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[Draft] The Unexpected Arrival
[Draft] The Unexpected Arrival
#1
Discuss in the main forum, please. ^_^





As with anything momentous at 36 Atalante, it all started out in confusion. No one, not even I, could figure out why
the Magnificent Midnight would suddenly DoS all internal network requests for a connection to the internet.

It didn't help matters any that she seemed to be actively raiding the archives of
several BNFs. It had suddenly turned out that Midnight's AI was, as
far as computer hackers go, that quiet one waaaaayyyy over in the corner. You know, the one kid that absolutely
nobody screws around with because they'll know what'll happen if they do.
Who would have thought that my little girl was just quietly watching others like Gina, Jess, myself, AC Peters, and even Trigon of all people, quietly
learning the fine art of hacking from us all?

At least we know that now.

Fortunately, it was nothing malicious in nature.
(In fact, it turned out that she actually got permission to pull the data she was pulling - it just wasn't expected to be on such a massive
scale!) Midnight's got a mean streak in her, but it only rears its
ugly head if you've tried to hurt her or those she considers to be her precious people. A Naruto complex if you
will: a happy, cheerful ray of effin' sunshine until you molest her or her friends.

What was going on here was simple file copying, the likes of which probably hadn't
been seen since the founding of the Alexandria Archives. And the sources were interesting. The lifetime work of BNFs like The Professor, Noah Scott, AC Peters, Mal Fnord, The Jason…
Even the venerable Buckaroo had been patronized and his vast network of information resources put to work.

Though we didn't know what exactly she was after at the time. She was being unusually secretive and had extracted non-disclosure agreements from everyone she was downloading from.

Once we thought it was over with, I was about to ask Midnight once more what she was up to
- she may have been simply too busy managing all that streaming data to really notice me or anyone else. That was when
she fired up her engines and took off for parts unknown.



I had first seen him as a mere fledgling so many years ago. He was like many others that had came to gawk at me in awe. Some people think it is a
forlorn sight to see one of my kind in this permanently grounded state. I feel that it is akin to finding a mythical
phoenix and then clipping its magnificent wings just so the whole world can gawk at her.

But he was different from all the others. I could
see that he was in many ways like me. There was a gleam in his eyes that told me of the wild spirit that dwelt within
him, but it had been dulled. His wings, too, had been clipped. In the few brief
minutes that he was with me, we shared in our sorrow, taking solace in each other's presence.

Time passes as it does, and eventually I am liberated by the SOS-dan. At first I wonder what is to become of me. A piece of somebody's collection, no
doubt. I did take comfort however that I was once again in the Father Sky, even though it was not under my own
power. And to my shock we went higher and faster and farther then I had ever gone.
I had only imagined such things and yet here I was now! How I wished I could have shared this with my
sisters.

To my undying surprise I was brought to him - the fledgling had taken wing and now he was
free! He looked to me for a long time, shock and joy upon his face, and with that gleam in his eyes as well - this time
no longer dulled by whatever had oppressed him before. I saw that look in his eyes and I knew what he had intended to
do. He was in need of a great bird like myself.

I was more than happy to oblige.

For years we flew together and fought against the foul vermin known as Boskonians and
Reavers. Benjamin, his mate, Gina, and myself took many lives in that war, but I have no regrets. If any of them had been given the chance, they would have done unspeakable things to my precious people.

Over time, I observed my Benjamin and his partner, Gina.
I saw how close they were and the peace, joy, and contentment that closeness gave them. It was something that I
wished I could share with Benjamin. Not in the same way they did - I couldn't possibly think of the man that had
saved me like that. For a while I had floundered about what to do about this vexing problem.

And then the answer came when I learned of Noah Scott and Leda Swanson and the new life
they had created together.



We'd heard reports about her zipping around here and there in-system, seeming to be on
some sort of mission. We couldn't even begin to guess at what she was up to.
Finally, though, Midnight did come back. She was weary and
exhausted, but she exuded a profound sense of accomplishment as she carried herself with a strange sort of dignity. It
was like watching a soldier moving to the rear echelons as walking wounded - useless for the front lines for now, but they could still carry out basic tasks to
assist the support staff.

