Some Reassembly Required

[rekindledtitan]

There’s an open, grassy area on the edge of the Wilds, some distance from the most popular Nexus parks where people are enjoying their picnics and centaur polo and so forth. It’s a good place to go if you want slightly more peace and quiet - or in Blaze’s case, a good open space in which to make a lot of noise. The robot soldier has a few small crates out on the grass. One of them she’s sitting on; the others are being used as tables which hold a small array of tools and components and blocks of metal. She’s working on modifying a pair of heavy armored boots much like the pair she’s wearing, refitting the soles and reinforcing their structure. Her Ghost hovers beside her, inspecting a blueprint spread out atop one of the boxes. The little bot is spinning his pointy shell back and forth as if concerned, but Blaze pays him no heed.

“So,” she says, speaking up while she works. “People change. Some of us change more than others. Sometimes we don’t notice how it happens. Sometimes,” she yanks out a component and chucks it down beside her, “we don’t get a say. So what part of yourself would you want make sure you held on to? What’s the part you’d want to be remembered?” She pauses, then looks up at the nearest people. “And, hey, anyone got some spare explosives?"

Comments

[rekindledtitan]

Depending on how things go, it could take quite a few tests to figure out how to do this. Assuming it can be done, and of course she is. She nods. "Hah, I've got three whole planets to pick from. And if they won't suit you, I know a couple places out in the Wilds here. Plenty of open space to go round."

But her cheerful demeanor shifts when he reveals the change he's been through. The Exo jerks her head back slightly, staring at him with wide golden-lit optics. It takes a second for her to clock his question. With a blink, she lets out a lower 'heh' and raps her own chestplate. "Human-built and human-raised. They're our people. But how'd you change?"

[jarheadclan]

Jake didn't used to be the sightseeing type, but that's changed for the better since he first saw Pandora in her full nighttime glory. Getting to visit other planets? Yes, please. "Three?" he says, his pointed ears twitching forward with interest. "You got more options than me." Not that the Wilds are bad, mind you. He's done some flyovers and poked around the fringes a little on his visits too, though nothing too far in.

Human-made robots? Damn, son. Jake lets out a low whistle, impressed. Our people indeed. "Avatar Project. It was supposed to be a better way for the eggheads to communicate with the natives without freaking 'em out. Take Na'vi DNA, add some from a human, grow a body to match. Then use tech to sync up brainwaves or something, and hey presto, human gets to walk around as an avatar for a while. My brother was supposed to be one of 'em, but he died before shipping out. They didn't wanna waste the millions of dollars they spent to make his avatar, so they got me, last minute. Figured a Marine'd be better than no one."

It's one hell of a long story, but he's getting used to condensing it down a ton. "First time out in the jungle, we got ambushed by one of Pandora's big time predators. Big nasty sumbitch called a palulukan. I got separated, and the local Na'vi tribe picked me up. Weren't really impressed. But they'd had shit luck trying to get the humans to see things their way so far, so when they found out I was a warrior, they agreed to teach me their ways. Long story short, I really got it. Couldn't support what the corporations and the rest of the military were up to after that, and things got violent, but we won. Wasn't much point keeping my human body around after that."

This is the part that might sound a little crazy. Jake sure used to think so. "All the life on Pandora's connected, like physically, the kinda thing actually backed up by science. Doctor Augustine said it was like brain neurons or something, making one big planet brain we call Eywa, the Mother Goddess. The Na'vi did this ritual to kinda... ask Eywa to pull me outta my old body and stick me in this one."

[rekindledtitan]

"Mars, Earth, Venus. Nowhere you don't know, but they're all human-breathable in our system. Just got to watch where we invite visitors. Every one of them's an active warzone."

Blaze likes stories, and his is a good one on top of the rather personal interest it holds. "Proxy tech," she says quietly. "We used to have systems like that- take a robotic body for a spin, go where organics couldn't. This is something else, though."

She's silently attentive while he tells the rest. Hard to tell if it's just fascination, but a thoughtful grunt or two escapes her. That last part, thought, that has her nodding. This kind of crazy she knows. "Guess she liked the idea. So you were reborn. Into something a hell of a lot bigger, by the sound of it."

[jarheadclan]

"Whoa, really?" Color him impressed. Jake's never been a big fan of astronomy but he's not so dumb that he doesn't know how very uninhabitable Venus and Mars are. The ones by his Earth, anyway. "Nice. Uh, not the warzone part." All right, he's curious. He's ex-military, he can't not be. "What's the conflict about?"

He's gonna take it as a positive that she at least knows what the hell he's talking about. Not like it was common back on his Earth, but hey, they didn't have robot people either. He nods, and though he speaks about the Na'vi deity somewhat casually, there's respect for Her in every word. "I owe Her a lot. Wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Her, a couple times over. I'm clan leader now - olo'eyktan, the Na'vi call it - so I've got a lot of responsibility in fixing the damage I did when I was still following orders," he adds, wrapping it back to her original question, and his original answer. "And if I gotta serve the rest of my life to make up for it all, I'd rather do that any day."

