• Nobles of Null is a forum based roleplay site where sci-fi and magic collide. Here, Earth remains fractured and divided despite humanity reaching out to the stars. Worse still, the trans-human slaves of one major power have escaped, only to establish their own Empire, seething with resentment at abuses of the past. Even the discovery of aliens, though medieval in development, has failed to rally these squabbling children of Earth together with its far darker implications. Worse still, is the discovery of the impossible - magic. Practiced by the alien locals, nearly depleted and therefore rare, its reality warping abilities remains abstract and distant to the general populace. All the while, unseen in the darkness of space, forces from without threaten to press in. For those with eyes opened by insight, it is clear that an era is about to end, and that a new age will dawn.

Book 2, Chapter 1: Approaching Darkness

Schwoomy stood aside KB and crew in tight body suit. She delayed in picking any non-suspicious outfit and was now stuck looking like a Mocap actor who lost their balls. The advertisements bombarding her every sensory pathway is something she was familiar with from her time in big cities just like this but here even she thought it was a bit much. Instinctively folding her ears down with her hands to block some noise. Schwoomy also didn't even have that much money, she wouldn't have been able to afford the first set of advertisements let alone the expensive and lavish stuff it was shilling out now that the walking war machines had been tallied. The entire walk to The Grand Cabaret was painful as the product placement continued.

Upon arrival she found focusing on the scene to be a great aid in distracting herself. Obviously some vehicular accident occurred but she had yet to really pay attention to their situation as a whole. She began to worry about looking too aloof to her teammates and started stroking her chin and getting a close look at the tire marks by squatting down. Pondering as much about her acting skills as she was the glass all around her. Inside and close to the surface she grew immensely concerned about looking useless.
"Should we set up a rally point of sorts to mount a proper effort here? Maybe a hotel room?" She asked Tall-sister while wincing at some bright neon colors shining around them.
 
The chipper little robot nicknamed 'Cletis' came scurrying along from behind the group, a white envelope flashing on its screen. As he shuffled through the station, a small mechanical arm extended behind him, wiping down the small quantities of adhesive that peeled off with every step. This process left a rather conspicuous trail of clean spots standing out against the otherwise dirty floor. The multitude of ads went largely ignored; he'd made the mistake before of trying these miracle detergents and whatnot.

He approached the group, and an arm ended with a small camera slid out of a shutter on his side, swinging back and forth between the two KBs. "Mr. Dr. Knowledgebot sirs," his mechanical voice whirred as he decided to extend a second camera and point one at each KB. "I was asked to inform you that the ship has docked. Additionally, I have a sanitation report."

With a beep, his screen displayed a floor plan of the Azathoth's Wave. Some rooms, colored greed, were labeled Clean. The rest, colored red, were labeled Filthy, Disgusting, Unkempt as an Unwashed Buttocks, etc.
 
It took barely a second for Dr. Knowledgebot to filter out the advertisements from his sight, flagged as cyber attacks and spam. The smaller KB, however, had a more troubled time. Like a flood of excess information, they audibly whined as a way to express, somehow, the annoyance that bordered on pain. Dr. KB touched their head, and the information slowed to a trickle. They were shown how to filter the information they could take in, and were no longer overwhelmed. Dr. KB lowered his hand, and gave his warning. "Do not touch the advertisements, they will find as much information as they can and sell it faster than the neurons, should you have any, fire to make a thought. Additionally, do not, for the love of Understanding, give it your bank information."

KB began scrolling through the cheaper options for accommodations, a rally and rest point set up via proxy servers and easily disposable accounts. A machine could easily hide their tracks in cyberspace. "A wise idea, Schwoomy, and it will be taken care of."

Yet more things needed to be taken care of, as the cleaner bot arrived with a message. What use the cleaner machine would be was unknown, but KB was not one to deny a machine it's fancies. "Well done, Cletis, do stick around." KB barely overlooked the sanitation report. He did not care, as they were not expecting any important guests at this venture. The smaller KB, proving to be the less important one, gave a wave to the clean machine as they took in more information. All signs pointed to Cletis being: Friend.
 
