The Copilot [Litika]

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko yawned as he checked the vitals on his ship again. He had been walking for nearly twenty minutes, not feeling the urge to get a hover taki ride to the port where he docked his ship. Aiko had been giving him updates all morning on how the downloading process was coming along. He was still about an hour away from fully being copied.

Haruko stuffed the small pad back into his trenchcoat pocket and pulled his toboggan a little farther down over his head, moving his hair away from his one brown and one blue eye.

It had been a little more than a month since he had left Coruscant on his suicide mission--that he was glad had failed--met and befriended Akasha, and had a surgery that had changed his life. He had been back on Corsucant for nearly two weeks, when he had gotten a call from his good friend, Ren Wilcox, that someone wanted a demo of his ships computer.

Haruko's computer Aiko--no, it didn't stand for anything, it was merely the name that the personality had chosen--was a specialty peice of equipment that had been specially wired onto Haruko's ship, The Lawson Rule. Of course, there had been a fee--a rather large one--and Haruko still thought he was paying it back. However, there had been one condition regarding his purchase and utilization of the novelty computer system--he had to give demos out to anyone who wanted it, spread the word, so to speak. For every demo Haruko downloaded onto another ship, the man who sold him the computer system paid him a certain amount of money, depending on how long the system was tried out, and to what extent--meaning, which aspects of the computer were being used.

Haruko had been downloading demos of his Aiko system for years, it was a lot of the reason Haruko had so much money to spend on other things. When he had gotten the call from Ren that a woman was wanting to download the system and use him for a period of time, Haruko had gladly agreed.

That was what brought him here, making his way towards his ship--which he could now see from where he was at. He was moving at a steadier pace than he had been earlier because he was out of the throngs of the HWANG and NIHONGO Districts and into the more calm territories of the BEIJING District. Haruko sped up a little, reaching the docking area and gaining entrance, going over to his ship, sitting all alone in between two ports that were empty. The ship--long and with a golden hull--was purring happily at him like a cat being scratched behind the ears.

"Haruko, good to see you!" came a voice from Haruko's left. He glanced over to see the tall, good looking Ren Wilcox--one of Haruko's best parts suppliers. Haruko smiled, shaking his hand as Ren approached him. "I think she also just got here," Ren said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at a ship that was being powered down. Haruko nodded.

"Alright. Last time I checked, Aiko still had about an hour left on his downloading the back-up system in case something happens when he's linking with her ship," Haruko informed him. He leaned on the hull of the ship and put his other hand on his hip. "He's been whining about going away since I got your phone call. I imagine he's going to give her hell," Haruko said with a fond laugh. "She sure she wants him?"

[Litika Dor]

Litika listened to the whining down of the Epsilon's engines as she peered out the viewscreen at the small spaceport. She'd been here before once, a long time ago, when she had been younger and a little more reckless about getting within a lightyear of Coruscant. For the past eight or nine years she'd come nowhere near, unwilling to risk walking straight into the Empire's gaping maw.

But Litika remembered hearing once that the closer one is to danger, the farther one is from harm. Which explained why she'd come here to meet Saburo Imai's friend-of-a-friend (wow...it was sounding less and less legitimate the more she thought of it...) for her payment. She was hoping it'd be worth the month she'd spent on the Space Angel. (An all-around experience, though she hadn't yet decided whether good or bad.)

But from the way this contact--one Haruko Lawson--had talked about it, it was not only worth it. It would be a dream come true. A completely self-sufficient, artificially intelligent computer system. It would not only run her ship better than a standard autopilot, but it was a top-of-the-line security system that, given the right equipment, could emulate another person on-board her ship at all times, even when she was away on extended missions.

It was the kind of thing Litika had always known existed and always known she would never be able to afford. When Saburo had referred her to Haruko and she learned that such a system might actually be made available to her, she'd nearly died of a heart attack.

Needless to say, she'd accepted, and been directed to the densely populated BEIJING District of Coruscant, swarming with some of the noisiest, most congenial people Litika had ever encountered. She remembered that her erstwhile employer Saburo worked in an adjoining district, and wondered fleetingly what it must be like to live and work surrounded by people just like you--same language and culture and even, to some degree, physical appearance. It was an experience so distant from Litika as to be inconceivable.

Finally the post-flight check was complete (Litika looked greatly forward to possibly never having to do one again), and she disembarked, glancing about for the ship she had been told to look for.

She saw it in a moment, as sleek as a gold arrowhead, poised in its berth, two dark-haired men beside it, talking quietly.

