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[Fiction] An Unwelcome Visitor
[Fiction] An Unwelcome Visitor
#1
JULY 17, 2015
SERENITY VALLEY, GANYMEDE
Standing a safe distance away from Void Eagle, Chris watched in mild amusement as the two plumbers worked on the opened underside of his ship. Several pipes were open and dripping liquids he really didn’t want to try and identify into the buckets and across a plastic sheet, while the catgirl of the pair had her arm in one of the pipes up to her bicep. “And… got it!” she declared, pulling her arm out. Taking a rag from her coverall pocket, she wiped at the item in her hands, then raised an eyebrow. “So, yeah, I’d say I found the problem,” she called out to Chris.
Curious, he walked over, and she held out her hand to show a half-destroyed doll of some sort. He considered it for a minute, then groaned slightly, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Two weeks back, moved a family to Coruscant. When we unloaded, their daughter was screaming bloody murder about one of her dolls going missing. Her dad and I damn near tore the ship apart trying to find the thing.”
Pausing in sealing up another pipe, the other plumber, who looked like Nightcrawler if he’d gotten a bit old and out of shape, winced in sympathy. “Lemme guess, she had a brother?”
Nodding, Chris rolled his eyes. “And he was an annoying little shit the whole flight. Little bastard must have shoved it down the toilet.”
“Well, points for effort,” the catgirl commented, dropping it in a bucket. “Looks like it kept getting moved around for a while at least, then got jammed and turned into a blockage.” Wiping the slime off her arm, she shrugged slightly. “Still, could be worse. At least it’s still just a doll,” she added with a shudder.
Matching her shudder, Chris gave her a horrified look. “Oh thank you Jules, I really needed that mental image.”
“I live to serve,” Julian ‘Jules’ Friez replied dryly. “Still, wasn’t much chance of that happening here.”
“I have to say Chris,” the other Julian commented, “I rather like your setup here. It actually makes complete sense. You don’t see that as much as I’d like.”
Shrugging, Chris handed Jules another rag as it became clear the first one simply wasn’t going to be enough. “There are some places where the Weird that is handwavium certainly isn’t welcome. And call me old-fashioned, but I think my toilet’s one such place.”
Jules laughed, wiping her hands relatively clean and dropping the rag in the bucket. “What a wonderful concept. I wish more people lived by it.” Snorting, she grabbed her water bottle. “But they don’t. And then things get annoying.”
“And then we’re the ones that have to deal with it,” Julian finished with a scowl, finishing his work on the current pipe. Dropping the tape back in the toolbox, he took another look at the ships plumbing. “You said you’re still happy with the water recycling, right?”
“Takes about a month before it’s noticeable to the point of changing the filters,” the captain replied, suppressing a smile. Constant of the universe. Present a Friez with a plumbing problem, they’d end up working out improvements somewhere. It was one of the ways they kept their grip on reality.
Rubbing at his chin thoughtfully, Julian considered the pipes above him. “I think I could improve it a little. Waste filtration looks alright, but it should be possible to keep more water cycling through.”
“Ohhh, I think I see where you’re going with that,” Jules said, ears perking up. “Although we’ll need to keep it from going stale faster. I’ve got an idea for that.”
Chris stepped back and let the two Friez debate their plans for several minutes, waiting patiently. Eventually, the pairs debate became even more excitable, the catgirl in particular gesturing wildly, and he clapped his hand to get their attention. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m pretty sure you’re not going to be able to get this done today, and I do have a schedule to keep.” Jules nodded reluctantly, and he grinned. “So, write up a quote and email it to me. I’ll look it over and give you an answer.”
Jules grinned. “Aye-Aye Captain!” she declared, mock saluting. Chris smiled at her enthusiasm, then pointed at the mess on the deck plates. “Oh, right. Fair point.” Nearly purring, she turned her attention back to her work.
Chuckling, Chris stepped back, checking to make sure he hadn’t gotten anything on him, then jumped slightly as his phone chirped for attention, a sharp urgent beep that was the ringtone for his daughters emergency code. Pulling it out of his pocket, he held it in front of him and tapped the answer key, Kitbash’s holographic avatar appearing in the air above it. “What’s the problem?” he asked quietly. Over by the ship, both Friez hesitated slightly, then tried their best not to look over at where the AI was manifesting. They tried to be polite, they honestly liked the girl, but like so many of their kin, they just couldn’t quite process concepts like AIs.
Kitbash kept her voice low, and Chris instantly got the impression that this time, it wasn’t to try and make things easier on on his friends. “Dad, I just got a warning ping from ATC. We’ve got a ship coming in, it just charged right on through the flight lanes and demanded a hanger.” Her fathers eyebrows rose as he imagined what the Browncoat militia must be doing right now. Who the hell would be so arrogantly stupid to act like that, here of all places… His eyes widened and he paled slightly as he made the connection. “It’s the Sol Bianca,” Kitbash confirmed. “I’m asking around, but no one can think of any solid reason for him to be here except-”
There was a crash, and both Chris and his daughter spun towards the ship. The bucket Jules had been holding had spilt across the decking, and the tiny catgirl was almost shrinking in on herself in terror, ears and tail tucked in tight. Julian clearly lacked his ‘sisters’ hearing, and was stepping towards her in confusion and concern, placing a gentle hand on her arm. “Jules, what’s the-”
“The Professor’s coming here!” she whimpered, not noticing as Julian flinched back in horror. “He’s coming here and he’s coming for us and he’s coming for me oh God it’s happening again please no don’t let it happen again please this is all I have left please-” She bit back a shriek of terror as a hand touched her shoulder, and she spun to see Chris standing there, concern on his face.
“He’s not here yet,” he said gently, voice low. “We don’t know he’s coming for you-”
“Don’t you get it?!” she demanded, tears starting to run down her face. “He took us because he couldn’t find a ‘Julienne Friez!’ Well,” she gestured at her petite form, “here’s one for him! He’s heard about me, and it’s going to start all. Over. AGAIN!” The last word came out in a ear-breaking, broken wail, and she slumped against the man, sobbing.
“We have to hide,” Julian said desperately, getting his balance back. “Not our quarters. Too many of us take the obvious hiding place. Somewhere under the dome he can’t reach, maybe in the maintenance tunnels…”
Looking down at the sobbing girl in his arms, Chris scowled. “No, if you do that, he’ll just start cutting his way in. He’s done it before on things that gained his attention. Both of you,” he ordered, voice cutting through Jule’s crying, “seal those pipes up and get that plating back on. Kit, as soon as they’re done, I want you to start preflight checks.”
“Preflight…?” Jules whispered, looking up at him.
“If it comes to it,” Chris told her gently, “I’m getting both of you out of here. TeeSeven, get my guns and get down here!” he yelled. Pushing Jules back away from him, he turned and ran for the door. “Now get to work! I need the Void Eagle ready to run!”
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#2
Heh heh. Silly professor don't draw attention to yourself when hunting things. You might just become the hunted
 
