The Umbrella Colony

ATTN: Ishmael
Craisa hummed to herself as she followed Ishmael down the lengthy hallway. She looked at Ishamel confused when they reached the north window. He seemed to be fixated on the window. "What's going on.. Oh, Alehina must be attracting everyone's attention again," she concluded without much thought. There was a huge crowd surrounding the window all shoving their way forward, she'd never seen them so eager to get close to the pop star before.

"We're never going to find her with everyone in the way, especially since everyone's freaking out!" Craisa pouted. "We should call her name, as far as I know there's only one Alehina on the ship." Craisa took a deep breath and cupped her hands around her mouth. "ALEHINA!!"

[Attn: Residential Sector, Open]

Kydoimos continued what couldn't be considered a patrol considering he wasn't on policing duty. He walked down the steps, noting the planters of flowers that ran alongside the railing. Personally Kydoimos was content with plain utility of spaces, but he understood that Organics required not just breathable air but aesthetic things to please them or they would be prone to mental and psychological degradation.

Not to mention that the colony required vegetation for consumption and healthy atmospheric conditions. However over his long service slight changes had arisen from the melding of cultural and racial perspectives. It was confusing that so many different sentient organics could maintain homeostasis for such a prolongs period, if one ignored minor errors and inconsistencies.

He maneuvered aside for a riot of Krogan youngsters, who seemed to be off to play. Odd how language had unique terms for groups of creatures. Parliament of Owls, Murder of Crows, Schools of Fish, Collective of Quarians, Conclave of Asari; Each group had a term(s) that was associated to a collective group, and a group of Krogan children was called a Riot... Organics, so bizarre.

The sudden sound of mist played over the tiny gardens as the automated systems activated to water them. Kydoimos paused and watched this form of artificial precipitation. It wasn't as pleasing as the memories he had loaded as actual rain but it was still enjoyable. To a synthetic such as himself there was little difference between the data of a loaded file and that of his systems stored away.

However Kydoimos did understand that many Organics did view a difference. Each creature had it's senses, and they differed between the races. Though from researching them, he understood they preferred memories over acquiring them by ulterior means.

He flexed his hand, looking down at it. The sensors indicated pressure and stress, that was all... Letting his arm fall back down to his side he continued his walk, choosing to make a detour towards the storage block. There where machines that apparently feel and had senses like those of Organics, but Kydoimos doubted that. After all they where machines, and to borrow a coined Organic reference, "Everyone experiences life through their own eyes."

Kydoimos viewed the world like any other machine, through data and sensors. Did Kydoimos wonder about what it was like to be Organic? It would be difficult to sympathize with them if he didn't attempt to. By understanding them, he increased his ability to work alongside them. It improved the odds of success for any mission undertaken involving them.

There was a simple truth, a universal and insurmountable wall: "Machines are Made, Organics are Born." Even with the improvements to technology and the creation of Synthetic Intelligence, this wall couldn't be surmounted. So though he was one of these SI's, that would perish if his Blue Box was destroyed, did he desire to be organic?

Simply enough Kydoimos knew what he was. Acquisition of information to understand organics aside, he knew how he'd been made. There was never any doubt in his mind, he was and always would remain a machine, one that enjoyed precipitation.

[Attn: Council]

Facts were facts, after all. There wasn't exactly any other choice. But watching certain members of the council squirm was rewarding, even if she didn't care whether or not she got the position. Of course, there was an added tip off...two in fact. The first human Spectre...failed? How interesting. Then it came to Cerberus. Cerberus was funding this project. She'd forgotten that. If there was anyone she resented more than the council, it was Cerberus, regardless of claims that they'd turned themselves around.

Pertaining to their little debate, she simply stares. She knew when she was being insulted. She also knew how to blow things off, however. It was true that she didn't exactly have a care for politics. She hadn't been formally educated on the subject beyond a certain point and she never found the subject to be of interest. Furthermore, Spectres weren't inducted for their political minds. The council gave them a mission and they carried it out, whatever it took. There was going to be political blowback regardless of the choices made. Anyone who didn't get that was an idiot. It was about determining which blowback could be more easily recovered from.

Finally, she smiles. It wasn't smug but certainly wasn't entirely genuine. That said, she liked the Quarian. And she'd be hard pressed to hold a grudge toward the Turian. They were all like that. "Thank You, Councilmen. It is, of course, an honor." Her words weren't rigid. They were as smooth as silk. She'd picked up a few mannerisms on Omega that helped dealing with situations like this. "Now, if you would excuse me, I believe I was just given an order to go and check with the Guild Leaders and get status updates on all operations."

Craisa stood dumbfounded as the crowd erupted with excitement. The whispers grew into shouts for Allehina as they rampaged.

"Bad move, Sari," Ishmael chided."

