rubycity_ooc | A new Month, a new Test drive! Happy Early April.

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A new Month, a new Test drive! Happy Early April.

Thinking of apping a character but not sure they'll fit in the city walls?

Have no fear, a meme for you is here.

Directions:

Post with your character with their name and canon on top!

Choose a location and prompt or wait for someone else to tag.

If you'd like, leave contact info for people to get in contact for plotting and other such shenans.

Tag around! Make friends. Don't be afraid to chat OOC while tagging.

Locations:

1. Train Station: New arrival, or waiting to welcome people? Either way, the train comes in, but you still can't ride it out.

2. Cathedral: Looking for redemption? Just doing a little sight-seeing? Or just getting a little shelter?

3. The Clocktower: You can see the whole city from here!

4. The Black Stallion Saloon: You were told the burgers were great here-- but maybe you just came for the beer.

5. The Library: You came to do a little research, but it looks like all of the information's just out of your reach. Though, you can always find a way to pass the time here.

6. The Coffee Joint: A lovely place to have a chat and a bite to eat.

7. Le Cafe Anglais: A Parisian-British fusion that's as charming as it sounds and serves the best tea around.

Scenarios

1. Just walked in: You intended to get here, and you made your way in; but now someone's caught your eye and you'd like to have a chat.

2. Been here all day: You've been sitting around minding the time. Maybe you didn't notice them at first or maybe you were just working up the courage to talk-- either way, they know you're here and you know it too.

3. Bad weather: You're here because you've gotten rained in. This wasn't your choice, but at least it's dry-- right?

4. Wild card: Got something better in mind? Well screw these prompts, try it out yourself!

Have fun, guys!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ one second she's working maintenance in the Normandy's engineering, and the next she's... stepping off a shuttle? that's not like any shuttle she's seen before, for sure. it looks... ancient. oh, but more importantly - how the hell did she end up on a planet. this is very bad and very confusing. Tali pulls out her omni-tool and starts trying to establish a communications connection with the Normandy.

onlookers will see a young woman(???) with some kind of strange helmet - all you can see behind the opaque purple visor is a pair of glowing eyes - who seems to be typing into the yellow glowing thing her arm is sheathed in. when she speaks to it, her accent is some kind of unidentifiable Eastern European, with a metallic twang, and the metal attachment on her helmet flashes with every word. ]

Normandy, this is Tali'Zorah. Do you read me? Shepard, are you there? Joker? If anyone can hear me, I'm alright, but I'm on... a planet? It looks like some kind of human colony.

[ no response. no connection, even. crap. she shuts the omni-tool down, pulls out a pistol, and shakes her head. ]

Oh, Keelah. What kind of mess have I ended up in this time?

[ It's the synthetic voice that draws Labrys in from her walk-- that metallic quality, that synthetic rasp, immediately perks her interest. It-- well. It kind of sounds like a robot. And Labrys, as a robot, can't help herself when it comes to meeting other people like herself; after all, she's got such limited experience. What could she learn this time? ]

Hello? [ Labrys calls from the darkness of the entrance, gently poking her head out into the light. The sound of her gears echo slightly in the corridor. ] Is someone out here?

[ Her scans are picking somethi-- oh! That is. Not a robot. But there is something highly technical happening with this woman, that's for darn sure. ]

[ gears are a bad noise. Tali's first panicked thought is geth - barring that, there are plenty of mechs that could make her life a lot harder right now. she brings her omni-tool up again to scan for enemies, but that... that sounds like a girl. for now, she leaves her omni-tool on, but puts her back up against the wall and raises her pistol instead. ]

Yes. Who is asking?

Uh, well, my name's Labrys--? [ She steps slowly out into the light, looking around. To the untrained eye she doesn't seem super robotic; but she's got her tells. Everyone does.

Her scans showed the woman was just here, where'd she go? The robot made a puzzled expression-- something wasn't right here. She resisted the urge to eject her axe; but only for a little while longer. Besides, Ariadne was only a call away, right? ] It's nice to meet you, I guess?

