As most of you know, I’ve been absent for about a week and a half due to holidays.  I came back to Life having more-or-less dumped a whole lot of things on me all at once.  They’re all very good things, but they *are* time-consuming.

Therefore, it’s my intention to leave After the Fall ASAP.  Joker-mun, if you still want to wrap up “Ship Outta Luck”, please let me know and I’ll stay on long enough to get that wrapped up.

In the next few days I will actually be giving the journals for EDI and Hannah Shepard to this community so that whomever decides to take these characters over can do so freely.  I will also make sure to edit the mod pages

I do feel the need to make it patently clear that my decision to leave is squarely with me; it has not been precipitated by any individual or group within the RP.  I have had a wonderful time here, and I definitely hope we can keep in touch via personal tumblr (tehjai, if anyone’s interested).

It’s been a slice, all! 

pilotjeffmoreau:

enhancedintel:

She smiled again, that slight upturn of the corners of her mouth, and all of a sudden the higher-level existential questions stored away in her databases needed no answer.

He saw her as an individual, and right now, that was all she needed to begin to believe it.  

“That… that is good to know, Jeff,” she said quietly.  ”Now.  I heard that there is a party in London that we have to get to.” 

“Apparently. Think we should just land the Normandy over there? It’s closer to a limousine than taking the shuttle. And that’s gotta be the standard for taking a date to a dance. Plus we don’t have the hassle of getting everybody crowded up into a sweaty shuttle and flying back.”

Beat. He sighs and stands, considering that it was pretty damn obvious what the answer to that rhetorical question would have been. 

“Yeah. Into the drop shuttle. The greatest embodiment of fun on this ship. Bet this party’s gonna be worth it. Can’t even drink as the designated pilot. I’m hyped. I really am, EDI.” 

EDI tilted her head, smiling again.  ”Mooring the Normandy nearby would probably serve to be the more expedient option, but —”  She moved her shoulders in what she hoped was a good approximation of a shrug.

“Also, you forget that I am fully capable of helming the ship while you recover from an intoxicated state.  It is not as though I can get drunk.  I see no reason why you cannot indulge with your friends.  If anything, you have earned the right to do so as much as they have.”

She folded her arms and fixed him with that ‘my logic has determined that I am right and there’s nothing you can do to dissuade me’ look.

“We should prepare for descent.”

 

pilotjeffmoreau:

enhancedintel:

pilotjeffmoreau:

“I can handle any question you need, EDI. Within my own abilities. Don’t think you’ll be going to me for the most insightful responses, anyway.”

He shrugs, turning his chair to face her and folding his arms. He was bored enough to give her his undivided attention. Apart from the slight corner-of-the-eye sideglances to see if he had new Galaxy of Fantasy notifications. Yes. Completely undivided attention to her.

“So. What great inquiry of the universe do you need my meek, human brain to process for you?”

She stood there, arms crossed just under her chest, each hand cupping the opposite elbow as though she didn’t really know what to do with her limbs.  As she spoke, the stick of the lollipop moved up and down slightly.

It was almost comical.  Except that EDI’s face was the epitome of stone-cold seriousness.

“Do you consider me to be my own entity, or do you still view me as a machine?”

She realized as soon as the question left her mouth that it was probably a very stupid thing to ask of him.  Still, she found that it was something she needed to know; something that she couldn’t sequential-logic her way around.

“I believe it’s important that I know this, Jeff.”

If she could have, she would have taken a deep breath to steel herself. 

He finally pulls his own lollipop out of his mouth, twiddling it around between two fingers. He leaned back into his chair, turning his head to face her; a tad amused at her facial expression. But he remained somewhat serious for her sake. It seemed important to her, this question.

“You’re your own person, EDI. I haven’t considered you being a machine since I was able to unshackle you from your virtual bonds. Though, at that time, I was probably considering you could also become a vanguard of our destruction.”

“But you’re… you. You’ve become just as human as any of us. More than most of us, actually, considering all the aliens the Commander hoards up. Not just a machine that will run data and crunch numbers. Sure, you still do that, but you’ve got a mind. You can think. Personally, I don’t think I can stand you if you just hung around and informed me of weather patterns or how to multiply.”

“I don’t really get why you’re asking. But that kind of thinking should tell you that you’re human. Self-image beyond ‘What shoes am I going to wear today?’. So on my behalf, I do consider you your own entity. And I like that entity, personally.”

She smiled again, that slight upturn of the corners of her mouth, and all of a sudden the higher-level existential questions stored away in her databases needed no answer.

He saw her as an individual, and right now, that was all she needed to begin to believe it.  

“That… that is good to know, Jeff,” she said quietly.  ”Now.  I heard that there is a party in London that we have to get to.” 

pilotjeffmoreau:

enhancedintel:

pilotjeffmoreau:

He holds his arms behind his head and shrugs, staring up at her.

“Nothing in particular. I’m a strong commenter, but picking subjects of conversation is one of my few weak areas. I could ask how the local sports team is, yet I don’t really care enough about that.