"What the.." Craisa paused, taking in Ishamel's scolding expression, his forehead was pulsed slightly in irritation. "Ohhh, whoops." Craisa hit her head, in sudden realization. "My mistake. But, look at the crowd!" Her eyes went wide, "Everyone's pumped, woot!" Craisa did feel a smidgen bad for what she did to Allehina, but she'd be okay, all this attention was good for her reputation. "Come on Ishmael, after her!" Craisa was about to run into the crowd when a high pitched scream made her stop. "Woah, the crowd is out of hand. What should we do?" Craisa looked to Ishmael, puzzled, "Do you see her?"

Ishmael ignored Craisa's question. He didn't seem to be happy over the crowd at all and did not want to add to the chaos. Craisa sighed but before she could offer another course of action, Ishamel interrupted.

"Cover your ears," he told her.

"Why, what's tha--," an ear piercing sound cut Craisa off. She jumped, slapping her hands onto her ears. "Owww," she whined, the sound blending with the crowd's pained groans. When the sound stopped, she blinked her eyes and took her hands off of her ears, surprised by the complete silence around her. Her ears throbbed, but the pain dulled after a moment and she was okay.

"Um, yes..." he began, his voice now loud in the silence. "I, uh, well..."

"Everyone!" Craisa butted in. "There's nothing to see here, disband!" Although she knew this was a lie, as there was a lot going on, it was evident that Ishmael wanted them gone, and she did too. A crowd wasn't fun unless it was crazy! Watching as the crowd didn't budge, she yelled, "Go away, unless you want to stick around for another round of Ishmael's.. er.. thing!" She grinned, as the crowd flinched, although not many of them did as she said. "Except for you, Allehina, we need you!" She added curtly, still grinning.

[Attn: Transit Area, Umbrella Security, EDI, Norrth Atrium - Corridor 11, OPEN]

His systems immediately picked up a Disturbance warning in the civilian quarter nearby quickly followed by EDI's alert response system.

"Attention:  A Class D Sonic Weapon Discharge has been detected in the North Atrium, Civilian Corridor 11.  Dispatching U-Sec Units 12 and 5.  Dispatching Kydoimos.  Dispatching Spectre Jasmine Palmer to the scene." EDI's voice pinged through his wireless communication system.

Speaking both aloud and to the U-Sec Command, "Battle Android Umb 2XQ32 - Unit 1 Designation Kydoimos responding to security disturbance. Linking to Security Network now." The sudden voice emitting from him startled a few Organics nearby, who became immediately attentive to his presence.

"All Civilian personal are advised to remain calm and remain on standby for security updates." Kydoimos attempted to reassure the organics as his systems where already at work finding the quickest route to the mission area. His ship linked radar and map systems, located his position and placed the navigational markers for his path.

"All non-Umbrella Security personal, clear the transit area." Kydoimos started running towards the nearest service transit rail as fast as possible without running into obstructions or people. "All Routes to Civilian Corridor 11 are prohibited by non-U-Sec personal. Seek alternative transit routes to desired destinations."

Kydoimos kept repeating his warning messages as he made it to the Service Transit, and stepped inside. Waving his hand at the activation panel his Omni-tool activated and input his destination and security clearance. The Transit went into motion, at a dangerous speed... for an Organic. "ETA: Two Minutes Twenty Three Seconds." His voice echoed in tunnel as he sent his time to other Security personal and EDI.

Kydoimos' stance shifted to help handle the rapid negative acceleration of the service transit as it reached the destination point. There were benefits for not having frail organic systems, like now. Actuators, Gears, Suspension systems all activated and Kydoimos straightened and waited till the doors opened. The expanded radar systems detected the Friendly Identification Confirmation Signals of other Security forces as he stepped out of the transit. The Security forces had already arrived first. No signs of escalated hostilities had been detected or reported. He began approaching the mission area, noticing the U-Sec personal already attempting to handle the crowd. He began looking over the crowd searching for hostile targets and unauthorized weapons.

[Attn: Alarm, Crowd Group]

Jazz glances up when she hears the alarm.  "And I expected it to be uneventful," she says when the alert comes across, dispatching her to the scene.  After getting her bearings on where she was, she leaves for the scene, eventually coming up on the crowd.  The first thing she sees is a drone, combing through the people for hostility or unauthorized weaponry.  Upon noticing this, she crosses her arms, opting to stand back for a moment, glancing over everyone.

Soon she comes to the bodyguard figures.  Then she sees the Turian and an Asari standing at an entrance, further away from the bulk of the crowd.  She glances back at the synthetic and approaches them.  "If I had to guess, the girl with the bodyguards was the one who drew the crowd.  You have the best vantage point in the room. You must've seen what happened. Or...is there something anyone here would like to tell me?"

Honestly, Jazz had taken note of injuries. The only things people hurt were their pride. She didn't care who did what. As long as it didn't happen again, it didn't matter. But she would like to know the motives so that it could be prevented in the future.

[Attn: Atrium, U-Sec, Open]

The U-SEC personal where organizing the crowd, asking them questions and searching them over for illegal contraband. Kydoimos had scanned over the crowd for all obvious targets and firearms. It had proven negative but the scan had only been a quick one for obvious signs, now Kydoimos was watching body language.