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#3
“And the Sol Bianca is safely docked… and there goes the Professor,” muttered the militiaman at the security terminal. “Crazy Bastard barely gave the airlock time to seal.”

Behind her, Commander Lisa Hayes shrugged slightly. Unlike her young assistant, she’d been on duty for previous visits by the Bane of Paris, and she knew what to expect. “When he’s on the hunt for Science, little details tend to be ignored unless they get in his way,” she explained, unconcerned. “Don’t worry too much kiddo. He’s got a good team to back him up if something did go wrong.”

“Right, his robot assis...tants…” the man managed, staring at his screen. Barely twenty years old, he was in no way ready to handle the image of Miyu Glear, her incredible curves putting a pair of jeans and a tank top to the ultimate test.

Lisa gave him a moment to take in the sight, smiling in mild amusement, then tapped him on the shoulder. “Focus Ensign,” she said. “Where are they going?”

Blushing, he checked his other screens, then nodded slightly. “Eastward along the docking ring ma’am.”

“Not into the dome at all?”

“Uh, no ma’am. They’re boarding the ring trams now,” he confirmed.

Considering that, Lisa managed to suppress a sigh of relief. “I guess there’s a ship or something there that got his attention. Better that than him deciding to dismantle our interwave again. Keep an eye on them, I’ll let the Governor know.”

Picking up the red phone mounted on the wall, she started to dial, but paused at a new voice, coming from the security rooms speakers. “Commander, we have a disturbance outside docking bay eighty-seven,” reported Athena, one of the collection of AIs that juggled security responsibilities in the Valley. “I suspect it might have something to do with our other emergency,” she added in what was, for her, a somewhat concerned tone of voice.

Frowning slightly, the Commander put the phone back on the hook and turned towards one of the security monitors. “Show me.” The screen changed from a map of the docking rings to security camera footage, showing a man in his early thirties and a T7 series Astromech droid moving around the docking bay entrance, hiding various items and weapons behind anything he could find, while a handful of bystanders either watched in curiosity or concern, or put some distance between them and the trouble to come.

“Files identify the man as Captain Christopher Wood of the Freighter Void Eagle-”

Lisa waved a hand, cutting Athena off. “I know who he is. What I need to know is why.” Pulling a phone out of her pocket, she looked up at a camera. “Can you put me through to him?” By the time she finished asking the question, her phone began ringing. On the monitor, Chris paused in hiding a shotgun behind a shipping crate, then fished his own phone out of his longcoat pocket. “Chris, this is Lisa Hayes. Would you care to explain what the hell you think you’re doing?” she growled.

Looking around, Chris caught sight of one of the security cameras and gave a friendly wave. “Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst,” he said, returning to hiding the shotgun. “Where’s the Professor right now?”

Lisa’s scowl deepened. “He’s on the tram system…” She glanced at the map, “and yes, he’s heading your way. Chris, do you have something that would get his attention?”

Growling, Chris placed a grenade next to the shotgun, then darted around the crate and ran towards an abandoned cart. “Well, unless there’s another example of Mad Science floating around the docking ring right now, I’d say it’s all too possible he’s here to visit the two Friez I’ve got making some repairs to my ship.”

Blinking, Lisa gave her phone a disbelieving look, then returned it to her ear. “You look like you’re setting up for war there. You’re going to pick a fight with the Professor? Just because you think he’s visiting a pair of Julian Friez?” Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t keep her voice down, and everyone in the room turned towards her, stunned.

On the screen, Chris paused. “I’m not planning on starting anything Lisa,” he said, his voice unnaturally level. “If he comes here, I’m going to ask him to leave. Don’t worry, I’ll even be polite about it. But right now, I have a catgirl in that hanger this close to fainting in sheer terror at the news he’s even on the same damn moon as her.” Anger slipped into his voice as he handed the droid what looked like some sort of ‘waved taser. “What he did to her, to all of her ‘brothers’? People make jokes of it, but… Lisa, she would rather jump out an airlock than let the Professor get his hands on her again. I don’t give a single fuck what he’s given Fenspace over the years, he’s not going near her. They’ve suffered enough.”