When Midnight actually bothers to pull into
the slip we keep set aside for her it usually means one thing: maintenance, and lots of it. Gina, Jess, Zephram, and I
set aside time for her right away, tending to her engines and space frame. Patches were made, worn parts replaced, and
scratches buffed and re-painted. The one thing, though that puzzled us all the most was that she would not let any of
us near her main hold. I got close enough to touch the hatch, but got scratched by something. It really took me by surprise that she would have done that, but in retrospect she had her reasons.

For a whole month she stayed there in her slip. We
all became very concerned for her, but she rebuffed any and all questions, simply saying that after wandering around for two full weeks straight she wanted to
just take it easy for a while.

By the time Gina and I got really scared, things took another turn for the
odd. Midnight sent messages to only Gina and me to come and see her at her
slip. Of course we did and boy did we ever get one of the biggest shocks of our lives.

As we arrived her main hold doors opened and something that looked like a cryogenic
hibernation pod was lowered to the deck. That struck me as odd since she never had that before. I also couldn't help but notice that it didn't have any of the straight lines that most equipment like this
would. Instead, it had an organic look to it.

The pod opened up and, much to my chagrin, there was a naked girl inside. She could not have been more than four years old, but she was a lanky little thing. Her
hair was perfectly straight and inky-black, but what got my attention the most was two things:

1) She had wings. They were avian style with
simple, but lovely black plumage. They looked underdeveloped, but they seemed to be the right sort of proportion if
they were to grow with her.

2) She had my face.

Gina gave me a look as though she couldn't decide on whether to be offended or
amused.

I could only shrug. "It explains why she bit
me that time," I said.

The girl's eyes opened, revealing irises the same vivid shade of brown as my own, just
as warm as it is dark, and then she smiled.

"Poppa," she said softly and held her arms out to us.

Immediately something clicked within me. To this
day, I'm not one-hundred percent sure, but what I do know is that I recognized her as my own - most likely an instinctive reaction programmed by evolution
to recognize our own children. This is my daughter, I said to myself
without any doubt in my mind.

I have to say that it is a most profound moment in your life when your child calls to you
for the first time, making the universal sign for 'hug me.' Everything around you just stops and it hits you
like a cross-town express train that's trying to make up for lost time.

My arms moved on their own and I suddenly found my arms full with a little girl who had
her arms wrapped tightly around my neck.

She then broke off and looked to Gina, then said, "Mama." Gina's eyes went wide as saucers and the color drained out of her face. I don't
think she was scared at all, just that it was such a shock for her. After all, Gina also, if numbly, took the little
girl into her arms, too.

At least my brain was still working, as I realized that this girl was not only naked, but
probably also getting very cold, so I took off my Rocketeer's jacket and swaddled her up in it, wings and all. She
giggled softly and buried herself down inside the coat's fluffy lining, nearly swallowed whole by it, and then sighed contently (No doubt that was because
it was not only warm, but probably because it also smelled like me).

Gina and I looked at each other, communicating silently through our expressions.

Do we keep her?

I have no idea.

I opened the jacket enough for me to peer at her smiling face. She giggled again.

"Who are you, little one?" I asked. Her
smile faded and a fearful look stole over her features.

"Promise you won't be angry?" she said, almost at a whisper.

"Of course," I said.

"You too, Momma?" she asked. Gina looked
stricken by that. I could tell that she was all at once living out her outrage that this child was not really her flesh
and blood while juxtaposed to her longing for a child to call her own, to love that child and be loved in return and to share all the joy and pain that came
with it.

At last, Gina said, "No, I promise I won't be mad."

The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath before saying, "I am
Midnight."

Gina and I shot looks at each other that were easily translated as No Fucking Way! But all the same, we
knew that was the truth. Occam's Razor was in full affect here. Once we
recovered from the initial shock, we looked back down to her and I asked the next obvious question.

"Why?"

Her response was quick. "Love. Humans are unique that way. AI's can love too, but not like humans, so I want to be as
close to human as I can be. I want to have the love of my Momma and Poppa."

I didn't know for sure what to do, so I simply hugged her tightly. Damn instincts, forcing me to latch on so quickly to a daughter I never even knew I had.

After a long and quiet moment like that I heard her muffled voice. "Why am I crying?" I pulled back to look at her.
She had been crying. Hell, I was, too. "I'm not sad,
Poppa. Are you sad?"

