Freelancer New York (freelancer_york) wrote in knowhereic, @ 2017-07-23 22:24:00 |
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Entry tags: | haloverse: canon: york, mass effect: canon: sara ryder |
Who: Sara Ryder & York (And SAM, Bob, and Delta)
What: Harry sends York to go pick up Bob from Sara.
When: Last day of Tropes
Where: Sara’s Apartment (330)
Rating: Probably pretty low
Status: Log - Complete
Sara knew Harry, so she surely had met the man, she knew what a giant he was, standing just this side of 6’9” and looking like some sort of failed NBA star who liked playing Dungeons and Dragons as a kid. He dressed like it, too, with that jacket and those dark colors and that staff. York was nothing like Harry Dresden. Where Harry had dark hair, York was a blonde. Harry had brown eyes, York had blue. Harry had a more casual demeanor, York stood like a soldier. They both had scars on their faces, just under their eye, stretching down over the cheek-- but Harry had been able to keep both of his lovely brown eyes, and York had lost his stunning blue one. In its place was a white bit of glass, giving him the appearance of being an alternative dimension Captain America who had just gone through the Apocalypse and come out the other side (mostly) alive. Because yeah, he looked just like Captain America. Go figure. He wasn’t nearly as tall as Dresden, though, at only 6’3” (6’4” with his boots on), he was taller than most people, but the wizard had him beat. Oh, and York smiled. A lot. And he dressed like a normal person-- jeans and t-shirts with bands that had died centuries ago, or even t-shirts with 21st century pop references on them. He did love his t-shirts, he’d found a little place he could pick some up and he’d just gone crazy. Who could blame him? They were fun. So, knocking on door 330, the soldier stepped back and let his arms hang at his sides, so as not to look intimidating. But, if we’re honest, it’s hard not to look intimidating when you had biceps the size of York’s. Sorry, Sara. *** Sara had the distinct advantage of growing up not just multicultural, but also multi-specied. Her childhood friends had been Turians, Asari, or Drell. Her crew then had also consisted of varied different people, and both Drack and Vetra had stood well over her and Drack had always carried with him the distinct air and demeanor of a soldier who if he wanted to, could very well pick her up and toss her across the ship if he wanted to. Granted, Drack had also been a giant softy, willing to treat everyone the way he treated Kesh, and giving advice as needed. So when Sara opened the door and saw the tall battle scarred replica of the Captain she only blinked and smiled. "York, I'm guessing. Sara." She offered. "Sara Ryder." With the Normandy here, SAM had been moved so she was less worried over it. The wires and some of the Node were still present, but nothing that would really give it away. "Come on in." She stepped inside and assumed he would follow. Despite being shorter then him she didn't show much fear or worry. She might never have been as much military as Shepard, but she'd been trained and had her biotics, plus her friends on dial if it was needed. Plus she was willing to trust anyone who claimed to be a friend of a friend. "Mouse has been fed and taken out, he should be fine." Smiling she patted the big dog's head. "Happy to go home to your dad big guy? I bet you are." She clipped his leash on and set the bowls on a chair. Then she collected the other items given to her, picking Bob up last. She wanted to say something then remembered Harry's request and set him on the chair next to the bowls. Then she grabbed the bracelet and handed it to York. "This is a gift for Harry, and he owes me one Sara is the best Pathfinder. Tell him that." she added with a grin. "If you know him you know his...issues. The bracelet will help. There is a way to turn it on and off, so he can mess things up when it's needed. He'll figure it out. But this way I can make him endure Last of the Legion. And Fleet and Flotilla. And I think that's everything. Am I missing anything?" --- “Nice too meet you, Sara.” He followed her in, his entire face brightening as he saw Mouse, who started to wag his gigantic, fluffy tail upon seeing the blonde man. York immediately headed over to rub a hand over his head and ruffle up his fur. “Hey big guy, you look like you had fun spending the night with your friend. Making sure to get hair all over everything she owns? Yeah? That’s a good Mouse.” The soldier tugged gently at his ears, then turned that blue eye onto her and smiled again. “You’ve made him a friendship bracelet?” It was a light tease, but he took it and looked it over anyway, curious about it. His issues, huh? “Oh, his problems with technology? Yeah. I’m intimately familiar.” Had it not been for Delta’s healing abilities, York was sure he would have had a serious brain bleed by now and would be under a sheet in Medical waiting for a proper burial in a space head. It wasn’t an appealing thought. “So it’s supposed to help him not blow up mechanical things?” His blue eye rose back up to her even as he