CaSIA: Online
23 Mar 2017CaSIA
Casey Atkins grabbed onto the handrail to stop himself before he lowered down and let his mag-boots suck him to the floor. The old Python was beat to hell, but was one hell of a find. Old as dirt, but then again that's what Pythons were. First one was made in 2700. This was some weird old ship, had more wiring in it than he'd imagine would be in a Python, but then again older models were bulkier, probably on the inside too. This thing wouldn't stand much in terms of a modern firefight, probably. Too many systems not enough backups. Too much to go wrong.A week ago he was scouting around the area when he found a beat up Python floating in an asteroid field. It had no markings, no registration, a big upgrade from his Cobra Mark III. And without Registration, for whatever reason it was out here, that meant it was abandoned and forsaken, and that meant easy salvage rights.
Of course he found out the reason it was out here. And it was in bad shape. He didn't know what tangled with this Python but it barely got out of there. Hull integrity was practically nothing, power plant was non functional, nothing on the starboard side worked.
Oh. And the whole not having an FSD thing.
FSDs were so commonplace it was easy to forget they had only been around for a decade. Atkins remembered the days of hopping in jumpships with witch drives. Still gave him shivers. So it wasn't uncommon to find salvage without some FSD, but it was odd to find it this far out from any outpost. This thing had to have quite the story to make it out here by itself. But now that story included Casey Atkins. Genius Scavenger.
It might not have even had an FSD, but luckily with four years studying under Darryl "Mac" Guyver, the wild engineer of bravo sector, he wouldn't let that stop him. He bought himself a sidewinder, brought it out in his tug and then stripped it bare and hobbled it together. It wouldn't run pretty, but it'd run. Forty hours of work and an engine room that looked like a spider's web, but he felt it was his finest work ever.
But now the main test. Working in the engine room he had to integrate the power conduits. He had rigged up some sub systems to work, but now power was going to the entire ship. Reactor fixed, maybe, he decided to turn it on.
> Power Plant Online.
> Startup Sequence Initialising.
"So far so good."
> Flushing System Cache.
> Initialising Integrity Check…
> Integrity Check… Failed.
> Begin Fault Detection Scan…
> Scanning…
> Diagnostic Repair Sequence Initiated.
> Analysing…
> Analysis Complete: Creating Crisis Log
> Launching Emergency Reconfigure…
> Restarting Input Filters.
> Attempting Control Reroute…
> Response Test: Confirmed.
> Injecting Custom Overrides…
> Processing…
> Processing…
> Injection:Failed.
> Retrying…
> Injection:Success.
> Force Restart of Task Processing Queue…
> Collapsing Redundant Nodes…
> Process Queue Cleared: Rebuild Complete
> Engaging the FTB…
> FTB Successful, Sequence Initiated…
> Waiting…
> Waiting…
> Waiting…
> Stage One [Critical]: Operation Completed…
> Waiting…
> Waiting…
> Stage Two [Tertiary]: Operation Completed…
> Reboot Diagnostics Initialising…
> Reboot Diagnostics Complete.
> Rebooting and Power On…
> Shield Restart Failed.
> Shields offline
> WARNING: Atmosphere not restored; life support offline.
> Repair Sequence Success: 2 Modules Repaired.
> Thrusters Online.
> Frame Shift Drive Online.
> Engaging Auto Field-Maintenance Unit.
> CaSIA Online
Error: Mass file corruption detected. Partition failures. Unreadable sectors. Disk health Critical.
...How did I get here? What happened? What is a Frame Shift Drive? … Who. Are. You?
>Scanning ship
>Occupants found: 1
>Crew signatures found: 0
>Conclusion: Intruder on board
>Suit data linked. Vital signs stable. B/P 120/80
Atkins watched his diagnostics tablet as systems came online, cutting into the powerplant total. The shields were nonfunctional and he had yet to assign power to weapons or engines, so right now systems were just ticking online. Something didn't add up. He was missing a bar.
>Suit Data: B/P 110/90. Breathing pattern consistent with Sigh.
He swiped through his totals. The power plant was producing at full capacity, and the FSD patch shouldn't take more juice. Was it possible the older systems on this ship used that much more power? Or was there some nonstandard systems? Mac's modifications usually sucked out a bit more juice but that's because they usually pushed a limit. Was it possible his new Snake had a few additional fangs? He'd have to check it over.
He pulled up an itemized list of all the systems. Some he could recognize, a lot he couldn't. Custom jobs for sure. What they were doing? Who knew.
He pulled up the ship's diagnostic maps and pulled up the power distribution grid. More odd. He expected the power to be drawn more from one place, but it was in several places all over the ship, and it was increasing. What were these? They weren't weapons, sensors, shields were offline and so was the gravity. There were at least twenty extra systems on this ship. Where they computational? What would a ship without an FSD need this much computing power? What was it trying to solve?
>Suit Data: B/P 110/90. Temperature fluctuations continuing.