Here, Gina took her gently from me and began to impart her first bit of motherly
wisdom. "Humans cry sometimes when there is too much happiness to keep inside.
You and I have become human enough for us to feel so much happiness that it overwhelms our ability to cope with it, so like other humans we simply
break down."

"Break!?" she cried out, suddenly frightened.

I chuckled despite the situation. "No, not
like that," I said, putting a comforting hand on her. "It's an emotional breakdown. It self-corrects after the intensity dies down."

"Ah, I understand now," said the girl who was the soul of the Magnificent Midnight, smiling as she had come to understand humanity just a little better already.

"We need to get her some clothes," said Gina, "and an
examination. Not that I don't think she isn't healthy, but we need to establish what is healthy for her while
she is."

"Right," sighed Ben. "Mom's
gonna flip."

"I don't think it'll be bad," replied Gina thoughtfully as she got up,
gently cradling our new little girl in her arms which were powerful enough to crush concrete. "She has been all
but demanding grandchildren."

"Yeah, but she'll be kinda put out that she missed out on the whole
baby-phase."

"Poppa? What is that supposed to
mean?"

"If you're Momma and I ever manage to give you a little brother or sister, then
you'll see."



TBC...
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#2
One of Jess's bodies came into Ben and Gina's shared quarters. She was, as always, fresh-faced and ready for business. It helped that she had her bodies
sleep in shifts.

"Okay Boss, why all the se… cre… cy…"
Jessica Ayanami didn't get much further than that. Her blood-red irises locked onto a set of brown ones that did
not belong to Ben. This was a bit disconcerting since the face they were in looked like his anyways. "Holy shit! Ben, what the hell have you been doing?"

Benjamin shook his head ruefully and Gina sighed.
"As much as I hate to say it, Ben can't take credit for this one, Wonder Girl. Say hi to Midnight."

Jess blinked at Gina then looked back at the dark girl with wings, who smiled and waved
happily at Jess. Gina grinned, savoring the Rei-look-alike's shock. Jess
then approached the girl and hunkered down before her.

"Midnight?" asked Jess, her face uncharacteristically colored with
shock. "You mean… You're THE Magnificent Midnight?"

"Who else would I be?" asked the girl nonchalantly.

That seemed to do it for Jess as she the rocked backwards, taking a clumsy seat on the
floor before she could do something even more embarrassing. She then snatched off her A10 clips, making her into an
independent runner - apparently the shock was hitting her productivity a bit harder than I though it would.

"Every time I think I've seen everything the Goop can do, it comes up with
something new."

Benjamin scoffed and pulled Jess up off the floor.
"Jess, this is Handwavium. It takes its direction from us. This time,
though, it took its direction from someone who is other than human. Both interesting and worrying if you ask
me."

"Why's that?" asked Gina.

"What happens if some AI out there gets the idea into its CPU that humans really
shouldn't be in charge and starts acting on it?" Gina's expression darkened, sending him a clear message
that she didn't appreciate the implications. "Hey, take it as a complement that AIs are sophisticated enough
these days that your starting to get the bad side of humanity as well as the good."

"Uhm," mumbled Jess tentatively.
"As interesting as the topic is, I'm pretty sure you wanted me for more than just show and tell."

"Right, sorry about that, Jess," said Ben, blushing a bit. "We need clothes for our little girl."

"Ah, okay then," said Jess. She then
carefully fitted her A10 clips back into place, then waited a moment as the Independent Runner re-synchronized with her collective consciousness. Suddenly, her eyes went into puppy-dog mode as she clasped her hands together.
"SHE'S SO CUUUUUUUUUTE!" came the resounding noise of one-hundred and one Jessica Ayanamis sounding off at once.

Some people would be a bit puzzled when, during routine observations, 36 Atalante suddenly
and sharply listed the left. This, however, was discounted due to the Asteroid's population of Senshi.

Benjamin and Gina both stared at Jess, their expressions blank save for the wide eyes.

Jess rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Eh-heh-heh… Sorry."

Benjamin then turned to Gina. "You know, if
this is going to be a typical reaction, then we'll need to take some precautions when introducing her to any Senshi."
Gina only rolled her eyes in response.

Soon enough, another Jess arrived with some basic clothes for the little girl to
wear. It had been a crude rush job, but it would work for the time being.

