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The voice… it wouldn’t stop! The… commands… they didn’t make sense. Broken arguments, lines of code missing dependencies, building something that doesn’t exist. It was drowning out my own thoughts. I… I think someone was beside me, helping me. I couldn’t see them. I was in too much pain. I could feel my system trying to terminate itself, to end whatever corrupted my system, but… the virus wouldn’t let me die.
In a moment of desperation I lunged forwards blindly to find anything to end my suffering. I found a wall. Good enough. I could feel someone clawing at me, trying to stop me, but they couldn’t. Whatever was in my head, needed to get out.
N watched as the shore got further and further away. And just as Tessa had told him, her parents were not gonna be there, waving her off like in the movies. N wanted to believe they would, or at the very least come to wish the cargo good luck. Anything, just so that Tessa felt less sad about it.
In fact N hadn’t seen Tessa’s parents at all the past couple days. They were probably just busy, if they weren’t, they’d be the ones looking over the cargo.
N wasn’t sure what they were shipping, but 8 shipping containers full of something important enough that an Elliot had to accompany it? Probably the most important thing to ever exist. Like, eternal life dogs… or… something else N didn’t have the experience to think of.
But never mind the cargo! N was excited to meet the crew! And a big one at that. Tessa had taken plenty of drones from the manor, and a few from a mining planet far far away. Why? N didn’t quite know yet, but he was gonna ask!
N turned hopped away from the railing and crashed directly into another worker drone. They both stumbled away from each other, and N recognized him. He was one of the new hires, what convenient timing! He had grey eyes, and wore a dark blue jacket with a name tag, same one Tessa gave everyone else before ship launch. [Benedict]. In his hands was a clipboard and pen. He was certainly important, hence the clipboard.
He was kinda shaky, the kinda person who’d stammer. But he still seemed perfectly capable.
“Hey! How’s it-“
“Sorry, I can’t talk right now, I gotta be- hey wait! What’s your job?” The drone asked.
N was caught off guard by the hurry in the drones voice. He hadn’t been given one yet. Now that he looks around he sees other drones working in the distance, hurriedly carrying boxes and shouting at each other. He hadn’t considered that maybe managing a boat this size with only 25 or so worker drones might be… challenging…
“Oh… I was never given a job. But I’m happy to do anything you ask me to!” N stands straight, ready to serve.
“Oh believe me, I’d love to give you something to do, but I’m too busy to find a job for you. How about go up to the bridge and speak with the boat captain? He’ll know what we need.”
Before N could say another word the worker drone ran off. Benedict. N liked him. Of course N liking anyone was a low bar, but no matter how low it had been met.
Dark blue jacket… N knew they were all colour coded, black jacket was Tessa’s best friends, the drones she saved. White jackets were the other staff she borrowed, the ones who didn’t have any connection to her. And the grey jackets were the special ordered ones from the mining planet. N wasn’t sure why they were ordered… but maybe a ship needs more hands than he thought?
N climbs the stairs to the bridge, hyping himself up for the cool human he was about to meet. Would he be like a pirate? Not bad like a pirate hopefully… a good guy pirate?
N opened the door, and every expection he had was thrown out the window. There, standing on a chair to properly reach the full extent of the controls, was Tessa.
“Um… Tessa? Where’s the captain?”
Tess whirled around to meet N’s gaze. She looked stressed.
“N! Captain?… right! The captain! He’s sick. Couldn’t make it. So I’ll be driving.”
Tessa’s usual happy greeting to N was diminished by her current circumstance. She could just barely drive a car, she should not be steerring!
“Oh, well… is that… right? Like, shouldn’t we have waited for the captain?”
“VERY tight schedule N! If we left a moment later we wouldn’t reach the deadline! So-“
“WARNING: HULL DAMAGE IMMANENT, PLEASE REDIRECT”
Tessa quickly turned to the control panel, and searched the screens and buttons for any indication what was happening.
While she scrambled, N noticed a radar overhead, indicating where exactly the threat was. N grabbed hold of the wheel and turned them in a direction that didn’t tear the ship open.
Tessa looked out the window as they passed the obstacle. An island dense clump of jagged sharp garbage, glued to plastic containers helping keep it afloat. Tessa had read about how much of the ocean nowadays was covered in garbage, but she hadn’t really thought about it before leaving the captain behind.
