I Can't Believe My Robot Overlord Can Be This Cute or Ate Quest [Original][Sci-fi/Fantasy][Two QMs]

"Thank you. Please identify yourself."

"Ah…" Quick improvisation protocols: Go! "I am DS-M 112-845-A16, designation 'Ate.'" Crud, that was her original registration code. She really wasn't ready to be interrogated by these bucket-heads. 'Improvisation protocols, why have you--'

"Acknowledged; please refrain from further combat-sensitive actions and remain on standby in the immediate vicinity."

'--failed me? That worked…?!' Ate blinked in abject confusion, before the Squire suddenly tilted its head and continued, as if stating an afterthought.

"You will be safe here."

Ate rolled her eyes at the mech's pandering. Of course the JFC didn't want any of its tin men being seen treating a "child" irregularly, therefor they made a basic effort to treat her as if she were a normal "child" due to the similarity. With any luck, they'd be less likely to straight up murder her for stepping out of line for the same reason. 'I never thought I'd be thanking politicians' phobia of contextless video-clips for anything, but there you go…'

With a slump in her shoulders Ate walked over to the med bay's small waiting area and plopped down on one of the cushy chairs. There wasn't anything to do but wait... that and read magazines that probably dated back to the day the ship was commissioned. She stared longingly at her small pile of weapons that the JFC bots had just left lying on the floor. Hopefully whoever was in the autodoc would be out relatively quickly and she could move on to negotiating with someone who mattered.
She'd scarcely waited five seconds, before exclaiming in frustration, "THIS IS BORING! GAAAAAAAAH!"

There was nothing productive she could do while she waited, but pool over knowledge she'd acquired previously and come to the same conclusions she had previously. There was nothing unproductive she could do but absorb pointless [and hilariously out of date] trivia from various magazines… once, and it wouldn't take long to do so, really…

Must she truly sit here and-- Ohoh, what's that?



It started with a cautious, experimental poke. When this was determined to be safe, things… escalated quite quickly, and by the time the Auto-Doc started to signal its completion, all things had been defiled and she was just applying the finishing touches of a glorious Nietzsche-Mustache to the Knight. Of course, occasionally a bug had to be obliterated, and the mechs would request she stop... however she noticed they never stated any specific punishment, and determined this level of misdemeanor wasn't something they were likely to act against. At least, not with higher priorities getting in the way.

So it was that the last surviving member of the ship's crew awoke to find the entirety of her security detail had been covered in permanent marker graffiti, and looked as if someone had applied painstakingly customised full-body tattoos and decals to their every surface. Next to them, a little girl stood in a faux-military dress, her face the picture of perfect innocence.

"...what?" The survivor stated, the lingering effects of the Autodoc's anesthesia doing nothing to assuage her abject confusion. "The shit's in this thing… they spike it b'fore we crashed? Helluva time guys…"

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

How does Ate present herself to the survivor?

[] - Tricksy. 'She's still groggy from the anesthesia. Can I exploit that?' Ate will try to trick the Survivor while they're out of sorts, to acquire certain permissions and rights.
[] - Frankly. "Hi, my name's Ate. I'm actually a robot, everything is broken and aliens have infested the ship. I can help you fix things if you give me permission, or at least help fight if you tell your Security to allow me to arm myself." Ate will be completely and utterly blunt, but honest, about what she is, what she wants, and why she wants it.
[] - Theatrically. "Hi - I'm Ate, what's your name? I like the decals on your robots. Did you paint them? Is that alright? Can I try?" Ate plays the role she gave to the Squire.
[] - 'Honestly.' "Hi, I'm Ate, a Domestic-Substitute Construct acquired by Captain Balik Balik III to allow him to 'raise' a child without worry for betrayal…" Gives a censored version of the full truth.
[] - Write-In

Voting will close around 11 PM - i/e the usual time. I apologize for the lack of Codex Entries. Had less time to spare than I was expecting >.>

Also it occurred to me that Ate herself, doesn't really have a codex page, or much of an actual bio at all really. In light of that, I've decided to give you one… if you can identify the source of her name in the comments, : P. [Really, I don't expect it to be very hard.]

