driftfleet | A cry for help

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A cry for help

[a distress call has been tracked across the void, finally leading back to the source. a hulking crippled ship, teeming with hostile alien life, now lies before you.

what do you do? do you dive in or hang back? are you here to learn, play, build, or observe?

however you choose to proceed, your audience is out there somewhere, watching.]

ooc: here is a good ol' themed mingle to get you all started! and don't feel limited by the prompts and what they describe--they're just there as idea-starters, so feel free to go anywhere and do anything.

have fun!

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[There's definitely a very mild bit of tension, for a moment, in the delay Zhas takes to consider Megaman's message. For a bit Megaman's even worried that he might have conveyed something wrong, or not clearly enough--he wouldn't be surprised if he had, really--but fortunately, Zhas seems to settle on a decision well before that worry can properly set in.

--And, well, everything turns out better than expected! As evidenced by the surprise that crosses Megaman's features when Zhas does end up offering the tool, but soon enough it shifts to a rather relieved smile as he takes it back. Honestly, he'd kind of half-expected to be turned down...]

Ah, thank you! I know you were in a hurry and all-- [Oh, wait, right--catching himself, he quickly and sheepishly signs 'thank you' in turn, and rubs at the back of his neck before remembering the other half of this particular deal.] Oh, right...yeah, here, let's get you something else! [And, beckoning to Zhas, he turns and starts back to his toolbox, already popped open on the ground next to the damaged bit of wall he'd been prodding at earlier.

It's not a terribly elaborate toolbox, all things considered--still just a beginner's, with most of a standard engineer's things, as Megaman hadn't yet quite found the time or funds to concentrate on expanding his collection of tools just yet. But there's still a decent variety to choose from in there, at least, and Megaman signs for Zhas to take his pick freely enough. He even retrieves his flashlight, laid on the floor in his haste to chase after Zhas earlier, standing patiently and popping it on to help Zhas better see inside the box as he goes through it.]

[well, this is... nice. he crouches down next to the box of tools, immediately scanning for anything that might be helpful. it's strange to have someone who isn't Coil there to help him like this--frankly, he finds it a little awkward--but it does speed up the process quite a bit. his vision in low-light is better than most, but those cramped, shiny shapes really need a light on them.

he quietly digs through the box, without hesitation. seems like basic stuff. their ship has never had an engineer other than those he'd roped into visiting--so it's good to learn the inventory. he's got a couple of things so far, so he'd really benefit from...

wire cutters. there's two of them. while the smaller set has grooves for stripping the protecting coating away, he quickly decides he'd rather take the bigger, single-function ones. this will be good. always helpful.

...his only indication of this is that he slips them into his pocket and signs a quick 'thank you' in response.]

[Well, look, that's the polite thing to do when somebody's rummaging through your toolbox in the creepy lighting of a creepy bug-infested spaceship right?? If he's going to be helpful he certainly isn't going to do it in halves!

And...honestly, it feels pretty nice. To be helpful, genuinely--even a tiny singular errand like this, more by accident than anything. But after a lot of self-imposed work and running his own ship's corridors ragged just looking for things to fix and assist with, it's a good change of pace. He and Lan used to do stuff like this back home all the time, little things for strangers.

But looking too hard at that thought just has him thinking of Lan, and so he quickly sets it aside. It's easier to pay attention to Zhas, anyway, as he finally pockets a larger pair of wire cutters at length. One of two, his augment chimes in the back of his head, single-function, quite easy to replace. The trade's more than fair, really, and at the signed thanks Megaman practically beams.

'You're welcome,' quickly returned, and he draws a step back to give Zhas room to draw upright again. A thought occurs to him, though, and before Zhas can slide away just yet he signs again, pointing to the latter inquisitively. 'Name'?]

Edited (html why this) 2015-06-21 02:32 (UTC)

[all right. this is pleasant. Zhas can just pretend the awkward transition between theft and perfectly rational negotiation was not awkward or uncomfortable at all.

and he doesn't seem like he was going to slide away immediately... he's still not a great talker, but he is much more inclined to "chat" when he doesn't have to use his voice to do it. this small person (child? ...teenag...er? something about him still seems strange) comes off as lively and bubbly to him, but not obnoxiously so. he guesses that the kid would leave him alone if he asked him to, and that in itself makes this less oppressive than 80% of his conversations with strangers.

for his name, he spells Z H A S... but after a measured pause, he also signs, 'My name is...' and shows him a sign where he crosses his hands, hooks out his index fingers, and drags his hands down over where his ribs would be. it's not exactly common vocabulary, but he's combining the form for "Z" with the sign for skeleton.

and then he points. 'You?']

