Something Artificial (Vahn Seele x LunarStar)

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi Inagi

Abumi leaned against the wall near the entrance of OmniCorp, her datapad held up in front of her as she watched various news feeds for anything interesting to drop on the Net. So far, nothing of particular interest had been announced. There were talks with foreign countries to try and work together on a project to research the benefits of an AI-Controlled global stock market. The repercussions of something like that sent a shiver through Abumi's spine. "Let the machines run our money, and you'll see the world burning by this time tomorrow." There was a harsh prejudice that had been instilled in Abumi from a young age regarding letting machines take control. Even if the stock exchange was currently run by a machine, it still required a human to authorize major changes. She'd seen talks in darkNet chats that had talked about crashes that were prevented, thanks to the presence of a human looking at the data. Something about a 1 and a 0 being swapped on a trade request that triggered a system-wide alert. It had lasted all of a few minutes before the error was corrected and everyone stopped panicking.

Looking up from the pad, Abumi glanced to the sky, the tint of orange fading to purple telling her that it was getting close to time for her partner to show up. Omni had asked her to come, prepared for a quick hacking job, but wouldn't tell her what she was doing. She'd pushed to try for a remote job, since most hacking work could be done from anywhere, but this site was supposed to be completely separated from the grid. This left Abumi to wonder what she was getting herself into. In the end, though, money is money.

Brushing a bit of her purple hair out of her eyes, she looked at herself, inspecting her tactical gear. Everything appeared to be in order, with her black boots shrouded by gray armored pants. Her jacket was heavily armored, colored black and trailing from shoulder to the back of her knees. It was left open, showing her gray shirt and hugging to her curves. Checking the time on her pad, Abumi noted the time: 19:55. Her partner should be out soon, hopefully, as they had to get to the site in less than a half hour to get started. If this all went well, Abumi could take a break from corporate jobs for a few months and focus on digging through the darkNet, combing for answers and helping people that deserved it.

 

[LunarStar]

The OmniCorp facility, run by the company Omni themselves are one of the leading technological engineers in the world famed for what the world it today such as making hovering vehicles a more common aspect for the community, beefed up security for the homes and revolutionized artificial intelligence. But their biggest influence in the world comes in the form of robotics. Androids to be more accurate. Over the many decades, humanity has always works towards achieving creating human like robots for the benefit of others, which goes without saying took a lot of time, trial and errors and a whole lot of resources. Even today, Omni has achieved developing humanoid droids on a global scale, made to assist anyone that needed them or to work the least desirable jobs that in the current time isn't suitable for human beings.

While this may sound well and good on paper, not all of humanity is on board with it, especially when talks of A.I. come into question to handle delicate systems. But one thing that Omni would be glad to show off would be their latest sets of achievements, some of which may have already been spotted around the major cities, this included of androids even more human like in appearance than before. This had sparked concerns as in another part of the world there was an incident of robotics with very human like features going rogue by the masses. However, Omni had so far proven to have succeeded and producing androids in smaller numbers too.

At around the time as the clock would near the 8 o'clock mark, a hover car the size of a minivan approached the building, stopping at the side of the driveway closest to the entrance, yet no body exited the vehicle. It also sported the OmniCorp logo at the side of it to indicate who it belonged to. What made this one different also was that the vehicle itself isn't the usual metallic white that they usually come in, but instead is black in color, even the windows are tinted to prevent anyone from peeking in. Once might also guess it's armored too for protection. And not a minute after the arrival of the hovering vehicle, the buildings main entrance opened up with the distinct hiss followed by two sets of footsteps, one notably creating a clack against the metal flooring that is the streets of today than the other. As the premises is private to civilian it made them all the more notices leaving the building and in turn, caused one of them to also notice Abumi waiting by the side.

One of them was a male wearing what appeared to be quite standard office clothing, a light blue buttoned shirt with a black tie, navy blue trousers and pulished black shoes. He also wore a white lab coat with his name tag and company logo present. His hair is brown and neatly combed, thin glasses presumably for reading mostly and brown eyes. He stands about 5'11'' tall and held a smile on his face as he approached Abumi "Good evening miss, I see you've had no trouble finding your way here. Do pardon me for the delay, my busy schedule can sometimes leave me shatter brained and I just had to get some last second adjustments done on our latest project. Ah, where are my manners, I am Dr. Kelvin Schmitt, head of the Omni Copoteration and leading engineer of the development of the latest of android models. You must be Abumi Inagi, thank you for taking on my assignment, I must tell you how glad I am that you accepted the job, with out staff being stretched thin as is, you're a real life saver. You have my thanks."

All while he had spoken, another person was present, or at least what looked to be like a normal person at first glance. A woman by the looks of her give the shape of her body, 5'6'', short silver hair and a rather unusual type of black dress almost as if to someone resemble a kind of maid in a way. Black stocking and black leather boots that are high heels, which would explain the clacking. But what was even more odd about her was that she is wielding a katana on her back and she is also blindfolded, yet... didn't seem to have any issue at all navigating where she was going and when to stop. Her expression was hard to read, there wasn't much of one, less so with that blindfold.

"Ah! And how could I forget. I'd like you to meet 'Echo'." Dr. Schmitt exclaimed, patting the woman on the shoulder. Still no reaction from her at all. "She's one of my latest and possibly the greatest achievement in engineering yet and even though she's still on her testing stages, she's more than qualified for the job, she'll give you the full briefing on your way to the mission. She's been prepared to respond to your commands for now, so if there's anything you need help with on the job, feel free to just ask her for assistance and she'll do so. Just do me one small favor and have her come back as soon as you're done with the mission. Echo here can take care of your payment once she returns."

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi kept tinkering with her datapad, fingers tracing over the holographic screen as she scrolled through more news articles. If they didn't show soon, Abumi would be out the cost of the travel there, as well as extremely annoyed. While she knew that her time was valuable to her, it appeared that OmniCorp was going to get blacklisted from her if they kept her waiting much longer. That thought, though, would change as she heard the sound of a vehicle coming to park nearby. Looking it over, Abumi could see it for what it was, her pad immediately beginning to try syncing to the electronics of it and get information on it. To her own surprise, Abumi's pad managed to get nothing from it. As it wasn't uncommon for cars to be secured, Abumi shoved that thought away for now, turning as she heard the telltale sound of the hissing of office doors.

