(no subject)

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

Thaddos was doing nothing more than milling around. He could hear the Machine Spirits wailing in his head, and he hated it. So, that was the reason he was doing nothing at all. He couldn't find the machines.

What a Tech Priest he turned out to be!

His mechadendrites twitched anxiously, the only outward signs of his distress. His vox unit spit out rapid sentences of Machine Cant, which might mean everything from 'where are you, honourable Machine Spirits?' or 'Skak this.'

Comments

[domeanthings.livejournal.com]

Twitch, and ye shall receive. Kinda.

Tex's hologram popped up to eyeball Thaddos curiously. Some things one just had to stop and take a closer look at, and she had decided that he counted as one of those things. Even by meatship standards, he looked a little...weird.

Whatever he was saying wasn't that clear, either.

"So am I just missing the point here, or did 'let's make weird noises time' start and nobody bothered to tell me?"

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

Then let's twitch some more!

Thaddos stared, and stared some more, trying to analyze this new thing with his bionic eye. Runes suggested it was a hologram. Hrm.

He attempted to touch it with a tentacle.

"What, in the name of the Omnissiah, do you want?!"

[domeanthings.livejournal.com]

Tex moved away from the tentacle automatically. It might just go right through her hologram, but moving away from the thing trying to poke her was a hard habit to shake.

"I'm trying to figure out what you're doing," she said, continuing to eyeball him right back. "...Well, that and what you are."

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

Thaddos wanted to stab her with the tentacle. Really. He doesn't like surprises.

"I am trying to find the machines of this ship. And I am an Enginseer, obviously. What are you, an Adepta Sororitas of some kind?"

[domeanthings.livejournal.com]

"Machines of the ship? You're talking to one. I'm an AI. We're all in the Stacy's AI complex." Somehow, it doesn't sound like she's terribly fond of that fact.

Nor does she seem too fond of those tentacles still, judging by the way she's keeping an eye on them.

[standaloneshell.livejournal.com]

If the last ten months hadn't birthed the deepest boredom in Motoko's entire life, then it certainly wasn't from lack of trying. Not that the work in Neuropathy wasn't engaging— far from it. But one could only debug so many pseudo-memories before willing suspension of disbelief about moving the rice-mountain with tweezers became a self-evident farce.

And so, here she was, cocking her head at the binary-code clickings of a high-visibility cyborg amalgamate. Clumsy work, that, all visible metal and seams. The Major flexed her own hand experimentally, staring at it— who was she to judge? Nothing to do but ask.

"What's your name?"

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

The tentacles twitched some more, as Thaddos turned to stare at the newcomer, who atleast appeared to, be a normal human.

"I am Tech Adept Thaddos. May I inquire as to what you call yourself?" He carefully modified his vox to sound pleasantly surprised and polite.

[standaloneshell.livejournal.com]

Motoko made no such effort with her own voice, as cold as ever as she studied the motion of the appendages with a piercing red gaze, "Major Kusanagi."

Narrowed eyes, odd, odd person— in a cowl? That bore investigation, "Your title, it's religious?"

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

"Very much so, Major. Tech Priest and Enginseer."

One of his tentacles waved at her. He had decided to appear cheery.

[wolf-that-grins.livejournal.com]

"....ohGaia what the hell." Wags stared at Thaddos, a look of disgust on his face.

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

Thaddos stared back. He is getting good at staring. His mechadendrites twitched one last time, and this time, slowly snaking towards the commenter.

"What."

[wolf-that-grins.livejournal.com]

"Keep moving those tentacles near me and they're gonna get ripped off and shoved into whatever passes for an orifice, ya freaky-ass-creepoid."

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

He snorted. As well as he could anyway, but retracted the tendrils.

"I do believe the technical term is Tech Priest." His modulated voice was rather mild. "But, of course, I doubt you will have heard of it, like most ignorant meatbags."

[wolf-that-grins.livejournal.com]

"Even if I had I honestly don't give a flying fuck. What I do know is that you're an affront to everything natural."

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

Who's speaking binar - oh, that guy.

Allen and his computer brain stare at the milling guy, interpreting the Machine Cant as easily as English. Holy snap, look at the machine tentacles! This guy looks worth speaking to.

"Hey, buddy, elaborate on this 'Machine Spirit' thing," he says, also in binary, which takes longer than English, but when you know a language, why not speak it?

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

Thaddos is happy. As happy as he can be. His tentacles continues to twitch, this time excitedly, not that you can really tell a difference.

[Machine Spirits are the soul of the machines. If they are hurt or displeased, the machine will not function. That is why us Tech Priests exists. No one can communicate with them.] His cant managed to sound quite pleased, to have somebody to preach to.

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

It looks like the things from District 9 got together with a robot and had a baby. Cool.

"Oh, is that so? I happen to be a cyborg myself. This interests me." He gestures at the fleshblob across from him for Thaddos to come and take a seat. Since preaching is more comfortable from a seated position.

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

Thaddos sits down on the... fleshblob, and it reminded him of tyranids, by the Omnissiah, but he had to cope.

[It is a very interesting, indeed. Have you heard of the Adeptus Mechanicus? And by proxy, Cult Mechanicus?] If not, Thaddos will convert him.

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

"Nope." Allen sits back with a grin. "Do tell."

He's Jewish. Good luck converting him to anything that doesn't involve 8 nights of presents and making Germans feel guilty forever.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

You want the machines? They're in here, in the Special Weapons Lab. They might be screaming because Brainy's going nuts on one of them with a nanowelder, a protective mask over his face.

Thaddos barely gets a glance.

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

Thaddos uses the full force of his GLARE. Not that's especially powerful, but still.

[What are you doing? Have you not prepared the Machine Spirits?!] He canted in angry binary bursts. The tentacles twitched. Again. Angrily, though.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

Consider the glare ignored. When you're a world-class glare-er yourself, you tend to build an immunity.

"Hmm? I'm working, and rather distracted at the moment." This project is quite important. "I don't really have the time to indulge in superstitious nonsense."

He points to the door, without looking up.

"If you go to the Obs Deck, I'm sure you'll be able to find someone else to discuss magical twaddled with."

Can't you see he's busy doing SCIENCE?

[machinespirits.livejournal.com]

Once again, Thaddos is annoyed by MEATBAGS. He felt a terrible, un-Tech Priestly urge to smack the... green one -possible xeno, must investigate- and let just some of his tentacles twitch in the general area of the greenish head.

[If you do not pay proper respect to the Machine Spirits, it will fail to function properly.]

Thaddos facepalmed.

[Truly, do they teach you nothing anymore?}

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"I have no difficulties with machines functioning properly."

And if you think those tentacles are getting any closer to his head, you have another think coming, pal. He may not look like it, but he's watching.

[volatile-psi.livejournal.com]

Clarita is having a very weird day. As she maneuvers her frail form through the corridors, trying to shake the notion that they are the bronchioles of some massive beast, she notices the metallic form of the tech-priest some ten meters away. That's odd, her subconscious remarks, aren't those from Warhammer?

The next couple of seconds are eventful. First, Clarita loses her concentration out of shock. This causes her to begin falling, flailing around as she does so, until her flight instinct takes over, thrusting her back up in the air, spinning along her axis as she recovers. The general impression is of a full-body midair double-take.

After this moment of profound confusion, Clarita slowly tilts in midair from her horizontal flight position to the more socially acceptable vertical one. She blinks a few times to make sure she isn't seeing things, and approaches the tech-priest with caution and a puzzled frown.

"Um... Hello," she says, crossing her arms over her chest, splaying her fingers, and curling them inward in the salute of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Okay... If I'm not completely crazy, this will work...