2023-05-22: It 'Bugs' Me
- Log: It 'Bugs' Me
- Cast: Ruri Hoshino, Eight York, Gidon Kall
- Where: The Ra Mari II
- Date: 2023-05-22
- Summary: Ruri and Gidon go bug-hunting on the Ra Mari II, to help the ship support so many refugees. Afterwards, she and Eight get to talking about the issues they've been having -- and the issues Omoikane's having, too.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
The Ra Mari II has a lot more refugees than the staff it normally holds. It's a gigantic ship, of course -- a Zentradi Monitor -- and it can, physically, house all those people.
... but the systems aren't calibrated for this level of occupation.
Enter Ruri Hoshino, Expert Systems Consult.
They asked for her help after some of the more ancient systems proved baffling to troubleshoot with the new facilities they've built in. There's no immediate danger, but Gidon Kall has identified a series of potential failures which could make their ferrying arrangements... perilous. He's addressed a lot of them himself, but he's invoked the help of the Nadesico's fey Operator to help ferret out the strangest cases.
Next to that absolute bear of a man, Ruri looks every part the fairy: four feet tall and pale as opaque glass, her fingers fly over the keyboard as her mind ventures through the Ra Mari II's interior. "Oh, that's the problem," she concludes, at length. "Quadrant 4XE's heating systems are still speaking Zentradi, Gidon-san. The machine base codes are different. It must not have come up before now, since it was just storage, so it was more efficient to just use 4XD's heat instead of a dedicated node."
It's the last in a long line of little problems like that which they've been solving together, and Ruri stands, from the console, with a little bow. "Thank you for trusting me with your system." It's a matter of honour between Operators, you see. "I think that's the last of the bugs."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
In better circumstances, they'd have had time to convert all this storage into proper living spaces, or into... literally anything else. As it stands, the fact that they have a lot of pre-fabbed walls to put up helped a lot in terms of giving people at least a little bit of privacy. The ship is just packed with people... And Gidon Kall? Well.
He's never been one to take too much issue with getting help when it's practical. And in this case, the well-being of the refugees is a lot more important than any one engineer's pride. ...If he took it as a knock in the first place; quite the opposite, it's a nice excuse to see how Ruri Hoshino works!
Gidon is big, but not in a way that denies space to people; instead, he just sort of... elevates the space, filling it with energy, in a wholly non-Newtype kind of way. He isn't that type. But he watches Ruri go, venturing on through, and concluding...
"Ah!" he answers, and laughs. "That explains why I couldn't get through for nothin'," he says cheerfully. "Unfortunately I don't speak it... But, hey--"
He calls over a Zentradi in an engineering uniform, who comes on over after he says his name, "Can you switch this over for us? Quadrant FXE's using Zentradi base code."
The last in a long line, and Kall smiles at Ruri, bowing back with formality. "You've definitely helped us out, Miss. And it's like nothin' else to see how you blaze through all this."
Meanwhile, Eight York is weaving around crew members as she's on her way over; one could imagine it's because she's psychic that she nows it's done... but it's actually just that she's paying attention to their movements.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"You're very good," Ruri says, to and her speech is more formal, but she's not putting on any airs about it. If she thought he was incompetent, he'd be the first one to know, along with everyone else in the room. The gift of being thirteen is always saying just what you think. "And the Ra Mari II is happy about helping so many people, too." All machines have feelings, according to Ruri Hoshino! Not just the ones who are sentient.
She might be translating, a little, but don't worry about it.
Ruri isn't psychic enough to humans to sense dange-- wait, no, it's just Eight approaching; she spies her out of the corner of her eye, instead. She turns, to her, and nods. "Captain York. We've just finished troubleshooting things here. Are you working right now?" If that question sounds like 'should you be working right now', well -- let's just say Minato has had some conversations where Ruri can hear them.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"Thanks!" Gidon answers Ruri. "It's still an adjustment goin' military," he admits, "But I've enjoyed ship systems for a long while." It's a great gift; Gidon appreciates thirteen-year-olds for exactly that reason. He'd be the first to laugh hard if he were the one being called out and she were right to do it. But the Ra Mari II's happiness? "I'm glad to hear that," he says. He's already had a chance to get used to the idea that she can just... literally talk to the ship, somehow; it's part of what's so fascinating in the first place. "Happy ship, happy life."