Eyes wide, Lisa stared at the screen for a long moment. That was… That was something she needed to process. At last, she shook her head slightly and pulled herself back to the present. “He’s only got Miyu Glear with him. No sign of anyone else. Chris… be careful.”

He looked up at the camera and shrugged. “As much as I can be with what’s coming,” he replied, before ending the call and getting to work.

Putting her own phone away, Lisa shook her head. “Because just having the Professor show up wasn’t enough, oh no..."
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#4
Damn, and I aint around for the fun. At least it will be available for viewing on the interwave.

Who wants popcorn?
 
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#5
Rajvik Wrote:Damn, and I aint around for the fun. At least it will be available for viewing on the interwave.

Who wants popcorn?
You should see Kohran's popcorn popper. Every kernel blown up real good ... er, popped.

Okay, okay - back to the story, already in progress...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#6
“Public transport, so slow,” the Professor grumbled, tapping his fingers against the door impatiently. “If I could just work out matter teleportation, we could get rid of these problems entirely. Why, it would revolutionize society in ways even I’d struggle to imagine!”

“I know,” Miyu replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

“The math says it should work, which suggests that what we’re missing is an unknown element we don’t realize we need to compensate for. Maybe...” Pulling a pencil and notepad out of his labcoat, he started scribbling down notes. Miyu let him work, grateful he had an old distraction to keep him quiet, and turned her attention to the rest of the tram.

Word was clearly spreading that the Professor was here. As they passed a stop and it was clear the Professor wasn’t disembarking yet, the other passengers were getting off the tram with embarrassing speed, and almost no one was boarding to take their place. She frowned at that, looking around the tram again.

The more she she considered the situation, the more her unease grew. Most of the people on the tram now were clearly here for the Professor, but no one was approaching him, and barely any of them were taking photos. Instead, it was almost like they were waiting for something. Only a handful of them were armed, so she didn’t think it was some idiots trying for the ‘Danes bounties on her dear Professor. But that still didn’t answer any questions…

A sharp buzz grabbed her attention, and she looked up to see the display above the door reading docking bay eighty-seven. “We’re here Professor,” she called out, before smiling affectionately, rolling her eyes in irritation, and dragging the man out of the tram by his labcoat.

Looking up from his notes, the man blinked in confusion. “Hmm? Oh, right!” he declared, once his attention returned to reality (Or as close as he ever managed). Putting the notepad away, he took a tricorder out of another pocket and flipped it open. “This way,” he declared, sprinting down the hallway. Miyu followed, but a glance over her shoulder confirmed her fears that the small crowd was indeed following them.

Naturally, the Professor completely failed to notice this, most of his attention on the Tricorders display and the rest on avoiding obstacles in his path. Over a crate, between two people, jumping down a flight of stairs and not even slowing down on the landing… Even Miyu had a hard time keeping up with him when he had his eyes on his next big discovery.

Skidding around a corner, feet sliding across the tiles, the Professor came to a halt in the middle of the last room before the docking bay, a curious look on his face. As she caught up with him, Miyu glanced around the room and felt her own frown deepening. There was only a handful of people in the room, most of them along the walls or near something that would provide cover, and the door to the docking bay itself was sealed. Leaning against that door was a somewhat bulky man in his early-thirties, hands in the pockets of his longcoat. “Good afternoon Professor, Miss Glear,” he called out, straightening up. “Chris Wood, Captain of the Void Eagle. And how are you today?”

Something about the tone of his voice had alarm bells ringing in Miyu’s mind, but the Professor seemed not to notice, smiling widely and walking towards the man. “Why quite well, thank you! Why, just a few minutes ago, I took another step closer to resolving the mystery of teleportation! I’m confident that soon, another grand secret of Science shall be revealed, and the very concept of distance shall be rewritten!” Chris nodded, looking impressed, and the Professor sighed. “Sadly, that’s for later. Right now, I’m checking up on an ongoing experiment of mine. But of course, you already know that, don’t you?” he continued, his voice suddenly much more serious, almost angry. Miyu glanced at him in surprise at the shift in mood, but he paid her little attention, his gaze locked on the other man. “That’s why you’ve locked that door, and it’s why you’re armed. You intend to stand between me and my experiments.”

Chris met the Professors gaze without flinching. Slowly, he took his gloved hands out of his pockets, palms turned towards them to show he wasn’t holding anything. “All I’m doing is protecting my friends,” he replied. “Protecting them from the man that took everything from them. Their home, their life, even their identity.” His voice began to waver, anger slipping in. “They don’t want to be part of your experiment Professor. They never did, and you know that.”

Blinking, the Professor gave the man a baffled look. “What does that have to do with anything?” he demanded. “Why, their very existence is because of, and is part of the experiment. What they want is irrelevant.” He waved a hand, dismissing the entire subject as unimportant. “Now, I have work to do, research to conduct, and test subjects to examine. So if you’re done with this childish nonsense-”

“If it’s childish to stand between you and your victims, then I guess I’m forever young,” Chris replied, smirking slightly. “Allow me to be clear, so there are no misunderstandings. You are after the Julian Friez that had tried to salvage a home here. They are aboard my ship as guests, and are under my protection. You are not welcome, and I will consider any attempt to board my ship an act of piracy. So I am asking you now, to turn around and leave. I’d rather not make this any worse than it needs to be.”