Watching the man in the lab coat approach, Abumi, a woman of 5' 8", was taller than the woman, shorter than the man. Her dark red eyes locked onto his as he spoke, light flickers of electronics visible in the contacts along her eyes. Saying nothing, as Dr. Schmitt gave his opening speech, Abumi took in details of the man. The facial recognition was working on him, so he didn't have much in the way of security to prevent her from matching him to his Net ID. For an engineer at OmniCorp, they weren't bothering to hide any details about the man.

When he had seen fit to give Abumi a proper introduction to Echo, Abumi raised a brow. They were pairing her up with an android? What the hell was this nonsense?! Also, what gothic lolita obsessed dork designed that outfit? Whoever it was deserved to get a strong dose of reality shot straight into their spine. Abumi held her tongue, choosing to draw her attention back to Dr. Schmitt. "I'll make sure to get her back to you as soon as we're done." Abumi said, turning to Echo and extending out her gloved hand, the tips of her fingers exposed. "I'm Abumi, nice to meet you, Echo." She said, doing her best to give the android the same amount of respect she would have given a person.

Whether Echo acknowledged her or not, Abumi turned to Dr. Schmitt. "As for transport, I'm guessing the vehicle behind me that parked prior to you coming out is our ride?" She asked, never one to run on assumptions. Abumi had hoped she'd have been better briefed on the mission before hopping in a car, but it would appear that Echo would have to be the one to give her the details she would need prior to arrival.

 

[LunarStar]

As her creator and the assigned mercenary conversed, Echo had remained rigged and still the entire time, not even so much as tilting her head down to look at the outstretched hand by Abumi. Instead the female android had actually done a quick scan of the mercenary, unseen because of the blindfolds. One of her first tasks of the day by running analysis on the woman before her, this included background checks which there was little to none, no relatives attached to this person, no medical information, no criminal record of any kind. Echo concluded after the 5 seconds she took to scan Abumi that she is a very secretive woman, much like the company that made her. Sure her creator himself is a fairly open person, though that could just be a face after all. All in all, Echo could gather that this woman here was well build, female, obviously and containing the necessary skills for the job advertised.

She never returned the handshake.

"Ah. Hehe. You must excuse Echo here." Dr. Schmitt chuckled, lifting a hand to pat the android on the head gently "She has very limited functions while she's in her testing phases, but I can assure you she'll be of great use on your mission. And yes, this right here-" the leading engineer motioned to the vehicle that Abumi pointed out "-is what'll get you to the designated location. The driver is already programmed and ready to go as soon as you enter. It'll be better to go as soon as you can, I know you Mercs probably prefer to know what's happening in more detail on the spot, but, as it's not ideal to talk out here and the company building is off limits to anyone else other than the staff, having Echo fill you in on the way is the better option. Ah. One last thing before you do, should there be any problems with Echo, don't hesitate to inform me. You have my number and I'll see about sending someone out to recover her and yourself. But judging by your track record this should go without any hiccups." the friendly engineer laughed, being the one to shake Abumi's hand in place of Echo, the latter of which had decided during Dr. Schmitt's talking to start heading to the hover van already, showing that even thought she's all artificial, she walked extremely smoothly for an android as well as climbing into the vehicle with ease without showing any odd movements that a regular human wouldn't do. Whatever this android is, she's clearly build to be as close to a human as possible.

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi kept her focus on Echo for a moment before drawing it back to Dr. Schmitt. Limited functionality? What was this, a test run for their new android? Abumi was about to voice her complaint, the job not calling for any test runs with experimental hardware, when she was cut off by Dr. Schmitt's explanation of the vehicle. Sighing, Abumi shook her head. "You'll get a call from me, that's for sure." She said, turning to look at the van. Watching as Echo would move to climb into the vehicle, Abumi had to admire the way that the android moved. Most were clunky and very mechanical in how they shifted about. OmniCorp was really getting into gear for the development of androids, likely using it for their advancement of a proper AI.

"I'll be back here when the job is done." Abumi said, stepping up to the black van and moving to climb inside of it. She did not have the same grace that her counterpart had, with Abumi having to step twice to raise herself up enough to get inside. Once she had gotten in, Abumi took a seat in the van. The interior of it was very luxurious, with synthetic leather seats and various holoscreens hooked up through the compartment. There were two long rows of seats, with each row facing the other. Abumi chose to take whichever would have her looking across at Echo, her partner for the mission.

Reaching down to her boot, Abumi withdrew her handgun and set it out on the seat, pulling out a small leather case and a few bundles of wire. "So, Echo, do you talk, or is this going to be a silent run?" She asked, not bothering to look at her as she pulled out a more advanced version of her datapad. This was the one she chose to use on missions, keeping all of her hardware for work and personal use separate. Pulling a few wires from her original pad, the screen would flicker off, cutting her main signal from the Net and preventing her from being tracked in such an easy manner. Abumi was always a bit of a security freak, never liking to risk a paycheck, or her life, needlessly.

While she waited for a response from Echo, she began to use the wires to power on the new datapad, the interface of it looking far more technical, and having higher capabilities than a commercially produced one. Swapping the personal and work pad, Abumi stuffed the unused electronics into her jacket.

 

[LunarStar]

Watching the mercenary go, the lead engineer kept his eye on Abumi and also shifted his gaze to the van itself that he knew Echo was already in before letting out a sigh, even when given the assurance of the androids safe return, the Doctor still worried over his creation and would remain standing by the entrance of the company building as the van started to hover away to the gate and soon down the main road heading away from the city center. Only once it was out of sight would he return to do his work and simple hope that the mission will be a success and he can review the data once Echo is back.

Inside the van, Echo hadn't so much as moved or said anything during the entirety that it took for Abumi to enter the vehicle and getting settled in, ignoring most of what the merc was putting out, her covered eyes did a quick scan of the items that Abumi was fiddling with and found nothing out of the ordinary. Leaving the other to do as she pleased to prep for the mission, something Echo herself had no need to do. She knew what she was programmed to do and she was set and ready to carry out her orders.

As it would be unseen because of the blindfold, Echo had to move her head to look directly at Abumi as a means to show her acknowledgement to the presence of the merc, as they may be sitting on opposite sides of the van, they weren't completely face to face. The android was sat on the leather seat with her hands together and resting on her lap looking even more like a Gothic style maid than ever, her own weapon of choice resting to her left away from Abumi. The motion of her head to look at the woman was due to being spoken to, as Dr. Schmitt had said, Abumi's voice was acceptable to be commanded and so, spoke with a voice that was soft, yet held a metallic background almost as if there was a mild echo any time she spoke "Yes, I am able to speak. As you may already know, I am a Prototype BB-39 type E, the latest model of artificial human. Though I am designated as 'Echo'. And you must be Abumi Inagi. Early 20s. Female. Well build, possible signs of training. Well studied in mechanics and software engineering. You have particular skills in hacking. A vital necessity for our mission. I shall brief you on what is required if us, as instructed by my creator."

