:Edit: //Any input from any of you is fine with me, but please PM it. This'll be added to as time goes on and as i come up with more storyline. Most of it is based on actual things i did in game so....well...i'll stop typing about it and actually type it.
...so here goes nothing.
Data Entry #1:
Dear...whoever is reading this junk,
My name is Tarkis. Yes i know it's strange, but my name truly is just - Tarkis. I'm an orphan, you see, so i have no last name. Heck, i'm not even sure if Tarkis was intended to be my first. My parents, the lazy good-for-nothings, left me in the cargo hold of a merchant ship on the planet i'm assuming i was born on, Manhattan. Lucky for me those merchants were nice, caring people...
Wait...wait...i'm getting ahead of myself.
You still have no idea what you're reading!
This lovely piece of writing your eyes are currently feasting upon is my journal.
I occasionally have trouble sleeping, so it gets dreadfully boring sitting in this cockpit cooped up in the dock of some station. i don't feel i should need to pay for a room...i did, after all, steal a pretty spacious cargo ship. Why not just sleep in here? I see nothing wrong with it...anyway...
Lets get back to where i turned off from my little story...
Those merchants that found me in the heap of scrap metal they had sitting in their hull, they were Charlotte and Frank. Brother and sister of some far off station out in one of the Omicron systems. How they managed to get all the way to Liberty in this hunk of trash i'll never know. I would ask but...they get all touchy when their past is brought up, not to mention i'm no where near them right now. I suspect i would be dead if i was.
Yes...i just said i think my foster family would kill me.
No...they arn't evil. They just care about their ship. The ship i'm in. The ship i stole from them. My ship.
Look i know what you're thinking...but just...stop thinking for a minute.
I'm not the ungrateful little son of a nomad whore that you think i am.
I needed to leave.
I had to leave.
Why? I'll tell you why...
First of all...Liberty is stifling. So many people, most of which don't give a rats tail about anyone but themselves. So many corrupt...you know what? Nevermind.
I hate Liberty, lets just leave it at that.
Now...this is no reason to steal a ship, i know.
There was another...small...reason.
I just...uh...kinda...bet a Corsair 600 thousand credits that, of course, i didn't have.
Obviously i lost that bet...
I didn't want my shipmates to die, and I certainly didn't want to be a blob of laser fodder myself so...
i left in Charlotte and Frank's freighter.
What? You still think i'm a bad person?
Well...i did leave all the cargo and every piece of equipment and hardware that i didn't need to keep this tin can in the air.
I even left the navigation computers.
Bad move on my part...
Not only are they extremely cheap...but it's a lot harder to navigate without one. As i found out the hard way.
If they ever get a hold of this journal...Sorry foster parents. You were nice... and stuff...don't hate me. did you find the cookies i left with the nav system? Oh wait...nevermind i took those with me.
Anyway.
After months of travel, and when i noticed my food and water rations were running dangerously low, i decided i would land at the next station or planet i could.
It was Freistadt, in the Omega-7 system.
When i was told this...i was worried i didn't go far enough.
That worry was soon obliterated after i traded a mercenary my freighter for his fighter. (He apparently was sick of working for other people...and was slightly intoxicated...)
With my new Tiger Shark light fighter, equipped with a fully operational Nav Map...i realized how far i had gone.
After the initial shock...i was more happy than i had been since i left.
Not only because i had been showing signs of insanity, cooped up alone in that freighter for months, but also because i was far...far away from that Corsair on Manhattan.
Then another huge idea hit me...
"Wait...why was there a Corsair on Manhattan....oh come on Tarkis! You idiot!."
Obviously...the chances of that guy being a Corsair were so slim i considered turning myself in for being a danger to society. *Warning: Dangerously stupid. Likely trip and fall on a pregnant lady while trying to chase a coin tied to a pranksters finger.*
Ah, i remember. I had just realized i was brainless...let's go a little into the future, i don't really feel up to reliving my stupidity.
So...after a few days of relaxation, i discovered i had a small problem.
