EliteCommander

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Oh, don’t worry so much. Light is a plenty-skilled pilot; we’ll be fine. Jess wouldn’t be sending us if it was too risky. Besides, she’s coming too, so if it was, her ass would be on the line too.” Senjen shrugged. He finished up with her feathers as best as he could. He was no professional avian stylist, but he could get her to be neat and presentable, at least. “We will be gone a few days, I think, with the travel time and everything, but when we get back, the drinks are on me.”

---

Once they made it back to the Myrmidon office, it did not take long for Senjen and Light to receive the attention of some familiar faces. While Light was returning his borrowed suit, Senjen sat down with Ferrow once more to iron out the details of the contract. He knew from going over the contract with Jess what aspects of the offers he did and did not want to accept, so Ferrow would probably find him to be reasonably prepared, at least compared to the average customer off the street. What Senjen questioned him on in particular was the content creator program, as he wanted to know the specifics of what kind of briefs he would be receiving. He needed to know not only that he would be able to actually reasonably fulfill each brief that came, but that he would be able to fulfill those obligations while keeping his...business outside the FGC a secret. He, of course, did not ask directly, but by the end of it he had a better idea of what they would be expecting from him. The contract evidently guaranteed that the briefs needed to be “reasonable” to complete in his line of work, which was at least a bit reassuring. If there was one kind of law that Korit did enforce, it was contract law.

Ultimately, Senjen decided to accept the offer on the program, along with the other decisions he had made with Jess before. He signed the contract and made the deposit. He would receive his first brief in the next month, so for now all there was left was to receive the new frame.

Preparing a computer to receive a Utaysi personality matrix was a process that required some time and specialized knowledge, but Myrmidon was more than capable of it. With the frame prepared, the actual transfer itself was fairly simple and straightforward. Light went in with Senjen to watch the transfer. The new frame was laid out on a table, with a direct, physical connection to another table just beside. Senjen laid down and hooked in his own frame, and from there, Myrmidon’s job was done. The actual algorithms for matrix transfer were not something that were known, even to the Utaysi themselves, as they were contained within the personality matrix itself. The process was something close to an “instinct” for him. His personality matrix detected a valid matrix container in the same network, scanned it to test for compatibility, then offered him the choice to proceed with the transfer. To anyone observing, it took less than a minute. For Senjen, it was even faster. His senses shut down and he lost awareness for just a moment, then suddenly his vision was booting up again...sharper than before.

Senjen opened his eyes, blinking a few times. Eyelids may have served little function to them, but it was an instinct that felt natural. He lifted up a hand and looked down upon it, then started articulating each digit in turn.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Ah, he just doesn’t want you to worry, but it’s not that bad.” Senjen chimed in. In the corner of his vision, he brought up a picture of Ruk for reference so he could try to comb down her feathers just as she liked them.

“Jess just got a tip on some salvage. She could probably handle it herself, but it’s in a bit of a dangerous area of space, so she wants Light at the helm to be safe. Some hazardous astronomical phenomena, but it’s nothing Light hasn’t dealt with before. I’m not worried.” Senjen explained. It wasn’t a lie, really, it just was not the full story. With the kind of business she ran, there really was not much question as to why Jess would want some valuable salvage. “So what are you getting called in for? I didn’t think you were meant to be working today?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen nodded back at Light. “Yeah, I’m going to get that new body today. It’s expensive, but it’s just better. More capable. It’ll open up new opportunities. Have to spend money to make money.”

Ruk’s interruption, however, was quick to grab Senjen’s attention. “Oh, that’s not good. I’d hope you’d have more time. Okay, uh…” He pulled around his tail, grabbed the pitcher of water, and carefully handed it to her. “Here, drink this. I mixed in something that’s supposed to help with a hangover. Just, uh...give me a moment.”

Senjen quickly rushed back inside, and the pair could hear him rummaging around for a minute before he returned with a glass of water. He moved around behind Ruk’s chair and splashed just a small amount of water on her still-disheveled feathers. Neither he nor Light owned a comb, but he could extend his claws and lock his fingers in place to use his hand as a substitute to try and flatten down her feathers.

“Got to get you ready as quickly as we can. They keep your, what’s it called...scrubs at the hospital, right? Just need to get you presentable, then.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Nonsense. If you organics are going to insist on wasting your time ‘sleeping’, then I’m just going to have to be even more productive to make up for it.” Senjen responded back from within the ship. It was not long before he came walking down the ramp, two plates in hand and his tail wrapped around a full pitcher of water. “That thing they gave me last night was wild. I guess I don’t know exactly if it was like what you feel, but it was definitely...something. I felt like I could hardly walk at one point. Crawling was easier.”

After a moment, Senjen stepped around in front of the pair. “Of course, I could just turn it off when I was done. You...not so much.” He pushed Light’s plate into his suit, while for Ruk he held onto the plate and just plopped one of the soft boiled eggs straight into her beak. “I’ll do as much as I please for the two of you, and you can’t stop me. I’ve already cleaned the ship, your suit, and Ruk’s clothes, I’ve made breakfast, and I’ve got what I’m pretty sure is a hangover remedy.”

