The ship wasn't any better than on the ground. There was some sort of problem, some conflict in his programming response to Japan and Japanese civilians that didn't quite gel with the concept of Japan's of other worlds or going directly from the island into space. The end result of this conflict was that he was normal when he was alone in the halls of the Ruler of the Sea he was fine. Functioning normally. However, whenever his finely tuned sensor picked up even the hint that someone else was around, something booted up in his head and he felt his mind and body slow down. It booted on. It booted off. It would boot on again as he started to turn the next corner. It was like a toddler had discovered his stupid switch and was eagerly flicking it on and off for her sick amusement.

It wasn't just the constant switching that was irritating him, either. Every single second he spent in "user friendly" mode was a second where it would be harder to identify the aberrant thoughts flowing from Souji's heart into [I]his[/I] head. There was the uncomfortable notion that this might have been going on all along, that he had simply never been "himself" long enough to learn how to properly distinguish between his thoughts and Souji's. There was another possibility, however. One he wouldn't have acknowledged if he was a human but his robotic nature would not allow him to turn away from. What if these aberrant thoughts had only begun recently? What if Souji's heart was becoming stronger somehow? This seemed far more likely to v2 than him simply missing these signs for two years, and this possibility brought to mind one last question related to this unprecedented situation. If Souji's heart, his personality, became too strong what would become of his replacement? 

It is because of these fears that v2 took a circuitous route through the ship, making his way through the more quiet and unused parts of the ship to remain as himself for as long as he could. Too make sure none of those aberrant thoughts slipped through. If he heard someone coming he would move the other way. If he saw a door open he would duck around a corner. He even resorted to concealing himself within empty rooms and closets at a few points, waiting until the footsteps and voices vanished before continuing on his way. This was frustratingly impossible as he came to the living quarters, and he felt himself fall into Souji's slow, easy going gait as the sheer density of people destroyed any hope of further resistance.

He stored the box containing the head in a trunk at the boot of his bed. He would have to confirm that it was indeed what he thought it to be, but if his suspicions proved true he wasn't stupid enough even in this form to take this anywhere near the princesses. Just to make sure he acquired a pen and wrote [b]CONTENTS HIGHLY RADIOACTIVE[/b] across the top. He took a moment to appreciate the perfect handwriting afforded him by privacy before heading back out into public.

As he opened up the door to the holding cells he saw that he wasn't the first one here. "Drake. Mai." He greeted with a tired little wave before entering the room. "I sort of thought this briefing thing was my job?" He said, then gave them both a weak smile. "Just as well, I really don't feel up to this right now. So I don't mind the help. Have you started yet, how much do they know?" He turned to the scared kids in the room. "How much do you already know?"

[@SMS][@Rex]