I was running out of money...
I had spent nearly all i had for supplies when i left Manhattan.
"Hm...this isn't good...i wonder how many credits i have left...i should probably check?..."
...
"..."
"AAH!!"
I had 60 credits.
Sixty measly credits that might buy me a few weeks of cheap moldy food.
I needed a job. Now i know what you might be thinking...'Uh oh, he's about to do something entirely stupid again, and this time it might really be a Corsair he bets!'
But no, actually i used my brain and realized that i was sitting in a fully equipped fighter.
Sure the gear wasn't top notch, but it was definitely a step above many of the local rag-tag criminals.
Plus the only skill i had, the only skill i have to this day, is piloting. I'm an Ace, [color=#3333FF]a master dominator, [color=#33FF33]the cat's pajamas and [color=#33FFFF]the bee's knees of [color=#CC33CC]Sirius fighter pilots!
...Or at least i thought i was.
Yea...so...what happened on that first mission i took?
I bet you really want to know.
As some gamers back on Manhattan would say...i was owned.
Completely and utterly.
I didn't take out a single ship, and spent the whole time dodging while my mission partners took them out.
What Shame!
Sure i could dodge, but what good is that if i can't hit my target?!
I don't want to dodge a pirate for hours on end, i want it to be over in an instant!
Me on the winning side, of course...
So i did the only other thing i was good at besides dodging...i read.
I read and i read, then i read some more while eating my breakfast consisting of warm milk, a moldy biscuit, and more reading.
I studied piloting books, i learned what to watch out for, i learned what mistakes to take advantage of.
I learned that experience is the ruler of all that exists.
If you don't have experience, you don't exist. As far as anyone else is concerned.
So after reading every piloting book in the station's library computers, i was out of credits, and out of food. It was definitely time to test my mettle.
My second mission, i took it easy. Just a routine scouting route around a nearby gas cloud.
No hostiles had been seen there for quite some time, and i was assured that it would be boring, and safe.
Oh boy.
They lied!
Myself and three police officers were all they sent, and i swear they had to have known something was there.
And there sure was.
Not just a getaway criminal, or an unruly grandmother. No.
A freakin' Corsair base.
It was under construction...luckily, so there were no turrets yet.
As you surely know...under construction bases, especially pirate ones, are not left unguarded.
There were five of them, five Corsair Centurions against the cops and my Tiger Shark.
Before we knew what we where seeing, four cruise disrupters were fired in our direction, three hit their marks. I was one of the ones hit. So i took a split second to recall to memory everything i'd read about Corsair tactics and the characteristics of the Centurion.
That was a mistake, i had barely remembered that they were heavy fighters when my shield drained almost completely.
"Oh ____! Oh __!! What do i do?!"
Was all i could say or think as i dodged this way and that, thrust there, whipped around after an engine kill here...thrust back over there...
Suddenly there was a horrific scream, a death rattle more disturbing than that Kusari movie i saw as a child. (What was it's name...Ichi the Killer, i believe? Anyway...)
It was one of the police officers dying...and i knew it.
It knocked me back into reality. I had to think, i had to fight.
I looked down at my scanner and noticed that there was only one pilot left besides me. The one that dodged the CD must have ran...
"What a coward...what a worthless betrayer of his friends, those other cops are his friends! Well...one 'was' his friend..."
Another mind shaking barrage of plasma ripped at my shields, they were nearly gone now...
"This is it, fight now or die alongside some stranger."
I glanced at my scanner one more time, "Good...only 3 Corsairs left...".
I swerved and let all hell lose on a Corsair about to lodge a missile into that cop's cockpit.
He changed course and came after me. I turned and let him catch up behind me.
He had me in his sights...i sped up just a bit...he began to fire and that's when i pulled up and came to a dead stop.
Upside-down, watching in amusement as the Corsair flew right under me with a baffled look on his face.
He was too busy staring at me to realize that he was heading right into the mine i had dropped just as i started my little maneuver.
"One down, two to go."