slipped the bracelet away into his pocket for safe-keeping. Then, his attention slipped away for just a second, clearly distracted by something she couldn’t see or hear, but then he nodded. “No, I don’t think you’ve forgotten anything. Dog. Bob. Friendship bracelet.. And you’re even sending me back in one piece. I think it’s all covered.” A few easy steps brought him over to the skull, which he scooped up and tucked under one arm as if it were a football. Sure, talking skulls, he could do this. Easy. Right? “And hey, thanks for all your help with him. I’ve noticed he’s not all that great at accepting it.” So the fact that she still managed to help the wizard? Well, that said a lot. *** She laughed to the comment, "Sort of? I told him I'd figure this out, I owe him a hug, and so I set my mind to it." She shrugged easily because part of what she did was answering the unknown, finding paths were there weren't any and making them if she needed to. Walls might slow her, but never for long. "You too huh?" She added with a grin. "I got a," she motioned to her head, "implant. Keeps me up and walking. Had a bad experience so it's kind of needed. So I can't visit Harry, I'll keel over." She gave with another shrug. "Kind of sucks. I like him." "Yup," she added cheerfully. "I told him how to confirm it so that'll be covered." She waved his thanks aside. "Oh it's no problem. I'm one of those people who makes friends stubbornly and then help them when they need it. Whether or not they really accept that.” She gave a grin. “Crew is family, you look after them. Harry made crew a while ago. I didn’t need to jump into a volcano this time, so all this is relatively easy. And he does owe me a hug, tell him that. If you want come join the movie night. There’s nothing as great as watching cheesy movies with friends.” She was happy to accept a friend of a friend as another friend. She was just that sort of person. “So you’re helping too huh? Harry seems like he needs a good sort of crew around him. Keep him grounded. Makes you good in my book.” Smiling she walked to Mouse and ruffled the dog’s ears. “Right baby? Your dad needs crew doesn’t he? Even if he doesn’t think he does.” She kissed the dog’s nose. “Ugh I’m gonna miss you you giant fuzzy baby. I always wanted a dog.” she scratched his ears again. --- She had.. An implant? York’s eyebrows went up and he began to smile slowly, then he tapped at his temple with a finger. “Me, too.” He had an implant. “Being around Harry makes it pretty hard to focus sometimes, sometimes he, you know, makes my brain bleed. But all in all, I think we’re managing it pretty well. There’s no jumping into volcanos, at least.” Yes, his brain bled. It often leaked from not-so-normal places, the ear, the eye.. It wasn’t pretty. Thanks, Harry. “And if you guys get together to watch movies, I’d love to join in. I haven’t seen a movie in a long time--” That single blue eye followed her as she moved to scrub at Mouse’s ears, who let that big tongue flop out and he turned his head into the petting, fluffy tail thumping on the floor. It made York smile. “We don’t have dogs where I come from, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen one.. They’re pretty neat.” And he and Mouse seemed to get along just fine. That was surely in part due to the fact that Mouse knew just how good the soldier was for the wizard. York just didn’t take ‘no’ as an answer when it came to Harry. Hell, he’d moved into his apartment just today, and had simply told Harry he was going to live there a little bit. But, that was just York. “Maybe when you come over for movies, you could tell me a little bit more about your implant.” He was curious. Of course he was. And he was also a little awkward around women, he only knew a few of them, and they were all dominant and angry and constantly bossing him around. He missed Carolina. *** "Huh," she gave curiously. "How are you avoiding the whole not you know falling over?" The way she asked it was obvious that he didn't need to answer if he wanted to keep secrets. She was too. "You don't? We neither." she gave Mouse a smile, "not yet anyway. Might take us a few years to introduce them, if we even can. Introducing foreign species into a ecosystem and all that." "Sure, yeah. it's a bit of a long story because I got two. The one I got that keeps me going and the one that helps me with my biotics. Euh," she reached out to one of the hamster balls and lifted it. "Sort of like that" She brought the ball to her and smiled. "I can explain that as well whenever we get our movie night. It's kind of complicated. At least it requires a bit of background. "Let's make a date. Next week? Give Harry some time to get used to his gift? Unless you’re busy?” --- “Oh, it’s Delta-- he’s the AI I have implanted-- he has a healing unit. When Harry damages him, he damages me. But he can heal most of the damage done.” Most of it. “He’s in there right now, fixing me up.” Delta always had his back. And his brain. Still, they were onto the topic of dogs again and York grinned down at Mouse. “They went extinct where I’m from. I don’t know that anyone has any plans to bring them