“Not to say I’m sure there aren’t topics I care about. Like you. I’m sure there’s a bunch of questions you’ve got building up in your memory drive. I know the Commander couldn’t have answered all of those questions about what life and love are. I clearly am the optimal source on those. Living life to the fullest by sitting all day. Knowing love through you— know. The extranet. So I’m positive I can answer your philosophical ponders to the abilities of Plato himself.”

“As unlikely as it seems, questions about love and life aren’t my highest priority,” EDI said, perhaps a little wryly, deciding to just go for it and stick the whole damn candy in the corner of her mouth.  When she continued speaking, her words were a little muffled, though slightly nervous.   “I have ascertained that there is only one question I need answered.”

She shifted on her feet slightly before walking over to her own chair.  ”Though I am not sure it is one that you will be comfortable asking.” 

“I can handle any question you need, EDI. Within my own abilities. Don’t think you’ll be going to me for the most insightful responses, anyway.”

He shrugs, turning his chair to face her and folding his arms. He was bored enough to give her his undivided attention. Apart from the slight corner-of-the-eye sideglances to see if he had new Galaxy of Fantasy notifications. Yes. Completely undivided attention to her.

“So. What great inquiry of the universe do you need my meek, human brain to process for you?”

She stood there, arms crossed just under her chest, each hand cupping the opposite elbow as though she didn’t really know what to do with her limbs.  As she spoke, the stick of the lollipop moved up and down slightly.

It was almost comical.  Except that EDI’s face was the epitome of stone-cold seriousness.

“Do you consider me to be my own entity, or do you still view me as a machine?”

She realized as soon as the question left her mouth that it was probably a very stupid thing to ask of him.  Still, she found that it was something she needed to know; something that she couldn’t sequential-logic her way around.

“I believe it’s important that I know this, Jeff.”

If she could have, she would have taken a deep breath to steel herself. 

pilotjeffmoreau:

He holds his arms behind his head and shrugs, staring up at her.

“Nothing in particular. I’m a strong commenter, but picking subjects of conversation is one of my few weak areas. I could ask how the local sports team is, yet I don’t really care enough about that.

“Not to say I’m sure there aren’t topics I care about. Like you. I’m sure there’s a bunch of questions you’ve got building up in your memory drive. I know the Commander couldn’t have answered all of those questions about what life and love are. I clearly am the optimal source on those. Living life to the fullest by sitting all day. Knowing love through you— know. The extranet. So I’m positive I can answer your philosophical ponders to the abilities of Plato himself.”

“As unlikely as it seems, questions about love and life aren’t my highest priority,” EDI said, perhaps a little wryly, deciding to just go for it and stick the whole damn candy in the corner of her mouth.  When she continued speaking, her words were a little muffled, though slightly nervous.   “I have ascertained that there is only one question I need answered.”

She shifted on her feet slightly before walking over to her own chair.  ”Though I am not sure it is one that you will be comfortable asking.” 

((Taking the weekend off; you won’t find me on Skype or here until Monday.  Stay thirsty, my friends.))

pilotjeffmoreau:

He stayed silent at the original comment, not really sure if he somehow hit a nerve. Or the operating system. Whichever one robotic AIs are more likely to be affected with. He normally wouldn’t care about AI’s artificial feelings, but EDI was different. And not just different in the way that she could take complete control of the Normandy and fly them into a nearby sun. Though— No, it definitely wasn’t that.

Anyhow, he was finally back in his leather seat. It was colder than he was used to, but he was sure to fix that given enough time. The orange panels flashed about to notify him of certain messages he would need to catch up on, or how there was spikes in the internal cores. He brushed some of the messages aside and picked up the jar, digging one of the lollipops out.

“Thanks, EDI.” He unwrapped his lollipop and plunked it into his mouth. He hesitated before speaking again. “We’ll go get them. My judgement was never really obscured on that. Commander always knew who the rays of sunshine were.”

He stretched his arm as best as he could to offer the jar to her, though it would in no way possibly reach the intended goal. He wasn’t really even sure if AIs ate, let alone ate lollipops. It’s more of the gesture that he cared about, to let her know that he cared.

“And as much as I would have liked some time alone to talk with you, I’m sure it’ll be great with the Commander breathing down my neck to hear my opinion again. I’ve been practicing my ‘Commander.’ for just those occasions.”

The meaning behind his gesture wasn’t entirely missed.  EDI smiled her half-smile again.  She stepped forward, taking the jar with one hand and fishing out a lollipop with the other, then putting it back on the console so it was still easily within Joker’s reach.  ”Thank you.” she said simply, standing just to the right and behind his chair.  ”We still need to await confirmation that the crew is ready for pickup.  This does mean that we do have some time to speak.”  She wanted to talk, she wanted to spend hours talking; something in her processes made her think that a conversation or five would help allay her strange state of mind.  In fact, it was exactly 34.54% likely that she’d come out the other side with some additional knowledge of herself, Joker, and their relationship.