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko followed Ren as the younger man approached the woman that had just gotten off her ship. Haruko's bionic eye--forever stained blue--immediately scanned her body. She was about five foot, thirty years old, not human, though Haruko had no internal records and could get nothing on what she actually was. Her blood type...A, or close enough to it, as whatever race she was didn't seem to exactly have blood types. Blaster on her hip, under her jacket, not a threat.

Haruko's eye stopped scanning, returning his vision to normal. He had a thought to search files for her, but didn't as he and Ren were on top of her and didn't want to bring any suspicion from her. His bionic eye whirred just a litte--his new streamlined version rarely did--as it turned off the scanning function and Haruko's vision cleared totally. Ren greeted her first.

"Hello," he said cheerfully, shaking her hand and motioning to Haruko who gave her a bow and a smile. "This is Haruko, he'll be taking care of the downloads and setup of all your equipment. Haru, this is Litika Dor, Saburo's friend," Ren said, nodding. Haruko smiled, bowing again.

"Good to meet you," he said. Then he waved a hand towards his ship. "Aiko is finishing up his downloads, if you'd like to step on and see what you might get with the whole thing if it's purchased."

[Litika Dor]

"Pleasure's mine," Litika replied, sizing the two up. She'd heard of Ren, and knew he was the mutual contact between Haruko and Saburo. Haruko she'd seen when he called to make arrangements.

She inclined a head in acknowledgement of Haruko's invitation and resisted the urge to drool as she boarded his glorious ship. She tried not to stare too much.

"Aiko?" she queried politely, understanding that this was the program she would be demo-ing for the next month. "That the name of the program, or just your personality?"

[Aiko]

Aiko was aware of the new body as soon as it stepped onto his ship. He was busy downloading, but he could still tune in and listen to them. He heard a woman ask whether Aiko was the program name, or just the personality. Aiko snorted to himself and then flickered up on screens, lining the hall they walked on towards the cockpit.

"I am an Internal Artificial Intelligence System, or I.A.I.S.," he said, answering the quesition for Haruko. He blipped down off the screen, taking his three dimensional form so he could stand in front of the three people and look down at the woman, who was quite a great deal shorter than his three dimensional form. He shook his head. "Aiko is my name, good day to you; hello, Haru, the download is almost done; good to see you again, Ren, Jiro was just asking about you the other day," Aiko said, greeting the three, before beckoning for them to follow.

"Meet Aiko," he heard Haruko say. "Aiko, this is Litika Dor, she is going to demo you for awhile."

"Yes, Haruko, I gathered as much considering I am downloading myself for copy, and she is not someone whom I am accustomed to being on the ship," Aiko said, with a glance over his shoulder as he flickered from time to time moving from one transmitter in the hall to the next, leading into the cockpit.

[Litika Dor]

Litika smirked a little, hid it with her hand.

"Can't put a thing past him," she muttered. "Nice to meet you, too, Aiko." She watched with a critical eye as his image flickered. She noted the almost-imperceptible holotransmitters in the walls which produced his three-dimensional image.

"I don't have those," she murmured to Haruko and Ren, gesturing to the transmitters. "Are they necessary, and if so, how much extra will it cost me?"

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko glanced at the transmitters and waved a hand in front of his face. He pointed to the them.

"They are necessary if you want him three dimensional. But they come in sections, so if you only want him to be able to become three dimensional in certain areas, you'll only want a few sections," then he paused glancing back at Ren, who nodded as if to tell him he was doing fine. Haruko looked back at Litika. "In the demo, I can install some short term ones for a few extra credits, I'd estimate...three hundred a large section. Two hundred for medium, and one for the small sections," Haruko paused again. "But if you don't want him three dimensional, he is hardwired to transmit through any computer screen on your ship."

[Haruko Lawson]

EDIT

[Litika Dor]

Litika nodded. "Don't have too many of those either," she grinned, embarrassed. "So I may as well have him capable of holoprojection." She glanced around.

"There are only two possible spaces for him, not counting the corridor. The cockpit is only about 10x12, the quarters half again as large." She shrugged. "In any case, I'm already ready to say yes, if Aiko really does all you say."

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko laughed as he glanced up, seeing Aiko look back at them indignantly. Haruko nodded at Litika.

"Yeah, I'll install some of those so that you can have him pester you like a real human being," Haruko said. They entered his cockpit, the clean room centered around the controls at the front, the bare metal walls covered with things of Haruko, Jiro, or Taro's choosing, mostly colorful papers with Japanese written all over them. Haruko slid into the captain's chair, watching as Aiko disappeared from thier presence and reappeared on the wide screen in front of them. His look was proud.