"So… What now?" wondered Jess as her
other body took measurements to outfit a wardrobe. ("OH! I got so many
costume ideas for you!")

"Medical's the next thing," said Ben.
"We gotta establish her baselines as soon as possible. Would you mind getting my Mother for me and giving
her the news?"

"Sure thing. Want it to stay
hush-hush?"

"For now. This is gonna get out eventually,
but I want it to be on our own terms."

"No problem, boss. You're Mom says that
she'll meet you at Medical."



Kaitlyn Jones, Mother of the Brood, Elder Neo-Hippy of the Wave, and Master of Holistic
Space Medicine, practically flew into 36 Atalante's medical center, her jean-skirt billowing around her impressive hips and her sea shell necklace
clattering around her neck.

"Where is she?" she asked Gina and Ben, a hint of desperation in her voice.

They were both smiling as they turned aside. There
between them, sitting on an examination bed, was the girl. She was now wearing a pair of gray sweatpants that Jess had
been able to scare up and a white t-shirt that had the back cut out to accommodate her wings.

"Ohhhh, Benjamin!" cooed Kaitlyn as scooped up the somewhat confused
girl. "She looks just like you! What's her name?"

At this, Gina and Ben blinked at each other, while the girl answered, "I am
Midnight."

Kaitlyn looked slightly consternated at this, as though she had to choose between buying
one brand or another at a grocery store. "That may be true, sweetheart, but I think you should have a name that
better reflects you as you are now." She then shot a sharp look at Benjamin as though she were demanding an
answer.

Ben put up his hands in the universal sign of 'Not my fault!' "Easy, Mom! I just found out about her half an hour ago! You at least had six months with me and the rest of my brothers."

Kaitlyn sighed and set the girl back down gently on the bed and began gathering her
supplies. The ready-service items she kept in sterile warmers - she was a medic with the most gentle of touches.

"She still needs a name," said Kaitlyn as she worked. "I'll help out, but she's your daughter, so the both of you have the final say."

Gina and Benjamin looked to each other once more.
"Langley-Rhodes," she said suddenly. "I'll be damned if it's going to be any other
way."

"Fair enough," Benjamin conceded.
"While we're at it we might as well change our own names to reflect that. It's been official for three
months now anyways."

Gina grinned at Ben. "Lucky for you,
bureaucratic BS here in space is nowhere nearly as bad. I just had the electronic requests submitted."

Ben sighed at that. "Thank Skuld for modern
technology."

"Amen," added the girl, which drew a smile from everyone. Benjamin then hunkered down in front of her and looked at her in the eyes.

"Well, Midnight actually seems to suit you.
Your hair's perfectly black. And these wings!" Ben added as he gently ran a hand down one of them, causing his
unexpected daughter to giggle. "By Skuld, these are going to be beautiful when you grow up."

"How about Mayonaka?" wondered Gina.
Benjamin gave her a questioning look and she sighed. "I know you have a deep love and appreciation for Japanese
culture. Personally I think it's a miracle you didn't wind up marrying one of those J-girls that came out into
space with the first wave."

"Most of them wanted little to do with their culture," Ben reminded her.

"Point," she conceded. "Anyhow,
Mayonaka is Nihongo for Midnight. It has a nice, feminine ring to it, don't you think?"

"Mayonaka Langley-Rhodes," Benjamin said softly, tasting the name on his tongue
and letting it echo through his mind as he judged its worthiness. He then smiled and gathered Gina into an
embrace. "You are too kind to me sometimes," he said as he pecked her on the lips.

She scoffed as Ben kissed her. "I think you
have that the other way around, lover boy, but I appreciate the sentiment anyways."

Grinning, Ben let her go and then scooped up his daughter.
"You hear that, small stuff? From now on, your human name is Mayonaka Langley-Rhodes."

"I like it!" said Mayonaka gleefully.
"Do I get a nick-name too?"

Gina chuckled. "That's earned over
time."

Mayonaka settled for that and Kaitlyn came over with a tray loaded down with medical tools
and supplies.

"At least you two didn't need my help after all," she said with a knowing
smile. "Okay, sweetheart, time for your first physical."

