eyes when Ray mentioned it was painful to agree with her. He really wouldn’t let it go. Maybe that was why she didn’t call all of Ray’s hard work impressive. Although she did perk up a little when he mentioned being able to help infected drones.

---

Uzi tried not to snicker as Chaos poked M. ”Apparently this is a disassembly drone. And a pretty lame one considering that it lost its body.”

Uzi snarled at the creature, pointing at it and snapping back at it.

”Yeah, but these humans had nothing to do with that! And even if they were, that doesn’t make you innocent!”

Uzi blushed lightly as Chaos thanked her. She made sure E or N could see it, and her visor displayed No Prob

Uzi was edgy, but even she thought that the level of sarcasm this thing was displaying was over the top. Just as she was about to snap back. She heard a familiar voice outside the door. When N came in and started holding onto her shoulders, Uzi winced and turned her head to look at the drone.

Gah! Calm down N! Look the Jersey burgers are closed right now, okay?”

Uzi didn’t have the heart to tell N that they were all just gone. The drive through a probably had skeletons staring out the windows.

Uzi sighed as E and M talked about getting his body back. ”So we have kill a third creature that can probably regenerate without destroying it completely so you can get you body back and hope it doesn’t hijack you when you try to. Yeah, that will be simple.”

Okay, did this thing just have nothing but insults for everyone it met? Okay, she had been a little like that. But M was really being annoying about it. But then Chaos caught M in a jar. And Uzi burst into laughter, pointing at the jar.

HAHAHAHA! Oh my robo-god! You actually put him in a JAR! HAHAHAHAH!”

Uzi only laughed harder after Chaos poked air holes into the jar and allowed her to hear M’s complaining. She calmed down a little when they had to head off to where J was.

When M proclaimed J would leave Chaos when given the chance, Uzi made sure to stay in stride right next to Chaos. She leaned as close to the jar as possible, giving M a wide grin.


”I seriously doubt that J’s going to stab her boyfriend in the back. Especially with that passionate night they shared. You should have heard them: I thought Chaos’s bed was going to collapse with how hard they were going at it.”

Okay, so she actually hadn’t heard them going at it that hard. But M didn’t know that.

So... Cloris revealed that she'd been keeping plenty of secrets for quite some time. That made sense -- it explained why she had been so repeatedly skeptical about Aegis... At the same time, she also explained to the Coral AI that no matter how well-intentioned the lie might have been, it was going to result in a loss of trust once the crew found out.

Aegis glances down, feeling a little ashamed.

"That's why I'm searching for a way to bring him back. Failing that, I at least want to have something to offer them to show them that it's not hopeless... And I think I found that."

Time would only tell, but for now... They needed to talk about the ANUBIS System. Cloris had already done some digging on it. She was able to turn up quite a few details on it, too. Aegis listens intently, nodding every now and then to show that she is. It still sounded so unreal, though...

"A month before the core collapse... I vaguely recall something like that. It's hard to believe that it involved time travel, though..."

Aegis remarks, and Cloris then explains her theory about the enigmatic ANUBIS. How it was likely much more than a simple failed project -- that indeed, they had succeeded and secrecy was of the utmost importance to keep it functioning... It was a very logical answer, one that Aegis had no argument against.

"I suppose the only way to find out for sure would be to investigate the facility personally."

Aegis commented, and then gives a nod at Cloris's last words there.

"So that explains the alterations to my programming, and the ship's course."

Still... The Coral AI didn't think that was the end of this particular rabbit hole either. That paints a lot more of the picture, but what exactly was Cloris up to aside from that?

"So, what are you planning to do now? I don't think you did this just to ensure that the timeline played out as needed. I'm sure you're up to more than that."

---

Lizzy couldn't help but grin at Ray admitting it was painful to agree with Doll on something. Rather than jump on his case about it, she simply gives him a pat on the back.

"There ya go. Tune it up a little nicer and you'll be making amends with Doll."

Fortunately they didn't linger on that subject for too long -- in fact, Ray was soon describing the overhauls he made for the ship, all starting with this workshop of all things... While she helped him with the clothing, he continued his story. It was kind of crazy to think just how much he was able to put his skills to use on this ship.

Kind of inspiring, too... Maybe Lizzy would be able to claim that kind of skill one day.

"Well, I can see that I picked a really good teacher, if nothing else."

The pink drone gives him a genuine smile as she says that. There wasn't a hint of sarcasm to be found. Finding something to be passionate about, and leveraging that much worth... It was amazing. She was used to being popular, and yeah, that had it's own influence. But it was less than useless when it came to the kind of situations Doll was facing right now.

Well, that's how she felt at times, anyway... She knew that practically, it was extremely useful, even if it was hard to convince herself of that at times. And sure enough, that was paying off again as Ray points out a diagnostic machine, mentioning how that could provide a permanent solution to the infected drones. Not just a band-aid fix...

Now, Lizzy didn't want to give anything away until Aegis was able to handle the talk, but she couldn't help but be curious.

"I'm pretty curious about that. You seem like a pretty practical guy, Ray. Would an infected Drone have to stay here in the workshop, or on the ship, or would you only need to do routine checkups in-between your attempts to help them?"

She begins to probe for some information, she saw Doll perk up earlier, so she knew that this was important to her, for a variety of reasons.

Of course, there was one other curious soul in the room, and that was V. Ray seems to catch onto this fact, and eventually picks up one of the outfits and carries it over to her with a smile on his face. Soon he explains his idea; for her to try one of the outfits on.

V had to admit... She was REALLY curious about this. Plus... This was technically something Ray made for her, so it felt pretty special. It was part of his ongoing attempts to deal with the sunlight issue she was faced with, too.

"Can I really?"

She asked -- in the process Lizzy and Doll were getting to see another side to the Disassembly Drone.

Eventually V cooperates with Ray to get the outfit on, and she performs a few maneuvers just to test the outfit out.

"Huh... It doesn't really feel like I'm wearing anything at all."

Her heat levels hadn't gone up in the slightest. And yet she felt like this would do a pretty good job of protecting her from the usual threats, too...

---

E gives M a small smile in response. Every now and then she got to see his nice side, and this was one of those moments... It'd be nice if they lasted longer, though! Before long he was getting confrontational with Uzi over Chaos.

"Oh, M. You still get so sour about the Humans..."

E remarks, she couldn't really understand it personally. What was there to not like about them? Why, without Humanity, they wouldn't have nearly as many things as they do! Especially RT3 -- and Dr. Carpenter himself.

Still, at least M was learning a little bit more about Chaos and the crew that ended up crashlanding on Copper 9... And then, E got the best news she heard yet! M was praising her idea, and he even mentioned stopping by Jensy Burger!

Her excitement was only matched by the sudden arrival of N.

"Oh, oh! I gotta get one of those too! Those toys are always so cool!"

And before anyone could even take the time to correct them, E and N were holding hands, somehow spinning around as they chanted...

"We're going to Jensy Burger! We're going to Jensy Burger!"

Once... THAT particular mess was dealt with... The group was able to steer the conversation back towards more productive things. In this case, M was actually praising E's ability to come up with a remarkably effective plan.

"Eh, coin flip's not bad. We'd just have to kick the butt of the imperceptible elder god too!"

... Well, at least it was difficult to rain on E's parade. Even with the tragic fate of Jensy Burger...

... At least up until M started to list off all the reasons not to get along with V and J. Honestly, this was one of the things about M that E DIDN'T like. She knew that he probably had his reasons... But it was so hard to make friends with anyone when all you did was give them reasons to be upset with you!

At least Uzi and Chaos were taking it in stride. Hell, Chaos even pulled a pretty fast one by catching it in a jar! That seemed to REALLY agitate M. So much so that once his voice can be heard again, E gasps as she covers her mouth. Her eyes are replaced by text simply reading "A swear word!"