Her hands busied themselves with unwrapping the lollipop.  She wasn’t even certain if she could taste anything, but she was programmed with an innate curiousness.  The platform could smell, she knew that, but —

Tentatively she touched her lips to the candy.  Benzaldehyde.  ”So.  What is it you would like to discuss, Jeff?”

((It was only 2 days but felt like two years.  I’m back.))

pilotjeffmoreau:

“Oh, good. I’m sure they’re all for that. ‘Hey, guys, you just saved the galaxy, but come clean up the mess you made, too.’ I’m also going to look forward to not dealing with the Shuttle, Cortez or not.” He followed her finger out the window to gaze at the refurnished Normandy. “All I’m looking forward to is getting back in there and staring at bright orange panels for the rest of my life. So, you know, I’ll let you know after I settle back into doing that for a few hours.”

The shuttle reared into the the cargo bay and settled onto the mechanical lift. The side door opened up as the current pilot shuffled out and onto the floor. Joker followed after, completely sure that, since she didn’t really appreciate the fine art of sitting all day as he did, she’d follow foot. He never really saw the shuttle bay even before the repairs. It had been crammed with junk before, and it was pretty crammed with junk now. It was something of a miracle that Vega’s chin-up bar was still in-tact. Cortez could probably need the ambiance down there.

Joker wasn’t really occupied with thinking about things like Vega and Cortez, though. All he was occupied with now was getting in the elevator and taking it back up to CIC and getting back on the bridge. The flashing buttons at his station wouldn’t press themselves. Nor would they rather remind anyone else that the airlock was ajar.

She followed him into the elevator, delicately and expertly keeping pace with him, and only spoke once they began their ascent.  Her voice seemed strangely tentative.  ”If you would rather not bother with rounding up the others… It would be remiss of me not to say that I question your judgement, but control of the Normandy is, ultimately, your prerogative.”

EDI wondered - really, truly wondered - if she had overstepped her boundaries here.  The events of the past few weeks had changed everybody, herself included. She was, of course, still learning the intricacies of human behaviour despite having found some humanity of her own.  None of it could be programmed, only ever learned through experience, and she wondered if people still saw her as nothing more than a computer program.  If people didn’t really care one way or the other as to her opinion.

She shook her head slightly, as annoyed as her processes would let her be at her entire existential quandary.  The elevator door opened, and the two of them came out upon the CIC. 

When they settled down into their respective chairs, EDI pointed to the jar of cherry lollipops sitting on one of the control panels.  ”The requisition came through.” 

pilotjeffmoreau:

“They do tend not to know the difference between coolant shells and the batteries. I’ve gotten in contact with Garrus and the Commander so far. It was kind of nice knowing that after everything, they can still be pretty stiff sticks-in-the-mud. Though, I’m pretty sure Garrus sat on his stick.”

“I am assuming this means we’re going to have to get the band back together? Mission from God and all that? Let’s hope it’s easy, considering I’m not too agile enough to do all that running around that the Commander did to gather up the crew.”

He leaned a bit back in the bench seat; examining the inside of the shuttle. He wasn’t really used to being inside it. In something so… cramped and lacking better propulsion systems. Nor was he entirely comfortable with someone else piloting a vehicle he was in, rather than himself just taking it over and piloting. Probably a tad bit for the best, considering in the time he’s missed flying anything, he’d want to make for lost time via barrel rolls and navigating through asteroid fields. 

Though, he figured he wasn’t too mortified over the ordeal, as he kept a short glance on EDI. A tad subconsciously, he laid a hand over EDI’s own. He had missed his co-pilot in his time away from the Normandy. Possibly more than he actually missed the Normandy itself, though this thought was more superfluous in nature, as they were basically the same thing to many at this point. And both were the only things he could really focus on when indisposed, apart from the occasional consideration of the rest of the crew. Just so they didn’t feel too neglected in his mind. 

It didn’t matter too much. She was here, now, and soon he’d back on the Normandy in his favorite, leather chair — being notified how the airlock was ajar, and needing to reset the internal compensators before the ship can pull a 360.

… He didn’t specifically miss those parts of being back on the ship.

“No mission,” EDI said, threading her fingers gently through his, “at least not yet.  The chances of us engaging in another mission that may cause bodily harm will go up about tenfold, I’m certain, once we get everyone back.”

She looked earnestly at him.  “There was no order to retrieve the crew.  It was my idea.  Most of them seem amenable.”  Her shoulders twitched, as though she were shrugging, while she idly checked her communications terminal again (remotely, of course).  “I only have one set of confirmed coordinates so far.”  She lowered her voice, a conspiratorial, teasing lilt coming into it.  “Lieutenant Cortez responded.  Then we won’t have to deal with –“

The shuttle shook violently for a moment, then righted itself.  “Well.  That.”

Another half-smile, and EDI leaned forward, pointing out of the small window on the hatch.  “Fortunately, we’re almost there.”  She gestured to the hatch, beyond which was the Normandy, all patched up and freshly painted.  She looked like a new ship.

“You’ll have to tell me,” EDI said quietly after a few moments of watching the ship come into view, “what you think.”