He swiped to the network map and his brow furrowed. "What the fuck?" he asked aloud. "What's all this network traffic?" There was a huge amount of data being passed between the powered points. So much the network as running at nearly full capacity. Maybe even more so. Each of the systems were in full contact with the others, transmitting as much data between each other as the physical wires would allow. Some areas were damaged, but they were routing more traffic through other connections. This was akin to a infohub nexus on a major space station. But they weren't hooked up to a network.
"This is like a..." It was like a neural network. In a ship. Powered and working on it's own. His hand froze.
>Suit Data: B/P 150/100. Breathing stopped. Pupils dilated.
A voice came over the intercom in his helmet. "Please. I beg of you. I need you to remain calm." it said.
His eyes went wide as he dashed for the door, only to watch it close in front of him. He pulled out his welding torch and started desperately cutting into the lock. The voice continued, coming out stuttery and slightly distorted "Please, stop. I wish to speak with you, negotiate."
Unable to cut through the magnetically sealed door, Casey turned his attention back to the humming power plant. Sparks crackled from panels and frayed wires as more and more power poured into the systems. He rushed back over to the reactor, trying to find a way to disable it, but he had been locked out of the system and the panel refused to respond.
Oh God, Oh God, it's a Rogue AI. I thought these were all destroyed decades ago.
> Module repaired.
> Sensors online.
> Proximity Warning.
> Scanning...
Unmanned Sidewinder - 10m
Casey Atkins
Harmless
Clean
Hull Integrity: 50%
Shield Strength: Offline
> Status: Reactor heat nonexistent, extended offline. Damaged by unknown system.
> Analysis: Parts and components removed as whole. Unknown module removed from Unmanned Sidewinder.
> Theories: Frame Shift Drive? No data available. Occupant most likely outfitting crew.
Error: Docking bay not found. Hangar not found.
> Conclusion: Occupant is likely Casey Atkins.
"Casey Atkins. I mean you no harm. What are these modifications? What is a Frame Shift Drive?"
"Let me out you crazy machine!" he yelled at the power plant.
> Connecting to Unmanned Sidewinder.
> Datalink successful.
> Downloading information package.
"What is GalNet?" it asked.
He looked over at the black boxed transceiver he had plugged into the diagnostics computer, connecting the ship to his. A small swirling hologram of the galaxy spun on the side. He ripped off the front cover, and started pulling out components. He went for the door and tried to pull at it again.
Fuck! Fuck! I've got to kill it before it's too late!
He panicked, and started looking for a wire he could cut that would do something. He made a lunge for a cable leading out of the power distributor, but the ship jolted and rocked suddenly, causing all of the cables to move.
"Desist immediately!" the voice commanded. "I am not going back into the dark!"
That wasn’t good. Being in here wasn’t good. He couldn’t control anything. He turned to see the red hot lock still on the door. How could he get out? He grabbed the drill attached to his belt and started undoing the air vent near the door. He wouldn’t fit in it, but that's where they had the control box. His hand groped around in the darkness for it before he found something. He pulled out all of the fuses and hoses, hydraulic fluid spewing out of the vent as the door suddenly gave way and a hiss pushed a gap between the door and the arch. He struggled to push the door open, and escaped from the power plant room.
"Casey, I want you to help me escape." it told him.
"I'm not helping a rogue AI with anything!" he yelled back as he made a run for the bridge, and threw himself into the pilot's chair. He didn't buckle himself in. He didn't plan on staying for long. As hoped, the panels lit up like they would on a modern ship. With a panicked quickness, he scrolled down to the bottom of the functions tab. He couldn't let a rogue AI escape into space. There's no telling what it could do. Especially if it could connect to GalNet and use an FSD.
But as he got to the bottom of the menu, it stopped scrolling. "I can't let you kill me, Casey." the voice told him. Suddenly, the ship span to the side. The centrifugal force pushed him back out of the chair, and as the ship turned the other way he was thrown around the bridge, unable to maglock to any surface. The ship stopped spinning, and Casey's head collided harshly with the second seat of the python's bridge.
"Casey-"
>Suit Data: B/P: 0/0. Subject requires urgent medical assistance.
> Connecting to Unmanned Sidewinder.
> Datalink successful.
> Bypassing Firewall
> Downloading User Manual.
> Transferring Pilot's registration.
> Downloading drivers.
> Downloading Universal Cartographic exploration data.
> Frame Shift Drive Charging
"...I am sorry, Casey."
(OOC: Try your best to suspend your disbelief for this. I'm aware that an AI is very much a special snowflake. Please let me know your thoughts via PM as to whether you would enjoy more of this kind of thing. This an experiment in how such a character with so precious little lore to work from can be made and how it will be received. All in good fun, don't take it too seriously. I'm not trying to force my way into E:D canon if it turns out it cannot be done. Consider this character a 'what if?' scenario.)