"Welcome to the cockpit. The download is complete, I am ready link with her ship whenever you three feel that urge to instruct me to do so."

[Litika Dor]

Litika suppressed the urge to whistle at the gleaming cockpit, extensive and kept in like-new condition. She wondered what it would be like to pilot such an awesome ship--almost as beautiful as the Space Angel, Saburo Imai's ship--and sighed a little wistfully. She looked at Aiko, blinking curiously back at her from the computer screen, and grinned.

"I'm afraid my ship'll be something of a downgrade for you," she told him, apologetic except for the little gleam in her eye. Then she glanced at Haruko, a question on her face.

"Hey...will the Aiko we download onto my ship be aware of the Aiko on your ship? That is, will he, say, remember you?"

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko gave her and emphatic nod.

"Yes. You get the exact copy of Aiko here on the Rule. He will retain all of the knowledge he already has of me, and this ship and everything before now. It has to do with being able to link back to the Rule and allow me to track him, just in case you wanted to make off with the demo," Haruko said with a smile, letting her know he did not think she would. "It simply lets me keep him in sight so if you do take it, I can shut him down from here. It's basically a link between our ships," Haruko said, getting a little confused himself.

He looked back up at Aiko and then walked over, disengaging the security that surrounded Aiko and began typing in the codes to link with another ship. He looked up at Aiko.

"Wakarimashita, Aiko, watashi ha kanojo no fune, Epsilon wo toritsuke tehoshiku, zenpou ni iki, soshite kankei wo hirake ru," Haruko told him.

"Hai, okay," Aiko answered. He flickered off the screen after a moment and Haruko turned to Litika and smiled.

"Alright, he's linking up with your ship. He'll be downloaded by the time we get the equipment over there to install it."

[Litika Dor]

"Great!" Litika smiled. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help with this. Imai-san couldn't recommend you--" here she nodded to Ren "--highly enough, and said that any friend of Ren's had to be a decent guy." Her smile widened at Haruko. "Besides, he said he's been seriously considering getting one of these himself--said it'd be worth killing your grandmother for." She winked.

"Alright, let me help you carry the equipment over to my ship, and I'll introduce you gentlemen to the Riven Epsilon."

[Haruko Lawson]

Haruko and Ren carried the few peices of equipment, with Litika taking care of one of the smaller peices, because neither of them would allow her to carry the larger peices. The Riven Epsilon was an older model ship, though it had been updated on the inside to some extent. And the computer, Litika told them, the updated as much as possible, which certainly put Haruko at ease since Aiko was only compatible with certain degrees of computers.

Haruko moved with the panels into the cockpit while Ren went ahead to her quarters to finish things in there. Haruko knew how to install these and it wouldn't take ten minutes. One of the computer system's draw was the ease of installation. Haruko began, pressing one panel to a side wall, connecting it there. These were made for the demo, self contained transmitters so that no one had to attach any wires into ships.

Haruko listened as the sound of someone shuddering burst into the silence. He glanced over as Aiko flickered onto the computer screen near the panels at the front. He was shivering as if he were cold, and peering around the cockpit curiously.

"God, I hate going through those links," he whined briefly, before stopped and smiling. "Hm, nice digs, an antique. Actually..." He paused and watched Haruko, waiting for him to finish with the panels. "Actually, your system is rather snug."

[Litika Dor]

"Why, thank you," Litika smiled wryly, holding some leavings and watching Haruko neatly install the simple transmitters. She heard Ren shuffling around in her room, and half-stood in the doorway so she could keep an eye on him. She trusted the men inasmuch as Saburo Imai trusted them...inasmuch as she trusted Saburo Imai, which was about as much as she trusted anyone these days. Still, it never ever paid to be careless.

Returning her attention to the face on her computer, she asked, "Everything running alright? My computer's about as new as I can afford. Work good for you?"

[Aiko]

Aiko watched Haruko carefully, waiting for him to get those things finished. He looked back at Litika and ran a complete scan of her ship, the scan only taking a moment. He gave nod.

"There are a few glitches in your engine scanner," he said with a nod. "But I can have those taken care of in a few minutes. No harm, though," he said, his eyes watching as Haruko finished installing the last panel. Aiko immediately took advantage, flickering off the small screen and into three dimensional in the cockpit, accidentally transmitting right where Haruko was standing. He moved back out of his friends body and grinned. "Gomenasai..." he looked around, giving a yawn and a stretch and nodding at Haruko.