back any time soon.” It was a shame, too, because Mouse was lovely. Looking back up when she mentioned she had two implants, York looked rather impressed. He’d seen what that could do to a person. It wasn’t pretty. But: “A date? Yeah, that sounds good. Friday?” Of course he wasn’t busy. He’d make the time-- and he was off from the hospital on Friday, anyway. So it worked out great. When he told Harry about this, the older man would surely laugh at him. She hadn’t meant a real date, York. *** That startled her enough to blink at him. "You have an AI?" The other facts filtered into her as well, mostly that he was hurting himself for Harry’s sake. “You should be careful about that, it can lead to severe damage to both you and Delta. Eventually Delta might overcompensate and short out.” She smiled, “I have one too,” she gave honestly. “His name is SAM. I generally hold off telling people about him. Not everyone looks at those sort of things in a good light. And I don’t want to see him hurt. He’s important to me.” She added with a shrug “Helps keep me alive, helps me with my job.” “Not extinct really, where I’m from. We just moved galaxies, brought a stuff along and part of that was our animals. IF they can integrate we can bring them back. If not, no dogs for us.” She smiled. “Great. Tell Harry these movies are so cheesy. The space future has perfected the cheesy movie. I’ll see if Jyn and Shepard want to sit through those again. They’re so, so bad.” Now she was looking forward to this. She’d been wanting to chill with Harry for a while now, now she got to. --- “Yeah, we’re aware.” That it could damage them both permanently. That it would kill them both. But there was York, putting himself in harm’s way without a second thought about it. Harry needed help, there was no one else there to give it to him, and York had been glad to step up. It was just the sort of man he was, for better or worse. Delta meant the world to York, the soldier wanted to protect him, but human lives came first, and Delta agreed. “And we’d really like to meet SAM, when he’s ready.” Not all AIs were as friendly and forthcoming as Delta, York knew that much. He had first hand experience with it. “Maybe on our movie date, if he needs some time?” Sara sounded particularly close to Sam, the blonde man knew that sometimes it took preparation and a bit of talk to get an AI ready for something out of their comfort zone. He was more than willing to give them the time, should they need it. *** She gave a sheepish smile, “Sorry if I’m pushy or sound like I’m trying to tell you what to do. You’re your own person, you can decide these things for yourself.” She shrugged, “SAM doesn’t have a healing mode, not exactly. He was designed to help with neurological issues but then got retrofitted. Because I kind of sort of died there for a bit, SAM linked himself further to my neural pathways. I can function without him, but not well. If he gets damaged or turned off by Harry’s thing, it would kind of kill me. Which is the worst situation. I feel bad because Harry’s a friend, I want to help. But now I can. He so owes me a Best Pathfinder mug.” She added with a grin. She frowned and looked at York before chewing her lip. “Gimme a minute.” she opened up her Omni Tool and tapped a few buttons. “You heard all that, I know you did. He’s okay.” After a moment SAM’s voice came over the comm, simply saying; “I appreciate your discretion and willingness to wait. If Sara considers you okay then I trust my Pathfinder. Hello, I am SAM.” She smiled to that. “He’s not here, really. He’s got a Node, but we moved it. We’re both willing to trust you. Fellow AI’s in brain club and all that.” She offered with another grin, “hey you still got Liam’s movies right? Get the cheesiest out of there, both Last of the Legion and Fleet and Flotilla. Harry will share our pain.” SAM’s voice came again; “I do not understand PAthfinder, there is no pain. But yes I will gather these movies, although you have told me to be honest so I will say; they are all cheesy. Liam’s taste is interesting.” “Gonna tell him you said that and it’s a metaphor SAM, we’ll work on those.” She shook her head. “He’s learning.” --- “Nah, don’t worry about it. I know you’re just trying to help us do what’s best.” But unfortunately, neither York nor his AI worked like that, they had self-preservation instincts, but not to the point they would allow someone else to suffer because of them. They had to help. However, as SAM’s voice came on over the com, York’s face lit up and he turned his head a little to the side. “Come on out, D. Come meet SAM.” There was a moment’s pause, then a flicker of green light over York’s left shoulder. The hologram appeared an instant later, snapping to life to show a little green man in a suit of armor. He was probably only a foot tall, but he glowed brightly. Turning to face the woman standing across from York, the little green hologram, Delta, apparently, spoke with a mechanical sounding voice. “Hello. I am Delta. It is nice to meet you SAM, Sara.” The little AI was proper as could be, he was also learning. Then again, many of the other AIs in Project