I pushed the sight of the imploding Centurion out of my mind and went after my wingman's target.
The enemy ship's wing was already torn off and leaking fuel.
I dove in and slammed his damaged side with as much firepower as my ship could dish out.
I nearly ran into him, but managed to swerve just as his ship imploded.
"Hey cop, wheres the other one? I don't see..."
Officer: "I'm not sure, kid. Maybe he ra- He's right on my six!"
"Evading! Help me kid! I c-"
Another scream...
i cringed.
I wondered if he had a family...
"No! this is no time to daydream!"
I banked and thrust just as a few shots ripped the the space my ship had just occupied.
Quickly i turned to face the Centurion head-on.
I remembered the book about Centuirions...
"Their weakness is that they turn like slugs, but in a head on fight, you'll be flying to Crete in a cargo hold."
I swerved and boosted around him, trying to get behind him.
"Almost...almost...just a few...wha?? ____!"
Just as i had my sights on him, he pulled a low yo-yo and disappeared from view.
I killed my engines and turned in the direction he went...something i shouldn't have done.
He was already behind me, as soon as he saw that i was moving in a straight line, he opened fire with the hull ripping force of 6 guns and even his CD.
I was hit hard, i barely moved in time to stay alive.
I watched as one by one, system malfunction lights started flickering bright red.
*[color=#FF0000]ERROR: Engines: 68% efficiency. Thruster not registering. Port wing destroyed. Life support failing.*
I had failed...three of them proved to be too much for a rookie pilot like me...
Deeper and deeper into depression i sunk as i was mindlessly trying to dodge shots in a half dead hunk of metal.
"Why bother, no one is anywhere near this area, no one can help..."
I took my hands off the controls and waited to be obliterated in the small, unnoticed implosion that my tiny Tiger Shark would cause.
But it never came...
I started to get angry...
"Why isn't he shooting me? Why...what the...why am i not dead?! Corsair! Finish me off you scum!"
Unknown: "Calm down mercenary, he's dead. You'll live to see your family again."
Some freelancer noticed the battle as he was flying to some nearby jump hole, or at least that's what he told me later...in any case. He saved my life. So i was thankful, but his comment on me seeing my family? Not so much.
Good afternoon reader, i'm yet again not able to sleep, stuck in this ship with Aia.
Oh, i forgot, you have no clue who Aia is! Er...'what' Aia is.
You'll figure that out later, i have a story to continue!
But...uh...hmm...i can't seem remember where i stopped last night.
Oh well...i hope this is about the right place:
After that freelancer brought me and my lifeless ship back to Freistadt, i received my pay, with a bonus for nearly dying, and went to start a nice long drinking binge in the local bar.
I got there, sat down at the nearest table, and yelled for a waiter.
And of course, i get the ugly robot.
As all bots do, it said in it's polite, monotone, mechanical voice:
"What can i get for you, sir?"
I hate robots.
"Uh...how about a human?", i mumbled under my breath.
"Sorry, my optical sensors picked up movement on your face, but i received no indication that you spoke. Or as you humans might say - i didn't hear you."
...i hate robots.
"Just get me a glass of your cheapest painkiller."
"Right away, sir."
Just as the ugly piece of machinery was walking off to get my drink, that savior freelancer came and sat down at my table.
Freelancer: "Hey, merc. You haven't killed yourself yet i see."
"I didn't know those cops, i wouldn't kill myself just because they died."
Freelancer: "Ah...i see. The heartless type. Well-"
I glared at him.
"I'm afraid you have me mistaken, sir."
Freelancer: "Woah, woah merc. Calm down i was only messing with you.
Say, you look like the adventurous type, and i know you're low on cash..."
His eyes gave that shine, just for a split second, just long enough so that i noticed. He quickly covered it up with his usual stoic big-bad-freelancer face. But i saw that look in his eye. I saw the shine, ya know "the shine"? It's that look that someone gets when someone hands them a diamond as big as a fist, or a platinum necklace socketed with every gem known to mankind.
