MMU (Karrnage)

[MMU]

Since his encounter with the Grand Admiral Taylor Millard and the man called Tomar, MMU had decided it to be in his best interest to once more return home. He'd parted ways with the Grand Admiral, saying his goodbyes in his normally cryptic way, and even went so far as to extend the man a farewell in Bast'yr. Of course it fell on deaf ears, but sometimes even insignificant gestures planted seeds of curiosity.

The star, Figaro Favoura, was like a brilliant beacon that called him home, and MMU felt his larger self revel in the cosmic rays that danced off of his hull. He was home. Well, nearly at any rate.

The moon that held the almost ominous name of Schwartzweld loomed in his forward sensors, and with wild abandon that could be seen as rather childlike, the sleek craft dove into the atmosphere with wild abandon. Inky black space transitioned around him, changing to an indigo blue, then onward until he burst from the cloudcover into a pale, overcast midwinter day. His sensors had not picked up any amount of the teeming life that he'd left behind so many hundreds of years ago. Oh, there was wildlife; smaller lifeforms that he could see, but nothing like the Masters. Nothing like the rulers of this great moon.

Except...

He'd chosen to begin his task of unraveling the Masters' mysterious disappearance at the head of the beast - House Losstarot. He knew the manor well enough, as he'd spent many long years walking its' grand halls and even grander courtyards.

Sitting in the center of the bridge, the mechanical 'dog' sat patiently, his inner processors moving at a random pace to try and parse the information that his outward sensors were feeding to him.

There was one lifeform, most definitely Lupine, and with an mechanically audible hrm, MMU tilted his head minutely to the side.

<Is int'restink.>

His larger self was slow to ground, coming alight to hover just over one of two main landing pads that was attached to the Losstarot manor. It was not in the best of conditions, but it was serviceable enough and would at least support him. With landing struts extended, the rakish craft touched down amidst the shower of exhaust jets disturbing centuries-old dust and rubble, throwing it into the air.

MMU stood, his mechanical claws takking on the deck as he thought for only a few short moments, the presence of only one Lupine. It was not quite perplexing, but it was certainly something to investigate, and without ceremony the avatar turned, making his way from the bridge and through the many corridors that would led him to his currently lowering boarding ramp.

[Colonel Karrnage]

A ship???

Karrnage sat up, straining to hear the whine of engines against the otherwise still of midday. What had he just been doing. Reading???

He looked down.

Maybe?

How long had he been a biped?

He wiggled his bare toes, looking a bit disoriented. Not very long, obviously!

He fumbled around to find his glasses, fitting them over his face. The room smelled blue. How does a room smell a color?

Who was here?

Baring his teeth at the sound a bit, he remembered that he needed clothes. Pants first! Where were his pants?

A bit disoriented, he at last put together his slapdash wardrobe, remembering after some effort the life he knew on two legs. It must have been a long time since he last gave it a second thought. Days became weeks became months and he was happily plying the world on four feet. He smelled the world around him the way he read books. It was just another way of learning a million different things. Part of him was afraid that he'd lose this sacred knowledge walking on two feet too long. However, he remembered some things, like secrets revealed to him again as a pleasant surprise.

He was Erasmus Karrnage. He studied things. Lots of things. He flipped through the book on the desk in front of him.

"Aha, I've read this before!"

Relieved that some of that other sacred knowledge came back to him quickly, he fumbled for shoes. Putting them on, he walked a bit strangely, needing to hug the wall for a moment before muscle memory caught up with him.

He paused at the window. That wasn't a ship he recognized.

"Hello?" he said aloud to nobody in particular.

[MMU]

Trotting his way down the lowering boarding ramp, MMU held his head high, the single optical sensor taking everything in with an eye for detail. He'd not been on the Master's world in so very long! It was bittersweet to see it as such now. At the very least though, it was still here, so there was a small bit of comfort in that to be had.

When his metal 'paws' hit the worn tarmac of mason stone and cracked tile, he came to a stop. His outward auditory sensors had picked up the called greeting, but there was no point of origin yet for the sound. He accessed his internal scanners, and soon enough deciphered the location of the one who'd spoken.

