Between security cameras and spectators nearly getting into the line of fire to try and get the show on their phones, there was plenty of footage of the fight available. Accessing all the various cameras was child's play for an AI in the very next room, and her origins as an accounting system for Void Shipping meant that Kitbash could process all the data streams without much difficulty.
Understanding was proving much harder however. Kitbash was a young AI, less than a year old, and she had a very clear view of her family. That view did not include both her father and brother in a brutal gunfight with one of the Solar Systems legends, and holding their own to some extent. She knew her father kept a small arsenal in the ships vault, and that he kept in practise with them, but there was clearly more to this than she knew about.
As she watched her father side-step another bolt of lightning, raise his revolver and fire, she felt the sensation of another AI connecting with her own systems. An AI whose electronic signature she knew. In a heartbeat, her perception of reality shifted, and she took on the familiar form of the girl in her mid-to-late teens, standing in the center of a detailed replica of the Void Eagles living quarters. The door leading to the ships exit ramp slid open, revealing a blonde woman that didn’t appear to be that much older than Kitbash. “Hi Nene,” Kit mumbled, clearly distracted.
Studying Kitbash with a look of mild bemusement, Nene Romanova put her hands on her hips. “I thought that was the Void Eagle’s nav code,” she commented. “Which means that…” She looked over at the holoterminal in the middle of the room, which was currently displaying the various camera angles of the fight. At the high speed both AIs were processing at, the video footage was almost frozen, giving the new arrival plenty of time to evaluate the sight.
Sighing, Nene pinched the bridge of her nose. “Incredible. Your father is fighting the Professor. Your father,” she repeated, incredulous.
“And Tee,” Kitbash added.
“Well, of course. He’d never let Chris go into a fight alone unless he had absolutely no choice,” Nene replied in a tone that suggested it was obvious to her. “But I’m pretty sure neither of them are stupid enough to just pick a fight with the Professor, so why would…” Before Kitbash could answer, she started skimming through the various images, moving past the fight and to the Void Eagles external cameras. Frowning, she paused to consider the image from the underside of the ship, where the Freiz siblings were starting to seal up the ships outer hull. “A Julian, and is that... well crap,” she muttered.. “A ‘Juliane’. That explains why the Professor’s here alright. And why your father would pull all his old gear out of storage. At least he’s trying to keep it non-lethal. Maybe we won’t start getting hull breaches this time.” Pausing, she turned to see the disbelieving look on Kitbashes face. “What?”
Staring at Nene for a moment longer, the girls expression grew slightly more disbelieving, and very panicky. “What? What?!” She waved a hand at the image of Chris, revolver in hand, bullet slowly emerging from the barrel. “Dad is in a gunfight with the freaking Professor, he’s been shot and stabbed several times and barely seems to care, Tee has a gun aimed at that womans face, and then you show up, even though I know you’re not really built for the roaming AI trick, and when you look at the fight you’re not even surprised!” By the time Kitbash finished her rant, she was nearly yelling, and Nene had backed up to avoid the girls wild gesturing. “Would someone please explain what’s going on?!”
Stepping back in, Nene placed a hand on the girls shoulder. “It’s a very long story, and it’s not all mine to tell,” she said quietly. “It’s theirs, and your father especially doesn’t like to talk about it much.” She paused, considering what to say. “Let’s just say that Chris saw a bit more action in the Boskone War than he lets on. This isn’t exactly new to him.” She smiled wryly. “We can pry answers out of him later. Heck, I’ll bring a crowbar,” she added, getting a faint smile from the nervous girl. “But right now, we should focus on helping him out.”
Raising an eyebrow, Kitbash gave her a dubious look. “And how am I supposed to do that? I’m a starship Nene. My only trick here is my coilguns, and they’re not exactly the sort of solution that’d help here,” she pointed out.
