legionworld | [open] I'll edit this to something clever later

Entry tags:

[open] I'll edit this to something clever later

Who| Cortana and whoever
What| Cortana is wandering around the computer systems doing Important AI Stuff (ie, being kind of a creeper)
Where| Various locations on Legion World
When| Not super-relevant
Warnings/Notes| Probably nothing, will edit if that changes

As much as she'd deny she's been behaving like a cat whose owner has just returned from a long trip...Cortana has been behaving like a cat whose owner has just returned from a long trip. Of course, the Master Chief hasn't exactly tried to peel her off, either, but even he has to sleep occasionally. (The rumors that Spartans sleep in their armor standing up with their eyes open are almost entirely unfounded.)

Humans are, it turns out, pretty boring when they're asleep. Legion World is a safe zone, so instead of keeping her usual unblinking watch, Cortana tasks a process to alert her if the Chief wakes up. She'll be back before his eyes finish opening. Meanwhile, she sets off through the vast station's equally vast computer systems, getting the lay of this strange new 31st century land. Occasionally her course takes her to a peripheral node, a boundary where the digital can interface with the slow, analog expanse of the flesh-and-blood world, and she takes a peek out.

Occasionally, she finds something interesting.

NOTE: Cortana's an AI and has no body, so any logs will have to be in a place where she can manifest a hologram or at least use a speaker. If you'd like me to write a starter for you, I'm happy to do so. Drop me a PM or a PP and we can come up with a scenario.

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"You don't do a very good impression of a civilian." She looks him up and down for emphasis, an eyebrow raised. Cortana doesn't exactly consider military bearing a flaw (look at her best friend) but Locus seems to have only mustered out on paper.

"How long ago was it for you? The war hasn't quite ended when I'm from."

"Several years. There's a treaty in place now, though it's anyone's guess as to how long it will last." That's common knowledge. That costs nothing to get away. If his former employer was working to reignite a war with the Covenant?

That doesn't need to be brought up here and now.

"...civilian life didn't suit me."

Obviously enough. He hasn't even gotten around to finding civilian-esque clothes. Or anything beyond the power suit, really. What is being people?

Cortana is the last person with standing to criticize someone for never changing clothes.

"There'll always be another war." She's a very flexible AI. She can easily postulate a universe without violent conflict. It doesn't happen to be the one she's from. "Probably not with the Covenant, though."

She shrugs at Locus and spreads her hands with a wry half smile. "Big galaxy. I'm sure we'll find someone else who hates us."

"It seems as though we didn't need to look far."

Not far at all. He'd anticipated needing to search out the next cause to fight for, rather than simply winding up here, on the whims of some Time Trapper. Now, there's a worthy fight ahead of them, regardless.

He studies Cortana for a moment. She is, after all, unlike the other AI he's encountered over the years. No Epsilon. Certainly nothing like the alien AI at the temple.

"You decided to stay and fight as well."

Cortana is, at her core, a weapon. A very versatile and highly personable weapon, certainly, but whatever her demeanor when having a chat, she was made for conflict, and wouldn't know what to do with peace any more than the Master Chief would.

Or Locus, apparently.

"You squishy organic types win a whole lot more often when you've got someone like me around." She puts a hand on her hip, Cortana attitude in full force, and holds the other out, a miniature replica of a UNSC-standard holodisplay springing into existence over it, the screen thick with scrolling numbers too small to make out. "I have the efficiency studies to prove it."

There are alike in that regard, then. One weapon speaking to another.

"It wasn't your skill that surprised me. I know what AI are capable of. You'd be of great value on the battlefield." Locus cocks his head. No. It's the choice portion of that that has his interest. Maybe it's not surprising, but...

Even an AI can choose which battles to fight. He has no excuse now, if he ever did.

There aren't many quicker ways into Cortana's good graces than to tell her she's great, even though Locus is kind of bloodless about it. It's that bloodlessness that makes her pause before answering with her usual flippant comment that yes, she is that good, thanks for noticing. She's used to unyielding Spartan self-discipline. This is something else, something she's not sure she's got the shape of. Why is 'decide' and not 'fight' the important word? Most humans don't give choice a second thought.

Cortana will abandon the Master Chief the day she stops functioning, and he'll never walk away from a fight. But...what if she had come from before they'd met? The Time Trapper could span four years; seven would be no effort, presumably. What if she'd still been Dr. Halsey's personal AI, the Mjonlir Mark V that could hold her not yet come to fruition, and had been offered the same choice? Live out your days in comfort, as a full citizen, surrounded by other intelligences like your own for the first time in your life...or fight a hopeless war against an implacable enemy?

"Civilian life wouldn't suit me, either."

Even when presented with the choice, it had been no choice at all. There was purpose here, there was meaning. He needed to be of use. He could therefore empathize with a being that likewise prized its usefulness above all other things.

"Then we have that common. War makes us who we truly are."

