Hope everyone is staying safe in quarantine!
In these strange times, I offer a strange chapter from a strange person... with strange... uh... tidings?
I ran out of strange things to say.
Thankfully, I'm doing well enough at home. Doing odd jobs and such to take care of myself. I'm easily entertained, so I'm certainly not bored or developing cabin fever... er... not yet anyways. XD
Now then, read, fav, follow, review, and enjoy! Strange Snack of the day!... that would be the cream cheese cookies I overestimated the batter size on... I love them but I made FAR too many. So, I've been sharing them with family and neighbors. I meant to make about a dozen... I ended up with about four dozen. They sure are fluffy cookies.
"I just want to take a moment to mention… I did not know about her," Nick belted out to Judy in a deadpan tone, his voice sounding like he was attempting to suppress any and all shock and/or surprise he was feeling. "Also," the fox continued, turning to Leo, "No."
"No?" the android asked, tilting its head curiously. "I don't believe I made any inquiries."
"You want us to bring her back… like we did to Kale," the tod stated simply, crossing his armored arms.
"Wait what?" the grey doe chimed in with a stunned tone, biting her lip beneath her faceplate as it felt like a tension suddenly descended on the bridge.
"As much as that arrangement would be amenable," Leo started, walking closer to the sealed coffin, "such a feat would be useless. Even if you had the capability to do so, her body has long since degraded past the point of such recovery. The brain most importantly, has long since decayed. Willing and able or not, it would be like reconstructing a blank memory. So, no, I was not going to, nor would it be useful in any capacity to ask that of you."
"Oh… then… uh… yeah…" the armored fox slowly drawled uncomfortably.
"What was her name?" Judy tried to interject into the now strangely silent atmosphere.
"Lillian Jocard, as best expressed through your languages," the robotic being mentioned. "She was an exceptional technological expert, with a Shard affinity towards molecular manipulation."
"Ok…" the doe spoke, unsure what that meant.
"And that's…?" the tod entreated Leo, waving a paw lightly to goad a response.
"She could directly affect the composition of a molecular structure in compounds, alloys, mixtures, etc.," the android explained evenly. "It allowed her to streamline and perfect certain things like armor plating, conductive wiring, and an extensive array of technology made far better by structural integrity and elemental purity."
"Could she make it move with her mind," Phantom asked expectantly, feeling she missed some part of the ability.
"Not exactly," Leo clarified. "Consider it like her being able to use powers to temper molecular structures like a blacksmith does to steel. Lillian could realign the bonds in anything to take the most efficient and strongest form. Then she made tech advanced enough to replicate these materials to some degree. It's why later stages of the civilization that built me were very well adapted in defensive tech. This ship was her greatest achievement, though built by a conglomeration of civilizations for a singular purpose to find and support both of you, Lillian used her powers to make this vessel the strongest it could be through molecular bonding."
"I have a question," the armored fox interjected. The other two went quiet and turned their attention to him. He pointed to the coffin and asked, "The bridge of this ship seems an odd place to put her. I mean no disrespect… but… why not bury her topside?"
The grey bunny doe piped up to answer this one, saying excitedly, "Oh! Alien pathogens!"
"Huh?" was his only response.
"I see it all the time in comics and shows," she vented with a smile. "Something not from Earth lands on it and extraterrestrial biology can have adverse effects on the current ecology."
"Leo?" Nick inquired simply, turning to the mechanical being.
Nodding, it replied, "Judy is correct, even if her references are a bit odd. I could not chance doing anything like that when risks to the environment came into question. It was potentially hazardous enough to have this ship land here as it did. I couldn't introduce alien biology to this planet."
"Makes enough sense that I want to move on from the topic and figure out what we need to do to get this ship operational," Nick snarked, with Judy almost able to see a smile through his faceplate.
Turning to what appeared to be a primary console, Leo began initiating some sequences, with holographic displays showing a 3D model of what the other two assumed was the ship.
It looked like a large diamond shape, forked in the forward section, with extensions from the rear that had to be propulsion modules.
The hovering display was mostly shades of blue, the soft light being bright enough to view, but not so much that the hue was blinding. Red flashing sections showed up in the model, highlighting various parts of the ship and text boxes showing readout data on the errors.
