thebastion | An incognito arrival

Entry tags:

An incognito arrival

Who: Erek King and anyone!
Open: Wide open!
When: Day 247
Where: anywhere in the Bastion
What: An android arrives and skulks about hidden behind holograms before saying hello.
Format: prose preferred, but I'll match either!
Warnings: none

Erek's holographic emitter isn't projecting when he becomes aware he isn't home. That is already worrying, even before he takes in his surroundings while raising the illusion of a human boy around himself. An expression of relief flickers across the holographic face, thousands of years making shifts in expression a well-founded habit. His emitters aren't down, at least.

This isn't Earth, though, and it's the most bizarre planet Erek has ever visited. As he takes a step, the ground shifts around him, creating a path on which to walk. ...Interesting, if concerning. He doesn't think it's based on magnetism. The planet itself probably isn't sentient either. It's a matter for later investigation, though. There are more pressing concerns.

He sees a light in the distance that looks promising and replaces his human hologram with one of invisibility, blending into his surroundings. Erek will wait until he sees what species inhabit the planet and do his best to blend in. He sets off toward the Bastion.

When he arrives, Erek stays out of sight until anyone comes into view. He plans on taking up an appropriate hologram as soon as he's gauged the people well enough. Of course, should anyone human-shaped be present, it's easy enough to duck behind the edge of a building and emerge as Erek King, a fairly unremarkable teenage boy. He assumes that no one will see through his camouflage in the meantime. It hasn't happened so far, his emitters sufficiently advanced that it would take a very specialized sort of eyesight to see anything through the illusion.

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The bird is certainly familiar. Most redtailed hawks would notice oddities in the grass if those were moving, but Erek is standing still right now. He stays hidden but calls upward, "Tobias?"

A friend would be a welcome sight right now, even if he can't say he's happy Tobias got roped into whatever this is.

That voice. He knows that voice, and he calls down - not quietly, either. If something does go wrong, he's not keeping it just between him and whatever this is. <Erek? Is that you?>

Erek immediately shifts his hologram back to the form of his current human identity, nodding confirmation and knowing that the gesture will be obvious to Tobias even from a distance. "Did you just arrive too? I can't think of many other than the Ellimist with the power to bring us here, and it doesn't seem quite his style." He's still speaking louder than he'd like on unfamiliar ground. Erek beckons Tobias closer, into easy conversation distance. Thoughtspeak is fine, it's just Erek's side that's less convenient.

Tobias flutters down, looking up at Erek. He can't smile, of course, but there's relief evident in his 'voice'. <I've been here a while. About two and a half months. There's... the world's gone, as far as anyone can tell. Something about this place had us end up here, but we don't know what.>

... He should explain the 'we' part. How to put this...

<There's no Yeerks here, as far as I can tell. People know about me being able to talk and morph. There's a lot of 'weird' people here. There's even a dragon. So if it saves power for you to walk around without a hologram, I don't think people will mind. But I hadn't seen anyone else from our world until now.>

"Not even my prisoner," Erek says softly, noting the Yeerk's absence. "My body is intact with no signs of tampering, but the Yeerk that was inside it is gone." Erek had no love for the Yeerk he'd harbored, but that didn't mean he wished anything to happen to it. He'd still hoped that someday his Yeerk could be convinced of another way.

The world, his second home world, gone. The idea of how terrible it would be to be the last of the Chee flickers through his mind. Erek has lost millenia-long friendships if they're gone, and their race was also half of his creators' legacy. His illusory skin pales slightly as he asks, "Are there dogs here?" Erek lost his creators once. To lose what remnant of their souls the Chee had managed to salvage would be another tragedy, almost like losing the Pemalites all over again.

... Of course that's what Erek would be worried about first. <There's a creature like a dog here... but we can bring them here. That thing in the middle - it's called the Monument. There are shards that you can find out where you came from - the Skyway - and if you give enough to the Monument you can get things like medicine or clothes or new species in the Bastion or on the Skyway.>

Of course it is. Erek is glad to have human friends, and he hopes that the other Animorphs are alright as well as the Chee. He has to guard the Pemalites' legacy, though. The Chee failed to save their creators once. Erek doesn't want to live with another such failure and loss.

Before Erek can address the ideas prompted by that, he has to question one thing. "We'll go back to the Monument and dogs in a minute. If you've been here for months, how can the world be gone? I was just on Earth. Is there a delay? Can they hold people for months unaware before depositing them here?"