But it looks like he was going on an express trip to meet with J now. By this point, E was going to chime up to get him out of the hot water that... Let's be honest here, he basically got himself into -- at least up until the twin-tailed Disassembly Drone enters the lab.

"Ugh, I thought I heard an annoying voice."

She recognized M's voice, that's for sure... But after glancing around the lab, she couldn't spot him. Then she looked over at Chaos, and saw the jar in his hands. She steps over to take a closer look, and then she sees him.

She's silent for a moment. Then she snickers as she takes the jar and holds it up.

"Oh my god. You would make for the best and most annoying desk ornament ever."

J smirks, then bringing the jar back down to a normal level as she peers at the core inside.

"How did you even get into this mess, synergistic liability?"

"Some Disassembly Drone, loosing its body easily like that."

"Look, here is that plan: We fight that third giant monster thing alongside your body. It seems you didnt took great care of it since you lost it in the first place."

I laughed a bit when E and N thought they where getting Jensy Burgers, causing a little bit of chaos for Mr. Crabs. "Sorry girls, not right now. Maybe when all this mess is over, you two can have Jensy happy meals."

Mr. Crabs implied something with a pig. "Im glad you are in that jar. Maybe soon I'll fill it with some kind of thick liquid."

"You!" Mr Crabs decided to insult J further, implying that she'd leave me and find a replacement. I shacked the jar a bit to give him a small headache. "J would never do such a thing! In fact, I'd find it hard to believe she'd find a replacement human scie---" I became speechless when I heard Uzi telling Mr. Crabs that I banged J hard enough to nearly breaking the bed. "U...Uzi...!" I said with a blush. "I...I..." unable to deny what she said, I was utterly speechless. "Y...You will pay for that, U...Uzi...!".

I think back on M's words. I let those words sink in a bit, and it sorta made me depressed. "J will never leave me..." I said to myself, a bit depressed. Before I can think back to my ex and my dead family, J entered the room.

"J!" I excitingly said, surprised that she came to us not the other way around. I returned to my smugly exterior. "I guess J just saved us the trip to bringing you to her, Mr. Crabs! J, Mr. Crabs has talked some mad crap about you and made some broad claims that you'd abandon your teammates for someone better!" I said to her, handing Mr. Crabs to J.

"Maybe you should also apologize to J too, after you insulted her so much." I said as I crossed my arms.

Cloris folded her hands together, interlocking her fingers and nodding her head slowly.

”We’re going to have to navigate things carefully. This is a precarious situation. Fortunately I knew it was coming, so I have an idea on how to handle it.”

Cloris lowered her hands into her lap, leaning forwards slightly.

”Which is why I couldn’t mention it until it actually happened. The elements at play are unbelievable if you try to tell someone about them in advance.”

Cloris lowered her hands, looking at Awgis apologetically. ”I hated doing those alterations. And I wish I had calculated the entry trajectory better. I almost got us all killed before we had a chance to do anything.”

Cloris stared into Aegis’s eyes as the computer asked what her true intentions were. Her determination shone through with her firm gaze, her green eyes gleaming.

”We’re here to finish what others started. We’re going to stop the absolute solver and its machinations. This ends on Copper 9.”

Cloris then paused, letting that sink in. Then she elaborated further. ”Coral is one of the main components to stop it. I plan to put you and I both through modifications: you will get a body and I will make the final upgrades I’ve been building: I intend on using a new system that will utilize Coral.”

She figured Aegis would need a moment to digest that. Then she spoke up again.

”Aegis, there will come a time where I will have to go somewhere to get the final surgical modifications. Where I’ll have to separate from the group. When that time comes, I need you to do something for me. There’s a chest under my bed locked with a Coral system. When the time is right, I want you to tell him something he needs to open it. The two drones turned their gazes skyward, and were awed by the shimmering stars of Ptolemy.

Cloris let Aegis absorb that information again before continuing. ”Karasu will understand the meaning behind that. He’ll be able to get the code from that phrase.”

---

Doll was at least satisfied with the answer that Rsy gave about corrupted drones. At least for the time being. Fortunately he wasn’t treating her girlfriend with the same suspicion he was with her: he hadn’t picked on that meaning behind the questions on corrupt drones.

Better yet, it looked like the cloaks were working as intended. Since she was shorter than the assembly drones she would probably have to tailor their size to fit her when she got one. But it wasn’t something that the most fashionable girlfriend on the planet couldn’t handle.

---

Uzi wasn’t exactly happy with someone stealing her catchphrase. Not one bit.


”Hey! Get your own fricking catchphrase you plagiaristic Parasite! Telling someone to bite you when you’re that small is just asking to be eaten!”

Not that she was planning on doing that. Who would eat a weird fleshy core thing? Not her, that was for sure!

Even E admitted that M was pretty hard on the humans. Hell, if he weren’t a disassembly drone she probably would have been drawing up plans to murder humans with her back when life was simpler for Uzi.

Uzi rolled her eyes as both N and E cheered at the possibilities of burgers. Chaos only encouraged the two of them as well. Uzi looked at him, her face replaced with a picture of a burger and a question mark. She didn’t know how Chaos was going to be able to fulfill that promise.

Uzi laughed at everyone’s reaction to her blantant reveal of Chaos’s sex life. She waved a hand dismissively.

”Yeah, yeah. I should fear the retaliation of the mighty Chaos. Come on, that reaction M had was worth it.”

Uzi glowered at M as he kept implying that J would leave him. She poked a finger against the glass.

”I don’t know anything about J and this Tessa, but if J wouldn’t abandon Chaos like that.”

She did not fail to notice that Chaos was put down by what M told them. Her face turned to look at Chaos for a few seconds.


Uzi snickered as J brought the jar up to her face.

”He isn’t even a good paperweight. He’d tear up your company documents and won’t shut up.”

Uzi sighed, translating the situation for J. ”Mr.Crabs the Synergistic Liability got owned in a fight and now his body is going around assimilating machinery. Which probably means we’re going to have to kill another monstrosity cause this planet sucks and wants to murder us all.”

Cloris was thinking about all of this for so long... She had apparently planned out several steps of this, from what Aegis could tell. The green-haired woman also mentioned that her reason for being so secretive is precisely because this was so unbelievable.

"Well... I suppose you have a point there..."

As much as she didn't like the secrets, Aegis had to admit that Cloris had more than a solid point about that. She also regretted those alterations that she had made, and the fact that her calculations were off to the degree that it endangered the crew. By this point, the Coral AI actually interjects;

"In your defense, I believe the calculations were actually on-point. But something collided with the Stormborder, altering the trajectory enough to have us pulled into Copper 9."

After Aegis shared that information, Cloris then explained her reason for all of this; her intentions on stopping the Absolute Solver one way or another. Then the scientist continues still by speaking of her plans to do just that; the modifications she intended to make to herself and Aegis. The plan to make a body for her... How Coral factored into all of this.

"I see... Considering I was able to resist the Solver's influence, that does make sense."

The Coral AI gives a nod in response. Finally Cloris shares the most important message that she has -- that she will need to separate from the group. Aegis listened intently to her words, and memorized the key phrase. But afterwards...

"Cloris, I must advise against that course of action. Especially seeing as how you all insisted that Karasu didn't do the exact thing you're suggesting right now."
She responds, and soon adds:
"The crew will help you. All of us can. Our victory over the Absolute Solver last night serves as proof that unity is our most powerful weapon against it."

---

Seeing Ray so deep in thought filled Lizzy with curiosity. She briefly wondered if he didn't receive many compliments, or something... Or that if he did, maybe he wasn't used to receiving them. It almost made her curious enough to ask about it, but what should she say? None of her snarky quips covered this kind of sensitive subject.