Grinning, the older woman turned towards the camera footage. “Time for a lesson or two, oh student of mine. First off, let’s get a better look at the situation. We take all these images and use them to build as good a replica of the scene as we can manage. I’ve got a few programs that should help there…” The pairs perception of reality began to shift as Nene got to work.
It took an entire two seconds of work to splice the various camera feeds together, and as reality settled around them, Nene was rubbing at her temples, already starting to feel the headache this was going to give her back in realspace. Their new surroundings were nowhere near as detailed as the Void Eagles near-realism, with lots of materials suffering from poor resolution, jagged edges, and even literal empty voids, but it was a start.
Standing near her father, Kitbash scowled. “Okay, I can guess some of why you did this, but I don’t see how we can use it to help.”
“I work better in three dimensions,” Nene replied, stepping over to the Professor. Leaning past him, she studied the bullet that Chris had just fired when she accessed the Void Eagles system. “This has been deflected,” she noted. “Its flight path changed after it was fired. Must be some sort of defence system the Professor has.”
“Cybernetics or something?”
Shaking her head, Nene made another pass. “Unlikely. There’s never been any evidence to suggest he’s augmented himself.” Kneeling down, she took a closer look at the Lightning Gun in his hand. “This might be it.” She looked back at Kitbash. “I’ve seen weapons like this before, usually from various Mads. This? This is way too bulky for something the Professor could come with.” She paused, tilting her head to the side. “Wouldn’t you agree, Athena?”
Kitbash gave Nene a curious look, then jumped slightly as a tall, slender woman in a Browncoat Militia uniform appeared next to her. “I agree. I’ve been trying to determine the exact power output of that weapon, but the cameras tracking the fight lack the scanner ability necessary.” She turned to Kitbash, considering the girl. “Miss Wood, I am Athena, Electronic Security Coordinator for Serenity Valley.”
“Uh… hi? Sorry about the trouble?” the girl offered nervously.
Much to her relief, Athena smiled gently in return, negating much of the other AIs imposing attitude. “Nothing to apologize for Miss Wood. You certainly didn’t cause any trouble, and if I’m honest, I quite like your father's attitude on this matter.” She looked over at Nene. “How did you detect me?”
“I wrote at least a third of your code kiddo,” Nene replied dryly.
“Right. Fair point.” She sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets. “So, we agree that weapon is a priority. Anything else?”
“I’m guessing you logged everywhere Chris stored his surprises,” Nene commented. In reply, Athena snapped her fingers, and new details appeared across the room. “Not too much remote detonated,” Nene mused, looking around. “Guess he was worried about jamming.” Pausing, she looked up at the roof. “Fire suppression?”
Athena looked up at the sprinklers, then smirked. “Water based, and I can activate individual sprinklers.” She pointed at the Professor. “That gun doesn’t appear well insulated.” Pausing, she stepped over for a closer look at the man. “Although, now I think about it… he looks tired.”
Eyebrows raising, Nene leaned over and took a look. “You know, he really does. Have you ever dealt with him before Athena?” The woman shook her head, and the blonde smiled. “He goes days without sleep by default, then passes out for a while, gets back up and repeats. If he’s this unstable, I’d say he’s been up for at least ten days.” Stepping back, she walked around the room, stopping by a shelf that had been labeled by Athena to contain a grenade, a shotgun, and an electric stun device. She considered, turned to the others and smirked. “You knock him out, even with something light, I’d bet good money his own body betrays him and he stays down.”
Kitbash nodded, looking more confident now there was a plan forming. “I can relay that to him,” she said.
“And I can douse the Professor, potentially disable that weapon,” Athena added. “Security is almost at the tram station.”
“It’s a start,” Nene said. “Athena, can I leave this with you? I’m going to drop back to realspace. If there’s still a Blue Midget undocking, I might try and relay them here. Getting the Freiz out on another ship might just buy us time.”
Athena nodded. “Good luck.”
“Thank you,” Kitbash added.