Silence filled the room for several long moments, none of the spectators daring to interrupt. For his part, the Captain was waiting patiently, watching the other man carefully. The Professor looked nowhere near as calm, eyes starting to bulge, teeth gritted, an angry growl building in his throat. As she watched him, Miyu found herself trying to remember the last time her Professor slept, and realized her guess was at least twelve days, probably more. It was all too likely he was due for an Angry Science incident, and this idiot seemed determined to trigger it.

Snarling, the Professor slapped a hand against his thigh. “You arrogant, ignorant, uneducated… Luddite! Why must I keep having to deal with fools that actively oppose the exploration of Science? You fear the secrets of the universe, of what I will accomplish when I unlock them-” He froze as Chris laughed, a harsh bitter noise that echoed around the room.

“Oh, I’m no Luddite Professor. I admire the explorers, the researchers, the dreamers. You forged the path, and those of us not quite as brilliant can only try and catch up,” he commented with a wistful smile, before turning serious. “But there are lines, and you’ve crossed them before. I’m not letting you do it again today, not to people I care about. So, I ask you again. Please. Lea-”

Eyes narrowing, the Professor pointed an accusing finger at him. “Miyu my dear, would you deal with this presumptuous fool?” the man ordered. The android didn’t bother replying, charging past him with the incredible speeds her design made possible. Her right arm shifted into its sword form, and she closed in, intending to put the blade against his neck and force him out of her way.

Just before she reached him, the mans hands seemed to explode, and twin bursts of energy hit her hard in the chest, completely reversing her charge and throwing her back across the cargo hold. Rolling as she hit the ground, she skidded to a halt next to the Professor, surprise etched into her features. Glancing down at her chest, she made a baffled noise as she realized that her clothes weren’t even singed, then looked back up.

Smoke dramatically obscured the Captains hands for a moment, before drifting away in a manner that completely ignored local air flows. The gloves were gone, practically vaporized, leaving behind a pair of red and gold armored gauntlets, energy emitters in the palms still glowing. “They’re pure ‘wave,” he commented with a grin, “but they love surprising people. And I think we can all agree, slapstick has its uses, hmm?”

Rising to her feet, she gave the man a furious glare. Then her swordarm changed again, and her minigun roared to life.

***

“Oh here we go,” Lisa moaned, watching on the screen as the Captain dived for cover, sending a few repulsor blasts back towards the pair as he did so. “Where’s that security team?” she demanded.

“They’ve commandeered a tram,” the ensign reported, one hand pressed against his earbud. “ETA, ten minutes.”

She didn’t dare look away from the screen as the Professor, face flushed with rage, took a bundle of wires and cables that might once have been a gun from inside his jacket, and began throwing blue-white bolts of lighting across the room as the spectators dove for cover. “Ten minutes? We’ll be lucky if this lasts five, and that’s assuming the lunatic doesn’t cause a hull breach!”

As the crate he was behind began to disintegrate, Chris distracted the pair from his relocation attempts with a pair of grenades thrown over the top. Miyu’s reflexes were easily able to intercept them, and she shot them out of the air at the top of their arc… then both she and the Professor had to dive for cover as the grenades were revealed to be a pair of hull breach foamers, releasing a rapidly expanding blob of quick-hardening sealant into the air above them.

“Captain Wood appears to be sticking to non-lethal weapons for the time being,” Athena pointed out as the man in question fired another pair of repulsor blasts, catching Miyu off balance and throwing her across the hold. “It seems unlikely he will be able to cause significant harm to the bulkheads unless he escalates dramatically.”

Turning, Lisa gave the rooms camera, and thus the AI, her best death glare. “You know damn well I meant the idiot that once tried stealing a nuclear warhead for the lulz!” she snapped. By the time she’d turned back, the Professor had gotten a shot off at Chris, the lightning leaving a scorchmark on the mans longcoat. Chris replied with a repulsor blast, but it seemed to spall off in random directions a foot away from his opponent.

Athena considered the comment for a moment, then pushed on. “I’m afraid I have more bad news. I’m reading two people moving down the boarding tube from the Sol Bianca… and Interwave activity just spiked.”

Face paling, Lisa watched as Chris dodged another bolt of lightning. “Interwave?”

“I estimate there are at least ten AIs now watching this fight… and they all appear to be broadcasting the security and cameraphone footage.”

***
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#7
Bue Hair is such a terrible affliction.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
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#8
Matrix Dragon Wrote:Blinking, the Professor gave the man a baffled look. “What does that have to do with anything?” he demanded. “Why, their very existence is because of, and is part of the experiment. What they want is irrelevant.”
And this is one example why the Convention has rules against enslaving one's children.

(Yes, it's an extreme reaction, but I doubt a sleep-deprived Professor would notice anything less extreme. Whether he agrees with the position is open to debate...)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#9
"No, seriously Myk, we're evacuating everything that's mobile for the time being." Jeph's face on the monitor looked grave, and definitely female. "Mostly just to try to minimize the potential disruption."

"What sort of 'disruption' are we talking about," Myk asked. Around him, the crew of Blue Midget 12 was working to pull the massive beast into a parking orbit to wait out... whatever it was that was going on down at Serenity Valley.

"The Professor. In 'chase my old experiment down' mode."

"Awwww FUCK!"

