Futurecraft: Macropolitical Personification Iteration #3

[Vinyl]

"I suppose we should greet them then. I'd propose the human as the less dangerous of the two, so let's find out what that other thing is all about. Lead the way." She stepped away, making the doorway wholly clear.

[Archduke Daynel, PhD]

Zuguth walked along the hallway, looking out through the windows, or were they just screens?, into complete blackness.
"That's not right," he muttered to himself. "Really not right."
Suddenly, the iCore started beeping. Life signs.
Zuguth looked down the hallway. A couple hundred meters away he thought himself see a person or two.
Using his iCore as binoculars, he zoomed in, confirming his suspicions.
"Hey, you two!" Zuguth called out.
The sound of shoes against metal echoed down the hallway as he started half-running-half-jogging.

[Error]

Val raised an eyebrow.

"That simplifies things." murmured Laura.

"Indeed. Good to see you, Zuguth." Val called.

[Vinyl]

Hexalan simply moved her head slightly to be pointing straight at her superior, and nodded. Despite the compulsion to salute, she knew he didn't really care about that, and thus didn't.

[Archduke Daynel, PhD]

After ~a minute of running/jogging, Zuguth reached the two.
"Val, Hexalan, not sure if it's nice to see you here too or if I should be horrified. I assume you are clueless regarding how we got here too?"
The two nodded slightly.
"Well, I've done a couple scans, and I can't say for sure but I think there is a considerable chance that we're aboard some sort of spaceship. No idea who made it, but whoever they are, they use basic maintenance devices like brooms and stuff just like us. Cool, right?"

[Error]

Laura chuckled.

"Yes, it's a starship. And from what I can gather, we're in dark space between galaxies. By the way, have you found a hardlink data port anywhere?"

[Archduke Daynel, PhD]

Zuguth looked around.
"Who's that? You got someone else with you?"

[Error]

Laura's avatar appeared, floating over Val's shoulder.

"That was myself. Lieutenant Commander Laura, CNI. Pleased to meet you, Zuguth."

[Vinyl]

"You wouldn't mind me asking exactly what you are, Laura?"

[Archduke Daynel, PhD]

"Nice to meet you too, Commander."
Zuguth looked at Val.
"So, I suppose it's an AI? Quite a sophisticated one by your standards, I must say."
Val smiled slightly, almost a smirk.
"Actually, it's a QI, a person's conscience uploaded into a quantum matrix. I believe it's rather sophisticated even by your standards."
Zuguth's jaw dropped a little, and his eyebrows raised.
"Wow, that.. that's pretty cool, actually," he stuttered, "Hexalan did you know about this?"

[Error]

"No," Laura stated, "Although the process is not highly classified, there was little reason to spread the knowledge."

"Read: CNI decided to do the secrecy thing." Val commented.

[Archduke Daynel, PhD]

"Val, when we get back from this, if we get back, you gotta teach me and Hex how to do that."
Zuguth turned to the other female present, who had been relatively silent.
"Just imagine what we could do with that, right Hex?"

[Vinyl]

"Yes, quite. Anyways, me and Val were going to check out an unidentifiable life sign. Not human, not Strigiforme, not Taln, and not Feles."

[Error]

"From what I gather, it's a psionic; maybe MIN psi-ops. Not sure."

Val headed off down the hall, examining the walls and conduits along them as she went.

Laura's avatar turned, facing Hexalan and Zuguth.

"You should know, by the way, that as far as I can tell there is only one galaxy within visual distance."

[Archduke Daynel, PhD]

"Right, let's see what that thing is, then," Zuguth said, holding his iCore on the ready.
"Come along, Hex."