Senjen narrowed his eyes at Light, speaking in a tone as if he were threatening him. “But I’m warning you, if you keep complaining, I’ll just have to start giving massages too. Don’t think I won’t.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

In this case, Senjen felt like he was in agreement with Ferrow. The night was fun, but it was probably best that they not go around talking about it. He was still...unsure on how he felt about this whole idea of intoxication. The feeling made it easy for him to let loose, but part of him did worry about what he might end up doing if he tried it again.

Senjen’s head lowered slightly and the tip of his tail slapped the ground when Light wrapped himself around him: something approximately akin to a deep sigh. “I...yeah, sure. Let’s just…”

Light dropped to the ground before Senjen could finish speaking. “Okay...so how are you, Jess?”

The Human had been walking a short distance back from Light while his focus had been on Senjen, mostly so she did not attract it herself. She was in a much better state than the others, having gone light on the drinks. At most, she was buzzed. “Fine. Just watching...maybe taking a clip or two he can watch back later.” She chuckled.

“Well at least you’re still lucid. I think it’s about time to get back. Ruk can stay over at the ship, and I can watch over them both. I know you have a busy day tomorrow.” Senjen remarked.

Jess shrugged. “I can help you get ‘em situated, at least. It’s not like I live far.”

“Thanks.” He looked down on Light at his feet. “So, buddy, want to get up, walk out on your own with me?” He asked with obvious sarcasm. After collapsing, Light was not being terribly responsive, and while Ruk was technically standing, she was not doing much better. She was staggering around and did not seem terribly aware. With how crowded the club still was, he mostly just wanted to get them both out quickly.

Reaching down, Senjen got one arm under Light’s suit, then hoisted him up onto his shoulder in one quick motion. From there, he approached Ruk and did the same to lift her up onto the other shoulder. Senjen’s frame was shorter than Ruk, and smaller overall than Light with his suit, but he carried them both together, and seemingly without even much effort. “Alright, time to go you two. Why don’t you lead us in a song, Light?”

“Are you trying to torture me right now?” Jess glared at Senjen.

“Hey, it’ll keep them occupied. Not my fault you can’t mute your ears.”

---

The taxi ride back to the ship did not come with too much in the way of trouble. Senjen knew that Jess was going to have a busy day tomorrow, so after they got the other two out of the taxi and into the ship, he insisted that she go home and get some rest. He could take care of their friends for however long they needed it.

Being that Senjen did not sleep, it was not uncommon for him to be out on the town all night, but given the circumstances, he was going to be spending the majority of that time in and around the ship to keep an eye on the others. Although, he did not spend that time simply being idle. For his friends, he mostly just let them entertain themselves for as long as they were still conscious, while making sure they did not get it in their heads to wander too far from the ship. When he was not wrangling them, he was getting ready for the next day. He made sure Light’s suit was purged of all contaminants and ready to return to Myrmidon when they went back tomorrow, as well as getting Light’s own suit cleaned and pristine to inhabit once more. He made sure Ruk would have a clean outfit, and since he had plenty of time, tidied up the ship as well. The left the ship only for a short time after they were asleep, just to make sure he would have some hangover remedies on-hand for them the next morning.

When Light and Ruk finally did awaken, it would be to the scent of familiar cooking in the air. Senjen knew they would be in pain, so he had the lights dimmed. He knew both of their favorite foods, and so he was in the midst of preparing them. Senjen may not have been able to eat himself, but he was perfectly capable of following a set of instructions.

“Good morning.” Senjen said as softly as he could while still being audible once he started hearing movement. “You both just rest and relax. I’ll have everything ready in just a few minutes.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen could not reach the boat as Ruk had. It had been heading out deeper into the water, and he would just end up walking along the lakebed if he tried to follow. But for him, he only needed seconds without the virus impairing him for his mind to reset compromised systems and re-adjust to normal sensory input. Unlike the organics around him, his “intoxication” could practically be turned off at the snap of one’s fingers, by comparison. Now that he was seeing more clearly, the reality of how their surroundings had been manipulated to a more fabricated appearance became just as clear.

Ferrow’s approach quickly grabbed Senjen’s focus. He was still looking confused, but it was a much more “normal” sort of confusion than before. “Oh, um, yeah, but I think something went wrong at the end. I had to take it out. Uhh…” He extended his hand out towards Ferrow. “Do you want it back?”

Now that he could think clearly, Senjen waded back to shore, since that was where the boats were heading regardless. For a moment, he looked back out to Light’s boat. Jess he could see near to Light, laughing openly while she watched the struggle. Like the Myrmidon employees, she did not seem to be quite so impaired. He took a moment to message her. ”I’m just coming back to my senses now. Is everything alright with Light?”

Senjen could see her pause for a moment before her reply. ”Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it. You don’t need to be so afraid.”