As she spoke, Echo had talk with little pause between words due to not really needing to take a breather. She was clear and easily understood on what she was saying, as well as going into details of the mission itself stating that where they are headed is a remote facility far outside the city, far from anything close to as technically advanced as the city or anywhere else. Echo informed Abumi it was a very old facility, ancient almost that was so outdated that remote hacking couldn't work on it, hence the need to go her personally and connect to whatever system still worked from within to get to where they needed to be. Echo also confirmed that the higher priority request of this mission was to break into the facility and safe hostages that are said to be held captive by a whole gang of bandits, claiming to want money in exchange to letting the innocent people go. Who exactly these people were that are apparently worth any money, Echo would reply with "Inefficient data."

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi was caught a little off guard by all that was being spit out at her at first. It sounded partially human, the way that Echo spoke, but it was with that metal reverb in the back that she was able to differentiate Echo as being non-human. There was, also, the blindfold that she wore over her eyes, keeping Echo's eyes hidden from view.

With the mission details laid out for her, Abumi gave a simple nod. "So, get to the facility, secure passage in and rescue some hostages." Abumi said, the facts of the mission making her stomach clench. "This sounds like a job better handled by proper authorities. I'd ask why OmniCorp doesn't reach out to the police, but I have a feeling those details were kept from you." Abumi said, placing the gun in her waist holster and latching the new datapad onto her arm. As she did, her eyes would shift color for a moment, the display in her eyes changing as her optics synced to the new gear. The color would return back to the light red after a moment, the prior color having been a mixture of static and randomized colors, as if a test or debug.

With the new display in her vision, Abumi could see things in a deeper clarity, along with more details of the interior of the car. Rather than let it run in such a high-power state, she gave a little twitch of her cheek and everything went back to a less detailed resolution. "Echo, how long have you been in testing?" Abumi asked, tilting her head to the side a little. "You said you were BB-39 type E. Have there been other iterations of your model?" Her line of questioning was a bit selfish. Whatever information she could gather from this android might prove useful if she were to sell it on the darkNet. Beyond that, though, was a morbid curiosity. Working with large corporations, she was treated to quite a few bonuses in that she could work with some of the newest tech. It had been where she had acquired her datapad she had hooked up. How she was allowed to keep it, though, was not something she'd ever tell someone.

Looking around, Abumi wondered how long they'd be traveling. Echo had said it would be in a part of the city that was removed from the grid, with archaic systems. She only hoped that it wasn't too legacy, as she wanted to make sure her work for OmniCorp wasn't going to be tainted with a difficult job that some pencil pusher didn't properly document on the job boards.

 

[LunarStar]

Unlike the human female, Echo never once felt the urge to look about the vehicle, her head remained in the direction of the mercenary at all times as she spoke and as she stopped to allow for the other to speak and confirm the information given to her. Yes. A simple rescue operation with the primary task being the hostages, although there was the case that Abumi question the need for this mission. While also yes, it could well be handled by the police or other authority, it would also take time. Time that may have been calculated was too precious to leave for too long and as such, Echo answered it accordingly, stating that time is against them and the mission must be carried out with stealth in mind.

The following question however did make the android take a short time to come up with an answer. Running through the data to best answer the question in mere seconds before she spoke out, keeping her tone as expressionless as her features were "My data shows that I have been in testing for approximately 5 days, 6 hours, 34 minutes and 10 seconds and counting. My memory indicated periods of temporary sleep modes for configuration. My last diagnostics were completed within the first 2 days of testing. I am currently running at 100% efficiency. As such, my creator still requires more testing for me to do, there are always improvements to be made. Yes, there have been other models before my creation years ago, I am the latest model. Fitted with the latest systems and hardware in our time, with the physical build as close to a human as possible."

With that said, it was quite clear she would be to the point of things to any question she would be asked of, though probably not with every question, primarily about the company itself or specifics about the whole project surrounding the development of androids, Echo included. Seeing fit that she answered the question effectively, Echo turned her head to look out the window of the vehicle as it had left the edge of the city and they were now able to see some of the country side still untouched by human civilization. An odd sight considering her blindfolded look "The facility of our mission should be approximately 20 minutes away from my calculations. Time to spare upon out arrival."

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi took the information that Echo offered, giving a little nod. Definitely a response to expect from an android. Oh, this was going to be a fun little trip. Part of Abumi wondered how reliable Echo was going to be in a combat situation. While Abumi had some experience working combat missions, her primary expertise was in electronics and software. It was what she was known for, going by the moniker "Digital Ghost" on the Net. As for Echo, Abumi hoped that 5 days was enough testing to get her into a combat-ready state.

With the announcement that they'd be arriving at the facility in less than 20 minutes, Abumi gave a nod. Looking out her own window, she let the data for the landscape start to slowly fade, her connections to the Net falling apart as the wireless went out of reach. The only parts of her that had access to the Net were connected through the van, a last resort for Abumi. If she hooked up her datapad through the van, should it have a working connection to a satellite, OmniCorp would be patched into all of the info she had gathered on her work pad. Much rather than let them have that info, Abumi would remain disconnected for now. Looking over to Echo, she tried to think of ways to kill the time.

"Dr. Schmitt mentioned you had some systems you don't have access to, or parts of you that were disabled. Are you aware of which systems you can or cannot use?" Abumi asked, curiously tossing the question out there. Interacting with an AI bonded to an android body was interesting. As much as Abumi didn't like the way the world was beginning to lean on an AI-driven society, there were still ways that she felt they were useful. There were many non-critical applications for them, such as personal assistants and labor coordination. "Also, I'm curious to know if you are driven by an AI. Are you a simple machine that takes commands, or are you able to read a situation and act based on probabilities?" Abumi added to her line of questioning.

 

[LunarStar]

Having nothing much to really do besides waiting and staring out into the landscape speed past through the window, Echo had been perfectly quiet for a lot of the time, having acted so far like someone who's only really allowed to speak only when spoken to. So far she never once asked a question of her own, nor would she even indicate as much of a small talk. She didn't even return the greeting with a handshake before they set off. Goes to show that maybe her testing is needed for fields outside of finishing tasks. Maybe.