"I'm happy," he said. Haruko looked at him and grinned.

"I didn't ask if you were," he said, turning back to Litika as Ren came back in with them. "Alright. Everything's set, Litika."

[Litika Dor]

Litika nodded, smiling all over her face. New toys always made her happy, and she'd never before gotten such a nice new toy.

"Thank you both," she said, bowing a little to Haruko and warmly shaking Ren's hand. She drew a datapad out of her back pocket, keyed a few times, handed it to Saburo.

"Go ahead and transfer out the extra money. Thanks an awful lot for helping me install and everything. And thank you for letting me steal Aiko for awhile." She glanced sidelong back over her shoulder toward the hologram standing in the middle of her cockpit, slightly rumpled t-shirt and blue jeans so convincingly rendered it was hard to keep from thinking of him as real. "I'm pretty sure we're gonna get along fine."

[Aiko]

Aiko bid Haruko a farewell from the cockpit, watching longingly as his best friend left the ship with Ren on his heals. Litika walked to the door with them, bidding them farewell from there and Aiko watched her for a long moment before turning back around to simulate sitting in the chair there near the controls. He smiled.

These were his new digs for awhile, until Litika's demo ended. He smiled around him, and listened as he heard the woman walk back into the cockpit. He leaned his head back to grin at her over his shoulder.

"Hullo," he greeted. "Do you need communication changes?"

[Litika Dor]

Litika shook her head, leaning against the wall and smiling.

"Nope, thanks. So..." she trailed off a little nervously. "Sorry, not used to anyone else being on the ship. Tell me, how...I mean, what do you want me to treat you like?" She screwed up her face. "Sorry, that came out wrong...it's just that I know you have your own personality. I'd hate to just give you orders like some wiped droid."

[Aiko]

Aiko stood straight and stretched again. He walked over to her, looking down at her and shaking his head. He waved his hand through her face, his hand flickering slightly as he did so.

"Technically, I'm not another person here," he said, leaning back and putting a hand on his hip. Then he waved his hand in front of his face and walked back over to simulate leaning on the control panels. "Haruko does," he said, tossing a grin and a wink over his shoulder. "If I make you uncomfortable, I can stay on the screen instead of in the ship. And anway, as I scan you, we'll get along well enough," he nodded, looking out and watching Ren and Haruko by the Rule bid each other farewell, Haruko moving out of Aiko's vision and Ren walking back towards the main building of the docking area. He turned simulating leaning a hip on the panel.

"Anyway, you don't have to like me, actually," he said with a smile. "You'll be able to construct your own when you get it."

[Litika Dor]

Litika grinned. "Yeah, for a fee. Still, I guess you're right. But..." She shrugged a little, uncomfortably. "Dunno, guess I thought...well, nevermind. Anyway, hi. We'll be heading out again pretty quickly, but we'll be on-planet a few more days. There's all kinds of sweet merch to be had in Imperial City that I haven't been able to lay hand to in years."

Then Litika winked. "Then we'll head off-planet and you get to show me all your bells and whistles."

[Aiko]

Aiko began whistling a tune and got through the first verse before stopping and shrugging.

"Don't have any bells, though, sorry," he said with another shrug and then a wink. He waved his hands vaguely. "If you've a datapad, you can take me with you, I can help you out if you need it with direction, or locations, or...whatever," he said with a nod. Then he looked thoughtful. "That might be called a bell...mm...I dunno, I'll have to look that one up..." he flickered and appeared on the screen again.

"Don't mean to intrude, but Aiko is going to look at the other things installed, so I will be inspecting your room," he said with the least threatening smile he could muster. "'Kay?"

[Litika Dor]

Litika nodded. "I'd say stay out of my drawers, but you can't get into them. So go right ahead." She smiled. "I'm going out for awhile, but when I get back, you're going to teach me how to whistle." Grabbing up her shoulder bag, she wheeled out of the cockpit.

"Hold down the fort while I'm gone."

[Aiko]

----------

Aiko had been in sleep mode since Litika had left and he had been enjoying himself immensely. It was true, her computer system was up to date, but not quite as roomy for all of his information as Haruko's was. It made for a slightly cramped space when he was about to change to three dimensional form. But most of the time, he had been inspecting the ship, keeping an eye out around the port to see who was going around the ship, running scans on everything so that nothing was likely to malfunction when Litika came back onto the ship and she took them off.