It was not the first time Senjen had been out with the others drinking, but it was the first time he had been able to experience anything close to what they did, and it gave him a lot to process. Nevertheless, he could still see now that whatever they had taken was hitting Ruk particularly hard, and he wanted to keep an eye on her. Since the boat was heading back, he waited on shore where it was going to land to meet her.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

For Senjen, there was quite a lot that happened in a short few moments. Ruk pointed behind him, which was enough to get him to turn his head and glance back. While he saw the boat, he was not in a state to be quick enough to avoid it. He did lower his head and lurch forward, which was enough that it mostly just hit his back and forced him under. Then...everything went from surprising, to just plain strange. There was something in the water. Faces. There was everything from Utaysi and Tekeri, to rough shapes of nightmarish creatures. He could see them floating through the water, as well as moving in the distorted silhouettes of trees he could see looking up from below the water line.

As if that were not enough, a line of symbols danced across his field of view. It was hard enough to focus on anything in particular, and now he could hardly see what was in front of him. It was...words: an error log? What was wrong? Was something crashing? He could move his body, but it still immediately frightened him. He had been hit, but that did not usually cause something like this. Was it the light in the sky, or no...the virus! That had to be it. Something was wrong, and he had to get it out.

Senjen opened the slot for the memory disk and reached his hand back, scratching his claws along the back of his neck as he struggled to feel around for the opening. He knew where it was, he was pretty sure. Finally, a claw found its way in, and he managed to grab the stick and yank it out. The sudden termination of its programs sent yet another error log across his field of view, until his visual sensors crashed, along with sound, touch on his left arm and lower body, and proprioception. His motor control was fine, but the program had interacted with a lot of his senses, and many of them required a reboot.

After about ten seconds, Senjen stood back up from under the water. There were no more creepy faces and his vision was back to normal, at which point he realized that it had actually been distorted all this time. “Ah...is this what a headache is? You alright, Ruk?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

For a while, Senjen felt like he was starting to get a handle on this virus and the state it put him in, but it was on the way to the water that something changed. It had been confusing his senses, which was still the case, but as he tried standing back up on two feet, it was like the whole world shifted. The virus was confusing him...differently, just as he had been starting to get used to it.

Senjen was in a haze for a short while as he tried moving through the crowd after Ruknar. There were people talking to him, touching him, trying to hand him things, but he just mumbled “thanks” and “excuse me” a few times, mildly incoherently. It took a few moments for him to somewhat to the changes, but he did come out the other side walking slightly straighter, and holding some sort of drink for some reason.

Scanning his surroundings, Senjen spied Ruk again and waded out into the water after her. Currently, he was in a better state than her, though not by much. He tried in vain to remember what he had been thinking about moments ago. There was somewhere they wanted to be, and something he needed to remember, but after catching up with Ruk, his mind went blank. He hardly even noticed her lose her bag or get sick, or it might have reminded him.

“Okay, wait. Wait wait wait wait...wait.” Senjen began. He put one hand on her shoulder, while in the other he held the drink he was not letting go of for some reason up above the water line. “...wait.” What was it? There was something he wanted to do, or needed to say. Was it important? After a long silence, he just said something that came to mind. “I...can’t swim.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Oh...oh yeah!” Senjen remarked. Light’s suit was one that stood out among a crowd, though Senjen still had not noticed them at all until Ruk had pointed them out. “Let’s hurry and get another boat before they get too far away!” He took her hand to encourage her to hurry along with him to catch up with the others. Although, trying to rush just ended up with him stumbling. At the very least, he had the courtesy to let go of her before falling flat on his face.

Senjen did not get up quickly. In fact, he did not stand back up at all, but rather took a stance on all-fours. It was just as natural of a way for Utaysi to move, and far more stable than trying to stand in his current condition. The sound of him hitting the ground was deep, heavy, and for those with the presence of mind to think about it, a reminder of the fact that he was fairly heavy. He would sink a crowded boat.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen was relieved to have found Ruknar again. He did not want to be alone here at any point, but it made him even more glad to have run into her again. Even if that was more literal than he had intended. “Oh, good, I didn’t know...couldn’t find you for a second. There was this whole maze, and monsters, and I think some Humans were trying to eat each other’s faces. I think...I think you started a trend? I don’t know, but I found you, so...that’s good.” For some reason, Senjen got it into his head to try and put the feather he had been carrying around right back from where he had plucked it.

Bringing himself more into the moment, Senjen could not quite wrap his head around what he was looking at. His scrambled senses did not completely stop him from understanding his surroundings. He still knew they were in a club, consciously, which was hard to reconcile with what he was actually seeing. “Huh?” He began, staring off in the same direction as Ruk. “A hologram, or...I guess?”

“Can we go up there? It’s so strange, but it’s so far away.” Senjen questioned. Most would not be able to tell, but Ruk could have an inkling that he was mildly afraid. “Or maybe the lake?”