[rekindledtitan]

"Survival. Centuries back something came after us, wiped out our colonies and our civilization. Knocked us right back to the Iron Age. We've been fighting to take our home back ever since." She hmms thoughtfully, drumming fingers on a knee guard. "There's more to it. A lot more. But that's the easiest part to explain."

Then again, sounds like this guy might be well prepared to understand the metaphysical side of these conflicts. Ghost's gotten curious enough to venture away from her side, moving closer to take a good look at the big blue guy. "Most people don't get that kind of opportunity to set things right. It's a precious gift. And I guess she knows exactly how precious. So your nervous system is connected to her somehow?"

She's getting over her shock, slowly. These aren't the questions she most wants to ask, but she's working up to them. Watching him and figuring out what it is she really wants to know.

[jarheadclan]

"Damn." Invading aliens, ain't that a familiar story? Sounds like the invaders in her universe had one hell of a bigger impact on humanity than he's seen, though. "I hope you kick their asses."

Oh, hey, the little dude's coming closer. Jake waves hello with two fingers, looking back at the floating robot with open curiosity, despite the seriousness of the conversation. No arguments from him, either; his second chance is something he's not gonna waste. "Kinda," he says, tilting his hand from side to side in a so-so gesture. "Not directly all the time, exactly. She might be aware of us and what we're up to, but we can't talk to Her unless we plug in." At that, he reaches back and grabs his long braid, holding the end up where she can see it. Hidden among the perfectly normal-looking hair are fuzzy pink fibers that gently wave about on their own, as if searching for something to grab. "Everything on Pandora's got somethin' like this. Universal compatibility or something. Want to tame an animal, you gotta connect with 'em with this. Want to talk to Eywa, you gotta plug into the trees. That's where She's the loudest."

[rekindledtitan]

"Every chance we get, every way we can." It's likely to be centuries before they can actually retake their system. They're on a string of unprecedented victories right now, but even so they've stopped the enemy dead and opened ground up for Guardian incursions more than they've claimed it back for humanity. Civilians - that is, non-Guardians - are still confined within the City walls.

"So can you actually talk to her?" Blaze leans forward, peering at the little tendrils. There's a brief urge to poke them, but they're both extremely delicate looking and part of the guy, so her hands are staying put. "Or feel her presence, I suppose. I don't know on what kind of level you can talk to an entity like that." She looks up at Ghost, who's swooped suspiciously close to Jake's braid. Like a reminder, she says, "Ghost."

He spins a little, then looks up at Jake and asks in a more obviously electronic voice, "Um, would you mind if I scanned you?"

[jarheadclan]

Probably a good thing she's decided not to touch it. Jake doesn't even know what his central nervous system would make of that. He lets go of the braid after she's had a good look, letting it fall back into its usual position behind his back. "Yeah, I mean... it's not like it's words, exactly? Well, on my end it is. It's more like... emotions, images, scents and sounds. Memories that ain't mine." He struggles to describe Her, words failing him in both languages he speaks these days. "When I went to tell Her what was at stake, before the battle, She didn't answer me right then. She's not supposed to take sides, or do anything to unbalance nature and all that. But the RDA ain't natural, and I guess She decided I had a point, 'cuz halfway through the battle She sent us reinforcements in the form of every big badass critter in the forest."

All right, call him curious. Jake's never seen a little robot like this one - Ghost? - and he raises both eyebrows when it (he?) asks that question. "Uh... what kinda scan are we talking?"

[rekindledtitan]

"Hell of an answer." It makes her wonder how the Traveler would speak, if it woke. She wishes it would wake, sometimes, but their patron's wounds are deep and vast. Someday its slumber will end. It's enough to have faith in that. "Doesn't sound like a pretty fight, even with that. I'd feel sorry for the beasts."

Hey, she wasn't built to hurt a bunch of woodland critters, no matter how big or predatory.

"It's a non-invasive medical scan. My sensors are extremely comprehensive, but you shouldn't feel anything." He could probably have pulled it off without Jake realizing, but that wouldn't be polite. He's learned to give that some consideration, since obtaining a Guardian.

[jarheadclan]

Once, Jake wouldn't have cared about the deaths of animals, but he knows better now. "It was pretty nasty, I'm not gonna lie. But those critters were defending their home, same as us, and we woulda lost without 'em. Lost badly."

Yeah, them eyebrows are staying arched, though he doesn't look offended by Ghost's request. "You aren't gonna use your knowledge for evil, right?"

[rekindledtitan]

The very suggestion seems to shock the little bot: at least, his optic gets a bit wider and he floats in silence for a minute. This is not a question that people normally ask him.

"He's a Ghost," Blaze speaks up. She too looks surprised, though she's reminding herself that people from other worlds don't understand what that means. "He's born of the Light. I don't think he could do evil if he tried."

"As my Guardian says. My sole purpose is to aid her in the protection of humanity and the defense of the innocent. You have my word that I will use my knowledge for no other purpose. Nothing nefarious."

[jarheadclan]

Okay, the old human turn of phrase has struck a chord, it seems. Jake's ears lay back a little, contrite. The least he can do after inadvertently making the lil' guy give an actual vow is let him run a scan, right? "Uh... sure thing. Knock yourself out, uh..." Shit, is that gonna be offensive too? Better rephrase. "You can scan me if you wanna," he adds hastily.