It is only Eight! Eight smiles at her--and then has a sort of chagrined expression at Ruri's question. "...Well, I was thinking of taking off," she admits, "But I wanted to check in and make sure everything was done first."
Kall laughs. "Well, Captain, she caught you. You can check up on me while sitting down, right?" he offers, shifting away from the chairs they were using.
Eight, "That is... I certainly trust you two, of course."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Officially, Ruri's fey powers aren't recognised; she's just very good at dealing with computers. Lab kids. You know how it is. Unofficially -- or if one goes into the classified documents -- it's very much known. Which, again: lab kids.
(Possibly said with a more dire tone.)
"Well," she supposes, "we're not exactly military or non-military, right now. The Nadesico was a civilian ship, and the Ra Mari II was military... so I guess we're just indecisive, these days." Still, she does seem like she approves of the idea of a happy ship leading to a happy life.
Ruri shakes her head. "No, I don't think it's you. It's logical for a Captain to monitor external access into her ship's systems. We're part of the same Alliance, but I'm still not part of your crew. It's a reasonable precaution." Her explanation makes sense, but... even though it's a reasonable explanation...
... is Ruri really just covering for Eight?!
Maybe she is, because she sits back down in a chair, just so Eight won't be the first one to sit down.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Lab kids...
Gidon Kall has less experience with those than Eight does, but he knows enough to be decent about it. ...He also knows enough to get into the classified documents, and enough more than that not to say he's been in them.
"Heh. Indecisive. Well, they like their ranks well enough, so it's still more military than I'm used to." He is glad she approves, though.
Eight, though, "Right," Eight answers, because Ruri is definitely covering for her. "It's... important for me to have a look."
Kall gives her a Look in return, and Eight frowns. "What?" she starts, and then takes a seat after Ruri does. Admittedly, it's hard not to see the wince of relief when she does. She's still in her maternity uniform, which goes to show that she's theoretically still working, but even so.
"I'll go handle the rest of the shift here," Kall says. "Good seeing you, Captain. Thanks for the assist, Miss Ruri."
But he waits a beat, "And..." After that moment, "Those shoes I was telling you about, Captain. I'll get you the catalogue." He starts off.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri doesn't comment on the wince. Is it possible she's growing up and letting things slide?!
Or maybe it's just not necessary to speak about it.
"Have a good shift, Gidon-san," Ruri nods, to him, as he steps away. Off he goes, and --
Ruri tilts her head, just so. "Shoes?" She asks Eight, with mild curiosity.
A pause, and she pulls up a log on screen. "This is the access log, Captain York," she says, all rapid-fire explanations. "This data list is changes to the architecture. Code base changes are handled as new objects. Deprecated instances refer to obsoleted code. You can go through here and see the truncated sequences. Timing changes are highlighted by the system in orange, classification changes in purple. Red are the alerts Gidon-san is still chasing up. You can access the comments here to see the fixes we set up."
Another beat, as she looks back to Eight.
"Anyway, Minato-san said you shouldn't be working any more, Captain York. You've been working hard, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"Thanks," he says, and there he goes.
Ruri asks about the shoes, so Eight says, "He's got these shoes he's been selling me on that have better support. I wasn't worried about it before because I like my shoes, but now I'm starting to think about it..."
Eight looks over the screen. Admittedly, she's not an expert on this sort of thing, but she knows enough that she's not completely lost, especially with Ruri's explanations. She's a good instructor as it happens. "I see... The comments are pretty thorough," she notes. "I don't foresee a problem with your adjustments. This one was... Ah, we'd just never updated from the old versions? There's so much ship that I guess it makes sense..."
Then Eight pauses, and looks back to Ruri. "She said that, huh?"
"Minato's definitely part of why I'm in this situation," she grouses a little without any venom. In fact, she smiles about it. "I hadn't thought it would be so contentious," she admits. "I have been working pretty hard. I'm planning to hold out another two weeks or so. At the least I need to finish this business with the refugees..."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Oh, I see," Ruri says, a little surprised. She never really thought about shoes before. She's too young to have problems which need help with proper equipment like that!