"Inefficient data." Echo replied first and foremost, doing so almost immediately upon being asked about what systems Echo is being closed off from as Dr. Schmitt had indeed said that she was running on limited functions such as the basic response to shaking hands. To say that her data was 'inefficient' was kind of strange as it should be a simple case of listing which functions she could and couldn't use. This meant that Abumi was left in the dark about what kinds of function she even had that she could operate on. On the second question, Echo remained silent for a few seconds, likely going through what best to answer that with or perhaps even a sign of hesitation on the androids part. Kind of funny to think about that a robot would hesitate for anything "I am driven by commands my creator has programmed into my data to follow. A 'road map' if you will." she commented, turning her head to 'look' back at Abumi as she continued to speak "They are personal and daily goals I must complete each day when my creator programs them into me. However I do have 34% free access to my own commands, as not all tasks are completed immediately, my creator allows me to fill in my own blanks along the way. That is the best explanation I can grant you according to my calculation, Abumi Inagi. Is there anything else you wish to know about me I may be able to answer? My creator has informed be beforehand that building trust can raise success rates. Please call upon me if there is anything else."

Given that there was still about 10-15 minutes to go before they would get to their destination, it probably wouldn't hurt to talk more, though if it were up to Echo, she appeared to be indifferent about talking or staying silent all the way through the trip there. It was both awkward and curious to say the least. But at least the offer was out there to ask more question, should the silent treatment be too much.

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi found the lack of response strange regarding her abilities and functions. It should have been a simple task for her to hear a readout of some basic functionality that the android had. This made Abumi all the more curious to try and get some answers to her questions, especially regarding her ability to think. If she was given 34%, or any capacity, to think for herself, she was definitely using an AI. The question was, how complex was the system that she had? Echo was becoming quite the point of interest for Abumi, a fact that showed in how she looked her over. She had never constructed complex electronics of this caliber before, and there were a lot of questions in the back of her mind.

"Your creator is correct. I need to be able to trust that you'll keep me safe while we're on this mission. To that end, I am curious: what precautions or safeguards are in place regarding your own safety on this mission?" Abumi asked, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her legs. "As an example, if we are being shot at, who are you programmed to protect first, yourself or me?" Abumi asked, getting to the point of her question. She had been on missions with people and, no matter what a person might say prior, there was always a piece of them that was prone to self-preservation. If it were her or them, they'd choose themselves every single time.

"Also, the trust goes both ways. If I can trust you to pull your part, you can trust that I will do my part to keep us both alive." Abumi referring to an android as "alive" seemed a strange notion. It wasn't so much that she refused to believe that an AI or an android had life. It was more about the priorities of life. To an android, the world was nothing more than probability. An AI, though, had the potential to factor in vast quantities of information before making a decision. It could account for human life, even its own life.

 

[LunarStar]

Keeping her focus on the mercenary, on top of keeping taps on time, Echo didn't quite look as invested as Abumi was in her, remaining sat up right exactly how she's been the entire way here. She was at least still looking her way so she was at least build to be polite in that regard. It was strangely odd for Echo though to see a woman that had appeared to have been somewhat displeased by the appearance of an android teaming up with her, to now be asking questions that for Echo are becoming rather difficult to answer. However, rather than sticking with the 'inefficient data' reply, Echo gave it a little thought since she can give an answer according to her commands. And so, she gave one.

"Given your personal skills, it has been calculated that you should be risk free during this mission. The probability of you engaging in combat should be 13%. However, in the event that you have given me, I must tend to my own safety as much as yours. You are still vital for the mission, though at the same time, I am too valuable to my creator to be damaged." Echo spoke, giving Abumi an answer as bluntly and to the point as always.

It likely didn't sound incredibly great, though considering that Abumi was at least regarded as a high enough priority, or at all for that matter, it at least showed that the man that build Echo made sure that the android would ensure that anyone she'd have been partnered up with would be safe also. Understandably it would make sense for Echo to still be regarded a higher priority, even if it wasn't said so out loud, the android sitting in the vehicle with Amubi does appear to be most human like than every before and as shown when entering the vehicle, moves the most human like also. It was also why Dr. Schmitt made it clear before departure that Amubi call them if anything happens. Making this mission feel almost like an escort mission as well as a rescue one.

"You have my guarantee, Amubi Inagi, that I will preform my task as commanded without delay. You can be sure of that." Echo finished before once again going almost awkwardly silent, feeling like she answered enough of what she could and that Echo herself just wasn't going to even bother initiating a question or a conversation of her own. Soon though there was a shift from her as she took a look out the window to then voice their arrival. Shortly after Echo had said that, the robotic driver of the vehicle brought the hovering transport to a stop just at the side of the road they've been on. Though it would seem that at first glance there was absolutely nothing out here. Just a road and them having stopped at a seemingly random location in the middle of nowhere with only the city itself in the far distance. Thanks to Echo though, there was a reason for stopping here "This is as close as we are able to by transport. From here on we must walk approximately 3 miles south east to reach the facility. Please exit the vehicle and allow me to guide you to our destination."

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi was not very comfortable with the answer that she was given. The moment that a percentage was given, Abumi would go tense. Cleaning her fingers in her knee, Abumi tried to resist the urge to punch the android in the face. Life wasn't about percentages, no matter how logical a person could be. It wasn't her fault, though. She ad been programmed to look at the world through a lens of probabilities. If it was anyone who deserved to be hit, it was Dr. Schmitt. The man was creepy, too, if Abumi were being honest. If their money didn't clear, Abumi would be sure to give them a reason to never cross her again, regardless of whatever clout the OmniCorp had that they could ruin her life with.

"I appreciate you answering my questions. I haven't worked with an android on a mission before, so it is an adjustment I will have to make." Abumi said. Checking her gear, the mercenary began to get a little tense as she could feel that the mission was about to start. This was followed by the announcement from Echo to step out of the vehicle, Abumi needing no further prompting as she stepped out of the van. Stepping onto the road, Abumi turned back to look at Echo and the van. "Since we are going to be hoofing it for three miles, do we have an evac plan for the hostages at the facility? I don't have any favors for air support, and I doubt that walking hostages three miles to pile into this van is going to do us much good." Abumi said.

The night had begun to settle in, with the sun descending over the horizon. The red contacts on Abumi's eyes would shift to a dark green, her gear switching to infravision. This threw a mixture of night vision and color over her eyes, giving her the ability to better see in the dark. As much as being off of the Net was nice, with all of the data that she had at her hands splayed out to peruse, Abumi felt a little naked and unprepared. If she had had the money, she could have setup her own satellite to be able to control her access to the Net from anywhere in the country. That cost a lot of credits, though, and hackers would often pool funds to make it worth their while.