His head snapped in the direction of the open archway that the planet's single occupant would emerge from, and with a casual gait, the avatar started toward it.

[Colonel Karrnage]

Karrnage approached as well, his curiosity far more dominant than any danger sense he might have, watching some quadripedal droid approach him. Was it a probe of some sort?

"It's been so long since I've had a visitor here. Come, come."

The locomotion matrix the droid used was rather clever, and Karrnage noted its very natural-looking trot. It seemed rather canine.

[MMU]

Amused, MMU gave a tick of its' head, but otherwise followed along without a word. This Lupine had not addressed him in Bast'yr, and so the avatar found himself once more grudgingly accessing his Basic files.

His voice was a strange mix of metallic twining and deep bass.

"It is nice to see one of the Masters still living in the great manor."

His jog had slowed to a smooth walk as he kept pace with this last Lupine. His optical sensor swept to and fro, taking in all that it could and filing it away for later processing. Such degradation! Though, to be fair the Losstarot Manor had been spared much of the ruin that his larger self had detected on the descent through the atmosphere.

"Such a sad state of things," he mused aloud to himself.

[Colonel Karrnage]

"Yes, that."

Karrnage paused to look at some of the disrepair evident in the mansions.

"There have been a few interesting visitors to the planet, and sad to say I believe they've damaged some of the beautiful edifices in their short stay."

He was curious, and looked to the droid.

"You seem to have a deep familiarity with Schwartzweld. Tell me of yourself."

[MMU]

At that, the droid reared up, internal stabilizers balancing his body as he continued his gait unabated. It was as though he'd only taken another step, though now instead of walking on four legs, he now strode alongside the spectacled Lupine on two. He towered over the shorter stature of his walking companion.

"I was born here."

His Basic was followed by a string of words in Bast'yr, smooth and flowing yet with the distinctive cut-off consonants.

A metal, multi-toed 'paw' reached out to pass along the bold stone framework of the arch they stepped through.

"Though it looked much different the last time I was home."

[Colonel Karrnage]

"You were born here?"

A dawning understanding came over the second-generation Lupine. Of course. A quadripedal droid, now rising to two legs. It made complete sense.

"Ah, I see. You were created by the old Lupines!"

Pausing to admire the craftsmanship, Karrnage adjusted his glasses.

"What an interesting design."

[MMU]

With the Lupine's hesitation, MMU also slowed to a halt, standing tall to allow any inspection desired. He ticked his 'shoulders' back, his head angling down to stare at the man.

"It is the epitome of your ancestor's craftsmanship, just as they themselves were the epitome of their own genetic engineering."

A multi-digited hand reached out, one of its' fingers tikking the glasses that his host wore even as he himself was being examined.

"You say 'old Lupines'. Are you the last of them, then?"

[Colonel Karrnage]

"The last? Perhaps that isn't the best choice of words. I would say, the most recent? Yes, that would be more appropriate."

Karrnage adjusted his spectacles as they were tapped. It made sense, as he'd read numerous technical manuals in his studies on Schwartzweld. Nothing so intricate, but the Lupine race was certainly gifted in matters of science.

"What is your designation? I am assuming you are some manner of scout, yes?"

[MMU]

"Oh, nothing so... primitive."

The droid turned on its' heel and once more started off, intent on seeing the inner sanctum of the Masters once more, no matter the state of things.

"What I am - a simple question with so many complex answers."

Waving dismissively behind him, he went on.

"My larger self is - well, was - a possession of House Losstarot. I've seen the lords of that great House and took them to the stars. Wherever their hearts desired to go, I was their vessel to take them there."

He stood a little taller then.

"I am Sa'ana Eo'ssa'ma I'nehde'k A'khu. Though, in Basic I believe the closest approximation is Mobile Mainframe Unit.

"In which case, you may call me MMU."

[Colonel Karrnage]

"So, your form here and the ship beyond...they are the same functional unit then?"

Erasmus followed the droid as it inspected it's former home.