Ruri nods, and nods again, when Eight questions Minato. "That's right." Over across empty space, on the Nadesico, Minato sneezes. She's allergic to the betrayal..!!
"Apparently, it's going to get more difficult for you as the pregnancy goes on," Ruri says, and the 'I looked it up' is silent but implicit. "It's okay. I'm not going to tell you to stop. You know what you can handle. But I guess a lot of people are worried about you, right now."
Ruri is the littlest member of the bridge crew, but she still has ranks in bridge crew gossip. That's the power of the bridge!
She frowns, lightly. "But where are we going to take them? They said the air leaks were bad, in Metis. I guess things would have been a lot worse if you weren't there to respond that quickly, but there was still a lot of damage. The dorms aren't really liveable right now." Ruri's reviewed the damage reports, of course. "Well, I guess both they and the miners can go home, but..."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight is not unused to special shoes, but this particular need is unfamiliar to her. She's always been able to wear most anything she wanted without any trouble. As for Minato though, "It doesn't surprise me she'd think so," Eight admits a moment later.
But Ruri looked it up. "That's what they say. I'm starting to feel it." Eight sighs a little, and settles her hands over her belly, an idle gesture that she's starting to do more often as it gets bigger. "A lot of people, huh?" Eight asks. "...Are you one of them?" She does appreciate Ruri not telling her to stop, but, "There's so much to do, lately..."
The power of the bridge...
But where? It could've been much worse, that's true. "They aren't, at all. Depending on whether they have homes elsewhere to go back to, we can arrange to have them sent back to them," Eight answers. "For those who don't, we're going to take them to Orb to stay for a while, until they can figure something else out. I was able to work that out with Orb's government." It was... not a simple negotiation.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri makes a thoughtful noise, as she looks up. "I guess so," she says. "The articles I read said that there are higher levels of adverse events in human-Zentradi pregnancies. Like with Rh incompatibility, but even more than that." That's the one where the mother and father's blood types don't entirely agree. One can imagine how the mother and father's species not entirely agreeing would, indeed, be 'more than that'.
Ruri has been doing a lot of reading. She may, indeed, be Very Worried, but she's pretty good at not letting it show.
She folds her hands in her lap, one ankle hooking over the other beneath the chair. "I hope Orb will be safe enough for them to stay," she says. She still remembers the way the Federation attacked it, perhaps.
With a shade more distance, she looks up, and says: "I wonder why adults put so many people in danger just to get what they want... it's childish." A light frown, and she adds: "I hope the Phenex will be okay."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Naturally, Eight has done research on this matter too. So she's not surprised when Ruri mentions the articles, though her shoulders sink a little. It reminds her of the last disagreement she had with Lavhi...
"That's... true," Eight answers, and glances down. She finds herself getting more emotional about it from the reminder, and tries to shake it off. It kind of informs the rest of the conversation, though.
"It will be," Eight answers, and that's not a platitude; it will be because if they try again...
They'll be there. To make sure of it.
But EIght turns to look at Ruri speaking of childish adults. "...A lot of adults," Eight says, "Start to get so focused on what they want that other people just don't matter to them." She thinks of the Phenex. "'Those people don't count'," she says, "Or, 'my goal is important enough that I'm justified in whatever I do.'" She shakes her head.
"...I hope so, too."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri does notice the shift in Eight's tone and attention, and frowns, just a little. Did she say something wrong?
Well, she can believe her when she says Orb will be safe, anyway.
She frowns a little deeper, when they come to speak of Luio and those like her. "I guess if it's that important to them, they're willing to put people in danger for it. But I don't really understand what they're trying to do... like, they destroyed Metis just to get one machine. I guess... those kinds of machines are just..."
Ruri frowns, down at her hands. "I'm worried about Omoikane," Ruri says, out of nowhere. "He's really stressed out about the Federation... he's acted out of fear sometimes. If everyone realises who he is... they'll chop him up and put him back in a lab, since no one trusts Super AI any more." Her fingers tighten, around herself. "Me too, probably."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight notices that frown. "Oh, sorry," Eight says. "I just... You're not the first person to tell me I should be resting more. I'm thinking about it."