<Maybe. It's really unclear. I feel like there has to be a way to get the worlds back, but... I don't know how.>

He's just the scout and a fighter. He doesn't really know that much about engineering or whatever kind of magic the Monument is.

"Tobias, you said the Monument can bring species to the Bastion. If a whole species is extinct, as dogs would be were Earth destroyed, and it can bring them here..." Whatever the cost, Erek would pay it to bring back the Pemalites. If it were possible... He doesn't even want to hope, not yet. "What are its limitations?"

Tobias should know exactly what Erek's asking, and just how much it would mean to him. It's not that he won't mourn for the world and everyone in it. Earth's loss is exactly that. A loss, and a significant one. Even so, this is the first piece of hope he's ever been given to see the race that created him one more time. He doesn't want to say it would be worth it. That seems unjust and callous.

It doesn't keep him from holding back his joy at even so slim a chance.

<... I don't know. That's a better question for someone like Colin. I'm sure you'll run into him sooner or later. I don't know that much about this kind of stuff, and I haven't even really tried to get anything from it since I don't really need anything.>

He's quiet for a few moments, before hopping forward and leaning his head against Erek's leg. At least, what looks like it. It's not really true contact but he feels like he needs to comfort him a little and he doesn't really know how.

<You can pick wherever you want to live that's not taken. There's apartments and houses and as long as no one has stuff there it's fine to stay there. There's a kitchen and a farm, too. You don't have to fight anything here - there's plenty of people who go out to the Skyway to get things. And if you need repairs I'm sure Colin would be more than happy to help. He looks like a human but his ears are pointed. I don't really know what he is but it seems kind of rude to just flat out ask. He's really good with machines, though.>

Erek laughs without much humor in it, deferring his questions, however pressing, until he can find someone who knows the answer. He appreciates the comfort even if his metal legs don't feel the contact. Crouching down, Erek puts a hand on Tobias's head. His real hand, no force field accompanying the hologram at the moment.

"No repairs necessary now, but I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Tobias." Grateful for the assurance about fighting as well, Erek asks, "Does time on the Skyway usually require fighting? I was fine on my way here." Granted, Erek was invisible and didn't smell like a living thing, but even so, he di not encounter anything that looked dangerous.

"If they're only nasty when under outside influences, maybe monsters isn't the best word," Erek comments lightly, keeping his tone non-critical. Aliens, maybe, or creatures. Something without all the negative connotations that monster carries.

"Are any of them likely to have the means to harm me? I don't picture 'monsters' armed with dracon beams, and my body is fairly sturdy when it comes to physical impact." It's much easier and safer to be non-violent if anyone likely to try and harm you is physically incapable of doing so. Erek will avoid the Skyway unless the risks are fairly low. Between his resilience and his holographic emitters, those risks might be acceptable.

<They'll try to attack us if we get too close. They're pretty territorial. But they probably won't be able to hurt you very much.>

He's only been using the terms other people have been using, but Erek's right. <For now we should probably get you settled in. I can give you more of a tour if you want.>

"I can hide myself from most eyes, and probably withstand the attacks should that fail. I'll need shards, you said, in order to bring any new species into the area, and I have to go out there to get those?"

Erek nods acceptance of the tour. "Do you want to fly or for me to carry you?" he asks. After all, it isn't as if Tobias would be any sort of burden, and it might make more sense for something like this.

<Yeah. I can help pitch in, though. Like I said, I don't really need anything.>

Tobias flutters up and perches on Erek's shoulder. It's a little weird since the hologram is slightly off from where he makes contact, but on the other hand he doesn't have to worry about hurting him.

<Let's see... we're in the northern part. That building over there near the trees and stones is the bathhouse. An onsen, I think most people call it? A lot of people go there to relax after Skyway trips. That bigger building is the workshop. Colin's usually in there, but anyone who wants to use the machinery can. I don't know much about it since I don't know much about machines, so I stay out of it.>

"Is the hunting alright here?" Erek asks. Tobias does need food, even if he's used to living very simply.

Erek doesn't even notice the weight on his shoulder. He was built for gravity four times stronger than that of their current location, which seems to be very similar to Earth in that respect.

