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Post by Caden Breese on Oct 13, 2009 23:56:48 GMT -6
Caden was pretty sure he'd heard the name Micheal Nida before. Being interested in anything mechanical like he was growing up it was a name that was bound to come up at some point. Why hadn't he put two and two together? Either way he wanted to know more about the limbs them selves, but let himself listen to the rest of her story before adding anything else.
Once she had finished he finally glanced at Solomon and added in, "So that big guy back there was full of bull shit!" He brought all the parts over to where the two were sitting, "He told people you were forced into it, and that he was some kind of monster." Caden was willing to easily jump on Cassandra's side. For one, she could give proof that the Terran military were a bunch of lying pricks and if he could help her, he might get to learn more about the limbs.
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 14, 2009 0:05:27 GMT -6
"what?!" Cass' jaw dropped as Caden spoke. "my dad would never ever force me to do anything i didn't want to do! and he wouldn't hurt anybody ever! the only reason i have my limbs is because i wouldn't stop pushing until he gave in!"
"i know what he did wasn't legal, but he did it because he loved me, and because he knew i'd rather die than live the way i was. what we did didn't hurt anybody but me. maybe i wasn't an adult when the operations were done, but it doesn't mean i didn't understand what i was asking!" Cass' voice was passionate and strong, far stronger than it had been when telling her story.
She looked at Solomon, "if they find me, they're going to take my limbs away and they're going to lock me in some asylum, and they're going to send my dad to jail! as long as they can't catch me or prove that i've even got limbs, they can't charge him with anything! they have to let him go eventually!" Cass wasn't completely sure about that, but what she did know about law told her that they couldn't hold an innocent man forever, not unless they wanted to charge him, and they couldn't charge him unless they had evidence that a crime even happened.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 14, 2009 0:19:49 GMT -6
Sol nodded. "I had a feeling there was going to be a twist to the story..." Cain had only been telling half truths, mixed with his own lies in order to make the military's objective's seem more noble. That sounded as familiar to Sol as the trees on Antheia.
"Now back up again. There's more, isn't there?" he pressed. "Because you keep saying limbs. And I can see the sign of limbs. So continue the story. Right up until you came to the Adeala. I want it all, because I don't want any part of this left in the dark. All the modifications, reasons behind them, any soldiers that might have been hurt while you were defending yourself, so on."
He was leaning towards helping the girl, but he didn't want to get his crew further into problems if Cass ended up being possibly charged for more serious things in the future, even if her reasons were completely justified. Running from questioning was one thing. Running from serious theft, or murder (accidental or intentional) was a whole other story.
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 14, 2009 0:40:34 GMT -6
Cass nodded reluctantly. "it didn't happen all at once. six months after my arm was amputated, i wanted to try again. we went for my left leg." She hesitated, then decided the best way to show them was to just show them.
She stood up and turned around, pulling her shirt up to reveal the bandaged wound. Cass pulled off the bandaging, revealing the wound, and the thick metal band under her skin. "after we took the left and right legs, it got really tiring to wear them for longer than two hours. daddy and i came up with a system to help support the weight." She put the bandaging back on it and tugged her shirt down, turning back around to face them.
"my spine is steel-plated, and i've got bands running under the skin." She carefully pointed out the four main bands, the two major ones aligned with her hips and shoulders, where the sockets were. "i've still got all my original organs. daddy insisted i keep them at least, since too many organ transplants would really get the wrong people watching us. and my head is untouched, mostly because we couldn't figure out a way to replace my skull without causing brain damage or death."
"nobody knew about it but me and daddy, and the servants. but there were rumours. daddy paid well to keep people from talking about the operations, but somebody must have talked because two weeks ago, daddy came into my room and told me i had to run for it. he gave me money, and i took all my plans and some of my clothes and i just... i ran. daddy stayed behind to hold them off and i climbed down the building until i got to a courtyard, and then i just... i just kept running."