But with Orb discussed for now, Eight moves on to the matter of Luio, and shakes her head. "...For the people backing her, I think they just want the 'power' of the machine. But even though I don't think it justifies her actions, I believe what she said. I think she's looking to change a past she regrets. ...But it's not possible to change the past. No matter how many lives she ruins, it'll never make it any different. If she gets what she really wants, will that be enough? ...I don't think so."
But those kinds of machines--Eight doesn't say more about that because Ruri talks about Omoikane. He's stressed out, is he? "...I can't blame him. How often has the Nadesico been in a position to fight the Federation? I'm wary of them, myself." She pauses, though. If they realize it...
Eight doesn't have a magic solution to that problem. "...Well, I'm not telling anyone," she says. She frowns, and then, "Do you know of a way we could protect him?" she wonders. "I'm sure that we could protect you. But I know you won't abandon your friend, and neither will we. So if it comes down to it..."
"We'll have to make a plan."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Okay," Ruri nods, though she still looks a little worried. Worried... that she hurt Eight's feelings?! Perish the thought.
She frowns, too, as she thinks of changing the past. It looks like it bothers her an awful lot, because it does. Ruri doesn't think what happened should change. Going back and changing what happened means that the memories you made don't matter, and...
Well, she's not the only one with feelings on the matter.
"A lot," Ruri confirms, of the amount of times the Nadesico has fought the Federation. "Kaworu-san said I should reassure him they're not a threat, and that worked for a while, but... they are a threat, now. I..."
She frowns, down at her hands. "We just have to stay hidden. It's okay. I'm good at that. Well, maybe no one's even noticed?"
(She's being far too optimistic about that one.)
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight doesn't really want to burden Ruri with her worries on that front. ...But she thinks of a way to talk about something like it, "I appreciate you telling me what you've researched," instead. "I've got a referral to a specialist doctor, too... In Zentradi-human hybrid pregnancies." Maybe that'll help? Maybe not.
Eight can tell the other bothers Ruri, though. And it's true that she's not the only one with those feelings. But she doesn't press when Ruri doesn't bring it up.
"They are," Eight has to admit. "Especially with people trying to stir the pot." Like Zero did. "...All right. If I can help you stay hidden," she says, "Then I'll do whatever I can. All right? Both of you."
She is... not optimistic, that no one has noticed. But maybe the wrong people haven't noticed yet...
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Good," Ruri says, expression gentling to hear that she's got a specialist involved. "They must know a lot." More than Ruri knows! Ruri's basis is in physics and mathematics and computer engineering, not squishy human persons.
Obviously. She'd probably be better at humaning if she'd been taught more about them.
Ruri frowns. "I still don't like what they did. The Black Knights. It wasn't fair." Ruri values fairness very much! At her age, it's her main bargaining tool! "But... I guess Omoikane acted rashly, then. I gave an explanation, but..." Obviously she was lying.
She sighs, and shakes her head. "... anyway," she puffs out a sigh. "Thank you, Captain York." She still gets 'Captain York', since she's wearing the Captain's Hat. "I appreciate your help."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"I hope so!" Eight answers of their knowing a lot. She is very good with squishy human persons... but not so much in the medical aspect. More the social. That's why she's a Captain and not a doctor. Though Leina's suggestion that one day still makes her think... "I'm hoping," she says, "That when I know more, I can share what I learned."
Then the Black Knights, "I agree. It was underhanded. I'm sure they think they're justified in doing whatever they 'have' to do, but it's a shortsighted way of thinking."
Omoikane... "Right."
Eight smiles, faintly. "You're welcome," she says. "Anytime." Then, a sigh. "...I should probably take off the rest of my shift," she admits. "...Lavhi thinks I'm working too hard, too."
But it was nice to see Ruri, too.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"You will," Ruri says, and sounds confident enough about that. Eight is a leader, after all, so obviously she'll share her knowledge.
"Whatever they 'have' to do... it's a stubborn way of thinking."
Ruri doesn't quite smile, but her expression is friendly enough, by her standards. "Okay," she says, without insisting she sit down longer. "Thanks for taking extra time to talk to me. I know I was distracting you. Lavnadim-san is probably stressed out, too... actually, I wonder if he's the one who's working too hard."
She picks herself up, and decides: "I'll go tell him."
And, indeed, she does just that.
Eight might be the one carrying the extra weight, but that doesn't mean she's the only one who needs to take a break.