Eventually, she settled for leaving it alone -- but if he wanted to open up about stuff, maybe she could just sit and listen. Eventually their conversation starts up again as she asks about the infected Drones and how he intended to help them. He admits that a lot of it is theoretical, so it's hard to say... But he does at least confirm that there would be no cages or weird experiments.

Lizzy gives a nod at that, almost seeming relieved to hear it.

"Fair enough. Considering the circumstances, that seems like a pretty safe approach to things."

With that, she turns her attention to Doll, giving her a smile and a wink. Lizzy had been a pretty staunch advocate of the fact that these Humans weren't so bad, and she was taking this as proof of that. More importantly, it was also a means of helping Doll with this corruption... Something more concrete than that patcher she mentioned before.

As for V... Well, she was pretty excited to be getting a new outfit from Ray! It wasn't really something she wore before, but the very idea of having something specifically made by him for her... Well, it just did something very pleasant for her. It was difficult to describe, but it made it all the easier to see the better mood she was in.

Then he went and praised her... It prompted those blush lines to fill her optic screen once more. She felt bashful about it, yes... But also really happy.

"You think so? I think I like it, too."

V replies, and now carefully considers the fact that Ray might like seeing her in other outfits, too... Hmm... Maybe she could ask Lizzy about that, since she knew all about clothing.

Speaking of Lizzy! After that little show, Ray collects one of the suits and hands it to Lizzy, asking her to hold it up. She gives a nod and does that.

"Eh, just a Worker Drone, so it wouldn't really do anything anyway."
She replies, but was appreciative of his consideration regardless.

Soon enough he's prepared the UV flashlight, and turns it on whilst aiming it at the outfit that Lizzy was holding. He asks Aegis to run a scan, and the Coral AI does so.

"It looks like it was a success! You're only getting UV Radiation at half-an-inch into the material. It's not passing through the fabric beyond that."

Lizzy grins as she looks at the back of the outfit.

"Yeah, not even a speck of light from that flashlight that I can see on this side."

V herself kept a wide berth while this test was running, but it sounded like it was all good news, too.

"So... Only one last test, right?"

V Asked. This last one was admittedly nerve-wracking... But she knew that Ray would take contingencies, it would be fine.[/color]"

---

[i]Fortunately, Chaos managed to get a handle on the situation by saying that N and E would have to get their food after all of this. E slumps over a little.

"Aww! Okay!"

But it doesn't take her very long to straighten out and get back to business. The most important matter at the moment was just how much M was saying -- and how much he was getting under everyone's skin right now...

It was even enough to get to E.

"... A lot of why Niney got so upset is because you kept talking like that, M."

She remarks.

But then! It was J's arrival! And now that she had her initial fun at M's expense, she was looking around the room and picking up some context clues that something was wrong. She already knew who the culprit was, as well. But first thing's first... She lifts the jar up a little bit in order to peer at him more directly.

"Oh, M. Still sour about never getting Employee of the Month, I see."

She shakes her head slightly... Still, she couldn't help but smirk at Uzi joining in on the fun here. They might actually bond over just how insufferable M is. Not like he was doing himself any favors on that front, either! Especially as Chaos reveals -- so M was getting up to THAT again, huh?

J felt like there was a little more to that, but first thing's first...

"You know what? I want to put that to the test."

She then brings his jar over to a table, pulls a paper over, and then sets the jar on top of it.
J lets things sit like that in silence, then she gives a mock gasp straight into excitement -- almost like one would for a pet managed to use the bathroom in the right spot.

"Oooh, good job, M! Who's a good paperweight?! You are! Yes you are!"

She pats the jar. Then she straightens out and crosses her arms.

"Okay, do your worst."

Surprisingly enough, however, M manages to let go of his grudge... At least for long enough to explain the situation -- and J takes the time to listen, despite the grievances she has with him.

"Yeah, I don't know where you get off acting like you know anything about me -- but we've got experience dealing with things like that. We'll take care of it and get you your body back. Try not to screw it up again afterwards."

After that... There was something that she wanted to ask about. It related to why Chaos seemed to be so upset right now.

"Now, M. What exactly did you say to Chaos? I already know you had nothing nice to say about me, but I already figure he'd be mad at you if you were just insulting me."

She then slams her hands onto the table as she looms over the jar.

"So you wanna explain what you did?"

J's tail lashes sharply, an indication of her anger. M got on her nerves even at the best of times, but the idea of him screwing up the thing she had with Chaos really rubbed her the wrong way...

"I'll think up something later, like way later. At the end of it all, they'll get their Jensy Burger Meals. Couldnt be that far off from a burger and a toy anyways."

"...Yeah, Crabs reaction was pretty great. Worth it." Although Uzi thinks I cant do anything to her, I sure as hell will make her embarrassed by the night.

Mr. Crabs thinks Im going to do THAT to him. "Maybe you get your mind out of the gutter, Crabby. I wasnt talking about my fluids. I think you are the pervert and sorry dude Im not into guys."

"I will not stop calling you Mr. Crabs until I like you and so far you are doing a great job of making me dislike you further."

E mentions this Niney person didnt liked M much either. "Looks like this thing isnt that well liked. No wonder why everyone just abandoned him."

M seemed to hit my insecurities where it hurts. "I...Im fine, Uzi. I shouldnt let those fake words hurt me like that. Thanks for worrying about me though." I know its something J will never do, but there lies a fear deep inside me that everyone I know will go away. Its what just M said allowed those fears manifest deep inside me.

I couldve gained this fear when I learned my family, my entire lineage, died way back on earth. The sudden realization that they are just gone instilled that type of fear in me. I do not like abandonment and hearing those words from M just made me hate him more.

Im glad not only is J with me, but so is Uzi. If I feel ever down, atleast these two will be there for me.

I put myself back together and gathered a strong face once more.

"Look, Crab thing, no matter what you say or do will ever make me like you. Besides, you hate humanity as a whole so I'd say that is a fair trade. You hate humans, including me, and I hate you. So there."

J looks really mad now and Im glad she is on our side. "Do you want me to explain it, Mr Crabs? Because you saying J would leave me for another human was pretty low. I dont think you are digging yourself out of this grave, Crabby."

”True, but I wanted a smooth landing on Copper 9, not for our ship to be so damaged. I didn’t consider for all that space debris circling the planet.”

Cloris reached up, rubbing the back of her hair. ”You were very hard to design Aegis. We had to invent an entire method of utilizing the Coral connection to get your AI working properly. Coral has quite a few perks, as you and Karasu know very well.”

Cloris sighed, standing up and walking towards one of the windows in the medical ward. ”I intend on reuniting with the group eventually. There’s somewhere we all have to be at the end. No matter what road everyone takes, they’ll all end up at the same destination. I need to complete myself for us to defeat the Solver Aegis. We’re a team, but we also have to play our roles. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to guide things from behind the scenes.”

Cloris turned around, looking at Aegis sadly. She let out a sigh.

”I [b]want to be with the group the whole way. But I can’t Aegis. I can’t even explain all the reasons why yet. But I’ll make sure things are as successful as possible for everyone, including you. I’m going to make you a body you can be proud of.”[/color]

---

Blushes appeared on Doll’s visor, and she smiled back at her girlfriend. She was going to show her appreciation for her when they were alone. And not around people that she wasn’t too fond of. Even though Ray himself didn’t seem like a terrible guy. Certainly a far cry from the horror stories the colony told about them. Still, she didn’t know if she could get over him dating V. Who if it weren’t for the fact that it would make Lizzy’s suggestions fail, would be rooting for the sun to destroy her actively. Doll made sure to stay a fair distance away from the airlock as he opened it up.

---

Uzi snorted at M. ”I don’t think anyone besides E will ever like you.”

Uzi waved her hand away from her body, gesturing towards a window. ”Exactly, I don’t see Tessa here. Why would she bring anyone she cares about for this robo-god forsaken ice-hole? If it was up to her she’d probably take Chaos as far from this planet as possible.”