[Totally not awkward or uncomfortable at all! Yes. ...Well alright, no, maybe it was a bit--tricky, but--these misunderstandings happen sometimes! Or at least, that's how Megaman is deciding to parse this entire thing so far, still working under the overall impression that Zhas is probably deaf and hadn't heard him that first time he'd tried to walk off with the tool. (Granted, randomly grabbing people's tools from their hands without even trying to ask still probably counts enough towards attempted theft for some people, but--he's willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt this time! He'd agreed to an alternative readily enough. A real thief would have tried to run off with the tool full stop and no questions asked, right? Right.........)

True, though, Megaman would willingly leave him alone if asked. Good manners still trump curiosity for him, at least most of the time--but Zhas humors him, instead, and that's all the better. Megaman watches closely as Zhas goes through the motions, spelling out letters. 'Zhas'? Yes, Zhas, alright--he's pretty sure that must be the name there. But then Zhas signs that second part, and that's less easy to parse for sure. Not a spelling this time, but--no, that's got to be another word, though nothing quite matches in his database here. Maybe--'bone'? No, not quite, but...

He's still trying to mull over that, smile fading and head tilting slightly to the side, but then Zhas points in his direction and Megaman remembers himself.] Oh! Oh yeah, uh-- [Straightening, his hands uncurl, but then he pauses. Ah, probably for the better that he at least spells out a bit too, here--and so, carefully, M E G and A are signed. Then, after another pause: 'man'. Ah, that should do it, right? Hopefully...

Curiosity is still getting the better again, though, and after that he's tilting his head a bit once more. Mimicking Zhas, he signs 'my name is' back, and then that odd...not-quite-bone sign as well (oh, that's kind of fun). After that, inquisitive: 'Last name?' Was that what it was? Or maybe, oh-- 'Short name?' Some kind of nickname??]

[AND WATCH... as his eyes narrow in growing confusion, and he cants his head to the side. he didn't used to do that (the canting part), but he's seen and heard so many strange things around here that he's picked it up as a necessary survival tool. the head-tilt of "what the hell are you talking about?". m e g a - man. did he actually mean "man" and not "person" or "human"? Zhas isn't sure.

and he's still chewing on what that could possibly spell (literally, "Mega-Man"? but that doesn't make any sense...) when he's asked some more questions. thankfully, these are ones he can answer--and he's gotten very used to having to break these things down for Nunnally, or compose new words for Coil that weren't previously in their vocabulary (like "alien" and "spaceship" and "scary scarred woman who hates us").

so he shakes his head at the first guess, nods at the second. he signs, 'My short name is'... makes the unmodified gesture for 'skeleton', 'and',, then the letter 'Z'. their short names all combine a sign and the first letter of their names, to keep things simple.

but in case it's not clear, he finally signs it one more time before spelling out, 'means S K E L E T O N'.

he hopes that the reason would be obvious.]

[Ah, the struggles of sign language, as Megaman is slowly starting to discover with the progress of this 'conversation'. ...As if he even manages to introduce himself to people the normal way half the time without event, around here--unsurprisingly, a name that sounds perfectly nice for a Navi in the cyber world doesn't end up going over half as well in the real world. He's still getting used to the weird looks.

Speaking of weird looks, Zhas seems to be about ready to add to the count, though it's a bit more difficult this time since that confusion could be at his actual name or at not interpreting the signing of said name the right way. Megaman doesn't know where to even start with troubleshooting this...but fortunately, he's spared from having to try at least temporarily. Instead Zhas opts to explain the nickname first--because that is what it seems to be, as it turns out. A combination of 'skeleton' (the new word is immediately added to the database) and 'Z'......oh, that's--

The reasoning does click pretty quickly, at least--the skull facial getup lends to itself, after all--and it draws a smile out of Megaman as it finally sinks in. He signs the nickname back again, as if to cement it properly in memory...goodness, that is a fun one to sign. With half a laugh: 'Short name is very cold.' (...'Cool', he--he means 'cool'. Close enough.) But, pausing and smile fading a bit, he signs the next part apologetically. Assuming this might be some kind of sign language tradition--a nickname to shorten up having to sign out a whole name, that makes sense! But...

'Don't have short name. Sorry.' Pointing to himself, he shrugs a bit helplessly.]

