Somewhere in Kusari... perhaps amidst the swirling clouds of the Crow Nebula, perhaps in deep space between two systems, perhaps on a planet or asteroid yet unknown...
...the Den of minds calculating, ruthless, and soulless. An academy of their shared cruelty and dark intellect. Yet also, a place of creation, innovation, ingenuity, and design... if in the most malign ways possible.
As much a testament to humanity's creative intellect as well as it's capacity for sewing destruction and pain... though only so many of it's inhabitants could safely be considered human, anymore...
To the Consortium, the term 'Nexus' had several meanings. Many distinct locations. Ships, space stations, and a small number of labs constructed on allied bases. All locations from which the organization launched it's operations.
In this case, the 'Nexus' was a re-pressurized and re-engineered slave liner, partially re-built with components from several other vessels, all captured by the Consortium for their crews and pressed into service as a mobile command center.
***
The interior of the ship was essentially gutted and entirely replaced with Consortium technology and hardware. A mixture of Strange, monolithic, unorthodox hallways and catwalks, and utilitarian laboratories and machines. The concept of aesthetics was utterly irrelevant in Consortium engineering, every aspect of the ship focused on utility and space maximization...
Amongst one of the many rooms and terminals deep within the ship, a seemingly out-of-place looking woman monitored a large control interface, displaying several data-screens. Technical readouts, communication codes, Holographic maps. Most of them written in texts unreadable to most, yet this woman seemed fixated on this information.
One of the communication screens flickered and activated, displaying a man, seemingly a scientist, who bore the scars of severe Cybernetic augmentation...
"ZF, we're almost at quota for Emulsion processing. We will need additional storage tanks prepared." The man spoke, his voice warped, disrupted, and emotionless.
The woman replied, in a much softer tone. "Additional tanks will be acquired. Overwatch still wants the full data upload on Project 'Cavanaugh'. How is that proceeding?"
"First samples of the Mutagen are almost ready... however we're at the point where we don't have the technical expertise to continue. You will have to forward it to Zio or Clarke soon."
The woman nodded softly. "I will see to that. That will be all."
The comm screen flickered out, and for a brief moment, the woman stood alone, before dematerializing and disappearing. She was infact, a hologram. Part of an artificial intelligence, one of several used by the Consortium for force-coordination.
***
The woman re-appeared in a large, open room. Vaguely resembling a cross between a bar and meeting hall, and a command center. While few drinks would be served here, it did serve as a place for the elite of the Consortium to inter-mingle, and co-ordinate their operations. Being the only person present, the holographic-woman patiently waited for several other individuals to arrive...
The click of armored boots echoed throughout the empty, dull hallway of the Nexus. The man wore a dark trench-coat of unknown design, the buttons bearing the symbols of the Consortium. The dull white of his mask gleaned under each dim light; the red and blue-gray protrusion extending from his left eye flickered slightly as his head swiveled to take in the hallway. An eery, if not peaceful, humming emanated from him.
The two scanners that followed bobbed behind him, as if they were drifting along a current. Their red eyes narrowed and widened, taking in their surroundings with utmost scrutiny. Little twitching devices along their skeletal body flicked this way and that, directing the two machines in the direction they wished to go.
The door to the meeting hall loomed before him, standing at least five meters at height. With a hum, the door parted and split like a puzzle, folding into the confines of the frame. The man whistled, adding in a soft, "Nifty...." He caught himself, shaking his head slightly to clear his awe. That would be....unprofessional. Without further hesitation, he walked in, the two scanners following obediently.
He looked about the room, scanning for anything of interest. He found something truly captivating. The woman standing idly by, as if waiting for something, looked right at him. He smiled under his mask, walking towards her. He stopped a few feet in front of her, her red eyes locking with his mask lenses.
He bowed and spoke through his vocoder, "Nihilius Clark, Overseer of medical sciences, at your service." The scanners dipped forward, bowing as he did.
"THE HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED AND THESCIENCEIS LEAKING OUT!"
Around her, several holographic images and displays appeared, seemingly out of thin air. Infact, they were part of her own Holographic image.
"Now, to why you are here. Your specialties with human-biomedicine and re-assembly. As you know... our current generation assimilation methods require alive or cellularly intact hosts for Neurocyte implantation to work properly.
However, we wish to expand our Nerco-Recycling and Reanimation capabilities. Converting dead human or animal bodies to useful tactical units. Nanomedicine and Level-5 Augmentation may be able to accomplish this, but more research must be done. This is where you, and Zio, come in..."
Several more holo screens opened, displaying personnel data and tactical logs.
"Zio-Internecine is our senior Augmentation and Assimilation overseer. The two of you will work together to further our research. We will need to develop more sophisticated cybernetics to be able to replace more of the human body that may be damaged beyond repair. That is his specialty. Yours is biological repair and re-use. Do you understand?" She asked.
