Mask or Menance IC Contact Post

[failureisntachoice]

[ An automated voice speaks because someone hasn't bothered to set up a proper voicemail. The only part in her voice is her name. ] You have reached Agent Texas. Leave a message at the tone.

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[failureisntachoice]

[ He had her interest, her own expression brightening with excitement, until that last question dampens it completely. ]

Yeah, I do. [ But the thought of him that close to her mentally... She's not sure that would be for the best with their current age discrepancy. ] Is your own body here not usable?

[fuckai]

[To Alpha, it's not even a question. That's just the simplest thing, the thing that makes the most sense. It's what he was made to do, after all.]

What? That thing? [He glances back to the armor.] Why the hell would I use that? It's armor, yeah, but that's not how I work.

[He waves one hand through the other, the white light flickering a little as he does it.] Hologram, Texas. Way more mobile this way.

[failureisntachoice]

More mobile, but less autonomous.

[ She nudges his unused armor with her foot. Why couldn't he just want to use that instead. With a sigh, she folds her arms over her chest. ]

Are you going to keep to yourself if I let you on board?

[fuckai]

Trust me, if I want to go somewhere, I'll go.

[He claps his hands together, though. Undeniably excited over the prospect of actually doing what he was designed for.]

What, you have shit to hide? [He raises a hand, though.] Yeah, I'll be a good shoulder AI and leave your stuff alone. Just basic access, sitting in the suit, not the head.

I know the drill, Agent. I was kind of designed to do this.

[failureisntachoice]

Agent? Really?

[ She rolls her eyes and slides her helmet back on. If he's only interfacing with her suit, then everything else should be fine. She's already reaching for his chip to install it. ]

And more like I don't want you digging around where you don't belong.

[fuckai]

It's what you are! [Look how defensive he sounds!!] But okay. Tex.

[His hologram floats on over to where she's getting his chip from, and he lets himself slide out of the housing and into the suit itself, mentally patting himself on the back for making that transition so smooth. He'll jump into her suit once the chips in place, but he doesn't really want to be in limbo in the meantime.

He's spent too long crammed inside his code, he doesn't really want to go back to that just yet. Even just for a few seconds.]

I won't. I'm not invasive, I swear. They didn't make me that way.

[failureisntachoice]

[ God, she hasn't truly been an agent in... Well, since she crashed the whole damn Mother of Invention to try to break him out. Even if she still went by it at times.

But he doesn't need to know that. It's irrelevant and instead she focuses on making sure she doesn't jam his chip in wrong. At least this is easy enough. ]

Just because they didn't make you that way, doesn't mean you aren't.

[fuckai]

With all the restrictions and safeguards they put on me, I don't really have a choice.

[Says the AI blatantly disregarding one of the Director's most stressed orders-- don't interact with the Freelancers.]

But I promise. No digging, no peeking, no getting shitty country songs stuck in your head.

[He makes the shift, jumping from suit to suit with only a slight flicker running through his avatar (and no silly possession sounds), settling into the woodwork and absently running through a system check in the back of his mind.]

So, Not-An-Agent Tex. What military stuff have you been up to?

[failureisntachoice]

Is that your version of a pick-up line?

[ Still better than any of Tucker's she's heard. She shrugs and moves to step out of his room. Has he even seen the rest of the house yet? ]</small Besides dealing with an occupation and a kidnapping, not a whole lot. They're not that efficient here.

[fuckai]

[Alpha can't help it, he has to laugh at that.]

I guess that depends on if it worked.

[He sort of drifts behind Tex, letting the range of her suit's projection drag him along into the main part of the house.]

Huh. I expected something less... homey than this.

[Oh. Wait. She's saying important military stuff. He clears his throat.] Occupation? Sounds like an ordinary old Earth Thursday.

[failureisntachoice]

You'll have to try harder than that.

[ Particularly after their last fight caused some drifting. A less tangible one than the movement of his hologram. She brings them out into the main room and does a slow walk through of the main floor. ]

It's what we were assigned. And it's less common here than you think. It's been over for a few weeks now.

[fuckai]

I'll keep that in mind.

[Hey, that was a fight in another life. As far as he's concerned, this is Beta. This is a collection of bittersweet memories that ate away at his head. A collection of a consciousness he had let form on their own.

As far as Alpha's concerned, the two of them have an unbreakable, intimate connection. Because that's just. How they were created.]

I was imagining more punching bags and targets. [But...] Okay, not common occupation. Actually serious.

... and it's just you and Agent Washington here? [Not that he doesn't trust Washington to be able to handle it, but.......]

[failureisntachoice]

[ She shakes her head. 'Punching bags and targets' describes things better before the Soviets took that extra step, but things have tensely returned to it. Well. Somewhat now that everyone's changed. ]

Out of the Freelancers? Yeah, and Epsilon who's another AI from the Project. [ She makes her way to the kitchen for lack of a better destination. ]

Not that it matters. They don't have an alien invasion going on.