"And yes, from what I'm being told here, we're going to have to put an article in that he's no longer allowed to be anywhere near Jupiter. The local Browncoats are... well, let's just say the swearing is rather colorfully multilingual even compared to normally." Jeph looked over, and somehow managed to pale as someone just out of microphone range said something. "Oh you can't be... fucking fuckitty fuck fuck." she turned back to the camera. "Word just got to us that he's in some sort of firefight with one of the independent freighter captains. I think he's definitely going to get the banhammer after this, regardless." More voices, and she nodded to someone off camera. "OK, we've got to go here. The last of the Blue Midgets is away, we're the last ones here now, and Starbug 1 is hot on the pad already. I'll contact the fleet once we're clear."
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
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#10
Hey JFerio, quick question involving requesting to borrow Nene for an appearance. In her SerenityCon story, she was exploiting her AI nature to multi-task online. Is she still doing that?
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#11
Quote:Matrix Dragon wrote:
Hey JFerio, quick question involving requesting to borrow Nene for an appearance. In her SerenityCon story, she was exploiting her AI nature to multi-task online. Is she still doing that?
She still does experiment... it's slightly more difficult (and uncomfortable over long periods) because she's not specifically made to multitask like some other AIs, given that she's an android. But she can do it.
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
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#12
“I told them we should have gone with them,” Ryoko Asakura complained as they ran down the boarding tube. “But no, Miyu insisted she could keep an eye on him. Now there’s an idiot trying to kill the Professor.” Her worried expression briefly shifted, replaced by jealousy. “That’s my job!”
Behind her, Catty rolled her eyes. “Focus Ryoko. We need to get to the trams. They’re the fastest way to the Professor now. You can tell Miyu ‘I told you so’ later…” Emerging from the boarding tube, both women skidded to a halt. Waiting in front of the exit was a squad of Browncoat militiamen, several with their sidearms drawn, the rest carrying shotguns. All of them had their weapons aimed at the ground, but it still worked very well at getting their attention. “Um, okay. Is there a problem here officers?”
Stepping forward, the Sergeant gave them both a level look. “Ma’am, we’re going to need you to remain aboard your ship until further notice,” he said. “I apologise for the inconvenience, but-”
“Sergeant,” Ryoko interrupted, “please. Our creator and sister are under attack by some lunatic, probably trying to claim the bounty the French placed on him.” Her tone was polite, but she couldn’t quite keep her voice from wavering in concern. “We can’t just stay here while they’re in danger.”
Catty had lost track of how often Ryoko had done this. The woman had an almost magical talent at convincing people to help her out, or at least listen to reason. It had gotten them out of trouble, or at least helped calm the situation, countless times over the years.
This time however, it seemed to have almost no effect. In fact, the Sergeant actually scowled slightly as he considered Ryoko. “Miss Asakura, from what I’m hearing, your friends are the ones that shot first, after being stopped from experimenting on unwilling victims of the Professors inventions.” His expression darkened further as he glanced between the two of them, waiting for a reply.
“Never would have thought of the Friez as a River Tam,” one of the militiamen commented to another quietly, unaware the android women could hear him just fine.
“It makes sense the more you think about it,” the woman next to him replied under her breath. “Which is kind of scary actually.”
Paying little attention to his squad, the sergeant gave the Professors assistants an unamused look. “So no, you won’t be running off to help the Professor. Once Security gets to him, he’ll be escorted back to your ship, at which point you will all leave.” Ryoko tried to protest, but he cut her off with a sharp wave of his hand. “Not this time Miss Asakura. Turn around and get back on your boat. With any luck, you’ll be leaving soon, and maybe, just maybe, we won’t end up with a Convention over this go shi.” The two women stared at him, incredulous, and he chuckled bitterly, grip tightening on his pistol. “Go and check your ships radar. Take a look at everyone’s reaction to your being here. Based off your boss's behaviour in the past, they ain’t overreacting.”
Ryoko and Catty looked at each other nervously, then past the Sergeant and at his squad. They met the pairs gazes, several of them clearly nervous, but all of their weapons were steady. If the Professors Assistants wanted to try and force the issue, they’d have a fight on their hands.
Putting her hand on Ryokos shoulder, Catty shook her head slightly, before turning and heading back to the boarding tube. Her sister followed, clearly reluctant. “Are we just going to wait?” she whispered.
“First, I want to see what he meant about the radar,” Catty replied. “After that, we might just have to get creative.” She smirked slightly. “I should be able to punch my way into that docking bay from the outside.”
***
Ducking, Chris barely got out of the way of another lightning bolt, cursing under his breath as it reduced a shipping crate to shrapnel. “Stupid stupid stupid,” he muttered, grabbing another grenade from its hiding place and sending it bouncing into the middle of the room. “Yeah, get in a fight with the Professor, fucking genius…”
The ‘Disco Ball’ grenade sent a wave of light and noise racing outwards. It caught the Professor off-guard, the man stumbling back and covering his eyes, along with more than a few spectators, but Miyu charged right on through, gun-arm changing back to its sword form. Before Chris realised it, she’d jumped over his cover, twisted in mid-air, and landed lightly behind him.
Sparks flew off his repulsor gauntlets as he deflected the blade once, twice, a third time… then he gasped in pain as she got the blade in under his coat, the edge leaving a bloody trail along his side. He stumbled, then recovered, bringing a gauntlet up and blasting her in the stomach, throwing her back across the room. “Tee, you’re up,” he managed.
Rising to her feet, Miyu growled, arm switching back to gun mode. “You do realise those things are useless in the long run, don’t you?” she taunted.
Meeting her glare, Chris gave her a strained smile. “Yeah, you two are a bit more willing to go lethal force than I hoped,” he admitted. “Guess I should probably skip the dubstep gun.” The smile became a smirk. “You probably would have preferred that, to be honest."
Eyes narrowing, Miyu crouched to leap at him again, before her attention was grabbed by what sounded like a rocket launch. Spinning, she had just enough time to see an odd, Warsie-style astromech droid flying towards her on a collection of booster rockets, before he slammed into her chest. Unlike the pure ‘wavetech repulsor gauntlets, this hit her with the full force of fifty kilograms of metal and alloy at high speed, and she made a pained gasp as the air was knocked out of her lungs and she was sent crashing to the deck, the droid perched on her chest. When the world stopped spinning, she tried to force him off, only to freeze as a panel in the droids head opened, revealing the barrel of a handgun aimed directly at her head.
the droid beeped.
Wincing as he touched his injured side, Chris grinned slightly. “He’s not kidding. A few Boskonians tried calling that bluff back in the day,” he warned. “Stay down Miss Glear. There’s no need for you to get hurt any more than you already are.” She glared at him in fury, but he paid little attention to it, already turning back to the Professor.
At which point he realized he’d made the rookie mistake of turning his back on the biggest threat in the fight. The noise and light of the Disco Ball grenade had only distracted him for a moment, and used the fight focusing on Miyu to retrieve several items from the inside of his lab coat and make some modifications. As Chris turned, he jammed his thumb down on the large red button on the device in his left hand waited a second for it to make a confirmation beep, and threw.
Expecting some sort of explosion, Chris brought his hands up, shielding his face. Instead, it bounced off the decking and rolled to a stop near his feet. It beeped a second time, the air seemed to ripple, and his gauntlets simply fell apart, screws, armor and wiring coming undone. Baffled, the Captain looked down at the mess, then back up at the Professor, who smiled viciously. “Toys soaked in Handwavium,” he taunted. “No innovation, no true understanding. You expected such tricks to succeed against a champion of SCIENCE?!” Finishing the sentence with an angry roar, the Professor raised the lightning gun again, blasting at his enemy.
Leaping to the side, Chris snarled in pain, both at the bolt clipping his leg and his existing injuries, rolling clumsily behind an overturned cart. “Had to play hero,” he scolded himself, gasping for breath. “Idiot. Idealistic… idiot!” Reaching into the cardboard box next to him, he retrieved the revolver he’d stashed there earlier, flinched as another lightning burst tore at his cover and sprayed him with metal splinters, then emerged around the side of the cart and took aim.
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#13
He's got a Dubstep Gun? Chris is now on my favorite characters and characters not to cross lists.
-----

Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.
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#14
Convention Authority offices
Port Luna

There was a quick knock on Mr. Donaldson's door, then Patience McInnis walked in without waiting for permission.

"Excuse me, Consul Walker," the office's inhabitant said to his telephone. "It appears something's come up." He put the phone on mute. "I'm on a call with Australia -"

"There's trouble in the Jovians, Rob."

"There's always trouble in the Jovians, Pat."

"This trouble's generating paperwork." Patience handed Rob a tablet. "Over a hundred requests for a Convention in the last ten minutes, all with essentially the same reason."

Rob sighed, then took his phone off mute. "I'm sorry, Constance, but I'll have to call you back."

Five minutes later, the entire Convention Authority was assembled in the office's boardroom, watching the Interwave feeds. Finally, the Authority's resident AI broke the silence. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say, 'oh, shit.'"
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#15
The Dubstep gun was a trophy from somewhere Chris doesn't like to talk about. It makes a lot of noise and light, and nearby car suspension starts acting weird. Pretty much the gun from Saints Row without the random deaths.

As for Rob's scene, unless the screaming for the Convention started before the shooting, at least part of that scene will be taking place after the fight. Chris would be oddly flattered to know he drew such a reaction. Amusingly, the damage would be rather small scale overall, so I'm guessing most of the screaming would be for how it could have escalated Smile
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#16
Matrix Dragon Wrote:...
As for Rob's scene, unless the screaming for the Convention started before the shooting, at least part of that scene will be taking place after the fight. Chris would be oddly flattered to know he drew such a reaction. Amusingly, the damage would be rather small scale overall, so I'm guessing most of the screaming would be for how it could have escalated Smile
We can tack it on as a coda to the story (or ignore it altogether), no worries.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#17
No, I like it. That's the part that's gonna amuse Chris afterwards.
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#18
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.

***
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#19
Diving behind cover again, Chris winced as lightning blasted past. “That should have hit,” he grumbled to himself. “Deflecting bullets. Fantastic.” Closing his eyes for a moment, he caught his breath and braced himself. Guns seemed to be out for the moment, which meant getting in close. Taking a telescoping baton out of a pocket, he snapped it open and prepared to charge. Before he could though, the sound of Kitbashes ringtone caught his attention. “Now? Seriously?” he muttered, putting the gun aside and digging the phone out of another pocket.

Back in the center of the room, the Professor smirked and adjusted his aim. “Come on out already, Luddite,” he growled. “Experience the power of Science and Innovat-” His boasting was interrupted mid-word by a series of odd and unexpected noises above him. Rattling pipes, squeaking valves, water flowing… His eyes widened in understanding, right before the fire sprinklers over his head blew open, dousing him.

Leaning out of cover, Chris raised an eyebrow as the Professor stumbled back, covered in filthy water. The Lightning Gun began throwing off sparks and arcs of electricity in unexpected directions, forcing the man to drop it and get even further back. “Okay, was that you?” he asked.

“Sorta kinda had help,” Kitbash replied. “Anyway, Nene figures that lightning gun was deflecting the bullets, so you can probably shoot him now, but she had an idea that won’t get you arrested for murder even if the jerk is asking for it!” she continued, voice still panicky.

