[h2]Eight of Twelve - Aurora, Regeneration Alcove[/h2]
[i]Regeneration Cycle complete. All systems functioning within acceptable perimeters. Biological and Technological component sync complete.[/i]

Eight opened his eyes as the on board computer of the Aurora terminated his regeneration cycle. Because of his accident on the Pegasus station, the accident that had fused his higher brain functions with that of a computer and several of his limbs with cybernetic implants Eight no longer required sleep as it was thought of by most humanoid life. Instead Eight had constructed a special alcove on his ship which when activated put his body into a form of stasis while the computer realigned his implants with his organics.

He could go up to seventy two hours without it but to maintain peak efficiency he needed to regenerate for six hours every twenty four. His cycle complete Eight disabled his alcove on the Aurora. He did of course have his own Starfire quarters on the ship but given that he would have to build another of these chambers inside for it to be any use to him at all the quarters remained vacant.

Eight opened the doors from his craft's sickbay to the main bridge, which was in fact a small room with two chairs in front of piloting consoles that controlled the various systems of the ship. Behind the two consoles was a sealed tube big enough for one person to stand in. Because of Eight's unique cyborg physiology he could use this chamber to interact directly with the ships computer and use his own brain as the flight systems. However that was for long voyages or confrontations in which the ships computer could not adequately compensate for variables that Eight's brain could calculate.

At the moment the cyborg was simply running routine diagnostic and maintenance on his systems. The Aurora was a sleek black ship and one of a kind. When Eight had first started on her the Aurora had been the wreck of a long range tactical bomber. While it still bore definite resemblance to the original model almost all the systems had been rebuilt from scratch by Eight with whatever he could get his hands on. As a result the Aurora was completely unique in the galaxy.

Satisfied that his ship was running at peak efficiency. Eight was preparing to leave when a notice appeared on his console screen alerting him to the fact that Starfire had three new contracts that were being tasked out to this unit. Eight had no feelings one way or another about the contracts themselves however the probability of success, the compensation expected and the likely hood of casualties indicated that protecting the Babylon IV would grant the crew the highest monetary gain for the lowest risk assuming no anomalous components made themselves known.

Eight left the ship after presenting that as his preferred assignment. The contracts themselves also meant very little to Eight, the money was useful of course but the real reason Eight was here was to make use of Starfire's vast influence and resources, there was someone in the galaxy waiting for him. He just needed to find her.

Eight sealed the Aurora and scrambled the entrance command with a intuitive resequencer so that it could only be opened either by his biomechanical signature or a very skilled hacker. Eight didn't trust anyone, and so kept anything of value out of reach of anyone else. 

Eight was always awake early because he only required six hours of regeneration compared to the rest of the crew's more demanding sleep schedules. Despite the early hour a good portion of the crew seemed to already be awake and inhabiting the ship's galley. Because Eight required nutritional supplements to maintain his organic systems this was where he was required to go.

When Eight opened the door several heads glanced in his direction and then quickly away. Eight had always got the impression that he unnerved the rest of the crew. Perhaps it was the precise way he spoke or the remains of the ocular implant curved around his eye socket and diode embedded next to his right ear. It may even have been that of most of the crew he was one of the few that didn't wear any sort of protective armaments. Whatever it was it wasn't important to Eight.

He crossed the room to a food station. A scan of the coffee machine by Eight's ocular implant revealed that several of the regulator coils in the back were out of sync. Eight had fixed this problem twice in the last week. The logical conclusion would be to have the device either replaced or rebuilt. Eight turned to the food replicator the station was equipped with. Eight had design schematics for luxury cruisers that had replicators which were capable of creating the most exotic dishes in the known galaxy. This was [i]not[/i] one of those replicators. The more complex the meal created the more power the replicator required and the more precisely it had to be designed. This unit appeared to be cobbled together from spare parts and as a result only produced the most basic food supplements. It could do gruel and some simple food in the a pinch but Eight wasn't interested in that.

"Nutritional supplement 46 Beta." He said to the system and it materialized a bowl of small green square objects a quarter of an inch on both sides. They had almost no taste but provided the most efficient form of nutrient assimilation into the body. He'd designed these specific for his physiology.

He took a seat at a table which had another occupant. This didn't bother Eight at all. The one sitting across from him was female, she was on the smaller side with blue hair. Interestingly enough her hair branched up into an extra set of ears. Eight scanned her up and down with his ocular implant. He wasn't exactly an expert on biological lifeforms the same as he was with machines so most of the data he receive made no sense to him. He deleted a good portion of it deeming it [i]unnecessary[/i], only retaining an imagine of her appearance for the sake of recognizing her and a note of the evident differences between her and other humans he'd come into contact with.

When his scan was complete he looked at her with unblinking storm grey eyes and said. "You appear to be a form of mutant. Please elaborate."