"I don't have any use for the onsen, but I would like to see the machine shop at some point." Erek could soak in an onsen without suffering any ill effects of course, he just wouldn't get anything out of it except as a social exercise. "Any idea whether it's simple machines or more advanced technology? I wouldn't mind access to the information from other worlds' computers."

<It's okay. I can find enough. If it's not a very good hunting day I can always morph human and eat at the kitchen.>

He tilts his head a little bit. <I think Colin has some computers, but it's hard to get a computer that's in one piece. Everything got thrown all over during the Calamity. That's what they call the thing that broke up the worlds.>

"I'm glad you have options. Is your morphing and identity common knowledge here?" No Yeerk presence and the comment regarding Erek's holograms would suggest so.

Erek nods. Computers will be considerably lower down his list of priorities than the other plans set in motion by their talk of the monument. "I can do without well enough for now."

<Yeah, it is. You'll fit in just fine. There's a giant dragon here - you're not even close to the strangest thing in the Bastion.>

Where next... <Let's head over to the west. Near the big building with an oven on it. That's the forge, and the armory is next to it. The armory has a bunch of stuff like clothes and pencils and paper and stuff like that - it's not just for weapons.>

"I might stay hidden for awhile," Erek says, hesitant to drop the illusion he's maintained for thousands of years. The Chee were hiding long before the Yeerks invaded, so the lack of Yeerk presence doesn't mean quite the same thing to him. "Old habits die hard." He grins, then, adding, "I'd like to see a giant dragon, though."

Erek nods approvingly at the note about the armory having purposes other than just weapons. He doesn't need clothes or weapons, but it's worth checking out later to see what else they stock. "Is the forge available for public use, or is there a blacksmith who does everything?"

<It's okay. If that's what you're comfortable with, then it should be fine. I... don't really know how you power it so I didn't know if you had to worry about power reserves. And I'm sure you'll see him. He's kind of hard to miss. I can morph into him, too - I asked him if I could and we thought having more than one dragon around might help in a pinch.>

Plus, it's kind of a nerd fantasy. Don't judge him, Erek. <There's a blacksmith, but if you wanted to use it and showed him you knew how I'm sure he wouldn't mind. There's nothing like rocket launchers available - it's Industrial Era or earlier, I think.>

He turns his gaze over towards the farm. <The ranch and the farm are over there. There's a food storage building next to the barn, which has a synthetic meat lab. The distillery's where most people eat. Rin usually cooks and is kind of protective of the kitchen, so if you see a girl with a tail at the stove tread carefully. At least until she gets used to you.>

"I'll be fine for quite awhile. Don't worry about it. The Pemalites built things to last."

Hey, Erek's been hearing human myths about dragons for a very long time. Seeing the real thing sounds fascinating, and he won't begrudge Tobias that nerd fantasy. "The dragon let you acquire him. A sentient dragon?" Even more interesting. Erek already plans on making a point of meeting the dragon. "What's his name?"

The food supply sounds fairly fairly standard, except for one thing. Erek turns to look at the hawk on his shoulder as he responds, "A synthetic meat lab is a great idea, it just seems a little out of line with the level of technology available here."

<Oh yeah. His name's Paarthurnax. It means 'Ambition Overlord Cruelty' in his language, but he's not any of those things. Not anymore. Dragons in his world have a natural desire to be conquerors, but he opted for isolation and meditation. Kind of like an old Zen master or something. He's been teaching people the dragon language, which is the closest we have to a common written language in the Bastion. The translator's on for spoken language only, apparently.>

He 'laughs' a little bit in Erek's mind.

<Yeah. That one was Colin. And actually now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure Bon has a rocket launcher. I just don't think that's a thing that the forge is really equipped for. I should have said that the tech native to this world is around that era.>

That description only makes the prospect of getting to know the dragon more appealing. Paarthurnax's nature is very different from that of most people Erek has admired, but the choices he's made are admirable ones. "I definitely want to meet Paarthurnax, and I do pick up languages quickly. I'd be willing to learn his." But then, a concern comes to mind. "Are the dragon instincts overwhelming when you morph him? We wouldn't want you going on a conquering spree before you could get those under control."

Colin again. Colin seems to be tied up in most of the things of technological interest here. Erek nods again, musing, "So while I personally would place priority on living things, the technology level here is negotiable if we can afford to pay the cost of it. That's good to know."

An incognito arrival

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