Before the robot could turn to explain, the model cut out, power went low and lights dimmed.
"Uh… Leo?" Judy called out, seeing the android go still for a moment before turning to look at the others.
Blue light washed over the bridge interior, much like the holo model, but encompassing the entire room.
"Activating playback," a feminine voice recited over an intercom, with Leo turning to find the source.
"What's going on?" the red fox asked warily, hunching a little low defensively.
"It appears that I tripped some sort of response while interacting with the system," it detailed.
"Why is it speaking our language then?" came the followup from the tod.
"My core memory was scanned and language parameters copied to the system. I surmise it was used to translate for your benefit. To what end, I am unsure. No need to panic though."
Nick and Judy both tried to relax, treating the event with skepticism, but knowing this wasn't some enemy hold or problematic situation.
A singular form coalesced in blue light, rendering in but still moving as the 'playback' started.
The figure was probably about six feet tall, two legs, two arms, and a thin build.
"Leo, we have to divert power," came a calm, but still slightly tense voice.
"Might I remind you that my name is Galileo?" Leo's voice cut clear in the recording.
"Remind me later, we have work to do!" the female snapped. "We're in the wormhole, but the energy storms in here are more powerful than we predicted. I need more energy to go to the engines."
The figure rendered in completely, looking very smooth, possibly lacking a lot of fur, though with long locks tied into a bun on top of her head. Her features were rounded and clothes reflective of a jumpsuit.
"Our current power supply is currently insufficient for the task," the android voice responded. "The chances that the ship will survive to the other side, however, are 74.5%."
"Not good enough," Lillian rebuked stiffly, moving to other consoles to adjust functions and settings. "I'm not risking the destruction of this ship on a one in four chance…"
There was a pause as she appeared to be quickly mulling options over, a look of acceptance filling the features of her face.
Jumping onto the consoles with newfound energy, she kept ranting equations and numbers, some of the ramblings not even sounding translated. Eventually, she broke for the center, strapping herself into a now absent command chair.
Displays pulled up, likely a linked interface to the more comprehensive instruments around her, as she did a few things.
"May I inquire as to what you are doing?" the robot's voice echoed. "Also, you appear to be correct. My risk assessment has lowered success chances to 68%. The number may change."
"I'm rerouting shield power to the engines, in order to stabilize our path through this storm," she told him bluntly. "I'm going to use what power I can spare to not only hold the hull together, but increase it's integrity."
"Isn't the hull strength at the maximum strength you are capable of increasing it to?" Leo asked evenly.
"You would be correct…," she began, sass creeping into her voice, "but, there is an immense amount of pressure outside the ship that is beyond the parameters I used to assist making the armor plating in the first place. If I do my little trick now, I can increase the strength/density ratio to such a high degree that shields won't even be needed. This vessel will become the most impenetrably armored vessel in the known universe, forged by crushing spatial forces and tempered by my power."
"You don't have enough energy left to complete the task and make it through alive…" the android spoke, the faintest of tones sounding sad.
"I know," she replied easily. "I'm loading your construct into a body now, then getting ready to launch a craft when we break through and land."
"Can I convince you to change your mind?" Leo asked, almost desperately.
Energy flowed from her into the ship, a receptacle in the chair allowing her to exude enough to supply the ship's necessary systems to do what she wanted.
Though neither Judy nor Nick could see things changing or understand the holo displays changing data, they knew the task of doing whatever she was doing was taking its toll, Lillian's body tensing and breathing becoming erratic.
"I'm… going to need you to find our new Shard…" she vented out slowly, between rasping breaths. "Find them. Teach them. Help them. They may be powerful, but being imbued like this can make you feel so alone. They will outlive their family, friends, loved ones… Trust me. I know."
"You never had children?" came the inquiry of Leo.
The virulent storm outside seemed to lessen, with the alarms of the simulation calming.
The robotic voice seemed to take note of the changes and continued automatically, "Your changes have succeeded. We are secured and nearly through the wormhole to the other side. Breakthrough in 17 seconds."
"You are the closest thing I ever had to a child," Lillian remarked, as if not even hearing about the countdown. Her voice seemed sleepy now.