Considering that, Chris retrieved his revolver and fired a shot at the Professors abandoned weapon. The bullet didn’t quite hit where he had aimed, but it did manage to hit the weapon, converting the damaged, sparking device into a expanding pile of debris. “I’m listening,” he said, turning his attention to the Professor, who now dived behind a crate as well as he realized the situation.

“Nene thinks the Professor might be as aggressive as he is right now because he’s in a weird lack-of-sleep mad science kinda thing. Like, he’s been awake for weeks sort of thing. She thinks that if you can stun him, even for a little bit, his body will do the rest.”

Breathing out, Chris nodded. “Hell, I’ll try it. Better than shooting him, right?”

“The shelf ten meters to your right-”

“I know. Thanks kiddo.” Ending the call, he retrieved the baton, risked another look out into the room, then rose to his feet and ran like hell. The Professor didn’t emerge from his own cover, likely working on something Chris really didn’t want to think about. Dodging around one of the spectators who seemed to be really lacking in common sense, he tore a tarpaulin sheet off the stack of shelves on the wall, revealing what he’d hidden underneath earlier.

Pulling the pin on the grenade, he threw it across the room towards where the Professor was hiding. Like the earlier grenades, this was a ‘wave weapon, but it still forced the other man to abandon his cover and try to fall back, his hands full of what looked like random Gearhead parts.

Snatching up the pump-action shotgun, Chris aimed and fired, not at the Professor, but at the crates ahead of him. The rubber buckshot made quite a show in front of him, making him stumble back in surprise and expected pain, some of the ricochets glancing off his hand and making him drop his equipment. He tried to run back the way he came, but his opponent fired again, ripping apart a cardboard box in his path.

Panicking, the Professor spun to face Chris, who had used the distraction to close in. “Go ahead, kill me,” he gasped. “Strike me down, embrace your fear of the unknown! Just know that-”

“No one’s dying today,” Chris interrupted him, releasing his grip on the forend to take the stunner from his pocket. “Not even you,” he added with a wry smile.

***

Still pinned under the astromech droid, Miyu watched in terror as the lunatic pinned her Professor in. Instead of ending this, the man seemed to be drawing it out, like he was trying to make the other man suffer.

She’d been waiting, hoping for an opening to try and throw the droid off her without risking getting shot in the process. Now though, her left hand shot up, grabbing the droids head and twisting it to the side. The droids reflexes were just as fast as hers, and Captain Wood hadn’t been lying about his willingness to pull the trigger. His gun fired once, the bullet tearing a chunk of her face away, but then it was pointing away from Miyu, her own strength fighting against the servo motors in the droids neck. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she brought her swordarm up, driving it into the joint that connected one of the droids legs to his main body. The smaller machine squealed in pain, a long, high-pitched noise that echoed across the room, and then her sword was through, taking the leg clean off.

Throwing the droids injured, flailing form off her, Miyu scrambled to her feet, looking up to see her remaining opponent, eyes widening in horror and rage as he dropped one weapon (A knife of some sort?) and swung his shotgun around.

By the time he fired, she was already moving, his first shot going wide. His second shot clipped her arm as she closed in, and then she was in close. The shotgun was in two pieces before the human had time to even realize it, and then, screaming in pain and fury, promptly ran him through.

Chris didn’t scream or yell. All he could manage was a brief, cut off gasp, the two pieces of the shotgun slipping from suddenly weak hands. Meeting Miyus furious gaze for a moment, he tried to speak, but nothing came out before she pulled the blade back out and he fell to the deck at her feet.

“My word…” the Professor said, taking in the sight. “Miyu my dear, your face,” he continued, stepping towards her in concern.

She waved him off, swordarm returning to its normal form. “I’ll be fine for the moment,” she assured him, anger fading. “We should do what you came here for,” she reminded him, trying not to reach up to touch her face.

Blinking in confusion, the Professor thought for a moment. As he remembered, he cheered up instantly, pulling the tricorder back out of his pocket. “Aha!” he declared in triumph. “They’re still there on the other side of that door! Come my dear, let us collect the experiment and be off!” Humming cheerfully to himself, he walked towards the locked docking bay entrance, stopping to retrieve several of the items he’d dropped and begin fitting them together in a pattern only he understood.

Watching him go, Miyu sighed to herself, looking down at the bleeding figure on the floor. “I don’t like killing,” she said quietly, “even if that is my function. But you shouldn’t have tried to kill my Professor.”

“Pay attention to what I was doing,” Captain Wood whispered, showing his teeth in a blood-stained grin. “You two were the only ones trying for murder today. Well done Miss Glear…” Closing his eyes, his head slumped back against the deck, settling in the blood.

Eyes widening, Miyu looked around, catching sight of the weapon the man had dropped after she’d disabled the droid. What she’d assumed to be a knife was an electric stunner. From there, she began making other connections. Her arm wasn’t even bruised where he’d shot her, which suggested the shotgun had been loaded with non-lethal rounds of some sort, useless against her and only somewhat dangerous to a human. The repulsors, the droid pinning her…

Backing away from her opponent, Miyu looked around the room with growing unease. The crowd of spectators that had followed them all had their phones out and were clearly filming them. While none of them seemed willing to fight, the expressions on their faces, aimed at her and her Professor, were hardly reassuring.

“Catty,” she whispered under her breath as she turned to follow the Professor. “Where are you?”

“On the Sol Bianca, watching the news,” came the response over her internal comm system. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Things got a bit… complicated?” she offered.

“Yes. We noticed,” Catty growled. “Word is spreading. Fast. I’m pretty sure all of Fenspace is going to know about this by the end of the day.”