Uzi didn’t look convinced when Chaos insisted he was fine. She frowned, but didnt’ say anything. She wasn’t good with all this feelings stuff. Especially when it came to people she liked. Comforting someone? That was out of her element entirely.

Uzi didn’t think she’d be ever be angry for the sake of a murder drone. But she found herself snapping at M for implying some nasty things about J.

”Hey! Stop calling that weirdly hot disassembly drone a slut!”

She then realized what she had said, and blushed, crossing her arms and looking away. ”Don’t look too hard into that!”

She then stared snickering as J made M officially a paperweight. Even funnier, he actually accepted his fate. She walked over and stared down at M, a smug grin on her face.

”Hey, I was wrong. He was born to be a paperweight.”

Then J reminded everyone why the workers called her a murder drone. Slamming her hands down aside, when a disassembly drone started waving their tail like that, you knew that they were an inch away from sticking it into someone. Fortunately she didn’t like M, so if J decided to murder him, well that was his own fault. She crossed her arms, glaring down at the drone.

”You knew what you were doing though. You worded things to give Chaos the impression that J kept a human as a toy, abandoned them, and would do the same him.”

Uzi looked up at J, then pointed at the Jar. ”Mr.Crabs the Systemic liability made it sound like you were just riding your boyfriend like a company car and then toss him aside when he broke down.”

"Let's simply be thankful that we survived, then."
Aegis replied -- she believed that Cloris was being too harsh on herself. In the end the actions were necessary, and it was an impossible standard to be able to predict that kind of thing...

But that's simply who Cloris was. Her upbringing, all the expectations on her shoulders... As much as Aegis disagreed with that standard, Cloris had her reasons for it. Nonetheless, the green-haired woman then proceeds to explain the difficulties she faced in working with Coral, and adapting it to a form that can more easily communicate with people.

"Yes, I remember a little about that. There was a time where only the Captain could hear me clearly."
The AI gives a nod with her response.
"And indeed it does. I've had a long time to work on what I can do. I have a feeling I might still be capable of more, though."

Still... Aegis could tell that Cloris was deeply troubled. She felt that there were things that have to be done -- everyone needed to be in their appropriate places at the right time. Aegis wasn't quite going to give up with that much, though.

"All the more reason you should let us help you. We can get you where you need to be, and with that surgery."

But despite her attempts to persuade Cloris, the woman was adamant about this. Insisting that she had her reasons -- even if she couldn't explain them just yet.

"Look... I'm already pretty deep in on this, Cloris. I'm sure you can share the reasons why -- including why you want to make a body specifically for me. This is the first I've heard of such a plan."

---

Ray's words didn't go unnoticed. Both V and Lizzy picked up on it. V tilts her head curiously, and Lizzy arches a brow -- but he soon moves the conversation along, speaking aloud as he reveals his intentions to help all of the Drones on the planet.

Lizzy couldn't help but be impressed with that kind of determination.

"Well dang. That's gonna take awhile -- but it seems worth doing. I might know of a few that need some repairs like that myself. Just have to check that they still have their cores."

Lizzy then remarks -- it was her way of hinting that she wanted to get this kind of assistance for Doll's parents, but also an easy out just in case she wasn't sure yet. All they had to do is say that the cores were missing.

... She had to admit. He sounded pretty cool when he was talking about winning the war against the witch, too.

For V, she was equally impressed -- and all the more pleased to receive compliments from him as a result. He even offered to make tweaks to her outfit to fit her tastes more. A gesture which she appreciated.

"Huh... You know, I might have to think about that. That might be kind of nice."

She was already processing some ideas on possible alterations to the outfit. Although even if it didn't receive any, she had to admit that she liked this either way! Especially since it was getting her attention from Ray.

And that idea also spurred a thought from Lizzy, she steps over with a grin as she then says;

"Speaking of which. Think I can use this workshop to make some clothes? You guys need something for prom."

And then she leans in to whisper to Ray;
"I can make her a dress that'll knock your socks off."

After that -- and presumably Ray's flustered reaction, they were able to get back on track as Ray began to ease V's concerns. He seemed pretty certain that this time around, there wouldn't be a risk. He holds a hand out and asks her for two strands of hair. At first she briefly wonders why, but then pieces together his intentions.

With a nod, she uses her claws to easily cut and retrieve the strands, which he hands to him. For anyone that paid close attention, the strands already grew back in mere moments.

Finally, he got suited up and motion for the others to follow him -- which they did. Although as per Ray's instructions, V stood clear of the airlock just to be safe. Doll did the same, not that she really thought much of it. Especially seeing as how Lizzy stuck with Doll.

Eventually, Ray returns to the inside of the ship, and begins to unwrap the cloth to show the results. Soon enough the strand of hair from V is shown to be totally unharmed despite being in direct sunlight. The Disassembly Drone blinked at the sight in disbelief.

But just like he said... It worked!

"Wow... So that means I should be able to go in sunlight too."

Despite the success of it, however, she could tell that Ray was still troubled by the idea of her going out there. To be honest, she kind of was too... But she steps over to him to place a hand on his shoulder.

"If it helps... We don't immediately burst into flame in sunlight, and we can minimize the risks taken until we know for sure. I can just stick my hand out there, and if there's no reaction..."
V trails off for a moment. It was still pretty nerve-wracking, but...
"Then I should be able to step out into the sunlight entirely. If it goes wrong at any point, I'll immediately get back into the shade."

With that... She gives him a nod, and then moves her hand down along his arm, eventually holding his hand.

Like that, they would face this final test together. Just like before, they begin to cycle through the airlock. A part of her wanted to instinctually shrink away from the light, but holding Ray's hand kept her steady.

With her free hand, she begins to reach it out slowly. Eventually you can see the sunlight hitting the sleeve of the outfit, but she doesn't have any reaction to it... In fact there's such a lack of reaction that it even takes her by surprise.

She sticks her arm out just a little further, and waves it gently. But still nothing. She psyches herself up for this, and then she begins to step out into the sunlight slowly. But she's not noticing any changes.

"No changes in temperature, no sensation of pain..."

She spoke aloud, describing this more for Ray's sake in this case.

"It's working."

Making sure of where the light was coming from, and using the outfit to her full advantage, she is able to step out into broad daylight. She remains close to the airlock just in case... But just like before, nothing happens.

She turns to him, smiling again.

"It's a total success, Ray!"

She then moves back towards him, and gives him a big hug. They had privacy in this moment, and she was able to enjoy it. Eventually, they would make their way back into the ship -- this time with the most definitive proof of all!

Lizzy is the first to break the silence:

"Considering how long you were out there... It worked. Feels pretty satisfying to say that about a project I helped with."

It was also proof that she could help Doll too...

---

E gives M a little smile as he insists he's just trying to look out for her. As mean as he could be, she wanted to believe that he did care about her, too.

"Can you give them a chance? If you're right, then we can just leave."

She tried to reason with him. She believed that Chaos and the others were nice, good people though. She was sure that M would be able to see that too, especially if he allowed them in. And for Uzi's part in this? She was actually putting up a pretty adamant defense for J!

One that was hard to argue with, really...

As for when J started messing with M, E felt like she should intervene -- but he just seemed to really be asking for this. She WOULD if she thought that he was in serious danger, but for now, maybe this would be a good way for him to learn a lesson.

J just laughs a little as he implies that she must have done a lot of 'favors' to get where she is in the company.

"Of course that would be what you think. It's not as though you constantly mouth off to your superiors and frequently talk about betraying the company."

J retorts -- and when he tells her to laugh it up because he won't be like this forever, she just smirks.

"I'm sure arrangements could be made, but I'm not as petty as you are. I'll help you get your body back."