As much as Abumi believed in sharing, she wouldn't share a link with a hacker that could potentially turn on her, taking advantage of her naive attempt at trusting someone. "I guess we should get on our way." Abumi said, waiting for Echo to lead the way toward their target.

 

[LunarStar]

Following Abumi out of the hovering van, Echo collected her katana before she herself exited the vehicle, stepping onto the metallic road with a clank of her high heels as she then took a few steps away from their transport to allow it to turn and drive off. Heading back to the city they came from and leaving the two on their own from here on out. There was no need to worry about stealth just yet, or being seen in general, since the road they picked to get here was quite underused by the general public. A country road in a way. No other cars of any kind came by and the lack of any other structure meant they were well and truly far enough form the city "OmniCorp have an evacuation plan in place for when the mission is completed. There is a definite assurance the hostages will be safely brought back to the company and your task as a hired mercenary will be payed and you will be dismissed to do as you please thereafter." Echo replied, though doing do without really looking at Abumi and not giving much else of an answer as that.

Agreeing with the notion to get the mission underway with a nod, Echo took point, heading into the direction she stated before. Even with the night time well on its way, Echo was having no issue at all walking in the dark, more so with the lack of light around here. Her blindfolded self traversed the area in silent, scanning the area ahead of her as she went and able to make use of her own version of night vision.

The landscape around them was tough to make out at this time of day, or night in this case, but from what was seen there was just fields of grass as far as the eyes could see. Not even a spot of farmland. There were some trees dotted about here and there, some forming enough of a cluster to be small forests, though at lot of all this was dry and there were plenty of patches of dry dead grass along the way that could have been a pathway before. Since being outdoors and out of the city, there was a gentle breeze around them, cool winds of the night that would make it refreshing for humans after a hot summers day today. For Echo it was pretty much nothing, ignoring most of what it did as it caused her silver hair to weave a little, the little black feathers on her sleeves also dancing along and the dress, well, that seemed to be the only part Echo made sure didn't go too far out of place, grabbing the back ends of it as she reached for it so as to not allow herself to be flashed since Abumi was right behind her. Though it would be less of a problem if her outfit wasn't what it was. Not that Echo would ever voice such a thing to her creator.

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi looked out over the landscape, her datapad soaking in the details of the land it could see around them and building a topography map. Looking to Echo, she gave a little grin. The entire time that she had seen the android, Echo had never done much to show any sign of human nature. Whether it be not making eye contact or not looking at who she spoke to, Echo was very much not human in her interactions. The breeze, though, seemed to bring out a bit of something in her, her hand moving to grab at her dress. It appeared to be slitted at the edges, giving the wind the freedom to try and gift Abumi with a view of what lay beneath her dress.

The wind gave an equal tug at her coat, the bottoms of it flaring out to the side, but Abumi had been gifted with the foresight to know how to dress for an operation. Poor Echo, on the other hand, was forced to wear whatever someone at OmniCorp wanted her to wear. If Abumi were a betting woman, she'd be anticipating a stock price increase for OmniCorp, following on the tails of the release of a new line of sex androids. New, human-like servants that could cater to a home and to a body as one might see fit. While many could get that experience from a virtual reality experience, tapped directly into the brain, making that fantasy a reality would make OmniCorp trillions of dollars. There also came the possibility of soldiers and spies, easily programmable to fight covert operations in foreign countries.

Conspiracy theories pushed aside for now, Abumi moved forward to keep up with Echo. "You know, Echo, if you'd like something a bit more appropriate for the mission, we can cut off the feathers and claim it was a casualty of the mission. My jacket, while a little big, would be a good alternative." Abumi offered. It was a gesture that seemed kind of empty, but Echo showing some hint of humanity made her less of an android in that moment.

 

[LunarStar]

The choice of clothing may not have been of her own doing, Echo still intent to appear however her creator deemed it to be and so felt she was fine regardless of the wardrobe malfunctions it caused. in this case being the breeze and the fact one side of her dress has a slid to allow her enough freedom of movement, but that also meant the skirt could be prone to wave about just enough to allow others to catch a peek so long as she allowed it. It was almost automated of her to move her hand to grab on when at the presence of others to prevent such a view.

"That won't be necessary." Echo replied in as calm a voice as always. The breeze was temporary at least and so it was no longer a need to keep hold of her dress this way. Though that did mean some of her rear cheek was once more partially exposed "While I am programmed to understand the ethics of Human coverage, the design of my appearance and act is to test my demonstration of how human my system can be for future data. Please do not mind me. The mission is our priority." she spoke, almost like she would rather remain silent than talk about clothing at all. Her steps carried on going through the thick grassy terrain, effortlessly navigating herself to avoid any uneven ground unseen by the tall grass, cutting through bushed when passing by trees and aiming to keep up a pace to reach their destination in a timely manner. Whatever thoughts may be running through Abumi's mind that cause her to offer up her coat, Echo wasn't about to prod it any further.

Eventually there would come a moment where the pair would ascend up a hill, walking a little further towards what looked to be a valley a mile ahead of them along with an actual pathway at the going through it. A path made of just dirt and little traces of tarmac that indicated the age of this place. Echo stopped briefly upon seeing the path and turned to face Abumi to inform her about the location they're at "Just up this path is where me must go. There is a structure just within that valley that me must head to. I recommend taking caution from then on, my data indicates it is very old and therefore unstable. But there should be an underground passage inside there that we must enter, that should lead us to the secret facility deep underground."

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi couldn't help but grin. To go from such a human response to a robotic one amused her. Keeping her mind on the mission, she occasionally stole a glance at the appearance of the android, thoughts wondering how true her previous assumption had been. Was she fully human, with all the parts? If it was being designed by Dr. Schmitt, there was a good chance of it. The man struck her as a father figure to Echo, making excuses for her, testing her. The pieces of the puzzle that were Echo still remained out of place, but slowly beginning to make a picture.