Both fox and bunny quirked their eyebrows, giving Leo a fleeting glance, to which the aforementioned individual didn't seem to register, fixated on the recording.
"Breakthrough confirmed," the android detailed. "We have exited the wormhole successfully. Our landing vector will be a bit steep, but I found a landing zone, using the water to minimize impact and keep the surroundings from being destroyed."
"Any signs of civilization?" the female questioned lazily, her eyes drooping.
"Multiple clear signs," Leo confirmed. "I can't attest to the level of technological advancement, but it can be surmised that communication is viable."
"Good… there is hope…" Lillian breathed, the noises of the recording bleeding in ambient sound from the crashing of the ship through the atmosphere and into the water. She struggled to lift her arm, pressing a few key buttons and sighing. "Good luck, Leo."
A nondescript default computer voice spoke abruptly, "Craft loaded and ejected. Awaiting instruction."
The two thought the playback might end there, but Lillian grunted and pressed a few more buttons, mumbling, "One last thing I can do…"
"Playback end," the feminine computer voice said, the blue hues receding and fading away to show the bridge in its current state.
0000000
"Welp… that was intense," Judy tried to voice, breaking the silence.
"Did you do that, Leo?" Nick voiced firmly, leveling his gaze through the faceplate on the android.
"I did not," was the only reply offered.
"What was this last thing she did then?" the fox resumed questioning.
"I assume she initiated the growth factor of the coral to hide the ship."
"Then, how did she end up in a coffin, if you were ejected from the ship?" came another onslaught, with the red tod sounding more skeptically accusatory by the second.
"Nick…" Judy tried to reach him, physically and emotionally.
"Why wasn't I told about this?" he interrupted, sounding almost hurt.
Leo paused a moment, processing a proper answer, before mentioning in the usual tone, if not littered with a mild modicum of shame, "I needed you to feel secure in my tutelage. Knowing I was the second choice to guide you might have either made you feel inferior or question whether I actually knew how best to help you."
The slightly angry fox wanted to feel betrayed that this seemingly important information was willfully withheld from him, but he could only sigh and unclench his paws in realization that he knew Leo meant no harm and only wished to take the most compassionately logical path to support him and Judy.
Seeing and feeling that his anger was subsiding, with the doe not having felt an emotional feedback like that in a while from him through their bond, she decided to ask a question of her own.
"What did she mean by you being the closest to a child she had?"
"...I do not know," was the robot's almost forlorn answer.
Amidst all the information and all the emotional strife, a new voice introduced itself, with a projected hologram standing next to the android, saying, "I know the answer to that."
If Leo could look astonished, this was the closest either mammal present had ever seen to attest to that, with the being taking two full steps back and looking the figure up and down.
Nick and Judy both leapt back in fear, instinct taking hold in light of something unexpected and new.
When both took a good look, it appeared that the holographic form took the visage of the female they just watched in the recording.
"Lillian?" the doe inquired softly, stepping forward to look at the hologram.
Reacting to her, it looked down, smiling.
"Yes, Judy?" came the feminine voice.
Taken aback at being called by name, the rabbit tilted her head curiously.
The hologram seemed to gauge the unspoken question, remarking, "I took the data from Leo concerning the language comprehension between mine and yours, as well as a few select summaries of you in his memories. Even so, I know your names from you speaking the whole time. I only spoke up now because I had just completed my comprehension subroutines of the data. Pleased to meet you."
"Uh… same?" Judy breathed, unsure how to process this.
"To answer your first question about Leo being like a child to Lillian," the hologram resumed, the voice sounding more pleasant and upbeat than the android's usual even tone, "it is because she used a high density scan of her brain as the basis for his neural network to create the most realistic working artificial mind possible. It would normally be too much for any living being to survive, but being a Shard… she 'died', then regenerated. Her scan became the foundation to create the most intelligent and intuitive artificial brain possible."
A holo arm stretched out to gesture to Leo, who appeared placid concerning this information.
"Does this mean her last act was creating you?" the mechanical being cut in.