Tall sister's wrist would beep, and Z-23 would also nod in understanding. Schwoomy and Cletis would also receive similar messages as a hotel room was secured and its location shared. "It seems the Exemplar likes your idea Schwoomy..." Tall sister said, before feeling the need to offer her own ideas, "there can't be many trucks in this station. Z-23 could search for one."

"OH! This one is dancing! Can we go dance too? I'm sure I could find one of those poles..." Z-23 asked.​
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"The advertisement isn't for us to go dancing. You shouldn't be looking at those..." Tall sister replied quietly, trying not to let the other Echoni interrupt the important discussions the others were having.​
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"What about the dice-rolling then? Or the spinny wheel?!"​
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"We need to find Ms. Hilda and help Exemplar Knowledgebot first..." ​
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The two suit'd men out front of the Cabaret both had their personal devices beep, and after reaching into their pockets to fish them out they would turn their attention towards the new group. It seemed that the group of not humans had attracted a lot of attention. They would both turn to approach the group. "The bottom floor of the Cabaret is closed," The started, "But we have private rooms upstairs if you're looking to enjoy your stay. We even have a few Chongwu on staff if you would prefer them as drinking partners. The Kitchen and Karaoke are also still open." They weren't offering this to other people... perhaps because they didn't expect the average person on the street to have the kind of money it took to walk around with so many expensive companions.
 
Dr. Knowledgebot admittedly enjoyed the prestige of such expensive companions, even if that wasn't his goal at the time of gaining them as such. It would be him here, however, and as such would be utilized to the fullest. He might have to redo a mortgage on a minute factory, but honestly how often could one stretch their metaphorical muscles like this? One must have fun from time to time. Besides, it was fun to play at something with more feelings and opinions than he actually had. "Who I prefer at my table depends on my mood," he started in a low, potentially haughty voice, "But I will keep my furred friends in mind. I'd like a room, my friend, fit enough for my eclectic companions. A shame about the ground floor, I had been interested in a brief tour. I'd have even paid extra," he said with a barely heard smile. No emotion could be seen on his face, but he was enjoying the secret agent routine. This must be how The Cat felt from time to time.
 
The suit'd goon would lead the group into the Grand Cabaret, his shoes crunching on some of the glass that covered the floor from where the truck had smashed into the front of the structure. "Just uh, ignore the mess you know? We got a nice place for you upstairs,"

The main room was rather spacious, having a large stage up front with golden lights overhead and a number of private booths scattered about... or at least it would have if a truck hadn't crashed into the area. There also seemed to be signs of a struggle, objects broken and twisted instead of just flattened. There were even some wine stains on the floor that were intermixed with some blood splatter. Some men in a classy attendant suit-vest outfit were trying to clean up the whole place but it was a much larger job than the three of them could manage.


"Z-23, keep watch ok? Remember we're looking for Hilda... but be discreet about it." Tall sister said quietly as she wheel'd Z-23 in with the rest of the group.

The young Echoni nodded, and then there was a small 'POP!' as the radar built into her legs folded up. It was normally used to search for incoming missiles or grenades... but here she was using it to try and look through walls, providing everyone on their local network with a 3d image of their surroundings. There were more rooms above them, one of which seemed to have been damaged from an earlier fight, as well as a shielded room below them in the basement that her scans couldn't penetrate into.


Their suited goon would then take them up one of the sweeping side staircases to a cleaner area of the club that was still intact, "Just let 'em know who you like and they'll take you up to your room. If you wanna see more of the club they can show you about."

'They' would become apparent quickly. Waiting for them upstairs was an assortment of women ready to drink with them and ensure they enjoyed their stay. This included many that went for an archetypical look, the quiet nerdy type, the sporty girl next door, the big sister, the femme-fatal, most were dressed in nice albeit short dresses but some went for a more colorful costumed look such as the one dressed in a black dress with slits on the side that looked like tiger stripes... which went well with her Daqin-looking cat-ears and suspiciously 'Hoshiko looking' face.