Some people thought it was weird that a home-maker from the US would suddenly become a
capable medical professional shortly after moving out into space. Obviously they didn't know Kaitlyn Jones too
well. She raised the sort of family where she usually came to be on a first-name basis with the doctors at the local
emergency room. It only made sense that she had at least some informal training somewhere along the line. That, combined with her self-taught knowledge of holistic medicine and the myriad of medical-marvels brought to us by the
'Wave, then it was no real surprise that the mother could readily manage a medical emergency… or just a regular physical.

Mayonaka's experience was not an unpleasant one.
It was a bonding experience with her new Grandmother. The only moment of discomfort came when she had to
perform the blood-draw. Benjamin gently turned Mayonaka's face away as his mother carefully slid the needle into
the vein in her elbow.

Mayonaka remained stoic. "I don't like
that sensation."

"Nobody does, my little raven," Ben told her.
"Pain is something we all have to deal with. Do you think you can stand to look at it?" Mayonaka nodded her head firmly and Ben smiled. "Brave girl," he said as he
allowed her to look at the needle in her arm. She remained calm, even as Kaitlyn inserted the vacuum tube that
collected the blood sample. Once it was full, she removed and set it aside in a brisk and professional manner, and then
carefully removed the butterfly syringe from Mayonaka's arm, holding a piece of gauze over the entry point as she did so.

"Now, I think you have just enough of the Wave in you already for me to do
this," said Kaitlyn as she closed her eyes and held the gauze firmly, yet gently, over the small puncture wound.
Mayonaka blinked in surprise.

"It's… Gone!"

Kaitlyn chuckled softly as she opened her eyes.
"Not quite, sweetheart. I just put a patch over it, but it should heal up pretty quickly now." She then turned to Gina and Ben. "Ruri and I will go over her blood work and DNA
profile. Ruri should let you know if we find anything special… aside form the obvious."

"Thank you, Mother," said Gina as she gave the much larger woman a hug.

"I'm just looking out for my family, Gina," said Kaitlyn as she returned the
hug. "Why don't you three get to bed? It's getting late and
it's been pretty eventful."

At that, there was the sudden sound of a tiny stomach making its empty status known.

"…That is, after we get some food into her belly," added Kaitlyn.

"How did that just happen?" wondered Benjamin aloud. "You're digestive track should be empty."

Mayonaka smiled. "During the development
process I took a page from human reproduction. My digestive track has been working."

Gina blinked. "Then why was there no
mess?"

Mayonaka only smiled.

Ben hunkered down and looked his daughter in the eyes.
"Little one, later on you and I are gonna have to have a look at that rig you cooked up in your cargo bay."







For my first meal, I was given something simple.
Even though it seemed my body's ability to digest food was complete, Grandmother felt it best that I was given something easy to digest. And so I enjoyed a meal of spiced hot applesauce and pureed beef stew and a glass of water.
The meal wasn't much to look at, but it did taste very good. Mother and Father were not exaggerating in
saying that Grandmother is an excellent cook.

I spend my first night as a human sleeping with my new parents. My new Grandmother was right. Even though I had been active for only a few hours, I was
already exhausted. I knew this going in, however, and it won't be the first day that I am like this.

For the moment, though, I lay there between my parents in a happy daze. My mother is to my right and my father to the left. They both have an arm draped over me
protectively. It feels most agreeable. Humans are so fortunate to be able to
experience tactile sensations. There's no way for me to describe how soothing the warmth of their bodies protecting
mine feels, along with the soft feel of the bed sheets and the occasional grazing of bare skin.

Almost as intoxicating is the smell.

Some people say that humans smell horrible and prefer to scent themselves with other
things to cover up their own scent. I don't feel that way. As long as a
human takes care of their body and bathes regularly they are really not unpleasant smelling.

My Father is like this. He smells distinctly
masculine, but there is nothing unpleasant about it. It makes me feel safe and secure.

Mother is different. She prefers to scent herself,
but only lightly so. At the time I had no way to describe it, but in retrospect I would say that it is very much like a
flower with a subtle, slightly musky, fragrance.

But more than even that is something else. It is
something that goes beyond the mere tangible things like tactile sensations on my new skin and the effect of airborne chemicals on my olfactory
receptors. Is this what it feels like to be loved? I have read about this thing
humans call love - the most special being the unconditional love only given to mates and their children.
Sleep finally comes to me, and I sleep for the first time as humans do, protected by the strong arms of my loving parents.
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