Nodding, the Lillian look-alike confirmed, "She used a much more in depth scan of her brain than the one used as a structure for you. I'm not better than you, if that's what you were to assume. Simply, I am as close to a data clone as I can be of her consciousness, imprinted onto the core in this ship. Unfortunately, she is gone."
"I see no downside to two super-intelligent robotic entities on our side," Judy piped up, relieved that the atmosphere took a better upturn. "Let's bring her back with us."
"Think again," the hologram rebuked, a hint of sass in her tone. "I'm unfortunately a hard copy data clone. My entire 'being', so to speak, is tied to the ship's data cores. Not to mention even, the amount of memory I take up is far too large for a transfer without potentially compromising my memories and mental matrix. I appreciate the inclusion though."
"She seems so much more… emotionally responsive than Leo," Nick observed, rather obviously.
"Leo also has the capacity for emotional response, but likely either shut down those subroutines, or turned down their 'sensitivity'," the Lillian data clone offered, giving the aforementioned robot a cheeky grin in holographic form.
"I did not want them to know about that," Leo spoke, almost with a hint of betrayal. "I needed to adhere to the mission given by Lillian Jocard, so my emotions only needed to remain at a minimum level to retain a sense of compassion to my logical processes."
"That explains a lot," the fox snorted, taking the news rather easily, beginning to laugh.
"Can we refocus on the task?" Leo entreated. "We need to assess the functionality of the ship and figure out whether we can effectively use the scanning tech here to ascertain the origin of the transmission that afforded 'Tim' the cognizant wherewithal to so quickly adapt to our languages."
"I'm afraid you'll find some disappointing news on that front," the Lillian hologram sadly relayed. A supplemental holographic model to her matrix came into existence, listing systems and damage assessments.
"Uh… just a little interruption…," the armored rabbit interjected softly, "but what should we call you… since you aren't Lillian?"
Briefly adopting an expression of thoughtfulness, the hologram entity hummed, replying, "How about Lilly?"
Both fox and bunny nodded, the latter voicing herself, "Sounds good. Continue."
"Right. Well, anyways, the internal systems are mostly intact, though most external sources are damaged." Affected systems were highlighted and blinking as Lilly let them peruse the information. "Armor is intact, but extremities from sensor equipment, engines, batter and hangar doors, as well as the forward mass driver are severely compromised."
"System service drones should be able to initiate repairs," Leo detailed evenly. "We only need to prioritize the sensor equipment."
"More unfortunate news, then," the hologram fired off with a cocked hip. "Those drones, according to my assessment, are only working at 2.7 percent capacity. Barely enough of them working to do quick repairs."
"Why aren't they working? I though this ship was sealed?" Nick griped, a touch of concern for their predicament.
Lilly answered smoothly, "The ship has been in a state of low power and no maintenance for three centuries. Suffice it to say some of the technology has reached a degradation point that prohibits it from working. To paraphrase the long list of problems I've compiled for your benefit, the main point of your issue is that the drones' power cores can't hold a charge."
"Greaaaat…" the fox drawled. "We make it down here and figure out batteries aren't included." the armored tod sighed and began looking over the information presented, playing with a few console commands to adjust for his inquiries.
"At present, I cannot ascertain notable solutions to our problems aside from simply doing manual repairs to the sensors ourselves," the robotic entity mentioned. "This complicates our timetable."
"What about my nanofluid?" Nick offered with a brandishing paw, pulling out a canister of the silver goo.
"It would need to be calibrated for the ship's systems and structure," Leo made sure to supplement to the idea.
"...of which I could most certainly work with," Lilly continued. "There are even two container units full of the unfinished product. Your successful model can use it for materials to replicate themselves and I'll give them direction for repairs to vital structures."
The armored fox tod seemed perturbed by the familiarity with his tech, to which she added, "Leo's memories pieced together what I should know. Looks like he's been doing well in cultivating you as a Shard. Uh… both of you really. That little bit of info is still being processed actually though. A Shard splitting between two entities…"
0000000
Down a few levels, in the cargo hold, with a good view of the bridge, Flux and Phantom were finding the aforementioned containers.
"Not to downplay your company, as it is much appreciated," Nick began, "but wouldn't you rather question Lilly about… everything?"