The Hoshiko look-alike was also the first to speak up, "Why don't you come with me? We'll get your companions something to drink and get to know each other. There's lots of things on the station you'll miss out on if you don't have someone in the know...."
 
Schwoomy paused at the edge of the glass sea. MA had designed and produced the undersuit for her but it only had padded feet. Not more than a cushioned insoles. And for that reason she doubted they would withstand the larger shards. It wasn't out of her limits to simply endure the pain but she was reasonably hesitant. Stepping to the edge of the pool to make the shortest line between walkable ground and the door she gracefully hopped across the glass.

Entering the Cabernet she stuck near the group and seemed oddly comfortable in the "entertainment" environment.
 
Cletis followed the group along quietly. He too paused at the carpet of shattered glass; getting shards stuck to his adhesive pads would be less than ideal. He quickly extended a wide-mouthed vacuum hose and sucked up the glass that was in the way of his steps, but ignored the rest of the mess, as instructed. "I would advise against the ground floor in any case; it appears messy," he commented.

He would stand stark still whenever the group wasn't moving, save for a small camera on the end of an arm that would wave about to focus on the face of anyone speaking. Cletis was largely unsure of himself at this time. He had come to deliver the message, and he had planned to go back and polish the hull of the ship while it was docked. But KB had said to stick around, so he did.
 
Dr. KB's machine eyes looked over the women here, unsure of why they'd even bother to present themselves. A guide would be useful, yes, but he certainly didn't need them for anything else. Hopefully these women were well paid, each carefully designed to appeal to people with certain types. He knew the work that went into that amount of preparation, it wasn't an accident. It didn't surprise him that the women were still working despite the goons at the front door turning the others away. He looked back to his entourage, ensuring they had crossed the glass easily. He had no issue, as the glass became dust under his metal, but the organics would have trouble. And their Echoni would be better off than he.

With the information granted by Z-23, KB had a few options to investigate. He'd need the tour. He extended an arm to the celebrity lookalike, speaking in his best synthetic baritone voice. "I think I could use the tour, my dear. I've a mind to keep my companions with me, of course. I trust there won't be an issue." It was structured like a question, but sounded like a command.
 
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"Of course," The Celibrity look alike would move to KB's as if she were floating, her well practiced steps getting her right along side him so that she could put her arm around one of his, "I'm sure your friends would enjoy someone to talk with too?" The woman was certainly a professional, the way she hung off his arm, the way her attention seemed to be completely taken over by Dr. Knowledgebot, and the way she subtly started to encourage him to spend money at their establishment, "I can have them get a car for us, show you the sights of the station. I bet there are a few things you're eager to see? Or perhaps your flesh-and-blood friends would like a drink before we go?"

Z-23 would continue to be pushed along by Tall-sister, the two staying right behind Cletis as he cleared a path for them. Though Tall-Sister remained quiet, it seemed that this was all very new to Z-23 who excitedly looked at everyones fashionable clothing and interesting outfits. She even looked up at Tall sister as if to ask if she could ask a question only for tall sister to shake her head. Z-23 would then go back to looking, just a little less energetically than before.

Meanwhile the other girls struggled to figure out what the]y could do to excite Cletis. It was a robot after all. One would come up and gently try and 'pet' the central body, much like how some of the other women approached Z-23 and Tall-Sister, each one getting someone that would get close without touching, trying to form some air of intimacy. Even Schwoomy wasn't ignored.
 
Cletis, quite frankly, had no interest in these women. He wondered why they even tried to approach him; their services were clearly not meant for him. He planned to simply ignore them, but that seemed rude. "Hello, I am Cletis. I provide the best cleaning services in the galaxy. I am off-duty right now, so please clean your own messes."

Figuring the echoni would be similarly disinterested, he decided to hang back with them. "Hello echoni. I don't think we've met. I am Cletis, the new janitor on the Azathoth's Wave."
 