... Then, as J confronted him on what he did earlier... Well, M said more than a few things that ticked her off. She straightens out and crosses her arms and she glares down at him.

"You know, M. It's rich that you talk about snitches not being liked when you did something like this."

But then J simply shrugs, leaning towards him once more as she places her hands on her hips.

"I don't really like talking about my bosses -- but who do you think sent my squad here in the first place?"

The expression on her face conveyed a lot of hate... Like he had encroached on something he didn't have any business in, and she wanted to make him pay for it.

"But then again, that's the kind of thing I expect from such a pathetic, useless piece of scrap metal convinced that he knows everything about everything.

It's honestly kind of impressive that you go out of your way to be unpleasant as possible. Like you take some kind of bizarre joy out of making others suffer."

She then raises an index finger, as if to silence him as she wasn't done yet.

"I mean, at least V has her reasons to be unhinged. I think you were just made to hate. You hate everyone around you, you hate them whether they're Human or Drone -- and most of all, you hate yourself."

She then puts her face right in front of the jar as she stares at M's core.

"And at least I was brave enough to say it to your face. Instead of saying it all to the people you care about behind your back."

She then backs off, straightening out once more as she then makes her way over to Chaos. She gives him a sympathetic look as she gently moves her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. She wanted him to feel loved, and like she wasn't going anywhere.

After a moment of silence, just holding him close so that he could feel better -- she breaks the hug slowly, giving him a small smile.

And finally, she turns her attention to Uzi, smirking.

"... So, you think I'm hot, huh?"

... Yeah, she'd heard that earlier. And right now, she wanted to focus on anything but M.

E finally makes her way over to the jar, carefully picking it up.

"M... I don't think I've ever seen J that mad before."

She said softly.

"Technically, J fucked me first. But she seduced me and you know what? I'd do it again. So call me a drone fucker all you want, I am proud of it."

I got offended for J when M suggested that J was just an office whore. I would yell in anger if I hadnt tried to control my feelings.

I gave Uzi a smile and a thumbs up as she was still worried about me.

M mentioned someone named Tessa. The name got me curious and I want to ask J about her, but everything is pretty heated right now so I'll just ask her later.

J was mad, like real mad. If J had an aura, everyone would felt hers wraith throughout the entire ship. I didnt even want to speak up, as to not to interrupt hers lecture on M. Soon enough however J walked over to me and drew me into a hug. I returned the hug, holding her tight.

"Thanks, J. I appreciate it, I love you." I said to her as she released me.

"Uzi has some great tastes honestly. J is the hottest Disassembly Drone here!" I cheered, feeling a ton better after J hugged me. "But you are the cutest drone here, Uzi." I whispered, knowing Uzi would hear me. I gave her a wink.

"Now since all that is over..." I said after everyone calmed down. "What are we going to do? That thing is most likely going to absorb every drone out there, and we just took one out ourselves. We're tired physically and mentally, so if anyone has a plan I'd like to hear it out."

”After a few days on Copper 9, I’ve learned to take every blessing that we get.”

Cloris remembered that too. That had been such a hard thing to get right for Aegis. Setting up the Coral to actively communicate with others was one of the biggest problems she ever had to solve.

”You’re capable of quite a bit more. But you need time and experience to grow. In that sense I’m glad we encountered the monsters when we did: you’re going to need all the experience you can get.”

Cloris shook her head, looking at Aegis sternly. ”There’s a very specific staff on this planet that’s going to get me through the surgery. And I’m not putting the others in this crew through the mental strain of having to do the operation themselves. Besides, getting to where I need to go on my own is easier then bringing the crew along: the security systems in that facility are still active, and I’m the only one here exempt from them.”

Assuming everything was working properly. She couldn’t take anything for granted of course. But she had quite a few reasons why she wanted to go off on her own to do this.

Cloris leaned against the window, letting out a sigh. She stared at Aegis solemnly. ”I can’t give you specifics on everything, but as for why I have to do things this way… I can’t risk the certain things being revealed just yet. As secure as I designed you to be, if the solver hacked into the ship recordings then it would be able to get ahead of us. The team can only know the full plan when it’s ready to be enacted.”

Cloris then turned around, staring at the window. ”There’s a reason I haven’t told you until now. There’s the added benefit of having another combatant who is resistant to the solver. But there’s another reason why I want you to have a body. Win or lose, Copper 9 is the last place this ship is going to stop at. I can’t tell you why yet, but Karasu will settle down on this planet if we triumph. Ray and Chaos are likely going to do that too, considering what has happened to Earth and their… relationships with the disassembly drones.”

Cloris turned, looking over at Aegis. She walked back over, sitting back in the chair she had started the physical in. ”When that time comes, your role as a ship AI will come to an end. I’m giving you a body so you can do whatever you wish with your life. Your choices will be yours to make. I’m not going to throw you away or store you inside a dock. I’m making sure you have a life Aegis.”

---

Doll looked at Ray with shock. Did he really mean that? If she took his words at face value, then he was nothing but a kind human who wanted the best for everyone around them. But the stories her mother told her about her past told of many deceitful people who wanted to get their way. And the words of the entity in her dreams still rang fresh.

they're a race of liars. They give you hope, and then snatch it away as cruelly as possible. All to fulfill their selfish desires. You'll see soon enough just how truthful they are.”

Him wanting to bring back torn apart drones didn’t settle right with Doll. Was it something that all humans wished to do? Did they bring back their own dead if they could? The way Ray presented it was wonderful. But actions meant more than words. And she was going to be a little skeptical until he proved his intentions were good. He said he would help no matter what. He seemed nice, but what was he really like?

Well, he did seem earnest enough. He blushed at just the thought of V in a prom dress. Her girlfriend could really put someone throught the ringer with her words alone. That also reminded her: the prom was coming up. She had more than just her clothing choices to decide: the plan she had in mind wasn’t exactly helpful giving the current situation.

V and Ray hugged after the success of the clothing. Doll hated it, but it looked genuine. Why? Why did things have to be this complicated now? Why couldn’t she just get her revenge and get rid of all this hate she had. Doll’s eyes flickered, turning to orange for just a second. But she fought those instincts down.

Doll looked at Lizzy, looking at her curiously. ”My nemnogo otstayem v podgotovke. Nam nuzhno podgotovit' sportzal i ubedit'sya, chto nashi plat'ya v poryadke.”

[“We're a little behind on our preparations. We need to get the gymnasium ready and make sure our dresses are in order.”]

---

”Bite me Crabs!”

Uzi rolled her eyes at M’s retort. ”Gee, why didn’t she think of that? I’m sure that would go over well if she just took Chaos and left her teammates and his crew behind on a frozen wasteland. Especially since Chaos seems to like it here for some reason.”

Uzi stared at Chaos incredulously. She then let out a sigh, pressing her hand against her visor. ”You should have kept that one in your head Chaos.”

He was in a bit better spirits. At least, he was if that thumbs up was any indication. Maybe that was turning around.

J meanwhile was in a very bad mood. And was letting M have it verbally. It was hard to feel sorry for the little guy though: he made it so easy to dislike him. Uzi pipped in when he said he didn’t have to do his job well.

”I guess that’s why you ended up in a jar: you’re crap at your job of being a disassembly drone.”

Hey, M made that one way too easy for her. And honestly, she was having quite a fun time at his expense given the look on her face.


After that, J went over to Chaos and hugged him. And then he showed how much he appreciated his girlfriend.Yep, he was definitely feeling better if he was proclaiming how hot J was. And then he went and called her cute. She looked away when he winked at her.

”Chaos, not in front of the paperweight…”

But it only got worse from there. Uzi blushed profusely at the words and smirk J gave her. In the heat of the moment those words just flew out of her mouth. And unfortunately they weren’t forgotten like she thought they were. Uzi huffed, looking surprisingly frazzled.