Nene gave the girl a smile. “Not a problem kiddo. Always happy to help a friend.” Bracing herself for the headache, she dropped out of cyberspace and into the world outside.
***
Understanding was proving much harder however. Kitbash was a young AI, less than a year old, and she had a very clear view of her family. That view did not include both her father and brother in a brutal gunfight with one of the Solar Systems legends, and holding their own to some extent. She knew her father kept a small arsenal in the ships vault, and that he kept in practise with them, but there was clearly more to this than she knew about.
As she watched her father side-step another bolt of lightning, raise his revolver and fire, she felt the sensation of another AI connecting with her own systems. An AI whose electronic signature she knew. In a heartbeat, her perception of reality shifted, and she took on the familiar form of the girl in her mid-to-late teens, standing in the center of a detailed replica of the Void Eagles living quarters. The door leading to the ships exit ramp slid open, revealing a blonde woman that didn’t appear to be that much older than Kitbash. “Hi Nene,” Kit mumbled, clearly distracted.
Studying Kitbash with a look of mild bemusement, Nene Romanova put her hands on her hips. “I thought that was the Void Eagle’s nav code,” she commented. “Which means that…” She looked over at the holoterminal in the middle of the room, which was currently displaying the various camera angles of the fight. At the high speed both AIs were processing at, the video footage was almost frozen, giving the new arrival plenty of time to evaluate the sight.
Sighing, Nene pinched the bridge of her nose. “Incredible. Your father is fighting the Professor. Your father,” she repeated, incredulous.
“And Tee,” Kitbash added.
“Well, of course. He’d never let Chris go into a fight alone unless he had absolutely no choice,” Nene replied in a tone that suggested it was obvious to her. “But I’m pretty sure neither of them are stupid enough to just pick a fight with the Professor, so why would…” Before Kitbash could answer, she started skimming through the various images, moving past the fight and to the Void Eagles external cameras. Frowning, she paused to consider the image from the underside of the ship, where the Freiz siblings were starting to seal up the ships outer hull. “A Julian, and is that... well crap,” she muttered.. “A ‘Juliane’. That explains why the Professor’s here alright. And why your father would pull all his old gear out of storage. At least he’s trying to keep it non-lethal. Maybe we won’t start getting hull breaches this time.” Pausing, she turned to see the disbelieving look on Kitbashes face. “What?”
Staring at Nene for a moment longer, the girls expression grew slightly more disbelieving, and very panicky. “What? What?!” She waved a hand at the image of Chris, revolver in hand, bullet slowly emerging from the barrel. “Dad is in a gunfight with the freaking Professor, he’s been shot and stabbed several times and barely seems to care, Tee has a gun aimed at that womans face, and then you show up, even though I know you’re not really built for the roaming AI trick, and when you look at the fight you’re not even surprised!” By the time Kitbash finished her rant, she was nearly yelling, and Nene had backed up to avoid the girls wild gesturing. “Would someone please explain what’s going on?!”
Stepping back in, Nene placed a hand on the girls shoulder. “It’s a very long story, and it’s not all mine to tell,” she said quietly. “It’s theirs, and your father especially doesn’t like to talk about it much.” She paused, considering what to say. “Let’s just say that Chris saw a bit more action in the Boskone War than he lets on. This isn’t exactly new to him.” She smiled wryly. “We can pry answers out of him later. Heck, I’ll bring a crowbar,” she added, getting a faint smile from the nervous girl. “But right now, we should focus on helping him out.”
Raising an eyebrow, Kitbash gave her a dubious look. “And how am I supposed to do that? I’m a starship Nene. My only trick here is my coilguns, and they’re not exactly the sort of solution that’d help here,” she pointed out.
Grinning, the older woman turned towards the camera footage. “Time for a lesson or two, oh student of mine. First off, let’s get a better look at the situation. We take all these images and use them to build as good a replica of the scene as we can manage. I’ve got a few programs that should help there…” The pairs perception of reality began to shift as Nene got to work.