Freelancer: "I know a place, a Zoner base away from everyone. It's in a little known system right next to Dublin. You know what's in Dublin right? Gold. Lots and lots of gold. So much gold - that i bet you could repair your ship with pure gold if you wanted. How would you like that? A pure gold ship?
What a moron...
"Um...i wouldn't? If you want a gold ship that would dent from bumping your knee into it, be my guest."
I think i may have pissed him off.
Freelancer: "...i was just trying to make it simple for you. You could be rich, don't you get it?
And that Zoner base is right there near it all! We could go there and sell it! Imagine the credits Zoners would pay for gold taken from Molly fields?"
"Excuse me? Did you just propose that we steal gold from a Molly controlled asteroid field...and sell it one jump away to a bunch of Zoners? Are you insane? You think the Zoners don't know that all that gold is there?"
He smiled.
"I know they don't. C'mon, i need someone to help me mine, and to keep a lookout while i tractor all in."
This guy was nuts. I knew Zoners weren't stupid. This plan of his didn't even make sense! What else was there for me to do though? My ship was dead, i couldn't do missions here anymore. Not only that but he later offered to pay for repairs. So i went along. I went to go watch us fail at stealing Molly gold, and fail even more at trying to sell it for a decent price just one system away.
Freelancer: "So? Are you in?"
"Yea, sure." i said.
Freelancer: "Just one thing...i though you said you wouldn't kill yourself over a couple stranger cops?"
"Of course not, i already told you this! What are y- ...Oh...uh..."
That stupid robot took my request for "a glass of your cheapest painkiller" quite literally.
There sitting on the table in front of me was a glass full of synth-asprin, topped with two ice cubes.
I...hate robots.
Ok...so do i really need to talk this part out for you?
You know that this genius's plan didn't work.
You knew it before i was born, before you were born, because that's how freakin' ridiculous it was.
So yes...he failed and was destroyed by Mollys as i simply sat a few k away "keeping watch".
Ha!
I mean i feel sorry for him getting killed, i did try to go save him.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't see them coming from the other side of the field, and all the warning i got was:
"Ahahaha! Jackpot! Look at all this GOLD! We're rich i tell you, Zoners love gold! Ahaha-" *cut off*
Yea...so anyways...
I mentioned something called Aia earlier.
Well, i found Aia on that base the former freelancer told me about.
You know, the one with all the gold loving Zoners on it?
Well it turned out that i was right, they were just as smart as any other Zoners, and gold was not as high on their price list as that guy thought.
You know what they were crazy about on that planet though?
Bars and booze.
Every bar i went to on that planet was spotless, had music, great lighting.
Every seat was made with top notch synthetic leather.
It was great...and it was also where i met Aia.
Well...actually it's where i met her owner...
"Waiter!"
Another robot! It was another robot waiter! Well...ok so the bars were mediocre at best.
Robot piece of junk: "Yes, sir? What can i get for you?"
"How about some sweet potatoes, and a glass of your cheapest alcoholic beverage."
I was going to make sure the bots didn't mess up my order this time...
Robot piece of junk: "Coming right up, sir."
A couple seconds later, a short, pudgy man came stumbling into the bar.
Pudgy Man: "Waiter! ..Waiter!! Get me sum whishky, i'm famisht."
Different robot piece of junk: "Yes, sir, one moment sir,"
Pudgy Man: "Nno! Yous get me my whishky right naow!"
I watched in amusement as the man unceremoniously flopped himself into a bench seat and continued to demand more booze.
Pudgy Man: "Gosht Darned robut! You bertter get me my bozz Naow!"
"Well look at that, someone else that hates robots. Guess i should go say hi."
What can i say? I was bored and figured it would be funny to watch this guy try to talk.
"Hey pudgy booze guy, want some company?"
Pudgy Man: "Wha? Do you have bozz for me?"
"Uh...sure." i handed him a glass of water from the used but uncleaned table behind me.
He grabbed it greedily and gulped it down.