"Oh, I am most certainly NOT passing up on that," Judy excitedly claimed. "But… I figure the two of them need some alone time."
"Two artificial intelligence-like entities created from the same mind," the fox breathed, both still walking, a 3D model displayed on their HUDs giving them in depth directions to navigate the ship and find what they needed. "I don't know if that makes her his mother… ish… thing… or his sister."
The doe started to laugh.
"Sister Lilly and Brother Leo!" she guffawed. "I love it! We're going with that from now on."
The grey bunny then gave him a hug out of nowhere, to which he replied, hugging her back, "What was that for?"
"That had to hit a little close to home…" Judy vaguely told him. "You have more in common with Leo than you might have thought."
"I don't…" the tod started, trailing off as he tried to figure out what she meant.
"You both lost a mother figure… suppressed your emotions for the sake of your mission… and found someone like you later in life you were not expecting," the doe rattled off, counting each thing on her paw digits.
He sucked in a breath and raised a paw, ready to rebuke her, when he faltered and went, "Ah… uh… huh… I guess that's all true. Especially the emotions thing… I suppose the minimal level he had definitely accounts for his attachment to those darn aprons. Oh. Here we are."
Approaching two large containers, each about the size of a tanker module on the back of a truck used to refuel gas stations, Flux found a viable receptacle to plug in his nanofluid unit.
Queuing up his comm to connect to both Leo and Lilly, the fox inquired of whichever of them cared to answer, "Got this thing hooked up. Do either of you have a connection to this stuff to do what you need?"
"Yes we do," the female voice responded with an energy Nick wasn't used to. "Your goo is under my command. I've siphoned off half to inject into the first tank, so disengage and put the rest into the other container."
"Uh… it's nanofluid, not goo," the armored fox remarked with a slightly annoyed tone.
"Goo sounds so much less… boring though," the sister robotic being complained. "Tell you what. I'll call what you use for yourself nanofluid, and the stuff you just injected for the ship is my repair goo."
Grumbling, Nick reluctantly accepted that, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with her.
"I can see how similar those two are now," he griped in a low tone towards his girlfriend.
He did as asked, the rest of the 'goo' injecting and devouring the other materials inside the container.
"It'll take me a few hours to appropriately examine the overall design structure and functions of this stuff, then maybe a day or two to use it to repair what you need," Lilly detailed for them. "Not to mention the following couple weeks to get the whole ship back to optimal operational capacity."
"Soooo… what now?" the armored bunny doe asked expectantly, dreading the answer.
"Unfortunately," Leo interjected to answer, "it appears further expenditure of time down here won't do the two of you much good. Best to head to the surface. A matter has arisen, in any case, that requires your attention when you can make it back. Nothing bad exactly."
"I agree with Brother Leo," added Lilly. "Heard that, by the way. Anyways, he is leaving this body down here with me for assistance and correspondence. I've prepared a pod for the two of you to take the surface. Should make the trip easier. It even has a cable to pull it back down."
Judy kept forgetting about the mechanical entity having the capability to be in multiple bodies/places. It did make sense, considering they needed eyes and ears down here, but she didn't want to be isolated down this deep for a while. The doe assumed her fox wasn't too keen on that outcome either.
Not to discount the face that there was no food or water down here they knew of anyways, making a long stay a terrible choice.
"Welp," Phantom energetically chirped. "I'm ready to get the heck out of here. How about you?"
"I'm currently wondering how such a sci-fi buff as yourself is so eager to get out of what could only be described as your dream come true…" Flux fired at her with crossed paws and a wide smile behind his face plate. "This place held for three hundred years down here. Not like it'll suddenly collapse right now."
"Yeah," the armored bunny doe sighed, rubbing a paw behind her head nervously. "And that's something two halves of my mind are warring over right now. One side wants to freak over all of this, while the other feels like I'm inside a giant tin can under immense pressure at the bottom of the ocean. And that's exactly why I want to get out of here."
"I don't follow…" he replied, the two getting indicators on their visors from the two artificial entities to find their ride up. Making their way to the supposed pod, Nick stayed silent and let Judy explain.
