Huff // Puff
The Dreamer leaves Ezorod and Night behind, soaring away from the Pact Worlds, to the edge of the known galaxy. We zoom in on the Typhoon system, to the manifucatured planetoid of Orikolai, and its central moon...
Captain Lang stood next to Atticus McCallow, watching Lockette XII-2 through a pane of mirror glass. She was meditating in the center of the test chamber, with Dr. Lebowitz coaching her through a blast shield on the far side. The two spoke back and forth, but Atticus had the sound in their room muted.
Atticus: "You saw this morning's report?"
Captain Lang: "Yes, sir. Boyle was a damn fine soldier. Did we seal the breach?" Atticus nodded, never taking his eyes off of Lockette. She was everything to Atticus, although Lang would never get him to admit it. When they'd first met, Atticus had talked at length about how Lockette's program had been mismanaged, and how it should be developed with defense in mind, not violence. He'd staked his career on it, and everyone who got in his way found themselves chained to a desk, or in a different department. Ever since his wife had died, Atticus had become more ruthless. Lockette was a weapon -- a weapon that would keep them all safe, but a weapon nontheless. But now, it wasn't only his career on the line, it was the entire future of the Stewards Ops. Atticus: "Her numbers are... Disappointing."
Captain Lang: "Dr. Lebowitz assures me they're on par with expectations."
Atticus: "I don't care what she expects, Lang. We'll be dead in another four or five weeks, unless Lockette becomes operational again."
Captain Lang: "We'll make it." Atticus chewed his lip, but she didn't try to assure him any further. The Swarm had been tunneling in the moon, looking for weak spots in their walls. They'd found over a dozen, and each attack resulted in at least one casualty. Lebowitz had expressed concern about Lockette's psych profile, so they hadn't shared the news. But her instincts told her that Lockette knew anyway... She was too smart for her own good, and growing too fast. It'd barely been a few months since Lockette had struggled against Ghost back on the Crucible, and now the two were at odds, fighting for supremacy of the station's systems. Of course, this was all happening in secret. Lang hadn't told McCallow, as Lockette wasn't looking for actual control -- she was looking for information. For now, it was good exercise, so she and Lebowitz had let it stand. Atticus: "What is that?" Lang refocused on Lockette. Her skin was shimmering, her hair floating like she was in an antigravity field. Her face was scrunched in concentration, her arms slowly sliding out, her palms open. A blast of gray exploded from Lockette, covering the one-way mirror. Atticus stepped forward, pressing the mute button on the console, and Lebowitz's voice flooded in. Lebowitz: "Repeat. Lockette, are you okay?"
Lockette: "Right as rain... Apologies. Bit of a sensory overload." Atticus leaned into the console, and pressed the button adjacent to their microphone. Atticus: "Describe what you're feeling."
Lockette: "Hello to you too, Atticus. It's a bit hard to describe. No pain. Just... Information."
Lebowitz: "Your vitals are gone. I think you're spread all over the room."
Lockette: "Sounds about right... Let's see here." The gray field slowly thinned, their view of the test chamber returning, but still shrouded by a haze of pearlescence. Lockette sat in the middle, still in her original pose, but little flecks of matter were departing and rejoining her skin -- pieces of her all about the room, exploring beyond her body, and returning with what they'd found. Lebowitz: "Lockette... I think you got it."
Lockette: "I think you're right. Now let's see if I can--" Lockette attempted to stand up. The gray mass exploded back into the room, obscuring everyone's view. There was a sigh from Lebowitz's blast chamber, and Lockette murmured some apologies. Atticus removed his finger from the mic, and muted their audio. Lang shrugged. Captain Lang: "Progress is progress."
Atticus: "As long as it's fast enough -- let me know when this bit is done." McCallow turned on heel, and headed out of the room. Lang gave him a smooth salute, as was proper, and then closed the door behind him. Lockette was back at it again, phasing in and out of a corporeal form, and Lebowitz was cheering her on... They could do it. They were going to make it.
Captain Lang: "Yes, sir. Boyle was a damn fine soldier. Did we seal the breach?" Atticus nodded, never taking his eyes off of Lockette. She was everything to Atticus, although Lang would never get him to admit it. When they'd first met, Atticus had talked at length about how Lockette's program had been mismanaged, and how it should be developed with defense in mind, not violence. He'd staked his career on it, and everyone who got in his way found themselves chained to a desk, or in a different department. Ever since his wife had died, Atticus had become more ruthless. Lockette was a weapon -- a weapon that would keep them all safe, but a weapon nontheless. But now, it wasn't only his career on the line, it was the entire future of the Stewards Ops. Atticus: "Her numbers are... Disappointing."
Captain Lang: "Dr. Lebowitz assures me they're on par with expectations."
Atticus: "I don't care what she expects, Lang. We'll be dead in another four or five weeks, unless Lockette becomes operational again."
Captain Lang: "We'll make it." Atticus chewed his lip, but she didn't try to assure him any further. The Swarm had been tunneling in the moon, looking for weak spots in their walls. They'd found over a dozen, and each attack resulted in at least one casualty. Lebowitz had expressed concern about Lockette's psych profile, so they hadn't shared the news. But her instincts told her that Lockette knew anyway... She was too smart for her own good, and growing too fast. It'd barely been a few months since Lockette had struggled against Ghost back on the Crucible, and now the two were at odds, fighting for supremacy of the station's systems. Of course, this was all happening in secret. Lang hadn't told McCallow, as Lockette wasn't looking for actual control -- she was looking for information. For now, it was good exercise, so she and Lebowitz had let it stand. Atticus: "What is that?" Lang refocused on Lockette. Her skin was shimmering, her hair floating like she was in an antigravity field. Her face was scrunched in concentration, her arms slowly sliding out, her palms open. A blast of gray exploded from Lockette, covering the one-way mirror. Atticus stepped forward, pressing the mute button on the console, and Lebowitz's voice flooded in. Lebowitz: "Repeat. Lockette, are you okay?"
Lockette: "Right as rain... Apologies. Bit of a sensory overload." Atticus leaned into the console, and pressed the button adjacent to their microphone. Atticus: "Describe what you're feeling."
Lockette: "Hello to you too, Atticus. It's a bit hard to describe. No pain. Just... Information."
Lebowitz: "Your vitals are gone. I think you're spread all over the room."
Lockette: "Sounds about right... Let's see here." The gray field slowly thinned, their view of the test chamber returning, but still shrouded by a haze of pearlescence. Lockette sat in the middle, still in her original pose, but little flecks of matter were departing and rejoining her skin -- pieces of her all about the room, exploring beyond her body, and returning with what they'd found. Lebowitz: "Lockette... I think you got it."
Lockette: "I think you're right. Now let's see if I can--" Lockette attempted to stand up. The gray mass exploded back into the room, obscuring everyone's view. There was a sigh from Lebowitz's blast chamber, and Lockette murmured some apologies. Atticus removed his finger from the mic, and muted their audio. Lang shrugged. Captain Lang: "Progress is progress."
Atticus: "As long as it's fast enough -- let me know when this bit is done." McCallow turned on heel, and headed out of the room. Lang gave him a smooth salute, as was proper, and then closed the door behind him. Lockette was back at it again, phasing in and out of a corporeal form, and Lebowitz was cheering her on... They could do it. They were going to make it.
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