"I've seen similar constructs, but I must admit, nothing with the complexity you show. Then, you are a keeper of House Losstarot? How is it you have travelled without the accompaniment of your masters?"

[MMU]

"All living things must die, and the Masters were no exception."

The droid spoke with the sort of blunt honesty that came without any amount of softness. But, it was not a harsh tone, merely truthful.

"I keep their bones in my care," he went on, still looking about.

"... and discuss many matters with them when I am inclined. I know they cannot answer me, but I've found over so many years alone, that one to speak to, no matter their state, is a valuable thing to have."

He paused in his examinations, processors moving at a speed incalculable as his head tikked ever so slightly to the side. His head swiveled to look at the man, optical sensor dilating briefly before constricting once more.

"You say you are the most recent. Are you born into the House then?"

[Colonel Karrnage]

"No, this is not so."

Karrnage shook his head slightly.

"More to the fact, I am Lupine by means of intergenetic transmogrification, aha, known colloquially as the change, as it were. You are familiar with a Loklorien s'Ilancy, yes?"

[MMU]

"The name is unfamiliar to me."

The droid continued on, and as they made their way deeper into the manor, it gave an appraising look about, stopping in a wide-arched doorway that led into a sitting room.

"This is, however, the estate of House Losstarot. Would I be correct then in coming to the conclusion that your mistress is of the Losstarot line?"

[Colonel Karrnage]

"Precisely to the point."

Karrnage followed the droid, watching it's mannerisms with some degree of interest.

"I am to some degree surprised you are not aware, given the numerical scarcity of any Lupines, regardless of blood lineage. How much information is shared between the houses, if any?"

[MMU]

MMU rounded on him; not out of malice, but rather with a slow, methodical movement that conveyed great age. It was strange to see in a mechanical construct, yet it was there regardless.

"I have been away for a great many hundreds of years. The Masters told me only that they desired to leave, and so I took them. Well," he dipped his head slightly.

"... the Masters of the House that I served."

At that he waved a multi-digited metal paw to indicate their surroundings.

"They were Losstarot."

There was a pause in the conversation, as the avatar turned back to walk into the sitting room. Deliberately, Karrnage's question was ignored.

"This name - s'Ilancy - it is not a name of any of the Greater Houses. Nor is it even of the Lesser Houses. Your mistress, was she changed as well?"

[Colonel Karrnage]

He gave a confident shake of his head.

"No, this is an impossibility. She has, aha, privy knowledge of Losstarot histories that are the providence of the blood lineages. Furthering this, she carries the brand of her house. I am quite discriminating in confirming it's authenticity."

[MMU]

With a flourish, the droid swept its' arms up, expertly turning about in a tight circle as it walked, and with another twirl, it was back down to rest on all four limbs.

Are you now?

Trotting up to the man, MMU moved around him, his optical sensor never leaving his host.

And do you have the House Brand as well then?

[Colonel Karrnage]

"No no no."

Karrnage shook his head.

"My metamorphosis is solely that of an intellectual pursuit, or indeed I should infer this to be the intention of Madam s'Ilancy, as I certainly have a keen interest in ancient artificial races and she made the effort to oblige me."

He pursed his lips together momentarily in thought, and continued.

"But I am an academic, and any further fraternization would, I'm afraid, poison any objectivity I mean to uphold. It is a culture most fascinating, the Lupine is, but I am still but a guest."

[MMU]

I should dare say you're more than a guest if your mistress chose to give to you her gift.

MMU made one more pass around the man, then veered off to inspect the rest of the room.

You are more than an academic now, Losstarot. You are a part of an Apex House, and as such you do not have the luxury of keeping your feet in the places of two.

[Colonel Karrnage]

Karrnage raised an eyebrow at this point of view the droid presented to him.

"I would think that being in the service of metamorphs would give you some appreciation for living two lives, as it were."

He wasn't put off by this, instead only curious.

"Tell me then, if I am to consider that which you say, what actions would you consider prudent? Am I, apologies for poor metaphor aside, to bring new souls into the flock?"

He tapped at his chin.

"The notion of such a thing intrigues me, ethical concerns aside."