Pudgy Man: "Aahhh, good shtuff there...so strahngor, what's your naam?"
"Tarkis. And what about you, drunk, what's your "naam"?
Pudgy Man: "Don't you get shtricky with me!"
"Well it's o-"
Pudgy Man: "I knows your naam isnt Torkis!"
"No it's not...it's Tarkis. But i-"
Pudgy Man: "Nono no no. You're ahn orfen! You has no naam."
"...How did you know that?"
Pudgy Man: "My Ay eye unit hacked yurs infer card. Sshe says yur parent are unknown, an Torkis is not even offishal!"
"You have an AI unit? You just insulted the waiter for being a robot. Why do you carry around an AI unit?"
Pudgy Man: "Ahhaha, she's difrent. She don't have no robut voice, and not no emotion and don't have dumb misunderstands."
"Uh...okay, i doubt that. Aaand you're kinda psycho so...i'm goin' back over to my table now...nice meeting y-"
Pudgy Man: "No! Yu sit right back daown ther in that seet. Yur gonna take my Ay eye away from me! I can't stand her no more! Alwaysh tellin' me what right, or best. And no humor! I say sumfin' hilarous an she just say: "Good 'un Mr.Purgle." no laugh, no chuckle evun! "No mer drinkn'" she say, "No mer cadimine" she say.
"Gon' kill you" she say. Like a wif! I'm not married! I don' want a wif!"
He then stood up, and started walking away.
"What the hell?..."
He stopped when i said this and turned around, grumbling something about almost forgetting something.
He walked right up next to me, nearly touching me!
I cringed and held my breath.
To my horror he grabbed my hand and shoved a small black cube, covered in grime and pocket fuzz, into my palm.
As soon as he walked away i gasped in a breath of what i thought would be fresh air.
I nearly passed out from the stench! That guy hadn't bathed in months, maybe years!
-Gag- -cough, cough- "Holy...-another gag- that guy must hang out with nomads all day!"
Then i remembered the cube he had given me.
I nervously opened my hand, expecting it to explode into a cloud of disgusting eight-month-old sweat or some other deadly toxin.
It didn't do a thing.
I cleaned it off on my shirt, and decided it was time to head back to my ship.
"That would be about enough excitement for one night i think...besides, he might come back."
I got up to walk out, and glanced at my table as i left.
There was a glass of beer, and potatoes on a dish.
"Hmf, i ordered sweet potatoes. These arn't yams...wait...Are you kidding me?!"
The robot waiter had brought me potatoes covered in synth-sugar.
I slapped my hand to my face, like i was trying to wash off the stupidity of my surroundings, and walked out of the bar.
So reader...after writing that amazing ending for my last journal entry...i tried to sleep, as usual.
For some reason, i can't.
So...i guess i'll add a bit more to this entry and save you the hassle of opening the entry 4 file to find out what Aia is.
So...as i was walking over to my ship in the hangars, that cube started glowing.
Red glowing. This worried me, as i was almost convinced right then and there that it was a stink-bomb.
I figured myself as being paranoid and decided to ignore its glowy-ness.
But when i started getting in my Tiger Shark, it started beeping too!
I shoved it in my pocket and climbed inside, ready to do a little flying before i went to sleep.
So i started the ship...and it died almost instantly.
"What the hell? Ugh...are you kidding me?"
I tried again, only to have the same thing happen.
Then the cube, the one in my pocket, started talking to me!
I didn't know it was the cube at the time though...so as you can imagine, it freaked me out!
*Warning! You're trying to steal someones ship, Mr.Purgle. I think you should stop...*
"AH! What? Get away! There's security right outside that door! I'll...i'll...hello?..."
As i jumped out of my ship and spun around in the middle of the the empty hangar, i realized that it truly was empty.
"Uh....ok Tarkis...you need sleep, skip the flying practice tonight..."
So i climbed back in only to be talked to by some disembodied female voice. And again i jumped out and looked around for her.
*I'm just going to keep deactivating that ship every time you start it, you thief!*
"Ok that's it, i'm getting security you conniving little prankster!"