The effort to become intimate with the janitor droid was amusing, but KB had to focus on his task. "They will require no drinks. I assure you, they are quite self-sufficient." Quickly moving on to his questions as he idly walked with the woman on his arm, he spoke with a casual undertone. "I an quite interested in the building itself, given the nature of the station. Pragmatic construction meets luxurious decoration. A tale as old as time, honestly. Tell me dear, what is below us?" A seemingly innocent question, both searching for what she knew, and searching her form for signs of a lie depending on what she said.
 
The denial of a drink was entirely KB's decision and Schwoomy was not about to let her free will be stolen. She approached a working girl casually and gave her deep sultry looks, "I'll actually have 2 Chocolate Milks. Thank you."
 
"Hi Cletis, I'm Z-23!" Z-23 said excitedly, reaching out to shake Cletis' hand, or Cletis' manipulator leg, or... something. Preferably something close enough for her to touch but Z-23's lower body was basically a compact fighter-jet. This left her balanced on a small push-cart that the Tall-Sister too responsibility for.

Of course, when Tall-Sister saw that Z-23 was trying to reach out she would push her a bit closer to Cletis so that she could actually reach them.

"And this is Tall-Sister. The bagpeople let her do a lot of stuff for them. I'm supposed to do what she says while we're out." Z-23 was certainly excitable, and perhaps a bit messy. Her cybernetics were mostly clean but there seemed to be a bit of fine mechanical oils that had ended up on the otherwise highly polished exterior casing.

Tall-Sister certainly lived up to her name, mostly due to the tallness. She had on an outfit that looked like it was made out of the armor plating of an E2 security robot. It certainly gave her a lanky yet authoritative appearance. "Z-23. Please let the Exemplar talk and try not to be too loud."

"Oka-" Z-23 said, before stopping herself and pressing her lips together, switching over to more of a whisper, "Okay....." Her eyes couldn't help but watch as Schwoomy ordered TWO chocolate milks, her attention being diverted from both Tall-Sister and Cletis.

The woman w ho had approached Schwoomy also didn't quite know how to approach her. They weren't exactly used to entertaining people like her, though they did try and employ their usual tactics, trying to get Scwoomy to elaborate, "So what brings you out to the Grand Cabaret?" she asked, as a small drone came over to them. The wheel'd can having several chocolate drinks on top including cold and warm hot-chocolate topped with whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, a thin chocolate cookie candybar and a splash of chocolate liquor.

The woman speaking with KB would take a moment, her head tilting slightly to give some indication that she was thinking about his request. In truth, she didn't know if she could tour the area. It wasn't usually the architecture that the men were interested in, but these weren't usual customers. She didn't even know if she should be treating the Exemplar as a man or if she would need to tweak her approach to appeal to the machine's interest. "I think I can show you around," She offered, gently guiding the machine towards the back hallways, trying to lead him away from the more damaged hallway just nearby, "The whole place was built up by Japanese immigrants more than a century ago. Ever since then it has been built up and expanded upon throughout the years. We have our own five star kitchen on the lower levels, as well as an extensive wine cellar... I'm sure we can take a quick tour." She would lead KB towards the basement, taking him into the wine cellar in a process that seemed to make the guards nervous. Instead of letting this group enjoy themselves the guards would remain close by, watching as they moved through. This would of course lead them right up to where the shielded room was. There were some metal shavings on the floor, and no apparent doorway into the shielded room... instead there was just a wine rack with a hundreds of bottles of wine on it.
 
"Commander Orders." Schwoomy responded as she repositioned herself awkwardly trying to move to a dominant style to fill the power vacuum the two of them made. "But what about you cutie." She prompted as she sipped the cold drink. Her face contorted with disgust as she tried not to spit the drink all over the girl. "T-this isn't chocolate milk." Schwoomy sat the dessert cocktail down with tears gathering at the bottom of her eyes. Her dominance retreated.
 
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