”Well… yeah… I mean objectively your whole squad are just built like drone supermodels. Seriously, did your designer try to make you as attractive as humanly possible?”

Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view), M interrupted the moment by saying that he wasn’t going to touch this. She glowered at him.

”Hey! It’s not my fault that JC Jensen decided to make their robots as attractive as possible! It’s also not my fault that they’re nicer than I thought they would be. And it’s definitely not my fault that they’re badass and have been keeping everyone here alive!”

Uzi blinked, blushing as she realized what she said. She then slapped herself, some words flashing across Moving on! They needed to move on! This was too mushy for her tastes!


They went on to talking about more serious things. Like the fact that they were probably going to have to fight another monster.Uzi let out a sigh, slipping her hands into her pockets.

”I’m pretty sure no one wants to go after the thing right now. Besides, this seems like a whole crew discussion type of thing.”

Yeah, that just about summed it up... It seemed like they ran into opposition right around the corner every single night. At least she was fairly certain that after the battle last night, the enemy might not have much of a choice to back off for a bit and recover from their losses.

More importantly, Cloris seemed to be in agreement about the potential that the Coral AI had.

"True. I helped the Captain quite extensively in his career. Pretty much everything has been preparing me for this moment."

After she said that -- the conversation shifted towards something more serious. Cloris was insisting that this was the way she had to do things, but the Coral AI wasn't quite as sure about that. Even without knowing all of the details, she was able to retort with this;

"I assume you already have the details you need to perform this surgery. You are also more likely to find the tools and resources you need on this ship versus anywhere else on Copper 9 -- including by us making those items.

Furthermore, we have a number of Drones, and I could oversee the surgery efforts; I could even take control of one temporarily to do so."

She explained an alternative option that was available, but of course she wasn't quite done yet...

"And if you bring me along, I will be able to get into any security system and make sure that it won't turn on anyone. Including you. The entire planet was hit by an apocalypse, it's rather generous to assume that everything is in perfect working order.

With a group you'll have better chances of finding this person -- or these people -- you're looking for, and bring them back safely."

Aegis finished her retort. But ultimately, Cloris was quite set in her ways. Even going so far as to say that the reason she was keeping everyone in the dark like this is because of security reasons. Of course, the Coral AI needed to make one thing known;

"Cloris. If they are ever able to penetrate my security that much, the ship will already be lost to the enemy, and we will have failed in our efforts. There is simply no way they would be able to do so from a distance or inside without raising at least one of my many alarms."

The hologram then sighs... It seems like despite her best efforts, she would not be able to convince the woman. So, at the very least she could hear Cloris out on all of this... And there was certainly quite a lot to take in. So, whether they win or lost, they'd be staying on Copper 9, huh...

"I see... Thank you for that, Cloris. Truly."
The Coral AI replies, and then smiles.
"I do believe some of your fears are misplaced, though. Karasu would have taken me with him."

Even so, Aegis was thankful. She falls silent as she thinks over everything they had discussed... After a few moments of silence, she eventually speaks up.

"I'm sure I could keep coming up with different ways for you to approach these obstacles you're speaking of, and you will keep coming up with a reason for why we can't do that. So I'm going to take the time to trust you --"

She then points a finger right at Cloris, leaning in closer to make sure that it was attention-grabbing as possible.

"You better not be even thinking of trying something involving self-sacrifice. No being reckless. Promise me that. That is my condition for this."

---

So first thing's first... Ray was willing to help even for specific Drones that Lizzy had in mind! So that was good. She was certain that if she could make enough cases that the Humans weren't that bad, Doll would come around. Maybe she'd change her mind about what to do at the Prom -- she kind of hoped so. They would be missing out on all of this if she went through with it...

... And honestly, she didn't quite think that it was what Doll wanted anymore. The situation had gotten a lot more complicated, to say the least. The Humans would even be able to provide the food that she needed, so no more stalking, kidnapping and cannibalism. Not that Lizzy judged on those things, but seriously, something approaching 'normal' might be kind of nice for Doll after everything she went through.

As for V, she gives a nod as Ray mentions that she has plenty of time to think about what she might want for possible outfit alterations. Maybe she'd be able to get a good design going with the help of Lizzy. She seemed to have a knack for putting ideas into a visual format, and then moving it into a finalized design in the real world.

Speaking of which... Lizzy was already working her magic to get herself privileges to use the workshop as she saw fit.

Yeah, that's right. Prom clothes."
She started off with a smirk at first, but as the realization hits Ray -- especially when she spells out an a special outfit just for V... Well, that smirk widens into a grin. He was so easy to read, and that thumbs up was pretty much all the go-ahead she needed.

She returns the thumbs up, pleased with the results. Finally, Lizzy smiles now that she and Doll had a moment by themselves while Ray and V conducted the test.

"Hey. I know a lot must be on your mind right now. But between me and Aegis, I think we're going to make this work."

She remarked, noting that her girlfriend had been unusually quiet for awhile now... True, she was always kind of quiet, but in the face of everything that happened, let's just say it was something that Lizzy was picking up on as not being the usual kind of mood that Doll was in -- especially since she was pretty sure she saw Doll's eyes briefly change color.

She was pretty sure that wasn't normal.

As for V? She was so thankful that Ray was there with her every step of the way, and that he had actually succeeded in making it possible for her to stand in the daylight again! Sure, she still had to be careful. But this was progress! Something that was once impossible, it was possible now!

That was why she had so eagerly hugged him. She giggled a little as he stumbled from her forwardness, but then he steadied himself and hugged her in turn. Soon the excitement turns into affection for each other, and they just embrace each other silence.

Once they finally broke the hug and started the trek back inside the ship, Ray met up with Lizzy and offered his hand -- she accepts it for the handshake.

"I think I could get used to this feeling."

Lizzy remarks; leaving it a little vague on of she meant working on a project like this to help someone, or being able to make a couple so happy, or both. Whatever the case was, it seemed like Lizzy was one step closer to finding her calling now.

Once the airlock had finished cycling, and they were allowed back into the ship proper, Ray mentioned that it was probably time to prepare for the party. The blonde Worker Drone gives a nod in response.

"Yep. Leave that to me and Doll. We'll rope in the people we need to help us get everything set up, and I'll make sure you all look good."

Lizzy states, then turning her attention to Doll and giving her a nod.

"Yep. We better go get started."

And then she glances over at V and Ray.

"By the way, I'm going to need to take your measurements."
She then points at Ray.
"Since you're not the same size as a Worker Drone or a Disassembly Drone."

---

Once M settled down a bit and actually took in her suggestion, E gives an excited nod.

"Okay! Don't worry, you'll see they're pretty cool!"

J, however, she simply rolls her eyes at M's insistence that he was a free spirit. Sure, wanting to be free was a big deal, she could get that to an extent. But it was like M went out of his way to do everything possible to be sure he'd get punishments and restrictions.

"You know, maybe if you tried doing your job well, they'd ease up on you."

She left it at that; she already knew that M was stubborn about being who he is... And that he wanted to find out who he used to be. J simply sighs, shrugging.

"Even if you're right about your gut feeling, does it change things now? After a certain point you have to move on. Maybe it's time for you to decide what you want, instead of chasing ghosts."

But even so... Despite her attempts to reason with him -- he was not the type to just let it go. Made perfectly evident as he asks about Tessa again. J arches a brow as she glances back at him.

"Did you even bother to ask, or did you just assume they don't remember her?"

And then she turns her attention back to Chaos. She needed to tend to his needs first and foremost. That hug seems to have lifted his spirits immensely, as he thanks her and voices his love for her. She smiles as she does the same;

"I love you too, Chaos."

And then... Then it was time to have some fun at Uzi's expense! The little Worker Drone huffed and blushed, questioning on if the designers of the Disassembly Drones set out to make them as attractive as Humanly possible. M could already see it happening; J straightened out, hands on her hips, that slight upward tilt to her head...

