0008: NEW ARRIVAL BRIEFING

[crux_npcs]

Who: New Arrivals, Graham Baker
Where: Briefing Room
When: Late afternoon, Aprilo 29th
Warnings: None

When awakening, the immediate surroundings are swarming with activity and very chaotic. The people in the medical ward are polite and understanding, but firmly refuse to answer questions until the briefing. Especially not after some group of kooks earlier decided that they'd throw a tantrum and bug out of the hospital before anything can get said. Either given hospital outfits resembling very comfortable pajamas, drone bodies, or their own bodies, they are escorted by polite, unyielding people in red and black uniforms to the briefing room. Fortunately for the robots, things are much more organized.

The Briefing room is large. Not enough to accommodate a giant, but spacious enough for several dozen people. The tiles are black and featureless while the walls are nice, soothing colors. The chairs are high-backed and well-cushioned, more like comforting eggs floating a foot or so off the ground than anything else. Set into the ceiling and floor near the front is a large holographic projector. The floor in front of each seat also has a smaller projector, allowing people to see what the bigger device is showing without having to angle for a view. As of now, it merely displays a rotating pyramid.

Ten members of Security line the walls and various exits, looking rather displeased to be here. Graham Baker, a balding man in an ill-fitting suit, stands at the head of the room with an easy smile, seemingly unbothered by any previous ruckus.

[Questions to the NPCs will go in the briefing thread. The rest of the post is there for people to mill about and do whatever with. The mods will not be doing hangar/medical awakenings unless it's specifically asked for.]

Comments

[fionna_time]

Fionna laughed. Technically, he wasn't wrong.

"Same here! Dude, I am totally diggin' your armor ! Where'd you get it?"

[gunholic]

"I've always had it," Axl said with a shrug, "Haven't really needed to get it upgraded, so..."

He spread his hands.

"I mean, I know a guy who might be able to hook you up if he's here in a closet somewhere. I was built with this, though."

[fionna_time]

"Really? Neat! I was born all naked, as far as I knew. That would have been cool, born with armor."

Wait a minute....

"Wait, built with it? How? Did you mess yourself up and need to be built up?"

She'd definitely heard of that before.

[gunholic]

"Noooo..." Axl blinked at Fionna confusedly. Wasn't it obvious he was a reploid..?

"I'm a reploid-- a, uh, really advanced robot, I guess. I've never gotten so messed up I had to be rebuilt, not that people haven't tried. Um..."

He sort of grinned, more out of embarrassment than anything, and rubbed his hand over the back of his helmet where the scruff of his spiky hair emerged while he tried for words. The Fleet guys hadn't been happy to see him either if that creepy awakening was any indication, but Fionna had seemed cool.

"Is that weird?"

[fionna_time]

"Huh? Oh no, no way!" Fionna blushed herself, laughing nervously. "I mean, your face looked sorta human, I figured you might have just needed some enhancements! I mean, I've met a few robots before, but none of them ever looked as finished as you, you know?"

There was a first time for everything. Never heard of a reploid though.

"So I heard of robots, but what's a reploid? That's new to me."

[gunholic]

"I'm not that special..." Axl said, blushing.

"It's just a name for my type of robot.. we're all built after this one really really advanced robot, who was so crazy out-there that there are bits people still haven't figured out to his design. I dunno.. I was mostly zoning out when someone tried to explain it to me. Something something replica.. I think that's it. Replica android or something like that."

He shrugged. It was ancient history as far as he was concerned.

"Lotta people around the Fleet don't seem to like robots much. At least, they suck at first impressions if they don't."

[fionna_time]

"A come on, you are too! I wish I had mech like you, but I just got this soft bod. I mean, its fine, I like it, but it kinda sucks when you get all bruised up and cut when you got no protection I'd totes want that if I could!"

She grinned. "I mean, you aren't the first robot I met, I was actually fighting one before I got here! Not like you though, it was super violent and was trying to kill me. I guess that's why people are all bugged by robots? Kinda stupid though."

[gunholic]

"Maybe we can hook you up with some powered armor, or a riding armor..." Axl said speculatively. "They gotta have something like that around here, it's too useful not to have if you have the technology base for it."

Aw yeah, that could be fun times.

"I dunno what their problem is. Humans back home used to jump at Mavericks all the time, even if nothing was even going on. Figures a couple robots or AIs or whatever go around the bend and suddenly everbody is evil."

[fionna_time]

"I'm gonna look into that! I mean, there's gotta be a way to make money here. Maybe I'll go and find myself some work and make myself a kick butt suit, you know? Or, heck, maybe just a really neat metal arm!"

She frowned. "Nah, there are evil bots and then there's just regular types that help you out, far as I know. I dunno why humans make this big deal about robots being evil. Every pony's different."

[gunholic]

"Yeah! If we can find somebody, I'll let them look at my armor.. maybe they can work a prototype for you, too," Axl said.

"Me either, but there you go. Sounds like the people you met earlier are pretty smart, though."

[fionna_time]

"That'd be awesome! I gotta find a place to start workin' on skills again, just so I don't get rusty!"

Oh, you might meet Fionna's "family" soon enough.

"hat kinda world do you come from anyway?"

[gunholic]

"Earth?" Axl said, shrugging a little as he considered the question. "It's pretty high-tech, kinda like here only on a planet. And most of the people are reploids-- there was a big disaster a few decades ago, and a lot of humans were killed. Screwed up the planet pretty good in general, actually. A lot of reploids work to fix it up-- fix the atmosphere and the oceans and try to re-populate all the plants and animals and stuff that were hit.

"I'm a Maverick Hunter, so my job's all about making sure there aren't any reploids who lose it and try to kill all the rest of the humans or start going after all the normal people who are just doing their thing. Sometimes it's hard, though. The Earth Federation's a little quick to call reploids Mavericks, and sometimes I wonder if it's just for disagreeing instead of for something, you know, important."

Wow. When you looked at it that way, things were pretty messed up at home, too.

[fionna_time]

"Wow, at least you have some humans left!" Fionna said. "All the ones are mine are gone: they bit it in some big war a long time ago! Most of the people in my world are mutations or all these other kind of creatures. I'm glad that you guys play this big role in making sure that all the people left are being protected!"

Because really, you never knew what was going to happen or who you had to fight.

"Guess all world are kinda messed up in their own way."

[gunholic]

"Man..." Axl said, looking vaguely impressed. "Sounds like your world is pretty wild."

To her conclusion, he nodded. "Maybe so. Hey! Wanna go looking around? I was thinking of trying to find this temporary housing place..."

[fionna_time]

"Yeah it is!" Fionna said proudly, grinning. "I miss it, actually. But there's probably plenty of stuff to do here too!"

Oh right. Crud. "Yeah, me too! I'm not even sure what I'm gonna do yet!"

[gunholic]

"Wanna go check it out? Maybe we're neighbors!"

That would be nice. He was used to living on top of others, and being all by himself surrounded by strangers would suck.

[fionna_time]

"Yeah, sure! Do you know if they pick for us, or do we just get to choose?"

If they chose, she hoped she had a roomie. She'd made some pretty good friends back in Balamb.

[gunholic]

"I think they pick.. haven't had time to look. Might as well see, and then complain if it all sucks!"

[fionna_time]

"Yeah, ok! Lets go see!"

She had to get an idea of the place, after all.