[fuckai]

Epsilon? [Oh. That must be the designation of the guy who's going as Leonard Church.] Don't tell me, there's a Gamma and Delta too?

[Does he sound like he's pouting? Because he's definitely pouting.]

Freelancer wouldn't need other AI if I was just allowed to work.

[But that's a conversation for another time. Because he has to sigh at the mention of the war.]

Yeah, I guess everything ranks beneath alien invasion.

[failureisntachoice]

Yeah, but they aren't here.

[ And that's all he needs to know about the other AI fragments. ]

You do plenty of work without needing to hitchhike. Why won't you use your own body again?

[fuckai]

[He bristles. Uh, figuratively speaking.]

I was joking!! Why are there more?

[They must be a level below, if the Director managed to get more. Maybe on F.I.L.S.S.'s level, meant to handle one function rather than the versatility Alpha had.

Yeah. Yeah, that makes the idea a little easier to swallow.]

What, the armor in that room? [He crosses his arms, confused by what Tex is proposing.] Why would I? I function better in here. [A pause, before he gestures to Tex's helmet.] Well, in there. But the suit's second best.

Besides, this way I can jump to Washington, if he needs it. And I wouldn't just be leaving armor behind.

[failureisntachoice]

Because things change and we needed help.

[ Emphasis on the 'we' so he doesn't think they were replacements for him. It's an easier lie than the truth.

She eyes the hologram, knowing exactly what he means with that gesture. Maybe sometime she'll let him install there temporarily, but right now she's not chancing it. ]

Function better in here for what? I'm not about to go into combat and neither is Wash.

[fuckai]

[There's a moment of silence as Alpha stares at Tex, runs through their conversation up until now, puts it against things he found on the Network on his initial search.]

That future thing's actually true. [It's said quietly, almost... sadly.

A sigh escapes him, a human habit he picked up from the Director.] Shit really hits the fan, huh?

[He shrugs at her response, though. For him, the answer is obvious.]

I'm a combat AI, armor upkeep is just part of what I do, Tex. [A bit of humor returns to his voice.] Besides, it's you and Washington. Sooner or later you're going to search out a fight or he's going to fall into one.

[failureisntachoice]

Yeah it does. But at least we win the war in the end.

[ That much should bring him some solace, right? Because it hurts hearing his voice like that, knowing exactly what the 'future' holds for him if he really is from that far back.

She wishes she had never read those goddamn files CT had given her. They don't do her any good here except add another burden. But for him, she can pretend. She's done it before, for years, and she can do it again for however long this bullshit lasts. ]

I can handle my armor by myself, thanks. [ There's a small pause then, ] But I don't mind having a passenger every once in a while. But don't be afraid to use your own body, you're allowed to go places on your own here.

[fuckai]

[It's less out of worry for the future and more... for the fact that they apparently need more AIs in order to deal with whatever the future has in store. Whatever it is that disbands the Freelancers.

They're-- shit, they're like his family. The first thing he was told was that he was made to protect them. To help them. He's gotten to know them through records, through data and files and training videos. They're... his.

Knowing that somehow he's not enough to help them, to protect them-- it hurts.

Hurts enough that he has to drop the topic all together. At least until he can take the time to approach it on his own. To pick it apart and figure out what more he can do.]

I know you can, it's just-- [He hesitates, still not quite having dragged himself out of the logic loop he'd sunk into.] I'd rather be here. Helping.

I can't do that shoved in [a box] separate armor.

[failureisntachoice]

[ She sighs. ] Well, what do you want to help me with now then? And I don't always go around in my armor.

[ Which would mean an installation of a very different kind if he wanted to tag along outside of a storage unit. ]

[fuckai]

Oh. Uh-- [Shit, he hadn't thought of that. His entire existence has been nothing but guiding the ship and getting ready to help in combat. He never actually considered the possibility he'd ever be functioning outside of a war environment.] I don't... know.

[In the time since he came online, this is the first time he's been rendered speechless.]

What do you... do here? If it's not-- you know. Combat.

[failureisntachoice]

[ Okay that wasn't the reaction she was expecting. Great. ]

Work. I have a job with a security company that's started up by some others that were dragged here like us. Other than that... [ God, has her life really gotten this boring? Anything beats what's waiting for her back home.

She shrugs. ] I've been going day-by-day.

[fuckai]

[Look, he just wasn't prepared for that question! He's been preparing for something all this time and now... he's being asked to do something else. It's perfectly natural to freeze up!!]

Security? [He perks up. This he can work with.] Let me help with that, then. I can probably get your invisibility working twice as long, not to mention helping back up armor functions while you focus on the hitting.

[And... he's completely ignoring the fact that she said no combat. He's just really excited okay!!]

[failureisntachoice]

Yeah, I don't think there's a whole lot of security work going on right now. The two in charge became kids with whatever's going around.

[ But if he really wants to test her armor... Why the hell couldn't he want to do this normally? ]

You could grab Wash for a fight, if you really want to test things out.