[ I guess???? ]

[ Tali steps off the wall and lowers her pistol. it is just a girl. she sounds alright, too; with that strange shuttle, this looks like such an old civilisation that she'd worried whoever was left might be a little unhinged. ]

My name is Tali'Zorah vas... Normandy nar Rayya. [ her new official name, she guesses. she's still getting used to it. ] Can you tell me where—

[ she had been absently running a scan with her omni-tool while she spoke, to check the girl for the usual things; biotics, disease, weaponry. her omni-tool reads something that is distinctly not living, and Tali's pistol goes straight back up. she takes careful steps around the girl, poised for a fight rather than mere caution this time. EDI is one thing, but this synthetic is so— so human. the body is complex, it has distinct personality, it's almost a perfect mimic of a human girl. that's not right. who made this robot? didn't anyone learn anything from their stupidity with the geth? ]

You're a synthetic! What kind of AI are you?!

[ Oh there she is and wow this person is not human. Neat! Labrys looks interested and eager to reply until--

Oh jeez. That's a gun. Labrys immediately hoists her axe from her back, holding it out in a defensive position. ]

Hey now lady! Calm down! [ Labrys drops the axe a little. She'll use it if she has to but--- ] I'm a Fifth Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. Not that I think that means anything to you...

Edited (sorry!) 2014-03-31 03:51 (UTC)

... No. It doesn't.

[ Labrys' reactions are so emotional that Tali is reluctant to have to think about putting a bullet between her eyes, but there is no way she's not keeping her gun on an armed AI. Keelah, why does this have to happen now? she can handle herself in a fight, sure, but she would really like Shepard here for this. should she... should she just shoot while she has a chance? Shepard always tries to talk first, but - but who talks to an AI? ]

Who made you? What are you doing here?

Uh, well, this is more things that don't mean anything to you but; I was created by the Kirijo group which is a privately funded company? And uh. I'm here because I'm forced to? Like you?

[ Labrys jerks her head in the direction of the train, which is quietly rolling away. ]

Sorry but uh-- we've all been kidnapped. It pretty much sucks.

[ To put it frankly. ]

Privately funded by who? Who is in the company? Quarians are the only race who have ever made fully functional AI like this, and we haven't tried again! We wouldn't! Was it humans?!

[ where she is and how she got here is important, but she can't ignore this AI matter. the quarians are struggling enough with the geth right now, politically as well as in their military. not to mention the Reapers. they don't need new, even more complex AI to deal with on top of all that. can't the galaxy ever catch a break? ]

Well, I mean, I dunno. [ Labrys looks baffled. It wasn't like she'd ever been given financial records before. ] Somebody? Look, lady, I've never even heard of a Quarian before. I was made by humans, sure, but listen, I don't think we're on the same page. Thinks work differently here. We're probably from different worlds! Or. Universes or whatever.

[ She's not convincing, I'm very sorry.

But wait-- ]

--And hey, I'm a person! It's not "like this" it's "like you". Get it right.

Edited (i can grammar i swear.) 2014-03-31 05:04 (UTC)

An AI isn't a person, it's a synthetic! [ she jabs her gun forwards to emphasise her words, and it doesn't sound like her mind is going to be changed. it also sounds like something of a sore spot for her. ]

Of course we're from different "worlds", but people normally don't say it like that. You were probably made in a lab somewhere, and who knows how long you've been on this colony. I come from a flotilla, because my people were driven off our homeworld by AIs. [ if she could give Labrys a pointed look through her helmet, she would. ] It's obvious that things would work differently between them. It does not change what you are.

[ Labrys rears slightly. Ok what. No. Oh my god. Labrys's face is disbelieving, incredulous, and all together alarmed. ]

Excuse you?