[maybe "mega" is pronounced strangely. he's still thinking about it. on the bright side, he's never going to try pronouncing Megaman's name in his entire life--so his puzzling is ultimately pointless.

short name is 'cold'... no... it isn't... this guy needs to work on his signs, is what Zhas ultimately decides. the fact that he meant "cool" will probably occur to him two hours from now, when the conversation has long-since passed.

at the last comment, though, he finally shakes his head again. 'You have short name. You...'

the 'are' is grammatically implied, as he starts listing off adjectives and applicable nouns. 'Small? Boy? Armor? Blue?' ...maybe he doesn't have as many ideas as he thought he did. 'Helpful..?']

[YOU NEVER KNOW ZHAS, MAYBE ONE DAY YOU WILL....but either way, that mystery might just end up having to solve itself for now. And besides, this nickname business could clear up things both ways anyhow--or at least, it might, if they're able to figure this bit out. Maybe still easier said than done.

It's Megaman's turn to tilt his head again as Zhas attempts to explain. The listing of adjectives is unexpected, and the first one--once it parses--has him straightening a bit with a slight huff.]

Wait, hey, I'm not that small though! ...Am I? [LOOK HE'S KNOWN SHORTER PEOPLE IN HIS LIFE THIS SEEMS UNWARRANTED...but then again he's known a lot of taller people too....ah well. He rubs at the back of his neck with a bit of a frown, and then catches himself. Whoops, right--but he decides to opt out of signing that in favor noticing another smaller error between adjectives there. He thinks he can see where Zhas is going with this! Just...

'Not boy.' Well, not--not quite, anyway. Semantics. But it feels prudent to mention, now he thinks about it... 'Program.' Pause. 'Robot.' Yeah, there we go. Mulling over this response a bit more, though...he points to Zhas in turn, eventually. 'Can choose short name for me?' It seems like the path of least resistance, really. Megaman never was the terribly creative one--thinking outside the box in any way is generally Lan's job, and making up names for yourself kind of feels like it should fall into that category. This way Zhas might have something to call him, too, since he's still pretty sure his first introduction didn't go over well at all...]

[he's pretty small... Zhas has met smaller, of course, but that doesn't stop him from feeling rather looming when he stands near him. Megaman might have caught him smirking, just a little, after he complained about it. ...maybe he reads lips really well?

either way, that look vanishes as soon as more signs appear for him to read. he understands "program", and with a little bit of thinking, he remembers "robot". which... forget the name thing, for a second. hold the phone. he waves his hands flat to cut off the end of their "talk", quickly getting to the important part, here.

'You are a robot?'

this time he's perfectly sure he understood him--this is just human incredulity.]

[Maybe he did catch that smirk!! Well, sort of...the face paint and the poor lighting of the area makes it a bit trickier to say for sure. But even if he had, it quickly turns out that Megaman wouldn't have had time to try calling that out anyway. Or even follow up on his recent question, for that matter, as Zhas seems to forego name puzzling entirely in favor of being...okay, yeah, that's a pretty incredulous expression.

In retrospect, he probably should have expected this! But habit is hard to break, and sometimes Megaman forgets that not everyone has a casual take on programs like him. Or robots, for that matter. As seen here...and the reaction has him pausing a moment, suddenly looking a bit uncertain. He's....he's pretty sure this isn't a negative reaction? But still...

'Yes.' Hands hover, unsure how to clarify, and he ends up shrugging slightly again. All disconcertingly human gestures for a robot to be making, probably, though that's a sticking point Megaman hasn't realized yet. 'Live in computers. Got robot body here.' Another pause. 'Sorry. Did not mean surprise.'

He doesn't try to hide it, really! He just forgets that maybe it isn't as obvious to others as it is to him...]

[Zhas has a slight advantage here, compared to many others in the Fleet... in that he is at least from a modern planet Earth. sure, he was raised in a castle with a bunch of old-timey vampires, and has lived a majority of his life nestled in old stories about knights and monsters and the ancient days of vampiric lore--but he at least he still knows what the internet is. he's seen a couple of movies. he has a cell phone, somewhere. an intelligent computer program that's been put into a robot body by Atroma for ease of communication is really not that hard a jump for him to make.

it sounds stupid, but he believes it.

so, since this person isn't really human, Zhas immediately drops all of the pretense of proper human social interaction and decides to investigate, instead. part curious, part skeptical, part voracity for a concept he can pick apart. he drops into a crouch, leans in very close to his face, and peers into his eyes with a new interest.

interesting. he pokes his shoulder once, only to change his tactic and knock on his shoulder with his knuckles. he starts looking him over for things that make him look not-human. that whole name thing is going to have to wait for a couple of minutes longer.]

[Look don't judge him, if he'd had a say in the matter he'd still be in a computer right now too! And...not here at all, incidentally. Either way--yes, definitely stupid, but...here they are.