"If you change your mind, let me know. That clothing is not tactical, but could be useful if we come across some lecherous eyes along the way." The irony was very apparent to Abumi, talking about lecherous people locking eyes with Echo's figure. "The mission will remain a priority. Just wanted to offer a solution, in case you wanted to free up your hands from holding down that skirt of yours." Abumi said, explaining her reasoning. Letting the point die where it fell, she began to adjust the focus of her eyes, trying to pick up details here and there that her local Net could gather. They appeared to be drawing closer, Abumi expecting to see a building soon come into her vision. When she continued to see nothing, her imagination would begin to wander, toying around with ideas of where else this building could be. What if it wasn't a building at all? What if they were setting her up to be taken out, cashing in some unknown contract on her head? Abumi had made enemies, sure, but none with deep enough pockets to wipe her off the planet. Yet.

When the silence was broken again by Echo speaking up, Abumi looked toward the path that she was talking about. From what her vision could gather, the facts added up to be what Echo had said. "Seems you have good info on this place. Even without access to the Net, my eyes can see there being something underground here. Not sure what, but I'm mapping it out as we go." Abumi said, drawing her pistol and letting her fingers wrap around it. With the gun drawn, her vision would begin to take a new focus, crossing between the topography map and seeking out heat signatures. Whether they be machine or human, everything had a heat signature. Making sure to put in the exclusionary rule for Echo, Abumi let Echo lead the way toward their target.

 

[LunarStar]

"The information on my data has been programmed into me prior of our meeting." Echo stated when she started walking ahead up the path, making sure to not go too quickly and risk getting too far apart while she'd fill Abumi in about the place they're about to get to "According to my data, this place was once owned by the OmniCorp many decades ago. Perhaps even over several centuries. It was one of their first large scale facility where they began developing the first line of A.I. robotics for the general public. Given the date it was abandoned, I can conclude that 0.5% of electronics are still functioning above ground. I also hold the data of the underground facility that is 80% mapped, but will still be sufficient enough to complete our mission." once she was done talking, her full attention was up front on the path, her heeled boots digging into the dirt a small amount but otherwise Echo carried on walking without any issue or complaints. An upside of being paired with an android that complaining from them is at an all time zero.

With the sky almost displaying complete night, the pair were able to round an incline that brought the building to view, hidden away from sight due to its position nesting within the valley. More than that, most of the structure seemed to be caved in in fact. Just from the design of the building itself it looking nothing at all like they do today, so old and outdated what people looking at it now must feel like entering the famed stone age. Rust and vegetation was covering the entire thing. No wonder it was hard to spot.

On their way to approach the site, there was evidence of a fence having been here before, quite obviously time took care of it by eroding it to non-existence, a gate present on the path that once acted as a checkpoint. A parking area cracked and largely missing. The rest of the tarmac somewhat visible from gaps of absent grass. The building itself still had some of its former appearance, such as its color and some of the windows still intact while the rest were gone or broken. There were several ways to enter the building now that it harbored many holes or missing walls completely, the collapsed sections of the site were unsafe to approach entirely and so it left Echo to still enter one of was used to be an official entrance, pulling on one of the double doors that required her to put some effort into it, a loud deafening screech emitted from the ancient door during that ordeal until Echo had it open wide enough to enter. Echo wasn't at all bothered by the noise ringing into her ear and then gestured for Abumi to follow inside.

To think people used to go through doors that required them to physically open them.

Inside the first room, little to nothing could be seen even through the use of the night visions. No furniture was left anymore, rarely even any paperwork scattered about in a place that's abandoned. Many of the ceiling was gone, showing some of its interior that would otherwise be hidden behind panels. No light. The walls were ruined and covered in moss. All of the floor and anything that was still here is caked in peeps of dust. At the end of the room was a desk, a reception area, and a computer, one that is far from what they are now. Obviously it wasn't working at all. But what was interesting to note was the large logo at the wall behind the desk. A much older design on the OmniCorp logo.

"The secret passage way to go underground appears to still be intact." Echo spoke up, looking about the room to scan her surroundings and figure out the safest route to where the entrance could be. Turning to her right, Echo headed down into a darkened corridor, a broken and eerily quiet corridor "According to my data, it should be at the head office."

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi was grateful that she had Echo to help her navigate through the area. Even with the heightened visibility that came from her experimental datapad, there was only so far that her eyes would let her see. She could have made them better, but it would have required replacing her ocular lenses. Not having enough money to be down for the three month recovery period, Abumi had declined the elective surgery for more up-to-date implants.

As the two would near the facility, Abumi paid close attention to details of the area. Walking along toward the fence, her map would start to take on a different view of what was being built with each step she took. The map would begin to fill in with details that were not there, as if she were drawing from older data. She couldn't be quite certain as to why, but when she walked through what should have been a closed gate, her map flickered, correcting itself. Obviously not having the time to do a proper diagnostic, Abumi made a note of the defect in the electronics and strode to keep pace with Echo. The two had fallen into a complete quiet, Abumi's finger resting along the lip of the trigger on her pistol. It wouldn't ever curl against it, but it sat in the ready, the end of the barrel pointed down toward her feet.

Stepping up to the front of the building, Abumi took a moment to take in the large door. If she'd been asked to come there alone, there would be no way that she could manage to open that herself. Bringing her hands up to press against her ears, the loud shrill cry of rusted metal on rusted metal was far louder than any normal alarm she'd ever heard in her life. "Fucking door." Abumi muttered to herself, keeping her voice low. it might have come off as a bit louder than expected, her hearing a little off after having been deafened by something so loud. Falling into line, Abumi continued to survey the building, looking for anything that Echo might have missed in the area that could either pose a threat or be a path for them.

Just as expected, Echo had been far more useful than a normal human might in derelict ruins of this type. She was, of course, gifted with the insider knowledge of what the compound looked like, as well as a perfect recall for where they were. Looking toward the logo on the call, Abumi let a grin spread across her features. If they were in an old OmniCorp building, one from years ago, why was it being used as a place for hostages? The place was a total death trap for anything organic. Perhaps the hostages were not organic life, but... remnants of the old AI? Maybe OmniCorp was looking to salvage some old tech, wanting to take a leap forward, if possible.

Giving a nod to Echo, Abumi gestured with a hand. "I'll have to trust you on that one." She said, giving her own glance in the direction that Echo had been looking. What kind of secrets did this old building hide?

 

[LunarStar]

If it wasn't for the blindfolds covering Echo's eyes, one would've seen that she'd stolen a glance at her mercenary upon hearing those few words of trust, yet keeping her head forward to not alert her companion that she allowed herself to be distracted. Trust. Such a simple word and yet it made Echo want to search up the meaning of it, and though she may posses more than enough functions in her system to search it up in her mountain of files, Echo had to remind herself not to get carried away with it and forced herself to press on without delay. She has been tasked with a mission alongside Abumi and she is expected to come through for her creator, Dr. Schmitt and provide with with invaluable data to work from and improve on the making of top grade androids. She has to be perfect for this.

