Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Omega-49 System, Zoner Space
Honya approaches the Gold-1, the ship in one of the hangars on the outskirts of the city. She knocks on the aft airlock door, waiting for Noel, a Gallic noble who had recently fled from her home. Her purple hair shimmers in the sun as she waits for her new friend, her usual outfit, a Maroon kimono with white Obi, blue thigh-high socks and turquoise sneakers, is what she chose for the occasion, wanting to welcome Noel in her original form.
"Noel-san? Seline-san? Is anyone home? She knocks again on the airlock, attempting to gain their attention. She looks around. it's a mostly quiet area, the place where Seline and the others set up shop to rest at, resting upon a hill adjacent to the city, trees abound, the ship the only thing in the small clearing. Honya rubs her arm a little, hoping she isn't disturbing anyone.
Honya frowns slightly, slightly depressed by Noel's distrust of her. "I won't speak of the Nomads unless you wish to.. as for Bride-san, she's inherently like that.. If it helps.. I trust you... I'm sorry if I bothered you.." She looks away, embarassed for apparently bothering Noel. "I.. I just wanted to.. hang out.. with you.. as it were.."
Her left hand begins playing with her Auburn hair, an old habit she falls into when she's lost in thought or confused.
"N-no... You aren't a bother." she sighs softly. "I had to see how you would react... Old habits die hard as it were..."
She looks away and seems to almost chastise herself internally.
"I'm sorry for upsetting you, it's just... All of this is unknown territory for me... Both in a literal and figurative sense, I'm not quite sure how to go about a situation like this." She looks back to Honya and smiles slightly. "I'd love to... Hang out, as you put it. Get to know my surroundings and maybe break some of my more... ingrained habits from life in the Nobility..."
Noel walks over to Honya and offers a handshake.
"Um... This might be a bit silly but... I am Noel Soraya... Pleased to meet you.
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Honya's face slowly materializes a smile. "It's okay. I can understand such things.. Being in Sirius must be very different for you, and to be honest, I liked meeting you in space the other day. I don't have many people to call friends other than Hanamura-sensei and Bride-san.. maybe Mark-kun and Seline-san as well."
"That'd be great.. there's a nice place down the hill, it's a nice restaurant, sells Kusarian cuisine.. Afterwards.. I have money to spend on new clothes.. if you'd like to join me for that." She continues. She shakes Noel's hand, only to proceed to bow afterwards, not wanting to be rude, but also engaging in her usual greeting. "Mieko Iekahara, or as I am most commonly known, Honya. Dozou yoroshiku onegaishimasu. "
"Sounds like a plan. Please, lead the way." She grins, happy that she's not among people who loath her like those on Marne and that she might prove trust worthy in the eyes of Seline's friends.
"I've heard quite a bit about these Freeports, especially Freeport eleven... Most of it not most positive. The Core and the Order... Both attacked it yes? From what Birdie told me, it seems rather... Extreme to me. doing that to such a station. To waste that many resources in Frontier space over a seeming neutral target..." She asks in an effort to make small talk.
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Honya nods and proceeds down a small pathway down towards the city. The way down to Las Palmas is paved by a large series of steps, covered overhead by a large canopy of trees, which just barely block out the sun, providing for what feels like walking through a forest, while the light still passes through the trees above. "Hanamura-sensei runs that Freeport. I've actually aided her in its' defense and administration for quite some time now.." she says, walking down the steps with Noel. "The situation is confusing, but not that hard to grasp - The Order and Core both lay claim to Omicron Delta. The Former has Dabadoru Station, which was once a Core installation. The Order essentially are the ones responsible for defeating the Nomads during the Nomad war of 800 A.S., 24 years ago. The Core are a group of Bounty Hunters turned quasi-house, known as Omicronis. They hold control of Yaren Base and Planet Nauru, and, although it has no value to the Core, Planet Tuvalu. There is also the Slomon K'hara and their infectees, humans who have become hosts for the Nomads - They have an installation in the Palau Cloud, which hosts another strange installation within, creating this unique gas known as Azurite.." she stops for a second, half way down the series of steps. "Anywho.. The Order and Core have been at war for quite some time, especially since Core lays claim to Yaren as its' capital. Over time, things have gotten worse regarding diplomacy. The Core destroyed Freeport 11 once, under the leadership of Erik Nodtviet. He's been assumed dead in recent days, succeeded by Enma Loyola, the current Guildmistress of the Core, whose been away tending to things - However, her interim commandant might as well be Erik Nodtviet.. Archos is his name, he's a radical with religious pretenses.. On the other side of the Coin, the Order is led by Michal Golanski and Sara Shepard, the former a raving lunatic no better than Nodtviet, who threatened to use nuclear weapons on not just Freeport 11, but Freeport 9 and Gran Canaria. Shepard tries to keep him under control, but it's only a matter of time before Sara ends up dead, much like her predecessor, Jeremy Hunter. The Order and Core are both monsters. One run by a pure lunatic that has betrayed the beliefs of the Order's founder, Casper Orillion, and the other run like a dictatorship. The Corsairs are only slightly better, as at least they'll give you your time in court from the sound of it." She finishes, arriving at the end of the stairs, leading to a pathway leading to a small wooden bridge. She turns to Noel as she walks. "By the way, this may be a non-sequitur, but I want to ask you something - do you think I am human?" she says, asking the strange question of Noel.
Noel follows close, her hands clasped behind her back. Nodding as she listens to Honya. "Sounds like what would happen if our-" She cuts herself off at referring to King Charles as "Her King" Even if what she has done can be considered treason, she still catches herself acting like she was still a member of the Roi's Guard. "The King... Met another version of himself. But... to threaten such a beautiful planet like this with nuclear weapons. I doubt even Charles would go that far, launch a long term siege and attempt to decimate the populous yes, but he would try to take this world intact."
She appears to be stupefied at her question, tilting her head and blinking repeatedly as if she had been slapped. "I... I-uh... You mean you're not?" She suddenly tenses up, appearing to ready herself for an attack. Her voice turns ice cold "From the way you've been speaking... Are you implying to be one of those... Infected?"
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Honya shakes her head and turns around. She removes her Obi, and lifts up her kimono to reveal the small off-color skin panel hiding her QPU Reading "INGENNUS RESEARCH GROUP HUMAN ANDROID FOR K/WA-11 INTERFACE - PROTOTYPE 01 'HONYA' ". "No.. I am merely an AI in a human body. You could say I'm human because of the latter, but you could also say I'm an AI because of the former. The interesting thing about my state, is the Nomads will most likely not bother infecting me - Since my actual "brain" is in my spine, and my brain in my head is just a interface for the body, you could shoot me, recover my Quantum processing unit, and place me in a new body, and I would be unharmed. I operate based on Artificial Neural Networks, nearly 1:1 with the Human brain." she says, tilting her head slightly and smiling at her friend. "If you have concerns about my motives as an AI, you should cast them aside - I feel myself just as much as part of the Human race as real humans, especially since I use a human body as a physical form - So there isn't anything to fear around me.. if anything, I would give my body, or if there was no other option, myself, to save my friends."
The tension seems to melt from her body and she takes a more lax stance again. "Oh... This is, amazing." Her eye's widen in realization of what she'd done. "Oh god... Honya I'm... I'm sorry for doubting you. I never would have thought that Sirius would have technology that advanced... And even if they did, to actually follow through and make such a... complete? AI..." She looks to the ground and sighs. "Seems almost cruel... to create a being like you, one that has emotions like a human... But the longevity of a Computer.
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