*Wait...you're not Mr.Purgle, who are you?*
I'm...!....i'm.......i'm?...what? How are... -I looked around-... where are you?
*In your pocket, silly!*
Confused out of my mind, i pulled the black cube out of my pocket.
"Ok...so you're the AI that drunk was talking about...and you really exist....and you're a telepathic AI...and this means that i'm dreaming. Which means that i'm already asleep."
...
"Sweet, i fell asleep with no trouble tonight apparently, i don't even remember laying down."
*Are you insane? Because if you are...i'm going to be very angry that yet another insane person has come into possession of me.*
"Shut up dream lady, you're irritating."
*Wha?! You a_s! What did i do to deserve that?! And i'm no "dream lady" as you so rudely stated. I'm the AI codenamed Amaranth. And i'm sick of your attitude mister!*
"Uh...uh....but...how...what? So i'm not dreaming?"
*No one said you were dreaming but yourself you stupid human.*
"Hey now...if i have to be kind to you, that means that you can't be racist. Look, i hate robots, which you basicly are, but i haven't judged you yet. I think i will now though, i have a racist robot talking directly to my brain!"
*Ok ok i see your point...no hard feelings?*
"Alright fine, but you still confuse me..."
*Ah...let me explain, i am artificial intelligence experiment #142, created by a professor who's name i forget. He designed AI systems for ships, you see? And he invented me as a companion, since he was alone during most of his day. Unfortunately...that scoundrel, Mr.Purgle, stole me just as the good professor finished.
I am probably the most human-like AI in this half of Sirius. Which means i'm worthless...to put it simply.*
"Worthless?! You talk like a human! And you can forget things?! You've got to be the best AI i've met in my entire life!"
*But those are flaws to an AI, i don't indefinitely remember commands like any other AI. It takes time for me to learn, just as it takes time for you. I also have no blocks that would disallow other AI units to do certain things. Such as bar robots, they are not permitted to commit crime, their programming simply doesn't allow it. They cannot harm anything but the bacteria and such they kill with cleaning tables.*
"Yea...you're definitely the best AI in existence..."
*-sigh- Am i not being clea-"
"You can sigh!"
*...you're hopeless Mr...what's your name?*
"Wait...you hacked my ID back in the bar...don't you already know?"
*If i remembered every ID Mr.Purgle asked me to hack i would have fried years ago.*
"Oh...yea...the forgetful AI thing...well i'm Tarkis. No last name, i'm an orphan. What should i call you? "Dream lady" doesn't quite fit now that i know i'm awake, and that you're not a lady..."
*You may call me Aia, i made that name up myself you know. AI experiment #142, that's me, is called AI-Amaranth.
So...Ai...a. Aia. See?
Oh and if you call me "dream lady" again i'll fry myself which will probably cause a surge of electricity strong enough to stop your heart. At least i think it would...but i'm not sure. Should i experiment?*
"Ah! No! No no nonono! I get the point i get the point."
*Alright then...where are you going?*
"To sleep. Why?"
*In that tin can?*
"Hey now...that tin can is my ship..."
*Uh...i suggest you steal Mr.Purgle's. He can't use it anyway, he had his piloting license revoked. Also, i have the launch codes for it, he could never remember them even on sober days.*
"Well what kind of ship is it?"
*Have you ever seen a Raven's Talon class ship before?...*
"What!? That drunk owns a Raven's Talon! Those things cost over two million credits!"
*Are you insane? Of course not...his ship is just docked next to a Raven's Talon. I was simply telling you to make it easier to spot.*
"You have no idea how much i hate you right now."
*Oh i think i do, hahaha.*
As we approached the Raven's Talon, i was eager to see what ship Mr.Purgle really owned.
By eager...i don't mean that i was excited. I just wanted to see what was so much better than my Tiger Shark.
*There it is. Do you like?*
If i knew how amazing the ship really was, a tear would have rolled down my cheek.
Alas...i was still a rookie when it came to knowledge of all the ships of Sirius.