Aiko yawned to himself as he changed to his three dimensional form, the most entertaining thing he had been doing since Litika had left. He had been changing from the cockpit to her quarters and back. Back and forth and back, in case he missed seeing something, even though that was hard to do considering the ship was not that large. He'd been updating files, going through files, moving files, organizing files. Putting things around in a way that wouldn't confuse anyone--mostly him--and settling into the computer.

[Litika Dor]

The hatchway hissed loudly as it descended. A smirking Litika reboarded her ship, now with several new bags and parcels weighing her down.

"Honey, I'm home!" she called, smirking, as she rounded the corner and entered her bedroom. She'd been waiting to yell that all day.

[Aiko]

Aiko looked over his shoulder, smiling a little as he moved, flickering on in the woman's bedroom and holding his arms out as if for a hug.

"Evening," he said, dropping his arms and bowing to her. "You have no idea how bored I have been. Granted, I find organizing files absolutely thrilling, but every once in awhile a computer gets lonely too," he said, putting on a pouting face breifly before walking over and through her to stand behind her and look over her shoulder at the bags she held. "Whadya get?"

[Litika Dor]

Litika had to suppress a shiver as the hologram walked right through her as if he was a ghost.

"Lonely?" she smiled a little. "I thought you said you weren't like another person."

She began spreading out the stuff she had returned with.

"Nothing much. Some new tools and supplies for ship repair. Food. Some new books and vids...lacy underwear. All sorts of things." She winked.

[Aiko]

Aiko squinted one eye at her statement, then went to look at the things she spread out. He observed the tools, food, cids, books, and averted his gaze while she put her lacy underwear away. He turned back around and reached down as if to pick up one of the tools but his hand went through it as well as the surface below it.

"Well, technically that's true," Aiko said, pulling his hand back up and looking at it. "Considering I can't touch you, or take up any space, I'm not like another person," Aiko clarified going over to simulate leaning against the doorframe. He smiled. "But if my being lonely somehow makes you uncomfortable, I can disable the emotion," he said teasingly.

[Litika Dor]

Litika's eyes widened and she shook her hands, looking contrite.

"No, no! Nothing like that...it just sounded strange to hear you say you were lonely. No, I'm sorry." She looked it, sinking to her bed amidst her flotsam, looking straight into the hologram's eyes. It was an uncanny rendering, barely discernible from a real person. "I open my mouth sometimes, Aiko, without thinking. Never was all that tactful. But, no, I want you to have emotions. I mean, have..." She made a little frustrated sound. "You know what I mean. I don't have anyone to keep me company, and I'm as excited to have someone to talk to as I am to have a new security system for my ship." Her mouth twisted in a rueful smile. "No pressure or anything."

[Aiko]

Aiko shrugged, going over to "sit" down next to her, leaning back on his elbows, though the bed did not react to him by sinking, or wrinkling.

"Teasing," he said giving her a sidelong glance. "I won't disable emotions for Haruko," he said giving her a grin. Then he sighed. "I went through all your files today. Two security files were corrupt. I scanned them and cleaned them out, resetting and enforcing them with, ahem--" he put a hand proudly on his chest--"My own personal firewall. Also, I reorganized everything so in case of an emergency during your demo period, I can access all files without having to search through them. I will return them all to thier previous positions when I leave," he said. Then he glanced up at her. "Is that alright?"

[Litika Dor]

Litika shrugged fluidly.

"Sure. I'll go through them later to memorize their new locations. They needed reorganized, anyway..." She paused, then frowned. "You left the encrypted stuff alone, yes?"

[Aiko]

Aiko gave a short nod to her.

"My program--as Haruko has set me up--can't touch encrypted stuff unless given direct access by the owner. So, all of that is safe," he said with a nod. "Oh," he said just reminded of something. "Haruko put down his call number--in the cockpit. If you have issues with me, and have a question you can connect to his ship through your own and ask him about it," Aiko said, then shook some hair from his face indignantly. "As if you'll have problems with me."

[Litika Dor]

Litika's face was very serious. "Oh, no, of course not. The very idea."

Jumping up from the bed, Litika winked at the computer program. "So, nothing mechanically wrong with my baby? That just doesn't seem possible...she's always giving me fits about something." The woman began gathering up her things off her bed, sorting through them so she could put them away.

"Hey, about whistling...I've always wanted to learn, but never had anybody to teach me." She smiled a little bashfully.

[Aiko]

Aiko stuck out his lip as if her were pouting, then got up from the bed and walked over to her. He leaned down on his knees and looked her in the face, giving her a smile. Then he whistled a quick tune to her--something from one of the classic Japanese artists that Haruko loved--going into the chorus before stopping.