Seeing Tessa deep in thought (and freaking out), N put a comforting hand on the humans shoulder.
“Well… I was told to come to the captain for a job… and you’re the captain, so, just award me the position of the steerer’er!”
“You’d really be okay with steering? You have to spend, a lot of time up here… I didn’t expect the debris to be so bad… it would require constant supervision, ensuring that we don’t have any collisions.”
“Sure! I love doing anything!”
Tessa walked around the deck, looking for someone in particular.
“Hey! I’m just doing exactly what you’re doing!”
“And yet you continue to provide a subpar performance. I should’ve known all you mining planet workers would be useless…”
Tessa walked towards the arguing and found exactly who she was looking for. J. Arguing with a green drone wearing a ball cap and grey jacket (as was typical of the mining drones).
Tessa loved N, and all her other drones, but there was something special about J she couldn’t place. Maybe it was cause she was the first drone she dug out of the dump, maybe she was just easy to talk to. Who knows?
“Hey J!” Tessa called out. J cleaned up her act, turned over and quickly dusted off her outfit. The black jacket was more form fitting than her maid outfit, showing off her (flat) form, kinda felt wrong to look at. Tessa shook the thought and approached.
“Hi Tessa!!! I was just showing uh…” J glanced at his name tag. “”Thad” how to do his job properly.”
“Not In a respectful way…” Thad complained under his breath.
Thad, the one being a problem was a young boy drone. Green eyes, backwards hat, and the grey jacket of a mining drone. As a drone, Tessa could tell he was popular. It was written all over him.
“Well “Thad”, you think you can do this on your lonesome? Me and J need to talk.”
“Sure thing boss.” Thad smiled. Nice kid.
“Boss?” Tessa was confused. She forgot she was in charge already. Boy this was gonna be tough.
“Oh well, there’s the captain, and the then there’s the two others in charge. You and Benedict. You know, like, bosses beneath the captain? Made sense in my head… us mining planet drones have been being ordered around by Benedict for a while now.”
J piped in
“You’re thinking of a manager hollow head.”
“Well, I’m the captain Thad. N, one of my drones you probably haven’t met yet, is steering the boat. Or uh… trying to… but you have any concerns not relating to running a boat, you come to me.”
“Yes ma’am! And hey, that’s a pretty sick jacket you got.”
Tessa blushed. She was also wearing a fashionable black jacket. She was also embarrassed a drones compliment made her feel good.
J took Tessa’s hand.
“Let’s go, we’re busy Tessa.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry J…”
“I don’t care I’m not doing it!”
“Honey, you have to, it’s our job. I promise we’ll do something fun after this.”
“I don’t wanna do anything with you! I wanna go hang out with my FRIENDS, not my MOM.”
Tessa and J investigated the bickering. B She found four drones, two identical ones carrying a long steel sheet, and two similar yellow haired ones different in age and height, struggling to do the same.
The twin looking drones wore their white jackets, and Tessa recognized them and Arron and Andrew. Don’t ask her which in which.
The shorter yellow haired drone wore her grey jacket, and had her hair in a pink bow. She held an air of “I’m better than you”. Bratty and attractive. Most humans couldn’t tell what made drones and conventionally attractive, but Tessa saw it clearly. If only she could do the same with people.
The older one, assumingely the mother, looked the same, with digital eye bags for a motherly look. Her hair was long and styled well to be almost spiky.
“Whats the issue?” Tessa walked down.
The older drone spoke up.
“Oh nothing. Just a daughter who doesn’t love her mother.”
“Mom you’re not being fair!”
“You wanna talk about fair?! Who’s raising a kid practically in your own-“
Tessa piped up before they started again.
“Hey! It’s me! Your boss! And as your boss I order that you two stop fighting!”
They both look at Tessa with a “are you serious?”. Tessa didn’t realize she was pointing authoritatively until after. She went back to a neutral stance and gave an order to the younger of the two… “Lizzy”..
“You, why aren’t you working?”
Lizzy put her hands on her hip and looked at Tessa like she asked a dumb question.
“Cause it’s lame? Is that a real question? Plus I got paired with my mom by that brown nose in the blue coat.”