"Yes, as a matter of fact! Dr. Carpenter considered it the highest priority! He took pride in our appearances."

She runs a hand through her hair as she confidently smirks -- her signature move!

Although even she hadn't been quite prepared for M to call Uzi out like that, and for Uzi to go into a quick defense where she spills a lot more than she probably ever intended to. J's shock is soon replaced by great amusement, even as she watches Uzi slap the edge levels back into herself.

But, it was also time to focus on the more serious subject as well... That new monster. Yes, another one. It seems like they weren't going to be catching a break anytime soon. But J at least felt like they could handle this.

"Eh. We just got done fighting an army of them. We'll bully this one into submission, get M his body back, and still have plenty of time to enjoy that prom."

At least she was not lacking for confidence.

On E's side of things, she does indeed let M out of the jar now.

"Yeah..."
E voiced her agreement with a nod, but soon she picks back up into a chipper mood:
"I know! You and I can get caught up on things!"

She'd carry M in her hands -- or if he preferred to sit on her shoulder, she'd let him do that. Either way, she decided to find an area where they could just talk between themselves for right now. She wasn't too sure what would be a good area for that, but she eventually settles on a room filled with games and consoles, and a TV!

"Cooool! Okay, so now we can talk!"

E makes her way over to the couch, plopping down on the sofa.

I smiled at the embarrassed Uzi. "Hehe, told ya I'd get you back on that and if it makes you feel better, I'll keep on calling you cute after all this."

"Let me think a little." I said as I sat down on my swivel chair. "If Karasu was standing here, he'd tell us exactly what to do. You're right Uzi, this is an entire thing the crew needs to talk things over. Lets not think about it right now, we've been through a lot today. Should we hold of telling them the situation until tomorrow? I dont think Ray and the rest would get that much rest if they knew about another monster was exploring Copper 9, absorbing other drone bodies and getting stronger as we rest for the day."

Finally, we got to relax a little. I layed back on my chair, putting my mind off of things for a while.

"...Dr. Carpenter? That guy sounded crazy inventing all these things for Disassembly Drones and human relationship... I mean I dont mind it though. ...For reasons you guys probably know." Makes me wonder if Uzi has the same features as J has.

I look at Uzi and imagined myself 'Inspecting' her on the lab table. Touching hers shoulders and...

"Crap, sorry!" I said as I looked away. "I wasnt imagining anything lewd!" It wasnt that I didnt wanted to hide the fact that Im a little bit of a pervert, but I was afraid I was pulling myself further from Uzi just by looking at her like that.

"See you later, E!" I waved her goodbye as she carried Mr. Crabs out of the lab. "...Finally, glad I dont gotta talk to that crab thing anymore. ...You two wanna hang out or something? I want to keep my mind off things." Thankfully thanks for M I managed to keep my mind off of Cloris--- DAMNIT.

”That’s exactly right. Your whole life has been preparing for this moment Aegis. Your very conception was designed as a contingency against the solver. Everything you and Karasu have gone through  together has prepared you for the day we would set foot on Copper 9.”

Cloris chuckled, walking back and forth near the window of the medical bay. ”An entire research team calibrated every upgrade I went through. I’ve also had plenty of time to make the preparations. I’ve made my own modifications to have the transition go easier, there’s a freezer filled with my blood down in a facility down there. In case I lose more than anticipated in the surgery. And naturally I came here with a ship filled with tools and resources, as you yourself just pointed out. The only things I can’t produce here like the blood I set up in a advance a long time ago.”

Cloris considered Aegis’s words. She stared out the window, tapping her finger against her chin. ”I wouldn’t want to leave the group without you until I have your body ready. But I suppose I could take you along when it’s time for me to go to the facility. The others will need to know where to go eventually. Klein can host you for a manual transfer if need be.”

Cloris sighed. So she wasn’t going to be able to separate from the group easily. There was no two ways about it. She wanted to finish things off in the facility, but it didn’t look like she would be able to separate from the group easily. She would have to create some time for hereself later.

”I suppose I could take the specialized equipment and personal I need from the facility and back to the ship.”

Cloris let out a low laugh, leaning forward and staring out the window. ”Aegis  we’ve only been here for a little over 24 hours. Already we’ve had to fight off multiple zombie drone invasions and 3 mechanical monsters. We;ve run into a colony of sentient drones. And our captain has just been warped through time and space to the past. At this point I think anything is possible, up to and including someone sneaking into your systems without your knowledge. The odds are astronomical, but I have to consider every possibility.”

Cloris turned around, smiling sadly at Aegis. ”I just said that I have to prepare for everything. There’s a possibility that any one of us could die at any moment. Including Karasu after he gets back. It would be irresponsible if I didnt’ prepare for the worse.”

Cloris stared into Aegis’s eyes as the AI pointed at her. Cloris gave her an warm smile. ”I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that fired up. You’re calmer when you’re facing mechanical monsters.”

Cloris nodded, leaning back on her chair. ”I promise I don’t plan on sacrificing myself. I’ll only take risks when I have to take them. If anything I plan on becoming more alive by the end of this.”

Cloris closed her eyes, letting out a low hum. ”Decades of traveling through space are almost at a close. I can see the goal in front of me at last.”

---

Doll looked over at Lizzy, smiling nervously at her girlfriend. She usually did it: Doll was usually sure of herself.

”YA nadeyus', chto eto tak.”

[“I hope so.”]


Doll looked at Ray, finally talking to him again. ”My s Lizzy zanimayemsya organizatsiyey vypusknogo vechera uzhe mesyats.”

[“Lizzy and I have been organizing the prom for a month now.”]

Doll turned to Lizzy, jabbing a thumb at Ray. ”Yest' li u vas predstavleniye o tom, kakoy stil' yemu podoydet?”

[“Do you have an idea on what style will suit him?’”

---

”I always make sense! I’ve just been surrounded by idiots all my life!”

Uzi paused, then looked over at Chaos, frowning. ”I don’t mean you guys. I’ve just lived my life surrounded by idiots who don’t get me.”

Uzi huffed at Chaos’s words, but didn’t say anything else. It looked like she was just going to have to put up with him calling her cute. Which she totally didn’t like, not one little bit!

Uzi was curious about the whole Tessa thing. But she wasn’t going to butt in on something she knew nothing about. She’d ask J about it later: M didn’t seem like the most reliable source of information on this matter.

Uzi stared M bemusingly. Terrible impression aside, all that was just so weird for her. She waved her hand in front of the jar.

”Earth to Crabs? You’re talking about J. J the leader of the squad who takes pride in her work ethic? There’s no way she writes fanfiction or plays with plushies!”

She looked over at J as she expressed pride in her appearance. Uzi rolled her eyes as J flipped her hair.

”I don’t know why he took pride in that, but mission accomplished.”

Uzi gave M the middle finger when he implied that she thought he was attractive. Honestly if she had her way, she’d never talk to M again. But it looked like he was going to be around awhile, unfortunately. Uzi then slipped her hands into her pockets, a thoughtful look spreading across her face.

”Yeah, but we’re going to have to damage this thing enough to kill it without destroying it beyond repair. As funny as it would be for M to be stuck like that forever, we do need all the help we can get.”

Then J brought up prom. Uzi suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. ”Right… prom. That thing popular people go to with dates. I don’t think that’s really my jibe.”[/color]

Aegis gives a nod in understanding. It was a lot to take in -- but it explained a lot, too. She always felt like there was something that she needed to improve herself for, and at least now she knew for certain that her instincts were correct.

More importantly, it seems that Cloris was given some pause, as she considered what the Coral AI had to say -- it's not like the woman was foolish, so of course Aegis's suggestions would at least make her carefully consider the options.