[ In a quick motion, Labrys slams the business head of her axe into the ground, the handle sticking up into the air within easy reach. Her hands now free, she places them on her hips, leaning in. Maybe not the most defensive position ever, but she's got bigger fish to fry. ]

I am very much a person! I'm sorry what happened with your homeworld, but I'm telling you this, sister, AI's are different where I come from! It's 2013 for chrissakes, we don't even have sophisticated space flight travel! I have emotions, thoughts, freedom of speech, and the ability to be hurt by the words of others. I got a soul!

[ the most shocking part of that - aside from the battle axe being slammed down, which very nearly makes Tali pull the trigger - is that it sounds so... real. AI might have complex thoughts, but they don't have emotions; there's nothing in them to simulate feelings or personality, no programming in them that tells them how, no reason for them to even desire such a thing. the geth wanted purpose, wanted to know the reason for their existence, but a soul? is going on here? surely humans couldn't have made something so-- wait, did the AI say 2013? ]

Okay. Either your programming is way off, or whatever is going on here is even weirder than I thought. [ and finding herself on an old shuttle in a colony with no communications and no idea how or when she got here is already really weird. ] Your tech must be up to date if your translator can understand me, but for your contextual knowledge to be that out...

[ she shakes her head and adjusts her pistol. ] It's 2185. Humans made their - what do they call it, First Contact? It was a while ago.

My programming has its flaws, but my date ain't wrong. People get pulled from different points in time a lot. I got friends who are still from 2006 or even later than that. Some people don't even use that method of dating stuff, it's weird.

[ She huffs and leans back into a normal standing position, hands still on her hips. ]

I told ya, people come from different worlds. It's like an alternate dimension then, you feel me?

...also everything translates immediately due to magic mumbo jumbo. As far as I know, the only language I can speak is Japanese but everybody else speaks English or somethin'.

[ kanyeshrug. Jamjar's, what're y'gonna do? ]

Right. Like I'm going to believe that.

[ this is going nowhere. she can't just stand here arguing with an AI, she needs to find out where she is and how to get back to the ship. but she can't turn her back on this synthetic, because there's no way she can trust it not to stab her in the back. if an AI really does have emotions, a personality, humanity... can she really just shoot it in cold blood? ugh. why did things have to get complicated? ]

Look, it's pointless to argue about this. You have no proof, and I'm definitely not going to trust an AI. If you really are trying to help me, can you just tell me what planet this is? I'll restore communications myself.

--Uh. Well. That's a great question.

[ Really, it is. What planet is this? Well. It isn't one. That's a whole....thing. Really. Words; how does one describe the floating rock they're currently inhabiting? ]

We're not....on one.

[ Labrys looks a little perturbed by the idea herself. ]

It's complicated. If you walk out to the outer edge which is I guess a couple days hike from here it's just-- nothin'. Void, I guess.

[ behind her visor, Tali's expression is utterly unimpressed. she would cross her arms to emphasize it, if it weren't absolutely vital for her to have a ready weapon between herself and a sophisticated AI. ]

Well, if this isn't a planet, then it must be a space station. What system are we in? Surely you at least know that much.

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[Very ancient or not at all, depending a good deal on when one happens to be. In either case, it's a very strange arrival and has been ever seen he first showed up in this city. On the bright side, however, aliens are nothing new to him. He doesn't even really bat an eye at sight of her omni-tool. He might not really know what it is, but he can guess at one of the functions it serves.]

You know, I'm not sure I'd really call it a colony. Or at least, I don't think it was the intent to have colonized it. Most of the people didn't really come here by choice. And before you ask, no, it's not some sort of prison colony. Just a very strange sort of... well, it might not even be a planet.

But you're about it being a mess. Unfortunately, it's the kind no one's quite figured out yet.

[ she's surprised to get an answer to her failed transmission, but it's only a human, unarmed and without armour - she leaves her gun where it is. it's nice to see a human who doesn't decide to comment on her race before anything else. she knows they're still pretty new to the majority of the galaxy, but hey, she doesn't go around saying, a human! every time she sees one. it's obvious that she's a quarian, they don't need to point it out.

this guy might be easily recognisable as a human, but she starts up a scan on her omni-tool anyway, just to check for anything else. something wrong with him, or this planet, maybe. ]

Sorry, you're going to have to explain that a little more clearly. What do you mean, not a prison colony? If they didn't come here by choice, what else can it be? And how can you not know whether it's a planet or a space station?