"Let's just say I want to enjoy all of… this… without the anxiety of our current surroundings," she told him, patting a shoulder. "When we get this thing in the air… then I'll cheer and woop and let out all the giggly goodness."
That got the fox to let out a good laugh, saying, "Fair enough. Haha. I can't refute that."
0000000
Though the trip down felt overly long, their time spent below felt too short, and the trip back up ended quite rapidly too, the relief both mammals felt upon breaking the surface of the water had them nearly melting in their respective armors.
Most descents/ascents would be dealt with much more care. Adjustments would need to be made for avoiding decompression sickness.
However, the nanofluid not only supported the structure of their suits, but counteracted the immense pressure of the deep. With all the necessary systems for breathing, propulsion, and motor function enclosed, the pressure barely affected them.
Upon leaving the pod, it sucked itself beneath the surface of the water.
According to Leo and Lilly, they would leave it at a shallow depth to relay communications. With external means compromised, the pod was the best way to relay comms
Getting back home was an easy trip, with Phantom seeing some random mammals below pointing at them in flight. She waved excitedly to a few of them.
To deter the onlookers from gauging where they lived, they took one of the usual paths underground and into the armory.
As the armor disengaged, nanofluid melting away, both fox and bunny took deep breaths, not realizing how recycled their air had become, the freshness of the atmosphere feeling like a cool breeze from a dense forest.
"Wow… that was a day," the tod sighed, taking long breaths.
"It's not over yet," Leo remarked from his primary body, having apparently waited to greet the two.
"Why does it irk me that how Leo can skip the whole trip back is something I'm jealous of?" Judy groaned in indignation, rubbing her paws over her mussed up fur.
"Oh no…" Nick sarcastically seethed, "Imagining you spreading a single mind to multiple bodies sounds like a nightmare…"
"Hey!"
"I would tone down your voices," entreated Leo. "I did mention it isn't over yet. We have a matter that needs tending to in the other room."
Barely able to enjoy the freedom of being outside the confines of their suit for what felt like the entire day… the two trudged into the other room, wary, as well as exasperated, to deal with the next thing on a long list of problems.
The fox's and bunny's eyes went a little wider in curious concern over what they saw outside the armory.
"M… Mom?" came Judy's soft tone, looking slightly down to see a tiny rabbit kit in her lap.
There sat Bonnie, gently stroking Kale's head as he slept in her lap.
"Oh…. Squirt…" Nick mentioned slowly, unsure whether this trip was good or bad as he cast an awkward stare to his girlfriend's mother.
Though still asleep, the tiny kit stirred slightly and muttered a tired, "Not… Squirt… Kale…"
If there was any growing tension, the flat face expression of the fox tod, barely suppressed smile of his bunny, and light chuckle of Bonnie broke it.
"I see he formed quite the attachment to you," she offered with a small smile.
"I… yeah… he's a sweet kit," the tod sighed, unsure how to address her. He still felt incredibly guilty about everything, especially so considering the unknown nature of the power infused into Kale that brought him back from the brink of death. "But… uh… guess you're here about my promise for an explanation?"
"Pretty much," the maternal bunny said with a shrug.
"This seems like a common occurrence," Judy remarked with a wave of her paw.
"I know… we should make a slideshow presentation at this point," Nick snarked with a deadpan expression.
Suddenly, all eyes turned onto Leo as the mechanical being entered the room with a pot and spoon stirring something as it mentioned, "While you debrief her, I can make us all something to eat."
Glancing slightly downwards, unamused expressions and sighs came from the younger two mammals as Bonnie clapped a paw to her muzzle to stifle a snicker.
The android was wearing one of it's aprons, with the notation this time saying, Thyme to Turnip the Beet.
HA! My evil plan is budding in it's fruition.
I shall lay waste to all of your minds by destroying them with PUNS.
May you froth at the mouth and collapse in a seizure induced puddle of flesh at my terrible wit.
If you collapse for other reasons... please see a doctor. I care about your physical health, even as I plot to destroy your mental health.
Twisted... I know... but such is the chaotic nature of my hypocritical intentions to further entertain.
Thank you all for your reviews and feedback (positive or negative).
Until next time, It's been a hustle, Sweethearts!