Freelancer were not so logical as Delta and didn’t have these issues. “Delta here’s my right hand man. Well, left hand. He watches my left side and my six, and he takes care of me, don’t you, D?” Prompted with a smile over at his companion. “Care is a human construct, York. I merely ensure your physical health and well-being.” Turning back towards the woman and her AI, Delta’s head bounced a little as he spoke. “Thank you for putting your trust in us and showing concern for our well-being. I have been taking precautions to protect against Harry Dresden, but I cannot fix the unfixable.” It hadn’t happened yet, but by Delta’s calculations, it would happen eventually. “Way to throw a black cloud up over the conversation, D.” The soldier remarked with a smile, shaking his head some as he did. “There is no atmosphere able to sustain clouds here, not that I would have the capability to create clou--” but York was cutting him off with a slight wave of his hand. “Not what I meant, D.” Ah, AIs. So much fun. *** She offered another smile. Sometimes the line between Pathfinder and Sara was so thin there was practically no real distinction. It was just a part of her, to help others and to make sure they were doing okay. She'd just met York, and already she was doing that. "It's a bad habit of mine. Part of my job is looking out for others, and so I don't always think if people need the help." When she noted the hologram she grinned again, brighter. "That is neat." She took a step closer to look at it "He can appear humanoid? That's cool. SAM's visual representation is a glowy ball at least in the Node. He can't do holograms like that." She studied the image curiously and smiled "So neat. Nice to meet you Delta. SAM does similar things. He's capable of running the calculations i can't to terraform planets, scans for minerals and hostiles, and can disseminate alen information. SAM helped us figure out the Remnant, alien robots, language and how to identify them. He can also interface with their technology, but that's only my SAM. There's others. Where I'm from I'm called a Pathfinder. We're the tip of the spear of pioneers. We explore, find new planets, find places for people to settle. A mix of soldier, scientist, and guide rolled into one. All the races that went into Andromeda have one, I'm the human one. SAM helps with that, although my SAM is the first. Made by my dad. Which makes him like an AI sibling." "In a way, you are correct Pathfinder," SAM piped up "But I disagree. Care is not a human concept or construct. I care for my Pathfinder, and for Sara. I regret some of my choices, and my connections. If Sara died, I would lose my Pathfinder and my friend. This would make me sad. Sara would say we look after each other, as without her I cannot learn.' It made Sara smile, "you sentimental goof. I care for you too." SAM piped up again; "But you are welcome, Delta." She chuckled at the comments, "Delta seems interesting, bit more mechanical then SAM. SAM feels and sees through me, how he learns, so when I feel he does. It makes him more human, in a way." -- “ I can alter my form to be agreeable to anyone. This form appeals to York.” Which was why he used it, of course. “I also run calculations and probabilities, as well as assisting York with performing at peak Freelancer standards. Together, we have a higher probability of killin--” “Whoa, hey, that’s good, D, they don’t need to hear all about what we’re best at.” York rubbed a hand back through his hair with a smirk. “</i>I was only pointing out our abilities and qualifications. Infiltration and sabotage for distraction’s sake among them.</i>” If Delta had the ability to sound confused, he would have. “Yeah, I know. You’re good at everything, buddy.” But the soldier’s attention was mostly on the woman in front of him at this point. “A Pathfinder sounds pretty interesting. I’d love to go out exploring and finding new things. That’s sort of what it’s all about, right? I mean, there’s got to be more to living than just survival. And I think finding adventure is sort of the whole purpose of it.” “Sadness is a human emotion. I do not understand your reference to it regarding yourself. Emotions make human’s behavior erratic and unpredictable. Why would you choose to attempt to learn such things?” The little green AI turned slightly, as if a better angle might help him understand. “What can I say? Emotions are what make us human.” York shrugged up his shoulders with a smile, glancing back towards Sara as he said it, before looking again to his AI. “Excellent point, York. I was not looking at it from a flawed perspective. I will try to do so in the future.” “Well, that sure would make this conversations easier. Thanks for coming down to my level, D.” The smile on the soldier’s face, though, was a fond one. There was no mistaking how much he cared for the AI implanted in his brain. Delta cared, too, but it couldn’t manifest in an emotional way. He had no emotions. “I am here to assist.” The AI responded helpfully. *** That was curious. True to her nature, Sara didn't judge. She knew a Spectre, who was probably also licensed to do a