"It sounds like you've been preparing for a lot of this. But what are you going to do if the facility isn't in working order, and the staff you're hoping to find aren't even alive? There are holes in this plan -- and we can provide greater guarantees here."

She replies, and Cloris seems to finally relent, saying that she could at least bring the equipment and personnel back to the ship. That in turn gets the Coral AI to ease up a little, and she nods in agreement.

However, as Cloris suggested that even if the odds were astronomical, she still preferred to play things safely. The hologram crosses her arms.
"How about the fact they're basically poking around in my consciousness, then? It's a little hard to ignore, no matter how subtle they're trying to be."

Still... No matter how much Aegis tried to convince Cloris, it was clear that the woman had her ideas of how she needed to handle things, preparing for all possibilities, including the worst outcomes. The Coral AI didn't really like that -- but to what extent could she keep refuting that way of thinking meaningfully?

"We're not going to lose this, Cloris. We beat it once and it was struggling against us. Now we're going to prepare everything we can to counter it."

That was what Aegis could think to say in the moment. Yet again she begins to relent as Cloris takes her words seriously, and also admits that this had her more fired up than the actual battles they'd been in so far.

Aegis just smiles softly in response.

"Well, when you work with a Raven, you learn how to bring out the best of any combat situation."

She responds -- and she was thankful to hear that Cloris wasn't going to go for any kind of self-sacrifice... She wanted a life after all of this was over, that much was clear.

"Well... Then I'll trust you on this. Just remember what I said. I think we're stronger together, rather than apart. That applies to everyone. The Humans, the Worker Drones, and the Disassembly Drones -- and even Coral like myself and Klein."

---

Yeah, it looked like Lizzy was right on the mark... Doll was clearly struggling with a lot right now -- she was pretty certain that they needed to get somewhere private and have a talk. Fortunately, the preparations for Prom were an excellent way to do that. They just needed to hold out for a little bit longer.

"We'll figure things out together later."
She mentions just before Ray and V return.

And after they do, well... The conversation moved right along! Ray was curious on what Lizzy meant, and she gives a little grin in response.

"The feeling of accomplishment. And making a couple happy, too."

She replies. She loved her pranks and jokes -- and normally she'd talk about how something as sappy or intimate as what Ray and V just did as being nasty. But she had some reasons to change her stance on that, one of which being her own relationship.

That aside, Ray soon expresses his surprise over how on top of all of these preparations Lizzy is, and she gives a little nod -- providing a translation for Doll's words as well.

"An important event like that needs to have every detail be perfect. I'm actually going to need to get measurements from each of the Humans. Including the one we just picked up earlier."

... Yeah, Lizzy was even going to make a prom dress for Cloris. Although one could probably imagine that wasn't going to happen. At first Ray was just going to wander off and do his own thing, but then he was surprised to find out that Lizzy needed to do this.

"Yeah, you! I already know what V's measurements are since we worked on an outfit for her."

Lizzy then peers over at Doll as she asks her question -- and that question was met with one of Lizzy's signature smirks. Ray then asked what he needed to do; and she then speaks up.

"You just stand there and look pretty, and then I'll make an outfit for you that will knock V's socks off! You know, if she wore any."

At that, V perked up slightly. Now she was curious. Would clothing really make that much of a difference? Well, Ray seemed to like it when she was wearing a different outfit -- and he was willing to make more clothes for her...

Maybe it'd be the same for her? Either way her curiosity was piqued, and she had to see this through:

"I wanna see."

The Disassembly Drone remarks, and Lizzy just gives her a thumbs up.

"Had a feeling you would."

With that, the Worker Drone takes the time to measure Ray. She's surprisingly gentle during her inspection, and eventually she straightens out.

"Okay, got it. You two are going to look great -- Prepare to be popular!"

With that declaration, she then turns to Doll and gestures towards the hall leading back to the workshop.
"Shall we?"

Lizzy then begins to lead the way. This left Ray and V with the time to do whatever they wanted now.

---

J places her hands on her hips. She wanted to vehemently deny what M was implying -- but a part of her couldn't quite do that. She only lets out a sigh as she shakes her head.

"I don't know what answers you're expecting to find, M. It doesn't change what we have to do now."

Either way, it was kind of a problem if he kept trying to dig like this. So she figured she might as well throw him a bone.

"Try asking people that have actually been around Tessa, then. V and N would be a good start."

Now of course, J prided herself on going into a sales pitch -- and she was indeed just about to do so! Right up until M interrupted her. And he did so in about the most obnoxious way possible. It was already risky to stop her when she was getting on a roll like that, but then he went straight for the throat with his remarks.

She turns back to him and just glares at him.


That lingers for a moment, with her only breaking the silence to answer his question with;

"Get out of here before I punt you."

Anyway... The moment had been more or less ruined. But at least the conversation with Uzi and Chaos was still pleasant, Uzi was curious about Dr. Carpenter and his reasons for doing what he did. At least to the extent of wondering why he was proud of that.

"Oh, he was a massive advocate for Drones Rights. The whole idea was to make us more attractive to Humanity. We weren't just capable of security and any other complex tasks you might have for us, we were also designed to be loyal and dependent on Humanity.

But no matter how appealing we were on the functionality, he knew that we needed to also appeal to their tastes."

She smirks as she pauses there, she assumed that they could figure out what she meant by that.

"Hence the curves, the hips -- things like that. He didn't stop there, though. RT3 was also responsible for the anatomy adapters. As I mentioned before, they also pushed for Drone marriage being legal."

And shortly after that, Chaos was looking over at Uzi... And then suddenly freaked out, insisting that he wasn't thinking anything lewd. J couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Looks like you have an admirer, Uzi."

Still... That humorous moment aside, it looks like Uzi and Chaos were of the same mind that they should meet up with rest of the crew and fill them in about all of this. J agreed with that sentiment. The situation was a little more complicated because they weren't just trying to destroy that thing outright this time.

"Fair point. It'll be more difficult to make sure he gets his body back, but you're right. Having another Disassembly Drone should be helpful... Even one as much of a screw-up as M is."

She voiced her thoughts, and shortly thereafter the subject turns to the Prom. Maybe what they needed to do right now was just take a breath, and let the enemy come to them. Trying to go hunting for it across the planet was going to be an exhausting affair. On the other hand, they KNEW that it would be coming for them at some point.

So maybe that was their best course of action... Plus, J needed to get Uzi to go along with this.

"Oh, we're definitely getting you a nice dress now. You already have a date lined up, too."

She teased with a smirk.

---

And so, E and M were able to relax in the Rec Room! It looked like M was surprised at the state of the room -- and to be fair, E was as well. Both of them had gotten so used to the apocalyptic state of the planet that it was easy to forget about luxuries like this actually did exist.

M wasted little time in getting right to the heart of the matter, explaining what happened after Type-99 and E escaped.

"I can fill in some of the blanks here! I lost my hat in the middle of the fight, and then I got that monster a nasty surprise! Then I got my hat back, and me and Niney retreated."

Of course... That meant that they left U and M behind. E thought they didn't survive at the time.

"Sorry we didn't stay to help... That thing was still too dangerous to fight."

After she explained that, M continued by talking about how he saw U get dragged away by... Something. He wasn't entirely sure what, but it looked like a Worker Drone with antlers, and orange eyes. E tilts her head, trying to think of what it might be.

But nothing comes to mind, she hadn't encountered anything like that. Regardless, M had his plans to find U, and then get the squad back together. E immediately perks up at that, and at the talk of bananas.

"Oh yeah! I'd love to get the squad back together! I think Niney would feel a lot better!"

She then throws her hands out to gesture to the room around them.

"Then we can all hang out here! This place is LOTS better than outside!"

She then leans in, to whisper to M in an attempt to warm him up to the idea.

"They just have oil! You don't even have to hunt for it! And I bet they'd get bananas too if we asked!"