The woman seemed disturbingly emotionless about the prospect, standing idly and Awaiting Clarke's reply.
An Outcast destroyer is seen cruising into view. Once it gets into the nexuses scanner range its ID is revealed to be the \CS\-Tiishalon...
It cuts its engines and a single Sabre class fighter is seen emerging from its hanger. The fighter then proceeds to dock with the Nexus.
Once in the hanger the cockpit opens revealing a man with a hounded lab coat and a very young girl in a kimono.
Zio: Carla i want you to wait here. Carla: what but why you promised that... Zio: yes i know i promised id give you a tour of the ship but have to get permission from iron or whoever is commanding the ship at the moment.
With that he leaves Carla at the hanger and continues to the meeting hall. As he reaches the door it opens automatically when hes within 5 feet of it. Once he's inside the hall he takes a quick look around. Interesting... he say silently. He looks at the women and clark and greets them both.
Greetings i am Zio.Internecine Overseer of Augmentation and Assimilation. Pleased to meet you both...
Ive had enough of disco for now. I might be back at the next mod release.
The Master of all things cyborg
Clark tilted his head to the side as she spoke. An actual AI unit! His face showed excitement, but his mask conveyed no emotion. Cryer never had anything like this, He thought. The scanners at his back swiveled and bobbed, looking at the surroundings. One of them squawked quietly, turning towards the door as soon as ZF stopped speaking. A man stood there, looking right back at the two of them; the scanner showing him the image it saw through his mask.
Clark turned, folding his arms across his chest. "Greetings I am Zio Internecine, Overseer of Augmentation and Assimilation. Pleased to meet you both..." He said in what Clark thought to be a snobby voice.
He was about to a reply with a snide comment when his mind yelled at him, Don't do that! That would be stupid! Obviously. He instead said, "Greetings, Overseer of Augmentation and Assimilation, I am the Overseer of Medical Sciences: Nihilius Clark," He turned to ZF and continued, "I entirely understand what is asked of me. I have on question:"
They both looked at him.
"When do we begin?"
"THE HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED AND THESCIENCEIS LEAKING OUT!"
"You begin as soon as is feasible. You may make requisitions freely from Cryogenics for bodies for your research. However, I want constant feedback and updates."
She stared down at the floor for a moment, possibly processing data, she could 'feel' the emotions and thoughts of those around her through their Neurocyte implants. Personality clashes between the two may be inevitable, but measures would be taken to ensure these did not stall progress.
She looked up at the men and smiled softly. "I would hope the two of you get along well. And you are recommended to give your feedback here, in person... for security reasons..."
She waited for a few seconds for the men's replies, before once again disappearing into a gaseous mist...
***
***
>>>Overview of Consortium AI Technology<<<
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>Sub: 'Zeta Foxtrot'
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>Technical Specifications and Personality
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>Data request approved...
What is known as 'Zeta Foxtrot', is a state-of-the-art Consortium Artificial Sentient computer network with the primary intent to act as Coordinator for the Neurocyte Network, and as a communications hub for distribution of orders and information to units in the field.
The prototype was developed from infrastructure from the Original Consortium AI, known as 'Siren-1.7' (self-identified as 'Kathryn' or 'Kat' for short). AI-Siren functioned mostly the same purpose, but with emphasis put on computer system infiltration and covert operations. Zeta Foxtrot used much of the base code and sentience, but with improved technology in place to allow much larger scale networking and co-ordination, and a higher capacity for growth.
Siren-1.7's largest drawback was it's infrastructure. Originally mounted on a modified Huntress cruiser, it was eventually transferred to a Talarca class cruiser and ultimately an Outcast Destroyer. These being the smallest chassis which can accommodate the AI systems. As well, this leaves the AI with a limited 'range' from which it can project it's consciousness, as well, leaving it vulnerable to destruction with the loss of it's chassis.
Zeta-Foxtrot was engineered as a distributed network of much smaller 'Tetranodes' placed in various locations aboard Consortium ships and facilities. This has a number of advantages over the earlier AI in that ZF's conscious presence can be easily transferred to any ship with a Tetranode aboard. The combined processing power of these nodes allows for the Consortium's networking and co-ordination, and the decentralized nature of the network makes it much more difficult for destruction or infiltration. As well, it allows nearly unlimited capacity for growth and upgrade, with new Tetranodes being installed as more processing power is needed. Efforts are underway to Upgrade and Adapt the Siren AI to this system.
A Tetranode aboard an unknown Consortium ship or Installation
ZF's 'personality' is much more 'human' then that of Siren-1.7, complete with a full range of emotions and human-like reasoning. This is mainly a mechanism to install concepts of 'Duty', 'Loyalty', and Emotional Attachment to the Consortium and it's subordinates, mainly to prevent the AI from possibly going rogue, as well as giving it much better interaction capacity with Non-Consortium organisms. This is accomplished by using actual human consciousnesses as a base for ZF's personality, which can usually be described as 'Cheerful'.