"i tried to get off-planet on another ship but they couldn't take me because they weren't a passenger ship. he was the one who suggested i wait until somebody posted a notice that they were looking for passengers. and then i just waited in cafes until i saw your posting." And that's when Cass couldn't take it anymore, and even though she didn't want to, she started crying. "i'm sorry. i just wanted to get away. i should have told you but i didn't think i could trust anybody. i've never had anybody to trust except my daddy, and now he's locked away and-" She wiped at her face with her hand, trying to get herself back under control.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 14, 2009 10:20:50 GMT -6
Limbs. To Sol that had maybe meant both arms were actually artificial, or maybe an arm and a leg. But it turned out to essentially be her entire body. She was almost more machine than human. He couldn't even begin to think of what to say right away, so he sat in stunned silence for a few moments.
Cassandra's mindset confounded him. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to replace their body parts with artificial ones. To remove all of your natural self, what made you human... he couldn't wrap his mind around it. But, at the same time, what made her human was actually still there. Her mind, her heart. Her emotions were clear: she wasn't more machine than living thing. She was still a scared and lost little girl who had simply made some really dumb decisions.
Finally he leaned forward again. "I promised Magdalen that I wouldn't leave you behind. I don't intend to break that promise. But I have a few conditions. One: clearly you don't have a source of income anymore, so as a paying passenger you're sort of useless. In that case, I'd like you to help out on the ship as crew until you've reached whatever nonexistent destination you have in mind. Maybe you'll be most useful helping out Caden, since you clearly have an idea of how machines operate, but wherever you feel comfortable helping out would be greatly appreciated."
"And Two: Less hiding in your room. Clearly you're not a big socializer, so I'm sorry if this is going to be out of your comfort zone, but if my crew is going to be sticking their necks out to keep you safe, they'll need to actually get to know you. Not everyone wants to help a complete stranger who rarely gives them the time of day. Understandable?"
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 14, 2009 12:23:37 GMT -6
Cass started crying again when Solomon said he wouldn't break his promise to Magdalen, but they were happy tears this time. She wasn't going to get left behind or turned in. With that in mind, it was easy to nod along to the conditions. Cass wasn't familiar with big engines, but she could learn. Just as long as it wasn't cooking, she'd be happy to do it. And as for the socializing... at least she could talk to Magdalen. And maybe Caden, if he was as interested in machines as she was. Hopefully the rest would come.
"okay, yes. thank you, thank you." She said, sniffling a little and wishing she still had her hoodie so she could wipe her face with the sleeve. She did her best with her hands. "i'm still so sorry. i've never done any of this before... daddy and i never even talked about what to do if everything went wrong. i just though i'd spend my whole life in the top..." Cass' voice trailed off, not quite ready to admit that she might never get to go back.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 14, 2009 15:54:41 GMT -6
"Alright," Sol nodded. "We can't get you out today, because we'll need to come up with a proper plan to sneak you back into the space port. Any ideas would be handy right about now." Maybe they could even come up with something today and get ready for it the next day, he thought.
He waved Caden over. "We can leave your parts today though, and you can spend the next couple days using what you need to get yourself back to health. Or... whatever you call it."
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 14, 2009 19:45:34 GMT -6
Finally, her parts. After the emotional turmoil, she would be glad to have something steady and reliable to work with. She could finish her legs, start cooking up skin to replace the rest of her limbs, all the stuff she needed. Cass was really going to miss her workshop once she got working on the legs. She used to have that specialized chair for when she popped her legs off that gave her the support she needed-
Cass suddenly had an idea. "I can come in with the cargo. if I take off my arms and legs, and I curl up, I can be small." It wasn't exactly something she was comfortable with, but she was willing to do what it took to get off the planet and away from those troops, and the man who was willing to lie about Cassandra in order to catch her.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 14, 2009 22:34:58 GMT -6
"That might work," he pondered. "I haven't even gotten to placing any orders to stock up the ship again, maybe I could put in something that might need us to head this way. Maybe I could even make a deal with the Denvers for... whatever it is they make a living off of here." He suddenly realized he didn't know. This was only the second time he'd been at the farm, anyway.