Still, Megaman isn't sure what he was expecting...but what he certainly didn't expect was Zhas abruptly deciding that personal space is now out the window. Zhas crouches and leans in, skull paint suddenly getting alarmingly close, and Megaman accordingly leans back about as far as his head will actually let him, looking appropriately baffled at this turn of events. (But not before Zhas is probably able to get a glimpse of the tiny glass lenses there, where the green of his eyes are set and almost invisible from a distance, subtly shifting to adjust to the change in focused distance--)

And then Zhas is moving right along to poking, and knocking--the pauldrons are definitely metal, the underlying material some kind of spandex, a bit of soft give at the knock but something harder too close beneath to quite match flesh. At that point, however, Megaman is promptly drawing a step back with hands upraised.]

Whoa, wait a minute, easy there! Why does everyone keep doing that? [Just as Zhas momentarily forgets about name puzzling, Megaman momentarily forgets he's speaking to a supposedly-deaf person in the light of this sudden and clearly unwarranted rudeness. Almost a bit defensive now, he folds his arms as the rather disconcerting scrutiny continues.] Don't--poke people, that's weird! If you don't believe me all you have to do is say so, geez...

[Honestly though, if it weren't for the eyes up close and the aforementioned poking, it'd be pretty difficult to properly pin down any distinct non-human feature that isn't simply part of the armor here. Maybe the earpieces, or the symbol crest on his chest, both entirely Navi features translated over...but one has to hand it to Atroma otherwise--their androids are apparently pretty cosmetically human.]

[Zhas will at least stop poking him once there's a proper space between them, and his investigation ends with him staring with a sort of... rapt attention. while he had a low, constant air of looming menace before, now he just seems awake and curious.

(...that's not to say he doesn't still look kind of creepy in his dark coat and his face painted like a human skull and the bit where his eyes still have that jack-o-lantern glow in the low light of the ship, but it is at least not being intentionally directed at the little robot boy anymore.)

how interesting. he wonders if Coil would have a field day, with this. his one-eyed friend has always been more into biology than robotics. he wonders if this "program" has a soul. he wonders if it's really all code, or if it's got something else in it to make it so human-like. he's already run into a person made out of wood, so this is at least not the strangest thing he's seen...

he nods, mostly to himself, and signs something. 'M', then the gesture for 'metal' near his mouth. he combines the two after that. that can be his name.]

[Honestly, Zhas's scrutiny was probably the most unnerving part on the whole--sure, the face paint and eyes could definitely count as creepy, but he could get used to that a lot more easily, having had no shortage of...odd-looking friends back home, creepy or not. Being stared at like he's an alien creature himself, though, that's still going to take a bit...

The poking ceases, and Megaman drops his hands to his sides. Zhas doesn't make any direct response to his words, though, and that's when Megaman remembers himself again. Right, deaf. Probably. Ah. That was pretty weird and definitely awkward, but Zhas already seems more than ready to move on as if nothing happened, and...well, a little late to object now, isn't it? Or at least, it'd probably be more effort than necessary. Zhas is gesturing again, anyway--the new signs take him a moment and some blinking to figure out, but then it clicks.]

Oh. Metal...? [He...well, he doesn't know what he expected. Only sensible, isn't that? The last bits of his earlier offended air deflate away with a small sigh and a smile despite himself. Slowly, he echoes the new combination of signs for himself--yeah, that's alright. Not nearly as cool as 'skeleton', but hey! Short and simple. That could be convenient.

'This name is good. Thank you.' He glances around even as he signs, though, as if finally remembering their surroundings for the first time. Looking back up to Zhas now: 'Sorry. I am using your time. Good luck with bug?' And he extends a hand, because a parting handshake is a polite thing to do here, right? Yes.]

[he nods again when he's got it. he's pleased that he likes it. he doesn't remember getting much satisfaction out of naming things before he arrived in the Fleet, but now, putting words to things gives him a sense of order and control, however small. that kind of thing is valuable out here, between the rampant magic and the alarming amount of grey thinking.

ah, the apology... he doesn't quite understand how he's imposing, since Zhas is the one who wandered in, started trouble, and stuck around to investigate. he looks down at the extended hand, still crouched, for just a couple of seconds too long.

but he knows how it's supposed to go, so he finally returns the gesture. it's surprisingly civil. a totally normal handshake. and, since things seem good here, he reiterates with quick signs, 'thank you for trade.'

he can finally go, now. leave this poor robot boy to his tasks.]

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A cry for help

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yeah i'm like two weeks late so what