Or damages them beyond repair, so that life as a civilian is no longer truly an option. Potato, potahto.

"The headlights of oncoming extinction do have a way of focusing the mind," she agrees, not quite as dry as the Master Chief, but then, no one is.

"My name's Cortana, by the way," she tacks on, belatedly realizing she hadn't introduced herself before things had gotten so strangely heavy. She already knows who he is, but doesn't expect humans to be able to datamine on the fly. Or at all.

See, this is why you organics need her.

"Locus."

It seems right to present the name, regardless. There's another name on file, one he no longer associates with himself. Better she know which one will get an answer from him.

"Are you designated to someone in the Legion?" It's not very common for an AI to go flitting about without someone to assist. The thought of a completely independent AI is...a little disturbing, frankly.

"My partner's here, or else I'd probably offer to do station ops or counterintrusion."

The level to which the Chief is the one calling the shots in that relationship is debatable, but her personal loyalties notwithstanding, it is entirely accurate to describe Cortana as independent. And it would be more accurate still to tack on "to a fault."

He's going to ask, so she adds: "Sierra-117."

Talking to someone else, someone not from the UNSC, she might have said "the Master Chief," but Locus is career. He'll know.

Oh. He knows. Everyone who served in the UNSC knows that call sign.

"He's here." It's not quite awe, Locus doesn't get starstruck like some people, but it's something close. Interest. A little bit of surprise. Certainly a measure of respect, even considering his general opinion of the UNSC now, as opposed to when he'd served.

And Cortana? She gets an extension of that respect by default.

And with that, Locus has just discovered the only quicker way to Cortana's heart than praising her: praising the Master Chief. Not bad for a guy who's trying his level best not to have social skills.

She smiles the sharp-edged smile that usually precedes the Chief causing destruction on a truly massive scale. "He sure is."

"The Time-Trapper knew what it was doing, then." The legends of the Master Chief travel far, and it's reassuring to know the Legion has such allies on its side. It does prompt the question of why his AI would find him interesting in the least, but she's already mentioned her reasons. That's enough for him.

"I should probably look into who we'll be serving with, before any other surprises arise," he notes, more to himself than to her.

"It's a mixed bag," Cortana says. "Not as many soldiers as you'd expect. Mostly from around the 21st century for no readily apparent reason."

If he's not asking the AI for information, he should probably specify. They tend to be helpful (or busybodies, depending how one's feeling about them at the time.)

No, he does't mind the infodump. He wouldn't ask if he didn't want to know, and if she's got the information to hand...

"How would they presume to win this war, if not with soldiers?" he rumbles after a moment, turning his gaze back to Cortana. If she's got input, hey. He's not going to say no. She seems sensible, and he won't turn down sensible conversation.

"They have a rule against killing. I have no idea how they plan to win this." Cortana rolls her eyes with the exasperation of someone with a high body count about which she feels entirely justified.

"Less flippantly, I'm not convinced they have a strategy. The Legion is paramilitary at best and organized more as peace officers than combatants." She shakes her head. Terrible way to win a fight. "However, if they do, I suspect it's similar to ours during the war: fight a holding action while the research groups and proving grounds play catch-up."

"An inefficient strategy on the whole," Locus agrees dryly. No war was ever won without bloodshed, and if they refused to spill some? That left it to the enemy to make up the difference. Or did the Legion really believe otherwise?

His arms fold in the meanwhile. "Still. We agreed to fight on their terms. Without order, this conflict will fall quickly into chaos."

It doesn't mean he's happy about it, but he'll do what's necessary to win, first and foremost.

She shrugs one shoulder.

"Hey, I'll play by the RoE." Mostly because not doing so makes the Chief sad, though. As far as Cortana's concerned, rules exist to tell you what parts of your plans you have to keep secret. "Doesn't mean I have to pretend they're any good."

"They wish to present a facade to the people they protect. They wouldn't be the first. But it is ineffective, all the same."

It's one thing to have the support of the people, to be seen as anything besides a killing force meant to exterminate all threats to their way of life. People don't respond well to the truth of what war is. He knows that, stared into the eyes of people who would have praised the war effort in-action, then turned a blind eye to the veterans on the streets years later.

They have a duty to them. Regardless of whether Locus likes them or not.

"Duplicity, I'd understand." She's an ONI AI, after all, and her very creation is the result of something so illicit that if it ever comes out, there might be war crimes trials. "What would scare me is if they actually believe it."

Liars? Fine.

Idealists? They're screwed.

"I would say no one that naive could make it into the positions of power they now find themselves in. But it wouldn't be the first time an idealistic figurehead served as a puppet for someone more pragmatic, and was allowed to conduct themselves as they wished in service of pacifying the masses."

He knows how this game is played, even if he takes no pleasure in these sorts of games himself. Politics are for the charmers, the smooth-talkers, and he is a soldier. He follows orders. That's all that is required of him.

Even if he's now a little more cautious who those orders come from.

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[open] I'll edit this to something clever later

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