Each race had many ques and tells, and it was often hard to find them all while also referencing them against the listed ones. Many of the U-Sec personal were getting reports and questioning people from the crowd.

"Attention All non-U-Sec personnel:-" Kydoimos said utilizing one of the higher settings of his vocal system to speak over the crowd. "- To facilitate a more efficient and timely return to your normal activities, please form a pair of single-file lines."

It would allow him an easier time identifying them, and also decrease the chance that people might bypass security. "Please ready your identification while you wait in line. We thank you for cooperation and understanding." His low antiquated robotic voice trying to provide assistance to his organic comrades/superiors.

As they went through the Security check Kydoimos compared their faces and other physical parameters he recorded with his visual sensors against those on file, while also looking for weapons as they went past without searching them physically. There was little else he could actually do in this situation, not unless a situation presented itself. Organics were very... suspicious and uncomfortable being searched by a machine, so Kydoimos left that to the other organics.

He was here to provide backup and fire support, and logically speaking Kydoimos didn't outrank any of the U-Sec personnel. Kydoimos hadn't yet found the weapon responsible for the security response, but it was a matter of time. So far everyone he checked against the crew manifests was a member of the colony.

Kydoimos repeated his message switching from one language to the next with each repetition. "Please have your Identification ready when you reach the front of the line. We Thank you for your support and cooperation." This mission at least provided an adequate means to efficiently use his time before his original mission for the day.

Kydoimos wondered if one of the members of the U-SEC personnel would file another complaint regarding his initiative during this operation. Organics sometimes could feel threatened or concerned from such matters where their jobs were involved.

[Attn: Alehina, Craisa, Jazz, Kydoimos, Open]

Ishmael nodded to the young woman's words, paying no mind to the exchange between her and his associate. "I was headed to your department to attempt contact with you for the lunar mission the Salvage Saints are heading. If you might be available for contact later...?"

The U-Sec and robots began filing in and he sighed. All of this for a sonic device? Really? Well, protocol was protocol. An official-looking person walked into the area and began surveying everyone, marking him and Craisa, then approaching them.

"If I had to guess, the girl with the bodyguards was the one who drew the crowd. You have the best vantage point in the room. You must've seen what happened. Or...is there something anyone here would like to tell me?"

"Close," Ishmael replied. "Ishmael Nober, currently of the Salvage Saints." He held out his identification and the sonic device. "And I hold the offending item in question. As near as I can tell, the crowd was gathered to view the planet upon which we're to land. However, my associate here brought attention to the young woman and the crowd then became a mob. They were posing a threat to her, so I discharged my sonic device to get them to calm down and back off.

"If you'll check my credentials, you'll note I have the patent and permissions to carry this device," he continued. "It was not my intent to create this level of a disturbance, but merely to regain control of a situation already getting out of hand. The sonic is harmless; at most they might have an earache for the rest of the day."

"Where was all that talk when the crowd was facing you earlier?" Shasta said to him under her breath, causing him to blanch.

"If I had to guess, the girl with the bodyguards was the one who drew the crowd.  You have the best vantage point in the room. You must've seen what happened. Or...is there something anyone here would like to tell me?"

Craisa wondered why this woman was investigating the situation further, no one had been harmed. She shook her head rigorously, "No-," when Ishmael interrupted. He spoke each word quickly and precisely. Craisa cringed as he filled her in on the unnecessary details.

"Close," Ishmael replied. "Ishmael Nober, currently of the Salvage Saints." He held out his identification and the sonic device. "And I hold the offending item in question. As near as I can tell, the crowd was gathered to view the planet upon which we're to land. However, my associate here brought attention to the young woman and the crowd then became a mob. They were posing a threat to her, so I discharged my sonic device to get them to calm down and back off.

Craisa narrowed her eyes, "traitor," she mouthed. What was the point in placing blame? It's one thing to confess to your own actions, but he had confessed for Craisa too. Something she definitely wouldn't have done. With her bad record she was sure she'd receive a punishment.  

"If you'll check my credentials, you'll note I have the patent and permissions to carry this device," he continued. "It was not my intent to create this level of a disturbance, but merely to regain control of a situation already getting out of hand. The sonic is harmless; at most they might have an earache for the rest of the day."

"And, I thought the crowd was gathered for Allehina. We were looking for her. I've found that calling someone's name is the easiest way to catch their attention," she kept her voice light and smiled innocently at the woman. Then she clapped her hands together as if that closed the issue. "But, everything's okay now. We've found Allehina and as soon as this blows over we'll be on our way.

"Attention All non-U-Sec personnel:-" Kydoimos said utilizing one of the higher settings of his vocal system to speak over the crowd. "- To facilitate a more efficient and timely return to your normal activities, please form a pair of single-file lines."

"See, it's all under control," Craisa said coolly. "Ishmael's such a do-gooder," she thought a little miffed that he didn't say anything to ease the blame on her. "Ishmael, let's go and ask the robot for permission to leave," she grabbed his hand and starting walking, eager to get away.