great many things, not all of them legal. That was the entire point of Spectre's after all. "Huh. How so? And what's a Freelancer?" She asked honestly curious. "I won't judge. We all do different things. If you're a form of hired gun then I accept that." she smiled to York, "hope I never have to deal with the business end of you, but accept it none the less. I have a friend, Drack, he's a mercenary. One of the oldest I've ever met and incredibly scary because of it, despite being mostly machine these days. He's also a giant softy. You know the 'walk it off, kid' type of people?" She nodded, "now imagine he'll also send you really badly rendered pictures of guns, most of them copies, because he knows you feel bad because of your dad's death and that's what cheers him up so obviously it will help you too." She laughed. "Drack's great like that. Will literally plow through walls, on fire, to get to his enemies but will also pat you awkwardly on the back. Not judging people by what they do is something I've learned. And you seem like good people, considering you're willing to get an aneurysm for Harry's sake. Kind of makes you okay in my book." She smiled "it's great. I mean, terrifying and I still don't really know what I'm doing but yeah. Finding my feet." SAM's voice piped up again; "Alec chose wisely. He would be proud Sara, do not discount your achievements. I do not think he could have done it better." Shyly she ducked her head. "Thanks SAM." She motioned to the air, "my dad. Pathfinder before me. The first or one of the first. He, euh, died." she gave a sad shrug and crossed her arms. Talking about this was good, she'd learned that from Lexi. Every time she did, the pain got a little less. It'd always be there, but in a way that she could handle. "we were trying to find out why the planet we were supposed to settle on wasn't what we thought. It had gotten all messed up and nothing like it should be without any clear indication of why. Dad he tried interfacing with a Remnant machine and it ended badly. We both got thrown off a platform and my helmet cracked. In an alien environment with a toxic atmosphere. Dad he," she smiled, "took his helmet and gave it to me. Transferred Pathfinder protocols to me as well. I was asphyxiating so I didn't react well. Forty seconds clinically dead, go me." She added with a laugh. "SAM had to link close to me. All SAM's have some control over their Pathfinder's physiology but it's all things like keeping track of things. SAM helps keep me going, like I've mentioned. Had no idea how to be Pathfinder at first, I was never trained. But now," she smiled again, "now there's nothing better. I got my drive to see new things to find out what makes them tick and how it works from my mom. She helped make SAM's implant." "Anyway," she waved her hand "sad talk over. Way to bring a cloud Ryder." SAM then replied to Delta; "As Sara stated I am linked to her neural pathways. I feel as she feels. When she is sad, I know sadness. Alec Ryder designed me this way so there would be no border between creator and created. I am a part of Sara, and she is of me. I did not choose to learn emotions, I have always known how to learn them. This way, I can help my Pathfinder better. This way, I also learn more. I would not wish to be disconnected from Sara's emotions, but I can offer her privacy when she wishes it." She shook her head. "I'll talk to Shepard about inviting you to the Normandy, she's not my ship to randomly invite people to, but so you can meet SAM in his Node. Might be interesting. We can let the AI's nerd it out." "So Friday I will bring the cheesiest of movies and snacks. Anything you don't eat? Or do you know anything that Harry doesn't eat? I know he can be bribed with coke so that's already going to be a thing." --- York only stood quietly and listened to that story. By the end of it, he was rubbing the back of his head and looking sort of sheepish. He was sorry he’d made her get into that. It seemed like it brought up some pretty terrible memories, and York never liked to do that to people. He knew what it was like. So, instead of replying in kind, he just smiled and stepped forward, setting a hand on her shoulder as the Freelancers often did, just a moment of connection. Then, his hand was gone. “I think SAM’s pretty great, and we’d really like to come and see your ship. If mine was around, I’d offer you a tour in return.” But it wasn’t. And it wasn’t his ship anymore, anyway. “Friday sounds perfect--” He began, but was cut off by the little green AI. “I fail to see how a movie can be like a food product--” And just as soon as he’d begun speaking, York was talking up over him. Those two really were a perfect pair together. “And that’s our cue to leave. Thanks a lot for everything, Miss Ryder. I’m sure Mouse and Harry will be looking forward to seeing you on Friday.” Mouse most definitely, as he was already whining for the idea of leaving. He did, however, want to see his daddy again, so he’d go easily enough with York to the front door. “You have yourself a good day.” He was just no good with women, for some reason, but at least he was trying. |