"An Eagle? Are you kidding me? A civilian ship of all things..."
*You do realize that your oh-so-amazing Tiger Shark is a civilian ship also, right?*
"Yea but...it's different."
*Just how is it dif-*
"First of all, it's not as ugly. Second, it's a light fighter. And Third?...
Well i haven't thought of a third reason yet...but i will."
*I'll have you know that the Eagle is the most maneuverable ship in it's class.
Not only can it out turn some light fighters, take the Griffin for example, but it can boast firepower and energy capabilities to equal anything you come across. Excluding capital ships and, if the pilot is experienced enough, the occasional bomber.*
"Prove it."
So i had Aia take me out for a ride.
Big mistake.
She not only ignored my screams of fear and claims of nausea,
but she also denied me the option to eject.
Advice to all you would be slackers: AIs are bad pilots when it comes
to recognizing the limits of the human body.
"GaaaHHAAAaaa!!!"
"...Oh no...no don't...no! No! No no no no nonononono!!!"
"WaaaAAAAAHHHoooh...AAAAHH!!!....OH GAWD!!! HELP!! SOMEONE HElp me?...ok just keep 'er steady like this while i relaaAAAAAX!!!! AAAH!!!"
*Muahahahahaha! This is so fun!*
"You're going to hit the station!! STOP!!!"
*Ok.*
I wasn't expecting that...Aia actually did what i asked.
She stopped.
On a dime, too.
Which caused my face to slam into the control panel, which is how i got this nasty scar...
-Moans- "Ow....you stupi-"
*Do you want another demonstration?
No?
Then i suggest you keep that insult to yourself.*
"To self: Aia is a b- Oh please no!!"
After another hour or so of "demonstration", i was positive
that the next insult out of my mouth would be directed at Death himself.
This bitter sweet relationship between me and Aia continues to this day.
Of course it's a little less bitter, now that we understand each other.
We still have our moments though...
I don't want to remember any more of those right now.
How about how i came across this name of mine?
Well...not mine...but it's the name on my ID now.
*You know your name is illegal in house systems, right?*
"Status of my ID is pending, i can't get arrested for it."
*Your ID status has been pending since before we met, Tarkis.
What kind of a name is "Tarkis" anyway? It's pretty lame if you ask me...*
"Oh and AI-Amaranth, or as you put it - "Aia", is better?"
*You like my name, you even told me you liked it. So you have no room to talk.
And just so you know...i wasn't trying to insult you. I just have an idea*
"Alright sorry then...
What would this idea be?"
*Make a name for you, and submit it to make your ID officially legal.
Neither of us want to end up in Bastille.*
"Alright, i know you've already got a name in mind. Lets hear it."
*Phillip.*
"What? Gross. Next."
*Fine picky...how about Raum?*
"Sounds like the name of a minotaur."
*Joey?*
"Too common."
This went on for weeks, off and on, as Aia thought of more names.
I didn't bother to throw any in, i was self-conscious about it.
*Hey Tarkis...*
"Yea?"
*How about Iffy.*
"What kinda name is that?..."
*I dunno...well what about-*
"Well wait...i didn't say it was bad."
*You like it then?
I picked it because you're so indecisive.*
"...that's it? No other reasons?
Like how it represents that i'm a cool, evil, rich tyrant.
Or something..."
*...But you're not.*
"Beyond the point, it has to be - you know - kewl."
*You're joking right?*
...
*Fine, it's also because it sounds freaking
awesome. How about that?*
After a long pause.
"Yea that's good enough, plus it's creator
is my best friend in Sirius."
*Aww, thanks.*
"What about a last name?"
*I figured you could just use Tarkis.
That does seem unreasonable though...
How about Amaranth?...*
"Uh...sure."
*If i had a face i would be smiling.*
"Did i mention i'm telling the ID people that the ship's
computer made the name from randomly generated letters?"
*I take my thanks back along with the smile.
You're a hopeless romantic and a terrible friend. You know that?*
