networkinthenight | [text] @carrotcupcake [open]

[text] @carrotcupcake [open]

Hello! Please disregard my username — connecting my device to your system retained my old username, and I cannot change it.

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned me to the town at large, but chances are pretty good you've seen the submarine if you've been by the harbor, so I might as well introduce myself. My name is Weaver, and I am a ... member of the Night Market. The only member, I guess. I know all of you are too new to have met me during a visit, I haven't been to the surface in years, but I'm glad to have a chance to meet you now. If you'd like to meet me in person, I will be staying docked in the harbor for the time being.

Mostly, I just want to say thank you for the help. What happened at the station was... terrible, but, without you all I would have been gone too.

I'm told that Dr. Solis is no longer present and that your portal is currently not functioning properly. As a sign of my gratitude, I would be happy to look into helping repair it, if you all would let me. It would make me feel better to do something in return for all you have done for me.

If you need help with other technological repair, I might be able to help. However, I will request your assistance with restoration of the Helix Station in return. If you are uninterested or unwilling to help me, then perhaps you can retrieve things for me that I need relating to that interest. If you don't want to do even that, well... well, I guess I can't help you.

Other than that... if you have questions, I can try to answer. I am grateful for you all, and hope we can work together to keep moving forward.

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In mine. It's the only one I know of, of its kind. Nothing else is this advanced. It's too heavy to not be anchored. Or for anyone in my world but me to wear it.

[He moves his fingers, flexes the plates, lets her see how it moves-- almost exactly like a real, flesh and blood arm, just with slightly more range of motion and with lots of mechanical noises as gears spin and buzz.]

It doesn't disassemble. But it does do this.

[He flares the plates on the forearm up, to stand on their ends, making the arm look a little like a pinecone. It more clearly shows the workings underneath.]

Fascinating.

( she peers quizzically into the internal workings, violet eyes wide in wonder. )

I've never seen anything like it. And I've seen a lot of robotics! ( she fishes around in her tools, setting a tray next to her. ) I'll check that everything is fastened properly, that nothing requires replacement or repair, and make sure everything is oiled properly. Shouldn't take long.

( she will wait for his approval to get started, though. sort of like a mechanic delivering a quote. )

Thank you.

[The plates on their bicep flare as well, to give her full access, and Soldat settles in. Having someone work on the arm is nerve-wracking, but she's a very small bunny-person. It's easier than it could be, by a lot.]

If there is anything I can do. I know you want things in trade.

Hmm.

( she doesn't answer right away, getting to work with a small army of tools and focused on her work. Weaver works quickly and delicately. her little hands make it easier, by the looks of things... though she does have a tiny vacuum, just in case her fur gets somewhere it shouldn't... alas, it is part of being a bunny. )

I could definitely use help at the station. Getting her back in order will be a big project, even if I get a lot of help.

[Soldat doesn't flinch. Not exactly. But they do tense up some, and some of the internal structures on the arm that she's working on shift under her tools.]

For how long. I can't. Sleep down there.

( how long? well, it depends on the motive of the trip, she supposes. Weaver is quiet as she considers. )

No more than 24 hours or so, for a short excursion. Why is it you feel unable to sleep there? Besides ... besides the state it's in right now.

( because yeah, she can sort of understand not feeling particularly comfortable in the station at the moment. )

[Soldat has learned by now that people react badly to a lot of their history. So they're a little hesitant, but after a beat, sounding kind of apologetic more than anything else, they still tell the truth:]

Before I died. Before I came here. The people who owned me would freeze me between missions. The artificial pressure and temperature control down there. It feels a lot like the start of cryofreeze.

[They don't shrug, so as not to disrupt her work, but they do tilt their head in the suggestion of it.]

It's fine if I don't have to sleep. Twenty-four or forty-eight hour trips I could manage.

[It's not fine but, well, it's bearable.]

( well... the story in and of itself is disruptive. she pulls her paws back, one pressed toward her mouth with wide violet eyes. )

Oh no — how terrible. I'm so sorry. ( she's ... truthfully a bit sheltered. her world was full of overpopulation and economic problems, but little in the way of torture and abuse of bunny rights. no matter how long she's been in Beacon and how many horribly sad stories she's heard, she still has it in her to be hurt by new ones. )

I understand. I don't think forays would need to be that long, especially while things are still so unsafe down there.

[Oops. Well, they tried. They bring out their standard phrase for when they have to share this sort of thing:]

It's okay. I'm getting better.

[Then, more pertinently,]

What needs doing? I am stronger than a standard human. I speak the spirit language. I have some understanding of engineering, though nothing complex, and extensive battle training.

I suppose the first thing would be recon. Figuring out exactly what needs to be done, and how many people and supplies we need to do it.

( which is a bit of a non answer, she supposes, so as she gets back to work on his arm, she will be a little more specific. )

I'm sure there are plenty of repairs that need to be done. Removal of spirits that are trapped down there... and clean up. Not necessarily in that order.

The little shape-shifting spirits. They don't respond to words, so we would have to kill them.

[They sound a bit regretful, but it is how it is.]

If there are any green-eyes left, those, too. I can try to talk again to the one we. Interacted with. Maybe they will relocate up above, or work with you instead of against you.

[They know Weaver was upset about the whole... bodies thing. But it's been even longer now. Maybe the spirit can be convinced to give the bodies up now?]

( upset is a really gentle word for it, but, Weaver isn't exactly a violent bunny by nature. as long as the spirit could be reasoned with, to release the bodies it was holding onto so she could give them a proper sendoff... then she didn't require it dead. just her friends at peace. )

I hope so. If we can avoid any more blood being spilled... ( she trails off, but the insinuation is obvious. enough death and destruction already befell the Helix Station. she doesn't need any more.

after a few more scuffs and twists, a quick wire repair, and of course a very meticulous minivac session, Weaver nods with a small smile. ) There. I hope that feels better!

[They close up the plates and give the arm a few flexes. She's too close for them to give it a reboot swing, but they can still already feel the stronger connections and lack of tiny grinding bits from the dirt their own brushes and sponges couldn't quite reach.

Weaver gets a small but pleased smile.]

It does. Thank you. I'm going to be jealous of that tiny vacuum, I think.

Hehe. My dustbunny buster.

( she does realize the pun in that, apparently. she pats his arm, the metal one, gently. )

If we can get things running down at the station, I should be able to fix up our portal. Get specialty items again.

( another incentive to helping her clean up the station. and, well, he might have been right about her forgetting to eat, as she has definitely forgotten about that plate he brought her until just now. that's the problem with letting her mind run away with her... )

I guess I better eat this, huh? Thanks again. And when you're ready to head below, let me know. I'll fire up the ol' sub.

[The pun does make him smile. He's not above the occasional arm pun, himself, though usually safely in the privacy of his own head rather than out loud.]

I will. It might take a little while. I'm. Going to start lessons in the spirit language, I want to make sure there's at least someone up here who can speak to them while I'm gone. But I promise I will come to down to help you.

I appreciate that. It's worth the work, though I know it wouldn't be easy.

( there's a lot the station has to offer, but she knows it's not a project she can tackle on her lonesome. she'll just have to wait until she can put a team together of surface siders. she can be patient, even if she feels wistful about leaving the Helix Station in the state it's in. )

I'll see you around, Soldat. Let me know if you need anything else for your arm.

[They pick themselves up, ready to let her eat in peace.]

I will. Thank you.

[They'll be back tomorrow with more, probably. And to collect that plate.]

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[text] @carrotcupcake [open]

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