"Two reasons I left. The scientists were monsters who didn't treat me as a living being. The second reason is the military seemed dead set on keeping me in those vile labs."
Merlin lowered his ears.
"Of course, leaving wasn't really my choice as well. Someone helped me escape.
I just want to be able to choose my own path now. Due to being who I am, not a lot of people trust me nor treat me correctly. Even the Libertonians treated me as an animal except for one person."
Whiskers twitched when the robot beside the cat mentioned Liberty.
"Also, I guess you can say I'm running from Liberty. I tried going through customs there but the process took too long and I believe they began to question my being. There's also the fact I stole back my ship, The Miaou, from restricted docking to flee here. I'm guessing you might of seen it moored out beside the Port."
"Well... that brings us to problem two," Ken said with a sigh. "We'd like to help you. The problem is, I'm not sure we can. New Vancouver is still small, and there's a lot of construction going on still - worse, we don't know half of what's in the wilderness yet. And if something happens to you, there's no way we've got anyone that can help. When we set this meeting up, you understand, we expected something a little... different."
He opened a page on his tablet and put it on the table for Merlin to see. "Now, we will let you stay in our space - and I suspect you'll be safer in your ship than planetside anyway, all considered - but I think Eris's bunch out in Baffin would be better able to help. They've got some great doctors, and almost everyone pretty much leaves them alone."
"Shipside residence is what I do best. I have to stay with my ship anyways or my internal systems begin to fail."
At the mention of the people residing in Baffin, the cat's whiskers drew back and the ears lowered.
"The Zoner people there are not to be trusted. They would destroy-"
Merlin stopped suddenly and shook his head.
"Apologies. When the scientists gave me these enhancements, they also changed how I would act to certain people and identifiers. I was developed to kill as a weapon, not to be a cute ball of fluff. If I was to see a zoner properly, I believe I might attack it. At least until I reset my systems which is proving to take much longer than I thought it would."
"Well, that's... an issue." Ken rested his head against his right hand while flipping through several more pages on the tablet computer and sighed. "We can't trust Ageira, the Hackers are... not always reliable, Kishiro's right out, and I can't think of anyone else. Bio-mechanical interfaces are difficult enough with humans." He paused, rubbing his forehead briefly while mulling over another detail.
"You said you can... 'reset' the system. What exactly does that do, and what's delayed it?"
"Two things delay it. It's complex guarded military technology developed to be used as a weapon by Gallic scientist and engineers who were at the top of their class and I'm stuck in Sirius without any way to obtain information about even the simplest Gallic technology. The second reason is I'm a cat. Without opposable thumbs."
Merlin wrapped his paws with a swing of his tail.
"As to what it does? It would allow me freedom of being. The current system has me set to attack, due to the stage of testing I was in back in the labs. There's a reason I didn't go to Bretonia or Kusari. At the time I left, Gallia was waging war with both of those houses, but Liberty was still not on the list. As for that other house... Rheinland was it? I hear they don't like anything other than humans in their space."
"Well... there's no one else we can go to, really," Ken sighed. "Alright, we'll give you all the time you need in our space. We can't really offer any special protections, but you'll be treated like any other lawful visitor. That's about all we're equipped for, to be honest."
He paused, and considered the refugee's ship. "Just be careful. If someone gives you trouble, head back here or to Barrier Gate and send us a message. We'll deal with it. What kind of ship is it, exactly? Didn't see it on my way in, traffic was pretty heavy."
"Merci Merci!"
The pointed ears stood up and a rumbling purr rose from Merlin that he could finally have a proper home. At the mention of his ship, the purring slowed a bit.
"It's a Perilous Royal Navy Gunboat. It's a fun thought that one being can run an entire ship, non?"
Merlin's whiskers twitched.
"Another thing. I know it's early, but I am in debt to you for allowing me a proper home after all this time. The only two skills I have are protection and destruction. I wasn't developed to be cute, fluffy, piece of eye candy. I'm a viable combatant and good at my job."