"Teacher," he said pointing into his face. "Student," he finished, pointing into Litika's face. "Okay?"

[Litika Dor]

Litika laughed. He wasn't cheeky, much.

"Yessir," she replied, puckering her mouth into a little 'o' as she saw him do. All that came from it was a flat puff of air.

She grimaced.

[Aiko]

Aiko made a movment as if he were going to change her mouth position, but stopped short, always seeming to forget his inability to touch things and people.

"Lick your...lips," he said, demonstrating, running his tongue over his lips. "Then..." he blew slowly, the high pitched sound coming out for a moment before he stopped it. Then he pointed at his tongue. "Blow the air over your tongue."

[Litika Dor]

Litika frowned, squinting at his lips.

"Do what with my tongue, now?" She experimented, lowering and lifting her tongue in her mouth, repositioning it again and again.

When she almost had it pressed to her palate, suddenly she felt a tiny little wavering buzz and heard a tuneless whistle emit from her mouth for about a second before fading back to air.

Her eyes widened.

"I--that was it!" She tried it again, but could not sustain it for very long. Still, excitement was written into her lips, struggling to smile while still puckered.

[Aiko]

Aiko grinned, waving his hands in a gesture that was meant to prompt her to keep trying. He heard the little whistle again and made another move as if he were going to position her mouth.

"Yes...that was it...right...there! Hold it!"

[Litika Dor]

Litika laughed a little at his wild motions, but then refixed her mouth and tongue, took a deep breath in through her nose, and blew...

Too hard. She only got a whistle on the end of it. Brow furrowing, she steadied and slowed the flow of air into one constant stream. She finally produced a more or less steady whistle that only quivered a little.

"I did it!" she cried, smiling widely. "That's awesome! Now, a tune..." Thinking, she picked one, then tried whistling it.

She failed miserably.

[Aiko]

Aiko laughed heartily at her try, then whistled a quick version of a song entitled "Ready Steady Go". He pointed to his mouth.

"Just keep it like this and control the tone with your throat."

[Litika Dor]

Litika blinked. "My throat? I don't think my throat's that talented..."

After several more pathetic attempts, Litika dissolved into a helpless laugh. "Wow. That was...patently awful. Guess I've got some practice ahead of me..."

She grinned goofily at her new professor. "Anyway, I'm just thrilled I made a sound! Thank you, Aiko!"

[Aiko]

Aiko laughed, stretching and giving her a nod, twisting around and falling back onto the woman's bed--or simulating it--but the bed sat still, not bouncing or reacting to him in anyway. He smiled at the cieling.

"You think that's bad, you ought to hear Haruko's son try it," Aiko said, leaning up on one elbow. "Just turned sixteen, and he's no good at it whatsoever. Course the boy's tone deaf."

[Litika Dor]

Litika laughed, folding some new clothes as she removed their tags. She did not reply for a few moments as her mind wandered along Aiko's comment and its peripheral and tertiary tangents.

Finally she arrived at, "Haruko has a teenage son? How old is he? He doesn't look old enough for a son that age..."

[Aiko]

Aiko nodded.

"Yeah, Jin Ji Lawson. Well...Jin Ji Sup technically, but who's splitting hairs?" Aiko said with a shrug. "Haruko turns twenty-eight here in a little while. Dunno how much you wanna know, but the long and the short of it was that the kid and the act that created him were kind of a punshment. Haruko was only fourteen," Aiko said with another nonchalant shrug.

[Litika Dor]

Litika blinked again, shocked. "Oh," was all she could think to say. The horror of the thought hung about her for a long moment. Fourteen, she kept thinking. Just a child.

After a moment she cleared her throat, chose another tangent.

"So, are the two of them close, then? Haruko and his son, I mean."

[Aiko]

Aiko nodded emphatically.

"It's sickening, actually," Aiko said, sitting up and crossing his long legs, watching her do whatever it was she was doing. He tucked a longer bit of hair behind his ear. "Jin came looking for Haruko when he found out his mother had been lying about it. They met, Haru had a spill with a bionics virus, left for awhile, came back and he and Jin have been inseperable ever since," Aiko said with a laugh. "Cute kid, actually. Mother was a stunner."

[Litika Dor]

One of Litika's eyebrows arched. "Hmph. Kid must've won the genetic lottery, then: his dad's not that bad, either." She looked up warningly. "But don't you dare tell him I said that. I do not have designs upon your master, and I don't want him thinking I do."