[ her omni-tool blares an unhelpful error message - something about not being able to identify the man's species, even though he's clearly human. she cuts it off quickly. ] Oh, you stupid thing! Don't tell me it's broken. I really don't need this right now.

[Someone who looks human, anyway. The omni-tool's scan, however, will turn up that he really isn't quite so human at all. For one thing, most humans have only the one heart and he very clearly has two. Other than that though, he looks to be perfectly healthy. In the prime of life, nearly, although there are other little oddities here and there.

Enough to suggest that the best he really is is humanoid, albeit a presumably-healthy individual of whatever species he happens to be.]

There's not entirely enough of it to be a planet, if that makes sense? And it's not nearly sterile enough to be a space station. Or even some sort of biodome on a space station. Besides, you saw the trains and I haven't seen a train yet that looks like that and can even get to a space station.

[Anything else on those lines, however, will have to wait. Even cut of as it is, the error message has caught his attention and he's following the attendant train of thought to the logical conclusion.]

What's it doing, if you don't mind me asking? I might not have seen anything quite like that before, but I might still be able to help.

My omni-tool? [ who in the galaxy hasn't seen an omni-tool before? wow, if this is a colony - and it must be, obviously, but maybe the people here are just misled, maybe this guy is being obtuse and it's on a moon - it must be a pretty backwater one. ] Just running a scan, don't worry. I was going to check that you're healthy, but there must be something wrong with it. "Unregistered species", sure...

[ she sighs and continues to fiddle with it. if it's broken, that might explain why her communications aren't working. ]

Hey, is there any kind of tech here that I could salvage? I can probably fix this, but I don't have a lot of my equipment with me.

Unregistered? Ah, I know this is probably not the kind of question you usually get, but you wouldn't happen to familiar with the constellation of Kasterborous, would you?

[He's not really expecting her to be, but it's worth a try, and the general location should be more familiar than the name of a planet. And honestly, it's general locations or the coordinates to Gallifrey herself and there's no real guarantee that the latter would be any more useful.]

And I'm afraid the city itself isn't very big on tech. Not without it being something that someone else has brought in.

Kasterborous? [ she runs a search for it on her omni-tool's galaxy map, just in case, but it comes up blank. come on, it can't be this broken. ] No, I haven't. I guess it must be somewhere that the Migrant Fleet hasn't travelled to yet. Which side of space is it on? Turian?

[ she's no linguistics expert, but the name sounds vaguely turian, anyway. ]

It's... not really. I could give you the approximate coordinates, but I'm not sure it would help. You see, I haven't even heard of Turians so either it's a race I haven't met yet - which isn't entirely impossible - or more likely, we're dealing with parallel universes. Similar, but not quite the same. Which is why your omni-tool there couldn't find anything on my species. It wouldn't have been programmed to recognize it.

[If it had been a scanning device of some kind from his own world, maybe. But that's not so much the case here. On the other hand, his words alone are enough to suggest that appearances aside he might not actually be human.]

[ well. okay, that calls for her full attention. she shuts down the omni-tool and crosses her arms, her head tilted to the side. ]

You're kidding. Right? I've seen plenty of crazy things, but parallel universes would definitely be the craziest. [ the mass relays are about as advanced as technology gets, she can't imagine what it would take to travel to a theoretical other universe. must be some bad human joke. although— ] What, are you saying that you're not human? You look very human to me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A new Month, a new Test drive! Happy Early April.

Tali'Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya | Mass Effect

oh my god, hello, have this robot

oh my gooooood labrys!!!

this is cr i never dreamed i could experience

if i bring her in they will absolutely have to become friends

Yes yes i would love this. THis is a wonderful thing.

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eeeeeeee Tali

omfg i'm glad people are happy to see her

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