“Would you just get over here?” Miyu shot back. “I’m not going to be able to get the Professor back through the station now without a lot of trouble.” She got an irritated cough in reply. “Catty.”

“Fine, we’re coming. But you’d better be ready.”

***
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#20
Well guess the Sol Bianca and all that sail upon her are going to find themselves Persona Non Grata in quite a few places in Fenspace because of this.
_______________________________________________________________
Characters
Sabre Fang
Dakota
Warning:
Dihydrogen monoxide
Containment Vessel








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#21
Anyone else would've been called a Boskonian for that, but he's The Professor, a Pillar of the Fandom, from the early days. Sure we can look a little to the side just this once.... again.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
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#22
Quote:"Lisa, that man has disrupted life in Serenity Valley... and one of his insanity-enabling minions may have just killed somebody." Jeph was cool over the video link, glacially so, a level of intensity which scared Lisa Hayes more than any other time she'd seen the JMC owner-master angry. And strangely, back to male after the excitement had tripped his biomod, which was probably an even worse sign. That, and not even bothering with any of the polite fictions of "I'm not a mover or shaker here, really." "Remove him and his people by any means necessary. Preferably they leave in irons or a bucket, but I'll accept them leaving on their own ship with a Great Justice flotilla chasing them."
Needless to say, Jeph Antilles is pretty much done with this "pillar of the Fandom" bullshit regarding The Professor. First Geek Fallacy and all of that.
And yes, he's basically just told Lisa, "lethal force is A-OK."
Pretty much The Professor can expect to never, ever, ever be allowed near Serenity Valley again, best case.
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
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#23
So, this has escalated well beyond what I was originally planning. A little context on where this story came from.

Two weeks back, while stuck over the middle of the Pacific ocean, I was filling time by rereading Legend of Galactic Girls. (Because I had internet access on an international flight. I love technology sometimes) And I got to the part where the Professor shows up. And all I could think was 'wow. What an unlikable asshole. Wasn't he supposed to be a somewhat harmless mad where the main problem was either people overreacting to his presence, or him not realizing the consequences of his science?'

I went and looked at his bio, and maybe it's just changes in opinion since I last looked at it years ago, but I couldn't help but side with the French.

And then I got to the Julian Friez entry. And I thought about it. And then I realized that, to me at least, that machine is right up there with the Catgirling Machine in terms of horror. Every use of the Julian Friez machine is essentially the forced biomodding of an innocent individual, ripping them from their own place and time, trapping them in a world they can never be comfortable or happy in, unable to go home. Their very identity is stolen, replaced with being A Julian Friez. Really disturbing.

... The shit you think about when it's dark, the world is shaking, and you've got another 12 hours in a sealed metal tin before seeing light again.
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#24
I always read the Friez process as more of a mass-cloning thing than the straight up insert-rando-and-overwrite bullshit that is the Catgirl Machine. Still shitty about what happens to the clones, though.

As for escalation, I guess the question is do you want to continue escalating, or do you want to pull up and recalculate? I don't have any serious objections to twitting the Professor -- dude's a gimmick who's outlasted his time, and his creator hasn't been involved for years now. I'm asking if you want to go this hardcore, and if there are alternatives you'd prefer.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"
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#25
Quote:Matrix Dragon wrote:
So, this has escalated well beyond what I was originally planning. A little context on where this story came from.

Two weeks back, while stuck over the middle of the Pacific ocean, I was filling time by rereading Legend of Galactic Girls. (Because I had internet access on an international flight. I love technology sometimes) And I got to the part where the Professor shows up. And all I could think was 'wow. What an unlikable asshole. Wasn't he supposed to be a somewhat harmless mad where the main problem was either people overreacting to his presence, or him not realizing the consequences of his science?'

I went and looked at his bio, and maybe it's just changes in opinion since I last looked at it years ago, but I couldn't help but side with the French.
I'm not sure he was ever meant to come across as anything less than "maybe just slightly less than harmless crazy". Although as Mal said, his creator hasn't been around for a while.
I would suspect that he's only really been around for a while because he has a bolt hole and no one's really been arsed to find him when he's been, well, relatively quiet.
Quote:And then I got to the Julian Friez entry. And I thought about it. And then I realized that, to me at least, that machine is right up there with the Catgirling Machine in terms of horror. Every use of the Julian Friez machine is essentially the forced biomodding of an innocent individual, ripping them from their own place and time, trapping them in a world they can never be comfortable or happy in, unable to go home. Their very identity is stolen, replaced with being A Julian Friez. Really disturbing.

... The shit you think about when it's dark, the world is shaking, and you've got another 12 hours in a sealed metal tin before seeing light again.
Yes, it is disturbing, even if it's a simple cloning thing.

Regarding my part of the "escalation"... while it's something of relative denial/polite fiction to the contrary, Jeph Antilles is effectively the Big Man in Serenity Valley. JMC is one of the larger employers there, albeit the one you really do want to work for because it is a nice place to work. Granted, there are a LOT of decisions that occur that he doesn't have a hand in... but in light of that, when he speaks, people listen. All he has to do is Say Those Six Words, and you might as well go find someplace else to have your power games. Combine that with the fact that The Professor has, well, effectively escalated to lethal force against someone who was trying to give him an out before engaging in defense of others, and avoiding lethal force in that process... Jeph Antilles is neither Happy, nor Fun, right at the moment, and it's gonna show in the probable scene of the SMOF conference.

(Myk: "Jeph... OK, dude, you might wanna step back for a few days, you're making me wet my pants over here.")
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
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