While Siren-1.7 primarily interacts with humans by means of human-based Androids, ZF projects itself via cold Plasma-based holograms. These are typically represented by a human female of Kusarian descent (the 'donor' for the body styling is unknown) and allow easy interaction and emotional projection in the form of body language. Each hologram is composed of electromagnetically contained cold-plasma projected locally (either by fixed projectors or hovering holo-drones). The Holograms are capable of limited interaction with objects via a combination of Iron-oxide pellets inside the hologram, gravity/magnetic manipulation, or holo-drone grippers. Finally, ZF is capable of using Android bodies, but for practical reasons, rarely does so.
In the event of an attack on Consortium AI systems, a single Tetranode (any Tetranode) can maintain ZF's personality and a backup of her systems. However, if large numbers of Tetranodes are destroyed, ZF's ability to process information and co-ordinate troops begins to suffer. Theoretically, if all of the Tetranodes were destroyed, Zeta-Foxtrot's personality would cease to exist unless it was backed up elsewhere. However, the distributed nature of the subsystems and presumed lack of knowledge on the part of any Non-Consortium entities on our AI systems mean this prospect is unlikely. Any damage to ZF's systems short of total annihilation would be quickly repaired.
At the rear of the meeting hall was a middle-aged kusarian man. He watched the presentation silently while the AI explained all about how it operates.
So that's what the tetranode aboard the Tetshuo is for... he said, in an effort to startle everyone in the room. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ryosei Yonekura, head of Combat Logistics. It is my job to make sure supplies get to where they need to go.
The man cleared his throat. Allow me to present my own ideas. For some time now we have been using automated drones to tow cargo pods between ships and hardpoints. I feel that this is a waste of resources, when the cargo pod could fly itself between ships.
By designing a cargo pod that has built in maneuvering thrusters, basic sensors, light shielding, and a basic AI pilot, we could transfer cargo a lot easier. The pods themselves would be modular for hauling a variety of goods - if we needed to move living organisms, we could install life support, or a damping field generator to cushion fragile items.
However, something like this would take time to develop. In the long run though, this would make cargo deliveries faster and easier. Therefore I request that R&D begin developing this technology immediately.
From another table, a man wearing lightweight tactical armor spoke. Taking only a brief moment to glance at Ryosei.
"<::Such ideas don't require any R&D. It's as simple as welding some thruster-pods and a shield and controlling it with an Expression3 chip. Do that en-masse, and you have your cargo pods. But it's not a significant enough development to sap up R&D's time and effort.
<::Attention stays focused."
The man turned and stood up, looking over the crowd in the room. His armor displayed a few rank-insignias. Simple, but that identified him as a fleet co-ordinator and Blackwatch agent.
"<::Now listen good. I want progress reports from all of you. I've been getting zero feedback across the board, nothing's crossed my desk and I'm not happy about it.
<::I want situation reports from all-involved entities. Logistics, give me your resource acquisition statement. Research, I want science project progress. Tactical Units, I want confirmation of intercepts." The man said, in a somewhat more menacing tone.
Dr. Miller, not being bothered to stop working long enough for this video, is working on some unseen project below the recorder's line of sight. Her face mask and lab coat are both stained blue in parts. "Greetings. As I would expect you to know already, I am Doctor Margery Miller. Medical practitioner and xenobiologist, among other studies. I was told we have similar intere-" A line of projectile fluid spurts up at the doctor for a moment, causing her to turn her head away. Wiping the side of her face, she resumes, "As I was saying, similar interests. I think your group will be very interested in the specimen I have for you. I await your response and clearance to dock at your facility. I think you'll find it impossible to examine the specimen without me."
The doctor reaches for her console off screen and the video ends.
Miyo - Exposing the truth no matter what!
Margery - I... have calculated the exact value of Pi.
Mel - Mel will take out the garbage, now~
Ayu - Everything happens on my patrol, doesn't it? :igh::
Aboard the \CS\-Tiishalon a man in a hooded lab coat sat on the bridge observing the video feed left by Dr.Miller. He then pushed a button on the terminal on his arm and sent a transmission to the Nexus.
Greetings err.. Dr.Miller was it? Id very much like to see this... specimen. Show it to me in person or send detailed information on it to me to see if theirs anything i could to with it.
Oh and for future reference my name is Zio.Internecine Overseer of Augmentation and Assimilation. Any research pertaining to medical or cybernetic fields must go through me first. Of coarse your still free to do them independently just inform me of any research related to those two fields i mentioned earlier. Good day then...
He then presses another button on his terminal and the transmission ceases.
Ive had enough of disco for now. I might be back at the next mod release.
The Master of all things cyborg
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igh::