It took an entire two seconds of work to splice the various camera feeds together, and as reality settled around them, Nene was rubbing at her temples, already starting to feel the headache this was going to give her back in realspace. Their new surroundings were nowhere near as detailed as the Void Eagles near-realism, with lots of materials suffering from poor resolution, jagged edges, and even literal empty voids, but it was a start.
Standing near her father, Kitbash scowled. “Okay, I can guess some of why you did this, but I don’t see how we can use it to help.”
“I work better in three dimensions,” Nene replied, stepping over to the Professor. Leaning past him, she studied the bullet that Chris had just fired when she accessed the Void Eagles system. “This has been deflected,” she noted. “Its flight path changed after it was fired. Must be some sort of defence system the Professor has.”
“Cybernetics or something?”
Shaking her head, Nene made another pass. “Unlikely. There’s never been any evidence to suggest he’s augmented himself.” Kneeling down, she took a closer look at the Lightning Gun in his hand. “This might be it.” She looked back at Kitbash. “I’ve seen weapons like this before, usually from various Mads. This? This is way too bulky for something the Professor could come with.” She paused, tilting her head to the side. “Wouldn’t you agree, Athena?”
Kitbash gave Nene a curious look, then jumped slightly as a tall, slender woman in a Browncoat Militia uniform appeared next to her. “I agree. I’ve been trying to determine the exact power output of that weapon, but the cameras tracking the fight lack the scanner ability necessary.” She turned to Kitbash, considering the girl. “Miss Wood, I am Athena, Electronic Security Coordinator for Serenity Valley.”
“Uh… hi? Sorry about the trouble?” the girl offered nervously.
Much to her relief, Athena smiled gently in return, negating much of the other AIs imposing attitude. “Nothing to apologize for Miss Wood. You certainly didn’t cause any trouble, and if I’m honest, I quite like your father's attitude on this matter.” She looked over at Nene. “How did you detect me?”
“I wrote at least a third of your code kiddo,” Nene replied dryly.
“Right. Fair point.” She sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets. “So, we agree that weapon is a priority. Anything else?”
“I’m guessing you logged everywhere Chris stored his surprises,” Nene commented. In reply, Athena snapped her fingers, and new details appeared across the room. “Not too much remote detonated,” Nene mused, looking around. “Guess he was worried about jamming.” Pausing, she looked up at the roof. “Fire suppression?”
Athena looked up at the sprinklers, then smirked. “Water based, and I can activate individual sprinklers.” She pointed at the Professor. “That gun doesn’t appear well insulated.” Pausing, she stepped over for a closer look at the man. “Although, now I think about it… he looks tired.”
Eyebrows raising, Nene leaned over and took a look. “You know, he really does. Have you ever dealt with him before Athena?” The woman shook her head, and the blonde smiled. “He goes days without sleep by default, then passes out for a while, gets back up and repeats. If he’s this unstable, I’d say he’s been up for at least ten days.” Stepping back, she walked around the room, stopping by a shelf that had been labeled by Athena to contain a grenade, a shotgun, and an electric stun device. She considered, turned to the others and smirked. “You knock him out, even with something light, I’d bet good money his own body betrays him and he stays down.”
Kitbash nodded, looking more confident now there was a plan forming. “I can relay that to him,” she said.
“And I can douse the Professor, potentially disable that weapon,” Athena added. “Security is almost at the tram station.”
“It’s a start,” Nene said. “Athena, can I leave this with you? I’m going to drop back to realspace. If there’s still a Blue Midget undocking, I might try and relay them here. Getting the Freiz out on another ship might just buy us time.”
Athena nodded. “Good luck.”
“Thank you,” Kitbash added.
Nene gave the girl a smile. “Not a problem kiddo. Always happy to help a friend.” Bracing herself for the headache, she dropped out of cyberspace and into the world outside.
***