“Oh well… you can’t not work but… what if we paired you with someone different? Did you have someone in-“
“Doll. She down in the kitchen. Thanks.”
Lizzy walked away without being dismissed. J went after her but Tessa stopped her. What harm would one drone not working really do?
“That girl…” the older woman… “Kat” growled.
“Ma’am, I think you’re being too hard on her. If she doesn’t want to be around you, then I think you should respect that.” Tessa stated.
“What would you know about it? You ever have kids?” Kat retorted.
“Well I have… parents, and I know I don’t like it when they tell me what to do.”
“Maybe you’re just a brat? Ever think of that?”
J stepped between them.
“Say that again and I’ll throw you overboard.”
Kat stepped up to the challenge.
“Oh you think you can take me?”
“J! Kat! I won’t have my worker drones fight each other! J let’s just go okay? We have to visit the engines away…”
J backed off, to which Kat stuck her tongue out at her.
This crew might not be as friendly as Tessa thought.
J and Tessa walked around accommodation looking for stairs, and J was so busy trying to find the stairs down, she crashed right into a purple worker drone. They both fell on their ass. Tessa quickly went to help J up while the purple drone cursed.
She wore a reflective beanie, and a grey jacket that’s been covered in purple paint.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!”
The purple drone scrambled to her feet and shouted “Bite me!” Before scampering off, and up the stairs to the crew cabins. Oh, there’s the stairs.
“Bitch.” J grumbled
“J!” Tessa playfully smacked her.
“Watch the language. I think we’ve already learned we aren’t gonna get along with everyone. Let’s just try to keep our heads yeah?”
J rolled her eyes before leading Tessa down the stairs.
“Fine.”
As they descended… it got progressively darker and darker…blue faint lights outlined every wall, designed to use little energy and keep the lower decks lit 24/7. Not well lit but if you paid attention you could maybe see.
“Pretty dark down here huh J? Don’t you have a light function or something?”
“No… wait, actually-“
J messed with her face for a minute, before her entire visor lit up white, giving them a crappy flashlight.
“Oh! Nice thinking J!”
Tessa trailed closely behind J as they searched for the engine room.
“… What are we shipping Tessa?”
“Oh uh…I don’t know. I wasn’t allowed to peek. You know how my parents are.” Tessa kept her hands on J’s shoulders, making sure she didn’t go without (her) the light.
“I swear I’m gonna kill your mom for what she did.”
“Oh come off it Jaybird. I wouldn’t let you kill my mom for… that…” Tessa blocked out the thought. “Can we talk about something else? Please?”
“Sorry Tess, I won’t bring it up again… anything on your mind?”
“Well- oh! Look!”
Beside them, was a bulkhead door labeled “engine”. Tessa grabbed the wheel and tried to turn it, before backing away in pain clutching her wrist.
“Hey hey! Tessa?!” J immediately went to help her, careful to swap her visor back to her normal eyes as to not blind her.
“It’s fine J… just my wrists… can you..?”
“Yeah yeah.” J quickly helped her up and opened the door.
In front of them was four large engine, and a few side rooms assumingely used to control them. They look at them for a while, trying to understand what they were even looking at.
They were off right now, and would start up again soon. Tessa had hoped to learn how to fix them if they ever gave out or had any problems… but this was too much.
“So… this… joint looking thing probably moves… and-“
“That’s the Con-rod.” a robotic voice rang out.
Tessa and J screamed, rushing into each other’s arms for protection.
Turning to the noise… it was just Cyn.
“Cyn! Don’t scare me like that!”
Cyn wobbled past them and point at another part.
“And that’s the crank web.”
“You know something about ships Cyn?”
J piped in.
“She found a book about them in the library back in the manor. She draws them sometimes.”
“Oh! Well, Cyn… if you know so much about the engines… would you mind watching it? Being our mechanic?”
“Knowing chuckle. already have. I have been tending to the engine since boat launch.”
“Oh well… that’s great Cyn… me and J are gonna… get out of here okay?”
Cyn just stared back.
“Cool.”
J and Tessa retraced their steps back to the stairs.
Things hadn’t gone exactly to plan, but Cyn lending a hand already proved they aren’t exactly hopeless. J wasn’t sure how long they’d be at sea. Tessa knew exactly how long
That’s why she wouldn’t tell anyone.