He turned his attention back to the other fact in Cass' suggestion. "So you can take yourself apart??" That sounded extremely uncomfortable and odd. Not to mention the risk of misplacing a limb somewhere.
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 14, 2009 22:49:14 GMT -6
Cass nodded. "I have to. I weigh nearly 230 kilograms when I'm wearing my heavy-duty limbs, and it's hard on my bones if I sleep in them, even with the added support structures." She paused, then clarified, "at home, I had another set of arms and legs. the other set was a lot lighter, but not as durable. but I couldn't bring it with me when I left."
She gestured to the parts, "I was going to build another set with these. I still might be able to if the repairs aren't too intensive, or if I modify the design..." Cass got lost in thought, then quickly pulled herself back. Now wasn't the time. Instead she picked up the arm off the table and attached it, showing Solomon and Caden how it snapped into place. She felt a small pain as the nerves hooked up to the skinless machine, and she turned her right arm, letting them see that she really was controlling it.
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Post by Caden Breese on Oct 14, 2009 23:02:10 GMT -6
Every limb was mechanical? Why did this remind him so much of some weird fantasy he had as a kid? This was both super weird and super awesome in Caden's books. He found himself completely lost in thought and just looking over the arm on the table.
When he watched her clip her arm back on he made a happy grin. "That. That is cool!" He would be absolutely okay with her being around the engine room. He was having a nerdgasm over this whole mechanical limbs thing and almost completely missed the planning part of getting her back to the ship.
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 14, 2009 23:19:42 GMT -6
She was expecting Solomon to be weirded out. People didn't understand. They couldn't. They liked their bodies. They spent every day in them, comfortable in their own skin. At most they were angry they couldn't lose a few pounds, or that their face wasn't pretty enough, or they weren't tall enough. They didn't feel that horrible uncontrollable disgust that Cass had felt every single time she looked at herself. Cass had accepted that.
What she wasn't expecting was Caden's excited reaction. She smiled at the glee in his voice, not even really feeling like smiling but unable to resist the pure excitement coming from him. Nobody had thought they were cool before. She'd only really had her father to talk to about them, and he took them very seriously.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 15, 2009 11:50:54 GMT -6
Well, if Caden was excited, then it must be impressive stuff. For a mechanic. It still gave Sol the willies, but he supposed he'd have to get used to it. It wasn't like she was a robot with AI. She was still a human girl in there, despite how little of her body was still human.
"Alright," he said, standing up. "I'll have to spend tonight and tomorrow working out the details. I'll place some orders for some things, and we'll see if we can't get a nice sized crate to get over here without suspicion."
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 16, 2009 0:40:25 GMT -6
Cass nodded. She really wasn't sure what else to say or do. "I'll stay here and keep quiet." She said, feeling kinda lame. But that was all she really could do. Right now, it was up to Solomon and the rest to get her onto the ship safely.
At least it would give her time to repair her limbs. Maybe by the time she left, she'd have the major damage repaired and her arms reskinned. She could skip on the legs, as long as she wore pants and added some extra padding to disguise the sharp edges. Of course, if she was going in a crate, skin didn't matter at all. Still, people found it unsettling to look at the bare metal limbs and Cass knew the more normal she looked, the easier it was to pass.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 16, 2009 23:06:27 GMT -6
As Sol headed back up the stairs, his mind wasn't any less conflicted, but it was filled with new things. Ideas and beginnings of plans. He would have to keep it low key. Maybe keep the plan from the rest of the crew in order to keep anyone from accidentally spilling something. He didn't like the idea of allowing them to be uninformed once more, but it seemed like the most logical plan of action. Of course, Caden was in on it now. He could help. And Magdalen. He wouldn't lie to her, after all she'd already gone through to protect Cass. No, Magdalen would need to be filled in most definitely.
He hit the top of the stairs, wondering if the Denvers had managed to locate some of Magdalen's old things. If he could bring those back with him, as well as a few things from his old cabin, he would definitely have things to backup his alibi.
Alibi... Sol never thought he'd be worrying about this stuff again. It made him feel like a paranoid criminal on the run. And his headache was quickly returning. "Ugh."
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