Strolling on down the corridor, some of the doors either side were still shut, others partially open but jammed in place due to trees having literally grown along the hinges. The rest were either gone, showing the entirety of just empty rooms or collapsed ones. Hardly any sounds were present aside from their own. Not even any wildlife or insects were here. Just the look of the building alone could sent a shiver down their spine seeing a place that lacked any of the technology that humans have today.

Echo wasn't paying it much mind to that and was soldering on, rounding a corner leading to a more larger room, likely a library of sorts that used to hold filed upon files of paperwork for the company than just generic reading material. Broken shelves littered the entire room and part of the roof was even caved in. Sticking close to the wall furthest away from the collapsed area, Echo headed towards a doorway that was bend to the side and hanging on a single hinge. The would have to crouch down to get through there and into another set of corridors. Saying nothing, Echo turned right from here and past a section that looked a little more high tech for once, a portion of the corridor covered in metal and touch pads assumed to be for scanning ones hands for prints and checking the persons ID. However, neither of the pads were lid, dead, and the door was wide open, so it was easy access for the both of them "We're almost there. Just through this room and we'll be at the office."

As noted, Echo led the way further down the corridor until they reached a wooden door with a broken glass window that took them to was once used to be a small office space for the secretary maybe. On the other end there was another wooded door with a still intact window still and a word 'Office' on it that was almost faded off from time. Going through that, Echo entered what is the office she said it would be, but unlike the rest of the building, this room looked as though it had barely suffered at all. Safe for it maybe being mildly dusty. Everything else was as though it was only left here a day ago. File cabinets lining one side of the wall, a large fancy wooden desk that still looked freshly made. Pens, papers, carpets and other such valuables around the room had been save from the decimation that is the rest of the building. Seemingly not bothered by this strange sight, Echo rounded the desk and faced the wall behind it to look for something that the naked eye wouldn't be able to see. However, after a couple of seconds, Echo reached for her katana and took a stab into the wall, piercing it by only an inch to no damage was was beyond, gave the blade a twist to increase the hole she made before sheaving her blade and started pealing away at the fragile wall with her gloved fingers. Once done, Echo had exposed a keypad with a single flashing light indicating it still has power and stepped aside for Abumi "This is where your skill with be most helpful, as you were briefed before, the technology here is far out of date and can only be hacked directly. The code to open up the wall is lost to the company over the many years since its abandonment, so I must ask you to hack into the keypad to unlock it. Then we can decent the stairs to the underground facility where our mission is."

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi kept herself behind Echo, observing the state of the corridors. In her time scrolling through the Net, she had seen videos and satellite images of the world that had been lost to the crawl of nature. There were cities with magnificent levels of technology, hovering cars and tons of entertainment that could only be seen to believe. If one were to wander less than a quarter of a day's travel by foot, they'd be treated to the sight of a world overgrown with vegetation and decay, the remnants of a past buried away by time itself. This strange line between luxury and relic was a phenomenon that the darkNet often spoke of, rumors of control and illusion to keep others from asking questions.

Of course, that was all the theories of people who had been hooked up to the Net for too long. There had always been an accurate history of that level of lunacy being spread throughout the ages. The only difference in this case was the fact that the lunacy was spreading at a faster rate.

Drawing her focus back to the job at hand, Abumi kept playing her game of following behind Echo, letting her steps guide the path toward the next goal. Every time that Abumi saw something that looked out of place, she reminded herself where she was. OmniCorp had buried this facility from its public record for a reason. There was something here, something that hummed in her mind as important and requiring documenting. Of course, she had agreed to say nothing of the mission, a standard practice for her work, but it didn't worry her if she lost work for OmniCorp. Not in the short term, at least. When they came to various points where it required her to duck down and shrink in size to move forward, Abumi made a bit of effort to try and stay loose and flexible. It was rare that she had to explore this deep into a ruin, but the length of how far they were having to go into the build was difficult.

Once they had reached the solitary wooden door, Abumi stepped in behind Echo and looked over the room. It was untouched by age, minus a little layer of dust that could be seen on most of the furniture that filled it. Looking around, Abumi ran her fingers over one of the filing cabinets, pressing her thumb to the handle and trying to open it. Just as she had thought, it was locked by a simple metal keyhole. It would be a simple matter to separate it, but her thoughts of snooping were destroyed by the sound of a sword tearing through thick wall. There was a faint scraping and screeching of blade before a lit up keypad was laid out before Abumi.

Stepping up, Abumi heard the words from Echo and gave a nod. "This is why you hire the best, right, E?" Abumi said, smiling as she found the nickname for her android companion kind of cute. Looking over the plate, she located what looked to be a few screws in the wall and took out a tool to loosen them. No matter how much the future tried to hide the way in, engineers of the past couldn't make an object that didn't require maintenance. Popping the case open, the glowing keypad would fall forward, revealing an assortment of thick, colored wires. Looking them over, she stared at the circuitry, lines of rainbow forming in the color of her eyes for a moment as she began to trace the lines of power an inputs.

Taking the wires she had, Abumi stripped back one, revealing the fiber-glass tip and sliding a copper conversion probe onto it. She did this with a few of the wires and began to check the various leads on the board, looking for the mechanism that would unlock the door. In a matter of a few minutes, a few frustrated groans, Abumi had the lit pad showing green, the sound of mechanical works beginning to open something in the room. "Like I said, I'm the best." Abumi said, pocketing her tools. Researching archaic tech had done her well that day, earning quite the payday if she lived through this ordeal.

 

[LunarStar]

At first when her ears picked up on the nickname 'E', Echo made no reaction to it at all, not even going out of her way to at least correct Abumi about the misuse of her name and declaring that it isn't just 'E'. If anything, and in a very adorable fashion while Abumi was busy tinkering with the keypad, Echo turned to look behind herself as it to check that maybe some mysterious third person had manifested who is called 'E' only to then come to the realization that it was in fact her that Abumi addressed and so turned back around to appear as though she's patiently waited there the whole time like nothing much happened. It would've made for quite the laugh to have managed to made an android look over their shoulder over a simple act as calling them by a nickname.