"Hi, I'm Ate, what's your name?"

Jenna stared at the girl with the plastic expression as the autodoc closed behind her. What the hell was a… 'No, think for a second - this can't be a normal child.' Glancing to the nearest security mech, she demanded an explanation.

"DS-M 112-845-A18 Designation: Ate. Companion construct." The Knight announced blandly, "Entered the vicinity armed and under attack by invading forces, disarmed upon request and has remained present on standby since."

Still smiling obliviously, the described Mascot-Bot followed Jenna's gaze to the speaking squire. "I like the decals on your robots. Did you paint them? Is that alright? Can I try?" She spoke, in a rapid fire chain of questions that prompted Jenna to sigh.

"Where are the weapons she was armed with?" The Engineer questioned, ignoring the machine and surveying the room… and spotting the small pile in the corner. "Nevermind." She asserted, interrupting the Knight as it began to reply. Stepping over and investigating the weapons, she found… a Stinger and a pair of League Pistols. How the hell did the Mascot get her hands on those? Were there League machines roaming about on top of everything else? They had attempted to board, but did they actually get close enough to before the crash?

Hefting the Stinger, she stared at the errant machine with that annoying canned smile she'd seen a hundred times before… and sighed, kicking one of the League garbage pistols over. "Squires - you're now designated as MedGuard and assigned to watch this room. 'Ate'... stay here. You have permission to shoot intruders with the pistol. All security, disarm and incarcerate her if she tries anything else with it…. Other Squire, Knight, come with me."

There were more important things to worry about than errant Sim-Types, right now.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

As the crewoman left and completely dismissed her, Ate sighed internally, keeping the canned smile (the mech was still watching her, after all) and slumping in relief. 'That could have gone worse. At least she didn't order them to scrap me or lock me up… immediately.' So… the ship had a survivor and the internal security forces weren't out to destroy her, but they weren't exactly cooperating either. Lifting the pistol, she idly tilted her head without thinking about it. Now what?

The crewoman told her to stay here, of course, but she didn't tell Security to do anything if she tried to leave; just to stop her from using the pistol on anything other than the intruders. Really, the gaping holes in that command gave way to how green or out of sorts they were on their own, to say nothing of the standardized [and ruined] jumpsuit they were wearing. She could follow the crewoman but that would be in direct defiance of a previously given order. She could go looting, preferably after leaving the secured sector (if the JFC Mechs would allow it) to link up with her Fodderbots, but… somehow that just didn't seem necessary.

They needed to seal the breach in the ship, which was being guarded by what she could only assume was a giant version of the same hellbugs roaming the ship.

A monarch had apparently tried that fight and lost terribly.

Therefore; more heavy mechs were needed, which required the Prime Fabber, which is probably where the crewoman went.

If she was to stay and ingratiate herself, it really seemed like there was no choice but to ignore the crewoman's orders... unless maybe she could find something to do here? Hm...

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Please choose only one subvote per vote.

[] Pretend there's some malfunction keeping Ate from registering the Jenna's orders. Possible to make Jenna more suspicious.
-[] And follow her anyway, looking for something useful to do.
-[] And try to engage her in dialogue to convince her you're useful.
-[] And explore the JFC-Controlled section.

[] Link up with the Fodderbots. Requires Ate leave JFC sector; possible to make Jenna much more suspicious.
-[] And go check the other Cargo Bays.
-[] And go back to the Security Bay to use the Maintenance Fabber to fix Leggy One.

[] Examine the Medical Bay.
-[] And try to find something useful to do therein.
-[] And try to find an entry point to explore the ship's computer systems in depth.
[] This was a bad idea; try to find a way off the ship.
[] Write-In.


Sorry about the delay; there wasn't a whole lot to it beyond neither of us feeling up to writing. It also took a bit of time to decide on your options.
Remember that Ate's current immediate goal is to convince the Survivor to cooperate with her, as per previous Vote.
However, it's possible for her to change her mind. In either case, she needs to secure the ship or safely leave with some means of recharging herself.

Voting will close tomorrow evening at 11 PM.