Violet found herself lost in thought as she rode the elevator up to the bridge. While the miniature crisis had eventually been resolved, the results had been less then satisfying. Rose was forced practically at gunpoint to finish the tree surveying, which she'd probably do badly just out of spite, and Daisy was dragged off to the greenhouse. When asked what she needed her little sister for, Lily had enigmatically replied that 'it's a secret.'
Whatever. At least she'd finished for good with all this sampling jazz, since that orange grove had luckily been the last area she needed to cover. Maybe the next assignment would be more interesting.
Auto was in standby near the front of the bridge, his customary position when he had nothing pressing to do. When he came out of his sleep mode with a series of clanks and whirs, Violet had to keep herself from shuddering. There was something so… mechanical about the way he woke up.
He noiselessly glided up to her, and said, "Please present the sampling device."
Given that she had done this several times before, she did so without missing a beat. As she held out the gun-shaped tool, a scanning beam stabbed forth from his single, red eye, sweeping over the chamber that held the now-filled soil canisters. Auto beeped twice, and evidently contented with what he saw, pushed a catch on the side of the device. With a click, the container was released, and he caught it deftly.
The autopilot went over to the SDA console that had been seeing so much use lately, and opened the container with a snap. Then he began inserting each canister into a purpose-built receptacle on the console, one by one, while the computer beeped loudly to confirm the acquisition of each sample. After all the canisters were ready to be processed, he pressed a single button that simply read, 'Analyze.'
A cheerful female voice announced out of thin air, "Analyzing samples... analysis complete." The console's holoscreen came on with a flicker, displaying legions of facts and figures that Violet never got to catch a really good glimpse of, as Auto would read them so quickly that they appeared like a blur.
Seeming to find whatever he was looking for, he turned back to Violet and delicately lifted the soil sampler out of her hands. He then surprised her when instead of putting it back where it came from; he threw it down the trash chute. "What'd you do that for?" she exclaimed.
"The Type 1 Soil Sampler is a single-use device. Thus, it had to be disposed of. Do you have any objections?"
"Oh. No, when you put it that way, it makes sense. Seems kind of wasteful, though."
"That is true." Auto's processor trips circled his ocular. "It might be wise to design a newer, more reusable model. Would you prefer that to be your next assignment, Violet?"
"Gah, no! I'm no good with electronics." She squinted her eyes in thought. "Daisy might be able to do something like that though… Want me to ask her about that, Auto?"
"Negative. It was only a passing notion, and has low priority amongst the tasks that need to be completed." After this declaration, he went to the Com Console, and began dialing a number into it.
"Who're you calling, Auto?"
One of his spokes flicked. "I am certain I have stated, multiple times, that I would prefer you did not call me Auto, EVE probe. As your superior, it would only be proper that you refer to me as sir."
Violet rolled her eyes so hard that they looked like they were about to fall of her eyescreen. "Okay, sir. Sir, Who are you calling, sir, please, sir?"
"Captain Bob McCrea. And I am not calling him, I am paging him. The message I am sending is a request for him to come to the bridge at his earliest convenience. I wish to inform him of the conclusions that I have drawn regarding the crop disparities."
"Really? What've you found out?"
He ignored her, and typed out a brief note out. After doing so, he said, "According to his datapad, he is currently located on the other side of the city, overseeing yet more restoration work. It is probable that he will not arrive here for several hours. I would suggest that while waiting, you remain in standby mode to save energy and processing power."
Before Violet could say a word, he went back to the forward end of the bridge, and promptly deactivated himself.
Violet stared at the autopilot, speechless. If she had a mouth, it would have been gaping wide open. Instead, she had to settle with yelling at Auto. "I can't go to sleep yet, stupid. I'm not even tired! Am I just supposed to wait here for several hours, doing nothing? "
Sadly, he didn't respond.
Thirty minutes later, Violet was fairly sure she was reaching the limit for how many times she could play Solitaire on her datapad without going insane, when it dinged. Lily was emailing her.
She opened up the message, and then grunted in irritation. Her sister was asking for help down at the greenhouse, supposedly something terrible had happened. Great, one thing after another.
Violet gave Auto a surreptitious look, who was still dead to the world. She could leave, fix whatever the problem was, and come back before he even noticed she was gone. Whatever the predicament Lily was in now, it shouldn't take more than maybe an hour to resolve. She had plenty of time.
A rising note played, entirely confined within Auto's consciousness. Captain on bridge.
He turned on, and saw his superior walking out of the elevator. Zipping up next to the human, he said tonelessly, "Good day, Captain. I trust that you are in good health?"
McCrea smiled. "Same as ever, Auto. So, what's up?"
Idioms. Auto never understood the fascination humans had for those. "Sir, are you aware of the issue regarding the discrepancy between projected and actual annual harvests?" He prepared to launch himself into a long explanation, when much to his amazement McCrea nodded.
Thrown off his stride, Auto had to gather his thoughts for a moment. Fortunately, his computational speeds were so high that the delay would be unnoticeable to even a robot, let alone to the human eye. "After 'Lily' brought this predicament to my attention, I have been investigating this matter. Violet, here, has been collecting soil samples for me to consider, in addition to the data Lily had already provided. Following my detailed analysis, I have succeeded in determining the reason for these low agricultural yields." Auto paused, waiting for the captain to ask him what his conclusions were.
Instead, McCrea raised an eyebrow and said, "Violet, where?"
"Excuse me, sir? Violet, or EVE probe 004, is currently located over th-" He swiveled to look over to where she had been, only to be greeted by empty space. No wonder she had been so uncharacteristically quiet.
Auto was groping for something to say, when a something happened that gave him the fright of his, for the lack of a better word, life. In a manner unpleasantly reminiscent of an event that occurred shortly before the return to Earth, Violet rocketed out of the bridge's trash shot. Both man and even autopilot goggled at the white, egg-shaped robot.
With great aplomb, she saluted to the captain. "Sorry I'm late, sir. I had kind of a family emergency."
About to berate the probe for her unseemly behavior, Auto stopped himself when he saw his superior officer's face.
With a grin so wide that his head appeared like it was about to split right down the middle, McCrea said, "It's all right, Violet. I know how hard it is to deal with relatives as, uh, unusual as yours are. Make yourself comfortable. Auto was about to explain why we've been having our crop problems."
Auto made an unhappy grinding noise with his servos. He decided to let the issue of Violet's unauthorized departure slide. For now.