Thankfully the sounds of a heavy lock just beyond the wall served as a decent enough distraction "Your records do show you have the 4th highest skill set in mechanical hacking." Echo bluntly stated, missing the notion that a flat statement of ones skill isn't something that should be responded with when going to compliment on the achievement "Please stand back a little." Echo followed it up, gently placing a hand on Abumi's shoulder to get a small distance from the back wall and watched on as the whole wall itself began to sank into the ground. The whole wall was the door itself as it's being lowered by gears, the machine inside there humming loudly from the lack of use and light could be seen coming through the cracks at it's lowered. It was a slow process, but within a minute, the door was lowered, at least low enough before it stopped half way probably something jammed or this tech was really starting to fail. No matter, a simple climb over would be enough as Echo was the first to approach the half open door and easily managed to make it over to the other side. if anything that could've been the second time that her dress would be cheeky, and this time Echo hadn't made as much of an effort to hide it than she did before. Possibly having not thought about it or forgotten.

Can Androids forget?

Now standing on the other side, Echo was staring down a long drop down with only a metal staircase leading down that. From here it looked like there was no end to it, the whole shaft was lid by lights all the way down at the four corners of this place. That's what let them see the light come through when the wall-door opened up. More amazingly was that they still worked and that there was even still power at all that allowed them to run. Beyond this door it also displayed another large contrast to the rest of the building in that this looked much more up to date than what they saw so far, though still a far cry from what today is like. Perhaps this was build some time after the initial building itself was made "These stairs will take us down right to the facility. Be advised that my data shows there will be excessive damage in the lower level."

 

[Vahn Seele]

Abumi gave a little growl under her breath as she found that Echo had not seen the opportunity for praise. A simple "Good job" would've been enough. Of course, she was dealing with an android that didn't know what it was like to have feelings, or perhaps that part of her was turned off. Whatever the case, Abumi nodded as she backed away. "I'll have to get that list from you. There is now way I'm settling for 4th place, I'm silver at the least." She said, smiling to herself at her own joke.

Knowing that Echo wouldn't pick up on the playful banter didn't make it any less fun for Abumi. As the mechanism would begin to part, offering them a partially way into what lay beneath the desolate building, Abumi watched as Echo would begin to shift and move through the opening that was granted to them. This gave Abumi a chance to see more of her than when she had seen the wind blow by earlier that day. If Dr. Schmitt had been her creator, a fact she had never had confirmed, he had spent a lot of time working on how to shape her body. Abumi was quick to follow behind her, pocketing her gear and climbing through the opening to follow after Echo.

What they came to see was vastly different than what they had been running across so far. There was evidence of newer tech the further down they would go, similar to the kind of work that she had done on the keypad. If it weren't for the fact that she were working for OmniCorp at the moment, she'd have taken some time to properly study all of this. There was a lot of work that could be done, documentation on tech that still worked. Sure, it was museum work, as this predated a lot of the fiber and wireless that the newer tech ran on, but it was the concept of what some of this technology could cultivate. Infrastructure and architecture of the past could fuel future advancement, if done so in the proper lens. "Old is old" was a phrase that had always pissed Abumi off, some of the documents online openly badgering a generation that was doing the best it could with the knowledge it had.

"We've made it this far, we'll just have to keep going, E." She said, finding that the nickname stuck a little too well to let it go.

 

[LunarStar]

This time, as Echo was once more referred to as 'E', the gothic looking maid Android turned her head to look over at Abumi, almost as if wanting to say something or to really try and correct her on the use of her name like that. It was tough to tell in all honestly, what with her eyes covered up like that, to see what expression she was really holding, the only thing giving some indication of what it could be is her mouth. Though even that lacked expression. No smile at all. Though also not full on frowning. Still, was it annoying her? Is she upset at that? Or is she like expected from an android and isn't feeling much of anything in that regards. Likely the latter, but given her reaction to still look at Abumi could make anyone thing otherwise.

And whether or not Echo was even displeased by this, she never said so and turned away after a few seconds and began the long descent down the steps. AT least it's better than going up... right?

For the large portion of the walk, nothing was out of the ordinary and everything to do with the stairs have stayed the same. Nothing different in design, none of the lights were broken, nothing else looked worn or damaged. If anything it provided one last chance to probably converse with the Android walking ahead of Abumi. After all, Echo had so far done nothing to start a conversation or even moving one along. The perfect behavior of someone who'd only be allowed to speak when spoken to. At least that's what she appeared to be on the outside right this moment. Internally however, Echo was sorting through her database like mad trying to find anything she can about nicknames. One of her many features Echo wasn't able to answer that her 34% free access of commands allowed her to do. Depressingly, she couldn't find anything in her files that could provide her with the answer that she liked. She must correct this fault by fixing it, starting with creating a new file in her system and preparing to learn something. And so, pretty much from out of the blue, Echo's words rang out without a pause of her walk down the steps "What is this... "E" you mentioned twice, Abumi? What does that signify?"

 

[Vahn Seele]

There was a moment where Abumi could swear that Echo was staring at her. She had never thought that it would feel so awkward to have an android staring her down, but Abumi thought she had found something new, a strange nervousness that could be spurred on by something as simple as a nickname. Perhaps it was too far to keep using the nickname that she had created on the spot. Abumi wasn't sure why she'd done it, either. Perhaps it was the fact that Echo had been constructed to be so life-like, or that the idea of simply using a letter of the military phonetic alphabet didn't strike her as an endearing name. Engineers and scientists were always being creative, so why did they have to settle for such a simplistic name as "Echo" for an android that was breaking the ground by merely existing?

When the silence had been cut off by Echo moving down the stairs, Abumi stepped behind her, making sure that she had neither dropped or left anything behind with a quick search of her person. When Abumi found that everything appeared to be in the right place, she was content to go down the stairs behind Echo.

The walk was silent, apart from the sound of boot and metal echoing off of the walls of the stairwell. A new sound, though, would shake Abumi from her daze of blindly following her android partner. "Oh, E?" She asked, raising a brow. Her nickname had stuck through, driving Echo to ask a question of her. That was a new development. "When working with someone, humans can give a nickname to show familiarity. I call you 'E', because it sounds better than Echo to me. Echo is the fifth letter of the military alphabet, something cold and calculating. It would seem to suit you, but 'E' helps me to humanize you. Sure, it might just be the fifth letter of the English alphabet, but it has a meaning to me, as I gave you the name. If you'd prefer it, I can go back to calling you 'Echo.' I didn't mean to start any confusion." Abumi said, smiling a little as she ended her sentence. Androids and AI had always been cold, soulless beings to her. There was only math, no room for emotion. Perhaps, though, Echo could be something more.